Flair for Dramatics

Memorial day found us working around the house. Hubby marked off the area where we are going to set up the pool we bought a few months back as I wandered around trying to clean up as much of the house as I could. His oldest sister was planning to stop by that evening before she and her family headed home to Indiana. Bryce wanted her oldest son (who is the same age) to stay the night. Since he was staying, Brady wanted her next son to stay as well (he's almost six.) I was to meet them at a halfway point on Wednesday and give her hubby their two sons plus my three kids. Tuesday and Wednesday they kept me busy. They were literally all over the house finding things to play with. Yesterday while I had the house to myself I recovered. I went through and cleaned up the mess that was left behind. I also fended calls from my children.

Belle called requesting that Auntie be allowed to cut her hair (she's the same sister-in-law who did my hair a few months back). Then Bryce called wanting her to cut his hair. And Hubby called Brady with an ultimatum of letting Auntie cut his hair or Hubby would be buzzing it when he got home. Auntie trimmed it today.

This is how we found the when we arrived. Not only did our three kids have colored hair but her oldest two sons had red mohawks (only better than Bryce's because their hair is longer). Her daughter had teased green pigtails. They made quite a sight.

As we started leaving her home to make our trip home, Brady complained that he didn't feel well and doubled over grabbing his stomach. We left and started looking for a place to stop for supper about the halfway point. We didn't find a restaurant that everyone could agree on so we went to the next hole-in-the-wall town we came across. They had a Dairy Queen and Brady had requested we go there before we had left Indiana. We were leaving when Hubby mentioned, "Brady isn't curled up in a ball sick now that he has had ice cream."

My response?

"I can't help it that he has your flair for dramatics."

He stills denies he has the flair. Yeah. Uh-huh. Right.

Ten "Me-Me" Things About Me

Ladybird tagged me yesterday. The rules are to post 10 weird or little known facts about you and then tag 10 people. Make sure to leave them a comment so they know they have been tagged!

1. I am stunned and terrified that I have less than 2 1/2 years before I have a teenager. He was only three yesterday! Where did all this time go?

2. I hate driving long distances because I always doubt if I took the right exit. I do this even though I recognize certain things or places that I have driven by in the past.

3. I have decided that I'm going to have to place some sort of contraption on the doors of my home that will shut the door on the kids backsides for standing in it. Maybe then they will actually walk out the door and shut it.

4. I recently signed up for Blockbusters mailing program and have started watching Brothers & Sisters. I think I'm really going to like that series.

5. I have never seen a Desperate Housewives episodes. Occasionally, I will watch for a few minutes but change the channel.

6. I don't watch American Idol.

7. I don't think The Office, My Name is Earl or Scrubs is funny.

8. I bought my three kids and two of my nephews cap guns. I'm regretting it.

9. The beginning of summer vacation is easier than the end of summer vacation. The kids are easier to entertain at the beginning and find themselves bored at the end.

10. Some days I wish the kids gave me a little bit more to blog about. Other days, I'm glad they don't.

I have no one else on my blogging list that hasn't already been tagged so I can't tag anyone in return. If you read this and haven't been tagged feel free to do this and leave me a link in the comments so I can see yours!

Guard Cat and Growing Up

Hubby has had the hardest time getting home this weekend. He had mentioned to his dispatcher that he wanted to be home Friday since he had family coming in to Nashville and we were supposed to visit on Saturday. Unfortunately his dispatcher forgot and he and his team partner got saddled with a load that was going to California. It was a late load, meaning it should've been there yesterday, and they were the only available team to run it. So they did and he was supposed to be back yesterday (but not able to make it to Nashville). Then they started having truck problems. And after they picked up their load around L.A., they were called back to the company because the company had loaded the wrong load on their truck. So he got home around 5:30 this morning.

Zeus sleeps on the foot of my bed at night. He has been coming up to the head of my bed (for the most part) around 5 or so in the mornings, lately just for attention. This morning was no different. He came up to my head about the time I started to stir and realize what time it was. I called Hubby, found he was on his way home and laid back down. When Hubby opened the door to come into the house, my bedroom door "popped", something that it does when an outside door is opened or when the a/c unit kicks on. Zeus tuned up, growled and turned towards the door so that he could watch it. The louder Hubby's footsteps got down the hall, the lower this cat sank into the bed. He didn't attack Hubby, but I would hate to see what would've happened if it had been someone else.

Bryce has been "bugging" us for the last couple of summers to mow the yard. After some serious consideration and taking into account his need for exercise, we allowed him to push mow part of a yard that we mow for a neighbor and our back yard. He's proud that he gets to be that much closer to an adult and I'm excited that he's willing to do something that gives him exercise, without me having to tell him to go outside and do it. While Bryce is moving on to mowing yards, Brady has graduated from a 16 inch bike to a 20 inch bike. We knew that he was ready for it and this morning Hubby bought the one Brady had picked out. He's very proud of the newest addition to the family of ever growing bikes in the shed. Belle has not moved onto anything new yet, but is very proud that she talked me into letting her get a two piece swimsuit for the summer. These kids are growing up entirely too fast.

Busy, Busy, Busy

If my blogging this week hasn't already shown that the kids have been keeping me busy then I'll just tell you. The kids have been keeping me busy. They've been playing with neighbors all week long as well as bugging me. Yesterday and today I played Uno Spin with them. I took them to the grocery yesterday and survived. Monday was so busy, that I didn't even get the opportunity to check the blogs I like to read until Tuesday. Yesterday I washed my van in preparation for a trip to Nashville that we were supposed to be making on Saturday. A trip, I found out after I washed the van, that we were not going to be able to take because Hubby was headed to Los Angeles and wouldn't be back in time to take it. But that's ok, because now I have a clean van regardless of the trip.

Then there was today.

Today started off rough. Belle spilled milk all over the kitchen floor first thing this morning. She mopped it up with a towel (that I had to wash before it soured). I got her to unload the dishwasher so that I could load the breakfast dishes in it. Not an hour after Belle spilled the milk, Brady decided he wanted to have some lemonade. Instead of asking for help before trying to lug the gallon pitcher (the newly made pitcher) he got it out. And spilled it. I had to clean out the refrigerator and mop the floor. Have I mentioned how much I hate mopping? So I stalled. I washed a couple of loads of laundry. I played a game with the kids. I washed out the fridge and loaded the dishwasher. I even changed the litter pan since I was going to have to mop under it anyway. As I was starting to sweep and get ready to mop, I heard a knock on the door. Mom stopped by on her way home from work and offered to take the kids. I met her a short time later at Wal-Mart (after she picked up a few groceries), gave her the kids, dropped some clothes off at Goodwill and came home to quiet. The kids have taken their trip to Chez Memaw as I spend some time to myself. Have I mentioned that I signed up for blockbuster online and my first three DVD's came in today? Oh that's right. I've been busy with the kids. So tonight I'm going to sit down and watch the first two discs of Brothers and Sisters. I'm going to watch the season finale of Grey's Anatomy. I'm going to enjoy the clean kitchen floor knowing that the kids aren't here to spill something on it now that I've mopped. And I'm not going to worry about arguing, supper, breakfast and bedtime. Then tomorrow I will worry about the hot dogs and roasted marshmallows they're having for supper. Tomorrow I'll worry about the ice cream, pancakes, pop tarts and popsicles while being glad that they're eating most of them tonight.

Tonight, I'm going to be me.

Busy Couple of Days

This weekend has been a crazy weekend for us. The kids finished school Friday and are now headed for the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. They received their report cards as well, and each of them did wonderful. Bryce had all A's and one B, Belle had straight A's and B's and Brady had straight A's. Hubby made it home Friday afternoon, too, so we've all been running around trying to be a family again. Bryce went to Holiday World on Saturday with his violin group, leaving at 6am and returned until after 9pm. We learned he had a ball since he hasn't really hushed about it since he came home. Hubby was nice enough to get up early on Saturday and take him to the school for his trip and then pick him up when they returned.

I've also been enjoying my time picking at Hubby this weekend. He's certainly tried to give me plenty of blogging material. Saturday, he was working on the lawn mower my parents brought us. While trying to cut a zip tie off of a wrench (and who knows why the wrench had it on there to begin with) he twisted his knife wrong and cut his finger pretty good. I've told him since then that he is no longer allowed to use this knife, since this is the second time he has cut a finger open like this with it. He has it sharpened well enough that he can shave with it and I cringe each time he gets it out.

This afternoon while trying to clean some things off of my computer desk, my cell phone started ringing his all too familiar ring. Surprised, I answered it, wondering why he was calling me when we were both in the house. Apparently, he had run out of toilet paper and the new package that I had just bought Friday was still sitting in a chair in the kitchen waiting for me to put it away. He decided to call my phone after the couple of times he had hollered out of the room for me went unheard, so he used what was available. His cell phone. I never dreamed he would stoop to this level.

Bless You!

Eight o'clock rolled around tonight and I started putting the kids to bed. Brady went first, Belle next and finally Bryce. Belle got up minutes later wanting to know if she was going to be able to ride to a friends house after school. As I considered it, I walked to the kitchen for a drink when I felt the urge to sneeze. So I looked towards where the light was supposed to be (you're supposed to look for the light, right?) and finally let out a loud "AAACCCCHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"BLESS YOU!" Brady hollered from the boys room.

"GO TO SLEEP!" was my reply, not angrily but loud enough to be heard. Next time I'll try to sneeze quieter.

Mother's Day

The kids school is strategically placed immediately next to a nursery. So every year, the week before mother's day, I give my kids cash so they can walk next door with their classes to buy me mother's day flowers. This year, Belle "budgeted" so that she could buy me two flowers with the same amount of money as the boys. She bought the Dusty Miller (the white leafy plant) and the purple petunia, both on the right. Brady picked out the white Begonia at the bottom left. Bryce picked out the chicken and hens plant which is actually a perennial and does not actually die out, top left (knock on wood that I don't kill it). Bryce's plant will also "reproduce" where the small flowers at the soil level will continue to grow and produce "babies" that can stay in the same pot until the pot is full. (You can tell that I have learned something over the years from my mom.)
I got to sleep in Sunday morning, to a point, because Brady came in just before I got up to let me know that someone had called my cell phone (wrong number). I was left with a headache from being in bed so long. I got hugs and kisses from the kids and the opportunity to retreat to my room with Hubby to watch 27 Dresses that he rented for me (and was also due back the same day) while they watch The Golden Compass in the living room. Hubby grilled burgers that evening, despite some very strong winds. A pretty nice and uneventful day overall.

The Past Revisited

At the end of last week, I started receiving notes from the kids art teacher that they were going to tie-dye one day this week. We could send t-shirts, socks and/or handkerchiefs for them to work with. So when I on my weekly grocery shopping trip, I picked up three white shirts for the kids to use. Bryce dyed his on Monday while Brady and Belle dyed theirs on Wednesday. I washed them yesterday so that they could wear them to school today. When we were in school, we never got the opportunity to tie-dye things. Our school had a kiln and we made pottery instead. I would've loved the opportunity to tie-dye a shirt, but I had to buy one instead. Chances are the one I bought came out a whole lot better than the one I would've made, but it still would've been fun to try.

My Love for Caffeine

Just after graduating high school, I was diagnosed with having migraines. I had been having severe headaches off and on from the time I was 13 and finally had them checked out. So I was given a prescription, that I was supposed to take on a daily basis, to prevent migraines. But meds were/are expensive. So I took them to treat the migraines. Until I got pregnant with Bryce and had to stop taking them and never went back on them. Here lately I have found it very hard to distinguish between my migraines and really severe sinus/allergy headaches because they both resemble each other (mine do anyway). So yesterday morning, I started noticing a headache coming on. Later during the day, I took a couple of acetaminophen. Then I took a Benedryl and forced myself to not sleep. By the time I went to bed, I had taken two more acetaminophen. That's when I realized I had a migraine and not a sinus headache so I crashed. This morning, it lingered, threatening to show it's ugly head. A wrong movement, reading, bright lights threatened to bring it back full force. So after the kids got on their bus, I laid back down. And got up worse but I could still function. I had to function. I needed to run to the store so I forced myself to shower, dress and run to do what I needed to. While at the store, I bought me a 20 oz. diet Sun-drop. Caffeine. Did I fail to mention that I have run out of caffeine here at my house? I drank my last diet sun-drop yesterday at lunch. I even made chocolate cookies looking for caffeine last night. Within a half hour of opening my drink - not even finished with it - my headache is all but gone. My eyes no longer hurt. I don't feel as if someone has hit me over the head with a baseball bat. Oh how I love caffeine.

Summer Break

Hubby asked me this weekend when did I want him to take his vacation. Until a couple of weeks ago, he was going to have to take his vacation the week of July 4th. Now that his employer no longer has his dedicated route, he can take his vacation when it suits him. So I said May, June and July. Hey, whatever works, right?

Mother's Day is the second Sunday of May each and every year. A day to honor the moms, step-moms, adopted moms, moms-to-be, honorary mothers as well as grandmothers, aunts, you get the picture. One day a year, kids scramble to make or find something perfect for Mom because someone decided to honor her and has hyped up the day. Commercials on tv steadily advertise what moms "want." Jewelry, flowers, clothes (no one asked my opinion of what I wanted). What they didn't tell you as children, and what us mothers don't realize until their children are of a certain age, is that Mother's Day isn't a holiday honoring mothers. Mother's day is a day for your husband (significant other) and your children to offer you gifts to bribe you for what is immediately ahead.

Summer Vacation.

Ask my kids and all three will be able to tell you they have eight days of school left. Eight. And I have no idea how I'm going to start to keep them occupied. Of course they'll have their Wii time and the time they use to care for their Webkins. But there's the rest of the time that I need to come up with creative ways to get them outside. Outside to get up off their rumps and get exercise. Outside to give me five minutes of peace and quiet so that I can deal with the next break down or argument (or maybe even blog). Also running through the house will probably be various friends from around the neighborhood. Two live right down the street, within walking distance and are usually here on a daily basis. Another few friends live out and about but are pretty good about calling wanting my kids to visit for play dates or vice versa. So I'm going to have to be prepared for extra kids, which mean snacks, drinks and activities. Right now? I'm going to enjoy the eight days of quiet I have left.

Man Vs. Animal

When we first got Zeus, he was around 2 1/2 weeks old. His eyes and ears were barely open, and his mother was nowhere to be found. I spent the first full day we had him calling around trying to find someone with a mother cat to nurse him because he was so small. I couldn't find anyone with kittens around his age. I can't tell you the amount of money we invested in kitten formula, bottles and later meds for ringworm that we didn't know he had until it was too late. We had to isolate him for a week or two while trying to clear the house of the ringworm that had taken over. Not one person or animal in this house didn't come down with at least one spot. Belle and I had the worst cases of it while Brady got the bad end of the deal when one showed up on his scalp. Almost a year later, while the ringworm was gone, it left a scaly spot behind that is just now clearing up completely. It took me a few days to figure out how to hold Zeus just right so that he would take his bottle without scratching you raw while he was sucking, as if his next meal wasn't coming. I was desperate for him to start eating kitten food at six weeks, only to find he wasn't interested in anything except his bottle until eight weeks.


Around the first of this month, my sweet baby turned one and showing every bit of it. He sleeps on the foot of my bed almost every night. As I settle down to check my email after the kids get on the bus, he jumps up in my lap looking for love. He gives "kisses" as he puts his nose up to mine. He is really interested in you if you are wearing a hat and likes to rub up against the bill almost knocking it off your head. He loves to knock plastic golf balls around the house and pushing the window screen out of the windows so that he can "escape." He also has a big problem. With Hubby.


Hubby can come in every weekend and without fail, Zeus will hiss, growl, and yell at him. He hides if Hubby is in the room. Zeus sleeps on the foot of the bed only if Hubby is asleep when he climbs up or if I put him on the bed before Hubby comes to bed. Night before last, Zeus wouldn't come to me and slept in our bathtub because Hubby was already in bed. This weekend, Zeus took his dislike or jealousy of Hubby to a whole new level. This afternoon, Hubby went to get ready to leave for his truck and came out of our room to inform me that Zeus had marked the "do-rag" Hubby wore yesterday. At time to leave, as he was packing the rest of his shower bag, he discovered that Zeus had also marked his bag. I assumed he did this yesterday as I could smell the odor but couldn't find what he had marked. I know having him "fixed" will help curb his marking, but I've had other male cats that continued to mark despite the fact they had been "fixed." For now, I'm trying to keep them apart when they are at odds, and having Hubby pet him occasionally to reassure Zeus that Hubby is harmless. None of this seems to be working and I dread to see what next weekend brings. While I hope that things improve, the situation only shows signs of getting worse and I am hoping that the jealousy that Zeus has for Hubby when he's home eases as he gets older. We'll see.