I wish I could say that I have a good excuse for not having a blog topic for yesterday but I don't. I spent yesterday babysitting what felt like most of the day. Little Man got here just after 7am and was here until 4:30. Then I immediately got in the car, drove to the middle school and picked up Bryce and his buddy, who was here until just after 6. I can't say that it was a tough day because it honestly wasn't. Little Man was great. We played, giggled, napped, and ate two big meals (him not me). The entire time he was here, I did not see one tear. After Bryce's buddy was picked up, I ran to get supper in the oven, the kids fed, bathed and in bed by 8. I talked to Hubby until he went to bed a short time later and I watched two episodes of Ghost Whisperer from season two that had come in from Blockbuster last week. I was in bed by 10:30!! I was ready for sleep!! Only sleep didn't come. I tossed and turned until well after 12.
It was 3am when Belle came into my room this morning and I really wasn't deeply asleep. I knew she came. I looked up at saw her shape and dropped back on my pillow struggling because I really didn't want to be up. I wanted to sleep, but I forced myself to stop and ask her why she was up to find out that she was sick. Her supper had come up and she was letting me know. So she went back to her bed and every ten minutes for the next hour she came back into my room to let me know she was sick. Again. At 4, she climbed in bed with me and finally about 5, she went from getting up every ten to fifteen minutes to every 30 or 45. We both pulled off about 30 minutes of sleep before the alarm went off just after 6. Talk about tired. I shouldn't have to say she stayed home today, running to the bathroom off and on most of the day. I got about an hour sleep on the couch while she grabbed about a half hour. So far she has held down her supper, but is still complaining about a pretty nasty stomach ache. One good thing about the whole situation is that she is not running a fever so I do think it is just a simple stomach virus. Unfortunately, she will be missing her field trip tomorrow to stay home with me and make the drive to get Hubby.
I am exhausted. And emotional. And too exhausted to sleep at this point. I have been job hunting, seriously job hunting the last few weeks and it is so disappointing to not even receive a phone call to come in for an interview before deciding I'm not the person for their company. I have friends putting out feelers for me, friends letting me know about jobs at this place or that place only for me to submit a resume and then not hear anything. Tell me something! Is a former employer giving me a bad reference? Do you not like what's on my resume? Have I been out of work too long? Talk to me first. Find out why I've been out of the workforce the last two years before making a judgement call.
Now that I've done my griping for tonight, I'm going to attempt sleep since it's already after 10. Then maybe things will be a little clearer tomorrow.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Meeting A New Friend and a Concert
A couple of weeks ago, I got a message from Janjanmom. Seems she picked up on something I had on my blog that led her to believe we actually lived pretty close together. How right she was. Yesterday, she gave me a call and we made arrangements to meet. Today we found out how small our world is. Turns out that we attended the same elementary school but she was a few years ahead of me (I even have yearbooks in the top of my closet that she should be in;)). While those few years don't mean much now that we are adults, as kids those few years can seem like eons. She even knew a couple of people that I ran around with either by location or by their siblings. She graduated high school just before I moved to that school but she graduated with my sister-in-law. It is just amazing! I had a great time talking with Janjan and meeting her three beautiful girls.
After meeting with Janjan, I started running. Belle and Bryce had their final strings concert of this year tonight and I had a thought to have Bryce try on his black pants this morning. Of course he had outgrown them. Again. So went the quest to find a reasonably priced pair of black pants (that he's only going to wear a handful of times before outgrowing them again). I finally found a pair and picked them up, hoping they would fit him when he got home. I can no longer buy kids-size clothing for him. The pants I picked up today? 32x32. They're a little long but I mean come on. I could wear them! I stopped by Wal-Mart for snacks for Belle tomorrow, chatted with a friend that worked there and headed for home. Here, I had to iron the kids clothes for tonight, get Bryce from tutoring, cut Bryce's hair, start supper, and get the kids showered and ready to be at the school by 5:30. Between 4 and 5, I had everything finished and the kids were sitting down eating. We got to the school a hair past 5:30 and the play started at six. It was a darling little play and the kids did a great job on the music, playing the longest piece they've played yet. Here they are for pictures after their performance.
Maybe if I keep taking pictures at a distance of this quality, someone will be nice enough to get me a new camera. Ahem. Hubby knows of my desire for a good digital camera with a couple of lenses so that I can take better pictures without having to get right up on my target and get in the way of others taking pictures as well. Maybe, eventually I will finally be able to get one.
Since the kids had already showered when we got home, and the concert only lasted about a half hour, they were dressed in pjs by 7:00. At 7:30, they were brushing teeth and on their way to bed. By 7:45? My house was quiet and three exhausted kids had made their way to bed. Bryce got up once to have a cuticle cut that was hurting him and went right back to bed. I haven't seen him since. Tomorrow morning is coming quickly so I am finally going to stop, sleep and see what tomorrow brings.
After meeting with Janjan, I started running. Belle and Bryce had their final strings concert of this year tonight and I had a thought to have Bryce try on his black pants this morning. Of course he had outgrown them. Again. So went the quest to find a reasonably priced pair of black pants (that he's only going to wear a handful of times before outgrowing them again). I finally found a pair and picked them up, hoping they would fit him when he got home. I can no longer buy kids-size clothing for him. The pants I picked up today? 32x32. They're a little long but I mean come on. I could wear them! I stopped by Wal-Mart for snacks for Belle tomorrow, chatted with a friend that worked there and headed for home. Here, I had to iron the kids clothes for tonight, get Bryce from tutoring, cut Bryce's hair, start supper, and get the kids showered and ready to be at the school by 5:30. Between 4 and 5, I had everything finished and the kids were sitting down eating. We got to the school a hair past 5:30 and the play started at six. It was a darling little play and the kids did a great job on the music, playing the longest piece they've played yet. Here they are for pictures after their performance.
Maybe if I keep taking pictures at a distance of this quality, someone will be nice enough to get me a new camera. Ahem. Hubby knows of my desire for a good digital camera with a couple of lenses so that I can take better pictures without having to get right up on my target and get in the way of others taking pictures as well. Maybe, eventually I will finally be able to get one.Since the kids had already showered when we got home, and the concert only lasted about a half hour, they were dressed in pjs by 7:00. At 7:30, they were brushing teeth and on their way to bed. By 7:45? My house was quiet and three exhausted kids had made their way to bed. Bryce got up once to have a cuticle cut that was hurting him and went right back to bed. I haven't seen him since. Tomorrow morning is coming quickly so I am finally going to stop, sleep and see what tomorrow brings.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
A Long, Busy, Crazy Day
Yesterday started off with absolutely nothing planned. We got up, didn't get into a hurry about anything and just started off slow. Finally, Hubby and I made it to the shower and went off to Wal-Mart for a few things. There, they were having Community Day where the kids could play games (for a donation), food for purchase just off the grill and people taking donations for new equipment for the local rescue squads. Belle won a 2-liter, while the boys won pieces of candy and we got all three kids cotton candy before we left. Then we went in the store and bought hot dogs and buns so we could try to burn a bit of the tree we cut down last fall and have a bonfire for the kids.
When we got back, we got to work. Hubby and Bryce mowed the yard. Brady had to help of course, but Bryce did most of the mowing in the front yard. The kids helped cleaned up the backyard so it could be mowed. They rode bikes, jumped on the trampoline, shot the bb gun at cans, rode their "motorcycle" and spent most of yesterday outside. Brady had a friend come by for a play date late in the afternoon. While they spent the day outside, I spent a big part of the day inside cleaning. When I finished yesterday afternoon, my living room was officially spring cleaned. I pulled movies and books off of shelves and wiped them down. I cleaned out the cabinet on my desk and wiped it down. I scrubbed my ceiling fan, baseboards, front door and cleaned picture frames. I even washed the windows. Now I can sit in my clean living room and think of what I need to do in the other rooms.
About 8, the wind finally died down enough for us to light our bonfire. It was small in terms of bonfires, but just the right size for hot dogs and marshmallows for the pleasing of the kids. It was a small fire, but it was an extremely hot fire. I burned up three marshmallows by holding them near the flames but not in them. I hate burnt marshmallows! So I fed them to Hubby. We did have one casualty when Belle walked into a roasting stick that was sitting across a lawn chair. She has a nice burn across her thigh now, but not a terribly bad burn. Just enough to let her know it's there. Overall the kids had a wonderful time and certainly slept well last night.
Today we did the opposite of yesterday. Mostly nothing. The kids rode their motorcycle again and played outside while Hubby tried to fix the lawnmower. I sat outside with them. We watched tv. The kids played with our neighbor's nieces. I made a good lunch for everyone since Hubby was leaving for work this evening. Then we made the 75 minute trip to Tennessee to drop him off and came back home. The kids are now sleeping and were so wore out that I haven't seen anyone of them since they got in their beds. I am now ready for bed myself after missing out on a couple of hours sleep during the night. I am putting a load of laundry in the dryer and off to bed to hope for sleep.
When we got back, we got to work. Hubby and Bryce mowed the yard. Brady had to help of course, but Bryce did most of the mowing in the front yard. The kids helped cleaned up the backyard so it could be mowed. They rode bikes, jumped on the trampoline, shot the bb gun at cans, rode their "motorcycle" and spent most of yesterday outside. Brady had a friend come by for a play date late in the afternoon. While they spent the day outside, I spent a big part of the day inside cleaning. When I finished yesterday afternoon, my living room was officially spring cleaned. I pulled movies and books off of shelves and wiped them down. I cleaned out the cabinet on my desk and wiped it down. I scrubbed my ceiling fan, baseboards, front door and cleaned picture frames. I even washed the windows. Now I can sit in my clean living room and think of what I need to do in the other rooms.
About 8, the wind finally died down enough for us to light our bonfire. It was small in terms of bonfires, but just the right size for hot dogs and marshmallows for the pleasing of the kids. It was a small fire, but it was an extremely hot fire. I burned up three marshmallows by holding them near the flames but not in them. I hate burnt marshmallows! So I fed them to Hubby. We did have one casualty when Belle walked into a roasting stick that was sitting across a lawn chair. She has a nice burn across her thigh now, but not a terribly bad burn. Just enough to let her know it's there. Overall the kids had a wonderful time and certainly slept well last night.
Today we did the opposite of yesterday. Mostly nothing. The kids rode their motorcycle again and played outside while Hubby tried to fix the lawnmower. I sat outside with them. We watched tv. The kids played with our neighbor's nieces. I made a good lunch for everyone since Hubby was leaving for work this evening. Then we made the 75 minute trip to Tennessee to drop him off and came back home. The kids are now sleeping and were so wore out that I haven't seen anyone of them since they got in their beds. I am now ready for bed myself after missing out on a couple of hours sleep during the night. I am putting a load of laundry in the dryer and off to bed to hope for sleep.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Mommy of the Year Award
Ladybird has given me the Mom of the Year award! This is the second award that I've been given (both by Ladybird) so I'm excited to be doing this again. Be sure to check out her blog and see what she had to say about EC that makes her such a great mom.
Rules for Mom of the Year Award:
(1) Admit one thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are No Longer allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!
Rules for Mom of the Year Award:
(1) Admit one thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are No Longer allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!
I hate that I wear my heart on my sleeve a lot of times. Because of this, my kids often know how I feel about the way they are being treated in certain situations or how I feel about how their "friends" are treating them. Then I ache because I can't protect them. I put them on a bus each and every day, send them to school to face things that I hated facing as a child. I spend the day with that nagging in the back of my mind, the worry of how they are doing. Are they being bullied (Bryce mainly), is things going well in their classes and are their so called friends doing things that friends should not be doing. Then I breathe a sigh of relief when they walk through the door and I find that the day went as it should. Today.
(2) Remind yourself you are a good mom, list seven things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. These are the things to remind yourself everyday that you Rock!
I love how each kid has their own look. Three different hair colors, three different eye colors, three different skin tones. It amazes me how three siblings can be so different.
I love that Brady is a cuddler, even at 8 years old.
I love that Bryce can empathize with others even though he's at that "tough" eleven years old.
I love that Belle is coming out her shell and is becoming a strong social person.
I love that all three kids love music, something both their Dad and I love.
I love bowling, miniature golfing, or walking with the kids. Their excitement is contagious.
Even though it was very stressful, I enjoyed being able to "camp" out in the living room with the kids, especially during Ike. They were excited about a camp out and it was fun to watch their excitement.
(3) Send this to five other Mom's Of The Year that deserve credit for being great moms and remind them that they are the best moms they can be!! Remember to send them a note to let them know you've selected them, and add a link to the person who nominated you.
I only have two other Moms that I follow that follow me as well and they are so deserving!
1. Janjanmom at All in a Day's Work - Anyone who can raise three girls and homeschool definitely has my vote!
2. Jennifer at Daily Diatribes - It takes a special type of person who can be a good mother and put a great spin on parenting to make it funny!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Belts and Birds
We have been running on our normal routine as of late. The kids get up, go to school while I putter around the house trying to keep occupied without actually doing any housework. This takes a lot of effort, especially since I don't watch any tv usually. I talk to Hubby at various times throughout the day (yesterday's conversation was a rough one). Then the end of school rolls around, I'm home when they get off the bus or run to get them when I need to. Supper is cooked and I start trying to work them in bed by 7:30. Then we start all over again.
I have been looking for a job over the last few months. Partly because I need something to occupy myself and partly because we could really use the extra money. But jobs are scarce and what's worse is that I haven't worked since early 2007. I have very little experience in my field and it's disappointing that I don't even get a call back when I submit resumes. So I sit and wait but jobs are few and far between.
On a lighter note, after Hubby put the birdhouse in the ground on Sunday, we went on about our normal daily routines. Yesterday, while loading my dishwasher, I thought I noticed a piece of grass flying in the back yard. So I watched to see a bird stick her head out of the house. We've already had a bird move in after only a couple of days and she is determined to make sure she doesn't lose it. She doesn't get far from the house even though she's still working on the nest and seems to be pretty tame as far as birds go. I opened the door and called out Brady's name to get him to look at the house and she sat there on the front of it. She never moved. Not a bad thing. Now I need to get my hummingbird feeder out and we'll be all set.
This afternoon looks like a typical afternoon. I have a load of towels in my washer and a load of jeans to hang up in my dryer. I need to run a couple of errands and pick Bryce up from violin practice. Then home again to start supper and if I'm really lucky everyone will be in bed by 8 starting with Brady at 7:30. Did I mention how he came into my room at 6:20 this morning and ask if he could wear my belt to school? Then when I told him to give me a minute that I will look in his room for one, he yells "BUT THERE'S NOT ANY!" and slams my door on the way out. Didn't tell you that one? Well, he got into a heap of trouble for yelling, slamming the door and then for me walking into the bedroom and finding two belts in open view. One was on the floor at the end of his bed, and the other was hanging out of the front of the toy box. But he didn't have one. Lucky for him, he's the first one in the shower tonight and the first to bed. Darn. How has your morning gone?
I have been looking for a job over the last few months. Partly because I need something to occupy myself and partly because we could really use the extra money. But jobs are scarce and what's worse is that I haven't worked since early 2007. I have very little experience in my field and it's disappointing that I don't even get a call back when I submit resumes. So I sit and wait but jobs are few and far between.
On a lighter note, after Hubby put the birdhouse in the ground on Sunday, we went on about our normal daily routines. Yesterday, while loading my dishwasher, I thought I noticed a piece of grass flying in the back yard. So I watched to see a bird stick her head out of the house. We've already had a bird move in after only a couple of days and she is determined to make sure she doesn't lose it. She doesn't get far from the house even though she's still working on the nest and seems to be pretty tame as far as birds go. I opened the door and called out Brady's name to get him to look at the house and she sat there on the front of it. She never moved. Not a bad thing. Now I need to get my hummingbird feeder out and we'll be all set.
This afternoon looks like a typical afternoon. I have a load of towels in my washer and a load of jeans to hang up in my dryer. I need to run a couple of errands and pick Bryce up from violin practice. Then home again to start supper and if I'm really lucky everyone will be in bed by 8 starting with Brady at 7:30. Did I mention how he came into my room at 6:20 this morning and ask if he could wear my belt to school? Then when I told him to give me a minute that I will look in his room for one, he yells "BUT THERE'S NOT ANY!" and slams my door on the way out. Didn't tell you that one? Well, he got into a heap of trouble for yelling, slamming the door and then for me walking into the bedroom and finding two belts in open view. One was on the floor at the end of his bed, and the other was hanging out of the front of the toy box. But he didn't have one. Lucky for him, he's the first one in the shower tonight and the first to bed. Darn. How has your morning gone?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Recharged
Hubby came home on Thursday and got to spend almost three full days with us. He got good miles, is scheduled for good miles next week and was home for 70 hours before having to leave out again which is almost unheard of, especially for him. Needless to say, I can't complain. Friday, the kids went to school, came home and went to work around the house. They did their chores, put away their clothes, cleaned up their toys in the living room and kitchen, then packed for an overnight stay at Memaw and Pepaw's. Hubby and I had the house all to ourselves.
Since Hubby and I knew while we were out and about that we were going to have the night to ourselves, we stopped and rented movies. We came home with Twilight (which I honestly wanted to read first but Hubby wanted to see), Yes Man and The Day the Earth Stood Still. We had to run back back Wal-Mart while we were out that night for a couple of things I forgot to pick up when grocery shopping. I ended up picking up a new set of mechanical pencils. Have I mentioned my love for office/school supplies? I'd link to them but I can't find them anywhere but I will say, I bought them simply for the patterns and colors on the pencils. Afterward, we went to a local pizza and steak restaurant to eat on their seafood buffet for dinner then came home. Hubby precut some boards for a task that we were going to work on Saturday (more to come on that) and we settled down to watch movies. Twilight was an ok movie, but I like true vampire movies. Vampires are supposed to be sorta "bad" guys. They survive on blood for crying out loud. So when the vampires sparkled in sunlight, I was disappointed. That's not evil! I want to hear them scream in pain because they're in sunlight because I'm morbid that way! I fell asleep on The Day the Earth Stood Still since we didn't actually put it in to watch until like 11:30pm. We never made it to Yes Man so I went ahead and returned it with the other two.
Saturday, I went to get the kids while Hubby tilled the garden and started mowing a neighbor's yard. When I got back with them, Bryce push mowed the neighbors front yard while Hubby mowed the backyard. Belle, Brady and I went into our backyard and planted my garden for this year. According to my granddad's beliefs, my peas will not come up this year because they weren't planted on February 15th. Guess we'll see what happens. This year I planted sweet peas, sweet corn, carrots and squash. Then in the afternoon, Hubby rounded the kids up to paint a birdhouse that he was building. Here they are in action and with the finished product:
They were in bed and out cold by 9pm Saturday night! After a good day yesterday, they had to counter it today of course. Brady was in our room this morning complaining about an argument that was going on with Bryce. It was a nice way to wake up. Yeah. They finally calmed down after a nice chat about how we are supposed to act and how we are not supposed to wake Mom and Dad unless the house is burning, bones are broken or there is serious blood. I dropped Hubby off at his truck earlier this afternoon and have almost gotten the kids ready for bed. Hubby took the camera with him on this week's run because it is taking him to the Denver area so if there are any pictures to be taken at home, I will miss them. Now I'm going to shut down my computer before the storm that is blowing in shuts it down for me. How was your weekend?
Since Hubby and I knew while we were out and about that we were going to have the night to ourselves, we stopped and rented movies. We came home with Twilight (which I honestly wanted to read first but Hubby wanted to see), Yes Man and The Day the Earth Stood Still. We had to run back back Wal-Mart while we were out that night for a couple of things I forgot to pick up when grocery shopping. I ended up picking up a new set of mechanical pencils. Have I mentioned my love for office/school supplies? I'd link to them but I can't find them anywhere but I will say, I bought them simply for the patterns and colors on the pencils. Afterward, we went to a local pizza and steak restaurant to eat on their seafood buffet for dinner then came home. Hubby precut some boards for a task that we were going to work on Saturday (more to come on that) and we settled down to watch movies. Twilight was an ok movie, but I like true vampire movies. Vampires are supposed to be sorta "bad" guys. They survive on blood for crying out loud. So when the vampires sparkled in sunlight, I was disappointed. That's not evil! I want to hear them scream in pain because they're in sunlight because I'm morbid that way! I fell asleep on The Day the Earth Stood Still since we didn't actually put it in to watch until like 11:30pm. We never made it to Yes Man so I went ahead and returned it with the other two.
Saturday, I went to get the kids while Hubby tilled the garden and started mowing a neighbor's yard. When I got back with them, Bryce push mowed the neighbors front yard while Hubby mowed the backyard. Belle, Brady and I went into our backyard and planted my garden for this year. According to my granddad's beliefs, my peas will not come up this year because they weren't planted on February 15th. Guess we'll see what happens. This year I planted sweet peas, sweet corn, carrots and squash. Then in the afternoon, Hubby rounded the kids up to paint a birdhouse that he was building. Here they are in action and with the finished product:
They were in bed and out cold by 9pm Saturday night! After a good day yesterday, they had to counter it today of course. Brady was in our room this morning complaining about an argument that was going on with Bryce. It was a nice way to wake up. Yeah. They finally calmed down after a nice chat about how we are supposed to act and how we are not supposed to wake Mom and Dad unless the house is burning, bones are broken or there is serious blood. I dropped Hubby off at his truck earlier this afternoon and have almost gotten the kids ready for bed. Hubby took the camera with him on this week's run because it is taking him to the Denver area so if there are any pictures to be taken at home, I will miss them. Now I'm going to shut down my computer before the storm that is blowing in shuts it down for me. How was your weekend?
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Responsibilities
As Hubby was backing out of the driveway Sunday evening to leave for work, he mentioned that he left the key in the lawnmower.
"I'll get it out when I get back," was my reply. So tonight when he came home, he walked out to the car looking for his sunglasses to put away.
"Did you take the key out of the lawnmower."
"Ummm...I was busy. But look! It's still there!" No. I didn't forget. Really. But it is still there.
"I'll get it out when I get back," was my reply. So tonight when he came home, he walked out to the car looking for his sunglasses to put away.
"Did you take the key out of the lawnmower."
"Ummm...I was busy. But look! It's still there!" No. I didn't forget. Really. But it is still there.
Not Much to Report
I spent yesterday recovering from my volunteering on Tuesday. I was up late Tuesday night and slept hard. But then I didn't want to get up. So I took a nap. I lounged around a big part of the day in my pj's. I ate leftovers for lunch. Then my neighbor called to asked if I could babysit for her yesterday evening and I had to change. Ok, so I was already in the process of changing but her call encouraged me to finish.
Today hasn't been much different, other than I grabbed me a shower right after the kids got on the bus this morning. I had to babysit Little Man this morning and he was dropped off about 8:30. Dad picked him up just after 10. He'd been asleep 15 minutes. So I talked to Hubby a few minutes and crashed after being up since 2:30am. Hubby is now on his way back to Tennessee and I will be going to get him this evening, which usually makes it very difficult to blog. We'll see what happens. Right now, I am watching Ocean's Thirteen and waiting on the bus to get here in less than an hour.
I will say that my decision to moderate my comments has been a sticking point for me. For the most part, my usual few commenters have still been leaving comments, but I'm afraid that it keeps new visitors from leaving comments. That being said, I have already rejected two comments in the past two days that were from spammers. So I guess I'll be keeping at it for a bit.
Now that I have recapped my last two, run-of-the-mill days, I'm going to finish watching this movie and get ready to leave to get Hubby. Things have been slow around here with us getting back into routine. The kids do their usual things. Wii. Computer. Play outside. If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I'll answer it the best I can!
Today hasn't been much different, other than I grabbed me a shower right after the kids got on the bus this morning. I had to babysit Little Man this morning and he was dropped off about 8:30. Dad picked him up just after 10. He'd been asleep 15 minutes. So I talked to Hubby a few minutes and crashed after being up since 2:30am. Hubby is now on his way back to Tennessee and I will be going to get him this evening, which usually makes it very difficult to blog. We'll see what happens. Right now, I am watching Ocean's Thirteen and waiting on the bus to get here in less than an hour.
I will say that my decision to moderate my comments has been a sticking point for me. For the most part, my usual few commenters have still been leaving comments, but I'm afraid that it keeps new visitors from leaving comments. That being said, I have already rejected two comments in the past two days that were from spammers. So I guess I'll be keeping at it for a bit.
Now that I have recapped my last two, run-of-the-mill days, I'm going to finish watching this movie and get ready to leave to get Hubby. Things have been slow around here with us getting back into routine. The kids do their usual things. Wii. Computer. Play outside. If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I'll answer it the best I can!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Whew!
Yesterday, after feeling like I had been up all night, I decided that I was going to take a nap. Not long after I had gotten to sleep good, I received a phone call from the kids school. I'm sure the person I spoke to was worried about whether or not I was going to remember the conversation, I was that groggy. She was calling to remind me that I had volunteered to help with a COSI exhibition that was scheduled for today and that I was scheduled to work 8-11. I remembered volunteering, but I had turned in the sheet back before spring break so it took me a minute to register what I was being told. So this morning, I put the kids on the bus, ate a bite of breakfast, showered and headed off to the school.
When I arrived, there were a few other parents and grandparents there. The school had set out breakfast for the volunteers in the gym. Since I had already eaten, I opted for oj. Have I ever told you how much I hated school oj in elementary school? My feelings for it haven't really improved. Moving on. The girl/lady who put on the show took the volunteers around through each station, giving us information about the station and how it worked. Then she allowed us to choose which station we wanted to work. The whole show was about weather related things and the first thing the kids saw an assembly where the host showed them information regarding weather and molecules. The kids had a blast. Afterward, each grade came in at different intervals for their hands on learning at the stations. My station was decoding symbols meteorologists use as a shorthand on maps. At 11:30, the school provided lunch for the volunteers, regardless of whether you were staying a full day or a half day. I stayed, had lunch and waited to see if all of the other volunteers showed up for the afternoon shift. When it was time to start again, they were still one volunteer short so I stayed the rest of the afternoon working my station. Let me tell ya, 300+ kids running through a gym (no I didn't work with all of them) is a little unnerving. After that long day, I picked up Brady and Belle (Bryce had tutoring) and went home.
This afternoon I was charged for a bit. Cleaned my bathroom, washed a load of clothes, swept the kitchen, loaded my dishwasher and washed a few pieces that wouldn't fit in it. Then I started supper for the kids. While the oven was heating up, I dozed off for ten minutes on the couch. I've been running ever since. Now I'm ready to crash and I can only hope that being a science volunteer will kick my butt tonight. We'll see. Then I'm going to hope tomorrow is a little less active.
When I arrived, there were a few other parents and grandparents there. The school had set out breakfast for the volunteers in the gym. Since I had already eaten, I opted for oj. Have I ever told you how much I hated school oj in elementary school? My feelings for it haven't really improved. Moving on. The girl/lady who put on the show took the volunteers around through each station, giving us information about the station and how it worked. Then she allowed us to choose which station we wanted to work. The whole show was about weather related things and the first thing the kids saw an assembly where the host showed them information regarding weather and molecules. The kids had a blast. Afterward, each grade came in at different intervals for their hands on learning at the stations. My station was decoding symbols meteorologists use as a shorthand on maps. At 11:30, the school provided lunch for the volunteers, regardless of whether you were staying a full day or a half day. I stayed, had lunch and waited to see if all of the other volunteers showed up for the afternoon shift. When it was time to start again, they were still one volunteer short so I stayed the rest of the afternoon working my station. Let me tell ya, 300+ kids running through a gym (no I didn't work with all of them) is a little unnerving. After that long day, I picked up Brady and Belle (Bryce had tutoring) and went home.
This afternoon I was charged for a bit. Cleaned my bathroom, washed a load of clothes, swept the kitchen, loaded my dishwasher and washed a few pieces that wouldn't fit in it. Then I started supper for the kids. While the oven was heating up, I dozed off for ten minutes on the couch. I've been running ever since. Now I'm ready to crash and I can only hope that being a science volunteer will kick my butt tonight. We'll see. Then I'm going to hope tomorrow is a little less active.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Weekend Adventures and More
Last week kept me busy with the kids on spring break. Not only did I have my three kids, but I also babysat Monday and Tuesday evenings. Tuesday night, Belle spent the night with the neighbors. Wednesday morning, she asked to go to the local park with them. I packed up the boys a little later, intending on taking them to a separate park in town, but passed Belle along the way and returned to get her. We went to a new park, ate lunch and the kids played for maybe ten minutes before I loaded them up and brought them home. It was cold! It was after noon but it was only showing 56° when I got into my car. So I told the kids that we would get up Thursday morning and go to the park before the rain that was coming in. Wednesday afternoon, Hubby let me know he was coming into Tennessee again before going into Mississippi but wasn't coming through our hometown on his way through. He asked if I could bring him his wallet and being the good wife -ahem- I did. It was 7:30pm before I got home to heat enchiladas for supper.
Thursday, we were up by 8:30, eating, changing and ready to go by 10. So the kids, neighbors kid and I went to the park and while we were there met up with my other neighbor, her hubby and Little Man that I watch. The kids played a good couple of hours before I brought them home for lunch and of course I totally forgot to take my camera so that I could grab a few pictures. Thursday evening, I drove back to Tennessee to get Hubby for the weekend. On the way home, we made a few stops because we were hungry and I had no desire to come home and try to cook. We stopped by Little Ceasars, because pizza you don't have to wait for is always a good thing, Dollar Tree and for gas. This Dollar Tree that Hubby went into? It was such a big store that you could get lost in it! I so need to live near a dollar store that size! We were driving home, listening to the radio and eating pizza when a Kenny Chesney song came on. I don't remember which one but I do remember that it was one of his "tropical" songs. A couple of minutes into the song Hubby asked if I was seeing what he was seeing. I turned around to find Brady in the back seat bopping his head to the beat. What Hubby couldn't see was not only was he bopping his head but he was moving his hands hula-style. When Brady finally realized we were watching him, he grinned his big grin, turned bright red and never missed a beat. I so wished I had a video camera!
Friday was busy from the moment we got out of bed. I started out washing clothes and trying to get all of the dishes into the dishwasher. Hubby worked on building a shelf to put in the van that we could put the portable DVD player on it so the kids could watch it without me having to hold it on the arm rests of our chairs. I went through six loads of laundry (I think), two loads of dishes, boiled 30+ eggs and let the kids dye their eggs. By two, we were walking out the door, loading up the kids and heading to Indiana for the night. We got into Indiana right around 5, unloaded the kids and Hubby stayed behind with 4 of the 7 kids while my oldest sister-in-law, S, and I carried three of our kids to the grocery. We picked up salad stuffs, corn on the cob, and ice cream to go with the steaks and hot dogs we were having for dinner. By the time the food was ready, Hubby and me, his sister S and her husband J, his sister C and her boyfriend M, as well as our ten kids (and M's nephew, nephew's girlfriend and their baby) were all accounted for. There were 19 of us in this house and it was loud to say the least. Surprisingly, no one got hurt.
Saturday morning, we had to be at the soccer field for my middle nephew's game. We sat, bundled up on the sidelines, as the kids kicked the ball up and down the field. Afterward, we went back to S and J's house for lunch (can't go wrong with leftover steaks) and waiting on two other nieces before heading off to the zoo. And yes, I forgot my camera at home for this trip so I didn't have it for zoo pictures either. We were severely outnumbered for this trip, with four adults and 9 children ages 3-11. We saw a hippo, lioness, lemurs, tiger, giraffes among other things. One of the last places we stopped was at the monkey cages. S, J and I got a good laugh watching as the younger monkeys chased each other around the branches in the cage when all of a sudden one jumped from the branch to the cage, right in front of where Hubby and I were standing. I saw the monkey coming but Hubby had no idea what was happening until after he had already ducked and raised his arm to block the flying monkey stopped by wire. Needless to say, he didn't find it as funny as we did! We used our cell phones to try and capture a decent picture of all of the cousins together at the zoo. Here is the best one I got:
They are all seated in order of age with 3 of S and J's kids first at ages 3, 4, and 6. Next is C's youngest daughter, 7, Brady, 8, C's oldest daughter, 9, Belle, 10, S and J's oldest son, 11, and Bryce, 11. We were missing the eldest of the group, C's son who will be 15 this week. He had other plans. S and I then left the kids with Hubby and we went Easter shopping. I had already bought the kids candy, but still liked getting their gifts. She didn't have anything. Two and a half hours later, we got back to her house to load up our kids and head home. Nothing like getting home at 1am only to have to hide Easter eggs. We finally made it to bed around 2.
Brady was up at 7:30 Easter morning, anxious to see what the Easter bunny had brought him. He was disappointed that he didn't get a Nintendo DS (so was I), but excitedly picked the basket that held a Wii game he wanted. Bryce also got a Wii game but Belle was harder. She doesn't play the Wii a whole lot and it really didn't suit to get her a game. So she got a bunch of little stuff. She's been carrying around her purse, make-up box, lip gloss, fingernail polish, fingernail art. The only thing she hasn't been into is her flip-flops and that's because it's really too cool right now. Here's a picture of them hunting eggs in the living room:
I spent yesterday playing catch-up. When we left, I still had four loads of laundry to wash. I swear by the end of yesterday, I had washed another six loads and still had four more to go! Today, I've washed three of those four loads and the only reason I haven't washed the last loads is that I haven't felt like cleaning the bathrooms so that I can wash those rags. Ugh!
I love to watch the kids get up on Easter and Christmas mornings, all excited to see what they got. Then comes the rest of the day, with me and them in a haze from lack of sleep, and the grouchies. Unfortunately, the grouchies ran into today with Brady. This morning, he got up, ate his cereal and went to brush his teeth. I told him he needed to empty his bowl and put it in the sink. His response? "Mom! You're wasting my time to brush my teeth!" So I responded as simply as I could in his terms.
"So I guess then you won't be wasting your time playing the Wii this afternoon." Man, the cereal bowl was in the sink faster than I've seen in a very long time!
As I sit here now, I hear the bus coming down the street. The kids first day back after spring break was today so the first day home will be a little rougher than usual days. But I have already gotten the enchiladas prepared for supper (just need to be put in the oven) so that's one less task I have to face. I only have to get them to eat them. Now I'm going to attack homework, Wii time and snacks.
Thursday, we were up by 8:30, eating, changing and ready to go by 10. So the kids, neighbors kid and I went to the park and while we were there met up with my other neighbor, her hubby and Little Man that I watch. The kids played a good couple of hours before I brought them home for lunch and of course I totally forgot to take my camera so that I could grab a few pictures. Thursday evening, I drove back to Tennessee to get Hubby for the weekend. On the way home, we made a few stops because we were hungry and I had no desire to come home and try to cook. We stopped by Little Ceasars, because pizza you don't have to wait for is always a good thing, Dollar Tree and for gas. This Dollar Tree that Hubby went into? It was such a big store that you could get lost in it! I so need to live near a dollar store that size! We were driving home, listening to the radio and eating pizza when a Kenny Chesney song came on. I don't remember which one but I do remember that it was one of his "tropical" songs. A couple of minutes into the song Hubby asked if I was seeing what he was seeing. I turned around to find Brady in the back seat bopping his head to the beat. What Hubby couldn't see was not only was he bopping his head but he was moving his hands hula-style. When Brady finally realized we were watching him, he grinned his big grin, turned bright red and never missed a beat. I so wished I had a video camera!
Friday was busy from the moment we got out of bed. I started out washing clothes and trying to get all of the dishes into the dishwasher. Hubby worked on building a shelf to put in the van that we could put the portable DVD player on it so the kids could watch it without me having to hold it on the arm rests of our chairs. I went through six loads of laundry (I think), two loads of dishes, boiled 30+ eggs and let the kids dye their eggs. By two, we were walking out the door, loading up the kids and heading to Indiana for the night. We got into Indiana right around 5, unloaded the kids and Hubby stayed behind with 4 of the 7 kids while my oldest sister-in-law, S, and I carried three of our kids to the grocery. We picked up salad stuffs, corn on the cob, and ice cream to go with the steaks and hot dogs we were having for dinner. By the time the food was ready, Hubby and me, his sister S and her husband J, his sister C and her boyfriend M, as well as our ten kids (and M's nephew, nephew's girlfriend and their baby) were all accounted for. There were 19 of us in this house and it was loud to say the least. Surprisingly, no one got hurt.
Saturday morning, we had to be at the soccer field for my middle nephew's game. We sat, bundled up on the sidelines, as the kids kicked the ball up and down the field. Afterward, we went back to S and J's house for lunch (can't go wrong with leftover steaks) and waiting on two other nieces before heading off to the zoo. And yes, I forgot my camera at home for this trip so I didn't have it for zoo pictures either. We were severely outnumbered for this trip, with four adults and 9 children ages 3-11. We saw a hippo, lioness, lemurs, tiger, giraffes among other things. One of the last places we stopped was at the monkey cages. S, J and I got a good laugh watching as the younger monkeys chased each other around the branches in the cage when all of a sudden one jumped from the branch to the cage, right in front of where Hubby and I were standing. I saw the monkey coming but Hubby had no idea what was happening until after he had already ducked and raised his arm to block the flying monkey stopped by wire. Needless to say, he didn't find it as funny as we did! We used our cell phones to try and capture a decent picture of all of the cousins together at the zoo. Here is the best one I got:
They are all seated in order of age with 3 of S and J's kids first at ages 3, 4, and 6. Next is C's youngest daughter, 7, Brady, 8, C's oldest daughter, 9, Belle, 10, S and J's oldest son, 11, and Bryce, 11. We were missing the eldest of the group, C's son who will be 15 this week. He had other plans. S and I then left the kids with Hubby and we went Easter shopping. I had already bought the kids candy, but still liked getting their gifts. She didn't have anything. Two and a half hours later, we got back to her house to load up our kids and head home. Nothing like getting home at 1am only to have to hide Easter eggs. We finally made it to bed around 2.Brady was up at 7:30 Easter morning, anxious to see what the Easter bunny had brought him. He was disappointed that he didn't get a Nintendo DS (so was I), but excitedly picked the basket that held a Wii game he wanted. Bryce also got a Wii game but Belle was harder. She doesn't play the Wii a whole lot and it really didn't suit to get her a game. So she got a bunch of little stuff. She's been carrying around her purse, make-up box, lip gloss, fingernail polish, fingernail art. The only thing she hasn't been into is her flip-flops and that's because it's really too cool right now. Here's a picture of them hunting eggs in the living room:
I spent yesterday playing catch-up. When we left, I still had four loads of laundry to wash. I swear by the end of yesterday, I had washed another six loads and still had four more to go! Today, I've washed three of those four loads and the only reason I haven't washed the last loads is that I haven't felt like cleaning the bathrooms so that I can wash those rags. Ugh!I love to watch the kids get up on Easter and Christmas mornings, all excited to see what they got. Then comes the rest of the day, with me and them in a haze from lack of sleep, and the grouchies. Unfortunately, the grouchies ran into today with Brady. This morning, he got up, ate his cereal and went to brush his teeth. I told him he needed to empty his bowl and put it in the sink. His response? "Mom! You're wasting my time to brush my teeth!" So I responded as simply as I could in his terms.
"So I guess then you won't be wasting your time playing the Wii this afternoon." Man, the cereal bowl was in the sink faster than I've seen in a very long time!
As I sit here now, I hear the bus coming down the street. The kids first day back after spring break was today so the first day home will be a little rougher than usual days. But I have already gotten the enchiladas prepared for supper (just need to be put in the oven) so that's one less task I have to face. I only have to get them to eat them. Now I'm going to attack homework, Wii time and snacks.
Monday, April 6, 2009
There Is Just No Title
This weekend has been crazy, crazy. I still am not quite up to where I should be as far as this darn cold! I now have a cough that doesn't want to quit and my throat hurts whenever I yawn. I have slowed down on my kleenex's though. It took me three days to go through the other half of the box that I bought on Wednesday, compared to the one day it took me to get through the first half. So I'm getting there. I just don't have any energy though. I could spend days curled up on the couch not doing anything if I could get away with it. Unfortunately duty calls. And laundry. And children. And meals. And dishes.
Friday night, Bryce went to stay with a friend. The friend came here after school and his mom picked up both boys around 6:30. My neighbor had asked me to babysit that evening so I had Little Man from 4:30 until his dad showed up at 6:45. I started to make supper for Brady and Belle when I had to walk away for a few minutes to help Little Man's dad. When I got back, 3/4 of my supper was burnt. So I ordered pizza. I took them to rent a movie (Madagascar 2), picked up the pizza and came home to wind down for the night. They were ready for bed just after the movie ended, with absolutely no arguing. They changed into their pj's, climbed into bed and I didn't hear a peep out of them the rest of the night. I took two Nyquil and followed them a short time later.
Hubby delivered himself on Saturday morning. I say delivered himself because I didn't have to drive to Tennessee this time to get him. He is currently on his way to New York, a run that routed him right through our home town so he just went ahead and brought the truck home with him. Ok, he brought it town with him, not home home. I certainly don't have enough room for a semi and trailer. I picked Bryce up before running across town to get Hubby and came home for what I hoped to be a productive afternoon. My sister-in-law had contacted me earlier in the week about her middle son reading the story Letters from Felix in school. Each child was sending Felix to someone far from them to get information about their area and her son wanted to send his "Felix" to Brady. So Saturday we took Felix bowling.
I wanted to take him miniature golfing but Hubby didn't want to have to drive 45 minutes one way to the place after having spent all week in his truck, not that I blame him. So bowling it was. The kids had a blast, and I got beat both rounds that we played. 
Our local bowling alley was bought out a few years back, remodeled and renamed. While the entire place wasn't completely remodeled, the owners did take the time and effort to install new electronic score keeping. They also installed bumpers for the kids that is run on hydraulics and can be set up through the computers. Once we set up all of the names on our game, we let the employees know which ones we want bumpers on and they automatically come up along the edge of the lane on the kids turns. The kids are happy without gutterballs and we are happy that we don't have to have bumpers to play with our kids!
We were also going to go by the local park on Saturday afternoon, but by the time we got there, a birthday party was in full force and there were kids everywhere. This park is a new park, so playground equipment is limited and we chose to bring them back another time. And we went home. Belle skated, while Bryce and Brady played football with Hubby. The neighbor's child spent the night on Saturday night with Belle. After approving the sleepover, Belle informed me that she had to be home by 8:30am so she could go to church with her grandmother. Great. That meant I had to be up by 7:30 in order to fix breakfast so she didn't go home hungry. I sent the girls to bed about 11pm. Hubby and I went to bed about 12am and I opened the door and told them it was late and that they needed to sleep. By the time I looked the clock the last time at 1am, the girls were still up giggling.
Zeus woke me at 5:30 Sunday morning and, of course, I never went back to sleep. So I got up, fed the girls breakfast, got neighbor girl off to her house and went back to bed at 8:30. Then got up with Hubby at 9:30. We finally went for a paper around noon and what I saw at the convenience store stunned me. Hubby pulled up and went inside for the paper while the kids and I sat in the car and waited. Church was letting out so it was busy, one of the two registers were down and he was slow getting out of the store. As I sat in the van, another car pulled up in front of the building. A younger girl got out of the driver's seat and walked around the backside of the car. I noticed that she had a car seat and an infant seat in the back of her car but from the way she was parked I couldn't tell if the kids were actually in the car. She got to the passenger side of the car when her boyfriend, spouse, significant other, friend, whatever, got out of the passenger seat. He turned around and faced her as she calmly said something to him when he reached up and slapped her. I was stunned as I watched her, and she seemed just as stunned as I was. It took what seemed like forever as things sunk in and she looked at him before raising her hand to her face then bursting into tears. Then I questioned what I could do. I couldn't call for police because I had forgotten my cell phone at home and Hubby was still in the store. There was no way I was getting out of the car because both of them knew that I saw what went on. But then I questioned whether or not the police would be able to do anything. Would it be a domestic disturbance because they were possibly involved or would it be battery because he hit her in a public parking lot? Neither one of them walked into the store after that altercation. Both of them climbed back into the car, him complaining and her crying. I saw them for a second at an intersection as we drove past them, her still crying and holding her face, but have not seen them again. I'm still not sure what I should've done in that situation and I hate myself for not doing anything.
Sunday afternoon, we watched as storms passed over bringing in another cold front. The kids played outside a bit before the storms hit and managed to burn off a bit of energy. They burned off so much energy that while they were outside the power kicked off. It had been off for half an hour before Belle walked through the house and asked if it was off. It had been off for 45 minutes when Brady finally realized that it wasn't on. While it was off, Hubby and I got to watching some clouds we didn't like. We have a weather radio but the batteries were down and since there was no power, it wasn't running. I love my weather radio. I love to know what's going on as soon as it's put on the air waves. I hate the fact that if the power kicks off, that radio will burn through 4 AA batteries within 24 hours. Anyhow. Hubby went off to get batteries for the radio, batteries that were eventually not needed because the power came back on before he returned. So he came home, we had supper and he started getting ready to leave again. About 7, as he was getting the last of his things together, I started going through the motions of a mental checklist. Got your phone? Wallet? He had his phone but could not find his wallet. We went through this house 5 or 6 times looking for it everywhere. I even pulled laundry out of the washer to see if it had fallen off the sink and I grabbed it with the laundry by mistake. Nothing. When Hubby finally left, we still had not found his wallet. I dropped him off, came home and searched again, through the same places for the darn thing. Nothing.
This morning, I got up, changed my clothes, dressed the kids and headed off to Lowes, the last place Hubby knew he had his wallet. At the front desk, I asked if someone had found or turned in a wallet. The girl that was working the closest register, told the girl behind the desk where to find it since she was the one who found the wallet and turned it in to management. They handed me his wallet, still intact, with everything where it should be. And then there was a sort of relief. Yes, we have his wallet, in my possession and nothing was missing, but he is still on his way to New York with no drivers license, no medical release card, no business card if he should have to stop and purchase fuel instead of getting it from his company terminal. Makes for a long couple of days until he gets home.
I had taken a few pictures of the cats over the last few weeks that I had forgotten to share so I will do that tonight as well. Callie has been playful as ever here lately. Bryce had left some clothes at a friend's house a few weeks back and the friends mother dropped them off in a Wal-Mart sack, folded nice and neat after she had washed them. I found Callie curled up on them a day or so later.
Then Belle found her playing around in her bedroom in the mess she had on the floor at the time.
Zeus was not about to be outdone so last week, I watched as he climbed onto my counter, my microwave and then up on top of my refrigerator.
While he sat on his perch, Callie was watching from just a few feet away in her bed/fish tank. 
So I have now survived the first real day of spring break, the first day that wasn't the weekend and posted a couple of weeks worth of pictures. The kids couldn't go outside today, because wouldn't you know it, the first real day of spring break brought snow, sleet and rain. And it went on almost all. day. long. I even babysat for my neighbor this evening, fixed a decent supper (that I usually cook on Monday) and got everyone to bed. Tomorrow, I've got to find something better to occupy them, interest them. But that requires sleep first. So until next time...
Friday night, Bryce went to stay with a friend. The friend came here after school and his mom picked up both boys around 6:30. My neighbor had asked me to babysit that evening so I had Little Man from 4:30 until his dad showed up at 6:45. I started to make supper for Brady and Belle when I had to walk away for a few minutes to help Little Man's dad. When I got back, 3/4 of my supper was burnt. So I ordered pizza. I took them to rent a movie (Madagascar 2), picked up the pizza and came home to wind down for the night. They were ready for bed just after the movie ended, with absolutely no arguing. They changed into their pj's, climbed into bed and I didn't hear a peep out of them the rest of the night. I took two Nyquil and followed them a short time later.
Hubby delivered himself on Saturday morning. I say delivered himself because I didn't have to drive to Tennessee this time to get him. He is currently on his way to New York, a run that routed him right through our home town so he just went ahead and brought the truck home with him. Ok, he brought it town with him, not home home. I certainly don't have enough room for a semi and trailer. I picked Bryce up before running across town to get Hubby and came home for what I hoped to be a productive afternoon. My sister-in-law had contacted me earlier in the week about her middle son reading the story Letters from Felix in school. Each child was sending Felix to someone far from them to get information about their area and her son wanted to send his "Felix" to Brady. So Saturday we took Felix bowling.
I wanted to take him miniature golfing but Hubby didn't want to have to drive 45 minutes one way to the place after having spent all week in his truck, not that I blame him. So bowling it was. The kids had a blast, and I got beat both rounds that we played. Our local bowling alley was bought out a few years back, remodeled and renamed. While the entire place wasn't completely remodeled, the owners did take the time and effort to install new electronic score keeping. They also installed bumpers for the kids that is run on hydraulics and can be set up through the computers. Once we set up all of the names on our game, we let the employees know which ones we want bumpers on and they automatically come up along the edge of the lane on the kids turns. The kids are happy without gutterballs and we are happy that we don't have to have bumpers to play with our kids!We were also going to go by the local park on Saturday afternoon, but by the time we got there, a birthday party was in full force and there were kids everywhere. This park is a new park, so playground equipment is limited and we chose to bring them back another time. And we went home. Belle skated, while Bryce and Brady played football with Hubby. The neighbor's child spent the night on Saturday night with Belle. After approving the sleepover, Belle informed me that she had to be home by 8:30am so she could go to church with her grandmother. Great. That meant I had to be up by 7:30 in order to fix breakfast so she didn't go home hungry. I sent the girls to bed about 11pm. Hubby and I went to bed about 12am and I opened the door and told them it was late and that they needed to sleep. By the time I looked the clock the last time at 1am, the girls were still up giggling.
Zeus woke me at 5:30 Sunday morning and, of course, I never went back to sleep. So I got up, fed the girls breakfast, got neighbor girl off to her house and went back to bed at 8:30. Then got up with Hubby at 9:30. We finally went for a paper around noon and what I saw at the convenience store stunned me. Hubby pulled up and went inside for the paper while the kids and I sat in the car and waited. Church was letting out so it was busy, one of the two registers were down and he was slow getting out of the store. As I sat in the van, another car pulled up in front of the building. A younger girl got out of the driver's seat and walked around the backside of the car. I noticed that she had a car seat and an infant seat in the back of her car but from the way she was parked I couldn't tell if the kids were actually in the car. She got to the passenger side of the car when her boyfriend, spouse, significant other, friend, whatever, got out of the passenger seat. He turned around and faced her as she calmly said something to him when he reached up and slapped her. I was stunned as I watched her, and she seemed just as stunned as I was. It took what seemed like forever as things sunk in and she looked at him before raising her hand to her face then bursting into tears. Then I questioned what I could do. I couldn't call for police because I had forgotten my cell phone at home and Hubby was still in the store. There was no way I was getting out of the car because both of them knew that I saw what went on. But then I questioned whether or not the police would be able to do anything. Would it be a domestic disturbance because they were possibly involved or would it be battery because he hit her in a public parking lot? Neither one of them walked into the store after that altercation. Both of them climbed back into the car, him complaining and her crying. I saw them for a second at an intersection as we drove past them, her still crying and holding her face, but have not seen them again. I'm still not sure what I should've done in that situation and I hate myself for not doing anything.
Sunday afternoon, we watched as storms passed over bringing in another cold front. The kids played outside a bit before the storms hit and managed to burn off a bit of energy. They burned off so much energy that while they were outside the power kicked off. It had been off for half an hour before Belle walked through the house and asked if it was off. It had been off for 45 minutes when Brady finally realized that it wasn't on. While it was off, Hubby and I got to watching some clouds we didn't like. We have a weather radio but the batteries were down and since there was no power, it wasn't running. I love my weather radio. I love to know what's going on as soon as it's put on the air waves. I hate the fact that if the power kicks off, that radio will burn through 4 AA batteries within 24 hours. Anyhow. Hubby went off to get batteries for the radio, batteries that were eventually not needed because the power came back on before he returned. So he came home, we had supper and he started getting ready to leave again. About 7, as he was getting the last of his things together, I started going through the motions of a mental checklist. Got your phone? Wallet? He had his phone but could not find his wallet. We went through this house 5 or 6 times looking for it everywhere. I even pulled laundry out of the washer to see if it had fallen off the sink and I grabbed it with the laundry by mistake. Nothing. When Hubby finally left, we still had not found his wallet. I dropped him off, came home and searched again, through the same places for the darn thing. Nothing.
This morning, I got up, changed my clothes, dressed the kids and headed off to Lowes, the last place Hubby knew he had his wallet. At the front desk, I asked if someone had found or turned in a wallet. The girl that was working the closest register, told the girl behind the desk where to find it since she was the one who found the wallet and turned it in to management. They handed me his wallet, still intact, with everything where it should be. And then there was a sort of relief. Yes, we have his wallet, in my possession and nothing was missing, but he is still on his way to New York with no drivers license, no medical release card, no business card if he should have to stop and purchase fuel instead of getting it from his company terminal. Makes for a long couple of days until he gets home.
I had taken a few pictures of the cats over the last few weeks that I had forgotten to share so I will do that tonight as well. Callie has been playful as ever here lately. Bryce had left some clothes at a friend's house a few weeks back and the friends mother dropped them off in a Wal-Mart sack, folded nice and neat after she had washed them. I found Callie curled up on them a day or so later.
Then Belle found her playing around in her bedroom in the mess she had on the floor at the time.Zeus was not about to be outdone so last week, I watched as he climbed onto my counter, my microwave and then up on top of my refrigerator.While he sat on his perch, Callie was watching from just a few feet away in her bed/fish tank. So I have now survived the first real day of spring break, the first day that wasn't the weekend and posted a couple of weeks worth of pictures. The kids couldn't go outside today, because wouldn't you know it, the first real day of spring break brought snow, sleet and rain. And it went on almost all. day. long. I even babysat for my neighbor this evening, fixed a decent supper (that I usually cook on Monday) and got everyone to bed. Tomorrow, I've got to find something better to occupy them, interest them. But that requires sleep first. So until next time...
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Explanations and Updates
As promised, my explanation for moderating my comments. Over the last few weeks, I've been having issues with "people" leaving comments on my blog. Oh my gosh! I know! That's the whole purpose of having comments enabled on the blog! The bad thing is the comments are sometimes something that is actually typed in and other times it is a comment that has been copied and pasted from my very own post. Then the "commenter" leaves a url for a commercial website where they would like you to visit. Well I prefer to not be the target of spammers. So I will moderate until things calm down. Then I may change it.
Now on to updates! Yesterday, South and North Dakotas dug themselves out of some serious snow and Hubby got to leave South Dakota and move on to his destination in North Dakota. He made his delivery this morning, picked up a delivery a few miles from his delivery and headed home. He is currently in Minnesota (not sure where right now mr_e...just know he'll be outside of Minneapolis sometime tomorrow) and should be home Saturday morning. A huge relief for both of us!
Parent-teacher conferences were today and the kids received their report cards. All three teachers raved over the kids, how smart they are, how much they behave and how they really didn't have anything to report (other than Bryce has been listening better in class and tutoring has been helping). Bryce pulled his D in math at mid-term up to a B and the rest of his subjects were A's. Brady had a C in science at mid-term and pulled it up to have straight A's. Belle also managed to pull off straight A's, the first time in fourth grade. The kids may drive me crazy at home with this and that but one thing that I have to admit I enjoy is the fact they are good students. Makes getting through other things easier.
I started this post ten minutes before 8 and hoped I had enough time to get it up before ER started. I admit that over the years ER has hit a point of disappointment but I still watched, whether it be out of habit or dedication. One thing I couldn't miss is the very last show so I am now finished, during the first round of commercials. I'll be back tomorrow!
Oh, JanJanMom, if you missed my comment, click my link and send me an email.
Now on to updates! Yesterday, South and North Dakotas dug themselves out of some serious snow and Hubby got to leave South Dakota and move on to his destination in North Dakota. He made his delivery this morning, picked up a delivery a few miles from his delivery and headed home. He is currently in Minnesota (not sure where right now mr_e...just know he'll be outside of Minneapolis sometime tomorrow) and should be home Saturday morning. A huge relief for both of us!
Parent-teacher conferences were today and the kids received their report cards. All three teachers raved over the kids, how smart they are, how much they behave and how they really didn't have anything to report (other than Bryce has been listening better in class and tutoring has been helping). Bryce pulled his D in math at mid-term up to a B and the rest of his subjects were A's. Brady had a C in science at mid-term and pulled it up to have straight A's. Belle also managed to pull off straight A's, the first time in fourth grade. The kids may drive me crazy at home with this and that but one thing that I have to admit I enjoy is the fact they are good students. Makes getting through other things easier.
I started this post ten minutes before 8 and hoped I had enough time to get it up before ER started. I admit that over the years ER has hit a point of disappointment but I still watched, whether it be out of habit or dedication. One thing I couldn't miss is the very last show so I am now finished, during the first round of commercials. I'll be back tomorrow!
Oh, JanJanMom, if you missed my comment, click my link and send me an email.
Quick Note
Just a quick note to let readers know that I have turned on comment moderation. I'm on my way out the door so I will explain more tonight.
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