The Weekend Is Here

Hey, y'all.

Sorry the post is so late today. My internet was down most of the morning, and only just came back online.

Hubby's older brother and family stopped at our house last night on their way to visit with family in Texas, but I had a headache and couldn't hang out with them very much. They left this morning, and it was nice having them here for a while. I wish they could have stayed longer.

The boys are playing cars on the back patio, the Princess is attempting to take a nap, and we all just finished lunch (chicken nuggets and fries) thanks to my wonderful hubby, who brought food home for us all. Is he a great guy or what?

I will be doing laundry later this afternoon, and hopefully getting some clothes folded.

The exercise thing didn't happen. Surprise, surprise. But maybe, eventually, I'll find myself in a let's get healthy kind of mood. Who knows?

Our weekend will be pretty busy. I have a meeting in Tulsa tomorrow, and we're taking the boys swimming at a waterpark on Sunday. They will be 6 years old on Monday.

Very scary. My little guys are growing up.

And that's it for us. I hope you all have a great weekend, and stay cool and safe.

Later.

The Battle Begins

Hey, folks.

Hope your week has been going well. Ours has been nice. Not too much hysterical screaming . . . from the kids or me, not too much wrecking of the house (although a good sweep through the main rooms to tidy up wouldn't hurt), and not too much else to tell.

Things are good.

I'll be hanging with the kiddos for the rest of the week, going through new clothes and clearing out old clothes, and reading, reading, reading.

I figure if I can't have enough peace and quiet to concentrate on writing, I might as well read. I'll also - maybe - try to fit some exercise in there, somewhere. It's not that I don't have the time . . . I don't seem to have the interest. It's one thing to want to be thinner, it's another to put the donut down and do a bunch of crunches instead.

Do I really have the will-power to replace a chocolate bar with 30 minutes of aerobics? Hmmm. Not likely.

But maybe I'll amaze myself and turn into an exercise junkie . . . and all you people out there who know me, stop laughing so hard. You'll wet your pants.

It could happen. I'll make the effort to exercise 30 minutes a day for the next two days, and I'll report back on Friday.

And with that, I'm off to fight the temptation of the chocolate cake sitting on my counter. I wonder who's gonna win that battle? Maybe I'll have to bump the exercise today to 45 minutes and hope I don't have a heart attack.

Later.

Hoping for a Slow Week

Good morning, all.

We had a busy weekend, and I would like to say a belated Happy Birthday to my mother (although I was a good daughter and did call her the day of her Birthday). It was on Saturday.

Well, we had a good weekend of cleaning and shopping, visiting with family, and getting Back to School taken care of for the boys, and summer clearance clothes for the girl.

Now, we just have to get through the next 4 weeks until school starts, which I can't wait until the day finally arrives, and maybe I can get back into a semi-normal writing routine.

I wish I had more to tell, but at the moment, I'm just so worn out, I can barely think straight. The boys are watching a movie, the Princess is getting in their way, demanding they show her some attention, the house is still in somewhat decent shape, and hopefully this week I can improve upon the work we've already done.

So I guess that's it. In theory, this week should be pretty slow. The weekend is going to be rushed again, but the middle of the week should be quiet. Yay!

I hope you all have a good week, and take care.

Later.

The Not-So-Clean Spree

Hello, all.

Well, the great cleaning spree got off to a S-L-O-W start. Like wading through molasses and cement. I have a big problem cleaning, messes being made behind me as I go, and re-cleaning the same areas twice, even thrice.

Plus we've had neighborhood kids visiting, and it's impossible for me to clean while they're here. I'm constantly checking up on them and worrying what they're doing (like using the closet shelf as a high-dive to the bed).

Since this has been going on for a couple of days, all children who want to play at this house will be locked outside and may only come in for medical emergencies. Or they can play at another house for the day.

And this is mostly for my benefit. All the kids (my sons and their friends) can be a trial, but they're really just looking for something to do on a long summer day. They're good kids (I really want to believe that's true), and don't want me being Attila the Hun, breathing down their necks, and screeching at them every few seconds because they got something out and didn't put it back, or accidentally spilled a drink on the floor I just cleaned.

So we'll see how this goes.

It's shaping up to be a busy day, and a busy weekend, so I'd better get to it. Hope you all stay safe and cool. Have fun!

Later.

The Cleaning Begins

Hey everybody.

We're just hanging out this morning. I have a huge amount of cleaning to do today, just because I can't stand the mess any longer.

Which means my kids are probably gonna get locked outside with the warning that if they come in the house and mess anything up, they're toast.

It's mostly just the clutter that gets us, and the fact that Hubby and I have a very relaxed sense of urgency when it comes to cleaning. We figure eventually we'll get to it, and when we do is soon enough.

But the clutter has officially gotten on my nerves, so it's time to take action. This will not be good news for my sons. Being the boys they are, living in a sticky world of dirt, grime, and chaos puts them in their comfort zone.

I am not so pleased or comfortable in this environment. It makes me irritated and cranky. And nobody wants me irritated or cranky, especially Hubby.

So the cleaning spree begins this morning, and I need to get moving. Enjoy the rest of your week and I'll catch you again on Friday.

Later.

Hey, folks.

Sorry I'm late with the blog today. To be honest, I completely forgot about it while I was trying to get the kids their breakfast, switch the laundry, pick up the living room, change a soggy diaper, etc.

If Mom hadn't reminded me, I probably wouldn't have thought about it at all today. How sad. My brains are scrambled for the summer. I've got to get the twins back in school and get things a little more quiet around here.

There is nothing new or exciting to report today. The boys have been going to "Big Church" with us lately. They don't like their Sunday School class, I'm not sure why, but they seem to like the loud, bass-thumping music during worship time, so it works out okay for us.

The Princess DOES NOT like being left in her toddler class, but seems to do okay after a few minutes. I really want her to keep going to the class to have some interaction with kids her own age.

The boys started Vacation Bible School last night, and were very hesitant at first, but apparently they had a good time. They'll be going back for the next few days, which will give me a chance to write for a few hours in the evening.

And that's about it for us. I've been writing, Hubby's been working, and the kids have been running wild through the neighborhood.

Hope y'all have a great week.

Later.

Long Night

Hey, folks.

This is probably one of the busies NIGHTS we've had since the Princess came home from the hospital after she was born.

And sorry again for having a tired and not-very-coherent post. Like I said, it was a long night.

Which started with a thunderstorm at bed time. The kids played long and hard yesterday, into the evening, with the neighbors. Well past their normal bedtime they came inside to eat supper. They crashed out in front of the TV and munched through their food while the toddler went to bed.

One of the twins fell asleep on the couch, and one fell asleep in his chair. The couch kid got moved to his room and stayed asleep. The chair kid woke up as he was being moved. He lasted in his room for all of one minute with the lightning and thunder popping in the area.

He scurried to my room with tears in his eyes. Mommy, could I please sleep with you? I am soooo scared of the storm. The lightning is going to get me through my window.

So of course I couldn't refuse. Hubby still had a few things to take care of on his computer and would move the kid again when he came to bed.

4:30 am rolls around and I bolt up in bed, a nightmare freaking me out. The kid is still in bed with me. No hubby. I stumble out of the room to search for him. Find him zonked out on the couch, TV on, head cocked at a weird angle that's gonna ache when he gets up in the morning.

So I wake him up, but he sleeps so soundly, he merely shifts to a less strenuous position and drifts off.

I go back to bed. A few minutes later I hear a high pitched squeal from the toddler's room. I check on her. She reaches for me with tears glistening in the nightlight.

Okay, so I'm a huge softie when my kids are crying at night. I just can't help it. All those protective, motherly instincts kick into overdrive. I carry the toddler back to the bedroom with me. Her brother's already there, so I figure one more won't hurt.

Only now that she's been freed from her crib (baby prison), she has no interest in going back to sleep. So she tells me all the parts of my face, taking particular pleasure in inserting her fingers up my nostrils while pointing out my nose.

She's also beyond fascinated by the fact that her brother is in the bed with us and wants to mess with him. He sleeps like his Daddy, and woke up long enough to acknowledge that his sister had her fist clenched in his hair, then went back to sleep.

Then I hear it . . . the magical toilet flush.

Hubby is awake. I hop out of bed with the Princess and we hurry down the hall and scare the you-know-what out of Hubby.

"Please, just take her. I've been up for an hour," which it had been by this point, "and I just need some sleep."

He yawned. "Sure, no problem." He takes her and she giggles and cuddles with Daddy. Yay, problem solved.

"Just put her back in bed when you're tired."

He yawns again. "I'll just lay with her in the spare bedroom for a little while, until she falls asleep."

Uh-oh.

Hubby is infamous for his head hitting the pillow and falling asleep. And I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm not. It really is true.

"You should probably sit up with her, and try to get her to sleep first."

He waves me off. "Sure, sure. No problem."

I go back to bed, but can't sleep for worrying. Ten minutes later I hear thumping and thudding coming from the spare room.

I go check.

Toddler is NOT in bed.

Hubby is out cold.

I check the room.

The Princess is playing with the stopper-thingy behind the door. She grins up at me, points to the bed and says, "Daddy seep."

Daddy sleep. Yep.

"Honey."

I pick up the Princess and Hubby sits up in bed. "Yeah. What? I'm awake."

Uh-huh.

"You think we should put her in her own bed now?" I ask, wondering if she would really go to sleep.

"Yeah, I'll do it." He takes her and wanders down the hall.

"Are you coming to bed?"

Big yawn. "Yeah, sure. Bed."

"You'll have to move a boy."

"Sure, sure. No problem."

Oh, boy.

I lay down, and five minutes later hear snoring coming from down the hall in the area of the guest bedroom.

Oh, well. I finally drifted off, but it felt like one of the longest nights we've had in a long time.

And this was a really long story, so y'all get back to your day. Have a good weekend. Stay cool.

Later.

Good morning.

I hope you're all well, and staying as cool as possible.

Honestly, there's not much to tell today. The kids have been watching movies, playing, and turning the yard into a mud pit. Hubby's been working and loving his job. And I've been writing and cleaning up the more immediate messes.

So . . . I guess that's it.

I'm off to work on the laundry, and keep the kids from climbing the walls, literally.

Later.

Hello!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and managed to stay cool. There were parts of the state that reached 115 degrees over the weekend, and I'm sure it's gonna be a hot week, too.

Well, the boys LOVED their movie. They were SOOOO good, and I was so happy because there were kids everywhere and they were all chattering throughout the movie, so I didn't feel so bad when the boys asked the occasional LOUD question.

The Princess had fun being the belle of the ball at my mother's house, and my sister-in-law brought a sweet little girl she was babysitting over to play as well.

The kids played hard yesterday, and now it's back to business as usual.

I'll be cleaning and working on my chapter today, so I'll be back on Wednesday.

Later.

Controlling the Uncontrollable

Well, since my last post, Mrs. Grump has gone on a mini-vacation, but she could be back at any moment.

The kids have been bribed into cooperating for the next couple of days. The twins are determined to see the new Ice Age movie, and I have used their desire to go to the movies against them. (Insert evil laughter: Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!)

So far they have cleaned their room, picked up all their toys around the house, picked up all their toys and junk on the back patio, and have promised to help pick up the toys they got out in their sister's room and the spare bedroom.

And I've come to the conclusion that we have WAY too many toys in this house.

The fighting has been contained to the minimum brotherly spat because I threaten them with not going if they continue to fight. They grumble, but the screaming and hitting have stopped for the time being.

I'm just going to have to resort to mafia tactics to keep the kids under control: bribery, threats, torture (taking their toys away and forbidding video games), and confinement when I want them to behave.

Sounds like a plan to me.

I hope y'all have a great weekend. Stay cool and safe.

Later.

Mrs. Grump

Good morning.

Well, it's sort of good. I am a mega grouch today, and this post will probably be lemon-sour, so you might want to skip today and read again when I am in a better mood.

The summer is half over (yay!!!), but the kids are making me CRAZY!!!

The twins have figured out how to help their little sister out of her crib in the morning, and I woke up to an enormous mess. The twins are becoming more independent and the more they try to do it themselves, the more I have to clean.

They know where the Pop-Tarts are, how to get them out, and they even give one to their sister. But they have no concept of how to clean up the mess they make with the crumbs on the floor, wrappers left on the floor and counters, and the box sitting in front of the pantry and a trail of unopened pastries leading from the kitchen to the living room (this would be the work of the toddler).

Toys are dragged out, but not put up, and the constant laundry is giving me nightmares about being attacked by my washer and dryer.

When I make them pick up their toys, the high-pitched wailing can be heard in the next county, and I know the neighbors probably think I beat them on an hourly basis. And don't think I haven't considered beating them every hour, on the hour, just to make them listen.

I guess I'm just grumpy from the NEVER-ending cycle of cleaning up and it's dirty again before I can sit down to enjoy the results.

But I also know that's life with kids.

The fighting is driving me insane, and I completely understand my mother's policy of, "I don't care who started it, I'll finish it!!! Now, GO TO YOUR ROOM!!!"

As I type this post, thanks to a brilliant suggestion from my mother-in-law, the twins are locked outside, literally, although I am typing by the open window right beside the patio and can see and hear every little nit-picking detail of their skirmishing.

But they aren't doing it in the house.

The toddler is in her play-yard reading books, and doesn't have her partners in crime to bust her out. So I have a few minutes to finish this up, although I've probably been interrupted ten times since I started writing this post.

All I can say is I can't wait for school to start in the fall, and I am going to be looking for more ways to keep the kids occupied and out of trouble. And to keep me sane.

Hope you have a great rest of the week.

Later.

Hey everyone.

Sorry no post on Friday. We were at my mom's house since Thursday evening, and she has no Internet access, lucky woman.

Well, we had a good July 4th weekend. It started Thursday evening with dinner at my brother's house. The Princess loved chasing the dogs and kittens around their yard. The boys were pretty well behaved, and did much better after we let them play Mario Kart on Wii.

Then Hubby and Mom took the kids home, and sister-in-law and I watched the movie Taken. VERY GOOD. How far will this guy go to get his daughter back? Apparently all the way, and taking out anybody even remotely connected to her kidnapping or who gets in his way.

Very Cool movie.

Friday, Hubby took the boys to the farm with my brother, and the Princess and I hung out at the house. Mom got off work early, and we all went to the swimming pool that afternoon.

The twins wore their life jackets in the deep end of the pool and had absolutely NO FEAR going off the diving board. They jumped, dove (sort of), and flipped (yes, really flipped) off that diving board until I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I was sure they were going to break their necks, but they returned home safe and sound.

The Princess napped while the boys watched a movie after swimming. Mom sent Hubby and I to dinner and a movie (The Proposal, which was super funny, at least I thought so), and we had a great night. THANKS, MOM!!!

Then we went to the farm Saturday morning, got groceries that afternoon, and kept the kids entertained as long as we could until it was time to go watch the fireworks. We saw one show in a nearby town, not a huge show, but it was nice just the same, and then we came home and went up to my sister-in-law's parents' house and watched them and the neighbors set off fireworks. And that lasted for over an hour.

Poor Hubby started to feel sick before the first show, and stayed home with the little girl during the in-in-laws show.

We went to church the next morning, but again, Hubby stayed home and he still doesn't feel all that great today, either. Head cold, which really stinks, but hopefully he'll be on the mend soon.

We came home yesterday afternoon, and tonight we have an End of the Season Pool Party for t-ball. And then I think we can rest easy for a couple of days. At least, I hope so. I'm really tired and looking forward to a few days of staying home and doing . . . nothing!

Hope your week goes well.

Later.

Hey folks.

I hope your week is going well.

The boys won their final t-ball game, and did okay. They didn't play nearly as well in the last game, and it was obvious as a parent that the kids were just wore out on t-ball. They will be having a pool party next week and will receive trophies for second place in their division.

The boys insist they still want to play in the fall, and they had me outside in the heat yesterday morning so they could practice. But they definitely weren't into it. They whined about who got to hit the ball first, and when they were fielding, I got yelled at if I didn't hit the ball straight to them.

Not exactly a great practice. So we'll probably lay off t-ball for a few weeks to let them recuperate.

We have new neighbors across the street with young children, two boys ages 5 and 2 (the poor Princess is never gonna catch a break and have another girl to play with). The twins like playing with them, and I have a feeling there's gonna be a lot of time playing outside with the neighborhood kids this summer.

I'm also gonna have to keep the house picked up and invest in a few summer necessities like paper cups for drinks, a ton of Kool-Aid, and snacks.

But today I'm having an early lunch with a friend, so I need to get the kids and I ready to go.

Hope you all get through the rest of the week. Be back on Friday.

Later.