I slept in late (and was glad of it) and was read the riot act for stepping on my son’s ESPN magazines. Notice where the magazines have been left–right next to my dh’s side of the bed. Notice also that they haven’t been moved, even after they’ve been “ruined” by the careless stepper.
For those of you with any continuing illusions about me being a good parent, here’s a picture. It’s noon and not only is the two-year-old still in his jammies, but he’s having a cookie for lunch. I plead weariness. I went for a walk/run in the morning and pretty much spent a couple of hours blogging and posting on blogs. I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up this pace! I am thinking more along the lines of picture of the week from now on. But based on this week, what picture would I choose?
While I blogged, dh and the boys enjoyed flag football games. I was previously in love with flag football because all games and practices for three boys were just one night a week–same field, same time. Not so this year. I guess I’m supposed to feel guilty that I don’t go to many games. Some of my mom friends who are at every one of their children’s practices and games will say, “I never see you at the games!” *sigh* These are friends who don’t read my blog. Maybe they should and they will know why I’m at home. I do love watching the boys play. It’s just that if I go, I have to entertain little kids who will scream until they get a snack, have to be walked miles to the nearest restroom, and fight over who gets to sit where. Meanwhile, the laundry at home is growing like the fruit fly infestation I had last week. (As an aside, I got rid of these pests by attracting them with an almost empty orange juice pitcher and sucking them up with a dust buster. It just felt good.)
I just have to interject something pretty meaningless here. A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law mentioned how good Honey Crisp apples were. You know how someone says something like that and you think, “Uh-huh. That’s nice for you.” Well, the grocery store had a big display of them with a sign that said, “Honey Crisp apples are finally here!” That lent more credibility to my sister-in-law’s gushing. I paid about $10 an apple I think and bought 4 or 5. They are huge! I ate one and I get now why Eve just had to try that apple. Absolutely delicious! I am a tart apple lover. These aren’t overtly tart, but they’re not blandly sweet either. And now you’re thinking, “Uh-huh. That’s nice for you.”
While I was eating my giant apple and the 2yo a cookie, dd brings me a sign she’s made and says, “Read this.” I don’t know about you, but it’s at this point that I panic. You know if you say you can’t read it, they’ll be crushed. If you guess wrong, they’ll be angry. So I said, “Wow! This is great! Look at all those letters.” Turns out she was trying to reproduce the cover of Harold and the Purple Crayon. I just hope no one plans on reproducing the marker on the carpet mess.
So my other sister-in-law calls up the night of day 5 and says, “So what time are we hiking tomorrow?” Of course, this is the first time that I’ve heard about the hike we are all going on. No matter that I have a list a mile long of to-do’s! I was tempted to read dh the riot act, but then I remembered something about a good attitude. Oh well. It IS beautiful fall weather and you never know when you’ll have another chance to hike. So hike we did. First I had to talk grandpa into going. He’s having a tough time post-stroke. But we were all thrilled that he walked quite a ways and enjoyed the day. We all enjoyed the indoor nature center, the trail, and had an impromptu talent show in the mini-amphitheater. The neighbor boy came with us and showed us how he could crack his hand bones together so they sounded like maracas. That was actually disturbing.
He spends a lot of time with our family
which honestly confuses me. I’m quite sure his home is quiet and clean. I’m tempted to ask him if I can go to his house and play.
After the hike, it was time for my weekly grocery shopping trip. For quite some time, I’ve only been hitting two grocery stores in order to save money. I was doing three and would like to find time for that
again soon. My daughter has been a frequent companion on my grocery shopping trips lately. I was in a good mood following the hike and thought what a nice “tradition” we had going with the shopping. Then she asked if she could buy something. I had to remind her that she spent all her money at Incredible Pizza and in fact had lost her $5 game card, too. She didn’t take that well. At all.
again soon. My daughter has been a frequent companion on my grocery shopping trips lately. I was in a good mood following the hike and thought what a nice “tradition” we had going with the shopping. Then she asked if she could buy something. I had to remind her that she spent all her money at Incredible Pizza and in fact had lost her $5 game card, too. She didn’t take that well. At all.She produced a loud litany of “I wanna buy something, I wanna buy something” as I struggled to do what a good psychologist/parent would do. I ended up telling her she couldn’t come again if she didn’t stop. That didn’t work. Then I resorted to fining her for every time she said it. If she were more mature in these matters, she would have recognized that fines when you have no money are rather meaningless. She continued to scream louder with each fine. I’d like to tell you what happened after that, but I went to my happy place and I can’t remember. All was calm until she determined that she wouldn’t be allowed to buy anything at the second grocery store either. When we arrived home, we found that dh had managed to get stung by 3 wasps. He wasn’t in the best mood, but it helped when I told him I would be crying and in bed if it had been me.
After dinner, I had the opportunity to observe the damage done while we were at the wedding the night before. (You’ve seen how ship-shape I keep things when I’m home). As we clean up the house each and every day, I am continually in awe of how messy the house can be in just one day. If anyone has any suggestions for me, I am all ears. It seems to me that I need to lock up the clothing and books as well as the toys. The cards are kept in the storage room that is locked. I am thinking of hiring a full-time security agent to stand guard. How much you wanna bet he’d be crying like a baby at the end of the week?
Well, I was right. The supplements need to be locked up, too. The 2yo did this in the dark. This is not
good omen, is it?
good omen, is it?
The day came to a close with football watching, pointless web surfing, and article writing. I will be posting the article (on procrastination) on my Wonder Woman< “> blog. Sometime. (Here it is)
Thank you so much for doing this Mel! You are making me feel so much better that my idol has the same problems I do and sometimes comes up with the same solution (just what IS wrong with cookies for lunch? LOL). It’s been wonderful getting a full glimpse of what goes on daily there and to see all the pics of the kiddos. Such a beautiful family (even if they do make you need to do deep breathing exercises on a regular basis LOL). Hey, maybe I’ll even try doing this challenge soon!
I’ve really been enjoying your daily posts! How long do you plan on doing this? It can really take over your time, if you haven’t noticed already.
BTW, a blog is the PERFECT place to make a big deal out of seemingly insignificant items…like the apple.
I’m going to keep my eyes open for them when I get a bagel at Schnucks sometime this week.
I’m in awe of your patience. You are a role model for all of us that freak out because of our daily messes (like the supplement powder…we have same thing w/ the brown sugar and coffee). I’m so loving your daily blogging. You should keep it up! 🙂 XO
These are so much fun to read. I’ve had a hard time posting to mine lately b/c I feel so mundane, but your daily posts about the day to day grind are what we all really want to see and hear anyway. To know we’re not alone. BTW, I almost bought Honey Crisps at the Apple Farm yesterday but they were $12.99 for half a peck! I did sample one and they were divine. Now I wish we’d bought them.
Your life makes me tired! We have messes too but we have companion cockroaches to help with the mess! It’s like college all over again huh?