Got Flour

And now I have chocolate chip cookies in my house! And the only reason why they are still there is because I am saving them for the Cub Scout picnic on Friday night. Can you believe that? I signed up to bring dessert just to have an excuse to make cookies!

But you should all be proud of me. I only ate TWO. The first one ooey-gooily broke apart as I was putting it on the cooling rack. And you know the rule: all casualties must be eaten IMMEDIATELY! The second cookie was just kind of small and pathetic and well, I can't bring THAT to the Cub Scout picnic, can I? Casualty!

Now to keep myself the kids away from the rest until Friday.

Apparently I am a firm believer in torture. Who knew?

WHY am I in the mood to BAKE?

Seriously. Sunday I was actually at a loss as we were low on flour--a somewhat IMPORTANT ingredient which prevented my baking chocolate chip cookies. Darnit!

It was HOT on Sunday. I was SICK and EXHAUSTED. I am trying to cut out the crappy snacks so that I can lose a pound or two (or five *cough*) and fit into my summer clothes without having to wince when I sit down. What freakin' hormones were blocking the mental pathways to my brain causing THAT irrational desire?

All I can say is that it's a good thing that I WAS so sick and exhausted. So sick and exhausted that I didn't want to bother to slog out the door to get the flour. Or else a whole batch of cookies would have ended up in the oven and down my gullet (sneakingly AFTER the kids had gone to bed).

I did find an interesting-sounding recipe online yesterday that I'm thinking of trying. It's somewhat healthy. And somewhat kid-friendly. And maybe if I train myself to think that these are FOR THE KIDS, I won't eat them ALL during the night. We'll see....

Now, you go out and try them, too!

Beautiful *cough* *sneeze* *cough* Weekend

It was a great weekend with the kids--and it would have been even better if I hadn't caught Keith's cold. Ah well. Colds happen.

Thursday I had to leave work early to take over watching the kids as John had his first golf league night (he came in second--and that was with TWO shots sinking in the river). I took the kids to the grocery store for a snack. We then headed to the park where the kids had the equipment to themselves and just played, and played, and PLAYED. I spent my time walking around the playground trying to keep warm and trying to use POSITIVE ENERGY to ward off the germs that were starting to plague my body.

It was so fun to see the kids having so much fun. They weren't fighting or bickering or spitting at each other or threatening to kill each other with sticks or plastic light sabers. I let them play for as long as I could possibly take it (and longer!). I lived in the moment as much as I possibly could.

Friday John took the kids to see Earth. We'd already seen parts of it on TV. The kids liked it--sorta. But between the animal attacks they'd witnessed in the movie, and the somewhat violent Clone Wars we'd watched that night, both Keith and Mary were up several times in the night. Izzy was being a bit of a pain, too. So I ended up crashed in our bed with Izzy (barely coherent to the other kids' issues as the cold had taken CONTROL at this point) while John and Mary ended up sleeping on the couches in the living room.

Needless to say, none of us felt very perky for an early morning drive to Niagara Falls on Saturday. We dragged our feet (hey! we've got all day) and finally made it out of the house and actually on the road by 11:00 (I was completely in the COLD ZONE by then and had the "I'm going to ENJOY this if it KILLS me" game face on. Ugh.)

We took the kids to the Aquarium first (John: this is LAME. Me: yes, I know, but the kids LOVE it). Then we walked around the American side and just enjoyed the beautiful weather and the perfect day. The kids just had a ball--especially when the wind would pick up and practically blow them down the path! No complaints at all!

(I do wish I hadn't fell into the sick zone so much that morning and had bothered to pack a lunch. $7.00 for a hot dog and fries is just too extreme. I regret it every time I don't pack food.)

We drove back to town that night and went to the mall to the food court where we begged Mary to try different food rather than hamburgers, hotdogs, peanut butter, or a cheese sandwich. She finally tried a veggie wrap--and basically liked it. Even though she didn't want to admit it.

We bought some desperately needed spring/summer clothes for Izzy (trying to find clothes for her to wear in the 80+ degree weather on Saturday was a freakin' joke). And Mary got a couple of not-so-desperately needed clothes. Because she's a girl and can't ignore a sale--just like her mama.

It was unbearably hot in the house when we got back. I blew up the air mattress, the kids got out their sleeping bags, and we crashed in the cool den while watching Spongebob.

(The rabbit kept waking me up while digging at WHAT, I don't KNOW, in his cage. The cold just kept waking me up cuz that's just what colds DO. And finally at 7:00am, I mailed it in and snuggled back into my warm, comfy bed and refused to stir until 8:30. Still. Ugh.)

Sunday we did our usual couple of chores and then Mary had a play date while Keith went to a birthday party. And Izzy got a new pair of shoes!!!! (Yes, she is FOUR exclamation points excited about that!!!!)

Great weekend. Great way to chill out with the kids before the EXTREME of baseball/softball starts taking over (five practices and the first GAME this week!).

Honestly! Who Schedules Baseball Practice During SPRING BREAK?

My son's coach,that's who! Luckily for us, the first two attempts have been canceled due to the nasty, wet, cold weather. But he's still slated to have practice Friday at 6:30 (what?!) and Saturday at 5:00 (are ya KIDDIN' me?).

Ah well. Apparently a lot of parents on the team are in the same boat as us and not going anywhere fancy for spring break either, so no one really complained. I'm complaining (to John) on PRINCIPLE. (Mary's softball coach didn't schedule! It's an unwritten rule! No extra-curricular activities during school breaks! Sheesh!)

Mary is complaining to John and me on principle. She's been whining about not going anywhere on break. Sorry, kid. You were born into the WRONG family if you wanted a real spring break vacation! Not only does Mom not have any vacation time coming for a little while, but the cash-flow isn't quite flowing well enough for a grand tour of Disney or Florida or the Bahamas or even a trip to "boring" INDIANA for crying, out loud! We are the prime definition of STAY-cation right now.

(Poor Keith is supposed to write a journal about what he's doing during Spring Break. It'll take him five minutes to write: 1) went to daycare, 2) caught a cold, 3) played with my Didj. Repeat seven times.)

Feeling bad about the lack of a true vacation, John proposed the idea of going to Niagara Falls over the weekend. Maybe we'll just drive up there, stick to the American side and bring a picnic for the day (and be rebels and skip Saturday's practice! ha HA!). I suggested maybe heading out to the Aquarium since Mary has been there with the Girl Scouts twice and really, really loves it. I dunno. The last time we talked about going to the Falls, Mary complained, "That's all we EVER do! Go to Indiana or Niagara Falls!" *sigh* The teenage years are going to be a BLAST with that one!

Keeping the Peace

I am the one who goes through back flips to keep everyone happy. I am the one who will attempt to see both sides of the story--to give both sides a fair hearing.

I am the one who gets TRODDEN ON by the others.

I often have waspish emails/comments that I start in my head, or actually start to TYPE OUT! But I don't send them. I realize that sometimes folks do or say selfish things because they don't know the FULL STORY. And even when I think/write my diatribe to EXPLAIN things, I realize that perhaps in trying to explain the situation, I'm OVER-explaining it, and perhaps it will leave room for MORE misinterpretations and just general bad feelings. I don't like bad feelings.

So I keep my mouth shut. I don't hit send. I play the argument out in my head. I realize that I can't please all the people all the time.

The anger may simmer for a few hours. But then it's gone. Mostly.

Sometimes I wish I could be that person. That selfish person who throws out exactly what they feel and don't care who they hurt because, "That's the way I feel, and I'm NOT hiding it!" I am envious of their ability to throw their opinions out there and not fear the repercussions. But: I'm not. I don't like those people. Those hurtful, unthinking people. I guess I'll just continue being nice and kind and thoughtful and a TEAM PLAYER for crying out loud!

And continue to get hurt by those tongue lashers.

Ah well. I get over it quickly enough.

Mass Exodus

Between Tuesday and Wednesday of last week a good chunk of the folks I work with got laid off. I'm still trying to figure out why *I'm* still here. But I guess I won't question it too much and just keep plugging away, until the target gets shifted to my back. And in the meantime, I guess I'd better polish up the ol' resume (AGAIN).

Yee haw.

In The Moment--Feeble Attempts

Gah! Who knew it would be so hard?

I've set up baby steps here. I've managed to get up five minutes earlier the last two days. OK, yeah, it's not a lot, but most of you moms out there know that a LOT can get done in five minutes. In fact, this morning, I did find that I had a few minutes to spare before I had to get Izzy out to the car (more on that later), and if it had just been maybe a couple MORE, I maybe could have had breakfast at HOME instead of at my desk between phone calls. Wow!

I'm worried this may not be the best time to attempt to sit down and read MORE to the kids. Baseball/softball season is now in FULL swing. The nights we have practices (And due to scheduling changes, Mary and Keith now both have practice on Thursdays--and usually in different locations!)are NOT the nights to sit down and read an extra book. It's going to have to be rush, rush, rush on those nights. I'll just have to make up for it on the nights we're not busy--which is now Wednesdays!

Izzy. She's a enigma all on her own. She's still very willful and stubborn and CONTRARY. We've been through this with kid 1 and kid 2--we just don't have the energy to put up with it with kid 3. "I'm hungry." "I don't like that." "I'm hungry." "I don't want to eat that." "But I'm hungry." AAAAAAAAAAAUGH!

The power struggles! Oh! The power struggles! She's wants it her way ALL THE TIME. I am so confused about what things to LET GO and what things to PUT DOWN MY FOOT about.

I want to let things go more. But time constraints (even if I were to get up a whole HOUR earlier) limit me and my best intentions. It honestly doesn't matter how much earlier I wake up or wake HER up--if she's in one of her power struggle moods, it's going to be a fight to get her dressed. And in the evenings, if I fix something she's decided she doesn't like (despite LOVING it just a few days ago), there is going to be a fight. I don't have the money, energy, or time to be a short order cook. And when we need to get ready for bed, there is only so much time I'm willing to fight with the putting-on-the-pajamas struggle (It's the morning in reverse!) and still have the time and serenity to read her that extra book!

This morning after FINALLY getting dressed, she actually ate her cereal in a timely manner. I was so excited! Yes! We're making excellent time! (see above) Oh wait--nope. She hasn't put on her shoes/jacket yet. Ah yes. ANOTHER power struggle. Another distraction in the form of Mary bringing out the bunny Brownie. Another frantic Mom barking at her daughter to PLEASE, get your shoes on, PLEASE get out to the car! in every voice range from the begging to the demanding.

I don't have the patience to deal with her power struggle choice of the moment.

So! This is what I've got to deal with. This is what I need to work on! And TRY to find the fine line between letting her get her way--and letting her know that things HAVE to go my way when she's pushing too far.

It's no wonder I turn all cranky and impatient. It's confusing and frustrating and.... Well, I'll keep taking my baby steps. And keep trying. And see how I do (in the mornings, anyway) when I get up TEN minutes earlier!

In the Moment

Most of my life now seems rush, rush, rush. Rush poor Izzy out the door to daycare (while rushing the other two to finish their breakfast and pack their lunches). Rush to work. (...Well, THEN there is the SLOW DRAG at work, but....) THEN rush home to get Izzy from daycare, rush to fix dinner, and then rush the kids into bed. And I just don't get to fully relax until the three kids are in bed. And then I stop and realize that I've become one of THOSE mothers. The ones who basically PUT OFF their life until the wonder of bedtime. I've spent so much time rushing the day (except for that long-ass work day), that I'm completely blocking my LIFE.

I do not want to live my own life--and especially not my kids' lives--in a complete rushing blur.

So! No more selfish (albeit exhausted) Mom. Instead of saying, "I just don't have time to read to you tonight" because I want to crawl into my own bed and read to MYSELF, I'm going to take that five minutes to read yes, ANOTHER Biscuit book. Instead of putting them off while I'm on my weekly phone call to my mother, I'll keep an eye on the clock and actually PLAY with them when I get off. And instead of being ANNOYED every time they don't do stuff in a timely manner, I'll try harder to 1) get up earlier and 2) focus more on their FUN, QUIRKY personalities instead of barking at them to HURRY UP.

Cuz I don't need to spend my life constantly bullying my kids out the door. I need to spend more time finding my moments of zen--and enjoying them.

More Hunting Pics

Packing List Included

6:00am Easter morning my son bounds up to me at my bedside, and I groggily, blinkingly accept his hug due to the appearance of his Easter basket on the table.

THEN he says, "Mom! Guess what! The Easter Bunny gave me Pixos for Easter!"

That's when I snapped fully awake. "NO, the Easter Bunny did NOT give you Pixos! Those were for your sister!"

Yeah, apparently Keith didn't realize that the Easter Bunny includes a packing list with each basket.

Sneaky little @#$%...!

Now comes the scary part

Most of the school year I can get by without much of a fuss. I mean, yeah, things might get generally crazy in September/October as Girl and Cub Scouts get going, but most of the rest of the school year is...doable. UNTIL: April. In April baseball season starts. And suddenly I don't know which way is up anymore.

Baseball practice is already starting this week (tonight, really? WHY?). And whereas before we might have one or maybe two evenings with activities a week, it's now going to be EVERY EVENING. Because Mary has softball practice on Mondays and Wednesdays and Keith has practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and we still have Scouts on Mondays and Tuesdays!). And then of course there are the GAMES that will be starting on May 2--with both teams' coaches seemingly determined to have at least ONE practice a week. Oh dear. There will be a lot of chaos and running around and sandwiches for dinner in the next two and a half months....

I'm not really complaining--much. The kids enjoy it (er, MOST of the time), and we definitely want them involved in a sport of some kind. When I see other families and what THEY do, I know that we're not technically overdoing it--we are not nearly as involved as they are. But the chaos that ensues at this time of year always makes me just a tad harried--and ponder the necessity of Girl Scout meetings till the end of May--and whether or not we REALLY need to attend the Cub Scout farewell picnic. (And right now be really grateful that we re-thought and decided to skip the spring swim lessons.)

And I wonder what's going to happen NEXT year when we have THREE kids in Scouts and baseball. It's not going to be pretty.... Hmmm...maybe I'll hold Izzy back a year...!

100 DAYS!

100 days until HP6!!!!

Fire

A co-worker had a house fire the other day. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but she and her daughter and grandchildren lost EVERYTHING.

I typically give most of Keith's hand-me-downs to a SAHM friend of mine who has two sons younger than Keith. I hadn't handed them down quite yet, so I was able to go through the bag and find quite a load of stuff for the little 5 year old boy who is now without clothes.

I asked Keith to go through his toys to give to the little boy, too. Keith is in that stage where he refuses to give up ANY of his toys (I always have to do the search-and-sneek method of getting no-longer-enjoyed toys out of the house). I told him to just imagine losing ALL his toys and having NONE to play with. I asked him if maybe he could think of just three toys he didn't want for this poor little boy. Keith thought about it for a minute, then he caught up to me while I was still sorting through piles in the basement. "Mommy, I think I'm going to give that little boy FOUR toys."

Wow. He just MIGHT be maturing a little bit. (Now let's see if he follows through!)

Impatience

I put a lot of thought and effort into my husband's birthday yesterday.

He's the most difficult person in the world to buy for because if he wants something--he just goes and gets it. It doesn't matter if there is a major holiday or his birthday or any other occasion to possibly WAIT to see if maybe someone wanted to buy it--nope, no waiting at ALL on his part.

So, I spent a couple of weeks prodding his brain and searching online and browsing through stores to see if I could find something that he would like that would not be on his "I have to have it NOW, birthday be DAMNED!" list.

Once again--I failed.

You see, after YEARS of complaint about his must-have-it-now attitude which prevents me from presenting GOOD gifts that are actually DESIRED, I thought he'd finally GOTTEN it. Because for the last few weeks, we've had many hint-dropping conversations between the two of us about what he wants that will be available for purchase on or around his birthday. And with all the hints, I THOUGHT he was also being the gentleman and WAITING until after his birthday to make any purchases--in the hopes that I had bought his true heart's desire.

In seventeen years, this is not the first time (nor will it be the last) that I completely and utterly MISUNDERSTOOD my husband's blatant hints--and assumed the completely WRONG thing.

I had to go to two stores on Monday to find his perfect gift. I brought Mary with me. I was all confident that 1) it was what he wanted and 2) he hadn't bought it for himself yet.

It wasn't until I got home from work yesterday and started to WRAP the present that I found out my error. Mary came running into the bedroom and said, "Mom! He's already got it!" "He WHAT?"

Sure enough, sitting on the TV stand in the living room--that perfect gift that I bought for John the day it came out (and so, apparently did HE). The game that he could not could wait TWO FREAKIN' DAYS to see if MAYBE his wife bought it for him.

His comment later (after the kids had gone to bed), "I TOLD you I bought it." No, no, you didn't. It must have been the PRETEND conversation you had with your PRETEND wife. 'Cause real me wasn't part of that conversation--or else I would have taken it back and wracked my brains for something else (with less than 24 hours to go).

Yeah--it appears that his blatant hints were about some OTHER object. Something I did briefly consider, but decided against it as I thought the other thing would be more appreciated. Well, I was right. The gift purchased WAS more appreciated--so much so that it was not physically possible for him to WAIT for it. IDIOT!

I freakin' give up.

The only good part: the roast and the coconut cream pie I made for his birthday dinner turned out PERFECT.

Meal Solutions--cheap ones!

Bad economy, spend less, blah, blah, blah....

There have been a LOT of articles out there about how to make simple changes--specifically in the food budget--to save your family some money. I am embarrassed to admit that, despite having one extremely FRUGAL mother, I don't take advantage of a LOT of the stuff I learned from her. Why? Because I'm LAZY. There, I said it! Happy?

The sad truth is that even though I KNOW that if I cut coupons and create a weekly meal plan and make a list ahead of time, blah, blah, blah I'll save OODLES of money at the grocery store, I hardly ever do it. Because it EXHAUSTS me. Over and over and over again. It's like laundry or cleaning the house--it always HAS to be done, and it's a task that is NEVER finished. And cooking is such a chore anyway since except for Pizza Fridays (oh, thank heavens for Pizza Fridays!), there is very rarely a day in which all five of us will eat what I've cooked. I'm lucky to get TWO of the five to eat--and honestly, I'm a semi-decent cook. So planning ahead for five people and trying to bring in variety so that we don't get scurvy and die of pizza boredom is a bit DAUNTING. Oh--and I'm LAZY.


BUT: here is ONE somewhat easy, cost-saving step that I almost accidentally tripped over, and it actually WORKS for my family.

My boyfriend Danny (Wegman, that is) carries those super-saver big packs of meat. I don't always indulge as 1) Not all five of us will eat it, so half of it'll go to waste, 2) I've got a tiny freezer (currently stuffed with pizzas and last year's Halloween chocolate that Mary has surprisingly not found yet), so not a lot of room to store the stuff, 3) Storing it takes WORK to separate and put in freezer bags and hello! LAZY!, 4) John does NOT like frozen meat, so if he even catches a HINT that it came out of the EVIL, only-good-for-making-ice-cubes portion of our fridge, he refuses to eat it, 5) And um...well, I'm SURE there was a 5, but...well....YOU GET THE POINT!

Anyway, I have discovered that on MOST nights I make it, MOST everybody WILL eat pork. (Who knew, right?) I've got a great recipe (again, another present from my boyfriend Danny) for baked pork chops with balsamic vinegar. And you just wouldn't believe it, but the whole gang eats it!

SO: I go to Danny's, buy the huge pack of BONELESS pork chops--eight in a pack. And on the first night, I make about five of these:


Balsamic Pork Chops
4 bone-in, center cut pork chops, 3/4 in thick (about 1 1/2 lbs). (Yeah, I use 5 boneless)
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped, or 1 tsp dried (or none if feeling lazy)
1/4 C Balsamic Vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1. Place pork chops on a baking dish and rub each chop with 1/2 tsp EVOO and season with
salt and pepper. (Or just quickly drizzle a bit on each chop, 'cause who wants to measure?)
2. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until only a trace of pink.
3. Remove from oven and sprinkle with rosemary and balsamic vinegar. Return to oven for 2
minutes.

NOTE: To serve juicy, tender and safe pork at home, Wegmans recommends cooking to an
internal temp of 160 degrees....(Which always takes my oven MORE than the recommended
15-20 minutes--wonder if it's because I use boneless? Or if it's because I need a new oven?).

200 calories per serving.
Total fat 12g
blah, blah, blah.

OK. We have enjoyed our pork chop dinner. Usually I only have about a half of one left (the boy is the biggest pork eater and may not leave leftovers). So, usually two days later, I grab the rest of the chops left in my super-saver bag, and do the unthinkable--I make ANOTHER meal out of them!

Pork Stir Fry!
I chop the chops into one-inch pieces, season and flour them, and I stir-fry them quickly in the wok. I then throw in a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies and some terriaki or Kikoman or stir-fry sauce (whatever I have around). I make a big batch of brown rice ('cause I'm all nerdy and healthy like that)--and that's it! Easy to make, and the kids usually find SOMETHING in that big batch of meat/veggies that they like and will pick out to eat.

See--two easy meals with ONE meat purchase. And now I only have four other meals to dream up for that week (cuz, Pizza Friday is ALWAYS a given)!

Bark at the Moon

Another busy weekend, of course. Saturday, after we finished picking up the Scout donation bags and dropping them off (John with Keith; Me with Mary and Izzy), we went out to lunch, got food for our one remaining bunny, looked at other really, really cute bunnies that John and I HARSHLY had to say NO to getting, and then we went to see Monsters Vs. Aliens (pretty good!). We ended the evening by taking the kids to the Golden Arches to buy them a chocolate shake for dinner.

What?

Sunday was, well, a DISASTER. Because, Mean Old Mom demanded that the chores get done again. And honstly, I've been working REAL HARD to control my temper, but something about my son's attitude combined with the phases of the moon completely set me OFF. I didn't even have them do their usual list of chores--just a couple of things that really, really needed to get done. Keith spent the whole day avoiding work and then whining and crying when we caught him at it. I finally put John in charge of him so that I could remove my hot-headedness for a while. And he pulled the same crap with John. (Although John held his temper better.) NOT a good day.

Then yesterday he tells us that he got in trouble THREE TIMES at school THAT DAY. That kid hardly EVER gets in trouble (...at school...*cough*). So...at least now I know it's not just me--he's doing this crap with EVERYBODY. (Still didn't need to lose my temper like I did on Sunday, though.)

Must be spring fever.

And...John and I have started the search for a dog. Yes, a dog! I'm excited and worried all at the same time. Our choices are limited because, like the Obamas, we have to get a hypo-allergenic dog. So, we're looking into a miniature Schnauzer. After some diligent internet searching, John did find a local breeder. The price is a TAD higher than I really wanted to pay for a dog--but since the alternative is for me to get allergy shots, I guess I shouldn't complain too much. Anyway, John and I are still trying to decide if we can afford this, and how to work out day-time potty breaks, and where to KEEP the dog, and if maybe we should just forget the whole thing and wait another year or two.... I dunno.... But if this breeder decides to sell us a pup, she's got two litters due in April, so we could have one in the house as early as June/July. Eep!

Bah!

John and I have put off our "curtain date" three days now. So, today, when my back-up needed me to wait until 1:00 for my lunch, and I hadn't heard from John yet about a possible date, I said, "Fine."

Next thing I know, he's calling me at 12:00 to say he's out front.

*sigh*

In my defense, he TEXTED me at ten to 12:00 to say he was coming. Well, my phone is in my coat pocket, so I didn't hear it. And by THAT TIME I'd already been assigned the later lunch, anyway.

:-(

Where Was I?

Friday

• I splurged and bought myself a radio alarm clock which docks my ipod. I think that for the first time since I got the darn thing, I may actually start using it!


• Of course, the music on it has been there for over two years now. And I keep having to forward through inappropriate music since I'm at work--and most of the songs on the "Natural Born Killers" and "South Park" soundtracks just MIGHT be frowned upon here.

Saturday

• I walked around with my son delivering donation bags for Cub Scouts.



• Did some of the housework.



• Took son to a birthday party in the same neighborhood where we'd delivered bags that morning.



• So frustrated with my horrible housekeeping, decided to buy new curtains and blinds for bathrooms and bedrooms--GROSS!



• John and I took all three kids to the mall--and remembered why we haven't bought new curtains YET. The hide-and-seek possibilities of the draperies department prevents our ever getting to actually LOOK. (John and I made a "date" to look them over during one of our lunch hours this week.)



• Except for the ice cream, trip to the mall was a complete waste of time!

Sunday

• MORE housework. My kids think they are Cinderella, and I'm the wicked step-mom. I completely get where they are coming from. But I can't figure out how to share the work load equally so that it actually GETS DONE, and it's not ALL done by ME.
  


• Twilight's funeral. :-( He is buried in one of our landscaped areas, underneath a beautiful tree. And we put down my garden bunny--received last Mother's Day--as his marker.



• Distribution of bags with the GS troop in a different neighborhood. (Why is it that no troops ever do OUR neighborhood?)



• Meeting with other GS leaders to plan next overnight event. Which I found out Friday is scheduled at the same time as Mary and Keith's next Suzuki concert.



• Get home to panic of WHAT'S FOR DINNER? I never made it to the grocery store. Scrape together a casserole with chicken, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, broccoli, rice, and stuffing on top. Delicious. Keith and I were the only ones who ate it. And he refused to eat the broccoli and rice portion of it. (Oh well, more leftovers for me!)


• Decide to let Keith start using the shower downstairs. The upstairs bathroom just doesn't have enough towel racks for all five of us, and I'm tired of picking up towels off the floor. He's excited to have a shower "all his own." After the shower, I walk downstairs to find all of his clothes on the floor--and his towel. There is no laundry basket. He can't reach the towel rack.


• One of the times I had to get up to check on Izzy last night, I actually stumbled back to bed, and fell on my husband. I didn't know he was there. (VERY groggy.) I think the possibility of our having any more children just got "fixed."

This morning

• I couldn't get out of bed. (Two kids moaning/whining all night will do that to you.)


• After repeated requests to Izzy to get her socks/shoes/coat on, ended up marching her out to the car without the coat on. She wasn't happy. Neither was I!

R.I.P. Twilight

Poor Mary's little bunny Twilight passed on yesterday. We can't really say what the cause of death was, but it was quite a shock to Mary to find him when she went downstairs to play with him and brush his coat.

It was a very, very sad and weepy household last night. Keith was also upset about the loss of his bunny's brother (and feeling, for perhaps the first time, his OWN immortality). Izzy--well, she doesn't have the emotional capacity or attention span to handle something like this yet. She was upset at first--and then she kept going around matter-of-factly bellowing out around the house in her BIG voice, "Twilight DIED!" which would upset her big sister even more.

I made the grand gesture to our sad daughter and let her sleep in our bed with us last night.

Now that the shock has worn off, Mary's doing a little better. She drew a picture for him and pinned it on his empty cage. She wore a dress today in honor of him. And she is requesting that we bury him underneath the tree in the front yard (we are still pondering if that is the best location).

The good news is that Mary was already asking about a new pet last night. A mouse? A hamster? But NOT another bunny. We told her we would take some time to heal from this wound--and take care of Twilight's brother Brownie--before we moved on to a new pet.

John and I have been going back and forth over getting a dog for the last few months, anyway. And looking into non-allergenic breeds so that I don't have to have shots. Perhaps this summer we'll finally take the plunge--and find a replacement for our dear Mary's Twilight.

(Bunny NOT named after Vampire books--which Mary has never even HEARD of.)

Whew!

Well, I survived my weekend of single parenthood AND numerous activities--including a GS overnight on Saturday night. I would just like to take a moment here to thank my neighbors--who are the BEST. PEOPLE. EVER.--for watching Keith and Izzy while I went and played GS leader to 13 girls in Niagara, NY.

CRAZY! I TELL YOU!!

It was a fun time. So much fun that Mary was CRYING Sunday night because she wanted to go back to the Aquarium (and because she was very, very tired, poor girl). Indeed, it took until Tuesday night for either one of us to start feeling perky again--and that's with actually getting decent sleep Saturday night.

This weekend won't be much better--well, except for having the extra pair of my husband's hands around. Saturday is a Cub Scout event, continuing swim lessons for all three, and a birthday party (wondering if we'll be able to fit it all in?). Sunday is another GS event AND a GS leader's meeting to PLAN yet ANOTHER outing. It NEVER ENDS, I tell ya!

And now that nice weather is peeking through (Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh), I'm hoping to get the girls on their NEW BIKES on Sunday. If it doesn't rain. If I'm not dog-tired after all the activities and up to my eyeballs in laundry--like every OTHER Sunday. Ah well--we'll TRY, anyway!

And...just a quick note that I won! I won AGAIN! Mommy Daisy is my hero, and I've been peeking in my mailbox ever-so-patiently every day.... Maybe TODAY?!