Day 11... Apples, apples, everywhere...

 

Day 11…  You know, just when you think that things are getting better some ones gotta go and upset the apple cart! 

I woke this morning at 4:45.  For some reason I just couldn’t sleep so I decided that I would just get up because I didn’t want to lye there.  After getting ready for the day I did a few chores, worked on my Blog and checked the various forms of communication that keep me updated on the world! 

My morning started off pretty well!  I got the kids to help me clean house a bit, once they were up.  Maggie seemed better after her terrible experience the following evening (horrible reaction to dairy).  I put all my stuff together for running all my errands for the morning and got the kids loaded in the van 5 minutes before their first bell rung. 

After dropping the older 2 off at school I called my friend Athena to see if she was home so I could drop something off on my way past her street, but she didn’t answer so I continued on.  About a third of the way towards Target (I had planned to stop there first before I needed to meet my friend Cindy at the ‘Kid to Kid ‘), however I realized that I was missing the most important paper that I needed for my trip, so I had to double back.  On my way back home Athena called me back and I asked if I could stop by.  I gave her, her “Thank you!” card and she gave me back my bacon bits and a book that she had borrow before her daughter Paige was born.  We chatted for a bit, then I headed home to get the items that I had forgotten.

When I was done it was really too late to head to Target, so I just went to ‘Kid to Kid’ instead.  I arrived about ten minutes before 10 (when Cindy and I had planned to meet), unloaded Maggie into her stroller and grabbed the bin of stuff that I was taking in to get some store credit and headed into the store, John following along side.  Since we were only ten minutes early I hoped they wouldn’t stick to their 10 o’clock time for accepting items we wanted to sell and as we walked in there was already another lady there with a huge bag of stuff that they were going through so I got in line.

Cindy arrived a little after 10.  By then they had accepted my bin and I was already looking around the store.  I left John and Maggie in the little play cube that they have for the kids so the parents can shop and not have to have all the little ones tagging along.  I checked out the shoes and found 2 pair for Maggie.  One for now (a more girly pair than what she currently has) and another pair for later (in a size 7).  I also found a couple pair of dress-up gloves for Maggie and a few other things.

When they finally finished with my bin I had been ready to go for some time, we’d just been milling around waiting for them to finish up.  I ended up getting about $14.90 in store credit, which wasn’t what I had been hoping for, but since they hadn’t taken the dress that I had overheard them say they would only give me a dollar for (it was a really nice dress) I was happy with the price; until I left and realized that they had taken two jackets that I had in the bin that were practically brand new.  Then I was a bit ticked that I had accepted the price because just one of those jackets was worth at least $10 or more, maybe even $15 to $20 bucks and there were two of them!!!  SMH  …Next time I’m going to have to be a bit more careful and ask for an itemized list of what they are giving me for each item so I know I’m getting a fair amount for my items!

From KtK we went to Sally’s Beauty Salon, then Michael’s.  When we weren’t quite through with Michael’s I realized Maggie needed to be changed so we hurried through (not finding what we were looking for) and headed back to our vehicles because neither Cindy, nor I had brought our diaper bags with us. 

Back at the van I discovered that Maggie’s bum was still super raw.  Fortunately Cindy had some ointment for me to use and I was able to lube Mag up again to relieve the soreness. 

Cindy and I parted ways after that.  Chance had fallen asleep and I still needed to go to the Christian store to pick up some CD’s I’d been waiting to go on sale today! 

At the Family Christian Store, I stocked up on a bunch of new CD’s that I researched over the last week since I’d gotten their monthly ad booklet.  I got several for only $5 and a couple others for 25% off.  Maggie kept freaking out because of her bum and the fact that I had her strapped up to her child safety harness.  I tried to wrap things up in their as quickly as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough for her and we finally left.

From there I decided that I wanted to make a quick trip to Target to get this DVD, that I’d bought a little over a week ago, price adjusted.  I had originally bought it for $16.99 when if first came out then this week it went on sale for $10.  I used the money they gave me back to buy a bunch of my favorite chocolate that was on sale!!! :O)  …I did not however find the Blu Ray + DVD combo pack for the movie “Green Hornet” that I thought they carried.  Turns out I had seen the advertisement in a different stores ad.

I remembered that I’d seen the ad in the Best Buy advertisement, so from Target to we headed there.  I figured it would be a quick in an out, but when I tried to find the BluRay + DVD combo pack I couldn’t find it anywhere (and it has just come out today).  I checked the main display and even went back to the regular movie section, but couldn’t find it, so I went and asked the guy at the front door.  So after waiting probably a good 30+ minutes talking to various different sales associates and finally the manager, they found out that there had been a misprint in the ad and they didn’t actually have the BluRay + DVD combo pack, so I ended up buying the 3 pack instead.  I didn’t want to the 3D version, but it was the only way to get the BluRay and DVD together without paying for them separately.

The whole time we were at Best Buy, Maggie had been sleeping on me.  It was really hard to check out and I felt like everyone was looking at me impatiently since it was taking me a bit longer to go through the motions.  I finally paid and we went out the to van.

Ever since we had left the Family Christian Store I had been telling John that I would get him some food from McDonald’s because he had been so good, but kept putting it off to head to another store.  We didn’t end up getting lunch until about 12:30.  We were home by 12:45 and when I brought a sleeping Maggie in and tried to lay her on the couch, she woke very upset and I was only able to calm her by giving her, her Happy Meal (chicken nuggets and fries).  She was much happier munching on her food!

Once Maggie was settled I went and unloaded the van and then came in and dished myself up some of the yummy soup left over from dinner.  I had just heated it up and literally sat down to take my first bite (at about 1:30, because I’d been doing various other things before I was able to take a break) when my Skype phone rang.  I sat my soup own and answered the call.  Jacob and I chatted for a bit, but I asked to get off and call him back since I’d just sat down to relax and eat for the first time today.  We hung up and I chowed down; I was so hungry!

While eating I tried to watch a movie that I had rented for free from a Redbox the day before.  It took me from 1:30 till 3:30 to watch it; I don’t think it was actually that long!  I was really having a hard time with Maggie, she just wanted my undivided attention and wouldn’t let me get anything accomplished without causing lots of trouble along the way; she wouldn’t even let me watch the show in piece.  It was the first show I’d sat down to watch in over a week!

Anyway, she continued to be a challenge for most of the rest of the evening.  She just wouldn’t let any of us do anything without constantly being all over us or getting into mischief.  I finally had to ask Anna to take her because I couldn’t get a thing done!  Needless to say this whole afternoon, evening was very frustrating and I just didn’t have the patience to deal with little Maggie who just wouldn’t stop whining and pestering me, so I couldn’t get a single thing done!

She finally calmed down around 8ish.  Anna had taken her in her room and was reading with Maggie lying next to her in bed.  I went and got her at 8:30 and put her to bed, she didn’t fit me, she even said, “Good night!”.  That’s a new one!  :O)

So now that the kids were in bed I was finally able to completely focus on one of the things on my list to do and that was bake some banana muffins for the kids.  (I had contemplated waiting, but I can’t do it tomorrow, I have plans with Cindy to be out most of the day.  And I didn’t want to do it later, so I got to work on making the muffins (I had actually started earlier in the evening, but really got into full swing with the kids in bed).  I finished over 8 dozen muffins at about 10:45 pm.  Meanwhile between tins I’ve been working on updating my Blog.  I think I’ve finally done it!

Well, I need to go…  It’s 11:43 and I have a busy day ahead of me.  I have plans with Cindy to go to the Park Meadows Mall and have lunch and go do some window-shopping! 

It’s off to bed for me!  Good night!!!  :O)

Day 10...

 

        Monday, May 2^nd 2011.  Wow, the days are going to too quickly and I’m too busy to be able to get caught up in this Blog or I’m afraid I’d end up not going to bed one night…

         So Monday, I…can’t seem to remember what I did.  I may have to work backwards…

         First thing in the morning we woke to a bit of snow.  I’m not sure why it’s still snowing?  The weather just doesn’t seem to know how to make up it’s mind here!!! 

         After the kids went to school, John, Maggie and I went to Walmart to get a few things.  My list wasn’t very long: a couple Birthday cards for friends (with Birthdays this week), some socks for me, bananas, baby carrots and a few other various items…  John, Maggie, and I also checked out the Easter stuff at 75% off.  We got a couple party favors and another Easter Sing-a-ma-jig (only $2.50).  We checked out the toys in the back and stopped by the shoes.  At the cards we all had fun looking at all the large selection.  I was looking for a particular theme for one of my friends, but never found what I was looking for.  However, I did find a card for my sister, which I had to get, though her Birthday isn’t until August.  I also found another really cool card that had Jack Bauer on it, I was tempted to get it for Doug (my Moms husband), but didn’t and I’m kicking myself now because when I got home and check the calendar to see who else’s Birthdays there are this month I found out that Doug’s Birthday is next week, so I’m gonna go back and get it! 

         The rest of the day is a blur.  I think somewhere in there I stopped at my friend Athena’s house and dropped off some super yummy bacon bits for a soup she was planning to make for us for dinner some night this week.  I also think that we went to the Dollar Tree (a store, which is rapidly becoming my favorite place to shop)?!?!

         In the evening, since the lawn had dried from our over night dusting of snow, I was able to rake part of the front yard, mow it, and do a bit of edging with the weed whacker.  It was so dusty though that I had to take my contacts out because my eyes were so irritated!  We really need to hire someone to get our lawn back to a lawn; I’m not sure how to do it!!!

         When I finished cleaning up the front yard (mostly, still need to rake the rest of the lawn) I came in and Maggie was crying her lungs out.  I was like, “What’s going on?  What’s wrong with Maggie?”  When I picked her up I figured it out; she was all ridged and I could smell that she needed to be changed.  So I took her over to change her and discovered she’d had a nasty blow out and he rear was lobster red.  I cleaned her up as much as I could (she didn’t like that one bit because it hurt so much), so I took her upstairs and ran a luke warm bath so I could clean her off the rest of the way.  I tried to get her to sit, but her rear was just hurting too much and she was bawling so much that she ended up throwing up a little bit.  I didn’t think much of it, just thought maybe she just got herself worked up too much, then all of a sudden she spewed her entire dinner.  Fortunately she was in the tub and the water was running, so I shut it off and cleaned up the mess when she was done.  I had to rinse the tub before I ran her a shallow bath, but she seemed to be a bit better when she had eliminated the contense of her stomach. I still couldn’t get her to sit in the bath, so I just soaped her up and rinsed her off while she was standing.  She was shaking like a leaf when I pulled her out of the tub a few minutes later (she had been for most of the bath).  Once she was dried off I medicated her rear and put her in a, loose, two piece pj.   Then brought her downstairs to my chair and cuddled her for a while.  At first I couldn’t figure out why she had thrown up, then it dawned on me that she had eaten the dairy based soup for dinner and she has been really showing signs of being Lactose intolerant for awhile now.  She hasn’t had any dairy for over a day, so this sudden bombardment of the stuff had apparently send her insides reeling!  At least that’s the only thing I can figure that did it because we hadn’t eaten anything out of the ordinary other than the dairy based soup.  So, for the next week (and I should have been doing this earlier) I have to keep Maggie completely off of dairy and see if her symptoms clear up.  Poor little girl; she really loves the stuff and now she probably can’t have it anymore!  :O(

         …Well, I’m drawing a blank for the rest of the day.  I know it was a lot busier than what I’ve written, but I’ll have to fill it in later when my memory comes back…  Until then…

Day 9…  Lightening has just struck my brain…

 May 1^st…I can hardly believe it is May already!  Wow, where has the year gone??? 

         So yesterday morning I decided to make pancakes for the kids for breakfast.  I probably made about 2 dozen or so, 2 1/2” round pancakes.  There were so many left over that I boxed ‘em up and put ‘em in the freezer for the kids to have for breakfast another day.  The kids really enjoyed the pancakes!

         We went to the 9 am service at Church.  David had asked the week before when we were going to go to Church again and get the bread and the wine?  I thought that was sweet of him to ask about it so even though I didn’t necessarily want to go to Church, we went to honor David’s interest in Communion.  This time Anna and David sat with me, Maggie and John went to class right away.  When we went into the sanctuary the kids decided they wanted to sit up in the back of the sanctuary; we were about 3 or 4 rows up and right behind the electronic equipment, computers, and sound guys; it’s actually a great place to sit if you have trouble seeing the screens in the front because they have all the words up on their computers in black and white instead of possibly being obscured by different colors and backgrounds.  However sitting there isn’t a very fun place to sit, if you didn’t bring a jacket to keep you warm, because the air conditioning fans were blaring almost the entire time we were there and I just about froze to death!  Anyway, I had told Anna and David, before we left home, to bring something to draw or write on and the utensils to draw and or write on their materials.  Anna brought a notebook and pencil and David brought some blank paper and a baggie of crayons.  When the singing was over and the announcements were done I told the kids they could use the things they brought.  Unfortunately Anna’s pencil scraping across her paper, as she wrote, sounded like finger nails on a chalkboard; it was really grating on my nerves!  When I told her later she needed to get a different pencil or pen because her current one “sounded like finger nails on a chalkboard”, she asked, “What’s a chalk board?”  lol …I just rolled my eyes and shook my head and gave up trying to explain. 

…Then we move onto David, whom spent what seemed like the entire time rummaging around in his, very noisy, plastic baggie for crayons.  I had to tell him several times to just grab out a few and stop rummaging in his bag, but it didn’t work.  The noises were so grating; on me at least, that we ended up leaving a bit early so that we wouldn’t continue to disrupt anyone and I could get a bit of piece and quite.

On a positive note though, David did get to do communion and Anna and I participated as well.  I spent quite a bit of time praying before I felt right about being about to take the elements.  I had explained to the kids before we went into Church what communion was so they knew why they were doing it and I made sure they understood and prayed before participating.

Epiphany:  During the service I wasn’t really giving it my full attention, though a couple things caught my interest here and there.  I wasn’t really paying attention because I was trying to write out a prayer request (a lengthy one), but I kept getting distracted by all the noise from the kids so it was hard to concentrate.  I ended up just leaving the request in my notebook and decided I’d just send an e-mail when I got a chance some time this week (I haven’t done it yet). As my mind wandered on various different subjects, as I listened to the Service, I think I began to realize something; that I depend way too much on my husband and don’t put enough stock in myself to be able to get things done.  Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for my husband and all he does and I am perfectly capable of getting things done, but I think I wait around too much for him to come along and help me out instead of doing more on my own and just getting things done.  This time he’s been gone I’ve been going constantly!  There is rarely a moment when I’m not doing something constructive, though most of it is practical, not recreational! 

When Jacob is home I spend a lot of my time watching a show and surfing the net, researching things on-line, checking status updates and posting comments on Facebook.  This I do for a while, then go and do chores of various natures, take care of the kids, run errands, and this and that and anything else that needs to be done, then go back to the TV and surfing to relax before I start it all over again.  I did get things done and I never really wore myself out too much just working and working and working with no free time on my hands (like I seem to be doing now).  I feel in a way that maybe I was just being lazy, possibly a bit too selfish?!?!  I probably could have accomplished a lot more than I did each day, but I didn’t want to push too hard and relaxing, I guess, was more important than trying to do everything all at once (like I seem to be doing now too).

Now that Jacob is away I am constantly going, going, going!  From the moment I get up, till hours after the kids are in bed, there is always something going on!!! I am always doing some chore or something for the kids, taking care of the dog or planning what else I need to do.  I could spend a really long time on this subject (if you want to know what else I’ve been doing, read my other blog posts…), but I think you get the idea! 

Last week I felt so weak, like I had totally lost it!  My world was crashing down all around me and I was bombarded with trial, after trial, after trial; in a way I sort of felt like Job, not getting a break from all the challenges and heartache, that kept piling one on top of another and never seemed to end (I do realize what I went through was nothing compared to Job, but in a very small way, that’s what it felt like to me).  I mean I used to think that I was a strong person, but after the week of Hell that I went through, I felt like I had really failed… until through what happened in the first week while Jacob was gone, plus a lot of prayer (on my part and others), a couple of very inspiring songs and various other events helped jolt my focus in the RIGHT direction and help me realize that I AM a strong person, I CAN do this without my husband (even though I wish he were here and I still need him), and I WILL look to God for strength and everything else I need until my husband gets home!!!

***A song that really spoke to me about everything I was going through and helped me focus, is called “Stronger” by Mandisa.  Check it out; it might help you understand a bit more how I felt the first 8 days!

Now I feel lighter, like I don’t have the weight of ‘my world’ on my shoulders anymore, though there is still the tiniest ach holding on, but I think that’s just me missing my Honey.  However I’m always so busy it’s hard to dwell on it, so that’s where it sits and when I do have time to think about it, that ache is there to remind me I wish Jacob were here!!!

…After Church I drove home to check my e-mail real quick.  I had posted a few things on Craiglist the previous night and had a couple people e-mail they were interested in two of my items.  Two in particular were interested in Anna’s old daybed.  I let the first interested party know that I was available after Noon and they could come any time and the second interested party know that if I didn’t hear back from the first interested party they could come after 3.  As I sat and worked out my business, Anna and David both came in at different times complaining about the other doing something mean to the other, so when I had wrapped up what I was doing, before I hopped back in the van, to head to the LD Buffet for some lunch, I informed them that neither of them were going to get Chinese food because of their negative actions; boy did they not like that!  (I think for once I found one punishment that actually made an impression on them!)

So at LD we waited for Cindy to arrive; she was joining us for lunch and to hang out afterward.  As she pulled up and got out of her Jeep, I suggested that she could just leave Chance in the car and Anna could watch him since she and David were in trouble and weren’t going coming in, they would be staying in the van with Maggie.  She agreed and we (and John) headed in.  After we got our food, I paid and headed back out to the van before Cindy because I wanted to check on the kids.  As I walked out the van I noticed that Anna was holding Chance and asked her what she was doing!  As I got closer I could hear him crying, she said when Cindy left he’d started crying and wouldn’t stop so she got him out to try and calm him.  I took the little man from her and tried to calm him, he sniffled a little bit and there was a tear running down his face, but he seemed to not be as upset.  Cindy came out shortly after and I told her what Anna had said, then I strapped Chance back in his seat and we headed to my house.

Back home I dished up some food for John and Maggie, then helped Anna and David put together their lunch; and in between preparing meals I checked my e-mail to find that the lady, interested in the bed, has responded back and was sending her husband to pick up the bed and he’d be at my house within the next 15 to 20 min (he didn’t actually show for about 45 minutes).  The good news though, was that he bought the bed!  And he had the cutest little girl with him that reminded me of my niece Jade because she had the most beautiful big blue eyes and a really sweet smile!  :O)  Anyway, I helped the guy take the bed out to kids truck and was able to come in and eat some more of my lunch, however I ended up having to clean Maggie up (from her lunch) and put her down for a nap before I could finish.  By the time I got back to my lunch it was cold, but I ate it anyway since I hadn’t eaten breakfast and it was after 1.

So Cindy and I talked a bit and I told her my ideas for the kids bedrooms.  You see I had listed the boys dressers on Craigslist.  I had given them Anna’s dresser to share and wanted to get Anna a new dresser to match her new bed and desk, but was having trouble finding what I wanted.  Just recently I had injured my wrist moving the hutch for Anna’s desk and really jarred my shoulder when I tripped going up the stairs.  I slammed it into the wall trying to move a mattress up to Maggie’s room.  I was getting really wary about moving any more furniture without Jacob to help me.  So after describing my ideas so that I wouldn’t have to get Anna a new dresser just yet (I’ll wait until Jacob comes back home); we decided that we would just give the boys back their dressers and Anna hers.  However that meant moving Anna’s dresser back in her room and hauling the boys dressers back up the 4, 5, and 5 stairs winding up to the upstairs.  Well, WE DID IT!  We also almost completely rearranged Anna’s entire bedroom; we moved everything, but the desk/hutch.  It was very tiring and the only injury sustained, this time, was to my bad shoulder when I went to try and plug the vacuum chord in, in the bathroom and moved it the wrong way and it made a really nasty popping sound that hurt like the Dickens for a few moments.  Yikes, I think I may need to get it looked at because it’s getting worse (an old dislocation injury) and it’s been aching off and on and I’m afraid it’s going to try and dislocate on me again soon if I’m not very, very careful!  :O(

Cindy left shortly after we were finished getting everything arranged in the bedrooms (around 4:30ish).  The only thing left to do, for now, is for Anna to get all her stuff put away and try and purge a couple bins worth of stuff because not everything that was in her room is going to fit in her room (it didn’t fit before and I’m tired of the clutter)!!!

I’m very thankful to Cindy for helping me out!!!  Getting the kids rooms back in order has really helped to take some of the stress off of me (having a clean house makes me happy and thus brings a bit of peace to the home since I’m not stressed about any messes).  My living room is mostly clean now; only clutter left in there is Maggie’s toddler bed (still not sure what to do with it?).  Then there are a few things in the dinning room that I still need to list on Craigslist and a few other things that just need to be put away.

Later in the evening I was trying to get the dog outside for some reason, I can’t remember why exactly, but I was outside trying to get her to come out, but she didn’t want to budge.  So I came in and picked her up to carry her outside and she piddled a 2 foot trail on the way out of the house; I was pissed!  I had to wash the carpet and decided that since I was at it, I’d go ahead and wash the most used half the carpet in the TV room area.  While I began to work on the carpet, some other fiasco arose with the kids (I can’t remember what it was at this time).  I had to get Anna to take Maggie to keep her out of the room.

Meanwhile, I had the boys go out and clean up the doggie messes outside.  On their way out they left the garage doors open and the dog came barreling in.  I started yelling and grabbed her by the collar and as I’m dragging her out through the garage door, she leaves another huge trail of pee behind her.  Boy was I @#$*&^%^@#$!!!  Whatever that means…  Anyway, I got it all cleaned up, the carpet and the kitchen floor.

I had decided before this whole mess that I wanted to give David a hair cut, so when I was finished cleaning up the dog messes I was finally able to get to him and I had Anna run him a bath while I cleaned up the hair mess afterward.

I can’t remember what time it was by then.  I think somewhere in there the kids had dinner to???

It was getting too late to do out nightly reading so I just Skyped Jacob to let the kids say goodnight.

I can’t remember what we did in the evening…I’ll have to update my blog later with anything else I can remember.  There’s just lots and lots to write about and so little time to do it in, I’m falling behind…

P.S.  For those of you that didn’t get my reference above (just after day 9), it’s a quote from “Hook”  :O)

***The newly revised version 2.0

Day 8...

Day 8…  The Beginning of Week Two

2:25 am, I can’t sleep after being up for the last 2 hours with Maggie!    She was up at 12:30 and even though I let her come and sleep with me in my bed, because I didn’t feel like fighting with her, she wasn’t satisfied…  By 2 I decided that I’d had enough and went down in the basement and hauled all of the parts to Maggie’s crib up to her room.  By 2:20 I had it put together; crib, bedding, everything but the crib skirt (didn’t want to hassle with it).  Maggie was so excited as I lifted her and put her back in her bed (crib), she yelled, “YAY!” and started jumping around all excited! I left her in the crib then moved twin mattress set, that I had moved her to a few days ago, part way down the stairs, then pushed the crib where the mattress used to be.  It’s far away from the light switch now so she can’t reach over to turn the lights on and off all night when she doesn’t want to sleep!  I don’t think that she really even cared though (about the lights), she seemed so happy to be back in her crib again, maybe she and I will actually be able to sleep all the way through the night for once in over a week and a half!!! 

(I think I’ve only had about 12 hours of sleep in the last 96 hrs.)

…I can’t sleep!  I’m not tired in the least, too many thoughts rattling through my head and I want to get them down before I forget.  Hopefully this purge will help me get back to sleep (3:04 am).

         Now I’m not sure what to write about…  I really had a ton of thoughts running through my head as I was sitting down to write, but now they’ve all disappeared.

         I’m turning off the lights.  It’s 3:53 am.

         …3 1/2 hours, that’s a new record low!  I finally dozed some time after 4, though it wasn’t peaceful and I tossed and turned until just after 5 am (so I guess I’m not sure if it was even 3 1/2 hours???).  I was tired of fighting something that obviously wasn’t going to happen, so I decided to just get up; refreshed myself with a shower and now I’m dressed.

         My only plan for the day is to go to the ARC and check out a couple things I saw there when I went a couple days ago with the younger two.  Not sure if I’ll get anything, but this is one of the things that I look forward to doing every weekend, so even though I had previously decided that I wasn’t going to go, I changed my mind!

         2 hrs till the store opens.  I’m not sure what I want to do…  Sounds like one of the boys is up; it’s way too early, but I guess that’s what I get for putting them all to bed at 8 pm instead of letting them stay up late like I usually do on Friday nights; though I usually only take Anna to the ARC and Jacob’s stays at home with the younger 3, so it’s a bit different today.

                                            Some thoughts...                                                

         …I did remember at least one thing that I wanted to write down, though this won’t be posted for awhile because I don’t want it to happen just because I say it’s what I wish would happen.  That’s a huge pet peeve of mine; having to tell someone that I would like something to be done or something that I’d like to have (a certain gift), instead of them figuring it on their own; actions don’t mean as much and gifts aren’t quite as special when you have to tell or ask someone to do something or to get you specifically what you want!!!

         So back on subject…What I was really hoping would happen was that Jacob would just hop on a plane and fly back into my arms to spend the weekend with me!  Just his presence would be enough to recharge my spirits and I could get out all my emotional heartache so that my “pent-up emotional tank” would have a chance to empty instead of riding on full to overflowing every day.

         I imagined him arriving late last night or maybe first thing this morning, and as I took a shower this morning I heard more noise out in the house than usual (for this early) so I thought my wish might be coming true, but unfortunately it was just some of the kids taking their morning constitutional. 

         I really need a recharge; unfortunately my fuel is hundreds of miles away and will be inaccessible for another 2 weeks!  We’ll see if I can make it that long because my tank is running more than empty!!!  :O(

         On a different note…  I’ve decided that I am no longer going to attend MOPS.  I have attended two semesters, and until last week I didn’t feel like anyone cared.  I had thought about joining MOPS for years.  I’d drive by a sign advertising it at a Church here or there around town and think, I should join that, meet some Moms, maybe make some friends and give myself a little break from the kids.  So when I joined last fall I was really disappointed with what MOPS ended up to be, people wise, not activity wise.  I did really enjoy the speakers and crafts.  My favorite two things though out of these two semesters would have to be the Toy/Book/Movie Exchange in January and the MOPS Garage Sale last month (April)!  I live for those kinds of activities; they really bring me joy!!! 

Anyway, as far as attending goes, I would go each week, we’d all say our polite hellos, eat some food, listen to the speaker and go our separate ways.  Occasionally there would be some polite conversation, but nobody would really strike up a conversation to REALLY get to know you or open up for you to get to know them! 

I was really bummed when I even volunteered to run and organize an event, but they said their calendar was too full.  That really made me upset because it would have only taken 15 to 20 minutes of the schedule; the rest would have been done before and after, so it wouldn’t have interfered with their already scheduled events. 

Last week was the Mentor Mom (MM’s) Panel, where us moms were allowed to submit questions for the MM’s on anything under the sun that we had a question about.  I submitted 4 questions… and all of them were answered, but the last one really had everyone going.  I asked:  “What do you do when your husband is leaving for 2+ months and you’re stuck at home with 4 kids and you really rely on him for support and a break everyday, but don’t have any family or friends to rely on?” 

The first response was “G.I.R.L.F.R.I.E.N.D.S!”  …I was told to really put out the S.O.S flag when I needed help and cling to my girlfriends for support.

         The next MM, asked that the question be repeated and realized that the question said that there were ‘no friends’ for support!  Then she proceeded to really push the S.O.S thing and that that person (being me) needs to reach out for help to the Moms of MOPS, which is what MOPS was created for!  There were similar responses from the other MM’s, but during this, one Mom, from one of the other tables, raised her hand and she was like, “I’m really sad that someone would write that and that they would feel like that they had to ask something like that!  MOPS is supposed to be a place where Moms can go for friendship and support and to know that they are not alone.  This person really needs to reach out to the MOPS network because that is what it was designed for!” (Jenny paraphrase, but that’s what I heard.)  However, I couldn’t have been more surprised!  None of these Moms had every reached out to me, I only talked to the Moms at my table and even then I felt like there was no real connection, like I’m in a world of my own.  Any time I talk about my life or family I’m always given these looks of shock (subtle shock mind you) or feigned concern, but their actual expressions seem to be saying, “Oh too bad for you, but I don’t want to have anything to do with that!”  OR “That’s nice, but I wasn’t actually listening to what you had to say!”  So I try not to talk too much.  But sometimes I’m just dying to talk, then I realize after I’ve said what’s on my mind, that that’s exactly why I try and keep my mouth shut!

         Anyway, back to the question…  During the answering I started to get a bit teary eyed.  One of the ladies at my table turned to look at me, it wasn’t long before I couldn’t contain the tears, and when another lady at my table came over and gave me a box of tissues, that’s when the tears really started to flow, but I was able to remain silent.  When our MOPS director finished praying all the ladies at my table turned to me and started to ask me questions and offer their support.  “Just let me know what you need!” most all of them offered (some didn’t say a word though, just gave me those looks and still haven’t offered anything or e-mailed or called).  I broke soundly tears then and one of the ladies hugged me as I sobbed into my hands.  I left feeling embarrassed, but that people actually cared for once.

         When I got home I had an e-mail from one of the Moms from my table.  She stated that she realized I may have been overwhelmed by all of the offers of help, and she wanted to offer something specific and she wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer (unless I had a REALLY, REALLY good excuse).  She said that she would come over every Thursday while Jacob is gone and babysit the kids for me from 3:30 till 6:30 and I could do whatever I wanted to do.  I could stay in and chat with her, do crafts, or even leave; basically during that time she is giving me free reign to do whatever I need in order to get a break.  I was and am very impressed by her boldness!  I’m not the kind of person to ask for help, almost no matter what, I’d rather do things on my own; so her offering me something specific like that (with the option of an alternative day/time) was awesome!  It made me feel like she cares because her assistance is just being offered to me and I didn’t have to ask for her help, and because I didn’t have to ask for help, it didn’t make me feel embarrassed!  Actually it was more like I was being given a gift instead of feeling like I was being a burden!

         Well, I have been contacted via, e-mails and phone calls by 3 other ladies from my MOPS table and the MOPS director.  They’ve all offered their assistance, but I don’t really have anything that I need or want them to do other than to give me a break from my kids and asking for that seems too selfish so I haven’t contacted anyone back.  Though I do have Michelle (our table leader) scheduled to babysit the younger two next Thursday (May 5^th) while I go to a Dental Appointment.

         Anyway, I guess my point is, that even though these people keep saying they care or want to help me, I still don’t really feel like they care because I’m going to have to specifically ask them for help (by taking my kids off my hands for awhile) and that’s just too embarrassing!  I realize that saying they don’t care isn’t true, but feelings can be really strong deterrents and I’m going to give into my feelings right now…

         …Another reason I’m no longer going to attend MOPS is that there is only one MOPS session left for this semester. It’s supposed to be catered and I was really looking forward to the food from different vendors like the one I missed last semester, and everyone raved about, but I missed because my kids were sick and I couldn’t go!  However when I inquired about who was providing the meal I found out that the guy that regularly cooks the meals for the Church’s Wednesday Night Bible Studies is doing the catering.  AND unfortunately every time we ate anything that he made, on those nights before our Bible Study, I got the worst heartburn imaginable!  It was really terrible!!!  So, since I was already debating not going because I thought there were two MOPS meetings left in May and I thought the 2^nd one in May was the catered one and this one was just going to be a regular meeting (which doesn’t matter anyway since I don’t want to eat the food) and I don’t want to have to face everyone’s questions and feigned concerned expressions I’m going to skip it anyway.  I just can’t deal with any of it, especially when my emotions could deteriorate at any moment and it might be an uncontrollable outpour that I don’t want to have to be embarrassed about!!!

Today's events… It's getting better...

         …So today, I decided to take the kids to the movies.  I really wanted to go see “Rango” again, and figured, even if I had to miss some of the movie because Maggie was freaking out, it wouldn’t be that big a deal because I’d already seen it.  The kids really enjoyed it!  I’m totally going to buy it when it comes out, whenever that is???

         For some reason I can’t remember anything else that happened yesterday other than that I listed a few items on Craigslist before I went to bed and had an offer for the bedding set I listed, only a matter of minutes, after it was posted.

         I was in bed by 9:30 and think I got about 9 hours sleep last night!  Putting Maggie was one of the best things that happened to me all week; it allowed me to start recharging my batteries with some much-needed sleep!!!  :O)

         If I remember anything else later I’ll write it then, but for now I’ll move on to Sunday…

         P.S…Maggie has discovered the ‘shut off’ button on my computer (actually she’s known for awhile now), but whenever she gets around my temporarily unattended computer, after pushing a bunch of other buttons, she inevitably goes for that one!  ARG

Day 7... End of Week One

 

Day 7:  I can’t even talk about today;  I don't want to step on any toes!

…..The only thing I will say is that my heart is really hurting and the only remedy, I can think of, isn’t available!!!  :O(

Day 6...

Day 6:  I am so exhausted; I feel like I have the weight of my world on my shoulders and it’s really weighing me down!!!  I’m really looking forward to my 3ish hour break tonight, thanks to Erin from MOPS who has graciously volunteered to give me Thursday nights off!

         …Last night was a really late night!  My attempt at using a baby gate to keep Maggie in her room worked in a way, but in the end only really frustrated her and she was too upset to go to sleep.  Especially after I went into her room, about 11:45, and decided to put her back in her bed since she was lying on the floor without any blankets.  Putting her back in her bed was a mistake!  It woke her up and she wouldn’t go back to sleep, she just cried and cried at her door.  It was after midnight when I decided that I really needed to get some sleep so I’d just have her sleep with me in my bed.  She almost immediately went right to sleep snuggled up next to me on Jacob’s side of the bed.  This won’t be a regular thing though,  I have to figure out if I want to bring her crib back in or if moving her to a twin bed, with more space to move around, won’t be more productive?!

         I don’t get the best of rest sleeping with Maggie in my bed.  She tends to be a bed hog and I usually find myself on the very edge of the bed despite her small size.  I don’t like to have someone touching me when I sleep so I tend to move away from them and that is what has me ending up on the edge of the bed.

         For some reason, though I’d finally gone to sleep around 1am, I woke up right around 5:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep; this could be another reason I’m so exhausted today…  I lay in bed, but decided to get up at 6 since I couldn’t get back to sleep, then got ready for the day.

         The older 3 were up about 6:30.  Anna was really tired though; she’d stayed up till 10 doing something, I can’t quite remember what, so she didn’t get enough sleep.  The boys were up, but messing around in their room.  I had to remind them several times that they were supposed to be getting their clothes on for the day.

         Nothing too eventful went on this morning with the kids OR the dog; no mishaps, no big fights, or actions that demanded consequences.  Once Anna and David left for school I was able to make breakfast for Maggie and myself and sit and relax for a few minutes after going and going and going this morning trying to get some chores done.

         After eating I decided that I wanted to go to the ARC Thrift Store, turn in some donations, then check out the selections in the store.  Before we got out of the van I strapped Maggie into her new child safety harness that my friend Cindy got me.  We didn’t really use it much, but when we did it was extremely helpful and I actually saved Maggie twice from face planting in the road because I was able to pull her up in time!  :O)  (Thanks Cindy!!!)

I didn’t find much at the ARC, just 3 small items.  Then I took the kids over to The Dollar Tree, where we got a bunch of goodies and necessities.  Man can you save a bundle there, if you stop yourself from buying any extras that is…  ;O)  lol

         Back home, with the van unloaded, I tried to talk on the phone and get the kids some lunch, but Maggie was really being a challenge; she wouldn’t stop shrieking so I had to cut the conversation short.  Though I was able to schedule a babysitter for my Dental Apt. next Thursday morning and a play date afterwards!

         Once I was off the phone I was able to sit Maggie down with a yogurt, which I let her feed herself.  She made a bit of a mess, but was happier than she’s been previously so I decided to just deal with the mess afterward and enjoy the piece while I had it!  When she finished I tried to get her to eat her hot dog, but she just started freaking out again; so instead of fighting with her, I just put her down for nap.  She only fought that for a minute before she went right to sleep; I guess she was tired?!

         Right now (12:06 pm) I’m updating my Blog and getting ready to try and figure out what I want do in my time off this afternoon… 

John is playing with Lady; they are constant companions when the older kids are at school.

         I’m not sure what else will go on today???  I want to get a bit more cleaning done before Erin arrives this afternoon…  I’ll update more later this evening.

9:36 pm  ~I’m having trouble typing because I’m just so darn exhausted.  Running on only 4 1/2 hours of sleep will do that to ya, along with all the other daily stuff as well…  Wow I can’t even really think straight!!!

         I made dinner for my kids and Erin and her son, Ethan.  I had forgotten to tell Anna and David that they would have a sitter when they got home from school, so I had to call the school and leave a message so they wouldn’t freak out with a stranger in the home.  I also wrote them a note of what I expected while I was gone!

         Erin arrived right at 3:30, I relayed the dinner instructions, where stuff was, what wasn’t allowed with the dog and a few other sitting instructions then I took off.

         I went to the Cinema Grill to watch “Rango”.  WOW, is that a GREAT show!!!  It has an excellent moral that I really needed reminding of, lots of action, adventure, lots of laughs, and man was it punny!!!  LOL  I really enjoyed it!!!  While I was there I also enjoyed my favorite meal:  kids cheeseburger w/ fries and an extra basket of fries (I brought most of those home and the kids gobbled them up when they discovered that’s what was in the box).  I also got a soda and a brownie sundae (no nuts) a little later; none of that made it home!  :O)

         After the movie I only had about 45 minutes till I needed to be back home and I really wanted to find this CD that I discovered today, so I made a quick trip into The Dollar Tree to check on a few items, then headed off to Walmart.

         The closest Walmart was under construction and everything was very randomly arranged.  I finally found the electronics section in the very back corner on the opposite side of the store from the entrance.  However, I didn’t find the CD so I left.

         I kept wracking my brain to think of somewhere else that might have the CD, but I couldn’t think of anywhere until I pulled around the corner from Walmart and remember there was Sams Club just down the street and Best Buy a little farther down than that.  I stopped at Sams first, but they had a very limited selection.  Then at Best Buy I found what I was looking for.  It was priced a bit higher than I expected, but I really wanted to get the CD today, so went ahead and purchased it.

         Back home I thanked Erin and greeted my kids.  Once Erin left I rushed them upstairs to get ready for bed.  We started our reading time a little later than usual because the Skype connection was having a bit of trouble connecting on Jacob’s end, but he was finally able to read for 15 minutes.  I sent the kids up to bed right after and got off the computer so I could get the kids in bed and do a few things so that I could Skype Jacob and it just be the two of us for a few minutes before he headed off to bed.

         I had the kids put away a bit of laundry and the boys clean their room again (not sure why they can’t ever put things where they know they belong, especially when I have to tell them every night to do the SAME THING!!!)!!! 

         David and Anna helped me move the extra twin mattress we have up to Maggie’s room.  I decided that I wanted to try the twin bed to give her a bit more room to move around on.  She’s such a little rolly-polly at night, I think the toddler bed (especially that smaller mattress) without rails to keep her in (like the crib) just wasn’t working because she is just too active in her sleep!  We’ll see how the twin mattress works tonight?!?!  Right now I don’t hear her, but I’m gonna check on her before I head to bed when I’m done here…

         Once her bed was together and the toddler bed removed I put Maggie in bed.  She didn’t want to stay and I spend about 45 minutes going up and down the stairs putting her back in bed.  I hope this works; I really need some sleep!!!

         Nothing bad really happened today, just a few kids tantrums and Maggie’s usual mischief and fits, which are quite frustrating, but over all it has been my best day so far I think!  Now I just need to go to bed and I think things will be even better!  :O)  ZZZzzzzz……….. 

Days 4 and 5...

Day 4:  So I woke this morning just after 6 am because my phone was ringing.  Jacob was calling to talk a bit before he had to head in for school.  We reconciled after last nights events and I apologized for my childish response to what went on…

After our talk I decided to freshen up by taking a shower; though before I did I decided to weigh-in on our scale, only to step on it wrong and wrench my already bad ankle pretty good.  :O(

After I showered and dressed for the day, the 3 older kids were up and Lady came into my room (she had been sleeping in the boys room).  I quickly went with her out in the back yard so she could go potty.  Almost immediately she relieved herself.  I walked around a bit and shortly after she went and did #2, YAY!!!  So hopefully we won’t have any incidents in the house if we keep a VERY close eye on her today!!!

Nothing else has really gone wrong this morning…  Wait, I spoke too soon…  It’s just a mole hill though…  John just informed me Maggie is getting into mischief in Jacob’s office.  I asked David to go down and turn on the door alarm so she won’t go in, she’s afraid of the alarm; it’s a good deterrent!

The kids have all been breakfasted or are still eating in John’s case.  The older two are ready for School.  Anna is outside drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Now that Maggie has been redirected, David is reading to her down in he playroom.  There’s about 23 minutes until Anna and David need to leave for School. 

My only goal for the day is to go to the Post Office and mail off a package for my sister (it’s some eBay items she sold to a person in Brazil). I’ve never mailed an international package before so it will be an interesting experience!

So I can’t remember everything that I got accomplished yesterday, but here are a few things that I did get to: 

~I went through all the bins in the laundry/storage room because I’m trying to put together a bin of ‘worthy’ stuff to take to Kid to Kid to trade in for store credit.

~Cleaned off the last counter in the kitchen and most of the stuff off of the round table, though it has been cluttered up again already. S:OS

~I boxed up all the extra stuff (I’m not taking to KtK) in the Dining room to clean the room up a bit...Doing so I realized that there isn’t nearly as much stuff as it looked like and there definitely isn’t enough stuff to have a garage sale by myself, so I’m just going to have to donate the stuff I don’t take to Kid to Kid, minus the furniture…

         .....The only real problems that I’ve had with anyone at all today are with Maggie.  She is constantly getting into anything and everything she’s not supposed to (the dog water and food, the bookshelf next to my chair, playing with the remote controls for all the different equipment hooked up to the TV and for the TV itself, this is only to name a few things).  If I don’t watch her CONSTANTLY and even if I do she sometimes still gets into things, even if I’m right there…  SMH  …I’m not sure what’s going on with her?!  She’s been getting plenty of attention.  However, it seems she wants every single second of my attention, which isn’t leaving me with any time to do anything else that needs to be done around here, which is a lot with the new dog that has become un-potty trained being in a new environment, Anna and David needing help with homework when they get home from School and other various thing the older 3 need help with all through the evening.  Then there’s dinner, dishes, laundry, other household chores, ect, ect…. 

         This evening we got to Skype Jacob for our nightly reading before the kids went to bed.  The boys kept bouncing around like crazy and one time John bounced so hard he flew off the big purple marshmallow pillow we have and landed hard against the exercise bike.  I was like, “Whoa…are you okay?”   He seemed fine, then started to get all shy and cry like he does when he gets hurt (he never wants any attention when other people realize he’s been hurt and he gets very defensive).  Anyway, he wouldn’t let me anywhere near him, so I left him alone and he went and hid behind the chair next to the couch by the large dragon figurine that I got for my Anniversary last year.  Well, John started to freak out behind the chair, apparently frustrated by something, all of a sudden I see Anna’s jacket flying out from behind the chair and see my dragon go flying with it and hear a crack as it lands on the chair.  I rush over and grab the dragon, at first I don’t see anything then I notice there’s a 2” narrow chunk missing all the way through one of the dragons wings.  SMH …I was so angry, I yelled “Times up!” speaking about the reading time.  I took the dragon over towards the garbage and tried to see if I could retrieve the missing wing pieces, but they had fallen down inside (the inside is hallow), so it’s not repairable.  In frustration I slammed the dragon down on the counter (not as hard as you would think) and two of the dragons feet crack off and went flying across the counter.  RME&SMH   We called it a night and I sent the kids to bed.  Jacob was still on Skype, but we didn’t know what to talk about since I was so frustrated for SO many reasons!   

         I’m HORRIBLY bummed that my super awesome dragon (present) was ruined!!!  I might try and find another one because I really, REALLY liked that dragon (not only was it super cool looking, it was a present from my Honey)!!!!!

         The older 3 kids went to bed no problem, but I really had a tough time getting Maggie stay in bed.  She had fallen asleep earlier when we had run an errand to grab some baby gates from a lady who had posted them on Craigslist.  She took about an hour nap, so when it was time for bed she didn’t want to go and I spent over an hour running up and down the stairs, spanking her butt every other time or so, and putting her back in bed.  I think it was around 9:30 when she finally stayed put; she originally went to bed at 8.

         I stayed up and watched “Cranford”; it's a two disc series that I’ve rented from Netflix.  I started to get really tired after the second episode, about 10:30 so I shut it off and went to bed.

          

         Day 5:  So today I had quite a bit planned to do!  First thing, after the usual stuff (getting kids ready for school and everything that goes with it), I needed to go and fuel my van and get out some cash so that I could head to Boulder to check out a desk/hutch combo that I possibly wanted to get for Anna.  I originally wanted to leave at 8:35, HOWEVER at 8:30 David comes up from the playroom, looking all wary and concerned he says, “Mom I just noticed this just now, I’m not sure when she did it, but the dog pooped in the playroom.”

         “WHAT?!?!” I shriek.  There were a LOT of choice words and dialogue that went on after that, but I wont’ repeat it.  Anyway, I cleaned up the mess and wasn’t ready to leave till 8:50.  The kids hadn’t left for school yet and I had had a really hard time getting them to listen and help me out so we could leave, so they were punished and I told them they'd have to run, they had 5 minutes to get to School or they'd be late.

         John, Maggie and I took off after Anna and David left for School.  I stopped to  get some cash (for the desk) and fuel since I was below half a tank; Boulder is almost an hour drive away.  Anyway, we were on the road at 9:01 am.

         We arrived at our destination in West Boulder a few minutes before 10, the time that’s I’d arranged to meet the people at their place.  When we parked I called my friend Cindy to let her know so she could take off for our lunch destination; she had a farther drive than I so she needed a head start. 

          The place we arrived at appeared to be an apartment complex with multiple places claiming the same address.  However I had never received a house number from the lady, but I did get a phone number, so I gave her a call.  They said they were just around the corner, they’d gone to get coffee, and a few minutes later they pulled up.  Maggie at fallen asleep on the way there so I left her in the van.  John had to go to the bathroom, so I asked if he could use their restroom.  When he was done we went out to check out the desk.  It looked exactly like the pictures only for real, now that we were seeing them in person.  I checked out all the pieces making sure it wasn’t going to fall apart and was sturdy.  Everything seemed in working order, it just needs a few screws to put a drawer face back on and a couple drawer pulls, so $50 wasn’t bad at all for such a nice desk with only a few minor scratches and a couple of hardware pieces that needed replaced!

         I decided I wanted the desk and we started to load the pieces into the van.  I’d removed Anna’s seat and put David’s side down, but as we tried to get the pieces in it proved to be a bit more difficult than we expected.  We had to do some creative type puzzle solving with the pieces and in the end I had to put John’s seat down as well and move him to the front seat in order to make all the pieces fit.

         After we got the desk/hutch loaded I paid the lady, thanked them and the kids and I headed off to meet my friend Cindy at The Huckleberry in Louisville.  It was only 20 minutes from where we were.

         The kids and I arrived in Louisville at about 10:45 am.  I couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere near the restaurant, so we had to drive around a bit.  After driving up and down the streets a couple times I finally found a spot just east of the restaurant, about a block away.  When we parked I let Maggie out of her seat since she’d been confined for about an hour and 45 minutes.  We still had about half an hour till Cindy would get there (she had a 45 minute drive) so with the kids loose in the van I tried to make a phone call to kill some time, but couldn’t get through.

         Time passed and about 15 minutes and two diaper changes later we headed into The Huckleberry.  After a quick bathroom break, we came back to the front and were seated almost immediately.  We got a table back in a smaller side room with only a few tables.  I ordered some tea for myself and water for the kids.  Cindy arrived about 10 minutes later and I order an appetizer, Fried Green Tomatoes, and John’s lunch, a Mickey Mouse Pancake with whipped crème.  It took us awhile, but Cindy and I finally decided what we wanted to eat.  She ordered the Country Breakfast and I decided to try something outside of the box (for me) and got Eggs Benedict.  I’ve always wanted to try it, or so I thought, but never had the guts to actually order it, so I decided since that since this was a new experience I’d go ahead and try something new (something that I hesitate to do because I’m usually horribly disappointed).  Anyway, John’s pancake and the Fried Green Tomatoes came out a bit later.  John started work right away on his.  I grabbed a FGT, dipped it in the sauce and took a bite…YUM!  It didn’t taste like I’d always imagined, but it was REALLY good!  I ate 2 1/2 and gave the first half to Maggie who started munching away.  

Cindy and I chatted a bit while we waited for our meal to arrive.  I relayed some of the past few days events.  Maggie became very fussy, no matter what tried or gave her she just wouldn’t calm down and became very screechy.  I finally gave her my calculator and she was okay with that, mostly. 

Our food arrived and it looked quite good.  I decided to just dive right into my Eggs Benedict and despite my hesitation (in the past) it was VERY good, even better when combined with a bit of their seasoned potatoes!  My only complaint, however, would be that I didn’t like the slimy feel of the egg (over easy) on my tongue; it gave me the willies, other than that I would definitely order it again (Cindy said to order the egg fried next time)!!! 

John made short work of his pancake.  I didn’t even realize he had finished it off until he brought it to my attention.  He REALLY liked it!  I told him I’d order him a milkshake because he had been so good.  He chose a chocolate one and I told the waiter, whom I thought had heard me…  After we finished our meals I decided to get dessert.  I ordered a slice of peach huckleberry pie and a white lemon curd cake 'to go'.  My pie was delivered and I tried it.  It was a bit more tart than I was lead to believe, but I think that was because they had kept it in the fridge (I prefer my pie room temperature).  I shared the pie with John and Maggie ate my whipped crème.  John’s shake never came unfortunately; I made sure that we weren’t charged for it on the check, so I let him finish off my pie.   We did get the lemon cake though and John wasn’t to carry it to the van so I let him.

Cindy drove over and parked behind me just before we left to head back to Aurora.  She had picked up some things for me at the BX while she was shopping the previous day.  She found me a child harness for Maggie (because of the previous days fiasco with her at TRU), a dog bed for Lady (so she’d have a place of her own to crash), and some of my favorite cheese I use in about everything I cook and was almost completely out of (it’s way cheaper at the Commissary than anywhere else).  After I loaded the stuff we took off and I lead the way back towards our homes.       

***In our discussions over our meal Cindy and I decided that we needed to go back there at least once a month.  The food was all so good and the décor was really nice to look at.  We wanted to sample some more teas too, but didn’t want to have to worry about the kids, so we’ll have to wait till our hubbies our back from TDY. 

Back home, I unloaded Maggie and the stuff Cindy gave me.  I put the dog bed on the ground and let Lady in.  I tried to show her the bed, but she wasn’t interested at all.  She was more excited that we were home!  As I showed Lady the bed, Maggie kept cuddling the pillow, I couldn’t get the dog to stay on it.  I thought that was funny that Maggie liked the pillow more than the dog, so I called Cindy to let her know.

While I talked with Cindy she reminded me that I needed to do some laundry (something she was talking about that she needed to do).  So I went downstairs and ended up doing 3 loads.  In between loads I kept having to get after Maggie.  She’s been such a huge mischief-maker since Jacob left for St. Louis, even more than usual.  Even if I keep a constant eye on her, I’m constantly reprimanding her and pulling her out of trouble and cleaning her up! 

When the kids got home I had Anna and David help me unload the desk/hutch from the van.  I ended up hurting my wrist trying to get the hutch out; it’s still a bit tender.  After we got it in the house we went over to The Book Outlet to try and find a dog-training book so that we can properly start working with Lady.  I also found a book on lots of different tricks to teach a dog and a book specifically on Chow Chows, which the breed that I’m thinking of getting for myself sometime in the future, or at least a mix of.       

When we got back home Anna made dinner for herself and the kids.  She made Parmesan pesto penne and peas.  They all really liked it!  I didn’t eat because I had had such a large lunch and was still very full, plus I don’t like Pesto, yuck!

After dinner, I decided that I really, really wanted to get my hair cut.  I couln't wait another day, it's been driving me CRAZY, so I had the kids load up in the van and we headed off to our usual hair salon.  I left the kids in the van under Anna’s supervision and instructions her to come and get me if need be and headed in.   

There was a lady in front of me when I got inside so I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to wait or not, but I was able to get right in.  The lady, Morgan, did a great job on my hair; she did exactly what I wanted and I was so excited that I had gotten my hair done that I gave her a $5 tip!

When I was finished and paid I went out to the van and told the kids we were heading over to Walmart.  I told them if they were good and didn’t get in trouble, even once, that I would let them have their chocolate Easter Bunnies (that they haven’t received yet for various different reasons, they didn’t get them tonight either).  I had brought a list and was able to get most of what was on it, plus a few Easter items that they had on 50% off.  We got the Easter version of a Sing-a-ma-jig for $5 and a couple other things.  I also go everything to make crepes again except for strawberries.  I did check for them, but almost every case was moldy, yuck, so I decided I’d wait and look elsewhere.

On our way home I was about to turn to go out of the Walmart parking lot, when I saw a lady holding a sign next to her car that read: “Out of Gas”.  I almost turned to leave, but felt compelled to stop and give them some money, so I pulled around and parked, grabbed some cash and headed over to her.  I handed her the cash and apologized for not having a gas can with me, but she and the guy with her were extremely thankful for the money anyway.  I got back in the van and we headed home.

I called Jacob on the way since it was 10 till 7.  We usually start our night reading at 7, but I didn’t think we would make it home by then so I wanted to let him know we’d be a little late.

When we got home I had the kids help me unload the van, then had them run upstairs to get their pajamas on.  I put all the stuff in the sacks away and then Skyped Jake a bit before the kids were ready.  Once they were seated, and paying attention for the most part, he started the story.

While Jacob read I had a lot of trouble getting Maggie to not feed the dog her food, which she was doing unintentionally, only because the dog was so close.  I finally had to put the dog outside because I couldn't keep the two separated.  I had various different incidents with Maggie while Jacob read, she just didn’t want to sit still.

At about 7:30 I told the kids to brush their teeth (if they hadn't already) and head to bed.  I hung up with Jacob to get the kids ready for bed.  I ended up making the boys pick up all their stuff in their room and hang their clothes; their room was a mess!  They have to keep their room picked up every night, which isn't a new rule, but has to absolutely be followed through on now because Lady sleeps in their room.  At least until Anna can get her room cleaned up, but we need a new dresser for her before that will be possible…

By the time the boys were in bed it was 8:15.  I let Maggie stay up until 8:30 then because I’ve had such a hard time with her staying in bed for the last week plus, I decided to gate her in her room so she can’t leave.  She really didn’t like it at first and kept opening the door, turning on the light and crying.  I thought it was working because instead of the hour and a half that I’m usually chasing her up and down the stairs to get her in bed, this time she was quite within half an hour and her light was off.  Unfortunately, about an hour later she started crying again, it woke Anna who thought she would let Maggie sleep in her room to get her to stop crying.  However, shortly after Maggie left Anna’s room crying and for some reason she was only wearing her diaper.  I had to go and put Maggie back in her pj’s, change her diaper and put her back in her bed.  She didn’t want to go; she cried for a while, then was quite for a while, then cried for a while again.  She’s quite now; it’s 10:21, hopefully she’ll stay asleep!!!

Nightmare on Paris Place...

 

And various other locations...

Saturday my life started to go to Hell!  It's been one continuous nightmare after another!!!!!  I've shed many a tear and lost my temper way too many times!!!!!  Unfortunately IT never seems to end!!!  :O(

Day 1:  It all started when Jacob left for St. Louis about 10:30 am Saturday morning! Unfortunately since the last two days have been a whirlwind of non-stop activity and constant trials and tribulations I have apparently blocked the events of Saturday from my memory, so I can’t tell you what happened at this time…  Wait…  I remembered something…  I spent a lot of time in the evening trying to put the kids Easter outfits together so we wouldn’t have to search for something, last minute, in the morning.  I ended up arguing and fighting with the boys a lot because they didn’t want to wear something super fancy.  In the end I won out, but was worn out emotionally from the fight!  :O(

So I will move onto Sunday…

Day 2:  Sunday morning I awoke relatively early to get ready for Easter Sunday.  Maggie had spent several hours sleeping in the bed with me (she joined me around 4:30 I believe) and had managed to push me to the edge of Jacob’s side of the bed.  When I got up she was laying horizontal on the bed with her feet on my side and her head on the edge of my side of the bed.  I left her sleeping and went to take a shower, but she woke up and ended up showering with me.  When we finished, I helped to get the boys ready for the day.  I had to focus individually on each child until they were completely dressed then move onto the next child because if my attention strayed even a little bit, that child would freak out.  So anyway,  I got the boys dressed and Anna got Maggie into her tights.  Anna had gotten herself ready, but didn’t know where Maggie’s dress was so I had to go downstairs and get it from the laundry room. 

When Maggie was all dressed and ready for the day, except for her shoes, I finally had the time to get myself ready for the day.  I couldn’t figure out anything to wear that looked really nice and didn’t make me feel totally fat, so I opted for something slightly nice, but more for comfort., About 15 minutes before we needed to leave for Church and I was dressed and ready, I headed downstairs.  As I reached the bottom of the stairs, John comes running out of the kitchen yelling, “Mom, Maggie’s playing in the dog water!” Then Maggie comes running out from the kitchen as if on cue and she’s drenched in the dogs water and the feet of her tights are brown.  SO I had to go and find her a completely new outfit.  What I found wasn’t anywhere near as cute at the outfit she was originally wearing, but I didn’t have anything else for her to wear and we were running out of time to get to Church.

         Well I took the kids to Church to honor God and for no other reason.  I didn’t really even want to be there and as I stood in the sanctuary I felt like crying off an on because of the mornings events. I didn’t sing much and just ended up listening.  I didn’t learn anything, though I did end up putting in a prayer request.

         After Service Anna went and got John for me ( I had written her a note and given her my security card so I wouldn’t have to get him AND Maggie from their classes);  I also gave her my keys and asked her to take him out the van.  I went to get Maggie, David was with me, and as I stood waiting for the workers to bring her to me a lady I know from MOPS, named Erin, came up and said “Happy Easter!”. 

I was like, “Sure.” rather sourly.  I may have even rolled my eyes.  S:OS

About that time they brought Maggie over.  Erin said, “What a pretty dress.” 

I was like, “She was wearing a much prettier one this morning.” Then proceeded to tell her about my morning.  Then we headed out to the van.

From Church we headed to Toys R Us.  Since we had gotten out 15 minutes early from Church and I didn’t have to meet my friend Cindy at the Chinese Buffet till 11, I figured we had time.  I went there because I knew they had these train track pieces that John needed to be able to connect the train sets that he had gotten for his Birthday together and I wasn’t sure when we’d be down there again…  Anyway, when we got there I discovered that all their Easter stuff was 75% off.  I ended up getting each of the kids a basket filled with goodies for $3.25 (4) to $5 (1) and several Easter themed board books for Maggie at 50% off. 

After looking through the Easter stuff for a while I headed over to the train area and picked up two track sets for John.  The boys played with the train set that was out and I decided to look around a bit since the Sunday paper that I had gotten didn’t have any ads in it for some reason (not sure why?).  Anyway, I had a really hard time keeping the kids with me while I was going through the isles.  The boys kept taking off, I was really frustrated so I quit looking and we checked out.

We made it to the LD Buffet at about 11.  I had Anna run in to see if they were open, which I was pretty sure they were.  She came back out go get us, so I texted Cindy to let her know she could head over. I brought all the kids into the restaurant and sat the boys and Maggie at the front on the bench to wait for Anna and I to get the food (we got it “to go”).  I told David to keep an eye on Maggie and for John to just sit there and wait.  After I’d dished up my favorite sushi, I looked over to find all the kids (minus Anna) doing ring around the support pole at the front and making a scene so I had to go and reprimand them.  Once they were seated again I finished getting our food, paid, then we headed home.

When we got home I tried to take some pictures of the kids all dressed up in their Easter garb, HOWEVER they weren’t cooperating.  I finally gave up.  Cindy joined us a few minutes later.  When she arrived we sat down to eat.  When the kids were done, I told them to go downstairs and watch a show so Cindy and I could watch a show of our own, but they kept hanging around making too much noise and Cindy and I had too much to talk about.  We couldn’t really pay attention to the movie (and it was one of those movies you really want to pay attention to or you end up missing things), so we finally gave up trying to watch.  I let Cindy take the movie home so she would be able to watch the movie without all the distractions.  Since watching the show wasn’t working out I suggested that we go and check out a different Toys R Us to see what selection of Easter stuff they had left. 

When we arrived at TRU they were pretty much cleaned out of most of the good Easter stuff.  :O(  I did find some different Easter themed books though and two really cute, super soft, fleece bunnies that I got for .75¢ each.  I also found the Limited Edition Tangled storey book that I had wanted to get, quite awhile back, and a Hello Kitty ABC board book which I got for FREE because of their Sunday BOGO sale going on with their books.  So that was cool!

We looked around awhile longer.  The kids were really having a hard time staying with me and I had to keep going to get them.  We finally decided it was time to leave and headed towards the check out. 

While I was checking out I asked Anna to keep an eye on Maggie for me.  She was too distracted with whatever she was doing and not paying any attention to Maggie so I asked her again.  When I finished checking out I stood with Cindy waiting for her to finish her transaction.  Then all of a sudden I hear the boys screaming something about Maggie and I turn to see John running out the Exit doors, so I take off running too!  I get outside and there is Maggie across the street and David has just gotten a hold of her.  Needless to say I was startling shocked and super angry!  I rushed across the street, grabbed Maggie from David and stormed to the van, buckled Maggie into her car seat and immediately called Jacob.  We discussed the kids lack of cooperation, and inability to mind.  I said I needed to pick up a collar and leash for Maggie so I don’t have to chase after her all the time, since she won’t say put.  About this time Cindy comes out and I tell her what happened; she’s shocked!  I tell her I need to get a collar and leash for Maggie and she reminds me about the safety harnesses that TRU and other stores carry.  So I asked if she’d watch the kids while I ran in to find one.  She said yes and says she’ll talk to the kids for me while I’m gone. 

I found what I was looking for, but didn’t like the color, so I didn’t get it.  I decided that I would just strap Maggie in when she’s in a cart and just not go anywhere else that doesn’t have a cart until I can go and find one of those safety harnesses.  My plan is to go to Kid to Kid when we get paid Thursday because I’ve seen them there before and they were way cheaper than buying a new one.  I hope I can find what I’m looking for!!!

I can’t remember what I did in the evening.  The kids didn’t get their Easter baskets or chocolate bunnies because they had been so disobedient (that was what I told them when they asked about them). I’m sure I cleaned up dog pee at least once or twice down in the playroom.  I’m REALLY TICKED that the person who sold us the dog said she was potty trained because she obviously isn’t and that was a major factor in our getting her!  :O( 
 I guess I’ll move on because I can’t remember anything else that happened…

Day 3:  Monday (4-25-11) morning, Anna came into my room about 6:30, she wanted to know what to do with her hair because yesterday evening I had wound her damp hair up into sections and secured them with bobby pins so that in the morning when she woke up her hair would be curly.  I told her to let the dog out and would help her with her hair when I got up.  I continued to lie in bed for a little while after she left, Maggie asleep at my side.  She had spent half the night sleeping in bed with me (she didn’t hog the whole bed this time).  When I got up a few minutes later I got dressed. 

         What happened after this and up until the events of the morning, I’m not quite clear on anymore.  However, I think in there somewhere I decided to move Maggie’s furniture around so that she’ll be more secure in her toddler bed, instead of switching her over to a twin mattress like I debated… 

Anyway, so I was distracted with something or other and came downstairs, John comes rushing over… “Mom, Maggie has poop!” 

“What?!” I say in shock and confusion.  Then turn to find Maggie holding two dog turds.  I start yelling frantically and Maggie sets the poop down on the table.  I pick her up and rush her over to the sink and immediately wash and rinse her hands and wipe her face, which has suspicious indications that she may have been trying to eat the poop, YUCK!!! 

With her all cleaned up I grab a paper towel and throw the poop away, then using some sanitizer wipes I wash down the table and douse it with sanitizer pray.  After it was cleaned I question John about where Maggie found the poop.  He’s pretty certain that it was on the floor in the TV room.  Though I’m not quite positive of John’s certainty, I start searching around to make sure there aren’t anymore unfortunate incidents on the floor.  Initially I don’t see anything, though I spot the dog looking rather guilty over next to one of the bookshelves in the front room and I tell the kids to take her outside and move on.  Since I didn’t find anything, I sanitize spray the whole TV room, then wash the carpet, and sanitize spray the whole floor again, this time leaving it to dry.  I had Anna grab the box fans from downstairs and set them up so the floor would dry quicker.

Once the floor was clean and the steam vac was cleaned and put away (in the garage), I decided to go check around and make sure I didn’t miss anything.  Guess what?!  I DID!!!  I found several logs of poop on the floor in the fireplace room (not sure how I missed them).  So I pick ‘em up and sanitize spray the floor.  Then I had to retrieve the steam vac, refill it, and as I go to plug it in behind an end table in the front room, guess what else I found?!?!?!  A huge puddle of dog pee (that’s why the dog looked so guilty)!  I started breathing deeply so I wouldn’t lose it, but couldn’t handle it anymore, so I started to cry as I worked to clean up the mess.  I ended up washing the whole carpet in the fireplace room and front room and drenched everything in sanitizer spray!        

Just before Anna and David left for School I went to put the dogs blanket outside, since I had no intension of letting her back in, however she managed to rush past me into the house.  I yell at the kids to grab her and put her back outside.  Well Anna grabbed her by the collar and started dragging her back outside (because she didn’t want to go), AND the dog left a trail of pee all along the floor behind her.  SO I had to wash the carpet AGAIN!!!  :O(

I had to rush Anna and David out the door, then finish cleaning up.  Though on one of my many passes past the bathroom I heard a bunch of splashing coming from inside.  I opened the door to find Maggie holding the toilet brush and she’s sloshed toilet water all over the floor completely soaking it.  I had to sop up all the water and sanitize the toilet, the whole floor, and while I was at it I wiped down the counter and mirror.  After cleaning the bathroom I took Maggie upstairs, stripped her, gave her a bath, then dried her and put her in clean clothes.

So after all this was over it was just after the older two left for School.  After going, going, going since about 6:30 am, and it now being almost 10 am, I was finally able to sit down and relax for a moment.  I put on a movie for John and Maggie.  I surfed the net while holding Maggie. 

I was checking out potty training advice, when my sister called to tell me about an item, which I had been searching for, was in stock at a local store.  Her call reminded me of something that I had meant to do that morning, but got side tracked and completely forgot about…  And what I had forgotten was that I wanted to go to Target to check out the after Easter sale.  While I was there I also tried to find a child safety harness (which I didn’t find) and a baby gate, which I did get (I purchased it as a potty training tool).  I also got some bread (which we were completely out of) and a few Easter items at 50% off.

Back home around 11, Maggie was super cranky so I decided to put her down for a nap.  Then I nuked some left over Chinese for John and my lunch and sat down to finally relax.  I was able to do some furniture research on-line (Anna really needs a dresser and some bookshelves to get her room in order) and check a few other things out.

Then about 2 pm, since I hadn’t heard Maggie yet, I thought I should go and check on her.  I found her still asleep, on her bed, so I decided to go outside and do some yard work.  I went out back and pulled all the dandelions (or so I thought, I found one later, it must have been hiding), raked up most of the loose stuff on the yard, then mowed the lawn.  When I was finished I came in to find Maggie in my chair, fortunately she hadn’t gotten into anything.

Later in the afternoon after the kids were home from school I had to clean up another pee spot from the dog.  Jacob and I talked about potty training techniques so that the dog wouldn’t have the chance to pee in the house.  We decided that when the dog is in the house we will keep her on her leash and when she is outside (in the back yard), she can be off her leash.  We’ll after the kids had had her on he leash for awhile, and she had been outside not too long ago, I didn’t think it necessary to keep the dog on her leash anymore since she was with at least one of us the whole time.  Unfortunately not too long after her release AND right in front of David’s nose (which was in a book), she peed on the floor, though he said it was there when he went in the fireplace room to start reading.  SMH  :O(

I made dinner for us all about 4:30.  My original plan was to start dinner at 4:15, however my timing was thrown off because I had to clean up the dog mess. 

The rest of this evening I spent a lot of time keeping Maggie out of trouble. 

Around 6 pm (I didn’t even realize it was that late until my sister called and as I was walking around happened to glace at the clock on the microwave), I had Anna take the dog for a walk.

Just before 7 pm I had the kids get their pajamas on and brush their teeth.  We were waiting for our reading time with Jacob, via Skype, which we had previously scheduled as our nightly, family get together time before the kids went to bed each night.  However, I couldn’t get a hold of Jacob so I had the kids do some reading on their own. I spent the time cleaning the kitchen and doing some reorganizing, and then put the kids to bed at 8.  I continued to clean the kitchen.  I got 3 of the four counters cleaned off, the medicine cabinet decluttered, reorganized, and all the outdated meds tossed.  AND I’ve spent the last hour and fifteen minutes trying to keep Maggie in bed; she didn’t want to stay put till I scared her this last time (it’s now 9:29 pm).

I’m not sure why my kids have such a hard time listening to me OR minding… Or why EVERYTHING has escalated as horribly as it has since Jacob has been gone???  It just seems like one bad thing after another happens and I’m constantly, CONSTANTLY, RUNNING AROUND TRYING TO CLEAN IT ALL UP!!!

AAARRRRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!  :O(