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!!!
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