Just call me Martha

I don't know what's gotten into me lately. I'm still working on that darn laundry pile... and I promise it's getting smaller every day.

And today I spent hours in my kitchen, of all places. (For those of you who don't know me very well, the kitchen is NOT my favorite place to be.)

I boiled eggs... lotsa eggs. I made egg salad AND deviled eggs (my first attempt ever at those; my friend Sarah was appalled to learn that I've never made deviled eggs... I didn't realize that was such a big deal, but now I've done it, Whew!)... and also made a pitcher of Kool-Aid for the kids and a pitcher of sweet tea for Nick and me.

AND, after all of that fun, I cleaned the entire kitchen... washed every last dirty dish in the house and scrubbed down the counters and appliances. (I even washed and dried my sink... FlyLady would be proud!)

I even considered making a huge, early dinner... for Nick to enjoy before he has to go back to work this evening. But, I decided not to overdo it (I was really beginning to worry about myself!). So, I'm saving his big dinner for tomorrow, when he has the day off and I won't have to worry about the clock ticking too quickly!

Now, I'm working. Well, I'm blogging RIGHT now, obviously, but quickly during a little break from work...

I've been far too productive already for one measly Saturday. I might have to sit and do nothing this evening, huh??

Tide is on my side

I've just made the management decision that today is the day... I'm tackling the massive pile of dirty laundry that has taken over my house in the past week or so. No more messing around with one load per day (two if I'm really determined). Enough is enough.

Laundry is my nemesis. I always have and always will HATE laundry, with a passion. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to come up with an explanation for my hatred of all things laundry. It defies logic... I just hate it. I would almost rather spend all day at the dentist, having a root canal, than spend all day going up and down those basement stairs every 40 minutes to switch load after load of laundry... not to mention the folding... and then trying to find a home for all of the clean clothes. *shudder*

But, duty calls. My children need socks and underwear... and, GASP!, I'm out of clean PJs. We certainly can't have that!!

So if you don't hear from me for a day or two (or ten), know that I'm waging war on the laundry pile. With any luck, I'll survive to tell the tale.

Flower Therapy

I had a really crappy day yesterday... work annoyed me in a big way, which made everything else even more annoying than usual (kids, dogs, laundry, etc.). So by the time bedtime rolled around, I was more than ready for it!

I had talked with Nick on the phone earlier in the evening, and gave him a run-down on everything that had me annoyed at that moment.

He told me he was going to make it home after his last delivery... around midnight or so. I waited up for him and just enjoyed the peace and quiet once the kids were asleep.

Then, Nick came in the door with a really sweet card and these:

He definitely accomplished his goal of putting a smile on my face after a rotten day! Somehow he always knows how to do that.

Why, why, why...

Why is it, do you suppose, that something designed to make my life easier actually makes it more complicated??

You know those stupid resealable Zip-Pack things that lunch meats and sometimes cheeses are packaged in? Has anyone ever had any luck with those WORKING the way they're supposed to?

I almost just threw a 3-lb bag of hot dogs (yes, we eat a lot of hot dogs) through the window. Because the "easy" Zip-Pack piece o' crap didn't work... they NEVER work, do they? (Please tell me I'm not the only idiot who can't get them to function properly!!)

First of all, you're supposed to just rip along that fabulous dotted line to open the package... and then the two plastic pieces are supposed to open, revealing that spectacular "zip" part... right??

Well, when I rip along the dotted line, it usually careens in some other direction instead... then I have to hunt down a pair of scissors to cut along the dotted line. And even THEN, if you do (by some miracle) manage to tear it along the dotted line, the plastic remains sealed below the magical dotted line. So, you need to hunt down your scissors ANYWAY to cut the package open. And then fight to get the zipper part open, too.

Yep, this reallllly makes my life easier. Thank God for the Zip-Pack!!!

(It's possible that I'm wound a little too tight this afternoon, ya think?)

Another new blog header

For my Firefox and Mac friends (who can't see the header when they view my blog... annoying!).

Do Not Feed the Animals (they don't like your cooking anyway)

Okay, so I've blogged a lot lately about Damon's friend... the kid from down the street who pretty much lives here now.

Nick and I could see this situation getting wayyyy out of hand now that the boys are out of school, so we set two important rules for this summer:

• My doorbell better not ring before noon on any given day.
• J can sleep over ONE night per week, not every night (which is what he'd do if I let him), and preferably on Friday or Saturday night... just like during the school year.

The boys have been adhering to the rules, for the most part, and not fighting authority (ha!) TOO terribly much when I have to remind them of one or both rules (this happens quite frequently).

Today, I made a new rule:

• If you spend the night, I'll feed you (if I'm in a good mood). BUT, if you don't like what I fix MY children to eat, then take your butt home and eat there.

Hmpf.

The kid is weird. I have no clue what he eats and drinks at home... but he refuses to do either here at my house. My kids drink apple juice by the barrel... J doesn't like apple juice. (And apparently our WATER isn't good enough for him either, because he went all the way home yesterday afternoon just to get a drink of water. Weird.)

And it's not like I'm trying to feed him anything strange. I have a whole list of "kid foods" that I generally keep in our kitchen... things that I KNOW the kids will eat and I won't have to fight them on at meal times (because sometimes a tired, overworked and underpaid mother just runs out of fight altogether). Some of the things on this kid food list include: hot dogs, chicken nuggets, Ramen noodles, PB&J sandwiches, microwave pizza. Those were all of the things I offered to Damon for lunch today, and told him to pick one. Damon chose Ramen noodles, chicken flavor.

So, I made a huge pot of Ramen noodles, enough for all three kids currently under my roof. When I handed a bowl of them to J, he said, "Oh... I don't like noodles."

Of course you don't.

I started to ask J what he would LIKE to eat, but then thought better of it. I'm fairly certain that the child thinks nothing that comes from my kitchen is edible, so what's the point?? And why should I have to fix something special for him (someone that I did NOT give birth to) just because he's a crazy, picky eater?

So, in the nicest "nice voice" I could muster, I said to the child, "Hey J, why don't you go home and eat lunch since you don't like what Damon and Avery are eating? You can come back and play later if you want to."

J was very agreeable to this solution and was out the door heading for his house in a flash. And Damon thanked me for "being nice... finally." Huh. I'll have to dig out that "nice voice" more often... apparently it has them fooled.

Remember this cutie??

I don't know what's wrong with me lately... but I miss my babies. Sure, Damon and Avery are with me all the time, but they turned into big kids when I wasn't looking.

And, like I mentioned in another post not long ago, I don't want to re-live those baby stages. I survived sleepless nights, diapers, projectile vomiting, bottles, burping, vaccines, teething, car seats, strollers, carrying the huge diaper bag every time I left the house, more sleepless nights, interpreting babbling and recognizing all of the different cries (God, they have so many different cries!), the terrible twos, potty-training... did I mention sleepless nights?!?!

Yeah, so you get the point, I'm sure. I survived all of that... not once, but TWICE even. And I have yet to regret my decision to have my tubes tied when I did. Two babies were plenty! And even though I survived all of that baby stuff listed above, even though they're much more independent now, there are always new challenges with every age, every stage they go through. I am FAR from the finish line, I realize.

Even so, I miss my babies.

What prompted this post? Well, I was organizing my photos today, and came across a folder of pics from 2004. I have no clue why they're still on my hard drive, because I back-up my pics quite frequently and clean out my photo folders. But, anyway, I found these pics from March 2004.

And my heart absolutely ached when I looked at them. I remember that little, 3-year-old boy well... although he's long gone now. As a mom, I've always attempted to enjoy each stage as it came, while it lasted... even though that's really challenging sometimes, because Lord knows they aren't all fun. Still, I knew that time would fly and one day I'd feel the way I do today: like maybe I didn't take quite enough time to enjoy my babies.

Wasn't he sweet?

A bubble bath makes it all better!

I'm not usually a fan of bubble bath. Call me a paranoid mom, but I believe strongly in the link between bubble bath and urinary tract infections, and I just don't think bubbles (no matter how "fun" they are) are worth putting my little girl through that misery.

Having said that... Avery is enjoying a rare bubble bath right now (see how consistent I am in my parenting?? lol).

The poor child is having a rough day. She's been walking around the house whining and crying and just downright miserable. I think she finally realized that her friend Andi is gone (she went to Alabama to visit her grandfather, probably for the rest of the summer). Avery had gotten really used to playing with Andi every day... and now she doesn't know what to do with herself (and Mommy can only handle "imaginative play" for so long... usually about 30 seconds).

So, I couldn't take listening to Avery whine and cry anymore. Her whining isn't even logical. This was our conversation right before I threw her in the tub:

"I wanna go see my Papaw!!!" *cry, whine, cry*

"Avery, Papaw is in China. We can't go to China right now."

"Well, I wanna go back to Maryland and see my Grampy... then we'll be closer and we can go to China and see Papaw." *whine, whine, and more whine, and that obnoxious fake cry*

(Remember, Andi is visiting HER grandpa right now...)

"Ave, would you like to take a bath? A big BUBBLE bath? full of BUBBLES??"

One little UTI won't kill her, right?



(I don't know if you can see them in that last close-up, but Avery is starting to get her Mom's freckles, just like her brother did!! Sorry, Kids!)

Technology (and a case of mistaken identity)

From a work e-mail I received yesterday:

We have selected reliable copyeditors to train on our new, electronic pre-editing tool, and you are one of these copyeditors. I plan to present a WebEx demonstration/teleconference of the pre-edit tool's capabilities tomorrow, 6/19/08, at 3PM (EST).

The first hilarious thing about this is that someone thinks I'm a "reliable copyeditor." Me? Reliable?? Clearly, they have me confused with someone else.

Please respond to this email by the end of the day today to let me know if you are available at 3PM tomorrow. I expect the training to last between 1/2 hour and 1 hour at the most. If you have an unavoidable conflict with this time, or any other concerns or questions, let me know.

Uh, yeah, I have several "unavoidable conflicts." Their names are Damon, Avery, Comet, and Lizzie.

And, well, I'm a little "concerned" about how I'm supposed to have a Web meeting/teleconference without duct taping the kids' mouths shut and locking them in a closet for an hour.

I'm "questioning" why, after working for this company for 10 years and never having to speak to a soul, suddenly I'm expected to telecon with several of them, for an hour. Major heebie jeebies. Don't they know that the only thing I LIKE about my job is the fact that I don't have to talk to or see any of them??

The good thing is that I can remain in my jammies, as usual. WHEW! The day they tell me I need a Webcam so they can actually SEE me during these crazy training sessions... then we're gonna have serious problems.

Sick kids break my heart

Poor Damon has been feeling rotten for a few days now. Of course, he got sick at the beginning of the weekend, so we had to wait until today to get him in to see the doctor.

Diagnosis: We're not sure.

That is soooo not helpful. Damon's been complaining about his left ear hurting, no, KILLING him. And he was sick to stomach for about 24 hours... and for the past 2 days he's been running a fever of about 103. I've been putting numbing drops in his ear and doping him up on Motrin... as soon as the Motrin wears off (every 6 hours, like clockwork!), he starts screaming in pain and the fever returns.

At first the doctor thought it might be because we went swimming Friday (he started feeling bad sometime Saturday). But he said that the fever doesn't make sense if that's what it is. So, he probably has an inner ear infection. Of course, I had so much gunk collected in Damon's ear, from all of the drops, that the doctor wasn't able to say with 100% certainty. But, he did prescribe an antibiotic... and more ear drops.

I'm hoping the antibiotic starts providing some relief soon... because poor Damon had a screaming-in-agony episode this evening that nearly brought ME to tears. There is NOTHING worse than watching/hearing your kid in pain and feeling totally helpless!

Pool Fun

Yesterday, Nick and I took the kids (plus my third kid, Damon's friend Jason) to the pool here in town. One awesome thing about living in the Hills: Public Pools!!! I've never lived in a place that had public pools in every town until I moved over here... Nick's hometown was the same way, and Damon and I spent lots of time at the pools when he was younger, too.

The pool here is reallllly nice. It's huge and has three water slides (in lieu of diving boards), including one in the shallow water for the smaller kids. It also has really nice locker rooms and a groovy (and affordable!) snack bar, with a separate "dining area." There's also a really nice, fenced-in baby pool... although we didn't spend much time there yesterday. Avery was just as happy to hang onto Nick's neck in the big pool. And the child is fearless... she's already trying to swim "on her own." By the end of summer, I predict I'll have two fish for children!

Slip 'N Slide!!!

I bought this super-duper Slip 'N Slide last summer for the kids... but they didn't really enjoy it for some reason. Back in Maryland, our yard was really flat, and really "lumpy" (according to whiny, prissy D&A).

I didn't even realize it had made the move with us to the Hills... but luckily, Nick thought of it yesterday and knew that it was stashed in our basement somewhere. So, he got it all set up for our kids (and their neighborhood friends) this afternoon.

And, it was a HUGE hit!!! Our backyard here is the perfect spot for a Slip 'N Slide, especially because it slopes down quite a bit... the kids were flying down the slide, past the little "pool" at the end, and finally skidding to a halt somewhere in the grass (Damon has a bit of grass burn on his belly tonight, but I think it was well worth it!).

The kids are already looking forward to a repeat performance tomorrow.






(Nick even got in on the action, but he refused to slide as long as I had my camera in hand... he's no fun!! But I can assure you, it was QUITE comical!)

Her first sleepover

Avery is spending the night across the street with her BFF Andi tonight.

And it feels really WEIRD.

The girls have been inseparable for a month or more now... every day, Avery begs and begs to go over to Andi's to play until I finally give in sometime in the afternoon and let her go. Then they spend the rest of the day until bedtime back and forth between our two houses.

And, they both have older brothers who have sleepovers quite frequently, so I guess the girls decided it was time for THEM to get in on the sleepover action!

I was a little reluctant, just because Avery is a pill at bedtime anyway... even when she's at home in her own bed. And I really didn't want to subject Andi's poor mother to Avery at bedtime. But the girls were sooo excited this evening when Andi's mom and I agreed that it would be okay (selfishly, I'm glad the first sleepover is occuring across the street and not here! lol).

Avery came home tonight and had dinner with us, then I gave her a bath, packed her overnight bag (complete with her favorite blankie, her Bear, and her special pillow that my friend Becki made when she was born... in case Avery forgets her birth stats!), and walked her across the street. I gave Andi's parents all of our phone numbers and told them to call me at any point tonight if Avery needs/wants to come home for any reason.

So far, so good. It's almost midnight and we haven't heard anything yet! I did just go outside on our front porch, and noticed that all of the lights are still on over there... and then I saw the girls going upstairs to Andi's room, so I'm guessing "lights out" will be soon. As I saw Avery climbing the stairs over there, with Bear in hand, I whispered goodnight to my little monkey and felt a little sad... she's growing up on me, too, just like her big brother!

Nick and I both commented earlier that it's kinda strange knowing that Avery's not home tonight. And we're both glad that her first big-girl sleepover is taking place only about 50 yards away from us!

I'm already looking forward to seeing her smiling face in the morning.

Sweet dreams, Monkey!

Another year...

Today was Damon's last day of First Grade!

The schools here dismissed 2 hours early... and Damon came running off the bus, jumped in my car grinning from ear to ear, and exclaimed, "School's Done, Mom!!!!!" Yes, it is. And now my baby is officially a Second Grader. Craziness.

I'm tellin' ya, it feels like he was just born. And I can remember his first year or two with a good bit of clarity... but then, the years just kinda run together and form a big blur in my mind.

Suddenly, Damon is this HUGE kid. I can't keep him in shoes, clothes, or underwear... as soon as I think he's set for a while, he outgrows everything again. He's just... gigantic. And bears little resemblance to that chubby-faced baby with the enormous blue eyes, short ham hock legs, and an endless supply of drool.

I don't REALLY want to go back to those days. I'm extremely grateful to have survived them once! But I do miss that sweet baby... a lot. He'll live forever in my heart and in the billions of photographs that I've taken over the years, and every once in a blue moon, I still see a glimpse of him peeking out of that big kid who holds him hostage. But I'll never again hold that chubby baby tight to my chest and dance around the living room, knowing that there's nothing in this world better than that.

Congrats, Damon, on surviving another year of public school! I know this year was really hard on you because your crazy parents moved you halfway across the country and you faced a lot of changes that were difficult on your 7-year-old self. But, as usual, you were a trooper and pulled through! I want you to know (someday in the future when you might actually read this and care) that your Dad and I couldn't love you more or be any prouder of the big kid that you're becoming. Now, be a good boy and don't drive me completely nuts this summer, okay?? Hugs and Kisses, Mommy.

More Family Fishing

Today, Nick and I took the kids back to the park where we went fishing last week. No pictures this time because I was an idiot and forgot to take the camera along (although, sometimes it's actually a relief not to feel "obligated" to capture every moment on film!).

It was hot as Hades out there today, and I'm not one who likes to sweat... ick! But other than that, we had a really nice time. AND, caught tons of fish! Nick, Damon, and I were all reeling in little fish right and left. Nick tells me they were spotted bass... if he says so!

Avery cried as we were leaving because she was the only one who didn't catch a fish today (Daddy tried to help her toward the end, but had no luck... I think we'd successfully scared the fish away to the other side of the lake by that point!). But Avery did at least manage to stay dry this time! I even brought along a change of clothes for her in case she decided to take another dip in the lake, but luckily we didn't need them.

Ohio... at 55 mph

Here are a few pics from our time out on the road a couple of weekends ago. They aren't the best pics because I was taking them from IN the truck, going 55 mph down the highway. So you might see some bugs on the windshield... sorry 'bout that!

Most of these pics were taken near Tappan Lake... Nick loves it when he has to drive down Rt. 250 by the Lake (and this particular weekend, we probably went that way at least 6 times!). It's really pretty over there, and Nick drools when he sees everyone out "playing" in their boats.

Lotsa highway (we see a lot of this going down the road, as you can imagine!):

Pics from the Lake:

A cool barn in Harrison County... it has something painted on it about Ohio's Bicentennial, I think. Wasn't the sky beautiful??
Another Schneider/Wal-Mart truck coming toward us (you see lots of those around here, since we don't live far from the Distribution Center): Avery playing the Gameboy back in the bunk... no clue what Damon's doing:
And the kids do a lot of this in the truck... it lulls them to sleep. Isn't that heavenly??

People keep asking me, "What do you and the kids DO out there in the truck for days??" Well, I do a lot of nothing, lol. I ride along and try to enjoy the sights and am happy to be away from my house, for the most part! I also spend a lot of time talking to my husband, which is really nice. We spend a lot of time apart, so just being able to sit in the truck for hours and chat about anything and everything is pretty wonderful, really. Oh, and I READ. As long as there's daylight, I usually have my nose stuck in a book.

The kids play their video games (the Gameboy and Playstation go on the road with us!) and watch lots of movies. And they each take a bookbag full of toys and books and other things to keep them entertained.

We also have a refrigerator full of drinks and a huge cabinet full of food. So we eat and drink a lot. And since the truck kinda naturally lulls us to sleep, we sleep a good bit, too... at least the kids do. That's when it's really nice to be out there... when the kids are zonked out in the back, and Nick and I can sit up front and just chat and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Gone Fishing

Last week on Nick's day off we set off in search of a nearby State Park and took the kids fishing. This started out as a Damon/Daddy activity, but Avery and I decided to tag along, and I'm so glad we did!

The park was absolutely gorgeous, and we had a great time fishing (although none of us caught a thing). We left home around 3:30 when Damon got off the bus, and I figured we'd be gone an hour or two at the most... well, at 8:30 when it started getting dark, we decided we'd better pack it up and head home!

We had a slight mishap early on when Avery fell into the water! Luckily, Nick was right next to her and scooped her up as soon as she fell... but still, it scared her to death and she stood and screamed bloody murder for a while before she calmed down and got over it.

Here are some pics from our fishing trip (complete with a shot of Avery's wet behind from her little spill in the lake):