Hey! Barforama!

Think the Macarena. That is how that phrase has been singing in my head since about 10pm last night. I am working on about 4 hours of sleep here people, so bear with me. We had just sat down for a popsicle nightcap when I heard a cough that resembled a gag coming from the twins' room. Turns out, poor Izzie had barfed all over herself, her bed, her lambs (her favorite, I-can't-sleep-without-them stuffed pink lambs), EVERYTHING. So, I scooped her up and rushed her to the bathroom to give her a tubby. (Wait, I need to backtrack~Meg barfed a couple of weeks ago and had what we thought was "nervous tummy" over the impending end of first grade, and a dentist appointment. Nuh uh. Turns out she had a stomach bug. She passed that bug to Drew, who woke us up Thursday night barfing, and other things. He still isn't right). Anyhoo, while I was trying to find Izzie under the barf, Doug cleaned up the bed and Annie watched him. I got Izzie all set and brought her downstairs to settle her down. She was laying on me and I was rubbing her back, and then she looked at me, and barfed all over ME. While I was squawking for a towel, Doug yelled that he had Annie and she was barfing. OMG! So, for the next 3 hours, we had the girls up in our bedroom/bathroom, dealing with the barfing. Taught our 17 month olds how to stand on a stool, hands on the toilet~you know, proper barfing techniques. Finally got them to bed around 1 and I tried to sleep, all the while listening to the monitor for more barfing sounds. Annie was up at 4:45, but no barfing, thank god. Only a little more barfing from Annie this morning, and the girls have been barf-free since then.

So, this was the first time that we've had to deal with barfing twins. I know it won't be the last. I am, however, hoping that the next time they need to barf, they can TALK and warn us. Because the element of surprise when it comes to barfing just bites (no, not Barq has bite). At least Izzie got a bit whiney before it was her turn, so I had some idea to rush her to the bathroom. Geez.

To add insult to injury, I haven't felt swell all day. I haven't decided if I'm just fahreaking tired, or if, as is par for the course, I am getting sick as well. I am looking forward to some dinner at some point tonight, and to lay on the couch and try to watch the Red Sox gain some ground on the Tampa Bay Rays (why did they change the name from Devil Rays? I would love to know the reason). Ack, more coughing gags over the monitor. Calgon, take me away.

'Bout me, 'bout me!

Ok, so I have nothing really to blog about that doesn't include me complaining about the a)weather, b) crankiness of my children and c) how much my husband works. SO, I'm taking a page from Jennifer and will bore thrill you with the following:

1) Where were you 10 years ago? 10 years ago I was 26 and preparing to get married. I had finished college and law school and had FINALLY passed the bar exam. Doug and I moved, he changed jobs and we got married in the span of 2 months. Yes, we like to just cram all kinds of things in at once, just to make ourselves nutso.

2) Five items on my to-do list today? Laundry, laundry, laundry, laundry, laundry. Ha. Well, it's true. But also, finishing up the bills that for some god-forsaken reason can't be paid online (catch UP people!), the dishes and maybe even running a broom over the floor. I never did manage a shower today.

3) Snacks I enjoy? Popcorn. Is coffee a snack? Love coffee. Goldfish, preferably the pretzel kind, which I never buy.

4) What would you do if you were a billionaire? Well, first I would pay off my debt, which is substantial. Then I would make sure my family is taken care of~college for the kids, my parents, my in-laws, my brother, my brothers-in-law, etc. I would treat myself by going back to school again (yes, again) and study the fun things I never got around to studying in college (art history, history, more music). I would hire a landscaper to take care of my yard. I would send money to support my college and law school, because I just can't afford to do that now. I would donate to our local library, because without books, where would we be. I would set up a scholarship fund for the high school and make sure the music program had what it needed. I would make sure my friends and family were comfortable in their lives.

5) Where would I live? Maine. Really, despite my complaining about the weather, I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Well, I don't feel like tagging anyone, so if anyone wants to join in the fun, let me know.

Random Stuffs

School's out for summer. I wish I were saying that with some umph and enjoyment, but I'm not. You see, I'm the mom of a 7 year old who LOVES school and HATES vacations. Seriously. While I'm thrilled that she loves school (and her report card showed it!), the hating vacations part really puts a damper on my mood. She is totally irritated with being home every day, and we're only 2 days into summer vacation. She has already reminded me that school starts again in 55 days. For the love of Pete. Since I've been so grumpy, I've been thinking about what I would do if I had a day all to myself. I've come up with a couple of different scenarios.

Scenario #1. In this scenario, I am feeling really inspired to scrapbook, all day, and get caught up on at least one of the zillion projects I am working on. This scenario actually requires that I have pictures printed and organized, so we'll pretend that I am ready to rock and roll. It also requires that my friends Emily and Angie come along for the ride, because it's more fun to scrapbook with friends. Oh, and the last requirement is that there are no a)children of any variety around, b)no housework that is calling my name and c)a perfect weather day (i.e. no sun to make me wish I were outside, but not hot or cold either). I would be able to work, work, work and have something great to show for it. I am still working on Meg's baby album, I've barely begun Drew's album and the twins, well, maybe someday I'll start their albums. I am ridiculously behind and would love even a WEEK of time to just scrapbook with my friends. Alas, that is but a dream.

Scenario #2. In this scenario, I get to read books all day, accompanied by my cat at my feet, and never ending cups of coffee. I would gather up a list of books that I'd want to read (preferably mysteries) and just curl up on my couch. Of course, that would require that my back didn't ache for one darn day, so I'll assume that is the case. The same requirements from #1 would apply here as well.

Scenario #3. In this scenario, I have the energy to clean my kids' rooms. No interruptions, just me, a garbage bag and some good music blaring on the CD changer (we have a 200 CD changer, so a good variety of music would get played). This is a last resort scenario, because really, who wants to clean all day long?

***
Oh, for fun, Izzie has started stringing words together, like this: "Hey Daddy, that's the kitty" or "Bye bye Mommy". OMG it's so cute. Today I was signing "I love you" to her and saying the words, and she said "wuv you" back. Made my heart melt. Annie still lags behind Izzie verbally, although physically she can climb the furniture while Izzie just hangs back and watches. Thank goodness for small favors.

I haven't posted kids pics in a while. Here are some recent ones.



(Megan, playing cat)

(Izzie, playing pirate. Argh)

(Annie, playing with Little People)

(Seriously, this was taken recently. He was pretending to be a cat, with reindeer antlers)

The tale of the preschooler and the two toddlers

Once upon a time there lived a worn, haggard, totally underpaid beautiful, charming queen. This queen was the mother of three princesses and once prince. The prince, a preschooler, was the middle child and the two younger princesses were toddlers. This is their story.

The prince spends his days tormenting the fair princesses. He steals their toys, knocks them to the ground, and makes them cry. The princesses, for their part, are learning to smack the prince around a bit when he gets too close, but for the most part, he manhandles them pretty easily. The poor queen is at her wits' end. What to do? The prince mocks royal time-outs. The princesses only take one nap a day and it was just not fair to them to have to deal with such treachery so often during the day. Banishing the prince to his room does bide the queen and the fair princesses a bit of quiet time during the day, but it is not enough. The prince wants attention, and the more of it he gets, the more he craves. There seems to be no way to stop the madness.

The queen, for her part, is about to lose what is left of her her mind. The eldest princess shall be rejoining the family fold tomorrow after school lets out for summer break. The eldest princess tends to torment the prince. It is a vicious cycle within the castle, and the queen cannot take anymore it anymore. Is there a solution? Can anyone help the queen before she goes completely and totally bonkers?

They say it's my birthday!

I'm officially 36! I've had a really good weekend. I went for a pedicure with my friend Julie yesterday morning and my goodness I don't know why I wait a year between appointments! Must. Go. More. Often. After an afternoon of lounging around due to thunderstorms, I baked and cleaned, so that we could have a little family gathering today. My parents and in-laws came for brunch and it was yummy! My kids and husband got me a thistle feeder and seed for the backyard, and an IPod adapter for my car. Woohoo! I'm so tired of listening to the one good station around here. Now I just need to get more music on the IPod, as it dumped a bunch once trying to sync it to the computer. My in-laws got me some lovely serving spoons and forks, as there are never enough to go around when you need them. And my parents gave me a little monetary treat to spend on myself (clothes, more pedicures, coffee!). Meg and Drew made me cards that I just love, and I even got an arrangement of gerber daisies from Doug on Friday. Oh, and cake. Of course I had cake and not one I had to make myself! Really, it was just a lovely way to spend my birthday.

And because I love the mail so much, Auntie Nettie sent along a couple of gift packages for me. Hooray for the mail lady (yes, we have a mail lady) coming to my house twice in one week! She sent me a little Nancy Drew quote book ( I LOVE Nancy Drew) and a Mom Mood Magnet for the fridge. But she saved the best for last with something straight from this. I never knew that muffin top pans existed, but thanks to her I am set for life! Thank goodness Auntie Nettie and I read some of the same blogs. MWAH Auntie Nettie (oh and I got your voicemails but I was out galavanting with my family at the softball closing ceremonies!)!!!

So in all it's been a great weekend and I wish it wasn't ending. But, since the kids were up at 6 for the day, I'm tired and feeling my age (hahaha!) and will be heading to bed sooner rather than later.

Memories

As I was pawing through the mail today looking for something, anything interesting to read, I remembered how much I LOVED getting the mail before I was an adult with two homes, two mortgages, two car payments, four kids and a partridge in a pear tree. Back when I was in about 4th grade, I had pen pals. I don't remember the name of the service that I used, but I remember filling out the form about my interests, age, etc. and sending it off with whatever nominal fee was required (or could it have been free?) and waiting anxiously for the information on my newest pen pal. I wrote to both girls from Germany, England, Italy, Ireland, France and a boy in Australia. My pen pal in Germany, Christa, wrote to me for years, right up through college and a bit into law school too. I loved stalking waiting patiently for the mailman to come and tearing down the hall into my bedroom to read whatever letters had come that day. I loved the different hand writings that they had, and the envelopes that the letters came in (mostly airmail envelopes that were blue and very crinkly) and all the different writing papers. I used to collect writing paper, buy it by the sheet, so I could use a different kind in each letter. I miss those days. Now I get bills, magazines and junk mail. I love my email, but there is something so lovely about a letter addressed just to me, in the handwriting of someone I love or haven't heard from in ages.

Then today I had a memory of being a kid at my grandparent's house in Rhode Island (yes mom, I really DO remember things!) play Yahtzee on their porch. I haven't been in that house in over 20 years and I still miss it. My grandmother moved out a year or so after my grandfather died, and the new owners took that beautiful white house and painted it brown. I was so sad about it that for years afterward when we would visit my grandmother, I refused to go for the ride through the old neighborhood. There was something so wonderful about turning onto her road, with the old trees and the lovely homes, and feeling that I was at home, even though we only visited a few times a year. We would go visit all the neighbors, my brother and I, and it was just fun. Now that my grandmother has Alzheimers and lives in an assisted living facility here in Maine, I have some of her furniture here in my home and it reminds me of those times in her house. One of my favorite pieces of furniture is a little table that stood at the top of their curving staircase. It held the phone and a small box with notepaper in it. That table is now next to my side of my bed and I wouldn't have it anywhere else. It has a photo of my husband, a photo of me and Meg when she was 4 months old, a teddy bear that was mine as a child, foot lotion, a box of tissues, and of course my Kevin Garnett bobble head doll. I have a few photos of their house that I keep tucked away someplace safe, just so I can remember all the lovely times there.

I don't know why I have these things on my mind today. I was doing mindless things today while the kids were napping or occupied by my lovely assistant Erika and those thoughts just crept into my mind. I was thinking that I'm not a very good granddaughter, as I don't go visit my Grammy at her facility. When she first moved there, I did go visit a little, but as her Alzheimers progressed and I had more kids, getting there was harder. And I like to remember her as she used to be. She doesn't know me now and that is so incredibly sad to me. I am happy that she came to my home for Thanksgiving and was in good spirits and looked good, because right after that she fell, broke her hip and ended up in rehab. She is doing ok these days and I always ask my dad about her when he goes to visit. And it makes me sad that really, only Meg remembers her before her Alzheimers got bad, so the other kids don't know her very well. I guess that is why it makes me happy that my kids do know their grandparents so well and that living here in Maine was the best thing I could have done for them.

Ok, so I have much too much on my mind and need to go eat some chocolate cake to recuperate.

Mama, why are you growing white hair?

Well, I said that I didn't mind growing older. That is, until my lovely, charming, swell 7 year old asked "mama, why are you growing white hair?" Crap. I've been found out. Darn kid. Apparently I need a haircut BADLY because the whites (yes, I went right to white and skipped gray completely, but I was hoping to hide that truth) show when I have to put in a headband. Sigh.

6 days and counting

I will be 36 in 6 days. As I've mentioned before, I don't mind getting older. I've had gray hair for many, many years (I found my first gray on Valentine's Day, 1999). I've been a mom for 7 1/2 years. The birthdays are more exciting to the kids. I am sure I'll have to make a cake, and invite some family to come celebrate, because according to Meg, if it's your birthday, you MUST have a party. It's so funny how kids see things. Birthdays are something to be celebrated, not dreaded. Doug tells me I'm on the downside to 40, often. I don't mind that either though. I'm not sure how my own mom feels about me turning 40, but she has a few more years to wrap her head around it. I don't have a list of things that I feel I should "accomplish" before I turn 40. I wonder if I should? I've done quite a bit in the last 35 years. I learned to ride a bike. I learned to play the flute and pretended to play the piano. I tortured spent a great many hours with my brother. I learned to stop butting heads with my parents (for the most part). I got married. I had kids. And more kids. I learned to read. I learned to type. I learned to drive (sorry Mom, those were horrible hours in the Kmart parking lot!). I learned to live on my own. I learned how to cook. I learned that coming home isn't always a bad thing to do. I haven't learned patience yet, so maybe I should put that on a "to do by the time I'm 40 list". Any suggestions for my list?

Father's Day

Hi Dad! Love you! Hope you had a great Father's Day. I'm sorry we didn't come visit. Go Tiger!

Hi honey. This one is for you. Hope your Father's Day ended up being ok after all. I love you.

Oh, hi.

I didn't run away. It's been an insane week here so far, and it's only Wednesday. Oh my.

Yesterday was the Volunteer Tea at my daughter's school. It was just lovely. Every single class came down to the all-purpose room to either sing for us, cheer for us, or give gifts. Her school is only a K-2 school, so we weren't there ALL day. She gave me a potted plant in a clay pot that someone handpainted the name of the school, plus the school year and decorated it with butterflies. It was a nice time. Too bad I was an IDIOT and forgot my camera.

Last night was the Talent Show for her class. Yes, a FIRST GRADE talent show. Her talent......... she made animal sounds. God help us all. She picked out several animals~elephant, cow, horse, rooster, pig, frog~got the stuffed animals for those, and then demonstrated the sound that animal makes. Now, because I am a damn downer, I was convinced that a)she'd get picked on by her classmates during rehearsals and b)she would chicken out at the actual event in front of people. Downers be damned~she had a BLAST! She was so confident up in front of all her friends and their parents. She had trouble using the microphone, because her teacher didn't have them practice with the microphone (duh!) but she was great. I was one proud mama.

Today was Drew's final party for his preschool. It was nutty there with the kids from both classes, parents, siblings, and of course I had two very tired little girls with me. There was a magician there. I can't stand magicians. I know some people don't like clowns, but I don't like magicians. They freak me out. Luckily, I wasn't chosen from the audience and the kids had fun watching him. Of course there had to be trauma~when he pulled the rabbit from it's box, it had peed all over itself! That was the end of the magic act! Drew had fun hanging out with his friends, most of whom are moving on to the 3 day a week class. He isn't because he's only 3 1/2 and that class is designed for kids going to kindergarten the following year. No, I had to have winter babies and he still has 2 more years of preschool to go. Good planning on my part.

Izzie has been giving me all kinds of trouble since the weekend. She has been a sobbing mess of a kid. I don't know if the incoming molars are bothering here, but she has spent the majority of the last few days just crying. If I hold her, she cries. If I put her down, she cries. Harder. If I try to give her Tylenol, she bats it out of my hand. She's been charming to say the least.

That's my week (so far) in a nutshell. Tomorrow is going to be a bit quieter, but then there's a softball game to rev things up after school. Softball ends this weekend, though, and then there's just 6 1/2 days left of school after that. I'm ready for a little less chaos.

Letters from Lawyers

Oh how I hate the unexpected. My husband swears I don't like surprises, and in some instances, he is right. I like GOOD surprises, not icky, yucky ones. I like found money in pants pockets, unexpected hugs from my kids, flowers when I least expect them (especially ones that I actually POINT OUT to said husband, but subtlety is lost on him apparently. Whoops, digressing).

So I just about freaked out when my husband brought home the mail at lunch and there was a letter, addressed to me with my ESQ. following it, from a law firm. I haven't been a practicing, active lawyer in 2 years, but my name is still in the bar directory because I still pay annual dues to the Board of Bar Overseers. Why was I getting a letter from a law firm? Did the old nasty tenants decide to sue me? What did I do wrong? All those thoughts ran through my head while I ripped open the envelope. Turns out, the letter was from a law firm that specializes in ambulance chasing personal injury offering its services to me and my clients. Now, if I were a calmer, less insane person, I would have realized the following before commencing freakout: 1) the former tenants did not know I was a lawyer; 2) if the former tenants were to sue me, the letter would be addressed to my husband and me and 3)oh, the return address was from THAT KIND of firm (and by that kind, I mean the kind that advertises on television with lame ads touting how great they are~you don't have to pay unless we win~kind of ads). But no, my heart leapt into my chest and I had a mild panic attack. I am all better now though and ready to face the rest of this very hot day.

MINE!

Ahhh. The MINE stage. Annie and Izzie have hit the MINE stage. You know that stage. The "what's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine" stage. Their days are filled with stealing of shoes, toys, books, blankets from one another. I actually sit back most of the time and just watch, as I find it all mildly amusing. Take yesterday for instance. The girls were wearing my slip on sandals. They each had one and were wearing it proudly around the living room. But then Annie tried to take Izzie's shoe. Now Izzie is the younger, smaller twin and used to just walk away from a situation like that. Instead, she sat down on the floor, yanked Annie's pant leg and pulled her down too! Bad mama that I am, I laughed and let them continue on their way. Now, when they get too rough, I stop them and usually remove the offending toy from the room. Since they don't say MINE yet I figure I can get away with that for a little while longer. But soon I'm going to have to work really hard on getting them to share properly. And since my older two aren't pros at that yet, it should be quite a challenge.

Izzie has spent this morning running around with her fleece jacket yelling "cah cah cah" to which I replied "no we aren't going in the car". Her immediate reaction was to scream loudly and thrash about, throwing herself on the ground. Again, I actually found it amusing. I think because Doug took Meg to school today she missed her car fix. Who knew that she enjoyed going in the car. Or maybe she's as sick of staying in the house all the time as I am. (Not a cranky comment, just reality).

If you can't say anything nice

Then don't say anything at all. I've heard that mantra about a zillion times from my mom. I've even started saying it to my kids. And I'm taking it to heart. I realize that my recent posts have been, well, cranky. There. I said it. I'm cranky. Some might even say bitchy. And they'd be right. I am tired and cranky and just want to crawl into bed with a book for several days. But, as that is not an option, I'm going to try to make my posts less cranky-ish for a bit. Not quite sure how, but I'll give it a try. Here is my first crank-free (I hope) post.

We have a vegetable garden. And things are GROWING in it! We've already eaten some of the spinach and butter lettuce. It was so good! And we didn't die, so that is a very good sign. Of coruse, now we have mushrooms that we didn't plant growing in the garden, but oh who cares. My perennial gardens, while being mucked up by the turkey, are doing quite well too. Who knew I had a green thumb?

I am counting the days until I go get a pedicure with my friend Julie. It's a pre-birthday treat for me and I can't wait. Only two more weeks to go until someone massages my feet and paints my toes a pretty color. I haven't been since last summer, so I am quite ready to go.

I decided to put the girls down for nap at a different time today and so far, it is working well. I kept them up all morning, which was so hard for all of us since they get up at 6 and by 10 are so tired, but I did it nonetheless. They had a quick lunch, went down for nap at 11:30 and were asleep by 11:45. It is 1:15 and they are still asleep. I will hail myself some sort of miracle worker if I can get them on this schedule. If they nap in the morning they are so tired when Doug gets home from work that they don't get to spend more than 15 minutes with him before they're ready for bed. That's not good for anyone. Especially me.

Today is my niece's 17th birthday. Doug is getting out of work the tiniest bit early so we can go have a little cookout (assuming the rain holds off) with the family. I'll tell you what I got her for her birthday tomorrow, just in case she knows about the blog and reads it. I don't want to spoil the surprise.

There, that wasn't so hard, now was it? Before it rains again I promised my boy I'd go play outside in the mosquito infested yard with him.

My day in numbers

5:34 am ~ the time Drew came stumbling into my room looking for "huggies"

5:45 am~ the time we sent Drew back to his room because it was "too early for huggies"

5:45 am ~the time Drew started bawling his baby blue eyes out because he was "tired"

6:00 am~ the time Meg and Drew were both up, and looking to play

6:01 am ~ the time I was wishing I didn't have children

12~ the number of diapers I changed today

6 ~ the number of sippy cups the girls went thru today

45,874~ the number of times I told Drew to stop that/don't do that/please leave them alone

4 ~ the number of grilled cheese sandwiches I made for dinner

3 ~ the number of grilled cheese sandwiches actually EATEN for dinner

3 ~ the number of times we listened to "For the Kids" on CD

3~ the number of cups of coffee I had over the course of the day

0 ~ the number of pieces of chocolate I've eaten today

0~ the number of children asleep in this house at this moment

172,094 ~ the number of times I've been called Mommy today

1~ the number of new words Izzie learned today ("boo boo")

The traveling salesman lives and other Monday ramblings (EDITED)

I live in the woods. I live 1300 feet back from a public road. I mention this because imagine my surprise when my 7 year old announced at 5 pm that someone was coming up our driveway and it wasn't my husband. We rarely get unexpected company. Most people need directions to get here, what with the hockey name, and it being a private (i.e. I OWN) road that doesn't show up on Mapquest. And god love my daughter, she just flung open the door to greet him like he was her best friend. (Note to self: teach child to be AFRAID of strangers, not to embrace them) He was some sort of book salesman. I haven't seen a salesman in 2 years. NO ONE comes to my house here. We don't even get trick-or-treaters because we're so far back, and it's so dark here without any street lights. He was young, clean cut, had a nice name tag. He carried a bag with educational books in them that he was trying to pawn off on sell me. I was so flabbergasted that he was standing on my porch that I actually listened to him ramble on for a minute even after telling him I had to go because I was feeding my two younger children. With the invention of the internet and all the spam we get, who knew that the traveling saleman still existed. Huh.

****

This is my birthday month. Oh, no one in my family treats it like a birthday month, mostly because there are too many other people in our family with birthdays this month. My niece will be 17 on Thursday. I have to digress, because her turning 17 fills me with amazement. I was there with Doug the day her parents brought her home from the hospital. He and I had just started dating and I didn't want to hold her because I wasn't part of the family. Now of course she is 17 and I am part of the family and boy oh boy am I old. Anyway, June is full of birthdays. I love my birthday. I don't care how old I'm going to be (EDIT: I will be 36. My husband tells me I'm on the downside to 40 now. How quaint). I love that my kids get excited for my birthday (last year I had to make myself a cake because Meg INSISTED that I have a birthday cake). I already have my birthday present. Doug and I are going to see BON JOVI in concert next month in Boston. I have never seen them in concert. I didn't go to concerts as a teenager, and I've wanted to see them for 20 years. I'm so excited. Giddy even. Oh my god smack me if I get too crazy.

Right now I am listening to the hum of my computer and the clicking of my fingers on the keys. Also, the cat is SNORING, but not too loudly. It's not even 8 pm and ALL my children are in bed. My husband is at a planning board meeting. There isn't another sound in my house right now. It's heavenly. Oh sure, I have a dishwasher to load and a thousand articles of laundry to fold, but time like this is so rare for me that I'm going to enjoy it. What a nice way to end a ho-hum Monday.

Weekend Schmeekend

I am not totally sure what happened to our weekend. I waged the battle with the migraine all damn day yesterday and lost. Badly. I finally came out a winner this afternoon at some point. I will be making an appointment with my doctor to review our options about the migraines. I've been on maintenance medicines before, and I've taken the Imitrex shots that make me feel like I've been run over by a bus. So I need to punt and figure out a new plan. Because as Cass put it, I can't be responsible for 4 other people and feel like ass. Amen.

I did manage to scrape myself off the couch long enough yesterday to go out to dinner with Doug at Longhorn Steakhouse last night. It was our first trip there and the food was quite good. Sad to say my watermelon margarita did NOT help the migraine, but it sure tasted good. Then we wandered over to TARGET to pick up some storage buckets for the girlie clothes we have. $145 later we left. For the love of Pete, why is it that every time we go to Target, we can't spend less than $100? And why is it that all I got was a lipstick, but the twins each got two pair of shoes, Drew new Spiderman light up sneakers, Meg two pair of shoes? Yeah, I don't get it either.

Today was the usual stuff~a family trip to BJ's, laundry, grocery shopping, lawn mowing. Tried to undo some of the damage the turkey has done to the yard. I told Doug I'm going to start knife throwing practice and see how long the turkey lasts. Ok, so that is totally laughable but I have to do something. All the nice mulch we put in the gardens has been completely torn up and thrown around the yard. I sense turkey on the menu this week.

Today did really bite because the older kids were so incredibly irritable and rude. I was ready to put them to bed at lunchtime. For the day. We kept them up late Friday night by going to meet with the new tenants and then taking them out to dinner (our kids, not the tenants. If the tenants buy the house, then I'll take them out to dinner), and I guess our babysitter kept them up a bit late last night, but holy cow were they bitchy. Grrr. I am hoping for a less cranky Monday.