A better day

You know, it's funny. I was joking around on my facebook page last night about wearing my bathrobe to church today if I didn't get my laundry done. I said "They're used to me running in there, usually about 5 minutes into the service, gasping for air, hair still dripping wet (if I was lucky enough to get a shower)...."

Well guess what? The kids and I ran in there about 5 minutes late, my hair was still wet, and I was out of breath. But we made it. The older three were happy to go to our church for a change, and the other people there were happy to see them since they don't get to go with me very often.

After church we came home and made lunch and I continued to work on cleaning and doing laundry.

Then we went outside.

I have this corner of my yard that just epitomizes the whole ghetto-riffic atmosphere. It appears that someone in the past started chucking branches there instead of getting rid of them, and over time the pile got bigger, some beer bottles were added to it, and stuff started to grow through it. It's not a huge area, but it's big enough to be an eyesore and it's a pain to mow around (see this post for more details on this particular subject) so I decided to get rid of it.

For the record, the piles of crap behind me are not mine. Those two huge trees are the property line - that stuff belongs to the neighbor.

Jared wanted to cut something.

Something tells me that these have been here for a while.

I got a lot of the big stuff bundled up, but I need to get some big lawn & leaf type bags to put the rest of the crap into, and then I can take it all to the landfill and get rid of it, and my yard will look somewhat better - just in time for winter. But at least I'm getting it done.

I found out last minute that I had to take Jared to a Boy Scout meeting - wasn't too thrilled about doing that, just for the time factor more than anything. Ex1 and I switched some time around - otherwise the older 3 wouldn't have even been here today - so I just didn't really want to have to leave early to take him to a meeting. But I did, and then Daniel and I came back here to hang out for a while. I was going to go back outside and work, but I lost my initiative somewhere. Oops.

Alex got home shortly after we did, with a fantastic surprise for me!

Huh. He never even told me that it was loose. I just hope that the permanent one moves into the hole and lines up with all of the other ones.

Tonight was haircut night for Daniel - and it was the first time ever that he didn't scream his head off the entire time. It was quite refreshing.

He looks so much like his father here. *sigh*

Kind of hard to tell the difference in the pictures, because he's going through this I Refuse To Cooperate For Any Sort Of Pictures phase. He can be such a turd at times.

Finally, bedtime. I had to call the girls at their father's house to find out where the official Tooth Fairy pillow was hidden, but it was located, the tooth was inserted, and Mr. Big Boy went to bed with the tooth pillow stashed neatly under his pillow.

Now, just hope and pray that the Tooth Fairy remembers to visit tonight....she's been known to forget once or twice before.

Attack of the Ninja Tree

Picture it. Sunday afternoon. Bright, sunny, beautiful day - perfect for yardwork, right?

Well, that's what I thought, so after church and lunch, the boys and I headed outside to get the grass cut and work on the never-ending chore of picking up branches from the yard.

The thing that really sucks about my yard is....well, actually a couple of things. The front yard is mostly dirt. And trees. Hundreds of little trees that sprout up everywhere. I don't know what they are (locusts?) but they shoot up all over the yard and get way higher than the little bit of grass out there, so I have to mow just to get rid of the trees.

After I got done with the front yard, I took the mower and headed around back. The backyard is almost as much of a challenge, because for some odd reason, the entire yard is full of holes. The only way that I can describe it is that it seems like a giant wore a pair of cleats and then danced all over the place. So pushing the mower is more of an upper body workout than it ever should be, but whatever.

As I got to the back of the yard, by the alley, I had a run-in with...

...THE NINJA TREE!!!!

See it? Do you see it? That little tree over to the right? Looks all sweet and innocent standing there beside its larger counterparts, doesn't it?

Trust me. It is evil. Pure evil.

Anyone who has done any yardwork at all knows what I'm talking about. A Ninja Tree is a tree who has branches low enough that they have to be pushed out of the way to mow under it or to walk past it. And then, at the exact right moment, the branch swings back with the speed and accuracy only known to ninjas and *THWACK!!!* hits the unsuspecting person upside the head. Or in the eye. Or in the throat (my personal favorite).

This particular Ninja Tree has used its skills on me for the last time. After getting nailed directly in the face 3 times today (no, I don't learn quickly) I got mad. And when I get mad, I tend to get even.

I parked the mower, walked around front to the garage, and grabbed the only weapon that I could find - my trusty loppers.

And I went to work.

While I was at it, I figured I'd take out some of the other Ninja-Wannabe branches from the neighboring trees.

Ninja Tree isn't so cocky anymore, is he?

Yes, I know, part of the trunk is still there. Loppers will only do so much.

Ninja Tree and his fellow Ninja-Wannabe branches are now tied up in two nice neat bundles, sitting at the curb, waiting for the trash guys to pick them up Tuesday morning. They will be resurrected into some nice mulch that will make someone else in the city very happy, I'm sure.

And I can now mow without fear of losing an eye. Or teeth. Or the ability to breathe.


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Another one from the My Kids Can Sleep Anywhere Files:

Too much fun in the sun for him today....I got him up and gave him a bath and then he looked at me and said, "Mom, I really just want to go to bed now." :)