Lots of -ations today

Today was a day full of -ations.

Information.

I spent the morning and early afternoon at an information fair in town today, handing out flyers and talking to people about Cub Scouts as we try to round up more boys to join our pack. I ran into some people who I haven't seen in a very long time (and The Dude ran into a buddy from his youth who now lives in Florida and was just "passing through" the area - weird) and met new people and talked until I couldn't talk anymore - which is a huge feat for me because believe it or not, I don't like to talk to people.

Celebration.

We went to a barbecue today to celebrate the life of Jared's classmate who passed away 2 weeks ago from brain cancer. The food was wonderful, lots of money was raised, and there were so many people there to celebrate and honor the life of a little boy who touched so many in his 9 short years of life.

Someone asked me how the kids were handling his death. Honestly, they seem to be handling it better than I am. Jared doesn't say much about it, other than asking an occasional question or two. I've tried to talk to him about it, especially in the days leading up to and right after Sam's death, and I've explained a lot to him. I think that he understands it, but he's still young enough that it doesn't consume him. But as a mother, I just can't even imagine how his family feels. I just can't. It tears my heart to shreds if I think about it too much, especially when I realize that it could easily be one of my kids.

They even had a pink fire truck there.

Frustration.

Just trying to get everything done that needs to be done before I start my crazy work schedule on Monday. I have so many things that I need to do, and I'm quickly running out of time. I feel like I have to have the house clean and the laundry done and put away and the meal planning completed and and and and and........ My inner control freak is coming out in a really big way, and it's driving me insane because I know in my heart that everyone will survive even if the house is a mess - but that's not how I want it to be.

Inspiration.

Along with trying to get household stuff done, I'm also trying to finish up some craft projects. After the barbecue, The Dude and the boys and I went fabric shopping (ok, I shopped while they walked the mall to stay out of my way), and just the simple act of picking out the fabrics that I need got my mind spinning and I was able to sit down tonight and design the quilt squares that I need to make to finish one project.

So for now, I'm going to go cut fabric into pieces and sew it back together again and maybe get one thing crossed off of the to-do list.

Just one. That's all I need before I go to bed.

Randomness.

~~ I don't know how long it's been since I've been out for a run, but it's about to kill me. I need to get out and get moving again for so many reasons. However, I made the mistake of yanking on what I thought was a tiny little piece of dead skin on my big toe, and *ouch* - instant hangnail/swelling/pain. So I've been babying that thing like crazy trying to get it to heal because right now it hurts to even put a shoe on that foot. But, it's getting there. Another couple of days, maybe.

~~ I really need to remember to take the trash out tonight. And to dump all of the *ahem* leftovers-disguised-as-science-experiments out of the fridge first.

~~I can really make a mess when I cook. But my philosophy is that the bigger the mess, the better the food. And yes, the food was good last night. The mess was all that was left of it by the time we were done.

~~ Another reason to get out and start running again is because I am determined to do the half-marathon again this year - and to significantly reduce my time (not just by a few seconds again). I want to do it in under 3 hours this time, and I will do anything in my power to make that happen. I have until May 5 to get ready for it...but I need to get registered before the end of the month.

~~ That silly letter from the Tooth Fairy now has 3000 shares off of my page alone on facebook. 3000 shares. Really? Of course, I've also found about 10 different radio stations that have swiped it and posted it as their own and gotten hundreds (if not thousands) of shares on it as well. It just blows my mind.

~~ I find it kind of funny when people tell me that they admire me for "keeping it all together all the time". If they only knew how chaotic things really get around here.....they would change that opinion really quickly. My kids are far from being perfect kids, and I am far from being a perfect mother - but somehow we make it work, most of the time.

~~ I really hate this house. I hate it more and more every day.....as I pull on a second pair of socks to keep my toes warm. I can not wait to get us moved out of here and into a better place.

~~I wonder if the ghost will move with us when we do find a new place.

~~ I really wish that I would have wiped that gigantic glob of spilled toothpaste off of the front of the bathroom sink when I saw it earlier. But on the plus side, my dirty laundry now smells minty fresh and I have on a clean pair of sweatpants.

~~I just realized when I looked at the ticker on here that I have been smoke-free for 6 months. Woot!

~~I still have a million things that I need to get done tonight, and I'm not getting any of them done while I'm sitting here complaining about having to get them done.



Brain dump complete. Carry on.

Well, that didn't go as planned....

I mentioned on my facebook page earlier today that I was trying to get 3 Christmas stockings made that are for a last-minute special order. I figured that I could get them pretty much done today. Maybe not done, but close.

So I dug the fabric out of the closet and started going through the unorganized mess of Christmas stuff.

It's always been disorganized. I toss all of my Christmas fabric into this one bin, use some of it for a project, then toss the scraps back in on top of what was already there. So there are scraps, then big pieces, and more scraps, and actual yardage, all jumbled up together. And wrinkled.

So I came up with a plan - like I always do. But as usual, my plan sidetracked any sort of progress that I was going to make today.

Not to mention that these kids - I swear, I fed them yesterday, but they wanted food again today! Sheesh! I would get started on something, and they would want food. Or need help with something. Or whatever. It's only the first day of Alex and Daniel's winter break - but they definitely kept me on my toes today.

I started pulling out all of the fabric and sorted it. Solids in one pile (to use for the backing) and prints in another. Scraps sorted from yardage. And so on and so forth. And then I started ironing. And then I started cutting.

So as of right now, I have lots of strips of fabric, but no stockings. But, once I get all of the prep work done (hopefully later tonight) I'll be able to get cracking on the stockings themselves and whip them out fairly quickly.

After all, I do have a couple more days to get them done....no pressure.

On the plus side though, Alex actually helped me to fold and put away 4 loads of laundry tonight, I ran the dishwasher, and the kitchen is clean-ish. So although I totally did not get what I needed to do done, the day wasn't a total waste. I still have to get up in the morning to get the older 3 to school (assuming that the predicted snowpocalypse hasn't hit by then) for their last day before break....and of course I have a million other things to do tomorrow along with the sewing. Woot!

And yes - I will post pictures of the finished stockings - but only after I make sure that the person who is receiving one as a gift doesn't read my ramblings!

Follow-up, catch up, and staying up.

First, the follow-up:

You remember when I went for my first mammogram the other day, right? Well, I got this little gem in the mailbox today. I really didn't feel like I had to worry about anything, but getting the confirmation is always nice and crossing anything off of the "things I should potentially be worried about" list is good.

So ladies, if you're over 40 and you haven't gone yet, DO IT. It's easy. It doesn't hurt. Just do it and get it over with so that you can cross it off of your list too. Please.

As for what's been going on for the past few days (since I haven't blogged in what seems like forever)....

I have this phobia of dentists. We've talked about it a little here and there on my facebook page. Anyway, I had my wisdom teeth pulled back in 1993, and I've been to the dentist once since then. If you do the math, that's once in 19 years.

Smart thing to do, right? Wrong.....

Years ago....probably 6ish or so....I broke a tooth. It has a filling in it, and a chunk of the tooth broke off. I went to a dentist to see what could be done with it, and since he wanted something like $600 to do a root canal and a crown, I didn't get it fixed. It didn't hurt, so I just didn't bother with it. Recently, it started to feel uncomfortable, and I realized that there was a crack in the other side of the same tooth. I figured out that I was going to have to do something about it, so I called and made an appointment with the local clinic, and the earliest that they could fit me in for an extraction was January 12.

Then it started to hurt. Like, really really bad. So I called another dentist who was recommended by a friend and he got me in immediately (yesterday) - come to find out that the tooth is abscessed and needs to be pulled. Like, NOW. (I still can't afford a root canal and all of that jazz.) But, I have to go to an oral surgeon to do that because it's an upper tooth and the roots go up into (or too close to) my sinus, and the roots are curved too much for him to do it. So Tuesday morning, I get to go deal with that, and until then I am on antibiotics and miserable - but, I had totally forgotten that I would have to be on antibiotics anyway because of my prosthetic hip. I don't remember the reasoning for that though....

So that's why I haven't been around much for the past few days. Fun, huh?

Poor tree....

And now, because I haven't been able to function, and because I opted to sleep for a couple of extra hours this morning after I took the kids to school, and because I had to go to basketball games this evening for close to 4 hours, I have a ton of things to do. There is so much laundry piled up in my laundry room that I'm almost afraid to walk in there, lunches need to be packed for tomorrow, the Christmas tree needs to be righted after it took a nasty spill last night and is now just propped up in the corner of the living room......so I guess it's a good thing that I got that couple of extra hours of sleep this morning.

It's almost time...

It's after midnight, so we are officially leaving for TMOART:12 today.

If all goes according to plan, we will be pulling out of here in approximately 12 1/2 hours. We're planning to leave at about 2pm and drive more-or-less straight through to Virginia, with a couple of short stops planned in various places along the way. We're meeting a friend for breakfast in Kentucky, and another friend for lunch a little farther east in Kentucky too. We plan to arrive at our destination in Virginia Friday evening.

We have lots of stuff planned for our weekend there - but I'm not telling you what we're doing. You're just going to have to pay attention and follow along on the road trip.

Of course, I'll be posting status updates on my facebook page as we go, and I'll blog as often as I can - but it's a pain in the butt to do from my phone. And for some reason, when I did a test run the other night, I had issues getting it to post to my wall. I'll play around with it some more and see if I can figure it out.

Anyway, as of now, I have clothes for me, The Dude, and all 3 boys packed. The 3 older kids opted to stay with Ex1 tonight so the girls will have to get their clothes together in the morning when they get back.

The tent is packed up and in the van - that was an experience.

The van is officially "Road Trip Ready" - new tires, new oil and oil filter, new air filter, and a "new" brakelight assembly thingamajig (ok, so we robbed it off of The Dude's van. Don't judge.), and it's been vacuumed out and the trash has been removed from it.

All of the laundry is done, except for what we're currently wearing. The dishes are all done and just need to be taken out of the dishwasher and put away. The local police department has been notified that we will be gone so that they can keep an eye out if necessary. A friend is going to get my mail and water my plants.

Tomorrow morning we finish packing up the odds and ends. Straighten up the house. Double check everything to make sure that we didn't forget anything important. Get some food to put in the cooler to munch on to save money along the way. Get some stamps to mail out the bills that I'll have to pay while we're on the road. Mow the grass (and the neighbor's grass).

And then we hit the road.

Blah.

That's how I feel today. Just...blah.

The day never starts out great when I step on this piece of crap and it laughs at me. OK, maybe not literally, but still...with all of the changes that I've made lately, it's frustrating to see a gain - and to realize that overall, in 4 weeks, I've only lost 0.4 pounds.

Along with that, I'm still tired from all of the driving yesterday and just haven't been motivated to do much of anything. I have a ton of laundry that I should have done - I started it - but now I have a ton and a half to do tomorrow. I did eventually load and run the dishwasher, and even unloaded it and started reloading it (losing battle, much like laundry) but the kitchen is still a mess. But other than doing that, I just haven't done squat today. My usual motivational tricks didn't even work.

So I've decided that instead of sitting here stressing about it, I'm just going to chalk it up to a bad day and make sure that tomorrow is better. I'm going to walk Alex to school in the morning, then I have to take Daniel to the doctor for his kindergarten physical, then take Daniel to school, go hang out with The Dude and his mother, and then I have a Policy Council meeting in the evening. In between all of that, I'll get the laundry and the dishes done, return the overdue stuff to the library, clean out the van (oh, I did get all of the trash out of it today), hopefully get some groceries, and get some other things done. We'll just see how well that actually works out.

Not really sure what to do.

For anyone who knows me or who has been following this blog for a while, you know that my life is always chaotic. I mean always chaotic. It seems like I am always running around, taking the kids somewhere, cleaning something, doing laundry, building something, or whatever.

I'm not sure what has happened, but for the past day or two, I just haven't done much of anything. After Saturday's big building project, I guess maybe I've just been more worn out than usual.

I did get up yesterday and go to church, and then Daniel and I went out to lunch with The Dude before our road trip to Canada. But after we got home from that, I didn't do a whole lot of anything.

Today, I did the usual running back and forth to get the boys to school. And I went and spent the afternoon at The Dude's watching some show about zombies the inside of my eyelids. And then after I got the boys from school and fed them supper, I took them back over to The Dude's so that he could watch them while I went to my horrible meeting....

But other than that, I have really done nothing.

Seriously. This is just part of the pile of clean laundry that needs to be folded and put away. It has made its home on the loveseat for the past few days. There's another load in the dryer, and at least one clean load in a basket in the laundry room that all need to be finished - not to mention the mountain of my own laundry that needs to be done, or else I'm going to be wearing some pretty interesting stuff in the next day or so. I could easily put a movie in the DVD player and get everything folded, but that would also require me tearing the player apart again to get the stuck DVD out in order to watch something. Too much effort.

I could get all of the toys picked up off of the floor so that I don't kill myself walking through the living room in my stocking feet, but that requires bending over and getting down on the floor and actually sorting stuff, and you know, right now, that just sounds like it would take way too much effort. Besides, I'm trying very hard to make the kids pick up after themselves, and they are getting better at it, so I should just leave it there and make them pick it up in the morning - you know, before they get it back out to play with it again.

I could get rid of this pile of crap that I confiscated out of the girls' room a month or two ago. It's just been sitting in the hallway, waiting to go somewhere. Every time I think about going through it to get rid of it, it just ticks me off that they had this much crap spread out all over their floor and I just want to throw it all away. But I also know that there is some semi-important stuff in there so I really need to go through it. Or, better yet, I should make them go through it themselves, because again, I'm trying to get them to take more responsibility for their crap. Besides, I think it would just take too much effort tonight.

The laundry room. Yeah, I keep telling myself that I'm going to clean it and reorganize it. There is so much crap in there (besides laundry) and a lot of it really needs to go into the garage. But you know, it's nothing that really needs to be done tonight, and besides, it's really cold in there. The weather will be warm again tomorrow, so it'll warm up in there and it'll be easier to organize it if I'm not dealing with hypothermia at the same time. I'm thinking that doing anything in there tonight (other than maybe getting a freezer pop out of the deep freeze) might just take too much effort. Besides, I'd have to go back and forth from the laundry room to the garage to get everything put away, and that really just adds to the effort-factor for that particular job. Not going to happen tonight.

So while I sit here and debate what I really should be doing, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I'm going to do absolutely nothing. Because right now, that's taking pretty much no effort at all.

Tomorrow is another day.

Back to Reality

So today was our first day back from our quickie little weekend getaway.

I got everything unpacked and pretty much put away, not that there was very much. And, there was actually less than what I left with, since my bottle of shampoo and my container of baking soda (I use it on my face - better than soap) are still sitting in the hotel bathroom. Oops.

We did come home with something new - this was the favor from the wedding (sorry for the crappy picture quality, but taking a picture of a picture never works well). They had an actual photo booth for all of the guests to use - they printed out two strips of the pictures and we got to keep one and then one got attached to scrapbook paper and we wrote a message to the bride and groom on it. I had never seen that at a wedding before, and just thought that it was such a unique idea. So now the happy couple has a whole scrapbook of goofy photo booth pictures of all of the guests at the wedding, with personal notes from everyone.

Now it's back to reality. I haven't really done much of anything today. It always seems like after I get back from a trip, whether it's a long vacation or just a short weekend thing, I always end up in a bit of a funk afterwards. The same thing happened after our road trip last summer - I get so excited and anxious and stressed out leading up to the trip or event, and then afterwards I just kind of crash and feel blah.

I keep looking around at the house, at things that I want to get done and that I had planned to do today, and I just don't feel like doing anything. Honestly, I feel like just crawling into bed and going to sleep (I know - that wouldn't be a bad idea) and I might do that shortly...but there are some things that I *should* do tonight - and maybe actually forcing myself to do something will make me feel a little bit better. But on the flip side of that, if I get involved in doing something, I might end up staying up half the night and just being exhausted again tomorrow.

Ugh. Decisions, decisions.....

That's it. The bed wins. I'm going to dump the rest of the crap off of it, turn off all of the lights, and crash. And it's not even 10pm.

Tomorrow is another day.

Our exciting and eventful day

What did we do today?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

OK, that's not entirely true. We did go to church. Ex1 got here to get the older 3 kids, and then Jared asked if he could go to church with me instead - so I got to take all 3 boys with me, which was fun. Alex and Daniel decided that they didn't want to go to the nursery and wanted to stay in the "grown-up church"....that lasted about halfway through for Daniel and then he went to the nursery. Luckily, there are crayons and paper in the back of the sanctuary, so the kids have something to amuse themselves with, other than torturing each other.

They're growing up. *sigh* Soon they'll all be sitting in the grown-up church.

After church, there was a Thanksgiving dinner, so we got to eat there. Great food, great people, and I didn't have to cook or clean up anything - SCORE! Then Ex1 came and got Jared and took him home.

Then we came home. And we became lumps on the couch. Seriously.

Alex, Daniel, and I spent all afternoon on the couch. They watched their silly videos from the library, and I dozed off and on for several hours. I'm not 100% sure that they didn't nap a bit too. But it was a calm, laid back, uneventful day - something that doesn't happen around here very often.

I'm actually kind of thinking that Alex might be getting sick - he's never this calm. And I don't mean that to be funny - when this kid says "I'm tired and I don't want to do anything" it seriously makes me worry. So, I'll see what happens over the next few days. Maybe today's relaxing helped to head off any cooties that he might have.

So, now that they're in bed, it's time for me to get busy. I need to balance the checkbooks to see if I can swing a Christmas gift for the kids this week (trying to get that crap done early and cheaply), get the kitchen and living room cleaned, run the dishwasher, do a few loads of laundry, go over my schedule for the week.....and I'm sure that I'll come up with a few more things to do in there as well.