Because Elderly Minds Want to Know

Yesterday morning I woke up bright and early... to a puking kid, an itchy kid, and a flat tire on my car. Not a sterling start to my first day on the new job. But, after the application of benadryl for the itchy kid, crackers for the puking kid, and a quick run to the local tire shop, I was well on my way.

I arrived at the home of Mimi a little before 10. Mimi is 87 years young.

I used the hidden key, and let myself in. Mimi was in the bathroom, so I put my stuff down, making a little noise, hoping I wouldn't scare her. I doubted she would remember me from my visit on Saturday.

Finally I called out, "Good morning Mimi!" She answered me back similarly, and the little dog, Abby, went BERSERK! Barking growling, and generally showing me how pretty and white her teeth were. After 3-4 minutes she settled down, and Mimi and I went to sit in the kitchen.

We talked. We laughed. We covered the same subjects over and over again, And Mimi never tired of hearing my answers. She asked about my hair. Was it a perm? No ma'am, i told her, it's naturally curly. "You just don't know how blessed you are," she says. For the eighth time. I didn't mind. It's nice to be reminded that one is blessed.

"You have a nice smile. Did your parents have to pay a lot to get your teeth so nice and straight?"

I said that no, I had never had braces, and that my teeth had been fairly straight since childhood.

"Oh, you're so blessed."

Yes, ma'am, thank you ma'am.

"And what about those?" she asked, shaping breasts in front of her own slight chest. "Are they real?"

Ummmmm....
Is she serious?

I had to laugh. I couldn't help it. I busted. I finally replied after nearly choking in my attempt to tone down my mirth.

"Yes, ma'am, God-Given and au naturale." Since she looked a bit skeptical, I told her the words of wisdom my mother imparted long ago: "Never skimp on shoes or bras. Bargain shop for everything else, but buy only the most supportive bras and shoes."

Sound advice, and I thank you Momma. Apparently that advice has paid off, because I never in my life would have thought anyone would think my breasts were augmented in any way, shape or form.

I'll take it as a compliment, even if it came from a dear sweet elderly woman with failing eyesight, hearing, and slight senility.

Catch up on the weekend

Good Sunday to y'all. I have had a very peaceful weekend, and I'm looking forward to the next week or two.

On Friday, W and M went with their "other"dad for the weekend, C went to a friend's house, and Hubby went out of town for a meeting. This left me blissfully, peacefully, thankfully ALONE! I loved it. I relished it. I took a hot bubble bath, did my nails, my hair, read a book and listened to music. All without the constant interruptions and small crises that make up a normal day for me.

Saturday, I slept in til 10:00 woke to a peaceful, clean house, and an inch or two or disgusting white stuff on everything. But I wasn't going to let a little snow ruin my solitude. I played online for a bit, did my morning routine, and went out to clean off the windshield so I could go to town for a few groceries. After all, that's what southerner do when it snows. We go to town. More accurately, we head for the nearest grocery store to stock up on milk and bread, as if the latest snow fall was signaling the end of the world as we know it.

I got home from the grocery store, and hubby came home just a few minutes later. We said hello, kissed, and were interrupted by the ringing of the phone.

It was my aunt. She wondered if I was interested in helping out an elderly lady for a week or two, and left me a number to contact the Elderly lady's daughter. Before I knew it, I had a job! A temporary, easy job. Just a few hours a day, for a week or two. And all I have to do is be there. No physical labor, no bathing and changing, just companionship! I'm so excited!

Then last night I helped hubby drink two bottles of whine while we each sat at our computers, and then we went to bed.

I wonder what the rest of today will hold? I'll let you know!

I need something new

Did you ever reach a point in your life where you just need something new or different? This so-called need has been nagging me for weeks. I can't figure out what it is that I think I "need."

I thought painting the living room would make my house brighter and cleaner, so I would feel better... No go. And not only did it not make me feel better, I actually feel guilty for not completing the job. Because in typical sidetracked/perfectionism fashion, I told myself I had to do all of it... the whole house. Not. Gonna. Happen.

Cleaning the house is no longer fulfilling. It doesn't take up enough time to be considered a "J-O-B" and I find it interminably boring these days. Just yet another thing that has to be done.

I am not finding any joy in any of my crafts. I don't want to crochet, or cross-stitch, or tat, or sew. I don't want to cook. Or keep up with anything, really. I don't make phone calls. I have friends, but most of them work during the day or are too far away to see on a regular basis. This soul can only handle so much solitude, and I think I've had enough. Maybe I should find a real J-O-B.

I can't think what I'd like to do though. The thought of going back to waitressing does not appeal. But I really don't have many other skills. What I really need is a project. Something I can get paid for. Like opening a restaurant. Or organizing someone else's home. Or just helping someone. Although getting paid to help someone would be better. Or maybe I just need a new hobby. Or maybe I'll just get lost in a video game for a while.

Geez I'm depressed.... Notice how I didn't say anything about going shopping? Got nooooooooo money. Shopping is out. I do however have a nice wishlist going. Not quite as fulfilling as shopping. You know, kinda like how men like to hunt? I like to find bargains. I love thrift stores, craft stores, Goodwill, Salvation army. There's nothing better than coming home with my van packed full of stuff that I paid very little for. But even "very little" is more than I can afford right now. Besides, shopping alone isn't near as much fun as shopping and lunching with a friend.

I think I'm fighting off a serious depression here. I don't know what to do. I don't feel like myself, I don't feel like ANYTHING. Just Blah... for like 2 weeks now. I'm tired of it. How do I get past this?

Just another blog...

My creative juices are not flowing, but I decided I needed to post something, anything right now.
So let's start with some honest rambling.

I've been in a bad mood for days, and now I'm tired of it. But I don't know how to fix it. Maybe if I finally finished my paint-the-living-room-project I would feel better. I also want to rearrange furniture, pain the bathroom, paint the boys' room and bake bread. Not necessarily in that order, mind you, but those are a few things on my list.

I wanted to make sourdough bread, but when I looked up the recipe, I saw that I had to make a starter first, and let it sit for 5 days. So I decided against the breadmaking, because I figured in 5 days, I would no longer want to bake bread. LOL... Procrastination is a funny thing, and I am a fickle girl.

The painting really needs to be finished, and I can't decide why I haven't done it yet. I have a whole list of excuses, but none of them are really good excuses. Just things I tell myself so I don't have to feel guilty about not finishing it, which, by the way, does not work. I still feel guilty.

Maybe that guilt is why I'm in a bad mood.

We all seem to be struggling to get back to normal life after Spring Break. Spring fever is upon us, I swear. But Mother Nature is sending us a cure for that, in the form of SNOW! Yes, you heard me, SNOW! What an ugly four-letter word that becomes after March 21st. We are supposed to get some of that nasty stuff on Saturday. Yes, please ruin my weekend, because I just didn't get enough torture throughout the week, what with the kids being cranky and mean to one another, and the PMS, and the lack of funds for groceries and casual make-me-feel-better-shopping.

So for lack of shopping funds, I made a wish list, for when we do have funds. Not nearly as much fun as actual shopping.

So, I'm gonna get off the computer and fix myself up to go see a friend for his birthday today. Maybe a trip out of the house for something besides milk and bread will cure my gloomies.

Blessed are those...

Whose children returned to school today, for they will have peace and quiet. So sayeth me. And I don't just sayeth it, I am reveling in it. The house is quiet and peaceful... during the daylight hours, even! So in typical perfectionist fashion, I am looking around and realizing how much I just didn't get done in the last week. But I think I will start with a weekly home blessing and go from there. I have a bit of laundry to catch up on, and I'm sure the floors could use a quick blessing.

Not that it will last, mind you, since it's about to storm here. Ahhhhh spring. Rain, Rain, mud, dirty carpets and tennis shoes, and more rain. But ya know, we really need the rain. Or so the weather man tells us.

Oh! And My oldest child turned 12 today. ~~~12~~~!!!!!! OMG! So, 12 yrs ago today, I was recovering from a c-section, and adoring my newborn baby boy. And 11 yrs ago today I was marvelling at just how fast a year could slip by, while laughing at his little cake-and-icing covered face. And looking forward to the birth of my second child, a scant 4 months later. Wow... life really does fly by.

All those times when I thought, "Will this stage never end?" It did, and another seamlessly began. I now have 3 beautiful, smart, loving children, who are sometimes hard to handle, but basically good kids. And suddenly, on this day, their return to school after spring break, I miss them. The house is too quiet.

I am blessed.

What's with kids these days?

So yesterday I took my 3 kids to skate park nearby. We had watched it under construction last year when we'd go to the pool, and the kids wanted to try it out, since it's spring break and all.

So we get there. W took his new Fuzion scooter, and M and C took their Razor scooters.

The place was full of half-grown thugs on skateboards. You know the kind, sans pants that fit well, sans manners, sans recent haircuts, etc.

These thugs tried to tell my kids that scooters were not allowed. My darling kiddos, with nice haircuts, sweet manners, and well-fitting freshly laundered clothes simply ignored them. W tried to be friends with a couple of the "cooler" kids, but they were just a little to "cool" (read: rude) to talk to him, so he just kept scooter-ing around.

Then the bigger kids started yelling at the smaller kids to get off the ramps, to get outta the way, and so on. W thought maybe they'd like him better if he agreed with them, and proceeded to tell M and C to get off the ramps. I called W over to explain to him that this was a public park, and if the smaller kids wanted to play on the ramps, he needed to be quiet and take turns.

This thug yells to me, "I can hear you! I standing RIGHT HERE!" while I'm talking to my son. I guess he thought I was talking about him telling the smaller kids to stay off the ramps. Guilty conscience, ya hoodlum?

Here comes Mama Bear, y'all. I was mad. First of all, don't tell my kids they can't play as they like in a public park. Second, don't interrupt a mama who is explaining the concept of sharing and taking turns. THIRD...DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE I'M NOT YOUR ELDER!!!

Now, I know that kid has a mama, and I'm sure his mama has done her best to raise a nice boy. But that kid.... if he'd been mine.... O glory.... I wanted to walk over there and grab him by the ear (or a lank of greasy uncut hair, whichever I encountered first) and give him a little lesson in manners. I'm still furious about it.

I told my poor kids we wouldn't be going back to that park, and they understood. It's not fair to them, but I'm afraid to go back. I might hurt the next punk who talks to me like that.

Spring Green

The birds are chirping, the leaves are budding out on the trees, and my flower bed no longer looks like a barren desert. The grass, where there is grass, is also turning green. But I have this hee-yuge patch of dirt - brown, ugly, no-grass holdin' dirt - right outside the sliding glass door off my kitchen. So this morning, armed with a hand tiller, shovel, garden rake, hoe, and 3 willing children, we turned this batch of barren real estate into... welllll... a mudhole.

BUT

It's a mudhole with grass seeds planted in it.

That's all I managed to do today. I think I nearly broke my back hand tilling all that dirt. Man, it was packed down HARD. And we won't even discuss the equally hee-yuge pile of rocks that now resides just to the right of the sliding glass door. Maybe I'll build a rock garden out front under the mulberry tree. The grass doesn't grow well there either.

Updates and Go ME's!

Ok, Ok, so I missed a few days. But I'm here now. And that's what really matters.

So far, Spring break has been tolerant. Almost pleasant. only a few fights among the kiddos, and nothing out of the ordinary, at that. W is spending time with Dad, helping him to check traps, and set up new ones. M is mostly keeping to herself, with only the occasional whining about the boys pestering her. C just wants to play his video games, and play with friends. In that order. Always. Very consistent is C.

The Living Room Painting Project is almost complete. Which is great, since I'm almost out of paint. I even have most of the stuff back on the three walls that I've finished painting. Go me!!! So today, I think I'll take a break. Maybe take the kiddos to the skate park. W would love that, and maybe if we go, he'll stop pestering me about it. Or he'll pester to go back, again, and again, and again. That's more his style.

I was so pleased when I stepped on my scale this morning. I saw a number I hadn't seen... well... ever! Because about 2 yrs ago, when I hit thirty, I jumped right over this number to one that is about 7 pounds higher. So apparently all the painting activity and playing softball and rollerblading with the kiddos for the last week is helping. I knew I needed to be more active. If I drop another 7 pounds or so, I can get back into my summer shorts that have been relegated to the bottom drawer for 2 years. Yes, sweet Sister, I too still have cluttered clothing. GASP! But I just couldn't turn them loose.... ya know, motivation and all that.

SO, I'm off to do my morning routine. Better late than never.

My Final Shot at Quiet Time

Today, Now, This Moment, is the last time I will have any peace and quiet for the next 8 days. 

Yes my friends, it is here. Spring Break. The time of year that the "Powers that be" within the school systems decide to torture parents around the globe with an ENTIRE WEEK of no school. And it's not even Christmas. No decorations, no parties to look forward to, no fun foods to gorge myself on while trying to entertain 3 cranky kids. And I can assure you, They. Will. Be. Cranky. Because it will rain. And the weather will not stay nice. And for at least 3 days out of 8, they will be cooped up in the house, and mommy will have to find a way to entertain them. 

At this moment, my final moment of peace and quiet, my oldest 2 kids are still with their "other dad" and the youngest is playing at a friend's house. The hubby is out checking traps. And so I will relish this moment of quiet time, in which no one is fighting over the TV, and no one is crying because they haven't yet had their turn on the video game. And no one is complaining about the distinct lack of snack foods, or that his sister is annoying him. 

Ahhhhhh... if only the peace would last...

The Day is Half Gone

It's after 11 a.m. here, and I just finished my morning routine. I spent 3.5 hours reading other peoples' blogs, and realizing that my own life falls seriously short of the sweet, funny, romantic blogs I've been reading. I  mean, you can't make up the kind of stuff I've seen in blogs this morning. Well, I can't anyway... Hence my feeling of insecurity. Anyway...

I had every good solid intention of getting up this morning, putting on my shoes, getting the kids out the door and starting in on my painting project yet again. I didn't. I couldn't. I didn't want to. Whatever excuse works for ya... I mean ME.

I think the novelty and sponteneity of the project has worn off, and now it feels like something else to be DONE. Like, dishes and laundry and vacuuming and and and and... I really wanted to be a good Flybaby and do it a little at a time, and did, for 2 whole days. Now I just want it done, 5 minutes ago. And now I hear a little buzzer in my head because I keep thinking "I don't have time," when what I mean is I don't have time to do it. All. Now. The Perfectionist Princess in me is running rampant today. Apparently I'm going to have to have a little talk with her. 

I have to pick up W from school at 3:00 to make a 3:30 appointment at the doctor's office, where I will then have to pay for the priveledge of telling him that the new meds are doing just fine, thankyouverymuch. And then I'll have to pay through the nose for a refill of said medication, as well as a refill for M's meds. UGH.

All I want to do is kick everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE out of the house for the next 2 days so I can work myself to near death completeing this project, without the thoughtfully sweet inquiries of my 3 children's voices saying, "Can I help?" The very thought brings on anxiety attacks and visions of paint on the carpet, upholstery and in the hair and on the clothes.... the mind boggles. 

The closest I will get to this goal is when my oldest 2 children are picked up by their "other dad" and whisked away for the weekend. I will still have to work around a mostly silent hubby, and my darling 8 yr old, C, who will be bgging me to let him play his video game, since apparently the weather cannot grant me grace of being pretty enough to send him outside to play with his friends. 

Ok, I think I'm done with this rant, and I will now go and attempt to clean the kitchen up from my late breakfast. After that, who knows. Maybe I'll have that talk with my inner princess and then set a few goals and rewards for her... and me.

Random thoughts

Good morning! And I really mean that: it is a good morning. My morning routine is complete, dinner is planned for, and laundry is going. On my list for the rest of the day is some sewing projects that need desperate attention, and since the kitchen is finished, I need to get started on the living room, as far as prepping it for painting. 

I'm so pleased with how the kitchen turned out. It looks cleaner, less cluttered, and overall feels brighter and easier to tolerate LOL. My kitchen is so small, and the solid white paint really gave it a more open feeling. I may even do some baking, once I get to the grocery store. 

My sewing list grows by leaps and bounds, almost daily, it seems, because the kids grow so fast. The boys are especially hard on clothes, mostly jeans, and tend to bust the knees in them within a month of purchasing them. C, age 8, got dressed for school this morning, and his daddy told him to change his pants. They were a good 2 inches above his shoes. The second pair was only slightly longer, and both the knees were ripped out, so I guess I'll cut them off and hem them for shorts. M, age 10 also has a pair of jeans that are too short. Those will become shorts as well. W, almost 12 (WOW) busted one knee in an almost brand new pair of jeans, so I think I'll patch them a bit. 

My Hubby is the greatest! He has helped me so much in the last couple of days. He's been very thoughtful and considerate. I didn't cook dinner last night because I was whooped after painting the kitchen. But he never complained. What a great guy. I've come to realize lately that I take a lot for granted, as we all do, and that I don't show enough appreciation for the things he does for us. I'm going to try to compliment him more often. 

Well, that sewing isn't going to do itself... 

Watching paint dry...

is boring. 

I've had several projects brewing in my head for quite some time. So I made a list. I had 15 things on this list. The kitchen won. 

Now, a little history here: I rent. I have not yet graduated to home-ownership, and with the economy, I'm not likely to anytime soon. Besides, my credit sucks! So, since I can't move, I'll just have to update the place I have... But I digress....

What I started to say is, I rent. Oh wait, I did say that. OK... So, every house I have ever rented has been painted the same color- that hideously ugly antique white. It's not white, it's not tan, and it just looks dirty. A fresh coat of antique white looks dirty. Maybe it's just me. Especially in my kitchen... all my appliances are white, and the walls weren't. I didn't like it. 

So yesterday, my hubby and I decided we (read: I) would paint the kitchen. He did the hard stuff, like taking down the horrendous, outdated nasty venetian blinds. In so doing we discovered that someone had somehow gotten the brackets for the blinds BEHIND THE TRIM around the window.... WTH??? How did they do that? So the trim came down too... to reveal that the hole that was cut for the sliding glass door was TOO BIG!!!!  They just covered up the hole with an additional piece of trim. Redneck ingenuity anyone?

So the trim comes down, and we go to our neighborhood home improvement store, buy some plain wood beams and replace it. Hubby was great. It looks beautiful. And that, folks, is where his participation ended. 

I got the kids off to school this morning, and started painting. It looks really good so far. I'm really proud of me. I am almost done, just need to do one more coat of paint around the edges and corners, and then I can put my kitchen back in order... Oh, and the border, have to hang the border. It's apples, and it's cute. Got it on clearance. Gotta love clearance. SO.....

Next project is the Living room... and that one I am NOT doing by myself. Hopefully... :) 

Oh! and the Venetian blinds? They're in the trash, where they belong. 

Go Me!!!!

I'm new to this

While playing around online last night, I stumbled across a wonderful blog. "Musings of a Housewife" was witty, honest, and fun to read. I enjoyed it so much, I thought, "Why not start one of these myself?" I love to write and read, and have enjoyed journaling since I was a teenager. So here I am! 

So, a little about me... I am married, I have 3 children, and currently have no occupation beyond the tasks of keeping house and raising kids. My husband and I run a wildlife control business. I like to camp, fish, crochet, tat, cross-stitch, watch movies, listen to music, or curl up with a good book. Currently, my favorite author is Diana Gabaldon.

I spent 15 years or so as a waitress. Loved it. I am a helper, to my very core. I love to help people. Simply put, I live to serve. And not just on a food-service level, although that is certainly one way I choose to show how much I care. I just try to help people in whatever way my domestic skills can be put to use. 

In February 2007, I found Flylady's website and made huge changes to my life, home, and heart. Because of those changes, I am hoping I will have time for a little "enlightened selfishness" during my blogging time. Not only will this blog be a journal, but also a chronicle of joys, accomplishments, problems, and occasional rants, as all moms and housewives need a place to blow off steam from time to time. 

I hope to make new friends, and maybe learn some writing skills.