hi Joni!

 

Aw man, that's awful about your BIL :( How's he doing?? Is his back indeed broken?! Please give us an update!

 

Wow, it sounds like you're on a roll! Good job, dude! And awesome about the Christmas shopping, even if it's later than you usually do it. It sounds like you're well prepared so I'm sure things will go well for you.

 

Oh, I HAVE to tell you, I ate at Olive Garden!! We went to Niagara Falls, USA for some shopping (me and some small group ladies.) So, we had to eat at the Olive Garden afterwards (plus go to Target... oh, how I love Target!) I had the chicken giadarni (however you spell it) which I wasn't too pleased with. I guess I wanted something more creamier and junkier. lol It had so many veggies in it. Mmm My sis got the tour of Italy but Andrew ended up eating her leftovers she brought home. We both got a dessert to go... I HAD to try the black tie mousse (mmm, I love the white part) and then my sis got the pumpkin cheesecake (but her whipped cream melted on the way home :( ) It was a great trip! I spent about $130... got a whole bunch at Claire's for Em, mostly... earrings for her stocking. Got a bunch of socks at the Gap and a few shirts for Em. Oh, I bought new runners... Sketcher's for $25!! I badly needed new runners so I was really impressed. Plus, I know Sketcher's are pretty good quality, at least I think so. I bought 3 sets of Polly Pockets since you guys have a ton of things I've never seen in Canada. Target had some sets, $3 off. I could have gone wild with those. I also bought a Princess memory game. Man, I could have gone wild with all the stores though... Bath and Body Works was very tempting. My sis said our hands ended up being a fruit salad with all the stuff we tried! The Disney store had great things for not a bad price, I thought. But, we do have those in Toronto, we jsut never get there. Oh, Osh Kosh had the cutest stuff but while I'm not keen on the clothes my girls have (it's hard to match stuff) they don't NEED it. So, I just bought the socks they badly needed and a few plain long sleeved shirts that Em could use (she hates turtle necks and sadly, that makes up most of her wardrobe!)

 

Yikes, I'm blabbing on. i just had to tell you about our trip! Oh, one other thing. I went to the infamous JC Penney's (they had their huge sale on Saturday.) Didn't buy anything cause it's just like Sears here and teh prices didnt seem to wow me. But, I found the Yankee candles and have fallen in love with Buttercream. Oh man.

 

Oh, we did have to pay duties :( One of the women on the trip insisted we should be fine cause they went last year and were just honest and had no problems. everyone said though, with 6 women, uh, yeah, we're an easy target. Sure enough, we were. So, I paid $13 which didn't seem that bad. Still sucks we had to pay but it wasn't totally outrageous like I had imagined. Now, I'm sure if we bought alcohol or tobacco, that's where we run into the huge duties.

 

Sorry for the long post :( I'm having a tired day but kept the computer off until 12 today so I'm happy with that. It was so hard to get out of bed this morning even though I went to bed at 10 last night. I'm having a very low patience day too. I have 2 kids calling me Mommy now and I didn't give birth to either of them. I'm not sure why it grates me nerves so much. Maybe it's how they say it over an dover and over.

 

Off I go to check on the twins who are dirving me nuts and not going to sleep even though they were cranky butts. I think my baby monitor is on it's way out :( Dakota needs to be laid down for a nap too. Yippee! I think me and D will play war and then I'll put a movie on for her and snuggle so I can just rest for a little bit. Then gotta clean up lunch.

I'm just on here to tell dh how my day is going and do research on nit removal.  The kids had to be checked in the office by a parent volunteer, she found some nits on both of them so no school for the fourth day.  I will never again tell the school if I find them on the kids!  What is the use ; they have not even checked their classes and won't if they don't get the help.  I may be getting trained to do it but wish it was not necessary as what an unsatisfying volunteer job that is!

 

I hope your BIL is ok Joni!!!  Give us news.

 

Wow were those ladies in Central you went with Sara?  Cool you had some fun!!!  I need to get my passport renewed. 

 

I have to get off here and do more nitpicking.  My back and arms are sore from doing it.  Yesterday we spent hours.

my bil is still in the hospital - they dont know what's wrong as far as i know.  he lost feeling in one leg - at least that's what she said as of last nite.  my sister isn't the best on communication.  i may have her 5yo and also a 1yo baby she is watching all week (incl nights) while her dh's niece is on a cruise.  yikes!  i'm totally uncomfortable with that!

 

oh geez on the nits serene!  it sounds neverending.  maybe like with fleas, you just have to resort to chemicals.  i have known people who got them and were able to get rid of them relatively easily with the ridx or whatever it is.  it is awful that they both (fleas and lice) have eggs that hatch later so it's a constant cycle unless you kill the eggs, and that's pretty hard to do!  we still have fleas, just not really bad.  mostly because i keep procrastinating on spraying the rooms well.  altho erik is coming tonite for the first time in a long time and last time he ended up on the couch because his room was so flea-ridden.  we sprayed it real well but it's such a mess in there, even with most of his stuff at andrea's that it's pretty hard for the spray to penetrate.  if i lived near you i'd help you pick - it sounds like a really hard job.  there is no way the school is going to get rid of it if they don't do something.  i thought when lice was discovered that all kids had to be checked?

 

sara, it sounds like you ended up in a nice place to shop!  i think (and it's probably the same in canada) it kind of ends up where you are as to whether the stores are good, even if they are the same name.  like our jc penney's SUCKS and is very much like sears.  blah! blah! blah!  however, there is one an hour from here that is paradise.  at least for home stuff which is usually what i shop for.  and the fashion bugs around here are very limited but i went to one in vermont and could have spent hours in there.  totally different selection. 

 

i am so jealous of you going shopping with a bunch of girlfriends.  i have never done that.  i think it would be fun but only if you were very comfortable and i guess i've never been with a whole group of people i was comfortable with.  also i'm impatient so when i shop with my sister or other people, i get antsy when i'm not interested in stuff the store has but they are.

 

$13 sounds not too bad - i'm glad you didn't have to pay more than that!  it would have negated all your deals.  you sound like you really had fun!  i think i would get confused with the exchange rate if i lived in canada and shopped here and i'd end up thinking things were really cheap because something that is $2 here is $2.50 in canada or whatever.  even tho it's the same price!  you will never find me shopping out of the country - i'd end up getting really bad deals lol.  it sounds like you got really good ones tho.

 

so you liked my black tie mousse cake?  it's even better if it's really well chilled.  i had one once that was only lightly cold because of bringing it home and then eating it before it sat in the fridge for awhile and it wasn't as good.  oh my my my tho - that is my FAVORITE dessert.  i am boring w/olive garden - i only get the spaghetti with meat sauce so i'm not a good one to say what dishes they have that are good.  scott gets all different things but he loves the potato soup (can't remember what it's called) and the seafood portofino and the 4-cheese sauce that you can only get when they are having their never-ending pasta bowl special.  there was something else he used to get all the time but i can't remember what - maybe shrimp scampi?  he is more like you and serene and tries all different things.  me, i don't even have to look at the menu lol.  mostly i just love the unlimited breadsticks and they have the best salad ever.  i am usually full by the time i get my spaghetti.  we get close to the salad when we make it at home but not quite there...  so do they not have olive garden where you live?  i didn't realize that...  yay we are going there this friday on our shopping date!

 

do you not have bath & bodyworks either?  they are so high but right around new year's they have the best sales - sometimes up to 70% off so their stuff becomes affordable.  the main thing i love from there is honeysuckle lotion.  i stocked up on sale once and have enuff for the rest of my life lol (i only wear it like perfume, not everyday because i get headachey when i can smell perfume too much).

 

do you not have yankee candles there?  i enjoy lang - have you ever smelled them?  the best candles i have are all not made anymore - lang's "laugh a lot," heritage pottery's "cinnamon stick," and pier one's "cranberry balsam."  so my tastes must not be mainstream or something because every time i find a scent i love, it gets discontinued.  so i rarely burn mine to save them, and i keep the cranberry balsam ones, which are only votives, in my nightstand so i get a whiff of them at nite (covers the pee smell from when my kids sleep in the floor beside my bed lol).

 

i'm doing really well today and feel organized.  not super productive but staying on "schedule."  and played a lot with c this morning - thank goodness the boy is in love with coloring because i could do that all day!  he got a little tired of it this AM and asked me to play blocks - you should see his and braeden's setups they have going in there.  brae made an amusement park using cardboard bricks, matchbox cars, wooden blocks, pirate figures, army figures, pieces of road, yarn, and paper.  c made a restaurant out of cardboard bricks, wooden blocks, yarn, and paper so i drew long strips of grass and bushes so the outside would have landscaping that he could tape around the edges.  that was my way of doing what i wanted to do (draw and color) and make him think i was playing blocks - clever eh?! ;-)  anyway that is an example of why their toys get messed up so quickly.  i think they also used straws and some other things but i can't remember what all.  and after all that work, i can't make them tear it down so i have to give them several days...

 

it is hard to stay up in the morning and be productive but i'm finding that if i sit and read and sip some soda or water for awhile, i eventually wake up enough to realize i really will feel bad if i go back to bed.  i never used to have morning relaxation time because i'm not a morning person and figured if i was going to be up, i should be productive but i'm finding that it gets me in a good frame of mind.  it helps that the living room is usually clean and that is where i sit so i feel composed instead of in chaos.

 

i can't believe i wrote so much - augh!  i should just go back to looking at general but then i get so wrapped up.  i need more discipline that's for sure.

 

oh sara, one more thing - i'm not there with you so i'm not hearing it or seeing everything, but it sounds kind of sweet that the kids call you mommy.  that means you are doing a good job!  i understand it can be irritating - my own kids wear out "mommy" so much sometimes i think about changing my name...

 

i need to straighten up.  i was feeling okay about the house and then matt's mom came all the way in (she usually just comes to the door) and when i looked at things thru her eyes everything looked dirty.  i need to resign myself to the fact that my house will never look company ready at the drop of a hat - it can look really good if i have a little notice but i don't know how i can drop in on some people any time and their houses always look nice.  it is just not our way i guess :-(

 

talk to you all later - need to update my list but later i think

Yikes, that sounds like an icky situation with your sis and bil. I hope you don't have to watch that 1 yr old cause what can you do?

 

It was pretty good with the women from the group. There were 6 of us so it sorta did a 3 and 3 split. One lady that I get along well with is not very liked by 2 of the women in our bible study. Our bible study seems to be a bit of a mess :( I feel really bad because I like all the women, definitely feel more comfortable around the chatty, unliked girl cause she's closest to me in age (the other couples are a bit older.) But, the one who holds a lot issues with the chatty one inside is similar to me in that she's shy. But, she also seems to not be very open. AH, I could go on and on about this. Anyway, all in all, it went well. lol It was a little hard because of people wanting to go to other stores. I felt like me and my sis held up the group a lot but I so didn't want to go to JC Penney's and yet we spent a good chunk of time there. So, i think we all went to the places we wanted to. I wanted to look at all of the outlets but it seemed like we mostly just hit the kids' stores. So, I felt bad for my sis and the shy one's sis who don't have kids.

 

I find myself thinking, wow, that's so cheap but in reality, we'd pay about the same in Canada! They had a dollar store that I was going to go to but it's like, hey, they'd have the same stuff in Canada for a $1 so that means we'd be paying almost 15 cents more/item! But, it was neat to see all your different chocolate bars!!

 

Yup, I loooved your dessert! It is somewhat similar to the one I like but mine is more rich, I think (if you can believe that!) Yeah, I think it would have tasted better if I ate it right away rather than have it sit in a car for a few hours and then eat it. But, it was still deelish.

 

They used to have Olive Garden in Canada but they took it out so that sucks. I've never been but a few of the women wnet so we had to go.

 

I don't think we have bath and bodyworks. If we do, it's probably just in malls in Toronto which we rarely go to. I actually thought the prices weren't too bad (since it seems REALLY similar to Body Shop but more variety.) They had a buy one, get one free on the body butter which is supposedly REALLY good. Me and my sis get cracked knuckles easily and were going to split the deal but didn't. I'm now kicking myself.

 

I definitely want to go back shopping since it's only a 1.5 hr drive for us and dh's aunt lives about 5 mins from this mall! She kept on telling us to leave stuff with her so we wouldn't have to pay duty which we should have but no one else wanted to so i didn't push it. I wasn't the driver so I wasn't going to make them go find her house! I'll have to see if dh wants to around New Year's then. I could imagine a lot of stores would have some good sales then? I kinda want to go around your Thanksgiving but know things would be CRAZY.

 

Some of our stores sell Yankee Candles but I've never really smelled them. I've never heard of lang. Aw man, that's a pain that all your favourite's get discontinued. Mmm, cranberry balsam sounds awesome! I've never heard of anything like that.

 

Could you come here and give me some energy and inspiration! It sounds like you're doing so well with life. (that sounds kinda funny.) I feel like I'm barely just making it through the day cand then can't sleep at night because I think back  and realize I was sucky in all areas... didn't play with the kids much, had little patience, ate badly, didn't do any cleaning, etc etc.

 

Ah, I'm sure everyone's been through periods like this, right? Where you feel like you're not in control of anything and it feels like it's all you can do to just make sure the kids are fairly clean and fed and get sleep? (and you too. lol)

 

My patience is super low today, again :( I woke up with a migraine again. Forced myself to eat a nectarine and raisin bread but end up throwing it all up :( So far, I've managed to keep down the crackers and my head is feeling much better. But man, these kids are driving me nuts. Dakota is doing well (minus talking to me over an dover about Baby Einstein.) The twins though are completely deaf today. I've told them sooo many times to stay away from the t.v. stand (glass doors) but they still keep on doing it. I had to wipe D's bum and came down to find Karley standing on my computer chair 9whcih I've told her not to go on before) my keyboard, desk calendar, some other papers on the floor and my just filled glass of water all dumped out and her playing with the cup. AUGH AUGH

 

Nap time will be early because they've been crying over everything and sucking their thumbs like mad so must be tired. That would explain the lack of listening too, I'm sure. Hopefully Dakota sleeps for me today. He didn't sleep at all yesterday.

 

Oh, I know I should probably be happy they're calling me mom but it just drives me nuts. Dakota says it in a really annoying way and yes, my girls usually exhaust Mommy so to have 2 more kids saying it. AHH

 

Yikes, I'm so negative lately. Oh man, Kailey played with a water bottle and is now sipping drops of it off the floor. What in the world?

 

It's almost Friday, right?!

 

Ok, gotta keep these kids busy. The twins keep on fighting over everything so I have all these toys that they were fighting over up high. My house kinda looks funny. lol

 

I NEED to do a few chores today. My bathroom is a mess and usually I'm good at upkeeping that so that's bugging me.

 

Hope you guys have a good day!!

 

 

 

sara, i read your post earlier and wanted to reply but got distracted and now i don't remember what i was going to reply to.  i just wanted to get on here real quick and say

 

OMG i don't know how you watch other people's kids w/o going bonkers!!!!!!!

 

you are truly my hero.  and the kids here today are my nieces who are very well-behaved, esp compared to my nephews.  but omg their annoying habits are totally dif than MY kids' annoying habits so they really grated on me.

 

this is the freakin' witching hour i swear.  i'm suddenly fed up with all 4 of these kids and one (c) has only been home for 10 minutes!  i need to hide somewhere. and you'd think from my post that they were all jumping around being horrible and they're not - it's just everyone needs something all at once and i'm not used to little kids anymore and being at the beck and call of a 3yo - i'm used to my kids being old enuff to fend for themselves on most things.

 

argh!

lol, oh, don't I know it! Yes, the after school/pre-dinner time is the worse for me.

 

It's funny how much we can stand our kids but if other people's kids are doing similar things, they bug the heck out of you. Kinda like them calling me mom when I'm most certaintly not. I'm fine with my kids calling me mom, obviously, but it bugs the heck out of me to hear it from others.

 

I find myself comparing these kids to mine and it's really hard NOT to do that. Why the heck does Dakota still need me to feed him? He's almost 2.5 for crying out loud. My girls were so past that stage. And sadly, that means my patience level with him is low because I just think... why? How?? bah

 

Ok, blabbing too much. I feel for you, I truly do! Off I go to finish up the dishes so then I can actually get to bed early tonight.

you know what really bugs me?

 

anything starting with "i want..."

 

i have trained my nephews to say "can i have _____, please" but my nieces were doing it yesterday.  i told the 3yo to ask me nicely and she cracked me up because she said it exactly in the same demanding (almost angry) way but in a high voice with a fake smile - she made me laugh so i gave it to her.  it's a little sad tho, because it shows she had no clue what i meant about asking nicely!!!  and my sister is very nice and her kids are nice.  like nyah (the 4-1/2yo) said "i love you" to chane as he got out of the car for kindergarten.  my mom didn't teach us please and thank you either and it really hurt me as an adult.  my kids even know to say "no thank you" if i offer them something.  altho i have noticed that if they are at s&j's house, they talk the way they do and don't use please and thank you as much and are much more demanding.  man i hope they don't do that at friends' houses!!

 

i can't talk - i still have some stuff to say about your prev post.  i hope you got to bed early.

 

Ah, see, that really bugs dh but doesn't seem to bug me so much. I'm trying to get the kids saying thank you but not doing a good job. My girls are quite polite which sorta came naturally since I don't remember spending LOTS of time on it. These twins though are a lost cause.

 

Augh, Dakota is bawling his head off again... it sounds like someone's killing him (he's down for a nap but did this for 45 mins yesterday so it meant I had to keep on going in... I dont' think his parents are keen on him crying to sleep and neither am I, just makes my job harder.) Off I go.

dead tired - just got home from cleaning job.  i did a lot of extras to make their house look better for the holidays.  why can't i get motivated to do that for my own house?  they are older and not picky so they probably won't even notice but i don't want their holiday guests snooping and finding crumbs or fingerprints.

 

okay sara, i now know what you mean by "guts falling out."  i just got my period cramps today even tho i think it started a few days ago, who knows - on again off again as usual.  anyway, i got these heavy cramps while cleaning and felt this pressure on my "bottom."  bottom is always what nurses and obs used to say when i was pregnant and i didn't know what it meant 'til my 3rd trimester with chane and he was banging on my "bottom" and i finally realized they didn't mean by butt, they meant the bottom of me which is hard to explain but i'm sure you know what i mean.  so i had this pressure and i think that's what you meant by the guts falling out thing. 

 

i'm too tired to do what i wanted to do which was heavy cleaning on my own house for a little before having a "me" break.  i have to work tonite and have these cramps so i need a break NOW.  gonna go reboot the laundry and shower, then watch something on tivo and have a soda and maybe a piece of ham.  i would like to have my "power hour" dinner early but it makes me even more tired so i'll wait 'til after work...  that way i can also have what i'm making everyone else instead of just a sandwich, and i like what i'm making so that's good (hamburger rice).

 

geez i was going to post ONE LINE about my guts falling out and see what i do?  someone should smack me.  btw my dh and i both say thank you all the time - to each other, to the kids, to everyone.  and excuse me and please.  you probably do too which is why your kids come by it naturally.  my sister says thank you and please all the time too, i think, but she probably never really enforced it in the kids - probably a combination of the two is best.  my kids don't get a drink unless they ask nicely, even if they don't say please every single time.  and if they say something innocuous like "i'm hungry" or "i'm thirsty" i say "i'm joni, nice to meet you" which drives them nuts so they learned pretty quick that if they actually are wanting me to make them something to eat or drink, they need to phrase it as a question and say it nicely.  and if they whine, i don't respond at all (unless they are super tired and whining about everything and need my attention).  i'm kind of b***y tho, even to my kids, and neither of my sisters are so who knows if that is why because their kids are used to their mommies getting them what they want right away.  my sil is kind of mean and i don't like the way she treats my other nephews, but they are also polite and ask nicely for things, so it's not really a sign of good or bad parenting i think - it just BUGS me!

 

going up to do what i need to do (hopefully) before the bus comes.  did i tell you they got moved to a new bus because there's was crowded and it has a much longer route so they don't get home 'til 3 now instead of 2:45?  it gives me a little extra time and braeden usually has his homework mostly done now before he even gets home - yay!

I'm sorry you had to experience the gut's falling out feeling :(

 

I hope you have a good break and work goes well tonight! Sounds like you worked your butt off today.

 

That's great that they changed buses, I think. lol It sounds like it's a good thing if Braeden is getting is work done on the bus and gives you a little extra time to get things done.

 

Ah, yes, the bottom. hehe

 

Have a good day! I'm motoring along on my craft stuff. Our drawers are in our dining room so it's really hard on my knees and butt to sit on the cold floor. Ok, off I go again! I'm more than half way done.

i like organizing that kind of stuff altho sitting on the floor to do it isn't so great.  any way to take the drawers out and up to the table to work?

 

i HAVE to clean today.  scott is home tomorrow and i don't want to clean then.  i'm saving most of the laundry for then since it is a no-brainer (esp the way i do it now - i sort the darks by person before washing it so putting it away is much easier).

 

i'm going to make a plan.  i'll have about 6 hours before i have to get ready for my gyn apptmt (blech, my period is still here but what else can i do?  it's not like i can plan around it anymore!).  about an hour or two will be taking care of chane so i'll have 4 hours at least and if i work hard that might be enough to do some real cleaning and maybe even get to their rooms.

 

c is yelling for me

"theirs" was crowded

omg i never used to do that.  and i hated when other people did.  i'm losing my mental abilities i swear!

Good luck with your cleaning today, Joni!

 

I'm hoping to do some stuff too though I can't seem to get warm today and I'm stuck on neutral. Lots of stuff to mess me up too. I ran into Mackenzie's new babysitter and we talked for almost an hour outside and then when I got back home, 10 mins later, Karen, my caseworker came to give me some newsletters and chat. So, a messed up morning! My kitchen and dining room were so messed up too :( But, she didn't say anything. I just warned her my house isn't in the best shape right now.

 

So, I did tell Courtney (the new provider) what happend with Mackenzie. She asked me if I had issues with my kids and Mackenzie. I said, nope, it was me and her. and explained it. She was shocked and said that's made her mind up. She's had her for 3 weeks now, I think. She has 2 sons and 3 foster boys. They all aren't getting along with Mackenzie well and so she's talked with Karen, telling her that no one comes before my kids and that I'm having issues with Mackenzie, etc. She said she won't mention anything about me telling her about family services but thanks me for letting her know because that just makes up her mind. Sooo, now I'm a little nervous I'll lose the twins since they'll have to find a new place for Mackenzie and this new place MAY be able to take on the twins too. I'm trying not to be nervous though because I can't say I'd be too sad to see the twins go. They've been sick for over a month and giving me a hard time, mostly Karley. They are a lot of work and Courtney was telling me the amount of kids in this area needing care is huge so though you won't make as much as overnight kids, you can still come away with some good money. So, we'll see.

 

Oh, sorry for not responding to your Christmas thing. i'm just sooo not in the mindset for Christmas yet :( Dakota takes a lot of out of me, I'm realizing so now that I'm free of him for 4 days, I'll be able to think. I told dh I want to deem tomorrow night as our launch into Christmas. I'm hoping to watch a movie with the family, make up our wishlists (that my nanny has been bugging me for), make up a list of things we HAVE to do and that the girls are excited to do. I told dh I'd like the computers to be off but once the girls go to bed, I'm fine with him going on after the girls are in bed. I'm hoping to do some wrapping and making up a list of things I have for the girls, the gifts we have for others, who we need to buy for, etc.

 

Ok, another chatty post. Ack. Gotta see if the twins fell asleep yet, cut myself a caramel square that should be hardened now and then figure out what me and D will be doing this afternoon. I think we'll colour first.

i think you will be better off w/o the twins altho i know the money is good.  i think you would be better off with NO overnite kids for now. 

 

no prob re: the christmas thing.  i can totally understand not being able to think.  if you have downtime, you should be reading or relaxing or being with dh, not on here anyway! :-)  my problem is whenever my mind is not fully occupied, it keeps going and going.  so when i cleaned that house yesterday, which is totally dif than cleaning my own house since i don't have any distractions at all, not even mental ones like seeing something that needs to be done later or whatever and especially not kid ones or ringing phone ones, my mind was going on about christmas stuff.

 

that is good you warned that woman.  with all those boys, god knows WHAT mackenzie would say.  that is sad she keeps moving around tho - i hope she can get straightened out finally.  it sounds like she likes to test test test!

 

if your caseworker doesn't understand a messy house with that many kids, then she is in the wrong business.  i'm sure she's looking more for signs of serious neglect with your cleaning, like if  you had the same gook on  your floor every time she came.  if it's new gook, then she knows you clean regularly lol.  and she's probably more interested in the messes not being dangerous, like you leaving your sewing out in the middle of the living room or dh's power tools where the kids can get to them.

 

well i have totally distracted myself and got almost nothing done that i had planned to, even tho i've been nonstop working.  i cannot believe how quick this day is going.  i played with chane 'til 9:10 and then started on the house.  i told him no distractions from him today, but of course there were a few.  he can't help himself - "come look mom" or "see what spyro is doing mom" or "i need help opening the bread mom."  but mostly he was okay. 

 

my house is now a TOTAL mess, at least the two downstairs levels.  ugh.  i decided to work on the family room tile grout which looks great now only i had to move a bunch of stuff from scott's desk to get to it plus my cleaning supplies are still out.  i got really tired in the middle and also needed to let the new greased lightning i'd just sprayed sit for awhile, so i went up to the living room and decided to do a deep down vacuum, meaning i moved all THAT furniture around and took everything out of the coat closet to clean that floor.  it's reasonably okay in there now - i did put most everything back but i think the spotshot and rag are still there plus the vacuum. 

 

then i came back down here and finished the exposed tile (i still need to do the area where scott's desk and rug and bookshelves actually sit plus some small areas here and there that i missed) and mopped it about 6 times to get the soap up (had to keep going up to change my water over and over too) plus swept and vacuumed and mopped the areas that were already done but just need weekly cleaning.  the vacuuming was actually done last after i did everything else, just a once over to get up loose hairs and stuff - in between all of this i had the vacuum upstairs and decided it was time to do the kitchen behind furniture!! 

 

so i pulled all the big furniture away from the wall.  i took a picture to show scott how bad it was but i won't post it because it's mortifying and you have seen pics of my house before so you know if i say mortifying it must be really bad.  the pile i swept up filled the dustpan completely full twice and that is not even doing the big red cabinet that i can't move and the fridge and stove.  i really need to get furniture that is totally closed at the bottom instead of having openings big enough for junk to get under but not big enough to get it out w/o pulling the furniture out. 

 

i also took the fridge vent off and toothbrushed it (forgot to say i toothbrushed the inside of the vac before i started anything) and it's drying in the tub so that bathroom is yucky now too because there is dirt in the bottom of the tub.  i also did some laundry here and there so there is clean and dirty laundry all over the laundry room.  am i forgetting anything?  hmm. 

 

i did push the furniture back in but before i started this scott had the kitchen pretty clean from last nite and now it has bfast/lunch dishes, dirt that escaped from behind furniture but didn't make it into the dustpan (i didn't sweep the whole floor), cleaning supplies, dirty bucket and filthy sink from dumping the bucketsful in it, clean clothes on the table and i'm not sure what all else.  plus chane's usual messes. 

 

scott is due home in an hour-and-a-half to be with the kids because of my dr apptmt.  i've done almost zero regular weekly cleaning and mostly made messes.  yes some things are much cleaner underneath but the house looks BAD.  also i moved everything off his office floor and desk and piles of stuff he had everywhere and put all of it in huge stacks on his little 5x8 rug so he will have to deal w/that.  i'm thinking i'm not going to have a very happy hubby!!  esp since i won't be back 'til late since i have to go to work after the dr and also i forgot to make up the barbecue chicken for the crockpot so i'm not sure what they'll be eating.

 

btw one thing i wanted to say about your previous post awhile ago, sara, is that when i said i sit each morning and take time to gear up for the day, it is because my kids are finally at the age i can.  it's not a discipline thing - like i know some women get up super early for downtime.  if i didn't have to get up with braeden, i wouldn't have that time.  and that time is only when he rides the bus, meaning he leaves here at around 7:08 and c doesn't get up 'til 7:30 (sometimes 8 if i am lucky but i don't let him go past 8 or he won't sleep at nite).  there have been a few times c has gotten up at the same time or braeden wants/needs to be driven so i have to get c up w/o any downtime.  that time will come for you, i promise! 

 

when you are the same age as i am, em will be 16 and delaney will be 13, and the new baby will be 10.  then you will have more time than you know what to do with, assuming there aren't more aitkens around then.  i'm babbling but i just caught a hint of you thinking you should be organizing your day so that you can have that same kind of downtime and that it must be because you're not disciplined or doing things right or something, and i wanted to make sure you know it's not really an organizational thing, more of a "stage of life" thing.  kind of something i stumbled onto!  maybe you weren't being hard on yourself about it but it sounded like it.  i have to say i am really getting used to 3 hours each afternoon alone and a few minutes each morning.  wow!

 

gotta go shower and make sure my legs are shaved and whatever.  i shave them every day but i need to do a good job since it's the gyn - blech.

You're a maniac, maniac on the floor! You did great, Joni! Good job. Ooo, I dont' even want to know what's lurking under our dr/kitchen furniture. Heck, above our fridge, we have tons of dust webs so you can imagine how bad it is under and behind it.

 

I'm sticking with the twins for now. THeir mom has to bid on new shifts at work and may try for the day shift. So, in that case, that would change things a lot. Depending on the hours, I may still give up the twins because I can't handle really early mornings, especially not with being pregnant or having a newborn. With the kids that came at 6:30, that was do-able since I wasn't pregnant and actually really liked getting up that early providing I could get to bed around 9:30. Well, even though I'm going to bed at 9:30, I'm getting up at 7 and still having to drag myself out.

 

Thankfully, we didn't go to my parents today. If it was nice, we would have gone to help with leaves but it's raining up there (and here.) Sooo, that's a huge relief. I didn't want to just say no since we offered to help. We'll go up next week-end as it's my birthday on the 20th and my sis' on the 19th. Then I can get my dad's stinky garlic sausage out of my freezer. hehe

 

We've had a pretty good week-end. Last night wasn't as productive as I hoped in regards to Christmas stuff. We all were dead tired and I was trying not to puke. But, the girls did get a good start on their lists (Delaney made sure I added a Christmas tree, lots of candy and a mall on hers. hehe OH yeah, sparkley clothes too) I also asked what kind of things they want to make sure we do. Delaney was distracted by that point but Em wants a tree, to wear her housecoat and slippers on Christmas morning and to watch a family movie Christmas Day night. She also wants to do a gingerbread house which I was fine on skipping since it's a frustrating pain in the butt sometimes and then it's a few weeks of saying, no, you can't eat the candy from it. No, no no. But, we got a kit today from Costco so that's that!

 

Yikes, haven't started supper. Me, dh and Delaney had an afternoon nap after Costco shopping so we're all raring to go. I'm waiting for my chicken to thaw a little more but that's really just an excuse. hehe

 

Off I go to get cracking on dinner. Dh's wanting to dig through the winter decorations and put some of those up tonight. We'll save the actual Christmas ones for later but you know, it's almost mid-November and we used to have our decorations and fake tree up for my birthday so really, it wouldn't be so bad if we put them up now! I actually like our Christmas decorations better than our all-year decorations (though we are lacking in that anyways.) lol