It's been a day!

Whew! Let's see...broke off a tooth this weekend had to go into the dentist this morning at 8 am to have them tell me I need a crown. Scheduled that for October 13 and November 3. Went to work at 9--had hair cut at 12:30 and did not schedule another one (proud of me Dawn?) I told her I did not have a calendar I would have to call--am not going to. At 1:30 I went to church to help out with a funeral dinner and left there at 3:45 to go pick up Zach from basketball practice. Now I am trying to decide if I am going to go to the grocery store this evening while Doug works the concession stand at the varsity volleyball game. Apparently the chorus gets the profits from this---what? chorus? Who knew--and since Kate's in chorus. Better him than me. I might as well cram one more thing into this day. Then tomorrow I can just sit back and relax. Yeah right!

I have decided that the old folks who work funeral dinners only do it to socialize. The other person who was my age and I were working while the rest of them sat around and talked about everyone. They kept asking me who people were at the dinner---I DON'T KNOW! I have no idea I did not grow up in this town. UGH!! And the church kitchen is not organized--what so ever--it took every bit of my will power not to start cleaning out drawers and rearranging stuff. The only reason I didn't is because I knew that when I go back to help the next time it will all be messed up again. Better not waste my energy.

Doug's mom is out of the hospital and doing better. She had a visiting nurse come today to change the bandages where they took the tubes out. I don't know how well Doug's dad would have handled that. I did laundry for him over the weekend. I washed and dried and folded his tshirts and socks and made Doug fold his dad's underwear--too creepy for me--even though they were boxers. (Shudder). I kept thinking to myself that that would be part of my weekly chores in some years--taking care of him. They told us Darlene could have decades, but...you never know right? I might be doing both of their laundry.

Fall is finally here. It was so cool yesterday we closed some of the windows we have had open most of the summer. I've been wearing 3/4 sleeve sweaters the last few days--I have been longingly looking at my sweaters for a month or so now--it's good to get to wear them. Now, if I could just get it in gear and get my fall stuff out. Doug's old ADM group is coming over for a porch party this weekend--I really should do it before then. Hmmm....

Two days until...

I'm 39. Oh my. The big 4-0 is right around the corner. It used to bother me a lot to think of myself as older--ok--middle aged, but lately I'm fine. There are a lot of good things that happened this year. I'm living in my dream home. My husband and I have been married 16 years and he is still my best friend. My daughter is a freshman in high school. My son is in 6th grade. We am healthy & happy almost all of the time. I have hobbies I love. Both sets of our parents are doing well. We have good brothers and sisters and inlaws. We have 4 neices and 4 nephews. Our children are doing well in school and are well mannered (in spite of us). Ha. We have good friends--really good friends that help us out whenever we need it and listen whenever we need it. We love God. We can't ask for more than that.

My baby girl is growing up.

On Sunday Doug and I cleaned out the unfinished attic space. Since we moved in we have been cramming stuff in there that we don't know what to do with, want to put in a rummage sale, or just need to get out of the way. Well, it was a pit. We dragged almost everything out and threw a lot of it away. The mice had been into Kate's old easy bake oven and ate a mix for that and also clean the ears off of some Indian corn that was on one of my fall wreaths. Time to get some traps set up there. UGH!

In the middle of all the cleaning I decided to have Kate get all of her "toys" out of her room. We went through Polly Pocket, Barbies, My Scene dolls, Littlest Pet Shop, We three friends, Strawberry shortcake dolls, Groovy girls, etc. The only thing we didn't do is Bitty Baby and her Amerian girl dolls. I will save that for another day. It was hard to pack up all her stuff and put it away, because I know she is growing up and not a little girl anymore. She hasn't been one for a while now, but I was in denial. We through out 3 garbage bags of stuff and multiple boxes. The garbage man probably loved us. But I kept all of the above things as keepsakes. One day when my grandkids come over I want them to play with toys that their parents played with. I know...I'm weird. I have the room to store them, so I will.

It did my organizing self good to go through everything and find bins and containers for it all. It's another thing crossed off of my big to do list that I want to get done before summer is over. I have 18 or so days left to get it all done. I still need to go through our junk closet down here, unpack the last box in my closet, get my pictures off the computer and cameras developed, clean out the computer cabinet, put some pictures in a wall mounted jewelry "box" Doug bought me for Christmas and go through the kids' keepsakes and purge. (I do this every few years to thin stuff out to make room for more stuff.) Not a bad list, but I better get on it.

Today was a good day...

It wasn't too stressful, it wasn't too long or too short...it was just right. And tomorrow Doug comes home and all will be right in the world. It's hard not to talk to him every day. Oh, we have been doing the texting and the emailing and a few calls now and then, but my life is so boring without him around.

Zach's baseball team finally one a game. It was a blow out and was good for the boys' egos. They needed it because we are usually the ones getting spanked. Badly!

I went to Target yesterday to get a few things we needed and it made me want to Christmas shop. I found this really cool glass candle holder thing--I used to have one that was broken by my son and his friends when they were playing something inside the house that they shouldn't and I was devastated. Not only because it cost $60, but because I loved that thing. I wouldn't go by myself another one, because well...money doesn't grow on trees and what if it got broken again? So yesterday at Target--they had them--for $15. I wanted to buy 2 or 3. Ha. I bought one for myself and I'm thinking about going back to get one each for both of my sister in laws for Christmas. At that price I can buy potpourri and a candle and still be under my $25 Christmas present budget. Awesome. Hope they have some still this weekend after we get paid. That will be 2 presents I don't have to worry about.

Also I am going to pick up a couple of small things for Zach. He and his friends were in the yard last weekend for hours and hours playing base ball with tennis balls. They were using multiple things for bases including baseball caps, my hummingbird feeder (that one disturbed me) and big sticks and such. Guess what? Target has bases for 12.99--that's a good deal. I'm always looking for things for him. I'm on the lookout for a binder for his baseball cards that the outside actually looks like a baseball. I've seen them somewhere and now can't find them. Dang, I hate that.

It's the start of another crappy week...

Pardon my pessimissim all ready. I am just having a real rough time with my new boss at work. He insulted me pretty bad last Monday and now everything he says and does is like salt in that wound. I just can't seem to work past it. I don't know if I want to. I hate to give up already, but man...I don't want to be miserable either.

Doug is gone again this week and I have 3 baseball games, a middle school open house and 3 church meetings this week. On top of that I have to help with homework and manage the kids so that they are getting their chores done on top of school work and then getting showers and to bed on time. Oh, and did I mention that we have a double header on Saturday morning and we are hosting cards at our house at 5:30. So on top of everything else I am trying to get/keep my house cleaned before then. I don't want to wait until Friday and try to do it all.

And my husband who is 3 hours away's answer is to "relax" and "take it easy". I love you honey, but...telling that to someone who is freaking out about things isn't really a very good idea. Or you will see that she will freak out on you--like she did. Ha. I bet he's thinking...Psycho b! I know I am. Did I mention that it's that time of the month? Are you seeing a picture here?

Zach pitched the second game last night and in one inning gave up 12 runs. It was absolutely horrible. I can't even believe the coach let him stay in. The team we played was phenomenal though--I could tell that they were mostly 8th graders--or giants--I'm not sure which. I only remember 3 infield balls being hit--the rest were in left and center field--way out in left and center field. It was heart breaking for Zach. I told him not to feel too bad, the pitcher in the first game did the same thing. No game tonight--just practice.

I'm off to open house tonight. Here's hoping that he gets home from practice in time to eat supper and start on his homework before I leave for that...UGH!

Are kids stupider nowadays...

or is it just mine in particular. So last night I was upstairs working on my wedding scrapbook--yes I know I have been married for 16 years--I'm slow okay, any way I'm working away and I hear laughter and it sounds like the kids are having a good time. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes later and all of a sudden there is screaming and I hear the sounds of flesh hitting flesh and then crying, oh and also a thundering of foot steps--you know like someone is chasing the other. So I come down the stairs--not quietly mind you to investigate and they are still going at it. Of course they only pick the times when there is one parent at home to go at it, but why did it have to be me. Ha. So, suffice to say, they both had to go to bed early last night and they lost their phones until Saturday.

Now I remember when my sister and I had a knock down drag out it was when neither one of our parents were home. Then you can do all the bitch slapping and hair pulling that you want. Well, apparently my kids don't care who's home when the mood strikes them. Like I said, they are stupid.

School has started!

And not a moment too soon. Ha. My sanity was starting to go. Not that I have that much any way. Ha.

Went yesterday and picked up some books at the library. I'm hoping to get through a few in the next couple of weeks. I use reading as a de-stresser, but lately I haven't even picked up a book. I need to get back up into my scrap room too and do a few pages or even organize something.

Today was my son's first day of middle school and my daughter's first day of high school. I feel so old right now. My daughter was lying in bed with me last night (while I was trying to read) and was nervous becuase she hadn't looked where her classrooms were while we were at registration. And I was trying to be a good person and not say "I told you so". So I reassured her with "You'll be fine", "you can ask someone where stuff is" yada yada. I don't think that really assured her though because she said, "mom, tell me some horror stories of your first day of high school". Sadly I had to tell her that I didn't have any--I didn't want to tell her that I don't remember back that far. Ha. It's the old thing again.

Zach on the other hand was extremely excited to go and didn't have any worries what-so-ever. He came home to tell me that he had 4 favorite teachers so far (out of 7) and that he got his lock opened 5 out of 5 times. Those must have been his worries.

Doug is in Quincy all this week for ADM. He will be back for the weekend only to go back on Monday. Hopefully it will just be for 2 weeks. He told me last weekend that he might have to go back to Amsterdam this year in the fall. I asked him if he realized that it was almost fall....