DANDELIONS!!!!

I survived yesterday, only because I delayed the whole "lawn mowing" thing. At this point, I just hope the lawn mower doesn't blow up--with me sitting on it--because our grass is looking shaggy.

And we have DANDELIONS!!! WTH??? We've never had them. We've always done the weed and feed ourselves. And we've never had but a few. Then we hired a service, and the guy sprayed, and NOTHING. We have more dandelions than I can count.

Here's where Hubby and I differ. I actually think dandelions are pretty. We have a lot of farms and farmland around us, and those green pastures with the sweep of yellow on them, are very pretty!

NOT on our lawn, however. Hubby would rather gouge out his own eye, than have dandelions on his lawn. I tell him he needs to relax. But he won't. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't much difference between those really big dandelions, and a Mum. Seriously. Yellow mums. That's what they look like to me. But if we get even ONE on the lawn, Hubby is freaking out and getting out the weed treatment and calling out the reinforcements.

Now that we seem to be COVERED in dandelions, you can imagine Hubby's anxiety. He has me calling this poor guy and emailing him, to come out and SAVE US from the dandelions.
Granted, we paid for the whole year and it seems to me we're not getting good results, so he needs to come and make it right, but I don't want to be the "pesty customers."

I have a feeling if we don't pester him, our lawn will suffer Death By Dandelions. And that just might push my Hubby over the edge...I can see it now...out there at 1am in nothing but a robe spot treating the dandelions with a spray bottle...

Poor Hubby.

Busy.

BUSY. That would be me. Today I have materials for a class project to buy, an acre yard to mow, TWO dentist appointments, A Band concert (heaven help my ears) and soccer practice.

Luckily I've planned them out--however Hubby needs to pick up Thing Three from the soccer field at 7pm, as I will be at Thing One's concert. *SIGH* Can't be in two places at once.

Bought a ticket to see my family in Spokane in July. SO excited for that. Hubby and Kids will be in Idaho, and I will get three days of just me, with my family. It's a birthday present. I'm excited, it's been too long since I've seen my family! It will have been one year!

And to top it all off, I'm really in the zone with my edits (more on the writing blog). Of COURSE I am! Because I don't have any time!

In fact, what am I doing blogging? Must run!

Ooops...

Was caught up in Editland yesterday (will go into detail more on the writing blog) and I actually forgot to blog...at all!

I guess this is just a busy time--school is out in a month so there's lots of end-of-year concerts, projects, activities--it can get busy. What the heck am I saying--I AM busy!

Yesterday I flushed it all down the toilet and edited my story--until I had to go to a choir concert. *Note to self--Dum Dum suckers are only good for about five minutes with toddlers...*

I was supposed to mow the lawn today, but it's raining. DARN. The kids have a half day at school, so after they have lunch at home we'll head to Half Price Books. It's sort of become a tradition now. Half Day/Half Price. :-) They love to pick out books and browse, and I always seem to find a book I can't live without. I used to let them pick out two books, but we are on a budget now! Even I only get one book! :-(

Lots to do today so I'd better get on it.

So Typical...

I don't usually blog on weekends, and during that time I always have things happen and I think to myself "I can't wait to blog about this! It's hilarious/funny/sad/deep/noteworthy, etc."

Then cut to Monday morning, sitting in front of the computer as I'm doing now.

Drawing a complete blank.

Typical.

Hubby and I got away Friday night and saw STAR TREK and man oh man I loved it. It was SO FUN!!! I'm not a hardcore Trekkie, but I'm certainly a "Trekkie Light" because I grew up watching the show, saw all the movies in the theatre, and LOVE the characters. Except Khan. Didn't like him so much. Or those little earwig things they put in your ear and they grow to the size of sparrows and wrap around your brain stem...ugh.

ANYWAYIDIGRESSBIGTIME, it was a blast. We've already bought our reserved seats for Angels and Demons this Friday, and I can't wait! Hubby is hurriedly re-reading the book so he'll know the story. I read it years ago, so I know the basic plot elements, but I've forgotten a lot of them so I think I WON'T read the book, so I can enjoy the movie a little more. :-)

Soccer was interesting on Saturday. We had an 8am game and it was BUTT cold and raining and the field was mud. But they played! Thing One's game was at 11:15 so it had warmed up a little, but it was mud puddles everywhere. It was so funny--the girls on the other team would NOT run through the puddles, they'd wince and recoil and skirt around them---wusses!!! Their hesitancy helped us score a few goals! All because they didn't want to get muddy!

We still lost anyway, because ONE girl (who I started calling "Pinky" because of her pink shin guards) scored four goals by herself. Pinky was on fire, and there was nothing Thing One's team could do about it.

Oh well. That's what happens with these rec teams. You always get one or two kids on a team who are "superstars"-- who for one reason or another didn't try out for Select, and they SLAUGHTER you every time. And the coach never seems to pull them out. They just play and play and score goals and score goals. Frustrating, but you 'd be hard pressed to find many teams without at least one "superstar" who isn't a goal hog. Hmmph.

I honestly can't think of anything else, I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day (mine was pretty good!) and now it's back to reality. Happy Monday!

ps--those "puff balls" in the pic below were purchased at Walmart. Yes, Walmart.

Puff Balls!

I love these things. I had boring old wintery-looking balls in my bowl before, and now, look! Springy! You'll never guess where I got them! Go ahead! Guess!

I just hope Thing Four doesn't decide to try and eat them...that's the trick, isn't it?

Short post today, because I have to go hunting all over town for "Sonic" birthday toys. So far, no luck. Hopefully they'll be at Toys R Us. Cross your fingers for me!

Note To Self: Flat Paint and Kids = VERY BAD IDEA.

I am exhausted. I stayed up until 2am, PAINTING, of all things. First of all, I have a couple complaints. Our house was a former model home, so there are about 935 different shades of paint in different rooms. Some rooms have up to THREE different accent colors. And sometimes it's hard to differentiate between "Basket Beige" or "Baguette." After a while, they sort of look the same.

My other complaint? The geniuses who built the house used FLAT paint on the interior. It's just fine if you have zero kids, zero pets, zero clumsiness and your house is only occupied a few weeks out of the year. In short, FLAT PAINT SUCKS. I've probably touched up my walls seven times in two years. Luckily, flat paint is a snap to PAINT with, but all it takes is ONE time--for my toddler to escape from his high chair before I have a chance to wipe the peanut butter and jelly from his fingers--and the pristine walls are GONZO.

I broke down and had the maid service come yesterday--a little mother's day present for myself. Hubby has been in New York all week, and he comes home tonight. So, I decided to break out the (about seven) cans of paint and touch up all the "rough spots." I collapsed into bed six hours later--but the house does look pretty good! WHEW!

When we win the lottery--I think I'm going to get an estimate on how much to have the interior repainted--in a satin. Definitely more kid-friendly!

I want a nap. But I need to clean out a closet. I guess I will just have to go through the day feeling Narcoleptic. Wish me luck!

What Kind of Day Will This Be?

Hmmmm, not sure about today. I have a yucky feeling. But the toast DID fall butter-side up this morning (I am so clumsy!) so maybe I'm just worrying needlessly.

I am over Thing Two. He loses EVERYTHING. Last night was Cub scouts for the boys, and Thing Two LOST his brand spanking new Webelos book. Yeah, we bought it LAST week for him.

I lost it. I hate to admit it. I shrieked at him in the car in the church parking lot. How could he lose it so quickly?

You have to understand, we went through THREE wolf books with this kid. TWO bear books. He just kept losing them. Strangely enough, they never turned up. (Well, one Wolf book did, but luckily we hadn't transferred anything so his brother is using it.)

But I mean really, the kid can't keep track of a simple book? So, I yelled at him last night. I don't like to yell, but I'd had it. Thing One came out of her church activity complaining that her eyes were itchy, but I couldn't give her anything because she was only eight hours into a 24-hour Claritin. And I had just finished carrying an irate toddler kicking and screaming through the halls of the church because he wanted to "stay and play basketball." AND I'd had to threaten Thing Three to stop running through the church with his buddies and wrestling in the foyer.

Yeah, I'd seriously had it. Major yelling at Thing Two. Luckily for HIM the book turned up, but I was over him. I told him to take the book home and put it immediately into his sock drawer and DO NOT SET IT DOWN ON THE WAY UP THE STAIRS, DO NOT PASS GO DO NOT COLLECT TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!!

He didn't understand the "$200" part, probably because I find Monopoly highly annoying thanks to a mother who always won when she played with us kids (and cackled evilly when she bought up all the property) and I've never bought the game for our household. But he got the general drift. Or so I thought.

He left the book in the car.

I had to count to about 92645237.

ANYWAY, I discovered I had some last-minute things to do and I fell into bed, exhausted, around 11. Early for me!

But I still feel yucky. Maybe it's because the sun isn't out. It's cloudy and cool. I am SO tempted to turn on the heat in my basement--it's 64 degrees down here! Brrrr!

Stuffed Sausage.

First off--check out my new Writing blog--The Potted Pen! I finished it!

May 10th is going to be interesting. So many things stuffed into one day. Or, at least, it WAS until I got things figured out. You see, May 10th happens to be the birth day for TWO of my children--Thing Two, and Thing Four. (People always ask me how that happened, and the answer is simple. On May 9th, 2007, my O.B. told me she could induce me on the tenth, or I could wait one more week. My baby was already ten days overdue. The 10th it was!)

May 10th will also be interesting because it happens to be Mother's Day this year. Yep. STUFFED full. Now, if I was a selfish person, I'd be a litttle miffed that the double birthdays would be "stealing my thunder," so to speak. But also, Mother's day could be stealing my Birthday Boys' thunder. So, I've figured out a plan. We're celebrating the double birthdays on SATURDAY the 9th, and Mother's Day will be it's own day on the 10th. Perfect. And the boys have zero problems with getting their presents a day early. Ta Da!!

I am so smart. Ha ha ha ha ha!!

Here's where I usually talk about what I did on the Writing Front, but now you have to zoom over to The Potted Pen for that. I'll post the link in my sidebar asap. RAMBLINGS will remain intact (I actually thought of doing away with it for a few minutes!) and I will just have to be more time-management-oriented to do both blogs. (snort! What are you laughing at?)

I'm stuck at home until the lawn guys come and turn on the sprinkling system. I'd do it myself, but they will check the sprinkler heads for damage, etc. You could show me a damaged sprinkler head, and I wouldn't know it from a small cabbage, so I'm probably not the best for the job. And they gave me a HUGE window, so I'm stuck here. I guess I'll clean the baby's room! His toys could be sterilized and his sheets changed. And I could sort through his clothes, because he's GROWN OUT of everything! I need to find a "resale" shop. I'd make a killing with all the clothes he only wore two times because he grew out of them so fast! Sheesh!

Moderation.

I am beginning to despise weekends. Well, not EVERY one of them, but when you have lots of soccer games and activities and a husband who can't sit still and wants to do "projects" around the house (that inevitably involve my "help" in one way or another) there is simply no rest for the weary.

Sundays are better. Sundays we have church from 9am-noon, but by the time we breathlessly sneak into the back row of the chapel at 9:03 I've already had it. For the ENTIRE day. If I was a GOOD mother, I'd have all the kids clothes pressed and laying out, and have them all bathed and showered. I would even have breakfast made. But since I'm your average not-so-wonderful mom I'm usually shrieking at them to jump in the shower, get their own cereal, and FIND their clothes so I can iron them. Not to mention getting myself ready, all before our HALF HOUR drive to the church.

Yeah. Starting to dislike weekends. Monday through Friday I get to go at my own pace. Granted, I run around a lot, and I have to get up at 6am just like everyone else, but it seems...calmer. That probably makes zero sense, but it's how I'm feeling, lately.

Watched the last two episodes of Little Dorrit yesterday, and LOVED it. Such a great story! The characters were all so well cast, so believable! And I always love happy endings!Time to head off to the grocery store! I've planned out all my meals for the week, so I'm only going ONCE. Cross your fingers for me. I usually go four times a week. Hubby is in New York again this week, so I will have nights free to finish my edits. Yeah, I still haven't finished! Yikes!

It's MAY!!!

I adore the month of May. For several reasons--it's officially a "Spring" month, Mother's day is in it, two of my children's birthdays are in it, MY birthday is in it, my good friend's birthday is in it, and well, it's just a really pretty, fresh, fun month!

I love May! It's also the month I start submitting my newly minted novel to agents. I am nearly finished with my edits and I'll be ready to send out queries--next week.

Speaking of writing, I've decided to start a new blog, JUST about the writing. I've thought of a fun name for it, but I have some "stuff" to design for it. And I googled the name, too, of course, just to make sure no one else has my blog title "out there." Because eight times out of ten, if you think of something neat, someone else has thought of exactly the same thing. :-(

Not in this case! I downloaded Paint.net (has elements of Photoshop but it's FREE) and I plan to design my own blog template.

The problem is, THIS is where my life starts to get busy. I have kids in Spring sports. I have lots more school stuff to worry about in Spring, because school starts to wind down and all the kids' "year end" parties and concerts and projects are happening. And there's lots of stuff to do outside, because things are GROWING and need to be taken care of.

So, when will I have TIME to start a new blog and do all the writing stuff I need to do?--that is the dilemma. (Devon, you can stop reading here!) In Spring and Summer writing tends to take a backseat, because I am so dang tired of being cooped up from Winter, I want to get OUT and do things. Writing and Quilting are great Winter activities, because you can be all cozy and do them. But when the sun's out and it's beautiful outside, I don't want to be inside sitting at a desk. (I know, blasphemy!)

Then again, I am not under a deadline and I am definitely not a "full time" writer at this point. I simply can't be, with my family demands. Writing is a very selfish thing. Not the BAD kind of selfish, but when *I* write, I retreat into what I like to call "a black hole." It's all about me and my characters. Writing is singular, like reading. Writing is coming from my brain, so I don't want anyone talking to me or bugging me while I do it. Not exactly an easy task when you have four kids and a husband tugging on your sleeve (figuratively speaking) for your attention. Or people calling from church needing advice or help. Or a cluttery house or a laundry room in which clothes will eventually rise up and walk out on their own steam if not addressed...

I guess I might be feeling a little overwhelmed on the Writing Front, as of late. Because LIFE is getting in the way. I know there are writers out there who depend on their writing as a sole source of income, and my hat is off to them. I am just not in that same situation. Writing is not my life, yet. :-) But I do think about it, all the time. And trust me, I DO make time for it. Just not as frequently during this time of year.

My thinking is if one REALLY wants to do something, they make time for it. They fit it in, somehow. So, maybe it really is me, allowing myself to get distracted. Deep thoughts, I know. Those can be dangerous!

Happy May 1st and happy Friday, everyone!