Spring Break - Ahhh!

Remember last week when I quit? Well, I quit again. But this time I did it the right way. And technically, it's Facebook's fault.

This past Saturday, I was reading everyone's status about how they're going here and going there. And we weren't going anywhere. I wasn't really feeling the "spring break love." I had thought we would spend the days spring cleaning and having fun. Do one room a day and then reward ourselves with some kind of day trip or fun activity. But I really didn't know what.

But on Saturday, that just didn't seem like a happy prospect. I was depressed. All I wanted to do was sit on my butt and play Facebook games. Then I got the idea. I'd kind of had the idea the day before, but it was just a fantasy at the time.

I found Richard reading a book in the bedroom. I interrupted him. (Why does he think he can read uninterrupted at home with four other people in the house like he can at the hangar? But that's another post....) I said, "How would you feel if I packed a bag and took off for Texas City?" He stared at me for a couple of seconds and said, "Go for it." Really?!? Yep. You deserve it, he says.

That was at 10 am. I hadn't showered or anything yet. Or maybe I had - I forget. Anyway, I still had to take James to a birthday party, so here's how the rest of the morning went. Sent Chris with James to the store for a present. Booked a hotel. Showered. (Oh yeah...guess I hadn't showered yet.) Got Richard to wrap the present. Took James to the party. Stayed and talked about school/teacher issues with the birthday boy's mom. Hugged James while no one was looking, went to the gas station and the bank then home. Packed and was out the door by 2:00. Not a bad four hours.

But the real fun is in what it did for my mood. As soon as I'd made the decision and confirmed that I could go - it was like the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders. I had energy! I was smiling! I was bouncy again! Wow!

I love my family - really I do. But I've been a really terrible mom lately. I'm just tired and it's all been too much. Not enough break and too much everything else. School's been tough, we're having some issues with one of the boys' teachers and I feel like I haven't been very helpful from my end. I get done with school and all I want to do is sit on my butt and play Facebook games. (Like how I tied the beginning into the end of this post? Pretty cool, huh?)

It's now Monday and I'm sitting in my hotel - on my butt playing Facebook games. But it's okay because I don't really have anything else that I have to do. And it's quiet and no one will bother me. It's rejuvenating. Plus - I've spent the last two days visiting with my daddy. And today, I'll be calling my niece and going out to visit her and her two kids. Maybe even see my brother and his family or my nephew and his wife and brand new baby. Dad's at work this morning anyway so I'm not ditching him.

The only thing that could make this day better would be if the sun would break through the clouds - literally. I'm feeling the sunshine again myself. I'm coming back into me. And it is completely and totally worth the price of a hotel. :-)

I Quit Yesterday

I did. I just quit. I announced it on Facebook, so you know it was true. I didn't quit my job. I quit life. Done. No more mom. No more maid. No more. Q. U. I. T.

Here's why:

I had a meeting to go to at 4:30. At 3:45 I left school to take the boys home. The boys had an assignment. Pick up every single piece of clothing that is on the floor of the game room, on the floor of their own room, on the floor of the bathroom, on the pool table, on the window seat, on the desk, on the dresser - every single piece of clothing. Separate the whites out and bring them downstairs so I can throw them in the laundry. "Can we get a snack first?" No.

I walked in the house and wrinkled my nose. Something smelled, but I couldn't quite tell what. Suddenly I heard, "EWWWWWWWWW! THERE'S SOMETHING BROWN AND GROSS ON THE STAIRS! YUCK!"

Apparently, Larry had some tummy troubles. He had diarrhea. He couldn't get outside. He doesn't know how to use a toilet. He used the stairs. Two different stairs. I didn't take a picture.

So in the 30 minutes I have between dropping off the boys and going to my meeting, I cleaned up a massive amount of dog poo. I threw away the clean-up towel. And...lots of Febreze because I didn't have time to actually CLEAN the carpet. I also got the whites in the washing machine.

Went to my meeting - which lasted an hour and a half but also included good food. It was worth it. During my meeting I got two phone calls. First from John.

"I have two questions. One - James wants to know if he can have a muffin. Two - I want to know if I can have my last piece of cake." Yes to both - now don't bug me unless there's blood or fire.

Second phone call from Chris. "I'm done at school. Can you come pick me up?" What? You stayed at school until nearly 6:00? Huh. Guess it's a good thing I know where my kids are at any given time, huh?

Left the meeting, picked up Chris, dropped him off at home and went grocery shopping. Got home about 7:30. Put away the groceries, used some Resolve on the carpet stains (who knows if it worked or not?), plunged a toilet (AGAIN), put the whites in the dryer and the BOATLOAD of towels I found in the upstairs bathroom into the washer. Helped a child with homework that he didn't do when he was supposed to.

Got snacks for children, said prayers and sent them off to bed. Then...collapsed.

I QUIT!

Random Pics

This is a friendship basket. The teacher who gave it to me knows that I'm on a diet and so there's very little food in it - some chocolate-covered raisins and a small box of 100 calorie popcorn. Oh...and a Diet Coke. :-) But the rest is memo pads and a great little book I'll have to blog about separately one day.

This is the pile of dirt and fur that was on my floor after a week of snow and the mud that followed. This is what Larry brings into the house.

This is the pile after one, repeat ONE short romp in the backyard. Seriously, I wonder what it would cost to concrete the entire back yard this spring.

And finally, my absolute favorite picture from the Olympics. I actually paused the TV and took a picture of it. The guy (luge) was putting on his helmet. He's the only one that I saw who crossed his eyes in order to fix the face cover-thingy. We laughed and laughed. Those crazy Germans!

So what have you been doing through February?

Yet Another Busy Day of Rest

I was so excited to have 1:00 church. Sleeping in, relaxing with the scriptures (or, more honestly, Facebook) while listening to BYU radio.

The problem is that I don't want it to end. I get caught up in reading Mormon mommy blogs or yes, Facebooking (again...when did that become a verb?), and I don't want to get moving into the shower or shout at the boys to start getting ready for church and hearing their joyous cries of, "Yes! Church!!!" (I girl can dream, can't she? For that matter, it's the same problem with the biggest boy of all.)

But today is particularly difficult. It's raining. Pouring, in fact. A hard, spring-type rain with thunder rattling and clouds darkening the house like it's night time. Ahhhh....I love these kinds of mornings. And I'd really rather just stay in my pj's, snuggle under a blanket and read uplifting blogs and scriptures all morning. Really.

Then again, I shouldn't complain too much. I did get to do that for a good portion of the morning. But now it's pushing 10:00 and I should really get in the shower and get my portion of the getting-ready-for-church thing finished so that I can scream at help the children (again, including the biggest child) get moving and dressed and fed and all of those silly things that I'm apparently supposed to do as the mom of the house.

And why is it a "busy day of rest?" Because I've been asked to sub for the organist in sacrament meeting, Chris will have a BYC meeting after (or is it before?) church (I'd better find out about that), the choir is singing in sacrament meeting, we have choir practice immediately after church, and I'm in charge of sharing time.

WHOOPS! That's what I haven't done yet this weekend. Guess I should stop blogging now and get my sharing time done. I'm so thankful for 1:00 church!

Valentine's Day

How Richard sabotaged me:

Hershey's Pot O' Gold

Big ole honkin' marshmallow thing

My absolute favorite that I cannot resist in any form or fashion.

Also...a quarter of a cheesecake - four slices of differing flavors - raspberry, chocolate, plain and something else I can't remember anymore. I didn't get a picture of it. I ate it instead.

How I know my husband loves me unconditionally:

More Snow!

I just love the look of snow on the bare trees.

Good wet snow - perfect for snowballs and snowmen.

After running around in the snow, what better to do that put those pajama pants back on and sit near the fire reading a book or playing a video game. The perfect snow day!

The Things We Learn

I have learned that I spend way too much time on Facebook. But...I've also learned that there are some really positive things that come from Facebook. Especially positive in the last week have been the helpful posts and comments from friends - both IRL friends and online friends.
First, our garage door broke two weeks ago.

One evening while the boys and I were just hanging out (truthfully, I was probably hanging out on Facebook which goes along with the first sentence of this post) when we heard an awful crashing noise from the garage. The boys and I went out there. We looked and looked and looked but couldn't find anything that looked like it had fallen and made that horrible sound. It didn't make sense, but then again there's so much stuff out there that something could have fallen and I might not have figured out what and where. So we dismissed it, came back inside and continued with our normal routine.

The next morning I pushed the garage door opener button as we were leaving for school. :::kerchunk::: It started to open and stopped. Would go no further. I walked over to the door to inspect it and discovered what had made the horrid noise the night before. Both guide wires on the sides of the door had snapped. The single spring had busted. Not broken--busted. Right in the middle. This was the one and only time all winter when I was grateful that there is not enough room in the garage for my car.

I posted my dilemma on Facebook. "Anyone know of a reputable garage door repair place that won't charge me an arm and a leg?" Three different local, IRL friends (one who actually moved out of state last month) suggested this business.

I happened to be taking Tuesday off for a dentist appointment anyway. I called the number and spoke to Randy. He was at my house that afternoon and finished before I had to pick up the boys from school. He was polite and fair and didn't charge me an arm and a leg, especially considering all the work he did. He replaced the spring with a dual spring, replaced the wheels that run on the side, did a free tuneup and lube and even checked my non-working door opener remote. (It's not us; it's the remote. That's a relief!) It wasn't until after he left that I took a good look at his business card and realized that he's the father of one of my students at school. Cool! And...you can hardly hear my garage door open. Ahhhhhh!

Then there's Larry. You know Larry. That crazy dog of ours. It's been raining for weeks now. Off and on, but at least a couple days each week. I know it's winter, but really? I really need some sunshine. I digress.

Because of the rain, the back yard is a mud pit. In reality, the back yard is a mud pit because Larry has dug up half the yard. As my status one day this last week (during a heavy rain period) I contemplated the practicality of concreting the entire back yard except for one small corner where Larry could "do his business."

I had many people tell me that they felt my pain and many others say that this is the exact reason they got rid of their carpet. We don't have much carpet, but it's enough. The problem, though, isn't that Larry gets muddy feet. The problem is that he hates having them cleaned. He kicks and gnaws and bites and chews and rolls around - getting mud all over the cleaner's arms, legs and clothes.

One person gave me a fantastic idea. She said to give him a treat each time he lets me touch his paws. I decided to give it a try. I pulled the treats out - boy could he smell 'em! - and said, "Paw." When he would try to fight, I'd stop and say no, then ask for his paw again. Got one paw cleaned and gave him a treat. Oh joy!!!

Got another paw cleaned and gave him another treat. Bliss!!!

I was actually able to clean his two back feet with no trouble before giving him a treat. That was the first time. It has been three days. We can clean all of his feet for one treat now. Thank you, KelliSue!!! I couldn't have done it without you. And Larry thanks you too!