Doings and Goings On

President's Day WEEK is going as vacations do.

The littles quarrel and tattle constantly but still play together all day without pause. Yesterday one of them closed the stopper on the sink and left the water running, flooding the upstairs bathroom. It ran down the vents to drown the downstairs bathroom as well. I put towels down to soak up the mess. The older kids freaked out when they went to wash hands for lunch thinking the flood might have come from a more unsavory source.

Shorty had a doctor appointment this morning which meant a lot of time in the car as we still go to the next county. Tomorrow I will drive him down to a friend's house about an hour away and then head a half hour's drive to pick up one of the kids from a friend's house before making the hour long trip back home. We don't really live in the boonies but it seems like it sometimes. Squeaker has already started rolling her eyes and snorting so we're all kept informed on how put out she is to have to be in the car again.

Lucky brought home an mp3 player belonging to her godfather's seven year old daughter. She asked me to charge it so I did, then promptly confiscated it. I had to explain to her that we don't allow young girls in our home to listen to music filled with profanity and nasty references to cheap, dirty sex. She borrowed that from a seven year old? Good grief.

Squeaker got into several little spats with one of the littles yesterday then yelled at me about how he was acting when I got on her about it. Does she really want her behavior compared with that of a three-year-old?

Today she went a little too far with snarky, rude comments about my messy room after I had spent all day yesterday and part of today on the rest of the house. Actually, way too far. So I made her a detailed list and she is taking over all my household/yard/pet chores so I can have the luxury of tidying my room to her satisfaction. She managed to get through cooking and cleaning up dinner, doing dishes, sweeping, and folding a load of laundry before admitting she was ready to pass out. That was only part of the evening chores. Tomorrow should be fun since she'll be privileged to get up early and put in a full day of it.

I've been having Lucky work a little each day on her science fair project which is due next Monday. It's been going okay but tomorrow she starts working on the report part of it. Writing is a challenge for her but she seems to have a good grasp of the experiment and the result so I'm hoping it will go easily for her.

Stickers finally gets back into her college art classes tomorrow after a long break. That will be good since I think maybe we've given her some sort of creative block. I've commissioned her to paint a new piece to go above our fireplace since she keeps mercilessly criticizing the one that is there now. Yes, she painted that one too.

Tomorrow Will Be Better

Not a great end to the day for me.

The middle girls have been running around and shrieking since this afternoon and I have not been very patient with it. They didn't do the few things that I asked them to do before bedtime and their giggly shrillness is irritating every last nerve.

I was unintentionally snappish with Shorty on my way to shush them and put them back on task. Squeaker slammed the door twice when I told her not to go into the bathroom with Lucky and then told me she didn't slam anything, saying snottily, "You just hate everybody because your little kid got hurt." Yeah, whatever. She said I was mad at her all weekend and so I did tell her that I actually was pretty annoyed that she slammed doors and talked rudely to me repeatedly when I asked her to do things she should already know. This morning she slammed the door because I called her out on a lie. She lies and then she's the one who gets to slam the door? Unfair, I say.

The Boss is a horrible patient and I am a short-tempered nurse. He asks...or whines rather...for things all day long. When I'm lifting, carrying, holding him he immediately begins whining for me to do something or get something else for him. Did I mention how heavy he is with that cast on? I finally told him to knock it off and give me a break. He's going to have to be way more patient so I can schlep him where he needs to go then run around and get all the stuff he needs.

I'm feeling very aggravated with myself tonight and I'm sure the kids feel the same. I'm going to try very hard to do better tomorrow.

Most of My Brain Still Functioning

The first day after Ana's departure started off a little more hectic than I had hoped. Lucky had an appointment an hour away so I had to rush the middles and littles to get moving.

The Boss pouted and refused to dress himself because I had to leave him alone in the room to get ready because he wasn't moving fast enough. Then he got into a flap with Squeaker on his way downstairs. She said she didn't do anything but I think he was still scared to pass her since she often says mean things to him. Squeaker needed last minute instructions for a class she's struggling with and Shorty needed quarters. I'm not sure if he'll end up with lunch today because I haven't turned in his lunch form yet and I didn't have cash in small enough bills. I told him to make a sandwich but I'm not sure if he did. The fridge is jam-packed so no one should go hungry but sometimes the kids do if someone doesn't make it for them. He's going to a friend's house after school and Lucky is inviting several friends over to ours. After we left, Stickers stayed with Squeaker until her bus came and since I heard her loud self in the background when I was talking to her teacher today, I know she got there okay.

Anyway, everyone got where they were supposed to. I remembered to pick up Lucky's meds before getting to tomorrow morning and finding an empty bottle. The Boss, Seamonkey, and I are about to go for some outside time, them on the trampoline and me picking up the bushes I cut last time I took them out to jump. Yardwork is a long, fluid process but I get there eventually.

I already packed up more stuff for the Salvation Army truck (which hasn't come yet), I've done some laundry and some kitchen work, took a call from Squeaker's teacher, remembered to bring the dogs in and out on schedule, I've checked the chore list to see what jobs Ana would be doing today so I won't forget those....and I ate lunch all by myself which I hate to do.

I can do this...for a couple months anyway.

Copacetic

The last vestiges of holiday induced-tension seems to have lifted and everyone is in good spirits today (except Ana who can't seem to stay awake).

Squeaker is talking on the phone to her younger birth sister who she hasn't seen in four years. She just told her step-dad that I said something that I actually never said---although the intent was accurate---but other than that has been happy and appropriate. On the rare occasions that she talks to her older birth sister she is often snippy and accusatory. She has really been missing her birth family this Christmas and had soaked my shirt with tears and snot a couple times over the week. I'm glad they are getting a chance to catch up. Her sister was only four years old the last time they spoke.

C, now referred to here at Snark Bait as "Shorty", has been keeping to himself a lot today probably sleeping and playing video games in his room, but has come down from time to time to play with The Boss.

Stickers seems content puttering around the house.

Lucky wants to go redeem gift cards which we will do this weekend, but has found enough to entertain herself with Christmas gifts and the dogs.

The Boss moves from toy to toy a pro at keeping himself amused.

Everyone has rummaged for their own food and done a fair job of cleaning up after themselves.

We are about to get into a cut-throat game of electronic Monopoly at which we all agree we can find away to cheat...in good fun, of course.

Feels good. I could get used to this.