Catching Up

As there is no way I can cover the happenings of the entire last year in one blog post, I'll just jump into the NOW of our lives, because it is crazy enough all on its own. Currently, (listed in no particular order):

• My two third graders and one second grader are done with the first semester of their school year, and are on schedule to complete two of three terms of schoolwork before Thanksgiving weekend. (We count attendance by semesters, and measure schoolwork by terms. Crazy, I know, but it works for me!)

• We are scheduled to move from Tennessee to Washington State (as in not D.C.) in approximately six weeks. And yes, we are moving ourselves.

• We have been doing Saturday school so that we can finish Term Two of schoolwork in time to pack up those books and get out the Term Three books to have accessible after we move and are ready to start up again after our "Winter Break", aka Moving Break.

• I have given myself five weeks to have everything packed, so that when it is really time to go, I will actually be ready.

• I am focusing on cleaning out the freezers and cupboards before we move, which results in some strange meals and a lot of planning ahead. (But it's kinda fun!)

• The house is on the market, and needs to be kept "show ready" at all times. We found out why last week, as we were given five minutes (literally!) notice for someone to look at the house. My house has never been so clean!

• Keeping a clean house is actually kind of boring. There are no piles to take care of, the dishes and laundry stay under control (because they have to be), and when things were just cleaned the day before, they don't really need to be cleaned again.

• We got out the stored-away Fall clothes for the kids about a month ago and tried everything on to see what fit and what needed replaced. Now that the weather is finally getting cooler, they (especially my six-year-old and my three-year-old) have already outgrown what fit not-so-very-long-ago. We're going on a major shopping spree at our favorite resale store next week, and we plan to make excellent use of the 20% off coupon I have been hoarding for just such an occasion. :)

• I'm doing a lot of sorting, packing, and giving away. Have I mentioned that we'll be moving soon?

There. Caught up. :)

Neglected, But Not Abandoned

I've kept saying to myself, "I should blog." And myself would answer, "What a great idea! Just wait until after you finish ______."

And just like that, a year went by.

So now, because I don't have enough to do feel guilty about neglecting my creation don't actually feel like doing anything that I should be doing, I have returned to the blog-o-sphere.

You can congratulate me later. (As in, you should wait to see if I can actually stick with it again for any length of time.)

Don't Look!

I like football. My kids like football. We like to watch football together.

Unfortunately, there are also commercials.

As a rule, when the commercials come on, I mute them. If I deem them "safe" for the kids to see, I don't worry about who is watching, or who isn't, but if they are in any way inappropriate for my kids to see, I shout "Don't look!"

And they don't look!

Yesterday I was watching college football by myself, commercials and all, when my 5-year-old daughter came into the room unexpectedly. I had already muted them, but she glanced at the screen as I shouted, "Don't look!" She quickly looked away, and reassured me, "Don't worry, Mommy, I didn't see any bad stuff, only the word murder." (Do CSI tv show previews freak out any other parents out there?)

Today, we watched football again. After I had shouted another warning not to look at a commercial, and they all ducked their heads, someone asked me if they could watch the commercials muted until there was another scary-looking one. I told her no, and explained again how some commercials are not scary, but are definitely inappropriate for them to be watching, listening to, or reading. (Cialis or Viagra, anyone? Or perhaps a nice highly sexualized tv show preview? Sheesh.) I reminded them of what happened yesterday, when my 5-year-old read the words on a commercial without intending to. They remembered, and were again content to stick with the rules as they are already set up.

"It's all right, Mommy," my 5-year-old told me. "I didn't really read the word 'murder'. It's just that when I saw it I recognized how it was spelled."

Whew. What a relief!

Duck, Duck, Goose!

Friday evening, our neighbor Mary taught my kids how to play Duck, Duck, Goose. She started by asking them to sit in a circle. They tried, but it was more like a semi-circle.

They were not off to a good start.

They listened attentively as Mary explained how the game works, and were eager to begin. They promptly declared the person doing the tagging the "Ducker".

The first girl Mary tagged as Goose lunged to her feet, gauged the distance between herself and Mary and ran the shortest distance around the circle...towards Mary instead of chasing her. Mr. Adorable jumped to his feet too, and ran around in a few random circles in the yard before sitting back down in the circle.

Mary patiently explained the rules again, while I joined the circle to play too.

The second time around, the chosen Goose started chasing the "Ducker" in the right direction, but turned around and ran the other way again so she could beat the "Ducker" back to the empty place in the circle. She didn't want to lose her spot! Mr. Adorable jumped up when she did, and ran around the circle too, diving into her lap as soon as she sat down again.

When I could breathe between bouts of laughter, I helped Mary explain the rules again.

The third time around, my second oldest daughter was tagged. She cut right to the chase...right through the middle of the circle to tag the person who had tagged her. Mr. Adorable was close behind her, and dove into my lap.

I fell over, I was laughing so hard, and while Mr. Adorable helped me sit back up, Mary explained the rules. Again.

They finally got it.

Mostly.

My five-year-old circled around two or three times on her turns as the "Ducker", and included our neighbor's beagle in the circle, too. Mr. Adorable still charged around the circle full tilt every time anyone else did, and dove into whatever lap he wanted, but three or four rounds passed smoothly enough.

Until the second to the last round.

Daughter #3 went around the circle three times before she tagged Daughter #2 as the Goose, then ran as fast as she could around the circle to get back to her spot. Daughter #2 caught up with her before she did, however...and brought her down with a flying tackle that would have made Troy Palomalu proud.

The game ended shortly thereafter, called on account of ... ice cream for dessert. :)

It Doesn't Take Long

How to Drive Your Mother Crazy in 24 Hours or Less Without Even Really Trying

by the Children in our family

Start with a boot sticking out from under the kitchen counter,

and the other one in the middle of the living room, next to the pillows that are not allowed off the couches. (A sticker left upside down on the carpet, waiting to be stepped on, also adds a nice touch.)

Try leaving one magazine open and another wedged behind the cushion of the only chair,

and ponytail elastics and headbands on the couch.

Be sure to store a ball next to the couch,

and don't pick up the toilet paper you dropped on the bathroom floor.

(Don't flush, either.)

Leave a toy egg and a lego car by mom's bathroom sink,

a pair of pink flipflops under the table,

books all over the kitchen counters,

and a stuffed manatee on the old dining room table.

That ought to do the trick!

(It works sometimes with our mom, anyway!)

Garden Bounty

This is my garden. It consists of three large pots containing large, unproductive plants. We don't even know for sure what we planted. It's kind of pathetic.

OK, it's very pathetic!

Most of my friends have real gardens, the kind that get planted in the ground, on time, and that actually produce enough vegetables to eat.

Lucky for me, though, sometimes my friends have plants that overproduce, and they start giving fruits and vegetables away.

So far this summer we've been given blackberries, crookneck squash, basil and other herbs, yellow squash, cucumbers, green bell peppers, zucchini, and now cherry tomatoes. A lot of cherry tomatoes! (Thanks, Deborah!)

I kind of like this gardening business! My friends do all the work, and I reap only the benefits. I get to spend time with other moms, my kids get to play with other kids, and oh, yeah, we get to eat lots of yummy things, too!

Six Hours Later...

Today was our designated commissary shopping trip for the month, but we never just go to the commissary. If we're going to be out and about, I want to get it all done, so we don't have to go out again. So, we went to the PX mall, the commissary, Sam's Club, Walmart, and Kroger, and we did it all in almost exactly six hours. We got groceries, produce, cleaning supplies, diapers, and a new office chair, and while we were at Sam's Club, we also got a pair of glasses tightened.

The chair was in a huge box, and it wouldn't fit anywhere except for behind the passenger seat in the van, in front of the toddler's carseat. He liked his temporary footrest, though. My youngest daughter had two packages of toilet paper and a box of pears for her footrest, and the oldest two girls shared the back

row of the van with a huge insulated bag full of cold food.

It took me an hour to unload the van.

It took another half an hour to get all the cold food put away in the fridge and freezer, and all the rest of our purchases unpacked and set on the counter. They will live there temporarily in relative safety from my littlest helper until I have a chance to put them away.

I don't even want to talk about the state of my fridge.

Let's just say that we'll need to eat a lot of food before I can even begin to think about buying more milk or making yogurt.

I spent a lot of money. I am very, very tired.

I don't have to go back to the commissary until October (or so).

I'm not complaining! :)