Author: admin

How hot is HOT?

Tessa started swimming lessons, which involves me sitting out in the heat for about 40 minutes (in the shade!) But by the time I get home, or if I go anywhere else during the day, I have to lay down and recover for almost an hour just to feel normal (not puky and dizzy) and relatively cool again.

I loathe the thought of leaving the house! Even to go swimming, because it involves getting into the hot car and driving someplace. Even if that place is cool, I still have to get back in the hot car and drive myself home. ARGH!

And I can’t even complain to my husband, because he works out in the heat ALL DAY LONG. (Of course he isn’t 8 years pregnant right now… but still!)

HOW WILL I SURVIVE 10 MORE WEEKS???

The high tomorrow is supposed to be 112, which is down from where is has been since the humidity is starting to go up a bit. (We did have a lovely monsoon storm last night, but it only made it yuckier today.) I was watching the news while it was raining and they reported that the pavement was SO HOT that the rain wasn’t sticking. It was drying as soon as it hit. Now that only lasted for about 10 minutes, but STILL! That is REALLY HOT!

Avoiding Gossip

Someone on the NFP board posted this, I thought it was good enough to keep around.

Closed lips: 10 ways to avoid gossiping
1. Be positive: When a person talks about the moral failings of another person, think of something positive to say about that person.
2. Look before you leap: Carefully consider your words before you speak.
3. Avoid idle banter: Ask yourself, “What are we accomplishing by this conversation?” and don’t chime in.
4. Beware of the “News Flash”: Don’t let juicy news eat you up. Just bite your lip and prayerfully challenge yourself to be strong in resisting the temptation to gossip.
5. Question the source: When you hear something that sounds unreasonable, say so.
6. Change the subject: Find a reasonable way to steer the conversation to something edifying.
7. Avoid gossips: If you know a person has a propensity to gossip, avoid that person or suggest he or she thinks about the harm he or she is causing others.
8. Give people the benefit of the doubt: Go out of your way to think the best of others.
9. Turn to prayer: Suggest that those gossiping about someone turn their attention to praying for the other person, rather than just talking about them.
10. The buck stops here: When you hear gossip, make a commitment not to spread it.

Call me Old Fashoined…

but when I (a very round pregnant woman with several small children in tow) walk into a hardware store, I want a kindly gentleman to meet me right away, so I can dump the broken pieces of *whatever it is* into his hands and say, “I need the stuff to fix *this*.” Then he shows me where it is, I buy it and bring it home to figure it out or let Jay figure it out.

Hardware stores are categorized like men’s minds, not women’s. I can never find a darn thing no matter how many signs are up.

Now Target on the other hand fits my brain just perfectly and I can whizz through in a flash and get everything that Jay couldn’t find.

Walmart, however, is completely random and annoying.

“Eeew Gyoss” says Max

Great. The kids just re-informed me that we have ants. And Max’s popsicle (his breakfast) seems to have gone AWOL. Probably melting between couch cushions. I have to take Paisley to stupid-overpriced-Duke for her yearbook photo today. Hell will freeze over before I buy actual pictures from them – even if I can *SAVE $340* on a graduation package. Give me a freaking break. You know what I need? I mean besides to really mop my floor and find the popsicle? I need some peanut butter m&m’s and some Hansens soda. But why can’t those be sold at the same store? Noooooo I have to go to two separate stores just to get a flippin’ junk food fix. Sorry, I will get off of my unfounded persecution complex now.

While I have been typing this, Posy decided to kill the ants by spraying them with air freshener. At least it smells better than Raid.

I Finally Realized…

why I can’t remember ANYTHING.

It’s because there are just too many things to remember:
-the last time my toddler pooped
-each child’s birthday, age, height and weight (stupid insurance forms!)
-when each of my two kids with jobs works next, what time they get off and what their weekend plans are.
-what my husband is up to and needs me to do
-the activities of every other child around here
-who walked at what age and when they cut their first tooth, etc.
-does the car need gas?
-the chores I need to do most importantly
-whose birthday is coming up next, including friends and extended family
-etc.

And sometimes I even need to remember that I, too, need to use the bathroom on occasion. And THAT, folks, is why things slip through the in my addled brain. My brain has so much thrown at it that it often can’t decide what the important bits of information are. So when I forgot the other day to take Ben to his friend’ slumber party until two hours later and got home from finally delivering him there to find my 17 year old daughter incensed at me because she was supposed to be at work RIGHT THEN (5pm) instead of at 7pm like the idea had somehow pegged itself in my mind… is it really all my fault?

Time to Straighten up and FLY Right

We are putting our house on the market!

Am I crazy to do this while 6 months pregnant? Probably, but I am also crazy to go back into driving 2+ hours per day with a newborn. So, God help us, we will be moving closer to school/parish where we find ourselves driving all the time anyway! Yay!

So I have been decluttering/packing like a mad-woman, and the sign should go in the yard this week! With no time to lose, as of today, I have 101 days until my due date.

So – new AM & PM routines:

AM Routine:

  • eat breakfast
  • shower/get ready (or do this after taking the kids swimming at Nana’s, if swimming, just move on to the next one and shower/get ready when we get home)
  • tidy upstairs, open blinds, swish toilets, wipe sinks, make beds
  • bring down laundry, start wash
  • open blinds downstairs
  • clean kitchen (breakfast etc. Make sure D/W is empty so dirty dishes can live there and not in sink)

PM Routine:

  • Tidy downstairs, wipe sinks, sweep, declutter, vac if needed, swish toilet
  • clean kitchen, kids table, & dining table
  • supervise kids’ PM routines
  • pack swim basket & diaper bag
  • pick out clothes
  • get ready for bed, tidy my bathroom

My cleaning routine, which is NOT new is:

Monday: Upstairs

Tuesday: Downstairs

Wednesday: Kitchen and menu plannin

Thursday: Bathrooms and laundry room

Friday: general touch up around the house

Saturday: Garage & yard

Home Run!


Tessa’s first year of t-ball was a big success. She started out the year not knowing anything about it at all. The first time she hit she immediately ran out after the ball along with the other team. And she asked me why some of the kids on her team (actually the other team) were wearing a different color. 🙂

But she enjoyed hanging out with her new friends and by the end of the season she was catching and fielding balls and knew which way to run when she hit it.

Baseball is done

We have survived another lovely year of Summer League Baseball, and it really didn’t even get all that hot (at least for me – sitting and watching in the shade) until the last couple of games. Friday night was closing ceremonies and is also Adoration at our parish, so after eating our (unimpressive) hot dogs, I walked over to the Adoration Chapel with Max and Tessa.

The Adoration Chapel at our parish is nice because the wall from the vestibule into the chapel is glass, so I can sit right outside of it with the kids and not disturb anyone. So we sat down outside the glass and I had Max sit in my lap. I pointed at the monstrance and told him about how that was Jesus. Before I could get another word out, he jumped up out of my lap, ran to the glass wall and started banging on it!

I pulled him back into my lap but he wriggled away as fast as he could and started trying to open the door!

So, to allow those who were actually able to pray a little peace and quiet, we made our exit. We’ll have to go back soon when it is not so crowded. 🙂