Today we start a new school year. Leirin will begin Jr High and Em's starting 3rd grade. Jake's in 1st but since we started his school nearly a month ago it's all old hat to him. I'm always amazed with the furor with which we attack a new year. Look at me...it's 5:45 now and I've been up for over an hour. The dogs have been out (one of them twice), I've washed and dried a load of clothes, I'm dressed, the hair is done, I have on shoes...what's up with that? It happens every year and it lasts for all of a week. If we're lucky. Come next Monday I'll be lucky to have dragged my tired old butt out of bed by 7:15 and we'll have to hit the floor running just to make it anywhere on time. I know the pattern. I just can't break it.
Yesterday I worked hard in the house hoping to get up today with a minimal amount of work to be done because a) I'm ready for the little bit of a break that having two of three kids gone all day will afford me, b) Jake and I have big things planned for his school this week now that we won't be working around other people to distract us from school, and c) I just like the idea of being caught up every now and again. So I worked feverishly all day long cleaning, dusting, putting away. At 9:30pm when the kids had been tucked in bed (knowing, of course, that they probably wouldn't stay) I was getting ready to settle in for a bit of relaxing when I hear Doug practically scream from our bedroom. Seems he worked Calliope into a fine frenzy and she got too happy and peed on our bed covers. At this point I was exhausted. In spite of him being home all day, he had only taken the dogs out twice, the compost bucket (which I had asked if he'd empty after dinner) was still sitting on the kitchen table near the door smelling impatient, the desk I had dusted a total of two times already was littered with ashes (there isn't an ashtray big enough for him) and bottle caps. Now I had to strip and remake a bed.
I did what any well-bred southern girl would have done in my position. I threw a hissy fit. It wasn't even about the dog and her happy bladder, at this point, it was all about me. And them. I had worked hard to try to get ahead. I had sat down exactly long enough to eat two meals, and watch the last half hour of Lost In Space while I caught my breath. Out of the entire day, I sat for a total of *maybe* an hour. Leirin had a friend over. Doug and Jake spent about 8 hours on the computer playing the new Morrowind I had to run pick up Saturday because they had left the other one out of the case and it got scratched and wouldn't work.
I love my family, I really do, but sometimes I seriously doubt you could find a bunch of lazier and more spoiled people anywhere on the planet. I have a house full of people who apparently don't know where to find a trash CAN much less clean bags for one. Having never put away a pair of shoes in their lives, it's no wonder that when I do put them away and they need them, they have to ask because they would never consider that they might be in the closet where they belong. And granted, my husband did get up and cut grass first thing. But that was all he did. And I'd had to ask. So I raised hell. I had a tantrum. It was pathetic.
My poor husband was brave. He appeared to even get my point. And he was kind enough not to laugh at me when at one point I had got so *in* to the tirade I said something like - "...and everyone thinks I'm being mean because I ask them to do things, which they DON'T do. Everybody wants the puppy. Everybody's going to do this and do that, but you've been home all day and how many times have you taken him out or opened the door to let the other dogs into the back yard? Be honest about it (it was twice btw and I asked both times). And it pisses me off that I'm working my ass off to allow a 5th dog to fit in this house because you wanted him so much. I'm the one that does *everything* for him and the little bugger loves YOU!" Ok, I said it was pathetic.
In other news, the kids and I spent the day on Saturday shopping for the last few things needed for school. The girls at work had said Penneys would probably have the shorts we needed (our dress code says they can't be shorter than one inch above the knee - I won't even go *there* today). What luck we had there. It was a huge sale, a sale to end all sales with bargains galore. Clearance racks spread out all over the store with big signs that said 50% off 70% off...and we loaded up. At one point I was carrying around so many clothes that a nice cashier lady came over and offered to take them to the register and hold them there for me. Whew, my arms were about to break and I was so grateful. In the end I blew the budget and spent 262.00 on our new clothes but even the hubby couldn't complain when we figured out the total ticket price if they hadn't been on sale would have been nearly 600 bucks! Even I got new clothes and I can seldom afford to do that when having to shop for the kids.
Well I just put my girls on the school bus. Today is Leirin's first day in Jr. High and Em's first day at school without big sister somewhere nearby. I don't know who was most nervous. It's done now and I won't see them again to hear about their days until 3 when they return. I keep wondering if life will slow down for me a bit since it will only be me and Jake at home, or if we will still find ourselves continuing at this same fast pace. I'm hoping for a little bit slower and more relaxed. Time will tell. I miss the girls already. I've grown used to having them home most of the time since school let out for the summer. But they get bored and as much as they insist they aren't ready to return to school when the time rolls around, I think they are.
Speaking of returning to school. I need to wake Jake so we can start our day too.
Yesterday I worked hard in the house hoping to get up today with a minimal amount of work to be done because a) I'm ready for the little bit of a break that having two of three kids gone all day will afford me, b) Jake and I have big things planned for his school this week now that we won't be working around other people to distract us from school, and c) I just like the idea of being caught up every now and again. So I worked feverishly all day long cleaning, dusting, putting away. At 9:30pm when the kids had been tucked in bed (knowing, of course, that they probably wouldn't stay) I was getting ready to settle in for a bit of relaxing when I hear Doug practically scream from our bedroom. Seems he worked Calliope into a fine frenzy and she got too happy and peed on our bed covers. At this point I was exhausted. In spite of him being home all day, he had only taken the dogs out twice, the compost bucket (which I had asked if he'd empty after dinner) was still sitting on the kitchen table near the door smelling impatient, the desk I had dusted a total of two times already was littered with ashes (there isn't an ashtray big enough for him) and bottle caps. Now I had to strip and remake a bed.
I did what any well-bred southern girl would have done in my position. I threw a hissy fit. It wasn't even about the dog and her happy bladder, at this point, it was all about me. And them. I had worked hard to try to get ahead. I had sat down exactly long enough to eat two meals, and watch the last half hour of Lost In Space while I caught my breath. Out of the entire day, I sat for a total of *maybe* an hour. Leirin had a friend over. Doug and Jake spent about 8 hours on the computer playing the new Morrowind I had to run pick up Saturday because they had left the other one out of the case and it got scratched and wouldn't work.
I love my family, I really do, but sometimes I seriously doubt you could find a bunch of lazier and more spoiled people anywhere on the planet. I have a house full of people who apparently don't know where to find a trash CAN much less clean bags for one. Having never put away a pair of shoes in their lives, it's no wonder that when I do put them away and they need them, they have to ask because they would never consider that they might be in the closet where they belong. And granted, my husband did get up and cut grass first thing. But that was all he did. And I'd had to ask. So I raised hell. I had a tantrum. It was pathetic.
My poor husband was brave. He appeared to even get my point. And he was kind enough not to laugh at me when at one point I had got so *in* to the tirade I said something like - "...and everyone thinks I'm being mean because I ask them to do things, which they DON'T do. Everybody wants the puppy. Everybody's going to do this and do that, but you've been home all day and how many times have you taken him out or opened the door to let the other dogs into the back yard? Be honest about it (it was twice btw and I asked both times). And it pisses me off that I'm working my ass off to allow a 5th dog to fit in this house because you wanted him so much. I'm the one that does *everything* for him and the little bugger loves YOU!" Ok, I said it was pathetic.
In other news, the kids and I spent the day on Saturday shopping for the last few things needed for school. The girls at work had said Penneys would probably have the shorts we needed (our dress code says they can't be shorter than one inch above the knee - I won't even go *there* today). What luck we had there. It was a huge sale, a sale to end all sales with bargains galore. Clearance racks spread out all over the store with big signs that said 50% off 70% off...and we loaded up. At one point I was carrying around so many clothes that a nice cashier lady came over and offered to take them to the register and hold them there for me. Whew, my arms were about to break and I was so grateful. In the end I blew the budget and spent 262.00 on our new clothes but even the hubby couldn't complain when we figured out the total ticket price if they hadn't been on sale would have been nearly 600 bucks! Even I got new clothes and I can seldom afford to do that when having to shop for the kids.
Well I just put my girls on the school bus. Today is Leirin's first day in Jr. High and Em's first day at school without big sister somewhere nearby. I don't know who was most nervous. It's done now and I won't see them again to hear about their days until 3 when they return. I keep wondering if life will slow down for me a bit since it will only be me and Jake at home, or if we will still find ourselves continuing at this same fast pace. I'm hoping for a little bit slower and more relaxed. Time will tell. I miss the girls already. I've grown used to having them home most of the time since school let out for the summer. But they get bored and as much as they insist they aren't ready to return to school when the time rolls around, I think they are.
Speaking of returning to school. I need to wake Jake so we can start our day too.
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