Star of the ShowI

Can I get a Boo-ya?.... OK, so we've been watching a little bit too much Kim Possible... hehe. Jim likes it, and I find them entertaining. That's what's important, right?

Anyway, I got the kids ready for school and out the door and on the bus on time. More like, I made sure they were getting that way, and they got themselves ready. Years and years of patience and training has finally paid off - hehe. And Jim had come downstairs and crawled into bed with me at 6:30am, and he went back to sleep, so once the kids left, I totally went back to sleep too.

And woke up around 8:30am, and started to get ready. And turned on the lights, and he was still snoring. But he eventually woke up :) And we gathered up our packages, and headed out to the UPS store and the Post Office on post. Cause I had packages that needed sent.

First stop, the UPS store. And I had 3 big boxes to deliver, and only me and Jim. So I had Jim carry the smallest of the 3, and I took the next one, and we dropped them off in UPS's lobby. Then went back for the 3rd. And the line was SUPER long. But my packages had pre-printed labels on them, so I just left them near the front. And yeah, everyone in line was glaring daggers at me. hehe.

Next stop, Post Office. More school books had come in for Captain America, so I got a package ready, and sent it off today. And we still had 20 minutes left before I had to drop Jim off at Maggies house, so we hit the commissary. I needed apples, and few other things. So we grabbed a basket, the few things that we needed, some ice cream bars for the kids, and headed out.

I dropped Jim and the ice cream off at Maggies house at 10am, and headed back home. Terra was there waiting for me. And she and I and the twins headed out to their hearing test. They have tubes in their ears, and those needed checked. And they needed a hearing test, and ouhae to take one twin in the chamber, and the other one has to wait outside. So yeah, Terra needed a 2nd grown up. I was happy to help out :) The 32 oz DDP waiting for me in the van sweetened the deal, too - ha!

We waited in the waiting room FOR_EVER! The girls did pretty good at first, but got a bit bored after a while. The TV was showing Matilda, which is a fun movie, but not for 2 year olds, per se. So I found Wonder Pets on youtube, and had them entertained for about 20 minutes. LOL!

Finally, they called up back. I had fun playing with the girls on the spinny chair. I'd slowly swirl them around and say WEEEE. So I had to try it myself.



And finally the doctor came in to check the tubes. One twins look perfect, and the other ones were just barely starting to come out. But should be fine for a bit longer.
Then we went to another waiting room, and sat for a long time more. I'd gotten an email that morning about a Military Spouse Appreciation day coming up in May. And Terra and I decided to go! Childcare was free and from 8am to 4:30pm. Yeah, I'm TOTALLY going - hehe :)

We picked the 4 classes that we wanted, and called ACS. And got all signed up. One of them is a manicure, massage, and facial. Oh yea! SO excited about that one - hehe.

Then we called, and got Childcare all set up. And I got Thursday morning for the hike childcare all set up, but they were already full for Tuesday for swimming. Crap.... I'll have to remember to book earlier for next week...

Then, it was our turn in he "booth", and we headed back. One twin and I sat on the floor and played with this toy, and the other and Terra went into the box.


With 2 of us, it was a good experience. But I can see how it would have been near impossible for Terra all by her lonesome... I'll come with ya next time, too, if ya want me to!

And we headed out. And drove WAY too close to the blue building... hehe. It's the Mental Hospital where I was at last September... I joked "NOOOO, don't take me back, I'm better now"... hehe. It's good to be able to joke about such things, you know - :P

And I told her that she didn't have to, but Terra wanted to take me out to lunch after. Well, I wanted to go to lunch, but I totally could have paid for my own, is what I meant. We were still gonna go to lunch - ROFL! We went to Chili's for their lunch special :)

The twin that likes me (my twin) is the one with the blue bow :)

I like the little straw protectors, or "straw condoms", as I like to call them - hehe. Hope your kids aren't reading, and they don't ask what that it - hehe - sorry!

Potato soup. Yeah, it should have been called CHEESE soup. Dang, it was good!

This chip is for you, Captain America!!!

And this lemon carcass is for you, Laurie! hehe. I hate lemon in my water, and she loves it. So she always gets mine when we go out together. I said that I didn't like them because there are floaties in my water from the lemon. Like their rotting carcasses. Yeah, I'm a bit disturbed. Maybe the blue building isn't too far off the mark.... hehe :)


Next stop, Dollar Tree. Terra wanted to look for Sandwich rounds. And the one on Viscount didn't disappoint! The had bagel and sandwich rounds. She got what she wanted, and I bought the rest. hehe. Into the freezer they're going!

Then, a quick stop by Howdys before heading back onto post.

She dropped me off at home, and I left Boxer out of his kennel. Poor thing had been inside since 9:30am, ish. So I decided to leave the back door propped open, and put the trash can on the counter (to not tempt him), and close all the doors, and let him stay out of the kennel when I went to get Jim from the bus. I would only be gone for 10 minutes at the most. How much trouble could he get into, right?....

I got Jim, Maggie gave us a ride back home, and when we came inside, this is what we found...

The pantry door got left open, he'd gone inside, found a new 5 lb bag of sugar, bit it open, drug it outside, and shook it empty in the grass. Thanks, Boxer. The sugar is now dead. hehe.

So, I swept it all up, and laid down on the couch for a bit. I was feeling really sleepy. Jake came home at 3:15, and the rest of the kids at 3:30pm. Extra 30 minutes of school is over now...

And the kids threw on some swimming clothes, and we headed out to the pool. And I remembered my laptop this time. I was playing the odds with Murphy's Law. Because, you know, if I bring my laptop, I'm guaranteed a friend to chat with. But if I forget it, I'm doomed to sit in boredom with no one to chat with...

And Amanda came! Yeah! A friend to chat with! The kids swam, and we chatted. Jake had stayed home, and didn't swim. He tried to ride the bus to the youth center after school, but they said he needed a special bus pass for that, so he just took his normal bus home.

Tom left about 20 mintues into swim time, and walk home. And Joe was done after 30 minutes, and dried off, and sat on the bench, or played outside. We only stayed about an hour and 20 minutes. Enough time :) Kids were done when we went home, so that was good :)

And when we got home, I made everyone do their chores. And do them well. The house was messy. I helped the kids with the dishes. And then I swept and mopped, with my Shark, the kitchen and living room. And moved the couches around a little bit. And this side of the house looked really nice. Dining room area? Yeah, not so much. Maybe I'll get to that area tomorrow - hehe. Baby steps, right? Captain America, are you proud of me for mopping??? I think you'd like the Shark. It's a pretty neat thingymabobber...

So, the house was clean (er), and the kids had done homework, and we turned on some, yeah, you guessed it, Kim Possible. And I answered some emails. And got my inbox down to 14! Yes! My new goal it to have it NOT over 15 by the end of the day. So I have to respond to people the same day it comes in... Or it's gonna get bad again... And we don't want that. hehe.

So, it was time for the kids to go to bed, and for the older ones and I to watch Chuck. And it was family prayer time (we've been slacking lately on it), so I gathered everyone together, and said it was Jake's day. We all have a day of the week that we're in charge of saying Family Prayer. Monday is Jake, Tuesday is Tom, Wednesday is Eme, Thursday is Joe, Friday is Jim, and Saturday is me. Captain America is Sunday, but we take turns or volunteers, since he's not here right now.

Anyway, I knew it was gonna cause a fight with Jake, but I can't change our family "rules", just for him. So, I told him it was his turn. No, he said. OK, then you don't get to watch Chuck with us. You have to follow the family rules if you want extra privlidges. So, he says FINE and starts in with this monotone "HeavenlyFatherthankfulforthedayblesseveryoneJesusnameamen" Yeah, that's not gonna cut it. I know that he's able to pray more respectfully than that. I've seen him offer beautiful prayers before...

So, I tell him that's not good enough, and he tries again, same result. Nope. One more time, and STILL no more effort. So, I tell him he can go to him room, and Tom and I will watch Chuck on our own. He stomps off, TOTALLY mad, kicking stuff in his path, and knocking over a tub of about 10 boxes of opened crayons. BIG mess. So, I tell him that because he's throwing fits, he loses his chance to go to the Teen Center, and he SLAMS his door shut. Nice.

So, I say that prayer (yeah, I had to calm myself a bit first), and help the little boys say their prayers, and send them off to bed. And Jake comes back out, and picked up all the crayons on his own. And come in, and apologizes. And asks for a chance to make it better. OK, if he says a nice prayer, then we'll call it good, and he can watch Chuck.

So he says a mildly better prayer, about watching chuck and such, and nope, not good enough. He was like "What do you want, mom!". So I explain the way that we pray. Like he's heard EVERY Sunday since he was born, practically. I knew he knew this, but maybe it was time for a refresher. I calmly explained the parts of the prayer. Start by addressing Heavenly Father. Next, say the things that you are grateful for. Next, say things that you need help with, or would like help with for others. Lastly, close in the name of Jesus Christ, and say amen.

So, when he was calm, he said a prayer. Sure, it was short, but it was thought out. I knew he could do it. And he was calm the whole time. No monotone upset voice. Great job, Jake! So he got to watch Chuck with us.

But I told him that he still lost privileges for the youth center for Tuesday. He was ok with that. But asked if I'd go to his school and see if I could get the bus pass thing figured out. I could do that.

Progress. See, we're having progress. I'm sure it's not gonna all get better in one day. Or even one month. Baby steps, though, right? I did a pretty good job at remaining calm tonight :) I was proud of myself :)

We watched Chuck, then I sent the boys to bed. And I started blogging. And it's now 9:49pm. And I'm gonna turn this computer off, and watch a movie (or part of one), then go to bed. And get up, and have another crazy busy day - hehe. Because that's how I like my days, apparently :)

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Ha! That's me! Good job, Sharon :)