GUYS: We are THISCLOSE to having our systems back in place. The last few mornings have been very successful. We have gotten UP, gotten DRESSED, gone through the whole morning spiel without complaint... It's been pretty sweet.
Meanwhile, my kids have always, always, ALWAYS wanted to be "packers" at lunch. But we always did school lunches because it was super easy and cheaper. Except that the schools up here have weird lunch rules, because, you know, federal mandates and exceptions and a bunch of nonsense. Plus, it would cost $4.50 per kid, per day. Except on Wednesdays, which are noon dismissal days, so the school doesn't bother with lunch. So, I am packing lunch for people every day, and they like it, and I pretty much think it's the worst. And I've already heard how our lunches don't have any snacks in them, like cookies, and candy. So I pointed out that those aren't "snacks", those are treats, and I'm not packing treats, I'm packing LUNCH so your brain can stay happy and awake all day. I've rather come to think I'm not the most pleasant person to live with. However, they finally get their wish of being packers so at least there's that!
We are also WALKERS. It's the first time that we haven't ridden on a bus to get to school. It was really exciting in theory, but some of us have already started to complain about hurting legs. Naturally, I pointed out that every time they walk up the hills to school, their legs are getting stronger, so be next month, it shouldn't be a problem! Then I offer them one, little baby orange aspirin. Nobody has accepted my proffered aspirin, but I'm not taking it personally.
Also, I was very proud of myself today. I did two loads of laundry, and I scrubbed my bathroom top to bottom, literally. We had a bunch of dead gnats on the bathroom ceiling, I don't even know how they got there, but it was disgusting. And I had the boys try and suck them up with a vacuum, but that just resulted in bug guts on the ceilings. So then I asked Troy, because he's a few inches taller than me, but he kept being busy at all the wrong times. So today, I got out our step stool, and I stretched my arms as high as I could, and I scrubbed bug guts off my ceilings. And being near the ceilings means I got a good look at the top of the medicine cabinets and shelves, and so on and so forth. Plus, I finally replaced the towel bar with a shelf with six hooks, so there aren't a bunch of wet towels sitting on the ground getting stinky.
I also made myself an apron. Back in Virginia, my friend Kristy had this apron that I coveted fiercely. It's a wrap-a-round pinafore style that crosses over in the back, that doesn't require any ties! I love aprons, but I hate the stupid ties that always come loose. So I finally made myself one, and I am giddy over it. I am going to make another one tomorrow, because I like to wear aprons around the house when I'm working, because then my clothes don't get disgusting. I mean, not that I'm dressed to kill, but I have my favorite pants that I don't want bleach stains or paint on.
And yes, I painted today. I've been in a bit of a DIY mood, and I needed some simple solutions to problems that wouldn't drive me nuts. For example, I have a HUGE box of Q-tips in my bathroom that is not full, and taking up a bunch of space, and bothering me. And our flossing picks fall out everywhere at least once a week. And don't even get me started on all the other odds and ends. So I grabbed the empty jars out of my cupboard, and I painted them PINK. Because pink makes me happy. And a pretty pink jar holding q-tips won't get on my very last nerve.
I also happened to have 4 bins that are exactly the length of one stair tread. So I put masking tape on each one, wrote a kids name, and put them on the stairs. Now, as I pick up downstairs, I put it in the correct person's bin, and at the end of the day, they take the bin with their treasures and put them in the right place.
I realize that this seems neurotic to a lot of people, but I seriously don't understand how you don't have at least a little neurosis in your life, especially when you have multiple children with different activities. It's a GOOD crazy.
