Changes everywhere...

Since the last time I posted, Landry turned four. Ryli and Landry both went to summer camp. They also were taken to Six Flags by Ms. Cole on the other one's camp weeks. There have been well child check ups, ear infections, and the occasional platelet check. Connor and Tucker came down and spent a few days with us before going to my mom's. Ryli got signed up for Girl Scouts. Landry started speech therapy. Connor moved down two days before school started. Ryli started school. After many issues and much angst, Connor FINALLY started school a week and a half late. Landry started homeschooling. Ryli went to her first Girl Scout meeting. We have been crazy busy. There was more, but I won't bother you with that now.

We are getting used to the current state.It has been interesting, to put it ever so mildly. I have become fueled by caffeine. Lots and lots of it. Coffee or Diet Mountain Dew (or its equally delish Kroger equivalent). Up around 5:45-6:00 on most weekdays, in bed by 11:00. Last weekend, while the younger two were off visiting with Daddy and Memaw, Connor and I shampooed carpets and sorted clothes. The carpet looks better, and Connor has more money in the bank, so all in all, not too shabby.

The garbage has been taken out often, and Landry must tote something out along side Connor. I suddenly have three assistants for loading and unloading the dishwasher. Clean up is becoming easier, except in the case of last night's first Girl Scout meeting, following a day full of speech therapy and resident meetings. 

It's nearing that time of day when I must get Landry ready to trek to get Ryli from school. I think we might go get a treat after for fun. Then we'll meet up with Connor and plot this weekend's adventures.

Mippy Manor's Week in Review: Solo Edition

So, yeah, this week has been eventful, to say the very least. Last weekend, I got an e-mail about a parenting class being offered that takes eight weeks. I took the exact same course last year when we had first moved in, but I opted to retake it, as I was very distracted last time. I also had a very booked up first of the week going into Monday.

Monday came in a little too much on the noisy side. Thunderstorms started rolling through before Monday was very old. From one-ish until the sun finally came up, I had two bed-hogs in bed with me. That, I'm used to, but the sudden downpours pelting the windows, flashes of lightening, and booming thunder made it into a long night, as each hour saw them both wake up at least once every hour, and never both at the same time. That led to an exhausted mommy, as we slept straight through all my alarms. Ryli had a 8:30 appointment, which I needed to reschedule. Apparently, it was happening a lot that morning, as the office manager told me I was not the first parent to call in that morning.

The rescheduled appointment gave me the time I needed to finish the house off for our housing inspection on Tuesday. I got downright anal-retentive on the finishing touches. I also had two kids begging to help. It was very nice.Our water was delivered early, so Ryli helped put that up, and then the inspectors showed up right on time. That was the best part, as they gave me a two hour window. We passed with flying colors. I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon dealing with an unanswered phone call I'd gotten Monday night. That was fun. (and that sentence is dripping with sarcasm)

We went up to the parenting class early enough to get the mail. There was a beaten and battered envelope from the housing authority right on top, complete with the tape to hold the envelope together. The letter was dated April 3, yet here it was April 14 and I was just getting it. The re-certification appointment was inside; April 15 at 12:30. A half hour before my appointment for my meds, and on the opposite side of the county. No brainer there, I choose instantly which appointment took priority, continuing to have a roof over our heads.

The parenting class was great. Yes, it was the same thing as last year, but I was by far more "there" than I was last year. What can I say, I was unencumbered by the baggage of the last go. Ryli and Landry had a blast playing with the other kids, and afterwards, they served dinner.

We got home, and I got them settled with bedtime snacks and a movie while I got a hold of Cynthia to run by the change in plans by her. Luckily, she had no problem moving everything up and driving so much further than originally planned. Having that settled, I opted to head to bed with the kids so I could get up early to do my paperwork, wrangle documents, and reschedule appointments.

Wednesday morning, I woke up with the start of a migraine, so as I ate a breakfast of ibuprofen, I set to work printing out and wrangling up documentation while simultaneously filling out the packet of paperwork. When I got everyone up and dressed, we retrieved Ryli's purse of Littlest Pet Shops she'd accidentally left behind at parenting class, and went out to wait for Cynthia and Phoebe.

I sensed as soon as we got the car seats loaded and into the car that this was not going to be an easy trip. That migraine was intensifying, and I was starting to think that if we made it all the way to DHA without me getting sick, it would be nothing short of miraculous. Those fears were founded, but due to accidentally taking a wrong exit and a hiccup in Cynthia's Garmin getting back on the interstate, we ended up being on a street close to a gas station when I said "We NEED to pull over". After a deposit into the gas stations garbage, off we went.

The rest of Wednesday was pretty uneventful. I made it to the appointment and was re-certified, we hit Kroger up, and had a leisurely night at home. The migraine vanished after the garbage can incident, but it was threatening to return, so once again, I went to sleep with the kids.

Thursday and Friday more or less bled one into the other. Landry has had quite the growth spurt, however. The one pair of boots that he wore every time we went further than the neighbors' were taken off outside, and vanished. This morning, I went to put on his tennis shoes for the first time in a few weeks, and they didn't fit. So, when Memaw picked them up at noon, I got to explain what had happened to the boots that he loved so much, and showed that he was in fact going through a growth spurt. Ryli now has an inch, tops, on her little brother. 

I have already run to the store on my quest for new shoes. I am now going to re-watch Sunday's episode of "Game of Thrones", followed by a re-watch of the two previous episodes of "Wolf Hall" and just take it easy. The week ahead is destined to be a fun one, just hopefully not so overloaded.

Time Travel by Earthworm

Earlier in the day, the three of us went for a walk to get the mail and then to the little mom and pop corner store for some treats. As I ran around gathering what was needed for the journey, Landry ran out to the dirt path not far from our door, Ryli on his heels for a change. A few minutes later, I heard the excited cries and gave up my hunt for the elusive mailbox keys.

As I stepped through the door, Landry greeted me with one of his bigger and cheesier smiles and proudly proclaimed that he had found an earthworm. He proudly held out his hand, with the earthworm squirming around his palm. Ryli came up, and she asked to hold it. At that point, I momentarily got nervous that she would get her hands on it and declare it was disgusting and toss it. She didn't.

My mind was instantly transported to when I was her age, roughly 35 years ago. Life on the acreage out in the middle of nowhere, where I would collect toads, garter snakes, and other creepy-crawlies. The days before kindergarten, when all of the sudden, playing with those little creatures was taboo, at least for the girls.

I was jolted back to reality when they both started telling me all these facts about earthworms that they'd gotten from Wild Kratts, The Magic School Bus, and the like. They asked if they could keep her, naturally, and I told them that she would be far happier outside where she could continue to make dirt. They agreed, and put her back on the walk. Ryli covered her up with some dirt so no birds would get her. Then, we found my keys and went about our business.

On our way home, they saw our neighbor, Andy, out walking his dogs. They wanted to show him their worm, so I said yes, doubting that they could find it again. My doubt faded as Ryli turned the corner from our courtyard absolutely beaming, her hands cupped together. Landry and Ryli showed her to Andy and bombarded him with much of the same that they had me. Andy and his roommate Cathy happen to have a compost heap outside their apartment, so he offered to take the worm with him, giving her all the food she could eat, relative safety from birds, and lots of friends. The kids said their goodbyes, and we parted ways.

As we walked into our townhouse, the kids once again pelted me with questions about worms and if they could go out and dig for more. I answered everything as best I could and promising that after dark, I would take them out to look for more.

I can wait for kindergarten. I don't want Ryli to feel like to be a girl, she can't go dig in the dirt and find worms, or fear frogs and toads. Snakes I will educate her on, because unlike Iowa, there are poisonous ones here in Texas, but if she wants to pick up a non-venomous snake, I want her to. If she wants to grow up and be whatever her little heart desires, whether it's girly or not. 

So conflicted

It's grey and raining once again. The rational, adult part of me says that it's good. We haven't gotten near enough rain in quite awhile, and water restrictions are getting really old. I want to be able to fill up a pool for the kids without concern for if the day is even or odd. I want to haul the kids to the beach one of these days, and not worry about the smells that can emit from a lake that's low. The rational, adult part of me says bring it on.

The rest of me is singing "Rain rain, go away" on a loop in my head. I want to take the kids outside to play, because that helps them sleep. I want to go and sit in the sun, while they ride on the scooter or frolic on the playground. I want to be able to get the mail and not have to keep telling Landry to get out of the mud puddles (or plain mud) every 15 feet. I want to see the sun through the windows instead of the drab grey of the sky.

So, here I sit, totally torn about the weather that I can't control. I think this just calls for a little ingenuity on my part. Maybe it's time for some indoor forts or something of that sort!

A VERY productive end to 12 kidless hours

I will admit this here, because the kids can't quite read yet. I cleaned the dickens out of their room while they were with their father... and wandered off to the dumpsters a cart of crap.. The toys that were all broken or missing way too many parts, buy for some reason which escapes me, will NOT part with. I vacuumed their floor. I sorted out all their toys and put them in bins and boxes.

I was waiting for them when Pepaw and Memaw pulled up. I told them I had something to show them, but I had to go upstairs first. They both freaked out. It was priceless. Then I sat down and told them that Eroy had come back because they hadn't been picking up. I explained to them that any toy that wasn't put away would be collected by Eroy and disappear for a bit.

Eroy was my childhood nemesis. I've given him a transformation into an elf who rides a raccoon from the cemetery dwelling monster that my dad and uncle concocted to try and deter myself and my twin brothers from mischief. It worked better with my brothers than me. I was older and Grandma spared me most of the time. I implemented Eroy once before, and it worked out well, so he's getting a reboot. Any toys that aren't put away before they go to sleep will disappear. Mommy is no longer cleaning their room.

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And alas, I feel like a idiot. This was meant to be posted on Sunday evening. This Daylight Savings has me a bit discombobulated.

I loathe DST

It may only be 2:00 on Tuesday afternoon, but I feel like it is midnight or so. I had the bright idea of getting the kids used to going to bed by how dark it was outside. The sun started to go down, and the bedtime routine would commence. After awhile, I had them to sleep by about 8:00. That left me plenty of time to watch one or two shows uninterrupted and clean up. Heck, I'd even get to watch the news if I so desired. Six o'clock in the morning came, but it was a lot easier to take.

Now, I'm faced with the struggle of them not wanting to start getting ready before it's dark enough. They have this thing that they can NOT get ready for bed before the sun does. It was 10:00 before I got them down last night, as opposed to 11:30 the night before. Tonight, we have a resident meeting, and they both got up earlier than they had been, so tonight I'm shooting for 9:00. 

I just can't wait for things to go back to "normal". I hate it went I feel the need to nap during the day. I did take a nap today with Ryli and Landry. Only I just said mommy wanted to cuddle. They wouldn't have laid down had I used that nasty three letter word. Then, we all got up, ate, and went to a housing meeting I just found out about today. I'm watching Chicago Fire, cleaning the kitchen during commercials, and then I'm going to go to bed and take them with me.

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Well, I did exactly what I intended to last night, I just forgot to post. On the bright side, the kids finally went down surprisingly easy, and I actually woke up when my first alarm went off. Yeah for progress, because I'm not feeling a nap coming on.

Mommy's Relief

I love all my kids to the edge of the known universe and back about a bazillion times. Dacey, Connor, and Tucker don't live with me, but I miss them constantly. Landry and Ryli, however, are with me 24/7, with the exception of visitation weekends. Six hours Saturday and Sunday, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends of the month. Then, I surrender them to their grandparents so they can visit their father. Noon until 6:00 on those weekends, I'm kidless.

At first, it was a lot to take in. I spent each six hour stretch worried that their father would take them and not surrender them. From June 17 until August 23, I had them all the time. Following the advice of my attorney, I kept them, save for a few outings that they made with Memaw and Pepaw. I supplied them with the current temporary protective order until we finally went to court August 19 and I was granted the two year order of protection for myself and the kids. The judge put supervised visitation because of his past behaviors.

The first several weekends damn near drove me nuts. I was a mess. After years of threats, it wasn't surprising that I had a bit of trouble at the start. Then, they'd get home, and all was right with the world again, until the next time. It was a tad maddening the things Ryli would come home saying. She'd tell me how much daddy loved and missed me, and that we could get back together if I'd promise to be nice to him. It was hard not to laugh, especially when Landry would weigh in saying "Daddy is a jerk to Mommy". I don't talk about him like that... that was his spontaneous reaction to what Ryli was saying.

Then, he just started buying them pretty much anything that they wanted when he was with them. He successfully undermined the months I'd spent breaking them from expecting something ever time they entered a store. He stopped that, probably because it was costing him too much. He just tells them to ask me. 

Now, I'm used to the visitation. I actually look forward to it. Its nice to be able to get things done without them under foot. I even get a nap in from time to time. I still fret, and I think that I always will. That just comes with motherhood, I think. I'll just continue to do what I do during my little reprieves. 

Well I am impressed about something!

So, the kids were a bit on the awful side yesterday. No biggie, everyone has their off days. It was one of those days where anything I accomplished in the living room was undone the instant I tried to do something in another room. I've been doing this long enough that I think I'd be shocked if it didn't happen. The fact that they go to Memaw and Pepaw's to see their father Saturday and Sunday for the usual six hour visits probably has a little (or a lot) to do with it. 

So, by  the time I was finding myself counting the minutes until I could ship them off to dreamland and get something done, it was time to take care of a few things in the kitchen so I could eventually put them to bed. I thought I did an okay job of getting them occupied, but the second I went into the kitchen, they were at my heels, begging to be put to work. I pulled chairs up to the kitchen sink and set them to rinsing dishes so I could make sure that all the dirties were loaded up. 

There was an accident when I had them help start the dishwasher. The pre-arranged deal was Ryli put the washer pod in the compartment, Landry shut the compartment, and they shut the door together so I could turn the dial. Ryli was a bit over zealous and started lifting the door before Landry bent over low enough to grab the door and she caught him in the chin. That whole debacle was resolved with a tearful Ryli telling him how sorry she was, and kisses from she and I.

Once again, I tried to get them busy in the living room so I could finish off the meal I'd started in the crock pot Wednesday night in the event that the frozen precipitation knocked our power out, then do the sides. Once again, they were so not having it. I got the sauce thickened and put the chicken covered in sauce in the oven to heat it back up and they were back. So, they took turn handing me green beans so I could trim off the ends. They did the same thing as I halved the grape tomatoes, and then I'd hand them back to the hand that gave it to me to make sure the halves were unattached.That was made difficult by the fact that they love grape tomatoes almost as much as they love bananas. 

They watched me on and off as I warmed the butter in the skillet and then dumped in the tomatoes. Ryli grilled me about what I was sprinkling on them. All Landry cared about was I did nothing to make them spicy. When the tomatoes had cooked enough and I added the green beans, they promptly left, as they saw me grab the pineapple, so they knew I was about to open the can. I sent them off to get the table ready while I finished up and to seat themselves. 

They ate all their dinners before helping me clean off my plate and they ate all the pineapple again. And then, without warning, the lull ended until I finally got them to sleep.