Today’s thankful: Baby girl made the bed

I have been trying, thanks to Flylady.net, to develop daily routines to help keep the housework semi under control. One of the things that I have been doing is at least pulling the covers up on the bed if I don’t have time to actually make it. I call it a lick and a promise, and have found a way to be happy with a less than perfect outcome. See, Flyday teaches that some of us are such lousy housekeepers because we get overwhelmed when we can’t make everything perfect, so we give up. That is exactly what I have always done. So learning to love less than perfect and doing a little instead of nothing is getting to be a new normal for me. This morning, as I was drying off from the bath, Youngest came into the bathroom and announced that she had made my bed for me because I hadn’t done it yet. Was it perfect? No, but it made me perfectly happy.

Today’s thankful: Daddy brought the bling

Youngest has been bugging me since last week to take her to Bath & Body Works to get a little holder to hang the sample size hand sanitizer off her backpack. Apparently, these holders with hand sanitizer are all the rage among the first grade set. My intention was to eventually get over there and buy her one, but an opportunity arose today for Spouse to take over that task. Youngest didn’t want to go to lunch with him over by the B&BW store, but she asked him to bring her back the holder and a new hand sanitizer. Oh, my gosh, did he outdo himself. They had plain holders for a buck, but he went all out for the three dollar one. It is hot pink with pink rhinestones all over it. Daddy brought the bling and baby girl was SO pleased.

Today’s thankful: Eldest is old enough to run errands

 I have been canning corn all day. I am about ten quarts away from having enough to last us until next growing season. That corn will come off the cob and into my jars tomorrow. Since I have been doing pretty much nothing but corn today, it has also been a jammie day. When I realized I didn’t have enough jars to finish, I made an offer Eldest didn’t refuse and she picked up my jars for me. Yay! My thankful for today could have been the fact that I am almost done putting up corn, or that I had a day free from other obligations so I could do it. But the little thankful that is top of my list tonight is that Eldest is old enough and loves me enough to run an unentertaining errand for me. Any day that doesn’t require me to doff my jammies is a good day.

Today’s thankful: I’m not ready for the senior discount at Denny’s

Middlest is in a marching band. Every Thursday the parents are invited to go to the last 15 minutes of practice where we are treated to a complete run through of the show to the point it is finished. I asked my dad if he wanted to attend one this year and he said yes. When I called him today at lunch to make certain he still wanted to come, our conversation went like this:

Me: “I will be there to get you about 8:20.”

Dad: “At night?!”

Me. “Yes, at night. Do you still want to go?”

Dad: “Well, I do go to bed at 7:30.”

Needless to say, my dad will be skipping practice tonight. I can’t blame him. He is 81 and gets up at zero dark thirty every morning. The funny thing is, when I told Middlest I was bringing Bodie to watch her, she said, “but he goes to bed at 7:30.” She knew. I am glad that I am still willing and able to stay out after dark on occasion. I am not ready to eat dinner at 4:30 p.m. yet.

Today’s thankful: I didn’t have to wear the butt crack pants

This morning Youngest came running into my room, obviously upset. She exclaimed, “I can’t wear these pants! They give me butt crack!” I asked what she meant, and she informed me that if she didn’t hike up her pants before sitting down, she looked a lot like a plumber. She said she couldn’t wear them. I reminded her that these were the very pants that were “perfect” at Justice a few weeks ago. That little tidbit of information shut her up and she wore the butt crack pants to school.

Today’s thankful: I don’t live in a gym

Youngest is taking a tumbling class, which she calls chinastics. She loves it. The place I take her is an actual facility for gymnasts. It has that icky odor of feet mixed with disinfectant. It makes me nauseous every time we step through the door. Having just returned from an hour on the bleachers in the gym, I am feeling very thankful that I don’t live in a gym. I’m not sure I could ever get used to that smell.

Today’s thankful: It wasn’t my kid who flipped shit in class

Youngest went to kindergarten with a little boy last year who always had a little trouble being good, and was really annoying, but who really didn’t do anything noteworthy. He is in her first-grade class this year. On Tuesday of their first full week of school, he flipped shit and threw such a major fit that “Miss M” (I have no idea who she is) had to come “from somewhere” (in the school, I am assuming) to dig him out from under his desk and remove him from the classroom. Then, three days later on Friday, he threw another full-on freak fest. Miss M was again summoned to remove him from the classroom. I am SO thankful it wasn’t my child throwing the fit. We all know it isn’t out of the realm of possibility for her to throw one.

Today’s thankful: It isn’t on her face

Ever since Eldest turned 18, I have been begging her not to get a tattoo where mommy can see it. She took her birthday money from my sister and buy herself a tiny tattoo right after she turned 18, but it is in a place most people will never see. So this weekend when she told me she would be home later than usual because she was attending a tattoo party with one of her friends, I was pretty sure there would be a new one on my baby. I wasn’t wrong, but at least it isn’t on her face. Also, it isn’t the gigantic octopus on her shoulder she has been talking about for a while. It is a bee on her ribcage. Oddly, I am not terribly upset about this one for a few reasons. First, and most importantly, it can be covered up and I don’t have to see it. Second, it isn’t an octopus, and finally, it is a bee, and we have some good bee memories.

When Eldest was 16, she drove a paper route. The route took her out into the countryside. Middlest or I often went with her. It is fun to fling newspapers out of a moving car window. Anyway, on one of my trips with her, we went and got ice cream in the middle of the route. When we were back out on the route, I took a drink of my soda and felt something fuzzy in my mouth. It freaked me straight out, to the point I couldn’t think. I opened my mouth and dropped soda and a bee on my cell phone. The bee was swimming/flopping around in the soda and Eldest laughed. A lot. The fact that there was an open window to my left didn’t occur to me.

Another time, Middlest was running her route with her when a bee flew into the open window and landed in Middlest’s lap. She started freaking out and trying to climb into Eldest’s lap while the car was moving. They still laugh hysterically every time they talk about it.

So the fact that Eldest got a tattoo doesn’t upset me as badly as it could have. At least it has some happy memories attached to it – and it isn’t on her face.

Today’s thankful: I didn’t slit my wrists

I am not a proponent of suicide, but for the past two weeks the temptation has been steadily growing stronger. The reason for my temptation has been that we are in the early stages of implementing a new software program, of which I will be the primary user, and I HATE it. I haven’t worked with a software so user unfriendly since I learned how to use Lotus 123 back in the days of long ago, and it was WAY more friendly than this current system. So after spending four days in a row fighting with it every day, the temptation to slit my wrists is at an all-time high. I won’t do it, but I have been keeping the scissors and sharpened pencils away from my line of sight as a precaution.

Today's thankful: Middlest is making grown up decisions

Yesterday evening when I picked Middlest up from band practice, she was in the throes of a dilemma. I told her what I thought she should do, then told her that she was old enough to decide for herself and I would support whatever she decided. Then I reminded her that, as always, she could blame me for her decision if she didn't feel comfortable taking the hit. She decided on the course of action that I thought most prudent AND took the responsibility for her decision. I am so proud of her. I know we still have a long way to go to responsible adult, but this was a very good step.

Today’s thankful: Youngest did not look like a snot rag this morning

Youngest came out of her bedroom this morning, dressed for school. Her hair looked a little bit unkempt, though, so I asked if she had brushed her hair. She said, “I brushed the ponytail.” I told her that she would need to take the ponytail out and brush all of it. She glared at me and walked back to her room. She returned a little later with her hair fully brushed and a new ponytail in place. She then said, “Do I not look like a snot rag anymore?”

Today’s thankful: The brainwashing is working

Yesterday morning Youngest came into my room to wake me up and tell me she was hungry. I was telling her to go get food I knew she was capable of getting on her own while I pried the sleepy seeds out of my eyes. When I got to the offer of bread (she likes to eat it plain), she wailed, “But I’m not allowed to use the knife.” I told her to get the store bought bread. She said, “Yuck.” I’m not sure she wasn’t just trying to get me out of bed, but at least it appears that she is trending toward unprocessed food. The brainwashing might be taking hold. I am also thankful, on a much deeper level, that she didn’t take the opportunity of my sleep addled brain to actually wield the bread knife.

Today’s thankful: I survived

I have been working mostly from home for six years. I had to go back into the office full time last Wednesday. It isn’t as bad as it could be, given that my wonderful boss lets me take Youngest to school before I go in. But, given that I hadn’t worn shoes for more than about four hours at a stretch for six years, it was awfully hard keeping my shoes on all day. I was also a little concerned with the whole not being home all day and still managing to find time to cook from scratch and stay on top of the laundry. With the Flylady’s routines in place, my transition back into the outside the home workforce was relatively smooth. I managed to pack nutritious lunches for myself and Youngest and prepare home-cooked from scratch meals for my family. I know it was only three days, and next week will be the real test, but for my first three days back, I survived it. For that, I am thankful.

Today's thankful: Eldest called me

Anyone who has ever shared space with a teen knows how very little they like to talk to the adults in their lives. My eldest today received some happy news and called me while she was still giddy. It was a treat to get to share that moment with her. She is really good about texting me, as are most teens, but the phone calls are a lot less frequent. It was a good day.

Today’s thankful: Youngest’s occasional knowledge gaps

At Splashin’ Safari, I was hanging in the wave pool with the girls, holding Youngest on my hip. There were to boys approximately 12 to 14 years old in front of us. She watched for a few minutes as they frolicked in the waves like only boys can do. Then she said, “I bet they will have wet dreams tonight.” I asked her what a wet dream was. She said, “They are going to dream about being in the water tonight because they are having so much fun.” I said, “Yep, I bet they will.”

Today’s thankful: I didn’t get arrested

Yesterday I took my three girls to Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari in Santa Clause, IN for our annual before school starts day trip. I started taking Eldest and Middlest after the divorce and it has become our special annual girl day. We have taken friends with us in the past, but the last several years have been just me and my girls. Youngest has been part of our tradition for about four years. Yesterday we were standing at the top of Watubi awaiting our turn in the giant round raft. There were two rafts of people in front of us, when the big girls started to giggle. The reason? Youngest had gotten so nervous she peed on the stairs. I was so proud. We had a talk about how it is wrong to pee on the stairs and that she should never, ever do it again, even though the sisters laughed.

Fast forward several hours. We had talked Youngest into riding Bakuli, which is a large tube which empties into kind of like a toilet bowl and spins you down the drain in the middle. She did NOT want to go on it, but with a lot of encouragement (in the form of a new Now That’s What I Call Music 39 CD), she relented. As often happens when we stand in line for an extended period of time, we started chatting with the people behind us.

When we got to the last flight of stairs, the big girls started laughing. I looked down at Youngest to find her standing in another puddle of pee. About that time the line moved, and we went up a few steps. I was horrified and we were all laughing silently, shoulders shaking, when the guy behind us said, “Hey, why did you quit talking to us?” Then he laughed really hard. I turned around, face red, tears streaming and apologized through my laughter. It is really hard to sound sincere when you are laughing almost too hard to speak. Fortunately, they were all really good natured about it. Youngest got a stern talking to which included promise of a punishment should she do it again. I am so glad I didn’t get arrested for my kid urinating in a very public place.

Today’s thankful: Spouse’s powers of observation

Last night Spouse and I were watching Big Brother when he exclaimed, “That’s who Rachel looks like! Boy George!” Then he started singing do you really want to hurt me? I almost died laughing. Google images of Boy George. It is amazing we didn’t see the similarity sooner.

Today’s thankful: We didn’t have to walk home with a bike

Today while I was in the office, Middlest took care of Youngest. They decided to ride their bikes (Youngest still on tiny bike with training wheels) through the next neighborhood to the elementary school’s playground. When Middlest texted me asking for permission, I almost told her I thought it was a little bit too far for Tiny Person. I didn’t want her to think I don’t trust her to be in charge, so I kept my thought to myself. I won’t make that particular mistake again. About an hour after granting permission, I got a call from Middlest asking me to come to the playground and get them. Tiny couldn’t pedal any more. So on the way home from work I stopped by the playground and picked up one tiny bike, one tiny girl, and followed a beautiful teenager home on her bike because it wouldn’t fit in my car. At least the tiny bike did and I didn’t have to go over there and walk her bike home.