We’ve been in a drought in Oklahoma for a year and praying for rain.  Oh my!  Yesterday, did it ever rain!  The city set a record rainfall amount.  After two days, I believe we got close to 5 inches of rain and most of it fell yesterday.  I expected our new Olympic size swimming pool (formerly known as our long, skinny backyard) to still be creeping towards our back door this morning.  Except for a few remaining stubborn puddles, you can see our grass again!  I was afraid the rain would drive the ants inside – a problem we have had with this house.  I’m assuming, now, they all drown before having a chance to assemble themselves in neat little lines and march into our walls!  No way could Jesse mow for the past two days and things are still too wet for him to catch up today.

Another surprise . . . We have had the heat off because of warming temperatures, but awoke this morning to a house temperature of 63° with a predicted high today of only 64°.  It was so damp & cold in here.  We had been wanting to use the remaining firewood this year so Jesse wouldn’t have to carry it back to its outside spot.  Today, we lit a fire in the den and HAD to turn on the heat (66°) in the back of the house to knock off the drafty, chill.  They (there are those “they” people, again!!!) are predicting some chilly weather mid-week with lows in the 30′s and highs only reaching 50-something.  We will be able to use up the rest of our stash of firewood and Jesse will be spared.

I’m so glad I didn’t become overly anxious in my zeal for planting gardens!

The tornados were more sporadic and more profuse than I had realized yesterday.  I guess the weather “people” (you know “they”???) explained it as tornados hidden by cloud cover and ones that were hard to predict.  Several people whose homes were struck yesterday said the warning sirens went off 5 minutes AFTER their house had been damaged!  The tornados seemed to come out of nowhere.

Jesse heard from Luci’s daycare that the director had gone to one of the northside facilities to help with children because THAT daycare had been hit by a tornado.  Their roof was peeled back and windows had blown out of the daycare.  Thankfully, we found out, all children were okay and only one worker suffered an injury when part of the roof hit her.

There was LOTS of debris (vehicles) on the turnpike, so Stephanie came via regular roads to the birthday party.  JanaLyn was with her dad (Jesse was afraid the tornado had hit JanaLyn’s daycare  – it was a different facility) and Rob brought her to our house.  The party started about 30 minutes after we had wanted it to start, but things were fun and everything went well.

We have more weather (similar to yesterday’s) moving in now and throughout the afternoon/evening, so I canceled Luci’s psych appointment JUST IN CASE.  No sense in me traipsing to the other side of town if it isn’t absolutely necessary.  I figure her psychologist (the gal I really like) might like to go home early and be with her own children/family if the weather becomes dangerous.

Praying we are spared again today.

This should be an interesting birthday party.  Today is Annamarie’s 7th birthday and we were expecting repeated heavy downpours of thunderstorms.  I got everything done earlier in the week so we wouldn’t have to be out in the rain today.

BUT . . . Oklahoma, the beautiful state of ever changing weather, has suddenly produced tornados.  Stephanie called me a while ago and was shopping at a Wal-Mart near her neighborhood.  Guess where an out-of-the-blue tornado was first sighted?   Yep, a few blocks from Wal-Mart.  Civil Defense sirens went off everywhere.  I tried and tried to call her cell phone but all lines were jammed.  My last attempt was to text message her.  The next news report was cars dumped into the ditch on the turnpike right by that same Wal-Mart.  Again, no luck trying to call her.  Land lines were also tied up because my friend, Tangi, and I were trying to call each other. 

Here’s an interesting piece of information should anyone find themselves in an emergency situation.  When cell phone lines jam, text messaging is the next hope.  I called T-Mobile to be sure.  They said as long as I don’t get a return message (after pressing the send text button) stating the call didn’t go through – my text message is assured of going through.  Good thing to know with our tornado season approaching.

Jesse had already picked up Annamarie’s b-day cake and now we only have to get Luci from daycare.  Skies have lightened up a bit and we are back to a steady drizzle instead of blinding, torrential downpours.

Annamarie chose decorations from the movie “Happy Feet” and the cake is also decorated as ”Happy Feet” – very cute.  I bought a Beanie Baby Penguin for a centerpiece.  She decided she wanted pigs in a blanket (turkey hotdogs wrapped with crescent rolls), potato chips, apple sauce,  vanilla cake, and strawberry ice cream. 

We are resurrecting games from my childhood, namely:  Pin the Tail on the Donkey (an almost impossible game to find these days), Musical Chairs, and a balloon race.  The balloon race is a race to see who can keep their balloon in the air the longest.  I even bought little prizes!

Sooooooooooooo, we’ll see what becomes of tonight.

We woke up to a wonderful sound this morning, the sound of rain!  As the morning progressed, so did the intensity of rain, as it changed into a steady down pour.  Such a welcome visitor!  It was supposed to rain all day off and on, but this morning was the only offering we have had so far.  “They” (whoever “they” really are!!!)  say we should have more storms today and through tomorrow morning.  These are the same “theys” who predicted major rain all last week while students were on their spring break, and nary a drop we saw!

I’m preparing for Annamarie’s birthday this coming Thursday.  She FINALLY lost her loose upper front tooth over the week end.  I think it’s been loose since Thanksgiving (for sure since Christmas) and has hung at varying degrees of precarious angles making it almost impossible for me to look her in the face when she talked to me.  I truly have felt bad for feeling this way about my own child, but her mouth had taken on a kind of semi Quasi Modo look!  Everyone knows my extreme aversion to teeth or anything having to do with teeth, so no need for me to explain!  She’s been babying that one tooth forever (as she has done with all of her loose teeth) and, of all things, it almost completely let loose while she was eating spaghetti.  Spaghetti!!!!  We were 100 miles away from home and, despite the 2 paper towels she clutched in her hand while leaving the restaurant, we encouraged her NOT to pull it in the back seat of our Suburban, but rather to wait until she got home to a bathroom.  Jesse went into the bathroom with her and within seconds she proudly produced a tooth in her hand.  YUCK!!!!!!!!  I don’t know how I ever dealt with my own loose teeth!  That night, I grabbed the tooth in a baggy from under her pillow and replaced it with the same type baggy holding $2.00. 

Jesse and I went round and round discussing and trying to decide what the going rate of teeth should be.  As a child, I got a dime for front teeth and a quarter for molars.  He got nothing.  He wanted to give Annamarie $5.00 a tooth, but I reminded him our girls are so close in age that I could easily foresee a time in the future when we could spend $50 in one week on the teeth from three girls!  So, the final verdict was:  $2.00 for front teeth and $5.00 for a molar.

Friday, Jesse and his lawn buddy (buddy in ALL things, actually), Camilo, helped him trim our yard up and clean out the flower beds.  We lost a few bushes and some other things this last icy winter.  Everything around our yard looks barren and ready for flowers, but I want to wait to be sure of no more surprise frosts.  I may splurge this year and plant things closer together in the beginning, then pray they are well established by the time the parching summer heat arrives.  I would like caladiums (my first choice) or coleus intermingled with some hearty flowers.  A flat of dianthus did incredibly well 2 years ago.  They even grew back last spring.  I thing I’m going to try for the variety of foliage rather than rely on just flowers for color.

Today, Rissy and Annamarie were grounded from television and video games (Leapster hand held) and have been cleaning house for me.  I’m serious.  Really c-l-e-a-n-i-n-g house!  It smells good and looks much nicer.  They’ve done a great job.  Rissy has always been a worker and Annamarie a little slower, but Annamarie has stuck with it today and gotten the dusting done in places that are difficult for me to reach.  I ran the dishwasher after cleaning up the mess I made making pancakes for breakfast and have been at my desk most of the day taking care of business.  Rissy has swept and then mopped all of the tiled rooms with Pinesol. 

I need to expend the same amount of energy filing the stacks of papers that lie about my desk!  If I did, the surface of a beautiful piece of furniture would be revealed!!!

Rissy woke us up today at 4:45am crying and telling Jesse she couldn’t find Annamarie.  Jesse told her to go back to bed.  She came back a few minutes later, still crying, saying someone had taken Annamarie and she wanted her sister back because she couldn’t sleep without her in their bed.  Jesse told her Annamarie was probably in the guest room.  Rissy argued and told him Annamarie’s pillow was in bed, but Annamarie was gone (gently crying during the entire conversation).  He told her not to worry and to go back to bed because it was still dark outside.  I haven’t heard a peep from Rissy since then and it’s 8:30!  HOWEVER, that was all *I* needed to give my insomnia problem a jump start.  It readily kicked in!

I tried desperately to go back to sleep, but thoughts of Elizabeth Smart’s disappearance began to haunt me.  I tried to comfort myself by thinking, “OUR windows were all closed and the burglar alarm was set last night.  There’s no way anyone could have taken Annamarie from her bed like that guy took Elizabeth Smart.”  After 45 minutes, I gave up trying to sleep or convince myself Annamarie was fine.  I got up to turn on the coffee pot AND to look for Annamarie.  I found her in the den sleeping with Rissy’s new pink, fuzzy, b-day blanket tucked into the sofa cushions around her.  It looked to me like she had been there all night.  Maybe Rissy was hogging the blankets and Annamarie couldn’t fall asleep in bed, so she moved to the sofa?  Who really knows?  She does odd things that are never easily explained!!!  I woke her up and told her to go sleep in the guest room and off she went.

I watched Fox & Friends and was completely bored.  There was nothing I was interested in learning about, I guess!  Eventually Jesse came to the den and we had a nice chat (especially me since I was on my 2nd cup of coffee!) until he had to get ready to load up his mowers and leave for work.

Let’s see what has happened the last couple of days since my last entry. 

Rissy saw the pediatrician 2 days ago for a recheck of her bronchial problems.  She was put on all types of new allergy & asthma managing medications to squelch her wheezing, etc.  It will be a while before we know if it will truly help her condition.

Yesterday afternoon, Jesse & I met one of the pawn shop partners at the bank to sign the partnership dissolution paper, have it notarized, and get paid most of the buy-out money from the remaining partners.  Things are almost completely over with except for some cash, here and there, that will be given to us over the next month.

Prior to meeting everyone at the bank, I had taken the girls to Barnes and Noble so I could check out their inexpensive, classic novel section for myself.  The girls went to the children’s area to look at books.  As we walked back to the children’s department, Rissy asked me, “Is this a library, like we’ve seen on tv, or what?”  Several people (the kind who are in there all the time browsing & buying books and espresso) looked down their nose at me because it appeared I have deprived and disadvantaged my children by not allowing them the privilege of knowing the difference between a library and a bookstore!  *I* know they read all the time because I order *good* books for them online; but, these other people didn’t know and I felt intimidated.  I explained this was like a library except you bought these books rather than borrow them.  “SO YOU CAN ADD THEM TO YOUR LIBRARY AT HOME,” I added, in a stage whisper!

My own search for books proved to be successful and caused me to remember WHY I don’t go into bookstores more frequently . . . $100+ later!!!!!!  I can justify the total bill because I DID buy a b-day gift for my friend, Lori, and a small box of ephemeral cards from the turn of the century (reminds me of stuff my Grandma Murche had in her card collection) for myself.

I came home with six children’s classics, rewritten for younger children (Black Beauty, Treasure Island, Robin Hood, etc.), and I bought some THICK classics for myself:  Common Sense & Other Writings by Thomas Paine; The Country of The Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett (a new author to me); The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Daisy Miller & Washington Square by Henry James; and The Portable Edith Wharton a selection of her short stories, travel and personal memoirs, etc. 

I’m waiting for my book order from Amazon.com to arrive at the end of March.  It contains several books for the me AND for the girls’ “home library.”  Some titles of what I ordered: Little Women and Little Men.  I figured it’s time for me to start reading meatier books to our children to help build their vocabulary.  I also want  to pave the way for making the world of literature more interesting.  Hopefully, they will someday learn to enjoy reading.

I honestly don’t know what has overcome me.  It all started last Thursday or Friday.  

I had taken to a cleaning and redecorating fancy – maybe “frenzy” is more like it!  I began little cleaning projects here and there; but, somewhere along the way, things mushroomed into a cleaning frenzy by Sunday.

Sunday began with my desire to clean the spot in the kitchen that houses our 92 million home school books.  I pulled the books that can wait until next fall and put them into the storage cupboard in another room.  I left plenty of curriculum to use between now and then.  We home school year round – poor unfortunate children of mine!  I accomplished stacking all textbooks, teacher editions, workbooks, crayons (you get the picture!) on the kitchen table.  I tried to make sense of the mess (at least by school subjects) and also divided all stray crayons between the girls’ Rubbermaid boxes.

I was exhausted from bending over the table and needed a rest from the kitchen mess, which brought me to the den.  While sitting in the den, I realized we would have more space if I moved the furniture back to its original position from the cozy in-front-of-the-fireplace arrangement I used during this past winter.  So, move I did.  I also vacuumed under furniture and flipped cushions, which made me vacuum the sofa before replacing the cushions.  I want to know where crumbs in the furniture come from when we don’t allow eating outside of the kitchen?????  Of course, we obtained a cockatiel with a huge cage last August and kept her in our master bedroom until December.  She was moved to the den, which now left me with an extra piece of furniture in the den after moving things back to their original spots.  A sofa table. 

No problem, I decided to use it as a room divider between my large expanse we call a formal living room and formal dining room.  It looked spindly with its tiny legs and I thought a plant on the floor, underneath the table, would fill things out.  There was already a lace runner on the table with a basket of ferns on top.

That took me to the guest room where the extra silk greenery is stored.  Not only did I pull something for the spindly table, I thought I might as well clean the greenery that belongs in the kitchen atop the upper cabinets.  I quickly finished the under-the-table decor and started to clean the kitchen greenery.

While placing the greenery in *NEW* spots on top of the cabinets, I decided to complete the upper cabinet decorating job and cleaned the huge ceramic plates and glass vases that were also supposed to be up there.  Everything had been removed from the tops of the cabinets when Jesse fell through the ceiling, while helping to install a furnace up in the attic.  I won’t go into THAT story here!!!  I finished my “upper cabinet make over” and realized the time was ticking away quickly.  The kitchen table was piled high and I had no place to serve dinner.

I wanted to give myself the time I needed to divide the books properly and felt it best to use the formal dining room table.  HOWEVER, my bathroom sheers were on the table because I never rehung them after washing them on Thursday.

I went to the bathroom to rehang the drapery and valance and had to remove the large Grecian urns from their Grecian pillars around my tub, in order to stand on the tub - to reach the valance.  The plants in the urns were filthy and the ivy I bought 2 years ago to add to those urns was still in my closet.  I pulled the large sack of ivy down and left the urns in the bathtub to be dealt with later.

Back to the dining room table.  I pulled out the table pads from the closet, decided on a celery green tablecloth, and used my winter centerpiece (ivory & cream dried things with small brown pine cones in a glass bowl).  My square mirrors topped with white taper candles in small star shaped holders flanked each side of the bowl of dried things.  I added cream quilted placemats.  Not exactly spring-like, but maybe showing a “hope” for spring’s return.  In another few weeks, I’ll break out the colorful silk tulips, etc.

ABOUT THIS TIME I REALIZED . . . it was 4pm and I should take a bath.  I couldn’t!  There were Grecian urns with filthy, silk greenery and a large sack holding the soon-to-be-added ivy in my tub.  Determined as I was, off I went to the girls’ bathroom to take a shower.

I had just finished dressing and placing my head covering on my head when Jesse walked in.  He took one look at the kitchen table (hadn’t made it to the den or dining room) and asked, “What’s up in here?”  Of course, he never knew I had just gotten dressed!

I showed him the den, the dining room, the trash I had picked up from the backyard (oh yeah!  I forgot to mention that job), and he seemed more pleased.  He went back to the bathroom while I pulled leftovers from the refrigerator.  At least I had planned a simple meal!  He returned from the bathroom asking, “What’s up in there?”  I explained about the Grecian urns AND, once more, all I had done.

We found 3 small places to scoot the girls up to the book laden kitchen table.  Jesse and I decided to eat off of our laps in the den.  While preparing Annamarie’s plate, I lost control of the plate.  The plate flipped and dumped up against me, and food slid from my shirt down to my ankles.  I had never done that before and stood motionless, not knowing how to get the plate, with my food covered feet, to the sink.  Jesse quickly ended his phone call and came to my rescue.  So much for the floors I mopped on Saturday! 

I was beginning to unwind, while eating my dinner in the den, when Luci spilled her water glass all over every home school book we own.  How does 6oz of water travel so far?  I rag mopped the water from under the table and hung the wet books from the chair backs to dry.  Finally, it was time to go to bed and the kitchen was an absolute wreck from all of the casserole dishes we had emptied.  I told Jesse to leave the dishes - food and all.  The dishwasher was full of clean dishes and I simply couldn’t muster one more ounce of strength to clean anything else.  

I woke up this morning and found Jesse had scraped the remaining food out of the dishes and piled them in the already full sink. 

But, alas!  The kitchen IS now free of all the dirty dishes, but the table is still stacked with home school things that are somewhat more organized than they were yesterday.  The girls and I managed to squeeze around the books into small places at the table for a sandwich at lunch and to do a bit of school work this afternoon. 

Today, I dragged all of the stuff Jesse left in the backyard to the curb for “big trash day pick up.”  He had forgotten “today is the DAY” and asked me to do the job.  I took Luci to daycare very early this morning because Jesse started his mowing business back up today and left at 6:30am.  I have an easy dinner planned AT the formal dining table () and have paid a few bills while doing Jesse’s and Luci’s laundry today. 

Not as productive as yesterday, but still . . . I’m not a slacker!!!

I have decided I have lots of energy from an unknown source.  With that energy comes my very famous, scattered way of doings things, which is ultimately born from my complete lack of self-discipline.

I can move mountains, but I do it rock, by bush, by rock, by tree, by squirrel, by rock . . .

I have the *privilege* of babysitting JanaLyn today.  She arrived last night in time for dinner.  I felt bad that dinner was going to be a chili dog night (late appointments for me on Fridays) but she was the first one done with her plate.  It doesn’t take much to please children!

I am amazed at how big she is getting.  She is still the same “little JanaLyn” but just taller!  Jesse and I commented this morning that she is really growing UP and is a cute little thing.  She articulates incredibly well for an almost 4 year old and has quite a few opinions that she enjoys expressing freely.

This morning I found a small pack of colored marshmallows and split them between my three girls and JanaLyn (even saved 2 for me!) and, within 30 seconds, JanaLyn informed me she was ready for more candy.  I told her we don’t eat candy in the morning and she reasoned that she had eaten her donuts AND a whole banana and (long pause), “You ARE my Grrranny!”  She giggled after the last comment thinking, I’m sure, she could somehow sway my reasoning.  When I didn’t budge from my “no candy in the morning” stance, I also informed her I was the meanest, cruelest granny in the whole world.  Again she giggled and said, “Nooooooo, Grrranny, you just have rules!”

The spelling of Grrranny isn’t a misspelling.  She pronounces my name Grrrr-annnn-ny (and always has) since she could first talk.  She also has dubbed herself, “J-Lyn” and has been overheard saying, “J-Lyn rocks!”

My girls thinks today is a vacation because of this special little visitor that is just their size.  I’ve hardly seen any of them all morning.  They are very busy with dress-up clothes, stick horses and cowboy hats, and, now, watching cartoons.  They’re probably just waiting for a second wind so they can run throughout the house.  That’s another thing; JanaLyn is used to a 2 bedroom apartment and when she gets here (3 times the space she shares with her mother) she goes wild.  Too much freedom of movement!

I wish Nikki lived closer or we visited her more often, because I’m sure Jaiden is every bit as cute and delightful as JanaLyn!  I talked to Jaiden on the phone a couple of days ago and when I said, “Goodbye” she said, “Bye!  Peace!”

Grandchildren are definitely special!

This morning I was thinking about my grandparents; in particular, I thought about my Grandpa Murche (paternal side) and my Grandma Poertner (maternal side).

My nose must be very sensitive because it is part of what builds HUGE memories within me.

I was thinking about my Grandpa Murche’s work shed.  A VERY small, low ceiling room behind his garage.  It’s where he repaired everything from tools to furniture, leather shoes to machinery.  He must have painted the building (either inside or out) with old-fashioned, oil based, enamel paint.  I assume that’s the smell I remember.  When I sat on the cement porch steps outside of his shed and the afternoon sun beat down on the small, crooked little building, there was a very distinct odor that I remember to this day.  It was kind of sweet and kind of strong.  That was when I was little (maybe 12 years old and younger).  Years later when my first husband and I had an apartment within walking distance of my job, I walked home past a set of buildings that caught the hot, west sun each day.  “Grandpa Murche!” rang through my head.  Why?  After months of thinking, “Grandpa Murche!” each time I walked down that sidewalk, I realized it was the familiarity of the enamel paint on his old shed that I was remembering and what must have been on that set of buildings I passed each afternoon.

Then, there’s my Grandma Poertner.  She had a distinct scent in her bedroom and closet and she brought it with her when she flew out to visit us in California each year.  When she opened her suitcases, there was that wonderful aroma!  It was just “Grandma” and I couldn’t put my finger on WHAT exactly I was smelling.  I asked her for years and years, from childhood and well up into my adult life, “WHAT do you use on your clothes?”  I wondered if there was a certain detergent?  Did she put an air freshener in her closet?  What?  What?  What?!!!   She laughed, thinking I was crazy, I’m sure, and was never able to tell me what I smelled.  She had no idea what I was talking about.  It drives me crazy to this day!  My Aunt Doris (her daughter) told me she wore “White Linen” cologne, but I’ve smelled that cologne in the department stores and that’s NOT the scent.  I guess I’ll never know for sure until the day I capture that familiar smell in my nose again and run to its source looking for the secret that’s haunted me for years!

I have lots of food smells that do the same thing to me, but I think we all do.  Roast leg of lamb with garlic cloves slipped into the meat – Mom Theurer.  Pork roast – Grandma Murche.  Beef stew in brown gravy – my real, birth mom. 

So many other things awaken memories in me . . .

Shoe polish – my white leather oxford shoes from grade school.  

Pencils that have freshly sharpened leads – the many pencils I hand cranked at the sharpener at Parkside Elementary School.  

Roses with a pungent sweetness – my Grandparents Murche’s rose garden and my sister Nancy’s front yard. 

Damp, cool air with fog – my days growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

My favorite smell of all:  Baby Magic.  All of my babies have been drenched in it.  When I mourn my babies growing up and leaving their little baby lives behind, I take out my own secret bottle of Baby Magic and use it on myself.  What a comfort!

My poor Rissy became so ill last night, we though we were going to have to take her to the E.R.  Her airways started shutting down and she was gasping for breath.  She began to turn blue, which is when I called our pediatrician.  She told me what to do with the medicine and the breathing machine we keep on hand.  She said to rush her to the hospital if she failed to respond to the second treatment.  Fortunately, her advice worked.  It was a rough night, but she’s doing better today.  Sounds like a sudden onset of pneumonia.  It all hit her late yesterday afternoon and by early evening she was having trouble with her breathing and spiked another 104° temperature.

Since I showered last night, anticipating having to admit her to the hospital, I was ready to go this morning.  I got all of Rissy’s and Jesse’s laundry done (last load in the dryer now).  The older my girls get, the more I realize their clothes are getting bigger, too.  I can literally spend one day on each person’s laundry, one day on sheets, and one day on towels and carpets.  I think that equals seven which means I’m now up to several loads of laundry each day of the week!

I had ordered a bunch of used books from Amazon, and quite a few of them arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon.  Some of them are parts of different series and I don’t want to begin to read a book until I’m sure all of the sequels have arrived.  I don’t like dangling ends - not in my life, not in anything; which is why I never watch mini-series on TV!   I prefer to pick up the next book, then the next, and so on.

I have also ordered a set of DVDs about the “Wives of Henry VIII” but they haven’t arrived.  Also, “Wuthering Heights” and another one I can’t remember, but it’s a “classic” – just like me!

I learned something today (we’re never too old to learn!!!).  We were watching yet ANOTHER Shirley Temple movie this afternoon (“Dimples”) and the male lead was the man who played the wizard in “The Wizard of Oz” – Frank Morgan.  I guess if you live long enough, it all begins to come together eventually!  Even the girls recognized him – his looks and his voice.  How ironic, since Shirley Temple was supposed to have played the part of Dorothy, but Warner Brothers wouldn’t release her from their exclusive contract.

This has definitely been a day of discovery!  I  found a new coffee I like, but I will only drink it in the afternoon.  “Chocolate Velvet” by Millstone.  It was really a nice pick-me-up this afternoon, but I could never have swallowed it in the morning.  I’m just not ready for *flavors* early in the morning!!!  A couple shopping trips ago, I purchased a number of those small sampler packages of different coffees (always in search of that “perfect cup of coffee”) and have been pleasantly surprised by some of my choices.

I have the windows open again this afternoon.  I’m loving our mid 70 temps with no humidity.  My friend, Tangi, and I were discussing the weather this morning.  I know we’ll have one more unexpected blast of cold weather with frost.  When we rebound from that cold snap, it will be with upper 70′s AND the humidity will descend upon us like a strangling vine.  I’m also thinking that having my windows open are letting in the treacherous pollens which could be at the root of Rissy’s breathing problems.  We can’t all live in a bubble or constantly protect her from everything she inhales.  The fresh air in the house makes it less noticeable how badly I need to deep clean!  Room sprays and fresh air cover a multitude of poor housekeeping sins!

Speaking of room spray.  Monday morning Rissy was in the restroom hollering loudly for me.  “Mom!  Mom!  Come here!  Mom!”  I could smell the room spray coming from the bathroom and assumed she was sick or about to be.  I raced down the hall and, no, she wasn’t sick at all!  She was sitting on the toilet seat with her bare feet wrapped around the bowl of the toilet stool and was pointing to a line of ants surrounding the base.  She had grabbed the room spray (the closest weapon she could reach) to kill them.  They actually WERE dead . . . swimming in a sea of Glade’s “Suddenly Spring.” 

I forgot what happens in this house each spring when it rains.  We have enough outside walls and garden areas that butt up to the house where the ants come marching two by two (Hoorah!  Hoorash!) as soon as there is moisture outside.  We’ll have to call our “bug guy” soon and have him treat the house AND the yard for fleas.

Tonight will be meat loaf for dinner and it’s time for me to mix it and get it in the oven.  It’s also “AMERICAN IDOL” night and the first of the top 12 finalists will compete.  Two full hours of auditions with me riveted to the sofa/television.  Will the performing bug ever be out of my system?!

I keep telling myself, “This is really the perfect life for me,” because one of the careers I had wanted when I was younger was that of nurse or doctor.  That was my second choice to being a housewife and mother of many.

God is great!  I’m trying to remember to thank Him for what I’ve just come to realize MUST BE a gift from above!  Not only do I have a husband and the army of children I always wanted, I’m using my nursing and doctoring skills I would have chosen for a career!

1)  Rissy is still sick. 

2)  Luci was picked up Friday early afternoon at daycare sick and continues to be. 

3)  JESSE IS SICK! 

4)  And, the cat threw up in my closet.

Today, with my full ward of patients resting comfortably, I managed to clean out the part of the garage holding my stash of empty mailing boxes that I DON’T need to save (I had a lot!).  I still kept at least a dozen boxes in various sizes.  AND, I couldn’t bear to part with all that white, pink, & green packing popcorn.  You just never know when you’ll need to mail something fragile!!!!!  The bubble paper almost stayed, too.  I made a bold, rash decision and shoved the bubble paper quickly in the trash can before it started talking to me and begging me to spare its life like I had with the pastel popcorn! 

I put our artificial Christmas tree up in the attic, which has been hidden behind my dining room table in white trash bags (that closely resembled body bags) since the first of January.  I pulled some spring/summer clothes down from the attic and went through the things Annamarie can wear this coming spring.  Oh!  I also went through all of the bathing suits to see who gets what this coming summer.

Earlier in the day, Jesse decided he wanted to cook outside (another beautiful day) so we pulled from the freezer chicken thighs, hot links, and ground beef.  Jesse ended up going to bed ill and I was glad later in the afternoon he felt snuffed out and not up to cooking, because I sure didn’t feel like it, either.  He came up with a “maybe idea” for dinner -  tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  “Wonderful idea!” I cried, as I jumped up from the bed and fled from the bedroom (sparks coming from my feet) to make the E-A-S-Y meal; totally afraid, if I stuck around, he might change his mind to something more time consuming!

While cooking my complicated menu, I turned all of the clocks ahead one hour.  The cable TV and computer will adjust themselves at the proper time.

No rest for the weary. 

Right after dinner, I bathed Annamarie (long hair and all) and Luci.  Rissy will have to be bathed in the morning, as she fell asleep on the sofa and I didn’t have the heart to wake her. 

I put some books, that were just returned to me from a friend, in my “already read” book shelves. 

I went through eBay and Amazon leaving feedback for all of the people I had received books and DVD’s from over the past 3 days.

And here you find me – telling all about my life.  Somehow it all seems to run together, one day to the next.

You think if I stop, I’ll drop?