*yaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwn*

I hate Daylight Savings Time. I really, really do. BC (Before Children) it didn't phase me. Now, it's a pain in my ass.

Is it bed time yet?

Impressive Kiddos

All right. For all the crap I've given Rotten1 over the last week between his progress report and getting in trouble at school twice, he showed me he's not a total fruit loop all of the time today.

Today was DH's normal day to work. Normally, the kids go to the neighbor's house behind us with their friends that ride the bus. Today, for some reason, the neighbors didn't ride the bus and their mom wasn't home. So they walked to our house, made sure DH wasn't home, wrote me a note and stuck it under a "rock" on the porch and carefully crossed the street to another neighbor's that they knew was home.

I am quite proud of the two of them, especially with the note they wrote. Rotten2 told me that Rotten1 was the "boss of her" when they crossed the street and he made sure no cars were coming. Now, the "rock" they put the note under? Had a house key hidden in it. *snort* They could have walked in the house, looked on the wall at my work phone number, cell phone number, and DH's cell number and called us. However, they knew they weren't supposed to be home alone.

Maybe they will turn out okay after all.

I'm gonna KILL that child!

So the Rottens get home from school this afternoon. And I ask how their day went. Rotten2 had fun. They read about skeletons in a book and talked about what would happen to you if you didn't have a skeleton. You'd be flat, just in case you were wondering. Rotten1, however, got in trouble. And not just a wee bit of trouble that might cause me to have to talk to him about behavior. Oh no. He got sent to the office. Why? Well, you see, there was a group of boys talking and at some point, he looked at one of his friends and said "I didn't know you sucked a cow." Several other "innocent" comments were turned "ugly" by my 8 year old son, as well. And the boys weren't smart about this "dirty" conversation, either. They conversed with a teacher nearby. So, about 3-4 boys were sent to the office.

Now. First of all, I had to ask what the hell "sucking a cow" was about. DH and I were thinking maybe we're a bit behind the times with the kids' slang. Nope. He was referring to sucking a cow's wiener. No, I didn't go into the anatomy of a cow vs a bull, although I was tempted. And I didn't laugh, although I wanted to. What I did ask, in much nicer terms, was what the hell he was thinking when he said what he did. Naturally, his response was "I dunno."

He is now grounded - no TV, no Playstation, no playing with friends, no telephone - and more chores as I think of them. Of course, this comes on the heels of his progress report that I got last week where I discovered that he had an F in Reading (which has now been brought up considerably).

The child is gonna die. Or hate me. Or something.

My list.....

Jumping on the list bandwagon of a million things to do this week/weekend....

Finish laying linoleum in Rotten2's closet - this required a trip to buy more lineoleum tiles because I didn't buy quite enough. Which then prompted a trip to buy paint, because the interior of the closet looks pretty dingy now with new flooring. And now the painting project is on hold because I can't find any ONE of the 35 paint brushes I own.
Clean new window in living room
Get heater fixed "first thing Saturday AM" - done!
Bathe dog and cat - cat is bathed. She gets a bath every few weeks, just because. And yes, she does have her claws.
Find and borrow power washer - I've decided to postpone this one.
Winterize flower beds - nope. First I have to pick the glass out of the flower bed in front of the house where the old window was. See clean new window above.
Go to Hanger Texas Hold Em Party Saturday night
Go to Sonya's Home & Garden Party Sunday afternoon
Buy nails for trim in living room
Pay a bazillion bills
I've also swept the kitchen, watched DH mow the yard, done a couple loads of laundry, helped DH replace the dryer vent hose thingie, bought the cat a new litter box which provided many moments of my amusement when she discovered it, and watered my plants.

*sigh* Being a grown up and a homeowner sucks sometimes.

Trouble and Princess Belle

Epiphany updated...

So I went on the job interview...it's an insurance agency in town about 7 minutes from the house. It started as a one man company 30 months ago and is now a 55+ person agency with plans in the next six months to expand to a 150+ employee company. The job would be a combo PR/marketing/website content editor and possibly scheduler position - all of which I've done. I emailed the owner tonight and told him I am definitely interested and to contact me early next week when he returns so we can discuss particulars. That's what he said to do if I wanted the job, so....I'm going for it.

In other job related news, a friend called me today. He has another friend who is the Chief Maintenance Engineer for the DFW area Marriott hotels and they need a Maintenance Scheduler/Contractor liaison for one of the area hotels. Would I be interested? Umm...gee...what do you think? *snort* THEN I got a call from the local town paper, where I'd sent in my resume for a editing/proofreading job and she wants me to come in for an interview.

YIKES. It might really work out this time! Please, please, please continue to think good, happy thoughts for me on the job front. PLEASE!

In other news, Rotten1 and I finished his 3 part project tonight and it all turned out great! Rotten2 is now chock full of "project" ideas she wants to do just because we have leftover material. Something tells me it's going to be arts and crafts weekend at my house with paints, glue, construction paper and all the magazines. *grin*

I also have the cutest picture to post of the dog and cat, but I have to find my camera cable. I know it's around here somewhere.

I've had an epiphany

After the stress of last week, a few enlightening moments about life and loved ones, and a grand total of 6 days off in a row...I've had a "Coming to Jesus" moment. I cannot continue to work where I do and retain any semblance of a normal life. I did not realize how stressed out that place made me. I did not realize how much of a bitch I had become in the evenings. I did not realize that I was taking so very much around my house for granted. It's no longer a want to find a new job type of search. It is a must happen fast type of search.

I just cannot continue to live life at that price. Even if it does pay the bills well. I may have to give up a few things - dinner out a few times a week, less driving, something. But my mental health and my family are entirely too important. I like myself more than that.

So I'm going to an impromptu job interview. Now. As in, I talked to the guy 15 minutes ago after emailing my resume this morning. And now I'm going to discuss a job. Eeeeek.

Whew

What a week. Grandma's visitation was Friday night, the funeral was yesterday morning. All in all, it was a very emotional, slightly stressful, and extremely thought provoking week. We did spend quite a bit of time with my family, which is always good for a laugh and a cry - sometimes at the same time. Ever spent time just sitting and watching one side of the family for a while? Did it ever make you realize just how normal you really are?

End is near

And so it goes.....I went to the hospital Saturday, where Grandma was having a pretty decent day. It's been very much downhill since. Yesterday evening, the doctors thought she was slipping into a coma. Turns out, she was unable to be woken up for about 5 hours, but then came to on her own quite disoriented. Today, she's been in and out of conciousness and lucidity.

Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. At this point, all we can hope for is minimal pain.

ETA: About 20 minutes after typing out this post, Grandma passed away.