That's better

All better now, and these helped.

They're Oatmeal Craisin Pecan cookies, and they're amazing. I can't eat too many of them though, because I'm allergic to cookies - they make my butt big.

I'm glad - now I feel like I really accomplished something today.

.

Survival of the fittest?

Well, we've almost made it through the first week of school. Some things I knew were going to happen, others, well, not so much. I only had to make 5 trips to various schools to take forgotten items, but 4 of those trips were for one kid. I won't say which one, but you know who you are. At least it was spread over a few days, right? Fortunately, the kid in question knows that he/she is on thin ice in that department and appears to be trying to remember everything.

I had quite high hopes for myself this week too. As the summer dragged on, I kept adding to my mental to-do list. There were SO many things I would do, and when the kids all got back in school would be the perfect time. The thing is, it's hard to concentrate on a project when everyone is running around...no one wants to wait that long at THAT store while I decide which one we need...it will be much easier to get THIS taken care of by myself...who can accomplish ANYTHING with 4 kids in the house...is this starting to sound familiar? Well, so far this week I've 1) walked every morning, 2) finally got the 2 big kids new mattresses, 3) got everyone out of the house on time, 4) got everyone picked up on time, 5) signed 4 copies of each and every one of the papers that came home from school and subsequently developed hand cramps, 6) listened to everyone's tales about how amazing/rotten their day was, 7) um, surely there was something else... The only thing on my to-do-list that I got done was the mattresses. HEY, that only leaves 4,623 more things to do this week! Woo hoo - I'm almost there!

.

RAIN!!!!

I love it. Got LOTS of it last night - and lots of light and noise to go with it. Got so much that my doggie-bowl rain gauges are full (that translates to about 2 inches). The rain barrels are overflowing again, the yard is happy, the plants are happy, and the dogs are confused. I'm also happy because I chose NOT to run the sprinklers yesterday (one of our designated outside watering days). Other reasons to be happy today: LAST day of summer band practice, school starts Monday, today is haircut day, half of my children are still asleep, the sun is out, the sidewalks are clean, we get another day to try to get things right.

.

Family...

...Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em. Why is it that certain people just suck the life out of you? Sometimes it's total strangers, or it might be your family, other times it's your in-laws. Today it was a certain in-law of mine - the negative energy coming from the man was absolutely staggering, and unfortunately, this is NOT a new thing. I hate that my kids have had to see their adults behave so badly.

Now that I think about it, are they even still my in-laws? When one is widowed, wouldn't "in-laws" sort of become an optional title? Hmmm. They're still my kids relatives, but do I still have to claim ALL of them as mine?

(deep breath.....)

.

Long time, no see!

OK, it's been about 8 months since my last post. Odd that I should finally revisit this blog and the most recent post was about that hot new external drive. You see, a couple of weeks ago, my laptop hard drive DIED. Yes, doornail dead. Apple was sweet enough to replace the drive, keyboard, and screen edge for FREE (woo hoo!) and even without any extended warranty. I don't buy them, and the computer is over 2 years old, so there was no warranty of any kind. Not like I'm complaining... Anyhoo - I had nearly everything backed up on that lovely external drive - iTunes, bookmarks, 10 years worth of family photos - everything. Well, I did lose a couple of bookmarks and a few minor documents, but nothing I've missed yet. Timing is so weird, huh?



The big boys did their annual march-a-thon this weekend! It was good - the kids did a great job. They marched about 5 miles in the sun, playing songs along the way, and stopping at Tom Thumb and Market Street for concerts, as well as a couple of neighborhoods along the way.

This is Drew and some of the Euphonium section.

Nick and his horn section - he made section leader this year!

Yay band!