Cleaning and the Critter

Mamaglop asked a great question in a comment. With a schedule like that, when do I do cleaning and laundry?  I did have a week off from laundry as my washer was broken, but now that the friendly Sears guy came and removed a pair of gym shorts from between the drum and washer and a big pile of other things from the drain, I can wash again. And again. And even some more! 

But, honestly, I’ve never been much of a good housekeeper.  Yes, I vacuum daily (or make sure it is done) and make sure all the dishes are washed each day, but my idea of dusting is to take my hand across the bookshelves before someone writes his name in the dust. I do make my kids do something every other day or so–bathrooms, garbage, stuff like that. It’s a very different cleaning life from the last however-many years when all five children had at least two daily chores and general zone cleaning. But, when they aren’t home, they don’t mess up as much. Plus, TGD usually marshals the troops for a Saturday morning cleaning (or decluttering) and often makes sure things are done when he is home and I am not.

Some of you (okay, maybe no one) may have been wondering how Lucy training is going.  Some friends took pity on my (thanks, Jacksons!) and loaned me a puppy training book written by the monks of New Skete who raise dogs at the monastery. They had some great advice, as did my friend who said, “You can’t trust your puppy for a second!”  So, when Lucy is in the house, she is leashed to one of us for constant supervision.

Since we’ve started this process, she’s been much more delightful. She whines and barks when she needs to go out to “do her thing,” and instead of running around the house, getting into mischief, she eventually settles down and sighs and lies there.  Nope, I don’t trust her a bit yet, but it’s getting better.

Soul Ketchup

Besides the fact that I am hardly ever at home and at my leisure to apply bottom to chair and hands to keyboard, I have also put off blogging because it seems my life makes for dull reading.  Oh, it’s not that I’m not blowing through 1.5 tanks of gas in a week lately (that’s 30 gallons x 20 mpg = 600 miles a week for those mathy folks out there). It’s just that it’s awfully tedious to read about it.

But, just for those who really are keen to know, I shall post a day. (And, I will be keen to remember later so I can shake my head in dismay.)  Let’s take yesterday, Saturday, October 4.

6:55–Wake up and get ready to leave
7:15–Out the door with Hunter and LibbyK
7:45–Drop off Hunter at high school for SAT
8:00–LibbyK and I have breakfast at The Waffle Shop (the most delicious blueberry Belgian waffles ever)
9:00–Go to Kohl’s which just opened in State College so LibbyK could find clothes for her birthday on Wednesday
9:45–I was sitting in front of the dressing room doors while LibbyK tries on clothes
10:15–Still sitting in front of the dressing room doors while more clothes are rejected
10:45–Now we are in the shoe department at Kohl’s
11:30–Hooray! We made it to the checkout line at Kohl’s!
11:45–No pick up call from Hunter, so we went to Target and wandered around
12:15–Sure that Hunter will call any second, we head to Goodwill, which is near the school
12:45–Confident that the SAT can not possibly be this long, we park at the school and consider our options
1:20–Huzzah! Hunter has emerged from the school! We get Subway subs to celebrate.
2:00–Arrived home, get a water bottle, leave to watch Little Miss’s cheerleading
3:00–My squad begins to arrive for their game
3:30–Left game to get apples for someone at church (we live near a fruit farm) and to take Wit into the church to catch a ride to the hay ride
4:15–Arrived back at the football field where Gockle’s team is playing and LibbyK’s squad is cheering
6:15–The game over, we rushed to my house to get changed
6:35–We left for the Youth Group event at Camp Kanesatake, which actually started at 5:00
7:00–We arrived at the camp to discover that everyone already left on the hay ride, but all the food and the bonfire were still out. Starving, we dug in, feeling an awful lot like raccoons.
10:00–We left and drive to the church where parents awaited
10:30–We arrived at the church, disperse children to their various cars
10:35–I held the flashlight while Mr. B cleaned up half a container of chunky homemade salsa which spilled in between the side and the back seat of his van. Ick.
10:50–Started for home, drop off a hayrider at her house
11:10–Home again!

And, the weekdays are just as wild.

But, I’m not complaining. I don’t mind that my children and I have a lot to do. I need to be content that this is what my job is right now–chauffeur. There are great opportunities in the van for conversation, fun, and such. But, I keep thinking of the story I heard once.

There was an explorer in Africa who wanted to make a journey under a tight time limit.  He hired a group of Africans as porters to carry his supplies.  The first few days, he made the men keep to a quick pace. The third day, he was dismayed to find the porters sitting around, refusing to move.  “Get up!” he demanded. “Don’t you know that I am on a tight schedule? We must press on!” But, the Africans refused to move. “Why? I don’t understand,” the explorer pleaded. One African gazed at him thoughtfully and answered, “We have moved too quickly these past days. Now we must rest here to give our souls a chance to catch up with us.”  

I think I will need some time to let my soul catch up.

Are you feeling caught up?

The Dog Ate My Homework

Yes, it’s happened. Lucy ate Gockle’s homework while we were out. She was on the porch, whining, so Hunter let her in. She was unsupervised for about 20 minutes until the rest of us got home, and she decided that it would be fun to chew on the leaves Gockle had drying between encyclopedias. Yes, this is the leaf collection we’ve been working on for THREE weeks.  Yeah. That homework.  It is difficult to past back together a puppy-chewed, dried leaf.

While I was cleaning up the big puddle of urine on the upstairs carpet she found time to make while not chewing leaves, I thought, “Am I content?” You see, I’m doing this Sunday school on contentment, so I’m asking myself the question more often.

I had to say, “No, I’m not terribly content at this moment with the kitten stomping through the puddle of pee I’m trying to clean, Gockle ready to hang the dog by her ‘I’ve used these to dig holes in your wooden porch, lots and lots of holes’ claws, and Little Miss howling about how it is unfair that she has to go to bed at 9:00.”  So, I think I need the Sunday school lessons more than the class.

NASA Humor?

According to a story I read today, they have discovered snow on Mars. 

“NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft
has discovered evidence of past water at its Martian landing site and
spotted falling snow for the first time, scientists reported Monday.

But exactly how that happened remains a mystery.

“It’s really kind of all up in the air,” said William Boynton, a mission scientist at the University of Arizona at Tucson.”

Oy.  What does it say about me that it did make me laugh?

Sneezy Saturday

Several of you have asked how the children are adjusting to public school. Perhaps too well?  They seem to be doing fine in all their classes, except the homeschool leftover classes, which are mostly an afterthought.  Hunter has a straight A+ across the board, and the other kids have good scores too.  What has been the biggest “Um…” for me is the level of “So and So is going out with So and So” that is rampant in the middle school. Yes, I’d expect it among the high schoolers, but the sixth graders? And that is the ONLY topic of conversation?  Yikes. Lord, may my children see the folly of their peers and with “going out” before an appropriate age.

My allergies have been wretched of late. How are yours? Or are you one of those amazing people so blessed as not to have a box of Puffs Plus strapped to your hip at all times?  I just hope it isn’t the critters. Then I’ll be miserable year-round.

Today, it is rainy and slow-feeling. TGD and the children cleaned the house totally this morning. It’s such a delight. I try to keep up with things throughout the week, but it is a blessing to have a full tidy on Saturday. You should SEE the mountain of laundry I have, though. It’s laughable for only four days since I did all the laundry.

The guys are all collapsed on various soft furniture watching football. The girls are watching a DVD in their room (laptop–no TV in there!) and keeping the kitten out of the way of Max the cat, who decided he might like to be part of our family again and is snoozing on the rocking chair.  I took Gockle out this morning to find leaves for a school project (which has been hanging over MY head more than over his. Must. Get. It. Done. Arrrgh!)  I am hoping to drag Wit away from the leisure of the day to take him shopping as he has a number of things he needs, and I don’t have that much free time to take him shopping.

Is your Saturday shaping up to be a blessing, too? I certainly hope so!

Really Dull Bits–But with Headings!

Doesn’t that title entice you to want to read further? I had an English professor in school who was convinced that a good title was the key to the whole essay. I think he was wrong. He also had a deep love for Melville, and really, Melville is boring.

Lucy Retraction
Okay, I made Lucy sound worse than she was, maybe. She’s really okay. Yes, we have a soggy bit of carpet every other day. Yes, I have a bruise with bits of broken skin on my leg from where she leaped and bit me while playing instead of going for her chew rope. Yes, we have a slobbery kitten from her gnawing, but in general, she’s pretty good. Well, she’ll turn out pretty good!  (bad grammar intentional) TGD, wise man that he is, moved her crate into the garage. I am sure she still yips and whines, but we don’t hear her. Sleep–amen!

Mike
We had a friend from Australia who was visiting for the month. He stayed with us one weekend, and the rest of the time was at a bed and breakfast (that didn’t serve breakfast).  Mike was here to do research with James, but he came over most nights for dinner, unless he took TGD and me or our whole family out.  One of the most relaxing times I had lately was last Friday when he took us all out to Olive Garden.  Before he left, he took James and me to the Down Under Steakhouse, which was very appropriately named.

A Cheery Crowd

Here you can see the crowd I’ve been hanging out with of late. Quite a disreputable bunch, eh?  We have three practice nights a week and a game on Saturday or Sunday. 

One Funny Story
I’ve been collecting novels by Patricia Veryan, an adventure/historical romance author who is good with non-lascivious stories (not so easy to find these days).  Her books are all out of print, but you can usually find them on Ebay or half.com.  I had all but one of them, and this one sold for $50 used in paperback and $90 or more in hardback.

Last week,  a paperback went for auction on Ebay. I watched it all week and planned to make my move on Saturday morning.  The bid was only up to $10.50. I was elated. With 15 seconds to go, I hit “submit.  Immediately, the screen said, “Auction over.” WHAT! It wasn’t over!  And the book only went for $12.  I was so disappointed, but I decided it wasn’t worth whining over.

Well, Monday, I went on half.com to just check (as I do every day or so). And someone had listed a hardback copy of the book for only $7.97!  I was more than thrilled, ordered it, and now my collection is complete. (Or it will be once the book arrives.)

Have you had any found success stories?

Wishing Well (or poorly)

(in)Competent

Yesterday, I took Hunter, Wit, and Gockle to Wal-Mart to get their pictures taken. Wit was fiddling with the beach ball prompt and read aloud the warning on the side.
“Use only with co–some big word–supervision.”
“Parental?” I queried.
“No, com-pet-ent,” he answered.
“Competent? That’s not a big word. You know what that means.”
“Not really.”

And neither did the college-aged photographer.

We continued this conversation as we went into Long John Silver’s for supper. 
“Can I take your order?” Guy Behind the Counter asked.
“Before you do,” I interjected, “do you know what the word ‘competent’ means?”
He looked a bit befuddled, his eyes as dull as hush puppies, and slowly said, “Uuuuhhh, no. Not really.”
“HA!” cried Wit! “Majority rules!”
(Which prompted Hunter, who is taking Discrete Math in high school to give a mini-lecture on voting theory and how majority doesn’t always rule.)

So now I know what is wrong with this country. Not only are people incompetent, they don’t even know the meaning of competent.