kaonicks replied to your post: I think you are the coolest mom on the planet, you are an awesome cook, you are super brave and you just all around rock :D

YES I WILL BE ONE OF YOUR KIDS, WHERE DO I SIGN PAPERS?! :D

You don’t have to sign any papers. Just stick your feet under the table.

STBX was off work today, and is tomorrow. I called him tonight to see if he wanted the kids overnight, but he said, No, he was going to hang around the house in the quiet. Excuse me if I misunderstand, but he lives alone. Doesn’t he get to do that every night?

He did take them overnight Friday, but I ended up working 13 hours that day & getting home at midnight. Not exactly a relaxing evening at home for me.

Only 2 other times since we separated 6 months ago has he taken the kids overnight at a time when I was actually at home.

The last couple years he lived here, he really wasn’t very participatory in helping with the kids or spending time with them, so maybe he doesn’t miss it or them. But I can tell ya, if I went from seeing my kids every day to only a couple times a week, I’d grab every opportunity.

And when do I get an evening to lie around in the quiet? I wanna know.

Diantha made her own birthday cake, dark chocolate, from my from-scratch recipe. She used store-bought frosting but I forgive her, and mucked up the surface of the cake so it looks like she rolled around in it but I’m sure it tastes wonderful.

I have homemade pizza crusts rising on the front porch in the last of the sun.

Des is making Baklava. I made her put the recipe book away. Mom knows how. Pretty soon One of these days she’ll know how without the book too.

Artemas is banging dishes around in the sink, pretending to wash them. Diantha is talking about something, something, somebody being awkward to which Artemas replies that that person could put her “awkward” hair all over him. Pervert. I have no idea where he gets it.

The kids have a movie on the TV that nobody is watching. Veronica is telling the little girls to get off each other. The younger boys are playing Star Wars but can’t agree on anything.

To get out of bed, she just climbed over me and used the top of the back of my thong underwear (which must have been showing above my jammie pants) as a hand-hold to steady herself as she slid to the floor.

My life is so weird.

Betsy’s eyes have been pink & nasty since Tuesday when she blew crud from her cold from her nose up her tearducts into her eye. I’ve been washing them with saline & using homeopathic pinkeye drops in them.

This morning she came to the edge of my bed. Her face had what looked like a dusting of fine cornmeal on it, which in a second I realized was tiny bits of dried stuff from her eyes. But I was mid-sentence when I realized it, already asking, “What’s on your face?”

Without missing a beat and in a loud whisper with an attitude like, DUH, mom… she said,
“Chocolate.”

itmightbepms:

The way this lady on “Extreme Couponing” continually refers to her 7 children as “our litter” is creeping me out.

Really, is it that much trouble to say “our kids”?

Seriously. Likewise it unnerves me to hear ppl call their dog or cat, their “baby.” I’ve given live birth 7 times & never produced anything covered with fur.

I had a relatively relaxing day with the kids.

Traffic was heavy today driving Allen to & from the Reserve grounds but we were safe.

Des and the kids came this evening, to bring Diantha home. Always fun when they’re here. Des is always, always on my same wavelength so that’s good for my spirit.

She agreed with me about the quilt, and agreed to take it & quilt it and sell it. Somebody can enjoy a nice little pastel boring quilt, but not me.

The Red-bearded Wonder called early, while I was frying an obscene amount of bacon (3 pounds). We talked about bacon and skillets and sex and kids and coffee and a trip to Tennessee that we both hope pans out, so that was a nice visit too.

Now I’m kinda crampy (which I never have) but WTH, I took some ibuprofen and it’s bedtime anyway, right?

G’night…

Newly-awakened 4yo Betsy is in there using my bathroom & saying “I did! I did! I DID see a putty-tat!” and wolf-whistling.

Weird life, I got it.

My sister and her husband came to get Josiah & Veronica to spend the night with my niece, Dana. They want to go to Dollywood tomorrow, keep the kids another night & bring them home Friday.

Allen is at work. Diantha is at youth group. That leaves me only Betsy.

B and I are going to go shopping in a minute. I need some white semi-gloss paint, stuff to do an oil change on my car, and girly hair items for 2 & 3 year old girls for their combined birthday party Saturday. No YOUR shopping list has unusual and totally unrelated items on it.

Tomorrow and Friday while I work, it will be only B and Diantha here. That should be interesting loads of fun. Friday when the other two get back, the kids are all supposed to go with their dad since he has Friday & Saturday off.

I am going to go clean up the family room & kitchen, which are a mess from Des’ kids playing with mine all afternoon.

Otherwise, I barely know what to do with myself.

They tell me what they did wrong. They don’t even try to lie or hide stuff.

Then they say, “I love you, mommmy.”

Even the almost-23-yr-old Marine.

I think that’s funnier than hell.

I let go of a lot of stuff I couldn’t do anything about.

Cleaned out some junk, that always makes me feel lighter,

Laughed with my kids some.

Tonight I’m not hating my life.

Just for fun, here are some things that make me happy.