fah-get-a-bout-it friday

ever have one of those weeks that just seem to have a life of their own? well, i have them a lot!

this week has been a whirlwind of cleaning and shifting junk from one pile to another or from one room to another. then there was the moving of furniture from one place to another then back again, all in the preparation for "THE ROYAL EXTERMINATION!" yeah, i really gotta get rid of LOTS of stuff! it's times like this that help you see just how much junk you have. too much, too much!!

also, having a two year old and ALL of their belongings living in the hellhole with three adults doesn't help! i had to pile a bunch of t.willie's bigger toys into his crib so justin-the-exterminator, my new hero, could get in and around his room. t.w. just climbed right in with all the toys and got quite comfy!

the cats didn't know what to think with everything in the house shoved all around. they didn't know to be afraid or curious, so they took turns sniffing around and then running under the beds. well, all except for this bad boy!(see image above) he just hung out on the bed and took it easy! yeah, at 16 pounds, midnight doesn't move more than he has to! (and i know how he feels!)

anyway, the week is over, the dreaded ants are dying as we speak. if all goes well, maybe i won't bore you with any more ant tales for awhile! ya'll have a great weekend........

grateful:
1. that the week is over
2. that my house is cleaner and neater
3. that t.willie takes life in stride

candy too cute to eat

i know, it's a little early to talk easter yet, but i just had to share this "find" with you all.

t.w and i were cruising the easter candy aisle at wal-mart a few days ago. you may not know this but, easter candy now comes in coordinating colors. like, if you wanna do a pink basket, you can get all pink candy. or if you wanna do all blue, they have the same candy, but all blue! now, i don't know anyone who would be that psycho to color coordinate an easter basket, except maybe my mother! but, anyway, there were all the usual suspects...marshmallow peeps, jelly beans of every color and flavor, chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs, cadbury eggs, malted milk eggs, etc.

so i was checking out the candy and t.w was checking out the stuffed bunnies and such, when i saw these- the cutest darn gummie animals i have ever seen!!! i just had to pick up a box and get a closer look; they're so detailed. and, of course, they had a box in each of the colors available!

well, i picked up these two boxes, a green and a yellow. but i may just go back and get a blue box because i am PSYCHO for them!!! so run to wal-mart and get yours while they last! they are almost too cute to eat, but if t.willie is lucky, i may even share them with him!!!

grateful:
1. bilbo is back home
2. justin-the-exterminator is coming in the morning-die ants, die!!!
3. that t.willie has started to sing along with me, it melts my heart!

boy oh BOY!!!

i have two grown daughters. i have so enjoyed having girls. we have done all the girlie things: played with dolls and barbies, had tea parties, played dress-up and makeover, played "cat's cradle"... you know, the typical female fun.

yet, as much as i have delighted in my gals, i have always longed for a little boy. and as luck would have it, i was given one when kaye gave birth to t.willie almost two and a half years ago! because kaye is a single mom, she has to work two jobs and she is seldom home. i am the boy's primary care taker. and as you all know, we have our good days and our not-so-good days! today was a good one...sort of.

a neighbor one street over was plowing up a garden with a very loud tractor. we could hear it from our yard and t.willie wanted to "go see guy on tractor." we walked back behind the yards and watched the man finish his job then we walked back home. i decided it would be a good idea if we picked up all the fallen sticks in the yard. t.willie was a lot of help...at first.

after he got bored with the stick job, he started looking for other things of interest. a patch of moss inspired him to pet it and lay his cheek against it; that was cute. after that, he collected rocks for a bit . then, he turned to me with something else in his hands and when i saw it was old crusty dog doodie, i freaked! i kinda smacked it out of his hands as i was telling him that we NEVER NEVER touch dog poopie and i scooped him up to take him into the house to wash his hands. we came back outside and for about five minutes, he collected more rocks. but then, i looked over at him and saw him drop something real fast and hide his hands behind his back. i went over to him with a feeling of dread and saw a dead mouse lying at his feet! i said "did you pick up that mouse?" he answered "yes, gammie." again, we raced back into the house, back to the bathroom sink, squirted a bunch of soap into his hands and scrubbed REALLY well!!! all the while, i was giving him the talk about how we NEVER NEVER pick up dead animals.

at this point, i was kinda re-thinking that thing about wanting a little boy. i was thinking, "what i wouldn't give for a girl and a barbie right about now!" so i told him we were done with the sticks and we were just going to hang out on the porch. he played with his wagon for a few minutes and then he stretched up onto the railing to see a big truck go by. when i saw him kinda scratching at something on top of the railing, i just knew it was bird poop and i sighed as i picked him up, carried him inside and AGAIN washed his hands. i told him gammie had had enough nature and it was time for naps. i didn't even have the energy for the "never never" talk.

after all that nature and fresh air, he did take a nap, which was my plan all along when i took him out. little did i know, it would be me that really earned the nap!

grateful today:
1. for antibacterial soap
2. for dove dark chocolate
3. for the dog (that poops), the cat (that killed the mouse) and the birds (that poop on my railings)- oh, and for that little boy!

{ tard }

	tonight, i am : exhausted, weary, all in, beat, broken down, burned out, collapsing, consumed, dead on one's feet, dog tired, done for, done in, drained, drooping, droopy, drowsy, empty, faint, fatigued, finished, flagging, haggard, narcoleptic, overtaxed, overworked, petered out, played out, pooped, prostrated, run-down, sleepy, spent, stale, tuckered out, wasted, worn and just plain worn out! but grateful still for: 1. band aids 2. blue skies 3. little boy kisses

LOOK! up in the sky!

sometimes i wish i had superpowers! especially after days like today. i had so much to do, as i am preparing for my new hero, justin-the-exterminator, who is coming on friday. bilbo is out of town for the next four days and kaye is working both jobs today- meaning, i won't see her again til tomorrow morning. meaning- i am doing all the cleaning and moving furniture myself!

so, yeah, super STRENGTH would be a good superpower, but that's not the one i want. of course, if i were able to leap large piles of laundry in a single bound, that would be AWESOME! but, that's not the one i want. and to have the strength to move rooms full of toys with only my mind, EXCELLENT!! but, again, not the superpower i dream of.

the superpower i am wishing for is the power to transcend aches and pain and weariness...and do it with a smile! t.willie, the little darlin', did not nap again today. which means, i did not have those three hours to myself, to recharge and do some of the chores i need to do. i have to be "on" non-stop with him, as you do with any active toddler. his sweetness and humor keep me going for awhile, but when the drowsies kick in at about one in the afternoon, all i want to do is collapse on my bed and rest. it only takes twenty minutes or so of silence and inactivity to recharge and then i can carry on. yet, if the kid no take no nap, i no get no peace! then i'm just dragging for the rest of the day and it aint a pretty sight!

so, after a loooooong day spent washing dishes, vacuuming, reading kiddie books, laundry, fixing meals, singing kiddie songs, shopping and watching kiddie movies, i am DONE! actually, now i'm thinking that the superpower i really need is the one that erases all the memory of the dreariness and drudgery and leaves only the ones of sweetness and humor. yeah, i could live with that!

grateful that:
1. the weather was GOR-GEE-US today!!
2. my refrigerator is full
3. he's finally in bed...ASLEEP!!!!!

these two

a boy and his dog. what could be more iconically american? this boy and this dog had a rocky start. buster was used to being "top dog" (pardon the pun) until t.willie came along. he was extremely interested in that new little bundle of joy in the household, but he wasn't sure he was gonna like it!

things were okay for awhile...until t.willie started to crawl. oh, the places he would go; mostly to anywhere buster was! the poor dog would just get up and move, but before he could settle down and get comfy, here came that baby again! after a few minutes, we'd take pity on buster and put t.willie in his walker or swing. you could almost hear the sigh of relief from the dog!

as time went by, t.willie started walking and became a REAL headache for ol' buster. he would get agitated whenever the kid got too close and sometimes he'd even growl to give warning. we would try to explain to t.willie that buster was afraid of him. trying to keep the two apart was nearly impossible! if t.willie was playing on the floor, buster would have to get in his face to sniff and lick him. if buster was resting, t.willie would have to go bother him. we'd have to take turns yelling at first one, then the other! it was exhausting!

and now, as t.willie is about to turn two and a half, they seek out each others company and the two have become real friends. t.willie looks for buster first thing after i open his door in the morning and the dog is always right behind me waiting to go in. they happily greet each other through the rails of the crib, ready to start another day together.

i'm grateful:
1. that some folks did notice my lack of a post last night! thanks guys! (you like me! you really like me!!)
2. for my hubby-you know who you are! hahaha
3. that my dog and my grandest grandson are friends

anybody out there?

i'm just gonna skip my post tonight and see if anyone notices..........