Counting Down....

While we don't have any specific dates (as if!), we DO know that a very important part of our family will be home sometime in the next month.

So, what does that mean, exactly?

Cleaning.  Seriously.  You would never know that I have spent practically the whole time he's been gone cleaning this stupid house.  Maybe because there are a bjillion children through this house on a regular basis?

Cooking.  Have you seen what it takes to feed a bjillion teenagers and pre-teens?!?

Projects.  You know those things that we plan to do while the Significant Other Person is gone, so we can distract ourselves from missing them?  Yeah.









Instead we went to South Carolina for July 4th, shopped for school supplies, endured band camps, enjoyed fun visits with the eldest child and friends, prepared for school, started school, graduated from my Masters Program, sent a child to Florida for Prom with a friend, and then to West Virginia for a week, sent kids on two different Venturing camp-outs, dealt with a parking ticket, an impounded car, a lost cell phone, a visit to the ER for a bloody nose, an abscessed tooth, broken glasses, countless Skype calls, and planning for remodeling and selling the house.  We got to go to the beach, have spent time with our AMAZING military ministry group at church, seen friends from out of town, gone to two weddings, and had friends to the house for cook-outs twice.

While he was gone, Jason was able to visit Japan, and also went to Seoul, South Korea, to see the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).  He has had the opportunity to be involved with a GREAT little church in Korea, and was able to preach four times so far, as well as help the church move to their new quarters, and has repeatedly cooked for the church's Sunday morning breakfasts.  He was also able to lead a Bible study for a while, before the command interfered and changed his schedule, making that difficult.  He got to play softball on base, and helped with several community events the command took part in.

But now the countdown is ON, and it's time for the motivation to kick in...any time now.  As soon as I can get these teenagers to go to bed....

Plans, and things that interfere

I had a good plan for this week. I was going to be getting back to my normal posting schedule...but my brain interfered, as have a few others of importance...Jason, Frances, Jon, Heather, Justin, Leah, Katherine....and work. And house cleaning. And attempting to get rid of those ugly migraines.

So, my house is getting back to a little better level of control.
And we're eating MEALS again.
And I'm getting caught up on the laundry.

But I still have to find a dentist...because I'm a grump when my mouth hurts.
And I still have to get a referral to my counselor.
And I HAVE TO get some more sleep...I'm doing better, really. BUT, my body still wants to shut down on me (as does my head).
And feeling like I'm falling apart is NOT my idea of a good week....

So, HOPEFULLY, tomorrow, I'll have a post of some substance.

I hope.

Thank you for sticking by me, my lovelies...I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your loyalty.

I'm BAAAAACKK!!!

Wow, what a week.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was SICK.

Work was CRAZY all week long...LOTS to do, not enough time to do it all.

Thursday, I drove to SC for College Homecoming at Columbia International University. THAT was fun...not the ride so much, but seeing "old" friends, and doing the choir reunion thing. We did a concert on Friday night, which was a LOT of fun. You know it has been 16+ years since I sang in a choir...we did two songs we had done when I was in school....it was AMAZING to me that the notes came back to me!

Saturday I had lunch with my amazing sister-in-law, and then drove home.

The drive home was...ummm....interesting? In two days, gas prices SHOT up...I paid $3.50/gal before I left Virginia Beach on Thursday. Friday night, in Columbia, it was up to $4.89, and on Saturday, when I stopped in Charlotte, NC, there was no gas to be had, unless you wanted the 100 octane racing gas at $5.99/gallon....liquid gold!! Then, when I finally found a place that had some, I was limited to buying it 10 gallons at a time. I'm glad I'm not planning to make the trip back down when Jason goes next weekend...

So, I made it safely home, and am recovering from all of the fun over the weekend...and the fact that my children didn't clean house while I was gone, so it's a DISASTER. AND I have a doctor's appointment this morning....and Jason will be home today. Should be an interesting day!

Oh, and I'm on FACEBOOK now...all of my friends from college finally persuaded me....

Anyone else falling off the wagon?

No, I am NOT talking about drinking....though my kids are about to drive me THERE, too.

What I am dealing with is the determination I always make at the beginning of the summer, EVERY YEAR, to not give up our hard-fought schedule, because I *KNOW* how hard it is to get back into that routine at the end of the summer.

We tried. REALLY tried. I am actually still retaining parts of that routine. The little ones still go to bed (most nights) by around 8:00 pm. The older ones are in bed by 9:00. Most nights.

Except that the husband is enjoying having the kids to watch movies and TV shows with him, because I just don't watch TV.

And I am TRYING to get up in the mornings, and go for my walks before it is unbearably hot....and the oldest *wants* to walk with me. Until she is spending the night with her friends. And then the second oldest *wants* to walk with me...but he is practically impossible to wake up in the morning.

And then, when I need peace and quiet during the day to work, the kids are all trying to kill each other, or fussing with each other over stupid things....

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
"WHAT IS GOING ON UP THERE?!?!?!?!?"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAA....."
"FRANCES, please find out what is going on up there!"
(yelling, screaming, and slamming of doors ensues....)
(Frances comes down the stairs, looking innocent....)
"Frances, what was going on?
"huh?!?"
"GO BACK UPSTAIRS AND FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?!"

Yes, having a teenager in the house has its moments. She's GREAT, sometimes, at babysitting, and supervising house cleaning, and cooking meals. SOMETIMES is the operative word. When she wants to....or when she wants something....

Speaking of teens...my second will become a teenager in April of next year. I am more than a little frightened...he already has a WAY worse attitude than his older sister...

So, I have about given up on keeping the routine. I think we have a new routine for the summer...
Dad up and out of the house by 530 am
Mom up and walking before 7:00 am
littler people wandering out of bed by about 10:00
Breakfast, house cleaning, etc., finished by noonish
Everyone playing outside all afternoon so mom can work and not kill anyone

I think I need to go dig my wine out...I am finding I need something to help me get through this afternoon!!

I am EXHAUSTED

I never realized how tiring it is to sit at my desk all day long, doing nothing more than typing, editing and emailing, and taking breaks to take care of the four year old, do laundry, run the dishwasher, meet the school bus to get the 6 year old, feed the cat, pick up the house, fix lunch....

I.am. wiped.OUT.

Thankfully, it is raining outside, and has been rainging since Friday night. The baseball fields are big mud puddles. All of the Opening Day activities were cancelled on Saturday. Today's practices were cancelled. I know the games will be rescheduled, but for now, I'm grateful. I needed the relatively slow day!

It's almost midnight, and I still have a TON of work to do....headed back to work...miss you guys!!

***And in other, terribly important news, Kansas accomplished an upset in the final game of the NCAA Championship. The husband changed it from my movie so he could watch it, and promptly fell asleep again. The most unfair part? He WILL KNOW who won, and what the final score was...and he was SNORING! How does he do that?!?!***