Blogger is experiencing problems this morning (Saturday) so I am going to do this entry in notepad and hope I remember to post it later.
This is what I call "3kid weekend" when all three of our kids are here. The weather is supposed to be pretty dang close to perfect so we can all be outside a lot. I wish there were something fun to do without having to drive over an hour. Christopher's class took a field trip yesterday to Living History Farms. I was afraid he'd hate it but he actually enjoyed it. He wants all of us to go sometime so we can ride the tractors. He was telling Todd this last night and Todd said "Tractor riding isn't allowed." C. said "Oh yeah, then why did they let us today??" Todd said "Well, I didn't work there today. I'm going to have to have a talk with them. Someone just may get fired." Christopher used to fall for everything Todd told him but I think he's catching on now. They really didn't get to ride the tractors. They rode in wagons behind tractors to get from one section of the farm to the other.
Ben and Emily have to go back tomorrow since it's Mothers Day. Moms get Mother's Day; Dads get Fathers Day. Whenever I stop and think about the kids' life being sliced into pieces like pie, it makes me angry. I hate that. You get them this day, I get them that day. It's like the old 'one for me. one for you.' I know from firsthand experience that kids need a routine; something they can count on, but wouldn't it be great if there could also be little surprises? Like an extra day thrown in once in awhile. I'm thinking about this a little more than usual this morning because the Jehovah Witness folks showed up at the door a little while ago. The guy was doing his spiel about how we're often too busy for God as Ben runs through and pokes his head out from behind Todd's leg. The guy used this as an opportunity to drive his point home by saying "You must be really busy. I see you have a family." Emily came running to me giggling and said, "That guy thinks we're a family." I said "We are a family, aren't we?" She said "Well, part-time. I spend most of my time with mom though." To borrow one of my boss' phrases... harrumph.
It's a little scary because of a situation with my neice. She did the every other weekend with her dad (my brother) when she was growing up. She's a young woman now and so full of hatred. She thinks her dad made a choice to be a "part-time dad" and that is so far from the truth. He spoiled her rotten when he had her and missed her like crazy when she wasn't there. It puts the kids in a very tough spot when they are bounced between two families. The parent who sees them the least is an easy target for hatred and bitterness. This is another one of those deals where I don't have any answers, only questions. In the case of my brother, he had an ex-wife who fed into the children's insecurities and doubts. I don't think Ben and Emily's mom would do that so Todd doesn't have that working against him. I just hope they always know that although they are only here "part-time" they are loved all the time.
Breakfast is over. That's my cue to get out of here. Everyone have a great weekend.
It's now Sunday evening and I'm going to try and post this again. A pretty good thunderstorm went through here and dumped a lot more rain. Todd decided to go ahead and mow even though it was a little too wet. Luckily his brother-in-law stopped by and interrupted the mowing which gave the yard just a little more time to dry. I was doing the trimming/weedeating and found a dead baby rabbit in the lid to the sandbox. It looked as though it had hopped into the lid which was full of water and then wasn't able to get out. I carried it out to the fence and put it in the pasture. The neighbors were out on their deck so I walked over to tell them what I had thrown over the fence. They said there are always tons of rabbits, squirrels and fox around here with deer occasionally wandering through the yards. That would be neat to see. We watched this poor squirrel get attacked by starlings this morning. Every time he'd move, three starlings would swoop down and peck at him. As long as he stayed still, they were content to either sit in the tree or wander around on the ground. As soon as he tried to go, they pounced him again. I have days like that....
Man, it's been a long day. About 12 hours of work and a baseball practice thrown in for good measure. Another one of those topsy-turvy days. I discovered that I'm losing the ability to push pixels around quickly and come up with a good design in a hurry. I worked on one all day today that would've taken me half a day if I'd done it a year ago. I'd like to think I'm just getting better, more critical of my work and redoing more often for the sake of a cleaner look. That's not true though. I'm learning more server administration stuff everyday and forgetting HTML/CSS in the process. The old brain doesn't work as well as it used to.
Also found out today that someone near and dear to me in the internet world has decided he is gay. The fact that he is doesn't bother me in the least. The fact that he has had to carry it around as a "secret" is what bothers me. It totally pisses me off that society even cares about a person's sexual preferences. I am not gay and could never have sex with someone of the same sex. Just because it's not right for me doesn't make it wrong for someone else. A person should be judged on their accomplishments and contributions to society - not on their sexual orientation or skin color or religion or any of the other stupid prejudices out there. I know that there are some who will argue that it is against God's will. I'm not God so I can't say for sure what his will is. I am not anyone else's judge and jury so I can't condemn anyone based on anything other than their actions that directly affect me. A person being gay, black, atheist, etc. does not affect me. It shouldn't affect you either. I could rant about this forever but I think you get my point. Love or hate a person based on their real merits.
The highlight of the day was C's baseball practice. He hit a couple of balls over the fence and was so excited. Also got to see Todd's daughter Emily at the practice. I miss her the second she walks out our door so it's always good to run into her. She has a new batch of nasty scratches on her leg and when I asked what she'd done this time she replied, "Sandwich. Hair. Turned too fast." Of course I had to ask for further clarification. She was apparently on her bike, eating a sandwich when her hair got in her face and she turned too fast and wiped out. The poor kid isn't going to have any shins or knees left at this rate with summer not even here yet.
I said awhile back that I hoped after we moved, we'd spend less time online. That seems to be happening and going quite well. Tonight I quit work at 5 and picked up C. at my mom's. We all went to the greenhouse and bought some more flowers. C. and I came home and finished filling my pots with geraniums and petunias. C. bought some strawberries so we used the Garden Claw to make a small strawberry bed. Most of the gardening tools advertised on tv fail to live up to their promises but the Garden Claw is an exceptional tool. Highly recommended for turning small grassy areas into flowerbeds or for weeding.
Todd got home a little after 8 so we spent the remaining daylight minutes spraying some weed n' feed stuff on the lawn. He works 11 hour shifts now and gets Wednesdays off. I am glad he's completely off nights but sure do miss the 4am to 4pm shifts. Mondays are really hard after having him around all weekend. Seems like he just gets home and it's time to go to bed. I probably better quit bitching about it or he'll end up back on the 4pm to 4am.
Time to drag him to bed now... he's just found a website that sells police t-shirts. It's time to turn off his computer before he orders a shirt that says "SNIPER - Bang. You're it."
Another weekend gone. I'd like to have just one where there was nothing to do but just hang out. It was a good couple of days even though we worked the entire time. I have a new batch of scratches, bruises and blisters that look oh-so-cool. The yard and the house look great and now it's time to get back in gear for work again. I swear, when I was a kid the days used to just drag on forever and I wanted them to pass quickly so I could be a grownup. Now that I'm a grownup I want them to go slow so I can savor every minute but now they seem to fly by. This weekend felt about six hours long. We did take a walk tonight - blistered hand in blistered hand - through our neighborhood and to the nature trail. It was nice to just walk and talk and enjoy each other's company for a few minutes. We discovered three different ways to get to the nature trail from our house. The ticks are thick already. I had one right under my lower eyelid that was just starting to stick. Todd said "Oh-oh. Hold still." then starts picking at my face. I asked "What is it??" and he just kept saying "Hold still and let me get it." Okay but I want to know what it is and whether or not I should be freaking out. I'd hate to miss a perfect opportunity to have a fit : )
There is a short break in the rain so we've been hustling our butts off outside. Finished the yard mowing and gave the evergreen trees and bushes a much needed haircut. Todd tells me that when it starts to rain again we will move into the garage and clean some guns. Oh boy! I think I'll just watch. I'd rather spend the rainy times cleaning inside the house but he's so particular about being where I am. My dad used to say all kinds of off the wall stuff like "Everywhere I go, there I am." Well, with Todd it's "Everywhere I go, there he is." Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love having him where I am so if he wants to clean guns in the garage I will sit and observe and keep him company. Who knows.. I may even help... hand him a rag or something. hehehe
