Quiet

I've learned today that I need some quiet. Before you all start laughing hysterically, hear me out. I picked Jo up from school at 11:30. At 1:05 my head tried to explode. Why you ask? There hasn't been a quiet second since. I had to run an errand after picking her up and she talked about the errand, the car, the lack of Jeep, the friends we say on our way. At the store she asked about the movie playing in the bookstore, the books she saw, the coloring sheet they gave her...Now we are home and she has asked about what I will have for lunch, what time her sister will be home, is it early release day, why does she have to nap, when am I goig to eat, the microwave is beeping, five little pumpkins and finally she is talking about the Muffin Man. Wait, she discovered that Cookie Monster is teaching letters on her placemat and that is taking her off on a new tangent of made up verse. Ya'll thought I talked a lot? I am really becoming the quiet one. If she wants to know why she naps at age 5. It isn't always because she needs a rest, but Mama's ears NEED a break! Seriously!

My mother is probably muttering something about kids and payback for my own past behavior. Okay I really get that. EEKS!

Happy Birthday to My Household

Birthday extravaganza week is in full swing here. Shan's birthday is done, except his parents are coming. My birthday is here, but...when Mama's birthday is wedged in the middle it is less relevant. We are now gearing up for Je's birthday. She will be 7 on Saturday. This is a party year* so we are planning a "Red Carpet Movie Party". It was my sister's idea. We are going to get the projector and show the movie big on the wall, have popcorn etc. I haven't figured out a cake yet, but...that is the conundrum. To add to my woes in September, last week the sewer stopped draining so we had to have the plumber out to snake the drain. Not a huge deal, until, he found that there is a potential problem. So last week we were afraid we were going to have to dig up the sewer and fix it...for $3000. He came back this week and it may still have to be fixed at some point but right now it seems to be working and we can plan how to fix it rather than an emergency. So much better. I may never be a problem again so we may be okay. Then on Friday, we found that the oven doesn't work. Electricty isn't getting to the bottom element in the oven to tell it to heat. So I can't bake anything. We tried replacing the element, and it didn't fix the problem so we traced it to the computer board that runs the clock etc. We called the repairman, and it takes 5-10 days to get the part. So now cake baked in our oven this week. And the dinner I was going to fix easily for company this weekend? New plan. I will bake lasagna's at church and bring them home to serve. Fortunately, church is close. I am glad that October finally arrived. I'm hoping it will bring some relief. On the bright side, I got a beautiful new wallet from my mom for my birthday to replace the one taken when my purse was stolen. Checks, credit cards, drivers liscense, dress doll magnets, and other purse items have been secured and now I am just waiting for the purse I want to appear on ebay or buy it from the website for twice as much. The ebay seller I purchased the original from, is planning a trip to the factory this month so I will see what he finds. If he gets something close, I am in business. If not, I found it on a website that sells it for half the facotry price, but twice the ebay price. Not a bad deal, but you know I am cheap. I am feeling more optimistic all the time. Especially since I have a coffee/hot cocoa date with my BF today!

*If you care, we allow the kids to have a party every other year for their birthdays and alternate so they don't have parties the same year, since their birthdays are only 6 weeks apart.



For Ne-Ne