2081st post...

me this morning...
It is never boring around here. Suzanne found Jonathan's old suit, size 2t, and stuffed Miss Camille into it. Camille thought she looked like she, "worked in an office", and wore it all evening.



Evelyn Joy with her candy.

Yesterday was nice...I ventured out to the deck for some sun, after romping around with Rosie a little in the yard. Camille joined me, and we chatted while I soaked in those delicious rays of sunshine. It was so clear and sunny, I decided to just take off my shirt, and get more sun. My kids are used to this, my bras are more modest than most bikini tops anyway. Well. The dog started barking, and lo and behold, there was the FexEx guy in the driveway. I struggled to get my shirt on quick as he was already out of his truck and heading up the driveway...and I couldn't figure out where the head hole was because it was this sleeveless work out top...blah, he yelled something that I thought was, "I'll come back later", and got in his truck and sped away. I think he was totally traumatized. I felt like an idiot. I don't think he saw much, but it was obvious I was trying to get my shirt on. Later I found out he left the package on the back of the car in the driveway. He must have yelled, "I'll just leave it here!" Next time he comes I'll be sure to mention what a jerk my sister is for sunbathing on the deck in her bra....or I'll send one of the kids out...

Lately I have been feeling really unqualified for this job. It is not a job for unorganized people like me. I cannot maintain things. I can straighten out a bookcase, but I am the number one perpetrator of putting a book back horizontally on top of the other books when I am in a hurry. I procrastinate horribly, let things stack up, and forget things. I always feel like I am barely managing. But it hasn't killed me yet, so I shall press on.

Yesterday afternoon I decided to take the trip to the store. The big van has been misbehaving, the brakes need replacing and make a loud roar when it is coming to a stop, and now a new light keeps blinking on the dash that says, "check gauges"...one of the gauges goes way up, then drops down..Paul asked me which one it was, and I said, "the bottom one on...(looked at my hands to determine right or left)..on the LEFT side. He asked which gauge it was. "I just told you!", I said. He said he would go out and look himself. I don't know, it has a little thing on it that looks like a sailboat, I think it is water-level...anyway, he put more water in the radiator and it was still full this morning, so he took the big van and left me the minivan so I can take Mali driving today, and get the oil changed.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon...Evelyn went with me. Our first stop was the Rescue Mission Thrifty Shopper store. I was looking for a pair of jeans, and I got one, for $2.80. Evelyn found an American Eagle sweater with the tags still on it for $6.99, and a nice Old Navy shirt. We had some fun in there, and then headed over to the craft store for some things for her science project. We also bought some beads and clasps and ribbon...and a new sketch book for Margaret.

Then the grocery store. Bananas and romaine and carrots and bread and almonds and burger and chicken, eggs, milk, yogurt, sliced turkey, kitten chow, 5 calorie jello, oats, brown sugar, and some new Christmas lights for the living room windows.

We also stopped at McD's...I got a larger coffee, she got a sweet tea, and we had fruit yogurt parfaits. It held me over in the store, helped me not crave the junk.

Dinner was done when we got home, thanks to Samuel. He tweaked last night's leftover chicken and gravy, added veggies and more soup, and heated it in the oven...

I didn't get to the pool last night. Can't do everything. So tired today...not as tired as Paul though. He works at G.E., information systems. Some system stopped running the night before last, he got a text alert...had to get up and fix it during the night...then last night it happened again, right after we had fallen asleep around midnight. He had to get up and fix it...when my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning, I couldn't believe the night was over so quickly, but I really felt bad for Paul. He has been so busy, a music gathering at church last night, working at the basketball game the night before...this weekend he is going to work on the big van.

yes, we need that Jamaican vacation.

Am I excited? Uh-huh. I am looking forward to the way Paul relaxes and the cares of life leave him alone, exposing the guy I married. We are so different from each other, but we still delight in our time spent together, it seems we get closer as the years go by.

It isn't without trials, our relationship. When I got in with the groceries and was telling Paul about the warning light in the van, he was asking me about it, and I kept getting distracted...giving Mirielle the new John Frieda conditioner I had a $2 coupon for, and showing them Evelyn's new sweater...Paul was trying to ask me about the van, I was trying to figure out who ate already and if the groceries had all been brought in...one of the kids wondered why I hadn't gotten the things they requested from the store, and one complained I got two conditioners instead of a matching shampoo and conditioner...anyway, Paul wasn't too thrilled with me, and I didn't even know I was being the way he was perceiving me, so I said that he was stressing me out...he then saw the way he was being, and gave me a big nice hug...it was really so nice. We aren't against each other, but life is real, life is stressful, and we have to be careful to keep our relationship good in the midst of all this.

Camille is having a baby. She has a dolly under her dress. She is going to the hostibel with her stroller.

Hmm, ran out of things to say...so perhaps I should get moving...