We're falling apart

I'm waiting for 4 ibuprofen to kick in and squash these cramps. Claire is on the couch with a weird rash of hives on her arms, neck and chest. Benadryl doesn't seem to be doing anything. Harris is in there with her because he had diarrhea. So did one of Sarah's kids who I watched today. Whatever germs are circling our family, please back off. It's the last week of school, and these poor kids want to have fun.

Charlotte was prepped and primed for her AR party at school today. She took a soccer ball - now those boys better not give her a hard time about playing, the creeps. Tomorrow is awards and her friend is coming to play after school, and I would love the house to be sick-free so we don't have to cancel. It means a lot to her, and this little girl is moving away in a couple of weeks so they won't have much time together.

Andy's car broke down last week.  Again.  Argh argh argh.

That's all the complaining I have to do today. I will let Gabe get back on pbskids.org because he keeps hovering around me like a mosquito waiting for me to get off the computer.

Summer's Comin'!

Let's just get the cons out of the way right now:  No air in the car. Mosquitoes. Summer Youth Musical.

Now the pros: NO SCHOOL!!!! No having to have clean clothes or sign folders or try to squeeze in dinner between homework and bedtime. Swimming. Library. Never never cold.

I'm almost ready for it. I almost have the summer schedule and goals laid out. I have (slowly) begun organizing so the house can handle kids and wet swimsuits and limited tv/computer time. Almost.

I moved a dresser from my room to Gabe's so he can keep his clothes NOT in my room. He was so excited that he gathered up his clothes and filled the drawers himself. I love his four and a quarter year old self.

The girls' end-of-year school activities keep them happy during the day. All sorts of reward parties and whatnot. Charlotte is positive I will forget something although I NEVER have. Claire is positive I don't know what I'm talking about, but she smiles demurely and then checks the list behind my back. Reading has freed her. Gabe mopes a lot, but he will have regular playmates soon enough. He and I continue our ridiculous lovefest daily. Kisses and hugs and "I love you"s fill in between fits and time-outs. I really don't think I can expect a better sitch.

I have to run errands today. So I have to shower. And then I have to dry my hair, because short hair is like that. If you want it to look like anything. Which means I really hope I have something clean to put on. Or, at least, not visibly dirty or smelly. And then I will have to coax Gabe into clean, hopefully matching, clothes and shoes. And then I will have to make a list because I can tell that if I forget stuff, I am not going to go back for it.

I can do this. Just because I hate it doesn't mean it is physically painful or detrimental to my health. I'll get a cherry limeade as a reward.

Angels

My sweet girls sang together in church today for the whole congregation.  They sang "I Love to See the Temple." Claire sang the first verse and Charlotte the second. Their voices were so sweet and clear, and they didn't show their nervousness at all.  And they were certainly nervous.  Especially Charlotte.  She often cries when having to face a lot of people, in fact.  But there was no sign of it in her voice or face.  I was so proud of them and happy that they were pleased with their own performances.  They are champs at overcoming their fears.  It was fun to see them do something together as well.  I hope they remember it when they are older.  I'm such a lucky mom.

The house is silent

Everyone fell asleep before 10pm tonight.  I finished a trilogy and got up to check the time and was surprised by how early it was.  Charlotte and Gabe were both falling asleep during family scriptures this evening.

I ought to be sleepy, but it is exciting to have the house to myself and it not be 1am.  I'm nervous to play the piano in church tomorrow, and I only have a vague plan for the children in Primary.  I ought to spend a little time on that, but honestly, I'm not interested.  It'll come together in the morning.  I bought a new lipstick, so I'll be motivated to get up and get ready.  I hope.

Nothing else going on.  Long, hot day.  Hopefully the kids will be less fussy tomorrow.  The bickering is nerve-wracking.  I gotta come up with a plan because it cannot continue like this.  We'll see if I get inspired overnight.  If wonderful freaky dreams don't distract me.

Quick, before I forget!

I had the most AWESOME plastic surgery in my dream last night!  My nose and chin looked fantastic!  My boobs were incredible!  My stomach was flat with no mushy wriggly skin!  But then I had 16 toes.  For real.  I asked my doctor to make my feet more narrow, and I came out with ten toes on the left and six on the right of my very narrow feet.  So narrow, in fact, that the toes on the left were stacked in two rows.  The bottom row was longer than the top row, so I thought, "Maybe I could just paint the bottom row and people won't notice the toes stacked on top of them if I don't wiggle them around much."  Holy disgusting.  I was dreading telling my surgeon to fix it because it was #1 - still painless and I didn't want to jinx that, and #2 - maybe it could get worse, and that would be odious.

Hot Nuts! I'm back!

First off, now is a great time to start the playlist. My darling friend from college made it for me for my birthday, and it makes me SO HAPPY!

Before I begin, Gabe just put a baseball hat on my head. He turned it sideways and said, "There. Now you look like a dj." Nutsy.

SO, I went to San Antonio with my sisters, my nieces, and my momma this weekend! It was Farkletastic!!! (Have y'all ever played Farkle? Our new favorite game. Be sure to ask Liz how she farkled 2500 points). I know we have already covered how much I love road trips. But a road trip with my sisters and mom? PERFECT. We hit up Buccee's for 45 minutes in Luling. We stayed up too late. We got up too early. We laughed too much. Wait, no such thing. It. Rocked.

Charlotte cracked her head at the playground while I was gone. She's okay. No stitches or anything. But it was scary. She has a small, nasty gash in the back of her head. It was hard to be out-of-pocket and have no control in that situation.

Finally, apparently I am giving Claire piano lessons. Yeah, she totally just weaseled that in. I showed her how to play a song in a primer. I read her the instructions (which were practice directions), and she started practicing every day. Then she was ready for another song, and came asked me to show her. I think that amounts to piano lessons, right? Sneaky little monkey.

Today I feel OVERWHELMING amounts of love and gratitude for my friends and family and the universe. It's just pouring right out of me, and into it. So I guess I just gotta say I LOVE YOU GUYS! Commenters, stalkers, all of you! And I'm grateful for the amazing network of women in my life who have supported me, loved me, counseled me, put up with me, and cheered me on throughout my life. Thank you!