Here, There and Everywhere.

Saturday, 8:30 am on the Hilltop.

Scene:

Sir D has already left for work, expecting me to follow in about an hour to help with some office organization and cleaning.

I am still hiding under the covers, trying to decide why it’s so light and loud on the other side of my quilt.

Bob: Mom, C invited me to go on a mountain bike ride with him and Uncle C, I told them I couldn’t go because I have to watch the girls while you’re at Daddy’s shop, so Uncle C said the girls could stay at their house and play with E while the boys are riding, Auntie S will watch them.

Me: urmuumh (from under the covers)

Will: Mom, I’m leaving for soccer practice at 11, but I’m going to run the kids to Uncle C’s now. Be back in a minute.

Me: urmuumh (from under the covers)

Eve: (said in a panicky voice) But MOOOOOM, I’m supposed to go with H ice skating at 1. I can’t go to E’s house.

Will: Well, you can’t stay here all morning by yourself.

Eve: Could you drop me off at H’s house when you leave for soccer practice? I’ll call her and see if I can come a little early. Is that okay Mom?

Me: urmuumh (from under the covers)

Will: Mom, I’m going to take Bob and Ann to Uncle C’s house. Eve, I’ll take you to H’s on the way to soccer practice.

Everyone: Cool!

Me: urmuumh (from under the covers)

They totally don’t need me anymore.

One Down, One To Go

Yesterday I got one of The Teenagers back. He came home a 9 pm last night 2 inches taller and 30 decibels louder.

I told him that is why we don’t feed him as much as they do at camp. I can’t afford the clothing if he keeps growing at this rate, and also, I reminded him he will not have to talk over 300 kids at home so perhaps he could DIAL IT DOWN A NOTCH.

Oh, I jest.

I did miss The Teenagers and I will sleep well tonight after I pick up The Other Teenager; content that all my little ones, no matter how tall they have become, are in their proper spots.


And don't forget to go check out my new Homeschooling Site!

Something New!

So, anyone notice anything different? New? Perhaps a, oh I don’t know, button? There on the right under the Word of God?

Yes! That’s the one!

I have started a new site! It is a homeschool review site where I’ll…yep, you guessed it! Review Homeschooling stuff! (I’m all about the understated and metaphorical)

So go check it out! And while you’re there grab the button and stick it on your site and help me spread the word!

I have my first review up today, go check it out!

Whoo Hoo! I’m so excited!

Just another evening on the Hilltop.

The boys must give me a lot of fodder, because since they have been gone I have hit a bit of a dry spell on the old blog.

I have nothing to write about.

I mean, yesterday I confessed to the whole World Wide Web that I have a bit of a problem with speed (in the car not the drug! Good grief, people! Clean up your minds! Oh, no one thought that but me? Whoops.)

Please hold on while I rapidly and without warning, change subjects.

Last night Sir D called on his way home from work and asked if I wanted to go to a Rangers game.

“Now?” I ask

“Yes, now. No one used the tickets so I have 4 we can use. It’s a bit cooler out right now since it rained a bit and the girls will love it.” Has he met our daughters?

“Sure, I say”

While I try to mentally gear up for a loud Rangers game when I thought I’d be staying home in my quiet, air conditioned house the girls ran gleefully around getting ready.

It was not so much the Rangers playing that was drawing them as the later bedtime.

Once Sir D got home, he mentioned that It was still raining in Arlington (he works close to the stadium) so I’d better check if the game was still going on.

Nope, rain delay.



So instead of going to a Rangers game we all got in the car went and bought ice cream and a slushy for the non dairy girl and drove around our little town. We saw the two houses we once owned, sadly they’d seen better days, like the days we lived in them.

The girls watched a video (yes, I mean video, the big black kind of ye olden days) in the car while Sir D and I ate ice cream and talked about the days of yore.

Not a Ranger game, but I think I liked it better all things considered. Now had we been talking about tickets to see a Cowboy game and it got rained out, well, that would have been a whole different matter. And anyway, the Cowboys play in the rain.

Wimpy Rangers.

Speed!

The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it.
- Dudley Moore



This quote was on my homepage to day. It cracked me up. Sadly it is so true.

I must admit I am a bit of a speeder. I find the speed limit to be monotonous. I hate monotony. And anyway, this is DFW; you take your life into your hands if you plan to drive the speed limit.

We have a very detailed system here. The far left lane is for serious speeders; those who will run you over if you are in their way. I believe these people are pilots who are on their way home from DFW airport and have been flying a plane and can’t stand how SLOW cars are.

The next lane over is for recreational speeders. We just want to go a little over the speed limit because 65? Really?

Then there is the drive the speed limit lane. These are law abiding, letter of the law people; or those who cannot get another ticket without being arrested or having their insurance carrier drop them. Poor souls.

Then there is the slow lane. This lane frightens me. It is full of grandma’s and grandpa’s who are frightened of speed. They consistently drive under the speed limit. Can you imagine? Sadly, this is the lane everyone must pass through to get to the faster lanes when entering the highway. It’s like playing Frogger, trying to leap from the geriatric lane to the faster lanes.

The thing is, while I drive a bit fast. I haven’t gotten a ticket in about 15 years. I have always driven old clunker cars that do not appear to go fast. Then I got the 12 passenger van. I can’t tell you how many times I have accidently sped past a cop doing traffic and they do a double take at their little speed detector, smack it, and shake their heads and go back to watching the traffic. They simply did not believe that my white box on wheels was capable of speed.

The times have changed however. I now drive a big beast of a car. It exudes power. It’s loud and big and beautiful. It screams ‘I can go faster than you!’

I no longer look like I am incapable of speed. I have a bad feeling about this.
I am going to have to slow down. Or perhaps put a sticker of a cop car on my rear view mirror or before I know it, I’ll have to drive in the non speeding lane with the other poor souls.

Family

Oh. My. Goodness. Gracious.

Family relations can be tricky.

I feel like I have post traumatic stress disorder.

And that’s all I’m saying about that.

They're gone again!

We celebrated the birthday, The Teenagers have left for camp, the mama has gone, and the 4th is over.

I do believe I am going to stay in bed for the rest of the week and recuperate. Ha! Wouldn’t that be nice? Sadly, I really must clean my bedroom. It is a wreck. It has become The Stashing Place.

Don’t know where it goes? Don’t have time to deal with it? Need to hide it so people won’t think we live in a pig sty? Put it in mom’s room! That is our motto. So now that I only have to deal with the social lives of the girls, I might get a minute this week to clean it up.

While I do jest about the boys being gone, I have to admit I don’t like it. I think it is a little easier than last year when they both went for the first time and Will had his jaw wired shut. This time I just sent him with poison ivy and his Prednisone to keep it from spreading all over his body like it does EVERY TIME he comes in contact with it.

Somehow, with Will’s 17th birthday just being weeks away, I am starting to think this feeling of ‘not-right-ness’ that a mother feels with her kids are gone is going to be something I just have to get used too. Is that how empty nesters feel? Just weird all the time? I was fine until bedtime. I always go check on everyone; shut doors make sure fans are on or off depending on the time of year, etc. It just feels so wrong to go to bed and not have my boys in their beds. Though I will say, this morning was nice and quite!

And on a completely different note; I have something new in the works. A little bloggity excitement! So check back later!

Happy Monday!

Lovely List Format

So.

My mom is coming for a visit.

We have a huge 4th of July celebration to go to (and help out with) on Friday.

The Teenager is having sign-up’s for the Select soccer team he wants to join. I do believe we are all going to take a little 45 minute drive down to the practice area on Saturday.

This Saturday is also The Other Teenager’s 14th birthday (how the heck did that happen?)

I have to get my Mom to my Sisters on Sunday and The Teenagers leave for Church Camp.

Sometime in there I will need to go through The Teenagers bags to make sure they brought more than candy and sports magazines with them to camp; you know, throw some fresh undies and a toothbrush in their bags.

I have to do all those things while feeding and generally taking care of a family.

You may not see me much around the blog until Monday.



Go forth and enjoy your liberties and God Bless America!

Confession

They say confession is good for the soul.

I have a confession to make. There is something in my life that is consuming me. Seriously. It is eating me alive.

A book.

Not a book I’m reading, but one I am trying to write.

I have several stories in my head and If I don’t get them out, well, they might just take up residence in my brain and have a little party. That won’t leave much room for anything else.

So I am endeavoring to get one of those stories out on paper.

I’ve gotten the outline done and I’m 3000 words into the book.

Perhaps I’ll finish before my children need to be educated again or my husband runs out of clean laundry.

Perhaps not. But I am determined to finish. Even if the book is subpar, mediocre, bad even. I must get it done.

Feel free to ask how it’s going. I will probably need the encouragement. I will NOT give up until it’s done!

Or school starts.

Why was I looking forward to summer?

Will, Bob and Bob’s friend got up at 8 am and left for the local lake/water park with the youth group. Eve and Ann cleaned their room and did their chores while I spent hours gulping coffee and trying to wake up cleaned my room.

Ann went to the skating rink with a friend and Eve and I went to the bank, the homeschool store and Wal-mart.

Eve and I spent hours at Wal-mart buying enough groceries to maybe last the night, thought it cost millions and took hours to accomplish.

I dropped Eve off at the pool with a friend and spent even more hours unloading millions of dollars worth of groceries into the house. Then I unloaded the bags onto the table, then I cried put them away, then I drank a shot of whiskey coke zero as my reward.

I enjoyed my quiet house for 4.3 seconds until Ann was dropped off at home. I fell asleep on the couch while Ann was telling me ALL ABOUT THE SKATING AND THE SNACKS AND THE MUSIC AND THE SKATING.

Shortly after I got Ann busy watching tv with a very educational and edifying activity, the boys walked in the house, dripping wet, hungry and overheated.

The three of them ate every last piece of food I bought at Wal-mart.

Eve was dropped off at home from the pool and the bonus boy was picked up.

Will went off to play soccer with his selected team. Eve, Ann and I ate the few crumbs that were left over.

Bob, Eve and Ann were sent to bed.

Will is still playing soccer.

Sir D and I are sitting here staring at the walls and drooling.

Tomorrow, we’ll do it all again.

Whoo hoo! Summer’s so fun.





It is possible there is a bit too much sarcasm and exaggeration in this post. Perhaps it was over the top…I never know.