Week of July 26, 2009

Sunday: Maybe it's the cloudy, wet weather. Maybe it's that vacation is so close yet so far away. Maybe it's that Ben is gettin his molars. Maybe it's that Ben woke up two or three times last night. Who knows what the reason, but we were all tired, lazy, and a bit cranky today. Naps all around seemed to cheer us up a bit. Ben helped himself to the potty. When he came out, quite proud, I went to flush and was appalled at what I found. Exactly how much TP does it take, Mister?? I was glad he didn't flush or we would've had a mess. We went to Target, out for dinner, then stopped for a few groceries and came home much more cheerful. 7/26

Monday: Today was another rainy day. The kids made a zoo out of tents and stuffed animals. When that got old, they made a restaurant. I updated my Project 365 all afternoon, and sometime in there, Ben decided to flush an entire double roll of Charmin -- much worse than yesterday. When I fould him, he was soaked to his armpits swimming in the overflowing toilet. Just another day, right? 7/27

Tuesday: Allen left early for a three day business trip and I already miss him so much. Not long after he left, the weather alert radio started beeping tornado watches, thunderstorm warning, and flash flood warnings. It seems that every time Allen leaves town, the scary alerts come on. Maybe I just don't notice them when he is here. We woke up to a cloudy, dark, rainy morning so I opened a box of Kashi "Honey Sunshine". After the kids were eating for awhile, Ben brought me the box and said, "Mama, we need more sunshine." For some reason it melted my heart because that's just what I was thinking we needed, too. The meeting I was supposed to have tonight was cancelled, but since I already had Christina coming to babysit, I ran some errands. As exhausted as I was, I couldn't sleep and watched t.v. much too late. I really miss Allen. 7/28

Wednesday: First I was startled awake at 1:30am when Will climbed into my bed and tugged the covers off me and over him. Twenty minutes later, he came back complaining he couldn't sleep. When a strange rustling noise woke me a bit later, I was nervous because it was dark and I didn't recognize the noise. It turned out to be dark because it was rainy, and noise was Ben rearranging the freezer . When I caught him, he turned to me wearing his diaper and a huge smile and said, "Good morning, Mama. I'm hungry." I miss Allen. A lot. I'm glad he'll be here tomorrow.7/29

Thursday: I was hoping to get some good sleep last night but it wasn't to be had. The storms rumbled, Maddie and Ben were up around midnight, Will was up four times before I finally told him to sleep on my floor, and the weather alert radio blasted me six times. It thundered and poured all morning. I hope to sleep tonight when Allen is home and all is well. Until then, I need a wheel-barrow to drag my butt through the day -- coffee just isn't doing it. This morning I went upstairs to change Jon's diaper and when I returned, I found Ben on the couch. He had helped himself to a snack from the freezer and was enjoying his frozen stick of butter until I confiscated it.7/30

Friday: Today was a pretty day, and it was nice to see the sun after all the rain we've had this month. The kids spent the afternoon outside painting with chalk, playing in the sand, and getting as dirty and sweaty as possible. Look at that ornery Ben peeking through the playhouse window!7/31
Saturday: We got some more rain today, but at least the garden enjoys it. We have green peppers, butternut squash, and watermelons that will be harvested in a few weeks. The marigolds, squash, balloon flowers, and butterfly bush must smell really sweet to the bumble bees who buzz around all day. 8/1