frazzled & frumpy

Here's the thing... The School Thing -I often hear people tell me how well-behaved my kids are. I've come to the conclusion that they are simply better for other people than for me (because they're beasts at home).  That idea was ripped to shreds last week when Noah got two 'behavior notices'.  On the same day.  It's gonna be a long year. A rare quiet moment. Maybe I should get him a bunny. The Addiction Thing - Our local gas station put out the fixings for dirty diet Cokes. (diet Coke, fresh lime and coconut syrup).  Though I'd tried it once before and didn't like it much, I decided to give it another go. That was Thursday. On Friday night, when I accidentally knocked my dirty drink on the floor, I was much more upset about the drink than the books I'd gotten wet. Then, when I went on Saturday (third time in three days) I was incredibly disappointed to find they'd run out of the coconut syrup. May be time for an intervention. (Or to fi...

Spencer A clarinet. (Obviously, I didn't take any pictures last night.) Last night was Spencer's band concert. We were 5 minutes late. If you know me, you'll know that to me, 10 minutes early is five minutes late. This time, we were actually 5 minutes late. Normally, that would cause me enormous stress and anxiety.  But, this was a jr. high band concert. I can't imagine the thought process that leads a person to be a jr. high band teacher. No way did they go to career day and say, "I think I'll teach a bunch of 12 year-olds to play the clarinet. I'd like nothing more than to listen to pre-pubescent kids squeak and squawk through 'Go Tell Aunt Rhody'." I'm guessing they have some angelic, saint-like gene in their makeup. . They clearly love music. And kids. Somehow, those two emotions combine to create the patience of Mother Teresa. Or maybe they're partially deaf. Last night was a music festival. Bands from four d...

Do you know what happens when you have a whole quiver of children? You get used to that can't-move-without-bumping-into-someone feeling.  You accept the idea that your 'parents only' bathroom gets used daily by people who are way too young to procreate. And, when a couple of your kids are gone for a few days, you feel the need to fill in the space. This causes you to, in a moment of 'I need more kids' weakness, allow your son to have a late-night. I didn't have 'late-nights' as a kid. We just had good, old-fashioned sleep-overs.  My parents didn't care if they didn't know the other parents. Would we be sleeping in a bed or on the living room floor with 16 other stragglers?  Whatever.  Just be home by 10 in the morning. Now, though, our world is a bit different. So, my son invited his 4, no 5, no,  6 closest friends (all boys but one girl- who has completely wrapped herself around my heart).  I baked brownies and popped popcorn before they a...