Loose Ends

I'm gonna be honest with you.  I haven't been around a whole lot since DuckFest.  I don't have any reasons or excuses.  The monsters got out of school last Tuesday and we have been trying to settle in to summer.

For those of you that participated in DuckFest, THANK YOU!  Thank you so very much!  In all, we raised $1186.  100% of that money is in a bank account for JD's future.  As an only parent, I know I worry plenty about what to do for my kids when graduation day comes. (I know plenty of married parents that worry, too.) I just hope that the kindness of all of the strangers that rallied around Daffy's family during this time gives JD and his Daddy some hope for a happy future.  I know that it really warmed Daffy's heart.

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You may remember just over a month or so ago I made a commitment to get my life, my body, and my house all back on track.  I am happy to report, as of this moment, my living room and my daughter's room (minus the closet) are clean!  Can I get an AMEN! Hahaha...

While I have fallen off of the Flylady wagon, it was mostly intentional.  I decided there were some rooms that needed some extra-special attention before I had rugrats in the house 24-7.  The baby-steps, while great for building habits, weren't meeting my immediate needs.  I do plan to start implementing the routines on FlyLady soon, buuuuuut, I have a couple more rooms that need some TLC first.

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In other news, you might also remember a post I had written back in May, talking about me wanting a dog...  Guess what!?!?!?!?  We have a new family member!!  Everyone, welcome Natty!

Playing with her ball AND holding her lion.

Smiling for the camera.

Natty is a 2 year-old, black Great Dane!  We adopted her from The Upper Midwest Great Dane Rescue over Memorial Weekend.  The kids and I are already smitten and feel like we have won the doggy lottery.  She is soooo awesome!  She is adjusting well and will be going for her 1st vet visit next week!

I already have a favorite Natty story.  She LOVES riding in the car.  The other day, The Girl and I were leaving to have lunch with The Man.  As we were walking out to the garage, Natty slipped by and went and stood at the back of my SUV, like she was going to go with.  I could not get her back in the house to save my life, sooooo...  I put her in the back of my SUV, took her for a short ride around the neighborhood, came home, and she went right inside! Hahaha, can you believe that?  What a turkey.

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Anywho, now that the kiddos and I are settling in to a summer routine, I hope to be seeing you every other day, at least!  If you can't find me here, I am also contributing at Lose It Bitches and Keeper of the Cheerios.  Also, don't forget about my Blog Frog community! That place is currently a virtual ghost town!  Head on over, start some discussions, give it some life! 

Happy summer to all!!!

Damn Surprise Visits

So, my parents are coming this weekend.  (In case you didn't get the memo.)  While I am very excited to see them, I'm kinda panicking.  Why?  It's been since March since I've seen them.  Usually, I go to them, in Chicago.  If I were to venture a guess, I'd say it's been 2 - 3 years since they've been to Minnesota.  And truthfully, it's probably been about 4 - 5 years since they've come to my house.

So why am I panicking, you ask?  Well, let's just say that my home is definitely "lived in".  With 3 cats, 2 kids (with broken arms the inability to pick up after themselves), and a revolving door to all of the neighborhood children (and more than that), my house often looks as though a bomb went off.  Don't get me wrong, we don't live in filth and squalor, we just don't exactly apply the "a place for everything and everything in it's place" philosophy here.  (Much to my dismay.)

My dad and step-mom?  Neat freaks.  Their home?  Museumesque. 

Now, generally speaking, I can find PLENTY to do with my folks that keep them the hell out of my house, but since I was laid off in April of 2008, I have done A LOT of redecorating in my house.  For some reason, my step-mom (who I think is incredible and has spotty memory due to a brain anuerysm 6 years ago) has remembered that she hasn't seen my home in YEARS and would really love to do an early Christmas at my house.  Had they given me a few weeks notice, I could probably have hit up the Flylady and applied some of her super intense "get your shit ready for the holidays" tips, but they didn't.  They told me on Tuesday.  Yep, 2 DAYS AGO!

Guess what!?!?  I don't have my Christmas tree up.  I don't have any Christmas baking done (my dad is a super cookie monster).  I don't have any gifts wrapped.  I don't have any Christmas decorations up.  All in all, I'm really not ready for this.

So?  My plan?  I'm sooo gonna see if they want to meet me at the Science Museum.  If I can occupy them there and wear them out, I can probably wear them out enough to have them suggest dinner out and NEVER make it as far as the suburb where I live!!! (YES!!!)  It's sketchy, but it might work!  And yes, I have a back-up plan...  They aren't planning on seeing us until Sunday.  So everyone is grounded until the house is clean(er) and The Man has been recruited to carrying the Christmas tree in tonight (SURPRISE, babe!). 

Wish me luck!

Hey! Mother Nature! How About a Hot Flash!

I went to bed last night ready to sleep well and take the world by the horns today.  Mother Nature had something else in mind.  This is what I woke up to...

It's October...  My favorite month of the year.  Because I love fall...  Do you see fall anywhere in that picture?  Am I missing something?  Someone throw me a freaking bone here.

Little Buddy's mom dropped him off at 7:00 this morning with a permission slip for his very first Kindegarten field trip.  They're supposed to go to the pumpkin patch.  Have you ever gone to the pumpkin patch on a snowy day?  Little Buddy is totally getting hosed.

Needless to say, my visions of productivity were shot to hell.  There will be no opening of windows and allowing brisk fall air to freshen up the stale smell of my home that has been deep in the clutches of The Sickness for the past week.  I had to turn on the heat.  And the only thing I've managed to accomplish today is unloading the dishwasher.....

I'm working tonight at the bar, so I guess I'll try again tomorrow.  Sigh...

Musical Piles

My mom is a pack rat.  When she defected to Florida, I ended up with years and years worth of her crap.  When cleaning my garage last summer, I literally found report cards for Redneck Brother from elementary school!  WTH!

Sadly, I see my home turning into a scene from my childhood.  Everywhere I turn, there are piles.  I have piles of bills to pay, piles of bills that are paid, piles of Girl Scout stuff, piles of Cub Scout stuff, piles of handouts from The Girl's teacher, piles of handouts from The Boy's teacher, piles of catalogs I'd like to order things from....  Ahhhhh! There are piles EVERYWHERE!

I've followed the Flylady's tips, read books about de-cluttering and simplifying, but I just can't seem to shake this terrible habit instilled upon me by my mother!

I've resolved that my problem is easily solved by real estate.  I just need to buy a house with a mud room, a den, and a basement!  All of my problems would be solved!  The mud room would house all of the jackets, shoes, boots, bookbags, and handbags haphazardly thrown around my house.  The den would be a God send!  I could have a place to keep my computer (not the corner of my bedroom!), a place to pay bills (not the kitchen table), and a place for a file cabinet (so there wouldn't be piles of bills everywhere)!  It would be GLORIOUS!  And a basement, a basement would house all of the crap the kids have neglected to relegate to their rooms...  Oh, to dream...

Ahhh, visions of dens floating in my head!

And what's this?!?!  A place to keep  coats and shoes?! B-E-A-UTIFUL!

What!?!?!?  A living room not taken over by the kids' crap!!!  It's a Christmas Miracle!

Well, a girl can dream, right?  Without a healthy fantasy life, what would I have?