The Grumpies

It's all about me!!! Do I feel this way because I'm the only one in the family blogging, or am I just in a bad mood the past two days? Maybe a bit of both...

Colbey went on the two night camping trip this weekend and did indeed take pictures but we haven't gotten them developed yet. He wasn't looking forward to the trip which I didn't realize until an hour before he needed to leave. He said it was ok and had a couple amusing stories but he's a techno junky and this being in the nature deal just didn't float his boat. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to fry all electronic equipment!!!! My theory is that everyone would be healthier and even happier. True, there would be an adjustment period, but we'd get over it more quickly than we realize. I can go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, (you get my point) ... but my grumpiness finds this subject already boring so off to another we go.

Landon is terrified of wasps. We get quite a lot in the spring and summer but there have only been maybe 10 that I've seen so far and already, he's asking us to walk him outside so the bees and wasps don't get him. He's had neighbors walk him to the door so that they don't get him as he's coming home from school. When I sat down with him and explained that they wouldn't bother him if he left them alone, he had that look of "I see you're talking to me and I'm being polite and keeping quite as if I'm listening but in reality you seem to be talking Greek and it's easier just to nod my head at the appropriate time". So there have been several instances where he will approach me and ask, "You know that thing? ... That thing?" Of course I haven't got a clue as to what he is willing me to remember and after several large and general hand circles on his part and more "that thing", I pretend to remember and in his random speech wanderings, I glean a hint and realize he needs me to reinforce the idea that leaving them alone means safety for him.

Anyway, Landon is also frustrated that Easter came and went and his birthday still seems a millennium away. He has asked us to celebrate it early and has even questioned the accuracy of the calendar. Then in a giant mood switch, he says he doesn't want to get older because he doesn't want to be dunked in the water and not breathe. That took a little time to decipher the meaning of, but in a nutshell, I'm pretty sure he must have had a lesson on baptism recently and the thing he got out of it was death by drowning. I think that will be the subject of our next Family Home Evening.

Ryleigh has decided that nap time is ridiculous and with this stupid, non-essential time change, her schedule is all messed up (so is mine and I get just as fussy as a baby when that happens). Instead of having a 12:00 to 3:30 nap, around 1:30 I realize that the time has flown by and now I'll be lucky to get her down for an hour and a half. Here's why, ...

I put her down and wrap her in her blanket and kiss her on the head saying I love you and have a good nap. Then I hustle out the door and close it before she can get there because (I know this sounds barbaric but it works for us so back off) we keep a door handle cover on her side so she can't open it. Then she spends between 20 and 30 minutes crying and pleading and bargaining at her bottom door crack before she gives up and crawls back into bed for her nap.

Well, the boys get home between 3:30 and 4:00 and even when I greet them at the door with my finger to my lips and whispering "SSHHH", it doesn't take long before Ryleigh's sixth brother sense kicks in and she needs to be apart of whatever they are doing. So her nap has gone from a solid 3 hours to maybe 1 1/2 if I'm lucky because, again this cursed time change, I'm lucky if I realize as early as 1:30 that it's past nap time. This is also prime "lets call the Thompson house and see who all we can wake up during nap time".

So my million dollar idea that I think of each day is a phone system that you can program to NOT ring during blackout times. Those times would be from noon until 4, and from 8:30pm until 8:00am. This phone system would take messages and also give the option that if it was a life threatening emergency, press such and such a number and it would ring through. However, I reserve the right to provide a life threatening emergency to whomever abused this feature. It would also have a pass code for the selected FEW whom I choose that could call at any time because they are loved more than others. That code could be changed if I decided to change those with it and the old code would send them right into the messaging center. There would also be a message to telemarketers that would require a trivia question answer and if they got it wrong, they would be cut off without the option of leaving a message. The trivia question would be something that only those that knew us would know the answer to such as "what is the name of our dog?". We don't have one and any name would be wrong.

So now on to Scott and myself. This week has been interesting. Scott had Spring Break off, which was nice, however we didn't get as much done as I had hoped. The garage is still a disaster even though Scott got the attic grates installed. I need to go through all my holiday boxes in there and MINIMIZE! Until I get to that, they are still sitting in the middle of the garage making it difficult to walk from the car to the door. I will take the blame for that project not getting done. The house is partially painted and none of it has a second coat yet. The holiday boxes have migrated their way into the piano area and so it doesn't matter that I clean, the house just never looks clean.

Now I did do a couple of things that made me happy. The kitchen floor got a good mop. That only happens every other blue moon. The kitchen looks so good with the new paint color!!! I LOVE IT! And I finished some Sparkle projects and got them listed on a new site. I'm hoping to list them on eBay today. It should be easy as everything is already loaded, I just need to cut and paste.

So here's my gripe list:

I clean, and five minutes later no one would believe it. Why can't the kids and Scott see my frustration at the house and pick up what they have brought out? I might be guilty of that also, but I pretty much keep all my project "stuff" to my general bedroom chair area. If they would do their part, then I could see where my "stuff" (I'm using the word in parenthesis because I would really rather use not so nice words and I'm trying to keep this G-rated) is causing a problem.

I am a list person, but I can't make lists for others because then I get this "stop pushing me and I'll do whatever it is I like because I know what is best and don't care how this is affecting you" silence. Then, the list is lost and other projects get taken partway care of that were never in my "please do this so that I can breathe easier" list in the first place. My list is prioritized so that the most important to me is first on down. There is always a rhyme and reason for what I do and I am not a person that functions well in chaos.

And finally, I'm tired of not being able to finish anything before I'm being asked to do something else. The kids do this, Scott does this, people at church do this, etc. I understand that there are going to be interruptions in life, especially with the kids, but my insides are being shredded apart because nothing is complete. I'll be asked to make a sandwich, and then halfway through, the same person will need me to make some juice and as I'm juggling those to things, the SAME person will then need me to sign a paper or read a book or help with homework. I'm evidently not a multitasker, because by the third request before either of the first two are done, I'm ready to pull my hair out and scream. I am a plodder. I know that and I've worked with this my whole life. I've got a system that I follow and this system calls for extreme organization. Take my church calling for instance. As the Music Chairperson, within the first week of getting the years Sacrament topics, the music and special musical numbers for each Sunday minus Fast Sunday, were mapped out for the rest of the year. I was five musical numbers short but they aren't needed until the months of August and October so I felt fine about it. Even with this organization, things still fall apart and I am running like a mad woman nearly every month to fix what others have decided isn't important. As I've been told, I don't like change. If there is something you want different, that's fine. Just let me know in advance so that I can make those changes without feeling like it's come down to the last second. I don't work well under pressure and although you may not see the torture you've caused me, my family does and I do.

Enough of my complaining. Maybe I just needed to get it out of my system. Maybe my grumpies will dissipate now that it's out and the rest of this week will be better.

I'm off to clean the office and whatever else today. Wish me luck that something gets done so that I can go to sleep tonight and not want to cry like I do right now.

Sorry there are no pictures, I'm just drowning right now and don't feel up to finding something cheerful to post. But take a look at my link Sparkles and you'll see pictures there that I posted. And tonight, I'm making a goal of posting in my God's Hand in my Life to pick me up.