Many Unrelated Thoughts

X is holding my lunchbox-sized freezer packs hostage. He is deliberately not sending them back to my house until I "return" his, which are NOT HERE. I think this is pathetic and petty. And really annoying.

Kira is once again getting herself ready early so that she can go out and clear the snow off my deck. She has a wonderful work ethic. It throws Mark's reluctance to help out into very sharp relief.

I just had a ladybug on my foot. It tickled.

My house is a sanctuary for wayward ladybugs. They invade my home in DROVES. Fortunately for them, I really like ladybugs. I do not, however, like the smell when you scare them and they pee on your hand before taking off. Potent little suckers.

There's a dance at school Friday night. Mark is going. He is currently trying to work himself up to ask a girl to dance. (well, at least one of three possible girls. Not that it's questionable whether they're girls. In that sense, they're DEFINITE girls. oh, shut up, markira) He seems to think that I am in doubt whether he's going to the dance, because last night he came in to show me the money he's bringing to "prove" he's going. His original game plan was to just bring enough to get in. I convinced him he needs to have at least enough to buy a girl a soda if it works out right. His theory was that he would just buy the *girl* a soda and he would drink out of the water fountain. That way it would show the girl he cared more about her. My thought was, she'd just think he didn't bring enough money. :D (but seriously, awwwwwww on his reasoning)

Still on the dance, Mark will not let me ask his teacher to poll the class to see who's going to the dance. Even though I explained that she could easily do it in such a way that it will not seem like I asked her. And also even though Mark really wants to know which girls are going, but will not ask them directly. So I promised I wouldn't ask. However, should she, say, read this on the blog and then do it on her own accord (hint, HINT), I would be keeping my promise and we'd still get the info. :D

Yesterday I was clearing out unnecessary items from the main bathroom, and I put a bunch of kid toothbrushes in Kira's bathroom medicine cabinet. (she has a teeny tiny half-bath built into her bedroom--it's the "kids' bathroom") So this morning Kira discovered them and wanted to open the Barbie toothbrush. I actually told her no, because she *just* went to the dentist and got a toothbrush from them. Said she could open it in three months when it's time to change the toothbrush. I'm tired of having the kids have several toothbrushes going at once, leaving them all over the place (including on the floor of their bedrooms. Seriously.). She was going to throw out the one her dentist gave her to open the Barbie toothbrush. I told her it was wasting. Over a TOOTHBRUSH. There are currently SIX unopened toothbrushes sitting there. I need to let it go. I actually feel pretty cheap having told her that.

What IS it with my inability to just let things go??? I am an incredible pack rat. And not even a neat, organized one. I have stuff PILED everywhere. Ro has seen the "playroom" (although the kids have not actually been able to PLAY in there for YEARS, and in fact are not even allowed to go in the room), and she is full of plans to help me organize a yard sale for this year. She has not, however, seen the third floor. And the garage. And the "barn chamber" (the second floor of the garage). She may run screaming away. I know *I* want to run screaming away just thinking about it. But how cool if I could actually GET RID OF THIS CRAP. sigh.

Ro's house is so pretty. It's smaller than mine, but everything is all neatly and beautifully placed (and if you think that little room off the dining area counts as a disaster, Ro, you are sadly mistaken. I'm telling you, you have not SEEN disaster yet. The playroom is EMPTY compared to these other places.). She doesn't have piles of STUFF all over her house waiting to find a home. I just love her kitchen. And her living room. And the kids' playroom, which they actually play in. And she has a FOYER. Sigh.

My mom and I are going to Augusta this morning. Mom is of the "hurry up and go so you can get back" type. She just called, and already wanted to know what time we were coming back. She started calculating time, saying we'd only be there an hour or two. I interrupted her to say that if she's going to be pressuring me on time, to not go. I'm not driving an hour up and an hour back to be rushed. I have places I want to go, and I'm going to take my time. I don't want to be gone all day, either, but neither do I want her bugging me about "how much longer?!?!" If I wanted that, I'd take my kids. :D

Well, any other thoughts that I was groping for have now retreated to the corners of my brain. So I guess I'm gonna go get cleaned up and ready to go. And grab all the crap in the upper hallway and stuff it into my bedroom and close the door so Mom can check out the improvements I've made to the bathroom without having to negotiate through a one-foot-wide path before you get to the room. Again with the need to get rid of crap. Sigh. Double sigh. mk