Party All Night!

Okay, 
I really hate to confess... 
I can't do that anymore.  

I don't know how I did before.  

I remember how we used to go party it up, shut down the bar, hang out with friends until the paycheck appeared in the bank (it was between 5 and 6 am back then) and we would head to the 24 hour McD's for a greasy breakfast.  We wouldn't even go to sleep, just straight to work.  Then, after a full work day, head out somewhere else too! 

Or when I was pregnant with Macboy, I was working 4 to midnight every day.  I'd get off work, head to Denny's to visit with friends.  Finally get home around 5:30 am, I'd leave around their shift change, and head to bed.

I used to be able to function on no sleep, and I LOVED it.  Sure wish I knew then how valuable sleep would be later on.  How I would crave it, fight for it, beg and bargain for a few more small minutes.  It's like burning money, I swear... I am exhausted by the thought of even TRYING to stay up all night.

So, why am I considering it?  Well, I have a few reasons.  I can multitask.

1. It is a morbid curiousity that makes me want to see this royal wedding.  I guess it's "history-in-the-making", right?  Whatever... I want to see.
2. It is a fact that I have plenty of work that i need to get done and night time hours are the quietest hours in my house.  
3. It is also a fact that the trucker will have me driving him to work in the morning, so I'm gonna get crappy sleep no matter what I do.

Sadly this night will not be as fun as I remember those party nights being.  I will not have a drink in hand, or dance until my feet hurt.  I will not sing until my voice is hoarse.  I will probably require extra coffee, I will likely likely end up eating a bunch of junk food to occupy myself.  I will also probably be in bed before the kids tomorrow night.

However, I WILL NOT HAVE A HANGOVER..... so I guess I can try.

Wendy Can't Cook Easter Dinner

Another family tradition underway in our house.  Turkey slowly roasting in the oven, kids overloaded with chocolate for breakfast. Perfect.

Tradition tells us that Wendy doesn't cook Easter dinner, everyone prefers when my mom cooks.  I don't think I, personally, have EVER actually cooked a turkey.  I do get left with dish duty, but I think it's a fair trade off.  With mom cooking we actually get food we WANT to eat.  And it's only half the work of a normal day.

The Easter bunny went easy on us this year.  I guess he's catching on that our kids aren't really Chocolate eaters.  So instead of a houseful of candies or chocolates, we have just a small number of chocolate eggs (the kids found them all in record time this year) and a few gifts instead.  Miss Angel Baby got a new tricycle, I guess the bunny saw the broken one in the back yard.  Macboy and Art got new video games.  And Trucker Dad and I get the remaining chocolate to eat at our leisure.  Which I am going to try NOT to do, I need my weight going the other way now.

She's been on the tricycle since she woke up!

It seems that the Easter bunny has a little more $$ backing him up this year than ever before.. Neat, huh?  WE quit smoking and EVERYONE has more money to play with.

We have had a nice quiet morning.  Every one is occupied in some sort of quiet activity.  This is incredibly unusual around here, 6 people in a house is almost always NOISY.  But Grandma is reading, Art is watching Bugs Bunny, Macboy and Angel Baby are playing downstairs.  Trucker Dad is out "playing" in the garage.

So, before anyone figures out that I am sitting peacefully and comes to interrupt this moment, I am going to go fill my coffee cup, put my feet up and do NOTHING for awhile.

I don't want flowers or chocolate, THIS is my best Easter gift of all.

I hope you all have a

HAPPY EASTER

and that you have a great dinner with your family too.

Wendy's Mental Math - Makes Sense To Me

This is not a lesson on how to do math in your head, but rather a lesson in the logic that resides in the dark recesses of Wendy's Brain.

While I sit and enjoy the cake and celebration of small things, I realized there have been a great many questions about where I get my numbers and goals from.  In all honesty, I could just be making it up entirely so I can eat cake!

But I'm not.

The numbers aren't perfect. Some things might get missed, some things might get counted twice.  I'm not going to stress about the accuracy, I am just enjoying that there ARE numbers there.

I will answer some of the questions I've heard so that anyone who's curious will know.

1.)  Does it count as two views if I close the browser and then go back to finish reading it later?

Probably, but hey, I'm glad it was worth coming back to finish!  Thank you!

2.)  If I click the link to go to another post does that count as two or just one visit to the blog?

I think it counts as two, but I don't really know.   Thanks for not getting bored in the first story and WANTING to read more.

3.)What about people who randomly come across and hit the 'back' button right away?  They didn't read it, so does it count?

Of course it counts.... They may not stay and read, which kinda sucks, but it means that I am VISIBLE. Busy Mama has a presence on the web, no matter how small.
Like the who's that Horton takes care of "I AM HERE, I AM HERE, I AM HERE!"



So really, my math logic is simple.  The numbers could mean anything... It's by no means an exact science.  Breaking 500 views of a blog is absolutely minuscule in terms of the internet as a whole.  It's just nice to have a goal.

Realistically, I might only get 15-20 views of each post...Maybe I have to post 50 articles to get 500 visits... Possible, sure.  But that just gives me more reason, more motivation, more desire to keep writing.

Even when I don't want to.

I'd still write, even if no one looked.  But on days when I'm feeling lonely or small, It is great to have a sense of belonging.

Because YOU ARE HERE.... I know that I am too.

Busy Week. Let's Make A Plan!

I have a lot of stuff going on this week.  Partly from work, partly from home and hugely because there is no school Friday, so I have less time to get MORE done.

On the bright side, I have already done (or had help with) the majority of my regular weekly cleaning.  The kids rooms are taken care of too.  I just have to complete the office space set up now.

So, first step -  freezer inventory.  What do I have that I can cook for the rest of the week.

Step 2  - master list for errands.  When I go out, I want to get everything I need in one trip. I do not want to have to run out again.

3. Get some laundry going!  Keep up to that, one load a day and I won't go crazy. And I won't lose my Sunday to Mount Washmore again this week.

I had a relatively productive day, especially considering I had almost no sleep last night.  I did get all my errands done, I also bought some items that will be good for Macboy's lunches.  Things he can make himself or we can make fast, so I can keep my momentum going longer in the morning.  Instead of stopping at 11:30 I can work until 12.

I am going to put Angel Baby in her room again for naptime the rest of this week.  She is back to waking up at her earlier, more normal, time in the morning, so I am hopeful that we can reinstate the afternoon naps.  Even if she doesn't sleep, we were both benefiting from the quiet time.

Today I also got most of the furniture place for my 'office'.  At some point in this process I hope I stop feeling the need to add quotes to 'office!'  I have a need for some shelving.  I asked the Trucker if he could do it in a simple way.  If it can't be done by him in less than 5 minutes, I don't want his help.  It would mean he has already complicated what I asked for.  I need a couple peices of wood, a certain length. (I think I'll just do it while he's at work tomorrow)  I don't want permanent, or even pretty.  I just need functional.  And I don't want 'ideas' involved. Just do what I asked you for.
He said he'll try to make something work for me on the weekend.

Since I have a list in place, I know what laundry to start in the morning.  I know what to take out of the freezer too, while I'm in there.  I have no cleaning that I need to worry about. Art is a fan of the vacuum so I plan to give him that job on Friday.

I hope to be ready and able to WORK all of Wednesday and Thursday.  No, scratch that...

I WILL be ready

Some Days You Shouldn't Ask

More specifically, TODAY.  

When I am running down the list of the furniture I moved, the organizing I've done, the million things I've accomplished, it is not advisable to interrupt and ask 

"What's for dinner?"

I did have dinner options ready, I just hadn't started yet. teeheehee. (sounds good, right?)  It was a quick prep day, taco pie.

And there you have it, the details of my day as the trucker would prefer to hear it.  I'm smart enough to admit that it is probably ALL he heard out of everything I said today anyway.

The problem with asking about dinner today is that it came out during our discussion about reclaiming/creating my home office.  You see, I've never really had an 'office' here.  I have a portable workstation, a binder that keeps me together and a laptop. Most of the time, my office is in my dining room or living room.  But there are supplies that I need, paper and pens, I have a bulletin board and whiteboard, the big calendar, the printer... and so on... that were residing in our guest room/office space.  

My oldest son, Macboy, is 11 now.  He doesn't want to share his space with his younger brother.  I lost the argument with the trucker a few months back about the boys sharing their space.  I had even tried a 'private' space for each boy. One had a large closet, the other had a play area under the stairs.  But, my attempts to keep them sharing were all in vain.  My dearest trucker has 6 sisters. No brothers.  I bet all of the sisters would agree with me, but he is the only boy and always had his own room so he just doesn't get it.  I always had to share with my sister... why can't the boys?

We finally agreed that he could SLEEP in the guest room. Not every single night, but some nights when the younger one was being difficult.  It didn't take long before it was every night, except if we actually needed the guest bed for guests. 

A few weeks go by and he has taken over the surface of the dresser and the bedside table is buried under lego and books.  

Trucker, always the helpful sort, decides to swap the contents of the guest room dresser with Macboys clothes.  Just three days before, I cleaned out the top drawer for my growing stock of office items.  Now, my office supplies (well, half of them) just got relocated to the CLOSET of my youngest boys bedroom!  A week or two later, when I was complaining about the placement of my things... it was suggested I quit my job.  Seriously!! Ummm.... okay?

Today, I just threw in the towel.  I finally gave up.  

I had a conference call on Skype.  I was sitting on a selection of Mario plush toys and using the top of my new filing cabinet (which has not yet been given a home) to support the laptop. I had to set my coffee between a couple of Sega cartridges and had a heck of a time trying to find a pen and a flat writing surface.

I need my office back 

I need my office supplies in ONE spot, in ONE room 

This is what I'd LOVE

I took Macboys dresser into the guestroom, switched the contents back where they should be.  I brought up the smaller dresser from the basement and swapped the larger one out of there. I donated the large dresser immediately.  After returning from Goodwill, I moved the lego landslide upstairs.  I moved my office items downstairs. I moved almost all of our play area from the basement and divided it between the two boys.  

I moved three dressers today, including hauling one up a set of stairs and one to my vehicle.  I moved a large rolling cart down stairs, and I took about 50 trips up and down those stinkin stairs moving the office down and the play area up.  

With a toddler underfoot all day and two boys after school too. 

This is what I get :)

 All I wanted to say was

I really DON'T CARE what 

YOU make for dinner!!!

But I didn't get a chance.

The only help I've asked for, is no more help.  And after a full day of moving everything all over my house...
My boys have clean rooms but I STILL don't have my office.