I hate spring... not really but it's not good for my family

It's spring in Oklahoma..... that means anything goes. It could be freezing in the morning, then sweltering in the evening. You can have beautiful, clear skies with warm weather, and a severe thunderstorm and/or tornado that night.

I love the constant change of spring weather in Oklahoma, but what I do not like is its effects on the animal life. Primarily, the life of insects and arachnids. When the flies and gnats start swarming early in spring, a blessed cold front to kill them off is always a plus. But when the weather starts turning warmer and wetter, the nastiest spiders seem to creep into my house and take shelter in my son's room. Of course, it would be his room because he is the one that is allergic to everything. You know, it is like the theory of cats. Cats only want to cuddle with the people they know despise them the most. The same seems to be true of the brown recluse spider that is better known as the fiddleback spider.

If you know me, I completely despise spiders. I do respect them, especially those that are beneficial to a gardener like the Daddy Long Legs. But since I do not garden, I prefer all those that enter my house to be dead. Especially, when they are hanging around above my son's bed.

He was already bitten once by a fiddleback last year. Of course, it was in his bedroom. The bite started off looking like a little pimple, but within a few hours it got larger, pussier, and by the next day started pitting in the middle. It was healed within a week, but not something anyone wants to see or have their 4-year-old experience.

His room is not a mess. In fact, he is the one that is most likely to have his room organized (including his closet). Everything has a place in his room and he will tell you where things go. It just so happens that his room is the only one that stays dark all day long and maintains the same constant temperature. It is the perfect environment for the fiddleback spider.

I called and left a message with the pest control company that we use late last night. They called me before hours this morning and I am expecting them come Monday. Hopefully, it will be a one and done treatment to protect his space, but if not, at least I am not charged for everytime they have to come and spray.

Getting back in touch

I feel so loved this week. First, I got to meet a friend, whom I haven't seen in a long time, for lunch. While waiting for her to arrive at the restaurant, I get another call from another girlfriend, whom I have missed so dearly. We have a play date scheduled next week and I am bursting to tell my kids - but I'm thinking it would be better to surprise them instead. Partly because I am afraid of jinxing the good behavior streak they have been having at school. I'm afraid they will be all worked up, they won't think right and therefore do wrong.

These touching surprises to get together with friends is much needed, and much deserved. I have just gotten into such a rut of trying to get through the week of hauling kids to and from school, doing dishes/laundry, going to t-ball, gymnastics, and now my golf clinic, that there doesn't seem to be anytime to sit down and appreciate what I have, and who is in my life. I have just been trying to live for the weekend, when I have a longer stretch of time available to me in order to try and complete the tasks I have set forth for myself. My goal - get my house and life in order because I am ready to have friends over for dinners and fellowship.

Now that I have had these little refreshers, I am geared up and ready for "Spring Cleaning." I am wanting to get out of the clutter in my house, and to also clear out the clutter in my life. I just have to figure out to whom I am going to give all of this stuff (don't worry Melessa, the baby stuff is safe for you). But I am planning on having it all done by Mother's Day weekend, so that I can start living life again. Especially since I'll be home with my kids this summer and I want to be able to have time to enjoy it.

Long time coming

JT: "Dad, is Yoda a crocodile?"

I love watching movies with my children. Although it drives my DH crazy because our oldest is constantly running commentary about what he is seeing, thinking, hearing, etc. He does not have the ability to sit down and quietly ingest anything on the TV or in the movie theater. There is constant movement and/or chatter from him. How his little batteries keep running as long as they do all day without being completely drained is beyond me. I just hope that he can maintain his energy and momentum as he gets older and attends school full-time.

Lately, he has been asking me a lot of questions regarding the human body. No, none of the sexual functions (thank goodness), but I know what most of you were thinking. He has been asking about why bones are so hard, how do our bodies bend if our bones are so hard, etc. So, if anyone has a pre-school book on how to explain some of these questions, I would love to know the title. It seems that every time I try to answer him, it just spurs on a series of more and more questions.

For me personally, I have been spending the last month cleaning up poop from the little one. He has been having a series of diarrhea since the week before Spring Break. It will go for about 4-5 days, then seem to clear up, then start again. For the last 2 weeks, he has been running a temperature off and on. So, in order to rule out certain bacteria and poisons, I am having to take poop samples from him. Trying to capture a 10-month old's stool sample, while not contaminating it with urine, and filling the vials up to the right level is no easy feat. My saran-wrap-diapers have not been as successful either, as spillage is quite often a factor. There is no leak protection with these diapers. I am hoping he gets over whatever it is that is upsetting his stomach soon. I know that my DH is not wanting to be on poop-patrol, seeing as he is working all day today replacing a sewer line for a friend. But why should I have all of the glory from our child?

KD is just KD. She flits, she floats, she flies through life. My DH has come to realize this of her - FINALLY. He now understands that she does not have any athletic ability in her body (beyond doing her gymnastics), and is accepting of the fact that she is more into the Arts. This has been a great eureka moment for our family, and things seem to be going much more smoothly for her.

I'm still pondering the job situation for next year. I have notified several places about my interest to meet with them. It is just up to them to see if they are willing to meet with me. I just hope that when I do return to work, it will be the best fit for me because in turn it will make it the best fit for my family.

Who, What, Huh?

This is Wendy. I have temporarily misplaced myself. Once I figure out who I am, what I am supposed to be doing, and I get back on track with life, I may return your call. Until then, please leave a message at the beep.

**BEEP**

Spring "Break" is now over

Spring break is officially over.......... and my kids are having a hard time adjusting to it. They ran rampant with their cousins last week and the lack of sleep on their part is definitely having its effects.

The little person having the most difficulty adjusting to things is my oldest son. He is only 5 1/2 years old and is grounded. Why? Because he thinks he is smarter than his parents.

Last night he tried to pull the "Well, Mommy said I could......." and the "Daddy said it's okay........" stunt with the two of us. All because he would not ask his father if it was alright to go over to a neighbor's house to play. He "thought" he would not like the answer his father would give him, so he decided to make up one on his own. He had tried asking me originally, but since I had holed myself up in my daughter's room to finish painting it (that is another blog), I reminded him that his Dad was in charge of him and he needed to ask him. And it went on from there.

On the way home from school today, I asked my son how his day went after the break. He said "Great! And we played a game today - called the 'Quiet Game' and everyone kept asking me to play because they think I am so cool."

I don't think I have the heart to tell him the real reason why he must have been chosen for the quiet game.

Giving it another go!

Okay - so last week I fell after the step-stool I was on broke. It was an old wooden one, but my hind-side is still healing. A beautiful shade of black and blue it is too. I am at it again after a week to try and paint on my daughter's room. This time, however, I do not plan on stepping or climbing up anything (I will be using the short ladder later), without my husband's presence. As it is, I have him off to a birthday party with KD, I'm entertaining the baby, and JT is hanging out playing video games. I do plan on getting the primer done in her room today though. keeping-my-fingers-crossed-that-this-first-step-is-done-today-and-not-in-the-middle-of-the-night.

Painting and I don't mix

So I twittered Saturday about whether or not I should clean house or paint my daughter's room. I wasn't sure which was the lesser evil. I chose to clean most of the house, since I knew I was going to be making a mess while painting. I figured it would be better not to have a mess on top of a mess. Of course, my daughter was all on board to help me (she did the toilets) because the faster I finished cleaning, the faster I could paint. Since my house was quite respectable by Saturday afternoon, I took part of yesterday to paint (in between working the nursery at church and going out to celebrate my dad's 61st birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!)

My DH was off playing golf, as is his usual forte on Sunday. My daughter was invited to go play Barbie at a friend's house down the street. My baby was sleeping in his crib. My oldest I had talked into staying with me instead of going to play Barbie with the girls, with the temptation of a movie of his choice and him helping me paint. Thank goodness I did this too. I was just cutting around the second door when the stool I was standing on broke. I went down hard, hit something that was behind me, and found myself not able to straighten out my right leg without extreme pain. I was the epitome of the First Alert Commercial. "I've fallen, and I can't get up!" I got JT to get my cell phone and the technical brains that he is, tried calling his father. No answer. He tried again. No answer. Then I took the phone and tried. No answer. I'm thinking he is away from his golf bag and just didn't hear the phone, but my backside was bleeding and I needed help.

I sent JT into the kitchen to get me some ice (so he wouldn't see the blood - or my tears), and I called the pro shop at the golf course. A friend of my husband's answered and I was quite calm (it was from the shock of course) and asked him to find my husband and tell him to come home as soon as possible because I had fallen and I couldn't get up.

One of the other pros calls my DH on his phone (of course he "hears" this one as it is vibrating in his shorts pocket), and tells him I'm hurt and that he needs to get home. They sent another guy out in a cart to pick him up, since he is walking the course this day. I created such drama for the men yesterday - and I am sure my bruised backside is the joke among them today.

All in all, I did nothing much except create a bigger mess by getting out all of the supplies, and hurting myself so that I cannot get around and do too much even today. I guess I answered my twitter comment when I was debating on whether or not I should clean house or paint. Painting did turn into the greater evil.