It's the Little Things

Friday morning I woke up, got ready for work and then promptly decided I was going to take the day off.  The sun was shining,  the birds were singing and I just couldn't do 8 hours in a cubicle.  Maybe it was the few adult beverages I had the night before with the ladies.  Maybe it was because the kids had fun stuff going on at school.  Maybe it was because I have over 3 weeks of vacation to use.  Maybe it was because it was a beautiful day.  Probably it was a combination of all of these.

Fortunately,  my coworkers are amazing and I really had all my work finished for the week.

Layla and I went back home and snuggled in my bed while watching Beauty and the Beast. I made us breakfast, took a shower,  straightened the house and started some laundry.  It brought me back to my too few stay at home mom days.

For lunch,  we headed out to South County to meet Grace's class for lunch.  They were on their big 8th grade field trip going to all kinds of fun places until late into the night.   Fuddrucker's was the lunch destination. The big, fat,  greasy burger and onion rings were delicious (OK... that might have something to do with those adult beverages). It was great to spend time with her and her class.

After lunch,  Layla and I went back home for a little nap.  That girl really doesn't like to sleep,  but she did cuddle for awhile. 

Eva's second grade class was having their volcano eruption on the soccer field before school dismissed.  She was so excited I could be there after all!  Since it was so close to the end of the day,  I stuck around to take Alex and Eva and my nieces and nephew home from school. 

Once home,  I threw some hot dogs on the grill and packed the picnic basket.  Might as well make the most of the day and beautiful weather. We went to the park next to the baseball field because Alex had his first game that evening.  We ate and the girls played while Alex warmed up.

In the bottom of the first inning, Alex swung at the first pitch and low and behold hit a home run!!! Of course at the time,  I didn't even know it was Alex.  All those boys look the same in uniforms and helmets!  After a few other parents and Eva told me that they indeed thought that was Alex,  I made my way over to the dug out.  That boy was grinning ear to ear and politely accepting the accolades from his teammates.  It was a pretty amazing moment to be his mom.

He brought his friend home with us to stay the night.  They ate junk food and played Xbox and were in little boy heaven. 

After picking up Grace from the field trip,  I crawled in bed for a good night's sleep.  It didn't take long before I was fast asleep.

It really was a fantastic day with my babies.  And I got to enjoy it all because of one little decision I made that morning.  Sometimes spontaneity is the spice of life.

Rise and Shine

Mornings are always a little rough in my house.  My offspring have inherited my love of sleep that's for sure.  We pride ourselves on being able to sleep to the very last minute,  rush around like idiots while screaming at each other and still be on time.

This morning when the alarm on my new phone went off,  I was calmly awakened by the soothing sounds.  I chose the smart alarm feature that quietly plays 3 minutes prior to the actual alarm increasing in volume as it goes.  This morning I peacefully awoke to "morning flowers"and "angel feathers." It was a great way to start the day and I was certain we'd get out of the house without any yelling.

Ha ha ha ha!

Eva had a melt down because Jaxson peed on the only pair of school shorts she has.  How our 5 pound dog managed to climb her dresser and relieve himself on her uniform is beyond me! I learned that 6:30 in the morning was probably not the best time to ask her that.  It's really hard for an 8 year old to pick up her only pair of uniform shorts off the floor and put them away.

Alex got to play the hero by giving her the extra pair of shorts that he's been carrying around in his book bag for God knows how long.  She decided stinky brother shorts were more acceptable than stinky dog pee shorts.

We have our one and only free Saturday this weekend. I was looking for a fun day trip, maybe even to the river if the weather cooperates, to take advantage of this rare occasion without other commitments.  Now I'm pretty sure I'll be cleaning out bedrooms and teaching my angels the wonders of the washer.

Easter Take 2

I somehow left out this photo in yesterday's Easter post. I can only imagine the drama 20 years from now when Grace might see this blog. How dare I not include her picture?!?

In other Easter news, we did lunch with my family on Sunday. It was a lovely day. I do enjoy it when we all get together, although, it is always better as a memory.

We were heading home around 4 that afternoon when the kids decided I must make dinner. Although we stuffed ourselves at a late lunch, not having dinner would be unacceptable. Anything to keep my little dears happy!

We decided on burgers and chips. I stopped at Walgreens on the way home. Alex and Eva joined me on this quick shopping adventure. We didn't even need a cart as there were only 3 items on my list; soda, chips and vodka!

While in the soda/liquor aisle, Alex noticed a convenient little button to request assistance. I saw him eyeing it and threatened that if he pushed that button, he would be the one to need help!

He backed away and I congratulated myself on such witty but effective discipline.

I headed over to the next aisle to grab some chips with him and Eva following behind. Over the intercom system comes this lovely message, "Customer Assistance needed in the LIQUOR AISLE!". My precious children could not contain their laughter. Great, mother of the year right here!

To make this already embarassing moment even better, the kid at the check out couldn't ring up the liquor selection I so greatly needed assistance with on Easter Sunday because he wasn't old enough. Another loud speaker announcement for assistance with a liquor purchase. And more uncontrollable laughter from the children!

Good thing for vodka or I may not have survived this day!

Easter Morning

Waking up to the sun shining and birds chirping early Easter morning certainly isn’t a bad way to start the day. I made coffee, cleaned the house, baked cinnamon rolls, altered a dress all before 8 am. For the first time in 13 years, there was not a child in the house for a holiday morning.

Although the quiet was nice and I was proud of my accomplishments, chaos ensued at precisely 9am. The kids spent the weekend with their dad and per our agreement, they were to be home in time to collect their Easter eggs and baskets and get ready for 10:30 Mass.

Layla was overwhelmed with the whole Easter thing by the time she walked in the door. I missed that girl like crazy, but it was a little more difficult attending to the other kids as she clung to my arms and legs. After Alex so kindly pointed out where all the Easter baskets were hidden, I got a quick picture of them all before the meltdowns ensued. With Layla being the littlest at 2, I thought it would only be fair to let her begin the Easter Egg hunt first. I asked the older kids to avoid the “easy” eggs so her hunt could be fun.

Apparently, I did not understand the seriousness of this Easter egg hunt. Layla get to the yard first, but since she didn’t want to leave my side, she wasn’t all that interested in the actual hunting. Alex took this as an open invitation to all the eggs he could get his hands on. Within 30 seconds, the hunt was pretty much over and the majority of the eggs in Alex’s basket. Of course this would be the time Layla decided she wanted to gather eggs.
Politely I asked Alex to put a handful of eggs back out for Layla. Alex wasn’t fast enough in compling with my request for Grace’s liking. Before I could even get all the words out of my mouth, Grace hit the bottom of Alex’s basket sending the eggs flying every which way. Layla was delighted. Alex was ticked.

In seconds Alex had Grace’s hair wrapped around his hand and was quickly and viciously bringing her down to the ground. The table and chair surrounding her was just a bonus for her head and back and legs to hit on the way down.
Nothing says “Praise the Lord” like a knock-down drag out fight over some plastic Easter Eggs.

Once we all recovered from that escapade, we managed to get ready for a lovely Easter mass and pictures at the park. I threatened the children with their lives if they did not cooperate for pictures.

They definitely broke out their halos for these beauties!

A Mid-Western Spring

Ah…spring in the Midwest.  The jonquils are blooming and the sun is shining.  Well…today anyway.

Last week, we endured severe thunderstorms and several tornados.  Fortunately, those tornados didn’t touch down.  However, the heavy rain wreaked havoc on our plumbing system.  After the first round of storms, I came home to at least a foot of sewer water coving every square inch of the basement. 

The toys the kids had been playing with just a few days before are now floating in poopy water.  All my storage, furniture, clean laundry and holiday decorations are ruined.

The plumbers have been out several times and finally determined the main sewer line collapsed.  This requires them to dig out the old piping and replace.  However, it couldn’t be done right away.

After a full week with no access to the basement and having to do 27 loads of laundry at my mother’s house, the water has finally been drained.

The plumbers were there early this morning to continue the work.  They hope to have it completed by the end of the day.

But what am I supposed to do with a basement covered in a thick layer of sewer sludge?

I’m optimistic that I can get a restoration crew out next week.  Once I can get it cleaned out and disinfected, I can finally start to put the house back in order.

The silver lining in all of this….I can now redecorate the entire house!

It’s time to switch some bedrooms up and start the next phase of our lives.

I’m ridiculously excited to start this project.  The work ahead of me is intense, but by the end of summer, I hope to have the entire house revamped.

One step at a time….

Embrace the Journey

Embrace the Journey

Well, here we are a full three months into 2014. I don’t really understand the ebb and flow of my need to write, but I try to obey it nonetheless.

I’ve been silent for awhile. Not because I didn’t have anything to say, or that life just became too busy, or any other perfectly rational reason for a single mother of four. I’ve been silent for one reason….this never ending divorce process. When I made the decision in June of 2012 to divorce my husband, I never thought it would be this long and grueling. However, in June of 2012, I didn’t know I was divorcing a sociopath. For that matter, I didn’t know I was married to a sociopath.

As I began the process for sorting out the last 13 years of my life, I was having a hard time figuring out where it all went wrong. During an emotional conversation almost two years ago, I was encouraged to read the book “The Sociopath Next Door.”

I read that book front to back and over and over again. It was like my life laid out in words. Sure, the scenarios were a little different but the context was the same. Nail on the head the same. Needless to say, it took me quite a while to process what all of this meant. But at least I had something to process.

I am still in the healing process. Relearning who I am and what I want. Being robbed of innocence, manipulated and abused all based on my core existence makes it hard road to a new life. But the day I decided I deserved better will always be my independence day.

I don’t think I will talk much about the divorce here. I know he is watching, waiting and planning to manipulate my words and my freedom in order to hurt me. He’s kept me in silence for too long.

This place is my happiness. My chance to express myself and share my life story. When I started to blog many years ago, I started it for my children. I wanted it to be a way for them to remember their lives. To understand their momma from a different perspective. To share in the memories that have made them who they are and who we are as a family. I don’t want them to lose that. Hell, we’ve all lost enough already.

So here I am. A new name. A new look. A new life. Time to Embrace the Journey.

You can read my old posts at Life From the Fort.