MARVELOUS MONDAY

[DeeClutter]

Wishing each of you a marvelous day. All the meltdowns talked about yesterday -I began to think something was in the water (everywhere!) or was there a full moon? After all the fiasco with gd16 yesterday and the sheriff coming to church for a domestic dispute (with a pretty new couple). Then ddil#2 texted that she decided to give us a view of dgs2 in a not so cute day. (very unusual for him) - conversation went like this. She & he were tired from the start after a very busy Saturday. They had gone to the planetarium and then to the races to watch dgs15 race. Said they'd missed the first service at church after fighting with him over everything. Finally made it to church after allowing him to wear TWO pairs of jeans. Had to bring 2 extra pairs of shoes in order to get out the door for dgd15's dance recital. Was dressed in the 'wrong' sandals -whatever that was. He had to be called "Chase" all day or got upset. And they had to take his bath towel as well. But he was interested enough that he behaved during the recital. Later she tried to nap with him watching cartoons -wrong -he spilled a drink on her, inadvertently pulled her pony tail a few times and jumped on her 3 or 4 times. She was ready to do something. DS-A and dgs15 came to the rescue and took him outside to play ball. Finally this 2-year old settled into his normal happy self. She wanted us to know that he wasn't always cute and wonderful -have to love those 2-year olds! We can laugh. He obviously needed a day off and a lot more rest.

DD & dsonil have gone to work. DD is a bit on pins and needles as she waits to hear from gd15's guardian mom -after her court request. She told dd last night that she made need her to sign off on parental rights. Oh what a state!

I slept till 2 and then was awake until about 4:30 and was awake again about 6. Dsonil works 12 hour days all this week (7am -7:30pm). Told dd if she wants to wait dinner for him to go ahead -that's perfectly fine. But I'll probably do my own much earlier. I can't eat that late or it really messes with my blood sugar -how about any of you other diabetics? Does it bother you?

Think I'll just veg for a little bit and then start my day. Need to go to the post office to mail a package to dh with paper things mostly. Need to stop for gas and do a W mart run. Then I want to go to the bank and see about changing all our accounts to this address. As it is they mail our statement for our override even when there's nothing to report. Can't do that one online which I don't quite understand. That goes to our son's house. I only shred it each month. Had that mailed here at one time and then they started charging me $14 a month on our checking because it wasn't linked to our savings which was opened down here.

[helia]

Good morning! It looks like a pretty normal Monday here - and a beautiful day! It is supposed to get up into the 80s - again. This has been a warm weekend. Tomorrow, it is supposed to cool down, and I'll plan on jogging tomorrow.

What a day, Dee! Those sound like long days for dsil. I hope he enjoys what he does. Dgs2 does sound cute. Even when being trouble.

I think Harmony asked a couple days ago if anyone here can do their WHB in 1 hour as flylady suggests? That's a negative here. It would take me an hour (or more?) just to vacuum the entire house, though I never actually vacuum every room in one go. Actually, is vacuuming every room even part of the WHB? I can vacuum the main living areas on this floor in about 20 minutes.

I was interested in Harriet's mention of a megachurch with activities that her dd16 did not enjoy. There is no megachurch in our city, but there is one in a small village about 15 miles away, ironically. We lose church attenders to it from time to time. We visited once many many years ago when the children were quite small. As the dry ice mist wafted across the stage, I remember one child leaning over to me in the middle of the worship and asking, "Mom, is this a church or a concert?" The seats were just like theater seats too. I've heard this church is very user-friendly, so to speak, something I don't think our own church always is, so I think they have their purposes, even if their style doesn't mesh with ours. At the time, Dh felt it was his duty to expose our children to all sorts of different churches. The girls have also been to services in local synagogues as they've watched their friends' bat mitzvah services. I've attended a couple of those too and found them very very beautiful.

I am up, have checked web sites and email, had a cup of tea, and posted my weekly grades.

The city was working at 7:30 a.m. to finish clearing the city pipes. There is a truck parked on the road at the foot of our driveway. The dogs had to bark at it for a while.

PODA:
- a.m. routine
- finish laundry
- tutor R (her computer is broken so no editing before she arrives)
- finish prep for class today
- groc. list and menu plan
- groc. store?
- 2 pm - walk to work
- payroll
- home around 6 pm
- dinner: leftovers (ribs and pulled pork), and baked potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, and another veggie since we don't have many brussel sprouts left. R will join us tonight. S and baby J are out of town, with dd19. S is one of the main speakers at a camp of the Christian Student org. in which she is a leader.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Dee: I can't think of a thing that hasn't been done to help your gd. At this point, I believe signing off on parental rights and turning her over to custodial care is the best, both for her and others. In past years you frequently mentioned being afraid of what she'd do to you and worried about what would happen as she physically grew larger. In her new setting she has again proven she is a risk to others, not only herself. Custodial care will at least keep the risk to others to a minimum and, should treatment or maturity help her grow out of this condition, then she won't have something like a murder conviction dogging her for the rest of her life.

I'm up and at it. Although it is getting quite late and I haven't had breakfast or s2s yet.

I have put fresh sheets on the bed, started the laundry, worked with the paintings on the dining table, measuring and getting ideas for framing, and framed the one that I bought a frame for (looks fabulous but 3 others would have looked just as good in that frame so I'll be back to IKEA to buy more.)

We didn't really eat at home yesterday so there were no dishes to put away while my tea steeped.

Now to eat and get ready to bike to the hospital to visit one of my seniors.

[DeeClutter]

Amen, Kathryn. Our thoughts exactly. The situation here is just one to prove that not all non-law abiders, etc. come from a 'bad' home environment. She's had more love and more opportunities than a dozen kids put together. Nature vs. nuture is a big thing here I'm sure.

[BookSaver]

Good morning, villagers ~
My Marvelous Monday will involve a lot of planning and setting things up for the rest of the week.

I'm scheduled to work every weekday, and then at the weekend we need to go up to start moving DMIL's things back into her house.

Yesterday I finished catching up the laundry, so that helps.

I need to plan out my wardrobe for so many work days. I'm glad I was lucky enough to find so many new shirts!

Also need to figure out a menu list using what we have in the house, because I'm not sure when I'll have time to go to the grocery store.

I'm managing to keep up with the dishes in spite of the drain still being a pain. I'm having to use the kitchen sink like a 19th century dry sink -- although I don't have to hand-pump the water, I do have to use dishpans and empty them into a bucket to carry to the downstairs bathroom to dump down there. Sometimes I heat the water in a tea kettle because I can't let it run long enough to get as hot as I want it. The kitchen drain is fine, it's still the problem with the sink drain in DH's mancave.

I asked him last night what the plan was for fixing it, and he said since drain cleaners and plunging did not work, he will take apart the Ptrap and try to get a snake through the pipe. He didn't say when he would do that -- he's currently more worried about keeping up with mowing the grass. In the meantime, I usually try to wait until he gets home to carry my buckets of dish water through the mancave so he has constant reminders.

Could be a lot worse, though, so I can't complain too much. It's just a minor annoyance, really, because it takes so much extra time when I'm trying to finish chores.

[Harmony]

Booksaver, I hope you get your drain fixed soon. Maybe you could borrow Helia's plumbers?!

(Dee)

I have been at my desk most of the morning so far. Ran out to the bank too.
Stripped bed and have sheets in dryer now. Daily chores also done.

I really need a nap. Don't know why I'm feeling so tired. Got awakened very early this morning, that's probably why.

[Elizabeth]

Good morning all! I hope you had good weekends. Mine started off rather strangely. I was at Bunco at church when I got a call from my dNiece12 in Alabama. I have never gotten a call from her before. She had been staying home while Mom and Sis were shopping, when lightning struck the house and started a fire. Calls went out immediately to firefighters and grandfather (my dad), who were still there. By this time, Mom (xSIL) was back, but dealing with firefighters and she wanted to call someone. Dad suggested me. (Her father, my bro, was on a plane and could not be contacted). She was very upset, because the firefighters assumed she set the fire herself! They quickly figured out the truth, but it was a massive injustice. She talked to me for a while, and when she hung up, I called DD13, who also called my niece. This niece's bedroom is heavily damaged, little sis' bedroom is a total loss, as is xSIL's closet and a bathroom. All pets are found and safe. With their dad and both sets of grandparents in the same city, they don't have to worry about where they will stay or the pets.

The rest of the weekend was more normal. I did cat clinic, movie with DD13, church, hike with DD + friend. After DD left, a massive lawn bag of weeds was decluttered from my yard and LOLs were run. Best of all, the checkbook got balanced, and all the bills I had were paid, with about $75 left in the account for the next two weeks. Unfortunately, I have things I need to buy for errand day today. (I will do what I did last month, and what I will probably be doing for the foreseeable future: transfer some money from savings and put it back with the next paycheck. And I did replace the money last month, so I should be able to this month as well, since there are fewer expenses.)

Tonight's errands: gasoline, buy black pants, buy cat litter, buy a lamp if there is time, groceries. Other stuff I would like to get done: finish scan of documents and send, door fix, garage door backup battery install, hotel reservations. Not all of the latter list is likely to get done.

[helia]

((Dee)) Yes, nature vs. nurture is a real and very big thing. My own family of origin is another picture of that issue with 3 kids, all adopted from different parents, all raised in the same home environment with the same parents and the same values taught. One kid was always rebellious and ended up as a drug addict and violent. This kid ran away from home at age 17. Another kid was very academically driven and generally followed all the "rules" of life. Another was a big goofball with a soft heart. All 3 kids grew up in a good home, not at all like the home one thinks of when one hears of drug addicts. Parents were married and highly educated, the home was stable, and the family was very involved in the life of their church. My older brother is a sad story in my life, one I don't share often or readily (I used to say I had only one brother). Growing up with him was no party, to say the least, and as horrible as it sounds, it was a huge relief to our family when he ran away. Dee, it is so true that a good home environment is no guarantee of any particular outcome. Each kid brings so much of him/herself to life as well. ((HUGS)) That doesn't make it easier, though. Just wanted to share a little bit b/c I've seen some pretty hard stuff too in my time, even though I grew up in a respectable family.

Oh, ((bookie)) for drain problems. Yeah, we just lived through something of that, though was had sewer water coming up through our pipes. Would love to send our plumber over to help you.

Done:
- QT
- tutored R
- s2s and self-care
- dark lol folded and put away; lol #2 in dryer; lol #3 in washing machine
- lunch

Next:
- prep for class this afternoon
- prep baked potatoes to be put in the oven while I'm gone (hopefully - this will depend on dd16, who is a pretty reliable kid)
- take care of laundry
- finish menu plan and groc. list. I think I'll be going to the groc. store tomorrow.

[Sunny]

Hello Everyone. Dh and I had a quiet weekend after a busy couple of days.

Thursday evening we went to see dgs10-T spring concert at the elementary school. This is mostly the chorus with some instrumental numbers by whatever instrument students are learning; this time it was all piano. At other times there have been students playing trumpet, flute or sax. There was also a dance routine by a team of dancers who also did acrobatics with their performance. Dgs sang a duet with another student.

Friday was errand day starting with taking dgd13-M to school. We also made three stops to pay three different bills. By the time we got home we decided that it would have been less expensive to put stamps on the envelopes and let the USPS use their gas to deliver these payments!

Saturday was stay-at-home weekly cleaning day. Sunday was supposed to be visiting with both dsons' dfamilies. Never heard from ds#1 (I wasn't surprised because he had told me they might not come as he and dgs10-T had a flag ceremony in a neighboring city at 6 am to retire old u.s. flags no longer able to be used.) Dh and I were at W-M grocery shopping when ds#2-J called to say he had some home maintenance to take care of and they wouldn't be down either. So a quiet day, I spent most of the afternoon sewing.

((Dee)).

Elizabeth, so glad to hear your dniece12 is all right and her dfamily and pets. It would have been so scary for her!

I also heard from ddil#3-A that ds was performing with the Old Bridge Chamber Orchestra yesterday at one of their areas middle schools. It has been quite a few years since I'd heard him play. His job is associated with the background running of the USAB, not actually playing. I'm glad he had this opportunity to do something he loves to do. I looked up the website for the OBCO; if anyone is interested it is: http://www.obco.org/index.html

I've had my lunch. Today is desk day; I still have to file some receipts and do some computer work by downloading pictures from my camera and phone. I also have to turn on the other laptop and let it download the updates for this month. There were 20 on this computer and took two sessions to get it done.

[lucylee]

Ditto ALL comments re: dgd, Dee... (((BIG HUGS)))...

Marvelous? Well, I don't know about that, but I do have the sheets in the washer, and I've eaten breakfast, and made two phone calls for dh to college town, re: ticket orders.
OH... and MUCH messaging back and forth w/dfriend who is a new convert to J uice P lus... * sigh * BIG SIGH * LadyM and I discussed this in H&F also. If you didn't see that, what do you know about this amazing product that apparently will cure everything anyone has wrong with them? Gee I hope dfriend is not one of our guests here...

Yesterday's meltdowns ARE pretty amazing. I think there was a "new moon" -- saw where dcousin was giving her little girl her first haircut. There must be some superstition about that making the baby's hair grow thicker and healthier? I really was ROFLOL at all Dee's dgs's antics... but I know his dmom must have been just about to pull HER hair out!!!

So... today...
Exercise
S2S, Bible reading
Wmart
Call allergy doctor
Call dmom
Laundry
6x6? We shall see...