Sticky notes, rain, embarassing moments

"Hi hows it goin," the sticky note on my printer said. One of The Bigs must have written it, obviously...my youngest can't spell yet. I bet it was my middle son who used a pad of sticky notes the other day to write and illustrate a story. He stuck them all over my desk area and restuck them as he "edited" the story.

That's kind of like my to-do list. I used to write it and rewrite it on a new piece of notebook paper when the existing list got too messy from cross outs and additions and highlights. Then I realized that I wouldn't have to rewrite anything if I just used sticky notes and restuck them. Plus there's something satisfying about crumpling them and tossing them in the trash can.

Today was a particularly wretched Monday given all the rain. I realized my sump pump wasn't plugged in when I saw the water all over the floor in the basement. It was trash day and I couldn't bring myself to haul in the barrel or recycling bins all day, nor did I even go out to get the mail. But just yesterday, I made a point to remind many of my friends that there's always a bright side. Okay, so...the bright side is, I have electricity. My colleagues in New York and New Jersey don't. One of the people I talked to today told me about a battery back up source he has for his house, that uses 12 or 13 batteries the size of cars' batteries. Then he has a generator if the batteries lose their charge. He said his wife called the system his "folly" for the past two years but for the past two days, she's calling it his "foresight." He said they have two refrigerators in the garage in addition to the one in their house; his wife does a lot of entertaining. Imagine having to throw out all that food because it spoiled?

There are three streets closed in town today. The river has consumed the road on our normal route and was threatening to on the detour we had to take to pick up my youngest in the next town over. On the way, we noticed a road on the kids' bus route was closed. I had said when my oldest and I picked up my middle son (oldest had an after school project with a couple of his Destination Imagination teammates), "Honey, why are all the buses parked here at school?" "Idano, mom," he mumbled. Well, come to find out, it was because the place where they are normally parked is flooded. We didn't realize that until we were rerouted. My oldest commented, "the rain gods must be angry." (He has read the Percy Jackson series; he's not really a pagan.)

Another fabulous thing that happened today is that my older two packed their own lunches. They were actually cheerful and cooperative this morning and they rode the bus. (No one wanted to walk, and I hope it clears up for tomorrow because I have to do the greeting job at school and I do NOT want to stand out in the rain!).

My middle son informed me that he had a horrible day (but didn't say it was the worst day of his life). It was because he embarassed himself in a spelling bee. He said when he started spelling a word that began with a "y," with a "u," everyone laughed at him. "Imagine, Mom, 24 people laughing all at once," I could hear in his voice that he was reliving the pain and humiliation (he, who usually gets 100's on his spelling tests). His older brother was kind. "That could happen to anyone; it doesn't mean anything. Don't even worry about it!" Apparently my middle son didn't feel that he had the support of his teacher. He told me, "I would NOT have laughed if someone else did that, but she said I would have!" (Regardless if he would have or wouldn't have, I certainly hope he won't going forward.)

We went to McDonald's for dinner. The boys were relatively civilized. We finished the rest of a book of fables that my youngest had been reading with the director at daycare while he was waiting for us. He was the last one to be picked up but I don't think we were the only ones who were late. McDonald's is one of our training grounds for restaurant behavior. Though, I wonder if the boys would wipe their hands on their shirts no matter where they are?

I exposed the boys to a classic rock station on the way home in order to expand their music repertoire beyond Kids' Bop and the equivalent. Now they have heard Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Police, and Boston. I feel this is my duty. They must listen to music with real instruments. (I don't want to be one of those parents who tells them I can't stand their music...but I can't.)

Since I sat at my desk all day today without getting up except for more coffee or similar bio breaks, I did an exercise show on Fit TV when we got home, even though I was not all that highly motivated. Everyone migrated up to my room before the end of the show. My oldest asked me if I was going to wear a bikini this summer. I told him I doubted it. "Did you used to wear one?" "Yeah, before you were born." "Oh, sorry..." he told me. "It's okay, honey, it was worth it."

I washed the dog in the bathtub after the kids were done. I had hoped to wait until it wasn't so damp out, but he was getting kind of stinky -- he really needs a hair cut and I do not have the patience to blow dry him (I do not have the patience to blow dry my own hair either)...I hope he is actually dry by morning. If he is not I will know it's a sign that I have to make an appointment for him to be groomed (e.g., doggy-buzz cut).

I read stories to my youngest; my middle looked at an I Spy book, and then I helped my oldest multiply fractions and do some long division. We also did some copy-editing on some sentences about the White House. Or the White house (prior to corrections). He was momentarily stumped on where to put the apostrophe in "All the presidents wives." I reminded him it was "presidents plural possissive...that the president does NOT practice polygamy, and giggled to myself when he said, "huh?" He told me he's found grammatical/spelling errors in a book he's reading and asked if they have people who do that kind of correcting. I told him I certainly hoped so! Later I found out it was he who wrote the "Hi hows it goin" note (a study in grammatical and spelling errors in itself.)

Now I have to send emails to people who work in time zones where they will be starting tomorrow's business day in the next hour or so.

And I hope and pray that when I wake up tomorrow, the cold dark cloud is gone!