Suburban Musings

Hey, I forgot to mention a great thanks to suburban turmoil for her “my space” suggestion…thanks to her, I am now “Yer Mom” and can monitor the postings, etc. of one teenaged boy. She’s DaNosyStepmom, by the way, and you can read her article in Nashville Post. Technology schmecnology, I say! Moms can still be moms…even in hyperspace.

Can I hear a Woo-Hoo! The kidlins and us are headed to Chicago for the weekend; in 2 cars, believe it or not…even with $2.99 gas (ugh!). Grandma is moving, and we’re headed up to help her move and bring back some furniture for K1’s rental house at school. Grandma lives in a really great apartment complex…and is moving….2 doors down! Should be a hoot, with 7 teenaged boys, my 20-year old, and various adults, passing back and forth down the hall. I’m guessing a quick 2-hours, followed by fabulous pizza-delivery, as only Chicago can make it. And, we’ll be back home in time for the traditional BBQ and fireworks with friends. yeah.

As you may know (if you ever actually read this blog), I started a new job last week…in a very nice, fairly new building. There is a deli and a fabulous “backyard”, which is a patio with neato tables, etc. overlooking a jogging trail and a huge field of flowers. So, yesterday I took my grilled cheese outside to catch up on the morning paper and enjoy an unusually lovely day in Indianapolis, as I listened to various birds chirping and took in the fresh air. I was barely finishing the first half of my sandwich when it happened. 3 people burst out the door, barely making it outside, before their cigarettes were lit ….so much for my fresh air on the patio! Apparently if I want the REAL fresh air, I have to walk along the jogging trail to ANOTHER patio way out in the middle of the field…and hope no one follows me! What is right about this? Isn’t it only about 20% of the population that smokes these days, and we all have to inconvenienced by their bad habits.

How can it be that I am now the mother of TWO teenaged boys?! We celebrated with a trip to the mecca for all “cool” teenagers…Abercrombie. Yes, people really do bow down there….but its under the weight of the prices! hee hee. K3 and I had a great time together, actually, shopping and then playing at the Apple store on their laptop cameras. They have fun software that allows you to distort your picture in hysterical ways! He, of course, wanted more pics for his “myspace” page. By the way, he is having a somewhat tough time adjusting to my being gone all the time; he’s lost his chauffeur to all his friends’ houses. He’ll get over it. I’ve thrown in a new chore chart to help fill his time.

Okay, since its “find a good cliche and use it” day….”Today is the first day of the rest of my life”.
I just started a new job today! yeah!! I am very excited!
A couple of downsides…long commute in awful traffic (if I head in early and leave early, perhaps I can beat it), and for the first time in nearly 2 years, I’m away from home and back into a real office every day. That means a huge culture change for the entire family; the kids have been spoiled by Mom doing basically all the chores…and Dad’s been pretty spoiled by that, too! But…. I think we will all adjust, thanks to a better paycheck
So, we feel that our life is finally starting to get under control; now, if we could just unload that albatros of a house! (see previous posts about this sad story…)

Just chillin’ with Buster, the former yard-dog, who has acclimated quite well to life “inside”…with all the perks!

Yes, it is a L-O-N-G drive from Indy to Evansville and back in one day! 6+ hours of travel for a 2-hr. meeting. *yawn* But I think we got the business…should know soon.

• It was a beautiful day, tho, and we did drive through the Hoosier National Forest.
• I love my carpet cleaner, Tim…well, not THAT way…but because everything feels so much cleaner when he’s finished….no more pet and kid dirt…for a couple days, anyway
• Why don’t cats always use the litter box?!?!?!?
• We took the 3 dogs to a football field tonight (its fenced in) and had a blast watching them joyfully running around. Buster, the new English Setter, is quite “birdy” and takes off after birds. Charlie, looks huge and Irish Wolfhound-like when he runs and is FAST and Rex is quite chubby, so the exercise did him good. They had a blast!
• Went to an art fair this weekend and wish I was motivated enough to make a big bunch of my jewelry to sell at a show like that; earrings that I pop out in about 5 minutes were selling for $20! and bracelets for over $100. when I KNOW that I pay about $30. to make them…
• 16-year old son is re-discovering his athletic talents in summer P.E. this month. Coaches are asking him what he’s decided re: which sport he’ll go out for in the fall…how flattering!
• We’re slowly putting together house stuff for 20-year old daughter who’s moving into a rental this fall for her jr. year at college. She’s so excited. I’m glad to get rid of some extra stuff!

Mom’s Laundry Rules

Dirty clothes:
Do not leave ANY dirty clothes in the laundry room unless they are in the sorter. This includes towels.

Single items:
All items must be singles; no double t-shirts or boxers inside of shorts.

Towels:
A towel is used on a clean body, and thus does not get very dirty…SO…you may use it numerous times before throwing it in the laundry.

Note: the laundress will now only wash 1 towel per person per week. Any others will be returned to you in the condition you sent it.

Pockets:
Check all pockets before you put dirty items in the laundry. Cell phones, money, pens, belts, and love notes will become the sole property of the laundress.

Dirty clothes:
Clothes that are folded or still have the crease marks on them are not to be considered “dirty”. Just because you don’t want to put them away doesn’t mean I want to rewash them! I think Goodwill would love to have these items.

Folded clothes rule:
When those clean clothes miraculously appear in your room, graciously thank the saintly person who lovingly placed them there and PUT THEM AWAY! (in drawers, folded).

Note: Failure to do this in the future will result in a generous contribution to Goodwill. Again, they’ll really like your stuff!

If you do happen to feel the whim to do a load of laundry, you MUST first fold whatever is in the dryer. DO NOT leave it unfolded or jammed into a teensy laundry basket. And do not leave your clean/semi-clean/dirty clothes in the laundry room for more than ½ day, disrupting the usual flow of laundry.

Note: Laundry left in the washer, etc. may be subject to hot drying.

Uh oh. My 16 and 3/4 year old son has finally decided to get his driver’s license…rather, I told him he’d be getting it today. Unfortunately he just found his official permit; you know, the one with the official seal and the official expiration date, etc….well, apparently it went through the wash last week. He did the wash! He forgot to check the pockets for his wallet! Violation of Rule #4 of the Laundry Rules! (I’ll post the Laundry Rules later…) Hopefully the folks at the BMV will feel a pang of sympathy for him (not likely) and let him get his license anyway (good luck) and not have to take the driving test again!