Exhausted

Mr. K is still out of town. He comes back Wednesday around noon if his flight goes as planned. Taking care of all three kids by myself is getting very tiring. Swimming lessons began today, so I had to get up early to get us all there by 8:10 a.m. I'll be doing that for the next three days, and again next week Monday through Thursday. Then the lessons are over. This year J is old enough to be in N's class so I don't have to with through two lessons.

N and J have a dental appointment tomorrow. It was supposed to be in May, but the dentist had a surgery and didn't recover fast enough, so he had to move the appointment. He wanted it moved to N's field trip day, so I wouldn't do it. I had to wait until July to get the next available appointment.

Swimming didn't go so well this morning. Perhaps I mean the clean-up didn't. K stepped into the shower with J and got her outfit soaked. I'll have to try even harder tomorrow to assure she stays out of trouble. Fortunately I had a onesie with me, so that's what she wore while I worked out. I couldn't put her in the daycare during shower time, because the daycare hadn't opened up yet.

I let the kids get treats from the vending machine at the gym. J got a honey bun. After eating it, she proceeded to pretend to hug my leg. What she really did was wipe her greasy, sticky hands on my navy gym pants. I about blew a gasket because I knew good and well what she did and why she did it. She didn't even give me enough time after she finished to run her to a bathroom. In fact, I almost didn't let her get a honey bun because they are so sticky and messy. Now I'm so sorry I did. I have a very hard time washing grease out of dark clothing.

I probably ought to get to bed since I have to get up at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow to get ready for these swimming lessons.

None, general rambling.

We only got back from Michigan on Tuesday, and we had to take Mr. K to the airport this morning to go to a business meeting in Michigan (different city). He'll be back on Wednesday. This is the longest business meeting he's done, I think. Usually he leaves on a Thursday night and gets back on Sunday.

We've had lots of raspberries lately, and Mr. K packed the freezer with them when we were on vacation. We've had a good crop for the first time this year. I'm glad because I've never bought them at the store because they are too expensive. I would say that the plants probably paid for themselves this year. I've had them for about five years, but have never got much of a crop before.

My soybeans are very unimpressive. I didn't work any rabbit poop into the dirt like I did last year, and it shows.

My zucchini and other summer squash look great. I did plant them with rabbit poop. I think a bit of rabbit poop makes a lot of difference in a garden.

We spent most of the day after Mr. K left playing a Nancy Drew game on the computer. Now my mouse had aches.

Vacation!

Here is a picture of my kids with their cousins on my side of the family. They're my brother's sons. Except for K, they played together very well. My son was the oldest, then Noah (white shirt), then J, then Nolan. Poor K had on one to play with, and she desperately wanted to go outside and use the swingset with the others, but she really didn't understand that she couldn't walk near the swings when the others were swinging. She's crying in the picture. I think she was tired.

I don't know why this text is centered. I'm not sure it will appear that way, but if it does, I'm aware of the problem, but I don't know how to fix it. I got to this blogging screen through Picasa2 instead of the regular way.

We went to Potter Park Zoo in Lansing and had a great time. Mostly the kids wanted their pictures taken in the wooden, painted animal frames with their faces showing so they looked like animals.

K had diarrhea the first couple days, but since she wore a diaper, we just had to change her seven or eight times a day. I got it the last day. N got it once we got home. I still have it a little.

We went to my dad's house. He lives about five minutes from my mom. He's the one with Internet, but my kids hated it there (except when we did fireworks) so I didn't spend much time there. I did spend last Wednesday there with my brother, and I sort of assisted him while we changed out his garbage disposal, which had been rusted out for the past 15 years so that he was only using one side of his sink. Now he has the use of both sides.

My kids spent a lot of time walking to the park near my mom's house. They roamed the neighborhood a bit. I used to do it all the time. N had a watch, so I had him keep checking back to my mom's house every half hour.

It was a lot colder in Michigan. I didn't bring enough warm clothing for N and J, so my mom and I went to Goodwill, and I got them each two more long-sleeved shirts. It did warm up at the end, though. The colder weather was very nice after the heat we'd had here a couple weeks ago.

One day we went to the Michigan Historical Society museum. We decided to take the bus so the kids could see what riding the city bus was like. We were going to leave K with my step-father. She had a lot of tears when she learned she wouldn't get to go on the bus. She's seen N and J get on the schoolbus all year, and has wanted to join them so badly. Finally, I relented and said she could come, too. She was an absolute angel on the bus. I think it was probably the highlight of the trip for her. Unfortunately, she pitched major temper tantrums throughout the museum so we had to rush though it. I guess I should have just taken her for a bus ride and nothing else.

In Detroit, we stayed in my college roommate's house. I shared a bed with the girls, and I got almost no sleep. I swear K used her hands like awls to try to gouge out my eyes while I slept. We visited Mr. K's sister Sherri, and their mom (Grandma) came over. I went to my brother's house twice, and Mr. K's brother with a big house and swimming pool held a party in honor of our visit and Sherri's daughter's birthday. We got to see most of Mr. K's relatives then. It rained and was cold so only N, J, and the older cousins bothered to swim. We finally got to meet the kids' two other cousins who were born in 2006, like K.

We're back!

We got in around noon today. I'm behind on so many things--cleaning, laundry, e-mail, real mail, etc.

We had a great trip, but it was such a relief to go home.

Packing

I've been packing since last night. We're getting on a plane this afternoon, and I'll be back in about ten days.

Rambling

Our newest tenant paid her rent on time!!! Mr. K had to go to their house today to change a fluorescent lightbulb, and she gave him the rent as she was supposed to. I'm happy and amazed.

We have two tenants in the process of eviction. We have the writ of possession in both cases, and are waiting for the appointment with the sheriff for one, and have to wait one more day to set up an eviction day/time with the sheriff for the other. Mr. K would probably call it off if they can get the cash to us before the time with the sheriff, but it's not likely they will. The one for which we have an appointment scheduled for later this month sent us a check for only half the amount, and it bounced. The other just told us nine days ago that she'd get the money in the mail right away.

We hit 104 °F today. It was quite uncomfortable, but really the humidity wasn't as bad as it could have been. I got most of my laundry dried in about two hours per load, and when I brought it in, it felt as warm as if I had used the drier.

Mr. K has told my neighbor he can keep some jugs of water in the freezer in our screen porch that Mr. K uses for some of his honey bee projects. We don't keep the screen porch locked, but it does abut my bedroom without any blinds (because the kids broke a lot of the vertical blind slats) to protect me from view from the screen porch. Because of this, I've told my neighbor he must knock first to make sure it's okay with me to enter my screen porch. If I'm not home, it doesn't matter.

My neighbor uses our phone number for stuff now. His son called a couple days ago to tell him he got his girlfriend pregnant. She's five weeks pregnant. He is the kind of guy who can't hold down a job. He lives probably as far from here as my family does, so he never sees his dad. My neighbor has said the "apple didn't fall far from the tree" to describe his son (in an unflattering way).

None

We've had some hot weather. It's in the low 90s today. Tomorrow is supposed to be 101 °F, and Sunday something similar.

N and J had field day at school today. I think they played a bunch of outdoor games because of the heat, they only had it for 1 hour and 15 minutes outside in the morning. I think it originally was to last all morning. I had to send them to school wearing sunblock and with bottles of water.

I'm hoping the weather in Michigan will be a lot cooler than it is here when we go there. We leave a week from tomorrow. I'm both looking forward to it and dreading it. I imagine it will be painful to fly with three children whose behavior is questionable. It will beat the 14 hours it would take if we drove.

I called my friend who is married to an Irish man. He never became a U.S. citizen, so I asked her if he's going to be able to vote on the EU constitution, which I think goes to a referendum next week. She said she doesn't think he's paying any attention to what's going on in Ireland so she doesn't think he's got any plans to see if he can vote.

My friend in Nebraska has a date for her divorce to be final. Her marriage is supposed to be over June 29. I need to find if Hallmark makes cards for such occasions. I imagine they do. I think she doesn't need the sympathy type. I'm looking more for a "Congratulations" type.

I've started making a packing list for my trip, but I'm sure I've missed a lot. I haven't been home since June 2005, three years ago. I don't think I've spent the night anywhere but the hospital (having K) and that camping trip we just took since then. I'm all out of packing practice.

I think the bulk of my raspberries will ripen while I am gone, and it looks like my summer squash may do the same. Mr. K doesn't like either. I think he will freeze the raspberries. I'm hoping he'll take the squash to work to unload them on people. Otherwise perhaps he will dump them in the compost pile.

I'll be gone for ten days, and I'm not sure how much I will be using the Internet while I am away.

It's Raining and Talk Radio

It's raining, and I'm glad. I've planted some flower and bean seeds, and it hasn't rained in a while, so I had to use the sprinkler on them Saturday to get them to germinate. They could use the water to continue growth instead of burning up.

I've put a tab in my browser on my local radios station's web site, www.wrva.com, and I pushed "Listen On Line Now," and now I am listening to one of my favorite conservative talk radio shows, Michael Savage. He's on weeknights from 9 p.m. to midnight. Usually I love the way he uses our language, and I agree with a lot of his ideas. Some of his descriptions are brilliant. Sometimes he's boring and tedious. Sometimes I think he's crossing the line between sane and insane. I also think there is an element of get-rich-quick about him, so I wouldn't by a used car from him. I usually only catch 30 minutes or less of his shows.

In the morning from 9 a.m. to noon, if I'm in the car, I often listen (same station) to Glenn Beck, yet another conservative talk radio host. I think he's more honest, but his humor segments are horrid. He sometimes gets too depressing because of his concerns for what lies ahead regarding our economy and terrorism.

In the afternoon, I occasionally listen to Rush Limbaugh if I'm in the car between noon and 3 p.m. (same radio station). He's usually very upbeat about the future, but sometimes I have to shut him off because there isn't room in the car for me and his ego. His humor segments are usually excellent, though. He also has a fantastic research department so his facts are almost always correct.

The nice thing about listening over the computer is my reception is perfect. It's an AM radio station, so it is hard to get it to come in well in the house, and in the car, cell phone towers and lightning interfere with the reception.

I think out of the three, I enjoy Michael Savage on a good day best, Glenn Beck second, and Rush Limbaugh third.