Better Late Than Never

It's my motto. It applies to all fronts. My family can stop laughing now. Because my post has nothing to do with being pregnant. Actually, these are pictures from the first day of school. And, well, better late than never.

Ahh, life is good.

Could Somebody Please Move This Elephant Off My Foot?

Stuck. Can't move forward, can't move backward, not even sideways- And it just stinks!

That's what I have been feeling. A dark cloud hanging ominously over my head. That stupid elephant standing on my foot. My mind has been stuck for the last forever on the STUPIDEST thing. My taxes.

I am such a January filer. I have been forever. I like to box up the year and put it away. Start over with empty file drawers. A clean slate. No more last year.

This year? Not so much. I like QuickBooks. I loved 2005. I was forced to upgrade in 2008. I don't love it. And I have a sneaking suspicion that in the upgrade was a tweak. A tweak that led to me doing something wrong all year. That pesky little Profit and Loss balance sheet? All messed up. I couldn't for the life of me figure that scoundrel out. I puzzled over it for 6 months! 6 months, I tell you! Well, it is still not fixed, but the problem is in much more QB proficient hands than mine. I did go a "back door" route to getting my taxes finished. They are mailed now.

My mind is freed up to move on to other things on the list.

So, if you see that elephant, tell him to keep his big, heavy, stinky self away from me. I have other things to think about!

Lord, Help Us All!

When The Four Year Old Is Mad At You

Words start coming out of his mouth.
Words like idiot.
Loser.
Jerk.
I turn around and laugh so he can't see me- because we have talked about how those words are not appropriate.
But tonight, tonight was my favorite:
"You scrandrall!"
Yes, Son, scoundrel is a good insult.

Home ECONOMICS

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate to go grocery shopping? I usually wait until we are down to condiments- literally- and we have to eat out on the way to the grocery store. It's sad. And true. I hate it when they ring up the bill and say, "That will be $220, please." Try not to snort coffee out your nose as you read that. That's the correct amount for a family of 8 for 2 weeks. Yes, it is.
But stop to think about it:
$220/2 weeks= $110 per week
$110/8 people= $14.75 per person, per week

What does that really mean?
It means that I can eat out once at a restaurant that serves it's food on a plate- but I have to go hungry for the rest of the week.
Or I could eat out 3 times at a restaurant that serves it's food in a paper wrapper. I'm still going to be really hungry at the end of the week.
Or, I could eat at home 21 times. And not be hungry at all.

Hmm, maybe $220 isn't so bad after all.

In Which I Lose My Mind- And My Car Keys

First day of school!!! Hooray, Hooray, Hoo-
Except the school called me to come get my sick kid. After snacks and homework we went to the next town to the 10 minute walk in clinic at The Pharmacy. My husband is out of town. You do the math. 1 parent+ 5 kids(1 near teenager)( 1 preschooler)=MADNESS.
Said preschooler was asleep in my arms for the entire visit which included a trip to the pharmacy counter to check in, a trip to the clinic entrance and into the exam room, a trip back to the pharmacy counter to get the prescription filled, a trip to the greeting cards to listen to all the obnoxious Hoops and YoYo cards while we wait for said prescription, a trip back to the pharmacy counter to pick up the prescription and finally, back out to the car. Everyone buckles, get in, reach for my keys... reach for my keys... look for my keys... Go back inside and look for my keys... come back to the car and dump out my purse... unbuckle the car seat and shake it out... go back in to check the exam room... check at the pharmacy counter...turn the kids upside down and shake them... Check the clock to see that an hour has passed since I started looking for my keys... Call my husband to have him call our semi permanent house guest who doesn't understand me well to have him look for the spare... wait 1/2 hour for the spare to show up... Take children in various stages of melt down home to eat...something.

I have this theory about how my keys disappeared, too. It's a really good one. It goes like this:
I stop by the pharmacy counter and set down my keys. Then I walk away, but my keys do not. While I am otherwise engaged, another pharmacy patron finishes their own business, sees the keys out of the corner of their eye as they are turning to go. They grab "their" keys puts them into their pocket, goes out to the car, reaches into their purse, gets their keys, and drives away. You can totally see how this could happen, no?

By the time I was almost home and 2 1/2 hours have passed since I took the 45 minute trip, my brother in law called to tell me that he was at my house to pick up a piece of furniture- which requires that I totally rearrange the girls' room- since it was their bed, and all. An hour later, with the new beds set up, I bent over to pick something up off the floor and the hood of my sweatshirt flopped over my head. Guess what fell out of my sweatshirt hood? Yep, my keys. Please don't tell anyone, OK? Good.

And, before you ask, I have NO idea how they got there since the 4 year old was asleep the whole time.