It's his fault!

Mr. Mayhem fessed up to being the cause of the uncommon amount of rain we've had this month. He said he asked God to water his grass so we wouldn't have to run the sprinklers. As the rain started again this morning, I told him I was beginning to feel like Mrs. Noah. I'm not telling you what he said. And he better not either!

Mayhem #1 hasn't worked this week because of the rain. They consider working in a small metal building during a thunderstorm to be a health hazard. Not to mention, no one would stand in the rain for a snow cone.

I've been working with Mayhem #2 on her room. We've been trying to make it more "her style" with the understanding that she'll keep it neat enough that it won't drive me crazy. I'm going to look for some mosquito netting contraption to go over her "private" corner. How about a dome of silence?

I now have 28 days to get my mom's clothes altered for my niece's wedding. Mom is short, and getting shorter, and has short arms. I really don't like making alterations, but I got nominated. Two pairs of pants and a jacket. I also need to put some darts in Mayhem #2's new capris since she has no waist.

I'm having lunch with a friend today after I take Mayhem #1 to work. (Assuming it's not raining and she can work.) I'm still having lunch with my friend even if it is raining.

Water, water everywhere
And all the boards did shrink.
Water, water everywhere
And not a drop to drink.

Not the relaxing evening I thought...

I know most of you who stop by won't read this till Monday, but this is the only time I've had all week. Mr. Mayhem is out with the office playing games. I hope he doesn't get hurt. He is prone to, you know. Mayhem #1 and #2 have gone to the youth evangelism conference over in Dallas with the rest of the small youth group. And there is the stress for the evening....

The youth guy took them alone. There were two guys and two girls on the bus. Plus Mayhem #1 went with a female Sunday School teacher after work. We've told this guy not to go on outings alone especially with girls and no female sponsor. To top it off, the group is suppose to spend the night at the church and the female Sunday School teacher isn't staying at the church. That means no female sponsor for the night. Plus, two other churches are coming to spend the night in the building. Does any of this sound wrong to anyone but me? I haven't decided if I want to go get them and make them sleep at home. I'll see what Mr. Mayhem thinks.

I did follow part of my plan for the evening. I went to Starbucks with a gift card and got my cafe mocha. I'm stuffed. I'll have my Blue Bell Fudge Brownie Nut ice cream later. Carbs don't count today. I'm trying to be wild and crazy and relax. (I don't think I'm doing it right.)

I'm still here

Quick! Before anyone gets up! I'll try to put a few thoughts down. You know, I often have ideas I'd like to blog about, but by the time I can get around to it, I've forgotten my idea. (Are there too many commas in that sentence?) Here's just some rambling.

Since it's Thursday, I'm taking my friend to chemo. It pretty much takes all day. Once I get her all settled, I'm going to go have lunch with Mr. Mayhem. We haven't decided where were going yet. Nothing fancy is required. It's nice to spend time with him since he's leaving tomorrow to go see his dad.

He's leaving and my mom is coming. My niece is getting married next month so there's a bridal shower to go to. I guess that means I better go shopping soon. Maybe I'll be able to blog this weekend since I'll be sleeping in the living room with the computer. (Well, not with the computer. It's staying on the desk.) Mom's visit requires some special grocery shopping. I have to get the kind of coke she likes, and her coffee. And she doesn't eat bird of any kind. Bring on the sacred cow!

Mayhem #1 still doesn't have a job, but we're still trying. We applied at the Y, and sent in a resume for an internship at the slide library at the Kimbell art museum. We discovered that Mayhem #1 doesn't know how to write a professional letter. She can write any kind of essay you could imagine. We should be able to get her new SAT scores online tomorrow. I sure hope they go up for the sake of scholarships.

Mayhem #2 went to the orthodontist yesterday. Not only did she get her wire changed, but she got rubber bands put on. She is not a happy camper. I made her some pudding and then bought her a Frosty from Wendy's. I never had to cater to Mayhem #1, but Mayhem #2 is a real wimp when it comes to pain. She's slowly working (when I force the issue) at reorganizing her room. Mostly she goes from playing computer games to playing N64 games. (And wishing for an Gamecube.)

First boo boo

We sent the girls off to a youth night at church tonight. It's mostly a hang-out and game night. Sometimes there's a movie. I think they're decorating t-shirts this time. We told Mayhem #1 to call us when they got to the church. The conversation went something like this...

"We're here. Uh, I hit the curb and the tire is sort of skunt up, but it's not flat. The metal part is bent sort of."

"Is it the hub cap or the rim?"

"Uh...I think it's the hub cap."

"Is the hub cap going to come off? I don't want to lose it."

"Uh...I don't think so."

"We'll come look at it."

Mr. Mayhem and I hop in his car and we're both trying to figure out which curb she hit because there aren't many on the way to church. We're almost there when we reach an intersection where the road goes from being one wide lane to two narrower lanes. There's a low spot on the right side of the road and a broken curb. (No, she didn't break it.) We both said, "That's it."

The tire was a little more than skunt. It had a cut in it so we brought it home and Mr. Mayhem will go pick them up later. I didn't want her to come out at 9:00pm and find a flat tire. I'll take it to the tire place in the morning.

She was a little upset, but we told her it was good that she let us know about it so we could make sure she was safe. One of life's little lessons.

On with the show

Just two more nights of Vacation Bible School. Only two more nights to dress up as a geisha girl. I'm the "lovely assistant" to our wacky game show host for the opening assembly. (What ever happpened to saying the pledges, singing a few scripture songs, and praying?) I'm all dressed up in an authentic kimono, wig, white face, and big red lips. I told someone that they have no idea how hard it is to get your lips on straight when they go half way to your nose! I don't have to speak, just bow alot and annoy the host. I pout when he tells me to stop bowing. I also help the teachers prepare for their "challenges". This game is a cross between Jeopardy, Let's Make a Deal, and Fear Factor. How do I get myself into this?

Looky! Looky!

"I HAVE THE POWER!" Ok maybe we all have power now, but I got here first. And after reading his posts, I'm going to kill him. We made it through 90 1/2 hours of no power. In celebration, Mr. Mayhem and I took a nap. I'm so tired of being tired. I guess it sounds silly, but I'm tired of eating out. Tomorrow it's back to being good, on our diet. First, we have to go to the grocery store, and pick up our other food from our friend's house.

Mayhem #1 filled out half a dozen job applications this week. Three places were actually hiring. I hope they didn't call her while we were out trying to get cool. The answering machine and caller id doesn't work with no power. Maybe they'll call back. She was a bit overwhelmed by what all she had to write down. At least she didn't have to worry about the employment history part.

VBS starts tonight. All I'm doing is being in the opening skit. I'm the lovely game show assistant. I'll be in kimono, wig, and white face. It's a Japanese theme. I personally think it's a bit weird. Last year I wound up in a blonde beatnik wig, floppy hat, big sunglasses, and wild outfit. I was an under cover agent. It was fun to sit in the teachers' break room and watch some of the guys whispering together while they're trying to figure out who I really was.

I hope I can find time to blog later this week. Right now I'm going to get some more coffee out of my own coffee pot. Yeah!

How am I going to blog?

Well, school is out! (And there was much rejoicing!) But, how am I going to blog with both kids in the house. I guess I could continue to get up before the sun. I only have one lunch to make now. Mr. Mayhem says if Mayhem #1 gets a job it will be easy to work around Mayhem #2.

I hope she does find a job. She needs that experience. The problem is she's too picky. She thinks she can only work at certain places, like a bookstore or music store. Another problem is that alot of places want you to be 18 before they'll hire you. We're going to make her get started next Tuesday after she gets back from the state competition with her horn trio.

I better run. Here comes Mayhem #2.

I'm still here

I haven't had time to write much lately. I'm currently being Mom to two families. My friend that I was helping before still needs help, so I'm running her kids back and forth to school, taking her to the doctor, etc. It really stesses me, but she has no one else.

We have our last band concert tonight. Mayhem #1 is playing piano with the jazz band. Mayhem #2 had her play performance Monday and her talent show Tuesday. She was suffering from a stomach bug at the time, but we stuffed enough medicine in her that she didn't throw up on stage or back stage. Saturday we pick up Mayhem #1's costume for her talent show which is next Monday. She's playing Pirates of the Caribbean on the piano and dressing like Jack Sparrow (Excuse me. Captain Jack Sparrow.) Then next Tuesday is their piano recital. And I think that's all the big stuff until school is out on Thursday.

My anniversary was great. I loved my pork n beans. He made me cry with his post. I think I'll keep him. For now. Ask him about "Big Fat Wife Sweetie Face."

Tooth update

I thought I'd let you know that somehow I made it through the weekend with the pain in the tooth getting worse everyday. I went to the endodontist bright and early. She decided from the way I described this exquisite pain that the ligaments were inflamed. Now I'm on a six-day pack of steroids. Today I take six pills, tomorrow, five, etc.

After I took the first two this morning I started feeling very spacey and weird. I finally had to go lie down. Before I took the dose at lunch, I called the doctor's office and asked if I'm suppose to feel like this. After the allergic reaction last month, I'm a little nervous. I had read all the warnings and side effects. It could cause high blood pressure, which I just got back under control, so I went to the drug store and checked it. It was up a little, but not enough to make me feel like this. The lady at the office and I decided I'd take the next dose and call her back to let her know how I was feeling. I only had to take one pill this time. I let her know I was still a little spacey, but not as bad as before. Which is a good thing since I was driving around picking up kids.

Another of the side effects was increased sweating. No wonder I had to re-apply the pit stick and turn the ac in the car up to Arctic blast. I'm still waiting for the hallucinations.

When I told Mayhem #1 about the steroids, she laughed and said that now I know how she felt when she had to take her asthma inhaler. I was not amused. I told her to watch it because another of the side effects was mood swings. I told her I'd start talking like Awnold and have to "take her out because she was really bad."

The tooth is doing a little better. Now I'm off to take my four Advil and two steroids and go to bed before I get spacey. I'm a little afraid of what the dreams might be.

Back to my story

After the chaperone meeting, what we had to tell the kids was that we started performing at 8:30. That meant that breakfast was at 5:30 and they had to be on the bus at 6:30 in full concert attire. This is composed of tuxedos for the guys and "the lovely black dress" for the girls. The dresses are flattering on most body shapes, but the girls all seem to hate them. It is also know as "the flying cow dress." Don't ask me why. They had to bring a change of clothes because from competition we went straight to NASA.

We also had to read the rules to the students in each room. They can't be in the shower. The adults have to see every student. I had a room of seniors, a room of juniors, and a room of sophmores and freshmen. The seniors and juniors got an abridged version of the rules and signed the form that said they had been told the rules. The other room got the long version. All were told that if they messed up before noon they would be sent home with the revered retired band director who was leaving after he conducted the jazz band. Then we taped them in their rooms. This means we ran a strip of masking tape across the door jam and onto the door. If the kids open the door we know it . We had to assure the freshmen that they will be able to get out of their room if there is a fire. Duh.

Everyone made it to the buses on time and somehow the bus drivers made it to the high school that was hosting the event, but I swear they went the longest way possible. My mom, who lives in the Houston area, came in time to hear Mayhem #1 play with the wind ensemble and jazz band. Things seemed to go pretty well.

Everyone changed and we were off to NASA for lunch. That hamburger cost twice as much as a much larger burger from any fast food place. Now I know how the space program is being funded. Mayhem #1, her best friend, and I decided to go on the astronaut training facility tram tour. The schedule was tight. The place was crowded with all these other school groups. Unfortunately we had to wait in line for about an hour. When we finally got on the tram we had the priviledge of riding in the very back with the tour guide. I leaned over to Mayhem #1 and said, "Maybe it will be a hot guy." Ooooh!! She thought that would be great. Instead it was Melissa. A cute, perky college student. We had a good time with her. She was very enthusiastic and loved her job. She'd been at it for two weeks! We really appreciated the tour. Mayhem #1 was awed by seeing the actual places the astronauts trained. She kept saying, "This is so cool. This is the real stuff." It probably doesn't make any sense, but that meant alot to me. To know she appreaciated it. I went to an elementary in Houston that was named after one of the astronauts that was killed in Apollo 1. I watched them walk on the moon. Melissa wasn't even born then. Gosh, I'm old.

I'm starting to get loopy so I better go to bed. Paul Harvey and I will try to get to page 3 tomorrow.

Life keeps happening

Well guys, life seems to have gotten in my way again. I'll finish my story in a minute.

Do you remember that I went to the endodontist Monday to have my root canal redone? By Thursday the tooth was starting to hurt so I called the office. I got a recording that said that the office was closed the rest of the week for continued training. They did leave an emergency number so I called and left a message. The doctor called me back while I'm driving down the road, and after a brief discussion decides to give me an antibiotic. She asks for my pharmacy number and I told her I didn't have it right now because I'm driving down the road. Luckily I still had the prescription she had given my last month but never filled. I've been on the new meds now for a couple of days and my mouth hurts more now than before the first root canal was done. I'm sitting here waiting for the 4 advil and 2 pain pills to kick in so I can go to bed. Conveniently, the doctor will be back Monday from her conference in California. I think I'll be at her door very early.

Another mission completed

Mayhem #1 and I have completed the annual traveling musical mission known as the high school band trip. This year we went to Houston. The seniors were a little disappointed because this should have been the year we went to Disneyworld. We had a change in band directors this year and he wasn't comfortable trying to do a "big trip" his first time out. Oh well. It was still a good trip.

We left right after school on Thursday. Well, actually, we left right after we got the charter buses to come to the high school and not the middle school. This was a sign and we should have seen it. Charter buses! These kids are so spoiled. When I was in high school and our ROTC unit went on a trip we took a school bus. I've been from Houston to Pensacola, FL on a school bus. I've been from Houston to Bowling Green, KY on a school bus. These guys are such wimps.

We finally left after loading all the instruments and luggage. We were going to stop along the way for a fast-food dinner. The bus drivers decided to take the longest way possible. Mayhem #1 was on the lead bus and I was relegated to the second bus with the freshmen, sophmores, and problem children. My bus was hungry. We kept passing exits with lots of fast-food places. You know. The kind with enough places that 90 people won't blow them away. We finally called another chaperone on the lead bus and told them the natives were getting restless. They were surprised. They weren't hungry. Finally, about 45 minutes later, they stop at an exit that has three places to eat. I love Dairy Queen, but they have never been known for their fast service. The line of our kids ran out the door. I felt sorry for the locals who showed up and wanted to eat. Oh, and we were suppose to be back on the buses in 45 minutes. Didn't quite make it.

We were suppose to be at the hotel by 9pm. We got there about 10:15. The girls were on the second floor and the boys were on the fifth floor. The first thing I had to do was inform the former band director, who "retired" last year, but is now in administration, that he had to vacate his room because he was on the girls' floor. You have to understand that this man was the band director for 31 years. He made the band program. Most schools are good at football or other sports. Our school is good at band. It is the one redeeming quality of our little school. Anyway...He moved upstairs most graciously. After we told the kids to get in their rooms and be quiet. ("We're not the only people in the hotel, and the others are probably asleep.") We headed to our chaperone meeting so we could find out what we need to tell the kids before they go to sleep.

To be continued....I have to go pick up the kids.

Dust...my eye

My editor has recently told me that I haven't spent enough time blogging. My editor, however, has not had to do 47 loads of laundry, help a friend in crisis, deliver and pick up an extra child from school across town, volunteer at two schools, ferry the kids around, go shopping because I have no shorts or capris for this band trip, oh yeah, and pack for said trip!!!

I'll let everyone know about the trip when I get back. I can't do it first thing Monday though because I have to go to the endodontist and have my root canal redone. Yippee.

"Now, Mr. Editor, if you don't mind, I need to go finish packing."

I was a bad mom

I was a bad mom today. I had the audacity to wake up and be sick. I never knew you could get a stomach bug from blogging. At least I didn't cut my finger off.

I'm doing better now, although my stomach has some unhappy moments. The reason this made me a bad mom was I was suppose to go with Mayhem #2 for her band competition. It's held at a little amusement park, so the kids get to perform and ride rides. (Not at the same time.) She was crying when she left this morning. Part of it was because she didn't get as much money as she thought she needed to ride rides. And the other reason was, "Mom, now I wouldn't have anyone to hang out with."

I learned a long time ago that I had to be my kids' buddy. We've never turned them loose in the neighborhood. Mostly because there were no kids their ages that lived nearby. And because I was never comfortable letting them out of my sight. Too many nuts out there.

My kids are not the popular kids. They make good grades and follow the rules. How nerdy can you get? Mayhem #2 has a few girls she hangs out with at school, when they're not hurting each others feelings. But these friends aren't in her band so they didn't go on today's trip. I'm sure she had a good day. I'm sure I'll hear about it either way.

What can I say? Mr. Mayhem and I are fuddy-duddies. (Is that how you spell that? I've never seen it written out.) We were born 20 years too late for the lifestyle we would like to live in. You know what I mean. Everyone in the neighborhood knew everyone, and everyone' values were similar. The kids played up and down the street until they got hollered home for dinner. You could sit on your front porch and relax in the evening.

I'm feeling very old.

What store?

Do you remember when your kids were little? Quite a few of you only have to look down to remember. I remember when riding the escalator was a carnival ride and the glass elevator was too scary.

When we would go to the mall, we always went in at one of the department stores. After cruising around in there for a while, Mr. Mayhem or I would say, “Let’s go out to the mall.” Somehow, Mayhem # 1 translated that phrase into, “Let’s go to the out mall.” We still go to the “out mall.”

In the out mall, and everywhere else, there are tons of stores. Jordana mentioned the “car store” in a blog not too long ago. Ours was called the “car place” because we were there to get the car fixed not buy one. This is also back when we had a Ford. Need I say more?

Of course there were the usual “grocery store”, “shoe store”, “drug store”. I always got tickled with the “hair cut store.” One day, we’re driving around an area with lots of places to shop and eat. One of the girls pipes up from the back seat. “Look, it’s the donut store.” Mr. Mayhem and I are looking around for a Dunkin’ Donuts or Shipley’s Donuts. This is way before Krispy Kreme. Imagine my horror when I figure out that what has prompted this innocent statement are the o’s in the Hooters sign we just drove by!

This has been an inside joke for Mr. Mayhem and me for quite a while. We finally let the kids in on the joke recently. They had no idea what we meant by the “donut store,” or that they started it. Maybe we can blackmail them with it later?

Is it a sign?

Finally, here's the college road trip story. Several weeks ago I called and set up an appointment to have a tour of Angelo State University. I asked them to send me a map because I'd never been there. I never received the information, so the day before the trip I'm trying to find out how to get there from their website. With a little help from Mr. Mayhem and the atlas, I felt pretty confident that I could find San Angelo. I didn't know where to go on campus, however, so we printed off a campus map from their website. After looking at it, I was hoping that Mayhem # 1 could read it because it was way too small for me to read. (That's a whole other medical issue I need to get taken care of soon.)

Off we go at 8:00 am. The girls do homework for about the first hour and a half, and after that the gameboys come out. The bluebonnets were out in full force. (That's the state flower and they've seeded the side of the highways with them. Sometimes they're so thick it looks like water shimmering on the side of the road.) We made it to Abilene by about 10:45. Mayhem # 1 helps navigate me onto the correct state highway to go south to nowhere.

We're now on a two-lane road and still going 70mph. There's a sign that says we have 85 miles to go. It sure didn't look that far on the map in the atlas. Now that we're on a smaller road, the scenery is closer. Of course there are the usual cows and horses, but now come the buffalo, sheep, and goats. I never knew there were so many goats in Texas. One was so pregnant I said it looked like it had swallowed a 2x4 sideways. There was lots of cactus too. The girls commented on how different it made things look compared with the other grasses and bushes.

We had to go over some mountains and I think it was the Davis mountains. I know they don't compare to some of yall's mountains, but it was a change of scenery. As we started the upward trek, I spotted an 18 wheeler with a large tank of some kind. You know the "Wide Load" kind. I thought great, "Now I'm stuck and this will take forever." Luckily there were passing lanes so we blew him away. I noticed at the next uphill grade that there was a little car behind me and he acted like he wanted to pass me. I told him to come on when we got to the passing lane, but he didn't have the umpf to catch me. He became known as "Hampster Man". We teased him (without his knowledge of course) until he passed us on the downhill side.

We made it to San Angelo and negotiated our way to campus by noon. The tour is at 1:30. We still don't know what building to go to or which parking lot to park in safely. Things are not well marked. We decide to go back down the road to eat lunch because a) we're starving and b) our bums are numb. Over lunch at KFC, we figure out from the campus map which two buildings are administration buildings and decide to try to park near them.

We get back to campus a little before 1:00 and turn into the first parking lot to hunt for a parking spot and right in front we find a "Visitor" parking spot. Yeah!!! High fives all around! We go in the building, but it's the wrong building. We leave the car where it is in the very correct "Visitor" spot and walk next door. The admissions office had no reservation for us for the tour. They kept asking if I had called and I kept telling them yes. Luckily it was just a group tour so it wasn't a big deal. I was beginning to get bad vibes. We had prayed for wisdom before we left the house. I thought, "Ok, what am I suppose to be getting from this?"

The tour was ok. We had a good time, and the tour guide gave lots of good information. We didn't get to speak with anyone in the art department so that was disappointing, but we didn't know that we could've set up an appointment with a professor in advance. (That was probably in the packet of info we should've gotten after we made the appointment.) We didn't like the fact that most of the dorms were coed. The new building was basically like apartments. It wasn't separated by floors or wings. I'm sorry, but my barely 18 year old does not need to deal with the idiot boys right next door.

We finished the tour, filled out the evaluation, picked up a housing packet to look for the one all-girl dorm, and headed to the car. On the windshield is a $15 parking ticket!!! We're visitors! We parked in the "Visitor " spot! What more do you want? We headed back to the admissions office to get this taken care of. They say, "This has never happened before." They call the campus police and find out that they sometimes ticket those cars because the students will take they're parking placards off their rearview mirrors and pretend to be visitors. The tour guide and another girl admitted that they had done that before. They apologized and we headed to the car again, saying to ourselves that we hope there's not another ticket by the time we get there.

It's about 3:30 and I told the girls to finish their homework and we'd grab something to eat when we got back to Abilene. We get back on the road and then I start hitting all these little towns where I have to keep slowing down. That clues me in that I'm not on the same road because there was only one small town coming down. I don't know where I missed the turn off, but we figured out that we knew where we were and that we could get home from there.

I started noticing that the wildlife was changing. I pointed out several antelope. Then they noticed the llamas. The zebras finally convinced us that it was some type of nature preserve. After grabbing dinner at Sonic (nowhere near Abilene), I took another road to get back to the main interstate because going through the little towns was going to take forever. We finally rolled into the driveway at 8:00pm. Our bums were numb again.

About the school? I don't know. With all the things that went wrong, should I take that as a sign?

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

Once again life has gotten in the way of blogging. How rude. I'll get to my story tomorrow.

Road kill

I promised Terry I'd cover his road kill deficiency. The girls and I went out to San Angelo, TX Monday to check out a college for Mayhem # 1. To get there you go west to Abilene and take a left to nowhere. Most of the dead were skunks and raccoons. There were a couple of coyotes too. But whoever got the deer must have had major damage to their vehicle because it wasn't a small one. I'll tell you about the rest of the trip later today. I couldn't yesterday because I was waiting for the doctor's office to call me back. A few weeks ago they took me off my blood pressure meds to see if the weight loss took care of the problem. It didn't. Believe me.

I did it!

After the endodontist this morning, I went dress shopping. And I actually bought one! It doesn't look very Eastery. It looks very Hawaiian. It's teal with red hibiscus. I don't have to buy white shoes for it because I have some tan stretchy ones that will work.

Of course the problem is that the high for Sunday is suppose to be 57. That means I have to wear my frumpy sweater so I won't freeze to death. This always happens on Easter.

I'm taking the girls shopping tomorrow, and if they will cooperate, I'll look for a more Eastery dress for me. Oooo... I might buy me two dresses.

I hate the dentist

A little over a year ago, I had a root canal and crown done on a back molar. Apparently, the root canal didn't work right because it's hurt ever since. My dentist told me to go see an endodontist and get it redone. I've been putting it off because a) I don't deal well with major dental work; b) it hasn't hurt too bad if I don't chew on that side; and c) money.

Well, it now hurts too bad to ignore. They squeezed me in this morning to diagnos the problem. They told me to take lots of Advil regularly, and if that wasn't enough add the darvoset. If it starts swelling, take the anti-biotic. They'll fix it on May 3.