I'M FREE!! (Kind Of!!)

It’s 11:27 PM on Saturday night, March 14, and I couldn’t be happier!! I have all of next week off, and I’m so PSYCHED!! The last time I had any substantial amount of time off from work was when Derrick was born 3-1/2 years ago, and while I wasn’t at my place of employment working, I certainly wasn’t relaxing!! Between Derrick in the hospital, getting married, Derrick coming home from the hospital, doctor visits, and just basic infant care all by itself, relaxation wasn’t exactly on the "To Do" list at that point. Not that it really is this time around either, but at least the OPTION is available should I care to indulge myself a little bit...and I just might!!

Before all that relaxing though, I have plans to whip this place into shape. I won’t have the kids underfoot to get in my way, Bub will be either working or sleeping most of the time, and Derrick will have a TON more fun at daycare playing with his friends than he will staying home watching mommy clean house. And when I say clean, I mean CLEAN!! Walls are getting wiped down, lights and fans are getting cleaned, appliances are being washed up, cupboards & closets are being organized and sorted through, floors are getting scrubbed. I plan on tackling one room a day...the kitchen, living room and our bedroom (the kids’ rooms go through this twice a year...once in the summer and once closer to Christmas).

Then comes my Everest...my mission...THE DINING ROOM!! Bub and I have picked a color we want to paint the walls, a color we want to paint the ceiling, we have chosen the flooring we hope to put in, we found some baseboard trim we both like, and I have my eye out for some curtains and lights that will pull the whole thing together. If things go as planned, and they probably won’t...because do they ever?? LOL...I should have the dining room done in three to four days. The only thing left to do in there then will be to replace the exterior door, and that will happen when the weather is a little warmer than 35 to 40 degrees on a GOOD day LOL I can’t WAIT to see it once it’s all done...I’ll be sure to post before and after pics!!

The other big thing is that I will be a Godmother again on Sunday to my friend’s baby boy...and I’m super excuted for that!! My other friend’s sister, who I wrote about in my last blog, is doing REMARKABLY better, though she’ll likely still be in the hospital for awhile yet while she continues healing and regaining her strength. Thank you to everyone who prayed for them!! Ummmm....no big plans for Easter this year...probably just church and then maybe brunch or something. Of course we’ll have baskets for the kids though But yeah, my big hope is to have this place weeded out and whipped into shape, and the dining room’s face lift done before returning to work on the 24th. Wish me luck!!

Day Off (Of Work)

Days off are great, aren't they?? Except when you know you're sacrificing an entire weekend to have a couple of weekdays off. Today was good though. Trey & Talin went to school, Bubba let me sleep in, which was AWESOME! We decided to go to brunch before I took Derrick to speech therapy and Bubba went to get a urine drug screen. I'm sure he failed it. I mean, you should SEE the pills he takes!! Some combination of those has GOT to cause something that will red-flag the urine screen! Just kidding ;o) He did fine. Derrick did pretty good in speech therapy. He was fine when I left the room to go put Trey's swimming stuff in his locker so he wouldn't miss practice today (second Friday in a row he's left his swimming bag at home...little monster's lucky I'm at his school or he'd be missin out!), but threw a fit when I went to leave to use the little girl's room! So I stayed, and afterwards he had to use the bathroom, so we went into the little girl's room. I realized then that even if I would have gone, I still would have had to have held it, because once I got DOWN there to pee, I never would have gotten back UP!

Then when we got home, Bubba showed up shortly after. I was feeling antsy, so I raked up some leaves outside with Derrick while we waited for Talin to get off the bus. Derrick "helped" rake leaves, which mostly consisted of him running into the pile I was creating, only to run back out as I added to it. At the very end he decided to be helpful and carry a few handfuls from the pile I was raking to the big pile. But, he had fun, and it was cute to watch :o)

Talin got off the bus and the four of us headed out to Wal-Mart to look at Halloween costumes. He decided he wanted his face painted red, with a design like a skeleton, and a hooded cape like the grim reaper, and a sword. So that's what Talin will be for Halloween this year. On round two to Wal-Mart tonight, Trey also decided on a skeleton mask that pumps blood-looking liquid through it, and also has a hooded cape. I think Derrick is going to be a puppy. It'll probably be the last year I can get him into something cute without having to start World War 3.

Tomorrow I have to work, and then Bubba and I are going out, hopefully with friends, maybe not, depending on how things work out. Hopefully we'll all be able to hang out, but if it's just me and him, I'll be happy with that too. Either way, he's getting out of the house with me, and without the kids, and that in itself is a miracle! Looking forward to that...YAY! Hope you all have a great weekend!!