I feel good!

I slept 7 hours last night and have dozed pretty much all morning. I am still tired, but not that deep down, bone tired I was last night. I went to town in flip flops yesterday, which isn't unusual; that's pretty much all I wear in the summer. But when I got home I spent the rest of the day barefoot and didn't sit down all day. Okay, take that back, I did sit on the toilet a few times to pee. So by the time everyone left last night, my feet were killing me! Not to mention the fact they were dirty because I never even bothered to put shoes on for the barbecue. How redneck is that? We had a sash/badge/patch/award ceremony and their fearless leader was barefoot! I intended on wearing these adorable new capris, but when I took them out of the sack to wash them yesterday realized I picked up the wrong size altogether! I only checked the size on the hanger, not the tag. How silly of me. So I stayed in my shorts and no one even seeemed to care.

The girls were presented with their sashes, badges and patches all sewn on neatly by Super Brownie Grammy (THANK YOU MOTHER - YOU ARE A SAINT). I also gave them their membership pins for a year completed and then handed out cookie awards. Of the five girls, four of them hit the second level. They got a patch and a charm. My fifth girl sold 215 boxes of cookies and got 6 trillion levels. Okay, only 4 or 5. But she got the patch and charm, plus a AM/FM cat-shaped mini radio, a sport bottle and a "cabbie" cap. This pissed off my niece to no end. OOh yikies, I did not expect that one! I tried to explain to her that Riley just sold more and that didn't mean that she herself didn't do a good job and she should be proud of what she accomplished for her first year selling cookies, blah blah blah, but she would hear NONE of it. I was flailing around helplessly and then her mother came to the rescue and things were fine again. I don't know what she told the child or what she bribed her with, but she was alright within minutes. Mother's touch, I guess.

Everyone skedaddled pretty quickly. Some had a ballgame to rush off to, some had been on the road all day trying to locate a stolen motorcycle, some just wanted to go home, lol. Mr. Diva left before it was entirely over, for a mandatory meeting at work. It was a bitch session, just like always. He wasn't going to go, but I told him to keep the peace and just go. Really, I just wanted some quiet alone time. As soon as everyone left, I herded my children into the house, wiped everyone down with cool washcloths and sent them off to bed. Then I flopped my rear down on my couch, put my feet up and watched The Apprentice. Not that I'm a fan of The Donald or anything - it was just the only thing on network TV that didn't totally suck. It sucked, but I somehow found great joy in watching Mr. Trump rake those two bitches girls over the coals. It was like watching two teenage participants in a catfight talk things over in the principal's office after he'd just pulled them apart and saved them from getting their eyes scratched out. I don't know why I found that enjoyable, but I did.

Then I watched ER and nearly cried when Dr. Carter said he'd give up his work in Chicago to be with Kim because he loves her so much and they could start over and have another baby and oh gosh, it was a sap fest, but I loved every second of it. I love that show. I have watched it faithfully since it started. I'm a sucker for a good medical drama. Grey's Anatomy is really good, too, even though I've only watched two episodes, lol. Seems like it'll stay good if I continue watching.

Today is a Kady/Momma day. Chandler's daddy has, for the time being, been taken off of overtime and will be home on Fridays again. It may not last long, but for right now I have my Fridays back. Don't get me wrong, I love the little munchkin, but I also enjoy some quailty Kady time. She's kid #3 - she hasn't really gotten a lot of one on one time with me like Abby did. Of course, Sam got NONE since he was the middle child. But ya know, God makes the middle one special because Sam hasn't really seemed like it's bothered him. But my girls - they crave one on one time with me. She begs for Kady/Momma days, but then she wants me to sit and watch her play with puzzles all day. So we compromise, I watch TV or read and nod and say "ooh" and "mmmhmm" at the appropriate times at her puzzle-putting-together abilities and it's always a good thing. Quality time.

I read a book about the five love languages of children and I have pinpointed Abby and Sam's for sure. Kady's still a bit young yet, but I'll figure her out one of these days. Abby needs words of affirmation. She's a confident, mature girl, but she craves approval from her daddy and I for some reason. She needs for us to praise her and tell her she's doing great and will go to great lengths to get this praise and affirmation. Sam's a classic physical touch kind of kid. He craves touching us. It's not just hugging and kissing - he just wants you to touch him. Patting his back when you walk by, rubbing his neck when he's coloring, even nudging him with your foot when he's lying in the floor is good enough for him. He needs physical connection to people he loves. (In fact, I am so used to his touch that the other night when we were walking into the gym and he saw a group of his friends and he quickly slipped his hand out of mine... oh gosh, it nearly killed me. It was okay that we walked together, but I couldn't hold his hand. I was crushed. I hope he will at least continue to love on me when his friends aren't around!) Kady's will more than likely be gifts. The kid responds to bling bling and cold hard cash. God love that third child.

I really don't like this my kids are growing up business. It sucks. My 8 year old tells me her boobies hurt, my son won't hold my hand around his buddies.... ach. So far Kady hasn't thrown any curve balls at me, but I'm sure the time's coming.

Today is Beach Day at school and I was just so sure the storms would hit and I wouldn't feel guilty for not going down there. But oh noooooooooo the storms have held off and the sun is shining. My kids are hopefully having too much fun to notice I'm not there. Have I mentioned I hate Beach Day? It's just the one activity that I will go to great lengths to never attend again. I'll gladly attend luaus, feasts, memory nights, graduations, field trips to the skating rink and reptile zoo, but please don't make me go to Beach Day. Pleeeeeeeease.

We're supposed to have some pretty hairy storms today. They keep talking these storms up, but I'll believe it when my house is lifted from it's foundation and whisked off to Oz by the angry spinning funnel. As usual, it's going to peter out before it hits us. It happens too often to not think that way. I think Ottawa Couty has a secret government-funded group of rednecks that all stand at the county borders and when a storm comes our way, threatening to cross the border, they either do some ancient Native American ritual to make it go away or they all spit tobacco juice into the air and that makes the tornado run screaming in the opposite direction (like so many poor redneck wives) or they all have big cans of Tornado Repellent and they spray it into submission. I dunno. Either way, it's been many a night that the storms have brewed, I've stayed up all night watching it head straight at us on Doppler, they've even put us on the storm track and it's going to hit in 32.68 minutes and then, magically it weakens as it approaches. My mother in law says she walks around her house and rebukes the storm. My friend Trishia says she prays that God bind the storm from harming us. Thanks, guys. I'm glad God's helpin' y'all and keepin' us safe, but a quick run to the cellar is good for the heart, ya know. Let's think cardio, huh?