monday

Hello sweetie. Day two without you. This morning came so fast and I was not ready. I woke unrested and riddled with back pain. Landon kept me up most of the night with his restless sleep. I was elbowed, kicked, scratched and head-butted by his body. I will never let him sleep in our bed again. I am now understanding of his repetitive morning phrase of, "I'm still soooooo sleepy." It makes sense now. He even at one moment rested his little Landon foot upon my shoulder. Would have been cute if it weren't for the lateness of the hour. I am hoping that tonight is better.

This mornings air was crisp. I let the back door stay open while I readied myself. I can hardly wait for Fall. Do you think it's close?

I dropped the younger children off at school on time as usual. Mikey asked to join me on my drive to Starbucks before his day at school. I have strong suspicion that he was hoping for a chonga bagel again. I did not oblige. This might be the reason for the quiet drive to Poston Jr High.

I stayed at home for a bit this morning. I spent time paying bills and organizing grocery lists. I set my days play list on the computer and declared my new anthem from Muse, titled Uprising. 'They will not force us; They will stop degrading us; They will not control us; We will be victorious" I'm not sure what all of the uprising and chanting is about, but I have decided to apply it to the school's PTO. After my chanting sing-a-long, I finally scrambled up energy to head out to do the grocery shopping. I spent an hour and twenty minutes up and down the isles. My shopping buggy was overflowing. It did not help that I was hungry. That could be the reason for my coming home with 6 boxes of crackers and 4 packages of cookies. The pantry and fridge are well stocked. Just a trip to the fruit market tomorrow and grocery shopping will be done for a while. I hope.

I came home and unloaded all 17 bags by myself. I immediately turned on the oven and made a veggie chicken sandwich for lunch. I had the flavors all worked out in my head. I would add shredded lettuce and relish with salt. The relish did not serve the veggie chicken well and left my bun soggy. I missed you when I opened the relish. Only because there are currently 3 containers of relish, opened in our fridge, all purchased by you because you can never remember if we have any.






me, smiling for you

The day prodded on slowly. The sun sat high up in the sky and baked us at 106 degrees. I thought of you sitting in San Diego, breathing in the cool salty air. I was envious.

I was thinking about you throughout the day. Did you mean to leave your shoes next to the bed...or was that an oversight on your part? No matter, I will put them back for you.

I picked the children up from school. All 3 of them had good days. Morgan walked to the car eating a Krispy Kreme. Landon came with a lollipop. Mikey just came to the car sans treats of any kind. I jokingly asked him if the girls at school liked his new haircut. I was surprised when he said, "Yes they did, mom." When I prodded about the cuteness of the girls, he asked me to leave it alone. I stopped. My son is a fox and he can't help it. I know his pain.

When we arrived home, we had snacks and then it was decided that Mandy needed a bath. She smelled. Bad. Morgan and Landon agreed to help. Landon with the hose is never a good idea. Remember how he flooded the backyard last month?

mandy prebath and smelly

Both Morgan and Landon were a great help. Mandy was not happy. Do you think that dogs know how to swear? I think Mandy does. Especially when Morgan insisted on using the conditioner on her after the shampoo. Something about wanting her to have a silky coat. I don't think Mandy cares about a silky coat. She rolls around in the dirt and leaves.

I am now happy to report that our family pup smells good. She has a soft coat and thanks to Morgan's conditioning treatment, she has a little shine.

It is now time for me to go and prepare dinner. I still haven't decided on the menu. I heard an earlier request for breakfast. Am entertaining the idea.

I will miss your company next to me in bed tonight as I watch our Monday night line up. Hope you are able to watch in Sandy Diego, as Landon calls it.

I miss you, honey. I hope your visit with your babies is fun and full of laughter and love. They are so lucky to have you for their dad.

p.s. Did you watch Brothers and Sisters in your hotel last night? Do you think that Kitty has cancer? I hope not. I really like her and she has the new baby and all.

I love you more and most.

R