Heat. . . and work!

The Heat is On . . . . .
(cue music - and a flashback)

Oh, yes. The heat is here. This weekend, it was definitely on!

Hmm, Saturday. It's been so long, I have to wonder what we did! Oh, that's right. I guess I already vented about Saturday's events. So I'll move on to Sunday.

Well, we knew it was going to be hot. But there was work to do. . . So we planned to get started early. No problem, right? I get up early. Apparently not early enough. I woke up at 7. I got to the hallway to see the doors both open. . . What? Why are my doors open? I walked out, and there was Dad. Sitting on the front porch with the newspaper. I will mention here that his new house is 40 minutes away - maybe 30 with his driving. . . . It was warm in the house, as it always is overnight. It was barely cooler outside.

I am grateful to have this house to myself now, but it is taking a lot of work, and a lot of adjusting. I used to live in a 3-bedroom house. Yes, it was wonderful. I miss it, but when you get out of the military, you have to leave military housing. . . . Well, this house was full. I loved it. I had a master suite. . . The boys had their own bedrooms. . . a living room, and a large play area that was separate but still a part of the "great" room downstairs. All of this room equals a lot of stuff. Much of it is stuff that we don't have room for any more. And we also had some junk. Junk that needed to go away. I have a small car, so here came dad to the rescue. We put the first load of crap in, and off he went.

Z woke up first, crying. He told me that he was sad, and he wanted his Grandpa. (The boys did not know that he was coming) So I carried him to the kitchen and nudged him out the front door. "What?" Then he looked on the porch and saw his Grandpa sitting there. He was so excited. It was very sweet to hear his reaction and watch him just leap into Grandpa. Well, after Dad left, we got started with the day. JR and Z ate the breakfast that Grandpa brought. Eclairs . . . he had told the boys that they are like donuts with chocolate on top and "magic in the middle". Then Z got dressed and ready. He woke up first, and really wanted to be Grandpa's sidekick. . . So when he came back, Z was ready to go to the dump. Not my idea of an adventure, but they love their Grandpa -- and he drives a truck!

While they were gone, J and I cleaned up. Then he played and I unpacked the last three boxes! Yay! They were all tools and garage -type stuff. . . but still. It means that I have all my stuff! The task that continues is finding somewhere to put it, and getting rid of that which we don't need -- excess linens, outgrown toys and clothes. . . The sorting is a long process, and one that I'm not particularly enjoying.

All morning long, I was logged on to my laptop. Every so often I woke it up and checked the "weatherbug". I just watched the temp go up and up and up. I felt bad for D doing so much work and driving around all morning. That's why I kept on working while he was gone each time. . . And told him that we would "cool off" when the work was done. So when D and Z came back, D took JR for an adventure. He couldn't be left out. . . especially now that they only see him once in a while. Z was ready for more fun. We got lunch packed and ready, and got in our suits. And waited. We were headed to the pool. We all had PB&J, pretzels and a drink for lunch. I felt bad that I didn't have something better to give my dad after so much work, but he was a good sport. The boys got gogurt with their lunch. . . and then we all hopped in the pool. It was fun. A nice cap to a day of productive work. D went home, and I put the boys to bed for a nap. JR is growing out of them, but on certain days - like when it's hot, or we're doing work / exercising, a nap is still needed.

The rest of the day was spent inside. I worked, yes, organized and studied. . . and watched the temp go up and up and up. All the way to 108*. . . Really? We were not ready for that! I also decided, in all that heat, that it was a day not to really cook dinner. There was no way I was going to prep and cook - especially turn on the oven! - and heat the house up again . . . so I made some pasta-roni, and put canned chicken into it. It was quick, easy, and really good, except that no one ate it but me!

Oh, yes. That's another issue. The whole not-eating thing. We'll have to come back to that another day. I don't really aim to cook food that the boys won't eat. . . I'm cooking good food. Z is just really picky. . .

Work, work, work. I'm always working, but it's never done. That's every mom's story, though. It is what it is. For tonight, my work is done. The boys are washed and in bed, and the dishes are clean. Surprisingly, even the toys are put away. I have two loads ready for donation, and a nice to-do list for tomorrow. It might all get done. . . or it might become "rollover" work.

We shall see. . . .

Until then,

~ J