To Start

So here I am, sitting at the computer trying to figure out what to start with while trying to enjoy a cup of soup before one of my two little boys wakes up. I figure, why not just start with the last few days.

First of all, our oldest son, Loren, is a Tiger Cub Scout here in our community. On Friday, there was a "Full Moon Hike" that my husband took him to. My daughter decided to go along for the adventure, plus it probably counts towards one of her Junior Girl Scout patches. While they were gone, I had the two boys and we hung out watching our DVR of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Curious George (my two year old's favorite shows). By the time the others got back, I had finished putting down the baby, and was getting ready to put the 2 year old down. At night's end, I was pooped.

Saturday Loren had a "Bike Rodeo" in Chino Hills for his Scouts. (This is not far from where the fires were.) I wanted to go, but couldn't wake up. So Les took him to the event and Loren completed it to earn a "belt loop", Yeah! By the time they got back, I was dressed, had the bed made, had the two boys dressed, had fed the baby, made my daughter get dressed and make her bed, and was making our way downstairs. We enjoyed some Panera Bread pastries that Les and Loren brought back. Yummy. I put Leland (7 m/o) down for his midday nap, and took the other 3 grocery shopping so Les could get a much needed quiet time to finish a proposal due in a couple of days. Instead of heading towards the fires, which by this time (around 12:30) you could see the smoke just escalating, we headed towards Fontana for a store there. We took awhile, unintended, but got 90% of what we needed. Once in the car, we could see smoke covering most of Chino Hills area, and it looked like the fire had spread closer to our home in Corona. Yikes! As luck would have it for us, the winds kept the fires from getting closer and kept the smoke away from us. This is also unfortunate for those who caught all of the smoke and ash in the other direction. (I hope all is well for those who are recovering from this weekends events.) The winds finally died down a bit. We headed out for dinner at favorite Chinese restaurant called "Supreme Dragon" in Rowland Heights. What normally takes 30 minutes to get to the area, took over an hour. We dropped of the baby at my in-laws so we could all enjoy our meal. Well, getting to S.D. took another 20 minutes (should have been maybe 7 minutes). Boy were we all hungry by the time we got there. Dinner was good. You can see my husband's review of it on Yelp at http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=bK9h6pmW3f4P1mxUR2PPkA . On the way home, we found a "Fresh and Easy" market (we're waiting for one to be built right around the corner from our home) so we stopped to see what all the fuss was about. http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=z4FYrG2-dJUW1xcskUencQ Well all I can say is, I CAN'T WAIT to get ours, everything is fresh and definitely affordable, especially with the way the economy is. (I just hope we get it, a lot of shops have been closing down around here, very sad.) The drive home was nothing compared to going out.

Sunday, another scout event. This time it was for Lindsay. She had been a Brownie for the past 3 years, and today, she got to "bridge up" to a Junior Scout. No more brown uniform, now we get to wear green and white. Yeah! The morning started out as usual, laundry, breakfast, getting dressed, bed making, vacuuming, and trying to get the two boys down before I needed to leave. That was a task in itself. The baby went down with no problem. Langdon though, he was a definite challenge. Well, he wouldn't fall asleep by the time I needed to leave, so Loren was kind enough to sit in the room with him (while playing the PSP) until he did. I left. Apparently, Langdon NEVER napped. My husband was once again trying to work on this proposal, he didn't get to. Langdon was running around like a madman, which in turn woke up the baby. I was gone for 3 hours, and of that, 2 were spent trying to keep the boys in line and happy. Needless to say, no work was accomplished. Back to the Bridging Ceremony. It ran late as usual. Lindsay's twin cousins, Ava and Alyssa arrived in uniform (they are Brownies too), and her close friend Alex showed up in her Junior uniform (she just joined but wasn't a Brownie, she was "invested" into the troop). It was kind of slow going, but Lindsay wanted to attend this ceremony to experience her official Bridging. All was said and done by 3:45. Once I got home, I took over the reigns of all the kids so Les could get back to work. I got the baby back down for another nap, he was CRANKY! Then the other 3 helped make their own pizzas using the Pillsbury Pizza dough. It was pretty good. They enjoy cooking and tasting their own creations.

Monday started as usual. The older two off to school. Les working in his office. The two little boys and I hanging out trying to contemplate what might actually get done today. Hah! Tried to go see my friend Jesyl, but the traffic was going to be horrendous to get there. (Nevermind, don't like driving that long with the boys by myself.) So I thought, hey maybe I'll go run some errands. Uh huh. Langdon decides to go potty in his diaper and it gets all over my bed. I change him and my bedding. Leland decides he's tired, okay, I change him and end up getting his pooh everywhere on the changing pad (How long have I been changing diapers??), now I need to clean that up. I get Leland to bed and feed Langdon his lunch. LUNCH!! Crap, where did the day go?! Now it's time for Langdon's nap, I finally get him down. Well, no errand running today. Maybe tomorrow.

An hour later, here come the older two home from school. Ugh! When will it be my time? Okay, prep the snacks, have them wash their hands and get started on homework. My daughter has been having issues with focusing at home and at school on her work. Her excuse, she's tired of school. Hah! I'm tired of cleaning up after everyone. Les is tired of working. Maybe we'll all just give up and live poorly on the kindness of others. (Until they're tired of being kind.) Anyway, she finished one project that was due, just so she can get a new project on Missons to do while she is on Off-track for 6 weeks. Oh well, homework is started and we discuss her misbehavings in class; Les called the teacher only to find out she was dilly dallying again. If she doesn't change her behavior, her off-track could be very boring. I hope she changes her attitude. Dinner- chicken nuggets (not homemade this time), fruit salad (yummy yummy), and Mac & Cheese (from the box). They all gobble it down. Time for showers and getting ready for bed. Kids go down for the night, and I bathe the little ones before their bedtime. Aaahh, quiet.

Les and I get to shower at some point as well, so we can watch a little tv before calling it a night. Well, wouldn't you know it, about 40 minutes into our show, here comes Langdon from upstairs, unable to stay asleep AGAIN. He stayed with us until we went up about 30 minutes later. Les put him back to bed and I went on my way to ours. I laid down to read before hitting the pillows. Aahh, my bed is my favorite spot in this whole house. It's large and comfortable, cozy and inviting; it's my serenity spot. Now if only I could keep it to just me and Les, not the 4 kids who keep invading my space.

Okay, I guess that's enough to start with. As you can see, leaving the house is not always an option, but getting dressed is a requirement for me to feel human. I love my kids and I try to stay on top of all their needs and wants. They may not get everything, but I give them what I can. Oh, this is a good time to stop typing since Leland just woke from his midday nap and Langdon is starting to move around too. Maybe I'll be able to get an errand or too done after all.

Wish me luck. Until next time, take care.

Any suggestions or input is always welcome.