Ten on Tuesday

1.  Jason told them to walk the dogs until he said to stop.  No other instructions.  Lazy? Yes.  Inventive? Yes.

2.  My New York babies are all gone and I miss them already.  We had such a good time.  I let the house stuff go so I could enjoy holding Lolly.  Does it matter that my garage is full of junk that I need to unpack? Nope.  I think I lived in the Birdhouse for over a year before I hung a single picture.  We were living in the moment.  I think I only had to be reminded to do this one time when I started to stress.  Holding Lolly is so much more fun than organizing platters that I got as a wedding present and have never used in 14 years.

3.  My parents were in Spain the entire time Betsy was here (actually until today).  They didn't overlap even a day.  Betsy and I learned that we can do things without my Mom.  I'm not kidding.  I am just now learning to make major decisions without my Mom's approval.  I never trusted my own style or taste (I still don't in the clothing department) so this new house is new ground for me.  Instead of asking for my Mom's approval I am asking for her opinion.  Does that make sense?  I don't need her to like it, for me to like it.  My Mom is a great decorator and I still appreciate her help, but I like that I am coming to a place that I can trust my own instincts.  And if I make a mistake, it's my mistake.  Live and learn.

4.  One thing that did not happen while my Mom was gone was Easter lunch.  I took Betsy and crew to the airport Saturday morning, had Jason's Dad's birthday lunch, his brother and family over after swinging by a nephew's baseball game, took Emory to a doctor friend at 8:30pm after she slid in to her bed and busted her head open, and then went to Wal-Mart (made me feel better that it was packed with other last minute people) and Kohl's at 10:30pm to fill Easter baskets (is that a run on sentence?). I was tired. Cooking was out of the question.  My Mom is the glue that holds my extended family together so in her absence nothing was planned.  No glue, no Easter lunch.  So we went to the Waffle House after church and it was good.

5.  I don't take my kids to the doctor.  Something has to be falling off for me to go to the emergency room. Jay dropped an iron, that was on, on his foot when he was barely walking.  We ran cold water on it.  Scar on his foot, no big deal. (He also has the Dylan McKay eyebrow surfing scar but he got it when he fell out of the bed.) When Emory was barely walking, Jay pulled her off the bed by her feet and she hit her head on the floor.  Her eyes rolled back for a second.  I am pretty sure she had a concussion.  After a minute, she could walk and talk so we decided she was fine.  Saturday night the kids were running in the hall.  We told them to get in their beds.  They were still running in the hall.  Emory was running in socks.  And that resulted in a crash and a busted head.  She was screaming until she saw the blood.  Then she was horror movie screaming.  When I cleaned it up, I knew that too much flesh was showing.  Even for me.  Before heading off to the doc-in-the-box on Easter Eve, I made a call, which resulted in another call, which resulted in a house call.  A nice doctor husband of one of my friends glued her right up.  It was the best thing that had happened to me all day.  Thank you super nice doctor and your awesome wife!  (She really liked the attention she got for her busted head.)

6.  So Facebook is back on.  I can't say that I totally gave it up but I gave up about 90% of it.  I didn't read the feed or randomly look at people's pages for hours.  It was good for me.  I did pray for Jay.  I also learned that I really like Facebook.  I like the movie, the MS NBC special about it, and the actual website.  No shame.

7.  Live and let live.  Sounds simple right? But what if you don't like how other people are living their lives?  What if you think they are making bad decisions?  What if I think I can fix it and them?  Live and let live.  Everyone has their own journey in life and if they make mistakes, they can learn from them.  I have learned tons from my mistakes.  Live and let live.

8.  This makes me so happy. 

9.  Jay has smiled a lot lately.  He did 2 hours worth of homework (sitting right beside me) and managed to keep a pretty good attitude.  I have managed to remain calm with him (for the most part) and talk him through situations that are overwhelming him.  It's been good with Jay.  Now Emory and Packy are another story.  Why is it that when one kid has a good week the other two have to show out?  No rest for a Mom trying her best.  Can you feel me?

10.  The Birdhouse will no longer be mine as of this Saturday.  All that's left there now are some Goodwill boxes, random items I have yet to box, and a basketball goal.  It looks sad.  On the other hand, the new house has life.  Lots of loud, crazy life.