Finally, a day of NOTHING planned!!

Waking up this morning I had a clear list of my chores for today.
1. Drive and get my newspapers, for my coupons
2. pick up my house, make it presentable for the week
3. clip my coupons, look through my sales papers and write up my list with prices and such
4. do a load or two of laundry
5. Relax


So I got up, asked the kids if they wanted to go with me to Zavalla, they said no. since BR was here and had went to bed fairly early I decided I could leave Bow. There was NO sense in getting him dressed, buckiling him in, driving there, waking him up, taking him out, getting change, walking back out, get a few papers, take them to the truck, go back and get a few more, take them back to the truck, walk back to the paper machine, get a few more, take them to the truck, then buckle him in, drive back home, wake him up again and then get him out.

So I asked the kids to please watch him, Not a problem. Well, I went and brushed my teeth, found some shoes, had them leave the room with him so he wouldnt cry and walked to the door. Rayley right behind me. She wanted to go. Well, I basicly would have the same scenario with her, except I hopefully wouldnt have to tote her. So I told them to all load up. This took a good 8 minutes of wrangeling and then we had to buckle and all that.

I had started the truck and was about to back out, when I realized Matt wasnt in there, I came back in the house, he was in the room playing. I told him that I was buying soda's if he wanted to go. He jumped up and ran. So we drove and got my Beaumont ENterprise, it is a mile down the road, but to get the Lufkin Daily News I have to drive pert near 20 miles. one way.

When we got home I wanted to come in and go through my coupons, get them cut, looked through and all that. I was lucky enough that all the kids wanted a comics paper. Luckily I had 6 papers. Then I started going through and getting out what I wanted. The rest went in the floor. And Bow decided these were his play toys. He kept wanting up in my lap. Brett decided to help me out by playing with him. THey played in those papers for a while. I looked down once and Bow was on his back, in the middle of 9,000 sheets of newsprint flaling his arms and legs back and forth like he was making snow angels.

BR got up and came in here to sit for a while. I had saved one paper, so he could read it. He sat down and started looking through it. "Did you read this" he asks.... uhhhh NOPE. So, he reads me a few stories. I was sitting here cutting out my coupons and thinking, "wow, this is nice, he can read me the paper and I can do this. Since I LOVE reading the paper." But alas, his idea of interesting stories ran out pretty quick. He is the only person I know that can go through a sunday paper in less than 20 minutes. I had visions of a cuban cigar factory where they paid someone to read the laborors the news..

Oh well, I only had 3 more inserts to go and Bow wanted up here really bad, so I put them up. Brett had helped me so much. Just by playing with Bow. And then when Rayley came through, saw me busy and decided she had to eat something. RIGHT THEN. he jumped up, offered to find her something and asked if I wanted something too.

My sweet child is back. He used to always be like this, always wanting to help, worrying about others, being sweet and helpful and cheerful. But lately, more times than not he is just a butthead.

Next thing I know BR disapears, I didnt think anything of it, then he came out half dressed for work. It was only 1. I asked him if he was going to work early. He looked at the time and said "actually, I meant to go in earlier than this". Well, I had planned to make him some chicken patties for lunch to take with him, since we were out of sandwich ham. (I found out when I went to get a peice the other day, noone tells me these things....) I got up and got the oven started. I just have to throw them in, but they take 20 minutes to cook.

Of course since I was not having a Miss CLeo day I didnt know he wanted to leave an hour and a half early.

Right after he left I settled in to start some picking up, cleaning and thought about organizing my room. Its a disaster, I never can get in there to clean it. I prefer to do my cleaning during midday. But BR is in there asleep then. By the time he wakes up and leaves I am either involved in something else, or have used my energy up doing something already. Of course I also have to deal with Bow, constantly holding him or keeping him entertained is not as easy as it sounds. And my bathroom is 3 times as bad as my room. Not nasty, it just needs a good cleaning out. Just general junk. and it needs reorginized. Me bringing in a stockpile of differnt things I need to get alot of organizing done. But honestly, when he sleeps during the day it just makes it impossible.

Then I remembered that he had promised a friend at work to pick him up some hay the other day. And had forgotten. Actually, a friend called him, asked if he knew where to get some hay. BR said, "sure, I'll call my old lady and see if she can find some"
Well, I dont buy square bales. I buy and feed my horses round bales. So I had to really think about it. I dont know many folks who use square bales anymore. Then I remembered someone, called their daughter in law, and she wasnt home, so I told BR one more person, told him to call my cousin ( actually, his dad is my cousin, his mom is BR's cousin, so he is our cousin..... ) He had some and told BR to come by and get a few bales that day or yesterday. BR said he would. Then forgot. and forgot again. Sad thing is, he drives 8 miles to work, and passes this guys house (about 1/4 miles from our house) on the way. So when I remembered I text'd him. Knowing he didnt have enough signal to awnser the phone. Well, once I did that I started getting ready to vacumm.

Then my granfather called. wanting to know when BR's next days off were. Saturday, they have been Saturday for the most part for QUITE a while. Well come to find out they were raking the hay today. I asked him if they thought they would get it all bailed up today. He was wanting BR to load the lay with the tractor onto my trailer and us get it to the big barn at my uncles about 9 miles down the road. I told him I would make sure that BR came in early enough one day this week to do it. He is just soooo worried about it sitting out in that field for 3 days. Cause you know, there is nothing that will ruin dead grass faster than to sit in a feild for 3 days.

After I got off the phone with him I wrote a note to remember to ask BR about the tractor.

And promptly forgot about the hay that BR was supposed to have picked up. 20 minutes later BR called me in a panic. "I forgot the hay!, I swore I would go by and get it yesterday or the day before and forgot it."
"I know, thats why I text'd you, to find out if you had remembered today"
"well, when you get there, tell Chris I am REALLY sorry, I promised him that I would be there. Tell him I just let it slip my mind!"

ahhhhh.... So, I gathered up the kids, told them to load up and we drove down the road to the hay. While I was out I decided to go ahead and drop off the paper I had bought in Zavalla for a friend of mine. I had offered to take the bails to BR's yard, but he said to just keep them at home, he would bring them in tomorrow. I bet he forgets.
While I was out I picked up a loaf of bread, cause my MIL had only remembered to get me one on Thursday. I am not sure why. We can go through a loaf in half a day.

It dawned on me that I ought to go ahead and take the lowboy trailer over to the hayfield, maybe they would load the first bails on it, and then after I went to town and bought groceries tomorrow I could come home, take those bails to Uncle Busters, and then by then BR would be up, could load the remaining bails and everything would work out just fine. Uncle Buster was supposed to come and get the hay with his big trailer, but its got a flat. So it was up to me and my little lowboy.
Plus his truck has been messing up lately.

I decided to go on home, came in, started on the kitchen. It was a disaster. The kids settled in and Bow was playing so nice. Especially concidering that he had fallen asleep on our last excursion. I got it about half way done. Making my grocery list a little at a time, remembering things I saw on sale in the few minutes I could look at the circulars, and coupons. I had to get my grocery list done today. If I dont have a comprehensive one I wont save any money.

The phone rang. IT was my grandfather. Could I bring my lowboy over there, maybe they would load it for me tonight. All I had to do was drop it. I told him I would be there in 10 minutes.

I said yes, so I went out to hook up to it. It was parked by the house. The kids had drug the old steps that were in peices infront of it. Nails sticking up everywhere. they had thrown 3 bags of yard trash in front of it, and there was a 60 gallon trashcan full in front of it.

I moved all that and was about to back up to it and saw the trailer itsself. Apparently when BR had them pick up the yard to bushhog and weedeat the other day, they had put everything on the trailer. EVERYTHING. There was an extension cord, 5 tubes of grease, 2 haydite blocks, various tools, a hard had, welding rods, welding helmet, and of course the kids had also been using it as a track for their 37 matchbox cars that they had snuck outside. I had to pick up ALL of that. Plus more crap that I cant remember.

I finally got it all cleared up and went to back the truck up to the trailer. Then I remembered having took my ball off my hitch. So I found it in the back of my truck, got it out and tested the nut to see if I could screw it back on. Nope, it wouldnt go more than 8 threads in. The nut was DIRTY. BR had called me by now, I was outside, hot sweaty, pissed and now couldnt find a pipewrench, cresent wrench, nothing. ANd I knew the WD40 was no where to be found. Cause about a week ago, I got tired of the door waking Bow up everytime one of the idiots opened it. So BR was outside and I sent BRett out to ask him to send me in some WD40. BR sent him back in here to tell me to use one of those WD40 pens I had bought and stuck in a drawer. I had already thought about that, belive me, it would be MUCH easier if I could use my own instead of having to ask him. The pen was dried up, cause some courious dear had opened the package, tore off the plastic that held on the cap, and removed the cap.

When BRett came in and told me that I could use one of those pens I just gave up. BR came in a little while later and said "it still squeaks" I told him I didnt have any WD40, which is why I sent Brett out to get some, and he proceeded to go over and find the pens to show me, that I indeed did. Luckily, when I found those pens I had been so mad that I just threw them back in the junk drawer and moved on. He swore he didnt know where in the world any would be. I know there are at least 10 cans floating around here. But where I dont know.

Anyhow, when he called me and I was outside banging the nut and bolt and trying to clean them out, cussing the fact that I have bought enough WD40 over the years to grease all the palms in washington DC and didnt have a single can anywhere on this hill, he suggested I go into the storage building, to my right, about 2 foot to the side, up against the wall sitting on a box was 3 cans of WD40, just to make it easy on myself. And acted like I was an idiot for not thinking of it sooner.

I sprayed them and came in to deal with the kids. I had left them alone for about 45 minutes. They had destroyed the small parts of cleaned house I had managed to accomplish.

Again.

I had told them on my newpaper trip this morning that the house was going to be clean come hell or high water by the end of today. All they had to clean was their rooms. ANd since they had been cleaned on Friday, it shouldntn be a problem.

Once I got off the phone with BR, nursed Bow and headed back out I was semi calm again. ANd the WD40 had worked wonders. I was able to screw the nut on with NO problems. I backed up to the trailer, got it hooked up and we headed out.

I showed up at the hayfield adn the boys saw my grandfather at the other side. I stopped, put her in park and the boys bailed out and ran into Aunt Etta's. But I kept looking at Honey. It looked like he waved at me. Then he waved again. So I drove all the way across it. I got to him and he said "why didnt you stay over there? I was coming to you."
"Cause it looked like you were waving me over here. you had both arms outstretched and were flopping them around like a bird"
"I was telling you to stay."

AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH.

So I decided to sit it out down there. They were about done anyway. And heck, if I could get them to load me up, I could get this done right now, there was only 10 bales, half were ours, I knew I could get 5 bales on my truck at least if I tried real hard. Plus, Uncle Gerald was in his pepper garden and came over on his golf cart. He told me he was going to check on the peas tonight and would let me know if I needed to come in the morning.

Then I look up and in pulls Uncle Buster. WHAT THE HELL?
I walked across the feild and he said that I could go on home, he was going to take the 5 for me. I said okay, and I fiqured that a 70 year old man would put 4 bales on the trailer (3 end to end will fit just fine, real nice and tight, but if you put them half up on the rails, you can put 2 side by side and shove the last one on the back and push them real tight, OR put the last one in the back of the truck). But he decided to load 3, and put the other 2 on top. Now this WILL work, but you have to have good tight rolls, they have to be spaced just right and the right size. Its a very percarious load. And not many people will do it. I would have done it with a double bottom layer (I had already thought about it, since there was supposed to be 10 bales. I was going to put 4 on bottom, half on the trailer and half on the rails, dipping in the middle, 3 on top of that in the middle sitting in the grooves and one in the bed of my truck. ) But no matter how many times I said "look, I'm here, I'm hooked up, and I dont mind bringing a few bails" He said NO this will work.

So they put the first 3 on. We got them tied down. Then they put the first one on top. I didnt like the way it looked when they picked it up. You could tell it was loose. And this was some of the smallest bales I had seen. they were very narrow. They got it semi stable and went and got the other one. I was standing at the doull looking at the backside from where they were putting it on, and I was kissing at my little mini terrier. He came running and jumped up in my arms. About that time those 2 bales came tumbiling down. I again suggested we just get it over with and get it on my truck. But no, this was GONA work. Heck by now even Honey was agreeing with me. And he NEVER agrees with me, unless I convince him that he came up with the idea. which is getting easier now that he is getting senile. I mean older. ....

They put one back up there, and I just watched. I made sure the other dogs were no where around and started back to my truck. If they didnt need me I wasnt gona sit here getting zero miles to the gallon. Plus I had promised Honey I would go home and load up the tractor, so I could come and pick the hay up off the side of the road when they lost it. If they made it out of the field.

They decided pretty quick that those bales just wernt gona sit. So they started over to my truck. Now I have had MANY a bale of hay on my truck. I started using round bales YEARS ago to feed my horses. And it only took me about 6 years to convince my grandfather that horses WONT sit and eat the hay till they die. If my hungry gutted nags didnt do it, then NO horse would. I still havent convinced my father in law. Anyway, of all the bales of hay I have had, I have NEVER had them this small. I was afraid they would fall out through the hole between the ramps. I was glad I had a chain between them.

We finally started off. It didnt take long and both Bow and Rayley were out like a light. They needed a nap anyway. Once we got there I had to back completely into a barn, that was made JUST big enough for a doulley to go through the doors and opened up bigger at the back. BUT to make it more fun there was buckets of crap stacked up INSIDE the opening, just inches away from both tires. and I had to get in and hook it to the right to get it where we wanted the hay. Cause putting it where it was easy to get to would be.... I dont know... sensible...???
I really dont know why I deal with people that are retired. They have WAY too much time on their hands and dont mind doing double the work. And why in the HELL would a person who has built more than one barn, NOT make it a drive through?? or not put the gate facing a VERY small opening between trees where you literly have to grease your truck to get it to squeeze in there.

We got in there and pushed the bales off. Once we got both trucks unloaded we were on our way again. The kids were still asleep and I was going to get home before 5. Still time to get my grocery list done, the living room and kitchen recleaned and my laundry folded. But first I had to check on the muscidines. I needed to know if I should buy more jars for jelly tomorrow. They are about 1/2 ripe. So yep, its about time. The kids are so excited. They want to pick them in the morning. I dont. I want to wait and let BR take them to pick.. Mostly cause I am lazy, but I also know how much work will go into making the jelly and I want to put it off as long as possible. cause once you pick them you have to cook them and deal with them.

Once we got home I told the kids to please get their stuff picked up. They wanted to help me instead. I told them they could do all of that, BUT, they were still going to clean their rooms. Of course as usual I was able to work about 20 minutes, then I have to sit down and reassure Bow that I am still here, he can still nurse and I havent abandoned him. This usually takes about 15 minutes. ITs not quite 2 steps forwards and one step back, but its close.

The kids wanted fried spam for supper, so we did that, and Rayley was worthless cleaning her room. I had promised them that they wouldnt go to bed till their rooms were clean. Around 11 they decided the only way they would get a movie tonight was to help Rayley pick up the last of her toys. Whats funny is, by the time the 'play' screen came up, they were all asleep.

Of course the last 3 hours of the evening was spent trying to explain to BR what I was talking about on the room addition. ANd him telling me I was an idiot and not listening to him. I KNOW what he is saying. But I promise, he hasnt got a clue what I am saying. And since he waits till he is at work, drawin a picture in his truck that I will never see, and hasnt looked at the picture I drew up, I dont think he will ever grasp what I am talking about.

We HAVE to build a room on. We planned on a living room, and in the bargin I am getting a laudry room. SInce the launtry room/panty is going to only be 1/2 the length of the living room I had decided to fill that void in with a porch. so the foot print is the same size, and its all under one roof. Then there will be a door leading into the living room from the outside, and one into the pantry/laundry from outside. off that porch. This makes perfect sense to me, I can see it in my head, and cant understand why in the hell he cant. BUT tonight he came up with the idea of just building a box, and putting a wall in the middle (building it out of logs, since we are eventually going to put a new outside on the trailer and wanted it to be logs). I said no problem. same foot print, same roof, just a foyer. This is where I loose him. Well, the first time I lost him was saying "all under one roof"

I got "of course its all under one roof you dumbass, why would you put two roofs on what is just two rooms? thats stupid." Uhhhhh I meant, there is going to be a 30X24 roof, a 30X24 floor, and there is going to be a 20X24 living room, a 10X12 laundry/pantry and a 10X12 covered porch.

Now the foyer had him really baffled. He keeps saying "part of the lving room" well yea. technically it is. BUT its not going to have a couch sitting in it and I could still put a door there to go into the pantry. My goal is not have to traipse all the way through the living room from the car into the kitchen with groceries. AND for the kids to be able to take their muddy and nasty selves STRAIT into the pantry/laundry room, and not through a somewhat clean house. I plan on putting a sink in there. AND during hunting season, when something is killed, you just go strait in there, and not through the living room.

He keeps telling me its kinda like a hallway, that is just open into the living room. Yes, thats pretty much what I see if we just do the box thing. Then he starts talking about french doors. Where?? in the living room. well does he want to wall off the foyer/hallway/walled in porch? This started off another round of questioning my intellegence. I dont know what he wants. But everytime I mention a door into the pantry he says "I dont care how many doors you have leading outside, I guess if it looks retarted thats just gona have to be lived with. " and then I realize he is talking about putting a porch on all of this too. That will double the price. The roof and floor are the expensive parts!

A simple project and it isnt even past the planning stages and I could kill him. PLUS every idea he has had as far as walls go, is making it VERY clear that he is not going to give me a chance to paint it. I guess he is scared I will put camoflauge polka dots on the walls or something. But thats okay, If he does that, and insists on wood walls, I will just have to get my bright colors in there some other way.. Plus I will then have the current living room / future dining room to paint. and the kitchen.. I have always wanted a red dining room.

ANd I think our bedroom needs a coat of paint. Since I have a Texas theme going in there I am concidering painting red, and blue stars on the wall where border should be, and then coming down to where wainscoating would be and painting it red. then putting up an oak chair rail to seperate it.

I have always wanted a seafoam something though... I lvoe that color... Maybe for the laundry room.... It will calm me while I am scrubbing stains...

Oh well. This might not ever get done, or it might. It depends on if I can explain to him and make him understand my ideas. We need it. badly. We are about 5 people too many in this house.

Now I have to go to bed, with out a grocery list, with coupons that still need clipping, circulars that need going over and prices checked, with 2 loads of laundry still not done, and the dishwasher full. They are clean, but I havent emptied it. Of course it doesnt matter, I cant go to the store in the morning. I have to go and pick peas.