Day Three: A Grim Start

Just know that any household disaster involving the bathroom (specifically, a toilet) and Tim in the same sentence is not to be heralded.

While sparing the odious details, know that it was a Catch-22 dilemma this morning: To Open the Window or To Keep the Window Closed.

If I keep the window shut, I may expire of bleach fumes.
BUT
If I open the window, the neighbors will hear my 7 a.m. ranting at the boys.

Newly-established Household Rule: Specificity is required when alerting the sole adult resident to a pending restroom disaster. (No, Jamie, tapping at my door and saying that the other bathroom is "weird" is neither sufficiently detailed nor adequately alarming).

Parenting lowlight: Shrieking like a banshee. Tied with: Clearly, failing to impart the (was-it-Jennifer-Aniston's-rule?) virtues of limiting one's t.p. use to my sons.

Not an auspicious start to an already electrically-charged Day of Cleaning.

Item #2 to tackle: Charlie's Sty (before the neuro-psych is here to observe his ABA/DTT session).

Day Two

Theme: Productivity Now, Serenity Later.



Amazing what a "to-do" list can do. Many tedious details that had flown under-the-radar suddenly turned urgent. Opera and baseball ticket re-orders, maintenance requests, et cetera.



Technical highlight of the day: Establishing service for my 6-week-old mobile replacement phone before I owed penalty fees.


Boon of the day: Actually programming at least a dozen or so frequently-called numbers into the device! Yahoo for me! (Or, perhaps, yahoo for Verizon's "User Guide"?)

To my delight, 2 respite providers appeared for their scheduled evening shifts. Took Jack to Boy Scouts and Jamie to the Cub Scout Pack meeting. My den received their Bear patches and off to fetch Jack again.

Day One...

So "Sand Crab" promulgated his blogspot last night. Naturally, erudite and witty...putting the pressure on me to keep up. I'd note that he's been carefully crafting his prose since November 2007 whereas I'm going on the fly.

I must say the "Navy of One" reference rung true this morning. We six awakened at o-too-early to drive Ben to SAN airport. Lacking all the pomp, circumstance, TV cameras, and other sobbing families, his departure heavily favored the "individual" in I.A. (Individual Augmentee). No manning-the-rails, no familiar faces, and no sense of safety that the gray hulls have represented. The anonymity was not just palpable, but almost overwhelming. Just a fellow with a crew cut in civilian garb toting a gi-normous sea bag into the terminal.

Naturally -- and probably fortunately, the boys afforded me only the drive home for boo-hoo'ing before the ordinariness of the minute-by-minute tasks of our day commenced. Laundry, dishes, meal prep, searching for Scout uniforms, a run to the pediatrician, and even a Mrs. Melin-organized 2002 Windstar washing. ("It practically looks like a new Honda Odyssey!")

Boon of the day: Erin (er, Saint Erin) will arrive in SD on May 8th! Mother's Day is saved!!

Family Trend of the day: Spillage. Charlie primary offender, 3 successes, 2 different beverages, 2 of 3 on carpet.

Parenting "low-point" o' the day: Report that my 2nd son helped several other impressionable lads discover the wide, wide world of wrapped magazines at 7/11. A proud moment, to be sure.

WHILST I WAS BLOGGING...Charlie was applying marker in flagrant attempt at body art.