Vow to get it done... sooner rather than later
Today I resolved to get things in order, financially, stale snack cupboard, outgrown clothes, you name it I am resolved to take care of it before June 1st. The snack cupboard got added in by the youngest. She wanted to something to snack on and found some stale licorice. That started the cupboard cleaning... again. We did reorganize the pantry a while back only to discover, by being shown through a text, that it was an attempt at racist overtures. I am going to work on that. Not today though. I have been sorting paperwork for a week at least, at first it was to find missing letters, now that they have been found it is to locate all tax paperwork and get the financial house in order.
Trying to find stuff and keep the house going at the same time can be overwhelming at the very least. All this while trying to un-school the girls and keep my sanity. The wild dogs in the house do not help my sanity, yet I feel bad thinking of sending them away. I can see how my younger sister ended up with so many! I have located as much paperwork as I can for today. The rest may have to come the electronic route.
It is near the end of Saturday and the eldest has decided that she will refrain from going to youth group this weekend. Less work on me, I guess. Tonight, I made tacos, and no one is all that hungry. They can be put in the freezer for another day. I was trying to be proactive and have her dinner ready before she left for group. It seems if you eat a party size bag of Doritos, tacos just don't make the cut.
Good morning it is Sunday. Traditionally a day of rest. I don't follow traditions very well. After the morning service I thought I would take the youngest and return the boots and crocs that I had purchased for her. The boots were too narrow and the crocs too big. We headed out with the intent to return the items, and I realized I did not have my ID card with me, so we settled for getting some shoes that would fit and I can return the others another time.
We succeeded at finding one pair of shoes in Walmart that would fit and they had been returned. I know this because the return receipt was in the shoe. It was the only pair available, so we took it along with an off-brand pair of "crocs" and another pair of casual slip-on water type shoe called joy bees and headed to the checkout lanes. While checking out we discovered that although the previous customer paid 14.98 plus tax for the tennis shoes, we were charged 17.98. I was not happy. There was not a tag on the shoe just the return receipt inside of it.
These are the exact same pair of shoes that I purchased for her last summer, and I knew they would fit and last. I didn't argue at the register, but I did head to customer service to ask why I was paying more than the last customer paid. They took my receipt well I should say the receipt out of the shoe and told me the price is 17.98. I did not make any further of a scene, but I wanted too! You might ask why I didn't go to a regular shoe store. I did do that about 45 days ago and she got a pair of shoes she thought were perfect. She wore them one day and they have been in the shoe box since. They were $78 and some change.
I have another week and then I cannot return them. I do fully intend to return them this week. She has a chubby foot but a little foot. She wanted the Puma's with a desperation that is only rivaled by her love of stuffed animals. The shoes sit like a trophy in their box and will never be worn by her. That my friend sums up my Sunday afternoon. Time to go make chicken noodle soup.
Another day and another trip to Denver. I had agreed to take the neighbor to an appointment at the old Fitzsimmons complex which is now UC Health Anshutz Campus. On the way we had planned to take the back roads to avoid traffic, however the ice and the snow insisted that I go out to the main highway, so I did. Slush, splash back and snow were abundant, wipers and washer fluid, not so much.
It is now the start of the second week in April and so much has happened. Too much to write about. I am still resolved to get things in order. Life just keeps throwing curveballs and expecting something other than chaos to erupt. It is currently Easter Sunday, the DH stayed awake until 0400 this morning. During that time 3 out of 4 dogs kept whining in their kennels and the Easter bunny struggled with what to put into the baskets.
The entry room of the house where I have the seedlings setting is going to get a makeover in the next three weeks. The youngest thinks she would like this to be her bedroom. Since the Easter egg hunt plans were cancelled by the other kids being under the weather, we opted for chicken lasagna and grilled asparagus as well. I boiled up a dozen eggs for later this week. Only the adults will eat them. So that is plenty.
In the aftermath of the crab dying the youngest is begging for a new pet. We headed into town to return an automatic cat litter box that I had purchased thinking that it would make my cat sitting job easier. I had looked up the type of litter that was required and the sticker shocked reminded me that I could just scoop the box we had each day and put the cat out to play each morning. I decided to take the girls with me and have a discussion with the youngest about pets and responsibility and see if we could just hold off the pet expedition until we went to visit family. That was pretty much a waste of breath and I felt as though I was really being harsh with the youngest. She is in constant want of an animal, or toy, or just attention in general. The lesson I was seeking to teach the difference between "needs" and "wants".
Originally, today was to be an egg hunt and lunch at my daughter's home. The grands got sick on Friday so in an abundance of caution we agreed to cancel. Today the kids were feeling better and just before we were to leave for the adventure to town, she reinvited us. I allowed the youngest to decide on going to see family and have an egg hunt or going to perhaps get a couple of new crabs... she, to my honest surprise, chose to get a new crab. I told her before we get any new pet we needed to talk, and I also needed to return the litter box. Returning the litter box to the store where it was purchased did not happen. We went there and stood waiting for customer service for almost 10 minutes. We were not alone; another customer was waiting also.
I approached the closest cashier and asked if they could call someone. She told me to go push the bell. I returned to the counter and searched for said bell. My 10-year-old searched for the bell also. There was no bell. Another worker 4 registers down said the customer service person is on her 30-minute break she won't be back until 3:30. It was 2:40. I was not very accommodating I picked up the litter box and as I left expressed my dissatisfaction with the worker that was now willing to help the guy behind me but not me. Not my finest moment. The youngest was on overdrive about getting another pet. Tossing out ideas for anything other than a new crab. Could she just look... looking leads to tears, tears lead to tantrums, and it only gets worse from there.
I had my say about the wants versus needs and she was tearing up in the backseat. The oldest felt I was being too hard on the youngest, and I am sure I was. I didn't want to be hard on her, but exhaustion had the best of me right then and I was not going to give in this time. Horrible as it is, I had to hold my ground. It became obvious that she did not really want another crab. She was going for fuzzy and cute. Have I ever mentioned that she thinks rats are cute? Well, she does. Hamsters were cheap enough, but my very soul knows that in two days I will be in charge of the "new" pet. Or it will starve. I do not want to take care of a hamster or any other rodent.
We went out of the pet store empty-handed. One small step for mankind, One giant leap for mom! She quickly geared for the kill. Would I please take her to that pet sanctuary by my work. She was referencing the Humane Society; it is one mile from my work. I quickly agreed. What could go wrong with that idea?! Easter Sunday, 4pm, on the other side of town. Nothing could have been safer! Surely, they would be closed.
Om goodness! They were open. I put on a brave countenance and entered the den of thieves. Immediately she spotted the cats. Venturing in I noticed that every kennel had a tag that read "adopted or pending adoption". I breathed a sigh of relief. Then some "helpful, cat-loving, parent hating", guy said oh there is a really cute kitten on the next row that is available. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest his... Okay that was not nice. But it was how I felt at that moment. Den of thieves is an understatement! For a mere $150.00 we could "adopt" that "kitten", which in reality was on its last day of "kittenhood" I am sure. And with my luck was probably "expecting". Of course, they would spay her so that would not be a "problem".
We left the cat area and ventured into the belly of the beast. The bunny and doggy space. Needless to say, we left with a child in tears. Luckily for me all visitation was ended at 4:30 and they announced this closure as she had just decided which 10 dogs made her final list. Tears flowing, we drove home. I reminded her that almost every dog in there had a card that read, and I quote "would be best in a home as the only dog or pet". To add insult to injury not one dog was less than $200.00. This is on top of the $200.00 surrender fee that the previous owner paid for a male or $350.00 for a female. I am not sure what you pay to turn in a "stray". I am relatively sure it isn't free anymore.
We made it home with less than one gallon of tears spilled into the backseat of the car. Not bad. Once home amongst other things, we discovered a bottle of gorilla glue spilled on a couch. No, the dogs did not do this.
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