Normally, I am a relatively happy person on Mondays. I look forward to getting the kidlets off to school so that I can do everything I am supposed to do on the weekends but am unable to complete with them "helping" me. They are happy at school. I am able to get caught up at home. On Tuesday, all of us start looking forward to the weekend and spending more time together again.
Today, however, was trying to kill me. I wish I was joking on this part, but given that I was almost run over by a car, I'm thinking Monday is literally trying to end my life.
I knew it was a Monday morning almost right away. First, I had severe nightmares from about midnight until four in the morning. Then, when I opened up a brand-new container of soy milk to put in Rooster's Thermos for lunch, the top tore off and I proceeded to splash soy milk all over the kitchen floor, counter, table, and my hands. Good morning to you, too, Monday.
The kidlets have been fighting like crazy today, from the moment they woke up this morning. Rooster was singing softly in her bedroom while Horse was doing her normal morning chores. Horse was apparently not amused with her younger sister's singing, because she interrupted her by saying, "You aren't allowed to sing. I am the only person in this family with any vocal talent." Excuse me? The overall family vibe was quite cranky over this one, with the offending kidlet being the crankiest after being informed I would pull her out of choir for the rest of the year if I ever heard her say such a thing to anyone else. She apologized to her sister, but sulked the rest of her time at home.
We managed to make it to school without incident. I returned home and planned to kill an hour doing laundry and changing the sheets on the beds before heading out to a store with a couple of friends. Five minutes before I was to walk out the door, I went to shut off the water to the washing machine. I discovered the utility sink, into which said washing machine drains, was completely blocked and water was almost to the top. Oh, goody. I bailed water out for a moment or two before giving up and walking away to hit the store. I prayed the standing water would drain while I was gone so that I could see if there was a problem, rather than having to stick my hand into soapy water and try to figure out what was blocking the drain. Sure enough, upon my return, I discovered a sticker had fallen into the sink and had almost completely blocked the drain. The water had slowly trickled out while I was gone, so I could see and remove the offending item. Whew. Dealing with a plumber had not been on my "to do" list for the day.
While I was out at the store, I tried on a pair of jeans. They were nice and baggy, just the way I like them. However, the fabric did something to my legs and I have been scratching ever since. I hope washing them will take care of that problem. I made myself feel better about it by purchasing some expensive turtlenecks (pima cotton...oooh...) online.
Later, I walked to the school to pick up the kidlets. On my way there, a woman ran a red light and pulled into the street. She was driving while looking in the other direction and did not see me in the middle of the crosswalk right in front of her. I shouted for her to "Stop!" as loudly as I could, and then proceeded to ream her out once I realized that I was not going to die for her stupidity. I've had people almost hit me while they are not paying attention, but this was the closest near-miss I've had. I hope her ears burned from all of my yelling. ("What's the matter with you?!? Pay attention to where you are driving! You could have killed me and you wouldn't have even noticed I was there! Red means 'stop', not 'run over the pedestrian who has the right of way!" Yep, I was more than slightly miffed, but even then I kept it G-rated.)
Needless to say, I was slightly more paranoid than normal while walking the kidlets back home from school. At one intersection, I had to pull Rooster back to the curb because a driver did something stupid. The light had changed, and she was already fully into the intersection. Instead of continuing so she would not block the box, she backed up into the crosswalk that we needed to enter. (This was when I pulled Rooster back. Rooster had just stepped off the curb when the lady backed up.) She stopped once she completely blocked the crosswalk. The crossing guard knocked on her passenger side window and told her to back it up. The woman's response was, "You need to say 'please' and 'thank you.'" The crossing guard was, understandably, irate. She retorted that she did not need to be polite when someone is breaking the law. I threw my two cents in, loudly, by telling the crossing guard she should take a picture of the woman's license plate to show the police so she could get a ticket in the mail. I doubt that woman was too thrilled with my contribution, but I was already upset that she could have hit my daughter if I hadn't pulled her back. I was relieved when we finally made it home without further incidents.
When I am stressed, I make one of my favorite comfort food snacks: popcorn. Popcorn was definitely being made today! Unfortunately, I was also trying to help Rooster with her homework while shaking the pot on the stove, and I shook the lid clear off the pot at the exact moment when the popcorn started to pop. The metal lid flipped over, too, so I could not touch its hot surface to reach the cool knob to put it back on the pot. The kidlets were thrilled. Who knew popcorn could explode all over a kitchen in such a cool manner? I learned that those suckers keep popping for ages after they are removed from heat. I also learned that a paper towel can be laid across the top of an exploding popcorn pan as a makeshift lid, but that it does not keep all of the popping kernels in the pot. Popping corn kernels are masters at trying to escape. At least it amused the kidlets. Sigh.
I either want a redo on today, or I want to fast-forward to the weekend. Hopefully, the remaining Monday hours will improve.
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