With a little distance between me and yesterday morning, I can write this kind of cheerfully.

8:16 am. I am in my room, going through a laundry basket from like two weeks ago that hasn't been put away yet, trying to find a white T shirt for Sam for gym.

8:17 am. Sam brings me his practice schedule for violin that has to be filled out and signed. I hand him the T shirt and look for a pen on the quagmire that is my dresser, then fill out the schedule.

8:19 am. I go downstairs where Monty and Lucy have been presumably watching Sponge Bob.

8:19:23 secs. This is what I see.



Me: WHAT THE?!! HEY!

Monty: Hi Mommy! We're BIRDS!

Me: HOW DID-

Monty: LUCY did it! With THIS!!



An almost full jumbo box of Rice Krispies. Dumped all over the living room. And they are putting their hands behind their backs and bending over, pecking at it like, well, birds.



It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to clean this up. Originally I had taken the pictures for evidence to present to Daddy as an example of what kinds of things can take up my day instead of important things he needs me to do like getting his new work boots or buying Deningers sausages. But I thought they would be good to put on here too.

I think this little incident is a harbinger for the kind of nonsense that Monty and Lucy will be getting into this summer. She is at that exploring without conscience stage and he is up for anything, anytime. Bad combo plate.

Kids are so much WORK. Yesterday I took the boys for their haircuts and as usual Monty was screaming his head off and pulling his shoulders up to his ears and frothing at the mouth. Thankfully we were the only ones at the salon at the time. Or they surely would have kicked us out. I tipped the lady five bucks just for Monty's hair alone. She basically had him in a headlock between her boobs while she was buzzing his hair. It was very stressful. After I got the kids in the van and drove home. And realized that i had left my purse sitting on the sidewalk beside the van.

So I went back lickety split, but it was gone. I am standing there in front of the hairdresser and video store and thinking of a course of action, when this guy says, "Are you looking for a purse?"

"Yes!" I said. And then waited for him to tell me he just saw three thugs running away with it, waving my Mastercard in the air.

"I just brought it into the video store." He said. "I thought it looked a little weird that it was just sitting there."

I coulda kissed him. "THANK you sooooo much." I said. And went in and got it. Ahhh.

Kids are alotta work. They make you lose your purse. People can be so good. They put up with your kid screaming in their ear. And they take care of your stuff until you come back to get it.

A.