All In A Day's Work

I've had quite a day.  It is the most productive I have been in months and I am worn out.  It was nice to get a lot done, but it struck me that this is how my mother operates all of the time -- 90 miles an hour from morning until night -- and I don't think I could do it everyday.  I am certain that I wouldn't want to.  I got up and got the 2 oldest off to school, loaded and started the dishwasher, took out the trash, took the 2 youngest to pre-school, took the husband to the airport, and then came home to grab the stuff that I needed to run my errands.

First, I went to this children's consignment store where I practically donated about $400 worth of stuff.  I mean, I know that they have to make a profit, but they gave me $20 for an infant car seat with the base that I paid over $150 for and my kid used it for a few weeks before he was too big for it and $15 for a plastic bin of clothes that were in excellent condition.  I took it though, because the other option was to actually donate it to Goodwill and I think that they are tired of me (I have been there once a week or so since January).  Also, the people that work at this store could not possibly HAVE children since by all appearances they were all 12 years old.

Frustrated by my consignment experience, I went to Kohl's where I quickly exchanged the pants that I had bought for my son for the correct size.  Smooth as silk -- no receipt, no problem. 

After that, I went to Big Lots.  I wanted to check the prices on some of their garden stuff and get some stuff to send to a buddy overseas.  He is the supply clerk (I have no idea if that is the right name, but that is one of his duties over there) and the guys in his unit do not have access to a commissary or a PX and they are constantly running out of shampoos, soaps, deodorant, etc.  I gathered the toiletries pretty quickly, and then went to check out the garden stuff.

You should know something about me (if you don't know already), I am chock full of grand plans.  I began looking at Organic Gardening Soil and calculating in my head how much I would need.  I looked at garden fencing, landscaping fabric, non-toxic weed killers and plant food, seed packets, gardening tools, solar pathway lights, wind chimes, bird feeders and birdbaths, all kinds of wonderful stuff that would turn my backyard into an enchanted garden, invite fairies to make their home there, and provide my family with home-grown, organic produce.  I was certain that it would be wonderful.  Then I remembered that I have 4 children that I would have to keep out of my little Eden.  And then it occurred to me that I HATE working outside in the Texas heat.  I'm not even here for a good portion of the Summer because I go home to Alabama.  And so I walked away from my garden plans and proceeded to grab a few more things that I needed -- specifically, boric acid.

Why do I need boric acid, you ask?  Well, we had a pretty mild winter.  It has already topped 90 degrees here in March.  So, last week, I saw the first demon roach of the season outside in my yard.  If you aren't familiar with my posts, then you should really go back and read a few from late Spring/early Summer.  Any year will do.  Here in Texas we have flying, 2-3 inch long roaches.  I have nightmares about them.  They literally give me anxiety attacks.  Boric acid kills them.  I still employ the more toxic, flammable, dead in an instant Raid (which doesn't kill them instantly enough), but the boric acid makes it much harder for them to ever enter my house because once they walk on the deadly white powder, it sticks to their legs and starts killing them.  So I bought A LOT of it. 

After stocking up on bug killer, toiletries, and realizing that I am not going to be Martha Stewart in my backyard this Summer, I went to get gas, grabbed a bite from Chik-fil-A, and went to the best place of the day so far -- Target.  I had a quick return, then I wandered up and down the aisles wanting everything, but not really needing anything.  I did grab some cereal, a t-shirt off of a clearance rack, some Febreeze, and a sample size of a mask that I had been wanting to try.  It was almost time to go get the little ones from pre-school, so I went to check out.  The person in the line that I chose had just been given her total, so I thought it would be the quickest.  I was wrong.  She pulled out a bunch of Target gift cards.  The kind that they give away with special promotions -- $5 and $10 gift cards.  The cashier was scanning them quickly, and when she was done, she had knocked more than $100 off of her total.  I thought it was impressive, but now I was pushing it getting out in time to get to the kids' school on time.  Then this hoarder of little plastic rectangles pulled out a STACK of Visa and MasterCard gift cards.  These ranged from $15-25 dollars each, and the balance was still over $300.  I gathered my few purchases and found another line. 

After Target, I went to get the 2 youngest.  Kids in tow, we all headed to Aldi where I got some eggs, produce and fruit snacks.  I also decided to treat myself to some flowers.  No one ever send me flowers.  If I were to die tomorrow, there would most likely be a sea of flowers at my funeral.  Here's a hint -- dead people don't give a crap about flowers.  Send them to people you love while they're alive.  It will mean more to them.  After Aldi, we had just enough time to run by the house and put the perishables up before we had to leave to get the other kids.  We picked them up and made a run to Sonic (something we had not done in almost 2 months) for half-priced drinks and cheese sticks. 

Once we got home, the kids were munching on their cheese sticks and I got to work unloading the car.  After everything was inside, I arranged the flowers and then set off to do a few little chores that I had been avoiding.  I FINALLY took the Christmas decorations that were stacked neatly in the garage and put them in the shed so that they would be out of my way.  (Yes, I am fully aware that it is mid-April and that Christmas was nearly 5 months ago, don't judge.  At least they were down and in the garage.)  Then I took my newly acquired boric acid and got to work.  If you have ever seen the TV show "Supernatural," or any movie that deals with demons and ghosts, then you know about salt-lines.  Demons (and ghosts) cannot cross them.  People would often make circles of salt to stand in, or they place a line of salt on door thresholds and windowsills.  From a distance, my house looks like I am deathly afraid of ghosts.  But it is not salt that encircles my house, it's boric acid, and the only demons that I fear have 6 legs and wings.

Now, I have also written this blog which I can always refer to when I feel the need to justify my sitting on the couch, drinking coffee, and wasting time on the Internet all day.  I think I will end my day with a shower, maybe a soak in the tub, a frozen dinner (no cooking), and then I will cuddle up with my remote after the kids are in bed and I will work on clearing my DVR.  All in a days work.