The weekend is over. Whew! It’s been a busy one, which explains my lack of blogging the past couple of days. Weekends, around our house, aren’t really that big of a deal, except for church on Sunday, because Chris doesn’t work a regular “off on the weekends” schedule. Wednesday could be a day just as much fun as most people’s Saturdays, for us. However, he happened to be off Friday and Saturday. Because they have been forcing him to work massive amounts of mandatory overtime, he’s not got two days off in a row in a long while. So we were really excited about some time off for him. Friday, he spent the whole day doing schoolwork, which was all due on Saturday, and I went to Walmart. I couldn’t put off going to Walmart any longer, because we were completely out of toilet paper. Not a good thing, right Clarence? Wink, wink. So, that was Friday. Not much in the way of fun, but it was nice just to have Daddy around.
On Saturday, we thought about going to Dollywood, but it was so incredibly hot (93 degrees) we decided not to. I was determined to go out for breakfast, so we went to IHOP. It was really, really good. I had the steak omelette, and Elijah discovered that he really, really, REALLY likes pancakes with syrup. He liked the blueberry and strawberry syrups better than the regular kind. He ate more in that one sitting than I think he had ate in a week. He has been pretty much surviving on Reduced Sugar Sunny Delight and chocolate milk for the past week and a half. Both of my kids drink like camels. They get that from their dad. So, anyway, after IHOP, we decided to drive to Pigeon Forge to do something fun with the kids. On the way there, I saw the new McKay’s used bookstore from the interstate, and persuaded Chris to stop and check it out. Oh, my goodness! Let me just tell you that it was a bookworm’s paradise! It was the biggest bookstore that I’ve ever been in, as far as the amount of books that they had. I could have spent hours in there. I didn’t get to browse as in depth as I would have liked to, because of the kids, but it was still pretty great. The kids got several books, including Caps for Sale, which Barbara has recommended. Someone had cut off all of the top right-hand corners of the pages, but it was a quarter. Besides, it was kind of conincedental that I find that very book there, after seeing it so many times on Barbara’s blog. Chris found a book as well. It was something about Paul’s letters (from the Bible, of course), and he bought it as a study help for his sermons. I found three books….Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, O Pioneers by Willa Cather, and The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck. I love John Steinbeck and Willa Cather. I’ve never read Victor Hugo, but am anxious to read this book, as I’ve heard high praise for it.
Let’s see….after the bookstore, we drove to Pigeon Forge, and went outlet shopping. I got Kyra a shirt and a really cute skirt and top from the Osh Kosh store, and Chris got a new belt and wallet at Wilson’s Leather. Then, I went in The Children’s Place, and got the kids all kinds of clothes for $3.99 a piece. They were having a really great sale. So, that was cool. I love a bargain. We were going to drive on up into the main part of Pigeon Forge, but the traffic was so bad that we decided to just go on home. Kyra had fallen asleep before we had got out of the parking lot of the outlet stores, anyway.
When we came home, we just hung around the house. Mom and Seth came by for a little while, and I had them bring us some McDonalds food. Chris played Madden football, and we watched Big Brother.
And then, Sunday morning, I thought that Elijah might have chicken pox, because he had all these red bumps on his belly. Mom offered to watch him for me so I could go to church, and, selfish me, I took her up on it. (He turned out to be fine, though. They weren’t chicken pox, because they had disappeared by Sunday evening.) So, Chris and I both got to go to church on a Sunday morning for the first time in a few weeks. They read our letter, and we are now official members of Fellowship Baptist Church. So, that’s cool.
Chris had to work Sunday evening, but he has got someone coming in four hours early to work the last four hours of his shift. That means he gets to come home around three o’clock this morning. (It’s Monday, but it’s only one a.m., right now.) He called me after church to tell me not to shoot him when he gets home. Let that be a warning to any would-be stalkers, by the way, anyone that trys to break in on us might get shot. I keep a 40 cal. by the bed, and I would use it in a heartbeat. So there! Are you scared? You should be, you would-be stalker! I’ve also got a baseball bat, and a Mama Bear mentality. So, don’t even think about it! Oh, yeah, and a killer cat! Oliver is one mean kitty. Just ask Elijah. So, I’m well protected, and Chris was wise to warn me he was coming home early.

Let’s see…what else? Saw my brother today, briefly. I guess I should clarify that, seeing as how I have five brothers. I saw my brother, Jason…the Marine…today. He came home over the weekend, but I didn’t really get to talk to him much. He’s doing fine, for all of you people who have been asking about him. He is still slated to go to Iraq in January. While I’m at it, Aaron (my brother who is in the Air force and stationed in Nebraska) is doing fine, too. Natasha (his wife) is doing quite well with her pregnancy, and we are all anxiously waiting to find out if their little one is a boy or a girl. I think Aaron’s rooting for a boy, and Tasha’s rooting for a girl. Either one is going to be awesome. They’re going to be really great parents. Aaron is at home right now. He was actually in Cambridge, England when the London subway bombings occurred. He was among the Airmen that you may have heard mentioned on the news, who were kept there for a couple of days. So, anyway, they’re both doing fine.

Kyra is over the chicken pox. Hallelujah! She has scabby spots, but I’m just glad she didn’t suffer too badly with them. Chris says that Elijah has ninja white blood cells which have fought off the virus for him, and that is why he never got them. I am shocked that he didn’t get them, but thankful, as well, since he hadn’t had the vaccine. The kids who got them that were vaccinated only got mild cases, but Lucas, who had not had the shot, got a terrible case of them. So, I’m going to try to go and get Elijah a shot this week, since he is old enough now.

I did get a lot of housework done on Thursday, which was wonderful, but, considering the fact that I have two little rugrats tearing through the house all the time, it should come as no suprise that most of my work is already undone. Hopefully, I can get it whipped back into shape tomorrow.

Still no sign of Baby Woof Woof. I think he’s gone for good this time.

Oscar died. I’m getting so used to our animal friends departing…in one way or another…that I didn’t have the energy or want-to to write him up an obituary. Suffice it to say, he’s been dipped out and flushed, and Frosty, Nemo, and Mud Puppy are enjoying the new spaciousness of their tank, minus two tank-mates.

Well, I think that’s all the news I have to share. I was going to read in bed for a while, but I’ve blogged for so long that I think I’m just going to go to sleep. Chris will be home in a couple of hours. Maybe we’ll have a fun day tomorrow, and I can give you something more interesting to read tomorrow. Have a great Monday, y’all!