Does this explain why my house is a mess and I'm always tired?

This is what I did in the last 20 minutes:

*re-folded laundry that Ben unfolded
*picked-up laundry basket
*kicked toy hammer out of my way en route to Ben's room with laundry
*put Ben's laundry away
*picked up stray toys in Ben's room
*closed closet door in Ben's room
*moved giant box of wipes out of way of drawer
*put Ben's laundry away
*went out into hall with Dan's laundry
*took yarn ball out of Ben's hand
*put Dan's laundry down on bed
*put puzzle together quickly
*kicked two books out of way
*took another yarn ball away from Ben
*gathered up strewn-about yarn
*put all yarn balls on my bed until further notice
*closed jewelry box drawer on way to bathroom
*used bathroom
*changed toilet paper roll
*closed shower curtain
*closed bedroom drawer
*closed jewelry box drawer again
*came out to kitchen
*watched Ben dump a bag of moonsand toys on floor
*cleaned up toys
*quickly took dog bowls away from Ben
*reprimanded Danny for smacking Ben
*cleaned a booger off Danny's blanket
*put socks on Ben
*kissed Danny's bumped knee
*sat down at computer.

Then Danny growled at me--not sure why.

Does this explain why my house is always a mess and I'm always tired?

Danny just swung a flaming ball toy (kids' meal at Wendy's) at Ben's face.

Ben's crying...gotta go.

Easter at Chuck and Kathy's

Fun was had by all!

Cousins, once removed, or something. Let's just go with "cousins". Clearly, Benjamin didn't get the memo concerning the dress code: light blue shirt, striped tie.

Benjamin found an egg by a sword!

Danny at the hunt!

I have a memory of Grandpa K picking me up one time to look into a robin's nest at the tiny, blue eggs and he said, "See? Real Easter eggs." This picture of Danny finding a blue egg reminded me of that and brings tears to my eyes.

The kids were having a hard time finding the last few eggs and Chuck had to help them a little. He sounded just like Grandpa K: "You don't know how to look for eggs!"

Thanks to Chuck and Kathy for hosting a nice lunch and a great egg hunt! And, thanks to everyone who made the yummy food and brought Danny and Ben Easter baskets.

Leave well enough alone?

It's officially Spring Break and I'm glad to have a whole week off from school to spend with the boys! Also, glad not to have to wake up in the morning at 6:00 a.m. in a deep, sleep-deprived fog only to rush around like a fool, getting bottles ready for Ben, organizing my school bag, etc. No, I don't do those things at night...remember-- I'm a procrastinator!

Let me tell you all another thing I am glad to have a break from: the traffic police at our school. I use the term, "police" very loosely because they are certainly not members of law enforcement, and don't have any authority over anyone as far as I know. They hold lighted, orange, traffic-directing sticks and are strategically placed at intersections on the way to school with one of them even blocking off the first entrance to the parking lot so you have to drive all the way around (waiting in an incredibly long line of minivans) to the second entrance. These traffic police are a new fixture this year during our morning arrival at school and have been in place all schoolyear, but I've only gotten to experience them for the last few weeks since I've been back from maternity leave. I guess they are necessary for a smooth drop-off at this point because the number of kids at our school has topped out at 660 students and many, many, many parents are driving their kids in the morning.

Now, I have been yelled at three separate times by these traffic Nazis and was even chased for a moment by one of them. I don't consider myself a fantastic driver, but I am, by no means, reckless enough to be yelled at and/or chased down. It's a matter of miscommunication. They are not exactly clear with their signaling.

First offense: My first day back to school, when I did not expect to see these folks out there and almost drove through the intersection, but I stopped in time. That one was my fault.

Second offense: Another day when I came up to the same intersection and stopped, waiting to be instructed on what to do. He pointed to his stick and yelled, "Watch me...GO". OK, I'm not sure what that meant.

Third offense and by far, the most disturbing: I drove up to the second intersection, kind of stopped, but thought he was waving me on, so pulled up farther only to see a huge, yellow bus and my life flashing in front of me. I kind of pulled way over and kept going, then saw traffic Nazi running behind my car, pointing to his stick and yelling, "What's wrong with you?". I stopped the car, put down the window, and yelled back, "I don't understand what you want me to do. You're not being clear enough." He said, "I thought I was pretty clear." I said, "Well, obviously, you weren't."

Later that day, at lunch, several of the other teachers echoed my disgust and bewilderment (is that a word?). So, it's not just me. I am happy to announce, though, that since that time, I have not been subjected to any more reprimands. Maybe they had a traffic dude meeting and devised ways to be clearer with their directions as a result of my confrontation or maybe I've just been lucky and haven't gotten confused again.

I guess there was a traffic problem at our school. Issues with traffic flow or whatever. Of course, I'm most concerned with the safety of kids, parents, teachers, bus drivers, etc., but I have noticed that as a result of our new system, I am later than usual and there's never anywhere to park. Does the phrase, 'leave well enough alone' apply here?

Does Ben Love Cake or What?

Today was Ben's birthday party--his actual birthday is tomorrow. I made the cake and we had a nice lunch with family and friends. It was a train party!

What's this, Mom?

Let me touch this frosting.

I'm just going to go for it!

Is there something on my face?

Thanks to everyone for coming to Ben's birthday party. It's been a tough year, but we made it! Hopefully, things will get lots easier around here soon! Check out the next post for some more pictures.

More birthday pictures

Look at all the nice presents!

Jennifer, tell us a little about yourself!

If you want to do this too, just copy and paste in Comments or email me!

1. What time did you get up this morning? Well, Ben was up at 4:30 for a bottle, but I got up officially at 6:40 AM
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Ratatouille with Danny
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Office--I LOVE Jim!!!!!
5 What do you usually have for breakfast? Frosted strawberry pop tarts or yogurt
6. What is your middle name? Michelle
7. What food do you dislike? olives
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Johnny Cash Greatest Hits
9. What kind of car do you drive? Honda CRV
10. What characteristic do you despise? Laziness
11. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans
12. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Europe
13. Favorite brand of clothing? New York and Co.
14. Where would you retire to? Somewhere warm
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Surprise 31st
16. Favorite sport to watch? WVU Football
17. Furthest place you are sending this? McAllen Texas
18. Person you expect to send it back first? Kevin
19. When is your birthday? June 6
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Definitely night
21. What is your shoe size? 7
22. Pets? Did that say 'pests'? Just kidding: Clark W. Grizwold Connoley Jr.--beagle/dauschaund mix--very cute but very needy and loud
23. Exciting news you'd like to share with us? Ben has been sleeping so much better! Several times this week, he's slept all night!
24. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher
25. What is your favorite candy? Ghirardelli dark chocolate with caramel (I love dark chocolate!)
26. What is your favorite flower? Pink rose
27. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? March 15 - Benjamin's 1st birthday party
28. What is your full name? Jennifer Michelle Connoley
29. What are you listening to right now? My husband on the radio
30. What was the last thing you ate? Two frosted strawberry pop tarts
31. Do you wish on stars? Yes
32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? blue-green
33. How is the weather right now? Finally springlike--60 degrees or so
34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mom
35. Your favorite soft drink? Dr. Pepper
36. Favorite restaurant? I'm really liking The Boathouse Bistro these days
37. Color of your hair? Brown with highlights
38. Your favorite toy as a child? Barbie van or Play-Doh hair salon
39. Summer or winter? Summer--that's why I became a teacher--summers off!
40. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
41. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
42. Coffee or tea? Coffee although really neither
43. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes
44. What is under your bed? stray Woman's Day magazine, random sock
45. What did you do last night? Watched the Mountaineers spank UConn (I have a little crush on Joe Alexander), ate dinner at The Boston Beanery, disciplined Danny many, many times and straightened up the house
46. What are you afraid of? Bees, wasps, flying, something happening to my family
47. Salty or sweet? sweet
48. How many keys on your key ring? 3
49. How many years at your current job? 10 I think
50. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
51. How many towns have you lived in? 2: Grafton, Morgantown
52. Do you make friends easily? Not really
53. How many people will you send this to? None, I'll just post it to my blog
54. How many will respond? Probably 2 or 3

Why are my boys so exhausting?

Things my children did today when no one was looking:

*Danny ran off after church causing Kevin and me to go into cardiac arrest.
*Ben shared his saltines with Clark--I noticed him holding his cracker out to Clark and then eating from the same cracker.
*Ben tore wooden pieces off the chair in Danny's room and threw them on the floor.
*Ben unraveled several balls of yarn for the umpteenth time.
*Danny dumped out all of the thread/ribbons/patterns from my sewing box.
*Danny colored his spoon with a blue crayon at IHOP.
*Ben threw handfuls of hashbrowns over the side of the high chair at IHOP--it really looked like it had rained shredded potatoes.
*Danny hit/kicked/pinched/pushed Ben approximately 418 times.
*Ben bit Danny on the arm (he left some pretty good bite marks), but at least he's starting to stand up for himself instead of just letting Danny do whatever he wants to him.

It's been a long day. Why are my boys so exhausting? But, truth be told, I wouldn't have it any other way. Good night.

Good plan, right?

I have to go to the grocery store practically every day. I am unable to plan a week's worth of menus, go shopping once and make it through seven days without needing several Emergency Grocery Trips (EGTs). Before I started back to school last week, I took out a little journal and wrote down five dinner ideas and five lunch ideas (for my mom to make for the boys). I thought that I could just have the ingredients for these meals on a shopping list, go to the store and be set for the week. Each night, I could get things ready for the next day...take stuff out of the freezer, put food in the crock pot the next morning, whatever. Good plan, right?

I don't know what happened. I haven't stuck to it at all and now I sit here wondering what in the heck we're going to eat for dinner. I have already broken down and started eating school lunch instead of taking leftovers or a sandwich and I have made three EGTs since I started back to school.

Last night's EGT took me to the new giant Kroger in the Suncrest Plaza Town Center Square Galleria. It's the biggest grocery store I have ever been in and I'm sorry to say that an EGT turned into a shopping extravaganza. I could not resist a number of impulse purchases including a new lipstick (I don't even wear lipstick half the time, much to the dismay of my mother) and a new set of Dry-Erase markers. People, these are not even food items...what is wrong with me? Do other people need to go to the grocery store so often? Why do we seem to NEVER have anything to eat around here?

I did show some restraint though. I did not buy the teeny tiny bananas that looked so adorable (just bought the regular sized bananas) and I refrained from putting the entire German chocolate cake in my cart (I only bought two slices of it). Unfortunately, I also forgot to buy diapers which are in short supply around here. Maybe I can talk Kevin into making the next EGT.

Who forgot to latch the cereal cabinet?

They're magically delicious...

They're always after me Lucky Charms.