Mean Mom VS Lazy Kids

Chaos in Courtland continues.  I'm quite ticked off right now.  It is 2pm and I have cleaned the entire kitchen, given Josh a bath after a night time accident, stripped beds, done 3 loads of laundry and did 45 minutes on the treadmill and what have my girls done: NOTHING!  It took me 4 times to get Chey out of the bed at 11 only for her to go back to sleep on the couch until 2pm.  I am sick of this.

The cell phone and the XBox are gone indefinitely.  Even though she is supposed to leave the cell phone in the kitchen after 8pm every night, she has conveniently "forgotten" the past few nights.  Texts after midnight are why she is getting no sleep.  Apparently my threats have not been taken seriously.  I'm done with threats, time for action.  I'm heading out to cut the grass and the girls will be out there picking up every single stick in our yard.  Then they will clean out the pantry.

Apparently, I also need to let her friends here know I am not playing as well.  I will turn her cell phone back on and respond to every single text letting them know she is grounded and when she gets her phone back there are to be no texts/calls after 10pm and I DO read her texts, so they need to remember that before they type.

Her birthday party is next weekend and I even went as far as to put House Rules on her invitation that stated "No Profanity".  When I was younger I NEVER would have cussed in front of an adult.  How sad is it that I can't expect the same respect now.  I may not be able to expect it, but I WILL demand it!

Oh and one more thing.  Dogs are like kids, I like mine but don't have to like yours.  I don't let my kid to crap in your yard, don't let your dog crap in mine!  Stupid neighbors.

Sears Sucks

Last Friday I found myself stranded at the softball field.  My car would not start.  Of course it happened at the worst possible time.  Chey's friend was hit by a ball during the game and I was leaving to get an ice pack when I discovered my car was dead.  The windows were down since it was a nice night.  Can you guess what happened next?  It started pouring down rain.  So there is sat for 30 minutes, rain soaked, with kids in the car and fuming over the few men I know here who were unwilling to come help me.  Finally the games were over and the coach and a stranger tried to jump start my car.  It took two tries, but they got it going.

It was 8pm and I went straight to Sears.  The automotive department is open to 9pm.  I leave Chey with the other kids in the car, since I can not turn my car off, and head inside.  No one greets me or offers to help.  Finally I get the salesman's attention.  I ask if they can check my battery since I just broke down.  Mind you, I am still wet and still reeling over how long it took to find someone to jump start me.  The guy looks at me and says "yeah, I'm not taking on anymore work tonight cause we need to clean the shop."  WTF!  I have worked retail my whole life and I could not ever imagine turning away a customer, an HOUR before closing, because we were cleaning!  Cleaning is to be done during down time or AFTER hours!  Anyway, I look at the guy and say "I don't even live here in Fairbanks, I live all the way out in North Pole, every place else is closed already, so once I leave here and go home and turn my car off, if it doesn't start tomorrow, I am screwed."  His response "yep, your screwed."  He is lucky a little old lady walked in and was standing behind me.  All I wanted to do was grab those keys hanging around his neck and jab them in as many places as possible.

I have always used Sears for all our tire needs.  4 our of past vehicles, including the one I am driving now, have all gone to Sears for tires.  But after my experience last week, I will never give them my business again.  

Sanity slowly slipping away....

The past few days have been tough.  Josh is not sleeping well so he is whiny and crying all day everyday.  All three kids are constantly fighting.  Softball five ngihts a week is getting old, quick.  Even with 24 hours of daylight, there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done.  It has been raining off and on for almost two weeks.  Everything just seems to be off.  I am a very controlling personality to begin with and the summers are usually hard for me, but this summer so far has been horrendous.  I think it is time to get a handle and force some kind of schedule.  I hate to do that to the kids, since it is their vacation, but it's either that or end up on the evening news.  Courtland is in chaos.

No cleaning routine, workout routine and constant sleep schedule makes for a very grumpy Courtney. 

Good Smut and a Pet Peeve

I read the best contemporary romance the other day and have to mention it.  It was Yours To Keep by Shannon Stacey.  There was no mystery or plot twists. It was just a nice, sweet and very funny romance.  You knew from the get go how it was going to turn out and there were no curve balls through.  While that may sound boring, it was far from it.  I have never laughed so hard!  The author did a great job a creating realistic characters, which is very hard to do in contemporary romance.  That is one of those genres that makes my eyes roll.  It is very hard to create people who seem normal and real since you can not fall back onto "paranormal" or the craziness of "historical" to explain away unrealistic behavior. 

Now for my pet peeve.  I love to read book blogs.  They are were I find most of my reading recommendations, including the book I just mentioned.  I am an adult.  I read adult books.  Most of my blogs have a warning stating the books they review and conversations on their blogs contain adult content.  So why, for the love of pete, are so many of them reviewing young adult books!  I know they are popular.  Even I fell into the Twilight trap.  But put all those reviews and recommendations into a subcategory LABELED Young Adult PLEASE!  I can not tell you how many times I have read through a whole review only to find out at the END or not find out at all until I go to buy the book, that it is young adult.  Don't waste my time.  If I want young adult books I will seek them out, it is not hard.  I go to adult romance blogs to find adult romance books.   Seriously, think about it this way: how upset would you be to allow yourself a sugary treat only to get home to find out it is sugar free!!