7 Cranky Quick Takes

I will apologize now for my bit of an attitude today.  Since last Friday, my life has been in constant motion.  It's one of those weeks where it's all about the kids, and it has left me wiped out, surrounded by a disaster of a house I don't have the energy to touch.  As I told Hubby, "I'm so exhausted, I can't even make the kids work."  Such weeks leave me feeling ornery.

Sorry, Jen, for unloading during your quick takes.  (Feel free to skip to #5 to get to less cranky bits.)
 

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It's the first official day of summer, which most of you are probably cheering about.  In my present mood, I see it more as the longest day of the year.  After today, it's all downhill until the end of December. 

I told you I was cranky.

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Vacation Bible Camp is this week, and it has confirmed that I am a full-fledged, should be card-carrying control freak.

For a few reasons, I decided to be a crew leader this year instead of the Bible Exploration leader I've done for 7 or 8 years.  Crew leader is an easy job, as there is no planning to do for it.  I didn't take into account, though, that I would then be mingling with the 180 campers, 30 teens and 20 adults also working the camp.  The experience reaffirmed a couple of things:

a.  I love, love, love working with kids. 

b.  I do not enjoy watching a bunch of people who don't know how to work with kids. 

I know, they're volunteers, they are doing their best, blah, blah, blah.  I know.  I'm not judging them.  It just pains me to see people struggling with a job and not being able to jump in and help.

It's much better that I be in my own room, doing my own thing, being completely in charge of what happens in that room.

Still with me?  Raise your hand if you're a cranky control freak, too!   Anyone?

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Hubby and Phoenix made it home from Puerto Rico on Tuesday.  (It was Phoenix's year for an individual trip, and Hubby got smart.  He decided where he wanted to go, then talked it up so Phoenix would choose it.)  As the kids get older, Hubby has been taking the trips with the boys.  They always want to do physical activities, and I can't guarantee that my Lupus will let me do everything.  I have never been jealous about their trips before, because they have always done things I have done in the past.  I've been white-water rafting, hiking, deep-sea fishing, and everything else they've done.

This time, though, the green-eyed monster peeked out.  They went hiking in a rain forest.  They went kayaking at dusk and got to see/get in the middle of the luminescence.  They ate at a restaurant with real, live flamenco dancers.  I've never done any of that, and it kind of annoys me.

To recap, a cranky, jealous control freak.

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I need my morning quiet time.  I don't drink coffee, so I don't get a jolt of caffeine to start my day.  I like to ease into it.  To eat my breakfast in peace.  To catch up on some blog reading.  Perhaps go for a run. (I used to be a runner, you know.  Two weeks ago, in fact.)  But this soccer camp carpool at 7:40 and this VBC departure at 8:15 is cramping my style. 

I just want an hour of peace and quiet, for Pete's sake!

Ugh, I can hardly stand myself.  Time to turn this cranky train around.

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I got a call on Monday from a friend.  I can't say we're super close friends, since I usually only see her at Boy Scout functions.  I enjoy her to pieces, and wish we could have more time together, but she homeschools 8 kids.  Our schedules just don't match up well.

To illustrate why I love her:  When she was pregnant with baby #6, they needed to get a bigger car.   They hopped on Craig's List to find a reasonably priced vehicle big enough to fit their family.  They ended up buying a limo.  With flames on the side.  Puts my airport shuttle-mobile to shame. 

Anyway, this friend called me and said, "I am going to ask you to do a big favor for me." 

To summarize, from Thursday to Sunday, I have not six children, but nine.  In addition to my kids, I have her 4, 5, and 13 year olds while she and her husband go to DC to speak at a homeschool conference.

To give you another idea of how laid back she is (and how easy her kids are to take care of) the only requirement I gave her was, "Make sure they have shoes on."  (They rarely do in the summer.)  When she dropped them off with me, she said, "Look, they have shoes!  I don't know if they have clothes in their bags, but they have shoes.  They may be wearing the same clothes all four days.  I don't care."

She will be happy to know that they each have at least two changes of clothes.  And a pair of pajamas.

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As Monday's post showed, I have random twittery-type thoughts.  They come to me as I drive around town or as I stand in the shower.  None of them are long enough for a regular blog post, yet I feel I need to tell them to someone.  My mom has managed to get herself a busy life during retirement, so I can't count on her to always be available when I find myself to be hopelessly amusing.  So, at the urging of a certain thankful bloghop initiator friend, I got a Facebook page, though I have no idea what I'm doing.  I know I don't have "friends" on it.  It seems "liking" means the same thing.  It appears to "link up" with my "personal page", but I don't think people can get to it from my "fan page".   Also, if I "like" someone else's, does it do it as me or as my Chicken Coop persona?  For some reason, I have to go to my personal page to get to my Chicken Coop page.  Too. much. learning.

I have written one "update".  For some reason, the moment I have a place to put them, the hilarious random thoughts disappear. 

Let me know if you have any suggestions.  Or funny things I can steal and put on my page.

The "quotes" mean, "This is proper lingo, right?" 

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Tomorrow's 10 Things of Thankful Blog Hop will be just what I need to get out of this little funky funk I'm in.  You're welcome to come back and join in!! 

Please, go forth and read brighter posts.

Have a lovely day!