June, let's just skip it

That's how I felt way back in May, and amazingly enough, I still feel that way. During the last week in May I flipped my calendar over to look at June. I about died. Everyday had something on it. It looked as a calendar should by the end of a busy month, not the week before it begins. So, in my book, June would be a total wash. Okay, it wasn't all bad. For example, we went on vacation for a week. That was great but I could seriously have fallen asleep on May 31st to wake up on July 1st and been totally okay with that.

What could have been so bad? Well, for starters, Dave is gone for more than 1/4 of the month. S1 got out of school on May 30th, so he was home from then until extended school year started on June 11th. Now he is a very sweet kid, but he also has a very short attention span. Which means my assistance is needed anywhere from every 5 to 30 minutes depending what I can get him interested in, so you try accomplishing anything significant. It also means living in lockdown so he can't escape or turn the bathroom faucets on and flood the house. In addition working out in the yard can be somewhat limited if he refuses to go outside. As an added bonus, I also am trapped at home since I can't go anywhere really by myself with the three of them. At least I had the gym to look forward to in the afternoons, oh wait, I didn't! The car overheated on June 1st and was in the shop until June 7th. Our leaky radiator simply couldn't hold enough coolant to keep the engine from overheating in this hot weather so it was time to fix it. So no gym for me. Also, David was still working because his school didn't get out until the 8th. Even then the teachers' last day was the 11th, but due to our needing to leave on vacation on the 10th, Dave spent a lot of time the last few days of school and on Saturday and Sunday wrapping up so we could leave on time.

This would have been manageable except for one thing. Several months ago I was presented with the opportunity to help put together some historical books about our town's history and get paid for doing it from home. Basically I would scan pictures into the computer and insert them into the text and fix the layout. Well, it took longer than expected for the book to be finished and I got a call on the evening of the 6th asking if I could still work on the book....but it had to be to the publisher by June 27th. I said I could but that I would be out of town on vacation for a week. So from the 6th thru the 9th I worked several hours a day, while tending the boys. I could never have done it if they didn't play so well together and if S1 didn't love movies so much!

Needless to say I was ready for vacation by the time we left. I'll blog about our vacation later. Right now I'll continue to rant about our crazy June. Well, we got back into town early Saturday evening and I planned my primary lesson for the next morning (thank goodness it was an easy one, I have feelings). And I had to make sure everyone had Sunday clothes for the next morning since I'd be getting everyone ready on my own because Dave had to play with the orchestra every Sunday this month. Sunday was a bit of a breather but on Monday it was back to working on the book and getting caught up from vacation, paying bills, sorting mail, etc. Fortunately for me I not only had a working car, but S1 started ESY. I felt bad that he had missed the first week but it was the only time that Dave could make it on vacation. I would have much preferred going on vacation during a week where S1 didn't have ESY. Oh well, I can't have everything.

The next two days I worked on the book and since we'd been back from vacation, Dave had been helping the local marching band, teaching lessons, and getting ready for his trip. Tuesday, the 12th, I had a Neighborhood Board Meeting. Then at 6 am on Thursday Dave had a friend drive him to the airport and he won't be back until July 3rd. He's on tour with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They're going to Toronto, Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, Memphis and Nashville. When people find out the say, " Oh, I bet that's fun!" What's my response? "Yeah, for him it is." For those of you who say I should get away, read some future post about my New Mexico vacation.

Anyway, so Dave left I was still working madly on the book. Also, swim lessons started the Monday we got back so I have been having fun with S3 at those. S2 has a lesson at the same time. We end this Thursday but then start up with the next level on Monday, what was I thinking? I have been released from Activity Days and am now the ward activity chairman. However, I have no committee and am supposed to use the heads of the priesthood committees as my committee. So I am busy trying to plan a fun Pioneer Day activity. Any suggestions? We meet tomorrow night.

To make this month even more psychotic, it's Strawberry Days! Our town used to produce a ton of strawberries, so many that the farmers just started to give them away. There is a rodeo, a couple of parades and a carnival. Well, S2 has talked about the Strawberry Days carnival ever since last year. I kid you not. He brings it up every two weeks. Well, until we made our vacation plans and Dave found out about going on tour, I had planned on taking S2 to the carnival, now I wasn't so sure.

Well, on Saturday my SIL came down to help me with the boys and the parade. It goes right by our home so luckily we don't have to drive. I just get up before 8 am and put our chairs out on our neighbor's lawn (with her permission of course!) Then we eat breakfast and wander over to our chairs once we here the police sirens at the beginning of the parade. The boys loved it and S1 did an excellent job this year of staying seated and not running after the passing bands. He needed to be reseated about every 15 or 20 minutes, but that is excellent for him. They all got candy and were happy. I ran to the store at the end of the parade and then my SIL went to get her hair done. When she came back we went to one of my friend's, from high school, child's birthday party. Now, although my friend is not latina, her husband is Mexican. So even though the kid was only turning four, there were probably around 75 people there and enough rice, beans, tamales, corn and watermelon to feed a small army. Apart from S2 crying because he couldn't get any candy from the broken pinatas (there were three) and S1 attacking the birthday cake (four feet long by two feet wide, pirate themed with ship and deserted island on top) five minute before we left and it was served, everything went reasonably well. We had to leave before presents were opened. However, we had been there for two and a half hours.

On our way home I had hoped that S2 would be too tired to still want to go to the carnival. When I asked him if he would be fine not going, he replied, no, I'll be fine going. Oh well I tried. I had to take him because I did not want to hear him cry for the next year about how he missed the carnival at Strawberry Days. So when we got home I ran down to the carnival (three blocks from our house) with him while my SIL took care of the other two. I bought him $9 worth of tickets and he got to go on the flying saucer, super slide, carousel, train ride, and a super fast spinning thing that I can't remember the name of. He got pretty scared on that last one but he toughed it out and didn't cry. When we got home I was pleasantly surprised that my SIL had gotten the other two all ready for bed. In fact, S1 may have already been asleep, I don't remember. We soon bid my SIL farewell. I am so grateful that she was willing to spend the day with us. The boys had a blast and they loved being with her. I could never have done it without her, so thank you Jen! Next year we won't plan anything around Strawberry Days so we can, hopefully, do it with Dad next year- and not be too pooped (and poor) from our vacation.

To make things even more exciting, this last Sunday the sunbeams were in charge of Sharing time! So I did that since I wasn't the one who had to teach our class later on. However, I did need the help of my co-teacher to gather some materials that were impossible for me to get while working on a book and dragging three kids along. Sharing time went great, I was just totally wiped out by the time we got home from church. I did not want to fix dinner and wished someone would call to invite us over or bring me a meal. Since that didn't happen, the boys had corn dogs and I had a bowl of cereal. Tonight I was talking with my aunt, who lives about 40 minutes away, and it dawned on me that I could have called her up and invited ourselves over for dinner. But at that point I was too brain dead and exhausted to have thought of that option. Oh well.

On Monday I finally finished with the book. I was finished with the layout last week but then the author asked if I could help proofread because her former proofreader had quit. I agreed and got the final print out done and disc made for the publisher. S1 had ESY again this week. ESY is for 18 days in the summer. We missed four of them while on vacation. It runs M-Th for three weeks this month and T-Th for two weeks in July. I had a lunch meeting today and I about had a breakdown when I couldn't find anyone to watch the boys. I started yesterday trying to find someone and had no luck. I didn't know that the girls in the ward had girls camp! Finally after calling like fifteen people, no exaggeration, I finally found someone. I desperately needed to get away and was about to breakdown when a neighbor rescued me. Thanks Cindy!

This morning when S3 woke up, he was a bit warm. We all were because I had turned off the cooler at night. Well, he wasn't acting normal at first so I gave him a little bit of Motrin and by 9 am was his normal perky self. So I went to the gym and we came home and went to swim lessons. Then they went to Cindy's (she doesn't have young kids, only teenagers and adults) and when I go back S3 was ready for a nap. Cindy had said that S2 and S3 were great and that S3 was just settling down to rest. So I took him home and put him to bed. He woke up very hot so I took him into the doctors figuring he had an ear infection. Well, when the nurse took his temp it was 104.8!!!! I couldn't believe it. I hadn't taken his temp because he had played with our ear thermometer and I can't find it at the moment. I felt so bad that I hadn't given him more Motrin before we left the house.

So the nurse got him some Motrin and I got some wet paper towels for his forehead, back of the neck, and back. After about ten minutes he showed interest in a book and his temp was down to 103.5. So the doctor checked him out. No ear infection, just swimmer's ear. Since that doesn't normally cause a fever he also swabbed his throat which was red, but that came back negative for strep (thank goodness). So the doctor says it's something viral so hopefully none of us will get it. It also means no swim lesson for S3 tomorrow. When I think of this morning's swim lesson I think, well, that's why they chlorinate the pool!

I guess I'll also have to cancel my gym appointment for tomorrow- and my visit teaching appointment for tomorrow. At least S2 can still do his swim lesson. I forgot to mention also that at the end of last week I, with some help from a neighbor, hooked up our secondary water for the lawn and garden. I also had our appliance guy come over and fix our swamp(evaporative) cooler so we don't die from the heat or keep wasting water. I've also been weeding the front yard and garden. I thinned out the corn and we actually have our first zucchini growing! I'm sure Dave will be thrilled to hear about that. He doesn't care for squash.

Oh, and sometime soon I am supposed to be receiving another volume in our town's history to proofread and do the layout on. And the city wants it to be done (printed and everything) by the second week in Septemer, the week of our town's birthday.

Now I think you can see why I thought it might be nice to fall asleep on May 30th and wake up to find it's July 1st. However, maybe I should just sleep until Aug 1st since we have a birthday this month for S2, a BIL leaving on a mission, two more weeks of swim lessons and now this book. So it looks like July will be busy too!