Sketchy Laptop Use- and What We Are Up To

My power cord to my computer got fried yesterday when I noticed a kink in it and tried to straighten it out. The kink also had the protective plastic coating broken so you could see the wires- it made a pinkish-bluish arc of a spark that freaked me out, and then it quit working. I am using a different cord that belongs to Ryan's work computer, but I'm not sure I'm allowed. :) So, I'll be taking a big break while my new cord comes in. This will be the third cord in less than three years! In other news:

• Everyone is doing much better. Jessie looks and feels great, although she still has to take medicine and has a residual cough. But, she feels better, and I'm so happy about that!
• Ed is "potty training" and I hate potty training boys. He is so inconsistent, it's ridiculous. On a good note, he now freaks out when he's wet. A few months ago he would walk around wet and just not care. Now, it bothers him. It's a step in the right direction. He is SO funny, he cracks me up with the things he says and sings. He started being really mean this week though. He tackles Kacy. He pulls on Will. His entire aim appears to be to get them on the ground so he can sit on them. When he is particularly angry- watch out for him. I'm going to keep an eye on him. A little rough and tumble is okay, and I like to let my kids try and solve their own problems. But when he's so big and "tough" (really- he's a tank) it can get out of hand.
• Will, on the other hand, is driving me nuts the last two weeks because he started his "crying at the drop of a hat" thing again. And, he is so stubborn. For example: I took the kids to Kacy's school so I could measure some areas of the playground. The boys played on the equipment and were having a great time. I gave him the "We are leaving in five minutes!" warning, finished my task, and then gathered up the boys. Except Will, who put his head over to his shoulder, rolled his eyes at me, pouted his lips, and said "uh-uh" as he walked away from me, checking over his shoulder to see what I was going to do. AUGH! My hands are full of measuring equipment and a digital camera. Jessie is in the baby-backpack. Ed is bouncing around me. And Will is walking off into the sunset, being as belligerent as ever. I say, "Good-bye Will. I am leaving." We start walking off, and he keeps going. After I walk about 15 feet, I turn around and yell (but quietly, because there are children in classes who don't need to be distracted) "Will! We are leaving right now. Get over here." My mean mommy voice worked because he kicked the ground and came, with his mean face on. I keep threatening him that he will NOT go to Kindergarten next year if he is going to cry every time he has to do something he doesn't want to do. It's only a half empty threat- I really want him to go. But, I am a little worried about his maturity.
• Kacy talks a lot. I know this. Her grandparents know this. Now, her school knows this. When I took the kids to school, I had two different teacher aides come up to me and say "This must be Will, Ed, and Jessie. She talks about them all the time." This week she got an address book out of the "goodie box" at school, and went around to every adult she knew and got their addresses. So funny!
  
• Ryan is plugging through work. It's fairly uneventful, especially in these next few months. Summer is more busy when the tourists/campers are out in full force. But in the winter, the locals seem to hunker down for the most part. It's raining today, and he is supposed to go build some forms for our 30 holes. Seriously, being a ONE man show for building a house is hard. Maybe not hard, but painstakingly slow. And the dirt work! He said he's done with dirt work now- there should be no more. I kind of remember saying that before... but this time looks to be true.
• I am hanging out with the kids. I am doing my housework. I like housework, but hate doing it more than once in a day. It wouldn't be bad at all if I picked up a bucketful of Legos once a day. I lose my happy-cleaning-mojo at 8pm when it's the fourth time I've done it. I am still plugging along with the preschool project. The plan is written and sent off the the principal. It will be presented to the school board this next Tuesday. I am going to try to go for that part of it, if I can. The playground amendment is complete. The school was going to apply for a playground waiver so the kids could use the same equipment as the older kids, just at different times. But the equipment is rather tall is some places. So, my job earlier this week was to propose and design a playground that is cheap and friendly. The thing is, you don't need a fancy climbing structure for four years old- they are super happy with a sandbox and trikes. Outdoor games and manipulatives, and a bit of space to run is all they need. I also am looking seriously into running for a political office. But not now. I am making a timeline of little projects and volunteer opportunities in my county that won't take up too much time. Then, in 15 years, I'll have lots of community experience and knowledge. This preschool is first. Next might be a 4H club in my area. I'm not opposed to driving to Bakersfield or Ridgecrest for a year or so to familiarize myself with the program, but I'd like to see one up here. I want my kids to participate in it. I don't have time to lead a program like that this year all by myself. My friend Angie is interested in it too, but she has the same conflict of interest I do- a whole mess of little kids who need us. I am putting 4H on my to do list. Also, there are some county committees I could apply for. During a political conversation (all typed of course!) my friend Willow said something like "People like the idea of helping, but no one wants to serve." That is so dead on and just stuck with me. So, instead of wishing and complaining, I'm going to do something, however small it is. Then when I complain, it'll have some merit? Actually, I'll be too busy to complain! Complainers are so boring. While talking to my friend Angie, she was telling me about a seminar she went to, and a lady there had done all kinds of wonderful service type things, but she waited until her kids were grown up. I sometimes forget that there is time later- like, someday I'll be forty. And fifty. And sixty. And for those whole 30 years, most of us are still fully capable, if not MORE (that whole wisdom and experience thing) of doing great things. And that I don't have to do everything RIGHT NOW! Hmmm... today the possibilities seem endless. Then I see all the snot around me, the poopy diapers I have to change (one is waiting for me right now, I suspect), and the fact that we have no more propane for our trailer. And it makes me happy. All of it. It'll do nothing but make me a better person.