Airing out my dirty laundry... literally.

As you can see from my post below, we have a lot of dirty laundry around here. Sometimes I stay on top of it, and will fold and put it all away the moment the dryer stops. Keepin' it real though... most of the time, I let it all pile up. Lately, I feel as though I have a pretty cute reason to ignore the never-ending piles of laundry and dishes.....

And, while I'm airing my dirty laundry, I thought I would go ahead and confess a few other things as well.

Hail has regressed since the birth of Flash Flood. Totally normal, I do realize. What's not normal is how he's regressed. Let me explain-- The child breastfed for 13 months and went straight to a sippy cup. REFUSED bottles his entire life, until Flash Flood started using them. It's my own fault. We didn't have any clean sippy cups one morning, (because I had waited to load the dishwasher until we had about four loads worth in the sink) and Hail was crying for a drink so I poured his apple juice into one of Flash Flood's bottles, thinking he would throw it back at me. Hail took a few sips, grinned and said, "I wike it! I do!" Ever since he has demanded a bottle. And to be quite honest, I don't even care. At least he's still potty-trained, and since that's the area most kids tend to regress once a new baby arrives, I'm thrilled he's chosen "ba-bas" over pooping in his undies.

Lightning went to church barefoot... two Sundays in a row. Neither Bert nor I noticed until we were in the parking lot. The first time I had an extra pair of Spiderman flip-flops floating around the nasty van. The second time, however, those flip-flops were gone so he actually walked around the entire time totally barefoot. This wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't JANUARY and only 40 degrees outside. Mom of the year-- I'm already preparing my acceptance speech.

Thunder is officially a preschool drop-out. It became too much work, emotionally and physically, to send him everyday. Perhaps he's still adjusting to our latest addition, but for the last few weeks, he's cried every morning and begged not to go. When it came time to go each day, Thunder would hide, quite well I might add, and then cling to whatever furniture was near, all while screaming "Please, PUH-LEASE let me stay home with YOU! I DON'T WANNA GOOOO!" When I spoke with his teacher, she said he had seemed a little sad each day when he arrived, but usually warmed up within an hour or so. It's just pre-school. Plus, we're paying money for him to be miserable... It was a no-brainer for me. He's now home full-time, which is fine because he's a great big brother and helps to keep the other members of our Storm occupied.

Her Highness has typical first grade homework each night. One night it might be a math worksheet, while the next it could be to just study for a spelling test. Not hard, nor very much usually. A few nights back, I opened her homework folder and saw a book that was a little thicker than what she usually brings home to read. I was tired, and so was she. I just zipped her backpack right up and pretended I didn't see it. Total slacker, I know. Her Highness reads well for a first grader, so I didn't see a need to sit through another "Jess, you can jump! Jump, Jess, jump!"

Along with piles of laundry and dishes, I'm also WAY behind on writing thank-you notes. To be quite honest, I think thank-you notes are dumb. I appreciate everything everyone has given us, and I say thank-you the moment I open the gift. So, why do I have to turn around and write it out again? I used to write a note out the moment I got home with the gift, so I could get it over with and not break all rules of etiquette. Now, I can't even remember who gave us what when Flash Flood was born, or who all I've already sent thank-yous to. So, if you gave us a gift and haven't received the proper thank-you note, I apologize. We do appreciate everything. I've just turned into a complete and total slacker in areas such as these.

Maybe I'll wait until Flash Flood can write his own thank-yous:

Dear (fill in the blank), Thank-you for all those diapers way back when. Had it not been for kind folks such as you, my bottom would have stayed soggy much longer, because my lazy mother would probably have forgotten to buy more. Also, thank-you for the Target gift card. I know you intended for it to go towards baby supplies, however, my Mom tends to live by the rule "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" so she actually bought a cute new top for herself. But, we do appreciate all your kindness and generosity. By the way, I'm enjoying my freshman year of college tremendously. Love, Flash Flood