Zone Defense 4: Clothes and Textiles

This week I'm getting back on the Zone Defense train!  Woo woo!

I'm going to attempt to simplify laundry and linens.  This should be pretty easy for me.  We don't have any laundry equipment here, so no laundry room!  I do two loads a week at my MIL's and that's that.

I plan on reorganizing the linens in my closets.  We have sheets we don't use for bed sizes we don't own anymore.  I'm going to keep a full set for the air mattress, but the rest I can donate.  And I've got probably 20 baby sized towels and 20 more receiving blankets, so I'll go through those as well.

I've been planning on making a quilt out of the receiving blankets.  I originally wanted to make this I love you(r DNA) quilt, but I've just noticed that its crib sized and I'd like to make a twin.  We've got some nice crib sized blankets already and I want this to be something he'll be able to use for a long time.

So those are my laundry plans.  I'll go through the kids clothes again in September to see what we need to buy them for winter and repackage the baby clothes for storing.  Its all in old diaper boxes, which are not good to store for a long time.

The grownup clothes are set for now, aside from going through Murl's socks to hunt for holes and see if he needs a new pack.

I think I can handle that this week!

How could a mother...?

I wrote this last night, but couldn't get my words right to finish it.  I'm still not sure what those words are, because I can't wrap my mind around how someone could act the way Kitty's mother does.

I really don't understand it.  How could a mother just... BE the way she is?

Kitty went back to her mom's this morning.  Murl talked to her on the phone and she spent the day playing video games.  Her mother hasn't seen her in over two weeks; you'd think they'd spend some time together!

CPS is involved now because of alleged abuse and neglect.  Kitty's brothers are violent to her and other kids.  The house is apparently full of cat feces.  Her (second!) parole officer is the one who had her arrested for alleged drug use and theft.

I'm watching Wolfie sleeping in his swing (he wouldn't go to bed!) and I can't imagine what must go through her head.  How could you let your sons get as out of control as they are?  How can you steal money and pills from your own mother and neighbors?  How can you not put your kids ahead of your wants/needs?

I understand she's got an addiction.  She needs help, but she obviously hasn't been motivated enough to get it.  For her kid's sake, I really hope this helps, otherwise she might not have her kids anymore.

Just before she left.

The Party

I think the party went really well.  I got up early so I could go buy hamburger, charcoal and chips and come home to turn the hamburger into actual burgers and make fruit salad.  Murl made the cake with Kitty and we frosted it when I got home.  Yellow with purple frosting and pink letters.  She originally asked for white cake, but changed her mind, so we just put in yellow food coloring.  Food coloring is expensive!

Someone was very exciting about presents!

Murl set everything up, which he was cranky about, but I planned and prepared the whole thing, so its only fair.  I stayed with the kids at the park until it was time for food.  It was supposed to be raining, but it held off, which was awesome.  It was really windy, though, which made for problems lighting the grill.  We thought we were going to have to pack it in to go somewhere else to grill, but we got it.

His sister didn't show up with the cousins until 2 hours after we started and our old roommate was there and we kind of ignored him.  He owes me $300 for bills, but his son and Kitty have grown up together, so we'll always invite him.  The kids played, mostly in the sandbox, and I think they had a lot of fun.  We decided not to do the pinata because of the wind.  All the little pieces and candy would go everywhere.  So, we'll do that in 2 weekends when Kitty is back.

Throwing kid's parties is hard, but so far they've all come out well.  Probably because we don't have a lot of other kids to invite.  I'm no where near ready to throw a party with other kids.  I imagine that would be pretty expensive.

  

Parking Lot Carnival

This weekend was really busy.  My FIL took us to a parking lot carnival Friday evening.  We met the cousins there and spent a ridiculous amount of money for the kids to ride mediocre rides.  They loved it, though, so its worth it.

Kitty's mother wrote Murl a 5 page long guilt trip about how she can't stand being away from her daughter for 14 days in a row and he needs to think about how it feels for her.  Not seeing Kitty for 14 days in a row is something we now do every month and something that Murl has done quite often in the past, whenever her mother has decided he can't see her.  So, boo-hoo.

Friday was crazy hair day!

Saturday we had Kitty's 6th birthday party.  I'll post on that later, complete with photos.

Today is mother's day and it was OK.  That's really all I have to say about that.  Murl dropped Kitty off at 8am and I got to sleep late with Wolf.  We watched TV and I cleaned up the kitchen and part of the bathroom.  Murl took a nap, since he had to get up super early and I didn't wake him up, which made us late for dinner at a friends.  He woke up two hours after we were supposed to be there to a bunch of missed texts.  So, we headed over there with Wolf and ate some delicious foods.  Burgers stuffed with blue cheese, bacon and spinach!  Yum.

Party Planning

Tomorrow is Kitty's 6th birthday.  We were planning on going up to see her, since she is at her mom's on weekdays.  Murl thinks that our lawyers have been talking, because they did not answer their phone at all yesterday and today she told him they have plans tomorrow and why did he assume he could take Kitty out after school?  He asked her about this weeks ago and she said it was fine.  So, we won't be seeing her until Friday night.  We'll make a cake and finalize plans and then party on Saturday!

My MIL reserved the pavilion at the park today and my FIL is making potato salad.  I need to pick up a few things tomorrow when I shop and we will be set.  Its supposed to rain, of course, so we'll be heading to their house if it does.  At least the kids can get outside to play if it dries up.

Mr. Crinkly Face

I cleaned up most of the kitchen today.  Cabinets were vacuumed and food was rearranged.  I somehow ended up with more room for food then I had before, without throwing anything out.  Tomorrow I'll clean out the fridge and clean off the top of the fridge.  Then its just the nook and the floor and that's it; the kitchen will be done!  Its very exciting.  Yes, it was already pretty clean to begin with, but getting a whole room clean is still exciting.

Fish Kisses!

I want to try to post new photos of Wolf every day, so here we go.  We hung out inside and cleaned all day, but that's ok, because playing on the floor is still fun.

What a ladykiller!

Nom Nom!

Rainy Weekend

We got some new furniture this weekend from Murl's parents.  A nice bench, which will go by the stairs for taking shoes on and off, and a cabinet that I'm going to use for my craft supplies.  So, right now they're just sitting in the middle of my living room.  I was going to move them today, but I didn't feel like making space.

This weekend was low.  It was an OK weekend, but its the first weekend where I'm not working.  I spent it worrying about money instead of enjoying my time with my family.  That was stupid of me.  The one thing that I did not worry about was getting Kitty to clean up after herself before she left, which is never done if I'm not home.

It also rained all weekend (and today and again tomorrow), so there was no going outside.  We had a thunderstorm, but it wasn't a very exciting one.  We stayed inside and mostly played board games.  The dollhouse was pulled out at one point, but I don't like playing with it with Kitty.  There is a wooden cat that stays in the house and farts on everyone, which is gross and something that I'm trying to get her to stop doing.  She will also tell me how to play and get upset if I don't follow her lead, but she's always been like that.

My tomato and jalapeno plants look really sad.  Some of the leaves started falling off.  We have a huge window that takes up most of the living room wall, but it faces south.  It is awesome in the winter and was great when I first planet the seeds, but now the sun is moving more north and it doesn't come through the window as well.  I need to decide when I'm going to put them outside.  I'm afraid they are too small and would be washed away or eaten.

I was going to doing my kitchen organization questions for Zone Defense, but its late.  I'll do that tomorrow and move the furniture.  I'll throw out some boxes and make space.  We still have the crib box, which is very flat and doesn't take up space, which is probably why we haven't thrown it out yet.  Its not in our way.  Plus, people are always saying they're going to take it and burn it, but no one has.  Its going in the dumpster!

So that was mostly my weekend.  I was very tired during it.  Wolfie and I wake up around 10 usually, but Kitty is used to getting up at 7 for school, so that's what happens when she's here.  Its not her fault, school starts early, but she wakes up Wolfie and then we're up.  And, she won't nap, so I don't nap either.

Next weekend is Kitty's 6th birthday.  I need to get a headcount tomorrow and decide what to buy.  We are having a cookout at the park, which will be a lot of fun.  I'm hoping it doesn't rain.  Its rained the past few weekends.  Friday is supposed to be sunny, so hopefully that will continue through the weekend.  Otherwise we'll have too many people in our apartment and we have almost no seating.  Plus, the dentists downstairs are open and the kids will be too loud, which will result in an angry call from the landlord.

So, now I head to bed.  Murl should be done with my kindle, so I can play sudoku as I fall asleep.  He hogs it!

To the Park!

Wolf and I walked to the park again today.  I'd like to do this every day, but we'll see.  It was 85 out and really hot for a walk, so hopefully it won't be too much warmer than that for most of the summer.

We swung for a bit, but mostly sat in the sandbox.  This is the second time he's been in the sand and he didn't cry.  He raked his fingers around and stick some sticks in his mouth.  Mostly he watched all the other kids run around and yell.  I think its hard for him to concentrate on what he's doing when there's so much else going on.

This time we didn't get anything thrown at us, which I liked.  It was pretty busy, but I guess if you want your kids to play outside after school then you take them to the park.  Its what I'll be doing until we have a yard and probably after that, too.

I did the next part of my cleaning yesterday, but never wrote about it.  Real quick: The bedroom looks really nice.  I just need to get Murl to quit throwing his clothes on the floor.  I think we can keep it this way!  Now I just need a day with the car to clean that out.

"Mother"/Daughter Dance

We picked up Kitty tonight because she had a "Mother/Daughter" dance that she really wanted to go to.  After showing up 30 minutes late, her mother changed her out of her dress at a Walmart parking lot in the car with the door open.  It was like 40 degrees out.
In the car on the way home she tells us about her day when she says she had fun at the "fath-- mother/daughter dance."  It turns out it was a father/daughter dance.  Her mom lied to us and got Kitty to lie to us, too.  Murl felt really bad, because he would have taken the day off and taken her to the dance if he had known.  Kitty got very quiet for the rest of the ride home and stayed silent when he apologized for not being able to go.
Not only has BM told everyone that Murl is a bad father, but she's now proven it by taking her to the dance instead.  I'm sure it was never mentioned that her father was never told.  Plus, there's now proof that BM is getting Kitty to lie to us.  Awesome.
I don't understand how someone could do that to their kid.  I know their relationship hasn't been amicable since before Kitty was born, but she should be glad that Murl wants to be involved in her life (unlike her oldest's father).  Instead its always a struggle, there are lies and yelling and its all to make him look bad, like that will get him to back off, which I know has crossed his mind.  Through all the yelling and fighting, I still think its best for him to be there.  He's a much better parent than she is and Kitty needs stability, which is something she doesn't get at her mother's house.
To cap it off, Wolf screamed the hour ride home.  It was very loud, but somehow Kitty slept through it.  Dancing all night will do that to you.

Other people's kids

Wolfie and I took a walk to the park.  He napped and ate before we left and after the 10 min. walk was apparently really tired again.  He's a big fan of the swings, which is really all he can do at a playground right now.  I put him on the pavement to crawl around, but he didn't go anywhere.  I think all the kids running back and forth confused him.  He also sat in the sandbox, but decided he didn't like it (yet, because I'm sure he'll love it eventually.
When we were on the ground next to the sandbox I saw a young boy yelling "I want my scooter!"  After 2 or 3 times I would have just taken him home.  Instead, he threw a stick, which landed about 2 feet away from where Wolfie and I were sitting, and demanded "Go get my scooter!"  So, instead of taking him home or at least telling him not to throw sticks, his mother went to the car and got his scooter.
This is something I've noticed from taking Sophia to parks: it seems like no other parents pay attention to their kids!  There is a difference between letting your kid play without moderating it and letting your kid have free-reign to do whatever they want.  Letting your kid boss you around and potentially injure something is not good playground etiquette.
Or, maybe that's just me...

This is an old photo.  I need to remember to bring my camera next time we're out!