Call me crazy, but I kind of think that when a person goes out to sell lemonade door-to-door, that person really ought to know a little bit about money first.  At the very least, a person should know which currency is worth more than which.

Yesterday my doorbell rang.  Four neighbor kids (two 7 year olds, a four year old and a 2 year old) were standing at the door with a cup full of money, and two cups of lemonade.  I was surprised to see them.  Apparently I haven’t chased them out of my yard enough to make them scared of me.

The seven year old girl asked if I wanted to buy some lemonade.  She started to tell me it was only a dollar when the seven year old boy interrupted and said it wasn’t.

Boy: It’s only a quarter. .. (Pauses then adds quickly) or a penny.

And I’m thinking, I would fire you as my businees partner if you cut my profits by one hundred percent, you should have let the lady talk.

Me: Okay.  I’ll see what I have.  (I bring back a dime and hand it to the lad)
Boy: Thanks

Then the seven year old girl shows her own lack of business sense by handing me a quarter.

Me: No, no, that’s okay.
Girl: No, it’s payback.

No, payback would be me taking all the coupons out of your parents SUnday paper in exchange for them leaving a big pile of garbage with a sign that says "FREE" in front of my lawn  when I am trying to sell my house.

Me: No, sweetie, a quarter is more than a dime.
Girl: Oh.

They then leave.  And quickly return with what looks like  a pre-used Dixie cup 2/3 full of Country Time.  Engineer says he doesn’t want it, so I hand it to Sugar who downs it.

Interesting. 

And all I have to say is, if my kids are going to be using the lemonade mix that I paid for with Charming’s my hard earned dollars, I want to see a return on my investment.  I need a business plan before I start handing them a pitcher and some cups.  Show me a little proof that you what you’re doing.  Show me that you at least know that 100 pennies makes a dollar and therefore a dollar for a cup is way better than a penny.

Warning: This is an EMOTIONAL post!!!!

I don’t want to be HOMELESS!!!!!  My darling house has been on the market since Saturday, and no one has called about it.   I am spending heaps of time, trying to stage it and keep it clean, and we’ve got no one to see my futile efforts.

And we are leaving in a week and a half.  If our house hasn’t sold (likely) we will be moving anyway, and we can’t afford to move into ANYTHING until we offload our current mortgage payment.  I don’t want to pay a mortgage and be homeless.

And in every room I sit in, in my dear house, I think to myself, "this is one of the last times I will be sitting here."  "This is one of the last times I will have to sit in my pretty little front room and have the sun shine in on me."  "This is one of the last times that I will be able to sit in my enormous backyard and enjoy the view of the mountains."  "This is one of the last times I am going to sit in this chair in this room and rock my baby…"

You know, thoughts like that.

And thoughts like these: what if no one likes my pink walls?  What if no one likes my cute kids room, or my flowering plum tree, that I will never get to see in bloom? 

This is our first house.  And no one wants it but me.  And I can’t have it anymore.

I publicly cried last night whilst talking about my move to the Rainy Place.

It was during my Mary Kay unit meeting.  My director asked me to come up and tell everyone what I was doing.  I told them we were moving, and could not hold back the tears.  I think this was the first time I cried about the move at all.  

Some of them cried too.

I really am not depressed.  I am too stressed for that.  But as much as I am excited to move and be closer to my family, I am leaving a handful of dear and wonderful friends behind.  People tell me I will make new friends, and I know that that is true.  But even though I will make new friends, they won’t be these friends.  

When I think about the saddest day of my life, it was the day I left the Rainy Place after 8 months to come back here to Utah.

Ironically, I think the new saddest day is going to be when I leave Utah to go back to the Rainy Place. 

So, lately we have been reading, "Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?" by Dr. Seuss.  Like all Seuss it’s pretty whimsical and fun to read.  In it’s own fun way it really puts life in perspective– no matter how bad you’ve got it, it could be worse, so don’t whine about it.  I like it.

And I have a confession.  I get choked up on the second to last page.  EVERY time. It reads:

 "Thank goodness for all of the things you are not!
Thank goodness you’re not something someone forgot,
and left all alone in some punkerish place
like a rusty tin coat hanger hanging in space." 

Oh, even typing it I am getting teary.  I guess it tugs at me because it makes me think about how truly blessed I really am.  This world can be a harsh, mean place.  There are tragedies all around us, most of which I have never experienced.  I’ve always lived in a safe place, with a loving family.  Not that my life has been free from trials or hard times, but thank goodness for all of the things that I am not.  Thank goodness for all of the things that have never happened to me and the situations I have never been in.

Anyway.  Just some random thoughts for the blogosphere. 

"Sugar, my cleavage is NOT a cup holder."

                          -Me
 

…but sometimes you just gotta whine.

 We are moving.  We are attempting to sell our house, buy a new house and move across several states in the next not quite 3 weeks. 

My toddlers are destroying all things in their path.  I have called in the troops (aka the ladies from church) to help me get out from under this mess.  They suggested I get all the toys and things up off the floor before they come to help, I tried to explain that that is the part I need help with.  So, we’ll see how it goes.  I feel like I am being a burden on them, but well, I don’t have my mommy next door to help me, like everyone else seems to.

And to top it all off, I am sick and have lost my voice.  I feel like poop.

 Waaa-waaaaa—haaaa!

Heaven help us.  Because that’s what we are going to need. 

"The fairy godmother just used The Force on Cinderella!"

                                   -Engineer
 

I went to the new IKEA yesterday.  Wow.  And now a poem.

Big and Yellow and Blue                                                            
So Brand NEW!
Bursting at the seams with furniture and accessories galore
Give me More!

Kids are jumping on couches and beds
Racing Ahead
Everything we want to see
Until Sugar announces she has to pee

Why is the bathroom so far away?
Why are there so many toilets on display?

The peeing is done, we want off our feet
SO now we eat!
Yet for squrmy kids this is just not a good time
to stand in a line. 

Engineer squawks at kid up ahead
Kid’s mother gives ME a look like I should be dead
Now she’s overprotecting her son
But Engineer was just having fun!

Awkward.

Swedish meatballs fill my plate
I can tell this will be great
Kids are happy until once again
They start to fight and then offend
another mother, can’t we be friends?

Charming’s ready to grab his coat,
But I won’t leave IKEA on such a sour note.
Let’s see some more, my honeydew
And we will purchase before we’re through

Shopping bag full heading out the door
Wanting more, so wanting more
But I am the only one
Since Charming and kids are clearly done. 

And so back to our home we go
When we’ll come again, we don’t know
As we drive down IKEA WAY
I think to myself, WHAT A DAY! 

Let’s give it up for the brand new blogger!

No, it’s not Sugar.  It’s her Aunty J, my cute little sister.   

You’ve gotta go give her a read and leave a comment.  She is hilarious!  If she continues her blogging career, she just might be as big as this fine lady.

She’s awesome give her a read! 

…dropping what you are doing because the two year old has decided to change the "stinky baby" by herself, but as she gets the diaper open and sees the poop she screams and runs away.

It is also deciding that instead of rinsing the poop-of-a-breastfed-but-solids-eating-baby out of the  semi-nasty-anyway, hand me down onesie, that one is better off just throwing the garment in the trash.

Scrubbing poop is just not on the schedule today.