Uno, Recycling, Super Mario and other Child-Induced Headaches

I started this blog with the intention of not opening it up to many people I knew in real life. That way, I could talk smack about people who were irritating me, and I wouldn't have to bother defending myself or worrying about hurting anyone's feelings. Also, I wanted freedom to vent about the aggravation of being a stay-at-home mom without a lot of judgement or people calling me out for not having any real problems. As it turns out, I don't really have a lot of mean things to say about anyone. And, I don't really care if people have poor opinions about my parenting skills. Who knew? So, I didn't write too often. Now, I'm just going to go ahead and anounce to all of my facebook friends that I have a blog. So, if that's how you found my blog, thanks for stopping by. I'll try to be nice.

All Jacob wants to do all of the time is play Super Mario Bros. When he isn't playing Super Mario Bros, he's looking for youtube videos starring Super Mario Bros, watching the Super Mario Bros Super Show on Netflix, or talking--incessantly--about Super Mario Bros. When I am so exhasted with the subject that I threaten to put the Wii in the dishwasher (a little trick I learned from the Simpsons), he will then talk about Sonic the Hedgehog or Link from The Legend of Zelda. What happened to playing outside in the summer? When I was a kid, my parents weren't responsible for entertaining me all summer long. I know it's hot outside, but we have popsicles, a water hose, and ice cold lemonade. Go play in the yard!

Please share with me your kids' ages and what (if any) chores they are responsible for. Jacob had to gather all of the dirty laundry today so I could wash it. He really resents that I don't carry my own laundry basket to the laundry room. But, my back is always sore, and I do all the washing, drying, and folding. I don't think it's too much to ask for him to carry the dirty clothes for me. Other than this chore, taking out the garbage, and cleaning up after themselves, my kids do very little. If my back is really bothering me, I make them put away their plastic dishes because I don't want to bend down to put them in the bottom cupboard. They clean their rooms once in a while.

Sarah can't carry the trashbags, so she's the official recycler. I forgot to put the trash cans out at the curb last night. At seven this morning, I heard the recycling truck, jumped out of bed, and ran outside. I was too late for the recycling, but at least I got the trash to the curb plenty early. But, now I had two full recycling bins and a week to go before the recycling truck comes around again. So, bad mommy that I am, I gave Sarah a garbage bag and instructed her to bag up all the recycling and leave it for the trash truck. She was furious with me. She actually said, "We didn't miss the recycling truck, Mom. YOU missed the recycling truck!" There were many more words screeched at such a high decibel that only the dog could really understand what she was saying. But I got the gist that I was destroying the earth and making her a party to my miscreance. She cried the entire time that I forced her to stand on the front lawn and commit such an evil deed.

On a lighter note, Chuck and I are teaching the kids to play Uno. I can't think of too many games that are so simple and still fun for adults. Although, Pass the Pigs is pretty fun, too. Maybe I'll start looking for that game if it still exists. Anyway, they're picking Uno up pretty fast, and are being pretty good sports when they lose. It's mostly just chance, and very little skill. So, they can't get too exasperated.

It's only half-way through June, but I feel like summer is slipping by. We should be at the beach or on picnics. But, wildfires are burning all over the county, so the air is thick and smoky. I guess that means the kids will be sitting around the house playing Super Mario Bros for a few more days.