Independent Thinkers

Working hard!

I wanted to go to the beach today. I assumed that my children would also like to go to the beach instead of staying at home to do yard work. Their response last night was "No, Crazy Lady we'd rather do yard work and eat pizza at home!" After my intial shock of teens not wanting to go the beach, and a little bit of whining on my part, the children informed me that I should be proud that they are independent thinkers and can make decisions on their own. Really stupid desiicons on their own, but then I was told I wasn't a good judge of decision making because I was crazy.  My husband assumed when the morning came that the kids would agree to go to the beach instead of yard work. Obviously, the picture demonstrates that I'm not the only crazy person in the house because my children opted to stay home.

I woke them up at 730am on a Saturday! I was met with blank stares and then the lovely "GO AWAY CRAZY LADY!" Response that I can only assume all kids greet their mothers with when they are capable of being independent thinkers. Out of their beds, into the car, and off to Lowe's to get yard work supplies. This could of been a nice road trip to the beach, including the normal fighting over the front seat, but no, my little independent thinkers viewed completing yard work in the South Georgia heat as a less crazy decision than taking a car ride to swim in the Atlantic.

It's getting hot out there!

Josie made some more of her natural weed killer to spray around the yard, and I truly think that these independent thinkers thought they'd spray the weed killer, come back inside, and hope I forgot that they opted for yard work INSTEAD of the beach. I appreciate hard working, independent thinkers, emphasis on the hard working part! After five minutes, these little independent thinkers first tried to point out that they were being punished for being independent thinkers and not wanting to go to the beach. The crazy lady that they call Mom, pointed out that they had the freedom to be independent thinkers, when they were independent workers, who paid their own bills. I then went inside to start a load of laundry, because independent thinkers don't usually contemplate where theif clean clothes come from. They worked for about thirty minutes before the true whining, complaining and blaming started. I mentioned the they should be thankful for the breeze, access to shade and as much water as they wanted. With the looks I got, I'm sure my little independent thinkers were not thinking up nice names to call their crazy lady. I spent at least an hour kicking one of the three back outside, and reminding them that independent thinking has consequences, after all their mother wanted to take them to the beach! Elijah asked if yard work was included in child labor laws and the older two told him not to approach that line of argument  (being that the three oldest have on occasion attempted such an agreement and received a multi day history lesson on child labor).

The children have all played/cooled down with the hose (depending on whose independent thinking view point you take about spraying your children and siblings with the hose on a hot day). They have had plenty of water and Gatorade. They even had frozen pizza for lunch. The independent thinkers have completed one bed, of like ten at the house.  My husband thinks that there should be no weeds on our little acre of land when he gets home tonight. After all, he works 12 hours a day in an un-airconditioned wharehouse, and would prefer the independent thinkers not have to do what he does for a living. Of course, I have a PhD and my children think I'm crazy for working in an airconditioned high school and wanting to go to the beach. Hopefully, my little independent thinkers will see today as brilliant parenting when they have kids of their own, but for now it's time for them to go outside and think about the next time their crazy lady mom asks them if they want to go to the beach!

10 Ways To Piss Your Mother Off Before 7am

Mondays are hard enough. Add a child and it gets harder. Add four and there is the potential for nuclear melt down! Before 7am my children banded together to push every button I have, before my coke and breakfast! Here are the ten ways my lovely children pissed me off before sunrise!

1. Don't wake up before 600am! Wake up time has been the same since you started school!  Why do you look so surprised when Monday arrives and your mother is shouting for you to get your butt out of bed? Why does your mother have to threaten to put her foot up your butt to get you out of the bed? Why? Just why?

2. Inform your mother that you got up in the middle of the night and threw up nasty spaghetti!  Yes Colin, we get it! You did not like last night's supper choice, but no one heard you throw up last night. Since you have never thrown up without waking up the entire house hollering for help with throwing up, your lying in an attempt to stay home is rejected! Your ass is going to school just like everyone else!

3. Cut a brownie the size of your head for breakfast! Colin if we believed you were sick last night, eating a brownie (which were supposed to be for lunches) the size of your head is not what's for breakfast. Only it was because Colin put his snotty nose on head sized brownie before I could make it a reasonable size, or snatch it from his hands and replace the brownie with something more breakfast oriented.

4. Tell your siblings their stupid and lazy! Yes Elijah the rest of the clan is lazy but not stupid! Engaging in a shouting match to prove that your siblings are stupid because they don't know all the power ranger episodes does not prove your point and it just distracts the rest of them from getting ready!

5. Try to act like the boss when your laying face down on the couch pretending to take a nap! Elijah get up and assist your brothers and sister with getting ready! Please!

6. Start fighting over whose wearing whose pants. Just put some pants on! He'll wear shorts! I don't care just get dressed and out to the bus!

7. Stand with the fridge open and state there is nothing for lunch! No, there is plenty for lunch, but it will require you getting a bag for the food, some bread and sandwich meat and make a sandwich! It's not rocket science it's a sandwhich!

8. Not have your FFA official dress ready to go prior to 630 departure time! Josie, not only were you asked 3000 times over the weekend if your official dress was clean and ready, you stated it was. This will be the third black skirt you lost since August and it's mine! Clean your room and we may find them in the pit of clothes that are spilling from what used to be a chair in your room!

9. Not be ready to leave at 630! No lunch, no track stuff,  can't find your books, need a pencil, can't find your purse!  WTH have you not mastered laying everything out the night before?  That's what you told us you were doing at midnight!  Apparently Josie had amnesia when morning hit because she couldn't find anything and we were late leaving, like thirty minutes late!

10. Blame/accuse your brothers of taking your black skirt and panty hose while your mother is trying to pull into traffic! I assure you Josie as strange as your brothers are, they do not wear women's clothing! Even if they did none of them would wear it in your size! Your attempt to justify the fact that you can't get your crap together caused us to have a fender bender.

BONUS
Pointing out that Daddy is going to be pissed and it is now our normal arrival time to school!  I assure you I'm pissed for both of us!

EXTRA BONUS and NUCLEAR MELT DOWN
Josie stating that's why she doesn't let me use the phone when I'm driving!

Fun times all before sunrise and caffeine!