Laid up.

I'm reading a book that Josh generously bought me out of the sale box at Borders Books, when we happened to be at the mall this Saturday. The title was just interesting. It's called, "Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking". It's well written, but detached. A bit dry. We'll see how it unfolds.

I'm a little foggy today, and am having trouble distinguishing the past few days. Friday, my mother came to visit me. Friday? Yes. Friday was wonderful. It was a warm day, and my mother brought four red bud trees, still small sticks, to plant in my clay yard. I know I've told her before about the clay. I've told her that when it rains, it turns into modeling clay and stays muddy long after you think it ought to be dry, and then when it is dry, it's like a cracked pot and makes you think of red deserts. Well, except that our clay is mostly gray or yellow. I was surprised, then, when she exclaimed, "It's clay!" as she dug a small hole for the flowers she also brought for the kids.

"Well, yes."

"There's no soil at all. It's ALL clay." She bend down, fascinated and exasperated. At least I was no longer confused. She'd thought I was exaggerating to be amusing, all this time. It did, in fact, become the joke of the day after that. "I ought to be making a sculpture instead!" she would laugh. Digging in the back yard was fun. Grant helped with a little spade, and I helped Abbie carry water from the faucet in a purple Easter bucket that was painted with bunnies. We planted the trees (they were free ones, in honor of Earth Day) in a square, and if they all live, they'll make a lovely soccer field someday. Mom says with the soil I've got I shouldn't expect anything to survive. She's now impressed with the grass we were able to grow, even if it is sparse and patchy. It was so green on Friday. Dark, healthy green.

We had fun, even though she didn't stay long, and Abbie was asleep soon after she left. The kids' noses were a little runny, and for a while I didn't know whether to be worried about spreading cold germs or about potential allergies. Either way, Abbie needed rest. I did, too, having survived yet another night tantrum, but I never ended up taking a nap. Josh brought dinner, and by then I was feeling very sick, myself. We all watched a movie together, and then I took cold medicine and went to bed.

On Saturday, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We took the car to Wentzville, bought White Castle for lunch and had a picnic. Jake was with us, too. We ate at a little smoking area picnic bench behind Home Depot. It was more fun than it sounds. Then, Josh and Grant took the car to get an oil change, and Jake, Abbie and I walked to the Petsmart to get Jake's nails clipped. It was fun, but it was also a strain. Abbie would escape my grip and run, and Jake would relentlessly pull the opposite direction. It was exhausting. After than we came home for a while, and then went out again, this time sans Jake. We drove to Mid Rivers Mall and met Katie on her dinner break. We had Bob Evans. I hadn't been there before, and left disappointed in everything except the breads. Maybe next time we'll just get a loaf of blueberry bread instead of having dinner there. But it was nice to see Katie, and we met two of her friends.

Today, I am laid up. My back is out. Writing this has made me realize that it is probably a result of being pulled in two directions at Petsmart. It wasn't so bad this morning, so I decided that I would go to taiko and just sit out and listen. Then, I opened the door of the bathroom to go shower and had a huge spasm. In my mind I saw all the stairs leading to the room where we practice, and I knew I would have to stay home. I was irritated and disappointed. I wanted to go. But it was no use pretending my back wasn't out.

I took some cyclobenzaprine. (That should explain the foggy brain.)

I didn't go to practice, but I DID go to the grocery store. We all did. It was frustrating to me not to be able to simply grab what I wanted/needed. Plus, I was hungry. I very nearly didn't make it past the frozen pies. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't been on the injured list!

Then, we went to Josh's mom's house. For a while I sat in the kitchen, hearing the latest on the shocking behavior of Josh's second youngest sister. Yes, it's true that she sees all rudeness except her own. Yes, it's true that she never learned a good way to deal with stress. Yes, it's true that she's not great with pitching in. But these are not things she learned from a stranger. At her age, she'll either grow out of it soon or not at all. I think she would probably benefit from having her own apartment, and a little introspection - if she's given to that, and I'm not sure she is. Well, after I had the detailed report, I changed locations and sat outside for a while. We had dinner out there in the wind. I kind of like wind, if I'm prepared for it. It's not always conducive to outdoor eating, though. The kids were playing happily in the sprinkler. Grant had to be called to dinner (unusual for him), and Abbie didn't even stop for dinner. She came over to the table just as we were all finishing up and we gave her some food. Between that and dessert, though, we had an incident. Austin and his dad were throwing a baseball back and forth, and Grant (we still can't figure why) picked up a tennis ball sized watch and threw it at Austin. It hit him in the side. Grant got a spanking, of course. Also, I changed locations again and sat with him inside while the others continued to play. He also didn't get cake. I hope that was a significant enough punishment, and I hope he views it from the right perspective. You see, only last week Grant got in trouble for throwing hard toys at his friend, Elise.

Also, it seems that my foggy brain assisted in my getting two spare diapers for Abbie, and then putting them in the wrong bag, so that when she was done playing in the hose, she had no diaper. Josh's mom insisted she would be fine in some regular underwear that her daughter had grown out of. Half an hour later, we had no diapers and also no clothes for Abbie, because, as expected, she didn't tell us when she needed to go potty. She borrowed a shirt from Mariah to wear as a dress, and soon afterward we left. Abbie fell asleep in the car, and is still out cold (although she does have a diaper on now). As for me....I think I need more medicine. Just sitting here is painful.

I hear that tomorrow we are going to have quite an exciting storm. Why is it always on Monday? Grant's soccer keeps getting cancelled. I'm betting heavily that it will be, tomorrow.

We watched the 2008 Speed Racer movie the other day. Abbie loves to dance to the ending credits. The movie is actually a little rough for my kids' age group. I hope I don't have it to blame for the rock throwing. I feel a little betrayed. I always counted on Grant to grow up to be a decent, nice guy while I struggled with my willful Abbie, the caged cat. If I went through all this considerable trouble to raise them myself and then they became the bad kids, what good will I have done? I digress.

Did I tell you about the tea? I don't think I did. I got a cup of it at the mall. Peaceful Nights or something like that. It was wonderful.