They are all still alive, <sigh> and I am one tired woman. This business of raising kids is not for the faint of heart. Daughter, who turned 18 in June, has now decided that it is time to start acting like a 14 year old, snotty mouth and all. I really thought I had escaped all of that with her, but nooooo. But of course, since she is the mother of my beautiful grandson, I allow her to continue her life. Lil Will will be one year old on Halloween and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. I must admit, I cannot imagine this house without him.

16 is still a big lug, tripping over everything and knocking down anything in his path. That child breaks things just by looking at them. But I will have his braces paid off in less than a year…..can I kick him out then?

14 will turn 15 soon. That means only 3 more years til I can set him out on his own!! He is such a typical teen, trying to fit in with friends, smart mouth, ugly clothes. But at least he has finally gotten better about bathing. He actually uses soap now!!!

And my youngest, 9, is the same. He has such a joy of life, and simple pleasures like running in the park give him happiness. I like to spend time with him, it helps me to remember why being a mom is such an important job. He will be Spiderman for Halloween, and he looks so darn cute.

But yes my friends, my house still resembles a circus. Probably even more so now with the grandson here. I now have a highchair, a walker, stroller, and tons of toys laying around for me to trip on during those late night trips to the bathroom. The washer and dryer never seem to stop, and there is dried baby food on my kitchen wall from the day Lil Will was practicing his fast pitch. And I have a new tactic for 'helping' them remember to put their dirty clothes in the hamper. The boys have a nasty habit of leaving all the dirty items on the floor in the bathroom when they shower. So, now I pick them up (because if I don't, they just accumulate and within a day or two you cannot even open the door all the way) and I put them in a pile right on the front porch. It took a few days, but now I notice that the pile is getting smaller, they are actually retrieving them and putting them in the hamper! Now of course, it does not look very attractive with a pile of dirty socks and boxers on my front porch….but hey, they are learning, and I hope to have the pile gone in a few more days.

So I keep plugging away <s> hoping that in the process I might actually be teaching them a thing or two. Thank goodness I have Casual to vent!

Teri