We went to the Tom Petty  concert on Friday.  Other than it being 110, we had a great time. Melanie was super awesome to watch the boys again. Thank you, Melanie.

My favorite line of the night was from his song, "Mary Jane's Last Dance"  ~Well I don't know what I've been told, You never slow down, you never grow old.

The next day was still crazy hot. I took Curly to the vet. We haven't taken him to see a vet since Casey was born. Yeah, that is 12 1/2 years. He hasn't been eating enough lately and I was concerned. Turns out he has several teeth that need to come out. Other than that, our adorable muppet boy who is probably 14 1/2, is doing great. His lungs, heart and liver all look good. I am grateful. We all went down to Mercy General to visit my Dad on Saturday. We brought him shaved ice from Osaka-Ya and a poster we made. He enjoyed it. He is healing slowly. He may be moved to a transitional care place today. He has been in the hospital now since August 21st.  For anyone that has had a family member in the hospital for a long period of time, you know how they get a little funny from the medication and the lack of normalcy. Please pray for him.

Pedar got up really early on Sunday and went for a bike ride because it was going to be another crazy hot day. The boys and I enjoyed a slower morning and then I asked Casey to help me move the pile of wood that has been sitting in the backyard. Pedar finished the gate and fence, woo hoo, but a project isn't over until the clean-up happens and that is my strength. I want to make the yard safe for Dot Dot. This pile of wood had several black widows and the new fence has a gap that we need to cover so she doesn't sneak out. Casey and I moved the pile and put away a bunch of stuff. I love having big kids that can help me move stuff.  Casey said to me, "What would you have done if I didn't help you?" Ummm...I would have moved it by myself! It might have be slower going, but that pile was getting moved dammit. My anxiety over piles of stuff that stay too long after a DIY project forces me to act. I do not support keeping stuff just in case. I KNOW this is how crap piles up and then the pile ends up owning you.

Anyhoo, we are now ready for one last dump run. We also need to put some mesh around the bottom of the pool gate and under the new fence to prevent Dottie from slipping under it. In two more weeks she will be all caught up with her vaccinations and she will be a free little doggie.

Pedar was a little tired after his super hot bike ride. He fell asleep on the floor with Dottie crying next to him!

On Monday we ran some errands and prepared to have our new neighbors over for an early dinner and swim. All weekend the boys had friends over and I had walked into the bathrooms several times to find the toilet seat up. It could have been my boys, or it could have been their friends. I don't care who it was, I was tired of seeing it. I cleaned up the pee and then took a permanent marker to the seat and wrote, "Put the seat down!"

Apparently, according to Pedar, one of the boys felt shamed by my message. This is the moment I lost my shit. Writing that message on the potty, helped me laugh. But if it is turned around to make ME the bad guy, oh HELL NO, I was about to come unglued. I will not walk on eggshells around my children or my husband. Mommy gets angry and that is OK. That is normal. Life is messy and hard. I will try to deliver messages with kindness, but I am not a robot. Actions create reactions. I didn't get upset all on my own. I was upset after a bunch of boys had taken advantage of a kind mama all weekend. I was feeding and cleaning after everyone and I had enough. Everyone needed to get grateful and find their happy place, ASAP, including me.

After only a few minutes, things were fine. Casey grabbed a magic eraser and cleaned the toilet. It doesn't mean I won't write it again. It might mean that I huddle all the boys in my house for a class on putting the seat down and how to clean up pee. Yeah, I can see that happening very soon. Don't mess with me. This is my house. You're welcome.