I am...outside. Trying very hard to laugh at myself.

It's a gorgeous day, out here.  Public school is still in session, so I have the kids out in the back yard at a time when I won't have to drag them inside because the twit teenagers next door are blasting rap and hip hop "singing" about sex, crime, and other things the kids don't need to hear about at four and two years, with language they don't need to pick up, yet.

Yesterday was hot.  Hot enough that even the imp didn't want to play outside in the afternoon for more than a half an hour--which kinda sucked.  The pixie decided, yesterday, that she needed a morning nap, then went down in the afternoon, too--right as the imp was waking up from his nap.  And he's impossible to keep quiet in the afternoons.  So I was really hoping to keep him outside until the pixie woke up.

No such luck.

Today is supposed to be a bit cooler, but still on the warm side--lower rather than upper eighties near ninety.

My morning today started out sucking.  The pixie woke me up (can't vouch for Odysseus because he didn't move if he did wake) by banging a little toy skillet on something in the living room.  So, I got up, threw on clothes, and trudged back to put dog food out in the dog's pen (her favorite place in the world), before I put the dog in the pen.

And so, of course, she pees in her crate--on her bed, no less--between the time I stepped out the door, and the time I stepped back inside to get her less than thirty seconds later.

Grrrr...

Then, after I got the pup safely shut in her yard, I went to get the kids' breakfasts.  Imp wanted a green cookie (one of these), and pixie wanted pancakes and sausage (as usual--two mini pancakes, and one sausage link).  As I'm fixing this, I happen to turn around and notice...that I hadn't put up the beef enchilada casserole from the night before.  Half of a casserole wasted because I was too tired and frazzled to think of things I needed to do when I needed to do them.

Grrr...

So, after I got the kids' breakfasts to them, it was finally my turn.  I flipped my laptop open and got it winding up to start checking my blog roll, my sales statistics (eighteen copies of Pendragon sold), my email, and Facebook, then grabbed my coffee cup.  Filled it.  Stuck it in the microwave.  Checked on laptop, and clicked through to get to my desktop.  Went back to get my coffee...and dropped the full cup on its side as I'm pulling it out of the microwave.  Lost every drop.

I will admit, that on top of everything else kinda did a number on me.

And I just am not in the mood to sit through children's programming this morning.  So...outside it is.

The kids are having fun, at least.  And when Odysseus gets up and gets out here, I'll go in and see about making myself another pot of coffee.  Because coffee isn't just my energy drink, it's also my go-to for comfort after a shitty morning.

And I haven't even been up for quite two hours, yet.