Random ramblings

The boy managed to get himself banned from watching TV.  For the whole weekend.  He tried lying to us about what he did to get an yellow day yesterday.  Lying got the punishment changed from simply being sent to his room to play, to having it treated the same as a red day. 

And then some.

I get the impression that this will be an ongoing thing until he realizes that this will get him absolutely nowhere.  Except sent to the corner between the cabinet and the fridge, facing the wall.  For the whole day.

I will not have my son grow up a liar.

Last week, the pixie threw a tantrum at school.  She got banned from TV for that day.  It isn't just the imp with the really bad behavior.  It's just that girls are naturally better at school, with the way it's set up, and she usually waits 'til she gets home to get in trouble. 

I love my kids too much to tolerate bad, self-centered, entitled behavior. 

The cats...have been absolutely nuts for this past week, and yesterday, I figured out why.  They have fleas.  So, part of the work for today is to put topical flea stuff on the cats. 

They're going to love that.  I'm really glad neither cat bites out of anger* or really scratches.  And that the utility room has a concrete floor for the fleas to be unable to hide out in. 

Odysseus is going to have a busy start to the week, next week: he's got a second interview with a bank on Monday, and a first interview with an accounting firm on Tuesday.   And he's probably going to need to mow the yard on Tuesday or Wednesday, after things have dried out a bit more so as not to kill our ten-year-old push mower.

This week was finals week.  I collected and graded revisions, and turned in my grades, and now I'm done until August.  

Which leaves housework (which I really need to get dressed and get on, since we're having lunch guests), and writing. 

Speaking of writing...I have something close to seven thousand words written in stolen moments over the course of a week.  Compared to Detritus (which is still sitting around 21K words in the six months I've been working on it), this is lightning.  I may have it finished before semester starts back up.  I honestly feel better, mentally and emotionally, when I can write.  I'm less scattered, and have an easier time remembering what it is I'm supposed to be doing. 

Except...instead of doing what I'm supposed to be doing, I catch myself picking up paper and pen, or pulling up the document I'm writing in, and doing that. 

Like right now. 

*Cricket gives very gentle love bites.  Which leads the kids to hug the cat instead of screaming, because they've finally realized that Cricket's "love-you bites" are like kisses.  Little sharp kisses.