Christmas card madness

The craziness of the holidays has already begun... my calendar looks like a war zone (literally)... Saturday will probably be my last dinner/event free day until Christmas. So I've been trying to take it easy and catch up on the major housecleaning things this week (HA!) . Last week I got so behind because it was terribly busy- preparing for the church block party, doctor appointment for me, quick trip to the dr for Miss Priss due to an allergic reaction, church, more block party prep, Night of Refreshing with Marc B. and Vanessa at Living Way Church in Gbo, baby shower, block party and Bringing Home the Prodigals conference with the ladies (and 2 gents)... TOO MUCH STUFF!

Anyway, as I was saying, I had tons of laundry to get caught up on Tuesday (Monday was my Sabbath :) I needed rest- and some Hobby Lobby time), but I realized the water pressure in my washing machine was slow. That means one of two things - a) a water leak under the house (not what I wanted to deal with), or b) the washer inlet line was clogged. Since we have well water, I have to clean the screen on the inlet hose pretty regularly. So I checked the screen, cleaned it, and when I fastened it back to the hookup, a leak started at the thing that screws to the other thing (technical, i know). So no laundry done then...

Wednesday, we went to Lowes Hardware bright and early for new hoses. I had to wait for Boss to get home from work (bout 2:30) to get the hoses replaced. ( I could have done it myself, but they were a little different than the originals, without a screen filter).

Since the girls had their pictures scheduled for this morning, I had to make sure all the parts of their outfits were ready (that meant washing/ironing a couple of things). Plus, Lady M was screaming about not having any pants to wear to AWANA. Anyway, I threw all hers and Miss Priss's jeans/dark clothes into the washer. When I pulled the load out of the washer, I found a very chubby orange crayon... and apparently Miss Priss has found her pockets.... I inspected the clothes before putting them in the dryer and only saw one pair of "play" pants had a little orange on them.

Our appointment was at 9:30, but they didn't get started until around 10:45... (way to go portrait innovations). So Miss Priss was MISERABLE, ready for a nap and not wanting her pictures made. They did the Christmas shots first, which turned out okay, then the "not Christmas" shots in different clothes. As I was getting the girls dressed, I noticed a small orange mark on Lady M's shirt, then another, then a bigger one... and on her pants, orange spot on the back pocket, on one thigh in the front.... Yep, the crayon assaulted everything, but apparently it only shows up when it's DRY. Because Miss Priss was an absolute bear by this time, we came away with a lot of Lady M pics, and maybe two of Miss Priss alone. Next year I'm going to call as 5 different families to reserve times so that we won't have to wait so long!! It was crazy!

I'm hoping to get a few things done before next week's activities... Sunday- church thanksgiving dinner, Monday- SS class dinner, Tuesday- prayer, Wednesday- hopefully no church, cooking, Thursday- 3 family dinners, Friday- maybe nothing???, Saturday-birthday dinner with Erin and Shane... and don't even ask about the next week... parties and christmas plays already... the term "stay at home" mom is such a joke!!

Oh well--- I secretly live for this kind of stuff... Stress and craziness is what I've known forever... I guess that's part of the reason I love the holidays!!! :)