It's 2:45 in the afternoon and I have not gotten a single thing done today. Sigh... Thursdays tend to be like this and I think it's because my day starts out wrong. Paul has to go in really early to work, so I sleep in. Then, when I get up everything's wrong because I got such a late start. That is one thing that I am looking forward to about Ben going to school. I'll have to get up earlier in order to get him there. If self-discipline won't do it, then school obligations will!
Well, then, it's also Thursday and that's the day that the rankings for FaithWriters comes out. So, I was hovering around the computer, waiting to see how my "shhh" piece did. Once that was out (more on that later) I had a number of emails to write and respond to.
Ben was his cheery old self this morning - starting three arguments before the sleep had even cleared from my eyes. If I allow him to survive adolescence, I will totally, totally deserve an award of some kind!
My friend, Jennifer, is in the hospital. I wrote about her struggles with Wegeners Disease in a recent post. She's been up there since Tuesday and I really wanted to go see her. But that's a good 40 min drive from my house. I went anyway and she had a full room of visitors when I was there! So, my visit wasn't strictly necessary. But I'm still glad I went. She may be there for a few more days yet (they were getting ready to do a plasma something or other when I was there - they're taking her blood plasma out, cleaning it, and returning it to her body). She had a painful looking port stuck in the side of her neck for that purpose. So I'll go see her again if that's the case. I always appreciated having visitors when I was hospitalized. The days can get pretty long without them.
So now I'm home, briefly. I have to run Will into the school this afternoon for weightlifting (more on that later, too), go get him, run him up to a different school for his last night of Driver's Ed, go to a City Council meeting, and then go get Will again. Paul just got home from work, so maybe he'll be able to help with some of that. I hope so! I feel like I ought to paint my van yellow and have a running meter on the dash!
We got our taxes done last night. We got back $2500 more than we did last year. I figured we would do ok, since Paul earned less money last year, but I didn't expect to do THAT well! Plus, his side business actually earned a profit in 2009, so I figured that would lessen the amount of money we got back. I asked the tax preparer about this and she drawled, "Well, it's because of all those kids you've got!" She said it like we're running an orphanage! I hardly think 4 qualifies as "all those kids!" It sounds like we'd better enjoy it while we can. Evidently, this Earned Income Credit is a program of President Bush's and Obama has already axed it. Plus, only children under the age of 16 qualify for it. So, even if the program were still in place next year, we'd lose credit for Will since he'll turn 16 this year.
Our tax preparer is applying for a tax identity number for our business. This means that we'll buy business supplies tax free and then we'll need to submit the sales tax we collect to the state once a year (or quarterly if it reaches a certain amount). There's so much to do and learn about running your own business, even a little "side" one like we've got!
At any rate, we now have plenty of money to start on the basement. And then today, Paul was able to secure some more concrete blocks to use - for free. Several years ago, while driving around DM, he saw these blocks setting out and the homeowner told Paul he was welcome to them. Well, Paul never got them because he didn't know if and when he'd ever need them for the basement. Today, he checked. They're still there and we're welcome to them still!
It's finally started to thaw out a bit this week, so we're hopeful that it won't be too long before Paul can start digging. I'm dreading the mess, but the thought of having at least a partial basement and being able to free some space up here makes me willing to put up with it. I hope it's not a long, drawn-out process like most home improvement jobs seem to be!
I've got loads more to share, but I also have a messy house. So, I'll have to get at this in little chunks. More in a bit!
Not much done here either, so we are in the same boat. Motivated myself to get food in the crocopot only to find out our tax return was deposited today and hubs offered to take us out to dinner tonight (something we haven't done in months). That will teach me to be prepared for dinner. :) Hopefully that offer will still stand tomorrow night, I could really use the night off. I REALLY need to blog about SO much, especially my special 2 year old, just no motivation, which just brings more tears, frustration, and depression. why the funk? UGH!!!!
ReplyDeleteHope that through your entire busy day you are able to enjoy a few moments of peace. Can't wait to hear more about the little teasers you put out there. I always enjoy reading what you write and learning more about your family.