Dirty Tissues and Dead Possums

This weekend has been interesting already. Ian is excited that he gets so many days off from school and is celebrating by watching movies at bedtime (this is forbidden on school nights) and by asking for popsicles every 5 minutes. Since popsicles are better than asking for fruit snacks and cookies, etc, it's usually a yes. But today we had church so there's only a total of 3 for today. And of course Erin wants one and I have to have one. The only thing upsetting about this is the fact that Freezie Pops are "seasonal" and there won't be any more when these are gone. :(
Another annoying thing is seasonal as well. Bubbles. Erin got a battery operated Elmo Bubble machine for her birthday and it only works with Gazillion bubbles.


This is an expensive brand, but it is different from the average formula. We know this because when we ran out of the small bottle that came with the machine (which lasted for a surprisingly long time) we tried the normal kind of bubbles, the kind that comes in the huge plastic bottle for $3. Elmo started foaming at the mouth and the bubble wand began drooling like a mouthful of novocaine. Nope, that won't work.
Thus began the Great Search for Bubbles. Everywhere we've gone we hear the same: "Bubbles are a seasonal item; if they're not on clearance, we're out." Clearance? Whine! The only thing left on clearance was a Gazillion bubbles Bubble Grill. I've never seen a grill that bubbles. Uh....must be why they're still on clearance.
We looked online. They're out of stock and the big bottle is $15 at Target anyway. We'll wait until Walmart stocks it again and buy it for $7.83 and have it shipped site-to-store for free. Sheesh! So poor Elmo sits in the corner of the room, gathering dust and watching everyone have fun without him [cue violins]. And all because some childless hotshot in Bentonville (AR, the headquarters for Walmart) decided that bubble season ends July 31 (????!!!!).
The kids' colds are slowly getting better, though Ian has decided that he is big enough to blow his own nose. Of course he has to use 15 tissues when he sneezes and then leaves them in his room on the floor because it's way to gross to hold them long enough to get to a trash can. So Ian's room is rather white. I'm very glad I got him the cheap tissues, rather than buying the Vicks ones (those are nice, by the way, but I don't usually sit there and breathe in the tissue before I use it; I usually can't smell anything, thus the need for tissues, but it's a nice concept).
Erin just wipes her nose on the nearest sleeve and grins. She just lets you think that she wanted to cuddle. Sheesh. It's always helpful to check your sleeve before you leave the house, because you might need to change your shirt...
My HC had to work late (or very early?) last night and ended up sleeping very late today. I wandered outside to check on the dogs and noticed a new lawn ornament: a dead possum. My HC was summarily dispatched to dispose of the offending article. He picked it up by the tail and flung it over the back fence. Buddy looked on smugly, the conquering hero of unwanted yard guests.





Berry looked aggravated that he had to sit there and watch Buddy terminate and get all the credit for the little booger.


My HC's schedule is changing tomorrow and we'll be on straight 3-11s. Yay! No more getting home in the wee smas! Scratch that. No more being Scheduled to get home in the wee smas! That's better.



So tomorrow is Labor Day and Jeff Foxworthy said that it's the unofficial End of Summer. I guess it is because there was nothing on TV last night except for football. Sigh. I guess summer really is over. You can't even buy bubbles.
But it's hard to think off all that when it's still hot enough to swim in the pool. And the mosquitoes are still out in clouds. Big nasty ones too. I was listening to Jeff Foxworthy on the radio (hey, he's funny!) and Larry the Cable guy came on. They were talking about the mosquitos too. Larry the CG said he saw a mosquito so big it had a tick on it. Eeeek. I believe it; the mosquitos are so big here they thump against the sliding glass doors. Then again, Larry the CG also said he was looking for tube socks and a rubber band for his grandma's homemade bikini contest at the bowling alley. Let that one simmer for a while.