Rin-10-10-10

During my last hour of sleep, I tossed and turned until finally rolling out of bed just ahead of 8am. My head still in a fog, I crept downstairs to start coffee and take my Dexilant. Looked lovely outside. Expected to hit 91. I was careful not to stray too far from the coffee maker, not wanting a repeat of Saturday morning. Because it was Sunday, it was my scheduled break from calisthenics. Coffee maker seemed to be working fine. I headed to my PC until the coffee was ready. Got caught up on all of Saturday’s college football results then read some Viking headlines, none of which were too good. Apparently Favre is being investigated for sending inappropriate text messages to a former female Jets employee. I find it curious that the accusations are just now coming out, the day before we go to NY to play the Jets on MNF. A coincidence? I think not. Coffee in hand, I returned to my PC for extended casual surfing. Frankie, meanwhile, remained in her pen asleep. Mindy got up around 930a, or just ahead of me heading out for my run. She seemed to be in a good mood. I ran in shorts and a thin, long-sleeved running shirt. It was in the mid 50’s. I ran out along Trabue and down Hague for the first time in quite a while. I like the variation in scenery. Unlike most Trabue/Hague runs, traffic was heavy, most of it leaving church services at St Margaret’s. Once I passed dad’s place I was largely in the clear. I was back home somewhere near 10a. Jacob and Mindy were nesting in the kitchen, Jacob eating donuts with chocolate milk. Hungry myself, I ate two bowls of Wheaties before heading out to cut the lawn. I did the full Monty; whacking, edging, mowing and blowing. It took me about 90 minutes. Just after starting to mow out front, I stopped to refuel the mower. Being absent minded, I forgot to put the gas cap back on the mower not realizing my mistake until I was mowing my new sod and saw gas popping up and out. Crap! I stopped mowing abruptly and went in search of my gas cap. It took me a good 5 minutes to find it. In the back of my mind I worried that enough gas might’ve splashed out to cause some damage to my lawn. To help alleviate any problems, I planned to run the irrigation system out front once I finished. While the irrigation system whirled out front, I took my gas blower to the tree house to blow away all the saw dust and debris topside. I’m thinking it was near 12 noon when I finished. Before putting the mowers away, I pulled Jacob’s old big wheel and a couple other old bikes from the shed. I planned to toss them into the dumpster Kenny was bringing by later. I headed inside to shower and make a sandwich. As I burst through the laundry room door I was greeted by Gloria. She startled me. I had no idea she was coming over, although I do remember Mindy mentioning her attending Jacob’s soccer game. We chatted briefly while waiting on Mindy to return from upstairs. I made a turkey, ham and cheese sandwich on marble rye. It was good! Once Mindy was downstairs, I headed up for my own shower. We needed to leave for soccer in 25-30 minutes. Back downstairs, Mindy & Gloria were all but ready to head out. I asked if it made sense to take two cars. I wanted to stop at Sam’s Club for steaks and then pick-up the grandkids for a Sunday afternoon visit. Rocky called on Friday and asked if we could have a sleep over. I took the Trooper as well as two booster seats. I still had to secure the shed and lock up the house. Mindy & Gloria headed out just ahead of me. I phoned Lindsey on my way to soccer. Kelly answered. Said the boys were with Ashley. We talked for a while about all the kids. I called Ashley next. She was agreeable to me picking up all three and keeping them through dinner. Great! Told her I’d call her after soccer and Sam’s Club. Mindy and I arrived at the soccer field only seconds apart, them just ahead of me. My route was apparently quicker. For only the second time in two years, it was actually hot at the soccer field. And who woulda thunk it – 90 degrees in mid-October. Jacob’s team jumped out to an early lead. I saw Jacob score at least two goals. Chrissy & Kenny were supposed to bring Bella to the soccer field around 2pm. They drove to Mike & Julie’s to pick-up all the girls after church. They pulled in just as Jacob’s soccer match was coming to an end. I walked over to retrieve Bella. Jacob was going to ride with me to pick-up the grand kids but after Mindy mentioned making a stop at Target he opted to go with them instead. Fine with me. I headed to Sam’s Club first. Inside I made a beeline for the steaks grabbing 6 thick Ribeyes. Lucky for me, a new line was just opening as I approached. Sam’s doesn’t supply bags. I walked out with my two packages of steaks along with my receipt. Anyone who’s shopped at Sam’s knows that they typically have someone at the entrance door checking your receipt and goods. Just the idea doesn’t resonate well with me. But today there was a back-up, so there were people actually waiting in line to have this old dude check their receipt and goods. Oh heck no! I proceeded around the two families with full carts and flashed my receipt and kept walking. The old dude lunged after me grabbing my wrist, and in doing so actually cut me with his dirty fingernail. I was not pleased and insisted he not touch me. Admittedly, I was a bit of an ass, but I don’t want to be touched by anyone. I paid my money and showed my receipt. I don’t want or need to be harassed by a door nazi. As I exited Sam’s Club, I called Ashley to let her know that I was on my way. I arrived maybe 10-15 minutes later. The kids were waiting out front and seemingly excited. We loaded up quick. The kids were loud, especially Rocky. He was antagonized Olivia through the entire drive, too. What was I thinking?  We arrived home in short order. Mindy and the kids weren’t yet there, but I didn’t expect them to be. The kids were wild for the first 10 minutes going through the pantry, toys, and roughing up Frankie. Asked me a million questions all at the same time. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Mindy got home a few minutes later. Praise God! Most of the kids headed out to play. That first half hour is always chaotic with everybody wanting to do a little of everything. However, I found that if I just allow it to be and not try to change it too much, I become more tolerant and accepting of the chaos. Over the next couple of hours I played bikes, ramps, skate boards, football, swings, and balloons with all the kids. Mindy broke out some crazy balloon launching thing that mesmerized the kids for an hour or longer. While I stayed outdoors with all the kids, Mindy worked on dinner. She was making baked potatoes and green beans to go along with the steaks. Kenny agreed to grill. In between playing with the g-kids and dinner, Kenny pulled up with his trailer. We took 10-15 minutes to retrieve all the tree house debris and toss it into the trailer. I tossed in those three old beat up bikes, too. Steaks were ready around 6p, or maybe a little after. Mindy & Chrissy dished up all the kids plates first. To our surprise, most of the kids ate steak. It does us good to see Rocky & Landon eat a good meal. Not sure they get a well-balanced diet at home. Dinner went smoother than anticipated. And my steak, as usual, was grilled to perfection. Great job, Kenny! Lindsey called as dinner was winding down wondering when we’d be bringing the boys home. Next 30 minutes I declared. It was already 7p. Before hanging up, Lindsey shared that the both boys were recently weighed, and both weight 52lbs even though Rocky’s 7 yrs old and Landon’s 3.5. After finishing the dishes, I drove the g-kids home. I dropped Olivia at home first. While there, I asked Ashley if she had any plans for Olivia’s b-day. She’ll be 4 next weekend. Said she did, but gave me that look, too. She never invites us to any such events, apparently worried that there might be family trouble. I didn’t question her, and understand her position. But honestly, what problems could there be? Mindy & I harbor no bitterness towards anyone, although perhaps there’s some towards us. That’s fine. We just wanted to know so we can plan something ourselves. The past two years we’ve taken Olivia to the zoo on COTA Friday. This coming COTA day (next Friday), however, I will not be able to take off work. I dropped the boys next. Lindsey was waiting out front. We chatted briefly. I couldn’t help but notice how insubordinate Rocky gets as soon as he arrives home. Happens often. Again, though, I don’t say much. What good would it do to rehash the same issues over and over and over. I enjoyed my quiet drive home listening to an NFL recap along the way. Ashley called about halfway home to invite us to Olivia’s birthday party Sunday at her place. She said she’s always wanted us to be there but was afraid of confrontation. I told her it was OK, but if she wanted us there that we would be there. I offered help too if she needed it. She sounded as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Ashley is maturing nicely. I am awfully proud of the mother she’s become. I arrived home around 8p. It was already dark with a lovely crescent moon hovering in the SW sky at about 8 o’clock in the sky. Inside, Mindy had the kids showered and in their PJ’s. I tuned the TV to SNF. I was looking forward to catching the game. Didn’t see much if any all day long. Bella wanted popcorn. I popped her some while pouring myself a tall glass of orange soda, a treat I enjoy maybe once a week. We watched football until tuck in time, which was 830-845p. Bella realized that her suitcase from her overnight was still down at Chrissy’s. She pouted for her security blanket (Mindy’s old nighty and Lambie). Mindy called Chrissy after I agreed to walk down to get it. Bella was already asleep when I got back. Rare- very rare. Heard they were up until 3a at Julie’s the night before, however. Not too surprising given that info. Mindy headed for bed around 930p. I wanted to stay up and watch more football. I started dosing off around 10p. I put Frankie in her pen and headed for bed.