Soap: What it is and why one should use it.

I am, upon occasion, permitted to work from home for half the day.  I chose to do just that yesterday.

Before work, I was doing dishes and noticed Babs, the cow, out the window.  Her udder was ginormous, so, naturally, my heart was all a-flutter.  I went out and followed her around and she led me to this fun surprise:

A new baby calf friend for me to enjoy!

I had to hurry back to the house and get ready for my online teaching gig.  Meanwhile, David had left the boys a gigantic chore list, per usual.

Reader.  It is super fun to try and teach AND deal with the boys fighting and having issues about their chores.  And David gives them manly chores, ones that I have no idea how to help them with, and ones that I would prefer he would be around to help with.

One such chore was lighting a burn pile.

The boys came inside.  They smelled strongly of gasoline.

Me:  Why do you smell like gas?

HD:  Because I am dumping gas on the burn pile but it is not starting because of the rain.

Me:  Why are you trying to start a burn pile in the pouring rain?

HD:  Because Dad said to and he will get mad at us if we do not.

Reader.  This is true.

HD:  I am just going to go outside and dump a bunch of starter fluid on it.

Reader.  I know nothing about any of this, but I deem it to be NOT SAFE, so I halt it and say that I will answer to David if he is perturbed about burn piles.

So.  I am trying to teach.  And I sent this picture to David so he can see that I am actually working and not available to mediate boys’ chores at this current time.

He tries to tell me I am cute, but, Reader, I will not fall for his antics and I shall not be persuaded to allow the boys to use gasoline and open flames any more.  I wash my hands of it.

Mere moments later, our dogs, Abbie and Charlie, get into a fight.  Like a way really big bad one.  I had to stop video and mute and ditch my class and try to stop the fight.  I threw water on them, kicked them, screamed, and could not get them to stop.  The boys were there, too, and I was terrified that one of them were going to get bit.  Somehow we got the dogs apart and there was much blood.  We shut them up in kennels and I finished my class, feeling super professional.  Charlie has a pretty big bite mark on her neck that probably could have used stitches, but we didn’t take her in.  She is acting absolutely fine and we are cleaning it and disinfecting it and watching for infection.  Abbie is not acting normal and I wonder if she is sick.  David was working outside all day, and she did not want to go outside.  This is very abnormal, seeing as how she feels she should be Mrs. David Maliblahblah instead of me.

Also:  found out that David’s dad was quite sick and had to be admitted to the hospital, as if life could not be any more stressful.  And because the world is the way that it is, he is not allowed to have any visitors.  And it is all quite worrisome and prayers are appreciated.

Today.

Today we were home all day, except the teen girls who are always flitting about to work and whatnot.

I decided I was going to start to repaint the entire interior of my home.  I grew tired of that idea and decided to switch to Christmas decor instead.  I did, however, spruce up an old decoration window with Sea Serpent Blue and I thought you might enjoy it if I razzle dazzled you with it:

Before:

Yes, there is a canning jar lid on my floor.  No, I don’t know why.

After:

Are you razzle dazzled?

David and the boys were outside all day, which is the way God intended it.

First, they had to go take the bulldozer and 4 wheeler to retrieve the Bobcat.  The boys had gotten the Bobcat stuck in the mud in the back 40 whilst I was trying to teach classes from the kitchen table.

Bummer.

Then they had to sort steers and use chainsaws and cut down trees and give their mother a heart attack.

I am a super nice wife/mom and I always prepare a hot lunch for the menfolk on work days such as these.  HD came inside and was very frustrated because a cow had splashed him with mud/poop.  The nerve.

HD:  Mom?  I feel like I might have something on my neck?  Do you see anything?

I could not help but chuckle.

HD was literally freaking out and trying to give himself a sponge bath in the sink.

HD:  Mom.  Dad told me not to take a shower.  Because I am just going to get dirty again after lunch.  But I cannot take it, Mom.  I cannot!  He is just going to have to get mad at me.

And off he went to scrub himself clean.

HD is the opposite of LD.  HD likes and uses soap.  For some reason, we have yet to enroll LD in the all-important class:

Soap:  What it is and why one should use it.

Charlie kept trying to bring this leg, formerly known as Leg of Steer, into the home.

You are welcome.

I began to start decorating for Christmas.

Which made me feel joyful AND triumphant.

Happy Saturday!