I think I'm losing my mind...it had to go sometime.

I've been super forgetful this last week. I left my purse in the food court in the mall and had to go back in for it. Some kind soul had already turned it in to mall security, so I had to schlep myself and the kids over to customer service to retrieve it. Yesterday, when I was getting the kids out of the car, Pumpkin said "Hey, mom, the car is still going!" Sure enough, I had parked, gotten out, and started to unbuckle the kids while leaving the car running. What if I had locked the doors? This morning I left my very carefully assembled pile of envelopes to mail on the counter on my way out the door. This was minutes after I told my hubby that I would be sure to mail them. It wasn't until I got to my destination that I realized I didn't have them. Last week we left Hippo, Princess's best friend, at a craft store and had to drive all the way back to get him. I didn't realize I had left him until I heard a sniff from the back seat and the tiny, pitiful voice of my second-born said "I miss Hippo."

All this forgetting is making me cranky. It wasn't until this afternoon that I realized just how cranky. When I started singing along with Princess's endless renditions of Dinah Won't You Blow and Twinkle Twinkle she stared at me in amazement and said "Mommy, you're happy!!!" Ouch. I usually consider myself a relatively happy person, but every so often things catch up with me and manage to get me down. Then I snap at the kids and at D and at anyone else who dares to come close.

Maybe I need to work on my sing-alongs more. Next week I turn 29 (Happy Birthday, Pete!!) and D's working hard to come up with a great present. Pumpkin keeps pointing out jewels that he wants to buy for me. It's fall, my favorite time of year, so I have every reason to be happy. I just need to buck-up.

In other news, Pumpkin was Darth Maul for Halloween (or will be on Saturday). I'll post some pictures here since he looks adorable and with all the face paint there's no way predators can recognize him. He was a big hit at the ward party last night and he and Princess had a great time. I went as Popeye the Sailor Woman and made a big hit myself. I guess the adults don't dress up all that often. There were four or five of us who did...mostly people with young kids.

Here's Pumpkin dressed up for the party. His costume was made from things we had around the house. I'm extremely proud of how it turned out, even if it isn't super authentic. At least I didn't pay $40 for it! The double lightsaber alone would have been $35!

PS: Lest I be labeled a bad parent, the only reason he knows who Darth Maul is is from the Lego Star Wars video games. I have yet to let him see the movies. When those little lego guys die they just break into lego pieces. Darth Maul is his favorite character. I don't have the heart to tell him DM is a bad guy. He has a great time with it.

We've somehow picked up a stray in our neighborhood. He comes by several times a day wanting to play with the kids. He's cute, but I'm not interested in adding another being to take care of.

Unfortunately, I'm not talking about a dog or cat. This stray is a little boy. He's six years old and he wanders around the neighborhood looking for people to play with. Similar to a stray dog, once you've let him in, he thinks he lives there. We've played with him occasionally over the summer, but once his older brothers and sisters went back to school he attached himself to us with cute but annoying devotion.

His family is the disadvantaged one in our neighborhood. The parents are divorced. The kids are a bit scruffy, and they spend most of the day away from home. This little 6 year old has never been taught social graces or propriety. Case in point, one afternoon he came to the door and rang the doorbell 6 or 7 times in a row before I could get to it, intermittently knocking. When he asked to play I told him Pumpkin was asleep (or was before the doorbell). He said "OK, well can I come in and play with his toys while he sleeps?"

On Friday we were pretty much with him all day long. He played with us for 3 hours in the morning. I finally sent him home for lunch, and he came back in an hour and I had to turn him away since the kids were sleeping. He told me he'd wait for them to get up and he sat down on the front stoop to do just that. I have no idea how long he waited. When the kids woke up close to 2 hours later he was gone. But he must have telepathy or something because 1/2 an hour later we were getting ready to walk to the park when he showed up again and asked if he could go to the park with us. I took a deep breath and said "Sure." We walked by his house on the way and asked whatever adult he could find. It wasn't his mom. I'm not sure who it was.

Now don't get me wrong, I love having my kids play with other kids. Usually it means less work for me and more fun for them. But this kid is starved for attention. He's constantly calling for me to watch him and asking for more toys to play with. Right now I just don't feel like I have the energy to add another person into our family. That's why we're holding off on getting a dog.

Today is Sunday. I've seen more of this kid over the last few days than I wanted to see in a week. But he shows up at 9:30 and asks if he can go to church with us. This family doesn't go to church, and I don't know if they're inactive Mormons or not members of the church. But how can I pass up taking a little boy to church who wants to go? He says it's ok with his mom and wants to wait at our house. Church is at 11. The hours of 10-11 are the busiest time in our house all week. I still need to shower, get the kids in the bath, D is still asleep and we all need to get second-breakfast so we don't starve during the third hour of church. I'm worried that the Kid doesn't know what he's in for with three hours to go. I told him that we stay at church the whole time and that he'll have to behave himself and listen to me and his teachers. I don't have a carseat for him, but I have a booster seat that Pumpkin has yet to be tall enough to use. I guess I can take him to church, but I have a worry knot growing in my stomach that things aren't going to turn out quite right. He's going to commit a faux pas or need to go home halfway through church and I'm going to be stuck holding the hot-potato.

I have no idea what to do. It's not easy to send him away when I need to, but he seems to take it in stride like it happens all the time. That in itself is sad. I've never even met his mom, I wonder why she seems to send her kid out all the time to play with other people I wonder why she seems to trust someone else to take her son in their car to another location. I wonder why she thinks other people won't mind babysitting her son for hours and hours.

There are other kids in the neighborhood who I like much more and who I wish Shay would make friends with, but that doesn't seem to happen. Sure, they're friends and enjoy playing together, but none of them has attached themselves to our family like this Kid. Oh, and Kid doesn't play well with others. He'll take a toy without asking or yell at another kid if he doesn't like what that kid is doing.

Do I start from scratch training a 6 year old, or do I send him to back home and hope they do it? Just thinking about it makes me tired...

Trip to NC: Awesome!
Dylan getting Swine Flu while I was 2000 mi away: Crappy
None of the rest of us getting sick: Awesome!
Being back in the cold west and not on the shore: Crappy
Pictures we took and food we ate: Awesome
Not getting together for another two years: Crappy
Overall experience: Perfect...wouldn't have traded it for anything

For your viewing pleasure:

Mynamyn's Warning Signs You Might Be Watching Too Much TV
Parental warning: the following may cause guilt, giggles, or excessive head nodding. Viewer discretion is advised.

-If your DVR is so full it deletes shows recorded earlier that week...you might be watching too much TV.

-If you can't find the remote and your whole night is shot...you might be watching too much TV.

-If you use your big screen as an alternate heat source in the winter...you might be watching too much TV.

-If you mute the judges and audibly critique the contestants on your favorite reality TV competition...you might be watching too much TV.

-If the first things your kids ask for when they wake up, and the last thing they ask for before bed, is to watch a show...you might be watching too much TV.

-If there is a permanent butt print on your couch (and it's steadily growing wider)...you might be watching too much TV.

-If your 2 year old knows more TV show names than colors or numbers...you might be watching too much TV.

-If you know who Sayeed and Hiro are, but can't name the current Secretary of State...you might be watching too much TV...or the wrong channel.

-If when Jon decided to leave "Kate plus Eight" you found yourself harboring vindictive feelings and crying yourself to sleep...you might be watching too much TV.

-If you've replaced "Hello, how are you" with "Hey, did you watch _____ last night" as your daily salutation...you might be watching too much TV.