Running behind and more run on sentences

I was listening to my MP3 player while I drove to work yesterday. I find that listening to music really affects my mood and since I've been awfully moody lately and not in a good way, setting the tone for the afternoon by choosing something upbeat but not shrill seems to help quite a lot and yes, I can hear you musing music hath charms... but I'm not savage. At least not all the time.

Except that the battery ran out halfway through a song. Dammit.

No matter. It was enough to put me in a mostly cheery mood for yesterday's easy afternoon.

I set up a scaled down version of our regular program because I knew the kids would only be inside playing about half an hour due to the lovely weather and the fact that we don't read on Friday afternoons.

We went outside about 3:30 (right after snack time) and they ran and played and argued and played and argued and ran and ran and ran and argued until five.

It's so funny that kids that age confuse VOLUME for NEGOTIATION.

I don't interfere unless I have to, though. There really is something to be said for letting kids work things out. I do offer guidance around the edges, and always assist them in talking things out if they've come to me for help. I'm definitely tuned in, though. I usually know the gist of what they're arguing about before they come to me, and have formulated a fair solution or at least a suggestion before they come crying/yelling to me.

I was out of there 20 minutes early yesterday afternoon, which felt good. But I didn't have anything to listen to on the way home unless I wanted to listen to the radio which I most decidedly do not because of the damn commercials, not to mention for every good song they play, they play three that suck ass which always leads me to wonder why can't people just sing anymore, why do they have to warble and wander all around the notes??

I have an overflowing laundry hamper, same as always. I do laundry during the week and never get caught up, but it's awfully strange how I look at the hamper on Saturday morning and there's so much in there I wonder how it's possible we wore it all in the last few days.

So am I doing laundry and catching up with all that did not get done during the work week? No I am not, I am taking Lyssie and going to visit a friend this afternoon and mess with the damn laundry and housework later because sad but true, the laundry will always be there but it's not always possible to see your friends.

Now I'm off to the shower and hoping to find at least one clean pair of jeans that I don't hate (I'm gradually replacing the ones I hate with ones I like by tossing the ones I don't like into the donation box as new ones come home with me from the same place I'm donating to.

Speaking of Goodwill, this week I found a foosball table that will fit in our back room when not in use and keep some of those arguing boys occupied for entire afternoons for the next 7.5 weeks.

But Eric has to do a little work on it and I have to get my ass in gear and stop blogging not that I've said anything anyway today.