Lots going on.

I'm writing this Thursday night because I love to give y'all a post every day. I try anyhow! So, today ends with exhaustion from accomplishment. Oh, do let me give you the run-down.

The day started with K- going to preschool. We got up at 7:15 AM, I saw that it was BLUE outside and so BLUE that it was a NACITS (not a cloud in the sky) kind of day. They had promised 63 degrees +. Do you know what that spells? Strip the beds, wash the linens, then line dry the sheets! Hubs didn't have to go in until later, so he got up to greet K- and I stripped our bed and had the sheets in the washer before I left to drop K- off. I came home and found Hubs resting on the couch. Apparently, he had plans to snuggle back in bed for a few more minutes but found the bed bare. Oops. Sorry! I laundered the clothes that were in the basket and the towels from the bathroom. There was a breeze, so everything was drying rather quickly. I decided to go ahead and line dry the towels. I figured that the breeze would snap the stiffness out of them. Can I tell you that I was wrong? I've just used a noisy towel (yes, noisy) that felt like I was drying myself with a long sheet of steel wool. But line drying otherwise was very pleasant. (No, we don't use fabric softener because of allergies.)

I drove back up and got K- and shuttled on back home to have a bite for lunch. I had signed her up for a Wildflower program at 1:00 PM, so we needed to trot on to the park for that.

The program was lovely, but I'd like to ask something. What the heck was up with the loud chatty moms at the table I sat at? They paid no attention to the program, no attention to their kids and did not catch the hint when I turned around not one but THREE times to give them the polite but stern mommy shhh! look. I could have beaned the women! In between Chatty and Patty and their loudness, (and a difficulty hearing because of them) I learned the following:

1. Garlic Mustard is invasive and not good at all. Nothing eats it and the seeds are spread by wind. Their roots overtake soil that native species would live in, thus resulting in a lack of natives and a boom of invasives. They actually have Garlic Mustard pulls as a result.
2. It takes a Trout Lily 7 full years to bloom. If you pick the bloom, it will die because then it has no seeds to regenerate.
3. Even a spider is considered a "pollinator."
4. Skunk cabbage really does stink.
5. Blue Bells were in bloom.
6. We saw Cut Leaf Tooth Wart.
7. We also saw Violets.
8. Spring Beauty was in bloom.
9. We saw Mayapples emerging. Though they are considered poisonous until just a certain point (that Miss Pat, a previous coworker of Hubs, admitted that she wouldn't eat one due to uncertainty), I was able to share with her later that I had eaten a Mayapple. It is pulpy and tastes grapey/appley. It is also very seedy. Hubs' boss picked it and insisted that one of us eat it. Hubs would not. K- was grossed out and that left me. We couldn't disappoint him!
10. Jack in the Pulpit's flower is not the big flowery type tubey flower that we all thought. It's the flowery stem inside.

When we left, K- was fast asleep within 5 minutes. We went back home, K- played with Barbies for a while as I talked to Grandma about this past week with the girls. (Which was great that Grandma was willing to watch all 3 of the girls at the same time. They all get so excited and wear poor Grandma out!)

Then it was time. My vehicle needed freed from what winter had done to it. Our winter started early, at the end of October and our last snow was just April 8. During this time, I had taken my vehicle for one car wash. Toys, crumbs and bits of dried foodstuffs littered the backseat.

It was time to take the car back from Old Man Winter.

K- and I spent 2 hours cleaning the car. Now, in the land of cars, mine probably ranked middle of the road in the untidiness of it all. You see, K- has taken toys, coloring books, crayons and the like into the car for these past 5 1/2 months. During that time, things went in, but rarely came out. It was like a spin on Umpa Loompas, except for people did leave the vehicle. I set out a storage tote that I had been collecting items in already in the back of the RAV for her to clear out the backseat. She was quite a worker. I had a little garbage bag for her and found A PARTIALLY EATEN APPLE! What, my child, were you thinking? "Sorry mom." Rotting apples? My car would have smelled like fermenting garbage soon! I swept and swept. Now, I did see a few chex squares and a pretzel that I was just unable to get. It would have called for the removal of K-'s booster, which since it is rather large and is held in by anchors and tethers, I decided to bypass the 10 minute re-installation and just know that a few chex squares and a pretzel weren't going to kill us. After all, it wasn't a partially eaten apple.

After sweeping and wiping down the inside, we moved to the exterior. I washed and scrubbed. K- took the wheels. We wiped and washed. We were both filthy and wet, but the car shines! I found a few ker-tunks from rocks and think that the 13 degrees below zero may very well have shot the paint pen that I accidentally forgot in the glove box. I may need to order a new one.

She's clean now. Now I'm not embarrassed to get my oil changed tomorrow. While there, I'm going to tackle this pesky, "My Tire Cover Wants To Fly Off of My Vehicle" problem. It's under warranty. They said that they'd look at it and do whatever they had to do. For now, it is stowed away in the back of the RAV. Don't worry, we didn't forget to clean it.

My friend had invited, but actually insisted that we come to visit and give her some sanity today, but then called as we were washing the car to leave the message that her littlest man had a runny nose and a cold that has made him not quite himself. I'm not afraid of a runny nose, but the not-quite-himself sent me to call her and say "thanks, but no thanks." That sent me scrambling for dinner for K- and me. Heather had prepared a lovely ham and potato soup, but declining also meant declining on the lovely meal. No fear! I had chili in the freezer from 2 weeks ago. I heated it up, put a little cheese on it, had crackers and we were good to go.

That leaves me to now. I've made the mistake of sitting down. This probably wouldn't be a big deal except for my bed hasn't been re-sheeted. (I make up my own words. You'll learn to love it about me.) K- is in the bathtub, soaking the day off of her body. I had plans of cleaning the bathroom this evening, but the remainder of the housecleaning will just have to lop on over to tomorrow. We had to take advantage of the excellent weather when we could, right?

Speaking of, today is the day. Friday, April 17, 2009 is the day that I'm registering our one and only for Kindergarten. I've filled out a majority of the paperwork and gathered the necessary items of proof to register her. Oh, heavens. It makes me teary just thinking about it. I'm dropping K- off at a friend's house, going to the school and doing the necessary things and going back to scoop her up. I'll have her school spirit shirt that she'll probably insist on wearing. My goofy kid is growing up. How I'll miss her when she's at school!

Edited to add: Kindergarten registration was long. People spoke for an hour and a half. We met all the Kindergarten teachers, learned about a lot of things they will be teaching our children. Um, I'm thinking that Kindergarten is equivalent to my second or third grade learning.

After getting little miss all signed up, I trotted on down to our local Toyota dealership for an oil change and to solve the mystery of the tire cover. I admitted that I didn't know if I was being a girl about it and just didn't get something weird about the tire cover, but when they returned my keys to me, they told me that they would be ordering a new tire cover. Apparently, they found it to be a problem, too. Or, I found it seems that someone dropped it top side down onto concrete and gouged it all up and that is why they are replacing it. Maybe a combo of the two, yes? At any rate, that is marked off my list.

Right now K- is sleeping in her booster in the car. I rolled the windows down and unlatched her, so she can get out when she awakes. I figured her body told her that it needed a nap. Mommy decided to listen to K-'s body was saying, too. Besides, I need to make a grocery list, so it gives me time!

Have a great rest of your day! :)