Where in the world?

Where in the world did this weekend go? Where in the world did I spend all my time? I can't believe I logged in here tonight and saw that I haven't posted anything since Thursday night.

Dee update
Several of you in my local area offered to donate items to Dee and her girls. I stopped by the hotel on Friday morning to drop off some things I thought she could use. She wasn't in at the time, but she was still registered as a guest. I left the items with the hotel clerk, trusting that they would get to Dee. I can call tomorrow to see if she and the girls are still there. This hotel arrangement is only temporary, she told me. So I'm not sure how long she'll be there. If you still want to help, e-mail me at 4thfrog70 at gmail dot com. Or make your donation directly to a homeless shelter. In Indianapolis, Dayspring Center and Holy Family Shelter both offer temporary housing to homeless families.

I've been watching for Dee, Trinity and Jada as I drive along the road on which Charlie and I first encountered them. I haven't seen them and am praying that they are doing ok. I'm also feeling torn between finding them again and getting more deeply involved or stepping back, knowing I've done what I can and allowing the "system" do what it does.

"Shorts"
We took Charlie and six of his friends to pizza and then to see the movie "Shorts." First of all, let me say that my decision to NOT have seven 10-year-old boys in my house was a wise one. They were well-behaved, but they were still boys! Loud and boisterous and like Hoover vacuums when confronted with breadsticks, pizza and cake.

Second, I give the movie two thumbs up! "Shorts" is one kids movie that is great for grown-ups too. The villian is a little girl named "Helvetica Black." At one point, someone calls her "you...typeface!" in the same kind of voice one might yell "you...butthead!" As someone who spends a fair amount of time looking at graphic design elements, I thought the insult was hilarious. Other highlights included the staring contest and the hygiene nazi. I'm being deliberately vague because I really think you should see this movie.

Old friends
Saturday night we went to our church's annual parish celebration. I wasn't sure I wanted to go, but it came down to "go to the church fest or cook dinner." Pretty much a no brainer. We had such a good time visiting with people we haven't seen in a long time. My friend Julie was there with her baby Beverley. As Julie was holding Beverley, I notice some shiny, orangey wax in the baby's ear. So what did I do? Reach over and scoop it out with my pinky as if she were my own kid! Can you believe it?

A few minutes later, Julie was talking and gesturing with her hand when she hit my boob. We both chuckled and I said that's the great thing about people you've been friends with for years, you can pick their kids' ears and whack their boobs and nobody gets upset.

Extreme Home Makeover visit
This morning after church, we headed to my office to pick up my laptop. On the way there, we ended up in the general vicinity of the house that was built by the Extreme Home Makeover team last spring. The house is located in a pretty economically depressed and historically African-American area of the city. So here we are, a Casper-white family in a black SUV, driving through the streets of this neighborhood. As Mike was slowing down to look at the street signs, a guy on the sidewalk yelled out to us "Nope. You want the next street up!" Guess we weren't the first gawkers to come in search of the house.

Cleaning lady
After a summer hiatus (because I couldn't afford to pay the babysitter and the cleaning lady), Jane is back tomorrow! Right after I'm done with this blog entry, I'm going to write her a long apology for the state of the house. The kids' bedrooms are picked up, as are the bathrooms. But there are mountains of laundry to be done and clutter in places that I've been vowing to get to all summer long. I hope she doesn't quit. Or have a stroke.

Where did all that time go? I'm looking at the clock now -- it's officially Monday and I have at least four more things to check off my to do list before I go to bed. Where's the button I push to put the world on hold for a few days until I catch up?