Sorry I missed recent posts and this week won't be too terribly much better. We (the McD Household) are in the final stretch of back-to-school preparations (school starts in THREE DAYS!!!). I am oh, so very happy/excited, and crazy busy. My 16yo got his driver's license last week (we had a major drive everywhere push since my car was out of commission for most of the summer). He passed with a decent score. That is a good thing and bad thing. I am happy he passed and it's a major milestone in his life. At the same time, it freaks me out every time he goes *out*. His older brother doesn't have the same proclivity to drive all over God's creation so this is an altogether new experience. (Don't get me started on the argument of him not getting to go out in a downpour—tough patooty kid!)

Despite missing my post(s), I will say, I am a creature of habit and routine (in a major way!) Over the summer, I try to relax and don't run the kids ragged with my time schedule. It relaxes them and keeps arguments down. BUT as school winds closer I have to get them (and myself) back into the routine that keeps us moving through the days. This will sound crazy... but... I have a three week step-down that gets us back into the normal swing. My kids all have bed times... even the 16 & 17 yo. Since they are used the whatever during the summer, 3 weeks out from school starting, I make it 1 hour before the usual bedtime. Two weeks=1/2 hour. And the week before is the regular schedule, so when next week rolls around they won't balk. They may hate it but it works for me, though I must admit, I am way more lax with the 2 high schoolers—I figure they need to know they have *rules* but they have to learn to regulate themselves—it's a teaching moment they're not even aware of

It seems like most of the summer we weren't that busy and EVERYthing has fallen to this week and last to get taken care of—some *is* my fault and some is schedules I can't control, like the school(s) and whatnot. On an irrelevant and totally up-note, it has been raining off and on for about a week now so the temps have been in the low nineties (sometimes high eighties), a vast improvement from the 107° that we had a couple of times towards the end of July/early August. So (knockwood) it seems to have improved moods in my house as well as out-and-about.

Anyhoo... it's a welcomed, back to the family routine and (yay) school in three days and counting (every danged second).

Okay so, this has nothing to do with the song but more with actual telephone convos. I don’t like to talk on the phone. Okay I know that seems like a totally anti-girlie thing. And believe you me, I have still put in enough phone-time in my life to average out to a high-girlie rating (when you were in high school, did you ever call your beau and talk all night, or at the very least call, then fall asleep with the phone still connected to the other end... me *all* the time!)

So anyway, back to now. I do talk on the phone some, it’s not like I abhor it completely—okay actually I do, *but*—it’s more out of necessity than anything. I talk to the moms on the phone. Being that they—despite mine and hubby’s age—are still parents and need to check in with their babies, so I will talk to them. And I call one of my brothers from time to time, because that’s about the only way I can ever get in touch with him (ever check email little bro?!?!) …oh and one of my girl friends gets on a talking bent every now and again—and we can gab about nothing for hours—but for the most part, I could do without talking on the phone.

Okay, I can admit, I am every so slightly socially inept. Some comes from lack of practice—I am a homebody who likes to well, stay home. And with the popularity and ease of email and texts it’s so easy to let social graces and interactions fall to the wayside. Not to mention with Facebook, Twitter and the likes, you can read up on someone’s activities and it’s like they told you about their new job or what they had for lunch—no need to call then, huh?!?

…and lets not get me started on all the stupid political calls as well as the mega-amounts of unsolicited crap despite the “Do Not Call” list. And half the time I have no clue were my cell phone is, so, in a house full of noisy boys, if it rings it’s just more background noise to block out

So, if you call me and I don’t answer, don’t take it personally. It’s not you, it’s me