I look so the sixties soccer mom today

I do, I look like a total sixties housewife today.  Sleeveless blouse, khaki pants, big headband.  Such a MOM.

I'm ten minutes early to work today so I'm making a quick post.  I've been kicking ass this week at the whole 'getting-the-kids-out-the-door-and-to-school-on-time' thing.  Most days, if we make it for the bell, it's a good morning.  Today and yesterday we were ten minutes early, even after picking up the girls' stepsister (because I'm the best ex-wife ever) yesterday, and spending ten minutes searching for my iPod today.  That with the garbage out, cats fed, beds made, AND house relatively tidy.

Maybe I'm going through some kind of undiagnosed manic thing.  *shrug*

The eldest child leaves for camp with her school tomorrow morning, so I'm aiming for another awesome morning like the past two so the bus doesn't leave without her.  This is her first over-nighter without me, her dad that isn't to her grandparents' place so I'm going a little 'emotional-mom' over the whole thing.

The awesome part is that about four different schools in the area are going, including their school from last year, so she'll get to see a lot of friends she hasn't seen in a while, plus a few of my friends kids who happen to go to different schools.

In the meantime, I get some additional one-on-one with the little one.

I put up a tire swing in the backyard for the girls, as I have a bunch of tires hanging around from the Aveo, plus a mystery tire that has been in my yard forever.  Despite the large number of trees in my yard, not a lot of them have what you would call incredibly strong branches.  It must have been a sight for my neighbors, me making repeated attempts, while streaming obscenitites, to toss a rope 15 feet into the air in hopes of actually catching the specific branch that I believe would hold the weight of both my daughters.

Eventually I got the rope around the branch a couple of times, and knotted it around the tire roughly six million times. Unfortunately, after a few test runs, the knots around the branches tightened themselves, and now the tire sits about a half-inch from the ground, so I'll be re-tying the tire portion tonight so my kids don't lose their legs as they get squished between the tire and the ground.

Well, the 9'oclock whistle has blown so I'm signing off.  Cheerio, all and enjoy this lovely day.