Free... To a Home.

This is the sign I was ready to put on my kids this morning as I prepared to boot them out of the front door for good.

Why? It's a good story - get settled in.

I had a hard time sleeping last night. Not too much caffeine or sleep earlier, nothing much on my mind, nothing special. Hubbers has a hard time sleeping on Sunday nights so he stays up late and without him in the bed I have a hard time, too.

By the time I finally fell asleep, got woken up by the dog and the cat showing their never ending enmity by growls and hisses, and bathroom breaks, it was late late.

I get up and [shove] help Hubbers out the door at 5am to catch his bus (with homemade lunch!) and then head back to bed to catch another hour or two. Usually this works.

Not. Today.

The cats were out. We usually lock them into the bathroom at night so they don't wander and disturb sleeping children/mommies, or eat my shamrock plants (poor things will never recover at this rate, although they do surprisingly thrive on occasional chomping by the cats - who knew?).

But I digress. The cats were out and prowling around my head looking for food. Purring and head butting me, trying to raise the mom for feeding time. (I'm pretty good at ignoring them.)

I'm almost back to sleep when I hear children. Not quiet children. LOUD children (this would be CurlyGirl and OldestSister) talking, laughing, yelling, calling the herd of cats to them.

It's 5.35am. Far too early for them to be up, no matter what.

Yelling ensues (me), TheBoy climbs into my bed and behaves better than the oldest girls, and the loud children don't. STOP!

CurlyGirl is bouncing on her bed (which broke their metal bunk bed so it had to be removed yesterday due to safety reasons until fixed so they're sleeping on the mattress on the floor) and hurting her back and butt, causing OldestSis to come to me for ice and me stomping down the hall and [yowling] explaining to CurlyGirl that I don't feel sorry for her since I told her more than once to just lay down and pretend she was asleep no matter what.

(deep, cleansing breath)

I stomped back to bed and lay with TheBoy until it was 7 then sent him to the living room to watch TV with sissies. He climbed back in with me around 8 and we snoozed, luxuriously, decadently, until 11am.

Can you see why I was so ready to curb them with a sign saying:

FREE To A HOME?

I'm saving my sign. Just in case I need it later...