When I'm Drunk on Cheap Whiskey and Diet Shasta Lemon Lime.

It makes all the great ideas I had for writing make for the door.  I think I would rather take a flying leap onto Chuck, toss his "Game of Thrones" book onto the floor and take advantage of his person. 

It was a slow day, anyway.

Both kids forgot things at their father's house this morning, which turned into a bit of a fiasco, I guess.  First of all, Sara needed her running shoes, because she has decided to go out for Cross Country.  We called her dad and asked him to leave her running shoes out on the front porch, so we could pick them up on the way to school.  Unfortunately, she forgot all about socks. After knocking and not getting any response, she went around back, got the hide-a-key and let herself in.  Her visiting grandparents woke with a start, thinking she was a burglar; and popped out of their bedroom to see if their lives and Simon's property were in mortal danger.  ("Mom, I was wearing flip-flops!  How could they really think it was a burglar? Since when do burglars wear flip-flops?")  So she got a pointed stare from her grandparents and a chewing out by Si,when she woke him up by going into her bedroom.

(They think everything is a burglary.  I remember once, getting garden equipment from the garage and taking it to the back yard to do something; then getting yelled at by Si, because someone could have "robbed us blind"!  In Cottonwood Heights?)

Then it was Nathan's turn.  We were driving along after dropping Sara off at school when I noticed that he didn't smell too good.  "Something stinks in here."
"Yeah.  Huh.  I don't know what that could be." 
"Nate, when it the past time you changed your underwear?"
Does anyone else out there have 10-year old boys?  He had no idea, really.
"Nate, you smell.  You can't go to school like that.  The other kids will tease you.  We need to put clean pants and undies on you!"

Everything he had at my house was already in the wash load that Chuck had just started, so there was nothing for it.  About a half-hour after Sara burglarized the place, we were back in the driveway.  "Use the hide-a-key, Nate." 
"No, Sara already woke everyone up.  I'll just knock at the door."

So he knocked at the door and after a few minutes, Si came to open it.

Nate got, "WHY CAN'T YOU REMEMBER TO PACK WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU GO?!?  YOU KNOW WHY NOT!?  HUH?!?  YOU ARE TOO BUSY PLAYING ON THAT SHITTY COMPUTER TO THINK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE!!" 

I think that, if Sara hadn't warmed everyone up to the sense of injustice brought upon them by preteen children, he would have had an easier time.

Si thinks that, when the kids are in my custody, their home is with me and they are not residents of his home.  They should act like guests, calling in advance to make sure it's all right to come over (which we did by the way; but no one answered).

My opinion is that when the kids are with one parent, they may still consider the home of the other parent to be their home.  I do agree that, when the kids need something from the home of the custodial parent, the kids need to call and check in advance.  But if it is an emergency and he non-cusodial parent won't answer the phone? If I know for certain that he doesn't have a woman spenidng the night, since his parents are here visiting? Then what?  Any divorced parents out there who would like to weigh in?