So, I knew the oldest boy was coming for a visit.  Over a weekend, it's tolerable. Barely, but it isn't anything we call can't recover from quickly. The grandma brings him down and stays with him.  However, the grandma visit has been greatly extended to a full week.  Now don't get me wrong, it isn't that I don't like the grandma.  But...

Number 1.  She spoils the kids.  When I say spoil them, I mean giving them sweets, snacks and garbage to the point they won't eat regular food, especially the 4 year old. Then, when mom and dad invoke their parental authority to enforce the boys eat their food? Temper tantrums. When they get into trouble, they run to her for solace and make it into good parent/bad parent shit.  It's totally wrong, IMO and she shouldn't do that crap.  

Number 2.  Because of that, the whole atmosphere in the house grows rather divisive.  Now you have grandma on one side giving the boys full reign to do whatever the hell the please and then you have the regular house rules on - our side - saying no thanks.  I have determined that this time, I am going to enforce the regular rules - especially the noise and running around nonsense - and I don't care if she likes it or not.  

Okay, the oldest brother is from James side, another mom.  He lives in Arkansas and I think it's like 4 hour drive each way or something like that.

Number 3.  After they leave, it will take forever to get the house back into some sense of normalcy again.  The 6 year old will be pouty because the oldest has left and the 4 year old will be cranky because grandmas isn't around to give him his way.  The best way to make something like this work is to for grandma to take them all back to her  place, let them do whatever and then come back home to where they know they aren't going to just do whatever they want.  

Number 4: Grandma.  She goes off on long, drawn out stories that are never-ending.  It's guaranteed that whatever you did? She did better and she will cut you off to let you know about it. It's highly annoying.  I tend to try and stay away from her - but I live here, she does not.  When a person always one-ups you on anything you are saying, yes, that just tends to drive people away.  She also isn't in love with the fact that the 6 year old tends to cling to me a lot more than he used to.  The 4 year old, but the 6  year old yes.  In fact, the last time she was here, he didn't even go say hi to her right off the bat.  I had to encourage him to go say hi to grandma.

That's just sort of a layout of things to come at this house, I suppose starting tomorrow afternoon.  I dunno how they are getting off school that long, must be Thanksgiving holiday or something.  

I'm hoping these antibiotics kick in and soon, because I'd really rather not be here for all of this chaos.  I get aggravated after enough of it and then I start saying stuff.  Unpleasant things, cranky things. I don't blame the kids, I blame the adult that encourages the kids to act out like that.  

Whatever the case, the guy finally texted me back this morning - yes, we can start within a week or two after you give  the go ahead.  This is the company that says they can do everything from putting in electricity, running water lines and installing a septic system to creating the pads.  The only actual bid he's given is 12 grand to clear the land.  I was hoping for 10.   I'm going to wait until next week for the other guy.  Whatever his bid will be, that's it for quotes on that.  I'll pick one of them and start with this project, finally.  That other guy won't do electrical or septic, but I could get him to install the water lines as well and dig a trench for the pool.  The pool may not be going in right off the bat, but I want that drainage pipe in the ground for future reference so everything doesn't have to be torn up all over again. It will have to run to the rear of the property, so that's quite the long trench.....around 1,400 feet long worth of trench and the pipe.  

The rear of the property tapers down in width.  I noticed it before but I confirmed it yesterday. It's around 170 feet with the easement driveway on one side and the other guy's land on the other.  But, 170 feet is quite a lot of room, especially considering the lots will stop at around the 1,065 foot mark.  

I've got to get whoever ends up doing nailed down to doing some leveling work as well.  That should be included in the price since I have it written on my plans, but I need that acknowledgement that yes, you are going to move dirt from one side to the other and get it a bit more on the level side of things.  

Anyway I have one firm commitment for them to come out. Actually 2 or 3, but the others are thousands of dollars higher in price than this company, the only one left is the old gentleman and I am really curious to see what he will charge me to do that work.  I'd really feel like I'm missing out on a potentially good bid and I know he does solidly good work.  

Well I think we're supposed to be leaving soon for school.  The 6 year old's school lunch for parents or whatever it is officially being called.  The boy doesn't know we're coming.  It's kind of a monkey wrench into the soup, I need to go get that boat out of the shop. Not that I'm doing anything with it, it's just been over there forever and I'd like it here, thanks.  And, I'm going to really try to do something about marking some of the lots over there.  Trees I want to leave up have to be on the site border lines, I can't just walk through there and guess which trees should stay up.  I won't be leaving a lot of them, these trees dump too many leaves and I don't want too much mess to be cleaning up.

Well that was easy. The school's site says it's a Thanksgiving Dinner for parents. Glad I'm hungry! lol.  Good Lord, we're leaving soon and I'm still hacking away.  Cough medicine to the rescue! They'd be looking at me funny going in there coughing like this lol. I was walking through Kroger's the other day coughing and this lady looked up at me and gave me a - stare or glare, I am not sure - lmao.  I had just gotten tested so I knew I didn't have Covid, but they don't know that and everyone is terrified of contracting that virus.  

Well, I don't want to contract any viruses is what I can say, they all suck. 

And with that, it's time to get ready to leave.

g'day