And thus ends the castle.

It appears that the Hogs lost yesterday. First home game. It's quite an event living here. Now I know how people feel who live in places of pilgrimage. Seriously. You know how things are when your country is playing in the world cup? (Well, if you are American it doesn't count. But any other country.) That's what it's like on a weekend with a home game around here. You MUST decorate your car with flowing flags and wind socks with hogs on them, and put huge hog stickers all over your car, and drive around town so everyone can see your pride. You must wear all red. You must decorate your house with hogs paraphenalia. You must go to any number of pregame events that start HOURS before the game. You must do a hogs extravaganza at Walmart, such that ordinary shoppers (well, there aren't that many who aren't also hogs fans) find it nearly impossible to get into the store. Every road must be impassible with traffic. And the world stops when the game begins. I'm still trying to arrange going to a high school home game (the point is writing research, and high school, not college, is the place for me). The hogs thing, though--that goes way, way beyond me!

No football for us, though. My kids have been building a castle out of cardboard in the ballroom. We shop a lot at Aldi, where you either buy your own grocery bags, or just pick up free cardboard boxes off the shelves--which means a lot of cardboard recycling. I was okay with the castle for a while, but once it takes up the entire living room and people start just wholesale dumping boxes into it and can't keep the building up to speed, it's Time To Go. Especially since we have the playgroup coming over first thing tomorrow. (Side note: does anyone have any secrets for getting kids to clean their own rooms? I suspect there is no answer, since this parental complaint has been going on for centuries...) Still, mom hat aside, I think it was a pretty cool project.

Now they are making brownies, nominally under Dad's supervision--but since they are in different rooms, I have a feeling I just may have to mop the floor for the third time in as many days when they're done. It is always a lot more fun to make the mess than to be the one cleaning it up. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to host two different events tomorrow--it's always a nice gesture to guests if you've picked up your house, you know? (Someone please reassure me that someday my house will be more or less clean again and my kids will pick up after themselves. Please?)

Well, as long as they are cooking I should go do more picking up. Urgh. The problem is, I don't like cleaning any more than my kids do! I hope the rest of you are having a relaxing Sunday.