Can you hear me?

You know, I am not doing all that well at keeping up with this. Blogging is time-consuming stuff. I need to be inspired, otherwise I just complain.
I am watching Nick 4 days a week now. He is 18 months old. This adds an element to my life that I hadn't considered. He makes everything sluggish and slow. If I want to jog up to the store real quick, I have to strap in the carseat, then the baby, then change the diaper that wasn't messy before, then grab his diaper bag to take along, O, and don't forget a bottle. And nap time? I have to be home at nap time. You don't ever wanna miss that.
My kids have been out of that stage for a long time. I can leave them home alone with a list of chores, and sometimes they all get done.
But there's new parenting issues.
My nearly-12-year-old has lost his mind. He can't actually think anymore. I totally lost my temper with him yesterday, because he can't follow directions. He was formerly a smart kid. Now, unless you happen to be a strawberry blond with blue eyes, you are invisible. You can practically see the clouds hanging about his head. He's in a fog. I say "clean your room" and he looks at me like "What room?" And he wanders off in some random direction.
No one would obey me yesterday. I stood alone in the center of my home yesterday, surrounded by children and I spoke to the air.."Can anyone hear the sound of my voice?" ..........and no one answered.
Maybe it's me.
"unload the diswasher."
"Do your schoolwork."
"Fold the laundry."
You know what I am going to do? I am going to open my sentances with an Ear-catching phrase! This is a great idea! I'll shout something scandelous like "I AM NAKED....go clean your room."
I'll let you know how that works.