New Park

What was suppose to be a hike turned into a walk to a new park.  There is a nice trail around the park that leads back to the playground.  Audrie liked the playground.  She was willing to push the little man in the swing so that she could get to her turn in the swing.  She liked climbing on the rock structure.  It wasn't a real rock, but she didn't care.  We had a picnic and then made our way back to the car.  It was a nice walk and time at the playground.
After we got home the little kids spent a good half hour running around the driveway getting rid of a little more energy.  Then it was baths and bed.  :)

BBQ With David

David came over for a bbq today.  He brought Emma, Keenan and Dylan with him.  We all thought Keenan and Dylan would love some time at our house and running around the yard.  And I think they did.  Bet they were asleep before they hit BG.
We did up some burgers.  Emma made the patties and Dave barbequed them.  We had pasta salad, chips and deviled eggs.  It really hit the spot.
*Language Alert* or as we call it...vocabulary alert.
The little man helped himself to some chips that Audrie had been eating.  She had went in the house for a moment.  In the midst of eating he spilled the rest of the bag on the deck.  Audrie came out of the house and said "Oh, God damn it".  I just about hurt myself not laughing.  She was so serious and it was so appropriate in the way she said it.  Papa made that slip that one time when she picked it up and since then she just says it and says it.  I'm sure she will outgrow it eventually.
After dinner the kids roasted marshmallows.  David found colored ones and they seemed to get a kick out of it.  David helped Audrie roast one, but she wasn't interested in it after that.  She just likes to eat them right out of the bag.
I almost forgot that I had picked up light up bouncy balls for the kids.  Gave them to them when it was dark and they were cool when they rolled across the yard.  Wish I would have thought of it a tad earlier.  Oh well they seemed to be thrilled with them.
It was a great afternoon and evening.  Thanks David, Emma, Keenan and Dylan for a great time.

Back to the Park

The little kids and I went to the playground again today.  We haven't been in like three weeks so felt way overdue.  Audrie right away makes a friend and he shows her his car.  They played for quite awhile until he had to leave.  The little man sat and watched and sat and watched and then said let me out of the stroller, I want to play.  I took him out and he was gone in a flash.  He wanted to check out the playground so bad.  It was so cute.  And then he ate barkdust, choked and threw up.  That kind of put a damper on his playing.  Brought him back over by me and he was content to just watch Sissy for the rest of the time.  She had a good time.  He had a good time.  Nana enjoyed watching them and taking pictures.

How We Do It

Nana Nita wants to take the kids for a couple of days.  And just the thought of it makes her tired. She doesn't know how we can do it day to day to day.  Anyone who has been around Audrie knows she is a high energy girl. So we do it from day to day.  From minute to minute.  From temper tantrum to temper tantrum.  From hug to hug.  We grew into it.  Started with one who was easy.  About the time she was getting to be more work we added the other one who was easy.  And so it goes.
Here are some of my truths about parenting in my forties.  I do not have the stamina, the energy, the flexibility, or the limberness that I had in my twenties.  I do have more patience, more knowledge, and more free time for them.
So just like the rest of my life I take it one day at a time.  And I say the serenity prayer.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
I can't change the choices that the little kids parents made.  I can only control how I take care of the little kids, which is with as much love and discipline as I can.

Fall Rush 2012

The week started off with a bang. We had the usual line to get into the bookstore.  Every one seemed really patient.  I did hear a couple of co-workers who did not agree with me.  However every one I dealt with was patient.  Monday showed us a lot of blue hair this year.  Interesting.
Then we had the guy with the two scarves hanging down his back.  One red and one black.  Very flamboyant.  Today that guy still had at least one scarf, but he added a cape.  Even more flamboyant.  Wow.  It is the thing that has stood out the most for me all week.  We have seen lots of cute little kids.  One kid came wrapped in his blanket.  He wasn't a little kid.
Tuesday felt like Wednesday and today felt like a Thursday.  We went back to usual scheduling for the rest of the week.  It is just a lot slower than it has been.  I guess enrollment is down a bit and we had a lot of web orders.  Maybe people are getting smarter and buying their books before the quarter started and using web orders.  Either way I get to make it on time on Friday to lunch.  :)

First Step

The little man sure was proud of himself when he did the stand by himself thing again.  Then he took his first step.  He got an even bigger smile.  Tomorrow I'm sure there will be another step or two. He is quite the little man and once he does something, he goes gung ho at it.

Today

I am blessed.
I am enjoying the growth of the little kids in my house.
I am listening to owls and crickets.
I am breathing and practicing ahimsa.
I am deepening my friendship with Kristie.
I am working on understanding and acceptance.
I am laughing at veiled practices.
I am enjoying quiet moments with the little man.
I am grateful for the nurturing in Audrie.
I am happy to have my job, especially when everyone is working.
I am wishing Mona a speedy recovery.
I am planning my fall.
I am happy for another day with Mom.
I am connected to Pat and Denise.
I am missing Doug.
I am happy to know that Mike is all right (alive) even if I am setting boundaries.
I am laughing at Jacob's escapades, as he sure knows where to find them.
I am blessed.

Weekend Ending

The little kids and I took a quick trip up to the convalescent home to see my friend Mona.  She fell a couple weeks ago and broke a couple ribs.  Sounds like she is going home tomorrow.  Both little kids were pretty well behaved while we were there.  The first thing Audrie did was climb into bed with Mona's roommate.  Good thing the lady didn't mind.  She showed Audrie her boo-boo so Audrie knew where not to bump her.
After dinner and baths Audrie and I went out to look at the moon and the stars.  We could hear the owls hooting when there wasn't any traffic.  Sound was travelling a long ways and for a long time tonight.  When it was completely traffic free we could also hear the crickets.  We spotted some planes.  It was nice just sitting out there with her.  She still loves the moon and stars.  I love the owls.
Found out my uncle Glen is in the hospital.  That just feels ominous.  I have no idea why, just that he may not be doing well.  He is getting up there in years.  I'm guessing mid 70 range.  Sending him love and light and whatever he needs for his journey.

Another Saturday Night

Nana Nita texted and asked if she could have Audrie for the night.  She was coming down to pick up Tracy and wanted to spend the night at the cabin. Naturally we said yes.  With her were the Atwaters.  Kyle is Tracy and Cassies' half brother and Chad is his father.  So the kids got to meet their biological half uncle.  Boy if that doesn't get to be a mouthful.  Anyway it was nice to meet them.
The little man has spent time today practicing standing all by himself.  And he can do it.  The first time he did it this morning he was distracted and just did it.  After that he did it on purpose.  I caught him doing it four times.  I think it won't be long now and he'll be walking unaided.  He is such a little man.

Rasmussen's, Powell's, and Finnegan's

It was the day to take the Mini in for service and to discover what the engine light was all about.  Turns out they moved and I didn't know so I drove to the old space.  The service guy for BMW was very helpful and pointed me in the direction I needed to go.  Canyon Road in Beaverton.  Got there and then they drove me down to the MAX station so I could get back to Powell's.  Usually I would walk, but Beaverton is a little too far for that.  MAX dropped me about four blocks from Powell's and I walked down a couple of streets I hadn't been on before.  So while I was a tad annoyed at the new location for my car work, I was happy to find some new stores.
At Powell's I sold some books and had a little store credit.  I never get as much credit as I spend though.  I found a couple new books for the kids and some new books for me.  I love Powell's.
On the way back I stopped at Finnegan's Toys.  Oh man.  What a toy store.  Tons of educational type toys. Not your usual toy store that is for sure.  I found some beads to string for Audrie and the little man got a pounding toy.  They liked their new toys and actually shared with each other.
Caught MAX back to Beaverton and called for a ride.  By the time I got back to Rasmussen they had finished my car and it only costed me $290 today.  So that is twice in a row that I got out of there for less than $500.  I was a happy camper since I was expecting to spend at least that much.
All in all a good morning.

Small Chores

In the past couple of days I have managed to get a couple of small chores done.  You know, the ones that don't really take long, but just don't hit a priority list.  We did get the toy box out of the living room and the toys moved to the bins.  Funny how first thing this morning little miss emptied half of them into a big pile in the middle of the living room.  Did not make a happy camper out of Nana.
After Miranda was here we got some laundry done.  While putting the new clothes from last weekend's trip to Expo; I moved all of Audrie's clothes from the top three drawers of her dresser to the bottom three.  That way they are now accessible to her.  I didn't want to have to lean all the way over when I had to get her clothes.  Now that she is almost three years-old and has dressed herself for a long time I decided it was time to make it her job to get her own clothes.
Since I was moving all the clothing I went through and again grabbed out all the stuff that was too small or almost too small.  She has enough stuff now to last until next summer.  She didn't need the old small stuff taking up space in her drawers.  I did the same again for the little man.  Seems like he is always outgrowing things.  He is definitely in 18 month clothing and I am now buying 24 month.  Looks like he is set until he reaches that next size.  Hopefully next summer.
The afternoon was filled with visitation with Wes.  We didn't have a supervised visit at CPS but they knew we were at the park.
Felt like a pretty productive day.  I like it.  And I really like that a few of my small chores are now crossed off my list.  :)

Another Visit

Miranda, the new speech therapist, came out today to do a quick evaluation on Audrie.  It definitely looks like Audrie is caught up to where she should be for her age.  We are all pretty sure she won't need any more services after her third birthday.  It is really great news.  Her vocabulary grows in leaps and bounds.  She is using sentences and moving into verbs correctly.  She is answering who and what questions and moving onto the wheres.  Just like she is suppose to be.  She just needed a boost to get her going.  Got to like the fact that the boost was there for her.  Thank you so much Educational Opportunities.
Her third birthday is just over a month away.  Time to plan her party.  Oh....I think we'll have cake. Oh, wait.  I think we decided on cupcakes.  :)

Blessed We Are

We have recieved some very nice gifts the last week or so.  My friend Michael's daughter gave Audrie her shelf and bin set.  She had outgrown it. Joe gave her this school chair that he repainted for her. It used to be Arianna's, but she outgrew it.  And Kim sent her an armadillo from Missouri.
It took us a few days to motivate into tackling the toy box and putting everything in the bins. Both little kids had a lot of fun helping as you can tell from the pictures.
It wasn't all for the kids though.  I got a lovely bottle of lotion that smells very nice.  We are indeed blessed in our friends.

One For Another

It was so quiet at work today.  I liked it a lot.  No one was whining.  Every one was working.  The poor UPS driver got inundated with packages from the last several days.  I counted 48 outgoing.
While my co-workers were behaving and working, my child chose today to beg.  He seemed to be under the mistaken impression that because he wasn't asking for money daily that I should give in today.  He learned otherwise.  I am still working hard on my boundaries.  I don't care what the story is.  When he is in treatment then I will consider helping.  While he is making different choices I will not.
In fact I had this conversation with my friend Michael.  Her sister is also an addict and does the exact same crap.  We as relatives give in a lot because we are relatives and want to believe the best.  Always.  And then we learn over and over and over that we are just being used while the addict chooses addiction rather than recovery.
So I traded drama at work for drama in the family.  Seems like that is the way it works.

Fall Routine

Looks like our routine is going to change for the fall.  Wes needs to change his visit day due to his school schedule.  Audrie will probably not have speech therapy after her birthday as she is doing so well and won't need any more.  Papa is back to being retired.  The day time is getting shorter and it feels like bedtime is earlier.
I'll have to give it all some thought as to keep life interesting and not hibernating for the season.

Seriously

So everything is all nice and quiet on the home front.  Life cannot handle that so work goes to hell in a hand basket.  Too much whining, lying, and deflecting going on.  I just want to go to work and do my job.  And I want all my co-workers to go to work and do their job.  I know it seems like a lot to ask for, but seriously just do it.  It's not hard.  Just do your job and let the rest go.
And now back to breathing and ahimsa.

Benefits of the Quiet

Quiet on all fronts at the moment.  Got to like that.  And I have seen a wonderful benefit to it.
It allows me the time to get to know some great little people in a better way.  I had time to write a note to Mikala and get it in the mail.  I was able to help with two fundraisers for Warren and Megan in Milaca.  I had time to search out a great book for Cameron.  These are the next generation of my family that I am trying to make a connection with.  :)
This tells me a couple of things.  First and foremost is that my little kids are becoming a little more self-sufficient and don't need me every minute.  Got to like that a lot.  It seems I have a little more time and a  little more expendable cash.  So not only is the quiet a benefit in itself, but it has fringe benefits and I like it.

Really?

Seems Tanya has been trying to get information the round about way.  After midnight the only place to buy beer in BG is Shell and that is where Jodi works.  So Tanya is a frequent customer.  Her comments to Jodi are definitely of the trying to find stuff out and putting her spin on the events that transpired at the beginning of the year.  Jodi would just tell her that she hadn't heard anything.  Jodi stayed out of it.
Jodi would have stayed silent except I commented on knowing something she didn't think I could know and she wanted to know how I knew.  Then she told the rest.  Just sounded like more of the same to me.  Tripe. And why if her wish is for us to leave her business alone is she even relating any of this to our friend?  More of the same games that she has always played.  Glad that for the most part I am out of it.  I just find the behavior annoying.

Just Between Friends Swap Meet

My friend Heidi gives me hand me downs for Audrie.  She finally told me that she gets most of Isabella's clothes from this swap meet that happens twice a year at the Expo Center.  Well this was the weekend for it.  So I pawned off Audrie on to Jodie and went and checked it out.  I spent $115 but got a haul.  I won't have to buy clothes for either kid until next summer.  I just love this coat that I found and it was a splurge compared to the rest of the clothing.  There was tons of other supplies, toys, books and little kid paraphernalia.  I was in the market for clothing so that is all I really looked at.  Quite happy with what I got and what I spent.

So Far So Good

Dave got the TIVO hooked up.  That part was the easiest part.  Then I got to sit on hold with TIVO to change machines and not pay for two.  Then I got to sit on hold with Comcast to get the cablecoder linked to my TIVO.  Then I had to wait for set up, an update which put me back at the beginning of set up, and then set up again.  Once all of that was done, two hours later, I went to set up my season passes and can't.  It will take 24 hours for all the programming to get downloaded.  It's all good.  Everything works and nothing needs to tivo until Monday.  ;p

Technology Challenged

We think Audrie did something to a setting on the TV that made the TIVO not work.  At first we thought the TIVO had died, but when we hooked it up to the other TV it worked.  So with much bruhaha we managed to get the TIVO back working.  Afterall the new season is upon us.
And that's when it happened.  We got a call from Comcast to let us know they were switching to all digital and our TV would not work anymore without an adapter.  So the little man and I spent an hour at the Comcast center getting an adapter and a cablecoder for the TIVO.
My TIVO is before cablecoder technology.  I went online and found I need a black cable box otherwise if I use the adapter I will lose my dual tuner ability.  It would be like going back to VHS and only being able to tape one show at a time.  Ha.
So the little man and I again traipsed to the Comcast center.  And even though they were busier it didn't take as long.  Turns out the lady had to get a tech who then informed her that I would need an OLD box to work with my TIVO.  She looked and she looked.  Came back out and told me I had no choice but to have a tech come out to the house and install the box because they did not have any.  Okay.  I asked about charges and yes there is a charge for them to come out and they would need to know about needing the old box before they came.
I make the comment that perhaps my best bet is to just buy a new TIVO. The woman looks at me and says why not just get their DVR. I look right back at her and say no.  I have basic limited cable and that isn't usable with their DVR.  You must have a good package and that costs $65 a month which is a lot more than $17 a month, plus the cost for the DVR.  No thanks.
So I took my cablecoder back and the little man and I went to  Best Buy and bought a new TIVO that will work with the cablecoder.  Now we just have to hook it up and see if we can make it work.  Afterall the new season is upon us, you know.

Today

I am enjoying the crispness in the air that says fall is almost here.
I am happy to have my job even when I get frustrated with my co-workers.
I am in love with the little kids and feel great happiness in their snuggles.
I am breathing and practicing ahimsa and happy every day that I get to do so.
I am supporting Dave in his recovery.
I am thinking about Doug and missing him.
I am enjoying time outside with the kids running up and down the hill.
I am making plans to see my friends Nathan and Stacy.  :)
I am enjoying how happy the little man is.
I am not worrying about the outcome of the DNA test.
I am sending light and love to Mike.
I am feeling connected to my family including those far away.
I am enjoying this moment with a girl on my lap and a boy looking at me from his bed.
What more is there than this life of love and beauty?

A Better Day

I was completely amazed and impressed.  The boys worked at the big boss's pace and they cleared four pallets.  I know they may have been small pallets, but four nonetheless.  It was nice to go to work and see that a lot got accomplished when I was gone.  I like it.  I must be sure and say something tomorrow to the big boss.

"Good Night Moon"

The little man was fussing in the middle of the night.  Papa was up and I heard him telling the little man "hush".  And it struck me that I haven't seen "Good Night Moon" for awhile.  We used to read that one quite a bit.  My favorite line is the one about the old lady whispering "hush".
Today Trish came and she brought that book for Audrie to read.  Funny little coincidence.

Cutie

Obviously he is one of favorite subject matters for taking pictures of.

I Miss Nathan

Man.  He was the only person who consistently outworked me at work.  Right now I need three of me and I only have me.  Oh yeah...there are five other people who work with me, but they all seem to take their cue from the boss and work at his pace.  And while we get a lot done, there are days when I wonder what the fuck they do when I'm not there.
I left work on Thursday with six pallets on the floor.  Two arrived on Friday.  Guess how many were still there this morning??? Seven.  At least UPS was all done and I don't blame Alex as she worked by herself on Thursday.  And by herself...I mean that.  Bossman does not help us at all.
I actually felt overwhelmed today when I realized what he did with the schedule.  He created it on Friday when there were seven pallets on the floor.  He scheduled me and Spence for today.  Well to be fair I think he forgot Brenda was still taking the day off.  Two pallets waited at CR.  UPS brought me 30 boxes and then three more pallets arrived.  I had to remind myself to breathe.
I was very happy when the bigger boss said we could use Paul when he came in because he did not know about the schedule change.  The change for him being he isn't even scheduled this week.  WTF? Anyway the fun continues.  Man I miss Nathan.

Coolness

Audrie has a tap light that projects a moon and stars on her ceiling. She uses this every night and is actually on her second one. Tonight must have been the first time the little man was in her room when we turned it on.  He was absolutely fascinated with it.  Just looking up.  You could see that he was thinking, gee she is already the cat's pajamas, and now she also has the coolest stuff.  It is kind of cute how much he idolizes her.

Again

Dave has a toothache.  He has another dentist appt.on Tuesday to take care of it.
It sure seems like we spend an awful lot of time dealing with pain and illness.

Yeah Okay.

Perusing blogs today and a lady was talking about why she blogs.  She isn't in it for the sponsors or the give aways.  She just likes the sense of community that her blog brings her.  She wasn't being critical of those who use their blogs for money, just commenting that that wasn't for her.  I totally got that.  Some of those blogs that I read regularly have a lot of sponsors that they promote.  And while it is all right it really isn't why I read blogs.
So why do I blog?  It is not money making quality.  Good thing that isn't why I do it.  I like keeping a journal or diary if you will.  It is a record of what we are doing.  I have kept a journal of sorts for ever it seems.  It is just that in 2008 I went online with it.  I share it with whoever reads it.  Maybe it entertains and maybe it doesn't.  Maybe it makes someone think.  Maybe it makes me think.  I like being able to go to Picasa and look at all the pictures I have posted to the blog and see the progression of time as children change, the yard changes, people come and go.  I like the continuity.  I like giving a little bitty glimpse into who I am.
Why do I read blogs?  For entertainment.  For ideas and inspirations of things to do with the little kids.  For something that clicks in me and someone who clicks with me.  It is like reading a little tiny piece of someone's soul.  It is a sense of community when you read someone for a long time.

Happy Birthday

My dad's birthday fell this week.  He would have been 70 years-old this year.  Wow.  I must be getting old. I thought about him on the day.  I just had such a busy week that it didn't really sink in until now.
I think I really really want to hang his whip on my green wall.  I just need to find a way to do that that doesn't look tacky.  I love that whip.  When I was a child I loved to take it outside and make it snap.  Mom always told me to stop as I was going to snap my ear and it would hurt.  I snapped my ear a lot and man did it sting.  But I liked hearing that whip snap more than I disliked having my ear stung so I kept doing it.  I tried to do it as an adult and just couldn't do it anymore.  I don't know if it is my snapping skills or the fact that there isn't much left on the end of the whip. Too funny.

A First

I was at my brother's house today doing a little cleaning.  While I was taking out the garbage and recycles to the curb a car pulled up.  The man wanted to know where Pat was.  Said he saw movement and wanted  to check it out.  Well that is a dang first. Most of his neighbors know me.  Afterall I used to live in that house and I am there every other weekend now.  It was the only neighbor I haven't met.  I found it strange that this guy has never came to check me out before.  I have driven the same car for the last five years.  Guess it is good that he is looking out, but it just struck me funny.

Picture Day

I got a coupon from mypoints that offered a package of pictures from Picture People for $18.  The coupon had to be used by the end of the month.  Last year when I tried to make an appointment they were so far booked out that it was pointless.  But I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained.  So I went online and set up an appointment.  Imagine my surprise when I got an appointment this week.  For us it is quite a little commute to get to Picture People.  Our local shop closed and the only available one was in Clackamas Town Center.  $18 and pictures right away made it worth our while.
So we got everything ready and drove on over.  We had time to spare so we had dinner in the food court.  Audrie liked that.
Then we got the pictures done.  Neither child was in a smiling mood.  We were so surprised because the little man smiles at everyone.  Not today.  The shoot had to end early because neither one had the patience to finish.  But there were enough good pictures taken to be able to pick a pose for the package.  We got a together picture for that.  Then we also got a sheet each on him and her.  It was hard to pick, but we did it.
We also got the good news that the local shop is opening back up.  The closing had something to do with lease problems.  Made me happy as I really like their pictures, but I'm not willing to go to Clackamas all that often.  Now I only need to go to our mall.  :)

Not Sad

I've now done six visitation runs altogether. And every time I sit there in the lobby and the place feels so sad.  It is sad.  These are broken families in there.  There are people looking for help.  I am recognizing a few faces and  yesterday felt different.  Yesterday two different sets of parent and children went to the park.  You could see they were positively working towards getting it together.  So there is hope on top of the sadness.  And that was good to see.

Downtown Walk

The little man had his visit with Wes again today.  Audrie stayed home and took a nap.  While downtown I took a walk by myself.  Noticing all the things Audrie would have noticed.  The trees, the helicopters off the maple trees, and all that.  I also noticed a pole dancing clothing store.  There was a shop that called itself a bead store, but had happy hour advertising.  It was an empty storefront so I'm not sure how the signs worked together or separately.  I saw a performing arts pre-school next to a performing arts studio.  The coolest thing was the rock wall at the Source.  I think it is new, and it sure looked cool.  Made me think of Doug right away.  It was kind of interesting walking downtown and seeing things from that perspective.

Again

So it was eye doctor day again today.  I went expecting my usual shot as it has been ten weeks since I have seen him.  Nope.  So it is my third trip to see them and I didn't get a shot.  The other 22 times I did.
Out of the blue he asked me where I said I was from again.  He asked me that the first time he saw me right before Christmas 2008.  At that point in time he was wondering if I had gotten into the fungus that lives in the Midwest.  So today I again told him where I was from and he wanted specifics.  So I explained about this little town called Milaca.  He wanted to know if that was close to Mille Lacs lake.  Bam.  Wow.  He was raised in St. Paul.  We both agreed it was a great state to be from.  The last person who knew where I was from was my dentist.  Small world sometimes.
So now I play a waiting game and watching.  I have another appointment in another ten weeks.  Here is hoping for no recurrence.  And if it is.....I'll be going right in for my shot.  I am not shy when it comes to this.

Is It Lazy?

We had a whole big steak leftover from dinner last night.  Dave wanted me to throw it in the freezer.  Well if I did that, eventually it would get thrown away.  We don't eat many leftovers out of the freezer anymore.  He used to eat a lot of them for his work lunches.  So today I cut that steak up and threw it in the crockpot with some vegetables to become soup.
While I was chopping up the vegetables I chopped up extra.  My intention is the extras will become chicken stir fry this week.  Yum.  And I already have the chicken cut up for stir fry so it is just a matter of throwing them all in a wok and cooking.
Is that lazy or is that planning ahead? I like to think it is planning ahead and utilizing my time wisely.  Sometimes with little kids you got to do what you can when you can and I had a few extra minutes this morning while the little man took a nap.  Now everyone is awake and dinner for tonight is cooking.  Got to like that.  Maybe we should have some homemade bread with that.

Wow

Audrie was having one of those high energy days.  All day long. Finally after dinner I took her outside to play ball.  Mom was over for dinner so she brought the little man.  Audrie did the ball once and then decided she would ride her car down the hill.  She loves to do that. In order for her to do that she has to bring the car back up the hill.  Usually she takes about three rides and she is done because it is work bringing it back up and no one helps.  Well tonight she must have taken a good twenty rides.  As it was getting dark we came in and had baths and snacks.  She settled into a little I-Pad time.  The little man wanted his night time bottle half an hour early.  Papa went to bed early.  I was washing bottles when she came and asked to go to bed.  So she too went to bed early without a peep.  I think that outdoor play wore her out good tonight.
I just hope this doesn't mean that they are all up at 5 a.m.

Today

I am thankful for the wonderful vegetables at the farmer's market and from my garden.
I am thankful for the love of my dog.
I am thankful for my mom and still being here.
I am thankful that I get to practice patience and ahimsa everyday.
I am thankful to be able to breathe.
I am thankful for Dave being in recovery.
I am thankful for Mike's calls to ask for stuff because I know he is still alive.
I am thankful for the little kids' love.
I am thankful for Dave's skills around the house.
I am thankful for Kristie always thinking about me. :)
I am thankful for Friday lunches and the support they give me.
I am thankful for Doug.
I am thankful for grace, beauty and full moons.
I am thankful to be alive.

Saturday Morning

We went to Farmer's Market this morning.  Bought some corn, zucchini, peaches and flowers.  Papa also got some caramel corn from the kettle corn people.  After perusing the market we made it to the playground.  Put the little man in the swing and now he loves it.  I think he just wasn't old enough at the beginning of the summer.  His hair sure stands up on a down swing.  Audrie loves the swings at Esther Short Park.  They are her favorite part of the playground.  They had a good time and took really good naps when we got home.

Blast From the Past

My friend Michael from work is going to Maui.  I can't help it.  Whenever I think of Maui, I think of Josh and the fish.  Dave wanted to go snorkeling so we found this little place that is good for that.  It is well used and the fish are used to people bringing food for them.  We did not bring food for them.  Dave, Mike and Josh paddled out and were looking around.  Having a good time.  The next thing we know Josh is in a panic.  And I mean a panic.  The fish thought he should have some food for them and surrounded him and were nosing him trying to get him to feed them.  Freaked him out bad.  He came out of the water and would not go back in.  Gave us a great story that we can tell till the end of time.  We had a great time on that trip and so did Josh.  He just did not enjoy the fish coming up and touching him.  He did get back in the water at a different beach to boogie board.