Weeds

I never think to take completely before pictures.
Worked for a good hour weeding on the other side of the house. I had one plant that I wasn't sure if it was ground cover or a weed.  So some of it came out and some of it stayed.  That whole side was very overgrown.  But nothing compared to the fun I'm going to have in the back yard.
Bindweed is having a heyday and wild blackberries are trying to get established.  Oy.
So the neighbor pointed out the ants on his driveway.  Thousands and thousands.  The same ones that keep coming in the house.  He said they were in  his house too.  I got the bug spray and killed what was on his driveway.  Just making a wee dent in the population. If they would have stayed outside they could just go on their merry way, but they chose to come in.  And that annoys me.

Tidbits

Camping at the island is becoming more familiar.  These people who are there are my brother's friends.  It's a tight knit group.  It's not that they don't make you feel welcome, but for shy people it can be hard to get in the groove of a group.
This year there were no extra people at our campsite.  Amazing how we only collected one bag of trash.  Usually there is one bag for beer cans alone.  So our site was rather quiet.  It was kind of nice.  Pat pointed out that he didn't set up his tent right next to ours this year.  The year the littles actually were quiet at bedtime and in the morning.
One of Pat's friends, Hugh, kept coming around and chatting.  He hit a chord with Mom and made her brain jump.  We were talking about all kinds of things and she was keeping up and not repeating herself.  Amazing   He was very very funny and smart.  The kinds of things we like in men.  That was definitely a bonus and I'm not sure we would have gotten it if we had had our usual crowd.
Now I was home for a bit Saturday.  And something felt a little off but I couldn't put my finger on it.  When we got home Sunday something more seemed a little off but I couldn't put my finger on it.  One of the things was a computer I had turned off was on. But nothing seemed missing so I chalked it up to puter gremlins.  Nope.
Today we walked the dog down to Mom and when we got home the neighbor kids were in the office playing on the computer.  They just made themselves at home, coming in through the doggie door.  I ended up doing a history search on the computer and sure enough they had been in the house while we were camping.  That explained that.
They have been given notice to not come in our house if we are not home.  And I passworded my computer.
All in all a nice break in the routine.  And tomorrow we get back to it.

Camping Comes to a Close

And camping came to a close.  We packed it up and headed home about noon.  No fish.  No crawdads.  Lots of sand.  Lots of left over food.  Lots of dirty clothes.  Tons of fun.
We talked about supplies we still need for our separate camping kits.  Pat wants a new sleeping bag and I want a hatchet.
Mom took a morning nap and missed almost all of the clean up and packing.  She was quite happy to have been able to come and seemed quite happy to go home and take another nap.
I think that sounded like a good plan so that is what the little man and I did.
The little man kept telling me how much he likes camping.  I'm not sure if it was the camping, the donuts or Fiona.
So we call the first camping trip of the season a success even with the snafu that occurred.  And now we are ready for Camp Disappointment and then back to the Island.

A Better Day

Up way too early for how late we were up.  But our day got started.  There was fishing and crawdad trap checking.  Didn't catch either.  But they had fun playing in the sand and the water and gathering camp wood.  We visited with all our friends from last year.
I had commented about whether Fiona would be there.  Last year the little man fell in love with Fiona and chased after her everywhere.  And she was a really good sport and played with him.  Well he didn't remember who she was.  All of a sudden we found her.  He looked at her and his whole face just lit up.  He definitely remembered her when he saw her and he still loves her.  And again she was a good sport in letting him follow her all over.
Then it was time to go get Mom.  The little man fell asleep on the way so we went home first and took a little nap. When we got to the facility Mom felt a lot better so she joined us at camping.  She kept telling us what a good time she was having.
The best part of the day was hearing my brother sing.  He really can.  They set up a  karaoke machine and anyone who wanted to could sing. After Pat sang his first song the littles decided it really was bed time.  Mom had went to bed prior to singing.  I think all of them got really worn out camping.

Out at the Island

We got all our errands taken care of and then we packed up the car for camping.  It was tight and we were loaded down.  Stopped to pick up Mom, but she had a headache and decided not to go. That was ominous.
Drove out and set up camp.  Just started cooking when the assisted living facility called.  Mom was going to the ER.  Oy.  So we finished cooking and eating.  The little woman was going to go with me, but it all changed and she stayed with Uncle Pat to keep him company.  They set the crawdad trap, fished and roasted a marshmallow.  Then she asked him if she could go to bed.  He had it so easy.  One child at a time is a lot easier.
The little man and I headed to the ER.  We finally got to leave at midnight to take Mom back to the facility and they back to the island.  Mom was having some adverse side effects to a new medication she is taking.  They told her to quit taking it.
A great first night camping.

Last Class

So the littles had their last class of swimming lessons for this session.  They had a blast and look forward to the next session.  I'm not sure they understand it isn't until the end of July, but that's okay.  They both got accolades.  The little man did so wonderfully.  I think it comes from his natural athletic talent.  I noticed Audrie was doing much better at this class.  I think it is all sinking in and/or coming back to her.
Part of it is the teaching method is different here.  I think it took her a minute to process that.  But now it is working.  I'm glad they are enjoying it and learning to swim. It really is important. And now we will have a break and then get back to it at the end of July.

RIP Pepe

Picture taken by Fernando Cisneros Garcia

Monday night we were out playing catch.  And we heard the sirens.  And then more sirens.  And then more sirens.  And More.  I scanned the horizon looking for smoke. Seemed like a lot of sirens.  Figured I would find out what it was later.
That night when we settled in, I went online and discovered that all the sirens were for Pepe.  He was in critical condition and had been rushed to the hospital.  Seems his mom's boyfriend had done something.  Details, naturally, were sketchy at that point.
Yesterday morning once online I saw where Pepe had died.  Pepe was three years-old.  From his pictures he had a great smile and was a very handsome little boy.  He lived about eight blocks from us.  And now he is gone.  We will never know all the details of what led to that fateful day for that family.  People will blame the boyfriend, as is right.  People will blame the mom for placing the boy in that situation, which may or may not be right.  She paid a horrible price.  People will blame the system.  People will just blame.  And nothing is going to bring that sunny faced boy back.
It made me so incredibly sad.  I kept hugging the littles all day.  Made me so appreciative that they were here and okay.  It reiterated my stance of being a single parent and responsible for myself and the littles.  And there are days I wish for a lot of help.  But if it isn't Papa........I'm not putting them in that kind of situation.  I already know how much work my littles can be.  I know how many buttons they can push. You never know what will push someone over the breaking point.
My position is my position.  I'm sure Pepe's mom never intended for him to die. I'm sure she didn't think the situation she was in would turn this ugly.  The difference between us is age and experience and chance and luck or bad luck.  My heart breaks for her and her precious little boy.
The good that always come from bad is that maybe the rest of us appreciate what we have at least for a moment.  There is no good for that Mama.
RIP Pepe.  May light and love follow you wherever you go.

Just Keep Swimming

This session is almost over.  One more class after today.  So I had asked the women up front about signing up for the next session.  They said to ask the teachers today about which class the littles should be in as they are filling up fast.
So I did that.  The little man is moving up to the next level and the little woman is going to repeat her level for an extra boost.  She is having a little bit of trouble with her back work.  So then I went back up front to sign up.
The next session has no openings for Audrie.  We didn't even look for Connor.  I'm not only doing one child and have the other child on the wait list.  So then we looked at the following session.  And then I remembered that it will fall during our vacation.  I'm not paying $140 for them to miss several classes.  One more push and they start the next lessons at the end of July.
This time they will have class at the same time.  Got to love that.  And because we scheduled so early we are in the earliest classes.  Got to love that also.  I'm sure we will have many opportunities to practice what we have learned so far.

Catch

Our new thing is to go out in the street and play catch.  We are using any and all of our balls.  Even the neighbor boys got in on the action over the weekend.  The little man likes to be the boss and tell us how to play and what to say.  Too funny.
It's about getting outside and moving.  Not so much for them, but for me.  They already spend a good amount of time being active.  I'm doing my steps, but this makes me move in different ways.  And they think it is funny funny for me to miss the ball and then they chase me chasing the ball to see if they can get to it first. Sometimes I think they throw it just so I will miss it.
And who knew that if the ball goes between your legs it is called a nutmeg?  Learn something new every day.

Amazed

Between five blogs I have over 2000 pictures.  Picasa kept them all nice and tidy for me.  Guess Picasa is going away one of these days and my pictures will be moved to Google.  Hope it is seamless.
Naturally I am not writing five blogs.  Some have went away and the pictures and post combined into others.  I love being able to go back and watch the progression.  The very first blog picture was of Elizabeth.
I honestly can not remember what I wrote in 2008 when I started blogging.  But I had a lot of Elizabeth days so I am not surprised that the first entry would be about her.  She looked so young then.  Guess she was.  She was nine years-old.

All of the history.  All of the emotions.  I did not realize how many pictures I had added to my blogs over the years.  I should have.  I pay for it.  At some point I had hit the magic number of data that blogger allowed me for free.  And it was worth it to pay to keep adding pictures and for the old pictures to remain in the blogs.  The pictures still touch my soul.  All those things that touched my life, interested me, loved me or I loved.  I am blessed and Picasa just shows me that I am. The blogs and Picasa  are just reminders of all the things I have seen, done and felt.  

Outdoor Morning

Spent three hours working in the yard this morning.  Weeded the whole house side of the driveway. Then I got the front mowed.  Didn't have enough gas to do the back.  Got the weed eater out and tidied up.  Just as I was finishing up, the rain started.  Good timing I would say.
I have found that I have like 15 projects going on at once and not a single one of them ever gets completed.  If I only do inside work, then the outside gets carried away with itself.  And wherever I am working the littles are somewhere else making a mess.  Funny how that happens.
So on my list.....finish the weeding and it is never finished,
pressure wash all the concrete and the deck,
pressure wash the Adirondack chairs, tighten up the screws,
stain the deck and the chairs,
replace all the outdoor lights,
replace the pieces of siding that are buckling,
roof,
fix the fence,
something with the railing,
paint
finish getting the office moved,
set up the little man's bedroom,
finish going through Mom's stuff and doing what needs to be done with it,
and raised beds for next years garden.

I'm sure I will continue adding to it.  Houses and yards are like that.  But I had a good work morning. And I managed to get in 2500 steps towards my goal challenge today.  Now here is hoping the rain lets up some so I can get the other 7500+ steps.

Family Fun Night

The PTO put on a family fun night at the little woman's school.  So we went after we were done with other things.  The fun was suppose to run from 4-7.  We got there about 5:30.  Paid our admission/donation and the kids were told to decorate bags for all the candy they could get. They did that.  We looked at the baskets for the silent auction.  All out of our range, but they were lovely.  Then we went to the gym for the fun.  And they did have fun, but the candy was long gone.  Little kids do not totally understand why all the other kids have full bags of candy and they don't.
Then they wanted to go out to the bounce house.  Which happened to shut down.  So they moved over to the shooting hoops thing but it wasn't manned so there was just chaos there.  No one was going to get to try except the boys that hogged the front.  Okay.  Luckily the bounce house opened back up and they got in the long line.  Did that and they liked it.
Checked out the book fair.  And I remembered a lesson I learned a long time ago. Book fairs are not cheap.  Buying from scholastic through the classroom is better and you get good deals.  They each got a poster.  She told me hers was from a movie.  I didn't know.  She had even already has seen the movie.  Wow.
About this time I am done.  They have had fun even with the mishaps and that is what counts.  And about that time someone passed through the lobby telling us pizza was half price.  So we had pizza for dinner.  And they each ate it.  I think she was hungry.

Swimming Thursday

Oh my goodness.  The little man got a little boat ride down the river at swimming lessons. He said it was a lot of fun.  I'm sure they were learning some safety lessons.  And when they did the rest of the lessons I could see that he will swim before his sister.  He had the arm motions spot on.  She is still working on them and making them work in the water.
After lessons we again did open swim.  An hour and a half of play time.  We spent very little time in the river this time.  More time just jumping in.  There was a man who came down the slide many times and every time he created a tidal wave.  The littles loved it and every time told him to do it again.  He seemed to enjoy it.  It was a great afternoon.

Catie

I had a conversation online with Catie. She is Tanya's first born.  I thought I had met her at Dave's funeral, but I met her sister.  It's not amazing that I got them mixed up on that day of all days.
Anyway that is one sad girl.  I always knew the day would come when the question would be asked why did you keep those children and not us.  I did not expect it to manifest into we weren't wanted by anyone including the people who adopted us.  And I'm not sure that is true, but I think the abandonment issue started at birth.  She blames it on  how she looks.
I simply told her that she is beautiful and she has beautiful children.  I told her she is wanted by her children and her husband and that I can't do or say anything that will ever change how she feels.
The hole in her soul is so big.  I hope she finds a way to heal without the help of drugs, alcohol, food, shopping, etc.
I think she may suffer from depression also.  Don't know if it would be just garden variety or postpartum.  Don't know how to say that to her.

Mom is Mad

I don't think she ever stops being mad. Just sometimes she can control it.  It is part of the dementia.  Again it must be horribly scarey to not remember and then have people telling you different things than you remember.
We do see a pattern.  Most of her aggitation seems to come on later in the day.  I have been told it is symptomatic of sundowners.  And she is definitely a sundowner.
The facility facilitated an appointment with the doctor's office.  We are going to see if anything else is going on and then maybe get some meds to help calm her down.  It isn't any fun for anyone, especially Mom.

After the Logging

After Mark and Jeana got done with the logging, the clean up commenced.  It looks a lot better.  Still strange since I lived there for all those years with the trees.  Shall be interesting to see what they do next.

Christmas in May

I have no idea where Papa found the cedar chest, but it was in bad bad shape when he did.  So I imagine he got it for next to nothing if not nothing. He had the seat redone and he stripped the wood all down and redid it all.  He did a nice job and then he gave it to Audrie for a toybox.  It is something she will have for a long time.  It is a Lane and should last a second lifetime.
Today was the first day the littles have been able to get into it.  I wasn't even sure their toys were still in it.  They were.  What I learned today is lock picking is not like on television.  It is not done instantly almost.  The lock on the chest was picked by a professional locksmith who knows what he is doing.  And it took a little bit of work.  Then the littles felt like it was Christmas.  Toys they hadn't seen in almost a year and a half.  So they all felt new to them.  I will find out on Friday what the lockpicking cost me.
Funny how that chest came to be locked. Papa didn't lock it but very obviously had a key for it in his house.  Took a key to lock it.  The day the chest was put outside at Papa's house for me to pick up it wasn't locked.  I had looked in it to make sure the tonka truck was there. And it was. Then I arranged for the kids stuff to be picked up the next day.  So imagine our surprise when we finally got around to moving it into the house and it was locked.  I can't even fathom what it takes to lock a toybox on little kids.  But there it is.
After our Christmas we had swimming lessons.  The little man tried  his hand at pool today. He's not really tall enough for that, but he seemed to enjoy watching the bigger boys play.  And they had no clue as to what they were doing.
Both kids are doing really well with their lessons.  They both seemed to pay more attention today to their teachers.  And our plan for Thursday is lessons and then doing open swim again.  :)

Letters, Spelling, Rhymes

We spend so much of our free time spelling.  Sounding out words.  Seeing which words rhyme.  Every day.  Sometimes we are just spelling and sometimes we are actually writing them down.  Half the time the words are just words.  Ones that have popped into the little woman's head.  And the other half of the time they are words dealing with whatever we are doing at the time.
Her brain is working overtime all the time.  It is good to see or perhaps hear.

Snail Hunt

After our walk last night we had decided we would walk back over to the snail trail in the daytime.  Well we almost missed it.  Little miss reminded me so we hopped to it. There weren't as many snails this evening as there were yesterday.  Maybe we were too early.  I don't know.  Anyway we saw lots of interesting shells.   The little man liked smashing them.  The little woman accidentally broke the shells on a couple of them.  Which must be why they were taught to be oh so careful in the classroom.  Some of the shells are not very sturdy. She then wanted to know if you can eat snails.  That naturally led to a conversation about escargot.  She wanted to know if I would cook a snail.  I said no.  If she wants to eat escargot she can go to France and eat it there where they know how to cook it.   It was a good walk and good explorations.
I love how they are interested in so many different things.  And they don't have any fear that hinders their explorations.  Now they should sleep well tonight.

Kindergarten Awe

I'm still in awe and completely amazed at what kindergartners are learning.  Way way back in the day we learned our colors, ABC's and numbers.  Now they are learning to read.  They are learning science.  They are learning addition.  It is so much more advanced than even when Mike first went to school.
I'm sure part of it is we are learning just how much more and easily small children learn.  They are now promoting full day kindergarten.  By the time the little man goes there will be no other option.  I just hope the curriculum is such that he isn't bored.  Because everything she learns now he is also learning.  She teaches him and he picks up everything lickety-split.
I am in awe every time I take her papers out of her backpack and look at them.  We have a sunflower diagram hanging on the frig.  I understand the theory behind all the work I see and am just amazed.  I am in awe every time I hear her using the things she is learning in her play.
Tonight we were talking about snails. They had a snail section not too long ago.  So we crossed a snail trail and it got us talking about it.  I think she liked telling me things I didn't know.  And she is a lot braver than me.  I'm not willing to hold one.  She did.  Said she washed really good afterwards to get the slimey sticky off.  Ew.

Slow Progress

It feels so weird to be going through all of Mom's stuff and getting rid of stuff.  So far I have only managed to sell some dog stuff and throw out real trash.  I did manage to get the garage into an acceptable state of being.  One where the car would again fit and I can still manuever out there.
I know logically Mom is never moving back into her house.  And I know logically she doesn't need a lot of this stuff.  But it is her stuff and I guess that is what is hard.  But in order for us to truly get settled here we need the space.

Success

The dump has been attended to twice.  Once for the dump run and once for the hazardous household waste.  Got rid of five partial gallons of paint and a partial 5 gallon bucket along with batteries and other chemicals.
Mom's car was home so I backed it into the garage and it fits perfectly.  I have room to maneuver the camping and mowing stuff out and lots of room on the other side to continue purging things.
Now that the garage is mostly done I can get back to working inside.  First thing is cleaning up the disaster that got made while I worked in the garage.  Amazing how they can be so creatively messy when I am occupied doing other things.

Half Way

The little man got some more Foosball lessons today.  He saw that same kid from Tuesday so he went running over and asked if he could play.  That bigger kid is so kind.  Said yes right away.  After about ten minutes the older kid's brother came and they all three played.  I think Connor just liked to be included.
So we are half way through our first set of swimming lessons at Firstenberg Community Center.  I think they are learning a lot.  Lessons here are done a lot different than lessons at the local swim school.  And that's all right.  The goal is to have swimmers when we are done.  I'm pretty sure I will be signing them up for another session in June.

Garage and Strawberry Shortcake

 On the way home from work I saw a sign for local strawberries.  So I took a quick turn and followed the signs.  Took me to a farm out in Ridgefield with a self service cooler.  A vase for the money.  I got the last half flat in the cooler and admired all the beautiful flowers.  Left my money in the vase with other's money.  I'm in awe of the people who felt comfortable enough to do this.
Picked up the kids, drove home and got to work.  Pat wants his truck back on Friday so I had to get moving.  Tomorrow night is swimming lessons again and I already know I won't get anything done.  So I put in a few more hours on the garage and it looks so much better.  Once that pile of toys by the man door is out of there it will be even better.  But that doesn't happen until the little man has a room.
Once the garage was as complete as I am going to make it, it was time to make some strawberry shortcake.  And we did.  Then we took one to Mom who enjoyed it immensely.  That is a great fringe benefit of living close by. Then we ate ours and are now working towards bed.
I think I have one more lap to do to hit my 10,000 steps for today.  Doing well getting back in the swing of that.

Mother's Day

Tanya sent me a Happy Mother's Day text at 9 pm on Sunday.  My first thought is really, seriously? That is almost as much of an insult as no greeting for the day.  It's an afterthought.  And I didn't hear from Elizabeth at all.  I wouldn't expect to hear from Adrianna.
So I don't know whether to be annoyed or grateful that she thought about me at all.  It definitely tells me where my place is though.  Maybe it is time to act accordingly.

Three of Eight

Swimming lesson day.  We opted not to do open swim today.  Part is the expense and part is I'm just tired.  While the little miss had her class, the little man got some Foosball lessons from another young man.  I think my man just liked dropping the ball in.  He sure wasn't going to let me help him.  I'm just glad there was a distraction there for him.  Half an  hour is a long time, especially with an expensive snack bar in the lobby.

Garage Progress

Didn't think quick enough to take real before pictures.  Before I started working all that floor space had toys and boxes and furniture in it.  My brother called it an obstacle course.  I say there was a two foot wide path from door to door and in front of the washer and dryer.
It has helped tremendously to have the pick-up collecting dump stuff.  My goal is to finish this so Mom's car can go back in when it comes back this weekend.  Got to get rid of all those dog crates.

Mother's Day

The little man made me a bookmark.  The little woman had sunflower starts(that we may have killed).  We have a picture for Mommy that we neglected to mail.  We told her about it though and will send this week.
Mike called and reminded both littles to tell me Happy Mother's Day.  How thoughtful and good parenting.
My niece Carey sent me the sweetest message.  I am always amazed at her and her thoughtfulness.
Late in the afternoon I picked up Mom and brought her home for a bbq dinner.  Pat came over.  He tried to get our wii working but we think the laser is shot.  So we enjoyed our filet mignons, corn on the cob and baked potatoes.  Pat made hot fudge Sundays for dessert.  Mom did well and went home pretty easy.  Pat and I were both a little apprehensive as to how that was going to go.
And the best part of the day is the pick-up sitting in the driveway awaiting to be filled with dump stuff. That is my best mother's day present.  I'm enjoying the flowers also.  Yellow for Mom and red for me.  Thanks Pat.

Saturday Morning at Sandi's

Sandi, one of my co-workers is having a garage sale this weekend.  Well according to her, her husband is having a garage sale this weekend.  But guess who was manning the cash box?
Anyway we got up and ready and headed towards Troutdale which is where Sandi lives. Mt. Hood was absolutely gorgeous this morning.  Kind of concerning is how it is already showing snow loss and it is only May.  Here is hoping it is not a sign of another dry summer.  Anyway the little man wanted to know when we were going to go up to that mountain.  I told him as soon as we found some man to drive us.  Well he pops off with......"we could ask your friend Doug.  He has a big truck.  You know the nice  Doug, not the mean Doug."  Funny child.  Methinks we need to have a conversation about not imposing on people.
Made it over to Sandi's sale.  Now the only reason I wanted to go that far for a garage sale was to see her 100 year-old house.  And it was gorgeous from the outside.  Loved her extra big garage.  Loved her yard and all her yard ornaments.  Just had a lovely time.  Mostly the littles behaved.  I like it that they are getting older and better behaved.
We found treasures.  I have two new dragons and a heart box for treasures.  The little man found some toys and the little woman ended up with some beanie babies.  We also have a set of bat wings that Sandi had made.  They are very cool and the little man is going to love them.
We thank Sandi for letting us come after we invited ourselves....although it is hard to turn down people showing up at a garage sale.  I'm not sure if Sandi knew we were invited back to swim and feed the fish.  ;p  Probably lucky for her that went in one ear and out the other of the little man.

Just a Funny

I think it is so funny that I have to travel 2000 miles to get a ride on a motorcycle that resides in a garage not even ten miles from me.  To be fair it is not the motorcycle's fault or the owner's fault.  I'm sure I could have a ride whenever I asked for one if the timing was right.
That ride in the midwest is going to be awesome though.  And one of these days I will find a babysitter and can have local rides.  ;p

Happy Birthday Jazzlynn

We had a little red velvet to celebrate Jazzlynn's second birthday.  Due to the little man's dentist appointment yesterday we had to postpone it till today.  We called and talked to Mommy and found out that they are also having cake today.
We may not be able to be with her for her birthday, but we are still going to celebrate it.  She is their little sissy.

Open Swim

The dentist office said to play it by ear in whether the little man had his swimming lesson.  Well by the time it was time to go nothing was going to stop him.  So off to lessons we went.  And he did great.  Then he behaved so that we could do open swim afterward.
We spent an hour and a half in the pool.  Not only on the river this time.  We spent a good amount of time over in the deeper area with them jumping in the pool. Part of the time with their life vests and part of the time without.  They had a great time.
It was a nice ending to our night.  But if we are going to keep doing this I may have to look into membership.

Caught Up

Apparently we are all caught up now on our appointments.  We have seen the doctor, the dentist and WIC.  The little man had all his dental work done this morning.  He got to do the sleeping visit also, just like his sister did two years ago.  He came through it so much better.  He didn't wake up angry like she did.  He did kick me, but not like she did.  His was more a move out of my way thing.
Once out to the car he really wanted to look in his mouth.  He started to move to the front seat and told me he was dizzy.  Looked in his mouth, saw the work and just shook his head.  His only concern was how long he would have the big tooth in.  He was referring to the cap on one of his eye teeth.  And yes he lost his front teeth just like sissy.  According to the dentist the damage was from trauma when he was younger just like sissy.  We just don't remember his falling or we didn't even see it.  So we survived Sissy missing those teeth for a couple of years.  I'm sure we will survive this also.
WIC will end for us this year as the little man ages out. But first he got his iron tested for the last time.  He had a great number on that although he really did not like the poke.  We will be able to do the WIC farmers market again this year and also the Saturday help at WSU extension to earn veggies.  Naturally we will continue to use the farmer's market in the future just because we like it. It's just our last year for free produce there.
All these things kind of ran all together and made life seem a little hectic, but now they are done and we get back to our normal routine.  Work, school (for six weeks) and daycare.

Extra Children

My extra kids had birthdays this week. I sent them good wishes. Amazed at how long they have been in my life.
Scott came in the late eighties as a young teen. I got to watch him grow up into a great man. He had this always on sense of humor and I'm sure some folks found that trying sometimes. As he moved into adulthood his parents moved their family to Australia on a new adventure. Scott has had great adventures in his life. He's done some traveling. Met a spectacular woman, married her and has three kids. He just turned 40 years-old.
Josh came into our lives at 8 years-old. He lived up the hill. His life started off adventurous and kept going. He did sports with Mike and became part of our family. He turned 26 today. Still waiting to see what his life will show. Of all Mike's friends he is the only one who is family. And with him came his mom and brother.
I still consider my extra kids part of my family. And that leaves me wondering who the next extra kids will be. I'm sure the littles will have friends who join us. It is one way my family expands and I'm excited about the prospect. My older extras have moved on with their lives leaving room for new ones in our daily life.

First Lesson at Firstenberg

Tonight was the littles first swimming lessons at Firstenberg Community Center.  There are at least five classes going on at the same time in different parts of the pool depending on the level you are at.  They both had a blast and can't wait to go back.
When the little man was done with his lesson he decided he was going to play in the pool.  One of the teachers caught him and tried to convince him to come out.  She finally told him no one else was in the pool.  He sat up and looked around and then you could see the wheels in his head going...okay...so what...I'm in the pool.  We finally got him out before the next classes started.
After her class was over we saw that all the water features were turned back on.  Turns out there is open swim after lessons.  Perhaps on Thursday we will swim afterward.

Ants

A month ago I had Peak Pest come out and attack our ants.  The ants were getting obnoxious and with kids in the  house they found a ready source of food.  So that trip out the guy sprayed and put out poison for the ants to take back to the nest.  It made a tremendous difference in the number of ants in the house.  He forewarned me that he may need to come back and would do so for free after 30 days.
So I put it on my calender as when 30 days were.  And the ants were starting to increase in numbers again.  So I called and this morning my guy came back and redid his applications.  This time we only concentrated on where we knew the ants were.  And since the kids are not here this morning I don't have to worry about them and he was able to spray the baseboards all along the kitchen.  I like how conscientious this company is and that they are concerned about my kids welfare.
Now we will hope this does the final number on this next of ants.  If not they will come back in another 30 days at a reduced rate.
I was so impressed with this company and that is why I hope this gets the job done.  First they answered their phone.  They talked me through everything and made an appointment that they kept and were on time for.  Then when I needed them back they were again on time.
After so many contractors not answering their phones, not returning phone calls, not showing up at all when they are suppose to, postponing if something comes up that makes them more money, etc this company was a breath of fresh air.  Kudos Peak Pest Management.

Country

We usually get to school ten minutes early on parent pick up days.  We got there right on time one day and the little miss got scared that she had been forgotten.  So I make a super effort to be there when she comes out of her classroom.
The little man usually plays with the Ipad or toys or something.  Well today he played with the radio.  We have an ongoing volume dispute and he likes to see how far he can push that. But today he switched channels.  And not just the pre-sets.  He found a country station that he liked and we played volume war on it.
Wait....what?  Yeah he was bopping to country.  I asked him where he came from.  His mommy likes metal rock.  His daddy likes hardcore rap.  I bounce between alternative and hiphop.  He hasn't been exposed to that much country and yet apparently he likes it.  Sorry man....no country pre-sets on my radio.

Clark County Property

So when Mike was arrested all of his stuff was taken from him.  In his backpack was all the small amount of stuff that he owned except what he forgot here on his way out the door.  They hold the stuff in Clark County Property until you are released.  Well if you get transferred somewhere else they only hold the stuff for 60 days.
Mike knew he was getting transferred and he asked his brother to collect his stuff for him and he put that on the forms because his brother said he would. A month after his transfer Mike was getting a bit worried because Doug wouldn't take his calls.  So he asked for his sister to contact his brother and find out if he collected the backpack.
Tanya was a good sister and tried to make it all happen.  Being a fixer.  Said she asked many times and reminded many times.
Well the sixty day marker is long past.  And Doug's excuse for not getting the stuff is Clark County Property never called him back. Course he waited until almost the last minute to call them in the first place.  And he never made another call in the second place.  Just typical Doug behavior.....procrastinate and then blame someone else.
So Mike's stuff is gone.  Now good thing for him in the whole scheme of things....it was a small amount of stuff.  So he will be starting over when he gets out.  I have a change of clothes and some socks and his ID. He has been here before......

Dreaming of Dave

I dreamt of Dave last night.  I haven't dreamt of him as a primary person in my dream since the one where he told me I couldn't go with him.  I dreamt we were having this conversation about selling the mobile home or keeping it.  Building or buying something else. A conversation we actually had many many times along with the option of transferring. And in the dream the mobile home actually was the mobile home...not some other place I created in my head.  David was there and working with Dave and it felt really comfortable and like home.
Maybe I had this dream because it is about transitions and I am in my own state of transition.  Maybe I just miss Dave.  Either way it was a nice dream.  Nice to feel the love that he always had for me and the connection.  Till the next dream....
Light and Love Dave wherever you are.