Shock

I am playing catch up on my shows.  Almost cleared the DVR.  Watching the end of one and waiting for the end so I can delete it when it played a blip of the news that night.  Right as it went to the delete screen I realized I recognized the photo of the man on the news.  And naturally it was gone.  So that sent me on a search.
Sure enough the guy used to be one of our delivery guys at work.  Really nice guy who was having some health issues and didn't feel supported at work.  So he moved on.  Well two weeks ago he got into some kind of fight and died.  The other guy stabbed him with something.  Details are sketchy.
The thing is.... most of the time violence doesn't really touch our lives.  We hear the things on TV and the radio, but usually it is just names.
This has been a tough year.  Just things that touch us a little closer to home.  One of my cousins was attacked a couple of months ago by her estranged husband.  He chopped her hand off with a machete and tried to kill her.  Her hand could not be saved.  He was arrested and hopefully spends the rest of his days incarcerated.  She gets to learn to live life in a new way.  But she is alive.
I think that is all close enough and we can go back to the normal way of life now.  RIP Brian.

Terrific Tuesday

After work, school and day care, we hit the duck pond to see if we could find any rocks.  No luck.  But we did get to check up on the ducks and there was a duck party going on.  The little man got in the middle of it before I got a picture.  But I bet there were fifty ducks coming after us.  We saw the geese and their goslings.  They sure are growing.  I think the daddy goose is getting tired of everyone trying to get close to the goslings.  He kind of hissed at the little man.  And the little man heeded him and left them alone.  Good thing because it would hurt to get bit by a goose.
We came home and painted some more.  I picked up about two thirds of a five gallon bucket of rocks today.  The guy at the rockery told me I can get 100 pounds before I hit the minimum.  I was a little ways off from that.  ;p

Getting Ready

Gathering up our stuff.  Pulled out the air mattress to see if it still holds air.  And the pump is missing.  I'm not sure how that happens when all the camping stuff came in together and got put away together.  That presents a quandary.  Buy a new pump and hope the mattress is good.  Or buy a new mattress that comes with a new pump.  Hmmmm.  Well we borrowed Pat's pump.  Filled the mattress and it holds air.  Even after the jumping it took while laying on the floor.  And it definitely will fit in the tent.  So our camping is getting closer and things are coming together.
Inbetween finding the mattress and airing it up we took some time out at the park.  Hid some rocks.  Looked unsuccessfully for some rocks.  Met some dogs and a beautiful husky/shepherd puppy.  We managed to walk the whole park without complaint.  Amazing what rock hunting and hiding can do.

Family Dinner At Pat's

Seems to be the place to have it lately.  We pick up Mom and bring the dog.  Pat cooks and then takes Mom home.
Tonight we had halibut.  Pat went on a charter last weekend and brought home a halibut.  He had it filleted there.  And it was oh so good.  The little man ate three pieces.  Said he liked it and was hungry.  I'm not sure what that says about the food I make.  Glad to see him eat as much as he wanted.
Again the little man is having a sleepover at Uncle Pat's with Betsy and Monster.  So the little woman and I have girl time.  Time to paint some rocks.

Saturday Fun

We did nothing constructive today.  We started the day off at Sky Zone for a birthday party.  Jimmy turned five earlier in the month and this was his party.  My little man considers him to be his best friend.  And they had a blast.  Sky Zone is much more than G6.  And the pizza wasn't bad at all.
The little woman got scared.  She was doing flips into the pit and somehow went in almost head first and got spooked which made her feel stuck.  Jimmy's dad rescued her.  She didn't do another flip for awhile, but then she did get back on the horse.  It was a great party.  I loved how it was early in the day so the place was almost empty except for our group.

Then we looked and "Boss Baby" was finally playing at the ten theater.  We still had money left on the gift card we got for Christmas from my friend Doug.  We used it and it still has $2.50 on it.  My frugality paying off.  We saw two movies on that card.  Thanks again Doug.  We have enjoyed our movies.

Fences

Oy.  So one of the fence boards in the back fell off.  Not surprising since one fell off about a month ago.   Drew took care of the first one.  Well the littles discovered the missing board and that they could go back and forth in the neighbor behind's back yard.  Turned out the little woman knew one of the girls that lives there.  And so for two days they have been crawling through the fence.
I look outside and now there are three boards off the fence.  Nope.  Can't be happening.  We can't have an incomplete fence when we go camping.  We have a dog.  So I find the hammer and finding stuff I hid is always fun.  But I managed it.  Went outside and rehung the three boards.  Pounded in a whole bunch of more nails.  Realized the fence really is crap and should be replaced.  But not something I'm going to worry about right now.
All this fence stuff reminds me that there is still a section of fencing at the rental house that hasn't been replaced.  Have to think about that also.

Third Session Ends

And so the littles are done with their third session of swimming lessons.  There were so many smiles.  It looked like they moved forward in leaps and bounds.  After the last class they got their records.  The little woman actually finally completed level 1 and can move forward.  I'm so glad because she needs to.
The little man didn't quite finish prelevel 3.  Looks close but he will have another set of lessons at this level.  I think that as they get older and progress more is expected of them.

More Rocks

Our plans for the day included picking up our tent, bbqing burgers and rocking the duck pond.  The burgers were delicious and we are so happy we finally filled the propane tank.  We picked up the tent and set it up in the living room.  I was a bit skeptical when I saw it said three man.  Well it is plenty big enough for the three of us on an air mattress.
We drove over to the duck ponds.  While we were getting ready to hide rocks a woman pulled up and asked if we were going to hide rocks.  We said yes.  She then told us how her family had found a few and it made them so happy. She said keep doing it.  It is amazing how something so small can make so many people smile.
While we were hiding rocks we ran into another family from the facebook group.  They gave each kid a rock.  So our "finding" of rocks was not a complete bust this time.  Then we found two packages of tiles they had hid.  Both kids got started right away with those when we got home.  We love meeting the people in our community and seeing people happy.  And now back to painting.

Getting Better

The little woman returned to school today.  She wasn't happy.  Said she didn't like to do PE.  Don't blame her. I never liked it either, but what is not to like in first grade?  Anyway I expected a call all day telling me to come get her and it never came.
So it looks like we are on the mend.  Better that it happened now instead of when we go camping.  ;p

Thanks Pat

The little woman needed another down day.  I had to work.  If it weren't for returns I would just call in and stay home.  So it was Uncle Pat to the rescue.  Dropped the little man at daycare and took her to Pat's house.  She rested there all day.
When we got home she felt well enough to paint a rock and then planted herself back on the couch.  Hopefully she feels a lot better tomorrow.
Thanks Pat for stepping up and stepping in.

Sad

Lots of things lately seem to be sad.  First Mike got 43 months and has been transferred to Shelton.  Now I am always happy when he is incarcerated and I'm hoping that a longer sentence might be enough for him to finally make a change.  But I'm not holding my breath.  I am going to enjoy my peace for that time.  He won't bug me constantly for money and nothing will walk out of my house for three years.
But his kids will be sad.  Depending on where he ends up, we don't know how often we will visit him.  I am in the process of getting the no contact order dropped so I can do that.  And I got a new copy of Connor's birth certificate which includes Mike's name in the father slot.  Connor needs that if he is going to be allowed in to visit.
Speaking of the birth certificate....there was a form I could have filled out and mailed in that would have changed his last name on the certificate. And that is reasonable.  But my guardianship paperwork shows Connor under his previous name.  So I just left things the way they are and will just continue showing every one three pieces of paper when doing things for the little man.
So David posted on facebook that he and Cassie are expecting baby number two.  Cassie sent me a brief private message about it.  I didn't check in time to see which was first.  All their friends are so excited for the second child.  And I'm over here going "but gee, Connor is the second child for Cassie".  I understand this will be a second biological child for David.  And I see he also doesn't count his stepchildren (and that sounds funny).  Just breaks my heart that again these two are shown to have no place in their family.  Sure hope nothing ever happens to me.
Then I have been following the story of a child of one of Mike's friends.  He was born with a disorder that makes him grow too fast.  Then he got a brain cancer.  Then he relapsed on that.  Now he has an aggressive form of leukemia and no donor match yet for that.  Then they discovered his heart was damaged from the treatment of the relapse cancer.  I guess they are trying one more thing.  And the whole thing from start to finish just feels sad.  And it makes me feel blessed that even though we deal with all the other things we have dealt with....at least we don't have that.

Spoke Too Soon

I commented last week about making it through the spring with no ear infections.  Someone told me I had just jinxed myself.
So the little woman starts complaining about a tooth.  No biggie.  She had a dentist appt last week.  When we brought it up, the dentist commented about weak teeth like her adult molar in the back sometimes have more nerve endings than normal.  And for us to watch it.  Okay.  No cavities in that tooth.
Well she keeps complaining but minimizes it when we talk about dental work, medicine, etc.  After a very restless Friday night I begin to realize it isn't the tooth.  It's the ear.  When we had dinner with David he too commented on his back molars hurting when he gets ear infections.  She had finally relented and took ibuprofen late Saturday afternoon.
Today has been a complete laze day.  She takes her medicine every four hours.  Doesn't want to go see the doctor.  And anymore they don't automatically prescribe antibiotics.  So we are just waiting it out.  I hate for her to be like this, but it is what it is.  Makes for a long weekend because she doesn't want me to get too far.
Good thing I got all that outside work done yesterday.

Breaking Bread With David

Texted David late morning, while I was procrastinating mowing the lawn.  He was shopping.  Then he texted back and wanted to know if we wanted to meet for a late lunch or dinner.  By the time I got the text....afterall I did mow and weedeat and weed, it was too late for lunch.  So we met up for dinner.  He was heading to La Center so we met at The Golden Tusk and had Thai food.
We arrived a few minutes early.  We brought a couple of rocks to hide.  Mine was more out in the open and was gone by the time we were done with dinner.  The little man hid his better and it was still on the garbage can when we left. Garbage cans seem to be one of his favorite places.
Emma didn't come.  She was playing with her dog.  She is just finishing up her Sophomore year so I'm sure she is getting too old to hang with us oldsters and the youngsters.  She is going to do Running Start next year and I am so happy for her.  It really is a great program.
I've known David for over 30 years.  He worked with Dave all those years until he went elsewhere.  He has helped me through the rough time of Dave's illness and death.  He is just a great friend.
After I got home I had to check how long it had been since we broke bread.  Over a year.  We said we wouldn't wait so long next time.  Hard when both of us are so busy.  I'm glad it worked out today.  Thanks for a great visit David.  Till next time.

Picnic at Marshall Community Park

When we got up this morning, we decided we needed a picnic at a park after work/school/daycare.  I picked them up and off we went.  We had to get gas and saw the dog in the side car.  Very very cool.  Now the little woman wants to ride in one.
We hit the McDonald's drive thru and then went to a park downtown.  They were more interested in playing than eating, although their food did eventually get eaten.
They didn't get as worn out as I would have liked although the little man did tell me he got all sweaty.  We ended up having to make an early night since they wouldn't settle down after we got home.  We did have a good time at the park.

Visit With Karen

I had a little time today so I visited my friend Karen.  I didn't wear her out today.  We had a nice visit and talked about kids.  She seemed more tired today than the last time I saw her.  I think her pain is increasing.  There is that catch-22 going on.  Pain medicine makes her sleep.
Sam looked a lot better.  He asked me if I thought he looked 60.  I told him, not today, but he did the last time I was there.  Funny that.  Anyway they are working on getting his blood pressure under control and his diabetes.  Must be doing something a little right.  Maybe his stress level is just a little lower.
And of course I got to love Sammi.  She sure is a nice dog.

Little Man Time

We had the day to ourselves again.  Good thing for the little woman that Uncle Pat takes him occasionally so she gets some one on one time.
So we finished painting some rocks today.  Went to the duck pond to hide some. He took a couple that he had found before to rehide them.  I think it is funny that he found the turtle rock at the duck pond and now it has been returned to the duck pond.  The goslings are sure growing.  Guess we just missed seeing some otters.
Then later we played in the street.  Practiced some soccer moves.  Lots of kicking.  We also played hide and seek.  So funny.  He hid first and he hid under the Japanese maple.  And it was a really good hiding place.  Sunset knew he was there but she thought it was some other animal and she had the bushiest tail and fur standing up on her back. She kind of gave him away.

Tent

I found us a tent.  I have wanted a smaller one for awhile.  And so this one is 7 x 7 and should hold the air mattress.  That is all it needs to do.  Ordered it online so it should arrive in a few days.  Excited.  Asked both kids if they were sleeping with me in the tent or in the top bunk in the yurt.  They naturally both opted to sleep with me.  Wonder when they are going to outgrow that

Party

The little man got a party invite from one of  his best friends at daycare.  Turns out it is Memorial Day weekend.  So I guess it works out well that we aren't camping that weekend.  The party will be at Sky Zone.  We haven't been there before, but it is like G6.  We already know we like G6, so we should like Sky Zone.
Guess I better look it up and see how much it costs because I already know the little woman will want to go jump even if she isn't invited to the party.  :P

Mother's Day

Pat decided he wanted to cook dinner for us for Mother's Day.  So I picked up Mom and brought her over to his house.  I had already brought Phoebe, the french bulldog and the kids beforehand.  Pat cooked up some rock fish and ling cod.  It was super good.  He had just caught it a few weeks back and packaged it right away.  The little man even tried it and decided he liked fish.  He ate two whole pieces.  The little woman naturally turned it down flat.
Pat gave Mom and I tulips.  The littles gave me a sunflower and a painted pot with some kind of little plants growing in it.  Should be interesting as long as I don't kill them.  And then Burgerville gave strawberry shortcakes to all mom's today.  Thanks Burgerville.
We had a nice day and it was super special that my very first Happy Mother's Day came from Carey who seems to think of us often.  We had a fine day with Mom and we take all of those we can get.
Looks like we are taking Mom with to Cape Disappointment so I need to get looking for a small tent.

Mother's Day Tea

They had a Mother's Day Tea at the facility my mom lives at.  They had tea and coffee.  They provided little cucumber, tomato or egg salad sandwiches that were finger food.  There was white cake that tasted like Angel Food but didn't quite have that texture to it.  There were also little petit fours.  I notice those turn up quite a bit.  Someone must really like them.  ;p
All of the mothers who lived there got corsages for the tea.  They got to choose.  Mom finally settled on a pink one with a blue ribbon that matched her shirt.
I was laughing inside.  After the tea one of the other residents asked Mom a question and that got her on a roll. Her usual rant of how her daughter evicted her and took her house, etc.  It goes on for  quite awhile while I am just standing there waiting to take her back to her side of the facility.  Now I'm out of sight line while this is going on.  One of the employees looks at me and says "oh it must be another daughter."  Nope, I'm the only daughter.  So then the employee commented on Mom talking about me like I wasn't even there.  Well she wasn't looking at me and so for that moment I wasn't there.  I was like hey it's all good.  She is talking about me, but not to me.
Then I interrupted and told her I needed to go and everything was absolutely fine.  Too funny sometimes and sometimes we just laugh so we don't cry.

Summer Plans

So the island got majorly flooded this winter.  So the annual Memorial Day camping is cancelled there.  And naturally it is too late to find many reservations anywhere else.  Then it turned out that Pat had an opportunity to attend a Burning Man thing.  So he wanted to do that.  Our summer does not start with camping on the Columbia.  But what we do have planned......
Two camping trips at the beach in yurts.  One of the reservations I got was amazing.  Last yurt for that weekend.  My guess is it was a cancellation and I just happened to be looking at the right time.  So one of those is at Cape Disappointment and the other is at Grayland Beach.
We have a family reunion in July and will spend two nights in Bellingham.  We have MN relatives coming also.  :)
This year we will be home for Harvest Days so hope to do the Cruise In, assuming it is still going on this year.
We have the fair as a given.  Still looking for someone to take with to do rides with the littles.
I have concert tickets.
My friend Doug had mentioned doing a ride down to Crater Lake, and while I wasn't sure that plan ever finalized or really included me....am leaving space open in August for it.  I will have to get back with him on that when he returns from his vacation to the Midwest.  Because if it is a go....I'm going to need to talk to Nana Nita.
Then we have some day plans, the zoo, maybe Omsi and the children's museum in Olympia.
Sounds like a pretty good summer.
Liz and I were talking about things our grandparents did or didn't do with us as kids.  She had wonderful grandparents.  So did I but they saw us all the time until we moved 1700 miles away.  So the littles don't have the family relationships that build great foundations for them.  So while I can't give them the relationship experiences, I have given them many many life experiences.  Doing the best I can with what I have.

Rain

The guy at Ace sure was right.  He had told me on Tuesday that I only had Wednesday to stain the deck and then the rain returns.  Well I woke up this morning to hear it raining.
There are some years that by the time the rains stop I am more than ready for a break from them.  Now this year we have had record rainfall and yet I'm still feeling groovy when it rains.
Things I noticed.  Nail paint does not pressure wash off wood.  Acrylic paint mostly does.  There will be no more water balloons because when they aren't cleaned up they melt on the deck.  I really really need to bring the pressure washer back to the back yard and do the sidewalks.  Especially that side that no one uses.
We bought Babybels today at Costco as they were on sale.  We bought a bag for the neighbor also to replace the ones the little man ate without permission.  When the little man gave them to him he apologized and promised to never do it again.  Drew then instructed him on shaking hands and looking people in the eye when you do so.  That is man stuff.  Stuff Nana doesn't teach.  I'm so glad that he did that.  This Nana definitely needs the village.  Anyway the little man is ungrounded from Bailey so he can play with her again.  Bailey is the neighbor's dog.

One Down

The little man and I worked hard today and got the deck all stained.  The stain was more opaque than I thought it was going to be.  So you can definitely see where the old stain still was and where it wasn't.  All in all I think it still looks better.
The bad part is now I can see all the other things that need work.  Before the other things were overshadowed by the bad looking deck.
Glad to get the granite table back on the deck.  It is our outdoor work space for our rocks and I had two to start the sealing process on.  The ninja turtle belongs to the little man.  He had a little help with the original outlines, but did all the painting himself.

Terrific Tuesday

The day started with a trip to Walmart.  Looking for supplies to fix a drawer, deck sealant and a mop.  Got what I needed for the drawer.  Then I hit Ace for the sealant and they had it.
Betty needed the fields mowed so I got that done for her.  They should be good for a couple of weeks now anyway.
The littles had swim lessons.  And then we got all our cards ready for Mother's Day.  I believe that is the second time in my life I have been ahead of the game.  Took them down to the mailbox and lo and behold I had a box.  I had forgotten that Kiah said she was mailing something.  She sent me some of her jewelry that she designs.  What a lovely surprise and a great topper to the day.  The littles loved opening up the box and thought the jewelry was very special.
Thanks Kiah.  It wasn't necessary but I'm happy that you did.

And Another Project

On my project list from last year was the deck.  So today I got it pressure washed.  Looks about a hundred times better and then looks like it needs work.  So now I need to get some sealant for it.  Probably not clear or opaque.  The pressure washing took me almost two hours.  A lot longer than I anticipated.
Liz and I were talking about handy man jobs.  Jodi's brother is going to install the new sink at her house.  It's not something I can do.  Liz commented about her husband being really good at many things around the house.  I commented how much I miss Dave and his skill set.  I have learned to do a lot of things I never thought I would have to.  But for every thing I have learned how to do there are three things I will never learn to do.  And plumbing is one of them.
Once I was done with that, we went to the duck pond and fed some ducks and the goslings.  The goslings sure are growing fast.
And I almost forgot that a dragonfly landed on the little man.  I have no idea if it is rare or not.  I have never had one land on me.  And yet both littles have had one land on them.  Maybe it is just a spirit sending them love.

Wisteria

Mom's wisteria is starting to bloom.  It really showed up after I got the lawn  mowed and some weed eating done.  My eye was no longer pulled to the tall weeds and extra work.  It is a good day when the lawn gets mowed, some weed eating gets done and garbage gets picked up.  I am amazed at the amount of trash in the backyard.  I don't even buy soda and yet there must have been a half dozen pop cans.  Anyway the back yard looks much better.  And I am enjoying the wisteria and the lilac and the yellow azalea.
While doing yard work in peace....I am always thinking, reacting, planning.  Sometimes I go back over my life and wonder what I would have done different.  Probably not much.  But I know for a fact that I have been used a lot.  There are things I have done for people because they were important to me.  Either the people or the thing I was helping.  Once you stop helping and the people move on in their lives you get a sense they were only around for what they could get.  What I gave of myself I gave freely.  My choice.
But when you realize this fact about yourself......it has to go somewhere.  Something has to change.  It bears the questioning in the future if I am doing something for my reasons and can I live with it if it turns out that it wasn't so important to someone else.  I'm not sure that makes sense.  When I immediately have an inclination to try and fix something I always have to ask if it is for the other person or for me.  Part of my personal dysfunction and codependent behavior.  If I answer for me, I bite my lip and keep my mouth shut.  So I may have to do this with the generous side of my heart also.  Just not sure what the question will be that I ask myself first. Because as I am learning.......the things I find important are not necessarily important to others unless they can be compensated in some way.  And then once they aren't, they are gone.
I know people come and go all the time in our lives.  Some we may not even be aware of the transitions.  People who are only out for what they can get can just keep walking.  We don't need that in our life.

Girl Time

The little man ended up spending the night with Uncle Pat and Phoebe.  So the little woman and I had some girl time.  We did some grocery shopping and isn't that exciting.  Goes so much smoother with just her.
We also did some painting.  I almost finished one rock.  I had to keep waiting for paint to dry.  She did three rocks.  I'm not sure what she did with her cat one though.  I suspect she didn't like it and made it disappear.
We also watched some TV just cuddled on the couch.  Nothing super special or fantastic.  But we don't always need that.  Sometimes we just need time together being quiet.

Jazz

Jazzlynn's birthday is today.  She is now three years-old.  Obviously we live too far away to be at her party.  So we had our own party again in her honor.  Seems like we do this every year.  It is a reminder for the littles that they have a little sister.
The littles picked out this beautiful cake.  We cut it in quarters and they each got an eye and an ear.  And they were happy.  Hope Jazzlynn enjoys her cake as much as we enjoyed the one we had.
Happy birthday Jazzlynn.  We love you.

Ordinary Day

The little man and I had another day together.  We took care of some errands and tried to find some rocks.  At least the errands got done.  Jazzlynn's package got in the mail.  We had the box on the scale and went through the process only to find out it was going to cost a lot more than the priority box.  So we dismantled our box and used theirs.  Saved us money and gets to Jazzlynn only a day after her birthday.  I think it is okay since her party is this weekend anyway.
Another evening of swimming lessons and the smiles continue.  Another night of homework and now there is some stuff the little woman has to work on.  Always growing and learning.
A little more painting.  Our nail dotters came, so those are going to be fun.   The little man and I had a practice session on paper.  But I decided that today would be a Pete the Cat day and so it was.  Both kids really liked him.  The little woman just played with dots.  :)  We are super enjoying this rock thing we got going on.

Busy Busy Day

After the usual morning routine, my day started at Yard and Garden to buy some more rocks to paint.  So that first picture shows where the rock I found was.  But before I found it I got a paper bag out of that pot and almost had all my rocks to purchase.  And I look over and there is that rock.  How did I miss it when I was getting that paper bag?  I'm not a good rock hunter.
Mom had a doctor appointment and an optometry appointment.  So I picked her up and we did that.  I was laughing up a storm in my head when she told stories.  First she insists the "wound" on the back of her head is from her fall back in October.  She had the "wound" before that.  The dermatologist has already stated it is from her picking at it as well as the one that had healed on her forehead.  And the forehead one is back and she insists now it is eczema that came from the sun damage. I never argue with her about it.  Then her glasses are scratched from when she fell in the Skipper's parking lot in November.  We didn't notice the scratches till about a month ago when the light hit right.  She may have noticed but never said.  So she told the eye doctor that she gets cold feet and wears socks to bed.  Then when she got out of bed she slipped on the hardwood floor and scratched the glasses.  It is just the brain filling in the blanks, but it is funny.
The afternoon was picking kids up and going to the library.  They had a blast.  A friend from day care joined them and they really liked that.  We also hid a bunch of our painted rocks.  I have heard that a good number of them have already been found.  We also found three rocks which always makes the outing even funner.