Leo Jr.

Two years ago I left a message for Leo on facebook.  Now he isn't one of my friends so that message went to his other folder to be found someday.  Seems he just set up messenger on an I-pad and upon signing in, guess what he found?  Yup my message.
So it was quite a pleasant surprise to get a message from him this afternoon confirming that I had the right Leo.  I kind of figured I had, but you never know.  We spent the day playing catch up and get to know one another.
I gather he did not know that we knew his father had died.  We did not know his sister had died.  He said he is the last of his immediate family.  He still lives in Ohio.
It made me smile.  Families are funny.  But now I know how Uncle Jerry feels when he connects with relatives that he did not know.  Our family is small, so we will take family where we can find it.  I can't wait till our next gab session so he can tell me stories.  I hope he is a story teller. If not, I will have to tell him stories. 

Counting Down

So I wasn't going to tell the littles exactly when we were going to Disneyland.  And then I couldn't help myself.  So they are now counting down.  They like to count down a long ways out.  I guess it is good for the build up of enthusiasm though.  They are excited.  And that is as it should be.
Although the little man is worried we won't have enough money.  That doesn't stop him from asking for things though.  I can't seem to get the concept across that we save the money now and spend it then.  Not to worry little man.  I have a little money and so do they. 

January is Winding Down

The littles and I hit the gas station after the little man was picked up.  I usually do it in the morning on a way to work, but I won't have time tomorrow morning.  I'm going to end the month working a lot and hard.
January was a good month though.  We got the rats.  We have siding scheduled.  We have a door guy.  The littles's bedrooms got picked up.  The house got kind of picked up about 50 times.  I had coffee with Michael, coffee with Belinda and lunch is scheduled with Rebecca.   Made a new friend in Rebecca.  Helped the little woman set up her cookie page and signed her up for all of her cookie booths.  Due to Norman's fall I saw him three times this month.  Twice at the rehab facility and once at his place.
The school year is half over.  We got our Disneyland trip reserved.  Yurts are reserved for this summer.  We have the rest of the year tentatively planned out and had our first family meeting.
And we had some down time.  A good month that was pretty productive for us.

Wow

So Tanya posted a birthday wish today for Elizabeth.  About her birthday being today.  I'm shaking my head.  Elizabeth's birthday is tomorrow.  Someone else commented on it so she changed it and then tried to make it like it didn't say what it said.  I certainly hope she got it changed before Elizabeth saw it.  Just amazed. 

And then I read where the estate attorney died this last week.  Oy.  Hopefully once someone in the law office takes over things get moving.  Doug hasn't done anything in over a year and a half on it.  All it needs is to be finished and then of course an accounting sent to me and Tanya.  There won't be any issue with  Tanya.  I'm the one who knew that there was an estate well over $300,000.  Even if you take the IRA out there still should have been over $100,000.  But a whole bunch of stuff is going to slip through the cracks, which I suspect is the point.  Sometimes you just have to shake your head in disbelief. 

One Child

The little man spent the night at Uncle Pat's house.  They played video games.  That left the little woman and I to go grocery shopping by ourselves.  It is so nice to be able to do things one on one with her.  She has grown up so much.  We don't even have to do anything special.  Just normal things.  With her it gets done quicker.
She kept asking if she was behaving.  Makes me wonder if she still doesn't understand what behaving is or if she isn't sure if she is.  Of course she was behaving.  Her biggest misbehavior is when she is interacting with the little man and they aren't getting along.  And most of that is not really misbehavior, just annoying. 
Guess that is just life with kids who are close to the same age.  We get through it one day at a time.  ;p

Just a Swimming

And that plays to John Anderson's "Just a Swinging".  The littles and I went to open swim at Firstenburg after work and school.  Celebrating half way through the school year.  I was afraid they were going to spend all the time doing the slide.  They kept it pretty even with swimming the river and just playing in the water.
The little man and I have very red eyes from the chlorine.  Funny how it didn't bother the little woman as much.  Guess this is our thing and her thing is bug bites.
Two hours in the water.  It was a good work out and I am tired.  I bet we all sleep good tonight.

Back to the Grind

Started my time back at work with a small shift.  Still felt it later in the day though.  Guess that psychs me up for the next six long days.  I'm so happy I started making sure I take my breaks and find work that I get to sit at part of the time.  Eight hours straight on concrete is getting to be a tad too much some days. 
I sure enjoyed all those days off though. 

One More

I had a few minutes before I needed to scoot the littles out the door.  So I started  picking up dirty socks and whatnot from the night before.  There was a kitchen towel sitting on top of the little woman's coat.  Picked it up and screamed.  Underneath there was a dead rat.  The little woman thought it was the funniest thing that I scream at dead ones, but not live ones.  It was just unexpected for me. 
The exterminator thinks maybe it ate the bait.  I think our black cat, Sunset, got it.  She has been on the hunt for a couple of weeks for these rats. And we know one has been hiding in the couch.  And she keeps going under the couch.  I tried to set a trap under there, but it wouldn't work.  And then she was going under there.  There are no sounds in the couch now.  I'm just happy that another one is gone.
Drew, from next door, accosted me this afternoon and asked how my fight is going.  And now he has his own. He caught a full grown one with a fishing net.  And then of course he had to kill it himself.  But it is gone.  He says he can hear them in one of his walls.  Yup.  Been there, done that.  He is going to buy some more traps.  He thinks he has it figured out where they are coming from.   At least he isn't blaming me. 

USPS

I have to totally tip my hat to the USPS.  Tracking numbers was one of the best things anyone ever came up with to make life easier.  We wanted to send off this coat to the littles little sister.  We have just been waiting long enough for her to grow big enough.  She is almost four so we figured it was safe. 
We had xmas gifts shipped and Mommy actually let us know when the amazon box arrived.  We also shipped a box and heard it arrived.  No response to what was in the box.  We had baby gifts shipped and I finally couldn't stand it and asked David if it arrived and it did.  He stepped up at that point and did the right thing which was to oh and ah over the booties.  But still no word from Mommy.
I was seriously considering not sending that coat I have had in the closet for four years.  But no.  I decided it was the little woman's to send and so we did.  No word on the other end.  I know the little sissy would like it because she is a girly girl and it is a girly girl wool coat. 
So thank you USPS for letting me know our box did get delivered.  And maybe now I have to step back and hold to....if you don't acknowledge it, then I'm not sending more.  And it is hard when I keep seeing these really cute baby things. 
Maybe I need to find me an honorary baby here.

Sleep

I had to laugh.  Someone asked me what time the littles go to bed.  The premise was they go to bed and then I have quiet time.  Ha.  I said when they go to bed, I go to bed.  Sleep is one of my important things. 
And let me tell you....I have so enjoyed this string of days off because every school day I have gotten a nap.  I love naps.  And they make me feel better. 
But alas the string is almost over and then back to the work routine.  :P

The Ad

So there is a little ad right there on the right hand side of the page.  What I find interesting about it is it shows ads for things I do, have searched for or are interested in.  It is like it is enticing me to click on it.  Now how does it know that sometimes some places I do click on the little ad to the side?  Anyway we buy our electronics from Bestbuy.  The little woman and I love the fabfitfun boxes.  And we are going to Disneyland.  I just am amused by it.  And maybe a little scared. 

Cookie Booths

Sign ups were posted for cookie booths for girl scout cookies.  Brings back memories of boy scout booths from years past.  Anyway the little woman is signed up for six booth slots in Feb and Mar. and one neighborhood walk with other girls from her troop.  We have some cookies ordered for our own neighborhood and those friends who did not order from the cookie page.
The girls as a troop decided they would use the cookie money to fund troop activities....like earning badges and they wanted to go to Seaside and stay at a girl scout cabin.  No camp this year.  And that's all right.  The leader did the math and each girl needs to sell almost 200 boxes of cookies to make enough money to fund all the stuff.  Well.....we shall see.  I don't know how the booths work in grand totals.  I'm sure it will all work out one way or another.
Anyway the little woman can be found at Freddies or Walmart most weekends from mid February until Mar. 11.

First Family Dinner 2018

We had our first family dinner of 2018.  Pat made us halibut and rock fish and added homemade onion rings.  It was all delicious.  Everyone looked at me like I was crazy when I added salt to the onion rings.  It must have been how our dad ate them, because I have done that for as long as I can remember. 
I finally managed to get a couple pictures of Harley Quinn.  She is such a fun dog.  I think Mom made a new friend in her.  We had brought Phoebe and she really didn't care about Harley cuddling with her mama. 
The little woman stayed and had a sleepover with Rebecca.  They planned on doing some girly things.  So the little man and I had some one on one time.  Not that we did anything special except cuddle and watch a movie. 

Game Night

It was game and pizza night at school.  So we went and had pizza, oranges and water and played games.  Taught the little man how to play checkers.  They had a raffle and every student got a ticket and then they put it in the bucket in front of which game they would like to win.  How lucky are we?  The little woman won Hi Ho Cherry-O and the little man won Surprise Slides.  I thought that worked out really nicely since someone had his feeling a little put out when his big sister won first. 
I love that their school does these fun little activities.  I am for anything that keeps kids engaged with their school community. 
So thank you Mr. Christel for all  you do for the math academy and for putting on these math nights. 

Puppets and Rod

The little woman's class put on two puppet plays today.  They did "Peter Rabbit" and "The Ugly Duckling."  The little woman had parts in each play.  Funny how they were birds in each one.  Anyway she did a superb job.  The whole class did. 
After the play I went down to the cafeteria in time to sit with the little man for lunch.  Then we went outside and he showed he his prowess in shooting hoops. That left me enough time to get back to the lunch room to do the sit with the little woman for lunch.  She was a little hyped up after the play.  They love it when I come for lunch.

I fell in love with Rod Stewart when I was twelve years-old.  A neighbor gave me a stack of 45's to play on my brand new record player.  One of those was "Maggie May" and I played it and played it and played it.  My frugal nature has always said I would never see him in concert. 
So he is coming to the local amphitheater with Ms. Cyndi Lauper in August.  Pre-sale was today and I went online to look.  The cheapest seats were $75.  Nope, can't do it.  Lawn seating is $30 which seems to be what it always is buying from Ticketmaster.  I didn't get to the fees, but there are always fees.  So probably $35-40 to sit on the grass.   And I was seriously debating it.  But before I purchased tickets I thought I would check groupon one more time.  Last year I saw Matchbox Twenty and the Counting Crows for $20.  I had looked earlier and there was nothing.  But today......lawn seating for $20.  And there are no additional fees.  $20 to see an artist I have adored for over forty years.  Yup.  I bought two tickets. 

Time Off

I have a nice string of days off.  I have a list of things I want to accomplish.  Now if only my motivation equaled those things.  I did manage to take Mom out for lunch.  It was number one on my list.  We went to Shari's.  And again, like always, nothing was the way she remembers it to be and she liked it better the old way.  Um, okay. 
I have been picking up and putting more stuff away.  I bought some new bins for the little woman for her little toys.  All those shopkins and littlest pet shop animals.  Found some cheap stickers so the bins got decorated.  She even let her brother decorate one of them.
The little woman had girl scouts and has a puppet play at school this week.  I love when those extra things fall on a day I can come.  Friday night is Game Night at school.  The little woman said she didn't want to go, but the little man does.  I think we are going. 
After girl scouts the little woman wanted to go see Becca and Harley.  So we quickly ran over so she could do that.  The little man and I had already hung out with them during girl scouts.  So Becca and the little woman made a plan for a sleep over this weekend. 
There are always things going on in our lives.  Time off or not.  But it is slowly looking better here.  Maybe I have been inspired by Becca and all the work she has done at my brother's.  I am enjoying my days off whether I get my list completed or not. 

Rat Count

We had three or four nice weeks of no rat activity.  The bait must have done its job.  And then.....new rat activity.  I heard it under the cupboard.  And then I am sitting on the computer and I hear glass tinkle over by the sink.  I look up just in time to see something with a tail on the toaster.  It quickly maneuvered behind the dish strainer.
I got up and got my glasses and my phone and I took a video as I carefully removed things from in front of it.  It actually let me get a video before it scurried away behind the stove.  I sent the video to the exterminator.  He called and set an appointment to come out yesterday. 
Before he came I actually found some poop that I assumed was rat poop.  I showed him when he came and he said yeah that is from a big rat and it is old.  He checked the holes and said he saw fresh rat poop and it is small from juvenile rats.  And we discussed how my cats are very interested in these rats.  Well the big rat would have whooped their butts and they know it.  But juvenile rats are a little bigger than mice and they can be killed easier. 
He reset the bait trap, put some bait in the hole in the siding and set a trap in the kitchen.  Showed me how to work the trap and what to do if and when I caught a rat.  Dispose and reset.  We left right after he did.  We came back a couple of hours later and we had a dead rat in the trap.  So we disposed of it after the kids checked it out.  Reset the trap and put it back.  A couple of hours later we were watching television and we heard the trap trip.  Sure enough we had caught another one. 
Was hoping for the same result this morning, but the trap was clear.  Until this afternoon.  So far three rats in less than 24 hours.  So again we disposed and reset.  The kids seem curious.  I was worried about how the little woman was going to take killing the rats.  Her friend in girl scouts has pet rats.  The little woman seems to understand the difference between pets and vermin.  Thank goodness. 

Beach Trip

The little woman finally got home about 9 last night.  She had the most wonderful time.  She keeps thinking of things to share from her adventure.  She admits sometimes she and Brooklyn fought.  Sounds about right.  Brooklyn's mom said the little woman talked about her brother a lot over the weekend.  She missed him. 
So there were kites on the beach and dead seagulls and Marsh's Museum.  She didn't starve which I'm sure she was a tad worried about.  Being the picky eater and all.  She said Brooklyn gave her a shirt and a dress. 
And now back to family life and fighting with her brother.  So glad she had a good time. 

Fears

The little man popped off with was I afraid of something.  I don't even remember what now and it was just last week.  Whatever it was, my answer was yes.  I am scared of everything.  He kind of looked at me funny.
I am.  I am scared of heights, bridges, water, fire, enclosed spaces, snakes, bugs, groups of people, loud people, cars, planes, trains, etc.  That said....I don't let those fears rule my life.  I don't look for ways to get to places that don't go over bridges.  How would I ever go to Portland?
I think some of my fears are irrational and some aren't.  Fire is a good thing to be afraid of.  And I give it a lot of respect.  And while I'm scared of it, I love to play in it.  It's such a contradiction. 
I don't know where my fears came from.  I don't know when they came to be.  I don't know when I learned how to live with them and still live. 
Maybe the difference is that while I have them, they aren't over the top fear.  Maybe they are part of being a human being. 
So I asked the little man what he is afraid of.  He has taken monsters off his list.  He must still be scared of Chuckie though.  I have explained many many times about characters, which is what Chuckie is, and real people and things.  Doesn't matter.  I know he is scared of creepy things like when his sissy whispers she is going to get him.  It's the whispering. 
I don't know what the little woman is afraid of.  I just know that mostly no one goes to the bathroom by themselves in this house.  Nor do they go to the kitchen from the bedroom by themselves at night even if we have at least four force fields protecting us. 
I just hope that my fears are not making their fears any worse and that they learn how to live with whatever they are when they get older.  Fear can make life pretty hard if not kept under control. 

Thoughts and Opinions

Lately I have noticed that the little woman is getting a whole set of opinions.  Like her pronouncement to her brother about girls slapping boys they don't like.  I'm flabbergasted at where some of them come from.  There is the whole nature versus nurture that goes on in how we become the people we do. Each of us have different experiences that mold how we think. 
I can do a quick comparison of my brother and myself.  He is conservative and I'm liberal.  We pretty much had the same upbringing, but we did not have all duplicate experiences. 
Makes me wonder who the littles will turn out to be.  Naturally I would hope they think more like me, but I'm smart enough to know they may not. 
Realizing that I tend to be quiet in my opinions.  I don't argue with people.  I pretty much believe that I cannot change anyone's opinion.  So I live my life and do my thing.  I'm not vocal and maybe that is a mistake.  How do the littles know what I think if I don't tell them?  Will their life experiences match mine? No, but they have brains and I want them to use them. 
I've talked about how we need to expand our world.  One of the reasons is for exposure for them.  So they can see that all people are people regardless of color, sex, orientation, age, etc.  We have a fear of the unknown and that can impact our beliefs about others. 
I expose the littles to a lot of activities.  They are busy busy children, but I think I am lacking in exposing them to people.  So maybe this will be the year we get out of my skin and try harder to expand our world in the way of people.  Maybe this is the year I start talking to them more about how I view my world.  And maybe one day one of them will grow up to impact the world in a way that makes it a better place.  Their being impacts the world, but maybe something they do or say or think and maybe they won't have the fears that I have. 

Osaka House

The little woman went for her sleepover weekend with her friend Brooklyn.  So it is just the little man and I.  We invited Uncle Pat to go to Osaka House with us.  I had a living social voucher that I bought last fall.  He brought Rebecca and we had a nice dinner.
The little man behaved very nicely.  The cook was a little funny and he made the little man smile with some of his antics.
I had been to a hibachi restaurant with my sister the last time I was in MN.  She had ordered steak while I had chicken.  She told me it is the best steak and let me try a piece of hers.  It was very very good.
So I told this story to Pat and Rebecca.  The three of us ordered shrimp and steak and the little man had shrimp.  It was wonderful.  The little man tried the steak and bean sprouts and didn't really care for either.  I was just happy that he willingly tried them.  He is my more adventurous eater.  He loved the shrimp though.
It was a nice meal with good company and a great place to visit. The best part was the little man then went on a sleepover at Uncle Pat's so he could play video games. 

Coffee and Connections and Stories

I can always tell when the small bout of depression lifts.  I become more aware of my surroundings and how messy things got.  I become more aware of how many connections I have missed.  And so as the cloud lifts I make small changes. 
The first being reconnecting.  And this is the year of coffee.  So I had coffee with Michael.  And today I had coffee with Belinda.  We chatted and caught up and as we are winding down she comments about how exciting my life is. 
My life is not overly exciting.  I just tell good stories and I have good stories to tell.  Whether it is something that makes me mad, sad or happy.  I've always been able to tell a good story.  Hopefully I don't embellish too much.  I know that if I am writing I am allowed poetic license, but I don't do that verbally.  Mostly I figure the story stands on its own merits. 
It was good to spend a couple of hours catching up.  Reconnecting.  I haven't seen Belinda for awhile.  Time gets away from us sometimes.  Especially when we work and work different days.  I missed her. 
So I wonder who I can have coffee with next week? Hoping to keep up with this new trend. 

Continuing Struggle

Guess it just comes with kids.  There have always been kids in my house and I have never had a pen or pencil that stays put.  Now I wonder off with stuff all the time, but I usually find the stuff I move.  I think I spend more time hunting for a writing utensil that I do writing.  

I know where all the markers, crayons and colored pencils are.  Funny how they never all disappear.  I buy pens in packages of ten and yet they will be gone in no time.  

The little woman is now suppose to do her homework in pencil.  I never think to buy pencils and when I do....I hide the package so I have pencils.  And then naturally like all the other things I hide...I can't remember where I hid it.  

The struggle is so real.  

Marriage

The littles are too funny.  The little woman has been talking about how old she will be when she gets married and when the children might come.  Well today the little man pops up with how do you get married.  And so I said first you have to fall in love.  His understanding is..."I have to find a girl who likes me?" Well yes that is helpful.  Then his sister started giving him marriage advice.  She told him to stay away from the ones who don't really like him because they might slap him.  Don't ask me as I have no idea where she gets most of her new ideas. 

Lots and Lots and Lots

Busy busy at work.  Yes today was not quite as busy as yesterday but we were still pretty busy. 
The little woman came down with a "tummy ache" and I think the health nurse was just tired of dealing with her.  She left a message telling me that the little woman had been in at least three times and maybe I should just leave work early and come pick her up.  Which I did.  And guess who was perfectly fine, although she still claimed to have a tummy ache.  And look who learned that that trick works.  Joy.
We did get some groceries.  I'm not sure we got what we needed, but the littles did get some choices.  Chocolate milk being their big favorite.
Then the little woman and I set up her girl scout cookie page.  Here is the link.  It is a new way to sell some more cookies without going out and doing door to door, although they suggest that still be done also.  So I asked her all the relevant questions to set up her page.  She gave pretty short answers.  I'm betting next year she will do better as she gets the hang of it this year.  Anyway the web page lets people support her and order through the page and have the cookies shipped.  So friends and relatives that are not local can participate helping her.  I did notice to have cookies shipped that you had to order four boxes and I did not see if there is a shipping charge.  Anyway we got it done and now we will see how it does. 
The little woman was invited to a sleepover this Friday which turned into a weekend at the beach.  She is going to have such a good time.  And the little man got over his strong desire that he too go with.  So I will have some boy time.  We will be going out for dinner with Uncle Pat to Osaka House for some Japanese food that is cooked at your table.  The little man should get a kick out of that.  I have a voucher from Living Social so it won't cost an arm and a leg. 

Brian

I have been thinking about Brian since October.  He was one of my classmates from junior and high school.  I can't remember if he was at Image with us the year we did seventh grade there due to overcrowding. 
At the reunion I had commented on him being the only black person in my class.  And he pointed out that there were about four others.  Well after I got home I had to check the yearbook and he was right.  I don't know if they were ghosts like me or whether he just stood out more because of how long we went to school.  Honestly 35 years later and I don't remember over half the kids I went to school with.  Maybe he was just more boisterous.
What I remember about Brian is how outgoing he was.  One of the popular kids.  And how I was always impressed greatly.  This was the age long before white privilege.  He was one of a very few in a sea of white faces and yet he pulled it off with grace.  I don't know if he was ever nervous or anxious.  I know I would have been.  It could have been he was just making the best of his situation, but it sure never felt like that.  He was just Brian. 
We had a training at work on white privilege.  Let me preface this with I have always thought life is the luck of the draw.  It is just luck that I was born white in the USA and not brown in the middle east.  I think we all, no matter color, love our children.  I think we grow up learning what is normal for our culture.  And it floors me when any group says they are better because of that culture....when it is all luck to begin with.
But I sat through this two hour seminar with my mouth just about hitting the floor.  Born white I had never given thought to things not happening in my life.  I've never been pulled over for driving in an upperclass neighborhood. I assumed all education was the same.  I had just never thought about it. 
And it comes back around to Brian.  I wonder how much he experienced that stuff while growing up.  I hope not too much, but I'm not naive.  And so what I should have said at the reunion was if I was part of anything that made his life harder I apologize. That is a thing about white privilege.....you don't even know when you are part of a group taking the advantages and not seeing those who didn't get them. 
His facebook page shows a happy family and a good career.  He was very personable at the reunion.  He comes across as a man of integrity, honor and great worth.  And good, bad, luck of the draw, color of skin....he is still just Brian, although all those things had a play in the man he became. 

Winter Rush 2018

And we were busy.  We are a three man crew manning the bag check/security area.  Mostly it is the right amount.  We were certainly glad to have help when it was time for lunches though.  None of us would have wanted to do two man crews while it was so busy. 
I complimented scarves and hair colors today.  Taking a page from my littles who love to tell people how pretty or handsome they are.  It makes people feel good.  And every little feel good helps when it is so busy and they are going to have to wait in lines to get their books. 
One woman had come up to me.  Due to whatever circumstances in her life she missed picking up the reserved books for her autistic son.  She did not know we were open on Saturday.  So today she stood in the line for 45 minutes, only to find the books had been reshelved. She was then told she needed to go back to textbooks, find the books and again stand in the line.  When she asked me about it on her way out I made an executive decision and told her to get her books and we would let her just pay for them.  And that's what we did.  Little things sometimes help in the grand scheme of life. 
We did have to stop the store once.  We were amazed because we didn't have to do that once during fall.  Sometimes it is just funny how business goes. 
It was a long busy day and I'm ready for sleep.  Wish the littles were. 

Dog Sign

Phoebe is getting old and when the weather becomes cold and rainy she doesn't like to go outside to do her potty business.  She loves to use the little woman's room.  So we have a rule that says they need to keep their doors closed so it doesn't happen. 
Sometimes though....kids being kids....the doors get left open.  So the littles are playing in her room and they call out that there is dog poop in there.  We clean it up.  And go on with life.
This morning she made a sign for the dog.  And she hung it on her door at the dog's height so Phoebe can read it.  I was amused when she made the sign.  I was more amused when I saw where she hung it.  I think she thinks Phoebe can read.  ;p

Limbo

I hate limbo with a passion.  I have lived many times in that area.  This is a small annoyance, but ongoing.  We had gifts shipped to Niklaus and a big box of diapers.  And according to Amazon those boxes were delivered.  On Wednesday.  Just like Amazon promised.
I know that Cassie and Niklaus were released from the hospital on Wednesday and were home late that afternoon, early evening.  Naturally I understand the craziness that ensues at that point.  So I really didn't expect acknowledgement on Wednesday, although it would have been nice.  A quick short text takes all of half a minute.
Yesterday came and went and this morning is almost all gone.  Still no acknowledgement.  But Tammy, the happiest woman on the planet received a text picture this morning of Niklaus.  So someone had time to text her.  We still don't have a picture either.....other than what the world sees on facebook.  Extrapolating means Tammy means more than the littles.  And I guess so since she has been gushing about being the new adopted Nana to the baby.

Here is the picture that was sent to Tammy that I stole off facebook.  ;p He is a cutie. 

So we sent gifts.  It is what we do.  And whether you like it, don't like it or apathetic to it....I still expect something that tells me it got there.  Thank goodness for Amazon and package tracking.  I hate having to ask all the time if a box arrived.  And I get to a  point that I quit asking.  And I'm there.
And then I get to the point that I quit sending.  Before tracking numbers I never knew if something arrived if no one said anything.  I remember distinctly going through this same kind of behavior from Doug, Dave's son.  And I had to stop sending packages to  him also.  Until he got a wife and she took over the responsibility of family relationships and acknowledging packages, etc.
I'm of the thought that if you don't care enough to acknowledge, why should I care enough to send? Feels like it is more of that what you do for me, I do for you.

Sleepover

After girl scouts on Wednesday the little woman told me she could have a sleepover at Brooklyn's house.  And Mia confirmed that it was true and anytime.  Well I'm not fond of sleepovers on school nights. 
So today I made arrangements with Mia for the girls to have a sleepover next weekend.  The little woman hasn't been to a sleepover since we moved from the apartments.  She gets to go over about dinnertime and then stay till dinnertime the next day.  How cool. 
And I get little man time.  We don't get much of that now that he is also in school. 
Next will be planning a sleepover here.  Now that is a different proposition.  But we shall see if we can make it work. 

A Play and a Brother

The girl scout troop had plans to put on this cute little Christmas play for the folks at the assisted living.  It is where they have their regular meetings. At least half of the girls came down with the flu so the play got postponed. 
Well last night was the new night.  The girls did a fantastic job.  The old folks really really liked it and complimented the girls on how well they did.  It was a good night.

After having gone back and forth a bit on Niklaus, I decided that if I didn't share his birth with the littles it just wasn't going to get done.  There still has been no contact with them about it.  I don't think Mommy has even thought about them and how this all affects them. Or not.
So I told the little woman and showed her the pictures on facebook.  She had the most oddest response ever.  First she was incredulous that he came out.  And then she looked at the pictures and said "Oh, he's not brown."  Wait....what? Don't ask me how but somehow she got it in her head that the name Niklaus is for brown babies.  What I find funny is if I just have a reaction based on the name...white supremist is what come to me.  So we are at polar opposites.  And either way we are both wrong.  He is just a little baby boy.

Niklaus

Cassie and David had their baby boy yesterday.  He weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 20 inches long.  Apparently everything went smoothly although maybe not as quickly as Cassie would have liked. 
Our gifts of course will be late.  Her due date wasn't until Jan. 15th.  That is the way the cookie crumbles.  The box will be delivered tomorrow so that isn't too bad.  They will be plenty busy. 
I debated about what to tell the littles.  It is exciting.  They just got a new brother.  And yet I kind of feel like it should be Mommy's place to tell them that he has arrived.  They won't get to meet him for some time. There are pictures of Jazzlynn with him, naturally.  I don't know.  All I know is they did not get a phone call or even a personal picture sent via the phone.  They got what the world got which is facebook. 
Again I remind myself that the littles aren't sad.  I'm just sad when I see her posting about her family of four and when her friends comment about her two beautiful babies.  I guess that is right. 

Family Meeting

The littles are big enough now to have some opinions about what we do for our activities.  So we sat down and had our first family meeting.  We talked about all the things we would like to do this year and things we might not like to do.  Poor little woman was outvoted on camping at the island. 
We have all our usual things.  Camping, yurting at the beach (twice this year), the fair, the zoo, Dizzy Castle, JJ Jump and then the biggie......Disneyland.  We all agreed it would be a fantastic trip and that we should fly.  It's a long drive and we don't want to do it.
So I checked my work schedules as far as when my boss has vacation scheduled.  I checked their school calenders to see how some of those things would work during school time.  And then I set about making plans.
We have reservations for the yurts at two different camp grounds.  The little woman is fine with this kind of camping.  And I bet she doesn't wipe her fingers under any shelving at stores. 
Next came the big trip.  We didn't do anything big last year so that we could afford to do something super fun this year.  Naturally I had to figure out the best way to work it.  Sometimes it is better to book things separately.  Not this time.  So I booked a package for the air and hotel.  Then I bought us transfers from the airport to the hotel.  The hotel has shuttles to Disneyland.  I don't see the need for a rental car.  So this part is done.
Then I remembered that I can't fly with my drivers license.  We are one of the states that don't have proper ID or something.  So I need to upgrade my driver license to an enhanced one.  Good thing I could find my passport.  That makes things a lot easier.  So it is next on my agenda.  Too bad my passport is expired. 
Looking at all that tells me I can still easily renew my passport which will be for another day and trip.  I still want to go to  Canada. 
So I'm a little excited and I post about it on facebook.  Well Cassie decides this is the time to ask when are we going to talk about paying half for the littles to come visit her during the summers.  Ummm obviously not this year.  I have never agreed to pay half.  The littles are too young and don't behave well enough to travel by themselves even with the airline supervision.  She really has no clue and seems to think they are way older than they are.  And I do know that some kids their ages travel between parents.  I'm not a parent who is co-parenting.  I am the guardian and custodian which gives me all rights and decision making. 
This year we are going to Disneyland.  Some place I never thought I would ever go.  And it was suggested I get a seaband from the pharmacy for my motion sickness.  Because we never found someone to go with us.  Therefore I must ride a few rides. 
Family meeting was a success.  I'm working towards more of them with the littles giving me more input into what they want to happen in their lives.  Afterall it is their lives and family also. 

Blog 2017

Wow.  It appears my blog is growing.  Right around 19,000 page views in 2017.  Even if you take out the numbers for the post on Debbie, which had over 1,000 by itself, the numbers are still respectable.
Again I have at least one posting for every day of the year.  Still keeping track  of all our activities and growth.  We didn't do any major trips this year, but we did a lot of small things that add up.  I've touched on a lot of subjects that are part of my life or part of our life as a grandfamily.  It keeps me centered and on point.  It's our life and we are living it.
I'm amazed at the readers.  I don't find this blog to be all that interesting to people who don't know me.  I'm not sure it is interesting to people who do know me.  But there it is...the numbers don't lie.  And so I will keep doing it.  Mostly because I find it valuable.  And someday the littles will also.