Sore Throat

The little man came down with a sore throat.  Hurts to swallow.  The usual sore throat stuff.  And that is all.  No fever, no stuffy head, no coughing.  So I gave him a pill and sent him to school. 
He tells me when he gets home that he went to the health room twice.  So I asked what they did.  Well they checked for a fever naturally.  And there just isn't one.  So he got a small break and then back to class. 
We did discover that Mac and Cheese goes down all right with little to no pain.  Guess what he is eating a lot of.  And it's good.  Got to get the calories in for the body to heal that throat.
And it is probably allergies....duh.  I expected allergies when the pink and white trees bloomed, not now when all the rest have bloomed. 

Busy Day

Our day started with a little sidewalk art.  We had just gotten started when Taylor pulled up.  He was amazed at how big the kids had gotten.  He's been in the army for three years now so they have grown a bit.  We caught up and then he went on his way.
We finished our artwork with a zentangle and the little man did a great job. 
All day I kept hearing the question of when we were going to Pat's house.  It was family dinner day again.  We got the side dishes ready to go and then we finally went.  I left the littles there while I went and collected my mom. 
Pat fried us up some fish.  He used my fryer this time since it is bigger and he said that worked a lot better. 
The littles picked up some wood and stacked it and then put small stuff in a big box.  They each made a little moola.  When they were done picking up they did the bug hunt thing.  They enjoyed that a lot, but they loved the frog best. 
It was an enjoyable afternoon/evening.  The little man got to play the game with Uncle Pat and they won the last time they played.  Mom enjoyed her time with us.  And the little woman pretended she was a dog most of the time.  Not sure where that comes from, but she seems to like doing it. 

"Time Me"

Our new thing seems to be seeing how fast we can ride our bikes around the block.  The little man started it last weekend.  2 minutes and 37 seconds. 
Then today she wanted to do it, but she crashed before she started.  So he took a turn and it was just over three minutes.  He knew he was going to be slow.  Well then she felt better and she took a turn.  The little man was holding the timer and he paused it.  Ruined her time.  And then she stopped a couple of times before she got back.  So she had just over four minutes and it was probably pretty close to what she did. 
He was not going to end there so he took another turn.  Two minutes and 35 seconds.  He had hauled butt that time.  And naturally he likes to win so that always factors in.  He had her beat the first time, but he wanted to be really fast. 
After all that he started complaining about a sore throat.  Uh-oh.  He is now asleep taking a nice nap.

Winding Down

The lull is winding down.  Next week I go back to normal kind of shifts and hours.  I have so enjoyed all the extra days off the past two weeks.  I got some work done.  I got a lot of vegging and watching Netflix done.  

Today I hit the grocery store while I still could alone.  ;p  Also went to Goodwill to look for some more clothes for the little woman to restock.  She is pretty angry that I got rid of all her small clothes.  She insists that because she likes them they still fit.  I have not explained to her that her pants made her look like a plumber.  Anyway....I found the goodwill prices to be too expensive.  I did find her a long sleeved shirt with thumb holes.  That seems to be her thing right now.  And you can't find those at Walmart.  I need to find a bag of clothes off one of the facebook sale sites.  

The little woman and I hit an open house today.  It was all right, but did not call my name.  The realtor said she would email me some info, but so far....nothing.  Sure hoping she isn't a flake because I did like her.  But there are a lot of realtors out there so I will be fine and it will work out when it is suppose to.  

Tom

I was thinking about Tom this week and his sons.  One of his sons makes my brain buzz.  And that is not a good thing.  Here is hoping I'm wrong on my brain buzz theory, but I doubt I am.  Anyway today I sent him a quick hey message to see if he is still alive.  He hasn't posted anything on facebook in a couple of months. 
I know he suffers from depression so figured maybe he was in a funk.  Well he messaged me back.  Heading soon to detox.  Drinking way too much.  And I was not surprised.  The last conversation we had was about a game he and his friend like to play at the bar so neither one drinks too much.  I know a man not in recovery and thinking he can still control it when I meet him or speak to him or whatever. 
So I am sending him healthy vibes in the universe.  Flat out told him I am co-dependent and that I've lived with it long enough to know my boundaries.  I can't fix him, save him or help him.  All I can do is offer to think of him.  I did say that perhaps he needed a different perspective like now that he has taught his children how to be an alcoholic, perhaps it was time to teach them what comes afterwards. Hindsight that was probably wrong, because addiction does not care about your children.  But it is a seed in his brain that some day may grow.  And I hope so because one day one of his sons may need him a lot.  And if he keeps drinking.....he won't be there. 

Composters

When the contractors were here and cleaned up beside the house so they could replace siding I did a dump run with Joe.  Some of the stuff that couldn't fit included two composters.  Joe suggested I put them on the facebook sale site for free as they were still very usable.  I just wasn't going to use them since they do attract rats. 
So I placed my ad and had a couple little tiny little nibbles.  And then nothing.  So I took the ad off and they sat there while I decided what to do next.  Then I went online and looked at what they costed new.  Right around $100 for either of them.  Wow. 
So this morning I thought.....I'm going to be home today.  Maybe I will post a new ad with a price and see what happens.  I listed each one at $25.  They didn't fly, but they were both gone by this afternoon. 
Too funny. 

75th Birthday

Today was my mom's 75th birthday.  The littles and I took a cake to share and everyone in the cottage really enjoyed it.  We were thanked several times.  The facility gave her a mini bottle of apple cider and balloons.  We gave her socks (which she constantly needs) and some little diamond earrings.  She had asked for some.  We managed to get them in her ears.  She insisted she was wearing them before she ate cake.  And then we had the scrumptious cake.  The littles were on their best behavior and actually gave kisses and cuddles to Grammy.  I think she enjoyed her impromptu party.

Manning the Warehouse

Liz took a long weekend.  So I worked the long shift today.  When we talked about it last week she told me that I could do some pre-counting for inventory if I got bored.  She didn't think there would be much to do. 
Ha.  I walked in to two big pen orders sitting on the tables to be received and an art order to price.  And then in the middle of the floor was another art pallet.  Yeehaw.  I also had all the Monday receiving to do.  We get in a bunch of food on Mondays.  ;p  She had left me a list and so I set about it.
I finished my list and did the art pallet, which was not on the list.  I spent the majority of the day standing and that is always a mistake.  Most of the time when I work long days by myself I have figured out when I need to do sit down work, but it didn't work today.  Once home and resting I could sure tell.  Ah well, c'est la vie. 
Now on to the rest of the week of beautiful days. 

Sunny Sunday

What a glorious day.  The sun was shining.  So the little man and I did a little garden earth day project.  He had gotten a packet of marigold seeds in his kid meal from Burgerville. Today we filled a planter with dirt and planted those seeds.  He gently reminded me it needed water and we decided we really need to buy a watering can. 
Then the neighbor kid came over to mow.  The little man spent the entire time out there with him helping and learning.  He was so funny when he needed to come in and get ear bugs and a phone for music so he could be like Logan.  I had already weedeated the back, but obviously not up to Logan's standards as he did a little more work back there.  Then he touched up the front and it looks pretty good. 
Time to get the front flowerbed cleaned out. 
We picked up my mom and met Pat at Red Lobster.  We were doing the family celebration of Mom's birthday.  She really enjoyed her shrimp as did the little man.  Time together and making memories.  It was a fabulous sunny Sunday. 

Scenic Route

It was a beautiful day for a drive up the gorge.  All the waterfalls, the greens and the browns, hope restored and a visit. 
We left very early.  Drove up to Connell and visited with Daddy.  The little man was so happy to see him he almost forgot the rules and wanted to run to him.  We have to wait at our table for him to come to us.  They played games and got their picture taken.  It was really very nice.  We have decided that after this though we will do video visits as it is much easier and cheaper.
On the way back we saw all the many shades of green.  There is still lots of fire damage, but it doesn't show as bad as you expect from the freeway.  From the freeway I was struck by all the vibrant shades of green there are and wonder how much the fire had to do with that.  We came to Multnomah Falls and stopped to take a picture.  You can see the damage and you can see the greens.  The whole gorge is still very majestic and regal.  And even though it is changed forever, it remains itself.  And that is a testament to Mother Nature, Conservations working hard and all the firefighters who worked tirelessly to stave off even more destruction than there was.  The feel driving along was different, but no less spectacular than before. 
It was a nice Saturday with just a bit too much togetherness in the car.  Glad we are home and it was still early enough the littles could go outside and ride bikes. 

Breathe

We were on the way to having one of those mornings. I took a deep breath and readjusted my plans and my attitude. Remade her lunch after her brother spit on her cupcake. Helped her do that homework she insisted she was going to do. Proved to her that her shoes did not have goldfish in them and that she could wear them. On the way to the car we had to wait while she tried to catch "Prince", the neighbors cat. And then we were on our way. She looked in the mirror and said Prince was in our driveway. I told her Prince and Sunset were having a cat party. The whole drive there we talked about what a cat party would look like. A cat party has dishes of water and milk. Toy mice hang from the ceiling on strings. And Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" is playing for them to dance to. I would have missed this moment had the morning gone any other way.

Long Incubation

As the day progressed my tummy felt worse and worse.  And then the headache came.  I felt exactly how the little man said he did last week.  I didn't throw up but I was ready for bed at 7:30.  Not that that ever works.  I did lay down for awhile.  Came back out to the front of the house and saw pink goldfish smashed all over the carpet.  Guess the little mans still likes how that feels when you stomp on goldfish.  Oy.  Tomorrow is a new day. 

Pictures and Visits

So the little woman wanted to know if she would see her cousins when we go north for the Bar Mitzvah.  Naturally I told her I did not know, but I would ask.  We had already connected with Chad and he and Gina will be out of town.  So I messaged Treva to ask, although I don't expect a positive response.  And I had told the little woman that.  I did not want to get her hopes up too much.
Then my search began as to when was the last time we were up and saw the cousins.  June 2015.  Before that was summer 2013.  Between 2013 and 2015 I asked many times.  And they were always busy.  I am always incredulous at I am willing to drive five  hours round trip for an hour or two visit.  My priorities.  But when I was finally basically told to quit asking because Treva needs to conserve her energy for her kids (and I get that...she has some health issues), I quit asking.  The visit in June 2015 we didn't ask.  We just stopped in on our way through.  And we had a lovely visit.  And then we went back to not asking.  But the little woman wanted me to ask. And now I have.
But in my search I was going through pictures.  Yes, I know, a dangerous place for me.  And I am still amazed at all the things we have done in the littles' lives.  All the parks, the playgrounds, the farmer's markets, movies, plays, Rose Festivals, county fairs, and big trips like San Francisco and Disneyland.  I was pleased at how many pictures I have of Mike with his kids. Because I was searching for something specific I was only touching on a few pictures.  But I was amazed and awed and glad we have done all these things.  We do all these things to burn off energy and because our circle is small.  In their family it seems like they are second class citizens and I never want them to feel that.  I think maybe the littles and I need to sit down and look at all these pictures of happy memories and great experiences.  There are lots of families that are small and I guess we are one of those, no matter how many cousins and aunts and uncles they really have.

Progress Again

Bill, the exterminator came out again today.  We opted not to set out any more bait since I have no evidence of rodents.  The bait is an attractant and we do not want to attract rats.  He closed up my last hole under the house.  Hope my cat isn't under there.  ;p
Did Mom's taxes.  Cutting it close.  Was amazing that hers took so much more to do than mine and it wasn't like there was a lot to add to it.  Anyway it is done. 
Did some pick up and went shopping.  Got some more cleaner for the floor.  So tomorrow I mop.  Yay me!
We have our hotel reserved for the Bar Mitzvah. 
Making progress.  Always amazed at how much I can get done when the kids are in school.  :P

Reminder

I've made myself pretty isolated and can't seem to get out of it.  While the littles are wild and rambunctious....and I am self-defeating there....I don't want to take them places where they will get too excited and break something.  Self-defeating because they do calm down and act much better at places they go to a lot.  It's like a new place is just too exciting.
I thought I had made a new friend, maybe one who isn't judging me or the littles.  But I was wrong.  And so it is.  And it makes me sad.
Then we get this invitation in the mail.  I have friends up north who we haven't seen for a couple of years.  We have been up there several times to visit since they moved up there and have stayed at their  house a couple of times.  Their son is having his Bar Mitzvah. And we have been invited to it and the Shabbat services the night before.
And I am reminded that while our circle is small we have wonderful people in it.  We can't help that some of them live in different places. And while we will keep trying to make our cirlce bigger, we will appreciate the ones already in it.
Now I need to study up on Bar Mitzvah etiquette and what to wear.  I feel extremely blessed for the reminder that we have great people in our lives.

Family Dinner at Burgerville

Uncle Pat was going to visit Mom.  The little man wanted to see Pat, so we offered to meet them at Burgerville for dinner.  We all had milkshakes except the little man.  He just had chocolate milk.  When we were done the little man went with Uncle Pat home to play computer games.  The little woman and I took Mom home. 
Good to find out there is another escaper at her place.  I was heading out the locked door when a newer resident asked me how I did that.  I explained we had a code.  So she wanted to know where to get the code.  I simply told her one of the gals would have to give it to her and quickly made my way out. 
The little woman and I stopped and saw Papa's mom and stepdad.  We hadn't seen them for awhile.  We caught up a bit and the little woman met their cat.  They were very happy we stopped in. 

A Wart Story

The little woman had three warts.  One of the bottom of a toe, one on her knee and one on her hand.  We had talked about having the one on her knee looked at the next time we had a normal check up with her doctor.  I kind of monitored but didn't make a big deal about anything. 
My girl is highly sensitive.  And all means of removal at the doctor office are not pleasant.  I know this firsthand.  When I was 40 and signed up for rock wall classes I had a wart on the big toe right where the toe would be on the climbing pegs and it hurt to put pressure on it.  So I had to get it removed so I could utilize those classes.  We tried some medicine first and it really wasn't doing the trick.  Then it was froze off and that hurt pretty good.
So knowing what I knew did not make me in any hurry to try and get her removed.  So she comes home from school about six weeks ago and told me some girl in her class told her they would go away if she didn't play with them.  Now I have never seen her play with them, but what do I know? I'm just thinking that would be lovely but she has had them for a long time.
Jump ahead to this week.  The little man has a wart. Joy.  Well she pops off with hers are all gone.  Wait...what?  Sure enough all three of hers are gone. Nada.  Zip.  Finito.  So she tells him if he doesn't play with it it will go away.  I can't argue with her logic and I do know that sometimes they do just go away.  After all they are a virus. 

Friday Night

So the little woman had a girl scout sleepover at the troop leaders house.  The picture the leader posted on facebook shows a good time being had by all the girls. 
The little man went to Uncle Pat's house.  No picture, no call, no text.  So I assume he had a good time playing video games.
And then there was me.  There were no movies playing that I wanted to spend money to see.  I did not want to spend my time grocery shopping this time.  So I simply went home and vegged on the couch watching netflix.  Started a new series and just enjoyed the quiet. 
And then I slept so good.  Sometimes I do not when I get the bed to myself, but last night was grand. 

Plate Full

My plate is pretty full and has been for some time.  There are days when it feels like an overwhelming mess.  Today, however, one thing falls off my plate.
I just finished up the taxes on the twins' trusts.  Yeah, I know, cutting it a bit close.  But one twin now has no money left in his trust so it is done.  I'm not sure how much time it will save me, but it is one less thing to think about.  One less set of taxes to do during tax time.
And that must mean that it is time for life to fill in that place on the plate because it seems like it always does.  ;p

Cookie Rewards

The little woman had girl scouts last night.  The girls received their badges and prizes from the cookie sales.  The little woman was so pleased with her bag of stuff.  She seemed most fond of the turtle that comes out of the egg and the cookie earbud holder.

Odd

We do bag checking the first week of the quarter.  It's like a coat check.  We take the bags and give a number.  They bring the number back and get their bags.  More and more people seem to have water bottles, coffee cups, etc. in their bags.  And there are very few that are truly leak proof.  We lay the bags flat on the carts and a leaky bottle tends to make a mess.  Some people bring glass bottles and cups and if they fall out when the bag comes off the shelf...well you guessed it.  And since I am the main bag checker....it is always me that it happens to. 
Most of the time I'm pretty busy and don't have time to stop and ask every single person to remove their bottles.  So I made signs and hanged them on the cart to please remove them.  Not everyone pay attention to the sign.  I try hard to pay closer attention and not have a mess. 
So I noticed a couple of different times this week people read the sign and took the bottle/cup out of their outside pocket of their bag and then placed it inside and zipped it up.  I'm assuming those bottles/cups were empty.  I figure if you place that bottle inside your bag and it leaks, that is not on me.  At least not the mess it makes in the original backpack.
I do not follow the logic.  But then I guess I don't have to.

Second Day of Rush

We get amused by the silliest things.  This sign was on one of the restrooms at the college today.  We loved the little graphic.
I worked hard today and tried to make it a bit easier for every one else who had to work hard yesterday.  It was a pretty good day.  Jan gave notice so today was his last day.  He was quite a character to work with.  We will miss him. 

First Day of Rush

Today was the first day of rush.  The littles and I were up and mostly out the door on time.  We arrived at day care and the little woman decided she wasn't going in.  The little man got out of the car and was waiting by the door.  I turned around just in time to see him vomiting on their mat.  So back in the car and home we went.  We spent the first day of Rush on the couch taking it easy.
At work they were extremely busy and it was a fluke. They had to stop the store for an hour and a half.  That hasn't happened in awhile and especially not on a lighter quarter.  I must not have been the only one out as all departments were short handed.  They made the best of it and got through the day.

Siding

Pictures of the new siding.  And it is just beautiful.  Had I known the whole house is going to end up being painted, I would have changed the color.  But green it shall stay.  And I guess since we are moving it doesn't matter.  Mom asked about the color and I told her green and she said "Oh, I like green."  Yes Mom, I know.  She actually had a day when she remembered it was her house. 

A Party

The little woman had another birthday party invite.  That makes two in one year.  So she attended the party.  She knew the birthday girl and one other girl.  Both of those girls are in her girl scout troop.  It does my heart good to have things happen for her that all kids should get to experience.  Being part of something.  She had a good time. 
I know that the little woman does not have a bubble.  That sense of personal space that you don't like people getting into.  And so she gets into other peoples' spaces.  Other kids don't like that so much.  And she can get loud and squirmy and bounce off walls.  At school kids may not see the calm, generous hearted, kind little girl that she is underneath all the excited exterior.  They may not realize that part of her acting crazy is part of her anxiety.  It took me awhile to figure out that she suffers from anxiety. 
And that doesn't mean that I know what to do for her.  So we take each day one day at a time. I try to tell her to do the breathing trick when I know she is anxious.  Mostly she fights me on it.  I know it helps, but can't convince her of it most days. 
Today for two  hours she had a normal day without us and sometimes that is a really big thing for her.  It's why I'm so happy she wanted to do girl scouts.  It's something for her.  Just her. 

Quiet

The back side of my life seems very quiet.  I think that is a good thing.  I am living life one day at a time.  Trying not to worry about things that aren't for me to worry about.  Trying not to be obsessive and look for things or facebook stalk so much.  ;p  I think I will always facebook stalk, but mine is different.  I just look up people I come across and then check to see who has friends in common with my friends.  And the world is small when you do that. 
In my stalking, not on facebook, I ran across a picture of our dog.  We haven't seen her for over three years.  I just assumed she was dead, but obviously not. 

All Fixed

The car is all fixed.  I was so impressed.  He came to me.  Afterwards I had discovered that he forgot to hook up a cable so I could not open the door from the inside.  Called him.  He would have to have me call and get another appt. or I could come to him if he gave me gas money.  Well shoot.  I just zipped on over to his place.  he fixed it in about three minutes and I did not take gas money.  I was just happy.  The job was complete, did not take hours and I didn't have to drive the car to Portland first or afterwards.  I was way ahead even with our quick drive to the tech's place. 
The little man said he was not going to do that ever again.  He sat right there the whole time during the replacement and made sure the tech got all the broken glass cleaned up.  Funny boy. 

Anger Equals Broken Window

It's no secret my boy is having a hard time managing some of his emotions lately.  Going to school and the things happening in the last six months seem to be the stressor.  Reading a lot on my group and a lot of them start having some of these issues once school starts.
Now he is doing well in school.  But what school starting means....he is exposed to a lot of kids who live with their parents.  Not like our family.  And I know there are a lot more nontraditional families than there were, but it is never the same as having Mommy and Daddy. And so school reminds him of the loss. 
So today he got mad and in the process got hurt.  Pain always makes things worse.  So he went from disappointment about not getting a big ice cream cone to big pain and then it increased to where he grabbed a rock and threw it at my car.  Now he has great aim and great strength for a six year-old.  He hit the window of my car and it just shattered.  It was a little rock with big consequences. 
I was angry, but I just put him in the car and headed for home.  It felt like it was going to be too late to find a fix for tomorrow.  Well there were a few places open.  One was supposedly open but I got voice mail.  Well that person called back.  This after I got ahold of someone else at another glass company who told me there was no way it could be fixed before Monday.  It was too late to get a new window ordered.
The guy who called back told me they would find a piece of glass and come to my house tomorrow to fix it.  And he was $100 less that the place that could not do it tomorrow.  Cool. 
The consequences for the little man?  No he did not get spanked.  Spanking does not work for him.  So it is going to be a long month with no outings, no McDonald's, no nothing because I have to pay for that new window. 

Zoo Day

Aunt Traci came over this morning and we went over to the zoo.  It is our spring break outing this year.  The weather was iffy, so we brought an umbrella and rain jackets.  We didn't need any of it, but it was nice to know we had it if we did. 
We haven't been to the zoo for a couple of years.  It looks like the elephant exhibit is compete now and pretty cool.  They have started some new exhibits.  Didn't really affect us though.  We saw all the big cats.  There were some very cute little monkeys. 
We had lunch.  The littles rode the merry-go-round and the little man did the rock wall.  They both wanted to, but we saw that you needed closed toed shoes.  Right after we bought the tickets for both kids.  The little woman was wearing sandals today.  She was pretty disappointed. 
It was a nice outing and they got to spend some quality time with Aunt Traci. 

Kudos

Brenda and I received kudos today.  The full time staff had their monthly meeting.  Someone commented to Liz after it was over about how good Brenda and I are.  We are almost again caught up after buyback and getting ready for Rush.  Liz has been busy doing buyer stuff getting ready for fall.  She has a new learning curve and is working hard to figure it all out and how to make our computer program tell her the information she needs to make good decisions.  We just let her work and we keep the rest of the warehouse afloat.  Her response, to whoever said something, was she definitely knew that.  And someone wanted us to know that also. 
And I am ready for our next lull.  ;p

Move Around

The little man got a box in the mail today.  He didn't think it was fair that the little woman had gotten some jewel pens the other day.  So inside his box were some dragonflies which are aerial in nature.  They are wings on sticks that you roll between your hands and let fly.  He also got some rockets that are similar but you shoot them up with little slingshots. We went outside and he showed me how good he is with these toys.
We are working on moving around more.  Getting outside when we can.  The little man and I went for a walk early evening.  We get less exercise when it is winter.  Now that it is spring and it is warming up it is time to get moving around. A little exercise is good for all of us.  :P

Easter 2018

The morning came and the littles waited patiently for me to get up.  Then the hunt began.  It took them quite awhile to find their baskets and I didn't think the Easter Bunny had hidden them that well. 
After that we got dressed and headed to the store.  We picked up Mom and went to Pat's house for brunch.  He made the bacon and sausage and I did the cheese blintzes.  He had pastries and a shrimp platter.  We all enjoyed it.
Then we got a text from Chad that he and Ky were almost to our house.  So we rushed home and met them.  He brought the littles each a basket and an outfit.  We sure appreciate him and all he does for us.  He is going to make a great grandpa to Ky's kids.  In a different world he would have been the littles' grandpa. 
The holiday ends with a call from Mommy. Six minutes. Holidays and birthdays.