It Actually Happened

They left.

Yukon Ho!

Somehow, this trip became a reality.

My dad pulled in before lunch yesterday & before supper, our stuff was added, beds were made, hair was cut, & everyone was declared “Ready to Go!”

They pulled out this morning about 8:30 & are headed to my sister’s for the night. After that, they head north to my dad’s family farm for a few days before picking up my uncle, we’ll call him UJ, & heading for the border.

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On the homefront, I did just fine. Sunday & Monday were harder days for me. Tuesday was busy with packing. Today, it was imperative that I hold it together until they were out of sight. I managed that quite well. As much as I will miss my boys, I’m really more worried about caring for my mom. In many ways, she’s like a toddler. She needs constant supervision (wandering, turning on burners, eating food that’s uncooked, etc) & I’m not used to that anymore. She will spend the workday at a senior center that specializes in memory loss. It’ll be good for both of us. My mom needs routine, & I need time to do things with T~. Like swimming, if it were ever to warm up.

The next few days we have a couple of neighbor kids staying with us. It’s nice to have a full house & someone to entertain T~.

K~

Time Passages

I don’t like school anymore. School makes kids grow up too fast.

Do you remember when a busy day meant trying to get groceries after playgroup & before naps? When days were spent cleaning up after messes made by cute little monsters?

As soon as E~ started Kindergarten, time sped up. Unfortunately, the time warp didn’t just affect him, the others grew up too fast too.

I normally love the last day of school. I’m just as excited as the kids. But today, I could have school last a little longer. Then I wouldn’t have to face the last day of Kindergarten for my last Kindergartener.

I’m pretty sure this is how the kids looked at the beginning of the year…

My advice. Don’t send your kids to Kindergarten. I’m pretty sure they feed them something that speeds up childhood.

K~

 

Snow Day #3

The kids may not be done with school before their Alaska journey starts. We have yet another snow day. This one, I don’t think is necessary.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have the kids home but I’m pretty sure The Weather Channel hype is to blame for this snow day.

It’s actually a really nice day to have them home. It’s warm (upper 20’s), the roads aren’t bad, & everyone is healthy. We’ll run our errands this afternoon & then hit the sledding hill. It’s so nice they are old enough that taking the kids sledding means sitting in the car, watching 😉

The one errand that must get done today is picking up G~’s new glasses. I broke them last week. Silly me, I thought I could clean them & ended up snapping off the nose piece. G~ had picked out a really nice looking pair but they were too small. Turns out G~ has a ginormous head & at the ripe old age of 9, he needs adult sized glasses.

He also has adult-sized feet.

I had thought having boys born the same time of year would mean hand-me-downs would be plentiful. Unfortunately, the boys are the same size. I think maybe another year & G~ will pass E~ in both height & weight.

Off to the sledding hill!

K~

 

Happy Commercialized Love Day!

I sent J~ a lovely someecard expressing my love for him & then I found a more perfect card.

There are a few more here, but the Hot Ham Water is my favorite.

K~

Unknown 00000000 800

Those are the most common things that pop up on my cell phone.

My cell number has somehow ended up in the hands of Shady Loan People. I have tried ignoring the calls. I’ve tried to reason with them – I never applied for their loan, therefore leave me alone! (the guy blamed me for wasting his company’s time by giving them false info. I was confused too). I’ve sung them songs. I have explained to them that a person with a $3000 suit doesn’t need a shady loan.

They didn’t get the Arrested Development reference either.

And I’m still getting calls. Although today’s refinement is for me to pick up & the robo-dialer never connects me with a person. Just dead air. .

I’m not sure what to do. Do I call my cell phone provider & see if they can get it to stop? Do they have a way to access the actual numbers behind the gibberish that shows up on the caller ID? Has anyone else ever had this happen? What did you do about it?

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A quick G~ story for you. My parents have a 20-something woman living with them. She moved in last year to help my dad care for my mom. It’s been a blessing. Martha would get my mom up & dressed & to the day center when my dad was working. She would stay with my mom when my dad needed a break or to run errands. It’s been a great situation for both parties. Anyway, G~ was talking about dogs with our neighbor today & mentioned Martha’s beagle. He explained to my friend that the dog belonged “to the college student that lives with my Papa.” My friend is familiar with my parents situation & didn’t think anything of it. But it did get me to wondering how many other people know about ‘The college student that lives with my Papa’. I think we need to come up with a title for Martha…

K~

Stages Of Sleep Deprivation

I don’t think I’ve been this tired since giving birth.

What I learned about myself during my 26 hours of wakefulness is that about 19hrs in, I begin to go through the Stages of Sleep Deprivation. This is not scientific, but it probably should be.

Stage 1: Crabbiness. I tried to mask it, but couldn’t quite pull it off.

Stage 2: Overly Emotional. I managed not to be that girl crying over her ruined travel plans, but it was really hard. Especially when J~ wouldn’t spring for the airport internet so I could download the latest Downton Abbey episode.

Stage 3: Don’t Touch Me. Not your elbow. Not your knee. Not your hand on my shoulder or my back. Just back away. This is not a good stage to be in on an airplane.

Stage 4: Jimmy Leg. The only time I have trouble with Restless Leg is when I am overly tired. I spent the 2 hours flying to Destination #2 trying to get a little sleep only to be thwarted by my left leg. I could not stop the twitching. It was miserable. Couple that with Stage #3, & J~ was pretty miserable too.

Stage 5: The Shakes. By the time we landed 5 hours from home & 4 hours from Destination #2, coordination was a thing of the past. Putting one foot in front of the other was almost too much to ask, as was standing upright. J~ & I managed to find 2 other stranded passengers to rent a car & drive home.

I did not have to drive.

You’re welcome.

In the end, we made it home. We slept for 2 hours before getting up with the kids to take them to school & stopping at the store to refill the fruit bowl. The rest of the school day we spent sleeping. I still feel headachey & tired. Thankfully the only remaining stage is #1. I can’t say that’s all due to lack of sleep. Probably has more to do with this outside my window:

I prefer this:

K~

To Do

Lists, lists, & more lists.

Lists for tomorrow’s adventure to Lego League.

Lists for my parents for their stay with my kids.

Lists for me for my trip to Puerto Rico.

My head is spinning. So much to do & so few brain cells left.

I will be so glad when Lego’s is done. I love Lego League but I am tired. E~ is tired too. I am confident the kids will do really well at the state competition but I’m looking at it as a big celebration of their hard work. Only 1 of the 70+ teams will advance & I don’t think it will be us. And that’s okay.

Preparations for PR are ongoing. I’m mostly done with my info for my parents. Just waiting for a few odds & ends to come together. I have a suitcase out for PR stuff. So far it contains hiking poles, Keens, & my hat. So it’s pretty much done. Except for the swimsuit. Can’t forget the swimsuit.

K~

Revisiting Skills Learned Long Ago & Far Away

I have this friend, let’s call her Rhonda. She has a hard time being still. Her baby went off to Kindergarten so she decided to train for a marathon. I love Rhonda because when we get together we do stuff – hiking, kickball with the kids, bike 24 miles, etc. At some point I let it slip that I owned an ancient pair of Cross Country Skis. Turns out Rhonda does too.

Today the sun is shining & it’s not frigid. I located all the equipment, dusted it off, added my orthotics to the boots & this afternoon, she & I will hit the trail.

I tried out the skis in the back yard to see if it was just like riding a bike – a skill you don’t forget. I didn’t fall! Go me!

I’m excited to head out & get the whole body working again. As much as I enjoy biking, I really miss running. In the winter, CC skiing is about as close to that as I’m going to get!

I fully expect to need help getting out of bed tomorrow, but who cares? That’s what husbands are for 😉

K~

Christmas Break in Numbers

18

The number of movies we watched.

5

The number of movies that were musicals.

1

The number of days E~ did not wear his pj’s the entire day.

3

The number of times I cooked a full meal.

2

The times I was up before 8am.

8

The number of days we were without internet on the computer (we had it on our phones so we could play Words & check facebook)

12

The number of days we were on break.

We clung to break with everything we had, but Thursday/Monday morning came anyway. The morning didn’t go as horribly as it could have. Everyone got up with their alarms & had smiles on their faces as they left the house. Good thing it’s a short week – I’m not sure I can handle more than 2 days in a row of getting up before the crack of dawn.

I’ll leave you with my new all important number:

20

The number of days until I am basking in the sun on a beach in the Caribbean!

K~

 

 

My New BFF

We go everywhere together. We watch movies together. We eat meals together. We do computer work together. We even snuggle up in bed together. And the hubster is only a smidge jealous.

Mainly because I hog Fashy all to myself.

Who knew a hot water bottle would so quickly become something I can’t live without?

I am always cold. Because of the Raynaud’s, it takes me a long time to warm up. Now, I just heat up some water in the kettle, fill up Fashy & settle in on the couch with a blanket for 10 or 15 minutes & I can get back to what I was doing without turning up the furnace to 75.

I wonder if they make hot water bottle shoes or mittens? That would be awesome!

K~