The Little Girl

She isn't so little anymore, but to her parents she is always going to be the baby. We do remind her of that from time to time...
We had a conference with two of her teachers yesterday. She had been struggling in some of her classes and we all agreed a chat would be a great idea. I had sold dance tickets at lunch and stayed to do some follow up paper work that Riley helped me with. Bob showed up and we met with two of Riley's favorite teachers. They both explained that this is a huge transition for 5th graders. The current work that Riley is being given is really for 7th graders, so it's like skipping a grade and 95% of the 6th graders struggle for the first semester. The type and quantity of work is overwhelming at first. Most students fall into the groove and get going around November. Both teachers agreed that they saw a great amount of improvement in Riley already. They both told us that her "spirit" is awesome and that she is so mindful and helpful to others. They both recognized in her the things that we already know to be her strengths. It was so awesome to have her teachers see those same things. She had been dreading the whole conference thing but when it was all over she was grinning from ear to ear and holding her head up high. Her teachers were gracious enough to remind Ri that she has great parents and how fortunate she is that we are the caring, proactive parents that teachers like to see. Armed with that gracious compliment we set off to the tutors. We first stopped at the park where Ri has been doing her community stewardship work this week. Very impressive. Let's just say that we are proud of our little girl and look forward to watching her excel.

Football and Dances

It started out kinda dark this morning but I am seeing glimmers of light peeking through the trees out in the back toward the lake. As fall progresses, the view of the lake gets better and better. It is supposed to rain tomorrow night which happens to be Friday and the football game. I am not prepared to go. I am going to take Riley to her dance and then pick her up when it is over. It is the school's Halloween dance. She will re create her costume from last year. She was a hippy last year and this year she will be a fan of Woodstock. There's a BIG difference.
Bob is prepared to go to the game to support the daughter. Sid and I are very proud of Bob and his football education. He has embraced the game as much is possible for him and Sid appreciates it. Sometimes his football theories tend to mimic a war strategy used by General George Patton but we forgive him. He doesn't get that Patton didn't use the fake pass but it's okay for the QB to use the fake pass. We are carefully trying to help him extract his Battleship game from the rules and strategies of football.
So, it will be a Friday nite spent in the comfort of my own house, warm and dry....unless Sid text messages me and tells me to high tail it on over to the game. She can only do so if it is truly a good game. We are supposed to beat this team by a fairly large margin so it wasn't on my list of great games but now word is that we are more evenly matched that previously thought. So I will prepare to go at a moment's notice.

A New Look

I have several blogs that I follow. I like the designs they have. One in particular is very simple and plain. White on white. While I couldn't go that extreme, I did simplify. I love to add pictures with my posts and feel that they are an important component to my post and add a little "somethin' somethin'".
I didn't want a busy background taking away from the real meat and potatoes of the blog. I will probably shock you all in few months with some Clark Griswold, over the top Christmas, music, slideshow and flashy type blog. I am fickle and have ADD when it comes to this. So lets suffice to say, I am in the simple mood right now.
Riley is off to her second day of community work. She came home absolutely wiped out, scratches and abrasions on her hands. She had to cut back and manage lots of blackberry vines which are VERY thorny. Glad she had her work gloves. She raked leaves like a mad woman as well. These are great skills to have at our house. We have tons of blackberry invasion issues and tons of leaves. I am going to stop harping on the math and academic skills and embrace the yard maintenance skill builders.
Fog was holding back around the lake and now is creeping in to our yard. You can actually feel the chill as it envelopes the house. Very cool and creepy in a good way.
Sid had to go for a little emergency orthodontist wire thing yesterday. She didn't take too long and came out with a balloon and gift card for her b-day. We were going to pick up three office chairs from Craigs List and had some time to kill. Of course there are plenty of coffee places to hang out in and that is just what we did. Always fun to hang out for an unexpected hour or two with my girls just one on one.
I better wrap this up, the spoiled mess of a cat that thinks he is my child is chewing on the balloon string from Sid's bday gift. I don't know how he gets into such situations....

A Season That I Love

I do love me some fall weather. I love fall color. I love the chill in the air, warms up a bit during the day. Fire in the fireplace, soup or stew on the stove.
What is not to love?
Quiet weekend. Maybe the pumpkin patch/corn maze will happen this Saturday. It poured all day Saturday and after that soaking on Friday night we just didn't have it in us. So far, the weather people are saying Saturday will be only be partly cloudy. Let us hope...
I am able to confirm that my three awesome, beautiful, sweet friends from California are going to visit me in Washington. I am beyond excited. Way beyond. Way Way beyond excited. We are going to stay at my aunt's lake house and hang out, catch up, laugh and cry and laugh some more. I cannot wait.
I am making inroads to employment of the non hair kind. I am excited about that as well. Many thanks to the DRS for the opportunity. I love you!
Speaking of the DRS, hoping that my lil cute cousin is doing well this week. I know it has been a rough couple of weeks. She is fortunate to have the best mom, grandparents, aunt, uncle, etc. but it is hard for everyone.
Must clean up the kitchen after cooking my home made chicken noodle soup extravaganza. It was delicous if I do say so myself.

Eyes Open

I am awake at a time when I should be asleep. I hate being awake at 2:00 am. It's out of order, not natural.
Very rainy day yesterday. Spent most of it down in the scrap/craft room. Girls were down there with me getting their stuff organized. After some bickering and attitude they finally got their groove on. Riley fashioned a ribbon dispenser out of a pencil and some yarn. She shared her prototype with her dad and he found just the right materials to actually hang up some ribbon dispensers. I was proud of those two! I got lots of my scrapbook stuff sorted and put away. It's like Christmas seeing it all again but reminds me how much I have to do.
I am going to get up and roam the house for a bit and see if I can fall asleep. I did sleep for about 4 hours and then POW! Eyes wide open. Will have a usual and good Sunday, football, laundry, etc.

Raining Cats & Dogs

I never really understood the saying til I moved to the great Northwest. It's great when you are inside.
Tonight was our first football game in which it was a downpour the entire time. We were playing a tough school. When the opposing team scored thirty points in the first quarter, I knew it was a lost cause. I also happened to be fairly soaked. My rain jacket is okay for a little rain, but not for the downpour rain deluge. Bob had brought along a trash bag for our blanket that we use to sit on the bleachers. He ended up putting the trash bag on me. Head opening only, no arm holes. Sid said that I looked like an embryo. I finally got fed up and went to the car. Riley joined me about 15 minutes later. I played games on my Blackberry and she played games on her Nintendo. Bob stayed for his oldest daughter, toughing it out. It was the other team's homecoming game tonight. They had golf carts carrying around the royalty and lots of floats. I don't think that it would be too fun to parade around on your float, in your dress and tiara in this lovely rain.
I have had better times. We are home, warm and dry now.

Good Day

Bob is off on Wednesdays. We had a nice morning before I had to leave for Ri's school. We just talked and made some plans. He has no time off from Thanksgiving til after the new year. He asked me what I wanted to do about Christmas. I told him that I really would like to go to Arizona. We talked it over and decided that I would go with the girls to AZ for Christmas. When the girls were little, it was VERY important to us to have Christmas at home, together. Now that they are older, we feel like we can do this. They agreed that they would rather be with their grandarents, cousin, aunt and uncle than get lots of presents. I am not working and I had a free round trip airline ticket. We are staying for for two weeks. It seems like a long time but then again it doesn't. It is always rushed while I am there, I have always had work to return to, etc. but I haven't been there in almost a year and probably wont be there again for another year. I am so excited and happy to have something to look forward to. It will be great to spend lots of time with my niece. I miss her so much. I promise to post about other things and not go on and on about Arizona all of the time.
Back to Riley's school. I had to go tody for an hour to sell tickets to the dance. It was easy and fun. Everyone there is so nice and it is such a relaxed atmosphere. Teachers all know you and who your child is(there are only five teachers after all). I sold nine tickets and everyone thought that was pretty good.
Sid had a great football practice today. She had missed a couple last week because she had been sick. Missed a couple that had been cancelled due to the weather. She said that the head coach and a few others were really happy to see her. She is actually going to stay for the player's lunch this Friday. She has always been invited but never felt comfortable enough to go. She has since decided that she will be just fine and will dine with 40 boys and men. Way to go daughter.
Big game this Friday. It will be a tough team to beat and should be an exciting game. I have to go and help set up for a Bingo Night at Riley's school and then fly over to another town for the game as it is away this week.
Rainy today, chilly too. Nice crackly fire tonight.

Flame

Windy day with rain on the way. None yet but dark outside and cold. Looks very winter-like out there. Last night, Bob built the first fire in the fireplace. We finally got a screen in the style we like, kind of mission, craftsmen looking and it had to be big enough for our fireplace. The actual firebox is is huge, Bob says he doesn't have to do much chopping and cutting of wood to make it fit. Quite a different process than our wood burning stove in California. The flame, crackling sound and heat made the room so comfortable and inviting. It was so nice. If we could just get some actual firewood that would help. We don't pay for firewood. Bob has always provided us with ample firewood. Where he has worked, etc. he has had access to plenty of it. The irony is that we now live in the land of trees and have no firewood. He has brought home some scraps here and there but nothing substantial. We have looked into the government websites for forestry management but they don't have a surplus of downed trees and aren't issuing any firewood permits. Go figure...
So I have had the heater on, it has been really chilly. The girls were bundled up this morning for their walk to the bus stop.
Both girls are having some issues with some of their classes. I will be calling tutors today. It has become obvious that we need outside help. Riley has a GPA that must maintain in order to stay in her school. Let's just say that it may be a stretch. She gets extra credit in her science class if she can successfully grow a Lima bean and get it to bloom and then get an actual bean from her plant. I am willing to plow a 20x20 foot plot out back to grow a billion Lima beans if it will bring her grade up.
I am trying to impress upon her that I have already passed the sixth grade and now it is her turn.
The news is reporting power outages due to the winds. I guess I better do what I need to do in case we lose power.
I am using my blog to avoid the tidying up I must do, so let me excuse myself for now.

Who Knew?

This awesome painting is quite a surprise. It was done by my landlord. In my angst over a request made by my landlord, a very pleasant surprise came out of it all. She (the landlord) had written me an email and asked if she could
store " a bunch of books" in our basement. After just having felt violated by Edie Bouvier Beale (if you don't know anything about Grey Gardens then I apologize but you should do a little research) Bob nor I were in any mood to have a bunch of old books taking up space in our already full basement. Bob has just finished converting one room into a scrapbook/craft extravaganza showroom for me and he has his own room for his hobbies too. Besides, I have been on Bob's butt for years to get rid of his old moldy dumb college books, so why would I want someone else's crap? I emailed her back and politely told her no. We didn't want the responsibility of it, make a habit of it, we rent the whole house not just parts of it, etc. all good arguments if you ask me. I feel good about practicing what I preach. Say no the first time and have no regrets later. I promptly receive a phone call as I knew I would. She apologized for the lack of information on her part. She went on to tell me that her husband is an artist and has had a book published with his works. Her storage unit, garage and spare rooms are full of cases of these books. She has one pallet of books that need a home for just a little while. She also adds that we will be compensated for our inconvenience. I am dumbfounded by her confession and quickly regroup. I tell her that I think it will be fine and that I will get back to her. I call Bob at work and he agrees with me that this is all well and good. I do a little internet research and find out some stuff. These books sell at art galleries and at his showings. He is kind of a big deal in the art world. His paintings go for 14,000 to 23,000 dollars each. I HAD NO CLUE. I LOVE the paintings too which was a pleasant surprise. He is Chinese and doesn't speak a lick of English. He has always been this really smiley Chinese guy with big glasses. I have said a total of three words to him, ever. I fight the urge to say the three words really loudly, knowing he is Chinese and not deaf. His wife does all of the talking. She really is a nice lady and we have gotten along easily. I have seen his work in galleries before and had no idea.
I email her and tell her I am an admirer and she tells me she will make sure I get a book( a 60.00 dollar value!)so I am feeling pretty good about it all.

Again, I tell Bob, you just never know about people. Kind of reminds me of our Craigs List table adventure.

Natalie comes home today

Got word this morning that Nat will come home today for sure. Sid and I had gone over the the hospital yesterday to visit. It was looking as though she would be released today but you just never know for sure. A lot of that decision was based on her ability to handle the pain and how to administer the pain meds plus a few other things that needed to be considered. I truly believe the hard part starts when you get home. Having had two children, surgeries, hospital stays, etc. I know this to be true. I know the good parts of going home are this. Sleeping in your own bed and getting a shower. Two major factors. I know that my cousin has a lot to deal with normally. Natalie's situation is difficult on a good day. It is beyond anyone's imagination to comprehend. Caring for a seven year old with the needs of an infant is more than I could possibly share with you. Add on to that two full length leg casts. It changes the whole dynamic. I know that it would be alot to handle with a full time partner/husband but imagine doing most of it alone. My cousin has the benefit of parents that are there for her and that is the best thing of all. She can't rely on an ex to be there, his agenda seems to differ greatly from that of his daughter's or ex wife's.
Oh well, me being me, I could analyze this for days. I am just happy that progress is being made in Natalie's day today and know that she will love being in her own home, with things familiar and all of our crazy faces staring at her, being stupid just to make her laugh and that is all good....

Crab Apples

I know that is the title and those are real crab apples. It's not a post on how to make jelly. It is a post on my mood. If you want to stop here and not read a selfish woman's whiny grouchy rant then don't scroll down any further. I wont be mad I promise.















I am not going to list all of the transgressions against me. Whether real or imagined, it would not prove productive. I am going to blame it all on my filter. It is all through the filter of PMS and hormones. I am not a young woman any more and the hormone thing is getting really old.
Our next door neighbor started the ball rolling. She went ahead and came over to our yard and finished chopping down what she had started and was told by Bob not to do. He went to her home and told the husband that he was not interested in her coming onto our property to do her pruning. I caught her a few days later out there doing just that. Bob, again, goes over there. The woman a bit touched in the head. I listened to the whole exchange from my bathroom window. It was truly comedy at it's best. Not the conversation but what took place during. I had the perfect hidden spot to listen to it all and what happens? The neighbor on the other side has a gardener. He decides to start his frickin' loud commercial size leaf blower. It stops, I hear a little and when it gets juicy the leaf blower starts up. I swear I was being filmed for a sitcom or Candid Camera. Let's just say the conversation didn't go well between the two. About an hour later the husband came over and we three chatted. It was agreed that we would deal with him only from now on. That will be better I am sure. I feel like I am living next door to Edie from Grey Gardens...
This is the only story that I will go into detail about as I thought there was some comedic elements to it. The rest are all just annoying problems with landlords, being a landlord and it all ties into the unanswered eternal question... Who did I piss off? I mean, I must have pissed someone off. That can be the only sane theory. Bad Karma? Boundaries? It all swirls around like a turd milkshake. It all just seems kinda blah... I guess I could come up with theories, rationalize, but I know again, being an older woman, that this to shall pass....

It is a Friday

I have a few minutes to myself before the family train arrives. Bob will probably be first, home from work. Usually Sid is next but she has to stay after for some Athletic Injury test study thing. Riley will be next. We will put on our usual football wear but with one difference. We have to add some pink into the red, white and blue. Pink is for Breast Cancer Awareness at the high school. The school's pep rally was on the news this morning, the gym's stands were full of pink. I am making a big pot of beans. A slight twist on a recipe from my sweet friend, Karen. Ground beef, bacon, hot Italian sausage, onion, three kinds of beans, baked and pink chili and small white. Two kinds of BBQ sauce, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, mesquite seasoning, cayenne and a few other things thrown in for good measure. Not sure yet if we will just eat at home or if I will attempt to transport for a tailgate soiree.
We girls are all feeling like we are on the mend. I am still having headaches but think that is a sinus thing, the girls feel better.
I got to spend a couple of hours with a three year old today. She is a pretty smart and sophisticated three year old. My cousin had a commitment with her youngest baby, my aunt is at the hospital with Natalie and so I was available to hang out with Lauren. We had a good hour of card making, one for Sid's birthday and one for Natalie. Lots of glitter, stickers, flowers, etc. all the good stuff. We finished our creations and moved on to some toys, magic wands. After some pretend play we went on to watch Clifford. It made me think back to about 10 years ago to when Clifford and all sorts of PBS children's shows were playing on television at our house. We finished up our time with eating Gold Fish Crackers and Wheat Thins.
I am still thinking about Natalie every other minute as I go about my afternoon. She did not have a good post op. No sleep, lots of pain, discomfort and it's hard on my cousin and my aunt as well. They stayed with her all night. I got a report this morning that they have managed her pain better, her blood pressure was down and she was resting a bit. Hoping that this is more of the way it will be, the pain is so hard to deal with. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to be stuck in my pain riddled body, unable to tell anyone where it hurts or how much. All I can do is stare at the people that I love and wonder why I can't tell them about it. Then to imagine being a mom and feeling so helpless. As a parent we try to move mountains to take away pain and hurt for our kids, whether it's physical or mental. How awful to want to be able to do something and you can't. Again, I know that God makes certain people a certain way to handle certain things and my cousin's strength and fortitude is a proof enough of my theory. I can handle some things but my strength meter is no where near Jill's.
Off to football we go, doing and living what appears to be no big deal, average all American stuff. We just take for granted that we get to hop into our car, park anywhere, walk over to the stands, sit anywhere, bitch and moan if we don't like where we are sitting, bitch about our car battery dying after the game, complain about some loud mouth smelly football fan, etc etc. All those things are so unimportant.

That Face...

You know there are just certain faces that when you see them you just want to kiss on them and squeeze them? Well, one of those faces is my cousin Natalie's. She just has that smile and those eyes that pull you in. I find myself with no pride, no boundaries, no dignity when I am with her. All I wanna do is make her laugh. She has the most infectious giggle. To make a seven year old giggle is an amazing feat in itself. Nat can't tell me outright what it is that she loves, what I can do to make her happy, but I sure do like trying.
Today she is undergoing a surgical procedure. I know that while she is in surgery, she will be cradled in God's loving arms. I know that he will continue to watch over this sweet baby girl but we all pray that her pain is manageable and that she can get through her recovery swiftly. It's not just Natalie that I feel the prayers are necessary, it's for all of the loved ones surrounding her as well. Her mom has many struggles to endure, her grandparents are there to help at any given moment as is her aunt, uncle and cousins. I hope in some way that she knows that any one of us would drop everything and run to her aid. Lord, please give us all strength, wisdom and the gift of trust. We are just the humans and we need to remember who is in charge and who will watch over this precious child.
Natalie is our inspiration and a teacher. My family has learned so much from her. It is for about seventeen more posts to explain what lessons we have been taught but lets just hit some highlights. Compassion, patience, generosity, optimism and about fifty thousand more valuable lessons.
So little people magnet, popular gir,l get in there, get this over with and get on with the busy life you live. Your eye gaze computer will be waiting for you to chat with, your mom will be waiting to chat with you, your little brother needs to have you watch movies with him, your grandpa and grammie need to walk, swim, shop and play Barbies with you, your cousins need to do girlie girl things with you. Just know there are lots of purple and pink dresses out there and don't forget our little deal too. You promised you wouldn't let on to your mom about it so I am holding you to it Miss Nat!

The Big One Five

Well, Bob and I made it through the day. I was more worried about myself, I usually don't do well on my girl's birthdays. It's just hard to remember the baby and little girl things and then see someone who is on the verge of leaving home. Had a great dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Sid brought along her friend Stephanie.

Happy Birthday to my oldest baby....

I Play a Doctor on T.V.

Dinner just came out of the oven. The girls and I are gingerly eating. With our stomachs being weird we are being careful with our eating. I have been the "Nurse Nancy" in our medical facility... I mean house. Sid has been home for two days and Riley home for one. I went to the grocery store for supplies. Good old Gatorade and chicken noodle soup. I was also told that Chicken McNuggets sounded good to the sickly patients. Seriously, I am relieved it is not any type of pork, ham or swine flu. Hopefully one of the patients will be well enough to enjoy her birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. That is per her request and one that I am happy to oblige.


I may or may not blog about Sid and her birthday. I outdid myself last year and don't think I could do any better. I may be too emotionally unstable to do a good tribute anyway. I mean the child is 15 for goodness sake, am I supposed to be happy about that??? It ain't gonna happen.
My sweet cousin Natalie is having surgery on Thursday. It will be a challenge and a struggle for all involved. Not a day goes by that I don't think about what Natalie is going through. Not just her but the people around her. Her mom especially. This surgery's long term goal is to help Natalie. It will just be getting there that will be the struggle. I am hoping to go to the hospital to spend some time with my family. You know me, the cheerleader, Mary frickin' sunshine.

Hormones, Sore Throats and Homework

Sunny, blustery day. Sid has gone back to bed. She has been fighting the sore throat thing for the last few days. She was just doing what she could to make it through her big weekend. Lucky for me, my lovely sore throat has taken leave.
I have on the pathetic football game, it is blaring in the background. After the high school football game loss on Friday, I am not in the mood for the Seahawks today.
I made some breakfast, did some picking up of clutter, cleaned up the kitchen and now ready to tackle some homework assistance for Riley. She is eating very sloooow as she knows that as soon as she has the last bite of eggs and sausage, the fun of math, spanish and science begins. She also has art this year and in most cases that is your easy fun class. Not at Riley's school. It is hard. She actually has tests and difficult assignments in that art class. We will be studying for an art quiz as well.
Bob is of course at work. He will be home mid afternoon and is putting a new battery in my car. It is to the point where if I play the radio(satellite)and plug in my phone charger while the car is not running, I will have a dead battery. I think having it die at last week's football game was the last straw and he finally broke down and got me a battery. When a large part of your day is spent running around taking kids everywhere, waiting for kids, etc. you need to be able to use your devices that rely on your car's battery.
I am feeling hormonal today. Probably for good reason and add the fact that that I have been fighting off a cold, fed six high school kids dinner, dropped off and picked them up from the dance, let them come back to our house after the dance, kept the house clean, blah blah blah... I think it's time for nap. Oh wait, can't do that, I have homework, I mean that Riley has homework, no it was more accurate the first time....

Homecoming Pictures

Getting it all together

Got up and went to the party store for decorations, grocery store for essentials, home to clean up, Sid's hair up in rollers, fingers and toes painted and now a minute to chill. We lost last night's football game. That was kind of a bummer since we had been undefeated so far. At least it wasn't our homecoming game. The highlight of the night was finding a Carl's Jr. in Renton. We haven't been to one since we lived in Calif. There are about four of them in the whole state of Washington.
Sid will end up having about six friends over for dinner and pictures before the dance. It should be a nice evening for them. Will post photos and updates tomorrow.

Homework Hangover

Stayed up too late last night, helping Riley with homework. She had an orthodontist appt. after school so we boarded the homework train a little late. Bob and Sid took math duty and I got the science crossword puzzle making assignment. Gotta hand it to the kid, we didn't finish til almost 10:30 and got her back up this morning at 6:00 to study for a test. She was full of gratitude and got right on it. She has a GPA commitment that she is obligated to achieve at this school and she is taking that very seriously.
They are both off tomorrow, so will catch up on some sleep.
Sid's homecoming dance is Saturday night. I will post some photos.
Gotta get busy and clean up the kitchen, that didn't get done last night. When you are figuring out how to use the work zygote in a crossword puzzle you just don't worry about scrubbing the scalloped potatoes out of the baking dish.