a week with gramsie April 14, 2008
after having my mom here for a week i am not sure what i am going to do without all her help. she watched the kids, weeded all my flower beds, washed the dishes everyday and kept the house clean. now i am on my own again and wondering how i am going to get it all done.
medicine for the heart April 10, 2008
completely unknown to me, monica and steve had planned a surprise trip for monica and the kids (they were ALMOST in our neck of the woods) to come visit us for a couple of days. it was the best surprise ever! i think addie really needed some bella-time and i really needed some mo-time! here is proof:
inventive mind January 14, 2008
my husband, who is slightly demented, came up with this idea to be invented:
a back scratcher that has a place to put your old fingernail clippings in so that you get a really good scratch.
so gross. is it any wonder i am teetering on the cliff of insanity?
new years eve January 2, 2008
my sister and her family were here for new years. yesterday we went downtown to try our hand (or feet) at ice skating. it had been about 20 years since either of us had gone ice skating, but we did pretty well i thought! we didn’t fall, but we clung to each other for dear life and laughed alot. our girls wanted to try it and they lasted about 30 seconds before turning their boots in!
after all that hard work we needed to warm up (it was an outdoor rink and no more than 35 out!) so we headed to the nearest coffee place and all had hot cocoa. a yummy treat on a cold winter day.
the year in review December 30, 2007
jan- paige elizabeth was born.
feb- we packed our home and said our goodbyes.
march- we moved to spokane, addie turned 3 and brooke turned 32.
april- visited brooke’s family on the “west side” and worked on our house.
may- steve and brooke ran in bloomsday, we had lots of friends visit and worked on our house.
june- went back to lake county for a visit and worked on our house (do you see a theme here?)
july- steve turned 31 and we sweated our way through the month with many 100+ days and no a.c.
august- went to portland and california for reunions. good times (except for the 2 trips to the emergency room for addie).
september- addie started preschool, which made brooke as happy as addie.
october- my bff came to visit and we enjoyed the beauty of a true fall for the first time in years.
november- addie and i went to her first play, paige took her first steps and brooke joined roller derby.
december- lots of visits with family, a brief trip to leavenworth and the best christmas we’ve had in years!
if mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy November 18, 2007
i remember how true this was for me as a child in my own family. of course, i couldn’t articulate it, but i knew if mom was mad/upset, then we were all in for it. i learned to keep my mouth shut and be “good” right then. my sister had a harder time with that.
once again, i am finding this to be true in my own family. the only problem is, i am the mom this time. my family (my girls more than my husband) reflect my mood and attitude as clearly as a mirror. it’s scary. it’s cool. it’s a lot of responsibility and i don’t always handle it well.
illustration: sunday mornings. are sunday mornings calm and peaceful for anyone? they are SO not that way in my home. i get stressed because, well, pick any number of things…i can’t find anything to wear, paige spit up on my finally picked outfit, addie is singing at the top of her lungs instead of brushing her teeth, we can’t find the other shoe, church starts in 3 minutes, etc, etc.
as my stress level rises i can actually feel it oozing out of me and being absorbed by my family. paige gets fussier, addie starts whining, steve (as always) tries to keep focused and calm. at this moment i have to make a decision, and for me it’s all about self-control. do i give in to my anxiety, thereby totally losing it, or do i control my emotions and force myself to BREATHE and calm down…
not an easy choice, but i am working on it. i have observed that when i take it down a few notches so does everyone else (most of the time!). it’s a lot of responsibility to realize i set the mood of our family. what a gift that is when i use it the right way.
a boring week November 18, 2007
i haven’t posted anything because there hasn’t been anything worth posting. here is the summary of our boring week:
we all (except steve) got sick.
addie and i slept together last night. actually, she slept and i vainly struggled to sleep while being kicked in the ribs (it reminded me of when i was pregnant with her) and hit in the face by her flailing arms as she rolled over.
i helped out at the last roller derby bout of the season.
i ate most of an 8×8 pan of brownies. gross.
i shopped for jeans. didn’t buy any.
addie missed 2 days of preschool.
paige took on another aspect of her dad, loud breathing.
addie’s idea November 18, 2007
on the way home from costco i suggested we go to the mall. addie was all for it. steve was not. addie boldly declared to steve, “it’s ok, we’ll drop you off at home and then me and mom will go!”
Fall Colours October 15, 2007
this morning before church we went down to a section of the Spokane river that is near our house for a short nature walk.
a perfect sunday evening September 10, 2007
tonight we took a beautiful walk along the spokane river, took a little exploratory drive on the way home, gathered some of our garden bounty at the kitchen table while listening to prairie home companion and made home made tomato sauce. yummy. a good night.
to summarize August 6, 2007
2 weeks.
3 states.
4 cities.
2 trips to the emergency room.
12 hours in the car.
5 stops.
4 sodas.
2 kids.
2 adults.
home.
relief.
