Saturday Carina and I spent the afternoon together running errands. It was one of those great mommy/daughter normal-nothing-special special days. We hit the library and she played on the computer while I grabbed some books to go along with her school title that we are finishing this week. I grabbed a few other fun things...more on that later.
Then we hit WalMart to get her glasses fixed (lost a screw, so she was half blind for a day) and I decided we needed more fun family games so we picked up Cootie and Chutes and Ladders for the Littles and Scrabble, Connect 4 and Skip Bo for the Bigs...plus bubbles and sidewalk chalk!
Then, our big adventure to Byerlys. We had to go find and purchase mussels as part of our school theme. Our book, The Very Last First Time, is about an Inuit girl who walks on the bottom of the sea to collect mussels, so we agreed to give them a try. Carina found them successfully and we ordered up 10. We gave them a try after dinner. Definitely NOT a hit, but everyone (except Killian...big shock) tried them. I was so proud of them!!
That night we played all the games, except Skip Bo, and it was a really great family day :o). Today we are getting about a foot of snow *boo hiss*, so we'll study Inuit culture since it's fitting for today and get some chores done before shoveling the driveway. Have a great Monday!!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Emotional whirlwind...
My parents have had a rocky marriage since just about Day 1. My dad can be a mean SOB in both word and deed and I've long thought, begged, prayed that my mom would leave. Well, it's come to that finally. My poor mom is so freaked out. She has degenerative disc disease, severe arthritis, two artificial hips, MS and diabetes. She's only 60. Her whole life has been dedicated to making a home for my dad and us kids and she sees it all slipping away with nothing but uncertainty ahead.
I feel bad for my dad, too. He absolutely does not understand what's going on. I have no idea if this is because of some syndrome he has or just because he's that much of an oblivious jerk...I don't really care. I still feel sorry for him.
On the other hand, I am fighting some resentment because as the oldest and only daughter all the emotional support for my mom falls on me. I've wanted this for so long. When he was making my life a living hell everyday I had no control over the decisions and still had to play best friend to my mom and deal with his insane crap. Now, when it's all gonna fall on me when I have four kids of my own and not a lot of extra time or money, she makes the decision that should have been made 30 years ago. At the same time, I'm grateful that she didn't leave 30 years ago cause I'd be short two brothers, who I adore, if she had.
Oddly enough, I'm not at all torn about her decision. It is absolutely positively necessary and I thank God for my "anvil" in the form of my uncle calling last night to direct my mom. She does have a bit of the abused spouse pathology, so he really helped her make the final decision to not wait any longer and to move on filing NOW.
It's so hard standing on the edge of another really difficult, yucky thing. Seems hardly a year goes by that I don't find myself having to take a deep breath and dive into a "sewer." Keep my parents, especially my mom, in your thoughts and prayers please. She'll need every one of them!
I feel bad for my dad, too. He absolutely does not understand what's going on. I have no idea if this is because of some syndrome he has or just because he's that much of an oblivious jerk...I don't really care. I still feel sorry for him.
On the other hand, I am fighting some resentment because as the oldest and only daughter all the emotional support for my mom falls on me. I've wanted this for so long. When he was making my life a living hell everyday I had no control over the decisions and still had to play best friend to my mom and deal with his insane crap. Now, when it's all gonna fall on me when I have four kids of my own and not a lot of extra time or money, she makes the decision that should have been made 30 years ago. At the same time, I'm grateful that she didn't leave 30 years ago cause I'd be short two brothers, who I adore, if she had.
Oddly enough, I'm not at all torn about her decision. It is absolutely positively necessary and I thank God for my "anvil" in the form of my uncle calling last night to direct my mom. She does have a bit of the abused spouse pathology, so he really helped her make the final decision to not wait any longer and to move on filing NOW.
It's so hard standing on the edge of another really difficult, yucky thing. Seems hardly a year goes by that I don't find myself having to take a deep breath and dive into a "sewer." Keep my parents, especially my mom, in your thoughts and prayers please. She'll need every one of them!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Lookie what Janet made for me!!!
Isn't it so pretty? I love it!!
When Carina isn't so sick she can hardly move, I will be so much more inspired to blog...maybe even with pictures...if I can figure out how to replace the batteries in my new camera- LOL!
When Carina isn't so sick she can hardly move, I will be so much more inspired to blog...maybe even with pictures...if I can figure out how to replace the batteries in my new camera- LOL!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Easter vacation...not going so well...
Carina- temp of 99.4 (high for her, but not too bad)
Zay- temp of 101.4 (SICK)
Dominic- temp of 102 (REALLY SICK)
Terrific. I'm very glad we didn't have any big plans for the week. My poor Zélie has such horrid luck. She always seems to be sick for the worst times. I'm just hoping that they're well enough for Luke's birthday party on Saturday and for Easter. I would hate for the entire holiday to be a bust. I really hope Killian stays well, too.
In other news, for the first time in 35 years there was a murder in my town. This murder just happened to take place less than a 1/4 mile from my front door. Freaks me out. It was a high school senior killed by a high school junior (stabbed multiple times) and then the murderer's brother cleaned and tossed the knife for him. These are the kinds of kids that run around my neighborhood. NOW do you all understand why I'm so desperate to move my kids away? Homeschooling looms large. I could really get a lot done on the house with that money.
You will all quickly become bored with my musings over my childrens' educational future, but it helps me to write it out. Well, I need to get my living room tidied and cleaned. Maybe the kids will keep it that way for a change. (Hey, a mom can dream!)
Zay- temp of 101.4 (SICK)
Dominic- temp of 102 (REALLY SICK)
Terrific. I'm very glad we didn't have any big plans for the week. My poor Zélie has such horrid luck. She always seems to be sick for the worst times. I'm just hoping that they're well enough for Luke's birthday party on Saturday and for Easter. I would hate for the entire holiday to be a bust. I really hope Killian stays well, too.
In other news, for the first time in 35 years there was a murder in my town. This murder just happened to take place less than a 1/4 mile from my front door. Freaks me out. It was a high school senior killed by a high school junior (stabbed multiple times) and then the murderer's brother cleaned and tossed the knife for him. These are the kinds of kids that run around my neighborhood. NOW do you all understand why I'm so desperate to move my kids away? Homeschooling looms large. I could really get a lot done on the house with that money.
You will all quickly become bored with my musings over my childrens' educational future, but it helps me to write it out. Well, I need to get my living room tidied and cleaned. Maybe the kids will keep it that way for a change. (Hey, a mom can dream!)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Every Thursday...
I have to literally drag my behind out of bed and I spend the whole day chanting the mantra, "Man, I'm so tired." My theory is that Thursday comes after 3 days of madcap weekday adventures, but it is not Friday. Friday gives you that extra, "it's almost the weekend" oomph you need to get through the day, but Thursday...Thursday just sits there taunting you with the reality that you still have to get through Friday. Damn Thursday!
Thursday does, however, have ONE and only ONE saving grace. It's Lost night. Especially in this tv season that wasn't, Lost night is a big, big deal. Carry on, Thursday. I suppose it could be worse, you could be Monday!
Thursday does, however, have ONE and only ONE saving grace. It's Lost night. Especially in this tv season that wasn't, Lost night is a big, big deal. Carry on, Thursday. I suppose it could be worse, you could be Monday!
Monday, March 10, 2008
My sweet girl is EIGHT!
It hardly seems possible that my first little princess is eight years old. Seems like only a year or two ago that I was begging God to let you take a pacifier so that I didn't have to nurse you for the full 24 hours that you seemed to be awake and hungry!!
You have grown into such a sweet and sensitive little soul. Sweet and sensitive. Yes, you are both of those things, but you're also full of fire and courage. I admire you for the selflessness you show so often. You're an awfully little girl to make such grown up decisions. It's so rarely "all about you." Even your birthday cake was chosen with your big brother in mind. You wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but remembered that Killian hates chocolate cake, so you changed your request to accomodate him. THAT is impressive!
I hope that you have a very special day today. You deserve that and so much more. I love you, Princess Zoo!
You have grown into such a sweet and sensitive little soul. Sweet and sensitive. Yes, you are both of those things, but you're also full of fire and courage. I admire you for the selflessness you show so often. You're an awfully little girl to make such grown up decisions. It's so rarely "all about you." Even your birthday cake was chosen with your big brother in mind. You wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but remembered that Killian hates chocolate cake, so you changed your request to accomodate him. THAT is impressive!
I hope that you have a very special day today. You deserve that and so much more. I love you, Princess Zoo!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Blogging with a full brain...
Being relatively new to blogging, I've assumed that the hardest part about blogging is coming up with stuff to blog about. I've found this to be true, but in a completely different way than I imagined. I have too much stuff going on in my head. I have about 10 fully formed lines of "discussion" going on in my head and none of them are related to the other, but every time I start to blog about one of them, I end up finding a common thread and delving into another and in the end sounding like a crazy person.
Hmmm...maybe that's the problem?? Maybe I'm crazy and I haven't figured it out yet?
I feel like I shook up my whole head and all my thoughts last summer and everything is JUST starting to settle. So, even though I know where one set of plans is, I have to wait for another to fall into place before I really know what to do with any of them. Is this making sense to anyone but me?
Thank God Lost was relatively uneventful last night or I'd be in serious trouble. A nitty gritty episode of that show can send me reeling right on through the weekend.
So, I'm left (or rather you're left) with another completely disjointed and uninformative blog post because there's only so much crazy I'm willing to share with all of you. I'm off to have the my second cup of coffee for the morning and try and drag myself and my two ton stuffed up head through this Friday.
Hmmm...maybe that's the problem?? Maybe I'm crazy and I haven't figured it out yet?
I feel like I shook up my whole head and all my thoughts last summer and everything is JUST starting to settle. So, even though I know where one set of plans is, I have to wait for another to fall into place before I really know what to do with any of them. Is this making sense to anyone but me?
Thank God Lost was relatively uneventful last night or I'd be in serious trouble. A nitty gritty episode of that show can send me reeling right on through the weekend.
So, I'm left (or rather you're left) with another completely disjointed and uninformative blog post because there's only so much crazy I'm willing to share with all of you. I'm off to have the my second cup of coffee for the morning and try and drag myself and my two ton stuffed up head through this Friday.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Happy
Now, I don't want to leave the impression that I'm normally an unhappy person. That isn't the case. But, I do struggle...frequently...to remember that I have a lot of reasons to be happy. You know, life can sometimes sap all your ability to see the good things...like your house, your family, your car, your (or your husband's) job, your friends, etc.
I realized this afternoon that I am happy. Really happy. Things are good. They are not perfect, but they're good. I feel capable. I can see good things ahead. What a blessing, huh? I just had to share this realization. I'm praying that I'm able to maintain this satisfaction, this contentment, this gratitude through any upcoming trials or downturns. I pray that all of you are happy, too. It's a really good place to be :o).
I realized this afternoon that I am happy. Really happy. Things are good. They are not perfect, but they're good. I feel capable. I can see good things ahead. What a blessing, huh? I just had to share this realization. I'm praying that I'm able to maintain this satisfaction, this contentment, this gratitude through any upcoming trials or downturns. I pray that all of you are happy, too. It's a really good place to be :o).
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