Friday, January 27, 2017

Sleepover

This is not the first time Graysen has spent the night with me - it's the second - but it's the first time her mommy has been over 2000 miles away.

We started the morning at 6:00 when Ryan took Emily and Katherine to the airport for their trip to Alabama.  Graysen and I both had been up since 2:30 and were both just worn out, so I turned on some lullaby music and let her lie down in her sleeping bag.  She was asleep within 10 minutes and so was I.  We both slept for 3 hours - much needed by both of us.  We walked to the office after lunch to pick up a few packages and check out the pool's winter look, then to get the mail and to watch men on tall ladders working on the roof.  Dance was at 3:00 and grocery store after that for a few things.  She got to push her little shopping cart and loved it so much.  This usually shy little girl was so outspoken today to anyone who talked to her.  She just burst out with explanations about her birthday coming up and her sister's birthday and a sleepover at her friend's house Saturday night.  When someone asked her when her birthday was, she poked me with her elbow and whispered, "What is that month, Mimi?"

After supper, a visit from her Dad, and a loooong bath, she got to watch one episode of "Octonauts" and one "Sofia the First."

Then the lullaby music.


Almost there.



Kind of makes me forget the 650 times she asked "Why?" today.

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That was last night.  So close, but she could never quite get to sleep.

I asked about 9:00 if she wanted to sleep in my bed, and she readily agreed, so we lay down and talked about what was bothering her:  A dinosaur  She had seen one in a TV show the day before - not a "real" one but one made of metal.  It scared her, and she needed reassuring that she was safe from it.  I needed to "tell the story again" twice more before she fell asleep.  I never got up, and we both slept for nearly 12 hours.  

Today has been good, and it was good to see the sun shine.  I have to admit January has been a hard month for me - the cold, the snow, the wind, the gray skies.  And on top of that, I'm still not able to get through a day without being sad or down in some way, although this is getting better.  I think if I can shake this cold and cough I have, things will start to look up.  I can't believe how many days I have coughed and sniffed - nearly 3 weeks.  It will get better and then get worse - really bad - so much it makes me tired.  I stopped at the pharmacy today and got a double-barreled weapon.  A daytime non-drowsy Robitussin DM and a nighttime one too.  I'm taking Graysen back to her dad for tonight and most of tomorrow, so I might do nothing but sleep and try to get better.  

Emily and Katherine are enjoying their visit to Andalusia, as evidenced by the chatty videos and the sweet pictures I've been getting.  I think both girls will benefit from being the only child for a few days.  I know Graysen cannot have been any sweeter.  


She asked for "yellow" eggs and bacon, so that's what we had for breakfast.  She picked out the yogurt yesterday and ate a huge breakfast - for her.



Tonight after cleaning up and just before going home.  These girls are on the plane going to Candyland.  We need a beauty shop!

I'll miss her.



Kate with her UNC outfit on in the Atlanta airport.  I think she started out with a Seahawks sweatshirt, so maybe she'll end up with an Auburn shirt at some point.







Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Just My Wednesday

It's so hard to find time or anything interesting to say on this blog, but I don't want to abandon it.

My days are so full and happy that I don't have much time for being sad, and those times when I just can't bear the way I feel are becoming fewer.  I doubt the day will come when I don't miss Mike and just wish I could share something with him, but there is a lot of beauty and goodness to be experienced, and I'm doing my best.

I've been promised that this is not the normal weather for the area by more than one person.  There is nothing to do but laugh about it and put on a few extra layers.  Days like today are cold but nothing like the way it felt when it was below freezing AND with snow and a howling wind.

Every morning I look at my weather app on my phone as I reluctantly crawl out of my warm bed - second alarm.  This morning I saw 26 degrees feels like 19.  So I knew how to dress.  But when I got down to warm up the car, it was snowing again.  Whatever!




It's nice to get to my "job" and hear greetings and get hugs and snuggles - warm snuggles.  Graysen always greets me with her latest fantasy - this time a castle in the den - and Kate just wants to hug and say Hi.  It cheers me up immediately to walk into the warm house and get my first cup of coffee and just listen.  And see who has the best hairdo


Once breakfast has been served or found to have been already eaten, we go upstairs to play a little and dress if it's a school day.  On stay-at-home days, we might not bother to dress until later (if at all). 





 Graysen's wardrobe is extensive, and Emily talks with her the night before and lays out different outfits, but when the time comes to dress, it's nothing remotely like that.  If it's not the purple dress and striped tights, she won't even discuss it.  After I reminded her that she wore the purple dress Monday and to pick something else, she didn't understand the reasoning but decided to go along with it.  This is what she chose.



 I thought it was pretty good and very cute, but when I sent Emily a picture, she said the pink dress was really a shirt and she probably needed leggings with it.  What do I know?!

Very reluctantly, she allowed a pair of leggings (pants?) to go on over the tights and ended up with a look that pleased everyone!



So early lunch - of which Graysen ate nothing and Katherine ate and ate and ate.  I turned around once near the end of the meal, and Katherine had her sippy cup turned upside down and was placing bits and pieces of her vegetables in the indentation on the bottom.  I'm still not sure how she made it stand up by itself.



This girl will eat just about anything and lots of it.  

Emily and Ryan have a refrigerator full of healthy food.


But this is all I could see every time I opened the door!


The girls played while I cleaned up the high chair and under the high chair and anywhere within throwing distance of rice.  

Graysen has a big imagination and has no trouble concocting elaborate stories and dramas by herself.


I don't even want to know the story on this.



I'm glad to see Katherine playing by herself and staying out of Graysen's way.  She loves the new dollhouse Santa brought her.



Then it was time for school, and that's the busiest time of the day for me:  Coat, boots, purse, keys, phone, gloves for me.  Coat, hat, boots, gloves, hair combing, face wiping for the girls.  Sometimes finding 2 shoes that match or 2 gloves is a big deal, so I start 30 minutes early.  

I've gotten pretty good at buckling them both in in less than 10 minutes!  Those straps are hard to do with coats and wiggly arms and legs and sometimes toys or food to contend with.  I always sigh with relief if we're in the car and on our way with 10 minutes to spare.  Time to enjoy the beautiful drive.

No matter how these mountains look, they always cause me a moment of sadness because Mike just loved this view, and we talked about it so much.  But now Graysen has started discussing it with me, so it makes it easier.



Graysen has one friend at school that she talks about constantly, Brooklyn.  Brooklyn obviously does the same with Graysen.  It's so sweet to watch them arrive in the mornings.  This is after 2 days' absence.


They go into the barn first thing every morning for us to sign them in and wait for everyone to get there before they go to their classroom.  Monday, one of the goats had gotten in, and it was a big production to get him out, and then Wilbur the pig started pushing open the door.  Lots of shrieks and giggles.  They were cold too!  


Blowing kisses.  I would not like to have the job their teachers have of keeping up with all those hats and scarves and mittens and coats.  They play outside every day and have to be prepared for it!



Katherine likes to stop and see the goats and chickens before we head home.  On the way home, we talk about nap time and being sleepy and getting her bottle and snuggly blanket, and she agrees with everything.  

But once she is tucked nicely in and I leave the room, it's party time.  I check the TinyCam app once in awhile (it's so tempting to just watch it all the time), and she never settled down.  I didn't hear a word from her, but she rolled around, fed her empty bottle to her bear, walked around, bounced on the bottle awhile and threw it on the floor, threw toys on the floor, bounced around some more - for nearly 2 hours.  Just as happy as could be.


At 2: 10, I knew I wasn't going to let her go to sleep and sleep for only 30 minutes, so up I went to get her and start all over dressing for the trip.  Whew!

After school, we went over to my place, and they had a really good time playing with the new dollhouse and cleaning supplies that Santa left here.




And Graysen is sweeping out the bunk beds.  She then went on to mop them.

Then Emily came to get them, and here I am.  Quiet time.  There is never enough time though, to accomplish everything I want to, and I'm about to fall asleep.  My reading material tonight was "No Drama Discipline" and "The Paris Wife," a book Debby sent me about the first wife of Ernest Hemingway.  One book interesting and necessary and the other one really good.

I'm also watching "The Crown" on Netflix and loving that.  I didn't get to watch any tonight, but this weekend will be a good time for that.

I should finish my sewing project this weekend and have some pictures to post then.

There is promise of a rise in temperatures in the next few days, and I'm going to rejoice at 48 degrees!  My electric bill doubled from December to January, but there has been a lot of fireplace use and heat going on.

The full moon was beautiful tonight.  I copied these pictures from someone on the Snoqualmie FB page.  I would love to see something like this in person one day.





Sunday, January 1, 2017

It's a Lovely New Year



I love clean slates, and what better way to start the new year than for a beautiful white morning to wake up to.

I have no desire to get out in it, but it is so pretty to look at and enjoy the quiet and peaceful day.  Right now, there are no sounds at all, just complete silence to contemplate where this new year is going to take me.

I am so thankful for comfort this morning.  I was cold when I got up, but in just minutes I had the living room cozy with a fire and the smell of coffee.  I thought about putting on the red plaid flannel pajamas that Karen gave me last week - we all matched Christmas morning.  I did put on Debby's blue sheep fuzzy socks she sent along with my sparkly snowflake shirt and old green (paint-stained) velvet pants.  I think I'm perfectly dressed for the morning!  

If anyone asks me what I want or need, I'm always at a loss, but I'm lucky enough to have family and friends who know exactly what I want.  I'm savoring so many of the gifts this morning.  Comfort Zone Tranquillity (2 l's) shower cream and body lotion,  A lovely new planner and journal that's going to make this coming year MINE!  I'm going to be so organized and less frazzled.  Thanks to Rosanne and Debby for these perfect gifts.

The one gift that's already saved my sanity and lots of time and one I think I won't be able to do without:





Emily and Ryan have about had it with my never knowing where my phone or keys are, so they gave me this!  

This neat little gadget can be programmed into your phone to locate anything you might misplace, and I can't even remember how many times I've used it already - twice within 15 minutes of activating it.

It comes with 4 tiles, but I only need two right now.  I have one on my keychain and one in my purse in addition to the one programmed into my phone.  If I have any one of the three (and even I have trouble losing all 3 of them at once), then I can find the missing one.  A click on my key tile finds my phone and a click on my phone finds my keys.  One or 2 click from my purse find either of the other 2.  

Emily also is using 2 of them and has my information in her phone, so she can keep track of me at all times - or at least my possessions.  The nice thing is getting in your car and clicking the tile on the keychain and never having to dig in your purse to find out if you have your phone with you.  

I may be overly excited about this little gadget!  

I want to write about so many things that have happened lately (the Nutcracker, for one) and the new things in the coming year, but taking the time to do it really messes up my vow to  be more productive.  Maybe I can do a little of both.

One of the sweetest Christmases I've ever had! 

And one of the saddest.  The memories are sweet though.

Looks like yet another record album!