Pretty Good Day for a Monday

I was hoping for a nice day to go to the park and have a picnic, but there was a 90% chance of rain.

When I got to Steller, I saw this little guy in the yard.  I stood quietly and watched him get up in the flower pot.  He looks like he's dined here before, but there's not much to be eaten right now.  All along, they thought it was deer taking bites off the flowers, but maybe it was the Easter Bunny.

I never know what's going to greet me when I walk in the door.  Usually some sort of costume.  Today it was hats, boots, and socks for mittens.  No one ever told me what they were playing.  But they immediately want me to be the Bad Mouse or Bad Queen.  I've found out that I can get a cup of coffee and drink it while sitting down and growl and grimace at them every once in awhile, just enough to elicit a scream here and there.  Much safer than risking another fall.

This glittery shamrock shirt has all of a sudden become one of Graysen's favorites.

So we saw some sunshine, talked about a picnic, and packed some snacks.  But by the time we cleaned up and found shoes and socks and jackets, it had started to rain again.  

We drove to North Bend to the grocery store instead and stopped by the post office in Snoqualmie.  Both are fun stops for the girls.  Graysen is so interested in cherry trees and likes pointing them out.  In North Bend there are a few bushes with flowers and drooping berries or something on them that we call the Fancy Nancy bushes after one of her favorite storybook friends.

She asks at least 3 questions a mile when we're driving.  I'm not sure how I'm going to find enough answers when Kate starts asking questions too.

This is the way Katherine likes to ride - side-saddle - and Graysen chose to hang on the side this time instead of ride inside.  They are so good in the store and give me lots of advice on what to buy.  Kate said orange juice and mac and cheese.  Graysen just wanted rainbow goldfish and also mac and cheese.  

We spent a good bit of time in front of the Easter bunny shelves, picking out which one they would like the Easter Bunny to bring them.  

As we were rolling around, I noticed a couple come toward us, and the man had a wooden leg - a peg leg  - yep, just like a pirate.  I felt lucky that Graysen was looking somewhere else because I just knew she would ask questions about that and make a pirate comment.  I breathed a sigh of relief, but I had to go back for something I forgot, and there they were blocking our aisle, for a good 3 minutes.  She did see it and look at me and say, "Why that man....."  But then she didn't mention it again.  I was relieved but figured she was going to bring it up again.  I guess she either forgot about it or figured it was really a pirate.  

Getting home with the groceries is my least favorite thing, especially with these two.  Graysen was able to take one bag upstairs for me, but Kate wanted to stand and stare at a crow a long time, so I was exhausted after one trip up and down.  

This bag of Fancy Feast was very interesting to Kate for some reason.  She stared at it for a long time.  There must have been some cute kittens on it.

After lunch, they played in the playroom very nicely while I cleaned up, and then Graysen wanted to color at the dining table.  I really felt lucky that they were both happy and passed by every once in awhile to check on Kate.

Looks perfectly innocent, right?

I did hear some prolonged scratching or scraping noises, so I got up to check.  I knew I was in trouble when Kate met me at the door with a hot pink crayon in her hand saying, "MoMo,"  Her word for rainbow.

LOTS of rainbows.  On the plastic storage box.

And on the wall of the playroom.

I guess Graysen dropped a crayon on the way to the table because I don't keep anything like that within reach.

I figured it would come off with a Magic Eraser, and I was right.

Not much remorse though.

In the meantime, Graysen was putting all the barrettes in her hair, "so my mommy will flip out!"

Kate finally took a 2-hour nap, and Graysen and I watched as a huge dark cloud descended, and it began to rain - loudly.  We went out onto the balcony just in time to enjoy a big hailstorm.

"Look Mimi, ice is falling from the sky.  And it hurts my ears."

Later on, I was just about to close my blinds for the night when I saw this.

I called Emily to see if she saw it, and she could see the whole thing.  So beautiful.

The Sunshine Brought Me Out

That's still snow on the mountains, but look at that sky.

It's still cool but warm enough to shed coats, getting up to the high 50s during the afternoon.  When I left to come home, Emily and the girls were ensconced on the big swing in the park, totally enjoying their outside time.

Graysen is fascinated by the construction site as we get on the parkway, especially that crane.  We can't seem to catch it moving, but it's tall.  We're getting a new Safeway and Bartell Drugs and several other stores by summer.  While it will be nice to have a grocery store so close, I've come to enjoy driving to the Safeway in North Bend.  Extra nice folks every time I go, employees and customers.  I might still go back sometimes.

I haven't been out walking yet to enjoy the new growth, but I see cherry trees starting to bloom and forsythia.  Today as we pulled out from the school, I saw what I thought was a dogwood, but it turned out to be a huge star magnolia.  I couldn't get a good picture, but it's one of my favorites. I've only seen small ones before.

I had a nice surprise Saturday when I received a package from Georgia.  I had been too tired and cold Friday night to check the mail, so I went Saturday morning after I cleaned out the car a little.  I was already feeling sad because in my cleaning, I found little reminders of Mike - his library card that had slipped between the seat and the console, a few notes he had written, some mints.  Just enough to make my heart hurt.  Then when I opened the mailbox, I saw the new title to the car - the one in my name only.  Just one new pain after the other.  But then the package from Barbara was just what I needed.  She always thinks about the children when she's out and found just the perfect gifts.

The fabric kit looks like a little stuffed mermaid, and the girls will truly love that.  I'm going to try not to put off making that, but I do seem to be having trouble doing anything when I'm home.

I give myself pep talks several times a day and really do want to lift myself out of my rut.  Maybe it will come with the sunshine.  Right now, I am so comforted by reading by the fire and letting life just pass me by.  I think I have to do some of this right now.  Friends and family are pretty understanding that sometimes I don't feel like being social or even talking or answering emails.  I'm not sure how long it will take or what it will take, but I'm ready to see.

I'm really ready to get my balcony pretty again and spend some time out there, and, of course, there is going to be a big garden starting on Steller Way that I can dig in to my heart's content.  Graysen is like me about worms and snails, but we spent a good 10 minutes watching a worm make it's way across the yard until we lost it.   It's going to be a good summer with those girls.

Katherine is now obsessed with "draw draw" which is coloring - on everything she sees if we're not careful.

And always Play-Doh - except the cleanup is usually more than I want to tackle most days.

And also obsessed with shoes - hers or anyone else's. 

We're going to add some housework to the day as they are able to do it.  Graysen is really good at asking to be excused and taking her plate to the sink.  Katherine will say, "Cuse?" and loves to help me sweep.  She always runs and gets the dust pan when she sees me start to sweep (and I cringe, knowing my pile of trash is going to get scattered).

Graysen here is drying a pile of clean things for me to put away and doing a good job.  They would both prefer to stand in front of a sink of soapy water and "wash dishes," but my patience is not up to that every day.

The UNC flag has been flying on Steller, so I'm doing my best to watch the game tonight and cheer them on.  Basketball is not my favorite, and it's too close for me.

I did this video from the car last week.  A little rain doesn't keep the preschoolers from play time.  Elsie the guard dog doesn't linger after the last child is across the street - which happens to be Graysen in the yellow raincoat.