Another Sunday Morning

It was a full week but not one that I enjoyed that much.  I'm not sure if it ever stopped raining - I mean pouring, not that mist that's doable - the whole week.  Thursday afternoon, we all came in from walking home from school and put shoes, socks, raincoats, pants, gloves, hats - everything - into the dryer.  The rain was coming down hard, and the wind was blowing our hoods backwards.  Umbrellas are just useless (and considered wimpy) on days like that.  I can't remember every being so glad to be inside once we got home.

So what else happened besides weather?  Seems like a lot of crazy stuff.  Oh, Elise and I felt one of the earthquakes.  It seems there were eight, but only one was strong enough to shake us a little.

I took the gingerbread houses to the school on Monday morning after I signed the girls in.  I went back to the car to get the box (in the rain, hurrying), and as I went to take the last step up into the classroom, my foot caught on the step and I fell forward.  Thankfully, I didn't drop the box but braced with my arm and saved the houses!  Still made me jittery the rest of the day, to think of nearly falling.  Maybe that's the reason why Katherine's decorated house didn't make it home Monday afternoon.

When I picked her up, I noticed she didn't have on her shoes.  It was pajama week, and the kids tend to lie around on the floor in clumps in the afternoon, so you have to step over them.  I started back to the classroom to look for them, but she said, "Kai frew up on my feet."  Oops.  One of the teachers brought me a baggie of her shoes and leggings.  Luckily, they have extras at school for just those occasions.  And luckily Kai just ate too much candy and was spinning around and not sick enough to go home.  So then we went back to pick up her little house.

She worked so hard on it, and it was beautiful, and I had to hear every single piece that went on there.  But it was on a slippery plate, and I was juggling her lunch box, book bag, art papers as well.  I told her to wait on the porch while I put the stuff in the car and would come back for her so her feet wouldn't get wet.

And dropped the house.

Even though it landed on grass, it shattered into 20 pieces.  I looked back to see how she was taking it, expecting wails and hand wringing, but she was already on her way, wet feet and all, to salvage as many gumdrops and chocolates as she could from the grass.  Crazy girl.  She didn't care a bit about the house.  The Tuesday/Thursday classes made more the next day, so she got to bring one home after all.  Still...  More of that hurrying too much on my part.

Plenty of judgment from these guys.  Even the goat is coming out of the barn to share my shame.

Her class baked gingerbread men and had them run away and chased them all over town before they found them in the candy shop.  Back a couple of years ago, Graysen was scared she would see one running, but Katherine was hoping to.  I said, "What if we saw a bunch of gingerbread men running down the street right now?"  She said, "You could try to run over them, but you know gingerbread men are faster than people."  

I'm not even sure what went on the rest of the week.  Some of this:

I ask Graysen to explain it to me.  She thinks I'm kidding, but I really need help.  I found the Eureka web site and some videos for helping and some extra work sheets.  I guess number sentences and 10 boxes and things are helpful down the road, but it's so confusing (to me).

And this.




We drank a lot of hot chocolate and read stories by the fire.  The little gift they opened was very much a success.  We've played all four card games, and it's amazing how much better Katherine does when she can see her cards.  It's still not clear to her that she has to actually have a card in her hand before she calls for a match in Go Fish.  She just asks for what she would like to have whether she has any more or not.

And this guy came to live with us.  I don't remember thinking we needed another cat, but Elise was at a meeting somewhere and just happened to walk into a shelter where he was.

We don't know what his background was, just that he was found outside and picked up.  He had a broken tooth and had surgery for that.  He has been, and still is, terrified and skittish.  He doesn't scratch or hiss, but he just acts like he wants to disappear.  For the first two days, he didn't respond or make eye contact but slept in a laundry basket in my closet.  Thankfully, he has a good appetite and is using the litter box, but that's about all.  She took him back for his followup at the vet, which terrified him all over again, and he's supposedly fine.  We're hoping he will learn to trust us.

For an hour or so at a time, Elise will bring him to my bed and hold him and let him get used to our voices and being outside the closet, and he's started to purr.

He spent most of the afternoon there yesterday.  Elise and the girls named him Bowie.  I've stopped fighting their name choices.  It does fit, because we say, "You're such a good boy-ee (Bowie)" a lot.  We probably didn't need another cat, but it makes me sad to think about what would have happened to him if we hadn't brought him home.  I think he's going to be okay.  He shows a little interest in things around him but is still scared of noises.

This girl is NOT so sure, though.

She is curious but will growl when she gets near him.  It doesn't seem to bother Bowie what she does, and one day maybe they will be friends.  I think the girls will enjoy a cat that will let them brush him and pet him as opposed to Layla who attacks them playfully but sometimes scratches in her enthusiasm.

Elise, Emily and I took the girls to the Nutcracker Friday night.  Or Emily took us.  This is why I'm glad to have young people to take me places.

As if I don't have enough night blindness, I couldn't find my glasses that night.  I did find them in one of the usual places - but with something laid on top of them - when I got home.   I felt like I was in a kaleidoscope.  Luckily, I don't need my glasses for anything but driving, and we were on about the 10th row, so I could see well.

I'll have more pictures from the others.  Mine are blurry, and I didn't take many.

Dancing in the parking garage.  We went to the smaller one in Bellevue instead of the big one in Seattle, and it was a good choice.  We could leave our coats in the car and walk in unencumbered.

We'll being going back to the Fall City Road House tonight for our Christmas Eve Eve Eve dinner since tomorrow doesn't work for Elise.  At least, the rain has stopped, but there is a lot of flooding near Fall City.  

Picture of the Falls yesterday.

The restaurant is across the street from the Snoqualmie River, but I'm trusting my drivers and the young people!