Jokes

A:  Mom!  Want to hear a joke?  What’s a book that hasn’t been written?  “The Unwritten Book,” by Emma Genton.

Me:  Hmmm.  I don’t think I understand.

I am in a hotel room in Westminster, Colorado.  It’s after midnight.  The sweet sleeping sounds of my family surround me.  2 boys.  2 girls.  1 amazing husband.  We just finished a terrific weekend visiting my brother, his wife, and their 7 month old daughter.

“Cousinpalooza!” the sign my sister-in-law painstakingly glittered said.  It was.

There is so much I have missed writing about.  Adding the first boy.  Adding the second boy.  Moving.  Traveling–Iceland, Alaska!  Parenting.  Politics.  Manners.  Driving.  Cooking.  Illness.

I miss chronicling these experiences.  And the baby has awoken.  I’d like to write promises of being back to writing at least weekly but I know better than to put pixel in action that I have no way support.  So.  These words, this joke, is a start…let’s see where it goes.

 

6 Months is an Improvement, Right?

October to April is something akin to 6 months.  So, that’s better than 12-13 months passing without writing a word, right?

In November the whole circus went to Iceland.  We had an amazing time.  Ju asks weekly when we are going back.  Both girls talk non-stop about the rainbows we saw.

In December we put an offer in on a house closer to work.  We *might* move this week.  Who knows?  With a circus anything is possible.

In January we found out baby #4 is joining our family.  Shocking.  We also went to Disney.  Not shocking.

In February Z broke my nose in a wild head banging while asleep incident.  The girls had birthdays.  Time flew.

March brought news that #4 is a boy and that renovations on TV must take weeks or months not moments to complete.

And now, here April is with green grass and gray skies and more abundance than we deserve.  Thank you God for everything.

 

And another year has flown!

367 days since my last post.  Whew!  Let me recap:

BFF had a baby

I had a baby

Hired some awesome folks

Mr. T quit his job to be home with the kiddos

Work expanded to include a clinic

We have traveled to Arizona, Texas, Florida, and to see family.  The girls have embraced their big sisterhood.  Homeschool is going great.  Life is good!

I am making no promises about writing more often.  We shall see how the next 367 goes!

A Year? Really?

I guess time really does fly when you are having fun.

In the way only a professional blogger can mean it:  I think about writing posts several times a week.  Really super interesting thoughts and observations on politics, national and international affairs, parenting, cooking, travel, and other very compelling topics.  Insert a witty aphorism about good intentions and paving roads here.  😉

To quickly catch you up:

We are expecting a baby boy in 6-10 weeks.  SURPRISE!

JU is baby crazy, talking in 2-3 word phrases, and is a joy.

AU is smitten with her role as big sister, telling me that a rectangle has 4 sides and 4 points but circles have no sides or points, and we began our homeschooling adventure this past week “for real”.

Mr. T is doing some career soul searching and trying to decide on staying where he is, going for a 3rd round of grad school applications, or pursuing a different career.

As for me, I hope to be doing more blogging about the super interesting topics listed above…soon.  😀

Catch Up (again!)

Once again I fail to maintain…

Where were we? June! Yes! Let’s see…in June I threw a tea party for some friends. We spent a leisurely afternoon sipping tea, eating various tiny sandwiches and scone. I forget how tasty a cucumber sandwich really is!

Then my birthday was also BFF and my 10 year anniversary. We are fortunate that we know the day we met. She gave me a hilarious poster sized image of she and I making duck faces in our bathing suits at the beach. To say it is hideous is not giving it the comedic credit it deserves. I laughed until I cried.

Poor BFF though she spent the end of June and most of July with a nasty tick-borne something. I spent July visiting my grandparents for the 4th, taking the girls to the pool, and getting ready to start homeschool preschool in the fall, and visiting my grandparents for my Gramma’s birthday.

August found us throwing together a baby dedication for Ju and then sitting at the hospital due to Grampa’s pneumonia. I do not feel like my summer had a satisfactory ending at all! No final pool trip or hot dog roast. Instead, the season changed while I sat with the rest of the family in the ICU.

He did recover and was able to move back to Indiana to a rehabilitation center. Unfortunately, two weeks later he passed away. We traveled to Indiana for the visitation and funeral. After the funeral we had a picnic in the backyard under the apple trees that was one of the most idyllic times I can remember outside of my many fond childhood memories. The weather was perfect, the food was good, there were lots of great grandchildren running around, the setting sun ushered in sparkler time. Sigh.

We returned from a trip to Disney the day before Grampa passed. We had a great time with Mr. T’s family–his parents, his aunt and her family including two of his cousins, and one of his brothers and his family were able to join us. Highlights- our room adjoined Mr. T’s parents so in the mornings the girls would visit while we got ready, good weather for the Halloween party parade, and trying out a waterpark (Ju laid back in the center of a raft sleeping soundly), and taking Au on her first roller coaster (Fun! Like a big slide! Up, up, up, and then wheeeeeee!).

September also ushered in a big family change with me returning to work more than full time in the field. To say it has been chaotic is an understatement. Mr. T is a great Dad but a horrible housekeeper. I am a good Mom but a horrible housekeeper. This new situation has exacerbated that horribleness tenfold.

This change also meant abandoning homeschooling this year. Au started at a Montessori program on October 1. She loves it and we love that a family friend of ours is her teacher. The long commute to her school is a schedule changer though. Her being gone in the morning and then napping all afternoon has been a heartbreaker for my new schedule as there are days I see her for less than half an hour awake.

My schedule is temporary as I have ads up looking to hire. Hopefully the right person will come along quickly as I really feel like I am missing out on my kids. It will be okay short term but I am ready to find someone!

And here we are, October. I am frantically working, getting through each day one at a time until wham! Appendicitis. I spent all day yesterday at two hospitals, talked to two surgeons and am now sitting on my couch uncut and fully appendixed. I know. That is not a word. Luckily, I got well somehow and did not wind up having surgery. Thank you Jesus! I did have a bajillion vials of blood drawn and get my abdomen palpitated by four different strangers. Cool.