Food will bring them home.

My sister has gone on vacation in Hawaii.  While she’s gone, she had asked our 2nd son to house/dog sit for her. Of course, he jumped on the chance. He packed up his ps3 and off he went.

Dad and I thought this would be somewhat of a “trial run” to him getting his own house and moving out.

Yesterday was a holiday, so my son had the day off work.  None of us heard from him all day. Honestly, I wasn’t too surprised by that.  But, about 5 – 5:30, I did get my usual text from him. “What’s for supper?”

Really wasn’t too surprised, but, here at the house, we all laughed.

Shopping for Valentine’s Day

OK, I think I can write about this now.

My oldest wanted to buy his girlfriend a gift for Valentine’s day, (imagine that! haha)  so, I took him shopping on Friday.  He didn’t have a lot that he could spend, but, it wasn’t too awful of an amount.  He insisted on going downtown to a jewelry store.  I warned him that there wouldn’t be a lot he could buy there with the amount he had, but, I did think that maybe he would find a necklace or bracelet.  Instead, what we found was the most condescending bitch!  (OK, apparently I’m still pissed,)

She overlooked him, even though he was the one looking in the cases, and asked me if there was anything she could show me.  I told her that he was the one shopping for his girlfriend.  She then spoke to him like he was a child. (My oldest son is 23!!!)  He told her the price range, she said she thought they might have 1 thing, and brought over a very ugly bracelet. The disappointment in his face was unmistakable. She also kept standing behind his chair and Winking at me!!!!!  I started telling him that if he did not like that, he did NOT have to buy it.  She never did show him anything else, even though I saw a several necklaces in his price range. She just kept talking to him like he was a child, and that was the only thing he could possibly buy from that store. And winking at me! I finally convinced him that we should go and look some more, and if he didn’t find anything else, we could come back and get that. (Yeah, right)  She said her goodbyes and “come back anytime, we will be open tomorrow”, went back over to her group of co-workers and back to talking with them.  Not even an offer of help with the door.

So, there I was, with rambunctious Munchkin, pushing  the oldest’s chair, and trying to maneuver the door which was barely wide enough to get his chair through plus, opened it out. Not that I expect help from anyone, but, usually people offer to help with doors. I will not be back through those doors!!

And, I have news for her – she better appreciate the life she has, because it can change in an instant, just like ours did!  I have no idea how much she makes, but, I would be willing to bet that my son made more than she does. He hasn’t always had to be careful on how much he spends.  And, she shouldn’t treat people like they don’t matter just because they are in a wheelchair and don’t have several hundreds of dollars to spend, you never know when circumstances are going to change. She was talking to him and acting like he was a first grader with his first girlfriend.

And , why the hell did she keep winking at me???

My “dream” vacation

This really struck a chord with me. I’ve been kind of down the past few weeks because my siblings were planning and invited me on what was my ‘dream vacation’. One I’ve talked about wanted to do with my boys since they were babies. And now, we can’t.
My dream vacation was to relive an annual trip I made with my dad into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota. We would pack up the pick up, drive many miles down a dirt road, until we got to a certain river.  Then we’d unload the truck and carefully pack it all into the canoe and take off, knowing there’d be a portage ahead of us.  We’d finally make it to the lake, where we’d continue paddling until we got to the spot he wanted to camp. I say “he wanted to camp” because by the time we’d get to the lake, I’d be so tired of paddling and being in the canoe that the first spot looked perfect to me! It was as rustic of a camping trip as you can make.  No motors or anything allowed.  Everything you packed in, you had to pack back out.  We would fish, cook over the campfire, make s’mores all weekend, then load up and paddle back to the pick up, where I’d sleep the entire drive home. A trip my camping/hunting/fishing boys would have absolutely loved!  But, not a trip for a wheelchair or a toddler. So, therefore, no longer a trip for us.

I have got to quit being bummed about this and find something that we Can do.  Who knows? Maybe someday that trip will be possible, but, for now, it’s not doing anyone any good for me to sit around pouting because we can’t.

By the way, my older siblings have decided against that trip and are now renting a lake house for a weekend.  We still aren’t going, too many miles away right in the middle of one of my busiest months of the year. Plus, none of them have little ones – their kids are all adult, most with kids of their own, and it really hasn’t sounded like little ones were included in the invitation to join them.

Laundry, always Laundry

My husband found me in the laundry room yesterday evening, on my 7th load for the day. He asked what I was doing, and I told him, “Laundry! That’s all I ever do!”

I got washer/dryer going again, came out and went back to the dress I’m sewing. He looked over, started laughing and said, “You do realize you’re just making more laundry, don’t you?”

I Love my job!!

It was another beautiful day yesterday! Warm, sunny, and the wind wasn’t even bad!  And,  I had a senior session with a sweet girl who was very uncomfortable in front of the camera. I had to tease her at the start, pointed out that she has tagged along in 2 or 3 other sessions, and it was finally her turn!  Her response was that she got to pick on the subjects of the other sessions, and that was a lot more fun! (I actually have to agree with her on that – I Hate being in front of the camera!!) I am happy to say that part way through her session, she loosened up, and I think she actually started enjoying herself.  She started suggesting/asking if we could do some other things including asking if we could go to another location when her mom and I thought we were finished!

It felt so good to be back out with the camera again!  This is really a slow time of year session wise.  Most of my work for the past few months has been in front of the computer.  Definitely not my favorite part of my job, but, can’t get away from it.  People expect their photos to be edited, and I have several clients who like collages, cards, etc.

And now, I’ve got to get to work editing. For someone who kept saying she hates getting her picture taken, we managed to fill both of the memory cards in my camera!

Although, it’s another nice day. I think munchkin and I will play hookie again after lunch. Take advantage of nice weather while we can, it’s supposed to get cold and icky again tomorrow.

The way things work here

Good thing we decided that we may or may not go today! As it turns out, won’t be going anywhere! Lol! Husband went to change oil in my car, has it torn apart, oil drained, and now can’t find the new filter for it. Can find filters for all other vehicles, including the s10 my son was driving when he wrecked! Luckily, the son’s girlfriend is heading this way, so she’s going to stop and pick one up, and save us an hour drive just for a filter.

Stupid wind

I am not sure we’ll do our hike today, it is really windy! Husband and teenager are out working on fences, he wants to move Eeyore, our mule, to the other pasture. We decided that if wind dies down some later today, we’ll go. If not, we’ll get stuff done around here and go next weekend.

Munchkin

My daughter is a constant whirlwind of movement and chatter.  She tends to refer to herself in third person, and the only way to describe it is, she narrates her life.  “Mom!!  Watch me run!!!  Look at Munchkin go!  Wow! Munchkin runs fast!  Which way is Munchkin going to go?  What is she going to do next?? She really runs”

On one hand, I am thoroughly worn out by the end of the day.  On the other hand, I know this will be one of the things I miss the most when she’s grown.

Oops! I got interrupted, and hit publish instead of save draft!

My husband and I have a distinct privilege of being able to raise another child, along with already having older children. Of course, when my step-daughters and our boys were little, people kept telling us to cherish the moments, we’ll miss them when they’re gone.  Of course, We’d say we knew, and, to a point, we did, but, not really.  Now, we Really know!  I miss my 3 year old son telling us stories that started with “When I was a little boy…”  I miss cub scout meetings, baseball games, play practices, etc.  I don’t miss having to figure out how to be at 3 ball fields, in 3 different towns, all at nearly the same time, but, I do miss the ball games.

I’ve always have pretty good patience with my kids, but, for the most part, I am more patient now.  There are times when the clock is ticking, I have a deadline to meet, and I do get short tempered, but, at the same time, I do know that it is just a moment in a lifetime, and a few years from now, whether or not I got a proof book finished on a Monday or a Tuesday really isn’t going to matter. Of course, with a 2 year old, and 23 year old with TBI, I really don’t have much choice but learn to be patient, do I? LOL  (Not intending to leave out the other kids, just saying that those are the 2 that demand the most patience,)

Oh! In other news, and in keeping with our decision to “rediscover life”, my husband and I are finally going to go hiking at a nearby wildlife refuge and try to spot some bald eagles that winter there!  I have been wanting to do this for a few years!

It is such a beautiful day!

I am saying the heck with work and everything else I should be doing! I’m going to go throw another load in the washer, grab my camera, go outside, and play with munchkin!

We did it!

My husband and I actually went to a movie! Without any kids! Just the two of us! Amazing, isn’t it?
We can’t even remember the last time we did that. Probably before the boys were born. We normally rent when we want to see a movie, but, we really are trying to get out of the house once in a while.