Another First?!

I have a bright aqua green slip of paper in front of me. It requires the everyday parental and medical and emergency contact information. Plus it demands my signature at the bottom.

It is the permission slip for the Bear to attend his first ever Vacation Bible School at the local Lutheran church. First thing Monday morning he will board our church van (with his other little classmates) and ride the entire four blocks to participate in this summer's "Great Barrier Reef" bible school curriculum.

And while I know he will enjoy himself immensely and create all manner of bible-based arts and crafts, there is the little part of my heart that mourns the toddler of yesterday.

Was it really 3 years and 2 months ago that we took that first ride home from the hospital with a little peanut barely weighing 6 lbs and 7 oz?

On towards the next milestone . . .

Houseguest

Since we were out of town this weekend and because I did a pretty thorough housecleaning before we left, I was surprised to find dried brown leaves . . . wait! EEEEK!!! That's not leaves!!

My uninvited houseguest was quickly ushered outside. He seemed a little lethargic but hopefully he didn't take my soft sweeping of himself too personally and will stay around outside to rid our little domicile of any other more unruly uninvited houseguests.

Another reason to stay in the country . . .

allergies. We went to Dallas this weekend to see family and attend a wedding reception (we were not invited to the wedding as it was on a tropical island and for family only. pffft!).

And guess what?!!? The cottonwood was in full bloom! If a little breeze came up, it literally looked like it was snowing in June. crazy

Anyways . . . my throat is raw and my head is pounding. I'm staying in the country where my immune system stands a chance.

Since you asked . . .

okay, so you didn't ask but I'm telling.

The new job has been going really well. I'm enjoying my work and, for the most, my co-workers. We had a little shake up earlier this week and to be blunt, the troublemakers are no longer with us.

I am very excited about the improved work environment and the overall adjustment of the attitude in the office. The company has tremendous potential and I'm hanging on for the ride. Given the employment situation in this county, I am very appreciative of the opportunity - both professional and financial - that I have been given.

When my husband and I first moved here, we knew the incredible financial deduction we were taking. But we truly believed (and still do) that the life we make together with our son is far more important than the money we can make in the city with little or no time for family stuff. I know there are gazillions who will disagree with me but having lived in the city and now in the country, I would not even want to attempt to raise children in the city. I very clearly remember family-unfriendly employers and co-worker parents who agonized over missing their son or daughter's recital/game/presentation. They were made to feel that whatever project they were working on simply could NOT be put off for a few hours or until the next morning. Throw into the mix that most of us lived in suburbs at LEAST 20 miles from the office, it made things even more difficult. One of the reasons we waited until we were in the country to start our family was because I really dreaded the thought of dropping my baby off at daycare at 7 or 7:30 a.m. and then not seeing him until 6:30 or 7 p.m. That was something I just could not fathom doing.

But back to the job. It doesn't pay but maybe half what I was making in the city 5 years ago but I live 2 miles from the office, I can leave at any time to go to his special little functions, and if he gets sick then it is no big deal if Daddy or I stay home with him. My boss is not going to make me feel like the office is going to screech to a halt if I'm not there.

But half the $$ out here is a 100 times better than all the $$$ there!

Hello? Kettle? This is the Pot . . .

I am completely astounded that Al Sharpton is shaking his finger at the LA judicial system. Apparently he's hollering about the unfairness of Paris Hilton being let out of jail three days into her sentence.

Ain't he one of the guys who was screaming, "IF THE GLOVE DOES NOT FIT, YOU MUST ACQUIT!!!" ? ? ?

hilarious

Bear - 1, Parents - 0

Please keep in mind that I am smiling as I type this.

I had pretty lofty goals for what home improvement tasks I wanted to undertake while the Bear deconstructed his grandmother's home for a day.

Here's what was accomplished:

1. Completed horse panel fence.
2. Cleaned out and re-organized the Bear's closet.

That's it. That's what I accomplished. And the 35 feet of horse fence was finished in about 2 hours once we hitched up the trailer to go pick up the needed materials.

We spent 6 frakking hours!! clearing out the black hole that was his closet (not all of the contents his, of course). It took all of about 30 minutes to install the new ClosetMaid shelving and double rods. What took the majority of our time was emptying the closet out and then separating good from bad from ugly and bagging everything that no longer had a home with us.

Here's the tally:

2 truckloads of trash
1 truckload of donated items

Now that it has all been done and his closet could be an ad for small home organization, I'm happy and content.

Not so the story yesterday. Sitting in the middle of the pile in his room, I had the creepy feeling that it was all just multiplying. It took me 2 hours to see a spot clear to the carpet.

The day's biggest aggravation came in the form of the new microwave. Our old one stopped working last week so we were living like cave people! We finally got to a bigger town with a Wal-Mart yesterday morning and grabbed the biggest nuker they had. We got all the way home to plug it in. And nothing. The motor fan was blowing constantly but that was about it. So we had to load it up this morning, drive 30 miles, exchange it, plug it in AT THE STORE to make sure it worked, load it up, and haul it the 30 miles back home. Oh yeah, and we picked up the Bear while we were there.

We missed church this morning but we are all getting some much needed rest before the work week starts again. I think if the Lord saw the closet yesterday, He is understanding of my weariness today.

What to do with a day?!??!

By all things that are wonderful and glorious, I am going to have a day, an entire day! to do as I please when I please how I please and the bestest part is I get to do it all without make-up!!

My mother-in-law very graciously offered to take the Bear home with her for a weekend (alas, I'm not ready for his overnight stays somewhere else whilst I am at home where he should be) so she will be having him for the entire day tomorrow.

There are so many things I want to/need to/should do but my primary focus these days has been the homestead. So bright and early first thing tomorrow morning I shall get started on the following:

1. Blogging - mainly posting the 593 recipes I have been collecting to the Bon Vivant Gourmet (we needs to do our best to get the Lady Lorraine published so her green eyes will return to their loveliest shade of blue);
2. Mysterious reduction of toys/too small clothes/etc from the Bear's black hole, er, room;
3. Paint the front gate glossy black (it is currently in its original green shade - ewwww);
4. Mount elegant brushed aluminum house number plaque to said front gate;
5. Complete temporary horse panel fence;
6. Paint said temporary fence glossy black;
7. Shred (mow with a tractor) front acre to road;
8. Spray coastal grass weed/seed for lush thick coastal grass (to be later mowed back down by the horses);
9. Mow the front yard, WAIT! I did that last night because I'm ready to get started!
10. Enjoy a nice glass of wine and dinner with my husband;
11. Watch NetFlix choice of the week - "Night at the Museum";
12. Pass out.

Yea - right. We'll see how this all shakes out. ;o)