Cat person
I now know, how people become obsessed with their pets. I remember growing up, it was rumored this one weird, crazy lady had hundreds of cats. I have no idea if it is true or not. I was a teenager, hearing it from other teenagers. Anyway, the point is. I really like this cat.
He came to us in the late fall, tiny and skinny. He even won Jared over, who had declared NO MORE PETS. It was a time, when we were at our lowest emotionally. Well, I was at least. Money was tight, so tight it was pretty much non existent. There were problems with the house is Riley. Problems beyond the fact it wasn't selling. Work was hard to find. No solution in the future. But, we had our family. The kids were happy. And we had this new kitten. If we hadn't relocated, we wouldn't of gotten this wonderful kitten. Oh, the family is great too!
I'd bring him inside, and just pet him for hours. If I came home grumpy from work (I know, shocking I would be grumpy), Jared would bring me Harry. I spent hours, sitting outside on the deck, petting him. When I take care of the dogs in the morning and evening, or burn the trash, I carry Harry around. He greets me first thing in the morning. He greets me when I come home from work. He keeps Dagny company all day long. He's even made friends with the other stray cats, of whom we are NOT feeding or keeping. He tolerates Ladybug.
He calms me instantly. He purrs nicely in my ear. He cuddles under my chin when I pick him up.
I really like this cat.
Print This Post
Day to day life
Alex is feeling as good as new. He is a bit bummed, he has to take it easy, and couldn't gorge himself on pizza at dinner, but other than that. Good.
These next three weeks at work should be enjoyable. I get to go on one field trip a week. A couple of them are working trips, but one is in Alex's grade, so that works out nicely. Jonas' field trip, I'll only be in charge of Jonas. I'm pretty sure I can handle him. He invited my mom too, so that's a nice parent/child ratio.
The school year is winding down. Only 18.5 days left. I think the year just flew right by. I'm so glad the kids are happy in this school. Overall, I think the school is good for them. Ah, we made the right choice.
Print This Post
Bliss
Tonight I took the boys over to my grandparents' farm to mow their lawn. Due to the fact I have three hard working boys, I read a novel, and took some photos. It was rather relaxing for me.
This place is one of my all time favorite places ever. I wish, I was independently wealthy, or worked from home, or had some brilliant idea that would allow me to work from home, so we could move here. As it is, it is a bit of a commute to Lathrop. Although, it's not *that* bad.
My drive home, consisted of me brainstorming different ways to make it possible for us to move there. I didn't come up with anything. I'll keep thinking. I need to think fast, as it is for sale. It is beyond perfect, except for the location.
Print This Post
All the right reasons
We're back in Manhattan for the weekend. We feel so lucky to have such a huge family for the kids to soak up and enjoy. Sure, we've made some mistakes in the parenting world (although I can't think of any right now), we have always made sure that the boys are surrounded by their grandparents.
I went by the house, to fix a light fixture. I made sure all of the windows were still locked, and did a walk of the yard, to make sure all was ok. I do not enjoy this house selling process one little bit. Not at all. Never again, will we do this. Ever.
But, I do not regret our decision. We have done it for a reason. I look forward to when both sets of grandparents are close by, only that will make it perfect. When our kids decide to go to K-State, we'll probably still own a house in the area for them. Handy.
Print This Post
It’s official
Spring is here. The crocus have popped.
I hadn't mentioned it here before, but our house was robbed. Not the house with our stuff in it, rather the house without the stuff. I guess that's a good thing. Not good it was broken into, rather that our current house is ok. They made off with about $300 worth of stuff. We started out quite angry about it. Upset with society. Then we stopped stressing about it. Alex made up a song about the robber. I'll have to record him singing it sometime. While I was cleaning up the robber's muddy footprints, I did get a bit mad again. But, that's ok. He can't take my happy spirit.
So, this weekend Caleb and I are in Manhattan. Cheryl met us at the house, and we cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. The house smells and looks great. We weeded the flower beds. They will look great this spring. I have to go back tomorrow and repair a bit of damage. I need to get "parts" from home depot. I lectured my St. Joseph statue, and told him, he needs to get busy, and sell our stinkin' house. He will get right on it.
Now, in case potential home buyers are reading this. I do NOT think our neighborhood is dangerous. I don't think this was typical. In fact, the police officer said this was the first of this kind for awhile, no streaks of robberies. I think a vacant house tempted people. It's a great house, a great neighborhood, and it even comes with a free plastic statue of St. Joseph.
Print This Post
Going green
I came up with the most brilliant idea for how to get people to be more enviornmental. No more trash services.
After moving to the country, we have no trash service. We recycle probably 75% of our things, burn lots of it, then have a very small portion that is neither burnable or recycleable. That stuff kills me. What to do with it.
Now, I look at items, and if I can't burn it, or recycle it, I probably don't need it. I have some lighters that we had for camping, that I've been using to light our fires. I won't be able to recycle OR burn them. Oy. Light bulbs. What to do, what to do?
I use to just throw stuff away, constantly, if I no longer needed it. Now, I find a new use for it, or just keep using it. Much more frugal.
Print This Post
After School
Most days, after school, the boys ride the bus to my folks' house. Upon arriving, they help themselves to two cookies each, and a big glass of milk. They then rush to be the first to my mom's lap. There they sit, and discuss their day.
Today, I look over, and she has all three hovering around her. Just waiting for that good lap spot to be free. That's Caleb, under the blanket, refusing to have his photo taken.
Print This Post
The right decision
While our move to Missouri has not been all peaches and cream (i.e., you might want to sell you house and get a job, before you quit your job, and move to a new state.), this weekend was what it was all about.
Last night, Jared's cousin and her family came over for a wonderful visit. What you can't hear in the above photo, is Hannah, screaming at the top of her lungs for this song. Screaming, loud. See Alex laughing? It was hard not to. We didn't even try to restrain ourselves.
It was a great visit. Nice and relaxing. Laughter, good food, good visiting. We need to make a habit out of it, and do it more often.
This weekend, one of my cousins were in town, to visit my grandparents. My grandpa once said, he couldn't leave us with many material items, but he could leave us with the gift of music. So, we got together at my grandparents' and played some music and listened to stories.
Grandpa gave us the names of some songs we need to learn. We were also told we need to start making arrangements to be playing in shows. Now.
It was a good weekend. Family filled. We're exhausted. Jonas has had multiple meltdowns. That's how we know he's been having fun.
Print This Post
2009
Oh what a year. We moved to a new town, a new state, a new house. We put our house on the market, had it under contract, and that fell through. It's still for sale. Want to buy a house?
We switched jobs, switched schools, and had to learn new grocery store layouts.
We lost our beloved cat. Then, we gained a new cat, who showed up on our doorstep. A football loving cat.
We watched my grandparents move from their home of 60+ years, into a small apartment. However, after visitng them frequently, it's not as bad as expected. When you step inside the apartment, it feels like "home".
We've gained more frequent visits with Jared's side of the family. We will work on making them even more frequent.
We've begun playing music together more. We're expanding our song list, and our band. New instruments and new songs.
We're reminded of what is important in life. Family, friends, shelter, food, happiness. We're learning to be much less materialistic, and enjoy what we have, instead of wish for what we don't have.
It's been an interesting year. One that we will look back upon, and have great stories to tell. One that will help make us wise in retrospect. I'm looking forward to seeing what the new year brings.
Print This Post
Welcome home!
The piano has made it out of storage and is HOME! It was an adventure. It was complicated getting the trailer/truck situation in order to get it here. In the end, we rented a uhaul trailer, and my dad hooked it to his truck. It was 3 inches shorter than the opening, a close, tight fit. We took everything off, that we could get off, to lighten it, and then my wonderful dad and wonderful husband got it into the trailer. I was there, and I attempted to help, but I know in my heart, I was doing so very little of the work, I cannot take credit.
We've put it back together, put it in it's proper home, and started in on the Christmas music. It's slightly out of tune, but not so much that it drives me crazy. It will do. I'm so very happy to have it here. We've picked up our instruments more than once, and made music together. It just took the piano to bring the music back.
Print This Post