Sick Days

Can I call in some sick days here?

I figure that when you take  sick days, noone really does your work, it just waits for you at your job until you return.

I have had all of these ideas for this blog, but none of the energy the last few days.  Have gone to bed just after the kids, but can’t seem to fight this off. 

So, I will return in a day or two (and finish all of my “back-work” then.)

I have no plans to quit blogging.

Please don’t fire me.

Mini Mothers Day

Today was a host of Mothers Day activities.

This morning, Owen’s class invited in all the mamas and served cookies, lemonade, and strawberries.  Owen was bursting with pride to show me all of his creations: a pot-holder printed with his hands, a flower pot, a keychain with little hearts, and a heart pendant.  He showed me each detail and described how he had been thinking of me when he made each item.  Mostly because he chose green paint, or green sparkles, or green beads.

He wrote that I am 20 years old, I like the color green, my favorite TV show is the news, and my favorite food is parsnips.  My favorite thing to do is to read to him, and he loves me because I draw nice pictures for him.

My favorite part of Owen’s event was the singing at the end.  He takes singing and learning all of the words so seriously.  He sang with a shy embarrassed smile, but knew all of the words and actions, and was obviously proud.  Most of the songs I had not heard at home because he wanted them to be a surprise. ( I wish I had that kind of control over songs that jump into my head - and I find myself singing them without even noticing – for instance “It’s a Small World” and the like…)

Later in the day Kris treated me and the boys to a Recess Monkey concert in West Seattle.  The music had super cute kid lyrics with catchy tunes.  Most of the kids danced through the whole thing, but my monkeys just held hands and took everything in. 

Our finale was to share dessert at the Luna Park Cafe in West Seattle.  We picked a yummy chocolate-mint milkshake.  Below is us eating ONE that has been split into three cups!

I could get used to this whole Mother’s Day thing…

Let the Mother’s Day weekend begin!!

Photos

My grandparents recently took about 1200 slides and made them into digital photos for the computer.  Today I  spent most of the day helping them put “tags” on the photographs so they could retrieved the photos more quickly.

In their slide collection, my grandparents had photos from about 10 years ago to about 50 years ago.  They hadn’t seem many  of the photos since they were developed into slides!  It was so much fun to see my grandma and grandpa discover these photos again, and to hear stories of my mom and my uncles.

I especially love that my grandfather bought an expensive and sophisticated camera for the time, and many of his photographs are amazing.  (The story is that while living in Alaska, my grandma had the opportunity to take a ship to Japan to shop.  My grandpa agreed that she could go as long as she would bring him back a camera.)

These are a few of my favorites from their collection.

My Grandma and Grandpa (about 50 years ago)

Grandpa stuck in the mud.

Uncle Paul “killing” Uncle Steve. 

Mom, Uncles -  John, Steve, Paul

Uncle John with a kitty (this makes me think of Jack)

Our Vacation Spot

Hmm…

This is Greece right now. 

Greeks are protesting conditions placed on them in exchange for bailout loans from the IMF.

6 weeks suddenly doesn’t seem that far away…

AAh, I See…

So, I figured out where all of the extra time came from that I had yesterday.  It came from today.

Let’s just say that one of the first things I do in the morning is empty the dishwasher.  Even that didn’t get done today. 

Owen made it to preschool and then gymnastics on time, but that was about it.  After a day in which I did almost nothing but play with Jack, we went out for dinner because I was too tired to think of cooking.

Now I am exhausted and going to bed.

But today was a good day anyway.  How could it not be when you have Jack as a playmate? (someone please remind me I said this when I am not feeling this way on some other day…)

Grady thinks it is really fun to watch me clean, and smiles and laughs when I wipe counters.  So, tomorrow I should be able to get a few things done.

Slow Day

Some days seem to fly by so quickly.  I wake up, do a few things (but not usually the things that need to get done) and then fall into bed exhausted, wondering what happened.

Each day I try to spend time on the house, some with the boys, some with Eric, and have some time alone for myself.

In trying to fit all of those in, I often combine cleaning the house while listening to a book on cd or some type of podcast.  I love that I can have my mind on something else and still get things done around the house.  “Reading” this was was a big revelation to me, at the time I discovered it, that I didn’t have to choose between taking care of the house and having some time to myself.

But today I have rediscovered books.  I have had a novel sitting on my bedside table for months now and picked it up this afternoon, reading a few pages.  I have read it off and on all day today, and have almost finished it. 

There is something about progressing through a book.  Where the few pages you hold in you left hand increase until they hold the entire book.  It is tangible proof of progress.

The thing is, I also did so much else today.  Eric and I sat and talked and drank coffee this morning.  We all played Lego for ages.  I roughhoused with the boys, made dinner, did a few loads of laundry, talked on the phone for an hour with my friend, and spent over an hour this evening reading with Jack and teaching him letters.

Every time I noticed the time, it seemed like hardly any time had passed.  I even had the beginnings of a migraine today and I slept for a few hours to let it pass(not sure what that was about as I haven’t had one in probably 5 years!)  Still the day stretched on, and made room for more time to relax.

I have no doubt that tomorrow will fly by, but it was great to have such a slow day, and to enjoy it.

Jack is Packed

Eric wanted to pack his bag for the trip to see how everything fits.  He will be carrying Jack or Owen’s stuff too, so I packed for Jack to test things out.  

• 4 pair shorts
• 6 t-shirts
• long-sleeved shirt
• pj’s
• 2 swimsuits and a rashguard
• zip off pants
• wind/waterproof pants
• 1 pr. smartwool socks
• (oops, need undies!)

Jack’s clothes weigh about 4 1/2 pounds.  Add another for his toiletries  (shampoo, sunscreen, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, toothbrush, vitamins) and other things (sunglasses, earphones, small pool toys).

He’ll have his backpack of toys, books, snacks, and “nai-nai guy” which he can carry (hopefully).

I figure we can go for a week before we need to wash clothes. 

Am I missing something?