News Jumble

I haven't written much in the last week, have I? But it's not for lack of things to say. Mostly, I've just been occupied elsewhere.

Where did I leave off? Oh. My mother, it turns out, really was out of town, but she got my message and called Gran so she wouldn't worry. Later that evening she called me and we laughed and laughed at the irony of one's mother coming for a surprise visit, not only when one is away from home, but also the first day in decades that one was so tired she didn't even make her bed! The house was the way we left it, and that was a disaster. I started to clean before we took off, but Grant had a fit, and my priorities changed immediately to "remove screaming boy from house".

I was at taiko, but didn't really burn off a week's worth of feasting. Oh, well. It will have to be a long term goal.

We took down Christmas on New Year's Eve, and then went all the way to Pacific to Jay's house. I called and asked him if Jake could come, too, to be sure we could stay as long as we wanted on Friday. He said it was fine as long as Jake didn't eat Nerf darts. Boys. Really. It was especially surprising when Darci saw Jake. Apparently, Jay hadn't asked her, and she was worried that her dog, Tessa, would eat Jake. Great. Thanks, Jay! The dog introduction went fine, though. Then came the kid introductions. Evan is most of a year older than Grant, and Liam is most of a year older than Abbie. Within minutes they were all running around together, perfectly happy.
And speaking of perfectly happy...that is the title for my New Year's Eve. I love these girls. (And Jay, too, who is very much NOT a girl.) We had a great time making snacks and drinking wine and giggling and telling moderately inappropriate stories, and laughing some more, and checking on children who didn't really need checking on..... Good times. Josh was being funny again...(be very afraid).

Darci ended up getting a hotel or motel or something late in the evening (Or should I say early in the morning?) which was a little sad, but probably a good thing in the sense that they got actual, real, child-free sleep. Jay had to run in to work for a little in the morning, so we decided to meet him at Monkey Joe's. The closest one was by Crestwood Mall - not a part of town I'm familiar with...but most parts of town are like that for me. Monkey Joe's, in case you don't know, is code for Kid Heaven. Slides, bouncing, no sharp edges.....trust me on this. And the kids, not surprisingly, had a marvelous time. Josh and I bought pizza, and then Jay showed up. Evan lit up like a little light bulb. Very cute. At that point most of us went back to Jay's, and we packed to go. It was already after 3. Before we went, though, Caroline's family had to tell me a little story that had happened at Monkey Joes:

"Liam was going up the ladder to the big slide, and there was a much older kid behind him, and then Abbie. The big kid kept trying to push Liam out of the way and go past him, but he had his arms out and the kid couldn't do it. Then he started 'accidentally' started elbowing Liam in the head. So Abbie looks around, makes sure Josh isn't watching, and punches the older kid hard enough to knock him back. Then they sort of stare at each other for a minute, and when the other kid gives up and starts walking again, Liam is already down the slide."

They were glowing with pride and appreciation. My head was going: "Is this a sign of future loyalty, or future violence? I have a kid who hits! Oh, no!!!!!!!" Later, I voiced my concerns to my mother. Her reply was, "That will take care of itself. One day she'll push someone who will push her back and that will be the end of that."

I was sad to leave Jay's and go home, especially since Caroline was about to make an Alton Brown roast! But we also have some other things going on. Josh has a job interview today. More on that later.

Yesterday, the plan was that my dad would come and take Josh to the RAMS game, and Mom would stay and play with us. I was told that it was a later game, so I was planning on going to taiko. It turns out that it was a noon game, so I had to write Andrew and cancel my attendance. Then, Dad decided not to come. That's right. He stayed home. He's having surgery tomorrow, and he was worried about catching a cold and then having the surgery moved to next month, after he's already scheduled time off of work, etc. So yesterday was kind of a mess. Josh took Chris to the game, and Mom stayed with us for a while, but then Dad called and was worried about weather, so she had to leave early, too. I'm glad I saw my mom...but I did have kind of a let down/"What just happened?" kind of feeling yesterday.

Today is Abbie's birthday. She is four. YAY! Josh is gone to his interview. Grant goes to the dentist this afternoon. OH! I forgot to tell you. Remember the pulpotomy and the trip to the dentist and how Grant was good, but that was all that we got done? Well.....Christmas Eve, the outer half of the filling came out. Fantastic. So we have an emergency appointment today.

And as for Josh. Hmm. This is difficult. Josh has decided that he wants a job on the police force. The problem, besides the fact that I've become quite a pessimist and am secretly convinced that it's all a waste of time, is that Police Academy training lasts 6 months, and is full time. He would have to quit his job, and get a weekend job to cover some bills, and then somehow still do well at Police Academy school. Today is the interview for the weekend job. 7 -7 on Saturdays and Sundays. I am not going to see him for 6 whole months, essentially. And let me just tell you: it's not so easy to be supportive and wish someone good luck on an interview that the best case scenario of which is that you will be miserable for six months. That's what we're looking forward to. Him being gone 7 days a week, possibly all for nothing. That's the BEST CASE SCENARIO.

Anyway, I am trying not to think about it. I have enough going on just planning Abbie's party on Saturday. Are you coming? I've only had 3 RSVPs and 1 was a no. I need to tell Molly how many to expect!

Oops. Forgot to tell you that part, too. Saturday was our one day to get everything ready for the week. The plan was to go grocery shopping, and get Josh's hair cut (both ears this time) for his interview. Josh decided that as long as we were going out, we should go to Mid Rivers Mall and eat lunch there, and use my Borders Books card that I got for Christmas. Well we got a return call from Molly when we got there, and she met up with us. It was great. She has been pretty much MIA since July. But it was a happy MIA. She's in love. Plus, she quit smoking. YAY for Molly! We hung out and giggled for a while, and then when she was leaving, she asked Abbie what she wanted for her birthday. Abbie said, "Um...I want a cheesecake with strawberries on top of it." Molly's eyes got as big as plates.

After professing her undying love for Abbie, she turned to me and said, "She just told a chef that she wanted cheesecake for her birthday. Don't think for a second I'm not bringing her a cheesecake on Saturday." In fact, the plan is to have lots of little tiny cheesecakelettes.

And...I bought a book. Amy recommended it to me, and it's extremely weird, but I love it. Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. I haven't been this happy with a new book in ages. I should save Amy one of Molly's cheesecakes in thanks. I'm happy to be reading again. And, for the first time in a long time, I mentioned writing again yesterday.

Well, I have plenty to get ready for today. Abbie is having a good birthday so far. I'm going to attempt to get clean in time to take Grant (and Abbie) to the dentist. I hope you are having a decent Monday, and that so far 2010 is being good to you.