A Note on Hair

Obviously I have no issues cutting my hair or letting it grow or coloring it. I've gone from red to dark brown and back again. I've had the pixie cut and hair down to the middle of my back. The hairstylist that cut the pixie cut was afraid I'd cry because I cut my hair. This struck me as odd. After all, it grows back. It's not like I'm cutting off a finger. I want my daughter to have the same attitude about hair that I do. Meaning I don't want her to cry if she makes a decision about it that doesn't work out. After all it's hair. It grows back and sometimes it's the only thing in your life that's controllable or changeable. Phil appreciates it when I take out my need for change on my hair. It usually costs him a lot less and is definitely less stressful for him. So hair today, gone today, grows tomorrow.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Love Tested

On April 15th, my grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. My grandma was only 17 years old when they married. My mom was born two years later, the first of five children. Their love brought five children, 14 grandchildren, and great grandchildren into the world. The tests that happened during my lifetime include at least 4 heartattacks from my grandpa, the death of a son due to cancer, a heartattack from my grandma, and later my grandma had a stroke. The greatest test and the thing that showed grandpa's devotion. She was left paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. My grandpa cared for her and kept her at the house they'd lived in for years.

April 17th marked the 17th anniversary of the death of my uncle, their son. On April 19th, my grandma passed away. The woman, who grew up in poverty during the depression and spent her adult life with someone who loved her enough to stand by her in her time of need, died quietly in the bed she'd shared with the man she loved. I don't know who I cried more for, her or the husband left behind with the grief of losing the woman he'd stood beside for over 60 years. I can only hope that as my love is tested, it raises to the level theirs did.

Tuned in and Tuned out

Little Man saw a giant leap in his allowance due to the exchange rate when we returned since we'd put a no spending lock on the kids. So, he had a nice chunk of change left over. We were at Target yesterday and Little Man was deciding which toy to get and then he saw the iDog. This, of course, led to the iPods. Now he had a decision to make. He could get a Lego set or an iPod shuffle and an iDog. He decided on the iPod. So now he wanders around with headphones in his ears or his dog. He'll still get the Lego set but since he wanted both, I told him to wait until the toy room was ready for the Legos. Our house is covered in toys right now. It's odd because it wouldn't normally be something I would expect my son to buy. When he first got his allowance, all he wanted to do was find whatever he could buy with his $4, which wasn't much and helped us accumulate the gigantic pile of toys I sorted before leaving for England. Now, he takes his time and really looks at his choices and then decides between toys and saving for bigger toys.

Now, Lady Jane, on the other hand, has bought two pairs of shoes with her allowance so far. I swear if I went somewhere shoe shopping that had prettier shoes she'd always spend her allowance on shoes. Or princess stuff. She does want an Easy Bake Oven (Grandma you listening). She got a make over head from her aunt for Xmas. New toys are great.

I have a problem buying stuff. I look at the price tag and freak out a little. I think I'm so used to doubling the price in my head that everything looks way too expensive. We're not talking really expensive stuff, but things like $18 for a kid's outfit. Maybe that is outrageous. Enough about money for now.

Didn't You Know Today was the 25th?

I did, but apparently the rest of the world is a week behind. Oops. I'm blaming it on the earthquake even though I thought that before this morning. I'm still blaming the earthquake. Oh, well, free time. Woohoo.

Ever Get the Feeling You're Being Followed

We just filled out the usgs survey for the 5.2 earthquake centered in Illinois. Seriously, we just filled out one of these a few months ago for England. Little Man bit his tongue and Lady Jane thought she was having a nightmare. But at least this time they felt it too. So anyone want an earthquake where they live, we can probably schedule a visit in a few months time. :)

Did you feel it?

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Namely losing teeth. Little Man lost his first tooth which we almost forgot to put under a pillow. It fell out when he went to wiggle it again. Another milestone reached, but somehow not as significant as when he got his first tooth or the first step or the first laugh.

Lady Jane has been having nightmares for the past two nights. The night before last she came in and got into bed with us. (I missed my King size bed.) Then last night we sat and argued with her to go back to her own bed which eventually she did.

I guess I don't have much to report here. We're still settling in and trying to start a routine. Lady Jane liked her first tumbling class. So both kids are signed up for gymnastics and swimming which should give them some great exercise and make them eat at night. Right?

Life in General

Lady Jane is home. We had a good and not so good weekend up with the family. Little Man and I decided against driving my little car in the gusting winds Friday night, so we headed up Saturday morning. We had an interesting discussion about the civil war and rights over lunch at Steak n Shake. The weekend was a little hectic with Mom having to help with Grandma and me being left with 4 kids to try to get to sleep. Fortunately they did before my brother left around 10:30 and Dad got home a little after midnight. We were able to get everything ready for my nephew's birthday BBQ at 2:00. Kids were everywhere at that point and some interesting discussions were had by the adults. Lady Jane, Little Man, and I hopped in my little car and headed home after the gifts had been opened and the cake cut. We made it about 3 miles before the kids crashed in the backseat.

Monday, Lady Jane had her first swim lesson. A vast improvement from the prior year when she wouldn't go into the water with the teacher. Grandma came and picked up Lady Jane and her cousin from the Y and took them to her house for the afternoon. Last night was my first ever Yoga class. One of the discussions at the party was about Yoga class and how you don't think it's doing anything until you wake up the next morning. Maybe for someone who doesn't have muscle problems and stubborn joint issues. I could feel it as I was doing it. Things I was supposed to feel in my thighs never got past the knee because the calf hurt so bad. I think in the long run it will be good for me, but right now everything is protesting. Especially my hips. So I'm sitting in a comfy chair for a bit and then will get Lady Jane and I dressed and maybe play in the sunshine for a while. Then it's off to the dentist with the kids and then swim lessons for Little Man, then back home for dinner, then Phil is going climbing, so after all that I should be able to get some writing done. Yeah.

Escape Plan

So Little Man and I have had a lovely time to ourselves the last few weeks, but it's time to go get the hostage. There will be no negotiation at this time. Grandma had her reasons, which were valid and only somewhat suspicious. Little Man and I are driving up for my nephew's birthday and then we'll come back home as a threesome. Lady Jane has had a fantastic time being with Grandma for two weeks and it's been nice to have some peace and quiet around the house. I've been able to write during the day again. But it's time for her to come home. I get to put my new car to the gas mileage and comfort test with the 3-4 hour drive.

Nothing new really happened this week while Phil was away. Little Man had a concert with his class which was a major culture shock after his school in England. They probably just had more time to prepare in England. The parents' behavior was definitely shocking. People were talking so you couldn't hear the children on stage. At Little Man's other school, the kids didn't even have to use a microphone to be heard. The children sat still and paid attention to what was going on on stage. Oh, well. We'll readjust. My son is a ham though. He likes attention and has gotten tons of attention since he was born and I'm not talking from me and Phil, but the daycare workers, random people walking past us, etc. Which leads me to his first gymnastics class last night taught by a probably high school girl. It was him and 3 other boys and he loved it. He was able to get individualized attention and also talk to the other boys and lots of exercise. I think it will be a good fit for him. His body is light enough for a lot of the tricks and he'll develop the arm strength as he goes. He enjoyed the class too. Lady Jane's first class is set up for next week along with swimming for both of them and my Yoga. Gotta go.

Moving In

Though technically our renter hasn't moved out, (it's tax season and I'm not that cruel, he's a tax accountant) we've been busy moving things around. We went to Weekend's Only and bought the kids bunk beds and a new computer desk. Both of which we assembled this weekend. We also bought a closet organizer for the kids' closet and got that installed as well. Slowly but surely we're making our way through the umpteen million (read 32) boxes that came back with us and two suitcases that held little stuff. It's only 7:20 pm and I'm ready for bed. My body doesn't deal well with manual labor. I start to ache and my muscles protest most movements. I plan to do very little tomorrow. Phil is heading to destinations unknown for a few days and Lady Jane might finally be returning home. Come on, Grandma, I know we took her away for a year but aren't you sick of her yet. :) And don't you want to see me and Little Man and the disaster area we call home. Maybe that's it. You're afraid our chaos will swallow you whole. Don't worry it is getting arranged maybe a little slower than usual, but it's getting there. You barely have to step over things anymore.

One of the tough things about coming home is remembering where we put all our stuff. A lot of it went in the basement. Some of it went in the guest closet. More of it is in the nifty bookcase Phil built in our room. That and we need to purge our house. 13 years of living on our own has allowed us to amass quite a lot of junk. But first we need to put the stuff we want to keep away then we can start pulling stuff out to get rid of. Fun. Fun.

My New Car

That's right. Screw you, bad dealership. I got me a 2007 Honda Fit. It may not have all the bells and whistles, but it gets 28 city and 34 highway miles per gallon. If you want a really nice salesman to deal with check out Mike at the Dean Team of Brentwood. Yeah, I'm plugging my sales guy what of it. We're going to spend a little money to make it keyless entry for me and though I prefer the Blaze Orange Metallic I'll get used to the Tidewater Blue Metallic. Had I been building it that would have been the absolutely last color I would have picked. To be honest I thought I wouldn't want an orange car but after seeing one, I did. Go figure. Anyway life is good. It's so small I lose it in parking lots behind SUV's all the time. It allows for plenty of garage clutter around it, so the Murano gets the bigger side and Phil can get in and out of it without dinging doors.

Lady Jane's ransomer (aka Grandma) says she might bring her back Monday or Tuesday. Today she gets to go to her cousin's birthday party. Little Man was kidnapped last night by his other Grandparents who are putting him through all sorts of misery by going to a movie and maybe the Magic House and letting him watch movies and who knows what kinds of sweets they'll give him. I know my kids have it rough.

If you didn't notice, last night Phil and I were kidless for the first time in over a year. So what did we do? Well, we drove the Fit because it's new (to us) and cool. We went to Weekend's Only and looked at bunk beds for the kids and a new computer desk, then we returned the primer that was not what I needed to Home Depot and picked up the right primer, then we went to Lowes and looked at lighting and closet organizers. Finally we went to dinner at Houlihan's. I had yummy steak (mmmm, beef) and Phil had some mexican dish (they don't really understand how to cook mexican in England). We stuffed ourselves and then headed home and watched some TV before going to bed.

This morning we went to Bread Co. Where I couldn't decide between bagels, so I got three. No I haven't eaten them all. Now Phil's at climbing and I'm taking a break from working on my manuscript. We're going to head back to Weekend's Only and buy said bunkbed and desk and probably the kids' closet organizer. It's good to be back.

Yesterday Elation, Today Pissed

So yesterday I found out the contest I entered at the end of January, I finaled in. The top three entries now get read by an agent. Yeah!! I was so psyched, but didn't get to tell anyone in person until I picked up Little Man from school and he was only somewhat enthusiastic. So now I'm putting my nose to the grindstone to get the manuscript in order just in case. The results won't be given until April 26th. So, YAY!!!!!

Then this morning I finally got ahold of my salesperson at the dealership that sold me a car Tuesday only to find out they couldn't get said car. So I'm pissed. I missed out on other deals at other dealerships because of their screwing me. It's a load of crock. So I'm in the market again for a used car and will find one that won't be as expensive. Nah! Oh, and the dealership in question can expect a scathing review sent to their owner especially since we've used them before.

Lonely Days, Lonely Nights

Little Man and I have been having to fend for ourselves this week. Daddy had a trip for work and Lady Jane got grandma napped. We went up to my parents' house this weekend. My mom had forewarned me to pack Lady Jane some extra clothes. We aren't quite sure when she intends to bring back Lady Jane, but mom said something about August...but potentially next week. I've signed up Lady Jane and Little Man for swimming lessons at the Y and have trial dates for both of them at a Gymnastics training center (for lack of using the facility's actual name). So in a few weeks we'll start our routine.

Yesterday I haggled the heck out of a new car, but still haven't received said car. If it doesn't go through I won't be heartbroken, though I'll be bummed about having to car shop again. It takes way too much time, but at least I could save some money on a used POS. Today our ship came in. Or at least, our shipment from England. So I have lots of stuff and no where to put it all yet. I'd like to get a new computer desk. Nothing fancy. We just don't need the closed doors of the computer hutch anymore and we'd like some space on the desktop. Both kids are fairly good about using the computer and don't just randomly press buttons anymore. Though we will have to beware when wandering toddlers come over.

Which brings me to my next issue? No not toddlers. French doors. I've been wanting to close off the computer room/music room with French doors. I want to redo the pantry. Our bedroom needs to be finished. Our closet needs to be reorganized. The guest bedroom closet needs to be reorganized. The kids' closets need to be reorganized. The patio needs to be paved. The dining room paint needs to be finished. The built in wall between the family room and the office needs to be torn out and replaced and the base board replaced in both rooms. I need to reduce the clutter in my house by 50%. I'd like book shelves to go with the new desk. We need a new couch (something smaller). Our dining room needs a new light fixture and the current fixture needs to go up in our bedroom which needs trim, a faux fireplace box and mantel, painting and new curtains. We need more space and less stuff. We need, we want, same diff.

It's good to be home.