so here's the thing...

Meke's birthday

So, I remember when my baby sister was born. Mom had to have a C-section, and it had to happen between Christmas and New Year's Day. There is some story about an infection and Mom having to stay in the hospital for extra days. I really missed my mom. Grandma came to stay with us on New Year's Eve,and I treasure the memory of sobbing into my Grandma's bosom, soooo missing my mama. Daddy took us to visit her, but we couldn't go inside....back in the day, before they built that fantasmic Birthing Center at Overlake, there was this side wing, one story and with easy access to the windows. So Daddy realized we were having mama withdrawal, and he took us to visit her. We climbed the hillside to Mom's window, and she probably suffered much pain to get out of bed and come to the window and hold her sobbing daughter's hand.

And now, 40 years later:
Oh! Did I mention the fact that we are at my house again? Yeah....not a big deal, just the family joke. Everytime we think we are going out to dinner, we end up here. I guess it keeps my house clean!

Christmas Day

Finally! A chance to spend Christmas Day at home. Not so relaxing, having 15 people for dinner, but still. The kids headed for Meme's for Christmas morning breakfast. And we cleaned and cleaned and prepped the house. Too much food, too much thought put into the process. I'm thinking.....if it happens again in the next few years....what about Chinese takeout? Ehhhh.....no. Prime rib may be spendy, but it is sooooo good!

Check out the techie 21st century girls!

Christmas

This year, we had Christmas Eve at Meme's house. Why didn't I get a picture of the grandkids?!?!?!? Just this cute one, missing CJ:

December

So December flew by, but when does it crawl by?

Sadly, we lost my Auntie Carol just after Thanksgiving. She had pancreatic cancer....for 8+ years, which says so much. Amazing stories of her strength and spirit, and the fact that she was a walking miracle for many years, and the cancer was the contributor, but not really the cause of her death. Funerals are tough, but a chance to see loved ones we have missed for years sometimes.

We headed to the Tacoma Dome to cheer for Skyline as they won the state championship - Taylor wanted to spray her hair white, but I held out for the white "eyeblack"!
 

My sweet Uncle Darryl and Aunt Genie came from South Carolina for Auntie Carol's funeral, and decided to make some good memories, so they stayed for a few weeks, visiting around the area. And this is a typical view of what Mom's kitchen looks like with a gathering:

Thanksgiving

In the interest of using this blog as a way to settle arguments about where we spend our holidays (in 26 years of marriage, I do know that we've spent 3 Christmas Days at home, including 2011....but where we run around and who we visit? just a blur....), we did the 12 hour "make the rounds" day, once again. It's a mixed blessing, having plenty of relatives here. I have to confess, I feel a little bit jealous when I talk to people and they say they are spending the morning in pj's and having Chinese take-out for their holiday. Just a little jealous. Mixed blessing. Perfect description.

So we went to Melinda's for an early afternoon meal, and then to my sister's for an evening meal. Left home just before 11, and got home sometime after 10. Tired and full and happy to have had a chance to see everyone. And.....I left my camera at my sister's house, so my good intentions of blogging the next day were dashed.

But here we go, better late than never:

One of the reasons I blog is....

....it helps me remember things. For scrapbooking. For happy things that have happened. For settling arguments when we can't remember what we did for certain holidays. Obviously I haven't been winning any arguments lately, though, since I have been failing miserably at blogging. Oh well, try, try again, and all that.

I decided to be a little kinder and gentler on myself recently, and it has paid off in a big way. I've lost some weight, don't feel as stressed, though I'm busier than ever, and am slowly feeling some joy where it was missing in my life. Weird how that can work. I taught a quilt class this week for the first time in years....7 years maybe?....and it was so fun. Exhausting, and when I did the breakdown, I probably made $10 an hour, but it's money I wouldn't have had otherwise, and it was a good brand of tired. Well earned and fulfilling. Reminds me of when I was clowning. Birthday parties were so exhausting. And I dreaded every minute, but then in the car on the way home, I so enjoyed the natural high I felt that I would be eager to get another gig.

I have a job interview Monday for another part time bookkeeping position. Sounds kind of too good to be true. I really hope it works out, and it's kind of cool how it fell in my lap at the perfect time. Like God knew somehow that my door was open and I needed this.

I am so excited for Christmas this year. Tonight on the way home, Taylor and I drove through a few neighborhoods and people were putting up their lights. I got all giddy and excited - came home and pulled out the Christmas cd's. Haven't played them yet, but they're ready for this Friday. When I won't be shopping, might I just add. Man, when I worked at Nordstrom I thought it was bad when we were open until midnight just a few days during the holiday season. And I think the earliest we ever opened was 7 a.m. Not that the mall is open all night (yet), but I am seeing some of the craziest hours ever. You couldn't pay me enough to do that. It's one thing, signing on as a nurse or working in some profession that dictates 24 hour service, but really? Retail? Bah! I would hate Christmas even more than I did when I worked retail. I was a real Grinch in those days. And I think it scarred me (well, obviously it did, since I still hate to shop at the mall) for a few years after I quit. Finally now I love, love, love it. Am so psyched for Shimelle's JYC to start. I think this might be the year I follow through - ha! First I have to tackle this mess:

I just feel different, somehow. Like a switch has been flipped.

last travel tournament of the year

We headed to Richland for a tournament this weekend.

My anxiety kicked in when I looked up the M hotel phone number to reserve a rollaway bed....and noticed the SIX SINGLE STAR REVIEWS!!!!! I didn't sleep for 2 nights before we left. And then Eric wasn't feeling well, so suddenly on Friday afternoon, it turned out I was driving myself and the kids over. Good news was it wasn't raining, and I'd most likely get over Snoqualmie Pass before it got too dark. Let's just say from Yakima to Richland, I set the cruise control and followed a speedy pickup truck, hanging on for dear life.

Not the best room, but I guess I've seen worse. Although it did smell like wet dog. And just before going to bed, I made the mistake of peeking beside the nightstand....at 6 months worth of crumbs and some lovely orthodonic elastics littering the floor. EEEEWWWW!!!!! I didn't sleep much that night. Or the next.

Christian said "okay, so they vacuum, just not in the corners, you have to stop being such a freak". I will say the bathroom was pretty clean....my Lysol wipe was just a little dirty from wiping up the floor. Nice shower. Hmmm....clean fridge....

And what is it with people walking around barefoot in hotels?!?!?!? Do they wash/scrub/antibacterialize their feet before getting into bed???? Wow. Just. Wow. Then again.....maybe I'm more germaphobic than I think I am. No, no, no, that can't be. Especially since this was a pet friendly place (oh joy! we should have brought the tortoise!). I just can't walk barefoot on doggie tracks. And stained carpet.

Am I a freak?

Taylor played well once she got over the first game/first inning jitters. I'll have to look up her stats. And phew!!! no real injuries this time. Just a few new bruises. We can deal with those. There were tears when she missed an out that let the other team win the game that knocked them out of the championship, but I told her it's an entire game, many calls, plays, errors, and funny hops. And they took a solid 3rd, winning 14~2, with a trophy to show for their work. Here is Taylor with Coach Tom:

 

 

 

September

And so summer finally hit full force here in the PNW. We squeezed every last minute of time we could into the pool. Even headed over some evenings with less than an hour to spend. The kids decided it was worth it. And I was lucky to usually find a friend to yak with, or just happy to spend some time reading while Taylor swam. She got the "flip" down pat, and it only made my heart stop a few times to see her spring off of the diving board. No fear, that girl.

Taylor started cheerleading, and August was 3 weeks of solid practices and a weekend of cheer camp, with some softball sprinkled in here and there. She made the 'A' team (of course) and had a little anxiety about keeping her shortstop position, against 4 new girls, but it looks like a lock. Middle school and Taylor seem to be a perfect match. She's had a few overloaded days already, but is learning to organize and break it down. And even though she's doing softball, cheer, volleyball, and yearbook club, so far nothing overlaps or even takes more than a few hours of time. Only tough spot seems to be Tuesdays, when she usually has softball practice from 6-7:30 and comes home with a ton of homework. Makes those 8 hours from after school until bedtime jam packed and a little stressful. But then we have "late start Wednesday" to take the edge off (and keep Mom's sanity intact).

Christian is hopping with his fraternity presidential duties (sounds more important than overseeing the scrubbing of the toilets), and gearing up for Engineering School. A friend asked me if he will actually graduate in 4 years, or if it will be more like 5 years, and I had to say....yes, I do think so. But I've heard stories of students needing one class to graduate, and only finding out in January they should have taken it the previous September. So he'll need to keep on top of those eventualities.

Let's peek at some pictures...this is Taylor cheering - she's the tall one in the back row: 

The Pity Party Continues

Sad to say, I just can't shake the funk. Little glimmers here and there, but I need an earthquake to shake me out of this by now.

I co-chaired the 5th grade PTSA position this year, and cast-off (celebrating mediocrity, as Mr. Incredible says....who doesn't graduate from 5th grade?!?!??!) wiped me out. The typical crash and burn after the hype and hoopla. Then we rolled into Taylor's AllStar softball tournament. Work has been a challenge,. CJ continued his reign as the fraternity president, so that meant many hours driving back and forth from the U. Eric worked/didn't work/worked/didn't work. I screwed up with a neighbor and her dog doing doody in my yard. A cousin came from Norway and stayed with us. My sweet mom-in-law stayed with us for a spell....

And there you have it!

My happy room looked like a rat trap for a bit, but now I think I've at least got that under control.

I'll be teaching quilting classes soon, which might be a good change of pace for me. And it will mean extra money, which is always good.

I just watched a "What If..." thing I had dvr'd about the potential for an earthquake/tsunami around these parts. And I guess it's true, it could always be worse. As my friend Mike always said, "Kirsten, you don't live under a bridge, and you aren't currently dying of cancer..."

Pity party over.

What can I say?

After Tay brought the plague back from Hawaii, (making it both the best and worst trip we've ever had), which tuned into pneumonia, which turned into cracked/seperated ribs, we finally rolled into softball season. Fun tournament trip to Tri-Cities. Some busy stuff. And then Taylor caught the flu again. As in...my Easter Sunday was spent holding my girl's hair out of her face while she *ralphed*. Not the best Easter memory. And then she rebounded, and we had another few tournaments. And she caught yet another version of the flu. And then she got well. And then she caught a terrible cough/cold. And then another. I don't know how many days she's missed this trimester. Pretty bleak. She lost 10 pounds, which on a little 90 pound body is scary. Her softball pants are too big, and even her belt is too big to hold them up. I think we've finally turned the corner.

I hope.

And amidst all that, my poor sweet dad-in-law got sick. And then sicker. And he just couldn't battle back quite enough. And then it was cancer. And so in the space of a few short weeks, we lost him.

I've been trying to keep up with Project Life, but there are just so many pictures of Taylor on the couch or in bed to show the highlight of the day. I've been trying to get with the clever pictures like the inside of my fridge, or the yard, but really? For the last 3 months, if Tay's not sick, she's pushing herself to play softball, and then hitting the couch again. And we've had too many sad days. And it's tough to get jazzed when you're living in the lovely wet, gray Seattle drizzle, breaking records for the coldest year on record. And the wettest.

So I just turned the calendar to June. Summer must be lurking.

Bring it.