Wet Weekend

Despite the weather we loaded up and headed to the woods for Memorial Day weekend.  We knew it would rain.  We hoped to get some breaks in the diluge in order to kayak, hike and enjoy a campfire.  Good news is, we were able to build a fire, roast hot dogs, and make messy smores.  The bad news is...it was short lived.  Saturday night, after we all slipped into our cozy beds, it started raining....and it never stopped.  It poured.  It dumped.  Ughhh.  So, Sunday, we had a cozy, relaxed day in the trailer.  Two parents, two kids, and a rain weary pug.  We watched movies, played games and napped.  By evening we decided we all needed some air and ventured into the wet woods.  We sloshed.  The pug paddled.  At the end of our walk we were all drenched.  But, in the end it was about spending time together, as a family.  We talked about staying home. But had we, I would have cleaned and washed, the kids would have played and Daddy would have worked.  In short, we wouldn't have spent much time together.  Not what we planned, but the wet woods turned out to be just what the family needed.

The Hair Affair

Well... before I continue I have to apologize to Nana Zana.  She has been patiently waiting for this post for so very long now.  Sorry Mom....I just haven't been able to carve out a single spare minute for a post. 

The Empress has had several (three to be exact!) prior hair mishaps.  She has been banned from the use of scissors for the very reason that she seems drawn to cutting her hair.  First time was in Dillon while visiting Nana and Papa, the second time involved a call from her school and another little girl's missing hair, and the third involved some gum and sneaking scissors outside to dispose of the problem...see, she is also not allowed to have gum.  When the most recent hair affair happened we had just finally successfully grown out her bangs and her hair was nearly to her bum.  Long, dark and lovely!

So, Friday morning a couple weeks back I prepared breakfast for the Empress and then, like usual, went back to her bedroom to pick out her school clothes for the day.  I immediately noticed candy wrappers in her bed.  Very unusual as I was unaware of any candy in our house, and she is not allowed to eat candy on any sort of regular basis.  So, I snatched up the wrappers and headed back towards the kitchen.  Before I could even open my mouth to reprimand her for the candy in bed, she popped out from behind the corner with a pair of scissors in one hand and in the other a fistful of hair.  What??  I was literally away from the kitchen for 30 seconds.  Apparently, according to her rushed attempt at an explanation, she had crawled up into the cupboard and found a bag of candy we had collected last year at the Labor Day Parade.  Hmmmm.  Didn't even know that was there.  She fell asleep with a sucker in her mouth and it had fallen out of her mouth and tangled itself in the underneath part of the back of her hair.  Ugh.  I was mortified and I quickly explained to her that I could of gotten the sucker out with a little warm water.  After my mother's tirade regarding lying, candy, rotten teeth, and missing hair poor little thing was reduced to tears.  I felt awful, she felt awful, and her hair...welll, her hair....looked awful.  In my limited and very sporatic wisdom I deduced that an apt punishment would be a haircut.  A short, short haircut.  So, after school I picked her up, we went to the salon and she got all of her hair cut off to her chin and had bangs cut in.  She loves it.  I love it.  So much for punishment!  And, it was free as we were able to donate a very long, dark, beautiful braid to locks of love.

So, the moritorium on scissors in our house stands.  Candy has been banned.  Hoping that we don't have another mishap as there is not much hair remaining!

Still Laughing....

Greer:  Daddy, I am gonna ask you for a nacho. 
Greer:  Daddy, can I have a nacho?
Dad:  No.
Greer:  Daddy, I am gonna ask you for a nacho, again.
Greer: (very slowly)  Daddy, can I have a nacho?
Dad:  Um, still no.

Little Dude is a riot.  He truly is very, very funny.  At the moment everything that comes out of his mouth is followed by "...isn't that right Mama?"  He is also very polite which is a pat on the back for Terri, cuz he surely didn't learn manners from his Mama.  Little Dude is also loud.  He talks in a very loud, almost high pitched voice.  Sweet, perhaps.  But, since he talks incessantly, the sweetness soon morphs into something like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.  I have attempted to have him bring the volume down a bit by instructing him to use his inside voice.  It works for all of a couple seconds and then the octaves climb.  I have also told him that we need quiet time and he is not to talk at all.  That doesn't last more than a second, if that.  I have joked that he is only quiet when he is asleep.  Now, Little Dude repeats that but it sounds something like " I only quiet when I asleep...isn't that right Mama?"  Funny Little Dude.

Introducing Our Fiddling Phenom

Six months ago the Empress began violin lessons. Technically, fiddle lessons. What I would refer to as hoe down music. In the beginning, definitely not my first choice. I, of course, had envisioned my beautiful, petite violinist playing lovely classical scores. But, I reasoned that fiddle would probably be more enjoyable for a child, and not as big a snooze for a beginner. So glad I made that decision. As I may have mentioned in previous blogs, my little Empress leans to the lazy side of things. She is very willing to take the easy route, so practicing was often times a match of wills...hers against mine. Then one day a couple months back, she saw the trophies on the wall of her instructors house. She asked about them and how she could get one. And, in that very moment she decided that she would enter and win a fiddle contest. She wanted the prize...she always goes for the prize. Jump ahead...

Saturday was the Annual Glacier Fiddlers Contest. Our Empress, the youngest contestant, won third place....her first trophy (more like a medal, but she still refers to it as a "trophy."), and a check for $10. She was sooooooo excited. Sooooo, sooooo excited. She turned to me and stated that she loved the violin and was going to win her next competition! And, you know something, I believe she just might!

We are so very proud of our little fiddler!! Great job G!

Colored Eggs, Candy, and Favorite Folks!

Quick trip. Sketchy roads. Miles of smiles, Easter egg hunts (yes, two of them!), dinner at the Den with our favorites, and even...a petting zoo.

It was a short weekend, but very full of love and laughter. I made a quick call to my close friend and colleague, E. Bunny, and informed him that we would not be home for Easter. Together we schemed and came up with the solution. E. Bunny agreed to travel to Dillon on Saturday morning. A day early, yes. But it freed E. Bunny up to visit more children on Sunday morning and it allowed for our travel back to Kalispell. The children awoke at 5 a.m. on Saturday and despite sending them back to bed, we were all out of bed by 7. There was a nice egg hunt, some breakfast casserole and time with BB and Papa Joe. Around 9:30 we crossed town and greeted Nana, Papa Skip and Sue Sue. Another egg hunt, coloring eggs and visiting. Then we hopped in the car and went to a petting zoo put on in downtown Dillon by the high school FFA. The Empress loved it and petted all the animal babies. The Dude...well, not so much. After a nap and the game of "Life" we sat down to a marvelous dinner with the Family, Papa Joe and BB included. It was nice. It was yummy.

It was short but sweet. It always is. I wish we lived closer. I wish we saw each other more. Despite the distance my family shares a very special love. I have been blessed. And, remembering the reason for Easter, thank you Lord Jesus for your love, sacrifice and for your divinity in creating my family!!

Missing Matisse

More appropriately said...missing my heart. She was extraordinary. She was remarkably beautiful. She was kind and loving. She was my best friend. Everyone who ever met Matisse will tell you that she was special. She has been gone now since October, but somehow the ache remains. The glimpse of her I get out of the corner of my eye. Stepping over a long gone dog bed in the middle of the night. I can still sense her. I smell her. Strangely always the smell of graham crackers. Matisse, I miss you. I miss you. I know that she is even now still around and will always live in our memories and hearts, but I miss the physical, soft as seal, bony of body, love of my life. May you forever run in the sunshine with brother Mowgli.

Home Alone Again

So, apparently my attempt to blog more frequently was a pipe dream. Seems as though my life is spinning out of control. This morning I placed my foot on the ground for a moment to stop spinning long enough to post.

T is gone again. If I never mentioned it before, he a bit of a jack of all trades. A teacher by profession. A consultant extraordinare by nature. He works for Texas Instruments and has for the better part of 20 years. He teaches for them, writes for them, works in development, and at one point worked in the marketing side of things. All education related, of course. Currently he is one of three teachers working in India on their science curriculum. Through TI he became involved with NASA and has written curriculum based on the International Space Station. Last month he and a team flew on the Zero G flight with NASA. In short, he is phenomenal. I am very proud of him. Each spring he travels to the various conferences around the country. This past week he is in Chicago at TI's Teachers Teaching Technology International Conference. He was presented a very prestigious award - Leadership in Teaching Award for Science. Strangely enough, Mayim Bialik (Big Bang Theory, Blossom, etc.) was just named the spokesperson for TI's NSpire....which happens to be Todd's little gadget. So, he got to meet her. Funny really, as she is currently my favorite character on TV. She plays Amy Farrah Fowler, a Ph.D. in Neurobiology, and Sheldon Cooper's girlfriend. He is brilliant in the role. Love, love, love her. Oddly enough she truly is a science nerd. In real life Mayim holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience.

So, I am home again with the little G's. I believe this is our 5th weekend alone. Frankly, I am tired of single parenting. I want my hubby home. I want to run away and be alone for five minutes. I dream of a date night. I know the kids miss their daddy.