Happy Things

For some reason this was a crap week.  I could blame it on a lot of things.  But my height of negativity peaked on Friday.  And I came home and tried to pinpoint why I was feeling so full of angst.

And then I realized that I haven't done some of the things that I find the most happiness in:  knitting, baking, reading and writing.  So I decided to fix that.  I started a new knitting project last night and baked some good old fashioned breakfast bread.

Today I felt better.  So I'm going to focus on some of the happy things that happened last week - instead of bitching about everything else.

My dog.  She is kind of driving me crazy.  But she still makes me happy.

I was up until 11:00pm dyeing eggs on Thursday night.  When it was all finished I remembered what I love about Easter.  These eggs make me happy.

An impromptu coffee and croissants with one of my pals.  And a new found coffee shop.

My little man hunting eggs with all of his BFF's.  I love all these kiddos.

My neighbors gave me a bunch of grapefruits.  They are the cutest old couple -- have lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years.  Even though I'm not a huge grapefruit fan I thought I should make good use of the gift.

This is a Grapefruit Olive Oil cake.  The recipe was found at The Yellow House.  It was seriously sooo good.  I plan on making another one and dropping it off at their house to thank them for thinking of us.

And hopefully my next knitting project will be done soon.  I need to get my hands working on something other than pulling out my own hair or washing dishes.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Willie

I love spur of the moment adventures.  And on St. Patrick's Day when all the other moms I knew were making leprechaun traps, rainbow pancakes and four-leaf clover cookies I was driving up to Reno, NV.

Earlier in the week my husband told me that Willie Nelson was playing at a casino in Reno.  I've been listening to Willie Nelson since I was four years old.  He was a mainstay in most of my childhood memories.  And, honestly, who wouldn't want to see him play guitar and sing?

So off we went...

I actually cried when he sang, "Always On My Mind."  That man can write a song, let me tell you.  A notorious and outspoken pot smoker he sang a new sang entitled, "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die."  Overall, he put on an outstanding show and I'm so glad we decided at the last minute to see him.

Which artist brings back childhood memories for you?

Accepting Things

1.  As the mother of children, you will inevitably deal with your in-laws on a scale you could never have prepared yourself for.  Times 300.

2.  As the wife in a marriage, you will ultimately be responsible for keeping track and planning for every single birthday in the history of either of your families.

3.  The older you get the more irritated you will become by those 10 years younger than you.  You must stop yourself from the eye-rolling and internal narcissism that leads you to believe that you are the more experienced person.

4.  As the mother of older children you must refrain yourself from commenting to pregnant women and parents of younger children, "Why, yes, you are the first person on the face of the earth to experience pregnancy" and "I haven't met a kindergartner yet that wasn't potty trained, freak."

5.  As a female, one of the few times you will openly accept strict gender roles is when faced with putting chains on tires in the middle of a snow storm.

6.  As a wife/mother, going "on strike" in your house will mean that you will drive yourself ass-crazy watching the mess pile up while no one but you gives a shit.

7.  The less you answer your phone the more people will secretly hate you for not being available at their beck-and-call in this highly connected world.

8.  As the mother of boys who play baseball you will watch grown men act like each moment is the end of their kids' professional athletic career.

9.  If you have a friend that gossips about other people and their personal lives there is a good chance that friend is also telling bad stories about you.

10.  Without a doubt, if I look back at this list in 10 years I will laugh at myself for thinking I've actually got a grasp on things.

Lately

It's been a busy week around here.  The big event I've been planning since July is coming up in a few short weeks.  Which means every second that I have sans kids is spent working.

Lots of work means I need lots of laughs.  Here are some highlights from the week:

My friend Stacy organizes a Tuesday Night Club once a month.  On this night nothing but old school country was playing on the jukebox.  My kind of party.

In order to get the littlest one to go #2 on the potty he demands that he be read to.  Oh, and that he get a $1.  (Potty training was hard with this one.)  I'm really thankful for a 1st grader that can read.  His older brother was kind enough to read to him on the pot.  Gross?  Cool?  Sweet?  I'm not sure.

And then there was the Bunco group.  I love my neighbors.

On Friday I got my hair done.  Then I decided to text my husband.  He finally got texting capabilities a few weeks ago.  It has been WONDERFUL for us.

Um.  This kid thought it would be super funny to jump in muddy puddles at school.  What you don't see is his lower half that was completely soaked.  He thought it was hilarious.

This is what I like to call "Puppy Lost and Found".  All this stuff was found under our bed.  Chewed up by the beast.  

Oh!  And it's raining in California.  Which for us means we have to take off our flip-flops and put on a jacket.  We whine and cry and then console ourselves that more rain = more boating and time on the River in a few short weeks.  I live in a good state.

Quick Reflections

90% of people will ask for permission before they pet your dog. 

80% of people will stick their dirty little hands all over your infant's mouth and face without asking.  Then they will proceed to sneeze in your baby's face and say something like, "This flu has just been awful."

~

100% of people will look at your dog's pink leash and collar and say, "What's his name?"

100% of people will look at your infant dressed in all blue or all pink and say, "Boy or girl?"

~

Lots of adults and children are afraid of dogs.

Almost no one except a new father is afraid of a newborn baby.

Somehow I think this should be reversed.

~  My final verdict:  I do not understand human beings.~

A Day Trip

Do you ever just know it's time to get away?  I really think sometimes my husband and I share the same brain (very scary).  We both knew it was time to break out of town.  One of our favorite getaways is San Francisco.  So we decided to take the boys to the City and visit the Exploratorium and ride the cable cars.

First stop, Wren's Cafe.  We stop here EVERY TIME we go to San Francisco for their awesome breakfast.

We took the long way to take the kids over the Golden Gate.

Someone was excited to be at the Exploratorium!

I haven't visited the Exploratorium in over 25 years.  It has grown so much and includes an upstairs area with tons of earth science adventures.

Smoke signals.

Blowing bubbles.  Finally something he could do where he didn't have to know how to read the instructions to enjoy!

This was too cool.

Riding the cable car.  We got on at Powell and Market Streets and rode to the wharf.

You could say we ate A LOT at the San Franciscan.

This kid was super happy with his dessert.

Finally we rode the cable car back to our car -- at night.  That was a first in my book and definitely something to experience.  I love the fact that I can go into San Francisco and experience something entirely new each time I go.  Where is your favorite place to escape?

I Live With a Wood Chipper

I know my dog is still a puppy.  But for all that is good and holy, she is wrecking everything and anything she can sink her little teeth into.

This is the boys' step stool.  I'm afraid by the end of the year there will be nothing left but a toothpick.

This is what happens outside our bedroom door if she cannot get in.

This was a bike helmet.

I searched for days for my stitch holder.  I found it under the bed completely distorted and with most of the paint missing.

She also thinks she is a ninja and can get served at the dinner table.

But this face is all it takes to make me forgive her.

Happy Monday everyone!  Enjoy your furry friends.

Sobriety and Such

For those of you who know me, you know that my husband is a recovering alcoholic.  It's been 12 years now that he has been sober.  To say that this is a feat of enormous proportions would be an understatement.

Back in the days when he was drinking I would pray that he would get sober.  I thought it would be the answer to all of our problems.  Then when he stopped I kept looking over my shoulder for him to relapse.  It's been 12 years and I'm still looking over my shoulder.  Afraid that the stress will be too much, the kids will be too much, the problems will be too much.  Just enough "too much" to push him over the edge again.

When someone gets sober they have to transition into a new world.  And as a couple we had to make that transition together.  We lost some friends along the way.  We lost our ability to go into a bar.  We had to find a "new normal" together.  And let me tell you it hasn't been easy.

There are times that I wish I could just sit down with him and enjoy a beer.  I hate having to explain to people that he doesn't drink.  I hate it when waiters try and push the drinks at us and sell us a fun evening.  I hate feeling guilty if I come home after I've drank too much. I get really jealous when I see other couples enjoy their nights out together with many cocktails.

But most of all I hate that even after all this time there are just places we cannot go.  Because you never know when that little sonofabitch called addiction will rear it's ugly head.  It comes out snarling and mad and vindictive.  I can see it for what it is -- it just makes me so sad that it's still there, laying in wait.

I know some of my readers are in recovery or have lived with an alcoholic or are *maybe* still living with someone with addiction issues.  It's a tough road.  And I'm thankful for every second of every day that I don't have to drive around to multiple bars to find my partner or to pick him up off the sidewalk or to apologize for behavior that is not mine.

I'm not saying sobriety is easy.  But it's worth it.