Cutting Back

In an effort to make more time for the important things in my life I deactivated my Facebook account.  Family and friends were shocked and frankly I don't know how I survived today without it - but I did live to write about it!  Just kidding :)

There are several projects that God has been nudging me to work on for a few years now and it is not that I have been on Facebook so much that I have avoided the projects but that I have not been serious about them and I have made choices (social media) over said projects.  So yesterday was the day and I actually enjoyed not "having" to check FB today... though jokingly I texted David that there was no point in having an iPhone now because I don't have a FB account. Ha!

Hopefully I can make more time to write here now - at least twice a week would be nice.

David has had two work trips over the last few weeks - one to NYC and one to Chicago - so we've been missing him being gone.  When Hannah cries (which she does every time he leaves) Blaine explains the following (verbatim) to her:

"Hannah, do you like to swim?  And do you like to go to Boondocks and do you like to have food?  Because if Daddy doesn't go with his work friends on this trip he will not be able to pay money for you to do those things!  Do you hear me Baby?  Do you want Daddy to pay money?"

Hilarious.  Mister tells it like it is.

While D is off "paying money" we're left to enjoy long... (very long) days together. (Insert laughing :)  We are so lucky to have so many amazing museums and a zoo near us and even this fall/winter weather is nice enough to be outside in so we are still spending a lot of time at the playgrounds.

And just this week I realized that Thanksgiving is in one week.  One week.  Really?  Did you all know that?  It seems too early... but it is apparently happening whether I like it or not.  So since the moment it 'hit' me I decided it was time to make a list and while we were toying with buying Turkey dinner or (me) making it, we decided that I would make it again this year because we really want homemade gravy and you have to make the turkey to make homemade gravy and Mimi's cornbread dressing is a must, which we have to have the gravy to go with and then green bean casserole (because it's GF and all)... so I was voted as our T-Day chef and off to the grocery I go.

And you know what Thanksgiving means (besides ginormous calorie intake and tight pants)? Drum roll please... CHRISTMAS DECORATING!  Oh my, we're so excited.  So excited in fact that the kids and I put up the Christmas tree tonight.  Blaine screamed like a school girl and was in charge of plugging in the lights.  Hannah said it was "bootiful."  We're actually going to get two trees this year so we just put up the artificial tree tonight (but no decorations yet.) 

Happy times!

Informed

Has anyone ever "told you what's up."  You know... when someone is just tired of you doing whatever it is you're doing wrong and they let you have it?  That has happened to us.

Hannah G.: Mama, I want drink, peas.

Mama: Ok, Baby.  Just give me a...

HG: I NOT BABY!

M: Geez, ok.  I'm sorry.

I blew this off as a one time thing.  We call Hanny "baby" all the time.  In fact, she calls other kids (even kids older than her) "baby."

(Later in the afternoon.  We were getting groceries out of the back of the car.)

M: Hanny, are you hungry?

HG: Yes. Mmmm.  Me hungry.

M: Baby, bring your cup inside.

HG: I SAY I NOT BABY!

M: Wow.  You're not?

HG: NO, I HANNAH!  I NOT BABY!

(I am writing this in all caps and bold because the look on our sweet Hanny's face was priceless.  She meant business and in her own way, she was yelling at me.)

When David got home from work I whispered to him that I had been informed that we no longer had a "baby" in the house so he decided to test the waters.

David: Hanny, sweet baby.  Daddy...

(Get ready for it...)

HG: I NOT BABY!

D: Oh, you're not?  What are you?

HG: I NOT BABY, I JUST HANNAH!

So just so you all know... Do not call Hanny "baby" or you will get an ear full!

Tenderfoot Solo

Today was a big day for us (well, for me anyway) because I took the kids on a hike by myself.  Before you get all worried keep in mind that I am writing this and the kids are safely in bed :)

I looked for an easy to moderate loop that we could hike in under two hours.  I would be carrying HG in the backpack, plus water and all our snacks and Blaine would be carrying his new hydration pack with his snacks.  I found a loop in the foothills and briefly read through the description online before leaving the house.  I have a pretty good visual memory so I picked out key parts in the description to remember.  When we arrived I sent David a text with the trail head we were at, what trail we were hiking and what time we left.  Before we left I pulled the map of the area up on my phone (and thank goodness I did!)

Blaine started out on the trail running and drank half of his water out of his pack before we were halfway done.  This was the first time he was able to use his new hydration pack, so he was really excited.  Oh and his other favorite pastime while hiking is peeing.  Sorry, but it's true.  He's a wild man...  Anyway, when we got down to the end of the trail I remember the description saying that we would be headed back to the trail head on a fire road (looks like a dirt road - much wider than a regular trail.)  The problem was that after about 20 minutes of hiking back up on the trail Blaine totally gave up.  Whine Fest 2012 began.  He was hot, his backpack was choking him and it was "sooooo heavy," he was hungry (and all the snacks I brought were "gross") and apparently he thought it was going to be a short hike not a "forever hike."  As we made our way back up (and up and up and up) I started second guessing my memory and what I had read.  Not to mention that we hadn't seen another human for about an hour and a half I panicked for a moment.  I knew we were headed back up but at times it really felt like we were headed due east and I knew that we should be going west.  When I checked my phone I didn't have service, but I did have the map saved on my phone, which allowed me to see that we were on the right trail and my memory served me right.  While getting lost ended up not being an issue, the arguing from my darling four year old was.  After five more "bathroom and eating" stops, lots of encouraging, and a little demanding I saw shiny metal through the trees... VEHICLES!  I told the kids we had made it and from behind me I hear Blaine moan, "I just can't go any farther."  Hannah yelled back, "Let's go BOY!  Baine, let's goooo.  Car here!" 

All kidding (and whining) aside, we had a good time :)

"Mama, Daddy puts these in his mouth sometimes."

Hi Hanny!

Before he handed over his backpack because it was
soooooo heavy.

Blaine's photo.  He calls it, "Mama."

Eldorado Canyon

"Family Day" (which is actually the whole weekend) was jam packed and I think we are catching on that this is going to be our new norm. There is so much to do and so much to see (and we love being outside so much) that we pack our weekends full of family activities.

Friday night the kids and I headed to a local water park called "The Bay" but only stayed an hour.  While those that have called this place home for longer than two weeks enjoyed the park as the sun went down, us Texans were freezing.  We're used to it being in the 90's and humid in the evening so swimming is enjoyable.   Huddled underneath a towel at 7:00 pm and I knew it was time to go.  We headed to one of the bazillion local parks and ate dinner because D had to work late.

Saturday morning we packed up our hiking gear once again and headed to Eldorado Canyon State Park which was only about a 40 minute drive.  It became clear to us as we wound up into the mountains and down into the canyon that we will need at least one, if not two, 4-wheel drive vehicles very soon.  The narrow gravel roads and switchbacks make for one nauseous Mama anyway but in our vehicle it was even worse.  I'm making it sound worse than it was (of course) but knew that we were better off, at least, than the guy in the 1980 Toyota Tercel! I digress...

There are many places to hike but as you can imagine they are not all family friendly and even though Blaine is a champion hiker we recognize that he's only four.  We were lucky to find another perfect spot for the kids' second hiking adventure this weekend though.  Hannah rides in the Kelty K.I.D.S backpack in style, eating nearly the entire time (shocker) and Blaine either leads the way or drags ass (pardon my French.)  David had a good talk with Mister about "mind over matter" on our hike this time and he really got it.  Even though he was physically tired he pushed through and hiked the entire trip.  Really proud of our Mister.

This is what happens to your hair when you play
on the beach with B.M.L.

Last week was full of ups and downs and everything in between.  We continue to hit roadblock after roadblock while searching for the right team of doctors for Blaine.  One group is not covered by insurance, another group doesn't do the certain testing we need, the next group doesn't either (even though previous group said they did,) and the last group doesn't even call back.  Then it's Friday and I feel like a week has went by and nothing has been accomplished in one very important area: finding help for Mister and us.  But we have a new week ahead of us and perhaps this is the week when we'll get some answers, some appointments and some much needed help... we have a lot of hope now we need the help :) 

Happy girl!

At the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, CO.

The kids got to pet these guys - that was cool.

Hanny riding the truck at the Children's Museum.

Blaine holding "Rosie," the tarantula, at the Butterfly Pavilion.

Mister howling.  If the shoe fits...

Hannah has met some new friends at the park.  Actually she meets friends everywhere she goes but these friends are going to meet us at the park for a play-date this week so she's excited about that.  Daily she looks at pictures of William and Siri and tearfully says, "I miss Seeyee and Wiyum." (Siri and William.) Sometimes she even goes dramatic-style and throws her body down to say it.  Blaine eases her pain by telling her that Siri and William will be here someday and then quickly asks me, "Mama, when?" 

This week will bring more hiking, trips to new museums, and maybe even our first Colorado camping trip!