Mommy To Bees

Just a Tuesday morning...

Lori reading.

Ky jumping.

Ginny watching the cats beating up the bear...

...

...Calvin laying back and watching...

....Ginny wanting the bear.

One of the reasons we got a trampoline....

Lori doing school reading.

Ginny hanging out.

"my daughter is a....handful at the best of times"

Yesterday, during Ky's ortho appointment, I said the statement:

"my daughter is a............handful at the best of times."

It is true.

At the best of times, when she is in a good and reasonable mood,

Lori is a handful.

The discussion was concerning the dentist in the building next to her office.

He is a jerk (I'm being nice).

She wanted to know if we were still seeing him.

Um, no.  I will not be bringing either of my children back to see that man.

Ever.

Again.

But, back to the statement:

Lori is a handful at the best of times.

At the worst of times she is an unreasonable and unruley little beast.

We engage in a lot of discussions about manners, attitude,

and proper ways to communicate.

Life is easier at 11 than it was at 3,

but,

I'm not really looking forward to puberty.

The ortho and hygentist who was working on Ky right next to where we were chatting

both chuckled.

Lori IS a handful at the best of times.

There are appropriate and INappropriate ways to deal with an unreasonable child.

The ortho takes the tone of positive is better.

Push the kid past her normal endurance, praise-praise-praise,

and then push a little more.

Lori had a problem in her mouth due

to the differences between different regions

and materials.  The problem resulted in a long-long-long

and painful appointment.

It ended in 2 seperate 90-minute long appointments 1 week apart.

No scar.

She had no problem going back for the second appointment

even though she knew that it was going to be more of the same.

Whereas the dentist....the one we wouldn't be going back to see.......

he took the tone of shame and ridicule in the name of

"dicipline".

He was unsuccessful in achieving the goal of getting 

a needle into Lori's gum.

Plus, he tried his tactic on me.

_I_ am not a 10-year old little girl.

I am a full-grown woman.

I chewed him out...in front of other patients and his staff.

And, my handful of a daughter.

I'd like to think I'm a bit more reasonable....

Post-cold/Mother's Day/laundry everywhere

My charming husband brought me a cold for pre-Mother's Day.

So, I spent the past few days feeling like someone was standing

on

my

face.

That was with cold meds.

B.L.E.C.H.

Today I woke up feeling great!

Well, my throat doesn't hurt and my head feels fine anyway!

I spent an hour this morning in the garden generally

weeding, but there are baby tomatos!

I'm so excited.

AHHHHHHH!!!!

If you didn't hear that correctly that was me screaming...

 

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

 

We may have to take apart all of the garden we put together.

 

Why?

Cause there are freakin' pepper plants growing up

into my raised garden beds!!!!

We didn't kill the plants off as well as we thought.

I _KNEW_ we needed to line the *#$^# raised beds

with plastic!!!

Not.

Happy!!!!

 

 

10 on the 10th

A friend of mine tagged me to try doing a list on the 10th of the month.

Sounds like fun... we'll see if I like it long term.

Buuuutttt... this isn't going to be a "fun" list of 10.

My men-folk are slobs.

No. Joke.

Slobs.

I've spent the past week cleaning.

Everything.

Sooooo.....

10 on the 10th

1) Dishes.... lots and lots of dishes.  

I purchased a box of Snap Lock Tupperware-type containers.

2) Chatted with Bess.  I expect to do that again today!

3) Spent about 30 minutes before the heat of the day started

outside in the garden.  I turned the composter, weeded a patch of the garden,

sprayed vinegar on another patch of the garden, and refilled the bird feeder.

4) Worked commands with Ginny.  

She didn't do anything while I was gone, but is getting back to speed quickly!

5) Took Ginny on a 2 mile walk.  (has to be done daily or she is a pest)

6) Cleaned out my email box, there were over 80 messages in my private box.

I deleted my "spam" box.

7) Cleaned out the entry closet........yuck.

8) Created a "to do list" for my late spring break.

9) Went through my snail mail.....you don't even want to _hear_ about that boring.

10) Deep cleaned the kitchen, 'fridge, and pantry.

MIA, again....but back to normal....

.... well as normal as we ever are here.

On Ky's birthday I received a text message from my best friend.  We had just gotten off the phone not 15 minutes before, so I wasn't expecting anything important.  We had just been joking around.....

There was a police officer at her door.  Her husband had died in a car accident.

Oh.  My.  Word.

Lori and I left less than an hour later.  The drive took us almost 9 hours, but we arrived in northern VA that same day.

We spent 9 days there and I have never been more glad to do something for someone else.

My being there meant she didn't have to be mom.

My being there meant she had someone she could talk to that _wasn't_ family.

We hadn't been in the same state in 8 years, but her kids were as easy to parent as my own.....just more of then LOL.

If you are so inclined, please pray for my friend Bess and her 7 children. 

Just thought I would share a bit of our lives here...

This is Ginny's bear, NOT Calvin's!!

 

Again, not Calvin's bear.

 

Or Hobbes' bear...

 

Finally,

Ginny _hates_ to be wet.

 

Ginny

Look at this face!

Isn't she a doll!!!

She is now 9 months old and about 35 lbs.

Final shot....

See the kitty right above her?

That is Calvin, he is very vocally envious that the

Dragon (Ginny) gets to go outside and He does NOT!

My garden is coming along........

Isn't it pretty?

Well.  No.  It isn't.

 

It is pretty darn ugly...

...but it is coming along!!

 

We are keeping ahead of the weeds...

....er.....the former garden,

but there are several which try to get ahead of us 

all the time.

The pathes still need to be laid

and

the fence need to be repaired.

But, my beans, peas, and tomatos are coming nicely.

I have a couple of tiny tomatos on one of the plants

but...

I forgot to take pictures of them!

Glad....to garden

My garden is coming along.

I love love love having a dedicated spot that is fenced off.

Sorry for the low quality pictures...

I took them from my phone through the window.

One year.....

We've been here in the US for one year.

It has been a very long year.

Pressure washer...

We have a new toy....well, actually we've had it for a few weeks now....but look at this:

Before:

After:

Garden Gate:

(you can see the pathway that Ky took out at the bottom of the gate)

And:

A few thoughts....

I've updated a few recent posts with pictures.....

It is 79.7 degrees outside and I'm in seventh heaven!!!

My dog SHEDS!!!!!

 

See that little cat-sized pile?!?!?!

Glad....it's summer....in March!

The temperature right now in Zushi, Japan is 45F.

 

The temp right outside my patio door is 81F.

 

I love summer.

I love the warm weather!!!!

Glad, more

Focusing on the glad......

My garden.  I love my garden.  No, not yet.... actually right now my garden is ugly as sin, but it is coming along.  We've made the back garden bed and have plans for the extensions.  I hope to be ready to transplant into my garden bed this weekend or early next week at the latest.  

Here is our garden as of March 2012....

Here is the view from the dining room window:

I have some before pictures from the fall of the garden as it was way overgrown....but I can't find them!!  A took out the plants and Ky took out the path.

 

Focusing on the GLAD

I've been having a hard time here.

I enjoy my life and I love what I have, but I miss Japan.  Really we all do.  Even the kids have expressed the desire to go back and missing our lives there.

On one hand this is just the familiar military move sadness, but on the other hand we really didn't get a closure.

It has been just over a year.  A year since the earthquake and almost a year since we left.  I don't regret leaving and I still think for our children's safety leaving was the right choice.......but......

I miss Japan and our home there.

So!!!!  I'm focusing on the GLAD.  I'm focusing on what I love about here.

And in no particular order:

1) 

Calvin & Hobbes and Ginny.

Calvin:

 Hobbies:

And, Ginny:

....this is Hobbes right next to her.  Ginny is upset that the cat woke her from her nap, her head and upper body had been under the quilt.  Hobbies decided to go and sit right. next. to her head and bat at it.  If you look closely Hobbes front left paw is extended.  He had just batted at Ginny's front left paw which is under the quilt.

More to come....

Back, again, maybe for good!!!

Morning!!!

Alright!  So, good intentions are sometimes just that!  A good intention.

 

FAIL!!!

So, here we are already into March and it has almost been 3 months since I last posted.

Life was busy busy!

Lori slowly got better through December and we had Christmas.  We had a good Christmas with my in-laws coming and staying with us.  In 14-years of marriage this was our first time ever having someone come for Christmas!

Then, on New Year's Day I got sick.  *really* sick.  Lasted a month and then I ended up with pneumonia.  I wasn't up to much of anything until mid-Feb.

We are slowly tearing our house apart and our yard too.  The people we purchased this house from were very neglectful.  I'm hoping to start posting pictures of what we've done!

Anyway, I'm trying to post daily again.  We'll see how that goes!

So much....

.... for good intentions.

So, I had plans to have daily posts on here to get back into the habit of blogging....

....and then Lori got sick.

We have news!  We have a diagnoisis!!!  At this point didn't expect one, but we got word today.

 

Lori has some strange strain of mono!!!

 

She is resting and doing well.  She's been almost a week without a fever and hasn't had a headache since Sunday.

I just couldn't post what was going on until I knew something to post.

From May....

Mom's dog Vader

and Dinner the Bird