colliemommie | (no subject) (Reply)

We have had several very nice days lately. This is not going to be as long of an entry as I wanted, however, because I can't get lj to load on the laptop, and typing on the app takes forever.

Wednesday Bruce took Katrina to school, then Robs and I went to the Y. I lifted, then we both did toddler gym. Plus it was raining, so puddles!

We had a quiet afternoon, Bruce has been trying to sleep off a bad cold between work shifts, and I took the kids for a walk before supper. It took us an hour and a half to walk two miles, which was slightly maddening, but the weather was beautiful by that time, and everyone slept well. Robs managed over a mile and a half on his own stubby legs.

Thursday was another great, happy, fit-free day. I actually got to spend real time with Bruce outside of going to sleep at night. We went to the Indian restaurant for lunch with Robs and had a great time. I hadn't realized how long it had been since we'd done anything together. We need to work on that. We both have the tendency to get our heads down and really get into our individual schedules.

Katrina had Ukrainian dancing at church in the evening, and I had choir practice immediately after. We hired a sitter to play with all the kids in the school building, which means we are a lot more productive and less stressed out. I also made an amazing pot roast with lots of roasted onions.

Friday is Katrina's half day at school. Robs and I went to the chiropractor in the morning, which I desperately needed. Then we had lunch and Katrina played with the girl across the street while Robs napped. E's a lovely 10 year-old, and the two of them had a great time playing with ribbon streamers and digging holes in the backyard.

I even managed to convince them to dig the holes where I want to put foxgloves along the fence. Then E's brother and mother, Sherry, came over for a bit. The kids were invited to the Pirates game that evening. Katrina was disappointed that E couldn't stay and play "forever", but there was no meltdown. And she cheered up after I fed the kids, so we went to the park for an hour before bed. (Bruce came home at noon after working overnight, went to bed, and didn't get up until this morning.)

I was settling in for a serious evening of cross stitching, when Sherry called and invited me over for an hour or so. I came home three hours and two bottles of wine later, after climbing on her furniture to rearrange the window treatments. I think it went well. We both know we need to be a little more proactive in making friends, and since the girls like each other, and we live across the street, this could work out pretty easily.

I like Sherry. She reminds me of Lisa, with the sense of humor and the low-grade anxiety. I think she ended up sharing more than she meant to, so I hope she doesn't feel awkward about that. It wasn't anything inappropriate, but that was our first time having anything more than superficial neighbor conversation, and she seems to worry a lot about what people think of her. She feels like she comes across a whole lot less together than she actually does. All the thinks she mentioned being afraid of me judging her for I had either not noticed, or noticed and thought of positively.

Today we went out with dad, had brunch, and bought flowers at Lowe's. We also got a little garden fountain for the backyard!!! I'm super excited, though now I need to figure out where to put it. I love the sound of running water, and I've been wanting a little water feature of some sort forever.

This is the model at the store. I like the little stone bed it's on...

And here's the kids snuggling with dad at the restaurant

Dad was trying to hand me his phone to take pictures. He never quite managed to.

So nothing too exciting, but I feel like I need to document that yes, life is sometimes easy and pleasant, even with all the routine busy-ness.

I'm hoping that the marked decrease in drama and increase in "sure thing, mommy!" is an indication Katrina is more able to deal with the everyday frustrations of life. I hope so. I hate seeing her made so unhappy by one thing not going the way she wants. I'm trying to convince her that a good day doesn't mean everything has to be perfect.