Went to a garden party!

Jon and the kids have really done some beautiful raised beds this year. And as always, Jon has worked his green-thumb magic on the rose bushes and all the rest. I just sit back and watch! (Oh, and take pictures!)

So, this is the rose bush in front of our house, David and Kathryn each planted some more flowers in there over the weekend.

This is the big, main raised beds that Jon built. Looks pretty good, huh? The biggest pot has garlic, the middle pot had cilantro seeds (they've now been transplanted into the big bed) and the pot on the end is chives which Kathryn and the dogs eat like crazy...she picks a bunch and plops down in the yard and starts munching and the dogs help her. It's crazy!

David planted sunflowers and corn. His sunflowers have gotten really big already!

More work on the sunflower patch.

So...howzit?

That was an email subject sent from one of my friends who probably thinks I've fallen off the face of the planet.
I haven't.
This work stuff is just hard! The work part is easy, actually, it's just all the other details of life that seem to really gum the works. At this very moment...5:59 pm PST, our little miss Kathryn is in bed, asleep. She melted down about 5:30 and that was it, she just had to go to bed. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sit with us, she just was done. I wanted to sit with her and just cry, too. Heck, the 30 minutes that I got to spend with her today was spent with her having a major crying jag.
Then David is wound because he wanted me to take him to baseball but, I had been dealing with Kathryn and hadn't eaten dinner and so I traded tonight's practice for Thursday's game. Which opens a whole other set of scheduling issues. But, we'll get through it.
I hope.
Other then all that doom and gloom. All is sailing along somewhat smoothly. We've settled into the morning routine. And having Jon at home makes life SO much easier. I dread his next underway trip. Actually, dread is much too light of a word for my feelings about that. But, maybe by then I'll be "used" to it.
(Ooops, more doom and gloom, sorry!)
The job is going good. I've started getting into more work kinds of stuff and less "read this" kind of stuff, so that's good. The people I've met are just top notch, super friendly and very much committed to what they're doing. The more I learn about public health, the more I like it. A very interesting field. (Don't worry I'm not planning on getting another degree anytime soon).
Jon's back from his latest trip and he's got some beautiful stuff going on out in the garden (sounds kind of funny, huh?!) But, him and the kids put in raised vegetable beds this year and are growing; tomatoes, peppers, carrots, lettuce, Swiss chard, corn, beets, cilantro, chives, basil and sunflowers. I'll post pictures....it's very cool what they've done.
David just got done with his big standardized testing for the school year- I'm sure he did great! He's still doing fabulous as a dependable first baseman on his baseball team. I hear about these great plays he makes, so hopefully he'll make some on Thursday.
Kathryn is still searching for the sparkly caterpillar. But, this week her big focus is on a pink barbie with wings. She got a purple one with wings not too long ago and I guess she thinks it needs a sister. She is really loving her school days, obviously they wear her out, but she's having fun, so I guess I'll spend the quality time with her on the weekends until she gets used to it.
Okay, my dear friends and family. Know that I'm thinking of you all - however randomly and unorganized those thoughts are! Take care and I'll try to post more regularly.

Work! Eeek!

Okay. It's crazy around here. I'm off at work for the first week in three years, Jon is gone doing some inspection somewhere, David is in school and Kathryn...oh, Kathryn, she's in daycare for the first time in her life. You want adventure? Heck, come here, we've got adventure to spare!

So, I (yes, me, the one who likes to sleep in) has to be UP and out of bed at 6am. I do believe that it is prohibited by the Geneva Convention, but somehow I manage to drag my arse out of the bed, creep down the stairs, curse the dogs, drink a cup of coffee (or four) and get in the shower. Thanks to modern science and a newly found love of Emergen-C, I emerge clean and mostly-refreshed at about 6:30. I roust the kidletts. They curse (the kid version, of course), but they start moving. David usually is on his third bowl of cheerios by 7am. Kathryn on the other hand is going to be an issue...she insists that she can eat her breakfast "later", she demands her milk, she pouts over shoe choices, she wants everything "sparkly" and somehow by the end of it all I feel somewhat honored to be allowed in her "space" by the time the van pulls from the drive at 7:30. I shudder at the mere thought of her teen years...

My office. Yep, that about sums it up; my office. It's an honest to God office, not shared with anyone. But. Yep, there's a but. It's green. Not a pleasant hunter or a soothing sage. But, more of a "gee I found this color left over in the store room at the old mental hospital" kind of green. One of the public health nurses stopped by today and told me, with a sick chuckle, that her husband insists that it is the same green that he encountered in the big-box, fast-triage hospitals of his Vietnam days. Somehow, I found that less nostalgic then disturbing.

At any rate, I've got a window. It's currently covered with plastic. But, it's a window and if they ever complete the painting going on on the outside of the building, then maybe I'll get a glimpse of the rose bush that I've been told resides just beyond my green domicile.

Other then that, it seems to be a good gig. I've not actually gotten to do anything. I'm having trouble convincing people that they actually hired me to do a job, and most of my day is concerned with reading. I read the policy on policies today....seriously. But, it's the crazy work that I love. You all should be happy, if there weren't us poor fools that loved government work then you might have to do it.

Oh...let's see, that's just the fun part of the day. Quitting time is a whole new set of problems! I pick up Kathryn who is usually covered head to toe in something. Sometimes I can even tell what it is. She wraps her warm little body around me and won't let go for like three hours. Then we go get David who is following his "friend" Alexis around like a little lost puppy dog, he goes to "after school" and LOVES it, seriously he loves it. Then we come home. Then it seems like all we do is get ready to do it again!

Come on Saturday!

Oh...on a side note...if anyone has any idea what the heck a sparkly caterpillar is, please let me know. I promised to get Kathryn one if she went to school all week this week...she thinks she should only go on Mondays.

Way to Go David!!!

I'm so proud of my boy!

David had a fundraiser at school today, called the Dolphin Dash. Basically the kids ask for pledges then they do as many laps on the track as they can in 30 minutes. Well, my super kid completed 21 laps, 2.63 miles in just under the 30 minutes! Way to go David! He ran almost the entire way, kept a big ole' smile on his face the entire time and generally had a ball.
A HUGE thank you to all who pledged for him. He raised just over $150 dollars for his school, Freshwater Elementary.

Friends

Kathryn and her "friend", Rosie

I was pleasantly surprised this morning from a phone call from my old friend and neighbor, Jen. It had been way too long since we'd gotten to catch up with each other and it was such a treat to get to sit back and chat with her for a bit.
But, it brought something that has been floating around in my mind for awhile, right back into my field of vision; friends. And namely how very blessed I've been to have found, or been found by, such beautiful friends. I know it's nearly cliche' to say that you couldn't have made it through without your friends, but honestly there are times when I know that if it hadn't been for their strength and support that I would have really struggled.
I'll never forget or be able to repay the debt that I owe to those ladies who've quietly helped me through the rough times or have made me laugh even when I didn't want to, but I hope that they know I'll be working to repay the favor forever.
I can't even risk naming them for fear of forgetting someone or one of their deeds. But, ladies, all of you know that I love you and thank God everyday for your friendship, laughter, hugs, kindness, support, silliness, company, babysitting, dinner cooking, dog watching, beer drinking (wine, too), husband bashing/praising sessions, baby/toddler advice, hand-me-down giving, crafting and for just for knowing that I have each of you in my life.
You all are shining stars...and I wish you were all closer!