Friday, July 20, 2012

Ice Cream Castles in the Air

Joni Mitchell should have lived in Montana.  Our mornings are breathtaking.


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

July is Half Over

July 17th.  This summer feels like it's gone into free-fall mode.  We have Misty's wedding this weekend (remember Misty?  She's getting married.  To an amazing dude.  Super happy to share this weekend with her) and then next weekend we celebrate a fabulous Bestie Birthday with Morgan and Joel at Georgetown Lake.  We're taking the kids tubing and boating and Morgan always prepares a feast for 12 people so I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend with some awesome pals.

August is already half over in my mind as well.  I have a family reunion in Colstrip the first weekend, then the next weekend is the start of MontanaFair and Sublime with Rome.  Yes, I realize it's not the same without Bradley, but I think that is the point, and I think Rome sounds pretty damn good, thank you very much.  Miss Jen J.-M.  will be here, also celebrating a birthday the night before the concert, and we will be enjoying the show with the delightful Laura G.  I could piddle with excitement, I can't believe it's only 3 weekends away!

The weekend before school starts is going to be our last chance to camp.  We ended up not camping last weekend due to an influx of school work and out an outflux of my patience and desire to spend all weekend alone with my family.  I love them.  A lot.  And that is why it's important I not spend time with them when I'm reach my threshold for their shenanigans.  And last week I was at my limit.

Elora starts school on 8/22.  I picked up birth certificates last week, got her enrolled for the YMCA afterschool program AND signed up for swim lessons for her and her bro-bro.  And thanks to a bunch of clothes from another friend I have a lot less school clothes shopping to do for her.  We will probably make a girl-date to shop and get all her stuff together.

I'm even going to be come a cold-lunch mom!  She's going to find a lunch box and I will start packing her and myself a lunch!  I found a couple awesome websites with lots of ideas (here and here) and will probably start making a couple things to feed the kids over the next few weeks to judge how much they will eat of any particular item.

It's time to start preparing for work, it's a busy week and I need to get in early today.  If you don't see a post by August, just wait longer ;-)


Friday, July 13, 2012

Relay for Life

I joke about being the most ungrateful cancer survivor out there.  I say I joke, but I think I totally hold that title.  I don't participate in cancer fundraisers.  I don't know why, beyond laziness and procrastination.  I feel like I was so young when I had it that I don't "connect" with other survivors like people that had it during shared periods with their peers.  I was the only person my age undergoing chemo when I did.  It was really difficult, not having anyone that was having the same feelings of anger that I was because adults had less anger and more resignation towards their own disease.  They fought for their kids and their spouses, and I didn't.  I had an amazing boyfriend and wonderful parents, and they were all wonderful while I duked it with a nuclear tumor in my chest.  I honestly didn't think I would have kids (surprise!).  The fact that chemo erases most of the memories from that time frame makes it almost like a surreal dream, the remembering a tv show that you watched years ago.

My friend Misty wrote me a message at work today.  Misty does participate in cancer fundraisers, and I'm happy to know that I have friends that support finding a cure.  She said the following:

"I walk tonight for my friend Mary. She is an ingrate of a survivor, thumbing her nose at the disease and the ridiculous hoopla involved in being a victim and allowing your life to be defined by it."


I read this and my eyes welled with tears.  I have never been prouder to be an ingrate.  Thanks Misty!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Longest Sunday in Existence

Some Sundays are gone before they even start.  This was not one of those Sundays.

First, I've been fighting off a bizarre mix of sore throat/sinus infection that feels like a touch of tonsillitis has set in since last week.  I only drank 3 beers the WHOLE DAY of the Fourth (anyone that knows me is shaking their head at their computer in utter disbelief).  And I'm trying to fight it off naturally, lots of fluids and Mucinex and ibuprofen and saline solution.  I don't feel as crappy tonight as I did a couple days ago, but my throat still feels like I'm parched all the time.  Could be all the fires and smoke, too.  If you're not from these parts, Montana is pretty much 10% burned to the ground now.  I made up that statistic, but if I'm even close to being right I will pretend like I knew it all along.

Thad has been working all day long.  All.  Day.  Long.  Real work, so I can't even be mad that I spend the entire day cleaning up kids' crap, sorting kids' clothes, entertaining/disciplining said kids with 0% help from my husband.  I don't have to like it, but I can't be angry about it.  I feel robbed of something.

Elora, Morgan and I (plus Joel's sister & niece) went to see "Brave" today, which was probably the highlight of the day.  Elora and I love lifting up the arm rest and getting snuggled up when we watch movies together.  And this one was excellent, I loved the story line, and even though it made me cry I didn't feel like Pixar raped my emotions the way they have in the past.  In fact, Morgan mentioned that her go-to movie to get herself crying is "Steel Magnolias" (agreed), and I had to counter that the first 5 minutes of "Up" is about as emotionally devastating.

As for Colter, someone has replaced my little cute and curious 2 year old with hell on wheels.  He is unreal, a typhoon of energy and destruction.  He is almost 3 and he is really starting to act like it.  Apparently both my kids are exhibiting really typical behavior for their ages, which is why I'm surprised there really aren't more child murders in this country.  BRAVO, AMERICA, IF YOU CAN ACTUALLY RAISE A CHILD PAST THIS AGE WITHOUT CAUSING PERMANENT BODILY HARM I FEEL A STATUE SHOULD BE ERECTED IN HONOR OF YOUR SELF CONTROL.

Anyways, I have several hours worth of DVRed television that I plan to go ignore in order to go to bed.  Enjoy your Monday, internetz!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Early Sunday Morning

Colter has been sneaking into my bed every night for the last week, and he seems to now be acclimating to sleeping with me because I was actually able to stay in the bed and continue sleeping for the last couple of nights.  He's a thrasher, with a side order of throwing his leg over anything next to him all night long.  And he is a furnace.  I woke up at around 3 and 4 a couple mornings last week.

This morning I woke up to my normal internal alarm that goes off before 6:00 am every day.  EVERY.  DAY.  Even vacation days when I want to sleep in, or hangover days.  Hangover days actually mean an earlier wake up for me, I don't know why.  So I used the extra time to sort some laundry, do a sinkful of dishes (all the disgusting rancid sippy cups are officially accounted for) and am writing this blog.  How ambitious of me!!!

July 1st.  Holy shit.  I just realized the entire month of June is out the door, waiving goodbye before it's even taken off its coat and hat.  It's a good thing I used a little time in June to update my online calendar with the upcoming school schedule, Thad's on-call schedule, and the day care providers holiday schedule, because July is going to race by.  Elora starts school in 1 month and 22 days, so of course it will race by.  I'm truly looking forward to some mommy/daughter girl time to school shop with her.  It's going to be so much fun!

(I just looked up behavior problems in 5 year olds on Baby Center.  Turns out I'm doing EVERYTHING WRONG.)

(I think that when the Fourth of July falls on a mid-week day you should observe it on a Friday.  Just saying.)

(It isn't even 7:00 am and I feel the day slipping away already.  Is this like a backwards summer seasonal depression?)

I have a new buddy, my neighbor Rhiannon.  Or Rhianna (lol, if she reads this she will laugh).  We had beers downtown yesterday afternoon, and it was fun!  Exclamation point!  I haven't been to two different bars in two hours since I was in my twenties!  Exclamation point!  And the patio at Tiny's was gorgeous on the last day of June!  That's right, one more exclamation point!

Just got big news that my bestie Jen J.-M. (documented in all her lush glory HERE) is coming to Montana at the same time as the MontanaFair/Sublime w/ Rome concert!  I've put off buying tickets, and now I know it's because I knew deep down that I should wait.  It's like I have a sixth, or even seventh sense, about these types of things..... I am super stoked.

My mom is coming for the next week, so I actually have to go make up her bed with clean sheets and give her a stack of towels.  I'm on to my next task, so you all have a great Sunday, internet folks!