Uh, How Embarrassing For Me!

This day started off in an embarrassing sort of way!  I was awakened around 8:15 a.m.  Don't judge me!  I've been getting too little sleep, so on the days I don't have to get up early I put earplugs and an eye mask on and leave the alarm off!  This morning was one of those days, except that one of the earplugs had come out.  So. . .I was awakened around 8:15 a.m. by the sound of our doorbell, which I was going to ignore, except that it rang again.  As I came downstairs I remember thinking "wo is the solicitor that woke me up".  Only to find a mother and daughter in my front yard.

I opened the door and went outside with Abby to talk to them.  They had seen a little dog walking down Chapel Hill Drive unattended and were wondering if I knew where he belonged.  Actually, I did because he's the neighborhood wandering dog.  I've rescued him before and taken him home, but the owners don't seem to care, so I don't worry anymore when I see him wandering.  I shared that information with this neighbor, Elizabeth and her daughter, chatted with her for a few minutes, and then went back inside and back upstairs to lay down again.

A few minutes later there was another ring of my doorbell.  This time it was a female police officer.  Apparently my security alarm had gone off while I was outside and Grandpa had turned it off.  Since I was outside I didn't hear the alarm or the call from the alarm company to verify that we were all right.  They had gone down the list of our daughters and when they couldn't get anyone to verify our safety they called the police!

I guess I learned a couple of lessons this morning:
1. The police from the Town of Prosper are quick to respond to calls (this is a GOOD thing, except in the case of false alarms!)
2. I should make sure my ear plugs are in tightly, AND
2. Don't answer the doorbell in the morning if I've been awakened from sleep, because I probably won't remember to turn off the alarm first!

And so begins another exciting day!

Fell off the blog cart, getting back on again

Well I fell off the blog cart for quite a while and I'm trying to get myself back on again (thanks for the little reminder prodding Lindsey).  Lots and lots of things going on over the past few months that need to be remembered.  But for now, I need to try to reestablish the habit of posting.

So, I'll start by saying that today was a family turning point.  After living 1950 miles apart for almost 4 months our family will soon be reunited.  Pops submitted his 2 weeks notice to Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center today.  He and Bear dog will begin heading down to Texas in a little over 2 weeks in his monster truck (as Alex calls it) hauling a 5x8 ft Uhaul trailer behind them bringing the last of our earthly possessions left in Yakima.

This decision has certainly not been an easy one.  Pops still does not have a job in Texas.  I feel very calm about this even though this decision creates much uncertainty in our lives.  How long can we survive without any income, what kind of health insurance plan shall we buy, can I get a job as a stop gap until Pops is able to find a job, do I job search for management or clerical positions, in the medical, insurance, or financial services industry, am I fooling both of us by feeling certain that he will be able to find a job here once he's living here and able to search for a job locally, is he going to be able to find a temporary, fill-in or part-time position in the meantime, what will this do to our retirement plans. . .etc?

At this point our perfect vision of moving to Texas has taken a bit of a detour.  It hasn't been the storybook happily ever after that we'd hoped for.  The journey has been hard. . .in so many ways. . .for both of us!  I know we are supposed to be here in Texas near our family, I know God's hand is in this, I have to have the faith that it will all work out for our good.  

For the time being I think this should be our new family motto:

"Don't be gloomy.  Do not dwell on unkind things.  Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight.  Even if you are not happy, put a smile on your face.  'Accentuate the positive.'  Look a little deeper for the good.  Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, with great and strong purpose in your heart.  Love life."  -Gordon B. Hinckley

So for a little touch of sunlight from my day today here's a story that should make Ivan proud!  Briana and Ivan are working very hard to raise the boys bilingually.  Briana predominantly speaks to them in English and Ivan in Spanish.  Ivan is very consistent with having the boys respond to him in Spanish.  Alex was pretty resistant for a while.  He would actually chastise his Mommy if she spoke to him in Spanish telling her,  "No, YOU speak English Mommy!"  Silly boy.  The turning point came when they enrolled Alex in a bilingual preschool class.  All of a sudden speaking Spanish with other preschoolers was cool and nothing to be shy about!

This morning Alex asked me, "Nana how do you say ____  ____ in Spanish?"  I don't remember what the 2 words were, but fortunately I remembered how to say them in Spanish.  I told him in Spanish and asked, "is that right?"  "Yes Nana" Alex replied.  A few moments later he asked, "Nana how do you say bread in Spanish?"  Forgetting my brain I said, "I don't know, how DO you say bread in Spanish Alex?"  "pan Nana".  I realized that he is now taking me at face value...I've tried to encourage him by telling him on numerous occasions that he needs to learn Spanish so he can teach his Nana.  I didn't realize it until later in the day, but today was my first Spanish language test by my 3 year old grandson.  And I only scored a 66%!  I will have to study harder for next time!

Fighting the anxiety feeling!

I am currently fighting feelings of anxiety.  I'm tired of the builders blame someone else game and then it seems like there's always some other glitch with the house or technology or...and the anxiety level rises because we're still not fully unpacked, and I can't get any of the keys to work to unlock the tool boxes, so it's a nightmare to try to find the right tools for any job.

The sprinkler company never did show up yesterday and that's probably due to the fact that the builder never called them to authorize it and they only have time for warranty service according to their answering machine.  It would have been nice to receive a phone call indicating that they weren't coming after all...

And then Grandpa's frustrated with his computer because it keeps freezing up.  I am the electronics neanderthal of the century, so having to try to help fix his technology, especially when he's all upset about it, causes me more anxiety.

We did have a very nice time at 'girls night' last night.

Little stinker saw me painting my fingernails and painted one of her own by herself before her Mommy noticed!

Artist at work:

Look at that gorgeous smile!

And another beautiful lady:

Those are some fine toenails!!

It was so nice that Bethany was able to join us.  I got up and fixed eggs, bacon, sausage and toast for everyone for breakfast this morning.  Which is happening in waves.  Vona has not been sleeping well (I'm guessing teething problems), she got up and ate her breakfast, I don't think Ashley ate.  Erin and Bryn got up and ate and Grandpa's eating now as well.  Briana's still trying to sleep on the hide-a-bed in the family room.  I don't know how that's even possible with the rest of us making noise in the kitchen, but it's mother's survival mode I guess.  She's got a photo shoot she needs to leave for in about an hour.  Vona and Ashley are now taking a nap.  I guess I'd better get dressed and go out to look for a hand shovel to dig around the sprinkler line and get this pipe fixed.  It has to be done before I leave for Washington on Wednesday and we missed a watering yesterday.  Can't let it go too long or the whole yard will die.

Maybe My Clarinet Playing Is Not Quite As Bad As I Thought

It's been another busy week.  Friday night Vona and Niecy spent the night so Ashley and Justin could go see Penn and Teller.

Then Saturday we took care of Jackson and Bryn while Erin and Russ had a date night.

Jackson's always ready to play with bubbles at Nana's!

Queen Bryn:

All the kids came over for Sunday dinner.

The Chatwin family enjoying the weather:

Two little lovebirds:

Sweet little baby Vona:

Ivan getting in on some dinner action:

Beautiful Briana:

Busy Alex:

Grandpa with his shadow Bryn:

Emmett the aspiring IT genius.  I'm sure I'll be calling him in a year or two to resolve my computer problems:

After dinner the men started putting together the play structure for the backyard.  I mentioned that I'd have to find the instructions so they could get started and Justin suggested that they'd just wing it.

It was a good thing I was able to find the instructions because they indicate on average it takes 2 people 8 to 10 hours to put the thing together.  It may be a little longer than that in our case!  
None of the pieces were labeled, so Briana took it upon herself to get them all organized and labeled.

Which according to one reviewer would help tremendously in the speed of assembly.  I'm not sure how many pages of instructions were completed by the guys Sunday, but we've got a long way to go.  At least it's started!  It'll be so nice to have it up for the kids to play on.  Thank you my great sons-in-law for taking on this assembly challenge, you never know it could be a marriage saver! lol

Jackson helping the big boys:

Jackson doesn't think it's really necessary to put the whole thing together!


And maybe he's right!

Alex liked the looks of this activity, so he had to test it himself!

"Hey, don't leave me out!"

The 'girls' got tired of supervising and needed a break:

Grandpa tested the sprinklers over the weekend and found out there is a break in one of the lines.  I tested it to see exactly what problems we had then I called Roy the builder for Sumeer Homes who came over, looked at the lawn, didn't bother to try to dig under the ground to see where the line was broken and said the break wouldn't be covered under warranty because it looked like the grass had been run over.  He said he'd call the sprinkler company the following morning and that I should as well.  I called and left a message and when Amber called back she indicated she hadn't heard from Roy yet (surprise...NOT!) but that they'd be in our area on Friday and would come fix it.  Hopefully they'll get it taken care of for us today and won't try to charge us.  Got the water/sewer/trash bill yesterday too and it was $231 for a little over a month!  Whew!  But that DID include a one time $65 non-refundable initiation fee, and hopefully part of the other $166 is due to the break in the sprinkler line.  We were really spoiled in Yakima.  We purchased a house that was on well and septic, so we didn't have ANY water or sewer bills except when we had to pump the septic tank or make repairs on the well.  I'm trying to make a more concerted effort to not waste any water in the house.  Turn off the water while brushing my teeth, put some water in one side of the sink to scrub dishes before putting them in the dishwasher and then use this 'grey' water to rinse recyclables.  We'll see if it all pays off next month.  Trying to decide if we can shorten the time the sprinklers are on without damaging the new lawn and landscaping since that's where the majority of the water is used.

Tuesday we went to the zoo.  Erin, Jackson and Bryn picked me up and we met Ashley and Vona.

Mommy bought a train ride for Jackson.  He had his own private ride!

Ashley bought some bird nectar so we could feed the birds.  Crazy birds landed everywhere!

Jackson enjoyed feeding the birds and didn't even seem to mind when one of them pooped on him!

Nana had fun too!

Vona did NOT want to keep her hat on her head!

Briana and the boys joined us later after Alex's preschool was over.

Emmett deciding if he wants to get his feet wet in the kids area

No question for Alex!

 The Pascual brothers:

Cousin Choo Choo finally get everyone looking up at the same time with a pleasant expression and we get some random photo bomber! lol

Bryn likes her some sliding!

It was warm and humid!  We definitely got our exercise for the day with the girls pushing the strollers up and down hills.  Ashley and Vona left just after Briana arrived.  Erin was going to leave about then too, but Russ called.  He had a break in clients and was only 10 minutes or so away, so he met us and they stayed for a little while longer.

The Dallas Zoo is a nice little zoo.  They have a wonderful kids area with a petting zoo and quite a nice variety of animals throughout the zoo.

 Hiding out with Nana in the sheep enclosure:

The sheep were pretty skittish and didn't stay put for long!

Before we left Briana, Alex, Emmett and I took a ride on the Monorail Safari.  It's a guided tour on a monorail.  It's nice to be up above the animals and there are a few things that you get to see that you wouldn't on foot.

Riding the monorail:

One of the animals we saw on the monorail (can't remember the name of it):

Playing around in the gift shop:

SSSSSssssnakes! And some binoculars Alex was determined should be his!

By the time we were ready to leave for home rush hour was in full swing, so first we stopped at a nearby Dollar Tree since Briana didn't want to buy items from the expensive gift shop.  Alex was pretty happy with his cowboy hat and leis.

Emmett found his own set:

There were accidents on the freeway and we got a little lost taking an alternate route, but at least the boys were able to nap in the car while we were driving!  We stopped at Ikea on the way home so I could buy a crib which the nice Ikea employee strapped to the top of Briana's car for us!  Then we stopped at Costco to get some dinner and do a little shopping.  Didn't get home until about 9 p.m. and Grandpa was in bed, so I stuck his dinner in the fridge.  Headed out to Walmart (which is open 24 hours) to buy a mattress for the crib and return the items that I've been storing in my trunk that needed to be returned.  I got the mattress but the Customer Service counter closes at 10 p.m. and at this store they're not allowed to take returns at the checkout stands.

So Wednesday night I took care of the returns at Walmart along with all the other stores returns, bought some #3 reeds, got some groceries for our girls sleepover on Friday night, etc.

I was going to go to the temple on Wednesday but got diverted and didn't get there.  I'm making it my goal to attend every week since we're within 40 minutes or so of the temple now.  I hope that by attending every week Heavenly Father will bless Pops with a job in Texas real soon.  It is so hard to have him be stuck up in Washington.  I miss him and feel sad that I'm here having fun with the family while he slaves away for us in Washington.

I watched Erin's kids for her on Thursday while she went to a meeting.  You never know how Bryn will do.  This time she was totally fine the whole time Erin was gone.  Sometimes she gets very sad because her Mommy isn't here.  She LOVES her Great Grandpa though and likes to hold his hand and walk around with him, or sit in his lap, or have him watch her outside.

It's been my goal to practice my clarinet at least an hour every day.  I accomplished this 7 of the 9 days between my initial meeting with my new clarinet teacher Wes Hughes and my first lesson which was yesterday evening.  I am challenged by getting over the break, going from an A or B flat to B.  I will be concentrating on this between now and my next lesson next Tuesday.  It's a matter of my breathing which is a little weak from this darn sickness (bronchitis and ear infection) AND not having played clarinet in so many years AND I think changing from a #2 reed to a #3 the day before!  Wes has reassured me that this is a very common issue and it won't take me long to master it and then we'll be advancing rapidly.

Wes is a great teacher, very, very positive which is so important to me since I tend to be very hard on myself (unfortunately I passed that gene down to my girls!).  He was very complementary on my overall tone, my embouchure and the fact that I can remember fingerings since I haven't really played for over 30 years.  I'm very excited to have this opportunity.  My goal is to be prepared to audition for the Dallas Mormon Choral Organization when they start their program here.  Wes went online to research the types of music they perform so he knows what we need to emphasize in preparation.  He's a music major at UNT and his primary instrument is clarinet.  I'm his only student at present so other than his own studies, I'm his only focus...nice!  We're both very excited.  My patriarchal blessing talks about how I need to focus more on the beautiful things in life like good music and art.

Speaking of playing the clarinet, yesterday morning I was practicing in my room (my usual spot so as not to disturb Grandpa too much with my occasional squawking).  I sit on the bed facing the window.  As I was practicing a mockingbird flew up and perched on the windowsill.  He sat there for some time and then flew off.  A little while later a dove flew up and perched on the windowsill. He also sat there for some time and then flew off only to return a short time later with his mate.  They sat and listened to me for the rest of my practice time.  It pretty much made my day, that at least the birds don't think I'm too awful to listen too!  I tried to get a picture of the pair of doves but all I had was the camera on my phone, so it didn't turn out.  I joke that I hope the mockingbird doesn't start mimicking these early efforts or the neighbors may make me quit playing!

And speaking of being sick.  I'm still struggling with congestion and a clogged ear drum.  I've been on two different antibiotics, augmentin and zithromax which has reduced the congestion tremendously, but I'm still stuffed up and coughing occasionally.  I'm trying to take Sudafed twice a day now and drink LOTS of water to try to get rid of the rest of the congestion.  I started getting sick about 6 weeks ago about the end of February.  I haven't been sick like this since I was a kid.  I'm pretty sure my body had just had enough abuse (since I'd pretty much been working non-stop on preparing the house for sale, having a yard sale, packing, moving, unpacking, etc) and decided it's going to MAKE me slow down and it sure did!  I feel like I should be totally unpacked by now, but I'm not.

Tonight we're having a girls sleepover.  Erin, Bryn, Ashley, Vona, Briana and Bethany are all coming.  I'm making Hawaiian Haystacks and Ashley's bringing brownies, am not sure what the other girls will bring.  I'm just hoping for a nice relaxing time, enjoying each other's company.  We may paint finger or toenails, or watch chick flicks, or play games, or whatever suits our fancies!  Russ, Jackson, Ivan, Alex and Emmett are all going on a father and sons campout.  Then tomorrow I think we're all meeting up for Downtown Frisco StrEats Festival.  It's a music and gourmet food festival.  Should be fun.  I'll bring Vona home to spend the night with me when we're done as Ashley and Justin are going to a friend's birthday party.  We'll take Vona to church with us on Sunday and then hopefully everyone will come over again on Sunday for family dunch.

I'm super excited that I get to travel to Yakima in 5 days to see my honey!!  Love and miss him so much!!  I'll stay for a week.  The girls will take turns checking on Grandpa each day and making sure he eats lunch or dinner.  If they don't provide a 2nd meal all he'll eat is breakfast!  A few of the neighbors know I'm going to be out of town so hopefully they'll keep an eye out for him as well.

Another sleepover at Nana's

I got to have baby Vona over for a sleepover.  Ashley and Justin went on a date to see Penn and Teller, so Nana got to babysit Vona and Berniece.  She's such a happy, easy going little baby.  We watched 'The Wheels on the Bus' dvd and looked at books and played peek a boo, etc.  Vona LOVES Grandpa.  She follows him wherever he goes!  I overheard a bit of a 'racket' in his bedroom, so peaked around the door and saw him bending over Vona and playing a clapping game with her.  She's quite the little mimicker, so if you clap she claps, or maybe she started clapping and GRANDPA was the mimicker! lol  In any event, a good time was had by all.

For dinner we had penne pasta and steamed corn with cilantro.

That little girl knows how to make a Nana feel like a super chef.

She ate

and ate

and ate some more!

I think she may have eaten more than Grandpa did!  I'm pretty sure she would have kept eating until she made herself sick because Nana didn't have the heart to make her stop but fortunately we ran out of food!

And oh how she LOVED feeding herself!   Such a big girl.

After dinner cleanup we got her ready for bed.  Ashley and Justin usually put lotion all over her before putting on her jammies.  I used coconut oil as she's had some problems with skin rashes, in the morning we'll see if it helped.

Grandpa's sister Dora came to visit this afternoon.  She is in Houston visiting her granddaughter and family, so her granddaughter brought her up to see Grandpa.  They seemed to enjoy visiting with each other.  It's too bad Dora didn't come a little bit later in the afternoon, she would have gotten to see Ashley, Justin and Vona.

Tomorrow morning Erin's coming to pick me and Vona up to go yard sale shopping.  The Savanah housing development near hers is hosting a neighborhood yard sale.  I'm looking for a great deal on a crib for the extra bedroom.  Russ is planning on picking up our old double bed this weekend (that we'd given to Briana and Ivan who gave it to Ashley and Justin and bringing it back to our house if that isn't full circle I don't know what is! lol) to use in the spare bedroom.  So if I can find a crib we'll be outfitted with an extra double bed, a crib, 2 pack n plays, 1 futon click bed and 2 queen size hide-a-beds.  Hopefully that'll be plenty of beds for any sleepovers we might have!  And then of course there's always sleeping bags, and extra bedding for floor space!