Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve

 Reina saw a meme tonight with the above title and liked it.  A lot.  She is counting down the minutes until the big day.  I, on the other hand, am sitting in the the darkened dining room waiting for a cat to come back inside so that I can go to bed.  It's pretty cold and windy so I don't think her little sojourn will take very long but she might also be able to sense that I'm tired and I'm still working tomorrow and shall instead take her own sweet time.  Last month, I made the mistake of checking on all of the pets one night before I went to bed (did I write about this already?) and I couldn't find Soxy in any of her usual places.  She's the culprit running around outside right now, for the record.  It was a warmer than usual night for November and so I started to wonder if she'd snuck out when I was letting the dogs out before bed so I went outside a few times and called for her, no luck.  I finally went to sleep but I worried about her all night.  I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and decided to go check on her.  I came downstairs and found her in the catbed next to the printer. Long story short, she made herself a lovely little bed in the lining closet and I only know that because a few nights later, I accidentally locked her in there and found her in the morning because of all of the meowing.  Yes, this turning into a cat blog. 

She's back inside so I can stop writing now but I'm on a bit of a roll.  The kids holiday break has started.  They have two weeks off and we are going to do our best to enjoy as much of it as we can.  I'd say "enjoy every minute" but I'm the mother to a teen and a tween and let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  I'm working a few days this week and most of next week but I will be at home so at least I'll have company.  Glenn is working tomorrow and then taking the rest of the year off and is planning a few outdoor adventures for the three of them.  I'm more ready for Christmas than I've been in years.  Having to get packages ready to send all over the country instead of just putting them under the tree certainly helped my organizational skills.  Pop-pop and Grandma are staying put in Arizona instead of driving back here.  It was a tough decision but the right one.  We can see the light at the end of this COVID tunnel and we just have to hang in there until we are all vaccinated and then we can all hang out as much as we want to.  We can have dinner parties, we can go to the movie theater, we can go to Target on a busy Saturday - the possibilities are endless!  

Wyoming's case numbers are coming down and actually starting to stay down.  The Governor instituted a statewide mask mandate a few weeks ago and numbers have dropped.  We've had somewhere around 36,000 cases but the number of currently infected people is lower than it's been since earlier in the Fall.  The vaccinations have started in each county and that's great news.  In this household, we are still taking it pretty seriously and masking up, etc., but we are planning to spend Christmas with Aunt V and family and nobody better even cough between now and then.  

One more animal story.  I took last Friday afternoon off and I planned to finish up some last minute shopping and present-wrapping while the kids were in school.  Before I headed out, I took the dogs to the field for a quick 20 minute run.  We still have snow on the ground from last weekend's storm but that doesn't deter them but it does make them more tired which is a win-win for me.  I got all three dogs back in my car and headed home to drop them off before I went shopping. I looked down and noticed bloody paw prints on the seats and discovered that Trigger had just about torn one of his toenails off.  I called Glenn, he met me at home with one of his co-workers who used to work in a vet office. She confirmed that we'd have to take Trigger in because the tear was too far up his toenail to fix at home. I called the vet office and got an "emergency" appt which is super helpful but also more money. I left the other two at home, drove Trigger across town, waited with him in the vet office, left him in the vet office because he had to be sedated, raced through Target for last minute items, went back and picked up Trigger and came home.  No presents were wrapped.  No quiet afternoon to reflect on the holiday season.  Instead of last minute gifts, people will get a picture of Trigger's wrapped up foot because that's where all of their stocking stuffer money went. 

So that's where we are on Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve.  

Another month under our belts

How can February feel like the longest month and also simultaneously the shortest month?  I had big plans to blog every week and then our evenings were filled with sports and feeding people.  Then I told Glenn to count the sewing machine I'd already bought myself as my Valentine's present and I found yet another way to not write. Side note, I've been making reusable gift bags which involve little technical skill, thank goodness, but they look cute and I'm having fun putting them together. 

So that's our February.  Will finished up his basketball season on Saturday. His team lost in the championship.  Unfortunately, Will dislocated the pinky finger on his shooting hand a few days prior and while he's on the mend, he couldn't play on Saturday.  I'm not sure who was more disappointed (me or him, probably him) but he has a baseball season to think about and needs to be all healed up.  He had a great basketball season and it was so fun seeing how much he improved as the season went on.  He's also staying busy with 7th grade homework and confirmation at church.  He's figuring out the grind of homework and maintaining good grades even though his mom still knows that HE COULD BE DOING EVEN BETTER. 

Reina has battled just about every bug or virus that has come through Cheyenne in February.  She had a trip to the doctor on Friday to rule out strep and influenza, both were negative and she's back on her feet this week.  We're all practicing extra hand-washing and avoiding germs where we can.  Reina's been busy with dance and piano and added volleyball to her schedule last week.  She joined the school's team and is more excited about it than even she expected.  She has two parents who are willing to practice with her in the front yard when the wind isn't howling.  She's also a voracious reader.  Before we left the school's annual book fair on Thursday evening because of her rising fever, Reina talked me into 4 books plus a few more for her cousin and brother.

Glenn and I are pushing through these winter months.  We both have a little travel in March but nothing extensive.  We're starting to have those days when the wind stops and the sun is out and you can imagine that Spring is somewhere around the corner.  We are playing co-ed volleyball on a team once a week and it's a lot of fun.  Glenn's competitiveness laid dormant for years when we were dating and first married.  Between kid sports and our own games, Glenn is not a fan of losing.  But we have fun and he doesn't mind when I coach him on the court... coach, bark orders, tell him to hit the ball harder...

The best part of February ending is that my sister is done with her chemo.  How's that for good news to wrap up a post?  Works for me. 

Reina's week

Last week, I had to travel to Santa Fe for work.  It was the last week of school and Glenn had to run a little ragged to get everyone to all of the places they needed to be, without an extra set of hands.  He did a terrific job.  

Reina had a slightly weird week.  On Wednesday afternoon, she fell going *up* our stairs and whacked her chin on the steps and bruised up her shins.  Later that night, Glenn called me and I could hear Reina wailing in the background.  She'd been holding on to the remote and put her hand on the stairs which Glenn then stepped on as he was coming downstairs.  When he called, the incident had just happened and Reina was wailing and I tried to help calm her down.  I was only marginally successful.  

Fast forward an hour and a half. I'm headed out to find a Target in Santa Fe because I am that kind of a tourist and Glenn calls to ask which of the nearest urgent care offices are still open.  Reina's finger is still bleeding and he's thinking she'll need stitches.  He loads Reina up in the car and I try to help calm her down again...she's momentarily diverted to tell me about playing with Pop-pop and Grandma earlier in the evening and Pop-pop kept pretending to barf.  Glenn says he'll keep me posted and we sign off. 

A few minutes later, Glenn texts that the doctor is ordering an x-ray of Reina's hand because they are worried it's fractured.  She's pretty freaked out and is shaking so hard that they can't get a good oxygen reading on her.  She is interested in seeing the inside of her hand, however.  I text back to see which finger is injured and he says the 'pointer.'  

Glenn calls a few more minutes later to report that she's fine now, no fracture, no stitches.  Just a big pink bandage.  

This just might be the highlight of her young life so far.  

And oh yeah, it's actually her middle finger.  By now, Reina is calm and charming the doctors and nurses.  She says "I don't mean to be rude..." as she holds up her hand.

I was home the next night, in time to see the giant pink bandage and hear the story all over again.  The next day, I pick up both kiddos from school for the last day and Reina's complaining about her ear hurting.  I notice her ear is red underneath her hair and when I pull her hair back, I see a tick chewing on her ear.  I immediately panic and look around for an adult, and then I remember that I'm actually one so I try to pull the tick off with my fingernail and then a little card thing on my key chain and when that's not successful, I take her inside the school to the nurse's office.  Luckily, there is an adult manning the nurse's office and she grabs a pair of tweezers and gets that sucker out of there.

Later that night, Reina has a slight fever which gets higher as the weekend goes on but I abstain from googling "weird tick diseases and fevers" and decide she probably just has a bad cold.  She's feeling much better today and is ready for whatever this next week has in store.  Hopefully less ticks.

Skiing

Yesterday, I took the kiddos skiing at Snowy Range.  We've been there once each year for the last two years. I wish I could carve out more time to get these kids on skis but schedules and finances make skiing a tough hobby at this age.  BUT, we had a great day and I have two daredevils on my hands. 

Look, they are actually sort of hugging each other!

I put them both in ski school for a few hours in the morning so that I could ski by myself for a while.  I'm much less of a daredevil than I was a few decades ago but I did go down a few runs that I knew the kids wouldn't want to attempt...yet.  When ski school was done, I picked them up and we had a picnic lunch.  It was a pretty day in the Snowies.  The sun was shining and the resort has a lot of snow.  They hadn't had any fresh snow in a while so some parts were getting a little icy. 

Lunch  break selfies.  Lots of smiles because I packed chips and cookies.  

After lunch, the three of us headed back out on our skis.  We did the bunny slope for a while and then ventured out on the "big" ski lift.  I found an easy trail for us to take down and it worked well, for the most part.  Reina and I had what she's now calling "Mom and Reina's Super Crash of 2016" where she lost both skis and I found myself bending my legs at angles they normally don't bend at.  But all's well that end's well and after a few well placed hugs and reassurances that everybody was okay, we continued down the mountain.  (Will had a sympathy crash when he saw us go down but he was fine.)  Once we got to the bottom, Reina decided to take a break on the bunny slope and Will and I headed back up again.  This time, we made it down unscathed and to my surprise and delight, Reina was ready to try it again.  She's one tough cookie.  This time she and I both made it down with only a slight crash and I think we even attempted it one more time?  The three of us stayed until the lifts shut down and drove home, tired but happy.  Today I have sore muscles and a gorgeous black and blue bruise on my leg.  Reina claims to feel no pain, Will says his legs are sore but both are ready to try it again.  I hope winter isn't quite done with Wyoming because I'd like to get back out there again, too.

Baseball and a really fun weekend

Before I finish writing about the Fourth of July weekend, which is now a week and a half ago, I have to jot down all of the funny little moments from the past weekend.  First up, baseball.  As I've mentioned like a million times on this blog, this was Will's first year playing baseball and it was a great experience.  All of us have enjoyed going out to his games and watching a group of 7 and 8 years olds (sometimes) hit the ball, (sometimes) field the ball and (most of the time) have a really fun time.  Last week was the end of the season tournament.  Will's team won their first game but then lost the second.  On Saturday, they won two games to move to Monday night, where they won again and played in the championship last night.  They lost the championship, but it was such a fun season. 

Will started off the season just knowing the basics about baseball.  He's played t-ball so he understood you hit the ball and run to the base but beyond that, he was a total newbie.  For the first few weeks of the season, he struck out at bat almost every time and started to get pretty frustrated.  This league uses a pitching machine and that ball is coming in at you pretty fast.  But he kept going to practice and asking us to play catch with him in the front yard and hitting wild pitches that Glenn was throwing and this kid never EVER gave up.  I get a little teary when I think about it because I am just so proud of him.  In the second half of the season, something just clicked. Will started hitting the ball and grabbing ground balls and throwing them to the right place and having some fun out there. You could see his confidence growing each time he came up to bat.  He's speedy so most of the time when he hit the ball, he'd get on base.  When he'd get hit home, he'd gleefully leap over home plate like he was in the long jump, but we're working on that.  Baseball's more than just about the hitting and on defense, he'd scoop up the ball and heave it to the right base and quietly shout "YES!" when he got someone out.  It was a joy to watch.  I read somewhere that one of the best things you can say to your kid in sports (or other performance type activities) is "I love to watch you play." Man if that wasn't the truth.  There were games where I felt more nervous than the Broncos AFC Championship and Glenn and I yelled and cheered louder than is probably necessary (or appropriate?) for a 7-8 yr old sporting event, but we sure loved to watch Will play baseball.

A true Reds fan, I'm just glad he wasn't on the Yankees.  Or the Dodgers.  Or the Giants.  Or the....

A pretty happy bunch of runners-up! 

Besides lots and lots of baseball, we also fit in a local race to benefit the hospital's foundation and all of the good work they do.  First up, was a kids' 1K.  I signed both kids up and they were pretty excited to run in their first race.  We didn't get a chance to practice very much but there are both enthusiastic runners and gave it their all. 


Will, in the blue, racing to the finish line.  He was bummed that he finished fourth, medals were given to the top 3.  He did get a ribbon and a goody bag for his fine effort. 

Reina had a great pacesetter and a little help.  I love this picture so much. She earned a ribbon too and carried it around all weekend. 

After the kids' race, Trigger and I ran the 10k.  After the race in Yellowstone last month, I had pretty low expectations - hoped to finish before noon and not injure myself.  The weather was crisp, we had a big rainstorm go through the night before.  The course was in a part of town that I don't often run in so there were lots of new things to look at (a baby donkey!) and I had a great cheering section.  So long, boring story short, I won silver medal in my age group!  Granted, there were only three of us but I took second.  All of the glory goes to Trigger who paced me pretty well, until he stopped to go potty for third time about 20 yards from the finish line.  I had my fastest time (PR in running lingo) and nothing hurt too badly afterwards. 

Me, some of the other runners in my certain age group and Trigger's behind. I did let him wear the medal. 

 

And where was Tootsie, my faithful readers will ask? Well Tootsie split a nail early last week and I thought we cleaned up it alright until Thursday, when I noticed that she'd licked all of the fur off of her toes on that foot. So off to the vet we went. She had to be sedated so that they could cut the nail all the way back (OUCH) and she spent the day at the vet's office. Reina and I picked her up after work and I snapped this picture. Tootsie was a little, well, altered. This is a family blog after all. But if she could talk, I think it would've been along the lines of David After The Dentist (google it). Reina was truly concerned and spent most of the weekend worrying about Tootsie and her giant bandage.  Just say no to drugs, Tootsie! 

 



Florida - Part 1

We made our annual Spring Break trip to Florida last week.  We had great weather, hospitable hosts and a few adventures.  The kids had fun and were (mostly) on their best behavior.  I have a million pictures from the actual camera to upload but the technology is being cranky so here's the cell phone version.  

 

Even the shuttle at the airport in Orlando is magical.  According to a 5-yr old anyway. 

Day 1 at DeLeon Springs.  One of our favorite places to visit.  The water is always 72 degrees or something like that.  The kids swam until their lips were blue. 

After a cold swim, nothing's better than a warm dad to snuggle up to. 

Or sunbathe with. I didn't even get my suit on.  The weather was too cold for me.  I've turned into my dad! 

We fished and fished and fished!  Reina loved it and threw a fit on the last night when I made her throw the fish back.  On the previous nights, Glenn kept some of the fish and fried them up for breakfast the next morning.  My little animal lover has no qualms about fishing. 

Will caught fish too. I think they were drawn to the glow from his outfit. 

Day 2:  The beach at Cape Canaveral National Seashore.  Look at Glenn's pecs!  This is one of our favorite beaches to visit.  It's undeveloped and on a Tuesday, not very busy either.  Reina ran up and down the beach trying to catch seagulls. I love that she has enough confidence to think "why not?  why wouldn't I catch a seagull?"   I did get in the water this day.  It wasn't incredibly warm but I can't resist the ocean. 

Day 3:  Disneyworld Hollywood Studios and one of the soldiers from Toy Story. 

Trying on Muppet hats at Disney.  I almost bought this one but I'm hoping I can find it online for a little cheaper, and in my size! 

We stayed the night at the Art of Animation Resort and it was delightful!  I have a thousand more pictures of the resort on my camera because I kept seeing little details that were so fun.  Stay tuned. 

The #1 reason to visit Disney Hollywood Studios was for all of the Star Wars stuff including the Jedi Padawan Academy.  More on this story later (it involves one of the top 5 arguments that Glenn and I have had but all's well that end's well) and many MANY more pictures of The Most Serious Jedi Ever.

Battling  DARTH VADER!  I actually gasped when Mr. Vader came on the stage because I wasn't expecting it and I'm a bit of a geek.  Darth Vader did say that the Force was strong in this one when he was battling Will and I may or may not have yelled "That's right!!" 

I had texted pictures of Will's Star Wars adventures to family members and Grandma asked what Reina's dream come true could be at Disney.  It very well may just be this Disney cake pop that's all her own and a live Little Mermaid show.  She had a great day too. 

Traffic cone bedside lamps in our hotel room.  The cuteness! 

A sofa that looks like a bench seat in an old car.  It also pulled out into a sofa bed for kiddos.  Squeeeeee! 

The morning after Disney, we drove back to the grandparents house and stopped for breakfast with one of Glenn's old friends.  We met at a diner and I had grits for breakfast.  They were delicious. 

One of the houses that Glenn grew up in - we did a drive-by. 

Towards the end of our trip, the kids were really getting into the warm weather.  Will usually doesn't like to go topless but when it's warm enough, why not?! 

It's a Florida girl! 

On our last morning (a Saturday), I was just climbing out of bed when Glenn came in the room and said he needed my help.  He'd woken up early to fish by himself and he came back with the hook in his hand.  I googled 'how to get a fish hook out' and promptly announced that we were going to the ER.  When I read that you'd have to push the hook all the way through, I barfed a little on the inside.  We also couldn't remember the last time he had a tetanus shot and let's face it - we don't mess around with weird infections and Glenn Pauley.  

In the ER.  I told him the last picture I took of him in the ER wasn't very cheery so we needed to turn that around.  I like this version much better. 

Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?

No, actually this is the face belonging to the almost 5-yr old who was "punched" in the arm by someone on the opposing soccer team during Saturday's game.  After the alleged incident, she didn't cry but she marched off of the floor, over to us and gave us a report of the punching.  When I told her that the person probably didn't mean to punch her, he was just going after the soccer ball and just accidentally ran into her, Reina was not satisfied with that answer but she did go back into the game.  But not before she walked over to the other team's coach (who was also on the field, which is not even a field but an indoor gymnasium, indoor soccer is confusing) and told the coach about the punching.  The coach was very kind about it and Reina eventually ended up playing with a tad more enthusiasm.  But after the game she told us that she wants us to talk to the offending player's parents before the next game.  So maybe full contact sports won't be her thing? 

Day 3

Well these titles just keep getting more and more creative huh?  In a desperate attempt to NOT fail at this NaBloPoMo (is that right?) thing on Day 3, I just signed on to the computer to feebly come up with a post topic, but it's 9:39 and my head's aching so this will be another short one.  I don't even have a cute picture to post because my computer and my camera are apparently not speaking to each other today.  Lest this become the official Blog About Shingles, I'll spare you the details and just say that I'm not feeling worse than yesterday so yeah!!!  And Will and Reina have been pretty helpful and funny - Will told me today that my head didn't look too scary. Now that's positive thinking!  I was helping him read tonight and afterwards I wrote him little notes to read out loud like, "You are such a great reader!"  etc.  Well after a few minutes, he asked me to write to him "Who is your worst enemy?"  This was after I asked him a bunch of questions about best friend, favorite food, etc.   Well he giggled and carefully wrote down "My mom."  Once again, that wicked sense of humor is alive in my kid. 

The weekend

This blogging every day is hard.  By the end of the month, you'll probably be reading my grocery list.    But here's a quick recap of the weekend.  Basketball practice yesterday morning was fun for kids and parents alike.  The 8:45 start time kills any ability to sleep in but frankly, that never happens anyway.  We bought both kids their own basketballs to practice at home and Will insisted on going outside this afternoon to work on his dribbling.  It was about 25 degrees. Brrrrrr.  Reina finds it hard to dribble while also holding on to a purse.

We helped some friends move yesterday.  Reina sat in the basement and ate pizza.  She also serenaded some of the movers with the latest Taylor Swift song.  Will ate pizza and then sat in the car playing Angry Birds Star Wars.  Yes, earlier in the week, two of Will's worlds collided when I downloaded the newly released ABSW.  It combines two of his current obsessions, AB and all things Star Wars.  Even I can admit that it's pretty fun.

Last night we went to a friends' housewarming party.  It was a lot of fun and the kids tired themselves out.  I was talking to another parent about kid-related trips to the ER and I had just said something along the lines of "we haven't taken either kid to the ER in quite a while..." when Will came screaming down the stairs (literally) after slamming his finger in the door.  There was a little bit of blood and a lot of drama but it didn't appear to be broken and he's fine today so it was only a partial jinx.

Today was the coldest day of the season.  With the windchill it's -1 right now.  So it was a lot of indoor activities, besides the quick basketball practice.  Vicky and I hosted a little party for some friends. We watched a lot of football (Broncos!!!) and had a nice day. The best part?  Tomorrow is a holiday (thank you Veteran's!) and we get to extend this weekend a little bit longer.

When I was three.....

Based on the way he talks about it, you would think that 3 was Will's best year ever. Every time he brings up something we haven't done lately, he bemoans the fact that he hasn't been there/done that since he was "free."

"Can we go to the zoo the day after this day? I haven't been there since a I was free." (Point of correction, you were actually there earlier in the summer but I won't be nit-picky.)

"Mom, 'member when I had to go to the hospital when I was free?" (Yes. Yes I do remember that. And so does my wallet.)

"When are we going to go back to Florida? I haven't been there since I was free."

I find it fascinating to see how his memory works. Some things I think he won't remember but then some far away memory will bubble to the surface and he'll talk about an event that took place over a year ago. He's an interesting little guy.

When he's not thinking of halcyon days of 3, his brain is busy figuring out the world. His first words to me this morning were "Mom, do birds go to the doctor?"

***********************

Will's is not the only brain working overtime right now. I need to get a picture of it, but we are currently experiencing "Hoarders: The Toddler Edition. The Sequel." At any given moment, Reina is carrying around a purse, her "yunchbox" (a plush covered wagon that certainly does look like a lunch box), a falling-apart plastic backpack stuffed with assorted detritus, two baby dolls and a stuffed animal (a revolving selection of teddy bears, kitty cats and a bunny rabbit.) At night, she can't fall asleep until she is surrounded by her "duff." (stuff) I need to start hiding some of the duff because a few nights ago she was walking around the backyard and tumbled down the stairs, with all of her stuff. Toddler forehead meets sidewalk.

In her own words, she should 'dop it! ' (stop it)

Hailstorms, head injuries and other summer fun

Boy, if that title didn't get your attention, I should probably stop writing right now! But rest assured, the head injury ended up being less scary than it looked, but more on that later.

Last week, I traveled to Casper for a quick overnight trip. I pulled back into Cheyenne about 10 minutes after a pretty wicked hailstorm had whipped through town. I was driving a work car at the time, so my car was parked at the office. I pulled up to this sight: The hail turned my hood into a dented, pebbled mess and even cracked my windshield in a few places. It was discouraging to see what a few minutes of bad weather can do, but I have to be thankful that no one was seriously hurt. Cars and yards and roofs can be fixed. Our house and yard was untouched so we still have one nice vehicle in the family.

Glenn left for a long work trip on Wednesday and was gone through the weekend. The kids and I packed up the dented Mazda and vacationed at Pop-pop's house in Brighton. On Saturday we went to a new waterpark that was a big hit for kids and adults alike. It was a million degrees outside so I frankly would have been tickled with a garden house and a squirt gun. We slid and splashed and had a great time. On Sunday morning, the grandparents had tickets to the Rockies game so the kids and I headed off to the zoo. It was another scorcher so we didn't stay long but managed to see some animals and pose politely for a few pictures. (I love pictures like this one below - their little silhouttes are burned into my mind. I know they won't stay this (relatively) small forever, but I love to watch them hang out together. When they aren't screaming and slapping.)

So this week has been a whirlwind. Glenn didn't get back from his work trip until Wednesday and on the day before, the Omaha Pauleys arrived for a visit. We've been playing with cousins, hiking at Vedauwoo and having a great ol' time. Last night, Will got out of the bath and the exercise ball was inexplicably at the top of the stairs. Will leaned forward on the ball and proceeded to ride it down the short flight of stairs, landing face first on the living hardwood floor. There was blood and screaming and general chaos for several minutes. After administering a few icepacks, Glenn and I decided that the swollen nose and lip and general malaise was enough to warrant a quick trip to urgent care. Except, it was after 9:00 p.m. so we had to head to the ER. Long story short, the doctors thought he was alright, we avoided having to spend hours in observation and thousands on a CT scan and today he's a little droopy but none the worse for wear. Our house needs one of those signs you see outside of large factories..."It's been 1 day(s) since our last accident..errr trip to after hours medical care.