a sweetie turns five

 It was so nice you were here yesterday--day before your birthday.

You kids had fun.

 I absolutely love the little high chair you invented using the Dora chair.  It fit your brother so perfectly.

But I dug around and found pictures from back when you were born.   Here's your brother in bed with Tim and Julia.  He stayed here with us while you were being born.

 This is the first time we met.  Look at you!   We were so happy.

Your brother was a little wound up.   On the way back to the car, he wanted to jump over a speed bump in the parking ramp, and that was fine.   Well, he jumped about ten times and then got mad and started screaming and got going on a big overwrought explosion of excitement and too much-ness.

Tim and Julia had their hands over their ears in the car, and Kirsten tried to wave from her car on the freeway ramp and make him smile, but no way.   He's all grown up now and real calm.

But right there that day, he was just so excited by the whole occasion of you.

You however, don't really ever throw fits--you're more of a huff kind of guy.  Oh my goodness.

Sweetie?   You do make everything sweeter: funny, charming, imaginative YOU, with all your good ideas and crazy stories, your big hugs, your curly eyelashes.  This whole family is better having you in it.  We are so darn lucky you're ours. 

Happy Birthday, Buddy, with love forever, GRANDMA and GRANDPA and everybody

sleepover babies

 

Here they are arriving last night.

 

We had supper--Jay made pizzas.   We bought cheesecake.

 

They hardly ate. 

 This game where they're upside down is something about a spaceship.

Then Barbies started appearing from the bathtub.   The first thing Kirsten and I noticed was that they all had very short hair, unusual in a  Barbie.

A couple kids looked a little nervous, but then Lydia explained--the hair was so ratty it was hideous, so they cut it off and felt it was an improvement.

Okay, then.

 This guy was here for the evening too, always nice.

 They wanted the Barbies to swim.  Ei-yi-yi, so not working in that sink.

So we got out the big Tupperware thing and filled it with warm water.  It was a good game for a little while.

 Here's James, showing the high dive--he livened things up a bit.

And things got wetter and splashier until pretty soon all three kids were soaked to the skin and the floor was turning to a lake.

 Time for PAJAMAS! 

 

Shortly after this picture was taken, I informed them that we were to the point at a sleepover where we SLEEP!   I found pillows and blankets and the little guy went into the portable crib and the other two attemped to fall asleep on the big, red couch.   

 

She was asleep shortly, but his eyes would not close, so eventually he got back up again for a while.  In an our or two we tried it again and his eyes were still big. 

 

I asked Jay if he'd snuggle with him while I took a bath.  He said, "Yep, sure.  I'll defeat him with my body heat."

 

When I came back from my bath, the child's back was against Grandpa's chest and they were both sound asleep.   I had to wake Jay up so he could squiggle out.

 

In the morning, I heard the little guy wake up, "Mom?"

 

There was a pause, then he called, "Everybody?"

 

Oh, so cute.   Yeah, in this big house full of people, is anybody out there?

 

Then the party still kept going.   Dannell and her kids came, and Joe took p.j. and Tim and Julia and they all met to see The Lego Movie.   Then after that we went to Dan and Alicia's for supper. 

 

It was a great weekend, full of fun, and it's supposed to be 30 degrees by the middle of the week, and February is almost half over, and a Sweetie has a birthday, and things are all looking fine.

 

Onward.  We can do it.   love you all so,  MOM

 

here's a funny one

 



thursday, 2-6-14, or goin' to our betsy's

This is a cute picture of Betsy and Pam I stole from facebook.    Earlier this week I called Betsy and asked if she could watch the kids while I went to a real estate appointment.  She said, "Sure."

I told the kids and p.j. latched onto that fact with a vengeance.   The next day when Heidi brought her, she asked, "WHY is she obsessing about Betsy?  Is this our cousin Betsy or some other Betsy?"

No, that one.

I told Heidi the plan for Thursday, but p.j. was mixed up.  When they pulled up in the driveway Tuesday morning, she growled, "Unh.  This is not Betsy's house."

Finally today was the day, and they react to the idea of a trip out to my sister's like a normal person would to a trip to Disney.   They've been talking about it,  excited.  There has been some jumping in the air and giddy laughter.  When they heard Pam was even home from work today they cheered.

Betsy texted me, offered to come to our house, save me a ton of driving.  (My appointment was in the equally far opposite direction from their house.)  It was thoughtful of her, but I told her the kids would WAY rather come up there.

So they did and played their little hearts out, ran all over the house, having the time of their lives, ate chicken nuggets and cupcakes, freezies and chips, dragged out toys. 

You two awesome people made these kids day.

At the end of the day we went to swimming lessons.   We've been sneaking out of the house the last few weeks.  If the cat gets out of the bag, p.j. will scream to go swimming too and become way overly emotional, so we've been sneaking out behind her back.  Someone distracts her and the others quietly bolt.

Well, today that wasn't going to work, so we had to take her along.  I didn't tell her ahead where we were going and get her wailing as she searched among her snow pants and boots for her bathing suit.

No way in hell.

 But when we got there, she was transfixed.   A swimming school?  A teacher?

There were some sad tears and she hung on me and wiped them on Lydia's towel,  but no screaming or hysteria. 

On the way home, one of the kids asked her, "Did you like watching our swimming lesson?"

She said, "Yeah.  But I want to be bigger and hab a teacher TOO."

After the lesson was over, this cracked me up: While the kid were getting dressed afterward, I urged her to put on her boots, jacket, and hat.   She gathered them all up and marched over to a changing room where she took a very long time, and I could see her bare feet at one point, and her sitting on the floor at another struggling with her boots.

I waited.

Then finally the door popped open and out she came, boots, jacket, and even the hat on! 

And then we came home and Grandpa was cooking ravioli and garlic bread and her mom was here, and it was all a most lovely Thursday.

Betsy and Pam?   Thank you, thank you, thank you, for making people so doggone happy.

love you all, Val

where we break out in hives

Okay, so some time ago the first letter arrived informing us that the numbers from some form back in 2011 did not match the records of the IRS.  

We were not being personally audited.   The records were being.

Okay. 

So I called our sweet accountant, Gladys and asked told her about this.  She had some distant recollection about a quarter where there was a lower tax rate and we used a wrong form and submitted at the regular rate.

Well.

My hives were itching and all, being called, "Dear Taxpayer." 

Yeah.  I don't deny using an old form.

Yikes.

She requested documents, which I provided, and sent others.

So when this letter from the IRS appeared this week, Jay recoiled from it like poison, made me look at it in the middle of the night.  I asked if he'd read the letter.

He shrunk back, "No."

I was a little afraid, but not too much. We aren't running a shady business hiding income and falsifying records.   We run a legitimate operation where we claim our income and pay what we owe.

"The discrepancy has been resolved."

Good night.  love, Val

That's the whole story.

Whee.  

february arrives

See, I like looking at winter.  It's very pretty, true.

But being in it is kind of a pain in the neck.   Jay does pretty much all the snow removal.  He has this snowblower with a head light and heated handles.  Years ago, he accepted it as payment  for a job from a guy who was pay-your-bills challenged.  I was mad because we had a taxes to pay and I wanted the customer to pay with money, duh.  I hollered, "I cannot send that to the IRS!"

 And these two brothers came with their dad for lunch.   Dan called at about ten and everyone was still asleep.   He hooted, "I've been up since 5:30!"   Anyway, we got dressed and had fun.

 We had grilled cheese and soup and brownies with ice cream.

Look you two guys!  Here's a picture of you from last summer.   During the evening Jay and some kids went to The Boat Show, getting inspired.   Summer's going to get her eventually.  It always does. 

love you all so, Mom, aka GRANDMA