Maid Service

Sometimes motherhood makes me feel like I'm the hired help.

I get to clean up the dog poo.

 And the Kitty puke.

And a host of other mundane duties.

Just when I think, "This job really sucks!" and I'm about to move by myself to a tropical paradise, Kitty says she loves me and shows me her "llama face."

And my heart is refilled with joy.

Tropical paradise ain't got nothin' on motherhood.

Calling card

Kitty was here.

Happy New Year!

I had a hard time believing we were ringing in 2020 on New Year's Eve.  If it's indeed 2020, then I ain't a spring chicken anymore.  

Let's not dwell on that.

Let's dwell on the fact that Kitty made me stay up until midnight. Midnight!  I thought I was really clever and had the Times Square celebration up on the TV.  We started counting down just before 12:00 EST and I was feeling sneaky that it was only 9:00 at our house, but Kitty wouldn't know.  The countdown began, "Ten, nine, eight," when Kitty indignantly interjected, "Why are we counting down when it's only 9:00?!" 

Dang.  She knew what time it was.  Why is my 7-year-old keeping track of the time?

So there we were, a Kitty and her old fogy parents, staying up until 12:00 PST.  We rushed outside at the stroke of midnight to explode our dollar store poppers.  Someone nearby was shooting off enormous fireworks that illuminated the dark sky, and we all shouted a merry, "Happy New Year!" 

Precisely 10 seconds later I shouted, "Yea! It's time for bed!"

But it was a nice celebration.  My sister was with us so we ate loads of delicious food and watched the tube.  She didn't stay up until midnight though - she was a really old fogy and retired after the first countdown.  Some people.

I must admit that I enjoyed the celebration even though it was late for my old bones.  Hey! Let's do it again next year.

Happy 2020!

Hardy Party

Have you ever planned a surprise birthday party for your dad with your 8 opinionated and bossy siblings?  

It's a feat.

So many opinions! Add to that the 9 fat mouths that have to keep a secret for months without blabbering and all the organizing involved, and you've got yourself a big task.

It's a feat.

But we did it.  We managed to plan and execute an epic birthday party for a truly remarkable Dad.  We stayed overnight at a cabin on the snowy plains of Idaho, way beyond civilization.  Our arrival was reminiscent of a traveling circus.  Noisy freaks everywhere!  (I'm one of the bearded ladies in our circus.)

 

But what a wonderful party we had!  We made lots of noise, stayed up late talking, went sledding, ate carnitas tacos and marzipan cake, kept the fire roaring, watched a tribute video we had made, had our annual gingerbread house contest (which I didn't win), and soaked in the chaos of our traveling circus.  It was a perfect gathering and the perfect way to celebrate my dad.

In addition to the surprise party, my mom ordered a new TV and surround sound for his surprise gift.  Mykey, my brother and my nephew successfully got everything installed before we left for the cabin.  So many surprises!

Everything went smoothly and we patted ourselves on the backs for successfully planning a surprise party with so many bosses.

And then it was time to go home.  We packed our car full of the wonderful gifts and trinkets acquired during our travels, then hit the road early in the morning for the long journey home.  We stopped at the gas station in Pendleton for our traditional picture with Sasquatch, where Kitty threw a fit and refused to stand for a photo.  I may have had to threaten to take away her candy if she didn't comply.  Maybe.  Look at her face and decide for yourself.

Oh, how I love going home to Idaho.  It was especially sweet to have all of my siblings together.  I sure love those circus freaks.  

Happy epic birthday to my dad!   

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!

It's nearly March so it seems like the perfect time to talk about Christmas.

I love Christmas time.  I love the lights, the feeling in the air, the celebrations - I love it all.  I especially love going to Idaho to see the fam.  I start getting excited as soon as Thanksgiving is over.

This year was no exception.  I felt like I was the kid waiting for Santa.

Finally, the day arrived to journey to Idaho.  The plan was to attend Myke's company Christmas party, then hit the open road.  The plan did NOT include Kitty complaining that she didn't feel good the moment we arrived at the bowling alley to enjoy the Christmas party.

And yet, that's precisely what happened.

It was the second time Kitty was sick at the company Christmas party.  The idea of spending the evening with a bunch of computer nerds obviously turns her stomach.

We stumbled through the party, some of us ate pizza, and earned a few tickets in the arcade, then we hit the open road.

The open road was full of traffic.

We crept along among the taillights and filled our souls with chocolate covered cinnamon bears.  Then we stopped for hamburgers.  What?  Traffic makes me hungry.

Kitty didn't feel good so she got a milkshake.

We rolled into Ontario - Oregon, not Canada - at an obscene hour and Kitty lurched into full-on meltdown mode.  I just love traveling long distances with a sick child.  It's so fulfilling.

We met my parents in the lobby of the hotel the following morning.  They were headed home from my dad's continuing education conference in Portland so we caravanned with them for the rest of the long journey.  My gracious sister let us stay at her house this year.  It was wonderful to be with her family and Tobias the dog.  Too bad for them we brought disease with us.  Poor Kitty was sick for the majority of the trip.  It was so sad.

We still managed to have a good time.  I made pierogi with my brother.

My sissy taught Mykey how to paint his nerd toys.

There was snow!

We made cookies for Santa.

And made a list for Santa.

The best part?  Santa actually found us!

My nerds straightaway got to work programming Kitty's new watch.

It was a marvelous day!

And what did I do?
Well...I sat around and made creepy faces for the camera.

Merry Christmas!

(Maybe before March actually arrives, I'll tell you about my dad's epic birthday party.)

Maybe.  I'll see if I can squeeze it in somewhere between making creepy faces and eating - I'm very busy.

Fanksgiving

I'm mostly keeping this blog to record my life for posterity.  Unfortunately for my posterity, I'm terrible at keeping up to date.

They really should've given it more thought before they decided to become my posterity.

But I digress.  Let me tell you about a time when my family and my friend's family came together to be thankful.  Posterity; this is called Thanksgiving.

We ate lots of food.

We played lots of games and assembled a puzzle with kitties on it.  (Thank you, Grandma Lisa!) Kitty even played a Thanksgiving hymn on the piano before dinner.

We were thankful to be together.

I tasked Mykey with being the photographer.  He thought I said, "Take every opportunity you can to photograph me shoving food into my face."  He excelled at that task - probably because I never stopped shoving food into my face.

I ate so much that my stomach was painfully distended by evening.  It was a good day.

And that, Posterity, is what Thanksgiving is all about - bloat and gas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fancy

Kitty certainly can't go to piano lessons looking like a slob.

She leaves that task to her mother.