Income is a Good Thing!

Totally wish that I could say Rick had his old job back, but not so much.  Still, I'm very, VERY happy that Rick got a job delivering pizzas.  The last of the money we've been receiving from vacation pay comes in this Friday and then nothing until we get word  about him returning to work, so this was a much needed blessing!  So remember to tip big when you see Ricky coming to your door with your order!!

Everyone Look Out!

It's kind of been a long month.  Rick has been furloughed since about Christmas time which means that while he technically still has a job, he doesn't need to go to and he won't get paid for it.  We both started school and today in class my teacher actually used the phrase "Shit's gonna hit the fan" when referring to our list of tasks that need completing this semester.  Back to the job thing...no job means no income.  Luckily our church is helping a lot and Rick had some vacation saved up, but trust me, it doesn't go far.

Why am I telling the blogging world this?  Who knows.  I hate when people say, "This is my journal so I'm gonna say what I want."  I guess I figure this is my reality, so why hide it?  On the plus side, in the five weeks that Rick has been at home we've only had one little fight and I wouldn't even call it that...more like an ignoring session. 

So to sum up, Rick has no job, two semesters of anatomy at once is going to fry my brain, church food is good - except when they only send us one thing of cheese instead of the two we requested, and I like Rick...mostly.

Squamous, Cuboidal...What's the Difference?

Do you know what this is?  I do.  It's simple squamous epithelium.  Are you impressed?  Me too, because seriously, I thought last semester I was crazy for going back to school, but this semester takes the cake.  I am trying to get into nursing school in the fall, but the only way to do that is to have both Bio 201 and 202 (Anatomy and Physiology) done by the end of the spring.  And how do you do that seeing as each class is a semester long and you need 201 before you can take 202?  Well, I'll tell you.  In a brief moment of hysteria you sign up to take each 16 week course in eight weeks and hope for the best.  AGH!  I have two, yes TWO, tests next week, just two weeks into the semester - a lab test where I need to identify way too many tissues and a test on Chapters 1-4.  Good thing Rick is on furlough so he can hang with Tatiana and Aren while I move into the library.

Seven Years

It's been seven years since Lily died.  Seven years.  That's a long time.  I did a paper for my developmental psychology class this semester on the gender differences in the grieving process of parents who have lost a child and it was painful to do.  Studies have been done that suggest even five years after the passing of a child, parents still think of them on a daily basis.  I should have been in that study.

I think about Lily as I drive down the street and see the park where she played.  I think about Lily when we go to Target and Tatiana begs to look at the shoes just one more time.  I think about Lily when I go to church and see a little girl wearing the same Christmas dress I bought for her just a month before she died.  I think about Lily every time I wake up and see her picture hanging on the wall, constantly taunting me because it will never change.  I think about her every time I come to the intersection of Foothills and Hwy 92 and see Hatfield's - the mortuary where we picked out her casket.  The director suggested a cradle, but I refused.  Lily insisted on a bed instead of a crib the last time she was in the hospital because she told me that she was a big girl.

I think about Lily when I hear people talking of forever families and in my heart I listen for that small voice to whisper that it's true.  That she is mine forever and I will see her again.

Halloween!

I can't be a mommy blogger without having pictures of kids in their Halloween costumes...pretty sure it's a rule somewhere, so here you are.  My amazing children that are totally cuter than yours and can do no wrong.  Well, here are my cuter than your kids anyway.

Tatiana Ballerina - apparently she also needed a sword to complete the outfit.  Fine.

Aren was Link from Zelda.  I made this stupid costume because online stores wanted like $70!  Um, no.

Fruits of their labors.  I appreciate all their hard work :)

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Ok, I'm a sap.  Tears are pouring down my cheeks as I write this post.  This week my mom and Bill are signing papers and officially selling the house on Shaw Avenue.  This is no ordinary house.  This is the house my family lived in for almost 35 years.  This is the house where we rode mattresses down the stairs, jumped on the trampoline, played "adventure" in the backyard.  This is the house where wedding open houses took place, grandchildren came to live, where cars literally blew up in the driveway.  This is the house where friends snuck into the basement while parents slept upstairs, where when Emma was a little kid and told everyone that mom said she was pretty after putting on lipstick and Don told her she was still ugly and she collapsed on the ground in tears.  This is the house that has been toilet papered so many times neighbors could only imagine the type of family that lived there.

Deer on Shaw Avenue

Fall on Shaw Avenue

Christmas on Shaw Avenue

New Year's Puzzles on Shaw Avenue

Spring on Shaw Avenue

Winter on Shaw Avenue

I love Maryland.  I love everything about it, and having mom and Bill leave to move out west is so exciting and painful at the same time.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to live there, to grow there.  I will miss it and even though my bedroom belongs to someone else, I will always call 218 Shaw Avenue home.

A Conversation With Tatiana

Me: Sweetie, I am so tired of you not obeying!  You need to obey.
Tatiana: I don't like to obey.
Me: Do you even know what obey means?
Tatiana: No.
Me: It means you need to listen to mommy and do what she tells you to do.
Tatiana: Hmmm.  I think I need some lessons in that.