I'm Always at a Week...

In between posts...
Let's see...
The rest of last week was normal - chaos. Working quite a bit of ot, editing, kid stuff...
The weekend - well... That Man's mom went into the hospital Friday. Severe bladder infection that affected her kidneys and blood. She's still there. Her pain level was through the roof all weekend. She couldn't move, eat, or most of the time even talk coherently and she couldn't stand to be touched. We were beyond worried. That Man's sister was out of town, so it was just us to handle it all.
She was finally able to sit up today, which is a relief, but she has a long road of strengthening ahead of her. This infection has really kicked the crap out of her. And still is - she has several more days in the hospital with antibiotics and physical therapy before they move her to rehab. But her being able to sit up is like prize winning!
I will tell you that going to that hospital to see her is really really hard. It brings back a lot of memories I don't want to relive. I'm doing what I have to do, and coping the best I can. Because what else am I going to do?
What else...
Elsa has gone into her "doggy cycle". No, she's not fixed yet. She was supposed to be by now, but when the kitty boys started peeing on everything, they had to go first. (Thankfully, fixing them stopped all of that - as we'd hoped) But this dog... OY... all she does is drip.. Yeah, you didn't need to know that. But it's gross and she's confused as to why she can't be on the couch or sleep in K4's bed right now. Poor thing. I feel bad for her and I do not want to go through this again. Yikes.
This weekend is Easter. We have predictably fun plans with family. It's also my writing meeting on Saturday, which is always good.
I'm afraid to guess what else will go on this weekend.
The other thing...The book I've been working on has to be trashed. It has to be completely rewritten, which breaks my heart and soul, but I can't send crap out there. I know it's the right thing to do, but it kills me. So I'm in the middle of a creative thinking process - thinking up new titles for my summer release and waiting for edits on that, and getting my head on straight, thinking...
Today was my one year anniversary at the day job. We had snacks. I won't get my review until next week, because the bigwigs are out this week. I still love my job a lot. It breaks me most days, but I think most people face that.
And I'm still trying to make it all work - fit everything in - feel like I'm being a good mom, good wife, parenting enough, grandparenting enough, writing enough, being a good daughter and sibling, cleaning enough, sleeping enough, eating right and exercising enough, I don't think I'm alone, but it's still daunting...
Cloning machine? I could use one!
Ha!
Behave!

Yikes! A Week!

Things are crazy here!
What did you miss this past week?
Visiting the new grand! Hanging with Baby B!
Insane work schedules! I can't even tell you how insane! Working OT and trying to make it all fit!
Getting scratched in the face by one of the kitty boys. Jerk.
Writing - trying...I'm editing/rewriting. Brutal because there's not a lot of time, but really good when I do get a few!
Crazy kids with their schedules and needs! It never ends. I have half at home and it's still as busy! Or more? And one of them can drive! How nuts is that?
A night out with That Man, K1, J, my sister and bro-in-law, my bro, and some friends. We got to hear our friend play, met some new friends, celebrated J's birthday, and had a blast!
Spaghetti dinner for Boy Scouts. We're no longer as involved as we once were. K3 has aged out, but we will always help with the dinner. It was crazy! We were so insanely busy! That Man and my bro went in around 4am to cook sauce. We didn't get home until almost 10. Like I said, crazy!
Tip O' the iceberg! There is a lot of stuff I can't even begin to list! But what are you going to do? It's life and most of it is fantastic!
Behave!

Throwback St. Patty's Day....

This was our Kitty Boy in 2008...We still miss him a lot. He was a really good cat! Even though he hated St. Patty's Day!
I can't explain the current cats... Ones a jerk, and one isn't. And then they switch...Vidar wants to ride on everyone's shoulder. Charles just hates everyone. So does Spenser..... But yet... they let us feed them and take care of the litter boxes..And sometimes we get to pet and love them. What kind of crazy is that... I'll tell you... It's mind control! LOL
Well... Happy St. Patty's Day to you!
Behave!

So...

I have a new granddaughter...
I'm not really allowed to tell you that yet, but since no one my daughter and son-in-law know read my blog, I figure I'm good. Besides... when do I ever follow the rules?
She will be called Baby C and she's beautiful and perfect!
I am so proud of these kids! They made an amazing human and are amazing parents! They are so relaxed - way more than I was with my first. But I see shades of That Man and I in how things are getting done.
It's awesome!
Pictures won't be posted, but stories will be. I'm so looking forward to getting to know my new baby girl! She is so precious and beautiful!
That is all!
Behave!

An Embarrassing Story!

Okay! So today was my writing meeting! It was a great meeting! I love hanging out with my writing peeps! 67 days until our retreat!
After the meeting, when it was time to decide where to go for lunch, I suggested a steakhouse... Because I had a gift certificate. Everyone agreed, because it's a great place to eat. We get there, order, and I went big because I wanted to use my entire gift certificate...
(I earned the certificate for having a low error rating at the day job!)
I got cheddar stuffed mushrooms, crab & shrimp soup, and a half of a steak sandwich. It was so, so good!
I asked the waitress if I could cover the tip with my gift card and she said yes! I was so happy! I added an extra buck or two because we had really great service and I left to go home!
I had popped my jaw out of socket during lunch, so I was hurting pretty bad - head and jaw... I came home and laid down to try to get it to go away. When I woke up, I saw I had a voicemail message from a friend... It said "Your gift certificate was for a different steakhouse. I covered your bill..."
ACK!!
How embarrassing! I never even realized! I feel like a moron!
It all worked out okay, but still...
And... by the way... my jaw is still out!
Sometimes, I think, I shouldn't be allowed out of the house...
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

OMG! What a long week! The kids didn't have a full day at all this week. Delay, home early, delay, off, delay... I even had two days of going home early. That Man plowed. It's cold... Yeah...
So... On to the good stuff this week...
1. Friday. Thank Goodness.
2. Writing - Making good progress on my edits.
3. That Man doing the shopping and cooking dinner. Burgers. Yay!
4. Baby time coming soon! We're (im)patiently waiting for baby girl to get here.
5. The weather! Yeah, it sucked to lose time from work, but I love the snow! I also love driving my 'burban in the snow!
6. Writing group meeting tomorrow! Yay!
7. Free movie rentals. We're watching Big Hero 6 for the third time. What a great movie! (Yes, my kids are teenagers and this is an animated movie, but it's so good.)
8. Baby B time! He's so stinking cute!
9. Having an adult beverage after a long week. Just one. Just in case my new baby girl decides to begin her journey.
10. Sleeping in my nice clean bed... I can sleep in just a little tomorrow. I can't wait!
That's all. I have editing to do!!
Behave!

New Kitchen, Snow, Chaos...

 So this is what my mom's new kitchen looks like! Gorgeous! There are still a few things to be done - outlet covers, the appliance garage, shelves in the lower cabinets, an in-cabinet trash & recycle center, new bar stools. We spent the day cleaning the dry wall dust out of the new fridge (long story), cleaning the cupboards out and wiping them down, putting away things in the upper cabinets, cleaning the dust out of the pantry. We got a lot done, but there's still a lot to do. Everything has to be washed due to the dust and we can't find a lot of things. Okay. That's not true. We know where they are, but we can't get to them because there is construction stuff piled in front and on top of it. But we'll get there... And now I have serious kitchen envy! Ha!
***
It snowed and did some freezing rain. School is already delayed for tomorrow. That Man is plowing. Homework is done. Laundry is almost done. The house has been picked up, vacuumed, and dishes are done. K3 is watching videos on the computer and K4 is researching water polo teams because she thinks she might want to play. Elsa is sleeping on the couch and the kitties are running rampant. It's crazy time for them.
I wrote this morning and am heading back to do more now. I don't know how long That Man will be out, but I highly doubt I'll be able to stay up and wait for him.
That is all!
Behave!