Best Life

 Yup, Maddie continues to think she is a lap dog.  Paul is unwilling to disabuse her of that idea, Today is a Sunday.  The weather - perfect.  Mostly sunny with a high of 83.  After the past few days of chaos and uncertainty, today was going to be low key.  Paul and Scott had plans to assemble the new pergola for Megan and TJ.                           With the new pergola and two sails, there is plenty of shade in the pool area now! Meanwhile TJ and Rebecca began the arduous task of assembling the new pool furniture. Both Lego lovers, furniture assembly should be easy.  Nope.  Frustrating and tedious but they finished! And I decided to tackle the tedious task of sanding the picnic table.  With the belt sander I managed completing about half of the table with frequent breaks.  Total time invested - maybe 90 minutes. And then Scott remembered he had an electri...

 What a day.  What started out as a really long night that never ended turned into a day that had an exhausting number of ups and downs.  I finally found a perk from having worked as a nursing supervisor at Women and Infants Hospital.  Knowing Melissa in the ER shortened our time in the waiting room (more than 25 patients were waiting up to 9 hours!), bumped us to the front of the line for an ultrasound (only one tech for at least 8 scans booked!) and even a fresh cup of Dunkin coffee at 3am.  The ultrasound tech allowed me to be present and even printed a couple quick pics for us.  Yes we waited an obscene amount of time for each test and the results but it could have been so much longer.   The transfer to RI Hospital sounded promising that Megan's infected appendix would be out lickedy split.  Nope.  As we were being transferred, we heard the helicopter landing.  A gunshot wound to the abdomen bumped her down the list.  But t...

 Yesterday Brianna presented herself to us dressed for the day.  Yes, this is what she wore to Walmart (X2 since the first did not have what I was looking for), the auto salvage yard, Kevin's and Goodwill.  She completed the outfit with a woolen winter coat (vetoed!) and then a thickly knitted poncho.  I let her win that battle. This young one wandered around the barn looking for its mother.  She was no where in sight. And this little thing caused untold grief kicking her mom's swollen appendix!   All badly behaving young girls that are lucky they are too cute!

 I had a great morning with Brianna.  While Paul completed a few chores for Kevin, Brianna and I flew through our chores.  If we managed to finish before Paul showed up - an adventure was waiting!  We cleaned half her closet, hung out two batches of laundry, swept the patio, washed the back stairs, watered the flowers and veggies, walked the dogs, completed four worksheets, read two chapters, picked up toys and shoes and ate breakfast.  Whew! The Blackstone Valley Bike Path was our destination.  We walked while she rode.  Bridges, water and flat pavement - she did great.  Next time though, Paul and I will have our bikes.  She rides really fast!                                                       Megan and Kevin on same path 2001 And then she had to help Grandpa Paul pull the camper o...

 Word of the day - uitwaaien (Dutch).  Meaning to step into the wind and let it carry your thoughts away.  A gentle act of clearing the mind, where the air feels fresh and everything inside you softens.  After our chores this morning, Brianna and I spent time sitting by the pool.  (I was warming up and she was drying so she apply the forgotten sunscreen!)  While lounging with our eyes closed we listed all the sounds we could hear.  All beautiful things - the wind, the birds, a distant dog barking and the water falling down the slide.  A Moment! She taught me another new card game - Goat Your Boat.  A matching card game with pictures of goats in watercraft that requires quick wits.  The hours fly by with her constant antics and singing and laughing.  She still tests us with boundaries -"I can ride my bike after two chores" (she has 5) and "I can apply my own sunscreen" and my favorite "Mommy lets me".  But she also knows we do n...

 Word of the day - eutaxy.  Meaning good order, proper arrangement or harmonious organization. Today we had the privilege/enjoyment/challenge of "watching" Brianna.  With rain and cool temperatures, most of the day was spent indoors.  The challenge - to have Brianna sort through her clothes for like/don't like, fit/don't fit and label all drawers for easier choosing/locating clothes. Alternating sorting with play made the task go quicker and much easier than I would have predicted. We learned how to play the pet version of Sorry.  This game includes piles of poop that are to be avoided or risk returning to start.  There are also Oops cards that include every type of bad pet behavior imaginable.  Brianna kicked our butts easily.    A card game Moose, Match, Mayhem we learned during a subsequent break.  A matching game with quick hand movements and a keen eye - Brianna won easily.   We both accomplished our tasks and enjoyed...