Birthday report and other stuff, too.

The Girl had a great birthday. We started by sleeping in till 10 am, glorious! Then we drove to the Seattle Center, had a snack in the center house, and then it was off to the Science Center. We got to see a live boa constrictor, play with the water features, and most heavenly, spend an hour in the butterfly house, which was lovely. We always learn something new about the butterflies. This time we learned the to tell the difference between the Blue Morpho and the Giant Owl butterflies by their eyespots.

After a fun trip through the store, where the Girl picked out a couple of little things (and the Boy didn't ask for a single thing!), we headed back to our neck of the woods. We stopped at the fabric store where the Girl picked out a miniature quilt kit called Little Women, with repro fabrics, and a simple nine-patch block.

While we girls were in the fabric store, the boys ran over to the grocery, and picked up a healthy cake mix, that we will make some time this week.

Then to her fave Mexican restaurant, where after dinner, they brought her fried ice cream (which she couldn't eat, but graciously accepted, then gave to her brother and Papa as soon as the waitress left.), and a cute sombrero with a poleroid picture of her and her brother. She really loved this!

We made a stop at Fred Meyer's so we could get Papa some new slacks and a shirt for his interview, and then finally home. By the time we got home, I was pooped out and crawled into bed, while the three of them watched a DVD we picked up at the SC, about deep space.

In other news, I am trying to be an advocate for my son who wants to go to the local public high school at the beginning of the semester (Early Feb), but he hasn't been integrity with his school for a while and is now behind. So I am researching GLE's (newfangled term for standards), trying to check out textbooks from the school for him to use, and trying to enroll the school counselors and officials in supporting him so he will be able to start in tenth grade in the fall. I still need to do some scheduling and planning for him, but that will wait for any new books he gets. In the meantime, he is using what we have.

He and I have a long road ahead of us this spring and summer in order to get him where he wants/needs to be. He is finally seeing that I haven't been out to get him, and I am not mean by having him do school. He sees that if he had just done what I expected of him, he would have been able to jump in mid-year and done just fine- that it was his choices that have him in this situation now. That in itself will make this torturous process I am involved in right now worth it.

My back went out after I spent all that time in the dentist's chair, so I am back to Massage Therapy 2X a week for another month at least. Sigh. I was doing so well, and was going to be done in January, but not now. I am doing my best to roll with it.

We are having a sisters meeting tonight at my mom's. Trying to enroll my mom and sisters in the idea of me being the primary caregiver for mom in the future, and that taking some equity out of her house now, and building a mother-in-law in our back yard, while clearing out her house and getting it ready to sell is a good idea to consider soon. Wish me luck on this one, sigh.

Papa Dude has his interview tonight- he is being sought out by the company that makes the machines he works on to become a field engineer. He would travel a great deal, but not long distances, repairing and maintaining the cytometers that he works on now. It would mean a great deal more money a year than the University is willing or able to pay him now. Think good thoughts for him- he really wants this, and I want it for him. It means more single parenting for me than I am used to, but better now than when they were little babies.

My studio is in a holding pattern- what with my sore mouth, and backaches, and birthdays, I haven't even been down there lately. I am so itching to be creating, as I have several ideas floating in my head right now, but it is just going to wait.

Well, we just finished our Classical Writing for today, and there is a mountain of laundry to fold, the dishes need to be done, and I am supposed to be napping right now, so this will be all for now. We still have food bank deliveries this afternoon before we go to Grandma's.
LB