Black Clouds and a Rainy Day.

Waking up to the dreary rain and dark sky seems some what fitting today. I try to keep these posts upbeat and light, but some days are just dark. I am not looking for sympathy, just saying it like it is...I learned that from the Wild Ones. Last night I heard the padding of little feet in the hallway and as soon as the Wee Wild One made it around the corner I knew it was going to be a rough night. I knew that hang of his head and that look in his eyes...I knew what was coming. What I didn't know was how it would drop me to my knees. He was missing his brother and wanted to know how we could get him back. He said he knew we couldn't really get him back, but could we get another child and name him Oliver? He thought adoption would be a good idea. Then he proceeded to talk about the accident and how he wished it hadn't happened (I won't repeat his words, but he told it like it was). He was afraid to go to sleep because he thought someone else would die. We cried, snuggled and talked about life. He finally fell asleep...if not happy, at least content with our love and strength. All this came on the eve of a phone call I am dreading...the one from my mom that will end with the word "benign" or "malignant".

Happy Trails.

One long car ride...a day early...out running the tornadoes, floods and ice storms. We came home to sunshine, but our tanned toes got quite the shock when we stepped outside...we seemed to have forgotten any shoes with substance and the straps across our flip flops did little to protect from the 30 degree gusting winds. Today we are back in our winter coats...and shoes which require socks. Jumping into our routines...school buses, work and volunteering...and catching up on pages of backlogged computer messages (thank God I unplugged the phone while we were gone...I figured those that desperately needed us would some how track us down...I guess that is why my pages are bursting at the seams!). Perhaps by the end of the week I will have dug out from under the piles of laundry and accumulated stuff from the trip long enough to download some pictures and conjure up stories from the beach. Until then, I need to go find my fuzzy slippers.

Our vacation has become official.

Just not a family vacation without a trip to the emergency room. Several hours, several dollars and a few tears...back on track and ready to party. Now the fun begins.

Made it in 5 pieces.

We arrived safely and in pretty good spirits. Perhaps a little loopy from lack of sleep and stiff from the long ride, but thrilled to see my Grands looking better than when I left them in December. While the kids ran for the pool, the Big Guy went looking for the only spot he could connect to the "real world". This of course was after his late night adventure. My Grands asked him to run to the store to get two bags of oranges so that Great (J. Harley) and George Harley could make us fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast...a tradition started by the Harleys years ago. I was exhausted and headed for bed leaving the Big Guy to navigate the streets of PCB. I woke with a start at 12:45 am to find the other half of the bed empty. I jumped up, threw on some clothes and tried to get my bearings. I heard something that I couldn't quite figure out...it was someone calling my name from outside, under the porch. Evidently my Grands did not realize that the Big Guy had left to get their oranges...and locked him out. He tried to climb the back porch, scale the front of the house and when that didn't work he went to sleep in the car. He woke at 12:45 am with the thought that he had left the sliding door open on the porch...hence my name being called from outside my window. I finally figured out that it was him and let him in through the front door. When we finally got back in bed I couldn't sleep...what are the chances that we both woke at 12:45 looking for each other? Blind luck...or something else??

No, I'm not in jail.

Contrary to popular belief, I did not wind up in jail this weekend, but if I did it would have been a heck of a party with all my crazy girlfriends sitting beside me! I left for three days and the price I pay is the backlog of EVERYTHING that needs to get done now that I am back. I have to give the Big Guy credit...he got everyone to and from all of their activities, they look like they were well cared for, they all had tons of fun, the house was not destroyed when I got home and they even had dinner ready and waiting for me Sunday night. The biggest problem was in MY planning. 1. Tackle large project for the Big Guy 2. Schedule weekend with girlfriends 3. Plan trip for spring break (and all the warm weather things that go with that, which we in MN have not thought about...and out grown...in the last 6 months) all within 9 days. I thought I was brighter than that. Oh well, on the positive side...I don't have much time to worry about everything that still needs to be done. And on that note...Disgruntled Princess may be intermittent for the next two weeks while I attend to my children, the Big Guy, my MIL, my Grands and my bronze glow...not necessarily in that order!