Spring, Dat You?

(3/1) What a beautiful day! We were supposed to drive C's new old car up to Nanan's, but it died after a couple of minutes of idling and I just didn't want to spend the day getting stuck somewhere and dealing with a tow. Instead I opted to do some yard work and cleaned up the front flower beds and brought out the mason bees. One had just emerged, so it was time!

(3/2) Today wasn't quite as nice, but it was still perfect for pruning the roses and tidying up the other beds in the front yard. I listened to a book as I gardened and it helped get me out of my head. Highly recommend!

(3/3) I met Sarah for a walk before heading into the office. Love this time of year when it's daylight for our walks. Daylight Savings is this weekend, so I'm enjoying the sunrises while I can before we're back in the dark again.

(3/4) I worked in the building again today, the boys had school, and Dad was off. Dad went shopping and was inspired to make a fancy dinner tonight. We had shrimp alfredo and steamer clams. Delish!

(3/5) The boys had school and Dad and I were off for the day. I ran up to Nanan's to drop off some groceries and help her out in the morning. Since it was such a gorgeous day, Dad broke out the smoker and smoked some cheeses and the pups enjoyed doing squirrel patrol. D had another bloody nose and the school called both of us to come get him. We got this one stopped much quicker than the others and D was able to come on the WinCo run with us.

(3/6) I worked from home, Dad worked at work, and the boys had school today. I cleaned J's room in fits and spurts today and found all the missing plates and glasses. Oh my goodness, kid! I made them eat dinner downstairs with me (the horrors!) and J said he really enjoyed it. Who would've thought, lol.

(3/7) I worked from home today, Dad worked at work, and the boys had school. I think I did 32 loads of laundry and have since gone through everything. Somebody won't stop growing and it's been a challenge to keep up with weeding out the high-waters.

(3/8) The pups and I had a lazy morning. I wandered outside to do more weeding and stumbled upon a lecture by Heather Cox Richardson, which made yardwork much more entertaining!

(3/9) I ran a bunch of errands today and brought home more dirt and mulch to finish working in the yard. The daffodils are blooming and spring is on its way!

(3/10) YAWN! The first Monday after Daylight Savings is always so brutal. We opted to skip our now extra early morning walk and I headed into the building to drink all their coffee.

(3/11) I worked in the office again today. D got another bloody nose so I left early because they're usually so hard to contain. I arrived right as school ended for the day and thankfully this one had stopped on its own. I drove us all home and finished out my day virtually.

(3/12) Dad and I were off today and the boys had school. Dad ran Noodle in for his yearly and got him on the schedule for a dental next week. I went up to collect Nanan to run her in for labs before her appointment next week. I also did a grocery run for her and set her up for the next week or so. The boys and I WinCo'd when I got home and then Dad and I caught up on our shows.

(3/13) I worked from home today, Dad worked at work, and the boys had school. After a rough morning I wasn't surprised to get a call from the school. One of the boys is having a rough go of things.

(3/14) Today was hard. I got the call mid-morning that our kiddo needed to be picked up. It was a long and very emotional day ending with leaving our kiddo in the very capable hands of the hospital. Info kept vague for privacy.

(3/15) I headed out first thing this morning to visit. He didn't sleep well last night so I read to him for a while and he took a nap. I met with a doctor and left for a while for lunch and then went back to spend a little more time. My sweet boss left some meals for us and my folks had St Paddy's flowers delivered. We're feeling the love here!

(3/16) I went down to visit this morning and hung out until I met with a doctor. I left around lunchtime and hit the nursery on the way home to pick up some sweet pea starts. I sat down after getting home and passed out for a few hours. Dad was able to visit our guy on the way home. He's ready to come home and we miss him so much.

(3/17) Happy St Paddy's Day! I left some treats for the boys. Dad and I were off today and went down to visit our boy and met with his team this morning. We have a game plan and are letting them do their thing. Dad and I went for lunch and had lobster rolls for lunch. Delish! We came home and bummed around for the afternoon.

(3/18) After the kids went off to school, I spent the morning working out in the yard. I got most of the things I bought planted and decided to quit when I ran out of dirt. We drove down to the hospital to visit this evening and he's doing so much better!

(3/19) We had all the things going on today. First up was a vet appointment for the Noodley to get a dental. I ran up to collect Nanan for a doctor's appointment in the morning. I got home in time for another doctor's appointment for one of the boys, and then we went down to the hospital to visit. We shared lots of laughs and things are looking at a discharge soon!

(3/20) Dad woke up not feeling so hot so called out for the day. We didn't have much on the schedule today. I had a meeting with the school and then we went down to visit our boy. He's so excited to come home tomorrow!

(3/21) I met with the team and brought our guy home today! He is feeling so much better and we're thrilled to have him home. I have a bunch of appointments to make but we're all feeling optimistic about the plan.

(3/22) We had a chill day at home. I made orange rolls for the fam, bummed around the house, and caught up on some chores. The boys and I walked to WinCo and got some fresh air and snax, and I did some weeding out in the sunshine this afternoon.

(3/23) Today wasn't nearly as nice out as yesterday so we hunkered down inside and did our own things. I tried to read but my attention span has been crap lately so I gave up and took a nap instead. Apparently I needed it!

(3/24) I worked in the office today. Dad ran errands with one kiddo and the others had school.

(3/25) I worked in the building again today and it was a busy day jam-packed with meetings. There was a snafu with the blood mobile out front so I rescheduled for this afternoon and was in and out with my cookie in under twenty minutes. I drove home and finished out my day book-ended by Chihuahuas.

(3/26) Dad and I were off today, and did exciting adult activities like getting new tires and going to the dentist. Our guy started back to school today and it seemed to go well.

(3/27) We all had work and school today. I worked from home and Dad worked at work.

(3/28) Dad and I had to work today and the kiddos had school. I took off a few hours off to run Nanan to an appointment. It took much longer than anticipated, but I was able to log back on for the last hour of the day.

(3/29) I got to sleep in a tiny bit before our foster borker alerted us that our kids were awake. Sigh. Sarah and I went out for a coffee walk. Dad left for work and the boys and I had a chill, stay-home day.

(3/30) The boys and I had a lovely day. We went out to Howarth beach and C started walking when we got there. He texted me a couple of hours later from the ferry terminal (in a whole other city!). We went and grabbed him and then I took some hangry boys to lunch.

(3/31) I worked in the office today and Dad wrangled the boys. We had pizza Monday on account of a busy Tuesday coming up.

Puppy Bowl

(2/1) Rabbit, rabbit! We got a little bit of snow over night. Just enough to be pretty but not to interfere with anything. I gave our foster mop a bath this afternoon. She was so well behaved but was annoyed that I didn't want her to cuddle with me while she was drying.

(2/2) Well, it's Groundhog's Day again, and the rodent predicts six more weeks of winter. Sarah and I went for coffee walk and enjoyed walking in the snow. I got home and was trying to warm up when I got a call that C's new old car had broken down. We tried to jump it, but it refused to turn over. He had to leave for work and Dad was already at work, so we ended up leaving it and will have to deal with it tomorrow.

(2/3) Yay, snow! I worked from home today and the boys had a two hour late start and got to sleep in. Dad & C swapped out the battery on his car, fired it up, and got it home! So glad we didn't have to tow it.

(2/4) I normally work in the office on Tuesdays but woke up not feeling so hot and decided to work from home. The boys had another two-hour delay due to the weather.

(2/5) Dad and I were off today and first we got the two hours late call which later was revised to closed. Since I didn't have to run up to Nanan's, I joined Sarah and her son at the Indivisible protest at our Senators' offices to call on them to do all they can to freeze the Senate. It started snowing in earnest on our way home and we squeaked in the WinCo run before the roads got bad.

(2/6) We got about 3" of snow overnight and schools were closed today. Gone are the days of the boys getting up at the crack of dawn and racing to the sledding hill. Now that they're teenagers, they all slept in. I worked from home today and even Dad was home, having called out sick today.

(2/7) Brrr! It was 23℉ this morning when I got up. The boys get out 75 minutes early on Fridays and they were two hours late today. They moaned and groaned about how class could've been an email and what was the point, but I still made them go.

(2/8) The forecast said no snow today which meant that I got to keep my wheels and could go up to the My Furry Valentine Party at Skookum Brewery with Marlow. Marlow wasn't super keen on meeting new pooches, but she was good with hanging on my lap while I visited with friends. I also picked up some new swag.

(2/9) Nobody in our house cares for football, but we do have a big fan of the Puppy Bowl! River absolutely loved it this year.

(2/10) I worked in the building today and Dad had the day off.

(2/11) I worked in the building again. D saved the day when Dad's alarm hadn't gone off and got everyone up and out the door on time.

(2/12) Dad and I had the day off together. He ran errands this morning and brought me home six roses, a flat of primroses, and an apple tree. I'm so ready for spring to come! They're all tucked up in the garage until we're through this cold snap. I did the WinCo shop for the boys and left them their goodies and went up to take Nanan to PT.

(2/13) I worked from home today, Dad worked at work, and the boys had school. J had an orthodontist appointment and we stopped for some treats for tomorrow on the way home.

(2/14) Happy Valentine's Day! I worked a half day from home and then went to Nanan's to attempt to get the insurance check sorted. Unfortunately we'll have to try again on Tuesday because we were missing paperwork. I took her to PT and shopping afterwards and then came home to hungry boys requesting a trip to the grocery store. It was a long day of running around!

(2/15) I slept in a little this morning and then took our foster girl up to meet a potential adopter. It was a match and we said happy tails to Marlow! I spent the afternoon listening to a book and doing exciting things like shampooing the carpets.

(2/16) It is River's second gotcha day so there were cookies for everyone! I attended a packed Indivisible meeting this afternoon. It's reassuring to be with this crowd in this moment we're having as a country.

(2/17) The boys are off on mid-winter break today and tomorrow. We had dinner with my brother and his family. We played Horrible Therapist and shared lots of much-needed laughs.

(2/18) What a day! I worked from home this morning. Something happened to Noodle and he was acting very painful so Dad made him a vet appointment. He got some painkillers and hopefully will be back to his jumping bean self soon. I went up to Nanan's to repeat the trek from Friday to the bank and got her insurance check sorted. We grabbed lunch and then headed to her PT appointment but she got very sick on the way. I took her home and while she rested, I cleaned up the water that had poured all over her laundry room and room below from when she did laundry the night before... thankfully (?) this was not in the area they've been working on. The drain hose from her washer had gotten bumped so other than the clean-up, there wasn't a bigger problem to fix. I also noticed that there was a screw-up with her medications which explained why she was feeling so ill. Lots of phone calls and long story short, she'll be okay, but will probably feel yucky for a bit. After I had finally gotten home, D got one of his monster nose bleeds that take forever to stop. We tried all our tricks and nothing helped. Just as I was ready to take him in, it finally stopped and we were able to get him cleaned up and tucked into bed.

(2/19) Dad & I were off today and the boys headed back to school. D was so completely exhausted that I went and grabbed some juice and cookies to get his blood sugar up and had him eat breakfast before running him to school a little late. He took it easy today and seemed to be feeling better by the time he got home. We skipped our regular WinCo trip and had sushi this evening instead.

(2/20) I worked from home today, Dad worked at work, and the boys had school. The boys convinced me to go on a mini-WinCo run after dinner tonight. Gotta have those snax.

(2/21) TGIF! The boys had school and Dad & I worked today. I may have taken my lunch break to catch up on a few Z's ~ perks of working from home!

(2/22) We've been tossing around the idea of taking out our raspberries because they didn't  produce anything last year. I dug them out and listed them on Buy Nothing. It had just started to rain when I finished so I decided it was a good time to stop and went out to run some errands.

(2/23) I puttered around this morning and listened to my podcasts. Since it wasn't raining, I finished amending the beds and planted our roses and apple tree. It was a good thing too, because the roses all had new growth and they were very ready to go in the ground! I found a taker for our raspberries and was thrilled to send them along to someone in the neighborhood! J wanted to cook tonight so I taught him how to make bourbon bacon noodles, which is a family fave.

(2/24) I worked in the building today, the boys had school, and Dad had the day off. He went and picked up a new foster doggo, who seems to be a sweetie. He jumped right up on my lap after a two-second introduction.

(2/25) I worked in the office again today and had all the meetings. I sure am glad I have tomorrow off because I was running on fumes today.

(2/26) Dad and I had the day off and the boys had school today I ran up north to take care of some things at Nanan's and picked up lunch on the way home. I was even home in time to meet the boys when they got home from school, but only C joined me in the WinCo run today.

(2/27) I worked from home today, the boys had school, and Dad had an evening shift. J has been in to cooking lately and tonight he chose fajitas. It's fun cooking with such a goofball!

(2/28) We all had work and school today. I caught the below beautiful sunrise on our walk this morning! I'm trying to enjoy false spring as much as I can before second winter!