Halloween, etc.

Well, the boys started off the week with a bang. They were in the capable hands of my parents on Monday while D and I reported to duty at our respective jobs. Super Nonna took both boys, along with their cousin, to the Railroad Park by herself. Because Super Nonna is afraid of nothing. And of course, they all had a great time!

Papa drawing the train and cattle car for G at home afterward.

G took a ride in the cattle car by himself while Nonna took the little ones. 

Three of the sweetest!

After that, we got on with the business part of the week...but we were sure to squeeze in all the festivities of Halloween! My mom, the real MVP of the week, got to Gavin's school before the parade to help him into his costume. I reported to work for one hour and then zoomed back up north to watch Gavin take a couple laps around the playground before it was back on-duty for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, my mom got the boys from school so we could get a head start on Halloween. I met up with everyone that evening at Jojo's house. It's a tradition we look forward to every year! The boys ate pizza with their cousins, and then it was photos in costumes before trick-or-treating.

Um, his costume may have been a tad on the large side.

He was SO happy to see me during the parade. It made it more than worth it to go see him.

Graham was a bit of a pill in his costume, and he would scream and scowl any time somebody pointed a camera in his direction. He was the cutest little Elmo, but definitely not the most cooperative one. It took a fair amount of work to pull off this day, and all I wanted was a picture with my boys in their costumes. I didn't end up getting a good shot...but it wasn't for lack of trying.

Take one...

Let's try this again...

Not satisfied.

Finally, before we headed home for the night, my mom snapped this one, and I decided to call it good enough.

Gavin had a blast trick-or-treating with his cousins, and he was so proud of himself for filling up his bucket. Once we got out on the street, Graham was happy as can be and kept up with the big kids pretty well!

Cousins pizza party!

Thank goodness Papa was there to do my heavy lifting!

The Elmo to my Cookie Monster was not feeling so photogenic

After about seven or eight houses, this mom was spent. We said farewell to the group and headed back to the car for a curbside bedtime routine. My little lads didn't even fight it. They were spent, too. I was so glad that I had thought to throw toothbrushes and PJs in the car before we left in the morning in an attempt to avoid a bedtime disaster back at home. (I'm sure none of the trick-or-treaters passing by minded the diaper change out of the back of my car.) It was a long day but overall a very good Halloween. I was able to plop Gavin right into his bed, and I never heard another sound out of him for the night.

Graham was still full of P&V the whole way home, but Gavin slumbered peacefully with his candy safely snuggled in his lap.

That was a wrap for Halloween. We pulled it off, but I do hope that (for the next few years, at least) Halloween and a work day for me and a travel day for Dylan don't all fall on the same day again. Solo parenting sometimes takes more than I have to give, even on non-holidays. I was so thankful for the assist from my mom and the meal from Jojo. I couldn't have done it without my team!

After that, we carried on with our merry lives, which included a trip to the park on Wednesday. Thursday was normal, and so was today. Until, of course, I dropped the boys with my parents (again!) some time shortly after 3pm and called the rest of the evening mine. A solo shopping trip and a quiet house to myself for the night...rarer than a snowbird in hell but the absolute best way to spend a Friday, as far as I'm concerned.

He is such an adorable, playful, silly little monkey...but he also has a feisty side to him that cannot be tamed!

A gingerbread turkey and a 4-year-old too cool for photos (in his underwear).

Bubbles and basketball at Nonna and Papa's house this afternoon.

Nonna dug up some Batman PJs...G's fav!

My fuse had run short, and I was not acting the best version of myself by Day 5 of holding down the fort on my own, so I think this was best for everyone. And then my mom texted to tell me that Gavin said, "I love my mom so much, she's my favorite," and the night got even better. Well, the weekend is upon us, and it should be all smiles from here on out.

A Wild Weekend

On Thursday, Dylan picked me up an hour early from work and we headed to Sky Harbor to catch a flight without our kids. Flying became a luxury for me after I had a child and then took my first kid-free flight. On this trip, I read a book and watched three episodes of the latest season of Fuller House, which probably only made me dumber, but my brain was happy for a break. Our destination? PDX. Tess picked us up at the curb and brought us to The Kimpton Monaco downtown, which was delightfully decorated in mis-matched patterns and bold colors. I dig eclectic boutique hotels, especially when they host drinks and live music every evening in the lobby. We hung out at the hotel bar and greeted some cousins who had arrived on the train from Seattle and then called it a night.

The purpose of the trip was a committee meeting, so it wasn't about visiting family or having fun. But, still, you won't find me complaining. We spend weekends like this in the company of people who would rather die than eat at an Outback, so every meal is from a local, highly-rated joint, usually of a very specific ethnic origin. My idea of eating out is driving thru In 'n Out, so the meals (and drinks!) were a real treat.

When in Portland, stop at a hipster coffee shop.

It was a great (cold!) day for a hike.

Friday was spent on field trips, touring low elevation old growth forests and the natural environment enhancement of a water resources management utility. It really is exciting stuff! But I'll stop with that. Saturday was a full day of meetings. But when meetings happen in a high-rise condo in downtown Portland with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Willamette...well, it's not so painful. We listened to a lot of interesting things from a lot of very smart people, and it was enriching. Our flight home was Sunday morning, and even though the control tower at Sky Harbor was on fire, we landed only a few minutes late.

But the real heroes of the weekend? My parents. They again willingly took on the assignment of watching our boys for three nights, starting with school pick-up on Thursday. When I sent a text on Friday to ask how things were going, I received the picture below.

My dad had started feeling sick on Friday morning, so my parents decided to postpone their plans to take the boys to the cabin. Then, he started feeling really, really sick and couldn't get up to go to the doctor. So they brought the doctor to him. When he was still feeling terrible on Friday evening in the hospital, I lined up a flight to get back on Saturday. (With no thanks to American, who wanted to charge me more to change my flight than what it cost to buy the one-way ticket outright with less than 12 hours notice.) Luckily, Dylan knows a few people who work for airlines, and our sweet friend Garrett was more than happy to help. But then, Dad felt better! And at the last minute, without knowing MRI results, my mom told me to stay. I called her one last time, at the very last chance for me to leave for the airport on Saturday morning, and she assured me that I should stay. I didn't know if I felt good about it, but I stayed. If we were going to be in Portland any longer than one more day, I wouldn't have stayed.

Ice cream at the hospital!

Mornings at the neighborhood park.

Chilling in the ER.

Building Legos

Feeding his lamb.

Wearing the helmet that the firefighters gave them.

And so, my mom shuttled the kids back and forth from the hospital. They hung out in the ER and got spoiled by nurses and then later spent a fair amount of time watching movies, building Legos and eating ice cream in my dad's room. My mom enlisted the help of the fabulous Jojo to stay with the boys for a few hours so she could go back to the hospital to be with my dad on Friday night. They also fit in some play time at home and a trip to the park before and after hospital trips. How my mom juggled it all, I don't know. We were in my dad's hospital room with our boys when we picked them up on Sunday, and it made me anxious after 20 minutes. Meanwhile, my mom had settled a tantrum and even got Graham to fall asleep in the stroller at the hospital over the weekend (which I've never been able to do with either child.) She deserves a trophy.

My dad will come home from the hospital today...yay! The source of his issue turned out to be a TIA, which is essentially a mini-stroke which heals on its own. After a handful of CTs and MRIs and ultrasounds, they have a plan in place. He is feeling much better and just a little unsteady. Prayers for my dad that his blood flows freely through his system, clot and plaque-free, please!

And as for me, I'm sitting here at noon on a Monday bringing you the latest updates. Dylan had a trip this morning, and since my parents have taken on WAY more than they should have with our kids, we signed up the boys for an extra day at school so that I could work this morning. I thought about putting in a couple extra hours on the job since I was alone in a quiet house, but then I saw that it was 76 degrees outside and went for a jog. Life is too damn short to work when the weather is beautiful...if you don't have to, that is. And jogging is my therapy. The break in the summer-like weather has been incredible for the mind and soul. Yesterday evening, we took our first walk of the season with the boys strapped into the kiddie RZR. It was wonderful.

Love this shot of them waving. It was Graham's first trip without being tied down with a bungee-cord, and he loved it!

After taking him over big hills, Gavin asked Graham, "Are you okay, buddy? Are you having fun?" while patting his head. So cute. Graham held on good and had a blast!

Oh, and as far as news on the house selling/buying situation? Well, there's not much. I had always thought that by this point, the process would be moving right along and things would be happening. But it's not, so we're re-calibrating our timeline and expectations and making peace with it. Those mini-horses down the street that were "so cute" when they moved in five or so years ago are killing every potential deal. Meanwhile, I'm making beds and fluffing pillows and wiping up crumbs and putting everything in it's place ALL THE TIME, and every minute I spend doing that zaps a brain cell that I could have used for intelligent thought or positive emotion. I'm not a neat-freak, and keeping this house-show ready is NOT my jam. It's gone on for over four months now, and we need a break. So, we'll consider taking it off the market over the holidays and re-listing it as a fresh new listing at the beginning of the year if that turns out to be a good strategy. But really, I'll do whatever it takes to get the deal done, even if we close on Christmas Day. If nothing else, it's been a good lesson in patience and trust in God's timing and for Dylan and me to work on something hard together...because personal growth is born out of doing hard stuff. So, it's okay, and I really do feel like I'll look back on this process in a few years and be thankful for what it taught me. I've already decided that I can't let it cast a shadow over everything else in life because our life is so, so good and we can't waste any time being grouchy about things we can't control! So, anyway, I've put the house updates to rest for that reason, but I thought I owed everybody an update. If ever there becomes something to know, I'll be sure to report...but don't hold your breath. In the meantime you can consider no news to be...well, no news. But we are good!