thanks lady

home ed

I find Quinn's current assortment of books most amusing:


Bella finds Reilly doing math amusing, which I find amusing:

pursection

Weighing in at 18 lbs., I emptied my purse, or as Reilly calls it, my "luggage" today in hopes of finding some things I could remove. I was taken aback by its contents:

-Purse on right, large enough to carry a pony, too small for these items, apparently.
-Full-sized binder, full of papers, mail, documents, receipts, lists, etc.
-Adhesive weekly lists I can never leave on the refrigerator.
-Adhesive daily lists, same deal.
-White binder/lifeline, it own universe in and of itself.
-The most amazing Valentine card ever from Reilly.
-The BEST red mesh pencil pouch, currently inhabiting 50 assorted Sharpies.
-Medication sorter, because you know, I'm extremely dangerous.
-Huge magnet I received as a gift and keep forgetting to take out.
-Not one, not two, but three pairs of glasses.
-My old phone, which has a LOT of interesting texts.
-Two packs of gum.
-A headband, which I can never find, until I'm scrambling for anything else.
-Container of Tylenol.
-Container of Excedrin.
-My wallet, another separate world altogether.
-Two identical books.
-Two packs of Mentos from Reilly.
-One pack of "Just Strawberries."
-Hair claw that is always at the surface irritating me until I need it.
-One roll of Scotch tape. (???)
-Two packs of Wet Wipes.
-Two identical packs of unopened rainbow Sharpies. Why? Duh, they're Sharpies.
-One pack retractable Sharpies. See reason above.
-Skull scarf.
-Two multi-coloured flashlights that are also whistles, for my kids.
-iPod ear phones, one of three tangled sets.
Not pictured:
-iPod. It was in the side pocket and forgotten.
-Two hairbands, three rubberbands, and eight safety pins.

There's more. How does one amass this much lip balm? Some of these must go:


I think I got it down to 17.10 lbs., but I must confess to carrying an annex tote for textbooks and a clipboard.

It's pretty sad when you can't find a freaking binder in your purse.

***PRAYER REQUEST***

On behalf of Susannah I am issuing this most serious plea for prayers/positive thoughts to the power(s) of your choice for Allison, who disappeared yesterday and has been missing for nearly 24 hours. There were some very ominous behaviours and statements preceding her disappearance, and the date has grave significance. For those of you who know Allison's history, please please pray against the odds, and for those of you who don't, I am asking the same. She is a sweet soul, a beloved friend, and most importantly, the much needed Mama of Keagan.

Be you a brewer, a baker, a candlestick maker, please visualize Allison's safe return to loving arms. She has never been missing longer than four hours.

Let us hope that this precious boy never knows the worry we're feeling, and that he is with his Mama soon.


(For those of you with hearts so black as to scoff at the severity of this situation as you've done before, and at the hardships of others, and for whom empathy is as rare as emeralds, you are hereby invited stay the fuck off my blog.)

three dogged nights

Home away from home, our impromptu retreat this week:



Thursday night: Lumbo-sacral injury, seriously no fun. Quinn's first time in the ER:

First blood draw. Didn't even flinch:


Friday night:
Todd collapsed and had a seizure, the first of his life, while home with Quinn. Scary stuff:


Getting his cat scan:

He seized for four hours. One of the scariest nights of my life.

Saturday:
My mama being wheeled into surgery:


I insisted on scud boots because the putrid grey grippy socks are lame:

Mom's surgery took three times the estimated duration.

So tired. (Enough to fall asleep on a hospital bench.)


"An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship." ~Spanish Proverb

suite girl

So, the lightning bolt of zen acceptance I ordered last week has yet to arrive. Come to think of it, the universe has totally fucked up my order, but I'm on it. Meanwhile, there have been moments of levity since the fire, and this is a contender for favourite.

The fire wasn't as overwhelming as the insurance company mistakenly taking, LITERALLY, every stitch of clothing we own, including belts, shoes, freaking yarn. (!) The impact of having one outfit for multiple days is one I can liken to nothing I've previously experienced, and one pair of underwear + OCD = good times. After two nights roughing it in a ho-hum motel, we were upgraded to this incredible suite, and were eager to partake of its amenities and luxuries, but we were all washing our underwear in the sink and pretty much sharing one t-shirt. When the insurance company arbitrarily moved the delivery date of our clothing from Saturday to somewhere over the rainbow, we were forced to haul all seven of our collective garments to the laundry facilities, which of course meant we had to traverse The Shining corridor wearing ... what else? Sheets. Worse still, there were suddenly no quarters on the face of the earth. We had cash, but the front desk had limited quarters and we were thisclose to knocking on doors with our pathetic, crack whore nickels and dimes. Turned out the machines were cheap, and we were able to make due at the desk, but man was it a panic.

Cut to last night, when I brought my kids some dinner, and my Reilly presented me with this, most typifying gift, in the silver Nordstrom box she has cherished for two years, when she received a diamond ring for christmas:


With this inside (tears):


Quarters she culled from her piggy bank, to ward off future crises surrounding exact change. This bad-ass kid never ceases to amaze me with her thoughtfulness. She did say, "I made some change for Quinn, so there are some nickels and dimes in there, but they add up to exactly six dollars, enough for two loads." Her smile was twenty miles long, and so was the stream of tears down my cheeks.

Update: We received a glorious delivery today; like 12 of the most random assorted garments imaginable, and a five page list of "unsalvageable items," including everything we cared about. So we sat scowling at the nightgowns, belts, slips, YARN, and other useless shit, and the reality that our premium clothing is a thing of the past. Thus, it looks like we'll be diving into that silver box so that our Joad wardrobe is at least clean. All thanks to Reilly, who always has her mama's back. (This may come in handy when I need to wear her to the store.)

Maddening:


Whether you're feeling our pain or disappointed that I didn't die in the fire, the point is, Reilly rocks my world. Take that. <3