March

Greg and I had a less than pleasant parenting conversation with one child and when it ended, my brat of a husband hugged me and whispered into my ear, "This is your fault. You raised them on Christian music and banned SpongeBob." He is lucky I appreciate his sense of humor.

He stopped by with his mom and elected to stay. I love having him close enough for spontaneous visits.

He stole my sweater and declared he was also a Mimi. I ended up in a different sweater and he wanted that one too. I kept the second because #boundaries.

This lovely lady included us in her 50th birthday celebration weekend. We had a great time meeting her in-laws and being together.

She got to push the buttons! 

We practiced yoga together in person while celebrating her birthday. This was so much more fun than our nightly virtual practices.

I am not a drinker, like at all, but touring distilleries and visiting local swanky bars is something I could learn to enjoy. Watching people devour hot dogs and fried pickles from food trucks on our way to dinner amused me. These people are naturally funny, alcohol just enhanced the hilarity.

This sleepover was planned. His mom needed to get some personal belongings moved and protected Austin from seeing her emotional. Their transition from Hawaii is finally complete. It's been a bumpy journey; one I still wish wasn't real. 

Diesel loves Austin's sleepovers and cannot get close enough to him when they sleep. Austin loves this too. He begs Remi to sleep with him at home but she prefers Lauren. And Ricky is still in a crate at night because he absolutely cannot be trusted to not destroy the house while people sleep.

This little stinker managed to get twenty of us to join him for dinner on his actual birthday despite a party planned a week and a half later. He has his grandparents right where he wants them; around his little finger.

Everyone loved the afternoon hike

These jeans needed constant attention or we feared they'd fall down.

We took Ty, Austin and Diesel on a short hike near our house. It was a ruse to get six year old photos taken of the reluctant subject. Despite his lack of cooperation, I was able to keep up with him and was delighted with the results. He was too. I hope he remembers how he felt when he saw these images the next time I need his participation with my camera. 

We hosted dinner for friends on Saturday to celebrate Greg's birthday and then held dinner for the whole gang to celebrate Erin, Greg and Easter so we wouldn't need to do this two weekends in a row. Ty, of course, wanted his basket goodies early too. I declined. Maybe there is some tradition hiding in there somewhere. But Austin helped me scoop no-bake cookies and despite the less than appetizing appearance, they were quite tasty and appreciated by all guests.

They've been sharing birthdays for twenty-nine years.

The end of March marked the one year anniversary of Taylor demanding a divorce. We have come a long way since the shock of his personality change and declaration. Sometimes he seems so much like his old self, it's almost harder to accept the reality of who he has become. There was a moment when Lauren and Taylor needed to talk as parents to discuss an important situation. The conversation happened in front of Makenna who was so proud of them, she offered to start them a sticker chart for parenting well despite their differences. As hilarious as preschool teacher Makenna's reward system was, it was also refreshing to see they can still do what's needed for Austin. This is what we celebrate now. It certainly isn't what we anticipated for their future but we take the little wins and apparently celebrate them with stickers.

Kate, her boyfriend Riley and Austin arrived at the same time. I loved the little arrangement by the door. My mom brought all the grandkids chocolate bunnies or eggs and apparently Diesel believed he needed one too. Ty's five foot tall dresser was knocked over and an entire egg was consumed. He showed no adverse effects but ticked Ty off, none the less. 

The second sweater he attempted to heist. We shared it instead.

Greg worked his final day with the temporary job and was thanked with a bottle of Woodford and a gift card to our favorite Cuban restaurant. They appreciated him and enjoyed his company. We wish he could have stayed as he enjoyed the people and didn't mind the work. Career hunting has taken a significantly longer amount of time than we anticipated or appreciate. At times I worry he is being sabotaged but then remind myself who is ultimately in charge. Despite the lengthy wait, I have faith the right door will open when God's timing is perfect. It isn't yet without some anxiety but we are still hanging in there. 

Please note the timestamp on this text.

On his way to Mimi's house for Easter nachos eight hours later. Yes, we had nachos on Easter Sunday. No one complained. 

Ty's long-awaited Easter basket he begged early access to.... Even though he wasn't eager to wake up for the treats, he located better hiding places than the previously mentioned dresser top. Diesel, no doubt, will find a way to overcome this challenge.

Based on this plant's condition last summer and fall, I wasn't sure it would bloom again this spring. I'm grateful for it's determination.

Diesel stays on high alert when his little buddy spends the night. The next day is always met with long naps for the protector. He loves Austin.

Ty has shared his love of Spiderman with Austin.

Easter Sunday was filled with fresh air, laughter, an epic six year old meltdown and tension between sisters. Nothing is perfect but in the midst, an ex-son in-law-made guacamole and laughed at a boyfriend in good humor. This is grace, messy and complicated. This is us. 

February

His mother called shortly after this treat and he answered my phone, "hello Lauren, this is Sherri Baughman." Without missing a beat, she demanded to know if I'd given him ice cream. He was wild and she was suddenly in no hurry to pick him up. Mimi was busted.

Austin started the month with both Flu A and strep. The poor guy was miserable. His momma was too. However, he made a quick recovery and by the weekend needed an "epic lightsaber battle with Uncle Ty." 

Well darn it. This made me cry.

So many sweet goodbyes from some pretty wonderful people. 

I resigned from the school within hours of being offered a position with the Neuroscience Institute. The timing, despite my initial reservations, was perfect. I only felt relief. Passing along projects I'd sponsored or roles I supported proved more difficult. There are children and relationships I miss. And as it turns out, the new gig offers no hugs. This is disappointing. But we needed health insurance that wasn't $1500 a month through Marketplace so I'm grateful for the opportunity.

Physical therapy has not made much of a difference for my neck or migraines. Plan B will involve a new physician with our newest insurance plan. Apparently paying deductibles and changing plans is the theme lately. Sigh.

Mild weather days insist we hike. Diesel was able to run off leash for an hour or so and returned with his second bought of Happy Tail. This is practically unheard of so we fear he will ultimately end up with his tail docked. I don't love this.

Kristil and I continued our daily yoga challenge. Diesel is always interested.

It was near sixty degrees in early February so I sweet talked him into dinner on the porch swing. I just had to sit in the sun. My schedule was so packed otherwise, it was near impossible to absorb some natural vitamin D. He humors me.

The float center welcomed me back the day after some vaccines to ward off side effects. This is one of my happiest places.

Ty is not a scholarly student, to say the least. We are grateful he is no longer so anxious about school, he is vomiting or breaking out in stress hives, but now he says things like, "D's get diplomas." My eye has a twitch. I'm sure it's unrelated. He had several missing assignments and had the audacity to request a PlayStation gift card once he moved three failing grades up to D's. He's new here. After four daughters, whose high school years were challenging enough, I'm not sure we are all going to pull through the next four years. I attended a parent meeting at the high school for information about the latest graduation requirements and was disheartened to discover they still aren't providing magical solutions for survival. Sigh.

He isn't supposed to have this pillow.

I only purchase Little Debbie snack cakes for Christmas stockings and Valentine's Day. I surprised Greg with his favorite too. After his accident, twenty-four years ago, co-workers kept showing up at the hospital with Nutty Bars and Cheetos. This is how I found out about his work break snack habit. The memory made me smile.

This sweet baby ended up with flu B and covid just two weeks after battling strep and flu A. Kindergarten germs are no joke. He missed a week and a half this round. I hung out with him for an evening so his mom could take the dog to the vet. Days later, she also ended up sick. It was a rough month for them.

This dog.

#winning

It was gorgeous. It's too bad it was also only a real feel  temperature of 11 degrees.

Kate burst into the house just before the sleeting started, demanding the groundhog be fired. 

She stopped by briefly and made the mistake of leaning down to love on Diesel. Before she knew what was happening, she was seated on the floor and he was sitting on her lap; an 80 pound lap dog.

He not only gets the tea bag wrappers from my morning cup of tea but has recently decided he'd like to have the tag as well. 

My Bible study group attended Sweeny Todd at Derby Dinner to see Laura's son in the show. As dark as the plot was, I loved it. This surprised me. But Amanda drove in for the day and hugging her was the best part. I miss her close. 

He failed his vision exam at school while wearing his glasses. They aren't yet a year old. The optometrist verified that rapid vision changes occur with growth spurts. We've clearly had some of those. 

Lauren and Austin stopped by during homework time and Austin enthusiastically offered to help because "I am awesome at math." It's the dual hands on faces for me.

Then Ty demonstrated how to solve an equation and Austin was amazed, "what is THAT?" Apparently he'd never seen a calculator before.