February

We entered February puppy sitting Nali. She had just turned a year old and was very much still a baby. Her energy remained at crack head level the entire weekend. We woke to the living room rearranged and a wrestling match at four in the morning. By six, zoomies in the yard and parkour throughout the house exhausted all of us. Diesel slept for days after she left. But Kate and Riley had an awesome weekend away and we owed them for keeping Diesel for us a few times. 

Ty started the month with the flu and just a week later, a stomach bug. He is pretty self sufficient in managing his own symptoms; however, make-up work stresses only his mother. The organization required to get back on track is beyond his ability as a freshman. His wrist is healing well. Four week images revealed he was stable enough to step down into a splint. We are optimistic March x-rays will free his arm and hand altogether.

In other news, we had a balmy 70 degree day and Ty was absolutely determined to take a bike ride; his pleas relentless. I finally declared that even as a relaxed mom, I had to draw a line when he wanted to cross his left hand over to the right handlebar to power the throttle on the motor of his ebike. Can you imagine the judgement of ER docs when a teen wearing a cast enters with another inevitable injury? He did not win his case. His life is hard. 

We finally got to spend a day with Austin once all the germs running through different houses in our family ceased. We spent the day playing, painting, baking and snuggling. We missed the little stinker. 

Kate and Riley stopped by for cookies and devoured several. We got to keep Kate for an overnight visit while she puppy sat for friends around the corner. She and Ty slipped out for pizza after my early bedtime and I loved hearing about their time together afterward. They are close, now that they don't live together. 

The first time both kittens and Diesel all relaxed in the same room. Oliver was off sulking somewhere.

His feelings are still frequently hurt because the kittens don't want his kisses. This particular moment was captured by Ty when Diesel interrupted yoga to pout on my lap.

Frankie also likes yoga and loves bedtime too. If I don't get everyone shut out of my room, I will laugh my way through poses as I am bound to get kisses, nose bumps and my mat taken by one of the many four legged trouble makers living here.

Makenna wrapped her student teaching and is now licensed in both elementary and special education. She loved her time in the second grade classroom alongside a teaching legend who is over 70 years old and still as sharp as ever. That spicy little redhead reminds me a lot of our own little teacher. Rather than take the first teaching role offered, she agreed to nanny for a friend who is taking excellent care of her while she eases into the next season of her life. She ended her relationship with Noah on good terms but could no longer live in his house. So we have a daughter in our home again. She brought a long her two male kittens with manic energy. Frankie and Freddie are the addition Oliver is absolutely certain we did not need but like all transitions, we are going to pull through this colorful chapter of life. Moving day started with a thunderstorm, transitioned into snow and ended with a single digit wind chill. Welcome to February in the midwest. 

Despite all the illness attacking Lauren's house, she has had a celebratory month accepting the role of PE teacher in Austin's school. She had been the building substitute for the last two years but loves having her own program. Listening to her plans and incentive programs for reluctant students has been a joy. This is a good fit as she and Dean often have Austin out on runs or are walking the dogs. No matter the weather, they are outside moving and are mentally healthier for it. Ms. B is often seen at basketball games cheering for her students while Austin shakes down Dean at the concession stand. 

Erin celebrated four years cancer free and invited us all over for Sunday afternoon soup. There was laughter, kitten shenanigans, some ball practice in the yard and I even slipped into the guest room for a short nap. Erin hosting is absolutely on my top ten favorite list of having adult daughters. She makes it look so effortless so I am able to fully relax and enjoy our family. 

I am not sure who called this meeting but suspect it may have been Oliver so he could steal someone's spot on Ty's bed while everyone else was occupied.

January

Meal prep drama 

We entered January with the typical post-holiday fog. What day is it? Do I have to wear clothes? When was my son's last shower? Do we have a vegetable in the house? Etc.... But I found contentment in knitting while cocooned in cozy blankets. There were pots of soup simmering on the stove more evenings than not and a couple well timed snow days made wintering that much more tolerable. I drank my weight in hot tea and consumed several books. Diesel grew even more snuggly as I lounged on the couch most afternoons. We found ourselves dozing often and even declared some days as mandatory nap days. Diesel is pretty persuasive about this. Even Oliver grew to cuddle more. Perhaps all it took was me sitting still long enough? But we bundled up and trekked out for cold walks to ward off the blues that often impact my winter moods. Diesel cannot handle the road salt on his paws so off leash time in our new adjacent park was the perfect location for hilarious zoomies. 

Puppy kisses do not aid in daily yoga practice so he found himself locked out of my room and was rather distraught. The idea anything can be accomplished without him; ridiculous.

I was thinking a bit about our history with dogs and the progression of behavior. Our first, Brutus was selected as a puppy and was so well mannered, we believed ourselves to be excellent dog owners; like Caesar Milan himself would ask our advice. And then we rescued Layla who entered our family like typical second children everywhere. Her sole purpose in life was to humble us. I'd like to say we learned a lot from that experience but I would be lying. Nine months after losing Layla so suddenly, we missed the energy of having a dog in the house. Clearly we were crazy because Greg and I slipped off to the shelter without telling the kids and fell in love with the facility's "problem child." Obviously we still thought we were so good at this that the crack head energy of a shelter dog didn't cause us any hesitation. We are a few years into our relationship with Diesel and he is very much in charge around here. His tantrums are legendary and the drama is laughable. I was always drawn to the spicier personalities in elementary school and have continued that trend with elderly patients in my current role. Why should my affection for rowdy pets be any different? I am not going to over analyze what this reveals about me, but I suspect the chaos that always seems to be present in my life is sometimes created. 

Kate came over for chili during one winter storm and was nearly stranded. I wasn't mad about it. I love that girl and the joy she brings with her. However, she had Nali (one of our bad grand dogs, if you ask Greg) and didn't have her food with her. It took hours to get her home. During some sibling shenanigans with her brother, I begged for a picture and was immediately denied by Ty. I keep threatening to abandon his final scrapbook since he forbids photos ninety percent of the time. But in my memory, they looked so happy and playful together that day. 

Ty slipped and fell on the ice one evening. I checked him out and believed he was fine. I instructed him to take ibuprofen and apply ice before putting myself to bed. The following morning, he again complained and I still saw nothing significant and sent him to school. After work that evening, I was shocked to see his hand was twice it's natural size and purple. We had an impressive experience with a local immediate care center where we learned he broke the scaphoid. The following afternoon, we met with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. He is currently in a cast that immobilizes his thumb and wrist and will repeat X-rays February 12th to determine next steps. We are hopeful he will not require surgery.

The rainbow yarn made me so happy while I created a custom scarf order for a coworker's six year old.

We received a few "late" Christmas cards this month and I loved the happy mail in January. It afforded me personalized responses, including long phone calls with distant friends. I think I prefer January for connecting; no obligation, just sweet touches. 

Greg and I slipped away to our favorite cabin for the first time in almost two years. We have now visited it in all seasons over the last ten years. I've decided winter is my favorite. Snow covered landscape, the cozy fireplace and a hot tub under the stars made this weekend memorable for all the right reasons. Not to be forgotten though, while my parents ran our home and fed our son, our kitchen flooded. I was ready to head home when Greg pointed out how very little we could do once we arrived. So shout-out to my parents and adult daughters for the cleanup and teamwork. We are grateful. The second plumber hired to eliminate our indoor pool situation appeared competent. We are hopeful the situation is finally under control. 

As promised, my mom sent photos of my crew gathered together. It was a little bittersweet to miss them all. I am happy they came together, took care of the mess and rallied around laundry and plumbing attempts. But I like being with them all too. Greg says this is a good sign. They step up, care for each other and we enjoy them. He is not wrong.

The girls didn't want Lauren left out so her photo was added to the table. 

Lauren missed the family breakfast my mom hosted in our absence and ended up with IV fluids to help combat a miserable virus. Eight days of fever took its toll. Just as she started to recover, Austin went down with both COVID and the flu. Sometimes I wonder when Lauren will get a break. 

Ty wrapped the final week of the month with a virus so instead of our weekly Wednesday night dinner, I slipped out with Kate instead. We chose sushi so Ty wasn't even a little disappointed. 

I ended the month with a float. The temperature was a balmy 60 degrees so all was pretty perfect in my world the final day of January.