Spring Break

Someone made friends with a lady bug

Makenna and Kate arrived home safely, reporting a great long weekend with Lauren. My parents, Theresa with her family and all of Taylor's parents and siblings made the trek to Georgia for a birthday party. It was crazy fun according to those in attendance. 

Erin and Carlyn attended a banquet for the American Heart Association and networked with advocates in hopes of increasing connections to expand their CCAP Across The Map fundraising. They enjoyed the evening and dressing up for the occasion too.

They made fun of me for ordering the salad. But on the one nice day this week, we celebrated with treats at our local ice cream shoppe.

We opted out of a Spring Break bucket list and travel in exchange for rest and mundane errands. Manicures at home and pizza the size of their heads sweetened the deal. We needed what we prioritized;  napping and reading the goal beyond simply enjoying the calm. It's a rarity here; fleeting, so we embraced it fully. There was an afternoon of bowling with friends and an hour at the trampoline park to hold over the youngest among us but even those excursions were fairly relaxed. It was a good week.

As much as this little momma does not like me on my own front porch, I have felt for her this week as she weathered some pretty nasty storms and cold fronts. She is pretty tough, my husband assured me when my nighttime wondering seeped out. He has his hands full with the brief insights I share of my brain in motion. 

We've got babies!

Spring is trying to break through and glimpses are everywhere but the unseasonably cool and cloudy weather made it challenging to visualize. I lack patience, as we all know, so I expedited it's colorful arrival with a Costco bouquet split five ways. It makes me smile. However, there are indications the cat waits until we are asleep to sabotage my efforts by eating the flowers. Apparently he believes he is the only pretty allowed in these parts. He knows he isn't permitted on my counters or table; however, the runner has been adjusted every morning. Sadly, since Layla's passing, the cat has discovered he is actually a cat and I don't like him nearly as much as I did when he thought he was a dog. He cares exactly zero percent.

I took *his* seat and blanket again. This is how we compromise now.

We plan to rest more this weekend as we prepare to enter our final two months of the school year. We needed spring break and it was a good one. 

Birthdays

Thursday, Kate and Makenna drove to Georgia. I miss the group and love them all but having only one week off after the last few months, I chose rest over travel. Saturday, I read, napped, ate, read and napped some more. My upcoming Spring break week is planned around the hope of more days just like that. 

A neighborhood first grader rang the doorbell and asked if Kate could come out to play. She babysat for another neighbor this week and ended up with a yard full of small friends. Apparently she made an impression. Adorable.

The inside is inscribed, "survivor". Everyone cried when she opened it. 

I called Erin to wish her a happy birthday and she rushed me off the phone within seconds because she needed to keep the line available for Austin to call. It's important to know how one rates on the priority list. But she turned twenty-seven Wednesday and Greg quietly celebrated a birthday Thursday. We can't quite wrap our heads around how we are old enough for a daughter her age, nor do we understand how it happened so quickly. I guess we blinked. 

Someone is in his seat and he is not pleased.

Greg, the sacrificial one, picked all the purple Starburst jelly beans from the bowl so Ty and I were able to eat with abandon. He is a giver. 

Kate and Pip came to school with me one day this week so my fourth grade students could meet them both. Pip had a spa evening in preparation for his big day. Both did a great job and that evening, a teacher text asking about Kate's availability to babysit sometime.

Austin started soccer with his mom as the assistant coach. Rumor has it, he only likes going for the snacks. 

Austin grabbed Kate's phone to take a selfie. Not to brag, but he clearly inherited his selfie skills from his Mimi. Goodness, I love this boy.

School Dances

 

Kate had a blast spending time with friends at her first high school dance. I loved chauferring the four teens from dinner to the dance so I could snap a few photos and hear the banter between them. 

Ty not only attended his first ever school dance, but he also had his first "date". He bought M&Ms to share with her and reports they spent the whole time talking. I have to say, I totally misjudged his interest in girls. I was certain he would be a Senior in high school before noticing a special girl. He has a lot of estrogen in his world. But perhaps being down to just one sister in his house explains how this has happened. He and Kate, after all, are pretty good friends most of the time and she does not mother him at all. The older girls were constantly hovering and he hated it. 

Sunday afternoons have become charcuterie board moments. We always make a large meal after church but want something later. This makes the perfect snack and given how much Erin loves it, her weekly visit day is ideal for indulging. 

The long-awaited surgical consultation was as frustrating as the entire experience has been for the past two months. The nurse practitioner walked into the room unaware I've had two biopsies and had no idea what gynocomastic density meant on my pathology report because "it only impacts young men". There is a strong chance she read cuss words in my eyes. I was not nice. I explained that nothing about that was acceptable. I've had way too many circular conversations the last two weeks with her office that sounded exactly like the start of that appointment. I need to know if this is something I can ignore, something I need to monitor or something I need removed. She could not answer that for me. I am angry and frustrated. She did call me an hour after my appointment and said the surgeon says I can ignore it follow-up with another mammogram in January. 

On one hand, I want benign findings and everything to be normal. On the other hand, I don't trust them to have a clue as to what is best for me since none of them are taking the time to understand what this means in my body. 

I am stepping away from it for a season for mental health reasons and Erin is working with the doctor she supports to see what answers she can gather and a recommendation for a second opinion. For the time being, I am healthy and moving forward with a stack of medical bills and a renewed distrust of the medical profession. 

Piper has no idea she should fear Oliver. Fortunately, he is equally curious about her and with close monitoring, they co-exist well.

Signs of spring have sprung. We are outside most every afternoon and evening for porch swing sitting, nerf gun wars and games of HORSE. Ty was smacked by a wing of a momma bird on her way out of her nest as he swept the porch for me. It's difficult to tell who was more frightened, Ty or the bird but I'm looking forward to hearing the babies soon. Momma is just going to have to get used to us sharing the porch. 

The week was long and we are all tired. Kate kicked off spring break Friday but Ty and I have another week before we get some time off. We most likely will make it. Maybe.