Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Jedi Training, Part 2

On Saturday we had Alex's birthday party at the park. It was a trite windy and cooler than usual, but a perfect day for Jedi Training! We started the festivities by having each guest don their special Jedi-in-Training apparel (basically capes made out of felt with a hole for their head, tied with rope around their middles).

For the light sabre dexterity training, we cut pool noodles in half and wrapped one end with duct tape, and the kids paired up and used them to toss a balloon back and forth. Then we did some agility rescue drills (i.e., egg and water relay races), followed by a rousing game of balloon tag, which is almost as fun to watch as it is to play.

And cake, of course we had cake - in the shape of R2D2 no less, one of Alex's favorite characters. All in all, a fun day!

Memories of Last Year's Ice Storm...

In December 2007, a terrific ice storm hit our area (ok, the area where we USED to live). We lost power for several days (did you know that if the indoor temperature of your house is 44 deg. F, goldfish will NOT survive), but fortunately everyone was okay. The aftermath was magnificent - ice encased branches and limbs that sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight. And COLD... wicked cold. This year, it's a bit of a different story...now that we live in a desert! Though it did get a bit nippy today, it only hit about 57 (ha ha ha ha ha ha.....)!

3:02 AM....

*YAWN* It's 3:00 in the morning. I'm tired but somewhat wide awake. This is what happens when your child comes into your bedroom noticeably upset (at approximately 2:43) because he threw up. And boy did he. The bed. The floor. The wall. I took sheets duty, daddy took the floor. And the wall. Meanwhile, my sweet boy, who has had a dry cough the past 24 hours and is running quite the fever, laid quietly on the floor. I've seen uglier and more violent. But this one threw me for a loop. I had the hardest time I've ever had cleaning up the sheets before throwing them in the washer with more bleach than is recommended by the manufacturer. That disturbs me. Not the fact that I am walking on the wild side with bleach quantities but that I had a hard time cleaning it up. Moms don't have that problem. I [normally] don't have that problem.

So then I got to thinking, perhaps it's the fact that we haven't sold our house in MO in 10 months. That the home we are renting went into probate in October. That the home we are renting is also now in pre-foreclosure, because the decedent's estate has no assets to pay the mortgage. Which means we have just a couple of months (maybe) to find a new residence. Oh well, things could be worse. After all, there are so many folks who have so much less than we do. We're just trying to find a new house so we don't get that "you have 48 hours to vacate" notice. It would take me 48 hours just to take down the Christmas, which I haven't taken pictures of yet to post! There are people who have lost loved ones this year, who are going through painful divorces, who don't have a roof over their heads or shoes on their feet. People who can't find enough to eat. Yeah, things could be so much worse. So no, I didn't have a hard time cleaning up the mess because of all of that. It was just one of those things. And truly, all is right with my world, once my little boy is feeling himself again.

My little boy is sleeping quietly now. No coughing, and hopefully no more "other stuff". I just want him to feel better. Then I will feel better.