December

Well, we were in the last days of November and the neighborhood was starting to look very festive. 

Vicki, Ryan and their kids came over for coffee. Vicki and I had a Target run and the kids stayed and played upstairs and then outside. Vicki left Gavin and Maddax at our house for the afternoon, which was all too fine with me. It kept my kids occupied. Stuart hung lights on the house while Vicki and I were shopping. He also gathered trash and recycling to take to my mom and dad’s to be collected the following morning. Our bulk pick up was scheduled for the 7th of December, which would rid our house of some of the unnecessary junk that cluttered our garage and back yard. 

We got all but the crap on the dining table and the kitchen bar put away. We were very hopeful that we would finish putting things away and getting some pictures hung the first week of December. 

Monday morning came way too soon. It was chilly and I wasn’t terribly excited to go to school. Thank goodness I love my teammates. It makes it easier to go to work, but the stress of the current state of affairs makes things quite uncertain.  

School was fine and I felt the children actually had a productive day. I had a team meeting after school and then headed home for the dogs’ vet appointment. Dogs are not cheap, but we knew they wouldn’t be. The kids are so thrilled to have the puppies, which makes me very happy. Jack had team practice and seemed to be more pleased with his practice, but he always does on team nights. 

Tuesday was school and Millie was moved up to the competitive team during her gymnastics class. Jack had basketball academy and was frustrated, as he often is, because he was just running because one of the kids that are always goofing off. He’s ready to switch teams. Lovely!

Wednesday I had a meeting after school that lasted for way too long. I nearly cried when I was told my reading scores hadn’t saved from the day before. This was told to me during the meeting. Learning all the new technology I’ve had to learn in the last 10 months has been beyond challenging. My brain just can’t keep all the information inside. 

I got home and we ate dinner as a family. Wednesdays are one of the few days we can do that. It was really nice. Since we are starting to get into kids’ activities heavily, I want us to try to value the few times we can sit down as a family. After dinner, Millie and I decorated her elf for school. 

Thursday around noon I started my poo potion for my colonoscopy the following afternoon. It made me sick. I really shouldn’t have been at school because, oh, how quickly the bathroom was needed. Since I am in the portables, there isn’t a bathroom that is terribly close to my room. Fortunately, my teammate was very accommodating. Pleasant! Needless to say I didn’t take either of the kids to their activities Thursday evening. I spent most of my time in the loo. 

I got up on Friday morning and thought I would be stuck to the toilet, but that was not the case. So since I had taken the day off anyway, I did a little sorting out at the house and a bit of holiday shopping. I got an Uber to my appointment but failed to remember that the doctor’s office was about a half mile from the place where they do the procedures. Of course I did! So, had to hoof it to the procedure place down the road. Fortunately I had left plenty of time to arrive because I had booked my Uber early, which is really quite unlike me. So I arrived with people being non the wiser. 

My walk was brisk as I was afraid I would need a last minute toilet stop. 

Ready to be roto rootered. 

Stuart picked me up from my procedure around 3:30 pm. He then took me to meet up with Sherry, Elisa and Mary for happy hour. We met at the Keg and sat on the patio. It was so good to catch up with them. I felt surprisingly well after my procedure, which was surprising to everyone. Mary brought me home after our time together. 

Saturday morning I got up and took Jack to his game. Then we met Millie and Stuart at Floor and Decor to pick out our materials for our bathroom remodel. The wife of the contractor met us there as well. We picked things out quickly as we kind of already knew what we wanted. Below are our color schemes. I can’t wait until everything is complete. 

Once we were home Jack gathered his things and I took him to Jaxon’s house for a sleepover with him and Jacoby. These three boys are the new kids in Jack’s class this year. Jack was so excited. Millie was a bit bummed as she hasn’t really made friends that would have sleepovers at this point. She, of course, found the whole thing to be unfair. 

I got back home and took a shower. We were having dinner with Jack’s teacher, her husband, and our realtor, Melinda and her husband. Melinda, Heather and I worked together years ago. Millie went with us, much to her dismay, and then was thrilled as she got to hang out with the older kids. She was like a toy to them and I think they all had a great time. It was a great night! Excluding the forehead smash and trailing black eyes. Let’s just say that a Labrador cutting in front of me wasn’t the best thing that happened to me that evening. 

I woke up Sunday morning around 5 am. Why am I bright eyed and bushy tailed on the weekends when I can actually sleep in? My eye and forehead may have woken me up a bit earlier than normal. Explaining this at school was sure to be fun. 

I collected Jack from Jaxon’s at 10, keeping my sunglasses on as not wanting to worry Jack. If I get a hang mail it bothers Jack. Jaxon’s mom was so complimentary of Jack and his manners, which warms a mother’s heart for sure. I guess he can be a turd around us as long as he’s not like that with other kid’s parents. 

Debi and her kids came over around 1 pm for lunch. I love my time with her. The kids played and we chatted for 4 hours. It’s always so good to spend time with her. Around 6:30 pm Melissa and Sally came over so we could give Melissa the low down of what to do with our dogs. She was going to house sit while we were in Missouri later in the month. 

Monday was the beginning of another long work week. It seems it doesn’t get easier to go to work these days. As cases increase and tensions rise, it becomes more and more unpleasant. Explaining my eye situation was also fun. I looked like a battered wife, when really it was a dog moving too quickly in front of me and a shoe getting caught on the sidewalk lip and crashing to the ground. 

Monday evening was basketball for Jack and I went off to shop for teacher gifts and other things. Millie stayed home with Stuart. The routine is pretty much the same each week day now. 

Tuesday after school we finally had our  meeting with the doctor for Millie’s meds. That morning Millie had thrown a major hissy fit and lost gymnastics for the evening. She just can’t stop herself from making situations worse. I’m hoping these meds will help her to stop and think before escalating the situation. Stuart took Jack to basketball on Tuesday evening. He didn’t want to go, but we had told him since we have paid, he is going. 

Wednesday we had the evening to get some more stuff done at the house. I stopped to get the kids ugly sweaters as well as pick out Millie’s Giving Tree gift for school. 

Millie insisted we take a picture to show the improvement of my eyes. Considering on Wednesday it had moved to the other eye, I’m not sure it had improved a lot. 

Thursday I took Millie to gymnastics. She was so excited as she was performing her routine for her ‘show’ the following week. I also took Jack to basketball because Stuart was doing his ‘prep’ for his colonoscopy. What a pleasant time in our lives this is. 

Friday after school I picked Stuart up from his procedure. We went to pick up the kids and then headed to Old Navy to shop for some colder weather clothes. It had turned cold during the week and we realized our kids probably didn’t have the clothes they would need to stay warm when we headed to Branson the following week. I wondered why they didn’t have any winter clothes. We had spent last winter in the UK and Switzerland, so I was confused. But then I remembered that both of them have grown a great deal since last year. Duh! So a new wardrobe for the winter was in order. We got home and just chilled for the rest of the evening. 

Saturday morning we were all up and leaving the house just after 8 am. Millie, who hates brushing her teeth and pretty much refuses most mornings, was at it again. She started ADHD medication a few days earlier but it doesn’t seem to be working as we had hoped. She blew a gasket, which in turn got her a spanking and the whole family was in a muddle. Stuart eventually took Jack and Millie to Jack’s game. I went to have a pedicure with Sue, a much needed relaxing experience. I then took Sue home and met Stuart and the kids for lunch. 

Jack had another game in the afternoon. It was a tournament but they only had two games on Saturday and one on Sunday. Sadly, Jack couldn’t play on Sunday as we had already committed to serving Christmas dinner to Ken, Maytee and the girls on Sunday at noon. He wasn’t happy with us, but he would get over it. 

We still aren’t terribly thrilled with his club team at the moment. They don’t play as a team nor does it seem a lot of teaching is done. They run a lot. I don’t mind paying for instruction, but I can send Jack outside to run and that would be totally free. 

Sunday morning Stuart got up and put the turkey in the oven and started preparing for our guests. I went to the store to sort out table gifts for everyone. We were attempting to make it a traditional English Christmas dinner. 

While I was out I might have bought the dogs some Christmas sweaters. They immediately started trying to chew them off of each other. 

Ken and Maytee showed up at noon. The merriment began immediately. 

The feast was about to commence. 

After lunch, the kids went upstairs to put make-up on each other. Jack did his own using my make-up. Maybe he has a career in the make-up industry. The Greens stayed for the entire day. It was so great. We had a blast and the food was amazing, as always. 

Monday was school and nothing else for the evening except for Jack’s basketball practice. They played three minute games of 5 on 5. The team that won would stay on the court. Jack’s team won every single game. He was super pleased with his play. 

Tuesday was another day of school. It’s obvious we are close to a break. Everyone is tired. After school I stopped to get Jack a white undershirt for his Ancient India costume he had received via Amazon the day before. Why do kids tell you they need a costume about two days before they need it? He’s fortunate we have Amazon!

I collected Jack from school, while Stuart was with Millie at gymnastics. Jack and I played his new True or False game for a while before Millie and Stuart came home. I then was informed that Millie needed to bring her Secret Santa a gift the following day. Uh, what Secret Santa and who told her she could participate in such a thing? She started to get sassy with me until I reminded her that I was the one who was going to get the gift for the Secret Santa I knew nothing about. She backed off immediately. When I took Jack to basketball I then went to get the Secret Santa gift. 

Wednesday after school I picked the kids up while Stuart got an oil change for the car we would be taking to Missouri. I fed the kids and then when Stuart was home I took the dogs to their vet appointment, which was fun! They don’t quite know how to walk on a leash yet, but they will learn. I will start taking them out after they are ‘fixed’ which will be in March. When I got home I just packed the kids and myself, then chilled for the rest of the evening. 

Thursday was the last day for students until after the new year. The day seemed to just drag on. Once the day finished, I met Stuart and the kids at Chili’s for a bite and then took Millie to gymnastics. She had another ‘show’ and then would have a break for two weeks. She did so well in her performance. She is so driven and so excited to be moving up a level in gymnastics after the new year. 

Friday was just a half day of school. We had a gift exchange called My Favorite Things. It made me so happy as my UAE friends used to get together for what my friend DeDe called ‘Favorites’. We all would bring three favorite things we liked and then everyone who participated would put their name in the hat three different times. You brought three gifts and took home three gifts. It was so fun to do this activity at school. We never see other teachers except those on our team. The social aspect of work has lost its flavor because of covid. We had left the kids home by themselves. To be honest, I trust Millie on her own a bit more than I do Jack, yet I still got several calls from her that morning.  I got home just after 11 am, and the pool guy came over and we finalized the plans for the pool. They should begin sometime in January. We spent the rest of the day getting ready to leave for Missouri the following morning. 

We were supposed to have a Lose the Leash person come over and tell us what kind of training our dogs were going to need in order to stay off the anti-social list. Unfortunately, the person got caught on another appointment. We were going to have to reschedule. We headed to Ken and Maytee’s to eat dinner and then we went ice skating with the Greens and a family they knew. It was chilly. I didn’t skate and Stuart only skated for a bit as the skates were cutting into his ankles. 

We had fun, but it was cold and we were leaving the following morning really early, so getting home was on my mind for sure. We got home just after 10 pm. The kids had fallen asleep, but I insisted they take showers before going to bed. I was super popular, as you would imagine. 

We were up and out by 5 am. 

Elfvis stowed away in a jar in the car in order to get to Missouri safely. He had written a note to the kids about how he wanted them to show him the scenery as we traveled. Millie clearly did her part. The drive wasn’t terribly eventful. The kids were really good travelers. They didn’t fuss the entire trip. We finally arrived in Oklahoma City around 8 pm. Once we were checked in, I ordered food from Cheddar Scratch Chicken. I drove to the restaurant, parked in a take away bay, texted the number that was given to me for my order, and they delivered it to my car. It was the easiest thing ever. Some things during this time of Covid have been made so much easier. 

Sunday morning we got up and had a leisurely morning. We shopped in the little strip mall just down from our hotel. Then, around lunch time we met a college friend of mine, Ronald Moore, and his family to eat. I hadn’t seen him in 25 years. He was one of my dearest friends in college. He went on to play football for the Arizona Cardinals for a couple of years so I got to see him a lot while he lived in Arizona. To catch up with him so blessed my heart and may have made my year complete. 

After lunch, we carried on to Grammie and Pop’s where Mitch arrived shortly after we did. His puppies were manic for a while, but then settled down. 

Monday Stuart and I went down to the Landing in Branson as we needed to buy gifts for the kids from Grandma and Grandpa. Jack was going to get a pair of Nike tennis shoes and Millie was getting a pair of Vans and a beauty chair and accessories for her American Girl doll. We had fun just spending time with each other. The rest of the day we spent playing games and chilling. Jack got one of his Christmas presents early. Because the planets were to align for the first time in 800 years, my parents bought him a telescope. We took it out and looked for the planets to align. Although we didn’t get a really clear picture, Jack did see the craters in the moon. He was so thrilled about his new telescope. 

Instructions begin given by Dad. 

We all enjoyed the telescope. 

Lola and Roscoe have grown so much since we saw them in June. They are never still. I think they make my brother nervous, mainly because they still aren’t house trained and will have accidents on my mom’s carpet. 

Tuesday we did a lot of what we did the previous day. We waited around for Russ, Julie and Emily to arrive. The kids couldn’t wait until Emily got there. They were so excited. They arrived around 9 pm. As is the case on vacation, bedtime was an ambiguous time for sure. 

Wednesday we got up and my dad opened a gift that had work gloves in it. He then went outside and the next thing we heard was a chain saw. This was his Christmas present and we were all going to the back of the woods to cut some of the fallen logs so we could eventually have a bonfire. 

These two were ready to carry some wood. 

We are also ready. I ended up not doing a lot. I’m kind of lazy. 

My dad is in his happy place!

After the wood chopping, we all headed into the house to avoid the rain that would come fast and furious. My niece, Emily, was awaiting her boyfriend’s arrival. When he got to the house Millie was immediately in love. He is 6’7” and weighs 310 pounds. He plays football at the University of Arkansas. 

Millie definitely looked tiny on Ryan’s shoulders. 

Thursday morning Ryan left around 8 am. He was driving to his home in Memphis, Tennessee. He was such a nice young man. I think he enjoyed his short time at the ranch. Christmas Eve it was. Uncle Mitch made some more cinnamon rolls and homemade bread, which we all enjoyed. Grammie made chili and got the tamales ready for dinner. Russ’ family and my family decided to go to the outlet mall to do some shopping. It was relatively dead. I ended up buying a pair of boots as well as two pair of jeans. We got home and the house smelled of chili. We ended up eating before Morgan and Donavin arrived. Their flight was due in around 8 pm, so they wouldn’t be back to the house before 9 pm. When they arrived, they ate and then we spent the rest of the evening chatting and playing dominoes. 

Friday was Christmas morning. I was awake about an hour before my kids. How does that work? Santa left a note for my two telling them he had left their gifts in Arizona and that he had left pictures on my camera roll so they would need to come and see my phone to see what he brought them. Millie had been asking questions about Santa, but I think after she saw the pictures I think she was back in the mindset that if you don’t believe, you don’t receive. 

A balance beam and a gym mat seemed to please her. 

And I think seeing this almost made Jack believe in Santa again. Ha! He has actually been funny this year. He decided he wanted to help us each evening with our Elf on the Shelf, Elfvis. Yet the first time we had to move Elfvis, Jack got nervous and didn’t want to touch Elfvis as the belief is if you touch him, he loses his magic. When I gave Jack a look, he started laughing and said, ‘Mom, I know he’s not real, but what if...’. After that, he decided he would be surprised each morning about Elfvis’ new spot. It’s actually quite sweet that he still wants to believe. 

The rest of the morning was a manic present extravaganza. We bought a ridiculous amount of presents fir our kids this year. When we saw how obscene it all was we decided that our guilt for the year they have had was our driving force. We moved them from the only life they knew, during a pandemic, not having any friends, across the world and expected them to just get on with it. They have been real troopers, and I think we need to reflect more on this fact. So we bought their love this year, for sure. Ashamed? Not really! 

The piles on the floor belong to Jack and Millie. Once the carnage was over, everyone else went about lounging and enjoying their morning. I started unboxing all the toys and placing them in the buckets we had brought them wrapped in. Millie and Jack went out on their hoverboard and trick scooter, respectively. 

Some of the other adults were preparing the Christmas meal, which ended up being ready just before 3 pm. We had smoked turkey, ham, sausage balls, has brown casserole and other delightful foods. We had Christmas Crackers and enjoyed a lovely meal. 

Thank goodness for Stuart’s long arms. The hats come out of the Christmas Crackers and it’s expected that everyone wears one. 

After our meal we retreated downstairs and did a White Elephant exchange. It was really fun and there were actually some pretty good gifts. 

We all had glasses with a Christmas theme. 

We then played a game similar to Family Fued, which is Grammie and Pop’s favorite game show. It was based on Elf trivia. It was hilarious. We laughed and laughed, mainly at our silliness. 

We were required to wear these elf hats. 

We also sang Christmas songs while my brother played the guitar. We love to sing. The fun ended and my family of four went to bed. It was a good Christmas Day celebration. I got a robe, a pair of sunglasses and a sweatshirt. The kids got more gifts than they needed and all were happy. 

Saturday morning we go up and decided to go down to the Landing to do some after Christmas bargain shopping. Again, it wasn’t terribly crowded, which made my brother Mitch feel better. He stayed outside and sat on benches while we shopped and then he, Grammie and Pop all decided to go home when the rest of us decided to go eat pizza at the Mellow Mushroom. Once lunch was over, Stuart and I got home and spoke via messenger with our English and Irish friends that we had traveled to see in the summer of 2019. This are our friends we met in the UAE. Every since this pandemic we’ve tried to speak every couple of months. It’s been so wonderful! 

Around 3 pm Stuart had to leave our call to do a pub quiz with his dad and brothers. I sat on the front porch to finish my call and Stuart sat on the back porch to do his pub quiz. Once the foreign conversations were over we played whiffle ball in the front yard for a while. It was cold, but not unbearable. Millie had been out riding her hover board and then decided to play while still wearing her helmet. 

She took her helmet off for the photo. 

After our steak dinner, we headed out for our long anticipated bonfire. We made S’mores. It was nice and cozy. The smoke smell, although a great one, always reminds me I have to wash my hair that evening and get my clothes in the washing machine. 

Sunday I was supposed to publish the blog as it was the last Sunday of the month. However, I consulted with my critics (Sue Tharalson and Sherry Bollard) to make sure they could handle me not publishing it for another week. I just hadn’t had the time to catch up on each day. They both granted permission, so I carried on writing. 

We had a delightful brunch of leftovers made into a breakfast-like meal. Morgan and Donavin had to fly back to Yuma Sunday afternoon, so we bid them farewell. 

Then Mitch, Grammie and Millie went out to get ingredients to use Millie’s new unicorn baking set. I love it when people want to do things with my kids, especially things the kids like to do. I bake with my kids and Stuart has taught them to cook certain things, but memories are made when other family members do these things with them. And I like memories being made. Experiences are what life is about. 

Mitch gave instructions, the cake and cupcakes baked and then the waiting game took place. We decided to play Blokus, one of the new games we got, while we waited for the cakes to cool. 

I really like this new game. 

Uncle Mitch even taught her how to pipe the icing. She had a blast. 

Doesn’t everyone squeeze some of the icing in their mouth after decorating? That girl loves sugar. 

Once the cakes were finished, we had something to eat and then the kids set up the movie theatre downstairs. They took drink and food orders and made assigned seats and tickets. They love doing this. It’s a bit of a hit with the family. We watched the new Mulan, which many hadn’t seen. It was good the second time as well and everyone enjoyed it. 

You can see the assigned seat papers on each seat. They are professionals. Their clean-up skills are lacking, but the initial presentation is really good. After the movie, Jack showered because he had been outside sweating most of the day. Millie just changed into her jammies and it was bedtime for them. Millie kicked up a fuss when Stuart told her it was time to go to bed. She wanted to play dominoes and had she maybe not been so rude to him it might have been considered, but her initial reaction is usually to yell at us when she doesn’t like something. Although some of her behavior has been curbed by this medication, it is still not the right dosage. We will get to a point where it is the right dosage, but we are not there yet. At any rate, she was tired and had way too many late nights. Although it was our last night, we still needed her to get her sleep. Now that we are back in Arizona and will see my family more often I didn’t feel as guilty having her go to bed. 

Monday morning at 8 am we began our drive back to Arizona. In fact, everyone except for Grammie and Pop left Branson. We left quite a mess for them for sure. Their plan was to return to Arizona the first week of January, but we all tried to talk them into waiting until the infection rate in Arizona had subsided a bit. We shall see what they decide to do. 

Our trip to Albuquerque was pretty uneventful. We made excellent time as we only stopped three times in the 12.5 hours of driving. The kids were perfect travelers. They really are just attached to their devices for the journey, so that makes things quite quiet and easy for us. We arrived at our hotel and decided to order something from the restaurant downstairs. We had just eaten junk all day so needed something other than chicken nuggets and French fries. Unfortunately, Jack wasn’t terribly fond of the soup we got him, so that was a bit of a waste. The kids showered and then we all got in bed and watched television. Millie was the first to drop off as she hadn’t slept at all on the journey. 

We set the alarm for 6 am. We needed to get back to Arizona to meet with our bathroom contractor in order to select the final layout of our shower. Plus, when you are only six and a half hours from home, you haven’t seen your puppies for over a week, and you have Santa presents to play with, you really want to just get home. 

We ran into snow and may have fishtailed a bit when changing lanes one time. It made all of us a bit nervous. 

We stopped a few times, but got home around 1:30 pm. Stuart and I unpacked the car and started sorting out our stuff. It’s the part of a trip I absolutely hate. At 3 pm we met with the bathroom contractor to make some final decisions about our bathroom. It was decided that we would actually end up putting in a glass door on our ‘walk-in’ shower. It seems the shower tower I selected would have such water power behind it that we would have to have a door in preset not to flood the entire bathroom each time a shower was taken. After the decision was made we decided it was actually for the best. Having the door would keep us from freezing once the shower was over. I hate showering and then being cold afterwards. So we were pleased with our decision. 

After our meeting with Steve, Stuart took my car to be cleaned while the kids played outside with the neighbors. When he got back from cleaning my car we both took my car to be cleaned. We got back and fed the kids and then Jack went to open gym for two hours. Stuart dropped him off and went to the grocery store for some needed items. Millie took a bath and used one of her bath bombs Santa brought in her stocking. It was a cool rainbow one that spit out color as it fizzed and moved around the tub. The color of the water when the bath bomb finished fizzing was brown. It was a bit gross. 

Stuart picked Jack up and was home just after I put Millie to bed. Stuart and I ate dinner then and watched a travel show for a while. Once Jack was in bed, Stuart decided to go as well. We had all showered in the downstairs shower because the other showers are being demolished for our remodel. I stayed up and watched the final episode of The Bachelorette and then moved on to a few episodes of Keeping up with the Kardashians. Don’t judge!

Wednesday morning we got up and headed to the eye doctor. All eyes were fine except for mine. The doctor asked me if I had been stressing over something recently. I basically said everyone was surely stressing about something lately. So, I was sent to a specialist and will see what they say about my left eye and it’s functionality. That appointment will be at the end of January. 

We decided to go to Uncle Bears for lunch. When we got home, Steve, the bathroom guy, was there. He was preparing for the shower to be tiled the following Monday.  I gave him another healthy check and then I went to Goodwill to look for furniture. I found a side table that was definitely going to need some love, but for $14.79 I think I can manage. 

When I got home we decided to spend the rest of the day organizing and getting more sorted for the house. The kids played outside most of the day, which just thrills us. They seem to have more friends in the neighborhood than they did in the Village. Millie plays with the same little girls everyday. She is so happy. And Jack has connected with the boys right next door. The oldest one is Jack’s age. It makes my heart happy for them. For the evening we just chilled and did a whole lot of nothing. 

Thursday morning Stuart and I got up and headed out to Tuesday Morning to look for some mirrors and other things needed for the bathrooms and to complete the house. We found the mirrors for Jack and Millie’s bathroom, and a few other things we wanted. Once we were home, the neighbor kids all came to play in the house and Cole, the five year old, stayed downstairs with me to play with the dogs. He also helped me bake some cookies. He’s a little old man and so dang cute. We have good chats. Ha! When the kids went home, we got ready for our dinner out with Maytee, Ken, their friends Lori and Jason, and Yolanda, Maytee’s mom. We were going to a place called D’vine. The kids were going to stay with Gigi and Lexi. This restaurant was amazing, or at least it used to be. It was a set menu. The food was okay, the service was also okay, but they served the desserts in little tin foil cups. Tacky! It was a little disappointing. Thank goodness the company was really good. Maytee’s brother, Rick, joined us for a while. He and Stuart started a discussion about the virus and the handling of it. Rick’s statements were a bit off about the facts, so Stuart set him straight in his polite fashion. I have to say, Stuart has the ability to calming make excellent arguments for what he believes in. For as explosive as I can be when I’m passionate about a subject, he is equally calm, cool and collected. He’s quite intelligent. Honestly, I can’t keep up with him in this regard. 

There were party hats for everyone. 

The restaurant portion of the evening came to an end and we returned to Ken and Maytee’s to shoot off fireworks. There were a ton of fireworks, but the flame thrower ran out of juice, so we had to resort to a candle, which also pooped out a couple of times and had to be relit. During part of the firework presentation, Lori and Jason’s son was running through them. Of course Jack wanted to do the same and we said ‘Absolutely not!’ He couldn’t understand and although I didn’t want to point out that I thought it was foolish their son was running through the fireworks, I DID think it was super foolish. Gigi was running through them until Maytee came out and nearly lost her stuff on Gigi. Jack was mad at me and said it was unfair. I finally told him that this was not a discussion we would have. I tried to explain to him that with fireworks we have no idea what they will do so we need to enjoy them for what they are, but be responsible and cautious around them. Millie didn’t even ask. We stayed long enough to say Happy New Year and then we were off to the house. I didn’t make the kids shower as we were washing beds the following morning. 

Sparklers are as close as I will let them get to the flames. 

Stuart was the master lighter and even he burnt the palm of his hand. My hero. 

Friday morning we hit a couple of Goodwills and found some real treasures. I love a good bargain that is actually functional and pretty. 

The table was $9.49 and all it needed was a good wash. 

The lamp base and shade, which still had the plastic on it, was $5.23. Yep! Bargain and cute!

Friday afternoon was spent taking the Christmas decorations down. It’s with mixed emotions I do this each year. That evening we made sausages and tortilla soup. Neither of our kids ate the soup, but both had the sausage and some veggies. We still are not in a meal routine, but are hoping to get into one soon. I think once our decorating is finished we will get into more of a routine. We shall see. We decided we needed a smaller dog crate for Chloe and Bailey, and we decided we would start letting them sleep in our room. The crate in the great room was starting to bug us. So we attempted their sleep in our room on Friday night. It was like having little babies again. I didn’t sleep that well and was up earlier than I wanted to be so that they could go pee. This is my life again, I’m afraid. We are wondering at what stage we will let them roam the house freely at night. I’m thinking it will never be the case. 

Saturday morning we left the house just after 10 am for Jack’s day of basketball. He played with the 5th/6th grade team first and then had two games with just the 6th graders. He played fairly well, but they lost all three games. It’s frustrating to watch them play, but I’ve decided I have to stop yelling at the games. It embarrasses Jack and that’s not right. He told me on the way home that he wanted me to stop yelling at him during the games because he knows what he is doing wrong and I don’t need to tell him. So, tape on my lips will be in order from this point on. I did hear back from the other team we are wanted to check out, but the coach said they have a pretty full 12U team. So we have prepared him for the possibility of staying with Reach until the end of June. We also told him we don’t want to be the parents who move their kid from club to club because we don’t like everything they are doing. We surely don’t want to be seen as ‘those’ parents. Ugh! I already feel the parents aren’t terribly crazy about us. They are really not terribly welcoming or polite. There is one dad who is always really nice to me, but other than that we have not felt terribly welcomed. 

After the games we headed home. The kids played with the neighbors for the afternoon while Stuart continued cleaning up our yard and I cleaned the the kitchen, mopped and vacuumed the downstairs. I then decided it was time to give the dogs a bath. That was a bit of an issue. Neither of them liked the water and neither were terribly cooperative. Needless to say I needed a shower right after wrestling with the dogs. Dinner was a hodge podge for everyone. The kids showered and then we watched a mermaid movie with Millie. The last thirty minutes she was awake, we watched a crime solving show, which may not have been the best idea. When we put her to bed she wanted me to lay with her for a while. She never asks me to lay with her. I stayed until she fell asleep. I can assure you if she has nightmares it will be my fault. Jack followed an hour later. What a month we have had. Praying 2021 brings everything we all hope for and surprises none of us expected. 

November

Stuart had headed to the storage on Halloween to load up both cars with boxes. So on Sunday morning, while I was still feeling okayish, I got up and headed to the house early to start washing down cabinets in the kitchen. 

We got the positive test result for Jack. He cried and so did I. I had to figure out how to tell my niece that we would not be able to come to her wedding. She has always been like my first born. We have a very close bond and this was crushing me. I called my brother and asked his advice. He was disappointed we were t able to come but obviously more worried that Jack was positive. My niece was at her ‘first dance’ class and would be back home in the late afternoon. I FaceTimed her when she got home. I started by asking her how her dance class was. I then broke down and told her the story. I cried and she cried. Then she kept saying, ‘I’m not mad, Aunt D. We knew this could happen when we decided to go ahead with the wedding after Covid had begun.’ I was so sad and so hoping I also tested positive as Jack felt it was his fault we were not going to the wedding. That was why Stuart, Millie and I went to get tested Sunday afternoon. I started to feel feverish, but Stuart and Millie felt fine. Millie cried during the test. I will admit it was most unpleasant. 

Monday the kids did a whole lot of nothing. We were all stuck at home together. I was considered the primary care person for Jack and because Millie was exposed, she had to stay home whether she was positive or not. Their teachers were sending homework home that afternoon. Jack was feeling better, but Millie had a low grade fever and was complaining of a sore throat. 

Tuesday the kids did their school work and were a bit low key. Millie and I got our test results and we were both positive. Stuart got his results and he was negative. We had all been wearing masks around Jack since he went for his test the previous Friday, but I never dreamed one of us would test negative. When we found out we had tested positive, Millie and I could start going without our masks around Jack, but we would put them on when Stuart got home. 

Wednesday I went to our house in the afternoon. The kids were absolutely rotten and no help at the house, even though I had things for them to do. It was so frustrating. I worked on the kitchen while they goofed around. 

Thursday I woke up nauseous and with a pounding headache I could not rid myself of. It was by far my worst I had felt. The kids were left to their own devices. I have no idea what they did all day, because most of it I was in bed. Tim Tharlson, by way of Sue’s ordering of the food, dropped off delightful burritos that Stuart and Jack loved. I didn’t eat one on that day as I just couldn’t, but I did have one the following day and they were fantastic. Sue  was super thoughtful to put a cheese quesadilla in for our picky eater. When Stuart got home from school he called the nurse line for me as we were both worried about how poorly I felt. The nurse told me to put a cold pack on my neck and make sure I drank Gatorade or something with electrolytes in it. I did as I was told and actually got to feeling better. 

Friday was a totally different day, thank goodness. The kids cooperated and got their work done for school. 

Millie was dressed and ready to go the ‘dress’ reveal. Morgan had planned to FaceTime us and we would get to see her dress before the wedding. Since we weren’t going to be able to be at the wedding, we decided to get dressed up and were going to have a celebration anyway. 

Handsome as ever. 

We were dressed and anxious to see the beautiful bride. 

And she was breath taking! Of course Millie and I cried when we saw her on FaceTime. She was absolutely stunning. It reminded us again how sad we were that we couldn’t be there for her big day. 

Saturday we headed to the house to paint Millie’s room. She wanted pink, so she got pink. It took Saturday and Sunday, but she loved it, even the parts I messed up. Her exact words were, ‘Mom, I love the corner where it looks bubbly. Very cute!’ She does have a way to make others’ mistakes less monumental, bless her. Stuart had tested on Wednesday again as he was sure he wouldn’t escape this virus. So Saturday afternoon he got his second test results which came back positive. Well, the Rona had hit us all now. We spent Saturday and Sunday at the house, painting and getting things cleaned. Since we were closed down to our house, there wasn’t much else to do. 

Monday I took Jack to school and painted his room. Millie did some live meets with her class and was felling relatively good. I was much better as well. Stuart was now home with us and we were one big infected family. 

Since Jack had gone to school, I had told his coach that he would also be returning to basketball. I informed the academy on Saturday. During practice I got a message on the basketball group that simply said ‘It’s only been a week’, then shortly after that one there was a message that said ‘sorry, wrong group’. There is no question that message was about Jack’s return. The Maricopa County Health Department has certain flowcharts that tell when people can return to normal activities after Covid, and Jack had met the criteria. Well, wouldn’t you know, instead of being proactive and addressing the situation with the academy as a whole, the academy said nothing. Therefore parents questioned why Jack was at practice. I contacted the coach and the person who runs the academy to inform them we were following the flowchart. The owner said he would handle things. Then he changed his mind. We went back and forth about whether Jack could come to practice or not. Fair was fair and just because he hadn’t been proactive didn’t mean my child had to be punished. It fired me up for sure. In the end, the owner said he would send the matrix out to parents and Jack could come to practice. 

On the way to school on Tuesday I let Jack know that under no circumstances would I ever leave him out in the cold. I would always stand up for what was right and just, and what this coach was trying to do was not right and just. I had sent the Home Isolation Guidelines to the coach and Tuesday afternoon the entire academy received them. Because I was out of quarantine, I went to practice with Jack to at least be able to discuss his situation with anyone who wanted to discuss it. I even brought some copies of the guidelines. I was hopeful that people had read the guidelines and finally understood. Not one person asked a thing. There was no drama. 

Wednesday we all had the day off. I ran around buying all kinds of stuff for our house. We went to the storage unit and although we didn’t go to the house because the painters were supposed to be there and Stuart was still contagious, we did some things around Grammie and Pop’s house to get prepared for the move. And, because we were nearly clear of Covid, naturally we should get puppies. Great idea! The kids were so excited as they thought we would not be able to get dogs until after Christmas. 

These puppies meant that we had to move into our house, or at least one person had to. We volentold Stuart that he was the winner. Wednesday evening I took the kids back to Grammie and Pop’s to shower and go to bed. I showered as well and then went to our house so Stuart could come back to Grammie and Pop’s to have a shower. 

Thursday three of four of us went to school. I dropped the kids at Kid’s Express and then headed to my school. I was so tired all day long. I definitely was not over this thing, but apparently I wasn’t contagious any longer. I picked the kids up after school and we headed home. I went, yet again, with Jack to basketball. It seems all drama had gone away. 

Finally it was the last day of the week, thank goodness. The kids spent the night at the house with Stuart and the dogs, while I remained at Grammie and Pop’s. We pulled mattresses in Millie’s room as her room was the only one that was completely finished being painted. The painters had come on Thursday and Friday and had painted the common areas except for the little hallway they forgot that is down towards Millie’s room. I called and left a message for the company but knew I wouldn’t hear anything until Monday. 

Saturday morning we were up and headed to storage. Ken came to help us bring some things from our storage unit. This was the day we were to get all our things out of storage, but with it being Stuart’s first day out of quarantine we decided it was best to hold off until the 21st of November. From the storage unit, we got a lot of kitchen stuff and the sofa, well not the cushions. We got lunch and then Ken left. Stuart and I carried on getting the house in order. We worked until the late afternoon and then rested for the evening. 

Sunday I finally finished painting Jack’s room. I tried to stall a bit longer, but I knew that if I didn’t get it done on Sunday, his room wouldn’t be ready for his stuff to move in on Saturday. Our evenings are so packed and I knew not much work would happen during the week because of our Uber service we run for our kids. We spent the rest of Sunday continuing to work on getting all of our things in their correct places. It was a bit difficult without furniture. 

Monday we were all back at school. After school I picked the kids up as Stuart had a class. We were all now staying at the house, but I was still bringing things back and forth from my mom and dad’s house, mainly laundry. Jack had basketball, but Stuart took him and I carried on with the kitchen and the things from the other house.  

Tuesday was school as usual and Millie got to go to her new gymnastics class. She was so excited and the coach was very complimentary of her. I dropped Jack at basketball and headed to buy a few things for the house. He was fine with me but being at his practice, which was a relief as I really needed to get some things done. 

Wednesday we didn’t have to taxi kids anywhere, which was nice. So we spent the evening unpacking boxes and trying to sort out our lives. It was becoming a bit difficult as our washer and dryer were still in storage, but we did our best to manage. 

Thursday Millie was back at gymnastics. We all met up at Kona Grill to have a bite to eat before her class. I then took Millie to gymnastics and dropped her off. We needed laundry baskets so I went to Tuesday Mornings to have a bit of a shop. I picked her up and we headed home. Stuart took Jack to basketball while I stayed home and put Millie to bed. 

Friday was the last day of one of the longest week I’ve had in a while. I was still not terribly well, so getting up to go to school was a challenge all week. At the end of the day, I went to Costco to find some toilet paper. It seems with the rise of Covid again, there is a rush on toilet paper again. I bought some but it wasn’t much at all. Stuart and the kids had also stopped at Wal Mart and bought some treasured toilet paper along with some other necessities. 

I got home and we cleared some space in the garage for the rest of our things that would be coming from storage the following day. I spent some of the evening watching television as well. We were all a bit tired. 

We got up Saturday morning at 6:00 am. I ran to my mom’s to change out laundry and then I went to get donuts for the crew that were going to help us with our storage unit. Ken and his friend, Jason, arrived just before 9 am. I sent them on to the storage and waited for Jack and Brady, teenage boys of two of my friends. When they showed up, they both got in my car as did Millie. I really didn’t think we would use the entire 26 foot truck, but boy was I wrong. Had we not had those teenage boys I am not sure we could have actually lifted some of the things. They were a great deal of help. 

Once everything was unloaded, just before noon, then the real work began. Millie was a great deal of help all day, but Jack wasn’t quite as involved and to us it was more frustrating to yell at him rather than have him stay occupied with his play station. Lazy parenting? Yes, indeed. We worked hard for the rest of the evening and made some good headway. However, it still felt the boxes were unending. 

Sunday morning we were up and at it again. At 10:30 am I went to visit my friend Julie. Her son passed away a month ago and I needed to go and hug her. We talked for 4 hours and probably would have carried on, but her bishop showed up unannounced, so I knew there was something she needed to take care of as she is the president of the women’s relief society at her church. We had such a wonderful time. We laughed and cried and sorted out the world in our own way. She has always been such a dear friend. When I got home I tried to sort out some more boxes but wasn’t terribly inspired. The rest of the day was spent getting laundry done and beds made. 

Monday morning we had decided to wedge the dogs’ cage in the sliding glass door and leave them outside. Did we think about the fact that they would chew the air conditioning insulation? Nope. But did they? Yep. Fortunately they didn’t bite through the wires so the AC still worked. We’ve had dogs do that before. Who thought these puppies were a good idea?

Monday after school I met Stuart and his teammates, who happen to be my friends as well, at a local happy hour place. We got home just before 6 pm to see the air conditioner carnage. Stuart took Jack to basketball and then went to collect things for our Thanksgiving parties in class. Millie went to bed with little fuss. Jack showered when he got home and had a snack, then went to bed. I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up just as Stuart was turning the television off. I popped up and went to bed as well. 

Our bed was finally a reasonable height. We got a bed set for our bedroom, so when the box spring was on it, there was no way I could hop up into bed. The first night I went to bed much later than Stuart and I’m sure it was comical seeing me attempt to climb the mountain we referred to as our bed. The following morning Stuart went to Lowe’s to get a piece of plywood cut to fit over the slats so that we could just put down the mattress. Then on Tuesday morning we decided our mattress was crap and we needed a new one. 

After school Stuart brought Millie to me and he went to buy a mattress. Yahoo! After Millie was finished with gymnastics we headed home and she had her counseling session in the car. It’s not ideal, but I do think the counseling is helping her. She is a smart girl and is doing her best to apply the things she talks about with Hanna, her counselor. Her outbursts are fewer and she is starting to use her skills to her advantage. 

When I got home I took Jack to basketball and went on a search for some throw pillows for the loft day beds. Of course I couldn’t find any. I did find many other things we didn’t need, but no throw pillows. I picked Jack up at 8:30 and he was, yet again, discouraged about the basketball academy he attends. He is upset that he takes things so seriously and other kids good off, therefore causing everyone to run sprints. Then he feels that their instruction doesn’t ever get to be practiced on Tuesdays and Thursdays as they don’t play an actual game on those nights. I would guess we will look for a new club in the spring. This club has definitely been a God send, but it may be time to find something that fits Jack’s personality and drive a bit more. We shall see. I continue to tell him to hang in there and things will work out. 

We didn’t have school on Wednesday in preparation for Thanksgiving. We were planning to go to Ken and Maytee’s for Thanksgiving and Stuart was making banoffee pies for the occasion. He had boiled the condensed milk to make the toffee on Tuesday evening. We spent the day continuing to sort things out. We implored the kids to be of great help by going with us to Grammie and Pop’s to finish getting our things from their house. I didn’t realize how much crap we had accumulated in 8 months. It seemed more tedious to get our stuff from their house than it did getting stuff from storage. Once the kids had helped pack the car, they came back to our house and decorated the tree. To be honest, that was a huge help to me. It turned out amazing. 

We spent the rest of the day cleaning my mom and dad’s house. Once it was clean we came back to the house and carried on with the endless sorting that needed to be done. Stuart rearranged the garage stuff so we had a wall of garage sale stuff and the shelves in the garage were clear to start stacking stuff on. That evening, after taking Millie for two fillings and a tooth extraction, I went to meet up with the Becks and a former student from when I taught in a charter school in the late 90s. Josh was a delightful young man whose mother was a solid rock. Sadly, she passed away from breast cancer before Josh and his brother were even out of high school. She left an amazing legacy. 

Thursday we headed to Ken and Maytee’s around 10 am. Everyone else showed up by 11:30 am and we had a delicious lunch. All the main staples were there. The turkey was amazing and the pies were to die for. We had a great time and although the Greens are not blood relatives, they are still family. 

Banoffee pies!

Maytee, Ken and Yolanda made the day perfect for all of us. 

Friday morning we got up and hustled around the house to make things a bit less cluttered, as Russ, Julie and Emily were coming to see us. They had driven Morgan’s car to Yuma, her new home with her husband Donovan. They were heading to our house for the day and then were to fly out on Saturday afternoon. 

They arrived around 10:30 am and dropped their bags at Grammie and Pops. Then they came to our house for coffee and then some lunch. 

Emily fell in love with the puppies. 

The kids were so excited to see Emily. We had a wonderful time just sitting around and chatting. We had sandwiches for lunch and Stuart and I decided that we really needed them to come this day as it forced us to really get our butts in gear and sort out the rest of the house. We still had bits here and there, but now it was just the tedious stuff. 

Once we had eaten lunch we headed to the Black Friday sales at Arizona Mills Mall. We went to Dick’s Sporting Goods first where we scored on some new shoes for Millie and a couple of pair of sweatpants for Jack, although he chose not to go shopping with us. He was going to need some warm pants for the winter, and especially for when we go to Missouri in December. We found some other treasures and were thrilled with our purchases. We headed back to the house and picked Jack up. We then took Russ to Oreganos fir his 60th birthday. It’s hard to believe I have a brother who is 60. Time is such a strange thing. 

Saturday we got up and made eggs, bacon and roast potatoes. Russ, Julie and Emily came down for breakfast and spent the morning with us. Emily played basketball all morning with Jack and our new neighbors. 

Breakfast was yummy!

Such fun!

Russ, Julie and Emily left just before noon. Stuart, Millie and I went shopping for some additional Christmas lights. Millie and I also went to Justice, a girls’ clothing shop that is going out of business. We got Millie a ton of clothes for about 60% off their original price. We also bought the dogs a dog house. 

When we got home we continued to sort out stuff and get ready for our guests for the evening. Tim and Sue were coming for dinner and Tim was going to help Stuart put in a dog door. They arrived just before 5 pm and we sat and had a good chat. Boy, I miss my walking buddy. There was so much to catch up on. The dog door construction caused one of my kaleidoscopes to fall off the cabinet. They were cutting on the wall where the kaleidoscopes were and the vibration caused one to fall. Fortunately it didn’t break. After the construction was over, we spent some time trying to get the dogs to use said doggy door. They were not impressed. 

We ate and then had dessert. We retired to the sitting room (have always wanted to say that) and then Tim and Sue left. It was a great evening with great friends. Sure is due to get her boot off on Tuesday, so I’m hopeful our walking can resume soon. The rest of our evening was spent in front of the television watching the new season of The Crown. It’s been a crazy month for sure. Here is to the new month of December. 

October

I woke up later than normal on the last Sunday of September, realizing it was still hot in the desert. I think we are all getting a bit tired of the heat, but I find this is the case every year for those who live in the desert. 

We watched church and then headed to Ken and Maytee’s for a swim. We are just doing our best to keep the kids occupied. Being able to finally go back to school has helped with the boredom a great deal. It’s tough, but hoping they are starting to make friends here in Arizona. 

Monday, school was a lot of group work, which we have to monitor closely as to not have them be too close for too long. They are rules we have to follow. We had a STEM activity that was very interactive. After school I had a site council meeting for Ryan Elementary, because I am a parent there now.  It was decided that they would give their sister school, Shumway, which is my school, some tax credit money. It really was touching. My school is in a different demographic that Ryan and the tax credit money doesn’t flow as heavily in my school. I was super excited by the decision. 

Jack had practice where we had a parent meeting during practice to talk about games and tournaments. It was then that I realized I hadn’t paid for his kit or his league fees. Ugh! I’m THAT parent. I ended up transferring the amount twice. Oops! Fortunately it was reversed a few days later. 

I went to bed around 10 pm and woke up at 1:20 am and didn’t go back to sleep until almost 5 am. So I didn’t go for a walk. I got to school a bit later than I wanted, but nearly got my report cards completed so not all was lost. After school I met Stuart and the kids at Santan Village to shop for Disney stuff for the next day, spirit day, at their school. Unfortunately, the Disney Store was actually closed for good. I then took Millie to gymnastics while Stuart continued his quest for Disney attire. Millie and I stopped at Party City after gymnastics to get her a costume. Introducing Anna of Arendale. 

When Millie and I got home, Grammie and Pop were packing up their car while. Millie and I did homework and Jack was at practice with Stuart. We told Grammie and Pop goodbye and went to bed. 

I was awake at 3:15 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. I finally got up at 4:20 am to go walk with Sue. Grammie and Pop had still not left, but were packing their car.  By the time I got back, they had started their journey to Missouri. It was a bit of a relief as we have been worried about bringing Covid home and infecting them. Not that we know what that would have looked like, but we were glad we wouldn’t find out. 

That morning, notice was given that our November 1 our Queen Creek renters we’re moving out. We were also going to be getting the Gilbert house back on October 1, which made everything a bit hectic in my head. We told the kids and they were so excited. They can’t wait to get back into our own house and their own rooms. It’s been so generous of my parents to let us stay here for the last 7 months, but the kids are ready to have their own things in their own house. 

My students got caught up on their online assignments from the first 7 weeks of school. I left school just after 3 pm and went to Ross to get some king size sheets. Stuart took Millie to a check up for her heart. In order to start medication for her ADHD she needs to have a clean bill of health. They gave her an order for an EKG so I would have to make an appointment for her. 

We took Millie to swimming and went to Applebee’s to eat. When we dropped off Jack and picked up Millie, we went to pick up our keys from the Gilbert house. It seems the renters were ready to return the house on the 30th of September, which was fine with us. I took Millie and Stuart home and then went to pick up Jack from swimming. 

 Wednesday evening I was able to watch my trash television for a few hours in the living room. We then had bought some new king size sheets in order to sleep in Grammie and Pop’s bed, but the night was not nice to me. I need a firmer bed for sure, so back to our original bed I went on Thursday night. Sleeping in different beds brought about questions from Millie, but we assured her all was well with us. Ha!

Thursday at school we all discovered that this new, more sedentary way of teaching is boring our students. Sadly, the inability for them to work collaboratively keeps them from some of the fun that school should be. 

After school I met Stuart to collect Millie and take her to gymnastics. She still hasn’t been consistent in her back hip circle, so she is staying in her current class until she shows some consistency. She is determined and driven, so I don’t imagine it will be long. 

I got home and Stuart said he would wait for me to eat nachos that he had fixed for Jack. So I took Jack to basketball. Stuart said I should drop him off and go to Safeway to get a Starbucks like he always does. Uh, how does he do that without an argument from Jack? He clearly has skills I don’t. Jack wasn’t pleased with his performance, but I told him he did well. 

Friday when school was over I went to the grocery store and bought some things to get us through the week of our holiday break. I met Stuart and the kids at home and we took Millie swimming. We then went by the house and decided on everything we needed to do. We had decided to clean the house ourselves as Merry Maid wanted to charge us $475. Uh, we are capable of cleaning it for a LOT cheaper than that. 

Jack went swimming and then we brought Millie home and Stuart picked up Jack after his class  Found out he was going to actually play in a game with his team on Saturday morning. He was so excited. 

Saturday morning we got up and went to the Gilbert house. We started our cleaning regime. 

We left to go to his game at 11 am. 

He got 2 of the 8 points they scored. He was so pleased with himself, even though the team got killed. 

We went back to the house and continued to clean for another couple of house. Once we were home, Stuart and I got ready to go to our friends Sally and Rob Beck’s son Kevin’s wedding. 

We masked up. I can’t say there were many who did. 

I thought this was a clever touch. 

And Kevin and Julia Beck. 

When we got home, I got out of the car and nearly broke my foot. Major sprain, fell and Stuart saved me from an attacking scorpion. Not nice. 

Lovely! And this is the second day after it happened. Needless to say, Sunday we did nothing. We sat around, watched television and I iced my foot. 

Monday we got up and each of us took a kid to the doctor. Jack had a flu shot and his HPV booster, while Millie had her EKG. I suppose staying here for our fall break is what we needed to do to get everything sorted out. They are never going to want a school break again, as that is when I have chosen to punish them with doctors and dentists. 

We met up after the doctor appointments and headed to Lowe’s to buy paint for the dresser we had bought Millie at Goodwill way back in May for $13. I was so pleased with the solid wood purchase, not realizing to paint it and put new knobs on it, I would be out nearly another $150. Oh well, I suppose I couldn’t have bought something of this quality for less than that anyway and she got exactly what she wanted. We then headed for a bite to eat and then home to paint. Stuart and I did most of the painting as it was tedious. As always, Stuart ended up wearing quite a bit of it. 

Millie was supposed to have her counseling session on Monday afternoon, but the video wasn’t working so we postponed it for another two weeks. After painting, I showered and took Jack to basketball practice. He didn’t want to go that badly because he was afraid they would only be doing conditioning. Since he was at the doctor that morning and discovered since we arrived here in March he has grown two inches and gained 22 pounds, maybe a bit more conditioning wouldn’t hurt him. At any rate we made him go, and oh how glad he was. He had the best practice so far. It was as if a light came on and he all of the sudden knew what to do on offense and defense. I’m sure his one on one training session with Brady Reynolds, who babysit for us when we went to the wedding, helped a great deal. He was so pleased with himself. 

Once we were home, Millie went to bed, Jack showered and ate, and Stuart and I sat on the drive for a while, then watched The Grand Tour, a program from the UK that we enjoy. I stayed up a bit later to watch some of my trash television, which sadly I’m nearly caught up on, and then hit the sack just after 11 pm. 

Tuesday Stuart was up early to give the furniture a second coat of paint. I went up to the Gilbert house to pay the yard guy, then went to get my flu shot. Stuart met me there. We now all have the flu vaccine. We then headed to the house to finish up the cleaning. It was going on the market on Wednesday or Thursday (October 7th or 8th) and we were so anxious.

She loves it!

Once the house was clean, we headed back home and unloaded all the cleaning supplies we had taken to the house. We then went to the supermarket for some food. We unloaded the groceries and ate lunch. I finished the last coats on the furniture and then had a rest on the sofa. I took a shower and Millie and I headed to gymnastics. It’s tougher this week to get the kids enthused about their activities because we aren’t in school. When we got home, Jack went to basketball. 

Wednesday I got up and went to breakfast with Sue because I could. My ankle was still a mess so it seemed only fitting that since I didn’t have school I should have breakfast. Stuart took the kids to the dentist and when I got home we headed to Scottsdale to the 3D museum. It wasn’t as great as the one we had been to in Thailand, but it entertained the kids for a bit. 

Then we decided to go to the 3D mini golf place in Gilbert. It was also quite small, but was inside and nice and cool. 

We ate lunch at Creekside Taco, which is just a mile from our house. We can’t wait to get back into our house so we can ride our bikes to Creekside Taco anytime we like. It’s a family friendly place for sure. 

The Gilbert house went on the market on Wednesday as well and had a showing on the first day. We were very hopeful.  The kids had swimming on Wednesday evening and then it dawned on us that our fall break was half over.

Thursday morning Melinda let me know there were two more showings of the house. She had gone and put some little added touches around the house before she posted pictures and listed it. 

We had bacon and eggs for breakfast. We didn’t do much of anything. We did go shopping for food and bought some amazing meats. Millie had gymnastics and Stuart took her. She always gets after him for not videoing her practice. It’s quite funny, really. I took Jack to  basketball and he is finally getting it. He was so aggressive. 

Friday we messed about and did a whole lot of nothing. Bethany and Ollie came over and we had steak for dinner. We also had a great night of catching up. I think camping with them will be a must at some stage. 

Saturday morning we woke up and I headed over to Tempe to have brunch with one of my old roommates, Sarah. Wow, did we have a lot to catch up on. It had probably been over 13 years since I had seen her. 

In the afternoon, I napped and relaxed. Around 4:30 pm Vicki, Ryan, their kids and her two little girl cousins came over. Ken and his girls came over later. Vicki and Ryan has left before Ken arrived. Gavin ended up having a sleepover. 

Sunday morning we took Gavin back to his house and sat and chatted with coffee and donuts. After they all ate lunch, we headed home. Around 5 pm, I took the kids to meet up with Debi and her boys. We ate at Jack in the Box and then let the kids play at the park for a couple of hours. 

Monday morning we got up and I headed to work with Millie because we were having a teacher work day and Stuart took Jack to Gavin’s. Vicki’s mother in law was going to stay with the boys. Adding Millie to the mix would have been too much I think. Millie had fun with me anyway. 

After school I had a mammogram and a bone density test. During the bone density test, the lady twisted my knee to get the appropriate picture and tweaked my back. I was in excruciating pain and stayed that way for the evening. In the morning, after sleeping with a pillow under my knees, I ended up doing some stretches and throughout the day my back got better. I was also still suffering with my nasty ankle. Getting old is not for the faint at heart. 

I met Stuart at the doctor’s for our wellness visits. We left the kids at school in Kid’s Express and I headed back to get Millie after my appointment to take her to gymnastics. Jack was picked up by Stuart after his appointment. 

Millie finally got her back hip circle on the bars, which would mean she would move up a level soon. This also meant more money and longer classes. She was so pleased with herself. Stuart took Jack to basketball which had been set back by a half hour, which is a bit of a bother, but we will live. 

Wednesday my team leader was off of school because her brother and dad had tested positive for Covid. She had spent the weekend around both of them and so she had to have a negative test before returning to school. As teachers we are considered essential workers so we are not held to the same 14 day quarantine as everyone else is, so she returned to work the next day as she tested negative. 

Wednesday evening it was swimming as usual. I took Millie, then picked her up and dropped Jack off. Stuart returned around 7:30 to pick Jack up. 

Doesn’t everyone wear a shirt over their swimsuit to their swim practice? 

Thursday was business as usual. Alyssa, my team leader, was back at school and I certainly took further precautions. I suppose it’s just a matter of time before we are all affected by this crazy virus, but I’d just as soon avoid it all together if possible. The kids had their activities that evening. We have become the taxi service I used to hear so much about. 

Friday morning Millie lost the plot and her consequence was to miss gymnastics for the following week. After school I headed to Mesa to pick up Lexi. Ken and Maytee were going out of town and Lexi was spending the night with us. Millie was thrilled. 

Millie went to swimming on Friday night, but Jack had a basketball game. This game went a bit better than the first and he definitely played more aggressively. 

Saturday morning Jack had to make up his swimming class that he had missed on Friday night. When he got home, Stuart made us a beautiful breakfast. 

The kids carved pumpkins and Millie and Lexi drew on their little pumpkins. 

Millie and Lexi creating their masterpiece. 

While the kids carved pumpkins, Stuart and I FaceTimed our English and Irish friends. It was so good to catch up. We talked for nearly 2 hours. 

Around 3 pm I took Lexi to church to drop her off. I got back and we did a whole lot of nothing. 

Sunday morning we decided to go to TopGolf. Then we met John and Jen for lunch. We also decided that our kids have no etiquette when we go out to eat. We kind of blame the rugby club for that. They just think everything is about them and that all the attention should be on them all of the time. We had a talk on the way home about this. Then we cleaned the house. 

Millie dusted. 

Jack vacuumed. 

After all the chores were done Millie and I did a face mask. 

Scary!

Monday morning came too quickly. School seems to be as normal as we can possibly make it. The kids in my class seem settled into their new ‘normal’. Millie had her counseling. Jack had basketball and was a bit discouraged because he was missing easy shots. However, he is so coachable and listens and does what he is told. He’s improved so much these last few weeks. 

Tuesday morning my teammate informed me that she was having a Covid test that afternoon. And guess what? Yep! So no school for her for two weeks. This is the same teammate who had tested negative the previous week. I felt so badly for her. 

Tuesday Millie missed gymnastics because of her poor behavior the previous week. She didn’t seemed terribly phased. Jack went to basketball and just continued to gain confidence and skill. I am so proud of his efforts and grit. He puts more pressure on himself than we could ever dream of putting on him. 

Wednesday the kids in my teammate’s class were sent a letter to let them know there had been a positive case in the class. Since all the children were in school, it because less of a mystery. 

Wednesday evening Stuart took Millie to swimming while I helped Jack with his homework. Then Stuart headed to the grocery store while I took Jack to swimming and picked up Millie. She came home, showered, ate, did her homework and went to bed while Stuart was collecting Jack from swimming. Stuart and I sat on the back porch for a while, as the weather at night is finally pleasant. 

Thursday I felt I was meeting myself coming and going. There was a lot to do at school and we had a busy afternoon as usual. I took Millie back to gymnastics because she had actually improved her behavior throughout the week. Since, according to her, I had nearly ruined her gymnastics career by keeping her out for the one lesson, I figured I had better make things right. We got home after stopping at the grocery store. I ended up taking Jack to basketball. He just continues to improve. 

Friday school was interesting. My teammate and I got into a discussion with our other teammate’s substitute. It became a bit too political so I backed out of the conversation all together.

I went to the supermarket after school. On the way I missed a call from Jennifer. She works at Sanborn and our schools share a Dean. She was shocked I hadn’t called her after I got the email from our Dean. Well, about an hour later, my school actually got the email. Apparently he had decided to work for the Chandler Online Academy because of personal reasons. It was definitely shocking. 

When I got home, Stuart was heading to swimming with Millie. I took Jack to swimming and picked up Millie while Stuart finished cooking dinner. Ken and Maytee were at the house when I got back. I picked Jack up after swimming and we headed back to the house.  The weather had started to be nice at night so we ate on the back patio. They didn’t stay terribly late, but we enjoyed our time together as we always do. 

Saturday morning we were up and headed to Jack’s basketball game. Before the game we got a breakfast burrito at Los Favoritos. I had forgotten how amazing those things were. Jack’s team won their game. And, oh, wow, did Jack play well. He scored the last 5 points and they won by 5. He was a happy chappy!

After his game we came home and then I met a bathroom guy at our QUeen Creek house so he could quote our bathrooms. At 3 pm we headed to the swim club for the kids’ time trials. 

Prior to entry, everyone has to maintain face covering and social distancing. 

This little princess freezes in the pool but she swims like a fish. 

They both did very well. When we got done, the kids changed clothes and we headed out to dinner at Creekside Taco. It was fun. 

When we got home the kids showered and then watched television. It was a chilled evening. 

Sunday we were up and doing laundry as well as cleaning a bit. We then headed out for the afternoon to buy paint for the kids’ rooms. I’m not totally convinced letting them pick out their own paint was the best idea, but it can always be painted over. We also had a look at tile for our bathroom remodels. It’s so hard to decide. The rest of the afternoon was chilled. We got the quote from the bathroom guy and had to have a think about what we wanted to do. We had contacted three other contractors, so would make our decision once all the bids were in. 

Monday school was just as hectic as last week, as my teammate was still out. I helped get her sub organized, who was a pro might I add, then carried on with my day. After school I stopped to get some items for our STEM project and candy corn for Millie’s class as they were building candy corn towers on the Friday before Halloween. We had also decided that we would not let the kids trick or treat this year. Our Halloween experiences have been mostly in the UAE and have been fantastic, but this year is very different. So we told the kids, who were disappointed, but understood. 

Monday evening, I stayed home with Millie while Stuart took Jack to basketball. Millie and I watched Sister Sister, a throw back show for sure. She loves it! 

Tuesday morning I was at school early enough to help my neighbor’s substitute get organized. Later in the day, I got a message from Sue telling me her fall on her walk last week produced a nice little boot for her. She had been informed the Friday before that there was definitely a fracture in her ankle. She described it to me and I nearly barfed at the details. Needless to say, our Wednesday walks are over for a while. I feel so badly for Sue as I know that being idol is not necessarily in line with her way of operation. 

Tuesday after school, I picked Millie up for gymnastics. She was so excited because if she nailed her back hip circle, which I finally can recognize, then she would be moved up to the next level, which is just below the competition level. Well, wouldn’t you know it? She did it! She even has the bruises on her hips to prove it. She was so thrilled until I told her we couldn’t start until the week of November 9th. She was angry, but since she has a dentist appointment on the first Tuesday of November and we are going to my niece’s wedding on Thursday the 5th of November, gymnastics is out for next week. She was so distracted by her accomplishment that she left her water bottle at the gym, which I had to collect the following day. 

When she and I got home, she ate dinner and showered. Stuart has made taco meat for my staff lunch the following day. I really do have an amazing husband. Stuart also took Jack to basketball practice and Jack came home telling me the coach told him he was really close to taking one of the starters’ positions. He was so pleased with his progress. 

Late Tuesday evening I got a message from my other teammate. She had a family emergency and would be out of school for the rest of the week. Wednesday was a busy day with little time to breath. I just wanted to make sure the two subs had everything they needed. After school I headed to Wal Mart to exchange some long sleeve shirts I had purchased for Millie. When the cold spell hit on Monday it dawned on me that she didn’t have any winter clothes. Jack is a hot box so his need of winter clothes is not as urgent. But Millie is a thin little thing who gets cold when it’s 78 degrees outside. I then picked the kids up from school as Stuart had a meeting after school and wasn’t sure he would get them home before it was time for Millie to go to swimming. Turns out I wasn’t terribly ahead of him in getting home. Millie got changed and we headed to swimming. On the way, I called the swim school to assure her, and Jack, that the pool was kept at a constant temperature. They had complained about the pool being cold the previous week. When I called, the school assured me they keep the pool at 86 degrees all year round. I’m not sure this was the total truth, but when I swapped Jack for Millie, Millie reported that the pool was a lot warmer that evening than it had been. The temperatures had dropped so much since Sunday, that if it hadn’t been warmer, I was afraid they would get sick. 

Stuart picked Jack up from swimming and when they got home Jack begged to stay up until 9 pm. I wish our kids would stop trying to bargain every night for a later bed time. It’s a bit unnerving. 

We had also gotten a message that the appraisal on our Gilbert house that had sold had come in about $9000 less than what we had been offered. Since the buyers actually offered $25k more than it was listed for, we felt we were still ahead of the game. So we told Melinda to carry on and get that thing closed. 

Thursday morning we got an email to tell us there was a water main break at our school and we would be without water until they could fix it or get a water truck on campus to continually fill the water tanks. Needless to say, this was quite an inconvenience, but it didn’t last long, which was great. 

The kids had their initial writing day for the year, which was somewhat brutal. Lunchtime brought aggravation, as the meat I brought for nachos was all gone and I hadn’t brought anything for lunch. Boo! There was not enough food for the staff after all. However, someone had made some amazing beans so that filled the hump. 

When we got back into the room after lunch, we started the typing portion of our Drop Everything and Write assignment. As I was trying to help one of my students get onto the website, his eyes got huge. He grabbed his throat, as if he were choking. I thought he was going to throw up, which made me panic as I’m a bit of an empathetic barfer. So I pulled him up and escorted him outside. I pushed him towards the rail at the top of the stairs of our portable. He gagged a few times and then threw up a key ring with a clasp attached. I couldn’t control myself and I yelled, ‘What the hell?’  It scared me to death. Then I realized what I had said. I turned around and told the class that ‘Mrs.Telford may have said a word she shouldn’t have said.’  Two of my girls said that was okay as the whole situation was scary. I called the counselor and she and the nurse came out to speak with the boy. 

I then confessed my sins to my principal and some dots were connected. It seems that two of my students were out of the room at the same time, using the restroom. This keychain with the clasp had been knocked off at the bathroom and the bathroom pass had been ripped off. The boy had picked up the key ring and put it in his pocket. You have to love school cameras. I may have been spoken to about their signing in and out of the classroom. Ironically enough, they had been seen by a teacher just dawdling out by the basketball courts. She made me aware of this, which happened to be the same time they had ‘found’ the key ring. So when she told me this in the morning, I had declared they had lost their bathroom privileges because of that incident. Little did I know what would unfold after lunch. 

I picked Jack up after school and we went to get him a hair cut. He so badly wants a perm, but we are not budging. I’m not sure where he has gotten this obsession with a perm. He has been on this for several months now, but has no idea what it would be like. So, after a definite ‘no way’, he just had it whacked it off again. Stuart had taken Millie to gymnastics and I fed Jack when we got home. 

I took Jack to basketball practice and after practice he  was complaining of a headache. He then spiked a fever and started coughing. Hello, Covid test. So Friday I stayed home with Jack and he had a Covid test that I totally screwed up. The little wand was supposed to go up both nostrils, but all I heard her say was to put it up the most stopped up nostril. So guess who got two Covid tests on Friday? Poor Jack! After his test, I brought him home and he rested for the afternoon. His fever subsided and he seemed a lot better. I was hopeful that it was just a head cold, but worried about it being Covid. They said it would be 3-5 days before we found out. Unfortunately, if it was positive we would have to cancel our trip to Arkansas for my niece’s wedding. It would have been more convenient for us had we had quicker results. Sadly, because he had the test for Covid he missed his first basketball tournament. He was so disappointed, but clearly didn’t feel well enough for it to bother him terribly. 

By Saturday morning, I had started to feel like I had the flu. Since we have all had our flu shots, the likelihood of me having the regular, seasonal flu was very slim. We were sure Jack was positive and we felt the rest of us should get tested. So we scheduled a drive through test that would take all three of us on Sunday, November 1. 

In the meantime, the Queen Creek house was having it’s final inspection and we were able to go down and check it out once the property management lady was gone. I was supposed to meet her there, but since I was feeling a bit under the weather, I called her and told her I probably shouldn’t. 

Jack re-enacted his toddler days by laying in the bottom step and falling asleep. He’s a nut, even when he doesn’t feel good. 

This was Stuart’s first duty at the house. I think we are the only ones in the whole subdivision with a sign like this. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Once we had finished checking out the house, we continued on with our evening. It was Halloween and we had told the kids they could pick out some candy at Wal Mart, we would watch Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and we would have a family night. Jack was feeling a lot better, so there was a bit of a ray of hope. Time would tell.