Halling Go To Alaska

Okay, so because I've been more deep and thoughtful lately, I thought I'd throw a little cuteness into the pondering. Here's my S. She was sitting next to me on the couch and she wanted me to cover the flash on my phone because it's so bright. I wonder sometimes what is going through her little mind at 2. Usually she lets me know, but these quiet moments make me wonder. And her latest thing. When I would put her down for a nap or at bedtime, as I was closing the door, I would peek back through and say, "I love you". She used to say "love you too!". For the past couple of weeks her standard response to "I love you" is "No you don't!" in a cute little sing-songy voice. She thinks it's cute. She actually surprised me last night when Tim called to say goodnight to the girls, he told her he loved her, and she wasn't thinking and said it back immediately in her little voice. I hadn't heard her say it in so long...

Well, okay, not MY man. That would be Tim, but I did tell Tim that if for some crazy reason Obama doesn't win in November, we are moving to Canada or France or someplace else. I said yesterday that I have friends with differing viewpoints from my own, and I can still be friends with them as long as we don't discuss those issues. Well, I just couldn't handle the disappointment that was 4 years ago. I would need a fresh start. So, if for some crazy reason...I can't even say it again in the same post...you'll find us up in Canada. Not sure what the job market is up north, but I can downsize. I really can.

I will never call myself an organized thinker. This blog is never going to be "that" blog that people come to for insight. But I have to say a couple of things about seeing and hearing what I have heard from various speeches this week at the DNC. And know that I will be up way too late tomorrow night working because I will be watching Obama speak. Four years ago I felt panicky that Bush would be re-elected. I actually cried tears when Kerry lost. I felt physically sick. I couldn't fathom 4 more years of... I don't even know what to call it. It puts me at a loss for words. Eight years ago I was living in Texas with GWB as governor. Every time I saw him speak, it made me cringe. I couldn't put my finger on it. I couldn't listen to him because it felt physically painful to me - and not in the way where you were hearing things that you knew in your gut were true but weren't ready to accept. I tried to be optimistic when he won the presidency. I wanted it to no...

Okay, really I do have time to post, but then I feel guilty about not paying any attention to the kids. With Tim gone for 2 weeks, I feel they should get some parent time. Crazy, right? Pay attention to your kids? Really. I suppose that's the right thing to do. Even though I did spend hours with the older two doing school work today. Yes, Tim's gone again. He's in Texas (which I'm glad I'm not - humidity is not my friend) for 2 weeks for training for the Guard. I guess you could say that he was gone for the 2 weeks before then too. He was working 10+ hour days starting the Monday after getting back from Colorado until last Friday. The kids would see a zombie-like dad walk in the door at 5:30/6 o'clock. He would get to do the evening bath/bed routine, but I was tired just thinking about being up for that many hours and away from the house. So, anyway, I should get started on my paying job so maybe I'm not up until past 11 working tonight.

So, I've had this blog for, what, a month or so? One of my first posts was about re-arranging furniture. Well, I did it again. My office is in a totally different configuration. I'm trying something different because next week school starts, and I want things as neat and organized as I can get before the chaos starts. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm feeling a little daunted because this will be the first year that I'm officially working with 2 kids. The end of last year, I did work with M, and I'm glad I did. She is going to totally bypass the kindergarten curriculum and jump into the first grade stuff. I know some who don't want to push their kids when they are young, and I don't necessarily see it as pushing. I see it as giving them the opportunity to shine. I think having them in a good Montessori preschool in Idaho showed me that handing over the reigns to the kids in a controlled environment leads to more motivation on their part. We had a bad ...

Okay, it's not my giveaway, but it's an awfully pretty necklace. Go here to enter if you want. I did!

Okay, I think I'm recovering from both the trip and my vertigo. (Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself as I type this.) I've still been pretty tired. Yesterday I actually took a nap. That never happens...well maybe a couple of times, but I was pregnant then. (And no, that is DEFINITELY not a possibility!) So my head is still a little off center, but I can actually look in a direction other than straight ahead. And, even though the past couple of days of feeling like I might fall over, I actually cleaned my house (with lots of help from my kids. No sarcasm here, they actually did dishes and vaccuumed and scrubbed mirrors and bathroom sinks. They can be awesome kids when they want to) because Bunko was last night...at my house. It was fun, as usual. I think my chicken salad was a hit (although I did steal it from here ). Although I presented mine with the option of having it on a croissant or as a wrap with either basil-tomato or spinach-herb tortillas. Luckily I made ...

I didn't take as many pictures as I was planning on. I'm just not the picture-taking kind of person. Luckily various members of my family were camera-happy, so hopefully I'll get to see some of theirs and that will fill in my week. The car ride to Colorado was long. No way around that. The kids did really well though. We left home at 8:30 Friday night and arrived at our destination at 4:30 Saturday afternoon. This included stopping to sleep for a few hours and a sit-down breakfast at Denny's Saturday morning. It was wonderful showing up and seeing most of everyone that first night. Part of the clan wasn't set to arrive until Tuesday. We ate, drank, and were merry. Isn't that what a family reunion is all about? One of my uncles gave me a lift into Denver to pick up Tim at the airport Sunday night. It was the longest 60+ miles I have been in. It took us close to 3 hours to get there. Traffic! Yeck! That is why I don't mind living back in my home...

I'm still beat from the drive home, so here are a few pictures from our trip. It was beautiful there and perfect weather. I'm not thrilled about coming back to summer here in Nevada.