Business Trips and Sunday in the Park with Bob

Last week Bri was gone for three days on business.....business being schmoozing and golfing with work associates! The time with the girls alone actually wasn't too horrible. He traveled enough last year that it really got me used to being a single mom for a few days, although I do have to say we had quite a few timeouts! The girls just seemed to be bugging each other. Alot of times Little One antagonizes G, grabbing what she is playing with and taking off in an effort to get her big sister to follow her and actually engage in some sort of activity together.

The above mentioned behavior usually results in Little Ones sister squeezing her. G doesn't hit or shove, she just squeezes. Squeezes Little Ones arm, her cheek and through gritted teeth will inform her sister that she is making her "sooooooo mad!"

A few weeks ago Little One came upstairs after a ruckus between the two of them.

Little One: "Mom, I hit G and G squeezed me."
Me: "Then what happened?"
Little One: "G said she was sorry, and I said I was sorry."
Me: "It sounds like you worked things out?"
Little One: "Yup!"

Well this last week while we were on our own there was no working things out between them. The whining and complaining reached a fevered pitch where I was sure at any moment my ears were going to start oozing blood from the timber of their howler monkey screeches. So off to timeout they went, one after another and then we started over again! By Saturday they had the gist of what would happen if they couldn't work things out so I must say Saturday went much more smoothly!

It's funny when the hubby is out of town how strangely enjoyable the evenings are. It reminds me of being in Jr High or Highschool, after your parents when to bed and you could stay up and watch t.v. or read a book. Or you could put on your headphones and jam out to Depeche Mode or Crosby Stills and Nash if you happened to have a very wide ranging eclectic taste in music! There is no one to tell you that you really should be in bed because you have a full schedule. There is no one tempting you with his 11:00 pm bowl of icecream that he slurps down happily in between handfuls of chips! There is no one to doze off and leave you to check the windows and doors and the girls when you are so stinkin' tired from staying up and editing photos that you just want to fall into bed!

Now I'm not saying I would want this forever! Bri is my best friend, the only person I can imagine being stranded with on desert island with and never running out of things to say and laugh about. But once an awhile it's good to have a little space to just be!



Sunday in the Park with Bob.....actually Bob and T....my mom and dad!



In celebration of his being finished with radiation and the after surgery we went on a picnic! We met at a lovely park, one of the few parks that has a wonderful canyon for off leash dogs. My parents are dog lovers so being able to watch the dogs parade on their way down the canyon, where they would be able to sing "Born Free" as they froliced with their doggie pals, was so fun.

After lunch we walked down to the playground, which we had to ourselves nearly the whole time we were there!

Anybody who knows me knows how much I adore my parents. It isn't this perfect Beaver Clever thing where you want to gag when you hear about my life with them, I just love them plain and simple. And they love me.

My dad is my hero, the man that all other men in my life are measured against. He can do anything and he knows so much. But he has always been very careful about letting me make my own conclusions on things rather than make them for me. He also can get snitty sometimes about weird things and him trying to teach me how to do my homework was like oil and vinegar....always ending in me stomping upstairs and slamming my door. But it is all the things good and bad, funny and sad that make our relationship so wonderful.



And my mom, she is such an example of how to be a good wife and mother. Of course she is also an example of how to be extremely paranoid of everything and anything.....when I was little she taught me that if someone ever pulled a gun on me it was important to flee in a zigzag pattern so that they would have a harder time shooting me! Such important lessons for a gradeschooler! We talk pretty much everyday and just thinking about her now makes me smile.




After our fun park day we stopped for yummy Slurpees, which G replied "Everyday that it is hot we really should totally get Slurpees" and then home!



Last week my dear friend Carin came to visit with her girls so that we could celebrate her daughter Kate-Kates big third birthday! We had so much fun taking pics of the girls and I can't wait to post them and talk about the fun we all had but both of us are dreadfully behind on photo shoots and editing for clients so we haven't had time to go through the birthday photos! Hopefully this week we are going to hang out and play around with pictures so we can post something!!

Signing off for now!!
S