A Series of Unfortunate Events

We have had a pretty busy couple of weeks. First was Willa's birthday party, her cake for school, a cake for a benefit, new carpet, a TDY & another cake.  Her party was fun, we rented a bounce house for the backyard and just sat back to watch them tire themselves out.

The Series of Unfortunate events started the day after her actual birthday. I had planned on recounting them here but despite how unfortunate they were I have gained perspective. During the almost comical expensive train wreck a coworker's grandpa passed away from a battle with cancer, an old coworker was diagnosed with breast cancer, and the cake was for a 2 year olds benefit dinner. He is battling leukemia. Perspective, I have it. Things have worked out, and we have savings to cover it.  I hate spending our savings but that is what it is there for I guess.

Willa truly embraced her birthday and keeps talking about it and asking if it is still her birthday. Which for several days it was as presents kept arriving in the mail.

She has had some funny phrases lately. She had snacks in the car and asked for them on the way home. I handed them to her and she says, "That's what I'm talking about.". She will also tell you her job is to go to school with her friends & Dad's job is to work on planes.  I am apparently just a Mommy Cow. Sigh...

In other news, I only ate out for lunch once in September and that was the day I had jury duty. I also don't think we ate out for dinner but a few times.  My pants thank me and our better eating.

Willa & I made freezer strawberry jam and strawberry coulis with our bountiful basket add ons. We are pretty pleased with ourselves.  I have also been freezing whatever we don't. Finish of the veggies each week.  I am fully prepared for soup season now.

Its beginning to look a lot like Fall around here.  The leaves are turning, its chilly in the morning, football is in full swing and we love it. Hope it lasts.

Please forgive any typos, typing on a tablet is kind of hard.

De Nile

I just can 't believe Willa is going to be 3 next week.  It doesn't seem possible.  She just gets smarter and funnier each day it seems.  B says I underestimate her but I think I have always had the notion that 2 year olds are still babies and she just blows it out of the water. 

I have been working out of the office this week at the client's that I was working at while I finished my last days incubating.  I literally worked on Thursday, was throwing up Friday morning and headed to the hospital later that night.  They always want updates on what she is doing because they feel like they were apart of my pregnancy in a way.

Being summoned for jury 4 times in the last year has been real fun.  Fun because I have never had to show up....until Monday.  I reported at 8:45 with the rest of the herd.  Even more funny, was the case was semi-related to the client I was auditing this week.  That threw me out of consideration real quick except there was nothing I could do until I was summoned into the pool.  Finally at 10:30 my name was called and I had barely sat my purse down before being dismissed after I told them my relationship with the case.  But it would have been interesting and they were planning on it lasting about 5 days.  The process was pretty interesting and confirmed my thoughts that most people are normal but the nut jobs ruin it for everyone.  One potential juror fit into the latter category and I give props to the lawyers and the judge for keeping their composure through the whole thing.  He was finally excused but it was hard to tell if he was glad or sad, he was so all over the place.

Monday also marked the day I joined my first non-profit Board. A co-worker decided she had too many commitments and that her kids were out growing this particular organization and since Willa is just getting started it seemed like a good fit.  I only hope I bring something to the table for them.

Birthday planning has been going on around here and B has pretty much taken the lead.  He picked out the favors, the cake, and the date.  (He has a tendency to picking dates, our wedding revolved around his preference).  I have been working pulling it all together but I still can't believe it is here.

Funny (well more sweet) Willa story of the week:
We had a babysitter on Saturday so we could attend a wedding.  The girl we had was the summer helper at the daycare this summer and is still helping out in the afternoons now that school has started.  It was the latest we have ever stayed out while having a sitter and she was the first to get Willa to go to bed.  A successful night I think.  So Sunday morning Willa comes into our room and her little lip is sticking out and two big tears are rolling down her face.  I asked her what was wrong and she replied "Miss S. is lost, I can't find her."  Poor girl didn't understand she had left after she went to bed, she had never experienced that before.  We got that all squared away and she spent the rest of the day telling me about how much fun she had.

Interesting story:
My mom and I procured an Ariel vanity at a garage sale last year that has been in Willa's room ever since.  It also talks and Ariel appears in the mirror.  Tonight she is playing dress up in her room and I hear Ariel talking.  Next thing I know Willa comes running and there is something in her and she is scared.  Something in the bubble.  She finally tells me the bubble is the mirror and she wants it out.  So I drag the darn thing out so she can go back to playing.  Now I am not sure what to do about it.  Do I put it back in or do I get rid of it?  It is a neat thing but she really doesn't play with it and I don't want her to be scared of being in her room.

A Reverse in Course

After the Lazy Sunday, the following weekend we were extremely productive.  Instead of working a little bit each weekend we decided to cram a ton of work into two days.  We took out the pool a few years ago and the removed the massive tree after that.  The previous owners had put in a ton  of brick work around the pool and some serious gravel around the tree because the grass wouldn't grow.  We sodded the large are last year and after selling the boat early in the summer we were left with some serious sand, dirt, brick badlands.  We also had some bare spots up by the porch that B kept saying he wanted to get some sod for.  Saturday morning he was off to Ace to get some sod for that area.  After laying those patches we still needed about 10 more to finish it up.  Off he went again and returned with a pallet full of sod.  The quick project quickly turned into an afternoon.  Since we had to prep the area by removing rock, pavers, and weeds it took us a few hours.  By the time we got to the sod we were pretty exhausted.  Willa was a real trooper just doing her thing and playing and then rocked at laying sod.  B would unload it from the truck, she unrolled it and then I put it in place.

It looked pretty good when we were done and we looked pretty dirty.  After showers and lunch we were tired.  On Sunday, we relocated the pavers to the create a "patio" for the grill and smoker.  There was tree/bush that we took out when my parents were here and there is still a small stump we need to remove to get it all complete, but after 5 years the yard is starting to look like a real yard.  Just in time to have birthday party.  Imagine that....getting things done when a deadline is close.

Preschool started up again this week and it also saw some of Willa's friends head off to Kindergarten.  Sadly, this means I lost my sources of information, my co-workers whose son's graduated to K.  I realized this when I forgot to ask if there was a theme for show and tell on Thursday.  I went to text them and remembered they wouldn't know.  She moved up to the new room with a new teacher and so far has been pretty excited about it.

Friday was my firms' last half-day Friday for the summer and B and I spent the afternoon shopping for new carpet for the house.  Talk about stressful.  Besides replacing the windows, this is the most expensive project to date.  Who knew?  After some heart palpitations, a quick run for Sonic's Happy Hour, we went to the carpet place next to my office and had a much better experience.  It will be so nice to have nice carpet in our bedroom, and non-blue in Willa's room.  But ask me again after the install because I am trying to figure out the logistics of that.  We have some heavy furniture and plenty of things in the closets.

Happy Labor Day!