Weekend/General Update
Lots of different updates, so I’ll try to be somewhat organized/chronological about it….
FRIDAY: GingerBrett & Elle, MarkyMark, Bobcat & Andrei all came over to hang out. It was the first time GingerBrett had come over, and we were all really pleased that Ginger’s allergies didn’t bug her till after she had actually touched Jenna. Poor Elle! She just turned three, so Jenna’s face is about level with hers. She was really scared of Jenna, screaming a lot, etc. Luckily, GingerBrett didn’t freak out, just reassured her. Finally by the time they left, Elle was getting more used to Jenna and even tossed her a treat after watching Hubby put Jenna through her paces for a treat. Next time, she’ll probably be a bit more comfortable.
SATURDAY: Flash Your Stash Day. In case you didn’t see it, this was the very best picture, hands down. Boy, do I wish I’d thought of that! Then again, it just wouldn’t look that good with me instead of Wendy, so it’s probably better she did it. With me, it would have been kinda scary, eh? “Jenna Day”. We aren’t sure when her birthday is, so we celebrate it on the day she came to live with us — April 1st. I can’t believe we’ve had her for a year. She’s such a great dog! We sang to her, and she had fun opening her presents. She really did open them, too — she ripped open the box with the new insides for her bed. M&M’s first birthday party. Hubby forgot to take the camera with him, though I’d charged up the batteries & everything. Sounds like it was a great time. I wish I’d been up to going — would have loved to celebrate w/them, see Grandma Ruthie, Uncle Jimmy, etc. — but the whole first birthday thing was just too much for me. Later, it was Marco & Mia’s turn to host the babysitting co-op. The Things had fun, and Hubby & I got to go hang out in the 9th & Judah area of the City and eat sushi and walk around. Back in the day, I used to spend a fair amount of time in that area, but it had been at least 12 years since I’d been there. It was a lot of fun to explore and see what was the same and what was different. Ran into Maria from my knitting group, along w/her fam.
SUNDAY: Ooooohhhhh, that “Spring Forward” time change is hard! We’re supposed to be at church by 8:30 for the early teachers’ service, but Hubby ended up going on ahead, and I brought the Things later b/c I couldn’t get them to get out of bed till 9:15! We were actually late for church, not getting there till about 10:15. Yikes! Later, we went to David & Heather’s “BabyWarming HouseShower”. It was great to see all the SAND gang. Gabrielle is due in May, and she’s such a cute pregnant lady! She’s still thin everywhere but her belly; she just looks like she swallowed a basketball. David & Heather’s house is great, and Mansour is so cute! It was good to see Suzanne and get caught up. Sadly, she miscarried a couple of weeks ago. Sigh. Gave her the nine hats I’d made for the special care packages for ICN parents whose babies are dying. She loved them! Since it was billed as a “BabyWarming”, gave David & Heather a blue hat for Mansour, too (all the SAND gang had chipped in back in December for a bunch of stuff for them, so this was more of a token gift). Suzanne had gotten us each something from the March of Dimes b/c they were selling stuff for fundraising. She gave us a blue bunny Easter basket so the Things could put some stuff in there for Paul. Awwww….
GENERAL: Sunday night, this conversation could be heard:
Honey, we need to talk about the budget.
OK, but can we please not have that conversation in bed? I want the bed to stay a happy place.
But you never want to talk about it.
We can talk about it tomorrow night after the Things go to bed.
I don’t believe you’re going to want to do it, but OK.
Well, I kept my committment, and after Hubby did the bills, he did a printout of the 12-month budget comparison to show where we’re over-budget and where we’re under-budget. I was extremely nervous about the conversation b/c I was sure it was going to be an “Erica getting into trouble” conversation, but it was OK. He’s not mad, but I do need to make some changes. The “Yarn Hobby” category was $300 over budget. Oops. Gotta work on that one! (Anybody wanna buy some of my F.O.’s so I can credit that account?) The really big one, though, was the “Gifts Given” one. We do need to make a change to the budget to account for Christmas, but we were…well….$3,000 over-budget the past 12 months in that area. OOOPS. Guess I definitely won’t be joining the next round of the Felted Bag KAL Secret Pal thing.
Yesterday was the first day of the new session of swim class. Thing Two has graduated up from the “parent get in the water with you” preschool class to the “Sandfleas”. This puts both Things in the same class! They were really excited about it, though they were bummed they weren’t put in The Amazing Megan’s class. (ASIDE: Megan really is amazing. In case you haven’t read about her, she’s 16 years old and a total over-achiever. She’s 6th in the junior class at El Camino High academically, is on the swim team, teaches swimming, and I think plays soccer too. She does search and rescue with the Sheriff’s Department. Before we got the Roomba, she cleaned the floors for me once in a while b/c of my back. She’s the only minor we’ve ever allowed to babysit the Things. Oh, and she’s a nice girl!)
KNITTING: Made some good progress on Adri’s scarf. It’s now 47″ long at the longest point. Not sure how much longer to make it. Came up with a plan for fixing the sleeves of Noodles’ sweater, but I need to run it by Helga the Expert tonight at Knit Night first so I don’t mess it up.
Yesterday was Big Mike’s birthday, so we called and sang to him. Thing One said he liked it.
Happy birthday, Christine! Thirty-five ain’t so bad. Just think how young you’ll still be when your youngest graduates from high school.
