Day by Day

I admit it....I stole all of the pillows....one for my knee and two under my head.  When I went out in the open room this morning, Bob was on the couch. I climbed on and he woke up.  He slept on the couch because he had no pillows.  We snuggled and talked for a moment....until......out came Keera.....she climbed up as close to the two of us as possible, then came the dog....then the dogs ball  rolling in between us......an intimate moment-well an intimate  little family moment.

I found out today that I tore my ACL and MCL.  I have to have surgery in a few weeks, but that is okay.  I am so content tonight.  Bob has been around for months to help with rides and appointments and it's been nice to come home to having him here everyday.  Brendan made the varsity baseball team and is being pushed really hard by the coach to get into condition. He scares me when we go out driving, but his sense of independence out of being able to go where he wants is so cool to see.  Connor did not make the Moran team, but he has picked himself up and is trying out for the track team. He is busy trying to write a book and has collected many signed  baseball cards  by sending out requests to major league players.  Katie has made the Moran softball team. She is busy with her social life....semi-formal birthday party,  bowling, sleepovers every weekend. All three are honors students in their respective schools.  Keera is like a sponge...

Obviously Spring has Sprung....the last two weekends Brendan has had friends sleep over above the garage - the barn.  This weekend Brendan is having friends over from school, above the garage...."Dad, these are big guys who will  help set up the pool table."  A 600+ lb pool table). Katie has plans to have friends  sleep over on Saturday and Bob has planned a pizza party for Connor's basketball team on Saturday, above the garage....I think I should start charging a fee for this place!  It's like having a glorified tree house to hang out in.

I don't know if it will come to fruition, but I find it amazing how much drive, motivation and excitement Bob has about the possibility of buying this baseball card store in the middle of town and moving it to the front of our house (commercially zoned-you gotta wonder why we fell in love with a commercially zoned house...almost like it was meant to be).  It's really neat to see someone taken over by something that is really important to them.  We'll see......

Grady, our boston terrier, is two and a half now.  We got him when he was 8 months and I held him every day of that first week....he is such a big baby.  He is definitely a lap dog, if someone is around.   He seems to have developed, from the beginning, a special bond with me (his mom, I guess).  In our old house, he would growl at Bob every night he came to bed because Grady was sleeping next to me and he knew Bob would move him.  That seems to have stopped after moving into our new house, but the affection he feels for me has continued.  The latest example of this is that upon inspecting under my bed (where Grady brings everything he wants to chew on), I found two (not just one) but two of my bras.  Bob says that he thinks Grady is truly in love with me.   Lovely........

Sometimes I think the hardest part about being a parent is when you feel the pain of growing up through your children. When they feel disappointment, you feel it....sometimes it seems like 10 times worse than they do.  You hope that you can protect them from all the evil and hurt in the world, but you know you can't.  You try to prepare them with your words and your actions, but you know you can't make it feel any less.  Sometimes you even feel their pain and you have to take their venting/lashing out about the pain, directed at you, which makes it even more difficult.  No one ever said parenting would be easy, but no book or person could ever prepare anyone for the depth at which you can feel for these little people you bring into the world!

Bob said the bus came early yesterday, so Keera grabbed her shoes and walked  out to the bus in barefeet.  When she got on the bus the bus driver called out to Bob, "She doesn't have any socks."  Bob's answer was, "She doesn't wear them."  Miss Keera has a mind of her own....I can just picture her with her sneaks in her hand, backpack on her back walking out in barefeet to the bus, as if  she owned the world and no....she doesn't wear socks because she doesn't want to.

A warm sun The birds singing The feeling of exhaustion at the end of the day after being in fresh for the first time in months Love that time of year!

Connor came into the house screaming two weeks  ago.  He and Brendan were playing a game that involved Connor using a metal bat to swing at a basketball.  It was fine when Brendan was bouncing the basketball before it got to Connor's bat; however, when Brendan took the challenge of throwing it harder, without a bounce, the momentum of the ball made the metal bat come back at Connor's head - sliced open above the eyebrow.  Trip to the ER - 4 stitches inside, 10 outside.  The Dr. was funny too - he told Connor they don't come as good looking as him,  or Connor anymore.  Then Brendan came down with poison ivy on the face - every year at least one person in our house gets it.  I was just surprised that it was only March and his face was slightly swollen and red with it  - nothing a little bit of medicine can't handle. Things come in threes, so I'm  the third - maybe a torn maniscus.  I was playing in the volleyball game of faculty v...

I was out gardening in the front on Saturday and our neighbor, who actually has a huge house and garage behind our house, stopped to get his mail and said, "I see you have the pump working."  We have a pump in our basement.  I said, "Bob had to clear it out but he was able to get it work."  His name is Perry and he grew up in the original cape that is our house.  His parents owned the two or so acres in the area and they used to see a total of 8 cars go by in a day. We commonly see 8 cars in less than 5 minutes.  He told me about what the house used to look like and that when his Dad sold it, he bought the acre in the back and built a house.  It was kind of neat to know that we are only the third owner of half of our house and the second owner of the newer section.  I guess I like this story because although we live next to a bar and grille and the people in the neighborhood are kind of like city dwellers (which is okay with me after living ...

Keera had a conversation with Tracey last week about why she loves Mommy and Daddy.  She loves Daddy because he brings her for free pancake at IHOP (and other lunch excursions before kindergarten).  She loves Mommy because she was born to love Mommy.  I love that story. 

A little over a year ago, we had to take Brendan to get 14 stitches right above his eye, after a basketball teammate ran into him on the court. As if it were yesterday, well it was yesterday, we relived that incident, only it was Connor this time and a baseball bat.  Brendan was throwing the basketball to Connor and he was hitting it after the bounce with a baseball bat. Unfortunately the ball wasn't fast enough, so they decided to throw it without a bounce.  When Connor hit it the force was so hard that the bat came back at his head.....4 stitches inside, 10 outside, right above his eyebrow. Katie and Keera are as active as Brendan and Connor and yet not one of them have had stitches yet....what's up with dat???? I think the worse part is when they realize they have to have stitches and then the needle of novacaine going into the cut.  After that, it's all down hill and the adrenaline rush falls away.  I thought I would get away with sending Bob this time...

Keera went through another rite of passage today; she learned how to ride her bike with no training wheels.  As I watched her peddaling away as she felt so good about her success, I couldn't help but think that the day before I was in the car with Brendan driving, learning how to park, turn, handle the traffic.  In a sense they are both learning something new, striving for a form of independence; yet, they are eleven years apart.  Life can be soooo cool when you are living it through your kids!