Daddy Gone, Day 4

Yesterday was Day 4. We woke up with Mal in tears that the Cars book we'd ordered on eBay the night before wasn't here yet. After he cried again about something else, I put him in the car and we drove to an HEB that isn't the closest one to us. But the Cars 2 soundtrack and the drive soothed him.

When we came back home, Nana came over and spent a few hours. We had freaking amazing hamburgers from J&J BBQ, and Mal had fun playing with someone who wasn't, you know, tired of playing.

Later in the day, we were waiting for the refrigerator repair man when Mal ran into his room and asked me to come play with him. I was sitting on the couch, looking outside, when Mal came in and said, "You didn't come play with me!" I had fallen asleep for... two minutes? Five? Seven? A hot minute, anyway.

After the fridge guy and the lawn guy, we were playing in Mal's room when a girl rode her bike up our walkway. She's probably 9ish years old, and a couple of months ago when we were going out for a walk, saw her crash her bike into the empty lot across the street. She'd made a really long ponytail holder ribbon and it had wrapped around her back tire and wiped her out. I'd helped her clean up, get the wheel loose again, and gave her a few bandages. Since then, she's kind of hung out in front of our house a couple of times. We decided to go out to say hi.

Since she was on her bike, Mal decided he'd ride his. I've been trying to get him out there for weeks, since he was riding the bike through our living room and down the hall like a boss. This is what finally encouraged him.

We decided to go to the lake, but Carol was out. We tried to get her back inside, but she wouldn't have it. We got all the way to the park before Carol decided we were MUCH TOO FAR AWAY from the house, retreated into the bushes, and yowled like she was being injured.

We turned around with my promise to Mal that we'd get her inside and drive back down to the park.

Mal found some friends at the park, and last night generally a pretty easy night, as nights go. 

That is where James is right now. It's weird; the first leg of his flight took off 50 minutes late, and the second 35 minutes late, but he is only scheduled to land 10 minutes late. Still, it will put him smack dab in Friday rush hour traffic, so I'm glad he has a Super Shuttle. 

I haven't cooked all week, but am preparing dinner. Because I'm that kind of lady. My kids can take care of themselves, but that guy needs homemade food, ya see.