Update, almost 2 years later: my neck

 Remember this?

It's that time back in May 2024 when I had a bunch of throat hardware yeeted to save my health and maybe even my life!

Briefly: diagnosed with hyperparathyroidism in early 2023 due to labs indicating high calcium followed up by labs showing high parathyroid hormone levels. Took a while to work through referrals for bone density scans, ultrasounds and a nuclear scan, needle biopsies, etc. before I finally found a parathyroid/thyroid surgeon who took care of everything. In the process, we learned that I had papillary thyroid cancer, but not until it was already out of my body and everything was good.

I just had labs done and the goodest news is that there are no thyroid antibodies in my blood anymore (and there haven't been since I've been tested starting a year after surgery), which means my body isn't fighting tumors because they all got removed! Yay!

But also good news is that my parathyroid hormone level is within range, meaning my three remaining parathyroid glands are doing their job.

My thyroid stimulating hormone is still a little low, but this is the first time it has been detectible since my surgery. This is because after having thyroid cancer and the removal of the thyroid, I was put on a suppression dose of synthetic thyroid medication to reduce the chances that any tumor material might get "fed" and grow. When you're overmedicated, your body doesn't send out thyroid stimulating hormones because you have plenty. That's not a good solution long-term, as being overmedicated can of course have negative health outcomes.

BUT this means that, as we've lowered the dose, we've allowed my body to move closer to equilibrium. My T4 free level is within range, but if it were just a little bit lower and my TSH were just a little bit higher, we'd be in that sweet spot and everything would be just peachy.

I don't have any symptoms from overmedication that I know of, and just like with my original diagnoses, we're just going on labs at this point. 

I feel really fortunate!

PS That picture was also from a few months before I realized that my hair was curly and I don't know how I missed it! 

But, seriously, they're not resolutions

There are several things I've mentioned lately that I'm working on, and thought I'd take this time, as I'm waiting in the Walmart automotive department to get a brake light changed out (more accurately at the moment, waiting for other people's auto repairs so they can get to my car to change out the brake light), to provide a couple of updates.

First: environmental stewardship.

I wanted (vs. needed) one new shirt, and coincidentally got a sales code in the mail from a company I frequent. I had loaded my basket with several things, which made the average price per item $7 including shipping. Then I thought better of it. I know a lot of people who use PoshMark to sell their used clothes, and that's easier for me than sifting through stuff at Goodwill (where you can't set parameters like brand and style).

Shipping on each individual item seems to be about $7.25. I don't know if that's a site standard (eBay started mandating some shipping prices several years ago, but I don't have any experience selling on PoshMark so couldn't say for sure), but it made the price of the shirt higher than I wanted to pay. I made an offer that was significantly lower than the listing, and the seller accepted it.

I ended up paying $22 including shipping for a shirt I could have gotten for $6 on clearance at the store from whence it came. Furthermore, it had tags on it. I get that sometimes people buy clothes they end up not wearing, so if I kept a new shirt out of a landfill, cool. But if people are just snatching up clearance clothes to sell for a profit on PoshMark, that's not disincentivizing churning out fast fashion, so it kind of negates the whole point.

I'd try ThredUp, about which I've heard positive things... but I rarely need an "outfit" or a clutch or shoes that aren't Crocs.

I guess I'll just do Goodwill next time?

In better news: I filed our taxes about a week and a half ago and already got the refund! Woo hoo! The solar panels are PAID OFF! That's a huge relief, and I'm still so glad we got them. This was the cloudiest, coldest month so far, and our bill was still just $55, compared to $120 last year (and $20 of that is the flat delivery charge, which we'll have even if we don't use any power... which won't happen, because night).

And in very personal better news, I'd decided to be more mindful about my albuterol usage. I was often using it six times per day, and there's no doubt that each time I used it, my chest was tight and my breathing was labored... but it wasn't always a full-out asthma attack. I wanted to see if I could put off using it until later, and maybe at all.

I have two main triggers for my asthma: allergies and stress (I am also reactive to certain combinations of humidity and cool air when I'm outside doing cardiovascular stuff, but that's not super common). Since we have 3 cats, to which I am allergic, I use the inhaler more at home than anywhere else.

The stress thing is often when my sweet son is being super "interactive" and either keeping me from getting something done that I need to do, or just encroaching on my space in a way that makes me claustrophobic and anxious. I figured that maybe during those times, I could wait it out and see if it passed when the stress passed.

I would never pass on using my inhaler when I was on a walk, or doing something that was strenuous enough to require deep breaths, from which I could not take a break to see if I could head off an attack.

I don't know whether it's that delay or just circumstances, but it's been 3.5 days since I've used my inhaler at all. That's a HUGE deal! I did have to hit it pretty hard when we got back from the weekend in San Antonio, while my body got used to being home again. But after that first day and a half or so... it's been smooth sailing! Hopeful that I can continue to manage it like this! (And don't worry: I'm not going to put myself in danger. I'll use it when I need it.)

Finally, I spent a good part of the week culling books from various rooms (not James's, of course), trying to consolidate and get rid of two rickety bookshelves in our living room. Mal and I made a Half-Price Books run and earned a whopping $13 for our full cart of books. That was enough to buy him a set of modeling clay that he wanted, pizza pretzel bites that I wanted, and macaroni and cheese at the mall food court for Mal (I had a free drink as a loyalty reward).

We actually recycled books I'd decided not to take to Half-Price Books because they were chewed up, or just so old as to be irrelevant (a book on space travel from 1983, etc.). Then I moved some books into Mal's room, some into our living room shelving, and was able to put the old shelves out on the curb yesterday morning. They were gone by this morning!

Good riddance!

Now we're just waiting for our carpet to recover from three years of being mushed by the trim. I hope whoever took them does something amazing with them!

The truth is that we could get rid of this much stuff twenty times and only start to see a dent in the "extra" crap we have. I'm ruthless, but live in a house full of people who develop emotional connections to items with which they have a history. I have a theory that we could empty D's closet and it would not impact anyone's life ever, but... alas. I even know that there's an old iPad that's sticky from maybe melted Silly Bands? iPad doesn't work; case is useless due to the melted rubbery garbage, and the hamper in which it rests is full of stuff D hasn't touched since we moved into the house.

But, it's not my stuff so I'm not in charge of that. Feel pretty good about what we've gotten done so far, though! Early spring cleaning, I guess.

James just messaged me that they're heading my way for us to meet for dinner across the parking lot. Have a great week!

WHY AREN'T COMMENTS WORKING?? And other stuff...

If you've been aching to leave us a comment and haven't been able to, then join the club! I typed this comment into James's (as it was posted rather late on a weekend night, may I guess semi-drunken?) rant about mass shootings and gun rights fifteen times before it dawned on me to cut-and-paste it somewhere safe until comments started working again. They still don't work. So, in case you were wondering:

"I would agree that people who commit mass murder/violence of this nature certainly have wrong/dangerous beliefs, but I don't think they're 'insane.' The whole 'mental illness' thing is bandied about in a way that might make people with genuine mental illnesses hesitant to get help, because is this how they're going to be perceived? Anyway, LOTS of people in lots of countries are 'insane,' but the gun violence isn't as high in any other developed nation.

"The guy in Dayton apparently had a history of threatening and frightening behavior that was reported by classmates to his high school, and also referred to the police. Many of them said hearing this wasn't a surprise, and that he never should have had access to a gun. So while the 'red flag' talk seems sort of subjective and 'slippery slope'y, there might be some merit to it.

"Lastly, I do not think the Founding Fathers could fathom what kind of rapid-fire, powerful guns would be available a couple of hundred years later. I'm fine with changing the constitution, if that's what it takes. I know we agree to disagree on this. But so far, no one has used high-capacity magazines to protect their families or property from aggressive government forces; they've ONLY been used to murder as many people as possible."

FIN.

And, yes, I would likely feel different about this if we were talking about limiting access to caffeine or sugar or anything else that is deemed dangerous by some people. I'm also a parent, and I'm susceptible to the fear that comes from knowing people can and do this, and have access to tools to help them... even knowing the statistics. So I can admit that fear is never a great basis for demanding legislation, and yet... here we are.

But that's not really what this post is about, is it?

You're wondering what's going on with us. aren't you? Nope? Well, too bad. Navigate away, then!

Our chickens are now almost 19 weeks old, which means that they might start laying within the next month or so.  When I went out to close the coop tonight, four of the chickens were already roosting for the night. "Fluffy Cheeks" (I tried to name her Monstro, but I think Mal's winning on this front) had her wing over AW's back. I only had my phone, and when the flash pre-shot, they both started to stand up to see what was going on, but I caught it.

I don't know whether the chickens are ready for the heat to break, but I AM READY FOR THE HEAT TO BREAK. Also, the unrelenting lack of rain. It has rained once, for approximately one hour, since July 4. There is no rain in the forecast for the next two weeks. The weather forecast does keep showing the temperatures dropping from the low 100s/high 90s into the mid-to-low 90s, but that keeps getting pushed out two weeks and now I don't believe anything. Our grass is crunchy and dormant, and every time we go outside, we get about 15 stickers in our shoes.

I guess the good news is that we haven't had to pay someone to mow our yard since the beginning of July? And it's weird: we had .12 inches more rain in July than in the average year, at 4.45 inches. And all of it was within the first 3 or so days of the month.

Our solar power is up and running, and our bill for last month was $100 less than it was last year, including a few days when we didn't have the system installed yet. It's been around 100 degrees every day for the past month, so that's not bad at all.

Mal is such a fun kid. Today, he had quite an emotional roller coaster of a day. At one point this evening, we were playing Star Wars with LEGOS, and I noticed one of his ships had a brick missing from under the seating area, so when you picked it up, the pilot fell out. I was trying to put a new brick in place, and Mal pulled the ship away from me. He wanted to keep it the way that it was (he does not like change in the least!). I "yoinked" it out of his hands and was placing the brick when he started bawling. Real tears and everything. And he wailed, "Mommy, no! You are breaking my heart up!"

When I handed him the ship back and showed him that he could just push the brick back out, he smiled and said, "That's better. It's fixing my heart now." Poor sweetie. He has so many feels.

Oh my goodness, though... yesterday he had the worst nosebleed I've ever seen him have. He used to get little bleeds quite frequently, as a result, frankly, of digital probing up in there. They are much fewer and far between now. Used to, we could expect one every couple of days. Now, it's every six months maybe? Well, he got one yesterday. I dammed up the nostril with a tissue and went outside to do something. When I came back in, Mal was still sitting at the table, but sounded weird when he said he'd mistakenly removed the tissue. There was blood all over his face, all around his mouth, dripping onto his shirt, and I even had to wash the chair. Yikes. Fortunately, he was fine. Just... a mess.

Out of the blue while I was writing this last night, Mal decided he was tired and wanted to go to sleep, and it sounded like a good idea. So now I'm up and have started my Saturday and will fill you in on other developments later! Have a great weekend!

Random. R-r-r-rrrandom

I keep making plans to attend alt school open houses, then when they get close, find reasons not to go. I'm sure not the least of these reasons is that tuition even for a part-time unschool-y place would finance a REALLY NICE and a couple of plenty good vacations per year. So maybe we'll just keep homeschooling. I need to find a good source for friends for Mal, though. At this age, D already had a core group of kids we knew would be homeschooling, so when we started a co-op, we already knew a lot of families.

Then again, I'm NOT doing a co-op again, and so if I want Mal to have that same sort of social stability, I'm going to have to pay for it. There are unschooling meetups, but we went to several when he was smaller, specifically preschool groups, and it was obvious that some people had been meeting for a long time, and we'd often not talk to anyone else the whole time we were there.

Besides that... we took a one-off "art class" recently at Mess-Maker Studios. It's a great place, and the facilitator doesn't make the kids do anything; she "strews" and lets them do whatever moves them. Still, Mal flitted from the sensory stuff to three seconds of painting, to playing with toys, and announced it was time to go half an hour into a 1.5 hour session. He WAS the only kid who showed up (it was an afternoon class rather than a morning one, which was packed, but... mornings), and he DID end up finding stuff to do for another thirty minutes while I talked to the owner.

But I am not certain that even in a year and a half, we could commit to a 5-hour day, even in a really laid-back, choose-your-own-adventure kind of place.

In other news: Tonight, we took advantage of a $4.11 per serving cheese fondue at Melting Pot. Mal and I got there before James, who got hung up in traffic. As we sat in the lobby waiting, Mal was obsessed with the real actual oil candle on the table in front of the bench. He was waving his hand over it to see the flame flicker, and having one of his Sonic toys fly over it. After observing how the flame really wavered when he swung his hand pretty hard in the air above it, he thought for a minute and blew lightly. It blew the candle all the way out.

"We were supposed to bring our lighter so we could light a candle if it goes out!" Mal told me.

I said I didn't have a lighter, and they'd just have to light it again later.

Mal looked panicked, and said, "But I don't want to go to jail!"

As we were seated, I told the host that Mal had blown out their candle, but really didn't want to go to jail. She said, "It's a first offense, so we won't press charges."

Later, after we'd had our cheese course (Mal enjoyed playing but ate only some bread and green apples; he didn't even try the cheese), we ordered dessert. Mal told the server he'd like marshmallows, and when she brought the trays out, she had made a special (non-communal) one for Mal and pointed out the graham-cracker-covered marshmallow and the Oreo-covered marshmallow.

As she went on to say what everything else was, Mal interrupted loudly, "Excuse me! Sir! I'd like plain marshmallows, please." She brought him 4.

This weekend, I was thinking about a lot of the things that I'm sorry for in my life. Here are a few:
1) I'm sorry I ever believed the lie that parents have to win the battle of wills against their kids, especially when they're small, so it sets the precedence of who's boss.
2) I'm sorry I used to think that there were certain bodies that could "get away" with wearing certain articles of clothing, and others to which the clothes would be off-limits.
3) I am sorry I never really listened to my next-door neighbor's dad practice guitar because I thought he was going to hell for playing an instrument in church.
4) I'm sorry I was so ignorant that I didn't know the pain it would cause when I did the "Pointer Sisters" lip synch in our high school contest in 1987/88, when I was 15. And I'm very sorry that when a black girl, a neighbor of mine, complained, that the school didn't bring us all together to talk about it. It didn't matter that I LOVED the Pointer Sisters, or that I meant it as a tribute, or that I was just trying to be as realistic as possible, or that I didn't even know the history. I needed to learn. I needed for her to be able to look me in the face and say, "You hurt me. This is wrong." And I needed to be held accountable for finding out why.
5) I am sorry I ever intentionally lost weight.
6) I'm sorry I never offered to mow the yard or wash the cars or do jobs that weren't "mine" when I was in high school.
7) I'm kind of sorry I got an undergraduate degree; not only in theater, but at all. Not sure what else I might have done with my time (and parents' money), but it couldn't have been MORE wasted.
8) I'm sorry for all of the things I missed out on because I was "busy" trying to make some guy like me. I'm sorry I ever tried to date at all before I turned 30, although I'm glad I had D.
9) I'm sorry for any rumor I've ever listened to without speaking up. Same goes for racist or otherwise abusive jokes.
10) I'm sorry for any aggressive beliefs I've held that I believed were justified by the Bible but that did harm to other people and, ironically, the Gospel. I'm growing to hate the term "sincerely-held religious beliefs" because it sounds so innocuous, but I see how it's weaponized. It's heresy.
11) I am so sorry for people I hurt when I was hurting. There's a list, and I think about them often, and I am learning to sit in the sorrow and discomfort, because my "bent" is to try to fix things... even when there's no fix.

I've been thinking about things for which I'm sorry because of freaking Joe Biden, who might/might not be running for President in 2020. For posterity's sake (because sometimes I read decades-old blog posts and don't get the pop references), several women have accused him of approaching them physically in a way that made them uncomfortable. He's gone out of his way to "apologize" by saying social norms have changed, and that he will never apologize for his intentions, and that he always tried to build a human connection.

But, golly, Joe, all you need to do it take responsibility for your actions. Tell the truth: You never thought about how your physical advances might be taken by women because it's just not a thing you think about. It doesn't matter if "society" taught you not to worry about that kind of thing... The fact that it never occurred to you that someone might not like being hugged or kissed or having their shoulders rubbed shows, first and foremost, male privilege/assumption of space/rights to others' bodies, etc. Acknowledge that. Apologize for hurting people. Stop centering yourself by talking about intentions. That's not the point here. If someone accidentally steps on my toes in a crowded place, it's still appropriate for them to apologize. You're more culpable than that, so you owe it to these ladies.

If you asked me, and I rarely get political on here, but this kind of crap is a big reason I'm super over the old white guy President. We need someone with a different outlook on life. Not because old white guys necessarily are compromised or evil or anything like that; just the inability to conceive that your default way of thinking might be able to be improved upon is a liability, as far as I'm concerned. Let's try something different, can we please?

Taking another turn: We were supposed to get our new just-weaned pigeons yesterday, but the supplier caught a cold, so we're waiting one more week.

Mal's awake, so that's it for now. Enjoy your week, internets!

April is Upon Us

Hey, guys, what's up?

Today's been kind of a slow one for us. Mal had the MMR vaccination last week and it hit him hard yesterday afternoon and today.

Mal wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese yesterday, and he burst into tears right before we got there because he saw Dave and Buster's and decided he wanted to go there instead (alas, D&B didn't send me a coupon, and CEC did, so...). Mal ended up having fun, but abruptly announced, "I'm tired of playing games. I want to go home and watch TV and drink soda."

Exhausted kid.

Last night, he did get out and play at the park. But he was ready to go to sleep around 10 PM, which is about an hour earlier than usual. This morning, he woke up an hour earlier than usual, very chatty, then went back to sleep and woke up 45 minutes later. I made him cinnamon toast, which he was in the middle of eating when he just laid down on the floor and konked out.

When he awoke a couple of hours later, he was still pretty listless.

He hadn't eaten any breakfast, and later asked to go to Sonic to get a vanilla shake. He said, "We won't get out. Just bring it home." Because he didn't feel like getting dressed.

Waiting for the shake.

He came home and sat at the table for a few minutes, but didn't really eat the fries he'd requested.

He quickly went back to lie down and chill.

Basically, this has been our day. I thought this might happen, because D became extremely ill for two weeks after getting this particular immunization. Until yesterday, he showed no signs of sickness, which was a relief; D's was instant and lasted a week before a rash broke out torso-wide for the next painful and miserable week.

We were supposed to meet a new friend today, but will get together later in the week. I'm trusting he'll be 100% by tomorrow.

In other news, I am on pins and needles waiting for the tax appraisals to go out for this year. We had been paying extra on our mortgage, trying to knock it out earlier, but are stopping that because, honestly, we're not going to live here in 20 years. When the kids move out, we will sell; it's too much house and land. And it seems likely that extra we were paying will be necessary for tax stuff eventually, anyway. There are so many houses going up in this neighborhood, and they're all priced a lot higher than I would have believed; it's almost like Austin, but a few years ago.

We've had the pigeons now for six weeks... well, we've had two of them for six weeks. After we'd had them three weeks, I let a couple of them out to explore, and they did. Sigh. D's handled it extremely well, and we're getting to "squeakers" from the same gentleman who gave us the first four birds. The two that stayed here (I opened the flight deck for them all, but they weren't interested) are Riddick and Cinnamon. Here's hoping those dudes are friendly enough to the youngsters.

And then there were two.

The birds we're getting are so young that we won't know the sex until later. They just left the nest last week and should be weaned some time later this week. Squee! And no flying for them. I've learned a lot since the unfortunate incident, and have a better plan for letting our feathered friends soar... it's just going to take a while. Like maybe the better part of a year.


That's it for now. Thanks for tuning in! Chat again soon!

Oops!date

Sorry it's been so long! 

As I mentioned in the last post, we're being super diligent about brushing with Mal. He doesn't love it, but he does like spitting into the sink, so as long as he's game, I just have to be patient with the fact that a one-minute brushing (we have a couple of blinking brushes, so you know you've done it long enough) will take at least twice that, and sometimes more, depending on Mal's level of silliness. 

Within a week, the worst of the cavities was already showing improvement. It had been just a black hole, and by the end of the week, I could see the enamel at the bottom of the hole. So we're going to keep doing what we're doing and watch carefully for signs of progression.

I feel much more confident and less leery than I did when we first canceled the appointment. 

I think this is the only day James is going into the office today. You know that feeling you get before you go on vacation where you look around and think, "If I had to keep with this for another whole week with no break, I'd go crazy?" I think we're both at that point. Really looking forward to down time with my favorites.

Monday, which was Labor Day, was one of those days that I couldn't get anything done because of things that kept popping up in the middle of other things. Like, for instance, Mal wanted me to come play with him in his room, and I told him I'd do it as soon as I finished loading the dishwasher. Well, first, the dishwasher hadn't cleaned the dishes that had been in it so I had to run a short wash with dishwasher cleaner and then start it again with the dishes reloaded. In the middle of that, I got a text from one of Mal's friend's grandmas saying that his mom had found lice and that I might want to check Mal. I stopped the dishwasher stuff and had him sit at the table watching TV so I could check his scalp. He's clean! But in the meantime, he spilled his drink in the seat, and a bunch of it fell in between these two plastic pieces that mean you have to take the whole chair apart if you want to clean it out, which I did... so it was like an hour before I got to finish and go play. That kind of day.

Another thing that had occurred to me was that the very people Labor Day is supposed to honor, which is working people who keep our society running, probably did not get Labor Day off: trash collectors, hospitality workers, fast food employees, etc. Nevertheless, it was nice for James to be home and able to hang out. His knees were bothering him, though, which sucks. I have to tell you: I cannot recommend gout. If you can at all avoid it, do yourself a favor and stay away.

My mom came down yesterday to visit for a while, and after she left, it rained for an hour or so. It ended up being gorgeous out afterwards.

There's a chance of rain every day for the next 10 days, so maybe that'll help with the lake level. And, yes, I know the lake is a reservoir, and not primarily recreational. I still like it better when it's high. I will say, the wildlife is more interesting when it's low.

Speaking of which, I read an article in the paper this morning about pets in a nearby (sort of) neighborhood being bitten by rattlesnakes. Gotta make sure the cats stay inside!

Mal's been going to sleep ridiculously late, but Monday and this morning (NOT yesterday!) he's slept in to make up for it. I feel so much less tired when I've had a few moments to wake up on my own schedule in the mornings. 

Now I'm going to engage in the exciting activity of emptying the dishwasher. Happy Hump Day, internets!

April, the fastest month

It's been a full couple of weeks.

Since my last post, we tried out a very cool new indoor playground, Catch Air (and, yes, their URL looks like "cat chair party"). We've been to the one in Austin on Anderson Mill, and it's neat... but for the same price, the Round Rock location is vastly better. It's larger, was much less busy the day we visited, and all but the top level of climbing areas are tall enough for an adult to traverse without having to stoop.

Love the space theme!

Really cool color-changing pad, with a neat climbing area Mal's scared to try.

I think they approve of the toddler area! (They're both GIANT "toddlers," but there were elementary kids on it earlier.)

We've been playing outside a lot, as the weather has been mostly amazing.

Mal's sleeping is getting more fragmented, and I'm going back to "newborn mom brain," after many weeks of feeling like we were getting somewhere, with him sleeping 6ish hours many nights. Today, I read in Reader's Digest that lack of sleep can lead to wrinkles, because during sleep is when one's skin repairs. Actually, the whole article (something like "four things that are giving you wrinkles that you didn't know about!") made me roll my eyes, because... who the heck cares? Not to mention that lack of sleep itself is an actual health hazard. So, yeesh.

We got our tax assessment for 2018 and are filing protests for all three lots. Our monthly property tax is as much as my ENTIRE mortgage payment in 1998. I'll have to go in front of the arbitration board. Last year, they amended the house lot price based on my online filing, but the two "vacant" lots stayed the same. This year, they doubled the assessed price on the lots, and we're definitely not going to be doing that.

More fun, James's mom came to visit for a few days.

The first thing we did after picking her up was to go to dinner at Nland Surf Park, which is just a few miles east of the airport. It was great food and a really neat facility!

I got the avocado and quinoa. James got their Impossible Burger (veggie) and his mom had a polska kielbasa.

We shared these truffle fries.

There were games for land-lubbers, including this and corn hole.

And you get to watch people surf.

You can pay $5 to walk that pier you see in the picture above, and to have access to the beach (but no surfing for that price!). We did not, because we got there at about 6 PM, and their last surfers can check in at 7 since they close at 8. But we were able to see enough this time. If we ever went back and spent the better part of the day, hanging out on the beach and watching the surfers up close would definitely be worth $5 a pop!

James's mom got to see Little Land, experience Snow Monster, see some hangdog bluebonnets, and sleep on an ancient couch. So all in all, it was a nice visit.

Mal and I met friends at the Play for All Abilities park on Friday. I'm happy to report that Mal did not pee on any play structures this time, as he did in the early days of his potty training. We actually used the park restroom, though he did gag when we walked in. That kid cannot stomach the smell (even if it's just cleaning solution) of public facilities.

Just hanging out. In his pajamas.

On the way home from there, we stopped at the Disney Outlet Store and Mal got -- guess -- MORE CARS. But they were on sale! I got mini pretzel dogs from Auntie Anne's, so we both went home pretty darn happy.

This weekend has been... a workout. We're having the play system "maintained" in a few weeks, which means tightening all the bolts, and staining the whole unit. To prepare, it was suggested that we power-wash the whole structure. James borrowed a machine from a coworker, and I got busy.

Well, first, I tested it on the front walk, and ended up cleaning all 700 square feet of porch. THEN I did the play system. We also realized that the roof, though vastly superior to the canvas covers, posed a challenge our ladder was not fit to tackle. My brilliant idea? This.

Brains AND looks?! I'm the whole package!

Suffice it to say that after two days of power washing, my arms are ready not to squeeze trigger-handles anymore. It was quite satisfying, though, watching that dirt blow away. It's tempting to tackle our entire fence, but I think we have about 500 linear feet of fence, and my gripping muscles veto that idea. Plus, it's not like I have all of this free time.

That reminds me!

Today, Mal and I went to the Episcopal church we've visited once and I thought "mehh" but Mal seemed to like. Then we met James for lunch at J&J Barbecue (to which I would link, but they auto-play audio, and that one is a deal-breaker for me), where I finally got to eat their freshly-prepared fried chicken again. But next time, I'll get their cheddar pour burger. HOLY COW, it looks amazing.

THEN James took Mal downtown to Monster Jam. James texted me 19 minutes in that they were on their way home. Even with earphones, the noise was too much for Mal to handle. There went my dreams of a quiet afternoon alone. Although I likely would have squandered it the same way I squandered the hour I'd had before they returned: Doing my Monday chores (cleaning the kitchen and both bathrooms), and then power-washing all of the playscape except for the roof.

I did the roof when the fam got home, because first I needed the SUV, but also because I did not want to fall and lie mangled for however long it took for anyone to notice (D is a day sleeper). However, when I was working on the first side, I turned around to tell James something and noticed both of my guys had wandered indoors. Fortunately, it wasn't nearly the slippery proposition I'd anticipated.

So, good times were had by all. Now, James gets to stay home and work from here tomorrow (and Wednesday!) because maybe we're quieter than the boisterous crew in his office at work? We'll see how that goes! I hope it ends up being sustainable. Will save us both on gas and on tolls.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Mal quote from the past few days: I'd tried to wipe Mal's face while he was eating, but he was ignoring me, so I just put the napkin on top of his head. "Mom, can you TRY to be nice?"

Mini-Update

Last night, I was writing my previous blog post out on the porch, enjoying the sunset and sounds of Texas summer. I'd invited Mal to come out with me, but he was watching videos in the floor of our bedroom.

Anyway, at a little bit after 9, Mal opened the back door and said, annoyed, "Mommy! I'm TIRED!" I asked him if he wanted me to help him go to bed, and he said yes.

We came in, and, of course, nursed for a few minutes, then he said, "I want to go outside now." I have to admit, part of me was like, "What? I thought it was bedtime!" but I went back out with him, and at that point it was pretty much dark. We looked at stars, he looked for fireflies (I guess it's too late for them now), and he desperately wanted to see a shooting star.

We started hearing a very high-pitched whinny, which sounded kind of like a cartoon version of a little pony. Maybe it was a baby fox? Or a bird? Anyway, Mal decided it was a horse, and it kind of freaked him out. He wanted to come in before the horse got us.

I actually had him sit in my lap outside a few more moments, explaining that horses don't really attack humans (but you don't want to walk around the back of one!), and that whatever it was was probably just crying for its mama.

When we did come in, he decided it was a baby horse missing its mama, who had gone to get dinner at McDonald's.

And he was asleep within 10 minutes of that.

It's not always that simple or easy, but it's a lot better than two hours of insisting "you don't have to go to sleep, but you have to stay in bed!"

I understand it's different for kids who have to be somewhere the next morning; no judgement here. Mostly just thought it was a cute interaction I wanted to remember. :)

And this is how he went to sleep Saturday night: we were driving to watch the sunset. We missed it. :)
This is the only thing that works besides "deedees."