Dog Walking

I'm proud of Baylee this summer.  She's taken it upon herself to expand her dog walking, and she's gone from one job to three, and from one dog to five.  (Two of the homes have two dogs each.)  She's being very responsible with it, even walking them in wet, windy, chilly weather like today.  I took this picture after she got caught in a pretty good rain shower.

The woman Baylee's worked for for a couple years recently wrote this letter of recommendation for her:

To Whom It May Concern:

I'm happy to write this letter of recommendation for Baylee, who has been walking my dog, Kali, for the last two and a half years.  She is a bright, professional young lady who has proven to be extremely flexible, reliable, and trustworthy.

I knew from the onset that Kali was in good hands.  I had seen Baylee walking her own large dog, so I felt confident she could handle Kali, a pitbull/doberman mix.  She quickly formed a good relationship with Kali, giving her lots of love and attention, which helped gain Kali's trust (and mine).

After seeing what an outstanding job she was doing walking Kali, I trusted her with a key to my home, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.  In over two years she has never had a single issue letting herself in, dealing with our home security system, or locking up when she leaves.

Baylee also takes the time to communicate with me about any issues she sees with Kali. She once noticed Kali limping, took the initiative to cut the walk short, and left a note for me.  I am so thankful for the outstanding job Baylee does, and more importantly, my dog absolutely loves her.  She's healthier and happier thanks to Baylee.  I highly recommend her services to anyone!

Sincerely,

[her name] 

I have to admit, that makes me feel pretty good as a mom! 

Sunday

I was very domestic this afternoon.  I cleaned the whole house really well, and then I made a "comfort food" supper of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and veggies.  My evening plan:  Sit in front of the TV.

Mike and Drew are going to Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral this evening to listen to Drew's friend Nick play the organ in something called a post-compline recital.  Nick may very well be my favorite friend of Drew's.  He's kind, funny, smart, and extremely talented on both piano and organ.

Speaking of Drew, he and I are going to have a come-to-Jesus talk just as soon as I get a chance.  When Mike picked him up at the SoR today, his friend Gavin was standing there next to him.  "Hey, Dad," Drew said, "can Gavin come home with us?  Feel free to say no, but we already cleared it with Gavin's parents.  In fact, they think it's all worked out, so they didn't come here to pick him up from rehearsal."  Argh.  I mean, I like Gavin, but Drew totally backed us into a corner with that.  I remember trying that sort of thing with my mom once.  I must've been younger than Drew is, though, because that's when I first learned the phrase "taking advantage of someone."

Windy Saturday

Today has been like this...

...except there wasn't a tornado, there was just really high winds.  It wreaked havoc with the power all over the Seattle area.

Baylee and Rachel had big plans today that started out with breakfast at Denny's with girls from youth group.  This is them waiting to get picked up for that.  I thought they looked cute.

Then they were going to their friend Evelyn's house for a Dr. Who marathon, and finally they were going to their friend Saryn's house for a movie (The Village) and an overnight.  The only part that worked out as planned was the breakfast.  The power was out at Evelyn's house.  They still went, but instead of watching Dr. Who they played board games and did puzzles.  The overnight was canceled, as the power was out over there, too.

(We still have power.)

Yesterday Drew left for work with Red at 6:30am, and he didn't get back home until 12:30am.  That's a 16-hour work day and 2 hours of driving time.  (!!!)  When he finally arrived at home I wasn't sure what to expect, but his first words upon walking in the door were, "Great day!"  LOL  That kid.  When it comes to this job he's got a very happy spirit.

Friday

Yesterday Mike informed me that I made a terrible tourist-type mistake on this blog the other day.  That is, I said "Pike's Place Market" instead of "Pike Place Market."  My response was something along the lines of, "Oops.  Oh well," but that wasn't gonna fly with him.  He insisted that I get back on here and fix it.  LOL  Fine.  I guess eight (and almost a half) years of living here means I'm not allowed to make that particular mistake anymore, but I'm still going to use an umbrella once in awhile if I want to, so pbbbbbt.*  

Do you ever feel indignation when you find out that a book you want to read isn't available on Kindle, but that you actually have to buy a hard copy or get it from the library?  I want to read Pioneer Girl, a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder that's supposed to be really good, but it's only available in (very expensive) hardcover or paperback.  #FirstWorldProblems, I know.




*Umbrellas are considered touristy here in Seattle, too.  

Thursday

Not long ago we switched our internet/TV provider to Xfinity, and, I have to say, the TV part of it has been awesome!  I can tell you what's so cool about it in two words:  On Demand.  You press the "On Demand" button, and a whole world of shows opens up to you...whole seasons of them, in fact!  I'm embarrassed to admit that in the last few days I've gotten hooked on a murder mystery/horror program called Scream:  The TV series.   It's campy, more than a little stupid, and scary...all things I usually hate...but I'm invested now.  Actually, last night I was dreaming about it, and I woke up suddenly knowing (I think) who the killer is.  It took me forever to get back to sleep after that.  We'll see if I'm right soon, because the season finale is in a few days.

*grin*  That's not true for me right now, though.  I've been doing something diet-wise that I kind of love.  More info later maybe.

Poor Drew.  Two days ago he worked from about 5:30pm to midnight, then he was scheduled to start the next day (yesterday) at 7:30am.  That meant a 6:30 pick-up from Red.  He worked until about 6:30pm, so he was gone 12 hours.  He ate supper, then disappeared into his room.  I went to check on him later and he was sound asleep on top of the covers, fully clothed, with the light blazing.  It's safe to say he was totally exhausted.

Wednesday

I'm the only one home, and I'll be the only one home for hours and hours today.  Mike, Zach, and Drew are at work, and Baylee is babysitting for 7 hours.  You know you're in your 40's when, given an empty house, all you want to do is clean it.  It's the perfect opportunity, you see, because there's nobody around to mess it up!

Speaking of Baylee's babysitting job, she got it a couple weeks ago, and then, too late, we realized that it conflicted with her appointment to get her cast off.  She didn't want to leave the people in a lurch, so we had to reschedule the appointment.  Instead of getting the cast off today she has to wait another 4 days.  That's a bummer for lots of reasons, not the least of which is that her arm is turning into a zombie under there.  When she scratches it with the zip tie, big pieces of dead skin come out.  And the smell (she informs me.  I refuse to find out for myself) is atrocious.

Monday

Yesterday evening Drew and some friends from the SoR went to a free benefit concert at Pike Place Market.  A couple of the people who played in it are actually famous (Mike McCready from Pearl Jam and Duff McKagan from Guns n' Roses), so it was neat that it didn't cost anything.  And the boys got there early enough that they were right in the front.  They didn't get any pictures, but another friend of theirs from the SoR was behind them, and she recognized them and snapped this:

All that blonde hair belongs to Drew and his friend Owen.  If you look you can see the band on the roof above everybody.

I'm starting to get worried about Gibbs.  Every few days he has a really upset digestive system, which leads to him either throwing up or having horrible gas...or both.  Also, his stomach makes the strangest mewling, growling noises.  It's almost like he swallowed a cat whole, and now the cat wants back out.  (Where's Cooper???  Just kidding.)

Man, it's hard to believe that summer is almost over.  It went by so fast.  I'm pretty sure, though, that sometime this week or early next week the box with all the stuff from South Ridge will arrive at the front door, and then it will feel more real.

Today...

...the air is hazy and world smells like a campfire.  The smoke from the wild fires on the east side of the state is blowing all the way over here to Seattle.  (Did you know Washington is in a state of emergency because of the fires?)

...Baylee and I worked for the last time in the 4's and 5's department at church.  That was a fun two years with a really fun age group.

...I had to cut the beginnings of an unintentional dread lock out of Drew's hair.  Sigh.

...Mike went bike riding with some friends of ours, a husband and wife who rode a tandem.  I asked Mike beforehand if he was going to be a little embarrassed to be seen with them, and he said no.  Then I asked, "But what if it was a three-seat tandem, and you were in the last seat?  Then would you be embarrassed?"  He said yes.

A New Guitar and Stuff about Growing Up

Did I mention here that Drew put a guitar on layaway several weeks ago?  Well, today he finally made the last payment and picked it up.  It's a beautiful 7-string Ibanez.

I asked him how he could go from playing a 6-string to a 7-string, and he just said that it takes a little getting used to, but it's not a big deal.  So...*shrug*...I still don't know.  lol

Lately I've been thinking about how my kids are all getting so independent.  Honestly, it's weird for me.  It feels like just yesterday they had to have adult supervision all the time.  They were babies only a couple eye blinks ago!  Now Zach is 20 and drives himself to and from work every day, plus to wherever else he wants or needs to go.  Drew is 17 and, even though he doesn't have his license yet, has found ways to get around the city.  He and his friends figured out Uber, for instance.  They pool their money and use the car service to get places quickly.  And Baylee is Miss Entrepreneur lately.  She's getting so many dog walking jobs around the neighborhood that she's having to turn people down.  I mean, don't get me wrong.  I love that they're striking out on the own, but the mom in me hasn't caught up to it yet.  There's a part of me that still wants them right by my side.

Practice Session

She's almost fully back up to speed.  She said the cast makes it hard, because she can't bend her wrist, but she's making it work.

Drew's Construction Job Lately

I mentioned the other day that Drew had gotten a ride to and from work with an ex-con.  Well, since that day Drew has carpooled with him several more times.  His name is Red.  Yesterday Drew rode with him again, and when he got home he said, "Mom, you know how people sometimes give money or granola bars to homeless people?  Well, Red gives cigarettes."

"Really?  But what if they don't smoke?"

"I don't know.  They always take the cigarettes."

----------------------------------------------------

Yesterday Drew came home from a job that he and three other guys were subcontracted out to.  (That happens sometimes.  Usually they work for the original company, but sometimes groups of them are loaned to other companies for a day or so.)  Anyway, Drew said that the man in charge of this particular job was Asian, and the first thing he said to the guys when they got to the site was (and, by the way, Drew told us this with a perfect accent), "Hello!  My name is [such and such]!  I can either be your best friend or your worst enemy!"

Tuesday

Gibbs must've eaten something weird, because for the last couple days he's had the absolute worst gas you could imagine.  He smells like he died awhile back, and somebody used black magic to reanimate his corpse.

Out of the blue yesterday I remembered a story I haven't thought of in years and have never told here, so today is your lucky day.

The Time I Saw Someone Get Hit by a Car

One day when Mike and I were newlyweds we were driving to our friends' house, and we were stopped by a red light at a large 4-lane intersection.  (I don't know if I'm saying that right, but I mean that it had 2 lanes going each way.)  A disabled girl who looked around 14 or 15 was crossing in the crosswalk.  She was slow, and when she was not even halfway across the light turned green.  Of course, all the cars in my lane were waiting for her, and there were no cars in the next lane (the one going the same direction).  We were the first in line, and when she was right in front of the left corner our car I saw that a car was coming up fast in the next lane, because, like I said, that light was green.  Its driver didn't realize it was on a collision course with this girl who was hidden to it.  There was no time to do anything at all, and the girl was hit.  She went up on the hood and then fell into the street.  I got out and ran over to her, as did a few other people.  Somebody called 911 and we tried to get the girl to just lie still until the ambulance arrived, but she kept trying to get up, saying that she needed to get home on time or she'd be in trouble with her parents.   Nobody could stop her from walking to the side of the road, but we did talk her into sitting down in the grass by the curb.  Pretty soon the ambulance got there and took her away.  I'm sure Mike and I stayed long enough to talk to a police officer, but I have no memory of that.  I also don't remember how the driver of the car who hit the girl reacted. 

Anyway, that's my story.  It was pretty awful!

Monday

Last night in the car Drew made me laugh so hard that I probably should've pulled over.   I'm talking tears-streaming-and-no-noise-coming-out laughter.  What is it about teens that makes them so funny?  I think it's a mixture of intelligence, inappropriateness, and lack of discretion.  Sometimes...often, actually...my kids make me laugh when I don't want to.  I'll be like, "Hahaha!  Stop it!  Haha!  I mean it!  That's not okay!  Hahahahahaha!  You're gonna be in trouble in a second!"

This is one of the songs Baylee will be singing.  It's kind of fun.

Back At It

Yesterday she started practicing again, which I guess means she's over letting the cast hold her back.  Maybe this isn't good momming on my part, but I told her that as long as it doesn't hurt, she can go ahead.  (When we went to the doctor the other day he said that the bone is stable and drumming won't re-break it, but it might cause her pain and swelling.  I take that to mean "it's okay as long as it feels okay.")  Please excuse the messy room and baskets of clean laundry waiting to be folded.

Friday

Today it absolutely poured out.  It rains a lot here (except this summer, which was abnormally dry), but it doesn't usually do much more than sprinkle.  Today, though, there was a Michigan-like rain!  I loved it.

Baylee loves the rain, too, and took the opportunity to get comfy with the cat this afternoon.

I've been slowly getting curriculum in the mail for the last couple weeks.  So far I've gotten almost all the extras (things that I can't get through South Ridge) taken care of.  Next week I'll order everything from the school.  It's funny how it's so exciting to get all this stuff and look it over and start using it, but then by the end of the school year I want nothing more than to burn it to a crisp and scatter its ashes to the four corners of the earth.

I think I mentioned that Baylee's going to be singing a couple songs in the AC/DC show next month.  I don't know if I also said that she's getting voice lessons at the SoR right now, since the drum lessons are impossible.   She had her first singing lesson yesterday, and she really liked it! The only thing is that her particular instructor wants to get kids over that "I'm too shy to sing in front of people" thing right off the bat, so if the kid isn't projecting, she makes him or her stand out in the school's hallway and do embarrassing voice exercises at the top of his or her lungs.  Everybody can hear it.  lol  Having been forewarned of this, Baylee made sure to project.  Afterward, the instructor came out and told Mike that Baylee has great pitch.  It would be neat to be able to continue with the voice lessons even after the cast comes off, but that's not financially possible.  Oh well.

Alright, this is a short post, because I'm determined to get this house really clean today, and so far all I've done is make my bed and fold some laundry.  I've got my work cut out for me.

The Good and the Bad

Good Thing:  When you're searching through Overdrive (the app that lets you check ebooks and audiobooks out of your local library system) and you randomly come across a new book by an author you love.  It's like Christmas in August!

Bad Thing:  When you have nice, clean clothes on, and you open up some sort of food item that splatters everywhere.  Today it was salsa on my shorts that just came out of the dryer.

Good Thing:  Baylee was invited to go to Disneyland with Patty for four days in October.  They'll be going with a couple other people and having a great time, I'm sure.  Luckies!

Bad Thing:  All day long there was a huge spider in our bathroom, which Baylee and I (the only ones home) trapped under a glass.  It was horrifying.  I thought about lighting a match and quickly sticking it under there, so that the flame would use up all the oxygen and the spider would suffocate, but in the end I just waited for Mike to get home and squish it.

Good Thing:  I should end with a good thing, shouldn't I?  Hmm.   Oh!  I can't believe I didn't think of this one first!  My lower back, which has been hurting for weeks now, is miraculously quite a bit better today.  I'm so glad.

Wednesday

Sunset picture from yesterday's date night with Mike...

We went to a place called Rain City Burgers, which I highly recommend if you ever come to Seattle.  It's really good and not too expensive.

Baylee had a check-up at the orthopedic center today.  She's doing fine, but she still needs to keep the cast on for another 2 weeks.  To be honest, I'm concerned, because if she moves her arm the wrong way she still has sharp, stabbing pain...which is normal, I guess...but we were hoping that she'd be able to start playing the drums again soon.  Now he's saying that might not happen for 4 more weeks.  That's a problem, as she has a show in September.

Today I found out what DAMHIK means.  I've been reading it for years, not knowing exactly what it stood for, but thinking it was something along the lines of, "This is my experience, but yours might be different" (like another version of Your Mileage My Vary).  Anyway, I finally googled, and it turns out I was wrong.  LSNED*!












*Learn Something New Every Day

Nope

Conversation from Today...

Baylee:  Mom, the Rouillards have kittens and they're giving them away for FREE!!!  Can we get one?

Me:  No.

Baylee:  Here's a picture.  Don't they look cute???  They still have that gray and white one!  It could be mine and I'd completely take care of it by myself!

Me:  No.

Baylee:  Will you at least think about it?

Me:  Okay, but I'm just going to be thinking about how much I don't want another cat.

Baylee:  Alright, so you take a day to think about it then.


Sigh.  lol  (The answer is still no.)

This and That

This morning I was looking for info from one of the early years of this blog, and I came across something cute:

"Today I learned the nomads got to live in a much better place.  There was water and food all the time.  It's called the Fertilizer Crescent."  ~Baylee, during a 1st grade history lesson

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(Disclaimer:  I'm aware that what I'm about to say makes me sound like I'm totally not on top of things.)

Last night Baylee and Rachel wandered into the TV room, where I happened to be, and I looked up, shocked.  "Rachel [Last Name]!" I said.  "What are you still doing here?!  It's midnight!"

Rachel giggled and Baylee said, "We were just hanging out and now we wanna watch some TV."

I mean...what???  lol   I knew Rachel was at our house, but I figured she'd gone home hours earlier!  Geez Louise.

-------------------------------------

Speaking of those two hooligans, today Baylee and Rachel are at a youth group lake party, and from there they're going to a sleepover for the high school girls from church.  It should be lots of fun and another good chance to get to know people.

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It's weird how some schools in the country had their first day today, but here in Seattle the public schools don't start for another month.

Weekend

This has been a running-here-and-there, everybody-doing-their-own-thing kind of weekend.  I guess that's the way things often are when you have older kids.  Let's see...

On Thursday Baylee spent the night with a fairly new friend named Emma.  She's a SoR kid.  Baylee and Drew mostly each have their own friends there, but Emma is one friend that they share.

On Friday Drew went to a little show in Bellevue that one of his friends played in, and then he and a couple other friends bummed around town afterward.  One of the things they did was go into a car dealership.  The men working there must've been having a slow night, because they let those three teen boys sit in a brand new Tesla and try out (re: blast) the stereo. 

Also on Friday Kian came over and he and Zach finished building Zach's new computer.  It looks awesome!

Baylee babysat recently for about 8 hours and made a good amount of money, so she decided to spend some of it on the DVDs for season one of a show she likes.  She watched several episodes over this weekend and had a lot of fun with it.  She even set up her bed on the floor so that she could plug in Mike's computer and watch it on that.  (He wouldn't let her have it up where her bed normally is, because he was worried she'd drop it off the side...like she did my iPad.  Grr.)

And last night Drew and Baylee went to a  surprise "Sweet 16" birthday party for Emma (the same girl from above).   It was at a neat building in West Seattle that used to be an old Vaudeville-type place.  It was build in 1913 and has a cool Wurlitzer organ in it that's from the 1800s.

picture taken by Emma's mom

Now the rest of today is going to be spent cleaning the house and getting things all nice and organized around here again.

She Makes Me Laugh

There's this app out called Dubsmash that lets you sync your face with someone else's words.

Original Video...

Baylee's version...

Thursday

My world was rocked today, and not in a good way, when I heard something awful about an acquaintance.  We don't even really know each other, but we often find ourselves in the same circle of people because of circumstances, and for whatever reason the few interactions I've had with this woman have always been weird and negative.  For instance, one time she invited the two women standing next me out for coffee, but ignored me.  Another time I asked her a question, and she looked right at me and said nothing.  It was as if I hadn't spoken.  It was so kooky.  The only thing that makes me feel better is that it's not personal, as she treats almost everybody badly.  Anyway, it's come out that this woman has a huge, icky secret that she's been hiding, and it got me thinking:

Why is it that sometimes the ones who treat others the worst...Who try to make them feel less.  Who belittle them.  Who lord over them...are secretly the most horrible themselves?  You'd think those folks, more than most, would have reason to be gracious.

In completely other news, Drew has a nasty head cold.

Also, Baylee was asked to sing lead on two songs in her show!  The director, Jane, didn't want to give Baylee more drum parts, because she won't be able to practice them for four weeks, what with the bum wrist, so she gave her singing parts instead.  So, yeah, this will be a new and different experience!  (I'm nervous.)

 

One More Quick Little Post, Because It's Burning a Hole in My Brain

Lately, like within the last year or so, it's struck me over and over, in several situations with a number of different families, that some parents can't/won't say "no" to their kids.  It's frustrating to watch, because those people are creating monsters.  The stories I could tell would have your mouth hanging open in shock and disbelief, I promise you.

I'm not saying Mike and I are perfect...at all...but for crying out loud, we have no problem with "no."  The truth is that "no" usually makes our lives easier anyway! 

Gearing Up for School

Last weekend I finished the paperwork for Drew's 11th grade year and got it sent in to South Ridge, and today I did some work on the end-of-year portfolios for Drew and Baylee.  Plus, over the last couple days I've had an email conversation with the academic adviser at the school, in which I got the okay on the classes I'd like Drew and Baylee to take for this upcoming year.  Because of all that, I'm finally getting a little bit excited about school again!  Here's the plan for this year:

Drew (12th grade):

• Chemistry
• French 2 
• Civics (one semester)/Economics (one semester)
• British Literature
• the rest of Algebra 2 (he didn't quite finish it last year)
• Typing (one semester)
• Music (through the SoR)

Baylee (9th grade):

• English 1
• Algebra 1
• Biology
• Successful Living:  Studies in the Book of Proverbs
• French 2
• World Geography
• Music (through the SoR) 

It'll be a busy year for us, but I think it'll be good!

PS:

I sound like the worst mom on the planet in that last post, but, really, it wasn't said in a mean way.  Just in a tired way.

And speaking of the cast, it broke between the thumb and pointer finger and is loose, so now we've got to go back to the doctor tomorrow so they can either fix it or put a new one on.

Calgon.

"Mom of the Year"...Or Maybe Not

Baylee:  I'm getting in the shower and I'm gonna need help with my hair again, Mom.
Me:  [sigh]  I'm so sick of helping you.
Baylee:  I'm so sick of you helping me, too.  Trust me.  This is not a one-way thing.

I mean, I love her and feel for her, and, of course, I'll keep helping her for as long as she's in that cast, but I'll be very glad when I don't have to wash her hair anymore.  It's hot and I always get wet.

Sunday

I wrote this on Facebook today:

Drew is having the best summer. He got a construction job, which is almost full time, and now he has a side job helping a guy with landscaping work. He's really busy working with his hands, and he's making good money. I haven't seen him this happy in ages. 

And that's the truth.  I just can't get over how....well...almost joyful he is.  It's neat to watch. 

Baylee tried playing the drums today, just to see if the doctor, who told her to take a month off, might be wrong.   He wasn't.  She's bummed.

    
And Zach and Kian are working on building Zach's new computer even as I type this.  I think it's going well, although the thing is so big it looks like a computer from the '70's.  I overheard Kian sarcastically say, "Yeah, it doesn't look like you're overcompensating for anything at all."

Saturday

I'm so happy!  I finally got motivated (by the fact that the deadline is looming large) to finish all the paperwork for Drew's junior year of high school and to get it sent to South Ridge.  Woo hoo!  What a relief.  That's been hanging over my head all summer.  Now I have to deal with end-of-year portfolios for both Drew and Baylee, and then I can look forward to the upcoming school year with nothing in the way.

When Baylee went back to camp for that last day she took a black sharpie to get signatures.  The director of the camp also gave her a silver one and some good advice:  He told her that a zip tie makes an excellent scratching tool.  You can fit it down in between the cast and the skin, and then run it up and down and the teeth scratch the itches.  Mike found a zip tie in his toolbox, and, yup, it works well!