Catching up!!

Remembering Grandma Ethel
I know I haven’t written in a bit, but I have had good reason!  Last Friday was the anniversary of my Grandma Ethel’s death and I just couldn’t.  The year following her passing has been really hard and I probably am not much better about it now than I was when it happened.  I went to Potsdam Friday, with flowers for both her grave and my grandfather’s, only to discover that the cemetary apparently now closes during the winter and hasn’t yet opened for the year.  I have to tell you, that really pissed me off.  I really needed that day, to get a little closure, to pay tribute.  I know it wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t visit, but I still felt like I let her down.  Instead I spent most of the day with my stepmom, and that definately helped, especially since she took me to a new coffee shop in town and I got gourmet coffee!!

Our Canadian trip
I have pics to come, but they need work and I haven’t had time to play with them yet!  But we had a fantastic time, with a few minor issues.  The first of those issues occured on the 416 in Canada on the way to Ottawa.  A few weeks ago, my truck was hit by a drunk driver,… while parked in my spot!  It damaged my rear bumper, cracking it in several places.  So, while I am waiting for a replacement piece, I have been driving around with it looking lovely.  Well, apparently the wind on the 416 didn’t agree with the cracked piece and it tore it off.   In and of itself, this would not be a big deal,…EXCEPT for the fact that the tail lights are embedded in a single piece that connects to the bottom of the cracked part.  So when the piece flew off, the right side of my tail light piece was no longer connected to anything.  Thank goodness for duct tape and the big roll I had in my truck!!  So there I stood, by the side of the highway, fixing my truck!  Great start!!  But we finally got to Ottawa and began the search for a hotel, a fly by the seat of our pants kind of trip.  As it turned out, I went all out and we stayed at The Westin, which was beyond gorgeous.  We took a trip around Parliament, checking out the architecture and the statues, and admiring the view.  We visited the habitat behind the Parliament, housing beautiful and VERY friendly black squirrels and a ton of stray cats, all taken care of by the Parliament.  There was a demonstration going on while we were there, which was definately out of the norm for the kids.  We also did a lot of exploring, just walking around and seeing what was there to be seen, a little shopping.  But most of all it was just nice to get away for a few days and have some fun!  Monday was my anniversary and with Corey in Afghanistan for it, it was nice not to be at home brooding!

The newest member of the Four Eyes Club
Ty’s new glasses came in yesterday and he looks adorable!  I don’t think he totally understands quite yet that these are a permanent part of life for awhile, but he’ll get it soon enough.  Most of the time, he seems to forget that they are even on his face.  We definately need to work on the whole being gentle thing with them, although he hasn’t been too bad with them so far.  I just want to nip that in the bud before I start having to buy one pair after another!  I am really hoping that having his eyesight improved will help with the issues at school.  Here is a somewhat grainy pic of him and his new glasses.  It is clickable to see it full-size!

Where are the parents?
Sometimes I wonder if I am the weird parent around here because sometimes it seems like I am the only one that ever knows where my kids are!  Mine have rules when they go out, but they aren’t all that strict.  Our complex is pretty well enclosed, but some of the residents don’t get that the 15mph speed limit is there for a reason.  Add to that, there are a couple of questionable kids here that even creep me out!  So there are rules.  Ka’lani is 12 and old enough to go out on his own, no problem.  Scott is 7, and he is on his own in our general area, but if he leaves it, he has to tell me where he is headed first.  I don’t think Ty is old enough to go out on his own, not only because he is only 5, but because he is small for his age and a lot of people don’t understand him when he speaks.  It is a safety thing.  If he goes out with Scott, they stay in the general area; if he is with Ka’lani, he can go wherever Ka’lani goes.  I check from time to time, but that is about it.  I don’t think I am all that crazy strict.  However, compared to my neighbors, I must be.  She has 4 kids, ages 5, 3, 2, & 1.  They are always outside, with not a single adult anywhere around.  Her balcony overlooks the yard, true, but these kids are all over the complex, not just in the yard.  I found her 2 year old in the street way down by my friend Jess’s place which is nowhere near within view.  And last night her 5yo and 2yo came to my door wanting to know if I had seen their 3yo brother!  I thought they just didn’t know what was going on, but he really was missing and she really didn’t know where he was!!!  So, Donovan and I went out looking and eventually she found him.  WTF?!  How do you not know where your 3yo is?!!  I mean, I get that it happens sometimes, to the best of parents.  But this is beyond that.  This is a constant state of affairs around here.  My other neighbor also has 4 kids, all 7 or under, too, but she pays attention to them,… most of the time, anyway.  There have been times with them, too, but nothing like this one.  It scares the freaking hell out of me every time I have to back my truck out of my parking spot.  All of these little kids running around and not a single adult paying attention to them.  It is terrifying because the kids pay zero attention to the fact that I am trying to drive!