A Rolling Stone

Where to start?

We went to Tyler, Texas last weekend to enjoy a Day Out with Thomas at the Texas State Railroad. The Day Out was actually quite fun - perfectly geared to younger kiddos. It wasn't overcrowded and there was plenty to keep the kids busy. Unfortunately, Moose did not sleep the night before and was melting down about two hours into it. I also had a crazy headache. Our Day Out was more like a Morning Out. Oh well. We still felt like we got our money's worth.

The hotel we stayed in was disappointing - the pool was outside, the tub didn't drain. But I have no complaints about the mattresses. The dog was also awful in the hotel room - she whined A LOT and barked every time a door closed or a person walked by. Ugh, we cut the trip early and were back in Shreveport by 12 noon on Sunday.

I went to Urgent Care upon arriving home. The headache was just awful and wouldn't go away - it was like a stabbing pain that made me gringe so badly I couldn't drive. I was diagnosed with a suspect-case of shingles. My scalp has a red rash, but no blisters. I'm on an antibiotic and pain killer, and the pain stopped completely yesterday afternoon. So, maybe we got to it early enough? Maybe it's not shingles? I don't know, but it sucked.

Oh, and Saturday morning ... my mom had a FIRE IN HER HOUSE. It started in the basement and traveled through the window and torched a chunk of her deck. Amazingly, the damage was minimal and she made it out safely. Her insurance has been very responsive, and she has new floors to pick out now :) She's living in a hotel till Wednesday, but she sounds amazingly NOT STRESSED despite the circumstances. So, thank goodness for all that. I can't believe it wasn't worse. She, of course, waited till Sunday evening to tell us because she didn't want to ruin our Thomas trip.

I started a j-o-b today. I'm tutoring at under performing schools. I had NO students show up today, so I'm off to an awesome start. Since participation is so low at this school, they're moving me to a different school ... so maybe I'll actually w-o-r-k on Thursday. It's just two days a week for about three hours each day. It pays well and Husband's schedule is pretty flexible right now, so we don't even have to pay for child care.

Bean tested for a stripe on his high white belt today and did well at the testing, but then he was called out four times afterward for fidgeting. The ONLY kid called out, according to Husband.

Oh, also, my husband has tossed my sweet kittens outside. Somehow, on Sunday, between when we arrived home and about six hours later, they tracked pooped all over the bathroom and the bedroom carpet and had smeared it around the lid of the litter box and flung a sticky combination of poop and litter onto the door. I tell you, they defy both reason and gravity with their litter box antics. They seem to be doing OK out there - they stick close to the house and are eating well, and I haven't found out where they're pooping yet ... so that could be a good or bad thing. So, now it's two outdoor kittens, a dog, and three chickens.

Chickens are laying an egg a day lately. The white one is certainly in the throws of molting.

Moose continues his reign of the Terrible Twos. You just never know with that kid. I'm getting a little discouraged with his speech ... he's still hardly saying a thing, and we've been going twice a week for MONTHS now. He likes going, though, so I hate to just stop. It's certainly not hurting anything.

So, that's that.