Look What I Found!

I may not clean house as often as I used to—hey, stop laughing—at least I get to it eventually! But anyway, when I clean, I REALLY clean. Baseboards, window sills, door frames, all the little nooks and crannies of every piece of furniture in the house. Except for the fact that no matter how hard I try, I always seem to realize at the end (just after all the cleaning rags have gone into the washing machine, and the cleaning products are put away) that I’ve forgotten one thing. And it’s never the same thing, so even though I think I’m double-checking myself, I still find later that I missed one table or one shelf, or some little spot. It’s frustrating, but I get over it.


So the other day, as I was diligently polishing the dresser in the guest room, I happened to open a drawer that appeared to be a little off-kilter. I was greeted by happiness, lollipops, rainbows and sunshine! It was so wonderful and so unexpected that I took a picture of it to share it with you.

Now you know that I haven’t cleaned that room since our older son was here the last week of October. My excuse is that awful cold I had for a couple of weeks that also kept me from going to the gym. Yeah, that and a basic and generalized aversion to cleaning. But back to the important stuff, it was a grand reminder of having Jason and Kaitlyn here with us for a visit. I’m somewhat surprised that they still haven’t noticed that she’s missing so many outfits, but life with a 2 ½ year-old is like that…

So I’m going to box them up and send them off to Boston, and dry my tears. I’ll just look at the photos we took when she was here. We covered the zoo, the Museum of Transportation, the pumpkin farm and more. And she still had time to visit all the rest of her St. Louis fan club, which is sizeable.

Maybe I’ll go open some more drawers. I may find Jimmy Hoffa or the Hope Diamond. Maybe Jimmy Hoffa wearing the Hope Diamond.  Hmmm. Maybe I’ll just let sleeping dogs lie…

I've Been Released By the Kidnappers! (You're not buying that, are you?)

I know, I know, first I post a video about shame and humiliation, then I fall off the side of the earth for two weeks! What’s up with that? Well, would you believe I was kidnapped by the Standards and Practices Police for YouTube? No? Yeah, because their acronym would be SAPPY, and that’s just too cute for words. Bordering on the precious, isn’t it?

So the truth is, I was hijacked by the arrival of our son (from Boston) and his 2 1/2 year-old, who spent a lovely week with us! We were blessed with wonderful weather, so we covered some of the town’s high spots together: the local pumpkin farm (same one we took our kids to before they invented grandchildren), the world-famous St. Louis Zoo, and the amazing Museum of Transportation. Photos galore, all right here for your dining and dancing pleasure!

Just as that visit was drawing to a close, we skipped town and drove up to Chicago for a fabulous wedding! Don’t you worry—I have photos of that, too, so you don’t have to miss a moment of my life from the past couple of weeks. I didn’t mean to go AWOL on you—it just sort of worked out that way.



Who doesn't love a Magna-Doodle?

Riding the Zoo Train!  Chugga-choo-choo!

Petting the goats with Aunt Jaime!



"I thought I was the pumpkin!"

This is what 'happy' looks like!





What a great day we had!







  

Walking with Daddy at the Museum of Transportation.

Cousin, Me, Cousin, Cousin, Cousin!
Margaret, Leah, Lee, Carol, Edye!
I'm loving this group-- thanks for a great time!



Losing My Flock

So the nest is empty once again. The birds have flown (literally) and I’m searching every little nook and cranny for a feather. When I find one, it just brings me down.


Three-year old Zachary left his train whistle. His momma left a fleece jacket. My son and the daffodil (De Facto Daughter-In-Law, if you’re new here) left behind a list they will need with them. It all makes me miss them more. So I’m packing stuff to mail off, and drying my tears as I go.

Just a day ago the house was full of life and extra beds and loads of wet towels. Sink full of dishes, and food everywhere, and noise and music and talk, talk, talk. The signs of life that I miss so much now.

CoTU and I just can’t muster up that level of activity alone. I will give him credit for dirtying almost as many dishes as we did with all the houseguests, and the extended family that we had here to see them. He does what he can to add to the clutter, and I certainly appreciate it. (Sarcasm is just another service we offer here at the House of Casa de Rubin Place.) He is sympathetic, and is trying to cheer me up by reminding me how soon we’ll see them all again. Yeah, but why do they have to live so far away?

With the kids here, my in-laws came over; my step-daughter came by, my brother and sister-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and the proverbial partridge in a pear tree. There was activity, conversation and a constant flow of food. And the resulting dishes. And we looked upon it, and yea—it was all good.

Now I see emptiness and stack upon stack of folded sheets and towels. Signs of a family departed.

On the bright side, however, I’m only washing dishes for two. This means that my semi-chapped hands may heal up.

On the sad side, however, the floor puzzles are put away and the children’s books have been returned to the library. Z and I were doing an “I Spy” puzzle on the kitchen floor Sunday, when everyone else was out. It was for ages 5 and up, and the Z-man is 3. I figured we could do it together.

Problem one: the puzzle, it turns out, is shaped like a gingerbread man. Aren’t there federal laws about puzzles being square or rectangular? There should be. Problem two: the pieces are repetitive and somewhat warped.

Me: “This is hard work, isn’t it?”

Zachary: “This is hod wuck.”

Me: “Should we work on his head first?”

Zachary: “Gwamma, this piece has a buy-see-co on it. Let’s look foe the west of the buy-see-co.”

Hmmm… Pretty good thinking for a little dude. Maybe if I were five…