Mid-Late June

At the end of April I had an appointment with my tattoo artist.  I added on two flowers for my grandparents.  A magnolia blossom and Queen Anne's lace.  Both of which make me nostalgic for my childhood summers on their farm.

In May there was a carnival at Bert's school.  I think Bron enjoyed it more than Bert did.  But they both had enough fun.  Bert was hoping the snow cone truck would come, but it didn't.  There was a churro truck, which was a good consolation.  

The next day was Scout-o-Rama.  Bron got over-stimulated.  Bert had a good time.  

The kids participated in some online research for eye-tracking related to autism.  They both got a gift card for amazon.  They both like participating in research projects (the gift cards help).  But I always sign up for various research studies too, something my mom instilled in me.

We went to the Makers' Fair the weekend after Scout-o-Rama.  It's where local people sell local-made goods.  We went to one before Christmas as well.  I really enjoy them, and the kids get bored.  Next time I think we'll leave them with the grandparents.  It's hard to look at lots of things with them.  They both do pretty well when we go shopping, but I guess this is different.

Bronwyn's school had young author's fair.  She, originally didn't participate.  The teacher worked, and worked with her.  She even offered to write, if Bron would dictate.  No dice.  So I wasn't going to go to the presentation, because she had nothing to present.  Aaron took her to school that day, and told me I needed to come and be with her, she was starting to freak out.  So I came to school to be with her.  And she was starting to melt down.  But I found out, that she did write the book, in her speech class, so she had something to present.  She was worried that so-and-so was in her group and he'd be mean to her.  It turns out so-and-so wasn't in her group, so she calmed down.  She read her book to the group of bigger kids without issue.  I was so so proud of her and told her as much.  Writing is the hardest thing for her.  

Around this time, my older sister came for her annual visit.  She and my dad went to Vegas, and a few other more local places.

Kids finished up the school year.  

Bron had a field trip to the park with her class.  I volunteered to go along, mostly to keep an eye on her, because situations that are different are hard for her.  She did fine.  Until we got back, then she was melting down a little.  Hitting, and being mean.  But she rallied.  At the end of the year, the whole class got awards for various things.  Bron got the Reset Award for being able to reset her emotions when she gets upset.  That is a well-earned, hard-worked for award.  I think she was able to finish up the school year without getting send home.
We were originally hoping that Bron could switch to Bert's school after kindergarten.  But her school is a better fit for her, and she in able to get more services there.  So she'll stay.  It's rough having two kids at two schools. But we do what we have to do.

Bert did a presentation on How to do Scratch.  I went and recorded it.  He did a great job.  The kids really liked it, and were very interested.  He did pretty well at the end.  His report card only had a couple of 2s and Ns.  

We went to the tide pools with the scout troop.  I think the kids really enjoyed it.  And I like the anemones.  I hadn't been to the tide pools in a long time.  We stayed at the beach for a bit after.  But Bronwyn got run over by a wave, which was our cue to head home.

I had 2 unsuccessful blood/platelet donations in a row.  The first time, they couldn't get a good vein (and they're only allowed to stick you once).  I think my draw-er was new.  I went back a couple weeks later to donate platelets, but my red loss was too high, so I wasn't able to donate.  

Bronwyn started Summer school.  It's just 8-11am, short days, which are nice.  The first day was a little rough, but she found her groove after that.  

On June 1st, Nanny passed away.  She had been ready for a long time, well over a year.  I got to see her in January, which was good, but she didn't remember me.  I bought last minute plane tickets for her memorial (June 17th).  I flew on Breeze for the first time.  It was a long flight, but having a direct flight was really nice.  I had to leave from SFO, but that wasn't a huge deal.  I got to spend a lot of time with my mom, which was awesome.  I got to see my sister and nephew a bit too.  Little Eddie isn't so little anymore.  He's not a huge fan of me.  My sister and I got mani/pedis.  The only time I ever do that is when she takes me.  I enjoy it, I should do it more.  But I have  hard time doing those things for myself.  The memorial was kind of weird.  Like really Jesus-y.  And very focused on being saved.  Which is fine for some, but she wasn't really like that when she was a live.  She was a devoted Christian and "knew" Jesus.  But, aside from meal-time prayer I do not remember Jesus ever being mentioned. My sister enjoyed catching up with the cousins at the luncheon.  She was like, you can talk to them too.  But I don't really have a relationship with any of them.  She does.  I think a lot of that is the fact that she lives there, and I don't.  But my social anxiety was on high.  

For my 40th birthday, Aaron did a Rachel day.  I got a nap, we went to Target and bought things I want.  We got what I wanted for lunch.  And we had a fancy (expensive) dinner.  Aaron ordered me a piece of jewelry, but it wasn't delivered until the 12th, actually the 15th.  So I got it when I got back from my trip.  

We also celebrated our 18th Anniversary.  But on that day, we found out that Bronwyn had covid.  So we ordered lunch in.  

Sick Bron

At the tide pools

The park field trip

My 40th Birthday

Painting the sidewalk

Bron's book for Young Author's Fair

Presenting her book

Bron and my sister

Bert's presentation

Bert at Scout o Rama

The magnolia tattoo

Mid April

 Today, Aaron and I went to a movie (Dungeons and Dragons) in the theatre. I think it was probably 2019, or possibly 2018 that I last was in a movie theatre. I don't really like seeing movies in the theatre. I don't need the "experience" of the big screen. But it was fun to go out on a day date. We got Shake Shack for the first time for lunch. It was fine, but I've heard people rave about it for so long. And it was normal fast food. We took the kids to Home Depot and bought this season's plants (tomatoes, cucumber, spaghetti squash, green beans and spicy peppers). Bron chose a lavender plant. I napped Aaron got everything planted. He went off to play Magic, kids and I hung out at home. 

Last weekend was Easter. The kids ended up doing 3 separate egg hunts (at home, at Mil's church, and one their aunt set up with the cousins), so they had a good time. Dinner was ok. MiL always says she's getting a Honey Baked Ham, but she always buys a honey baked ham (not from the actual ham store), and it isn't the same. Ham aside, it was a good holiday.

The kids had this week off for Spring break. I tried to take them to the beach on Monday (it was a really nice day), but 17 was at a stand still. It took us over 20 minutes to go a mile. So we turned around and went home. They were disappointed, but recovered fairly quickly.

On Wednesday, Aaron took the day off and we went to the aquarium. Bron wore shoes that we're about 3 sizes too big. So we had to stop in a souvenir store and get her a pair of sandals. The kids had fun, I got a little overwhelmed, it was a bit busier than I'd expected. Too peopley. We we're going to go to the beach after (to make up for Monday) but it was windy and cold. Bert has been weird about wind lately. Anytime it's a little breezy, he comments about how windy it is, and gets nervous. Bron was upset about missing the beach, again. So I offered to take her to 5 Below (her favourite store) and that made everything better.

Thursday the kids and I went to Sprouts, Walmart and Dunkin. I like taking them on errands with me. I'm not sure why, because I always buy more then I would, and they some times complain. I guess I just like them. 🥰

I've been doing a lot of yardwork. Still weeding. But I also started pruning the over-grown bushes this week. Both kids (surprisingly) really like helping with that. I have little hand shears and large clippers. Bron uses the little ones, Bert says he's a lumberjack, and cuts up the bigger branches into smaller pieces. The pruning is about done, but I need to get the ladder and the electric clippers to do the very top.

Prior to Spring break, both kids had good weeks at school. Bron has accumulated 6 days of no issues at school. 

At the end of March, we got our family pictures done. They turned out great 

Mid-March

 My mom went home yesterday. So I've been sad. I think it's awesome, and kind of funny how woke she's become. We had a lot of fun swapping Instagram reels.  We didn't do much of consequence, shopping, small house projects, mostly of the cleaning variety. Made a couple trips to Savers to drop off donations.

Bron has been doing awesome at school lately.  (Knock on wood). She has 13 consecutive school days where she has not been sent home. I know she's working hard at it, and it's difficult for her.  But she told me "I got upset, then I calmed myself down". She's been getting a lot of praise and small tokens (unicorns, cats vs pickles, macca's trips etc).  And, to my surprise, she doesn't require a teacher conference for this cycle.

But also, to my surprise, Bertram does need a conference. Which is somewhat difficult, since his teacher has been on long term leave for Covid. I think it's been 2 months at this point. They haven't had a long term sub (for a variety of regulatory type reasons), so I'm not sure how this will go. I do know the meeting is with the vice and/or principal. I'm not looking forward to it. Mostly because I feel like whatever they're going to tell me could likely have been addressed soon, and not become an issue.  It seems like he's been keeping up (at least, according to him), but I don't really have anyone I can check in with on a regular basis.

Eevee, the electric car, has been working perfectly. A contractor with Chevy came out and installed a charging port beside the driveway. This was included in the purchase of the car. We also found out that we're eligible for an electric car rebate. Not sure how much, but it should be arriving in a month or so.

March has been a very rainy month. Our drought may be over, for now.

Two weeks ago, Aaron and I decided to try a tik-tok challenge. It was an epic fail, and I fell on my head. Oh man, it hurt. I had a light black eye for a couple days. I felt like an idiot.

My poor head

Black eye

End of February

 Bertram's birthday is tomorrow. We're having the family party today. I still can't believe he's going to be 9. I still remember this tiny baby, the chubby cheeked toddler, preschool. Now he's lanky, and funny, and smart still with a mop of curly hair. He's generally a very easy kid, and a good listener. He puts himself to bed at night.  He graduated from ABA this week. He was ready. Well, he says he was ready a long time ago. I think he did it for the right amount of time.

Bron had her first psychiatry visit a couple weeks ago. It went well, she's looking forward to the next one. We have quite a few strategies, but she won't implement them, try as we might. She was off school this last week, but the previous week, she was sent home twice. I'm not sure what to expect when she goes back tomorrow. Well, that's not true. I expect it will be more of the same, unfortunately. She is funny, and smart and kind. But she can be difficult, when she really digs in her heels.  Which is often.  She's reading over my shoulder...

My mom is here, which is awesome. It's always good to have an extra set of hands.  Plus, I love hanging out with my mom.

I took the kids to the aquarium with my dad on Monday. They did well, a good time was had by all. I'm glad we (my dad) has a membership there.

I think I mentioned previously, trying to talk with Bertram about sex. He has shut down all attempts, because it's "weird". So maybe he knows more than he's letting on. But he's been broaching the subject a little bit here and there.  Hopefully, we can have a good conversation at some point in the future. I bought him a book (sex is a funny word), but he doesn't like the illustrations (they're sort of psychedelic, for lack of a better word).  

February catch up

 The biggest news is we bought a car. A new car, not just new to us, I think it had 3 miles on it when we drove it home. I think more exciting than it being new, it's electric. It's very comfortable and fun to drive. It has all the bells and whistles. But considering that our current cars were an 07 and a 2010, anything new, even without the bells and whistles would have been amazing. My dad gave us a some money for the car, we used part of our savings/tax refund to finance the rest through our credit union.  The only thing I don't like about the car is the colour. It's silver. I really wanted a blue car.  I've never had blue (I've had rust orange, hunter green, silver, red, and now silver again).

Bron seems to be getting kicked out of class more frequently since the beginning of the year. She's hitting or kicking, or being generally disruptive.  She just seems kind of angry. And I can't think of any sort of triggering event. There have been no big changes, no traumas. We have an evaluation with children's psychiatry later this week. Hopefully we can help her better express herself.

Bertram has been doing pretty well. Nothing too exciting going on with him. He's had substitutes for the last 3 weeks, because his teacher caught covid. Hopefully, she'll be back today. For the past 3 weeks, he hasn't had any homework, which is a blessing and a curse. Homework is something that is a spot of contention, so sitting down together to do it sometimes feels torturous. But with no homework to do, he doesn't actually have a lot to do after school. I guess on no homework days, I should make him read or do chores or something.  But his behaviour has generally been good. He is set to graduate from ABA at the end of the month.

Aaron has been going on a lot of job interviews as of late. He really doesn't like the way his department is being run, and when he, and other employees voice their concerns they're brushed off, gaslit, or ignored completely. It seems very frustrating and demoralizing. So he's had quite a few interviews (all this within the county), and a few 2nd interviews as well. So hopefully he'll find something that is a better fit for his talents.

I'm presently in Virginia visiting my sister and her new baby, Eddie. Well, I'm staying with my mom and stepdad, but the purpose of the visit was to meet the baby. He's a very serious baby, at least so far. It was/is a short trip Thurs -tues. 

My scrappy quilt 2 is about 80% done. I've had to do a lot of hand quilting. I'm getting quicker, but it's a slow process.  My other current project is my temperature quilt. I've kept up with it so far, except I need to get ahead on my cutting. Maybe, finally get all the squares cut.

It's 2023

 

Somehow, 2022 is over. It went slow and fast at the same time. I feel like we spent a good portion of the year being sick, or recovering. I always try to remember highlights, and it's all a blur. But the highlights are in the blog, so they're not lost to the ethers.

The last few nights I've woken up between 2 and 3, and stayed awake.  Last night, I took Ambien and melatonin, and the same thing happened. I guess maybe I should have just stayed up til midnight.

I haven't been to the gym in, probably, 2 months. I'm going to get back to it. Probably when the kids' break is over. It's difficult when everyone is home.

I finished the big quilt. Well, it still needs binding, but that's Aaron's job. The actual quilting is done.

My sister had her baby! I'm an aunt! She had him about 3 weeks early, due to preeclampsia fears. He's a tiny bean, and so cute.

We celebrated Hanukkah this year. That was fun and the kids really enjoyed it. They wanted to play dreidel, but we couldn't find the one we have.

Christmas was good. I think I was over stimulated by the end of the day. Just too much everything.  Plus the house was exploded with stuff, and that always stresses me out. Aaron got me a new sewing machine. It's computerized, and does a ton of things. I need to watch some videos and learn all the things. It will even do freehand quilting.

It rained all day yesterday. The kids were playing on their own, so I got the new sewing machine out and started making a new Scrappy Thing. I spent the whole morning happily sewing.  Mid-day, I had to take Monty to training. Once again, he didn't participate and was stressed and scared. I did t sleep well the night before, so I napped after Aaron donated blood.  We got burgers for dinner, and I went to bed early, for all the good it did.  Bert was planning on staying up til at least 9, possibly 12. I'll ask him in the morning.

Year End 2022 survery

  1. What did you do in 2022 that you'd never done before?
Got the flu and covid

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Sort of.  I lost weight (12 lbs) but gained most of it back

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My Seester!!!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not that I can recall

5. What countries did you visit?
Some day, I'll have an answer for this question.

6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?
Actual family vacation.  (but that's not looking good at this point)

7. What days from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Dec 21, the day my nephew was born

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
making quilts, exercising.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Nothing much that I can think of.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Covid in January and the flu in December.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Stuff for the kids.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Aaron, he puts up with a lot.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Bad drivers

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent. And Amazon

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Flying first class

16. What song will always remind you of 2022?
Anti Hero, by T-Swift

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? slightly thinner
iii. richer or poorer? about the same

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Kept the house neat

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being lazy/depressed

20. How did you spend Christmas?
The usual, will spend it with the in-laws

22. Did you fall in love in 2022?
no

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Project Runway and Ink Masters.  Also, Abbott Elementary

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, just the same people

25. What was the best book you read?
I can't remember, I didn't read much this year.

26. What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?
The Cranberries

27. What did you want and get?
To Fly first class

28. What did you want and not get?
Covid to go away

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Probably Turning Red, maybe Encanto

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 39.  I can't remember what we did. 

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
No world-wide pandemic

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022?
Overalls

33. What kept you sane?
Anti-depressants

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
No one in particular

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Anything Trump related

36. Who did you miss?
My mom and seester

37. Who was the best new person you met?
I don't meet people

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022:
Most things take hard work

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Runnin' on Empty