Debt Vocabulary

- We're a month or two away from paying off a very important debt.  Tantalizingly close!  This has become a large part of our vocabulary, I've noticed.  Elijah came home with a story he'd written at school.  It was about our family planting a pretty tree.  It was a lovely little story that included the sentence, "We went into debt to buy the tree."

I went and looked at his paper and debt was one of his Spelling words.  Whew!  I feel a little better about that.

Short Things I've Been Wanting to Say

- I don't understand fashion.  I just don't think that most things that are in fashion are actually cute.  I am therefore doomed to never, ever, ever be in fashion.  This is okay with me.

- I do, however, really need some lighter jeans.  I'm holding off until I figure out how much I need to re-arrange my wardrobe when I become a practicum student (actively interpreting on a regular basis).  Black, black, and more black.  Any good ideas for I-don't-look-like-I'm-attending-a-funeral black clothes?

- I only have this week and next week of class and then I'm DONE ... for the term.  I'd like to say that I'm Done.  Just Done.  But I'm not.  A year plus a little left.  ...  Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming. ...

- We bought a new AC.  CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING THIS SUMMER!!!!!  I'm a little excited about this.

Isn't she beautiful?  She's kinda chubby, though.  Seriously, our last AC was, like, half that size.  I think that maybe this one needs to cut back on the sweets.

- I have straight A's.  For every class I've taken since I started at Cincinnati State.  This should feel more important than it does.  I mean, I like getting A's.  That's why I get them.  But it's just a ... meh.  Every term I get a letter saying that I should be "proud of my accomplishment."  I proudly carry the letter to the recycling bin and drop it in.

- Costco corn salsa is REALLY GOOD.  We'll be purchasing more.  (Also, if you're wanting to buy dried mangos, buy them at Costco.  There's no other acceptable option.)

- The dogwood trees are finally looking pretty instead of gross.  This is a good thing, because I was about to send Dogwood trees some hate mail.  "No fair ruining one of my favorite spring flowering trees!" it would have said. 

- We're a month or two away from paying off a very important debt.  Tantalizingly close!  This has become a large part of our vocabulary, I've noticed.  Elijah came home with a story he'd written at school.  It was about our family planting a pretty tree.  It was a lovely little story that included the sentence, "We went into debt to buy the tree."

- Only one more month of Rob working every Tuesday and Thursday.  Then we have off until late August!

- Next week my Mom arrives and stays for 3 weeks!  I'm so excited!

And that's all.

Pictures - Baseball, Books, and Legos!

Baseball in the backyard!

 

Rob and I were pretty sick for a few weeks.  Not sick enough to be in bed (though, we were both sicker than we thought.  We SHOULD have been in bed), but sick enough to feel thoroughly exhausted on our feet.  We were headed to take a nap, but the boys were begging to play catch with their dad.  I heard Rob explain to them the need for rest.  Next thing I knew, Rob was collecting balls and gloves and headed outside.  I smiled.  "Couldn't resist, huh?"  

Who COULD resist?

Miciah and School

Miciah wrote a book.  I think I've mentioned that.  It was for her English class, and she's very proud of it.  Her class gave a presentation at the school, and it just happened to be on a Thursday when I could attend (I have class every Thursday - the presentation fell on my 1-week break).  Here she is standing by her teacher, showing her book:

And that night we took the opportunity to snap a picture of the school marque, proudly displaying Miciah's 2nd place finish in the Spelling Bee:

I drove by that thing many times and never even noticed her name was on it.  When she mentioned it I said, "What are you talking about?"  That's what an awesome mom I am.

And Then There's LegoFest

Technically it was called Lego KidsFest.  But I like LegoFest better.  For Elijah's birthday we decided to allow him to attend LegoFest, as his birthday gift.  It's not cheap, you know?  So Rob, the kids, and Elijah's friend spent Friday night enjoying a TON of Legos.  (I stayed home because I didn't care $20 worth.)

There were Legos EVERYWHERE.  There was a section the size of a small gym that was one massive Lego pile!

There were also lots of fun activities, like building a Lego bridge and seeing how much weight it would hold,

building Lego cars and racing them down a track,

building a Lego structure and placing it on the US map, ...

and much, much more.  The kids came home with lots of Lego giveaways, a Lego gift shop purchase, and a free T-shirt. It was like Christmas!

The kids have decided that we must go to LegoFest every year.  Thankfully, it doesn't come around every year.  It was expensive, but definitely fun, and I'd say money well spent.  Next time I'll go help herd kids - didn't even think about that when I was purchasing tickets this time.  Rob could have used an extra set of eyes.

If this isn't love, what is?

I believed I was half-crazy for years and years. Just recently I've started figuring out, to my delight, that it simply isn't so! Seriously. I'm 30 years old and I'm finally confident that I am NOT crazy.

Rob married me when I was 19. I wouldn't have married me in a million years.  Not sure what he was thinking.  I like me at 30, but at 19?  I was tough to handle.  Rob is a patient, patient man.



So this song made me think of Rob.  And still, even though I am confidently sane, it's how I feel.  Rob is the reason for all of me.  He's home.

And that's pretty much heaven, isn't it?

Dear January,

Please forgive me.  I had no faith.

Today I am mowing my lawn, adding new mulch to my gardens, and planting pansies, broccoli, and kale.

Friday we had our first Fire of the season in our new fire pit in the backyard.  We debated camping out.  We all wore shorts and short sleeves and stayed outside until 10:30 p.m.

The windows have been open full-time for at least a week.

I've discovered how fun it can be to wear a skirt on days other than Sunday.

Our red bud is seconds away from blooming.  Our forsythia bush looks AMAZING.  Our lilacs are covered in buds just waiting to open.

Thank you.  Thank you, January (and February and March).  This has been amazing.

Love,
Tamra

P.S.  I hereby release you from any responsibility for the rest of the year's weather.  If it's Crazy Hot in June, I will not blame you.  If the mosquitoes are out of control this summer, that's not your fault.  If my plants all die because it's way too hot for way too long, I will feel no anger towards you.  March has been amazing, and that's enough.

Light Reading

If you're looking for a good read, I have something for you!  Rob just published a fine work in a light-hearted, fun publication called Frontiers in Immunology.

Maybe you want a good bedtime story for your kids.  Maybe you're just looking for a way to get away from it all.  If Twilight is brain candy, then Rob's Cross-presentation of cell-associated antigens by mouse splenic dendritic cell populations is like brain heroin.  You'll love every minute.  You'll finish reading it and immediately start reading it all over again!

... We're proud of Rob and his hard work.

Though, honestly, don't read it.  Click on the link, see what it's all about, and note that Rob did a good job.  I DARE you to get past the 2nd sentence.

Pictures!

I do occasionally still take pictures. 

Tank wanted to walk over a wooden bridge.  I don't know why this struck him as something he wanted to do, but I dutifully looked up Covered Bridges in Ohio.  I figured there would be a list of them somewhere, and I was right (wikipedia your state!  Come on, you KNOW you want to walk across a covered bridge!).

I found one about 6 miles from our house on a random suburban road:

Forced all the kids to go.  A new turn of events is that the kids aren't super excited to go places any more.  Even when those places will be cool.  Not that a covered bridge is cool.  Er, I mean, who wouldn't want to drive 20 minutes one way just to walk across a covered bridge?!

Turns out that all Tank really wanted was to walk across a wooden bridge on a path, like at Mt. Airy Forest, 2 minutes from our house.  Oh well.  Covered Bridges are cool anyway.  And we all agreed that it sounded SUPER cool when we drove across it.

(These pictures were taken on February 20th, by the way.  Note that Miciah is a little cold, but still, we're walking around in February without our coats on.)

What is Humor?

It occurs to me that I have not been very funny lately.

I'm sure some of you think I've never been very funny ever.

Which brings up a funny story.  When Rob and I were engaged, I was talking to his father, Vaughn, on the phone and I said that I thought Rob was hilarious.  Vaughn asked, "Does he think you're funny, too?"  I paused.  I genuinely didn't know, but I'd always considered myself to be a somewhat funny individual, so I was hopeful that Rob thought this, too.  I said, "I'll ask him."  I turned to Rob, "Do you think I'm funny?"  Rob got all thoughtful and looked out the window and before he could say anything I responded to Vaughn, "No, he doesn't."

We've laughed about this a lot.  Every time Rob has tried to say that he thinks I'm funny, I always respond with his lengthy pause, look-out-the-window face.  You can't fake that kind of response.

Since that initial moment, and the discussions it has prompted, Rob has declared me to often be witty.  And goofy.  And he says those are the same as funny.  I still don't believe him.  Both of us often come back to the same conclusions:  he is funny and I am other-than-funny.

This is okay with me.  I can just be Tamra.  I don't need the stage and the laughs.

(Bitterness.)

Just kidding.  I'm not really bitter.  This is what is interesting to me:  I do think I'm funny.  I'm just not funny the way Rob is funny.  Rob is a Humor Whore.  He NEEDS the laughs.  He craves it.  That sounds like such a burden to me.  I don't care if you think I'm funny or not.  I think I'm funny, and that's really all I care about.

Just Come with Us

As Rob and I get busier, we have conversations of a different sort.  New kinds.  For a while that was a bit frustrating and stressful, and now it just Is.  We're figuring out the new set of rules.

A while back, for instance, Rob was frustrated at me being gone so much.  And I was thinking, "What are you TALKING ABOUT?!  I'm gone 2 or 3 nights a week.  That's just as much as you're gone, and you've been doing it for years!"  My mother brilliantly pointed out that while I'm used to Rob not being around for dinner 2 nights a week, this is all new for Rob.  Dinner without Rob has become normal, but dinner without Tamra still seems wrong.  "Ah!" I said as that light bulb flashed on.  "Yes, I remember those days."

It's funny to watch Rob.  I still sometimes feel like I'm talking to Tamra 5 years ago.  Seeing myself in his shoes makes it possible for me to stay calm and not say things like, "Going back to school was YOUR idea and NOW you're going to COMPLAIN about it?  And when's the last time I complained about YOUR busy schedule?!  Huh?!  Do you know what I've sacrificed for you?!"  Those are words that no one needs to say or hear.  :)  Whenever I feel them creeping into my heart, I let them float to the surface and then I let them float away, recognized but unspoken.

There were, however, words of a different sort that needed to be said the other day.  Not by Rob.  Not by me.  By Teancom.  The kids wanted to go see Kui, the dog we had for a year but who is now owned by friends who love and adore her.  This has been a good arrangement for everyone - they love her, she's happier, and we can visit any time we want.  So we arranged to drive over there on Sunday afternoon. 

Except I was busy.  I figured that a few quiet moments of reading my book for class would be perfect.  The day before, Rob had taken the kids to the park and I stayed home and slept and read, and it was great.  They didn't seem to mind that I didn't go with them, they had fun, and I got the time I needed.  So, why not a repeat?

Rob asked if I was going with them.  I said, "I don't know.  Do you need me to go?"  And he said that it was up to me.  I leaned towards staying, but then decided that I really should go.  It was only a short family outing.  I was putting on my shoes when Teancom said, "Is Mommy coming, too?"  When Rob said I was, he shouted, "Hurray!" and jumped up and down.

That shout sounded familiar.  I reached back into my memory and there was the exact situation, 5 years ago.  Busy Rob, with too much work on his plate, stressed out and trying to keep it together.  We were going somewhere as a family on a Saturday afternoon and I walked up to him and said, "Rob, just come with us.  You'll like it.  The kids need you."  And then, after he sighed and rubbed his face, he nodded and went to put his shoes on.  Miciah asked if Daddy was coming, too, and when I said he was, she and Elijah jumped up and down and shouted "Hurray!"

Just like Tank had just done with me.

It really hit me.  I realized that the kids are now one-parent-deprived most of the time.  They have one of us nearly always, but both of us together is a treat.

And there I was, Tamra 5 years ago, inside my own head, saying "Just come with us.  You'll like it.  The kids need you."  Except I wasn't talking to Rob this time.  I was talking to me.