Long time no blog....some random ramblings

It's been awhile - I'm not sure whether that's due to 1) I have nothing to say, or 2) Blogger is quirky and a) won't upload pictures without 4 or 5 attempts or b) won't let you comment or do much of anything or 3) Life is crazy busy at times and by the time the kids are settled for the night I just don't want to do much other than sit and stare at the tv. Probably a combination of all of the above, somehow. But for today, my hubby bought me wine from Costco, because I'd tried a bottle and liked it and it was going to be discontinued there so he bought 4 bottles and left them sitting on the kitchen counter and even though I'd said I wasn't going to have any tonight - well. There's always tomorrow :) I'm almost finished this bottle anyway, and tomorrow is Monday, and that's a better day to start such things anyway. Although Thursday is Thanksgiving, so I'm pretty much done-for eating-wise. My diet starts on New Years' Day? AND I ramble. Sorry :)

What's been going on you ask? Sarah makes me smile. Sarah's started drawing on the back of her worksheets at preschool, and I love to see the things that Sarah draws - and also the fact that her people have vacant holes for eyes :) Sarah's world is apparently a happy world (when she's not screaming at us) - her pictures are filled with hearts, sunshine, fluffy clouds and rainbows. I asked her who this picture was of:

...and she said me and Matt! Awwwww :) We're holding hands under a heart and rainbow! Matt took one look at it and wondered who her other Dad is, because he has hair. Sarah responded that she doesn't know how to draw 'little hair'  - sweet heart :) A week or so later she brought home this picture of our house - again, sunshine, a rainbow, and I'm pretty sure that's another heart above the door. I guess we're doing ok when this is the kind of stuff Sarah's drawing on her schoolwork, she must be happy and well adjusted, no?

I won't share William's doodles with you. He drew a picture of Harry Potter on the back of one of his pages this week. And then a picture of Harry Potter and his naughty bits. Sigh. I jinxed myself this week, just Thursday night at our pre-Breaking Dawn dinner out with the girls I'd made the comment that William hadn't been to the principals' office yet this year. Damn if the school didn't call at 11:23 the next day, telling me they had William in their office for some offense or another. He is now 3 for 3 on visits to the office per year in school. William did NOT get to stay for the sleepover at his friend's birthday party Friday night.

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So after living here and hearing about it for 10 years, our county is finally building a new high school!! It will be finished in plenty of time for our kids to attend, and this weekend they laid the corner stone. Have I told you Harried Dad is a mason??

Saturday afternoon Matt's lodge had a ceremony where they lay the corner stone of the building, including a time capsule full of stuff :) Matt's role as secretary was to read the content list of the time capsule for all to hear. It was interesting to watch this public bit of masonic ritual, and made me wonder what meetings are like behind closed doors :)

The ceremony included bits where they masons checked the stone with a level, plumb and square before they anointed it with corn, oil and WINE - I have to admit I was a bit horrified that they wasted wine by pouring it on a rock :)

The masons would have actually laid the stone in place on Saturday during the ceremony, but of course these things never go without a hitch and some mortar removal was required before the stone would fit in its niche - post-ceremony, of course. During this whole thing, Jason was sitting on my lap wearing his Luigi hat from Halloween, and he promptly pulled it over his eyes and went to sleep in my lap for a half hour or so. Have I mentioned how much I love that little boy? Thankfully, I had cat-ear-wearing Evie nearby to hand the camera to for pictures. Nothing like pictures from the angle of your 10 year old :)

So life is busy, and I have moments where I feel less than like myself, but I'm trying to get it together  - I can't believe that Thanksgiving is on Thursday, and Christmas is but a few short weeks after that. How on earth does time fly so quickly?? And yet I say that every year.....may you all have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving with all those you hold near and dear - we'll be holding down the fort here, I'm sure with lots of drama and angst :) What else are kids for??