Harry

 We had an exciting morning in our household yesterday. Scott was outside and spotted 'Harry,' the 5 foot blacksnake that lives under my concrete porch, slithering outside his hole. We have been desperately trying to catch and relocate Harry since we discovered him earlier this Spring. I didn't want to kill or harm him, but we have been trying to serve his eviction notice for weeks.

For the past few weeks, Harry retreated back into his hole whenever we noticed each other. Yesterday he was basking in the sun and we were finally able to catch him off guard. Despite the snake's size, Scott and Robby wrangled him into a bag without incident. They popped him into a pillow case and took off to relocate Harry to his new mountainous home, about 5 miles away from here.

With Harry evicted, we set about sealing up the holes. I'm a tad concerned that there may be more than one snake under the patio, but my concerns about sealing them into the house was quickly dismissed. Hopefully they are right! 

Schoolroom!

 Timmy's school room has undergone a three-day transformation. During the process I lugged out a total of three contractor sized bags of trash and debris. More importantly and just as surprising, I uncovered household items I have long attributed to being gone. Apparently, Timmy's classroom had become the abyss housing all of our lost items. 

I'm frustrated with him, with Scott and with myself for allowing his room to go into such a state of disrepair. I recognize all of the factors that led to the situation, but in the end they are all excuses. Timmy should have been more responsible with his space, and Scott and I should not have trusted him when he came down with a half a bag of trash and a few dishes before pronouncing it clean. 

This kid has no idea the levels of micromanaging that are in store for him next year!

Once I put my ire to the side, I set to work cleaning and organizing the classroom. The trash was easy to remove because I adopted a modified shovel technique. The task took longer because Robby and I became distracted setting up the display desk to hold his prized artifacts. Somehow, the classroom is now doubling as a museum, but both boys feel that is appropriate so I am going to go with it. During our little side quest, we managed to empty another 7 boxes that were stowed under his bed and in the garage. (It is nice to be almost completely unpacked.) 

I am too ashamed to share the before photo, but I am happy to unveil the newly modified Museum Schoolroom (with the curtains still to be changed).

 

Chickens

 I had planned to spend yesterday cleaning Timmy's school room, but when I discovered a deal on whole chickens at a store near my Mom, we made the decision to pivot. Unfortunately, Scott and I were not the only one lured by the prospect of cheap chicken because they store announced that they were sold out 5 minutes before we arrived. We drove two hours only to miss out by 5 minutes. Talk about frustrating!

We missed out on poultry, but we were able to stop by and have a quick lunch with my Mom so the day was not a complete wash. I wish we would have been able to stay to visit longer but the threat of storms was looming and we wanted to race them home. We pulled into our driveway as the first few raindrops began to fall so our timing was impeccable.

Alas, today it is raining again and there are no chicken sales to distract me from my task at hand. Ready or not, Timmy's school room will be transformed by the end of the day.  Wish me luck! 

Father's Day Wrap-Up

 What a gorgeous Father's Day weekend! While we did not do anything grand to celebrate, we spent oodles of hours outside riding bikes and working (playing) in our little garden. While we avoided presents and activities around other people, both of which were requested by Scott, I did make one of his favorite dinners and baked a Swiss Roll cake for dessert. All in, Scott thoroughly enjoyed his special weekend and everybody is happy.

I'm grateful that we spent so much time outside over the weekend, because storms are rolling through our area this afternoon which will force us inside for several days. I'm going to use the time to finish cleaning Timmy's school room, which looks a tornado landing zone. Once his room is clean, our summertime reset will be complete and the house would have been completely deep cleaned for the season. (Because the room is in the corner, I opted to just close the door until the weather cooperated again.)

I am repulsed by the condition of his school room, and I feel ashamed that Scott and I let it get this bad. I should have been checking in on the room condition on a regular basis. Only after I saw the room did I realize how much I actively avoided the stairs at home after working all day. After walking 15,000+ steps every day at work, I often came home with barely enough energy to make dinner. I certainly didn't have the motivation to climb yet another flight of stairs to survey condition. Obviously we should have been monitoring more closely and will come up with a better plan for next year.  

In the meantime, I'm off to clean! 

Have a great day! 

Never Ossur, Never ForMotion

 I feel like I made a lot of progress towards unwinding and dissolving the end of the school year anxieties that have been impeding my ability to completely relax. Yesterday, because of the rain and cooler temperatures, we stayed home and watched movies most of the afternoon. I know that I have made strides because I didn't even feel guilty for being unproductive! 

Next week I need to start the process to secure a new prosthesis, but that is a hill I can begin to climb in a few days. While I know that it won't be physically painful, I am already frustrated with the process because I don't have a starting point. For the first time since I became an amputee, I don't have a prosthetist. 

I hate the fact that I cannot return to my former prosthetic facility but I refuse to financially support ForMotion, owned by Ossur. After years of dedicated service, the company leadership did not do right by me and the transgressions were unforgivable. My eyes were opened to the corporate greed and the total lack of concerns for the true betterment of patients. I'm hoping to find a facility that it is not overtly profits over patients.

Do you have any leads for a good facility?  Hit me up! 

Plants

 The past few days have been laid back, relaxed and fun. I spent Tuesday afternoon planting the rest of our vegetable garden (yes, I realize we are late but it has been chilly) and re-potting my houseplants. While I don't typically love gardening, I do like working the soil once or twice a year (provided I am wearing gloves). I thoroughly enjoy tending to my houseplants, I just feel an aversion when it comes to messing with dirt. 

Yesterday we decided to switch things up and we went to a local pedestrian mall to stroll and grab lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. It was fun to just be outside doing something different, and the pedestrian mall is one of the boys' favorite spots. Although it wasn't anything fancy, it was a fun way to spend a few hours.

I'm glad we went outside when we could, because today it is raining and cool. I suspect our summer is going to be riddled with wonky weather. I'm not sure what we will do this afternoon, but I'm sure I'll think of something.

 

Glasses

 After an obscenely hot few days, the temperatures have finally fallen. Yesterday was gorgeous, and today is supposed to be more of the same. It amazes me how my comfort exponentially increases when the temperature goes down. I am definitely not a hot weather girl! 

Yesterday Timmy had his second tumbling class, which is still receiving mixed reviews. While he doesn't love going, he did talk with other kids and was smiling and laughing on the mats. He has a few more sessions before the end of the series, but I suspect that we will not be renewing our tumbling passes. At this point, Hamlet has his eyes on Drone Command Class, which I agree is more to his interests. The drone class doesn't start until August, so he may have been provided with a stay to avoid more classes in July. 

After tumbling class, Scott ran Robby down to the optometrist office to retrieve his new glasses. At the end of the semester he began to complain about some vision straining, so we immediately took him to get evaluated for glasses. As we suspected, he has joined his mother and his father into the community of eye glass wearers. While he is not thrilled with his new eyewear, I think that his improved vision will be a trade off he will learn to embrace.

I plan on working on our little bucket gardens and our yard while the weather is agreeable. Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a good day!