Thanking God for Chloe, literally.

It's been a long week. Tate starting school, which I thought would be stressful, was the least of my concerns. Especially once Anna's house decided to fill with water. Given the amount of time that I've put in to Anna's stuff, my house has been sadly neglected. The dishes piled up in the sink. The trash actually piled up on the floor (in a bag, at least, because I did that). Apparently, it was much too difficult to take the trash bag out to the trash can. Several loads of clean laundry sat on one of the couches for about 5 days even though 5 people who are perfectly capable of folding the clothes live here (besides me). 4 CC practices, 5 soccer practices, 2 soccer games. Big kids all fighting colds. Jake started his semester which includes learning a new computer program so he's been spending most of his time in the bedroom with the door closed. Last night I had a dream about the house being covered in piles of things to clean & go through but no matter what I did or who I asked to do it, the piles just kept multiplying! It was horrifying.

As it seems that not only do I have to be here if I want things done, I also have to be the one to delegate the tasks, I was getting very frustrated and overwhelmed. (Thus the nightmare) Yesterday when I got home at around 7, I had Tate and Anna's boys. Carter was fussy & tired. Tate was hungry. They were all dirty. I was having anxiety about Anna's house. What I thought that I would find is a dirty kitchen, a pile of unfolded laundry and a bunch of hungry, grumpy, tired, sick big kids. To put a plug in for Tanner before I get to Chloe, he had picked up both Kaleb and Chloe, figured out something to eat, figured out how to fix the kid computer, he and Jenna helped me unload the car when I got home and bathe Tate & Ry and get them dressed in their pjs. The truth is, I'm always thankful for Tanner because I know that he's been a pretty easy Teen to have around, he was an easy baby & kid AND, most of all, he's a super big brother.

Sometimes I'm glad that I only have one girl. When I hear about sister fighting, girl drama and dating dilemmas, I think "Yes! I only got one of those & she's a toughy!" And then there's days like yesterday. I came home to a clean kitchen - even the pots and pans. Chloe. All of the clothes got folded and put in people's rooms. Chloe. A homemade birthday card for an upcoming birthday party. Chloe. A carefully thought out birthday gift plan because she listened not to the "I wants" but to the actions that spoke to the "I needs" of the friend. Chloe. Not a word of complaint. Not a grumble of "I always do the dishes" or "You idiot boys could have at least gotten your clothes out of this pile". And when I informed her that her 17 month old roommate was back she said "Ok. I kind of missed him." As a fellow female, she saw the needs, read the mood and took care of business. Thank You Heavenly Father for sending me her!

Tate Goes to Big Boy School

Tate started Kindergarten today at Harvest Ridge. HR is a cute, small, charter school in Newcastle. Last night we decided what clothes to wear, made a lunch, put all of his goodies in his backpack & put his bag of supplies by the door so I wouldn't forget it. Included in the bag of supplies were extra boxes of kleenex and more than the requested amount of bandaids. Given Tate's habit of wiping his nose before it actually is running and using bandaids to cover up anything that might be blood, it seemed like we should contribute more than what was asked for.

This morning I got up found Tate curled up in the corner of the couch playing games on my computer. I convinced him to get dressed and eat some scrambled eggs. We left home without any drama. So far, so good. After dropping Kaleb off at school, Tate and I went to Harvest Ridge. He learned what to do with his backpack, homework, lunch box & water bottle. Right away he made a friend! He and his new friend, Tanner, tested out how fast their new school shoes would go! He lined up with his classmates, did the Pledge of Allegience with the whole school & headed to class with his teacher. As they walked in to class, I waved good-bye and ran. Yes, ran. He wasn't crying & I didn't want to stick around long enough for him to start!

After school, Tate said "My body was having so much fun, my brain wasn't worried about when you were coming to pick me up." And that is saying something! He's also excited to have more homework to do, had fun with his PE teacher and did some math and science. He couldn't remember what the math or science assignments were but he did remember some of the playground rules. He's very excited that he gets to go to "real" school now "like the big kids".

Tips for Driving on I-80

We're home! I always want to yell "LAND!" like the little girl in The Pacifier. Having just driven from Tahoe to Auburn (89 to 80) in bumper to bumper traffic, I'd like to give some helpful tips to other drivers.
1) When going up hill, you can continue at the same speed but only IF you press the pedal on the right. It's called the GAS PEDAL. It even works at 7000 ft. You should try to use it.
2) The space between my car and the car in front of me is there on purpose. It is not necessary for you to fill in any blank space as though driving is paint by numbers.
3) You are too close to me if I can't see the front of your car in my rearview mirror. If I'm looking in my mirror & waving my arms at you, it might mean that you have almost hit us one too many times.
4) Unless there are signs indicating otherwise, please continue driving normally in areas where there is road work equipment. The concrete barriers or orange barrels do not mean you have to slow to 30 mph. The lanes are the same as they are when they are marked with paint. I promise -- you will still fit.
5) Just because you are driving a rental RV instead of your normal prius, it does not mean that you know how to drive a large vehicle. In general, you should stay in the right hand lane.
6) When you are going downhill or around a curve, you do not need to apply pressure to your breaks. This is especially true if you are going 25 MPH in a 65 MPH zone already. No further slowing is necessary. It only looks scary. Your car is designed to go downhill and around the curves.
7) If you are driving a nice car that handles well (perhaps one that was tested on a certain German road) and you can't go around a curve at 25 +, please, please, please - go and TRADE IT IN. You might want to get a Prius or one of those SMART car thingies. You're wasting your Audi, BMW, Mercedes, etc. & it's making me ill.
8) Additional things that aren't scary & therefore should not cause you to slow any further: large trucks, stalled vehicles on the side of the road, rock outcroppings by the road, CHP standing on the side of the road.
9)  Sometime around 1940, all automobiles became equipped with these cool things that some of us call blinkers. You pull down the lever when you want to change lanes or exit or turn. It enables the other cars to know where you want to go. Because of this nifty invention, it is no longer necessary to just turn in to a full lane of traffic without any indication of what the heck you're trying to do. It also means you don't have to wave your arms out of your top-down, convertible Mercedes (from Marin) in order to get your neighboring driver to know what your doing.
10) There are super awesome places called VISTA POINTS all along the road. They are put there on purpose for you to be able to look at the scenery at your own pace. You can even take pictures. I can guarantee you that the pictures you will take while STOPPED will turn out better than the ones you take while DRIVING through your window. Additionally, this makes it so the rest of us don't also have to slow down every time you see something you think is pretty.

I feel better now.

Tourists - Are we or aren't we?

We've spent the weekend in Tahoe at the Baker's condo. It's not the first weekend and it won't be the last. The kids feel very much at home at the Tahoe Keys - beach, indoor pool, tennis courts, bike riding, skateboarding. Running the streets like they own the place. I don't really feel like a tourist here but I suppose, technically, we are. While walking today, I talked to a lady who lives here in Tahoe. She was saying how very crowded holidays are and how she would like to enjoy a holiday, too. Without the crowds. I feel her pain. Anyone who has had the misfortune to ride in the car with me has heard me yell at the "Bay Area idiots" who clog up the exits of Auburn, driving like they own the place. I told the nice lady this. She said "You know, I go on vacation. I just got back from Italy. But what I think is that I come home to one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Why do I leave?" I thought to myself - why do we not come more often? Mostly though, I realized (not for the first time) that we need to be very careful not to take for granted the beauty that surrounds us and how easily we can access places that are 'vacation destinations' for so many other people.

Earlier when teenagers were mouthy, Moms were tired, husbands grumpy I threatened to leave Tahoe tonight. Tate said "NOOOO! I love it here!" So we stayed for the fireworks over the lake. We stayed for movie watching & game playing. We will have to drive down the mountain with everyone else tomorrow. Even the Bay Area idiots who think they own every road. Before we leave, though, we'll enjoy one more morning with the cousins with Tahoe's beauty & cool breezes.