We really had the most peaceful and joyful Christmas this year. It was cozy. Our holiday candle smelled so good. We enjoyed the most perfectly cooked prime rib with Grandma Suzy’s Smashed Potatoes and a festive pomegranate salad. The pine needles on our tree only shot off like porcupine quills…
And now… my Christmas batteries story. I’ll never forget the very first time James took me home for Christmas. Everyone called him Jamey back then. They were never talking to me. Twenty-some years later and they’re still only occasionally talking to me. In any case, there were a lot of people…
Last weekend I decided it was time to round-up all of our old timey electronics and cords and take them off to the nearest e-cycling site. This has been something I’ve been meaning to get around to for awhile. Based on what we put into a large moving box, by awhile…
Twenty twenty will go down in history for oh so many reasons, one of which is… the END OF TOYS. Hard to believe so much joy could be sucked out of one single year. But it’s true. Ages 9 and 11 appear to be the final cusp of lusting after…
We’ve spent most of the pandemic playing pick-up soccer with our All Star buddies on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Since the Pacheco goals are being held hostage, we transitioned to the Cal Poly turf fields. It’s quite the workout on full-sized fields. Every week brings a new adventure. It’s amazing…
Teeth have been falling out of Jacob’s head left and right, top and bottom. I don’t really remember this being a big part of sixth grade? He lost one of his lower teeth a few weeks ago, then the matching one on the other side fell out on the third. His…
Saturday: It’s Halloween. As usual, we need groceries. I get into my car and head down to Trader Joe’s… la la la… right into a Trump Truck Train. There are flags. With guns. Long beards. Instead of our beautiful backroad, I’ve driven into the parking lot of a Monster Truck Rally. …
Recently Nate was like, “Remember when you thought I couldn’t feel pain?” And I was like, “Oh yeaaaaaaah…. remember that?” It was last summer. Right before I got my new car. I went through a phase where I noticed Nate wasn’t responding to pain like most kids. He could be bleeding and…
Sometimes I think that if the Rat Mobile had just held out a little longer, I could have had a kitchen instead of a car. Especially since my car is practically on blocks in the pandemic parking lot that is our driveway. Yeah… first world problems I know. But then…
Over the past week the unbearably smoky air has cleared, at least temporarily, and it’s beginning to feel like fall. On Monday, James drove home to Merced to help Nonna, Auntie Erin, and Uncle Brett move Papa into his new place. It’s an indescribably hard transition surrounded by, understandably, many emotions. James described…