Life with a 4 year old...

These are pretty good examples of what I get when I try to take pictures of Owen lately.

On both occasions the light was near perfect. In the first one I knew just by the light that I would get awesome catch lights. I could see them in O's eyes while we were sitting outside chatting. I told him I was going to get my camera and take some pictures of him. Just a few. I even offered him a dollar, which he was pretty excited about. Until he realized I actually wanted him to look at me for the picture and I was going to take more than one. Then he wanted his camera (my little P&S) to take pictures of me. I consented to this but he still was uncooperative. I did get a couple other cute ones but none with the catch lights like the first one.

The second picture I took at a local park in the evening. Perfect evening light. But again, Owen was not happy about having his picture taken and I got mostly monster faces, roaring faces, or him simply turning his head. I would like to do his four year portraits but I don't think he will cooperate long enough for me to get anything good! I may just end up using the first picture in this post.

I am amazed at all the things Owen is curious about lately, the questions he asks and his active and creative imagination. He's always asking or saying or doing something that is fun or fascinating. Tonight it was about testicles. He was under the impression that pee was stored there. I told him his pee was kept in his bladder that was up into his body. Then of course he asked what testicles were for. I told him he didn't really need them until he was older. Truthfully, since I don't have testicles I don't know what all they do! I guess I'll have to google it!

We are leaving for Montana on Saturday morning. We are flying out and driving back. Morgan's parents are giving us their old car. It will replace mine, which we are donating to an automotive repair training school. It seems their is a sensor or something in the transmission that has gone awry. So the car runs fine it just doesn't "go". We could repair it but we were planning to replace one of our cars with Morgan's mom's car anyway, we just didn't know when or which car. So this has decided it.

And it turns out or dish washer wasn't broken after all! It just overloaded the motor and need time to sit and reset it self. Thank goodness. We like having a dishwasher!

When it rains...

Figuratively and literally around here lately. It's been a dreary, gray, rainy week. Not much for lifting the spirits. I noticed it's been a month since my last post. My how time flies. And my debbie downer mood continues.

This week...

• Was (would have been) Nikki's 31st birthday. 30 years is far too short a life for such a vibrant person. I continue to miss her terribly every single day. EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. It chokes me to just to think of her being gone and some days I wake up and realize all over again she is gone. Like it's a brand new realization.
  
• Morgan found out he didn't get a job he interviewed for. We were really hoping for this one.
  
• The transmission went out on my car on the way home from my book club meeting in the middle lane of a very busy, major freeway in Minneapolis. Fortunately Owen was not with me. It was not fun. Tow truck service is not cheap. Thank goodness for a little reimbursement from the insurance company.
  
• The dishwasher broke yesterday.
  
• My boss was out of town Wed-Sat but luckily that did not bring the usual "all hell breaking loose" that is often does.
  
• Did I mention my car??? Yes, I do believe I did. I love my car. Even though it's 11 years old and missing a few minor parts. She even has a name. Betty. She's been a great car but this may be the repair that we can't afford to make.
  

You know how sometimes bad things happen in threes? I'm sort of waiting for the last shoe to drop. Maybe I have bad karma or something.

My craft room is in major need of a thorough cleaning. I'm sure there's a crap-ton of stuff that could go. Come to think of it, there is a crap-ton of stuff around the whole house that could go. Owen's closet would be a good place to start. 4 years of clothes takes up a lot of space. It's messy enough that even Owen commented on it. Probably because he sees it as a place that has potential for being a great place to play. I did do a thorough cleaning of the underneath of our bed. Morgan didn't find the aftermath pleasant. Mainly a laundry basket of crap in his office for him to go through that had accumulated underneath and on his side of the bed. I think he believes areas that are out of view are unnecessary to clean. They aren't bothering anyone. EXCEPT ME. He didn't add that part but I'm sure he thought it. There is a reason why I do most of the cleaning around here. If I didn't there would be all manner of places that he would miss. Baseboards. Shelves. The crevices around the door frames that collect bits of dirt and dust. It's the kind of work that only a very conscientious, borderline obsessive compulsive is capable of doing well. Toys would just be tossed in a random bin! Clothes would not be in order in the closet or facing the right direction. There is order to be maintained. It's how I maintain a little control of a life that is mostly out of my control. Much to my dismay.

So that's life in a nutshell. Hopefully I'll have more to write about in the next month. Maybe some things that are happy. I need to wrap my head around a more positive attitude. I don't generally think of myself as a pessimist but I've been feeling like that for awhile now. I get overwhelmed by all the "adult" things in life sometimes. It's a lot of work and responsibility to be a grown-up. Some days I'd just rather not be one.