#100HappyDays2018: Day 67

#100HappyDays2018: Day 67

#100HappyDays: Day 67
Birthday celebration, round two for this guy. Minecraft with Dad all day today. His gift from Dad and Mama K was several packs of the much anticipated and often requested Pokémon cards. He was pretty excited. He mentioned that he needs some energy cards to make complete decks, so they are on the way, courtesy of eBay.
Happy birthday, Slick!

#100DaysOfSummer

#DTStrong
#Slick
#Pokemon
#100HappyDays2018

PS. anyone want to teach me how to play Pokémon?

— feeling happy with Derek MeYeR at The Man Crew House.

 

#100HappyDays2018: Day 64

#100HappyDays: Day 64
Happy 13th birthday, Derek! Gummy bears and Pokémon cards for the win. Thanks Grandma!
#100DaysOfSummer
#DTStrong
#Birthday
#NewTeenager
#100HappyDays2018

 

#100HappyDays: Day 64

Day 64 of #100HappyDays
Derek opened his gifts from Grma today. Gummy bears and BatMan Legos. He's pretty happy with both.
I love this kid!

#100DaysOfSummer
#BirthdayBoy
#DTStrong — feeling happy with Derek Meyer at The Man Crew House.

Catching UP with Us Meyer's

Catching up with us these days is getting harder and harder. Let's see if a brief synopsis will suffice for the past few months as an overview.

July: Mom went to IL for an extended trip. My Aunt Janet (Dad's sister) passed away and Mom made the trip to Massachusetts for the funeral and then back to IL. Dan left for an extended work assignment in Iowa and will be gone somewhere between 8-12 MONTHS. (don't ask) He got to pop over to IL one of the weekends and surprise his mama and brothers at the Walter's Family Reunion.

August: Derek turned 10 and joined the double digit club. Dan and I celebrated (separately) our 19th wedding anniversary. Mom returned from IL just in time to welcome Uncle Jerry and Aunt Marion for a quick visit in Cruces and then joined them for a visit to Idaho. Once she was finished visiting the family in Idaho, she drove through Cali on the way home to visit Dolli, RyRy and Wyatt. Tony Bean got married, and even after we'd said we couldn't come, Dan made it to the wedding and had a great time.

September: I spent 8 glorious days in Iowa with Dan to actually celebrate our anniversary. 8 days + hunky hubby + no responsibilities + first kidless week together in 18 years = BEST VACAY EVER. Period. Mom stayed with the boys (thanks Mom!) Mom them packed up and moved back to IL. I miss her desperately. We purchase Dan's plane ticket home for Thanksgiving. Pat and Derek start school.

October: David turned 18 and joined the newly adult club. (Mama K has feelings about that) Pat and David seriously consider a trip to Iowa but determine that now is not the best time. Joshua turns 27. David quits second job in favor of taking on more hours at first job. Fall Festival (I did a trunk this year) is a smashing success serving more than 8,000 people from our community. 

November: Renaissance Faire comes to Las Cruces. I opt to only volunteer one day so that I can enjoy the Faire for one of the days. Our church again does Feed My Starving Children Manna Packs. David moves out of our house and into Jay, Rachel and Maddie's apartment. Pat signs up to get his driver's permit. Hannah Ruoss comes to visit for 5 days. Patrick decides to get baptized the weekend that Dan is home for Thanksgiving...in the Rio Grande. (Brr!)  Kimberly makes plans to come visit in December. Dan decides that for Christmas, he will drive home and take Pat back with him (hooray for online school) Mama K opts for a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal of Dragon Soup, green bean casserole and pre-made pies so she can spend the extra time with Dan while he's home for Thanksgiving. Derek and Mama start making holiday plans and switch to Unschooling until after the New Year. 

See what I mean? I thought having a house full of littles was tiring and super fun. And it was. But in a completely different way than having a house full (and now not so full) of BIGS can be exhausting, exhilarating and exciting all in one day.
Thanks for trying to keep up with us. Goodness knows I can barely keep up and I live here. :)
Oh, and one more thing. For those of you not on FB (but isn't everyone these days?) my hair has undergone a small transition since Dan's departure in July. In July my hair looked like this.

In August and the first part of Sept, it looked like this.

In late September and October, it looked like this. 

And now in November, it looks like this. 

And Just Like That...{Week 3 Update}

Dan is gone.

I did paint my nails! I did! :) It was fun. I wanted to look cute as I was scampering about in the gym for DT's party on Sunday. So I painted my toes and fingers to match. And then I started thinking about when the last time I did that...and decided the last time I had matching finger and toe polish was probably when Karen got me a mani-pedi the day before DT was born. 10 years?? How have I let 10 years go by without treating myself this well? Craziness. Anywho, enough about my nails. Just an interesting aside. 
In other news, the party was fun. Even Miss TJ showed up with her duck named Booger. Everyone missed Dan, who is of course, way too much fun at the gym. At DT's last party at the gym, they were using the cheese mats to slide around the gym and seeing who could make their mat slide the farthest. Because everything is a contest when you're a boy. Or a man. ;) 
Umm, what else to share? Oh yes, well....well never mind about that. This is what's next. I've been dancing around this, trying not to say it, but it needs to be said and I might as well just say it. The loneliness is driving me crazy. I know I"m strong, I know I can DO this, I know all of that self pep talk stuff. But I miss him. ALL THE TIME. This week, all I want to do is sleep and cry. I know I CAN do this, but I don't know if I WANT to do this. :( He's still calling/texting daily and I'm trying to be brave and supportive and encouraging, but it's all I can do not to scream into the phone, "JUST COME HOME THIS MINUTE!!" I actually got really sad one day when we were talking and I just said, "I can't talk anymore right now. I have to go." And hung up without giving him even a chance to respond. I know, Wife of the Year award is coming my way any minute now. LOL!
In the good news department, Pat and I had a conversation today that didn't end with a door slammed in my face! 18 days, y'all. 18 days to have a decent conversation with my own child. Apparently right behind my Wife of the Year award is my Mother of the Year award. *le sigh* But, it is progress so I'll take it.
In the good, super fun, hilarious news department: Mom, Uncle Jerry and Aunt Marion were in town for 3 and a half days and we laughed like there was no tomorrow. Mom took right back over the kitchen, which was a blessing since I was working extra hours in anticipation of the B-Bunch's upcoming vacation next week. We had basically 3 Game Nights this week as people came over to visit with them each evening. There were many games played, MUCH coffee/soda consumed and MUCH laughter over old stories being told. I was quite sad to see them go, but was glad they took to the time to stop by on their way to Idaho to see their boys. Good stuff!
Thanks for taking this journey with me. I know it's an up and down hill roller coaster right now, but I'm hoping it will even out soon.
 ~K~

And Just Like That... {Week 2 Update}

Dan is gone.

No huge changes this week. Dan is settled in at the house he's staying at while he's gone. Found some old friends that he's worked with before, and made some new ones. The work is good he says, and he's enjoying the hustle and bustle of a BIG job again. I am still loving the fact that we are communicating so much! This is way more talking than we do even when we are together. Strange!
David is still working Eleventy Billion hours a week and I rarely see him. Pat and I have still not had a successful conversation. Derek is Derek and enjoying the extra Mama time. I am still not sleeping and becoming quite ungracious due to not enough sleep. I've got to find a way to sleep at the right time.
I have finished ALL the small 'back burner" projects from my to do list and may actually have time to do something like PAINT MY NAILS for the first time in 6 months. That would be fun!

In other news, Derek turned 10 today and has joined the double digit club. :) It was sad that Daddy missed it, but the party is tomorrow and they are going to Skype.

August Catch Up Post

August is always a fun, busy month at the MeYeR House. It begins and ends with a special day for us, so how could it not? Let's dive right in.

~Derek's birthday is the 1st, so we begin the month with a holiday. I was off that week from work, so we made a day of it. Dan even took the day off (a much needed break after more than a month of 60 hour weeks) to join us at the Wet-N-Wild Water Park in El Paso, TX. Such fun we had! Up and down, around and around we go! Wave pools, water slides, kiddie pools, tube slides and MORE! Fun fun fun!
~DT enjoyed a 2nd chance to enjoy birthday fun on his game night party. Cake, presents and more friends.

~I think we went to the 'card shop' 78,213 times this summer. We were hosting another Magic Tourney this month and the big boys wanted to be READY. We frequented the card shop, traded cards, organized cards over and over into the BEST decks possible, bought cards at Wal-Mart, Target, and on eBay. Goodness, what a LOT of time we spent fussing with Magic cards!

~Hayley (our niece) came to stay for a week with us. She arrived the night of the second Magic tournament and got to meet most of the boys' friends right away. I think by the end of the week, she was sick of Magic and tired of boys. HA! Poor thing, she might not want to come back next year. However, after a few nights of shopping with Uncle Dan, she found a car that met all the needs, including price and so getting a car while she was here MIGHT make up for the Magic mayhem. Dan will be driving it to MN for her sometime in the next month or so.
~I think we went to the dirt track one more time this month, but don't quote me on that.
~School went largely out the window with the arrival of guests, guests and more guests. D wasn't working at the gym this month, so we went back to getting some done before work each day, and some reading. P was happy to abandon all pretenses of doing "REAL" school and just read-read-swim-read-read-swim-read-read all day long. DT was probably doing the most school with 4 days of summer literacy/math camp each week, plus his reading for the summer reading challenge.

~We went with all the Benson kids, my kids, Jodi and her kids AND Jayson to White Sands before Jay left. Good times were had by all. (Have I mentioned that their fancy schmancy car has air-conditioned seats? Best.Invention.EVER)
~Patrick left on the 13th, travelling with Jayson to IL to visit the grandparents for a few weeks. He enjoyed a full week with the local Smith cousins before they had to head back to school, spent a fun day at the Volo car museum with 'Shua and Lauren (and got to help them move into their new house), saw the air show in Chicago with Uncle John while on a huge speed boat, and other such exciting activities. I'm not sure he is going to want to return home. I may just have to pack the rest of his belongings and his school books and ship them all to IL. *winks*
~I got to turn a FB friend into a REAL LIFE friend this month as a friend (Kimberly Terrill) was moving from Cali to Ohio and made the detour to swing by with her husband and her youngest son. It was a great visit (plus she didn't turn out to be an ax-murderer which is always a bonus. LOL) Actually, it was one of the best visits ever. They walked in and instantly felt like family. They even unloaded the dishwasher and refilled it before they left the next morning while I was at work. Good times!
~Once I was finished with my summer job, and Dan was finished with the crazy 60 hours a week, things started to settle back down to the regular level of chaos we enjoy around here. I started cooking and baking again, the house got actually CLEAN for the first time all summer, we got caught up on some sleep, some lingering home/car maintenance projects and even had the time AND energy to paint David's purple room so it was a more acceptable near white. Life was back to 'normal' or at least whatever passes for normal around here.

~I got to spend a full day with sweet little Ollie while Ryan and Kelsi were moving. I had a ball! I wore him, D wore him, DT played with him, he tried to crawl after the cat and dog, and we chewed on EVERYTHING. Good reminder of how much I love babies, and how much fun they are, AND how much work they are. Phew. Also a good reminder of why I'm grateful I don't have an infant or toddler anymore :) Took some really great pics of him which worked out well as his 6 month pics as he turned 6 months the next day.

~The end of the month is another holiday for us. Happy 16th anniversary to Dan. Happy "You're Stuck with Me Forever" day. LOL! We took D and DT to Auntie Karen's house and enjoyed an evening all alone. Got to step out and see a movie together, and just enjoy some child-free hours. And that's always a good way to end a month. And an especially great way to end a crazy, hectic summer.

A New Bike for the Littlest Meyer

Thanks Nana, Auntie Karen, Cousin Hayley and everyone else who gave Derek birthday money. He finally decided yesterday on a bike he's been eyeballin' for a few weeks now. It's red, SUPER fast and all his : ) Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So So Behind

Alright people it's official. I'm so far behind on this here blog that I don't even know where to start. A *brief* overview follows.

April~ family trip to Co Springs for Gymnastics Regionals (Utah, NM, CO and WY). David took a place in every event and the all around. We also got to spend a weekend with my niece and her beautiful family. After the regionals, Dan went home to get back to work and I drove with the boys to IL and spent 6 glorious weeks hanging out with friends and family, and helping my Dad recoop from a health issue. (Homeschooling is wonderfully flexible, have I ever mentioned that?) Dad turns 75. Big party for him, which he enjoyed.







May~ First 1/2 of May spent in IL. We arrived home and went back to school. Dan was VERY glad to see us and I was glad that the laptop fairy had visited him while I was gone, LOL! Tyler (nephew) graduated from high school. Said nephew also turned 18 *yippee* Spent most of the rest of May just trying to get settled back in and back to *normal* whatever that is.




June~ More school. Back to work for me. Dan gets laid off from his beloved Wooten job. Joined local CSA, very excited about that : ) Dan refabricates engine for dune buggy. She lives!





July~ Independance Day! School finished for the year during the last week of July. Prepared for niece coming for 2 weeks. Dan gets hired by company called Les File. Really likes it. Dan puts final touches on dune buggy like decals, painted muffler tips, etc.

August~Derek turns 6. Niece comes and spends 2 weeks. MANY adventures (whole blog post about that later) Dan gets laid off by Les File. Jodi spends weekend in Chicago and nephews stay here, much to our boys' delight. Dan busiest unemployed man I know. *amused* Dan buys me a dehydrator and I learn to make beef jerky. Dan repairs damage to dune buggy done by neice, oops *grins* Nephew James turns 9.

Phew. I think that's all the BIG stuff. Coming up is our 15th anniversary, Sister moving closer to us and Dan looking for work, and of course, the start of school in early Sept. Good times!

Happy Birthday Derek~

Oh my, how the years have flown! It's hard to believe that Derek has lived 1/2 of his life here in NM..WOW~ Derek turned 4 on Saturday and we had a blast celebrating with him. Las Cruces just happened to have what they call 'Kids Kindness Day' on Saturday as well and I'm pretty sure Derek thought the party was just for him...hee hee! It was great...firetruck tours, fingerprinting and picture taking for ID cards, bean bag toss with prizes, free food and drinks, McGruff the crime dog, he got to pet a snake, swing on the playground equipment, watch a remote control airplane zip around, dance in the bubbles and be the center of attention. Later, I whipped up one of Mambo's famous graham cracker cakes and boy, was that tasty...it's been too long since we had one of those! Derek got several nice presents and he enjoyed them all...he was every bit as excited about the flashcards PaPa and Grma sent as he was about the cool cars 'Shua got for him with a 'Cars' themed car rug to drive them on. We are actually going to have a 'real' party for him this weekend, but he wants 'ele-flants' party...any ideas?? ANYONE?? The most memorable moment of his birthday was as the the park as we were looking at the cool cars in the small car show. Derek got very excited and starting shouting, "Mama, look at this car, it is so sic!" (he hangs out with 'Shua and David too much when they are watching Pimp my Ride) but since he has a small lisp as all my boys do, it came out, 'Mama, look at this car, it is tho thick!!" Oh my gravy, we had a good laugh about that one!! Even 'Shua laughed out loud and for those of you that know him, you know how rare and special that is! A few pictures for you to enjoy and I'm gonna hush...really!

Blessings,

~K~