Soggy Friday

1. It has not been the most fun week ever. It really has rained every day for the last 7 days. My plants outside are green and verdant but I feel all moldy and grungy. Both Alex and I spent most of the week feeling ill (he had a nasty ear infection that kept him out of school Monday-Wednesday and not sleeping well for the rest of it, which I am sure contributed to my general malaise). The house looks trashed and not like it was spotless and clean a week ago, so much so that I spent yesterday afternoon outside weeding, between rainstorms, just so I could be doing something useful without having to cope with the mess inside. I was all set to tackle it this morning when Alex woke up about 3 am and never went back to sleep, which meant I spent the morning while both children were at school trying to catch up on sleep instead of cleaning. Some days, it seems pointless to make plans when my circumstances and just going to swoop in and spoil everything. Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine, whine, whine!

2. The good thing about feeling generally blah but not awful is that you get a lot of stitching done:

3. My parents are enjoying an early 40th anniversary trip in Ireland and having a wonderful time, according to the few texts and Facebook posts they've sent. Of course, earlier in the week, when they were in Dublin, so was Queen Elizabeth II and they all wanted to go the same places at the same time. And she had more staff so she got right of way. Now they are driving leisurely about the countryside, stopping when something looks interesting. Waterford, Kilkenny and Cork so far. :)

4. So I was surfing around CafePress yesterday after doing some graduation gift shopping and found they have a huge collection of shirts for Autism families. These are some of my favorites:

• "I am raising a child with Autism. What's your superpower?"
• "If at first you don't succeed, perseverate"
• "Will de-escalate for deep pressure"
• "Sensory Processing Disorder just means I learn a little different. My cuteness is NOT affected!"
• "Autism Sucks"
• "Autism Airlines: Expecting Turbulence on Most Flights! Our flights might be rough, but they're necessary."

Can you just see the four of us approaching the security checkpoint at the Philadelphia Airport (in August for our trip to San Diego) wearing 4 of these shirts (I get the first one, Miranda the 4th, Marshall the 5th and the last one for Alex) all together? I expect we would scare off any but the most confident observers. Although any other parents of special needs kids would get a good laugh.

5. The new printer arrived this week, all fancy and beautiful. It faxes and scans as well, and works with our wifi network so it doesn't have to sit connected to the computer in Alex's room like the old one. Since we have spent most of our marriage making do with dinky or trash-picked or free printers, this is an unexpected luxury. It means I have left-over toner from the old one, though. If anyone needs HP cartridges #92 or 93, let me know.

6. Our beautiful 1972 VW Super Beetle is set to be sold on Sunday afternoon. Marshall assured me last night that since he began the grieving process 18 months ago, when he decided to sell it, he shouldn't be too grief-stricken at the actual event. He will wash and vacuum it tomorrow (the rain is supposed to be finally done by then, which is good because Miranda has her last soccer practice) and then sign over the title after church on Sunday. I'm just praying everything goes smoothly. 


7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.


And here's Jen.