The weather is finally (FINALLY!) changing here in Reno.  We woke up this morning to temperatures 20 degrees cooler than normal.  And I am positively thrilled with it.  Sure, to get those cooler temperatures we had to endure a day of windwindwind.  But, that’s part of living in Nevada.  Nevada = wind.  It’s just an empirical fact.  I would be happy if cold fronts could just move in with a lot less wind, but I’ll take what I can get.  I am beyond done with the hot weather though and if I don’t feel another 90 degree day until next summer, that will be too soon.

Yes, yes.  We all know how much hot weather.

I love it when the seasons change to fall and winter.  The snap in the air, the need to dig out long sleeved shirts, the way you can just leave the air conditioner off for once.  Wonderful!

I don’t do change too easy, unfortunately.  Which is kind of surprising because of the way I love the change of seasons.  And the way that I’ll be invigorated by a major-shakeup.  Change is stressful.  With the good, the new, comes the stress and chaos and uproar.  I don’t like uproar.  I like how predictable my day to day life is.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner all happen at about the same time every day.  The wee ones take their naps at the same time.  Kile gets home at roughly the same time.  Bedtime for the wee ones is at the same time and afterward, we do the same things that we do every other day.  May sound dull to some, but to me it’s comforting and familiar.

Still, once in a while it’s nice to shake things up.  Do things a little different for a day, go different places, see different things.  I wouldn’t want my entire life to be in flux, but every once in a while, it’s nice to do something different.  If only because that makes me appreciate our routine all that much more.

We’re still talking about moving away from Reno (shocker, I know).  I’m at the same time excited about the possible change-up, and scared by it as well.  Living in a new environment, and re-arranging our routine to fit it… that is both thrilling and stressful.  I’m not sure which is more prevalent.  I’d have to say the desire to move away from Reno is stronger though.  The stress would be worth it in the long run.

Am I the only one who feels this way?  Is there anyone else out there who uses the comfort of routine like a warm, fuzzy blanket?  And is there anyone else who is beyond happy to see the cooler temperatures arrive?

We’re back from our last-minute trip to San Jose.  It was actually a rather pleasant trip, despite our reason for going being such a downer.  It was nice to see my BFF and her daughter (who I had not met yet, if you can believe it).   It was a nice visit with my parents, even though the chaos that the kids (and by kids, I mean LIAM) created.  And the kids did have a great time there.  Harry was constantly out back, either swimming in the non-heated pool (brr!) or riding his scooter around and around and around.  Liam slept in a big boy bed, just as he had on our Disney trip and did just fine (though having a hard time being put down at night, but that was mostly because of being in a strange place and wanting to stay up and par-tay).  Evie had a great time cruising around, trying to get in kitchen cabinets and banging her head on various unforgiving surfaces (she has the bruise on her forehead to prove it).

It was nice to come back home too, though.  It usually is, though our fondness was strictly limited to it being our home and our things and our routines and had NOTHING to do with being happy to see Reno.  Which we weren’t.  Our state of disgruntlement is growing.  I can only hope this means our time here is short.   I mean, Reno doesn’t even have an IKEA and that is just not right on so many levels.

But at least we have an In n’ Out.  So it’s not like we’re totally living in the dark ages or anything.

In other news…

Over the weekend I noticed my stomach would start to hurt every time I ate something.  I have no idea why this is, but I’m not happy about it either way.  Lets hope this is something that a) resolves itself quickly and b) doesn’t get worse.  Amen and thank you.

Noggin changed their name to Nick Jr. today and officially freaked me way out.  They can’t just make a change like that!  I need to be consulted!  My mind was officially blown when TWO WHOLE HOURS LATER I finally noticed.   Cough.

My fifteen year high school reunion was on Saturday.  I didn’t go because of a confluence of issues, not at all limited to the fact that I didn’t remember until the last minute and had no information on where it actually was being held and all that.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t look at myself in the mirror in utter disbelief that it has been fifteen whole years.  Where have I been?

Also: Evie is cute.  I just thought I should put that out there.

Okay, Monday is coming to a close so I should probably go ahead and post this before it becomes TUESDAY and my own blog post outdates itself.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a beer.

And, yet again, I have neglected my sacred blogging duties.  I’d apologize but that would indicate that I’m sorry.  And I’m… not.  Aww, it’s not that I don’t love the blog.   Of course I do.  But life intervenes.  And I’ve been… I don’t know what I’ve been.  This has been a strange week.

We’re leaving Reno tonight to drive to San Jose.  My best friend’s mother’s memorial service is tomorrow morning and that’s the big reason for us going.  It’s a rather unscheduled trip to San Jose but at the same time, I’m glad we have a reason to go.  It’s been a while since we’ve been there and I knew we needed to go sometime soon.  I just wasn’t expecting it to be so soon!

It’s still very warm down there so we’re packing swimsuits for the kids.  We don’t have much planned but I imagine the pool and walks to the park might keep us busy regardless.  It’ll be nice to be doing something different, at any rate.  If we had been home this weekend, there would have been a lot of sitting around and twiddling thumbs.   The weekend before a payday is always rather dull.  So being out of town and seeing and doing something different will be nice.  And there’s the added bonus that when we get back to Reno on Sunday, this freakish heatwave will have broken (at least mostly) and we’ll have much more reasonable temperatures next week.

I’m so ready for winter it’s not even funny.

So today is going to be me packing things up and getting the kids ready.  When Kile gets home tonight, we’re going to hop in the van and go.  I’m hoping we don’t remember things like the pack n’ play or Evie’s high chair.

But mostly, I wish I was always there, and able to give my friend comfort in person.  I’m glad to be seeing her (I don’t get to see her often, these days), but just wish it were under happier circumstances.

And… that’s all I’ve got.  Send us happy travel vibes and I’ll try to check in again soon, or at least before a whole week has gone by!

I haven’t posted in a few days because it’s been a roller coaster sort of week.  My mood bottomed out about midweek for no good reason and left me flat and absolutely uninterested in pretty much anything, including blogging.  Perhaps, especially blogging.  And those of you who blog know, the longer you go without posting, the harder it can be to start again.  It hasn’t been for lack of anything to post about.  Perhaps, there has been too MUCH to post about.  There has been a lot going on.  And, I’m sorry to say, not all of it has been good.

But first, I want to talk about the good.  Harry had a parent/teacher conference last week.  I stayed home with the brats little ones while Kile went with Harry (his teacher actually requested that the students come with their parents!).  And when Kile got home, I heard that Harry was going to be getting STRAIGHT A’S this trimester.  This means he will be on the principal’s list, yet again.  This is all the more remarkable when one takes into account his teacher, who is easily the toughest teacher he has had to date.  We are incredibly proud of him and have been urging him to keep up the good work.  I know every parent thinks their child is a genius, and I suppose we’re no different.  But it’s always wonderful to see someone else who is unbiased reinforce our beliefs.

There’s also been a lot of inconsequential things happening, that I think are worth note anyhow.

Like Harry’s newfound love for the “High School Musical” movies.  Ever since returning from our Disney Extravaganza, he’s been more interested in the shows on the Disney Channel.  I admit that I was curious to finally see these movies after all these years so when I saw them come on, I recorded them to the DVR.  And yeah, I like them.  And Harry likes them.  And so now, almost every night, while we’re putting the wee ones to bed after dinner, I can hear Harry downstairs watching one of the movies for the umpteenth time.  I think I have “The Boys Are Back” permanently etched into my memory.

The Air Races were this last weekend and while it’s kinda cool on one level, it’d give it up in a heartbeat to be able to move away from Reno forever.  But while we’re here, I can only hope that in future years they limit the Blue Angels stunt show to a time that ISN’T smack in the middle of naptime.  Those jets are LOUD.

And now, to the bad.  I found out over the weekend that my best friend’s mother, who has cancer, was not doing very well and my friend was planning to fly home to see her.  Then, an email from my friend this morning told me that her mom had passed.  And she hadn’t been able to get home in time to say goodbye.  And I’m just simply devastated for her.  I can hardly think of anything else.  And as soon as I know more of funeral or memorial plans, I hope to drive down to San Jose so I can be there for her and pay my respects.

How terribly, terribly unfair for her to lose her mother.  I ache for her loss.

So yeah.  It’s a Monday.  And there is both good and bad in the world.  Sometimes, I have a hard time seeing past the bad.   But I must always remember that the good is out there.

We have too much STUFF.  I know a lot of people out there like STUFF.  Are constantly in search of more STUFF.  And love their STUFF.  We do this to some extent ourselves as no one is perfect.  But STUFF does not make me happy.  And having it laying around the house makes me even less happy.  Whenever we set stuff out at the curb for the donation truck to pick up, I always feel a sensation not unlike a weight being lifted off my shoulders.  It’s freeing, to get rid of stuff.  I love that feeling and I love getting rid of stuff.  I don’t do it near enough.

It’s not just physical STUFF that needs to be cleared out on a regular basis though.  It’s also the intangible STUFF.  The weight that you drag around with you, day in and day out.  You may not even know you’re dragging it around.  And then one day in a fit of frustration, you cast off that weight and are amazed at how instantly better you feel.  Suddenly, you don’t have that STUFF crudding up your consciousness.  You feel better, lighter, happier.

I got rid of some intangible STUFF last week.  And while not all the scraps are gone just yet, I cast off the majority of it and let me tell you, IT IS FABULOUS.

Life is far too short to complicate it with people that you don’t groove with.  Or that don’t groove with you.  And when you’re a people pleaser like I unfortunately tend to be, you want desperately to force that “groove” to happen.  You find yourself bending over backwards to make nice, to do what you think you should do.  To MAKE this person like you.  And, simply put, that’s not always possible.  You can’t make anyone like you.  You can’t force the “groove”.  Trying to only makes you feel progressively worse and worse until your self-worth is about the size of gnat and your frustration level is through the roof.

All you can do is cut it away.  Like cutting out a cancerous growth.  Suck the poison right out of your life and toss it aside.  Move on.  All these things are far easier said than done, believe me, I know.   I’ve struggled with this subject for over two years now.  TWO YEARS.  That is ridiculous, people.  But, judging from what I know of myself, that’s not uncommon for me.  I have a hard time letting things go sometimes.  Sometimes those things are old notebooks I scribbled in back in high school or a set of favorite books that are collecting dust on the bookshelves.  And sometimes those things are not things, but people who do nothing but make me feel bad.  The stress of trying to find a way to make them NOT make me feel bad is toxic.  And before long, I ache from the burden of it.  I clench my jaw unconsciously while I sleep.  I tense my muscles to the point of not even noticing that I’m tensing them.  And then when those muscles finally do relax, the pain is extraordinary.  PHYSICAL pain, people.  All from stress.

Now, certainly not all of this stress is attributed to toxic people.  There is a lot of things that go on in my life on a daily basis.  I’m sure anyone reading this is nodding their head and saying to themselves, “You and me both, sister!”  Therefore, I’m sure you can understand taking a look at the things causing your stress upon identifying them, wanting to cut away those things that CAN be cut away.

I can’t cut away my family, of course, and naturally taking care of the little ones every day gives me oodles and oodles of stress.  Knitting, while I do love it, gives me stress at least right now when my customs list is a mile long and I pretty much have to knit every moment I can just to keep up.  But I cannot cut away knitting either because I do love it.

Toxic people can be cut away.  The stress of trying to make it work can be cut away.  Chalk it up to a failure and try to remind yourself that that failure is not entirely your fault.  Don’t look back.  Look ahead.  And revel in how FREE you feel.

It is marvelous.

I think I’ll go find some old junk to bag up and set by the curb.