Ode to Pana

Pana (Pants' Nana) is interrupting her busy life to make the 2 hour drive up to spend the weekend with her girls. I am adding the "s" to girl because technically Elle will be home and therefore her mother will be spending time with her as well.
Pana is the very definition of a grandma. She is the type of grandma that prepares for her visits days in advance of them. She will be bum rushed by Pants' the minute she rings the doorbell. Immediately after giving her Nana a hug Miss Thing will start that not to subtle slide toward Pana's bags. Why? Because she knows that it is virtually impossible for her Nana to get through the week without finding something that Pants just "has to have". It usually isn't anything big- sometimes a coloring book or a packet of stickers, her favorite m&ms, etc. She doesn't do this to spoil Pants, she does it because she never stops thinking about her granddaughter.
Trips to the grocery store become a game of "I wonder if Pants likes......" or "I hope that Elle remembers that Pants now likes green apples instead of the red ones". Trips to the Marts (large box stores with names like Target and Wal-mart) always include a trip to the toy and book aisle- just in case a manufacturer has invented a wonderful thing in the past week for her girl.
Please don't think I am teasing Pana. Honestly- Uncle the Dad is just as bad. Between the two of them that little girl will never want for anything. Fortunately Elle has started to learn this and assigned them each areas to cover- Pana is shoes and Uncle is purses- they split toys and clothes, however the Boy is all about stuffed animals for her.
This week in anticipation of her weekend with the girls, Pana will pack her bags (making sure Pants' gift is on top). She will likely start to go to bed a little earlier at night to prepare herself for the whirlwind fairy that is Miss Pants. The car will be gassed up and ready to go at least 6 hours before it is time for her to hit the road. The last day of work before her trip will be spent gazing at pictures of her girl and re-reading all of her blog posts. Finally (an hour earlier than she needs to) Pana will hit the open road and venture north (technically mostly east) to Pants.
All the while the Reynolds Family will be jealous- Pana gets to see Miss Pants and hang out with her for 3 whole days.

I dedicate this post to Pants' Nana who is one heck of a lady (and a really good mom to Elle too). It has recently come to my attention that when I fail to properly update my blog Elle will get a call from Pana instructing her to tell me to update my blog. Have fun with Miss Thing this weekend!

The Mom is a Meanie

It was the Boy's opinion today that I am the Meanest Mom in the World-- and I am ok with that today. What heinous thing did I do to the Boy? Throw away all his toys- Nope, dress him funny- wrong again, make him eat Brussels sprouts for breakfast- strike three. Ready for the answer?
I made him go to school! Gasp if you must, but I did what I had to do.
And before you starting acting shocked as if I released a little Ebola monkey on to his unsuspecting classmates- He was not sick. The Boy will readily admit that he was perfectly healthy today. There was no reason to keep him home other than the fact that he "didn't want to go to school" today. Apparently he was sick and tired of being bossed around and decided he had earned the right to stay home.
I have wracked my brain today in order to come up with a list of ways in which I have wronged the Boy (or bossed him around). So far I have come up with the following:
1. Stopped by his school and tracked down a custodian so I could get his math book from his desk
2. Brought him to Target and bought his Halloween Costume
3. We went for a family walk last night (he wanted to come with)
4. I made him dinner (made him one of his favorites)
5. I helped him with his homework (did the typing for one of his reports that he dictated)
6. Let him go to sleep at 9 when he declared he was tired (it was his normal bed time)

So yeah, not sure when all of this "Bossing" around happened. Needless to say by the time he got home from school he had forgotten he was even mad at me. We even made a batch of cookies together this afternoon.

This whole "pre-teen" thing is for the birds!

The Family goes Bowling

Since we are all (currently) healthy and our extended family is safely back in MN we had the opportunity to get back to our regular lives. And apparently our regular life now includes trips to the bowling alley.
On Sundays the Dad attends a meeting in Palm Springs with our dear friend Dave (more on him in a bit). Every Sunday we drive past a big Bowling Alley and think to ourselves "we should stop there one of these days". Well my friends, today was that day.
We planned ahead and had a quick picnic lunch after the meeting and headed to the Bowling Alley on the way back home. We had a blast! I did forget our regular digital camera so please excuse the poor quality from my cell phone's camera.

Dave- our dear friend Dave is on the winning side of his battle with colon cancer. He has completed both his chemo and radiation treatments. The Doctors have found the treatments to be successful but are continuing to monitor his tumor with regular scans.
Although the Dad sees Dave on a regular basis it has been a little while since the Boy and I have seen him. It was a huge relief to see him looking so handsome and healthy.
We did invite him to go bowling with us but he promised to spend the afternoon with his husband as it is rare for them to have weekend days off together.

Since we enjoyed our bowling adventure so much I am sure Dave will get a chance to come with us again.

PS- to Elle and Pants- glad that you loved your box and all the goodies inside. We always look for any excuse to spoil someone as adorable as Pants on the Loose!

The Family Gets Sick

Sorry for the lack of posting and updating lately. Both the Dad and I came down with horrible head colds this last week. As in home sick from work sick. So bad that when people would call on the phone after I said "Hello" their comment would be "Oh my god, you sound terrible".

Worst part of the whole situation was the snoring. The Dad can take some cold medicine and pass out cold. Which makes "encouraging" him to roll over when he starts to sleep impossible. Trust me when I say impossible. Tools were involved in my attempts to get him to roll over and stop snoring.

Sick as I was, I had to watch tv until exhaustion took over so I could be sure I would be able to fall asleep. Had to be so tired that the snoring didn't matter. Trust me- tv at 2am during the week is beyond boring!

Fortunately we are now on the mend and the crud seems to have skipped the boy this time around. We haven't called in a CSI team but I am willing to bet that the Boy was patient zero this time around anyway.

Life should hopefully be returning to our regularly scheduled schedule soon.

Last Day of September

I can't speak for everyone but I can honestly say that as far as the Reynolds' Family goes- September flew right by us. We are now firmly entrenched in the routine of school/work/life. The Boy is thankfully still enjoying his class and this year's teacher. The Dad is enjoying his courses this semester. And I am making dinner every night and supervising homework and bed times. (The Dad always wants to stay up way past his!).
My favorite part of the evening is checking out the Pants on the Loose blog for updates on Miss Pants. Too cute for words.

A review of our September goals is as follows:
September Goals:Increase closet space in the playroom (by reducing the amount of toys by 25%)
Increase our ebay income (by selling unneeded items- especially extra purses)
Yes to family time on the weekends- a minimum of two family fun days this month
Yes to volunteering somewhere this month
Yes to developing a positive outlook on life!

The results:
The playroom closet is virtually empty. The Boy purged closer to 40-50% of the toys out of there. Some were set to be donated and some are listed on ebay.
The purses have been photographed and descriptions written for ebay. They will be listed as soon as the Dad has his next night off from school (Friday).
We did 2 fun family activities- went to the Zoo once and to the Apple Orchard and hiking once.
Still haven't found somewhere to volunteer (my bad)
Yes- I think I have cultivated more of a positive attitude this month. As always my attitude is considered a "work in progress".

When it comes to my NS/CS goals- I hit 23 no spend days which was my goal. The NS/CS ladies are planning a future get together in Vegas for next fall. Good times will be had by all.

I have to consult with the Dad and the Boy and will update with a new post when we have finalized our October goals.

The House is Quiet!

For what seems like the first time in over 10 years our house is quiet- both while people are home and awake. The Boy is quietly playing on the computer. He is looking up cheat codes for one of his XBox games so there is no volume to contend with. The Girls are either sleeping (dogs) or staring out the window (cat). The Dad is on his way home from therapy. I am almost at a loss because this quiet is disconcerting and very un-Reynolds like.
In 10 minutes the Dad will walk through the door and wake up the Girls. As a result we will get to enjoy a melody of barking. The Boy will have found some amazing code that will allow his character to be invisible or something. This will require a good bit of "Dad, want me to tell you something?"
And through it all I will find peace because once again my house will be as it should- our own Reynolds' brand of organized chaos.

The Boy is a Dork

The Boy just finished his evening shower and had an announcement to make. Apparently his glasses are as clean as the rest of him. One might wonder why I even mention this. Seems my dear brilliant son forgot to take his glasses off while he took his shower.
Being a parent means trying really hard not to laugh at situations like this. Not an easy task let me tell you.