I’m driving the girls to school in the morning…
- Catie (knitting while sitting in her car seat): Mom, I love to knit.
- Me: Oh, wh….
- Catie: I’m so glad I learned because I’m really good at it!
- Me: Yes, yo….
- Catie: I think I’ll be a knitter when I grow up.
- Me: Hmmm….
- Catie: What?
- Me: Oh, I think people mostly knit as a hobby.
- Catie: What’s a hobby?
- Me: It’s something people do because they enjoy it, but not really to make enough money to live off.
- Catie: Well, I’m going to be a FAMOUS Knitter.
- Me (trying not to giggle too much): Ah.
- Catie: You know, I could have a knitting store.
- Me: That’s true! You could be the proprietress of a knitting store.
She really cracked me up with that one. A Famous Knitter. Too cute. Of course I guess I shouldn’t evaluate her ideas in terms of hobbies or vocations. Guess I’m still a mom-in-training. Missed that week of Mom class.
We were watching the Tour of California stages on the web last week. One night as she was falling asleep, she asked Chet… “Dad, do you think Levi Liepheimer knows how to knit?”
Hi again! When it rains it pours, yes?! Well, I’m getting caught up. Deal with it. When ma & pa were here they invited us to go hiking at P. ridge — their favorite hike in the area. It was mucho foggy that morning, but Becky was all worked up and wanted to go SO BAD. She’s been wanting to go hiking for weeks, but with the rain and sicknesses, we’ve put her off.
On Saturday morning she asked again. Rain was imminent and Ch.t was still sick, but I rallied the troops and we got outside before the next storm hit. We even convinced Catie to don her much-despised… oh wait! No we didn’t!
Okay – an aside here. Catie is Miss Flip-flop (not in the maligned-John-Kerry sense, in the shoe sense). She hates closed toe shoes. Months ago, she selected a pair of closed toe shoes (they looked like Bratz shoes to her – and as I despise Bratz, they were all the more desirable). But now she hates, hates, hates them. But they fit. We told her we’d buy another pair when she outgrew them or she could buy a new pair with her own money. Yes, we are terrible parents. And every Tuesday is PE day when she must wear closed toe shoes. Which is a struggle for her (well, more a struggle for the parent in charge of getting Catie’s shoes on her, to say the least). The rule is the same for hiking – but today she convinced us to let her wear the closed toe hiking clog things Ch.t bought her at REI a while back. She agreed to wear socks and she agreed that if she slipped out of the shoes dangerously, THEN she’d have to put on the tennies (which I packed with extra socks) These clog shoes stink. It’s like I’m smelling my dad’s feet when she gets in the car after school. Oh my God! STINK!
Where was I? So we got out of the house and through the canyon and up the hill to the damp, sparsely used parking lot. We parked. Becky was immediately bouncing all over the place and Cate was cuddled up in the car refusing to hike. The mention of showing Daddy the “bouncy tree” and a bag of dry cereal (this poor kid) got her out of the car and up the trail. I figured once we hit the trail we’d be fine and we were. She did great.
The rain hit just as we reached the bouncy tree and we hung out under it till the shower passed, then down the trail and back to the car and into town for celebratory ice cream at the Meadowlark Dairy.
Jaime! WHY aren’t you up here?!!? One of these years you guys must come up to CA in Feb so you can travel with the amazing Tour of California. We had big plans this year to take the week off and follow the tour. BUT. Ch.t got really sick & ended up on antibiotics (I guess this is our winter for antibiotics – none for the girls yet, thank goodness – but Ch.t and I both had a round so far this winter).
When mom and dad told us they were coming up, we warmed up the guest house in the event that Ch.t was still sick on family dinner day. One way or another he was banned from the house. We didn’t want to pass any bugs to dad with his chemo starting soon. Yes, I know I’m supposed to be talking about the bike race. So Sunday when Ch.t was still sick, he drove over to Palo Alto for the prologue. He got *this close* to Tyler Hamilton and patted Levi Leipheimer on the back after his ride. But the poor boy (ch.t) was sick and he came home and stayed out in the guesthouse during dinner.
The tour was back in our area on Weds, so after dropping the girls off at school, we drove down to Calaveras/Old Piedmont road intersection to watch the guys navigate a tricky corner. It was GREAT! Levi & Gesink were out in front followed by chunks of riders over the next 30 min and finally the peloton just as we were getting ready to leave. It was SO COOL.
It was great to see Hincapie get a stage win on the last day (though it would have been sweet for Zirbel to win after his long lonely haul) and Levi’s time trial was phenomenal. It’s just great to see the pros here on our home turf.
Oh, and the scenery was nice too (ergo the pic attached to this post.)
We had a surprise visit from Papa & Tata this weekend. It was sooooooo great to see them. I wish they’d stayed a year. We had a really pleasant family dinner on Sunday night (Feb 17) and then a great visit on Monday from mom & dad and !!Uncle Joe!! (emphasis by the girls). For dinner, Dad made pasta and his famous pasta sauce and mom made one of her incredible salads. I am ashamed to say that I carefully packed the leftover salad away and then forgot about it!!!! Augh! The waste of Tata salad is a sin. The chickens did enjoy their share, though once I found it again. Aunt Kathy made three (count them three) amazing desserts. We enjoyed every one – multiple times! Paul Jr and family brought yummy sodas, and I did the square root of nothing.
Before and during dinner, Miriam and I traded daughters. I “helped” Jules with her algebra. She may never ask me a question again. Poor kid. Miriam was wonderful with the girls (who were being their loud selves) – helping them with dinner and painting nails afterwards.
Some of you don’t know that dad recently (one week ago today) was diagnosed with bladder cancer – an early stage but fast growing CIS type that will be treated with a TB chemotherapy delivered directly to the bladder. This is the gold standard treatment for his condition and we expect excellent results. Fortunately, they are very happy with their doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor is waaaaaayyyyy down south in SoCal and not at all close to me. It is a *bit* frustrating to have them so far away when I want to be supporting and helping them. But! Kids. You teach them to think for themselves and then they do! Wait, I think I’m a little mixed up.
Oh well. Hopefully they’ll find a cool spot to spend the summers as it looks like 2 years of this chemo treatment ahead for dad. And I’ll have to find a good drug to use on the girls so we can drive all the way down and visit them once in a while. Just KIDDING! Jeez!
Don’t expect any big lovey-dovey celebrations here. We pretty much ignore holidays – I routinely forget Ch&t’s birthday and struggle to remember the girls. So keep in mind that when I completely overlook YOUR birthday it is not personal. I must say, however, that I’m considering throwing a 10th anniversary party for us when Michelle is in town in August.
Catie is still sick – moderate fever, day five. Ch.t came down with something on Tuesday and in about five hours he went from fine to in bed. Poor boy. Beck is still happily prancing along with a little cough and not much else. I am fine so far. Go figure. Yoga? Or maybe I’m just a better person. 
Here’s a pick of sick little Catie. Ch.t took her out a couple of days ago and let her buy a little kitty from the beanie babies store down the street. Beck feels persecuted and ignored.
I’ve been having back pain for the last 10 days or so – probably due to my sleeping arrangements where I enjoy the ELBOWS and KNEES of two little bodies pressed against me throughout most of the night. The squeeze into me so tightly that I can’t turn over. I’m going to start locking the darn door! My back finally unfroze after being locked up for three days over the weekend and now I just have mild pain every morning. Of course, if Ch.t comes home, the pain lasts longer. Just kidding
I have nothing useful to say. STILL waiting for feedback from the architect. I’ve tweaked the plan as much as I can. Maybe I’ll post it and see what you all think. Well, off to school to pick up the Beckster.
We are still here. Not much is happening. Catie is sick right now and staying home with a moderate fever and tummy bug. Though she just ate artichokes and pasta.
House plans are still in progress. We still love the newest plan. We’re in our second go-around with the architect-consultant. Still very happy with his input. Ch&t started getting serious about moving stuff around in the basement yesterday. One way or another, we need to clear all the stuff out of the basement. So we’re beginning the long process of going through it. Please come get anything you’ve left here!
While Ch&t and Becky poked around in the basement (see Flickr photo), Catie and I enjoyed the sunshine. Catie loves to knit and is doing such a great job with it. Recently her knitting bag and the yarn that has been “in” it have become one entity. Yarn was knotted in large clumps, wrapped around the bag handles… and she was still trying to knit with it. I spent about an hour yesterday unraveling the whole skein and rolling it back up into a ball. I told her to notice what I was doing and realize that if she ever questioned my love for her, she should remember this ball of yarn.
