As in lice-free we are. I was cleared on Monday at my checkup at the Lice Clinic and through fairly regular combing checks we haven’t found anything more in the girls or Bryan’s hair. Hallelujah!! I was beginning to worry that this was going to turn into some month-long saga like COVID was for us. But that doesn’t mean that no other problems have surfaced. One thing that has surfaced is our sewer surge tank. Right to ground level! Right as we were needing to wash every single living thing in our house to rid ourselves of lice did the alarm on our surge tank start going off. “Conserve water” said Bryan. “How?” said I. We did our best attempt and through three visits from our landlord and his handyman buddy they may have finally fixed it’s of today. They donned full Hazmat suits the other day and drained it completely but that only solved the problem for about a week. I think as soon as I’d hear that alarm go off I’d be phoning the closest plumber ASAP. This IS where I am still relieved I am just the renter.
We continue to have Reese’s trio of activities on the weekends and swim class on Mondays. She actually says swim class is her favorite right now which surprises me but at the same time doesn’t. It might be the easiest activity since it is right done the street, all of 30 minutes, and then we spend some time playing at Garfield playground afterwards. Reese also seems to have a great, fun coach this time around and she’s in the most advanced class for this age group but when she turns 6 the levels start all over. Soccer has still been a lot of fun and when I asked all of the girls to show me their speed in the game last week it seemed to light some fire under Reese. She really picked it up on the field and seemed more determined to defend, kick, and run fast. We only have two games left. We also only have one month left of swim class and dance class and I will be very happy to get to summer with only one activity on our precious weekends. Never signing her up for more than two activities again.
I’ve been back to Reese’s school to volunteer for math stations and that is actually a lot of fun to help with. I am getting to know the other kids in Reese’s class better and understand their routine better. It was funny hearing one of the boys this past week say, “I am so excited and ready to be a First Grader.” I thought that was so cute. We are also more or less starting a park meetup at the Madrona Playground on Friday afternoons. I picked up Reese and Georgie from the bus stop that is right at the park yesterday and about six of their classmates later joined them. It was a lot of fun just next time I need to make sure that Brooke gets to partake too. Most all of the kids have younger siblings so Brooke would fit right in.
I’m reveling in not having to study for however much longer this is going to last. I feel like I need to get myself set up with some interesting hobby to spend even 15 minutes in everyday but in the meantime I’ve been doing the spring cleaning I wasn’t able to do before April, going through clothes, organizing all of the bathrooms with new organization, I got new dining benches for our dining table, slowly trying to declutter some since I think it makes me feel so much better. I’ve also been trying to read, something I so enjoy, however, right now I am trying to read the parenting book “Good Inside” by the famous Dr. Becky. I follow her on Instagram and have taken away a lot of the messages she has on discipline, connecting with kids, behavior issues, etc. I’ll get back into reading for just fun soon. I did get to attend my first Yelp Elite event in a long time thanks to Bryan coming home early on Monday and taking the girls to swim class for me. With Yelp I got to try a Thai street eats restaurant in Fremont which was delicious but also just nice to get out of the house and normal grind and meet new people.
Bryan and I have been pretty good with date nights lately. We did our normal date night swap with our friends last week and got some great wine and pizza downtown at the new Ethan Stowell restaurant in the new Convention Center. Then yesterday we did something different and fun by going to a Flamenco concert at the Fremont Abbey, where I used to volunteer years ago, after grabbing some delicious drinks and Japanese skewers and sushi at a newish hotspot called Secret Fort. Still to this day I am mesmerized by Flamenco guitar and dance and it gave me all the good feels last night. I definitely have the travel bug right now and this helped but didn’t help if you know what I mean. Antonio Rey was absolutely amazing and being in Fremont Abbey makes me think and reminisce about our wedding too because the venue is so similar to the Old Art Building in Leland.
We have replanted our hydroponic system and it is just about ready for harvesting to start. We tried to plant some flowers out front and will see how those do but also have a few herbs that have started out alright outside and just need to be replanted. Bryan pressure washed the backyard last week and I’ve been trying to make some progress in the yard to get it summer ready. It’s getting there. We did dine outside last Sunday for Mother’s Day dinner with Sarah and Lottie. Like usual, Seattle delivers us amazing spring weather to make us think we are officially in the warm season and then presents us with a day like today that is a high of 53…but we made the most of it with a very fun birthday party at Polly’s house tonight that the kids thoroughly enjoyed.
Less than a week and we will be in sunny Arizona!
—
Chelsea
