Tired and distracted

Hey look another quarter, another blog post. The other day, I came to record a milestone and saw my previous post and started thinking about THB and forgot what I was doing. Sigh.

Okay. Why we are here today: our nanny of eight years, took a new job. For the first time in 17 years, we are without a nanny.  We should be able to handle this, right?  oNe drives now -- did I record that?  She passed her driving test first time, with no help from some cats who were sitting in the middle of the street.  It's super helpful to have her drive.

(Funny story, she turns out on to the street from the DMV and there are cats right in the middle of her lane.  Her choice was to 1) stop, 2) hit them, 3) cross the yellow line and not hit them but technically crossing the line is an instant fail.  She crossed the line and didn't faill  Yay.)

So, no nanny.  Our nanny was very wonderful. She finished school, and we knew she'd get a different job soon.  We're super happy for her, but of course we miss her.  She did much more than just take care of the girls.  She helped us figure out the crazy life and get everyone where they needed to be.  She cooked healthy food for us and kept up with the grocery list. One night, I came home to super organized cabinets in my kitchen.  She'd often go through the refrigerator and get rid of the "science experiments."

She was a super confidant for the girls, a great role model, and a good friend of the family.  She was calm and patient and a wonderful soul to have around.  She started working with us when she was just a little older than oNe is now.  That's kind of crazy. She grew up with the girls.  She's all grown up now and it is time for her to do something different.  We will miss you, C-Nanny! I didn't write about you much here because I don't write too much about "not my life" and you were always wonderful.  The blog used to be a place to vent. I never really needed to vent about you.  You were always honest and kind, a super hard worker, and very good at communicating. She and the girls really had a special bond. We were super lucky.

Below is a picture of a mug we got her... (Of course she got other things for 8 years, too.)

(One thing I just want to record...Because life has been crazy and we didn't think we'd get to work this Sunday, MWH and I both went last together on a Friday night to make up. Almost like a date.)

May

I looked at the last post as I came to write this one and the pain of losing THB came rushing back. A quick update -- right after, his people and his brother cat who was his littermate, was very sad. I think the brother cat is doing better now. The brother is twoK's cat, and I've never given him a nickname here, but from here on he'll be talking-cat because he meows a lot. He tried snuggling with our other kitty, aka B-cat (oNe's cat), but B-cat is not a snuggly one. B-cat and talking-cat play and have fun hanging out, and twoK's cat snuggles with twoK and me a lot.

We miss THB. Three-a, she was THB's girl, is ready for a new kitty. (Side note, talking-cat just came down the stairs to find me and meow at me.) We have started looking. I still have lots of worries about getting a new kitty and upsetting the household balance. A new kitty is lots of fun, and we're ready, but yikes! I'm also wondering, do we do two kitties or one? I would love siblings again. We'll know when we find the right cat(s).

What else... Oh, we'll be having a crazy summer adventure. I don't think I wrote about that. twoK was selected for a tremendous ballet experience this summer. We'll be traveling quite a bit. I'll blog more about it after the fact. (That's the policy around here, write about travel afterwards.)

 oNe is starting the college application roller coaster. She'll be a SENIOR this coming school year. How did that happen? How is it possible that yesterday marked 18 years ago since the day with two lines?  How have I been blogging here for almost 13 years? (Does making a post every quarter count as blogging?)

Other stuff... Work is eh... Not meh, and there are really fun times and then times I wonder why I'm doing it. I could see changing things up in a little while, or not. It kind of depends on what else happens (with my bestest colleague and potential new projects). I'll figure it out. Not worried about it, but wow, no one tells you how much you think about if you're happy or not with your work when you're younger.

 MWH seems like he's always pretty happy with work. He has a colleague who, um, if something can go wrong, it will for this guy. He's doing well, and you don't need to worry about him, but he makes MWH's life at work more *exciting*. MWH isn't a super fan of excitement... and yet, he has me and 3 girls... (who aren't so little any more). MWH, we love you.  (I wrote a little before about how MWH and I both find working out to be super important to keep us in balance, but I don't think I ever recorded that we go to a workout class together on Sunday mornings. I love that. XOXO, MWH.)