On Friday we drove to Johnston Ridge. We made many stops along the way to get various shots of Mount St. Helen. It is such a fascinating landscape. The river looks like a river of ash. The Crater itself looks like a bomb craved it. (The force of the blast was many times that of Little Boy). The trees that are still around the area are still all pointed away from the blast where they fell nearly 30 years ago. On the last stop before the final point, we all hopped out to snag a few more shots and Jameson was really upset that I left him in the car. "I need to get out too!". I told him, that he could get out at the next stop and we would all walk around. "No, you can't leave me here in the car. I will have a heart attack. You are going to give me a heart attack!" So we headed up the last bit of the incline and all got out. We watched a short movie about the explosion and the changes it made in the environment. After it was over, the curtain went up to reveal an awesome view of the Crater. We went outside to get a better look. Jameson, was a bit scared after the movie. But he looked around and announced, "We HAVE to tell Mt. Rainier about these other volcanoes!" I told him I was pretty sure Mt. Rainier knew about the other volcanoes. All the other people standing around were very impressed withe this four year old who wanted to inform Mt. Rainier of possible rival volcanoes, or possibly warn Mt. Rainier of impending danger. I am disappointed I didn't get a picture with someone standing in front of this view. My shots don't do it justice or show the absolute enormity. Dad did take one that shows it a little better....

Jameson had his surgery last Wednesday and all went well. In the hospital, we had Jack Sparrow take some of his medicine (to calm him down) so that he would take it too. He was in recovery for over an hour while they were trying to wake him up. I don't think I could have gotten through this without my mother. She kept Jameson calm with sock puppets and she kept me from wanted to just sit and cry. We finally got on the road at 5, right in rush hour traffic. He was so hungry; it had been almost 24 hours without food. He begged for more and more food. We tried to give him small portions with breaks in between. After a while, we just finally stopped at McDonald's and he ate an entire kid's meal as well as most of a large fry. When we got home, he kept trying to walk, but his legs kept giving out. I am so grateful that he had an easy recovery. I gave him Tylenol Thursday morning right after he woke up. He was pretty much back to his energetic self the rest of the day. He did take a small trip into town with mom and dad. He didn't do any walking. But when he came home, he said as he was bent over, "Mom, I'm walking like this again(meaning doubled over)." So, I said, "Do you want some more medicine?" He responded sounding like a sarcastic 16 year old, "Ummmm, YEAH!"

Ahhhh, to fall in love with a place. This place was just beautiful, looking west toward Mt Hood and over the Columbia River Gorge. We read about the replica of Stonehenge in Weird Washington and decided to take a drive. It was well worth the effort after a day of filing police reports, changing my locks, and generally feeling paranoid and crazy. I had my identity stolen. What was worse is that someone was actually trying to have things delivered to my home address. So, one would come to the conclusion that it would have to be someone in my gated neighborhood. Someone who knows the hours I keep. It's a crazy world out there. This was a small slice of heaven filling the cracks between crazy and paranoid.

Things I will miss

There are many things I will miss about this place. One, is the freedom that comes from having a yard. I will miss my gardening. I have so enjoyed it. There is a such a creative power that comes with gardening. It has become such an outlet for me. There is a such an immense beauty in the Pacific Northwest. It is always green, even in the dead of winter. That's what comes with living in a rain forest. I will miss my flowers, my 15 rose bushes, my lavender that smells so wonderful, even when not in bloom, my three different types of mint and my fresh tomatoes and basil that I so enjoyed last summer. This year I added strawberries and raspberries that I will probably never get to enjoy. I sat outside, listening to the almost silent raccoons with their soft sniffing, looking for insects in the grass. They stop to wash their hands on the dew. It is so serene. This I will miss.
Jameson finally got a date for his surgery on the 25th of June. I just pray that all goes well. Even though it is a common, "outpatient" surgery, I can't help but feel frighten by it. They are going to cut my baby open. I hope I can hold up. I am sure it will be fine. It is just the thought.

Gas, Food, and Cookies

Well, gas is up to $4.29 at Safeway and I heard yesterday on the news that the average cost per gallon for WA is $4.22. Food costs are also rising, and Americans are feeling a tighter squeeze. I just read the school lunches may be increasing by as much as 50%. So, what happens to the children whose parents were struggling to put food on the table before the gas and food increase? It is a scary world out there. I feel like I have been a lone witness to a horrible trainwreck and now, finally, years later, other people are coming to the trainwreck, wondering how it happened. But, hey, a couple years ago, we were giving tax breaks to people driving huge SUVs. Time to release the technology; It's LONG overdue.
I am very excited because I am making cookies...for Ian. The simplest recipe I have ever seen. A recipe with 4 ingredients. They took literally 20 minutes from start to finish. I can't wait until they cool and he can have one. I am quite sure he will wonder why I have been holding back from him for so long.

And the verdit? He loved them...check out the crumbs:

It's like a tent!

My little darling...he told me earlier he needs wood, glue, crackers, gum, and jelly beans and he would build me a fence. And while we were dancing earlier to Holy Diver, he asked me if I wanted to, " see his moves". What a ball of energy. These boys are truly my joy in life. I bought this tunnel for them at Ikea last weekend and Jameson was so excited that he didn't want to get out. So, he finally grapped a blanket and pillow and fell asleep in it.

Amazing Arlington

This video clip is truly amazing. I hate all the banter that comes with the commentary. But the video is definately worth a look. As you can see the rain and wind get more and more intense:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-31270

And the week's not over!

This weeks has been so crazy. Monday, OT was postponed, but we had to pick up some pictures from the studio at Target (45 minutes away) and then off to Jameson's school. We got home around 4:45 and since Ian was sleeping, I "quickly" mowed the entire yard. Finally dinner was on the table about 6:45.
Tuesday was off to Ian's school. He got so angry at one point that he head butted me in the jaw bruising my tendon and flairing my TMJ. I was so upset and I guess it looked pretty bad because people were scrambling to get me an ice pack. Back home for a quick lunch, turn around, drop Jameson at a friend's and then off to Ian's first ABA therapy in Tacoma (1.5 hour away). Finally got home around 5:30. So, I am exhausted, went to bed without my usual cleaning until 11:30- 12:30.
Wednesday, I am walking out the door to speech therapy (45 minutes away) when a realtor calls. She wants to show the house while I am gone. I strapped the boys in the car (milk and cereal too) and ran through the house doing my best to straighten. The off, down the road. Off course, the lady whose son has therapy after Ian is knocking on the door, interrupting Ian's therapy AGAIN because she feels that the front desk doesn't announce her arrival in a timely fashion. Then off to lunch. I tried taking them to a playground or park to eat our packed lunch but the construction blocked the road. Then off to school. So, as I am getting back into my car, I notice my tire is flat...I mean really flat. Not all the way flat, but not something I want to drive 45 minutes home on. So, then I find a place to replace it and before they started work I told them, this HAS to be done so that I can pick up my son at 3:30. I have to pay a dollar a minute I am late and I am assuming he will not be happy with me. So, as you can guess, I am late to pick him up because it took longer than they though. I had to scramble, calling my mom back on the East coast to look up the number on line so that I can call and ask if he can go into hourly care because of car trouble. I am flying down I-5 like a bat out of hell, praying the cops are not out. I finally get him and then, 45 minutes back home.
Today is Ian's home visit, rescheduled from Friday. Then I am driving up to a friend's house (thank you friend, you are awesome) to spend the night because Jameson has his surgical consult tomorrow morning in Bellevue which is north of Seattle. With morning traffic, I am not even sure how long it would take me to get there. Then back by 12:30 to get Jameson back to school and Ian has his rescheduled OT at 1 in Lacey. Seriously. I am not really sure I am going to make all these appointments.
The weather is really rainy and cold. I really need to get out finish landscaping. I need to clean out my garage. I need to do a lot of things. So tired. So cold. It's 63 degrees in my house, but I refuse to turn on the heat. Why? Because it's JUNE and propane is ridiculously expensive.

"My father is a soldier..."

As I picked Jameson up today from school, I showed him a flower I had gotten from the American ex-prisoners of war for giving them money. (If he is with me, I usually let Jameson shove money in the jar for the American Legion and they hand out silk poppies, these guys hand out silk daisies). It held it and said, "It smells wonderful!" (Personally, I don't really care to smell silk flowers). He asked me where I got it and I told him a soldier gave it to me when I put money in the jar. He replied, "My father is a soldier." I said, "Yes, he is..." (kind of). I asked him what soldier do, what daddy does. He replied, "They shoot! They shoot walls, and buildings, and cars! The shoot signs. Signs are very bad, so they shoot them. He shoots high and low and very far." It was an interesting account of what soldiers do. He misses his daddy very much. It is truly heart breaking.