Monday - home!

We made the day-long drive home yesterday, with all the other Thanksgiving travelers. We stopped to eat at Cracker Barrel - and it took 2 hours. The roads were clear and the weather was fine.

The kids were excited to check out their rooms and the pets. Sophie has doubled in size and demolished all of my ivy plants. 4.5 weeks is a long time to be separated from your "stuff". Even I felt strange walking into my kitchen. It was one year ago this week we started our lives in Illinois. The weather is colder, the leaves are everywhere, there are fewer familiar faces. I smiled all day Saturday, watching the OU game in Norman - there were SOONER shirts everywhere!

After a weeks holiday, school is back in session today. We're studying Christmas Around The World this month and coupled with our own holiday traditions, this will be an fun time!

I will be moving and updating my blog in the next few weeks, so expect changes!

Monday - again?

I got a full release from my Dr. today and am feeling great. Keith flies in on Wednesday and we'll drive back to Illinois on Saturday. It is wonderful spending time with the kids and grandbabies, but I'm ready to be home.

Funny to share. No school this week. I had suggested we do a unit study about Thanksgiving (and still plan to read the kids a short book about the history), but the kids wanted a real break. So I agreed we'll take the week off as planned - NO SCHOOL.

So all day today, with Kali and Braden, they played......SCHOOL.

Go figure.

Manic Monday

5 days post op and while I've felt good for the most part, I sink like a rock very quickly. It is typical for a lag in energy, yet I've been surprised that I've bounced back so quickly. My restrictions are very limiting for the first 2 weeks, so it's easy to mentally overestimate my ability. I want to be careful not to undo, unglue, or otherwise mess up my surgical handiwork. My body aches in expected places. The only new side effect is not physical - I sporadically go into weepy mode for no apparent reason.

Kelsey keeps me in check though, she snorts then laughs at me. Which makes me cry. Oprah today made me bawl. Seeing my sleeping children this morning made me cry. My hubby sent me a sweet Myspace message, I sniffled. Kelsey and I have our sniff, snort, laugh out loud routine down. THAT makes this Nana smile.

CATW - Russia

Week 12 - Russia

The kids are back and that makes me very happy. Kaci experienced a whole new world homeschooling them last week and after she got past the fright stage, she was Mrs. Teacher Extraordinaire! She included pictures of their week here: Russia from the Oklahoma frontier. They all painted matryoshka dolls, ate stroganoff, in their science study made a "world" with a core (gumball), mantle (marshmallow) and crust (chocolate), visited a fire station, and marched in a parade for Veterans.

Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA

I love being "home". While there is mostly "wind sweeping 'cross the plain", some of the country roads are lined with shades of autumn.You can look for miles and see plowed fields, oil pumpers, windmills, tumbleweeds and red dirt.

Yes, rusty red dirt.