Katerbug Blue

As mentioned in the previous post, we spent last weekend at a family reunion up north. We went up Thursday with my brother in law and his daughter and everyone else came up on Friday. Thursday night as we were debating whether or not to build a campfire my brother in laws cell phone rang. It was his son (coming up on Saturday). He had borrowed his sisters car and had been involved in an accident. Luckily all parties involved had car insurance, but now the problem is…they are totaling her car and paying her $2500 less than what she owes on it. How pathetic is that? I mean, I know how car insurance works, and it is important to have. But when you really need it, that’s just not the protection you get! How wrong is that?

We found out last weekend just how important strollers are! We had gone to Wisconsin as a huge extended family and one of my nieces brought her 10 month old baby. My kids adore this child and didn’t mind keeping him company. But as always with camping…the floors are dirty. Even though we were in a lovely villa with hardwood laminate floors–the dirt just comes in. So after his bath, he was relegated to arms. Once your arms got tired from holding this growing boy…we had to pass him on to someone else. It would have been really nice to just put him in his stroller, but it had been forgotten. The next nearest child to him is my nearly 4 year old, and he’s been out of a stroller for 2 years! So we didn’t have one to share either. Oh I remember those days! My kids lived in their car seats if I didn’t have a stroller to strap them into. OH—I wish we had thought of his car seat last week, DUH!

As you all know, a week or two ago we celebrated my husbands birthday. It’s always really hard to think of something fun. This year was no different, but since he and the brother in law were planning a trip to “Biker Week” in Sturgis, ND, I thought it would be fun to look into used Harleys. They really aren’t feasible in our situation in life at the moment, but he really likes them and really would look kinda sexy on one. Maybe after the kids are married off, I’ll let him rediscover the days of his lost youth!

This time last year I blogged about an upcoming Alzheimer’s Memory Walk that I had been wishing I could take part in. We were in the middle of moving at the same time, and juggling kids going to school in the new area while still living in the old one. I remember at that time I decided that I would do it “next year”. Well….next year is now!

My grandfather passed back in 2002 after a long and wonderful life. Sadly, the last several years of his life were lived in a blur for him. I was married and out of state when the full ravages of Alzheimer’s hit him, but before I moved I did have the heartache of having to introduce myself to him whenever I had the chance to see him. He held my first born, although I’m not sure he ever really knew him and possibly didn’t remember him shortly after we left. How sad is that? This is a disease that robs people of their memories, of their families, of their lives! We have got to do something to push the search for a cure, and the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk is a great way to do it. They are looking for Team Captains, if this is something you are able to do…sign up! If it’s something you are unable to do…sign up to walk. It’s 2-3 miles with the promise of so much more. I may just throw my 3 year old in a stroller and take him along for the ride!

My husband finally broke! He’s been the one thing keeping me sane on NOT replacing our tattered furniture just yet! The kids are still kind of young, so I was trying to hold myself back until they were out of the ‘destruction’ years, and he was my main cheerleader helping me! Well, last night he caved! He sat down in his tattered old recliner and it crunched underneath him. Not that we can blame that one on the kids, but since he LIVES in that chair when he’s home, we can’t live without it! So if we are replacing that, it’s cheaper to just get the whole matching set! I love the new modern furniture! I haven’t gotten to pick out new furniture in nearly 10 years—so these coming days will be too fun!!

My husband is losing one of his key managers. He’s taking over one of the hotel properties on the East coast. I’ve always wanted to move to the East coast, just for a little while. Of course, if you follow the blog at all, you already know that! The thought of a cross country move right now seems more than my energy level can stand. I would have to find a mover NYC to help out because the husband isn’t home nearly enough to get anything out of him! I’m quite content where we are right now, but it is always fun to see new parts of the country that you just don’t get to experience on a quick vacation!