This weekend was busy – just
like so many other weekends. It was sad
and celebratory. It was quiet and
peaceful. It was dirty and busy. How’s that for a description.
Friday night was Olivia’s
last night of cheer practice from 6-8:30 p.m. She was tired after a long week
of school and practices. We are always tired on Fridays! We rushed home to see John because he was
leaving in the wee hours of the morning for China. He was still up taking care of things –
making sure he had this and that, getting me contact information,
showering. He got to bed later than
planned. I was quiet all night knowing
when I talked to him, I’d cry. I don’t
like when he has to travel. It takes a lot away from his family, we miss him
so. We all experience an emptiness
within us that can only be filled upon his return. We are counting the days until we can hug him
again. Time, for this, is passing very slowly.
Saturday was a big day for
Olivia and her cheer squad. Competition
day! We ate breakfast then started to
curl her hair as the perm rods I put in her hair last night did not take
well. We were instructed to place
ponytails on top of the head, roll the rods and have them sleep in them
overnight and do not take them out until we get to competition. Well, I had to
see how they ringlets looked. Her hair
is so heavy, and she has enough hair for three people, all we had was a slight
curl. So I plugged in some curling irons, got the hairspray and went to work.
Curl one section after spraying with hairspray and roll it up on a perm
rod. This took over an hour and we had
to leave. Their coach is a beautician
and she was busy at work when we got to the school. We walked into a cloud of
hairspray. She was spraying and frizzing
and curling. The girls’ ponytails were
frizzed out. They looked cute but that
was not what I was expecting. Off to
competition an hour away. We arrived and
waited for 3 hours before our squad took the floor. That gave their coach plenty of time to
finish the ponytails. Olivia’s hair was so big but she was beautiful. All she
needed was knee-high white boots and we’d have us a Go-Go Girl!
I’m thinking this is what she
needs to be next Halloween (for her party)!
The girls did a great job! They
came home with honorable mention medals.
Of course they all had long faces because they wanted to place. I understand that. When Olivia emailed her father about the
competition, she stated it correctly, “we didn’t win because you can only have
so many winners but we did have fun.” I
am so proud of our daughter in so many ways. She is also growing up too fast
before our eyes. Today, I let her wear
mascara because she asked and she wore it for competition. It’s one way to ensure she’ll be washing her face
daily (that may be only until her father returns).
We ate out at the Olive
Garden Saturday night before we returned home.
Elliott did not want to but once he ordered (and he was hungry) he was
happy. His meal was good. We had a nice
dinner. It made for a fun drive back
home - full bellies and lots of laughs.
I had a large project planned
for the weekend since we had results from Elliott’s second-opinion allergy
tests. He is allergic to dust mites.
Those nasty little critters that love bedding, carpeting and pillows. No wonder he had constant symptoms. Symptoms that were always present. Seasonal changes did not seem to affect him. He did not get watery eyes, a runny nose or any
of the other various allergy symptoms. Our guest bedroom is not carpeted. When we were expecting Elliott, we renovated
our home. This renovation included another
bedroom and a huge family room. The new
bedroom was designated for Elliott. We
choose laminate flooring when it came to his room since he had RSV when he was
8 weeks old and our pediatrician suggested that as the ideal flooring. When he got older, we moved him into the
bedroom across the hallway from our bedroom.
This bedroom has the oldest carpet in the house (probably Shanghai city
for those dust-mites). So I emptied the
guest room. What a job. It became a
dumping ground for anything and everything. All my scrap-booking craft stuff is
there as well as other craft items – sewing machine, cross-stitching, and yarn. I washed the walls, floor, windows and
ceiling fan and the closet. It was clean
and smelled clean – I love Murphy’s oil soap.
While washing everything, I had been running up and down the stairs to
launder all the bedding. Everything that
went into the “new” bedroom was cleaned – dusted or washed. As it came together, Elliott seemed
indifferent. I was bummed. Working hard
and he wasn’t reacting the way I wanted him to. It ended well though. When he
emailed his father, he stated his room was awesome! And later he told me he really liked it
better than his old room. The majority of the items have been moved and put
away. I will continue to putter all week long going through boxes and getting
rid of items. I really want a tidy guest
room!
