Happy Home

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!