I said goodbye to Tyler and Madison last night. They are gone to Utah for the next two months. Madison happily, Tyler not so much.

My mom and dad live there, and offered to entertain (and train in the ways of respecting their parents) my two big kids. Tyler is feeling like it is a punishment. His life revolves around his friends right now, and a summer so far away feels like torture to him. We had many, many drawn out, dramatic discussion about it where he deemed me "the strictest mom ever" and I decided he whines too much for a 12 year old.

Madison is eager to be a Mother's Helper to my cousin and her sweet little girls, and she is sure she'll be able to convince me to let her bring home a bunny at the end of the summer. (A friend of mine in Utah has a Rabbitry (I'm pretty sure that is a real word although spell check is telling me otherwise).) (Do I need two parenthesis here?? I cannot figure out how to punctuate that sentence.) There's little to no possibility of a bunny, cute and fluffy as they may be, coming back home with her, however, which I have told her every. single. time. she has asked, but, stubborn little thing that she is, she is holding out for a change of heart.

I hope and pray they realize and come to appreciate how lucky they are to have this opportunity to get to know family better and to have boatloads of fun in the process. They get to have a summer full of swimming, hiking, music lessons, and cousins. I'll bet they come back with killer tans and lots of adventurous stories to tell. I'd totally go myself if that were an option.

But, alas, I get to stay here in Oregon, which really isn't so bad but would be ten times better if I had some cash to finance a few adventures of my own. Instead it will be Jacob and I hanging out here at home, day after endless day, getting really tired of each other. I will have some reprieve in the the form of respite care, which I am currently interviewing candidates for and stressing over. The help is great, but it still doesn't give me any cash to go out and have some fun, so you can look forward to lots and lots of pictures, since photography is basically a free pastime in this digital age.

As for the respite stuff- I put an ad on Craigslist a few days ago and have had so many applicants that I am having difficulty keeping them straight. Last time I advertised for this I didn't get more than two interested parties. It's a sure sign of the times and the poor economy when everybody and their dog applies for a not-so-high paying job with a ton of responsibility and lots of mess like this one. But, oh, to have options for hiring makes me very pleased and grateful.

I have an interview tomorrow at my local police department for the job of Domestic Violence Advocate. I actually went in this morning thinking it was interview day and felt like a big dummy when they told me I was 24 hours early for the appointment. I hope they forgot what I was wearing because I had specifically planned my wardrobe and I'll be arriving in the same getup for the actual interview, which they said could last over and hour so I'm having visions of polygraph tests and interrogation. Do they do that to job candidates? I hope not cause I live with a permanent guilt complex and I'd surely fail them both just because of that.

Here's something exciting- after months and months of proposals and negotiations we have finally been approved for funding to install a big, colorful play structure in the backyard for Jacob. This State-run program Jacob is a part of is a maze of red tape, but the result is going to be awesome. Expect a lot of photos of Jacob sliding, Jacob swinging, Jacob climbing, and probably all will be blurry.

I'm sporting a few new, large, dark bite marks on my arms. Jacob is very aware that biting me is naughty and it hurts, but is also aware that it gets a big reaction like me squealing or crying or yelping. If I could remain calm when this happens the amount of occurrences might decrease, but, dang it, it really hurts and I can't help it. He hasn't bitten anyone else to the extent that he has bitten me, thank goodness. I'm kinda paranoid about showing up to my interview looking like I'm a victim myself which, really, I am. Knowing myself well, I'll find a way to bring it up within the first few minutes and hopefully dispel any weirdness and doubts that may come from talking with bruised woman (me) looking to be hired to prevent this kind of stuff.

Chris and I are thrilled to be starting church in a brand spankin' new chapel this coming Sunday. It is a beautiful, large new building and is only 3 minutes away from our home. I'm anxious to be the first person to open a new hymn book and hear it crack, and to smell the newness of everything. I can't wait to see the color scheme they chose, and I'm crossing my fingers that the folding chairs in the classrooms are padded. Funny how much I am looking forward to this.

My goal this summer is to get to bed earlier than 3 am every night, and since it is now after 11pm, I'm going to take some melatonin and try my darnedest to fall asleep before midnight. I doubt it is going to happen- my hard wiring can't be changed that quickly- but here I go to give it my best shot. Goodnight, friends.