Febrweskies!

February is pretty well brewed and stewed now. We're officially on "MID WINTER BREAK!!!!" Shiver in terror!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. Except, no actually Allan is going to spend at least a good part of the week at Gramma Pam's house, so it's more like "hells yeah! break for all!" I'm excited. 

The month started off a bit the opposite of this impending sensation of freedom. Single momming it up like a champ!

Andrew went off on a family ski trip. Unlike, say, the non-family ski trips he's already taken a few of... or the work one he's going on next weekend. 

Very different flavor.  For real though. This one went all the way out to Canada and involved driving through National Parks at midnight. I'm sure that makes the skiing that much better??? It seems like it reenergized his ski-thusiasm, so I'll guess this is the case. And I'm pretty sure the chance to ski with his brother is always kind of a special treat.

 Channeling my whimsical younger self, I hid little candies in Andrew's luggage and a love note in his book. Then later had this thought "isn't this exactly the kind of shit that girl from Gone Girl used to do because <spoiler alert>... the book really sucked"!!! Sorry. I had a bad reading experience in which somebody I was pretty good friends with, really really thought I'd love it and then it was awkward because... I did... not.

 But that's beside the point. 

 Also, what if it all melted all over his luggage? But I guess not. He seemed to find and devour it all so... Phew I'm not going to turn full psycho and frame my husband for my murder for reasons I still don't really undrestand but ok sure whatever. Also spoiler alert. We're all still alive. I'm just going to get old and boring. Saved from myself...

... Now back to helping my daughter built a bow and arrow out of straws and rubber bands, because apparently the cat has been having it too easy recently. 

I kid. I kid. 

The cat lives a hard life of screaming for wet food and begging for every crumb of affection. And we do not shoot straw arrows at her like almost ever. 

I'm not really sure if this was a positive experience or not, when I commanded Allan to please entertain the poor miserable cat. We had to take to chasing her around the house. Because poor Froggy definitely missed Andrew. I fed her and changed her litter box (in a homemade hazmat suit because... everything about this beast triggers my allergies), but I don't really cuddle with her. And I definitely don't carry her around like my infant from work to breakfast table to... (she's Andrew's baby to put it mildly)

Allan... she missed Andrew. I know this because when he got home she was downstairs playing on her kindle and I asked if she'd like to go upstairs and hang out with daddy, since she'd missed him so much. She responded "yeah, but Froggy really missed him" and kept playing. 

Parenting! The most rewarding experience that'll ever age ya 10 years in 3 months!!!

But hey, we girls had fun too. She got all the cheese and carb combinations she could eat (mac and cheese, shells and cheese, quesadillas, grilled cheese...the list goes on) and I taught her how to play Twister. Kind of. 

I'm always kind of surprised at how smoothly it does go when Andrew's gone. Which is to say, total chaos, but it's always total chaos so... I guess there's no relativity at a certain point. 

Anyways, eventually the man returned! 

We have tried not to keep it too dull for him. Allan has approached this by being... well... Allan the Bunny. Which is never ever anything close to luke warm. 

And I found some really fascinating random sites in West Seattle to go urban exploring. 

West Seattle is pretty neat. Which is fortunate because apparently there's a concrete strike that will mean the West Seattle Bridge ain't actually getting finished any time soon after years of promising it would be connected again by this summer. So we'll remain a happy little island full of very angry traffic. 

Sometimes we get off the island. And look, sometimes I don't look like I just rolled around in a gym bag!

Attending the ballet is dicey AF. I had to leave early for the last one because people nearby were wearing perfume,but thank GOD I got to stick around for this one. 

Not only is this production of Romeo and Juliet one of my favorites of all time (yes, third time I've seen it), but the dancer doing Juliet, Noelani Paschucho was doing her very last performance of her professional career. 

Noooooooo! We'd only just discovered Noe last year when she did a bunch of cool crazy avant video pieces. I'm a little heartbroken she's leaving. But what a way to go. 

That curtain call was orders of magnitude bigger and longer than average. Everyone related to the PNB and their moms came out to give her flowers. There were balloons. The audience was so on their feet that they were nearly floating. The whole place was vibrating. The dancers were all sobbing. It felt exceptionally special. 

So Happy Almost Valentine's Day to us and uh Dave Grohl? I can't remember who this is supposed to be. 

Anyways, we sure did manage one almost-normal week of school and work before deciding that's enough and it's time for a little long weekend into mid-winter-break vacation!!

We celebrated our wholly represented nuclear family with a little playdate at the Ballard Locks. Which are... cool. We got to see water. Lots and lots and lots of water. And also a boat came through. The levels that water changes going through is pretty awesome. 

Or like really really f'ing awesome, judging by the children's faces. 

Also possibly kind of cold. It was nice to go inside for a spell and look at salmon roe. 

Really really cold. We thought it would be a great idea to go to Golden Gardens after the Locks had been fully experienced. The children definitely agreed. And it was. Also bone chilling. Totally fucking bone chilling. Especially right on the beach. Allan was impervious. She insisted, no it was very comfy with a pleasant breeze (literally she said this) and then she seemed to be about to dive into the water. But we eventually corralled the little frost demons back to places where toes had sensation. I think I was cold for the next 12 hours from the inside out. 

But I had a nice warm up watching a very good PSG v Nantes match. I'm really really getting into the futbol here! I still can't find anything quite as compelling as the French Ligue 1. I've seen my first Sounders game now! It was ... unglamorous. Not MLS but something like CONOCCACO or the like. Some North and Central Americas competition and nobody was in the stands and the game was pretty mild. But hey, I got to know them a little. Later, I tried the US women's match and... so many bouncy ponytails! I'm not sure I can adjust. 

But yeah, I'm kind of getting deep into it. 

Andrew came to watch the last ten minutes of the game with me on Saturday! It was nice. I like to share my things with the man. And it's been so long since we got to obsess over Tour de France (this year, though... giant tv... that shiznet is going ON all day long!)

Besides, I've been more snuggly recently. Maybe just the whole having to thoroughly vet and scrub down any potential hug partner has left it more concentrated on my immediate family (cuz back in my blues days my Saturday night was a darned all night cuddle pile). Or maybe Allan's grown enough I'm no longer on perma-touched out! But whatever. I've always had a hard time holding still enough to stay in snugs very long, which is - again - why dancing is the ultimate best things of all. But the opportunities that come, I enjoy. I used to hate being even incidentally touched at night, and was a mild fan of the whole separate bedrooms approach to modern love, but now that I've graduated from light sleeper to full time insomniac, I really enjoy having the extra cuddles. And having somebody to canoodle with during an exciting event! I dug! Even if maybe I get a little excited and jump up and down and yell loud things in less cuddly ways. 

I was a really helpful guide into the mysteries of the game. Largely, I pointed out various players and told him how old they were, where they were from and whether I thought they were really cool or just pretty cool. A few comments about Neymar's very very fluffy coat and how much I like Xavi Simmons' hair. Because this is how I take in the soccers mostly. Andrew, clearly excited by my ongoing narrative got relaxed enough that I had to stem all my instincts to start yelling and cheering and going OOOOOOOOOOFFF as the ball came perilously close to slipping past the goalie's fingers. It was a brutal game. My team lost by 2 frigging points, so basically a complete slaughter in soccer terms. 

Somebody was hungry apparently

Anyways, basically the little gremlin has spent a massive amount of time at her grandma's this month and she is not complaining. I'll get her one and a half days of break and then single mom it again for another ski trip (work bros this time!) So, I'm feeling pretty good about this all in all. I adore my child. And I feel so f'ing blessed that she has a nice wide net of dear and vital attachment figures to spread out whatever I can't provide and give me some time to just be Adella. I mean I guess she calls me "Adella" too (or "my mother" when talking to other adults, because we're so formal hereabouts).

Very very hungry

February has been a pretty crazy month. Very full. I hear roards of post-pandemic insanity, really. I was starting to write this feeling like I had nothing to say. But here we go. Life has a way of just filling in the cracks. 

Onwards to Mud Month!!! Well, after a little more sub-freezing temps and the like.