Clogged Toilets and Divorce

So Chris and I are getting divorced. It's been a long time coming, accelerated in some ways like everything probably, by Covid and the quarantine. Obviously it's not where I want to be, or how I want my kids to be raised, and is not an easy conclusion to come to, but here we are.

It's been a hard year and I'm now going at it solo, at least for the time being. Emotions have been running high, the kids are all handling things differently, between personalities and ages. Being in a place where they can only socialize minimally has made it more isolating and a lot more challenging. Sam has his friends more, as they are older and local, and independent in different ways. Vivian switched schools in September, to be in person as oppose to mostly remonte, and it has been a lot of changes for a little girl. Lanie is steadfast but needs reassurance and is figuring it out. She told me yesterday I couldn't have anymore birthdays because she needed me to never die (but that's a secret). 

We've all, meaning the kids, myself, and three animals, been plugging along trying to maintain. Mostly things seems reasonable and calm, and then all hell breaks loose. We've done lots of meltdowns, some hiding, a minor sledding accident, losing my keys, losing a kid here and there, even managed to poke Vivian's eye with the Christmas tree while taking it down. Or when Santa tried to enter Vivian's window on Christmas Eve, when a wild windstorm actually blew the top sash down, and I didn't notice for 3 days. Even after Vivian wouldn't sleep in her room because it was "too rattlely." We've done vet appointments, kid infections, and lots of corresponding with teachers. Mostly they've been super awesome at clogging toilets. Like every few days. Because really, I guess it's not a good bathroom experience unless you clog a toilet. Just for the record, baking soda and vinegar are purportedly helpful in breaking down human feces, but a plunger is really just more effective and efficient. The amount of toilet paper is also starting to get rationed, because I am also no longer pulling wads out.

 It's been a ride.

Thankfully my parents and sister have been around for emergencies and non-emergencies alike. For continuity, normalcy, and always food, and for the children, and some home repairs.

Basically what I've come to conclude is that this experience is kind of like a clogged toilet. Unpredictable and messy and really crappy. It's also taught me how amazing my kids and family are.  And how the children are little human beings who need their family in whatever shape or form that is, and how our blessings come in many ways. 

New Addition

We had a new addition to our family a few weeks ago, a little Snowshoe kitten who we named Mika. She is settling in well after 48 hours of more or less hiding, with the kids constantly trying to "help her." Now she is very assertive and let's Jack know her place if she doesn't want to play. She is also, so far, tolerant of the kids and particularly Lanie who likes to carry her around.
It seemed like a good time to get a cat as we are home all the time pretty much.

More and more is closed around us, so options are few and far between, quite literally, for getting out and about.

Her favorite place to sleep is the kitchen drawer, which I know,
but still makes me jump every time I open it.

The Great Squirrel Rescue

I took Lanie for a scooter ride the other day, she was naturally dressed like Elsa, and I had Jack on his leash. Sam was supposed to be playing online Risk with a friend. That involves being on Google Hangout and Risk at the same time, preferably on two different devices. Chris wasn't home.

So Lanie and I got about 5 houses down when my the mom of Sam's friend starting texting that it wasn't working. I told Lanie we had to go back when she spotted a squirrel lying on it's side, smack in the middle of the sidewalk. She peered at it and had a very hard time leaving it, meanwhile Jack wanted to play with it or eat it, unclear.
I finally get Lanie turned around to go back to the house. We got the front and I asked her to wait for me. I went inside to get Sam up and running, and finally got the friend and his mom on Google Hangout, just as Lanie burst in to tell the kids that she found an injured squirrel. They were out the door in a flash, barefoot, and I was left holding the iPad trying to explain. So I chased them down the street, with the iPad and the dog. Of course the iPad cut out a few houses down so we had to repeat the whole exercise.
I got Sam back inside with and finally set up, the dog inside and went back outside to find Vivian with a snow shovel with the squirrel on it parading up the street with Lanie/Elsa. To make it even better, the whole time this had been happening, a neighbor was being socially distance surprised for her birthday by family with a cake and balloons. So my children ran around them to get to the squirrel, to return to the house, and then to "rescue" the squirrel.

Long story short, Vivian built the squirrel a nest, with a roof (because it was raining and windy during this whole experience). They cut it up apple and got it water and wanted me to go to our neighbor who is a vet to get advice. I didn't. Eventually the squirrel somehow propelled itself out of it's nest and lay on the ground next to it, still breathing. I was trying to put together a raised garden bed, but was getting updates on the squirrel (who they thought perhaps had Coronavirus or a head injury). 

 The squirrel did not make it through the night and when Chris finally reappeared, he got to bury it. The big kids understood but were really sad. Lanie thought his mommy squirrel "took him to her nest, because his brother and sister squirrel were very sad. Then she gave him medicine and a treat, that was one single cupcake."

 Just to completely make the whole experience as traumatic as possible, the children decided to make time capsules. This was a great project that took a few hours. (I did have to talk them out of putting $20 in it though, which apparently they had done in the past). So of course, the first place Vivian digs,  there is the squirrel tail. I heard her gasp and turned around to see the fluffy tail.

The buried the capsules in a new location, next to my raised bed that I somehow completed. The squirrel can rest in peace.

The Farm

It a joke in our family that my kids do not appreciate farms, at all. There's a little farm about ten miles away that Sam hates, mostly because he went there several times in succession and then for a field trip.  We joke about sending him to camp there.

He was away for a few days with a buddy, so I decided to take advantage and took the girls today.  Unfortunately it was pouring rain, so I detoured and drove to get the kids bagels.  Lanie immediately fell asleep in the car.

When we arrived it was only raining moderately, so we got out and went to pay.
"You must be members to come out in this rain!" the cashier exclaimed.
"Nope, just crazy," I told her.

We went off on our way and Lanie insisted on staying in the stroller, to be fair she was half asleep.  We saw the owls and they decided they were scary so we walked down to the chicken house.  That was too smelly for them (it was smelly).  We continued onto the piglets who they did like, but initially they were sleeping.
They concluded the pigs were boring.  Things didn't look up until we left the piglets and headed to the cows, the rain cleared and to their delight, the cows pooped.  Multiple times.  After that we caught a piglet pooping, a goat doing a super long pee, and a sheep poop.  All the poop.

 

Lanie had to turn away from the cow because it was looking at her.  Then Vivian discovers the cow poop and you can hear it falling- I guess they get their excitement about farms from me... 

Tiger Growls for Halloween

The kids practicing tiger growls- I think Vivian either forgot she was an animated mouse or is protecting herself!

"Isn't this the Season?"

We were driving the other day through a city, when Sam asked, "mom, isn't it almost the season where raccoons start falling out of the trees?"

I started laughing, and asked, "what?"
"Yah, you know, when the little raccoons start falling, they look like they're falling from the sky."

"Sam," I said, "raccoons are animals. You know, the furry, black and white ones that come out at night… they have a black ring around their eye and big bushy tails…"

"Oh, they're nocturnal?"

"Yes," I said.

"No, these things aren't nocturnal.  They fall during the day too.  Actually they're not animals.  They're like those brown things, they're hard."

"Acorns?" I asked.

"Oh, yes!  Acorns.  Not raccoons!!!! HAHAHA"

Animal Adventures

Considering we live in a city/suburb, we have had some adventures with animals this weekend, luckily they were both outdoors.

A biker prodding trying to prod the turtle along with a stick.  The turtle
withdrew his head and hid.

The first one was on the way to soccer in the town that I grew up in.  We were driving down a main street when we spotted a rather large turtle trying to cross the road.  Or rather, on his way across the road.  There were three or four people trying to assist him and help him to avoid getting crushed by a car.  We pulled over to take a look, knowing nothing about turtles, I couldn't really do much to help, other than keep the kids out of the way.  There was extensive conversation about how long his neck was, whether he could be picked up by his shell, tail, by biting onto a stick and dragged, nudged by a stick, etc.  Eventually the crowd grew and someone grabbed the poor thing by it's tail and ran it over to the edge of the stream and deposited him there.  Hopefully his day improved.  Needless to say, we were late for soccer, but it's not everyday you witness a turtle crossing a street in these parts.

Someone eventually pulls over and picks up the turtle by it's tail.

The second instance was at our house.  We had made some bird feeders last weekend at a friend's house.  I finally hung them outside a kitchen window yesterday.  Since the kids got a large bird feeder for Christmas, that has been primarily ravaged by squirrels, I thought we'd put this away from the porch  where the squirrels run along the banister to jump on the bird feeder.  I also put it a distance away from the large trees, to stop them from jumping from the branches on them.

Our bird feeders.

So this morning we were preparing to leave the house when there was a loud thud against the window, which caused Sam, Vivian, and I to jump about a mile in the air and me exclaim a bad word.  We turned to find a squirrel splayed across the window screen, like a starfish, holding on for dear life.  (Did I mention we live on the second floor?)  After about 30 seconds of scrambling, the squirrel gained it's footing on the small window ledge and started munching on the bird feeders.  The unfortunate part was there was no way for the little guy to get down.  Sam suggested we let him in for a visit.  I explained why this wasn't a good idea.  I consulted Chris who was in the shower.
Silence.  "I'll think about it.  Let me see when I get out."

The squirrel (as viewed from the inside), happily munching.

A little while later we were all contemplating the squirrel, Chris and I debating what to do, when the squirrel suddenly lost his little grip and disappeared from view.  We froze and listened, a second or two of paws scraping and then nothing.  Chris and I exchanged glances.
"What happened?" Sam exclaimed.
"The squirrel jumped back to the tree." Chris told him.
"Squiwel?" Vivian repeated.
"Big jump," we said.
"So can, you like take a look for it when we head out?" I asked Chris.

There was no sign of the squirrel when we left, Chris checked the bushes and plants.  Hopefully it wasn't too injured.  I'm guessing he fell onto the overhang over the tenants' window and then scrambled down the house somehow.

The children regarding the squirrel.

I'm kind of waiting from some kind of squirrel revenge or retribution, the tree that is usually bustling with squirrel activity has been strangely silent today...

Animal Sounds

Sam's newest accomplishment ; )