Paying It Forward

My kiddo had a holiday from school on Monday (President's Day) so I decided to do something fun. I found a nature scavenger hunt list online and we went to a nearby state park hiking. We have been there in the past but usually to play at the playground only. We packed a backpack (with drinks), the list (and pencil to check off it items found or seen), a few snacks, diaper/wipes for the toddler and my camera.



The first trail we picked to hike ran along a creek and was interesting. It was a mile long and then the second trail (to return) was over a mile as well. It was, in hindsight, probably too long to walk as a first hike in a long time. My kindergartener enjoyed finding things on our list (and we put some in a bag we were carrying - those things that weren't part of the park like flowers etc. but like berries, leaves from the ground, bark from a tree, pinecone, to name a few.) Surprisingly, the toddler walked the first leg of the hike, a good mile, with no issues. It's at that point that I realized that I should have brought the baby backpack. I ended up carrying him most of the second mile back. But it wasn't too bad since we were walking so slow to begin with, lol!



Afterwards, we were famished and went to a diner place (Waffle House.) The kids love their waffles and I think their chili rocks! We drove about ten minutes to get there (and my toddler and I were still red as we always get that way when we get hot.) Oh, it was really hot (what happened to spring? it's already hot!) and our backs were sweaty too. We ordered our food and then talked until our food arrived. We sat in a booth right next to the counter where people were sitting and eating. I noticed there was a man close to us but never made eye contact but observed that he looked similar to a friend's husband (but clearly wasn't because he had less hair.) The kids and I talked about where we walked. I had my kindergartener trace the trails and I was showing my toddler letters on his cup of milk that he was drinking. Nothing unusual occurred, well, other than the kids were very well behaved probably because they were so tired that they had no energy to act up!

When it was time to leave, I asked the waitress for our check. She said nope. I was confused and said that I hadn't received it yet. She then said that a little bird had already paid for it. Totally confused now, I asked for more clarification. Apparently the guy sitting near us asked to pay for our meal. He left long before we finished (I didn't even see him leave) and with no explanation other than he wanted to pay for it. I was floored! Completely surprised by such a generous act of kindness. Of course, since it was a great feeling, I definitely need to pass it on to someone else in the near future!

This weekend -

This weekend has been fun! The weather is great (almost too hot - the air conditioner has definitely been on) and we've been outside a lot. Yesterday, we opened up a gift we received from my aunt (for the boys) at Christmas. It turned out to be a huge ball you can ride in (there was no description on the box but it looked big so I waited for decent weather to open it.) The neighbor kids came over and all the kids took a turn in it! Well, the toddler didn't but he did get inside and look around.



(in mid roll)




We also jumped on the trampoline. This is my neighbor jumping with my toddler. (Her kids were playing in the sand next to us.)


My toddler stayed on it a really long time!


Later on, I went to see a movie with a friend. We saw Unknown (with Liam Neeson) and I really loved it. I like those dramas with mysteries and adventure.

Bright and early this morning, my kindergartener said he was going outside hunting (with his plastic nerf gun.) He came back in a few minutes later and said that he didn't realize that we had raccoons around here. I asked about how he knew that and he insisted I follow him. When I did, he showed me the tree (and there was his tiny stuffed raccoon sitting on a limb.) It was precious! I ran back in to get my camera and by the time I returned, he had moved 'Ricky Raccoon' but was still in the tree. So, I snapped a pic.


At lunch, my kindergartener begged to go to a nearby Chinese buffet. I really don't like them (as I don't eat enough to cover the amount of money I spend there) but he asked so nicely. We went and he enjoyed two plates of crawfish. This is him sucking the head of a crawfish (he is finishing his second plate.)


After lunch, we returned home and I put my toddler down for a nap. Ten minutes later, I went to check on him. He had pulled all the sheets off of his mattress and looked like this when I saw him. Well, technically, I peeked through the crack of the door, saw what he was doing and came in with a camera. I have seen him do this before (but hadn't confronted him on it) so it was a good time to remind him what he was supposed to be doing in there. So, I closed the drapes, put the sheets back on and tucked him back into bed.


He slept a good three hours today (enough time for me to upload pictures, check my mail, and read the newspaper.) I even cleaned the kitchen and living room (I just love a clean house!)

The Kid's Kitchen -

The kitchen my kiddos got for Christmas has been a source of entertainment! Luckily, Santa got this heavy-duty kitchen (over 80 pounds) because it wouldn't fall down and seemed sturdy, according to the customer reviews on Amazon. It took about a couple hours to put together (and there were no words in the instructions...only pictures, which surprisingly proved to be very helpful.) When you take out the sink, you can fit in an average six year old!


Yes, the stove part is big! An average toddler will fit inside with the shelf removed and can pretend to be a turkey (even though they wear a frog costume.)


Naturally, I had to open the stove periodically and baste the huge turkey with my pretend butter (complete with sound effects and cup.)


Heavy and well put together, it easily holds lots of weight on the top as well! Little boys are so much fun!!! I haven't yet moved it out our living room, lol! It's convenient to watch them play while in this room so I just left it....I'll eventually move it.

computer woes

Well, technically, there aren't any more woes but last week, out of the blue, my mouse quit working. I went to the store and bought another...even the new one didn't work. So, I used my daughter's new wireless mouse (thinking it was a port issue) and even with that, nothing worked. Ugh! My port worked fine (with my cameras hooking up) but it was just a mouse thing!

I buy Dell computers (because they've had great service if anything messed up with my previous purchases) and I have a Dell credit card (so I can pay them off usually without accumulating interest.) So after uninstalling and checking troubleshooting issues with no solution, I called Dell's service technicians.

Had I given the guy the correct computer tag number initially, it probably would have gone well. But, unfortunately since I have bought more than one, I didn't realize that the number that came up when I went to the website when they identified my service tag number that I should have actually checked the back of my laptop instead of assuming that number was the correct one. So... when the guy checked for issues, nothing came up. It wasn't until the end of our two hour call that I realized that I had given the poor guy the wrong number. Nevertheless, I had a really good experience and conversation with Surendra (from India) who was respectful (even when I asked a few times exactly what he wanted me to do), professional (knew what to do to troubleshoot my issues), and very courteous. While waiting for the computer to reboot over and over while installing and uninstalling software, I found out that he was 27, lived with his parents (his older sisters were married and have moved on) and he was still looking for the 'right one.'

I know that jokes are made about calling for service and there are people with thick accents helping (and to an extent, that was true) but I am so impressed that a guy in another country whose first language was not English could communicate with me to ask me to do things with my laptop to assist fixing it using technical computer terms. And after my issues were solved and he had access to my system, before logging off, he had chatted in the little box. As I thanked him for his patience with me, he wrote, "Thank you mam, it was my deauty." Perhaps he thought that it was his duty, but having been 'helped' by other people like with my phone/cable enough times with inefficient assistance, I can say that not everybody thinks the same way...I was incredibly satisfied! (btw, I also let Dell know this as well.)

Around here...

...we've been having a pretty good week! It's really cold (for us, that is) so we've been inside a lot. The kiddos have been getting along really well (although their room looks like a tornado just went through!) Even the big kiddo has been good! She's been back home since before Christmas. It's nice to have her around again. I even sent her to the grocery store the other day (with only needing a couple items but giving her the permission to get snacks.) She came back with a bunch of bags with nothing to eat, lol! There were definitely a lot of snacks (she and my kindergartener went together.) I pretended I were her and made a few comments as if I couldn't find anything I liked or asked if she got (some item she had no idea I wanted but didn't get.) She got the idea...it's different on the 'other' side!



I also had a birthday dinner with my former coworkers. We go out three times a year around each of our birthdays (and the other two pay for the meal.) It was a really great evening and I loved the conversation and company! It was M's birthday (the one on the right.) Of course, I'm in the middle!


My MIL had an issue (she was nonresponsive) so her ALF sent her to the ER. As it turned out, she wasn't having a stroke as they suspected but was dehydrated. After a few days in the hospital, we signed her up for hospice so that their doctors will decide in the future is she needs to return to the hospital for something like that (or treat her where she lives now.) While the initial fluids made her feel great...
(this is her clapping to my toddler)



...she eventually got disoriented. At one time, she asked if I were a woman or a girl. She normally thinks we are childhood friends (perhaps in grade school.) I told her that I am a woman but feel like a child sometimes and laughed. When she gets a little confused, I answer and then start talking about something else. Or if she is talking and I can't understand her (which is very common), I start talking about something else like what I did that day or had for lunch. She loves hearing me talk regardless of what I talk about.

Yesterday, with an upcoming winter blast and the expectation of some kind of winter slush/ice/snow, my kindergartener's school closed early. After I picked him up, he requested crabs. We went to a seafood restaurant where he proceeded to eat a half dozed bbq crabs! He patiently sat and cracked the legs/shells and pulled the meat out. My toddler and I were done long before he was so we sat and watched him eat the rest.


This was as close to a smile as I could get as he didn't want to slow down and smile long enough for me to get a picture. My toddler and I played "I Spy" while he finished to keep us preoccupied (it seemed more appropriate than what my toddler had been currently doing...crawling under the table.)


As it turned out, we got no snow... :(