March 25, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

Not a pain-free week, but a good one!  A busy week--until my body made me call it quits over the weekend.  I went over to McFamily's Monday and Tuesday to watch the boys and was busy making food at the end of the week.  

Monday Leah picked me up, I watched Ian, Liam, and the boy nextdoor (who has the trampoline in his backyard).  They brought home dinner from Wendy's--which is a real treat!  (Take out food is no longer a cheap meal, that's for sure.)  Dropped me back at home.

I had noticed the birds here more than usual.

Sure enough--we got a little bit of snow and it was even colder than it has been recently.

But by 2pm it was mostly melted away--even though it was only 22 degrees.

Tuesday Dagan picked me up after he picked up the boys from school.  I got to watch as Liam did his exercises for speech therapy.  Dagan and Leah went off for the school conference.  While watching the boys play Minecraft...well, it came about that I discovered one could build a house and even a farm.  I thought that sounded like a lot more fun than blowing things up--lol!  Ian started building a house for me.  Liam even stopped to watch.  Everything is in blocks (pixels), so it is a funny process and makes kind of funny looking buildings.  We got a lot done but Ian saved what we had gotten done so far so that we can continue to work on it again.  This is something Ian and Gramma will be working on for some time.  I really enjoyed it--and so did the boys.

Dagan and Leah came home, we had dinner, and D&L asked me if I felt I was up to staying longer?  Sure!  They wanted to go to the movie theater to see Dune2.  So, they went off for a date night and we worked on my Minecraft house until 8:15pm.  Then we went over to the kitchen table to work on Liam's speech therapy exercises (which Ian does with him).  They got to watch a couple Bluey cartoon episodes and then off to bed they went a little after 9pm.

I started watching a movie on Netflix called Made In Italy with Liam Neesen and his actual son playing father and son in the movie!  About 10:00...Ian came hesitantly downstairs.  Said he couldn't sleep.  (I think he was thinking about the house on Minecraft--lol!)  I turned off the movie and we sat and talked for about half an hour.  

Now, Ian was tested for dyslexia before Dagan had his surgeries.  Test results had to be rescheduled because of the surgeries--but we are pretty positive Ian has dyslexia.  So we talked about that.  I told him about when his Daddy was diagnosed when he was in third grade--which things were hard for him and what things helped.  Leah was never diagnosed but we're really sure she has a form of it, too.  But she has problems Dagan doesn't and Dagan has problems Leah doesn't.  Everyone is different.  Ian will have to find out how to adjust to what's difficult for him.  

I told Ian how Dagan had to have no distractions in order to do his homework.  It had to be just the two of us--no TV or radio or not even being near a window.  How it took him quite a while to learn how to focus hard to get the work done so that then he could go and do something else that was more fun--lol!  How Dagan had to have me there to help him stay on track with his homework for several years.  Ian knew exactly what I was talking about.  That day we worked on his math homework not so long ago--it was like DeJa'Vu!  Brought me right back to grade school with Dagan--lol!  

Anyways, Ian went back up to bed.  It was such a wonderful talk.  I was just finishing up the movie when I got a text from Leah that they were just getting out of the movie. (Was a long one--like 3 hours--but they said it was good.)  They got home about 11:30pm and I got dropped off home about midnight.

I can't tell you how much it meant to me to be able to watch the boys and especially so that Dagan and Leah got to have a night out!  I haven't even been capable of that for sooo very long!  :) :) :)

Note: Leah and I already talked about Ian's dyslexia and I volunteered to be the one to help him with homework after I move in.  Neither Dagan or Leah have the extended patience to focus on something like that--both having also dyslexia issues in the first place--lol!  But I have had years of practice.  Neither of them would have lasted the over two hours to work on three large number multiplication problems, for example.  I know that if Ian comes down to my apartment--nobody else around--quiet--no TV--nothing...he will get some work done faster.  He was so proud of himself when he finished those math problems!  It's not like they do it on purpose.  Ian will get better at focusing, I'm sure.  Like his dad did.  Takes a lot of patience and focus to help them learn and adapt, I know...from experience. :)  

And they did get the results.  Severe dyslexia.

I think Liam has it, too.  I see things with him trying to learn to read that I noticed in Dagan.  (Liam read me a book for the first time when I was there.)  Coming to a word like "bed" will stop them cold.  PLUS--Liam is also really excited to learn cursive!  Says it is easier to read.  Both he and Ian are practicing cursive.  Liam showed me how he can write "Liam" in cursive already.  Cursive was always easier for Dagan to read, too.  Leah has always had an even harder time than Dagan ever did with reading.  She has to read and re-read to finally figure out what it says.  She never got diagnosed or got any help back when she was in school.  

I am excited to be able to help the boys with schoolwork!  They will both have homework time with Gramma.  Not sure how we will schedule it, but I would like one-on-one time with each of them.  Sometimes we might be able to be there together--all three of us.  We'll have to see how it goes.  It's interesting for me, too.  I learned some of the new math when I was helping Ian--lol!

Wednesday--as you can imagine, I had to take it easy, but I was not as tired or in as much pain as I expected to be--so that's great!

Thursday--I worked on making foods.  Baked some fish and some spam.  Made tuna salad.  I need foods kind of pre-made so they are quick to put together or nuke in the microwave.  Have had to do that for so long now I don't think that is going to change much ever--lol!

Got my first ever text from Ian that night (used Mama's phone).  Asked if he could borrow my iron for a craft project.  Sure. 

Friday I cubed up a roast for the crock pot and made more of my beef...well, whatever.  I keep going back and forth from calling it soup to stew.  It has potatoes, carrots, and crushed tomatoes in it--so it is like a beef stew, but I don't thicken up the broth.  Gets fairly thick regardless, so I think it is closer to a stew.  We'll call it beef stew--lol!  Did laundry.  Leah forgot about picking up the iron after work (now you know why they forget so much) so Dagan popped by that night to pick it up.  I hope I get pictures of the project they are making.

By Saturday I was pretty well shot...and Sunday, too, to be honest.  They'd been talking about a good dumping of snow and 45mph winds coming Sunday through Tuesday.  

BTW--I can't get pictures because it is too dark but I discovered that it's the cottontail rabbits who are coming during the night and they are the ones sitting in my planter boxes. :)

Lots of birds were coming to eat more often.  They're smart.  They knew about the storm coming.  

Woke up Sunday morning to maybe a couple of inches of snow.

Tossed out some seed.

Could see a small flock waiting in the tree. ;)

Allie was right by my side...wondering what I was doing at the patio door.

As soon as I walked away...the sparrows and juncos came down to fill up before the winds really got going.

Allie retreats to the bedroom again every day now.  Her safe place.  Her snoozing spot.

Did I tell you Leah asked for that gatefold table to use in the garage when I move?  It doesn't take up a lot of space but is super sturdy, so she will use it for projects she's repairing or building in the garage.  One's that involve all those tools I know little or nothing about--lol!  Art and paper crafting tools I am very familiar with--lol!  Screw guns and such...nope.  I think it will work great out there for her.  Miss Allie will have to find a new safe sleeping spot when we move.  She will have to, regardless--all new smaller floor plan.  :)

Well, I am actually writing this on Sunday, as I do often lately and then schedule it to post early Monday morning.  The snow is supposed to continue through till Tuesday morning, I believe.  The winds are supposed to pick up.  So, I don't know if the schools will be closed tomorrow or not.  Depends on how much snow and how strong of winds we get.  Dagan is supposed to have his pacemaker appointment up here on Monday.  He might have to cancel and reschedule.

The issue is that the voltage is higher than they want on his pacemaker to get it to work.  They were hoping it might go back down on its own.  But if it remains higher...that means he very likely does need new leads.  So--waiting to find out what is going on with the pacemaker.  Hopefully will know more soon.  Other than that, he is doing well and looking good.  Came in to love up Allie for a while--lol!  He likes to "torture" cats, but he couldn't lift her because he's still on a 10 lb limitation and Allie definitely weighs more than 10 lbs--lol!  Otherwise he would have picked her up and cradled her upside-down and rubbed her belly...because she doesn't even like to be picked up let alone the rest of it.  That's what we mean by him torturing cats--lol!  But cats love him and come back for more.  Makes no sense.  Dagan has always had a way with cats.  He kind of more teases them, I guess--but never pushes it too far.  They know he will let them go in short order.  He's an animal lover like his mom. :) 

Well, it was not expected that I would make it to this birthday.  I just never thought about it much, to be honest.  I do tend to take life one day at a time...and ignore medical predictions--lol!  But it is my birthday on Thursday, I believe.  The 28th.  Whichever day that is.  I'll be 73--whoohoo!  And this will be a year of changes.  Come fall I should be moved and life will be very different.  A new chapter.  Meanwhile--snow is falling.  I have my white winter for a while...no matter how late in the season.  I'm one of the few people smiling up here in Fargo.  Till next Monday...have an interesting week and be well and safe. :)