Tesa is on her way to TX...

and I hope the weather cooperates for her. She is a "little girl" relatively speaking, driving a great big (16') truck, all by herself down to Ft. Hood. The weather is forecasting rain between here and Oklahoma, but Northern TX looks ok; yesterday she had to deal with strong winds most of the way and it was scary for her. Still, she made decent time, and got here right around 8 p.m. Her mom, when we visited on the phone, thought it took Tesa about 10.5 hours to get here. I fed her dinner last night, and showed her the house, then we chatted a few hours and I sent her to bed (the kids had all crashed as well). She got up with us at 7 and Eric made omelettes for us (we wanted her to be well-fed before tackling the drive), and off she went, just after 9. I would have kept her longer if I could, but I knew it was a fleeting visit. Still, I was glad to have her here to see my new home.

I messed up yesterday: my mother in law is arriving today, which is fine--we are totally ready for guests and she is welcome anytime! I can't think of a more accommodating "guest" and I really enjoy her company! It's nice that Eric is on his short week too, so he will have some time to spend with her. He works tonight, and will need to sleep some in the morning, but then is off through the weekend, other than school Saturday morning. I love having company, and it is a wonderful "excuse" to crack the whip on the kids to be sure the house is up to company standards!

Aurora ran in a track meet on Tuesday late afternoon, and came in 3rd in the 2 mile. We are so proud of her! She is really progressing as a runner and is doing quite well. She is struggling right now with her being obligated to go to IN over Easter break next weekend because they have a scheduled practice for Friday and a meet on Monday that she really wants to attend. (When she agreed to go to IN she didn't have her running schedule and was unaware of the meet). She made a valient attempt to stay home, but this has been met with a stone wall, and we have one unhappy little girl at the moment. I really wish I knew more about IL law and what the children's rights are when it comes to mandatory visitation, because both she and Patrick are really struggling with being mandated to go out of town for most of their breaks from school. Eric tried his best to renegotiate terms last night on the telephone, and he too met with a brick wall. As a mother I do understand the need and desire to see and spend time with one's children. I don't begrudge that in the least. I just wish the kid's wishes would be taken into account and be respected. They are not elementary school ages any more, and we cannot force them to pack and get into the car... I really am not looking forward to next weekend on their behalf, although if my plans work out, Rei and I will be in MN with our extended family for a few days. (This too is up in the air as I have not seen my work schedule yet).

Liisa now has two new puppies! They are pure blood Redbone Coon Hounds, a boy and a girl, almost 8 weeks old. She named them "Sweet Tea" and "Popcorn" (as Rei said, what is up with her and pets named after food! LoL). She is now reading up on housebreaking and babies and training and such, and they are keeping her on her toes. Max, her white Lab, has a tumor on his pancreas, and given his advanced age, there isn't much they can do for him other than keep his life as normal and comfortable as they can. He started having "episodes" shortly after he had been bitten by that other dog, when he also had seizures. They recently determined these episodes are being caused by low glucose from the tumor (he gets disoriented, cannot stand, seems zombified, and sometimes loses bladder control). She was heartbroken he wouldn't survive her being in Myrtle Beach, but he did. He is pretty tolerant of the pups, but doesn't have anywhere near his old energy. Liisa and Jesse are just loving him up as much as they can and in the meantime, they have the little ones for comfort too.

Justin loves the puppies, especially Sweet Tea, and he called me crying after he left them that "My Sweet Tea puppy NEEDS come my house with ME Gram Rae! I make her a house and a bed and she needs come with me!", all punctuated with little sobs... He was told she needed to stay at Auntie Liisa's house because she would chew all the tires off of his trucks and make a big mess... He reluctantly accepted that explanation. I cannot wait to meet them in person, and Aurora says she wants one! I don't think we can handle the dogs we have though! Po is becoming quite the escape artist, and yesterday he ran all the way over to a really busy street, about a mile and a half one way, with Brie and Rei hot on his heels; he almost got hit by a couple of cars, and was finally cornered in the laundry room of an apartment (he ran into an open door). I don't know what we are gonna do with him--he is so naughty lately, and if he gets out when I am home alone, I cannot chase him--I am not fast enough!

Looking at the time, I think I can head out now--need to get my bangs trimmed and I may treat myself to a manicure and pedicure while Eric is sleeping. I also need to pick up some med refills and do a couple of other errands, so it will be quiet here for him to sleep.