Raining, Gifting, Hurting, Growing, Blogging

Ollie is happy it's Gameday! 

Happy Saturday from rainy Cleveland, Georgia! It's supposed to be a wet, cooler weekend and I'm ok with all of that. Rain makes the arthritis in my spine and hip get out of control but I'm also having a round of the gut pain and a fibro-flare... lots of pain to go with the rain. Ever since I became a chronic pain patient, I've struggled with "proper pain behavior". I feel like I'm supposed to be angry, grumpy, whiny... moaning and carrying on but it's not like that for me. When I'm in pain I want to be as comfortable as I can and as quiet as I can. I don't want to spend a lot of emotional energy "proving" that I'm in pain. I don't want to be sad.

We've been working on reconfiguring my Whine Cellar over the past week or so. Since Austin doesn't use his bedroom any more we've made that into the Cats' Room. We put their litter boxes in there. My cats' food is on a kitchen table so that the little greedy doggie doesn't eat their food. Austin took down his bed and moved the parts into the storage place under the stairs. He moved the cats' dinner table into his room and moved a rectangle table from his room into my kitchen area. It makes a good prep surface for me as it's closer to counter height so I don't stoop over to fix food. I'd take a picture to show you but I don't feel like getting up. I ordered a shelf with little cubby divisions in it and bought baskets to go in it. I've put all my craft stuff and my nieces' craft stuff and my little random baby items in it which helped declutter my space. I'm also kind of thinking in terms of having babies who are mobile and needing to have things out of reach. When Austin has his friend over here they're going to move my fridge into the kitchen space so I have three or four distinct areas in my living room: kitchen, living room, craft and kiddie space. In the kids' space I'll have a comfy chair (for reading books to babies) and a soft floor covering for them to play on which can be removed when not in use (and wiped off to keep it fur-free). I also finally decided on a new tv to replace the old darby-issued monstrosity. It will arrive today and Cody and Austin will set it up for me on Tuesday.

Speaking of Tuesday... Cody, Marquee and Ollie are coming up to drop off Sammy dog at Mawmaw's Kennel so they can go to Disney next weekend! Ollie's first visit to Disney! We got him a little pair of the baby earmuffs so that the loud crowd noises and fireworks and stuff won't hurt his little ears. It will be the first time for Uncle Austin to meet Ollie and he's excited. Ok, I'm the one who's excited. I can't help wanting all my birdies in the same nest. Y'all know how I am.

And speaking of the birdies from my nest... last week - on the same day - Cosette and Ollie both rolled from belly to back for the first time. We got hers on video but not Ollie's. Ollie is freakishly strong... like BamBam. Cosette is really close to being able to sit by herself and already does really well if you sit her up propped a little bit. She's got all the motions to start scooting/crawling but is not a fan of tummy time so doesn't get a lot of practice. If you hold Baby Hercules (Ollie) by his fingers he can support himself on his little legs. Three months old. These babies should be an advertisement for the La Leche League... breastfeeding for the win!

My unofficial daughter-in-law Tasha tells me it's time for me to post my annual wish list for Christmas. I mean, I know it's not even Halloween yet but I'm already shopping and so is she. I've been able to splurge on a new wardrobe, a new tv and lots of bits and bobs that I haven't been able to get for myself in the past three years ever. However, I can ALWAYS think of other things I want, even though there's nothing I need! Here goes:

• miniature smurf figurines. I used to collect these as a teen and over the years my smurfs got lost. I only have two left. They sell them on Amazon and sometimes on zulily. 
• candles. I love fresh, green or cinnamon scents.
• I also collect (though I haven't added to my collection recently) teacups and saucers. I love antique ones but I also enjoy new or novelty ones.
• Actually, not only do I enjoy teacups, I enjoy tea. I'm loving a chamomile vanilla blend today. 
• Sterling silver rings and earrings. I lost an earring at the dentist the other day and am so bummed about it! 
• Embroidery stuff - thread, fabric, etc. 
• I need frames for all these grandbaby pictures I take! 
• Of course, I'll also accept donations to my dental fund. 

But honestly, truly, I'm not just saying this... I can't think of a time in life where I was more content. I don't need anything. I'm just happy to have had so many wonderful things happen in the past year. Any other happiness that comes over the holidays will just be gravy!

And with that... I think I've touched on everything I listed in the title. Trying to blog more. Hope you enjoyed it! Love and hugs and happy wet weekend, y'all!