Hello-o-o-o

[seattlekari]

Did I miss a grand departure while on vacation last week? I see there were some crazy lurkers posting here, did everyone run away to somewhere else? I miss you ladies!

[kershnic]

Hi! I'm in and out, although I missed some of the obviously deleted trolling earlier in the week. I certainly haven't gone anywhere in particular, but we all know this board hasn't been the most inspiring lately... but I'm sure that's as much my own fault as anyone else's.

How was your vacation?

[bluedaisyus]

I'm here, I've just been crazy at work plus getting ready for my wife's birthday and our vacation. I hope you had fun last week!

[twotrue]

I've had two weeks from hell. Or more like a bad country doing. ;-)

sent by phone

[seattlekari]

twotrue, you get the pass for being way too busy with mommyhood right now. And K had surgery, yes? You have a lot on your plate! I hope things settle into a better groove for you soon.

Our vacation was good. Well...mostly good. We went to Glacier National Park in Montana. It's a stunningly amazing place to go (I've been before but this was A and E's first time). You all should really see it before the glaciers are all gone which they predict will be in 2030. It was a lot of driving, both to get there, and to the sights we wanted to see. E mostly handled it like a champ but it was still a lot of time on the road. One day we went on a 2 hour guided horseback ride. E had a bit of trouble handling her horse at the beginning and it scared her a bit, but we got the guide to lead her horse and that made all the difference. Then she was stung by a bee but handled that well too. Another day we drove to a part of the park where you take a boat trip up one lake, walk 400m and get on another boat up another lake and then take a guided hike a flat mile to a 3rd lake. On the way back we got into a rain/hail/thunderstorm that was crazy but we were on the boat (covered) for the worst of it. That evening, our very last day in the park, we saw a black bear cross the road between us and cars coming the other way. That was a highlight for sure, we'd been looking for bears all week! We also took day trips to the top of the Going to the Sun Road (which is a crazy road they built in the 30s up to the top of the mountain pass at 6600some feet!) and a trip to a remote lake where you pass through a small town with a mercantile store/bakery that makes huckleberry bear claws and warmed sandwiches that are delish. We saw a lot in just one week.

The downside...this was the most time we have all spent together...ever...and it showed. Even A and I haven't had that many days together in a row. This is the first time she's been able to take a vacation at this job. So A and E butted heads quite a bit. Some of it is just 7 year old jealous of someone taking a tiny bit of mommy's attention away. But a lot of it is just them communicating differently. E is a very sensitive kid and I've told A this numerous times. And I fully expect A's style to be different than mine, in fact I prefer that. But there were moments of A losing her cool and moments where I was put in the middle and it was stressful for me. By the end of the trip I was cranky. I have recovered from that but I'm still pondering how to move forward. We all need more time together, but that won't change unless/until A gets another job closer to us and that doesn't require her to work so many weekends. In the past we had discussed her moving in with us should she get a job nearby. Now I'm not so sure that is an initially good idea. I think we need more time together. E needs more consistent time with A. I need to see them together more consistently to make sure as a mom I feel like it's the right fit. Ultimately, I'm the mama bear and very protective of E. It needs to be right.

A has been told she will have to work every weekend the rest of this month. She's on 2nd shift now so I can see her, but just briefly. I'm going up to her place later tonight and will stay until she goes back to work tomorrow. I need to bring up the moving in situation sooner than later as she is applying for jobs outside of where she is (closer to us) and I need to be transparent about my feelings.

[never2amazing]

N2A has just been a little busy.