What a Week

It's been one of those crazy weeks around here, where I have done a lot, yet can't really say that I've accomplished much, you know?

Monday - I went to my friend, Liz's house and the boys played with her daughter. Monday afternoon I got shish kabobs for our first night of cooking with the new grill. This was my official birthday gift, even though I'm not the one who will be using it.

Back story: A couple of weeks ago, we were attempting to grill dinner, and our regular ole gas grill wasn't working. Hubby went upstairs to work on something, and when he came downstairs, he had a look in his eye. He asked me, "So, what do you want for your birthday?" I immediately answered, "A new grill, of course!" And then the twinkle in Hubby's eye told me I'd guessed right, and he told me he'd ordered a cool grill like his friend Dave's, and it would be delivered the next week. It didn't arrive in time for my birthday, but the Monday afterward. And it really is a great grill. The shish kabobs, corn on the cob and potatoes we made Monday were wonderful. Wednesday night there was a snafu with the wood pellet intake, so the chicken didn't turn out as well, but that was because Hubby left the controls for too long and when he returned, the fire had gone out, and Hubby didn't want us to get food poisoning, so we ended up microwaving the chicken for a few minutes to make sure it was cooked. Phew.

Anyway, the grill was one event of the week.

Tuesday was pretty normal - speech therapy in the morning for Hutton, running errands in the afternoon, soccer for me in the evening.

Wednesday was Hutton's FIFTH BIRTHDAY. I started the day by giving him one of his presents - Crocodile Dentist - then after his ABA home therapy, my friend Liz and her kids came over with lunch and cake. Stacy, the great college kid who does babysitting and odd jobs for me and Liz over the summer, came over, too. Stacy and I went to her house to attempt to move a giant wood swing set that she wanted me to take off her hands so she can have a firepit in her backyard. (Well, that had been the idea a month or so ago, but because we waited till the end of August, she'll be going back to school in Connecticut before she'll get the use a firepit. Oh well, maybe next summer, Stacy?) Anyway, even though Stacy is strong, and hey, I'm no slouch, there was no way we were budging that swing set, and if we could have dragged it to the front where her truck was, we would never have been able to lift it up to put in the truck bed. So, we got a truck load of wood chips instead. (The guy who rents the basement of their house works for a tree service, so there are always wood chips around!) Later that night, Jason, the guy who rents the basement, agreed to help move the swing set, in exchange for a piece of Hutton's birthday cake. Jason and Stacy managed to get it into her truck, then Jason, Stacy and I managed to carry it back behind our house where I had cleared an area for it. I was amazed we were able to carry it, but Stacy was determined to get rid of the thing, and she knew if we didn't do it then, it wouldn't get done, and the swing set would have still been in her backyard next summer.

So, now we have part of a swing set in our yard (Stacy is bringing over the the slide and swing bar later today), but the boys haven't been able to try it out yet. See, yesterday the boys and I went to the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe. We met Liz and her kids there, as well as her sister-in-law and her kids, and Stacy came to help out with the child wrangling. After Hutton's speech therapy in the morning, we drove out to Monroe (not too far from Woodinville, actually), and spent the day riding the rides, looking at farm animals and eating greasy food. Reminder to self: DO NOT eat an elephant ear again, no matter how good they look. You'll just feel like crap later when you have had too much greasy fried stuff with sugar on it. Next time go for the funnel cake. Now, that stuff is practically diet food!

Hutton and Harrison had a great time on the rides, though there was a time when the carneys were cracking down and not letting Harrison ride on the rides, since he's 35 1/2 inches tall, and the size requirement was 36. We managed to get on to enough rides to make it worth the cost of the wrist band, though. And Stacy and I rode the Ring of Fire. Second reminder to self: fair rides that involve going upside down for extended periods of time are probably not the best idea once you are over the age of 30. Stacy and I sat in the front, and as we were hanging upside down and I was getting a great view of the fairgrounds, upside down, I have to admit I did enjoy it, though my heart probably stopped several times.

Time to go get Hutton ready for ABA. After his home session, we head over the University of Washington to set up a new ABA program with our new consultant. Then tomorrow will be the big birthday party for Hutton. So, I need to get another cake, food and party favors. Did I mention I've had a busy week? Oh, and we also got a new used car last week. I'll write another post about that...sometime!