Wedding Pictures

I have a friend who's getting married in a few months.  He and his fianceé have picked the venue and date, so things are rolling along.   He and I have been friends for several years, and I thought he was married all this time.   I told him all this discussion about wedding plans made me think of our wedding.   

I told him he was being subjected to pictures of our wedding because I had been looking at them.   Has it been close to twelve years?   Wait, let me do the marriage math.  <how old is my son? okay, add one year to that, hold on, what month did we get married? okay, I think I have it right within one year.>

It's a good thing I took a lot of math in college.

The Big Boy Update:  My son was drinking all the ginger ales, which were reserved for people having upset stomachs or just not sodas any day of the week.   So he had to ask to have one.  He did not ask.   He did not like the consequence.   When do they learn?  Nevermind, I still haven't learned some lessons.

The Cookie Chef Daughter:  My daughter made more chocolate chip cookies.  She loves the recipe and the cookies.  I think we need to teach her more recipes because I think she'd like to cook other things too. 

First Day of Starbucks

Today was the first day of Starbucks.   I mean school. I meant school, of course.  Just because I stop on the way to school for delicious coffee and pumpkin bread on the way to school doesn't mean I'm any less eager to jump out of bed, get dressed (not always), and take my daughter to the next city over for her school day. 

Okay, truthfully, sometimes I lie in bed between the snooze alarm repeats and  think, "if you get up, there will be Starbucks..."  

The Big Boy Update:  My son spent the day doing screens as no one was around to play with.   He didn't turn the bonus room into a war zone, and he didn't eat in the living room.   I'm calling it a win for the day. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter calmly started fifth grade today.  No fuss, no excitement.  She came home and said it was a good day and she liked her teacher.  I'm so glad things went well for her. 

Fifth Grader(s)?

My son insists he isn't in the next grade until the first day of school.  So following with that line of logic, I currently have two fifth graders, or rather I will tomorrow when my daughter starts fifth grade.  We came home today from visiting my parents in the mountains and got my daughter ready for school. 

Tomorrow ends the sleeping in or not having to get up early days of summer.  That is unless I can convince my husband to take my daughter to school in the mornings.   

But then I wouldn't get Starbucks.   And I need Starbucks.  

The Big Boy Update:  My son was very unhappy today because he lost so many privileges in the house that he had no place to go and do things.   He agreed to not make the chairs into weapons and not eat in the living room.  He knows he's on probation, but I opened up the areas to him again tonight.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter didn't want to take a bath or shower or wash her hair today and instead wanted to go to school four days dirty.   That idea did not go over well with me.   She took a shower. 

Almost Home

Tonight we went to "Aunt Jo's" house for dinner.  This is what I would consider my other or alternate mother as we spent so much time with their family during my childhood.   To my children, JoAnn is Aunt Jo.  

The meal was delicious, and the company was lovely.  My children didn't enjoy all the reminiscing quite as much as the adults did, but I was a child once, and I understand.  Still, we all had a good time. 

Of note, the beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the late afternoon into evening light on the deck was a sight I remember from many trips over the years when we stayed at their house as a family before my parents bought a house in the same town.  I loved all the time we spent there and have fond memories any time we visit. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I am always sad when we talk about a beautiful view, and my daughter just sits there, knowing she will never see it.   She never says a thing or mentions it afterward. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son was sweet and jumped to hug Aunt Jo when we arrived and as we were leaving.   She is absolutely an aunt to him, even though he's not actually related. 

Remembering Japan

We're visiting my parents and we went to one of the Hibachi restaurants last night where they cook the meal in front of you.  I got to sit by my father and he and I shared a bit of sake, something that seems like such a tiny bit of alcohol divided by the two of us over the full course of the meal.   Tiny little cups of sharp tasting rice wine shared between us.  

My father told me about when he went to Japan.  I was quite young when he went with a business associate of his.   Dad's memory isn't what it used to be, but he remembers some things from his past very clearly.   I couldn't remember who he went with but he said immediately, "Floyd Mathias" when I asked.  He told me about the different places he went and some of what he did while there.  

I remember him coming home with so many things from the trip.  My father and I love to shop and back in 1980 or somewhere around there we didn't have the same global economy so my father stocked up before coming back.   Even today I see things from that trip in their home.  

About five minutes later my father would tell me about his trip again and we'd reminisce over the time he had.   It was nice to hear him talk about it.  He really loved that trip where he collaborated with professionals in Japan. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son played Scrabble with my mother, husband and daughter.  He was exultant when he scored a lot and vocally unhappy when other people were doing better. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter is s good with words.  She loved playing scrabble with the help of her father for positioning and what the letters on the tiles were.   They are inset and we can feel that inset, but it's not enough to be able to read them.  Plus, she doesn't read capital letters much.  It's too hard.  I can close my eyes and I can't even tell what they are.   But she can remember the board layout and the letters she has.  And she's very good with words. 

Saved By Arrival

My son had a telemedicine appointment this morning and my husband had a client meeting with a contractor.  Once those two things were complete, we were to hop into the car (not literally, we usually step into the car) and head to the mountains. 

Departure was not as early as we had hoped, but we're all here and the drive was fairly uneventful.  The dog, who doesn't like going in the car as much as she did when she was younger but in classic dog sense mode she could tell we were planning on leaving and so insisted on staying in the front seat so as to not be left behind; 

The children are old enough to manage themselves and were in a good mood so things didn't break down into bickering.  We stopped for food with outdoor seating and the dog had some ice water and a little milkshake.   We did a second bathroom stop that had supercharging in the parking lot and in the eight minutes it took us to run in and use the facilities we added sixty range miles back to the car. 

We arrived at my parent's with ninety range miles remaining.   The children were so happy to see my parents.   So was the dog.   So were we.  We have missed them. 

The Banker Game. My mother said our children definitely took after my father because of all the places they could have pulled out the little cash register to play some game of baller, they did it in the one place that blocked traffic from multiple directions.

All Negative

My daughter is no longer COVID-19 positive and the rest of us are in the clear, including the dog, not that she was in question but just to be sure we asked her if she felt okay and she looked back at us blankly so I took that as an affirmative.  

Tomorrow morning, after a bit of a rush with a doctor's appointment and client meeting we're off to the mountains to visit with my parents, Mimi and Gramps.   We're all looking forward to seeing them as well as spending some time in the mountains.   

Mimi has been planning activities for us all and there is good food to be eaten.   In classic grandmother fashion, she has purchased far more victuals than we could possibly eat.   The only disappointment is that my husband isn't bringing his motorcycle on the new trailer he just had delivered.  There were issues with the trailer hitch height and stability and to charge the car we'd need to disconnect the trailer at each stop, something we haven't had a chance to practice with yet, so it seemed prudent to save the motorcycle for the next trip. 

The Big Boy Tiny Girl Clean Update: My children are both clean.  They have had a bath and their hair has been washed.  My daughter's hair has been color refreshed as well.   The only one who is left to wash their hair is me, and as it's getting late, I'd better sign off from this blog post and get to it.  

Yellow Jacket

I missed how this actually happened but I heard yelling and crying and screaming for me to come quickly. My daughter was on the floor holding her foot.    Somehow a yellow jacket was stepped on or was made very cranky because my daughter got stung between the fourth and fifth toes.   

She said she couldn't walk but we got her to limp upstairs so we could get a better look and put some sting stop medication on it.  My husband had moved quickly at the start and pulled out the stinger still in her skin. 

She wailed for a long time and complained because it was hurting in more areas now.   I told her I'd read about it to her if she'd like.   She didn't want to hear about the actual stinging process, but the rest she said would be okay.  

It looked like we'd done the best we could for the symptoms except for an ice pack.   She must have been feeling better at this point because pizza had arrived and she said she was hungry.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I told my daughter there was something good about getting stung.   I said some people are allergic to bee stings and it can be life threatening (I said it a little less alarming to her).   Now that we know how her body reacts, we can feel much more confident that she'll never be in jeopardy for her life should she get stung again. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son, on the other hand, has a peanut allergy.   We don't know if he has a bee allergy.  The peanut allergy is mild.  I hope if and when he does get stung it just hurts like hell for a few hours and then you're fine. 

Last Minute Guest

I got in bed last night and did what I typically do at the end of the day: I looked at more social media and emails.  It never ends.  I found out I had a message on Twitter, a platform I check the least, asking if I was available to be the guest on the Repkord YouTube channel today at noon to talk about 3D printing as a business and managing your space. 

I was available, although it was a trick to coordinate the day as my husband was going out of town very early for a golf tournament with his mother.   I had to get up fairly early to drop the dog off at the veterinarian for her annual appointment.  When I got back I tried to get a little more rest as I hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep.   Then I had to get up to prepare for the podcast by moving my computer, microphone and some other peripherals into the print room in time for the early start to talk with the two hosts of the show. 

We had a very nice conversation beforehand, the podcast was a lot of fun, and the attendees asked good questions.  After we finished the podcast proper, we talked for an additional bit of time on other topics.  I always enjoy these social networking opportunities.   We're all going through similar things with 3D printing as a business.  The two of them have products they sell, while we only offer services through sponsorships, there is a lot of overlap, and the subject matter is the same from a high level. 

I finished the call and returned to the veterinarian's office to pick up the dog.   I feel like I haven't accomplished a single thing today, even though I've been up since six-thirty.  

The Very Quiet Children:  I love my children.  They were so sweet today, understanding that I had a podcast to be on.  They didn't come into the print room while I was engaged for over two hours.   When I was done, I helped my daughter make a sandwich, although she mostly made it herself.  She just needed to know which was the cheese she was looking for and which mustard was yellow, so she didn't get the brown mustard by accident.   My son wanted me to pick something up for him, which I did on the way home from getting the dog.   They were so helpful today.  I'm proud of them for managing by themselves while I was out and giving me the time to be a guest on the Repkord YouTube podcast today. 

Adjustment

My Chiropractor adjusted me today but he always does a great job.   This is about my other doctor adjusting the medication that we have had to go to because the really wonderful medication that was a lot milder medication stopped having a COVID-19 coupon.   They said they were going to have it, "forever" but that was said in the middle of the pandemic and only by a sales rep to my doctor.   Companies need to make money and they weren't making any with the price reduction they had in place across the board so I can't blame them.  

That doesn't mean it hasn't been highly frustrating in so many ways.   We made another change this month and I had been all prepared to have it out with my doctor, who has become a friend I enjoy seeing once per month at this point, but the appointment didn't go the way I'd planned it.   He hadn't been around last month because his mother had had a stroke and then they had found cancer and his brother had told him, "I don't do doctor" when he called to see if he was taking care of things.   So out of town he went, and who could blame him?

He was so worried.  And I can understand.   At the end of the appointment, we quickly went over my things.  I gave a fast summary, and he was completely on my side about correcting things.  We've made a change for this month.  If it isn't what's needed, we'll make a change next month.

The Booby Trapping Son:  I went into the bonus room to get something, and in the dark, as I headed towards the desk I ran into something hard.   With the lights on it was three tall metal-legged chairs upside down with the legs pointing in the direction of harm's way.   Otherwise, to keep his sister out.  He got in trouble.  It may not have been for her, it could have just been him, but it's not okay to booby trap the house.   

The Recolored Girl's Hair:  Nana is having an article published about her book writing during the pandemic and she wanted a picture of my daughter for it.   So we recolored her hair today and we even dried it.  

Selfish or Sharing?

My daughter wanted to do something on the big television in the basement today.   An argument arose, and I came out to talk them through some negotiations.   I spoke with my son alone, in a quiet voice, and in the end, he said it was just because his sister was blind and she always won or something to that effect. 

I told him that no, it was not because she was blind. But in a way, he was right.   He also was very wrong.   He can watch television on the TV upstairs or in the bonus room.  He can play on his switch or his iPad, or the X Box.   Or, when it gets fixed, his computer.   His sister has very little she can do in comparison.  

She has a few games she's played again and again on her father's computer when he's not on it.  The other day he let her play his game on the X Box.  It was an open-world game, and she was flying all around on some beast over land and sea.  She had the best time asking me where she was, dismounting to walk around or swim, and then getting back on her mount to explore some more.  

I thought that's what she wanted to do today, but she wanted to play Kinect Party, a very old game that has you moving around in the space in front of the television to play little games.  She knows the sounds and can do it by herself, although today, she wanted her brother to play with her.  

I explained to my son that it was not because she was blind; it was called sharing and taking turns.   After a bit, they worked out a plan, which was simple enough.   He wanted to eat, and she only wanted to play for a half hour.   The number of tears and anger that surrounded that simple agreement was what I can only describe as childlike.   Which I suppose matches since they are children.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Why does my daughter need to play games on her father's computer and not one of her own?  Because she's resisting learning what she needs to learn to be self-sufficient on her laptop.   So she has to wait until her father is not on the computer, ask one of us for help (because she doesn't like the voice tools on his computer either), and play when we're there to assist and to get her back in the game if she hits the wrong button or does an unexpected keystroke combination.  So she's limited in what she can do, but she's limiting that herself because she's not ready to embrace the voice-over tools yet. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son said his sister was being selfish, and I don't like to say negative things about my son, but he is the epitome of selfishness at times.  He didn't want to share the bonus room, which is large enough to fit a gaggle of children, because he said he was there first.   I reminded him of this today.  He didn't like the comparison.

Printer's Block

You've heard of writer's block?   Well, I've had printer's block the past few days.   There are millions upon millions of models I could download and print and yet nothing looks good.  Nothing seems right for the filaments I'm trying to print something for.   

For Filament Stories, I can print what I want with relative impunity.  Actually, I can print what I want for anything, and it won't really matter too much.  But I put pressure on myself to get the perfect models for the Protopasta videos we're making.  I want to be sure whatever I print really does a good job of showing their filaments in the best light.  

Then there is the work I've accepted from other companies in the form of sponsorships.  If a company is paying us to use their product, be it a filament or other 3D printing-related thing, I want to do a good job.   If it's a filament I've bought and am printing something with it, there is the least amount of worry because hey, I liked the filament, I bought it (filament isn't very expensive), and I'm printing something with it.  The company is getting some exposure as a result, and we have people watching our videos. 

But picking good models is important.  It might be the perfect thing to show the filament, but if the model is boring, well, then the content is pretty boring.   If the model is exciting but a complete pain to print, and I say four-letter words at the filament and printer because nothing is working, then it's not helpful. 

So I need the perfect models to be exciting, fun, interesting, easy to print, not too big but not too small that will absolutely not be a mess to print.   This is why I sometimes get printer's block.  

The Big Boy Update:  My son almost starved the other day.  It was pretty scary.   For an entire day we were out of pretzles.   He lives on pretzles.   I don't know how he eats as many as he does.   They are low calorie so he isn't gaining weight, in fact he's quite thin. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter continues to make more detailed and interesting balloon animals. She has gone through hundreds of balloons at this point twisting them into all different kinds of shapes.   She loves it.  

Locking and Unlocking

My daughter has a cough, but other than that, you would never know she has COVID-19.   She always wears her mask when she's around us, keeping us safe.  But she has so much energy.   She was, as my mother would say, "bouncing off the walls" today.   

She was quite literally bouncing off the walls, doing something I don't like when she and her brother decide to pursue this line of entertainment.  They bring an office chair down to the main floor and push each other around.   They are well aware of the penalty for running into a wall or cabinet and keep their arms and legs out, ready to take the brunt of any impact.   It's a noisy activity, but they love it, and I'm trying to be okay with it, letting children be children (with caution).

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  The other thing my daughter wanted to do today was learn how to lock and unlock the various doors of the house.   I have a key to our house, but I would have to find it in the depths of my purse.  We have automatic or keypad entry access for all the locations we come in and out, and as such, I've only ever used a key to unlock our house a handful of times in the over eleven years we've lived here.  My daughter now better understands how keys work in locks and how deadbolts and knob locks work differently and independently.

The Big Boy Laundry Avoider:  My son hates doing his laundry.  Hates it.  He was still working on it at eleven o'clock tonight, continuing to avoid the inevitable.  

Still Negative

We're all having relatively normal lives here insofar as life goes when you're isolating from the world.   My daughter feels fine.  In fact, she wanted to know if she could make cookies today.   She decided after I talked to her about it that maybe playing with her Barbie Dream House might be nice instead, and could I pull it out for her?

We took another round of tests and we're all still negative.  I feel like I need to add, "so far" to that statement every time I make it.  

The Big Boy Update:  My son was incensed that his sister was going to be playing in the bonus room because he felt like the space was his.  I told him she had just as much right to use the space in the house as he did and he could spend a day in his room and see how he liked it.    He relented and went downstairs to the living room.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I helped my daughter get all of her Barbie things out and told her what was what.   She is pretty good at remembering things, but a lot of things feel the same or have small differences.   There were American Girl Doll things interspersed in the Barbie things because they were playing with both the last time it was all out.   I left her to manage all the Barbies with the one Ken (poor guy having to deal with a pile of Barbies) and everything set up in a Barbie wonderland.  

So Far So Good

So far we don't think any of us other than my daughter has contracted COVID-19.   We still have no idea where she could have gotten it.  She doesn't go places without us, but it could have been one of the children outside she plays with.  They're on the trampoline together, but that's not (usually) a contact sport. Still, they touch the same areas getting in and out of the trampoline.

We haven't heard from anyone around us that they have COVID-19.  It's a mystery that may never be solved.  It likely won't be solved.  

I had a headache most of the day, and I asked my daughter about what her headaches felt like as mine wasn't a typical sort of headache I have.   Her description was very like what I was feeling but I have no fever and feel normal otherwise.  

The Big Boy Update:  We wanted to get my son out and about to do some things this summer but at this point we're letting him stay inside and do screens and stay away from his sister while we quarantine. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Last night at two in the morning, I woke my daughter up to give her some Tylenol for her fever, which was still over one hundred.   Three times she forgot the question she wanted to ask me and I was alarmed it might be brain fog, but this morning and all day today, she had an unmedicated ninety-nine degree fever and was her normal self.  Perhaps a little slower moving and morose and not feeling like she usually does.   A high fever coupled with being groggy in the middle of the night is hopefully the explanation and all is well with her health otherwise. 

COVID Strikes

Today we had a surprise that no one wanted to happen.   We have all been healthy from a COVID-19 perspective.  My husband came down with it in January, and the rest of us didn't get it thanks to some diligent mask wearing in the house for ten days.   

We have been leading a relatively normal life, although we haven't gone out and done as much as we would have done in normal times.  Food ordering in, drive-through, home cooking, visiting with relatives who were in town, playing with children outside and in some cases inside.   We've gone out to dinner with friends as well and we don't know of anyone near us or in contact with us that had COVID-19 or was actively recovering from COVID-19.

Today was a normal day with my daughter playing with the hose outside with two neighbor children.  She came in around two and was chilled, presumably because she had a wet bathing suit on and was in the air-conditioned house. 

Then she wanted to take a bath and was just feeling badly.   She also had a headache.   I thought maybe we should give her a COVID-19 test just to be safe and it came up positive.   She was confused.   We were perplexed.  She spent the rest of the day in her room with a fever, feeling awful. 

My husband, son, and I took COVID-19 tests and we're all negative.  So far that is.   So we don't know what to do other than quarantine and take care of my daughter.  We have some travel schedule in about two weeks so hopefully everything will be fine but for now we're in a holding pattern until we know more. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son was completely nonplussed about his sister testing positive.  He said, "okay" and went back to looking at a screen.   He's been through this again and again at school with protective measures so it's just what happens next from his perspective.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I want to hug my daughter and take care of her but I'm trying to do the best I can while keeping a reasonable distance.   She's wearing a mask any time anyone is in proximity to her. 

So Long, But Not Goodbye

Tonight we had a farewell dinner with our close friends and honorary family members, Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Margaret.  They are moving to Denver, a location that sparked much discussion with my children, who know much more about geography than I did at their age.   

It would be very, very sad indeed if we thought we would never see them again, but they have family here, and they will be coming back for holidays.   We may also be out in their area in January, and we all decided it would be great to go visit them when we were there. 

I know they're leaving, but I can't mentally think of them as gone.  It's one of those things where you're very happy they're starting a new chapter in their lives, but you don't want this one to be closed because change is hard.   

So in my mind, they will be both still here and out there, and we will all look forward to seeing them soon.  

The Big Boy Tiny Girl Dinner Dates:  My children were fairly well-behaved at dinner tonight.  They both wanted to talk to Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Margaret, but they understood that we wanted to talk to them too.   They were patient and didn't bicker.   I was proud of them.   They gave Margaret and Jonathan big hugs.  I know they'll miss them.  They've been in their lives for many years.  

Fighting Independence

My daughter is sitting beside me playing The Veil, an audio game she is currently obsessed with.  But she has to ask every time she wants to get into the game.   She needs us to go to her father's computer (she waits until he's not working on it) and double-click on the application.  

It's not hard to do for us because the app is sitting on the desktop at the top.   Sometimes we have to change the audio output to the headphones, but much of the time, it's already on the headphones and not the speakers.   Wouldn't it be nice if she could sit down, put the headphones on and ask the computer to start the game for her?

Voice technology has been around for a long time, and there are requirements that software is accessible.   All we need to do is figure out what the steps are.  But my daughter has such little patience with it.   Getting the computer to understand her voice is part of the start, but she just wanted to have us get in the game and let her play. 

I think we made progress today and the idea is now in my daughter's head. I said to her, "wouldn't it be nice if you didn't need us to get in the game?"   I'll see if she pushes for it in the future.  

The Big Boy Update:  My son is creating levels in a video game, then he's giving his character so many powers you can't see the screen but he loves to have us come over and look at his creation and how powerful he is.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter desperately wants her father or me to take her somewhere to do something.   Her summer is tough in that way.  The friends on the street have changed in the past few years with people moving away, and there aren't as many camps for visually impaired children.  We have her in some activities, but she doesn't want to do her own thing and be left alone like her brother.   She is a social being.

A Productive Day

I had an almost productive day today.  I've been so frustrated and angry that the change in medication I've been forced into has caused me to be a lot less functional and productive than I normally am.   Today, for the first time in a lot of days, I was mostly productive.   Or at least not as completely useless as I've been for the six weeks or so.   

It wasn't back to normal, but it was better than any day I've had in a while.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter does not know how to "hold on a moment" wait.   She gets in trouble for hearing us say just a moment when she interrupts us in the middle of a conversation.    A moment to her is half a second.   Or maybe three seconds but that's tops that she can wait.   We don't let her get away with it.   But she is going to get better at it because interrupting and then not waiting and re-interrupting multiple times doesn't get her what she wants.   

The Big Boy Update:  My son's computer has been broken for far too long.   Last night we got him on the laptop and he was very happy today doing some things on the laptop while sitting at the sofa.   I miss him at the computer beside us, even if he is super loud in excitement as he plays games and talks to his friends online. 

San Marcos

Dinner at Mexican or rather to be more correct at a Mexican Restaurant is something we love to do with Aunt Kelly and Uncle Eric.   They're in town today and we met and had a wonderful dinner.   

There were the usual adult conversations and the usual children were not happy that they weren't the center of attention, but information was exchanged and we all had a good time sharing.  I love any time Aunt Kelly and Uncle Eric are visiting.    Family is great. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter was so cold at dinner.  I sympathized with her because I am also prone to being cold.  We need to keep a jacket in the car for her for situations like this. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son seemed to be immune to his sister's blindness and was being very selfish tonight.  I explained how she had to do so much in her mind.   That he could play a game but she had to imagine the whole thing.   He almost cried and got very adamant that he knew and that he knew about it more than I did.   He was very upset and protective of his sister.   Sometimes he wants something for him, but he does care very much about her.  

Audio Games

My daughter likes to play video games.  She would love it if there were lots and lots and basically countless video games she could play.  Only there aren't.  She has to play audio games instead that are specifically designed for blind people.  

She has several and she's played them multiple times.  There's a new one she was in for several hours today.   She would be able to play other games more easily and open up the collection of potential games if she would learn the full voiceover capabilities of either the Apple or Windows operating systems.   

But she is resisting that.  She knows a decent bit from school, but she isn't pushing to learn more.  She hasn't found enough motivation yet.   Hopefully, she will soon, possibly this year in school, because it will open up a lot more games she can play.  

She sees, correction hears, her brother playing all sorts of games and I know it's tough to know she can't play any of them. 

The Level Collaboration: I came upstairs to ask my daughter to come down to help with something and she asked if she could have a little longer because she and her brother were making a level.   It turned out he was in a game where you can design the level and then play through it to see how well your design worked.  He would call out the elements and she would pick what to add next and where it would go.   Then he would play the game and let her know how it went.   She had to use her imagination for the whole thing.  Because she can't see any of it.   Sometimes I get very sad when things like this happen.  But she was loving it, even if the loss of her sight made me extra sad in that moment. 

A Very Lazy Day

I would love to tell you about all the things I did today but other than some cleaning up and tidying, starting thirteen prints, canceling one, again, because I can't get it to print successfully as I figure out the specific support settings it needs and writing this blog post, I really didn't do much. 

I'd like to say I feel rested, but I actually feel a bit restless now.   I could stay up late and get some things done but I'm going to try and get some sleep so I can work more tomorrow.   Also, I finally caught up with season three of Stranger Things (I don't watch a lot of television or movies, but this show is so my kind of show).   And now I've started on season four.   

Hopefully, I won't stay up late binging it and finishing it up by dawn.   That would be bad.   Sleep-wise that is. 

The Children Came Home:  The dog was ecstatic to see me, my son gave me a welcome hello and then disappeared and my daughter and I played some Mexican Train before she disappeared outside to find friends.   About right for my children at their current ages.

Dinner For Eight With Three

We had a dinner that was supposed to be with eight people except the date didn't work for two of them but not to worry, we had three couples going to dinner tonight.   This afternoon one of them (the organizer) got a very bad migraine that didn't abate and she couldn't go.  Her husband stayed home to help with the children so we were down to four. 

The other husband's back went out so we were down to three.   But the three of us wanted to go so to dinner we went.  And we had a wonderful time catching up.   It was just lovely and with less people, we had time to focus more on each other and not the chaos of a bigger group. 

I did hate that the others couldn't attend.

The Time To Go Difference:  My mother-in-law came to get the children (and the dog) for an overnight this afternoon.  She is wonderful, getting all the things they and the dog would need (including medicine) and calling them to head to the car.  My daughter headed straight outside and the dog was ready to get into the car before the door was even open.   My son had a bit of a fit, saying no one told him about this with great annoyance.   He was told, he may not have been listening or didn't remember, but the plan was set last weekend when he was at their house.   Grumblingly, he went to the car.  He doesn't like change of plans, even if the plans were planned. 

Oh Dear Sleep

I fell asleep and completely forgot to write a blog post last night.   Wow.  I was tired. 

The Helpful Children:  My very sweet children helped me create some models for a video tomorrow.   It's a block system similar to LEGO in being open-ended and I needed them to create me something with their child-like creativity.   And boy did they come true.   My children are so sweet. 

Pancakes But Not For Dinner

I woke up to pancakes by my daughter, or rather from my daughter this morning.   She was very happy to bring me two pancakes on a plate.  But not to be outdone by her father, she wanted to finish up the remaining pancake mix for a late lunch and wanted to make them herself.  Have I mentioned there is no stopping my daughter?  It's true, there is no stopping her.   So I got a third pancake in the afternoon. 

Then we decided to go out to dinner as a family.  Imagine that?  It's hard for me to imagine it because it's been so long since we regularly or even irregularly did such a thing.   But we had a very nice dinner together playing a game my daughter made up where we spelled words in rotation letter by letter without knowing what words the people were thinking of.  

Points were awarded following some complex points system that we never completely worked out but we had fun.   And that was all that mattered. 

The Before Dinner Child Drama:  The children were *not* being nice to each other before dinner and I got very angry at them as we were getting to the restaurant.  For some reason when I get really firm with them sometimes they snap into shape and this time that's what it took.  They were really nice to be around for the entire meal and even afterward when we got home. 

No Pancakes!

My daughter came in to talk to me this morning, asking if I knew where her father was.  Why?  Because she wanted pancakes.   Then she asked what time it was and it was twelve-thirty.   In the afternoon!  We have gotten into our summer time shift without even realizing it. 

It's interesting having pre-teen children.   They do want to do things with you but they're getting close to the age where they don't want anything to do with you.   The free time where you don't have to do everything for them is nice, but it's also a bit sad that they're not your little babies anymore. 

The Summer Mountains Vacation:  We absolutely need to schedule the date when we're going to visit my parents.  We decided together it would be easier if we all went up in one trip instead of a trip for each child individually.   My daughter's summer break is short so we need to get on it.  The children are fine all going up together.  They know they'll have time with Mimi and Gramps while we're all there.   And my husband and I can manage things if they start to bicker.   Although that never, ever happens here.  Never.   Okay, you all know the truth though, right?

It's The Fourth of July?

It's the Fourth of July and my husband along with his parents from some months back on a trip through the state below us with more lenient fireworks laws had a load of fireworks to set off after dark tonight.  I stayed in the house with the dog who tried to sit on my head the entire time shivering.  

You can't comfort the dog other than let her be there with you.   Saying, "it's okay, you're fine" again and again reinforces the behavior in some inner dog brain way so says the Dog Whisper from back in the day when I watched him all the time.  So I was there with her and stayed as close to her as she wanted while she worked through it.   She got better after a while and was more comfortable, but there were a lot of very loud booms.

I think our street had the most booms and the loudest.   I also think the fathers had a great time setting them all off. 

The Big Boy Update:  The best part was when my son came downstairs today around four-thirty and I said we had to clean up in preparation for the fourth of July.   "It's the fourth of July? I didn't know it was the fourth of July!  Is it really the fourth of July?  <long pause>  I didn't even know it was July!"

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter was very excited that the dragons and other models the boys who come over to jump on the trampoline had requested.   She wanted to make sure we got the models and gave them out when they came to the door.  

Livestreams Are Tiring

I did a livestream on YouTube today with another content creator who was very shy but wanted to be involved as the stream was about a model he created and a good bit of interest has arisen around the model.  

In order to do this we needed to up our game on how we were doing livestreams.  There was a lot of technical happening behind the scenes, all of which I can thank my husband for.  He worked very hard to get it all going.  

I did two pre-calls, one with my husband and then one that went on for a bit with the guest, and then the main one with the guest and the attendees.   And in between, I needed to watch a livestream on another channel to support that content creator.  

And I am tired.  And I am sore.  And I've been up working on this since before eight o'clock and I didn't go to sleep until very late last night also preparing the content for the stream.  

I suppose it was good.  People said they liked it.  I think it was a little chaotic as we went in unexpected directions, but I'm hearing it was authentic and I should do more of these interview-type things.  Maybe I should?  I'm not sure. 

The Children and the Dog:  The children and the dog stayed last night at my in-laws.  When they came home today the dog came and warmly greeted me.   The children disappeared.   It's almost like they're teenagers, no?

Dinner With a Neighbor And Another Neighbor

We went out to dinner with some friends in the neighborhood tonight (thank you to Nana and Papa for taking the children and the dog for the night).  Before going out I went to get the mail and my neighbor came out to get her mail.   We had a chance to catch up on things and then went our separate ways.   We infrequently run into each other these days. 

We got to dinner at a restaurant I haven't been to in years that is only a few miles from the house.  As we finished out meal who showed up and sat at the table beside us?  The very neighbor I had just been talking to.  What timing. 

The Big Boy Tiny Girl Tuesday Night Tacos on Saturday:  The children do love having tacos at Nana and Papa's on Saturday night, even if Saturday Night Tacos doesn't have quite the same ring. 

Making Connections

There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that I do, no, I don't want to call it work, but things I do that are all about making connections in the 3D printing community.   Some of it is with content creators, some with companies, and some with people of note in the community.  It takes a lot of time and a lot of it is very nice, talking to people who are passionate about 3D printing.

Some of it is very business-related and some of it is just getting to know people.   Is it strategic?  Is it a waste of time?  Is it me being social and not getting real "work" done?  I'm honestly not sure.   Some of it is very important as connections I've made have had a very significant impact on where the brand has gone.   Some of it doesn't do anything for Filament Stories other than being kind and taking time to answer questions to someone who is new and reached out to you for help.  Which is a good thing, although it is sometimes very time-consuming. 

Tonight for the third time running I was invited to be on a Friday night call.  I didn't know who would be on it other than a few people I knew of, some more so than others.  I was tired, I'd been up all day, I am having issues adjusting to medication changes, but I got on the call in bed and had the camera off. 

Then I realized I did know (of) many of the people on the call.   They were all friendly and talking about things and events we're going to be a part of and so I got my clothes back on from my pajamas and went to the basement, pulled my laptop into the print room, turned on all the set lights and jumped back on the call. 

And proceeded to have a lovely two hours with people who I knew, but hadn't officially met from a video standpoint before.  Some, I knew well but I don't know if they knew me and yet it would be nice to be known by them.   

So the question I have now is was the call tonight work or social time?  I suppose both.   People know Filament Stories as Courtney.  They know there is someone else behind the scenes and a lot of people know who that person is.  But everyone associates the brand with me.  Joel Telling told us this very point blank when we met him.  It was within the first hour we'd met and he looked at me and said, "Courtney, *you* are Filament Stories.  I know you and your husband are doing this together and he works just as hard or harder than you do, but you are the brand."   

It was an odd thing.  I hadn't thought about it at the time.  I hadn't even made that many videos with me in it.   Now, with over 120,000 followers on YouTube and almost that many on TikTok it becomes more apparent that that is the case.  It is odd.  Social media is odd.   I don't know that I would recommend it to anyone.  It's a lot more work than it seems behind the scenes.   But there are good things.  I have had an opportunity to meet many interesting, friendly, and kind people through Filament Stories.  

But I'm still tired at the end of every day and there aren't weekends with content creation if you don't want to get algorighmed.   

The Big Boy Update:  I asked my son to come over to me today and then I told him I wanted a hug.  He leaned in and didn't hug me back, but he let me hug him for a very long time.  I loved it. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter loves to do things in the kitchen.  We came upstairs today to find her squeezing limes and making a pitcher of limeade.  She had everything out, had measured things, had cut the limes in half and had done a good job of squeezing them.   She is pretty much unstoppable.