Carrie's projects

Carrie was busy this week! Aside from mowing and the usual work, she completed a few projects.

The first was the mailbox. I was supposed to dig the post hole after work, but Carrie got tired of waiting!

I didn't realize what she was up to. I came out just in time to take some pictures.

"And this is why we're learning about parallel and perpendicular, class! Notice the post-level? You're supposed to keep the bubble between the lines..."

The self-expanding foam was neat. Carrie rolled the packet so that two halves mixed, counted to 15, cut, and poured it in the hole. At first, we couldn't see anything. Within several minutes it had filled the hole!

It overflowed and we were able to walk away from the post within 5 minutes.

I told Carrie that I would assemble the mailbox after I made Shane and I dinner. She didn't feel like waiting (notice a theme?). 

I helped Carrie disassemble it after an oops and she had it built back in a few minutes.

I tried to stay out of the victory shot, but Carrie included me on puprose!

Another day Carrie took care of "the jungle." The weeds behind the pole barn were as tall as me and grounding out the electric fence. 

Magic was the first horse I know of to re-discover the fence's sting! 

Carrie left several times during the week to go on errands (groceries, horse feed, etc). Friday, she took Shane with her. "We were at this house with 12 cats, 3 dogs, and lots and lots of horses!"

The purpose of the trip: A new saddle for Maddie. Her old one was breaking and Carrie had a connection. She had Ellie inspect it Saturday and then started to clean it up Sunday!

And this was somewhat of a joint project, but it was the end of an era: We cut down the monster weed out front.

We underestimated it. We used a hacksaw, but an axe or something with bigger teeth would've been a lot easier! There's still a stump to dig up or perhaps allow to rest in memoriam. 

Where Has Carrie Been?

Last Tuesday, Carrie packed up and headed out on business.

She flew to Florida with Grandma to learn about and tour some cruise ships.

There were meetings, conferences, networking, and other work things, but I got at least one picture like this. 

Work hard. Play hard.

Carrie sent me this picture on Saturday. I thought it was from a hotel. Notice the sidewalk?

Nope. It was from a 17 deck cruise ship.

Saturday was the day that the agents got to inspect the boats. They were big.

Floating towns.

Carrie came back tired, but with some stories. She was fast asleep when Shane and I returned back from our weekend getaway.

Mommy Overseas

Carrie and Grandma are in Ireland!

They're on a business reconnaissance trip. Or so they say....I think they're going to enjoy their time on the Emerald Isles immensely.

And thanks to the internet it's easy to keep in touch.

Carrie wants me to learn how to speak like the Irish.

"If you had that accent I'd swoon. Full on bona fide swoon.

Forget learning another language, just learn how to speak like this"

It wasn't as easy as a cute picture to get over there, though. The ladies were supposed to leave Wednesday, but their plane never left the airport. They sat on the tarmac for a couple of hours before the flight was called off. Carrie was stressed and called me as Shane's TKD class was ending. She asked Shane and I if we'd be willing to visit her at Grandma and Grandpa's.

We hopped in the car and drove over to spend the night. It was a good deal for Shane.

He got to go fishing.

He got to play with Grandma's iPad.

The shower cap was bonus.

Grandpa took him up to the train room, but I was lazy and stayed downstairs for that.

Most importantly, he got a second chance to say "Good-bye" to Mommy before she left on her trip.

This was his face when he noticed I had the camera out.

Grandma and Carrie's second attempt to fly out was through Dulles instead of Richmond this time. It went off without a hitch. They're overseas and I hope they'll have some pretty pictures for me to post later. I showed Shane the street view of where they're sleeping their first night on Google Maps. 

Tech Support Trip

We made an unscheduled tech support and morale boosting trip to Grandma's Saturday. Grandma's keyboard died. Carrie picked up a new one and rushed to the rescue. She was feeling low after some horse stuff, and was happy for a task. 

It was supposed to be a day trip, but turned out to require longer. Grandma and Grandpa were going on out of town Monday and there was a sudden barrage of travel work the trio tackled.

Shane and I went out for a bit to let them work. No other kids were crazy enough to go to the playground in 95 degree weather without cloud cover, though.

Shane wanted to crawl underneath the road. I nixed it, but at least he was thinking shaded. I've crawled through those myself, so I know the draw (not that I have a desire to do so now).

We all went out for burger break for dinner.

Carrie made a surprise detour on the way home Sunday. "You're getting a haircut," she said.

She was right.

Shane's picture doesn't show truly show how poofy my beard looked. It was longer than anything on top of my head.

We stretched our legs around Target and then made a second stop at Aunt Sara's Pancake House. Carrie taught Shane the peg game.

He got to decorate his own funny face pancakes for his meal.

Shane's a great traveler. He's gotten to see a lot of family this summer.

Mommy's Back!

Carrie made it back Saturday afternoon! Hooray!

We've missed her.....and I think she missed us and sleep. Carrie took no less than three naps in two days.

And she always had company.

Not always the furry kind, either. Shane burrowed in like a tick to watch an episode. I made him sneak out when it was done.

We have her back for two nights, but then she's going to swing by the barn on Monday before redirecting over to Grandma and Grandpas. Carrie's going to help them part time with their business, because she's not allergic to travel.

Spring Break Day 7: Farewell to the Job That Was and Hello, Megan!

Carrie left early to turn in her laptop and keys and hopefully avoid her belligerent boss. He usually never showed up to work before 10 AM. 

In the past, anyone who left Carrie's company amicably had access to their email to wrap up any personal business. Carrie has done her best to do everything amicably. She gave three weeks notice and talked to one of her friends on management prior. 

Monday, Carrie's direct boss had her cut off. Carrie thought it was a timing issue. She had notified management that she was going to do some work even though it was a vacation week (Carrie's a bit of a perfectionist and won't do a job unless she can do it well). She tried to log in and her password was rejected. Carrie called in and John reset her password with an "Oops. I thought you were done." She sent a few emails and CC'd her boss (on all of them per his orders). 

However, the email lockout was not an accident. Carrie's direct boss drove over to 'corporate' and had her locked out again. Then he was upset at John for crossing/slighting him. 

Carrie spent the rest of the week stressed and upset. She thought she was doing everything as professionally as possible, and then she felt as if her manager was trying to turn it around and fire her the last week she was supposed to work.

Thankfully, Carrie had covered all of her bases and had notified other people on management that she planned to help out this week. She's done a lot for the business over the years and it did not go unnoticed. Friday, Carrie got to speak with the other managers and they thanked her for her time with the company. She said it was stressful, but cathartic.

And so ends this chapter on her resume.  

Shane and I stayed home for all of this. That shouldn't be a surprise.

What may be a surprise was Megan and B visited! 

And boy, were they excited to see each other. I felt bad for Nova.

After the initial amazeburst of jubilation, the boys settled in to play.

Shane got Megan to read some Captain Underpants to him while B perused his room.

Maleficent attacked soon after.

Megan brought a game that I really want to see Nana play (Pie Face). We didn't get to play, but Megan, if you read this and play it with Nana, I want a video.

Shane showed Monopoly Jr to Megan while B partied with his toys.

She had the usual reaction. Megan's really good about faking the excitement whenever he looked.

Carrie came home around that time. She was exhausted enough to say no to the donuts and bagels Megan brought from Wegmans (Thanks, Megan..by the way).

Shane attached to Megan like glue, but B played independent for a good long while. When he delved into the trains, that caught Carrie's eye.

For lunch, we turned on the TV and gave the boys chicken nuggets. B watched one episode and moved on. Shane was so tuned in he never noticed.

B got to go on with a little extra swag. It's a family tradition to try and pass off toys and whatever you can to the next kid. B accidentally left some of his toys behind this time (Rats).

I tried to arrange for a quiet day for Carrie after Megan and B headed further southward.

Some things never change.

It's incredibly difficult to have any sort of quiet day with Shane. Energy leaks from his pores if he sits still too long. The options are: A) Electronic placation or B) do something.

I was tired myself, but I kicked Shane out of the house to play catch. He fought it kicking and screaming until he got out the door. Then it was the best idea ever, Daddy!

We didn't have a real baseball, so we used a bouncy ball. It ended up in multiple bushes in multiple yards.

Catch: The Treasure Hunt.

Shane had fun and we got some of the stink out.

Carrie mostly got her quiet night. She put on Cool Runnings and made challah. I ate half the loaf (fresh carbs are my dietary Achilles heel).