This week, I focused on our family word of TOGETHER.

Little Man and I anxiously awaited Friday afternoon for Squatch to get here. He drove down with MIL, and let me tell you, that in itself was a freaking battle. The original plan was to meet at a local post office and get him and head back to my parents. Then I was told that Little Man and I had to drive 40 minutes to his aunt’s place to pick him up. Umm…Nope. Not going to do an hour and a half round trip with Little Man during naptime. He doesn’t sleep in the car, and this would just make it worse. Then the suggestion came to drive out to get Squatch after Little Man woke up, but that would have severely interfered with dinner. So, MIL ended up dropping Squatch off here, and we didn’t have to drive anywhere. Not that Little Man took his nap, although he got SOOOO close right before Squatch got in.

I’m telling you, setting and maintaining appropriate boundaries is SOOO incredibly important. It is something I am always working on, because I know that I can majorly suck at it. I’ve talked with Squatch about setting appropriate boundaries with his parents once we find a place, and are out of their house. Personally, I would rather say, “Adios. Here’s a P.O. Box you can mail Little Man cards to. We shall see you when we see you,” and call it a day, but Squatch is not quite on board with that. I think it would be best after the toxicity that we have been putting up with, but it’s something we shall determine together. And whatever boundaries we decide on will be clearly communicated before we move.

I need us to have our family time, and not worry about outside interference. Setting strong boundaries will help with that. I could sense some tension from MIL Saturday, when we were at the family party she and Squatch drove down for. It was almost like she didn’t want to say the wrong thing, or she thought I was going to explode on her. She was very cautious around me and almost seemed to be tip-toeing with her words. Squatch has always told me that his aunts are not exactly afraid of me, but that they know they cannot get away with their bullshit around me, and I think MIL is finally seeing that.

Anyway…we were discussing our housing options up north. The market is so ridiculous…places are going like hot cakes, and they are so overpriced. Squatch is worried that we will overspend on a place and then get screwed in the future if/when we decide to sell. But then I look at the rental market, and it’s either rent from a slumlord, or rent a place with Chicago rates, and I’m all for buying something. I know we shall find a place, we just have to be a bit more patient. With spring upon us, more homes SHOULD go on the market, so I’m praying we will find the right one.

The gardens are going well. Can you believe it has been 8 weeks since I started on this new adventure? Saturday was Day 56 on the AeroGarden.

The herbs are coming along. 2 weeks, and still no lavender in either pod, but that’s ok. I’ve got plenty of Coriander, 2 Lemon Balms (YAY!!!), and a shit ton of Italian Large Leaf Basil and Italian Giant Parsley. If all goes well, I will be transplanting them to the large herb pot in 2 weeks. As for the other herbs, it seems like I may have dampening of the Dill. I had shared over on MeWe that they are flopping over, and after posting a few pictures, some of my more knowledgeable friends suggested the issue is dampening (apparently it’s quite common in more northern climates). So, this week’s project is to figure out just what dampening is, and how I can help my Dills out.

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