#nieflings

Saw the Disney princesses (aka Ariel and Jasmine) at work yesterday. We talked about how weed should be legal and Trump should be in jail. I said, "I hate that guy" and Ariel said, "And now we love this store even more!"

My sister and her kids were in town at my parents', so after work we had dinner over there (homemade pizza and homemade cheesecake, yum!) and had a fun time recounting proposal stories and catching up. Also, my almost ten-year-old nephew, who for the past few years has been more of a high-five guy than a hugger, gave me a very tight, strong hug, and I was honestly touched. He's so freakin' tall and growing up, but still has time and affection for his aunt. I also played Barbies with my niece, something she patiently waited for all throughout dinner. She showed me how they'd had a dance contest, and I pointed out which Barbie was my first.

I love my family so freakin' much. My parents and sisters and nieflings. They're all they best.

I went out of town to visit my newest niece, and to play and bond with her two older brothers. My mom and I drove down together, and despite one nerve-racking bit where the rain was coming down so hard everyone showed down to 30 mph and put on their hazards, the drive went well. My new niece is beautiful, my almost-three nephew wasn't shy with me at all, and I played Spiderman with my six-year-old nephew, and showed him how to do Spiderman pushups because he's newly into working out.

I had so much fun I didn't even take any pictures! Too busy playing!

I also got to catch up with my sister and brother-in-law. My brother-in-law works for the same company I freelance for (got me the job, in fact) and he says I'm their best proofreader, and that they should make me a copyeditor, and so I may be getting more work and a little pay increase soon (fingers crossed).

We brought my nephews back with us to give their parents a little break, and they did really well in the car! Zonked out for a good part of it, then were talking and singing and just generally being good kids, despite the 3-hour drive.

I feel very fulfilled. Very tired, but very fulfilled.

- Ruby, age 5, about her cousin Elwood, age 3

Got to see my sisters and their husbands and kids yesterday for the first time since Christmas for one and February for the other. My four-year-old niece drew me a picture and painstakingly wrote my name on it (with help from me for spelling; it took two lines lol) and put binder clips on the top so I could hang it up, and my soon-to-be-seven nephew LOVED the Avengers Lego set we got him. His jaw dropped and he jumped up and down and said "Thank you thank you thank you!" and immediately started clearing a space to build it.

Before we left, my niece hugged me around the legs and I almost melted. It was so cute and sweet.

I'm so glad the weather was nice so we could all be outside most of the time. Had it been bad we likely wouldn't have made the trip.

So hooray for family. 💖

Very important, especially now, to remember that there are still things to be grateful for.

Noah and I got to take our niece and nephew to a small local water park. It only had two big slides, a lazy river, a regular swimming pool, and a splash pad area with smaller slides, water jets, and big ol' buckets of water. Perfect for eight- and six-year-olds: not overwhelming, but plenty entertaining. Plus, it's only $5 for residents or those coming in with a resident. Here's my nephew on one of his 20 laps of the lazy river:

Also, it rained last night! Thank goodness! And it was actually a sun shower, which was pretty cool. Rained pretty hard for the sun being out, too. And that cooled things off a little.

And I got yet another additional project from my contact at the publisher I work for, but since the project is not technically for the publisher itself, I wrangled myself a higher pay rate than their standard for their proofers.

And there's hope that this shitty new legislation will result in enough outrage for people to vote at the midterms, and maybe impeach the justices who lied. Not necessarily likely, but there's at least a bit of hope there.

My niece (5) and nephew (7) are coming to town to stay with my parents while their parents take a vacation. They video-called me yesterday to ask if I'd be there when they got in, and I said no, I was still sick, they could probably hear it in my voice. And my nephew said, very matter-of-factly, "You don't sound any different."

I told my husband about it and he said "wishful thinking." I told my sister and she said "innocent gaslighting." He wants me to come play; therefore, I cannot be sick, as that conflicts with his wishes.

I'm hoping to see them. They're here until Sunday, and I'm feeling better from this cold every day, and hey, I'll wear a mask. But anyway, I'm flattered by how much they like me. There's nothing quite like being a beloved aunt.

I'm really grateful for all the time I got to spend with my nieflings this past week, whether babysitting them, driving them around, playing, or entertaining them during church. They're 7, 6, 5, 3, and 6 weeks, and I spent time with each of them. They're a lot of fun, and very silly, and very sweet. My 3-year-old nephew hugged me around the legs when we said goodbye, and I just melted. Being an aunt is the best.

Me and the 7-year-old nephew at the State Fair-themed party for my dad's retirement, playing our own version of ring toss.

My sister and her kids are in town, so this morning Noah and I went to my parents' to hang out. We had breakfast and then played "Bus Driver," an extremely elaborate game. (The kids referred to it as an "episode" and were pulling references from a TV show, I think.) Anyway. Noah was the bus driver, I was the passenger in love with him, and my niece and nephew were chaotic grannies who asked for multiple stops, changing their minds each time. ("The library, I need a cookbook... Wait, I can't read." "It's the sausage place, I need sausage... No, changed my mind.") And the whole time they were speaking in sort of granny voices. My nephew asked me why I picked this bus, and prompted me to say I was in love with the bus driver. Then he said, "He's a bit hairy, isn't he?" and per my nephew's instruction I responded, "Not for me!" Then my niece ate the brakes and the bus driver threw us all off the bus, and my nephew told my to confess my love to the bus driver, but it turns out the bus driver was already married...to a giraffe.

We couldn't stop laughing the whole time, and it was just great. I'm so grateful for nieflings. Being an aunt is fantastic.