This is where I bitch.

I made the time to go up north and see Laura and her family before they leave for another year of teaching in the desert this week. I went up on Sunday night, since Saturday was B's cookout and my last chance to see Wendy before she left for 2 years in Korea.

It was nice seeing Laura and the kids again. Jack is still acts out a bit, but he's 3 and that's fairly normal. Cora is still all smiles and has learned how to yell, and likes the sound of her voice.

Work turned into a huge mess while I was gone. Still putting out fires. I need to get my old projects handed off, cause right now I don't have time for anything, so everything is suffering. I feel like I'm failing cause I can't do a good job.

The 4th of July weekend went pretty well. I went up Thursday morning, caught up with the family in Tomahawk as my sister and bro-in-law finished a 10k race. Cora is so big and happy, it was great spending time with her. And Jack is a bit clammer overall now that he is 3.

After meeting up we went to the main street and watched a parade, then headed back to the cabin at the lake. Paul came up that evening and we generally just talked and caught up. Friday Paul and I got in a kayak trip and then I helped Mom watch the kids while Laura and Rob got some shopping done. They really cleaned up their new cabin, looks nice. Paul and I, along with the dogs, stayed in their RV.

Friday night Paul went back to Madison so he could work, so Saturday was just me with the family at the park picnic. I mostly hung out with grandma and talked and also walked around and played with Cora. The family went swimming afterwards, but I volunteered to stay in the cabin with grandma while we played with Cora and watched my cousin's youngest sleep. Saturday night one of the teachers that Laura and Rob know from Saudi came to visit with her 3 teen age kids.

Sunday it rained all morning, so everyone was a bit stir crazy trapped in the cabin. Carol and grandma came back in to the park, so I got to see them for lunch, then I drove back to Madison that afternoon.

I got up north this week to see/meet my new niece. Picture:

New niece is awesome twitter.com/jasonkivela/st…

— Jason Kivela (@jasonkivela) July 24, 2012

She's pretty awesome, though all she did was sleep and eat, as 1 week old babies are prone to do. So tiny though. Lots of black hair. It was nice just sitting on the couch with her resting in my arms on my chest. Peaceful.

Jack is in full on jealous mode. He likes his sister, but he's just in an acting out stage. Laura and Rob were told he's too smart for his age, and acting out is a common result. But I spent time with him playing when he wasn't being naughty. I got to take him to his last day of swimming lessons with grandma too.

Laura looks pretty tired, since Cora needs to eat so often. Hopefully she can start to get some rest soon.

Life in Madison is kinda sad and scary now. Money issues. One of those time we have to just bare through it as best we can and hope for some relief to come soon.

I have just been whipped lately, work is killing me. Last two weeks have been 9-12 hour days every day. It just this one project. However there is an end in sight. I'm thinking we can wrap it up next week. Which will be three weeks late. And this last week my boss talked about having a conversation with the client to tell them we are cutting them off. We are just hemorrhaging money on this one, and enough is enough. I don't think we've ever done that before. But with the end in sight we probably won't have that call. But it's nice to know it's an option. I am so looking forward to going in at 8 like a normal person again soon.

After this project ends I've told work that I'll need like 2 days off to relax finally. Looking forward to that.

No word baby wise from my sister. Her due date was last week, but my nephew was late too, so no one is worried. I'll also be taking a day or two off when my niece comes.

Tonight is the softball drag show. Paul and Jess are performing, which should be fun. Lots of work and stress getting ready for it the last few weeks. I'll have a recap later.

Tomorrow will be my last over booked Sunday. We have our final day of competitive softball in the morning. We play at 11:30 for seed play, and then it's a single elimination tournament. I'm sure we'll be knocked out in the first round. Then in the evening I've got volleyball. Not until 4:30, so hopefully the sand won't be nearly so burny on my feet.