Friday, June 29, 2007

Escape!


Bill E. Goat went out adventuring today. The photo is self explanatory and blog worthy.

Monday, June 25, 2007

The Things You See When You Don't Have a Camera

This is why Dave and I have cell phones. Today as he was riding through the intersection of Route 15, Towers Road and Route 128 he saw something quite picturesque. It was a big macho-type man with a shaved head wearing a Jack Daniels Whiskey logo on his black, long sleeved shirt. This man was taking a brisk morning walk with his pet, a baby pig on a leash. I am tempted to camp out at that intersection with my camera ready to capture this on film. I'll be sure to post it if I do!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Don't Let These Angelic Faces Fool You


When outnumbered by these two there are times I'd like to run screaming from the building.
It's really the pile up of little things that wear you down (and make you laugh at the absurdity of it all). This morning we found that Jack had jumped the gated kitchen to spread the contents of our full trash all over, nasty. About 2 1/2 hours later, we'd run down our options for the morning, made a plan, and got everyone ready (two very brief showers as our well is nearly dry). I went to grab a few extra diapers to bring with us when I saw Nellie. She was swimming in grass so tall, all I could see was her head. Two strands of the fence were down and she was out exploring. We had to laugh at that one. Once we finally left the house we had a lovely morning driving country roads looking for yard sales. We returned home after a nice lunch out, I pulled Mae out of her car seat and she was burning up again. That's four days in a row. Around noon she starts with a terrible fever and only wants to snuggle with me, whine and fuss until bedtime. Poor thing, I love being there for her but today was the day I was outnumbered when Dave went to nap before his night shift. Sam had no fever, he knew I was limited and proceeded to run wild. I hate constantly saying, "Stop that, NO Sam, Do you need a time out?", etc. I tried sitting down with him and some crayons, tried interesting him in trains, cars, play dough, anything! I resorted to putting in "Madagascar", twice. What did people do before VCR and DVD players? I never thought I'd say that and am a little ashamed of myself, but it was either that or lock myself in the basement with a straight jacket.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Midsummer

This is my first Midsummer without a ritual. One of our group is immersed in rehearsing a show, so our planning momentum was off. Now as I watch the sun set I wish I had been more open to exploring alternatives.

I am grateful for the day I had. My son was his usual exuberant self and my daughter is cutting a molar. It made for a demanding day, but delightful nonetheless. I had the opportunity to offer support to a very good friend who has always been an incredible support to me. This is my first week transitioning to a new schedule that allows more time for studying. I also enjoyed driving around in our new-to-us van.

Overall good feelings on a day we celebrate the move from winter to summer.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Shearing Day


Nellie gets her summer haircut. She'll be much cooler for weeks to come.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Father's Day


F. Raymond Dewey




Mae, Sam and Dave Dewey

I made him a nice breakfast of farm fresh eggs, bacon and english muffins. We went out to buy him a fancy new phone for his special day but the damn Nextel store wasn't open on Sunday. At school, Sam decorated a mouse pad and Mae decorated a shirt with her little footprints. He managed to get a nap in this afternoon and we've got surf and turf planned for dinner.




He's a good father to our children, a good husband to me.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Bad Ass!


As of today, Tazor is a certified police dog. He is ready for drug detection, handler protection, tracking, patrol and obedience. At home he is the baby of the family. At work he could rip off someone's arm and smile while doing it. Everything is all about play. As with Kilo, we have training to do at home with Tazor and children. Tazor spent the last few months learning how to be an aggressive, bad ass. It can be confusing for him when Sam and Dave chase eachother around and play "Monster" (as Sam calls it), or when Mae gets in his face simply to inspect it. The word "chaos" frequently appears in my posts for a reason. This is our life. I confess I am happy to be living it and proud to be involved with this cast of characters.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Play Day

After having a very busy week, I decided my first priority today was to play with my children. Yesterday the four of us stopped by the bay in Colchester for a creemie. Sam enjoyed chasing birds and watching boats. "Mommy, we go for ride in boat?" Oh jeez, we don't have a boat, we can't even swim! So today, Sam, Mae and I went to the islands for some cheap entertainment. We started with the Grand Isle Fish Hatchery. I've always loved going to those, most of them have a little gumball type machine with fish food to toss in the water. Of course last time I went it took nickels, so I brought a roll of them. Now the machine takes quarters. I scrounged up a few in my purse and we all enjoyed watching the feeding frenzy. Then we crossed to road to the ferry dock and bought a walk on, round trip ticket. The trip is 12 minutes each way. It was a gorgeous day on Lake Champlain. I experienced it through the eyes of an energetic, confident, curious three year old with a delightful, giggling 16 month old in my backpack. Definitely made the right decision when I woke up this morning.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Tazor Is Home


After being startled by the above image, Dave informed me Tazor has coveted this doll for weeks. Tazor beheaded her and performed the eyeballectomy, Dave set up the pose. Training is complete and they are away most of next week to certify. Tazor is an outstanding working dog and his handler was trained by the best, biggest, blackest German Shephard ever. I say again, look out bad guys!

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Up and Down Day


Up: It's my 39th birthday today! Just yesterday we bought a Dodge Grand Caravan! When the salesperson was putting gas in the tank for us, Dave was being witty and said"Happy Birthday!". Taking on a car payment where there was none can make you nervous, but it is time. We got a 2005 with low miles, great warranty and tons of extra features. After our first test drive Sam screamed and cried because he didn't want to get out of it.
Down: Unbelievable traffic jams where ever I went today! Mae had a doctor appointment and we waited in line for 12 minutes to get out of the stupid parking garage. Ridiculous.
Up: Got an unplanned, much needed nap this morning. Work this afternoon was not too bad. Had a great laughing fit when I picked up Sam at daycare. Little fiery, red-headed Caitlyn excitedly approached me with a smile and said, "Sam Dewey threw up all over his pants and shirt!". I'm told this happened during lunch and the other children were not phased at all. They continued to dine as though nothing happened.
Down: I lost it with Sam tonight for torturing his sister and sassing me. I carried him up to his bed, got in his face and screamed, "I'm ANGRY! You stay up here until you can behave nicely to us! We do not want to be around someone who cannot treat us nicely!" This kind of thing happens at least daily. Things settled down after that.
Up: When I told Sam it was my birthday today he sang happy birthday to me, it filled my eyes with tears. So sweet. During the insanity of the evening I managed to make an amazing dinner, Turkey Enchilada Pie. Only 4 weight watcher points if you follow the recepie exactly. I'm sure regular cheese instead of low fat and ranch dressing on the side elevated the points considerably, but man was it good! If anyone wants the receipe I'm happy to forward it. Yum!

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Moms Who Rock



Wow! What a great time! The event raised $1000. for the Women's Rape Crisis Center. Mae Dewey was dancing, Sam Dewey kept saying "That's MY mommy!", and I'm told Dave has the biggest smile when watching me on stage. Very special friends came providing encouragement, support to Dave managing our two active children, and to take pictures of Sam "bellied up to the bar" eating bar food. Both Dave and I enjoyed the chance to chat with Kevin, owner of the venue without having yell over very loud music. I'm also excited about the loaded gift package that included a certificate for a manicure/pedicure and some truffles for Margie and I to savor during the ride home. Dave sums it up very well, I don't get the chance to go out child free very often, but when I do I make the best of it. As I often remind myself, before I know it my babies will be off snuggling up with someone other than me. It's ok I don't get out solo very often, but boy it sure was nice to make the best of it tonight!