The adventures of me in my Mad-Cap Mini-Van

2012-01-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

Maybe I start blogging again...Not sure I remember how.

gratitude 2011

2011-04-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

I am glad my daughter is not a fucking bitch like you....

gratitude

2010-11-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

I used to do this every night in my journal...I am sure I have said that 20x before on my blog....

#1 having the absolute greatest husband and children ever. We all believe that, but sadly....you are wrong. I won. Sorry.

#2 via SNL ...I AM ABOVE GROUND !!!!! THANK GOD !!

#3 my mom. SHe is the biggest PITA ever, but ultimately she is my rock. I can not imagine how my world will forever be rocked when and IF ( that's a big IF, she will probably out last me) she leaves this earth.

#4 my job and my regulars....going to work every day with such amazing people who make me smile and laugh and make the day fly by. My regulars are there day in, day out... Important people, having important lunches.....My job is to make sure no one gets lost. Sounds easier than it is.

#5 I don't have cancer. Thank you god.....

mahhhhh babbby

2010-10-19T21:04:00.001-07:00

So i think we all know that dagny, who has the sweetest heart ever, and is talented and gifted at so many things, struggles in certain other areas .....as we all do.

One of them is she takes just a minute or two more than most to figure something out, "get it", etc....

Tonight I was in her room delivering a banana split while she did her homework because, duh, why wouldn't I? Anyhoozen, in her room she has this lovely cross stitch that someone made for her when she was born. Part of what was stitched in was is her name, DOB, weight, etc. I was looking at it, admiring the work and discussing it with her.

So she says to me.... "Man, I can't believe I didn't even weigh a POUND when I was born...I was so little"

Me : "Wha?? "

D: "It says right there '0 pounds 2 ounces' "

Me: "Seriously?"

D: "Yeah! Look right there! 0 pounds"

Me: "Dagny that is a 6 not a zero....

D: " Huh? I didn't weigh 2 ounces?"

Me: "WTH are you thinking? I gave birth to air? maybe a sheet of paper? perhaps a leaf? WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING YOU AT SCHOOL ???"

Dagz : "OK, so again, I didn't weight 2 ounces?"

Good Lord....

jesus

2010-10-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted since JULY !!

WTF?

Dagz is at outdoor school again and I miss her something awful. This year they are in John D@y....I have no idea where that is but apparently it is 5 hours away. She texted me the whole bus ride over and then phones were removed when she got there and there was.....silence. Is it creepy how much I miss her? It is one thing when it is a sleepover at so and so's house, even a three day sleepover....at least I know she's here. But she's not. She's gone for three days and I can't talk to her. College is going to fuck my shit up.....

Friday is home coming and I am working concessions at the football game. Wish me luck and some mad math skillz.

And there went July

2010-07-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Seriously. July is almost over. Peas and Rice.

The kids have been excellent this summer considering there hasn't been a ton of shit planned. I actually think they are a happy about it. I am sure they would love to be vacationing in Hawaii, or some other crazy tropical vacation, I think they are happier not getting up every day and heading to one camp or another, or getting home from vacation, washing their clothes, and hitting the road again for another 7 hour car/plane/boat ride. They are bored and I am glad.

Dagny has started riding her bike with the dogs. If you want to ensure really exhausted well excercised animals, have them live with a 13 year old basketball player who has a month of off training. She walks them up to the park once a day where they play fetch, play fetch, play fetch for an hour. Then they come home where she will turn on the sprinkler! for them and play in the water.....later, I know!! Lets go for a bike ride!! try to keep up puppies!! Jesus, they are going to drop over dead. But hey, they are good and tired when it is time for bed.

Enrolled Jack at Wh!tf0rd yesterday. Vomit.

Might let Dagz go to a H00p Dance this weekend. Vomit.

The 3 on the 3 Bl@zer Street Jam is this weekend which Dagny is playing in. As luck has it, my sister Allie just so happens to work for Speci@l 0lympics and fund raising is her department. She texted me and asked what D's team name was and is trying to get her a game at center court which would be tres cool. Dagny is just excited at meeting and greeting not only all the Pros, but the HS girls and Boys she watches play as well. Should be quite the all-star event. In addition, we are scoring VIP passes from Allie which also means....FREE BEER. I don't like beer, but I will most definitely suck down free beer. I am actually really looking forward to the weekend's festivities and the fact that it isn't going to be 97 degrees just makes me so happy beyond belief. I was dreading spending 48 hours on blacktop watching 3 on 3 games, but a weekend of watching the best of the best play basketball, drinking free beer in a the low 80's is actually a little bit o' heaven for Silly.

That's it for now hombres.

B!eber Madness

2010-07-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Is over....

And that was a really long 36 hours for poor Sillypants.

When Dagny came out of the concert, she was freaking out because, get this, she was scouted by a MODELING AGENCY !! She was beside herself, handed me the flyer and the rep's card and "OMG WE HAVE TO EMAIL HER TOMORROW!!" It was a parenting conundrum as I had to quickly decide to a. let her believe that she had in fact just been scouted and let her ride that high for awhile or b. tell her these people are scam artists sent to events like these to find 6' tall 13 year old girls to rope into their "agency". The best part was of course, it happening in front of her friends, where she was picked out of a crowd of 1,000's and approached and handed the card, and " OMG Dagny, you can be a MODEL!!! "

I have actually done a little research on the whole "model" idea as we get asked that alot and you know what I have found ? She would need to lose about 20-25 pounds to be average model weight. Can you imagine? Because she has been at clinic all Spring as well as playing B-ball 6 days a week, when she puts on a swim suit I am all "OMG HOT DAMN LOOK AT HER BODY!! OMG HOT DAMN LOOK AT HER BODY SOMEONE COVER IT UP RIGHT NOW !!!" She is rock solid head to toe.....No six pack (but she never will because she is my daughter) but damn close.....She is solid muscle . I can't even imagine her losing 5 pounds let alone 25. She could be a swim suit model, but it would have to be for Speedo, not Victoria's Secret. Jesus.

I actually did research the Agency and it is a seemingly credible one. I realize they walk around at these events and hand out cards to all the girls over 5'10" but maybe we will email them?

2010-07-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the night my daughter goes to her first concert alone with friends. I am 100% sure they will be perfectly fine alone in that big dome of hormones. The moms and will celebrate on our own after we drop the girls off. They spent last night decorating posters, our street and matching T-shirts to wear tonight. They stayed up way too late watching movies, and then crashed sometime after midnight. They are still fast asleep, but when they wake we will spend the day getting their bodies tanned and their hair straightened.....Nothing like a 48 hour sleep over.

2010-07-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

For the past two nights we have ended the evening with a walk that eventually leads us to the school yard in our backyard. It has been such a perfect way to end our day.....the dogs go ape shit crazy running all over, tonight there were a bunch of other dogs turning our backyard into an impromptu dog park. .....we met neighbors with new puppies and old grumpy dogs.....Our dogs eventually get exhausted ( the beauty of large dogs) and roll over on their backs and roll around. The kids do the same... Or tonight Jack and Brian brought the football up and just played ball..... I just layed there and watched the clouds roll by and thought " God, clouds are so freaking CRAZY!!" Cuz they are....when was the last time you laid there and just studied them? I want to grab them they are so beautiful.....

2010-07-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

So not going private after all.....I freaked out when I googled dagny's first and last name with the word b@sketball and my blog showed up as the #1 site. Turns out I used our real last name in one post hence the search results.....changed that asap and so now, we are good.....

So here it is July something or other and summer is screaming by me at an alarming speed. I am working about 3 days a week which equals about 12 hours. Not an enormous amount of work but enough to keep me earning a little extra spending money and keep my job along with my sanity as I get to get out and be with adults every now and then. I love my job and I love the cast of characters I work with. I don't even mind the commute anymore....going is never bad. Usually 15 minutes, 20 minutes max. Coming home however is usually a solid 30 minutes door to door....Thank God for satelite radio. Seriously. The kids are at an age where they enjoy their days home with no adults to boss them around, I leave a computer schedule so there is no fighting, a menu of lunch/snack choices and they are good to go.

Brian started a new job almost a month ago and is in heaven. There is nothing he loves more than going into a new place and turing the whole freaking thing upside down and making it right. This place hasn't been properly run in over two months so there is a lot of work to do....and I mean alot. While at work Friday he received a letter and letting him know he was receiving a salray increase in addition to the salary increase he received for taking over the store in June. Wasn't expected but more money is always welcome. Emb@ssy Suites also called last week asking him to come back and take over the Chop House as it "hasn't been run the same since he left". He declined w/o even looking at their offer. This killed me because hello? Free hotels stays where ever we go??? You don't even want to LOOK at the offer? I think he is just so happy being back with his favorite chef, running a multimillion dollar store and of course, the parking pass. What more could a man want?

Jack has started football training at the high school 2 nights a week with the varsity coach. He is taking his training very seriously and even trains on his days off. It is hysterical. He can hardly wait for the real season to begin. We went and got his hair buzzed off yesterday and after crying for two hours he decided he loved it. He does this every time he gets his hair cut.... We have decided to send him to "the traditional middle school" next year as he needs a much bigger pond to swim in. The first two weeks I said that out loud, it made me want to vomit. Seriously. But after lengthy research, and spending all kinds of time up there, I am 110% happy with the decision and I know it will be for the best.

Dagny is in full summer party mode. This week she has three sleepovers planned and I am sure more will crop up. I am spending a small fortune on birthday presents as she has a birthday party a week to go to but she is having a great year, so of course it is worth it. Last week she jammed her finger at basketball and the next day it looked like Popeye's hand. The day after, even worse.....X-rays showed a fracture so we will see what the next doctor says this week. We are all praying for no cast. I am going to go out on a limb and say she is finally 6 feet as 5'11" and 7/8ths just sounds silly. We would all love at least another inch, if not two. She is sleeping 12 hours a day and eating like a horse so I am praying that is all going to height.....She and her friends are starting to do more and more activities alone and unsupervised which is scary but of course necessary. Friday evening they all met at a restaurant where they dined alone. After dinner they walked to a movie theater where they saw Eclipse ( again) and were picked up around 10 ish or so by another parent and then driven to a sleep over. The fact that my baby is able to walk into a restaurant, order her own meal, pay for it, tip her server, walk blocks and blocks unsupervised on a Friday night to a movie theater, purchase her own ticket, maybe buy popcorn if she is in the mood, completely baffles me. Because when the hell did all that happen?

We are in the process of planning our New York trip for September/October and trying to finalize all the details. I want to take the kids to see American Idiot on Broadway, Brian wants to go to Boston, his parents want us in Saratoga. We can't even decide which airports to fly in and out of..... I will say now that Jack is not going to be in 6th grade at RH's I am much more relaxed about how long we stay for. We were in Hawaii for two weeks during D's 6th grade year and paid the price dearly. "The traditional middle school" won't be able to top the amount of crushing homework we are used to dealing with at RH's so hopefully this will make our trip more enjoyable w/o the worry of "we have to get back, we have to get back".

We have the Be!ber concert this week which is turning into a 48 hour party. I may not be teaching my kids how to golf or knit, but I am teaching them how to be a great host and have a really good time....way more important life skill in my opinion. Thankfully the moms aren't going and are planning on drinking wine while we wait for our darling daughters. I love my mom friends and seriously can not wait to navigate high school together with them.

OK, off to start the day....

Blogging under the influence

2010-03-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

and yes I have used that title before =)

So I am getting ready to make the blog private again....I am willing to add all two of you who read as readers. But it;s just that things get so tricky and dicey and what I really want to post and what I actually do post are two different things and this is supposed to be for me and my kids and I am always editing what I really want to say. So.. Making it private soon.....totally sending out invites or something to those that I want to read....email me at mccfamily2003@yahoo.com if you want to be added.....

K, besides that.....

Flag football started today and it was interesting to see Jack so nervous. He was all " MOM!! We haven't PRACTICED !!! MOM !! I don't know my COACH!" " MOM !! I haven't had a coach in a LONG TIME ! " " MOM !!!" on and on and on....But I have to say...He Did GREAT. I mean he certainly wasn't the MVP but OMG he is absolutely perfect, fine, good player, etc. A few years back, having had an older kid go through the circuit of sports, I realized how stoopid it was having all these 7 year olds out "playing sports". I thought "OMG he is completely retarded now...but guess what.....I am going to risk it, save MY money, and HIS time, let him play outside a few more years until he tells ME what sport he wants play....then we will sign up. He has actually asked for 2 years to play football, I have said no, it is stoopid, you are 8....you are 9....you are 10....This season he will be 11 and he will play. And watching him today, he will be just fine.

Had the family over tonight for Sunday dinner and haven't laughed that hard in awhile. Our family is truly a family of comedians and it is learned at a young age... As my fog is lifting, I am eager to get back to my place of matriarch to these cast of characters and resume our get togethers for no apparent reason other to then to catch up and bond. Grandma and Grandpa sure knew how to raise a family. I will say that some members of la familia have not seen McSilly in a while and now that I am down 25 pounds, some were a little shocked. I have not yet splurged on new clothes as I am not sure when the weight loss will stop, so my jeans (literally) kept falling off....maybe that is what shocked them =)

Night-night from a flag football's proudest mama....

dinner

2010-03-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

At dinner tonight I made chicken flavored rice from a box and added corn.

Jack refused to eat it.

I asked the ass why the hell he wasn't eating it.

I said "You like corn and you like rice. Why can't you eat this?"

His reply: " Do you like cheeseburgers?"

Me: "Yes"

Jerkface: "Do you like ice cream?"

I am sure I don't need to go on with the conversation. But after it was over, I killed him. And ate him. With cheeseburgers and ice cream. What a dick.

2010-02-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

So from time to time.....like once a year, I will walk down the baby aisle at the grocery store and inhale. The smell of diapers all fresh and new instantly brings me back to baby days and I love it. I know they say that scent is the biggest trigger for memory and boy is that true. I just love walking through there, smelling everything fresh, new and babyish. So full of sweetness and promise and hope and what if's.

I realized the other day that as much as I wish I could go back to those baby times and spend a day or two, there will come a point where I will look back on these teenage years as well, and equally long for them. Having my kids all under one roof where I could try my best to protect them, keep them relatively safe, where they weren't sleeping around, waking up in strangers houses, getting fired or God knows what other bad stuff happens to us. While there are bad days, it isn't that bad. And as I was taking the laundry downstairs, I realized I will be equally as able to evoke these memories by simply walking into Ambercrob!e or V!ctoria's Secret and inhaling. My daughter's room, clothes, hair, notebook, backpack and gym bag all reek of it.

And it's a good thing. I have to say, I feel bad for those who won't have the pleasure of raising a girl. While I believe it is 10 times harder than raising a boy, the reward is 10 times sweeter. She smells sweet, she looks sweet, she sounds sweet....as sweet as candy. She smile sweet, she hugs me sweetly. She is sugary. She is yummy. She is a royal pain in the ass, but a very sweet pain.

Jack, Jack, Jack....what can we say about Jack on this beautiful sunshiney February day. For starters, he is back on his ventriloquist kick. He walks around all day trying to perfect talking with out using moving his lips. He researches ventriloquist dolls on Ebay from his DSi and has found a couple he'd like me to look at. Really? Cause here;s the thing....he used to be TERRIFIED of puppets....ventriloquist dolls in particular. What else? A few months ago he decided to change his name to Mango, and asked us all to address him only as Mango. I told him, Uh no, Jack I am not calling you Mango....I am calling you Jack. Last week I picked him up from his after school dodge ball class and the long term sub stopped me to tell me a funny story about my son.....She went on to say " And I told him Mango, no, you can't do XYZ and how funny is that?" to which I replied "Please, do not call him Mango. We are kinda trying to discourage the whole Mango thing...K?" He is still working out four times a week. He really likes the speed and agility training, and the weight lifting....doesn't care at all for the cardio. Him and dad are still running. They have some plan and apparently are doing quite well on it. We got him signed up for Spring flag football... We shall see how that goes.

We are headed downtown tomorrow to see Legally Blonde and having dinner at Mother's first three other mom's and daughters. This means Dagny misses basketball practice. Dagny asked yesterday if she could skip the show and go to practice instead. She really needs to chill with the whole basketball thing. My God woman.

OK, off to work I go....

weekend wrap-up

2010-02-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

This was a much needed weekend.

Our weekends for the past month to six weeks have been spent at B-ball tourneys, games are like at 8:45, 2:15 and 5:10 in like, Canby. So you pretty much spend all day both days watching basketball. Mondays roll around and I am EXHAUSTED. I can't BELEIEVE it is Monday as I have not had any down time. This weekend we had no games on Sunday and it was unbeleivable how much we got accomplished. The laundry is done AND Put away....the kids didn't have to fish out clothes to wear from the dryer. The floors are mopped. The bathroom is sparkling. Looking ahead we only have one game on each for each weekend.....that means the next two weekends basicly off. Dagny will be pissed as she is so wrapped up in basketball and loves her weekends with the girls. Mom and dad can't wait to not sit on a bleacher for 15 hours.

Basketball, this weekend was an exciting tourney. We played Liberty first and at half time, they just zeroed out the scoreboard and kept score on paper....we weren't even beating them that bad, it was like 40 to 11. Our parents were grumbly as we had no idea what the score was. Final score was 66 to 19 I believe. Next game was against Lincoln and the score was about the same 60 something to 22. Our last game was against Clackamas who have beaten us both times we have played them this year. Our 8th grade girls played them earlier in the day and lost. Our girls were out for blood. I didn't go to the game because games like those are just too hard for mommy to watch. Anyhoo, the girls were all "Uh-huh....not in our house" and they prevailed beating Clackamas 35-30. We are headed out there again Wednesday night. it would be phenomenal if we beat them again making us 2 and 2. I am sure they are who we will be playing in the TRL end of season tourney. And we simply have to win.

We stayed home this Superbowl and didn't have anyone over which was great. We haven't done that in a few years. But we needed to just be home. dagny stayed in her jammies all day, Jack played outside and with the other neighbor kids. Mom and dad did chores and read. It was heavenly. The numbers for RH's middle school are 37 RH's kids applied to stay for MS and we only take 60 kids. We received almost 100 applications, so we are holding are first lottery. I wish we could pick and choose who we want because there are some great families trying to get in. Jack's class is going to be a great one.

So in the past four months I have lost 20 pounds. What I am realizing now is, I am flabby, soft and it's icky. We have a universal gym in our garage and I am afraid I am going to have to start using it. I realllllly don't want to, but I can't be all soft now can I.

OK, off to work I go.

I love you Friday

2010-01-29T07:55:00.000-08:00

Because you are my day off. My day off form my work, my kids and my husband. Alotta shit happens on Fridays.

Dagny's game last night was apparently amazing. The score was something like 77-19 and I am so glad I wasn't there to see it. Know why? Because I CRY. I am a great big stoopid head and can't help it. I feel so, so awful for the other team. The girls get so upset and it just breaks my heart. When we play games like that, our girls get super cocky and comfortable and start playing like the Harlem Globetrotters, taking crazy shots and making them. It is rough to watch. Dagny scored 11 which is great for her. The score got so high as our players kept taking three pointers and obviosuly making them. Glad the game was past my bed time and I had to stay home.

As I have mentioned before, I listen to Rosie every morning and I am developing an unnatural obsession with her. I have come to think of her as one of my good friends and miss her on days like today when we don't "talk". One of her most talked about subjects are her kids, and the struggles we all face raising teen-agers. The thing is, when you think about having children, you know that one day you will have a teenager....you just don't think about it. I mean really, really think about it. Oy vey. Yesterday the discussion was about drugs, and the fact that more than likely your children are going to do/try drugs. To deny that is setting yourself up for failure. If by some miracle they don't? Great. But the reality is, they are and I look at drugs/alcohol and I see what it has done to my father's life, and knowing genetics, the likelihood of one of my kids having problems with drugs, could be pretty high. It keeps me up at night, worrying, worrying, worrying. The next 5 years scares the shit out of me.

So here it is, another week down, another month just about over. Today is my day to relax, try to catch up. Hopefully clean the floors and get that chocolate milk that was spilled sometime this week mopped up. Perhaps I will take a nap in between the mountains of laundry I have to do. Or maybe I will just get caught up on Real Housewives of 0range County and The Millionaire Matchmaker.....

NY resolutions

2010-01-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

I had one.

One.

One fuckin' resolution.

And you know what it was?

Get back to blogging.

How have I been doing?

Pretty good?

Jesus.

I love going back and reading my blog. I said to my self " Self, journaling your lives is one of the best things you have done for your children. Self, don't stop now." And that was my resolution. I even let MYSELF down. My children are going to need lots and lots of therapy. Lots.

January has just about come and gone in the blink of an eye. This month can be described in one word......Basketball. Well, this month, next month, and last month. Tonight will be day/night 5 of 7 in a row of basketball. We have Friday night off, and then a tournament saturday/sunday. This team she is on is serious. Last year she had weekday practice and a game or maybe at the most, a tournament on weekends. This week she has practice twice a week, games on the other two nights, and a tournament this weekend where she will probably play soemwhere between 2 and 4 games. But she freakin' loves it. LU-HUVS it. At the begining of the season, some games were hard for me to watch. Just some. Most games, like 94.5% of the time, the score ends up being 62-23 and it is just sad watching the poor opposing team. The other 5.5 % of the time we play a team as good as us, and those were the games I had trouble watching...because they are so intense and dramatic and rough. I thought I would throw up. However, now, I am to a point where I can watch regardless of the score or intensity because it is all a great big fuckin' blur or ponytails and uniforms and Jack asking for more money for the concession stand.

Jack still insists he wants to play football. He has asked for two years in a row and I have said no two years in a row, but the child will be entering middle school next year, and if he wants to put in the next 7 months to train, we will let him. Yesterday he started a speed and agility class, and on Tue/Thursdays he's taking conditioning/training class. He has the same teacher for both, so hopefully he can help jack assess his goals and make some progress over the next few months. Also, he and Brian have started running 3 days a week and are on a program Brian found. They came home Sunday completely sopping wet from their run. It was very, very sweet. He has officially decided to stay at RH's next year for middle school, and it sounds like he will be in good company as many of his classmates are staying as well. I am dreading two middle schoolers mostly for the crushing amount of homework we will have, but very much looking forward to not having to divide my time up between two schools, two schedules.

Sunday is the anniversary of my grandpa dying. It will be two years. Two years since my saddest loss. Two years ago I was crushed and mostly really, really angry that he was gone. Like, crazy with anger. Enraged. I didn't know what the hell my mom was going to do, or if she was going to make it at all. But she did, and I did, and one of us got a tattoo. That is how the McSilly's roll.

2010

2009-12-31T07:51:00.001-08:00

Yesterday on the news, they did a re-cap of the past decade. And it kinda killed me a little. Looking back and remembering NYE 1999, God, that was like, 5 minutes ago. We had a great little party. There were a bunch of kids there, we had a ton of fireworks we let off at midnight. The world in fact, did not end. But if it had, I am not ashamed to admit, I had a shit load of water, food and supplies ready. My kids were 1 and 3, making them now 11 and 13. HTF did that happen. And what scares me even further is, in the mere blink of an eye, they will be 21 and 23.

Unlike most people, I don't do resolutions. NYE does not indicate anything more to me then a different date to write on the two checks a year that I write. My New Years comes every September with back to school. That is when I make all of my promises to be better organized, clean the house more efficiently, blah, blah, blah. September is always my clean slate....never bleak nasty ass January. We will do nothing tonight. Looking back over some of my past NYE posts, I can be reminded of happier times, as well as incredibly sad times.....two years ago my world was falling apart. three years ago we weren't in a recession and I was willing to spend $300 on one concert ticket and my daughter was still slightly into HSM and Zac and all that other crap. Times were good. four years ago I did have some resolutions....and they were crazy.....are you ready? I was going to "eat better" and "excersice more". Original, no? five years ago I was apparently getting ready to sign my kids up for sports. Yawn.

So no big party for the McSilly's. We were invited to friends' parties, but I just can't see taking the risk of going out on a night like tonight. Amatuer night where all the non-proffesional drinkers are out there driving and being stoopid. No thanks. I will stay home and snuggle these babies while they still want to spend their NYE at home with us.

2009-12-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

Dagz is back head over heels in love with Basketball.

This is a good thing because last year, she was done. She hated it. She went from a girl last December wishing she "never had to go to school again and could just play basketball all day long" to a girl who despised the sport, everything about it and never wanted to play again. This was dangerous territory for us since we knew basketball could and should be a big part of her future, and we wanted to nudge and prod her into continuing, without pushing her which would of course, completely backfire in our faces. In hindsight there were a number of reasons why last seasons was a bust, none of which I will go into on line. Just sayin' yeah, hindsight is really 20/20.

The thing is, she gets such an incredible amount of support and encouragement for the people she is playing for, how can she not completely thrive. This year she has these phenomenal women coaches. They are young, hip and 2 out of 3 of them are TALL. They are recent ex-players for the high school and the main thing it seems you need to be a female basketball player is, a shit load of attitude. And these women bring it. And the girls know it and completely respect it and know that what these women are saying is the truth. Dagz has always had male coaches up until this year and I have to say....omfg what a difference these ladies are making with these girls. Her coaches aren't only teaching her the game, the skills, the drills, they are teaching them how to walk the walk of a player with their heads held high and slapping each other on the ass when their teammates complete a phenomenal play. Tonight the JV coach took 4 of the girls up to the high school just so the girls could practice. How many other 12 year olds get that? I am praying this streak will last, cause right now she is riding high....

Christmas break is upon us. Funny how that just snuck right the hell up. I didn't do Christmas cards (again) the kids haven't had their yearly photo taken with Santa, I haven't baked a fucking thing...however! My tree is up! My shopping is done! My kids aren't sick! So all in all, I am considering myself ahead of the game.... I am looking forward to Christmas and wrapping my arms areound the greatest present of all my family could receive.....my cousin returning home from Afghanastan to spend the holidays with us. My aunt is going to be a complete mess, I just know it. But who wouldn't be....I can't imagine my sweaty stinky son flying off to that God forsaken place. I can only begin to imagine the utter joy she will feel this holiday. And even though it is Christmas "break"....our week is now jammed pack with evening event after evening event for the next two weeks...parties, basketball, concerts, birthday parties, christmases, more birthday parties ( Dagny has an unusual amount of friends, including herself, that have December birthdays.....We are calling them the Jingle Babies), and getting together with friends we haven't seen in months. We are all trying to cram into two weeks what we have neglected for 6 months. I can't wait!

Bob

2009-12-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

So Bob came in today....

Now mind you around these parts it is fricking cold as shit. COLD! Like 20 I think....Not really sure as I don't watch local news, listen to nothing but Rosie all day long in my car and once I get home I am either decorating a fucking Christmas tree, helping someone with homework, or driving to basketball practice....so no, don't know what the temps are/are supposed to be/or are going to be anytime soon.

Anyhoo, Bob.....

Bob came in today fresh off the MAX wearing his pea coat, a fabulous knit hat, winter steel toed boots. And I just about died. Died because he looked good. Like not all disheveled, out of sorts and generally lost. He looked better then I had ever seen him look. And I thought about Bob, and the fact that' he;s been coming there for 15 + years, and how so easily I, and many others, would quickly look at Bob as he made a comment to us on the bus, or in line somewhere and thought ignorantly, "ugh, seriously?" And how quick we are to judge, and how I am sure we are wrong 97% of the time in our judgement.

We spent our weekend watching our daughter get her ass kicked in a basketball tournament which, actually, was a good thing. The team she plays on is really, really good, and this weekend she was asked to play up in an 8th grade 3A tournament. The team consisted of 3 8th graders, 3 7th graders, and 2 6th graders....against a whole lotta "getting ready for high school" girls basket ball players. Our girls did not fair well, and although many tears were shed, I think it provided a good learning opportunity on how it feels to lose, and how one wants to be treated upon defeat. No gloating please.

During said tourney, my son came down with the throw ups....they started Thursday evening where he, for the first time in God knows how long, did not make the toilet. This was one wicked bug doing EVERYTHING it could to make it;s way outside of my son's body....both ends. Do not make me go into detail. Anyhoo, we are driving home from the tournament Saturday evening and I can tell he is getting ready to blow ( he breathes a certain way, don't ask...he just does) I tell him " Jack, if you are going to throw up, you HAVE to roll down your window and throw up OUTSIDE of the car...do you understand??" he tells me yes, ok, I get it......

30 seconds later, window goes down. I look in my rear view window and see his little head poop out the window and the chunks start to fly ( we are on a freeway, 'natch) . Problem was, I didn't say to him "open up the window and TURN YOUR HEAD DOWNWARDS" and therefor my poor 11 year old son puked face first into the wind showering himself, and the inside of the car, with our first, and most delightful vomit shower. When we pulled in a few minutes later, he got out of the car with what can best be described as a nourishing puke hair and facial mask that we quickly cleansed in the shower and followed up with a nourishing moisturizer. I am hoping this weekend's lesson will be recalled that fateful night in college while in the back seat after the rush party and mah baby will remember to tilt his head downward....

The adventures of me in my Mad-Cap Mini-Van: Friday December 3, 2004

2009-12-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

And Happy 5 year anniversary to this little blog o'mine......Here is the first post ever.

The adventures of me in my Mad-Cap Mini-Van: Friday December 3, 2004

2009-12-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

So I have this job, and boy does it have a cast of characters. My old job did too....The Regulars. One of my new Regulars is named Bob, short for Robert. He has been coming to our restaurant for 15 years. Bob has three teeth and I think that might be it. There could be some molars back there, but I haven't asked to look around in there, so I don't really know. Bob is a cobbler. He cobbles shoes. He tells me every day all about the shoes he cobbles, and all of the details each shoe requires. It is actually very interesting.

Bob comes in every day, usually around three, and sits in the lobby and talks to me. He talks, and talks and oh boy, the stories he tells. To sum up Bob thus far, he is probably in his 70's, he has those three teeth, and if you didn't know him, you would assume he was homeless. I did for about the first month we spent together. However, he is not homeless. He does live in an adult Foster care facility as he is waiting for a lung transplant and can't live on his own. He uses my phone every day to call the homeowners and tell him he won't be home for dinner. He does this because it's "the right thing to do", it is respectful. I am assuming some days he does actually go home for dinner, because why else would he need to call every time I see him....wouldn't they just know he eats dinner out every night?

Anyhoo, Bob has three daughters and was in the army most of his life. He has lived just about everywhere. He has told me All Of The Places He has Lived a number of times. But I won't bore you with that. I know that about 8 years ago a judge saved his life. Bob was a hard core alcoholic for the majority of his life. He has shared with me many of his army drinking days, and then later in life how he would consume about a bottle a day of whiskey. HE would start drinking when he got off work, and then would wake up in the morning and have no idea how he got there. Every morning. He would need to call bar to bar to bar and get the evening pieced back together until he could find out where his car was...which bartender had put him in a cab the night before. Eventually after his second DUI a judge demanded treatment for his alcoholism and he has been clean ever since. HE has shown me the stunning liver spots on his body as his liver is on it's way out. They are startling. His heart is on it's way out as well. He currently takes 17 pills a day to keep himself running, everything from cholesterol fighting pills to heavy anxiety medications. And he is still hoping for that lung transplant.

Bob tells me about some of the characters he lives with. The one that breaks my heart the most is the quadriplegic roommate. 12 years ago, when he was in his 30's, he and his family were struck by a drunk driver. It killed one of his sons and turned him into a quad. Your entire life completely annihilated in one fucking second. They sued and received $250, 000. $250, 000 was all his son's life, as well as his, was worth. His wife blew through the money in two years and then divorced him. And now he is living his life in foster care where no one ever comes to see him. Not his other two sons, not his two brothers. No one. They do the best they can for him at the facility, turning him, trying to relieve the bed sores but it's not enough. He lost one of his legs recently....he begged them to take both of his legs because why not? He certainly doesn't need them and eventually he will need the other one removed as well. His limbs are just rotting off. They wouldn't of course. So there this man sits, day in, day out, essentially just waiting to die. It makes me cry. Seriously, it does. That is someones baby boy laying there rotting away. WTF kind of sons does he have? WTF are his BROTHERS?

I love my hour long conversations with Bob. I wait for them. When I began working there, I would see Bob and think " Great, now I have to sit and talk to this guy for an hour". But now seeing Bob is one of the highlights of my day. I am disappointed when Bob doesn't stop by. I couldn't wait to hear about Bob's Thanksgiving. I asked how his sister's pies turned out ( she cooked for two days prior to Thanksgiving arrival) , I found out they had duck, prime rib, as well as Turkey, I heard about the gazillions of side dishes. His sister cooks everything and no one else lifts a finger. Crazy. Bob takes the MAX down to the mall and his brother in law drives out from Scapoose to pick him up and bring him out there. I am so grateful Bob has family who does that for him. Bob's daughters take good care of him as well, although none live local. Bob had numerous properties in Portland that he bought way back when and let people rent them. HE has sold them all now for quite a lot of money, and one of his daughters who is an attorney, manages his money. Bob is well cared for and I am grateful.

I am thankful for the arrival of December and the simplicity of our schedules. Next week is the wrap of Lego Robotics and swim team....which means we have two nights free as a family. Ya-fucking-Hoo. This means things like homework will be done at a normal hour, and not completely half assed. This is good. Christmas break will be here before you know it, and I will shift my schedule around to be home more with mah babies. We are in another basketball tournament this weekend....this one is in Happy Valley/Clackamas. Thankfully our 8:45 game last night got cancelled because I was so not looking forward to that drive. The JV coach offered to drive Dagz to the 8:00 game this morning since Jack has had the throw-ups since Thursday. This morning he is downing Jello so I hope this is the turning point.

All is well with the McSillys

The simple(r) life

2009-11-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

So volleyball is over, which means dagny is down to just one sport....Ah, the ease of only having to go to one practice a night. Tonight instead of volleyball from 6:00- 7:30 and then B-Ball from 7:30 to 9:00, we just have the 7:30-9:00 spot. Sure she won't get home until 9:15, and won't be able to fall asleep until sometime after 10:00, but just think ! of the family time! the homework getting done! It is truly ! a Christmas miracle !

So life is getting simpler....Sunday was Jack's last drum lesson for the term. Both Lego's and Swim team end mid December, so his schedule will be free and clear. We are hosting Thanksgiving and the menu is already, and planned. Dagny is due up in Seattle Friday night for an exhibition game, and then a tournament Saturday/Sunday. I haven't decided yet if Jack and I are tagging along. After living there and making that drive over and over, I just can't stomach it. I dreaded that 3 hour drive alone with a 6 month old and a two year old.....too scared to pull over at rest stops if I needed to for fear of the boogeyman. The worst part of that drive is Chehalis thru Centralia. But once we GOT there, Jack and I could go see our old neighbors, go downtown to the science museum, take him to the pier....all the things I used to do to try and entertain mah babies.

Work is going well, I have a three day week this week, and then I go up to 5 thru December. We have hired two new hosts which I am grateful for because come Christmas break, I am not going to want to be gone all day every day. One of them can stay for me, or work my shift if need be. I do have to say, I love my job. Being a front desk queen is really, the best job in the world for me. I have to get up and look pretty every day, put on my pearls and lipstick and heels, while maintaining the flow of 200 people having lunch making sure I don't lose anyone. You have to be proffesional and witty, reading your clients. A group of 4 business men need different attention than three mothers with their toddlers. Yesterday I had a single business man I needed to seat and asked him if he would prefer a booth or a table. His reply was " Anywhere I can watch you". The restaurant business is like that......it is fast, fun, and a lot of work. We are all actors putting on a show for our guests, and we all must look good doing so. I have lost 12 pounds since I started working and I don't know if it's due to running around 5 hours a day, on not sitting around the house eating all day, either way I definitely haven't lost the weight in my neck. WTF? My co-workers, especially my Mo's are hillarious and shower me with love, naughty humor, and fashion tips. Now if I didn't have to drive there every day, I would be a happy camper. But I guess I can't have EVERYTHING.

It took me 15 tries and I eventually gave up and had to reset my password

2009-11-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

That is how long it has been since I have blogged apparently.

This Fall is just passing by and before I know it, Christmas will be here and I will be doing my best to keep up with the kids, the decorating, the job, the homework, and maybe in January, I will get my hair cut. I am hoping to hold off until then so that way I can make it a solid YEAR without going to the hairdresser. Yes, you read that right. My hair and my eyebrows are 100% all natural at this point. Cra-Zy.

A lot has happened around these parts starting back in September. I started working again and while my hours are 10:30- 4:00, I actually leave the house around 9:45 because I never know what the Sunset is going to look like. When I get off, I am home somewhere between 4:20 and 5:00 depending on traffic. So suddenly I am working *about* 9 to 5 and thinking "hmmm, wtf did that happen?" It just sort of snuck up on me, and I feel like I am still 100% trying to adjust to life as a working mom. Every single moment of after work time is spent either cooking, cleaning, putting away laundry, helping with the hours and hours of homework my daughter has a night, and then shuttling one child or the other off to their sports and/or activities. Right now Dagny is only involved in one extracurricular activity which is basketball, but practice doesn't end until 9:00, she gets home around 9:20, then she needs to eat dinner ( can't eat before or else she will throw up) , so she gets to bed probably around 11:00. jack's schedule is more managable with most events ending by 7:00 or so, but between the two of them, family dinners are a thing of the past, which I swore I would never let happen. But, here we are. I am trying to believe this is only for basketball season, and come February, we will all be under one roof again. A girl can dream.

This past weekend was filled with all kinds of McSilly milestones. Some are private, some not so much, like my son turning 11 today. We celebrated this weekend with friends and family and a swim meet for good measure. A swim meet he insisted on NOT attending...he was so pissed. Anyhoo, big weekend round these parts. More to come I am sure.

I would love to write more....to tell all about how well things are going, jobs, grades, kids, everything. But I can't. Dagny and dad are at basketball, Jack is playing Legos, and all mommy wants to do, is close her eyes and lay down "just for a second"

2009-10-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

Jack, 9:00 PM: "No offense mom, but people always seem to roll their eyes at you."

So I guess she was nice yesteday

2009-09-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

since I didn't post =)

Tonight Dagny has a friend over as they are going to basketball practice later on. Basketball girls are a special group. Not sure how to describe them other that that....Special.

Anyhoo, we are having dinner and we are discussing whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable and how confusing tomatoes are. Dagny blurts out " Yeah, they aren't vegetables or fruits....they are like bi-sexual or something". I dropped my fork, and my jaw, her girlfriends BURSTS out laughing, spewing water everywhere. Dagny immediately turns 10 shades of red.

Later, Jack wants to look up a web address that was given to him by a friend. Apparently his friend created a website and it was really funny. Jack had the URL written down, but couldn't find it. So he thought he would google some of the words in the web address to see if that would help. He typed in "dark and awesome webs". The first link at the top of the page? "Free porn chat:Nude adults cams naked rooms"

These are some good times.

So I have this idea....

2009-09-26T08:14:00.001-07:00

Even if I have nothing else to update or post, I will post one line of the day out of my daughter's mouth. That way, when she looks back and reflects over this here blog I have created for the past five years, and she relives her life, her upbringing, her day to day existence....she can look at these years and truly appreciate what a good mother I actually was, and what amazing patience and control I displayed to her.

Scene from this week.....

I make the children's lunches every day. Everyday it is their responsibility to get me their lunch boxes. This happens sometime between the time they get home from school, to the next morning when they are packing up and getting ready. This has been the routine for oh, about 8 years.

I was packing Jack's lunch up and yelled up to my sweet princess " Dagz, I need your lunch box". About 5 minutes later there was a "storm, storm, storm, storm" down the stairs.....

She storms over to her backpack brings it it in, slams it on the counter, pulls out the lunch box, throws it on the counter and says to me "Looks like someone needs a lesson on how a backpack works".

And so begins our day.

13 is right around the corner. Good times.

So yes there is the storming, but there is also all these wonderful moments of mother daughter grown up talk which is really, really meaningful as well as insightful. It gives me glimmers of the woman that she is oh so slowly and painstakingly becoming. Last night she went to the Friday night high school football game along with all of the other middle schoolers. They all hang out in groups, packs, cliques, eyeing each other up, hanging with all the kids from the other middle school who they will eventually go to school with in two short years. She comes home with the stories, who said what to who, who swore the most, the 8th graders who sneak up to the top of the bleachers and spit on cars, who called who a slut. She knows many of the high schoolers because they went to elementary/middle school with her. She sees them now with boyfriends and girlfriends and she sees them making out. She comes home and tells me everything, or perhaps almost everything. She knows I won't judge and I won't repeat. She is starting to see some of my advice pay off. Like she will see so and so girl who is dressed like a hooker and acting like one as well. She says "OMG mom, you were SO right about that girl!" Sad to say that you can look at a 10 year old and get a pretty good idea of where she is going, but for the most part, you can. So yes, we have the storming, but knowing it is all part of the course of her trying to break free a little bit at a time, watching her stretch those little fluffy downy wings of hers, excercing them daily to make them stronger and stronger. Watching her start to flap them...picking and choosing my battles.

Today is our Middle School Car Wash. I started the Car Wash last year and swore it was my first and last time doing one. However somehow, I got roped in again. And apparently they thought last year's was so successful, that they would do TWO this year! Yeah me! Last year I couldn't walk the next day. Washing cars for four hours is very, very hard work. But thank God the weather is beautiful.....It should be a success.

She's feeling it

2009-09-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Lucy.

I don't think she quite got it....the thing we did Friday night. She was probably optomistic, thinking she was at spa, getting her teeth and nails done. Or maybe one of those overnights at the vet where she gets her IV full of fluids and is home the next day. Or maybe at a sleepover at a friends house, but surely she would be coming home soon.

Someone asked me how Lucy was taking it, I said " Fine, absolutely no change"

But today, she is clearly sad, she is depressed. Her head is low, her tail doesn't wag, she isn't as excited as usual. Instead of following us from room to room, she lays in the living room. Maybe, she is waiting.

I try to talk to her about it.....I do the " WOOO WOOOOO" , she wags her tail like yes, yes, yes, and I pet her and love her and say no honey, no. Hoping to explain to her that no, the WOO WOOOOOOO is gone. We have forever lost the woo woo.

But today, I am good. Saturday was a fucking bitch. Seriously. Sunday was rough-ish. Today was better. I have a candle burning in our room where that beast laid for many moons. I love looking over at that candle and seeing it flicker away. I think there she is, there is her spirit. Still here.

He always wanted a mastiff

2009-09-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Years and years ago, Brian was the GM of Jazz de 0pus. A few storefronts down a woman had a shop.....I can't remember the shop or what she sold, but she had these two giant mastiffs. Beautiful dogs. They would lay out on NW 2nd watching the homeless, druggies, drunkards, and general dregs of the earth traipsing by day after day. They were enormous dogs. 3 or 4 feet tall. Brian would stop by and see them every day and he would say to me "THAT is the dog I am going to get" I always though it was because at 6'6" the mastiffs came up to him around the same spot say a lab or a golden came up to a regular sized person. Also, there is something about being a giant that makes you in your own class. Those Mastiffs looked at Brian and he looked back and I think they got each other.... Like man, isn't it a bitch being this huge.

About 8 years after that, we were finally in a house big enough, with a yard, where the possibility of owning a Mastiff was actually doable. We had one dog, a retarded lab, named Barkley who would eventually self destruct. But our family wasn't complete. Having one dog is never a good idea. Dogs need companionship. So we started thinking about that Mastiff....Daddy's Mastiff. I didn't want to buy from a ~~puppy mill whore~~ breeder so I thought about rescuing one. I contacted the Mastiff rescue society, filled out my paper work, they sent someone out to interview the family, inspect the property, interact with Barkley the retard, all to see if we would pass inspection and be lucky enough to rescue one of their breeds. Things looked good, but we needed to wait.

Months went by, and eventually we got the phone call. A mastiff was dumped at the Columbia animal shelter by a known breeder who had claimed they had "found her". The Mastiff people swooped in and placed her in foster care to have her evaluated where she lived for a few weeks. She passed all of her tests, and they wanted to know if we would like to go out and see this little girl and perhaps make her apart of our home. We were giddy....besides ourselves with excitement. FINALLY our mastiff had arrived and we were all atwitter with excitement. On the way out we had all sorts of conversations....What would she look like, what wold we call her, how BIG will she be.

We arrived in a less than desirable neighborhood, not bad-bad, but not very good. The houses were small, maybe two bedrooms. Crappy cars, garbage kinda piled up, no sidewalks, 500 toys on each front lawn. You get the idea. We found our house and entered. The woman explained what they knew of Katie's history that she too, had small children, and Katie had been excellent with them, etc. We stood there impatiently like yeah yeah yeah, bring out the dog. When it was time, we all kinda looked at each other, all excited, all here she comes !! And instead of a grand majestic four foot lion dog, out walked the saddest looking "dog" any of us had ever seen. She was maybe a foot and a half to her shoulders, her back was so swayed and her nipples nearly hit the ground from being bred, and bred, and bred. She was still recovering from the chop shop neutering they do at the pound ( not the Humane Society) and my God, she was the most sorriest looking Mastiff I had ever layed eyes on.

"What do you think?" the woman asked. I wanted to burst out laughing and say "Is this a joke? you're joking right? Stop it. Brian, let's GO" . But to my left my husband said "Well I think she's just great! Right Silly?" and I looked at her again. And then again, and then she looked at me and through her Jedi-ways said to me "Listen, get me the fuck out of here, trust me, it'll work". The kids were already head over heels and I knew there was no going back. We took "Baby" loaded her into the mad cap mini van, and hightailed it back to the right side of town.

"KATIE!!!" said Brian once we were in the car "Katie is her name!! Isn't it Katie?" and that right there kicked off the next seven years of Brian having conversations with his dog. We brought her home and had to to the daunting task of a. introducing her to another dog and b. living with the two dogs while they try to figure out who's the top and who's the bottom. When we brought Katie out to the deck, Katie literally cowered to the floor and kinda sat there tail between her legs ( the tail remained between her legs for about the first 2 years she lived here. Most likely due to being raped her whole life and she was covering that no-no whole anyway she could) She moved around on the deck a little tail between her legs while Barkley the retard sniffed, jumped, pawed, licked, did anything he could to get his new, ahem, playmate to react. She looked kinda like a turtle and was showing no signs of coming out. That damn dog pestered here and pestered her and eventually, she snapped, and she lunged, and bark growled, and all of us peed a little cause good god was that ever scary, but who it scared the most was Barkley who was like "OK, OK, we cool, calm down little mama".

Eventually the two became BFF's and Katie settled in. She was very much Brian's girl and I was her second choice. The kids? The kids she knew, were children. And being a wise old mother herself many times over, she showed them patience, she showed them protection, ( people would start roughhousing with either Barkley or the kids and I would have to say "you don't want to do that, seriously, you need to stop, no I mean it" and then she would lunge and they would shit their pants and i would say " I kinda tried to tell you" She would never bite, just lunge at you and scare you a little.....I always wondered what would happen if an real bad guy ever got in, what she would have done to him) and she put up with them. They would dress her up and, I bet when I wasn't looking, probably tried to ride her now and then.

Last year, around October, I started to think we were getting close. Brian laughed, "DID you hear that Katie? Mommy is so silly....go get em Katie" and she would.....she would lumber off with Lucy, trying to keep up, trying to get those ever allusive damn squirrels, big soft floppy ears flapping. Lucy would race back and forth for 30 minutes, Katie would race once, decide " yeah, not so much", and then lay down in the grass, roll her big self on her back and look over at her family which always killed us. You see upside down, when all those jowls were hanging upside down, she appeared to be smiling the biggest damn smile, she looked like The Joker, like she was grinning from ear to ear. And the second best part of that was that she felt safe enough to roll over and show her belly.....that my friend, took about 4 or 5 years to happen, and when it did....so totally worth it. Anyhoo, for about the past 10-11 months, she has slowly declined. Watching a massive animal like that try to get up and down can be painful. She slept more and more, getting up and down the stairs wasn't pretty, just generally slowed way way down.

When we got Katie, she was "between 3 and 5 years old". We of course didn't know as she was dumped, but by looking at her teeth, this was their best guess. We have had Katie for 7 years this month, this making her somewhere between 10 and 12. If you Google how long do Mastiff's live, you get this:

"As you may already suspect, giant breeds as a rule do not live as long as smaller dogs. Some Mastiffs will live to be twelve or thirteen years of age- but by far the majority of Mastiffs do not live past ten years of age. Many will only live to be seven to ten years old.

The past week or so, she went down hill fast. Real fast. She quit eating around Tuesday and quit getting up about that same time. She would get up to go to the bathroom ( and didn't make it about 75 % of the time....thank you hardwoods) Wednesday was the last time I saw her drink any water, but Brian said she drank Friday morning. Thursday night she needed to be carried to bed and Friday when I got up with her, she was just laying there motionless with black ooze coming out her behind. She didn't even know she was poopin'. It was then I knew. I called B and he agreed which scared me because it made it real. I called the vet to ask about details and that is when I started to cry, and not just like tears....like unable to speak, which is great when you are calling a place of business trying to get you know, information. It was not good. I then called my mommy who, is so funny, I was all crying and couldn't get the words out and she said " What? What? WHAT?? OK, I'll be right there!!!" which made me laugh because now that I have a child I get it. It doesn't matter that she didn't know what I was trying to say, or what we had to do....you just automatically say I'LL BE RIGHT THERE !! when you hear your child crying, even if your child is pushing 40....you'll just BE RIGHT THERE forever.

So the appointment was made for 4:45. The kids and I took turns lying with her all day, sobbing into her fur, whispering all of their I Love You's, and Thank You's, and I Will Miss You's. It was sad, but everyone knew it was right. Keeping her alive would have been selfish. Brian left work and we drover her over together, him picking her up to put her in the car, picking her up to get her out of the car, and picking her up again to get her off the vets waiting room floor and into her room. The vet looked her over, and yes, yes, it is time, what a good life she has had. All this time she stood, her head in Brian's hands staring right into his eyes. My mom said she would look at us and we would be able to tell, she would be saying thank you. Finally, thank you. but she didn't look that way at all. She was staring at Brian like " I don't know what we are doing her dad, but I trust you and I will do what ever you want" She never took her eyes off of him.

The first shot was to relax her....the vet said she would relax and lay down. The shot went in, and she stood there, not even flinching, head in Brian's hands staring. And she stood. And stood. And stood some more. I was like God damn that is just like her, stubborn thing. Vet came in...."Not feeling it yet huh?" Nope, not our Katie. But eventually she did, her labored breathing relaxed and I swear she was like "OMG yes, where has THIS feeling been all my life". She layed her self down, and rested and breathed easy for the first time in a week. They then shaved her arm, found a vein, popped in the second needle, and we waited, 10 seconds was about all it took, and she was gone. Peaceful as could be. I won't get into the tears, the heartache because we all know it's was there.

The drive to the vet was in complete silence, neither of us could speak because what is there to say when you are off to kill one of your own. The drive back was back started the same way. Neither of could speak. Eventually I said to Brian " Lot less dog food".

He replied " Less dog poop"

me "less dog hair"

Him " Lot more sleeping through the night"

me "Our house won't stink"

silence

me " No more "WOO-WOOOOOOOO's"

silence

When we got home, we started to clean things up, mostly Katie's sleeping area which was utterly gross. She wasn't a very clean dog, lets just say and baths did little to help. We threw her bed out, cleaned the walls ( trust me if, unless you have lived with a slobber dog you don't know what I am talking about) cleaned the floors, swept and swept and wept ( typo but I am leaving it) and swept some more. I will be sweeping Katie hair for many more weeks. Cleaning to help with the healing.

This morning I woke up to rain. It hasn't rain-rained in weeks. Katie is making it rain to help clean out the backyard, wash away all the mess she left behind, all of the diarrhea for the past week, getting rid of her peeps so that Lucy isn't reminded of the BFF she just lost, she is washing everything clean back there, and we are doing the same inside. Living with a 114 pound dying animal isn't a tidy event. There are a lot of messes to clean up, both before she died, and now after. Including two little broken heart who are learning about love and loss.

People keep asking if I will get another dog. I am not a fan of having one. Dogs are social animals. Dogs need to be with a pack. And sometimes the pack goes out to dinner, and guess what? You my friend are left home alone. When Barkley died, I lasted a week and I needed to get another dog, Katie and I needed to get another dog. But when Barkley died, the loss was different. Barkley was a loud social, tail wagging, greeting you at the door, knocking over the Christmas tree kinda dog. When Barkely left, the house was silent. Katie wasn't that kind of dog, she was big, but she was quiet, she slept most of the time, she didn't want to play fetch, or go for a walk, or wrestle on the floor. Katie was like Brian, only a dog. She wanted to sit back, observe, relax. She is gone, we are sad, but the house, the noise, the energy while different, isn't deafening different. We still have Lucy, and all of her wannagoforawalkwannagoforawalkwannagoforawalk energy. Brian says we will wait at least a month. Me? i am not even thinking about it yet.

When I googled that question about Mastiff's here are some other questions I found.....

Do Mastiffs Make Good House Dogs?

Mastiffs are wonderful house dogs whose only desire is to lie at their master's feet and to be loved. They are sometimes called 'velcro dogs' because of their tendency to follow their owner from room to room to be with them at all times. On the 'down side', a Mastiff takes up a lot of space on the floor, and their tail can clear a table of knick-knacks in the blink of an eye.

Are Mastiffs Good with Kids?

Mastiffs are often called 'Gentle Giants' because their normal demeanor is dependable, loyal, caring and docile. However, like any breed, if a Mastiff has been teased or frightened by children they may grow up to distrust and avoid them. Most Mastiffs who have been raised with children are patient, gentle and loving with them.

What About Drool?

Yes, Mastiffs do drool, mostly after eating, drinking, or exercise. Many Mastiff owners water their dogs outdoors, replacing their water several times a day to keep it fresh. However, drool still does happen. If you are not willing to wipe up some 'slingers' from your walls now and then, or carry a 'drool towel' with you, maybe a Mastiff isn't the right breed for you.

Are Mastiffs Active Dogs Or Are they Lazy?

Both! Some Mastiffs are athletic and playful and others are too dignified to lower themselves to chasing a ball or stick. Many Mastiffs will 'fetch' and enjoy playing with other dogs or their owners, for long stretches of time. Others would prefer to lie on the couch and watch agility trials on Animal Planet

Maybe I reconnect with the Mastiff Rescue folks......

Whyz I luvz him

2009-08-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Last week we were low on groceries, and even lower on cash.....Thursday night I said to my darling Brian "There isn't anything good in there. How about frozen pizzas ?! Again."

Brian pshawed me, asked me to step aside, and 30 minutes later called the family to dinner. Brian had created "Make Your Own Bento Night".....two types of chicken, peanut chicken or regular, rice, two types of fresh cabbage, green onions, sauteed spinach with garlic, shredded carrots, roasted red peppers. It was phenomenal.

We leave for the beach tomorrow. The kids, Jack especially, is beside himself with excitement. We hit Powells yesterday where he picked up 5 books on greek Mythology. He is especially excited to delve into Homer's The Odyssey. WTF I did to deserve a child like Jack is beyond me......

While down at the beach we will do all the back to school shopping. This has been our tradition for many, many years. Dagny has worked hard all summer to save up her funds and she is excited to spend them all. The trick is buying just the right pieces and praying no one else buys the same thing, because apparently in 7th grade this is a fate worse than death and you can never ever wear that particular piece of clothing again. Ever. Ever.

It is 8:25 which is the exact time school will be starting in a few weeks. At 8:25, currently both children are sacked out unconscious. This will not be helpful or good come September 8th.

2009-07-23T23:43:00.000-07:00

wtf is David Letteman doing on? ISn't it like 9:00?

2009-07-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

How the hell can it be Thursday already?

Thursday means Brian and I really only have tonight left. Friday we will have to go to bed at a reasonable hour cause we have to hit the road Bright and Early to drive up and get the chillin's. Pick up is between 10:00 and 11:30, however this year we know that people arrive about an hour earlier than that because of the God forsaken line of cars one must wait in to actually get into the camp. Which means your babies sit there for what seems like an enternity waiting to see their parents and it looks like mom and dad completely forgot to come and get them. Dagny asked us to PLEASE not be the LAST people to pick up their kids this year.

So this year we know to arrive early, we will probably need to get there around 9:00, which means we need to leave town around 8:00, which means we need to get up around 7:00, which hasn't happened in a week, which means momma needs to figure out how to go back to falling asleep at a reasonable hour. Good Luck with that.

I went over to a new mom's house last night ( new meaning I have only known her for a year) and had the most wonderful evening on her back porch with her and her husband. They are quiet simply, two of The Nicest People I have met in a very, very long time. I can not think of another couple I know who are that nice. They ooze niceness, and kindness, and the two of them together are simply delightful. They are a true breath of fresh air. Dagny and their son have become BFF's and so it is wonderful to get to know his parents, and to like them as much as I do.

So only about 48 hours left to savour. 48 quiet peaceful hours.

2009-07-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

I need to be getting ready to go to Leslee's for wine, but I am not....I am sitting here checking my STOOPID farm to see if I need to "harvest" anything. Do they make that shit specifically for people like me? People they know who have children away at camp, and a lot of free time on their hands? They must. I won't have any make-up on, but by god my fake non-existant flowers are watered. Phew.

2009-07-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

So the babies are gone again for seven long days. Last year I just about had a nervous breakdown while they were at camp. I couldn't STAND not knowing how they were doing. Every day I all but accosted our Mail Woman waiting for SOME sign of how they were, if they were happy or not, if Jack was miserable up there all alone. But none came. I wandered around aimlessly throughout the day, completely fucking lost. Night were good. Brian and I spent them going out, staying in, having crazy monkey sex like we did when we were 23. But still, I missed them. They have, of course, spent the night away before, but usually there was like, a PHONE, were I could at least hear them, have some communication with them, some reassurance. But a week at camp, you get nothing, nil, nada, zero. On about day 6 last year I did receive a card from Jack. Inside it read "Camping is hard" written backwards of course, so I needed to hold it up to a mirror and read it. It about broke me. The only thing that prevented me from driving up there and swooping him up was the fact that the next day was pick up day, and I knew he could make it one more night.

But that was last year.

This year, they have spent the ENTIRE year talking about camp, counting the months, weeks, days, hours until they could go. This year Jack is going with two of his buddies, and dagny is going with two of hers as well. This year I know that they are spending the week taking night hikes into the woods and camping under the stars. They are canoeing on lakes, playing on the shores of the Sandy, enjoying all you can eat of the most heavenly camp food created, enjoying their nightly campfires, partaking in wide games, swimming in the pool, taking their 7:00 AM polar plunges. They are weaving and looming, they are studying nature, they are making new BFF's that they continue to email all year long. Middle Schoolers have a dance, and this year dagny knows this, and knows to bring a beautiful dress to whip out for the evening. I know they are completely submerged in happiness, friendship, and sunshine. This year when Brian dropped Jack off, Jack's this-year-counselor noticed his Camp tshirt. He asked what year this one for him and Jack told him second.....he then said, "wait a minute, I remember you, I had you last year in my cabin" Jack looked up and couldn't believe it. He was so excited. They are in very very good hands.

Which leave me. Me with a week to do pretty much what ever I want. And man, is it EVER hard deciding how to spend one's day. So far today I have completed both the NY Times Crossword, as well as the Oregonian, eaten left over lemongrass chicken, taken a hot bath. And now what? Nap? Watch The View? Or one of the movies I have taped? Ride my bike to Michael's and pick up scrapbook stuff? Paint the ceiling? Yesterday Brian and I spent the day puttering. We drove out to the farm to buy more of the salsa I am addicted to, picked up a couple of plants for the bed beneath my kitchen window ( for some reason Lucy feels the need to dig up every damn thing I plant there) and went out to both lunch and dinner. We also napped a lot. All that relaxing is exhausting. As a matter of I am getting tired just thinking about it.....I may need to nap before I decide how to spend this day :)

2009-07-11T07:11:00.001-07:00

I don't know when I quit being a fighter.

Back when dagny was in Kindergarten, I was all political. I was fighting for dollars to be spent on public education, mainly Beaverton. I was part of the seed pod for her school, we met in kitchens, organized letter writing campaigns, licked stamps and wrote addresses by hand, organized the families to stand out front of the school holding signs, made cold calls to people in the district, etc. You name it.

And then I kinda quit fighting the fight.

And here we are years later, facing this recession and it is finally starting to hit Our School. Word on the street is we won't have Spanish next year. What is nice about Our School, and why many people choose to send their children there is, for middle school, our kids don't have to choose electives. They get them all. They get PE, they get Music ( they do have to choose between band and choir), they get art, they get Tech, and they get a language. They get it all. Until perhaps, this year. We may not have Spanish next year and this isn't fair. it isn't fair because somehow are Spanish teacher was on contract and contracts aren't being renewed. All of the red tape makes no sense to me, but somehow it isn't right. Luckily, we have a fabulous Squeaky Wheel and she is all up on our new principal. I saw her at the pool yesterday, told her the word on the street, and later that evening I was forwarded our Principal's reply to her letter stating that no, this is not an option. Our School isn't going to add "Study Hall" as an elective, because, please. C'mon, Study Hall? Oh, and if you want to know who voted which way on what measure in the House or Senate on any given day of the week., let me know. I can ask her and she will know :) I am glad SOMEONE is still fighting the fight. I hope our kids continue their Foreign Language Studies

This week Jack is off to Mac Camp and he is beyond excited. He has one day of Movie Camp and one day of Music Camp and you'd think he'd won the flipping lottery. He is chomping at the bit. He would make music and movies all day long if I'd let him. I have a feeling I will be fighting pretty hard for screen time when he gets home. Both dagny and I are working two days this week so we will have to coordinate driving.......I swore my kids would not get cars when they hit legal age, but I am starting to see the benefit of having your children be mobile. After all that is said and done, we are of to The Lodge for the night. How much money do those people spend on advertising? Jesus. Anyhoo, the kids have been BBBBBEEEEEEEGGGGGGIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG to go. Instead of begging, I told them " No one will let you go if you continue to beg....it sounds awful. Can't you come up with a Presentation on why you should go?" And the two of them were off. They created a three panel board complete with charts, graphs, statistics, etc. Jack put on his suit, Dagny put on A Dress! and they gave their spiel. They wowed the crowd and grandpa was won. I think the he was fianlly swayed when Dagny threw in "Pumpkin Pie" which was his name for her when she was little. So, we are off to The Lodge And yes, they serve cocktails......I already checked. Gramma and I will OK.

Looks like another day to be spent at the pool.....Off to pack our suits.

2009-07-10T10:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we ended up having a pretty good Field Trip Thursday....Grandma took us to lunch at Sushihana where Jack really overdid himself on strawberries, shrimp and creme puffs. I will give him credit for trying many of the items, in addition to the dim sum he ate for lunch on Wednesday, the boy is at least trying, and that is all we ask.

After lunch we drove Dagny to the bank to deposit the $80 she has earned from baby sitting children and dogs. She has two gigs next week so she is excited to make mo' money. Then we headed to the THPRD nature park and hiked for an hour. I thought this might kill grandma, but despite her whining, she persevered. Good Job Gramms. After hiking we went to open swim where I swam for about 30 minutes, and then realized my children wanted nothing to do with me. I swam laps for a while, begged them to play with me, and then got out, rejected, and went and read my book. Whatever Jerks.

Today will be a quiet day.....The kids did their hour of swimming while Em and I walked a couple of miles. I will shower, pick up the house, and hit the nickle arcade. Tonight we are off to Alpenrose to watch our favorite little softball player whoop ass. Hopefully we won't be home too late so mah babies can get to bed at a decent hour.

Not sure what we will do this weekend. Jack has drums, Jen's party was moved to August so we have Sunday free.....maybe a hike in the Gorge is in order? The children leave next weekend so we need to soak up as much family-ness as we can get this weekend :)

Oh Good

2009-07-09T18:08:00.001-07:00

Dagny is walking around with a bandana tied around her head pretending to be blind. This is a REALLY fun game. Jesus.

2009-07-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

All is well at Chez Silly.....summer is flying by.

I made a master list of school supplies needed by my children for next year and Good God is it ever long. It is an entire length of a sheet of paper, and that is w/o any doubles. Many items they need 4 or 5 of, like glue, pencils etc. This year there are items such as copy paper. I know at the end of the year, we were out and the district wasn't buying anymore. Things were coming home with stuff on the back, teachers were using the paper twice. Amazing how thrifty we become when we have to. I was talking to a girlfriend yesterday and we were discussing whether or not we would continue to be as thrifty when recession is over, or will we go back to our wasteful ways. We shall see.

The kids have had a pretty uneventful summer so far, and that is OK with them. Maybe not uneventful, but a summer spent close to home. They are now both on swim team which meets three times a week. It has been extremely helpful in that it gets them up early so we haven't lost much of our routine. They are also so much happier getting hard exercise on a regular basis. They come out of there exhausted but calm. While they swim, my girlfriend and I walk a couple of miles, so it is a win win situation.

Jack is drumming his heart out. Both Brian and I are amazed at how far he has come in such a short time. And of course the neighbors are really, really excited about the drum set in the garage. I told one neighbor we got it to pay her back for the years of suffering we have endured through her boys in their teens and 20's. She thinks I am purdy funny.

The weather has been overcast lately which is really, really OK by me. I can not stand the heat and become extremely grumpy and pissed off when it gets over 80. Today is field trip day and I am not sure where we will head off to. I have had my trips planned in advance, but this week snuck up on me. I did this thinking I would be working 2-3 days a week, but I am only averaging about one, so we sort of go on field trips all the time. Not sure what today will hold.....

2009-06-25T07:24:00.001-07:00

It's weird being at this point with my daughter.

She is rapidly changing before my eyes.

Rapidly. Quickly. Daily.

It feels slippery. Where is she going? Why can't I hold on to her? Where is that little girl going? Why can't I catch a grasp?

For years we have toddled, see-sawed, back and forth between little girl and big girl. The big girl was always balanced by the little girl. I saw glimmers of the the big girl, but the little girl was always there, comforting me, reassuring me that my baby was still safe at home. But the little girl isn't there anymore....I don't know where she went, and I miss her. I wish she would come back and play with me. I want to play Baby Bop and Lion King for minute or two.

This is the first time I have missed her. As we have transitioned through stages, I have welcomed the new with open arms. Whenever we see children of X, Y, or Z stage, my mother says to me "OH Silly, don't you miss that? Don't you miss having a newborn, toddler, preschooler, kindergartner?" and I say No. No I do not miss that. I stayed home and swallowed every single second and snuggle of both of my children's existence. I did not miss a beat, a milestone, a doctor's appointment, a gymnastics class, a shitty diaper. I was there for it all, loved it all, moved through it all just fine. I had a tough time went Dagny started 1st grade, and Jack graduated preschool, but other than those two moments, I have transitioned just fine.

Except now. And it isn't so much that I want the little girl back...it is that I am dreading what not lies ahead, but what I am actually wading through. I don't want to be here. I don't want to deal with not only the emotional roller coaster of my own daughter, but the additional bullshit and weight from all her friends, peers, external influences. "They say" that middle school is "the worst", and perhaps it is. I don't know.

Yesterday I was watching her at life guarding class. it is a group of about 8. They were being taught the proper way to jump into the pool with the red float-y thing. Dagny was going first, she put the thing on, and did something wrong, like forgot to hold the strap or something, the teacher corrected her, and the girl behind her kind of giggled and made some attempt at a joke. Dagny slowly turned around and looked at her with a look I have never seen before......it said something along the lines of "What The Fuck Did You Just Say, You P.O.S. ?" . The girl instantly cowered, blushed, stammered, looked away. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.....the girl who was Sweet and Kind to Everyone. The girl who has been walked all over one day and willing to be best friends the next, the girl who would defend anyone else but could never stand up for herself, the girl who never wants to make anyone mad, or hurt anyone's feelings, that girl turned around and pretty much said you need to shut the fuck up right now.....or else.

And I couldn't decide if I was mortified, in disbelief, completely overjoyed that she had finally for the first time stood up to someone, or scared of her. OK, not actually scared from a mother's standpoint, but scared because if I was that girl, and all 5'10 inches of Dagny turned around and looked at me like that? I would have stfu asap. And not come back to class.

So that girl....that little girl.....the girl who came home sick from school because the other girls wouldn't let her play that day because she was wearing clogs, the same clogs she wore every day and got to play, but not today. Why momma? Why can't I play today? And we would talk about some people are mean, and we would pull out The Book ( her son is coming to RH's for middle school next year....I am so excited. I am such a stalker/fan....I hope I don't attack her at PTO) and we would read the book and I would be sad for my daughter and convinced she was going to end up a hunched over little sad sack of a girl who couldn't defend herself and I would call my friends and lament and cry about why? why Dagny Go-Go? Why can't she grow a pair? She is definitely not MY daughter. I would have bitch slapped those girls. But when I think about it, I didn't grow my pair until about high school. So I guess she has me beat.....again.

My bright spots.....

* She is an athlete. She plays ball for the High School in 6th grade. She is at camp this week and I watch her in there interacting with all of those girls, and she is no longer nervous, or ackward, or shy. She is realizing she is tall, she is realizing you can't teach tall. She is owning that height. Her role models are the high school girls, some of then have 6 inches on her, and those girls walk in big, and tall, and strong, and breathtakingly gorgeous. And she gets it.....she sees what she could be, she's getting it. She isn't the stand out.....she is what they are looking for. Just by being.

She started swimming again and I have forgotten how remarkable she moves in the water.....Being tall and growing quickly means having to constantly try to keep up with those arms, legs, hands and feet. Just when she manages to get down walking into a room without tripping, she grows another 2 inches and we start over. But being in the water where she isn't bogged down by gravity and size 10 feet , the girl glides like nobody's business. I forgot what it was like to watch her swim. She will start back up with swim team which is great except for the whole chlorine hair yuckiness.

* Her grades- She is no straight A student, but by God, she is determined. She is driven to do well. She wants good grades. By default, all of her girlfriends are smart, reaaallllly smart. This makes good grades very, very important in her peer group. She works very hard to get the grades she gets. She has good work ethic and excellent homework skills. How do I keep up the motivation? Not sure. but we will try.

* Her confidence. She might trip when she walks into that room, but by God, she stands right up, gives a great Ta-Da!, laughs and moves on. If we can maintain that confidence through sports, grades, peer relationships, we should be OK? Right? Right Universe? *tap tap tap* "Is this thing on?

I feel like we are actually in the making of a person....this is it. The next 4 years are crucial. Make mistakes, but not big ones, ones we learn from. Don't date That Guy. Date the one over here. Don't get drunk and pass out a party. Don't drive with that guy who is completely wasted. Don't send that email....the one that is going to get forwarded on. Please don't start sexting. Don't drop out of high school, and PLEASE don't get pregnant. Don't, Don't, Don't.......Just keep on doing what you are doing. Stay on this path.

Jesus this parenting shit is hard.

2009-06-12T07:29:00.001-07:00

I am kissing goodbye my 4th and 6th grader.

Yesterday in Jack's class they went around to each student, and the other students gave appreciations. Jack's were.....he is really funny, he is an excellent/weird artist, and my favorite " You always know when Jack is absent because it's quiet.....no one is laughing."

Do you know how much I heart him?

end of year is near

2009-06-09T07:58:00.001-07:00

We are getting ready to wrap up yet another school year. 7th and 5th grade is a few months away. I have vowed....VOWED that next year I will devote myself to Jack's classroom/school year like I did when Dagny was getting ready to head up to middle school, making sure I am at every party planning committee, helping/doing yearbook, every field trip, etc. I SUCK when it comes to playing fair with my two kids. Dagny gets the lion's share of attention, help, classes, tutoring, attention....you name it. This year I had lunch catered to the entire middle school staff for teacher appreciation week. At about 4:00, my friend called to ask how Jack liked his teacher's party. And my stomach dropped. Guess why? I didn't even think, for one tiny, eensy, weensy, SECOND about Jack's teacher. I didn't even pop my head in the door of his party, I didn't send a gift, a card, NOTHING. I completely forgot Jack even existed, much less had the most amazing teacher for a year. Jesus. I suck so bad, it isn't even funny. I will definitely make up for it with Mr. R's end of year gift.

Let's see, what else.....

We have a pretty easy summer lined up. Both kids will do Namanu for a week, and Jack's doing summer splash which meets at 8:00, yes I said 8:00 AM, three days a week. He could have taken it at the Beav. High pool later in the day, but he wanted to get his "work out in early" and he also wanted to stay in the comfort of his home pool. This is fine by me, I am up at 6:00 every day, and I just have to drop him off. I don't know if I will let him compete or not. At this point I just want to get his endurance up. He is also playing on a lacrosse scrimmage team once a week which he is most excited about. We will see how long that enthusiasm lasts. Dagny has a weekly babysitting gig, volleyball once a week and that's about it. We have a couple of trips planned with friends, and my mom and I will head to the coast at the end of August. We have a weekly picnic date set, where we will travel to various parks exploring our local habitat. I am excited to spend 2 1/2 months with ma' babies just taking it easy. SO, so nice to take it down a notch.

Field day yesterday was great. I have to say what strikes me most about RH's middle schoolers is how perfectly well behaved, and comfortable they are talking to and being around adults. I know many MS'er since my daughter is one, and my God, half of them think you are the stoopidest person on earth, the other half of them can't even look you in the eye. They are shifty, awkward, bored, etc. But having them maintain constant relationships with a huge number of adults in such a small setting where the adults really have a vested interest in them, speaks volumes. Every child I handed a Popsicle to said please and thank you. They even thanked us for coming and helping with field day. There are weird ones in that group, but even the weird ones don't have that depressed sadness about them that I see in alot of kids this age that don't fit in. It seems so obvious to me and I think, don't their parents see it?

We had a "debriefing" meeting after field day to discus what worked well this year, what do we need to work on for next year....we had an 8th grade parent come and share her perspective on what she would have done better, and what we can do to improve the school for next year. The fact that I am still so tightly connected to the children's school and community means the world to me. It really, really does. Some of our friends went on to our traditional middle school, as well as some of the other options schools in our district, and they all say the same thing.....middle school changes things. Middle school is different. Our middle school is separate from our elementary school, but it isn't really all that different. Which I just am loving. I am loving the Americana feel of this back to basic approach. I am loving my daughter acts 12, not 16. I am just so, so grateful for how well things are going because man, I have seen some pretty sad kids and families. *Knocks on wood*

Speaking of field day, Jack lost his field day, because he is an asshole. He made fun of another student, the student reported it, and he was given a referral. Apparently the Principal announced that anyone getting referral the week of field day would not be allowed to participate. I was completely irate, as I thought the punishment did not fit the crime, and I was pretty vocal about it. But whatevah, he did the crime, he did the time ( 2 hours in an 8th grade classroom....if that's not enough to bore/punish a 4th grader, I don't know what is) and then I bought him a yo-yo, cause that was the only prize he reaaaaallly wanted from field day. Damn if I am going to let him lose field day AND a yo-yo all in one day.

OK..... off to work I go. It is a beautiful sunny day which means I will most likely get killed today at work, as everyone wants to sit outside. Wish me luck.

4 day weekends

2009-05-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

are really really good.

I had to work yesterday so my mom took Jack for the night and he spent the day with grammie which he always adores. Any chance he can get to be an only child, he grabs it. She took him swimming and then over to her girlfriend's house to look at/talk about skateboards. Next thing I knew, Jack shows up at my work with a tricked out $165 bad boy from here and now he is a skating all over the place.

We went to the T's house last night and enjoyed hanging out in the backyard while the kids bounced on the trampoline and ran wild around their house. I initially was not going to go as I could feel this horrible pain in my chest which I knew was the beginning of something awful, and sure enough, I woke up today sounding like a 2 pack a day smoker with the cough to match. And this shit hurts. I have managed to get up, make breakfast, clean the kitchen, and now I am back in bed, trying not to move because every time I do, I cough, and the cough? the cough burns.

Off to play pogo.....

All finished

2009-05-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Time for a curtain call.

We wrapped up the show yesterday at 10:00 am after giving a brief viewing for the school. They did the bar scene, Be Our Guest, Beauty and the Beast and one or two others....apparently some of the younger kids were crying, we didn't think that through too well. After Friday's performance all the kids' headed to DQ which is the tradition. I didn't go, Dagny went with a group of friends and I met my family for dinner. After Saturday's performance all the kids went to Isabel's for the cast party . Again, I didn't go. She said I was welcome to stay and I know she meant it, but I also know she likes hanging out with her friends without her pesky mother hanging around. Many of the kids, my daughter included, are pretty depressed the show is over. The spent 10 weeks together bonding and working their tails off to make this show work. To see it all come to an end saddens them, especially the 8th graders who know this is their final production at RH's. Saturday a large group of last year's 8th grade class all came together to watch the show. It was so sweet seeing them all come back and support the school, the kids, high five them. I remember leaving middle school a bit jaded and "glad to be gone", kids don't feel that way about this school. This incredibly wonderful fabulous school.

Here are some photos of her in rehearsal. I can't show you the real ones because apparently Disney will hunt me down and kill me....

We went to Dagny's voice recital on Sunday. As I looked over the program, I noticed "Beauty and the Beast" was not on the list. I asked her why and she told me " I didn't submit it". I wanted to shout at her "THEN WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING IN A CHURCH ON A BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY 75 DEGREE AFTERNOON WHERE I AM ABOUT TO SUFFER THROUGH AN HOUR OF PIANO PLAYING AND OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN SINGING FOR????" But I didn't, cause I am good like that. Instead I asked her how come and she said " I don't EVER want to sing that song again".

Dagny got the email requesting her presence on the 6/7th grade basketball summer team, which is an honor. She is not thrilled however. I have tried to explain to her that just because she is sad the play is over, doesn't mean she can be "mad at basketball". What's weird is, she is now the 7th, in the 6/7 th grade team......I looked at the list of 10 girls trying to figure out who the 7th graders were and was stumped when I couldn't find any. Then it dawned on my dumb ass....I have a 7th grader this summer. W.T.F?

Maybe I should rename this blog " All About Dagny"

Mother's Day 09

2009-05-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

I just went back and read the past four years worth of Mother's Day entries. It reminded me of why I started blogging in the first place. OMG, my children are so funny.

It is now around 11:00 am and I am still in bed. I have gotten up long enough to take a hot bath and wash my hair. And then I climbed right back into bed. The kids on the other hand have been BU-SY. They have gone grocery shopping for dinner tonight, started the bread pudding with daddy, arranged my flowers and picked up the house. Now one is outside shooting hoops ( guess which one) and the other is playing something on the Wii ( again, go ahead and guess which one)

We have had a very busy weekend so today is a day of rest which is nice. Friday night we had our first, oh how do I phrase it? Our first sort of "run in with staying out too late and not being able to track dagny down" night. And my husband? My husband lost his shit. The party ended at 8:30 which would have her back home around 8:45, 9:00 at the very latest. Around 10:30 she pulls in and OMG, I thought my husband was going to have a coronary. It was all due to a lack of communication, she was fine, the dad who picked her them up took them to ice cream etc. But OMG that hour was one of the longest I have experienced in a long time. It gave me just a glimmer of what could be to come, and a large view of the monster my husband could potentially become.....not pretty.

Yesterday Dagny had rehearsal from 9-12, then rehearsal for her voice recital from 2-4, she had a hair appointment in NW at 5 and then my mom took her out to dinner. So once again, she was gone from 8:00 until 8:00 and once again we spent the day dagny-less. Next week rehearsals are after school from 3-7. I am hoping to get to see her sometime in the middle of May.

The year is winding down and summer is gearing up. I have enrolled the kids in a few classes/camps, and they will spend another week at Namanu which both can hardly wait for. We didn't sign up for the pool this year for the first time in 6 years. We didn't use it last year and it was a big waste of $350. This year we will get passes to the RP pool and the WIlson pool and spend time between those two locations. Jack really wants to try water polo so may give that a shot over the summer to see if her likes it. Having a flexible work schedule is so nice :)

This week I am off on a field trip with Jack's class to the Oregon Historical Museum which believe it or not, I have never been to....should be interesting . Oh, and we get to take Tri-Met for or transportation. I hope I don't lose anyone.

Tonight....

2009-05-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

I said goodbye to my youngest cousin. He is shipping off to Iraq.

There are two male offspring in our entire clan, Alex and Jack. Now one is off to war. W.T.F.

Another weekend come and gone

2009-05-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here it is Monday again. Monday's for me are all about cleaning organizing, and getting ready for the week ahead. I actually do most of the work on Sunday, the menu planning, the grocery list which I hand to my husband who goes off to hunt and gather the food. We have dinner early on Sunday if possible, Brian and I are in bed by 7 or 7:30, the kids climb into after the baths and we watch TV together. It is the best way to spend Sunday evening, and I am sure it is the way most of us do.

But I love Mondays. Mondays I get them out the door, and I have quiet. It is time to do Ali the stuff I can't do with big little children around....change sheets, do laundry, put away laundry, scrub toilets, wash floors, get dinner started, answer emails that required more than two sentences. Get everything in order. Cause with two kids growing up too fast and two parents working, it takes a lot of organizational skills.

Things around here have been pretty good lately. Brian and I are very much in some crazy honeymoon-ey phase where all we do is giggle and snuggle and hold hands. Funny how marriages work like that....the times you have your heads down in the trenches , side by side, just trying to get through it al, and the times where despite everything else that is happening around you, all you see is each other. The kids are just growing and growing and I last week I had a bit of a panic attack regarding how little time I truly have left with them. Dagny is nearly 12 1/2 which gives me about 5 1/2 years really left until she is hopefully, off to college. Our first year of middle school is wrapping up and we made it through completely unscathed. She is this incredible, beautiful, confident, crazy young woman who doesn't have a shadow of self doubt. I have waited for years for the lack of self esteem to kick in, perhaps some kids never get it? They just blow through life and all it doles out without batting an eye.

Jack is my puzzle right now. He is seems to have no passion for anything other than reading. He is still swimming twice a week and likes that alright, but other than that he kind of wants to try everything. Which would be great if we could afford to sign him up for everything. We can't, and he really needs to decide what he wants. I look ahead to middle school options for him and I am completely stumped as to which route to take. Alot of it is out of my control as most programs are lotteries. I just am so confused as to which way to go.......I feel like I am shaping the rest of his life, which I guess I am, by choosing which middle school/ high school route to take.

The middle school play which has taken over our life, is almost coming to an end. Next week are the three performances and the kids have worked so incredibly hard. Dagny is amazing, and I wish I was saying that because she's my daughter. She really is a wonderful actress/singer. HTH she can get up there and do that without an ounce of nerves is beyond her father and I . It will be over next week and the kids have a huge cast party all lined up at one of the families homes. it will be a great way for them to end their run.

Last night Dagny received an email from a friend. The friend had sent out a "take my quiz" to a bunch of people, including The Mean Girl who thankfully has left and gone on to a different school to destroy other people;s lives. She replied with an email that said " I dont wanna take your friken quiz,now stop sending me this shit. " aren't middle school girls sweet? Gosh we miss her. Have I mentioned about a million times how happy I am they we aren't going to school there? I mean have I ?

To bore you further, here is our weekly menu....

Sunday- Pork Tenderloin with Marsala cream sauce, rosemary roasted red potatoes, slow cooker apples
Monday- Fish Tacos, rice and beans
Tuesday- Souvalki , tabouli salad
Wednesday- Out for Alex's deployment party
Thursday- French dips with garlic aioli and melted Havarti, steak fries
Friday- pizza

Peace out

another weekly update.....

2009-04-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

Not much has happened this week other than the usual living....

Dagny has a very busy schedule two days a week which leaves her gone from about 7:30 am until 9:00 PM. She is home for an hour for dinner, but that is all we see of her. Her middle school is working so hard on their production of Beauty and the Beast, working after school and weekends. All of the parents are equally as involved and busy doing costumes, set designs, snacks, etc. It is an amazing group of people. I am reminded just about daily of how fortunate we are to have so many options for middle school in our district, and that we found a perfect fit for her. The teachers she encounters every day lift her up, fill her with excitement for learning, engage her. The fact that they I am able to talk to them daily about her and her progress is huge. The middle school disconnect does not happen here. I thank my stars about once a day that we have it so good.

Jack continues to have a phenomenal fourth grade year. He isn't as busy as Dagny, but never has been. He swims twice a week with his friend Henry, and that is plenty of organized sports for him. I am so GRATEFUL this time of year that my kids do not play baseball as I watch the demand that sport puts on families and just cringe. The try-outs, the practices, the weather, the hours of games where no one is even really playing a sport....just picking grass. Give me Jack running around outside until 8:00 with the neighbor kids all Spring long. I can't remember how many years we dedicated to softball/baseball....three I think. Three too many. Tongiht Jack is going to an after school basketball/pizza party with his teacher that he is so excited about. The kids' schedules are begining to get to the point where I can see myself forgetting to pick one up somewhere....a lot of overlap which is always dangerous.

I am very much looking forward to the weekend. It is supposed to be beautiful and sunny and lets hope that is true!!

So alot has happened...

2009-04-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago I thought I was going to take another job. The job was farther away, longer hours, longer commute, kids home alone after school for about an hour. A whole lotta upheaval. But we decided for a certain $$ amount it would be in our best interest to take said job, I put in for the transfer, got approved, went out there last Thursday where I was offered $1.25 LESS an hour. $12 per hour was the MINIMUM I was willing to transfer for....$10.75? No way. So I asked my old store if they would keep me and they said yes.

This week however, I haven't had to wait tables, I am only working two days this week and I have never felt more happy and relaxed. Waiting tables is excruciating for me. It is enough to make me cry at work, and often does. I hate it. I worry about the next time I have to wait the whole time I am not at work. Being off this week has been pure joy. Being here when the kids get home, dinner made, house cleaned, laundry put away. etc etc.....I now really know why people for the past 12 years have told me I am so lucky to stay home with my kids. I wish I could just work 2-3 days a week doing something I like and enjoy and not be a complete freak day in and day out the rest of the time.

Spring Break was nice and very relaxing, we were more than ready to jump back into school, activities, etc. The middle school kids are putting on Beauty and The Beast and they have been hard at work after school, on their lunch breaks and even on their days off preparing for the production. Dagny plays Mrs. Potts which is a pretty big part with a lot of singing. She has been taking voice lessons with her friend Ben to get more prepared for her part. Jack is still swimming twice a week and wants to gold more. Problem is, he needs someone to take him and that can be a challenge. Maybe this weekend while Dagny is at play practice....

This weekend one of my BFF's turns 40 and we are renting a hotel room downtown and hitting the town. Her husband and I have a bet that she won't last long ( she's a lightweight) but that won't stop the rest of us ! Hopefully we can all behave and act our ages, but I am hoping not too much :)

OK, boring post.....off to put laundry away :)

watchya watchya watchya want?

2009-03-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

So hello NO ONE !!!!

Damn, it's been a while.

I made da blog private cause alot of people were reading it, which I didn't care, but I did cause it felt a little creepy, specially the ones that were reading without telling me. I mean I don't care if you read, but if you know me IRL, wouldn't you like, say something? Otherwise it's kinda like spying. No?

So we're back, and while I am not announcing it, if you figure it out, great. If not, that's ok too.

Spring Break round these parts. Jack has a week of golf camp and is enjoying that. Dagny's doing a whole lot of sitting on her butt eating Doritos and enjoying that as well. Which is find because the girl go-go-go's a and a week off is just what the doctor ordered. She has been invited to the beach, to Eugene, to a sleepover and said no to all of them. SHe just wants to sleep, eat, and play wii. Right now Grandma the Great has them at that Witch Mountain movie so they aren't sitting around bored all week. I think she took them to lunch as well after camp. SHe is a rockstar that gramma.

My dream last night. UGH. I hate having them. I have had them about Jack pretty much since he was born, and it makes me completely over-parent him and protective to the point of being a little crazy. Jack can not do half the stuff I would let Dagny to at the age of 10, I am psychotic. But the dreams, the dreams are so awful, and real and I wake up and I don't ever want to fall asleep again. I hurt all over and I think to myself if that ever happens, I would have to kill myself because I couldn't stand the pain. I just couldn't.

Ramble ramble, aren't you glad I am back.

2009-03-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

these dreams I have about Jack are awful. They are always about Jack, never about Dagny which scares me so bad. Last night's was he was about to murdered, I was somehow there, but not. The guy was calling either brian or me and telling us what he was about to do, and I could hear myself or Brian begging, pleading to no please don't. And then I was somehow there with Jack, telling him it was going to be ok, it was going to be like dreaming all of the time but never waking up, and his face was so contorted and sobbing and saying "please mama, no mama" and then I zipped him up into a suit case while he was sobbing and pleading with me, and then I woke up, and now I am crying, and sobbing, because the pain I feel is so overwhelming and I don't know if something like that happened how I would continue to live. How do people do that? How do they come through that?

The blog is back.

2008-11-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah....so it's NaNoWriMo.

There is no way I am writing any sort of pages of a novel this month.

but perhaps I could post everyday for a month. I think I do this every November and it never happens.....but who knows.....08 could be my year :)

I am thinking of renaming this blog "Where's Dagny?" kinda like where's Waldo since she is never, ever, ever here......She stopped in today for about 6 hours while we changed her clothes and overnight bag, fed her, practiced math and then she was out the door again in yet another carpool . I am picking up tomorrow and very excited to see my daughter for an extended period of time.

Cripes.

Halloween 08

2008-10-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

is tomorrow.

We spent last night cutting and carving pumpkins. We let the kids do theirs completely on their own this year and it was all Brian and I could do to not rip those knives out of their hands and do it ourselves. I will say they both did wonderful jobs and we are all quite pleased with the end results.

What I want to know is, who the hell thought up this idea anyways? Who said " Hmmmmm, I know, I will take that piece of fruit over there....cut out all of it's guts, carve a face into it, and put a candle inside?"

Jack's on the left, Dagny's on the right

I spent yesterday running errands trying to get everything bought/made for todays school Harvest Parties. This year dagny was going to be a surfer and we bought her a rash guard in Hawaii to wear on top as part of her costume. She ended up losing her shirt and as a consequence, also lost her Halloween costume. She is therefore headed off to school today as a VolleyBall Player. Crazy, right? We have a whole box of costumes that she could have made something better out of, but no....she wore her uniform and a pair of crazy tights. She looked ridiculous and I felt so, so sorry for her, especially since we had the cutest idea ever for her surfboard etc. It is hard making them learn them lessons when all you want to do is say "OK, I am sorry you lost your shirt.....lets get a new one and all will be right with the world, or if not the world, then your 6th grade Harvest Party." But no, you don't, you say " Huh. Well that sucks" and hope they learn a little something about responsibility.

The kids don't have school tomorrow which I am looking forward to. The days have been very very Fall like, socked in with fog but clear and warm afternoons perfect for playing football out front, insane fall colors everywhere you look. The season changes always remind me of having children about 3 and 5 or 4 and 6 years old. I always did PM preschool, kindergarten etc....so our mornings were always slow and lazy. Sesame Street or Franklin would be on, the kids would be in their jammies until 10 or so, we would snuggle in bed. I would start morning fires and we would eat on the couch.....It was delicious. So when I get an extra morning off with mah babies during a season change like the one we are in....I get all giddy. I can't wait for tomorrow to sleep in and lounge around with them. The weatherman says it is supposed to rain tomorrow and I am hoping it stays far away. This weather has been wonderful. Dagny is going to trick or treating with about 20 other kids and afterwards headed to a party that ends at 11 so she won't be gracing the neighborhood pack with her presence. It is probably for the best.....they are all boys and she gets a little tired of being the only chick. So tomorrow night it will just be mom, dad, and Jack which is always nice to spend a little one on one with just one.

Happy Halloween Goblins !

One of the best ones

2008-10-28T14:30:00.003-07:00

Considering my day.....this is was a fabulous read Stuff White People Like

And then just like that, you are back. And you are running. Very quickly.

2008-10-24T19:03:00.001-07:00

After two aloha weeks, we returned last night around midnight. We were home in bed by 2:00 am but both B and I were still so wired, neither of us could sleep. I answered emails, and he watched some God-Awful movie about the appocolypse (sp?) which was about a bunch of people getting beheaded with subtitles no less.....I think we were both up past ~~three~~ four and then up at 9 to rouse the kids. I have to try and get them back on a somewhat normal time/sleep schedule. Thank goodness daylight savings isn't this weekend. That's all I would need is to lose/gain? another hour.

So we are back and trying to get caught up on all that we have missed as well as all of the laundry and omg house cleaning. It is amazing how absolutely filthy your house can become when your dog lives at home in her bachelorette pad for two weeks. Seriously. We had our neighbor boy who is 12 watch her, bring in the mail, and "sweep". Sweep.........You seriously do not want to know how bad the hair was. We did a pretty good job with laundry, completely over packed as always and since all one wears every day is a swim suit and a sarong, there wasn't too much laundry to do....Only about 5 loads which is great considering I usually do a load or two per day at home.

The kids hadn't been home ten minutes and they already had plans. Dagny was off to the movies with one of her BFF's families and tonight she is off with a different group to the homecoming game at Beaverton. She will undoubtedly see many kids from last year who all went to different schools....Checking them out for the first time in almost 6 months. I am sure they have changed just as much as she has. Later there will be a flurry of phone calls and emails and gossip. It is so freaking cold out there, I am glad I am not the one driving :)

Jack's neighborhood gang was camped out outside early. They were gone all day (no idea where) and by 4 had concoted plans for a scary sleepover. After they ate at Tyler's house, J came home to get his stuff. He got into his jammies, packed up his pillow, comforter ( because sleeping bags are uncomfortable......how much more my son could he be? Makes me proud) and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels and he walked off into the dark night. I stood out on the street watching him......all the pine needles mixed with red and gold needles swirling all across the street, the night completely clear with the moon shining down upon him as we walked off into the night, alone, clutching his pillow and snack offerings. Every 4 steps or so he'd reach behind and pull up his bottoms that kept slipping off his tiny rear end. Completely oblivious to the fact that it was one of the moments I was burning into my mommy memory bank that I will hopefully always remember.

So as volleyball is winding down, we are gearing up for basketball season, although I think if dagny had her way, she would continue playing volleyball. She had a great season ( well when we were actually there) . 1st day of B-Ball tryouts are Sunday and she is rusty and nervous. I don't think it's anything a couple of days out front practicing won't cure, but still, the nerves are there. Tomorrow we have a volleyabll tournament that starts at 9:00 and lasts until at the earliest 11:30....but most likely will run until 2, 3, or later. At least I like volleyball.....it is a fast quick game to watch......for like, an hour. I don't know about an all day marathon.

My big 3-9 b-day is around the corner and Dagny keeps asking me what I want. I have told her there is nothing more in the world I could want, then the memories and experiences of the past two weeks. What a phenomenal experience we had. I wish there were words to describe the happiness we all felt there.

Blogging from the South Pacific

2008-10-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

Week one is done and we are headed into week two of our wonderful vacation.

Everyone is right when they say how different Maui and Ohau are. They are very, very different. Ohau is moving and shaking and Maui is a sleepy little island town. Regardless of which Island you are on, there is no where like Hawaii. Although I should really check out Bali and Fiji.....those two appeal to me as well.

D and J quickly befriended two Australian kids earlier in the week and the four of them became thick as thieves traipsing all over the resort. They were incredibly sweet kids and today they took off to Oahu, so are all a little sad. We spent time drinking and arguing American politics with their parents and we will miss our Australian posse. Here is a photo of my kids eating vegemite for the first time, and their kids eating PB & J sandwiches for the first time.....It was quite the cultural exchange

We have been doing a whole lotta nothing.....We have hit Lahina a few times as well as a day in Kihei and Waillea. We have mostly hung around the resort and Whalers Cove. The resort offers things to do like shark racing, movies on the lawn at night, lei making etc. Today is a scavenger hunt which the kids and I will be off to here after our breakfasts digest.

Today also marks sending Gramps bake to the main land. He isn't an islander like us and he can only handle so much sun and rounds of Longboards. He was a brave sport to come as long as he did and we will miss him. Mahalo Grandpa !!

OK, back to the pool we go.....

Where to start....

2008-09-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

It has been many moons since I have been able to sit and relax long enough to post. But now the madness os September is for the most part behind me and I can sit and form sentences and actually write.

Jack, Jack, Jack.....The boy will put me into an early grave. But at least I can rest assured that I have raised a sweet boy who will come and at least put flowers on my grave every mothers day and my birthday. So that's reassuring. I believe if I went through Septmber archives, I would find Jack kicking off every school year with some sort of trouble. It seems he needs to stretch his wings every year, every year go talk to Shawna, and from there on out, we are okaley dokealy. He and the Demon Seed once again are getting into it and my son was punched and tackled and then given a refferal. Which of course, it wasn't as cut and dried as that, and yes he is guilty of not being kind to Demon Seed. I was ready to look into "outside counseling" for my son's "bullying" problem, when we found out that Demon Seed had lied ( surprise ) and Jack did in fact have no clue as to what anyone was talking about. His refferal was dropped and all was right in the world. He applied along with 20 other children to be Kindergarten Helper, and his application was accepted. So Tue and Thur he and another student will be responsible for making sure our Kinder's get from Community Gathering to class safe and sound. So aside from the annual oneriness, he is doing a-okay.

Dagny Bean is having so far, a great year in 6th grade. There is a very nice group of kids mostly RHs and RP families, but some from as far out as Sexton Mountain or 185th. She seems to love going, has made many new friends and seems to be staying on top of her homework. SHe dropped soccer to focus on volleyball and is happy she did. We had our first MS fund raiser on Saturday and we were lucky enough to have a massive turnout of both parents and children. I have received a number of emails and compliments in the halls about what a great experience it was for not only the kids, but also the families. I couldn't have hand picked a nicer group of people for her to go to school with.

I have been working for about a month now up at The Bay at Washington Square. When this position presented itself, I thought it was a little too good to be true.....the hours, the days, the flexibility. But it has all worked out and I have yet to have a day where I haven't wanted to go to work. I think the fact that I still get lazy mornings to myself is huge. I can still volunteer and do all my stuff at school, and I don't feel like I am compromising my children and my relationship with their school. I am home before they are but just in case I decide to work late, they know where the key is and can let them selves in for a bit. So many of the clientele are pretty old ( surprise) and that has been in a million ways so healing to be taking care of them. Every single one of them reminds me of my grandpa, and I just want to make sure they are happy. And for the most part they all are....drinking their little martinis with lunch and splitting a salad cause they get too full. They tell me all about their grand children and their great grandchildren, and they show me the Build A Bear they just made or an outfit they have purchased for them. The regulars come in with their NY Times crossword puzzles and I tell them if they need any help, just holler. It is a rewarding way to spend my afternoons.

Brian is being transfered this week which means all kinds of not seeing Daddy around home. He is taking over the 3rd busiest restaurant and will be up to his armpits ( and we know how high up THOSE are) so I am thinking we won't be seeing him too much. The fact that October is right around the corner and the leaves are already starting to change and drop is beautiful, but alarming.....October will fly by as it always does and then boom.......we are into the madness of birthday/anniversary/birthday/Thanksgiving/birthday/Christmas/birthday. And oh my gawd that's a lotta stuff that we cram into a few weeks.

So hopefully me and my snarkiness can be posting a little bit more round here.

First Day

2008-09-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Dagny and her "skinny jeans" which were skin tight two weeks ago. The girls lost some poundage due to the T&A

Ahhhh, Jack.....What more can we say? How 'bout "Your hair looks great!" ......Jesus

6th and 4th grade ( edited to add....when we moved in in August 01, Dagny was starting preschool and Jack was 2....that is just to date our old friend Lem who has decided to move cross country and abandon us all!!! )

Wrapping it up

2008-08-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

Summer is done and now we are back to school-ness and all that it entails.

Dagny is nervous about the new year. She has had the same group of kids divided into two classes for 5 years. There was always 1 or 2 new kids, but nothing completely new. They have completely gutted her school over the summer and redid everything. It is like a brand new school inside. The lockers are brand new, her clothes are brand new, there will be alot of brand new kids. I think out of 50 kids, she will know 20. She is nervous and excited and I am not. I know she is in the most excellent hands available. Seriously.

Jack is, well, Jack. He has a really great class and the teacher we wanted. He has a man this year which I think will be truly great for him, or for any little boy. They are so used to listening to all of us shrill harpies yammering at them all day, that they just quit listening. But a man's voice carries a whole different weight.

So summer 08 is all done and now we are moving on to Fall and sending my first born off to middle school and all the drama that comes with it. Good Lord.

How fabulous

2008-08-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

is this evening's weather? A slight summer shower to sprinkle over and smooth our evening's sleep.....

I love the rain.

T & A update

2008-08-24T06:53:00.001-07:00

OK, for the record....if an ear Nose and Throat doctor tells you that after a T&A you will have a "sore throat" for a couple of days....just know that they are lying to you so God Damned Bad that you should get the hell out of their office and never, ever, ever, ever come back. Ever. Ever. Ever.

Seriously.

This has been the one of the most difficult things I have gone through with children.

So Wednesday was the procedure. I should have had a slight inkling of what was to come when I saw the 32 oz Big Gulp of pain medication Brian brought up from the pharmacy, er uh, sorry ..... apothecary ( Give me a freaking break). Dagny made it to about 4:00 am Thursday morning and then she was crying like a baby in my bed. There was plenty of room for her of course, because Brian was in Napa Valley being wined and dined and sleeping in a bungalow and having sweet dreams . All day Thursday I could not get the pain to go away no matter how hard I tried.... no matter how close I squeezed together those "every four hours". I had to leave her and Jack alone for hours in the afternoon thanks to a babysitter flaking. I sat through hours of a job orientation for which I have little recollection as all I was doing was glancing over at my phone set on vibrate, waiting for a message from either my doped up daughter, or my son asking why Dagny won't wake up and can he have her Ginger Ale since she won't be drinking it.

Around 7:00 that night I was beyond exasperated and I paged her doctor and explained what was going on. I also said, " I'm just having a hard time believing that this 10ml of narcotics I am giving a 120 pound woman every 4 hours is doing any good" and he was all " 120? That number doesn't sound right" and I said well guess what, it is. They weighed her right before she went in. He said "uh.....why don't you try doubling it". Doubling it? DOUBLING IT? I thought OMG my poor baby has been in so much pain and this prescription should have been DOUBLED all day and wtf, wtf, wtf?

So we doubled the meds, and things got a little better, but not "Oh my gosh mom I feel so much better THANK YOU ...You are RIGHT....this is JUST like having a sore throat" better. No, nothing even in the same town, city or state as that. I think it helped her to stop crying, but that was about it. She has been nursing the same box of mac and cheese because as of about Thursday night she couldn't even look at another Popsicle, jello or pudding container, and it's a good thing her brother is feeling alright as he was able to finish off all of the ice cream. So she is also very tired and cranky as she has not eaten anything in 5 days. The child who could live of salad and grilled salmon is frustrated that she can't eat anything "healthy".....I have served strained chicken soup, made a vat of mashed potatoes ( which despite being almost liquid were "too lumpy") the box of mac and cheese like I said, has lasted since Thursday. She is high on codeine on a 5 day relatively empty stomach. You do the fun factor.

So yesterday the tears started up again. She is insisting she has a double ear infection. She is in excruciating pain. I am thinking how can you feel ANYTHING with the amount of drugs you are on.....but I know my daughter, I know my daughter knows when she has an ear infection. I believe she's right and I don't know what to do since it is Saturday at 1:00 and her doctors office closes at noon on Saturdays ( of course) I know the ENT's aren't working, am I supposed to have her sit like this for another day and half? Do I take her to the ER for flipping ear infection?

So I page the office again. Which, god I didn't want to do....I hate being That Mom. My doc wasn't on call, another one was. I give him the whole run down, as much as I can in the 20 seconds I am sure I have his attention for, and he says to me, "Didn't they tell you about the ear pain? Oh man, the ear pain is one of the WORSE parts of the whole thing, yeah I bet she DOES think she has an ear infection cause God, the ear pain is one of the WORSE parts and they should have written that up in your home care instructions it is one of the WORSE parts....oh and the scabs falling off that too is pretty bad....good news is, you are 4 days into this, you only have about 7 -10 left"

And as I am talking to this man, I know I have to hang up immediately because I can feel the wall of tears coming. I hung up in time and the damn broke and I started to bawl. I cried because I am physically exhausted and mentally drained from worrying. I cried because I can't make her feel better and I cried because I feel like I lied to her. I told her it would be "just like having a sore throat" and it isn't ANYTHING like having a God Damned sore throat. NOTHING I sat there and cried and when I was done, I swept the kitchen. Cause sitting there sobbing with my head down gave me a good opportunity to look at the kitchen floor and Jesus woman, what have you been doing around here for 4 days???

I could write a whole nother post ont he fact that my son is going absolutely in-freakin-sane, but I won't. Let's just say he is. He has been house bound since Wednesday and the boy's gotta do something. So Saturday night we decide we have to do something outside of the house and Dagny agrees. We decide to go get something to eat and Dagny wants clam chowder.....Daddy's restaurant clam chowder. She even wants to try the bread. She thinks if she soaks it in the chowder it will be manageable. They have mac and cheese on the children's menu and she thinks she may want to try a bite or two. I think OK, yes, here we go, a teeny baby step on the road back to normal, and it all lies within a cup of chowder.

She gets all prettied up, combs her hair, puts a sundress on, and looks pretty good. Mommy too gets changed, puts on mascara and lipstick and gets her hair did. I am so excited to have my whole family back together at dinner, especially at a restaurant where everyone can order what they like and not complain about the meal, and mommy doesn't have to do the dishes. With the kids being gone for a week at camp, then the kids and I leaving for a few days, dagny's surgery and B's trip.....our family time has been non-existant for well over two weeks. I was so excited for us all to be back together and relatively healthy.

It was Saturday night so the restaurant was pretty packed. We found a parking spot almost right out front which was great for Dags as she wouldn't have to walk to far. We got there a little before our reservation time and were chatting with the staff who haven't seen the kids in weeks. I decided I wanted to sit in the back by the kitchen/bathrooms just in case Dagny didn't feel well. The hostess asked me " Sure, but are you not feeling OK?" I say "Yes, I feel fine it's just Dagny I am worr........"

And I kid you not, I swear on a stack of bibles THIS HIGH that JUST as I was saying Dagny was the one I was worried about Jack turns around and projectile vomits right there in the middle of the fucking restaurant lobby. A big stinking pile of puke. Right there. Saturday night.....7:00PM. Bon Appetite everyone. Jack, NOT DAGNY, Jack. And I was completely torn between "OMFG are you kidding me?" and "OMFG what do I do ???" and just walking out and saying "That's it.....I quit"

There are more guests walking in and I start shouting "MOVE, MOVE !!" and he throws up again in the lobby and the look on their faces was like....well not good for business, I am sure. I get him out front and he throws up all over the sidewalk more than I knew a little boy could hold. I was of course concerned about my son, but also so incredibly mortified. I go into check on the clean up progress, my other child, and horrified husband....I see the clean up in progress and I bend down to help because, it's our puke after all, and I am just so used to cleaning up puke thats it's really second nature. I hear Brian say something along the lines of "OMG get up RIGHT NOW" and I guess that's because it probably doesn't look good having a guest clean up throw up? Not sure. Anyhoo, I go back outside to check on the puker and he tell me "Boy do I feel better....let's go eat"

And then I started to cry again.

Recovering

2008-08-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here we sit fresh out of the OR. How crazy is technology. Thank you for all of your kind comments, emails and phone calls. The cutest thing was all of her girlfriends calling her up and wishing her well......she was really touched by that. I will say this surgery has been worse than J's hernia removal. Anyhoozen, she is out and she is sleeping.

2008-08-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

So we are at the coast trying to relax and there is a lot of stuff we have to head back to town and deal with and I just don't think we are doing a whole lot of chilling.

My great aunt is not doing well so I think we are going to leave early in order to see her. My mom thinks this is "it" and seeing as how she is 91 and all, it could very well be it. So we will leave here early so the kids and I can see her before Dagny's "procedure" which will put us out of commission through at least the end of the week.

I was up this AM from about 3:30 until 5:00 playing on Pogo ( where were you all? None of my friends were on.....what were you doing? Sleeping? Jesus....losers) worrying about Wednesday. OF course it will all go fine. T and A's are a very easy procedure. But anyone who is a Hopkins addict like yours truly knows, they go in, they are under and then you hear " Something's wrong...." and we all know where that goes. The parents who, an hour ago, sent their daughter to a birthday party are now in the ER deciding whether or not to pull the plug because she drowned in the pool. And I think wtf? She was just at a BIRTHDAY PARTY. And I know people mean well.....but take my mom ( please!) , she is here at the beach with me......We are driving down to the coast and she is going on and on about " I mean really....how long have they being doing tonsillectomies? You would think in this day and age they would be a no brainer. But God, what happened to poor so and so's son.....It is just awful." Or even better, the child's own father, who's own stitches "ripped out and he bled all over and had to go back to the hospital for another week" and I am like uh, ok Big Daddy, you are supposed to be the strong one here so whip it together. And so I lay here and think what if, what if, what if and I worry more. But then I lay here sleeping with her, and I look at her struggling desperately to get you know, oxygen, and I think "Buh-bye adenoids.....You suck"

So we have to go home early, drop off my mom, head home, unpack and start all the laundry bullshit, but Dagny cleats and a ball for soccer which tonight which she will be able to go to since we are going home early, drive to see my aunt, drive back go to soccer, feed my daughter the last solid meal she will be eating for a very long time. Brian leaves for Napa on Thursday, the same day I start work. And Friday is a big old Back to School work day up at school. There's my week. Relaxing? Not so much.

But I am looking forward to getting everything together and organized. We found ou the kids' teachers so we have that unknown crossed off, all school supplies have been bought and are ready to go and we finished up school clothes shopping yesterday. I am looking forward to starting work and getting that routine started. I will need to be very vigilant about menu planning/shopping because with Dagny in two sports and Jack in Lego League, Boy Scouts and now fencing, we are going to have one rocking Fall and we all know skipping just one week of the old meal planner can throw off a whole month's food budget.

So back home we go to face all the shit that life brings

Mah Babies !!!!

2008-08-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

Mah babies are home, god dammit !!

OMG do you know how long a week is?

It is a very, very , very long time. Very. VERY.

The week was good.....I got some stuff done, went to a bunch of appointments, hung out with a bunch of folks. Got J's school clothes shopping done ( he still needs a pair of shoes), thought about scrapbooking but never quite did. It was a long week and I missed my babies something awful.

Today was the big day of going to pick up, and we didn't know quite what to expect. We received one letter from Jack which read " Hi. I hate it here. The activitys are fun. Camping is very hard" and it was all I could do to not hop into the mad-cap mini van and drive my ass up to Mount Hood to rescue my son who was obviously under great duress and being kept againt his will.

But I didn't. How in the hell people drop their kids off at school and then drive away is beyond me. Oh.Mah. GAWD.

So we went up today and had to a. stop for gas which took like, an hour. And then got there and took our place in the long line of cars which took another 2 days, and then Jesus, parking....I was sure the universe was working as hard as it could against me to make the whole process as painful as possible. I honestly thought about getting out of the car and running to camp. And I thought about how crazy I would look....the one fucking crazy mom sprinting down the forest road to get to her babies, and how every one else would show up 10 minutes later and point at me and whisper. So I didn't.

We finally make it to the check in line ( Jesus....MORE WAITING!!! ) and I pull out my ID which they have told us over, and over, and over again that we need to pick up the kids since they don't want the boogie man coming in and snatching up just old anyone. I pull out my ID and I am told it doesn't match the contact person's name and could I please step aside and were gonna call security real quick, and I am bright red and getting all those stares anyways, despite my prior proud show of restraint. I ask who the hell's name is on the registration form and it is my mothers. Because she made the initial $50 down payment back in like April. SInce then I have done everything else, filled out all the paperwork, health forms, etc etc. So they had to go somewhere else and pull the kids physical files, which of course took another 6 days, and I just wanted to cry cause all I wanted was my babies.

After we were "cleared", we headed down to the meadow, my eyes scanning, scanning, scanning, and I can't see that little red head anywhere. But I didn't need to find him because suddenly out of nowhere he appears, and he grabs me and embraces me and I think omg he is gonna cry. He says "no, I am not gonna cry momma.....at least I don't think so". And his daddy swoops him up in his arms as if he is 2 1/2 instead of an 80 pound 4th grader with man hair on his legs. And God, nothing has felt that good in a week. He is filthy beyond filthy. He is tan. He now has "very strong muscles". He discovered at camp that he "thinks he needs to start wearing deodorant" ( geez...ya think?) He made many new friends, loved everyone in his cabin ( except the bed wetter) and says it was absolutely the best week of his life and when can he come back?

Daddy went to find Dags while I introduced myself to J's counselors and got the rundown of the week. When I finally caught up with them, Dagny was shy. I thought for sure she would run over the way Jack did and throw her self all over me. But I guess that is what little kids do.....not kids who are trying to be cool in front of their cool middle school friends. Once I got to her and took her in my arms, she started to cry. I held her and let her, knowing she didn't want anyone to see. As much as Jack is a momma's boy, that girl is just as bad. She tried to be cool about it, and I let her. When she was ready, she took me over to meet all of her new friends, as well as to say hi to Eleanor who she went to camp with.

And then we got the tour...... they took us all over hell and back showing us all of the stuff the did, the campfires, the hikes, sleeping in the meadow during the meteor shower, the 7:00 am polar bear plunges, the looming, the tye dying, making their own dinners over campfire ( J made pizza and D made toasted cheese) in addition to the "Foil Packet DInners" which dagny really thinks we should start having at home. The songs, the skits, the games....they talked non stop for about three hours, and I am sure they have so much more to tell. Dagny went to her first "dance" while she was there.....it was for 6-8th graders and it was a masquarade ball. There was a boy she had been eyeing and was hoping perhaps he would ask her to dance, but he didn't, he asked someone else. And she was a little sad, but not too much because apparently the girl was "gross" and the story went on and on..... Oh the heartbreaks we are going to face.

So they are home tonight and we are leaving for the beach tomorrow. I am going to try to get a week's worth of laundry done in a few hours and repack it up. Shouldn't be a problem, their toiletries etc are all ready, suit cases just sitting by the dryer just waiting to be repacked. Soccer practice started last week, so she is going to miss the first week and a half of practice ( not good) and that is assuming she heals quickly after her surgery. They say to plan for a week's recovery but hopefully she'll be fine 6 days after so she can go to practice. Oh, and do you have any idea how many people have very serious reactions to a T&A and have horrible bleeding stories and have to readmitted and on and on and on and on? LOTS. And LOTS. And LOTS. And they want to share them with you all the time you know just to , oh, I don't know...scare the crap out of you? MAke you worry more? Geez.....shut up. I DON'T want to hear it, tyvm.

So I am off to enjoy the next four days lounging at the beach with mah babies.....smelling their hair every chance I get.

The 1st 24 hours

2008-08-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

have been really, really sweet. I keep waiting for a child to walk in or turn around and find someone not flushing the toilet. But no, no babies here.

I opted to stay home and let Brian take the kids to the bus for camp and I think it's a really good thing I did. You'd think Dagny was auditioning for Sophie's Choice Two, The Remake because she was slightly hysterical and I had to pry her off me. She was bawling which, of course made me cry despite every ounce of me trying not to. I was just waitng for Jack to come in because of course he would start. Eventually I unpeeled her and sent off to daddy. And then I started dancing.

Brian and I went to Happy Hour for dinner and then hit a local dive bar for beers. We were going to go go home after dinner but decided the fact that we didn't have to meant we had to take advantage of it. We sat at the bar watching the cast of characters and had a really, really good talk. To say that July was a rough month for the McSilly's would be a major, major understatement. It was in fact, one of the roughest months I think we've had since, oh, 1999 or so. Brian and I don't argue anymore ( I mean argue argue) but boy, we sure did last month. And I think it scared my daughter pretty bad. We managed to work through it over a couple of weeks, and for the most part, all is well again. But sitting there on those stools, just him and I, we were able to talk for hours, and say things that might not have been said otherwise. It was the kind of conversation we used to have when we were dating, or first married, the really deep ones that feel so good and make your relationship a little bit better. The ones that you open up and say things you've been keeping in for along, long time. And man, it was good.

So here I have this week before me free of children. Brian asks what I am going to do, but today is the only day I have nothing to do, and we are having a little birthday party here tonight for 2 of my girlfriends, so I will get ready for that. I will have to send the kids' care packages today because apparently it is the highlight of their camp experience. How many Archie comic books should I send?

xoxo

Silly

I hurt all over

2008-08-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

Oh my Lord my body hurts.....EVERYWHERE.

The kids and I have been tooling around Oregon sans papa spending time with various groups of friends. Dagny headed down to Corvallis last week to spend a few days with one of her girlfriends and her family. Her mom invited Jack and I down as well so he and I packed up and drove on down the I-5 corridor for some fun and games. They were house/dog sitting for some family friends, and when I pulled up, well, I don't think I have seen a house that adorable ever. it was on a ton of property, off some back road in Corvallis, and it backed up to what was once a lake, but now it has been completely covered by these crazy lily pads that were as tall as my kids. There was still a small dock built which allowed the kids to walk into the lake and be surrounded by all the crazy water flowers. The owner is a mad gardener and while I was getting the tour, I kept thinking "this is the absolute most beautiful garden I have ever seen" and it just kept going and going. Breathtaking.

We spent the day at Otter Beach which was great fun for the kids, but what was even nicer was just being able to hang out with Emily and talk without being interrupted by pesky children. We took the kids to pizza and then back home where they could roam the marvelous grounds and they played until way past dark. All four of them created their own forts through out the property and they took turns "visiting" each other. One of the kids picked a ton of raspberries and had appetizers at her place. Emily and I sat up and drank wine, and around midnight decided it was time for a little dancing......because it isn't a truly good evening until the old people have busted out their moves and shown the girls hot to get Low. At this point Jack knew he wanted NOTHING to do with 3 dancing girls and 2 tipsy moms, so he hightailed it out of there and put himself to bed. Whatever.

We drove home and I decided to not put any of our stuff away since we were leaving again on Tuesday to camping with D's BFF and a whole slew of other people. I just did laundry and repacked. I was actually looking forward to this trip, despite the fact that I was camping because we love K and S very much. What I find incredible is the fact that our daughters have been best friends since 1st grade, and that we all went to high school together what are the chances of that happening? They were older....and cooler of course, than me, she was the cheerleader and he the football star. But regardless, we know all the same people and all the same stories and it is hysterical to sit around and reminisce about all the crazy shit that happened at Wilson. There was another couple there, also more alumni, and yet another couple who were also alumni, however they were about 25,so they couldn't really keep up with the conversation. But to sit around and listen to all the stories was great.

I was really looking forward to this trip, and I say that in all seriousness. I have camped enough over the years to know that I don't like it. I have a few friends who camp and I ask them "why? Why do you camp? What is with the camping? What do you like about it?" and I get different answers and it still doesn't add up. I thought that perhaps, this, THIS would be the time I would get it.....I was staying in a yurt so no creepy raccoons could come and bite me.....I was going with partying people who would ensure a proper slow buzz to ~~numb the pain~~ distract me form realizing I was camping, my kids were old enough that I wouldn't have to follow them around or care about how filthy they were since they are more than capable of showering on their own. I thought THIS was my weekend to be enlightened.

And I gotta tell you, I still do not for the life of me no why ANYONE DOES THAT ON PURPOSE.

I will say we did have a good time. I am really glad we went. The kids had fun. I had fun, drank a lot of tequila, played a little Yahtzee, thoroughly enjoyed the company. But at night I would lay there and think "Why? Why aren't we doing this at say, a house you rent? A house in the forest? A house on the beach? A house where OMG you don't take a shower in that place where i had to take a shower?" Because OMG.....Why? The first night we slept we were so uncomfortable that we decided to sleep in the back of the van the next night instead. I think we all felt safer there curled up in the fetal position rocking back and forth. There are lists and lists of questions I have for people who do that and I simply do not get it. I wish I could, but I can't.......There are very good reasons why electricity, indoor bathrooms, ovens, stoves, and king sized pillow top mattresses were invented and I don't get why people want to like revert. I really wanted to get it this weekend, and once again, left scratching my head. My girlfriend begged me to take her home with me and I had to explain to her how mad Steve would be when he came home from crabbing all day to find her and her straightening iron gone......so I left her there in the woods. Can't wait to see how she fared the rest of the week.

We also found out that Dagny needs her tonsils and adenoids out because her adenoids have basically moved into her sinuses. She is going in week after next, but in the mean time is not allowed to take anything other than Tylenol for 2 weeks to prevent her bleeding out on the operating table. This has meant trying to change all of her camp paper work which previously read " YES! Please !! Give her any and all drugs!!" to "OMG STOP!!!!!!!! DO NOT GIVE HER ANYYYYY DRUGSSSSS!!!" I have called the number I am supposed to call to amend her paperwork and have heard nothing back. She also need to go in for a blood draw which we have one and only one day to do which is tomorrow. So tomorrow if you see me, please don't ask about the claw marks all over my face and arms. I hope St V's is ready.

There is a party at the Disko's tonight and I don't think I can do it. I really want to go as I love nothing more than drinks on verandas. But I am so, so beyond exhausted after sleeping in the wild frontier of Manzanita and being awoken every day at 5:00 am by the damned crow smackdown that needs to occurs every morning.

I just checked on Jack and he out cold at 4:15 in the afternoon. Smart kid.

Trying to get the fellas to bed

Pack of Hooligans

2008-07-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

This is why I always have a headache after book group. It's not the wine.....seriously

What you don't know

2008-07-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Women are incapable of truly, truly understanding men until they have raised one. You get even bigger points if you are raising children of both sexes and you can witness the differences on a day by day basis. Dagny cooed, Jack growled and grunted. Dagny always smelled like a sweet baby, Jack always smelled, well, not as sweet. The differences go on and on.

This weekend going down to pick up Jack from Boy Scout was yet another adventure in the land of Oh My God What The Hell Is Wrong With Boys? I WILL say this....the dad's that lead Jack's troop are phenomenal.....I mean really. My husband (no offense honey) along with 99% of the other men I know, could not do what these guys do. The patience that is required to corral a group of 9 and 10 year old boys, for three days in the woods is, well, there is just no way to measure that. Ever. But waking around this camp, seeing all the activities the boys engage in, especially after taking a pack girls on many overnight adventures, well the differences are mind blowing.....and I am not just talking about the obvious, like the bows and arrows, guns, and pocket knives.

The town is set up alot like Kid Nation. There is a main street and all along the main street are chessboards and groups of boys gathered around in various chess matches. In the field, there is an ENORMOUS on-going game of Dodgeball, where the boys are hootin' and hollerin' as they take turns nailing each other with balls. After supper ( or dinner?) we were treated to a staff show. One of the skits went like this....Two guys on stage, one guy says to the other "MAN, you stink! Don't you were deodorant? " And they banter back and forth about stink jokes with is "hysterical". Then the one guy, who is a grown man mind you....who has been camping for three days and has a whole lotta pit hair, tells the other guy he has the BEST deodorant in the world! It is peanut butter deodorant! Here! Let me show you! The man proceeds to goop peanut butter into his pits. And the boys, of course, are dying....this is the greatest thing EVER!! But wait ! There's more! What's great about this deodorant is, around noon every day when you get hungry, stay with now, you can just take this here piece of white bread and SCOOOOOOOP it onto your bread and then you know what you can do with it???

You can eat it !! And watch all the kids in the audience fall to the ground in horror and disgust and AWESOMENESS of the whole thing.

AND THEN!!

You can share the sandwich with the guy doing the skit with you.

And then I think I puked.

And then there were bird poop jokes, complete with whipping cream....maybe shaving cream. And on and on.

And they LOVE it. They love every minute of it.

Boys are a whole different ball of wax completely. I have know many mothers who have had girls first ( myself included) and thought Pshh! Parenting is a piece of cake! What were all of those people thinking! Obviously I am much better parent than them because this is a piece of cake! And then you get a boy and it is like what the hell am I supposed to do with this? And then at some point it clicks....You smack yourself in the head and think "OMG, they are BORN this way !" and you look back over your entire life and it all suddenly becomes so clear. They can't help it !! That's who they are !!!

There was a time awhile back where Jack was really working on a "machine gun sound" and it dove me nuts. We had made it this far with out guns, or gun references or wanting a gun, and I wasn't about to start now. He would do it all the time...."dadadadadadadadadadad" and I would say "JACK! STOP!" and he would. And then later it would start up again, usually involuntarily. And I thought I bet you ANYTHING this is how that Kip kid in Eugene got started. At some point, all four of us were in the car and he started and I as usual, told him to zip it. Brian was like "HUH? Why can't he do that?" I explained my reasons and in addition to those reasons it drove me f'ing crazy. Brian then explained to me how "hello? Machine-gun-sound-making is very cool and almost an art form and omg there was this kid in 3rd grade and I was so jealous of him because he could make THE coolest guns sounds and Jacks? Jacks is pretty cool, he has to keep working on that, for sure."

And I got all glassy eyed at some point and quit listening because I realized shit.....they just can't help it

ooh baby baby...bu bu bu baby

2008-07-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

My baby is home

and washed

and clean

and in his bed

with fresh clean sheets

and all of his "things" all lined up in his bed

New pix on Facebook

update all day long ( updated, yet AGAIN !!)

2008-07-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

Here is what a girl does when she has an entire day to herself...

Got Jack packed and off to camp

Finished my personal Pogo badge

Called Brian to check on Jack

Fertilized the back lawn

Watered the tomatoes

Laundry

30 minutes of yoga

Lifted weights on our home gym (chest press, push downs, leg extensions, shrugs, crunches....today is my "push day")

watched Intervention

ate some bagel chips

watched Date My Ex ( I love Jo and Slade...Why won't they get back togethhhheeeerrrrr????)

Replied to Facebook email

Emailed a reminder to the RH's class of '11 about our Friday picnic tomorrow

Called Brian to see if they got there ( no reply....OMG WTF?)

Rented The Dumbest Movie Ever Made

Ate leftover pasta

Missed a collect call from Brian at which point I completely freaked out beyond belief as I was sure Jack had fallen off a cliff or something much much worse.

Sat and waited for him to call back

Eventually he called back and all is fine, except Jack is not wearing sunscreen...Jesus

~~Took long hot bath and read my book~~ didn't happen because....

Took a nap at 5:00 PM. Any mother worth her salt out there knows this is an UNHEARD of time to fall asleep

And the fact that I took a nap in general is cause for concern

Woke up around 6 ish.....

Wanderer around

Talked on the phone for an hour

Watched Entertainment Tonight and Extra without anyone rolling ~~his~~ their eyes

Watched my first episode ever of Ugly Betty (loved it)

Ate a Healthy Choice entree for dinner

Ate a cheese stick just to make sure I ward off any later hunger that would be induced by consuming a mere 300 calories for dinner

farted quite loudly

Watered flowers

Crawled upstairs around 9:30

Things I have not done today....

Showered

My hair

Spoke to my dogs like they were people

Told anyone to go to their room

Emptied the dishwasher

Mission accomplished..... My goal was to not hear my own voice for as long as possible....aside from canoodling Lu, I think I did pretty good.

And tomorrow I will

2008-07-23T21:51:00.001-07:00

do something I have never, ever done.

I will spend the night in my own home.......alone.

He's all packed

2008-07-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

And ready to go off to Boy Scout camp...my baby will be gone for three days.

2008-07-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

It's funny how much I wanted summer to get here. Not summer itself, but just the warm weather, clear days and no rain. Around April sometime, my BFF declared that she officially HATES April because it just rains and rains and rains and doesn't stop raining and Jesus, enough of the rain. And then it rained through May and we all sat and complained about rain and where is our spring and then it snowed at one point and we were all about to rip out our hair because just one nice day.....is that too much to ask? So then eventually it does get warm, and then it gets hot, and then we all bitch about that. The heat comes and stays and everyday is beautiful and sunny and we are happy. But then, it is sunny every day. Sunny and hot, sunny and hot for months. And so far I am ok with that, because it hasn't gotten too hot....yet. We have weeks of summer left, and summer here usually reaches deep into September. So we have months ahead of us of sunny and warm weather.

My point is, yesterday and today it was kind of cloudy and cool and I was very excited. I know it is months away, but I am excited about being excited about the return of Fall.

We went out and saw my Aunt Catherine today. She seemed in good spirits and very happy at her new place of residence. She had eye surgery so she didn't look good, but she certainly was in great spirits.

While on the Eastside, we had to make an IKEA run, and go here for onion rings and burgers. I have been on a reading frenzy, my Aunt gave Crazy Ladies which looks great. I also have Knitting Under The Influence which also looks cute......

2008-07-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to slow....

Dagny's show was on Saturday and it was fabulous. It is amazing what those kids can do in two weeks. She was supposed to go to an overnight party Saturday night, but decided she wanted nothing to do with it and all she was about to do was take her butt home and sleep. She is so good about knowing when to say no. Lets hope that's a characteristic she keeps ;) She absolutely loves performing, and the minute she walked off the stage, she asked if she could sign up for a second camp. Which exhausted me even thinking about it.

Sunday we worked around the house all day and then I took D and 5 of her friends to another party.....this one out at Blue Lake. It was a boy/girl party which means she has to spend an hour getting her hair just right and trying on 10 t-shirts that all look exactly the same and then lay out in the backyard to work on her tan. That evening we had a dinner party last night for 10 last night and the food was fabulous. Which is why we love being BFF's with chefs and restaurant people in general . Because they know how to cook really, really well.....and of course, drink really well. However getting ready for said party means I had to polish, and polish, and polish my stemware in hopes that not a water drop could be found, because you KNOW how that would look.

Tonight I am going to a party at a friends house to peruse jewelry and drink wine. She has a friend who is a school teacher in Shanghai and when she comes home, she brings a trunk load of jewels with her. We are all bringing our daughters as well, as they too need pearls from Shanghai. No? Hopefully Brian will take Jack over to REI to pick himself out a sleeping bag. He and Jack are headed off to camp later this week and I am so excited at the thought of my little men heading out into "the woods". It is boy heaven complete with archery, BB gun range, horseback adventures etc .....all the stuff my husband loves. Oh my God to be a fly on the wall. He is only going to ~~suffer~~ stay one night and let Jack stay the rest of the time with his pack. Meanwhile, Dagny and I will be getting pedicures and going to see Mamma Mia. I hope I don't embarrass her too much.

xoxo

Silly

Sleeping in late

2008-07-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

2008-07-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the invitation only opening of a new restaurant down in the pearl. Dinner was very good, the mushroom soup was probably the best I have had. The place was packed with other restaurant people we knew, so we had a good time wining and dining and bouncing around to say hello to different tables.

After we left, we decided to meet some other people over here for what else? More wining and socializing. While we were here one of our friends called home to check in with her sitter which prompted me to do the same. Except now when I call home to check in, I don't call the sitter. I call my daughter. Who is the sitter. Who is just so responsible and great and good with Jack when I am not around to piss off by pinching him on the arm. She assured us all was well, gave us phone messages and then hung up.

When we arrived home she had her brother in his jammies up in our bed watching TV. She had cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, watered both the front yard as well as the back, and taken out the garbage and recycling to the curb since today is trash day. The house looked better than it did if B and I had stayed home.

It is true what they say......It is amazing how quickly they grow and how well they turn out, despite their parents.

Time for a meme

2008-07-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

We haven't done one of these in a while :)

I am tagging Abra, WOD, Charlotte, and the gazelle on crack

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times. Grease

2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater. Simpsons Movie

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie. Vince Vaughn

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie. Sylvester Stallone

5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from. Mel Brooks History of the World Part 1

6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs. Grease 1 and Grease 2, Moulin Rouge, Mamma Mia, Lion King, Wizard of Oz

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with. See above.

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see. Cinema Paradiso

9. Name a movie that you own. The Patriot ( rolls eyes)

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops. JLo.....I loved Out of Sight

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what? You bet. Before the Tigard theater was the Tigard theater, it was a drive in and we saw movies there and the one on 82nd.....Can't remember which ones

12. Ever made out in a movie? Kind of

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it. Sweeney Todd

14. Ever walked out of a movie? Yup, Dances with Wolves

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater. Cinema Paradiso, The Elephant Man, ET, What Dreams May Come

16. Popcorn? YES !!

17. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)? About once a month

18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater? Incredible Hulk

19. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie? Romantic comedies

20. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater? One of the Witch Mountain movies, and/or Benji. My grandma used to take me to the Valley so see movies

21. What movie do you wish you had never seen? hmmmmm

22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed? You mean that I can mention on a family blog?

23. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen? Burnt Offerings

24. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen? The Meet The Parents movies, Office Space, Raising Arizona, Something about Mary

Out we go again....

2008-07-12T13:58:00.001-07:00

We have not been home on a weekend night in forever. It is week after week of parties and BBQs and this weekend is no different. Tonight we are headed over to D's basketball coach for a party, tomorrow it is off to the Binams. It has done wonders for our grocery budget. All this partying however is not good for mommy's Hawaii weight loss challenge. Somehow my husband has lost 10 pounds where as I, well, I have not gained....so I am celebrating the small things.

Dagny has acting camp downtown for two weeks. She leaves there every day a hot sweaty mess. Meanwhile, Jack is taking full advantage of having the house to himself and we have had a different boy from school here day after day..... ANd Good Lord the difference between girl playdates and boy playdates is exhausting. Dagny can have a whole house full of girls over, clamoring up and down the stairs, hanging off her balcony, music blaring, texting each other despite the fact that they are in the same room.....and it doesn't even come close to a house with, say, 3 boys in it. My poor son will never have the social life my daughter does.

We officially cancelled our beach trip in August yesterday. We need to be saving for Hawaii. It killed me to make the phone call, but I feel a huge sense of accomplishment at making a good choice, knocking one more thing off our calendar, and one more thing off our check book. Maybe daddy will still take the time off and we can enjoy the latest rage, "The Stay-Cation" .......The vacation where you stay home.

Both kids are gone for a week in August. We are entertaining the thought of a small par-tay. Stay tuned :)

2008-07-09T22:43:00.001-07:00

Pink Martini was the background music on CSI:NY tonight.

Can't decide if that's a good thing or not.....

summer luvin'

2008-07-08T20:47:00.001-07:00

The worlds Greatest Camp Counselors

It was called Bubble Camp for a very good reason

After camp we headed to the coast

where Jack did this the whole time

and then my camera died for a long time......

2008-07-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

Another week down.

The kids simply can't get enough of each other. They are in some new phase which means all they want to do is be together. They sleep together every night, trying out new locations in the house. Their favorite spot so far is the downstairs front living room. Why I don't know. This means Brian gets up around 4:30 AM tramps down the stairs with two large dogs and lets them outside. he also makes coffee grinds up ice from the ice maker, goes up and down the stairs a million more times, and they somehow sleep through the entire thing. When they do wake up around 8:30 or 9:00, they scoot off to one of their rooms where they crawl into bed together and read. There has been little fighting, usually about who has who's laser pointer or something silly like that, which resolves itself in about 20 seconds.

We haven't been hitting the pool much. The kids told me they would rather by a Wilson pool pass this year, but I didn't listen. I thought for sure once they were back in the pool swimming with all of their friends, they would remember how much they loved it, but no such luck. When I do successfully beg them to go, they whine the whole time about going home. And that is if I can manage to get them to actually get in the pool at all.

I have been cooking up a storm. I think I am nesting. Last night we had a very delicious and healthy roasted veg dish with leeks, tomatoes, onions and zucchini. I threw in 4 chicken breasts marinated in lemon juice and olive oil and fresh rosemary. My side dishes were an equally healthy fruit salad and a very unhealthy fettucini alfredo with fresh fettuccini. If Jack could have crawled into the bowl of pasta, I think he would have. He also tried cantelope ( his sister is really encouraging him to try new foods) and lo and behold we can add cantelope to the very short list of foods Jack likes. Tonight will be marinated flank steak and a soba salad with homemade lemon squares for dessert. And by the way, do you have any idea how expensive lemons are? Jesus.

I have a new mad love and it's name is air conditioning. I am someone who really does not like heat unless I am in Hawaii, which is where the heat is supposed to be. We installed A/C last winter and Oh Mother Of God I can't thank the universe enough. When it was just a little too hot for my delicateness last night, I pushed the magic button and Voila! I am chilled to a comfortable 67 degrees just like that. Every time I take out the trash, I pet my A/C and give it a little kiss. is that wrong?

We purchased all the kids' school supplies last week, so their backpacks are packed and ready to go. I know I have 8 weeks left, but a girl can't be too prepared. More proof of nesting.

lazy, lazy summer

2008-07-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

So this is our first real week off. The first week the kids and I worked bubble camp at preschool and had to be out the door by 8 every morning Last week Jack and his buddy Aiden did a week of Sports Camp and I had to have them both there by 9. I was so happy when this week finally rolled around and we were able to just relax and sleep in. The kids have been spending 12 hours a day outside playing with all of the neighbor kids, eating a tom of popsicles and fruit, running through the sprinklers, playing elaborate make believe games, reading and reading and reading. They don't want to go anywhere or do anything. I think it is because they have the perfect combination of socializing with others here, and when they need a break or get bored, they can come inside and regroup.

Last weekend we drove out to the overnight camp that Dagny will be staying at for a week. They host an open house for families to come and tour the facilities etc. Dagny was excited and reassured, but Jack was the one who thought he had died and gone to heaven. Salamanders, archery, canoeing in one spot! Who knew such a place existed. When we got back into town, we checked to see if there was any availabilty for his age group and lo and behold, there was. He batted his big green eyes at grandma and the next thing we knew, he was registered for a week in the woods. He is so excited he can hardly stand it. Mommy is completely lost as to what to do for a week with no kids. Surely I can find something...

I had book group this week, which I was very much looking forward to as I completely forgot to go last month. We had good food and wine, but the AC was out which I have very, very little patience for. Last night we had my mom and Rich over for barbequed fajitas, cucumber avocado salsa, and a banana cream pie for dessert. The kids have been staying up too late but no one cares as we have no place to go in the morning. We have blown off Tae Kwon Do the past two weeks, so I will be dragging Jack's lazy but there later today as well as the library because we need More Books ! Jack has read just about the entire Harry Potter collection in a few short weeks. He needs the last one to complete his marathon.

that's all for now,

silly

kinda takes the fun out of it....

2008-06-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

Jack lost two teeth yesterday.

As he was headed upstairs to put them under his pillow he says to me " Oh mom......I am going to hide these ones really well. You are going to have look so hard to find them to give me my money"

What's the point?

So we did it

2008-06-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

We made it through yet another year.

And we are now relatively free for 2 1/2 months.

Summer used to seem to me like a really, really long time. But it doesn't anymore. Time is flying by so fast, I barely have time to think. Those last two weeks were really, really crazy. I completely forgot to go to book group one week. Completely forgot to take Dagny to her horseback riding lessons. And these things were like, written down on my calendar. Woke up in te morning, saw them, knew what lay ahead for the day......and then poof just like that all this other "life shit" happens and I forget to go where i am supposed to.

In the midst of all of the madness, both kids managed to get sick. Which was incredibly inconvenient since I was supposed to be about a million other places. And since my daughter was graduating from elementary and headed off to middle school, she kinda needed to be at these places.....especially the party she was throwing. So while I kept her home one day, the other days I just kept popping Ibuprofen into her and kept moving along. Friday night and one of her gazillion parties she called and said " MOM?? MOM ??? MY EAR JUST LIKE, POPPED, AND NOW I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!!" and I was all "Huh? Interesting...."

By the time she came home a little after 10, she was dying. I ravaged our medicine cabinet unsuccessfully looking for the medicated ear drops. Saturday morning we took her in to the doc first thing only to find that her ear drum had ruptured. Because that is how good of a mom I am.

Jesus.

Anyhoo.

We are done and life is slowing way, way down. And things are good. We had Fathers day Brunch at Gustav's with my mom, Rich, and Allison. The kids all played outside until 9:00 when I called them into bed. They have to go to work with me tomorrow so they aren't on "vacation time" quite yet. They were playing a hilarious game of Truth or Dare, and unbeknownest to them, I could hear the whole ridiculous thing. One of other children dared Jack to Ding Dong Ditch his own house. This was met with a lot of "ooohhhhhs" and I think even a double dare was thrown out. The kids all hid over behind my van and were whispering excitedly amongst themselves. They couldn't BELIEVE Jack was actually going to go through with it. I heard his little bare feet tip toe over, ring the bell and then run like a bat out of hell, over to his giggling excited posse. Then I heard the victim, my poor unsuspecting husband get up, walk over, open the door, stand there for a second ( I 'd like to think he was scratching his head and looking around bewildered) then close the door and go back to watching the Laker/Celtics game. As soon as the door shut the kids broke out hooting and hollering and praising themselves on how naughty and bad they are. And I savored that moment, because I know someday sometime soon, the trouble they are seeking won't be quite so innocent and victimless.

Hope you all are enjoying your summers.....off to bed I go

2008-06-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

During the last days of my G-Pa, the kids and I spent many, many hours taking care of the Big Guy. This usually meant me dragging along various gadgets to keep the kids busy since gramps had one TV. And it didn't have cable.

I would bring the lap top and would let my little Spielberg go nuts working his magic.....

I found some of his photos today. We would arrive first thing in the morning.....grandpa would lay in bed and wait for us to arrive. He would be laying there just like a little newborn baby, blankets tucked under his chin. The first thing he would ask was " What's the temperature in here?" and I would tell him.... He couldn't get up until the thermostat read about 75. I would open the house, make the coffee although I knew no one would drink it, bring in the paper, then go back to check on his progress, which somedays meant he would have sat up, somedays he would still be all curled up. Then we'd start the bathroom process, get him dressed and out to the table.

Now never one to be left out of anything, my gramps agreed to let the J-man take, and melt, some pictures of him too. Here is the Big Guy about a month before he departed. How I lurve him. I can't believe how much I miss him.....

That's me in the back ground....making his oatmeal just the way he liked. Pouring his juice, getting his pills, still in my jammies.

I love you Gramps.....Thank you for teaching me not only how to live, but more importantly, how to die

watching the news with my 11 year old

2008-06-08T17:33:00.001-07:00

story on about a murder in someone's home

Dags: " OHHHHHH, so homicide is when someone is killed in their home....."

Mom: "Uh, no, ( dork) homicide is murder."

Dags: " Yeah, murder in their home"

Mom: ( who is constantly amazed at the shit her daughter comes up with) "NO, the 'hom' has nothing to do with 'home' "

Dags : " well that's stupid"

Mom: "Really?"

Dags: " Yeah, they should call it murdercide or something"

Mom: " Yes, murdercide"

Jun 06 2008 - VID00003

2008-06-07T09:46:00.001-07:00

One of MANY of Jack's first films....We are still figuring out sound :)

A Post

2008-06-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Because Abra being the big show off pants that she is with all of her posts and her pictures and all her just wonderful all around goodness makes the rest of us bloggers look lazy with a capital L.

We have been doing stuff.

Stuff like playing frisbee at the park

And hiking

And finding cool bugs....but not actually touching them. Because that would be scarey

Shooting alot of hoops ( think she's tall? )

Climbing poles

hanging out with friends. Strong friends

Friends who live on acres of Skyline property. So much property that you need a tractor. Jack got to drive the tractor around and here is Dan giving him a talking to about safety and crap. Notice Jack pretending to listen?

Eating icee's and jumping on trampolines that have sprinklers blasting underneath them

Going on a ton of 5th grade field trips. Really really wet field trips

I love the mom at the back of the boat. She is one of our more kooky parents. She is great.

The kids are ready for summer, but not as crazy for it as they have been in the past. I believe it might be due to 3rd and 5th being such crazy state testing years, and once the test is behind the kids, they kind of lay off a bit and let them relax and actually enjoy going to school. Jack earned his green belt last week so he is in a different class now. No more white/yellow baby belt stuff for him. He is getting hardcore. He has rejoined his old Cub Scout pack and we attended the year end party on Sunday. The day was great fun, very traditional....We had it a Gabriel Park....yummy potluck lunch, sack races, water balloon fight, etc. The boys were all crammed on the tire screaming wanting to faster and faster. Brian obliged and spun them round and round. And round. And round. And then one of the Bears puked. Puked with perfect aim as to not hit anyone else. Got off the swing, wiped his mouth, high fived his friends, and they were off to do more boy shit. Boys are gross I tell you.

Field day is this week and Brian always takes the day off to volunteer all day to help. Hopefully I will remember my camera to take some most excellent shots of the big guy refereeing ( hth do you spell that?) the water balloon toss.

Hope all is well with you all :)

I don't want to go to sleep

2008-05-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

I am fighting it.

I miss him so much.

I go into my back room and inhale the smell of him off of his furniture. I do that weekly.

Tonight we were at a Boy Scout meeting and I had to tell the person I was talking to "to stop".

We were talking about some Memorial day events and I was so, so fucking sad.

And all of a sudden I was crying and it was really embarasing.

But

I just want to cry.

And cry.

And cry.

And cry.

I don't want to go to sleep because I know he will be there.

And I don't want to see him there.

I want to see him here.

I miss him so God Damn Fucking Much.

I hate you cancer. You are such a fucking asshole.

I am so so mad.

Dying is one thing.

Having your life stolen form you is another. You are a prick.

This Memorial Day will be hard.

I think about you everyday.

I miss you every single day.

I know that I am not the only one.

You were the most amazing person we have ever met.

And the hole you have left in this family will never be filled.

I love you grandpa

2008-05-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

I just received one of those copy and paste emails from a friend of mine. The topic was "one word" and you needed to use one word to describe a whole bunch of things....like cell phone, pets, favorite job, etc. So I was going down the list typing away and I got to "wish list item". And I stopped and I thought. And I thought. And I looked out the window and thought some more. And I tried to think of one single word that I wished for. World peace? Two words. Flat stomach? Two again. I sat there looking out at my street, on a gorgeous beautiful day on my couch, in my air conditioned home, with my family, all healthy, sleeping soundly upstairs. And I couldn't think of anything I really wished for.

What more could I ask for?

I am pushing the big 3 9 this fall, and as I am getting older, I truly am begining to settle into my skin.....who I am and what that means. I am comfortable with where I came from, where I am now, and where I am going. I like the way I parent and I don't care if you don't. I love my kids and I know that they are by far the greatest people I have ever met. I know they are going to fuck up, and I am prepared to face that head on. I don't have any doubts about that. I know so, so, so many people who are raising the most perfect children on earth, and I can only imagine what lies in store for them.

I love my home despite alll of its chaos. I know that I am messy, I know my halls have marks and I know the garage is so cluttered you can not walk through it. However I have a home that looks like a family lives there. Kids love my home and that is what I created. All of the neighbor kids congregate here and it makes my husband crazy. They climb the trees, use the bushes for forts, leave all of their crap all over the place and to me, it is heaven. Holidays are usually at my place because of location but also because the kids can run amok and no one worries. Kids climb out windows, jump off balconies, make s'mores in the backyard and come in and out without knocking.

It is a good thing to look at a wish list and not be able to think of a single thing.

Eventually I put "money" because who doesn't wish for more of that.

Last week was staff appreciation week at our school. The week is put on by the parents and each day the staff gets something done for them.....we bring everyone starbucks, we make breakfast, flowers, etc etc. Usually on the last day of the week each class has a party and the students honor the individual teachers. Dagny has had the same two teachers for two years. The children switch back and forth between these two profesionals depending on subjects, so they have spent a lot of time with these two fabulous women. As this year draws to a close, there is a lot of emotion from the children, teachers and parents since we are not just going a grade up.....we are graduating. These ladies received a bunch of recent 8 and 9 year olds and they are about to push them out of the nest, off to middle school. It is very emotional and very exciting.

So we parents put together a "party" which sounded like a very do-able event. We didn't want to do " decorate your cookie and have juice again". We wanted to change it up a bit. This was going to be the last time our kids would all be together for staff appreciation, and after two years of putting up with these hooligans, and just about begging the boys to please start wearing deodorant, we thought they deserved something more.

So we decided to take the party outside, in the 97 degree heat, and have an ice cream sundae party. The kids piled on pound of MnM's Nerds, Gummy worms and bears, sprinkles, Oreos, chocolate and butterscotch. We presented the teachers their gifts and then we were off to wash their cars.

And that's when things got a little crazy.

Now we knew that "washing the teachers cars" was really an excuse for a good old fashion water fight. What I guess we forgot to think about was the fact that the kids would scream as loud as the did, and the fact that were , you know, next to a school where other kids were learning and that all the other kids would be hanging out the windows, laughing and screaming and that it would be, you know, not so good.

But at the same time, really, really good.

One of the 7th grade classes had a substitute, and despite her best attempts to get her class under control, it wasn't really happening. She kept shouting "Who is in charge down there" and I don't think any of us parents "heard" her because we didn't answer. It was a bit like Rydell High. The kids LOVED it.

About half way through I went to the principal's office and turned myself in, since I knew her phone was gonna start ringing. (Its always better to turn yourself in before you get caught....you get in less trouble that way) She came out and was very understanding and I don't THINK we parents are in too much trouble, but I can't say for sure.

I do know our class will definitely be remembered. Sometimes you got shake things up a little.

Last night I took Jack to see the new Narnia movie. He lu-HUVES the Narnia books and he has been salivating over this movie for a good month now.

As the light dimmed, my cell phone buzzed and I saw it was Dagny calling from her BFF's house. I stepped outside to talk. She said

"Hey mom, it's me."

"Yes Dags"

"Yeah, Jenna and I were wondering if we could walk over to the Valley and meet Victoria"

( The Valley is our local movie theater, bowling, ice skating rink with restaurants, etc)

"Walk over and me Victoria and do what?"

" Oh you know just hang out"

"Just hang out?"

"Yeah"

" Alone?"

"Yeah"

"You want to know if I will let you and Jenna walk down to the Valley alone and cruise the a bowling alley alone ?"

crickets chirp

"Yeah ?"

"Put Jenna's mom on the phone"

Puts phone down

Jenna's mom:

"Hello?"

" What the hell is wrong with you?"

Jenna's mom bursts out laughing and then says

"Well, what was your answer?"

"What the hell do you THINK my answer was?"

" I told them no, but they thought you would say yes because you're 'cool' and 'laid back' "

"I am cool and laid back when they are in my HOUSE!! Not when they are walking down HIGHWAYS and going to BOWLING ALLEYS with creepy old men who are drinking Budweiser out of styrofoam cups wearing matching shirts and polishing their balls. JESUS !!!"

Jenna's mom laughs at me more

I tell her she is mean and I am breaking up with her which means our daughters won't grow up and have a double wedding and buy houses next door to each other and have babies at the same time.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

A milestone

2008-05-15T12:08:00.001-07:00

Last night I showed my daughter how to shave her legs. She now thinks she is the hottest thing since Ashely Tisdale. She has been asking for a while now, I don't know how long, I tune out most of her begging. Anyways, I was talking to my BFF trying to explain all of her reasons for doing it, and all of my reasons for not, one of which is she has no hair on her legs to begin with, so what's the point. Her reply was "If she has no hair on her legs, who cares if she shaves?" And I thought you know? She's right. So last night my little baby and I sat on the edge of the tub, ankle deep in water and I showed her how it was done. I explained to her that we all do it different.....some shave the whole leg, some shave the lower leg, some shave their feet, and some don't shave at all. It is all up to her. She asked what I did, I told her, and she thought that was what she too would do. So we are shaving partners now.

In addition, I woke up this morning and got dressed. As I was walking down the hall, I looked at myself and said "Self? What the hell are you wearing?" Turns out I had put on my daughter's t-shirt. AND DIDN'T NOTICE. Do you know what the hell that means? It means she is big. And tall. As big and tall ( OK, maybe not as BIG) as me and I can wear her clothing without noticing. What. The. HELL??!! Good Lord. She continues to run circles around us. She has been home one night this week, and it is the only night she will be home. We will probably see her tonight around 9, and after that, I won't see her until Saturday sometime when she comes home long enough to change clothes and leave again for her basketball game.

It is heating up around these parts. Supposed to be in the 90's. Our AC guy came out to do the final hook up thingie to make sure everything is a go. When he turned on the AC and I felt freezing cold air shooting out of the vents I just about cried. AC is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I heart it very much.

ttfn

Go ahead and say it

2008-05-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Go RIGHT ahead.

Silly, you are LAZY. You are LAZY LAZY LAZY LAZY LAZY. You are a LAZY WHORE BLOGGER and your blog should BREAK UP WITH YOU because you DO NOT DESERVE such a NICE BLOG.

And you would be right.

But the thing is, the final weeks of school have been really, really killer. The kids are getting ready to "step up" ( you are not allowed to use the "G" word until your senior your. Whatever) and that has been extremely time consuming in addition to working more than usual and my hands are tied and I am so exhausted each and every day and I so much as look at my blog and I cry because I just dont' know where I would begin.

So....

Things have been mad cap crazy. About two weeks ago we went to a fabulous wine dinner at the home of some friends of ours. I believe there were 14 couples present and while about half of these couples being in the same room together with alcohol can spell the serious disaster, we didn't. We were all pretty good, no one threw up in the bushes on the way home which is always a big plus. One of the hosts is a big guy at Jones soda, after a ~~a lot~~ few glasses of wine, I had the world's greatest idea ever. I asked him if next year he could donate to our auction, getting your child's face printed on the Jones label. He seemed to think it was do-able and I am already stashing my pennies because Jack could survive on nothing but Jones for the rest of his life if I allowed him, and OMG how fabulously freaked would he be to have his face plastered on the label.

Friday night we held our annual 5th Grade Bingo night, which funds all of our 5th grade send off activities. The night is exhausting for the 5th grade parents, but so much fun for the entire school. The back field is opened up and kids spend the evening running in and out, eating pizza, picking prizes, shrieking in delight when " guest callers" appear. A number of our incoming 6th grade families also attended, so it was nice getting to eye up our new kids. Hopefully we didn't scare any of them off with all of the madness.

We headed up to my Uncle's place at Mount Hood to celebrate Mother's Day weekend. Lucy the worlds greatest dog can not get up there fast enough. We forgot her leash which turned out to not be a problem as she doesn't really need one. She spent two days fetching sticks out of the river and running around for miles on end through the bush and the trees. She is now completely passed out and probably will be until tomorrow AM. We on the other hand, spent two days drinking wine, sitting by the river next to our campfire, playing games that cause people to do a lot of yelling, and general group loving. No injuries to report other than the stump my daughter dropped on my toe, which my mother was really, really supportive and sympathetic of. I can't remember the last time she called me a pussy, but what better time than mother's day. I think we finally broke out S'mores around 11:30 and I am hoping the kids were asleep by midnight. I am so tired I can hardly see straight and can't wait for early bedtime.

This Tuesday I am going to attend a "thank you brunch" at the Beaverton School District. I have spent the past 4 years serving on the PTO board and I am getting ready to step down and say goodbye. I have been on the board since Dagny started 1st grade and the thought of not being on it makes me a little sad. I will still be a helicopter parent, hovering over her as we head into middle school, just not as involved in the politics of things.

Shit. Who am I kidding? My nose will still be all up and in everyone's bid'ness.

Dagnys life continues to be a blur. I think every night when Brian comes home about the third question he asks is " Now where is Dagny?" And along with all of the lurve a group of 10 and 11 year old girls can shower upon each other, so comes all of the drama as well. Every day so and so and so and so are mad at each other. And while it is exhausting, it is even more amusing listening to them. The emails, the texts, the phone calls, the networking. She is very much looking forward to middle school. She did her forecasting last week and she and all most of her friends all signed up for the same things.

Jack is still a tae kwon do machine. He is now a yellow/green stripe belt working towards green. He just took the state tests and his scores are pretty unbelievable. The boy is pure genius. He is heading into 4th which means middle school is just around the bend for him. And that decision is going to keep me up at night. He is still a very active little cub scout and he made me the sweetest mother's day gift. How I was blessed with such a gently, kind loving boy is beyond me. I keep waiting for him to turn into an ass like a lot of other boys his age. But he doesn't, he keeps loving me to death, holding each and every door for me, young children adore the ground he walks on because he is so good and gentle with them. He will be the worlds greatest dad

OK, so as you see.....not much to tell or say. Hopefully now that I have broken my silence, I can continue to post about the mundane stoopid things that happen around here that make me smile and laugh every day.

the two jerks I live with.....

2008-04-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

SO I was home alone all week with the kids as Bri Bri was out gallivanting with his new company, being awarded thousands of dollars, horseback riding and sleeping way, way in.

I was at home doing all the crap I do, plus all the crap he does ( garbage duty on Tuesday night *roll eyes*) Anyhoo, it is Friday night, it has been along week, and I am ready to call it a day.

We get home, the kids settle Jack does all of his "missing work"homework that he neglected all week. I sit down and work on the Valentine's Day party pages for our 5th grade memory book. About an hour later, the fighting begins.

"OMG...BE QUIET !!! I am trying to watch TV"

"You be Quiet"

"YOU!"

"YOU"

"YOU!!!"

"YOU!!!!"

"YOOOOOUUUU!!!!!"

"YYYYYOOOOOOUUUUU"

*shuffle shuffle, lamp tips over*

"MMMMMOOOOOMMMMMM!"

"MMMMMMOOOOOOMMM"

You know......The Usual.

I send them both upstairs to retire to their corners and settle and I start dinner.

15 minutes later, the 11 year old pre-pubescent girl comes down and says to me:

"I have an idea.....from now on when I get in trouble, instead of going to my room, I am going to take my journal, go out front and sit in front of a tree and write about all of my feelings and my frustration and I will just sit and think outside, because it is so much more peaceful than my room"

and I said: "No"

and she said: "OMG.....YOU ARE SO MEAN!!!!! YOU ARE THE MEANEST !!!!!!WHY? WHY? WHY?"

and I said: "Because the whole purpose of you being sent to your room to cool off is due in large to a behavior that was not appropriate. Going outside to play or "sit and ponder" is a privilege. Why would I reward your bad behavior by letting you do something enjoyable like going outside?"

And she huffed off

10 minutes later I called her down for dinner. I handed her delicious garden burger with grilled onions and cheddar cheese melted just so. She gave me some half assed mean look.

I asked her "What's wrong?"

and she said: "I hate you."

Now mind you this is the 1st time in 11 years and 4 months she has said those words to me. And I gotta admit, although I didn't show it, I was a little sad inside.

I said : "Huh"

She grabbed her plate and said: "I'll be having dinner in my room"

and stormed off.

So Jack and I sat down.

He said: " Is there cheese on this?"

Me: "Yes, but just a little"

Him: " I can't eat this"

Me: " Yes you can, I made it for you the way I make it for you all the time.....you like it"

Him:" Yes, but there is a seed here on the bun, I can't eat it"

Me: "Whatever"

Him: " And there is a little too much mayonnaise"

Me:"Whatever....don't eat"

Him:" And it is Friday, I don't eat things of this color on Friday"

(OK, he didn't say that but he may as well have because the child has more rules and conditions than the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes)

He storms off

2 minutes later he comes back with a picket sign he has created and walks around the kitchen chanting:

"I am not supported...I am not supported.....I am not supported"

I say :"Really Jack.....how are you not supported?"

He says: " First off...you have NOT bought me a video camera even though I have asked for one repeatedly....You obviously do NOT support my dream of being a film maker. Secondly, you serve barf for dinner. You do not respect my dietary needs."

And it is everything I can do to not shake him. Hard

and I am thinking really? Is this really how you spend you Friday nights with 11 and 9 year old children.. Because I seriously do NOT have the patience for this.

However, teaching preschool keeps things in perspective for me, lets me know my children are a *little* normal, and I want to say to the parents "OH man, it is going to get SOOOOOO much worse" But I don't, because I know middle school is in 4 months and it is going to get SO Much worse for me, and I really, really do NOT want anyone telling me that, tyvm.

Today...

example 1. Miss A come in today to show me an owie on her finger. I asked her what happened and she told me " Well, I asked my sister V to PLEASE stop nibbling on my finger, but she DIDN'T and it started to bleed and I told daddy and he went and got me a band aid and now I have the OWIE"

And I said " Oh that silly V, maybe she didn't hear you ask her to stop 'nibbling'.....Good thing daddy was there"

two more siblings walk in

example 2. Miss H has a scratch on her cheek....I asked her "What happened to your cheek" and she tells me "WELL!!! My sister M SCRATCHED me!" M, who is a year younger was standing right next to her and there was no way she was letting her get away with telling just her side of the story.....She tells me "NO, NO, NO....YOU knocked down my fort AND hit me with your elbow!" and then Miss H starts back up and I smile and I revel in the sweetness and innocence of the disagreements and I think "aaaaahh, sibling love at its finest." If only I could adore the fighting between my children at this age.....If only I could foreseee the future when they are arguing over cigarettes or who used who's razor, or when I figure out the vodka's been watered down..... Suddenly all of this sweet squabbling will be something I long for.

This weekend will be full, J has Tae Kwon Do at 10, D's game is at 3, off to the Dingus's for dinner with not only my kids, 1 or 2 of Dagny's friends as well....Maybe we will have to give Pab a Zan-Zan so he doesn't panic at all of the mad cap destruction this crew can do. Sunday will be spent doing a whole lotta crap we have put off, like mowing the small forrest out back , draining the hot tub, etc and then off to meet the Book Group Girls at 5:00. I don't know if da liver can handle Dingus two night in a row.

And OMG, my daughter is listening to the Ramones as loud as she can on her ipod........I am in so much f'ing trouble.

PS Reno pix are up on my FaceBook page :)

rantings and ravings

2008-04-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hellooooo

SIlly here.....it is a Thursday before a four day weekend and I couldn't be more ready.

I have had a very, very long week. And from now until June, it isn't going to get any better. Dagny started basketball practice with the High School team she is going to go to. She is practicing with the team twice a week, and has practice with her current team once a week with games on Saturdays. A few of her teammates are doing it with her and when they walked in on Tuesday, they immediately walked out and said " This is the wrong place.....those girls are really really BIG" and I laughed and said "you silly girls....don't you know? These are Dagny's people" Dagny walked in and her jaw about hit the ground. She was suddenly a dwarf and in awe of all the gorgeous, tan, ponytail wearing, slam dunking-pivoting towering 6 foot tall girls surrounding her. I think she might have heard angels sing and harps play. We introduced her to the JV coach who has been there for 17 years and we talked a bit about her and what we can do. He told me " This is wear she needs to be...." So she will practice with him 2x a week through Spring and then start up again in the Fall. He also coaches a team in the winter that she can try out for instead of playing rec ball. I am so, so dead set against children trying out for anything until they are in high school. I would never pay money to have someone rate my child and tell him or her if she is "good enough" to play. To play. Won't be long before they start having T-ball tryouts, Tball all-star teams, mommy and me swim meets, Lord, I could write 10 pages on that.....ahem, but I won't.

So Tuesday I made dinner for four of the girls, drove them to practice, drove to PTO, stayed for an hour, drove back to practice, drove home all the girls. Wednesday we were up at the crack of dawn since we were headed to the Oregon Coast with the 5th grade. Anyone who has been on a filed trip knows the worst part is the bus. Being trapped in a bus with 50 sweaty stinky and incredibly loud 10 and 11 years is something close to hell. Doing it for four hours would have driven me to pack a bottle of wine in my sack lunch. SO I drove myself, through the snow( holy shit) with 3 other very smart moms. Back and forth. And then we ran out of gas in Cannon Beach. And did you know Cannon Beach has one, and only one gas station? And did you know that it isn't even IN Cannon Beach? It is across the highway, hidden in an RV park. So no matter how many times you drive back and forth through town, with your digital gage counting down.....10 miles till empty......9 miles till empty. ....You will not FIND the gas station until you pull over and ask a construction guy.

50 fabulous 5th graders....

I was so sad on this field trip....watching all of these kids running and splashing and playing. They really are a wonderful group. Even the onery ones. I don't know why it makes me sad since all of D's friends are staying. Could it be possible that I will miss the boys?? Egads...

Paying homage to the fabulous rock

They eve do the weird hand thing at the beach....

Good Lord

After we got back from the beach, it was my turn to drive the Wednesday night ( not to be confused with the Tu/Thur) basketball carpool. So I packed up 6 exhausted, wet and sandy 5th graders, drove home, emptied the dishwasher fed the dogs, fed the girls, got back in the mad cap mini van and went to practice. Turned around, drove them all home, came home fell into bed exhausted.

I know, I know....I am killing you with all my exciting news, right?

Tomorrow B and I and are BFF's are flying to RENO because we are not allowed to go to Vegas anymore. it is just not OK, and it is too, too much. Too much everything. So we are hoping to have a calmer, more peaceful trip this time, we are staying in a fabulous suite that would cost about 10 times more in Vegas than what we are paying in Reno. I am very excited to get away. We didn't leave town in November, so this is long overdue...

And on a lighter not....

I can't stop laughing. I watch it over and over.....Where the hell did she go? I love the way the last model kinda looks over at her likes "Huh, that sucks" and keeps walking.

See, I told you I was too old....

2008-04-04T18:31:00.001-07:00

It took me WEEKS to recover from my concert so I could concentrate long enough to blog.

So SPring Break was LAST week and the kids, my mom and I headed off to the fabulous Oregon Coast....Our home away from home. Everyone was very glad to see us. Especially Mr Steve as my children so lovingly call him. We spent 5 days just relaxing, swimming in the pool, hiking the coast, climbing the dunes, eating too much, drinking to much, napping, reading and buying alot of crab from Barnacle Bills. The weather at the coast was beautiful, but chilly. We had snow in the mornings, and then it would quickly melt away. Mom and I had a wine day on the Beach which we always enjoy. Alot.

School is back in swing and we are in the final stretch of the year. The 5th graders have some crazy event scheduled almost weekly which means Christie and I are very busy following them around, chaperoning, taking pictures for the year book. I was so dreading the middle school decision for so long, and it is simply beautiful the way things have unfolded and how the future took care of itself. We have 50 kids and that would be a good number to stop with. We have room for 10 more, but we don't want them. We have an amazing group of children and families staying. Our kids, at only 21, will definitely be the minority, but I know they will make all the new kids feel welcome. We have a barbeque at the end of June so we can all meet and get to know the new families. How many middle schools do you know that extend such a warm welcome?

Today is Friday and we have a quiet weekend planned. The kids ate dinner early and have been playing together in the backyard all evening. Saturday night is turning into date night for me and my man and I am hoping tomorrow in no exception.

All in all things are quite good.

Gratuitous Photos...

Children at beach

I call this one " Can he get any more Irish?"

Mommy lurving her baby

Our favorite hang out

And here's why...

Plus they rent you these after they get you all liquored up

My #$%^!&* children. These two monkeys have scaled more shit than most kids do in a life time.....Just TRY to find the little freaks and GUESS how high up they were....

Time for a little best friend shout out.

So there are quite a few kids in 5th grade......46 total. Most of them have been there give or take since 1st grade. I know all of the girls pretty well and many of the boys. Dagny is friends with everyone. Everyone is friends with everyone. But these two......These two are like off the chart crazy in love and have been since they laid eyes on each other when they were both 6 years old. I think they had a fight in 3rd grade becasue Jenna was mad that dagny was wearing clogs instead of tennis shoes on "Tennis Shoes Day" which they had CLEARLY planned out and OMG WHY didn't she follow their promise.....dagny was so upset, she faked being sick so I would come and take her home. The one and only time she has ever done that. I think a day or two later, everything was back to normal. These two are dangerously protective of each other.

They have this secret weird little hand thing they do together.

There is a large group of girls at school, and they are all friends. But these two go so much deeper. I think you are blessed to find a best friend. I thank my lucky starts my daughter has such a good one.....

I am too, too old for this

2008-03-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

So last night The Cult played and Laura and I along with a boat load of boys went. This is scarey cause it means you have to man up, hold your liquor, and not whine about how much your feet hurt and for me, that ain't easy.

I spent the day doing alot of this, while screaming "Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee........." into a hair brush

which was cool cause it totally embarasses my daughter. People think I act like this when I have had one too many.....people who really know me know I act like this all the time.

Since Laura and I were the only girls, it meant no one else wanted to get their picture taken over and over, which is OK cause we are pretty enough to take lots of pictures of

We met at Henry's for our prefunc. The wine was good, but my martini was awful. Laura and I headed down to the Roseland first since it was general seating and we wanted to get good and close to Ian. The opening band was The Cliks and you know how opening bands usually suck? OMWord they most definitely did NOT suck and as a matter of fact, they were really flipping good. REaaaalllly goooood.

Anyhoo, seeing as how we got there earlyish, we had a most excellent spot. As in 2nd row. And also so since we got there earlyish, we had to stand there through mic checks and guitar checks and a bunch of other checks so we did what drunk chicks do....We took blurry pictures of ourselves

and we stuck our tounges out

and we took pictures of the drunk people behind us

And then they came on and OMG they were really really good. And I was really really close. ANd I wish I could have taken clearer pictures, but everyone decided to start smoking all at once.....and they weren't smoking cigarettes.....

"Got me swaying little honey....."

Look still standing !!

And after about 30 minutes in the pit, I could stand it no longer, so I joined all the boys in the balcony and I rocked on from there. We were home by midnight and asleep shortly there after. However things that hurt today.....

*My head - for obvious reasons

*My throat - from either screaming or inhaling a 1/4 pound of second hand marijuana smoke

*My knees - not sure why, probably because I am old

*My toes - from traipsing all over hell and back in way too high heeled black boots with teeny tiny pointed toes

*The bottom of my feet - for the same reason listed above, in addition to thinking I would be more comfortable walking barefoot up Burnside 10 blocks instead of wearing the above mentioned shoes.

*My ears - which won't stop ringing and I keep screaming "WHAT?"

So I will suffer through today. Hopefully this Alleve and Diet Coke will help a bit.

Easter Eve '08

2008-03-22T21:54:00.001-07:00

The fact that is after 10:00 PM and Dags and Kelsey are still maniacally texting each other means the Easter Bunny is going to have to stay up veryyyyyyy late tonight to out trick her opponents.

Actually my 11 year old daughter and I had a "serious talk" about how yes, she is quite right.....There is no Easter Bunny and that yes in fact it is her father and I.

She said " And let me guess....you are Santa and the Tooth Fairy too".

We had a talk about being 9 and being in third grade. I reminded her of her year spent in 3rd....Her teachers, her friends, her ignorance. I asked her to respect her brothers.....Although I am sure he is more than onto the game. I reminded her that once she quits believing is when the Easter Bunny will stop coming.

She promptly wrote him a note.

Beautiful sunny day means that back deck is open for business......

The look on dagny's face when she came face to face with her grandmothers brand new tattoo.....

Our challa easter Bunny after Brian ripped off one of his legs....

And him scarfing it down...

The egg dying crew

and a bunch of unwanted helpers

shorty getting low :)

2008-03-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

Wanna know how much wine $1,000 buys?

B won a contest at work and the prize was a consultation with this guy and $1,000 to spend. They went over our likes and dislikes, and today, the wine guy himself showed up at my house with 6 cases of faulous wine We have South African Pinotage, boat loads of cabs & chards, Pinot Blancs, Pinot Noir, Chianti Classico, pinot d'Alsace, Can Blau, and that is just the teeny tip of the iceberg.

That will definitely help with any Spring Break Grumpies mommy might run into......

a picture a day....

2008-03-19T18:47:00.001-07:00

Think I can do it? How 'bout I try for Spring Break.

Which, btw, starts today. Good Lord is it ever needed. We were going to head off to the beach this week, but my darling daughter is so completely spent, we decided to give her a rest and we will head to the coast next week. Which is perfect. We will sleep in and laze around and just about the time the begin to get bored, we will pack up and head to the beach for 4 days.

Yesterday the kids and a bunch of their friends went to a party. We purchased the party at the auction. Our PE teacher and our music teacher took 15 kids ice skating and then out to dinner. It was an arduous bunch but the teachers prevailed. Being part of such a fabulous group of families makes me so excited to continue on for middle school.

2008-03-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Since apparently I don't blog anymore, I will have to settle for pictures. Wonder if I could do a picture a day....or if that too would be too much "work". Sheesh. Lazy Whore.....

Jack and that fab-U-lous yellow belt

We had a birthday party to go to this weekend and I agreed to chaperone. We had the party and then headed downtown to This crazy putt putt place downtown which was nuts. Half the girls were too scared to even go in much less play to play. But after they were goaded into it by their posse, they had no choice.

Do you know how long it takes 13 eleven year old girls to play 18 holes of golf? I will tell you this, if the hole's par was 3, most of the girls scored about an eleven. You do the math. Good Lord.

Since it was St Paddy's weekend, we took our McSilly McIrish wee bonny babes down to Kell's to ~~indoctrinate them into the world of Irish drinking~~ introduce them into a portion of their heritage. Here I am trying to drink a Guiness, but sadly I could only get through about half of it and I poured the rest into B's cup.

The kids got spray on Tat's....Dagny went with the shamrock

Jack got some celtic knot thing-y

We then headed over to Saturday Market where we met this guy

And we couldn't call it a night without our balloon hats.

Sunday rolled around and we invited family over for my completely kick ass Corned Beef. Being married to a gigantic Irish man for over a decade means I have had to perfect this dish. My cabbage with bacon and cheddar cheese? Also very yummy. And of course, no St. Paddy's day celebration would be complete without green beer

And green milk

Overall, it was a fabulous McSilly weekend

We have been running around...

2008-03-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

Doing a whole lot of nothing. I would like to be blogging more, but I am so addicted to Facebook, it is impossible to get me to do anything else. I am a "Music Expert" on the ilike challenge. Anyone wanna take me on? Didn't think so....

Photos...

Dagny had a book report due. She had to do an autobiography and THIS is what she chose....

How the hell do they get away with that? I had to do all of mine on exciting folks like Jefferson, or MArk Twain. For Black History Month she researched Oprah. What. Ever.

We had book group where we drank alot and celebrated a certain little girl I know named Amy.....She doesn't look a day over 25....

Here is Jack being promoted from bear to wolf, or wolf to bear, can't keep them straight. He is pinning me, his momma

And hamming it up for the crowd....

And here is the board my son broke tonight.......WITH HIS FOOT......because he is like a crazy kung fu master. And tonight he tested for his yellow belt......

and guess what ??????

2008-02-25T13:27:00.001-08:00

You all know how much I *heart* Sarah Silverman, right?

You must watch the video below....

Warning, it is NOT for children, or ANYONE EASILY OFFENDED !!

Hee hee hee