Turkeys

Just a little wildlife encounter in the backyard in the suburbs! I think we counted eight of them. (Click on the pictures to make them bigger for a better view.)

They came back the next day, here is a close encounter!

Pierced Ears

She finally did it! A little over a month before she turns six Paige decided today was the day to get her ears pierced. Her friend Emily just had them done and told her that it hurt less than a shot. All morning she mustered up the courage and we all trooped down to the mall. Of course that's when the real drama began. Crying, screaming, tantrums and carrying on like a total baby. But she didn't want to leave the store because she did really want to get it done but she was too afraid to do it. We were trapped there with her wanting to do it but too scared to do it. And we took every angle we could with the pep talk- telling her she was tough and strong that we believed she could handle it, down playing the pain, talking up the fun of it all, offering bribes and in the end resorting to shaming her into it. The problem was we knew she really wanted to do it and would be very disappointed if she chickened out. On the way over in the car she was dancing in her chair and singing a "I'm getting my ears pierced" song. So we didn't want to let the fear win. And we were going to do anything we could to help her get what she wanted. But it was a tough road, lasting hours, filled with embarrassment and many trips out of the store and back in. Thankfully the girls were very patient and helpful. I never saw them roll their eyes once! So here she is, Miss America.

Damn Fools

Do you know what bothers me about smoking? Well I supposed I have, obviously, many reasons. The first one is that I saw my mother bleed to death, out of her mouth, becuase the lung cancer ate through her aorta and it exploded. Code blue, lights flashing, people running, and blood everywhere. The last look on my mother's face to me that of helpless, scared confusion. I guess that would be the number one reason why I hate it. I have to live with that image forever. Oh, and now you do too. Good! Maybe it will make you stop smoking. But that's just it. All the idiots that I care about, who knew and cared for my mother are still smoking. (With one exception of Sonja, apparantly the smartest person I know.) But seriously, what is it with the escapism?!?!?! Life gets stressful, and people drop everything to smoke. Oh man the kids are driving me crazy...I'm going to smoke. I'm having such a hard day at work...I'm going to smoke. But you know what the rest of us have to do when life gets stressful? DEAL WITH IT! Through hard times and bad days and death and crisis. The rest of us just have to cope and handle it and carry on with nothing more than the mental capacity we were given at birth. I'm so sick of people taking a break from their lives to do something that will certainly kill them but will also, NOT REDUCE THEIR STRESS. It just makes you a more edgey, stressed out kind of a person. Hello?? What is there not to get. Why is this so freaking hard?!?!?!

I know I'm on a Harry Potter binge and all right now but if I could just take the memory and the vision of that night and the days that followed of sleeplessness and wretching and feeling more alone than I ever knew possible and put it into Dumbledore's Pensieve for others to watch and experience I'm pretty sure we'd have solved the smoking problem in this country.

Queen Latifah

The one thing Chris and I didn't mention about the trip was that Queen Latifah was staying in our hotel just 3 rooms down. Chris thought he might have seen her a few times, but then again maybe not. She stayed the same days we did. The kid in the hotel told us she was coming there the night we arrived. And as we left we saw the Cover Girl truck with her picture on it driving away too. Pretty cool.

Dada

My kid starts talking and he won't stop. Who'd have guessed?!
Yes, that's right. He said Dada in the same day! At least he said Mama first. Now he won't stop: "Mamamamamama Dadadadadaddadada Mamamamamama Dadadadadada"

Mama

Joshy said "Mama!" He had been close to it for a few days now, maybe a week or so actually. Saying "amah" and things like that. But today while waiting for his waffles in his high chair he said it twice, very clearly. Mama, Mama. The sweetest sound in the world!

Lofty Aspirations

Paige just announced that she wants to be a chef and a scientist when she grows up. Her words were, "On Saturday I could go cooking and on Monday I could do experiments." Sounds good to me!

Skunk

Last night while Chris and I were packing the van for camping we both turned to look at the porch and there was a skunk walking out of the house! Now there was a box blocking the view of the step from where we were standing so we can't be sure if it actually went into the house or not. I didn't see any footprints on the floor or anything that would indicate it had been inside. But it at least was right up to the door way. The door was open, Joshy was in his crib upstairs and Paige was in the tub. It was only about 8:30/9pm not very late at all for a nocturnal animal. Barely dark. I just freaked out and kept saying "Oh my God!" but it walked away and never noticed us. After that, we left the door shut! We're not even in the woods yet and already we're having problems with animals!

He's ok

Dad is out of his 2nd surgery and doing well. Going to be a LONG recovery since he hadn't even healed from the first. But at least he's out and ok. Phew!

Bored

That's it. Got nothing.

Trying again

Made a new site for pictures. Check it out!
http://spaces.msn.com/members/tetropics/

Taking the Blog Down

The anger that builds in my head when I see that name just isn't worth having a place to vent and to share pictures of my kids with family who live far away. You win. I'll take it down tomorrow. This will give you plenty more time to insult me and a chance for anyone else to read my blog who hasn't yet today. Good job. Proved my point from the last entry exactly. Another insensitive asshole out there in the world manipulating the good people. How proud you must be.

I hate people!

I would guess I use this phrase at least once a day. Probably more. I really do. I 'm so sick of all these self-important, self-involved people who see others as nothing more than mere obstacles in the way of their life. You know who I mean. People who don't slow down and nearly run you off the road in their vehicles. People who cut in front of you, forcing you to stop short while walking. (Yesterday the same family made us stop TWICE while walking in Mystic. Once when they cut in front of Chris and once when they cut in front of me. They actually had to weave in between a family of 4, pushing a stroller??) These are the people in the grocery store who keep on their course like the North or South Going Zax and make me move out of their way while I'm holding groceries, an 8 month hold and trying to corral my 5 year old. What is it with people? Where did consideration go? Like why when I was pregnant did I have to hold the door open for men in public places? I really did. Enormous baby belly, walking in to work and they let me hold the door for them. I'm serious, it is so frustrating! It really is like these people see other people as nothing more than some "thing" in their way that they need to maneuver around, like a parked car or a cone in the road. I think I'm going to start telling them too. "Oh I'm sorry? Let me get out of your way, I'm sure you're way more important than I am anyway!" Or maybe I'll just start swinging!

So far so good

Haven't gotten the official all clear but the mammogram and ultrasound looked good. They didn't do a biopsy. Just need to compare my old mammogram with the new ones. Hopefully then I'll get the all clear.

Starting to Freak!

So the day my mom found out she had cancer was a hot day in July. Remember it completely. And she was dead 6 months later. Really starting to loose it. I know I shouldn't panic until I have a "reason" to. But isn't having a mammogram and biopsy sort of reason enough? I mean, they don't do those things on a whim or for no reason. And 6 months is before Christmas!! I'm taking deep breaths as if I'm in Lamaze class and it is keeping the diarrhea away (at least so far) but I'm not really in a good place right now. I hear Allison Janney as Peach the Starfish in Finding Nemo screaming "Find your happy place, find your happy place, FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE!"

A Good Day

Dad is out of surgery and doing well! Phew!
And Joshy spent all night last night in his crib! Wahoo!
Things are going well today! I'm so happy for both of them!

Happy Birthday Kate!

Today would have been Katharine Houghton Hepburn's 98th birthday. Although for years she claimed that her birthday was in November it was in fact May 12, 1907. November was her brother Tom's birthday, he died when she was 14 and she pretended that his birthday was hers as sort of a tribute to him. Wherever she is I hope she's having a good time!

He has to go

That's all I've got to say about that.

Modern Signs of Spring

Back in the day people measured the coming of spring by such things as when the crocus blossoms, when the robins return, when buds appear on trees and when a young man's "fancy" turns to love. Frankly I have no idea what a crocus looks like, I don't have time to squint at every bird I see to determine if it's a robin and in my experience a young man's fancy is rarely swayed from "love." Here then are some modern signs of spring:

1. the start of baseball spring training
2. street sweepers cleaning up the winter's leftover mess
3. the arrival of Shamrock shakes at McDonald's
4. Easter dresses on sale
5. Peeps in the grocery store
6. cars lined up at the airport post office to drop off their tax return

Of course this all culminates in "Leaf Day" - the day my father says all the leaves are out on the trees and it looks like summer. Which is approximately May 10th from our observations over the years. I swear I used to have more of these but I can't think of them anymore. Let me know if you can think of others.

Likes

The dislike list came out a while ago. Here are some likes:

1. Sunflowers
2. Feeling fancy
3. Feeling pretty
4. Shopping
5. Coffee
6. Tea
7. Being a mom
8. Being in my 30s
9. Old movies
10. People with common sense
11. People who understand sarcasm
12. Snow days
13. A clean kitchen
14. Family night
15. Snuggling with my kids
16. Feeling intelligent
17. Driving at night and singing with the girls
18. Reminiscing
19. Mocking stupidity (I know it's mean, but it's true!)
20. Going to the beach with my family
21. Vacations
22. Fall foliage
23. The West Wing
24. Matthew McConaughey
25. Breakfast foods
26. Christmas Eve driving home late at night when it feels magical
27. Reading
28. Being right
29. Clean sheets
30. The smell of Easter flowers (and I specifically mean tulips, hyacinths, etc. because other flower smells remind me of the funeral home and death)
31. Saturday afternoons
32. Pancakes and bagels and eggs and hashbrowns and muffins and breads and...oh yeah, see #25
33. Driving around with no particular place to go, just seeing the sights, sipping a latte and having a good conversation
34. dusk