She is not prejudiced...and I intend to keep it that way

Abs goes to a school that is a true mixing bowl.  Being a person who lived in three separate countries (and continents, for that matter) and five states while growing up, I can honestly say that I am not comfortable with the idea that some children do not experience people from all races on a normal basis.  Sending a child to a school that is predominantly one race or one religion is not a picture of how life really is, nor does it prepare them for life in the real world.  Of course, many people out there are going to disagree with me on this, but this is my blog...and my opinion is the one that counts here.  So there.

Anyway, Abs came home from her first day at school and the one comment that she made that sticks with me is, "Mom, there were girls in my class that had sooo many beads in their hair.  That was a nice surprise!"  Bless her heart.  I hope she never, ever loses this attitude.

I know you have been waiting for it, so here is her lunch for tomorrow:

Dark chocolate covered raisins
Puffins cereal
Whole wheat Ritz crackers and Laughing Cow light garlic and herb cheese
Apple & Eve apple juice, with no sugar added!
Quaker soft baked oatmeal and raisin cookie
Straberry Fruitabu
oven roasted turkey breast
string cheese
grape tomatoes
fresh sliced kiwi
aaaand, a love note from one of my favorite sites

 Still haven't figured out why these pics are sideways. Sorry for the photo quality today, too.

Well, there you have it.  Until next time.

Mindi

A Day in the Life of Jules...

Jules had her tonsils and adenoids removed last week.  I must say, after some initial reservations about having it done here rather than with the surgeon who did her ear tubes, we really lucked out.  She has had tonsillitis eight times since November, so we were told that we more than met the requirements that insurance has for the removal to be covered.  At this point, even if it had not been covered I think we would have done it...

It has been seven days now and she is finally off the steroids.  She will be on the antibiotics for a few more days and also the pain meds.  Oooooohhh, the pain meds.  She is on hydrocodone mixed with acetaminophen.  I am pretty sure that I could sell this stuff on the street corner and make a fortune.  Wow!  Given its heavy narcotic load, I was tempted to stop giving it to her after a couple of days, but quickly found out that if we even skipped one dose (she has it every four hours) that she turns completely feverish and miserable.  No wonder we have two refills of the stuff, and I am pretty sure it comes in a gallon jug - seriously, it is a large bottle.

Today, she was pretty sprightly, so she went with us to take Abs down the driveway (this drive is about 4 acres long, by the way) to the bus stop.  Then she ran an errand with YaYa (to the tractor parts store, which I am pretty sure Mom would marry if she could) and then came back for lunch.  After eating a bit (she is understandably a bit peckish at this point and she is refusing to eat popsicles) of applesauce and mac & cheese, she decided it was time to play with Mommy.  I dragged out the nail polish and we did a mani/pedi on her.  Here are the results. 

That's right - purple with sparkles.  Was there ever any doubt?

Abby had music today - she loved it.  This consisted of singing a song about following directions and then playing with various musical instruments.  She says she loved the drum.  Great.

For her lunch tomorrow, she will have:

LesserEvil Potato Krinkle Sticks (light sea salt flavor) - gluten, cholesterol and preservative free
green grapes
dark chocolate covered raisins - seriously, is there any other flavor??
Apple & Eve sugar free apple juice
roasted turkey/grape tomato/colby & monterey jack cheese kabobs
strawberry Fruitabu - no sugar people!
Quaker chewy chocolate chunk bar (I know - sugar, but she is a child and she needs a little pick-me-up now and then, right?)

Oh the glory of it all...

And, as a side note, why in the heck are my pictures sideways today??

Mindi

Abs is in first grade...

This morning, my mom, Jules and I drove the minivan down Mom's loooong driveway so that we could wait for the school bus to pick up my baby.  I cannot believe Abs is going to first grade this year!  I remember clearly the day I found out I was expecting her.  What joyous news!  I had been told for a very long time that I would not be able to conceive children because of advanced (stage IV) endometriosis.  Yet, here she was.  I had lost so many before her - yes, doctors, I was able to conceive over and over again, but I could not manage to grow them so well.  She hung in there and is every bit the precious gift that I knew she would be.  She is me, in miniature.  She is a bookworm, she is chatty, she is girly to the "nth" degree.  She is generous and selfish.  She is sweet and moody.  She is smart and immature.  She is the perfect middle child and can juggle going from the oldest in the house to having an older sister in a heartbeat.  She does not judge (well, anyone but family - we are exempt from the judgelessness) and she is not prejudiced.  She believes in the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and the Knot Fairy.  I intend to keep it that way for as long as I can.

I had reservations about putting her on the bus, as did my mom, but we did it anyway.  This afternoon, we walked out the to the end of the looooong driveway and waited for her for an hour.  She got off that bus exhausted, but happy.  Good girl, Abs!  Daddy, Mommy and YaYa are so proud of you.

And for lunch tomorrow...

Sliced oven roasted turkey breast (Oscar Meyer) and sliced muenster cheese rolled up in a corn tortilla
Ken's buttermilk ranch for dipping
dried banana chips
apple juice (Apple & Eve - no sugar added)
pineapple chunks (Dole)
green grapes
Colby and Monterey Jack cheese cubes
Annie's cheese bunnies
sesame sticks
a love note, found on It's Written On The Wall 

Aaaaannnd, here is the BEST lunch tote in the whole wide world (according to Abs) - it is from Thirty One.  I. Love. Thirty. One.

I get most of the food-stuff from Martin's (Mom's local grocer). Tomorrow, though, I am going with Heather to The Fresh Market.  We will see what goodies I can find there... 

Laters, baby. (yes I am reading it, too!)

Where Have You Been??

Wow.  It has been a long time since I have written.  I could come up with any number of excuses...I have been working on my Masters...I have moved - twice...I have been teaching...I have been lazy...  The list goes on, and really, it is all true.  I promise to catch you up on everything later.  The important thing here is that we are back.  Yippee!

I have been on a healthy kick recently - yes, I admit it has only been in my head, but hey it's a start, right??  I started by joining Curves and actually going there a few times each week.  This has been surprisingly pleasant and I find that I try to come up with excuses not to go much less frequently than I ever have tried to avoid exercise before.  I hope it becomes a habit for me, like napping and eating late at night.

Abs starts first grade tomorrow.  I. am. not. ready. for. this.  I have been driving my mother crazy with all of the preparations, but being the good sport that she is, she was steadfastly ironing a weeks' worth of pink, glittery, ruffly outfits today.  Good woman, that one - and she's mine, all mine!

I ordered Abs a thermal lunch tote from Thirty One - love them!  And I packed her first lunch of the school year tonight.  I am going to be honest here and say that this is inspired by Pinterest, but I have made a few alterations for my girl.

The lunch contains, clockwise from top left:
chocolate Teddy Grahams
diced, dried plums
turkey pepperoni curled around whipped Philadelphia cream cheese
grape tomatoes
Babybel cheese
green grapes
apple juice (sugar free)
oatmeal raisin cookie
Ritz cheese crackers
Snackwell yogurt covered pretzels
a love note (found at It's Written On the Wall)

Overboard?  Maybe.  And I know she won't eat it all.  But she will have choices, and for the most part, they are healthy ones.

I am going to try to post these lunches, but I make no promises, people.  I have naps to take!!

Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend.

Mindi

A Real Princess

Abigail is of the age where she is obsessed with princesses.  When she thinks of them, she envisions the dresses, hair and jewels.  This weekend she learned a valuable lesson.  Real princesses are generous people.  They think of others whilst giving of themselves.  Today, Abby was a real princess. 

Some lucky kiddo will be wearing Abby's beautiful golden hair because their disease has made them lose their own - this gift was made possible through Locks of Love and our own princess.  Way to go, little one.  We are so proud of you.

Sometimes It's Just Not Your Day to Twirl

So, in case you have not surmised this on your own, Abigail is a bit of a princess.  A lot of a princess, actually.  She loves all things girly.  The more fluff and glitter, the better.  Kinda funny to see her next to Juli, who is her daddy in a cute little blond toddler girl's body, but I digress.  The other day, I dropped Abby off at school.  She was wearing sparkly blue jeans and a cute purple shirt with ruffles on the shoulders.  This, for her, is a very "plain" outfit, but as there was some glitter and ruffling, it was (barely) passable.  When I came back at the end of the day to pick her up, she was visibly upset.  This is how the ensuing conversation went:

Me: Hi, chickydoodle!
Ab: Hi, mom (lower lip a little droopy, but not officially a pout yet)
M: How was school today?
A: I didn't like it today, mom.
M: Why not?  What happened?
A: Look at Lilly's outfit, mom.
I look at Lilly, who is the picture of cuteness with a little grey dress on that has pink tulle peeking out from the hem of a very twirly skirt.
M: Wow!  That is a cute outfit, Lilly!
Lilly looks at me with a coquettish grin and does a twirl, for which I smile and clap.
A: Mom! (sounding very betrayed and wounded)
M: Whassa matter, hon?
A: How come I did not wear a twirly dress today?
M: You wore one yesterday.
A: I wanna wear one everyday so I can twirl, too.
M: Well, honey, sometimes it's just not your day to twirl.

Mrs. Brooke, who shall henceforth be known as the queen of all preschool teachers, laughed out loud and said that she was "writing this one down".  She thinks it is a saying that could apply to all of us at one time or another.  Sometimes, it is just not your day to twirl.

Abby and the New Preschool

Abby is four years old and attends a preschool that she loves.  This particular preschool had spring break last week, which meant that we had to find someone or someplace that could take its place for five days.  After some checking around, we chose to put her in Juli's daycare/preschool for the week.  I was worried that it would stress Abby out - going to a new place for such a short period of time, having to make new friends and get to know new teachers...I should have known better.

On Monday, I drove the girls to the school and we dropped Juli off at her classroom first - she is in the Frog room, which is a room of seven children who range in age from 17 months (ours) to 27 months.  She has a lot of fun in this room and loves her teachers, but more on that in another blog.

Then, down the hall we went to Abby's room- the Penguinflies.  (Pardon me while the inner English teacher cringes at this name.)  This room is a combination of two rooms, the Penguins and the Fireflies.  I am not sure what the story is behind the combination of the room or the names.

Let me back up a second...Abby put great thought into what she was going to wear this first day of school right down to the accessories.  Once it was all said and done, she had on a pink and grey dress, grey tights, pink shoes, a ponytail with a pink hairbow, a pink necklace and lip gloss (thanks for the gloss, Auntie Jenny!).

Back to the new room.  So we walk in and I show her the pets (gulp).  This room has guinea pigs, frogs and fish, as far as I can tell.  I did not get very close to the guinea pigs or frogs...but I looked at the fish for Abby's sake.  Those of you who know me know that I am not a fan of guinea pigs or things that jump or fly.  Sorry, but that's just how it is.

Anyway, we go in there and the teacher has had the forethought to label Abby's cubby ahead of time, which makes her feel right at home.  One of her teachers (there are three of them) is male and when he enters the room, he immediately dons a Dr. Seuss hat and proceeds to bellow "Good Morning!" at each child as they enter the room.  Although I am initially startled by his vigor and volume, the kids seem to enjoy this immensly.  All the while, Abby is quite nervous and hiding behind me.  Then a little boy, whose name I do not know, runs into the room, tosses his coat into his cubby, says a breezy hello to the man-teacher and heads for the guinea pig cage.  On his way there, he stops short.  He sees my daughter.  What is this?? he is thinking.    Who is this vision of pink fluffiness that stands before me?  I must meet her.  And in all of his four year old bravado asks the only obvious question that there is to ask when he likes a girl.  "Wanna see my spaceship?"

And the sad part is, she did.

Booger

Ok, so Juliana is sick AGAIN - she just finished her amoxicillin on Monday - it is Wednesday and we are back at the doctor because daycare called and thought she might have pink-eye.  Turns out that the ear infection she took ten days of antibiotics for is still there and (urp!) leaking out of her eye.  Poor thing.  But this is not really what I am writing about.  What I am writing about is the booger that will ultimately cause me to abandon my family (for their own good) and move to a small corner of the world to become a hermit.

I was sitting in the drive-thru part of the pharmacy.  This is not a drive-thru window, mind you, but a satellite booth across the parking lot from the pharmacy.  I am a big fan of this drive-thru because it means I can have a sick kid in the car watching movies calmly in the backseat rather than running rampant through the grocery store in an effort to infect everyone they come within 50 feet of.  And it feels more private to me.  I just like it. But I digress...

Ok, so back to sitting at the drive-thru.  Kiddos in the backseat watching Barney (do I hear collective groans???  Let me tell you that when it is eight o'clock at night and you have a sick kid in the car who is up an hour past her bedtime with an ear infection and a fever, Barney is your best freakin friend!!) and I am hanging out up front with the window down (finally!  nice weather for a change!).  Then I feel it - the booger.  It is in the left side of my nose and feels huge!  I think about it for a moment and then realize that I gotta go after it.  And this is not a kleenex booger either - this one will require serious excavation.  Fingers only, my friend.  Any of you who are pretending that you never pick your nose can stop reading here - I don't need no stinkin' liars reading my blog! (wink)  You all know you have picked your nose before, so stop with the fake horror at my actions.

So, I am knuckle deep and really focusing on the task at hand when I look up and there it is...the pharmacy camera.  Staring. Right. At. Me.  Yep - about 12 inches from my face.  Great.  So I jerk my finger from my nose and feel myself turning bright red with embarassment.  What the heck am I going to do now?  I do what comes naturally, of course.  I call my husband.  This is how the conversation went.

Me: Honey?
Dan: Yep.
M: I have a story to tell you.  You ready?
D: Yep.
M: Ok, I am sitting at the drive-thru pharmacy waiting for Juli's medicine and I had a booger.
D: Oh, boy.
M: Yep.  I had to try to get it out honey (in a whiney voice).  It was really bothering me!
D: Ok...
M: So I picked my nose for like a really long time.
D: Oh jeez, hon.
M: And then I looked up and saw the video camera!
D: Oh, no! (giggling hysterically)
M: I know!  What am I supposed to do?  I just know that they are in there laughing at me!!  I am so embarassed!
D: Yep.  I can see that.
M: Oh my god.
D: Hey babe?
M: Yes?
D: They have audio, too.  They can hear you right now.

Well, there it is.  My grand Mindi-moment for the day.  I have to go start packing...

Toilet Paper

For some odd reason, Juliana loves to unwind the toilet paper off of the roll.  (Does anybody else's kid do this??)  If she gets enough of it, she will then grab the end and run wildly through the house, thus "TP'ing" our humble home on the inside, rather than the traditional outside method.  This does not bode well for us 15 years down the road.  One of my big fears is that we are going to be the parents that every other kid's parents hate because we can't control our child(ren). 

In a heroic and paternal effort to prevent our family members from becoming social outcasts, Dan recently intervened in such an adventure...

This is Dan holding Juli while trying to teach her that unrolling the toilet paper is a completely unproductive and inefficient activity.  See how Daddy put it back on the roll, honey?  She is obviously a captive participant.

See, Juli?  This is Daddy rerolling the toilet paper - and it is not as pretty as it once was is it?

After he releases her, Dan feels like he has taught his captive pupil a valuable lesson.  Yes, the wise and patient man continues to roll the toilet paper back onto the roll.  The bemused father of three feels that he may have headed this potential problem off at the pass and taught his youngest child a valuable lesson...

If only he could have seen her devilish grin as he let her go...she hasn't learned a darn thing except maybe that Daddy will fix whatever she messes up because she is his baby girl.  Gotta love it.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ok, so I tried a new recipe the other day.  It was from this book.

This book is one of my favorite cookbooks for several reasons...one is that it is geared towards children.  My girls enjoy using this book to provide the family with tasty treats.  Another reason is that the ingredient list for each recipe is done with pictures (so if you need two eggs, there is a picture of two eggs) to insure that even the most basic cook can get it right.  The third reason I like this book so much is that it helped me make this for dinner.

That's right, folks - a home made chicken pot pie.  Aaaand, it was good!

I heartily recommend both this book and the pot pie recipe - although I do have to state that it took me about three hours from start to finish, so little ones may have left the kitchen long before you finish making the dinner.  But again, it was really tasty!

Snowy Days and Make-Your-Own Pizza Night

Winter is full upon us here in Bloomington.  We have between four and five inches of snow on the ground and more is supposed to be coming this weekend.  One would think that we would get a lot of snow here in the midwest (at least that is what I thought when we moved here), but we really don't in southern Indiana.  It was well-timed though, because Samara was here for a little of it and Dan took the girls outside to enjoy it.

Then we hosted "Make-Your-Own-Pizza" night for the girls.  They had a blast, except for Juliana, who I am pretty sure was pissed that she did not get one of her own.  She could only be placated by being given every last black olive off of everyone's pizza. 

The girls really enjoyed each others' company this weekend - we were glad to have them all together.  Can't wait to have them all here under one roof again come Memorial Day.

Snow Day

We are currently experiencing a snow day here in Bloomington - really pretty much all of Indiana - so the girls and I are at home. Here is a snow pic from this morning from the front door.

And one from the back door. So, not a lot of snow, but enough to enjoy.

As expected, the girls are growing at a rapid rate. Juli is 16 months old now, and a whopping 17 lbs! Despite her diminutive size, she is asserting her "big girl" attitude and insisting on feeding herself and is drinking from a sippy during the day. We are a little behind on this, I know. Sometimes I think, since she will be our last one, I just want to keep her as a baby forever. One of her favorite pasttimes is talking on the phone to Ya Ya. Here are some pics from her most recent conversation.

Like her mother and the mother before her, Juliana paces when she talks on the phone.

Sometimes, though, she will just relax in her blue Care Bear chair.

And, finally, our littlest big girl feeding herself some yogurt. Messy, but a necessary skill that she must hone before she gets married.

January 2009

I thought it would be fun to post some of our favorite pictures from last year. Every once in awhile, I will throw one out there. We are enjoying life here in Bloomington and would like to share it with you.



January: Abigail got a new raincoat and umbrella from YaYa. She has taken to walking around the house in full regalia, hoping it will rain.

It Has Been Too Long

Well, I could offer lots of reasons why I have not written in quite awhile. I should. But I won't. Much has happened in the last few years - most of it good - and I suppose it will all come to light through these entries. For now, I want to talk about the girls.

Samara is seven years old now and in the first grade. Hard to believe that she is reading chapter books, riding two-wheelers, swimming on her own, dancing in the Charleston Ballet and learning gymnastics. We do not get to see her nearly as much as we would like to, but we treasure the time that we have with her and enjoy every moment of the warmth she projects.

Abigail is four and in preschool. She is learning to break the written word down into it's individual phonetic sounds - I think reading is right around the corner. Her hair is almost down to the small of her back and she is proud to tell people that she is going to get it cut and give it to "sick little girls who lost all their hair". This will be a bittersweet day for sure, as we will miss her long locks, but that she is learning to be selfless is a point of pride for us.

Last, but certainly not least, our little pixie. Juliana is the light of our lives. At 15 months and only weighing in at 17 pounds, this Daddy's girl is a peanut, but she is mighty! More than once, I have watched as our four year old runs from her, lest she get caught and there be a smackdown. Juli, I fear, would win. She is steady on her feet, running from one delight to another, and has a sparkle in her eye that makes us a little nervous when considering the years to come.

Sorry we have been gone for so long, but it is good to be back.

a man's point of view

Hello all. Mindi has been asking me to pen a few words here on the blog. So without further ado, allow me to recount the last several weeks.

Mindi has started a new job. She is the 7th grade English teacher at a middle school in Howard County. Before classes started, the Abster (that is our code word right?), well she helped Mindi and I move Mindi’s school supplies from her old school in Northern Virginia to the new one in Elkridge, MD. The Abster also helped us arrange the desks in the new classroom and even tried one out for size – check out the pic.

Things are same-old same-old for me at work – making those flavors so you can all enjoy your flavored sodas, teas, cereals, you name it.

Now that both of us are working, the Abster is in daycare (The Goddard School). She really likes it and we do too. The teachers there are nice and fuss over her, which she doesn’t seem to mind. The Abster sets her own schedule though, and plays by her rules. When it is nap time, she likes to play. When it is arts and crafts time, she likes to nap. After the first art class, all of the other parents got a sheet of colored paper with some crayon markings on them. Ours was blank!

The Abster is up to four teeth – two on top and two on bottom. We’re already looking for a good orthodontist since she seems to have what I am learning is called the Harrod gap – this mountain of a space located between the top two front teeth. For those dental experts on the blog world, I believe it’s called a diastema.

Sissy is doing well. She’s about to turn four and already talking about a birthday party. On our last visit, I stayed with her in WV (didn’t have enough time to come back to MD). We toured the Organ Caves with our own private tour guide – this was nice since he tailored the tour to our pace. “We” got tired about halfway through so had to turn around. One of us had to carry the other one, so let’s just say it was quite comforting to see the daylight.

A few weeks ago, we visited some friends in NJ. We’ll call them Ed and Jenny – names may be changed to protect the innocent (or maybe not). We enjoyed our time with them, and mainly chilled and relaxed. We spent a few hours with them at the beach. There was a serious game of Trivial Pursuit played one evening, guys against gals – and let’s just say that one of the teams wasn’t afraid to look at the answers before giving their response to the question. Hmmmm.

Labor Day weekend we spent up in New York. The Abster was with Gamma in Richmond, so Mindi and I had a weekend to ourselves, actually we met up with some of my old college friends there, so it was just the four of us. It was a great time, we did a ton of things in just a few days – went to a Yankee’s game, saw the Broadway show Hairspray, did shopping on Fifth Avenue (Mindi “needed” something from Tiffany & Co. – something she had just happened to pick out before our trip to NY was even started), went to FAO Schwartz, Times Square, and a nice restaurant where I tried rabbit for the first time. On our first night in NY, this crazy fella came up to us in a bar. One of those guys that wants to tell you his story and you can’t shake. Well we finally shook him (thanks to the help of the manager), but the next day this guy crossed our path again on the way to the Yankees game. Fortunately we saw him before he saw us. Just when we thought we had seen the last of this guy, he popped up again. This last time though was where we least expected it. We were watching the Today Show on Sunday morning, the show they film in Rockefeller Center. Well there he is, standing there in the crowd, eagerly looking into the camera as if he was looking for us. It was really crazy – he found himself a good spot.

One last shout out to my good friend Marty. He sent the Abster a 1-yr birthday card, we received it today, and in it scribed a note that said that he was sorry that he missed her party. The Abster doesn’t turn 1 until November and we haven’t even started planning yet, but I guess this is Marty’s way of saying that he won’t be able to make it.

That is about all I can think of for now. Ciao.

Pooped

Good things are happenin', but, man, we are exhausted. To sum it up, I have started my job as a teacher for Howard County Public Schools (or the orientation portion anyway), Dan has taken up gardening on the side, and Abster is doing time in daycare. Ugh. We are just too pooped to pop, ya know? More later.

The New Job, Dakota and the Puppet

I got a job!!! (big, long sigh of relief, as I have been freed from the possibility of going back to retail or substitute hell, for a year at least) I will be teaching seventh grade English at a middle school about 19 miles away. I will not name it because it is highly possible that people who work there will slip into a post or two, and I don't want someone recognizing them and saying, "Say, aren't you the one Mindi was bitching and moaning about on her blog for the whole world to see?" Suffice it to say that, so far, the people there are really nice and welcoming and I have a room with windows that open and a view of the pond. Yeah, buddy!

Dakota, our wonderful five year old collie/lab mix, is finally warming up to Abster. I mean, she has always liked her, but now she REALLY likes her. Wanna know why? It is because Abster now eats solids foods, like cheerios and fruit puffs and pasta. Those of you who don't have a dog might be asking what this has to do with anything. Those of you who DO own dogs know where this is going, so you can just stop here if you like. Abster likes to try to feed herself, and is pretty good at it, as long as she does not have a utensil in her hand. She makes it to her mouth about 80% of the time. The other 20% ends up either under her bum (which is some sort of miracle of physics, because she never shoves it under there - it just travels there on its own), in her hair or on the floor. Here is the part where the dog becomes relevant. Hoover, Dyson and Oreck don't got nothin' on Dakota Marie. That dog can hear boiled pasta hit the floor from outside on the back deck. She is immediately whining at the door to come in, beelines for Abster's high chair and commences the cleaning process. First, she sniffs out and eats all of the big chunks, then she does another once over for the little stuff. Finally, she revs up the licker and licks my entire dining room floor clean. Seriously. Anybody who stays here will tell you that that particular room of the house gleams. We can see the table reflected in the floor. Good girl, Koda, good girl.

In return for the spoils of meal time with Abster, Dakota protects her from the evil scottie dog puppet. This is a little, and one would think harmless, grey scottie dog puppet that Abster LOVES. I can hardly get the thing on my hand and she is cracking up! I guess Dakota had never seen me tickle her with the puppet before. I guess she thought that Scottie was attacking her new source of food. I guess Scottie is dead. While I was tickling Abster, Dakota stood silently by, eyes on the prize. Once it was no longer touching her precious charge, she tenderly closed her mouth around it's head and removed it from my hand. Then she ran away at full speed, growling and shaking it vigorously. Rest in peace, Scottie. So sad.

Stitching and Job Hunting

For those of you who do not already know, we were trying to buy a house about an hour south of here so that I could keep my old job and Dan could keep his. Well, we went down there and found some really nice places - four bedrooms, more than two baths, finished basements, etc. We were giddy with the anticipation of moving out of our little townhouse in Baltimore and giving the girls and the dog a proper yard, and us some proper space for an office, craft room, a real guest room (rather than having guests sleep in Sissy's daisy themed bedroom), etc. Giddy, I tell you! Then we met with Mark the Mortgage Guy. Dum, dum, dummmmm. We're not moving. Mark told us, in a perfectly cheerful and optimistic tone, that we had been approved for the new house. Yay! Then he told us what we would need to come to the table with for closing. This was within our realm of possibility. Yay! Then he told us what our monthly payment would be. Excuse me? Could you repeat that? Seriously? You have got to be kidding... Our new payment would be more than what we are paying here - we expected that. We were expecting it to almost double, and we had planned accordingly - we were going to have to be a little less cavalier about going out to eat and a little less generous at Christmas and on birthdays, which would be fine because we have a tendency to go overboard on gift giving occasions (see my Mother's Day post). No problem. But wait a minute. What was the total payment again? Ummm...it is TRIPLE our current mortgage. After we politely got off the phone and commenced puking with the stress, we had a conversation. Without boring you with all the gory details, let's just say that we will be staying here for at least another year. Our old, little townhouse never looked so good! It is quaint, well-painted, in need of some updating in the all-important kitchen and bath areas, and it is affordable. We are staying put. End of story.

That, of course, throws a kink into my "keeping the old job" plan. I had to call my principal and let him know that, although I love my job there, I cannot fathom a 90 mile commute each way every single day with a baby in the car. He expressed his disappointment and support and I cried. I really, really liked that school, and I am going to miss it. Honestly, I don't have a lot of time to reminisce. I must find a job. All of the schools have already hired most of their staff for next year. I quickly put together three application packets and sent them to Baltimore County, Baltimore City and Howard County Public Schools. I sent these off last Wednesday. On Friday, Howard called me. Today I had my preliminary interview with Danielle from Human Resources. I already have my second interview, with the Director of Language Arts for HCPS, scheduled for Thursday. I am a hot commodity, people of Baltimore County and City. What's the matter with you??? Better step it up, yo, or you will be losing out on a good thing. Snap.

Ok, time to morph into my goodie-two-shoes stitching persona. I actually got some done this week. Let it be said that I never, ever claimed to be the fastest stitcher in the world. Slow and steady, right? Jeez, I hope I get faster than this. Anywho, here is my progress on my three WIP's.

The Petal Fairy. Can you see how it looks like a fairy sitting on a poppy stem? Can ya?

Here is Summer Stack - every time I work on this I marvel at how easy it is to work on. So why isn't it done yet???

And here is Chatelaine's mystery sampler. The stitching on it is really hard to see. I personally think I should have used a lighter fabric, but this is the one she recommended, and as I have never done one of her pieces before, I trust her judgment. The rest of the colors are more vibrant, and will show up much more clearly. I hope.

Teasers for next time...moon bounces, twins, Abster's favorite new toy and A Child was Born.

Oh Happy Stash

I know, I know. I have been really bad about cross stitching lately. I truly love my hobby and I even belong to several cross stitching groups on the web, but I have simply not found the drive to put needle to linen lately...however...I have managed to considerably increase my stash! Sometimes I wonder if my real hobby isn't collecting stitching patterns.

Imagine how my pulse rose and my heart went pitter patter when I saw these waiting inside my storm door late last week.

Wait a minute. What is wrong with this picture? Hmmm...



Don't worry. Upon opening this package, all of the contents were found to be in perfect condition. I must say, I really like Janlynn as far as cross stitch companies go. This is what I ordered...




And this is what they sent me FOR FREE!!!



The same day, I also got my Dinky Dyes from ABC Stitch Therapy and the Teresa Wentzler Christmas Collection book I won on ebay. It was a happy, happy day.

Yay me. :)

Houses, Babies and New York

As you may know, we are house hunting. Now maybe it is because I have already moved twice in the last 10 months, or maybe it is that we have an eight month old child who has decided that it is a lot of fun for all involved for her to learn to crawl, vocalize and cut teeth all in the same 48 hour time span, but the house thing is just not a lot of fun for us right now. It is necessary, though, in that if we do not move, Abster and her momma will spend most of her life in the car. Not good.

We are looking for a new home in Frederick, MD, which would put us equidistant (for the most part) from both of our jobs. We have found a few neighborhoods that we really like, and are only slightly shell-shocked by the prices of the homes. Originally, we dreamed of building a home there, but were quickly brought to reality when we realized that we could only do this if we occupied one room in the house and rented out the rest of it to a wealthier family. Hmmm...on to pre-existing homes it is. That being said, we have found some really nice ones that we like a lot, but since the market there is so soft, we have to wait until we get a contract on our townhome in Baltimore before we can write one in southern Maryland. That's all I have to say about that for now.

Our neighbors had their baby girl - we will call her Elster here. She is a very sweet, tiny bundle of gorgeousness. Everybody is just loving that she is here. Everybody but their dog, Baxter, that is. Having formally been the king of the roost, he is not too happy about being knocked off of his throne. Outwardly, he is handling it and adjusting the best that he can, but I can just see his little mind working on how he is going to regain his spot on the family bed and the family laps. This should be interesting.

The coolest part, in my opinion, about this new addition to the neighborhood is that I got to be there for part of the labor. Granted, I was not present for the sweaty, bloody, grunting part, I was there for the peaceful dilation under the influence of the almighty epidural. I stayed with momma for about six hours - just long enough to become jealous and want to go through this again myself. It is funny how the brain blocks out the horrors of labor and just makes you remember a blissful time of anticipation while being waited on hand and food by a nursing staff, family, friends, and doctors. I am ready! When do we start??? Just kidding...sorta.

Dan's weekend in NY with Sissy went well. They went to The Great Escape and did fun things like ride in Cinderella's coach (over and over and over again), the carousel (until Daddy had to get off because he feeling pukey), and the swings - one ride on each of these would have been enough, but Sissy has a stomach of steel and wanted to ride everything multiple times. Poor Daddy. Perhaps the funnel cake and soda was not such a great idea...

We have a new camera. I don't know how to download pics onto the computer from it yet. This is Daddy's homework for today. Hopefully, the next entry will be illustrated.

Where are my ruby slippers? I wanna go back...

We are back from the Land of Oz, and it was a great trip. Although some may say that Kansas is not one of the top vacation destinations on our humble planet, we find it vastly entertaining and heart warming. Dan held up remarkably well and really seemed to gel with the fam. That being said, my family is hard NOT to get along with. I am definitely one of the more difficult people to hang with, and the man married me!

Kansas is slow, warm and laid back. Driving across the country with my mom and my daughter, I could feel my shoulders loosening and my thoughts becoming more introspective and free-flowing the further we got from the east coast. There are certain things that a body knows are going to happen in the mid-west - two of those things being fishing and beer drinking. We did partake of those, yes we did.

Abigail got to meet her great grandpa and her nana (we will not call her great-grandma because it doesn't fit her. Nana she is and Nana she will always be). More than one of us was surprised by the vitality and earnestness she brought to Nana. She may be almost ninety, but she can hand jive better than most! Great fun was had on Shrine Park Road!

We camped out at Grandpa's. His house is airy and bright. It overlooks a pasture from one side and his second son's home from the other. Daddy is buried right down the road. Family gathers there (at Grandpa's or Ron's, not at Daddy's grave) and there have never been more lawnchairs, beer and, yes, fishing.

Speaking of fishing. We finally got out to see Brian's place - talk about huge! This is a child's paradise. Around every corner is flora and fauna to delight the eye. Lizards, birds, a dog, swimming pool, impromptu golf course, game room and pond. Who could ask for more?? I swear, they could turn it into a resort and charge people for the fun that we had for free! Who could turn down a homegrown beer koozie, made from carpet padding and duct tape. No one with half a brain, I tell you! Not only that, but we caught a lot of pond weeds!

Oh, yeah. There was a wedding. Cousin married a non-cousin (which is no small feat in Leavenworth, where everyone seems to be related to everyone else, somehow). It was fun, even though we had to pretend to be grown-ups.

And, finally, let me throw a shout out to Coop, who will do anything on a dare for money. 'Nuff said.