Do I fit?

Lately I have been feeling out of place, awkward and like I don't fit in. It may be that I have been so focused on getting the house and kids so organized that I have not taken the time to get myself organized. I am constantly scrounging for clothes to wear now that the seasons have changed. Are my clothes hip enough? Is my "uncoolness" real or perceived? I know I am a crazy person! But sometimes it gets the better of me!

Tired

Work is ridiculously busy. I am so tired and my allergies are KILLING me!

Last night I would have removed my eyes to rinse them off, if I could. Instead I removed my eye makeup that I didn't do when I went to bed, rubbed them hard with the palms of my hands, stuck a tissue up my nose and crashed on the couch.

I would really like to go to bed now, but alas, that isn't going to happen.

All is better

Lily ate some food and got up to snuggle when we went to bed. All good signs. She is much better. Phew!

KD turned 38! The kids and I baked him a cake. His favorite cake, yellow with chocolate frosting. Time is flying past and it won't be stopped!

School committee meeting tonight. The word on the street is that the negotiating meeting on Friday was a bust. But nothing official from anyone official, so we wait.

The other day I was putting Baby's jacket on. It has a hood. I put the hood up as I was buckling him into his seat. He proclaimed as he grabbed at the hood, "I don't want the top coat on!"

Precious. Simply precious.

And here is the birthday boy wearing his new roller skates, a thoughtful gift from Nana!

A scratch?

I worked late on Thursday night. KD called at 8 to tell me that he heard some banging around in the breezeway, more than just the cats chasing a mouse. He opened the door to find a beautiful, large, clearly misplaced SKUNK! He slammed the door and listened to the creature eat the cat food. After a while it became quiet and KD investigated, the coast was clear so he shut the door to the barn which had been the entry point. I arrived home at 10:30 and I believe I remember seeing the cats. After a hello and good night kiss, I headed straight for bed.

In the morning KD mentioned that Lily had a "scratch" on her head, but she seemed to be ok. I didn't see her before I left, as she usually heads out to the barn for her daily snooze. After work I met KD and the kids at the playground. We returned home and I found her curled up on a pillow. I was stunned at the "scratch." It is most certainly NOT a scratch! It is the size of a quarter, above her left eye, road rash looking abrasion. What concerned me most of all? She did not flee when the boys started to pet her. I called our vet. They were closing. Off to the vet hospital. She is fine, but has clearly suffered some trauma. Her claws, according to the vet, had been used. She is still listless and hasn't eaten anything. They gave her fluids last night. She is in the same spot we put her in last night. I go up to check on her every now and then and she lifts her little head up and I give her a pat. I brought up some food to her but she is not interested. I hope she perks up soon. My heart can't take much more, when it comes to kittys.

No crock pot

No crock pot last night. Tacos for Middle's birthday dinner and tonight? Nonnie, Papa and Nana will be with us tonight for another celebration of Middle's birthday.

Middle's name was Teddy for about 10 minutes and then we changed it. He had only a 'middle' name for 36 hours. We searched high and low in the obituaries for names. We asked the staff for a baby name book. We finally settled on his name and we love it!

In the wee hours

Of September 16, 2004 I sent the following email:

From: Queen Mommy

Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 2:12 AM

To: Friends

Subject: Will it be...?

Importance: High

Teddy or Hazel
You will know soon!!!
On my way to the hospital!!!
LOVE

I can't believe that Middle is 4 today!

Happy Birthday my strong willed, spirited, loving, silly little man! We love you!

Crock Pot

Ok, so my latest inspiration? Her Can you imagine? I am duly impressed. In keeping with my organization streak, I reviewed the contents of my freezer this afternoon and found the following items that will be dinner this week.

1. Flank Steak
2. Ground Meat
3. Chicken Breasts

I am very pleased with all of my crock pot activities last week in addition to my organizing efforts. They were unveiled to my family yesterday when they were here for Middle's b-day party, a roaring two thumbs up.

Although today I am exhausted, I think I worked 60 hours or so last week and the party yesterday. I have been pretty much useless today.

Tomorrow's we will be eating flank steak in the crock pot.

But tonight? I have no idea!

Um, huh?

I just heard Middle yell out "Grab your corn dog!"

Um, what?

Love that kid!

I said call me Captain

Long ago lived a seaman named Captain Bravo. He was a manly man who showed no fear in facing his enemies. One day, while sailing the seven seas, a look-out spotted a pirate ship and the crew became frantic. Captain Bravo bellowed, ''Bring me my Red Shirt.'' The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt and whilst wearing the bright red frock he led his men into battle and defeated the pirates.

Later on that day, the look-out spotted not one, but two pirate ships. The captain again called for his red shirt and once again, though the fighting was fierce, he was victorious over the two ships. That evening, all the men sat around on the deck recounting the day's triumphs and one of the them asked the captain, ''Sir, why do you call for your red shirt before battle? The captain replied, ''If I am wounded in the attack, the shirt will not show my blood and thus, you men will continue to fight, unafraid.''All of the men sat in silence and marveled at the courage of such a manly man as Captain Bravo.

As dawn came the next morning, the look-out spotted not one, not two, but TEN pirates ships approaching from the far horizon. The crew stared at the captain and waited for his usual reply.

Captain Bravo calmly shouted, ''Get me my brown pants.''

Crock Pot, day 3 and welcome

I would like to offer a Royal Welcome to Dear Diary! (can you hear the trumpets?)
LeMoDo's Mom and I are old friends and thanks to Facebook we have been reunited. We have known each other for a long time. I remember when they moved to town so many years ago. She is good people, as is her whole family. Please stop by and make her feel welcome! Too bad I couldn't find that picture with her in the duck costume and me in the pastel overalls circa 1986, now that would have been funny.


Crock pot day 3 was freakin' awesome!! Roast Beef with Ginger Ale. I augmented with more gravy and red wine. Sausage Lentil Stew was not a fav. Here is the recipe:
3lb. beef roast
1/2 c. flour
2 Tbsp. veg oil
1 oz. envelope dry onion soup mix
1.61 oz. envelope dry brow gravy (I used two)
2 cups ginger ale (I added 1 cup of h20 and 1 cup of red wine)

Coat with flour
Brown in pan
Combine remaining ingredients
Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours
Delicious!

Silver Lining?

I am working from home today. Once Oldest gets on the bus, I bring the boys to our baby sitter's. Today, after I dropped them off, I ran to the grocery store to get milk, light bulbs and the like. Upon returning home as I was getting the groceries out of the car and, and, and...

I SHAT MY PANTS!!

Full on, shat my pants.

I spent the last 20 minutes taking a shower, rinsing out the shower, rinsing my clothes out, putting my clothes in the washer and hosing down the driveway.

The silver lining? At least it was in my driveway!

p.s. if none of you comment, I will feel very self conscious that I shared my plight. Clearly my sphincter ain't what it used to be!

Crock Pot, day 2

Today is a work and school day for all but one of us in the Royal household. Utilizing the crock pot is big on a week day and today is the first week day usage.

Today's fare? Lentils and sausage stew. My mouth is watering. I have yummy crusty bread, a few handfuls of Parmesan cheese...oh my. Luckily we have bread because I am sure there will be much protesting from the royal subjects.

Ok, on to bigger matters at hand.
I would like to discuss how hamstrung KD is currently. He is a teacher and he is working without a contract. Yes, he is a member of the Massachusetts Teacher Association (MTA). Negotiations to rectify the situation were Thursday September 4th. The meeting to discuss the negotiations is on September 10th. The union representative for the town where he teaches is, at best, a dysfunctional, unresponsive human. You had a negotiating meeting AFTER school started? And the meeting to discuss that meeting is being held the SECOND week of school? Although they have a union appointed lawyer I am not sure that the lawyer has provided the best advice to date. The other thing that is beyond maddening is they, the teachers with out a contract, have no recourse. It is illegal for them to strike. So they must show up everyday without the respect they deserve and work, sans contract. Oh yes, they can "work to rule."

You may think, "Well, he should find another job or teach in another town, or teach private school." All of those sound good until you actually meet KD. He was born to do this. I have not met many people who were born to do what they do outside of my dad and KD. If he were to find another job, it would be in a town that could potentially have the same problems, although the union representative may have balls and that would be different. Another job outside of the profession of teaching is out of the question. Private school does not offer the same level of salary as public school.

So we wait and I seeth at the lack of priorities of the town and the state. KD is one of the best teachers on the Commonwealth's pay roll and to loose him would be devastating. This year he is planning to "revolutionize how he teaches physics," but will he be able to without a contract?

Crock pot, day 1

Yesterday we were at our niece's third birthday party all day. Such fun to see all the cousin's playing together, in spite of the rain. We drove home during the worst part of the storm, it was scary. We went to yet another new church today and then I went grocery shopping. I took my new crock pot cook book with me. It is a magazine type cook book from the Fix It and Forget It series, that I purchased at Target. Where else?

Our babysitter swears by her crock pot and since I am committed to remaining organized and efficient I studied the cook book during gymnastics yesterday. I chose a few recipes that seemed delicious and hit the store today. A leisurely grocery shopping adventure truly makes me happy. I purchased snacks and food for Oldest's lunch and Middle's snacks as well as some ingredients for dinners this week. To be made in the crock pot.

While dinner is cooking I have prepared a new garden and caught up with a friend. I have dug up the irises and investigated the spots on my hydrangeas. I put reigns on Oldest's "horse" and assisted her in getting unstuck.

Tonight's main dish? Apricot Glazed Pork Loin Roast.

Stay tuned for the down low on the crock pot maiden voyage.

Edited to add:

YUM!! KD and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, Middle ate all the pork, a couple of spoonfuls of peas and none of the stuffing. Baby ate NOTHING and Oldest told us that we were not acting like a King and Queen at all. That when she says "no thank you", we shouldn't just sit there and eat. Um, yeah right.

Editing my life

I have been organizing our lives over the past week. I have made a laundry schedule. KD laundry on Monday. Queen's laundry on Tuesday and all the kids on Wednesday. We have been eating dinner as a family in the evening. Etc. After much debate over KD's schedule and the change in pre-school schedule, we have hired the bus after all. We did not, however, have to pay the deposit, only the registration fee. In addition we have been severely editing things. Clothes, pieces of furniture, rugs, etc.

I had no idea that I had so many pot holders. I certainly don't need all that many pot holders. And the number of kitchen towels was even greater!

I ditched all but 4 of them. Same with my kitchen towels. I try very hard, not always successfully, to constantly edit. Our house is small because I prefer it that way and as a result we simply do not have the room for crap.

How many pot holders do you have?

Technical Difficulties

I tried to add Google Analytics to my the html and my design got all screwed up. So I request any and all advice on Google Analytics.

Tomorrow we start gymnastics!

The Star that Eclipsed the School Adventure

On Tuesday I noticed a kitty in our neighbor's yard. The house is a rental house and has sat vacant for many months. I thought it was one of our cats as it appeared to have the same coloring. I asked KD to investigate. He discovered an emaciated, friendly, miniature version of Cassius. My heart sank. This cat was STARVING to death.

I immediately ran to get food. I grabbed the canned wet food, far more fattening. Then I called our vet seeking advice. They referred us to a shelter. Long story short, we called our local animal control officer who came and retrieved the kitty, whom Oldest named Star. The officer said that she would be taking Star to the vet in the morning and then off to Buddy Dog. I emailed Buddy Dog on Tuesday night requesting that they let us know what becomes of Star.

We knew we couldn't take this cat in for several reasons. First, Cassius and Lily brother and sister bonded cats. Introducing a new cat would be hard. Second, financially speaking we want to be responsible pet owners and it costs money to care for animals.

Cash had been acting so strangely the past few days. Long drawn out meows and seemingly nervous. When we were waiting with Star prior to the arrival of the animal control officer, he was doing that meow. He would not come near me. Upon her departure, he was back to his normal self. I guess he was trying to tell us something after all.

Middle had a first day, too

Today he is 3 years 11 months old. He will be almost 6 when he starts kindergarten. He is a bright eyed, spirited little man. Born on an early September morning, my first boy, my second child. We struggled trying to figure him out, but once we did he melted us, he melted us all.

He, my little man, started preschool today. Without question this momentous occasion has been under the radar. It struck me this morning that I had not purchased him a new outfit for school. I got him a snappy new school outfit, picked him up and had time to spare upon arriving at his school. It isn't just Oldest's school any more.

Arriving.

Showing off his new back pack. Lightening the Queen, of course.



Earnest and eager.



Line up!

Good bye Middle. Have a great day!

After school he ran up to me and jumped in my arms. He so enjoyed school and we knew he would. I got him into his seat and went back to inquire how he did. Mrs. B told me that he is a little chatter box. He told the class that his sister, Oldest, was in the class next door and that he wanted to go say hello and giver her a hug. Mrs. B said she would arrange that for him.

At dinner tonight, I followed Happy Valley's advice and asked each person of our family to share the most favorite part of their day. Oldest's most favorite part of the day? When Middle ran into her classroom and gave her a hug.

School Day

When I asked her to tell me everything about school her response was, "Oh mom it is such a long story as it was such a long day!" And so it begins. The unintentional exclusion of her mother as she begins her journey to independence. I would be lying if I didn't admit to feeling wistful.

The sign of a school girl.
Waiting.



Thinking.


Going.


Ascending.

Returning, safely.

There is a new sheriff in town...

and she cries when her daughter gets on the bus.

I took some great pictures and will post when I return home from work. She did great, her backpack weighed more than she did and when Middle told Oldest, as she was about to climb onto the bus, that he will miss her, I bawled. Like a baby.

I took this opportunity, going to school opportunity to whip myself and my house into shape. The kids room has been complete de-nursery-fied and is now more like a kids room. I bought Oldest a gorgeous quilt and sham to give her own Princess space.

Middle has been in a bed for almost a year. In my haste I only bought him sheets for the bed, never a whole bed set. His space is all him, with dark out blue bed skirt and a corner shelf installed by KD, with Cars on it.

I moved all of their clothes from the laundry baskets in the laundry room into the dressers in their room. I purchased two of these and hung them in their closet. Baby is still in a crib and I don't expect him to get out and get his own clothes, at least not yet anyway.

Each morning Oldest and Middle must get their clothes out of the cubby and get dressed. If they would like to wear their pj's they put them on their bed, if not they go into the hamper. Then they can come down stairs and watch t.v., but not before. Today was the first day and it went well, but it is a novelty.

I bought the rug in their room when we moved in, 4 1/2 years ago. A chenille rug from The Company Store, in leaf. I tried to clean it on Sunday and of course it only made it worse. What are those stains? So we folded it up and KD is dropping it off at the cleaners. Now I kind of like the way the room looks with out it, very cozy, campy with the painted wide pine floor. The ceiling is a slanted ceiling which adds to the cozy factor.

KD and I worked on organizing our clothes and the laundry room. We put the corner cupboard that I found street side, in the laundry room and removed a buffet that KD was not very fond of and a shelf. I put all of the over flowing paper goods in there as well as the contents of the buffet. It looks great! Although I ran out of steam last night, my side of our room still looks the same and the laundry room isn't finished as of yet, but we are headed in the right direction.

More to come on Oldest - she is at lunch RIGHT NOW, in the cafeteria with her friends!!