Veterans' Day

Today I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to all that have served and those that still do this great nation.

Below is a picture of my father in uniform flanked by my Grandma Dot and Great Uncle Robert.


dad+grandmadotGURobert
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

He looks so cute and freshly scrubbed in the photo. I know I’ve posted it before, but it’s too good not to.

And just for the heck of it here is a picture of my mother from June/July 1944. She is the young woman in the center with the champagne and flowers.


Nana_and_the_liberty_ship
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

She had the honor of christening a Liberty Ship that was named for a family member. The man on the far left was her father, my grandfather and the woman on the far right was her mother, my grandmother. I’m not sure who was the other couple; I’d have to ask my mother. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to include the launching of a ship that had carried many veterans and stood us in good stead.

Thursday Three: Politics

I guess Terry hasn’t quite gotten his fill of this week’s big excitement, the mid-term elections. He writes:

Finally!

The votes have been cast, the people have spoken, the Republic survives, and we can at last have some relief from wall-to-wall political ads everywhere we look, from the annoying recorded phone calls, from the ticky-tacky flotsam of ugly campaign signs. And what to discuss now?

Oh, that’s easy.

MORE POLITICS!!

We bring you the Political Postmortem Edition of the Axis of Weevil Thursday Three, because as we all know, too much of a good thing is just about right! SO, play along with us now as we ask you some probing, uncomfortable questions about the results of the immediately past election.

Everyone is free to play along, even if you’re not even from America! What a country! Anyway, just leave your answers in the comments below, or a link to your own blog. Okay, here we go--

1) Now that the balance of power in the House and Senate has changed (due in large part to Democratic Party gains brought about by running more centrist candidates than they have in the past), will they surprise everyone and purge their fringe elements and actually try to lead from the center, or will they continue to pander to the tinfoil-hat folks with impeachment/frog marches and putting all the filthy Christianists into reeducation camps?

2) When you cast your ballot, do you do so with at least some desire in the back of your mind to make a decision that the international community would be pleased with?

3) Now that this little exercise has passed, everyone is now ready to talk about the REAL race, that of President in ’08. Who’s it going to be?

So, there you go. Please take a pencil and mark your choices and place them into the machine.

I’m so glad that this year’s silly season is over. We get political phone calls from both sides and I’m sick to death with them. This year’s senatorial campaign in Virginia was particularly vicious, as one fellow voter observed at my poll station “now that it’s over do we elect them or incarcerate them?” That’s why I voted Yourish, at least I know she’s an honest, hard working person. Anyway, here are my answers:

1) I don’t think there will be much of a change, except that both parties will be forced to play somewhat nicely since the majority really isn’t large enough for them to truly run amok.

2) When I vote I really don’t give a fig what the so called international community likes or dislikes. What I’m interested in is what is over all best for my locality or for the nation as a whole, both on the foreign and the domestic fronts. I am slowly becoming Libertarian in my views and I believe that government should leave the smallest footprint possible.

3) Gah, I don’t even want to think about that train wreck in the making. The field is wide open and who knows what is going to happen. I know I certainly would not want that particular job, nor do I like the people that do.

I am not a very politically oriented person, but I do take my civic duty very seriously and cast my vote whenever possible.

Artist of the Week: Bridge

This week’s artist is Jake.


Jake&giraffe
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

School was out yesterday and the day before, so on Monday we went to the zoo. It was a gorgeous day to go and we all had a good time and as always we had fun feeding the giraffes.

Anyway, Jake and Nate have been recently inspired to draw bridges. The one below by Jake particularly caught my eye.


Bridge
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

I think this burst of bridge drawings was brought about by some programs we recently watched. One was about building the new Hoover Dam Bypass and the other was about the new East span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Both are awe inspiring projects that resulted in some captivating shows.

In Jake’s picture I like the supports that are driven into the walls of the river canyon. Jake felt that this would result in a stronger bridge than just using pilings that drive straight down to the river below. Just today he mentioned that Architecture and/or construction were one possible career path as was farming. I told him either way it looks like Virginia Tech would be the way to go. He has a long time to make up his mind.

It looks like the G Brothers Construction Company is still going strong.

So Just Do It Already

Vote2006
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

I did it, with four children in tow (school is off today) and in the rain.

So what's your excuse? Just remember, if you don't vote you don't have any right to complain about the results.

Vote

In a little bit I’ll be going off to cast my vote and lunch with my favorite senatorial candidate.

In Virginia vote Yourish, it’s the write thing to do.

A Jedi and His Dog

On Sunday I took John to a dog show down in Williamsburg. The night before I called a friend who went Saturday to ask about how her dog did (extremely well) and how the weather was (extremely cold).

The weather question was very important because the show was held outdoors. Oh there are tents for grooming and the ring entrances are lined up under a large central tent, but the main areas are fully exposed to the elements. I noticed Saturday morning it had been very cold out on the soccer fields and I knew it would be cooler down by the water where the show was held. I was right. My friend said it was still bitterly cold at noon and that everybody ws swaddling there dogs in blankets. She told me that if my dog had a coat I should bring it. Ring time was 9:30 am so there would be little time for the sun to warm things up.

I think years ago I got a coat for our dogs when we were living in Wisconsin. I tried putting it on Crunch and Rally when the temps dipped below zero, but each time they would be struck by “coat paralysis” and were unable to move about. Standard dachshunds are not foofie little coat wearing dogs and they would rather do turbo potty runs than be caught in a coat. However, I felt that I should do something for John since we were going to be stuck outside for quite sometime and a fair amount of that time would be spent just standing around. Dutifully I dug around in the garage, but I had either tossed or lost the coat. So I decided to make one. I was still riding off the high of making Nate’s costume and I figured why not. How hard could it be?

After a bit of searching I found this site that has a pattern for a hooded coat for greyhounds. The directions seemed clear and the pattern could be easily modified to fit a dachshund. I opted to skip the hood and make a folded neck instead. I had plenty of material to make the coat. I used the same fabric for Nate’s robe for the outside and the inside was a red fleece blanket that was no longer used.

After a few false starts it came out very well.


dogcoat
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

After the initial measuring John was surprisingly cooperative. I would call him over and drape him with whatever I was working on and he would happily stand there. He was even willing to wear the finished product at the show. It was a hit with other exhibitors and I was pleased with the result.

The coat was also a huge hit with Nate. He right off noticed that the coat was made with the same material as his robe. He readily agreed to don his robe for a photo shoot with John.

Here we have a Jedi Master Nate instructing his Padawan John.


disturbance
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Here is just a nice shot of the two of them together in the woods.


Jedi&dog
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

John looks huge next to Nate who is seated on a log.

Then finally here is John nosing about in the woods, clearly not inhibited by the coat.


sensing
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Maybe he senses a disturbance in the force.

Random Parenting Thought

I guess we are doing a fairly decent job raising our children in a Jewish environment.

On Tuesday afternoon Rebecca, who really was getting into the whole Halloween thing having already at preschool gone trick or treating on Friday with party afterwards and again had gone trick or treating that day at the nursing home, earnestly asked me “How many days is Halloween?”

She was crushed by my answer “Just one day sweetie.”

I think she was hoping for a nice multi-day bonanza like Chanukah.

The Great Costume Project of 2006

Or as Terry would put it: My Moron Project.

As I mentioned here I had decided to make Nate’s Halloween costume this year and this is what the pattern looks like:


pattern
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.
My plan was to make the boy’s white tunic costume and the cloak in a brown material. It looked fairly straight forward and I was willing to give it a shot.

It took two and half days of steady work to make the whole thing. A fair amount of my time was spent puzzling out the directions. In the end I was able to put it all together and have something that fairly closely resembles the pattern’s picture.

Here it is hanging on the back of the front door.


costume
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

A nice thing about the costume was that I did not have to make pants. Nate was able to use a pair of khakis that looked just dandy with the costume.

Here a shot of Nate in the costume.


Withrobe
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

I think he looks pretty spiffy, but then again I am a wee bit biased.

Sadly, on the big night he did not wear the cloak.


Withoutrobe
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

This was a pity, because that turned out to be the most challenging part of the costume to make. The hood was a bit tricky with all sorts of folds and stitching, but the hardest part for me was trimming the hem. I dithered for a bit before I cut away four inches of excess material. I was loath to cut it, because once you do that’s it, there is no going back if you take off too much. It is possible to fix it, but it won’t look as nice.

Anyway, I proud of what I made and I like the knowledge that I can make a nice costume.

Oh and as I was making it, Rebecca came over, picked up the pattern’s cover picture, pointed the Leia costume and said “I want that when I get too big for my costume.”

All righty then, I think I can do it. The hard part will be getting her to let me do her hair.

Thursday Three: Achoo!

This week’s Thursday Three is all about this season’s special joys that it brings to the world. Here is the scoop from Terry:

Leave it to our crack research team of sniffly and itchy Jim Smith to come up with an inspired selection of questions for today, based entirely upon his own seasonal distress!

Jim, suffering through some sort of allergic malady, sent the following to us (in a somewhat more condensed form) and suggested we have an Stopped Up, Wheezy, Sneezy Axis of Weevil Thursday Three!

1. Do you have any food or plant allergies that kick in this time of year?

2. Is there anything in the food or plant realm that you might not be allergic to, but that you dread seeing during the fall anyway?

3. Setting aside your discomfort for just a moment, what are some of your favorite fall things?

Okay, all of you drink your chicken soup and Allerest and get to work. Remember that anyone is free to play along, even if it’s not autumn where you live, or if you think people with allergies are just big babies trying to get sympathy!

Ah fall, the smell of wood smoke fills the air and my nose is no longer stuffed!

1) My only food allergy is shellfish and that is a year round hazard, it’s a good thing I’m Jewish. As Meryl points out, I was meant to be one of the chosen. The rest of my allergies start to die down now, especially after the first hoar frost.

2) I’m not terribly fond of oak trees this time of year, their leaves shrivel up, turn brown and linger on the trees all winter long. This year, as an added hazard, we are getting a bumper crop of acorns. A few days ago, when it was very warm, it was downright painful to be barefoot along the margins of our lawn and at least one of the kids got bonked by a falling acorn. As for food, I guess it would be fruitcake. I don’t like it and I’m suspicious of the brightly colored bits imbedded in it.

3) I love this time of year. As y’all know I have my little problem with pumpkins. I also love the snap in the air, the vibrant colors of the leaves and best of all the food! Thanksgiving (a.k.a. “The Most Adored Food Holiday In All The Land”) is right around the corner. We have already been drinking cider and I just picked up my first carton of eggnog today, I’m so happy.


pumpkinlights
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

I’m just a little old northern gal that is just getting into her element.

Artists of the Week: Pumpkins

This week the whole crew gets to be Artist of the Week.


trickortreat
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

We spent part of Monday afternoon and all of Tuesday afternoon carving up our pumpkins. Each child got to pick and design three pumpkins, the remaining six were at my discretion. I carved three on my own and solicited ideas for the final three pumpkins.

The end result was a whole lot of pumpkin guts and some mighty fine looking pumpkins. Each of the following pictures is linked to a smaller set of pictures. To see the set, click on the picture and go from there.

First up is Jake.


Jake3
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

He wanted his pumpkin to be by the mailbox this year. We hoped that maybe we would get a few more visitors by draping the mailbox with pumpkin lights and having a lit pumpkin. Sadly, it did not work. Maybe Next year we should put up a sign at the intersection of our street with the main road. Anyway Jake is a traditionalist at heart. He was very excited that this year he was able to open up the pumpkin (with the BIG knife) and clean them out all by himself.

Next up are Nate’s pumpkins.


Nate2
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

He was only marginally interested in the pumpkins. He liked messing about with the pumpkin guts, but the actual designing was rather slaspdash. He wanted to play more than carve. But he did have fun when we were all done

Max was a bit more involved.


Max1
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

His first pumpkin was a bit abstract. You really need to see the next picture in the set; there you get to see all the little squiggles I had to sort through when I was carving it. On his second and third pumpkins he had a better grasp of what was going on and developed easier designs for me to carve.

Rebecca viewed her pumpkins as big lumpy pieces of orange canvas.


Rebecca1
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Like Max’s initial effort, her designs were hard to carve. I couldn’t quite figure out what exactly was going on with her first pumpkin. In addition to the bits I carved out there was a big swirled design with an arm and hand sticking out. The second one had a coherent face with an adorable bonus drawing on the side. Maybe it’s a parasitic twin? The last one features a “cooking guy wearing a cooking hat holding an acorn.” From what I gathered he got bonked on the head with the acorn and is now holding it up. I carved out the top and bottom of the acorn since it seemed to be an important element to the design.

Finally there are my pumpkins.


Mama2
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

The kids were all impressed that I could clean out, design and carve a pumpkin in well under 15 minutes. It is one of the oddest skills I have and as I explained to Jake, it takes practice. I had some nice lumpy pumpkins to work with this year. I was very pleased with Mr. Big Nose. Then I took suggestions after I finished with my three. Max wanted a baby bat and was happy with what I made as was Rebecca with her kitty pumpkin. Nate was off playing and that left Jake with the final pumpkin idea. He wanted a vampire with a huge open mouth and two fangs. At first the mouth was two small, but I was able to fix that. He still wasn’t completely happy with the final design, but I thought it looked great once it was illuminated.

And here is what it looked like when they were all in position.


Halloween
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

It was great fun and I look forward to doing it all over again next year.

Happy Halloween!

Mummy
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Don’t let the mummies scare you.

halloweentreats
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Enjoy some fall treats.

And here is a little something sweet before you go.

It’s Done

I have just finished the great costume project of 2006 and it looks fantastic.

Nate is very pleased with the end result. I’ll post pictures tomorrow. I could do a very lame one of it spread out on the table, but I think it’ll be much better with Nate’s smiling face.

It was a bit harder than I anticipated, but I was able to figure it all out. I even learned a new word: selvage.

Noun, edge of cloth so woven that it cannot unravel, or made of another material or with an inferior finish.

That’s it for now, I’ve got to take some cupcakes out of the oven and then go to bed.

And Yes, I Bought More

I didn’t post on Friday because I was busy. Busy with Halloween parties and busy with the great Halloween project of 2006 a.k.a. Nate’s costume.

In the morning I drew up my shopping list, picked up a replacement toy for Rebecca (It was a birthday present and John killed it in less than twenty four hours after she got it) and took Max and Rebecca to their Halloween party at preschool. They got to trick or treat in all the other classrooms and have a little party with cupcakes, sandwiches, cookies and of course, candy. They were very cute dressed up as raccoons, but I forgot my camera.

Oh well, It’s not like they haven’t worn those costumes before.

Then it was off to the fabric store. Unfortunately the closest one is near Petersburg, about a 30 minute drive away. After about 10 minutes in the store the dynamic duo were bored out of their minds, but I needed to get the fabric and that was it. After an hour I picked out my four fabrics and had eleventy billion yards cut, well it really wasn’t that much, but it sure looked like it. Then it was one more stop at Wal-Mart for a few odds and ends.

Interestingly the Petersburg pumpkins were still $3.58 a pop as opposed to our local one which is at a buck fifty per pumpkin. Obviously I didn’t buy any more at that store.

Then it was home again.

The rest of the day was spent decoding the patterns’ directions and cutting out the pattern pieces.

Saturday was gorgeous, so soccer was canceled. Actually the fields were flooded from the previous night’s rain, but it was odd having the games canceled due to inclement weather on such a brilliant fall day. So I got to spend the day cutting fabric and making the first part of the costume. Larry went off to the drug store and when he returned he told me his was pre-registered for the flu shot.

What!?

When I asked two days ago there wasn’t any pre-registration available. So I hot footed on over to sign up and, since I was out, I headed over to Wal-Mart to get more pumpkins.

I was a little unsure if any would be left, but they still had some in the bins. I was only going to get four, but then a very nice employee pointed out a whole other area chock full of pumpkins. They even had quite a few extra large ones left. So I bought eight, bringing my grand total up to 18.

My name is Sarah and I have a problem, it’s buying pumpkins for Halloween and Wal-Mart is my enabler.

I am the Pumpkin Goddess

I love Halloween.

The candy, the costumes, the scary stories and how the weather has cooled down and there is a nice snap in the air. I love it all.

Each year I get a big old bunch of pumpkins, carve them up and light them on Halloween. Our house has a long staircase leading up to the front door, perfect for showcasing my pumpkin dementia.

For the past week or so the kids have been asking about the pumpkins. They were eager to buy them when they first appeared, but they know I like to wait for the last minute. The reasons for my last minute pumpkin buying habit are many, but it can be boiled down to two main ones. I’m cheap and I procrastinate.

The procrastination usually works out to my advantage. As Halloween looms the prices on pumpkins start to drop. I keep an eye on the local supply, I don’t want to miss out completely, but I take my time. This is also good, because if you buy too early there is a chance that they may spoil before the big night or fall prey to the predations of animals, both wild and domestic (Both my dogs and the local deer population love pumpkins). Admittedly the selection becomes a bit limited, but I like the warty and oddly shaped ones, they are much more fun to carve. My main requirement is that must still have a bit of stem still attached.

Today, after I dropped off Max and Rebecca off at preschool, I stopped by Wally world. I needed light bulbs and I was looking for Nate’s costume. Nate wants to be a Jedi Knight and so far I have had no luck in locating a costume in his size. I found a few Annakin’s, but he would rather be Obi-Wan. I was going to thoroughly search through the costume department and then maybe check out the sewing/craft area. If all else fails I could get the pattern and do it myself. Max will probably want to wear it in the future, so it will be worth the effort.

As I strolled in I took a gander at the pumpkin bins, they still had a ton left. Then I noticed the price: $1.50 each, formally $3.50.

Score! I grabbed a cart and piled in 10 pumpkins. I was able to snag quite a few big ones and they all have stems. With my cart almost overflowing I wrestled it over to the costume department.

Woot! The aisle was deserted. I love shopping in morning. It is much calmer and if I go on a Tuesday or Thursday, my entourage is at preschool. I happily pawed through the entire collection of costumes, but to no avail. I found a lot of Darth Vader, but no Jedi. After swinging by lighting and getting light bulbs, I headed over to the craft section.

There was a nice display of Halloween costume patterns, but the one I wanted was not included. I searched in the appropriate drawer, but again no success. I then idly looked through the costumes on display. Then I found it, jammed in the back, upside down and backwards. What luck! I tossed the pattern into my cart and headed on out.

Giddy with my success, I loaded up the van with pumpkins and I called my husband. When he picked up I announced “I am a pumpkin goddess!”

With an amused chortle he replied “Indeed you are.”

Here is a picture of the back of my van when it was full of pumpkins.


Just a few pumpkins
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

The scary part is I’m going back to buy more, this time with kids. They like to pick out pumpkins and you can never have too many.

Artist of the Week: Little Creature

This week’s artist is Rebecca.


QueenRebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

This is a shot from her birthday party. I got little crowns at the dollar store for Max and Rebecca to wear on their birthday. Max still looked like Max, but Miss Rebecca looked downright regal. She likes telling people what to do; we just have to mold her into a benevolent ruler.

Anyhoo, here is one her more recent efforts.


creature
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

It’s a happy looking creature, with many legs and a big fat pink tail. It does not currently have a name. When I pressed her on the subject Rebecca stated that she was tired of saying names for things.

It is so hard being five.

I like it. It has a cheerful demeanor and its title (for now) makes me think of one of my favorite albums from Talking Heads.

Currently the creature is on display at the Refrigerator Museum of Art.

I Remember

When I was living in Wisconsin during the early 90s there was a funny little paper called The Onion. You could pick it up all over the University of Wisconsin’s Campus and in various shops around Madison. It was (and still is) a total spoof. I remember how one grad student, from China, thought the paper was real. After a while she started to clue in, but she never tired of admitting her mistake.

One of my favorite articles was about how during construction of the Monona Terrace the lake bed was punctured, draining the lake. Various objects were found including Otis Redding’s plane that crashed there on December 10, 1967. The accompanying picture was lovingly faked to show the drained lake bed. Larry remembers one picture about Jesus attending a kegger. In the photo he could just pick out one of his students.

The best part of the paper was the movie reviews. At the time actors and directors were identified by the worst movie they were ever in. The reviews themselves were brutally frank and spot on.

Since then the paper has moved on to be an online entity. Occasionally I would take a peak, but it wasn’t nearly as funny. Then today over at Dave Barry’s blog there was a link to a great article “Mars Rover Beginning to Hate Mars.”

Now that’s The Onion I know and love.

Progress

A little over a week ago Jake and Nate were agitating for some way to increase their allowance. They were willing to take another job; the question was what it would be.

After a bit of thought and some house cleaning I hit upon just the right job.

For quite some time I’ve been trying to get the boys to clean their room. Mostly I was tired of the layer of Legos on the floor. They would pick them up when I pushed them, but the Legos would soon reappear on the floor within a day or so.

So it was decided they had to clean their room each week. Inspection would be on Sunday. I helped them clean their room one more time and then they were on their own.

First off I noticed that the Legos were staying in the bin. No longer were they flung about the room.

On Wednesday Nate anxiously asked if it would still count if they just didn’t mess up their room. I told him I really didn’t care how it got clean, just that it was nice and neat on Sunday. Very pleased, Nate informed his brother the good news. Jake later informed me that they now carefully pour out the Legos in one spot and then put them back when they were done.

On Friday and Sunday Nate made his bed. He observed on Sunday it was much easier to get into bed when the sheets were no longer in a big wad.

So on Sunday the boys got a pay raise and Nate even garnered a little bonus for making his bed. Jake was a little jealous about the bonus and started to complain and asked why Nate should get a bonus for making his bed. I told him it made me happy and that’s that.

It’ll be interesting if they keep this up. I think we have made some actual progress.

Crunch's Find

Friday Crunch found a new toy in our backyard.

He was at the back door with John and eager to come inside. As I opened the door he picked up his new treasure and tried to bring it inside.

It was a box turtle.

I was on the phone at the time and my caller got treated to a loud “No, you can’t bring that turtle inside! No turtles! Drop it Crunch!”

I pried the poor thing from my dog’s jaws and placed it on the table out on the deck. The turtle’s shell was tightly closed and the shell looked intact. This was an improvement over the last turtle Crunch found. About three or four years ago Crunch found a similar turtle in our backyard. I wasn’t aware of it until it was too late. It turns out if you leave a dachshund alone long enough they can chew through a turtle shell. At first I thought he had a branch or something and was happily gnawing away. After about two hours I went out to see what on earth he could chew on for such a long time. I was horrified to find that my dog had busted through the shell and was trying to eat the turtle. I like turtles and I felt horrible about its death. From that point on I made sure that Crunch didn’t repeat that particular feat in persistence.

Meanwhile Crunch was very disappointed and started to bark at the table. He wanted his new toy back and he wanted it now.

I then excused myself for a moment and relocated the turtle to a safer spot. The dogs tagged along, but left as soon as they realized that their new toy was out of reach.

Once I was done with the phone I rounded up Max and Rebecca to show them the turtle. We put on our boots and tromped out to see if it had moved. It hadn’t, but it had been having a very bad day and it really wasn’t that long since I had rescued it. While we were standing there I decided it would probably better for the turtle if we moved it to the other side of our property, down by the stream. This struck me as a better habitat and the turtle wouldn’t have to cross our lawn of doom in order to reach water.

We found a nice spot across the stream. I placed the turtle down in a grassy patch dappled with sunlight near the stream. We splashed a bit in the water and then left the turtle to its own devices.

An hour later I went back with my camera in hand. I looked for a bit, but it was long gone. I was little disappointed, but mostly pleased that it was able to leave.


stream
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

I took a few pictures of the woods and headed back inside.

It's That Time of Year Again

Today it was Jake’s turn to be diagnosed with strep throat.

Last weekend Max and Rebecca tested positive for strep. Fortunately I caught it early enough and they were still able to have their totally awesome birthday party. This morning Jake said he had an itchy throat. He had no other symptoms so I sent him off to school. After lunch it worsened and he ended up at the nurse’s office. The school called home, but our phone is all wonky and it never rang (If we’re lucky, we get an abbreviated ring, once maybe twice and that’s it. I think I’ve solved the problem for now, but I need to get it taken care of.) Anyway the school ultimately called Larry at work and he emailed me. I had decided to check my email at around 3:00ish, almost 1 ½ after the initial call, and got the news.

I knew it was strep and arranged to pick up both boys from school. From there it was a not so long drive to the doctor’s office. Nate seems healthy as a horse, but with three siblings sick I know it is just a matter of time.

In short order both boys were tested, Jake came up positive and Nate negative.

What a shock.

After consulting with the doctor it was decided both boys would be started on antibiotics. I said to her Nate was doomed and she agreed.

Nate was very happy with the decision.

Really, he was happy. He is not sick, but he still gets to take amoxicillin, his absolute favorite medicine. He was almost dancing with glee that he gets to take “amoxy.”

Sometimes being a parent can be very surreal.

Anyway the good news is that Nate gets to play soccer, which is a good thing since his team would be short a player on the field if he did not go. The bad news is that Jake can’t play and Nate still needs new cleats. His current pair is falling apart; the upper is pulling away from the sole. I was going to get him a new pair after school today, but that certainly did not happen.

Thursday Three: I'm Sorry, But...

This week we have no excuse to not participate in the Thursday Three since it is all about excuses. Terry posts the following:

We’ve covered so much together over the years that coming up with new and interesting questions to ask is something of a difficulty.

Okay, well, so that’s not true.

Thank goodness for such an excuse, though, because it leads us right into this batch of questions. Today we’ll be dealing with those things we tell ourselves in order to keep from doing what we should be doing. Take a moment to answer the questions below, either in the comments or by leaving a link to your blog, and tell us, please:

1) What is your favorite all-around go-to excuse for not doing things that you really just don’t want to do?

2) Is this excuse a one-size-fits-all sort of thing, or do you have one set of excuses for work, and another for social situations?

3) What is one of the lamest excuses you’ve ever heard?

There now--if it’s not too much trouble, or if you’re not having to go wash your hair, or if you don’t have a roast in the oven--take a minute or two and fill us in on your answers. As always, the game is open to everyone, so no excuses for not playing.

1) If I’m being asked to do something extra I’ve gotten very good at saying no. It’s very liberating. With tasks I need to do, my favorite excuse is that I can always do what ever it is tomorrow.

2) If it is a business thing, like a phone call, I’ll put it off for a day when everybody is at school/preschool. Thus I can avoid the background din and distractions of small people. This, however, can delay things quite a bit as I keep forgetting to make the call. Other things I’ll put off until evening after the kids have been put to bed. Then I can supposedly concentrate on the task at hand. Social things can be put off with the sadly true statement that we are busy at that time. With three boys playing soccer and one having piano lessons we are busy Monday through Thursday with games on Saturday and with have Hebrew school Sunday morning. When we do have a free Saturday morning we go to services.

Oh and for years I kept my club at bay from making me president by using Max and Rebecca as an excuse. Now that they are big kids, I couldn’t say that anymore and now I’m stuck being the president. I’m trying to get the kids to call me Madame President, but it’s not working.

3) Hmm, the lamest excuse could be when I was asking someone to serve on the nomination committee for my dachshund club. The person immediately said “No, I’m allergic to dogs and I can’t go to the shows.” The lameness factor was that the person didn’t even listen to me and I’ve seen her at shows. The committee meets by phone to hash out who gets what position. I had to stop her, rephrase the question at which point she went oh, I guess so and that was it.

I guess I’m all out of excuses and I should do what needs to be done.