Monday, yesterday, I was sitting in the stands watching Max’s penultimate t-ball game of the season and (big surprise here) chatting on the phone with Meryl when my phone did its little bleeping thing that means it’s about to die or I’ve got another call. Checking my screen told me it was the latter and not the former. For some reason Jake and Nate’s school was calling me. Meryl and I finished up our conversation and I switched over. It was Jake’s Math teacher, she was calling to tell me that Jake had won an award and that I would be asked to go up on stage with him during the recognition ceremony Tuesday. Jake didn’t know about it and this was basically a heads up phone call.
All righty then, I wonder what he had won! I couldn’t ask Jake because it was a surprise, I would have to wait and find out tomorrow.
So today, Tuesday, my big plans were to push Nate onto the bus, drop Max and Rebecca off at Preschool and then head over to the boy’s school to drop off Jake in best outfit and attend the recognition ceremony for the fifth grade class. I decided it was best to drive Jake in since a jacket and tie is not really compatible with a bus. It would also give us enough time for both Jake and I to take our respective showers and get all gussied up.
Jake at first pulled out a couple of polo shirts to choose from, but mindful of the award I steered him towards a white oxford and tie. He debated a bit on the jacket, would it be too hot, did he really need it and so on. In the end he decided to wear the jacket and I thought it was a good call.
He looked so handsome.
Everybody noticed him when we walked into the preschool and again into his school. Only one other boy in his class had on a jacket and tie and he wasn’t nearly as cute. He looked so nicely put together right down to the Junior Handling tie tack he got from the AKC. OK. The sneakers are a bit messy, but he had outgrown his good shoes and I haven’t had a chance to get another pair. I dropped Jake off in his classroom and bade him farewell until later while his teacher affixed a yellow flower to his lapel.
I lingered in the cafeteria, helping things get set up for the reception afterwards when I got shooed into the gym/auditorium. After casting about for a decent sight line of the stage I settled on a front row seat. As I a fussed with my camera a fourth grader came by and gave me a program. I eagerly opened it up to see if it gave any clues as to what Jake won. Only three awards were listed, Student of the Year (nope, I think Jake is terrific, but he is not SotY material), Presidential Outstanding Academic Excellence (maybe), and Presidential Outstanding Academic Achievement (Bingo! I based this on the fact that Jake’s math teacher was the one that called me and she was the presenter for this award.)
And my guess was a good one.
The certificate came with a letter signed by the President and a nice blue enameled pin. If you click on the letter you can actually read it. It is a very nice, if somewhat nondescript letter that is made a little bit ironic since it comes from a person of such sterling academic credentials. But, I like what it stands for and I treasure this acknowledgment of Jake’s academic ability.
The certificate itself is rather plain, which I like. I just wish they had used Jake’s proper name (Jacob) instead of Jake. Ah well, at least everything else is spelled correctly. The seal is embossed in silver which didn’t scan very well. Overall it is rather spiffy.
Then there was the pin.
The school had a very nice way to handle the awarding of the pin. The student would be called up and the parental Unit(s) would meet the child up on the stage. When it was the child’s turn to receive the award the Principal would hand the certificate to the child and a teacher gave the pin to a parent. The parent would then put the pin on the child. It was a very touching ceremony and I was so glad I could be there especially without the dynamic duo in tow. It would have been very interesting. Anyway, once the pin was on it was a couple of quick handshakes and then we were off the stage heading back to our seats.
The rest of the ceremony was finished up with an adorable slide show that featured the students in kindergarten and fifth grade photos. For a lot of the kids it was like looking at photos of older and younger siblings being compared. Some hadn’t changed a bit and a few were almost unrecognizable.
When it was all done Jake met up with me and we had a little bit of cake, took a picture of him with his teacher and then headed off to lunch. As a special treat it was just the two of us. We had just enough time before we had to go pick up Max and Rebecca from Preschool.
Oh and one more thing, Rebecca found Jake to be so handsome in his coat and tie that she insisted that he walk just her to the car. She pulled Jake’s hand from mine and then firmly threaded her arm through his. It was definitely Jake’s turn to shine.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Dog Tired
I'm tired.
I've been battling a nasty stomach virus since last Thursday and Sunday it finally beat me. I ended up going to bed at 6:00 pm. Mind you this was with 30 minute bulletins from Miss Rebecca until about 8:00 pm.
I'm still tired and drawn out, but feeling better.
So in this theme, her is one of my favorite bits from "Blazing Saddles."
I've been battling a nasty stomach virus since last Thursday and Sunday it finally beat me. I ended up going to bed at 6:00 pm. Mind you this was with 30 minute bulletins from Miss Rebecca until about 8:00 pm.
I'm still tired and drawn out, but feeling better.
So in this theme, her is one of my favorite bits from "Blazing Saddles."
Friday, June 08, 2007
Pomp and Circumstance
Wednesday was Max and Rebecca’s Preschool Graduation Ceremony. Which, I have to admit, is a very silly thing, but it is a very big deal for the dynamic duo. They had been practicing for weeks and it did mark an important milestone in their lives. Next fall they will no longer little kids, they will be riding the big bus along with their brothers to go to school.
As I mentioned, the ceremony was a big deal and the class had been practicing for weeks. The parents were intentionally left in the dark what was going to happen, because it was going to be a big surprise. However, since Rebecca had missed so much school from her mystery illness her teacher almost sent home the songs and poems she needed to learn for the big day. But in the end it turned out it wasn’t needed; she quickly caught on and didn’t need the added coaching.
So on Wednesday morning Larry mentioned the Nate had an optional baseball practice that night at six. I replied “That is not going to happen. We were going to graduation.”
Ironically, when Larry called up Coach Jerry, it turned out that the coach couldn’t go to the practice either. It turns out the he was catering the cookout after the graduation.
It’s a small world indeed.
Anyway, we showed up at the proscribed time with a freshly baked batch of cookies in hand. I didn’t have to make cookies, but since Rebecca had been asking to make them I thought it would be an appropriate time to bring them. Everyone should get a cookie when they graduate. Max and Rebecca were whisked away, I dropped the cookies off in the kitchen and told the preschool’s owner (my neighbor Deb) and then found seats for the rest of us. Nate after about 2 minutes found a friend and was off with him looking at pictures and talking about their respective younger sibling(s). Jake was happy to be with me a keep an eye out for dad. Larry was coming straight from work.
A little after 6:30 pm the program began. We were first treated to a slide show of all the kids playing together over the course of the year. It was very cute and I filmed part of it, but I won’t bore y’all with it. Instead I’ll show you a bit of a highlight reel instead.
The whole shebang started with the class entering from the back and proceeding down the aisle clad in their caps and gowns to the sound of Pomp and Circumstance. It was extremely cute and Max led the processional while holding the flag. It this point I must apologize for the poor camera work. I really need to remember to bring our tripod to theses events. I probably will by the time we hit high school graduations.
After they all filed in and sat up on the riser, Max requested that we all stand for the pledge of Allegiance. Once we were done with the pledge the class recited a poem and sang “You are My Sunshine.” Both were cute, but I cut them out for brevities sake. Instead I included the student participation “When I Grow Up.” Max was a totally hoot and really relished that he could use his outside indoors. I think he was by far the loudest. Rebecca was loud too, but not at Max’s level.
Diplomas were handed out and then their teacher took the podium and had a wonderful speech about her students. I skipped both, because the children’s first and last name was given when the diplomas were handed out and Ms. Michelle’s speech would be meaningless to those outside the room.
Then the whole thing came to a close with the class singing “Kindergarten Here We Come.”
Max and Rebecca had been singing it for the past week, but I didn’t know it was for the graduation. It was a sweet way to end the ceremony. Then it was a stampede for some good barbecue, cake and cookies.
As I mentioned, the ceremony was a big deal and the class had been practicing for weeks. The parents were intentionally left in the dark what was going to happen, because it was going to be a big surprise. However, since Rebecca had missed so much school from her mystery illness her teacher almost sent home the songs and poems she needed to learn for the big day. But in the end it turned out it wasn’t needed; she quickly caught on and didn’t need the added coaching.
So on Wednesday morning Larry mentioned the Nate had an optional baseball practice that night at six. I replied “That is not going to happen. We were going to graduation.”
Ironically, when Larry called up Coach Jerry, it turned out that the coach couldn’t go to the practice either. It turns out the he was catering the cookout after the graduation.
It’s a small world indeed.
Anyway, we showed up at the proscribed time with a freshly baked batch of cookies in hand. I didn’t have to make cookies, but since Rebecca had been asking to make them I thought it would be an appropriate time to bring them. Everyone should get a cookie when they graduate. Max and Rebecca were whisked away, I dropped the cookies off in the kitchen and told the preschool’s owner (my neighbor Deb) and then found seats for the rest of us. Nate after about 2 minutes found a friend and was off with him looking at pictures and talking about their respective younger sibling(s). Jake was happy to be with me a keep an eye out for dad. Larry was coming straight from work.
A little after 6:30 pm the program began. We were first treated to a slide show of all the kids playing together over the course of the year. It was very cute and I filmed part of it, but I won’t bore y’all with it. Instead I’ll show you a bit of a highlight reel instead.
The whole shebang started with the class entering from the back and proceeding down the aisle clad in their caps and gowns to the sound of Pomp and Circumstance. It was extremely cute and Max led the processional while holding the flag. It this point I must apologize for the poor camera work. I really need to remember to bring our tripod to theses events. I probably will by the time we hit high school graduations.
After they all filed in and sat up on the riser, Max requested that we all stand for the pledge of Allegiance. Once we were done with the pledge the class recited a poem and sang “You are My Sunshine.” Both were cute, but I cut them out for brevities sake. Instead I included the student participation “When I Grow Up.” Max was a totally hoot and really relished that he could use his outside indoors. I think he was by far the loudest. Rebecca was loud too, but not at Max’s level.
Diplomas were handed out and then their teacher took the podium and had a wonderful speech about her students. I skipped both, because the children’s first and last name was given when the diplomas were handed out and Ms. Michelle’s speech would be meaningless to those outside the room.
Then the whole thing came to a close with the class singing “Kindergarten Here We Come.”
Max and Rebecca had been singing it for the past week, but I didn’t know it was for the graduation. It was a sweet way to end the ceremony. Then it was a stampede for some good barbecue, cake and cookies.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Artist of the Week: Drawing
After a bit of a hiatus, AOTW is back!
Nate is this week's artist. The picture of Nate on the pitcher's mound is courtesy of Aunt Meryl who happened to be there, camera in hand, for the second game Nate got to pitch. Which is far better than me, I forgot my camera for the first game he pitch. But in all fairness I didn't know he was pitching until I strolled up to the field.
If you click on the picture it will take you to a set of photos arranged in sequence. Some very cool stuff from Aunt Meryl.
Now for the art:
Nate brought this drawing to just a few days ago. My jaw fairly dropped when I saw it. I think it is a very accomplished portrait of a woman. What makes it particular interesting is that up until now Nate has only draw various aircraft and landscapes with moose and or dragons. I've always liked his moose, but I had no idea he had this in him.
It's kind of fitting since I have been watching a wonderful study of women in art courtesty of Janis.
Nate is this week's artist. The picture of Nate on the pitcher's mound is courtesy of Aunt Meryl who happened to be there, camera in hand, for the second game Nate got to pitch. Which is far better than me, I forgot my camera for the first game he pitch. But in all fairness I didn't know he was pitching until I strolled up to the field.
If you click on the picture it will take you to a set of photos arranged in sequence. Some very cool stuff from Aunt Meryl.
Now for the art:
Nate brought this drawing to just a few days ago. My jaw fairly dropped when I saw it. I think it is a very accomplished portrait of a woman. What makes it particular interesting is that up until now Nate has only draw various aircraft and landscapes with moose and or dragons. I've always liked his moose, but I had no idea he had this in him.
It's kind of fitting since I have been watching a wonderful study of women in art courtesty of Janis.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The Sparkle Is Back
It's been 16 days since the last occurrence of Rebecca's mystery virus. I think it's safe to say that it's gone.
Her sparkle is back and she is ready for action.
We never did figure out exactly what it was. Basically, it was a virus that was particularly tenacious.
But she is back, my little sparkler is back.
Her sparkle is back and she is ready for action.
We never did figure out exactly what it was. Basically, it was a virus that was particularly tenacious.
But she is back, my little sparkler is back.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Sun Cup
This past weekend was to be Jake’s last hurrah for organized soccer. The recreational soccer league season had ended May 19th, but Jake had joined up with a team that was competing at a local soccer tourney this past weekend.
The Sun Cup is an annual recreational soccer tournament that is hosted by one the many local soccer clubs in the Richmond area. The games are usually not too far from home, about a half hour away. Anyway it’s good fun and it gives Jake another chance to play soccer.
This weekend was to be a scorcher with the added bonus of Barry winding its way up the East coast. Saturday was as predicted, temps in the upper 80’s with high humidity. This normally would be a huge problem for Jake because, like me, he melts in hot weather. Fortunately there was a light cloud cover for the first game and Jake was able to push through. He was a little slower than normal, but not as dazed as he can get when the sun is directly beating down on him. Sadly his team (the Fireball Monkeys) was soundly beaten during the first game. We than had a little under an hour to kill before the next match. I ended up taking Max, Rebecca and Jake to the local supermarket/cafe to relax in air-conditioning and nosh on fruit from the salad bar. Meanwhile Nate and Larry had left after the first match to take Nate to his baseball game.
As the day progressed the clouds built up and the temps seemed to be dropping. Jake played with a lot more energy. Again our team lost, but this time they held the score to just 1-0. They didn’t qualify for the winners match up on Sunday, but they would still get to play one more time. The coach announced to the team that they would be playing rain or shine.
Sunday morning I awoke to the sound of rain beating against the skylight. My first thought was good! Jake loves playing in the rain and the temperature had dropped significantly. We doubled checked the tourney’s web site and the games were still on.
As the morning wore on the rain continued, with occasional downpours. We kept checking the web site; with the heavy rain the fields might become too wet for play. Then at around 10:00 the organizers cancelled the tournament. The fields were soaked and with every game played the playing surface worsened.
What a disappointment. Jake handled the news well and was happy watching the Pokemon marathon for the rest of the day.
I think Larry and I were more upset than Jake. We really wanted to watch Jake play in his kind of weather.
The Sun Cup is an annual recreational soccer tournament that is hosted by one the many local soccer clubs in the Richmond area. The games are usually not too far from home, about a half hour away. Anyway it’s good fun and it gives Jake another chance to play soccer.
This weekend was to be a scorcher with the added bonus of Barry winding its way up the East coast. Saturday was as predicted, temps in the upper 80’s with high humidity. This normally would be a huge problem for Jake because, like me, he melts in hot weather. Fortunately there was a light cloud cover for the first game and Jake was able to push through. He was a little slower than normal, but not as dazed as he can get when the sun is directly beating down on him. Sadly his team (the Fireball Monkeys) was soundly beaten during the first game. We than had a little under an hour to kill before the next match. I ended up taking Max, Rebecca and Jake to the local supermarket/cafe to relax in air-conditioning and nosh on fruit from the salad bar. Meanwhile Nate and Larry had left after the first match to take Nate to his baseball game.
As the day progressed the clouds built up and the temps seemed to be dropping. Jake played with a lot more energy. Again our team lost, but this time they held the score to just 1-0. They didn’t qualify for the winners match up on Sunday, but they would still get to play one more time. The coach announced to the team that they would be playing rain or shine.
Sunday morning I awoke to the sound of rain beating against the skylight. My first thought was good! Jake loves playing in the rain and the temperature had dropped significantly. We doubled checked the tourney’s web site and the games were still on.
As the morning wore on the rain continued, with occasional downpours. We kept checking the web site; with the heavy rain the fields might become too wet for play. Then at around 10:00 the organizers cancelled the tournament. The fields were soaked and with every game played the playing surface worsened.
What a disappointment. Jake handled the news well and was happy watching the Pokemon marathon for the rest of the day.
I think Larry and I were more upset than Jake. We really wanted to watch Jake play in his kind of weather.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Mr. Boo-boo Paw
Last week was really exciting for us. In addition to Rebecca losing (literally) her first tooth, John earned the new name of Mr. Boo-boo paw.
Sunday I was out on the deck reading a book with John puttering around at my feet and Crunch nosing about on the lawn. We were quietly enjoying the lovely weather, far nicer than this weekend by the way, when John started baying like a hound possessed, shot off the deck and charged into the woods. Suddenly he let out a terrible squeal/ yelp with some barking, almost as though he was in a fight and getting the worst of it.
I dashed off the deck not knowing what to expect. As I followed John’s path to the woods I noticed that Crunch was still poking about in the grass, oblivious to John’s distress.
Just as I reached the wood’s edge I was brought up short by a doe springing away, not more than 10 feet away from me. John was bouncing about with his right front paw uplifted, barking at the fleeing doe. When the doe was long gone John finally calmed down enough for me to lure him in and make a grab. He was limping and obviously injured, but it wasn’t clear how he was injured.
Being of sound temperament I was able to manipulate John’s right foreleg in all sorts of ways without any protest. He didn’t have a mark on him, but something was wrong. Maybe the deer had kicked him, I couldn’t tell. I decided to wait and see. Other than being a gimpy little dog he seemed fine, it didn’t seem worth the expense of going to the emergency vet when it could be something simple as a sprain.
Monday he was still limping about and I decided to take another look. His leg seemed just fine. Then I noticed that his outside right toe was damp from his worrying it. I gently moved the toe and saw him flinch. Ah ha! It looks like he might have broken a toe. I consulted with a few dog people and decided that he could ride it out until Tuesday. At $70 just for stepping into the exam room at the e-vet and lord knows what for miscellaneous tests and x-rays, he could wait for a visit with our regular vet. Quite honestly there is not much they can do for him. I know with people, the broken toe gets taped to its uninjured neighbors and that’s it.
Tuesday I was able to bring John in to our regular vet clinic. We were squeezed in as a walk in and got to meet all sorts of dogs as we waited our turn. When we finally got to see the vet I told him what I thought was wrong. He then pulled and poked John’s foreleg a dozen different ways. After a very through examination the diagnoses was to John: “Well your mom is right, it feels like you broke your toe.”
He could feel the toe grate a bit as he moved it to and fro. It could be a tendon thing, but it really didn’t matter, the treatment is the same if the toe was broken. He mentioned we could bandage the leg, but as he put it “there is nothing more pathetic than a bandaged dog.” That and the whole keeping the dog from chewing the wrap off. We elected not to do anything. John should improve over the next four weeks.
So we came back home with Mr. Boo-boo paw looking very sad until it was time to wrestle with Crunch.
It was been a week now and already he is limping less. I’m just glad he did this before I entered him in a bunch of dog shows. Now I know not to bother until he is fully healed.
Silly boy, how he did this we’ll never know, John’s not talking.
Sunday I was out on the deck reading a book with John puttering around at my feet and Crunch nosing about on the lawn. We were quietly enjoying the lovely weather, far nicer than this weekend by the way, when John started baying like a hound possessed, shot off the deck and charged into the woods. Suddenly he let out a terrible squeal/ yelp with some barking, almost as though he was in a fight and getting the worst of it.
I dashed off the deck not knowing what to expect. As I followed John’s path to the woods I noticed that Crunch was still poking about in the grass, oblivious to John’s distress.
Just as I reached the wood’s edge I was brought up short by a doe springing away, not more than 10 feet away from me. John was bouncing about with his right front paw uplifted, barking at the fleeing doe. When the doe was long gone John finally calmed down enough for me to lure him in and make a grab. He was limping and obviously injured, but it wasn’t clear how he was injured.
Being of sound temperament I was able to manipulate John’s right foreleg in all sorts of ways without any protest. He didn’t have a mark on him, but something was wrong. Maybe the deer had kicked him, I couldn’t tell. I decided to wait and see. Other than being a gimpy little dog he seemed fine, it didn’t seem worth the expense of going to the emergency vet when it could be something simple as a sprain.
Monday he was still limping about and I decided to take another look. His leg seemed just fine. Then I noticed that his outside right toe was damp from his worrying it. I gently moved the toe and saw him flinch. Ah ha! It looks like he might have broken a toe. I consulted with a few dog people and decided that he could ride it out until Tuesday. At $70 just for stepping into the exam room at the e-vet and lord knows what for miscellaneous tests and x-rays, he could wait for a visit with our regular vet. Quite honestly there is not much they can do for him. I know with people, the broken toe gets taped to its uninjured neighbors and that’s it.
Tuesday I was able to bring John in to our regular vet clinic. We were squeezed in as a walk in and got to meet all sorts of dogs as we waited our turn. When we finally got to see the vet I told him what I thought was wrong. He then pulled and poked John’s foreleg a dozen different ways. After a very through examination the diagnoses was to John: “Well your mom is right, it feels like you broke your toe.”
He could feel the toe grate a bit as he moved it to and fro. It could be a tendon thing, but it really didn’t matter, the treatment is the same if the toe was broken. He mentioned we could bandage the leg, but as he put it “there is nothing more pathetic than a bandaged dog.” That and the whole keeping the dog from chewing the wrap off. We elected not to do anything. John should improve over the next four weeks.
So we came back home with Mr. Boo-boo paw looking very sad until it was time to wrestle with Crunch.
It was been a week now and already he is limping less. I’m just glad he did this before I entered him in a bunch of dog shows. Now I know not to bother until he is fully healed.
Silly boy, how he did this we’ll never know, John’s not talking.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Of Corn and Teeth
Last Friday we had a special treat, the first corn of the season. I was out grocery shopping when I saw a fresh batch of corn being brought out to the floor. I love fresh corn on the cob, ideally picked that morning. I knew the corn in question had been trucked in from who knows where, but it has been so long and it looked good.
So Max, Rebecca and myself selected six nice looking ears of corn and headed home to shuck them and cook them up for lunch.
Side note: I really don’t understand people shucking their corn right there in the store. Why don’t they wait until they get home? Yes, it is messy, but don’t the kernels get banged up and bruised without the protective husk? Also, doesn’t the husk retain the moisture? I just don’t get it. Anyway back to my story.
I set us under the tree-that-got-vacuumed with a pot for the corn and a couple of bags for the husks.
We had a good time shucking our corn. I did the bulk of the work; in the time it takes for them to get through one ear I can clean three. Max then carried the big pot full of corn back into the house.
Then we had to wait for the corn to cook. Cooking takes a very long time when you are five years old.
Finally it was ready and we could enjoy our first corn of the year. We slathered our ears of corn with butter and set to it. Max and I were happily munching away when Rebecca started to cry. Thinking that she had burned her mouth I asked if her corn was too hot. With her voice choked with sobs she slowly informed no, but it hurts. This was quite puzzling, after going back and forth with a semi-incoherent girl I finally got to the crux to the matter, she had a loose tooth. Every time she bit down it hurt.
Ah-ha! I had a solution. I offered to cut off the corn kernels. This suggestion was initially rejected, but after a bit of cajoling I was able to get her to agree.
That night I carefully brushed around the very loose tooth and sent her off to bed. In fact the tooth was so loose it disappeared between bed time and breakfast. Either she lost it in bed or it got stuck in her breakfast peanut butter and jelly sandwich and was eaten.
We’ll never know, but my little girl is not so little anymore.
So Max, Rebecca and myself selected six nice looking ears of corn and headed home to shuck them and cook them up for lunch.
Side note: I really don’t understand people shucking their corn right there in the store. Why don’t they wait until they get home? Yes, it is messy, but don’t the kernels get banged up and bruised without the protective husk? Also, doesn’t the husk retain the moisture? I just don’t get it. Anyway back to my story.
I set us under the tree-that-got-vacuumed with a pot for the corn and a couple of bags for the husks.
We had a good time shucking our corn. I did the bulk of the work; in the time it takes for them to get through one ear I can clean three. Max then carried the big pot full of corn back into the house.
Then we had to wait for the corn to cook. Cooking takes a very long time when you are five years old.
Finally it was ready and we could enjoy our first corn of the year. We slathered our ears of corn with butter and set to it. Max and I were happily munching away when Rebecca started to cry. Thinking that she had burned her mouth I asked if her corn was too hot. With her voice choked with sobs she slowly informed no, but it hurts. This was quite puzzling, after going back and forth with a semi-incoherent girl I finally got to the crux to the matter, she had a loose tooth. Every time she bit down it hurt.
Ah-ha! I had a solution. I offered to cut off the corn kernels. This suggestion was initially rejected, but after a bit of cajoling I was able to get her to agree.
That night I carefully brushed around the very loose tooth and sent her off to bed. In fact the tooth was so loose it disappeared between bed time and breakfast. Either she lost it in bed or it got stuck in her breakfast peanut butter and jelly sandwich and was eaten.
We’ll never know, but my little girl is not so little anymore.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Another Year Together
Today is my fifteenth wedding anniversary.
Including the seven years we dated Larry and I have been together for 22 years. Since I was 19 (ah, so young!) we have been together for over half my life. I can say that I have been with the man I love for most of my life.
Or, as I like to tell our children, we've been together since dinosaurs roamed the earth.
There will be no fancy dinner tonight, baseball practice intrudes, but we will celebrate in style when Grandma and Grandpa next come down for a visit.
Including the seven years we dated Larry and I have been together for 22 years. Since I was 19 (ah, so young!) we have been together for over half my life. I can say that I have been with the man I love for most of my life.
Or, as I like to tell our children, we've been together since dinosaurs roamed the earth.
There will be no fancy dinner tonight, baseball practice intrudes, but we will celebrate in style when Grandma and Grandpa next come down for a visit.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
To those that served and never came back home and to the families that miss them, I thank you all for keeping me safe and all the freedoms I enjoy.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Technical Difficulties
The video driver on the family computer has decided to go AWOL, so I'm limited on uploading pictures and what not until I get it sorted out.
Hopefully it'll be fixed by next week, until then I'll be using so old photos I have stashed elsewhere.
Therefore there will be no Artist of the Week this week. You'll just have to be satisfied with Super Dog from last week.
Hopefully it'll be fixed by next week, until then I'll be using so old photos I have stashed elsewhere.
Therefore there will be no Artist of the Week this week. You'll just have to be satisfied with Super Dog from last week.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Bambi vs Godzilla
This is possibly my favorite short of all time. I was a member of my college's film society and it was a happy moment in my life when I discovered we could actually get this short feature.
I had a great time being part of film society, twice a year we would get together and pick out the next semester's slate of films. It involved a great deal of arguing and beer. We tried to at least break even by showing films that were arty and films that would get an audience. Over time we discovered that the two biggest money makers would be either G or X rated. Didn't matter what the film was, just the rating. Nothing beats Disney or Fritz the Cat for getting a college student's attention.
When I showed it to my kids they were, of course, horrified.
I had a great time being part of film society, twice a year we would get together and pick out the next semester's slate of films. It involved a great deal of arguing and beer. We tried to at least break even by showing films that were arty and films that would get an audience. Over time we discovered that the two biggest money makers would be either G or X rated. Didn't matter what the film was, just the rating. Nothing beats Disney or Fritz the Cat for getting a college student's attention.
When I showed it to my kids they were, of course, horrified.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Where is My Little Sparkler?
Rebecca, my little sparkler, has not been feeling well. In fact she has been ailing on and off for the past month.
It starts out with her crashing during the day and sleeping straight through dinner and on through the next day or so. She barely eats and drinks until she starts to rally after a few days. In the meantime, all she does is sleep.
When she is better she is almost her old self. Sadly, it only lasts about a week and a half. Right now she has started her third cycle of the mystery illness.
When it first struck she had the added bonus of nausea. I brought her in to the pediatrician's office and she tested positive for strep throat. One shot of antibiotic and a scrip for Zofran later we were sent home.
The second time she was again nauseated, I brought her in she initially tested negative for strep. The Dr. and I decided to wait and see. After two days of no improvement I brought her back in. At that point she evidenced signs of strep so we decided to treat it as such. I was already concerned about other possible causes and asked for her to be tested for tick borne illnesses. We live in tick central and last year our neighbor was diagnosed with Lyme's disease. For good measure, the Dr. also had her checked for mono.
All the tests came back negative.
Now that we have entered her third round I am very concerned about my little girl. I'm waiting on a call back from her pediatrician. I don't see any point in hauling her back in unless we have a plan. They really can't test for anything else there at the office. If further testing is warranted I might as well go straight to the lab, skipping another co-pay and unnecessary poking and prodding. The poor thing is feeling wretched already, I don't want to add to her misery. Thankfully she hasn't been nauseated this time around.
Hopefully I'll get my little sparkler back soon.
It starts out with her crashing during the day and sleeping straight through dinner and on through the next day or so. She barely eats and drinks until she starts to rally after a few days. In the meantime, all she does is sleep.
When she is better she is almost her old self. Sadly, it only lasts about a week and a half. Right now she has started her third cycle of the mystery illness.
When it first struck she had the added bonus of nausea. I brought her in to the pediatrician's office and she tested positive for strep throat. One shot of antibiotic and a scrip for Zofran later we were sent home.
The second time she was again nauseated, I brought her in she initially tested negative for strep. The Dr. and I decided to wait and see. After two days of no improvement I brought her back in. At that point she evidenced signs of strep so we decided to treat it as such. I was already concerned about other possible causes and asked for her to be tested for tick borne illnesses. We live in tick central and last year our neighbor was diagnosed with Lyme's disease. For good measure, the Dr. also had her checked for mono.
All the tests came back negative.
Now that we have entered her third round I am very concerned about my little girl. I'm waiting on a call back from her pediatrician. I don't see any point in hauling her back in unless we have a plan. They really can't test for anything else there at the office. If further testing is warranted I might as well go straight to the lab, skipping another co-pay and unnecessary poking and prodding. The poor thing is feeling wretched already, I don't want to add to her misery. Thankfully she hasn't been nauseated this time around.
Hopefully I'll get my little sparkler back soon.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
My Boy Nate
I have to brag a bit today about our middle boy Nate.
Currently he is playing baseball on our local PONY team. It has been an exciting season for the team. They are now in the Pinto league and that means the games are kid pitch. Last year it was all coach pitch, each team’s coach would pitch to their own players. In kid pitch it is just like a real ball game, with strikes and balls called by an umpire behind the plate. It’s a real challenge for both the pitcher and the batter. It’s also fairly boring for the outfield, because they don’t see nearly the same amount of action as they did last year since there are a ton of walks from balls being called and the occasional wild pitch that ends up clipping the batter.
Anyway Nate has been the lead off hitter this season and has been mostly on second base or catcher. That is until today.
Nate got to be pitcher. And it almost didn’t happen.
Larry dropped off Nate for the game and then went back home. Rebecca was not well and we felt it would be best if she was not dragged to a ball game. The plan was that I would go to Nate’s game once Max’s social obligations were over. At the last minute I decided to drop Max off at home instead of bringing him to the game. I knew he would be bored and I didn’t want to have to entertain him. As a result I was a bit late to Nate’s game and missed the top half of the first inning.
I walked up the field and saw Nate with the head coach. As I stopped to wave, Nate blurted out “Hey! There’s my Mom, my mom’s here!” The coach turned and looked at me and replied “Great! Let’s do it!”
Normally Nate is pleased to see me, but this was far and away the biggest reception that I have gotten since his pre school days. As I puzzled over the reaction I headed over to stands and was informed by the other parents that Nate was pitching and the coach had been stalling until my appearance. He was just about to pull Nate when I showed up. The coach likes to have the parents present when a kid pitches for the first time.
So of course I whipped out my cell phone and provided Larry with possibly some of the worst play by play action in the history of baseball. I didn’t know the score and my pitch descriptions were along the lines of “oh, I think that was good, I don’t know.”
Fortunately Nate did a far better job than I did. He pitched two innings (half the game). Both times he was up he walked the first batter and then struck out the next three. It was a pretty impressive showing for a first time out. Oh and as for the game, our team completely shut out the other for a solid win with Nate knocking in at least one run and scoring twice.
What a boy.
Currently he is playing baseball on our local PONY team. It has been an exciting season for the team. They are now in the Pinto league and that means the games are kid pitch. Last year it was all coach pitch, each team’s coach would pitch to their own players. In kid pitch it is just like a real ball game, with strikes and balls called by an umpire behind the plate. It’s a real challenge for both the pitcher and the batter. It’s also fairly boring for the outfield, because they don’t see nearly the same amount of action as they did last year since there are a ton of walks from balls being called and the occasional wild pitch that ends up clipping the batter.
Anyway Nate has been the lead off hitter this season and has been mostly on second base or catcher. That is until today.
Nate got to be pitcher. And it almost didn’t happen.
Larry dropped off Nate for the game and then went back home. Rebecca was not well and we felt it would be best if she was not dragged to a ball game. The plan was that I would go to Nate’s game once Max’s social obligations were over. At the last minute I decided to drop Max off at home instead of bringing him to the game. I knew he would be bored and I didn’t want to have to entertain him. As a result I was a bit late to Nate’s game and missed the top half of the first inning.
I walked up the field and saw Nate with the head coach. As I stopped to wave, Nate blurted out “Hey! There’s my Mom, my mom’s here!” The coach turned and looked at me and replied “Great! Let’s do it!”
Normally Nate is pleased to see me, but this was far and away the biggest reception that I have gotten since his pre school days. As I puzzled over the reaction I headed over to stands and was informed by the other parents that Nate was pitching and the coach had been stalling until my appearance. He was just about to pull Nate when I showed up. The coach likes to have the parents present when a kid pitches for the first time.
So of course I whipped out my cell phone and provided Larry with possibly some of the worst play by play action in the history of baseball. I didn’t know the score and my pitch descriptions were along the lines of “oh, I think that was good, I don’t know.”
Fortunately Nate did a far better job than I did. He pitched two innings (half the game). Both times he was up he walked the first batter and then struck out the next three. It was a pretty impressive showing for a first time out. Oh and as for the game, our team completely shut out the other for a solid win with Nate knocking in at least one run and scoring twice.
What a boy.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Lame Friday post
We have yet another busy weekend, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Saturday is Jake’s last regular season soccer game and due to conflicts with either Nate’s or Max’s games I haven’t seen very much. I’m going to miss most of this one too since Nate’s game slightly overlaps tomorrow. Luckily Max has this weekend off which helps lessen the chaos.
Then we have two birthday parties. Nate gets to go to an R-Braves game Saturday night. Larry pulled that duty while I get to go to Chuck E. Cheese’s with Max and Rebecca Sunday afternoon.
I think Larry gets the better end of the deal. A night game with 8 year olds sounds far more appealing than an afternoon of loud electronic entertainment with a pack of 5 year olds.
Saturday is Jake’s last regular season soccer game and due to conflicts with either Nate’s or Max’s games I haven’t seen very much. I’m going to miss most of this one too since Nate’s game slightly overlaps tomorrow. Luckily Max has this weekend off which helps lessen the chaos.
Then we have two birthday parties. Nate gets to go to an R-Braves game Saturday night. Larry pulled that duty while I get to go to Chuck E. Cheese’s with Max and Rebecca Sunday afternoon.
I think Larry gets the better end of the deal. A night game with 8 year olds sounds far more appealing than an afternoon of loud electronic entertainment with a pack of 5 year olds.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Thursday Three: Season Finale
As the school year draws to a close at the Axis of Weevil HQ, aka Possumblog, Terry sends out this missive:
Season Finale?! Where has the time gone? I didn’t get that memo.
Ah well, time for my final three answers until the Axis creaks back to life this fall.
1) Well I’m going to cheat and say the exciting duo from MythBusters, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman. They strike me as two very interesting people to hang out with and I might get to blow something up. Science can be fun. I might even let the kids tag along. Nate really likes the fact that Adam and he have the same t-shirt.
2) We are going on our biannual pilgrimage up North near the end of summer. We’ll see my in-laws in Connecticut and watch a Mets game at Shea, visit my cousins with the great big house on the beach in Massachusetts, stay at my Mom’s house in Vermont and then head back down to Virginia. As an added bonus the kids will be attending a soccer camp while we are at my Mom’s, it’s a half-day program and it will keep them busy.
3) Who? Judging by the other responses it’s an American Idol reference. I don’t watch and I really don’t care. I vote for the Cookie Monster.
So I guess that’s it for now. What am I’m going to do on Thursdays?
Yes, it’s time once more for the cast, crew, and writers to take a well-deserved summer hiatus, but before everyone clears out, they’ve left you with a THRILLING, ACTION-PACKED edition of the Axis of Weevil Thursday Three!
Okay, it’s not thrilling.
Nor particularly action-packed.
In fact, there’s really not much of a theme. But that’s what you get when you assemble your program from stuff you find wadded up in the trash can.
But it’s the only thing we got, SO—
1) If you could hang out with a famous living person for a day, who would it be, and why?
2) What sort of plans do you have for summer vacation?
3) Blake or Jordin?
Okay, all of you get to work and let’s send out this year’s final episode with something resembling enjoyment! Leave your answers in the comments below or a link to your own blog.
Season Finale?! Where has the time gone? I didn’t get that memo.
Ah well, time for my final three answers until the Axis creaks back to life this fall.
1) Well I’m going to cheat and say the exciting duo from MythBusters, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman. They strike me as two very interesting people to hang out with and I might get to blow something up. Science can be fun. I might even let the kids tag along. Nate really likes the fact that Adam and he have the same t-shirt.
2) We are going on our biannual pilgrimage up North near the end of summer. We’ll see my in-laws in Connecticut and watch a Mets game at Shea, visit my cousins with the great big house on the beach in Massachusetts, stay at my Mom’s house in Vermont and then head back down to Virginia. As an added bonus the kids will be attending a soccer camp while we are at my Mom’s, it’s a half-day program and it will keep them busy.
3) Who? Judging by the other responses it’s an American Idol reference. I don’t watch and I really don’t care. I vote for the Cookie Monster.
So I guess that’s it for now. What am I’m going to do on Thursdays?
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Pictures of Gwen
This is for my Mom, it's easier to post pictures here than to try to send them.
So feel free to look, ultimately I'll be taking this post down.
So feel free to look, ultimately I'll be taking this post down.
Artist of the Week: Super Dog
Max is a very funny guy and he is this week’s featured artist.
His jokes aren’t particularly good, they are long, rambling and are often without a discernable punch line, but what else would you expect from a five year old. However, nobody can sell a joke like Max. He has the best delivery; you can’t help laughing with him at the end of his joke.
Sometimes, though, he can be very funny and he is not even aware of the joke.
Case in point: Super Dog.
Super Dog was proudly brought home yesterday. Max had started with just an outline from a stencil provided by his teacher. As he colored in his dog he decided to go one better and make it “Super Dog” by adding a cape. The orange bit behind Super Dog is its cape, streaming straight behind like all good capes should.
Of course that was not what Larry and I first saw. To us it looks like Super Dog has a turbo jet and not a cape. As Larry put it “It looks like Super Dog might be methane powered.”
It’s all too funny. Super Dog, like Max, makes me smile.
His jokes aren’t particularly good, they are long, rambling and are often without a discernable punch line, but what else would you expect from a five year old. However, nobody can sell a joke like Max. He has the best delivery; you can’t help laughing with him at the end of his joke.
Sometimes, though, he can be very funny and he is not even aware of the joke.
Case in point: Super Dog.
Super Dog was proudly brought home yesterday. Max had started with just an outline from a stencil provided by his teacher. As he colored in his dog he decided to go one better and make it “Super Dog” by adding a cape. The orange bit behind Super Dog is its cape, streaming straight behind like all good capes should.
Of course that was not what Larry and I first saw. To us it looks like Super Dog has a turbo jet and not a cape. As Larry put it “It looks like Super Dog might be methane powered.”
It’s all too funny. Super Dog, like Max, makes me smile.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Weekly Tadpole Update: The Final Five
Last Sunday we bid farewell to the last of our tadpoles. Only five were left, four were ready to go and one was stubbornly refusing to leave the water. The last holdout was unceremoniously dumped on the turtle dock to see if it could handle dry land. It tried to wriggle back to the water , but after a few moments it adjusted. A good thing too, because there was no way I was going to maintain the tank for just one froglette. It is a strapping fellow compared to its short-tailed and tailless brethren.
So off to the stream with the final five.
It was a damp and squishy walk, just the kind of day to re-release amphibians back into the wild, or at least the suburbs.
They looked happy enough in their new environment. The smallest one looks a bit sickly. It is quite thin and I fished it out of the water when I saw it sinking in the water. It perked up on the land, I hope it makes it.
For those of you keeping score we released 33 tadpoles and only lost four. One of the deceased looked a bit odd and the other three ended up drowning when we ere less vigilant about scooping them out. I would say that is a pretty good survival rate, just under 88% made it back into the wild. They got quite a head start over the tadpoles left behind.
So off to the stream with the final five.
It was a damp and squishy walk, just the kind of day to re-release amphibians back into the wild, or at least the suburbs.
They looked happy enough in their new environment. The smallest one looks a bit sickly. It is quite thin and I fished it out of the water when I saw it sinking in the water. It perked up on the land, I hope it makes it.
For those of you keeping score we released 33 tadpoles and only lost four. One of the deceased looked a bit odd and the other three ended up drowning when we ere less vigilant about scooping them out. I would say that is a pretty good survival rate, just under 88% made it back into the wild. They got quite a head start over the tadpoles left behind.
Monday, May 14, 2007
May is CF Awareness Month
Last night I found out the May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness month. Admittedly the month is almost halfway over, but it is still worth mentioning.
CF is a genetic condition that affects over 30, 000 Americans, 70,000 worldwide. It's a lot of people, but unfortunately is not enough to attract the research dollars of the big pharmaceutical firms. Instead most of the research dollars are raised by the grassroots efforts of groups such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
And a lot of progress has been made treating this life threatening condition.
In the 1950's children diagnosed with CF were not expected to reach grade school, forty years later the average life expectancy is in the mid-thirty's.
Max has clearly benefited from the new treatments for CF. His pancreas is clogged with thick sticky mucus and is unable to produce digestive enzymes. As a result he is unable to digest most foods. That is what led to his diagnoses,his failure to thrive. Now he is a very sturdy 5 year old. He is physically a little on the small side, but he is all boy and has a huge personality.
CF is a genetic condition that affects over 30, 000 Americans, 70,000 worldwide. It's a lot of people, but unfortunately is not enough to attract the research dollars of the big pharmaceutical firms. Instead most of the research dollars are raised by the grassroots efforts of groups such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
And a lot of progress has been made treating this life threatening condition.
In the 1950's children diagnosed with CF were not expected to reach grade school, forty years later the average life expectancy is in the mid-thirty's.
Max has clearly benefited from the new treatments for CF. His pancreas is clogged with thick sticky mucus and is unable to produce digestive enzymes. As a result he is unable to digest most foods. That is what led to his diagnoses,his failure to thrive. Now he is a very sturdy 5 year old. He is physically a little on the small side, but he is all boy and has a huge personality.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Happy Mother's Day!
I like to wish all the mothers out there a happy and hopefully restful Mother's Day with a special acknowledgment to Nana and Grandma.
And I would also like to thank the cast of characters pictured. Jake, here at age five, who first gave me the title mother. Nate, at about three, who added to the fun and made me want more. And last but not least, Max and Rebecca, who made our family complete.
And I would also like to thank the cast of characters pictured. Jake, here at age five, who first gave me the title mother. Nate, at about three, who added to the fun and made me want more. And last but not least, Max and Rebecca, who made our family complete.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Endings and Beginnings
Yesterday I got a very sad call from my mom.
My mother's dog, Willie, had been off for the past few days. The poor thing had been laying about and it took some serious effort from my mom to get her to move. Willie is normally a busy little soul that keeps track of my mother and follows her about the house, classic behavior from a smooth dachshund.
So my mother decided to take her in to the vet.
The initial findings were that Willie was severely anemic, cause unknown.
This led to further testing and it was discovered that Willie had an enormous tumor. It was amazing that she could functional at all. Since Willie was no longer a young little pup, in fact pushing 14 if I recall correctly, my mother decided that the kindest thing to do was to put her to sleep.
Willie breathed her last breath in the arms of my mother, the person she adored most in the world. It was a heartbreaking moment and even the vet cried.
I wish I could have been there. Larry and I had picked out Willie and brought her out to my mom. She was the half sister to our dear Rally and was almost exactly a year younger than Rally.
But instead of being there for the end, I have been charged with the task of finding my mother a new dog. One phone call later I already have not one, but two likely prospects.
I guess I'm in charge of new beginnings and that is a pretty good job.
My mother's dog, Willie, had been off for the past few days. The poor thing had been laying about and it took some serious effort from my mom to get her to move. Willie is normally a busy little soul that keeps track of my mother and follows her about the house, classic behavior from a smooth dachshund.
So my mother decided to take her in to the vet.
The initial findings were that Willie was severely anemic, cause unknown.
This led to further testing and it was discovered that Willie had an enormous tumor. It was amazing that she could functional at all. Since Willie was no longer a young little pup, in fact pushing 14 if I recall correctly, my mother decided that the kindest thing to do was to put her to sleep.
Willie breathed her last breath in the arms of my mother, the person she adored most in the world. It was a heartbreaking moment and even the vet cried.
I wish I could have been there. Larry and I had picked out Willie and brought her out to my mom. She was the half sister to our dear Rally and was almost exactly a year younger than Rally.
But instead of being there for the end, I have been charged with the task of finding my mother a new dog. One phone call later I already have not one, but two likely prospects.
I guess I'm in charge of new beginnings and that is a pretty good job.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Thursday Three: Mom
This week is just for mom, as Terry writes:
Yes sir!
1)I think my mother’s three best characteristics are:
She’s completely unflappable.
She has an excellent sense of humor.
And most of all, she has a strong independent streak.
These three characteristics caused her to be the coolest mom in the area. If my brother and I got stuck somewhere (our ride fell through, or we realized we were in over our heads) we could always call mom. I could drag in all sorts of animals and she would let me keep them in the terrarium for the day. Then there was the time that she and I accidentally went to the wrong movie. We were late and we thought we were in the right theater, but after a few minutes we realized our error. I don’t remember what we wanted to see, but we ended up watching Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie. I think it was remarkable that she didn’t freak out and that we both thought it was a hoot.
2) She doesn’t mean too, but sometimes she can be a bit of a nag. But if you had my brother and me as your children it is completely understandable.
3) I would LOVE to do something with my mom this weekend, but she is a two days drive away and it really is not an option to just zip up there. If I was half a day’s drive or less I would definitely be with her.
My mom totally rocks.
Mommy Dearest
Time once again to take that thing out of your mouth because you don't know where it's been, come inside and get cleaned up, and get ready for our special Mother's Day Edition of the Axis of Weevil Thursday Three!
As you can tell, since Mother's Day is upon us, we've decided to dedicate this week's set of questions to dear ol' Mom. So sit up straight, at least run a brush through your hair, don't talk to me in that tone of voice, take off your cap at the table, and take a moment to answer the following questions about her by either leaving your answers in the comments below, or a link to your own blog.
1) What three things do you think are (or were) your mom's best characteristics?
2) And although we're trying to honor Mom, we still have to know--what is one thing she does (or used to do) that drives you absolutely insane?
3) If your mom is still in circulation, do you have any plans to do anything special for her this weekend?
There now--quit slouching and get to work on those answers!
Yes sir!
1)I think my mother’s three best characteristics are:
She’s completely unflappable.
She has an excellent sense of humor.
And most of all, she has a strong independent streak.
These three characteristics caused her to be the coolest mom in the area. If my brother and I got stuck somewhere (our ride fell through, or we realized we were in over our heads) we could always call mom. I could drag in all sorts of animals and she would let me keep them in the terrarium for the day. Then there was the time that she and I accidentally went to the wrong movie. We were late and we thought we were in the right theater, but after a few minutes we realized our error. I don’t remember what we wanted to see, but we ended up watching Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie. I think it was remarkable that she didn’t freak out and that we both thought it was a hoot.
2) She doesn’t mean too, but sometimes she can be a bit of a nag. But if you had my brother and me as your children it is completely understandable.
3) I would LOVE to do something with my mom this weekend, but she is a two days drive away and it really is not an option to just zip up there. If I was half a day’s drive or less I would definitely be with her.
My mom totally rocks.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Artist of the Week: Men in a Boat
Rebecca is feeling a bit under the weather today, but I got this picture of her two weeks ago with all her sparkle intact.
This weeks drawing, as you can gather from the post's title, is of some men in a boat. I like how they all have hats on. They seem like a very friendly bunch. The m's in the sky are birds, the smallest being far, far away. From what I have gathered the men are sailing away from the island with the blue flag.
Max thinks they are vikings or maybe pirates.
He is such a boy.
This weeks drawing, as you can gather from the post's title, is of some men in a boat. I like how they all have hats on. They seem like a very friendly bunch. The m's in the sky are birds, the smallest being far, far away. From what I have gathered the men are sailing away from the island with the blue flag.
Max thinks they are vikings or maybe pirates.
He is such a boy.
Max and His Big T-ball Weekend
Max had a very big weekend with his t-ball team.
They had regularly scheduled games on Saturday and Monday plus a make up game on Sunday.
Saturday we had a conflicts between Jake's and Max's game so we all couldn't go to cheer the t-ball Yankees on. Mind you it's really funny that he is on the Yankees because Larry is a huge Mets fan and I've been reading "Now I can die in peace" a really good book about the BoSox and well, Yankees are pretty much evil in the book.
Anyway Larry could only stick around for half an inning, so Max only had Nate, Rebeca and me to root for him and his team. But that was fine, he was so pleased when Nate and Rebecca visited him at the dugout. It's hard to see, but he is beaming at his sister.
Sunday we all got to watch our favorite t-baller in action.He was again delighted to have us there, especially with his father keeping the official score. He would wave to us when ever he was in the dugout.
Monday daddy couldn't come, but Max still had a very good time.
He likes playing ball, even though he does get a bit bored out on the field. The funniest moment was when he was spinning around in the outfield with his glove balanced on his head. It was a classic t-ball moment.
They had regularly scheduled games on Saturday and Monday plus a make up game on Sunday.
Saturday we had a conflicts between Jake's and Max's game so we all couldn't go to cheer the t-ball Yankees on. Mind you it's really funny that he is on the Yankees because Larry is a huge Mets fan and I've been reading "Now I can die in peace" a really good book about the BoSox and well, Yankees are pretty much evil in the book.
Anyway Larry could only stick around for half an inning, so Max only had Nate, Rebeca and me to root for him and his team. But that was fine, he was so pleased when Nate and Rebecca visited him at the dugout. It's hard to see, but he is beaming at his sister.
Sunday we all got to watch our favorite t-baller in action.He was again delighted to have us there, especially with his father keeping the official score. He would wave to us when ever he was in the dugout.
Monday daddy couldn't come, but Max still had a very good time.
He likes playing ball, even though he does get a bit bored out on the field. The funniest moment was when he was spinning around in the outfield with his glove balanced on his head. It was a classic t-ball moment.
Monday, May 07, 2007
I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover
After the whole tadpole releasing excitement I took Jake and Nate over to the bus stop and sent the rest of the crowd back inside.
At our bus stop we noticed that our neighbor across the street had two very dense patches of clover alongside the road. So of course we had to look for four leaf clover.
Jake, when he so choses, has amazing focus and the ability to notice the smallest details. He immediately spotted a four leaf clover and picked it.
Nate, not to be out done found a five leaf clover. They both spent the next five minutes looking for more 4 leaf clovers in the two patches by the road.
In the end Jake found nine four leaf clovers, only the coming of the bus stopped him from finding more. Nate found the aforementioned 5 leaf and one four leaf. I told him that his 5 leaf definitely equals eight regular 4 leaf clovers. As for for me, I found three, which is easily the most I have ever found.
It was an extraordinary patch of clover. I have never seen anything like it before. I know it is possible to by 4-leaf clover seed, but our neighbors don't strike me as the type and it is an odd spot to plant special clover.
I guess it was our lucky day.
At our bus stop we noticed that our neighbor across the street had two very dense patches of clover alongside the road. So of course we had to look for four leaf clover.
Jake, when he so choses, has amazing focus and the ability to notice the smallest details. He immediately spotted a four leaf clover and picked it.
Nate, not to be out done found a five leaf clover. They both spent the next five minutes looking for more 4 leaf clovers in the two patches by the road.
In the end Jake found nine four leaf clovers, only the coming of the bus stopped him from finding more. Nate found the aforementioned 5 leaf and one four leaf. I told him that his 5 leaf definitely equals eight regular 4 leaf clovers. As for for me, I found three, which is easily the most I have ever found.
It was an extraordinary patch of clover. I have never seen anything like it before. I know it is possible to by 4-leaf clover seed, but our neighbors don't strike me as the type and it is an odd spot to plant special clover.
I guess it was our lucky day.
Weekly Tadpole Update: Another Six Gone
We released six more tadpoles/frogs today.
Right after we released the last batch of six on Friday, a froglette pulled itself out of the water and onto the turtle dock. On Saturday a few more followed suit over the course of the day.
I considered releasing them Saturday night, but I thought it would be quite a shock to the frogs' system to be dumped outside at dusk in 50 degree weather. Today was a much better choice.
If you look very carefully you can see a few of the frogs. Two are somewhat obvious and the third is a bit trickier to spot. If you click through the picture you can roll the mouse over the image to reveal the frogs.
Meanwhile back in the tank it is becoming obvious to me that we have two different species. There are the cute little ones that are quick to mature and are already being released. And then there are the much larger and slower developing tadpoles that are just starting to grow front legs. The big ones are easily twice the size of the little ones.
I can't wait to see how the big ones turn out.
Update: Another seven, that's right 7, were released Monday afternoon.
Update Part II: Another nine gone, some with a decidedly toady look about them.
Right after we released the last batch of six on Friday, a froglette pulled itself out of the water and onto the turtle dock. On Saturday a few more followed suit over the course of the day.
I considered releasing them Saturday night, but I thought it would be quite a shock to the frogs' system to be dumped outside at dusk in 50 degree weather. Today was a much better choice.
If you look very carefully you can see a few of the frogs. Two are somewhat obvious and the third is a bit trickier to spot. If you click through the picture you can roll the mouse over the image to reveal the frogs.
Meanwhile back in the tank it is becoming obvious to me that we have two different species. There are the cute little ones that are quick to mature and are already being released. And then there are the much larger and slower developing tadpoles that are just starting to grow front legs. The big ones are easily twice the size of the little ones.
I can't wait to see how the big ones turn out.
Update: Another seven, that's right 7, were released Monday afternoon.
Update Part II: Another nine gone, some with a decidedly toady look about them.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Freedom
On Tuesday Nate noticed that one of the froglettes was struggling in the tank. It kept falling backwards and landing upside down. Fearing that the little guy was drowning, I scooped him up and deposited him on the turtle dock.
The little guy stood there, probably a bit stunned by the experience, looked around and decided to stay put. I put a leaf in the tank to provide it a bit of cover and spent the rest of the day watching it.
He is so tiny, he would fit neatly on top of a dime. At first he had a bit of a tail, but amazingly as the day wore on he reabsorbed it. Thus we now officially have a frog.
As the days passed a few more froglettes joined our first frog on dry land (or rather Styrofoam). Most of them we rescued from the bottom of the tank, but a few figured it out on their own. Amusingly one or two upon rescuing would immediately plunge back into the water; they were not quite ready.
The biggest puzzle was what to feed them.
I tried a pile of fish flakes, but it was ignored.
I then went to the exotic pet store and asked for the smallest live food for frogs and ended up with a bag of baby crickets. The smallest ones were about half the size of the frogs and the largest... well, the biggest one actually threatened a frog. It drew itself up and waved its antenna at a frog and then stamped away. The frog, meanwhile, was completely nonplussed. It just sat there absorbing it's new environment.
This morning we had five little frogs arrayed on the dock. It was nice out and we had a little time before the bus so I decided it was time to release this first batch. At first there was a bit of protest from the kids, but when I pointed out that we couldn't feed them properly they agreed it was for the best.
At this point one more frog heaved itself out of the water and joined its compatriots. He still has quite a bit of tail as you can see in the photo, but he was deemed ready to go.
So six little frogs were loaded into Jake's orange bucket and taken down to the stream.
Jake and Nate grabbed their back packs and the rest trailed us, still clad in their pajamas including our house guests' two daughters.
A shallow stretch of the stream, not far from where they were originally caught was selected. We could see in the shallows a few tadpoles wriggling about. The wild ones were not nearly as far along as our crew. They firmly remained in the tadpole stage, nary a leg in the bunch.
With little ceremony I dumped our frogs back into the stream from whence they came.
And here you can see Rebecca, one of the girls and Max watching our frogs in their newly freed state.
I don't know how happy they are, but they certainly looked cold when they hit the water. The good news is that Jake and Nate spied a fair number of water bugs just the right size for our frogs to eat.
The little guy stood there, probably a bit stunned by the experience, looked around and decided to stay put. I put a leaf in the tank to provide it a bit of cover and spent the rest of the day watching it.
He is so tiny, he would fit neatly on top of a dime. At first he had a bit of a tail, but amazingly as the day wore on he reabsorbed it. Thus we now officially have a frog.
As the days passed a few more froglettes joined our first frog on dry land (or rather Styrofoam). Most of them we rescued from the bottom of the tank, but a few figured it out on their own. Amusingly one or two upon rescuing would immediately plunge back into the water; they were not quite ready.
The biggest puzzle was what to feed them.
I tried a pile of fish flakes, but it was ignored.
I then went to the exotic pet store and asked for the smallest live food for frogs and ended up with a bag of baby crickets. The smallest ones were about half the size of the frogs and the largest... well, the biggest one actually threatened a frog. It drew itself up and waved its antenna at a frog and then stamped away. The frog, meanwhile, was completely nonplussed. It just sat there absorbing it's new environment.
This morning we had five little frogs arrayed on the dock. It was nice out and we had a little time before the bus so I decided it was time to release this first batch. At first there was a bit of protest from the kids, but when I pointed out that we couldn't feed them properly they agreed it was for the best.
At this point one more frog heaved itself out of the water and joined its compatriots. He still has quite a bit of tail as you can see in the photo, but he was deemed ready to go.
So six little frogs were loaded into Jake's orange bucket and taken down to the stream.
Jake and Nate grabbed their back packs and the rest trailed us, still clad in their pajamas including our house guests' two daughters.
A shallow stretch of the stream, not far from where they were originally caught was selected. We could see in the shallows a few tadpoles wriggling about. The wild ones were not nearly as far along as our crew. They firmly remained in the tadpole stage, nary a leg in the bunch.
With little ceremony I dumped our frogs back into the stream from whence they came.
And here you can see Rebecca, one of the girls and Max watching our frogs in their newly freed state.
I don't know how happy they are, but they certainly looked cold when they hit the water. The good news is that Jake and Nate spied a fair number of water bugs just the right size for our frogs to eat.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Thursday Three: Pets!
Terry gets all cutesy this week and asks us all about our pets.
Pets, now this is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. It was predicted in high school that I would have a record number of pets.
1) I guess Rally had the most unusual name for our pets. Rally was short for Floralia, the annual spring fair at Larry’s and mine college. It was at Floralia during our sophomore year when Larry asked me out on our first date and we have been together ever since.
2) As for pets themselves I have had the usual assortment of dogs, cats, assorted rodents, fish and the odd parakeet. At one point I had some retired lab mice, that’s a little unusual, but that is about it. At one point my family do duck sit a mallard. Her name was Tilly and she roosted in our rabbit hutch with my pet rabbit, Mrs. Peter.
Do tadpoles count? I’ve got a boat load of those in the house.
3) I’ve got to go with marmoset. Some of them are downright adorable and are high on the cuddly index, piranhas are sadly lacking in that aspect.
Now I have to check on the cricket we just dropped in the tadpole tank. Crickets are not pets, they’re food.
Awwwww! How CUUUUTE!!
Why, thank you! But enough about me--it’s Thursday, and that means it’s time once more for The World’s Greatest Waste of Resources, the Axis of Weevil Thursday Three!
Today, we take a tip from Weevil Ambassador to Memphis Mike Hollihan, who suggested yesterday that it would be interesting to find out about the odd names people give their pets. A fine idea, indeed, given that until then I’d not figured out anything to ask.
SO, take a moment, grab your fluffy white Persian up into your lap and stroke her while pretending to be Blofeld, and answer the following three questions either by leaving your answers in the comments or a link to your bloghouse.
1) What is the most unusual name you ever gave one of your pets, and why?
2) Forget names--what’s the most unusual pet you’ve ever owned?
3) And last but not least, the age old question for all you dog and cat fanciers out there--which one is the better pet, a marmoset or a piranha?
Now scamper off and come up with your answers, and I’ll do the same.
Pets, now this is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. It was predicted in high school that I would have a record number of pets.
1) I guess Rally had the most unusual name for our pets. Rally was short for Floralia, the annual spring fair at Larry’s and mine college. It was at Floralia during our sophomore year when Larry asked me out on our first date and we have been together ever since.
2) As for pets themselves I have had the usual assortment of dogs, cats, assorted rodents, fish and the odd parakeet. At one point I had some retired lab mice, that’s a little unusual, but that is about it. At one point my family do duck sit a mallard. Her name was Tilly and she roosted in our rabbit hutch with my pet rabbit, Mrs. Peter.
Do tadpoles count? I’ve got a boat load of those in the house.
3) I’ve got to go with marmoset. Some of them are downright adorable and are high on the cuddly index, piranhas are sadly lacking in that aspect.
Now I have to check on the cricket we just dropped in the tadpole tank. Crickets are not pets, they’re food.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Artist of the Week: Book
This week’s artist is Jake. He is a good big brother and enjoys doing things like going down a slide with his youngest brother. Jake is hard to photograph, because most of the time he refuses to hold still. Instead I have to sneak up on him and catch him when his attention is elsewhere.
Yesterday Jake brought home a book; it’s a project his fifth grade class had been working on for quite some time. This is what the cover looks like.
Inside are stories with illustrations made by every member of Jake’s class. I love Jake’s picture, it is a classic example of his work. I had no problem picking it out.
On the page opposite is the story.
It is short, which again is in keeping with Jake’s style. I can imagine how excited he was to write and illustrate his story. It was one of the few times that he handed me a form from school and made sure I filled it out and sent the check. Normally I have to dig them out myself from that dark pit known as his back pack.
I think it was a very fun project for his class and it is definitely a keeper.
Yesterday Jake brought home a book; it’s a project his fifth grade class had been working on for quite some time. This is what the cover looks like.
Inside are stories with illustrations made by every member of Jake’s class. I love Jake’s picture, it is a classic example of his work. I had no problem picking it out.
On the page opposite is the story.
It is short, which again is in keeping with Jake’s style. I can imagine how excited he was to write and illustrate his story. It was one of the few times that he handed me a form from school and made sure I filled it out and sent the check. Normally I have to dig them out myself from that dark pit known as his back pack.
I think it was a very fun project for his class and it is definitely a keeper.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
My Life is Going to the Frogs
The most exciting thing I have going on is the tadpole tank.
Monday (yesterday) I noticed one of the tadpoles had some very pronounced front leg buds. After a bit of googling I found out the front legs emerge elbow first, which pretty much matches what I can see of this little one.
This afternoon the boys were watching the tadpoles and noticed that one had three legs! Well it turns out it actually had all four. Interestingly it was one of the smaller tadpoles in the tank. Now, with its new four legged status, the tadpole has now been granted the title of froglette.
So far we have only one froglette, but several others are sporting the telltale front leg buds. Mind you, at the same time there are still a few that are just starting to grow their hind legs.
From the front the froglette has a decidedly froggy appearance, no longer is it a little blobby tadpole. So far it remains underwater and hasn’t shown an indication that it will become an air breather, but I know that will come with time. I think we’ll be releasing a few back into the wild in the near future.
Monday (yesterday) I noticed one of the tadpoles had some very pronounced front leg buds. After a bit of googling I found out the front legs emerge elbow first, which pretty much matches what I can see of this little one.
This afternoon the boys were watching the tadpoles and noticed that one had three legs! Well it turns out it actually had all four. Interestingly it was one of the smaller tadpoles in the tank. Now, with its new four legged status, the tadpole has now been granted the title of froglette.
So far we have only one froglette, but several others are sporting the telltale front leg buds. Mind you, at the same time there are still a few that are just starting to grow their hind legs.
From the front the froglette has a decidedly froggy appearance, no longer is it a little blobby tadpole. So far it remains underwater and hasn’t shown an indication that it will become an air breather, but I know that will come with time. I think we’ll be releasing a few back into the wild in the near future.
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