The great puppy caper
So today puppies moved in . They aren't ours but we are caring for them and their mother until they are old enough to have great furever families. I shouldn't have to justify my choices, but being human, I guess it's inherent that I do.
I have, since a small child wanted puppies. We lived in a small apartment and then moved in with my grandmother to her house to help take care of her. Since it was her house, she got the last rule on having dogs, and it was a resounding no. I still remember when my cousin's cat had kittens.... I was so jealous that they got to see baby animals growing up until they were ready to be adopted.( back then it wasn't so much adopted as.."who wants a kitten". )
Kittens were never in the plan for me, I wouldn't be able to breathe, but puppies? We could have done that but I wasn't allowed to. I vowed from the day I moved out of my house that I would have a dog, and I have done just that.
Ever since I was little though,I have wanted puppies.. Not just a dog( although dogs alone are extraordinary) but baby dogs- puppies. I wanted to experience their fluffy cuteness and watch them develop. Well as you know life moves at lighting speed and some things in life get skipped over , so until now, I have never had the opportunity to have puppies.
Did you ever notice that people always have an I'll get to that mentality? An author once wrote "Cemeteries are full of unfulfilled dreams... countless echoes of 'could have' and 'should have'… countless books unwritten… countless songs unsung". I think about that sometimes....while I am not ancient, I am definitely not getting younger and neither are my children. The same children I want to have experiences, I could never have like hatching chickens from eggs, seeing deer in the backyard or raising puppies. Am living my childhood through them? Yes but I have never read in the news that a kid who group surrounded by animals and living in the country has gone crazy and killed an entire school. My husband grew up in the country so to speak and I am definitely envious that they he got to experience nature so much more than now.
Is now the ideal time? Probably not. But when I thought about it, when is? There will always be a reason why not to do this and if we wait for the right time, it may never come. One of the greatest lessons I learned from my mother,came with her death. I learned tomorrow is never promised . I think about that a lot.
So today we welcomed a momma and her 4 babies into her home. Not only are we getting to experience the wonder of their growth, but we're giving back to the universe. We're saving lives. Can we save them all? No, but we can make a difference in some living creatures lives and that is a lesson I want my children to learn. If everyone taught their children to respect life, think about what a better place this world would be.
So , my house is crazy . There are 4 kids, my dad and husband and some very content dogs. I suppose in a "normal" house, I wouldn't have to sneak downstairs and tiptoe to get hot chocolate when I can't sleep in the middle of the night being very careful not to wake up the troops, lest we have a bark-a-thon. But really who needs normal? Living is for now and normal can be done when we're old and can't embrace the craziness.
I know fostering dogs and puppies is not the easiest task I have ever taken on but when your youngest song looks at you with excitement and wonder and says "Mom, I think we're in heaven. We have 8 dogs in the house"...then I know I did something right.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Me and the Martha flu bug
I go through this every once in a while.....it's the phase when all I can think about is being the entertaining home keeper. I dream of pretty serving dishes for every occasion, matching mugs and a nice tidy decorated home, where friends pop over for a surprise cup of coffee and you just happen to have candles lit and a fresh baked streusel coming out of the extremely shiny oven.
Now anyone who knows me,knows that isn't exactly moi. I like creativity and the mundane things like taking care of house plants is a novelty that wears off quickly. I go out this week and buy them and for maybe 2 days tend to them. After that I lose interest and our house gnome handles it. This past year the house gnome did an outstanding job and said 1.00 plants are flourishing. Time to move up to some hanging ones!
I swear each year around now Martha Stewart sends some kind of virus to try and take control and make me mrs housekeeper. I clean, I bake, I buy little decorations and I make family declarations about how this time we will be organized and neat FROM NOW ON..I dream of dinner parties with ceramic serving bowls, linen placemats and cloth napkins.....I go through this every year and it lasts for like 3 days...it's the Martha flu.
During that time I might as well call out of work sick but instead of coughing and sneezing, I'll be dusting and decorating and plotting really big projects that I might start but won't ever finish.....that's the most dangerous part of the flu.....especially since it makes my other half really cranky.
I have yet to find an antidote to this and have found if I just ride it out,we all survive. Family eats a few goo
meals, things get cleaned, a few house plants join the home and as long as I am monitored to ensure a new major project doesn't get started, the family and I cope pretty well.
The worst part of this condition is that every now and then a silly family member will get their hopes up that this condition will be permanent. It never does stay though and in a week or so, the Martha Flu passes and normal life, well MY version of normal resumes again. In the meantime until I get it again, you can find my husband in his downtime, working on a stronger strain of to virus in hopes to one day make it permanent!
meals, things get cleaned, a few house plants join the home and as long as I am monitored to ensure a new major project doesn't get started, the family and I cope pretty well.
The worst part of this condition is that every now and then a silly family member will get their hopes up that this condition will be permanent. It never does stay though and in a week or so, the Martha Flu passes and normal life, well MY version of normal resumes again. In the meantime until I get it again, you can find my husband in his downtime, working on a stronger strain of to virus in hopes to one day make it permanent!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Down on the farm
If anyone would have asked me 10 years ago what I'd be doing when I was 39 - candling eggs was not an answer that would have popped into my head in any instance. Yet here I am - living in the Pinelands somewhere in proximity of the Jersey Devil - and up until Thursday of last week- I was candling eggs. Now for you city folk who don't know about candling let me go back a few months. By now everyone knows we have chickens - well at Christmas I thought a really cool present for Donald would be an incubator- you know so we could do something with the kids- an activity if you will. I know I know most families turn to board games- but hey we live in the Pine Barrens- things are different. Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. Spring was here and I started looking for eggs to hatch - I called a lady with eggs advertising on Craigslist ( yes that IS how we get livestock down here- unless you count the livestock auction that they hold every Sat that is lees than 4 miles ) and she said she had hatching eggs AND Guinea hen. Since we have a lone guinea hen , we had decided that he should have friends- so I called her and ordered a dozen hatching eggs and 5 guinea hen.
As Shearer luck would have it the guineas were delayed and since kids and I were all ready for babies- I asked her to bring some chicks so she brought 5 chicks and 22 eggs. She wasn't sure the hatching eggs were good so she gave me extra.So we set up 5 baby chicks on the back porch and 22 eggs in the incubator. Eggs are supposed to hatch at 21 days and during incubation you are supposed to "candle" the eggs. Candling is a way of holding up a light so you can see if a baby is growing in egg. Donald and I have never done this and are by no means experts but for about two weeks we did "candling demonstrations" for family and friends and by what we could guess- it looked like 2o eggs were fertile.wow lots of chickens.
A week after we got the first baby chicks- the guinea hen keets arrived- 5 so now we had 10 babies in our back porch. While all this was going on- I decided that my kids needed to be involved in 4H. 4H does teach about far stuff but it also teaches leadership, public speaking, community service and a host of other positive things. As luck would have it - there are no small animal clubs ( only horse clubs) in my area so I did what any crazy woman would do- I volunteered to be a leader- The Piney Poultry and Pets club will be having their inaugural meeting in June. I hadn't even finished filling out the 4H paperwork when the headquarters called and asked if I could "rescue" two baby chicks. Apparently a teenager - despondent over the loss of her beloved cat decided to bring home two chicks - unfortunately she lives in a NO CHICKEN development and the mother didn't know what to do. I happened to be going a mile away for a networking meeting that night so - yes I brought home 2 more chicks.
Eggs in the incubator went into lock down Wed night and we waited. I know now why I never had natural childbirth - I'm a wreck - Chicks started hatching Saturday and I haven't slept right since _ keep checking on the progress and worrying . At this time we have 8 chicks that have hatched and 1 more that has pipped- ( started to hatch ) Maybe by the weekend eggs will be done and I can get some sleep.
The guinea hen will eventually be released to free range on property to eat ticks. We can't tell the sex of the chicks as of yet but in any case I won't let Donald kill them so it seems we'll have plenty of eggs and probably a built in alarm clock or two - COCK A DOODLE DOO
PS- For any of you who have heard rumors about me kissing a pig at this year's Farm Fair - it simply is not true- Yes we do have a fundraiser whereby people donate money and the person with the most winnings kisses a pig- the nice people at the 4H have take pity on me and said I do not have to participate - next year will be my turn - SOOEY!
As Shearer luck would have it the guineas were delayed and since kids and I were all ready for babies- I asked her to bring some chicks so she brought 5 chicks and 22 eggs. She wasn't sure the hatching eggs were good so she gave me extra.So we set up 5 baby chicks on the back porch and 22 eggs in the incubator. Eggs are supposed to hatch at 21 days and during incubation you are supposed to "candle" the eggs. Candling is a way of holding up a light so you can see if a baby is growing in egg. Donald and I have never done this and are by no means experts but for about two weeks we did "candling demonstrations" for family and friends and by what we could guess- it looked like 2o eggs were fertile.wow lots of chickens.
A week after we got the first baby chicks- the guinea hen keets arrived- 5 so now we had 10 babies in our back porch. While all this was going on- I decided that my kids needed to be involved in 4H. 4H does teach about far stuff but it also teaches leadership, public speaking, community service and a host of other positive things. As luck would have it - there are no small animal clubs ( only horse clubs) in my area so I did what any crazy woman would do- I volunteered to be a leader- The Piney Poultry and Pets club will be having their inaugural meeting in June. I hadn't even finished filling out the 4H paperwork when the headquarters called and asked if I could "rescue" two baby chicks. Apparently a teenager - despondent over the loss of her beloved cat decided to bring home two chicks - unfortunately she lives in a NO CHICKEN development and the mother didn't know what to do. I happened to be going a mile away for a networking meeting that night so - yes I brought home 2 more chicks.
Eggs in the incubator went into lock down Wed night and we waited. I know now why I never had natural childbirth - I'm a wreck - Chicks started hatching Saturday and I haven't slept right since _ keep checking on the progress and worrying . At this time we have 8 chicks that have hatched and 1 more that has pipped- ( started to hatch ) Maybe by the weekend eggs will be done and I can get some sleep.
The guinea hen will eventually be released to free range on property to eat ticks. We can't tell the sex of the chicks as of yet but in any case I won't let Donald kill them so it seems we'll have plenty of eggs and probably a built in alarm clock or two - COCK A DOODLE DOO
PS- For any of you who have heard rumors about me kissing a pig at this year's Farm Fair - it simply is not true- Yes we do have a fundraiser whereby people donate money and the person with the most winnings kisses a pig- the nice people at the 4H have take pity on me and said I do not have to participate - next year will be my turn - SOOEY!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
On the road with JMS
I was reading an article by Brian Tracy ( American author/sales coach) which says " Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when trying something new" I'm pretty sure I accomplished that today.
I'm sitting here writing my blog this evening from the Marriott which happens to be located in level 1 of hell a.k.a. Queens. I really never was a big fan of NY and now after visiting Yonkers ( where my GPS said - " You have Reached your destination and I looked around and said I don't think so")this afternoon and staying in Queens, I know why. I'll take Trenton any day over being here.
Now for anyone who has served in the military or been to 3rd world countries, I am sure there are worse places someone could be but they are reserved for the lower levels of hell. Level 1 I have found out boasts Queens and probably some other fine places such as Camden.
I am here visiting contractors. Contractors who might I add I want to say"WTF- you couldn't afford to be anywhere but here?!" But as a professional I wont be allowed to say that tomorrow in my meetings. The best I can do is "My what a unique location you have and so close to areas that need to be rebuilt - how convenient!"
I do believe I'm safe for the evening in the Fairfield Inn by Marriott LaGuardia. The hotel itself is clean and neat although it has 86 rooms and only 12 or so parking spaces that I can count. Lord knows what happens if car # 25 pulls in. If I waked up in the morning and my mini van is in pieces I'll know it wasn't theft - just some poor soul trying to find a parking spot.
My room is on the second floor and has a scenic view of the United Rentals storage yard. From here I can see lots of lifts and tow trucks parked for the evening. The wailing sirens and the plans roaring overhead add to the ambiance. I'm sure when I awaken to snow on the ground tomorrow - it will be even more picturesque
On the way here I passed what I believe to be all the illegal oriental aliens that are in the US- if the government is looking for them - they have set up shop in Flushing. These weren't the nice oriental people that give you tea either - it's the other ones- you know the bad guys in Jackie Chan movies? I found them.
After I got to the hotel and found my room, I decided to go for a drive in the other direction ( away from Little China) and find something to eat. I found a small shopping center with an Avenue store, a Dunkin Donuts,a cute little diner like place called Uncle Bills, assorted other stores and more litter in the parking lot then you'd find on the ground after New Year's Eve in Times Square. I decided to check out the Avenue store and you know what? Apparently here they don't work. I know this because they didn't have one scrap of anything that resembled work attire in the store. They had I'm hanging with my homeys attire, I'm lazy and don't want to get out of bed attire and the Hoootchie mama dont I look good in my size 32 shirts attire. After perusing the Avenue, I headed over to Uncle Bills and grabbed dinner before darkness came ( I'm thinking I'd rather be in Transylvania on the street at night than here on the street at night).
The place was small and cozy and gave the customers a lovely view of the parking lot. While I was trying to order my dinner ( with all intentions of stopping at D&D for a coffee with Splenda afterward- in case your following my diet adventures) a young white couple left the diner without getting their food. Apparently the male of the couple was angry - because upon exiting he shoved the female into a car . A screaming match then ensued and for the next 20 minutes we watched as they fought - he slammed her into cars, including slamming the drivers door into her rib cage- which I 'm assuming broke a few ribs. S.he of course swung once but mostly covered her face while she kept yelling
We couldnt hear the dialogue but every now and then you'd see his mouth form an F to start a word and you got a good idea he wasn't happy. While the abuse was going on - someone in the place suggested calling the police and the owner of diner said- "Nah it's not in here". A police car did drive through the parking lot at that point but apparently they either stopped fighting as he went through or she wasn't screaming loud enough and it kept going - probably to Dunkin Donuts.
At that point I realized that my life has changed and instead of getting involved like I would have years ago, I kept saying to myself "look dumb white jersey girl- you've got a family to think of - don't get shot". I repeated that in my head several times and then I finally asked for the remainder of my dinner to go and headed back without my coffee to the sanctity of the Fairfield Inn by Marriott LaGuardia.
So it's here in the hotel I sit now - coffee-less but alive thinking "Yes I'm pretty sure I stretched outside my comfort zone."
I'm sitting here writing my blog this evening from the Marriott which happens to be located in level 1 of hell a.k.a. Queens. I really never was a big fan of NY and now after visiting Yonkers ( where my GPS said - " You have Reached your destination and I looked around and said I don't think so")this afternoon and staying in Queens, I know why. I'll take Trenton any day over being here.
Now for anyone who has served in the military or been to 3rd world countries, I am sure there are worse places someone could be but they are reserved for the lower levels of hell. Level 1 I have found out boasts Queens and probably some other fine places such as Camden.
I am here visiting contractors. Contractors who might I add I want to say"WTF- you couldn't afford to be anywhere but here?!" But as a professional I wont be allowed to say that tomorrow in my meetings. The best I can do is "My what a unique location you have and so close to areas that need to be rebuilt - how convenient!"
I do believe I'm safe for the evening in the Fairfield Inn by Marriott LaGuardia. The hotel itself is clean and neat although it has 86 rooms and only 12 or so parking spaces that I can count. Lord knows what happens if car # 25 pulls in. If I waked up in the morning and my mini van is in pieces I'll know it wasn't theft - just some poor soul trying to find a parking spot.
My room is on the second floor and has a scenic view of the United Rentals storage yard. From here I can see lots of lifts and tow trucks parked for the evening. The wailing sirens and the plans roaring overhead add to the ambiance. I'm sure when I awaken to snow on the ground tomorrow - it will be even more picturesque
On the way here I passed what I believe to be all the illegal oriental aliens that are in the US- if the government is looking for them - they have set up shop in Flushing. These weren't the nice oriental people that give you tea either - it's the other ones- you know the bad guys in Jackie Chan movies? I found them.
After I got to the hotel and found my room, I decided to go for a drive in the other direction ( away from Little China) and find something to eat. I found a small shopping center with an Avenue store, a Dunkin Donuts,a cute little diner like place called Uncle Bills, assorted other stores and more litter in the parking lot then you'd find on the ground after New Year's Eve in Times Square. I decided to check out the Avenue store and you know what? Apparently here they don't work. I know this because they didn't have one scrap of anything that resembled work attire in the store. They had I'm hanging with my homeys attire, I'm lazy and don't want to get out of bed attire and the Hoootchie mama dont I look good in my size 32 shirts attire. After perusing the Avenue, I headed over to Uncle Bills and grabbed dinner before darkness came ( I'm thinking I'd rather be in Transylvania on the street at night than here on the street at night).
The place was small and cozy and gave the customers a lovely view of the parking lot. While I was trying to order my dinner ( with all intentions of stopping at D&D for a coffee with Splenda afterward- in case your following my diet adventures) a young white couple left the diner without getting their food. Apparently the male of the couple was angry - because upon exiting he shoved the female into a car . A screaming match then ensued and for the next 20 minutes we watched as they fought - he slammed her into cars, including slamming the drivers door into her rib cage- which I 'm assuming broke a few ribs. S.he of course swung once but mostly covered her face while she kept yelling
We couldnt hear the dialogue but every now and then you'd see his mouth form an F to start a word and you got a good idea he wasn't happy. While the abuse was going on - someone in the place suggested calling the police and the owner of diner said- "Nah it's not in here". A police car did drive through the parking lot at that point but apparently they either stopped fighting as he went through or she wasn't screaming loud enough and it kept going - probably to Dunkin Donuts.
At that point I realized that my life has changed and instead of getting involved like I would have years ago, I kept saying to myself "look dumb white jersey girl- you've got a family to think of - don't get shot". I repeated that in my head several times and then I finally asked for the remainder of my dinner to go and headed back without my coffee to the sanctity of the Fairfield Inn by Marriott LaGuardia.
So it's here in the hotel I sit now - coffee-less but alive thinking "Yes I'm pretty sure I stretched outside my comfort zone."
Sunday, November 8, 2009
I realize it's been a coon's age since I did a blog so while I sit on my back porch on this exceptionally warm November day recovering from chemical inhalation ( yes I was using bleach cleaning in a confined area- sometimes my actions move faster than my brains), I thought I'd update everyone on how our life is going.
I guess the biggest change since my last update is I'm content and happy. I'm working outside the house everyday at a real job where I get paid on a regular basis and I realize how much I missed it. Donald is being Mr. Mom and is so much better at it, than I - I do believe the kids are happier too. Apparently homework is not my calling in life. I'm much better at doing sales and fixing messed up sales departments which is what I have been doing.
Financially things have been a bit challenging, but we're learning to deal and even that seems to be getting better albeit a little at a time. We're not going hungry and most of the bills are being paid so I'm good. I just got a raise after working 1 .5 months and my sales department seems to be shaping up so hopefully by early next year , I'll be making even more money and might be able to start digging out of the hole. Much to both our parents horror, I am hoping to be making enough money to sustain us so Donald can stay home - at least until the terror starts Kindergarten. It's funny to me because if it was me being home, everyone would be peachy keen with it but because we find that things work better the "non -traditional" way - we hear flack. Personally I don't care what anyone thinks. I'm happy , Donald's happy , kids are happy -nuff said!
Speaking of the terror - it seems we have a bit of a junkie on our hands. At every turn, my 4 year old "angel" is caught off in the corner sneaking candy and drinking soda , which is forbidden and he knows it. He is definitely a handful and stubborn. We've tried rewarding him , beating him, punishing him - nothing works. This morning is a perfect example. A report came up from the trenches from one of our spies ( his siblings) that while we were laying in command central , a child who was supposed to be watching TV was indeed sneaking candy and soda. When I interrogated the suspect, his simple answer was - I was thirsty. He looked at me and said" I guess I'll go to bed now ". Obviously that punishment isn't working anymore.
So his father and I came up with a devious plan for revenge. He'd make eggs for everyone and Justin would be forced to eat what he doesn't like. Muuuuhaha ( it seemed good at the time ) He complained as we predicted and Donald just said " you don't listen to me and I don't listen to you - I made what I want to , now eat the eggs" We waited for the impending tantrum. And waited. And waited. It never came. He just shrugged it off and ate his damned eggs. So in the end he got candy , soda and a nutritional breakfast and as usual we got screwed by a 4 yr old.
Although things are good here, I can't say they are sane. About two weeks ago I was fighting a minor cold when we awoke in the middle of the night to our burglar alarm system going off crazily .Now since we don't have an active system this perplexed us a bit. Upon further investigation by Donald , we realized that there was water coming in from the rain on our electrical panel. oh Joy! Donald took care of what he could and I went back to bed.
In the morning my alarm went off and I decided I would stay home and nurse my cold since I hadn't slept that well the night before. Then my mother came over to help as she usually does. Only this time she decided to feed our love bird and left the cage open. That resulted in kids screaming. The dog started chasing a love bird through the house, 4 kids started chasing the dog that was chasing the love bird and my mother started chasing the kids who were chasing the dog who was chasing the love bird. While Super Dad, saved the day by catching the bird, I decided it was quieter at work so I took a shower and went to the quiet of my job and rested there.
We had our Halloween party and it was quieter with less drama than usual so that was good. Marybeth as always went above and beyond on the party - giving us a throwing up pumpkin and a Tinkerbell cake for Hailey that was gorgeous. I of course was a witch as I feel it's always best to stay true to one's self when picking a costume.
Obviously now our next concern are the holidays that are approaching. Financially Christmas sucks but I'm sure we'll manage. Santa always seems to find a way. I've decided this year to try and relax and enjoy the holidays. After years of trying to make Christmas a Norman Rockwell event, I have finally come to the conclusion that rather than It's a Wonderful Life, our Christmases are more like Chevy Chases in Christmas Vacation! And I'm finally okay with that. There will be no pressure for a perfect Christmas and as long as the hubby gets me a few things ( B&N gift card, Bath and Bodyworks card ) I'll be good. A stocking from him and the kids would be nice but I'm not holding my breathe. I've learned to be thankful with what I get. ( I repeat that to myself over and over to make it work )
Thanksgiving this year I get to NOT COOK and go to my in laws house and then I'd venture that we'll stop by my parents house for dessert. I'm working this year so I wont be doing a shopping on Black Friday ( although I may venture out before work ).
Christmas this year falls on a Friday which allows me to stay home and enjoy my family. I'll cook on Christmas Day for us and my parents and we'll be able to spend the next day with his family. I figure by that Monday I'll be happy to escape the chaos and get back to work.
So as you can see things are pretty decent here. Donald has a computer fish board addiction that is completely unhealthy and the house still needs work, but we're doing okay. We're enjoying our kids and knock on wood, so far avoiding the swine flu so I can't complain. Give me time though - I'm sure as winter sets in, we'll have a disaster of two that I can report. Until then I'll remain true to the Pine Barrens that I now love and call home. After traveling Jersey all day for work, I'll come home to my family and my fire and curl up and watch MonsterQuest with the Mr Mom I love the most. Yes it's geeky but that's what make my life so cool.
I guess the biggest change since my last update is I'm content and happy. I'm working outside the house everyday at a real job where I get paid on a regular basis and I realize how much I missed it. Donald is being Mr. Mom and is so much better at it, than I - I do believe the kids are happier too. Apparently homework is not my calling in life. I'm much better at doing sales and fixing messed up sales departments which is what I have been doing.
Financially things have been a bit challenging, but we're learning to deal and even that seems to be getting better albeit a little at a time. We're not going hungry and most of the bills are being paid so I'm good. I just got a raise after working 1 .5 months and my sales department seems to be shaping up so hopefully by early next year , I'll be making even more money and might be able to start digging out of the hole. Much to both our parents horror, I am hoping to be making enough money to sustain us so Donald can stay home - at least until the terror starts Kindergarten. It's funny to me because if it was me being home, everyone would be peachy keen with it but because we find that things work better the "non -traditional" way - we hear flack. Personally I don't care what anyone thinks. I'm happy , Donald's happy , kids are happy -nuff said!
Speaking of the terror - it seems we have a bit of a junkie on our hands. At every turn, my 4 year old "angel" is caught off in the corner sneaking candy and drinking soda , which is forbidden and he knows it. He is definitely a handful and stubborn. We've tried rewarding him , beating him, punishing him - nothing works. This morning is a perfect example. A report came up from the trenches from one of our spies ( his siblings) that while we were laying in command central , a child who was supposed to be watching TV was indeed sneaking candy and soda. When I interrogated the suspect, his simple answer was - I was thirsty. He looked at me and said" I guess I'll go to bed now ". Obviously that punishment isn't working anymore.
So his father and I came up with a devious plan for revenge. He'd make eggs for everyone and Justin would be forced to eat what he doesn't like. Muuuuhaha ( it seemed good at the time ) He complained as we predicted and Donald just said " you don't listen to me and I don't listen to you - I made what I want to , now eat the eggs" We waited for the impending tantrum. And waited. And waited. It never came. He just shrugged it off and ate his damned eggs. So in the end he got candy , soda and a nutritional breakfast and as usual we got screwed by a 4 yr old.
Although things are good here, I can't say they are sane. About two weeks ago I was fighting a minor cold when we awoke in the middle of the night to our burglar alarm system going off crazily .Now since we don't have an active system this perplexed us a bit. Upon further investigation by Donald , we realized that there was water coming in from the rain on our electrical panel. oh Joy! Donald took care of what he could and I went back to bed.
In the morning my alarm went off and I decided I would stay home and nurse my cold since I hadn't slept that well the night before. Then my mother came over to help as she usually does. Only this time she decided to feed our love bird and left the cage open. That resulted in kids screaming. The dog started chasing a love bird through the house, 4 kids started chasing the dog that was chasing the love bird and my mother started chasing the kids who were chasing the dog who was chasing the love bird. While Super Dad, saved the day by catching the bird, I decided it was quieter at work so I took a shower and went to the quiet of my job and rested there.
We had our Halloween party and it was quieter with less drama than usual so that was good. Marybeth as always went above and beyond on the party - giving us a throwing up pumpkin and a Tinkerbell cake for Hailey that was gorgeous. I of course was a witch as I feel it's always best to stay true to one's self when picking a costume.
Obviously now our next concern are the holidays that are approaching. Financially Christmas sucks but I'm sure we'll manage. Santa always seems to find a way. I've decided this year to try and relax and enjoy the holidays. After years of trying to make Christmas a Norman Rockwell event, I have finally come to the conclusion that rather than It's a Wonderful Life, our Christmases are more like Chevy Chases in Christmas Vacation! And I'm finally okay with that. There will be no pressure for a perfect Christmas and as long as the hubby gets me a few things ( B&N gift card, Bath and Bodyworks card ) I'll be good. A stocking from him and the kids would be nice but I'm not holding my breathe. I've learned to be thankful with what I get. ( I repeat that to myself over and over to make it work )
Thanksgiving this year I get to NOT COOK and go to my in laws house and then I'd venture that we'll stop by my parents house for dessert. I'm working this year so I wont be doing a shopping on Black Friday ( although I may venture out before work ).
Christmas this year falls on a Friday which allows me to stay home and enjoy my family. I'll cook on Christmas Day for us and my parents and we'll be able to spend the next day with his family. I figure by that Monday I'll be happy to escape the chaos and get back to work.
So as you can see things are pretty decent here. Donald has a computer fish board addiction that is completely unhealthy and the house still needs work, but we're doing okay. We're enjoying our kids and knock on wood, so far avoiding the swine flu so I can't complain. Give me time though - I'm sure as winter sets in, we'll have a disaster of two that I can report. Until then I'll remain true to the Pine Barrens that I now love and call home. After traveling Jersey all day for work, I'll come home to my family and my fire and curl up and watch MonsterQuest with the Mr Mom I love the most. Yes it's geeky but that's what make my life so cool.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
summer life
I know it's been a while since I've posted. Trust me - it is not because my life is calm. I have been totally absorbed with finding a job. Not only do we need the money but if I don't get to socialize with other humans on a daily basis soon, I am going to need to be put in an insane asylum- oh wait - that's where I live- or at least it feels like it sometimes. Anyway - my business is on hold - ( who the hell can start one in this economy?) and I have a promising second interview set up with a company next week. Back to Princeton I go...( we hope - crossing fingers) .
Let's see we started out our summer with an awesome 3 day vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos. We had a good time although I found out that children are much more resilient than adults. That occur ed to me at 10pm one evening as I and some other tired looking mom ( after a day of non stop water park) were propped up against an elevator wall to keep from falling down and our children were bouncing around wondering what we were gonna do next. We just nodded to each other in sympathy - talking would have been too much.
A few weeks later we took a day trip ( the minivan does come in handy ) to Cape May. We went to Sunset Beach where we looked for "Cape May Diamonds"http://www.sunsetbeachnj.com/capemaydiamonds.html. We then had some - again very enthusiastic- kids that wanted to see the lighthouse and what was on top. We started the long 199 stair trek upward-with mom stopping by the alcoves on the way up to breathe. As I was catching my breathe and watching my children flit up 199 stairs like it was nothing - all I could think about - is how the heck could a lighthouse keeper do this? I mean what happened if they had to go potty? I'm thinking they carried bed pan with them- I know I would. - The mysteries of life. After our wonderful trek to the lighthouse we went to cape May beach where children frolicked and played on sand and in waves and mom laid on blanket trying to resurrect her legs. Dad stood by water so no one drowned or became shark bait. That evening in true Shearer never say die attitude we went to Wildwood- got dinner and ice cream and of course chocolate covered strawberries from Laura's.
For the 4th of July this year we went to the shore house and then off to fireworks. Of course us being who we are and having to contend with that damn Shearer cloud- the park was closed this year. So we found ourselves sprawled out on a dead end street waiting for the fireworks to start -all 13 of us- when a minivan pulled up behind us to drop off a family. As we turned to look - the minivan caught on fire. Thank goodness we were far enough back that we could stay safely where we were yet watch as one of the neighbors from the street came out with a fire extinguisher and put out the car fire for the nice Spanish family that stood outside of it looking perplexed. Then of course the fire dept came and the tow truck. It was like a pre-fireworks show. The kids of course were in their glory a fire AND fireworks- how much better could life get.
We took another exciting trip later on this month to my brother in aw Danny's house. Hailey had gone to Dee Dee's house so it was just the boys and us. Donald and Dan worked for hours on Dan's fish tank to make it pretty- unfortunately right as they were finishing, that darn Shearer cloud appeared and as Dan "tweaked" something - he broke a pipe- so there was running and draining 250 gallons very quickly to keep their living room from becoming a living reef. Needless to say we were there late. As the kids pointed out - it was already tomorrow. We pulled in our driveway and lo and behold saw nature up close and personal. We have a fox it seems. When we pulled in our driveway we met the fox who had unfortunately already met our female Guinea hen.The were already at the end of a tango. The kids were upset and wouldn't get out the van because they didn't want "to be eaten too". Finally after some calming - we got kids in and settled. I was upset but realized- ( because I had seen the Lion King ) - it simply is the circle of life.
The next day we found that the nest our guinea hen had been guarding was intact - so me being me - is playing mother nature with 12 eggs on my back porch with a heat lamp- hoping a miracle occurs and at least one hatches. We are now down to 4 chickens ( Blondie- the overgrown chicken - died unexpectedly last month ) and one very lonely male guinea hen. Our little farm is experiencing some bumps but I have no doubt that Farmer Don will take care of it ( by the way I'm still pushing for a wee little goat ).
Not much else is happening- our brand new - less than 2 months old dryer a blew circuit board so currently I am wearing some funky colors I normally never touch.( but own none the less)while we wait for parts. We're doing some school work to keep kids on track and I'm playing games on Facebook.( I refuse to update my status constantly- you want to know what I'm doing?- call me). Anyway that's about it-going away for our annual trip for Mom's birthday end of next week to start school shopping. Traveling with mom- is a blog in and unto itself so watch for that one next month. In the meantime keep your fingers crossed that I get this job and can remain as sane as I'll ever be.
Let's see we started out our summer with an awesome 3 day vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos. We had a good time although I found out that children are much more resilient than adults. That occur ed to me at 10pm one evening as I and some other tired looking mom ( after a day of non stop water park) were propped up against an elevator wall to keep from falling down and our children were bouncing around wondering what we were gonna do next. We just nodded to each other in sympathy - talking would have been too much.
A few weeks later we took a day trip ( the minivan does come in handy ) to Cape May. We went to Sunset Beach where we looked for "Cape May Diamonds"http://www.sunsetbeachnj.com/capemaydiamonds.html. We then had some - again very enthusiastic- kids that wanted to see the lighthouse and what was on top. We started the long 199 stair trek upward-with mom stopping by the alcoves on the way up to breathe. As I was catching my breathe and watching my children flit up 199 stairs like it was nothing - all I could think about - is how the heck could a lighthouse keeper do this? I mean what happened if they had to go potty? I'm thinking they carried bed pan with them- I know I would. - The mysteries of life. After our wonderful trek to the lighthouse we went to cape May beach where children frolicked and played on sand and in waves and mom laid on blanket trying to resurrect her legs. Dad stood by water so no one drowned or became shark bait. That evening in true Shearer never say die attitude we went to Wildwood- got dinner and ice cream and of course chocolate covered strawberries from Laura's.
For the 4th of July this year we went to the shore house and then off to fireworks. Of course us being who we are and having to contend with that damn Shearer cloud- the park was closed this year. So we found ourselves sprawled out on a dead end street waiting for the fireworks to start -all 13 of us- when a minivan pulled up behind us to drop off a family. As we turned to look - the minivan caught on fire. Thank goodness we were far enough back that we could stay safely where we were yet watch as one of the neighbors from the street came out with a fire extinguisher and put out the car fire for the nice Spanish family that stood outside of it looking perplexed. Then of course the fire dept came and the tow truck. It was like a pre-fireworks show. The kids of course were in their glory a fire AND fireworks- how much better could life get.
We took another exciting trip later on this month to my brother in aw Danny's house. Hailey had gone to Dee Dee's house so it was just the boys and us. Donald and Dan worked for hours on Dan's fish tank to make it pretty- unfortunately right as they were finishing, that darn Shearer cloud appeared and as Dan "tweaked" something - he broke a pipe- so there was running and draining 250 gallons very quickly to keep their living room from becoming a living reef. Needless to say we were there late. As the kids pointed out - it was already tomorrow. We pulled in our driveway and lo and behold saw nature up close and personal. We have a fox it seems. When we pulled in our driveway we met the fox who had unfortunately already met our female Guinea hen.The were already at the end of a tango. The kids were upset and wouldn't get out the van because they didn't want "to be eaten too". Finally after some calming - we got kids in and settled. I was upset but realized- ( because I had seen the Lion King ) - it simply is the circle of life.
The next day we found that the nest our guinea hen had been guarding was intact - so me being me - is playing mother nature with 12 eggs on my back porch with a heat lamp- hoping a miracle occurs and at least one hatches. We are now down to 4 chickens ( Blondie- the overgrown chicken - died unexpectedly last month ) and one very lonely male guinea hen. Our little farm is experiencing some bumps but I have no doubt that Farmer Don will take care of it ( by the way I'm still pushing for a wee little goat ).
Not much else is happening- our brand new - less than 2 months old dryer a blew circuit board so currently I am wearing some funky colors I normally never touch.( but own none the less)while we wait for parts. We're doing some school work to keep kids on track and I'm playing games on Facebook.( I refuse to update my status constantly- you want to know what I'm doing?- call me). Anyway that's about it-going away for our annual trip for Mom's birthday end of next week to start school shopping. Traveling with mom- is a blog in and unto itself so watch for that one next month. In the meantime keep your fingers crossed that I get this job and can remain as sane as I'll ever be.
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Pre -Mid Life Crisis
I'm going through a pre-mid life crisis. I know I am. Perhaps it's because I bought a minivan and discovered I LIKE it! I really like it. I think it has more to do with the fact my kids can get in and out without jumping over seats and putting sneaker marks on the slower sibling's face. It also has to do with the nice electronic doors that now prevent mommy from having to stand outside during the rain holding the door and bellowing " GET IN THE CAR AND GET BUCKLED!"- I can now do that from the comfort of the front seat. Oh the joy. PLUS my van has seats that fold into the floor flat and turn my MINI van into a CARGO van- not so dorky now is it? Won't be if my friends need help moving anything. Plus just think what I can haul home from garage sales.
Anyway right after buying the van I decided I needed chickens. Baby chickens. So I went off to Tractor Supply and surprised Donald with 6 baby chicks. ( ummm he was surprised not happy though I didn't get "permission" ) The kids were excited and named them all. Poor Tyler named the runt Lucky - unfortunately, Lucky wasn't so lucky- not even for a night and now there are 5. They have been residing on my back porch in crate with a heat lamp for the past 5 weeks. Did you know Chickens smell? To high heaven and back - especially when confined in a small warm spot. When you walked in the back you said "OOOOH someone has Chickens" long before you saw them- you usually didn't see them until after you stopped gagging from the smell. They moved out to their new home/run Saturday and are doing well. They moved due to a few reasons - the smell but also because of Monstra . Monstra's real name is Blondie. Blondie started growing quicker than everyone else in the flock She is my favorite and sits on my lap .She is now however about 5 times bigger than the next sized chick and I have been informed by my snickering husband that Blondie is mots likely not a she but a he - as in Rooster. Roosters crow - very early. Me - mornings - Rooster - hence the snickering husband.
Now about the same time the chickens moved in - the caterpillars did too. The caterpillars were Tyler's science experiment courtesy of Grandmom. So you came up the driveway - got chased by Guinea Hen - walked in the back - got greeted by chickens and smell, came in the house and had to scrape two barking dogs off you, go past two fish tanks that are bigger than most people's tubs and make your way into the dining room where you get to experience metamorphosis while dining.All the while - our love bird is serenading you from the bar room. Welcome to the Shearer Jungle. Back to my PMLC (pre-midlife crisis) -For weeks now I have been struggling to figure out who I am. As I was working Real Estate these past few months, I realized that somewhere in the fight for the kids and the adoption nightmares plus the house buying fun, I lost a part of me. Somewhere the fire started to dwindle in me. I was becoming majorly BLAH I also realized now that everything is settled with the kids and the house ( Settled not done - laundry room still pending ) I could start working on me again . I also realized that in a little over a year and a half I'll be 40. So now the goal for 40-be the best I can be. 40 is coming no matter how I look at it - but who I am when I hit it can be changed and so it begins. Goal 1- I am letting my hair grow - I liked it long and no matter what my mother says 40 is NOT too old to have longer hair. I had highlights added and I'm on my way to getting that look under control. Goal 2- get in shape I want to weigh less and be in better shape at 40-so today I started Kickboxing class at my sons' Karate school. Contrary to popular belief I did not do it to mortally embarrass my son - I decided that I have to see these people and I would be too embarrassed if I quit so I have to stick with it. As for the actual class - prior to the class everyone told me how much fun kickboxing can be - after the class I realized that in certain countries root canal is probably considered fun too. One thing is true it does relieve the pressures of the outside world. This is because the only thing you can think of is surviving the damned class. Anyway I'm beat up and sore right now but I'm heading back Thursday AM - why? 1.5 years left til 40!- Goal 3- find out what I want to be when I grow up- this is proving to be the roughest goal yet. Realtor full time isn't working - I can't imagine that working in a corporate office all day would make me happy either. I need a combination of work , inside, outside and some traveling. So after being hounded by 3 of my dearest friends, it seems I am working on opening my own business- I do marketing , business development, customer service training , trade show planning etc so why not do it as a consultant. The plans are in place and we're moving ahead-slowly -(mostly because after that kickboxing class that's the only speed I'm going to be able to go on for a bit.) - I'm attending a seminar next week on starting a business and then we're off and running. The rest of my PMLC has do with me becoming the person I am and not just this shell of a person that has been existing lately. I need to stand up for myself and take charge of my life. No one else is responsible for who I am when I reach 40 and I want to be the best version of me I can be. ( This is almost like the next version of Microsoft after the disappointing Vista version ) Stay tuned as Microsoft and I both try to shine in the next 18 months or so !
Anyway right after buying the van I decided I needed chickens. Baby chickens. So I went off to Tractor Supply and surprised Donald with 6 baby chicks. ( ummm he was surprised not happy though I didn't get "permission" ) The kids were excited and named them all. Poor Tyler named the runt Lucky - unfortunately, Lucky wasn't so lucky- not even for a night and now there are 5. They have been residing on my back porch in crate with a heat lamp for the past 5 weeks. Did you know Chickens smell? To high heaven and back - especially when confined in a small warm spot. When you walked in the back you said "OOOOH someone has Chickens" long before you saw them- you usually didn't see them until after you stopped gagging from the smell. They moved out to their new home/run Saturday and are doing well. They moved due to a few reasons - the smell but also because of Monstra . Monstra's real name is Blondie. Blondie started growing quicker than everyone else in the flock She is my favorite and sits on my lap .She is now however about 5 times bigger than the next sized chick and I have been informed by my snickering husband that Blondie is mots likely not a she but a he - as in Rooster. Roosters crow - very early. Me - mornings - Rooster - hence the snickering husband.
Now about the same time the chickens moved in - the caterpillars did too. The caterpillars were Tyler's science experiment courtesy of Grandmom. So you came up the driveway - got chased by Guinea Hen - walked in the back - got greeted by chickens and smell, came in the house and had to scrape two barking dogs off you, go past two fish tanks that are bigger than most people's tubs and make your way into the dining room where you get to experience metamorphosis while dining.All the while - our love bird is serenading you from the bar room. Welcome to the Shearer Jungle. Back to my PMLC (pre-midlife crisis) -For weeks now I have been struggling to figure out who I am. As I was working Real Estate these past few months, I realized that somewhere in the fight for the kids and the adoption nightmares plus the house buying fun, I lost a part of me. Somewhere the fire started to dwindle in me. I was becoming majorly BLAH I also realized now that everything is settled with the kids and the house ( Settled not done - laundry room still pending ) I could start working on me again . I also realized that in a little over a year and a half I'll be 40. So now the goal for 40-be the best I can be. 40 is coming no matter how I look at it - but who I am when I hit it can be changed and so it begins. Goal 1- I am letting my hair grow - I liked it long and no matter what my mother says 40 is NOT too old to have longer hair. I had highlights added and I'm on my way to getting that look under control. Goal 2- get in shape I want to weigh less and be in better shape at 40-so today I started Kickboxing class at my sons' Karate school. Contrary to popular belief I did not do it to mortally embarrass my son - I decided that I have to see these people and I would be too embarrassed if I quit so I have to stick with it. As for the actual class - prior to the class everyone told me how much fun kickboxing can be - after the class I realized that in certain countries root canal is probably considered fun too. One thing is true it does relieve the pressures of the outside world. This is because the only thing you can think of is surviving the damned class. Anyway I'm beat up and sore right now but I'm heading back Thursday AM - why? 1.5 years left til 40!- Goal 3- find out what I want to be when I grow up- this is proving to be the roughest goal yet. Realtor full time isn't working - I can't imagine that working in a corporate office all day would make me happy either. I need a combination of work , inside, outside and some traveling. So after being hounded by 3 of my dearest friends, it seems I am working on opening my own business- I do marketing , business development, customer service training , trade show planning etc so why not do it as a consultant. The plans are in place and we're moving ahead-slowly -(mostly because after that kickboxing class that's the only speed I'm going to be able to go on for a bit.) - I'm attending a seminar next week on starting a business and then we're off and running. The rest of my PMLC has do with me becoming the person I am and not just this shell of a person that has been existing lately. I need to stand up for myself and take charge of my life. No one else is responsible for who I am when I reach 40 and I want to be the best version of me I can be. ( This is almost like the next version of Microsoft after the disappointing Vista version ) Stay tuned as Microsoft and I both try to shine in the next 18 months or so !
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