A Christmas Wandering

So we have been off for almost a week now visiting family for Christmas. We have had numerous adventures. All of which I have jotted down and photographed to bore you with over the coming days. We were visiting Grammie Eva on Cranberry Island. It is important for my sanity that I make a trek to the ocean several times a year. I am drawn to the ocean, and it is not the least bit fair that I have been trapped quite some distance from it (sometimes several thousand and sometimes several hundred miles) for about fourteen years now. When I was living in New Mexico I developed a love for reading Barbara Kingsolver. She is a Kentucky native who relocated to Tucson, Arizona. One of my favorite quotes of hers is, "A body gets use to living in a desert, but your soul gets thirsty." I love that line because I have such a strong connection to it. So I am drawn back to the ocean because my soul gets thirsty.


See? Doesn't that feel better?

The weather was a bit touchy while we were there, but we did have one really nice day for beach exploration. Yes, I dress my children in snow suits to play on the beach. They don't mind one bit.

I also was able to fill my seafood deficit. Lobsters for Christmas dinner also meant lobster stew the next day, and shrimp the following. So now I am all stocked up for a few more months.

I plopped all the lobsters out on the floor prior to cooking them. It is just part of the wackiness that is my family that the kids and dogs get to play with the little buggers before we eat them. It makes for good a family bonding.

Holiday Cheer

OK so here is a teaser...

I tried, I really did. Twice even, but the blogger site video upload function simply is not working. I have run out of energy and am really afraid that I may soon fall asleep with my forehead pressed into the keyboard. Alexa's preschool had a Holiday party tonight. The kids sang songs. It was cute. I promise you it was, and you would have felt all warm and fuzzy inside and everything. Unfortunately you will have to wait for I need some sleep.

Hypothetically Speaking

I wrote a post this past summer that several people connected with enough to bring up in conversations when I would see them later. It is nice when that happens. I write mostly to clear my own head, but if someone connects in any way it is great. It makes life seem a lot less lonely when other people can relate to you. In this case it was a reference that I made about my hypothetical children. The ones I had when I use think about what having children would be like. The well behaved ones, that never yelled, hit, or behaved poorly in public places. Anyone who actually has real children use to have hypothetical children. It is par for the course. It is how we end up with the real ones to start with.

I should also say that back when I had these hypothetical children, I was a hypothetical parent. I was going to be this amazing mix of June Cleaver, Murphy Brown, and Mrs. Cosby. I would bounce back from child birth looking like some Hollywood starlet. I would never need to raise my voice. I would always calmly reason with my children and discuss things with them while they readily saw the errors of their ways. They would always be well behaved in public and the teachers would rave about their positive leadership skills and academic success in school. Of course, it went without saying, that they would be on the fast track with a full scholarship to the ivy league school of their choice. I would offer sympathy to those whose off spring were not able to achieve the same level of excellence as my own. All the while thinking to myself, "If only they would follow my example their children would be perfect too."

My point is that life works so well when it is in your head. As a real parent, I screw up sometimes. I say things I shouldn't say, and yell when I really should have more patience. We all do. It is the nature of the beast, and really nothing makes us feel better than to see some other haggard parent dreaming of a few more hours of sleep and a quiet trip to the grocery store right along with us.

Don't get me wrong this parenthood thing it is a wild ride. Most days you have the ups and downs so close together you might as well be on a roller coaster. Just today the girls came home from their dad's house where they had a weekend Christmas party. As soon as they entered the house Alexa spotted some wrapped presents that I had bought to take with us the Maine. She demanded that I give her presents. I explained that they were not for her, that I had some for her at Grammie's house, but these were for us to give to other people. I watched her launch herself into one of those kicking on the floor tantrums of greed and want that makes every parent think about giving them nothing but a cardboard box (which they do love by the way). The whole time I was thinking wow how did I end up with a kid that feels this strongly about greed and materialism? It was down right depressing I tell you.

However, later that same day the girls sat at the kitchen table and wrapped up some of the gifts they had made to take with them to give out. Alexa hopped out of her seat and headed upstairs. The next thing I know she is coming downstairs with a toy in her hand. She asked me if she could could wrap this up to give it to her new baby cousin. I took a breath in and said, "Are you sure you want to give it away? Once you give something away you can't take it back. It will be his."

She said, "I know, but I have a lot and I think he would like it." Now see that is a little more of what I had pictured. Sometimes they do become what we hope in our heads they will.

Signs You May be in the Wrong Climate

I have told the story before of how I came to own a dog. A rescue dog from Texas, living here in Vermont. He shivers pitifully and wears a sweater or coat or sometimes both outside from October to May. This week we hit temperatures down to zero and below with the wind chill factor. This combined with the few inches of snow we have on the ground cause Cabbie even bigger problems.

The pads of his feet freeze. He is literally hobbled by it. He will limp his way back in the house on three legs whimpering and yelping in pain after only a few minutes. So I made an investment for him the weekend ...doggie boots.

Now the package directions congratulate me on my investment and tell me I am about to make my four legged friend very happy. They also say the initial awkwardness will soon disappear and will feel very comfortable. After I get them on him I am suppose to simply throw a ball and let him forget that they are even on. I put them on, and he looks tortured. He was in no way interested in ball or toy of any kind.

I carried him outside and plopped him in the snow so he could fully appreciate how much better it would feel.

I don't think he bought it. Since it took quite awhile to coax him to walk up the stairs even with the prompise of a goodie.

I am planning on continuing with my efforts and "letting my pet walk around with them on for short periods and providing a 'good dog' reward," as they suggest. We shall see how it goes.

We are tryign to fully get into the holiday spirit around here, so as you can see the indignities just continue.

How Many Angela's Does It Take to Close a Door?

I had an interesting occurrence on the way to work today. I loaded Alexa, myself, and our bags into the car this morning and went to back out of the driveway. I noticed that the passenger's front door wasn't closed. I reached across the front seat to try to shut it, only to have it bounce back open. Muttering under my breath I got out of the car and walked around to shut it from the outside, only to have it bounce back open. I examined the door frame to see if there were any things sticking in the way. The usual seat belt suspect was stowed in its correct location. I bent down and looked at the latch itself and noticed that a piece of metal that probably shouldn't be was hanging down in the way. I poked it my finger only to have it drop back down in the way.

At this point I became keenly aware that this simply wasn't going to work. I was already running a few minutes late and needed to leave now to get Alexa to daycare and me to work. I grabbed the only thing I could think of (please remember all things mechanical seem to elude me) a bungee cord out of the back of my car. At this point I think we should all marvel at the fact that I have a bungee cord in my car... I actually have three of varying sizes. See, my dad knew what he was teaching me! I wrapped the bungee around the inside door handle of the passengers door and the other end I hooked under the driver's seat on something metal (true technical term).

It worked out pretty well! I have a 30 minute drive down a fairly windy highway to get to work. There were a few occasions, on some of the sharp left turns, that I need to reach out and hold the cord with my right hand, but managed to get Alexa dropped off and me to work basically on time.

During my planning period I called the garage across the street and asked if they could look at it. They said to bring it over and they would see what they could do. So on my lunch break I dropped the car off and asked the guys that even if they couldn't fix it if they could just securely close it then I would be able to make do until the part came in. One guy joked that he could weld it in place. I said, "We shouldn't rule out any options."

I went back at the end of the day to pick the car up feeling a little nervous about how much money I was going to have to hand out to get this fixed. I walked in and asked the guys how it went. "I got it to close three times in a row," he told me. This was followed by a variety of chuckles from the three other men sitting around the office.

"Seriously? The passenger door?"

"Yeah. Here I'll walk out with you and show you." I stood in the parking lot totally befuddled and watch him open and close the door.

"OK, I swear it didn't do that this morning. He went on to explain maybe the lubricant was cold this morning (it was like 12 degrees) and it got stuck but once the car warmed up it worked again. He told me to spray so de-icer up there if I wanted... like that wont just end badly. I got home today and decided I will try to just avoid using that door for the rest of the winter, and possibly look at moving to warmer climate. I mean if the car is even complaining!

Four Cards and Some Wheat Thins

There are times in my life when I desperately wish someone else could share a moment with me. It usually occurs when the kids say or do something and it either cracks me up or makes me cry. Today there are two stories of the more warm fuzzy and humorous variety. Because, although I began this blog journey to open myself up to the world, I have the belief that the world really doesn't need to know what a sobbing wacko I can be sometimes.

Yesterday I picked Alexa up from daycare and we were heading to Chloe's school to pick her up. It was a little after 4 o'clock and true to form she mentioned that she was hungry. I happened to have a bag of Wheat Thins left over from my lunch and I asked her if she wanted some. She said she did so I handed them back. At this point I should mention that I feel I often tempt fate with the amount of my driving time I spend handing food and drinks back to my kids. My car could feed an impoverished family for the better part of a week with all the crackers and Cheerios on the floor. Occasionally I bring the dog somewhere just so he can clean it up. So it is not an unusual occurrence for her to snack on our 30 minute drive home. After a while she said she was done and handed the bag back to me. After a bit I began to realize that with all my nerves from earlier in the day I hadn't eaten much and reached into the bag to munch a few crackers myself. At that point I noticed something felt odd about the crackers. So I inquired to Alexa about what had happened to the crackers. She responded, ever so perkily, "Oh I licked the salt off them. It tasted yummy." Needless to say I waited till dinner to eat.

Today I picked Chloe up at after school where she had been making cards for all occasions. So here you go some warm fuzzies...

For Mommy...

For Alexa...

(Look she told her sister she loves her, I knew it! Proof!)

For Cabbie...

Thats so sweet because half the time I think she hates him!

And my personal favorite for me (again)...

(I think my hair looks particularly nice in this one)

Can you read it? It says, "I love you on this day." You know as opposed to those times when I make her do horrid things like clean her room and put her clothes in the hamper.

Thanks kiddo I really did need to hear that!

Obsessively Grateful

OK so we all know I am a little on the neurotic side. If you don't, I am so sorry to blow your image of my cool, calm, and collected demeanor. Hang on to graceful... I am not really graceful in any way... but if you we mistaken enough to think I was cool, calm, and collected perhaps you could hang on to the illusion of graceful too. You know just to raise my image a little. At any rate there in the smallest chance that I tend towards the obsessive worrying type.

I have had a couple of things hanging over my head through this weekend that have caused me rather a large amount of stress. I would like to offer my humblest of gratitude to the fact that all of these things came through for me in the end.

Grateful item number one: I have been relying on Grammie Sharon to drive all the way here from New Hampshire on her days off to help me on Tuesdays and Wednesdays get Chloe to school safely. For the next two weeks she decided to... you know... have a life of her own and travel and work and wont be able to be here. I called several babysitters and wasn't able to reach any one last week to do anything more than leave a message. I was beginning to get really worried about how I was going to work this. I have to leave for work at 7 AM and Chloe can't be at school till 8:10. Plus on the 23rd Alexa's daycare is closed completely, and I was trying to find a sitter for her all day. I had to take three days off last week with Chloe being so sick so I really was feeling overwhelmed about how I was going to get us all where we needed to be safely. Well, last night one of my sitters came through for me and called to apologize for forgetting to get back to me, but said she could do all four days I need including being with Alexa all day. The girls love her as a sitter and are excited to see her. I was so relieved and amazed at how somehow these things always seem to fall into place.

Grateful item number two: This weekend I received a very bizarre letter in the mail from Allstate Insurance. I have both my car and home insurance through them. The letter was a form one and wasn't clear but mentioned paying my unpaid balance and interest being earned on the premium. I was immediately alarmed. I had records of paying my car insurance in full several months ago and I escrow my house insurance as part of my monthly mortgage payment. My records from the mortgage company showed the premium being paid in full back in September. I am sure I had dreams of home eviction last night (I didn't say my worries were logical). I got a hold of my agent today at lunch to find out that the letter was just because they wanted to tell me about a .20 credit on my account. The form letter just goes out indicating any irregular activity on the account. I thanked him for the information and obviously spent the rest of my lunch planning how to spend my big bonus.

Grateful item number three (still hanging in there?): This is a big one. I am up for license renewal this year for my teaching licence. In this state you have to establish goals that you will work on over the course of seven years and then present your portfolio to the standards board proving that you have done what you said you would. Clearly this had all the markings of something I would dwell, fret, and obsess about. I mean we are talking about my job here. The way I feed, cloth, and provide housing for my children (of course now they get to split that .20 credit into their savings accounts, but I didn't know that then). I have been stressed about this for months. I have been stressed even when others told me not to stress. (Not stress! It is what I do! and I do it so well!) Well, this afternoon was my portfolio presentation. Scheduled for 3:30. I left as soon after work as I could to make sure I was there on time. I made sure to have my big giant binder of evidence with me...

The drive over I was rapidly changing radio stations (because you know when I am nervous I can't settle or find anything that will hold my attention for long). I hit on one song. It is an older song and I haven't heard it for a while. It is a song that always reminded my of my dad. There is a line in it where the guy is talking to his daughter. He is teaching her to drive and he tells her to "sit up girl you are doing just fine." That is something my dad would have said to me, and he was right I was going to do just fine. And I did. My presentation was just fine, and at the end the woman gave me this...

people are good. Chocolate is great.

The process of looking at what I have been doing for the past seven years was interesting. It has made me do a lot of thinking lately. I couldn't believe it had been 7 years. It has made me think a lot about what I really want to do with the next seven. I don't know what it will be, but it has made me start to do some preliminary Internet searches over the last few months. It has got me thinking, and right now that feels like a pretty powerful thing. So thank you world for continuing to foster my belief that if we put good energy out in the world good things will come back.

Tree Decorating

Each year I try to keep Chloe's birthday from being washed out by Christmas. I always tell the girls we will decorate for Christmas after Chloe's birthday. So today we took down the birthday decorations and headed out to get a tree. They were pretty excited. We are still working on the whole spreading the ornaments around thing, so a lot of them ended up in one area.

I was amazed at how many ornaments we have collected over the years. I love the ones that are made out of their hand prints, and they loved seeing how much they have grown over the years. We had to make sure that the ones made of anything that could possibly be viewed as edible by a small diet starved dog went up high. Lest he find himself a snack while we are at work and school tomorrow.

We were happy with the end result.

Chloe's Birthday

Today Chloe turned 7. I tried to sell the idea of a party somewhere else given the small size of my house, but she wanted a friend party at home. So what turned out to be 8 kids descended on my house this afternoon. I was expecting 6 but one that hadn't replied came with her younger brother. That caused a bit of chaos with the art project I had planned, as I was short the needed supplies. I felt bad, but there wasn't much I could do since I didn't know they were coming. Other than that things went smoothly. Chloe loves to choose a theme each year out of the birthday Express catalog, and this year she wanted a dog theme. We decorated bobble head dogs.

Played pin the tail on the dog (the kids decorated their tails first).

Played toss the dog bone into the dog bowl my version of a ring toss with felt dog bones. Then we ate dog cake.

and opened presents.

After everyone left I gave her the gifts from myself and other family members. She is now well stocked with new art projects. She can't wait to dig in to the pottery wheel from Auntie Kim and Uncle Louis. She was excited to try out the kids sized sewing machine I got her.

And both Alexa and Chloe both loved digging through the box of make believe sent by Aunt Andrea and Uncle Ryan. We are well stocked for a cold winter of indoor activities.

Now I need a couple of months to recover from that and get ready for Alexa's.

We call her Cinderella

Alexa and I created a snowman in the yard yesterday. We had him face the house and wave so Chloe could see him from her bedroom window. Alexa topped it off with dried flowers for the head and announced that she was a girl and should be named Cinderella.

She lasted all of twelve hours as the snow gave way to wind and rain and she is now a pile of mush in the yard, but it was a lovely sight while it lasted and Chloe enjoyed looking at it.

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Alexa had her wish granted. She was begging for more snow and here it is. True to her word she helped out with clearing the drive way today.

Of course she tends to take a few breaks here and there.

We even got Grammie Sharon help out. It just doesn't pay to a guest at this house (you should see the people who come and fix my bathroom drain, she got off easy).

The only one that got out of the snow removal work was Chloe, who is still in bed with a fever. Although she is so stir crazy she would love to get out of the house. Well, further than the doctor's office.

That is a Tylenol induced smile...poor kid.

Snow

When you are three and a half and desperately waiting for that first snow fall, you don't want to hear that it has been a freakishly warm November and December. You don't want to know that we usually have a good sized snowstorm by this point in the year. You don't want to get up to hear your mom tell you it is raining... again. So when we got up this morning to see nothing more than what would be called lake effect snow in any one's book. It didn't matter to Alexa. As soon as the sun was high enough in the sky she layered up and headed out.

Unfortunately for Cabbie her sister was sick in bed all day with a fever so she elected him to be her playmate on the outside. Cabbie the cold-weather-hating-what-is-this-white-cold-stuff-sticking-to-my-paws-let-me-back-in-the-house- dog.

They tried all the usual fun... building a snow man... not enough snow.

Plowing the slide off with your feet...well... she tried it.

Shoveling the deck off. It is cleared, she made sure of that, but as you can see it lacked a little something. I am sure that we will get a big snow storm at some point. This is after all Vermont and Alexa is ready because all today did was wet her appetite for the real thing.

Santa visit

We had the letters written a few days ago, so today we headed out to visit Santa. As we were getting ready to head out Alexa decided that she wanted Chloe to give Santa her letter. Chloe has always been my braver girl were these things are concerned. however when we got to Santa Chloe felt too shy to go talk to him either. I finally persuaded Chloe to walk over with me and hand him the letter. I don't believe in forcing your children to sit with Santa for that coveted holiday picture so I settled with the shot from the other side of the Christmas decorations.

Trust me Santa is just on the other side of those trees...

We did find that on Church Street today they were giving free miniature pony rides. That the girls were game to try. So here they are trotting around with Snickers.

It even gained them a pair of reindeer ears. So now I am spending my day with a couple of reindeer.