A Special Mommy Surprise

This morning Chloe told me she wanted to make me a special surprise. She asked if I would go in the office and not peek so she could work on it. Well, this sounded good to me and I settled in to grab a few minutes to check my email. I could hear the girls chatter away about how special this was going to be for me. Until it stopped. Things got awfully quiet and the I heard the tell tale signs of mischief.

Giggles

and then... "Quick put it over here and don't tell Mommy."

Launching myself from the chair I rounded the corner to see what was going on. I spotted these

And this

I did a sharp breath intake and asked the obvious, "What did you do?" question to which I got the expected answer of, "We cut our hair."

Luckily as you can see here they only got off a small snip and seem no worse for wear.

We had the seasoned scissors are for paper conversation, and I did not let them create unattended any longer. As you can see the picture is lovely and the hair is vacuumed up.

Stella

I named my car Stella. I share this only because I know that I am not the only person who gives their cars names. Stella got her name from the play "A Street Car Names Desire." You know the famous scene where Stanley realizes he screwed up majorly and is yelling "Stella!" up the stairs. It is because of that scene and my laziness in shoveling my driveway that my car arrived at its name.

See Burlington, Vermont gets a lot of snow; a whole heck of a lot of snow some years. Sometimes I just don't realize that it is going to snow as much as it does and therefore don't get up early enough to shovel the driveway out. Sometimes I come home from work to find the street plows have closed the drive in, and sometimes (my favorite) I get up shovel the drive and in the two hours it takes me to shower, dress, eat, get the kids up, dressed, and fed the street or sidewalk plow has come by again and plowed another pile at the end of my drive. That makes for a grumpy start to your day I tell you. It also leads me to offer you the real estate advice to never buy a house on the right hand side of a one way street- because guess what side they pile all the snow on? Anyhow sometimes I have been known to just drive through the pile of snow at the end of my drive. When this occasion arises it seems that you should cheer for the car. I mean Subaru's are great for winter driving, but occasionally even I think I have asked her to clear a pretty big pile. At any rate, I have trained my girls to shout, "STELLA" while we back through. If nothing else it distracts them from the impact.

So Stella, yes Stella, is my car. She has had a bit of a rough time of it lately. The latest was my return to NH from Boston yesterday when my check engine light came on again for the second time in three weeks. I decided to call the closest Subaru dealer to where I was staying in Derry on the off chance that they would be open on a Sunday. I was surprised when a very peppy woman actually did answer. I explained my situation that I was traveling and heading back to Vermont tomorrow and that the check engine light came on. I went on to ask if someone might be able to look at it and tell me why it was on and if I could drive it home.

Peppy woman: "Oh I am sure it is nothing."

Me: "Well, I know it could be nothing, but I have a ways to drive tomorrow and I just want to be sure."

Ms. Peppy: "Oh I am sure it is no big deal these lights just come on."

Me: "But it is a check engine light. I mean shouldn't we, um, you know, check the engine?"

Ms. Peppy: "How about I put the manager on and he can reassure you it is nothing?"

I re-explain my situation to the manager.

Manager, " Oh sure we could probably help you tomorrow. The repair department isn't open today. They open tomorrow at 7:30. Why don't you call then and they can fit you in."

This seemed like a good idea. So I called at 7:40 this morning and spoke to a man in the repair department. He seemed to feel that since the light was on constantly that it was probably something not firing right. Apparently you are in really deep doo doo if it is flashing on and off. Then you can't drive it at all. He said it should be fine to drive home I just might find that I had less power on the hills. Because you know there aren't any hills crossing New Hampshire and Vermont. It is practically like Kansas out there...what with the two MOUNTAIN RANGES I CROSS.

Never the less I decided that maybe I was being overly paranoid. This being me and I am prone to about 14 different neurotic tendencies. I decided to head for home as is. I did pack extra water and food and charge up the cell phone in the event of a breakdown.

I would like to tell you that I was so happy and relaxed to have made my decision that I sailed right on home. I did sail right on home car wise, but of course this is me so I obsessed over every lurch, squeak, and ping for the entire 4 hours. The hills were especially fun as I crawled up then at between 40-45 miles per hour. I discovered that it behaved better if I didn't try to accelerate too much but kept an even pace. This was, of course, difficult on the steeper hills. I really enjoyed the red tractor trailer who sped up behind me blowing the air horn for me to go faster. Everyone relaxes more when we look in the mirror and see a giant grill and the word MACK written on it. I am not sure why he felt it so difficult to move to the left to the passing lane and go around me. There was no other traffic, perhaps he wanted the dog to move its head so he could see the Wonderpets movie on DVD too. I know the kids complained a lot about that.

Anyhow we made it. In my stress ridden drive I did have a lot of time to think about this situation. I think I have a suggestion for Subaru that will help cut down the stress of other rule following drivers like myself who feel that check engine means one should, you know, check the engine. Perhaps we could have three different lights come on instead that would describe the situation more accurately. They could say something like this:

1- Check engine, you know when you get around to it I have plenty of time no worries.

2- Check engine, now, we got big problems brewing

3- Get out of the car do not drive 5 more feet or the car will be engulfed in flames.

Maybe it is just me but I would find this more helpful. That way I would misplace my stress. As it was I fretted so much my all the way home waiting for my constant on light to start flashing I never changed my CD once. That means I spent 4 hours listening to the same Kasey Chambers' CD. I am now complete depressed about starving children in Cambodia and every guy who ever broke my heart. I am going to need long run in the morning to recover form all this.

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Boston photo highlights:

Grammie Sharon proves herself fearless by pulling out a crab (I wasn't going to touch that thing) for the girls to pet.

New England Aquarium

After spending a leisurely morning with Grammie and Auntie Kim, the girls and I headed down to Boston to the aquarium. I had gotten on line before leaving home and purchased the tickets online. I highly recommend this should you go. We by-passed a huge line on a warm day and got right up to the reserved ticket window.

I lived in Boston for a year while I went to graduate school. However, I was a poor graduate student and definitely didn't have money to go to the aquarium. Not to mention I got around via bus and subway. I really had no idea how to get to the aquarium via car. You would think that knowing all this I would have printed out a map before leaving- you would be wrong. It made for an interesting adventure. It actually didn't take us too much time to get there. Despite my miserably poor sense of direction, the Big Dig having tunneled under any interstate highway I would have remembered, and my usual backwards attempt to find things (water..it is near the water..which way is the water). We made it.

The girls enjoyed the seals and penguins. They are always a big hit. The touch tank area is fun too. Grammie was able to brave the dangerous terrain and reach in to pull a crab up for petting. Leaving Chloe to brag, "My Grammie could do it."

We had lunch in the cafe. The hit the gift shop on the way out where the girls each picked out a new stuffed animal. That way they can join the mass of 50+ other stuffed animals in their bedrooms. Should those suckers ever organize in some kind of real life Toy Story adventure we are done for. The best for me was the check out guy at the gift shop who was rapping his way through each transaction. I admire people who can be upbeat and fun even at the most mundane jobs. The guy was a riot!

Everyone had a good time even though it was really crowded. We seemed to spend the perfect amount of time there. Not being one of those parents that feels like they need to drag their kids through each and every exhibit to get their money's worth (although I do appreciate those people- they help make my kids look like the well behaved ones). I am content to leave when ever the kids seem to reach the point where they are getting weary.


Unfortunately, my car seems to be rebelling against any traveling I do this summer. On the way out my check engine light came on AGAIN. I called and found a place in Manchester that can look at it in the morning. Considering all the work I just had done on it I am more than a little annoyed. I am going to run it in early and hope for the best. Grammie says she can watch the kids. Maybe this way I won't have my dog up in the car lift like I did the last time. Although it may have had them take pity on me.

And We Are Off!

Off we go on a wild adventure to Boston. Well, Derry New Hampshire but who is being picky. Since the girls and I have been home for like two whole weeks or something, It is time to wander again. We are heading down to visit Grammie Sharon, Auntie Kim, And Uncle Louis. Tomorrow we are going to the Aquarium in Boston- Already got the tickets. Nothing like some time in the BIG city!



I must say I think I enjoyed packing back when no one had opinions about what to wear. Can any one figure out how to explain to Chloe that a pink shirt and green and blue plaid shorts really don't mix? When you see the pictures know that I tried to stop this combination.



We got a three mile run in before leaving. My shoulder/neck are feeling better. Which is nice because being a hypochondriac I was already beginning to convince myself I was dying with some horrible disease. I packed my running stuff because visiting family sounds like free babysitting to me!



Plus that sweet lovable Grammie said she would make me dinner- no cooking! I should infringe on people's space more often.

Here we come!

Things I said this morning

The following area list of statements that I have actually spoken today. Now, I know that those of you with "hypothetical children" as I like to call them probably can't relate. I know back when children were nothing more than an idea I had, my children were completely different than the ones I actually have. My hypothetical children never had tantrums in stores, fought, refused to get their shoes on or brush their teeth, etc. My real children however are so much different. It is kinda like my hypothetical husband and the real one I had, but that could just be me.

So here we go things I never imagined I would have to say:

Why aren't you wearing underwear?

Where is your underwear?

Here let me fix your crown; it fell off.

Don't do that to the dog.

Don't do that to your sister.

Don't lick people.

You aren't suppose to eat lip gloss.

Please take that out of your mouth.

Did you just eat that?

Please do not scream like that.

It is just a spider. Get the shoe.

Please take the carrot off your head.

I'm not sure Raffi music needs to be that loud.

Why is there a scarf on the dog?

Yes, that is what we are eating for lunch.

That was just this morning. I thought about keeping track for 24 hours, but my hand was cramping up.

In case you think all they did was aggravate and bicker here they are coloring a picture together.

Ahhh so sweet.

Bike Path Hazards

I have had two days to run solo as the girls have spent the night with their dad. I am use to seizing these opportunities to run. Especially so this summer as he is gone a lot for his work schedule. Yesterday I ran 7 and today 8. I was thinking I should go longer but I hurt my shoulder/neck the other day running with the jogger. It is bothering me to the point I am taking some Ibuprofen (don't like to do that). Last night I took two baths to try to soak out the kink. I don't think it did much, but my skin feels great!



Needless to say I was running today later than I normally would have and the bike path was more crowded. There are three things which I have come to realize may do me in down there. I am not sure if it will one by itself or a combination of all three together.



Hazard number one: small children riding bikes.



I mean the really little guys with training wheels and all. Here is the danger, the little guy /girls (usually a boy though) is racing along ahead of the parents who are walking behind. The parents spotting a runner coming shout out to the child, "Johnny, watch out for the runner." Now here is where the problem comes in. The child doesn't hear the parents clearly (why do they never hear clearly? I don't know). So the child turns around to look back at mom and dad. "What?" Now at this point the bike changes the course of direction and begins to move in very haphazardly all over the path. The more this happens the more the parents yell the longer the child keeps looking back and yelling, "What?" I of course am now running up in the woods to avoid the situation all together.



Hazard number two: dogs on retractable leashes.



These things are deadly. I kid you not. And before anyone thinks I just have a things against dogs let me point out that I own one.

Not a very smart one but a dog none the less. Shown here having torn out the bottom of his dog bed, turned it upside down, and sleeping on it.


So dogs are not my problem, it is the type of leashes. See the leashes let the dog wander at a greater or shorter distance from the owner. Maybe to the other side of the bike path to sniff out all the delectable scents. The leash has an interesting feature in case you haven't noticed. The first few inches are usually an inch or so wide and made from a colored fabric. The main length of the leash is a thin, black cord. Black being the key. The leash is black, the bike path is paved with black top. I can not tell when running up to it that there is a leash attached to the dog. It blends in with the black top until I am right on top of it. And for some reason it does not occur to some people to pull the dog over to their side of the path. It usually involves a quick lunge, a stop, or a hurdle on my part. None of which I am prone to wanting to do in the middle of a work out.





Hazard number three: tourists (mostly from Quebec) on rental bikes.



Today involved numerous encounters with hazard number three. The first incident was three bikers that I needed to pass. That alone is problematic. I mean do you realize how slowly you have to be on a bike to be passed by someone running? I was thinking they may have wanted to save the bike rental money and just walk. I have digressed though. The problem was that they were spread across the entire path and kept switching positions with each other. I had to run across the lawn to get around with out some of us colliding. Then I rounded a corner to find a whole group (about 7) had just laid their bikes across the entire path to walk over and take in the view. It was kind of crazy.



I am grateful to have escaped today's run with no injuries. But I am telling you I feel like at some point one of these things will catch me!

Office Seating

I am 37 years old. I have spent the last 18 years sitting in this chair when ever I have "office" work to do.

This chair came into my life via my ex-husband. He "found" it on a loading dock of a former employer (we shall withhold that name to protect those that accidentally left it off the truck and then came to own it). We always called the chair "Grandpa". Grandpa has character squeaky wheels and the original, now rusty, metal screw to adjust it. Not that the adjustment actually works, but it is the original. This chair has been moved from Maine to Massachusetts to Colorado to New Mexico to Vermont. Sweet huh? It might surprise you to know then that I hate this chair.

I tried to recover it about ten years ago to feel better about it but as is often the case in such situations superficial changes do little to change our real feelings. My problem? It is the most uncomfortable chair ever! Part of the bottom is broken and it lunges back and slopes to the left. I have to remember to warn people before they sit in it. If I forget they flail their arms of their heads and get a rather panicy look on their faces (I'll admit that is kinda funny). You always feel like you are going to be dumped out of it. I use to tolerate it because I did not sit in it for long periods of time. However since I have new computer I find that I can get more done at home and quite frankly my back was starting to rebel.

So, I decided it was time to purchase a comfortable office chair. I wasn't looking for anything overly luxurious. Just something functional, not hideous to look at, and relatively inexpensive. I picked one out a Staples. I was surprised that no less than two employees tried to sell me the extra warranty coverage on the chair. "In the event that the parts do not hold up."

"Like what parts?" I asked.

"Well, the manufacturer's warranty only cover the basics like the wheels."

"What else is there on a chair?"

"Well, the seams could rip, or you could poke a whole in it and we would cover the replacement."

"I think I am all set."

"Are you sure?"

"It's a chair, but if it makes you feel better I will remember you did your best to warn me."

The sale moved ahead with out any more dire warnings and I happily arrived home with my box. I excitedly opened it and discovered I had some work to do.

But the title on the directions seemed hopeful.

Even using some humor which I can always appreciate.

And look! Another complimentary Allen Wretch.

Soon I will need a bigger tool box for all these little lovelies. Just think all my office furniture is now held together with funny little screws that require there own personal little assembly device. If I ever move I hope the movers appreciate that I am dutifully keeping all these. Of course I will have to warn them to be extra careful with the chair as I didn't buy the extra warranty.

You will be so happy to know that I did successfully assemble the chair. Ta DA!

It is called the Culley Luxuria Manager Chair. That's right people. I am now in the manager's chair. I feel more important already.

And what of Grandpa? Well, don't worry he is off to my ex-husband's house. It is best to keep him in the family. You know I am not totally heartless to the little bugger.