Goofing Around

Ali got a Gabriella from High School Musical barbie from her Oma. We found out that the bracelet doesn't stay on her wrist too well, but works great for something else. Here is my punk-rock daughter.

Goodbye 2007.... Hello 2008!

I can't believe it is already New Year's Eve! Julie got me this wonderful 5 year journal for my birthday. It has a small section to write in each day, and it goes on for five years. It will be so exciting to write in it and see what I was doing or thinking one, two or more years ago on that day. I decided to wait until Jan 1st to start writing in it. I stopped by Starbucks today to get a Peppermint Mocha before they are gone for the season and it got me thinking. Peppermint Mocha has been somewhat like that journal. It only come out at Christmas time, so I can think back to where I was at each time I had it. When I first had it, Ali was 2 and I was living in Maine. I had met a wonderful lady at church, Deborah who had a son Ali's age and a daughter a few years older. She had invited us over for a visit / playdate. I wanted to bring something and since Starbucks was on the way, I stopped and got us yummy Peppermint Mochas. Whenever I drink it, I think of Deborah. At that point I was desperately grasping, reaching to figure out who I am. Although Deborah and her husband are only a few years older than me, I somehow felt like they were adults and I was a kid, and they were going to figure it out. That somehow I didn't belong. Of course, it wasn't them, they are fantastic people, I just didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. It was in fact Deborah and Jeff who helped me start onto the path that led me to myself. Seeing them togtether, seeing them happy and always working together towards the same enjoyment ahd happiness in life. I knew it was what I was missing and what I wanted to find.

The next time Peppermint Mocha came out, I was newly seperated. I had just made the hardest decision of my life, and did the hardest thing I ever had to do. I was reeling, trying to figure out what next. How to find a job, what to do, what to do with Ali. I was living with Nana and searching for my next direction. My life was in turmoil, but I knew I had taken a step in the right direction. The next step was out there, I just had to find it.

When Peppermint Mocha was next available, so much had changed. I had a full time job teaching. I had just started teaching English at a juvenile justice facility. I was running a mile a minute, trying to learn on the go. I loved my job, but the stress of learning how to do it was intense! On top of that, I had just put Ali in daycare and was nervous about that.

The following Peppermint Mocha season, Will was in Afghanistan and Ali was settled in preschool. I was unhappy with the school she was in and was pulling her out of it and putting her in the one at our church. I had become more assertive, more confident in my job and who I was. I no longer felt like a kid pretending to be an adult, I was no longer afraid to ask for what I wanted or thought was right.

Now I am sipping Peppermint Mocha, so different from that scared person a few years ago. I know who I am. I know what I want. I am happy with my life. I am not afraid to demand that is right for me and for Alison. I love my church and am very active in it. I love my job and feel confident in what I am doing. Ali is in kindergarten and is a happy, smart, healthy soon-to-be-six year old.

My 2008 resolution: pretty much the same as 2007. Work out more, have fun more. New for 2008, get my finances in better shape. Save money, no more living paycheck to paycheck. Hopefully meet someone to share some time with.

Happy New Years!

Christmas update

We had a fantastic Christmas. Julie, Pete and Lily and Mia came out for the holiday. On Christmas Eve Alison was in the pagent at our church. She was an angel. Here is a picture:

After the pagent we had an open house. We had a great time, my cousins Alan and Kristina came which was fantastic, we haven't seen them in a while. Santa came that night, and brought not only presents for Ali, her daddy and I, but also for Lily and Mia and Julie and Pete. They all came over and we opened presents and ate yummy breads made by Nana.

Next was Chinese food at one with Papa. We had a great time, ate yummy food and saw lots of family. When we were done, I headed over to work to say Merry Christmas to my boys. My church sponsered them for Christmas, I set up a tree with their names and sizes and they all bought stuff. It was a huge success, although lots of work. The kids were thrilled with all of the fantastic stuff they got. One of the girls at the church who is 8 made cards for each of them, and I think they may have liked them the most of all!

After that we went to Nana's house to visit and relax. W plugged in Ali's digi-makover thing and found out that the adults had way more fun with it than the kids did. We made each other over again and again. To see my sister with an afro and purple eyes was fantastic.

Julie & her family went home the next day, Ali's daddy headed back that night and we have been on vacation since. It has been a fantastic vacation full of mostly relaxing and spending time together. Fantastic!

This and That

So much has happened, and I have been too busy to blog. Argh! My nieces Lily and Mia turned 1 on december 1st. We drive to NY for their party and had a blast. Below are some pictures of the princesses:

Princess Mia

Princess Lily:

Cakey Mia:

Not so cakey Lily:

Mommy and Daddy with the big girls:

Auntie Katie and Ali with the birthday girls:

What a fantastic year it has been.

100 things about Ali

I got this idea from my sister. She had seen the "100 Things" blog I did, and she did one about her girls, my amazing nieces Lily and Mia. You can check it out here: Lily & Mia 100 things. So I am stealing that idea. Here is 100 things about my amazing daughter Alison:

1. Her nickname is Ali

2. Her middle name is Donna, after my aunt

3. She shares her birthday with Elvis

4. She was very small at birth for a full term baby; 5lbs, 14 ounces, 18 inches

5. She was breast fed

6. She started walking just before she turned 1

7. She started walking the day we got her shoes

8. She started talking very young and has never stopped

9. She didn't crawl until she was 7 months old

10. She didn't get her first tooth until she was 10 months old

11. She didn't have much hair until she was over a year old

12. Alison is a perfectionist

13. She won't do anything until she knows she can do it right

14. That goes for vocabulary as well

15. Ali is a riot

16. She started saying "yankees suck" around 18 months old

17. She loves Big Papi

18. She tans incredibly well

19. Her hair lightens up in the summer

20. Ali is incredibly brave

21. Ali is a drama queen

22. Ali is a girlie-girl

23. Ali is a tomboy

24. think playing in dirt in a dress and make-up

25. Ali tries to sneak putting on make-up before school

26. She is kindergarten

27. Ali HATES mint

28. She loves strawberry milk

29. She plays with her ears when she is tires

30. She got her ears pierced for her 3rd birthday

31. She had been asking to get her ears pierced since she started talking

32. Ali loves science

33. Ali is showing strong early math skills

34. Ali will need a math tutor by third grade

35. Ali colors very well

36. Ali likes to make crafts

37. She is very creative

38. Ali likes raw vegetables

39. She loves peas in the pod off of the vine

40. She LOVES fruit

41. She would rather eat fruit than candy

42. She loves to be read to

43. She is close to reading herself now

44. She loves kindergarten

45. She loves High School Musical

46. She loves Hannah Montana

47. She loves the Naked Brothers Band

48. She used to say Pipa for Pizza

49. She said Pack kack for back pack

50. She called "the Hundred Acre Woods" "The Hungry Naked Woods"

51. She loves church

52. She asks fantastic questions about God

53. She once said (in the middle of Walmart) that "God and Jesus must have the best bike"

54. She used to use "God told me to" as an excuse for things

55. She was hospitalized once when she was dehydrated from a stomach bug

56. She knows a little bit of German

57. She learned more Spanish from Dora than German from me

58. She was born in Florida

59. Right now, "Anfony (Anthony) Caroline and Austin are, like, my BFFs"

60. Anthony is her "boyfriend"

61. Austin is his twin brother

62. Caroline was her first friend in kindergarten

63. They have the same Tinkerbell backpack

64. They look alike

65. They are adorable together

66. Ali is a Daisy

67. She LOVES her afterschool program

68. One of the staff members reminds her of her dad (he wears the same kind of pants)

69. He handles it very well considering he is like 22 and has Ali following him around

70. She loves to take pictures, usually with my camera

71. She is very caring

72. She is an absolute sweetheart

73. She can be a devil

74. Especially when she is tired

75. She thinks her uncle Pete is one of the coolest people in the whole world

76. She thinks she is my image consultant and tries to tell me what to wear

77. Her bottom 2 front teeth are starting to get loose

78. She loves to go to the Doctor

79. She loves police and waves at every police car she sees

80. Same with fire-fighters

81. She loves tattoos

82. She used to give herself sharpie tattoos

83. She is the coolest kid I have ever met

84. She likes the movie Tank Girl

85. Which she tricked her grandmother into letting her watch

86. She likes the Ramones

87. She gave Uncle Douglas the finger

88. She loves her cousins

89. She makes friends wherever she goes

90. She brings happiness to everone

91. She has allergies

92. She loves soup

93. She loves to swim

94. She loves the beach

95. She loves to swim

96. She has green eyes

97. She had roseolla when she was younger

98. She stepped on a fire ant nest when she was little and was stung on her feet and legs

99. She has 3 great-grand parents

100. Ali is amazing

100 things

I saw this on a blog when I was sick, and I thought it was neat. Here are 100 things about me.

1. I have crappy lungs
2. So I get bronchitis easily
3. I get hives sometimes
4. I have very straight hair
5. My hair is dark brown
6. My hair has been green
7. and blue
8. and purple
9. I have 6 piercings
10. I had a few more, but they closed
11. I have 5 tattoos
12. I may get more tattoos
13. I like to knit
14. I can sew
15. I can not crochet
16. I like crafts
17. I love photogtaphy
18. I can not draw
19. or paint
20. or sing
21. but I love to sing
22. I am tone deaf
23. I think best when I am walking
24. I like to bike ride
25. I like to rollerblade
26. I like to canoe
27. I have canoed the Saco twice
28. I lke to sail
29. I love to swim
30. I was the captain for the swim team my Sr Year of High School
31. I was in colorgruard in high school
32. I learned to fence in college
33. I was a Dj in college
34. I was in a sorority
25. I was a little sister for a fraternity
26. I usd to give blood all of the time
27. I have low Iron and have not been able to give in years
28. I have lived in 5 states
29. I have been in 4 countries
30. I can be messy
31. But I want to be neat
32. I have ADD
33. I am impulsive
34. I am creative
35. I take meds to help me focus
36. I am very clumsy
37. I have a cat
38. She doesn't like anyone but me
39. I like cheap towels
40. They absorb better
41. I like plants
42. I have a lot of plants in my house
43. I am allergic to beef
44. And pork
45. And lamb
46. and I don't like shellfish
47. But I love fish
48. I love to read
49. I get the local newspaper at home
50. I love to bake
51. I can cook too
52. I worked at the Middle East downstairs in Boston
53. I have been a waitress
54. I have been a Nurses Aide
55. I have worked in customer service
56. I have worked at a music store
57. I have worked at a bookstore
58. I was a lifeguard
59. I taught swim lessons
60. I worked at a gas station
61. I can do my own brakes
62. I like to get dirty
62. I like yoga
63. It has been years since I have been to a yoga class
64. I think my daughter is the coolest kid in the world
65. I love the movie Tank Girl
66. I love the movie Princess Bride
67. I love all kinds of music
68. I have seen the Mighty Mighty Bosstones more times than I can count
69. I was at Mike's last show with the Dropkick Murphys
70. I have a ton of allergies
71. I like brussel sprouts
72. I love baked potatos
73. I love cheese
74. I am a suprisingly poor speller for an English teacher
75. And I hate grammar
76. I love the Red Sox
77. I can't really trace my family history back, we are mutts
78. I have a cousin in Canada who traced one part of my family back to Germany
79. We used to have corned beef and cabbage for Sunday dinner, so I must be Irish
80. I don't like domestic beers
81. I have a very low tolerance for Alcohol
82. I like Guinness
83. I have a Guinness every St Patrick's day
84. I LOVE Halloween
85. I love shoveling
86. I like gardening
87. I like science, but only when I can do experiments
88. I am very bad at math
89. Math is my enemy
90. Gravity is my nemesis
91. I go to church
92. I like to dance
93. I like people
94. I tend to have a short temper
95. I took kickboxing before
96. I took dancing lessons
97. I love to tango
98. Cha cha was my second favorite
99. I like adventures
100. I love being a mom

Halloween

I am so far behind on blogging, I have had bronchitis for 6 weeks! I am getting better, but now I am bhind on EVERYTHING! The house is a mess, I have papers to grade and blogs to do. Argh! I will try to do an update blog sometime this weekend. However, here are the Halloween pictures!

Here is Ali the black cat with Auntie the witch:

And here I am, DJ AB, Kool Ade (so named by my boss)

My boys loved it. The taught me how to tie the bottom of my pants into my laces so my pants don't drag when I walk. Although you can't see it, I had a gold tooth. Plus all kinds of bling!

Sick

This cold is kicking my butt. It appears I have viral bronchitis, and am allergic to the virus as well. I was on steroids for the hives which worked short term, but te hives have returned. Oddly enough, I get them every morning around 7 am, they get progressively worse until about 9, then are gone by 10. Since the coughing was not getting better, I went back to the doctor and was put on antibiotics so I don't end up with pneumonia. The antibiotics have done nothing for me. I still have this awful cough, but I am a little better. I need to sleep. I slept as much as I could over the weekend and was feeling a little better. I am not that tired, but the more sleep I get the better I feel. I have been getting tired at school, the constant coughing just wipes me out. Unfortunately, everything else has been falling behind. The house is messy, I just finally cleaned my classroom yesterday and I have been behind on e-mails, blogs and grading. Hopefully I will feel better soon, then I can be back on top of everything.

Argh

This cold is really kicking my butt. My hives did return once, but then left for good. However, the cough is a whole different story. It has stuck with me. I think Sunday was the worst, I could not even speak a full sentence without breaking down in a coughing fit. I couldn't walk without getting winded and coughing. I woke up this morning feeling a little better, I could definately breathe better, actually take a whole breath. Unfortunately but the middle of the day, my ear and throat hurt. It is actually my left side, my whole ear/throat/neck hurts. It feels like I have a lump the size of a golf ball stuck in there hurting everything. Tylenol did not help. I took Sudafed and I am going to bed. If I don't feel better tomorrow I am going back to the doctor. Luckily we have a guest speaker in the afternoon so I can leave early to see the Dr and not mess up the classes.

Papa is doing well, he is hopefully heading to rehab this week. Once I get rid of this nastiness I can visit him every night. I am so looking forward to that!

The hives and the cold..

Are related!! I went to the doctor yesterday and found out that I have bronchitis, and it is viral. And, I am allergic to the virus, hence the hives. The doctor said my lungs sound awful, (I could have told her that, the crackling and wheezing are keeping me up at night) but since my o2 sats are fine there was no big concern for pneumoniua. Instead she put me on steroids for 5 days. I took one last night when I got them, then one this morning before I left. My hives were horrible for my looooong trip to worcester, but all of a sudden around 10:30 they went away. YA!!!!!!! no more itchy! Now I just have to kick this virus' butt. I have been using my inhaler lots and taking cough meds before bed.

I have to go back to the doctor and have my nose cauterized. I had it done about 11 years ago. They told me it only lasts for about 10 years, so it is definately time. Last fall I had a stretch where I was getting horrible nosebleeds daily, and they have started back up again. I had to pull over on the highway today on my way home because of one. It looked like I killed someone in the car, I had blood all over me and it was splashing on the seat. They get pretty hard core. Now I just have to convince my Dr to do it (many Drs are against it, think it is too barbaric).

Itch Itchy Itchy

Out damn hives! I am so itchy! I am okay as long as I am asleep, once I wake up and start moving, they get worse and worse. I am HOPING that my doctor will be in tomorrow. Of course, I am sure there isn't anything she can do. I will most likely be told to take benedryl. Such a help, maybe the hives go away, but I am too sleepy to do anything. I have a professional development day in Worcester on Tuesday, so this had better resolve itself! I am not sure I can handle 3 hours in the car and 7 hours of lectures this itchy. Plus of course the cough. Argh!!!!

This & That

I am itchy. Itchy, itchy, itchy. Why? Because I have hives. Why? Who knows. Once again I am blessed with an outbreak of hives for no known reason. I think that last time this happened was when we were living in Florida. Not that it matters, because I AM ITCHY!!!! I also have this wonderful cold Alison gave me. I feel fine except I have a cough. When I say cough, I mean, sounds like I am going to eject an lung, turning blue in the face, make you want to spray lysol at me cough. Not a constant cough, just randomly, and when I try to go to bed. Other than that I feel fine, except maybe a headache from coughing so much.

Thursday was the Haunted Happenings parade, Ali's first parade to march in! The schools all march, this year's theme was "The Wizard of Oz". I TRIED to talk her into being a flying monkey, but no. Then I tried to talk her into the witch of the east, with the tights and the shoes and a cardboard box as a house over her. No. So was she? Glinda. I objected on two grounds. One, if you read "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire than you know Glinda's a bitch. Stuck-up and mean bitch. Also, where is the creativity in Glinda? I, on the other hand, had to march with her, so was able to get away with wearing a costume of my own. I went as the yellow brick road. Unfortunately I had some wardrobe malfunctions as you will see below. The first picture is Ali and hwer BFF Caroline, as well as my sister who has no right to look that good 10 months after having twins. The second picture is me in my failed Yellow Brick Road Costume.


So yes, the yellow hairsrpay turned out green in my hair, and the yellow make-up turned out orangy. So, I looked more like an oompa-loompa.

One last tidbit. Went yard-saleing today and made the best find. I would like to say it was a great find becaue I went on e-bay and found out it was worth a ton of money, but it is just a great find because I love it (and it only cost a dollar). It is a music box. I love music boxes. I don't have many though. This is an old school one, a wooden box with the painting "Two Ballerinas" by Degas on the top. You wind it on the bottom, then open it up and it plays a song. I love the song too, but I am not sure of the name. The box is empty except for the musical instrument (a reuge) which is underneath a piece of plexiglass so you can see it. I heart it.

My Papa rocks

Papa is now off of the venilator, moving his left side (weak side), picking up his leg and crossing it, moving his arm, hand and fingers and talking!!! It is a little difficult to understand him, but WHO CARES??!!?? MY PAPA ROCKS! I know it is going to be a long and frusterating road for him, but I am SO THANKFUL for the fact that there is a road ahead of him. Tomorrow he should be out of the SICU and on to a regular floor, then we are hoping to get him transferred to my mom's hospital for rehab.

THANK YOU for all of your prayers, THEY HELPED!!!

Please Pray for Papa

Yesterday (Wednesday, October 4) around 7am, my Papa had a massive stroke. His wife heard him banging on the floor, he had to go to the bathroom. He told her to put him back in bed, which she refused. They took him to the local hospital where he seemed to improve. When I got there he was moving his right side well, speaking some and movingh is left leg and shoulder. The CAT scan showed nothing, they decided to send him to Beth Israel deaconess Hsopital in Boston. On the way in, he went downhill. My mom was the first one to get there, they had to intubate him because they were afraid he'd get pneumonia. Mom asked him if he wanted a tube to help him breath and he said yes, then she asked if he was going to behave and he said no. That's my papa. The finally found the stroke and my mom signed the paperwork for the surgery, Without the surgery he would regain nothing, and that would not make Papa happy. Julie and I got there with the twins shortly after mom signed the paperwork. My godfather (his mom is Papa's wife) and his wife, then finally a few hours later his wife, her daughter, my uncle, his wife, their daughter and her boyfriend. He was in surgery for a long time, they removed the clot. There was no bad bleeding after. His blood pressure went up, his heart rate down, they though he was bleeding, did another CAT scan which turned up nothing. We got to al go in and see him (2 at a time). Julie and I went in, told him we were there, we loved him and we wanted him to get better. He kept trying to get up and talk. Stubborn! I called this morning and he had an uneventful night. He is not moving his left side, but is moving his right side and following commands. Julie and Mom went to visit him this afternoon and he looked pretty good. He is still sedated. They are hoping to take the tube out either tonight or tomorrow and wake him up. This is something I wrote to put above his bed.


My name is Art

I was in the Navy
I rose quickly in rank
I didn't want to be chief
I kept doing fun (dumb) things
to get busted back down
I broke a plate glass window
at a Coca-Cola factory
In brazil
So I could have some coke
With my rum

I led a group of Sailors who were
literally
blind drunk
in Turkey
to the safety of the bus to base

I have four children
Allan and Donna
had muscular dystrophy
Allan died when he was 4
Donna when she was 18

Wendy is a nurse
Married to Doug
She has three children
Lisa, Julie and Katie

Keith is an electrician
married to Melisa
They have two children
Alan and Kristina

Joan is my wife
She has put up with me
for over 20 years
I love her

I have three step-children
I love as my own
I have known them most of their lives

Valerie works in an office
She has one son Evan

Bruce is married to Chris
they are moving to Virginia

Jackie is married to Joe
They have two children
Joe and Cindy

I have three great-grand children
Alison is 5
She lives in Salem
and just started Kindergarten
Her mom is Lisa

Lily and Mia are twins
they are 10 months old
They live in Bronx, NY
With their mom Julie and dad Peter
(who are Yankees fans)
(but we won't hold that against them)

I am a Free Mason
I have hundreds of brothers
don't try to stop them from visiting
They are loyal to me
as I am to them

I was a Shriner
I helped countless children
who needed our help
I donated blood to the Red Cross
for years
I have more gallon pins
than I can count

I am the man in that bed
I may look frail and weak
but I am healing

I am stubborn
I am tough
I don't give in

My family is part of me
they are stubborn and tough
They won't give up on me

You are my doctors and nurses
You will help me heal
Please don't give up on me.

Topsfield Fair

Another fantastic thing about living in New England in the fall is the Topsfield Fair. We went Tuesday. Julie drive out Sunday night so she could go and take the babies for their first fair. It was Ali, Julie, Lily and Mia, Mom, Doug, Katie and Nana. We had a fantastic time, I ate my annual amazing baked potato. I also had some Vege tempura, and frozen banana dipped in chocolate (shared with Ali), fried dough (shared with Ali) and a caramel apple.

We played games and went on rides, great time!

Katie, Ali and Julie on the tilt-A-Whirl

Lily and Mia nice and cozy in their stroller.

Ali gearing up to climb the rock wall.

Ali at the top of the Ferris Wheel.

The Fair lights at night

Apple picking

One thing I love about being in New England in the fall is apple picking. Last weekend we went out to Athol to see my friend Cheryl, her kids Taylor and Josh and her boyfriend Richard. We all went out and had a great time.

Here is Ali picking apples in the trees!

Here are Josh and Taylor. Taylor is taller than me and she is 10!

Here's Ali feeding the pony.

poetry

We are doing poetry in class again. That means I am writing poetry with my kids (I always try to do teh assignments with them), out theme is "Where I'm from" and we are taking a figurative view rather that literary. Here is my first:

Where I'm from...
I'm from catching polliwogs in the mud
and ruining rims across the street
hiding in sand traps, and taking golf balls
playing kickball in the summer's heat

Watching TV praying for a snow day
Penny candy from Bill's, in a small bag
Big bubbles in shop, gum mixed with saw dust
Girl Scouts after school, saluting the flag

Can I go to the pahk?
Ya, but don't go too fah!
And take your sistah too!
And Be careful for cahs!

New England boiled dinners with Dad's family
Getting cold cause my Mamie forgot her fake teeth
Coffee and omletes for breakfast at noon
Dad's broken leg from playing hide & seek

Comfort foods at Nana's - baked mac & cheese
Remember your manners – thank you and please
Swimming in the river, fishing off the dock
Getting stuck in the mud, losing shoes and socks

If you roll all this together
Add my friends and family
You'll see how I got where I am
What has made me be me

I am not completely pleased with it yet. I feel like it is still awkward in come places. Here is my college version:


Where I'm from (the college years)

From “this town smells like crap”
to a breeze that smells of cookies
tornado alarm tests
and negative 90 degrees

Printing papers in Kemper
Religon in Todd Wehr
Lit and writing in West
Lower campus at the rear

In the English Department
Professor Woods was the best
Doctor Martz passed away
He is now with Mae West

From Johnson and TriDorms
(Known as the Virgin Vault)
Scott Hall, the Quads and Merriman
Damages?? not our fault!

There was AchiO, ADPi
and my girls in PiDeltaXi
SigmaChi, ThetaChi and Merrimen
Tau, Phi Delts and LDA, (also me)

From 'RPN, to athletics,
There was a million groups for you
Help others, build houses, have fun
Oh, and those academics too!

I am now an “old alumni”
And the campus is not the same
Some buildings gone, some Greek names changed
and the drinking policy lame

The Ripon of my college days
Is still with me in a way,
the lessons learned, the people there
made me who I am today.

Clearly you have to have gone to Ripon to know exactly what I am talking about, but I am sure if you went to college, especially a small one, a lot rings clear.

Getting Old

I have finally faced the fact that I am getting "old." I remember going out to look for a dress for a formal and trying to find something that showed as much skin as possible while still looking nice. Julie's best friend is getting married Saturday, so I had to go out and get a dress to wear. I found myself out looking for a dress that showd as little skin as possible while still looking nice. That's it. I'm old.

I did find a dress, I really do love it. It is from Jump Apparel, but they don't have "my dress" on theie web site. I am sure after the wedding I will have plenty of pictures.

PDD

I had my first Professional Development Day of the year yesterday. They are in Worcester, which means I have to get up early and leave early to get there on time. That means I had to get Ali up early. She is so my girl!

Alarm going off in Ali's room. I walk in, run her back, say
"Good morning! Are you going to ignore your alarm, silly?"
Ali turn around, her hair a big messy halo around her and says;
"What do you FINK???? IT IS STILL NIGHT TIME!!!!!!"
I say "no honey, remember, I have that meeting today, so we have to get up early, It is morning."
She replies "When the sun comes through my blinds, then it is morning" and pulls her blanket over her head.

Wow, those were my sentiments exactly!

My nerd score

I had to. This was fun.

It's Friday!

Wow! What a week! My first full week in my classroom, Yeah! It is so nice to not only be back in a classroom, but to be in MY classroom. The one I set up in late June. I was nervous about the size, it is small, but now I love it. I even have some plants and a little Beta fish tank with two Beta in it (named Montegue and Capulet, I think). I have my normal dry erase board on one wall that I can put up the week's plan, and then the big huge one I made (with an old chalkboard and dry erase paint) on the front wall to use during class. I have my awesome Einstein picture up (click here to see it), my signed R. Lee Ermey picture with a fabulous quote I added to it, all of my posters and quotes and my podium. It is great. Back in MY element.

Alison is loving Kindergarten. She has made some great friends, Caroline, Nailani and Jaden. She was VERY disappointed at gym, all they did was go over the rules "SEVEN times" *add eye roll here* I promised it would get better once they know all of the rules. So far, according to her, in Kindergarten she has learned "To use grown-up words, like 'Can I use the bathroom' instead of 'I have to go potty' and how to burp with our mouths shut." Starting Monday she is going to an afterschool program on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the school. Caroline is in the same program, so I am confident it will work out great. As an added bonus, the program runs until 6:00 pm, so I won't be in a rush getting out of work to get her.

The best quote of the week;
Me - "What did you do in school today?"
Ali - "Gus threw-up. It was milk. It got all over him and he had to go home. It was AWESOME!!"

Ah yes, my baby is in kindergarten!

Who da man???

I da man!!!
Why? Because I did my brakes. See my dirty hands? See my big smile? It was fun. I love hands-on work. Not to mention the fortune I saved doing them myself!
Here I am hard at work!

Here I am cleaning the brakes. I love that brake clean! It smells nice and helps me feel happy. All inappropriate high jokes aside, I did love doing them.
And look at those brake pads, not a moment too soon! The new ones are in the front, the old ones in the back.

I da man!

First Day

Today was Ali's first day of Kindergarten! I can not believe my baby is in school! Here are some pictures from this morning. We were lucky enough to step out of the door and see the Barnes'. Melissa Barnes is the lady who has the home day care that Ali goes to. Her son Christopher was starting today too. She was out of town, but her husband Jason was walkin Christopher, older sister Laura (3rd grade) and friend Sophie. Here is Ali chasing Christopher next to the school.
Here is Alison in the school yard in her first day outfit.
And lastly here is Ali next to new friend Caroline in the classroom. (Caroline has the same Tinkerbell backpack as Ali)
I worked half a day so I could pick her up after school. She had a "good" day. She said Kindergarten is harder than she thought, she has to raise her hand to go to the bathroom. Her teacher just got the job, so the classroom is not set up yet, hopefuly it will be ready soon!

Little Piece of heaven

We were introduced to a little slice of heaven this summer. I was looking for somewhere to take Ali for a beach day. She gave me directions to this wonderful place. I am not saying gthe name of the beach, nor the city it is in because it is a neighborhood beach, and I like it that way!! Here is Ali in the water.
Here is Ali eating a popsicle from the Ice Cream truck.
Here is Ali at her little tideal wall (not very effective!!)
We have been there a few times, I would go there every weekend if possible! I love it there! There is amazing sea glass and shells, hopefully soon I can post some pictures of some kind of neat craft made from the glass and shells!

Strange

My ex-husband has a girlfriend. Although he will deny it, I can tell. For one, he has not called Ali on the weekend for quite a while. He has always called her nightly, annoyingly nightly. Even when she does not want to talk, he still calls and calls. Suddenly he stops calling on the weekends. Also, as my sister has pointed out, if you read his blog (click here to see it) his entries all talk about "we". "We" did this and "we" did that. He has suddenly been pushing through our divorce, bugging me about something that until recently was somthing that was not his radar. He was still waiting for me to go back to him. It has been bothering me, him having a girlfriend, and I have been trying to figure out why. It is certainly not because I want to be back with him. Oh goodness no. I think it is because I know the him she is getting right now. The Will I fell in love with. The fun guy who goes places, takes you on trips, is always trying to impress you. He is charming and funny and great to be around. I want to call this woman and warn her "It is all a ruse, he will change!! He will get mean and nasty and sick of you", but then I realize that may not be the case. I would imagine that he has changed since I last spent much time with him. He claims that he has changed, but I don't know for sure.

Although that is part of it, I think there is more. I think it is because he CAN date. He can go out whenever he wants. He can meet someone and not have to worry about what kind of person they are, are they safe to one day maybe have around our child. He does not even have to ever mention that he has a child. If he does, he will give the "poor me" story. I got one of his poor me story. The one I got was about his horrible ex-girlfriend who treated him so awful. He is going to tell her all about the wicked ex-wife who took his darling girl, the light of his life, and left. For me, being a single mom it like carying around a huge banner that says "don't date me, I have baggage" If I were to actually to met someone who is not terrified that I have a child, can I go out? Can I get a sitter, and can I afford a sitter? Am I going to be taking time from my daughter? I feel bad enough that we only spend nights and weekends together as it is, can I take more time from her to date and actually not feel guilty? It really does make me angry that he has absolutely no responsibility for our child. Yes, he does pay support for her, although not anywhere near what he can or should be paying. But that is it. He sees her a few times a year, and even then he stays with us, uses my car, and I am always around.

Although I am complaining about this, when it comes right down to it, I have Alison. I would never trade that for anything else in the whole world. I love my baby, I love being her mom. She is the coolest kid in the whole world. He is amazing, and I can happliy live without ever dating again if it means that she grows up healthy and happy. It is easy to complain when I see him dating and lying to us about it all that is going on ("I just want the divorce for closure", "I should start staying in a hotel when I come to visit, I don't want to bother you guys"), but I have an amazing child and the wonderful blessing to be with her every day. That is better than anything else in the world.

Our Summer

Do you like my mower? Our lawn mower broke, and I told my step-father I would like to get one of the eco-friendly ones that run on good old human power. He said "I think we have one in the cellar." Sure enough we did! It is the mower that was here when we moved into the apartment when I was three. The building has been in my family for a long time, my grandmother grew up in the apartment I now live in. This is the mower my great-grandfather used to mow this lawn. And what would you know, it still works fine! The blades are still sharp after 20 somthing years in the cellar. Here is an after picture, although it is more of a pool picture!


Although you probably can't see it, behind the ladder in the corner of the yard is a small fenced off area. Last year it was where I planted the veggies, the groundhog got in and ate them. This year it has a corn stalk Ali started at her babysitter's house during the school year. I think it is Indian Corn.

Here is my back porch garden. In order to keep the groundhog away from my veggies, they are container bound on my porch. On the right is a tomato plant, on the left front is a strawberry plant, then behind it another tomato. At the back you can kind of make out the wire that is attached to a container which has peas in it. YUMMY!



And lastly, my herbs. They are in buckets hanging over the porch. The closest bucket is basil, then Dill, Mint (not quite up yet) and lastly Chamomile.


Someday I hope to have my own house with a nice yard, with a corner fenced off for our yummy garden. I can grow all kinds of veggies in it. Someday.

normal Saturday

Today we had a pretty normal Saturday, except we had Will visiting. We were waiting for the call from Doug that it was Yard Sale time, but that call never came. He went without us. We headed out around 10:00 (late for a Saturday) and headed for a Yard Sale. Of course, Will had decided he wanted to go out for breakfast and was hungry, so he was pretty much like a 2 year old, so we quickly checked out one yard sale, then headed out for breakfast. After breakfast at the diner we went to two yard sales (a record low) but fortunately one had a ton of good books, so I did make out well. After the yard sales we ran some errands, I paid for the first two weeks of camp for Ali and we showed Will around the Beverly YMCA. We came home for a nap around 2:30 and woke around 5:00 (Ali and I are good nappers.) Will wanted to go out for dinner, and wanted to go to Woodmans in Essex, but when we got there, the line was down the street. We decided to head to Gloucester and go to Amelia's, which has the best tarter sauce in the world. We ate out on the porch, and then headed to Good Harbor Beach across the street for "a walk." Good thing I though to bring a towel.
Here is Ali playing in the sand. Good Ali!

Uh-oh! What is this? "Can I get my feet wet?" turned into "I LOVE THE WATER!!!" And notice the devilish look on her face
Now we have given up all notions of keeping dry. Here is Ali running in the water, completely drenched.
But, best of all, look at this fabulous picture. Ali found a Hermit Crab. I love the beach!!

After the beach we stopped for Ice Cream at Cherry Hill (Ali got M&M, I got 5 Star General (blue mint with oreos and white chocolate chunks) and Will got cake batter). Will has a cab coming at 3:45 to take him to the airport for his 6 am flight. The airport is about 30 minutes away making bad time. By the time we get up for church, he will already be in the air on his way home.

Ruggles Mine

We had a blast at Ruggles Mine today!!! It was a long drive (about 2.5 hours) but mostly through beautiful NH. It was a bit expensive ($20.00 per adult and $10.00 per child) and we rented two rock hammers ($3.00 each, plus $10.00 deposit per), but it was so much fun! It is mostly an open pit mine, so you get to walk around in these huge open pits and look at the ground, the walls and everthing around. There were a lot of small caves to go in and explore, even one with water in it! Here are some pictures of the site.

This is what you see as you first walk down into the pits.

Here is a better picture with some people, it helps show the scale of it! You can make out Ali's head on the bottom of the picture, bounding ahead anxious to start looking for crystals!

Here is one of the underground ponds. Very pretty!

Here is my bounty, all washed and drying on a paper towel. --->


Here is one of my favorite finds, next to a dime so you can see the size. It is all mixy with quartz in it. I heart it.

Here is another favorite. I love the black vein going through it, although I have no idea what it is.

Alison was the mica queen. She found some big honkin pieces of it!

And lastly, some pieces of rock that I broke out of the wall of the cave with a rock hammer. I can not tell you how good it feels to bang and bang on a wall with a metal hammer and break pieces off. I should be a form of relaxation. It makes sparks too. How much cooler can you get?