Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A holiday (well...not even a real holiday) that I have avoided for years.

Any day, holiday or not, with my *name AND a word pronounced *'bra' (braugh) is not even a bit welcome. Even after years of being a grown up, Erin-Go-Braugh, and Erin-Go-Braless are phrases I hate.

This year, however, thanks to numerous crafty blogs, the girls and I spit out years of repressed St. Patty's Day goodies.
Shamrock Rice Krispie treats, rainbow cupcakes and rainbow jello. My house looked a bit like Happy Gay Pride Day!
And...if St. Patrick can manage to drive all the snakes out of Ireland, well I guess I can manage to get my peas planted on time!

With the help of my own little Leprechaun!

The view from here.

I made great time on the trip to pick Teddy up from school last week.

Such great time that I had enough to spare to visit one of my favorite places on earth; Assateague Island.

Driving up the Verzanno bridge is a little daunting.

You feel like you could be on a road just destined to plunge you into the great unknown.

Each time I crest the bridge it never fails to take my breath away.

The bay, the ocean the marshes,and untouched forever vegetation.

Furry winter coated ponies waited this time on the opposite side of the bridge.

Escaping the wind no doubt, but one can always imagine they were there as greeters.

For the past few days my view on everyday things has been altered.

Walking up to the beach was supposed to be the mind eraser that I needed, but only served to act as a reminder.

It was hard getting up to the beach. Hard walking in the sand (especially with shoes on!), and I would like to fool myself into thinking that a speedy retreat to the car was from cold, and chilly ocean wind.

It won't always be cold. it won't always be windy. It won't always be winter. But without a knee replacement, sooner rather than later, it *will always hurt to get there.

It should make me feel a bit better that the doc was just as surprised as I was to have the xrays show significant arthritic damage in both my knees. It should, but it doesn't.

Do not pass go, do not get a brace, put the ice away, and thank the genetic factors that not only gave me a fat ass, but a "bad set of knees" as well.

So I will start my 40's with a new "Lieutenant Dan" knee. And a morphine pump. Hoping that I will soon be back to running my ass of chasing after these kids of mine :)

I am thankful that what ails me *CAN be fixed. So thankful. I just need a few minutes to have a bit of a temper tantrum. Without any kicking, of course.

Back from saving the world....

....and other slight exaggerations. I wish I could say I have been doing something noble and admirable. Perhaps bringing water to villages in africa, or building homes for those who have none. Alas, I am just a bad blogger.

We made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. Leaving time for the fun things, trying not to get bogged down by the mundane. Pared our gift list way back (a perk of unemployment), enjoyed the small things, and really, really, really looked forward to a new year!

Managed to find a home for one of our foster kittens, and accidently had to keep two of them. One planned, one not so much, but both well loved, and well spoiled. Very spoiled, actually.

Janey is working on setting a world record for how many teeth she can eject from her mouth. At not even six and a half she is -->thisclose<-- to catching up with Julian.

Teddy turned 19. Several times it seems, as his birthday parties seemed quite numerous this year. His gift is worthy of a whole 'nother blog post. But at least it is not a rattlesnake.

So. I guess I am back. :)

Xoxo

Girly Songs

I made a huge crock pot full of chicken and dumpling today. A crazy night scheduled where, once again, everything falls in the same time frame in opposite ends of the world. The whole house smells like home. It is very strange that the weather is warm and muggy. Even stranger that I crave things like chicken and dumplings and beef stew on days like this!

Janey stomping through the house, sighing loudly like they poor martyred victim she is. There.Is.Nothing.To.Eat.In.This.House! ::stomp:: I.Am.Starving. ::sigh:: To.Death. ::stomp:: The next few sighs are mine. As I list the things available to alleviate her imminent starvation she rejects each one choosing instead to go up to bed and cry herself to sleep.

I have a new phrase for the girly-angst-drama. It is called "writing a song". 'Woe-is-me' lyrics, and 'my-life-sucks' rhymes. By the way, there is *plenty to eat in this house!

Silver

it came as a surprise

that the silver lining was actually

red and green

Birthday Girl

The birthday girl turned six this month. She acts more like 16, though. She is sassy, and smart. And too cute for her own damn good!

She has been anticipating her birthday since the day after her last one!

By some stroke of luck, the kids had off school on her actual birthday. Janey wanted a Nature Party, and planned it herself.

The kids painted birdhouses,

made their own trail mix,

and had a choice between 'dirt' or 'sand' cakes.

Forget luck, the planets must have been aligned, because with a bunch of kids, all ages, there was no fighting.
Everyone got along, and had a great time.


Janey is already planning next years' party!

Holy crap. It is August. I'm not quite sure how it got here so fast. I feel like we have done nothing this summer, but in actuality we have. Thankfully I have photographic evidence for when my kids start complaining that they are "soooo bored, and we never do anything fun". Not that my sweet kids would ever whine or complain. Nope, never. They need to be thankful that we have done anything. The weather has been atrocious. Hot, hot, hot, and humid. My new found ability to sweat profusely (thank you middle age) has become quite the life of the party. A dishcloth is the latest fashion accessory for the girls as they play. All the better to wipe the sweat from your eyes!

The girls and I did enjoy an escape to the beach. It was really hard to come back! Actually, we stayed for 2 extra days (thank you MeMom).

Our cousins came in from Washington State, and the kids picked up like they had seen each other yesterday.

Janey, the non swimmer, proved how fearless she is when we all went to the lake.

We even corralled the big boys to come to the zoo with us.

A miracle in and of itself! Going to the zoo on one of the hottest days of the year is great! The crowds are way down. See my attempt at finding the silver lining?

You know it is hot, when even the African animals look like they are going to pass out.

A few more weeks of summer vacation left, and I am sure we can try to pack in some fun. Unless it stays this hot. In which case the girls and I will spend some bonding time in the a/c with our new guilty pleasure: Wife Swap.