| Thursday, May 06th 2004 |
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| Not sure how much time I have left... | 8:48 PM |
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SO, in case I'm locked out at midnight, here is the new home for Classic Adventures. here is the new home for Classic Adventures.
I'll blog more tonight, but whether here or there, I'm not sure. :-(
Dy
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| | Plenty of tears today | 1:24 AM |
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After a trip to the aquarium, an hour roaming the Inner Harbor, and a ride on the paddle boats, we took K to the airport this afternoon. The boys both cried as he walked away. They begged to know when they would see him again. There's just something about family. John was sound asleep before we drove off airport property. James actually *gasp* slept part of the drive home, as well. They needed the rest. K called- he is home safe and sound, and I feel better now, knowing he isn't stuck in an airport somewhere.
The rest of the week will most likely be spent gazing at (and possibly picking at) my navel. I've read two chapters this week in each of the books I've got going, and I couldn't tell you a thing. At this point, Miss Brooke discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls somewhere outside of the dollhouse shortly after somebody killed Homer and accused him of being a racist, sexist Jewish sect... hmmm, I'm beginning to understand what Pooh feels like most of the time. So, a little gazing, a little picking- clear out the cobwebs and get everything put back on straight, and next week might be a little more interesting for you... then again, maybe not. I suppose that all depends on what you find of interest here.
Today's political statement: Zorak switched us to Hunt's ketchup. *grin* (And no, it has nothing to do w/ the email that's been circulating. It's just a GP capitalist move on our part.)
I'll end with a few new pics of the kidlets. Have a good night!
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| | Wednesday, May 05th 2004 |
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| Calling it an early night. | 12:28 AM |
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Yeah, yeah, it's after midnight. That's still early. I was savoring my quiet time, and had a feeling BabyZilla would wake early (he did), so I'm up. Let's see,
Emailed Rainbow Resources about my order. They told me it had shipped on the 28th of April (do they normally not let people know when orders ship?) and gave me the tracking number. Yippee! I tracked it. Yikes! It's heading for Arizona. Somebody goofed and failed to enter our new address into their system. So they sent it to the address they had a year ago.
The funny thing was that when I emailed them to let them know we're in Maryland, we received a somewhat harried-sounding phone call from a rep telling us that they've shipped it to- and I'm just not going to believe this- someone with the SAME EXACT NAME as mine- in Arizona! Bwaahaahaaaaaa! Now, not only is the spelling of our last name unusual, but the spelling of my first name is also very unusual. We laughed pretty hard about that, then decided to give them a call and let them off the hook.
For the record, they were very nice, are shipping my order here tomorrow, and took care of the wayward package to AZ. (It helped that we know the people now living in our old place.) The rep was helpful and apologetic, and very kind. We explained that we really do understand- weird things happen- and we see the humor in it. Goofs happen. The key is how they are handled when they arise. So far, we're pretty pleased with Rainbow Resource.
K goes home tomorrow and while we didn't get to do a few of the things we'd hoped to do with him, we did quite a bit and kept busy. The weather simply didn't cooperate much at all for some of it (hiking, fishing, beach days). All-in-all, though, we hope he had a nice time. I know that we move at a much different pace with little guys than a teen tends to move, but it did seem to mesh out ok. It was good to see him.
Rabid Reproducers- I have been rolling on the floor laughing at this term all day! Thanks, James- it's good to know you're still alive and out there, helping to keep the peace. Not preggers again. Well, not yet. ;-) OK, not planning to, either, but have learned not to say we "aren't going to be," either! Thanks for the sweet words about the boys. I'll email you soon!
Well, it's time to hit the hay. Six o'clock will come mighty early if I don't get a wee bit o' rest! Talk to you all soon!
Dy
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| | Tuesday, May 04th 2004 |
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| About Zorak, the Boys, and Blogs | 12:16 AM |
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Zorak is my beloved hubby. My long-time readers know that his name is actually Charles. Not Chuck, not Charlie- Charles. It fits him well, which is funny because he's a very down-to-earth, mellow, humble, soft-spoken guy. Not at all as pretentious as "Charles" can sound. Here, however, he is "Zorak". I often get emails asking, "WHY would you call him Zorak?" and a few have thought he was perhaps of some obscure European descent. But no, such is not the case. He is, fortunately for me, of a very obscure sense of humor. Space Ghost fans recognize the name immediately. Space Ghost fans who also know hubby in real life find the irony tremendously funny. So, to update new readers, here is a picture of Zorak, my hubby's evil alter ego. (It's the picture on the bottom right hand side of the page.) Why do I call him Zorak? Because he said I can.
AND, this month is Zorak's birthday! So what do you give the evil nemesis of Space Ghost? A new keyboard? Cheesy theme music all his own? A 1951 Woody? Well, since the evil overlord also happens to be a not-so-evil Daddy and wonderfully-amazing Hubby, we were thinking of making a "Why we love you" frame for a photo of his choice, the edges of which will be filled in with phrases denoting all the wonderful, incredible, breathtaking, and absolutely ordinary-but-much-appreciated reasons we love Daddy. I'm already listing three things daily that I appreciate about him (part of a project with a friend), so it will be easy to ask the boys each morning what they love and appreciate about Daddy. Then we'll make the frame using all our reasons.
The recorder is proving to be a wonderful introduction to basic music theory and the thrill of achievement. We have only done two actual lessons, as it's difficult to practice in the mornings while our company is sleeping, and we just don't do lessons after lunch. So, more regular instruction will begin the end of the week. In the interim, however, the boys' toy recorder (that they've had for years and never touched) has become quite a coveted commodity. Hee, hee. James has read ahead in the instructional booklet and practices his finger holds on his own. He was very proud this evening when he came flying into the bathroom (no, there is nowhere to hide in our home) to show me that he can correctly make B and A on his recorder, as well as quarter rests and half rests. Fun stuff, lemme tell ya.
Rainbow Resource has not yet shipped my order. Gotta call them in the morning. I wanted it yesterday! Wahhhhh! (I'll be nice, though- if I'm not, they may hold it hostage for an untold amount of time!)
The Owie Gathering- James taught me about this ritual this evening. According to James, "The Owie Gathering" (also known as "The Gathering"- which sounds a bit less warm and fuzzy than I'd care for...) occurs when one of us gets hurt. We all gather around that person to show him how much he's loved and cared for and that he isn't alone. (OK, so that is definitely warm and fuzzy!) Too bad I learned about it after Jacob was t-boned in the head while crossing the living room raceway this evening....
Jacob, our resident quadruped, is experiencing a growth spurt and teething pains. I am suffering and dehydrated right along with him. *sigh* This time goes so quickly and it will not be long before he is too busy running after his brothers to bother sitting with me to nurse. I can say, however, that I am eternally grateful that these spurts and tooth issues last an even shorter time. He's making more noises- variations on initial sounds and new sounds, playing with volume and depth. He reaches up and hugs me when I lift him from his bed. He gives kisses when I ask for them, and sometimes when I don't. He knows us and love us. This is the good stuff.
John has abandoned his rifles and pistols for the time being. He is currently snuggled in bed clutching his large plastic space shuttle (Endeavor) from the Air & Space Museum. They're inseparable. It also accompanied him to the bath last night. I'm gathering that at one point either the thing tried to escape or gravity shifted randomly- not sure what happened, but he ended up falling on it, cutting his nose, cheek and eyelid. Ouch. Didn't phase him, though, and we've spent the day doing countdowns and talking like astronauts.
Scattered is perhaps the best way to express the past week. I'm not on my game mentally and have been feeling a little under the weather. Today I whipped the house back into shape, which helped. It's funny to say that I need, yea, even crave routine, but it's true. Routines make such a difference in a family. We all know what to expect. We all know our parts. We know when there is a deviation and what caused it. It's easier to pitch in when we each know what needs to be done. We're not perfect, certainly, but we're a lot more "ok" with that when we have our routines!
Moving the Blog- Perhaps it's petty, but I have to say that I just can't get over the way Upsaid treated its standard users a little while back. I think it was horrible and unfair to lock them out of their blogs w/o warning, w/o the option to save their blogs before the switch. I don't want to renew my business with a company that makes sweeping changes like that without a heads up. (And it's not that I begrudge them the need to make a buck. Capitalism is the best way to ensure entrepreneurial fortitude, in my not-so-humble opinion. Go for it. Just beware your tactics in making that dollar, because the ethics of a business go a long way toward attracting or repelling consumers.) Upsaid pretty well alienated me from wanting to renew. The server failures and poor customer service weren't deal-breakers, but the ethics of how they handled the standard vs. premium issue certainly was.
So lifewithchrist'ers, talk to me about file hosting, monthly charges, and language rules. As y'all know, I can be a bit grizzled from time to time, and would feel very bad about moving over there, only to end up being labled "The Iffy One"... or worse yet, banned. So, fill me in. Be honest.
And blogspot users- what do you do for file hosting? Walagata? Something else? How do you like it? How about comments? Is Haloscan pretty reliable? I know Kolbi the Liberal Pansy lost her commenting ability and suddenly she got sucked into the abyss and we seldom hear from her anymore. I miss her comments, and I don't want to end up falling into the abyss myself out of frustration or a lack of commenting ability. Or file sharing... So, it's crunch time. Sound off! :-)
That's it for tonight.
Dy
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| | Monday, May 03rd 2004 |
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| More thoughts... | 3:23 AM |
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And then to bed.
Zorak and I sat on the front porch, drinking our coffee and enjoying the cool of the evening (night? something like that). We reaffirmed that yes, we are still one another's favorite spouses. We just don't "do" urban very well. It makes us cranky. We feel "stuck" there and as though we are clawing to get out. We do need to work on that, but wouldn't trade one another for the world. On thinking about my previous post, I thought it probably sounded growly toward Zorak. I didn't intend it to be. He's wonderful. He's my gift from God, and it's a true miracle that he tolerates my only-child-overly-bossy-high-strung tendencies as well as he does. Zorak rocks.
Also, Steph found a great game over at Nation States where you can set up your own country and run it into the ground if you want. Since I know y'all are probably as eager to avoid sleep as I am, I thought I'd share the link with you. I am The Armed Republic of Post Modern Greeks. Haven't chosen a region to join yet, and have only had one issue to decide upon (legislation currently pending). I'm thinking of going with an extremely hard-core isolationist philosophy...
Jacob now reaches up for me when I lift him from bed. He hugs me tightly and nestled his face into my neck. I melt. Wow.
James is struggling right now with his place in the world, the family, the pecking order. He asks questions I cannot answer. He's so sensitive and loving. He is headstrong and insistent, yet easily hurt and often left feeling alone and misunderstood. He's amazing. I hope I can be the mother he needs.
John is really tired. Lots of activity the past two weeks and a schedule he isn't used to. He's so sweet and snuggly, like Marmaduke. Now if we can get him back on schedule... we'll be set.
Dy
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| | Smidgets and Such | 12:12 AM |
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Ahhh, it is raining a fast, energetic rain. The air is cool now, and it feels like satin flowing through the room. *sigh* It's good to be home.
We had a good trip overall. I think. Well, perhpas. Zorak and I truly do not travel well together, and so this was, erm, interesting. We need to discover a new method for travel in the future. Something that doesn't require heavy sedation (which is all I can come up with at the moment...)
We took in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. That's a truly amazing structure, jam-packed with truly phenomenal history. The boys (all of them) had a splendid time exploring, reading, touching, playing. Wow, oh wow, it's heaven for some! I do feel a bit heretical to say that I while I did enjoy the museum, I would be perfectly happy never to return. (Shyah, like that's going to happen with three boys and an engineer hubby! HA! FUNNEEEEEE!)
We lunched at the Tax-A-Lot buffet (aka- "food court"). There's just nothing quite like spending 10 bucks a head to eat McDonald's burgers in a hot sun room.
We trekked three flights of stairs down to the bathroom, only to find, at the very back of the restroom, a small lazer-printed sign informing us that the baby changing stations are "conveniently" located on the main level in the museum. (Hmmm, mightn't you have mentioned that, oh, say, THREE FLOORS ago- next to the "restrooms" sign, perhaps? ARGH!)
Oh, and did you know that if you approach a DC policeman and tell him that you cannot find your car because you're a dorky tourist and are completely turned around, he will reassure you by opening his eyes VERY widely and shouting, "Holy Jesus and Mary, you're KIDDING!?" Comforting, isn't it? (But he did take the time to help me give it a good guestimate on where to look next, and I appreciated that. Even found the Suburban eventually.)
Our favorite part of the day (OK, "my" favorite part of the day) was laying our picnic blanket out on the mall lawn and enjoying the canopy of green, the gentle breezes, and the feel of a lazy afternoon together. James chased squirrels until he realized he just could not catch one. John played with his model space shuttle and tried to share his joy with passers-by*. We brought bubbles. They were blown. We brought a kite. It was flown. We even put our camera to use! I think we were on the lawn for two hours. What a wonderful way to end the day.
Hopefully, we have the glitches of travel to "the big city" worked out now, and will not have to traumatize further visitors with our... um... process. Poor K. I don't think he ever wants to have children OR get married after that trip! *cringe* Oops.
*Passers-by: prime examples of why we aren't enamoured with the "urban culture", regardless of how civilized it fancies itself. These are people who heard him, yet completely ignored him, other than a sideways glance at him in passing, but with no other recognition at all. No time or inclination for a smile, a nod, anything at all. That kind of irked me, really- that is what I associate with urban dwellers- people who haven't the decency even to say something nice to a child in passing. Urk.*
Ah, and the question of the day: Upsaid has notified me that I have six days remaining on my premium account. To renew or not to renew? That is the question. Whether 'tis smarter to suffer the outages and file corruptions of outrageous servers... or to bail and move my blog elsewhere. Thoughts?
Good night, my friends. Sleep well!
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| | Sunday, May 02nd 2004 |
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| Hi Y'all! | 9:20 AM |
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ARGH!!!
OK, nevermind. We are traveling and I thought I would post the fun stuff we're up to.
I have now inadvertently deleted my entry TWICE (ironically, through no fault of Upsaid, even) and have come to the conclusion that I'm hatin' Netscape.
Oh well, you will have to wait to hear the further adventures of Zorak the Mighty and his band of marauding smidgets!
;-) See you later.
DY
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