Love the thunder

Listening to the thunderstorm rolling in on a Saturday afternoon is one of my favorite things to do on a day off.

Earlier I went to a workshop at church to take part in being a teacher for our Religious exploration program for the young 'Spirit Play' class. I hope I have what it takes, but I am willing to give it a try.

Jamie will be in the classroom I teach. We will see how that goes. The teacher from last year has had some issues with Jamie and he spelled some of them out today during the workshop.

Yes he pointedly brought up two occasions where Jamie hasn't gone along with the group.

He has done this before most recently at a church pool party where he shouted at me about Jamie climbing 'UP' the waterslide. And his child tried it and got hurt.

Yup, my child is challenging. She is very strong willed and wants to do what she wants to do.

His complaints this time were that Jamie won't always sit in the circle during Circle Time, (She prefers to sit in a bean bag chair instead of with the group.

And Jamie wears jewelry or clothes (like High Heels or a tiara) that are a distraction.

I got a little defensive. I really don't like being told my child isn't a good girl. I really felt like he was basically telling me he didn't like her.

And maybe he doesn't. That is part of life I guess. Not everyone is goiing to like my child or me for that matter.

So now I am sitting listening to the thunder.

Summer trip

Wow the summer is almost gone and so is our vacation. I know they say not to post that you are on vacation, so as not to let the friends of friends know your house is unattended but we have someone staying there.

And I let it out on FB already.

We have been up to Michigan to stay for a full week where I visited cousins, stepsisters and nieces/nephews and uncles and my Dad. We stayed with Dad the whole time, it was hard for him, he is 80 and not used to his routine being upset. Not that he changed his routine all that much but the rugs got out of place a bit (After I cleaned all the floors), lights were left on, his bathroom was used by a five year old who left the fan on and the door ajar, etc etc.

We visited my Cousin Kris who is my best friend/cousin. She is the one I must never miss seeing while up there, and we never do miss it. She lives across the street from the lake but we didn't make it out to the lake any of the days we were there. We mainly visited and taught them 'the game' (Settlers of Catan which I am addicted to and am trying to pass my addiction on to as many loved ones as possible)

I also went to a small family gathering and saw cousins and children of cousins and grandchildren of cousins that I barely know anymore. But it was great...everyone we visited had a bit of a rural flavor to their home.

We are now in North Carolina after a 14.5 hour trip that should have taken 11.5 hours, staying at my brother in law Bruce's. Bruce lives on a large lot (over an acre) and is so far from town that my cell doesn't work out here. Kind of nice, no phone but internet.

Jamie is now eagerly awaiting going to the movies to see Zookeeper for a matinee on our last day here. We haven't done alot for Jamie here in N. Carolina, as we mainly just hang in the house visiting. I would rather take her somewhere to run off some energy but it is 100 degrees out there already and it isn't noon yet.

They have bowling and roller skating there too, but she picked the movies. Maybe we can find an inside play place.

We brought the dog and I don't think Mike really wanted to. But Samson has been great. He is so mellow and great on trips. Mike has even said what a great decision it was to bring him. This vacation has been mostly about visiting rather than going to attractions as money is a bit tight this year. So no Cedar Point (which I love) No Hershey Park (Which Jamie Loves) and no Museums or Presidential Burial grounds (which Mike loves).

Just sitting and resting. Which is really what a vacation should be. I know I needed it.

When is the last time you went on a sitting and resting vacation? I think this was my first.

Summer time Life - Kittens & Sleepovers

Jamie's BFF is Emmie, the blond in the photos. She also goes to our church. We make sure there is alot of 'Emmie time' as it is really important to Jamie to see her often. Emily's mom recently informed me they may move back to the Northwest next year when she is done with college. I hope this doesn't happen - it will be so sad for Jamie and for Emmie.

These kittens are at a neighbors down the street from us. Jamie and I were going by there a couple/few times a week to pick up and handle the kittens to help domesticate them.

Did you know if a kitten isn't handled by a human between 4 & 8 wks old they will prbably never become a good house pet? They need that imprinting at that very crucial time. Apparently we didn't over often enough as they are both running from everyone now.

Destined to be yard cats just like their parents.

Summer time Life - more baseball

Summer time Life - Part 1 Ballgames

I didn't post the photo of Jamie crying because of the scary Ronald McDonald the next section over. We have gone to a couple of games already this year and will probably go to a few more.

One of the benefits of where I work is Season tickets right behind home plate. Our home baseball team is a Minor league team and the park allows usage of unused tickets any Sunday - Thursday. And since Jamie is very much enamored of being in crowds in any capacity she loves going to the Baseball game!

My baby is growing up

Ballerina days

Doggy Guilt

Finally photos

Jamie loves her teacher Ms Pearl. I don't think she realizes she is about to not see her and be with her anymore!

Cutting up at Dance class

Playing guitar at Ms Michelles (Samson's first mommy)

So she really seems to love her dog, except when he eats her shoes or dolls which happens alot still. Good thing I buy most of her shoes at the thrift and consinment stores. The dolls that were ate were new though. It really doesn't bother me a whole lot for some reason. I guess I am really taken with this dog. He is a sweetheart. No more potty accidents - at least not for about 3-4 weeks so that is good. I just make sure my shoes are put up, especially my Birks.

Jamie will be leaving the school/daycare that she has been going to every day since she was 2 in 2 weeks. I am afraid that there will be some meltdowns when we get closer. Just this morning she was shouting she wanted her Dad to come to the Dads day party they will be having later in the month. She won't be there so no Dads day for her and Daddy. Hope she handles it well.

I have her signed up for Arts camp at the magnet school she will be attending this fall. The arts camp runs 3 wks after school ends. Then she will stay home with daddy most of the summer. We will go on vacation or stay on staycation during that time. Then right before school starts we are putting her in the local YMCA camp for a couple of weeks. That will give her another opportunity to be with new kids and also to swim every day and have some fun before school starts.

Then back to Pine Forest. This magnet school has won 'Best elementary Magnet school in the country'. It is the only dedicated arts Magnet school here in this county and is really sought after. More than 200 kids tried to get in and Jamie made it! She is in for the duration of her elementary school career. Then if she is good at dance or art or writing she can go to the Middle & High magnet schools but she will have to audition to make it there.

So it starts...My baby is becoming a child, a person of her own right.

Wah!

I Phonified

Ok I resisted for as long as I could. Mike has been hinting about that he would like new phone and I beat him to it.

Ok, gotta get back to it!

Do they make bitter apple for kids?

My child still sucks her fingers while self soothing at bedtime. Always while holding her Lovey Waddy.
Anyway the dentist said she could develop buck teeth so he recommended this bitter apple stuff.

I can only find the formulation intended for dogs.

Any help out there?

Meet our new dog Samson!!

These photos are all from 2 months ago, so Samson is bigger. He was about 34 lbs when we got him and is now 47 lbs now. The vet has assured me he will be a 50 lb adult. I am thinking he may have calculated on the low side as Samson is about 7 months old now and will have some more growing to do. Or maybe not. It won't be the end of the world I guess. I really didn't want a large dog. But he is so mellow and great. He is wonderful with the kids. He lets the girls dress him up and bundle him up and just sits through it patiently. He loves to play and loves to rest... My kind of dog. Everyone who meets him comments what a nice dog he is.

He does have a chewing issue. He has chewed the hands and feet off of Jamies Barbies and last night moved on to the baby dolls. I bought some bitter stuff but who wants to pour that stuff on everything.

We use the crate during the day and he sleeps in Jamie's room at night. I didn't want to use the crate but he seems to be ok with it and my house isn't getting destroyed. It also keeps the potty accidents from occurring while we aren't here.

All in all we are pretty happy with him, he is so sweet and loving.

Photos are almost all back!

Mike figured out how I can see around this HUGE firewall Windows apparently installs with Windows 7! SO I can now connect to the External Hard Drive. Now he just needs to transfer the photos from the 'Book' a portable external Hard drive he put them on last month.

Anyway, I haven't had access to any of the recent photos since last fall. That is why I haven't been posting any photos on the blog. I hope he gets me fully connected tonight.

Meanwhile here is a somewhat recent family photo from our neighborhood Christmas party in December.

How Soon is NOW!!!???

Ok this is ridiculous! Time for some photos!

I have been unable to connect to our book or external hard drive for many months. Has anyone noticed there hasn't been any photos of Jamie lately? Or of any personal nature?

Mike is 'tech' in our home. He has been assuring me he will get this done soon. I know honey but how soon is soon?

Have you heard of :


How Soon is Now???

Lol, anyone catch that that is a Smith's Song? One of the best songs to dance to in the 80's...Ahhhh brings back memories.

Anyway, I am trying not to nag but this is crazy. I have many posts built up to write that go along with the missing photos!

The Determined Struggle has ended!

The year of career hell has finally ended. I haven't posted alot about this situation as I know people have gotten in trouble with mixing blogging with their jobs. Most of my friends and any readers who have been around over a year might know that I had a woman boss join the company in Oct 2009 who I butted heads with.

Many coworkers left our department (13!!) and even one boss left during her 15 month reign. This may not sound like a lot but our department is only about 12 total folks. Many people thought I would be among the ones who left. That I would leave either from being fired or by quitting because of how miserable I was.

A friend who worked there had a book about Horoscopes in relationships. When you turned to the page with her birthday week and mine the title was 'Determined Struggle'.

But I was determined. Determined to hang on to a job I love, where I have worked for years. (18 years last month!) I help my accounts get a ROI or return on their investment, in other words what I sell helps their business to be profitable.

I am not entirely sure why she was let go. I think it had something to do with 3 sales reps leaving in as many weeks the end of the year. All three cited this manager as the reason they were leaving the company. One of them wrote a several page diatribe listing her faults.

Thanks Deb, Peg and Amy. You were the footsoldiers in the final battle.

I am a survivor.

PS. At our church retreat last weekend I had my fortune told with tarot cards. She told me to shuffle the deck and decide what I wanted to hear about, career, money, love,family etc. I chose for the reading to focus my career.

The first card represented my career past. It was a queen of swords. She told me that I had just completed a pretty intense battle of some length and that now it was in the past. The next card was the present and it was Pan - a time of contentment. The future card was the Queen of Cups who I was told was about Love and positive energy. Here is what

this site

suggests the Queen of Cups means in the Future Position as it was in my reading.

When this card is in the future position, you are headed toward a date with contentment. Aim high in the present, as knowing that you will be encountering the Queen of Cups can give you confidence to take risks in love and life, career and college. Family and friends are going to be a great part of your future, so make sure you know where you stand with them and they with you.

More contentment and the confidence to take risks!! Wow.

Gosh it feels good to feel good about going to work again!

Life is good!

Too busy to blog lately, but I realized today life is pretty good here in the Jamie and us household.

My immediate supervisor is no longer with the company. Yes we all no what that means in corporate speak.

They announced my new boss this week and it's someone at the company I know and like and also know she likes and respects me. Wow. This will be so different. Yay for me!

Our new dog Samson is working out beautifully. I was reluctant to listen to the crate trainers out there, but you were right! Thanks to you all! and you know who you are! It has helped immensely. We haven't had one potty accident and just a few chewed shoes (one of each of ours) He is so obedient and ready to please for the most part, a typical 'golden' child. He really isn't a pure golden retriever, but he looks a lot like one but a bit smaller with shorter hair.

I took him out for a solo bike ride myself tonight and he has potential to be the dog I always wanted that will jog along side of me (or along side of Jamie) while we ride bikes. Got to figure out how to get him to quit crossing in front of me though. LOL

And Jamie got into the Arts Magnet school we had hoped for her. It will put her on the Arts Magnet track all the way through High School so that means we don't have to move to a better area for her school.

If we are able to so be it. But no pressure. Not only that but kids in schools where the parents and the kids want to be there do so much better in their education as well as their lives.

I just feel this is going to be a great year for us.

Now if I could just get my photos downloaded where I could get to them sometime soon so I could post them online. Oh well not everything can be perfect!

Happy Spring everyone, how is your world?

Mini Vaca

We just spent 4 days and 3 nights in Orlando, doing what we normally do on vacation these days, going to a water park Sunday (Blizzard Beach – our fave) and then a relaxing day on Monday, then The Magic Kingdom yesterday and another low profile day today.


I know I said no vacations until the kitchen is paid off (will it ever be!?) but this little vaca didn’t put us out for too much. We already had the theme park admissions as we do the Magic Your Way for multi days. If you upgrade to the water park option you get 6 extra days in the water parks over and above your 6 days in the big parks. The trick is to use all the Water Park days before using your last ‘Big Park’ day, once you use up your Big Park days the ticket is done.

Our favorite lodgings ‘The Enclave’ gave us a complimentary day to use so we only had to pay for 2 out of the 3 nights we stayed there. $200 isn’t bad for 2 nights in a 2 br 2 bath condo complete with fridge, dishwasher and microwave, not to mention 3 pools (One inside), Jacuzzis, gym, children’s playground etc. They just raised their Florida resident rate – from $89 to $102/night, but this time we stayed in one that was fully updated including Granite and Stainless steel appliances, new carpets and tasteful décor. So I guess they are updating the units and the rate will be higher to reflect that. I really was ok with the out of date furniture and the Formica, but it was nice.

The Tab: $200 Lodgings; $100 for food at the Fresh Market (2 trips) and $60 for lunch at Magic Kingdom and dinner at Blizzard Beach, $40 for Fridays meal on Monday; $120 for a couple of Walmart runs to get sunscreen, swimmies for Jamie, Benadryl for me etc. and a $75 tank of gas. $595 total. Not too bad, Fresh Market pushed it up quite a bit as we got some fancy steak, empanadas, Rice, pasta and asparagus salads and organic chocolate ice cream bars…woulda been a lot less if we only ate sandwiches.

Some reflections on the Magic Kingdom this go around:
A. Too bad they closed Toon Town. Jamie really liked the Goofy Barnstormer Roller coaster, just right for little daredevils and it has room for Mom or Dad as well. I hear tell they will be opening that section as an expanded part of Fantasyland and reopen the Goofy roller coaster, and will also have some new stuff: some sort of a Circus something and something about Ariel under the Sea. They didn’t mention whether or not they would be bringing back Mickey and Minnie’s houses, which were pretty cute or the Princess Encounters.

B. Over 2 hour wait for a Meet and Greet@!?!?! They had Rapunzel in what was formerly Belle’s enchanted garden. Belle used to do a little stage show with singing and what not but this was just hundreds of little girls standing in line for hours just to get up close to Rapunzel and her dude Flynn Rider! Seriously who does this? We had forgotten Jamie’s autograph book this time so we skipped any of the ‘character encounters.’ Jamie didn’t seem to mind too much.

C. Rides/Attractions in order:

1. Small World One of Jamie’s faves, looks like they may have refurbished it a bit, had some fantasy characters I don’t remember seeing in there. Also NO LINE!

2. Merry go round – can’t miss this, though we did skip Dumbo as we didn’t get here when the park opened. Dumbo isn’t even 90 seconds long so it isn’t worth any kind of wait and there is usually at least a 45 minute wait for it.

3. Mickey’s Philharmonic show (Jamie’s first real 3D encounter- they say toddlers can’t see the three D and I can attest to that, this time she was reaching towards the screen for Flounder and Mickey, last time she couldn’t even see with the 3D glasses on

4. Snow White’s Scary adventure -this one is kind of dark with lots of witch women

5. Winnie the Pooh which had new kids encounter activities all along the front where the kids could pound mallets to get the gophers to come out, move the honeybees. ‘Paint’ with honey and other fun stuff. WTG Disney for coming up with something to keep the kids from getting crazy bored. Wish they could develop this sort of thing for all the kids’ rides.

5.5 attempt to do the Rapunzal encounter with some photos taken from afar

6. Tomorrowland where I ran to get Space Mountain Fast Passes; People mover -This was great! Skip the 90 second Astro Orbiter and do this instead, gives you a good tour of Tomorrowland

7. Carousel of Progress – where the audiences move around to different stages where there were Amiotronic robot families depicting 1900, 1920, 1940, 2010. It was kind of weird that they skipped the 60’s I bet

8. Stitches great escape – turns out not so great, why did Jamie have to be 40” tall for that? Just for the scare factor I guess. This was just lame. Mike said he fell asleep

9. Lunch at TomorrowLand diner, where Jamie and I split chicken and ribs and Mike ate a turkey sandwich and we drank our drinks we brought

10. Jamie and Dad- Mad Tea Cups/ Me Space Mountain

11. Daddy and Jamie music show in Tomorrowland, Me waiting at Fantasyland where we were supposed to catch up together.

12. Then off to Frontierland where we watched Splash Mountain splash land over and over again forever, then got the Fast Pass for it when Jamie decided she wanted to ride it; then on to Tom Sawyers Island (which was mainly steps up and down and a tunnel, a barrel bridge that rolled and a play structure)

13. Then we saw the 3pm parade (not as good as the evening parade - only about 10 minutes long)

13.5 Dinner (Packed sandwiches) sitting in the shade by Splash Mountain

14.Train ride – We killed time riding the train till our 6:20 space Space Mountain Fast Pass return and rested as we went 2 times around, got off at Main Street to get Mike souvenir fudge then back on back to Frontierland. No Souvenirs for me or Jamie this time but we did trade in Jamie’s’ old ‘Spinning Light up Minnie Mouse’ we had gotten from a prior trip to the World that wouldn’t light up anymore, for a new one that would light up, (this was the second trade-in) so she was thrilled. When we got back we got a Fast Pass for Thunder Mountain and then were just in time for our Fast Pass for

15. Splash Mountain – this was the high point of the day for all of us I think. Jamie didn’t want to ride until we sat at the bridge and watched folks coming down the mountain and getting splashed several times. It was really cute and it didn't have any of those stupid gushers that just dump water on you. You simply got splashed. also in true Disney fashion they had the story of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox throughout the ride.

16. Thunder Mountain – We were so proud of Jamie, we bribed her with Mikes Fudge if she was brave enough to go on and I think she really liked it. This one is mild enough for a kids first real roller coaster ride (Other than mini coasters).

17. Swiss Family Robinson tree house – pretty lame, Mike skipped this one as he was ready to go. Wish we had gone on Aladdin’s Magic carpet ride instead!

We then left among Jamie’s loud and plaintive pleadings to stay for the 9pm Parade. We just didn’t have it in us to stay any longer. This was our first full day in the Parks; we normally go back to the hotel for lunch and a nap. This time we were there from 8:15-8:15pm. It was a wonderful day, with overcast skies, no rain, very moderate temperatures with maybe a high of 82 degrees.

Sunday when we went to the water park it was a high of 90 and didn’t feel that hot as it wasn’t humid. That was a great day for the water park, and then it rained on Monday, which was great for a hang around the hotel day.

Oh and when we got to the hotel on Sunday after the water park our room was not ready at 6pm! They didn’t want to give us another room as the General Manager had reserved us a room that was totally renovated – the one with the granite etc. I asked for a late check out for us having to wait for the room until 7pm and they agreed.

So waiting for the room to be ready, led to the first of three trips to Walmart. It seems we do this almost every trip we take, no matter how I over pack. The late checkout we earned meant today we got to enjoy the facilities one more day before taking off for home.

All and all a wonderful mini vaca!

I have been writing this post as we are driving home, or should I say Mike is driving home. We just had to pull off I-95 just north of the I-4 interchange. The rain was coming down in sheets and the wind gusts were stronger than anything I have felt before – we are guessing 80 mph gusts. Dozens of vehicles also pulled over, and it felt like the wind was going to knock the van over.

Someday I will have an air card or a phone with internet so I can post live, but this will have to suffice. I am writing while Jamie is watching Tinker Bell and Mike are driving.

What a great life I live! Almost home, and then we go get our new dog Samson who has been staying with the family we got him from. Poor baby didn’t want us to leave him there which I was glad to see. I thought he was missing his other family. I miss him; it will be good to see him, the kitties and our home again. Be home soon!

PS - Just picked up our dog that promptly came home and peed on the carpet on Mike’s side of the bed, same place he peed the day before we left. Guess the Odor neutralizer I applied wasn’t effective. Does that stuff wear out? I had it from prior kitties that had issues; it may be 8 yrs old.

PPS - We closed the bedroom door to keep Samson out of there while reading the bedtime story to Jamie and he went into Jamie's room and Shat all over the rug! Darn it, not sure I am up for this poop cleaning part of it. Any advice out there?!?

Ok I guess it was getting too 'zen' around here with Buddah Fish. We brought home Sampson Saturday night for a sleepover.

Mike wasn't pleased, but I assured him it was a test run. The friends who gave us the ten gallon tank need to downsize on their pets as they have 3 dogs and 2 cats and fish and may be looking for a new house to rent soon.

When we visit Jamie LOVES Sampson (Not pictured above but looks alot like this) and he is the most well behaved and laid back puppy I have ever seen. He is 5 mos old and appears to be a golden retriever.

It went well...Lets just say Mike melted at how Jamie and Sampson bonded.

So we will be taking him on Friday for the entire weekend.

We aren't really 'dog people' so we are a bit intimidated.

Where do we put him during the day? When we are on vacation? Will he chew the door, or our furniture? WIll the cats ever get along with him? Will Jamie get bored once he isn't the new thing around here? and most importantly:

Will he end up my dog?

Chances are he will. And I think I'm all right with that.

Buddah Fish

We have had a goldfish in a small 3 gallon tank Mike had for a little over 6 months. We originally had two but one died.

So a friend recently offered us his 10 gallon tank as they were upgrading to a larger one.

We went to Petsmart on Sunday and were ready to buy an Oscar, which is this cool african cichlid that is very expressive...well as expressive as a fish can be I guess. They act a bit like a puppy in that they come right up to the top of the tank and you can even pet them.

I have always wanted an Oscar,, actually a Tiger Oscar. When I was younger my boyfriend had one and it was a cool pet for a fish.

But the Oscar isn't a nice fish. Not to the other fish who he lives with. In fact he is a bit of a cannibal in that he eats goldfish when he gets larger.

And speaking of getting larger - they said he would too big for the 10 gallon tank within three months. And he will kill or bully any other fish in the tank while growing.

We were also told to get the tank set up first and let it sit for a day or so. So Sunday Mike set up the tank and tonight we bought our first fish. Since we were told we really should have a 55 gallon tank for an oscar we switched our plan.

Did you know it's best to only start with one or two fish in the beginning. That with a new tank you can actually kill off most of your fish if you full stock it in the beginning. Something about the 'cycle' of the water chemistry. They STRONGLY recommend you start with just one or maybe two if the fish are very slim bodied.

So we got Buddah fish tonight instead - a Dalmation Molly. A Molly isn't a slim bodied fish, so hence just one to begin with. He is a boy and if we want to can get girls later and they can have live offspring.

The reason we are calling him Buddah is we have found that the fish tank is a relaxing center to our living room. And since he won't be spreading mayhem and carnage like the Oscar would have, it seemed like a good moniker. And also I found a small White Buddah at thrift store this week and it looks really cool in the tank with our black and white fish.

If we do decide to get him some gal friends we can call them Karma and Peace and Harmony as three females are recommended so he doesn't pester the one to death. So one male, three females and maybe a bunch of babies darting around.

Yeah sure, sounds real harmonious.

What the ______?

Ok so Jamie starting using this expression. As in "What the H___? I had a little talk with her about it on the way to school yesterday. I asked her where she got that expression and it turns out her teachers 13 yr old daughter has been hanging out in the afternoons there.



I told her that I didn't think it was a phrase that she should be using as a little girl. She replied that she is now a big girl. I said yes you are getting to be a big girl but are still a little girl. I then told her about all the things that she will be expected to do when she is 13. Like what Mommy?

Oh like dishes every night, sweeping and mopping the floor, homework every night, helping with the laundry and keeping the house straightened. She kept asking what else? Like she was looking forward to all those chores.

Maybe time to assign her some real chores?

Think she is ready to start manning the new Shark mop we just got?

No...not yet, soon enough she will be expected to do her share. Maybe we will start smaller. (Besides I kind of like using my new mop!, I know what a dork!)

Do they make a child size broom and dustpan set I wonder?