Ayyy matey..... a mermaid ahoy!

A smashing success! Mom got the mermaid costume made and Evan fit into the pirate costume. The kids and I made our way over to our good friends Nancy and Gideon's house for their crazy fun party! Monster music as you walked in (plus the added bonus of a photographer to snap our unsullied looks!) TONS of goulishly delicious treats and fun, fun, fun for the kids. We had some dinner and then in a group of about 20-30 kids (yeah, there was alot!) did the neighborhood. The nice thing is that it is flat (a rarety out here), safe, and interesting. Interesting you say? Yes, interesting. There is one particular house that gives stuffed animals instead of candy. Apparently the guy has been doing this for 35+ years. He goes to garage sales, people donate to him throughout the year etc. You walk in and the entry, kitchen and living room are FILLED with stuffed animals big and small. Evan honed right in on a monkey with a shiny nose - all the better to bite on. Kiira went for the fluffiest chick she could find. About half as big as she is!

Evan was a trooper. He insisted on walking/running along behind the mob and ran right up to the door when trick or treat needed to be declared (including running up steps much to mom's dismay...). He wasn't very interested in the candy i found out, he just wanted to be part of the group. If he was the last to go up to the door, he'd just turn around and follow the kids back out before getting the candy. TOO funny. My costume - well, Charleston Cutie was the title on the package. Not my norm but what the heck - was fun to break out of my normal ladybug costume.

Enjoy the picts - Happy Halloween everyone.

Carving frenzy

Well, yesterday we carved our pumpkins, and despite not wanting to get her hands dirty at first, Kiira did a great job. And yummy...those pumpkin seeds!

I love my kids, I love my kids, I love my kids.....

....sometimes it is reassuring even in the most tiring, the most sick, the most "I don't ever get a break moments" to tell yourself these words....

Kids have been sick - Kiira with pink eye, Evan with bronchialitis. This on the heals of pneumonia for both just about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Alan and I cut short our romantic 24 hrs away at the lovely W Hotel in San Francisco (to a romantic 16 hrs away) to come back and take them both to urgent care. Because, of course, these things always happen on the weekend. Uhhhggg...happy anniversary honey. Glad we splurged on the fancy hotel for the, oh, about 8 hrs we were actually in it. Happy 7th anniversary, and 6th for that matter, since we both forgot last year. Oops!

Now off to give eyedrops to my eldest and nebulize my youngest. Oh yeah - had to post this video (hope it works). Even though you know every parent goes through these things, it's nice to hear it from them as well. Enjoy this random You Tube video... it made me almost cry i was laughing so hard. Okay - now this is truly getting posted now that it has sat on my computer for awhile.....
YouTube - Pachelbel Bedtime

Cal and the TAXI

Well, I'm not sure if I ever got into the details of poor Calvin's health.

First off, do you remember as a kid, having your pets? Do you actually remember them having any specific ailment? I don't really. Part of that is because my wonderful mother would shield me from anything unpleasant seeing as I was a sensitive soul to animals (she cut me off from Walt Disney by the time I was about 6 yrs old - she couldn't take my tears...think Bambi, Old Yeller, etc! Those are just the obvious ones. Any movie where the animal was in an iffy situation though - the waterwork would start to flow...my poor mother). Okay, and the other part is that we just didn't take them in for "checkups". Aaaanyway....I digress.

The thing nowadays to do with one's pets after they reach geriatric age is to take them in for the yearly checkup. Mind you - we alone have footed the bill for a new wing at our vets between Rennie's allergies and Calvin's geriatric checkups and consequently the work and recheckups to follow up from said geriatric appointments (I seriously am going to expect a plaque soon over one of the doors...). So, anyway, at the last appointment we found out that Calvin is starting with kidney failure, he has cancer (a lump on his lung node, and some fuzzy areas in the chest), AND congestive heart failure. The last one seems to be the thing that'll get him the vet says. We can't operate to take out the lump b/c we aren't sure he'd even make it through the operation. Oh yeah, he's 16 yrs young by the way.

Well, this is a long winded way of saying, we started him on some meds and he's actually improved! NOT what I thought the vet would ever say. Especially since when Bullseye got cancer, he didn't have long at all - about 3 weeks. So, imagine my glee when I got the news. Way to go old guy. He's pretty spunky yet and luckily he hasn't realized there is anything wrong with him. I'm convinced he'll make it to 17 yrs old! It's just around the corner ...... Feb 2 - Ground Hog's day! Keep your fingers crossed all....

Oh yeah - as you can see, that's not Calvin in the "Taxi" as we like to call it. But let's just say I found YET another toy that is cheap that we seem to have on hand....it's amazing what these kids will play with. Why do we even bother with toys?

Embarrassment for his later years to come

Granted, we have an abundence of girlie items in the house, however, Evan really does gravitate towards the barrettes. I couldn't resist capturing the moment. He's also into the the princess crowns. I wouldn't put it past Kiira to dress him up in one her tutu's to go with said crown!

Gettin' ready for Halloween

...couldn't resist these photos the other day. The air was crisp and clear. I looked out from our deck and saw Mount Tamalpais and good 'ole San Francisco. The water was calm (we are so thankful for our view) and for the first time in awhile, I appreciated the brisk feel to the air. The bright sunny day makes all the difference though. Halloween is around the corner and that's a good excuse to gather the family and head to the pumpkin patch....stay tuned on what we decide to carve!

Yee haa yippy eye oh

....the little guy is game. Now, mind you it took YEARS for Kiira to get the horseback riding bug. Evan hopped right on and even held on with only one hand. That's my boy!

Meet Tasha

Yes, a new one took the challenge. This brave little fishy soul is mostly white with some blue on its tail and fins. Kiira, in keeping with the Backyardigans theme, has named her Tasha. She is quite spunky and likes to swim around when she sees us. Keep your fingers crossed for her folks....and stay tuned.

Bye bye baby slash the fish died

Okay - what is it about fish and me? Ever since high school when I killed my best friend's fish - I'll just come out and say it - I do NOT have good fish karma. Mind you we have been on fish #2. I thought the fact that the first one died was kind of a fluke. After all, the pet store said that these beta fish will last up to 2 years. Good choice for me I thought. A hearty fish. Well, apparently I overfed the first fish. Ok - Pablo - RIP. Then cam Baniqua. She was smaller. I made sure only to feed her every few days. And only a few pellets at that. So, I gotta say - I'm not getting this whole death thing. Remarkably, Kiira takes it quite well. Perhaps it's because she doesn't quite understand what heaven is. She asks if the vet will bring Baniqua back from heaven. My response - no, I think Baniqua is having too much fun in heaven with Pablo to come back. That seems to buy me some time. Some time that is to get to the pet store and find yet one more fish. I will look for the heartiest. I will give them all a disclaimer before I scoop one up. "Come home with me at your own risk". But, we again will try this fish thing out. Gotta say though - I'm hoping third time is a charm, 'cause this is it. If it's not third time's a charm it's gonna be three strikes and mom is out!

The rainbow butterfly

What is it about rainbows and butterflys? Kids flock to them like some addictive sugary substance that they can't get enough of. Well, imagine a young one's joy to get both in one sitting. Yes, we hit the farmer's market this past Sundy and got our fill of good clean fun. First of course, we paid our biweekly visit to Chief for a good pony ride. After, our traditional pretzel and then as a bonus we did the bouncy castle. Well, as luck would have it, Silly Lilly is camped out right next to the bouncy castle (no small fluke). Who might you ask, is Silly Lilly. Well, picture a red nose, horn rimmed glasses (non sequiter there I know), a big hoop skirt with red pocka dots, Doc Martins (also a non sequiter but this is Marin County after all), red and white striped tights and a Raggedy Ann like wig. Oh yeah- she paints kids faces. Which brings us back to rainbows and butterflys. As said picture evidences, we got 'em both in one shot.
Oh yeah - the produce is pretty darned good as the farmers market too! :-)

A message

I think Evan's going through a growth spurt. He seems to be especially hungry. Today, he tried to send me a message.....think he wants more milk than just one bottle?

Sneak a Peak

A beautiful sunny day today! I love it! Alas, twas my duty to get new tires. But after, like a good friend of mine blogged, I stole a moment to myself. I sat and enjoyed a late lunch and lost myself in a little reading. It was only about 10 minutes but it was enough to relax and think. I love looking around at the people. The families. I think ever since having kids - I look at other kids and they all seem to be so darn cute (ok, barring the few overtired, out of control ones). As I'm looking around today, a caught a peek of an especially cute one - my own! There she was sneaking a peek around the corner with QUITE the grin on her face. And there the day was - full circle. Coming back to where I love leaving off.

Random thought

Is it odd that the hat that I got for my 15 month old son (sized 5-7 yr old) fits both he AND I?

Time of Year

Maybe it's the time of year - days are getting shorter. Lack of sunlight. Maybe it's the events that surround me. I don't know. It just seems to be a depressing time of year to me. It always has been. It doesn't help when you hear of a twelve year old boy passing away. It's a parent's worst fear. You look at your children and they are full of life. They are invinsible. It is you that struggles with father time. It is easy to get caught in the complacency of day to day. Slight ups and downs in the big picture but stable none the less. You realize how quickly your world can be rocked. You realize how fragile life is. You realize nothing is to be taken for granted. The sleepless nights, the whining, you wouldn't trade it. Because even at these moments, life abounds and gives joy. Joy in a little girl girating her hips to her own dance as she watches Dancing with the Stars with you. Joy in a little girl wrapped in fabric in eager anticipation of making her mermaid costume. Joy in a sick little boys face because he sees you coming down the stairs. Joy and relief in a wife's face to see her husband come down the stairs. It is the day when someone does not come down the stairs that we do not ever want to experience.

A video for Tom and Liisa'a wedding - the history of them!

Okay - I'm trying this video thing out. I had my friend Kim's brother do a video for Liisa and Tom for their wedding. He's very talented if anyone needs anything like this. His name is Brian. Check it out - this version has low resolution - I'll try to upload a better one, but you get the picture.

Kids at Liisa's wedding

Okay there - here's a photo that Sarah (our wonderful babysitter) took of the kids at Liisa's wedding. It's a start....Kiira had ballet shoes on and a french twist in her hair. She also had beautiful butterfly bobby pins pinned around the twist. The hair lasted about 20 minutes but it looked good while it did. Also - her sash was the same material as what was around Liisa's bouquet - a beautiful gold dupioni silk.

We've turned a corner!!

Yes, it's true. Evan ALMOST slept thru the night. Much better. He did stay the entire night in HIS bed. Good thing. He took a 3 1/2 hr nap today and woke having a nice chat with himself. He chatted away in his crib for about 40 min (probably complained about the service) which means he got a good sleep. I'm not a religious person but if I could jump on the rooftop and shout out, "Praise the lord!", well, I would! Stay tuned.....

At least I have my health

Okay folks, I've been out of it for a few weeks now. First off - Liisa's wedding was a smashing success. The BBQ I threw was awesome, if I do say so myself, and the wedding, well, we laughed, we cried.....what else can I say. I'll try to post some photos soon. Liisa looked like an icon out of the 50's. Sophisticated, glamorous, classy, but with just a hint of a modern touch. Unfortunately since I was busy I didn't get any photos of the kids or me but I'll post one of Liisa.

Calistoga Ranch - well, you just wanna keep that as a little slice of heaven. The accomodations were the best I've been in, the service was outstanding and the food - incredible. Of course you can't afford to stay there more than one night but that one night - oh yeah baby! Alan enjoyed the outdoor shower (yes there is an indoor one as well) and Tom enjoyed the outdoor jacuzzi. Hmmm....that sounds a bit awkward - let me clarify that they enjoyed these things in their separate rooms. Although Kiira did get a nice swim in at Liisa and Tom's jacuzzi.

I think Tom's family had a good time seeing SF - although I'd prefaced the vaca by saying, "September is the best month here." Of course I had cursed myself as it was raining as they arrived. My mom and Rick drove down from Tahoe and I was getting cursed for those same words as it was snowing there. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Marilyn grabbed the bull by the horns and DID SF - I mean - they hit a boat cruise, they tooled around AND they stopped at Yosemite and chatted with the bears on the way in. I was QUITE proud of them. Everyone really - they toured and had fun, fun, fun till our daddy took the T-bird away. Okay - some had TOO much fun (Tom's brother Paul who declared on the day of the wedding that he just couldn't drink that day) but all in all everyone enjoyed.

Since then I've slept. Which is good b/c in the last 6 days I've not had a complete night's rest. First Evan was waking up (teeth?), then both kids got a flu shot Friday. Okay - who has had a flu shot? I broke down - Kiira had never had one - and, this could be lack of sleep talking but they have done nothing but give us the *^&*$@( flu! Kiira was up throwing up with fever Fri and Sat. She got that out of the way. Evan kindly waited until Kiira was done. He started a fever Sunday night and has decided the ONLY way he can sleep is sprawled across my chest. Now mind you - if you've read my other postings - I'm not a fan of the family bed. HOWEVER - when child is crying NONSTOP and they ONLY way they will calm down is with some mommy skin (why I ask is daddy skin not as good? I'm game....Alan's game....but NOOOOOOO, it's gotta be mommy's heartbeat the little one hears in those precious little ears (picture slightly twisted, sleep deprived face on mommy dearest's at this point)). I digress. Anyway, the doc says no, it's not due to the flu shot. uhhhhhhh.....hyuuuuueeeaaaaa. At this point - don't care - just want sleep. Still got the fever but fingers crossed so far tonight he's sleeping longer than the other night's so far (on his own). I'd be thrilled if my next post mentioned the words, "
We've turned a corner..."

Sadly, it seems with alot of things, joy and sadness go hand in hand. The next post will update you more on poor Calvin's geriatric health (not so good but on the bright side - he doesn't seem to know this and continues to be quite spunky) and the lump on Rennie's side (look like it's just a hematoma but we'll know more Thurs). Sigh........