Sadie

Sadie

1992 - 2007

(yeah, it can be kinda cheesy, but I like it and it's my blog and I can put it here)

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together…
– Author Unknown

And now, first grade shopping list - DONE

I took Foster today to go "back to school shopping". Being that he's in a "year-round" school, he gets "only" 6 weeks off for summer until school starts on Sept. 4th. Thought I may as well get the stuff while I can. First we went to Big Lots. SCORE!!!

We got:
washable markers
glue sticks
pocket folders (with 3-hole brads)
backpack
lunch bag

Of course, no "back to school shopping" journey would be complete without a trip to Target. We picked up the plastic folder and a box of tissues there.

At home, I found the rest of the goods:
pencils
colored pencils
crayons
pencil top erasers
scissors (must be Fiskars)
pencil box


Whew! That's done. I think I was more excited to do this last year for Kindergarten but it was still fun. I love school supplies and, well, office supplies in general. If you know me, you know my obsession with pens and pencils. Whenever we visit somewhere new (like tourist-y places) I try to get a pen. Hey, it's cheap and useful.


Perhaps I should just quit my job and work at Staples.

Anyway, the backpack from Big Lots was $8 and the lunch bag was $5. What Foster does to a backpack and lunch bag is beyond me. I swear he must drag it around all day. He really needed a new backpack and really, REALLY needed a new lunch bag. The same items at Target were 3 times as much. And thankfully, this year, he actually selected a backpack that "I" would carry. No superheroes, no turtles, no pirates......just a plain red and grey one. But, Batman won out for the lunch bag.

Cool.

Foster's Kindergarten Graduation

Click below for Foster's Kindergarten Graduation pictures. Our baby is all "growed" up.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZs2bNu0ZNGYz&notag=1

Happy Birthday Logan and Seth

Follow this link to see pictures from Logan and Seth's 3rd Birthday Party!



http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZs2bNu0ZNGYi&notag=1

Listen to this mom tell it like it is...

It finally happened...

We received public praise for our children's behavior in a restaurant.

I'm hoping it will happen again soon...because then we may re-think going out to eat more often.

Whew! Finally...

And tomorrow I "went" into labor........

Hard to believe but almost 3 years ago, Logan and Seth were born. I went into labor on July 14th and they were born in the wee hours of July 15.


Logan was born first and Seth lingered on, enjoying his warm home by himself for an hour and a half before he was vacuumed out!

Party tomorrow and of course, pictures to follow.

My babies are full-fleged boys, no longer babies.

The verdict is...

...ANOTHER root canal.


Need I say any more.


Ouch.

That's #2 in about 2 months. I've reached the maximum on my dental insurance to make it even better.


Uggggggg.

Teeth....

I hate mine. I really do. They hurt. They hurt when I eat something cold, something hot, something spicy, something sweet - okay, not all of them just the ones screaming at me from the right side.

I just went thru one root canal and during that process, the dentist put in a "deep filling that we'll have to watch" he says.

Yeah, well, here we are about 3 weeks later and motrin ain't cuttin' it.

Damn.

I hate my teeth. That's why I have yet another dentist appointment this coming Monday at 9:30 (he's on vacation this week, no doubt someplace fancy living off all the money I've given hime) to see if yet another root canal is in order. I'm leaning towards yes.

And I'll go thru with it if it stops the throbbing pain that's been waking me the past few nights.

Seriously, I really adore my dentist and have NO plans to change. I fought hard to get him back and changed insurances to do just that. I had a few years in there that I went to - well, let's just say, less qualified dentists that I had to report to the Dental Board.

I'm glad to have Dr. G. back on my side.

Yes, I can go to his "alternate" this week but I'd rather wait it out 'til Monday.

Now, off to take some more motrin.

A scary event but it all turns out okay...

I just have to relate something that happened last weekend in the hopes it raises awareness. And so that I have it here on the blog and I don't forget it.

Laura and I went to the pool and she was off swimming with Foster (who can swim) and I was near the pool steps playing catch with a ball with the twins who are almost 3 (and can't swim). They were both sitting on the first few steps happily splashing. I turned my head half-way to coax Logan to "jump" to me from the 3rd step (really, just fall to me). I think my attention was turned towards him for approx. 20 - 30 SECONDS as I caught him and was bringing him back to the steps when I turned to where I last saw Seth.....he was face down floating in the water. He wasn't moving at all, wasn't flailing, just silent.

OMG, my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. I was literally one arms-length away from him. I was holding Logan and I took one step and grabbed Seth with my other arm and scooped him out of the water. I didn't even have time to say a prayer and he was out of the water and crying. I wasn't 3 feet from the side of the pool and I stood up and put them both up there and tried to calm Seth down. Thank God he was crying. I knew I had to be calm for him so I just held him (I was still in the pool but by that time Laura got to the edge of the pool and took care of Logan). I can't tell you what went thru my mind in that, what, maybe 1 minute of time. I can't even bear to type what I first thought when I first saw him face down. Thinking of it now brings chills down my spine. He was fine, he was crying, he didn't even spit out any water which makes me think he instinctively held his breath. But I was never as happy to hear him cry before. Now, I'm not one to take water safety lightly. I am always within arms reach of my kids. They all must take professional swim lessons. I'm usually so attentive to them, and this was literally less than 30 seconds that I took my eyes off him. I will NEVER, EVER do that again. EVER. NEVER.

All you parents out there that ever did something in panic-mode knows what I mean when I say that for those few seconds until I got him out of the water, I didn't hear anything else, I didn't hear the other kids in the pool, I didn't see anything but my kid in the water, I didn't feel my sprained ankle, I felt like I was moving in slow motion but I heard absolutely NOTHING else. The world went quiet, only to be broken by that sweet cry.

A lesson learned!

Happy Anniversary!!!!

Today (July 4th) is our 8th anniversary. Whew!!!

What a wild ride it's been.

8 years, THREE kids, one dog, one house (soon hopefully it will be a different house), many trips, vacations and car-rides, illness and wellness and everything that happens in-between.

I'm already planning our 10th anniversary - just two more years and I really, really, really want to take a "Rosie" cruise, yes, with the kids of course......or, a little vacation in the South of France could be fine too.

Actually, anything together is a really good thing.

Love YOU!!!

Pictures!!!

Follow this link to see our newest pictures!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZs2bNu0ZNGYA&notag=1

A little side note though on the pictures. The Amazing Race ones were a birthday party we did for a friend. It was mostly fun until I (Ivy) took a nasty fall resulting in a sprained ankle and a busted knee that landed me on crutches for a week. Other than that, we had lots of fun.

Enjoy.

Oh and another post below, be sure to read to your heart's content....

Empty Nest Syndrome - literally

Baby bird in white circle
Getting bigger....

Last picture taken before they all flew away...

Because it's funny and pretty much true and I have no time to create an original post, but I will soon...Oh, and I am a union steward too!

Somebody needs a UNION---


OFFICE MEMO*To all Employees:**Effective on 20th June, 2007.
**Dress Code
*1. It is advised that you come to work dressed. According to your salary if we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a pay raise.
2. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a pay raise.
3. If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a pay raise.

*Sick Days
We will no longer accept a doctor's certificate as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

*Holiday Days
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year.They are called Saturday and Sunday.

*Compassionate Leave
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch break and subsequently leave one hour early.

*Toilet Use
1. Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the stalls.
2. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open, and your picture will be taken.
3. After your second offence, your picture will be posted on the company notice board under the "Chronic Offenders" category.
4. Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sanctioned under the company's mental health policy.

*Lunch Break
1. Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more so that they can look healthy.
2. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure.
3. Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. Remember we are an employer of choice and we are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.

Seth-ism

A week or so ago I was trying to get Seth to calm down. He was screeching something about something, I'm not sure what.

Anyway, I said to Seth (our almost 3 year old) - "Seth, STOP screeching!"

To which he replied "I'm NOT screeching, I'm whining!"

Yeah, well, can't argue with that...

We have BEAKS!!!

I'm proud to say (like I had a part in this) that we now have some baby birds in the nest. You can't see them from this picture but that is the nest in our carport.

Today, Laura went out to throw something away and heard the baby birds, then of course I had to check and sure enough I heard their tiny squawks. So being the city-girl I am, I convinced Laura to rig-up a mirror attached to the Swiffer handle and we checked and sure enough, there were at least 2 or 3 babies in the nest. I saw one head and a beak, the other(s) were curled around towards the back of the nest.

Next on the agenda is to figure out a way to take a picture of the babies without startling them or worse! Mama bird now just stares at me as I get into and out of my car, she no longer tries to kill me - or peck my eyes out.

Some new photos from today

So much to blog, so little time to do it.

My plan to blog about:

My job.

Our "goings-on".

New pic's.

House stuff.

Soon, soon, soon...

This is for Blogging for LGBT Families Day!!!!

Whew! I was hoping to be able to get this in today - on the day it's supposed to be in!

Not really sure what to blog about but I decided to try to make it positive. Let's see...as an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Family now with 3 kids we half-expected to be exposed to much more homophobia than we have, in fact, I really can't remember even one incident that we experienced. It was pretty much a non-issue when it was just Laura and I and no kids. Our friends and family knew we were a couple - whoever didn't like it - or didn't support us didn't make it known to us, and even if they did, I doubt it would have mattered much anyway. We are a couple, we are partners. Laura isn't my "roommate" or my "special friend" or even just "friend", we are partners in life. We were (still are) a couple and that's that.

Then we added kids to the mix and I expected some homophobia or stupid comments. Didn't get any, at least not to our faces. Our friends have been amazing (you know who you are!) since the birth of our kids. When our oldest son spends the night at his best friend's house, we feel 100% positive that they will treat him as their own and that they like us for who we are not what we are. The professionals we've met and dealt with including doctors, daycare providers, public school officials, etc. have been equally supportive. I recall meeting with our pediatrician before Foster was even born (our interview with her) and she stated she had no problems with us being a two-mom family - score! Not that we EXPECTED there to be an issue, but we were still relieved that there were none. And since then, every time we have come-out as a two-mom family to just about anyone, we've been met with nothing but acceptance. AGAIN, if there wasn't any acceptance, then it wasn't made clear to us.

Here in CA, both Laura and I are both the legal parents. Period. Therefore if something happened to me, the law is on Laura's side, as if we were opposite sex parents. There is NOBODY else on the planet that I'd want to parent our children more than my own partner if I wasn't around. NOBODY. They are OUR kids - plain and simple. She's been there since conception (okay, even before) and each and every day afterwards. And of course, I know that our kids wouldn't want ANYONE else than their own mommies to care for them. I feel protected here in this state - protected in the eyes of the law. Other states have to get with the program and extend the same protections to their same sex families that we enjoy here.

Anyway, where was I going with this? Oh yeah, homophobia - I know it exists, but in our personal lives we haven't experienced it in regards to our kids and isn't that what this day is all about -blogging for FAMILIES DAY. We are a family. One we made ourselves with a conscious effort. We didn't get pregnant by accident. It was planned every step of the way. I think that Laura and I have the responsibility to raise our children with the skills they need to start making some changes in the world - because I know there exists lots of homophobia in the world that they may be exposed to. That's an awesome responsibility. I hope to prepare them adequately. There needs to be change, both on the local and federal level. I have hopes that it will change - and one day ALL families - regardless of family make-up will be honored as such.

My potential killer...

This is the Eastern Phoebe for those of you not up on your bird-watching.

This bird, is scary I tell ya! For the past, oh, 4 years or so, this bird has made it's nest in our carport. Usually, it prefers to build it's nest right in the middle of the carport, right above "my" car (AKA: Mommy Ivy's car, the minivan). As you can imagine, bird poop was a given on my car roof. Ewwwww. Lots of it. Lots. Last year, I didn't want the bird "droppings" on my car, I didn't want to deal with it - so Laura knocked down the nest as soon as they started to build it. I think we knocked it down once or twice until they got the idea that maybe building and re-building right above the minivan wasn't the hot set-up (you know, bird-brain and all). And I guess the bird decided to build elsewhere.

This year, a few months ago, I noticed that bird again in the carport - first sitting oh so innocently in the rafters of the carport - watching me, mocking me. Then a few weeks later - it all began AGAIN. First a twig or two, then some more and very soon that bird had it's nest up. THIS time however, the bird decided to build the nest all the way over to the side of the carport, nowhere near the roof of my car. Smart bird - okay, I take back that "bird-brain" comment above. So we now are the soon-to-be-human grandparents of yet another set of fledgling baby birds. But, it doesn't end there.

That mama bird (papa bird?) sits in it's nest and I swear, it just watches me with it's beady little eyes every time I get into my car. I check to see as I'm pulling into the carport if it is indeed sitting on it's nest, and if so, I know to be careful because that bird likes to swoop down off it's nest and fly right over my head as I'm either getting out or into my car. When I'm getting into my car it watches me, it mocks me as if to say "Hey you, I remember what you did to my nest last year and I'll never, ever forget or forgive you - just watch me - (insert evil-sounding laugh here)". I actually have to duck my head when getting into my car, lest I be hit in the face by that bird - or pooped on. I just know it's waiting to do that, I just know.

I need help, I need therapy.

This will surely scar me for life. Maybe I should just stop eating chicken or turkey (distant cousins of the bird I'm sure) and make peace with the bird.

Or not.