Would You Like a Side of Crazy With That?!?!

I am interrupting my vacation posts.. with the most absurd story I will EVER be able to share in my whole entire life. Follow me if you will. My house, is next door to the Town Hall, and right behind that is the Police Station/Ambulance Barn. Next to my yard, is an access driveway for the cops/ambulance to use to get in so they don't crash into people coming out. On that same side of the house, is my bedroom. It occupies the entire half of the top floor, the long way. It used to be 2 rooms, and someone took out a wall once. In the front corner, is our bed. It sits in the corner, and there are windows on both sides. Ok, now that you know that....

Around 12:30 am we were rudely awoken out of our slumber my the weirdest noise. It sounded to me like a tank, but my half asleep brain knew that it couldn't be. It's not unusual for loud trucks/things to wake us up, usually I identify the noise, and go right back to sleep. This noise got louder, and louder.. then there was an awful loud slam as he dropped the bucket back to the ground. The Boy looked out the window, and leaped out of bed and called 911. Turns out, some idiot was about to drive a BULLDOZER into our Police Station. No, I'm serious. You can read about it here. People, I couldn't make stuff like this up. Play the video.. that's my fence on the side.

I stood there, and watched as he backed up and slammed into the building 3 times. Then it seemed like his dozer got stuck, and the police showed up and took the situation under control. It was all over by 12:45 and they had him on his way to jail. Of course, the cleanup crew/Fire Dept/other local cops stayed ALL night and worked on cleaning up the mess. The whole front of the building where the Police are located is gone. Like a sardine can that was opened and the insides exposed. As witnesses we have talked to the State Police, and I skipped the chance to be on WMUR news this morning. I didn't feel I could offer them anymore than the cops had already told them. It was surreal to watch the whole thing. I knew what I was seeing.. and hearing.. but I couldn't really believe it.

How was your day?

A Doggone Good Time Was Had by All

One of the best things about our vacation house, was the huge gate we put up across the stairs to the deck. This way Cassie, our 1/2 Irish Setter 1/2 Chocolate Lab could come in and out of the house.. to the deck.. as she pleased. This tickled her to death. She watched the birds. She watched the kids. She slept, a LOT. She likes to be outside, but because she spent her first months living outside around a lake (she was abandoned, and 4 mos old when we got her).. that wild spirit has never left her. She turned 6 in April, and we've yet to break her of the urge to get outside and just take off. She's not a good walking on a leash dog, but we make her anyhow. So for her to be outside, and not tied up, was awesome for both her and us. Seeing her have such a good time, made me forget how much I wanted to take her out back and drown her the first few days.

The Boat Ride That Wasn't...

Wednesday was a bit warmer, and sunnier. The kids were dying to take the raft out on the lake, so we loaded it up on to the top of our van and headed to the boat launch. We decided who was going to sit where, how we were going to balance out our weight, and who was going to row (The Boy wanted too) and got ready to push off. The kids and I decided we didn't want our sandals and left them on the shore. My Boy won't take his shoes off unless necessary, and his sandals go in the water on his feet. He doesn't care how it feels having wet shoes on, his "baby soft" feet aren't taking any chances.

In Which We Find.. A Shopping Trip

*Today's footnote: Our school failed to meet AYP (again).. we just got the results from last years testing today. So now, because we failed to meet it last year (remember; "poor kids are dumb".. though this year it wasn't our socioeconomic disadvantage, our special ed. population didn't do that great on the test in reading. Umm... they come to see us, because they have trouble or can't read. Yet we have to make them take the state test, and we can't offer any assistance on the reading part (we can read the language/math part to them). Hello?! If you go back and read that rant I wrote that day back in June 06... you'll see just why those kids didn't make it. *sigh*)

To take my mind of this bit of depressing news, which I just received notice of a few minutes ago, I have Maine to share with you. Having gone away on vacation the last week of summer, I needed to make sure we had our ducks in a row regarding back to school. Just the words send a shiver down my spine. Because both of my kids grew (A LOT.. Mr. Man grew 6.5 inches in the past year and a half) like weeds this year, they both needed pants. We decided that while we were in the lakes, and just 1 hour and 5 minutes away from Kittery, Maine.. we'd take a day and do back to school shopping. I ordered new backpacks before we left, and had already gone shoe shopping (for the kids). We had notebooks and binders and all that jazz. It was a good plan.

There is a Castle In the Clouds...

*footnote... our staff retreat day this year.. much better than last year. And we were back in our normal retreat place, which was nice.

So anyway, back to the post. Monday was slated to be the coolest day of our vacation. We had decided (but not told the kids) that while we were up there we'd go visit the Castle In the Clouds. It was about 45 minutes away from where we were staying, and neither of us had ever been there. If nothing else, we figured we'd get some good hiking in, enjoy the views and get out of the cabin for the afternoon. Before lunch we took the dog for some playing in the lake.. had lunch and then headed out.

In Which The Summer Comes To An End.....

To ease the pain of having to go back to work tomorrow, I will share my vacation over the next week in multiple posts. I still hold firm to the belief, that the best part of vacation is coming home. Aside from the mountain of laundry I had to do today, and all the other "coming home" things.. it really is great to be back. We had a great trip, despite it being the coldest August weather in the history of the state. I blame The Boy. We go camping, it's chilly.. no matter what month it is. We go away on vacation.. it's cold every day but the last. The day we came home, yesterday.. hottest day all summer. It was 98 when we went out to the market yesterday afternoon. Crazy!

In Which We Find A Few Letters ....

Dear L,
When I knit you the fluffy sweater 3 years ago before your birth, I never dreamed that it would become your "woobie". I was a newish knitter, and the patten was simple and the yarn was big and so were the needles. I loved when you used to wear it, and it warms my heart that you loved it so much that you drag that thing everywhere. While you were gone in Mexico with your mama, I crocheted you a poncho out of a similar "fluffy" yarn. Your daddy laughed and told me nothing would get you to stop dragging "that ratty sweater (huff!)"around, but that's not my intent. I want you to have something fluffy and soft to wear that would fit you. I can't have my favorite 3 year old walking around with a too small sweater on her. This is so you can still carry the other sweater, and have one to wear. I picked a color that will match your beautiful dark hair, and I can't wait for you to have it, so it will be in my kitchen while we are gone. I've left a note for your daddy to bring it home. I hope you enjoy it and I'll see you when we get back.
Love, B

Eye Candy and a Busy Day

Somehow it got to be Friday, although how that happened I'm not sure. We are leaving this weekend on vacation and I've been busy doing those last minute things that I would normally be doing anyhow... plus a million more. Today has been a "charge the batteries/mow the lawn/paint Ms. Thangs bedroom window (I know... but we had it re-glassed and I had to wait for the stuff to dry enough to paint).. pack.. do this .. do that. Tomorrow is going to be crazy with shopping/packing stuff and so I'm trying to spread out the crazy. Forget that we come back next Saturday, and I go back to school Monday and the kids Wednesday. So yesterday after my appointment we went and did shoe shopping and stuff. Did I mention it's been crazy?

How Far We've Come

One perfect rose. After 12 years, he knew that one perfect rose would make me happier than any dozen ever would. We don't really "celebrate" our anniversary so much. Usually we just go out to dinner, alone, and exchange cards and it's enough for us. Last year he surprised me with my favorite Red Sox stadium blanket when we went camping over our anniversary weekend. It was cold that weekend and a better gift was never had. This year we decided that in light of our upcoming vacation next week we'd forgo the celebrations and just exchange cards.

Imagine my surprise on Monday when he came home with a beautiful rose. It's hard to believe that it's been 12 years already. Some days it seems like we were married only yesterday. Other days it seems like he has been in my life since day one, how can it only have been 14 years? How did I ever manage without him? I still amazes me how love works.

Up for a Little Challenge?

Create your own "I AM" poem here, and then share it on your blog. Here's mine:

I Am

I am strong and beautiful
I wonder how differently things might have turned out
I hear the whispers from my past
I see the images, that have yet to fade with time
I want to be at peace with myself
I am strong and beautiful

In Which... I had Enough!

On Friday, June 22nd.. I posted the photos of my daughter's bedroom that I had just finished painting. We started working on her bedroom (this phase) during April vacation (last full week of April) and I finished painting at the end of June. 2 months of back breaking work getting those walls repaired and prepped and new trim and blah blah blah. On Saturday June 23rd, the person who is going to sand and seal her floor came and gave us a quote and an estimate. He said it would be about a month. I, having just spent months painting.. and we won't talk about all the time spent prior to this working on the room to get it to here... wanted it done sooner. Like yesterday.

Eye Candy Friday (a few minutes late)

The other day, after they whacked down my poor Maple tree and mucked up my hedges, I found myself outside in the yard. I was wandering around a bit, taking stock of the situation. I wandered over and checked out my flower garden. I was walking back into the house, and just realizing that I had put the gate across the inside of the porch door, when I came face to face with the biggest humming bird I've ever seen. I was literally 2-3 feet away from it. I quietly moved back, and then ran around the front, in the door and grabbed the camera. My kind of luck would usually have the hummingbird long gone by the time I got back. Not that day.

Random iPod

I see her as a little girl hiding in her room
She takes another bath and she sprays her momma's perfume
To try to wipe away the scent he left behind
But it haunts her mind.

You see she's his little rag, nothing more than just a waif
And he's mopping up his need, she is tired and afraid
Maybe she'll find a way through these awful years to disappear.

In Which We Find a Long Story....

I've blogged already about how they are replacing the sidewalk out in front of our house. It runs the length of the street, turns in front of the school and then ends. It was built over 50 years ago, and it was falling apart. Having to walk down that sidewalk at least 2x a day just to go to work (I walk down it more than 2x a day), I was the biggest advocate of replacing it.

Right up until last week when they got to the part in front of my house. On Thursday, I watched as the big trucks dug out the old sidewalk. I heard crunching sounds that I came to discover where my hedges. I took several deep breaths. I am a fairly intelligent person and I didn't expect that they were going to rebuild the sidewalk without causing some disturbance to my hedges, which grow right along the edge of it. Secretly, I was hoping that whatever damage they did would be minimal. I walked out after they left for the day, and had a look.

You.. Rocked me all night long....

"I'm a Rockin' Girl... in a Rockin' World.... life is spastic.. it's fantastic!...."
*sung to the tune of "Barbie Girl" by Aqua.

Two or Three Different people have graced me with this title in the last week and a half, and I keep forgetting to come post about it. What can I say?

So. Very. Grouchy. (a non-rant post)

I've been a little grouchy the past few days. OK, "little" might be an understatement. I've been VERY grouchy. Not because I want to be grouchy mind you. (Sgt, cover your eyes!) I've got PMS. I never used to get PMS, up until a few years ago. Now on top of the severe headaches the day before that come along with nausea and exhaustion, I get grouchy. I'm hoping that we're having an *early* month.. because if not I still have 4 more days of grouchy. Early isn't my normal thing. I have a "normal for me, late" thing going on. OK, so anyhow.. I've been a rotten bitch. So miserable I don't even like myself.

(Sgt, you can open your eyes again)

Things that would normally be OK, have been pushing me close to the edge. I have a list of things I could rant about today. My son and his damn hormones... the dog and her "busting out of the house and running away" incident the other day.. ... the morons who are rebuilding the sidewalk and how they've destroyed my hedges and most likely one of my maple trees.. the fact that my sewing machine is on it's way to MD with my mother (permanently).. a whole list.

A New Month... A New Epiphany

As I rode along in the car tonight on the way back from my brothers house, I found myself doing some "deep thinking" along with the radio. It's nice to be a passenger sometimes. You can lose yourself in the scenery out the window. We brought my mom to S's house, where she will spend the remainder of her weeks vacation. I was feeling like an awful daughter, because when the car turned on and we drove out of the driveway, I had a huge feeling of "thank God that's over" wash over me. This year she came for a short visit. She arrived Saturday afternoon, spent some time napping Saturday evening, went to Church Sunday and was gone a total of 5 hours.. and yesterday, after we all went blueberry picking, The Boy and I took the kids to the fair without her (it's hard on her and she had some stuff she wanted to do) and were gone 3.5 hours. Considering all of this.. it was still a VERY LONG visit.