All in a Day's Work

That's what Reader's Digest had as a title. Was thinking of this 'typical day'. Somehow it is almost challenging to tell people what we mom's do on a given day. Well here goes it for me so far:

* shuttled kids to summer school

* moved hoses on all the new trees at least 4X

* two loaves of fresh bread on the island cooling

* spaghetti sauce on the stove waiting for the meatballs and pasta

* three loads of laundry done, folded, put away

* sheets changed on one bed

* ran to the grocery store for a few items

* got gas (not me, the car)

* car cleaned out, vacuumed, and rugs cleaned with the Green Machine

* watching two neighbor boys for the day (although that is not much work as they are keeping our three entertained)

* vacuumed the kitchen floor 2X

* brushed out Lisi with the Furminator (nearly enough fur removed for another dog)

* made breakfast and lunch so far

* checked e-mail and FB too many lots of times

* unloaded the dishwasher once, cleaned off the counters

* a few phone calls - one birthday rsvp, an appt., friends/family

* and a wee 10 minute nap!!!

Now off I go. Weeding some thistles... take the kids to a park, finish the supper thing, sip some black cherry iced tea. And meeting tonight! Whew!

Not complainin' here folks. Just another day at the D's. Chairman is working hard too it seems.

My first visit

I'm not sure how much therapy I was. I almost felt like the big lady that yells but loves me anyway was needing some after the time in the nursing home. But the Big Boss Lady trainer person said I did good. So! There!

So we head off on a hot day to a big building. I got super excited because I thought we might be going to the dog park or better still, the store where there are buckets of treats and big bags of kibble for me. But when the big lady let me out of the van we were at neither place. I wish she'd talk to me more and say where we're going. How can a dog like me plan ahead? Oh well. I've tried to tell her, but she won't listen (she talks a lot you know).

We get there and there is this big sliding glass door that we go through. And right away there is this living room looking place. I couldn't believe it. The big lady told me to walk over with her and sit right beside the sofa! The rules must have changed because at home I can't do that. Then in comes my friend Kobe. He's a mutt dog learning like me. But I got a bit irritated as his lady person (who I might add doesn't look like the yelling type like mine) had him all spiffed up with a scarf and stuff. He's a brown noser... well actually, black. Small detail.

There's a big distraction though. A HUGE ball fish tank thing. I kept watching it and feeling frantic. I wanted to go bite them, but it was high on a wall and well... you can't bite through plexiglass.

So then we got to go! Down this long hall. It was ripe with smells. I heard the big lady say it was a very pleasant place. But it did smell! Like people. Old people. And food trays. And crumbs. And other stuff. We walked into a lot of different rooms. Some of the people were almost ok. Some were just plain out of their minds. Some looked like they wouldn't be around for the next visit. And one lady was in my mind completely dead. She was lying flat on her back completely covered head to toe with a sheet. The big lady with me did a little 'gasp'. And then the someone under the sheet yelled, 'Is that you Cindy?'. Nope. Just Lisi and the big lady that yellls. 'Am I in the hospital?'. For goodness sake you nut-ball, take the sheet off your face and see that you're in your nursing home room! But she never did. I tried to coax her out but she wasn't interested in even looking at me! Can you believe it? I'm pretty! Then we were in a room with a man that was in a wheelchair. He was so sweet looking. And shaky. And frail. And his wife was standing there and she asked him if he wanted to pet me. The man said yes (smart choice) and then his very dull, lifeless eyes just sparkled. Then he started to talk about a beagle his son had. And he was so happy. And his wife was overjoyed. And it was all because I made him think about something other than his sad life. I laid down between my big lady and them and just listened to them talk. They loved me there. And then my favorite. A guy that was just like my Grandpa R. except he was older. He pet me and let me kiss him all over and he kissed me and said that he actually loved me! Well for goodness sake, why not! I made that guy so happy he had tears in his eyes. And then... I had to leave.

We were done. The Big Boss lady said I did good. Kobe did almost a bit better. But he's a show-off. We go back in a week. I can't wait.

But! In two weeks there is a test. A super-duper hard test. And my big lady that yells is very busy so she's worried how I'll do. If I don't pass, I'm not a therapy dog. I guess lots fail the first time. But we'll give it a shot.

So there you have it you Lisi lovers out there. I'm sure there will be another tail, I mean tale to tell very soon!

MIA

Yep. Feel like I've been missing in all the action. Summer. Whew! I feel overwhelmed busy these days.

* Two birthdays this week. I remember when Mira was coming that it would be interesting to have two birthdays in one week. And it is. Fun. Yet challenging. Wanting to celebrate each daughter, yet tempted to lump it all together in one fiesta and cake. So far, they don't mind. And they get to choose the menus of their own day.

* Feeling a great lack of patience this week for some reason. I feel like the mom of "Baby Blues" a lot of days. (sigh). But then the sun comes out and a child does a chore without reminding.

* Baseball is in full swing for Trevor. Still three games this week.

* And a nursing home visit for Lisi. I should tell it from her vantage point. Think I will for my own outlet.

* Why am I fascinated with the whole MJ circus happening in CA? Good thing it's about over. Maybe it stems from the fact he graced one of the walls in my dorm room in '84 or '85. (not my poster by the way)

* We're living going to see a circus. At the lakefront.

* Busy days for the next week(s). I sound tired. And I am. Thank you and good-bye.

Happy Birthday to the Chairman!

Happy birthday to my dear husband the Chairman. You're my bread when I'm hungry, your my shelter from troubled winds, you're my anchor in life's ocean, but most of all... you're my best friend*.

I could say more, but the Chairman wouldn't want me to. So... dear husband, Happy Birthday!!!

* Stolen from a song...

Some afterthoughts...

* Today I got an unexpected call and was expecting something wonderful to happen today. So I cleaned up the house, picked up all the extra papers that seem to accumulate even though I'm not a clutter-type person, got the kids all showered and fresh, and made shrimp fettuccine with the fixin's for the meal. And then the call came saying 'they' weren't coming. And I was slightly disappointed. Yet thankful 'they' were staying where they needed to be. And I had a lovely meal, clean kids, and a tidy house to show for my efforts. The Chairman was most pleased. :-)

* Today, I was able to watch the last swimming lesson of this session. Trevor is just awesome at diving. No fear. A high arc. And strong. Rayna is graceful. Pretty actually (I shouldn't be saying this as I'm the mother), and just charming while radiating happiness. Mira was grinning to me until she actually had to get in the water. For her swimming lessons would be a blast as long as she didn't have to get wet. Or have manly teachers.

* Speaking of which. I think I may have been profiled today at the swimming lessons. I watched lifeguard lady passing out little feedback sheets. She gave it to this mom, this mom, this dad, this mom, (skipped Grandma), and so forth and so on. And then she looked at me and passed me up! I'm wondering just for a split second and then I realize, she thinks I'm Grandma!!! Heavy sigh. I just might get a complex some day...

* Big brothers 'tooting' on little sister's bed made for a huge lack of quietness after our g.m. tonight. Heavy sigh.

* I'm sick of buying summer clothes and hardly having opportunity to wear them here in WI.

* Follow up on the skirt that I recently bought. I trudged into the aforementioned store. Laid it on the counter. Pleaded my stupidity. Showed proof of purchase and asked that the blasted irritating tag thingy be removed. She looked it over and said, 'oh you can't keep this skirt! It has a mark on it and a hole is started. Um. Yes it is. Did you see if there is another one over there in your size? No. You run along and see and we'll do an even exchange for your trouble. You've got to be kidding I'm thinking. Really? And so I do. And there is one of my size left! And!!! To make it like icing on the cake she puts the new one in my bag and says, 'let me give you this discount coupon for your trouble the next time you shop here'. I was/am baffled. I was the one that created the problem. And she gives me a brand-spankin' new skirt and a coupon for my trouble? How good is that!!

* But we're in the middle of my favorite time of the year. Lots of opportunities to be with friends/family, good weather (mostly), and having the kids around. Happy sigh.

Made me snicker

* Apologies to Mel B. Blatantly stolen off her page. But as much as I know of her, she won't come beat me up for doing this (or will she?). But I had a couple good laughs. Hope you do too!

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's "winners".

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

14. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

15. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

16. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River .

17. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

18. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

19. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

20. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

21. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

22. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

23. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

24. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

Tuesday's Twits

* Brrr-chilly! Last week we sat and sweat at the baseball games. Tonight I think I'll have to pack my long underwear! Gotta love Wisconsin.

* Any great birthday ideas for the Chairman? He's going to celebrate in just days... (that is if his wife gets it together)

* The DS is still a hit here at this house. T-man is showing good discretion on when to use though... which I'm quite impressed about.

* The living room is harboring a massive fort (again). It drives me crazy is a lot of fun for especially Rayna... who likes alone-places.

* Our lawn has zebra stripes. The lawn service apologized profusely and muttered something about a machine not working. They're coming back to fix.... somehow... I hope.

* I started the therapy dog class yesterday. It was mainly an informative class with no dogs allowed. Lisi was quite put out when I told her to get in the porch instead of coming along. Dogs must know time to some weird degree. Next week is the nursing home! Just a couple weeks of practice then another test. And it'll be hard again. But then if she passes, then we can do therapy stuff this fall!

* The kids are hardly fighting these days. I'm not sure why, but I'm sure enjoying it!

* This week 15 years ago the Chairman asked me to be Mrs. Chairman. Best 'yes' I ever said!

* Too much banana cake isn't good for the waistline. Especially with burnt butter frosting. Yum.

* Rememberhttp:this? Well Mira realized that you could actually buy child-sized crutches without a Dr. needing to prescribe them. And so! That is the only thing she wants for her birthday. Weird kid I know...!

Enough twits.