Unexpected bird watching

Today I got a chance to do a little unexpected bird watching when this hawk flew into my office window at full speed. He scared the living daylights out of me as I was talking on the phone. I dropped the phone and screamed which was actually pretty hilarious.

After he hit the window he laid there with his wings out and I thought he was dead at first. Then he popped up and sat on the ground for awhile. After a co-worker tried to open the window he ducked under the fence next door but instead of leaving he then hopped up and sat on the fence outside my window and just sat there looking at the building and starring at me like "What the hell just happened? How do I get in there too?" He finally flew up into a tree outside my window and just finally flew off an hour and a half later.

After studying the body print that he left on my window I realized that I had seen it somewhere before. I went upstairs to Reception where an even clearer bird print could be found on the window. Obviously this bird is determined to get in our office one way or another and he hasn't learned his lesson yet.

Mother Nature rocks

When Hannah started kindergarten we planted an apple tree in our front yard. The plan was that every year on the first day of school we would take her picture in front of the tree and every year both she and tree would get bigger and taller.

We haven't done anything with the tree. We don't prune it. We don't fertilize it. We don't spray pesticides on it. We let nature take its course and just hope that the tree doesn't die before Hannah graduates from high school.

During the first few years the apple tree produced a sad little apple here or there. Even when they grow big they end up being sort of rotten and full of bugs. The tree is on the far side of our lawn away from the driveway and this year is the first year that I've really noticed a lot of apples on the tree. Big, bright, red apples. Lincoln went out and picked one this morning.

Check it out! There is something to be said for just letting Mother Nature do her thing.

Looks like we're pushing the anniversary plans back a few days

Next Wednesday is our 9th wedding anniversary. Our plan was to go out to dinner and celebrate on our actual anniversary. I suppose we still could but I would like to be able to have some wine with our fancy dinner so I think we'll be pushing it back a few days.

Earlier today I found out I have a bacterial infection from my little dip in the pool last week to repair the hole in the bottom of the pool. The doctor told me she'd call in a prescription for antibiotics for me but that I had to make sure not to drink any alcohol while I was on it. I have no problems not drinking for a week while I'm on the pills but I thought it strange that she really emphasized this point. Medicine always has a "do not drink alcohol" label on the bottle but usually it doesn't mean that much. I mean, a glass of wine wouldn't kill you.

Lincoln picked up the prescription for me and I checked out the warnings on the bottle and it had the standard "Do not drink alcoholic beverages when taking this medicine" but this time it always said "check all medicine or food labels to help avoid hidden sources of alcohol". What? Wow. This sounds pretty serious. Usually when I get a new medication I skim the informational pamphlet on the side effects but this time I actually read the entire thing. One important thing I picked up on was that not only can I not drink alcohol for the 7 days that I am taking the medicine but that I'm not allowed to drink for 3 days afterwards either. Oh my.

This is where the anniversary dinner comes into play. My medicine will be done on Monday night and our anniversary is Wednesday night. I figured I'd email my Aunt Lin - who is a brilliant pharmacist - and get her take on whether or not we should move our anniversary dinner. Here is her reply:

Don't drink alcohol !!!! I think I'd move the anniversary dinner back a few days just to be on the safe side. If you still have any left in your system you could get violently sick to your stomach.

Happy Anniversary !!

Violently? Um, okay.

And I love how she followed up "violently sick" with a cheery "Happy Anniversary!"

Needless to say we'll be moving the dinner reservation.

Unintended consequences

The good news: The patch I put in the pool during my little swim last week is still holding and looks to be hanging in there for the long haul.

The bad news: My little swim in the untreated pool - and subsequent long hot bath - resulted in a delightful little bacterial infection on my person.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Do not adjust your screen. This post is in fact leaning to the right.

As I've declared many times on this blog, I am a Democrat. My husband has a tendency to lean a little more in the other direction. There is one rant, however, that I go off on every so often where Lincoln waits for me to finish before chuckling to himself as I wrap up by saying "Yes, I know that is a bit of Reagan-era trickle down economics but I don't care."

If you earn your money, you should have the right to spend it however you want. That's not to say that I think the wealthy shouldn't be taxed more. I definitely think they should. I mean, if you can drop a down payment on a Porsche you should chip in a little more than the single mom working three jobs and still barely putting food on the table. I'm just saying....

But that's not the point of this post.

I absolutely hate when people say "I can't believe they spent so much money on that!"

For example:

I can't believe those celebrities spent $1 million dollars on their wedding! Don't they know there are homeless people in Los Angeles that could have used that money?

OR

I can't believe the President went on vacation at Martha's Vineyard when I don't have a job. Not everyone gets to take a vacation this summer thanks to this mess of an economy.

OR

I can't believe she spent $1200 on a washing machine! Doesn't she know that some mothers have to go to the laundry mat with their 3 children in tow?

Let's just take a look at these situations one by one, shall we?

You're right. That celebrity could have run to Las Vegas and eloped therefore freeing up that $1 million dollars to be donated to charity OR they could have done exactly what they did and put $1 million dollars into the event planning industry thereby helping the businesses of florists, caterers, security companies, wedding planners, and limo drivers and the hundreds of employees that count on them for their jobs. Better that than them snorting it up their nose in a drug fueled binge on the flight to Vegas.

Yes, the President of the United States went on vacation where he paid for his vacation rental with his own money. He earned it. His wife earned it. They worked hard for their money before he became President and they work hard for it now. Let them spend the damn money -once again - helping shore up the financials of the person who rented the house to them as well as many of the businesses on the Vineyard that benefited from the First Family taking a vacation in their town. What would you rather he do with the money, mail it to you so that you can go on vacation yourself? If you deserve a vacation you will have earned your own damn money.

As you can tell by the "Blogs I Love to Read" on the side of this page, I read Heather Armstrong's blog at http://www.dooce.com/ and also follow her on Twitter where she has well over a million followers. She recently purchased a washing machine for $1200 and it didn't work. She got into a battle with the manufacturer because she was having trouble getting it fixed. People called her a bully for publicly pressuring a company to make right on a brand new piece of equipment that didn't work. God forbid she spent money "frivolously" AND expect it work. The horror! A local appliance company volunteered to give her a free machine (she's a bit of a celebrity in the mommy blogger world) and she in turn donated that machine to a women's shelter because she could afford to buy her own machine. Wasn't that nice of her? No. It wasn't enough for the angry masses. They were appalled that she would have bought a $1200 machine in the first place when there are people out there that can't afford a washing machine at all. But she can people!!! Let her spend her damn money on whatever she wants. Isn't everyone screaming these days that sales are dragging and bringing down our economy? If she wants to but money into the economy let her! Or your (admittedly stereotypical) unemployed ass sitting at home spending WAY too much time meddling in the lives of others will never find a job in this current economy.

And now I'm going to step down off of my soapbox and move it back firmly to the left after one final thought.

If Brad Pitt wants to build a habitat for his kids' gerbils I am sure that those in the pet, building materials, and animal waste removal industries don't mind that he dropped $80,000 on such a stupid thing. It's not like if he didn't build the gerbil habitat he was going to send the money to you anyway - so shut up and quit your bitching.

In the spirit of Shel Silverstein

Hannah loves the Shel Silverstein books. She reads The Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends constantly which I find really cute since I loved those books when I was a kid.

Last week at Open House she had a poem on her desk that she had written for a school assignment. It cracked me up because with a little tweaking it could totally pass as a Shel Silverstein poem.

I Can't Do My Homework
by: Hannah Snow

Oh no!
My rabid cat tore it!
Spelling flew out the window!
Math got eaten by a dog
I fell asleep during Social Studies
Had to take the dog for a walk
Can't do it now, I've got to eat breakfast
My brother just hid it!
Oh and now it's torn
I can't do my homework

Working together

Yesterday morning we worked on getting the house cleaned. Hannah wanted to mop the kitchen floor which of course meant that Jake wanted to do it too. We have a Clorox mop but we were out of solution so they were using a different mop solution that we have in a separate spray bottle. Hannah was trying to teach Jake how to spray it while she mopped and it was just too cute for words. Of course what started off as entertaining to the two of them quickly went down hill when Jake wouldn't listen to Hannah. In the second video Hannah walks off to go get a tissue and her sigh as she walks away is too precious for words.

Little brothers....they can be such a pain.

Deep Breaths

Earlier today my sister-in-law (the other Diane Snow) called and invited Lincoln and me to join her and her husband to listen to a band down at the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden is a bar here in town that is about 2 miles from our house.

Here's the thing. We didn't have a babysitter. So Diane (94)* volunteered her daughter Kayla to watch the kids.

Kayla is 11.

Yes, I started babysitting at 9. But Kayla is 11. And they're my kids. It's a whole different ball of wax, if you know what I mean.

I wanted to be okay with it. Kayla and her brother Kyle (age 17) are the most polite and most well-mannered kids that I've ever met but Kayla is still 11. E-L-E-V-E-N. It seemed old when I was 11 but now it seems like a baby.

And Jake agreed with me.

Jake LOVES Kayla. He calls her Kiki and she's one if his absolute favorite people in the entire world and yet when we told them she'd be babysitting he freaked out. He started crying and curled up in my lap and said "but won't there be an adult here!?!"

He freaked out so much I asked Lincoln if maybe there was something we didn't know that Jake was having some sort of sixth sense about. We decided to brave it and wrote down the number of the Rose Garden along with the number for Daddy's cell phone and 911.

Yes, I felt the need to clarify the number for 911.

At dinner we went over the rules with the kids and what was acceptable and what wasn't. I told them they should stop and think, "Would Mommy or Daddy say no to this?" before they did anything. It was all worked out and yet as we drove down the driveway I panicked that I didn't know if Kayla knew the Heimlich or not.

I'm usually a fairly laid back parent. When Hannah was less than 6 weeks old I used to leave her with a 12-year old while I went to the grocery store but I was a wee bit freaked out tonight. Kayla is really good with the kids but sometimes they get a little crazy. And Kayla was playing with Jake the night he split his head open jumping down the stairs a few years ago. It certainly wasn't her fault - and I was home at the time - but my nightmare is that he does it again while we're gone and no one is here to drive him the hospital.

Justin and Diane came down to drop Kayla off at 8:15 and I ended up quoting Spiderman. Lincoln would have been so proud of me. I said "With great power comes great responsibility." On top of that I said "Being in charge doesn't mean being bossy. It means being responsible."

Me, the most laid back parent in the universe was having a minor panic attack.

Even Diane (94) was making fun of me.

Me: We even went over fire plans with them. If there is a fire they're all supposed to meet at the apple tree.

Diane (94): Good God. Did you tell them what to do if someone breaks into the house too?

Me: Yes. They're supposed to hide in Hannah's walk-in closet.

Lincoln: And take the phone with them!

Originally I had given a timeline to Lincoln of one and a half hours....that was as long as we were to be gone. We had left the phone number for the Rose Garden (cell phones don't really work in downtown Upton) and had also taught Hannah how to text Daddy from Mommy's phone which we had left at home (texts come through but not phone calls) but I was still a wee bit nervous. Lincoln told me to do a shot when we got to the bar to loosen up but I didn't. I did, however, last an extra hour and we were home after 2 1/2 hours.

We came home and walked in the door to find Jake fast asleep - in his room no less! - and Hannah declaring Kayla to be "the best babysitter ever!"

It's amazing to me to think back to my childhood and how I started babysitting so young but now I'm a wreck when someone who is only 11 babysits my kids. Perspective on these things seriously change as you become older. It truly is amazing to view your own childhood through the lens of a parent. I always marvel at what freedom my parents gave me and how important it is to let my own kids have the same freedom.....it's just that much harder when they're your own.

*Diane (94) is my sister-in-law of the same name that lives on the same street. Her house number is 94 while ours is 106 so therefore she is referred to as Diane (94).

My big spender is now a cheapskate

In August Hannah went to the Taste of Edmonds with Grandma and Grandpa, her two cousins and her Uncle Steve. Someone gave each of the kids $5 to spend. Both boys immediately spent their money on toys but Hannah decided to save hers and put it in her wallet.

Since the kids have started doing chores they get an allowance every week. They've both been saving up for different things although Hannah got a lot of what she had been saving for when her birthday came around in August. I have always been guilty of spoiling the kids but all of a sudden I have a new weapon in aresenal.

Hannah: Mommy, can I have a color background for school pictures this year?

Me: It costs extra. If you want to pay the difference in price you can do it.

Hannah: Nah. I'll do the gray background.

(The next night at Open House at her school.)

Hannah: Can I get this scented eraser from the book fair?

Me: You have a million erasers that you never use but if you want to buy it with your own money you can.

Hannah: (Tosses it back in the bin and walks away.)

Lord knows she didn't learn fiscal responsibility from me. I just hope it continues through the rest of her life. After all, she's going to need a lot of money to take care of me in my old age since I'll be broke by then.

Open House

Tonight was Open House at Hannah's school. Guess who was on prominent display along with a story about Hannah's trip to the Chick Hatchery in Decorah?

Whatever happened to Customer Service (Subtitled: Verizon Wireless sucks)

For a little over a year now I've had the Blackberry Storm through Verizon Wireless. I've been a customer of Verizon Wireless for 10 years now. Until this month I have been able to expense a portion of my cell phone bill through my company but now they've decided that they're moving all of the employee phones over to AT&T Mobility. That means that I've received a new Blackberry Curve for work and am still carrying my Blackberry Storm for personal use. That's all well and good except that in comparison to the Blackberry Curve the Blackberry Storm sucks rotten eggs. And therefore I hate that I have it.

Luckily (or so I thought) Verizon Wireless is running a promo now that if you buy one Blackberry Curve for $49.99 you get one free. Sweet. I'll pay $50 to change from the Storm to the Curve.

Not so fast.

Because I'm already a customer - and a VIP one at that according to the little silver card in my wallet - they'll only charge me $119 to buy the Curve.

WHAT?

I don't think so.

I just got into a long argument with the idiot at Verizon Wireless that it doesn't make any sense whatsoever that they would disrespect a long-standing VIP customer by charging them more than a potential new customer. And since my company will pay my termination fees if I want to move entirely over to AT&T Mobility it makes absolutely no sense for me to buy a phone for $70 more than necessary OR stay with the company and continue to pay them almost $200 a month.

Unfortunately the idiot that first took my call couldn't follow that logic if I had faxed her a flow chart but then she passed me on to a supervisor. He was a little better. He's the one that offered me the $119 deal instead of the original $450 price tag Idiot #1 was offering me because I'm not currently eligible for an upgrade.

Whatever happened to wanting to KEEP the loyal customers you already have? Whatever happened to good customer service?

Verizon Wireless sucks.

And so it begins.....again

The yearbook is under way for 2009/2010. The cover art contest is in full swing. Yearbook order forms and waivers are going out next week. Hopefully I learned a few things last year that will make this year's book a lot easier to produce. Fingers crossed!

One year

Today is the one year anniversary of my Grandma Gert's death. It doesn't seem like a year has come and gone so quickly but I guess the calendar doesn't lie.

I'm not terribly sad.

I know that sounds bad, but I'm not. That doesn't mean I don't miss her or that I don't wish she was still here but I'm not sad. She was almost 95 years old when she died and she had lived a great life. She was still living at home by herself and she had her 8 wonderful children by her side when she passed away. Her funeral was sad but it really was more about celebrating her life and not mourning her death.

Those of us that knew her were blessed by her presence in our lives for many, many years. I guess it was time to give her back to those that had gone before her - Grandpa Charlie, Edith, Jerome, and David to name a few.

So I'm not sad. I'm happy for her and the loved ones she has been reunited with in heaven. We were selfish in keeping her for so long but I don't regret one day of it. I'd do it all over again.

Happy Birthday Grandma B!

My grandmother is 96 years old today. Years ago when Hannah learned to read Grandma B wanted Hannah to learn one of her favorite poems - I Have a Little Shadow - and in my usual procrastination we haven't gotten around to it until now when I finally told her she could just read the poem for Grandma B and not memorize the whole thing. Thank God for the longevity that the women in my family seem to have.

Here are birthday wishes from both kids for Grandma B on her special day. And no, I have no idea why Jake is holding a toy mop and broom in his hands in his video but pay special attention to the plants at his feet. Those are his new plants and he's very proud of them and takes care of them all on his own.

Pool update

The hole in the pool liner has been repaired. It's holding for now but I guess we'll have to see how it works once winter sets in and then spring thaws everything out.

I climbed into the pool - which was at 55 very tropical degrees - wearing my version of a wet suit. I was wearing heavy sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. It wasn't so bad on the legs once I got in but the times I had to go under with the goggles and the snorkel while fixing it were a little overwhelming. The first few seconds after I would go under my brain would freeze. Luckily it was a quick repair job and I was able to get out after only a few minutes. I probably wasn't in there for more than 5 or 10 minutes. I had also prepared a hot bath before heading outside so I immediately went in and climbed into that. Between that and the heated towel bar that my husband had installed last winter I quickly forgave him for taking down the tent earlier.

As of this morning the patch is still holding and the pool is not leaking but we're keeping our fingers crossed. I'd hate to build this beautiful new pool deck and not have a pool in the center of it.

Not good.

Lincoln and I have been out working on the pool deck all day and have actually been fairly productive. Things were going smoothly until we noticed the drill was gone. Where had it gone you ask? In the pool of course.

First thought: Crap, are we going to have to buy a new drill?

Answer: Most likely not. Once we fished it out it still worked. Will it work once it is dry, who knows? At this point, who cares?

And why do we not care? Because the drill tore a gash - not just a hole, but a gash - in the lining of the pool. As the water was rushing out of the pool I had the idea - THANK GOD - to put a "stopper" in it to slow it down until we could drain the rest of the water out of the pool. If the water goes out through the hole it will eat away all the sand and dirt under the pool making it that much more difficult to fix. If we can pump it out with the sump pump we can at least salvage the bottom of the pool. Lincoln got a hand towel, wrapped it around some PVC pipe and stuck it on top of the hole. For now it's holding.

Once we managed to stop the water from leaking we started pumping out the pool. That takes quite a bit of time so I headed in to do some quick research on whether or not we were going to have to replace the pool liner or if we could repair it. Luckily it looks like we can repair it even though it's on the bottom of the pool. We have a couple of solutions that can be done under water.

Under water? Yes, that means I'm about to jump in the 55 degree pool full of leaves and dead bugs (the filter has been turned off for a week or two) and do a little late summer swimming. Lincoln is now - finally - on his way to Ace Hardware to pick up the stuff that will hopefully work to repair the pool. If it doesn't we're really screwed and will have to replace the whole thing. Not cheap.

My biggest frustration? The fact that when I came in to do the research, and went back out to tell Lincoln we had an underwater option, he didn't jump in his truck and run to Ace before the pool was completely destroyed. No, he decided to disassemble his tent from the camp out last night. Really? REALLY? Not quite as important as trying to fix the pool before irreparable damage is done or before THE SUN SETS and I have to get in the 55 degree pool with no sun to at least pretend to warm me. No, he had decided to disassemble the tent while I was inside doing the research and since he thinks differently then I do he decides to finish one project before moving onto the next one. I tend to move to THE MOST URGENT ONE even if it means leaving the tent half up and half down.

My husband is perfect 99.999999999999% of the time and it is incredibly, incredibly rare for us to have an argument. I am happy to say we didn't have an argument over this. And I'm even more proud to say that I didn't take the pole from the tent and jam it through his head.

Hard core? Or just stupid?

Last night was the Sullivan's annual camp out. Our neighbors have a large pasture at their house and every year they have a bunch of people over to pitch tents in the pasture and they build a huge bonfire. Lincoln and the kids usually go up and they really enjoy it. The original camp out this year was scheduled in August but got postponed until last night due to a tropical storm that was moving through the area.

Hannah didn't go last night because she came down with a terrible cold yesterday and had a fever of 100.8 degrees. Lincoln and Jake packed up the tent and the sleeping bags and headed up there in the early evening. It was supposed to be in the high 30's / low 40's overnight so I didn't think they'd actually make it through the entire night but they had packed the "high-tech" sleeping bag and plenty of extra blankets. I figured that even if Lincoln didn't decide it was too cold that Jake would drive him nuts complaining and they would be home before midnight.

I was wrong. They made it through the entire night and Lincoln actually said that 1) Jake slept until almost 8 (unheard of!) and 2) that he - Lincoln, that is - got a good night's sleep. What I didn't except to hear was that THEY WERE THE ONLY ONES THAT DID IT! Yep, no one else spent the night. No one else even bothered to pitch the tent because they knew how cold it was going to be. Even Rich went in and slept in his house. But Lincoln and our FOUR AND A HALF YEAR OLD slept outside within 10 degrees of the freezing point on the thermometer. I don't know if I should clobber Lincoln over the head or shake his hand and say "Good job."

In need of an attitude adjustment

Jake has taken to answering to his name being called by saying: "What it is this time?"

It's not going over well.

Expect the unexpected

This week has been one thing after another when it comes to dealing with what life throws at you. Lincoln's truck had major issues this week and had to have the radiator replaced. Hannah is coming down with a nasty cold when she's supposed to be preparing for a camp-out tonight. My email went down at work at the worst possible time while I'm working on two huge projects for my boss. It always seems like it is one thing after another. Luckily I have the world's best partner at my side. We make a great team and I love you very much honey.

Our new best friend, Casey

A lot has been going on this week. We officially filed the LLC paperwork for the company which also included having to switch over the bank accounts, insurance policies, etc. It's exciting that all of this is happening but it has also been a little crazy around here.

Lincoln and I have hired a wonderful financial planner. He is not only helping us get our personal finances in order but he is also helping us with the business planning which is fantastic. We interviewed a couple of different planners but Casey is definitely the one we liked the best. He charges us a flat yearly fee (which most of them do) but unlike the others it's not just one meeting to hand over our financials, one meeting to go over what they recommend for us, and one meeting in 6 months to check in and see how things are going. We've been meeting with Casey quite a bit actually. The first meeting was to go over general goals and what we want to accomplish both personally and with the business. After each meeting he assigns us "homework" before we come back for the next meeting.

At the first meeting we were given "dream books" which are pretty typical in the financial planning industry based on what we learned while interviewing them. We each filled out a book of what we want to save for (retirement, college, travel, etc.) and discussed those with him. He also gave us a booklet that required us to pull together all of our financial documents and current budget. All of that stuff is pretty standard stuff if you're meeting with a financial planner. When we finished that meeting he assigned us a book to read on small business planning. Both Lincoln and I read it and we had another meeting (this time by conference call) to discuss the book and start us on our business planning. We have more homework regarding the business planning that we have to accomplish between now and our next meeting where we get the plans that they're putting together for our retirement and college saving plans.

The other thing I really like, which the other planners we met with didn't really offer, is that they're not just setting us up with a bunch of investments and mutual funds but they're also going over our current budget and income and helping us eliminate some current debt and organize our financial lives now - not just down the road.

I think that hiring Casey is one of the best decisions we've ever made and hopefully it will be a long and productive relationship.

Who knew there were so many hours in a week

With all that has been going on around here lately I feel like I'm working multiple jobs. I guess in reality I really am. I'm working for my "real" job as well as for Lincoln's company and there is a LOT going on there lately. On top of everything else I'm chairing the Family Fun Night for the PTO this fall (something I signed up for last spring). By the time I get to Wednesday each week I feel like I've put in so many hours that it must surely be Friday. Then I look at the calendar and reality hits. It's insane. Hopefully things will even out soon.

The good news is that we're making sure to take some time out for us to relax and not stress too much so that we don't get too overwhelmed. Lincoln and I end each evening sitting down on the couch with each other, grab a beer, and watch an episode or two of our new favorite show, The Big Bang Theory. It is a show we've never watched before but with the third season about to premiere this month we decided to watch Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. It's not often we have the same interest in television shows so it is nice we've found something we can watch together. And I realize that many people would probably say that sitting together on the couch and watching the TV isn't really bonding with each other but it's a nice way to dial down the day, veg out, and just unwind without the kids or the company or life weighing down on us.

She is obviously ignorant of the classics

Hannah is an incredibly smart kid but sometimes I think she takes herself a little too seriously.

Exhibit A:

Me (singing): Walk like an Egyptian...

Hannah: How does an Egyptian walk?

Me: (demonstrating the popular arm and head motions)

Hannah: I seriously doubt that is how Egyptians walk.

Still here. Just not here.

Yes, we are still here. I feel like I haven't put much up on the blog lately but it seems that there is so much going on that I have too little time and too much to say so I just ignore the blog instead.

Here are a few of the projects that we're currently trying to stay on top of (in no particular order of importance):

• Building the deck
• Family Fun Night for the PTO (I'm chairing it)
• Yearbook (the cover art contest is in full swing)
• Lincoln's business plan (to start applying for business loans)
• Filing the legal paperwork to become an LLC including creating an Operating Agreement plus orchestrating all necessary insurance and accounting changes due to status change
• Financial planner meetings (both for our personal stuff and for business planning)
• Hannah's homework and school activities
• Two large projects that I've just been handed at work
• Implementing a big marketing push for Link's company this fall.

Oh yeah, and then here is just life in general. How could I forget that?

Politics and children - a serious note

I would just like to state for the record, that despite my joking about the brainwashing being complete when it comes to my children and raising them to be Democrats, that we also had a talk last night about listening to both sides. That ignoring the opposing side completely and not being willing to listen to both sides openly is actually only making a mockery of the very foundation upon which our country is built. You may not always agree with the other side of a political argument but you should always be willing to listen.

The brainwashing is complete

I listened to President Obama's speech on healthcare last week but didn't get a chance to watch it on television until tonight. While we were watching it I was commenting on the fact that sometimes the Democrats are the only ones standing up and sometimes both Democrats and Republicans stand up to cheer for something when the President says something they all agree with. I don't remember what was the point that the President made that preceded this conversation....

Me: Ah...both the Democrats and the Republicans are standing up for that one. Good.

Hannah: What does that mean? That the Republicans aren't dumb?

Apparently the brainwashing is complete.

Deep thoughts for a Saturday morning

By design a pencil is to be used if you think you may need to erase something. Yet the capacity of the lead to write far outstrips the durability of the eraser to erase. You could write for days and days using the same pencil and yet if you have to erase a few things all of a sudden you're stripped of the sole purpose of the pencil.....to be able to write AND erase.

Very frustrating when you're working on compiling budgets and financial plans.

Reality TV Junkie

What have I done to my child with my obsessive reality TV watching? Tonight I had Project Runway playing on the TV. Hannah and I were watching it while Lincoln read his magazine and Jake played on the floor with his back to the TV. All of a sudden....

Jake: Ooooh. Who's going to win? I just can't wait!

Huh?

Obviously our sock budget has been funneled to my chapstick budget

Hannah: Geez Jake, I think you need some new socks.

Me: Wow! Yeah, I think so.

Link: Hey! They were the only ones I could find clean this morning. And I think those are hand me downs from Hannah.

Obviously these socks have seen way, way, WAY better days, and how they escaped Grandma Dena's notice is anyone's guess, and they will be thrown away this evening.

Unfortunately we won't be able to buy any replacement socks since we've spent all of our money on Chapstick. Anyone who knows me knows that I am addicted to Chapstick. Addicted. Addicted with a capital A. A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D. I usually have them scattered everywhere. There is usually one in my purse, one in the kitchen, one in my car, one on my work desk, one on my home desk, one in my coat, one on the bedside table, one in my pocket....you get the idea. Anyway, somehow they've all migrated to my desk at home. Let's hope I don't get chapped lips anywhere else.

No. See, I can say it.

Tonight was the first PTO meeting of the year. Out of the four items under "new business" I had to speak on three of them. They were the PTO website (which I created and update), Family Fun Night (which I am chairing), and the yearbook (which I coordinate). I stood up and introduced myself by saying "I'm Diane Snow. Otherwise known as the volunteer that can't say no."

I really need to work on this.

This is for those of you with little brothers

Hannah: Jake! Why do you always have to bother me?

Me: Because he's your little brother.

Hannah: That's why if you take away the "r" it spells bother.

Discussing politics the responsible way

Me: I just spent an hour writing a long, inarticulate blog posting about politics and then I scrapped it. I then spent another half hour writing a long rant about politics using swear words, capital letters and lots of exclamation points. In other words, I took the high road.

Lincoln: I'm proud of you.

We need a little movie magic

Politics are really starting to disgust me. No one is listening to the other side anymore and everyone would rather shout sound bites and tweet at each other via Twitter than actually get anything done. Politicians tiptoe around each other because God forbid the other side get something they can run on the opposing side's networks on a 24/7 news cycle.

President Obama gave a fairly fiery speech over Labor Day weekend to a union crowd. I didn't watch it but I heard Newt Gringrich talking about it yesterday. He said that it wasn't appropriate for a President to be giving a speech like that anymore now that he isn't a candidate and that the President needs to present a speech that caters to both sides of the aisle before praising Obama's speech to students yesterday for doing just that. (Ironic, really, since the Republicans were screaming that the speech to students would indoctrinate our children to the President's socialist plan to bring down our country.)

Well tonight the President is going to address a joint session of Congress in hopes of getting the health care plan moving. I don't know what he's going to say. I don't even know what I think he's going to say since all the networks, blogs, and newspapers are constantly saying something different but I just hope he says something.

We don't need any more of this wishy-washy political caution. This country needs someone to come in and say, to BOTH sides of the political aisle, "Listen up! You guys are the political leaders of this country. You have been voted into office to help the people of this country. You are not here to cater to lobbyists who line your pockets. You are here for the people who have no voice. You are here for the people that do have a voice. You are here to serve EVERYONE so shut the fuck up and stop acting like children. " And then he needs to lock them in the capitol and take away their blackberries and their computers and their cell phones and tell them no one is allowed to come out until SOMETHING has been accomplished. I don't care what. I don't care which side "wins". Just fucking do something and stop all this "he said / she said / death panels / socialist agenda" crap. They all need to get their heads out of their asses and their hands out of the pockets of whoever pays the most money to buy their vote and get back to RUNNING THE DAMN COUNTRY!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm fired up about this?

Anyway, here is a cinematic version of what we need from Obama's speech tonight. Someone who is sick of the media spin and the critics coming at him over pointless trivia and not even bothering to debate policy.

Deck building weather

Two years ago we built a great big deck on one end of our pool. It was necessary to have a deck of some sort around the pool so we really had no choice but to start on the deck at the beginning of the summer. Our plan was to take the next summer off and then build the rest of the deck (going around the rest of the pool) the following summer. Well that would have been this summer but when the nice weather finally came around we had no desire to be outside working on the pool deck when we could be in the pool itself. We decided to be lazy and push the project off another year.

Until yesterday.....

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day but it wasn't terribly warm. It was only in the high 60's/low 70's and the pool was definitely too cold to go swimming. Instead we were just sitting out by the pool enjoying the weather and I was having a glass of wine when I decided that this was perfect weather for deck building. Instead of just filling up my glass of wine again and hoping that I would forget the idea Lincoln immediately broke out the measuring tape and graph paper and started planning out the deck.

This morning found us at Lowe's and many dollars later we started working on our deck. Hopefully we'll have a bunch of nice weekends in September and early October and we'll be able to get the whole thing done before winter. The deck isn't nearly as big as the one at the far end of the pool but it will still be quite the project. We're extending the current deck out on either side of the pool so that there is a three foot walk way on both sides. After that there will be a small 6-foot wide deck at the other end making it roughly 6 ft by 24 ft. Next spring we'll start to landscape around the area so that eventually the pool and the pool deck will actually be hidden from view as you come up our driveway. It will be our own nice little hideaway.

As much as I hurt right now - and let me tell you, I hurt - I'm glad that we're taking on this project now. I know that we wouldn't have wanted to do it next June when the time rolled around and this way we can go into next season with a great new deck around the pool.

At least that is what I have to keep telling myself.

My own little Pavlov's Jakey

I may not be able to get Jake to snuggle with me but I have him well trained that if I'm anywhere within two feet of him and I pucker my lips he'll stop what he's doing and kiss me.

Update: email conversation between myself and the principal

HER RESPONSE:

Hi Diane,

Thank you for your email. At the elementary level, we will implementing the regular curriculum on September 8th. My understanding is that courses that address current events, at the secondary level, will be more apt to show the president's speech on Tuesday. I intend to view the speech and incorporate the message of setting goals and hard work in my "assemblies" with the students on Thursday.

Mrs. S.

MY RESPONSE:

Thank you for your response. I'm disappointed that you're not showing it to at least the older grades because last year the kids were actively engaged in the presidential election - including a mock election and writing essays on what they would do as President - and I think this would be a good opportunity for them to see more about the presidency and its impact on America at a level that they could understand. I fully intend to watch this with Hannah at home on YouTube but unfortunately the content of this message won't be reaching the students at Memorial who might need this most. If parents fail their students the school should be there to fill in the gap. I fear that in this incidence both the parents and school may be failing our children.

I realize that this issue is a landmine of political sensitivity since so many parents are objecting to its content based merely on the messenger and not the message itself, and that there really hasn't been time to get the approval of the parents, but I think that the video should be given, at bare minimum, review and consideration to be aired for the children at a later date with the grade appropriate discussion.

diane

President Obama's planned speech to children on 9/8

I will refrain from a long, long, LONG posting regarding the stupidity, hatred, bigotry, partisanship, ass-stupid logic of those opposing President Obama's speech to the country's youth about HARD WORK, RESPONSIBILITY, AND STAYING IN SCHOOL and merely post a copy of my email to the school principal to speak for me.

Has a decision been made whether or not Memorial will air this speech? I, for one, am in total favor of it and I really hope you guys do it. To not air it is teaching children to fear that with which they don't agree and that with enough uproar anyone can have their voice silenced. If the President of the United States can be silenced on a topic as innocuous as hard work, responsibility, and being encouraged to stay in school then what hope do our children have to stand up for what they believe in and make their voices heard?

A photo that will haunt him forever

Yesterday we went to Sue's lake house for a great Labor Day weekend outing. The kids started out in their swimsuits and then got dressed when we thought they were done in the water. Of course after dinner they all decided to go back in the water. Hannah put her suit back on but Jake decided to just take off his shorts and t-shirt.

Legal documents make my brain hurt

For the past two years Lincoln has been working for a small business that we own. It's a telecommunications business that has been doing fairly well despite the crappy economy and right now we're getting ready to take that business to the next level. Unfortunately that means a lot of legal and financial documents - two things that I absolutely hate. Our life is becoming a constant whirl of financial advisers, accountants, legal advisers, and insurance people.

Years ago there was a website, which probably still exists, where you could type something in English and have it translated into pretty much any language you wanted. There was a bit of an uproar at the time because students were using it to do their Spanish or French homework. You could also type something in a foreign language and have it translated into English for you. Well I've decided this world really needs a website where you could type in a legal clause and have it translated into plain everyday English.

For example: "all subject to the overall control and supervision of the Manager; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, to the extent that any matter requires agreement."

I just have to keep telling myself that dealing with all these legal and financial documents is a good thing and it means the business is doing well.

It still makes my brain hurt though.

In a rut

This morning I was doing a bunch of stuff for the PTO while also helping Lincoln get the kids ready for school. On Thursdays and Fridays we actually have a little extra time in the morning since Jake doesn't need to be dropped off until 8:45 and Hannah until 9:00 a.m. (as opposed to Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays when Hannah has to be at Grandma and Grandpa's no later than 8:15 a.m. to catch the bus.)

Lincoln left the house with the kids shortly before 8:45 a.m. and I wrapped up what I was working on before racing up to take a shower and head into work. This of course meant I didn't have time to dry my hair. Here is where the "in a rut" part comes into play.

It's not uncommon for me to run out of the house with a head of wet hair. I must say most mornings I'm running out of the house at the last minute. Luckily I know that if I leave the house with wet hair that by the time I get to work it will be dry enough to pull back into a pony tail. Along those same lines I know which lights I'm likely to hit that will be red. I can stop at one and put product in my hair and know that by the next red light it will be ready to pull back.

As I was doing this routine this morning it occurred to me that I have been doing this commute for seven years. SEVEN YEARS! It's no wonder that I have it down to a science. I knew by the fact that I reached my exit at 9:48 a.m. I would be exactly three minutes late to work. And I was! I arrived at exactly 10:03 a.m. I know which lights are likely to be red and which ones I can usually time to be green. I know that from the exit to work there is no way to make it in less than 15 minutes no matter what I do. I know which lanes to be in and that Thursday is garbage pick-up day on Charlesbank Road, a tight windy road that is not enjoyable on Thursdays. I know how the light cycles on the stop lights work and can usually guess when the light is going to turn judging by when people gun their engines as it turns yellow to get through a particular intersection with a long light cycle.

I really need to find a new way to work.

Her air guitar needs a LOT of work

When we went school shopping last weekend Hannah purchased two very similar shirts. One she wore yesterday for the 1st day of school and the other one she wore today. She obviously enjoyed her "rock star" self yesterday so she decided she wanted to do it again today - including the photo op by the apple tree. The two of us trekked down to the apple tree this morning and then started walking back up the driveway.

As we were walking up the driveway Hannah started doing this goofy little jog and then would randomly stop and say "Pose!". It was absolutely hilarious. Here are a few pictures that I took when I was walking up the driveway behind her. Then I decided to run ahead of her and take a video. It is absolutely priceless.



She is such a ham in front of the camera which is why Lincoln and I were both so surprised that she didn't want to be in the HBO special.

Not a good start to the year (subtitled: THIS is why we call her scatterbrained)

This morning was the first day of school and Hannah had a lot of stuff to take with her in her backpack. On top of her usual school supplies she also needed to take a check for lunch tokens and a note for her teacher regarding her bus schedule.

Me: Okay, here is a check for lunch tokens. When you get to school you go directly to the cafeteria and then take them directly back to your backpack. You don't play with them. You don't show them to anyone. Got it?

[Side note: Hannah has lost her lunch tokens in the past because she gets distracted walking back to her classroom from the cafeteria.]

Hannah: Okay.

Me: And here is a note for your teacher. When you put the tokens in your backpack take the note out and give it to her. The check and the note are in the same pocket. The same pocket where you'll put your tokens.

Hannah: Okay.

Me: Here is your lunch box with your snacks in it. Because your bag is full of school supplies it won't fit in the backpack. Make sure when you get off the bus you have your lunch box AND your backpack. Don't forget!

Hannah: Okay.

Me: Because I know how you are. You're going to get excited when the other kids get on the bus and you'll be talking and gabbing and get all excited and you're going to walk off without it.

Hannah: I won't.

Me: Okay.

(We go over all of this about 2 or 3 more times in different versions of the same conversation before heading over to catch the bus at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Before we drive over we have a discussion whether or not she needs a sweater and SHE decides she doesn't want to wear one.)

Me: Okay, the bus will be here in a minute. What's the first thing you're going to do when you get off the bus?

Hannah: Make sure I have my sweater!

Me (exasperated): That would be great except you didn't take a sweater today.

This is not getting 3rd grade off to a good start.....

3rd Grade

Hannah started 3rd grade today so of course we had to do the annual pictures in front of her apple tree that she planted when she started kindergarten. Unfortunately my camera must have been on the wrong setting or something because the color quality isn't the best.

Pictures include: The traditional first day of school outfit and backback in front of the apple tree, her "rock star" pose to go with her outfit, showing off her "old school" Converse sneakers, the apples on her apple tree (we haven't killed it yet!), and a picture taken waiting for the bus at Grandma and Grandpa Snow's.

This time last year

Here is one of my favorite pictures taken last year on Hannah's first day of second grade. Tomorrow is the first day of third grade for Hannah. Pictures will of course be posted as soon as possible.