Snow Day and a Few Things

Finally, some white stuff. 
Our big "snow day"-don't even THINK about leaving the house because it's treacherous out there-hope you got your bread and milk-can we make snowballs from ice? finally arrived.  The kids have had a ball although I'm beginning to think Margot will not be a snow bunny so much as a beach one and Dominick on the other hand could live in the Arctic without clothing and thrive I think.

The Twins have been around playing in the ice snow as well and a lot of fun has been had.  I think D was showing off a bit for one of them...

Meanwhile, Baby Nora has been under the weather, poor little thing.  She did, however, have a Cheerio party that Pooh and Piglet attended.

But she also had some sad moments...

and then rallied folks to play a bit with big bro!

Nothing really here that is earth shattering-just love me some baby feet.

Kramer

About 12 1/2 years ago we were out riding motorcyles (yes, really) and saw 2 teeny-tiny puppies on the side of the road.  One was attempting to eat a turtle shell-both were blonde lab mix puppies no more than 3 months old.  Precious and covered with ticks, dirt and a few scrapes.  My tender heart went wild and I cried all the way back home because my husband wouldn't let me stuff them in the saddle bags for the ride home. 
Sooo, me being me, I promptly hopped in my car and drove the hour back up there to save the 2 pups.  About $150 later at the emergency vet, more tears and lots of begging -I had myself a puppy.  The sister pup we found an excellent home for.
We tried several names for our guy-Rocco, Champ, Max and then eureka-KRAMER!  The name was more than appropriate-he had a touch of crazy about him but was beyond sweet and loveable.
 He was hilarious as a puppy-brought live birds in his mouth INTO THE HOUSE, chased boats at the lake, ate lizards.

He became the third to our pet trifecta-Andy the golden, Samantha the kitty and now Kramer.  Perfection.  I loved Kramer-he was my baby dog that I rescued and he appreciated that and was so happy to just be here!  My kids loved him as well as he was the pet they remember the most.
We lost Andy in 2004 and Sammy in 2008.  I knew we were on borrowed time with Kramer.

Kramer died last night-it absolutely breaks my heart to write those words. 
I thought he got out of our yard sometime yesterday afternoon so at midnight there I am making signs to post in the neighborhood, walking the area, driving the roads around here to make sure a car hadn't gotten him.
None of that-he was just ready to go I guess.  I found him this morning in our backyard-right next to the fence where the cows live-a barker to the end.  He had a great day yesterday-played in our backyard with a doggy friend from down the street while chasing my kids around.  Nothing to indicate he was ready.
But he was.  This is a sad house today and will be for a while. 
I have been telling my kids this morning to remember the good times with Kramer-we gave him a great doggy life and he knew he was loved.
Now if I can only remember to do the same.

Kids and Pics

So the twin girls across the street are seriously digging my little man-they came over yesterday after school to play, we took them to the park with us and they were still clamoring for more!  It is so interesting to watch the dynamic play out-the twins are TOTAL opposites as are my two and the scenes are very funny to watch.

Amber and Margot-"okay, I am the big sister and you are the little sister and these are our kittens and one has a broken leg so don't pull it and are these Polly Pockets new because I wanted Santa to bring me some like this-ok now you pretend you are cooking dinner and I tell you not to burn it."

Jessica and Dominick-"".  Nothing.  They are both the quiet ones so it is like two mutes hanging out together.  They did inspect D's fort and colored pictures together but whether or not there were ANY words spoken while doing so I can't be certain.

Got my new camera yesterday and even with the standard lens I am pretty pleased.  I will actually have to read the manual with this one though because it's made for smarter camera folk than me.

Not mine but he's cute!

Jonesing

It that really a word?  If so, I will now use it to describe how I have been feeling for the past 2 days without my camera and how I am LOONNGGING to have one in my hot little hands again soon. 
Ahem.
I sold the Pentax a few days back as the lenses were cost prohibitive for me to expand much past the standard ones.  It was explained to me as the "Saab Situation"-nice car but pricey parts and not a lot of demand for the product.  So I am going with a Nikon since they and the "other" camera maker Canon are in hot pursuit of one another and that equates to cheaper cameras and lenses for us little people.
So in the meantime I have missed numerous PRECIOUS CHLDREN pictures and I am getting antsy now.  The weather is breaking a bit here now and the outdoor shots have been plentiful in the last 48 hours.  I have nothing to show for all of our outside time spent this weekend.
Hopefully tomorrow afternoon I will have something in hand to begin annoying my children with again as I follow them around like an idiot, clicking away like mad.  Good times.

All About Nora

She is impossibly sweet.
She likes to "blow bubbles" and gets a really cute red face while doing so.
She smiles a lot.
She adores her big brother and sister, even while being slightly man-handled.
She is a daddy's girl.

She can belch and fart as well as anyone.
I love her to pieces!

Kids 'n Such

is the brilliant name I gave my newly downloaded folder of kid pics.  I had a very enlightening phone conversation today with a good friend regarding my camera and lack of proper use.  So now I can't stop fiddling with it and annoying my children with the CONSTANT click of my camera...just piddling around but some cute ones.

Oh, the humanity...

In "the fort"

My sweet three

On The Move

So handsome.

Apparently D has a "bus buddy".  Amber is a 6 year old girl who lives just down the street and is seemingly smitten with my son.  She gave him gifts (hula hoop, used Lego set and a random piece of pizza from her kitchen) after getting off the bus today.  I smell LOVE people!

This 'n That

D had his first day in a new kindergarten class this week-tough stuff. God Love Him, he looked so incredibly nervous that first morning in his new classroom I could have cried for him. But he made a friend that first day, found his way to the right school bus for the ride home and "tested" well for his new teacher. Okay then. It is painful as a parent to watch your child and know he is feeling scared/anxious/out-of-sorts and not be able to do anything about it. All I can do is hug him and tell him it gets easier.

It doesn't hurt he gets to come home to veg out in front of the Santa-delivered Wii...

Margot is into being a "fashion model", whatever that really means for a 4 year old.  She likes to wear mommy's heels (from way back in the day, now it's flip flops) and this hideous velvet dress she simply HAD to have.  She is still the cutest Margot I know by far.

If you see my on the news for child endangerment, it is because I simply ate Baby Nora up-she is absolutely the sweetest thing!!

New House, New Year, Old Habits

The dust has settled and we are finally "in" our new house-all is well.
We have been blessed this past year with several things...
-Nora
-selling our old house
-buying another one with a great backyard and lots of kids for my little people
-buying new furniture
-all while my hubby is still gainfully employed.
Good stuff.

I watched the news this morning and the discussion was around trends in 2010 (kind of a freaky number if you've seen Space Odyssey movies). All of this talk about the latest gadgets is a bit unsettling to me...
-phones that do everything for you but wipe your butt
-reading books Kindle-style
-"new" notebooks for reading newspapers and magazines on-line ONLY.
Scary.
Why can't we open a real newspaper and read it at our kitchen table anymore?
Won't anyone miss cracking open a brand new book and feeling the stiffness of each page as you turn it?
Do you really need to be reached 24/7 on your phone that talks/plays music/takes pictures/plays videos?

My New Year resolution is simple and probably one I can actually keep. I vow to NOT get swept away in this "new era" of technology descending upon us in 2010 (love media hype).
I will still read newspapers at my kitchen table and let my kids look at the funny pages.
I will peruse book stores and pay too much for a hardback but read it cover to cover in 48 hours.
I will use my crackberry for work but not have it up my butt 24/7. I will also get my rotary phones strategically placed around my house as I love their ring.

I want my kids to be connected to the world through themselves - not a hand-held, application or other machine. I want them to know the rustle of a newspaper, the weight of a hardback and the sound of a real telephone. I want them to call people, not text and I want them to write handwritten notes that can't be deleted from someone's screen.

Like maybe this one can...Happy New Year.