October 30, 2007
A couple of notes
Dear Grammy,
I just wanted you to know that I was informed that you had the best ever Ravioli in the entire world. It's even better than Chef Boyardee! I just had to share this information with you because I KNOW how happy that will make you. You beat out CB! High FIVE! You should be proud.
Love,
Tootsala
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Dear Interneters,
Curling really long hair with sponge curlers requires 3 things:
- Drying hair until there is little or no moisture left.
- 162 curlers.
- Large bottle of wine.
Yours, in blogging,
Moogs
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Dear Children,
When I tell you that it is time to change your clothes for cheerleading/dancing, I expect to you get up and go change. I do not want to hear "just a minute" or come back into the room, only to see you sitting in the same place I left you, staring at the TV, drooling.
Secondly, I do not know where your uniforms are. It is not my responsibility to keep track of them. I wash them and I put them on your dresser. Don't blame me if you have to go naked to practice.
Love,
Mama
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Dear New Doctor,
Let's not mince words, shall we? I do not like you. I gave you TWO chances. I didn't think it was possible but the second time made me despise you even more. If it weren't for the PA, I would not set foot in your clinic. Your bedside manner is deplorable. Once I get my current health issues under control (with the help and advice of the PA), I will be switching to a new doctor.
Sincerely,
Pissed off patient
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Dear Philip Pullman,
You're kidding right?
They are hoping that unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the movie, that they will enjoy the movie and then the children will want the books for Christmas. That's the hook. Pullman says he wants the children to read the books and decide against God and the kingdom of heaven.*****************************************************************
Dear Mighty Girl. Thank you for this. What I really want to know is when this will show up in my mailbox (I'm just a tad excited).
Love,
A devoted fan.
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Dear Readers,
Thank you for sticking with me through bout of pneumonia and all that goes with it. You have been so patient and kind, and your emails make me feel warm all over. Ok, enough of the mush already. What I really need you to do is think of some good topics that I can write about during National Blog Posting Month. I've been mulling some ideas in my head, but don't really think I would have enough to write about if I chose a theme. Unless of course, it was my children, or cooking, but that might get boring after a while.
Do you have any ideas? Any questions you would like to ask and have answered next month? What are your topics of interest?
Love,
The Moogster
Posted by Moogie at 7:30 PM | Comments (5)
October 29, 2007
A Synopsis
- Still sick. Went to the doctor's (finally says my family and friends!) on Friday. Beginnings of pneumonia and various other glorious infections that decided to have a party inside of my body at the same time. Came home a walking pharmaceutical company. The end.
- Curled Meelie and her friend's hair Sunday morning because hey! They looked so cute! And because I am stupid, I took them to the mall to walk around a bit whilst my darling spouse was shopping for trucks. Nothings says you are stupid better than taking kids to the mall when you are sick. [sidenote: They really did look cute walking around with sponge curlers in their hair. It amazed me how many people commented on it. We even took some shots in one of those photo booths. Good times!]
- Getting kind of excited about NaBloPoMo. It will be interesting to see if I can pull it off. I've already met some really nice people. I'm looking at it as a challenge, a goal if you will. Stay tuned.
- We are all looking forward to Halloween. We just found out today that my husband will NOT have to work month-end! If you see a "Celebrity" or a "Pepper Shaker" please say hi. Those would be my daughters
- Tonight, Chickie and I were talking about how fun Algebraic Equations are. And then we began to test each other on them. I am a fun date.
Ciao4now
Posted by Moogie at 6:29 PM | Comments (1)
October 25, 2007
NaBloPoMo
Guess what November is? It's National Blog Posting Month! This fantastic idea was the brain child of this remarkable woman. All you need to do is post once a day in November, including weekends. Sounds simple right? Ok, maybe not but I'm up for a good challenge and what's 30 days anyway?
Here's all you have to do:
- Go to the homepage, and become a member of the community.
- Head on over to the official blogroll and add yourself.
- Take the time to peruse the many groups and join the one's that interest you. You'd be amazed at the friends you can make.
- Starting November 1st, get those fingers moving. Once a day, that's all they ask.
- Thanks to a heads up from this woman, I went ahead and ordered a copy of this book.
That's not so hard is it? What are you waiting for? Come on over and get signed up for all the fun!
Hang on during the month of November blogworld. Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. November is going to be a bumpy ride!
Posted by Moogie at 7:48 AM | Comments (3)
October 23, 2007
Posting lite
Nearly fat free, and less sodium too!
I'm nursing a rather nasty cold, which seems to have grabbed me by the ankles, shook me up and caused all of the loose change to fall out of my pockets. There goes the ice cream money. Sorry kids! It's still not done with me yet. If you don't mind, I'll keep this short and share some obligatory photos as well as a video I took of the kids and their friends yesterday evening. Hopefully, things will be back to normal soon. I would really like to be able to taste things, as well as not be stone cold deaf. At the rate I'm going through Kleenex, I'm going to have to get a second job. Wah, wah, wah.
Here are some photos that my neighbor took when they went to the zoo. The girls had a blast I'm going to try to use a tool I came across for Flickr photos. Given my drug induced state, let's hope this works. It appeared simple enough when I first took a look at it.
If it's easier for you, just go here for the actual Flickr set.
Next up? Some more bouncey lurv. Come on now. Did you really think I could let too much time pass without the obligatory picture of kids on the trampoline? And for an added extra bonus (my aren't you lucky you visited today?) there is even a video. Look at this closely. They are getting along. In addition to that, they are making sure Bullet Boy does not get hurt. What I want to know is why we aren't allowed to do this? The simple answer, for me personally? I would end up in the hospital in traction.
Click to biggie size picture - at no extra cost!
Bounce, bounce, bounce from Moogie on Vimeo.
No children were harmed in the making of this video.
Posted by Moogie at 9:43 PM | Comments (3)
October 22, 2007
The great escape
Remember this little girl? She escaped from her ball on Saturday morning Yes, that's what I thought too. It turns out that the lid wasn't locked tight enough. We searched for a couple of hours on Saturday (my house looked like it had been ransacked) and left no stone unturned. Ultimately, we set her cage on the living room floor, and left the door open (food, water). The girls were pretty devastated and since Bruiser was in the house for a while, there was an inkling of fear (later building into a mountain of certainty) that Skid had become the appetizer for the dog that will eat anything.
We went over to our neighbor's house for dinner on Saturday night. When we got home, I put the kids put to bed (after we checked the cage) and crashed myself. Sometime around midnight, my husband came to bed and woke me up.
Him: Wake up! Skid's still alive.
Me: Huzzat?
Him: Skid is still alive. l saw her in the bathroom but she slipped by me and headed right underneath the piano, and that's when I lost her.
Me: Cool! That means she's still alive! The kids will be so happy.
Him: Sigh, go back to sleep honey.
Me: Zzzzzzz
The girls were seriously excited to hear that Skid had not become Bruiser's latest snack, and called some of their friends to resume the search. Sometime around 1:00 in the afternoon, when my husband and I were working in the garage, the girls came rushing out to excitedly exclaim that they had found her.
Them: We found her!
Me: Is she back in her cage?
Them: No, we haven't caught her yet!
Me: Then what in the Ham Sandwich are you out here talking to me for?
My husband, bless his heart, went into the house to help out. A few minutes later the girls, as well as a rather pale looking husband came back into the garage. The mission was a success. They almost lost her again, but were able to catch her and place her safely back in her home. Immediately, the atmosphere changed from doom and gloom to complete euphoria, with everyone talking at once.
My husband (bless his heart) looked worse for the wear. Apparently, he was on one end of the china hutch while the girls were trying to coax Skid out of her hiding place. They were successful in that, but when she broke free, she headed right for my husband....and proceeded to climb right up the legs of his shorts (he was sitting down).
I, being the ever loving, kind and gentle wife that I am, gave him a hug, told him that I was proud of him, and said "How would you have liked to explain that one to the Emergency Room doctor?"
Is it any wonder that he loves me?
Posted by Moogie at 6:32 PM | Comments (3)
October 18, 2007
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
What you want Baby, I got What you need Do you know I got it? All I'm askin' Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit) Hey baby (just a little bit) when you get home (just a little bit) mister (just a little bit)
Today, my eldest was honored at a breakfast in which she accepted the award for Student of the Month for her 8th grade class. This month's word? Respect. Yes, respect. They must have got the children mixed up. It would be more appropriate if she won the award for 'Mouth of the South.' Now THAT would suit her perfectly.
Don't get me wrong. I am VERY proud of her. I just find it ironic when you have teachers that come up to you and tell you how much they love your child. "She is a pure joy to have in my class. She is so polite and never talks out of turn. She always does her homework and comes to class prepared. She is always willing to help out whenever I need it." What the heck? Who are you and what have you done with my child? And why doesn't she live at my house?
My mom always told me that whenever "OTHER" people brag on our child, we must be doing something right at home. I'm guessing this means that we are doing a pretty good job. It doesn't change the fact that I would love to see a little bit of that respect trickle down to family life.
(On a side note, she does fairly well, but there are moments that make me wonder whether or not she will live to see her next birthday.)
Congratulations Chickie. "You done good."
Oh (sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me) A little respect (sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)
Posted by Moogie at 7:40 PM | Comments (13)
October 17, 2007
Cauchemar - Part I
I was returning home after a particularly arduous day at work. I stopped off at the grocery store to pick up some milk and a prescription for my eldest daughter, who was home with a nasty sinus infection. I had felt uneasy all day about leaving her at home with my husband, but contributed my unrest to the guilt I felt at not being there to take care of her myself. My husband, not known for his patience, was unaccustomed to being a caregiver to a classic Prima Donna, which is what my daughter turned into whenever she was ill.
As I drove down the winding rural road which led to my house, I let my mind wander and reflect back to the day that I had. It started off on a negative note, and then spiralled out of control, much like a train that had jumped the tracks. I had no sooner poured myself a much needed first cup of coffee when my boss came into the break room to inform me of a problem. It seemed as though a Hydraulic Lifter had gone down, and the engineers needed the parts to fix it by the end of the day. Resolutely, I headed towards my desk, bemoaning the fact that the schedule I had made up for myself would have to go by the wayside.
To make matters worse, the supplier did not open up until 9:00, which made my time span to get things done that much shorter. So much for going home early so that I could be with my daughter. I shrugged off the frustration I was feeling, and got down to business, making calls to the engineers to see what was needed, and to arrange for transportation. After one particular conversation, I realized that this problem had escalated through several layers of management, which made the stress level of everyone involved sky rocket through the roof.
To make matters worse, I was training a new employee, which, under normal circumstances I really enjoyed. Between answering her questions, and fending off phone calls from anxious management, I felt as if I was getting nowhere. Luckily, I had dealt with this supplier several times before, and had an easy camaraderie with the sales team. They understood the urgency, and were able meet my demands quicker than I had thought possible. Then again, we had several multi-million service contracts with them, so it was only natural that when I asked them to jump through hoops, they complied.
I gently shook my head to bring myself back to the present. The day was successful given its inauspicious beginning. Everyone was happy and I could put it all behind me and look forward to an evening nursing my daughter back to health and snuggling up to her while we watched some of our favorite TV shows.
Little did I know, that was going to be my last coherent thought for many days to come.
Posted by Moogie at 6:30 PM | Comments (2)
October 16, 2007
Stirred not broken
As we move forward with the great GHIP, I find myself reeling with all of the decisions I need to make. What color do I paint the rooms? What flooring do I use? As far as the flooring, I know that we'll be putting tile in the kitchen/breakfast nook area, and most likely, some type of laminate flooring throughout the rest of the house. I've gone so far as to explore area rugs and have pretty much decided (I think) that we'll probably utilize Flor for a good part of it. For the tile and laminate, I am leaning towards a very light color, to keep things bright. My husband has expressed very little preference in the paint area, only to state that he would like the kitchen to have a soft color, perhaps a yellow. I was thinking of making a blue accent wall to compliment it. The girls change their mind constantly, so I will probably wait to paint their rooms until last.
I really have no theme at this point. I do collect miniature elephants so I would imagine the living and dining room would be fashioned after that in some way. My girlfriend is good with colors and has promised to help me. I really have no decorations, so to speak, nor do I have much in the way of paintings to hang on the wall. There is a large part of me that is excited to actually be able to pick things out, a little at a time, to finally make this a place that I could call home. Something that paints a photograph of who I am.
So there you have it. You know just about as much as I do right now. I'll keep you posted on what I end up doing.
The photo in this post, which kind of explains the title (but not really) is the handle on our 19 year old Webber Grill. Yes, we still have it, and use if faithfully. The soldering finally gave out when my husband was lifting the lid. This grill has gone through so many things including a rather powerful storm that lifted the fence in the back yard up, and promptly dropped it on top of the grill. She's a little off kilter now (think Leaning Tower of Pisa), but works like a charm. My husband and I have talked of getting a gas grill, which we probably will eventually do, but we both agree that we won't be getting rid of "Old Blue" any time soon.
They just don't make things like they used to, do they?
Posted by Moogie at 4:34 PM | Comments (3)
October 15, 2007
Signature dishes
We have a lot of get-togethers in our neighborhood. The host or hostess supplies the meat, and generally everyone else supplies the horses ovaries (horsd'ourves for all you Yankees), salads, vegetables, bread, desserts or whatever is needed. Our neighbor's eldest daughter was home for the weekend, so we all got together last night and pretty much stuffed ourselves silly. It's what you do here in the south, when you're not boiling peanuts or plucking chickens. These gatherings are really quite a bit of fun, especially when you take into consideration that each house contains vastly different personalities. We all grew up in different environments, our political beliefs are on opposite ends of the earth, and we ALL love to tease. The best thing is that children are welcome, if they should decide that they want to grace us with their presence. It's all good.
All y'all! (That's plural southernese in case you didn't know)
Each of us is known for signature dishes. Those would be the ones that the host/hostess ask us to make over and over again. There are a few that I make that have repeat customers. One of them is surprisingly simple. You don't even need a measuring cup. I'm all about minimizing the clean up.
Mexicali Snaucheese Dip
Note: Do not blame me, my husband named it. And yes, I married him because he told me he was rich, why do you ask?
8 oz cream cheese
1 can Rotelle*
1 lb sausage**
Brown sausage in skillet. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Pour in can of Rotelle and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Serve with your choice of chips. We love Tostitos.
*There is Hot, Mild and Milder. You choose. The hotter you go, if you are like me, the more likely you are to scream "come on ice cream" if you know what I mean..
**You can replace this with lean ground beef or ground turkey if you wish.
It's that simple. Now, I have to confess, you are getting this recipe from someone who forgot to buy hamburger buns for dinner tonight. We are having hamburgers. But hey! Let's improvise. I have hot dog buns. We shall compromise. Just use two hot dog buns together. I'm nothing if not innovative, and lazy. I don't want to drive back into town to buy the correct buns that will house my famous hamburgers. I'm all about going with the flow baby.
Posted by Moogie at 5:17 PM | Comments (2)
October 14, 2007
Skid
Internet? Meet Skid. The newest addition to the Chez Moogie household. She's a Dwarf Hamster. Don't let her size fool you. She's faster than a speeding bullet! She's not any bigger than a large marble. And she wont' get any bigger. Chickie got her for her birthday from her BFF Noodles. Before you hold up your hands in horror, Noodles as well as her mom, did ask me if it was ok. Because of the recent and tragic death of Peep I really thought it would be a good idea. I'll wait while you slap me silly.
The interesting thing about Skid is that she will require a bit more care than Peep did. She needs her daily teaspoon or two of dried oatmeal, some greens, carrots and apple chunks here and there. Responsibility! I shouted to myself! This is a good thing! I thought. So now I have to wait and see if she will follow through. Because I won't. They are cute and all. I love to watch them when they are in their little ball. Don't they get tired? Good Lord, who needs a gym membership when you have your very own ball?
At any rate, she's here and I kind of like her. I think the verdict is still out for Tiny though. Go take a look at the extended video to see what I mean.
Skid from Moogie on Vimeo.
Posted by Moogie at 4:46 PM | Comments (7)
October 13, 2007
PaRtY oN dOwN!!! - Part II
Go here for Part I.
Only a few more kids left to come. For your viewing pleasure, I've uploaded a video of the girls going down "the slide" when it was finally ready.
The slide!! from Moogie on Vimeo.
Go here for the whole set. Check the sidebar for recent updates.
Posted by Moogie at 2:53 PM | Comments (6)
PaRtY oN dOwN!!!
Help. We are preparing for the party for this child. Balloons have been blown up. The slide is in place and needs to be inflated. All things Sponge Bob adorn the table. And the food? We could probably feed an entire third world country. There will be eight of them. Two of them are nine, but there will be 8 children in all, most of them are TEENAGERS. All but one are girls. I will be posting pictures throughout the day.
Beam me up Scottie!
The Begining
Posted by Moogie at 1:19 PM | Comments (2)
October 10, 2007
Unpopular decisions
I've always found it difficult to make controversial decisions, which is to say decisions that I know will probably make people unhappy with me. I generally am a "go-with-the-flow-don't-tip-the-boat-over" kind of gal, because it is safe. And no one will get mad. Unfortunately, life doesn't always work that way and you are caught between a proverbial boulder and a volcano, and you have to follow your gut.
I've spoken before about a child who, in recent past, I have befriended. He's eaten dinner with us any number of times. He does small chores around the house, fixes bicycles and skateboards, and talks to my husband while he works the cars. He lives with his grandparents, and as far as I can tell, has parents that are, for whatever reason, virtually non-existent in his life. A little while ago, I started noticing that things would disappear. I'm not going to go into detail here, for obvious reasons, but suffice to say, I first thought I was losing what was left of my mind. I thought I was misplacing things.
As time moved on I began to pay attention, and realize that it wasn't me, or my husband or kids. Things were actually disappearing out of our garage. Due to another incident that I wasn't directly involved with, it was brought to my attention that this child who I had befriended was the one robbing me blind stealing from us. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't anything huge, but it began to add up. I did get some of the things back, but not all. I did talk to his grandparents but they told me that it was not his fault and that other kids were forcing him to do this. Alrighty then, that wasn't going to work.
At that time, I didn't want to involve the police so I sat down and had a long talk with him. It didn't work. The behavior continued, and it wasn't just exclusively at my house. He began to break into houses, and during one instance, he defecated (yes, I know) in one of the bedrooms he broke into and then went on to brag about it at school. At that point, the parents that lived in that house called the police. There have been times when the police have been called (when he was throwing firecrackers at random children on the street), but for the most part, nothing happened. The grandparents were approached, but failed to discipline him and quite often, even when he ADMITTED the behavior, shrugged their shoulders and said "what do you want us to do about it? We can't control him."
So things continued to come up missing, some of my screens were ripped (he had been seen hanging around our house while we were on vacation). Occasionally, he would get caught. One man actually made him go door to door, on the entire street, and admit that he had stolen paint from his garage. But no police action.
As a neighborhood, we banded together. Many of us agreed that something had to be done. I want to point out that he likes to implicate other people whenever possible. Most were reluctant to involve the police.
Last night I caught him red handed. He was beating feet down my driveway on his bicycle. I called him back and he turned into the neighbor's driveway, out of site, and then came back. When he approached me on foot (not on the bicycle he had just stolen from the neighbor's house), I held out my hand. And he said "I don't got it." And I said "How do you know what I was asking?" He told me he had nothing and showed me his pockets (I knew what he had taken). So I told him to get ready and tell that to the police. At that point, he cracked and told me not to call “the cops.” He ran next door and retrieved what it was he had stolen (he had thrown it in the bushes). I made a split second decision that I believe was the right thing to do. I turned around, and walked towards the door. He asked me what I was going to do and I slowly faced him. "I'm going to do what should have been done all along. I'm going to call the police." And I did.
Simply put, the police came and took my story. As I was filling out my version in triplicate, one of the police officers called, what I'm guessing was the station, and talked to a fellow officer who was apparently, working on some other complaints for this same child. The officer told me that I could pick up the police report in about a week and that I should be expecting a call from the Juvenile Court.
In this neighborhood, news travels faster than snake snot, and I was inundated with calls from folks that wanted to know what happened and why I had two police cars parked in my driveway. So I told them. And got mixed reactions.
I don't know what's going to happen next. But I do know that I made what I believe was the only choice I had. I have to try to put a stop to his behavior before it gets more out of control. Before he starts to steal bigger things. Before he starts to hurt people. I'm at peace with it. I will deal with the folks who are angry with me. At least I did something.
I purposefully added the 2007 Delurking Button in the hopes that, if you have the time, you will share your feelings on this matter. My question to you? What would you have done?
Posted by Moogie at 7:13 PM | Comments (14)
October 9, 2007
Don't let it fall too far from the tree
I went to a Parent-Teacher night at school last week, in which Chickie's band was performing and also listened to the guest speaker (Dr. Brown). I really dreaded going because I am, quite frankly, seriously tired of listening to the whole "rah, rah" speeches that normally occur at such an event. I am an involved parent in both of my children's education. I do not want to listen about test scores (again), or how important they are (again). I don't want you to tell me what I already know (again). Give me something I can think about, something I can sink my teeth into and walk away feeling as if I HAVEN'T just wasted an hour and a half listening to some nonsensical babble that you constantly repeat at every single one of these meetings.
Dr. Brown really surprised me. He was all of that but with a new twist. A different, yet intelligent way to look at things, mixed with a little humor. He had me rolling in my chair and left me worrying that he had been hiding somewhere in my house all this time. He was THAT good. I'm not saying that he said anything that we as parents don't already know. It was all in the delivery and the examples he gave. Many of you can attest to the fact that how things are presented to you make all the difference in the world, even if your message is the same. It doesn't hurt that it all comes with a side of "helpful hints and tricks."
One of the first things he said was:
Character is who you are when no one is looking."
He emphasized this throughout his presentation. It's so very true, don't you think?
Basically, we have two teams which would be the teachers and the parents. Two teams, one goal. He stressed upon the importance of a parent's influence in a child's life (which we already know is true). One of the examples that he gave was of an apple tree. Some apples were in the tree, some, were on the ground. As parents, we need to teach our children how to be apples in the tree. Those apples on the ground are "easy picking." You pick one up, take a couple of bites and then drop it back on the ground again. We also need to let our children know that it's ok if they fall out of the tree from time to time. The lesson they need to learn is to then pick themselves up, dust themselves off and climb back up into that tree. If you stay on the ground, you are an easy "target." If you stay in the tree (or get back in it), you have a better chance for success in life.
A simple idea, which makes a good deal of sense.
I walked out of there that night with a few more tools under my belt. He gave me a lot to think about. Chickie and I had a good talk on the way home, and she was seriously impressed by what he had said and by our conversations, I could tell that most of what he said sunk in.
For the sake brevity, and to go along with my schedule, I've left a lot out. But he basically talked about those two things, and expended on them. He gave numerous examples that came from his life (he grew up with a single mom and numerous siblings in The Projects).
All in all, it turns out it wasn't a waste of time after all. It wouldn't have been anyway because Chickie's band was performing. But I was glad I didn't have to spend an hour and a half slapping myself silly just to stay awake.
Posted by Moogie at 8:19 PM | Comments (3)
October 8, 2007
Future Circus Act?
We went to the Rock Shrimp Festival yesterday, which was held downtown. Of all the festivals we have here, this one seems to be the smallest in terms of vendors, food and activities. Some of this may be because of the fact that the weather was 'iffy' at best. We've been hosting quite a bit of rain over the last week or so.
It all turned out well. The weather held (until we reached our car to go home), and that had the added bonus of keeping the temperatures down to a moderate level. The light breeze didn't hurt either. I've added some videos of one of the kid's favorite activities. I am the official photographer of this event whenever they do it. I get nauseous just watching, but despite some rocky beginnings, the girls had a good time, even Noodles. Click the extended entry for the videos.
This is Meelie's first shot. She keeps trying to flip over but isn't having much luck. It was tough to get a good video of her as I didn't have enough space to back up. In the next one, I've taped her from a side view. As you can see, she's pretty determined.
Almost there!!! from Moogie on Vimeo.
Determination! from Moogie on Vimeo.
Next up, we have Noodles (Chickie's BFF) who wasn't sure about this whole Bungee Jumping thing but she did great. While she didn't flip, she went pretty high up in the air. She was pretty scared but went out there and tried it anyway. I was so proud of her! If you look to the left, you can see that Meelie is still going strong. It wasn't my intention to have both of them in this shot, it just worked out that way. Think of it. Two for the price of one!
Wooohoooo! from Moogie on Vimeo.
The next two clips are of Chickie, who, in the beginning was not having ANY of this flip-over-backwards stuff. No way, no how, nadda! In the background, you can hear the man who runs the ride egging her on and encouraging her. He was really enthusiastic. Towards the end, she suddenly found some courage and went for it. As you can see in the second video, she just kept going, and going, and going.
Testing the waters from Moogie on Vimeo.
Ringling Brother's Audition from Moogie on Vimeo.
What I want to know is how many of you would try this? I know I wouldn't but then I get nose bleeds on curves. That's how bad my fear of heights is. What about you?
Posted by Moogie at 11:12 AM | Comments (3)
October 3, 2007
1-2-3 like the birds I see
1-2-3 like the birds I see
Cause you giving me the most beautiful set of wings
And I’m so glad you’re here today
Cause tomorrow I might have to go and fly away
Dear Chickie,
Today you are 13. Thirteen. Teenager. Didn't we just finish the potty training?
October 4th, 1994, 6:15 pm. My life changed forever. My life changed for the better. I don't know what I expected, but it certainly wasn't the wild ride we've had. Weigh the good and the bad and I wouldn't change one blessed thing about it. Except for maybe the whole leaving your clothes where they fall thing, or the fact that you can't comprehend that you don't leave dishes on the floor.
One of the stories you love to hear is about your birth. Your dad's birthday is one day after yours. I was just beginning to push when the doctor leaned over to him, wrapped her arm around his shoulder and said "you know, I could give her some drugs to slow this labor down so that your child (at this time, we did not know we were having a daughter) will be born on your birthday." Since this is a blog that my family (including you) and friends read, I won't burn their ears by repeating my opinion of that suggestion. Let's just say your dad told me that I shouted out obscenities that would have caused another fault line to occur in California.
"She's 7lbs, 15 oz, 21 3/4" long!" I remember those words as if they are ingrained in my soul. Your father of course, had to put them on a post-it note so he wouldn't forget. But I forgave him after abut six months. Kind of. But I digress. Where was I?
You were all legs, tall and skinny except for your Buddha belly. Your toes were so long that you used to wrap them around my finger. Getting socks on you was a feat because whenever I tried to put them on you, your toes would spread out into a fan. I had to trick you in order to get your shoes on. I would tickle the bottom of your feet so that you would scrunch them up enough so that I could jam them on before you knew what was happening. You weren't very happy about it and spent every waking moment trying to figure out how to get those shoes OFF.
You really never learned how to crawl until after you started walking. Your version would be what your dad dubbed "Army Style" in which you pulled yourself along with your forearms. Sometimes you would get frustrated at the length of time it took you to get from point 'A' to point ‘B’ and you would fall back on your ever faithful "Log Roll." When you first started pulling yourself up into a standing position, you would hold it as long as possible because you were scared to death of sitting down. I guess you thought that perhaps the ground was too far away and if you let go you would surely hit it with such force that the TV would be knocked off the entertainment center and your would most probably, break something really important, like your tush. It took you a few weeks to get over that fear, and once you did, you repeated the pattern of standing, then sitting, over and over again, laughing the whole time. It's as if you were saying "Look! Look at what I can do!"
You continued to grow both physically and emotionally in great leaps and bounds. There were certain phases you went through that nearly brought me to my knees. I remember your first day of Kindergarten as if it were yesterday. I was so worried about you and it turns out, it was much harder on me than it was on you. You walked into that classroom and showed me your desk and then ran up to some other children you had never seen before and that was all she wrote. You LOVED it and continued on in the same manner each and every year, even when we moved across the country. You entered Middle School with much anticipation. Yes, you admitted you were a little nervous but you were excited. It was a special time in your life, and again, it was much harder on me. I worried all day about you but it turns out it was all for naught. You came home and in one big rush, told me about all of your classes, and your teachers, but most importantly, all of your new friends. You particularly talked about five of them who you are still very close to. I am now facing the dilemma of you entering High School next year. What happened to that pig tailed girl with bangs and a matching Barbie Lunch Box and Backpack?
Like most parents, I worry incessantly about the person you are yet to become, and I constantly wonder if I have a good grasp on this whole parenting thing. Is there something that I have missed?
So now you are officially a teenager. What happens next? I don't know about you but I can't wait!
Happy birthday Squirrel. I love you.
Mama
Posted by Moogie at 5:23 PM | Comments (14)
October 2, 2007
Where have all the comments gone? And a very sad event.
Bless Pete Seeger. I don't think he would appreciate me changing the words, or the Kingston Trio for that matter.
If you peruse around the blogosphere you probably have noticed folks talking about how the comments seem to have dropped to an all time low. Why is this? I don't think anyone really has the definitive answer. I've noticed a decline in the number of comments here on Moogie's World as well. Until I started reading that other bloggers, even the popular ones with multiple hits per day, were experiencing the same thing I really thought it was just me. Let's face it. I don't have all that much to offer, and there is nothing really to bring back readers time after time. The strange thing is, when I take a look at my stats, the number of visitors hasn't dropped significantly.
Tomorrow is the day for all lurkers to come out of the closet. Come on peeps! It's time to show yourself. Tell me a little bit about you. Say hello! Leave your anonymous self at the door and come on in for a drink. Everyone is welcome. This wonderful idea was started by three fantabulistic ladies, Schmutzie, Sweetney and JenAndTonic.
Schmutzie wrote all about it here.
I will admit that comments make me feel really good. Granted, most of you (and me) don't have a lot of spare time to comment on all of the blogs that we read. I think that's why it feels so good to hear from you when you do.
To give you something to comment about, I thought I would let you know about a terrible tragedy that happened yesterday. I'm still trying to move past it. Perhaps you can help.
RIP Peep
Sometime yesterday, Peep escaped from her cage. She resided on a dresser that was approximately 5' tall. Apparently, she went off the dresser and on to the floor. You can see where this is going, can't you? She somehow made it to the bathroom, and it was there she chose her final resting place.
My youngest daughter Meelie found her. I was on my way home when I got a hysterical call from her. It took me several minutes to calm her down enough to find out that everyone was ok, and then a couple of minutes to find out what really happened.
When I got home, Peep was huddled in a corner in the bathroom. I will spare you with the details, but it was obvious that she had gone to be with Gingi and Shoestrngs up in Heaven. We held a small burial for her. We found a shoe box, and wrapped Peep in an old, soft towel The girls and their friends wrote messages to her on the outside of the box. I just about lost it here, especially when Chickie asked me to write something (Peep was her hamster). We fashioned a cross out of some twigs, and Peep is now resting peacefully, under the oak trees in the middle of our backyard.
Meelie was devastated. Chickie has yet to cry, but that will come. I've learned with her that you need to give her the space and the time to grieve in her own way.
Bless you Peep. Thank you for giving my kids so much joy while you were alive. I will miss you rolling in your little ball all over the house and getting stuck behind the toilet.
Posted by Moogie at 5:40 PM | Comments (17)
