Have I mentioned lately that my husband is awesome? Because he is. He's my favorite. And I don't know if it's his inherent awesomeness (probably) or the fact that this is my second marriage (possibly) or some combination therein, but I spend a lot of time considering what sort of example of life partnership we're setting for the kids. I hope it's a good one. (Though if it can't be good, I at least hope it's entertaining.) So I'm over at Alpha Mom, considering how my various baggage and divorce and now very-happily-married self shows my kids about love and respect. Probably I should've let...
Last night Otto and I were lying in bed after a very long day. Usually that's when we have our best conversations, you know---side by side in the dark, chatting about nothing and everything just before we drift off for the night. But on those long, hard days, we just kind of sink into the silence and both try to pretend sleep is coming. "Well," I said, finally, desperate to find a bright spot before the inevitable next few hours of insomnia, "at least spring is coming! Listen to all of those peepers!"* It was true, the frog symphony outside was impressive, given how chilly it's been. If I...
Today over at Alpha Mom I'm sharing the naked truth about keeping romance alive when you have teenagers. Spoiler: It's a lot harder than I thought it would be (and not in a "that's what she said" kind of way, either). This would be a good time for nosey children of mine who like to read my blog to NOT go read that particular post. Consider yourselves warned. By way of apology, I offer you this picture of my breakfast. (They let me eat about half of it.)
Today is Otto's birthday. I wish he had more than one each year, because Otto is the kind of man who is content to tend to everyone else and put his own needs on the back burner to make sure that everyone else is okay. He deserves way more than 24 hours of being the Man Of Honor. Of course, we kicked off his birthday week early with the gift of mucus. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Remember how, before you lived with kids, you never got sick? No? Me neither. Here, I got you a box of decongestant. The GOOD kind, the kind I had to hand my first-born over to the pharmacist for. I'm sort of going to miss...
The Great Doggie Integration Experiment of 2013 continues apace. Licorice continues to endure, while Duncan continues to try to figure out what in the world is happening. It turns out that his former owners weren't kidding when they said he was "very food motivated," so with liberal application of treats, we're making good progress with him. A fairly typical tableau. Perhaps my favorite part of dog ownership is watching Otto interact with our furry children. He was... let's say... a little lukewarm when we adopted Licorice, and again when we procured Duncan. This is just how Otto operates. I...
Last night, Otto and I had a date night. AS PEOPLE DO. "People" being "people other than us," usually, because we are not always so super-fantastic about that whole "nurture your couple relationship" thing. It's not that we don't love each other (we do!) or enjoy each other's company (he's my favorite!), it is just that we're old and tired and outnumbered by the other three sentient creatures in our household. We don't go on a lot of dates, is my point. But we're working on it, because I hear this rumor that someday my children might grow up and move out of the house. I'm skeptical, but it's...
Do you have any coffee? No? It's because I've taken possession of All The Coffee. I drink it all day long, now, instead of just my usual mug in the morning. You know that song Smoke Two Joints by Bob Marley? That's me and coffee, now. I drink two cups in the morning, I drink two cups at night! I drink two cups before I drink two cups, then I drink two more! Unlike the song, however, it doesn't "make me feel alright." It makes me feel... less like death. But still very sleepy. Monkey was kind enough to come down with some sort of cold this week (step right up, come see the miracle boy with no...
A few years ago, Otto and I went through the process of writing our wills and advanced directives (I almost wrote "prime directive" there, which I suppose my little Trekkie would've appreciated, but that's not the same thing), by which I mean we gave a lawyer a lot of money and he gave us a lot of paperwork. This was the adult and proper thing to do, but the impetus was not quite as mature as it maybe should've been. Most people think, "You know, I just want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row in case of unexpected tragedy or whatever." And then they go write their wills, like...
So the supplies were gathered up, the trailer packed, and this is the part where I would normally conclude "and we were off in a cloud of dust," except it has been so rainy that there is no dust. We were off in a cloud of mud? Mud doesn't really cloud. We were off in the splash of a puddle? That sort of works. We packed up and left, is the point. Because why sit around at home when you could sit around in a forest and be eaten by bugs? [Fun storm fact: Right before we left, the monotony of regular thunderstorm after regular thunderstorm was broken up by ye olde BIG ASS THUNDERSTORM FLASH...
