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Camping Blues

July 30, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

The boys have been at camp since Sunday afternoon and time is moving so slowly.  I can’t believe how much I miss them.  I took three days off from work and was going to accomplish so much.  I have sorted through boxes of toys, done some weeding, relaxed with Lifetime (do we really need all of those reality shows?  All the commercials during Will & Grace are for reality shows…really?), and I’ve done laundry.  Rex and I have had some lovely walks.  Hubby and I are having a date night tonight.  I had Chinese food for lunch yesterday.  I may paint the living room tomorrow.

Still, I’m tempted to go back to work tomorrow instead of Thursday.  I feel like time is moving soooooo slowly.  I can’t stand how much I miss them.  I was ready for bed last night at 8:30.  Forced myself to stay up.  Hemmed another pair of pants for Hubby.  There’s still plenty I can do around the house, but I miss the boys and end up sitting around, lacking all motivation.

And tomorrow is younger son’s 8th birthday.  I know he’ll have an awesome day.  They do a parade during lunch in the dining hall.  He has a care package waiting for him, which he has to sing for.  Older son has a care package too.  I wonder if they’ll sing a duet, perhaps the alphabet song from the Three Stooges. 😉  Have to get younger son’s birthday gift.  He opted to celebrate when he got home so he had even more to look forward to on Saturday.

When Hubby told me we would have a date night tonight, he said we could do something grown up.  My response was “Play Skylanders?” I do need this time apart from my sons-it’s good for me and them, but goodness, didn’t know it would be so hard with both of them away.

So today I’ll go to the dentist (that is like going to the spa in my world-I love the dentist).  I’ll clean off the surface of every table in the house, purge more toys, clean younger son’s fish tank, and hopefully at least buy the paint for the living room.  Then tomorrow I can paint and that will be my distraction.

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My Lunch with Twinkies

July 24, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the return of the Twinkie.  I actually missed these little snacks.  I tried some of the knock-offs, but they just didn’t cut it.  The Twinkie I had yesterday filled me with joy.  And filled me with all the bad crap they are made out of but I didn’t care one bit.

Just think, now the scene in Ghostbusters will continue to make sense to future generations.

Tell ’em about the Twinkie.

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Grace Revisited

July 24, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

Grace…that elusive quality and energy and way of being that I continue to work toward.  Today grace filled me easily and I felt good throughout the day.  I lapsed a wee bit when I got home…pop tart on the comforter on the bed, really?  I stayed in my graceful mood and swept, dusted, and avoided bugging my sons.  Even as I tucked older son into bed and he jumped into a deep conversation about growing up, I stayed filled with grace.  I realized, thanks to the moments of grace, that he may have spent his entire day summoning up the strength and courage to talk to me about tonight’s topic.  Then again, he may have wanted to soften the blow and not get in too much trouble because yet again my two sons fought while brushing their teeth.  Perhaps I should have two sinks installed when we finally get around to redoing the bathroom.  But grace prevailed and older son and I had an awesome talk.

Younger son still thinks he can’t write.  We’re working on it.  Last night he was writing a thank you note and he became so frustrated and angry.  Grace stepped in and I didn’t lose my cool.  I kept finding the words to encourage him to try to write just one more word.  He wrote them all and I mailed the thank you note this morning.  He is embracing his comedic abilities this summer, but I hope he reigns them in when school begins again (in a mere six weeks! Ack!).  We worked on a puzzle tonight.  We’re going to write a story together tomorrow night.

Grace.  Always walking toward it.  Stepping in it more and more each day.

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Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah 2

July 17, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

Younger son went to camp today.  I forgot to pack his flashlight, no biggie.  They use a buddy system when walking to the bathroom cabin anyway.  But then I noticed he never put his sneakers on before we left.  He only had sandals, which are not allowed.  The counselor said they might be okay, maybe, since they weren’t open-toed and had a strap around the back, but he would have to wear socks with them.  As I would not doom my son to walking around wearing sandals with black socks (he only wears black socks), older son and I ran to the big W to buy a pair of sneakers.  We also picked up a flashlight.  Older son, knowing I was in an emotional mood (leaving my baby at camp!), cunningly asked for a Skylander and is buying it upgrades even as I type.

I love this camp.  It’s awesome.  The boys love this camp-even more awesome.  And in ten days they will go there together for a week.  A whole week.  🙂

But I will miss them.  And I thank God daily that I only have to miss them for a short while.

Hugs to the ones who know I’m sending them hugs today.  Your strength has been, is still, and will always be an inspiration.

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Rex Settles In

July 12, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

After a brief rough patch with a lot of accidents in the house, I used the beloved internet to search for tips on house-training a rescue dog.  Every article I read said to treat it as if he hadn’t been trained at all.  It truly helped me reset my brain.  I spent a day walking Rex every two hours and stuck by him in the house so I could look for signs or signals that he needed to go out.  You need to remember that this is the dog that rarely barks.  He certainly knows how to bark when he wants to, but not to indicate that he needs to do his business.  We discovered that he looks like he’s tracking a ghost and then does laps to one corner of the living room rug when he needs to go poop.

As there is no bark to go with the poop dance, it is critical to either watch Rex the whole time or listen for the clicky sound of his nails on the wood floor.  But the clicks of his nails could also be Rex chasing a cat.  Or his tail.  This morning he did all of his business outside as if he had been doing it for years.  He came in and even ate his breakfast.  Tonight, after a busy day of playing with a tennis ball and lots of love and attention from the boys, he even ate his dinner.  So when I heard his clicky toes on the floor, I thought he was chasing El Tigre.  I was wrong.  But that accident is on me.  I had a hunch he was almost ready, but he’s never gone poop twice in one day.  He also had never eaten both meals in one day.  Today he had.  I should have known.  I am sure that he is very excited that he won’t have to sleep in his crate tonight, since he pooped.

Not that you could tell that he’s excited by looking at him right now.  If there is one thing Rex is really good at, it’s sleeping.  When he is done for the day, he sleeps and there is no waking him up to do anything.  He makes little groaning noises as he falls into the deep sleep.  He also farts as he falls into the deep sleep.  Clearly, he is very relaxed and comfortable here.

Rex is settling in and so are we.  IMG_6860

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Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah

July 1, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

Older son is away at camp.  These are the witty statements from younger son, courtesy of the freedom of speech he is experiencing in his brother’s absence.

“You’re from the civil war, what do you mean you haven’t read Mysterious Island by Jules Vern?”

“I want more broccoli and cheese!”

“I guess King Kong is just monkeying around.”

Younger son loves to have control of the remote control, the food options, and the conversation.  When he gets the chance, he is truly quite the talker.  He misses older son, but he’ll deny it if asked directly.  I know older son is having a blast.  He loves camp and his counselor this year is apparently also a verbal learner so I’m sure they are getting along fabulously.  Saturday morning will be here before you know it.  It just feels a million years away.

I only went to summer camp for one weekend.  It was fun.  We watched Psycho on a big screen outside, at night, surrounded by the sounds of nature.  One of the best ways to watch a Hitchcock film if you ask me.  Still, if I had had the chance to go to camp for a week or two during the summer, each summer, I think that would have been awesome.  My sons think it’s awesome and I am thankful we can send them.

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah keeps playing in my mind…

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Canine-osaurus Rex

June 27, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

We had been talking about what kind of puppy we would want to get.  We all felt ready to start looking for the dog who would not replace Briggs, but fill the spot in our hearts the same way he did.  Lab or collie or lab-collie mix…back and forth we went.  Then a friend messaged me on facebook about a dog and Rex found us and filled that spot before we even met him.  I just couldn’t get him out of my head.  So when I got home that night I told Hubby that I found a dog.  We looked at his picture and description.  Hubby figured out why I couldn’t stop thinking about Rex.  He smiles just like Briggs.

IMG_6860

He’s a shepherd mix, beautiful, sweet, knows how to sit and shake his paw.  He’s had a couple of accidents in the house, but he’s truly starting to figure it out.  We’re starting to figure it out too.  We’ve had to reshape our thinking because he’s not Briggs.  He’s not driven by food, he has complete control of his bowel, and he can go up and down the stairs.  He loves to cuddle, doesn’t like wind, but actually enjoys walking in the rain.  We did that last night for two hours (still trying to figure out the poopie schedule).  I have said so many euphemisms for poo this week in an attempt to figure out if he has a “trigger” word.  I’ve even tried merde.

The boys ADORE Rex.  Rex was even the perfect name for our dog.  The boys gave him a formal name…Canine-osaurus Rex.  And many hours have been spent cuddling with him on the couch.

IMG_6899

Our hearts are filled again and we’re enjoying being a dog family again.  Even the cats have taken to him.  They are staking their territories, but generally it’s been friendly.  Tiger guards the door to our bedroom because that’s where he sleeps.  Rex just curls up on the couch, or the chaise, or on the floor in the corner of the couch and chaise. 

Lab or collie?  Nope, Rex.  IMG_6859

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I Miss You, Blog

June 18, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

Dear Blog,

I truly do miss you.  I just can’t keep up with you, the family, the new dog, and teaching two summer classes.  Seriously.  Read that second sentence.  The parallelism is totally lacking.  And I’m so tired I don’t care.

But soon, dear blog, I will revisit you.  I will tell you tales of late spring and early summer.  I will tell tales of little boys and a new dog.  I will write.

Be well, blog.

Me

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Global Warming & Pedicures

June 7, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

I will preface this post about global warming with several facts.  First, I am so not a science person.  I respect science and scientists, but I can’t do what they do.  Two, I’ve been teaching four nights a week after working my regular job and then grading papers on the weekend so I’m really not thinking straight.  But…these are the thoughts lingering in my brain tonight.

So the press has been yapping about global warming again.  I know the weather is changing, but this really isn’t a new concept.  Or at least according to the BBC’s Ultimate Dinosaur Collection.  The Earth has had changes over the millennia, eras, and eons.  Different levels of oxygen, different levels of carbon dioxide, and other stuff.  If you watch the whole collection, Sir Kenneth Branagh will narrate all of the changes for you.  In my opinion this is yet another cycle in the Earth’s existence.  Weather happens, it’s nature, natural, and it can’t be controlled.  I’m just a wee bit tired of listening to the same stuff over and over.  I seriously doubt the dinosaurs talked about it this much.

Another issue is the helium shortage.  Some say we have enough for 300 years while others say we’re running out.  I would prefer to defer to the concept of shortage and preserve it for the scientific purposes it serves and not use it for party decorations.  I like using it to run MRI machines and for cooling samples.  Just saying.

Finally, because I don’t want to be all gloom and doom on a Friday night, the boys got pedicures tonight.  I was doing my toenails and they asked if I would paint their toes.  Hee hee.  Their feet look so pretty!

dino

 

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You’ll Be a Dentist!

June 3, 2013 by pinkpigrulz

Be a dentist…

I love going to the dentist.  The song from Little Shop of Horrors is one of my favorites.  I’ve never been bothered by any of the lovely dental work I’ve had, including having wisdom teeth removed or root canals.  I got my “adult” teeth early.  When I was 12, the dentist (who clearly hadn’t read my chart) asked how I liked driving.  I said I didn’t drive because I was only 12.  He thought because of the wisdom teeth I was older.

Younger son had a follow up visit at the dentist on Friday.  Six months ago he had his first root canal (yep, at the tender age of seven-he was completely unfazed by this).  Still, he needed four more fillings.  Younger son sat in the chair and asked his questions about the equipment.  (He enjoys going to the dentist too.)  The dentist came in and started poking at the cavities, asking if it hurt, and younger son repeatedly said it didn’t hurt.  She opted to take another x-ray before doing the fillings because it should have hurt when she poked.  She came back in and told me she wasn’t doing any more fillings on his upper molars and was going to pull one of the teeth instead.  She kept referring to the x-ray, but I wasn’t getting it.

Finally, the dentist explained the two rows of teeth I was looking at.  The bottom row were not his bottom teeth but his baby molars being pushed out by the adult molars making the top row.  The nerves had already been wiped out by the adult molars.  The pressure of the adult molars is what caused the pain when he chewed, not the cavities.  The dentist couldn’t believe that in only six months time younger son’s adult molars had shown up.  I told her about my dental development and she said he has my teeth.

Well, one extraction later, younger son expressed surprise when the dentist told him he was all done and could have ice cream for dinner.  Boy, did he milk that.  He has to return in two weeks to check the left side of his mouth.  Soon, he’ll have shiny new molars and we told him, these are the last ones so take care of them.

The dentist couldn’t believe a seven year old boy is getting his adult molars.  Younger son is enjoying the fact that he freaked out the dentist just a little bit.

teethC1

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