A smattering of stuff...

First, before my friend Mimi comes up here and kicks my ass, IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU MEEMS!!! She came up some time ago and we had the chance to hang out for a bit. It has been too long, girlfriend....We can't let that amount of time without seeing each other happen again!! I have a great photo of Mimi with Phin, but can I find it? Anywhere on my hard drive?Noooooo....Will post when I find it.

So, with my head now off the chopping block after taking care of that, what else is going on? Phin is talking like crazy now..we have perfected "Elmo" and "NO" (along with the vigorous head shaking from side to side..where does he learn this stuff??!) He has also been teething alot this past week, so Ibuprofen and Benadryl have become very good friends to all of us. :-)

Last night had the wonderful opportunity to go over to M.s house to hang with friends from yesteryear, Jeanne and her husband, Rick. They are just terrific people. I always thought when I come back in the next life I wanted to be one of my pets, but I think I am going to change my mind. They are such solid, happy people. See?




K. was there also, and was a very good sport putting up with quite a bit of teasing. I have a beautiful picture of her, but she doesn't like it. Hmph. I guess my loyal readers (all 4 of you, who know K. IRL) will just have to suffer, and not see it.



Phin and I had a fun playdate with cousin and her son. It was hot and humid as Hades~but still fun.


I know this isn't a great photo, but kinda funny, yes? Poor Jonathan was in meltdown mode, and Phin wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. He just continued to play with his truck, while Jonathan completed his temper tantrum. (This was at the very end of the day, and both boys only had about a 15 minute nap..I would be rather grumpy too, I guess!)


Russell and I went out shopping today for a laundry list of things for the house. And when he says he wants to go shopping, I make sure we are out of the house in record time. Even if it is just stuff for the house, it is still shopping!! Here is one of our purchases..a lame attempt to keep our trash-hound baby of out the Dumpster diving habit. Didn't work. He was so busted.

Not much else happening..so here is a MEME for y'all

Do you still have tonsils? - Yes

2. Would you bungee jump? - Are you kidding me? Heck no

3. If you could do anything in the world for a living, what would it be? -Tropical Resort reviewer for a magazine

4. How many tattoos do you have? - Four

5. Your favorite fictional animal? - Scrat...

6. One person that never fails to make you laugh? - Too many to name-Karyn,Sue,John (most times, anyway)

7. Do you consider yourself well organized? – I used to think I was, but realizing I am really not in the least.

8. Any Addictions? - Nasty Tobaccy

9. From what news source do you receive the bulk of your news? - Internet

10. Would you rather go to a carnival or circus? - Carnival. Only because there are crazy ass-gravity defying rides.


11. When you were twelve years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? - Awful, but I can't remember! maybe an anthropologist?

12. Best Movie You've Seen This Year? - Ice Age II, the Meltdown

13. Favorite alcoholic drink – Digging the Cosmos.

14. What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? - Retrieve the bebe

15. Siblings? –Brother

16. What is the best thing about your job? – Flexibility and Money

17. Have you ever gone to therapy? – Yes indeedy!

18. If you could have one super power what would it be? - The whole mind-reading / bending thing. (good answer, K!)

19. Do you own any furniture from Ikea? – No.

20. Have you ever gone camping? – Yes

21. Gas prices! First thought? - Why did I get rid of my compact again?

22. Your favorite cartoon character? - Wild E. Coyote. Poor sucker couldn't catch a break.

23. What was your first car? – Gold Honda Accord Hatchback. that thing was INDESTRUCTIBLE!

24. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual? - No

25. The Cosby Show or the Simpsons? - Simpsons

26. Do you go to church? - For Weddings and Funerals.

27. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? – Living or dead? - Living: Russell Crowe. Dead:Princess Diana. ( I am SO SHALLOW!)

28. What errand/chore do you despise? – Putting laundry away and emptying the litter box

29. First thought when the alarm went off this morning? – I wish I had the opportunity to hear the alarm-baby was up before then.

30. Last time you puked from drinking? – Eons.

31. What is your heritage? - Italian/Irish and a smattering of others.

32. Favorite flower? – Stargazer Lillies and Peonies.

33. Disney or Warner Bros? - Going to go with Disney

34. What is your best childhood memory? – Sleepovers at Jenna's


35. Your favorite potato chip? – Ruffles. Gotta have the ridges.

36. What is your favorite candy? - 3 Musketeers.

37. Do you burn or tan? - Tan nicely, thank you!

38. Astrological sign? - Taurus

39. Do you own a gun? – No..but I know people who do and know I can be an excellent shot if need be. Ahem.

40. What do you think of hot dogs? Love em. With Gray Poupon mustard.Grilled Bun. Oh dear.

Ever have one of those days?

...when you think you have every moment booked with friends, activity, and plans? And then it just gets flushed down the drain? Yep. That would be my today. Nothing panned out, and I am actually LONELY. Phin is with my parents. Russell is in NH. All friends are MIA. Hmph.

Well, at least both the kids closets got cleaned out, all the laundry is current and up to date. Dishwasher emptied. Dusted. Vaccuummed. Mopped.

I am going to dinner at my parents house. I guess I will save my free coupon for a Phin sleepover at Nana's til I night I will actually need it.

The Sound of (Almost) Silence

My, my..what a busy month July turned out to be! My mother came down for a week to visit with Phineas. That is always an adventure, to say the least. We still do that little dance where I play Phin's mother, and she plays indulgent grandmother. That can be a very blurry line. It has definately improved from when I first had him, and I had zero confidence so I let her do everything. Admittedly, I learned a lot by watching. However, some things I just didn't want to do and it took some time for me to work up to actually telling her that. But, all in all, not bad. Gearing up for the August visit!!

Our friend M, hosted a birthday party for K. and made a delicious dinner. That was a good time. It was so much fun, and my body actually hurt from all the laughing that went on. It was nice to feel like a kid again!!




Finally, I got to connect with my cousin from Switzerland!! Once we spoke in complete honesty and I told her not to back out or make excuses (her mother and aunts were giving her a very hard time about seeing me) It was all better. I guess my little pep talk about being only concerned for her and her son gave her some courage and she spoke up. J and I were able to spend several days together with our boys and just catch up. It was so exciting that I finally got her to see my house and just hang out. She is on her way back to her mother's for about 2 weeks, then will be back on the Cape. YAY!! I miss her already, but I guess I can wait to see her again.



Hubby Russell went up to New Hampshire for a boys weekend. He is going to ride his ATV with his friend and just try to chill out. He has been under such immense stress and hope this will help him get some distance from it all. He needs it!

Lastly, we have adopted another cat. It is our very good friends cat, and he is moving, so best to give the cat a good ,stable home (and he picked ours??!) Anyway, the cat is adjusting nicely. Our older cats are actually ok with it, and there have been minimal hissing fits. If I can figure out to post his picture in the right place in the post, will let you see what he looks like!!

Not much to say...

...so might as well say it with a few photos!






**DISCLAIMER:By the way..as I look at these photos, I realize he is wearing the same shirt in all the pictures. It just so happens he is very fond of Cookie Monster, and that happens to be his favorite. Honestly, I can bury it in the drawer and he will dig it out. I do put him in other clothes. Honest.**

Pirate's Booty

The past few days I have considered myself very lucky to haul a Pirate's bountiful booty-I got to spend some unexpected time with my good friend, K. We went on a mission the other night to find a new summer bedspread and found a beautiful one (SCORE!) and she hunted high and low to find matching shams that go with the spread, since I was too cheap to spring an extra $80 on the shams that actually go with the spread.

Then, the very next day, we went food shopping together!! I know it doesn't seem like a huge deal, but we laughed and had a great time. It was wonderful spending time with her. She is going thru some serious crap now, and I feel like that is all I can do for her is give her my time.

So, that's it. Hopefully in the near future, we can have more adventures. Even if it is just food shopping. It makes such a tumultuous task a lot more fun when you have a conspiritor along for the ride~