I've been a bad blogger

Friday morning Timmy woke up feeling a bit under the weather so I kept him home from school. I was already to go so I ran to school to drop of my plans for my sub. On the way home my car all of a sudden became so LOUD! I had an appointment for yesterday to get an oil change so I had the dealership look at it. I needed about $1200 worth of repairs on my 12 year old car. I didn't want to put that kind of money into it so I bought a new car! Ten years ago I bought a used Saturn (2 years old) and it lasted me 10 years. I guess I got my moneys worth.

I hope this new one serves me just as well :)

So, this is my new baby!!! What do you think!

take care,

Dawn

Ahhhh, YOUTH

I was introducing the letter "A" to my kindergarten class today. I was showing them a series of cards with words that begin with the letter A. I got to antenna and of course they asked what that was. I told them long, long ago before there were remote controls and cablevision people had to use an antenna to be able to watch TV.

One of the girls raised her hand and asked how people changed the channel if there weren't remote controls. I showed the class how a person would have to get up, walk to the televison and actually turn a knob!

In disbelief she looked at me and said...."you mean EVERY TIME they wanted to change the channel?".

take care,
Dawn

Happy Halloween

Are you surprised that Timmy was a pirate? I think I heard somewhere that being a pirate was one of the top costumes for boys this year.
Timmy posed for a series of "dramatic poses" tonight. You'd think his mother had a camera in front of him all the time LOL!

Timmy is the only child in our neighborhood. We usually visit 10-12 houses and are done. One of our neighbors fills a plastic pumpkin for him every year. Sadly, I usually end up throwing that candy away because they smoke CONSTANTLY and the candy stinks! I still, however, appreciate their kindness.

Well, let's hope blogger is working since I couldn't post anything at all this past weekend.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

take care,
Dawn

A new beginning

Yesterday Brittainy and Jay got married. It was a beautiful day. Brittainy looked very lovely and Jay looked quite handsome :). It feels a bit odd to say I am a mother in law. I've considered Jay a member of the family for quite some time now. It is just that title mother in law that is hard to comprehend. As long as I don't become the brunt of anyone's jokes I guess I'll be fine with it.

I am very happy for the two of them and wish them a long, happy life together. Congrats Britt and Jay!!

take care,
Dawn

Things that make you smile :)

This year in my kindergarten class I have a little boy who only speaks Spanish. I speak NO Spanish. Ok, I lied...I can count a little bit in Spanish. It has been a struggle to try to communicate with this child. I try to speak in Spanish to him. Apparently I don't do it well because he laughs at me when I try. We have had some difficult days to say the least!

At the end of the day today when I walked the children to buses, this little boy headed towards his bus, turned around, came back to me and hugged and kissed me. Then he ran off to his bus.

Oh, it just touched my heart and I can't stop thinking of the look on his face. It makes all those difficult days all worth while to have a moment like that!

take care,
Dawn

Things that go bump.

I was sitting in my class this afternoon working with a group of children. We were enthusiastically reading Little Me, our first book with more than two words, when the phone rang. My assistant answered the phone and I heard her politely say "she's busy with a lesson now". Then after a few moments of listening she passed me the phone.

It was the school nurse. It seems my son ran into the playground and got a nice goose egg on his head along with a bloody nose! She suggested he go home to rest and take it easy. I brought him to my mother's and headed back to school.

I'm sure the picture doesn't do it justice, but here's his poor forehead.

One of the joys of being the mother of a boy!

take care,
Dawn

The beginning of number 9.

Today after school I went to the dentist to begin the first stage on my ninth crown...yes, I said 9! Three are due to falling off my bike when I was 12. The rest are age and poor dental care when I was a kid. Because the first crowns were done when I was 12 (33 years ago) they needed to be redone.

I am still feeling the effects of the novacane. You know that feeling that you have had a stroke and feeling like your lip is three sizes it normal size. Friday I go back for the second step in the process.

I joke with my dentist. I tell him that I believe he is cursing my teeth. Once I think I have everything taken care of another tooth breaks.

I remember when I was a child my mother would have me write 10, 15, 25 times (depending on the infraction) I WILL BRUSH MY TEETH EVERY DAY! (picture Bart Simpson at the chalkboard here LOL!). I should have listened to my mother better!

I expect to be the only elderly lady in the nursing home without dentures :)

Take care,

Dawn

Aren't they cute?

I know, I know I am not posting enough. I just don't have too much happening in my life to write about. School is keeping me VERY BUSY. I promised my friend Beverly that I would update my blog. So here goes.

Today Mackenzie came over to play in the yard a bit. Timmy and she had fun with the ball and some of the old toys that Timmy hasn't been able to part with yet. :) Mackenzie adores her uncle Tim and he feels the same way about her.

Yesterday Mackenzie, Britt and Jay went apple picking and brought some apples back to us. Tonight I am making some apple crisp to have after dinner. I love the smell of fall and "fall" foods. The weather is just a bit warm for my idea of fall but it's still lovely out.

I have had an awful headache all day. I am hoping it's an allergy related headache and the Allegra I took will help it go away. I was really hoping to get more done around the house but I'm feeling a bit under the weather. Only one day of my three day weekend felt productive. I feel like I wasted my time at home.

Well, friends I told you I was boring :)

take care,
Dawn

Ahoy Matey!!!

Yesterday was Timmy's birthday party with his friends from school. I had eight boys here living the life of a pirate :) I am thinking I don't have too many years left of having the boys do a craft at a birthday party so I took full advantage of it this year. They boys made hooks for their hands out of black paper cups, cardboard and tinfoil.

Here's Timmy doing his best pirate interpretation LOL!!


I bought some wooden boxes at A.C. Moore and my sister stained them for me a couple of weeks ago. I filled them with plastic gold coins. The boys used glue dots and attached jewels to their treasure chests. They also added a few jewels to their treasure chests as well.


















They all had a great time, enjoyed their pizza, played hard and we are done until next year!
Today is the party for my granddaughter who will be one on Tuesday. It's also her dad's birthday today. This is a busy month in our family!!! Hopefully next weekend I'll get a break LOL!

take care,
Dawn

School is back in session

The beginning of a school year is just so exhausting!!! I don't think a lot of people realize how much work the first week of kindergarten is. The children come to school so excited and ready to "play" and the poor kids need to practice waiting: waiting for everyone to check for notes, waiting to see who is buying lunch, waiting to find out who brought peanutbutter (we have allergies in our school), waiting to learn routines and schedules, waiting to take a turn to talk, waiting for a turn with a favorite toy. All they really want to do is play with their friends. We spend the first week slowly introducing rules and routines.

We also have a lot to do to get ready for these little guys. I felt like a walking zombie these past two weeks. I don't seem to have much of a break for the next couple of weeks either.

take care,
Dawn

Back to School!

After a glorious 70 something days off it was back to school today. I don't know why after 16 years I had the "can't sleep because school starts tomorrow jitters". I woke up at 2:00 this morning and at 4:15 when I was still awake I chose to just get up! I made a lasagna for dinner and another to freeze. I emailed a few people and took a leisurely amount of time getting ready!

Most of my friends think I'm a little "off" because I like to go to school early. I get there at 6:30 some mornings and 7:00 others even though I don't need to be there until 8:15. I really enjoy the quite morning when no one is there. There's not waiting for the copy machines or laminator. I can get some work done on the computer. It really lovely!

The thing I haven't figured out is how the staff can't seem to realize that we need the same things on the first day EVERY YEAR!!! Why is it a shock when we ask for, oh say, a class list, appointment schedules, bus lists etc. Every year there is always mistakes over the schedule, this year has been no exception.

We spend the next three days meeting the incoming kindergarten children one on one and then they all come for the first full day on Monday.

Here's to another school year. I hope it's a good one!

take care,
Dawn,

My baby is 8!!

Yesterday was a happy day in our home for Timmy. He can't believe that he is 8 years old LOL!
It was bittersweet for me. It was exciting that it was Timmy's birthday but sad that it was the last day of my summer vacation!

I asked Timmy was the best part of his 7th year was. He said Mackenzie being born was the best. He liked that Philip Jr. (the fish) didn't die. First grade was pretty good too! The worst part of his seventh year was that three fish died.

My birthday wish for Timmy is to always be happy, enjoy his creativity and to continue being the great kid that he is!

take care,
Dawn

TO ALL THE KIDS

I know this has been around hundred's of times....but it's so true!!!

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!


First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.


We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because .

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING !

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day.

And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride downthe hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers!, no Internet or chat rooms.......WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!


We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rangthe bell, or just walked in and talked to them!


Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!


These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them . . . CONGRATULATIONS!

take care,
Dawn

What was that sound?

There are nights when I lie in bed and out of the blue hear a popping sound. This has been going on for a couple of years. At first I really didn't pay too much attention to it. Then I began to try to figure out just where the sound was coming from. When we first bought our house 10 years ago the outlet in our bedroom needed to be repaired. After hearing the popping sound I thought maybe it was the outlet. As often and as hard as I tried I couldn't pin point the origin of the sound. At one point I would put the extension cord on the bed so I could tell if the popping was coming from that. Every night (not that it happened every night) that I heard it I thought I really need to call an electrician. By morning I would forget about it until the next time I heard the pop! Finally after months and months of trying to figure out what it was I had an idea. There was "something" in my room that I thought could be making the noise. I took it out and what do you know? The popping started in another room. I found the source of the pop. It was my rainstick!!!! After I solved the mystery all I could think of was how embarrassed I would have been had I actually called the electrician. He would have laughed all the way back to the shop thinking that this was the fire hazard I had been so afraid of!


take care,
Dawn

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Rainsticks are ceremonial musical instruments used to invoke the rain spirits. They are made by people who live in the deserts of northern Chile. In Chile, rainsticks are traditionally made from dead cactus tubes with hundreds of cactus spines hammered into the tube. Tiny lava pebbles cascade gently through the tube, sounding much like rain.

Plastic Surgery

We had the news on the other night and the story was about plastic surgery. Timmy asked me what it was. I explained that it was an operation that people have to change the way they look. I told him that lots of times people have this surgery because they want to look younger.

My *sweet* boy looked at me and said, "Do you need plastic surgery?".

Kids....gotta love 'em!

On a side note, what is it with "older" actresses who think that using botox to make their lips look obscenely HUGE is attractive!!! UGH!

take care,
Dawn

Philip Jr.

We did it! Philip Jr. joined our family today! We are hoping that Philip Jr. will have many years with us. If we can make it past the week mark I will feel pretty good. Last winter when Philip (the original) died we made three failed attempts to replace him! Each time our new family member "expired" within days. The first sign was the white specks on him. Keep your fingers crossed, say a prayer, send positive thoughts...we'll take it all!

Timmy thought that by naming this fish Philip Jr. it would bring good luck since Philip lived for so long. Let's hope this guy has some spunk!

The clerk at the pet store said that beta fish aren't as "hardy" as they used to be because the demand for them is so large that they are being bred at a speedy rate. I did find out that they have a three day "replacement" policy if needed! Oh how I hope not!

Updated to say he made it through the night! And, unlike the fish that died, this one is actually eating. I took a better pic today so I updated Philip's picture as well. Keep those positive thoughts coming :)

take care,
Dawn

Are you a dreamer?

By that I mean do you dream? I have several dreams a night that I can recall. Sometimes they are trivial and other times they stay with me for days! I have in the past had dreams over and over again only to find out that they come true!

I have other dreams that are about the houses I have grown up in and other family houses. These dreams I have had repeatedly and they have happened for more years than I can recall. I always dream about "secret" rooms full of treasures. One of the houses ( I lived in this one) I dream about has a room that is really a store with thousands of trinkets in it! The other house is my paternal grandmothers house. There is also a room that has tables and tables full of things you might find at an antique store.

Then I have dreams about houses that are so full of evil I can feel it in my dreams? I wonder if dreaming about houses is symbolic for my feelings of security. Any armchair interpreters out there?

take care,
Dawn

A Pirate's Life for Me

Timmy has a renewed fascination with pirates again. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the recent release of Pirates of the Caribbean. Though last Christmas he certainly received a lot of pirate ships and toys! It just must be a boy thing.

When we went to the fair on Monday there was a display of sheds and this was his highlight of the fair. He asked to go back to this ship several times.

The sketch for this layout is from Jen Caputo and the kit is Here Be Pirates by Tracy Rivera.

take care,
Dawn

Barnstable County Fair

I remember being a child going to the Barnstable County Fair with my family. It was always so much fun going on the rides, playing the games and having that "fair food" that is NO GOOD for you! The fair has been a yearly event since 1844. I can't imagine what it would have been like back then. I am sure there were still the animal exhibits and the displays of crafts and goods.

Yesterday I went to the fair with Timmy, Brittainy and Mackenzie. We left our house at noon. I stopped to pick up Britt and Mackenzie but we had to wait for them to get ready. We finally got to Falmouth at 2:00 only to find out the fairgrounds didn't open until 4:00. After a quick lunch and Walmart trip we headed back to the fair.

The first thing Timmy wanted to do was get some cotton candy. He took a few bites and decided he didn't want anymore. The highlight for Timmy was an exhibit of sheds. Yes, I said sheds! He found one that looked like a ship and of course decided that it was a pirate ship! Brittainy had me take a few pictures of Mackenzie in front of the cutest little pink and white cottage shed!

We spent quite a bit of time looking at the animals and enjoying some of that "NO GOOD" for you fair food and headed home. We spent more time driving and waiting than we actually spent at the fair! All in all though it was a nice day :)

Here's Timmy driving the pirate ship! Below is Mackenzie in front of the little cottage.

Another one coming down the slide.

take care,
Dawn

I Figured It Out

It's not so much that I figured it out. I found a tutorial and followed the directions with a little tweaking on my part! I hope it works on the blog. I know it's not earth shattering but it's a skill I didn't have yesterday!!! I took the pictures yesterday when I was watching Mackenzie!

You can begin your oooohing and ahhhhhing now :)

take care,
Dawn