We now return to your regular blogging schedule!

Several years ago one of my friends and coworkers gave me this plaque to commemorate the beginning of summer vacation. Each year when school is out I hang it on my computer room door! It stays there until school starts! I just hung it up today in celebration of the ten weeks I have off!

I finished school on the 19th and then I think I slept for four days LOL! I have three half days of school work this week (Wed- Fri).

Just yesterday I helped Britt give a baby shower for my niece. I'll post more about that later.

It has rained almost every day this month and I have yet to need to put the A/C on. There have been a couple of times I thought about putting the heat on though!

I hope to catch up on your blogs this summer. It was really hard this school year to do that!

take care,
Dawn

Dog Gone Cute!!

Britt emailed me this picture of Jack last week with the disclaimer that she had just washed the bowls and put clean water down. She said that he was really enjoying himself. This boy always makes me laugh. He is such a curious and energetic little guy. Jack must be thinking that there is something to this bowl on the floor thing since Joey, the dog, gets so excited whenever Britt puts it down for him. ☺

I just think he is dog gone cute!!!

By the way, the count is now 7 days left of school.

take care,
Dawn

Tim and Dexter

Yesterday Rich brought Dexter to Britt's house while I was at school. Yesterday morning Britt posted this on my Facebook page.

it's 8:45 am and the dogs have been banished to the porch already. first dexter peed on my floor and jack slipped in it, then writhed around in the puddle in apparent agony, getting the pee in his hair and pj's and requiring an immediate sink shower. then the dogs were playing on the couch and i was all "damn dogs get off my couch!" and dexter jumped off and peed in a pile of blankets. now the dogs are on the porch where they are making a nest in the porch blankets. tell tim i want his head ready when you get here. *evil, slightly psychotic grin*

Britt promised Tim a noogie for every time Dexter peed in her house LOL!

Today we take him to the vet for a check up and to get (I hope) a lot of my questions answered.

After the vet appointment I need to get back to school for a concert Tim is having. By the time that's over it will be about 7:00 and we'll need to grab dinner. I don't know if I will get a chance to visit or not. BUSY BUSY BUSY is my day today.

take care,
Dawn

Into the Woods

This photo was taken from my deck with my zoom lens. Last year my son in law, Jay was over and noticed this pink in the woods. Our back yard is town conservation area so there are no homes etc. out there. Yesterday while I was outside I noticed the pink again.

I took Dexter for a walk and saw this rhododendron that was huge out in the woods. I brought Dexter back in and grabbed my camera. It is about five feet wide and four to five feet tall. I'm not sure how it got out there. Someone must have thrown it out into the woods and it just started growing out there. Britt asked about digging it up to put in her yard. I think that it is so big you'd need to get a backhoe out there and I don't think that is possible. I like seeing it through the green. It's very pretty.

take care,
Dawn

Meet Dexter

We have been busy around our house. There has been a lot going on with school! Yes, I have 10 days left and TONS of work to get done in those days.

The biggest news is that a couple of weeks ago we began the process of adopting a dog. Late Friday afternoon his foster mother drove him from Rhode Island to our house. His name is Dexter and he is a terrier mix. He's two years old and about 13 pounds and just about the sweetest dog ever.


Meet Dexter:

He was a bit nervous when he got here. He's been here about 24 hours now (as I write this) and he seems to be quite comfortable. He is so good natured. Friday night when we took him out his collar slipped off him and I thought "Oh no, he's going to make a mad dash", but he just ran to the door to go in.

On Saturday Britt brought the kids by and he was very gentle with them. Then Britt brought her dog, Joey out of the car to meet Dexter. They played for hours. Britt has offered to dog sit for the next two weeks of school so Dexter and Joey can play.

These pictures are from the adopt a pet web site. Dexter was rescued by PAWS of New England from a kill shelter in Tennessee.

I'll be taking more pictures to share later.

take care,
Dawn

I'll probably be driving you all crazy with this

But the countdown is 24 days(after today that is)! Everyday we sing a countdown song to the tune of 99 bottles of beer on the wall...though the kids don't know the orginal version. Today we will be singing 24 days left of school in the year. Next week we hit the teens! Oh, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm so darn tired I need that summer break. I have signed up for a one week graduate course, and perhaps some professional development on top of that.

In Massachusetts we have to renew our license every five years, with a fee of course! This weekend I have to work on all of the paper work. It is funny that when I first got my degree it was a life time license but now I have to pay to get it renewed!

Here's wishing you all a great start to the weekend.

take care,
Dawn

Just a quick little post today.

This is just a quick little post to share a picture I took the other day. A friend gave me a Gerber daisy for my birthday. It was in the kitchen window the other day and the way the sun was shining on the plant looked so pretty that I just had to get a picture of it. It was such a beautiful sunny day and as the sun was setting and shining on my plant it made me smile. I hope the picture makes you smile!

take care,
Dawn

YUM!!!!!!!

First let me say that I found this picture online posted at the Boston Phoenix. It is not the tips I made, but looks just like them! (Ok, I didn't take time to take the picture before we ate them).

Last week on a local radio station, WCOD the two morning DJ's raved about a steak tip marinade that they had made. They posted on their site. I decided to try it on Mother's Day. I love steak and can never find the perfect recipe. This is as perfect as I have ever had!!! I bought all of the ingredients and let it marinate more than 24 hours before we cooked it. I cooked 7 steak strips/tips and Rich ate 5 of them. (I had one and saved the other to add to my salad for lunch the next day.) Last night at dinner Rich proclaimed that the recipe is now our new "house blend".

I am posting it here to share with you.

Dan and Stephanie's Summertime Steak tip Marinade

1 Bottle Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce

1 cup Fat Free Italian Dressing

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp A-1

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 Zip lock bag-Freezer size

Marinate tip in sauce for 6hrs flip bag and Marinate 6 more...even if you don't have time to marinate that long they are just as good on the fly!

Enjoy!

take care,
Dawn

I did it!

I got my grade for the course I took this past winter/spring. I got an A+. All my efforts paid off and I am proud of how hard I worked. That is the reason I took the blogging break.

There are three more course in the certificate program but I do not believe I will be continuing. It was quite a stretch doing the assignments for kindergarten students, especially since they really can't read or write yet! That was my biggest criticism of the course. I had to write lesson plans having kindergarten students learn with spreadsheets, concept maps (like a graphic organizer on the computer) and hypermedia (web pages, PowerPoint presentations etc.,). This was not easy but it is done and I am doing a HAPPY DANCE!!!

take care,
Dawn

How was your Mother's Day?

Mother's Day was lovely here! I woke up early yesterday morning, but fell back to sleep. About 8:30 I woke up to smell breakfast cooking. Within seconds Rich and Tim were bringing me breakfast in bed! I had scrambled eggs (piping hot!), bacon, sausage (cut to make an M for mom), orange juice, coffee and an English muffin. Tim told me that he wanted to make me eggs. It is his favorite breakfast. I really don't like eggs. I told Tim if that's what he wanted to make me I needed to have them PIPING hot!!! He filled the order perfectly! Tim presented me with a bill when it was done:

bacon 1 hug

sausage 1 kiss

eggs pipen hot (his spelling) with pepper 2 hugs 1 kiss

english muffin with butter and strawberry jam 4 kisses 2 hugs

TOTAL: 5 hugs 6 kisses

Tim and Rich gave me a hanging inpatients plant. I am happy to have the colors in my yard. I feel summer just around the corner.


I went to visit Britt and her family. Jay was planting some shrubs, plants and bushes for Britt. He told me that he had some hydrangeas for me. YAY! I ended up bring Mackenzie home with me for a few hours.

I also stopped to visit my mother and bring her a gift.

I had a big long list of things I wanted Rich to do for me. He did them all with a smile! What a good guy!

The weather yesterday was just beautiful! It was great to finally see the sun!

I hope you all had a wonderful day and enjoyed time with your family!

take care,
Dawn

A sign of spring

I came home from school yesterday and pulled my car up to the mailbox to check my mail. Tim was in the backseat and notice a robin in the maple tree in our front yard. I just happened to have my camera with me and snapped this picture. I really have spring fever. If only the weather would cooperate. We had one really BEAUTIFUL day and then back to cool rainy weather.

Now, for my embarrassing story. In kindergarten we have poems and songs on charts. In May we all hang up charts we made of Raffi's song Robin in the rain. I searched for some coloring page to trace and hang on my chart. One of my friends and fellow teachers came in one day and had to let me know that robins are not blue. I guess I was confused because of the color of a robin egg. I've since fixed my poster and have learned the difference. ☺

take care,
Dawn

Poor Kenzie

Poor Mackenzie! I was talking to Britt on the phone about two and a half weeks ago and in the middle of our conversation she had to hang up because Mackenzie was crying. Britt called back later to tell me that Mackenzie fell and hurt her elbow. Later that day she ended up taking her to the hospital and the doctors told her that they believe Mackenzie fractured her elbow. They weren't quite sure so they set up an appointment at Children's Hospital in Boston and she came home hours later with a purple cast on her arm. She has to keep in on for three weeks. She goes back next week to have it off. She has been doing just fine with the cast. It doesn't even seem to bother her.

What a little trooper she is. I, of course, had to stop by and bring her presents! That's what Grandma's are for!!


I was at Brittainy's the other day and Mackenzie was sitting at the table rolling playdough out with her casted arm and she did just fine!

None of my children (knock on wood) or myself have ever broken anything. Well, I take that back. I've broken my teeth many times.

take care,
Dawn

I am happy to say that just yesterday I sent in my last assignment for the class I was taking. I am DONE! I am sorry for being so negligent in my blogging but I needed to do my best for the class! I’m also a bit of an overachiever so I did some extra work LOL!


Now that the class is done I can get back to some of the normal things that I have neglected (like cleaning my computer room), and of course blogging. I don’t know where to begin. I think I am going to have to make a list so I don’t forget everything I want to share.
>


I’m going to start with the newest member of our extended family. Last month my daughter, Brittainy, adopted a dog from Adopt a pet. His name is Joey and he’s about a year old. Actually, Britt said that they think he was born the beginning of March last year, just a couple of days after Jack was born. He is really good with the kids and they love him. I think the biggest drawback is that Britt’s husband’s name is Jay, Jack is my grandson and Joey is the dog. Britt’s always calling them all the wrong name LOL! I’ve been looking on Adopt a pet as well and I have to keep myself away from looking because we can’t get one until school ends. I did see one the other day that I would like to have. I called Britt to tell her about the dog. His name was Jacob. I think Britt would be awful mad if I added another J name to the mix.



I will try to do my best to start visiting you all again. It’s been nice having you all check in with me. I have just been a bit overwhelmed. My next course is only a week long in August. I should be able to handle a weeks worth of work.

Take care,
Dawn

On a happier note....

My friend Beverly keeps calling me and telling me it's time for a happier picture! Well here it is. This is Tim six years after the last post in all of his healthy glory. I was telling Beverly that I have to buy him men's medium shirts now! He's just growing too much! This was taken today. That's Mackenzie next to him. Britt and family came over for Easter.

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have been so busy. Besides school, home, motherhood...grandmotherhood etc., I'm also taking a graduate course and I just can't seem to find the time for everything!

I do have vacation next week so that ought to give me a chance to catch up. I also only have 44 days left of school. Can you see my big old smile!

Don't forget me! I'll be back soon.

take care,
Dawn

Six years ago, this was my boy!

I am reposting this. It has been six years this month that this happened.


I remember so well. We were having a turkey dinner that Sunday night and I was running late so I gave Timmy his bath early. He complained about his neck hurting. During dinner he complained of his neck hurting. He went to bed complaining (and crying) about his neck hurting. He woke up at 10:00 complaining and crying that his neck was hurting. I called the Dr. who sent us to the ER. That night they sent us home with a prescription for a stiff neck. The next day he was still crying about his neck hurting. He had a fever and couldn't stop crying. We went back to the ER and 7 hours later (and many tests later) he was in an ambulance heading to Boston to Children's hospital. Rich and I joined him in Boston. We spent 8 long days in ICU with him. There were some very scary moments. I remember the most frightening day of my life was when Rich and I were taken into a small room with the doctors who told us that there was the possibility that Timmy could die. He was very sick. They had so many teams of doctors trying to figure out what was wrong with him. I stayed by his side in the ICU each day and night. I remember the day there were about 10 doctors over him trying everything they knew how to do to help. His blood pressure had dropped so low! The poor boy was on massive antibiotics and morphine. They finally decided that he had a retropharyngeal abscess with Mediastinitis.


After about six days he stared improving and they decided he didn't need to be as sedated as he was. I remember when they "woke" him up he turned to me with tears in his eyes and mouthed the word "momma" to me. I still get so emotional thinking of that. When he was taken out of the ICU the poor boy started going through morphine withdrawal. He was released from the hospital and sent home with IV antibiotics.

About a week after we got home he started getting very sick again so we went back to Children's Hospital and after several days they discovered that he had allergies to the antibiotics that he was on.

It was the most heart wrenching time of my life!! I know that all my friends and family (even people I didn't know) who were praying for Timmy played such an important part of his recovery.



It's been three years and he is such a healthy boy now and quite the funny boy at that. Today we were driving to school and I told him that he was handsome. A minute later he said, "so I got all the looks" and Brittainy got everything else!".

I can't imagine my life without him. He fills my heart with such joy!!


take care,
Dawn

My week in review

Hello there! It's been another one of those weeks for me. Last Saturday I went to Britt's house to surprise her when she returned from her vacation by cleaning her house. She left the day after Jack's party and I went to tidy up for her so she wouldn't have to do it when she got home. I also made her a pot of spaghetti sauce and meatballs. ☺ Later that day Britt called to tell me that her flight home was Saturday morning not Sunday. They missed their flight and wouldn't be flying home until Tuesday. Brittainy is the epitome of Murphy's Law!

Tuesday I had to take Tim to the dentist, pick up my mother and get home to have a corn beef and cabbage dinner with Britt, Jay, the kids also joining us. They came right from the airport to my house.

Rich FINALLY went to the doctor's on Tuesday and he told me that he has bronchial pneumonia. I called the doctor back on Thursday to tell them that Tim wasn't getting better and I brought him back in on Friday and he has bronchitis.

Oh, and I had report cards to write this week that went home on Friday. I don't know where I found the time to get everything done.

I did treat myself yesterday. Twilight was released on DVD and I bought it and watched it.

To top off my week, a piece of my front tooth fell off yesterday. I just happened to rub my tounge across it and it broke. I wasn't even eating anything!

I still have an assignment for the class I am taking due tonight by midnight (online) that I am not done with yet. Then I get to start all over again next week with a new assignment.

If you have read this far thanks! I've missed my blogging friends this week. I think we all need to make a coffee (or tea) date and get together and just talk! :)

take care,
Dawn

Friday's Favorite Family Foto

Deborah of Pictures Pots and Pens is hosting Friday's Favorite Family Fotos. Please stop by her blog to see who else is posting and be sure to visit them as well.

The pictures I am sharing today are of Tim and Mackenzie. They were taken about 3 years ago. Brittainy worked on weekends back then and I would watch Mackenzie on Saturdays. This weekend I pulled out one of Tim's old pop up play tents and he and Mackenzie played in it for quite some time.

They are close enough in age to be brother and sister but Tim is Mackenzie's uncle...and he's only 7 years older than her. :)

Please be sure to visit Deborah's blog for more Friday's Favorite Family Fotos.

take care,
Dawn

A different Grandma!

My daughter Brittainy, her husband and two kids are visiting family in Florida. Oh, I miss them. They will have been gone two weeks this weekend, but thankfully will be home on Sunday.

Britt called me the other day to tell me that she was having a great time and shared some stories. She told me that on the plane ride to Florida Mackenzie was a bit confused about going to see Grandma and Papa (her grandparents she's never met) because she also calls me and Rich Grandma and Papa. Britt told me that both children received some gifts when they got there and one day Mackenzie had a toy Britt hadn't seen before. She asked Mackenzie where she got it and Mackenzie told her a different Grandma gave it to her. Britt found out that a neighbor of her in-laws gave it to Mackenzie. Then she proceeded to tell me (prefaced by, "don't be offended") but Mackenzie thinks all old ladies that give her presents are called Grandma!!!!

AH, out of the mouths of babes!

take care,
Dawn

Wallace and Grommet

While Tim was home sick this week he had all of his modeling clay out and made this one day after he's watched Wallace and Grommet on TV. For those of you who aren't familiar they are a clay animation story.

A couple of people have suggested getting sculpy for Tim, but he likes to use the clay over and over again. I told him that we would start taking pictures of what he makes so he can remember it.

Last year for his birthday he got a handful of dinosaur skeletons from the bowling alley we went to. He likes to use the clay and "re-create" the dinosaurs. The boy sits for HOURS using clay.

I'm proud of my boy and just wanted to share.

take care,
Dawn

The sickness is in full force!

What is it about a man that is sick??? Rich has been moaning and groaning for days now because he's not feeling well. I finally broke down last night and told him that whatever he is doing to make himself feel better isn't working. He needs to call the doctor! He acts like he is the only man that has ever been sick and nothing I have gone through can compare!

Tim is also sick but his moaning and groaning is minimal. He's been home for two days now and I stayed home from school to stay with Tim so Rich could go to the doctors.

I want to strip the beds and air my house out!!! I can't wait for both of them to feel better.

Tell me that I am not the only one that has to suffer when their DH is sick! ☺

take care,
Dawn