Oh my, what a week.  Been a bit high on the stress meter.  Things started off fairly routine, but on Tuesday afternoon, I get a call from Liam's caregiver to tell me that another little girl pushed him into the sliding glass door, and he had a cut on his head.  The door was fine, the girl was sorry, but we did take Liam to the ER where he received 4 stitches. 

 

 

Sadly, this incident caused us to take off our blinders to some of the actions we had been overlooking at their current daycare setting.  Accidents happen, and though we are not isolating our departure based on Liam's run in with the door, we just have felt that he needs more structure during the day.  Keeping on task and following a consistent schedule would hopefully help him stay out of trouble.  However, finding another daycare with TWO openings, one of which being an infant spot, was next to impossible.

 

Luck was on our side, and two opportunities popped up by Thursday.  Since I had to pick the boys up early from daycare that day anyway, Russ and I decided to act on a couple of interviews.  As a result, the boys will be starting a new daycare on June 11th.  Their new Day Care Provider has sacrificed her entire basement, to a renovated, cozy, learning environment.  She has a planned schedule, plenty of outside time, field trips, and access to the neighborhood pool and playground.  We are quite excited about the opportunity, but still hope that our boys will get the love, patience, and understanding that we grew so accustomed to at their previous setting.

 

Friday evening we felt a little sad knowing that we’d just given our two week notice to Liam and Jaxson’s caregiver. She was surprised, and I could tell that the news broke her heart.  I know that no sitter will love our children more than she does.  We puttered around in the yard a little, and just tried to cheer ourselves up.  The weather has been beautiful lately, so it doesn’t take much more than a few minutes in the sunshine to perk up anyone’s spirits.

 

It was really nice knowing that we didn’t have any concrete plans for the weekend.  Good thing too, because funds were getting pretty low.  The previous weekend’s party put a good dent in the monthly budget… but if anyone wants to come over for hamburgers… we’re all stocked up!  Saturday morning it felt so good to just sleep in a little.  After breakfast, it didn’t take us long to head outside to poke around in the yard.  Jaxson took a late morning nap, so I took the opportunity for a little one on one time with Liam.  While Russ stayed home, Liam and I headed to the playground in the wagon.  We had a good time going down the slides, and running around.  The neighborhood pool was open and busy.  I wouldn’t mind finding out how we could become members, but there didn’t seem to be a good access point to talk with anyone about it.  Perhaps I can call Parks & Recs for information.  Liam and I were getting pretty hungry for lunch, so we headed back home.  All the way home I heard Liam mention over and over about how he wanted to play tennis.  He’d witnessed a couple of lessons in progress near the playground, and was quite intrigued.  Right now, at age 3, he often behaves like John Macenroe, so maybe it’d be the perfect sport for him! (wink wink).

 

 

Sunday was another lazy morning, but we were all anxious to get outside.  Russ mowed the lawn, and I raked up some Holly leaves that had fallen around the yard…  Snake Count for the Day:  1.  I also blew up the little wading pool and Liam just couldn’t WAIT to get in it after nap time.  I can’t believe how long he paddled around in that FREEZING water!! Even Jaxson had a good time splashing in it.  That night we ordered some Chinese food, and watched the end of the Indy 500.

 

 

 

 

We didn’t have the usual picnic day for Memorial Day.  I think we were a little picnicked out.  We played around a little more in the yard, and got some more debris burned.  The yard is really looking pretty now.  Later in the afternoon, we took a Lowe’s trip, since a friend had given us a Gift Card as a house warming present, and Dad had sent us a coupon for $10 off.  We got a sprinkler, and some shade plants.  Once home, Liam begged to return to the pool, so he and Jaxson got to splash around a little more, however when more water was going OUT of the pool, rather than staying IN it, it was time to end the aquatics for the weekend.

 

Once the boys were in bed, our evening took an interesting turn.  An old co-worker (and Pug caregiver) of Russ’s called us to say that a neighbor of hers brought her this stray pug, thinking it was her’s.  The girl remembered that we are Puggy Parents, and that we had connections with local rescues.  So when Russ played the phone message all he heard was two words:  Pug Home.  We’d been considering getting another dog lately, so he was eager to hear more of the story.  I too was intrigued.  After a couple of phone conversations, soon, the little (underweight) guy was scampering around our yard. Unfortunately, since he had not been neutered, he was attempting to mark everything he could.  Luckily, a stern NO deterred him from making to many inside messes.  The co-worker had notified the shelter of the dog in case the owners were still looking.  Knowing this, I did not get my hopes up that “Heffner” as we’d been calling him, would stay for long.  

 

 

By Tuesday afternoon, our disappointment became a reality.  His owners had made contact, and we had to give him back.  I only hoped that they would get him neutered soon. It is so tough to expect the rest of the pet owner population to be so meticulous as you are.  Seeing the little fellow go back with these folks was difficult.  They had only had him a couple of days, and looked pretty green to the puggy world, but the law states that owners have three days to claim a lost pet, so unless we wanted to get into nasty battles, we had to let “Heffner” go.

 

To top things off, Noah is still facing teen age battles in Pennsylvania.  Though we’d like to see him finish out High School in PA, some opportunities in MD might become better options in the Fall.  We’ll see what the Summer brings.  Keep him in your thoughts.  

Just wanted to take a moment to mention the passing of a greyt Greyhound named Reuben. He was a very special dog who is now rooing across the bridge.

 

This weekend was the big Open House party and a BIG thanks to Sue, Perry, and Diane for helping us with EVERYTHING.

 

On Thursday night Erin and I got our lists around and talked over how we would set up for the party.

 

We dropped the kids off Friday morning and headed to the bank and Post Office. Mom had sent a package and got Erin a pretty picture and drew me some hilarious cartoons of Erin and I killing a snake and all of us going to yard sales when we were in Pennsylvania.  We got everything we needed for the party including balloons from the party store in St. Mary’s Square. After we got home we unloaded all the stuff and Perry called and said they were rolling in soon. We welcomed them and then Perry and I headed out to geocache and pick up the kids. Sue and Diane really pitched in big time and helped get dishes ready for the next day. When we got home we decided to head down to Scheibles restaurant for dinner.

 

The weather forecast was shaky for the day of the party so we just had a wait and see attitude. We enjoyed sitting around and visiting.

 

Saturday dawned with a pretty day and nary a cloud in the sky early on. We had talked the night before about going yard saling. So after partaking in Diane’s delicious Shoo Fly Pie with Barrel Molasses and some other breakfast items we all piled in the van and headed out. Having the van is great because we can load up with people and go places. The highlights were Perry getting a VCS for a buck, Us getting my Mom a laptop computer for $30 bucks and Liam getting an airplane for 10 cents. Our friend Rick stopped by to say he would be coming over. He rode his motorcycle over and Liam got to sit on it in his new Spiderman outfit. Liam thinks the world of Mister Rick and even more so after getting to rev the motorcycle.

 

We then spent the early afternoon putting the final touches on for the party. Liam’s daycare lady Anna and her family came by. Mister Rick then showed and after an hour I fired up the grill and got the Shrimp going. We really got a nice turn out. We had almost 50 guests counting the kids. The Shrimp went over great.

 

For those who would like the recipe here it is:

 

Shadyside's Shrimp
GULF COAST SHRIMP
-----------------------------------
1 ½ pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined, shells reserved
1 cup bottled clam broth/juice (chicken broth or water will work)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions, both white & green parts, trimmed & finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons Tabasco or other hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup dark cane syrup (Dark Karo syrup may be substituted)

1.Combine the shrimp shells and clam broth in a medium-size saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, until slightly reduced and well flavored (the shrimp shells will turn orange), for 10-15 minutes. Strain the broth into another medium-size saucepan; you should have about ¾ cup.
2.To the shrimp broth add the butter, garlic, scallions, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, cayenne, paprika, thyme, oregano, salt, black pepper, & syrup. Bring to boil over medium heat and cool, uncovered, until thick, syrupy, and richly flavored, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temp.
3.Meanwhile, rinse the shrimp under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towel.
4.Add the shrimp to the cooled marinade in the saucepan and toss to coat. Cover and let marinade, in the refrigerator, minimum of 2-4 hours.
5.Preheat the grill to high.
6.When ready to cook, oil the grill grate. Remove the shrimp from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Arrange the shrimp on the hot grate and grill, turning with tongs, until nicely browned on the outside and firm & pink on the inside, about 2 minutes per side. Brush the shrimp with 2-3 tablespoons of the reserved marinade while cooking.
7.Transfer the shrimp to a serving platter. Bring the remaining marinade to a boil in its saucepan over medium heat. Pour over the shrimp and serve immediately.

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer
Method: Direct Grilling
Advance Prep: 2-4 hours for marinating the shrimp
Note: I have found that shrimp frozen (on the boat) works best.

Liam loved playing in the yard with all the other kids, Even Ash and Rita seemed happy with all the people. Thanks to Joe for helping me on the grill. Also thanks to Joe for the juggling for the kids. Also thanks to Mike for bringing his guitar and playing. There were so many delicious side dishes and we were really appreciative of all the house warming gifts people brought. That was so unexpected. I enjoyed seeing the former owners Katie and Mike who stopped by with their son Michael and Katie’s Mother and Grandmother. It was nice to see some of our co-workers come by and the conversations seemed to be going on well all around us. After dinner my co-worker Cindy and her husband Eric stopped by and we enjoyed their company while we sat out by the fire pit in the evening. Erin and I couldn’t have asked for a better party and we were glad to get to finally entertain in our new home.

 

On Sunday we all got up and got breakfast and finished a little cleanup. Perry and I mapped out a half dozen caches to do that day. We did half in the morning and half after lunch.  It was a special day as the Last Lap Gang got their 400^th find with the yiprips (Sue and Perry) who introduced us to caching. Diane enjoyed all the planes down at the Museum while we got the Up Up and Away 2 cache. Our 400^th was the Utiltease cache by Goldenhawk. It had a really cool container with a lock we had to get numbers off poles to unlock. We ended up over on the Solomons and Liam loved his Ice Cream cone he got after a nearby find. At 4 we got home and they headed back home to Pennsylvania. It was so special for Sue, Perry, and Diane to come down. We had such a great time all weekend with them. Liam certainly misses them.  Erin and I had a quiet evening and she went to bed early while I worked on pictures and geocaching logs.

We both have to say this was one of the most memorable weekends we have had in our new house.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Erin’s Uncle Wally who has been hospitalized after a heart attack this past week. 

 

 

It was a crazy week.  Monday, the boys had coughs and runny noses, so Russ and I split the day home with them.  Tuesday, Russ didn't feel well, so he stay home with the kids.  Wednesday and Thursday the boys went to daycare, but on Friday the sitter called me early in the morning to tell me she was so sick she was going to the doctor.  I just took my turn and stayed home.  I had several chores to do anyway. 

 

So, Friday, I finished painting the gazebo and spruced up the boys' play area outside.  I also killed our sixth snake (this time it was only a little garter) That evening, when Russ returned home from work, we grabbed some dinner at 5 Guys Burgers & Fries, and then Russ took me to Best Buy to pick out a WEBCAM for Mother's Day.  Great gift!  Our new mower was fixed at Sears, so we went to go pick that up too.

 

Saturday morning, Russ wanted to go into work to make up a few hours.  He took Liam with him.  That worked out really well, especially since Jaxson took a two hour nap that morning!  This allowed me to powerwash our braided rug and mow the back yard.  Unfortunately, in the process I either broke the mower, or it just proved that it was a piece of crap.  When Russ returned home at lunch time, he took it for a couple of laps around the front yard.  At lap 3 the engine froze.  He loaded it back in the van and high tailed it right back to Sears.  After some haggling, the Sears sales people compromised by giving him a slightly less powerful mower with a free warrenty in exchange. 

 

That afternoon, we put up the second gazebo in prep for our big Open House Party on the 19th.  Russ managed to get the front yard mowed too, and I tidied up the garage.  Like most Saturday evenings after working hard in the yard... I did NOT feel like cooking.  So we went to CiCi's for dinner.  So did half the county, but we did manage to get fed.  Then, since it was such a nice evening out, we dilly-dallied around out neighborhood to do a little exploring.  It was fun comparing models, and gathering landscaping ideas. 

 

Sunday morning, I was lucky enough not to be stirred by little boys until 8:00.  Amazing.  Even more amazing was the way we all lounged in bed for the next couple of hours while Russ (with a little help from Liam) made some YUMMY pancakes!  I got to watch a couple of my favorite shows on TV, and the boys played fairly well on the bed while I sipped my coffee. 

 

 

 

After breakfast, I got the boys dressed while Russ cleaned up the kitchen.  Then he loaded the boys in the wagon, and we all walked to the middle school at the end of our block.  We commenced to flying a Batman kite.  The wind was pretty good, and we did manage to reach the end of our rope (a good thing in kite flying).  However, we did not get it to fly for any significant length of time.  Still, it was a magical Mother's Day opportunity to explore flowers, bugs, a ball field, and kite maintenance.

 

 

 

Once back home, we made some phone calls to our own moms from the back yard.  The day was warm and the breeze was pleasent.  The boys both took a nap at the same time, so that allowed Russ and I to share some good conversation and get a couple of chores finished up.  I also got a nice call from Kate.  They are on their way to visit my other sister and brother in Wyoming this week. 

 

That evening I worked on getting some speakers hooked up in the back yard.  Then we had a nice steamed shrimp dinner, and Russ cleaned up the kitchen again while I got the boys bathed and ready for bed.  We wrapped up the weekend by watching the SURVIVOR finale on TV.  It was a great Mother's Day weekend!

 

 

Friday we continued our yard work session. Well in the morning we parted ways to take care of multiple missions. Erin dropped the boys off at Day Care and then took Ash and Rita for their follow-up at the Vets. We really like both Dr. Terry’s up in Callaway.

 

I headed to Lowe’s and got 22 bags of mulch and a couple of flats of impatiens (New Guinea style) and some weed removal spray. After eating lunch Erin and I went out to tackle the front yard. Erin weeded while I laid the mulch. She is also transplanting vinca from the front to the back yard. I finished up with the mulch out front and headed to the backyard.

 

I approached the area where we had killed the baby snakes the weekend before. Sure enough sunning herself was what I assumed to be mama. I yelled for Erin to bring a shovel. I pinned her down but the soft ground would not allow me to do more. IT was then I saw the diamond shaped head as it turned to strike the shovel a few times. After cutting the tail off we knew we needed a bigger weapon. Erin ran and grabbed the ax and I cut its head off. It was between 2 ½ to 3 feet. Almost as soon as that was done and we were cleaning up Erin yelled she saw another tail. We disposed of another baby. I am hoping we are done now. I very carefully put new mulch out.

 

Saturday we had planned for a fun day and to take the kids to the Spring Festival at the Fairgrounds. Well we awoke to a rainy day. Liam’s friend Roselia was coming over and we were going to watch her while her parents attended a wedding. Well Rosie and Liam more than made up for it with all the fun games they played in the house. They had a blast and Jaxson crawled as fast as he could to keep up. I went out for a few groceries. We then watched the Kentucky Derby and had Hot Dogs and Corn on the Cob. We put all the kids to bed and Rosie’s parents picked her up not to much later. We then just watched TV.

 

On Sunday we decided to go to the Spring Festival. We played games with the Liam in the morning. Sunday morning has become board game morning in the Living Room. Liam has a lot of fun. We played a Bulldozer game we recently picked up at a yard sale.

 

As we were leaving the Garage Door decided to act up and after a couple of minutes trying to diagnose the solution Erin asked me to table it so we could go.

 

The Festival was lightly attended. It was probably due to the cold weather and high winds. It was still very pretty out. The boys got there faces painted. Liam picked out Batman of couse and I picked out little balloons for Jaxson. Liam enjoyed seeing the cows, and goats. We then went to see a Vaudevillian Monkey act. The jokes were silly but he was very animated and the kids loved it. The poor monkey was freezing but like a trooper put on the show.

 

 

We had a bite to eat and then talked to people about our long-term daydream. That is having a hot tub. Not know nor anytime soon but someday. We then looked at Silent Auction items and passed them up. In the Yard Sale though Erin picked up another overhead car seat she likes for $5 and a Showerhead for $2 she wanted for the kids because it was an extension. That is great for washing kids hair. Liam then partook in some rides. He was disappointed he was too small for Bumper Cars but he loved going down the big slide with me. I about crippled myself and the horse rding around with Liam on the Merry-Go-Round.

 

We did a few rides and I took my usual one turn at the basketball toss. Erin laughed as I stripped the net. Its funny I shoot a basketball about twice a year at these things and I almost always walk away with something. This year I picked out a stuffed pug from the surprised guy. He was probably wondering how a chubby short middle-aged white guy knew how to toss a rainbow arc. The kids were getting tired so we headed home. It was a quiet afternoon.

 

I tightened up one of the garage door sensors after doing some reading and finding the proper diagnosis to the temporary garage door problem. We then had a delicious crab dinner and watched A Night at the Museum. We all liked it and we let Liam watch it too since it was a pretty mild movie. He kept commenting about seeing Dum Dum, which we were clueless. It turned out to be an Easter Island statue in the movie that talked. Evidently Liam had seen a book about the movie at Daycare.

 

The boys were coughing all Sunday and had runny noses. Sure enough Monday morning Liam felt yucky and Jaxson had a low-grade fever. I stayed in the morning with them and Erin came home for the afternoon shift.