As my mother would say when she was alive, I got a wild hair up my ass today. She reserved that expression for those random times when any one of us three kids would do something impulsive or out-of-character.
A few months back I took a picture of my TV while CNN's Heidi Collins was on. I fell in love with her haircut and after scouring the Internet for about an hour to find a current pic of it, I gave up, grabbed my camera, and took a picture of my TV. I took three, actually. I knew one day I'd get up the nerve to cut it all off, and today, I suppose, was that day. The "wild hair up my ass" day.
The stylist thought it was rather comical when I handed her a printed 8.5x11 page of three pics of Heidi-on-my-TV. Twenty minutes later, the ground was covered with hair. I turned to Jonathan (who had been promised a trip to Walgreen's for a special treat if he was well-behaved during my haircut...and he was VERY well behaved) I asked "so, what do you think of Mommy's hair?" He looked at me and for a second there I thought he was going to cry, then he said "You look like a BOY." That warmed my heart. Really. What a sweetie, huh?
So yeah. I got a new 'do. It's heaven not to have to deal with all that damn hair that was doing nothing but looking like dog poop and falling out all over the damn place. I even put on some makeup (took me a bit to find my makeup...I don't wear it very often) then snapped a self-portrait. Just to keep it real, tho, my skin is not that smooth...anywhere...it's a little gem of a filter called Noiseware and I heart it with all my being. Best money I ever spent for photography next to my D300. And a little liquify of the chin always helps a bit too. I wish I had a real life liquify tool and a clone stamp...life would damn near be perfect then.
Prolly gonna go to hell for this one. :0)
This concept was a festive solution to a very big problem. See, my kids don't particularly care for my camera or my unquenchable desire to capture every other moment of their lives. Anymore, they flatly refuse to even sit for me, so I rarely bother dragging out my studio gear unless I absolutely have to. I had a session today, so I figured might as well attempt to do the old annual Christmas Card photo shoot. The wrapping them in lights concept came out of necessity moreso than the cuteness of it. I needed something that would help them stay still! And, well, since Duct Tape isn't very festive (and I'm pretty certain NJ's DYFS wouldn't think very highly of that concept, either), an old-fashioned string of C-9 lights was the obvious solution. However, I highly recommend that if you ever want to try this little prop, buy the LCD version of the C-9 lights. I hadn't realized that these buggers would get so hot until I took them through a test run on Friday after I bought them at Target. We had to move quickly to get the shots done before they got hot enough to cause any discomfort.
The kids got a kick out of it, honestly. In fact, the rest of the session (which remains to be edited) turned out remarkably well. Nobody cried, including me, which is quite remarkable, really.
The Boy is a total Christmas junkie.
Every store we hit we MUST check out the Christmas decorations. I believe that he has the entire Target holiday section memorized at this point. What's even more bizarre is yeah, he likes looking at toys, but he'd rather look at the decorations. He has a particular fascination with those blow-up inflatable lawn doohickeys that are so popular these days. I've never seen a three year old MALE get more excited over Christmas ornaments than this child.
We have this small tree that sits atop our kitchen bar in a corner that we decorate for each holiday. So the other day we were at the dollar store and sure enough, they make little tinfoil leaf garland just for Thanksgiving. Up until now, it had been bedecked with Halloween garb, but I picked up the tinfoil leaf garland and a few red and gold Christmas balls (hey, they matched...and they don't sell Turkey ornaments, unfortunately) and figured we'd do a red-gold Thanksgiving tree. Wanting to be fair, I explained to Jonathan that when his sister got home from school, we would decorate the tree. That, however, didn't stop him from asking me every 15 minutes if we could decorate it. Then, when she got home and we had to do the little poop/heartworm extravaganza that I posted about, he surprised me with a brief moratorium on the begging. But, no sooner had we gotten in the door and gotten settled, he was at it again. By then it was time for me to head to work, so Daddy had to field his incessant requests. He's relentless.
I honestly shouldn't be too suprised, given the apple generally never falls too far from the tree, and his father is a bona-fide Christmas fanatic as well. He's one of those types that require that NO presents can be opened until Christmas morning, with the exception of the annual Christmas Eve PJ's that we exchange as a family. He's a total stickler on this rule. Me? I'm with the "hell, don't even bother to wrap it, just hand it over" type. I like Christmas and all, I'm just not a stickler for the rules. Plus I have no patience whatsoever. I'm ready to open Christmas presents on, like, December 3rd.
So today we're out and about and I end up getting a small 4 ft. artificial tree to use as a prop, much to Jon's delight. Within 30 minutes of arriving home, we had it assembled and decorated, if only to avoid hearing "Mom, can we decorate the Cwishmush twee, pwease?" 6,000 times. So now we have, in addition to the schnazzy Thanksgiving tree in the kitchen, a small 4-ft tree atop one of the end tables in the living room. Jon is totally delighted.
One day, he's going to make Clark Griswold look like Scrooge. You wait and see.
Did you know that human beings can get heartworms?
Did you even WANT to know that? I know I sure as hell did not!
So what is the point in my telling you this? Today I had to stop in our vet's office to take in Molly's poo sample and get her started on the first part of her lyme vaccine. As if the overwhelming joy of shuffling doggie turds into a ziploc baggie were not enough pleasure for one day, the kids were along for the ride. While I was there, I had to get a refill on Molly's monthly heartworm meds. On the reception desk is this model of a heart with heartworms. It was really creepy-looking. I actually didn't even notice it until Katie asked what it was, and in the interest of being informative, honest and open with my kids, I explained what it was. I added, in fact, that part of the reason we were there today was so we could get Molly's heartworm medicine.
A few moments later, Molly's poo was on its way to wherever they look at the doggie poo (what a fun job!) and she got her first part of her lyme vaccine. The kids were so proud that she didn't even cry when she got her shot. I'm certain they expected her to break out wailing and screaming when the needle came in sight, just like they do. As we're departing, Katie starts welling up with tears. When I ask what's wrong, she says "Molly has HEARTWORMS." I assured her that she most definitely DOES NOT have heartworms, and that the medication she is taking is to keep her from getting heartworms. Hysterical at this point, she then says "can I get heartworms?" I assured her that in the history of humankind, no person has ever gotten heartworms. Only dogs get heartworms (I think).
It took me some time to fully convince her that (a) Molly was not going to have worms crawling out of her heart, or any other orifice for that matter, and (b) Molly licking her face was not going to give her heartworms, as heartworms cannot be transmitted from dog to person, AND (c) the medicine we give Molly every month will KEEP her from getting heartworms.
And then that damn google proved me all wrong. You know I just had to google "humans get heartworms" and sho nuf:
Can humans get heartworm disease?
Yes, but it is very rare. Usually in humans, the worms migrate to the lungs instead of the heart. Here they form a lesion that can be seen on X-rays. There are normally few symptoms noticed with human heartworm infestation. Surgical removal of the lung lesion may be performed, if necessary.
EW!
So yeah, I lied. I had to. The child would be awake every night for the next month worrying about getting heartworms and freaking out if the dog came within 3 feet of her.
I say "random" because that's my posting style these days. I know this, and I apologize. I have not had much to say in recent months. I'm partially blaming my absence on my addiction to Facebook. The status updates have done me in. They are just so much quicker and snarkier than blog posts, ya know? The other half of the blame goes to my ever-failing thyroid. Yes, THYROID. As in gland in your neck that regulates your metabolism and can have profound effects on your mood if it is out of whack. Mine is really screwed up these days. I have all the textbook symptoms of hypothyroidism (weight gain, hair loss, depression, flaky skin, etc. etc.), and I'm on meds to boot. It is usually around this time of year when the meds start to wane and I find I need to make my annual trip to the doc for bloodwork to see what is up. So, in case you were wondering why I am so non-verbose these days, it's because my mood is, well, BLAH. I have my bloodwork scheduled next week and within a short time thereafter, my meds will likely be tweaked and I will be back to my chipper, blathering-on-as-per-usual self in no time.
As I mentioned previously, I began second shooting/assisting for a locally-reknowned wedding photography establishment this wedding season. I had the good fortune of spending most of the last 7-8 weeks shooting for them on Saturdays. While the work was hard, I had a lot of fun and learned so much from their very, very talented main photographers. It's been busy, but I've been enjoying it. The hardest part of it all was losing my Saturdays away from the kiddos, especially when my time with Katie is scarce as it is. She didn't take to kindly to my absences in the beginning few weeks, but then she adjusted. I only have two more dates with them this calendar year, and am hopeful I'll be able to join them again next year. It's been a lot of fun...and it doesn't seem like much work when you're doing something that you love. But I will admit it's hard on the old bod...my recovery cocktail consists of a flexeril and three advil. Works like a charm after a long day of being on your feet!
Molly, our new puppers, is doing so well. I really, honestly, could not be more thrilled with her. She is such a great dog! I really have to pinch myself when I think of all the luck involved that fateful day when I just so happened to click the Pets section on Craigslist, and there she was. She's stolen all our hearts. We really don't have any signficant behavioral issues to contend with, which is always a concern when you take on an animal. She has her normal "puppyisms", like chewing and mouthing, which is to be expected for a pup her age.
She absolutely adores the kids and has taken them on as her little charges. If they are out in the yard, she MUST be out there with them. If they leave the yard to ride their bikes up and down the sidewalk, she plants herself in the corner of the yard closest to where they are, so she can keep watch. She was mortally afraid of the car when we first got her, but now she jumps at the chance to go for a ride, even though her carsickness issue persists. I take her every day to pick up Katie from school. The other day, Jonathan was running around in the front of the school yard and he wandered too far from me and Molly, who was on her leash. She started lunging towards him, nearly pulling my arm off, just so she could try to move me closer to him or try to get closer to him so she could somehow "corral" him. She's definitely got a herding instinct, except instead of lambs, she herds the kids. It's very comical to watch.
Thanksgiving is coming up and it's going to be a special one for us. My Dad is making the trip up here by car to spend the holiday with us, and we're all beyond excited waiting for his arrival. Every day Katie asks "how many more days until Grandpa comes?" She loves her Grandpa, that girl, and I know she's the apple of his eye, too. We're all looking forward to it. I haven't had a Thanksgiving with my Dad since 1980. Having Christmas to spend with him last year was rockin', and I'm so looking forward to having T-Giving with him this year. Good times, fo sho!
I've been struggling all day to put into words the emotions I am feeling about the election of Barack Obama as our president. Elated comes to mind. Hopeful. Inspired. Excited. Perhaps a bit scared, even...scared for him because there are so many loonies in this world who still woller in a world of hate and intolerance, and who may even be plotting now to do something awful to thwart him. It's a scary world we live in. But, mostly, I'm thrilled and elated and excited for our nation. He's been the first political leader I've seen in my lifetime to lift up and inspire so many people. And that, in and of itself, is historic. Leaders like him don't come along very often. As my sister said in one of our texting exchanges about the election "it feels like we're electing the John F. Kennedy of our generation." I think she may be right there. It sure feels pretty awesome.
While it would be easy for me to sit and worry about the loonies, for today, I'm choosing to set aside the fears and focus on the hope. I'm choosing to try to ignore the statements of folks disappointed that "their guy" didn't win, and the folks out there who claim they are "downright scared" for what may come under his leadership. I wonder if those people have peeked outside their little boxes recently. This nation is pretty effing screwed up, in case you haven't noticed. I can somewhat relate to their feelings, because I had similar fears when GWB was elected in 2000 and 2004. And we survived...maybe not very well, but we're here, aren't we?
