Lost and Found

Last night we were doing some cleaning up in Cody's room to get ready for Ann (Slade's Mom) arrival today. In looking at his closet (which was dreadfully messy) I found Zane's old blankie. We lost it about a year ago. I was shocked. I was also shocked at how torn up it was - I just didn't remember it that way.

Seby & Zane were getting ready for bed - but heard me finding something and really wanted to know what it was. Graham brought the blankie to Zane and at first he was thrilled to see it - hugged and smelled it. Then upon further inspection, he too, felt surprised at it's state of disrepair. At one point he asked me to take it out of the room. He seemed really down about it and after much talking he cried a little bit. He was feeling sad because it looked so bad and really wants me to fix it again. While it was a hard place for him to sit - I think he also was in shock over thinking about what a young child he was when he lost it - 5 years old and sucking his thumb. To now - 6 years old - no more thumb sucking, no more walking around with the beloved blankie. He said he was too old for it - but seemed so sad about it.

Today he awoke with a fever and a bad cough. He stayed home and slept a good part of the day. He did ask for the blankie and at bedtime tonight asked for it again. It is working it's way back into his cluches.

He is just such an adorable little creature - and he feels so much and is amazingly aware of how he feels. He amazes me. We had some great talks and walks down memory lane about his blankie and how he would hold it when he went to sleep, etc.

Finding this again and then recently seeing a lovely quilt I helped make - I want to drag out all my quilting fabrics and start something new.

Olive

Olive got a new haircut today. Mostly because I gave her a head/face haircut yesterday and it didn't go so well - so she needed to get it fixed. She also had a couple shots today that made her sleepy and it seemed a good day to introduce her to getting groomed - seeing she will have much more of it in her future.

I had to buy her a sweater while she was getting cut - it was 19 degrees today! I think she looks adorable and Slade I think is laughing at me.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving week in California. Here is the family clan after our meal.



Seby, Zane & I went out Sunday night before T-day -- and we brought our new puppy Olive with us. She was a great traveler and I was even able to get her to poop in the airplane bathroom - no easy feat, but it did happen. Much better than in her carrier! We brought a small kennel that breaks down into two pieces - it just fit in our largest roller bags. Of course I was just over the weight for the bag - but we were not charged extra, I think due to the cute puppy. Olive was making friends all over the airport! She loved her little carrier and slept most of the flight over.



Slade, Cody & Graham arrived late Tuesday night and Seby & Zane had a sleepover with Catie & Becky while I picked them up at the airport. Olive was a good little puppy and slept in her kennel.



On Saturday we all headed up to Berkeley and checked out the campus. We thought it would be good for Cody & Graham to start looking at what a college looks like. It is such a beautiful campus.



We were able to get a snack at Slade's old place of work when he was a teenager - Blondie's Pizza.



After our campus hike we headed up to visit with some friends and took another hike to the famous Cement Slide! We both remember going here as kids and thought it would be fun for our kids to experience it. Kids were using the usual cardboard to go down the slide - but also wax paper! Yikes they really fly down with the wax paper!





Seby and Zane most of their time at the park going down this slide, while Cody and Graham played some catch with the Fairchild boys.



Here are Slade, Tom and all the boys.



I was also able to check out a quilt that Liz and I made for Tom & Judith for their wedding. It was fun to see it again.



It was great trip and so fun to hang out with the family. Thank you Christina, for letting us crash in your wonderful guest house!

We came back to fresh snow on the ground when we arrived at 6am in Minneapolis. Olive seems to love the snow - thankfully as that is what she will be getting a for a while now. We are supposed to get more snow tonight and I can see it has started. Lovely.

And thank you Aunt Kathy for making some of the best cookies we've had in a long time. They were quite the treat and we really appreciated you making them for us and bringing them before we took of! I promise to post weekly to show you how Olive is growing.

Olive goes to California!

Look at these two cute boys. This is heading out to take Olive on her first walk. Well, it really turned into a run. And many of you may be surprised, but I ran too. And it was fun. And it didn't wind me. In truth this is one of the reasons I wanted a dog - to get my butt out the door and moving my body. About 3/4 of the way into our walk/run we saw Kim & Pete (our next door neighbors) they were heading out from the alley in their car. We stopped them and introduced Olive. They were thrilled that we will have a nice sized dog in our yard soon. The two of us are very into our neighborhood security - another reason I wanted a dog.



Another treat with having a puppy is catching the early sunrise! This was 5 something am. There was this amazing pink color coming in thru the curtains I couldn't believe it. When I brought Olive outside with me I thought she too was amazed by the color of the sky - but then I remembered that she had never been in the front yard and was really amazed at checking it out. So many smells to smell.



Tonight when we went in the back yard we spied a bunny running away as we approached the lawn. Too funny to me that now that we live in the city we have these beautiful fluffy bunnies that run around. When we lived in Prairie Crossing (out in the country outside of Chicago) we had the ugliest country bunnies that ran about. Here they are cute and fluffy and looking like pets that escaped.

Well I have decided that we have to take Olive with us on our trip to California next week for Thanksgiving. We were going to leave her here and have Erika stay with her and Mariana come and visit with her a couple times during the day. It all seemed not right to me and I decided this morning to call and book her a ticket. So, she will come with us. I went to a pet store today and bought her a little travel bag - something soon she will not be able to fit in. Luckily she is loving it. She slept in it most of the afternoon. The best part is when I told Zane we were taking her with us he said "you are the best mom ever for that." I had no idea it would earn me that many points. So, she will go meet the California and Mexico cousins. Hopefully we won't be trading any germs with each other.

Cody has gotten into having Olive here too! He is excited about how much she likes to chew on her stuffed squirrel! He is on top of keeping those nasty squirrels out of our yard (I won't discuss HOW he does it) - and now he is convinced he will be able to train her to retrieve them!

Olive!

She has arrived! The breeder drove her from Iowa and arrived here around 1pm. It was nice to have her arrive without all the noise and bustle of the kids. The breeder brought along her two boys, who were sad but also used to having the puppies leave. She is so much smaller than I was thinking. So far she is adjusting well. I have to be careful when I"m walking so I don't step on her! Day one of house training is going well. She is going outside in a designated spot that we decided on a while ago. So far so good. I left her in the kennel while I showered and I think she cried the whole time. Cody & Graham were eager to see her when they got home from school, and Seby & Zane were equally excited when they arrived about a 1/2 hour later. Luckily I was outside with her on her leash when their bus arrived - as we discussed I would this morning. Tomorrow I take her to the vet to get checked out - we found a great place nearby and the vet happens to be a parent of a friend of Cody's.

We have decided on the name Olive and it wasn't even on our list a week ago!

Obama !

Ok, I have to move on from the pic of the Missile Dick Chicks - but they are a big reason he won. So many groups of people doing everything they could to elect this man.

I wanted to post that sexy picture of him from last Wednesday, on the cover of The New York Times - in the black leather jacket in the pouring rain. Too sexy - who wouldn't want to vote for a sexy President? But I obviously couldn't find it.

It is 1am here in Minneapolis and I would have to say that the noise from the city is finally died down. That was a couple hours of excitement about our President-Elect! Did this happen in all cities? I sat up on the roof top deck and just listened, it was a little surreal as our weather here is oddly warm, cheers, honking horns, fire works, such excitement.

Voting

While I was waiting in line (for almost three hours) to vote - we were entertained (for a bit) from the Missile Dick Chicks, from Crawford, Texas. You can google them to see what they are about. It was hilarious, they were asked quickly to move farther away from the entrance. They were handing out cookies and quite lively!

Watching the images of folks gathering at Grant Park is amazing to me. Maybe because we lived in Chicago for so long. It reminds me of when the Bulls won so many championships. The crowds go wild. I remember being in Dallas on a job for their first win. I was talking to Slade on the phone as the game ended and we realized they won - Slade said there was this crazy sound over the city, like a snap.

Seby and Zane keep asking, who won? They can't believe it takes so long to count votes. I hope we know tonight.

Cody & Maggie

Here are Cody & Maggie at the dance this past weekend. They went as Beauty & the Beast, Cody didn't want to wear a mask so he chose the transformed beast. Cody and Maggie love the dances and dance almost every song. Graham and Amara, on the other hand are not into dancing. It reminds me when they were little - they each liked different things. Luckily now they accept their differences and get along really well.

The One

What is there to think about?

Happy Halloween

(can't you tell - it is a witch with a smoking cauldron)

We have had very few trick or treaters in our hood, 3 so far. (Update, now 4) (further update, we have had about a dozen so far).

Cody is off at a party with his girlfriend, Maggie. Graham at a party with his girlfriend, Amara.
Let's not talk about how old we must be to have teenagers.



Slade has taken Seby & Zane off to get their sugar. They have been so excited about Halloween. We have been counting down the days for a couple weeks now.

We are preparing for our new addition, a chocolate goldendoodle puppy! I got the crate today. It is set up off the kitchen. It feels very hectic because we will be leaving our sweet puppy just 10 days after we get her! We are off to California to be with family for the holiday, which was planned before the timing of this puppy. It seemed better to keep the puppy at our house instead of send her back to the breeder for the week. So, between Erika and Mariana, we will leave her at the house. It feels like a much better solution. We are able to get her a ticket to fly with us - but it seems too crazy to bring a puppy on a vacation.

We have been "trying out names" for the puppy. It really helps to have some current pictures of her. We have been thinking of going with Coco - but now that I have "tried it out" I'm thinking no, it isn't right. It sounds too much like Cody, and I realized I actually call him Co Co sometimes. So that seemed weird. Right now we are trying out Molly. It might take us some time with her to figure it out.

Seby & Zane are very excited about getting a puppy - they were just dying to get inside the crate - so I said ok, just this once.



Slade, Seby & Zane cut pumpkins the other night. They all did an awesome job, my favorite is the one Slade made.

New pics of our new girl!

Here she is waiting to be old enough to come to us! November 13 is when we will get her. Everyone in the family seems to like the name Coco for her - so unless it seems wrong when we get her I think it is a good fit. I have been reading up on my puppy training books, I have a crate ordered, vet appointment made, signed up for training classes ... what else besides getting the puppy in the house?

Aren't they so cute?

Graham and Amara - at the Harvest Festival at the farm - it must of been from someone's phone. I copied it from facebook.

Can anybody get married?

My sister sent me an email asking me to donate to a worthy cause - after making my donation I told her that she and I should both post about this need. She posted on her blog first and I can't think of any better way to say than she has ...

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Hey folks - it’s a political see-saw around here these days. Obama’s chances are looking up, but here in CA, Prop 8 is struggling. Here’s the deal: right now, gays are allowed to marry in California. If Prop 8 passes, that right will be taken away. Religious groups are pumping millions of dollars into the Yes on 8 campaign. Polls are showing growing support for Prop 8. If you can, please donate anything - even $10 - to the No on 8 campaign. I know times are tight and it’s hard to give money with the fear everyone has of their financial security - but if you could forgo a couple of expressos or lattes or a dinner out (you elitist, you) - that money could go to protecting equality in our society.

PLEASE DONATE NOW

www.noonprop8.com

Why do I care? Mostly, I believe that everyone is equal. I believe that everyone should be treated equally under the law. If a particular religious sect doesn’t want to grant gay marriages, it is their absolute right to refuse to marry gays. However, our constitution grants every person equal civic rights. And I believe that to protect our democracy we must uphold those rights.

Then I think about children. According to the American Psychological Association (and, more convincingly, conversations with gay friends), homosexuality is an inborn trait. You can’t “make” someone become gay or stop being gay. In large part, due to discrimination against gays, the suicide rates for gay teens are much greater than their straight counterparts. One study shows that while straight and gay teens attempt suicide at equal rates, gay teens are two to six TIMES more likely to try again. I don’t want that to be my kid. Or any kid I know. Or any child at all. I want all children, especially teens, to know that their future can include marriage if they choose it. How heartbreaking it must be to realize that your society is trying to limit your future just as you are starting to create it.
-Christina
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For all these reasons and more please support this cause.

www.noonprop8.com

Shouldn't everyone be able to realize their childhood dream of getting married?

Mommy & Daddy

Daddy



Mommy

I have to say I am so happy with these parents for our dog. The poodle allergy needs from the daddy - but the personality of the mom - the laid back goldendoodle.

I'm sooooo excited. It is a much better choice than what we did first. I'm glad we were able to change breeders/dogs.

Coco!

This is her! Our new addition. Well we don't have her yet, she is still too young. BUT, we have done it! I actually changed which puppy I wanted. I have been thinking about what puppy we are getting none stop - which I should! I realized that I have really wanted a chocolate girl - Graham gave clear feedback early on NOT wanting a chocolate colored dog. Today I realized I really did. He doesn't seem to have an opinion any more.

I'm so excited. We just have to figure out what day we will get her. She will be ready to "come home" November 12 - but then we leave for California on November 22, returning on the 30th. I can't get a ticket to bring her with us to California - luckily the breeder said they would keep her while we were gone.

I'm soooooo excited. I feel much better about getting this dog than the previous one ordered. I was just trying to please Graham and didn't think about how much it meant to me. Coco seems fitting - unless when we see her it feels wrong.

I might have to go down for a visit next week - they are 3 hours away! We will see.

Happy Birthday Slade!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Slade is in New York for work and is missing his birthday with the family. But, we will celebrate this Friday night with a night out on the town with the whole family! We miss you baby and can't wait to have you back home!

We love you and miss you

A long weekend at the lake house

We just spent the last four days up at the lake house. We pretty much spent our time reading, playing board games, and poker (of course!).

When we first arrived we had many chores to do - there were a disgusting amount of flies that needed vacuuming up! There was also a soda that exploded in the fridge, so the whole fridge had to be cleaned out. Zane was funny about wanting/NEEDING to help clean up with all of this. First he did a lot of the vacuuming, then he moved on to help me clean out the fridge.



All four boys played a bit of Monopoly - with cards that Cody wrote for the game. And he also added $1,000 bills to the bank.





All the leaves were off the trees - well there looked to be a small handful of trees that had not lost their leaves yet - otherwise all the leaves were on the forest floor. And if you like walking thru piles and piles of crunchy leaves - then this was the place to be this weekend. Seby and Zane were in heaven. Of course we all enjoyed it and were amazed at how loud it was to just take a walk in it. On one of our walks we tried to NOT make any noise and it was very difficult.



The lake is lovely no matter what the season.



We got the house ready for the next time we will be up there - right after Christmas. We were all wondering what kind of weather will we have then? And how much snow???

Murder Mystery Party

We hosted a Murder Mystery Party this past weekend. It was big job - but also a really fun party. As Slade says, it wasn't difficult to get most of the attendees (there were 40 characters) to come out of their shells. It was quite hilarious.