Our Last Chance Pup

Our newest family member came home this past Saturday: we adopted a puppy from Alabama! A beautiful 8 month-old German Shepherd we've named Freya.  Finding her was a bit serendipitous; I sent our a fairly random email to a rescue organization up in New Hampshire (Loyal Hearts Puppy Rescue), inquiring about whether they had any young Shepherds available for adoption (it was one of several inquiries I sent out that week).  I received a response telling me that they didn't have any Shepherds within their network, but knew of one in Alabama at a kill shelter.  She was due to get euthanized in just a few days.  They sent two pictures, and I fell in love with her right away - what a cutie!!!

With the understanding that we needed a dog who wasn't going to be aggressive with young children, they pulled her from the shelter, and put her in quarantine/foster care until she could be vaccinated, spayed and transported up here. Her foster mom reported that she was super sweet and mellow, and everyone who worked with her was falling in love with her.  Researching her travel up here opened my eyes to a whole industry that revolves around rescuing dogs from the south and bringing them up to New England to foster and adoptive families.  In fact, an 8-week TV documentary was made about the transport company (PETS) the rescue agency used to bring Freya up here - it was called Last Chance Highway, and documented the owners and workers of PETS and some of the animals and families they helped bring together.

Freya left Alabama on a Thursday morning, and arrived in Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.  We were so excited to go meet her transport and see Freya for the first time!!  R. could hardly stand the wait once we arrived at the meeting point, and I completely shared his excitement and impatience (although I took a more stoic Mom role for most of it).  As soon as we met her, I think we all (including Freya) knew that this was the right fit all the way around.  She has settled into our home and our hearts with lightening speed.  How could she know, after only being with us for a few hours that she was in her forever home?  Walking her that evening I took a fall and she bolted away, getting the leash out of my hand.  I had a stab of real fear - we live on a busy road, and there was no telling where this dog, completely away from anything familiar, might go.  But all she did was run back to our door and then look back at me.  I called to her and she came running to me, huddling at my feet with her tail wagging.  Freya knew she was home.

Family Update - Birth Announcement!!

Our newest family  member was born on November 22nd, 2009 at 2:13 PM, weighing only 5 lbs., 14 oz., despite being 13 days past his due date. We brought him home from the hospital on Nov. 24, and he and I are both doing well (other than some sleep deprivation...).


Welcome to the family precious little boy!!

I'm Not Dead Yet - Updates and More

Ugh - has it really been over 5 months since I've posted? Doesn't matter I suppose, that I've had loads of great post ideas along the way (what the heck were they, anyway?). Well, I'll blame my pregnancy (6 months along!) and resulting fatigue for much of it. Not to mention that spring and summer just get crazy-busy with outdoor ed and camp.

So if you don't live in New England, this may be news to you, but we haven't had much of a summer here, weather-wise. Only 6 days in the month of June with no rain, and several days of severe storms in July along with unseasonably cool temps (too many rainy days that didn't get out of the 60's to even think about) have made this a nearly forgettable summer. Nearly, that is, if you can overlook the two days in a row of tornado watches, flooding rain, and a microburst in town that brought a foot of water running down main street, along with quarter-sized hail. We were fortunate (!!) at camp not to get quite the severity of the storm that hit town, but frighteningly close cloud-to-ground lightening right during dismissal time was more than enough for us. Whew. I have no desire to go though that ever again.

Given how tired I've been (weekends are usually spent in recovery mode), I haven't gotten a chance to get out and play (when not at work, anyway) much this summer, which made our trip this weekend even better. We took the canoe out for the first time this season with the initial idea of paddling the Nashua River up in NH. What on earth we were thinking, I have no idea. Did I mention the flooding rains we've gotten around here? And never mind that we drive past a good stretch of the Nashua to and from work, and just Friday were amazed at how high the water level was. So we get all the way up to Nashua, just to have Obo's father read us an article in the newspaper about accidents on the river and warning people to stay away. Great.

Ok, so we drove back down to MA and paddled at Paradise Pond in Leominster State Forest. One of the things I love about Paradise Pond is how secluded it feels (even though it's right off rt. 31). With the surrounding hills and over 4,000 acres of forest, you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. They don't allow motorboats, which goes a long way towards the solitude paddlers can experience. R. had a great time - so much so that when we stopped for a picnic (and it was the picnic I used to persuade him to go paddling in the first place) he was all about getting back on the water as soon as we were done eating.

Not much else to report, I don't think (or at least nothing that's coming to my tired little brain). We're looking forward to attending the Lammas Fair at the work (it's an outdoor ed center & camp; camp) hosted by the Society of Elder Faiths. With the busier season, we haven't been keeping up with their events as much as we'd like, so I'm sure this will be quite enjoyable. Off to bed... I'm hoping to keep the blog more active going forward, but rest first!

Hmmm.... Day 4

I know some days are going to be harder than others for posting... I'm hoping that it doesn't get difficult early on - like, on day four.

R. came to work with me today; I wish I could bring him to the preschool here everyday, but A: that's expensive, and B: my schedule is too erratic to be good for him. He gets to spend quality time with Daddy in the afternoons (who can pick him up by 3:30 or 4 every day), and I don't drop him off until 8 or 9, so it's not a terribly long day at daycare, which I like.

But he's so darn cute, and I love being able to surreptitiously watch him be his own little person when he's here...

Day 2 - I Need a Tape Recorder

A few months ago friend of mine suggested using a tape recorder to record R's voice and our conversations. I don't have one (naturally), but was really wishing for one this morning. I'm running about, trying to get myself ready for work and there's my little munchkin, standing in the kitchen singing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" from his Wee Sing book - so unbelievably cute. The cutest thing, of course is that he wasn't really singing from the book (as he can't read yet), but would thumb to the correct page and start singing. Then he'd go to another page and sing what was on there. When he ran out pages he recognized he started asking me to sing, and then he'd join in.

I'd love to record our morning routine (when it goes well, that is; no one would want to hear us when it doesn't): the things he does and doesn't want to do for himself (this morning it was his socks - "I can put them on all by myself!"; and he did), all the cute little questions from him, and my "mommy" answers... I was so acutely aware this morning particularly, how fleeting this all will seem in a few years.

New Beginnings

We have a new president... and I am so thrilled. I watched the inaguration today at work with the kids with an intensity I've never given to presidental politics (around interruptions for things like heating up lunch, and coaxing a 5-year old to eat her chicken). I truely hope that the change that will come, will find us at home as well.

After the challenges of the ice storm, losing the baby and our wonderful Pandora - not to mention the health issues Obo and I have faced lately - we could use some change. The good news is that things feel like they're moving back to normal for our household (despite my back injury after slipping on ice Sunday, grrr.). Smiles and laughter were far more present than they have been for quite some time.

I have hope.

Day 11 With No Power...

We're on day 11 following the ice storm, and still have no power. We spent our first two nights at a co-workers house in Framingham, and the third night up in Nashua with my in-laws. I found a friend of mine who had an available generator on Monday, and Obo trekked to Lowell to fetch it and hook it up to the house to get the furnace running.

So that's the way we've been living... heat and hot water thanks to the generator, and a few lights, but that's about it. Cooking needs to take place outside on our camp stove (a real pain in a snow storm, as Obo will tell you following Friday night), and our fridge still has the odor of spoiled food (despite a thorough cleaning - we're going to take bleach and baking soda to it this week) so we're not willing to use it yet, even if the power does come on.

With the twin snow storms this past weekend, we gave up and went back to Nashua on Saturday. We waited last night for the majority of the snow to abate, but that meant that we didn't get home until 8:30 PM. and had a 40 degree house to try and heat. Man, was it cold going to bed last night!! I've slept outside in 40 and even 30 degree weather, but don't exactly relish the feeling of camping in my own bedroom.

So we missed Yule last night due to the storm, but plan on doing a small celebration at home tonight. This is the most un-holiday-ish holiday season I can remember. We haven't done any x-mas shopping (cards are out of the question), and missed holiday events we had planned on attending with the Society of Elder Faiths last weekend. Blah. I'm looking forward to traveling to see my family over New Year's. Hopefully that will help us feel more like celebrating...

In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out what I haven't learned from our experiences so far (there has to be a silver lining there somewhere). Certainly one lesson I have learned is not to take anything for granted. As Obo said to me last week, these things always happen to 'somebody else'. Well, not this time. And a line from an article that I read in Pan Gaia magazine recently has stuck with me... something to the effect of whatever can happen, can happen to you (relative to planning for lean times). I certainly feel like we're there right now.

Surprising Damage from Ice Storm

Central MA (along with many other parts of New England) was hit with a massive ice storm yesterday afternoon, which lasted into this morning. Weather and local officials said it was the worst storm in at least 10, and some said even 30 years. As a transplanted New Yorker, it's definitely the worst storm I've ever seen. And the damage surrounding our house is phenomenal.

I was up all night last night listening to the gun-shot and thunder-rumbling sounds of tree limbs crashing to earth all around us. It was the most terrifying night I can remember. I was half-convinced that the pine next to our driveway was going to crash into the house. It didn't, thankfully (actually the house and both cars have escaped unscathed so far - there's still more limbs and power lines coming down, and hopefully that will continue). Poor Pandora was a nervous wreck, panting and pacing all around our bedroom. We finally gave up (she was keeping us awake, along with all the racket outside) and gated her downstairs, and she spent the remainder of the night sitting in front of the gate, knocking into it with her paws, and panting loudly. Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all last night.

We're without power, as is most (if not all) of our town, and driving down to work today was a hazard, with no traffic lights at major intersections, and trees limbs and power lines all over the place. We're trying to decide if we're going to try and stay at home tonight, or head elsewhere for a warmer night....

Help!! I've just become a Minivan-driving Soccer Mom!!

I think that if I checked in with myself 15 years ago, I would have sworn this would never happen to me (of course, I was convinced I wasn't going to have kids until I met Obo)... but it's true: I signed R. up for soccer (he starts in April), and we just bought a minivan. I swear I was like, 18, just a year or two ago!

I keep looking at that phrase - "minivan-driving soccer mom" and am still so convinced that it doesn't apply to me. I know who that woman is - or should be in my mind - and I don't look or feel anything like her! (perhaps all women go though this denial phase when they join the ranks?) I remember feeling something like this after R. was born; I'd see myself putting our little baby in his car seat and loading him into the car and think, "this can't be me, I'm WAY too young to have a kid!". And then I'd remember that I'm in my early 30's (then) and yes, this was in fact me, loading a baby into a car. And now the baby is a pre-schooler (signed up for soccer!) and we're trying to have another and wanted a newer family-sized car... Oh, I know! I can blame this all on the dog - if we didn't have a dog we could use the extra space for gear and.... no, that doesn't work. Never mind. I'm sure I'll get used to my new ride eventually.

"My Mommy Plays Music With Her Friends"

I mentioned the other day that R. has taken to listening to the Contra Banditos CD at night (all night, every night...). Well, we were driving in the car the other day listing to Old Crow Medicine Show, and I guess it must have reminded him of the Banditos (we cover two of their songs) and he said that his favorite song on the Banditos CD was the one 'where all the girls sing together'; this is 'To Be Good', which he has heard us perform live on several occasions. He then asked me what the name of the Banditos CD was; I explained that it didn't have an official name yet, since we weren't done with the recordings. He said, 'well I think you should call it: “My Mommy Plays Music With her Friends”' (on the evenings when I head out to practice with the Banditos, R. invariably asks where I'm going, and my response is always - “I'm going to play music with my friends!”). I told him that I would bring his suggestion for a CD title back to the rest of the band the next time I'm at a rehearsal (which I haven't done yet...). R.'s response was: “I think they'll think it's funny!”. Laughing, I told him I was sure they would enjoy his suggestion, especially since quite a few Banditos are also mommies, playing music with their friends.

Goodnight Routine

I have to record this or it will get forgotten (like too many other sweet moments)... R.'s newest nighttime ritual is to have music playing (a CD on repeat) when he goes to sleep. For the past few weeks it's been one of several classical CDs (designed for kids); but I made a CD of the current recordings from the Contra Banditos to give to family members and Obo played his for R. He loves it so much that he now listens to the Banditos CD all night on repeat (which means we do as well...). I guess we've done a good job so far with the recordings... His other new addition to the evening is to say (and I have no idea why) "Bubbles!", which we must say in return.

Bubbles!