Before and After -- The Deck

Honey, this is for you. (The husband who doesn't get to keep in touch with us unless it shows up on his blackberry between meetings.)

Here is the before and here is the after. It's looking great! Lots and lots of work, so lets not scrape the ice off next year... it'll probably melt in late June by the time we get here.

Insidious Tats?

Okay, the inner debate of the day is the dangers of encouraging rub-on tattoos. Will this sque the thoughts of my small innocent child? And in the same vein, will covering my child with henna dragons turn him into a Muslim?

This is my decision: These dabblings are no more deleterius than fruit scented markers. Huff, Huff.

The family reunion was a hit and I haven't even begun to discover the myriad of ways children's minds were messed with. Things went on in the deepest darkest reaches of the Pit and a great time was had by all!

Sympathetic Feline

When the new kitten turned up with an absurdly large swollen cheek (we did the booties ourselves; she ran through the toxic deck paint project and insisted upon licking), we decided that she could only be exhibiting sympathy symptoms for the lost wisdom teeth of Dia and Ian.

That, or she tried to eat a wasp...?

Either way, her face is back to normal now. We didn't even have to give her any Loratab.

Venue Change

Remember my mantra? "Vacations are only a change of venue." I was asked by the bro-in-law why I work so hard. "If I was on vacation, I would be watching movies, eating out and enjoying myself." he says.

Me too. When I go on vacation, that's what I'm going to do--someday, but I don't know anybody but Paris, who can afford a two month vacation, so I work.

And to stay upbeat amid the flooded basement, perpetual water hammer, splitting wood, mowing lawn, sanding paint, cleaning, moving furniture, baking, washing, I remind myself, this is not a vacation, this is merely a breath of fresh air in the form of a delightful change of venue.

Which is why I'm painting again today.

Day Three is Better

DEAD SOLDIERS

In the last three days, there are only two things that wake the toothless. Drugs--I've dutifully supplied the dosages in the correct increments and on a strict schedule, but when I took an hour break to volunteer at the town library, they ditched me!!!

It seems the only other thing that can drag them from their sick bed is cousins swarming in to capture them for Harry Potter.

I hear it's a three hour movie. Oh well. See if watching Dumbledoor die unmedicated is as miserable as I imagine!

They come home more jazzed than on any strong narcotic and unable to stop talking. They rehearse the movie verbatim and crash only after debating each and every scene ad infinitum.

Really, they are doing so well. The sister's advice worked, 1000 Vit. C for a week, no hot, no cold, no dairy to eat for 24 hours and lots and lots of icepacks. Second day, soft solids only. It's the third morning after and they are fine but for swelling.

Ian is saying Pizza tonight.

We'll see.

It's a Toothfairy Frolic

BEFORE:

The toothfairy is going to be dancing on the rooftops tonight as she drops by the Darcey house for a septeplethora (seven). It's not likely to break the fairy bank as she doesn't have to leave much because in our house, we deduct the cost of extraction (or filling) from the initial outlay. In fact, the two teens might end up owning her.

Ow, Ow, Owie, It looks to get much worse before it gets any better.

Dia got to watch her own extractions because she went second... She was much intrigued by the chopping, drilling and prying. Overall, she was impressed by the process and felt cheated by only having three teeth to pull. However, the Momma who made it through childbirth unmedicated--is scarred for life.

Ian's disappointed because we didn't think of the mirror until he was all finished but he made it through by clutching the set of nunchucha he was wearing and fingering a pocket full of throwing knives. The dentist may wish to post a sign about the illegality of weapons on or about the premises for the future.

We'll post again soon on the ongoing misery. Hope everyone's having a great summer.

After surgery, before the local anesthetic wore off:

Right now, she just looks a little puffy. But before long, she was spitting blood all over the grocery store parking lot....
White was probably not the best choice of attire for the day.

Darcey Family

See our summer at

http://www.atkinsonfamily.blogspot.com

Hope yours is going well.

Hugs Me