Halloween-The banged up, the gimpy & the ill

Tonight was trick-or-treat! After a rough weekend which included Liam taking a pretty big flying fall off of a piece of spinning playground equipment and landing on his face (hard) and Sawyer taking a spill down a couple of stairs (after trying to navigate them in the dark) which left him gimpy and limpy, and Mommy suffering from a 4 day sinus head/ear/face ache... it was all we could do to get out the door in one piece. But we did and the boys had a blast. Sawyer was definitely into it this year and was giggling with excitement as he limped from door to door. The first door we went to Sawyer gave our neighbor candy from our bowl. "Here. Trick or treat!" She laughed and said "Well thanks! But here, let me give YOU some candy!" It was cute. I am pleased to say every door we went to the boys were very polite and said "Please" and "Thank You" and "No, I only need one piece of candy, thank you". I had more then one person tell me "Wow-what polite children you have!!" Makes me proud.

Here are some pics of pre and post candy consumption. Happy Halloween!!

A gimpy puppy and a banged up Woody

Post-trick or treat feasting. Can you see all of the scrapes on his face?

A sweaty puppy enjoys his treat.

Woody from behind. We had more then one person tell us
"He was built to be Woody! He even moves like him!"

Your Daily Liam(isms)

This morning: "Mom, I think I need a new toothbrush. The tentacles are falling out of this one..."

AND...

"Nothing last forever, but you always will have your rememberies, right Mommy?"

Announcing...

My new illustration blog: http://dottydrawsstuff.blogspot.com/  

Everyday (hopefully) I will pick a daily horoscope to illustrate. This is my way of forcing myself to do one quick! illustration a day, thus building my illustration portfolio to where it should be.

Check it out and if you like it become a follower, pimp it out to your friends and friends of friends and friends of people who might like to hire an illustrator/painter with a quirky sense o' humor. (Emphasis on the hiring part).

Goodbye Mr. Ray

This morning as we were getting everyone ready for school the phone rang. It was Liam's school and they had some sad news. Mr. Ray, the facilities manager at Van Arsdale died suddenly over the weekend and they were calling to let everyone know. I didn't know Mr. Ray and if I met him I couldn't tell you, but apparently he was quite a character and someone the kids adored. (Liam said he took care of things in the cafeteria although I'm sure he did much more then that). I told Liam the news and he listened and processed the information and went back to playing, but I could hear him repeating it under his breath "Mr. Ray died." We then proceeded to get our breakfast and watch the grey storm clouds overhead. Then suddenly, out of the storm appeared a beautiful rainbow and it stretched far and wide to the west. It was a beautiful contrast to the dark skies and blowing rain and I somehow felt it was Mr. Ray's message to all of the kids who had just heard the news minutes before.

When I pulled up to the school to drop Liam off there were lots of sad, crying boys and girls. Two little boys in particular were just sobbing and the other kids looked up at me and said "Mr. Ray died." I told them that I knew and that I was very sorry. I asked them if there were good memories they had of Mr. Ray and immediately the kids brightened and said "He used to try and steal my Oreos at lunch!" or "He was always teasing me and making me laugh!" It gave me insight into what kind of a man Mr. Ray was. I asked the kids if they needed a hug to make them feel better and they said "yes" so I crouched down and hugged them. It broke my heart to see them so sad and my respect and admiration goes out to anyone who has the daily task of comforting hurting children--I am not sure I could ever be strong enough to do such a thing. It was all I could do not to burst into tears myself at the sight of their grief.

I think it is going to be a long hard day at Van Arsdale Elementary...

Please Stand By...

I am in the process of launching a new(!) blog (instead of working on the painting I am supposed to be working on). Said new blog will be solely illustration and will (hopefully) make me crank out one new portfolio piece a day(ish).

Please stand by...more info to come SOON.

A (dusty! crowded! hot!) Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Today I decided to take the boys to the pumpkin patch while Ken was out fishing. I looked online and found the closest one that also had farm animals, and hay rides, and caramel apples and general stereotypical fall activities. I thought it would be cute and fun. What I did not count on was the massive amount of people who would be at this massive pumpkin farm. When you pull up and see flashing highway signs warning you of "pumpkin traffic" and see a police guiding traffic, you know it's busy. What I thought would be an hour o' fall fun instead turned into 3+ hours of traffic and dust and waiting and paying then waiting in lines. And you all know how much I *love* to be around a lot of people. Ugh. My flight or fight  response (actually it was more like "panic") kicked in immediately and all I wanted to do was turn around and get the hell out but I did not. I could not. These two little yahoos were counting on me. And for the record they were actually very, very good.

He found one. Then another one! Then another! He finally settled on this one.

Beanie was less interested in pumpkins and more interested in the dirt (dust!) they grew in...

Calling In Johnny Law

One of the things I like most about my new work-at-home schedule is taking the boys to school. I really enjoy dropping them off and sending them safely on their way. The past few weeks I have been picking up a neighbor boy on our way to school. We pull up to the school, park and the boys race along the sidewalk to be the first to press the button at the crosswalk. I always instruct the boys to wait for me before walking--even if the light is flashing "walk". I warn the boys that just because it says walk, and cars are SUPPOSED to stop, it doesn't always mean they will. Many times as we stand there with the light flashing "walk" a car will drive through the light, oblivious. To say this makes me irate, is an understatement.

Yesterday was the last straw. The boys and I were at the crosswalk preparing to walk when a woman in an Audi went zipping through. Had I been thinking straight and not in a state of seething disbelief, I would have memorized her license plate number. Instead all I could think of to do was yell loudly (and remind  myself there were young children listening so keep it clean) "HEY!! It says STOP! lady! This is a school crosswalk you just sped through!!" I then reminded the boys why we don't just automatically walk across the street even when we have the right to do so because people are lazy. And self-absorbed. And careless. And stupid. Then today, as we stood waiting at the crosswalk another woman drove right through-right next to us  as I looked at her and shook my head in disbelief (I later saw her car turn off into the school parking lot). Seriously??!! Come-on lady! Getting your child to school on time does NOT trump my kids safety. No way.

So I came home for the second day in a row ready to rip someone apart. I called up the local law enforcement and told them that I had had enough. Someone is going to get hurt (or worse). Hell hath no fury like a pissed off Mom. The officer asked me some questions and told me he will be there tomorrow morning to monitor the crosswalk. I certainly hope so.

"Take as long as you want, kid"

Words spoken to me by my 6 year old son. After asking me if I was ready to color with him I replied "let me go check on your brother first" and his response "Sure. Take as long as you want, kid."

Ok. daddy-o.

Please Forgive Me for Spilling a Bottle of Nail Polish on Your Carpet, Mommy

I've said it a million times before...it's a good thing he's so stinkin' adorable.

The Painting. Oy.

Here is the ginormous painting-beast-of-burden I have been working on this month. I deliver it tomorrow morning and I am a bit worried/nervous/apprehensive/nauseated over the whole thing. What if it doesn't hang flat (legitimate concern)? What if it is crooked (really legitimate concern). What if they hate it? Or worse yet, what if they don't love it? It's not ok to have them be just "ok" with it. I actually would prefer they totally hate it verses being "just ok" with it. At least hate is a passionate response.

It's really hard to create something which will be hung up on a wall. Exposed. Naked. Raw. It's like having your heart nailed up for all to see and comment on. When I paint just for my own enjoyment I don't feel this way. Painting has always been therapeutic and I never cared what anyone else thought (if they were even given the opportunity to look at them in the first place). But this painting is different. It is subject matter that I would not necessarily have chosen and it is for someone who has a very definitive idea in their mind and it has been paid for. Like I said...I am nervous.

The pictures below are of the (hopefully) finished painting. The other is me standing next to it for scale. (And yes, it is in the pseudio a.ka. garage.) The lighting and the angle are off but you can get the general gist of it. And please don't tell me you like it unless you do happen to really like it. I am not posting  pictures to get compliments--just sharing...

Wrapped up for transport. Isn't my studio lovely?

4' x 5' painting. Hard to picture/see: layers of textured paint

Future Vintner

Liam figures since I am working on some paintings for a restaurant, the least he can do is design them a proper menu. When I explained they probably already have one, he opted for a wine list...

Please don't report me to Child Services.

Welcome Back, Me

Last week something rather extraordinary happened... I went for a run and for the first time in many, many Post-Boston months I felt (dare I say it out loud?) good. I looked down at my Garmin and was shocked to see I was cranking away some decent mile splits that were reminiscent of my pre-Boston-Marathon-massacre days. For the first time in over six months I felt like I was running nice and easy but my times were (dare I say it out loud?) faster. How could this be?! Since last winter my workouts have felt like real work and my times have been sluggish. I felt like all of the effort I was putting into my running was not being returned. I drug myself through workouts then drug myself through the remainder of the day and then I drug myself to bed only to repeat the drill. And now? Seemingly like the flip of a light switch, (dare I say it out loud?) my mojo has returned. 

When you have been in a severe energy drought (or as my physician calls it "extreme exhaustion") for so long, to have any energy return is akin to winning the lottery. Every day I am amazed that, "Wow. Walking up this flight of stairs doesn't feel like it is going to send me into cardiac arrest anymore!!" I also don't dread the thought of chasing around the boys at the park, loading a washing machine or getting groceries (ok, still dread getting groceries). It is a lovely thing indeed. 

The only thing I can contribute to my sudden energy boost is my recent departure of my corporate design job. Even though I had only been working there part time over the past few months I never realized what an energy sucking vampire it had turned into. Now I am home more and painting more and hoping I can make a go of it as a work-at-home artsy fartsy marathon mommy type.