Wow! It's been a very busy week! A. and Z. are off school now and we have been visiting the new babies. We went smimming at the P.'s house and at Lone Tree as well. Stucco joined us at Lone Tree and we all had a blast. Stucco is now sporting an attractive new device, designed to help him actually breathe at night. Hmm... Who knew that your body needs O2 at night? :) While it drives him crazy to wear the device, he doesn't stop breathing anymore. I will sleep more soundly now, knowing he's getting the air he needs. We also had K. come over and fix the air conditioning Fri. It works beautifully now! A. doesn't have to lay in bed at night trying to sleep, sweating. We are truly lucky to have air conditioning at all. We have been sending good thoughts out to all of the people suffering in downtown STL without power. We are thinking of you all and wishing you well!

I found this image while searching for sea bird pictures on google. This bird is found on the shores of the North Sea. I love her coloring and shape.

This is the first day of break for A. and Z. We were slightly crazy and decided to go for a bike ride in the middle of the 92 degree day. It was so much fun! We took the Cherry Creek Trail behind our subdivision. We went about a half mile further than last time. I am bound and determined to get them to go 20 miles with me. All in good time.

A.'s birthday has come and gone. I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed since she came into our lives. She truly is an amazing child. She is thoughtful, caring, sensitive, loving and brilliant. She has great insight into the natural world. I am honored to be her mother.

Ahh yes! I feel compelled to explain yesterday's blog. Stucco sent me to www.dontdatehimgirl.com and we had fun reading all of the posts. My post from yesterday was my favorite from that site. You really should check it out. Guys, make sure your "dick game" is on point.

E IS A BIG ASS LIAR AND CHEATER. HE WILL TELL YOU SWEET NOTHINS, TRICK HIS MONEY, LET U DRIVE HIS RENTAL CARS, FLAUNT YOU, AND DICK GAME IS ON POINT. IT'S ALL GOOD BUT THE NIGGA ASKS FOR TOO MANY FAVORS, WILL LIE TO U IN YA FACE, GET AT YA GIRLS BEHIND YA BACK, HAVE BITCHES FIGHTIN OVER HIM, GET U PREGNANT AND ACT LIKE ITS YA FAULT, AND HE'S A PUNK (ALL TALK), HAS AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM, MAYBE BIPOLAR. ALL SOUNDS GOOD BUT THEN HE WILL WAIT TIL YA FEELINGS GET INVOLVED AND TELL YOU HE HAS A GIRL AND HAS BEEN HAD ONE ALL ALONG. THE NIGGA IS A HOE!!!!

I'd give almost anything for a gigantic thunderstorm with rain showers that would last for a week or more.

Just day dreaming...

The kids are back in school, Stucco is back to work, the house is clean-NOW WHAT? FREE TIME? What is that? I found myself puttering around the house this morning, feeling like I had forgotten something or someone. Very strange. I do have much to do, but nothing that HAD to be done that moment. I guess I can slow down a bit and enjoy my beautiful greenhouse and attempt to train Sal so he doesn't break my wrists when I try to walk him on the leash. There is also the seemingly endless search for "the perfect CNA" job and my pile of unread books I have been aching to read. Hmm. Where to start? I'll begin by tearing myself away from the computer. I am wishing you all a very good day!

(This is for you M.) I don't really need to tell you that when someone dies, you are left with an empty feeling like that someone took a small piece of you with them when they left. Just knowing I will never see M. again, when we visit STL, is very sad. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to all. I have known M. since I was 8 years old. She was always there to guide us and to give her wonderful smile or a hug if you needed one. I know she was tired and it was her time to go, but we will all miss her very much. Love you M.

Sailboats! Sailboats!

Stucco walked along with me and we could touch them at the pier. A dream... a wish... someday...

To finish where I left off...

Alia and I had a marvelous time Wed. morning. We left the townhome at 8am and took our usual walk to the west, next to the Bay. We found several sea shells. Halfway down the path, we also spied a gull who seemed to be either very old or just not that interested in us. She calmly watched us comb the rocky beach for stones and shells. The only time she moved was to saunter over to the water to take a drink. Alia saw a cormorant dunk-down for a meal of tasty fish. There are almost too many species of birds to name, living along the edge of Bay Farm Island. There are herons and egrets and finches galore! To see an egret close-up is a sight to behold. They are such regal looking birds! I sat by the Bay for what seemed like just a few minutes. I was smelling the sea salt air and feeling the cool breeze. Alia and I were each enjoying our own quiet reverie. For some reason my phone beeped at me and I checked it, realizing it was now 10:30am! We headed back to rendezvous with the rest of the family and we decided to go to Sausalito, CA over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful day for the trip. Sausalito is a gorgeous town with a pier full of sailboats to die for! "I'll take the 40ft one over there please!" We hit a few shops and then headed back. It was a memorable day to end our trip.

Stucco is big in Japan (guest written by Stucco)

So, in the world of Stucco, "normal" is a very skewed baseline, but yesterday featured a deviation from that adjusted standard that was amusing. In San Francisco yesterday, at Pier 39 (or thereabouts) I was sitting on the edge of a flowerbox, minding my own whatnot, and noticing the considerable obesity of the average tourist (not that I was helping this average), when out of nowhere (well, somewhere I'm sure, but I hadn't noticed specifically where) I spy two Japanese women. Okay- I'm assuming japanese. Realisticially, they may have been Chinese, Phillipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Laotian, or Cambodian. I'm by no means an authority on spot-identifying someone's ancestry, but I THINK they were Japanese.
So these "Japanese" women were taking pictures (stereotype, anyone?) and I felt as though I might have been in the way- as though they were trying to take pictures of the flowerboxes or such. I looked away to try and locate the rest of my familial posse, and when I noticed the "Japanese" women again, there was only a "Japanese" woman left- one was gone, which I presumed meant that one had ducked into a kitchy shop for her perfunctory 3 San Fran t-shirts for $10.
Well, that presumption was all wrong, as teh next thing I know, the missing "Japanese" woman turned up sneakily behind me, leaning forward to be seen in a picture being taken by the non-missing "Japanese" woman who was still weilding the camera. In fact, I was squarely in the picture, which I immediately assumed I was wrecking, and I stood up to get the hell out of the way. What an ass I had been making these "Japanese" women labor so furiously to get a picture of a flowerbox. Not so! No sooner had I stood up than the pleading began. I think I got as far as "Here- I'll mo..." when I was interrupted in stereo. The sneaking lurker starts in with "No no no" and the one with the camera saying "Together", then the assorted "please" almost in harmony. Who the hell am I to deny a traveler their hard won freak show pictures? I sat back down and was immortalized by strangers.
Then, I began to wonder why. There were ponderously bulky and pasty white Americans everywhere, so apart from my possibly advantageous selection of scenery (vis a vis, the flowerbox), why would I have merited extra effort? Then I thought perhaps I thought it might have been my Chuck Taylor high-tops, because they are a dying breed and transcend cultural lines. That didn't seem to be it either. In the end, I'm left to believe it was my handlebar moustache. That was, and is, about the only thing I find here that is not adopted by the locals (which I take as an affirmation). So that's my best guess. Feel free to speculate wildy in the comments. Schmoopie said it's simply because I'm so dashingly handsome, but she's starved of Latte, and babbling. Plus, we already know her particular flaws of character and judgement, as she was foolhardy enough to marry me.

Cheers from the inexplicably sunny San Fran (where I'm now sporting a sunburn!)

-Stucco (in for Schmoopie, who is running blocking for my mother)

Monday, July 3rd was a very wonderful day. It started with a phone call from T. that "Baby L." was born! She decided to come at 12:01 am on the 3rd. She looks like her big brother and is doing very well. I can't wait to meet her! A. and Z. and I took another walk down the path to the end of the peninsula. This time, however, we decided to get close to the water and go exploring. We found several shells and interesting rocks. The most startling find was A.'s. She found a hardened, dead body of a leopard shark. Yes! Shark! Being the morbid mother I am I picked up the dead shark and brought it back to the townhome so we could show Stucco and take a picture. ( I will post the pic if I can figure out how!) We threw the shark back to the Bay and then hurried on our way to the ferry. We took the ferry to San Francisco for the day. We had lunch on the pier (yummy fish-n-chips at a little shack.) We wandered around and did a bit of shopping and watched the folks at the sourdough bakery make bread into shapes of animals (turtles, bears, lobsters, a huge alligator, but, alas, no sharks!) Along the way we were able to go to our favorite "cheap shop" "Everything San Francisco." A. and Z. also rode the Merry-go-Round. We saw only a few of the famous sea lions that hang-out on the pier. The ferry departed for Alameda by 5:30pm. When we got back we decided to go swimming again, in the pool. The air was chilly but the water was nice and warm. We eventually collapsed in bed, exhausted. It had truly been a busy day! Congrats to the Y. family on the birth of "Baby L.!" We love you guys :)

San Francisco is a wonderful city! Z. and I were the early risers this morning so we took a walk down the path along the Bay. It was incredibly foggy and the sea was spraying a fine mist on our faces. The white caps were visible and the temperature was about 53 degrees. So there are places like this that exist! Z. and I walked about 2 miles roundtrip. There were a lot of unusual birds and a funny-looking squirrel that sat upon a bush. They looked like they were having a party. When we returned to the townhome, Grannie had made breakfast and A. was up too. We ate together and then piled in the car for a trip to Target (I forgot to pack my swimming suit ,as well as Stucco's.) We found swimming suits and a few other things and I also found a Starbuck's (THANK GOD!) A VENTI mocha later, we were headed back to Grannie's. We drove along the Bay and admired the view. Stucco had finally risen from a restless sleep so we headed to the community pool. It was a bit chilly but A., Z. and I braved the waters. It was actually heated so it was a lot of fun. Stucco and his mom headed to the grocery store for lunch fixin's while A., Z. and I played a few games of Kerplunk and read chapters 3 and 4 from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. We read the book outdoors on the deck in the cool breeze (the temperature and humidity were as close to perfection as you can get.) We ate hotdogs and fruit and played a few more games of Kerplunk. We are going for a walk, in a bit, to the estuary that empties into the Bay. We have been trying to identify all of the different species of trees and flowers in the area. I am beginning to understand why so may people choose to live in the Bay area. It truly is a lush, beautiful part of this country.

We're off to the cool shores of the San Francisco for the 4th of July! I will be bogging from SF to keep a record of what we do for A. and Z. so check-in once in a while if you want to know what we are up to. Love to all.