It's like this...

Having had our first born graduate from high school has caused me to reflect on how 18 years managed to pass, seemingly in the blink of an eye. When she was born, she was born with an old soul. She was always upset with me for 'waiting to have her' and 'why didn't you have me earlier?' because she wanted to be older than she was... They grow up so quickly. Today my youngest, a whiz on a cell phone and computer at the tender age of eight, was sitting in a stroller in front of the television set, text messaging her oldest sister. She wants so badly to be all grown up...and I so desperately want to keep her small and contained and in my arms for a few more years. Is that so wrong?

Today Lance and I got a picnic lunch packed for us and the girls (and their good friend Kylee, who is our fourth daughter it seems) and we went to Point Defiance State Park over on the sound. Soooo beautiful. First we ate lunch, then Allison helped her sister up the hill. Then Lance climbed up to join them. Later as we were driving through the park, we came across a cute baby racoon by the side of the road. A mile or so further on, we came to another. A mile further down another. All in all, there were four of them, in broad daylight just sitting there. I got quite close to them and soooo wanted to touch them, but knew better. I took a gazillion shots of them. Here's Ally and Ashley and Kylee and Lance over looking the water. We went to a little park further into the park and the girls played and played. It was a really wonderful time and we plan on going back a lot this summer!

Is it just me, or is this font difficult to read? I like it and wish I could write like this, however with the amount of typing I do on the computer, my handwriting skills have suffered. Typing is much faster and easier for me. The children got out of school today. This doesn't mean that they escaped, they were let go for the summer. I'm not complaining (yes I am), but I feel summer is far too long. I think they need to make summer vacation two to three weeks and then it's back to the salt mines books for them. I hate to see them lose ground, educationally speaking. Of course this would mean that before they could begin their mid-summer rants of "I'm BORED' and 'There's NOTHING TO DO!' they would be swept back into the excitement that is school. I mentioned in a previous blog post that I've gotten a new job, writing blogs and articles for real, honest to goodness money! I have spent most of my time today editing three other writers and ...

Vicus, is that you singing? And apologies for the very last part of this, you all know I can't stand that kind of thing. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I had no way to edit this video.

I hear that Mr. Cheney is quite busy, but I'd rather not know what he's been up to. It gives me nightmares.   I've gotten an excellent writing gig for which I hold high hopes. I'll be writing web content from home (my favorite office) and there will be no commute, except from my desk to my kitchen/laundry room/bedroom/kitchen and back to my desk again. I'm also doing editing work for this company and have been assigned four writers to edit so far. I'm excited! This beats the job I applied for up in Seattle, where I'd have to commute in rush hour traffic for hours and spend time away from the kids and the homestead. It's less stressful for me to stay close to home and hearth, as I'm a home body at heart. Plus I get to do it in my jammies if I want to!   In other news here….I've been having some health issues and a few weeks back it seems I suffered a TIA. That's a small stroke. I've had no lasting effects from that lovely event, e...

Pamela's Column for Pacific Publishing Men, and I don't mean just any males, should not be taken out in public on a trip to purchase undergarments with their wives. Bad things will happen. Ok, maybe not bad things, but things you don’t want happening. Unfunny things. I went bra shopping today and I took my husband with me. Generally this isn't something I do. Bringing the husband along when I look for lacey unmentionables isn't high on his list of fun activities. He wanted to know why I needed a new bra. I pulled my shirt up and showed him my bra. "You see how the lace in the middle has runs in it?" "Oh yeah.....wow, how old is it?” "I bought it last week” “You did?!” “No, I didn’t. I’m hard on a bra but not that hard” “What happens if the lace gives way?” he said with a salacious look in his eyes. "If this baby blows, someone could lose an eye" "It would be like two airbags going off at the same time!" At this point he...

This happened on Saturday and I was ok with it. I really was. Honest. I was fine up and until that highschool band started playing Pomp and Circumstance. It was then, and only then that my eyes began to well up and tears spilled down my cheeks. You see, this is how she used to look. Her and her brother. And this is how they looked last night at dinner. As we drove home last night in the dark, I reached over and took her hand in mine. Holding it as I drove, I remembered a different time, a different hand. Her chubby baby fingers have given way to the long slender fingers of a woman. Time has taken my baby girl and given me a beautiful, strong and independent woman/child. I miss the baby that was, but I'm excited to see what the young woman will now become.... Congratulations baby girl.

Sure it won't! I'm black and blue after my youngest had an in-office medical procedure today. (Yes, I know it's all about me) You can't see this in the pictures, but her daddy was there as well, attempting to hold her legs down, while I was in charge of her upper body. You know, the dangerous part. Here she is getting her blood pressure taken before the procedure. Don't let that smile fool you. This girl is about to have her head swivel around and is about to spew green pea soup from her mouth, not to mention claw me, beat me, hit me and pinch me in places best left unpinched. After going ten rounds, the procedure on her toe was finished. Dr. Whitemarsh attempted to clean off all the blood lest she catch sight of it and go off like a bottle rocket again. Here is the exhausted angel. If you look closely, I'm quite certain you'll see horns holding up her halo. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go put ice packs on my wounds.

Well, not an entirely lazy day. Lance got up early to rent an aerator to punch holes in our lawn in order to make it take water better. Of course it poured down rain so he got soaked and three other He Men in our neighborhood borrowed the machine to punch holes in their lawns. All the He Men were dripping wet by the time this was over. After his well deservved nap, I found him watching this... Once a little boy, always a little boy. (I enjoy watching it too!) Later in the afternoon, with our mamma kitty asleep on his lap we watched tv together. We're both so tired and not sure why. Perhaps his change in job shifts on Friday contributed something to it. I picked him up after midnight last night at his new place and I tell you what...the three minute drive from our house nearly killed me. The traffic! Oy vay! He loves his new short commute and so does The Boy, as he now gets to drive the car to and from school. It works out. Anyway, here he is with the kitty.... All the cats...

Pamela's column for Pacific Publishing June 6, 2007 All right. I've had it. I'm mad and it's about time I stood up and said something about it before my head explodes. I'm mad at Everyone Else's Parents. There. I said it and I'm not sorry. Do you know what you have put me through during my last eighteen years of being mired in the trenches of parenthood? You, Everyone Else's Parents, are much loved and revered by my four offspring. My children would rather have you for their parents than me. I can't say as I blame them. In fact, if you're not careful, I may just give my children to you. You don't make your children do chores. You also let your children stay up to watch their favorite shows on cable, the ones with all the off color jokes and 'tasteful nudity' that is intrinsic to the plot line of the show. You allow your little ones to have ice cream for breakfast. Oh yes you do, I've heard it from the lips of my very...

We decided that we haven't had enough ocean air, so we drove to Camano Island and had lunch at the state park there. Beautiful, wonderful, silent..... and we parked far away from other vehicles in order to prevent me getting squished again. We brought along my niece Nicole and here I am attempting to get them all together for a picture. My two girls were not cooperating fully. Ally found a crab. I was getting my hopes up for some crabcakes, but it was small and dead already. Here's handsome hubby in the only picture he allowed me to keep of him from today. I did have pictures of us, but they were horrendous and we both agreed to delete them and never speak of them again. It was beautiful there and I would have stayed all day, but the girls got whiney and wanted to go home. You know, home? Where they always complain that we never go anywhere ? Yeah, that's the place. So home we went. Did I mention that it's been warm out today? For the past week or so, and hub...