Too Cool for School

Momma Post: Ruby's Kurt Cobain impersonation on the back patio of County Cork on NE Fremont.

Mermaids, Turtles, and Elephants

Daddy Post: Here are a few pictures from our past week. Ruby and Willa have been enjoying an occasional bath together while Willa figures out how to sit upright. She has been getting quite mobile with her floor skills, but she's still looking for first gear. Going in reverse and rolling over both directions works for now. Yesterday, Marty took the girls to the zoo while I saw some clients at the office. There she met up with our good friends the Pace's and their daughters Karen & Alison. Ruby and Karen were excited to join the elephant troop in celebration of Packy's 46th birthday.

Pet Owners of the Year!!!

Daddy Post: This post is slightly overdue, but we figure we'd better at least acknowledge the fact that we've lost two members of our household. About a month and a half ago, our goldfish "Friday" had to pay for Matt's ignorance while changing the fish's poopy water. Soon after Friday was no longer swimming with the fishes instead lying listless at the bottom of his bowl. Evidently the clerks at the fish store failed to mention that I needed to use a de-chlorination solution to prevent such poisoning. In any case, this incident passed without mention to Ruby other than the fact that the next day her goldfish "Friday" was replaced with a blue beta fish named "Saturday".

In more somber news our once lovable cat Jabronie was put down a couple weeks ago. This was after several months of losing weight, not eating, and yet still managing to barf somewhere in the house on a nightly basis. We had taken her to the vet in January where her blood work turned up nothing. So I just started to feed her straight tuna and called it good, but even that decadence became undesirable for poor Boner. When we returned from a trip to Medford Bones was in poor shape (as you can see in the picture), so I made the executive decision that her time had come to pass on over to the big tuna factory in the sky. It's always a poignant affair to put an animal down but it was time. Jabronie, your were a good cat...most of the time.

Last week we believe we figured out the cause of Boner's demise when Marty found a bunch of Ruby's felt-covered dinosaurs (which we had gotten her for Christmas) with teeth marks and pieces missing. Our guess is that she ingested them and attained an intestinal blockage. New pets will not be entering our household, until the girls can take care of them themselves.

JABRONIE 2000 - 2008
FRIDAY 2008

Swinging on Down to Southern Oregon

Momma Post: We finally understand all that's involved in finding the right balance, while traveling with children, specifically the drive down to Southern Oregon, which both Matt and I share in common from our respective childhoods. A little careful planning, such as, Seabands for Ruby's motion sickness, sticker books, and snacks, make for a saitiated toddler and relatively calm parents. Willa did pretty well with regular rest stops and interaction with her sister. Although there was added energy in the car, when Willa decided the drive was 20 minutes too long, so she screamed from Rogue River to Grandpa Doyle's house. It was great seeing Doyle. Willa took right to him and was very content sitting in his lap, sucking on her thumb.

Grandpa Jack and Grandma Martha have been living at Pioneer Village, a retirement community in Jacksonville, since right before Christmas. Thoughfully, they reserved the guest cottage for us, which was a special treat and allowed us to have a little extra space for the girls and honor their sleep schedules. Ruby enjoyed rediscovering my grandparent's toy box and all the toys that Aunt Mary Jean and others add during their visits. Grandma Martha has a natural gift with children and the girls took right to her. While walking Gracie, Grandma stopped by our cottage and the morning and was able to entice Ruby back to their place with no cajoling from me. It was sweet seeing Ruby reach for her hand as they walked down the lane. Surprisingly, Ruby remembered the music box from Christmas. She pointed to it saying "music" and Grandpa Jack rewarded her memory by cranking out a few of the classic tunes inside. We were pleased to visit with Aunt Joan and Uncle Tom as well.

Another highlight was taking the girls to Lithia Park. Ruby wasn't too interested in sharing the playground, but some time on the swings and chocolate gelato seemed to help.