Leftover Day

Leftover Day!!! Exactly what it sounds like...friends and leftovers zapped in the microwave.

As is my normal style of organization, this day was a little "unplanned" and I'm lucky to have forgiving friends who will help me pull it all together. Polly and Zane arrived and Zane started playing with our kids while we enjoyed more appetizers and wine. Eventually, I started to wonder where Matt and Katina were so I gave them a call. If you know me, you'll laugh when you hear where they were. When Katina picked up the phone, she says "Oh, we're sitting here in our pajamas shopping on line." Hmm... Well, it seems that since I never got around to returning her messages, she didn't realize that we still had plans.

OK, OK...I'll work on that for my 2010 Resolutions. It's now written in a public forum!

Once the Chesters arrived, we had enough children in the house for pure mayhem! We had Justin, Annalise, Leah, Zane, Brody, and Demetra all running free. Justin was playing so nicely and being a good "big kid" with the kids that we thought everything was fine...until we heard some screaming from downstairs. Thinking it was a little kid getting hurt, John went downstairs to check on things. He found Justin with scratches all over him and what looked like the beginning of a black eye! The kids (led by his angelic little sister) had decided to "wrestle" with him. Toys got thrown at him and they climbed on top of him...He eventually got pushed over the side of the guest bed and crashed his head against the band saw. Yes, you read that right. When I saw the bruise I asked what he hit his head on and he told me "The saw that Dad was using to cut the pieces for the firewood rack!" Oh boy.

In summary: Justin wound up getting pushed over the side of the bed and cracked his head on the saw that was being stored along the wall on his way down. His back was swolen because someone had thrown the "Tech Deck" skate board ramp against his back leaving a nice scratch. Honestly, he was so good about it - he asked if he could go upstairs and watch a movie away from the little kids and he never tried once to retaliate. What a kid...

After that, the rest of the kids played nicely together and the parents chatted, napped, policed, and ate a whole lot more food! Excellent day...

Thanksgiving Day

After all of the years of traveling all over the place for Thanksgiving, we stayed put this year. It was really fun! I tried a few new recipes and John (if you can imagine this) cooked up a storm. He got a fresh turkey from Simmons Farm in Middletown and it was absolutely delicious! My Dad and Brother drove all the way from Michigan just to spend the day with us (that's about 30 hours of driving for 24 hours here). Polly brought Zane over and we had a great meal with family and "family-like friends". Justin remembered the game we used to play when we were camping with the cousins and he decided to lead that this year. He had Polly help him make small pieces of paper for everyone to write on and passed around a basket. We were all supposed to write something we were thankful for on the paper and put it back in the basket. The basket went around again once it was full and everyone read one of the pieces of paper. After each note was read, Justin was in charge of throwing it in the "campfire". It was a great game and we were even allowed a small degree of poetic license as we tried to determine what Annalise and Zane had written on their papers.

Before we were bound to the "Being Thankful" Game, Justin got an awful lot of pleasure out of touring ALL OVER the beach with Uncle Seth and Max. It's a good thing that God gave Seth plenty of patience because he was probably called upon to use it. The pictures came out great though! Seth was even brave enough to take our dog along with him for a while. Come on back any time, Little Brother!!! The house was very peaceful for a few minutes. We also had some friends over - Bayley and Leah came to hang out with us for quite a while before dinner was ready.

Stacking Firewood

Another one of the things we don't ever have the chance to do in San Diego...

We ordered a half cord of firewood and had it delivered last weekend. (Yup, this is how we do it in Rhode Island!) The dump truck dropped the load right in the driveway. John and Justin were in charge of stacking the wood in the back of the house. Annalise was in charge of telling them what to do. I was in charge of ... the usual ... nothing.

After they were done with chores, John and Justin found time to play out front. And how does every day in Rhode Island end? Of course…with a gorgeous sunset that we can enjoy from every window in the house. We are a fortunate crew!

Boston Science Museum

I took Justin, Bayley, and Annalise to the Boston Science Museum last weekend to see the Harry Potter Exhibit. When we got there, we couldn't get a ticket into Harry Potter for another 2 hours so we wandered around the Science Museum. First we saw some exhibits about light and shadows, and then we moved on to the rocket ship. Justin and Bayley got to play on the space capsule and there was a video screen that was showing them what it would be like if they were to go into space.

After they were done at the space capsule, we happened upon a "Build your own Boat!" exhibit. The kids could decide if they wanted to build a boat for speed or for capacity. Annalise decided to build her boat so that it could carry as much treasure as possible. She got her hull and went to the sail tables and attached a sail to the two hulls. She loaded the thing down with treasure and went to the test bin to see if it would float. Nope. It sank. She went back to the sail table and added some sails and she allowed me to take out just a couple pieces of treasure. She tried again, and it floated in the test bin. She took it to the test course and tried it out. It made the trip without sinking!!!! We took the boat out of the race course and counted the treasure. Her boat made it across while carrying 21 gems. The old record was 16 so they put her name up on the record board!!! She named her boat "The Jasmine".

This did not make the boys happy at all. They went back to the drawing board and added some sails to the boat they were working on. They thought they had it figured out, but they must have made it a little heavy in the front because when they put it in the test bin, it tipped over it's own nose. Back to the drawing board!!! Justin says they constructed the boat by using 2 short masts, with two square sails (one on the front and one on the back) so that it could catch more air. They decided not to carry any treasure because they did not want extra weight to slow it down. To the test bin they went - it floated. Then they went to the racetrack - Success!!! Their boat made it all the way across with a time of 6.2 seconds. The old record was 6.3 seconds! They got to put their name on the record board with Annalise! They named their boat "The Criminal".

After that we went down to see Harry Potter and wouldn't you know it...Justin got picked to try the Sorting Hat! When they asked for a volunteer, his hand flew up so fast that they couldn't help but pick him. He was all smiles as he hopped up onto the stool. The man asked what Justin's favorite house was and he answered Gryffindor. Luckily, the Sorting Hat chose correctly and Justin was placed in the Gryffindor House!!! The exhibit was absolutely amazing. It was filled with costumes and set pieces from all of the movies. Justin got to play quidditch with Bayley, he got to try on the "real" Sorting Hat, see Hagrid's Hut, see the dragon egg, and sign the journal that says he was there.

On our way home, they got to eat Fudge Flies and play with Justin's Snitch. (Which broke on the first throw in the parking lot). My other favorite story of the day was when I could hear Justin telling Bayley stories in the backseat from when he went on the Duck Tour. He could remember the details and got almost everything right. He even remembered what inoculation was and he told Bayley about when the Mayor tried to convince Boston that the Charles River was clean enough to swim in by jumping in with his tuxedo on. The funniest part was that Justin even remembered the driver's jokes and delivered them with the exact same deadpan voice. Amazing.

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P.S. I'm not sure why I don't have pictures of Annalise's sailboat but I think it's because I was busy playing with her instead of taking pictures.

Interview with Annalise

I was driving Annalise to school the other day when I decided to ask her some questions. I was so amused by her answers that I decided to try interviewing her on camera. She wasn't quite as elaborate this morning as she was in the car but you get an idea of what she's up to these days. This morning she looked so cute that I had her stand up on the counter and do some model shots for the camera. She's a natural!

One thing she's VERY good at is writing. I was helping her write her name on a piece of paper last night and she did an incredible job! You can read each of the letters and she knows which letters should be "tall and proud" so there's a distinct difference between each of them. She was making a birthday present for Zachary and she had me write his name so that she could trace it and the letters look exactly like mine.

Insect Day

Justin finished his very first research project!!! This project started about 2 weeks ago when Melissa was here and taught him how to do research on the internet. He learned about “dot edu” websites and how the information on those websites is usually much more trustworthy. Since the initial research phase, Justin's been working a little bit each night to finish his project. He turned it in and presented it to his class today.

As Murphy's Law would dictate, on the morning that his project was due, it started POURING!!! I drove Justin to school with his poster in a garbage bag and his model in a box. My wipers were on super sonic speed and I still couldn’t see the car in front of me. I pulled into the school lot and Justin explained that parents are not allowed in the back door where the students go in, but the main door was a far walk from where we were parked. We worked out a plan for him to take the poster into his class and come back for his model while I waited outside holding it. Luckily, the teachers took pity on me (the poor rain-drenched Mom standing outside getting more rain drenched by the second) and they let me in. “Rules can be broken on a very rainy Insect Day!” I got to go down to the classroom with Justin to drop off his model and Mrs. Dufour let me in to say “Hello” to everyone! I had such a good time. The kids showed me their projects and they were all so proud of their work. Some of the projects were incredible! One girl made a firefly necklace by adding wings to a little flashlight that hung around her neck. Very cute! One of the kids I work with on reading/writing showed me his project and he had tried so hard to make his letters "just the right way". He did an incredible job! There were projects about walking sticks, fireflies, bumble bees, and every other insect I didn't realize existed.

It's been a fun week in the Dolby house as we helped Justin to "do his best" and worked on keeping ourselves under control when we just wanted to do it for him. Justin's project was about Grasshoppers. He made a poster about the Grasshopper Habitat, Life Cycle, Predators, their possible impacts to the Environment, and the structure of the body.

Polly

I talk about Polly and Charlie all the time, and Charlie is featured in a video below (See "Saint Charlie"), so I thought I'd show you Polly. Here we are at Annalise's Birthday Party.

Linda

As always, Polly found another great resource for us. We were sitting around the other day commenting on how scraggly the kids were looking since neither of them have had a real haircut in months. Polly took Zachary and Zane for a test drive in Linda's chair and came back impressed! We took Justin and Annalise down for a spin and they came back looking so much better. Linda specializes in children and curly hair so she's a perfect match for us!

Pookie's Visit

Melissa came to visit us last weekend and had a good time with the kids after John and I both ditched her. (I went to San Diego for a work trip and John was busy studying). Melissa made the most of the time with her kiddos!

After playing dolls with Annalise for what seemed like several hours to me, Melissa took her to lunch at Thames Waterside Bar&Grill where they enjoyed the (somewhat brisk) weather and sunshine on the patio. The picture above is taken in their lunch outfits. I'm not sure when Annalise managed to talk Melissa into drawing about 17 thousand pictures with her but I was sorting through several of "USS COOKIE" sailing on the ocean earlier today. It looks like they also co-authored a story about a girl along the top of the pictures. You're a true artist, Melissa!!! I got home late last night so I only noticed the toes this morning...when I was getting her ready for ballet, I saw that Annalise has beautiful toes and I learned that Melissa took her to "the spa!"

I also heard that she took both kids to see Plymouth Rock on Wednesday (Veteran's Day). They went to Pilgrim Hall Museum where they learned about Indian Houses and saw videos about how hard the first winter was for the pilgrims. They learned about how hard it was to survive with the things that they brought over on the Mayflower. Justin says the rock was big, and that you couldn't touch it, but that there was a sample in the museum that they could touch. Justin says this was his favorite part. Melissa's note to me after she brought the kids home was "Somehow the invisible sound barrier between the front and the back seats was not working and they would not stop arguing!" I myself have never experienced this...

The other thing Melissa was able to do while she was here was to help Justin with his school project about Grasshoppers. She taught him how to research on the internet and I learned some good safety points from her. She's a true professional! In her spare time, she also took care of Jasmine. Melissa and Justin worked hard on "Sit, Wait, Paw (Shake)" with Jasmine and I think they were somewhat successful because Jasmine now finds it perfectly acceptable to walk up to me, sit, look up adoringly, and throw her paw against my leg for attention. OUCH! (Baby Steps - I get it).

They both say "Thanks for coming to see us Pookie!!!" Annalise says "Thank you for coming and letting me have my nails painted and for hanging around with us and for letting me take a nap with you."

Saint Charlie

A little sample of life in Portsmouth:

Team BBQ

I went to New York with Melissa and Kristin this weekend for some major shopping! (Yes, go ahead and ask me about my Kate Spade acquisitions - I'll be happy to tell you all about them!) I had a great time at Lucky Shops but it's funny how fast I start to think that I'd really like to come get a little hug from these kids of mine!

Today we went to the football BBQ where Justin got his trophy and got to hang out with his team. No drills today! He brought a football with him and had each of his coaches and teammates sign it so that he can take it home to San Diego with him. In the car he said he would be very sad not to play for Portsmouth next year, but John reminded him that he could be a Panther and that he could make friends pretty easily as long as he has a team to count on. Now he's moved on to hoping that Carson will be on his team again!

I also put a picture up here of Annalise's Ballet Class. It was taken on Halloween Day so Ms. Lindsay is dressed as a hot dog for the occasion (I promise she usually dresses as a ballerina instead).

Classic

Last night on my way to bed, I stopped by the kids' room to get Justin up for one last trip to the bathroom. I found him laying with his feet on the pillow, his head on the rails, and both arms flopped all over the place. (Picture a teenager with the blankets pulled over his head trying to ignore the sunshine). I rubbed his feet and tried several times to gently wake him up. Finally, the reality became apparant and I had to say "Justin - you need to get up and go to the bathroom" in my Bossy Mom voice. He opened his eyes as if he had been awake for hours and said with a fairly amused look and resignation in his voice, "You're not going to give up on this...are you?" Classic.

Halloween 2009

Saturday was a long day for the Dolbys...I'll tell you about the Tiny Mite Bowl later because it deserves pictures and it's own entry. For now, here is the story of Halloween 2009:

John ordered Justin's costume about a month ago and told me he had taken care of it. Strangely, I noticed small charges hitting the credit card a week or so later. Since I'm slightly "detailed" about that, I would ask him about them. "Hey John - did you make a charge today?" I would get a very innocent look and he would say "Oh. Yes. That must be part of Justin's costume". The next day, we would repeat the same conversation until about the third day when I said, "Um, how many things did you buy???" He smiled and said "Just some accessories! It's going to be a cool costume! AND it's big enough for him to wear it for a while."

Oh boy - a few charges later and the total finally hit. I rolled my eyes but didn't worry too much about it. As you can see, his costume was AWESOME, he had a great time with it, and John was right because Justin has worn it every waking second since Halloween night.

The evolution of the costumes:

On Saturday, when we got home from the Tiny Mite Bowl, I decided to try on Justin's shoulder pads. They fit! I pressed my luck and tried on his jersey, which had a very authentic grass/sweat scent left over from the game. It fit too! This is how my costume came about. When we were all getting dressed, John and Justin decided that John needed to be a pilot with Justin (John was the pilot that rescues the astronaut when they land in the ocean) and he had plenty of good stuff laying around the house to make his own costume too. (John's not included in the pictures because he kept saying "I shouldn't be wearing this..." so I thought I would keep the evidence to a minimum).

We went trick or treating with the Perlmutters, Carsons, and a few other families in the neighborhood. The weather was gorgeous and we collected SO MUCH CANDY that I think I could have supplied the whole US Army for a month. Each kid kept a lunch bag full but donated the rest to the squirrels/raccoons/skunks that like to snack in our garbage can. Trick-or-Treating was so much fun with Justin (astronaut), Annalise (Ariel), Bayley (Clone), Graysie (Witch), and Leah (Pirate) making the rounds together.

Tiny Mite Bowl

The Tiny Mite Bowl was the "Superbowl" for Justin this year. The good news is that all teams made it! Justin's team played twice in a row, Justin got to have medical attention (for his blister), and they got pizza in between the games. It was awesome!!!

Justin is a Charger Fan (and a Bengals fan, Steelers fan, Panthers fan, ... ) so he knows "Lights Out" Shawne Merriman. (I'm not personally a fan of his actions off the field but the man can sack a quarterback!). I think that Justin was channeling his San Diego roots today during the games. I'm not making a single bit of this one up.

The scene was like most games: John was taking pictures down on the field and I was up in the bleachers watching Annalise, chatting with Moms, and cutting oranges into quarters (since I forgot to do it ahead of time). I was mid story with Rhonda Landers when I saw Justin drop down into his stance on the line. My story stopped, I froze, and I saw them snap the ball. Within seconds, I saw Justin crash through the line, reach the quarterback, lift him 2 feet into the air, and crash down on top of him about 5 yards behind the line. It was insane!!!! We've been calling him "lights out" since then. John says he missed the best part of the shot but he happened to catch the end of it. Justin's usually aggressive and finds his way to the quarterback, but it's rare that he does it with such power and speed and (honestly) pure style. He says he heard me screaming from the stands and John says that the people around him said "WOW! I hope you caught that one!!!!" John answered (quite proudly) that it was his kid...

It gets better. I saw this insane sack and then my kid leaned over and offered the other kid his hand to help him up. I usually kept it under control but I was the crying mom on the sidelines when I saw that one.

Here is a link to the slideshow that John put together for the team. It's about 15 minutes long and you'll see pictures of everyone on the team. Justin is number 88. Enjoy! http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb34cl_portsmouth-patriots-tiny-mites-2009_people

P.S.: John recommends going to the Menu at the bottom of the viewing window and selecting "high quality" from the pop up window.