A very weird week

We have had a very weird week, to say the least... full of thrills and chills and yes, sadly a few tears.

It started off last Friday when I received a phone call from my husband who was traveling home from Connecticut to California. He called to tell me that his airplane take off was aborted due to a fire in the engine. They were barreling down the run way, practically nose off the ground, when the flight was scrapped. He was poised ready to open the emergency exit door, but luckily it didn't come to that. Just glad the situation was discovered before the plane was in the air! It took him an extra 5-1/2 hours to re-rout his flight plan and arrive home safe and sound that night.

Sunday, as we were coming home from a soccer game in Antioch, a mis-guided hawk decided to make direct contact with our windshield. We were taking back roads through the rolling California hills, just enjoying the views, when this drunken bird swooped closer and closer to our car. Unfortunately for him and for us, it never pulled up and as a result made dramatic contact with our poor car. All, I can say is, thank god for safety glass, it really works!

Tuesday I discovered that my youngest son, Kyle, is allergic to dogs. This is a bit of a tragedy for us as we have recently acquired a new beagle. The saddest thing of all is that we acquired him mainly for Kyle's sake! If you were to have a dog, this is the sweetest best dog that you could ever imagine owning. After Kyle complained of very itchy eyes the other day, to be on the safe side and rule out the dog, I took him to the allergist. Before going, I joked with my husband, "wouldn't it be funny if he were allergic to the dog?" Not so funny any more. Many tears were shed at the allergists, as Kyle sobbed that he couldn't believe he is allergic to his dog and that he didn't want to give him up. I am a wreck and not sure quite what is best...get rid of the dog to protect my child's health or keep the dog and nurture his emotional well being. Dilemma, dilemma. We are keeping are fingers crossed and hoping that the allergy is mild. So far so good, Kyle hasn't had itchy eyes since we visited the doctors and it seems that if he keeps fingers and hands clean he feels fine...we shall see.

I'm almost afraid of what tomorrow has in store for me...I don't think I can take any more surprises.

New addition to the family

Meet Sinbad. He is the latest addition to our family! Move over fish, there is a new dog in town. The kids are ecstactic and I am happy to report that we are all taking to Sinbad in a big way. Just take a look at that adorable beagle face! He is such a sweet little guy and we all fell in love with him immediately.

Just two short weeks ago I mentioned to a client of mine that we were kind-of-sort-of thinking about getting a dog. She sent me a link to the northern California Beagle Rescue Association. I went on-line just to check it out, but wasn't really going to act on anything unless I found a dog in our city. We were still getting used to the idea of getting dog and I didn't think we were prepared to drive all the way to Redding or Sacramento to get one. Well, of course, right away there was Sinbad's picture and he was located right here in town. I got my husband interested in him and we decided to send off a general inquiry about his availability. I didn't hear back about him for four whole days and was starting to think that someone else had adopted him. Then I heard word from John and Andy who were fostering Sinbad. Turns out they live only a few blocks away near the swimming pool where the kid's swim team is located. John let us know that there were thirty, count them all up, thirty, people interested in Sinbad! By this point we had all been staring at Sinbad's picture on-line and falling in love with him, so, as soon as I heard that, I immediately swung into action. I sent off another email to John, with the subject line "Meet the Muldoons" with pictures of our family and really layed it on thick , telling him about our boys and how we are a great family and any dog would love to adopt us. I guess that did the trick because John gave up in defeat & decided we were worthy of meeting this little beagle. He invited us on over to his house the next day to meet Sinbad and the rest is history.

Sinbad is now on a two week "sleep-over" with us. The sleep-over is a trial period for family and dog to bond before the final adoption and make sure we are all happy campers. So far so good. Looks like we have a new addition to the family...and that life will never been the same again!

Things every woman should know

#1. A woman should know how to use an electric drill.

#2. A woman should know how to use a toilet plunger.

#3. A woman should know how to set a rat trap.

#4. A woman should know the number of Triple A so that she can call to have her flat tire repaired.

Personal observations

Personal observation number 1: No matter where you go, no matter how big or small the organization, you are bound to run into extreme personalities, conflicts and politics.

I guess I was kind of naive last year when I took over the job as FAME coordinator for the elementary school. I figured it couldn't be THAT difficult to present a once a month, schoolwide, weekly art and music program. I love to prepare the lessons and backdrops so that I can open up the world of art and music to inquisistive little minds. I love getting in front of a group of kids, all dressed up in a long white dress and a big straw hat to talk about Impressionist artist Mary Cassatt and musical composer Claude Debussy.

How hard could it be I thought, to run the show behind the scenes! Well, little missy! Not such a piece of cake after all. Recruiting volunteers to help run the program was my first big challenge. It seems that people are a just a tad bit leery about getting involved. If I didn't know better, I would think that the entire 5th grade was parentless, as not one parent from the 5th grade has volunteered for anything at the school...ever! But, through a well planned marketing campaign, by which I blanketed the school with witty flyers and veiled threats, I recruited a fine group of moms to help me with the monthly lessons. Many of these moms are professional volunteers, as they spend their entire days at the school helping out in one capacity or another.

Personal observation number 2: There are some women that just don't seem to have the word "no" in their vocabulary.

I was a little naive to think that parent volunteers are welcomed with open arms in the school office and that we are god's gift elementary school staff. Wrong. My next rude awakening came with a run in with the school secretary. Who knew there would be politics over who gets to use the school xerox machine! But, let's face it folks... Miss Dora guards the school xerox machine like a hawk. Apparently there is a whole hierarchy of who gets rights to the copier. A parent volunteer is the low man on the totem and can be treated with great disdain if they get cheeky and ask to use the copying facilities out of turn.

My naivitee extended to believing that there existed a "cum-ba-ya" cooperative spirit between teachers and volunteers when it comes to organizing the FAME schedule. Trying to carve time out of the busy school day for each class to participate in the 40 minute FAME leson takes the patience and the battle stratagem of MacArthur. We recently have acquired a new principal and because of his "newness" we are encountering hiccups in the otherwise flawless FAME machine. The vacating principal, who was known for her micro managing of the FAME schedule, failed to pass the baton on to her successor. As a result, this year there has been a bit of a communication gap between faculty and staff and my little old group of FAME volunteers. Since the schedule had been approved at the end of last school year, I figured it was built into the school calendar. That was my first wrong assumption. That the teachers were all cool with their appointed times, was my second wrong assumption.

So, I am working through a few rough patches, keeping a sense of humor, placating the powers that be, conjoling and flattering those that would take offense at xerox machine infractions. Yes, I would say that I am starting to get the hang of the whole political scene at the elementary school.

Personal observation number 3: If you manage to get on the good side of the school secretary, then life can be very good.

Did you see the lights?

Talk to me! Who out there is loving the new ABC drama "Invasion"?

On Wednesday nights, I am usually back from mid-week cubscout meetings and am folding laundry by 10 pm, just in time to get drawn into the shifty goings on down in south Florida in the new show "Invasion". You just know, that when you see mysterious lights, seemingly unaffected by the gale-force winds, floating near the water, in the middle of the everglades... it must be the work of extraterrestrials!

When the show first premiered two weeks ago, I was randomly flipping dials following real-time hurricane coverage down in Texas. At the time, I was incredulous that the show premiered its first episode with the story line of a major hurricane barreling down on Florida. Art imitating reality seemed a little intense at the time, but then, T.V folk can be so sensitive. But, I have to admit that I'm a sucker for aliens and intrigue and got hooked after the first episode. The characters are pretty melodramatic and fun to follow. There is the hunky dad, trying to make sense of all the weird goings on along with his reporter wife, not to mention the scary looking doctor and her creepy looking sherif husband. I have a theory that the shifty looking sherif is hiding something sinister and has already had a date or two with some of the aliens swimming around in the everglades. Time and ratings will tell.

So, what if perceived natural disasters were really diversions created to conceal clandestine alien activities? Kind of makes you want to re-think the whole weather thing lately, doesn't it? Doo do doo do! Tune in next week to see who falls into the water and goes alien!

Cinq Cepages Weekend

School is underway, which means back to school nights and struggles with homework have commenced all over again. Think: overwhelmed AND stressed out! I am continuing on as the director of the art and music appreciation program at the elementary school, adding even more fun and delight to my already over-packed schedule. Classes start a week from Monday, but preparation on my end has been going on for a month now and I have been busily recruiting docent volunteers and writing up the first lesson plans. I also sat through the most excrutiatingly boring THREE hour Parent Teacher Organization budget meeting in order to get my funding for the year approved. Boy, am I glad I work for myself and don't have to sit through mind numbing meetings on a daily basis. If I did, I would surely have to wear a sign around my neck to warn people...CAUTION! head about to explode!

At the end of the week, just when my eyes were starting to cross, and I felt my tentative grasp on reality slipping away, my husband suggested that we park the kids at a friends house and hightail it out of here for a weekend in Sonoma. The crush has started in the Sonoma Valley and at Chateau St. Jean, on Saturday, they unveiled their new 2002 Cinq Cepage Release. We spent an idyllic, "kid-less and loving it" afternoon at our favorite vineyard with friends. We sampled wines, while watching as the grapes were harvested in the fields before our eyes. We spent the night at our friends home in Santa Rosa in their amazing house with its incredible view of Sonoma valley. We were away for just 24 hours, and yet it felt like we had gone away for a week. Back at home, reality sets in once again. Soccer games have been attended, homework has been reviewed, groceries have been bought AND a much needed work out at the gym was squeezed in. Back to real life...and on we go....