Now you see it…

now you don't!

Kelsey, my little sweetheart,  at the tender age of 6 years, 4 months, and 7 days, has finally lost her first tooth today!  We had begun to think it might never happen.  Caitlin lost her first tooth at 5 years and 3.5 months, so we just assumed Kelsey would lose them quickly, too. 

The time passed, though, and Kelsey's teeth seemed as sturdy as they could be…until three weeks ago.  Finally, a 'looth tooth'!  Then it seemed to take forever to fall out.  On Monday, the tooth was hanging by a thread.  We reached the point where we forgot it was still there…and then…

While I was trying to work on the car shipment, I turned to look at Kelsey….and there was a new gap in her mouth, on the bottom row!  Yes, the tooth had fallen out without her knowledge. We raced out back to find it, as it seemed she should have something to put under the pillow and…

Lo and behold, there it was in the pock-marked cement just beneath where Kelsey had been sitting.  It must have fallen out just after she had bitten into her apple and managed to delicately land and await discovery.

Later in the evening, she put the tooth under her pillow, and despite her worries the tooth would fall off the bed, and the Tooth Fairly would not visit….when she woke up at the crack of dawn, there was a crinkly dollar bill tucked underneath the pillow. She marched in our room, proudly showed us, and went back to her bed to sleep for several more hours. And, for now, she is one happy little camper…

I just have a hard time

blogging with one hand.  I know it can be done, maybe it is the lack of wireless.  Regardless, I have about 10 posts in my head and very few have even made it to draft form on the blog.

On the other hand, when the reason behind the lack of blogging is due to quality time spent with this little guy…hard to want to do anything else but make those big blue eyes smile.

Greener Eateries?

As we are the victims of terribly slow internet service (but, free, thanks Marriott!), I have been reading more on-line than surfing.  Though any surfing would likely be to real estate sites, Craiglist, or Freecycle.  I happened upon this article yesterday and it reminded me of our "European menu" days and how I miss them.

Before I delve too deeply into that, I should probably indicate that I think the above idea is fabulous.  College was not that long ago, and I remember all too well the overflowing trays of uneaten food.  I have to say, for the most part, my friends and I were probably not guilty of leaving too much.  Given we had little 'pocket money' if you will, we were not likely to leave Sunday brunch anything less than completely sated. 

We did, however, go to school with folks who had a bit more.  It was rumored some had so much that they could afford to throw away change.  Yes, those pesky coins that took up too much space?  Just throw them in the trash! 

With regards to the tray issue, however, one article indicated that food waste at one school had decreased by 79%.  79% less food going into landfills (since, let's face it, not all schools compost and not all of the waste could be composted)!  Which made me think that the ubiquitous tray exists in other areas of our lives.

How many of us love the all-you-can-eat bars?  I know Caitlin hankers for King Crab legs at the beach each year.  Despite my instincts to say no, as I am sure those crabs will be non-existent if this keeps up, we let her have one night of the kids all-you-can-eat.  However, the amount she puts away is probably minimal at best and not necessarily worthy of the 'all you can eat' price tag.

Yet, we notice many folks succumb to the lure of the heightened value of the meal given the ever-shrinking amount of anything that a dollar seems to buy.  I used to think it was a wonderful way to save a buck, until one night while eating at a buffet that offered all you can eat for a remarkably low price.

I watched folks eat and go back to the buffet again and again.  I took a long look at the food and wondered about the quality.  Was it organically grown? Were the meats chock full of hormones and preservatives?  Most importantly, why is there the need (in such a wealthy country) to have places that exist solely to make you feel guilty if you don't clean your plate several times over?

It is something I have thought about many times since.  Especially in these times of economic strife, one could see where a low price would be good.  But is it?  Or is much of the food wasted?  Would it not be better to offer smaller, healthier meals that didn't send one's blood sugar into a tailspin? 

So when I happen upon articles such as these, I think there might be hope. 

In case

you haven't noticed, the writing might have been somewhat 'off' lately.  Tyepad is having issues with their new Compose editor, and it has affected this blog.  I have switched to a simple view, but still having problems, some due to a verrrry slow internet connection.  So if anything weird pops up, say, two copies of one picture for no reason or what may be typos/grammatical errors, please just ignore for now.  The combination of the problems makes it very difficult to correct right away.  Other than that, please enjoy!

I knew…I knew like you know about a good melon

We headed into San Francisco today for our first official visit. Of course, the minute we arrived in the parking garage, Pete's cell phone rang.  Nope, not work, but possibly our new property manager.

After spending a full two days looking from floor to ceiling at various and sundry homes, we walked into the final house on Sunday and just knew (see above).   By the time I reached the kitchen (after only viewing the 4th bedroom, LR, & DR), I was ready to put in an application.  The house was clean, spacious (but not too big), the hardwood floors had no cracks, lights were modern, but not overwhelming, and the kitchen was updated but not too busy.

In a nutshell: we loved it!  If the kids didn't love the decent-sized (but not gargantuan) rooms, they were sold on the backyard:  a patio, carefully-tended backyard with just enough grass, and (drum roll)….a separate play area with a swing set!  Did I mention the added bonus of the storage-shed or the pear tree (partridge not included). 

Pete and I nearly collided in the kitchen, trying to quickly locate each other to almost shout, "Let's put in an application!"  We quickly filled out the forms, he ran to get cash, and turned everything in.  Now it is just a game of wait and see….

While waiting, here are a few pics from our trip to the city….Alcatraz in the background.

A bite of this gator could prove to be quite tasty!

Heavenly sourdough beckons from above…

I stand

corrected or at least have a more definitive answer!  Apparently, one can ship a boat, motorcycle, or even a small plane (!) as their POV during their PCS with DOS.  Yes, I love those acronyms, too.  In other words, one can substitute a Cessna for a Toyota as one's Personally Owned Vehicle sent during a Permanent Change of Station. Thanks to Michele over at Globehoppers for the update and that could set a different set of wheels in motion in the future.

In other (more crucial?) news, we have arrived.  We are now officially living in the Golden State, but don't think we quite qualify as Californians just yet.  Given we do not have a home, we are in sort of a limbo.  Not homeless, but have a lot of 'splainin to do sometimes, with regards to our rental history when hurriedly filling out those applications:

• Why we move so much, haven't owned recently, but also didn't have a landlord
• How Pete's salary can change drastically depending on where we live in America or, oh, anywhere, totally due to locality pay/COLA
• Why a month-to-month lease during the second year would be really, really awesome….after all, only about 14 months until we bid again!

Perhaps the most important (to us) news?  The Knick-Knack turns 5 months old today.  He is rolling over, holding his head up like a champ, and sits unassisted for days at a time (O.K., a few minutes).  He is a smiley, sweet boy and we are just so in love with him.  Look for a notice regarding more Nick-related videos on You Tube soon!

I swear

Nicholas said "meh meh" to me today (yes, as in Mama).  C and Kelsey were standing right next to me as he spoke and they will swear on a stack of Little House on the Prairie books that this is the absolute truth.

Now he only said it once and wouldn't repeat it when prompted….but then that just goes to show he is like his father and sister and won't perform on command.  Since I have forgotten to post photos lately, here is a new one.  It is from one of our boat trips on Shannon and Mark's 'home away from home' that can be found traversing the bay on any given weekend.  Just so no one forgets how darn cute he is!

 I should probably elaborate on this day, lest I forget and never ever ever write this stuff down and then my kids say "Remember when" and I sigh and say, "Why didn't I write about the day we went out on Mark & Shannon's boat?!"

Well, for starters, I would have many, many entries.  Mark & Shannon purchased this boat last year as a vacation home, if you will.  We certainly would, except that it would make little or no sense at this juncture since we do hope to go overseas again in a few years and does a boat count as a POV?  Hmmm….

It is only logical to get as much use out of such a purchase as possible, and they are doing their darndest.  While we were in town, they thoughtfully let us tag along and let the girls spend quite a few nights on board.  The above picture was taken on July 5th, a follow-up to a somewhat rainy Independence Day 'sail'-abration.

We had spent much of July 4 on the boat, although most of it docked.  A nasty thunderstorm prevented us from watching fireworks further out in the bay, but not from enjoying fabulous fireworks and a delectable dinner from Red, Hot, & Blue on the boat.  The girls stayed over, but Pete, the boy, and I spent the night at Chez Talbott.

The next day found us on the boat for most of the day.  We sailed from a guest slip in "Ben & Jen's" marina to the Rhode River.  We made a brief stop to pick up Shannon and headed back out to 'the island," found in these photos.  While we sipped wine and nourished ourselves, Mark and the girls headed to swim off-shore.  We ended the day by twirling glow sticks and watching leftover fireworks set off in the distance. 

 Oh, and I won't name names, but someone really started to enjoy sailing that day.  

Waiting for an answer

We flew to San Francisco yesterday by way of Phoenix.  We missed our original connecting flight, but had already been booked for a later departure.

We arrived at our gate terribly early and Kelsey opted to watch the planes for a while.  She was entranced by this plane, as it was wearing sunglasses and we spent quite a while trying to figure out how they are put on and taken off.

Luckily, we were close by when the departure time neared and watched as the pilots pulled the canvas shades inside the plane through a tiny opening in the cockpit window.  I had never seen this before, but guess probably necessary in warmer areas.  We only felt the Phoenix sun for a minute, as we walked past the open door on the jet bridge and felt its hot breath upon us.

Ironically, she had turned away by the time they removed it and we almost missed the answer. We caught it, though, and can check off that question. 

The Dinoia Family Heads West

So tomorrow we embark on the final leg(s) of our journey.  We depart for CA at the un-Godly hour of 7:50 a.m., though admittedly not as bad as catching a flight out of Keflavik to mainland Europe (in the good ole days).

We are mostly packed and I should be sound asleep.  However, I have never been west of Texas, so I am really quite excited about tomorrow.  We start a new adventure, despite it being domestic in nature, and can't wait to introduce our children to some of the most naturally beautiful parts of our country.  I know we will run out of time in which to do things, not run out of things to do.

Meanwhile, I can't forget what we have accomplished over the past few weeks.  Catching up on doctor's appointments, visiting family and friends, feeling totally enmeshed with the lives of those we visit, even if only for a few precious days.  We have been lovingly hosted in homes on land and water.  We have shared tapas and wine while sailing in the bay on a newly purchased sailboat and consumed tantalizing steaks of finely grilled beef at the memory-filled family table.

We have reassured ourselves that the kids are growing well (average can be good!), and Kelsey's annual neuro-surgical report was nothing short of stellar.  And did I mention Nicholas, who amazes us all on a daily basis?  Lest I forget to write it in his baby book, he is so very close to sitting up. While he can sit unassisted for a few moments, probably still a bit too wobbly overall to be officially sitting on his own.

And now before I risk not getting any sleep, I must head off to bed.  Good night to all and (lest I find time to blog in the Phoenix airport), we will be (hopefully) happily ensconced at our next posting the next time I write.

You have stayed at too many hotels during home leave when

your daughters play "Quiz Show" and the million dollar question is "How many Marriotts have you stayed in so far this summer"?
Answer: 4 to date, not including next week's stay in CA(Kelsey started to include Chincoteague, but that was a Hilton hotel).