As a kid I never called anyone except for teachers Mr. or Mrs. So and So. The concept makes very little sense to me.

Now that I have children I find people (like my child's teacher) calling me Mrs. MarriedLastName as well as other children referring to me as such.

With the teacher and people I see regularly I always or most of the time say "oh no please call me....." which works great. But with kids- some parents look at me funny if I say the same. I understand that some people believe that titles and such are a sign of respect- that is great- but to me you should respect people based on the fact that they are people not on the idea that they are older. Respect greater than that is earned- and not by having a birthday- but by a thousand other things.

My children call their teachers Miss LastName but other adults are usually referred to on a first name basis. It does not mean they respect anyone any less just that titles are a bit superfluous.

What do you think?

A is for Apple-

Or Airway. according to my kids. Even though B is not there now he taught Princess the beginning of the ABC's using a mnemonic from school. "A is for Airway, B is for Breathing, C is for circulation, D is for disability...." so she has taught Stinky the beginning of the alphabet using the same device. Princess got some interesting looks when she was in preschool and would come up with 'Airway' for the classic what does "a" stand for and draw a picture. How do you draw a picture of an airway that is appropriate for preschool??

Thankfully she does not know the 'OPQRST" mnemonic for pain that would be interesting to explain.

I can't look at my own blog!!!

Seriously. I can't. I love the picture of Ali- but the moment I see it I start to weep. Can't believe she is gone.

She was beautiful

ali
Originally uploaded by somewhatsinglemama

I miss you

devastated

today I had to stop in and pay for her 'disposal' I hate that word. like she is garbage. She is not garbage. She is nothing like garbage. She is loved. and I miss her so much. I miss her sleeping next to me. Petting her soft head and rubbing her ears. Listening to her 'talk' to me.
Charlie misses his sister. He waits for her to come to the yard and play with him.
the kids miss playing with her they loved her.

I miss her amazing eyes. They were ice blue. She was stunning.
I don't know if she hurt. I don't know if she suffered. I am so so sorry that it happened like that- that she was alone. She should not have been alone- I hope she wasn't scared. seeing her on the side of the road was the saddest thing that i have seen.

Going to the office to pay made it so final. It made it real. It made it the end of her.. the end of Ali. The end of the dog that I fell in love with. So I felt like an idiot crying signing the paperwork for her. Nearly vomiting.

Sure we can get another husky. but not another Ali. Not another dainty- prissy girl who took no crap. She is irreplaceable.

So Ali- if you can somehow know what is in my heart- know that I miss you. Know that I love you. I am so sorry that this happened. You are missed. You are loved. Thank you so much for the great memories. You were a wonderful dog. I can't believe that this is the end. I can't believe that I will not see your face- that I will not hear your voice. I miss you. I love you.

Come on people- have a heart

We experienced tragedy today in the H household. Our beloved Siberian Husky escaped from our yard and was hit by a car- to our devastation she died.

The people who hit her did not stop and help her or call 911 or anything. They left. They broke my children's hearts and wounded me.

This dog was and is a member of our family. She will be cherished in our hearts and remembered forever.

If you are reading this-heartless beast who hit my dog and did not stop-please know how deeply you hurt my children; how dare you. Princess was wailing for nearly an hour over the loss of her dog. She of course said some profound things such as: "This is the saddest thing that has happened in my whole life" "it was not time for her to die yet"

Of course the kids want to replace her right away- maybe in a few months we will get to that point.

It took five years......

No I am not dead yet- just busy. (sorry)

We go to story time at our local library once a week. We were blessed this time in that all three kids have story time that coincide with each other.

Taking three kids anywhere can be hard though. And for the first time I lost one. One minute he was playing nicely with the puzzles. I bent my head to look at books and when I popped it back up he had disappeared. I started calmly figuring he had wandered into the stacks of books- I rounded up the other kids and we walked through the aisles calling him.

I could not find him. My heart started to beat a little faster. A thin sheen of perspiration appeared on me- and of course I started imagining all of the terrible things that could befall my sweet Stinky. I started walking faster- eyes darting a little more frantically. Then as I was beginning to tell the librarian what had happened. I saw his little blond head. My knees got weak- I bent down and hugged that little man. He was fine. Tears were streaming down his face and I was trying not to cry. He had wanted to look at videos- so he went over there- then he could not find me. He was scared. I was scared. But we were so happy to be back together.

The event may have been five minutes. But five minutes can seem like hell.