Fortress of Solitude

As we drove up to the house yesterday, Mr. Boy proclaimed, "Awesome, it's just like a Force Field around our house." Construction has begun on our addition, which will add 1,000 sq ft to the Chalet. I'm getting very excited! Last night at 5pm, the whistle blew and I bid adieu to the last hard hat, locking up the gate. Then I let the kids and dogs play with every window and door open. It was so nice not to have to worry about Sandy the Wandering Dog, walking down the hill into the heart of the city for a Pink's Hot Dog. I still can't understand why Sandy loves to wander towards the city when she has this in her backyard.
A couple other big benefits to the Force Field, it keeps out solicitors who can't figure out how the heck to get to the front door and even better when Mr. Man pulls up... I get to ask him for the password before I open the gate and let him drive on in. It feels very rogue.. kind of like a compound and I love it.

The Earth Day Revolution

Last Earth Day we had the opportunity to take the kids to a store where they traded in empty plastic bottles for a toy. I thought it would be a good idea to teach the kids about not being wasteful. Even better, we just walked around the parking lot of the mall to gather the empty water bottles, picking up what others had tossed on the ground. Litterbugs are one of my pet peeves. The kids watched a short video that showed plastic water bottles being turned into toys, the kids were fascinated. It started an obsession with recycling. I took them to the recycle center where they got to pop the bottles and cans in a cool machine and out popped money. That sealed the deal, the kids think that recycling is the greatest thing on the planet. (Although AK cried and couldn't figure out why toys didn't pop out instead.) Soon my office, the neighbors, and Ross's office started to contribute to the kids recycling project. It has turned my car into a giant trash can, at any given moment my trunk is full of bottles and cans. I feel like a hillbilly with all those cans rattling while I drive around town. Even worse I live on a hill, and one time a bag rolled out the back and I had to chase 30 errant water bottles down the street.
All this so my kids can earn roughly $0.85. Happy Earth Day!

My Little Brother

We LOVE Mr. Uncle around here. He is technically Mr. Man's brother, making him my in law, but I've known him more than half his life, so I just call him my brother.
A few weeks before moving to the Chalet, Mr. Man called up Mr. Uncle and said, "HELP!" Mr. Uncle moved into the Chateau, because that's what brothers do. We put him to work and we could not have done this move without him. He worked on a bunch of stuff that had been on Mr. Man's to do list. In between projects, he took time to toss the kids in the air. Of all the hard work Mr. Uncle did, this is my very favorite project. Apparently Mr. Uncle, fearing for the safety of the new residents at Chateau du la Francais, built a bomb shelter.

Maybe it's actually a sprinkler cover, but this thing is ridiculously heavy. We let Mr. Uncle go to town and make whatever he envisioned. $200 of materials and 3 coats of paint we were ready to move it into place. Mr. Uncle went to move it into place and we heard the dreaded words of "Uh Oh". We wandered out to see what was going on. We all tried lifting this beast and fell over. It was so obnoxiously heavy. We started to chuckle and soon it turned into hysterical laughter, where we had tears streaming down our faces. It was the best laugh I'd had the entire year.
Thank you Mr. Uncle*.

PS Mr. Uncle is an ambitious guy... ahem who is single.. just in case you know someone. Also, he has like 14 companies, hence the links, because I owe him in a big way, like $50 Billion dollars, my firstborn, and a new bomb shelter for all the free help he gave us.

Tax Season 2010

After having to take most of Friday off, due to a medical emergency* with Mr. Boy, this is what I feel like is waiting for me. Four more days until the 15th!

*Mr. Boy had cellulitis in his jaw. Things were pretty scary for a few hours, but thanks to our awesome pediatrician, amazing dentist, and the good folks of Children's Hosptial Orange County he is on the mend. And note to self: Please get a new local pediatrician, not something to put off until after tax season.

Eternal Sandy

Sandy, the world's second worst best dog, has cancer. She was diagnosed back in September and given 3 weeks to live. Sandy doesn't like being told how long to live. The cancer has now spread to her lungs and in January the vet said, "I'd say 2 weeks, but it's Sandy, so she might just outlive us all." Sandy is ridiculously stubborn, not even cancer can slow her down. Other than a chronic cough, you wouldn't be able to tell anything is wrong. She is still making mischeif... She still firmly believes the world is at her beck and call. She can still keep up with the pack, and is always eager to go on a hike. She still greets you in the morning as if you just won the lottery, and will dance right along with you, by bouncing on her front paws. I can think of no better place for her to spend her last days then up here at Chalet du Francais, it's a dogs paradise.