Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
Rampart, This is Squad 51
The kids watch old episodes of Emergency! before going to bed each night. Robert enjoys the firefighting scenes a little more than the medical ones, but something tells us both of them have been paying close attention to the show.
This morning Robert established an aid station in the living room because Skelly wasn't feeling well.
Physical examination began with listening to the heart.
Then a look in the ears
Bedside consultation
A hypodermic injection is administered
Only prayer can save the patient!
We wish we could say we staged this for the camera, but we didn't. This is our kids role playing what they saw on television. Which, of course, reinforces the importance of paying attention to what your kids watch on t.v.
The patient survived and is hanging back in Robert's room.
Merry Christmas Eve
This morning Robert established an aid station in the living room because Skelly wasn't feeling well.
Physical examination began with listening to the heart.
Then a look in the ears
Bedside consultation
A hypodermic injection is administered
Only prayer can save the patient!
We wish we could say we staged this for the camera, but we didn't. This is our kids role playing what they saw on television. Which, of course, reinforces the importance of paying attention to what your kids watch on t.v.
The patient survived and is hanging back in Robert's room.
Merry Christmas Eve
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Holiday Card BTS
We shot the pictures for our holiday card today, turning the living room into a studio for a couple of hours. It's rarely fun posing your own kids for portraits, but today went relatively smoothly. The card should be printed and mailed soon. These are some of the outtakes and behind the scenes (BTS) images.
Happy Holidays
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Halloween
Halloween proved to be a welcome respite from the nightmare named Sandy. A few hours after the last post, about the fallen tree, the full force of the storm hit our neighborhood.
We were preparing for dinner as usual when the power went out. "No biggie" we thought since the lights had been flickering on and off for about an hour, as the tree branches rubbed up against the power lines. A few minutes later, Donna announced that the backyard was on fire! Our worst fear was apparent on both our faces: a power line had fallen and ignited our gas grill.
From the kitchen, it looked as if the entire yard was ablaze, mostly because the wind was whipping the flames and smoke into a huge spectacle. Indeed, our neighbors thought our entire house was on fire and they came over to get us out. On closer inspection, however, the fire was limited to a single high tension wire jiggling about on the lawn, about 8 feet away from the grill and the back of the house. Some of the neighbors helped move the grill as Bob stood-by with a fire extinguisher to protect the house while trying several times to call the fire department. It's tough to call for help with no land line or cell phone service! Eventually the wind took down the transformer located several houses over, and the fire burned itself out.
Tuesday was your run-of-the-mill day without power. Nothing for the kids to do except get on one another's (and dad's) nerves. Cooking was done with the grill and a small camp stove. First batch of food in the 'fridge discarded.
The kids woke up Wednesday knowing the significance of the date. We spent the day at a park, to get out of the house and warm up. We got home around 4:30pm, donned costumes and hit the streets.
We were preparing for dinner as usual when the power went out. "No biggie" we thought since the lights had been flickering on and off for about an hour, as the tree branches rubbed up against the power lines. A few minutes later, Donna announced that the backyard was on fire! Our worst fear was apparent on both our faces: a power line had fallen and ignited our gas grill.
From the kitchen, it looked as if the entire yard was ablaze, mostly because the wind was whipping the flames and smoke into a huge spectacle. Indeed, our neighbors thought our entire house was on fire and they came over to get us out. On closer inspection, however, the fire was limited to a single high tension wire jiggling about on the lawn, about 8 feet away from the grill and the back of the house. Some of the neighbors helped move the grill as Bob stood-by with a fire extinguisher to protect the house while trying several times to call the fire department. It's tough to call for help with no land line or cell phone service! Eventually the wind took down the transformer located several houses over, and the fire burned itself out.
Tuesday was your run-of-the-mill day without power. Nothing for the kids to do except get on one another's (and dad's) nerves. Cooking was done with the grill and a small camp stove. First batch of food in the 'fridge discarded.
The kids woke up Wednesday knowing the significance of the date. We spent the day at a park, to get out of the house and warm up. We got home around 4:30pm, donned costumes and hit the streets.
Sammy befriended a girl from down the street.
A little blurry because the lighting was dim.
Robert, I mean The Hulk, working it.
A pretty good sized crowd considering much of the neighborhood had evacuated.
Halloween turned out the be the best part of the week. For an hour, all the storm-related worry disappeared. It was about kids having fun.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sandy's Here!
Robert called me to the living room to see the "tree branch in our front yard." What an understatement!
And, actually, the branch is mostly in the street and our neighbor's yard.
That's one of the smaller trees in the neighborhood. It used to live in front of our house, where we usually park one of the cars. It was a problem tree, so to speak, because it had undermined the sidewalk causing a major tripping hazard. The trees and sidewalks are considered town property and we asked to have the situation corrected even before we took ownership of the house. The town's response was to make a cement ramp to cover the uneven sidewalk surfaces. Mother Nature had the final say on the matter about 30 minutes ago.
What's scary is that we haven't entered the most damaging phase of the hurricane yet.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Sandy Is Coming
Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on New York. The phone has been ringing every couple of hours with automated messages from the power authority, our jobs and the local government announcing evacuations. The neighborhoods just to the north and west of us are under evacuation orders. Living near the water can be a major pain.
Here are two pictures from last weekend. The kids decided to dress up. Hopefully the storm will not prove to be a major disruption of Halloween since the kids have been waiting for it all month.
Here are two pictures from last weekend. The kids decided to dress up. Hopefully the storm will not prove to be a major disruption of Halloween since the kids have been waiting for it all month.
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