Raleigh's finest.

Liam & Officer Mick.
Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

It's almost never a good sign when you arrive at your home to find a policeman waiting...

A little over a week ago, we pulled up our cliff of a driveway to find one of Raleigh's finest. Kevin and I immediately thought, "oh no, what now?!!" while Liam of course shrieked with joy, "A policeman daddy/mommie!" (Curiously, he often addresses us as one entity.)

Kevin steps out from the car and greets the young officer who informs us that he is investigating neighborhood property damage caused by a BB or pellet gun... "Interesting you should say that," Kevin replies, "someone shot out our attic window recently with a BB gun." And of course, the officer asks to take a look.

Loaded down with perishables, we head into the house through the incredibly messy garage herding the kids, Liam who is excitedly chatting up the policeman and complimenting him on his shoes while his sister mischievously grabs a beer from a garage shelf and pretends to drink it. My arms are full and thus am unable to wrestle the alcohol away from the minor so I resort to shouting to my other half, "Kevin, grab the beer from Isabel," before I even think what that must have sounded like.

Inside, we maneuver through the kitchen which OMG had been smeared from pantry door to refrigerator to counter top to sink with Nutella, though that's not at all what it looked like. How did we miss that???

We all go outside, look at the window and then upstairs for a look within the attic -- which is connected to Liam's room (the room he doesn't sleep in). Liam is simply beside himself to have the policeman in his house and in his room (which has no bed because again, he doesn't there; he sleeps in our room).

At this point, all I can think about is getting a phone call from Social Services: children drinking, unsanitary kitchen, and where do these poor kids sleep??

After taking some photographs of the window damage for the officer's report, I asked the officer if he would be kind enough to oblige me with a photo of himself and his new biggest fan.

That, needless to say, made Liam's day...
(and miraculously, still no call from Social Services).

"I'm not against the police; I'm just afraid of them."

...Alfred Hitchcock

meet Piper.

meet Piper., originally uploaded by Luna Soledad.

Don't ask me why, but we decided somehow that we didn't have enough responsibility and unruly charges in our life, so meet "Piper," a 7 week old female Jack Russel pup we just added to our wildly unpredictable family.

That makes six of us (counting the two pooches). Even numbers are good, right?

About three years ago, I had gotten it in my head that we needed another dog, that our one year old son needed a dog, and that is how we ended up with Teach... Teach was a sweet little lab-mix rescue pup full of happy dogness and sad little puppy eyes that would melt your soul. He was smart, too smart for his own good, had a very sweet disposition, and was full of boundless energy. The vet had predicted that he would be a small to medium sized dog. The vet was wrong.

Teach grew and grew and and grew. Poor obnoxious, destructive mutt -- the kids were afraid of him and our geriatric canine, Morgan, had not the patience for his endless shenanigans, so he was lonely and spent a great deal of time entertaining himself by eating our house and playing tug-o-war with the garden hose. He ate toys and potting soil, the railings off of our deck, siding off the house, shoes, phones, pens, knives, books, clothing, and anything else left carelessly within his great reach. And he barked his deep baritone bark, a lot, and the neighbors complained, constantly. Poor pain in the ass. He really wanted to be a good dog and he was deep down, but he just couldn't help himself. *Sigh*

It broke my heart to have to find him a new home (I've never given up on any animal I ever took in - from turtles, birds, cats, mice, ducks, possums or dogs... yes, I even raised possums). No worries though, Teach has a very happy ending: friends of a friend who had a rambunctious, energetic wild thing themselves were looking for a companion... and when Teach met Zoe, he had truly found his soul mate. They raced around our yard like maniacs and wrestled and tumbled and ran some more. When it was time to go, Teach had his mind made up already and wild horses couldn't have stopped him in his unbridled excitement; he didn't even look back when he left us. --And Morgan, well, she was just happy to have her quiet, uneventful days returned to her.

Speaking of Morgan, oh, the look of betrayal on her face when we brought this puppy home said clearly, "I cannot believe you are doing this to me again." Don't worry, I told her, this one won't get so big and you can still be the Alpha dog.

So far so good!

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."

...Sir Winston Churchill

all decked out.

our new deck! =)
Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

After several weeks of sweaty labor in this outrageous heat by numerous talented general contractors and painters, the long overdue major repairs and face lift on our house are complete! (I have no doubts that our neighbors are as excited as we are!)... not to mention our new mac-daddy party deck ready for grillin' and chillin'!

Now if only the temperature would drop 30 degrees and the pesky flies and mosquitoes would die off, perhaps I could enjoy it... Woohoo!

Somebody please tell me again why on earth I moved back to North Carolina???

"The idea that leisure is of value in itself is only conditionally true. The average man simply spends his leisure as a dog spends it. His recreations are all puerile, and the time supposed to benefit him really only stupefies him."

...H. L. Mencken

skull vases.

skull vases.
Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

Keeping with the Mexican folk art theme, here's another of my eBay purchases that I am quite pleased with: a Día de los Muertos inspired skull vase painting by Dallas artist Sami Valens, which hangs appropriately next to Frida in my kitchen...

It makes me smile. =)

"And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since and lost awhile."

...John Henry Newman

sometimes magic bleeds.

Bleeding Neon Santa Monica, originally uploaded by Zen Cat.

Sometimes the magic just bleeds out...
And sometimes that's a good thing because your proximity is such that you're infected and inspired and can't help but to smile from the inside out.

Sometimes though, it happens while you're not looking and the next thing you know, you're on empty... like today. Something I can't put my finger on, as of the earth just spun off its axis like when the washing machine balance is off and you get that extra "thump thump" on the end of each rotation leaving you feeling inexplicably out of sorts...

I prefer the former.

"Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it; and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with the magic."

...Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 86 The Tail, 1851

being followed.

bidding adieu.
Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

One of the things I love best about being Liam's Mommie is the often humorous constant barrage of interestingly unique comments and intriguing observations he springs on us regarding the world around him.

(Of course, the constant chatter and crazy questions is also one of the most exasperating aspects of being a parent, but I digress...)

Yesterday en route to school, Liam asked, "Mommie, why is the sun following us?"

This was one of those moments when I realized that no matter what answer I provided in return, it would indeed fail miserably at capturing the wonder and enchantment which filled his little mind.

Sometimes, a question is just perfect, all by itself.

"You know children are growing up when they start asking questions that have answers."

...John Plomp

secrets.

flower., originally uploaded by Luna Soledad.

Once upon a time, our little guy made a wonderful transition from crib to toddler bed and slept like an angel in his own room. We were so proud.

And then along came a loud, scary thunderstorm one night and frightened him right into our bed where he has been reluctant to leave every since. We spent hours and hours on many a night sitting outside of Liam's room waiting for him to fall into sweet slumber only to awaken at three a.m. with a foot in our ribs or a headbutt to the nose as he nestled in between us. Finally in an exhausted compromise to overcome sleep deprivation, we simply gave up and decided to move his bed into our room. So, our nearly four year old son now sleeps at the foot of our bed.

You can imagine the inconvenience of this arrangement without the need for elaboration, but hey, at least we're able to get some badly needed shut-eye. We can only hope that he moves out before college.

While this does somewhat simply our bedtime routine, he no longer falls asleep by himself and so, bedtime goes something like this...

Tonight (my turn): Liam and I are laying in bed; I have just finished reading two short stories about Biscuit the puppy with Liam "reading" the "Woof! Woof!" parts. Afterward, he is quietly reading his book to himself as he likes to do and I am watching television. When he is done, he clunks me in the head handing me the book and informs me that he is finished and turns his back to me, which tells me he is almost out for the count.

The room is quiet, the volume is low, and suddenly, my son rolls over, creeps up close to me whispering sweetly into my ear in his angelic little boy voice as though he is sharing with me something truly sacred and says, "Jelly don't go in the freezer... jelly goes in the 'frigerator Mommie."

I stifle a snort of laughter, "That's right baby, jelly goes in the refrigerator."

And with that, he's out. =)

"As much as I converse with sages and heroes, they have very little of my love and admiration. I long for rural and domestic scene, for the warbling of birds and the prattling of my children."

...John Adams