Gabe Meets the Ocean

We got back about a week ago from Charleston, SC. SD's side gets together yearly in the summer, fortunate for us, it is always a really cool place. SD's side of the family is really small, grandparents and an uncle and aunt. That's it. It makes for a really relaxing vacation. This year we went to the Isle of Palms and stayed on the ocean in a house in the Wild Dunes resort. This was our third year going and I must say, my favorite. Gabe was a baby, I guess pre-toddler, the last time we came, so I was curious how he would truly take to the sand and waves.

I waited and wondered if Gabe would take to the water like Conor, Bud, Roo and many others I have "seen" splash about like a fish in the ocean. He loves water, pool water that is. Not so much the ocean. It was salty, aggressive and unpredictable. Sure the waves always come and go, recede and come tumbling forward. It's the varying degrees that the waves pushed themselves onto you , and for Gabe over, that made him very distrusting of them. So, we started off slow.














Gabe was actually really drawn (literally) to the sand. I showed him how to make a river with your shovel and then pour water into it and watch it meander down to the ocean. Here he is drawing a river with his finger.






















Then, he discovered that a bucket + ocean water makes for much more fun. That's when we began to build our sand castle and dig a huge hole. Gabe's self appointed job became to fill the hole.


















After a few days at the resort, Gabe found peace with the ocean. He found it's rhythm. With each wave, he jumped as the tide rolled in.

SAHM

The question....What do Stay at Home Mom's really do?

What it is like to stay home?

What do you do all day long?

Do you get to sleep in?

Have leisurely lunches and afternoon teas?

Does your laundry smell like a summer breeze?

Are your husbands shirts the color of pure, untouched snow?

Are they ironed and folded meticulously?
Do you eat only organic vegetables from your acre garden?

How close are you and Martha Stewart?

Are you a really good cook too?

This is what some of the things this Stay at Home Mom did these last few days (just in case you were wondering)....

Appealing the State

I finally mailed off my appeal for an external review to the state. It took an entire year. This is "The Book" that held everything about Gabe that anyone would ever need to know. It was, as I have said before, because I can't believe it, 600+ pages long. I know I have talked about this before, (quite a bit, sorry) but, my God!, an entire year of my life! I will know in thirty days the final outcome.

Hair Color Status

As you can see my hair was getting a little "pole dancer" looking. (refer to picture above and below) When your hair matches Barbie's that's not a good sign.

I am a dark blonde, at least that's what the Loreal box tells me, but when you add the summer sun, my hair bleaches out.

So.......

I thought I would "fix" it.

I thought I would tame the "corner calling" look a little by actually adding color back to it. Tone it down a little so people at the space station can take off their sunglasses when looking at Michigan.

So, the final decision was made. I need to go cooler, my hair was obviously too bright and warm.

Cooler like an ash blonde. That should do it.

I had an inkling that I had done this before with catastrophic results. Was it ash that made my hair grey before? Hmmmmmm...

Nah. I think it was black that did that in high school.

An hour later I had silver grey hair like a fox. I had Dumbledore hair!

So, a second opinion was needed. I turned to SD. I gave him the nod that told him it was OK to be honest.

"Ya," he paused passing his fingers through my hair," it does look a little grey."

I looked like I aged 20 years.

Off to the drug store to fix it.

I can fix this, I convincingly said to myself in the rear view mirror.

I was expecting the women at the counter to say (in tribute to Gomer Pyle), "Surprise, surprise, surprise" when ringing up the box of hair color.

I went a warm medium blonde.

Warm cancels cool.

At least it does when we decide to turn off our AC to save money.

In this case, warm doesn't necessarily cancel cool,

BUT creates green.

I have died my hair twice already in two days. I leave for a trip for two weeks in two days.

Should I go green and just wave to people like the Jolly Green Giant?

Maybe tease it a little and go as a Troll?

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This SAHM needs a really good hair colorist.

I'd write more about my glamorous life as a SAHM, but Martha needs to brief me on how to properly crease the corners of my sheets when making the bed.......

"OK!" "HOLD YOUR HORSES MARTHA!" sheesh!