New Patrol Car

New wheels — finally!  For the last couple months, Ace, Joker and the Sheriff have been without a patrol car at the Southie barraks while patiently awaiting the arrival of their new, perfect shade of green Infiniti JX.  This has meant lots of rental cars, Uber rides, public transportation and, no doubt, borrowing Aunt K’s car from the East side.  (Thank you Aunt K — professional detailing to follow that hopefully will ensure complete removal of Cherrios!)   The Sheriff had just about had it with all of these temporary patrol cars, for as soon as she’d get comfortable in one, it’d be time to switch gears, literally.  And she got particularly frustrated when Ace re-commissioned the “bucket” car seat when Joker was “doing business” in Spain and Switzerland and consequently unavailable to install her “big girl” car seat in whatever set of wheels Ace got her hands on that day.   Thankfully, the next chapter in their vehicular life story started this past weekend — testing the waters as a one car family.  As for the license plate, it’s the end of an era and Ace has had a hard time accepting that SBARON is no longer on the road.  SARDINI just doesn’t have the same ring.  :)

Two Feet of Fun

Hard to believe that the Sheriff turned one a couple weeks ago. It seems like yesterday that Ace and Joker welcomed their new roommate to the Southie barracks; yet they have a hard time remembering life without her. Or the last time they slept past 6am!

To celebrate the big day and a few of the Sheriff’s favorite things, Ace and Joker consulted with the local dog pound and threw the Sheriff a puppy-themed party at the Southie Bowl-A-Rama. Not quite up for the bowling challenge just yet (give her time, she is 75% Polish), the Sheriff was content to hang with her pals at the bowling alley bar. Like father like daughter! Overwhelmed by the party goer turn-out, the Sheriff had to put her crowd control skills to good use. And although she refused to eat her yummy birthday cake, the Sheriff didn’t need any extra sugar to make her so sweet. She comes that way!

The time also arrived for the Sheriff’s annual review, and she performed flawlessly. Standing tall at 2 feet, 8 inches the Sheriff already is showing everyone who is boss. Working on her bounce pass one minute and reading and singing along to her Wheels on the British Bus book the next, the Sheriff is ready to dominate all around. Afraid of nothing, she decided it would be fun to pick up the bunny in her Easter picture and let it hang there for a bit. Poor bunny = funny photos! When she’s not flying up the stairs or climbing from the couch to the window sill, the Sheriff is doing something else to make Ace and Joker smile (and fear for her safety!). Not a day goes by that they don’t thank their lucky stars for the Sheriff. Happy first birthday baby girl!!

Back to Normal

Ace almost has recovered from the crazy days of Trial and everyone at the Southie barracks is getting back to life as they know and love it.  The dry cleaner no longer thinks Ace and Joker moved.  There is food in the frig.  And Joker even had time enough to take the Christmas wreath off the front door this weekend, though he really wanted to stick it out in true neighborhood fashion until St Patrick’s Day.  Ace vetoed that one.

In true cool-baby fashion, the Sheriff joined Ace, Joker and the Friends for Superbowl weekend in Arizona.  Grateful that the Friends let the Sheriff police the party that weekend, the Sheriff had a blast.  She was a hit on the plane with her fellow passengers, and she loved playing with Aunt K and her “purse full of tricks.”  Given her instincts to enforce the open container law and to quell rowdy behavior, the Sheriff had to restrain herself at the craziest golf tournament ever in Phoenix.  But when she got back to the Ranch, she let herself cut loose some —  played on the pool table and took a dip in the pool.  Despite the Patriots heartbreak, the trip out West was a much needed getaway for the Traveling Trio.

Not back for long, the Sheriff took off for Vermont to celebrate Mr. Lincoln’s birthday with her two of her favorite little guys, plus the parents of course.  Somebody had to drive.  A nice ride out to the country, the Sheriff caught up on some sleep and some tunes, and she got to take in the wisdom of the Adam Carolla pod cast.  Joker’s roaring laugh must have woken the Sheriff up a dozen times

A Valentine moment, Joker went to run some errands last weekend and came home with two adorable outfits for the Sheriff.  Never before had Joker bought the Sheriff clothes — Ace generally oversees that department.  But Joker thought he’d try his fashion hand and he even got the sizes right.  Ace thought it was the cutest thing ever.

Hard to believe but the Sheriff is going to be 1 in a couple weeks.  The Sheriff is talking up a storm, climbing any stairs she sees, and blowing the funniest kisses Ace and Joker have ever seen.  The Sheriff makes them laugh every day and they could not be having more fun with her.  She certainly is the life of their party.

Ring in 2012

Well here we go, it’s a whole new year and we’re just getting around to the first blog post at the barracks. This one comes from the Atlanta district as the whole crew was down here for a few weekend while Ace on the job. Turns out it was a civil matter, so the Sheriff’s services were not required. The Sheriff and the Joker did get to watch the AFC title game with the aunt and the $ This was great fun and they were great hosts!

Before the crew’s trip to the south, January proved to be quite eventful with mile weather and busy workplaces for bother Joker and Ace. Joker was down in Orlando for a week to see the mouse and the duck, Ace had to work more than a few double shifts. Through it all the support structure around the barracks was there to help out with the Sheriff.

Also, the Sheriff has a new deputy out of the London barracks, she’s across the pond so there shouldn’t be too many battles over jurisdiction, at least for now. Here, she is, from London, it’s the Sheriff’s cousin, a beautiful baby gril, I think we’ll call her Ms. M for now…

Hurricane House Tour

So Ace had a lapse in judgment in agreeing to have the Southie barracks featured in a Christmas house tour for charity this year.  Hurricane House Tour took over after Thanksgiving and the remnants all won’t be cleaned up for months.  Although the barracks looked beautiful all dolled up for the holidays, Ace and Joker could have lived without this good deed.  If only Pat the Neighbor warned them earlier!  Thankfully Grandpa loves to do odd jobs around the barracks so Ace has given him post-Hurricane assignments to help them get their home back!

Amidst December’s chaos, Ace, Joker and the Sheriff had a memorable first Christmas with lots of family around. Some of the holiday highlights included the Sheriff’s first trip to Wright’s Chicken Farm for the Kosciak Family Christmas party, followed by her first tear-filled sitting on Santa’s lap (aka Cousin Steve the Oilman), a fun-filled pre-Christmas week with Auntie, pierogi parties with the Baron and Stapor ladies (the Sheriff is 75% Polish!), a room full of presents all for her at Babci’s on Christmas Eve, her very own “Market Basket” shopping cart from B&G (Joker and Great Grandpa have given the Sheriff a love of grocery stores!), the Sheriff’s first dance party at Cioci Julie’s 40th bday party (the Sheriff is a party girl at heart!), quality time with Joker and Aunt K while Ace fights the good fight at the Firm, and the Sheriff’s first MPS bball game followed by dinner with Dziadz and the team (the girls LOVE the Sheriff and the Sheriff was showing off her moves on the court at half time).  All in all, it’s been a crazy busy month but the Sheriff continues to have a blast and is looking forward to walking and talking (more!) in 2012!

Gobble Gobble

The Sheriff had a great first Turkey Day on island up in the great state of Maine with Ace, Joker, Babs, Grandpa, Aunt K and Kadee the dog.  The Sheriff was proud to outweigh the turkey and she did her part to gobble it up, along with all the yummy sides.  Her favorite part of the day was dancing on the counter top with Babs and of course playing with Kadee’s tail!  Ace and Joker certainly had a lot to be thankful for this year!

Miss M the Mascot

Fall is flying by and Ace and Joker can hardly keep up with the Sheriff. No surprise that she had a fun-filled October starting with a visit to Great-Babs followed by a road trip to Lake Placid for Jill and Derek’s gorgeous wedding. Ace thought she’d bring Dziadz to Sheriff-sit so he could show the Traveling Trio where all the magic happened during the 1980 Winter Olympics. Ace has vague memories of being there as a little one and surely Dziadz never thought he’d be back there changing his granddaughter’s diapers … a fun weekend for all!

The Sheriff also experienced her first (of many) trips to Bowdoin in October and like her Mama she mastered the art of doing some serious damage to the LL Bean credit card at the bookstore. A real treat was catching up with the The Wedding Photographer who grabbed some super cute shots of the Sheriff that soon will adorn the walls of the Southie barracks. As always, it felt good to be “home.”

Aunt M also came for a visit from across the Pond over her school break, and got some quality training time in with the Sheriff. Auntie also made the trip north for a few days with the Stapor family as they said goodbye to a very special Sister (and the Sheriff’s middle name sake). The Sheriff will forever have an angel looking down on her…

As the Sheriff prepared for her first Halloween (a busy time in the hood as she patrols the pumpkin smashers), she worked out at the local YMCA during Saturday morning swim classes. She can’t wait to show off her skills this summer!

Finally, Halloween Monday was a great time in Southie hanging on the front stoop with the neighbors, Ace, Joker, Aunt K and Kadee the Dog. The Sheriff’s detail included 600 pieces of candy distributed, one bottle, and 332 throws of her polar bear hat on the ground. In honor of the October Nor’easter and her first trip to Bobo, the Sheriff was the cutest little polar bear there ever was. Until the Sheriff can otherwise object, Ace thinks she will stick with a mascot theme for her Halloween costumes going forward. Up next? Eagle, tiger, golden knight…the possibilities are endless!

The Grey Baby

The month of September has been filled with a lot of firsts for the little Sheriff. With Ace back to work, the Sheriff and the Nanny have been getting to know each other and are developing a good working relationship! The Nanny has managed to get the Sheriff on a regular morning nap schedule — something Ace never really was able to do — and she has introduced the Sheriff to some new playmates from the Back Bay. The Nanny also has started speaking to the Sheriff in Spanish — soon enough Ace and Joker are going to have a bilingual baby on board! The Sheriff and the Nanny are frequent travelers on the T all around town, and even made a quick visit to Fanueil Hall so Ace could get a quick Sheriff fix during working hours. What a treat!

Ace also had her first taste of single motherhood this month as Joker took off for a week long trip to India.  With a little extra help from Babci, Babs and Grandpa and some understanding colleagues, Ace and the Sheriff made it through.  The Sheriff is learning at a young age that when the Joker goes overseas, she can expect a nice gift or two upon his return!

September also brought the Sheriff’s first swim lessons, which thankfully she did not have to make use of on her first ferry ride over to Nantucket to visit Auntie Dupree. The Sheriff and the Foxy Baby ruled the island of the Grey Lady last weekend, and the Bowdoin besties didn’t even get carded when they showed up for an afternoon at Cisco Brewery — one of Joker’s favorite places! The Sheriff had a great time lunching with the ladies and riding around on the cobblestones. Thankfully she did not have to rescue the Foxy Baby from her sleeping quarters — a sweater drawer! Auntie Dupree, as always, was the hostess with the mostess, and the Sheriff even got a cute ACK sweater to commemorate her maiden voyage. The Sheriff already has made reservations at “Fogdin” for her annual pilgrimmage to the Rock next year!

Odd Numbered Years

While Ace prepares to return to the work barracks, Kleenex stock price is up and Amazon.com stock is down. Chris the UPS Man and Pat the Neighbor are going to have to get by without regular doses of Ace and the Sheriff to brighten their days, and Ace is going to have to get used to high heels again and not wearing her hair in a ponytail everyday, not to mention leaving the house without her very precious cargo.

The last six months have been the best ever for Ace and Joker.  They have welcomed their new roommate at the Southie barracks and watched her grow into a happy, energetic, determined little person. Ace always says that odd numbered years are good to her and so far 2011 has been amazing (Ace clearly is a loyal Bachelor fan). During her time as a SAHM, the Sheriff and Ace have walked miles around Castle Island, bonded with the neighbors and the Dunkin Donuts staff, sang and danced to all songs Zac Brown, had playdates galore, and logged thousands of miles in the ol’ SBARON visiting friends and family — with only one minor warning from a nice trooper at the Logan Fast Lane tolls (who goes 15mph through those anyways?)

At her six month birthday, the Sheriff’s accomplishments include:  crawling, sitting up, drooling, laughing, eating paper, pulling herself up, sticking her tongue out, piano banging, walking with assistance, admiring herself in the mirror, sleeping til 6am, the beach, and eating out (a lot!).  This summer she hardly wore the same outfit twice thanks to Auntie, worked on the railroad with Babs and Grandpa, and brought Aunts K and M out of their nanny retirements multiple times. She also loved seeing Babci, Dziadz, her great grandparents and all of Team Sherry on Tuesdays in Webster.  Next summer, she looks forward to wearing a real bathing suit, and getting more sunlight (with sunscreen of course!).

The Sheriff loves hanging out on Joker’s shoulders and she is an accomplished yoddler at 6am, aka the Southie Screamer.  She turns into the Drakes Island Drooler at the Maine line.  Demonstrating her tenacity, she survived her first (minor) car accident on the day of her four month shots.  Ace tried to have the careless, rear-ending driver thrown in the slammer, but the Sheriff refused to turn over the jailhouse keys!

As Ace goes back to work in a couple days, she is grateful for how lucky she has been, and she knows that the Sheriff will be in great hands at the Southie barracks.  She knows the Sheriff will be OK.  Ace just hopes that she is too…

Probation

The Sheriff has put Ace and Joker on probation due to their deliquency in keeping her blog current.  The loyal deputies promised the Sheriff that they’d do a post a month (at least!) to chronicle the Sheriff’s antics during her first year, but July really got away from them.  Visits from Aunt Mary, OK and Auntie, the Sheriff’s christening, girls week down the Cape, Bab’s birthday, the birth of new friends Ben R., Lady O and Billy Boy, and play dates galore.  Ace and Joker can hardly keep up with the Sheriff and her busy social calendar.  (August is nearly completely booked!)  But they wouldn’t have it any other way…as the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Ace and Joker are committed to clearing their names and getting back in good standing with the Sheriff.  For the time being, they will let her play on the bed (with a chaperone), feed her whenever she wants, and smile at her constantly. What more can a girl ask for?!