Chow, for now

When I was in middle school, my friends and I thought we were the coolest people on the planet. We would pass notes in between classes. Do kids still do that? Or is all texting these days? Anyway, we would sign our notes "Chow for now". It was MANY years later that I learned it was really Ciao, not chow. And it was a real Italian word. Now we are beginning our trip of a lifetime where I can say Chow or Ciao, and nobody cares how it's spelled. It's all in the pronunciation.


So as I panic pack tonight, I will allow myself to get a little bit excited for this grand adventure that is about to start. Arrivederchi! Adios! Hasta luego! In what ever language - see you in 2 weeks! I'll have a ton of pictures (need to buy 1 more 2 GB memory stick tomorrow) to rival LRNs pictures from 2006. And if I can figure out what I did with the camcorder, I'll have video as well. So Chow for now.

Ewwwwwwww! Gross!!!

This is a public service announcement. Remove the grill on your fridge and vacuum all the nasty dust that accumulates in the coils. Then pull the whole thing out and vacuum. Gross!! The sad thing is I did this a year ago and it was still incredibly nasty today. Hopefully it will help the darn thing run efficiently and not use so much electricity. We haven't had problems, but I hope I get a reward for my efforts!

Fighting my enemy - again

I don't know why my mother is not allergic to poison ivy and I am. I don't know why I continue to pull weeds where I know there is poison ivy. Ok - that one I know. No one else will do it and I feel that "this time" I won't get a reaction. I know how stupid that sounds. So I am popping benadryl and Zantac. Yes, I know Zantac is for stomach issues, but it is also a histamine blocker. Thankfully I found the generic of it, so it's not going to break the bank. I am also slathering my arms with alcohol (purell). Someone forwarded me uses of vodka (nope - I won't check it out on Snopes because I don't care if it's true) and hubby won't let me use the Absolut. My goal is to not be on prednisone for my vacation. Wish me luck!!!!

Clean Desk

Phew! I finished right before the end of June. Here is the picture of my beautiful desk. It's freshly dusted and everything. You may notice that the printer is NOT on the desk. When I hook it up and get a new ink cartridge, I will put it on the desk or the filing cabinet. Is the rest of the office still a mess? Of course! I need to do this one tiny step at a time.

I'm trying to decide if there is a point in having a July goal. I'll only be home for 2 weeks, so it will have to be a small one. Maybe I'll sort through cookbooks and dump the ones I'll never use. I used to think I would turn into Martha Stewart. I no longer want that kind of stress in my life. Nothing should be perfect. It should just be good enough.

They're ba-ack

The kids returned to NJ last night around 10. The flight was supposed to arrive at 7. But there were a bunch of thunderstorms along the east coast, so they stayed on the ground until it was safe to fly. My poor parents! Due to the late arrival, all the kids went to their house. My father and nephew had to leave for Boy Scout Camp at 4AM, so I'm sure they've had a tough day. I managed to get up there by 8:30. S was so happy to see me, but Trinks didn't notice I was there for the first 20 minutes.

My mom was in charge of separating the 5 kids' clothes and I handled the 800 picture download. The load to Shutterfly went through while we were at breakfast and the Walgreens upload finished by the time I arrived back in DE. I also put the pictures on a flash drive. Mom - do you think you can format the memory stick yet?????

The kids really had a great time. It was nice to see they were all still getting along well. Trinks says she won't eat pizza for a month (they had pizza every night), but S would like some tonight. Tough. It's bacon cheese turkey bugers.

Cable and Desk status

Cable is a no go. Crap. I'll have to call and drive them crazy again. It works, but everything is in black and white and every once in a while it fades into color in a REALLY annoying way. Hubby came home, looked at it, turned on the DVD player and retreated back into the dark ages.

But then I remembered my plan to clean off my desk by the end of June. That's Monday. I'm looking around and it's not half bad. Not picture worthy now, but I have plenty of empty space. I'll take the next 5 minutes putting some more stuff away and then it needs a good dusting. I won't have time for that this AM, but I can easily do it tomorrow.

Disney and movies

The kids are having a blast in Disney and my parents sound pretty good. S loves every ride and expresses his happiness regularly. So far, everyone is behaving beautifully. I talked to both kids last night and they are still happy and don't miss us at all. Of course they were eating ice cream at the time, and who can be sad while having dessert?

Hubby and I had our whirlwind day yesterday. I LOVED Indiana Jones. Yes, the plot was out there. Yes, he's getting old. BUT, it was what I was looking for. A bit more expensive than I expected - $8 for a MATINEE? - but it was worth it.

My next movie pick comes out next month - Kit Kittredge. Trinks and I read the series last year and loved it. I am a huge fan of all of the American Girl stories. My favorite book series is Molly, who lived during WWII. I passionately dislike what they did in the Molly movie. They could have focused on Molly's summer camp and the positive messages in keep trying when you don't think you can do it. Nope, they turned Molly into a whining child with the world against her. From what I have seen so far, Kit hasn't suffered the same fate. The family does take in some more interesting boarders than I remember, though.

WE HAVE CABLE

And it's through the cable box. For the last year, we have been watching TV through the DVD player. Comcast has such crappy service that the box kept going out and hubby was tired of calling them. We don't watch anything that exciting, so it wasn't a big deal. I was just catching up on paperwork, opened the cable bill and decided to call. In 10 minutes, cable was restored to the box. I really wasn't prepared for it to be that easy. Of course it's fading in and out of black and white so it may not be a permanent fix, but at least I feel like I accomplished something. We are, however, waiting for FIOS to reach us. Hopefully FIOS isn't as crappy as Verizon DSL. I would like to use the BRAND NEW PHONES again. Verizon isn't compatable with them and we are stuck using mid-90s phones. It's always something, right?

Arrivederchi, bambinos!

I drove my kids to Bob Evans, apparently the best place to meet my parents. It is off exit 4 of the NJTP and 36 of 295. My parents are insane and drive on the TP at all times. I am realistic and take 295, so this location really works out. Trinks fell asleep on the way. It was a big day for her with a field trip to Philly. S and I skipped all the Cheetah Girls songs on the iPod and blasted the Wiggles. Good times.

It's always sad to say good bye to the kids. They are growing up so fast and I will miss them. When they come home, they always look way older. I am very proud to say they are almost never homesick. S has asked to come home a few times - usually when Mom Mom asks him to do something so horrific like wash his hands or to go to sleep. Trinks will get dramatic on the phone, but I know they are having a fantastic time.

Hubby and I have great plans for this week. We will FINALLY see Indiana Jones. I really don't care if it isn't as good. I know I will love it. I am going to a book launch for Once Upon a Family. I'm not sure what that entails, but it's another way Kathi continues to get me in trouble. We will top off the day with a several course meal at Casablanca. And those are just Saturday's plans! So we will keep busy so we don't miss the kids so much. Before you know it, it's next week and we have the kids back.

My new job

No, I haven't quit the BFC yet. I have taken on a new role. I like to train on my lunch hour. For some reason, my favorite route right now involves crossing 8 lanes of traffic before I land safely on a sidewalk. I used to walk in boring 1.3 mile circles around our building; however construction has made this a treacherous hike, so I chose to move offsite. With this move comes awesome responsibility: giving directions to hopelessly lost people.



In the past 3 weeks, I have helped 6 different people negotiate the complex ramblings of Metroform. It's a stupid name for a horrible section of complicated roads. These roads aren't even on GPS (right, Nothing Knew?). Since this is the road that the hospital is on, there are boatloads of medical plazas. Apparently I know them all. Today was more special than any other day though. After I helped an elderly couple find the complex near the blood bank, I thought I was done. I finished my walk out and turned around. I ended up following a woman in street clothes for about 1/2 mile before she waved at me. I turned off my iPod and she asked me she if she was walking in the right direction. She took the wrong bus and wasn't sure where she was. As luck would have it, her destination was along the road back to work. It was nice to have someone to walk with and it gave me more energy. Because I was chatting with this woman, I didn't notice how tired I was anymore - I completed a hard workout of 4.6 miles before work and this was just a "light" 3.25 miles to get the kinks out. It was nice to have a walking partner, even for a short time.

Packing

I hate packing. Absolutely, passionately despise packing. Unpacking - piece of cake. Shove suitcase contents in 2-3 baskets and wash clothes. Easy. Packing requires a thought process I do not have. I have to anticipate what we would need for all weather, moods and occasions. How the flip can I think that way? And I hate having too much stuff with me because then I have to schlep it around. These days I just plain hate stuff. I want to have the PERFECT amount of clothes, toys, electronics, and books. I want everything to be precisely packed so I know what I am wearing which day and I want it to look clean and ironed - although I don't iron. I do know how and I do it well. I just am really smart and no longer buy clothes that need to be ironed.

So, why am I stressing about packing? By tomorrow night I have to have everything packed for the kids' trip to Disney. This is a huge thing because all 5 cousins will be with my parents. My dad doesn't give a hoot what the kids wear as long as they don't violate local decency laws. My mother, on the other hand, really loves matching outfits and tons of gadgets to create the perfect vacation. Good for her. Leave me out of it. I am so stressed out right now that I cannot locate the precise tiara she asked for. Or the Mickey Mouse baseball cap. I have one night to pull it together. Ugh!

Once I finish stressing over Disney, I have to start stressing over Italy. Che cavolo! Porco vacca! Great. Now I am learning to swear in Italian. It's amazing what you can learn when you google "how do you say shit in Italian?" Please note this website is NOT work safe. Funny as hell, but not appropriate for work.

Training

In 18 weeks, I will walk 60 miles over 3 days. It sounds tougher than it really is. That's not to say I don't take training seriously, though. I try to keep up with the required mileage every week. So far, I have been on target. Today I accomplished something I really never expected to when I first started tracking my miles. In 2006, I walked 200 miles. Not too shabby. Today I hit my first goal of "walking" to Key West. 1098.15 miles. Go me!!!!

What do you do when you achieve a goal such as this? You give your feet a nice massage with lotion, and start walking north. My goal is to "walk" to Calais ME by the time I complete the 3 Day. Piece of cake. It's only 575 miles away.

Day Out With Thomas

Today was a huge day. Once we finished with the SHOW, we grabbed snacks and headed to Strasburg PA to hang out with Thomas. Thomas is a very busy train and travels all over the country, stopping in PA three times - June, September, and December. It is a magical day for Thomas fans. Whenever Thomas passes (and he does every half hour), you hear elated shouts of "It's Thomas!!" "Yay Thomas!!!" Watching the kids faces is great - sheer joy. Of course it was blazing hot and humid today. We lathered on the sunscreen (a challenge for S since he seems to be sensitive to SPF), and headed off to our adventure. Pretty much everything is included with the Thomas train ticket. We rode a trolley car, an open small train, a model train and a pump train that you had to pump yourself. I left that one to the grandparents to do. The kids and Mom Mom got tattoos of Thomas and Henry. Trinks ink stamped tracks and trains, colored pictures and kept herself occupied while S played with train sets. It was hard to pull him away when it was our turn to ride Thomas.

If you are planning to go see Thomas, and I recommend everyone do, bring your own food and beverage. Usually you can park right near the action, so running back to the car isn't a hassle. I recommend bringing water bottles because there is ONE water fountain where you can refill. It's in the shade and is not boiling hot. It was actually refreshing. Water at the various vendors is $3 for 25 ounces. While not horrible, a little planning will let you save money for the important things, like kettle corn and toys. Using strollers is difficult, so you may want to try a wagon instead. You really want to leave plenty of time to explore all the activities and not just focus on the Thomas ride.

This year, we chose to have dinner on the way home. My mother picked out the Red Caboose Motel and Restaurant. It is about a mile from the Thomas parking lot and a really fun place. We ate in a caboose. We didn't expect much from the menu, but we were were pleasantly surprised when the food was really good. I had a hot turkey sandwich, the kids had turkey platters and my dad had a shrimp basket. Trinks stole 3 of those, though. I couldn't see what mom ordered and I forgot to ask her. We had to sit at 2 tables and the kids both sat with me. I don't know why! I am no fun! I make them sit up, eat their food and behave. Mom and dad overlook little things and are nicer when they correct the kids.

The true fun began on the way home. We were on the road for about 5 miles when the skies opened up and a major storm surrounded us. Dodging buggies and flooded sections of road was a grueling task for my mother. I sat there and took pictures. Of course it was raining so hard, all the pictures are blurry, but at least I entertained myself.

I felt like an evil mom when I was putting the kids to bed tonight. Trinks picked out an engine and 2 train cars (Rosie, Annie and Clarabel for you Thomas fans) as her souvenir. I opened them for her and she said she was so happy to have her own trains at last. I never knew she wanted her own. We certainly have a bunch of trains around here! It was a great day. I think hubby will be a bit sad he missed it this year, but the thrill of seeing Rush again will overshadow any sadness he has.

The SHOW

Every year, ballet ends with a SHOW. Yes, the capitals are valid because this is no snoozing recital. No. This is an imitation Broadway production. The SHOW is perfectly choreographed and seamlessly produced. This is Trink's 4th show and probably my favorite, at least until next year. As you can see, she was a flapper. She and her 4 classmates flawlessly performed a tap routine to Thoroughly Modern Millie. I think I can say it was a perfect performance because all the girls did every movement, not necessarily at the same time, nor together. Hey - what can you expect from six year olds! They were wonderful! It was amazing to see how much they had learned this year.

Next fall I will continue to kvetch about how much class costs, how expensive the required "uniform" is and how fast Trinks feet have grown. Please remind me to pop in the DVD and relax while watching the SHOW. Then I'll remember why I do it.

Oh Crap!

Yes, today both my kids used the word "crap". While it was entirely appropriate, it was still in public and in front of my parents. I won't pretend I never say it - almost daily I call the toys they leave out CRAP. S picked out something in the Thomas gift store (more on Day out with Thomas later) and Trinks looked at it and told him it was a piece of crap. It truly was crap and I probably would have called it crap, but Trinks beat me to it. Then, we left dinner and attempted to get in the car before the skies opened up. S was a little slow climbing into the way back of my parent's Odyssey. I told him to hurry and he told me he was tripping on crap. Again, very appropriate because my dad left the NY Times sprawled between the middle seats. What made it funnier was he sat down and sang "crap, crap crap" for a minute. Oh my - bad mommy moment!

Going straight to hell

S has mysteriously arrived in Trinks' room twice this week. According to Trinks, he arrives around midnight or 2AM. She was frustrated that he woke her up, so we had a talk with him. Us - S, why are you going to Trinks' room when you wake up? S - because there are monsters in my room. Me - Well, don't go into Trinks' room because the really BIG monsters are in there.

Yup - I am going straight to hell. But the funny thing is, I stepped out of character and actually checked on him after he went to sleep. Usually I tell the kids I'll check on them in 5 minutes, and then I never do. S was surprised to see me and we chatted for a minute. Then he asked me to take the vacuum out of his room because it was scary. Maybe that's what the problem is. I removed the scary purple vacuum and put it in my room. Perhaps it will keep him from messing up my room.

Three year old photographer

If you give a 3 year old a camera, you get some really interesting pictures. S captured the lower back tatoo AND butt crack of the woman sitting in front of us at the Blue Rocks game. Don't worry - I won't post it. This picture just struck me as interesting. I don't think I would have even tried for this picture, but he desperately needed to take about 30 pictures of the house.

Relay for life

Tonight hubby and I walked our portion of the Relay for Life. This is a unique experience because it starts at 6 and goes to 9AM tomorrow. Each team puts at least one teammate on the track the whole time. Our team Fukudome (didn't pick it, don't know why it was picked, and yes, it is the name of a baseball player, BUT, cut this word into 4 pieces and you'll understand why I can't say it without giggling.) raised a lot of money. I believe the equivilant to $150 per person. I raised $70 and hubby raised $50. He and I were assigned 6-8, which we completed by walking around the warning track of Frawley Stadium. It was a bit emotional, as are all these types of events. I knew I couldn't handle the luminary ceremony, so we ducked out shortly after we finished at 8, with a respectable 4+ miles to our names.

After a wonderful dinner at Iron Hill Brewery, we walked back to the car only to hear the song 'There's holes in the floors of heaven.' That song always makes me cry, even before we lost Karen. We came out at the part when the daughter is getting married and her father tells her he wishes her mom could see her. Her reply to her father is that "there are holes in the floor of heaven and her tears are pouring down. That's how you know she's watching wishing she could be here now." It just plain hurts.

Last day of school

No more pencils, no more books, no more Mommy making Trinks miss the bus. Wa-hoo!! School's out for summer. Now, onto the grueling camp schedule. For the next 2 weeks, both kids will BE AT THE SAME PLACE. Holy crap!! How easy is that? After that, my insane parents are taking ALL FIVE GRANDKIDS to DISNEY. Just the two of them. I am laughing my ass off now!!! My poor children will have 3 whole days to recover from Disney before we jet them off to Italy. Yup - they are completely and utterly spoiled.

St Agatha hear our prayer

In another incrongruous quirk to my personality, I believe in saints. Not so sure about the big guy, but I can get on board with saints. They all have their specialties, which makes it easier to understand. About a year ago, I made my first purchase from the Saint shop. Ironically, the person who made the trip possible needs my help for the same reason. She had a mammogram today that showed calcium deposits. Most of the time these are nothing, but a biopsy is the standard procedure. The waiting is torture.

So if you are the praying sort, throw one up there for Kathi. If you don't pray, send some happy thoughts this way, please!

Thank you for?

Showing up, I guess. It's nice to get a trophy every once in a while. I guess with all the drama these girls have, it's more like an Oscar. I think the mothers deserve the trophy more for the taxi service. The Margarita I had with dinner was definitely a better choice.

As much as I whine and complain about ballet, Trinks will most likely have another year of it. It has done wonders for her coordination. She still trips over her own feet, but it's ok. And since I found a class closer to home, I like ballet more. I can grocery shop, have a Margarita or run other errands while class is going on.

We have 2 rehearsals before the big event on 6/14. I am ready for a break. And, for Nothing Knew, I will miss the ENTIRE SHOW. What do you think of that? I am a backstage mom. I get to see my child perform, and then it's back on duty until the finale and the 3 other moms come to collect their kids.

A great honor

Tonight my Trinks was honored at the Blue Rocks game. She and a hundred other students from various local elementary schools took the field and proudly stated their name and school. Trinks went with just her "real" first name. No nickname, no last name. Kind of like Madonna. Or Cher. Or like a kid who forgot she had a last name while thousands of people stared at her. She did great!

So very sad

Today I hit a milestone I didn't know was coming. I can no longer pass off every character in the Nemo vitamin gummies as the shark. S finally noticed I gave him Nemo, not the shark. I am devastated. S claims he will only eat the shark. This AM I told him to BE the shark. It worked so far.

Happy June!

I can't believe it's June already! I decided a couple of weeks ago that my June goal is to find my desk and hook up the printer. When we got the new computer (I believe it was 3-4 years ago) hubby set it up and never connected the printer. Come on - how hard is it really to set up a printer? It should take less than 2 minutes. 30 seconds, even. Why have I put off this last piece? The hard part is getting a clear working space. Below is the "before" picture. By June 30, I will post the "after" picture.

A Day of Sheer fun

I spent yesterday in NYC. More specifically, I spent several hours at The American Girl Place. For those of you who have no idea what the American Girl Place is, you are truly missing one of the greatest experiences for girls ages 3 to 99. I started planning this day last fall when Karen was very sick. I realized she would never have the time to do these special things with her girls and why should I wait until the "perfect time" to give this experience to my daughter? By next year, she may not like dolls - I sure as heck hope not, but it's always a possibility. I don't know what the future holds, but I definitely thought a fun day with a few friends would be a great memory for Trinks.

We (6 eager adventurists) left the great state of Delaware at the crazy hour 6 something. By 7 something we dropped the guys in South Jersey, picked up my mother in law and continued to Central NJ to meet the rest of the crew at my sister's house. All assembled, we folded 11 of us into two Oddyseys and headed to NYC. I DROVE INTO THE CITY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY 36 YEARS!!!!!! Now, it was pretty early, and not arround Christmas time, so there really shouldn't have been any issues, but I still am pretty proud of the accomplishement.

Our first order of business was lunch at 11. We browsed the 3rd floor and then headed into the absolutely gorgeous dining room. We were given chairs for our dolls. Apparently they don't have many parties that have 11 dolls. Once we all were seated (dolls included) we were served warm cinnamon buns. Then came a tray of veggies, fruit and appetizers. Even the entrees were incredible! The absolute best part had to be the dessert. While the cake was amazing, the peppermint ice cream was the show stealer. It was served in a tiny flower pot with a daisy stuck in the middle of it.

After lunch, we saw the Circle of Friends show. It was in a small theater and we were up close to the performers. Even the adults enjoyed it. The show took pieces from the different American Girl stories and set it to music, while weaving a modern theme into it. I bought the cd and we listened to it again in the car on the way home. Of course we had to shop before we headed back to NJ for dinner.

By dinner we all were a bit tired. Europa is a great find in the middle of nowhere!! It is right between exit 8 and 8A on the New Jersey Turnpike. By cake time (thanks for making cake AND cupcakes, Mom!) the kids were running wild. It was definitely time to go home and pass out. It was such a wonderful day!!!!