Holy crow! Politics arrived at my doorstep

This guy knocked on my door. Not some chump stumping for him, but Mike Barbieri himself. Ok - I've never heard of him before, but I'm not into DE politics. He seems like a good guy, is big on education and he came to my door and talked to my children. And yes, Nothing Knew, I started researching him.

This will be a strange voting year. After living in DE for 13 years, I will finally vote IN A BOOTH for the first time. We dont' have an election every year, and the ones we have usually coincide with a trip out of the country. I prefer to vote by mail because I hate people in general, but I don't have a choice this year.

The best daycare

We have the best daycare. I love the programs that they come up with, the fact that they serve hot lunches, and I love how hands on the owner is. We moved Trinks there when she was 3 because she was rapidy getting close to the intelligence of the teachers at her old school. For some reason we didn't have to go on their usual long wait list - a space was immediately available. From that day, I was in love with the school. Trinks did kindergarten there and I loved it even more.

Ms. Lin has gone out of her way to make sure that the programs stay true to her vision - great early childhood education at affordable proces. I was holding my breath this last week because all of the surrounding daycares increased their prices to outrageous. Outrageous in DE in dirt cheap in the surrounding areas, but increases are just not in the budget. On Thursday, S came home with a note. Ms. Lin has decided to keep the prices the same, however, she asked us to pitch in with supplies and toy/book donations. She has also decided it wouldn't be kind to sell pizzas and cookie dough in these times, so there will be no fundraiser this year.

So today, I boxed up a bunch of stuff the kids no longer play with and I will send it into school on Tuesday. It fits in with my Farewell to Crap tour. I'm happy to do something so simple to help out a wonderful person.

Wacky Wilderness

Have you ever heard of this game? I bought it at least 5 years ago when Trinks was too young to play and it sat with all the games until today. Today has been a nice, relaxing, quiet day with only S. I took the opportunity to clean out toys and get them ready to be donated to his school - more on that later. I came across this game and S decided we HAD to play. I hate reading directions, so I reluctantly agreed. Hubby was even more reluctant to play.

We sat on the floor in the living room and rolled an oversized foam die to see which body part we would end up with and who we could steal them from. I don't think I have laughed that much playing a game since I learned how to play apples to apples with LRNs and Slick. And I think it's the only game where you can get head four times and still not be happy....

Anyway, we have a new crowd pleaser that I think Trinks will have fun with. It joins the ranks with Zingo, Uno, checkers, and Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Forrest Gump

Our dear, sweet, expensive, bed hog of a cat is sick. Again. I took an early appointment with the vet today to see if it was TIME. The vet is optimistic about him having a full recovery. Without getting too graphic, he is the ultimate procrastinator. He suffers from constipation. His colon apparently is misshapen and "stuff" can't pass through the pelvis. Great. And she thinks he may be diabetic, so Forrest gave up a blood sample for a complete blood count. His kidneys may be failing.

For now, he is on new food. Not less expensive food. Just different. And I have to get him canned pumpkin. I went out to get it but couldn't find it. I also had a 3 year old pointing out every thing he saw, so maybe I just went by it. I have to get a stool softener for him, as well as sprinkle powdered fiber on his food. At what point do we draw the line? If this fails, we can try surgery. Ugh!!!

So if you feel the little animals are worth praying for, please put one up for Forrest. He's only 10, but he is the only cat we have that I am not allergic to. And he loves the kids and put up with them torturing him.

Will bleed for Oreos

Today was the annual Blood Mobile event at the BFC. The lovely people from the Blood Bank came to our campus and took our blood. As usual, I was destined to be the problem child. Lately, my hemoglobin in my left had has been lower than my right. I found this out when I failed the left and they asked if I wanted my right hand to be tested. Although I find the finger sticks to be worse than the needle, I agreed and discovered this weird hemoglobin thing. Today I thought I would beat the system and start with my right hand - ha! It was 12.4. I held up my left hand and it was a 12.8. Very strange.

So with 2 sore fingers, I walked over to the lounge chairs. The lovely woman who felt for my vein, loved the vein, but was terrified it would roll. I almost started singing Roly Poly Oly, but refrained since that is by far one of the most annoying songs I know. At least I only saw the show once. So rolling veins are nothing new to me because they are the reason I can't give platelets. I waited for a supervisor to come stab me, bled really fast and made it to the Oreo table. Nothing tastes better than Oreos and Nutter Butters after giving blood. Now I just need to remember to make an appointment for 8 weeks from now, so I can have some more fun.

More pictures from this AM

I didn't get great shots this AM, but here they are. We have company at the bus stop this year and the child molester's house (conveniently located across the street from the bus stop) is for sale. And it appears that the fence at the bus stop was also damaged in the graffiti spree.

First day of 2nd grade and pre-K

It's the same driver from last year, so Trinks is in good hands. Now it's off to pre-K and the pictures I want are not uploading. Oh well. Maybe tonight.

Caretaker of Crap

That is the title I gave myself today as I sorted through clothes with Trinks. After cleaning out her dresser to see if she needed anything for back to school, I counted 50 T-shirts. Who the hell needs 50 T-shirts? And she has about 10 pair of pants. Not pants and shorts and skirts. Just pants. So, it was a good find for the budget. No back to school shopping for her. And no new clothes are allowed in the house until winter. Period. I don't care how cute it is or how cheap it was. I don't need any more crap in my house.

Hubby did the same thing for S, but I didn't count how much was left. I was too depressed about Trinks stuff. We just don't need this much stuff. I do laundry almost every day, so it's not a matter of not having enough clean stuff. I keep up with the laundry and then no one can stuff things in their drawers.

And then I got to thinking about the bigger picture. I am always stressed about the house and keeping it clean. There is no place to put things because we have too much crap. The kids clothes get passed along, looking like new because they never wear anything long enough to wear it out. The kids don't really have favorite toys because they have too many to choose from. They know they aren't allowed to bring new toys in the house until they get rid of the same amount of stuff. I still have toys Trinks won a couple of weeks ago because she hasn't cared enough about them to make a home for them. I give it 2 more weeks before they end up at Goodwill.

This is no way to live. It's not living. It's being a slave to things instead of spending time with the family. I have been steadily decluttering for a while, but it's time to step up the pace. I plan to evict this crap from my house so I can have my life back. And I won't buy stuff to replace it. That part I've been better about, but I need to get rid of this junk.

Vandals

We returned from vacation at 1 AM last night. On our door was a note from our very nice (no sarcasm) back neighbors. We apparently have been the victims of a graffiti artist. Luckily it's on our back fence, so we don't have to look at it, but we do have to file a police report. When I returned from work today, I noticed our storm drain wasn't spared. The lovely C word is on it. Yes Mom, call me and I will tell you what the C word is.

We live in a very quiet neighborhood, so this is a bit disturbing. I know kids will be kids, but there are tons of pranks that do not involve willful destruction of private property. I personally applaud the kids who tried to move our mammoth pumpkin one year at Halloween. They made it halfway across the lawn before giving up. That's what a steady diet of junk food and video games will do to our youth. I guess a can of spray paint is easier to lift.

Total Galway miles

I totalled up my mileage and (drumroll please!) it was 69.31. Wow! I really shattered last year's total!!! I am so ready for this walk. I only got in a mile today, but tomorrow I hope to tackle another 5 miles. I just need to get out of bed - YAWN!

Things I learned this year

1. There is no hill I can't tackle - come on Manyunk!!!

2. Don't cut a jalepeno and then take your contacts out, even though you did several loads of dishes by hand, and it's been 6 hours since you cut the pepper. And if your fingers are still burning 2 days later, you will continue to burn your eye EVERY MORNING.

3. I am not that bright - see #2.

4. There is no stress up here. That's mainly because there are no distractions up here.

5. Three year olds can play Disney monopoly, but there is a bit of crying at the start because he doesn't understand he has to leave Dumbo alone.

6. Trinks knows EXACTLY how she wants her hair, and Mom and Mom Mom better not try to talk her out of it because she really does know better than we do.

7. A rainy day on the lake certainly beats a great day at work.

Don't want to go home

It is the last day in Galway. The weather is perfect. I don't want to go home. We have changed our leaving time several times already and it looks like we won't leave until 4 or 5. That puts us home at around midnight. Not too bad, as I am the only one who has to get up and function on Saturday. I really don't want to go to work and that is the only reason we have to leave today. It's just cruel and unusual to work on weekends in the summer. I am already looking forward to returning next year.

And I am up to 59 miles. I plan to hit at least 3 more when my sister gets here. I am READY for the 3 Day.

More walking

I only have 2 days left and I am at 40.75 miles. I feel pretty good. Today I took it slow and only did 5.25 miles. Tomorrow I have to get up early and attack a long walk before taking the kids to the beach at Sacandaga. I'm not realy sore, although yesterday's hike through the woods was a little bit more uneven than I am used to and my knees protested a little.

Disappointment

I decided it was time to check out how cheap WalMart was after banning them for various reasons over the last 8 years. I was prepared to drop money there because I wanted cheap crap. Boy was I disappointed. I cannot afford to shop there. The cd I wanted to get for Trinks was $14.88. Amazon has it for $9.99. I wanted to buy her 2 Hannah Montana notebooks with a pack of stickers, but it was $9.88. HECK NO! I bought 3 big bags of school supplies, various house needs, and supplies for the 3 Day at Big Lots for $50. That's cheap.

Walking update

So I found out that my new pedometer isn't quite right about the mileage. I've adjusted it and it's going much better. Yesterday's official mileage was 4.1 and today's was 12. GO ME!!! I'm not sore or real tired and I get to sleep on a bed.

Tomorrow I am trying a new route that includes a dirt road. I hope I can get at least 10 miles out of it. The weather was great today, allowing the kids to catch fish, frogs and crayfish. The guys went out of the lake several times, but we had chicken for dinner tonight. Maybe tomorrow we'll have fish again.

Vacation

Again, we are away. And then in 6 weeks we are going away yet again. I don't think we will plan this many trips next year, but it has been fun. I love Galway. It's cold up here, so it's a wonderful change from home. We stayed with Metsfan and family last night which was awesome. We got up today and drove about 3 hours to arrive at our destination, which doesn't exist in our GPS. The GPS isn't a problem - I've been here so many times I know where to go. It was great to arrive, eat lunch and go for my first walk.

My plan is to shatter last year's record of 50 miles. I have prepared for this trip and even bought a new pedometer* and lumbar pack. I hope to get my 18/15 mile back to back walk in while up here. Today's wimpy 3 .5 mile trek was just a warm up! The weather was against me and I had to watch (at times) all 5 kids while the guys fished.

And yes I said 5 kids. My brother in law is up with the three kids while my sister works night shifts and hopefully gets some rest. This cabin is barely big enough for 4, so 10 of us is really a challenge. B-I-L is sleeping in a tent with the kids on the deck. It's not bad when the weather is good. And I am getting ready to make up the couch to catch some much needed rest.


*Nothing Knew will comment that I should link to this, but I am on my dad's laptop and can't really figure this out, not to mention it's late, I'm tired and mosquito bitten and Michael Phelps is swimming.

Tape

Yes - a simple roll of Scotch tape is the reason I don't want to send Trinks to Hannah Montana camp next year. It's run by her dance studio and it's a great program. My problem? They asked me to supply all the craft supplies for making a musical instrument. Now it wasn't hand carving a violin. It was making a maracca the first week and a tambourine the second. I was ok with bringing in the can (although we don't eat much canned food so finding one was tough) and the plastic dessert plates (ok - I didn't have them so I improvised with some plastic bowls, which Trinks forgot to bring with her even though they were ON TOP of her lunch box). But I was NOT ok when they asked me to bring in tape. Nope - I will not do it. I paid a bundle of money to them and they should have their own !@#$ tape. I willingly admit I am not supermom and I have no desire to even come close. All I want to do is send my kids to a camp where crafts are supplied.

Vacation - again!

Yes, it's vacation time again. I have barely recovered from Italy and it's time to pack up for a very different type of vacation. We will be in the middle of nowhere in upstate NY. Ahhhh - peace and quiet. I plan to up my training to insane levels. Last year I walked 50 miles in the 5 days we were up there. I want to top it this year!!!!

Back to school

I can't believe school starts in just over a week. I went into panic mode when I realized we had no after school plans for Trinks and we are gone all next week. I have been tossing around the idea of martial arts, so we stopped by last night to check it out. Trinks is now registered to take 5 classes a week, with the option to come in on Saturday too. She got a cute little uniform, too. I can't wait to see what she learns! The best part is they pick her up at school and take her right to the studio. I also signed her up for another year of dance and only had slight palpitations about paying first and last month tuition, along with registration. It was a very expensive evening!!!!

Alone on the ride

Yes - that is S all by himself on the baby scrambler. There are no lines for kids rides at Great Adventure!!!!

Three year olds are funny

S seems to have comedy mastered. One night hubby and I were in the kitchen kissing. S comes in the room, yells to his sister, "Hey Trinks, look! They're MARRYING"

Then last night I talked to the kids on the phone. They are at the beach (yes, I am from Jersey, but it is NOT the shore) this week. S gets on the phone and won't even say hi. All he tells me is I can't come pick him up because he is not ready to leave. He even explains that the hotel is really far away so I can't come and get him. I guess it's better than him being homesick.

I do miss the kids. The house is so quiet! But, I can get up and workout for a long time and not care about when I get to work. If I get there late, who cares? I can stay late without worrying about daycare penalties.

First Sony, now Dyson

My heart is breaking. My favorite appliance is BROKEN. Before I got my beautiful PURPLE Dyson, I hated to vacuum. I still don't like it, but at least it's fun now. We have had the Dyson for almost 4 years - a record - and the hose has a gaping hole in it. I am devastated. Tomorrow, I may start to explore repair shops or search for a roll of duct tape. I know Consumer Reports doesn't give the Dyson a high rating, but it worked well for us!!!!!

Montespertoli and Siena

Rome

Me vs GPS

I stop short of calling the GPS a worthless piece of crap. I realize it is not the GPS that causes the problems, but people who follow the darn thing blindly that cause the problems. I have huge issues with blind faith, but that's a different blog entry. I set the GPS for the Expo in KOP. Because I am a map person, I also Mapquested it. There were two different directions. Fine. I can deal with that. My problem was the GPS yelled at me everytime I didn't take her moronic advice to cut through sketchy parts of Wilmington and Chester. I refuse to go down 202 - too many strip malls and traffic light. Route 30 - same deal. I stopped counting at 12 "recalculating" messages. Yes, Nothing Knew, it is set for highways.

So what have I learned from all of this? I know more than the GPS for local places. I will defer to it's "wisdom" when we are out of the area and I won't know that it is taking me on a route 15 minutes longer than the one I already know. And I will never remove my maps from the car.

Expo

I attended the Breast Cancer 3 Day Expo today in King of Prussia. At 5:30 AM I was brewing coffee in my travel mug, ready to jump in the car so I didn't miss the start of the walk. I haven't paid attention to watched the weather in a while. Therefore, I was surprised when we were told (via a small woman with a large bullhorn) to calmly leave the track and head to the auditorium because there was lightening. By then the thunder was pretty loud, so we did what we were told. Forty five minutes later, we were able to start our walk. I did about 9 miles all together, so it wasn't all bad.

I ended up walking with a great group of women. Their friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, stage 2, recently and she is currently going through chemo. They all decided to walk to support her. She has no idea how she's going to feel in October, but she is steadily training when chemo hasn't knocked her down. I was in awe of her courage and dedication. And her friends were really fun, too. I hope I catch up with them at the walk.

We were pampered during the walk. The pit stop had snacks, water, scary blue sport beverage, and fruit. Then the crazy crew people cheered us on every time we passed them. They are the BEST! There were even real cheerleaders cheering for us as we approached the school. Mocha Frap (please come up with something to call you because I will not call you Nothing Knew's wife), our personal crew member, was on hand to sign people up at the door and make sure they had paper work. It was great to see her and we actually had some time to chat!

This walk is going to be wonderful, hard, amazing, tough and emotional. I will sign the rememberence tent in memory of Karen, and post a note of encouragement for Kathi. And just for the record, I will not make friends with anyone else with a name starting with K.