To vote or not to vote

Of course I'm voting - gotta keep the witch with a capital B out of office. I would prefer to run her out of the state so she could embarrass a new state. But the more important election is for the state representative. I love the guy we currently have. He went door to door 2 years ago and spent significant time talking about education with me. I am currently facing an education crisis of epic proportions (have I mentioned I exaggerate???) and would feel comfortable showing up at his open office sessions to discuss my concerns. Tonight I met his competition. The guy is really nice and he paved our really crappy road 2 years ago. I thanked him for that, but forgot to tell him to st.op sending me birthday cards - too much of a waste of trees and money.

So what is my point? My point is we have two really great guys running for office. I think they would both be a great choice. I applaud the fact that they go door to door to make the effort to meet everybody. Isn't this what real politicians should be? They were polite about the opposition, but pointed out why they would be better. I'm just impressed that this close to election day there is civility

So proud of my Trinks

Today I took Trinks to the Adirondack Extreme Adventure course. She did some low ropes in Girl Scout camp this summer and asked if she could do the high ropes camp next year. I saw a commercial for this place, decided it looked awesome, so away we went. And by the way, Trinks is terrified of heights.

We bribed S to come with us since my mother wanted to watch Trinks. Note to self - next time, leave her in the cabin so she doesn't stress out. As we approached the Bolton Landing exit, it was raining. Lovely. We arrived at this place and stayed in the car while watching people climb and do the zip line. I am a first class coward, but I was getting pretty excited watching what people were doing. We checked in, grabbed the harness and waited for the training to begin. Then it was time for the demo course. Trinks did GREAT on all the parts leading to the zip line. For some reason, the zip terrified her. A guide jumped up and rescued her.

Then it was time for the real course. Although she was tall enough for the adult course, we kept her on the kids course. The real reason for this is I wasn't about to go up in the trees, and I could watch from the ground if she stayed on the kids' course. Trinks hesitated a few times, but for the most part did great. Then it was time for the short zip line to the ladder down. Ummmm..... didn't quite work out as planned and her knight in shining poncho rescued her again.

So, here are my notes for next year. I need to get in shape to do the adult ropes with her. Or her cousins need to join her. If she had someone in the trees with her, I think she would have felt better. All in all, it was a worthwhile experience. I am so proud of her for stepping out of her comfort level and pushing herself to complete the course. Afterwards, we bought her a patch and took her to the playground. S was all pumped up from watching her that he climbed around like a monkey. He kept saying that the playground equipment was exactly like the high ropes. Not exactly, but there was a lot of climbing stuff. And then we went for ice cream.

Finally good service

S gained enough weight to grow into a real epi pen instead of the epi pen Jr. This was back in May. I justified not filling the prescription because they cost (I thought) $40/pen. And I figured in the event of a real emergency I could just give him 2 shots. I know - not smart. I had a supermom lunch the other day and ran several errands. When I dropped off the prescription at Happy Harry's, I informed the young, uninterested mumbling clerk that if the expiration date was under a year, I didn't want it. I then asked if I could get 2 at the same time. I got blank eyes and a mumbled "depends on your insurance".

Fast forward a few hours. Hubs and I picked S up, hit the drive though at Happy Harry's. We were told to pay $111. As I slowly slid into a panic attack, I opened the bag. The mumbling dude hooked us up! We got 2 epi pen sets with a 15 month expiration. So for as much as I complain about lousy service, I figured I should showcase something good.

Getting ready to miss my Trinks again

Trinks was upset when I picked her up on Friday. Her two best buddies switched to day camp for next week and she wanted to switch as well. I knew this was coming, so I told her we would discuss it later. The whole ride home was a non stop conversation of the cool things she did. I got a few sentences in so I could tell her what I had planned for the weekend. She got excited when I told her we're going out to breakfast (and even more excited when she convince hubs we had to go to IHOP). Then she made a little request - at some time could we get Rita's or ice cream? I think that's fair enough and we'll do that after lunch today. I think she really misses all the family stuff.

As much as Trinks has loved camp, I think I'm doing things a little different next year. Camp Grandma includes parents next year, or so I have been told. We're going to Disney. In the summer. At least for that week Trinks will have us. She can do a few more weeks of kung fu camp with S. She really wants to go to a traveling camp that includes white water rafting and traveling on a zip line. Come February, I may for get these plans as I see the exciting camp brochure. Hopefully Trinks will remember so we get to see a bit more of her next year.

We made sure Trinks had a good time this weekend. All the back to school shopping is done, except Target ran out of composition notebooks and Trinks needs 3 more. Since she FINALLY tie dyed her t-shirt, we went to Joann Fabric to get some patches to iron on. I did that last night as S asked me what that thing was. Yes - it was the iron. He's never seen me use one before. Trinks was so tired she passed out in our bed while watching TV last night. Hopefully she'll sleep late (8AM) today. I want her well rested for her last week of camp!

I really hate other people

I don't think it's a secret that I really hate other people. It's probably the reason I have a job where I don't interact with clients face to face. This afternoon I had two instances of really shitty service. These people should find other jobs.

At Girl Scout camp, I waited in line to sign Trinks out. I don't mind waiting. As soon as I got up, some bitch interrupts the line to ask a question. I'm sorry, I waited to get uniterrupted time in checking out. Now the counselor lost her focus and didn't end up giving me the proper paperwork. Why do people think they are above the rules? Then I picked S up and took the kids to the grocery store. The stupid cashier had a private conversation going as she checked out the woman in front of me. She never asked the woman if she wanted cash back because she wasn't paying attention. The woman was annoyed. At my turn, there was an error message on the screen that she ignored for 5 minutes while she was carrying on with her friend. I then went on to have a very civil discussion with the kids as to why this behavior was unacceptable. In front of the woman. Don't worry - she was so wrapped up in her personal conversation she didn't know.

I understand this is the world we live in. It's related to rude cell phone use. I understand that people are going to play with their phones during dinner - I see that all the time. Hubs and I went out to dinner one night and noticed a couple seated almost across from us. After they ordered, she got on the phone and proceeded to TALK through the whole meal. She ate and talked and ignored her husband. And it wasn't an emergency. It was plain old gossip. I'm sorry - this is so unacceptable. Why did she bother going out to dinner? She could have had shit on a shingle for all she tasted the meal. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I ignore my phone at a restaurant or with friends. Obviously there are exceptions for when I am expecting a call, but I put more importance on the person in front of me. Anything else is uncivilized.

Trinks melts down

Trinks was in NYC all week last week. We got her back Friday night and I spent most of the day at the 3 Day Expo on Saturday. On Sunday we had to take her to camp for the week. We did the usual lines of check in (lice and fungus check is my favorite) and ended up in the meadow. Once in the meadow, the girls meet their counselors and sing all the crazy Girl Scout songs. This is where we give Trinks hugs and kisses and go back home. We were almost halfway to the car when I heard thundering footsteps behind me. I turned and Trinks grabbed me and she was barely breathing. She was so upset she was in the middle of a panic attack.

Trinks doesn't get panic attacks much, but they scare the shit out of me. She just can't breathe. I feel like smacking her just to reset the cycle. I got her back breathing and then she told me she missed me so much. My heart melted a bit because my child has never really missed me in her entire life. I know she's going to have a blast learning how to play guitar, so I felt confident with my pep talk of "suck it up and put a smile on your face. Fake it until you make it and have some fun. If you really like the guitar, you can ask for one for Christmas." Yup - that's me. All the warm fuzzies a girl can want. Now I'm sure I have to make good on my promise about a guitar. Thankfully I came home and Amazon has some nice ones that won't break the bank.

But, to make up for lost time, Trinks and I are going back to school shopping this weekend. Normally we do this when we go to Galway, but I think we need a girls day before her final week of camp. I may even drive an hour to go to Target. I may even buy the Pottery Barn backpack she wants. I am a sucker to see my kid happy. If anyone wants to help make her final week fabulous, let me know and I'll send you her camp address.

Kitty is not dying

So at the beginning of the summer, we believed that Kitty was dying. She's 14 years old and looked really bad. She dropped to around 6 pounds from a high of 11. We could easily see her ribs. We fully expected to come home to a dead cat after our Rhode Island trip. She wasn't dead, but she wasn't healthy either. We decided to try something to help ease her last days. We gave her canned fish - salmon and tuna. By giving her and Forrest the fish a couple times a week, both have had improved health.

While I'm not sure Kitty has that much longer with us, it's nice to see the old girl with a spark in her eyes again. She's put on a pound or two, and looks pretty good.

Last Friday was a day for miracles

At an undisclosed location, deep in the heart of an unnamed state, Ivy had angioplasy. Why is this such a secret operation??? It's because she has MS. Angioplasty is not an approved treatment for MS. Big Pharm is discouraging studies because it may mean people may stop needing the drugs. The horror! But politics aside, Ivy is seeing dramatic improvement with her fatigue. Read all about it here for the surgery and here for recovery. I don't know much, but I believe patients have the right to make well informed decisions about their health.

Later that night, dear friends had a baby a few weeks early. He's had some lung problems, but he looks adorable and he keeps getting stronger everyday. I can't wait to meet the little guy!

I love a man in uniform

Ok - I love that my five year old has to wear a uniform next year. I love the school we found for him. I don't love paying for school, though. He passed the 1st grade entrance test in two different schools; however, neither were public school. He was on the waiting list for the school closest to us, but we like the second school we found as much, if not more. This whole battle - and it has felt like war - is so ridiculous. I swore that I would never send my kids to private school. There is no need. Then I had a child who was born in November.

S completed kindergatern last year. He did really well. Public school wouldn't even look at him unless we put him in kindergarten again. I did my research to see what he needed to know, what social milestones he needed to hit before he could move to first grade. I had to ignore a ton of people who told me I was wrong. I was told to let him repeat kindergarten because he was a boy and he would be better in sports if I held him back. SPORTS? Really? What the fuck is that about? I don't give a shit about a sports career. I care about education. I will not base my son's life on possible sports issues. It's called priorities, people.

And in the interest of full disclosure, I have a December birthday. I was a full year older than my classmates and hated it. Wow - I could drive earlier than my friends. Guess what that means? I got to pay for the gas to drive them around. I was also taller than all my friends - almost a foot taller than some. Would that have been different if I was with kids my age? Maybe. Would the teachers have treated me as if I was a regular kid if I was with kids my age? I hated being last for everything - size place order was the rage at the time. And who knows, maybe I would have worked harder if I had been challenged in school. I came into kindergarten reading chapter books and it was a battle to get the teacher to allow me to read something more than baby books when we went to the library.

So am I letting my emotions help me make my decision? You're god damned right I am. It's the little things that you can't quantify that create your school life. It may mean I keep S in private school until he completes 5th grade. I think he will thrive at this school, as much as his sister is thriving at public school. My only issue with Trinks' school is there are ignorant fake Christians who won't be friends with her because she's not Christian. I guess they haven't found Jesus yet. Trinks is outgoing and doesn't get lost in a class of 25. S might. So we shall see where this trip into private school leads us.

So now I am off to spend my life savings on khakis and navy pants with light blue, navy and white (white - really?) polos. I am planning to avoid the urge to dress him in button down Oxfords, even though he looks adorable in them. The good news is I can get rid of most of his clothes now. He'll only have 2 days to wear non uniform clothes. How many things does he really need????

I walk alone

Yup - alone in a sea of 3,000 other people. And I know one person walking with her mother. She'll be the one in pink.

I'm talking about my 4th Breast Cancer 3 Day walk. My walking partner isn't able to walk with me this year and it's a bit too late to guilt someone into walking with me. Walking alone, while initially terrifying, is completely liberating. I don't have to tell anyone I have to pee - I can just go without worrying about annoying anyone. I can take a nap at lunch it I want to and not worry about holding anyone up. Neither of these things happened before, but I am trying to psych myself up for this. The best thing is I get to camp with the crazy people known as the crew. They work hard and are always smiling and helpful. My tentmate is a tent decorating queen and I look forward to getting a ribbon for the best decorated tent. I believe all I have to contribute are a few training bras and a flag. Can't wait to see what we get this year.

So in between psyching myself for the walk, I have been training. I'm happy that I started early this year because the humidity is killing my lungs. I can't walk when the air is thick because I can't breathe. Even with my inhaler, my lungs BURN! I was able to kick out a few walks while in RI, but I just couldn't do much more. This AM I was able to get 4 miles in before I go into work late. The air quality was near perfect and my lungs didn't burn. I'll drag my lazy ass out of bed to walk again tomorrow to take advantage of this rare event. I'm hoping we get the nice humidity-free air when we hit Galway in a few weeks. I like to do some nice, long walks when we're there. I know I can do the walking - I just need to get some good numbers up there before the event.

Am I being paranoid?

Trinks is really offended that I make her ride in a booster seat and she is 9 years old. She's also 87 pounds. Why do I force her to ride in a booster seat when all of her friends are out of one? (And for the record, she was rear facing for 15 months.) We went to the Da Vinci Science Museum last year when I was getting ready to remove the booster seat. One of the displays mentioned children should be in booster seats until they are 4'9". Trinks is now about 4'6". Since she's begging me, I spent some time researching the issue.

This link confirms the 4'9" recommendation. But I checked how the seatbelt hits Trinks when she is not in a booster seat and it does hit her shoulder. I admit I am not consistent with making her use a booster. For the ride to her after school program, she is not in a booster. She was actually in a hit and run accident (the third car accident she's been in) in that vehicle, but thankfully no one was hurt. So I guess I can't wrap her in bubble wrap for the rest of her life. If hubs ever wakes up, we can discuss what to do next.

My date with S

I love spending time alone with each child. Trinks was at a sleepover, and S is an early riser, so he and I went IHOP. Then we went to the park. We couldn't stay long because at 9AM it was already unbearably HOT.

Twilight I can appreciate

I think it’s no secret that I HATED the Twilight series after the first book. While reading the second book, I desperately wanted Bella to die a tortuous death. A co-worker talked me into reading the last 2 books and they were ok. But this has to be the funniest thing I have ever seen.

I was reading Jen Lancaster’s book Bright Lights, Big Ass in the café today. I just about choked several times to prevent myself from bursting into peals of laughter. People would have stared and talked about me. More than usual, I mean. I like this book more than the first book - Bitter is the New Black. It is funny as well. I just seem to like this more.

Seafood withdrawal

Yesterday we had a wonderful trip to Mystic CT on the way home. We missed all the traffic and the rain, plus it was a beautiful day. Trinks wore her new Peace, Love, Lobsters shirt. We finished the trip with a last seafood lunch. Trinks and I had amazing fish and chips. Hubs and his dad had a clam roll. My mother in law had a great looking lobster roll. I did manage to leave my purse there - a sure sign it's not time to go home. It was a sign that we should have stayed another week.

A nice beach day

All S wanted to do was go back to the "fake house" and play his DS. He did get me out in the ocean and we tumbled.


Rough surf today. And there was tons of seaweed.


Our awesome tent. If we went to the beach more, I would get one.

And a second set of glasses was broken

Trinks' new glasses have broken twice in the last two months. This time the screw fell out and none of us could fix it. I took her to Vision World down the street and begged for help. While there I noticed their special - 2 full pair of glasses for $99. With thoughts of camp, I had Trinks pick out 2 frames. Yesterday we picked them up. These are the old - and a great picture of Trinks' new nano.


These are the new. The other new pair is the same as the old, but they are purple. Hopefully we can get through a year with three pair.

S be nimble, S be quick

S jumps over boogie board.

Poison, part 3

Today I had my 3rd exposure to toxins at work. This time I was so sick, I went to the workman's comp doctor. This time the workers opened Kem Bond on the roof, right next to the intake duct and the whole building was toxic. Strange that there was no communication or evacuation. There were 3 floors of sick people and building services couldn't clear the air fast enough. I tried to stay at work, but I was so dizzy that I found it hard to walk. Had I known how annoying the workman's comp center was, I never would have gone. The upside? I am not allowed back at work until I get a follow up visit tomorrow. I should have scheduled a later appointment!

Summer!!!

It's been a busy summer, although summer just started last week. S has been out of school for a month. He enjoyed his first week alone at kung fu. He woke up early every morning, threw his lunch together, packed his backpack, and ate breakfast without needing a reminder. Amazing. Trinks just finished her first week of overnight camp. She loved it. She rode horses for three days and did camp activities the rest of the time. The tie dye class was closed, so she tried the low ropes. She swam. There was a slip and slide. One night there were s'mores. She came home exhausted but happy. I mentioned her next Girl Scout session was day camp and she started crying because she wants to go overnight again. I reminded her that the following week was the Decadent Dessert camp. She'll stay in a cabin and bake all week.

The kids are leaving for a week in Massachusetts with their cousins and grandparents. Pray for my mother. She has three on medication (Trinks is yellow level asthma from camp and my neice and nephew are on nebulizers), S has the epi pen in case of accidental allergic contact, and the 5th child is recovering from a double break in his upper arm. They plan to hike a lot, and find a ton of interesting places to explore. We'll pick them up at the Dinosaur State Park in CT in a week. We're headed to Rhode Island. Trinks will celebrate her 9th birthday while we're there. I can't believe how fast she's growing up!!! I just found out that the Mumbles will be in RI while we're there, so we'll be at their show on her birthday. She is so excited.

Hubs and I are hanging on for rough ride this summer. Hubs has an extremely inflexible schedule, so I will spend most of the summer schlepping the kids around. The high point is going to Girl Scout camp. It is so beautiful down there! If I move, I will move to the Cecilton area. It looks like NJ used to before the New Yorkers moved in and destroyed the state. Trinks has already objected to that idea, but I'll keep it in the back of my mind.

June accomplishments

June is way busier than December. We made it to the Greek Festival this year - go us! Trinks made honor roll - major accomplishment.



S earned his purple gold belt and performed in the graduation ceremony. Trinks earned her blue purple sash, but skipped the graduation ceremony to attend the Junior Achievement Girls Scout overnight. It was an amazing trip where she got a job and learned how to manage money. See what I mean by busy?


Today S had his Tumblebus recital. It was pretty cool to see him showing off his skills. We'll miss the bus next year!


Trinks flew up to Juniors in an amazing ceremony during the year end banquet. The ceremony for the 63 girls (Brownies, Juniors and Cadets) moved at a nice pace. I loved watching the girls cross the bridge, pausing in the middle to make a wish. Once dinner was done, the DJ took song requests and the girls danced their hearts out. I have a ton of sewing to do - she got all the badges she earned this year today. AWESOME!

You're arms ain't broke

S got the shock of his life. He realized he had to make his own lunch for camp. He looked up at me and asked me to make his lunch for him. I responded - you're arms ain't broke!! He's not as independent as Trinks and is a little reluctant to try new things. The problem is, once we finally get him to try new things, he loves them. So he and Trinks stood side by side and churned out 5 sandwiches each. For the last two days, they've been putting their snacks with the sandwich and filling their water bottles. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing for the rest of the summer.

Now if we can get him to clean the litter boxes while Trinks is away.....

To school or not to school

I have an awesome opportunity to take classes for a tax certification in the fall. I know - YAWN! I have to front the cash, but I will be reimbursed. The cool thing is the school comes to us. One of the sort of local universities in PA is coming to our BFC. Based on how the courses are set up, it will take 2 years to complete. My two questions are: will I get additional money when I complete the course and how long do I have to stay at the BFC after I complete the certification? The last certification I earned resulted in no extra money, so I have no hope for this one. I know how much I am worth on the open market, so I just need to know how long I have to stay. Barring any crazy issues, it looks like I am going back to school.

Things I learned spending 3 days at home

I am in the middle of my third and final bereavement day for my grandmother. Day one was spent in NJ at the brief, but very nice funeral. After the luncheon, was shopping and the miserable eye appointment - still waiting for my new glasses. Not being allowed to wear contacts is just plain pissing me off. I am missing a nose piece and I fear I will have a permanent scar where the metal is scraping my nose. Yesterday I decluttered a bit - very therapeutic and cheaper than renting a dumpster and throwing out everything except the furniture and my toothbrush. I also found a funny as hell blog about a father raising 6 kids. I laughed out loud more times than I could count. So what did I learn by spending this much time at home?

1. Netflix through the Wii is freaking awesome. I can sit here and load my instant watch queue and it really is on instantly. We've been doing this for a while, but having this much time off at a time, it's been fun to run through the first 2 seasons of Waiting For God. Hilarious.

2. The secret to creating the best spreadable butter ever is to use less olive oil than butter. I also used regular olive oil because the extra virgin olive oil turns the spread green. And I'm sure you want to know why I make my own spreadable butter. It's not about cost. I just hate chemicals and the Country Crocks, etc are chock full of them. I don't use butter often, so I would like a quality product when I do indulge.

3. If I stayed home, I would eat junk food all the time. Yesterday I indulged in donuts and combos. I tried to drink Dunkin Donuts coffee, but stubborn me tried to carry all 5 bags from the car at the same time. Let's just say the kitchen floor is super clean now. I have recovered from the horrific food yesterday and my body appreciates the greens. At least tomorrow I have to plan out my food and only carry what I will eat.

4. Housework really doesn't take as much time as I think it does. It really only takes 2 minutes or less to unload the dishwasher. It took 10 minutes to clean out the fridge, including rinsing out the containers to be recycled. I am getting ready to vacuum the stairs and upstairs hallway on the way to take my 2nd dose of antibiotics. I'll be done in about 5-7 minutes. It's taken me all this time for Flylady's lessons to sink in.

5. I can't be home and not want to do laundry. Problem? There is no laundry to be done. I know - wtf?????

6. Cats are super lazy.

7. The iPod is the greatest invention in the world.

So those are some of my lessons learned this week.

I look like a monster

And I feel like one, too! After my grandmother's funeral yesterday, I took Trinks shopping for little favors she can give to her cousins when we celebrate her birthday on vacation. She had a blast and we have a bunch of stuff waiting to be sorted and organized. Then it was time for my routine, long over due eye appointment. I thought it would the standard get new contacts visit. Um.... no.

I have an eye infection. Perhaps it's from wearing the 1 month disposable lens for a year. Jury's out, but perhaps that's the answer. Now I have to medicate my eyes hourly and dose them with antibiotics 4 times a day. If I am very good and proper, I can get fitted for new contacts on Friday. Sigh. I'm getting new glasses, too. I finally managed to figure out how to get insurance to pay for BOTH in the same year, and I am feeling rather proud of myself.

So if you find yourself on the roads in Delaware, look out! I am driving in my glasses and may not see you.

Itchy and Bitchy were in a boat

No one fell out, who was left? Yes, both itchy AND bitchy reside in me today. The poison ivy has turned into a secondary infection called erythema multiforme (EM) again. While I can get the poison ivy under control, the EM is itching like I have never experienced. Coupled with the fact that the ceiling fan over our bed is broken and heat makes me itch more, the fun factor explodes. I woke up at 3:30, brought my pillows downstairs, exchanged a most likey inappropriately angry conversation with hubs, and threw the AC switch to stun. I slept on the pull out with a bag of frozen veggies cooling off my core temperature.

The kids woke up at 8:30 and were stunned to see me sleeping downstairs. I don't get sick very often, so they were concerned. Trinks offered to make me breakfast in bed and threw some bread in the toaster. While it cooked, she and S painted me a picture, made a card and created a song. Trinks' card made me cry - "Get Well SOON! I can see how much posin ivy did to you but secondary must hurt worst. We all hope you get well soon. We're sorry you are so ichy and it really sucks to stay in bed on weekends. We love you." How sweet is that? Then the toast popped up and S put sunflower butter and apricot jam on it. I just had to get up to make coffee.

So I am still in bed - researching causes, remedies, and anything else I can find. I took some generic zyrtec since it usually works for urticaria. When I am on my feet, it feels like I'm walking on burning marbles. I think that's the worst part - the lumps that form on the palms of the hands and feet. You can't itch those! I sent hubs with the kids to see a play in Philly and I loaded the instant queue in Netflix with movies and TV shows I want to watch. I watched Confessions of a Shopaholic, and am now catching up on Waiting for God - one of my all time favorite Brit Sits. It's a completely wasted day, but I can't summon the energy to do much.

S says the craziest things.....

He was watching his cousin play with a hacky sack and mentioned he wanted his own "happy sack".

Trinks came down in a skort. S complained that she was wearing HIS skirt. It's the one he borrowed when they decided to belly dance. I love his open mind.

Poison Ivy update

I've been doing really well with the poison ivy this time. Yes - it's annoying, it itches every once in a while, but I get relief for 95% of the time. This exposure was more than the last time and would normally put me in the hospital on steroids, prescription benadryl and generic zantac (histamine 2 blocker). That gave me relief for 40% of the time. The Hylands Poison Ivy/Poison Oak is amazingly effective. This time I added some Burdock, Quercetin and a ton of vitamin C. Next week I am going to experiment with Bentonite Clay. I now feel in control of my life and will no longer live in fear of getting poisoned. I managed to rip out the remaining poison ivy from the flower beds. All that remains is the stuff behind the shed. I plan to just poison the stuff and leave it alone. Just need to mix up a big batch of "earth begone" and the soil will be sterile forever.

S graduated

And then made a wish...


That his teeth would be yellow.

Mythbusters - Posey's poison ivy edition

So I have poison ivy again. It's on my hands, it's all over my arms, it's all over my legs, it's on my back and neck. Normally I would freak, but I know I can get relief from the homeopathic stuff. In order to have a little fun, I decided to try Burdock Root as my cure. If I don't get relief by Saturday, I will go to the rhus tox. Can't hurt to know another cure and I might as well make the best of it. I plan to hit the ground running this weekend to get more of it out. I might as well be completely miserable and never have to worry about the poison ivy in the yard again.

Pictures from the food allergy walk

There were educational signs all over the place.


I asked S to get a hat. He decided this was just as good.


Notice the shoes S chose, AND NO ONE NOTICED UNTIL WE WERE ALMOST READY TO WALK. And his sister tied them for him. Not only are they the same foot, but the one on the left is TRINKS' shoe.

When in Brazil, don't eat the nuts

Yesterday Hubs and I took the kids to the allergist in Philly. It was a pretty good visit. S got further nut testing, resulting in discovering a Brazil nut allergy. We opted not to get tested for peanut allergies. Since he eats peanut butter with no reaction, he should be fine. There is a 40% chance of a false positive with the test, so I'd rather just watch for symptoms. We have an epi pen, so I'm not too worried. He has grown 3 inches and gained enough weight to be too big for the epi-pen junior. For school's sake, he's allergic to all nuts. Cross contamination is a huge risk, so if he goes for an almond that brushed up against a cashew, pistachio, or a Brazil nut, he'll have a reaction. School is allegedly a nut free zone, but I don't believe it. Parents don't understand that one simple food can simply kill another child.

Trinks needed no further allergy testing and can come off her daily asthma meds. I don't like daily meds for her type of asthma and I've been itching to discontinue it. If it was me, I would have simply stopped, but I tend to require doctor's supervision before I act medically for my kids. We have a new asthma plan, and it's similar to mine. Phew!

So today we walked for food allergy awareness. I was happy to see lots of educational materials and samples. I picked up the new epi pen tester and some epi-pen paraphernalia. I picked up 2 dvds about epi-pens (one's for you, NJ teacher)and a pamphlet about knowing the risks. I signed up for a meeting at the local library for food allergy support. I skipped the samples of soy butter because I currently believe that soy in the processed form is evil (that is another blog post and watch Food Inc. to see why the soy seed company is very very evil). I did snag some free samples of the sunflower butter. I used to buy this and forgot all about it. I didn't tell S what it was and he really liked it. Trinks loved it as well, so I can keep some on hand.

SO I've learned it's all about knowing what goes into the food you eat. And I'm learning to act on what I really do know - processed food is really bad, whether you have allergies or not. If I can't pronounce the ingredients, or if they go on over an inch, I don't want to eat it. Chemicals aren't food.

So not a cake wreck

This was the coolest baby shower cake I have ever seen. Not sure what to call everyone, so post to take credit. It was also delicious.

THAT'S why the bed is too small

S complains ALL THE TIME about how he has the smallest bed in the house. Imagine what he could build in a bigger bed.

New glasses

The day finally came. I expected this last year, but Trinks has really taken care of her glasses, at least in the sense that they are in one piece. Dirty and scratched? absolutely. They broke this weekend and were held together with duct tape until today when the tape gave way. I was out so hubs took both kids to the mall to get a new pair of glasses. Turns out insurance sucks and they won't pay for glasses this year. Ugh. So on that note, we cancelled her eye appointment in June. I'll take that appointment and take S for his first appointment.

Thursdays with Grandma

After college, I found myself at loose ends.I moved back home and started working at my high school job and started taking graduate classes. I worked weekends, but I had Thursdays off. Thursdays turned into Grandma days. Some days we would go to Turkey Swamp Park with a picnic. Other times we would drive to the beach and walk on the boardwalk. Still other times were plain and boring - I would drive Grandma's car, fill it up with gas and go to the farmer's market. We would go out for a nice lunch and talk and talk and talk. I love hanging out with her and hearing her stories. She was always interested in what I was doing, and never, ever asked when I was getting a real job Thursdays were a lot of fun.

My grandmother died today. She was 93 and had suffered with Alzheimers for years. The first time she didn't know who I was devastated me. I don't think I stopped crying for a week. Just about a week ago, I went to visit her the day before her birthday. She slept through the last several visits I had with her, so I didn't hope for much. I arrived as she was out for some sun on the beautiful spring afternoon. She knew who I was! She proved that when I tried to convince her I was her favorite grandchild. She looked me in the eye and glared the Grandma glare at me. She told me twice that she loved me, and we watched the birds and spring flowers together. She held my hand and kept telling me she couldn't talk much. For an hour, I had my Grandma back. It was such a wonderful gift.

I will miss my grandmother. She was a steady influence in my childhood. I can't remember a time when I didn't see her at least every week. She could bake bread better than anyone I ever met. Her muffins were legendary. She would walk to the market almost daily to get dinner. On special occasions, she would walk us to Jamesway to eat in their restaurant. She was stubborn. She was smart. She was an army nurse who took crap from no one. I loved her dearly and can't really believe she's gone.

Trinks and S go to DC

We decided to take the kids to see the sights in DC. Trinks was there for a march when she was two, but hadn't been back for sight seeing. It was time to explore was now. We left home around 8:30 and got back at 10:30 - what a long day. We didn't' try to do too much - just get a quick tour of the most famous memorials and some museums. The kids were pretty enthusiastic, even in a drizzling rain. We ended up walking 8.25 miles with just a little whining. A Spongebob Popsicle eliminated the complaining. S desperately wanted to knock on the door at the White House to say hi to the president. He seemed confused that the president may be too busy to see us. He loves President Obama and would love to meet him.

Here are some of the highlights of the trip. And yes - Michelle Obama's dress, and the Hope Diamond. I'm sure you'll notice that that I let the kids pick Lincoln's nose. I'm sure Lincoln would understand kids' humor.