Really fun Black Friday

After breezing through Target, I decided to have some fun with the kids. Back when I used to enjoy the holidays, we used to have dinner at Turkey Swamp Park. It's a great place, and appropriately named for the holiday. Everyone would bring a dish, work together to put the meal together. There was always a nice fire going and after dinner we would occasionally roast marshmallows. Ok - I now realize it was a logistical nightmare to coordinate this, but it made for awesome childhood memories. I didn't know anyone else who rented the shelter in a park and had a wonderful Thanksgiving.



So the kids and I took off for the park. We hit the playground, which is way more awesome than the one they used to have when I was a kid. Then I dragged them on a hike around the lake - or is it a pond? It seems to have shrunk since I grew up. I promised them a stop on the other side to play on a different playground. Depending on what part of the hike, S thought it was either really awesome or a death march. We ran through grassy patches, played shadow tag, chewed on teaberry leaves (used to flavor wintergreen mints), tracked deer, and just plain had fun. And S has officially learned how to pump his legs on a swing, so I didn't quite know what to do while they were on the swings. It was a beautiful, though cold, day. I had fun telling the kids that I learned how to ice skate on the pond. They'll probably never skate on a pond because I'll never buy them skates. Their feet will grow before it ever freezes enough to use them.



So we ended the adventure at Panera with lunch with my mom who had to work today. The good news is my grandmother is doing awesome. She'll probably be released tomorrow. Trinks and I visited her and then arrived back at my parents' house. We were supposed to go to the beach, but ended up at the Christmas store buying wreaths and garlands. It's almost time to leave for the lobster dinner at my sister's house. I'm looking forward to the leftovers from yesterday.

My iPod is sick

I just about had a heart attack last night driving to NJ. I tried to play music for S just to the bridge. Then I would switch to the book on cd I had. The damn thing kept playing 2 songs and then wouldn't work anymore. I was sick. This thing has changed my life for the 11 months I've had it. I listen to it a minimum of 1 hour a day, in the car, while walking, while making dinner, while cleaning the house, etc. It is the best ting I have ever owned.

So tonight I decided to google the problem. If other people are correct, it was a bad synch and either re-synching or restoring the pod will correct the problem. I will wait with bated breath until I can get home and check my settings. But for now, I will listen to my 2 songs, go back to the menu and play 2 more songs. This is the problem of owning things - maintenance!!!

Must fight urge to overspend

Over the past several months, hubby and I have been on a mission to reduce unnecessary spending. Part is due to the economy and the other part is we really want to save a lot more money than we are. It's not a dire situation; just fine tuning a decent system. I think we are finally making great progress. Several children's movies recently came out. Previously, I would have bought them (from Amazon) as soon as they came out. This year, I flung those movies on the kids' wish list. If we don't get them, eventually they will arrive on Netflix or the library. Savings - about $50. I am finally getting over the child having a tantrum feeling of giving in to instant gratification. I can wait to get things after great thought.

Tomorrow (or 45 minutes from now) is Black Friday. I am venturing out to a higher end discount store to finish up my shopping. I have a handful of things I'll buy later, but I think I can finish most everything this weekend. The problem with Black Friday is I am looking through flyers, which I don't see anymore since I cancelled the newspaper. Now I see all the STUFF that's out there. I am actually considering a mad dash through the aisles of several stores to get the "perfect" holiday presents. Ok - time to get back in the zone. I just don't need a lot more crap (and it all is crap since I don't need any of it) in my house. I hope I can retain my focus tomorrow and get what I need (I have a list) and return to my parents to take my kids to the local park. It will probably be deserted.

Pan - $8, 5 Gingerbread people - priceless

My mother planned a great craft for after Thanksgiving dinner. And yes, these gingerbread people are 11.5 inches tall. The kids measured. But, I don't think they included the legs.

S had a good time with his.


C-Dog's creation



Trinks heaped on the icing.



M-Cat was in it for the icing and candy.



And the divine Ms. M and her delicate creation.

Proud to be an American, again

It has been a long 8 years, but I am finally proud to be an American. It has not been fun traveling overseas and admitting I am American. I saw the flags waving in Rock Center and couldn't resist taking a picture to capture my pride.

December

The dreaded month of December is rapidly approaching, no matter how much I don't want it. Historically I have hated this month. There is too much going on because not only do we have both Christmas and Hanukkah, everybody's freaking birthday is in December. We usually have plans every weekend, just not in DE. Thankfully, the price of gas has gone down, or we would have to file bankruptcy just to get through this horrible month. This year, I am trying to change my negative outlook. I am trying to get over my intense hatred of the holidays.

But this year, I have a rare coping mechanism. I have ONE FREE WEEKEND. I refuse to travel this weekend. In fact, weather permitting, hubby is going fishing. I plan to spend the entire weekend decorating the tree, making dozens of cookies, and enjoying my children. There is absolutely NOTHING that will get me to leave the house. Each child will have the opportunity to select types of cookies they want to make and I will make my favorite cookies - Russian Tea Cakes.

I have pleasant memories of Christmas from when I was a child. A few weeks before Christmas, we would start making dozens of different cookies. We were home on Christmas morning and could open our toys without losing every piece. We could relax and hang out with our family over a breakfast of homemade pastries. When I think of Christmas day, I think of the smell of homemade stuffing cooking. I'm sure my mother doesn't have the same warm and fuzzy memories I do because she was working so hard to put the meal together, but it really set the bar for the perfect Christmas in my mind.

These days I have to hope for early dismissal from work. Then I have to run around and pick the kids up, load the car and go to my sister's house and pray I get there in time for dinner. Hubby does not get early dismissal, so he gets to miss dinner and is less than thrilled. Then it's a flurry of activity before we go to my parent's house for the night. Sometimes it's so crazy we forget to hang stockings. The only thing right about Christmas is breakfast. We have monkey bread (ok - it's not my mom's awesome coffee cakes, but at least it's fast and good) and an egg casserole. Then we rush around to get dinner ready before we have to run home to go to work the next day. It completely sucks running around like that.

But, this year I will put forth the effort not to get overwhelmed and try to enjoy the time. It's a tall order, but maybe I'll be a little less like Scrooge this year.

**************After I posted this, I thought about it for a while. I really sound bitter. I'm not really. I know I have a choice whether to show up for holidays or stay home. Once the kids stop believing in the magic of Christmas, I will stop traveling on Christmas. I can't put my parents in the position of having to choose which state they want to be in on Christmas while the kids are so young. I have stopped traveling on Mother's Day unless it suits me. Slowly I will regain control over the nonstop traveling we are expected to do. I'd love to host more family events, but that will never happen. I just feel the most pain in December.

Snow

S has been asking for a snowman every time there has been a mere dusting of snow this week. Finally on Friday, I could scrape together some snow from the car to sort of form a snowman. Then he wanted me to get him a carrot for the nose. Even a baby carrot would have caused the poor thing to topple forward. Then he wanted to bring the snowman to school for show and tell. Ummmm.... no. By the time we got home Friday night, there was a wet spot on the porch. The darn snowman peed before he ran away.

Worried

My grandmother has been sick for about the last month. It started with a sinus infection she just couldn't shake and now she's just not doing well. I know just enough to allow my imagination to run wild, so I'm worried. Hopefully we'll get some answers today and I can stop being worried.

Kung Foo Fighting

Trinks tested for her belt this week, just as my computer was being fixed. I've been itching to write about it because I am so proud of her. Trinks has been studying kung foo for three months now and I am in awe of my child. Here and there I have caught portions of her classes. She's amazing. And yes, I am biased. I am amazed at how patient the instructors are, and how they know how to get the best performances out of the kids.

There were three sections of the test. For Endurance, she had to do sit ups for two minutes. These were knees up, elbows to your knees type up sit ups. Then she had to do a series of push ups - first ones were standard, the second ones we a variation on one handed push ups. Wow - she nailed them both!! She had to stand in a couple of different poses, completely still for set times. I found out she actually CAN be still. Then she had to do kicks - you know, the high kind. She had to kick into her hand, up front, to the side - nothing I could have imagined doing when I was seven. At the end, she had to do the kung foo form. She has been practicing this religiously and did very well. Overall, her score was 94. For endurance, she scored 100, for technical, she scored 88, and for form she scored a 94. Now she is a yellow white belt. Her next test in in February to earn a full yellow belt.

This after school program is the best money I have spent on her education since I sent her to private kindergarten. I can't wait to get S in the program. He is going to be observed this year in buddy days and parents' nights out to see if they will accept him in summer camp. He's a bit young at 4, but the staff knows him and think he might do well. He needs to work on his self confidence and learn to tell Trinks to pound sand when she tries to speak for him.

Kathi update

I haven't updated Kathi is a while. I also haven't talked to her in a while because we have been so busy at work and I know she goes to sleep early. I talked to her husband on Tuesday and he said she is doing much better. She may even get the clearance to drive next week - very exciting. I think I will make calling her a priority tomorrow.

Oh Sugar

Guess what I found in Trinks' cubby at Kung Foo? A bag of sugar! A sandwich bag of sugar! With two spoons. Seriously. She watched as we blamed her brother for stealing the sugar from the sugar bowl. She didn't speak up to defend him. The sugar bowl is now locked up.

Sick

I cannot go to school today, said little Peggy Ann McKay. I have the measels and the mumps, a gash, a rash and purple bumps....

Oh wait! Not that kind of sick. My computer came down with a nasty virus. Without immediate intervention from Nothing Knew, our computer would have died. I am blessed with friends who can help out when I break my stuff. And ones who humor me when I think I am a techno person. Going forward, I will NEVER let my anti-virus stuff expire. NEVER.

So, I am back. I have a few great posts I may get around to posting tonight. A night of heavy drinking last night has wiped me out and may get me to bed pretty early, though. But for now, we are going to eat dinner while watching Underdog.

Shrek the Musical

I recovered from my tantrum Friday night. It's important to note I didn't scream at the kids. I just let everything overwhelm me for a night. I just get so frustrated that we have too many things to take care of that we don't always have enough family time. Yesterday we solved that. We took off at the crack of dawn, stopped at my parents house to dress the kids and got on a bus to NYC.

We saw Shrek the Musical. Previews started last weekend and opening night is December 14. While I didn't leave humming a catchy tune, I thought it was well done. Before we got there, I wondered how Lord Farquaad's size would be handled. The answer, of course, is very humorously. The kids loved it, my parents had a good time and hubby enjoyed hanging out in the city with his brother rather than watching the show. S fell asleep after intermission, which is what he did for Lion King. I guess getting up so early in the AM is the problem. For Mary Poppins, we'll at least start out in the city.

The weather turned out pretty nice, too. The rain stopped while we walked around the city before the show. We saw the unlit tree and the skating rink. And of course, Saks has their famous snowflakes up. They aren't lit, but they are up. We took Trinks for a brief visit to American Girl. S got so excited about a Bitty Baby stove and a pumpkin doll costume. It was pretty funny.




I'll be in NYC again next week, but it's adults only. The only challenge is where to eat. I know I can't go wrong with any restaurant. Narrowing it down is the trick.

Fed Up!

Warning - this is complete whining! I had a really tough day at work. Then I found out Trinks was in trouble at school for the 5th time in 2 weeks - and that's with 2 days off from school! We went out to our favorite place to eat because we haven't been there in ages. We had lukewarm meals and my burger wasn't done right. It wasn't up to the usual standards and I have no desire to go out again for a long time. So, I needed to take action.

Hubby took the kids to the pet store, which is a great, free activity for the kids. I went home and proceeded to box up all the crap in Trinks room. I discovered she cut Jess's hair. There is nothing like spending a shitload of money on a fucking doll just to have the hair cut off. I boxed up American Girl clothes, shoes, horses,whatever Trinks decided she hated enough to leave out of the special 5 drawer dresser I set up for the doll clothes. By the time she got home, I had one side of the room boxed up and she was in tears. I will continue to remove every god damn thing in the fucking room until it is empty. She has too many fucking toys and I hate every one of them right now. Christmas will non existent for the kids because they have too many things. I hate being the caretaker of crap and today really got to me. I feel several trips to Goodwill coming on.

So we have another week of early bedtime for Trinks and iCarly may be permanently banned from her viewing pleasure. I am going to sleep now so I can get out of this funky mood. My kids are really great kids. I want to spend more time with them instead of whining over putting crap away. It's days like this when I wish I could strip the entire house of everything and live with 3 beds, 2 couches and a kitchen. We really don't need much more than that.

Surgery

Today was a productive day. I received a clean bill of health from the endodontist - and no co-pay. I then ventured to the dermatologist. I have been dreading this trip for a while because my imagination has run wild about my freckles and moles. Then I find out I need SURGERY!

I am being dramatic, of course. Two slightly questionable spots will be removed and biopsied. I need a STITCH! Oh the drama. And the kicker is, it's scheduled for my birthday. They offered to reschedule, but I have to work that day anyway. I could use the break. The dr did tell me I wouldn't be able to cook and I would have to go out to dinner. I think we'll try the new burrito place up the street.

Batter blaster

Batter blaster is such a great idea. I have no idea why Bisquick hasn't stolen it. I bought it at Whole Foods yesterday, and although the price is steep, it's still cheaper than going out. It's the same concept as Reddi Whip - push the top and the batter comes out. I amazed my children with Mickey Mouse and triangle pancakes. I would have taken pictures, but it was early in the AM and it was before coffee.

I have big balls

Today I made matzo ball soup. I have never been much of a soup maker, but we had the chicken broth that we made last weekend and it's been cold lately. Matzo ball soup is, hands down, my favorite feel good soup, so I thought I should try my hand at it.

I opened the mix and made one packet of matzo balls. I frowned at it because it looked so little. I opened the other packet and added it. I started rolling it into balls after it sat for a bit in the fridge. I thought they were pretty small. After they finished cooking in boiling water for 20 minutes, they were HUGE! One packet would have been enough.

Trinks liked it, S wouldn't try it and I think hubby liked it too. It was a nice comforting meal after running around the park this afternoon. And the even better news is we are seeing a drop in the grocery bill because we are doing more with the food we have. We saved over $40 this week. Nice!!!

I am worried

While I was gallivanting in Houston, Kathi was taken to the hospital. Tests revealed she has a blood clot in her lung. I received an e-mail from her and another from her husband and nothing else. I'm pretty sure she's going to be fine, but I haven't heard from her so I'm worried. This is not supposed to be happening. DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) is the BEST cancer to have. It is easy to cure. Her path has not been easy and I for one am fed up. I am done with cancer. Shoo! Go away!!! Don't come back!

Please keep Kathi in your thoughts and prayers.

If I had a nose full of ... Cheerios?

I swear my son is out to get me. This AM, I took him to Bob Evans. It was just the two of us. We had a great time and then I dropped him off at school. What a wonderful start of the day. When I picked him up, he wanted to snack on the the leftover Cheerios that have been sitting in my car for a couple of weeks. Since I had to go to the grocery store after picking Trinks up, I let him. We finished shopping, got back in the car and headed home.

I heard S crying a little and saying something hurt. I asked Trinks what was wrong and she informed me S shoved a Cheerio up his nose. I dissolved in laughter (I was driving, so there was not much I could do) and could barely breathe. I managed to tell Trinks to block the one side and blow out the other. She helped him and it came out. A horrible thought came into my mind and I screamed, "DON'T EAT IT!!!!!!"

I was too late.

Something funny

I found this link while looking for election stuff. I find this funny for 2 reasons:

1. Kids will be kids and in college my friends and I did similar things, such as steal College Pro signs.
2. Someone actually set up a video camera to see who was stealing it.

BUT, I understand how annoying it is to have people take stuff from the front lawn. One year some kids tried to steal a pumpkin from our front porch. It's not the act that was scary. It was scary because I didn't hear them get that close to the house.

TSA

The TSA people have new, snappy blue uniforms. Same attitudes, new uniform. On the way to Houston, I behaved myself. Philly security is usually humorless and rude. I managed to get through security only to be backed up behind the idiots who think they should get dressed at the conveyor belt. Philly is behind the times and has no line for experienced flyers. I always get stuck behind the people who have no idea how to put their stuff in. I mean, you wait in a line for a bit and they are always surprised when it's their turn. I have to take my shoes off? And my belt? My laptop has to go through in the container and not in my bag? Really? And there are a million signs and announcements and these people think they are better than the rest of us and don't have to comply.

Coming back, there were separate lines for experienced, newcomers and families. Phew. Getting behind people with small children always pisses me off because most of the time these people are clueless and take forever getting the kids shoes off. I'm spoiled because my kids fly so often they know the drill. I managed to get behind 2 idiots who didn't have out id or boarding passes. The TSA guys bypassed them and took me.

I played What can I get away with? A word of caution about this game. You have to be prepared to sacrifice the contraband. I had a water bottle with an inch of water in it. I didn't put my lipstick in a quart bag. I had my pedometer in my pocket while going through the scanner. It was harmless stuff. Nothing happened. It's fun to play this at various airports, to see who is stricter.

Houston

I love going to Houston. I've gone every fall for the past four years. This year I didn't really want to go since it was a whirlwind overnight trip. And I was going to be there on election night. But it ended up being a decent trip.

The first sign of good things to come was the flight out. We flew Southwest, now my most favorite airline. I was number A42 in their goofy line system. I boarded, sat in the aisle while my co-worker took the window. I sat down, buckled up and looked at the front of the plane. The door was closed and we were preparing for take off. There were 50 people on the plane, including crew and pilot. Amazing. The flight attendants roamed the cabin with huge boxes of snack and urged us to take as many as we wanted. We got full cans of drinks, and even a second beverage a couple of hours later. They kept asking if we needed anything. I felt as if we were in first class.

We landed, grabbed our gear and headed into the city to our hotel. It was a beautiful, small, old hotel. There was free internet (hence yesterday's post) and actual keys. Seriously, not a key card, real jangling keys. The rooms were small, but comfortable. My only complaint is the TV remote didn't work. And it wasn't me screwing things up. My co-worker couldn't get his to work either and he's mechanically inclined.

The next morning we started out in the 83 degree weather and walked the three blocks to work. We passed the hurricane damaged buildings on the way. It was hard to contain our excitement about the election, but we couldn't really celebrate because people were a bit somber. I got through five presentations and only started to lose my voice in the last session. I have 4 more to do this week and I think 6 more next week. Ugh! I need lots of tea with honey.

Coming home was another better than first class experience. I took an entire row. I almost always choose the seat over the wing. For some reason, flying where the noise is the loudest is strangely comforting. I flew first class once and it was so quiet, I was scared we lost an engine. Overall, it was a good flight. Between the two flights I finished both library books I brought. At one point, the weather got bad and we started bouncing around. I looked out the window and saw the hideous yellow bridge in slower, lower DE. I believe the official name is the Senator Roth Bridge (this guy was a genius and gave us the wonderful Roth IRAs). Even in the miserable weather, I was able to track where we were.

The weather was pretty miserable for landing. It was the kind of descent that had me calculating my chances of survival if we just dropped out of the sky. And then the pilot did the wing thing that always gets me sick. You know, when he rocks the plane from side to side to drop faster so he can stick the landing? By the time we were on the ground, I was sick. Then we spent about 15 minutes taxiing to an elusive gate.

I was thrilled to on the ground, and even happier to be home. I went into each child's room and kissed them and snuggled them. Neither woke up, but it was nice to see them again! I love going away, but coming home is always the best part of any trip.

WOW!

"Shine on me sunshine, walk with me world it's a zip a dee do dah day! I'm the happiest girl in the whole USA!"

Ok - enough celebrating. Time to face several rooms full of red state people. But I have the Houston Chronicle for today - Wa-hoooooooo!!!!

Getting the hang of this Recession/Depression thing

I impressed myself. I convinced my stubborn hubby that we needed to roast a chicken. He hates chicken on the bone and dark meat. While dark meat isn't my favorite, I'll eat it, and the kids will eat drumsticks. With the price of boneless/skinless chicken breast skyrocketing, I am willing to try something else. Plus, chicken on the bone has a better flavor.

So we roasted a chicken in the convection part of the microwave, and an hour later, we had dinner. It was wonderful. I even made mashed potatoes and rolls and green beans. After dinner, I proceeded to pick it clean, throw water on the carcass and simmered it for hours. We now have homemade chicken stock! I emptied the fridge of old veggies and they simmered right along with the chicken. I can't wait until I get back from Houston to make a proper soup.

With this economy, I need to relearn the lessons of my youth. Learning how to stretch food just makes good sense. I've gotten away from my roots! This is the stuff I watched my grandparents and parents do. I guess I didn't realize money was tight back then, too.

Trick of Treat

As I post, the kids are wandering aimlessly around the neighborhood in the fruitless pursuit of candy. We let them eat some, but most ends up at work, or in the trash. There has been a lull in the trick or treaters, so after I cleaned the front hallway and shredded the millions of Terry Spence flyers, I downloaded some pics. Alright - in fairness, I am recycling the damn flyers, but I shredded all the personal mail. I think it would have been therapeutic to shred Terry Spence.

I thought this outfit was too small, but the picture on the bag shows the belly should be hanging out. A black shirt fixed that.



And he's off to fight something or other!


Spooky!

Terry Spence

If I get one more piece of mail from Terry Spence I swear I am going to find out where he lives and throw it on his lawn. I got a call from one of his people last night and they asked if they could count on my vote. I explained that he sends too many advertisements (plus a birthday card every year) and I prefer someone who actually cares about the environment. And before he could even try to defend himself, I hung up. I'm sure Terry Spence is a nice guy. Heck, he even paved our development roads one year right before election day. I just don't want to hear from him.

And by the way, I had to go to Wikipedia to find out his party affiliation. Republicans are really ashamed to stand up and be counted. The DE Democrats sent out a note explaining how we need to vote. I haven't decided if I am voting for Biden for Senate. It would be too weird.

Pumpkin Pics

Kids and knives

Phillies

The family of pumpkins

Words I never thought I would say......

DON'T PEE IN THE PUMPKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family time

Tonight I decided to let the kids stay up and watch the 30 minute Obama infomercial. I thought it would be nice for all of us to watch it together. While it was nice and fluffy, I enjoyed it. In between the "stop hitting your brother" and "put your arm down" we had a good time. We got in our snuggliest pjs, turned on the electric mattress cover and snuggled in together. I caught hubby dozing off, but I think he saw enough to help answer any questions the kids have.

BRACES

Yup - in the next year or so, we will have to deal with early intervention and braces. Poor Trinks. She was pretty cranky after the dentist tonight. I had braces early. It was nice to have them early so they were just coming off when my friends were getting them for the first time. Hopefully it will work out for her.

But overall, the dentist trip was better than last time. No one cried, including me. My fatal flaw was taking the kids myself. I was in the chair getting scraped when they called S. Trinks volunteered to go with him, mainly because she's so smothering and wanted a little entertainment. When he was done - this time without kicking the dentist - he came and perched on the chair next to me. MTV was on and we watched a completely inappropriate show about parents hating their child's boyfriend or girlfriend. At least we're done for the next 6 months.

17 freaking years

Ok - the official count is 28 years, but I have known hubby for only 17 years. Each year I have had to put up with the agony of him sulking that the Phillies choked yet again. FINALLY they won. He tried to wake Trinks up to let her know (as was her request), but she is quite the sound sleeper. She'll find out tomorrow and will probably design a special outfit to show her excitement.

Proof

I saw Kathi today and she looks FANTASTIC!!! There's nothing like seeing her with my own eyes. I was amazed to see her sitting in a chair looking nothing more than a little tired. Amazing.

Phew!

It was a nerve-wracking day, but I finally found out that Kathi did really well in surgery. I swear waiting for people to come out of surgery is really tough. I had to have a Hershey bar (with almonds since they are healthy) to get through.

My kind of election material

I was window shopping online and found this. That's what I'm talking about. It's all about who has the right T-shirts.

More prayers for Kathi

Kathi has more surgery scheduled for Tuesday. This will be the first one I'll be in the state for, and it will be the longest. I think I'll be a wreck waiting for news on Tuesday. Because, of course, you know it's all about me. She'll be under anethesia, I'll be awake. But in all seriousness, Kathi and her family will be on my mind until I hear the words "cancer free".

The boys

In case you haven't noticed, there are no pictures from Day 3. My camera died. So I will tell stories about some people I met on the walk.

I think I can get away with calling these young men boys. They were no older than early 20s and I think they were brothers. I didn't catch why they were walking, but it seemed like a great adventure. Only the young could find a 20 mile walk through downtown Philly boring enough to look for more fun. They ran up the Art Museum steps, too. There seemed to be a difference of opinion on who won. Shortly after that, we passed a subway station. They looked at each other, ran down the stairs and up the other side. Further on, they paid to go into an historic cemetary. As we passed, they yelled through the fence that they paid $1, so we didn't have to take the tour. They just plain enjoyed themselves!

I Rock(y)

After walking a mere 30 miles, I summoned the energy to RUN up the stairs at the Art Museum. Maybe now I should watch Rocky to see what inspires people to do this. Last year I heard about women who were able to do this and I set a goal to do it this year. It was wonderful!!!

Day 2

It was a little dark when we started....



If I saw this Minnie Mouse again, I'd RUN!!


More beautiful sights.



These guys were EVERYWHERE!!!



If only Jack Sparrow was with her....


Mummers!!!



At 17.5 miles, it was time to hit the bus. My feet thanked me by walking all of Day 3.

Today

Today, I woke up and felt fantastic. Tired, but fantastic. I did wake up earlier to pee (stubbed my sore toe) and realized I was parched and had a headache. Oops - dehydration. I recovered with the help of hubby who went downstairs to get some Tylenol and got me 2 glasses of water. I told S that the pink socks I gave him to wear were to support breast cancer awareness. He stopped complaining and proudly put them on. I just didn't feel like walking all the way to his room for a pair of his socks when Trinks had a pair right in front of me. He's a good boy.

Re-entry to the real world is tough. No one hi fived me when I walked into daycare. No one beeped at me when I crossed the street to go into the spa. The women in the spa fawned all over me and that was nice. They remembered me from last year.

I can't believe how great I feel. The blisters are a little tight, but I haven't yet figured out why there was blood all over my foot last night. The massage was amazing. I spent today writing about the experience, downloading pictures, and setting up my website for next year. It's done (for now) but looks really weird. I'll check it at work tomorrow to see if it's just this computer.

I made it to another kung foo class. It was really cool seeing what Trinks is learning. They had a lesson about the word compassion and it was really interesting to see what kids think about the word. Then Trinks and I picked S up, and remembered tomorrow is picture day. I just need to remember decent clothes for tomorrow. While picking S up, I ran into someone in the hall who noticed my shirt and asked if I felt like she did. I just smiled and let her know I felt that way last year.

Pictures from the 3 Day - Day 1

Eat more chicken!!!


I got to carry a flag on Day 1.


We passed by some very scenic locations.


Look at the pretty pink tents! After 20 miles, this is a fantastic sight!


Tired and happy feet. We made it back to camp!

We did the impossible

The main part of the 3 Day is to raise a boat load of money. The walk is to get out in the community and let them know we are walking for breast cancer awareness. The walk is to challenge ourselves so we realize we can do what we think is impossible. The walk is to meet new people, carry their stories with you and inspire others. The walk is to come together with people who have had similar experiences and laugh and cry with them. The walk is to get closer to the people you walk and crew with.

But as I said in the first sentence, the goal is to raise a lot of money to further breast cancer research. There were 3,100 of us. We raised $8.1 million. AWESOME!

Humbled

I'll be posting throughout the day about my awesome experience at the 3 Day. It was incredible and I have a lot of stories. I also have some pictures, but I have to recharge the batteries to download.

Prior to the event, I kept tracking the top fundraisers to see how much they raised. You see, the top fundraiser gets a tent you can stand up in and a queen air mattress on a platform. This is otherwise know as heaven after walking all day. I aspire to get that tent one day. I followed the story of this woman. Check out her family picture, her story and even the beautiful jewelry her friend makes to help her fundraise.

Then imagine that you are seated with a couple thousand people, listening to her tell her story. She found a lump at 24 and her dr told her to go home because she was too young for it to be anything. Are you screaming yet? Then she found a lump under her arm and the dr decided to take it out and discovered cancer. She went through chemo and 35 radiation treatments (that's every day for 5 weeks). She was cancer free for almost 5 years when it came back in her sternum. Further test results indicated it was in her liver. From what I have read, cancer in the liver is a death sentence.

This brave woman got up in front of us and wasn't bitter. She was inspirational, and happy and upbeat. She was a warrior. She was fighting for her life! She was fighting for a better future for her 2 year old daughter. And she was walking. It doesn't look like she has the endurance she once had because she was being pushed in a wheelchair for the time we shared the trail. It looked like her team, who joined together to raise just under $69,000, took turns pushing her. It was a tribute to them because I had a hard time navigating on the uneven, broken sidewalks. I can't imagine how these wonderful people managed to pushed her. The power of love and support really goes a long way.

Almost $10,000

As I type this, we are so close to reaching $10,000 for our 3 Day walk. We just need to track down $350 more and we are there. When I set the team goal, we had more walkers. When it dropped to 3 walkers and 2 crew, I thought we would never make it. Amazing. I am sure we will hit our goal tomorrow, right before we leave. My team is AWESOME!!!

I walk

In anticipation of this weekend's event, I thought I would list all the reasons I am crazy enough to walk 60 miles over 3 Days.

I walk because I am angry.
I walk because I am sad.
I walk because I feel helpless.
I walk to figure things out.
I walk for Karen and know she is somewhere cheering me on, and thinking I am crazy.
I walk for Sarah and Molly and hope the money I raise will save their lives.
I walk for Kathi and pray she will remain healthy after her surgery.
I walk for Kathi's daughters.
I walk for Amy and see hope from her journey.
I walk for Louisa and Jen, two women I have never met, but keep in my heart as their journeys are really tough.
I walk for my own daughter. May she never have to deal with this disease.
I walk because I don't know what else to do.

Continental or Southwest?

I always thought I liked Continental. This trip to the Bahamas changed my mind. They are too straight laced and need to loosen up. I listened, horrified as they monotoned through the safety checks. No one once commented if oxygen was needed and you were traveling with more than one child, pick the child who could support you better in your old age. There were no surveys about who made the best cheese steaks - Gino's, Pat's, or Jim's? I think the worst offense was that they ran out of pretzels 3 rows ahead of us. I think we should get a refund.

In all seriousness, I don't mind flying Continental, but I will do everything in my power to fly Southwest.

NJ gas sucks

I hope NJ gas station owners all get sued. They charge more money when you use a credit card to pay for gas. I remember this from my childhood, and they were forced to abandon the practice. We needed to get gas in NJ on Saturday and found gas for $2.89. The credit card price was $2.99. I pulled out a $20 and we made it back home.

Today, I filled up my car in DE for $2.91 and for once, it cost $50 to fill my tank. AND I didn't have to wait for some attendent with a bad attitude to pump it for me. For someone who grew up disgusted by the idea of pumping my own gas, I have come a long way. Jersey gas is just too inconvenient.

Yes, I returned Starbucks

I love Starbucks coffee. I don't need a fancy drink. Plain old coffee, preferably a bold roast, works for me. And I don't fall for their pretentious ordering. Large coffee. Not Venti. And don't correct me - I just don't care.

I haven't had Starbucks in forever as part of my cost cutting. When we hit Newark airport, Starbucks was waiting for us on the other side of security. I ordered a large coffee, and paid my $2. I went to fix my coffee and was in shock to see it wasn't full. It was a clear 2 inches below the top. Who the hell uses that much milk? I brought it back up and informed the clerk that my coffee was missing. I think she thought I was crazy, but she filled it up. I just wanted my $2 worth.

Kung Foo

I left work earlier than usual because of the holiday and I was able to watch a little of Trinks' king foo class. She's pretty good.

3 year old photographer

Touched by an Angel (fish)

Well, we arrived in the Bahamas with two children, but we are leaving with 2 merkids. S lost his fear of water and cried when it was time to leave the pool and the ocean. Trinks is getting to be a strong swimmer and wave jumper. We swam with angel fish and needle fish at the Cove beach, hunted down the elusive coconuts, and collected shells. Grandpa is now an expert coconut opener - he could be the next coconut man to roam the beaches selling rum drinks.

Our one major disaster (and it wasn't even bad) was that Trinks got thrown off her tube in the rapids during the Current ride. She was with Grandpa and in a life jacket, so all was well. She did develop a healthy fear of going on that section again, though.

So here we sit in the Nassau airport eating the last of our food and recalling the good old days when we could bring drinks through security and get drunk while waiting to board. If all goes well, we will have a great Portuguese dinner tonight before we depart for home. Ahhh - vacations just keep getting shorter!!!

The economy, international edition

I thought things were bad at home, but the Bahamas has been hit pretty hard. Between hurricanes and lack of tourists, prices are soaring here. While I would have paid $8 for a hamburger ($10 with cheese) last year, this year I can't even think about paying $12, $14 with cheese. We are calling this week a week of forced dieting - and to be honest, it wouldn't hurt any of us to shed some pounds.

This place is pretty empty, and some of our favorite places don't exist anymore. We're having a great time, don't get me wrong, but it is a little sad to see how things are right now.

Gotta log off - my 15 minutes are almost up.

It's finally here!!

The kids are asleep, I am fully packed and not stressed and I can go to bed. We have a DIRECT flight from Newark and don't have to check in until 7:45. We all are in the same row. I must be dreaming!

Today was a busy day, but it was made easier because my in laws took both kids for the day. It was tough getting up there when they needed to because hubby got a little stuck at work. If they could, I think his department would keep him home this week! But we ended up with matzoh ball soup for dinner, so the stress of the day was erased.

If I get the chance to blog again this week, I'll post some pictures. The weather looks decent. Hot, but decent. I'll have to break my shoes in early in the AM!

And because I need inspiration to pack

Heaven!!!

S-T-R-E-P!!!!!!!!!

AGAIN!!!!!!! I swear it wouldn't be a trip to the Bahamas without a child on antibiotics, which are such a pleasure to travel with. Yup. Trinks has strep. FUN! And I'm pretty sure S will develop it some time during our trip.

I think the most fun thing that happened to me today was the moment when I was practically sitting on Trinks to get the throat culture. Ok Mom. You win. I got a child as horrific as I was when I was this age. At least it didn't take 3 nurses, one mother, and one dr to hold Trinks down. And she didn't break a thermometer. I was a terrible child.

But it's was nice showing Trinks where I work because I have so much work to get done and my boss is off this week. Trinks finds my office to be really boring. Heck, I let her eat her weight in junk food and she still was bored. Thankfully she was quietly bored. She listened to Hannah Montana, watched a little Ratatouille, took a walk with a co-worker, met hubby in the coffee shop - not a huge loss of a day.

So I am frantically packing. Well, not so much frantically as procrastinating, but in my mind I'm in a frenzy. Hubby took both kids to his parents - we are so lucky! I need to get the suitcases ready for the car (which needs to have the tires inflated because that warning light came on and I had to look it up in the owner's manual this am while I was driving S to school), so we can load it and dash off to get the kids tomorrow night. I need a Bahama Mama!!!!

A Bad Day

It's a bad day when S chooses not to listen at school. It's a bad day when Trinks gets in trouble at school. Today was a really bad day because the BOTH came home with bad reports. Trinks had been so good for so long, so I guess she just snapped and became chatty and bossy. S just never turned on his listening ears. At least tomorrow is another day.

For Kathi

Now I just have to transfer this concept to a cake. Prayers and good thoughts for Kathi!!!

Reverse growth

Now that I have complained about the kids' growth, it seems I have the reverse problem. I am packing for vacation and only have 1 pair of shorts that fit. And to get them to stay up, I have to wash and dry them every day. I have some shorts to try on tonight, but I think they may still be a wee bit small. I've tossed a lot of the clothes that sit in my closet and drawers, mocking me, saying all sorts of unkind things about how I'll never fit in them again. At least we have a washer and dryer in the Bahamas.

Growth

So the kids have shot up several inches (at least it seems that way) since we cleaned out their drawers a couple of weeks ago. Trinks has 2 pair of jeans that fit, meaning they aren't floods. They are so big in the waist that they keep falling down and she rarely remembers a belt. And she informed me that her ballet slippers no longer fit. I swear I just bought her new ones, but I guess it has been about a year. S has 3 pair of fall/winter pants. Everything else is about 2 inches off the ground. When I return from the next vacation, I'll have to go shopping. Of course they need absolutely no shirts, so I guess I should be thankful that some growth isn't as fast.

Foggy day at the beach

This picture is brought to you courtesy of a weekend with Nothing Knew and family. Head to his blog for better pictures. While I appreciate having this camera, it definitely is not the same caliber as my last camera. The replacement camera I fell in love with is around $1,000, and the one I can live with is $300 +, so it's not likely I'll get a new one soon.



A nice father son moment. S had a blast running around avoiding the water and digging.

Cafe Press

I love my order from This One's for The Girls. Cafe Press promptly sent my 3 T-shirts and hat and I look forward to wearing them this weekend!!!

Check out the merchandise! It supports a wonderful cause.

Dyson ROCKS!

I took advantage of the great advice I received when I lamented the passing of my Dyson hose, and ordered a new part. I was reluctant to order it because I was afraid it would be too hard to fix and I just wouldn't do it. I assumed there would be complicated instructions to follow.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and there were NO INSTRUCTIONS! Thankfully I looked at the part before I flipped. I fixed the hose with a snap. Ok, make that 2 snaps: One to get the hose off and one to pop the hose on. I remain in love with my Animal. And yes, I picked it out because it was purple, but it works great on pet hair.

Oedipus has nothing on my son

Last night my son asked if he could put his tongue in my mouth. When I said "no", he asked if I would put my tongue in his mouth. I have no idea what to do with this.

Big feet

I am searching the web to track down new sneakers. Sneaker shopping should be easy, right? Try finding size 12 at a reasonable price. I think with my last order, I wiped out my cheap source of New Balance 844. Right now every store I can find with 12s in stock are asking the full price of $105. I know I can get them for $75 and free shipping!!!! Since these are last year's model, they should be trying to sell them cheaply to make way for the 845s!!!!

Dekorating

On Saturday we went to an orchard outside of Princeton to celebrate Apple Days. The kids had a blast and we bought apple cider donuts. The Daisy Jug band was playing. I think we have been following them for over 20 years - yikes! After a wonderful afternoon, we ended up at Europa for a wonderful meal. My in laws took the kids home (silence!) and my mother sent home fall decorations.

Sunday rolled around and I walked 8.5 miles, watched Evita, did some laundry and lounged around until it was time to pick the kids up. Since the Eagles were playing, hubby couldn't leave the house. I took them down to Willey Farms so I could get some real apples (really, it didn't occur to me to pick some at the orchard). By the time we got home, it was time for dinner and baths. Trinks was upset there was no time to decorate.

Monday morning, Trinks springs from her bed, gets dressed in record time, sticks her head in my room to tell me she's going to get her breakfast so she can decorate. After a quick bowl of cereal, she ran outside and rearranged the porch countless times until it looked just right. I thought it was cute. After school, I went through her backback and found an essay she wrote about "dekorating" the porch. Each section of the decorations have meaning and she named all of the pumpkins. Some days I wish I could peek into the future to see what she will be in 20 years. It's going to be fun watching that unfold.

The economy

This is in part a reaction to some posts at Nothing Knew and a post I have been playing around with. My post was decidedly whiny, so I never published it.

The economy sucks. I work for a Big Financial Company (BFC) and I know this first hand. The sight of the Lehman employees leaving with their boxes haunts me and threw me into a funk last week. Hubby and I are relatively safe right now, but cost cutting is a huge focus at work. We are also collapsing systems and reducing redundant employees. That means they decide if I am more important than my colleagues in the mid west. Who ever gets paid the least and can uphold quality the best gets to stay. Getting paid the least is my specialty, so I may dodge another bullet.

So what is my reaction? Aside from last week when I flipped out (rule of thumb - when the economy sucks this bad DO NOT CHECK YOUR 401(k). You will go crazy), we have started cutting our expenses drastically. Any alleged luxury is on it's way out. I have my eye on cutting Netflix and would love to get rid of cable. I will be outvoted on the cable (can't get rid of the sports) and Netflix means we don't have to take the kids to the movies. But cutting simple things seems to work. No more juice boxes. I cancelled the paper. Granted I was pissed at the lousy service, but I was able to cut $18 a month and I hardly miss it. I can get my For better of For Worse online. I convinced the kids to choose simple costumes for Halloween. S will be Thomas the Tank again and Trinks will be a Kung Foo girl. I drink cheap coffee. I reuse some zip top bags. Hubby and I carpool (except when the economy forces him to work until 8 PM) and pack our lunches. We joined the library and now I don't feel like we need to buy Scholastic books every month.

Two of my favorite websites offer advice and ideas. Get Rich Slowly is about a guy who got out from under debt and learned how to save money in the process. He covers a bunch of topics and seems down to earth. Another one site I visit is The Dollar Stretcher. This is update weekly and runs from stories from the incredibly frugal to sound financial advice about debt and savings. I'm not ready to make my own laundry detergent, but washing everything (except linnens) in cold water with half the detergent helps save money. I've also started cutting the dryer sheets in half. It doesn't make a difference.

A third site, Saving Dinner, is a valuable resource for menu planning. When we plan menus, we save money. The kids get involved so they feel like they are part of the dinner process. We've tried food I never thought we would like. Leanne Ely, the Dinner Diva at Saving Dinner is a wonderful down to earth woman. I met her a few years ago in Baltimore at a Flyfest. A Flyfest is a Flylady event. A Flylady is someone who rescues you from your perfection and gives you your life back.

So I have rambled on a bit, but I don't think it's as whiny as my first couple of drafts. I hope everyone is able to stay afloat until this mess passes. And I hope my 401(k) recovers before I retire.

This will knock your socks off

If you know my mother, you know she's really smart. Sometimes, however, she tries to disguise her intellegence. If you've ever seen her try to download pictures to Walgreens, you would know what I am talking about. Complete and utter failure. Ok - bad example. She was trying to send 1200 pictures to be printed in an hour and I think the system collapsed. But my mother and digital pictures are a prime example of my mother being overwhlemed by technology. But wait until you hear this!

My mother will be teaching the staff at her hospital how to e-mail using hyper links. Seriously. My mother learned how to do this and the tech people thought she learned it so well she could teach everyone else how to do it. I am impressed.

Prayers for Kathi, please

Kathi had a second lumpectomy and the doctor didn't get all the cancer again. Apparently the live cancer is really hard to see. Once the cancer dies, it calcifies and then it can be seen. Right now she is facing some tough choices as her next steps. I know she'll be fine, but this process is pretty tough.

This One's for the Girls

On the 9 month anniversary of Karen's death, I think it's appropriate to advertise the opening of the This One's for the Girls store. If you purchase any item from this store, the profits will go to the Breast Cancer 3 Day team, This One's for the Girls.

Not only is the product a fundraiser, but it's darn cute. How did we get to the point of opening a store? Very easy. I can't design T-shirts. If I could, they would be really ugly and wouldn't arrive for another month. I asked Felise if she knew what to do. That was last Friday morning. By Friday afternoon, not only had she designed a T-shirt (way better than the one I imagined), but she set up the store with various products. AWESOME! She is truly talented. My only regret is she doesn't get to wear our T-shirt at the walk since she is one of the wonderful crew people who take care of us walkers.

Good bye to an old friend

The poor sneakers have been used past the natural end of their life. The last straw was today at lunch when they shredded the bottom of my really ugly feet during a 3.5 mile walk. Buh-bye! I abused these sneakers and they took as much as they could. I feel badly throwing them out. I heard Nike collects old sneakers to make playground mulch. Maybe I can do that.

Shameless request

As you know, I am gearing up for the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk. This is no ordinary walk in the park, and the biggest hurdle is mental. I was an emotional basketcase last year, and I'm sure I'll be again. What really helped me was getting a stack of mail. I think I got more mail than anyone else out there. So now I am asking you to send me, and my team, mail. Here are the details:

Send letters to:
Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office
ATTN: INSERT NAME OF PARTICIPANT
P.O. Box 609
Montgomeryville, PA 18936-0609

Envelopes only, please. No boxes or large packages. Mail must be postmarked no later than October 7th in order to ensure delivery at the Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office. Any mail that is not retrieved by the walker by November will be destroyed.

And in case you are a smart ass like my father - INSERT NAME OF PARTICIPANT means putting MY NAME, or MY TEAMMATE'S names on that line.

I hit my fundraising minumum

Go me!! Actually, huge thanks to the people who donated. I knew I was $95 short before I left for Chicago. When I got home, I signed on to see when next year's walk is and noticed I had 100% on my site! I started crying - it's just so emotional to know that I raised $2,200! My plan is to walk until I have raised $17,000 - a thousand dollars for each year I knew Karen. Last year I raised $3,500, so I have a few more years of walking.

It's not a fruit

My son says "Li-berry". Does anyone remember the animated bookworm movie from the late seventies/early eighties? I've always had them in my brain about the correct pronunciation of library. I should check out You Tube. It's probably out there.

But in spite of bad pronunciation, we had a blast at the library. I discovered my card has been inactive so long that I needed a new one. Both kids complained that it took too long, but it was all completed in well under 10 minutes. And then they made a mad dash to the .... computer???? Trinks picked out a rare Junie B Jones she didn't have and then tore over to the open computer near her brother.

I was like a kid in a candy store. All my friends were there! Jonathan Kellerman, Janet Evanovich, Patricia Mott Davidson, the Alpine series lady, Suze Orman, Roald Dahl, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile - every one was there and I had to choose only a select few to come home with me. Kellerman, Evanovich, Motts Davidson, and Orman made the cut. I already finished Evanovich - it was a Stephanie Plum in between the series books. Boy am I glad I didn't buy it - I finished it in about 2 hours. Now I'm on to Suze Orman so I can get the Courage to be Rich. Didn't think you needed courage to be rich. I always thought you needed money to be rich, but I look forward to being educated.

I got James and the Giant Peach for the kids as well as a bunch of other interesting looking books. We read Lyle, Lyle Crocodile last night and started James and the Giant Peach. Even hubby got into it. He didn't get any books, though.

Bad news

When I called hubby from the airport to let him know I was about to board, he hit me with, "I have some bad news." He proceeded to tell me the TV in our room broke. Big deal - I can handle that! S loses the TV in his room that never should have stayed in there, so there is no impact.

Today came the REALLY bad news. The AC is broken. It won't turn on. It turns out the safetly thing that was wired to the condensation pump 2 months ago worked and we have to replace the condensation pump instead of the whole shebang. GREAT! And the whole thing may not last another 2 years like we were hoping. Fun.

Chicago - in pictures

Here is the view from my awesome room.



And here is my awesome room. I bet you can't see the iPod alarm clock thing. I enjoyed playing with that!



A night view from my room.



A rainy view from my room.



And proof I got out and walked really far before realizing I had to walk back. Oops! Just for a reference point, I started on the OTHER SIDE of the tall buildings.

Piano Man is truly timeless

I think I was a little older than Trinks when I first heard Piano Man. I loved it instantly. Tonight I had to return to work with both kids to pick up hubby who had to work late (read the business news. Not great stuff for BFCs). Of course he only has to work late on days we carpool. But I digress. I played some High School Musical 2 for Trinks and S started whining it wasn't fair that he didn't get his music. I stepped out of character (which would involve me making the situation VERY unfair)and let hubby decide what music to play since I was driving. He chose Piano Man. We arrived home well before the song ended and the four of us sat in the car singing Piano Man at the top of our lungs. Then we leapt out of the car so we could watch Tiny Toons as part of movie night.

Seafood Scott

Trinks really likes her Kung Fu classes. Hubby asked her to show him some moves and tell us more about her class. She started out by saying, "Seafood Scott tells us..." Whatever followed was lost because we were laughing so hard. The correct term is Sifu.

A little yellow bird, with a pretty yellow bill....

And nope! Not going to finish that song. If you have forgotten the words, contact hubby.



This goldfinch was so engrossed in eating the thistle that he didn't notice me slip my camera from my pocket to snap the shot.

If there is a bomb on board...

I didn't think you were allowed to use the word "bomb" in an airport. But I learned that in the event there is a bomb on board, the extra blankets and pillows will be used to cusion the impact to the rest of the plane. That would be why you can't move them to fit your oversized piece of luggage, lady, so sit down and stuff it under your seat. And no, it wasn't me. I had a sensible backpack that was barely filled and the deadliest of weapons I had with me were a small nail clipper I used to cut embroidery thread when I cross stitched.

Overall I have to say that flying has become easier than it was a couple of years ago. Even clearing security in Philly was a breeze this time. I usually wait forever to be abused by the nasty TSA officers. This time they were nice AND efficient. I waited 30 seconds to get through. Terminal E in Philly is a scant 1/10 mile long. How do I know this? I was bored since I cleared security so fast and wanted to get some miles in before I took off. I ended up walking 2 miles before I got too dizzy to continue.

Even my luggage came off the plane quickly. I didn't even have to wait 5 minutes before my luggage came off the conveyor belt. Perhaps this does not bode well for the Bahamas trip in three weeks.

Sweet Sanity

I am about to leave for four whole days in my favorite city, Chicago. Although I will be in a tax conference for 8 hours each day, I am really looking forward to some ME time. Don't get me wrong. I love my family and I will miss them desperately, but it is nice to have no responsibilities for a little while. And I know that all the important things will be handled while I'm gone, so I don't even worry about it. The only thing I have to worry about is where I am dining each night.

In another month and a half, I may even get to go on a midwest tour, including Houston, Chicago and NYC. I know NYC isn't part of the midwest, but it will be included. And if it's scheduled when I am told it will be, I will have to vote on paper again. Wa-hooooo!!!!

Ms Alice

My favorite teacher at daycare died this week. Ms Alice was a sweet woman who loved children. She had a 45 year career in banking before retiring three years ago. She was the perfect teacher. Kids loved her because she knew what they needed, whether it was a gentle correction, a hug, or a nice long rock to soothe a crying baby. She will be missed!

Tumble

If you have ever watched my favorite show Jon and Kate plus 8, you may have seen the episode when Kate gets the Tumblebus for the kids. Our daycare schedules the Tumblebus one day every week. For an extra fee (nothing is ever free, right?), your child can attend a half hour lesson. I've been looking at this option for S because he needs a physical activity, but I am reluctant to run him around town right now. I've been feeling guilty because Trinks was dancing at this age, but there seems to be no reasonably priced alternatives for S.

Starting next week, S will join the Tumblebus. The staff brought the bus to school for a sample. I got on with S and he proceeded to do 3 flips on the rings with no assistance. I think he's ready!!!

Return to dance

Dance started again! I wasn't too stressed because there was actually time to pick the kids up, shove dinner down their throats, dress Trinks, and head off to ballet - actually making it there early. Now that the girls are getting older, dance is getting serious. Some of Trinks' friends made the dance team this year and they seem to live at the studio. I think that's too much for me right now, but good for them. I'm just happy I have been able to keep up for 5 years.

I checked out the Dollar Store, updated my calendar, and made some phone calls. I think it can work at this new location. Even better, I figured out how to deal with the 20 minutes of reading that Trinks has to complete every night. Since we won't get home until 8:30, it just can't happen on Tuesdays. Being read to counts, so I downloaded Anne of Green Gables to my iPod to listen to on the trip home. I love this book and hope she does to. Chapter 1 isn't that exciting, but I think next week the good stuff will start. And then maybe we can go to Prince Edward Island to see L. M. Montgomery's house. I know - everything turns into a vacation idea. I was in PEI in 1984 and had a blast exploring the island and the L.M. Montgomery house.

A totally awesome day at Longwood

"Totally Awesome" is the favorite phrase of S these days. Most of the time he loves everything and it's either wonderful or AWESOME!, or totally awesome. We started out early this AM and noticed that the extra lane on 95 N is finally open! S pronounced it really awesome, although he doesn't understand the impact to traffic. We finally made it to Longwood after the millionth time he said he could see it - good eyes, buddy, but we were about 15 miles away the first time he said it. It seemed a bad sign when he begged to be carried in the parking lot, but he gained a lot of energy after we entered.





Our plan was to see some treehouses and then head to the vegetable garden. So the kids headed off to in the general direction of my favorite treehouse. The beautiful flower gardens were buzzing with bees! The good news is ever since Trinks got stung by a yellow jacket on vacation, she doesn't seem to be terrified of bees. She is healthfully cautious, but she knows it's not the end of the world to get stung. We ended up looking for fish and trying to see if the tadpoles we saw in the spring grew up. Guess what? They did. After grabbing a snack, we hit the hide and seek garden. That's not the name of it, but we end up playing hide and seek every time we are there. Then it was time for the musical fountain show - Sousa marches with a fountain display. S was literally sitting on the edge of his chair applauding every movement. The rest of us enjoyed it, but he really got into it.



The fountains would have been the high point for S if we hadn't run into his best friend on the way to the veggies.



THOMAS IS AT LONGWOOD!!!! This set is proof that you don't have to grow up. At one point, S was chasing trains - he was too excited to stand still. Trinks enjoyed it for a little bit, but she wasn't as into as S. She loves the veggie garden because of the playhouse and teepees and was anxious to get moving. The veggie garden is my ultimate dream. When I see it, I believe it is possible for me to have a garden just a beautiful. Yup. Me. The one who has killed at least one mint plant and has a great start on killing another. It's fun to dream, right?



The kids were sufficiently exhausted when we left. We ate lunch at our favorite haunt - Buckley Tavern and had a lovely lunch on the front porch. Then real life invaded and we had to get ready for the rest of the week. Ugh! At least it's a short week and then I hit Chicago for a couple of days.