Trick or Treat

     Ah, Halloween! On a Sunday no less. When I was a kid Halloween's on the weekends were the best. We'd be out all day. Though we did wait until after lunch to start, which is what I'll do with my kids today. Even though Jake has been asking to go or when he can give out, candy since 7am. My big boys are hanging around the house and plan to help the little ones eat the goodies they bring back home. And maybe scare some kids at the door with masks they have.
    Sixteen is tough for anyone, boy or girl. I had a group of friends who dressed up, sort of, and still went trick or treating even as seniors in high school. I read on Yahoo recently that there are some towns in some states where it is against the law to trick or treat past the age of 13. If you aren't willing to dress up to trick or treat you shouldn't go. But 13 is too young. Everyone complains kids are growing up too fast, well when you take away things that keep them being kids of course they are. I know one of my sons thought about dressing along with Emily and Jake and coming out with us but decided not to. My husband will be dressing up with them, though he won't be coming to your door with a bag. He knows better.
    There are still adults that do not know better, though. Or maybe they do and want to see what they can get away with. I will never forget the Halloween while still living at my dad's house where at the door were a few kids and their mom, none dressed up. All, including the mom, were holding bags for me to put candy in! I felt weird refusing to give her a piece of candy but also felt put upon. Like "Come on! You should know better why should I have to tell you that!" Anyway she got her candy from me because I just didn 't know what to do at the time, but I've complained about it ever since. I think if it happened now, as I'm older and more outspoken than before, I'd have said something to her. Embarrass her in front of her kids. Maybe she needed that. Maybe someone else gave it to her all those Halloweens ago. I can only hope.
     I'd have dressed up with Rob and the kids had it not been a last minute decision for him to. I like dressing up. It was always so much fun. I've said we should have a Halloween party, it just never works out. He was able to find a costume that went along with the kids 2 days ago. I was not. So now I look like I'm the party pooper who won't dress up. When had it been planned I could have gotten something. Oh well, maybe next year. I also think $50 for a costume is a bit much for one outfit for one day. Although if we needed to dress up for a wedding or something that's one day too and $50 wouldn't seem so bad. Maybe the re-use value would be more but you never know. Same with the Halloween costume I guess.
     Maybe you'll see us all out and about next year as Star Wars characters. Something my husband has wanted to do forever. Only the kiddies will have their bags of course. Because as in my favorite Garfield special "Halloween is where dogs help cats get lots of candy." When in reality we all know it's the kids that help their parents get lots of candy! Now don't go making yourself sick on it! Happy Halloween!

Stats

     When my husband and I were first dating I learned how obsessed he was with stats. Baseball, football, basically anything that was considered a sport he knew the stats. Maybe not all of them on his less favorite sports, but he still knew plenty none-the-less. I don't know if knowing the stats makes you a better fan or what. I'm sure it gives you a better understanding of whatever game they relate to. And whatever player or team the stats belong to. He's got tons of these numbers memorized. I'm not sure how he remembers it all but he does. I really don't care to memorize them. Sure I know what they mean and stand for when they flash across the screen or I read them in the paper. But I certainly will not remember them later that day much less 20 years from now.
     Maybe it's because it's about sports. Maybe I just don't have a head for numbers. I may soon find out which it could be as I have become obsessed with my own stats. Shortly after I restarted this pretty blog of mine I explored more of what I could do with it. First I found they kept track of profile views so I was checking that number every day. Then I found a whole world of other stats they were keeping about my page. I had no idea they even exsisted. What fun. I could see how many page views I got in a day, month week and all time. I could see exactly what time someone was reading me. What countries people who hit up my page were from. And how people got to my page. So much fun.
      I've waited until now to do this post because I have finally hit 1000 pageviews. It's a big milestone so I'm quite happy about it. And the fact thats it's only been about two months is awesome! Of course I learned from my stat page that before I found it my clicks on my own page were counting towards my number of pageviews. So it may not be perfect but I have since made sure my clicks don't count so it's close. Thanks for checking me out and taking some time out of your own crazy lives to jump into mine for a bit. I really hope your enjoying it and come back to visit with me often. I would love to hear more feedback if you feel the desire to say something and have the time to do so.
     When I first started checking my stats I was surprised to see someone reading me at 3am. The more I checked the more I saw over and over at 3-4am someone was checking me out. Now I'm not sure who it is but Ii think I have a good guess. Not like it matters when you read me. I'm really glad you do no matter the time. I also am not sure if the 3am readings are actually 3am. I believe this site is actually on Pacific time, although my page is set to Eastern. Who knows really. And who cares your reading thats all that matters.
     I thought it pretty neat that I had gotten some hits from Canada, Germany, and even Denmark. Weird, but neat. As I checked out the blogger big site itself I learned hitting the next blog button can bring you anywhere. Languages I could not read would come across my screen and I'd automatically click onto the next one. Even so I'm sure now my pageview counted towards whomevers non-english blog I had just clicked onto. I don't know if there's a way for me to only jump around to other English pages. I will have to keep playing around some to see. So far I can't find a way to do it.
     Most of my pageviews seem to come from Facebook or the web address itself. No big surprise there as people I've told about it I've tried to hand them the written out web address so they could find me easier. I also have provided the link on my own Facebook page and many other peoples hoping some new ones will hit me up and check me out. I try to wait a week in between posting the link on my own page. When I haven't had a lot of pageviews in a few days I definitely find someone new to send the link to or post it myself. I'm trying to keep myself going. Knowing I have people viewing my page every day definitely keeps me at it.
     I've kept a log of my pageviews everyday since I found them. I know they'll only be kept on here for so long, so I update my own every week or so. I was able to go back to the day I first started and told people about it to see how I've done. I also look to see if there are any patterns. Do I get more readers on a certain day of the week than others? So far no. Same with lowest amount. It varies completely. I've highlighted my lowest and highest days. The first time I checked my lowest was 6 pageviews in a day, highest was 32. Since I've updated my stats and been on longer now my lowest is 3 and highest is 35. Not a big difference although that three kind of stinks. I'm happiest with double digit days and love when it hits 20's or 30's. Just makes my day.
     Now I have all these stats and I know all these stats but I haven't got them memorized. I pulled out my sheet to check as I'm writing this. It's way too much to keep in my head. They are fun to know and mean a lot to me but I'll still never know them by heart like my husband and his sports stats. I guess men also like to talk about the stats and need to know them for things like fantasy football and all that. I know my husband also prides himself in his stat knowledge so he can boast about it and know every answer to the trivia questions when they come up at Yankee Stadium. I have no doubt I contribute to it either, as I will always rib him when he does not know an answer. Anyway, who am I going to be chatting with about my stats? Umm no one. Why would anyone care but me who's reading me. That is what a blog's about right? Even if you're reading this you can just say "hey, this is boring." and click off me and never hear the rest about my stats. I guess that's a pretty big difference. No matter I'll still be here and I'll still be checking my stats every single day to make sure someone else is too.

Daily Drive

     It is only the end of October and I'm already sick of driving Jacob back and forth to school every day. Up and down the same stretch of road twice a day, five days a week is so tedious. I've started counting things light the stop lights to keep my mind going. (There are 10.) I guess it doesn't help that I'm also stuck listening to the same song over and over again every day at Jacobs request. Emily went through the same thing but I wasn't stuck drivng her to school listening to it Every Single Day. It was only the days we went out on errands or whatever that we listened.
     I've noticed how many store fronts are empty. Way too many. There are too many car dealerships down this stretch of road. Maybe I'll count them today. The full service gas stations I would like to be able to stop at are all Cash Only, so that stinks. It's become a major highway but you still can see where it started by a few scattered homes that still exist and have not been turned into business'. Every once in awhile I notice something I hadn't before. It's funny how often I seem to be stopped in the exact spot at each light each day. It's tough to see anything new then.
     I noticed a stretch of the road has brand new beautiful classic street lights along both sides. It's easy to tell as the concrete around the lights is much brighter and cleaner, hence newer, than the rest of the sidewalk. There are so many stores and shops. But none of which I really feel a need to go check out. I'm not one who gets my hair and nails done so those places are out. My husband takes the car when it needs servicing so those places hold no interest to me. I don't often send flowers or require the services of a DJ. Sure, who wouldn't love some new furniture but we need to save some for that. I'm not a big window shopper. If I need something I go get it. But I do have to eat so maybe some of the restaurants I'll get to. 
     J & R's restaurant we have been to and that is the biggest tease most days. My husband can tell you I'm big on smells and notice them like crazy even when no one else does. Certain afternoons if the cooking and the wind are right, that yummy smell wafting out of J & R's is so, so good. I can almost taste my cheeseburger with big fat steak fries and onion straws. My favorite meal there. Of course whatever I've got planned for dinner can't hold up to it but we can't go to J & R's every day. One of the best parts of getting out being I didn't have to prepare the food. But that also makes it a treat when we go. Especially when we let the big kids watch the little ones and go without them.
     I was stuck driving the same way back and forth for years and it never bothered me like taking Jake to school does. I guess there's a little more to it. I am stuck in a car with a chatty, hyper 4 year old now. Then, it was a little slice of freedom driving off myself blasting any type of music I wanted. No one to worry about but me. Now, my baby is tasting his first slice of freedom away from me and loving every minute of it. I have no choice but to smile and wave goodbye as I leave him every single day. And I'm off to ponder my place in this world as my mommy duties are changing because he's grown up too fast. As they all do.

Where There's Smoke

     I have never been a smoker. No pack a day or anything going on here, ever. I dated plenty of them. Many of my friends were. So sure I smoked here and there. Mostly in high school and once in awhile after. I can't say I was ever addicted. I can say every now and then, mainly when stressing out, I'd want one just for the calming effect. I rarely smoked in front of anyone after high school. Don't think anyone even had a clue I did as much as I did. It helped to have friends and a brother who'd leave their butts around for me to swipe a few to stash for later use.
     If I was having a butt I'd be doing it alone, outside somewhere, just sitting. Doing nothing else but smoking it. I guess that's why it was a calming release for me. The last one I ever had was in my car with all windows down to leave no trace for my hubby, on my way to work shortly after we had moved into our new house. Stress reliever. That could be in part because my brother has moved away and just about all my friends have quit. And I refuse to go buy a pack because I am not a smoker.
     I will say I've had the itch recently. Probably because of the stress of no job less money and being home all the time. But I won't scratch it. I will inhale deeply as I walk past someone smoking outside a store. Or when I catch the smell on the breeze coming in my window of the car as the person in the vehicle in front of me has just lit up. I can't help it sometimes. Sometimes it just smells so good.
     What's weird about smoking is sometimes it also smells really, really bad. I don't know if it's the type of cigarette or just the smell of stale old smoke thats makes it nasty. Certain people who reek of it I can't stand to be around. Is it because they've been smoking for too long, the smell just permeates them? When I'm not feeling well the smell of any kind of smoke bothers me. It really is quite strange to me.
     When it's good and I take in that long deep breath I think of sitting on the back porch at my dads house. My hiding spot to smoke cause I could hear when anyone pulled up at home and had plenty of places to ditch the butt. Sitting on the top step on the fake indoor/outdoor green grass that has been there forever. Just thinking and being and having a little time and space all for myself.

The Baker?

Chocolate Dipped cookies laid out to dry last December

     Growing up my mom always made piles and piles of christmas cookies. Many different varieties. They were always given out to friends and of course plenty stayed for us to eat. As I got older I was allowed to help make them. She wasn't always thrilled but one year after burning the chocolate while melting it on the stove one too many times she let me take over. When I melted it in the microwave she was horrified. When she saw how easy it was and that it melted fine she began doing it that way too.
       Now in my own home with my own kids we make piles and piles of christmas cookies. Yes it is definitely easier and quicker when they don't help. But their helping is part of the fun and tradition. I don't make all the same kinds my mom used to. Some years I make more than others. Some years I try out a new cookie or two. For as long as I've been making them and giving them out I've been told I should sell them. I never thought much of it because I figured it would ruin the fun of making them. And besides would people really pay for them?
     Yesterday it was again suggested to me. This time I thought, "maybe." A few months ago a road was closed by us and traffic was diverted up our street. I had made some cookies a few days before and there were still a bunch laying around. Emily had been talking about trying to have a lemonade stand a lot around this time. Well I didn't have any paper cups to sell lemonade in but we had cookies and a captive bunch of travelers. Andrew made the sign and Robert and Emily sold every last cookie we had for a quarter a piece. They made $20. I guess that's why I figured maybe it was time to try it.
     I had to make sure my husband was on board as I would need his help. He could also possibly get orders from lots of people at work who had ordered girl scout cookies from Em two years ago. So, I've been brainstorming and playing test kitchen for a lot of the day. And it's really been a lot of fun. I'm not sure how it'll go or if it'll go for that matter but we'll see. I made up my own peanut butter chip cookie that came out well I thought. After everyone returned home from school and ate them all I knew it came out great.
     Maybe it'll just be for this season, maybe not. Maybe I'll get sick of it real quick or have no takers. I'll play test for a little longer and get some pictures and prices and things together. Then we'll see how it goes. My computer geek husband will set it up online and we'll see what happens I guess. Even if I only make a little christmas shopping money it'll be fun and interesting I'm sure. And at least I'll feel like I'm doing something, or at least trying to, in the meantime.

Strange

     Went out shopping myself after dinner last night. It was nice not having any little kids with me. Especially in Home Goods where they have a nice section full of pretty glass items and dishes that I never get to look at. As I walked through the door I couldn't help notice their Help Wanted sign in the window. Of course it was only for the holidays but it stuck in my head as I know I really should be trying to find something new to make things a little easier.
    As I wandered through the glass I passed a woman working there in her Home Goods apron. When I moved out of the glass and into the food section I couldn't help thinking that if I worked there I'd probably wind up breaking something and that wouldn't be too good. No Home Goods and I wouldn't be a good fit I thought. I turned up the next aisle and heard a loud crash and the sound of lots of glass breaking very close by. I couldn't believe it and my heart went out to the poor woman working there I had just passed.  I knew it had to have been her that did it as there really wasn't anyone else around. 
    I took a quick glance over to see what had happened. I'm guessing she placed one too many items on a top shelf made out of glass and it broke. Breaking a mirror and some other things on it and below it as one crashed into another. Talking and thinking more and more lately about getting and looking for a new job, I knew I didn't want one in retail. I figured if it came to it I might not have a choice. Last night I think I got a little sign that staying away from retail is the right path for me to follow right now! 

Politics

     Elections are coming, they're right around the corner. Which means I cannot listen to the radio in the morning without a smattering of candidates commercials coming across the airwaves. When they first start airing it's ok because there would be only one played here or there. Now as we fast approach election day each commercial break is filled with them. I find I'm turning the radio off much earlier each day as I'm sick of listening to them.
     I don't care to hear that your opponent did A, B and C, so I should vote for you instead. What's good about you that I should vote for you? As far as I'm concerned I want to know about YOU, not your  opponent, in YOUR ads. Maybe your opponent plays dirty and creates those types of ads. Why do you have to? We all know there really is no more truth in advertising so I certainly can't believe much of anything from your commercials anyway. What's wrong with telling me about you in your own ads? Shouldn't you be promoting yourself not slamming your opponent to get votes? I think you should.
    Too bad I've yet to hear any type of ad like that. It's always who did or didn't do what and then paid for by the other guy. It's absolutely ridiculous! Maybe that's why so many of us don't bother going out to vote. There's no one to trust or believe in. No one who stands above the mud slinging worth leaving my nice warm house and going out to vote for. No one coming to your door to meet you and shake your hand. What happened to those days? We'll be stuck with one of you what difference does it make to me which mud slinger gets in? The lesser of two evils maybe?
     It sucks to say but our country is in a sorry state. I love it but I don't love what's happening to it. It's never easy to change or turn things around. But it's nice to have the hope that they will. Listening to the crap political commercials on the radio every day makes me want to run and hide under the covers. Under there, there's still hope things change and get better. I can't so I just turn off the radio. I think tomorrow I'll put my Meatloaf CD back on. Come election day it'll be what it'll be and when I hear who wins I'll have forgotten who was who. Who did or didn't do A, B and C. I don't know who any of you are. When you do something right maybe I'll learn. When you tell me who you are and not how bad the other guy is maybe I'll start to listen.
    

Ohio

     First day of our big cross country trip was spent getting to Ohio making a few stops and getting out of Ohio. It was a crazy ambitious day and by dinner we all felt it. May not have been the best day, possibly the worst of the trip, but that could have been because of all the hype and excitement we all brought along with us that first day.

     We got up real early, was about to say bright and early but we were on the road before the sun came up so that wouldn't be accurate. On the road before 4am, all of us had stayed up late except my husband the driver so we'd (read the kids) would sleep more in the car. Too bad that didn't work out. We were all too jacked up. No one slept much at all. Maybe an hour here or there along the first long stretch but that's about it. We'd been through Jersey and some of Pennsylvania before. Once we hit Ohio everyone was very excited. We were really doing this!

     Our first stop was Sunset Hills Burial Park in Canton. Thurman Munson is buried there. The Yankee fans we are, and with my sons middles name being Thurman, my husband had to make this the first stop. Of course in the excitement to get out of the car one of the kids spilled Gatorade all over. So while Rob and the kids paid their respects and took some pictures, I cleaned up the mess. It was lunchtime by then so we found a Mcdonalds close by, figuring a playground to run on would be good before jumping back in the car for another hour.
     Best laid plans right? Well everyone ate, forgetting about the whole yucky mustard thing on burgers out of NY State, but noone made a big fuss. The kids played and Rob went to try to get a quick nap in the car. To give him a little extra time we ate sundaes too. We were pulling out of the parking lot on our way to our next stop in Cleveland when Emily threw up all her Mcdonalds. Not just a little either. Guess she waited to be in the car where she was comfortable. So we pull into some parking lot and clean her and the car up. Baby wipes and a quick change of clothes for Em, some clorox wipes and air freshener for the car and we were set. Glad I thought to bring all that and have it handy in the car. I was hopeful, as she is my puking child, that it was just all the excitement and running around that did it and not a real sickness. Thankfully I was right.

     About an hour later we were at our next destination The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Although parking there proved to be interesting as we pulled into the garage with the cartop carrier. We didn't immediately realize that it made out car too high to park there. The carrier bent under the beams of the garage as we tried to pull in. It did not sound good. The attendant had to stop traffic coming in while we figured out what to do. All I was thinking was how much it was going to suck unpacking it and taking it off to get the car out. Rob had other plans, he figured it bent once it could again and we'd get out. Well, it worked but was damn scary watching the top on our car get cruched again by the beam, praying it would not break open and everything come flying out. We found another outside lot not far away and cheaper to park in. For the rest of the trip shied away from parking garages and paid very close attention to height limits.

     The Hall of Fame is in a pretty nice area right on the water so we walked around a bit before going in. Then we paid our admission and were bummed to learn you cannot take any pictures in the museum itself. You start downstairs and work your way up through five levels. Granted they get smaller as you move up and most of the third is a food court. The collection is housed mostly on the first two floors. A bunch of cool stuff to see. Unfortunately with Jake it was hard to take the time and really see everything they had. Of course the ZZtop car was cool for him to see, and there were some music players he enjoyed listening to and playing with. The top two levels were quite small and change as they pay tribute to different artists at different times. While we were there it was Bruce Springsteen, as we're not big fans of his, it was disappointing. Overall we thought it would have been much better.

     Before leaving Cleveland we tried to get dinner at this place called "Melt" we had seen on Man Vs. Food. Unfortunately the wait was just too long as we had a few more hours of driving to do to get to our hotel for the night. We had orignally thought to just stay in Cleveland but were told that might not be the best idea from people who'd been there before. So we were off for Louisville, Kentucky. I wanted to find somewhere to stop and eat right away when Melt didn't work out. My husband was confidant we'd find something along the way and hit the interstate.

     By the time we were all starving and absolutely had to stop there was not much of a choice coming up on the GPS. We picked a pizza place out of three that were coming up in the next town. We think it was called Jeffersonville. I called and ordered a pie. When we got there it was a very small quiet little town. Almost like a main street you'd see in the movies except no one was around and it looked a little run down. The place looked like it needed help, or maybe it was under renovation and we went in to pick up our pie. The people there were very nice and it seemed like they did a lot of delivery business but we were the only customers inside. My husband didn't want pizza and so went up the street in search of something else with Emily.

     Me and the boys took the pie across the street to the car. We sat on the sidewalk with our pizza and drinks from the cooler in the back of the car. We were all quite moody at this point. Cranky and hungry. The pizza was cut into tiny square pieces like I'd never seen before. It wasn't too bad, it was food and we ate it all. Rob wound up with some kind of cheesesteak sandwich from another pizza place up the road. Finally full of our interesting dinner we got back into the car for another few hours and finally made our way to Kentucky and our hotel for the next 2 days.

     It was a stressful, long first day. Rob got to see Thurman and all the Michael Jackson stuff in the Hall of Fame. I was happy to see John Lennons Sgt. Peppers outfit, though it would have been better if they had them all, or if i could have gotten a picture with it. The kids made the most of it. And we were at the start of a great adventure. 

Outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland

Crash

     Have you ever been driving in your car coming up on a red light with no one stopped in front of you and wondered, "What if just didn't stop? Could I sail right through? Would I make it? Could I get that lucky? If someone hit me which side would they hit me from? Left? Or right? What about that little black car that just crossed in front of me, would he have been the one to hit me? What if it was a big truck? What then? Would the car spin or just collapse in on itself from the side? How loud would it be? Would I scream? Would anyone hear me? Would I hit someone else? How hurt would I be? How would my family react?"
     I've got issues with driving. I never really cared to learn but knew I had too. If only I could walk everywhere. That said, if I know where I am I can be a confident, happy driver. I've had many panic attacks over driving places I was unfamiliar with. If I hadn't driven there before I would try not to go or to get someone else to drive. The heart palpitations and the crying would ensue. Sometimes I'd get my way sometimes I'd have to suck it up and do it. I've gotten much better over the years. Moving out of the house I grew up in and my comfort zone helped that immensely. I still hate not knowing where I'm going. I become ok with it and do it as long as I have a map and detailed directions of where I'm going that I pretty much study/memorize before attempting to drive there. Yeah, in case you're wondering, that whole big cross country trip I went on this summer? I drove one time, in New Mexico, in the hotel parking lot- to move the car closer to our room.
     I wonder if that anxiety brings on the crash thoughts or I'm just a crazy person wondering what it would feel like if I ran right into that telephone pole, or the big tree on the other side of the road. Would either of them give any? Would the car wrap right around them? Would I hit my head on the wheel? Would the air bag pop out? What would that feel like? Or what about that slight embankment I drive by everyday taking Jake to school? If I turned the wheel too much or another car pushed me over would I completely lose control? Would the car flip over? How many times? Could I be left hanging upside down from my seatbelt? How would that feel?
     Sure we all have issues and this just happens to be a big one of mine. I used to refuse to drive on the expressway. If I had to get on it to go somewhere well, I just wouldn't go. Moving to a street right off the service road of said expressway has losened me up quite a bit. I still don't like it but I do it. And I'd much rather drive east with less crazy people, or so I think, than west. Needless to say I'm not sure how many times I've gone east. West? I can count on one hand how many. I survivied.
     I had the worst panic attack of my life years ago on the service road of Sunrise highway. Not a good way to drive at all, but I had to go that way and had no way out of it. I obviously made it through as I'm still here to tell you all about it. I have yet to ever drive anywhere near Sunrise again to this day though. I absolutely flat out refuse. If I need to go somewhere near I find any way other than going on Sunrise to get there. Maybe one day I'll try again. But it'll take a lot of convincing and probably my calm husband in the car with me incase I freak out.
     I've never been in any major car accident. One small sideswipe that was totally not my fault. I had the light. But anyway, Is that why my brain conjures up these thoughts as I'm in my car. I only have them when I'm driving and it's always the what if?  Because 'what if' is such a fun game to play. I've seen a few accidents occur right in front of me and I know I'm not alone in that. They totally freak me out and I can't stop thinking about them for days when I do see one. It's my nature to be obsessive, haven't been able to break that one at all so far. Maybe I shouldn't watch so much TV with car accidents. Yeah like any of us can get away from those. At least I don't obsess about the TV ones just the ones I'm an eyewitness too.
     We're all going to go sometime and I wonder if this obsession, paranoia, anxiety is a foreboding of some sort. My husband has a thing about the water, so I guess we may not be going together. Whats yours? Do you have one? Anyway, I guess eventually one day we'll know. In the meantime I'll do my best just keeping it all in my head while I'm driving. Maybe it's keeping me better focused when I drive and away from any major accident. Who knows?    

Moms

     If you know me at all or have been reading me you know there's no love lost between me and my own mother. I think it's because I learned at too young an age I couldn't believe any of the words that came out of her mouth. Which may have been to my benefit in that I found plenty of surrogate moms to talk to and learn from. Sure a lot of teenagers think their mom is the worst and their friends moms are the best. I was definitely no different. In fact most of my friends moms I called mom too. I still do. It makes me feel good to call them that. I can only hope they feel the same way.
     Women can be very mean, nasty and catty to each other. They can also be the biggest help, comfort and advice givers. I worked with a lot of women at the library. Sure sometimes you butt heads, only natural. But most others there were great discussions, advice, and information shared. And plenty of goood times had. Again some of my co-workers were like surrogate moms. Everyone one of us has learned things our own way and had our own experiences. Every one of us has a wealth of information to share. I think I miss that the most.
     I've learned so many things from so many wonderful women. From dealing with kids and husbands to medical advice to yummy recipes. It's great to share stories. And I guess thats why I'm here every day to have someone to share with. It's not the best way to stay connected but it's what I've got.
     Certainly not one mom/woman is perfect. But we can take the best of each other and make ourselves better. No one needs to know where it came from. We can take the worst that we learned and toss that out the window. There's a new show called "The Talk" that seems pretty interesting with it's all female all mom panel. Although I'd rather hear from real women without millions of dollars in their bank accounts on how they deal, I still may check it out. Nothing beats real life, real person, one on one talk. Since I'm lacking my library ladies I've been calling my girlfriends more. Not quite the same as we're all much closer in age but it's still good girl talk.
     I feel bad thinking about some of my surrogate moms who've moved away that I didn't keep in touch with. May have to do a little internet search and maybe get to drop them a thank you I think is long overdue. Same goes for some of my girlfriends moms that are still close by. As we get older we may be complaining about them more and more as they drive us crazy more and more. We do also have to remember that their time to drive us crazy and share their stories and wealth of information is never as long as we might hope it to be. Thanks and Love You moms! 

Meatloaf

     No I'm not talking about the food you eat. I'm talking about the singer. The one I saw at Jones Beach with my husband though I barely remember it. Guess we'll have to go see him again sometime. I've got a guess where my head was at the night of the concert to have made me forgotten it but well drop that for now. Since I've been using my radio for WRCN in the kitchen lots and lots lately I actually caught Mr. Loaf on the air the other day. It was a pleasant surprise as it's not often he'll be played. I still knew all the words to the song and it prompted me to dig out my "Bat Out of Hell" cd.
     Meatloaf brings back all kinds of memories when I hear his music, if not of the concert, of lots of other things. First and foremost being prom. Or I should say after prom. A friend on Facebook reminded me of it yet again last night so I knew I had to do this post. So where to begin...
    Junior prom was cheesy but being a girl I had to go. I also had to do the "right" thing and find a date. I didn't have a boyfriend at the time so I wound up going with a friend. I wouldn't say it was a bad choice just maybe not ideal. We had some fun, made the best of it, and got some wonderfully cheesy photos for posterity out of it. For my senior prom I was not going to do the same thing. Well, yet again I did not have a boyfriend so, no date. I wasn't settling for a friend. I decided to go by myself. All my friends would be going, what did I care if they brought dates or not. I was going.
     I did have to fight my class advisor to be able to buy just a ticket for myself and not pay double for just me. I won. My two girlfriends and I found a limo and split the cost by three. Even though they were bringing dates it was our prom. The prom was fun and our class had an after prom cruise with DJ already set up so we did that too. No Meatloaf was played at either. He was saved for the limo ride home. My girlfriends and their dates didn't care as I sang every single word to every song on the "Bat Out of Hell" album. They may have been otherwise engaged anyway. And I was in my own little Meatloaf world so it worked out fine for everybody. Though not forgotten.
     When we were much younger some friends and I put on a little skit/show for our parents to "Paradise By the Dashboard Light." Not having a clue as to what the baseball reference in the song really meant we just pretended to play ball. Looking back now I'm sure our parents were pleased we were all still clueless. And maybe that's why they were having a good laugh during our show.

Senior prom. I am of course dead center without a date.

       Putting the CD on again I can still sing almost every word to every song. I may get tripped up here and there but it's been some time between listenings so it's only natural. The memory of the melody and rhythm of the song still remains if not exactly which word is said where in the lyrics. I was proud of myself for remembering much more than I thought I would. It has been too many years since I'd played the album through. And though singing some of the songs at the top of my lungs may disturb my kids a bit, they just have to deal with it. I think I got louder the more I realized that 'Yes, I still know all the words!' I did check myslef from replaying and resinging my favorite songs too many times as to not to hurt their eardrums too badly.

I Want My MTV

     Well no I really don't want MTV, not with what it's become. Honestly I haven't tuned to MTV in ages. Too old for that now. I'd take it back the way it used to be. Maybe. When it first came on the air. Or some repeats of the good stuff they aired, like thier game show,Remote Control. But I definitely want my TV. For now and always, as no matter how much things change I will always be able to find something to watch on TV.
    Now I've said some not nice things about technology and making my children disconnect to go out and play. And I absolutely feel that way, just not about TV. For me, anyway, when I feel the need to unwind TV is a good friend to hang out with.  Here it is a perfectly good Saturday and my butt's been attached to the couch for many many hours so far. Been catching up on all my DVR'd shows from the past week or so. DVR is such another lovely thing, but as it belongs with the TV how could I not love it too? Rob and I even tossed the kids out so we could watch in peace. Worked well too as they stayed out much longer than I expected. From being forced to go with Jake, to playing their own made up games together (of course once I sat down here to type they decided to come in- go figure.)
     Looking forward to a few more hours with my lovely TV today as playoffs are beginning shortly. I grew up with TV and became a big old couch potato. My mom didn't have the tube constatntly on like we may do in this house. If my dad was home it was on, somewhere in the house. A long, long time ago they even sold a game and stuffed toy called Couch Potato- I had both. In fourth grade, I finally got my own room. Within six months I had saved up enough money to buy my own TV for my room. I watched soaps while doing homework and it didn't hurt my grades. I stayed up all night sometime just watching whatever crap was on.
      My kids are spoiled and all have TV's in their rooms that they did not have to buy themselves. Funny thing is they don't use them half as much as I did. I guess they have far too many other glowing screens to grab their focus. That's their world. Mine was TV and movies, I guess thats why I love them so much. The amount of channels and choices now is insane. I joked with my husband before about forgetting to let Jake watch Sat. morning cartoons because thats when Nickelodeon puts the new ones on he likes now. He can have cartoons all day and night now especially with the kiddie channels that run 24 hours now. And he has a choice too, even at 1am! Sickening.
     My TV time is my down time. And I'm sure I"m not the only one. So for me cathing up on a DVR'd show at 1am when I can't sleep is fine. I'm an adult now so it's ok. There are 6 TV's in this house. there are also 6 computers to put it in perspective, 7 when my husband brings home his laptop from work. I've wanted to make a window in the wall between my dining room and living room, for time like now so I can see/hear the TV, while getting other things done. My husband doesn't agree with me. So maybe I've got to find a way to get one in here or at least the kitchen because they open up to each other. For now the radio is my substitute in the kitchen. Of course music is great, but for other times when i'd rather watch/hear TV, it's be nice to have one.
     I know my husband is the same with TV. We compare Andrew to the character from "Dream On" sometimes, but really should be comparing ourselves. I can't imagine how people have just one TV in their homes. A minimum of two maybe so he could watch a game and I could watch something with the kids sometimes. No matter that's definitely not for us.
    We moved into our upstairs almost 3 years ago and already I'm thinking of a new bigger TV for our room. I just don't love the one my husband got. Plus we have the extra wall space. We like to hide out up there and watch shows inappropriate for all the kids. Sometimes we even have our own private take out meal too. It's good for us to ditch them all for awhile. We made them, we're allowed.
     The living room has my husbands prize possession, the 60" TV. HIs pick on the new furniture when we added on. I'm very used to them, as my parents owned one of the original large screen TV's when they first came out. Though they were the same size all the way around not just measured diagonally then. When we relax in there, often the kids all come in and watch with us, no matter we are watching. Sometimes they saty sometimes they are in and out. Survivor, and Man vs. Food are the current favorites and they all stay. I've yet to catch Family Game Night on the new HUB network but think we may love that too. So it can bring us together. As much as I love my TV the key is to know when enough is enough and shut it off for awhile. I think I do. Although today may be an exception. Game on...
    

The Chair

 

Isn't it pretty?

     It was only a matter of time. My husband is the luckiest son of a gun when it comes to timing too. The Chair, Our Chair, from old Yankee Stadium arrived just a few hours before the playoffs started this year. My husband was quite excited. His plan had been to watch the playoffs sitting in it of course. Those games we weren't lucky enough to get tickets to that is. And since he told me at the very first Yankee game I attended with him that, "If they lose you can't ever come with me again." I told him before the playoffs began, "If they lose, tomorrow night my butt belongs in that chair." Of course it didn't come to that. 

     I know the chair means a lot more to him, Yankee lore speaking. To me it's more about us. Yes there's a lot of Yankee history involved but there's also a lot of our history involved. That of course means more to me, even if it doesn't to him. I know who I married. When we knew the old stadium was being torn down it was quite depressing. Finding out they were selling the seats, well I knew we had to have one. Sure two would have been more appropriate but with the price, not even close to possible. Though maybe we should have gotten two bleacher benches as our first game was spent out there. As were many others. But of course most games we spent, and our wedding game, we all sat in the upper deck in those pretty bright blue seats.

      As time went by we just didn't have the extra to get that seat. It was depressing to see the old stadium being tore down bit by bit. Each tim

Last section standing is where we sat for our wedding

e I got to a game last year it looked worse and worse. Very sad. I probably wanted to cry as much as my husband though we didn't as we stood there. That was our church, as my husband has called it. Where we spent lots of time together and eventually pledged our lives to each other. Here it was now just a big pile of rubble. I knew time would be running out on the seats so I had decided after vacation this year I was going to sock away as much as I could and get the chair for Rob's bday/xmas present. Then I wound up being forced to resign and I knew the extra cash wouldn't be flowing in quite so well. It was so annoying. Here a piece of our history we could actually have and hold onto and sit in every day, but we just couldn't have it.

     Or so I thought. More proof of my lucky husband, The Chair that now sits in my living room among my husbands Yankee collection was actually bought for a steal in a Steiner Sports auction. You see The Chair is signed by Joe Girardi and David Cone and dated with his perfect game, (yes my husband was lucky enough to attend that game also!)  When my husband told me about the auction and the fact that we could get this signed seat cheaper than a regular priced plain old one, and not pay for shipping, I said to go for it. Why not? You never know. Plus I knew we should have one and my secret plan of securing one for us before they were gone was not going to work out. We deserved to have it. And we were obviously meant to!

     We were both surprised by the very low amount of bids on the chair. We were surprised when we actually won it. Maybe it was just not a well known auction? Bad timing for everyone else? Perfect timing for us! No matter it is something we will always have and cherish. And if our kids don't, when we're gone, at least they'll wind up getting more for it because it's signed. So, lucky for everyone I guess! 



The entrance from our wedding. Funny it didn't look like this then.

















Where Did You Go?

     A few days ago Robert didn't come home from school on time, as always. Sure a few times over the years he's stayed after without saying so and always caught a late bus home, no problem. This year is different. Emily gets home off the bus the same time I have to be picking up Jacob from his school. Robert has been the one coming home every day no matter what to help me out. He stays here for Emily while I'm getting Jake. It's worked out well. And I didn't think he minded doing it. That is until the other day.
     Andrew came home without Robert. Andrew doesn't stay after every day, but a lot of them. When he came in without his brother I asked where he was. Andrew said he didn't see him get on the bus. He also said he thought he saw him from the bus, walking with a friend of his down the road from school. I tried to let it go. Maybe it wasn't Robert he saw. Maybe Robert needed to stay after and would be calling me to pick him up. Maybe he would just take the late bus home. But it felt wrong. Robert wouldn't not tell me he was staying right? There had to be a good reason. Maybe he needed to stay to finish a test like Andrew had a week or so before. Maybe.
     Like I said I tried to let it go. Then, I thought to ask Andrew if Robert knew he'd be coming home. If Robert knew Andrew would be home for his sister that would explain the not calling or hanging out with a friend afterschool. Andrew said, "No. He never asked me about it." My twins aren't exactly the closest of brothers. I think they're too opposite of each other. They don't really look out for each other, much less talk to each other at all in school. Once when they were in the same class they got in trouble for poking and fighting with each other during class since the teacher had sat them in alphabetical order. They have never been in the same class again.
     So, I was watching the clock and waiting, thinking he'd call shortly before three when afterschool extra help sessions are over. No call. I was peeling potatoes for dinner trying not to think about where he could be. What he was doing. And who was this "friend" Andrew thinks he saw him with? I don't really know any of their friends. They hang out at school but don't make many plans with anyone outside of school. Maybe he wasn't a good kid. Maybe he led my gullible Robert off somewhere and 'Oh My God' did I even know what he was wearing that day? Needless to say it was quite hard to keep my thoughts in check. I was about to go ask Andrew what he knew of the kid Robert may have been walking with when my sister showed up and about two minutes later Robert walked through the door.
      The first question out of my mouth was, "How did you get here?" I didn't hear or see a car and knew the bus drop off time was still a ways away. He said he walked home with his friend. I looked out the window but his friend was already gone. My sister confirmed he was with someone, saying she had seen him walking with some kid on a bike next to him. I kicked Robert upstairs to his room, and had my emotional moment, thankful he was home and fine after all the crazy things that had gone through my head. My sister left and later I got the rest of the story from my son.
     Roberts story: He missed the bus. Though I never asked how or why, plain and simple he missed his bus. Not sure what to do yet, his friend saw him and asked if he wanted to walk home with him. He lived in the same neighborhood and walked home all the time, according to Robert. So he went with him. Granted they had to walk up Rt 112 and cross both the north and south service roads of the expressway, but I'd done plenty of walking around when I was his age and younger my mother still doesn't know about. And I walked home from school every time I stayed after instead of waiting around for a late bus to show up. So they stopped at his friends house for him to get his bike because he was getting tired. And his friend wanted to see where he lived and make sure he knew how to get there. They came all the way back to our house together.
     It took a little bit for me to settle down but it was all good. He'd made it home. He'd made a good choice in a friend that would make sure he got home. He made sure he was home for his sister even though it stressed me out a bit. No, he never called. And I was ok with that. I guess because it worked out well. He is growing up and needs to make good choices for himself. He proved that he could to me that day. There isn't always a phone to use anyway. I felt good about it. My husband not so much. He was adamant he should have called either before he left the school or when they reached his friends house. Sure, that would have been nice but it wasn't something I was going to stress over.
     Yes, we are living in an age of constant contact but you've got to let go sometime and somehow. Yes if something had happened we wouldn't have known it was him until way too late because we'd had no idea where he was. Now if he wants to walk home I know his route. I walked home from school way too many times to remember. Did my mother know I did? Nope. Did she know which route I took? No way. I was a girl and I was alone. Different times though right? But now I've learned I can trust he's making good choices. He managed to get himself home in one piece without help from me. I have to let him grow up. I have no choice in that. It was just yet another fun filled, stress out lesson as mom I have to learn, sometimes the hard way, and a growing up test I'd say my son passed pretty well.

Too bad we can't always kept safety harness' on them!

One of Those Days

     So did anyone even miss me yesterday? Hope so because as much as I'm doing this for myself it's kind of stupid if no one is reading it. I know I don't always make every day but I do try. The funk has hit yet again and it's really starting to get annoying. Especially when it lasts more than a day. Sure, it didn't help that I wasn't feeling 100% having a little cold and all. But here we are with yet another day.
     If I could have crawled back into my nice warm bed and hid out under the covers for the day yesterday I  would have. It was really all I kept thinking about. I was very grateful that I was able to do just that finally at 9:15pm last night. And Jake conked out nicely too, without me having to bring him back to his own bed a few times. Over the years I certainly have had plenty of these types of days. They were just fewer and further between than they've been lately. I'm sure I can come up with plenty of reasons why that is but let's not go there.
     Maybe a few times a year or so I'd get to just stay in bed. Or close to it. Sure there'd be the initial get up and get whomever off to school. Then I'd get back in bed and veg with any little one that may have been home with me at the time. I'd doze, I'd cry, I'd watch TV, and of course get up and eat crap. Usually the only thing that made the day better. When time was up, I'd pull myself together and get dinner going or plan for take out for when school was over and eveyone came back home. Funky day being over for me then and knowing tomorrow was a new day. Not sure why I have these but I'm guessing I'm not the only one. Or if I am maybe I need to go see someone.
     When our bedroom doubled as the living room for awhile I sometimes made that conscious choice to keep it as a bedroom and not close the bed up into the couch. At least for a few extra hours on certain days. The kids didn't care as they got to play on and hang out in mommy and daddy's bed. You do what you gotta do right?
     Yesterday, I managed to do more than I expected. Of course when my only job of extra watching was 8-4 there was no way I was getting up to my bed. I guess I could have settled for the couch but with a one year old running around that really doesn't work too well. So we played and had lunch and got Jake to school. We hit the grocery store and made dinner for everyone. Although it felt as if I was just going through the motions. Which I guess I just was. Eventually I vegged and watched some TV while dinner was cooking. My family came home and the extra went home. Later I took Emily out to the  neighborhood center. An extension of the library at her school, very nice. We'd never been able to go before as I was always working the only times they were open. It was a nice treat even if I still feel like I'm on the wrong side of the desk in any library.
      Back on track today sort of. Blog is almost done. :) Hope to get in another for you later to make up for yesterday. Sink is cleared out and dishwasher is going. Getting off my butt to exercise next, even if it is only walking in front of the TV while I watch 'The Biggest Loser' from the other night. Two birds, one stone right? I'm definitely a fan of those two birds.

Best Laid Plans

     I didn't plan on not having a job a few short weeks after returning from our big trip. At least that was the only major thing I didn't plan for that happened. (As I was quite paranoid something would go wrong or very bad would happen to us along the way.) We started talking about the big trip a little over a year before we left for it. Even with all the talk and planning that went into it, it just didn't seem real. Of course it was and I have plenty of pictures to prove it. I still can't believe we did it though. It was a major undertaking that went very well. Except of course that now I don't have a job anymore. But thats why I'm here now right? So, enough about that...

     Working at the library was very beneficial in our planning. I scoured our collection and the collections of all libraries in Suffolk County for any good useful information for the trip. Slow times at work were spent looking through many different travel and guide books. From obscure things like "Marilyn Slept Here" to plain old travel books for each state. The internet was quite useful too, although sometimes a bit overwhelming with information. I was able to request and receive travel booklets, pamphlets and even maps from just about every state we would be going to or through. All for free. I'm definitely a sucker for freebies. Some were more useful than others of course, some sent tons of info, others I couldn't get anything. Just having the information made me feel better about the planning.

Our mapped out road trip hanging in the dining room

     We had all sorts of ideas of where to go, what to see, and what to do. There's just so much out there. (Which is why we're already thinking about the Big Trip part 2-the states we missed!) Cost is what steered us in certain directions most times. Even though we always had to keep an eye on the bottom line there were plenty of ways to work around it. And we definitely made things work. The main attraction that really started the whole idea of the trip was the Grand Canyon. Playing around on mapquest I figured if we were going as far as the Grand Canyon why not go to Disneyland? Disneyland was not cost effective for us so it became Six Flags Magic Mountain, also known to us "National Lampoons Vacation" lovers as Wally World. The Six Flags Parks around the country then became our destinations. I never thought we'd hit all of them but with my husbands input we had 7 lined up for the trip: Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, California, 2 parks in Texas, and Georgia.

     The locations of the parks gave us a general idea of the road we would take. There were some large gaps in-between certain parks and we had to find some other things to add in as well. This was never hard to do. Especially with all the visitor guides and travel books I had been collecting and going through. Many ideas were tossed about some stuck some just didn't work as much as we would have liked them to. I found a great website called http://www.roadsideamerica.com/ that you could plug in any state or town and they'd list any crazy roadside attraction you may want to visit in that town. It was great. Who knew there was so much strange stuff out there. This is how I found the 60ft tall Jolly Green Giant statue we visited in Minnesota. I'd have the route lined up on mapquest to see what towns we'd be going through and where we might need a stop, then compare it to roadside america site to see if anything fit.

     We didn't stay in any ritzy, glitzy hotels. We don't need all that. We did need space for all of us and beds to sleep in. Being a family of six, one room just fits us, when we make it fit. Two would have been nice but not feasible budget wise. We brought two sleeping bags and a fold-up camp cot for when needed, which wasn't all, but most nights. The kids definitely didn't mind. It was part of the adventure, though it was Robert who most often slept on the floor in the sleeping bag when needed. The only things we made sure of were two double beds, air conditioning, and free breakfast in the morning. Added bonus' were a pool and of course laundry facilities when we knew we'd be needing them. Of course some places were better and nicer than others. We lucked out with a family suite in Wyoming, by far the best place we stayed. We made do when we had to. Most places we did a little furniture rearranging to make us all fit more comfortably. 

     We didn't plan where we'd be eating each day, except of course for breakfast. We also brought along some canned microwavable meals so we didn't always have to eat out. Of course not all hotels had a microwave in our room. We had an idea of what was around and the GPS, which was helpful sometimes and not so good others. A few places we chose from it happened to be closed down. Planning easy days for getting laundry done and the car checked out were an absolute necessity. Knowing we'd have a sort of down day coming, one that wasn't spent in the car for hours, was helpful. 

     After 25 days on the road with four kids there are a few things we'd do differently. The main one being make sure we have shorter drives. We had two way too long days of driving and no one wants to do that again. The other would be getting gas when we see a station even if we're still 1/2 or 1/4 full because you never know how far off the highway that next gas station will be. Especially in Utah!    

Interior Design

     When you walk into my home if you know anything about me you will not be surprised. I've never been a fan of the same old plain blah decorating schemes most people have in their homes. Sure colors and designs are different but there's always some flowers or stripes or something typical involved. If you couldn't tell already from reading me I pretty much put it all out there. Why wouldn't I do the same with my home?
     When my husband and I bought our house he was disappointed there was no extra room or basement he could use to make into his "man cave" and put up all his Yankee stuff. Not being a fan of "caves" to hide out in I told him he should put his stuff up in the living room. As I was planning on putting my Garfield stuff up in the kitchen anyway. He thought we'd put plain, neutral stuff up on the wall and decorate that way. Like most people do. I told him. "This is our house, this is what we like why shouldn't we put up what we like? It's who we are." He quickly got on board with that. Besides why go waste money on things we don't really want just because we felt we should. Yes we were adults with our own home. That didn't mean we couldn't make our home what we wanted it to be.
     Since we moved in six years ago we have rearranged and remodeled a few times as our family and house has grown in size. Our first living room Rob attempted to paint pinstripes on the wall. It didn't work out so well. We settled for white walls with navy blue trim. He hung as many Yankee pictures as he could fit. The kitchen was painted orange and I fit in as much Garfield stuff as I could. At the time we didn't have a lot of space. Many of things we had collected over the years of our obsessions went into the attic for storage. Once we were able to add size to our home everything came back out. Some got tossed most we decorated with.
     We decided I'd still have the kitchen and now the dining room also for my Garfield stuff. Rob would have the living room and up the stairs for his Yankee stuff. I wanted an Odie yellow for my dining room but couldn't decide on the shade. I picked a color and my husband picked one too. In frustration he bought a gallon of each one. In my own frustration I mixed them together and that is now the color of my dining room. Our own special made Odie yellow. I got rid of a lot of stuffed animals and put out more collectibles. I have a china closet in my dining room. We don't do formal much around here so it is full of Garfield collectibles I have aquired over the years. I also have plates and pictures of the kids with Garfield, even a street sign my dad got for me back when I was in high school.
     My husband has a lot of pictures and plaques he has made over the years from all the games he/we have attended. We have a picture with Bob Sheppard and one with Reggie Jackson too. In his decorating scheme each wall has a meaning. With his newest addition "The Chair"(more on that to come) he'll soon be doing some rearranging. He hung championship banners from the top of the stairs and they do look great. We could fit one more up but we've yet to get the special ladder we'd need to reach to hang it. Not sure that we ever will by now.
     The hallways, both upstairs and down, are filled with family pictures. Though some have made their way into the living room. All of us at Yankee games of course. And since the big trip I've added a bunch to the dining room. I had been hoping to have a picture of Jacob with Garfield every year since we found him at a park in Conneticut. They have since gotten rid of Garfield from their park so we have not been back. Quite disappointing as I had pictures from his first three years with him. Oh well. The big trip pictures have taken over a wall yet, Garfield still prevails. Though I have not been collecting much lately, more important things come first. All the things I already have displayed will not be going anywhere soon. Especially not the tattoo on my leg.

     I can't explain why but I've been obsessed with Garfield since I was little. My husband will say the same about the Yankees. Check my 1st grade birthday picture, I had a Garfield party! My husband has been to over 200 Yankee games and has a book of his stats from those games! Check the interlocking ny tattoo on his right bicep. I did get mine first. :) We are who we are and our home definitely shows it. And I wouldn't have it any other way.     



Don't worry about the people in the picture how many Garfield's can you see?



Lucky Numbers

     Yes todays date 10-10-10 is pretty cool. And it'll be quite some time before it happens again. But is it any reason to pick it as your wedding date? Sure it'll force your hubby to always remember the anniversary but what else? Is it lucky? Who knows? Maybe we should go back and see how all the people who rushed to marry on 7-7-07 are doing? My guess some or fine some are not. That's just the way life works. Lucky numbers or not.

     I had an aunt and uncle who were together forever, or at least as long as I could remember. They had three kids but were never married. Then 8-8-88 came along and they decided to run down and get hitched. As I'm not privy to intimate details of their relationship I can't say what went wrong. I can say they got divorced. Though I can't tell you what date that was on. I also can't tell you the anniversary for any of my other aunts and uncles either. So I guess having a special date does make people remember it. 9-11-01 has major meaning for all of us. It's much more to a girlfriend of mine. She had her first child that day. I remember being at work in the afternoon that day and getting the call from the hospital. A reassurance that there's still good and hope and love in the world. Having a baby on a special date is a little different I guess. Most people don't get to pick the day their child is born. There's a little more going on there than just picking a date.

     I've talked about birthdays and how we all get our own special day so it's nice to celebrate it. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there with my wedding anniversary, 6-30-01. But probably not half as many as will be sharing today. I think I'd have made sure to avoid a date like that if one was coming around when Rob and I got married. Maybe I'm a little superstitious about it after the 8-8-88 didn't work out. Maybe I'm just not a good sharer. Probably some of both. No matter what the date, as long as it's "your" day you and your loved ones will remember it as such.

    

Birthday Parties



my birthday party in the backyard



     Yet another Saturday I'm not working. Today I actually got to go to a birthday party with my kids. I missed quite a few over the years as I was working. The kids did not miss them as my husband was always home and able to take them. Today we all went together. That is except the big boys who are with their dad. This wasn't exactly a party for them anyway.

     Today was at JUMP in Ronkonkoma. I knew the kids would have a blast as it was a different type of party than they had ever been to before. Centralized around jumping and playing in huge air blown bounce and play houses. Last week my neice had the petting zoo come to her house for her birthday. For Emilys party in June we had it at Krazy Kids, another indoor play type area, right down the road from us. My big boys have done Lazer Tag, Fun 4 All and Bowling parties. Movies too as they've gotten older. There was also one at Wood Kingdom. And of course Plaster Paint Palace, or a few at places like that since I don't think that place actually exsists anymore. There are so many of these places for parties now. Not many kids have a birthday party at home anymore.

     I know the kids love these parties at places. I definitely wouldn't let them miss one for no good reason. I just think the prices get a little crazy. We all want to give our kids everything they want. Sometimes that's just not easy to do. We swung Emily's party by having it on a weeknight and limiting it to the minimum number of guests, eight. That's how we could do it. I tried to talk her into something else. We had only invited school girlfriends for the outside party. We of course had a home family party with immediate family and cousins too. I of course did not go all out for it as the money was going to the party place. She still got two cakes and plenty of gifts.
     Growing up I don't believe I ever had a birthday party NOT at home. And I always had a party. Even my sweet 16 was at home. Usually my whole class was invited. At least in elementary school. That was almost thirty kids sometimes. But when each extra kid doesn't cost $12.95 or so to invite it's more workable. There was also always more time to spend together at the party. Every minute wasn't planned what the kids were supposed to do. They(we), made our own fun. I remember one year my friends and I took down all the streamers my mother hung and wrapped each other up as mummies. At a place, I think the maximum party time I've seen is 2 maybe 2 and 1/2hours. And forget about ever seeing the birthday child open your present. The presents were part of the fun. Opening your new toys and playing with them with your friends. I guess now kids learn to write out thank you cards much earlier to send out after opening their gifts at home. Which isn't a bad lesson just not as much fun.

my 1st grade birthday party

     Maybe if I were rich and I could give my kids any type of party at any place they wanted I'd feel differently. Maybe. But what would they learn then? You CAN always get what you what? I guess that's not a very good lesson either. So my kids will learn a litttle more about money matters and what's more important to them. Emily chose a smaller party at a place over a larger party for a longer time at home. My big boys who have never been very social pick something different to do like a theme park(Dorney last year) and the trapeze class this year instead of a party. Of course they get the family one and cake and presents too. As this is Jake's first year of preschool with his own friends we'll see what happens come May when he turns 5. And we'll do what we can to work what he wants in with our birthday party budget.

Technologically Inclined

     Last Christmas Robert got a laptop from his dad. This completely replaced the old desktop we had given him and put in his room a year or so before. I thought it was time to get rid of it and give him something more useful(a dresser). My husband thought we should give it to Jacob. I was not thrilled with the idea. Why the heck would a four year old need a computer in his room? But also being one to not toss anything that could still be useful, we moved it into his room. It's been there about a month and he does not use it very often. He is more likely to get on my laptop down here. It also works faster and better as it is newer which even a four year old notices.
     Jacob is quite good on the computer and of course on the Wii. My older boys were not even allowed to play video games until they knew how to read. Of course they were the first kids in the house so it was easier to keep them away. Jacob also has his own DS as he calls it. It is really the Leapster hand-held game system for younger kids. We thought it a great birthday present for him before the long cross country trip this summer. He does know how to use the DS' all the other kids have, I just can't trust him with one yet. Too easily breakable for that kind of money. Even Robert the older, supposed to be more responsible, child has lost his DS for an extended period of time and then finally found it again. He even went so far as to buy himself a new one only to return it a few weeks later when the old one finally turned up.
     It is the world they live in, the world they are growing up in, where you are constantly connected. I'd love to shut the power off for a few days to make sure they could survive. We had a massive blackout quite a few years ago now that the big boys do remember. They also thought it was a lot of fun. At least I have that knowledge that we did make the most of it. They were considerably younger then though and not quite as connected to everything. I have my moments when I make them shut everything off and play a game or outside or just make them figure out what to do with themselves without it. They usually wind up having plenty of fun. Even if that type of fun and entertainment had to be forced upon them.
     Andrew is constantly texting this girl he is friends with we know he likes. I'd love to tell him to write her an actual letter. You know put pen to paper and stick it in the mail. I think it might make a big impression. I think and hope he would know how to do this. Of course I don't tell him just incase she really only likes him as a friend and I don't want him to get hurt. But we all do sometime and taking chances is part of that. Hmmmmm maybe I'll suggest it later anyway. He would have to take it upon himslef to do it.
     I wrote so much all the time, notes, letters, stories. Always pen or pencil and paper. I still do and I still like that way better. Of course typing here on the computer is a necessary evil for someone trying to write nowadays. I'm getting used to it. And better at it. I'm not frustrated as much. But I still have loads of pens paper and pencils all around my desk area. I even have a small notebook in my purse for when the mood strikes and I need some paper. I have some in the car usually too. It also works well if you're stuck somewhere and the kids need something to keep busy. Of course so do hand held video games but I'm less likely to let them bring them along.
     I see that more often and it disgusts me. If you're taking your kids out to dinner at a restaurant what's wrong with talking to them to keep them busy and quiet while you wait for your food? Why do they need to have a screen in front of them? Why can't a kid sit quietly or learn to sit quietly while waiting for something? Being alone with your thoughts is such a horrible thing I know! Four hours in a car? Sure put on a DVD or video game. Thirty minutes to Grandpas house? No you can't bring it. And put your cell phone away and be polite and social while we are out. My kids may not like it but they know better than to try anymore. People are still people and seeing them and spending time with them still mean a whole lot more than shooting off a text or a quick post on Facebook. Personal touches will always mean so much more.
     I still have some letters and things my husband sent and made me while we were dating. Sure the internet and cell phones hadn't exploded all over the place quite yet. They had begun and I do have some emails I saved by printing out also. I think my inbox still has one from before we were married that I have yet to delete. Not sure if I've printed it yet but will now just incase. I remember, ages ago, being at the beach with a guy I was dating at the time and he got a call on his cell phone. He was one of the few people I knew who even had one then. I thought it was the coolest thing. Hey look you can be on the phone at the beach. I definitely do not think that way anymore. If i'm out at the beach I'm usually there to relax I don't want anyone calling me. I don't want to talk to you now leave me alone. When I go the phone is almost always left in the car. If you can't reach me for a little while. It's ok. Somehow we will both survive!