What a Sweetheart!

My work is very casual so usually I wear a t-shirt and jeans and ponytail. Sometimes I wear a dressy top and jeans with a ponytail. There isn't much variation in my wardrobe. Today I actually wore khaki pants and a nice paisley top with my hair down because I had the last of my interviews for the Receptionist position. I just walked in the door from work and I told Lincoln I was going to go up and change my clothes before dinner. Jake took exception to that and ran over to me to protest so I picked him up and this is what he said:

Jake: No! I don't want you to change. I like that outfit.

Me: Aww... that's sweet. But don't you want me to be comfy in my jammies like you?

Jake: No. I want you to wear the pretty clothes.

Me: Jake that's sweet. You just called Mommy pretty.

After that I set him down and he ran into the kitchen:

Jake: Daddy! Daddy! Guess what!? I called Mommy pretty!!!!

Domestic vs. Foreign animals

As mentioned in the post below, Hannah's extensive knowledge cracks me up. Her vocabulary choices often get me too. When she was about 2 or 3 years old she told my mother that some cars have "emergency wheels" on them. She was referring to the spare tires you sometimes see on the back of vehicles. Of course, "spare tire" is too easy. She says "emergency wheel".

This morning we were talking about her upcoming birthday party out in Seattle and I asked what kind of theme she wanted to have. She said that she likes animals, and more specifically, domestic animals. Since I wouldn't put it past her to mean domestic as in "indigenous to the United States" I actually felt the need to clarify.

Me: Domestic? As in dogs and cats?

Hannah: Yes. And bunnies and ferrets.

I kid you not....this was my conversation with Hannah this morning

Hannah: Look at the ladybug. She's probably looking for an aphid.

Me: Huh?

Hannah: An aphid.

Me: Afin?

Hannah: No, an aphid.

Me: An aphind?

Hannah: No an APHID. d. Aphid....with a d.

Me: A-P-H-I-D?

Hannah: Yes.

Me: What the heck is that?

Hannah: It's what ladybugs eat. A small bug that produces a gooey sticky substance. Like tree sap but not quite.

Me: Where did you learn that?

Hannah: In an outdoor book that Grandma has.


Holy shit! This kid is way smarter than me. Of course as soon as I got to work I looked it up online. I must admit, she said that the bug produces the sap when it actually EATS the sap so she wasn't 100% correct but she was much closer than I ever would have been. And then, just to double check, I went to google and typed in "Do ladybugs eat aphids?" and the first response that came up was: Besides aphids what do ladybugs eat? It was like the internet was mocking my stupidity.

What am I going to do with this kid?

UPDATE: Apparently Hannah wasn't entirely wrong. She also rambled on about something to do with ants and ladybugs that I wasn't totally following (something about ladybugs being afraid of and/or not liking ants) and when I was telling the story to my friend Melissa she told me that apparently ants stroke aphids in order to get them to secrete a milky white substance (like Hannah said) that the ants eat. According to a website I found, the ants like this stuff so much they "take care of the aphids by hiding and protecting them from danger". Since ladybugs eat the aphids I guess Hannah was right about ladybugs not liking ants.

Like I said before, what am I going to do with this kid?

Wipeout

Lincoln is hoping that Wipeout will do a traveling show. He's dying to try his hand at it.

Must...learn....to....say....no!

This coming school I will be heading up the first ever Memorial School yearbook. Because I was taking on that task I decided that I would not be on the PTO Executive Board (last year I was Secretary). But then we were having trouble filling all the positions so I agreed to be the Volunteer Coordinator. As part of the Executive Board we try to select the theme for the fall Family Fun Night during the summer. I chaired this event the first year I was on the PTO (we did an awesome 7 continents/around the world theme) and served on the general committee last year. This year I think we're going to do a Time Travel / History theme which I think would be pretty cool. I do have a degree in history after all. Tracy is trying to convince me to chair this again for the coming year. I must fight the urge to say yes. I really don't want to take all of this on in the fall but I have a feeling I'll be sucked in....at least to serve on the general committee.

It is going to be a looonnnng week

This week is our busiest week since those two weeks of craziness back in May. Unfortunately this time it's all my stuff that is keeping me busy and not stuff for the kids. Last night Lincoln and I went to a group Red Sox game that I organize for the office each summer. Tonight I'm supposed to have Hip Hop Cardio but I'm skipping it since otherwise I wouldn't be home a single night this week. Tomorrow I have my Boston Assistant's Group and this time I'm hosting them at the Pavilion so I definitely have to be there. Thursday night I'm doing one of the group interviews for potential receptionists to replace Jennifer. We're doing it at 6 p.m. after business hours. Then on Friday I have Solid Gold Disco featuring the Village People. I had promised Tracy awhile back that I would go with her and she's very excited. Then this weekend we have to finish painting Hannah's room and I also have to be down at Comcast Center for a show on Saturday. Like I said, this is going to be a crazy week. Next week is definitely calmer and then after that we're on vacation. After we get back from vacation we have one more week before school starts. Can you believe that summer is almost over?

Pictures from this weekend

Hannah and her flowers after the big show.

Hannah painting her room (because the color is so dark we had to prime the room with a dark gray).

Lincoln painting Hannah's room.

What fantastic luck!

There is a M*A*S*H marathon on right now! I'm psyched. I love M*A*S*H. I have every season on DVD and have seen every episode but this totally excites me. Right now I'm working at the kitchen table on some paperwork that I brought home with me while Lincoln bathes the kids. I may be working but I'm very happy about my TV delight.

I hate painting

We started painting Hannah's room today. I know it sounds weird but she chose a dark purple for two of her walls and a light(ish) blue for the other two. Today we're working on the purple walls. I have to say, it's a pain in the ass. We had to use a gray primer and now do at least two coats of purple. I have to say though, I'm glad we started with purple because this will make the blue walls seem really easy.

Gas prices

What the heck? Did W and Cheney decide to give up some of their hidden personal oil reserves? I only paid $3.82 for gas today.

Breakfast of Champions

Right after I got dressed this morning Jake brought me up a breakfast tray which of course he sat on the bed and shared with me. This morning's breakfast included: a hershey chocolate bar, a small bowl of chunky peanut butter, jello, tic tacs, Nerds, and a can of Coke. Like I said, the breakfast of champions. It may not have been terribly healthy but it was assembled with love and Jake and I had a great time sitting on the bed and chatting while we ate. It was a moment to remember even if drinking coke and eating lemon lime tic tacs after having just brushed my teeth wasn't the tastiest. I guess I should just be happy he didn't bring me soggy Cheerios with OJ in them instead of milk.

In the shadow of perfection

Jake: Mommy, you didn't do it right.

Me: What's the right away?

Jake: The way that Daddy does it!

Me: And how does Daddy do it?

Jake: The right way.

I am such a goober

I just got back from Hannah's show. Basically what the drama camp kids did was a baseball themed song at the beginning of the show and then they came back out on stage at the end for the finale and the curtain call. In between Hannah actually got to sit with me in the audience and watch the show. I have to say, considering that the kids in the show only worked for 3 weeks, and probably none of them were older than 13, they did an excellent job.

Here is where we get to the "I am a goober" part of the story. Hannah left during the 2nd-to-last song to go backstage for the curtain call. During the final song, "We're All in This Together", the prologue kids came out and stood on a riser in the back. I started bawling! Yes, I really did. I don't know why. I just did. I was so proud of her and how grown up she is. You would have thought she was the star of the show and had gotten over a severe stuttering problem and scoliosis to be in the play the way I was bawling. It was just a wee bit embarrassing. Luckily I got myself under control before the lights came all the way up and before Hannah saw me.

This isn't the first time I've cried during one of Hannah's shows. During Hannah's first ballet recital I bawled the entire way through her dance. And leading up to that was the worst hour of my life. I was probably way more nervous than she was. But that time I had a legitimate reason to cry. It was the first time that she'd ever done anything like that and I was hit by how "grown-up" she was. She was only 4 at the time.

Anyway, I'm a goober, that's a given. And hopefully I'll remember what show she was in 20 years down the road (unlike my own mother!). As for my hopes that Rachel remembered what show we were in, she said the only thing she remembers is getting a bloody nose during the show (or possibly the dress rehearsal since she knows she was wearing a costume at the time).

I took a picture of Hannah after the show with her flowers (yes, I remembered them this time, unlike at her dance recital) but I'll have to post them tomorrow since I don't have my camera card reader with me.

The end of drama camp

Today is the end of Drama Camp for Hannah. Actually yesterday was the last day of camp, today are her performances. They are putting on High School Music (what else would they be putting on?) and she's in the prologue. They're doing some sort of dance prior to the show and all I know is she's dressed like a ball player and plays 3rd base. Lincoln went to the matinee and I'm heading to the evening performance in a few minutes. Even though he has seen it he is not allowed to tell me anything about it because Hannah wants me to be surprised. I will have a full report after tonight.

Is he going to kill off Prince Charming too?

Hannah is having a lot of difficulty tonight falling asleep on her own. Unfortunately we got into a pattern with her ever since she was a baby that someone usually stays in bed with her at night until she falls asleep (or almost asleep). For some reason tonight she keeps coming downstairs. She came down about 20 minutes ago and said she couldn't sleep but we sent her back upstairs. Then about 5 minutes ago she came downstairs crying that the tree frog outside her window is keeping her awake.

I pulled her up into my lap and told her that she's almost 7 years old and that she needs to start putting herself to sleep. I calmed her down and told her that when I can't sleep I lay in bed and think up stories in my head. I told her that sometimes I think about things we have coming up (like our trip to Seattle and how much fun it's going to be) or fanciful things like winning the lottery and what I'd do with the money. I told her if the tree frog is keeping her awake instead of getting upset about the noise she should make up stories in her head about what he's saying to her. I started to make up all sorts of funny stories about what the tree frog was saying and was spinning this elaborate tale when she lifts her head to look at me, tear-stained face and all, and says to me "Daddy says he's looking for a mate." Well yes, that's true. But how boring is that? And the funny thing is she called it a mate. I know that is probably what Lincoln said to her but that's even funnier. She has such a brillant mind and she loves science and stuff and I know she understands these things, but wouldn't most people have told a 6-year old that the tree frog was looking for a girlfriend? How unromantic is "looking for a mate"?

UPDATE: Lincoln just walked in the room and I told him Hannah had been down here crying. I told him the story and how she said "he's looking for a mate". Lincoln said, "No, I told her he was looking for a girlfriend. She came up with mate". See, she is a budding scientist. I take back everything I said above about him being unromantic.

I'm such a great boss

I sent Jennifer home at 4:30 today because she was having a crappy day. I'd like to say it was because I am such a great boss but really I was sick of sitting at my desk pretending to work when I would have much rather been covering the phones where I can sit and read my trashy novel for an hour and a half.

Hannah's Dictionary of Nature

On Monday, at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Hannah put together a Dictionary of Nature just for fun. She gave Jake 50% credit though because he contributed the Japanese Maple. I thought that was very nice of her.

COVER:

PAGE ONE:

PAGE TWO:

PAGE THREE:

I'll have a side of guilt with that please

Last night I didn't get home until right before the kids went to bed because I had Hip Hop Cardio. Then this morning when Hannah woke up I got in the shower while she watched Jake for me downstairs. When I came down I asked what the kids wanted for breakfast.

Me: What do want for breakfast?

Hannah: I'll have toast, cereal, and orange juice....with a side of please play with us Mommy.

Wow! What guilt. They were playing video games and I know she was struggling with a level that she wanted me to help her pass but ouch! That hurt. Now they're sitting down eating breakfast and then it's off to Grandma's (for Jake) and drama camp (for Hannah).

By the way, I think we're clear of brain rot for awhile. Two days ago Hannah put together a Dictionary of Nature with leaves from all the trees and flowers in Grandma and Grandpa's yard. They're all labeled too. I'm trying to get it scanned into the computer using a color scanner and then I'll post it on here. It's pretty impressive.

Group interviews

So I've gotten about 100 resumes so far for the receptionist position at work. Jennifer and I have gone through them and pulled out about a dozen so far that are worthy of an interview. Since I'm not a huge fan of phone interviews, and I don't want to be stuck doing dozens of one-on-one interviews, Jen suggested we start with group interviews. I had never heard of those before but Kegan said he too has participated in them in the past. Apparently we have about 6 people come at a time, sit them all down in one room, and see how they handle the situation. Then the following week we have some of them come back for one-on-one interviews. I'm sure I never would have gotten past one of these interviews myself but I have to say I am quite intrigued by the idea.

I never thought I'd see that again!

I paid $3.95 a gallon for gas tonight! I never thought I'd see under $4.00 again.

Should I start looking for a new job now?

In front of our corporate auditors I just asked two employees "how can someone be grotesquely endowed?" In all fairness, I was reading out loud from the newspaper. And I didn't realize the auditor was standing right there.

http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view/2008_07_22_Nude_Neil_pic_exposed_as_likely_lie/srvc=home&position=4

More brain rot

I picked up the kids from Mom and Dad Snow's tonight and as soon as we walked in the door Hannah asked if she could put in a movie.

Me (VERY sarcastically): Sure. Go ahead and rot your brain.

(pause)

Hannah: So was that a yes or a no?

Oh good God

Today I have spent the day going through resumes to replace Jennifer, my darling, wonderful, perfect Receptionist who is leaving me to move to California at the end of August.

Here are some of the highlights from the resumes I've received so far today (almost 40 in 4 hours):

• A stunt fighter
• A co-star in the movies Sausage Castle Annual Halloween Party and Johnny's Filling Station.
• A candidate who graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in History and Political Science and also holds a law degree and a Master's degree -- all from prestigious schools.
• A marine trained in Water Combat
• A person who worked as a "Customer Service Agent" at Chili's (i.e. handled to-go orders)
• A person who says she "hopes to here for you soon" (translation: hopes to hear from me soon)
• A person who listed her college degrees but actually asterisked on her high school info that she received her diploma. (Well, duh...if you went to college you must have graduated high school.)
• A person who listed what classes she took in college (Japanese Print Blocking!) and pointed out she pursued "general studies" in high school.

And as I sit here typing this about 15 more resumes have come into my mailbox. This is going to be a crazy week.

At least I'm not the only one who has forgetten my childhood

Here is an email my Mom sent me in response to my posting about drama camp:

Wow, Diane, I don't even remember you going to drama camp. Where was it? Was it a summer rec program? Hopefully I went to the play. That's scary. How could I forget such an important event?

Love, Mom

Thanks, Mom, for making me laugh today.

Drama camp

Hannah starts her week long drama camp this morning. There is a company in Hopkinton called Enter Stage Left. They have a camp for older kids that actually goes for about 4 weeks and then they put on a play. The camp that Hannah is in is only for one week and they get to dance and act in the "prologue" to the play. ESL is doing High School Musical so that should be lots of fun for Hannah. She is in two shows this weekend at 2 p.m. andn 7 p.m. on Saturday.

My mom signed Rachel and I up for drama camp one summer. I don't remember the name of the play but it was the one where a guy is holding a golden goose (a regular goose?) and everyone who touches him gets stuck together. Maybe Rachel can remember what it was called. Like I've said before, she definitely remembers more of our childhood then I do. I just remember that I played a priest and that the last scene was me marrying two people but no one realized that I didn't have the last page of the script until right before the show. Luckily, since it was a marriage scene, I could put my lines in the "bible" I was holding and just read them.

That's the only thing I really remember about drama camp. Hopefully it's a little more memorable for Hannah.

Titanic

Last night I watched the movie Titantic for the first time since college. I have to say, I definitely watched it with different eyes this time. It wasn't so much the love story between Jack and Rose that made me cry, it was watching parents try to save their children and the old married couple that faced it together in their stateroom, curled up on the bed together. One scene that really got me was when the man was putting his wife and two daughters in the life boat and the girls are screaming their heads off and he's very calmy saying to them "Don't worry. The boat for Daddies will be leaving soon". At that point you know he knew he was doomed but he was trying to console his daughters. As a parent it really tore at my heart. Then there was the Irish mother who was tucking her sons into bed and telling them a bedtime story to calm them before the end. And of course, when all the corpses are floating in the water at the end they show a woman cradling a newborn.

It also made me think of all those stories that came out after the tsunami in 2004. Those stories of parents that had to make a choice of which children to hold onto and which ones to let try and swim on their own. Once you become a parent you're one big ball of exposed nerves for the rest of your life. I can't even imagine having to make a decision like that.

Okay, that is enough of the serious, depressing thoughts on a Monday morning.

We were too late to save Hannah's brain

Apparently my tv/computer/video game ban came a day too late. This morning Hannah and I were working on her New York State trivia book. In order to solve one of the clues she had to know how many states are in the United States. Her answer? "600 something?"

Our day of fun in the pool

Yesterday Tracy, her mom Cheryl, and Hunter came over for some fun in the pool. Hunter brought a boogie board with him so Lincoln started giving him and Hannah surfing lessons. If you wonder why there are more pictures of Jake, it's because he stays still a lot longer in the water than Hannah does.

Just for the record, I'm only 30

Yesterday Tracy and I were talking about the teachers that our kids have next year. She was asking if I knew anything about Mrs. Warren which is who Hunter has. I said that she's young and blonde but Tracy thought she was a brunette. Hannah had Mrs. Warren for Healthy Living last year so we asked her.

Me: Hannah, is Mrs. Warren blonde or brunette?

Hannah: Blonde

Me: Is she young? About my age? Or is she younger?

Hannah: Yeah. She's 36.

Me: Hannah Grace! I am only 30!

This also ties in well with a conversation I had with Kristen Walker last summer right after I turned 30. I took Hannah, Kristen, and Shani to go see the Aly & AJ concert with Corbin Bleu and Drake Bell. I told them I felt old being there since they're all Disney Radio stars. Kristen's response was: "You're not old. It's not like you're 30 or anything!" Just for the record, Kristen was 15 at the time.

Yet another reason Lincoln is a wonderful and considerate husband

Whenever I ask Lincoln to hand me a bottle of water from the fridge or cooler he always unscrews the top for me before handing it to me. He doesn't take it off....just loosens it for me. I find that incredibly sweet.

Brain dead children

This morning I put a ban on all tv, computers, and video games. My children have been doing too much of all three this summer. It wasn't too hard to get Hannah to switch to something else. She got out one of her work books and started exercising her brain. In a little while we'll get dressed and head outside.

Jake, on the other hand, was a bit trickier. I told him that we were banning tv, computer, and video games today.

Jake: Why?

Me: Because your brain is going to die.

Jake: No it won't. Brains don't die.

Me: Yes, they do....by watching too much tv. Today you're going to use your imagination. Play with your trains, dig out your toys.....do something!

A minute later Jake brought me a tub of clay and asked me to open it for him. I was very proud of him. He set himself up at the counter, got out all the clay, and then three minutes later stated matter-of-factly:

Jake: My brain is not dead. Can I watch Pokeman now?

Expendable Daddies

This morning Lincoln was setting out some new ant traps around the house. I told the kids to go into the bathroom to take a look at one so that they would know what they look like.

Lincoln: See this with the picture of the ant on it? Don't ever, EVER, touch it.

Jake: Why not?

Lincoln: Because you'll die.

Jake: Why?

Me: Because it's poison.

Jake: Why can Daddy touch it?

Me: Because Daddies have special anti-poison powers.

Jake: No they don't! You're kidding.

Lincoln (dryly): No, it's because Daddies are apparently expendable.

Cuddle time with Hannah

When Hannah was five months old I quit my job and decided to take my time finding another one while I enjoyed staying home with our new baby. My favorite part of every day was when I would lay down on the couch with Hannah on my chest and both of us would take a nap. I loved having her little baby self curled up on my chest. It's my fault, I'm sure, that Hannah now hates to go to bed without someone to snuggle with and I'm sure she'll drive future boyfriends crazy.

Last night Hannah, Jake and I had one of our living room slumber parties where we blow up the air mattress and camp out downstairs. This morning, after Jake got out of bed, Hannah and I were snuggled up together and it was one of those moments where I think to myself, how much longer is she going to let me snuggle with her like this? When is that switch going to go off where she decides she wants nothing to do with me? I'm really dreading that day.

Car update

My car is fixed (thanks Justin!) but unfortunately I'll still have to take it into Saturn sometime next week. Because the battery was completely dead it deprogrammed my sunroof which has to be redone by them. On top of that my clock reset and for some reason it's not letting me change it even though, for once, I have a car where I actually know how to change the clock. Finally, my new brakes that Saturn put in 2 weeks ago are squeaking like crazy. That, obviously, is unrelated to the battery but it's still a pain in the ass.

Just delightful

I was cuddling on the couch with Hannah and watching Shrek 3 when Jake decided to turn me into his own personal jungle gym. He was crawling all over me which was fine because every now and then he'd stop and cuddle with me. When he went to crawl away the final time I thought it was strange that he stuck to me. Strange, that is, until I realized that his butt was covered in gum. Apparently when he took out his gum to eat dinner he put it on his chair for safekeeping. Somehow he even managed to smear it as much as possible for ultimate butt coverage.

The economy

Obviously gas prices have been going through the roof lately and there has been all sorts of talk that groceries of all kind will be increasing due to high gas prices and the flooding in the Midwest. While I've noticed our overall grocery bill going up lately I haven't taken particular notice of specific items until this morning. Lincoln pointed out that the lemon peel spice he purchased the other day was $8.29. The old one that he was replacing (same brand, same size, purchased at the same store) had the old pricetag on it of $6.79.

Ugh.

God forbid!

I just received an email from Hannah's babysitter, Miss Lori, that made me laugh.

Mostly in the mornings at my house is outside time, it's always shady 'til noon. About 15 minutes into the morning Hannah comes to me and asks to go in. I said no, this is our best time to be out while it's cool. Then I changed the subject and asked her "How was Maine?". She said "Miss Lori, guess what? My mom MADE me go OUT all the time in Maine."

Darn right I did. You don't go to Maine to sit inside the trailer. Not when there is beautiful sunshine, a great playground, and a beach nearby.

Be careful what you wish for

The other day when I was driving home from work I was thinking to myself that I sort of miss driving a stick shift. I don't think I'd ever buy another manual car but it would be nice to drive one every now and then. Well, I got my wish. This morning I took Hannah over to the babysitter's and then came home to grab my stuff and head back out. When I went out to leave the second time my car was completely dead. And I mean completely. Not only does it not even attempt to turn over but the clock was blank and even my key fob didn't work to lock or unlock the doors. After calling Tracy's husband Cliff, who is a mechanic, it was determined that my connection to my battery is corroded. At that point I called my mother-in-law to borrow her car which, of course, is a stick shift. So, like I said, be careful what you wish for.

Dirty humor AND a Papa update all in one

This conversation took place this morning while Lincoln changed Jake's dirty diaper.

Jake: What color is Hannah's poop?

Link: Brown...like everyone else's.

Jake: Whose poop is pink?

Link: No one. No one has pink poop.

Jake: Papa has pink poop.

This is what I mean. Papa is everywhere, can do anything, and apparently even poops differently then the rest of mankind. But hey, what good is an imaginary friend if you can't have him poop any color you want?

Is this really so wrong?

The new trailer for High School Music 3 came out the other day. I told myself I was watching it for Hannah (what a lie!). Is it wrong that I got the chills watching the previews and I can't wait to see it in the theater in October?

Wipeout

Tonight all 4 of us watched Wipeout together for the first time. The kids absolutely loved it. What's not to love? Dozens of people being punched out, bouncing off huge rubber balls, and face-planting it into the mud. Once again, if you haven't seen this fun summer show, you should definitely give it a try.

As for Jake, he piped up that Papa can do the Wipeout Zone. He actually said Papa is the ONLY one that can do the Wipeout Zone.

Hip Hop Cardio

Last night while Tracy and Denise were sweating it out at Hip Hop Cardio I was drinking champagne, eating a caterered gourmet dinner, and sitting by the water looking at the Boston skyline with the sun setting behind it while listening to Lucinda Williams and John Mellencamp.

So, needless to say, this week I don't hate Tracy. Sucker.

UPDATE: Apparently Denise didn't make it to class last night either (it was her son's 2nd birthday). And Lacy, our beloved teacher who ran in to us at the Rose Garden the other night eating fried food and drinking beer, really made them pay. Tracy said it was a BRUTAL class.

Now that's what summer is all about

Since I worked so late at the reception last night I decided to skip out of work at about 4:30 this afternoon. We have a pool in our backyard but I haven't been able to use it much this summer. I've only been in it 3 times...including the day I got in at the beginning of the season to vaccum it. Lincoln and the kids get in the pool almost every afternoon but by the time I get home at 7:00 (or later) the sun is gone from the pool area. So today I snuck out early and met Lincoln and the kids at home at 5:30. It was a beautiful day today and we had a full hour of late day sun in the pool. It was great to be in there as a family and just goof around. Days like that, playing hooky and hanging out in the pool with your family, is what summer is all about.

I looked at our calendar the other day and realized that we only have two completely free weekends left between now and when school starts. And those aren't even completely free because we need to get working on Hannah's new room. I'm hoping to have it done by her birthday on August 18th and we'll be in Seattle for the entire week before that. I don't know where the time goes. It seems like the other three seasons drag by but summer is gone in the blink of an eye. I have to say though that I wouldn't give up New England's four seasons for anything. There is nothing more beautiful than autumn in New England and I even like our snowy winters. Spring is my least favorite season (too much rain) but it's earth it. Right now I'm just trying to live in the moment and enjoy summer. And that means playing hooky whenever possible. ;-)

Yet another reason I shouldn't work where I do

I don't often blog about work for fear of being dooced someday but this a pretty funny story from last night. My boss was hosting a reception at one of our concert venues and so I had to be on-site in case he needed something and to make sure everything was running smoothly.

First and foremost, I am not a concert goer. Second, I'm not a huge fan of music. As much as it pains the people that I work with that live and breathe music, to me music is just nice background noise. Last night the concert headliner was John Mellencamp. Throughout the entire evening, he and his opening act, Lucinda Williams, had barely registered in my mind. At one point though I had to walk from the VIP tent to the box office and I actually thought to myself:

"Wow, they sure are playing a lot of Mellencamp tonight." Then it occurred to me "Well duh, it's a live concert...not just music being piped in".

Yes, that is how oblivious I am to the industry that pays my mortgage. On the good news front, I am not obsessed with music and can focus on the job that I was hired to do....which has nothing to do with music and everything to do with running the office and making my boss's life easier.

Nothing to report

Jen has informed me that I need to update the blog today but I honestly have to say, I have nothing to write about. Work is pretty much the same as always. The kids didn't do anything particularly witty this morning. We have no trips planned for this weekend. Things are pretty quiet which is nice. As usual we need to clean the house and do the laundry. We need to start working on Hannah's new bedroom now that she's finally picked out her paint colors and bedspread. Next week Hannah starts her drama camp that we signed her up for. I don't even have hip hop cardio to bitch about tonight because I have to miss class due to a work commitment this evening.

That's about it. Hopefully something more exciting will happen tomorrow.

Maine

Our trip to Maine this past weekend was fantastic. We had gorgeous weather and it was very relaxing. The kids and I got up there about 4:15 on Friday afternoon. Lincoln, who had to drive up Justin's truck, got there about 6:30. We just hung out in the afternoon. Kayla took the kids down to the playground while Diane and I enjoyed our Leinie's and cheese curds. For those of you who don't know, my sister-in-law's name is Diane too...just to confuse everyone.

Diane's sister Donna has a trailer right next to Diane and Justin so it's great we get to hang out with her as well. Friday night we BBQ'd on the grill out back and started a campfire. We didn't stay up too late that night. Jake slept in the tent out back with Lincoln. Hannah and I slept in the built-out room off the trailer.

Saturday we hung out in the morning and then headed down to the beach. I couldn't believe it but I managed to forget my camera back at the campsite. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and the waves.

After that we headed back to the campground to take showers. I went in with Hannah and then took Jake in the shower with me. He normally takes baths, and not showers, so when I put the shampoo on his head and some dropped down he screamed "you got some on my wee wee!". Some lady who had the fortune to be using the bathroom at the time started cracking up as did I.

After that Jake went down for a nap while we waited for everyone else to come back from the beach and shower. For dinner we went to Ruby's in town. It was a great dinner and we ate outside which was nice but my feet ended up getting chewed up by the bugs. I have 7 bites on just the top of the my left foot. After that we headed back to the campground and played Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture. No matter how many magazines I read (People, Entertainment Weekly, Star, US Weekly, etc.) Lincoln always manages to pull out a win somehow. Damn him.

Sunday we got up and started to pack up the car. I always like to pack up in the morning so that we can enjoy the rest of our day without that hanging over our heads. After that Lincoln and I took Hannah, Jake, and his niece Kayla to Fox's at the Nubble Lighthouse for lunch. The restaurant is nice but the kids' favorite part is climbing on the rocks afterwards. I'll post a few pictures below.

We headed home a little after 6 p.m. Surprisingly there wasn't much traffic and we stopped in Westford for dinner which broke up the trip nicely. We still got home about 8:45 p.m. The kids went right to bed and then Lincoln and I both crashed. Another successful trip. We don't have another one until August when we head to Seattle (and our trip within a trip to Couer d'Alene, ID). Then in September I'm going on a mystery weekend away for Tracy's 40th birthday. I can't talk about the trip on the blog until after it happens because while she knows we're going away Tracy doesn't know where we're going yet. Denise and I have planned the whole trip and have only told her which days to take off from work. But trust me, it's a good win.

That's all for our weekend in Maine. See below for pictures of their rock climbing adventure.

The tooth fairy

Last night at dinner on the way home from Maine Hannah lost another tooth. When we got home she dug out her tooth fairy pillow and said "I hope the tooth fairy brings me a toy this time." This is a problem that I have with today's "tooth fairies". Back in the day it was pretty standard that you got money and only money. These days kids get money (up to $20 a tooth), toys, and Webkinz. Hannah gets $1 per tooth. That's it. No toys, no stuffed animals, nothing more than $1. So last night I had to explain to her that when Mommy and Daddy decided to have kids we sat down with the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny to go over what kind of stuff we'd approve for our kids and what they were allowed to give our children in order to keep them from becoming too spoiled. She actually took it pretty well although she was a little bummed. I told her when she has her kids and she gets to meet with the TF, SB, and EB she could set the rules. She seemed okay with that. I expect her kids to be "authorized" to receive LOTS of gifts at every event.

Papa

Jake has an imaginary friend named Papa. Hannah occasionally will have an imaginary friend for an hour or so but it seems like Papa is here to stay. Papa is a bear and apparently lives in Seattle but comes to visit us often. He can do anything. No matter what topic you're talking about Jake will tell you that "my Papa does that".

When he's in Seattle Papa apparently lives in a room at Grandma and Grandpa Lentz's house. The funny thing about that is that Jake believes that Mom and Dad live in a hotel and yet Papa lives in their house. Whenever we say something about going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Jake will make some comment about getting to ride in an elevator, go swimming in a pool, or ask what room they're in. One of them, I can't remember if it was Jake or Hannah when she was younger, used to believe that Grandma and Grandpa were always at the airport. He/She thought if you went to an airport, any airport, Grandma and Grandpa would be there.

In a few weeks we're headed out to G&G's house for a week so maybe we'll get to finally meet Papa.

I thought we were doing so well...

Jake: Only bad guys play with guns. (upon seeing a picture of a toy gun)

Me: You're right.

Hannah: I can play with that. (no, she actually can't)

Jake: Then I can play with it too. I get mad sometimes.

Me: Jake! You never, EVER play with guns. And certainly not when you're mad.

Obviously we still have a long way to go.

Poor, unfortunate Jake

Unfortunately it appears that Jake has inherited my musical tastes. This morning we were listening to a Disney CD and a song came on that I hadn't heard before. Jake said "I love this song. It's AWESOME!" I picked up the CD to see what it was and was horrified to see it was by Menudo. Yes, Menudo. Hannah, on the other hand, outside of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus she listens to Green Day, Avril Lavigne, and Colbie Caillat.....and she mocks NKOTB. She obviously gets her music tastes from Lincoln.

Take your kids to work day

This afternoon we're heading up to Maine for the weekend. Since it doesn't make sense to drive back to Upton and then head up to Maine, I'm just taking the kids to work with me today. Lincoln will be driving up separately in his brother's truck since he needs to deliver it to his sister-in-law who is already up in Maine. Justin won't be joining us since he's on call this weekend.

It has been awhile since I've taken either of the kids to work with me. They have a great time but I don't always get a lot done so a day like this, where we're leaving early and I don't have much on my schedule, is a good one. They'll get to play a little, we'll order pizza, and then we'll head out to Maine.

So no posts tomorrow or Sunday. Have a great weekend.

Morning excitement

Lincoln is one of those people that likes to get up and have plenty of time in the morning. If he has to leave the house at 8 a.m. he gets up at 6 a.m. so he can take a shower, eat breakfast, putter around the house, etc. Me on the other hand, if I have to leave the house at 8 a.m. I get up at 7:50 if I don't have to wash my hair and 7:40 if I do. When Lincoln has to leave early and I take the kids to daycare I get up about 30 minutes before he has to leave (which usually gets me out of bed around 6:30 a.m.). If he is taking the kids he lets me sleep in.

Today was supposed to be one of those days. He had a later start time on a local job this morning so he said he'd take the kids to daycare. That means I should have been able to sleep in. Instead, Jake comes tearing into our room shortly after 7 a.m. and says "Mommy, Mommy...you've got to come see this! Come to my room!". I climb out of bed trying to figure out what could be so exciting. He runs across his room, lifts his window blinds, and says "Look! The sun is up!"

Yes, Jake. The sun was up. It's also the same sun that is outside Mommy's window directly above her bed. Couldn't you have just shown it to me there?

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!

I beat Super Mario Brothers 3 for the first time since I was 13! It took 2 1/2 hours and I finished with 14 lives remaining. Jake was in bed by the time I accomplished it but Lincoln and Hannah stayed up to watch me. I feel like a teenager again but this time I get to celebrate my win with a beer. Woo hoo!

Wipeout

Is anyone other than me watching this new show Wipeout? It's a pretty stupid show but I can't stop watching it. And it's on Tuesday nights which means I can watch it when I get home from Hip Hop Cardio and my muscles are screaming at me. I get in the bathtub, turn on Wipeout, and know that no matter how sore I am those people hurt a LOT more than I ever will from Miss Lacy's class.

I told you I was an addict

This morning I dropped the kids off at my in-laws and then headed back to the house to make myself a quick breakfast and grab my stuff. For some reason I decided to play "just one level" of Super Mario Brothers 3. An hour and a half later I left for work with the game paused and with 99 lives at the mini-castle in World 7. I put a huge sign on the TV for no one to touch it until I get home. I can't wait! As for work, I didn't make it in early like I had planned but I was only 10 minutes late so that was good.

I know, I'm a dork.

It's a Love/Hate Relationship

Last night I actually really enjoyed the first 45 minutes or so of our Hip Hop Cardio class. I love the "hip hop" part of the class. It was once we got into the "cardio" part that I didn't like it as much. Lacy, our teacher, was brutal last night. Lots of jump kicks, lots of speed bags (which she does every week) and a good number of squats. I'm feeling it today which means I'll REALLY be feeling it tomorrow.

A Trip Within a Trip

In August we are flying out to Seattle to visit my family for an entire week. Mom suggested the other day that she and Dad would be willing to keep the kids by themselves for a night if Lincoln and I wanted to go away somewhere by ourselves. I can't pass that up! And for those of you that know me, just because it's only 1 night does not mean we have to limit ourselves to the immediate area. After all, I'm the person that planned us a trip where we went from Boston to London for the weekend and didn't even miss any work. We left Friday night after work and were back at home on Sunday night.

I started out my research close to the Seattle area. I looked at Victoria and Vancouver, B.C. as well as the San Juan Islands, Snoqualmie Falls, and the rainforest over on the peninsula. I even looked at Mt. Rainier National Park. I found some nice places but nothing that really jumped out at me. While a spa and wine package in Eastern Washington is right up my alley it doesn't leave much for Lincoln to do. And a kayaking/hiking/biking vacation at Snoqualmie is great for Lincoln but is definitely weather dependent which isn't good when you only have a small window of time. I decided to broaden my horizons and look a little further out. What I came across was Coeur d'Alene, ID.

Idaho you say? Why would anyone want to go to Idaho? Well check this out: www.cdaresort.com and you'll see why. The hotel looks great and it has a spa which makes me happy. Plus, if it's sunny we can go jet skiing, hiking, biking, or kayaking. If it's rainy there is an indoor water park and climbing wall as well as a microbrewery that offers tours. It's not weather dependent, it offers physical activity which makes Lincoln happy and a spa which may be needed if I spend a day kayaking and hiking.

If we wanted to drive it's about 5 hours but we decided to fly instead. It's $49 over and $29 back per person. $29 for a flight these days? That doesn't even begin to cover the gas it takes the plane to pull away from the gate but who am I to complain?

So that's our vacation within a vacation and I can't wait! Doesn't it sound like fun?

Cheese Curds!!!

There is nothing quite like a good Wisconsin cheese curd. You can find cheese curds in other areas of the country but they're not quite the same. I found some at Trader Joe's out here in Massachusetts and they tasted horrible. Every year when we go camping up in Maine with the other Snow's I have some overnighted to take with us. We're heading up there this weekend so I just placed the order. I am SO excited. I actually only did 2-day shipping this year so hopefully they'll survive. They're packed in a cooler and ice so I'm hoping they pull through.

I can't wait for this weekend.....cheese curds and Leinie's HoneyWeiss at the campground. What could be more perfect than that?

Rainbow Dash

Jake has a new favorite book and website....My Little Pony. He has just informed me that his favorite one is Rainbow Dash. While I don't normally get concerned when he's into "girly" things, this one is kind of strange because Hannah isn't into My Little Pony. This is entirely his own thing.

Less than 2 hours to go!

Tonight is the season finale of the Bachelorette and I can't wait. It's a THREE HOUR finale. I don't always get into the Bachelor/Bachelorette seasons but this one I'm very excited about it.

When I told Lincoln it was three hours tonight he said "how long does it take to dump one guy?" but it's actually 2 hours of dumping one guy and then 1 hour of talking about how happy they are.

I can't wait!

Finally some sun!

Yesterday, the last day of our holiday weekend, we finally had some sun. In the morning we packed up the kids and headed to IKEA because we needed to buy Hannah's new bedroom furniture as well as a new kitchen table. But when we got home in the afternoon there was finally a bit of sun so we had Tracy, her mom, and Hunter over for some fun in the pool. It was nice to actually get to spend some time in there this weekend.

Now we start another week. Next weekend we head up to Maine with the other Snow's. Hopefully we'll have some sun while we're up there and we can go to the beach. We had a beautiful spring this year but our summer has been less than stellar and full of cloudy days and thunderstorms. Here's hoping it improves.

Mommy is an addict

This morning when I came downstairs Lincoln and Hannah were playing Super Mario Brothers 3. Hannah asked me to play because she wanted to watch me do what I did last night but I told her I just couldn't. I can't get drawn back into that again. I still can't believe I spent 4 hours on it last night. It went by really fast. I know if I start to play again I'll get sucked right back into it. Hannah is such an enabler.

Instead I worked on some PTO stuff I've been putting off and then went down to Franklin and worked another 2 hours in the booth for the Walker's. After that Lincoln and the kids and I went to lunch. Tonight Tracy and I are getting together for a few drinks and to hang out sans kids for a little while. We've been hoping for a little sun this weekend so they could all come over and hang out in the pool but it looks like it's going to be a pretty cloudy, rainy weekend.

Four Hours of My Life!!!

Four hours of my life that I can't get back....that's what I just spent playing Super Mario Brothers 3. I got so far in the game....to the very last level...that everyone was obsessed with watching me play. It was pretty pathetic but Lincoln, Hannah, and Jake were all sitting there watching me...moving from the couch to the floor and back again with nerves and excitment. You would have thought the Superbowl and the World Series were being played live in our living room the way they were biting their nails as I played.

My hands are cramping, I have calluses on my fingers, and I am ready to head up for bed. This is insane.

Jake the Waterboy

Today Lincoln and I had our shift selling pizza and calzones at the Franklin Democratic Town Committee booth again. Shani and Kristen took the kids around on the carnival rides and played all sorts of games. Even with all the wheeling and dealing the kids were doing exchanging free pizza with the carnies for free rides, they still spent $80 today. I guess that's our contribution to the Democratic party for right now - our time for $80 worth of carnival crap.

At the booth we were also selling water. Jake was getting bored with going around the carnival so he came in to help us. He had a huge Rubbermaid tote to stand on and whenever anyone ordered water he'd bend over and get one out of the large Rubbermaid garbage bin full of ice and water. He had no problem digging his hands into the ice and melted water and he had a blast. Here is a picture of him and Lincoln selling water. I realize in this picture that it sort of looks like we're set up in a little tent village but it's actually a pretty elaborate, and classy, set up. Unfortunately it has been raining on and off all week so there are a lot of tarps up.

The Cleaning Game

Happy 4th of July everyone. This morning we played the Cleaning Game. It's not very exciting but the kids get a kick out of it (especially Hannah - Jake usually loses interest). The Cleaning Game goes like this: we write all the names of the rooms on scraps of paper, fold them up, and put them in a bowl. Then I spin one of the kids around, they close their eyes, and draw out a slip of paper. Then we quickly run to whatever room is on the slip of paper and clean it up as fast as we can. Once we finish a room we run back to the kitchen, spin another kid, and draw another room. Believe it or not, the kids are actually convinced this is a fun game. Lincoln then follows behind us and does the nitty gritty like sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming while we move onto the next room. It works pretty well and it gets the house cleaned up fairly quickly on a Saturday morning. With as busy as our lives are and with all the stuff we have going on during the week we don't want to waste our entire weekend cleaning. If you have small kids, I highly recommend you try the cleaning game with them.

Hard working woman

Tonight was my first shift working the Democratic Town Committee booth at the Franklin 4th of July carnival. Michael Walker-Jones is in charge of it and whenever Lincoln and I are in town for the 4th we volunteer to take a couple of shifts to help them out. To be honest, we haven't helped them in a couple of years. I signed up for a 3 hour shift tonight and tomorrow both Lincoln and I are working a 4 hour shift. So that's 7 hours for me of selling pizza, calzones, and bottled water. It was pretty busy tonight because it was also the Franklin fireworks so there were lots of people there. I like when it's busy though because it makes the time go by much faster.

Now I'm off to bed so I can get up and do it all over again tomorrow.

I hate Tracy

So kickboxing ended a few weeks ago and last night was my first Cardio Hip Hop class that Tracy signed us up for. Like kickboxing it's supposed to be every Tuesday night but Tracy strong-armed the teacher, and all the students, into doing on both Tuesdays and Thursdays. Yes, I fully blame Tracy. When we have the class on Tuesday I can barely walk on Thursday so this should be interesting.

I hate Tracy.

I am the Super Mario Brothers Master!

Lincoln might disagree with that statement but since I update the blog I'm going to leave it that way. Last night, after the kids went to bed, Lincoln and I stayed up until midnight paying SMB3. It was a fun time where we weren't having to deal with the kids and weren't trying to get stuff done around the house. I think that too many couples these days don't spend enough time just hanging out together. You get so consumed with work and kids and outside activities that you become just two people who happen to live in the same house together. Lincoln and I really make an effort to do things together - just the two of us. It doesn't take anything away from the kids and it helps make our marriage even healthier.

Those are my words of wisdom for today. ;-)