Saturday, May 31, 2008

Like father, like son

Sometimes on the weekend Lincoln brings me breakfast in bed for no other reason then he's the most wonderful, perfect husband ever. Today he brought me scrambled eggs and bacon with OJ. Shortly after I finished my breakfast I heard Jake coming up the stairs. He had a tray with a sippy cup of OJ and an apple. He too was bringing me breakfast in bed. It was so adorable I wanted to cry. He and I ended up splitting the apple. The sippy cup was intended for me but I told him he could drink it since I still had some left in my glass. We had a nice little breakfast together. He'll make a great husband someday.

Friday, May 30, 2008

The secret to a happy marriage

When blogging about your 20-something harem always make sure you spell your husband's name correctly. Lincoln pointed out that I misspelled his name as Lincon. (Don't look now....I already fixed it). My only defense is that I was doing it during work and I was trying to be quick.

Sorry honey. I love you.

Runner interviews

I interviewed four prospective runners today. I have three more interviews on Monday. I have to say, when the 19-year old boy managed to use the word "tampons" in the conversation I wanted to hire him on the spot. I could have died laughing. Our company is very informal and he will fit in SO well. And it was actually germane to the conversation which was about running errands that you don't necessarily want to run.

On top of that he's a former student of my cousin Kate's. I don't know why but I thought that was pretty cool.

He also has dark hair and told me he occasionally grows a beard. Unless Paul Bunyan comes in for an interview on Monday I think this kid is the one.

Jake is TOTALLY my son!

We're having tacos and enchiladas for dinner tonight. Jake just exclaimed, in the most alarmed tone of voice a 3-year old can have: "We're almost out of cheese!!!!"

My boys


At work I supervise two different positions. The receptionist and the "runner". My runners are usually guys in their early to mid-twenties. Lincoln refers to them as my harem of 20-something boys. I just refer to them as "my boys". Last night I threw our Season Kick-off party for the office and I had not one, not two, but THREE of my former runners in attendance. Two have moved onto the Booking department and one into Production. What is really funny is when you line them up next to each other they are all roughly the same height, all dark-haired, and all have beards. Apparently I have a "type" when it comes to runners. Right now I'm interviewing for a new runner....if one shows up with dark hair and a beard I will hire him on the spot.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Snuggling is a contact sport

Jake, Hannah, and I were having a great time snuggling in Jake's bed this morning. Too bad Jake snuggles for about 30 seconds and then turns it into a contact sport. It was still nice though. It is times like these that I realize how fast the kids are growing and before I know it he'll be a surly teenager who wants nothing to do with me.

Another day...another tick

You know, living in the woods can really suck. I just pulled yet another tick out of Jake. Lincoln wasn't home this time so I asked Hannah to help me but she didn't have the stomach for it. Luckily Jake didn't scream and just let me pull it out with the tweezers.

When Rachel was here, after our hike through the woods, she had one in her hair (that hadn't bitten her yet) and when she spotted it she shook her hair and it went flying. Guess where it landed? Yes, on me. My neck to be exact. Luckily we discovered that before it could bite me.

I'm really getting sick of these little buggers. We've never had as many as this before. I'm thinking it might be a smart idea to spray our yard this summer and then hope for the best.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Ugggghhhhh!!!!!!

Two f'ing hours! That's how long it took me to get home tonight. It usually takes me 50-60 minutes.

Not only was there an accident on I-90 which had us crawling at 20 miles an hour....there was construction on I-495 which cut three lanes down to one. On top of that, 3 idiots managed to get into an accident going 5 miles an hour as they merged down to the final lane so that actually stopped traffic COMPLETELY for a good 5-10 minutes while they got those cars out of the way.

What a pain in the ass.

Bring it on!

During our night of drinking, playing Super Mario Brothers, and reminiscing the other night we decided that we really wanted to be able to play Super Mario Brothers 3. Lincoln went on ebay and found it. It arrived in yesterday's mail....I can't wait to sit down and re-master that one too. Although I shoudn't get too cocky. I still haven't beaten the bad guy at the very end of level 8-4 in Super Mario Brothers yet (at least, not since childhood).

I hate my commute


It took me an hour and a half to get to work today. Traffic was terrible for no apparent reason....and this time of day is supposedly post-morning commuter traffic.

Ugh!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Tracy is trying to kill me

Tracy made me go walking with her around the high school track on Sunday (somehow I let that win out over sitting on the couch watching The Bachelorette). While we were walking I managed to tweak my knee in just the right way to maximize the pain. I blame Tracy (who made me go) and Jake (who was playing on the field while we walked and who was the one I was trying to turn around and check on when my knee went one way and the rest of me went the other way). I accept no responsibility of my own. ;-)

Monday, May 26, 2008

Hannah's gardening

Hannah said she wanted it to be "her" garden so once I showed her what to do, she did the rest. I offered to help her dig the holes and do some of the more manual labor but she wanted to do it herself. I did do 10 of the plants but she did the rest herself. We had a total of 23 plants so that's pretty darn good. We did 8 in the ground and 15 in pots.




What is she going to be like as a teenager?

Hannah is a pretty good kid. She doesn't get in trouble often. She usually uses her manners without prompting. She's nice to other children. But she can be a pain in the ass when it comes to doing the opposite of what Mommy wants. It started with clothes shopping. I could pick up a shirt that is "typical" Hannah and she'd scrunch up her nose and go "Umm.....how about this one instead?". We can go back into the same store the next day and she'll pick out the original shirt that I suggested.

Today we bought 8 perennial plants to plant in what she has determined is "her" garden. Nevermind that for the past few years it has been my garden....now, apparently, it is hers. I was showing her how to lay out the plants so that she can get an idea of where she wants to plant them. I put a couple down and she said "I can do it. It's my garden." Okay, fine. So she's standing there holding the last plant and looking at the garden trying to figure out where she wants it. Here is the conversation that took place:

Me: How about right there?

Hannah: Awwww. That's where I wanted to put it.

Me: Just because I agree on where it should go doesn't make it a bad spot.

Hannah: All right. I suppose.

Happy Memorial Day!

We're having a beautiful day here in Massachusetts. Hannah and I went out to buy a bunch of flowers this morning so after lunch we'll be heading out to plant them. I don't know anything about plants but I have no desire to stand around and be lectured at by the person at the nursery so Hannah and I just read the sticks in the pots and do our best to figure it out. Wish us luck.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

I have finally beaten Tracy at something!

Tracy is uber-competitive and even managed to end a air hockey game with her 5-year old with a trip to the ER (she managed to slice her hand open while guarding the goal). I have FINALLY beat her at something. I just kicked her butt at Super Mario Brothers. Woohoo!

An exercise in futility

Me: Do you know where Hannah's caterpillars are?

Jake: Where?

Me: No, I mean do you know what she did with them?

Jake: What?

UGGGHHHH!!!!!! This is what I get for trying to converse with a 3-year old.

Some of my favorite photos

Here are couple more of my favorite photos that I've taken lately.

Check out those curls! I love when Jake wears a baseball cap in the summer and his little blonde curls come out from underneath.
Hannah was playing in the car the other day while we were getting ready to head out. She just looks so grown up to me in this picture.

These two pictures are in our backyard. We've really created quite the oasis back there. Between the pool, the pool deck with the fire pit, and the hammock (hanging from the trees in the background behind the pool) we are the perfect vacation spot. (hint hint to those of you who haven't been to visit lately).

Pictures of our day in Boston

Rachel and Kevin headed out last night to go up to a B&B up in Maine for the remainder of the weekend. We had a lot of fun in Boston yesterday. I had created a scavenger hunt for Hannah yesterday so we walked around the city and she had to find things like the "Make Way for Ducklings" statues, the swan boats, Mother Goose's grave, etc.
After visiting Cheers, the Public Gardens, and the Swan Boats we headed over to the Boston Common and picked up the Freedom Trail from there. We followed the Freedom Trail from the Common over to Fanueil Hall where we stopped for lunch. I may have graduated with a degree in American History but let me tell you, if you don't use that knowledge after you graduate you definitely lose it. I was the worst tour guide EVER.
We stopped for lunch at Fanueil Hall and ate at Dick's Last Resort. I've heard about the place before but never really knew much about it. It's a very casual restaurant where they toss straws at you and play around. They make funny hats for the kids out of paper and/or balloons. The food was delicious and I highly recommend eating there if you ever get a chance. It's a lot of pulled pork, bbq ribs, and chicken sandwiches. Probably not ideal if you're a vegetarian but if you're not....you'd be in heaven!
After lunch we were going to head over to Harvard Square but unfortunately the red line on the T (which is our subway system for you out-of-towners) was temporarily out of service so we ended up just walking back across the Common and the Public Garden and a little ways down Newbury Street. After that it was time for Rachel and Kevin to head out. We had a great time with them this weekend and I can't wait for them to come back and visit again sometime soon.

Now the glamour of having company has passed and we're back to our usual lives. How boring.

By the way, if you're wondering why there are no pictures of Jake, it's because all of those were taken with Kevin's camera and he hasn't sent them to me yet. Hopefully he'll get them to me when he gets a chance and I'll put them up. I had a blast playing with Kevin's fancy camera yesterday and got a few great shots I hope to share here on the blog.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

The Morning After


Yesterday was a nice leisurely day. Rachel and I hung out in our PJs for most of the morning and then joined up with Lincoln for lunch at Acapulco's. After that we headed out to get pedicures. It wasn't long after we got home that Rachel's husband Kevin arrived from Westford. He has been up there all week doing a training seminar for work. I gave them a tour of Upton and then we came home to have dinner out on the deck.


We had a great dinner out on the pool deck with a bonfire and a cooler full of beer. Tracy, Cliff and Hunter also joined us. It was a night with lots of s'mores, lots of beer, and lots and LOTS of laughs.


Now we're off to spend the day in Boston. I've created a scavenger hunt for Hannah like the one we did in NYC so she's really excited. After our day in Boston Rachel and Kevin are heading up to Maine for the weekend. Hopefully they'll have pretty decent weather. Our weather here in Mass is supposed to be great this weekend.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

We made CHEESE!

Tonight Rachel and I joined my Executive Assistant's Group for an "interactive kitchen" event. There were 21 of us and we broke into 3 teams to make a fancy dinner. The place that does this was very nice...great kitchens...every possible cooking tool...and chefs to assist you. One team made Fettuccine with Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce. One team made Butternut Squash Ravioli with Parmesan Sauce. Our team made "Totally from Scratch Lasagna". And I mean, TOTALLY from scratch. Within our team we divided up the duties. Rachel, Cindy, and I made the cheese. Yes, we MADE the cheese. We made mozzarella and ricotta cheese completely from scratch. I have to say...it's pretty cool to have made cheese.

The mozzarella was really easy. At one point the cheese is soaking in very hot water (near boiling) and you put your hands in a bowl of ice, milk and water and then put them in the hot water to stretch and roll the cheese. It was awesome. The ricotta took a long time to make but it was interesting to know you can make cheese just by putting milk, cream, lemons, and salt in a pan and slowly boiling it.

While all of this is going on they also have cheese, fruit, bread and crackers for you to munch on as well as beer, wine, water, and soda. Attendants are constantly coming around and taking your dirty dishes and bringing them back clean. The chefs walk around and help you. After all the food is done you sit down in this beautiful dining area and they pour you wine and you get to eat all the great food. Afterwards they bring out dessert and coffee. Finally they send you home with folders that contain all the recipes.

It was a great evening and we had lots of fun. Of course both Rachel and I are married to men who do most of the cooking so it's not like we're going to bring these skills home and use them but it was still a blast. I have to say though, I might try my hand at mozzarella again someday. That was pretty darn cool.

A trip back in time

Rachel is finally here and I'm so excited. Last night after Hannah's Little League game we all went out to dinner (at the Rose Garden, naturally) and then came home and put the kids to bed. Then we broke out the old school Nintendo and played Super Mario Brothers - yes, the original. It was great. Even just the music that plays in the background takes you back to childhood. It was pretty cool how quickly it comes back to you where the secret tricks are hidden and how to defeat certain foes. I think I'm addicted again. This morning Rachel came down and Jake was sitting in my lap while I taught him how to play. This could become a huge time suck.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Cool bedrooms!

For Hannah's 7th birthday this August she gets to upgrade to the largest of the bedrooms (beside ours, of course) and decorate it anyway she wants. Her current plan is to get a bunk bed (preferably with a slide) and to paint her room purple with glittery, silver stars. Jake will then move up to the middle sized bedroom and the small bedroom will become the office. I have determined that even though it's not necessarily fair that Hannah get the largest room, as a fellow female, I made the decision that she gets it because it has a walk-in closet and the other one doesn't. And really, what boy needs a walk-in closet?

As for Jake, I have to say, his room is pretty cool as it is right now. He got a huge giraffe tent for his birthday last December and it has been taking up space in our living room. We had to move it out of the way for the Derby party so we moved it up to his bedroom where we turned it into his bed. He loves it. It sits on top of his bed and he has a little fold-out couch, the pillow my sister made him for Christmas, and his sleeping bag in there. Every night he zips it up and goes right to sleep.

Check it out:

There is nothing like a full-out sprint at 1:30 in the morning

Jake cried out at 1:30 this morning and it wasn't one of those "I had a bad dream" or an "I'm thirsty" cries...it was a "Good God something awful is happening to me" cry. Lincoln and I both flew out of bed and went running into his room at a full-out sprint. I got there first and saw that Jake had a really bad nose bleed so I yelled for Link to grab tissues while I held Jake's nose and mouth with my hand. You gotta love parenthood. After I got it to stop Lincoln washed Jake up with a warm, wet wag while I scrubbed dry, sticky blood off my hands. Like I said....you gotta love parenthood.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Kickboxing

I survived kickboxing tonight. As much as I dreaded it all day I really had fun tonight. The time went by really fast and it didn't seem quite as crazy tonight - maybe because I had done the moves last week and this week wasn't so much about learning but actually doing. Now, let's see how I feel the next few days....

Season (Series?) Finales

As many of you know, I am a complete TV junky. I have 3 tivos in my house, two of which are dual tuners, which means that I can tivo up to 5 shows at any given time. I love reality shows (Amazing Race, Survivor, Beauty and the Geek) and regular shows (Numb3rs, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother) and everything in between. It is the regular shows - particularly 3 of the ones mentioned above - that are disappointing me right now. Right now is time for the season finales to be happening and it seems that so many of them are deciding to double their season finales as potential series finales in case they don't get renewed. What kind of attitude is that? Numb3rs, Gossip Girl, and How I Met Your Mother all ended in the last week with episodes that tie everything up in a nice little bow "just in case". I mean, it's the not the type of ending that Gilmore Girls or Friends had (obviously) but IF the shows didn't come back you could feel you had at least a little bit of closure. I don't like it. I like the cliff hangers. I like the thrill of having to wait all summer to find out what happened.

In 1995 I used to watch a show called Model's Inc which was a spin-off of Melrose Place (which, of course, was a spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210) and it had the GREATEST cliffhanger. The show was cancelled after the season finale and I never got to see what happened but I can tell you...I STILL REMEMBER THE SEASON FINALE! That's why it was so great. That was 13 years ago and I still remember it. I can promise you I probably won't remember these finales in about a week's time.

Bring back the cliffhangers!!!!!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Handicap Accessible?

I have kickboxing again tomorrow night. I hope Rachel is prepared to push me around Boston in a wheelchair this weekend.

Hannah's social calendar

Hannah is on the phone right now with another little girl from school. They're trying to plan a playdate and it is rather funny listening to them try and coordinate their schedules.

"How about Wednesday?"

"No, I can't do Wednesday. I have Little League"

"Tuesday?"

"Nope, Tuesday is bad. That's dance"

"What about Monday? Do you have any anything on Monday?"

"Little League again."

"How about Thursday?"

Jake is boring

Whenever Jake has nothing to do he starts to whine about being bored. He means to say "I'm bored" but instead he says "I'm boring". He may be bored but it's rather entertaining for us.

Rachel has revoked her friendship

Rachel has informed me she is no longer my friend since I posted those pictures. I can't believe she can forgive me locking her in my bedroom when we were children but not for this.

LOL!

My night with the New Kids on the Block

Last night was the KISS 108 radio show at Tweeter Center. New Kids on the Block were going to be performing a brief set and I decided that even though I'm going to see them in September I needed to go last night as well. With my luck one of them would break a leg between now and September, the tour would be cancelled, and I would have to wait another 20 years to see them in concert. I got the set times from the venue and decided to head down with Tracy to see Maroon 5 (who was on right before New Kids) and of course, the New Kids. As much as I enjoy Maroon 5, it was very hard to watch them knowing that I had to sit through their performance before I could see New Kids on the Block. They did a good job and I enjoyed their set, sat through the brief intermission with lots of anticipation, and then was CRUSHED when Natasha Bedingfield went on instead of New Kids on the Block. It turns out that Danny and Donnie had attended the Boston Celtics game and were delayed. So, I sat through Natasha (who I actually really like), ANOTHER intermission, and then finally....there they were....NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK. Oh my God! As giddy and excited as I've been to see them I didn't actually realize what a screaming, shaking freak I would be when they took the stage. I truly felt like I was 10 years old again. My pre-teen self was in absolute heaven.

The show was pretty much the exact same show that they had performed on the Today show last Friday, which was to be expected. They don't head out on tour until September so they're still getting songs and dance routines together. If I was this excited for a 3-song set, can you imagine how insane I will be in September when they perform an entire show?

After the show I was lucky enough to get to go backstage where they were hanging out. One thing I have learned when it comes to meeting celebrities is that the actual event NEVER lives up to the hype. As did every other pre-teen girl in the late 1980's, I firmly believed that if I ever met Joey McIntyre our eyes would meet, harps would play, and angels would start to sing. Well, I did get to meet Joey a few years back at a "Boston Public" meet-n-greet and I was greatly disappointed that there were no angels and no beam of light pouring down from the heavens. A few years later I was at a Justin Timberlake show and after the show he was standing 10 feet away from me at an afterparty and I refused to go up and say "hi" because I didn't want a repeat of the Joey incident. I'm glad I didn't meet him because now I can still ooh and aah over him in my magazines without having to accept that he is just a regular guy.

Anyway, back to the New Kids. So last night I got to go back stage where they were hanging out. As I walked into the area I walked right past Jonathan who was standing and talking to some friends. Donnie, Joey, Jordan, and Danny were all in a small courtyard area doing some radio press. I just stood to the side and took it all in. All of them walked past me at some point or another - close enough to touch - and Donnie actually stopped to talk to the guy standing next to me. It was an absolutely perfect situation. I got to stand within a hair's-breadth of each of them without actually having to ruin my pre-teen fantasy of running away with practically any member of New Kids. Of course, on the flipside, Joey was the only one that I even considered speaking to last night since I already ruined the illusion with him. Of course, seeing him in a concert setting as a New Kid (and not as an actor on Boston Public) really did help to restore the aura of pre-teen crush status.

Rachel is here!

My best-est friend from the womb...literally, my mother babysat Rachel while she was pregnant with me....is here in the state of Massachusetts with her hubby Kevin. I won't actually get to see them until later in the week but I'm very excited for their visit. Above is a picture of the two of us during freshman year of college. Below is junior high.

New Kids on the Block

OMG! New Kids on the Block tonight was awesome! I love them. Tracy can tell you that I was a screaming, shaking mess. I swear to God I almost wet my pants I was so damn excited. I have waited 20 years to see them in concert and it finally happened. This was just three songs at a radio festival. I can't wait until their full show in September.

I also got within 2 feet of each of them but more on that tomorrow. It's midnight and I need to get to bed since tomorrow is a work day.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

"I don't need a haircut Mommy"


Jake has spent most of today trying to convince us that he doesn't need a haircut today. This picture was taken when he woke up from his nap which I think proves our point that he does, indeed, need a haircut.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

2 down, 1 to go

Parties 1 and 2 are over and done with. The first one was for a classmate of Hannah's. It was really neat because they had a "surprise guest" for the party which was actually their teacher, Mr. Warren. Mr. Warren is not your typical first grade teacher. He has tattoos, a shaved head, and a laidback "rocker" personality. And he's a musician. He is VERY popular with the kids and sings great character building songs. You can check him out here: www.joelwarrenrocks.com

Alright, time to head out for Party 3. This is the one that is fun for the adults. After the kid portion of the party we all just hang out, drink beer, and eat. Sweet! And it's two houses up so we don't have to worry about designating a driver.

By the way, today was one of those days that every parent has every so often. You go along with your kids day in and day out and then all of a sudden they'll turn to look at you in just a certain way and you say to yourself "Wow! When did he/she get so grown up?" I had one of those moments with Jake today. He just seemed like such a big kid today. It made me a little bit sad since he is my baby after all.

Birthday Party Day

Well, today is the day of the 3 birthday parties. Hannah is at the first one and Jake and I are on our way to the 2nd one. The third one is for Lincoln's niece, Kayla. It's a miracle that it is not raining today since whenever my sister-in-law, the other Diane Snow, throws a party we usually have a monsoon.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Sad thoughts

I don't know how many of you read blogs on a daily basis but one of my favorites is www.dooce.com. My friend Rachel turned me onto this blog and I love checking in and seeing what is going on in her life. She has a very honest style of writing and she deals openly with her life, raising her headstrong 4-year old daughter, and her battle with depression. While her style of writing is usually very humorous, her most recent post is a sad one about her stepfather being diagnosed with lymphoma. She also suffered a miscarriage last October and this would have been Week 40 of her pregnancy (for you pregnancy virgins, that's full term). Most of you know that between Hannah and Jake I also suffered a miscarriage. It was very hard to deal with and I wasn't sure how to cope. No one in my immediate family or close circle of friends had ever miscarried and it was something I never expected to have happen to me. I knew that when the due date came it would be a tremendously sad day so Lincoln and I actually planned a weekend away with Hannah to distract me. We went to the Sesame Street theme park in Pennsylvania. I think what saved my sanity even more was the fact that by the time the due date came and went I was already pregnant with Jake. That didn't make it any less sad but it did give me hope that everything would be okay. Even blessed with the two wonderful children that I have I still occasionally think about what that other child would have been like and how my life would be different.

Dealing with a miscarriage is very hard but, for me, the most sincere voice in the darkness came from the least likely place. Everyone around me - my family, my friends, and my co-workers - were wonderful, but one night I called my friend Rachel while she was visiting her parents and her dad answered the phone. He knew I had been pregnant but hadn't yet been told that I had miscarried. He congratulated me on my pregnancy and I awkwardly had to tell him that I had lost the baby. Most people give you the same "I'm so sorry for your loss" or the "it happened for a reason" speech, but as he stumbled over the most endearing apology and encouraging speech, I knew at that moment that everything would be okay because I have the greatest people in my life. The Klevars have always been a huge part of my childhood but they have also played a big part in my adulthood - even if in the smallest of ways.

Two days until my dream comes true!

New Kids on the Block are playing at the KISS concert at the Tweeter Center on Sunday. I have waited 20 years for this moment!

The downside of having a smart child

This morning I told Lincoln we should take the kids to the C-A-R-N-I-V-A-L tonight if it's not raining. I was hoping Hannah wouldn't catch that because I'm 30 years old and I still have trouble when people spell words out to me. But no, she didn't miss a beat and said "yea, yea, I want to go to the carnival!" Which of course got Jake excited too. And now it's going to rain.... They'll be great fun to live with tonight.

Making inroads

Jake is such a Daddy's boy. It used to be that when I walked into a room that the two of them were in Jake would tell me that I had to leave. He didn't want to share Link with me at all. As stated in yesterday's entry, every morning when I go in to get Jake he throws a "my life is coming to end because you're not Daddy" fit. Well guess who he asked for this morning? Lincoln went in to get him and Jake said in a very disappointed voice: "Awwww, where's Mommy?" Woo hoo!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

So, so tired....



Last night was the PTO General Meeting, which of course means we went out to the Rose Garden for drinks afterwards (gotta love the PTO). It was also the season finale of America's Next Top Model. I got home late from the RG, had to do a few things on email, and then sat down to watch ANTM. I didn't get to bed until midnight and then woke up with Lincoln's alarm at 5:15 or thereabouts. I fell back asleep but then Jake woke up around 6:15 a.m. I just stayed in bed praying he'd get up by himself. He usually just lays in bed calling for Daddy until one of us goes in there. If it's me, and not Daddy, then he throws himself down on the bed like he's dying and starts crying. I really didn't have the energy for that this morning so I was very lucky that he actually got out of bed on his own and came looking for me. I convinced him that he didn't really want to go down and have breakfast right away (chocolate milk is like coffee for him - he can't start his day without it). Instead I convinced him it would be fun to watch tv from Mommy's bed. I can't believe he fell for it! Not that he doesn't like watching tv but I actually got him to ditch the chocolate milk for 45 minutes! Even after falling back asleep until 7 a.m. I was still exhausted. And that is why I love my job. Where else could I come to work on a drizzly, miserable, sleepy day and wear my sock monkey slippers? Yes, I brought real shoes for when I have to go into someone else's office but I have to say...I'm communicating by email, IM, and phone as much as possible today.
By the way, when I thanked Jake for letting Mommy get some extra sleep he stopped, looked at me, gave me a very regal nod of his head, and said "you're welcome". He's obviously building up some good karma for the next time he beats up his sister.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Crazy, busy life

May is the time of year that everything starts to kick into high gear and it seems like life is getting out of control. We have THREE birthday parties to go to this Saturday. One is for a 10 year old, one for a 9 year old, and one for a 7 year old. On top of that it's almost time for Hannah's dance recital and piano recital. Little League is two days a week and that's on top of piano, animal art (an after school "enrichment" class), ballet, and tap. Tonight was my PTO general meeting which means that I missed Little League. Sometimes I wonder what Lincoln and I did with our time before we had kids.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

A Sad Story

On Sunday evening, Mother's Day, there was a fatal car accident not far from our house. It appears the driver was drunk and trying to pass cars on a road that he shouldn't have. What breaks my heart is that he killed a 19 year old boy and seriously injured that kid's 16 year old brother. The location where the accident happened is a road that we travel often. It was a beautiful, clear spring day at 5:10 in the evening. WE could have been on that road. It passes by a popular local farm stand and a walk-up ice cream stand. It's a road with a lot of local traffic. Things can happen so quickly. In the blink of an eye a mother who woke up that morning and probably got a card, a kiss on the cheek, and a "Happy Mother's Day" from her two teenage sons is now splitting her time between planning a funeral and sitting bedside in the ICU at the local hospital. I sit here and worry about how to teach my son not to go through life punching people and praising Hannah on how she fields a ground ball....I cannot imagine going through life and raising these kids to adulthood and then losing them through blind (terrible) luck. Please keep these people in your thoughts (and prayers if you're a religious person) because I can't imagine anything more horrible than losing my babies. It would be terrible to lose a child any day of the year, but to lose them on Mother's Day is a cruel fate that no woman deserves.

Punishments

Lincoln (jokingly) has decided that our next punishment for Jake is to make him kneel in the corner on uncooked rice. I doubt we'll get to that point. Over the years I have learned one valuable tool in the selection of punishments. When selecting a punishment I sort of let Jake and Hannah guide me. When they know they've done something wrong I ask them what they think their punishment should be. Then I throw out ideas.

"Should I take away TV for a week?"

"ok", they say.

"Should I take away play time in the bathtub?"

"ok."

"Should I take away computer time?"

"ok."

Should I take away chocolate milk for a week?"

"No! No! No!"

Ah ha! BINGO! That is what is taken away. You have to find their weak spot. That works with Hannah. Actually, what works most with Hannah is telling her she has disappointed us. She HATES to disappoint us. With Jake, it's hit or miss. As evidenced by his telling me he loves spending time in his room, he has figured out how to work us. As frustrating as it is, I like how he keeps us on our toes.

What are we going to do with Jake?

Ever since Jake entered the "terrible twos and threes" we've struggled with how to deal with Jake's stubborn, headstrong, pain in the ass streak - which I firmly believe he inherited from my father (and not me personally). Just kidding Dad! Anyway, he goes through these spurts of testing the limits and each time we have to figure out how to tailor his punishment to make the most impact. After trying several styles of punishment a few months ago we hit on the fact that he hated spending time alone in his room. That is now our go-to punishment when he gets into trouble.

Last night Hannah was laying on the floor watching television. Jake kept jumping over her and she kept asking him to stop. Finally I said "Jake, STOP jumping over your sister. She has asked you nicely to stop - so don't do it." Well, he looked right at me and jumped over Hannah again. Defiant little bugger. He got sent directly to his room. Here is the conversation we had when I told him he could come back down.

Me: Jake, you can come back down now and join the family

Jake: That was the MOST fun!

Me: What was?

Jake: Playing in my room. (said with a huge smile on his face)

UGH!!!!!!!! What are we going to do with this kid? We never went through this with Hannah.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Parenting Dilemma


One of the things I have serious trouble with as a parent is watching my children do standard childhood things that are actually very dangerous. We have a rock climbing "wall" as part of their playset, as well as a fairly steep ladder that goes up to the slide, and each time I watch Jake climb either one my heart leaps into my throat and I have visions of him falling. We also have these huge rocks on our property and Hannah has just recently discovered how fun they are to climb. Watching her scamper over them makes me want to throw up. She is allowed to climb them by herself (although an adult has to be outside with her) and Jake is only allowed to climb them with an adult by his side. One part of me wants to say "get down off there...you are never climbing those rocks/wall/ladder again" but deep down I know that doing those things are how they learn to be confident, strong adults and not scared, nervous wrecks. Besides, what kind of childhood is it if all they do is sit inside and/or stay on the ground. I tell myself "What's the worst that can happen? They'll fall, get a few scratches, maybe break a bone but all that stuff can be fixed and then they've learned a lesson". Of course then my mind starts to wander and I think of all the ways they can fall in just a certain way and end up paralyzed or dead. What I've decided is that it's just easier not to watch. You send them out into the big, bad world and hope that all your "be carefuls" and "make sure you pay attention to what you're doing" has sunk into their conscience. I would rather not watch it happen so I go outside with them, sit with my back to it (peeking over my shoulder every now and then), and sit there cringing while I wait to hear a scream and a thump. Of course, my preference is to send Lincoln out with them and let him deal with it.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and mothers-to-be out there. My day has been great so far. Lincoln and the kids served me egg bake and mimosas in bed this morning. They also gave me a mother's necklace which is very beautiful. It's a silver heart with charms on it. It came with 5 charms that you can mix and match. The charms Lincoln selected are the birthstones for both Jake and Hannah, a heart, and the letters H and J. Hannah also gave me an I.O.U. saying she's going to clean my car for me. I'd like to think she's doing it because she spilled her root beer in there the other day but I'm sure it's more of a "Mom, your car is a mess and you're embarrassing me" gift.

The weather this weekend is absolutely beautiful. It's too bad it wasn't like this for the Derby party. It's 65 degrees and sunny so we're having some people over for a late lunch/early dinner including Lincoln's parents. We're going to eat out on the pool deck and have a fire with s'mores and the whole nine yards. It should be lots of fun.

Ants

Well, the good news is that my kids are bug free these days. The bad news is that our house is overrun with the annual carpenter ant infestation. They're really annoying. They thrive on water so it's always fun to kill ants while you're sitting on the toilet or getting something out of the fridge. I have to say, I hate the ants more than I hate the pumpkin bug infestations in the fall. They may smell when you kill them but at least they look like ladybugs.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

This is not an English paper

My husband has just informed me that I need to watch my pronouns on here. To that I say, "this is not an English paper". But since I know how much the your/you're thing drives me crazy I will strive to work harder to be on my best pronoun behavior. Kate, I'm sorry if I have been driving you up the wall seeing as how you're a Princeton-educated published author.

You can check out Kate's book here:

http://www.amazon.com/Harbors-Harvest-Original-Kate-Benson/dp/0156031248/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210424378&sr=8-2

Way to go Jake!

Jake made it through school this week without hurting anyone so he's off punishment for now. Let's see if he can keep it up.

Time for a change

Every couple of seasons I change up my hair a little. Last summer was sort of a reddish with blonde streaks. Before that was a dark, almost black, wintery color. Today, for the first time since college, I'm going back to blonde. It is merely a coincidence that I appear to be taking a cue from my two favorite beers of the moment....Leinie's HoneyWeiss and Red Hook Blonde. Here's hoping it works out. Luckily I'll be in the very capable hands of my favorite hair stylist. She dropped off the radar for awhile (which is why my hair looks terrible these days) but she's back and I'm ready for a new look.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Jake's gift did not disappoint

Yesterday was the Mother's Day breakfast at Jake's school. This year the kids painted little clay pots (which his teacher said Jake REALLY didn't want to do) and they grew flowers for each of the mom's. In each pot was one of those plastic forks they use to hold cards from the florist and they had taken a picture of each kid and put them in the plastic fork. It's hard to get a good picture of Jake these days where he is smiling but not hamming it up. The picture they got of him is great. They took it when the kids were playing in the gym and Jake is looking up at the camera with this gleeful smile. Only if you look closer do you realize he appears to be dragging some kid by the ankles in the picture.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

PTO meeting tonight

My PTO board meeting is tonight which means we get to go out for dinner and drinks at the Rose Garden afterwards. Woohoo! My friend Jennifer says if she ever gets knocked up she's moving to suburbia so she can join the PTO and go out drinking too.

Kids ask the darnest things

This morning Hannah asked me what Viagra was after hearing it on a commercial on the radio. I told her it was "a medicine older men take to help them have babies." She gave me a funny look and I said "Well, they don't actually have the babies..." and she just laughed and walked off. That was the end of that awkward conversation.

That wasn't quite as good as my answer 2 years ago to "what is a virgin?". To that I answered "a drink without alcohol in it" without missing a beat.

Mother's Day Arts & Crafts

Every year at daycare they have a Mother's Day breakfast where we get to go in and they serve donuts and fruit and we get our Mother's Day gifts that the kids have made. Today is the Mother's Day event at Jake's school. I can't wait to see what he has made me. Last year's was a total riot. Jake hates everything having to do with arts and crafts. He definitely prefers trains and cars. Last year the plan was for every kid to paint a picture using finger paints and then they glued that on a piece of construction paper with a photo that the teacher had taken of the kid while they painted their picture for Mommy. Jake's photo was of him strapped into a 5-point harness high chair (that's the only way he would sit still to paint) and my painting was mostly straight lines through a center blob of paint. The only way they could get him to paint a picture was to put some paint on the paper and then let him drive his train through the paint while he was strapped into the high chair. It was the perfect present because it totally captured the essence of my little boy. I can't wait to see what today brings.

Little League update

Hannah is doing a great job at Little League and she's really enjoying it a lot. I wish I had taken the video camera with me last night. She had a great fielding play at the end of the game where she scooped up the ball and shot it to first base. It was awesome.

Like I've said before, Hannah is pretty much the only girl on the team. There is one other girl but I don't think she was even there last night and when she is, she tends to be shy and not want to play much. The rest of the team - all boys - love to wrestle each other to the ground and play around. The coach loves Hannah because she does the best at listening and he told me multiple times last night that he "would take a whole team of Hannah's any day!". That's always great to hear as a parent.

Jake's first day back at school

Today will be Jake's first day back at school since the punching incident last week. If he can get through today and tomorrow without any problems at school he gets to have his punishments lifted. Hopefully he has learned his lessons. He truly is a good little boy with a great heart but he's a boy's boy through and through and loves to wrestle and fight and play rough. It's such a change from raising Hannah who is gentle and caring and just wants everyone to be friends with each other. But hey, if they were both like that life would just get boring....right?

Okay, now I really hurt

It has been two days since my first kickboxing class and I now officially hurt in every muscle and joint of my body. Half of the class also has a hip hop dance element. I used to love to dance and did it in high school. I figured "I can do this". Oh man....a lot has changed in 10+ years. I can't even find my center of gravity these days much less "kick ball change". I'm excited to be doing it though and I can't wait to see how the class progresses. Unfortunately next week's class has been cancelled because of a scheduling conflict at the place that we take the class but that might be a good thing. It gives me two weeks to recover!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Random Story

Okay, here is one of my totally random stories......Years ago, when I first started at my job, I shared a very small office with another person. I needed a clock and so I followed standard office procedure, opened up the Office Depot catalog, and picked one out. I didn't look too closely at the dimensions and when it arrived I found out that the time, date, and temperature on this clock could probably be read by a blind person three states away. My officemate Melissa dubbed this the "big ass clock" and over the past 5 years has found many creative ways to mock my beloved clock even though we now have separate offices two floors away from each other. It is truly strange how attached I was to this thing. I'm sad to report that the clock has finally moved on to the big office in the sky. I did everything I could do to save this clock but nothing worked. And unfortunately they don't make these clocks anymore (at least not sold through the Office Depot catalog). Now I'm stuck with an itty bitty clock for the time and a day-by-day Maxine calendar to tell me the date. And I have absolutely no idea what the temp is. It's a sad, sad day.

Goodbye Big Ass Clock. I'll miss you.

All bad things come in threes

Today Jake has a huge red welt on his right temple from a black fly bite. Is that it now? Are we done? Are the locusts on their way?

The morning after

My wonderful husband drew me a hot bath this morning, the morning after my kickboxing class, and so I crawled straight out of bed and into that. What a great way to start the morning. I'm a little stiff today but mostly just in my ankles and knees. These old joints just can't take it.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Tracy and Denise are trying to kill me

My friends Tracy and Denise have convinced me to join a Hip Hop/Kickboxing class that they take here in Upton. Tonight was my first class. I think I am going to die.

Kill the buggers!

We just washed the medicine, i.e. pesticides, out of Hannah's hair and brushed it out with the nit comb. I washed it with Repel shampoo and conditioner to hopefully keep any new ones away. I can't spot any more nits and I'm hoping we've nipped this in the bud. All the bedding has been laundered, the couch cushions sprayed down, all hats have been run through the dryer, and the stuffed animals have been bagged up for their month-long quarantine in the basement. I don't know what else to do. I guess in 10 days we're supposed to do another treatment "just to be safe" but for that I purchased a non-toxic, pesticide free treatment. So far, so good for Jake, Lincoln and I.

Here's hoping tomorrow is a tick-free, lice-free, bug-free day.

Bugs, bugs, and more bugs

If Jake's tick wasn't bad enough yesterday, Hannah now has head lice. About every three weeks since the beginning of the school year a notice has come home saying that there is an outbreak of head lice at the school. Until now we've been lucky enough to avoid getting it. Well, our luck has finally run out.

Since Hannah has such blonde hair it was pretty easy to spot this morning when I was pulling her hair back into a ponytail for ballet. They look like little black sesame seeds. Since we were already going to the doctor for her ankle (deep bruise, luckily no break) we had him take a look at it and she definitely has lice. Lice, by the way, is not an inexpensive problem to treat. I've already spend about $300 on medicine, shampoos, combs, sprays, etc. Not fun.

We are now back at home and she has some incredibly bad smelling, flammable pesticide on her hair (she was NOT happy about that) and I'm about ready to start scrubbing, vacuuming and washing every fabric in this house....bedding, couch cushions, blankets, etc. I also picked up new hair brushes for both her and me since she often steals my hairbrush when she can't find hers.

I haven't had a chance to check Jake yet but he's next on my list. Then Lincoln and I will have to check each other. Unfortunately both of us have dark hair which will make it a bit tougher. If we've contained it with just Hannah I would be terribly surprised, but eternally grateful. All of a sudden this morning's cuddling session in bed isn't as heartwarming as it was 8 hours ago.

I'm sure there will be much more to this saga before it's over but I have to say, at times like this, life sucks.

Snuggling

Hannah is a born snuggler. She will cuddle with you anytime, anyplace...sometimes that is not a good thing if you're trying to get something done or you're trying to share a bed with her. Jake, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. Trying to get him to hold still long enough to cuddle is next to impossible. So imagine my pleasant surprise when he got into bed with me this morning and snuggled for a FULL 10 MINUTES! He just laid there snuggling and talking to me without once asking for chocolate milk or to watch TV (two things that were taken away as punishment for punching Will last week). It was definitely a moment to be treasured. Now he wants to go in and kiss Hannah awake like Sleeping Beauty. Maybe that tick that bit him last night was a love bug.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Ticks

Since we moved here in March 2002 I have pulled one deer tick and one regular tick from Jake, one regular tick from Lincoln, and two regular ticks from Hannah. I know this is the price we pay for living in such a beautiful wooded area but I can honestly say I really, really, really hate ticks.

They don't come out easily and the screams a child makes when you're trying to get one out is enough to break your heart. And while a deer tick is far more scary, thanks to the threat of Lyme disease, they are far easier to get out then a regular tick. Jake has actually had two deer ticks in him but his Aunt Diane pulled the first one out. The first time Hannah had a tick she screamed so hard while I removed it that she broke capillaries in her face.

Ticks suck. That's as plain and simple as it gets.

Parenting Dilemma

When it comes to medical issues my two children could not be more different. If Hannah gets a papercut we hear about it for a week. Jake split his head open on New Year's Eve, spent 3 hours in the ER, got 2 staples in his head and barely cried.

Anyway, Hannah has been complaining about her ankle lately. At first I figured she had just twisted it while playing and it would clear itself up. Then she kept bringing it up so I figured it might be "growing pains". She occasionally gets those in her knees when she's going through a growth spurt. But she's still complaining about it so I'm taking her to the doctor tomorrow.

I have no idea what it could be but if the doctor tells me she's been walking around for 3 weeks with a serious problem in her ankle I'm going to feel like a really shitty mom.

Life is unfair

When I was pregnant with both Hannah and Jake I spent the first trimester - and then some! - puking up my guts and not wanting to get out of bed. Two weeks ago my friend Kathryn ran, and FINISHED, the Boston Marathon while in her 1st trimester. Way to go Kathryn!

Hammerin' Hannah

Lincoln finally got the video of Hannah at last week's practice up on YouTube. You can watch it here:



Tonight is their first actual game. It's the ultimate battle of light blue vs. dark blue. lol!

Happy Birthday Bob!

Today is my father-in-law's birthday. I don't know how he does it but he still manages to keep up with my son. And let me tell you, with the mischief that Jake gets into, that's not easy.

Happy Birthday Bob!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

your vs. you're

I'm usually the last person to critique grammar but for some reason the misuse of your and you're drives me up the wall. Today in the parking lot there was a car that had "happy birthday" written on the back windshield and "your 18 today!" written on the side window. Obviously our school system is really working for these kids.

Derby Day is Done


Yesterday was the annual Kentucky Derby party that we co-host with the Walkers and the Walker-Joneses. It was a huge success despite the poor weather. It ended up being cool (only in the 40's most of the day) but luckily the rain held off for the most part. Every now and then it drizzled but that never deterred the kids from playing outside. Michael hired ponies to come and the kids rode them for a couple of hours.


The outside games that Lincoln had purchased the day before were also put to use. For the most part the adults stayed in the house but luckily it never seemed too crowded. We had pushed the couch up against the wall and taken the coffee table upstairs to open up the room and that really helped. I never got an official count but I think we had at least 50 people here yesterday.


The food, as usual, was fantastic and the Walker's really out did themselves. Deb has passed down her super secret Mac 'n Cheese recipe to her girls and this year was Kristen's first time on her own. All 3 of her pans of mac 'n cheese were gobbled up before you could blink an eye. We also had ribs, pulled pork, chicken, and deep-fried turkey. And those were just the entrees.


Plus, I won $13 on Big Brown so it was a good day all around.


P.S. Mom and Dad, I know when you cleaned out the closet while you stayed at my house last month that you said not to buy any more paper products. Luckily I ignored your suggestion and went out and bought 4 more packages of plates. We went through those, two more that we had in the basement, plus all our odds 'n ends as well. Hopefully everyone had enough to drink by the end that they didn't think it was strange they were eating dessert on Finding Nemo and Christmas plates.

Eight Belles

Yesterday's Derby was, as usual, the greatest 2 minutes in sports. Unfortunately it ended in tragedy when the 2nd place finisher, the first filly to run with the boys since 1999, had to be euthanized on the track having broken her two front ankles after crossing the finish line.

Rest in peace Eight Belles.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

I'm betting on Murphy's Law today

I am completely rearranging my house right now to accommodate a huge amount of people because it's 41 degrees and cloudy. I can't imagine many people migrating outside to drink all the "summer" beer that I bought. Maybe I should make some apple cider and hot chocolate instead.

Anyway, I'm betting on Murphy's Law that if I spend hours moving things around that the sun will come out and it will be 80 degrees by the time everyone gets here and no one will be in my house at all.

Of course, today's unforecasted weather was probably brought on by Lincoln going out and buying a bunch of lawn games for the kids yesterday. Damn that Murphy and his laws!

Derby Day!

Derby Day is finally here. The house is ready and the party is set to begin in 7 hours. Let's hope that's enough time for the rain to stop.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Today my parents have been married for 39 years. Congratulations on a long and happy marriage. Here's to many more wonderful years.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Is this the face of a mean little boy?


Apparently it is. Lincoln just told me that Jake got in trouble for punching another kid at school....in the face. What are we going to do with him? UGGHHHHH!!!! Maybe we shouldn't let him watch The Simpson's after all......

Jake's TV Consumption - Part 2

As many of you already know, I don't allow my children to watch SpongeBob because I think it's horribly inappropriate for children but I do allow them to watch The Simpson's. Yes, I realize it's hard to defend my stance against SpongeBob while standing behind The Simpson's but I still believe SB is evil....so there!

Anyway, in an episode from 2007 called "Crook and Ladder" Homer starts taking sleeping pills called Napien. When he takes them before bed he says "Okay Napien, do your stuff". Lincoln pointed out to me the other day that every morning when Jake takes his vitamins he says "Okay Napien, do your stuff" before popping them in his mouth.

Lincoln says he's never been more proud.

Ever have one of those days?

You know those days when everything is going crazy at once and you're sure that everyone around you is secretly possessed by satan? If so, this is the greatest thing ever for getting out your frustrations. It's an online voodoo doll that will make you laugh until you forget why you hate your co-worker/friend/spouse/family member. http://www.guzer.com/animations/voodoo.php

Jake's TV Consumption

Obviously we let Jake watch too much television. When he's playing these days he stops to take a break and says "we'll be right back at PBS Kids".

1 day til D-Day!


Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby! Every year on the 1st Saturday in May the Kentucky Derby is held at Churchill Downs and the Derby party to end all Derby parties is co-hosted by The Walkers and us. Really the Walkers do all the work and we just provide the house and the alcohol. It's an unfair balance but they do such a great job at the food that it would be a shame to try and top them. There will be ribs, fried turkey, mac 'n cheese, pulled pork, and lots more. They also do mint juleps and whiskey sours from scratch. We have ponies for the kids to ride and the race itself for the adults. Kids and adults alike have a great time. Above is a picture of Hannah at the end of last year's Derby party. If a child's amount of fun can be determined by the amount of dirt on them at the end of the day, than Hannah had a really, really good time last year.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Capital One sucks

The credit card companies are getting craftier and craftier when it comes to getting people to open their junk mail. It used to be you could tell what was a credit card solicitation and just toss it in the shredder. Then they started putting in those realistic looking plastic cards that made the envelope too thick to go through the shredder (not to mention a lot of shredders can't take plastic cards). Now Capital One is sending the cards in envelopes with a very thin sheet of bubble wrap in it. Why, you ask, does a credit card ad consisting of only paper need bubble wrap? IT DOESN'T! But you absolutely have to open it because you can neither shred nor recycle bubble wrap!

New Kids reunite!!!!

In 1988 my friend Kelley and I spent hours trying to win tickets on the radio to see New Kids on the Block at the Iowa State Fair - completely ignoring the fact that we were 11 and 12 years old with absolutely no way to get from Decorah to the fair. I was heartbroken. 20 years later I finally have my opportunity!!! New Kids on the Block are touring again (with ALL the original members) and I can't wait. I'm now 30 years old, can drive a car, and plan on buying out the merch table of bedspreads, pillowcases, and t-shirts! j/k! (sort of).

Go Joey!

Boys vs. Girls

On Thursday and Friday mornings I drop Jake off at daycare in Mendon and Hannah off at school in Upton. This allows plenty of time for deep discussions in the car. Last week Hannah and I discussed town vs. city governments and how different countries have different Heads of State (including monarchies which then split off into a discussion on the American Revolution). Today we discussed the validity of the statement "All nuts are seeds but not all seeds are nuts". (What can I say, she's a smart kid).

Jake on the other hand always tells me that he can see the "Statue of Livery" from Glenview St. Who knew Upton was so close to NYC?

Ewww....

Remind me not to shop at the Country Sooper. The delivery truck parked out front right now says "Acme Pre-Pak Institutional Foodservice". There are so many things wrong with that.

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day to one and all. When I was a kid we used to make May Day baskets from styrofoam cups and pipe cleaners, fill them with candy, and deliver them to the neighbor kids. You left them on the doorstep, rang the doorbell, and then ran like crazy hoping not to be caught. I think if you were caught you had to do something "scandalous" like kiss the person. I don't quite remember. Rachel might. She remembers far more of my childhood than I do and she was certainly right beside me every May Day running like crazy.

I'm sad to say they don't do that anymore. At least not here in Massachusetts.

Parenting Dilemma

Today is Thursday which means that it is piano day for Hannah. Over the last three years Hannah has taken ballet and tap dance and also dabbled in various other extra-curricular activities. She has taken classes in gymnastics, ice skating, soccer, spanish, and now Little League among other things. We let her try a little bit of everything and let her quit when it is over if she wants to. The only requirements we have is that we try to limit them to only 2 activities at a time and she has to see each session through to the end and completely finish her commitment. Only twice have I really struggled with this as a parent. Piano is one of them. She really hates practicing and I hate having to force it each week. She's terribly nervous about her recital coming up in about 6 weeks and she tries to talk Daddy into letting her skip her lesson every Thursday. The reason I'm struggling with this one is that I hated practicing piano when I was young but as an adult I really wish that I had stuck with it. Where do you find the balance between encouraging your child to develop a life long skill and forcing them to do something you wish you had done as a kid? The good news is that she's very young still and if she drops piano now she can always come back to it later. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

HoneyWeiss is not a breakfast beverage

The other day when I spotted HoneyWeiss in the liquor store I bought their entire stock (which was only about six 6-packs) in case it was a fluke of nature never to be repeated again. Unfortunately, everything they had was cold so needless to say a good portion of our mini fridge upstairs and a shelf or two in the kitchen fridge are overflowing with the love of Chippewa Falls, WI. This morning I was getting Jake's breakfast ready and asked him if he'd like chocolate milk with his breakfast. He said "yes please...and you can have a beer". I laughed and told him that beer is not yet classified as a breakfast beverage. For now, since I'm secure in the knowledge that Leinie's is here to stay, I plan to keep drinking it only at dinner time.