Monday, June 30, 2008

All Quiet on the Eastern Front

Everything is pretty quiet for us these days on the East Coast. That's a good thing. We've been so crazy around here that I was ready to pull my hair out.

Yesterday was another quiet day. Tracy and I went to get our nails done and then Lincoln and I had a date night. We went out to dinner and to see the movie "Wanted". It was good but very, very graphic. Dinner was great. It's always nice when you can eat a meal without having to constantly say "eat your chicken" or "stop eating fries and start eating your pizza". It's also nice not to have to constantly duck under the table to pick up lost crayons.

Saturday night the kids and I had our slumber party. Jake started out on his own twin sized air mattress but around 1:20 a.m. he ended up on the queen size with Hannah and I. It was pretty cozy but we had fun. Lincoln had the best time though because he got to sleep through the entire night and had the entire king sized bed upstairs to himself.

That's it for us these days. If my posts get spaced out it's because we're pretty boring these days. Thank God!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Saturday with the Snow's

Today was a pretty laidback sort of day. Our plan for this weekend is to get the house cleaned up from being gone last week. Half of what we unloaded from the car last weekend is in the dining room and the other half is laundry. This morning I came downstairs to start cleaning and the kids had left a game of Super Mario Brothers 3 unattended. Both Luigi and Mario were down to almost no lives so I figured I'd play them out, put the game away, and start cleaning. Luigi died right away. Mario was on his last life and Lincoln challenged me to see how far I could go on that last life. 2 1/2 hours, and 20+ lives later, I had to leave for my hair appointment. The funny thing is, I was doing so great that Lincoln, Hannah, and Jake were all sitting around watching me to see how far I could go. I now have a callus on my thumb from playing the game. At one point during the game I said that I really needed to stop and start cleaning the house and Lincoln replied "I'm cleaning. You just keep going". It was pretty funny.

After that I went and got my hair done. My roots were getting pretty bad so it was nice to get them taken care of. After that we met Tracy, Cliff, Hunter, and Tracy's parents for a movie and dinner. We went to see Wall E. It was a very interesting movie. There is almost no talking in the movie and it is a little bit strange but overall it was okay. The kids seemed to really enjoy it and that's what matters.

Tonight the kids and I are having a sleepover in the living room. Hannah and I blow up the air mattress, pop in a movie, and sleep downstairs until morning. Jake will try to fall asleep on a separate, twin sized air mattress but I can pretty much promise you he'll end up upstairs in his own bed before long. Lincoln will sleep upstairs to keep an eye on him. On the off chance Hannah, Jake, and I all stay downstairs, Lincoln will still sleep upstairs and enjoy a night of uninterrupted sleep.

That's it for our Saturday. It's pretty quiet, which is very nice for change.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Think like a woman

All this week Hannah has been attending a writing camp put on by Potato Hill Poetry in Natick. Today is the final day and at 11:15 they're having the parents in to listen to a reading of their work from this week. I can't make it but Lincoln is going to go and will, of course, take video for me. I also told him to "observe like a woman and not a man" because I want the details. You ladies know how it is. If you go in somewhere or attend some function or eat in some restaurant and then someone asks you about it later you can recite what the people were wearing, what was said, who dissed who, and probably even recap conversations of the people sitting next to you. If you ask a man, who attended the same event, they'll say "It was good" and nothing else. It's very frustrating trying to get the dirt out of a man. Hopefully Lincoln will just leave the video camera on the entire time and I'll just pretend like I was there.

Great husband-in-training

As many of you know, my husband Lincoln spoils me quite a bit. Particularly when it comes to my one true love (outside of my family, of course) which is my bathroom. When we built the house we put in a jacuzzi tub. Later Lincoln put in a small flat-screen tv, a tivo, and a DVD player. Oftentimes in the evening or on the weekends I will disappear for a couple of hours to relax in my tub. If he knows I'm going to be up there for a long time he even reminds me to take the phone with me in case I need to call him for anything. He delivers drinks and even sometimes serves my lunch and/or dinner to me in the tub. Yes, he is a God.

Anyway, this morning I was taking a bath and Jake comes walking in and says "Hi Mommy. Do you need anything?"

I loved it!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Jake hurt my feelings today

This is the conversation that took place between Jake and I this morning when I came downstairs:

Jake: Ahhh...I don't want you down here. I wanted Daddy down here.

me: Jake! That hurt Mommy's feelings. Don't you love Mommy? I love you.

Jake (with his lower lip stuck out): I like Daddy.

Ouch! On the flip side, when I just walked in the door from work Jake came running at top speed yelling "Mommy!" and threw himself at me for a hug. I guess I can forgive him.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

A Girl of Summer

These are my two favorite pictures of Hannah at the beach this past weekend. You can practically feel the fun and excitement she was experiencing while running in and out of the waves.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Jake the Wave Slayer

Last Friday when we went to the beach on Chappaquiddick Jake was not too excited by the ocean. We were on the bay side where the water is incredibly shallow and there really aren't any waves. He didn't like that you could see the fish and the crabs in the water. He particularly didn't like the seaweed and the sacks of fish eggs in the water that would brush up against him. I don't blame him. I'm a pool person myself.

Hunter had brought some styrofoam swords to the beach and Jake was having a blast with those. He and Lincoln were having a "battle" and started heading up to the sand ridge that leads to the ocean side. Over on that side there are lots of waves. When I went looking for them I saw them playing in the waves and "slaying" each of the waves with the swords. The first picture below is when I came upon them and saw what they were doing (before they knew I was watching them). The second picture is Jake proudly posing with his sword after slaying the waves. Doesn't he look terribly proud of himself? It's my favorite picture of him from the entire weekend.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Martha's Vineyard

Today is our first day back in the real world since our trip to Martha's Vineyard. We took the ferry down Thursday night and got back late Sunday. We had a wonderful time and the weather was great. The first full day we were there was beautiful so we decided to load up the kids and go to the beach over at Chappaquiddick. There are lots of great beaches on Martha's Vineyard but part of the fun of going over to Chappie is riding the ferry. It's a little 3-car ferry that takes about 90 seconds to get from one side to the other. It's the most pointless ferry ever but it adds a lot of charm. Here is a picture of the ferry that I took last summer.


Once over on Chappaquiddick we headed to this great beach area. On one side you have the ocean side with waves and everything. On the other side of this little stretch of land you have the bay. While technically it is the ocean too it's a lot calmer and very shallow. It's a great place for the kids to play because the water is usually warm and it's shallow for a long way out and you don't have to worry about currents and tides and stuff. It's also usually pretty deserted.

Friday afternoon we headed back to the house and hooked up with the rest of our party. Denise and Brian and their two kids came down as well as Jim and Laurie. They were all with us last year as well. In addition to all of them we had another couple, Grace and Mike, and their 12 year old daughter, Sam, staying with us. It made for a full house but it was lots of fun. That evening the men cooked mexican food for us and we sat out on the porch and had dinner and drinks.

Saturday was another beautiful day and we headed back to the beach at Chappie. Everyone went that time except Cliff and Jim. In the early evening we headed down to Oak Bluffs and rode the carousel and did some window shopping. When we got back that night we BBQ'd at the house, put the kids to bed, and then started with the games. Right before the kids went down for bed the town fireworks went off and we had a great view from the house. The grown-ups then sat up and played The Newlywed Game and Taboo. After awhile everyone but Tracy, Brian, Denise, Lincoln, and I headed up to bed and we continued to sit out on the porch and drink. It was nice to sit around and talk. LOTS of laughs that night.

Sunday we had a huge breakfast out on the porch with eggs, french toast, sausages, and hashbrowns. It was pretty hot and muggy in the morning but we were all pleasantly surprised it wasn't raining since that is what the weathermen had said to expect. Lincoln and I got everything loaded up in the car so we could enjoy the afternoon and then after Jake's nap we headed into Vineyard Haven to do some souvenir shopping. We had told the kids they could each get something and so they happily picked up a couple of stuffed animals from The Black Dog.

After that we headed out for an early dinner with Denise and her son Coby. Then we caught the ferry and headed home. We got home about 11:15 last night. The rest of the clan all head back today.

I will be posting some pictures soon of our trip. I got some great shots of the kids at the beach.

Here is the house we stay in. Isn't that an awesome porch?



Thursday, June 19, 2008

We're outta here!

The car is packed (to the hilt!) and we are headed off to Martha's Vineyard for the weekend. We will be relatively out of touch communication-wise so don't expect to see any posts between now and Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!

Today is a Woot Off!

For those of you who have never visited www.woot.com it is a fund website where each day they sell one item at a great price. Every now and then they have a "woot off" where they sell things as quickly as they can and as soon as one thing sells out they post another one. It's a lot of fun to see what they put up there and how quickly they sell. I got my friend Melissa a set of speakers shaped as Elvis Presley's head for Christmas. It's great fun.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The Tick Whisperer

I'm getting pretty good at taking ticks out of my kids. Lincoln took Jake upstairs tonight to change his diaper and get him ready for bed. A few minutes after he went up I hear him yell down "Hey hon, we've got a deer tick up here." Luckily I've starting keeping a "tick kit" put together since we've had so much trouble with them this year. I grabbed my tools and up I went.
I walked into Jake's room and he was laying on his back, with his diaper off, and his legs spread. My first fear was that it was on his penis or something but luckily it was just in the crease of his leg at the top of his thigh. Deer ticks are actually considerably easier to get out than dog ticks but they're also a little scarier because they carry lyme disease. This one wasn't too deep into Jake's skin yet but deer ticks are very small and you have to get in close to get them out. I made a deal with Jake...I promised not to hurt him if he promised not to pee on my head. I'm not entirely sure I kept my end of the bargain since he started screaming when I put the rubbing alcohol on the tick but he kept his end of the bargain and didn't pee on me.

Tomorrow we're off to Martha's Vineyard. Jake got a tick there last summer so I actually had my tick kit already packed for the trip. Last year he got a deer tick while we were there and I had to scrounge up rubbing alcohol from a first aid kit in the house that we rent and took Tracy's tweezers out of her makeup bag. This year I'm coming prepared. Hopefully I won't need it though.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

I'm starting to feel very zen

For the first time in many weeks I'm actually leaving my office feeling like my pile of work won't fall over and kill someone. I'm actually in a good place work-wise. Thank God. For awhile there I thought I was going to lose my mind.

I take back everything I've ever said about Jake being a budding serial killer

Hannah has always been a snuggler. She loves to curl up and snuggle on the couch with me. Back when she used to wake up before I did she would come sneaking into our bedroom as soon as she woke up and come to my side of the bed to wake me up. I would then lift up the comforter and scoot back on the bed so she could curl up with me under the covers and go back to sleep.

Jake on the other hand has never been a snuggler. His idea of snuggling lasts about 30 seconds when we're lucky. It lasts 0.5 seconds on a regular day. He also doesn't sneak quietly into our room when he wakes up. He usually just announces his presence very loudly from his own room, making sure he wakes up as many people as possible so they are aware that he's awake and hungry.

Imagine my surprise this morning when I open my eyes and Jake is standing next to my side of the bed. Out of habit I lifted up the comforter and scooted back on the bed. Jake climbed right on up and snuggled up against me. He got all comfortable and then said "I like you Mommy". For Jake that is a HUGE statement. You see, when Jake is being particularly naughty or mean I tell him that Daddy and I will always love him but when he's being mean to other people we don't always like him. So to him, like is much better than love.

Jake was so snuggly this morning that I didn't want to move a muscle because it might break the snuggling spell that was over my son. I'm one of those people that have to get up and go to the bathroom the second I wake up but I didn't care that Jake's curls were tickling my nose or that my bladder was about to pop. This was a moment in time that was too precious to ruin.

That lasted all of 12 minutes. Hey, what can I say, after 2 kids my bladder is no longer made of steel. I told Jake I was going to the bathroom and ran in there. I figured when I came out he'd be up and wanting to go downstairs but when I got back he was still in bed. I climbed back in bed and he snuggled up against me again. I couldn't believe it! Finally he started to get a little restless so he started climbing under the covers and building a "tent" between Lincoln and I. He told me I could come in the tent with him and told me to bring my legs under. Then he made me laugh by asking why my legs were "spiny". I guess that means I need to shave today.

Anyway, it was the most magical 25 minutes I have spent with Jake in a long time and one of those moments I will always remember. He's growing up so fast and since he's always been more of a fighter than a lover, it was all that more special to me. I was very proud of myself though, I didn't get teary eyed until after it was over because that would have really freaked him out.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Hannah's last day of 1st grade

Today is Hannah's last day of first grade. I don't know why but this one has hit me really hard. I seem more upset about it than she is. Maybe it's because she had a really great teacher this year and I know we won't be that lucky every year. Maybe because having a 2nd grader seems so much more "adult" than having a kindergartner or a 1st grader.

She really is growing up. This weekend I went shopping at Target and picked up an air mattress/sleeping bag for her to use down at the Vineyard next weekend. I got two. Even though we only need one for our trip I got one for each of the kids so Jake wouldn't feel bad. I got Hannah a Disney Princess one and Jake a "Cars" one. It used to be if you bought anything with the Disney Princesses on it Hannah would fall madly in love with it. This time I pulled the box out of the bag and thought she'd do her usual squeal of delight. Instead she just went "Oh. Nice." I told her that "Cars" and Disney Princesses were the only two choices at the store. When I asked if she didn't like Disney Princesses anymore she said she would have preferred the "Cars" one we got for Jake. Apparently Disney Princesses are for babies. Wow. When did that happen?

Sunday, June 15, 2008

There is something truly sadistic about Jake

Today Lincoln got to choose where we went to lunch for Father's Day. His choice was Arby's. While that doesn't sound terribly fancy I can tell you that Arby's are few are far between here in Massachusetts and we never eat there unless we're on vacation in the Midwest. So we all loaded into the car and headed toward western Massachusetts. Jake kept insisting we were going to Barbie's but I can tell you, there is no way Barbie makes a great roast beef sandwich like Arby's.

On the way to lunch I told the kids if they were good we would take them to the movies afterwards.

me: If you guys are good today we'll all go to Kung Fu Panda after lunch. Does that sound like fun?

Jake: And what if we're bad?

me (jokingly): If you're bad we'll take you home, tie you to the kitchen chair, and paddle your bum.

(pause)

Jake: That is SO cool.

(laughter from Lincoln and me)

Jake: If Hannah is bad can I watch you put her on the kitchen chair and spank her?

It's not that Jake really wants to see Hannah get hurt. He just wants to be the one not getting in trouble for once. He never gets to witness Hannah getting in trouble.

$60.75

$60.75. That's what it cost for a family of four to go to the Kung Fu Panda movie today. And that's not counting the gas it took to get there! But it was worth every penny to hear Hannah giggling through the whole movie and knowing she felt a lot better after having been so sick.

On the flipside, Jake now thinks he's a kung fu master and that's probably not a good thing.

Hannah's dance recital videos

Here are the videos from Hannah's dance recital. The first is her ballet number and the second is her tap number. And no, I have no idea why she was given the mini-skirt version of the tap skirt. Check out her skirt in comparison to the other girls. There is one girl off to the far left who has a short one too but the ones on either side of Hannah have much longer skirts.





Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there.

I probably shouldn't say that I got breakfast made for me this morning since it's Father's Day and not Mother's Day but Lincoln really wanted to try out the new frying pan he got for Father's Day. Who am I to say no?

And for those of you who think I'm terribly spoiled (which I am) I have to say, I was a little nervous when Lincoln asked for an ax and a frying pan for Father's Day. If I go missing, start there.

Hannah's dance recital

Hannah's dance recital last night was a huge success. It was about 2 hours long (plus an award ceremony) so it went from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. which I think was a bit late considering there are a lot of young kids in the show. By the end of the night Hannah was exhausted. It doesn't help, of course, that she's still fighting off this illness.

Here are some pictures from last night. I actually remembered to pack her activity book so that she had something to do backstage during the show but I forgot to buy flowers. I can't believe I forgot flowers!!! Luckily I wasn't the only mother that forgot. Besides, as I pointed out to Hannah, she was the only one that got flowers at her school mini-play so we'll call it even. She was okay with that.

Here is Hannah backstage in her ballet costume:


This is her tap outfit. It's the same outfit as the ballet costume but they take off the tutu and put on the fringe skirt.

And here is the exhausted star after the show. She looked so cute coming out in her make-up and hair with her bathrobe on. She looked like quite the little diva so it was even more adorable when the diva got carried to the car by her daddy.
I will post the videos of her dancing later.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

She is SO not my daughter

Today I got in our pool for the first time this season to vacuum out all the dirt and sand. The only vacuum we have is the cheap one that came with the pool and while you can technically use the long pole and do it from outside the pool, it works much better if you're in the water. Hannah was sitting up on the pool deck and Lincoln was puttering around the area while I did it and we were listening to my New Kids on the Block Greatest Hits cd while I worked.

Me: So Hannah, what do you think of this cd? Pretty cool, huh?

Hannah: Um....yeah.

Me: Hey! This is Mommy's favorite band of all time.

(pause)

Hannah: How is it your favorite band?

Me: 'Cause the guys were HOT!

Lincoln (with just a touch of sarcasm): You see Hannah, back in the 80's it wasn't about the music....it was all about the looks.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Learning kid language

Tonight we are having chinchiladas for dinner. For those of you without a three year old, that would be enchiladas, but Jake always says chinchiladas. It's one of my favorite words of his. My other favorite, that he doesn't say anymore, is "shiverator". That was his word for refrigerator. With Hannah my favorite word was "owtle". It was supposed to be owl but was more of a cross between owl and turtle.

I'm a terrible stay-at-home mother

There are many great stay-at-home mothers out there in the world but I am not one of them. I need to work. I need a life outside the home. I've been home with Hannah since Tuesday afternoon and now I have both of them home sick with me. If I hear "Mom" or "Mommy" one more time I'm going to pull my hair out.

Mom, I need more chocolate milk.
Mommy, where's my rainbow slinky?
Mommy, I'm hungry.
Mom, I don't want to take a nap.
Mom, where's my chocolate milk?
Mommy, what are we having for dinner?
Mommy, when's Daddy going to be home?
Mom, can I watch Hannah Montana?
Mommy, can I watch Pokeman?
Mommy, can I watch Diego?
Mom, can I have more Cheerios?

Now, to be fair, Jake doesn't always use my name. No, he just asks a LOT of questions. In the past 3 minutes I got more Cheerios for Hannah and got Jake another chocolate milk. Here is Jake's running dialogue in those 3 minutes:

Jake: Mom, this is boring. Can I watch Pokeman? Why are you getting Cheerios? Why are using that bowl? What bowl is that? Where did you get the milk? Did you get it from the fridge? Is this my chocolate milk? I want lotta chocolate milk. Why do you keep it in the fridge? Can I watch Pokeman? What's Hannah doing? Why is Hannah eating Cheerios? Where are we going today? Can I watch Diego? Do you know where the rainbow slinky is?

God bless stay-at-home mothers. They are far better people than me and deserve to be nominated for sainthood.

Cell Phone Popcorn

Ricky has rained on my parade and sent me a link that the cell phone popcorn was a myth. Actually, I have to say I'm glad it was a myth or my brain would be fried by now. http://www.snopes.com/science/cookegg.asp

Good news / Bad news

Good news: Hannah is holding steady at 100.6 although she's losing some of her perkiness.

Bad news: Jake just got sent home from daycare with a temp of 101.2

Update

As my husband pointed out to me, I didn't post anything yesterday. I guess I didn't really think about it because I had posted so much the day before.

Hannah was sick again yesterday but after a morning nap she was feeling a little perkier so she went over to Grandma and Grandpa Snow's for the afternoon so that I could go into work for awhile. Jake was at daycare. Last night was the office party that I was hosting. It went well but I didn't hang around long. At these events we do open bar for 2 hours so once that was over I settled up the tab and hightailed it out of there and headed for home.

Today Jake is at daycare and Hannah is home sick still. Her temp is still 100.6 but she seems to be feeling much better. The good news is we should be able to make it to tonight's dress rehearsal for her dance recital. We were pushing it by not going to rehearsal on Wednesday when she was so sick but if she misses this one she's definitely out of tomorrow's show.

Lincoln is working a job at the airport today. It's inside the secure area so it will be interesting what sort of hoops he's going to have to jump through to get his tools inside. Hopefully he won't have too much trouble.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Sometimes I forget she's only 6....and then she proves how smart she is anyway

An IM conversation between Hannah and I. Yes, she knows how to IM. This exchange was not edited in any way...I just cut and pasted it. And after I asked her to send Lincoln back into the kitchen she was completely on her own at her computer.

me: hey i love you

Hannah: what?

me: i love you

Hannah: I love you more

me: not possible
send daddy back in here
i need to talk to him

Hannah: OK!

me: thanks

Hannah: your welcome!

me: actually, it would be you're welcome. you're is the contration you need....you are
that should be "contraction" .
sorry.

Hannah: Oh,that's Ok!

me: do you understand the difference between you're and your?

Hannah: no.

me: your means your. you're means you are. as in, that's your computer you're on.
or as daddy just corrected me, your means "belonging to you". you're means "you are"
get it?

Hannah: Oh

me: so, in the phrase, your a smart cookie...should i use your or you're?

Hannah: you're

me: WOOHOO! you're super smart you smart cookie

Hannah: thanks

The defense tactics of a 3 year old

Jake just dropped a frame on the floor and broke it.

Jake: I didn't break it.

Me: Who did?

Jake: The floor.

Another old video

Here is an old video of Hannah. It was taken in December 2006 when I took Hannah down to NYC for the very first time. She loves it down there as you can clearly see in the video.

Old videos

Since I've been home with a sick Hannah today I've had some time to sit down and go through some stuff on my laptop. Here is a video that is one of my absolute favorite videos of either kid. It makes me laugh everytime I see it no matter what. Jake would have been 13 months old in this video. It was taken the day after we hosted a 40th birthday party for Lincoln's brother. My favorite part is his little laugh at the end. If the embedded video doesn't work, use this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIP6SEppQAU


Our cute new gardener


I have never been much of a gardener. After a few years of living in our house I decided I should try planting some flowers. I usually get them in, water them for a few weeks, and then get busy and they die. Only the truly hardy flowers can survive around here. Last year my lilac bush that I've had for six years finally bloomed. It survived rolling down our yard in a pot the first year I had it and then not being watered for two years and now it looks great. This year there were even enough blooms to cut a bunch and put them in vases around the house.

My roses that I planted two years ago are also thriving. I bought them because they had a "you can't kill these hardy suckers" description on them. I planted them all across the front of the house because I assumed it had about the same amount of sun but one side of the house apparently gets more sun as those flowers are thriving and the others, while blooming, look quite anemic.

Anyway, my mom was showing the kids how to take care of the flowers while she was here this week. They were cutting off the deadheads (again, something I never bother to do) and cutting blooms to put in vases. Since Hannah was sick last night she didn't get to help but Jake did. He makes a very cute gardener.

technical problems

I'm not sure why that first video isn't working below. Maybe Lincoln can figure it out for me later. If the first video still isn't working, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVSzUEltaYM

Flooding in Decorah

Many of you have heard about the flooding in the Midwest. Decorah is apparently dealing with quite a bit of flooding this year and College Drive bridge was actually closed the other day because of the threat that it might go under water. Here is a picture taken of College Drive the other day. Below that are two videos of Rachel, Lincoln, and I tubing down the Upper Iowa River under College Drive bridge. You can see in the video how low the river usually is (and how far below the bridge it usually is). That's the part of the river that has any sort of "serious" rapids on our tubing route. And yes, for those of you who white water raft, they are not really serious rapids but when you're in a tube, tied to a cooler full of beer and your companions, they're serious enough. Rapids mean rocks right under the water and you never get past that part without bruises on your butt. If you look closely you can see how narrow the river usually is in comparison to the bridge. You can also see the top of the dike which holds the water back and how far below that the water normally is. On the first video, coming up to the bridge, you can see a bunch of grass to the side of the river. Usually, when you get out of the river at that location, you have to cross that grassy plain and then climb up the dike. In the second video, of us going under the bridge, you can see the rocky top of the dike. From what I hear the river is finally receding. Hopefully everything will be okay in Decorah and not a lot of serious damage was done.







Very, very tired today

Last night was a long night. Jake woke up at 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. with terrible bloody noses. They were two of the worst I've seen....blood everywhere. Then at 3:30 Hannah woke up with a temperature of 102 and crying for Mommy. I spent the rest of the night in her bed. It's going to be a long day today but hopefully I can grab a nap when Hannah does.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Greatest line of the day

As stated in a previous post, Jennifer made me an "Angry Mix" to listen to during my stressful week. I IM'd her earlier telling her how much I enjoyed listening to it during my drive home to get Hannah today.

Jennifer: "I'm glad you liked the cd. Let me tell you, making an "angry" cd for someone with a NKOTB poster in their office wasn't the easiest task I've ever taken on."

For you music lovers, here is what she came up with:

F.T.W. / Tiger Army
Beer for Breakfast / The Replacements
Idiot / Lisa Marie Presley
Kiss This / Aaron Tippon
Time Bomb / Rancid
Shut Up & Let Me Go / The Ting Tings
Asshole Song / George Jones
Joy / Lucinda Williams
Do You Want to Fight Me / Frenzal Rhomb
Excuse Me Mr. / No Doubt
Rip Her to Shreds / Blondie
Harper Valley P.T.A. / Loretta Lynn
Give 'Em the Boot / Roger Miret & The Disasters
Ur So Gay / Katy Perry
Filthy Insane / The Explosion
Think of Me / The Eyeliners
Bugger Off / The Real McKenzies
Konichiwa Bitches / Robyn
Nemesis / The Start
Middle of the Night / The Soviettes
Laugh/Love/F--- / The Coup

Rachel, don't read this post

I got a call from Hannah's school this morning that Hannah was in the nurse's office sobbing, not just crying but "sobbing", that she hurt all over. She also had a fever of 101 degrees and a red throat. I called Grandma Snow and asked her to go down and pick Hannah up and bring her home. Luckily Grandma Dena is still here at the house with us until tomorrow morning so she put Hannah down for a nap and I called for a doctor appointment. Hannah had started out today complaining of back pain so my first concern was a kidney infection.

Mom and I just got back from taking Hannah to the doctor. She has an ear infection (which I totally wasn't expecting), a throat infection (but not strep), and a potential (but not likely and not confirmable for two days) kidney infection. The doctor put her on an antibiotic which should cover most of those bases and we need to take her back in 2 weeks.

After leaving the doctor's office we went to the pharmacy to get her prescription and then brought her home. I didn't want her to take the medicine on an empty stomch so she sat down and ate some saltines and drank some flat lemon lime soda that we had left out before we went to the doctor's. She was sitting at one end of the table and I was sitting in the middle setting up my laptop to work when she stood up and gave me a funny look. I made the comment "wow, you really do have sick eyes" and she didn't say anything. Then a little dribble started coming out of her mouth and then the next thing you know..WHAMO! Projectile vomiting everywhere. Lovely.
For those of you without children let me explain "sick eyes". They're truly pathetic. They are usually a little glassy, sometimes watery, and always filled with such misery you can almost touch it. It's horrible. I hate sick eyes.

So, needless to say, the piano recital tonight is out. Her final Little League game tomorrow night is also likely to be a no-go. This week is definitely not going according to schedule.

My Receptionist Rocks!

Jennifer, my wonderful, delightful, thoughtful receptionist has made me an "Angry Mix" of music to listen to this week while I'm stressing out. She even wrote "Parental Advisory" on it so I make sure not to play it while the kids are in the car. She promises there are lots of cuss words on it. Sweet. Just what I need this week. My week is already starting to improve thanks to her. This is going to be even better than going to my "happy place" yesterday and playing New Kids on the Block videos on my laptop while I work.

And speaking of great employees, my runner, Kegan, came into my office yesterday morning, took one look at me and said "do I need to go get a chocolate cake today"? He is going to make a fine husband for someone someday. But he is no longer my employee. Effective today he now works in Booking where I suggested he buy chocolate cake for the booking assistant guru, Lori, who he will likely be pestering with questions for the next few weeks. Chocolate cake is always a good bribe...

This is a little alarming

What are we doing to our brains if a couple of cell phones can pop popcorn within seconds? Check out this You Tube video. They were talking about this on the radio this morning.

Monday, June 9, 2008

That's my girl!

I've always been a firm believer that kids should actually go away to college. And by away I mean away, away. As in far away. As in not able to still do your laundry at home away. College is the time in your life that you get to live anywhere you want, completely on your own, but still have a safety net. You're on a campus, with local resources to help you adjust, and usually Mom and Dad still pay for you to fly home for Christmas, Spring Break, and Summer. And if you hate it and decide where you're from is where you want to spend the rest of your life at least you've tried something new. If you up and move away when you're older, and then move back, that's twice the apartment hunting, twice the job hunting, etc. College is your opportunity to try something new and exciting without the grown-up burdens.

That is why I have already started planting the idea in Hannah's head that she can go anywhere in the world for college. Why stay in Massachusetts or New England? Heck, why even stay in the States? It's actually closer for her to go to college in Ireland or England than it is to go to college in California. This of course rules out most of the big Ivy League colleges...Harvard, Yale, and Brown University are all less than 2 hours away. Princeton is a little further but they have those weird Eating Club things that I never quite understood from Kate's years there so I'm not sure I approve of that school either. ;-)

All that being said, I was terribly proud of Hannah when I found this in her school desk last week when we were there for her Author's Tea.

All spellings, punctuation, and capitalizations are Hannah's:

Argentena, Mali, Africa, phillipnenes, Germany, Peru, Nevada, Utah

Whare I want to go to college, IN LOT 'O YEARS!

My choce is

?????

Obviously, even though it's not on her list, she is planning on going to Ireland. What's up with "lot 'o years"?

I could not be more proud. I love the idea that she has an international sense of self and is not limiting herself to her own backyard.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Ice Road Truckers

I'm in between TV seasons right now when the spring finales end before the summer season begins. I decided to try Ice Road Truckers on the History Channel. All I have to say is watch it! It's incredible.

Go Red Sox!

Today we took Lincoln's niece Kayla to her first Red Sox game for her birthday. Along for the ride were her mom and her brother Kyle. We had a great time. It was hot as hell (95 degrees at game time) but a lot of fun. We played the Seattle Mariners so for you Seattlites reading this....GO SOX!!!

Two days in a row of sporting events in 90+ degrees heat has done us both in. We are beat. Mom has been staying with the kids and they're having a blast. She took them to the small, local zoo today and they had a great time despite the heat.

Tomorrow kicks off another week of crazy schedules. Monday is dance recital pictures and Little League, Tuesday is her piano recital, Wednesday is dance rehearsal #1 and Little League, Thursday is the office party I'm hosting, Friday is dance rehearsal #2, and Saturday is her dance recital. Sunday, of course, is Father's Day. Wish us luck that we survive this week. Maybe Lincoln will actually get a chance this Father's Day to lay in his hammock (a Father's Day gift from a couple of years ago) and strum his guitar (last year's Father's Day gift).

The horses not bet on...Damn it!

Yesterday was our trip to the Belmont Stakes. Neither Lincoln nor I have ever been to the races before so it was an entirely new experience for both of us. There was a total of 13 races and the program with all the horse information was a wee bit overwhelming. I have absolutely no scientific method for how I pick the horses other than the names that I like or think are interesting. It worked okay for me yesterday. I bet $75 total and won $56 so I was only down $19 for the day. Three things could have turned that around for me.

1) I bet a lot of money on Big Brown (My biggest individual bet of $16). It was stupid because even if he won, it wouldn't have paid out more than $20 or so. But at least it would have gotten me back into the black for the day. Of course, he didn't win. I should have played it smart and bet on some of the other horses because that was the big payout. And the one that I considered betting on, based on the name Da' Tara which in my scientific way of thinking is a lot like Tara from Gone with the Wind, actually won.....and paid out $79 for a $2 bet. Damn it!

2) I bet a Superfecta Key with Big Brown in first place with Denis of Cork, Da' Tara, and Ready's Echo rounding out the top four positions. Well, Da' Tara, Denis of Cork, Anak Nakal, and Ready's Echo took the top four (in that order) so I was close...but no cigar. Big Brown came in dead last. Damn it!

3) I didn't think we were staying around for races 12 and 13 so I didn't bet anything. At the last minute, because Michael and Shani decided to go down to the Paddock one more time, I thought about betting on Roll the Di in Race 12 but decided that I was already $19 in the hole so why make it $21? Well guess what....Roll the Di won and paid out $26.50 on a $2 bet. Damn it!

Those are a lot of "damn its" but I would say we definitely had a great time. Great company, great experience, great fun....but no great riches. Oh well. I'll have pictures to post later but I left the camera card reader at the office so I'll have to do it later this week.

Today we're off to the Red Sox game with Lincoln's brother's family. His niece turned 10 this past month so we got her tickets to her first Sox games as a gift. Of course this means our 2nd day at a sporting event in 95 degree heat. You'd think it was August around here!

Friday, June 6, 2008

We're off to the races!

The work week is over (finally!) and we are getting ready to head out the door and down to NY for the Belmont Stakes. Let's hope we see history made this weekend with a Triple Crown winner for the first time since Affirmed won it in 1978.

Go Big Brown!!!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

I just killed a possum!

OMG! I just killed a possum. (Yes, I know it is technically spelled opossum but I'm rejecting that spelling).

I was driving home from my PTO board meeting and as I came up the hill I see an animal crossing the street from the right side to the left side. At this point it is in the left lane. I have never seen an alive possum before so I'm thinking to myself "Wow. That's a possum!" Of course, since it was in the left lane, and not in my lane, I keep driving. Suddenly it stops, looks at my headlights, AND TURNS AROUND! As I brake, I think to myself "Shit! I'm going to hit that!" Thump (as it goes under my front tire), Thump (as it goes under my back tire). I have NEVER in my life created roadkill before. I thought about turning around and seeing what I did but I just didn't have the heart. I feel terrible. That poor, poor possum.

No wonder I'm tired

Starting with last Monday here our schedule through the end of next week:

Monday: Little League
Tuesday: Dance for Hannah / Kickboxing for me
Wednesday: Little League / pick up Mom at the airport
Thursday: Author's Tea at Hannah's school / final rehearsal for piano recital / baby shower for fellow employee that I'm hosting / PTO Board meeting
Friday: Leave for the Belmont Stakes (Christmas gift from the Walkers)
Saturday: Belmont Stakes
Sunday: Taking niece to her first Red Sox game
Monday: Hannah's school art show / Little League
Tuesday: Piano recital
Wednesday: final day of Little League
Thursday: evening office party that I'm hosting for an employee that is leaving
Friday: final dress rehearsal for dance recital
Saturday: dance recital
Sunday: nothing? what? that can't be! SWEET!!!! Oh wait....grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning the house that will obviously have been ignored over the previous week and a half.

While our life is often crazy it isn't usually QUITE this crazy. The following week we leave for a long weekend on the Vineyard and I can't wait. It will be so relaxing...eating dinner on the porch...going to the beach...drinking and playing board games...lots of great food. Ahhhhh.....just thinking about it helps me relax.

And if you're wondering why I host all the office parties it is because I am the office manager and it is my job to host them. I actually enjoy doing them and they're usually lots of fun. The baby shower today will be lots of fun because they adopted twin toddlers and they're actually bringing the kids to the party.

Time to go get ready for the first thing on the agenda today....Hannah's Author's Tea. A roomful of 6 and 7 year olds reading their written works of art for all the parents and grandparents. Should be interesting.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Good news/Bad news

Bad: To-do list up to 77 items

Good: 40 of them are done (over half!!!)

Mom's on the ground....gotta go pick her up. Been here for 13 1/2 hours. I think that's enough, don't you?

Is it possible to slow a plane down?

Mom's going to land in 30 minutes and my printer keeps f'ing up the checks I'm trying to print. UGH!!!!!!!

12 hours and still going

I've been at the office now for the past 12+ hours. Mom's plane is late so I'm hanging around until she lands. I've never been so glad for a plane to be late before. I knew I'd never get out of here on time today.

Continuing to make progress....

31 out of 72 items done so far....

My to-do list

There are currently 72 items on my to-do list. I've done 19 of them since I got here at 6:30. Making progress!

The Big Ass Clock is back!


I don't know how many of you remember me mourning the loss of what my former officemate referred to as "The Big Ass Clock" but I'm here to tell you that the mourning period is over. Kegan, my runner, found me a new one. I'm so psyched! Here's a picture of the new one. It's not quite as big as the last one but the numbers are darker which makes it even better.

It is going to be a LONG day

I got to the office today at 6:30 a.m. and plan on being here until 6:30 p.m. when I have to leave and go pick up Mom at the airport. Yes, I have THAT much to do at work. It's insane.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I never thought I would hear this out of Jake's mouth

Jake: I need a haircut.

Mom and Dad: WHAT?!?

Jake: Just look at me!

R.I.P. Charlotte

The spider is dead. I got in the tub to shave my legs this morning and she came right out from behind the tv. This time she got brave and came out pretty far. There was no where for her to run.

Humans 1, Spider 0.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Hannah's "Official" Little League Photo


Here is Hannah's "official" photo from Little League. Isn't she adorable? I might be bias but I think she looks darn cute in this photo.

Wow....I'm speechless

The Hills is a reality show that I don't actually watch (shocking, I know) but because of all the magazines that I subscribe to I can actually tell you most of the storylines and the characters. In this week's Us Weekly they have an interview with Heidi and Spencer about their "engagement". I use that term lightly since this show seems to use the term "reality" pretty lightly as well.

US WEEKLY: You said you were waiting for Spencer to propose again with the right ring. (They were previously engaged last "season")

HEIDI: Definitely.....I didn't get to pick it out. I want something much bigger and one that comes from the heart...

US WEEKLY: Planning the wedding drove you apart last time. How can you be sure to avoid that now?

HEIDI: Downsize. Before, we were more focused on a big wedding and what I was going to wear.

US WEEKLY: What would your dream wedding be like?

HEIDI: ....I'd love to have Beverly Hills steakhouse Cut cater it...I want to give all the guests...watches [as party favors]...Oh, and I want U2 to come play. They're the perfect wedding band, right? [THAT'S DOWNSIZED?????]

Now, if all this wasn't bad enough....and let's just say that Mommy and Daddy are willing to spend the $50M it would take to get Bono to play the wedding of a faux-reality show tart... here is her response on "must-invites" for the wedding.

HEIDI: ...No parents at all. My parents are divorced....and I don't want that at my wedding.

Like I said....I'm speechless. This girl has to be one of the dumbest people ever to announce her new boobs on the cover of a magazine (and yes, she did that).

Dinner at the Snow residence

The other night at dinner Jake kept referring to his mashed potatoes as tomatoes and all three of us would correct him. It was pretty funny and it was one of those moments where you realize just how much you need to treasure these times because before long the kids will be all grown up and we'll never have these moments again. I decided to see if I could capture it on video. Jake, not being a diva like his sister, gets shy once the camera is out. You'll see in this video that Hannah has NO shyness when it comes to being on video.

Hannah also gives her nightly thumbs up/thumps down rating for dinner. Maybe she'll be a movie critic.

And yes, Jake's shirt is on backwards and inside out but he was so damn proud of getting dressed by himself that he wouldn't let us fix it.

I'm trying to embed the video below but it's not working very well. Until then you can copy and paste this link into your browser to view the video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=cWFHsto-YjM

Sunday, June 1, 2008

My new (unwelcome) roommate

I have a spider living in the tv in the bathroom. Yes, IN the tv. Everytime I get in the bathtub this little spider comes crawling out from behind the tv. At the sound of my voice, either yelling for Lincoln or exclaiming in frustration, she hightails it back to the tv. The most recent time this happened I was prepared for her to come out and I had a roll of toilet paper at the ready next to the tub. When I stood up to kill her she hightailed it behind the TV and I watched her climb up into the tv. What concerns me (and freaks me out quite a big) is I keep imagining she's up there laying eggs or something. And as much as I loved Charlotte's Web, I don't need it reenacted in my bathroom.