It's going to be a crazy, crazy week

The end of the year is always the busiest time for me at work. I'm in charge of a number of end of year social activities such as our Thanksgiving Potluck and - the big one - our holiday party. On top of all that I have to close out everything for the year and finalize everything before our holiday break.

I'm also very lucky to work for a company that closes -with pay - for the time period between Christmas and New Year's. This year, because of the way the holidays fall, it is a "short" break of only a week and a half. We close early on Wednesday, December 24th and won't re-open until Monday, January 4th. However, I also have a number of vacation days that I have to burn off before the end of the year so that adds to my holiday break.

When you add in all of our time off and my leftover vacation time that means I worked two days last week, five days this week, four the next, and three the following week before starting my holiday break on Thursday, December 17th. While it's absolutely wonderful that I have all that paid time off that means that my busiest time of year is condensed into a number of very short work weeks. What is already a busy time gets even busier when I'm not at work to actually do all the stuff that is keeping me busy.

So this week is my only full week between now and the end of the year. On top of all that it's also the week right before the holiday party which is always insane. Add into the mix Jake's birthday party this weekend, his actually birthday next Tuesday, and my parents coming to town for a week starting Wednesday and things start to get a wee bit overwhelming.

The good news is that my parents come often enough - and know me well enough - that they don't expect perfection when they come to visit. My house won't be 100% clean. The fridge won't be stocked with food. And I'll have a list of "chores" for them to do while they're here. As horrible of a vacation as that sounds to everyone else, they keep coming back. Thank God.

Accidental Tradition

Our first Christmas in this house was when Hannah was one year old. We decided to put up our Christmas tree but only decorate it with lights so that we wouldn't have to worry about her pulling off all the ornaments. This worked well for a few years and kept us from the hasslbe of having to decorate (and later take down) a tree. When Jake was one year old we figured we'd continue with the tradition since he was then of an age to bother the ornaments like Hannah was when she was little. Of course Hannah was now 4 and wanted to decorate the tree. We compromised by only putting paper ornaments that Hannah made, unbreakable ornaments from our collection, and strings of popcorn to decorate the tree. Since then we've gone to full on decorating of the tree with breakable ornaments and everything but the strands of popcorn have remained. Since I'm the one that has to string the popcorn I thought maybe we could get rid of the tradition this year and just do the ornaments but one of the first things Jake asked about decorating the tree was "and we're going to do popcorn too, right?" I guess since he has never known a tree without popcorn (except when he was 3 weeks old) I have committed myself to a lifetime of popcorn stringing. I suppose there are worse traditions I could have gotten myself into.

House of Seven Gables

In 3rd grade this year Hannah has to do three photo essay assignments on the state of Massachusetts. At three different intervals throughout the year she has to go to a place of historical significance in Massachusetts, take a picture of herself, and write a short paper on why it is significant, what activities you can do there, and what she learned. Her first one is due next week so we headed up to Salem today and visited the House of Seven Gables.

I know Salem is best known for the Salem Witch Trials but that seemed a little morbid for the kids so instead we visited the House of Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne's house, and some additional sites significant to the history of Nathaniel Bowditch. Hannah and I are reading the book Carry On, Mr. Bowditch together so that was really our reason for picking a visit to the House of Seven Gables (he has a loose tie to the house).

We all had a fantastic time. The weather was a bit chilly and incredibly windy but it was very sunny. We did a lot of walking and the kids enjoyed touring the House and going up the secret staircase behind the fireplace. The House of Seven Gables is definitely something I would recommend if you ever come to visit Massachusetts.

Reunions

Last night was Lincoln's 20th high school reunion. It was the third time that I've been to a reunion with him and every time has been a totally different experience. The first time - at his 10th - it was at a bar/restaurant and it was definitely more of a party atmosphere. Most of the people weren't married yet or if they were a lot of them didn't have kids. Lincoln and I had just started dating and weren't even engaged yet. Five years ago, when we attended his 15th reunion, I was about 2 weeks away from having Jake. I wasn't the only pregnant lady there but I was definitely the one that was closest to her due date. We didn't' stay long for that one. It was in a hotel ballroom not far from Upton and whenever we go to social events Lincoln sort of relies on me to be the social one and the one who can make small talk with people I've never met but he went to school with for 12 years. (Strange, I know.) Since I was so largely pregnant and uncomfortable we didn't stay long at that reunion and it wasn't much fun for either of us as far as I could tell. Last night was in the same ballroom as the 15th reunion but it was yet another totally different experience. This time I didn't see any pregnant people but there was a lot of talk about work and people being laid off and more "grown-up" topics. It is definitely interesting to watch a group of people age and mature over the past 10 years.

Lincoln and I went to my 10-year reunion four years ago so my 15th will be coming up next year. I'm not even sure we're doing anything for it but if we do that will mean a trip down to Arkansas for us. Last time it was held at the end of July and we took the whole family down there. Poor Jake - who was about 9 months old at the time - had a heat rash around his diaper waistband the entire time we were there. My poor New England kids (and husband) weren't used to the Southern heat and it had been a long time since I had experienced it as well.

I really do hope that my high school class does something for the reunion next year. I definitely don't get to see my Arkansas friends very often although I've been able to stay connected with a lot more of them through Facebook these days but I'd love to see everyone in person.

Reunions are a strange and wonderful thing. They can be an absolute train wreck or one of the best nights of your life. They're like a sociology experiment in a petri dish and I find them vastly entertaining.

Thanksgiving in your birthday suit

Yesterday Lincoln and I were getting ready to have Lincoln's parents over for Thanksgiving and Lincoln sent Jake upstairs to get dressed. At one point right while we were in the middle of something in the kitchen I vaguely remember Jake coming in and asking for help with something and us telling him "we'll be right with you" as the two of us were measuring, mixing, and pouring.

By the time Link and I had finished what we were doing Jake was happily off playing in the kids' room and I just assumed he had figured out whatever his problem had been. Turns out he hadn't. He was just happily playing naked in the kids' room and no longer cared about asking us for help getting dressed.

A little me

Hannah just spoke to her brother with the fake sincerity of a parent. You know that "Oh, wow! That's great!" exclamation that parents give their children when they bring them some sort of unrecognizable art project or when the kids excitedly run and tell you the most mundane news like it's the most exciting thing in the world.

That's the tone I'm talking about.

And Hannah has it mastered. She just pulled it out for Jake and I could sworn it was me in the other room.

A Very Lentz Thanksgiving

Even though I make the same dishes every year for Thanksgiving I still call my Mom the night before and ask her questions on how to make them. And they're usually the same questions each year so really, at this point, I know the answers but it's part of the tradition.

Me: Hey there. How's it going?

Mom: Good. Dad just finished making the Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes.

Me: Oh good. That answers my question then. I was going to ask if I should make those the night before.

Mom: And now he's crushing pretzels.

Me: For the raspberry jello salad? That's next on my list.

As Lincoln said afterwards, we're obviously having a "Very Lentz Thanksgiving" since we all cook the same dishes. I can pretty much guarantee you that they're having Butterfinger Dessert today too.

Holiday shopping in the new millennium

How did people ever shop before the Internet? Today I was working on the kids shopping lists for Christmas. This is a rather detailed process that requires a lot of research, a 3-ring binder, and Excel spreadsheets. I'm trying to stay fairly true to my "no toys" pledge because our kids have way too many toys as it is. I'm trying to get them things they need and/or useful or educational things.

There are many wonderful things about the Internet when it comes to holiday shopping.

1. No need to go to the mall.
2. Comparison shopping is easy. I thought of something I wanted to get Hannah for Christmas and wasn't sure where I should shop for it. I typed it into Google and the first place I found it the item was $39.95. After a few more sites all of a sudden it's down to $30. I saved $10 and never even left the house!
3. Online coupons. Even for the stores that we actual have to go to in order to pick up the items you can find coupons for almost anything online these days. I've got all my coupons lined up and ready to go on Black Friday.

Lincoln and I go out the day after Thanksgiving every year to do our holiday shopping. We don't get up crazy early and hit the really big sales but we like to time it after the rush and before the shelves are picked clean. We usually still get some pretty good deals. Some of the items that we're getting this year will actually be through Black Friday online specials.

I really feel for all the parents that came before me and had to do their actual shopping in stores. I don't know if I could do it.

This kid is going to be a hilarious drunk someday

I think this video is absolutely hilarious but I have to say, if one of my kids was acting this way after surgery I'd be heading for the ER.

Five days

I have five whole days off for Thanksgiving break. I am so excited even though, of course, I have a long list of "to do" tasks. But 5 days!!! How sweet is that?

Our new security system

We have a small half bath right next to the side door to our house. We never use our front door and all traffic goes through that side door. Jake has yet to learn the value of privacy and never closes the door when he goes in the bathroom. This morning he was in there and from the bathroom you can see into the office where I was working on my computer.

Jake: Hey Mommy. You know why I never close the door when I go to the bathroom?

Me: Why?

Jake: Because that way if a stranger comes in and you and Daddy and Hannah are all upstairs they'll see me and run away.

Me: Umm....okay.

Jake: Because NO ONE likes to see a boy going to the bathroom.

My little business executive

Hannah decided she wanted to dress up to run our errands today. She also found one of their play cell phones and has been walking around answering calls and making deals. Apparently she's in real estate. Just now she stepped out of the room to answer her phone and when she came back she said to me "Okay, I took care of that call." Every now and then she stops to text on her phone as well. I of course could not refuse the opportunity to take a few pictures of my little business executive. As I post this she's telling a client she found them a building on Main Street. She has just informed me she made her first sale. My favorite part are the deep sighs when she's negotiating.

Time to shop

We've told the kids that they can spend their allowance money this week. They haven't been able to spend it on anything lately and therefore it has been adding up. They're allowed to spend it this week on a toy of their choosing provided they spend a minimum of $5 on a toy to be donated to charity this Christmas. We've also told them that we'll match whatever they spend on the charitable item. So if they find a $15 toy for charity they have to pay $7.50 and we'll pay $7.50 as well.

They're so excited to spend their money but I keep trying to remind them they can also continue to save it if they want. I don't know if that will happen. Jake was in here earlier doing his "We're going shopping!" dance. Absolutely hilarious.

A sad state of affairs

Today Lincoln and I took the kids to get their pictures taken. The shirt that I had picked out for Hannah badly needed to be ironed on the collar and arms but I do not iron. Lincoln has - occasionally - ironed in the years that I've known him but neither one of us are really good at it. My friend Tracy irons everything. I mean everything. Even jeans. Every time we go away for a girls weekend or stay overnight in the city she always irons everything she's wearing. It cracks me up because it is completely habitual with her. As soon as we start getting ready to go out she breaks out the hotel iron and ironing board and starts ironing her clothes. When she's done she says "Do you need the iron?" before she puts it away and I always laugh because I never iron anything. On the rare occasion that I iron I either burn the item I'm ironing or I end up walking away with the garment looking as wrinkled as when I started.

When I chose the outfits for the kids to wear today I asked Tracy if she'd come over and help me out by ironing their clothes. I'm sure she laughed at first but quickly realized I was serious and headed over to help me out. When she arrived I dug out our rarely used ironing board and iron and set them up in our bedroom. I think it really hit home to her how rarely - if ever - we iron when Jake walked in the bedroom and asked "What's that thing?"

I really do have the most adorable children

Here are the pictures we had taken of the kids today. Ignore the random marks and dots on the pictures....those are from my scanner and are not on the actual pictures.

Our smart little cookie

Thursday night we had Hannah's parent/teacher conference at school. I never know what to expect with these things because you go in thinking you'll hear one thing and you hear the complete opposite. It's not that Hannah has ever had a bad parent/teacher conference, just that Lincoln and I walk out of there sometimes asking ourselves "Was she talking about our kid?"

This year we got a lot of great feedback from the teacher. I was really glad when Hannah was assigned her teacher for this year because Mrs. W is the teacher that helped us out when Hannah was in kindergarten and her actual teacher did absolutely nothing for her. Kindergarten was a bad year in the fact that Hannah had a horrible teacher. She did nothing to challenge Hannah or keep her interested in school when the rest of the class was doing stuff Hannah could have done in her sleep. After months and months of trying we finally managed to get Hannah tested to prove to the teacher that Hannah needed more challenging work. At the kindergarten parent/teacher conference the teacher told us Hannah was "average" but when we finally managed to get her tested months later she was reading at a high 2nd grade / early 3rd grade level. Considering some of the kids could barely spell their names in kindergarten she was decidedly NOT average. Mrs. W was the teacher that administered the reading test to Hannah and when we met with the principal, the school psychologist, and Hannah's kindergarten teacher Mrs. W was the only person in the room - other than us - that was fighting for Hannah and pointing out how smart she is and how much potential she has. I have tremendous respect for Mrs. W and am so glad that Hannah is in her class this year.

Back to this year's parent/teacher conference.

Thursday night we met with Mrs. W and she said that she was surprised at how hard it was to pull work out of Hannah at the beginning of the year. She knew what Hannah was capable of but wasn't seeing it during the first few weeks but that between the beginning of the year and now Hannah has really matured with her level of writing and is banging out work that is very impressive. This is also the first year the kids have to take the MCAS which are the standardized tests that every kid has to take. I had the Iowa Basic Skills test as a kid, Hannah has the MCAS. Anyway, the big test is in May but the teachers are already prepping the students for what to expect. Mrs. W proudly showed us one of Hannah's practice tests where Hannah was the only student in the class to get the right answer now and not months from now. In other words, she could probably take the MCAS now and do just fine.

We also talked with Mrs. W about Hannah's tendency to be fairly scatterbrained and to make silly mistakes in her work because she doesn't go back and check things. School comes so easily to Hannah and 9 times out of 10 her work is probably right the first time so she just assumes it's right and doesn't double check herself. It's stupid mistakes like that that drive me crazy. The other thing we discussed with the teacher is the fact that we think there should be consequences if students don't do their homework. The other day I discovered that Hannah hadn't finished some of her homework and since she was running out the door to catch the bus it was too late to do anything about it and she'd have to live with the consequences of her actions. Of course after thinking about it I realized that these days there really are no consequences for things like that at school. Some parents get so up in arms about you disciplining their child - even something as basic as keeping them in at recess - that they threaten to call the school board and have the teacher fired. It's ridiculous. Those are the kids whose parents will be following them to college and demanding the professor give their little pumpkin a good grade. It makes me sick.

But I digress....

We told the teacher that Hannah absolutely should have consequences to deal with if she forgets her homework and the teacher did say that it has become a huge problem because more and more students are not doing their homework so now the kids will actually have to stay in from recess. I was happy to hear that but doubtful it will last long. Like I said, parents are a bunch of whack jobs these days and one idiot parent ruining their child through lack of discipline will try to ruin all of our children so their child looks less stupid.

Anyway, overall it was a great parent/teacher conference and I'm glad that Hannah has Mrs. W although I would like to see her doing a little more to challenge Hannah. She has assigned Hannah and another student a 5th/6th grade level book to read but other than that Hannah has no special homework or anything more challenging then what the other kids are doing. That is something that makes me a little nervous but we just try to keep a close eye on Hannah and make sure she's happy and working to the best of her ability. We don't want to push Hannah too hard but we also don't want to let her slack off just because things come easily to her. It's a delicate balance and definitely one we struggle with as parents.

Ahhh....parenting. Never a dull moment.

Kids say the darndest things

Jake absolutely cracks me up. He completely messes up words and sayings all the time. I don't think it's because he doesn't get them. I just think he's in his own little world and they sound right to him. For example, he still calls a computer a "compluter". He kept saying it over and over the other day and finally Lincoln said "You do realize there is no 'l" in computer, right?"

This morning he was in bed with us and for some reason he was doing "Eeenie, Meeny, Minie, Moe" but he doesn't say it right. Ever. He has a million ways for saying it but they're all wrong. My favorite is "Eeenie, Meeny, Minie, Moe. Itchy, Titchy, Touchy, Toe."

Tonight he was singing a line from the song "It's a Barbie World." (Don't ask). Instead "Come on Barbie, let's go party" but he kept singing "Disco party, no more money."

I swear to God he is in his own little world sometimes but it's absolutely hilarious to those of us on the outside.

Finally coming to terms with what happened in the 3rd grade (subtitled: Admitting I was wrong)

When I was in the 3rd grade I was having what the kids today would call a "playdate" with my friend Rachel over at her house while my parents were at a Super Bowl party. Rachel's entire house consists of hardwood floors and we were playing dolls upstairs when I ran into the room and slid on the blanket we had down for them on the floor. I fell and broke my pinkie.....on the growth bone. In such a way that I had to go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN seventy miles away to get it set. For any of you men reading this you've probably already guessed that means my father had to miss the Super Bowl but I digress, as usual.

Ever since that happened I have had a bit of a fear of hardwood floors. When we built our house I was adamant that we would not have hardwood floors in the house. The rational part of my brain realizes that the linoleum in the kitchen is just as slippery but it didn't matter. And I realize that my kids probably spend more waking hours at their grandparents house then ours and that there house is also all hardwood floors. But I still feared those damn hardwood floors. We always sent the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's in "no-skid" socks from Old Navy or if Hannah was wearing tights we made her keep her shoes on or wear "no-skid" socks over the tights while at Grandma and Grandpa's. When I was over there with them and watched them come down stairs I practically had a heart attack every time.

Lincoln put up with my craziness and we have carpet all through the house except in the kitchen and bathrooms. Last year we turned the dining room into the office and I've finally come to the conclusion that it would look better as a hardwood floor. I told Lincoln we should change it and he just laughed and said "Oh NOW you want hardwood in here but not when it was a dining room?" And he was right. It made no sense for it to be carpeted in there and now we have a million stains. Although to be fair some of the stains aren't from eating at the dining room table and are from the kids having drinks in there when their desk was in the dining room.

Today we finally changed it. We had hardwood laminate put in and the old, nasty stained carpet ripped out. It has taken me many, many years to come to terms with it but I'm finally okay with "hardwood" floors. I realize these are just fake ones but this is a HUGE step for me.

And one picture of Hannah getting creative with her office chair and the kitchen stools while we wait for the room to be done.

Turkey Day - Round 1

Today is the Thanksgiving Potluck that we do at the office. I have organized this event for the past 6 years and I love it. It is my favorite event that I coordinate each year. I'm heading into the office now to start the turkey (Jennie O's Oven Ready turkey - they're the best!) and all the fixings will be brought in by the rest of the people in the office.

Expect office nap time to commence around 2:30 p.m.

6 weeks

Over the weekend I heard the news that a guy I knew from college, Andrew Lindberg, was missing. He had been piloting a small private plane and hadn't been heard from since Friday night when he didn't arrive at his destination.

Andrew was a friend of a friend. He was good friends with some of my good friends and I certainly knew him and spent time with him but I wouldn't say that he and I were good friends. He was a friendly acquaintance and someone I enjoyed spending time with when we were at the same party or I saw him around campus. It even took me a few minutes to remember who he was but once I put the pieces together the memories started flooding back.

This morning the wreckage of his plane - and his body - were found in a rural part of Minnesota only accessible by an old snowmobile trail. No additional details have been posted but I can only hope and pray that he died on impact and didn't suffer in the four and a half days it took to find his body.

It is always disturbing when someone you know dies. I haven't seen Andrew since I graduated from Gustavus ten years ago but that doesn't mean I don't mourn his death. He was a great guy. He was funny, friendly, and outgoing. He was just a nice guy. I wish I could have known him better.

But this is what has really shaken me up about his death. Andrew got married six weeks ago.....almost to the day. He disappeared on a Friday night and the next day would have been the six week anniversary of his wedding. As far as I know I've never met his wife. I don't think she went to Gustavus and as far as I know, even if she did, I don't think I've ever met her. But she's a widow now. A widow. After six weeks. I can't even wrap my mind around that. The nine years that Lincoln and I have been married have gone by so fast I can't imagine how she feels knowing that she only got six weeks with her husband. I'm sure they probably haven't even finished sending out the thank you notes for the wedding gifts yet and now she'll be sending "thanks for the funeral flowers." That's just wrong.

So Kate, my thoughts are with you. We've never met but I hope you know that your husband touched the lives of many and even though he was only a very small part of my life he was part of it and I thank God I had the pleasure of knowing him.

Rest in Peace Andrew

I wish I was in Mexico

Mom and Dad are in Mexico for the week with Debbie and Mark. I sure wish we were there. November and December are always my two craziest months of the year at work because of our Thanksgiving and Holiday events which I am in charge of and all the year end wrap-up that I have to do. Add in our own Thanksgiving and Christmas plans plus Jake's birthday and it just makes for a crazy time of year. What I am excited about is that I get a 5 day weekend for Thanksgiving and a two-week break at Christmas. At this point I just need to hang in there and get to that 2-week break. It did wonders for me last year and is definitely what I need to recharge before starting all over again next year.

I just can't let it be, can I?

This weekend was great. I caught up on about 10 hours of TV that I missed in the past week. I had a sleepover with Hannah and my niece Kayla. I went to dinner with Lincoln and the kids. Basically it was just an incredibly relaxing weekend after a week that was incredibly insane. For once I didn't have a million deadlines hanging over my head. My next PTO project - the yearbook - isn't due until spring. I can do certain stuff in the book here and there but nothing major is due soon except the cover and that's a pretty easy task since the 4th graders design a bulk of it for me.

So how do I start my Monday off? Well, I hopped on the bike up in the gym with a copy of Glamour and an iPod loaded with music only to come across an article called "31 Days of Giving". There are some great ideas on the list and one of them was "Send a free holiday card to a soldier abroad." Seems simple enough, right? Of course my brain takes it to a whole different level and all of a sudden I'm figuring out in my head how I can make this a community wide effort and involve the kids at the elementary school. A few years ago I coordinated a group called Kid Volunteers and unfortunately, due to lack of interest from others and lack of time, it died out after our first few activities. All of a sudden, in my 30 seconds of free time between Family Fun Night and getting ready to start planning Thanksgiving, Jake's birthday, and Christmas I'm mentally signing myself up for another time consuming endeavor. Don't worry, I nipped it in the bud. I think. I'm talking myself out of it as we speak. Right?

I really need to learn how to shut my brain off.

This is why I do it

Yesterday was Family Fun Night. For the second time since Hannah has been at her school I have chaired the committee for this event. Each year the PTO chooses a theme (literature, math, science, history, geography, etc.) and creates a fun night for the kids to come in with their parents and go around to every room and learn new things through arts and crafts, games, and different exhibits. Each room typically has a few different things plus some activity sheets that the kids can take with them (coloring sheets, connect the dots, etc.)

The first time I did FFN our theme was "Explore the Continents" and these are a few of the main things we did in each room. In Antarctica (which was the room I did) we had snow cones for the kids to eat, a penguin craft, and "snowball" fights with penguin themed beach balls and cotton balls. Africa had a drum circle and the mancala game. Asia had a karate demonstration and a lesson on how to pick up cotton balls with chopsticks. In South America one of the mom volunteers built "the rain forest at night" and actually built a huge tree in an empty classroom and glued plastic birds and frogs to it. She put up white Christmas lights to make it look like a starlit night and as every kid went into the room they were given a flashlight and a list of animals to find. In Australia we had a local animal habitat bring in a few animals including a kangaroo. North America had a wonderful quilting activity and in Europe they got to build the Leaning Tower of Pisa and knock it over plus design their own mosaics.

The theme for this year was History and we told the kids they'd be "traveling through time". Between being sick and not being terribly excited about the room that I assigned myself, I definitely put a lot of the stuff for last night off until the last minute. But the biggest problem that I had was that I could not get the volunteers that we needed because a lot of people weren't willing to step up. Out of about 400 families in the school I managed to get about 15-20 volunteers for this free event benefiting all of our students.

I must say, I was sort of dreading last night because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I should have known better though. I was blown away by what my committee pulled together. I may not have had a lot of volunteers but the ones that I did were incredibly dedicated. We had six rooms last night. In Music/Toys/Dance we had old games that kids could play including an Atari, an exhibit showing everything from the record player and the 8-track up through the iPod. Tracy dressed up in a poodle skirt and got the kids doing dances from different decades. We had a Colonial room that had so much going on I couldn't possibly describe it all but the kids had 2-3 different crafts to choose from, a Thanksgiving table where they could get stuff to eat, and much more including a woman sitting up on the stage spinning yard. In the Wild West the kids got to pan for gold, got to play in a tepee, and sit around the fire pit. In Transportation there was a wonderful display of all sorts of ways we've developed planes, trains, and cars over the decades and the kids got to make paper airplanes and fly some model airplanes around the room. In Literature/Folklore the kids had story time, a person teaching sign language, and a canoe craft. All the stuff was based from one childhood story or another (Helen Keller, Pocahontas, etc.)

And then there was my room. My hallway actually since I had the 2nd floor hallway in the 1st grade wing of the school. My theme was Communication and I broke that down into five areas: Morse Code, Pony Express, Telephones, Post Office, and IM/Texting. For Morse Code I had a song playing on the CD player called "The Rhythm of the Code" which went through every letter of the alphabet and what it sounds like in Morse Code. For the Pony Express the kids got to make their own pony puppets out of paper, yarn, and wooden sticks. Hannah was a huge help and ran that craft for me during a good chunk of the night. For IM/Texting I had a slide show playing of different text abbreviations (LOL, BRB, TTYL, etc.) and what they translated to. In the Post Office area Lincoln built me a mini post office and the kids got to write their teachers a letter and mail them. For the telephone section I had pictures of everything including the original telephone, the novelty telephones (the hamburger phone for example) the huge, chunky first type of cell phone, the bag cell phone, and everything up through the iPhone. I also had a rotary dial phone that the kids could play with. I think the best part of planning this event was yesterday morning when Jake discovered the rotary dial phone in our office. It was completely beyond his comprehension at first and he could not figure out for the life of him how it worked. He wouldn't put his fingers in the hole but kept trying to push on the printed numbers outside the dial. I wish I had gotten it on video. It was truly priceless.

I had been completely desperate for volunteers so my little sis Kristen said she'd bring me some of her soccer team from Franklin High School. She showed up with SEVEN of her teammates and I could have kissed each and every one of them. They were a huge lifesaver and really helped me pull it all off.

Lincoln was a huge help with the prep work and then spent the entire evening chasing Jake around the rooms once it started. We barely saw Hannah all night. If she wasn't up in the Communications room teaching the kids how to do the crafts she was running around and checking out the other rooms with her friends. Overall it was a great night and even though I was hating every moment leading up to it when it came down to the actual event - and it was running like clockwork - I realized why I do this to myself (and to Lincoln). Because the kids LOVED it. To see them running around and trying new things and exploring new ideas and just plain having a blast, THAT is why I do it. For them.

But as delightful as those shiny, little, happy faces were last night, I'm done. No more. I'm going on record as saying I will never chair another Family Fun Night.

Here is a picture of Tracy getting ready to dance. Notice the boys glued to the Atari game in the background....boys never change. That was evidenced by the fact that whenever someone lost their father (or husband) during the evening they could usually be found playing the Atari.

Jake in the Wild West:

Hannah outside the Wild West jail where kids could toss their parents in jail before paying $1 to bail them out:

Bring on the men in the white coats

This week has not been a fun one. In fact it has been incredibly insane and it's only Thursday. It is Thursday, right? I thought it was Thursday on Tuesday so who knows what day it really is.

Monday night was my boss's dinner meeting that I had to help facilitate and a fundraiser that a friend of mine was helping to organize. Luckily the two were only 2 blocks away from each other in downtown Boston but it was a late night.

Tuesday was all about Family Fun Night. We had a couple of people over at the house for a few hours after work to do a lot of the prep stuff before this Friday's event at Hannah's school. They were there from about 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and after they left I started working on the video I wanted to do for the anniversary of Uncle Linus's death yesterday. Yes I could have started working on that weeks ago but between being sick, our trip to Washington, DC and Family Fun Night looming over my head it just kept getting pushed off another day and another day and another day.

Wednesday morning was all about Family Fun Night in the morning. I had to organize everything that didn't get done the night before so that it could be distributed to stay-at-home parents who were willing to do some of the work for us. Wednesday afternoon I ended up getting a little bit of a miracle tossed my way when my boss told me I could leave early since it was a holiday. Three extra hours of unexpected time to work on FFN! Woohoo! Lincoln and I met up and headed to the craft store where we figured out how he was going to help me build a mini-sized post office by Friday night.

This morning was all about Family Fun Night again. I still have a lot of prep work for my own room to do and tonight is the monthly PTO meeting so I won't have much time to work on it tonight. I can't skip the meeting because I have to be there to beg, blackmail, and cajole volunteers into working some of the shifts I haven't been able to get covered yet. Luckily tomorrow I took the day off so I have all day to prep before the event.

Even more luckily I have the world's most wonderful husband. He spent hours with us on Tuesday night cutting out hundreds of things for FFN. Wednesday morning he distributed all the "at-home" work to the volunteers and picked them up in the evening. He's building my post office and even doing the spray-painting for me since he's the only one who can make it home when it's warm enough (and there is still daylight) outside to use spray paint. I'll have to do the detail painting on it tomorrow when I'm home.

Kristen, who is a senior in high school, is rounding up a bunch of her soccer teammates for me too so that I have more volunteers. What a life saver!

That's about it around here. All of that on top of work, commuting, Hannah's after-school extra-curricular activities, a babysitter that is sick so we have to make other arrangements, Lincoln running his own business, and just life in general.

Saturday morning, when this is all over, you'll find me curled up in a ball in the corner of the room rocking back and forth and muttering to myself. Just leave me be. I'm sure the nice men in the white coats will be along to get me shortly.

One year later

A year ago today my father called me at work to tell me that my Uncle Linus had died in a car accident. A few days later I was driving to his wake and a song came on the iPod I had playing in the car. It was "Seasons of Love" from the musical RENT. If you're familiar with the song you know that it's all about measuring a year in the life of a person. The song completely broke my heart because I knew that Uncle Linus had been on his way to the VFW later that day for a Veterans' Day celebration and I knew that he had attended the exact same event the year before. When he sat there on November 11, 2007, with all of his friends, he didn't know that he wouldn't be there for the same event the next year. He didn't know that exactly one year later he would die in a tragic car accident. He didn't know that a few weeks after that day when he sat there having coffee and chatting with his friends that it would be his last Thanksgiving, or his last Christmas, or his last birthday. None of us did. When I last saw him a few weeks before he died I never imagined it would be the last time.

Here we are, one year later. We've all made it. We've all been able to celebrate another Thanksgiving and another Christmas and another round of birthdays with those we love. I look back at the past year and everything that I have been blessed with and the times that I've had with my husband and my children and my family and I know that at any time it could all be taken away. Because if we learned nothing else with Uncle Linus's death, I think we all learned that even if you were blessed with 70 of them, it's never enough. A year goes by way too quickly.

He was gone way too soon but we were all the better off for having known him and having him in our lives. In his honor today please go out and hug all of those you love. Let them know how you feel and pretend like every moment could be your last.

I miss you Uncle Linus......

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Uncle Linus's death. His death has been incredibly rough on me. I didn't get to see Uncle Linus all that often. I probably saw him every year or two when we not only managed to make it back to the Midwest but also made it to Elma to see Dad's side of the family. It's not like I talked with him every day or called him just to chat but I've missed him every single day since he has been gone.

I think a lot of it was the suddenness of his death. He died in a car accident under unexplainable circumstances. Was it icy? Did he have a heart attack? Did a deer run out in front of him? No one knows and no one ever will. He was going about his business like he would any other morning and had plans to go to the Veterans' Day breakfast at the VFW. He never made it there. Gone. Just gone. No explanation. No time to say good-bye. Nothing.

About 7 weeks before Linus died my Grandma passed away. That was the last time I got to see Uncle Linus. Despite the sad circumstances of Grandma's death it was nice to see all of my cousins (there are 25 of us) and all of my aunts and uncles (all 7 of them plus my Dad). After Grandma's funeral my Dad and his siblings were sitting at a table in the garage going through all the condolence cards that had been left at the church. With that many people working on it they certainly didn't need my help but I sat down at the table anyway and happened to sit across from Linus. He and I worked together and had a nice little chat. Afterwards he was laughing because I recorded the Elma siren (which goes off every day at 7 a.m., 12 noon, and 6 p.m.) on my Palm Treo and set it as my ring tone. The Elma siren is something I always associate with going to visit Grandma so at the time it seemed very appropriate despite the fact that having a fire siren for a ring tone isn't terribly practical. Uncle Linus loved it. He called my phone multiple times and would crack up every time it rang. As others came out of the house he would have me show them what I did.

And that was the last time I saw him alive. Before that I don't know how long it had been since I had seen him. As much as I miss Grandma Lentz her passing was such a blessing for me - and I suspect many of my cousins as well - because we got to spend one last visit with Uncle Linus. At Grandma's wake he gave me a huge hug and held me tight. That's what I remember. That hug and that project with the condolence cards and that silly ring tone. And I am so grateful for all of that because that time was so special and I will take that with me always.

I miss you Uncle Linus.

Queen of Procrastination

I am chairing the Family Fun Night event at Hannah's school on Friday, November 13th. In addition to being in charge of the entire event I am also in charge of one of the rooms - the history of Communication - and guess what, I didn't start working on it until today. Oh yeah, I'm the queen of procrastination. For one, it's a boring topic. I thought it might be fun but it's really not. I'm doing sections on Morse Code, the U.S. Postal Service, Pony Express, text and instant messages, and the phone. Ugh.

I have participated in Family Fun Night two other times. The first year, which was the other year that I chaired the event, we had a theme of Exploring the Continents. I had Antarctica and we had snow cones, a penguin craft, and snowball fights with cotton balls and penguin beach balls. The second year, which had a Science theme, I did the Astronomy room and I, along with Lincoln and another mom, created a night sky in one of the class rooms. We turned off all the lights and hung black panels from the ceiling with white Christmas lights. We had orange lights through out the "night sky" which made up different constellations. As you went into the room you received a list of constellations you were supposed to find. The kids loved it. Out in the hallway we also had a scale and how to figure out how much you'd weigh on different planets and a craft where you could make your own star finder. We also had a "I wish I may, wish I might" form that kids could fill out and hang up showing all of their wishes. See, now those sound cool, right?

Communications....not so much.

Once I finish getting it all together I'll have to fill you in but right now it's a total work in progress. The important thing is I'm okay being the lamest room. Let the other rooms be the rock stars. I can handle it.

Who knew this was such a science....and does it even really make a difference?

For my birthday in August my friend Melissa got me some Leinenkugel beer glasses with laser etchings on the bottom. It was supposed to "do something to enhance the flavor of the beer" is what she told me. (She's rather specific, isn't she?)

Chili's is now advertising on their coasters the "Perfect Beer Glass" made by the Samuel Adams brewing company.

What makes it perfect you ask?

1. Bead inside rim creates turbulence to release flavor and aromas as beer enters mouth.
2. Narrow top retains the hop aroma and sustains the head.
3. Rounded shape collects aromas.
4. Thinner walls and rounded shape maintain proper beer temperature longer.
5. Laser etchings on bottom creates bubbles for constant aroma release. (That's what she was trying to explain!!)
6. Outward turned lip delivers beer to front of tongue where sweetness (malt) is tasted.

I don't know why but I am truly impressed that people actually research this shit and feel bad that I just take these things for granted. And to think of all those years I wasted drinking out of a plastic cup at a keg party in college.

A perfect score

Hannah received a perfect score on her recent book report. Not only did she get 100% but she got rave reviews from the teacher including "Your project and presentation were well prepared and executed! I'm so proud of you!" and "You worked very hard I can tell! Fabulous job!"

Not only are Lincoln and I incredibly proud of her but she is incredibly proud of herself and that's even better in my book. She really did work hard on this project and the book - Bridge to Terabithia - was much more advanced than many of the other kids. What a great job.

A hollow victory

Tonight I received a mass email forward sent by a Republican friend of Lincoln's. I responded to the forward and we engaged in a bit of back and forth via email. While I enjoyed the mental exercise after two weeks in an illness fog, he didn't put up much of a fight. It wasn't a terribly satisfactory victory.

It started by him forwarding an email about all the reasons why Obama scares the man who originally wrote the email. The email itself is too long - and not worthy - of reposting but here is an excerpt:

• You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.
• You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.
• You scare me because you lack humility and "class", always blaming others.
• You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.
• You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.
• Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Admittedly my first response was quite snotty but I figured I'd exercise my brain a little after that. Here is our interchange. My comment are in blue and his are in red (cute, huh?)

You scare me because you believe this shit.

You will see as time goes by. I respect your opinion.

I'm sorry, I should have said "You scare me because you forward on fear tactics and hate mongering with untrue "facts" and false information. That would have been more polite.

I am trying to save the lemmings from the pied piper. Better to be cautious then drink it all in without question.

I fully agree. As long as the lemmings don't just start following a different pied piper. Drinking it all in without question goes both ways. The letter was meant to inflame, cause fear, and raise the ire of people who may be too lazy to do their own research It provided no facts, no back up documentation, and provided no outlet for gaining knowledge. I'm not saying some of the information below might not be true. Just that the guy's tactic is the cowards way to fight the battle - much less the war - he's trying to wage on that which he does not agree.

Well Obama scares me for all the same reasons.

Which is why both sides should take a step back, take a deep breath, and start looking at the facts and not the sound bites. I'm sure if you truly had all the facts in front of you there may be some things that you agree with on the "Obama" side. I'm a Democrat but there are certainly times that I concede - albeit grudgingly sometimes - that they're wrong and the Republicans are right (no pun intended). Today's society is all about filling the time on 24-hour news channels and bringing in the ad dollars. Sensationalism is a great way to make money but not a great way to run a country. If the American people give into that the country is then, in fact, run by the media and not the elected politicians. "For the people, by the people" then becomes "for the money, by the media". I don't care who is in power, that's not how I want my country run.

No response from him after that. Can you see why that wasn't a very satisfactory exchange?

Now, here is how I would like to respond to the selection from the original email above.

CAUTION: contains lots of snottiness and plenty of sarcasm.

• You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you. (Feel free to pick up a newspaper, a magazine, browse a few non-partisan websites, read an auto-biography....really, anything that gets your head out of your ass.)
• You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support. (He probably took out student loans like other hard-working college kids, he was a lawyer and had a job, and failing all that, he was married to a woman who made almost $300,000 a year. If that's your idea of "no visible signs of support" then I'd love to see what your salary is, Sir. Wiping your ass with dollar bills must get tiresome after awhile. Does it chafe?)
• You scare me because you lack humility and "class", always blaming others. (I prefer to think of it as confidence, "lacking in 'class" is a distinction typically made by a person who feels he is above others in society and therefore not worthy of the term himself, and depending on what he's blaming on others (something the person purposely left out of the email), some of that shit is the mess George W. Bush left behind and rightfully should be blamed on others.)
• You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American. (This one is a loaded accusation. Is he trying, like many have, to give the impression that Obama is a Muslim - which he is not - and therefore a terrorist threat? Putting aside that obvious racism (religious-ism?) ask yourself how the question would be different if the President was the son of a military man (such as John McCain) and had spent his "formative years" living on an air force base in Germany or Guam or Japan. Would that make him less American? I don't know if John McCain lived overseas during his "formative years" but if he had I'm sure the same author would be touting that as a "multi-culturalism experience" and not a threat to the United States. Hypocrisy is a wonder part of American culture so congratulations to you, Sir.)
• You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do. (I'm sorry. I didn't realize that Fox News, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh had gone off the air. How did I miss that memo?)
• Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years. (A strong, emotional closing to clinch the fear factor. Well done. Who knows, you could be right. But I would worry less about that and more about the fact that courtesy of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney your phone may be tapped right now by right of the Patriot Act. Maybe you should go check that out and stop writing these transparently ill-researched, intentionally inflammatory emails. As a matter of fact, 'Big Brother' might be looking over your shoulder right now. You better watch out.....big bad Obama has access to that shit now.)

And now I'll be stepping down off my soapbox. Unfortunately it wasn't the brain work-out I was hoping for. I didn't even break a sweat.

11 hours and counting

Today is the first day that I actually have felt fairly healthy. I still have a bit of congestion but compared to where I was I feel great. I even got up early this morning and got to the office before 7 a.m. so that I could catch up on everything I've been avoiding while I've been sick.

Unfortunately for Lincoln he now has come down with the same thing I've had. Right now he's in the "lost voice and loose chest congestion" stage of the process. And I'm sad to say I haven't been much help.

Lincoln: (coughing and sounding miserable this morning)

Me: Oh man. You sound so bad. I want to tell you you'll feel better soon but you won't. This is only going to get worse.

Lincoln: Please stop talking to me.

Home

Pardon me but this post is going to ramble a little bit. Just stick with me.

I have a beautiful home. I love my home. But it is definitely a continual work in progress. Lincoln and I were very blessed when we got married and his parents deeded some family land over to us so that we could build our house. We received 4.26 acres of beautiful wooded land at the end of a dead-end road. The land behind us is owned by the state and contains high tension wires. The land across from us is still owned by Lincoln's parents. The land past the end of the road is a combination of Lincoln's parents, land that has been deeded to the town but can't be built on for 99 years (or something like that), and conservation land. In other words, we don't have to worry about developers coming in and turning our woods into the newest development in town. We're very, very lucky.

But like I said it's a work in progress. Our basement isn't finished. Our foundation for the garage was poured in November 2001 but we still don't have a garage. Our deck is half built. It took us until August 2009 to get curtains put up. It's just a work in progress. Right now we are planning on making some major changes to our house after the new year. Once again through the generosity of Lincoln's parents we're able to move forward on some of our plans for building a garage and a mother-in-law apartment as well as adding a farmer's porch which is something we've wanted for years.

Why am I writing about all of this?

Because every now and then I think to myself....wow, this house needs work. Or, I wish we could do so much more but we just don't have the money. Or, wow, I went to so-and-so's house and it was huge and gorgeous and professionally decorated - what must they think when they come to mine? But here's the thing....I'm 32.

I'm 32 years old. When I was 24 years old we built - not just moved into, but built - a 2,400 square foot, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house on over 4 acres of land. That's ridiculous. When my parents were 25 years old they were living in a small apartment on Water Street if I'm not mistaken. Every time we've moved our houses got bigger and nicer but a big part of that was the fact that they had worked hard and built these things up over time.

As for those women with the bigger and nicer and more professionally decorated houses here in town, by the time that I'm their age my house will be just as big and just as nice but probably still not professionally decorated (that's just not my thing). A lot of those women are older and both they and their husbands had substantial careers before having kids while I started young. I was only 24 for 6 days before I gave birth to Hannah. When our house is done with all the plans that we have for it we'll have 3,600 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a 1 bedroom, 1 bath mother-in-law apartment only 174 sq. ft. smaller than my condo when I moved out here and a gorgeous, kick-ass farmer's porch we can sit on and look out at our beautiful acreage. That is when we're not kicking it out on the (above ground) pool deck out back of course.

Once again, why am I rambling about all this?

Just because. Because I truly appreciate everything that Lincoln and I have and everything we're working towards together in the future. I think it's a general trait of my generation to have come along when our parents were more financially secure and able to give us a comfortable life. My parents may not have been that secure when I was a baby but by the time I was old enough to notice they certainly were (or if not, they covered it well). I grew up in an era of prosperity and consumerism and the "you can have anything you want" mentality. I'm used to nice things. I'm used to being able to travel. I'm used to being able to buy things at the store if they're not obscenely expensive and I want them. We're certainly not able to go out and buy things without thinking about what is in the checkbook but for the most part we have a very good life. And I never want to take that for granted.

So I guess that's my point. I'm lucky. I'm loved. I'm able to provide things for my family.

And I never, ever, ever want to take that for granted.

Back off and hand me my cookie dough

It has been one of those days. Those crazy, insane, why do I do this to myself kind of days. As I was wrapping up my day at work I called to make sure that Lincoln had picked up our items from the school's wrapping paper and cookie dough fundraiser that we ordered last month.

Me: Did you pick up the stuff?

Link: Yes. I put the cookie dough in the freezer.

Me: Great.

Link: I don't know if it's all ours or not.

Me: Melissa may have ordered some. I'll have to look at the order form when I get home but I think it's mostly all ours.

Link: There are seven boxes!

Me: Yeah, so? What's your point?

Getting my ass kicked

This cold is seriously kicking my ass. It has now been over a week since I first had symptoms and 5 days since it had me in bed during daytime hours. I made it through an entire day of work yesterday but last night was brutal. I thought poor Lincoln was going to have to sleep on the couch while I stayed up all night coughing. Luckily Lincoln managed to find some unexpired liquid cough suppressant in our house. We don't use it often so it tends to go bad before we buy new stuff. Personally I was about ready to pour vegetable oil down my throat to coat it. Thank God he's the sane one.

Sweetness and Light

Me: We need to get a babysitter so that you can come to the next meeting with me.

Link: (laughing)

Me: I wasn't joking.

Link: Too bad, it was a funny one.

Me: I need you to be there so that when I start screaming at Mrs. "Sweetness and Light" you can get me under control.

Link: Ha. I can't control you.

That's one way to get him to reconsider

Jake: How old do you have to be to be an older brother?

Me: What?

Jake: How old do you have to be?

Me: You are never going to be an older brother. Do you know why you shouldn't want to be an older brother?

Jake: Why?

Me: Because then Hannah would be the oldest, the baby would be the youngest, and you'd be the forgotten middle child. You would be ignored and over-looked, never receive any toys, and no one would pay attention to you. (pause) Do you still want to be a big brother?

(Long silence as Jake just sits and stars at me.)

And that is how that conversation ended. Somehow I think this is going to be a recurring theme for awhile. I suspect within 24 hours he'll turn that conversation on its head in an argument for me to reconsider or into an argument for why we should get a puppy instead.

No Way. No How.

Jake is on a Mr. Independence streak lately. He wants to be the one to unlock the door when we come home. He doesn't want any help with his seat belt. That sort of stuff. Every time you try to help him he screams "I'll do it!" This is great but it also slows things way, way down sometimes.

Today we were getting into the car while out running errands and Jake wanted to do his seat belt all by himself. He actually did it fairly quickly (that time) and Lincoln and I were joking about how grown up he was.

Me: Our children are all grown up.

Lincoln: (jokingly) So, should we have another baby?

Me: NO!

Hannah: What?

Me: Nothing. Daddy made a bad joke.

Hannah: About what?

Me: Having another baby. Do you want another little brother?

Hannah: No....but a little sister might do.

Not. Going. To. Happen.