New Song Tonight

As I scraped the leftover roast from the pan tonight my kids were singing to me. A song they were quite giddy about. It went like this.

"I loooooove you Mom, I loooove you."
"I looove you tooo, Mom."

What did I do to deserve this song? I'm not quite sure. It wasn't because I volunteered in my daughter's class today because there has been some confusion so far I've only been able to help out once. I didn't really get to help because there ended up being a clueless substitute who didn't know what if anything I was supposed to be doing there.

It wasn't because my diet has been going splendidly and I'm turning into super buff mom. In fact I polished off an entire sleeve of Little Brownie Baker Thin Mint cookies this afternoon out of shear boredom. In fact if truth be told I should adjust my "loss" total in the sidebar because, well, I've gained back the only three pounds I had lost.

I spent my day having lab work done, picking up a few things from the grocery store, a bank run to square away checks so I could turn in cookie money for my Brownie. The future pilot tried to talk me into going to his favorite pizza joint but I just wasn't up for that today and by the time we contemplated on a different restaurant he had decided he would just rather go home.

I did put about eight of my daughter's favorite CD's on her iPod as well as a couple of TV shows she enjoys. That made her happy.

I carted them around while we dropped off a table for Girl Scout cookie sales tomorrow, drove another 20 minutes to deliver some cookies, back to the G.S. leader's home to pick up additional cookies ordered, over to my little brother's home to deliver cookies, and a drive-thru to get the kids a bite to eat then over the my husband's mom's to deliver a few more cookies. They were giddy when we left. Screaming shrilly actually. But happy.

Then we got home and well the singing began. This post is actually one of the hardest I've ever written and not emotionally but physically. I'm okay with it though. Because the future pilot is laying in my lap with his thumb in his mouth with Pooh Bear and Bwankie in his grasp. My favorite little girl in the world is tapping me with her toes. Touches of love I tell you--and it isn't even annoying me.

Why? Why is this pure delight for me? Well, because lately they are just seeming so grown up to me that I'm having a hard time letting them. The future pilot has announced several times in the past few days he is not my baby anymore. He is a big boy. Oh my but that is hard when I know he is my last. Yet I know it's true. I see it more everyday. I asked him today what I was going to do when he went off to Preschool next year and I was all alone on my one day off. He told me, "You can come with me!" He was totally serious. I won't be surprised if I spend my whole day up there. Look out school. Here I come!

Midnights- 6 Weeks to go...

My husband started midnights last night. He'll get two days off a week for the next six weeks. He picked Thursday and Friday. A, it makes child care cheaper, and B it means he will be home and possibly coherent for Thanksgiving. For me it means I will have to find places to shuttle the kids on the weekend so he can sleep sans rambunctious voices.

Today was round one of getting the future pilot out of the house. I had an agenda that could not be changed. I had nursery duty at church. I don't like to trick my kids but my pilot is the home body sort and given the choice he'll stay home with Daddy on Sundays. It's a major event to get him to church. I don't believe in beating my kids into Jesus' or He into them. Sometimes though I gotta be there and he has to come.

I got him showered. Major feat--he fears cleanliness. I got him in the car to "go for a ride". I know. I wasn't exactly truthful. Hey, I didn't lie. We DID "ride". Thankfully we had a time change so we were ready way ahead of time. So we headed down the road.
I asked him where we should go on our ride. Would you believe he wanted to go here?
No really. I didn't coerce him. HE wanted coffee. Me? I had the Vivanno. With Matcha. Hey, I needed to prepare for the possibility of baby duty!

So off we went. To Starbucks. People. It was decaf. It was kid temp. It was tall--which means small. If you've ever had a White Mocha with whip you know that it's more sweet that pow. I also poured most of it in his sippy cup for AFTER church. I'm not an unkind parent. I do know that teachers don't need children who are hopped up on sugar.

After we left Starbucks we had time left still. So we went to his favorite place in the world. The airport. God blessed us with not one but TWO take offs!

All from the comfort of our car while the future pilot sipped on his delectably warm beverage.
I used this time to explain to him that Mommy had to be in nursery and asked him for suggestions on what to do with him. We discussed it and he decided he should go talk to his fellow class mates about airplanes. Thank you God that this went well. We got to church and he announced he was hungry. We were there in time to go to the fellowship hall where he was able to pick out a small donut and some grapes. He sat in the nursery with me while he ate them acting very grown up. My main concern was bathroom breaks. I haven't mentioned it yet--I should have since it's so astounding to me, but the future pilot is potty trained now! He made the decision on his own and he's been great. Fabulous. I wasn't sure how he'd do in the company of strangers but he was dry when I picked him up I was ecstatic. Oh and he had a great time there. Me? We didn't have any babies. They've all graduated to the toddler class so I got to go hear the sermon. I needed that.

We had lunch at the airport. Not really the airport mind you. The restaurant near it. His favorite pizza joint. There were no cheese container licking incidents this time. He did belch really loud about four times though. THAT I do NOT know how to stop. He gets it from his father I'm sure.

Two potty breaks and some pizza crust later we were out the door. Just in time to see two more take offs!
It was a beautiful ride home. A good mommy/son day. One that I will be relishing for days. Oh and the scenery. God ROCKS!

The Day After Boo

As a kid I looked forward to Halloween and it's promise of endless candy. It also seemed as if we were allowed to stay up just a wee later so we could hit all of the houses of folks we knew. I remember beaming when they complimented us on our costumes--even the years when they were less than creative.

When I had my oldest I made the decision not to celebrate "Halloween" but the Harvest. I had my reasons. One of them being the knowledge of some "sacrificed cats" in my friend's neighborhood the year before. It was then that I realized that this day is, to some, a bit more evil. It took me a long time to get over that. I don't know why. Unfortunately it's a fact of life. There are two sides to everything--sometimes more but really just two.

Over the years I have relaxed a bit about this. After I got married and my daughter was born my husband was more excited about dressing her up than anyone I knew. He wanted to take her around and show her off. For the first few years we did Harvest parties. We don't live in a neighborhood so to speak. There are wide spaces between us. Enough that we don't really know them. Well, unless you count my mama and papa. They live right behind us. Blessings I tell ya. Blessings!

Last year we started taking the kids to my husband's mom's neighborhood. He had grown up there and still knows most everyone that lives there so it was a place we could be comfortable with. Our kids only hit about ten houses total and that was plenty for them. We had a blast.

Our first stop was my parents' house.

Ringing the bell...
Playing with Grandpa...
Notice my mom's candy basket. You have to understand the care she takes in everything she does. My kids were her ONLY trick-or-treater's and yet the basket was still adorned with a nice linen towel. Just for show.

Well shiver me timbers it's a Pirate!!!
Restless children and a headless husband...
Once home again the daughter curled up on the couch to watch the "Munsters" marathon. The pilot's favorite word became "No" so instead of snuggling up with my daughter I was off to bed with the grouchy pilot. Not all bad I tell ya. I was tired! I hope the night was safe for all of you.

Elevators

I know it's Halloween and I should do some cutsie little pumpkin pictures and some of my kids in their costumes but let's face it. It's 4:19pm, the sun is shining, and Daddy is cutting the grass. My how he loves that mower. Anyway, maybe tomorrow I'll have some delightful pictures to show you. For now? My munchkins are vegging out in front of the television--taking breaks just to ask me every 10 minutes when they are going out in search of their loot. So if that is any inkling of what is in store for me this evening I shall be too tired to blog about the 'after'. Until tomorrow.

So, elevators it is. I've been wanting to do this post for a while. I've worked in office buildings for like twenty years and I spend a lot of time thinking about elevators. Kind of funny to me too since I don't really use them much in my side of the building since we don't have them. Just three floors you know. Doesn't relegate a use for them unless you are freight--no comments on whether I might be or not. I AM trying to reduce.

So, I have some elevators thoughts for you...

1) Why can't people learn "first out THEN in" Sheesh people, if you let us OFF then there will be ROOM for you to get in.
2) Do you really need to take the elevator for ONE floor? Really?
3) Sometimes, when you are really hungry and like someone gets on with food. Do you ever hash out in your mind how long you will wait before you start fighting over it should the elevator get "stuck"?
4) Do you ever wonder, if it's just you and someone of the opposite sex on the elevator, how petrified you would be if the elevator doors decided NOT to open?
5) Do you get claustrophobic if the elevator starts to fill to capacity?
6) If you are alone on the elevator do you ever jump up and down, dance, sing, or any other thing that would clearly mortify you should the doors open quicker than you anticipate?

Just a few of my thoughts. (Should you still be reading)

Mmmrou-w

So my little sis and I haven't been communicating a whole lot lately. I'm to blame. I've been the lazy sort and haven't been calling or writing with updates. Oh and I even did the unthinkable and forgot my nephew's birthday! Of course she showed me what she thought by sending my daughter's present early. Oh my. I so can not make up for that. I will be trying though.

Anyway, she sends me a response to a response that I sent to her very first note in a while. At this point things were numbered because I write jumbly confusing stuff and she has to try harder to sort it all out and be proactive in answering everything. (I do this so it takes her longer to write back because if it takes her a long time to write back then it looks like she is remiss in writing and that makes me think it makes up for me being so lame.) Anway, among her items is this.

5. Wow! RC is still alive. I had pretty much convinced myself that he was dead. Is that morbid or what? I figured since he's never on your blog, he was in kitty heaven. I was afraid to ask because I didn't want you to have to tell me. I thought he'd probably been hit, or eaten by a fox, or had pee peed on Tony's uniform again and gotten the wacked. Do you see how my mind just races out of control on me? I'm totally psycho.

RC is her son's cat. When they moved across the pond they couldn't take him with them. Well they could have if they were made of money. Which is not the case. We are simple folk. Her cat has done some stuff that was dangerous to his health. Like peeing on our carpet. Oh and peeing on my husband's uniforms. Once I thought he had pee'd in my Crocs but found out later it was not cat pee but water--compliments of the future pilot. My but that was a disgusting feeling putting my socked foot in a croc full of water thinking it was cat pee at 5am.

Anyway...

She thinks...

I would...

kill her cat...

or get rid of him...

and NOT tell her?

Wow, things have gone strangely wrong.

So without further ado I post these.
Look at him. Can't you just imagine him talking, "I can pee and I know where to put it."

I mean really. I might let my dog do this...
I mean really. YOU'd let your dog bite your sister's cat's neck wouldn't you?
And his ear. Right?
I mean really. He's a big boy and he can take care of himself.
Seriously sis. Dora and RC LOVE each other. Just like any good brother and sister should. I promise. And even if your son's cat DID have the audasity to hang out in my husband's underwear while he was um...indisposed on the toilet...and WHILE he was still WEARING them. (Uh yes we have a picture to prove it but this is a rated 'G' website). We wouldn't let anything happen to him. He's part of the family now.

So like I said to you in my note, just send that boy of your's back anytime. RC's here waiting to be loved on. Oh and maybe he could use a little time away from Dora. :)

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I think the title says it all. I feel like I'm flat-lining. Not in real life mind you. Heck I'm ONLY 40--and you KNOW what they are saying? "60 is the new 40!" Hey I'm running with that. Gives me twenty more years to get my weak tired body in shape to NOT look my age.

Dang it. Where was I going with this again? Oh yea, flat-lining. In the blog world. I have been reading a lot of them this weekend. That always seems to happen when I am supposed to be doing something ELSE on my computer. Have I mentioned lately how much I REALLY hate school? I mean I actually know people who are excited about learning. Ecstatic to be able to say to their friends, "Oh, I just enrolled in the most interesting course!" Pushaw. WHATEVER! Me? I do not like it one bit. Not one bit Sam I am. So I sneak into other people's lives when my family thinks I am concentrating on school work. Hey. Don't judge. I'm 40 and you should be more respectful of your elders.

I was driving down the road yesterday and thought, "Dang it! I should have grabbed my camera! I could have blogged some great pictures!" We were heading down the road to go to a birthday party for one of my daughter's friends. So showering, scrambling to find a big enough gift bag, and convincing the future pilot that he must eject now and get moving to MY cockpit (van), took precedence over the thought of getting the camera. So no camera.

Today I arose early to try and get the dog walked, the kids dressed, the dog crated, and squeeze in a run to Starbucks before we had to be at a nearby grocery store to pedal yet more cookies. So again, I can not share the beautiful picture that God painted before me as we passed the evolving golf course with it's shimmering frosted grass. I wouldn't worry too much though because I would maybe have been tempted to share the sights my children were most enthused about. They kind of have a curiosity of dead things. They don't rejoice in it mind you. They just as a gazillion questions about how it got there.

The day goes by fast. School certainly leaves me with less free time. I don't like to waste my favorite season being trapped by homework but I promised the boss so, well, I gotta follow through. It does leave me searching my soul again though. I won't get much in raises now I'm told. I've maxed out where I am. I just wonder if it's worth it to me to struggle through these classes when my husband tells me he's moving us to a slower pace of life in a few years. A place where I might not be tempted to buy so much. A place where I won't feel like I have to keep up with the Jones's of Smartdom.

After all, my kids would rather know me as a less than spastic mom who has time to play with them. I also think my husband would like to be able wear a shirt that isn't wrinkled because I barely have time to get the laundry done. Sorry honey. Honest, I'm trying.

So, maybe tomorrow. Since the paper is done now. Done and turned in. Until the next assignment. Maybe tomorrow I'll take some really cool earth shattering photographs. Maybe. We'll see.

Recession? What recession?

Move over London Eye. I saw an article in our paper this week and you can read about the subject here and here. It seems New Jersey is getting a humondo ferris wheel of it's own. Along with an indoor ski slope, martini bar, skydiving simulation, etc.

I find myself asking, "Who is going to have the money for all of this?" "Don't we have people worrying about having secure jobs?" "Aren't the food banks dwindling?" Call me crazy but WOW. I'm well, without any further words.