"I a Mean Old Witch"

This is the sound filling our house these days. It's a cute little number and quite in the season. But it is so damn funny to hear Nicole singing it. It sort of reminds me of the grinch song but she does it with her not quite formed words and sings her hearts content out over it each time. The lyrics come out a bit different each time but overall it's the same story...

"I'm a mean old witch with a hat
And I ride on my broom with a cat
I have pointy shoes
And my chin does too
I'm a mean old witch with a hat
And you better watch out 'cause I might scare you
I'm a mean old witch, BOO!"

She loves the Boo, even more so if you jump a little after it. Of course when she sings it, the "I'm" is dropped to just "I" and each time she sings it, she giggles every time and listening to her do it that way makes me giggle too. There are even little hand signs that she does with it. I figured she learned it at school/daycare. But it turns out when I was at Aimee's school on Thursday for their Halloween party and they sang this song. So it turns out Aimee actually taught it to Nicole. So it's even more funny that Nicole makes it her own. So when she gets into the Pre-K class in two years that Aimee goes to now, she will be that much ahead of the game.

Of course we are still the family that sings Christmas Carols in the summer because we know all the words.

Why I Hate Molars

With the move to the new house, I was concerned that our bedroom would be a considerable distance from the girls' rooms. Before we have always been about 3 steps from either of them during the night. Turns out, however, that they have no issues with getting out of their bed and finding me in mine. I will also admit that Gary now has the side closest to the door so after 4 years of being the one who gets out of bed for any issues, it's now his turn since he is closer.

Anyway, last night or realistically early this morning since a glance at the clock told me it was 1:45AM, I rolled to the side of bed to see Nicole standing there with her cute pout and asking "uppy". So I pulled her into bed with us and she normally will just cuddle in entwining herself into me and snuggle there until morning. However, this time she decided that she needed to thrash around a bit and toss and turn. Suffice to say I got about 5 hours sleep before the alarm went off at 5AM this morning alerting me to get up and out of the house. But at about 3:00 I had the bright idea to ask her why she couldn't sleep. She looked at me, rubbed her jaw and say "my mouth hurts". DUH. Her 2 year molars are coming in. My kids have been notoriously slow at getting their teeth so she only has one partially in so the others must be right behind it. So I meandered downstairs at 3AM, grabbed the children's Tylenol and poured the 1 tsp. dose. Brought it back upstairs, gave it to my groggy toddler and she tossed and turned about another 1/2 hour and then she was out. Mother of the year, right here.

It's funny that we spend so long not really knowing what is troubling our children. They don't communicate well for a while. But you would think that as a mother I would know that the kid who knows whether she wants a bagel or waffle for breakfast and either butter or cream cheese on her bagel would also be able to tell me that her mouth hurts. But she didn't offer so I didn't ask. I did all the other check list items. No fever, no runny nose, no coughing, no monsters in the bedroom, etc. but the simple task of just asking her what was wrong, oh no, far too difficult.

I don't know why I have to make things difficult for myself, it must be the whole love of a challenge thing.

Hiatus

Yes, I have been on a hiatus. I assure you it was not intentional, it was coincidental with a lot going on in our lives. It's been a busy fall so far as we have been adjusting to our new schedule after summer. Our biggest news is that we moved into a new house which really took up the majority of our time. So we no longer live next to Nana and Papa but we now live less than 1.5 miles down the street. I have found it is not nearly as convenient as being next door but that's life. Plus with us vacating the house we were in for the past 4-1/2 years it left the door open (literally) for my brother and sister in law to come to town. So they too participated in the dreaded moving activity. So on October 3rd, with torrential downpours, we had our hired movers take our heavier belongings and bring them to our new house. Then it took us about two more weeks to get the rest of our crap out of the old house. Then my brother and sister in law painted and prepped the house for their arrival which just happened over the weekend with a Uhaul rental and many hours of manpower and oh by the way did I mention that my brother also broke his foot and was not able to help at all? Yes a whole different post I suppose but suffice to say he broke it and the guy who owns a truck and has moved everyone he knows at one point in his life was left incapacitated to move himself. But his actions were paid forward and the dozens he had helped did return the favor and they got moved in. So now everyone has moved. It was like a giant game of chess involving packing tape, boxes and paint.

We are starting to settle in and find the idiosyncrasies of our new house. It is a beauty of a house too and we pretty much stole it away from the previous owners. They are going through a very nasty divorce and had to unload it quickly. Truth be told we have heard more than our share of stories about how terrible they were to each other in those final weeks even after he had moved out. But, their misfortune was our gain and we are finding we have more storage than we will (hopefully) ever need as well as more hard wood to sweep than I care to think about. I love the house, the kitchen is to die for and everything in it is top of the line. Though what we are finding is that with top of the line items, come top of the line price tags.

First they took the speakers out of the wall that went with their surround sound. It was an exclusion in the purchase and sale so it didn't exactly take us by surprise. But now I have four little holes with speaker wires sticking out that need a home. We researched the systems out there and for a mere $4K we could have their exact system put back into the house. Um no, I would rather eat for a year or send my kid to daycare for 5 months thank you very much.

Next they took the fridge. Okay again it was an exclusion in our purchase and sale but I didn't think she would actually take it because they were both renting (in different locations obviously) and don't rentals usually come with a fridge? Anyway, the fridge was gone and we needed a new one. So we went to scratch and dent central in Braintree which I love and found the most beautiful black double door top with freezer drawer bottom fridge. We love it except that it sounds like small freight train coming into the station when the compressor kicks on. So of course it is under warranty and the appliance pros will be coming out this week to look at it.

Lastly, the cooktop. It's such a different idea to have a cooktop separate from the oven. A foreign concept to me but apparently a very popular idea since we have now seen them sold everywhere. Why you ask? Oh because the previous owner broke the glass on the top of the cooktop apparently sometime between the home inspection and the closing. (Biotch) So while the burners still work the owners manual highly discourages using these broken burners because boil overs or spillage could result in ruining the entire range. So we have researched our options on replacement cooktops. For a mere $800 we could have a new Jenn Aire stove top. Um no. That is about 4 months of preschool tuition or a month and a half of daycare. So again, the appliance pros can come out and insert a new glass top if only we can now just figure out where the alleged sticker is on this unit where the model and serial number reside.

So the lesson learned is that top of the line appliances cost you much more when they break. The end.

Do Over

I love the fall, I really do. Apple picking, cider, pumpkins, Halloween and all of the coolness that goes with it. But I don't like September. Never have. Even on the years when there was no "back to school" for me I still have not been won over by this month. Some of my favorite people have been born in September in the realm of sister in law and nieces but I still just can't get into it.

The first few weeks are the hardest. I always feel like I need a "do over" of the summer. It is like a switch is flipped on August 31st and suddenly it's fall, leaves are starting to scatter and the mornings are in the low 50s. How does it happen so fast? I get nostalgic wondering where the 4th of July went and could I have spent any more time at the beach?

It's a bit sad too knowing that each September marks another year closer to Kindergarten for Aimee and eventually Nicole. Unfortunately we're down to one more year. One more year and my little baby will be going to Kindergarten. The public school system, big kids, no more all day mom and kid days (okay well sick days notwithstanding). Sure Nicole will still be with me for a few more years but Aimee is stepping into the big kid section and I just think that life moves too fast. I can't keep up and it's getting to me. I need another month of summer, some more 90 degree days and less school buses on the road. I want a "do over". I want another summer. June was raining and July wasn't a whole lot better. August shaped up nicely. I want a longer August, at least this last summer because really, when next summer rolls around that will really be it and I type this with a mist to my eyes, how will I ever get over it next year?

It's funny. Some things in life you just can't tell people, you really have to experience it on your own. I liken having kids to planning your wedding. You don't really want to listen to people who have been there before you before you have your own. People told me to try to hold on, to remember the little things and I think I have done my lion's share of it. But still, I don't have any more babies, I have little girls. Cute little, dress up wearing, bear hug sharing, light of my life little girls and part of me just can't get over it. The other part still vaguely remembers the sleepless nights of infancy (it's not a far stretch since I still have the world's most terrible sleepers) the breastfeeding and ugh, the pumping. But everything else, it's going too fast. So I am digging in my heels and trying to go slower.

I see London I see France...someone's wearing underpants

Yes, it's true suddenly and with no pressure or prompting from me, Nicole has decided to make her attempt at potty training. She started with wanting to wear big girl underpants a few weeks ago. A couple of puddles and rug cleanings later and she finally figured out she should pee in the toilet accompanied by the trusty Elmo themed seat. She has a whole routine. She gets her step stool in the bathroom, takes it into the hallway, puts on the light and brings the step stool back to the bathroom and puts in her Elmo seat into the big seat. She then proceeds to get naked. I don't know why this is a necessary step. Aimee needed to do this too, so perhaps it's part of the toddler mindset that naked = peeing in the toilet. Whatever the need, I am not questioning it since it seems to be working.

Our reward of course is M&Ms. I tried a sticker chart with Aimee and she was not impressed so of course I went all out with M&Ms and it worked like a charm. Now Nicole must have had some memory of this or perhaps it was her sisters questions of rewards for deposits in the toilet met with the yummy little treat of chocolate. Whatever the reason, M&Ms are the chosen reward for successful potty trips and my itty bitty Nicole has probably eaten her weight in them the past few days. Because just one M&M is not enough of a reward, we need at least 2 for peeps and 3 for poops. Again, not questioning just going with it.

So we have spent the past two days pretty much home bound. More because the weather has been so gross and humid but it did definately help with the successful potty usage. So much so that when the girls were next door visiting my parents, Nicole even christened their toilets with her little bum. My mother was so impressed she promised to take Nicole shopping tomorrow to pick out her favorite character decorated big girl underpants.

We are still in diapers/pull ups overnight, though this is more my issue because she would wear just her underpants but we have yet to get up in the AM with a dry diaper so I know we are not ready for that step. But in just three days we have made leaps and bounds into the potty training terrain. I will again pull the no help from me card in that I did in no way initiate this potty training but I sure as hell encouraged it when the interest was there. So here's to almost being out of diapers. Another $10 a week I can put in the bank instead of investing in Pampers, Huggies or Luvs. Though I am sure I will find another way of spending it instead of depositing it in the bank.

Bugs, bites and burns...oh my!

Well, it did finally happen. The summer arrived. True, it arrived a bit later than we all expected but maybe it will stick around until later September and give us an extension we've been looking for. Unfortunately with all the rain that came this late spring into early summer we have been dealing with a deluge of bug bites. I have tried to cover every square inch of my girls with a friendly, skintastic OFF! but there still manages to be a few bites here and there.

I was very upset a few weeks ago when from a walk from the house to the car on the way to daycare, I noticed a slight bite on Aimee's right knee. I put some hydro cortisone cream on it and sent her to daycare with some Benedryl just in case. When she arrived home 8 hours later, the little bite was the size of a half dollar, warm to the touch and all around swollen. I called the DR and asked what to do since this was all new to me. Apparently sometimes kids go from having a small reaction to a bigger reaction to bug bites and so long as there was no associated fever (which they said I would have to bring her in for immediately which scared me to death) just to apply the 1% hydro cortisone cream and give Benedryl to reduce the swelling. The poor kid was almost comatose for 24 hours from her every 6 hour dose of Benedryl. But it did work and that little pink liquid is my new best friend.

Also with the summer weather now here we have been to the beach even more than before and we are loving it. The low tide brings the warmer tidal pools that keeps Nicole entertained for house with pruned feet to add to it. She just has a blast sitting in the little pool while I have to shove the amount of germs floating around in the pool out of my mind. Last week however, while applying sunscreen to Aimee, I missed a spot. In my defense it wasn't a spot I had thought about and in future will be sure to get to it. You see after playing in the water, sand and surf, the bathing suit naturally rides up. Despite my efforts to slather that Coppertone SPF 50 in the pink bottle all over them, I missed just a sliver under the bathing suit that gets exposed when a wedgie is created. As an adult I need to remove the wedge ASAP but apparently this does not present itself as a discomfort to 4 year olds. Nicole has a swim diaper that stays in place well and keeps the bathing suit there too. But poor Aimee had a sliver of a burn on her derriere from my rookie mistake. So take note moms, once the kids are potty trained and no longer wearing the swim diapers, apply the sunscreen even to spots under the suit where it could ride up or shift to avoid this unpleasantness.

Sleeping Arrangements

The girls in the family (including me) seem to have developed a nice summer cold complete with sneezing, coughing and post nasal drip at night. I think it may also be a touch of allergies too as many symptoms disappear during the day but come back like gang busters at night. So as with any stage in the life of a child, we are having sleep issues.

First off Aimee. For some reason she just can't fall asleep as easily at night as she once did. She begs me to sit in her chair next to her bed until she falls asleep. I did do this for quite a while but I finally realized that if she wakes up at night in her slumber state does not see me sitting there as I was when she fell asleep, she calls for me at the 2AM hour. So I firmly give the speech of she is a big girl and doesn't need mom sitting next to her at night. The result is a 9PM fall asleep time. She has also recently decided that she no longer wanted her bed rail on. Since she got her big girl twin bed two years ago, she has had this rail to keep her into the bed at night when she would go perpendicular across the bed. But on Sunday night she just looked at me and said "I don't want this rail on it anymore" and that was it. I wasn't sure how we would eventually get rid of it so once again my parenting is more about following her lead than creating one on my own.

Now Nicole has had the post nasal drip cough. And as many of us realize with this cough is that it really only wakes you when you aren't fully asleep. So just about that time in slumber when you roll over to reposition or take a look at the clock, Nicole has started to wake up calling for me. Normally I would let her cry a bit and hope she would settle back down. Sometimes I will go in and check to make sure things are okay. But this latest cry is an all out "I need you cry" so I think that she actually wakes up a while before she starts to call for me and just can't get herself back to sleep. So I go in, take her from her little toddler bed and bring her into our bed. Magically the coughing stops. I don't know if it is from the incline of her head now safely resting on my arm or just the comfort of mommy's bed. But she snuggles in and goes to sleep until it's time to get up. I hate to say it but I don't mind too much. She snuggles and sleeps with me whereas anytime Aimee is in bed with me I get a kick or two that would wake the dead. Nicole on the other hand is so little and petite that she just burrows next to me and gives me a big smile, closes her eyes and sighs off to dreamland.

Next up, a new house. We are moving on September 5th to a new house and I am not sure how our arrangements are going to change. We are going to have 4 bedrooms and the master bedroom is a suite that is a bit of a walk from their rooms. So I am already having some angst about how to prepare them for the move, how the first few nights in a new house and bedroom will be. And I am already brushing away a few tears knowing that we are leaving a house so full of memories from my own childhood as well as from the first few years of their lives. Plus we're moving away from Nana and Papa. Granted we're only moving a mile and a half away and in doing so, we are allowing our favorite aunt and uncle (my brother and his wife also known as Freddy and Tee Tee) to move out of their current apartment and into this house to create their own memories and live next to Nana and Papa and hopefully have some kids of their own.

More sleeping arrangements to come....

In the blink of an eye

I know, it's been a while since I posted here last. I have been enjoying the wonderful summer weather with the girls and trying to unplug at night and do captivating things like read. Gasp! Work has also been crazy busy too and my usual 24 hours have been bumped up to 30 hours at least each week as I try to navigate my way through a very large project.

In amongst all the summer and work activities, a little thing happened right around July 26th. My "baby" turned 4. I can't believe it, 4 already. I have memories in my life from when I was 4, so it's crazy to me that we are doing things now that she will remember for a lifetime. Also amazing to me is the fact that just about 4 years ago I was sitting on the couch with a newborn baby on my lap, nursing away. That little baby looked like this:

And now I have a 4 year old that loves to talk endlessly to me every day. She ponders the big questions like "do I have to take a school bus to kindergarten?" and she loves with more of her being than I would have thought a little girl could. Here she is from a recent trip to the beach.

I can still see traces of that little baby in her smiling face here. Happy birthday little girl. A little bit late but you will realize that we Schaffers do things on our own standard of time. I love you!

I can see clearly now...

Has is really been that long since I posted? My goodness time has been a flying lately. We made it through the rain and it's been nice to actually have some time outside. I hate to be one to complain about weather, really I do since I love living in New England and it's worth it to have all the changes in the season. But really, one more day of rain and low 60's temperatures and I was going to have to look into some seasonal disorder therapy.

I have been trying lately to be more "unplugged" too. I find that I have a desire to check e-mail 24/7 and keep up with all of my Internet friends endlessly. Facebook in and of itself while it has been an awesome tool for keeping up with long lost friends would easily suck 3 hours out of my night in the blink of an eye. So I have been (gasp!) reading again at night after supper and not even watching TV. It's been good to finally get to read some recommendations different friends have given me.

I have to admit that I have been loving the weather lately too. I do of course love the dog days of summer but give me 70's during the day and low 60's at night to sleep and it's the best combination that I could hope for.

The girls were really at the ends of their proverbial ropes too. It made my parenting so much more challenging than it usually is and took my voice a few octaves and decibels higher than it usually is. Listening was just not in the cards for the girls and trying to find activities that were not already over laden with kids and parents trying to do the same weather avoidance activities really was tough. We had lots of playdates, stomping in the rain, storytimes and visits to the mall with our Nana. Sometimes there was the occasional (okay everyday) temper tantrum from Nicole who really is starting to show just how terrible 2 can be. We have also abandoned naps recently too for my little 'Colie (as Aimee calls her) and it's been great for going to bed no sweat but not so great for the hour between supper and bed. Time out was a regular occurrence.

And then, the sun came out. The moods improved and it seemed as though everything literally fell into place for the summer. We have been to the beach, played a ton in the yard, taken walks up the hill next to our house and pulled out just about every bright colored massive plastic toy from the garage that we own. It's been heaven.

Fingers crossed that it keeps up because lately it has just been too good to be true! And loyal reader(s) I promise to check in more frequently because I know you all love keeping up with us Schaffer family as any other newsworthy Internet reading out there!

Tiny Dancer

It was an exciting school year for us. Aimee started preschool and went to a nursery school down the street from us. I may have mentioned that it is the same one I went to a million years ago. Okay, not really a million, but over 30 anyway. She loved it and it was such a proud time for Gary and I as parents to see her grow and flourish. From day one when she knew no one else in the class to the middle of the year when she could tell me all of the kids in the class. She learned to write her name and never was I more sure of her name when she mastered it two "e's" and all. We get it backwards every once in a while but for the most part she can tell when she has done it backwards and when it is correct. Sometimes I wonder if she does it just to test me. School ended last week and she will be headed to pre-K in the fall.

She also kept very busy with her extracurricular activities which this year included dancing. It was here in dancing that she learned her left and her right. Her dancing teacher, a sweetheart of a woman named Katelyn taught them that "Lenny" is left and "Ralph" is right. I know this will be one of the things that Aimee will never forget how she learned. I took dancing once upon a time, I even have a picture of me from my first recital when I was her age. I was never a serious dancer and gave it up in about the 5th or 6th grade, but still it was something to get her into and she loved it. Every Friday at 4PM, Nicole and I would bring Aimee in her leotard and tights with dancing shoes and drop her off (another first) for a full hour of ballet, tap and acrobats. Nicole so wanted to go in each week and dance with her, but the school rules state that all dancers must be at least 3 to start so she still has another year before she can don the leotard and tights.

But like everything else in the school year now that June has arrived, dancing has ended but before it did, we had a recital. Now, when I spend all day with the kids, they do get out of control and I feel as though my day is spent more as referee rather than mother. They act out at me and each other and I sometimes forget that they are still just so little. Never was this more apparent than when I saw my baby on stage in her little tu-tu and hair pulled back tight looking so grown up but still so small. It was all I could do not to cry like a baby seeing her coming out onto the stage. I will admit to shedding a tear but at least I didn't bawl which was my first instinct.

I know that the lyrics don't quite match the post but my little ballerina and the picture of her here will always be with me, my tiny dancer.

Open Hearts

If you follow me on Twitter you have been seeing my updates posts on my father. He had open heart surgery on May 15th to replace his aortic valve which had started to leak and was sending him into congestive heart failure. Luckily we have never really faced big surgeries in my family so this was a whole new experience for us. He made it through well and though there have been some bumps in the road he came home from the hospital yesterday feeling much better than he went in but still with a 3 month recovery road ahead of him. He has a cool red heart pillow that he needs to hug when he feels the need to cough, sneeze or laugh to keep his breast plate in place and continue the healing.

The experience has been an interesting one for me. It has been tougher than I would imagine to try and balance work, kids, parents and wife duties all at once. My mother doesn't drive in Boston so my older brother and I were in charge of getting her to the hospital each day to visit because that is where she wanted and felt she needed to be.

It was tough on my girls because they couldn't see their beloved Papa every day as they love to nor could they see their equally as important Nana because she was keeping such long hours at the hospital and often left before the kids got up and came home after they were in bed. Similarly, I was also not always there for bed time or morning wakings due to my efforts in trying to get my mother to and from Boston. Thankfully Gary took on a lot of the extra nighttime activities and morning routines to help me feel less guilty about the lack of home time.

But the whole experience made me wonder if mothers ever give themselves enough credit for all the way they extend themselves. My mother who showed incredible strength and grace having to wait to hear about my father and his progress during his surgery; seeing him just post-op with his intubation and central line. And the unconditional love she has showed for him to stay with him in his hospital room for 8 to sometimes 12 hours each day for almost 2 weeks. Yet she took no credit for this as it was just part of what she had to do. Amazing. I hope I have half as much as the courage she has shown.

Big Girl Bed

We have officially and with a hint of sadness taken down the crib. I say "the" crib but it was really one of two for we were at one time a two crib family with the girls so close in age. But it was Nicole's turn to make the transition into a big girl bed last weekend. I hesitated to post about it in case we had to turn around and re-assemble the crib so that she could go back, but really why go back??

It started last Sunday when Gary went to work super early to catch up on things and the girls and I were left alone to eat breakfast and generally do our thing together. Aimee came running out of Nicole's room to tell me that the crib had broken. When asked what had precipitated this breaking, Aimee of course quickly told me that it just broke "by itself." That is toddler speak for "I broke it but I am not going to admit it to you". So after some coaxing and promising that no time outs would be handed down she did admit that she may have stepped on the bottom of the front rail to perhaps try and reach in to get something out of the crib for Nicole when the railing fell apart. We have had our share of issues with this crib because of the older child tendency to stand on things. While I don't think it should have become unglued with her 38 pounds I do have some leniency because I don't know the weight limits on these things.

Nevertheless, the rail was in need of repair and gluing and Nicole could navigate out of the crib anyway so I decided to resurrect the toddler bed and bring it up for her to make the transition. At this point she was napping on the floor in her sleeping bag both at daycare and at home so I didn't think it would be a tough transition. Luckily it was not. We went to Walmart later that day and she picked out a new blanket and pillowcase for her bed and away we went to go home and make it up. Okay, it really only needed a sheet change since it's still a crib mattress, but still, big changes here.

The first night she had a hard time going to sleep because in my infinite wisdom I put the toddler bed with it's head towards the corner for safety but it was a polar opposite of where she had put her head down for the past two years. So we straightened that out and she did eventually fall asleep. But, she woke up at 2AM all confused as to where she was, etc. and I brought her into bed with us. The next night I did hear a whimper but no more that we would have normally heard from slumber in a crib. And then that was it. We still have some random wake ups here and there but so far so good 6 nights in a row of sleeping in her big girl bed.

We were very nervous about this because it was a terrible time getting Aimee to sleep in this same big girl bed. We did the jack in the box thing where we kept walking her back to her bed over and over and over and over for about a month. It was never ending and resulted in a lot of sleepless nights. But, she was younger at about 22 months when she decided to swan dive out of her crib never to sleep in it again. Nicole is so much more mature at 28 months and all.

I have to say I am impressed with her. We baby proofed her room but I still have thoughts of her scaling up the wall with her agility. Last night I put her into bed after a long mother's day and she went down fairly easily and I checked on her an hour later, she was completely passed out under the covers with one little shoed foot sticking up. Yes, the little stinker had gotten out of bed, put on her beach/swim shoes and fallen alseep. Probably dreaming of summertime fun. I didn't put them on her prior to bed, so obviously she doesn't quite go right to sleep when I walk out but at least she didn't come running out of the room either.

I will also admit that there was a brief moment of sadness to realize that I don't have the need for a crib any longer. We've had a crib up and assembled for almost 4 years now. I can't believe how fast it is all going by.

Roughing it

I think enough of you have heard that we live in a house built by my grandparents and inherited by my parents. It's conveniently next door to my parents and while I was younger a great escape from my house and now heading the opposite way to my parents house is a great treat for my girls.

It's been great living here but for the past four years of being here I have always slept with one ear alert for the crapping out of our furnace. It's the original heating system down there in the basement and we've had our shares of repairs to it in the past few winters. Always minor ones that kept it going but not so much of an investment not to do it. Then on Wednesday night I was downstairs doing laundry and I saw a puddle on the floor beneath it. At first I thought it was oil since we have an oil fired system. So I dragged Gary down in the 3rd period of the Bruins playoff game to look at the oil spill. It was only when he was down there with me that I realized it wasn't smelly like oil and I looked closer and realized there was water pooling on the floor near the furnace. Strange for sure because it's not how I thought it would go.

So at 9:30PM on a Wednesday night a week before my father has major surgery I didn't know who to tell or call, etc. It ended up that my cousin who is a plumber came over, isolated the problem area to stop the leak and we resigned ourselves to the fact that a new furnace was needed and cold showers were to follow until a plan was in place.

Since I grew up in a household of "do it yourselfers" and my husband would rather pay someone to do things he doesn't know how to do, there is always a differing of opinions on how to approach things. Luckily he handed over the reigns on this one and let my family handle it. So my brother called in a few favors from friends and we were delivered a beautiful new furnace yesterday and it was installed by aforementioned plumber cousin. And of course on this humid May day we had to test the furnace to make sure it was working by turning on the heat. So we are now with every window open and fan available to try to take it under 80 degrees in here.

Surprisingly with this little mishap I realized that in the summer months I could probably go without a furnace if the sole purpose was to take showers. I could even save a significant amount of money doing it. I simply microwaved some bowls of water and put them into a large pan on the stove. Heated it up to lukewarm and headed to the shower. I used the cold water to wet down my hair and soap up the necessary areas and then took the cold water as long as I could. I then turned off the cold water and used the girls' watering container that we rinse them with to get all the soap off. Granted this wasn't ideal but I was very impressed that we were able to get the job done with showering here and not having to do much out of house showering. Sure I went Thursday to the gym and Gary had had enough this morning and showered at the gym as well. But I am pretty impressed at how we were "roughing it" the past few days. Now I have to turn on my dishwasher because as luck would have it, we ran it on Wednesday morning before the furnace bit it and we were able to stretch it a bit with the dishes the past few days.

Oh, and I also need to bathe my kids.....I suppose I shouldn't give myself too much credit for this after all since they have been sponge bathed for the past three days. Unless you count Nicole's swim lesson this morning where she got a hosing down after the pool and Aimee got her hair cut today so at least her hair is clean from the salon. I guess I am not as rough as I would like to think!

Enchanted

My kids have become obsessed with the movie Enchanted. It is a really cute movie and to be honest I think that Disney hardly ever misses with giving enough involvement for kids and some subtle humor for adults forced to watch it. With McDreamy as it's star along with Amy Adams it is a really fun flick to watch.....once, maybe twice. My kids ask for this movie incessantly and with our busy schedule we really don't have a lot of time to devote to watching an entire movie all that often. So I have seen it in bits and pieces over and over again. Though like any Disney movie there is a point that is a bit scary with an evil queen who turns herself into a big dragon type creature. We can't always look through that entire part and not to spoil anything, but like all Disney movies the kiss of a true love saves all.

I even recommended it to a friend of mine and they borrowed it from the library. However when it was time to bring it back to the library her daughter, who is 2 just like Nicole, yelled at the top of her lungs in the library (always a quiet place) "But I love the princess!!!" and carried on about how much she loved the movie. So apparently we are in good company with our love of Enchanted.

I have tried to put another movie into the DVD player but my success has been limited. They also have an unfortunate affinity for Caillou. Nothing annoys me more than 30 minutes of Caillou. It is amazing to me that they sit through it for 1/2 hour and the only time I tend to put it on is on Friday mornings when I need to take a shower because I am lucky enough that it is available through Comcast On Demand and I don't actually have to sift through listings to find it and coordinate schedules. So that is nice.

But if in your spare time you are looking for a nice little love story for about 90 minutes I do recommend you take the time to watch Enchanted once. Twice maybe if you miss some of the innuendos but I would advise stopping there. Though rumor has it when the actors signed on to the movie it was in the contract for a second flick -- sort of a continuation of the lives of the people so perhaps in the upcoming months there will be a new sort of enchantment to follow.

$60.82

A strange number up there isn't it? You could probably buy a lot with that amount of money if you were a savvy shopper. Maybe a new summer outfit. Or just two new pairs (maybe three on a sale) of new summer sandals. It could buy me approximately 6 packs of size 4 diapers in the mega or 40 count variety. I could probably splurge and go out to a really nice dinner with the kids and order drinks, appetizers, main meal and desserts. Of course it wouldn't buy dinner for Gary and I at a regular adult restaurant. Interesting what all of the possibilities would bring.

Instead, that $60.82 represents a final payment, due May 21st for my student loans. It will buy me freedom from almost 11 years of repayment of my Stafford loans from my undergraduate education and the University of Rhode Island. The payments weren't always this small granted but after all the payments have been totalled, interest figured out and applied, this is the last lingering bit of loan that I have to pay.

Strangely enough I didn't rack up any student loans for my masters degree. It was paid 75% by my company while I worked full time so I was able to swing the additional 25% on my own. Of course that was before Gary (well I met him during the last class for my degree), before kids and before my life really seemed to have started. Incidentally though, I do feel like it aged me more than having kids because sleep then was just as scarce as it is now with the late nights it brought on. Nonetheless, it has been paid for since 2003 when I got my masters degree.

But in May 1997, when I received my bachelors degree after 5 years with my eyes on that prize I didn't even fathom how liberating it would be to be done with student loan payments since I hadn't even started them yet and was in a grace period until January 1998. So here I am over 11 years later and I am finally in the home stretch. So here is to May 21st and $60.82, it's almost over baby!

They're back!

It's been a busy and exciting time over here in our household. I picked my parents up at the airport last Friday and checked out the new cell phone lot at the airport. Well, I don't really know that it is new seeing as how I haven't been to Logan Airport to pick someone up in ages. But right across the street from the Hyatt there is a little lot where you can park for up to 30 minutes with your car shut off (it's against the law to let your car idle for more than 5 minutes when parked) and talk to your incoming party on your cell phone as they update when they have collected their bags and are waiting by road at their terminal. It was way better than doing victory laps around the airport and fearing that I will take a wrong turn and end up in Revere or someplace unrecognizable in East Boston. I may work near the big City but there are only so many places I am comfortable with getting to.

So we headed home and Gary had picked up Aimee from her dancing lessons (which she has decided he needs to do more often) and had pizzas and salads waiting for us when we got home. It was so nice to see my girls excited to see them and climbing all over their Nana and Papa. Of course mom and dad had to take a back seat and were not allowed to assist with putting on of pjs, teeth brushing and the like when the bedtime hour approached. On Saturday we went to do errands with my mom and I realized how nice it is to once again have someone adult to talk to while shuttling around and how easy it is to run in and out of stores when someone stays in the car with the girls. My kids are pretty well behaved and listen fairly well to me so I don't mind taking them to stores but I know their limits too and realize when it's better to just run in and out of the store. Luckily with my mom back I was able to get a ton done despite all the rain.

Since they have been home though my dad has been complaining of his belly feeling fluid filled and that some days he has a hard time walking without getting winded. He had an appointment for an EKG on Tuesday and the results revealed that his aortic valve is not functioning properly so he will need to have it replaced. At first we were thinking it could be a quick surgery without having to open up his chest plate but it turns out that he will actually need the more involved one because of his age (a young 74) and because they can see with their eyes what is going on rather than relying on cameras and potential blind spots that can be problematic. We don't have a surgery date yet but I will fill you in when we do. So if you have any extra prayers that you were thinking of making, we'll take a few from you.

Counting Down

Today is April 1st and it's no fools that my parents come home on April 10th. So we're in countdown mode to when Nana and Papa come back to see us all. It's been a tough two months for sure because my parents are a good diversion to the everyday stuff that I apparently put my children through. It's been interesting to talk to the girls about where Nana and Papa (and now Freddy and Tee Tee - my brother and sister in law who are at my parent's house in Florida) have been. They realize that they are not in their blue house next door but aren't really sure where Florida is located. In some of their cuter moments they will pack some toys into a bag, sling it over their shoulder, put on a pair of their dress up shoes and tell me they will be back because they are going to Flor-da. Too funny.

Speaking of packing bags, I think I have on my hands two pack rats. I have found random blocks, play kitchen food, socks, you name it in the multitude of pocketbooks that we have around the house. I am not sure what drives this but it is interesting that both of my kids do this. I am not sure if it is because Aimee has always had a love of pocketbooks and things contained in them and Nicole is just following in her usual admiration of all things her big sister does. Or perhaps it is just a toddler/preschooler thing to do. In any event, they are sure to be ready for next year when we are definitely going to Flor-da to visit because their bags are already self-packed.

Ten...nine....eight....seven......

Breaking the law

This past weekend I had a great time at a bi-annual consignment sale that I love to volunteer and shop at. On Thursday night I got to shop before all of the others who know about the sale to see a sneak peak and shop to my heart (okay my wallet) content for spring/summer items for the girls. In paying for the items that I had swiped up, I pulled out my checkbook to pay and showed my license then threw the checkbook and license back into my oversized-to-handle-all-cups-diapers, etc. pocketbook.

Saturday morning Gary and I were out looking at houses (to no avail) while his parents stayed with the girls. After viewing our non-potential house, I had him drive me to the library so I could pick up two books I put on hold. In doing so I saw my half hazardly thrown in license and thought "I have to put this back in..." In looking at my license, I saw that it had expired on my birthday which was at the time 6 DAYS AGO!!!! I had driven for 6 days into and out of the City, hauling along my stuff to and from the consignment sale, DRIVING MY CHILDREN PLACES and all without a license. I know that if you are caught they will impound your vehicle, not sure what happens with the kids. Ugh.

Needless to say I didn't end up going anywhere yesterday and scraping up lunch for the kids without peanut butter, grapes or any fun items that typically get put in was a task in itself. A few goldfish, jelly sandwiches and lunchable jr's later and they at least could have some sustenance for the day. But, really, a supermarket run is near desperate tomorrow.

So this morning before work I had to break the law again and drive to the registry. I think on the way over I counted at least 1/2 dozen police vehicles. Getting to the registry at 8:45 and seeing a line outside the door did not help my angst either. So I waited in line with the rest of them with my hood up thinking the entire time that this picture will now be on my license for another 5-10 years. Ugh.

Apparently the Massachusetts registry stopped sending out reminder notices in November. Um that was 4 months ago. How many people do you think in Massachusetts are driving around on expired licenses from December, January, February and March? I just happened to look at mine coincidentally within a week of my birthday.

I did enquire to the very nice gentleman that told me I could keep my last picture (hooray!) and he said that I was part of a growing number of people who are driving on expired licenses. But the good news is you do have a year from when the license expires to just go in and renew it and not have to re-take a road test or anything. Though in that year your butt better not be behind a wheel or if you are caught your car is impounded and you need to call someone to come get you.

I know, I know, you are all thinking I could have just renewed on line. That is what I thought too. But upon finding the registry website and trying desperately to renew online I kept getting the "FAILED" response in my Inbox that prompted my visit this morning.

The prize of best husband goes to Gary because as part of my consignment sale I volunteer to help breakdown and sort the clothes that go unsold...on Saturday afternoon/evening. Poor guy had to bring me to my volunteer shift at 4PM and pick me up again, with the girls both times I might add and closing in on bedtime for pickup at 7PM. This is when the grandparents next door are certainly missed the most. For a quick trip or helping hand. I guess that is what I get for turning 35, an expired license.

Living in the County

I find myself often feeling lucky that I live in the county. Within walking distance from our current house we can see sheep, llama, horses and some chickens. We can get very close, pay no admission fees and see these animals in their somewhat natural habitat instead of part of an overall show.

Oftentimes, our rides home entail a few extra twists and turns just so that we can slowly ride by the sheep and the llamas down the street. We also have horses that live both behind us and two houses down the street from us. So often we will see horses walking up and down the street which prompts quick relocation's from current playthings to the picture window in the living room just to look out. One neighbor we know rather well and she will sometimes see the girls outside and come into the driveway to chat and so that the girls can see the horse named "Q". Of course, he doesn't look nearly as large in the picture window as he does right next to us in the driveway with his saddle on, bit in mouth and rider on top. It tends to intimidate the girls outright. And I can understand that, not being terribly comfortable around large animals myself.

Well this morning as I was in the basement doing laundry (a whole other post in itself...) Gary opens the door and asks "have we ever had a horse in our yard..." Of course in the midst of my spray and wash, wisk and color separation I had to do a momentary "huh" moment before I came tearing up the stairs to see what he was talking about. Sure enough in the back yard near the swing set and between some of the Little Tikes plastics in the yard was a very large brown horse with a coat on (okay more like a plaid blanket with a strap under his belly), bit in mouth and looking very nervous. We could hear trucks, ATV's and people yelling coming through the woods behind our house in search of the animal. They finally located it (since I didn't get a birds eye view to distinguish gender) and tried to corral it in while in our yard. But no one had taken the end of our driveway as possible exit to block so of course that is where the horse bolted for and we saw a quick run up the hill next to our house of the horse up the street.

Strangely enough, it seemed like it was trying to actually get back to it's house because it did head down a long driveway which does head towards the stable. And we saw more flashes past our house, driveway and up the street as the people tried to follow after it.

I hate to disappoint you and say I don't actually know if they did get it back but since I haven't heard any more loud voices in the woods, no more ATV's and most importantly no more big horses in our yards I think that it was successfully returned.

But, I don't think we would necessarily see things like this in other parts of Massachusetts.

Meltings

This weekend has proven to be a real tease with the spring like conditions. I love the winter and all the snow but this has been such a rough winter with colds, flu, stomach bug, etc. that I am happy to leave it behind for warmer greener weather. I took the dog for a walk both yesterday ad today and don't think that I have ever heard a sweeter sound than the water trickling into the catch basins and rolling down the street. Even the gutters are alive with the "tink, tink, tink" of the snow melting off the roof. I am in heaven. I know there will still be a few flakes in my future before the winter is officially over, but it's close now and I can taste it.

I have also noticed lately that my kids are melting down a lot lately. I don't know if it 's the end of a long winter and the inability to take it any more or just a sign of their respective ages. At almost 4, Aimee is quite the little mother herself and tries very hard to keep an eye on Nicole and make sure she has a clean diaper, is dressed accordingly and helps get her shoes on. Sometimes she goes a bit far and tries to pick her up resulting in a headlock type of dragging of poor Nicole. She is a sweetie and means well but her newest thing is just not listening. I can look her directly in the eye, tell her to stop doing whatever she is doing and she turns her head away from me and continues doing whatever she wants. It's maddening and I know it's her way of testing me and it's working. Trying to remain calm and enforce time outs is all I have to do really. She does understand when I take certain things away too. I am told that 4 year olds are much nicer. We shall see.

Nicole on the other hand is lucky she was the second child because if she had been first, she would have been only. She too is quite a doll and very cute when she wants to be. But she has one little temper and a stubborn streak as big as the day is long. When she doesn't want to do something, she isn't doing it. She too spends some extended periods in time out lately. Throwing things tends to be her thing. Tell her no, not to do something and instantly a rocket shoots out of her hand and across the room. Running for cover is really the best shot. Her most recent hurls have included sunglasses, cups and her sandwich. The worst to date was the fridge DJ. It's a rugged toy for sure because the sound with which it hit the floor made me sure that it was done. But it still gave it's opening line as soon as the button was pushed. Thank God. I haven't figured out exactly what it is lately that has been causing the all out tantrums. Of course I have had the DR investigate for an ear infection to no avail. Teeth are always seeming to make their appearance but yet again nothing that I can tell is coming through. I think it's part of being 2 and having an older sister to keep up with. These two things combined have made life a bit trickier around these parts. Today we are napless. I hate the no nap days. It means that in addition to pushing the clock ahead today, she will be ready to melt down at about 6 o'clock and when the melt downs are happening, it's very difficult to get anything productive out of her.

Bedtime tonight should be interesting. Enjoy the warm weather!

Reality checks

I have noticed lately that Aimee is getting to be more of my companion and friend. Obviously at 3 she is hardly in the baby stage at all anymore, but there were still times when I would look at her and see that little baby face and go all the way back to when I first met her in the delivery room. She can now carry on full conversations with me, ask intelligent questions and even goes through her own frustrations about life. I have noticed lately though that she doesn't always respond when I call her name or ask her a question. Sometimes the answers I get are from left field. At first I was going to have her hearing checked to see if there was a buildup of fluid in there from one of the million colds we seem to have dragged into the house this winter. But in talking with her daycare teacher it seems as though the problem isn't with her hearing, it is actually with her auditory processing. Seems like big words don't they? Apparently she hears things and then the response to those hearings are not always what we would deem as appropriate. The solution is supposedly in a speech pathologist. So I have phone calls into a therapy place that was recommended to me and I know we will await the insurance coverage phone conversation before we can even begin to try and solve this problem.

All in all though, it's pretty minor; she's healthy (relatively right now with her runny nose and cough), she's one of the happiest children I have met and she is also one of the most caring. She can definately test my nerves but now I am wondering if it isn't so much as she isn't listening to me as she isn't processing me. Makes a difference, that is for sure.

In other news, we are on week 3 of no Nana and Papa next door. It's killing me that is for sure. I love having my parents next door to us. There is no one to share my 12 roll papertowel score at Target or my buy one get one free at the Pepperidge Farm store on the raisin swirl bread. Sure I have a loaf in the freezer because who can pass up one of those, but still. It's been a little sad not having them right next door as a diversion and the added company on random supermarket outings. Of course I still talk to my mother at least 3 times a day, my dad maybe twice a week because he isn't quite of the phone talking variety. We call each other for the silly little things like how she found the cutest bathing suit/beach cover up for Nicole and would a 2T be too big? Or about how she is waiting for a check to arrive from her insurance company and when it arrives I have intricate details about where I deposit and distribute the money. They also don't forward all of their mail so I get the task of having to mail it out in bulk once a week. I know they love getting their packages so I try to include some good tidbit in there for them. Last week it was a copy of the local paper so that they can keep up to date on the happenings on the south shore of Boston. Six more weeks and they will be home with us. I looked online for some airfare but it's still pretty expensive to fly the three of us (again no budging on getting Gary to agree to it) down there but I still look from time to time in case something comes up that looks good.

And lastly, Saturday night is the big night. Gary turned 40 last week and I was sick with the "can't go too far from the ladies' room" variety bug so we didn't get to offically celebrate this milestone. But, this Saturday is his party. I have reserved an area of the bar at Joe's Bar and Grill in Hanover and 30 of his closest friends and relatives will be there to celebrate his 40th. I know he didn't quite ring it in as fun as he could have with me in my sweats and on the couch and all so hopefully this will make up for it.

Meltings

The warmer weather last week was so exciting for me and the girls. We got to go outside. Not that we don't go outside when it is snowy or cold, but inevitably if we do go outside in those conditions, it requires a lot of work to get them dressed and get out the door and then one of them decides they want to go in before the other one and whining and fighting ensues. So at least when it is about 50 degrees outside we can revel in the fact that only a mere coat is required and not the entire snow day get up.

So we played in the driveway because there is still some snow in the yard and with two refusals of donning boots (Aimee said no and Nicole will definately not agree to anything her big sister isn't doing) to go outside we were confined to the clean, dry driveway. The girls had a blast and suffice to say all of our moods were lifted with just a few extra degrees and lots of sunshine.

My parents are enjoying themselves in sunny Florida and have asked me a few times to come down with the girls. While I would love to jump on a plane and trek them down there for some fun in the sun, I get tired just thinking of trying to do this on my own, especially when it involves car seats, etc. Why alone you ask? Well because Gary would get the withdrawal shakes if I made him leave the business for an entire week because of the current economic crisis we have going on in this county. He is busy at work and things continue to go along but what he has noticed is that people are not paying him. That's right. They want the printing they just don't want to pay for it. Yet his bills keep adding up and eventually something will have to give and a week away from the office would probably send him right over the edge. Not that he really wants us to go away without him either.

Also, Gary isn't a beach person. The girls and I could hunker down and stay all day but not Gary. He can't stand sand between his toes and he has never actually seen our girls at the beach and I am not sure he would love that they eat about as much sand as they play in. At first it was difficult for me to watch them try and eat a snack with a sand covered hand but then I thought, what the hell, they aren't bothered by it, why should I be.

So if anyone can offer me assistance with going to Florida and has some straight through deals that they have found, because layovers just really aren't an option for us, please let me know. We will let you stay with us, no sweat. I am looking to fly to Sarasota or Fort Meyers though because my parents just are not city drivers anymore and the thought of coming to Tampa would definately freak them out because of the monster bridge that is required to drive over. In my younger, single days I did it that way and they totally freaked out when they had to do it to pick me up.

Enjoy your Presidents Day.

Things as we know

Has it really been over 2 weeks since I posted last? That is terrible. I know my audience is greatly wanting all my updates...okay, I am more realistic than that.

It's been scary out there lately watching the news. I don't even like to turn on my TV much because the news is so depressing with all the bailout talks, money issues, Australian fires, recession recession recession and now the more recent one around here, sexting. Sexting. Can you believe that is even a word? Apparently a 13 year old took a picture of his also 13 year old girlfriend topless and decided it would be a good idea to forward it as a text message around the school. So the question remains is how should these kids be punished. It was a poll question on the news! Hell if I know how they should be punished. I am thinking that a slap on the wrist won't show them a whole lot but I am not inclined to think that they should be arrested and classified as sex offenders either. But part of me doesn't know whether to blame the state of the world lately or his parents for improper upbringing. I know that kids were doing less than exemplary things when I was in 8th grade but my mother brought me up to always be a lady no matter what the situation.

Then there is the whole Michael Phelps debacle. Poor guy. Doing what every other 23 year old probably does. Admittedly it was dumb of him to be photographed while doing it, but I think at the point he was doing it, being photographed was pretty far from his consciousness. Still some of his endorsement was pulled.

Jessica Simpson's waistline seems to be big news too, poor girl. She probably looks better just getting up from her bed than I do on my best attempt at pulling myself together. Yet she signed up for this. She wants to be in the public eye but apparently not if they are calling her fat, which, she by no means is fat. I think the rest of Hollywood is just too thin.

And lastly, the whole Chris Brown/Rihanna issue is just terrible. My goodness.

So any TV watching in our house lately has been on the Sesame Street/Caillou type so as not to depress ourselves any more than needed. Although truth be told Caillou doesn't exactly put me in a great mood. Actually the girls have a favorite TV show that I think is pretty cute, me being a science geek and all...it's Sid the Science Kid. I was smart enough to DVR them for a quick help me out to let the kids relax while I get supper ready or to reward them for their jobs well done.

So today is the last day of my week. I am amazed at how fast our weeks go by. Aimee is loving school and had a Valentine's day party where they exchanged cards with each other. How cute, though did you know that the little envelopes are not longer part of this thing? I know it has been quite a while since I bought Valentines but even I was surprised by this. Instead little stickers hold them shut. I can't wait to go through her cards with her when I go home.

Nicole has even gotten into the whole holiday arts and crafts. She does little cut and paste exercises at daycare which are so cute and she runs up and shows them to me with so much pride. My favorite part of my day is being able to walk through the door and not be able to get much farther because my two little ones are pushing their way to give me hugs, squeezes and basically "win" over their sister.

Enjoy your weekends.

And the winners are....

Kate for her 1978 memory. I was 4 so I have vague memories of being home with my mom for a few days while my dad (a firefighter at the time) was stuck at work the whole time. I do remember they walked my brothers and I down to the convenience store around the corner on a sled to get some groceries.

Danielle for her April Fool's storm memory. I remember that one too, it was my last year of college and my brother and father were coming home from Florida together and they couldn't get any further so they ended up on my doorstep at like 4PM and stayed over night. That was a fun time and I was glad for the company.

Emily is still thinking but at least commented where needed so she wins too.

So ladies please e-mail me your addresses so I can drop my boxes into the mail and believe me you do not want to wait, these boxes are fun!

My most fond memory of a snow day is from 1996. Some classmates and I stayed at school really late until like midnight trying to study for our P-Chem test and finally looked out a window and realized that it was snowing pretty hard. So some of the guys decided to just sleep there but I wanted to go home so one classmate of mine and I decided to leave and get home. So we left my car and we drove to his house (did I mention I had a HUGE crush on this guy??) since he didn't want to let me drive home alone and we had resigned ourselves that we pretty much had to stay up all night since it would take so long to get home and then back to the school since we had the test at 9AM. So we went to his house, he showered while I snoozed on the couch. Then we went to my house where I showered and he snoozed. We watched TV morning news to see if URI cancelled classes, but they didn't. So we left the house (it was still snowing), went to school and headed to Kinko's copies so that we could finish pulling together our "cheat sheet" that the professor let us bring in. One sheet of paper that you could take into the test filled front and back. So of course we were shrinking and copying, etc. etc. to make it all fit on one sheet. The snow started to taper off but the power kept blinking so it was taking forever to make our sheets. Finally the copy guy asked us why we were so hell bent on finishing it since classes were cancelled for the day. Nice.

So we did finish our cheat sheets, went out for a great breakfast on campus and he helped me clean off my car so I could go home to sleep. I lived by myself that year in college so I was able to just cuddle on the couch by myself, slept between different bad daytime TV and movies and had an extra day to study for my test, which I got a B on but was estatic since many people fail this class....oh and I spent the night (okay not technically) with my crush. He had a girlfriend at the time which was why he was only a crush but we did have a great friendship. Unfortunately we stayed in touch just a little while after college but have since lost touch. Last I heard he did marry that girlfriend and they have a son.

I know, I know, it should be about Gary and the girls but I think we all have a particular fondness for college memories.

So Kate, Danielle and Emily please send your addresses to me at tas1120 at gmail dot com.

Pillow Fight

Nicole is getting a monster eye tooth on the bottom right. It's been hellish trying to cope and she will oftentimes drop down in a pool of crying for no reason at all. It's required an endless amount of patience to even deal with her sometimes. And her cry is not just a whimper or a shout out, it is an all out scream so that I don't know if a leg has been severed or if Aimee is playing with something she wants. It's been difficult for sure.

She woke up at about 4AM today. We've been making her stay in her bed if she wakes up anytime before this so I took a chance and brought her in with me. There is nothing quite like spooning with your own child. Just given the chance to wrap my arms around her and sleep is great. Even though it is only for a few minutes because from then out she is trying to take my pillow! We have flannel sheets on the bed for the winter weather but she is insistent on taking the top pillow which is my favorite. I think it is because it has the snowman pillowcase. I finally gave up and took the bottom pillow and we drifted off to sleep for a good 3 hours. What a nice way to start the day!

Final day people. If you want to add your favorite snow day be sure to post below. Prizes will be mailed out this week.

Extension

Wow - I don't think I have ever posted this much in a week.

In any event I am extending the Pay it Forward contest until Tuesday evening so get in your responses to the question otherwise the three posters I had in general about this whole thing will win the contest. They may still win anyway because I am throwing their names in just for being active enough to post!

And as luck would have it no sooner did I post about good sleep habits than they go out the window. Both girls woke me up last night. So much fun this middle of the night wakings.

Now hurry up and post!

Here it is!!!

Okay, sorry it took me so long to post this, I had to take some time and with kids that is something I don't always get to choose when I get it. So, without further ado here is the awesome package that McCashew sent me for winning the Pay it Forward contest. It was devine!

It came with an EASY button, because it's really fun, some Cashews of course in a great little rubbermaid container that I am over the moon about for packing my lunches, a magic eraser which has already vanished some crayon marks on the walls, Keihls eye make up remover which is great and came with a 2 oz container that will be friendly for airport travel and my favorite of all time....a new must have when going to Trader Joe's....mini peanut butter cups. They are as yummy as they are deadly. I could have easily sat down and eaten the whole box. I had to ration them into the girls snack cups they were so good. So good that I even had to put the box in the other room so that I wouldn't keep going into the cupboard.

While I don't think I could top the package I received, I do have some great things I picked up ready to go into my packaged. Okay so go...go now, post your favorite snow day so that I can put you into the running for a great middle of the winter pick me up!

Anyone out there??

I know that more of you out there read my blog. Do you not want to pay it forward? It's cold outside, Christmas is over, what else is there to look forward to than getting a cool package in the mail from yours truly? Is it that I haven't enticed you enough by showing you what McCashew sent to me? Is that the problem? I will post here later today with the picture of her awesome package.

In the meantime, keep reading, keep posting your comments.

Last night both girls slept right through the night. I thought after having Nicole in our bed for 4 nights straight she was broken into bad sleep habits. But after looking into her mouth yesterday as I was tickling her, I saw the evidence of an eye tooth breaking through in the bottom. She has gotten her teeth in such a strange pattern. But the more she gets, the more she will hopefully be able to eat. Or maybe I am just hoping she eats more so I can stop with the Carnation instant breakfasts I have been feeding her. She will eat any piece of fruit and a variety of veggies I put in front of her before she touches meat, cheese or the like. It's frustrating for me, who I think has always had a dubious relationship with food.

Friday Activities

Well last night Nicole slept right through the night like a champ, but in typical kid world, Aimee was up quite a bit coughing and sneezing with a cold she has picked up. I swear it never ends around here. So we are skipping playgroup today to go to the grocery store with our Papa (my father). It's rather funny to see him pushing around the grocery store cart with the little car installed. I don't think he would have done that when we were kids.

My father totalled my mother's car about 2 years ago when he was running out to the store for something and when he was coming around the corner, the sun suddenly hit his windshield just right to literally blind him. So he tried to pull over to the side of the road but misjudged and hit a pole. He was completely fine other than a good hit from the airbag. He was a firefighter in his earlier days and retired about 15 years ago. So when the firefighters insisted he needed to be boarded and put into the ambulance after he had been walking around for about 10 minutes he refused. So it was my brother's friend who is a local firefighter said "Mr. Santoro, please let us take you to be checked out," that he decided the quickest way to end the argument was to just go. So he calmly called my mother with the policeman's phone who responded first and told my mother that he was going to the hospital, he probably totalled her car and not to rush, it's always a while at the ER. And ever since he has had little interest in driving.

So my girls enjoy these trips where we take Papa out on adventures on the highway to various destinations like the stores and banks. With him not driving I think him and my mother end up with a little too much together time. I guess after 36 years of marriage you know all the quirks with your partner but that doesn't mean you like them any more than when you discovered them!

Hurry and get your comments in, I will choose a winner on Sunday. So keep on posting about your favorite snow day.

Your Favorite Snow Day

Seeing as how we have had a few too many snow storms so far this season for my taste, I thought I would put a positive spin on it and ask what your favorite snow day was for you. Remember the night before mid-terms in school when you would look out for a flake or two? Or how about grade school even when you would pray for enough snow to keep you home to play in it? Or how about now if you have kids or pets to play in it with you? Even college days when you weren't sure which way to go because you had studied so hard and were ready for the exam before all that knowledge left through your ears but another day to study did seem appealing. I know mine (I have a few) and will share it as soon as you all post yours! I will pick three winners from the posts I receive. So all you lurkers out there post up or else EmilyZ and JennR will win just from their past comments -- though they can still win anyway if I pick their name out of my hat!

Enjoy!

Pay it Forward

Okay, I know I suck at posting here lately but with my hacking cough daughter, lots of snow to keep the kids indoors or outdoors as the case may be, I haven't had enough computer and me time. I still have to download software so that I can use my beloved Nikon D-40 (which I love love love) to show you all the great things McCashew put in to my package. I have been busy picking up things to put into my packages as I realize what my favorite things are. So I am going to post here tomorrow for you all to respond to with a question that you will have to answer to enter. Have I enticed you??? I hope so. Again, no blog needed to compete here -- I will post questions and answers for you here if you don't have a blog so you can pay it forward on your own!

In other news, life here has been going along well. I think I missed posting about Nicole's big day...but as any second child can attest to (me being one myself) we just don't get the recognition the first child gets. But yes, Nicole turned 2 back on January 9th. We celebrated with some friends in our playgroup with some macaroni and cheese and cupcakes. It was fun and we had a family party at our house the following Sunday after it....snowed! D'oh.

Here she is in the hospital

And here she is this week albeit without her pj bottoms (taken with my Kodak Easyshare so I could easily share it with you!)

Happy Belated 2nd Birthday little girl.

Again, stay tuned for Pay it Forward tomorrow! Great prizes to be won!!!!

Holy Cold Batman!

It is so cold outside today and the threat is that it will be worse tomorrow. I don't think our furnace shut off at all last night. Brrr...

As you know we are currently renting what used to be my grandparents house. Up until we moved in there was a constant flux of renters in and out of the house. My grandmother passed away in 1996 and my mother started to rent the house in 1997 and ever since it has seen quite an array of people. We by far are the best tenants because of course the proximity of grandchildren to grandparents but also because of the stuff we actually do to the house. Oh well and for the occasional add on to grocery lists or splitting of super size items that is too much for one family.

Last night I decided (at 6PM I might add) while Gary was at the Celtics game, that I should shrink wrap Aimee's window. There was quite a draft coming in there and since these windows have been in place since 1978 when the place was built they are not the most energy efficient ones out there. But until all parties involved (my parents, brother, us..) know what we are doing for future home occupancy, major updates like siding and windows are on hold. So last year I wrapped Aimee's window and it worked well. This year I held off because I hate to keep the shades in one position and when you wrap the windows this is what happens. But last night I could just FEEL the cold coming in when I was helping her get dressed for bed so I broke out the kit I bought and started taping and cutting. The kit they have this year is ingenious. It is already pre-taped at the top and you just unroll, cut and stick. Works like a charm! So I swabbed with alcohol, taped up the sides of the windows with the double sided stuff and put the wrap along the top edge of the window and pressed it all into place. For those of you who haven't done this before, the next step involves a hair dryer and shrinking this stuff into place.

Luckily I have my two assistants with their own hair dryers to help me out. So with the battery operated and the use your imagination sound dryers we secured that shrink wrap into place no sweat. Who would have thought it was a 3 - woman job? And since the new pink insulated curtains I bought for Aimee's room are currently on order I had to rig up this obscene window covering concoction for the evening so that the weird neighbors next door (not the grandparents, the other side) could not see in. With a few hair clips (think Jennifer Aniston up do), heavy fleece of the couch sitting variety blanket and the curtain rod I put up a lovely temporary curtain for the event. Aimee loved it and even told me when she got into bed that she was nice and toasty. Not sure she even realizes what that means but she sounded so cute saying it.

I finally got the two cherubs to bed and asleep, finish cleaning the kitchen and living room when I could hear a wretched cough coming out of Nicole. My niece was over for Nicole's birthday party this past Sunday and had a wicked cough that we have come to learn turned into pneumonia. So I am keeping my appendages crossed that Nicole only gets a cold and it doesn't turn into pneumonia for her. She was just coincidentally at the DR yesterday for her 2 year annual check up which she passed with flying colors and there was not notice of any fluid in lungs and two ears free of any fluid. As an aside, she has gained just under 3 pounds since her last visit which actually puts her in the 5th percentile for weight, up from the 3rd percentile that she has been in. She is still in the 20th percentile for height which means she is short and thin. But the DR is not too worried so neither am I.

Suffice to say she woke herself up last night from coughing. So I went into her room to try and soothe her but she races up, grabs her blanket and baby and reaches for me saying "your bed." So she slept with us last night and I use the term loosely. You see when either of our children wind up in bed with us at night, they seem to prefer my side of the bed, the part I am actually lying on and pretty much snuggle into me such that each time I move even a little bit to the edge, they continually move that much closer. Cute yes, warm definitely yes, good sleeping position...not so much. Add into it a husband who had a few beers at the Celtics game to make him snore like a Grizzly bear and you have my evening. Today was a joy to get out of bed and my eyes have that slightly stingy feeling that only goes away with closing them. Nicole wasn't all happy to get out of bed either and mumbled continually about not wanting to go to "school" today.

So I think I have had enough of the winter, cold and flu season and sub arctic temperatures. I don't mind snow, so long as it stays above 32 degrees to keep things bearable. But getting a polar headache just walking from the house to the car is too much.

Cubeland

Ever see Office Space? Do you like Dilbert? That is basically where I work. I love my job, don't get me wrong. That part does not pertain to office space or Dilbert. But the cubefarm of engineers and other geeks that I reside in the few days I come in to the office never ceases to amaze me. I probably know more about my cubemates than I do most of my close friends. Like the guy next to me is going to have chicken Parmesan tonight for supper? Can't say I know what my own parents are having tonight.

Being in close proximity also lends itself to overhearing many, many other conversations besides the aforementioned dinner plans. Today I was inadvertently - meaning she was talking loudly, how the hell could I not over hear - a newer coworker talking on her phone. She obviously does not know how loud she is or that we can all hear her. But she must be young. I can tell not only because of her obvious non-work related conversations but also because all of her statements go up at the end in a sort of questioning tone. For instance - I was thinking that we could change the spreadsheet. Sounds innocent enough. But try putting it into a question like tone. That is her EVERY sentence people. After listening to a few of her conversations even work related I am starting to wonder if her voice needs to go up that last octave or if it has just become habit. Either way it has become like nails on a chalkboard for me. UGH. The most non-irritating questions become unbearable to listen to.

I have to admit that at one point I was graced with an "anonymous" e-mail from a fellow cube mate one late afternoon. It was about 3 weeks before my wedding and of course anyone I talked to on the phone was asking me about it, trying to finish up project work but still asking me wedding details and questions. So apparently at 5:30 one afternoon this particular individual had decided that my later afternoon (after hours I might add) conversation was annoying. Now granted it was later so there wasn't the normal buzz of conversations dulling the noise because most people had left for the day (get it...most people had LEFT for the day). I was just off the phone and I suddenly have an e-mail pop up from a yahoo e-mail account that is from blueeyes at yahoo dot com saying my conversations were too loud and I should think about lowering my voice for obvious non-work related phone calls. I was miffed to say the least because this person didn't have the balls to either use their work e-mail so I could respond properly or come over in person to ask me nicely. Unfortunately this person was relatively new to our company and I had been there almost 8 years at this point. So I knew instantly who the blue eyed e-mailer was. Not hard to figure out when everyone on my side of the building knows me and I them. So I waltzed over there and asked this one person left in the cube area near me with (gasp!) blue eyes who had been at our company about two weeks and looked younger than Bam Bam. I politely said something to the effect of not liking their choice of communication means. He looked shocked and stammered that he had no idea what I was talking about and oh you are getting married well congratulations to you..when is the big day. Save it buster.

So I get it, not always that easy to talk in hushed tones when in the office setting and cubeland. But really, the next generation has to get it together. We don't all need to sound like Cindy Brady and state all of our sentences with a question mark. I know it's not very Pay it Forward of me to be talking like this about my co-workers. I do think I have a bit of ADHD because I can stop what I am doing to try and overhear a conversation about people I don't even know. And one other little miff for me with the next generation....what is with the short pants? Washing and drying will shrink your cotton slacks, please purchase appropriately because we can tell when your socks don't match otherwise.

In other news, I have not updated you recently on my WW progress because there has not been any. I did really well in all aspects leading up to Christmas and then the week of Christmas I just fell apart. In hindsight making baked goods as gifts for daycare teachers and office friends was not the best choice since once one little morsel went in it was hard to stop the onslaught. I have had an epiphany though and in conjunction with my tight pants I made efforts to do some sort of physical activity and order broccoli with my black bean burger from Chili's. So there is progress people. I don't know how much I have gained but I go back to my meeting tomorrow night so we'll see. I can't get my rings on lately and it's freezing out so that can't be a good sign.

And still stay tuned people, readers whoever is out there (Jenn and Emily maybe it's only you two) because the Pay it Forward contest is looming ahead. I have done some serious scouting of potential package contents and I am getting excited to put it together. I am debating what to ask you all to post about. More details soon.

Pay it Forward Contest

Some of you may have forgotten that I won a Pay it Forward contest back in November on McCashew's website. With the holidays and such a busy time in the life of people, I received my package on Monday and it was definitely worth the wait. I will post a picture for you soon once I figure out how to get pictures off my brand spanking new Nikon D40 that Gary got for me. What a great guy...he also wants to use my present though...hmmm, ulterior motive, perhaps?

In any event, it is my turn so I am going to have a Pay it Forward Contest. What is it you may ask? Well it is just like it sounds and if you have seen the movie all the better. You basically get a chance to pay forward to a perfect stranger perhaps or even someone known but not often seen. Three random readers who comment will be selected. I won on McCashew and as the winner I need to pay it forward. So stay tuned for the pictures of McCashew's awesome prize of goodies and the go ahead on which post to comment on. The three winners of my contest will also be expected to pay it forward and on and on and on.

So what if you don't have a blog? Not a problem, I will help you out here on my blog for you. If you do have a blog though it is easy to host your own by drawing the names of three comments at random. Sorry I can't divulge the contents of what I am thinking of putting into my box o' goodies but rest assured I am thinking I will have to copy McCashew on one item that is to die for that I have already scoped out in local stores. Stay tuned for pictures and information and direct all your friends here. I promise to post and update more often so that things don't get so stale around here.

And onto 2009

I can't believe that the holidays have come and gone. I always get a bit blue just after them. It is such a buildup, we get all excited, buy a tree, decorate, find the perfect gifts for everyone on our list, wrap them up, send the cute holiday cards, bake until the pants are tight and plan plan plan and then in 24 hours or so...it's all over. True there are a few more days between Christmas and New Years where there are typically more celebrations and visiting with relatives. But then the tree is down, needles wiped up and rubbermaid totes re-packed with the green and red type decorations.

My brother and sister in law were in Maine this year to visit her side of the family so it was just going to be my parents, brother Chris and us for dinner. But instead we had surprise visitors. My mothers first cousin, Georgeana, who lives in Vermont was dog sitting for her son who went to visit his in-laws in New Mexico. So she came down with her grown daughter and other grown son who is single to visit for the holiday. We love this cousin. Her mother and my grandmother were sisters and I have many fond memories of her mother and my grandmother together and their great stories of growing up. Her mom's name was Florence and what a trip she was. Crazy could only be the tip of the iceberg to describe a lady who had a foot shaped gas pedal in one of her cars. The oldest of 6 kids, she lived until she was 92. Amazing.

So this cousin who has visited before has become a favorite to my children...even worthy of her own nickname..."George-nana". And she is very flattered by this nickname as well. I think that it is a very special person who gets a nickname from a child. This person becomes a focal point in the child's life. In fact when I told Aimee of the news that George-nana was coming to visit for Christmas, she looked at me and said "We haven't seen her in a long time." Which was completely true we had not seen her since July.

So it was a busy day for the girls with bursting through their presents on Christmas morning, going to my in-laws for breakfast and more ripping of wrapping paper. Then home to review the toys Santa left. Nicole napped and Aimee and I went next door to see George-nana, her children, uncle Chris, Nana and Papa. More festivities followed and that was one of the only nights that bedtime went off without a hitch.

To say we are without schedule lately would be an understatement and I am actually looking forward to Monday when daycare reopens and I get to go back to work. Yay! I need some schedule back in my life and the girls clearly need more stimulation than I can give them. Once again I am humbled by full time stay at home mothers. It is tough stuff to be home full time with kids. We only have been home together for two weeks and I am about at the end of my rope. I do think that part of it has to do with all of the new stuff suddenly in front of them. They don't know what to play with first and instantly get upset when a sister picks something that may be of interest to the other sister. A fight ensues and many times punches or hits are thrown. I think the words "time out" have been uttered just as often this week as "I love you". Not fun.

So bring on 2009, lets go back to work, this "vacation" stuff is for the birds.