Love Is A Battlefield

There's an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" where Ray and Deborah come back from vacation and leave a suitcase on the landing. 

There's a battle of wills for 3 weeks and it finally comes to a head when Ray has to travel again and takes his clothes in plastic grocery bags rather than move the suitcase.  Before he leaves he puts stinky cheese in it so that his wife will be forced to move it while he's gone.

For some reason, I LOVE this episode.  I think it so simply sums up the small battles that you go through as a married couple.  The arguments are simple, she thinks he should carry it in because she was the one who packed and will have to unpack it and do the laundry.  He thinks she should do it since she walks by it every day and he lugged it around while they were away.

The mother in law on the show takes the daughter in law to her house and shows her that there's a big fork and spoon hanging on her wall that is the result of a similar fight and then she says the words I love...

"Don't let a suitcase full of cheese be your big fork and spoon."

I think of this all the time when I find myself in a similar situation.  There are certain things that I totally think should be my husbands job, like car stuff and trash.  Then there are things that he thinks I should take care of, like everything else.  Ha ha ha. I'm kidding. Sort of.  I do take care of a lot of other stuff, but he helps out and pitches in when I need him to.

Our "big fork and spoon" is the trash.  I swear my family could win a trash stacking contest.  No one seems to be able to take the trash bag out.  They will stack and stuff it until it can take no more.  The only time my husband takes the bag out of the kitchen trash is on Friday, which is garbage day. 

What happens next makes me crazy.  Instead of putting a new bag in the trash can.  He takes a plastic grocery bag out and hangs it on my oven handle.  I don't get it!!  I will admit, the way our trash can is, you have to place the bag around a plastic ring and then put it in the trash can, then put on the lid.  The trash bags are literally a step away.  The grocery bags are at least 10 steps away and then you have to walk back to hang it on the oven.

It makes me crazy on a weekly basis, but instead of being stubborn and making this a bigger deal than it needs to be (you know , like dedicating a whole blog to it) I have accepted that on Friday mornings I will come downstairs to see this......

 and this.....

My Little Writer

I have never thought of myself as a writer.

My sister was the writer, the English major, the teacher.

My mom takes writing classes and workshops.

Yet, I found myself being asked to write a column for a local on-line news site.  No one was more surprised than me to find out that I enjoy writing. 

I want to be clear that I am not trying to toot my own horn here.  I don't think I have any professional capabilities. It was nice to get paid for my work. (Sigh, it was so nice while it lasted...dumb economy), but I don't think I ever really felt like I deserved it. 

I always feel like, "Well , I just took those thoughts that were rumbling around in my head and wrote them down."  Really, it's just as simple as that.

I had an English teacher in high school that was brilliant.  The problem was, I didn't care back them and I certainly didn't appreciate all that he could have taught me.  Mr. MacArthur, if you're out there.  I'M SO SO SORRY.  I really wish I could go back and audit your class now, I swear, I would totally pay attention.

My daughter has recently become obsessed with writing.  She asks me all the time how "Two Penny Jenny" is going.  In her school, each student gets to write their own book.  She's almost done writing hers at school, so she's been writing a ton of books at home.

I love the way she thinks, so honest and sweet.  I love all her 1st grade phonetic spelling.  I asked her why she liked writing so much and she said, "I must like it because you like it."  It's so funny, that never occurred to me!  I'm glad that she and I share this, and now I'll share some of her work with you.  Enjoy!  I apologize for how light the pictures are...it was the best I could do with my mere computer skills.

(I'll write it as she did) "My Life  My life is nice.  Becos pepl chret me vrey vrey VREY NICE to me!  Efen ef I get sad.  I dote relly care.  I stell have to go to scool.  But it is ok that I stell have to go to scool.

"My daddy is so so so funny!  My daddy is 38 like my Mommy they are both vrey nice.  I am telling you I love my family"

"Jack is my brothr.  We fite ulot.  Me and Jack fite like avry day.  My brothr is 13 tene yers old.  I am only 7 you now that I relly am 20!  Jush jokeing."  ( This cracks me up because I really don't think they fight that much, apparantly they just do a really good job of not letting me know about it all the time)

"As you see I LOVE my life.  So So So vrey vrey VREY much !!!!!!!!!!!  I love tham a lot and a lot"
(In the mouth)  I love you so much.  I am glad you are in my family!!!!  I shud brush my teth!

I Bless The Rains Down In Africa...

One African violet has been left in my care for a few weeks. 

There are many things I am happy to help out with when people go on vacation.  I can check your mail, feed your cat, water the lawn or shovel.  I'd even take your kids for a week without batting an eye!  Asking me to take care of your plants will put me in an all out panic.

I do not have a green thumb.  I love plants, I just don't seem to have any knack for taking care of them.

I currently have 2 plants that I've managed to keep "alive".  Their names are Miss Piggy and Kermit.  I also refer to them as my Frankenstein monsters because I am so sure that they are dead and then they magically spring back to life.  (The magic I refer to is water, they seem to like that)

If it wasn't for the cheesy aqua globes I bought at The Christmas Tree Shop one day, they would have never made it this long.  I had one plant I thought I could manage without having to go and get more globes, R.I.P. Gonzo, you never had a chance.

So when my mom called and asked if I would take care of her African Violet while she was away, I was pretty sure she had dialed the wrong number.

She was smart enough to officially give the job to my daughter, but I am the one who will spend the most time with it.  It will sit there, begging me to just keep it alive until it's capable owner gets back.  I took a picture of it today, just so I can make sure that it's thriving.  (And maybe also in case I need to replace it)

My mom came over with the plant and also food for it.  This may be where I have gone wrong in the past.  I have never in my life bought plant food.  Ever. 

My daughter has the instructions and so far has done what was asked of her, but it's the first day, we can't rest on our laurels just yet.

I hope when my mom returns, she will find her violet in excellent condition and then promptly get that thing the hell out of my house.

Knee Deep In My Roots

I didn't have any random thoughts this week.  I may have to re-vamp Thursdays. 

I have been so consumed with my family history.  I have some of my Grandma's photo albums and I am scanning and saving pictures so that anyone who wants a copy can have one. 

I only recently found out that my Papa (Grandfather) had a sister that passed away when she was only 13.  I don't know if it's because I have a 13 year old of my own, but I have been slightly obsessed with finding pictures of her.  So far I have come across 3 and I just think they're are so special.

This is one of my favorites of her.  I love how everyone is dressed up.  I also kind of like how her's is the only face you can really see.  There are so many pictures of everyone else, I like how this one is kind of just hers.

I also came across a photo of my dad on a swing that reminded me so much of my nephew.  I always think my sister's son looks so much like his daddy, but in this picture I do see a little of our genes in him.

Here's a picture of my nephew at the park.

I am really enjoying all of the pictures and history and questions.  I am going to spend the day with my Grandma next week and she's going to help me fill in some of the blanks. I can't wait.

Happy St. Patrick's Day !





Literally

I am a very literal person.

Once when I was baking with my sister and my mother (I should probably tell you that I was a CHILD, but it will not stop my mom and sister from laughing hysterically) I was in charge of making some cookies. I read very carefully from the recipe and followed the instructions. Once the ingredients were in the bowl, I went to the sink to wash my hands. I then began rolling up my sleeves and dug my hands into the bowl.

My mother exclaimed, "What are you doing!?"

I turned to her and said, "It says mix by hand!"

The rest is history.

I still love a recipe, I think it's why I like baking more than cooking. My husband has the ability to take, "a little of this and a little of that" and make something pretty yummy, but I can only thrive with a recipe.

To prove the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I'll share this with you.

One day, we were cleaning up the house as a family and my son came and asked me what he could do next.

I told him that it would be a big help if he could take the clothes out of the washing machine and put them in the dryer. I had to give a brief explanation of how to run the dryer, but he seemed to get it and off he went.

I was doing a few things and some time had passed, I didn't see my son or hear the dryer running.

I yelled out, "How's it going in there?"

His reply? " I'M SOAKED!"

I'm not even sure how I processed this information, I'm pretty sure my feet just started running.

I walked in to see my son putting soaking wet clothes into my dryer. His sleeves were soaked, the front of his clothes were soaked, it was a mess.

Apparantly, I had forgotten to shut the lid when I ran the wash and so the clothes were just sitting in water. I yanked the clothes out of the dryer, yelled for my husband to grab every towel in a 10 mile radius and begged to the appliance gods that I wouldn't be dryer shopping the rest of the weekend.

By some miracle, we got all the water out, we let the dryer sit for a few days and it's been fine.

My son, literally did what I asked him. Should he have known better? Probably. I was definitely flustered and frustrated at the time, but it's now become a funny family story that we tell over and over.

The First 10 Minutes

During the week, there's a lot to get done in the morning.

My kids , for whatever reason, do not enjoy their lunches ( I guess really just their sandwiches) when I make them the night before. 

It's a small sacrifice of my time to make them in the morning.  I'd rather do that then have them throw it away when they get to school. 

In the hustle and bustle of the morning, there's a little ritual my son and I have that really starts my day off on a great note. 

We always watch the first 10 minutes of "The Today Show" together. 

He's usually eating his breakfast around that time, so whoever makes it downstairs first in the morning, puts the TV on NBC and should one of us be running late, we pause the TV at 6:59. 

We have a contest to see who can guess what the top story is, lately the sure bet has been anything to do with politics.  There are some mornings we're so sure we're right only to find out that something has happened overnight that we had no idea about.

I'm not someone who really follows the news too much.  Some days that 10 minutes is the only news I see all day, but I feel like some top stories and local weather are all I need to make it through the day.  I also have the benefit of being on Facebook enough, that if something big happens, I usually find out about it.

I love the little discussions we get into about the news.  We both really miss Meredith Viera, and we both agree that every morning we still wish they would announce her name.

There are some news stories that are tough to talk about.  The recent news of an American troop going on a killing spree was confusing to my son, but it really made him think about how much pressure our troops are under. 

There's one particular story that my son brings up a lot.  When we first started this ritual, there was a boy named Kyron Horman who disappeared.  Every morning , we anxiously hoped that the top story would be that he was found.  As time went on, my son was concerned that Kyron had stopped being a top story.  Weeks turned into months and now over a year has passed. 

My son still asks about him from time to time, we occasionally look on Google to see if there's any new information.  Sadly, there isn't, it's so hard to try and explain to any kid, how this could be possible.  I am grateful for the opportunity it gives my son and I to talk about how this makes him feel and how he can stay safe, but I still get a lump in my throat every single time.

After the first 10 minutes, he's off to brush his teeth, get his shoes on, grab his backpack and he's out the door. 

I don't know how long we'll have this, but I will always be grateful for 10 minutes where it's just me and him.

Making a list

This past week and weekend I decided to finally bite the bullet and make , "THE LIST".

I feel like I have a million things that I want to do around the house.  There are things as simple as changing light bulbs in some of our fixtures.  (They have like 4 bulbs in them, so I'm not completely lazy, but some have a bulb or two out) and then there's things like putting in a chair rail in the dining room. 

I think of these things as I do things around the house, but I seem to forget them as soon as I walk away from whatever it is.

A few years ago , I painted a vanity for my daughter's room.  As she's gotten older, she likes to use it as a desk.  Her room is small and there's no way we'll ever get an actual desk in there, so I thought that maybe I could get a piece of glass cut and put it on top of that so it could be used as a little desk and would save the top of the vanity.  I have been thinking of this for at least a year, yet it never occurs to me to go and get it done.  I completely forget about it the second I walk out of her room!  It is now on the list.

As I go around the house, cleaning, organizing, etc.  I add anything to the list.  My goal is to accomplish one task a week.  I'm definitely starting out small, like light bulb small, but my hope is to finish the list, not just continually add to it.

We were able to get a chunk of things done this weekend, there's something about nice weather and daylight savings that gave us a nice burst of energy.  It was also super easy because my daughter was sleeping at my cousin's house for the weekend and my son was off playing basketball in the neighborhood most of the day. 

I love my kids dearly and usually it's so nice for us all to spend our weekend time together, but I was happy for a chance to get a lot of stuff done with my husband without interruption.

That being said, I think we were all in bed by 8:30 last night, we were all exhausted!


 

Rocky Mountain High

Almost 6 years ago my whole family flew out to Denver to celebrate my sister's wedding.  My son was the ring bearer and my daughter was the flower girl. 

My daughter had a gross motor delay and although she was almost 2, she didn't walk on her own yet.  My husband proudly help her hands as she walked down the aisle.  It was adorable and so sweet.  She actually took her 1st independant steps exactly one week later.

My son took his job very seriously, man did he look handsome in that tux.

Here are a few shots from that beautiful day at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

I could have added a ton more photos and there are many stories from that day, but I am exhausted and I actually almost forgot about blogging today!!  It will give me a chance to talk about it another time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Poor Little Lark

Random Thoughts for the Week....

• I really want those "Alouette" dancing, colorful Target commercial people to run through my house and upgrade everything with a little splash of color.  I want that song playing the entire time.

• I decided to look up the song, since the kids and I have been singing it lately and learned that it means "Lark, nice, lark", very sweet...but then goes on to say " I will pluck out your feathers...eyes, wings, etc..."  Oh my!  A little more research showed that the lark was a game bird, so they were killed and then plucked.  Not the happy little tune I thought it was, The French can make anything sound wonderful.

• I am STILL cleaning out my closet, I have been really distracted by researching the family genealogy and scanning a ton of pictures onto a passport drive so that my dad can have access to all the old pictures his mom has.  I plug away at a little bit each day, but ick..I almost wish I never unearthed this madness. (The closet I mean)

• I found 2 used undeveloped rolls of film in my closet.  I cannot wait to see what's on them.

• Is anyone eating cream of mushroom soup or can we all agree we just use it in recipes?

• Bananas go from "just wait one more day" to be eaten, to , "Everyone eat the bananas!!" in my house.

• I know we lose an hours sleep this weekend, but I cannot wait until it stays lighter later.  It changes my whole outlook on life, I swear.

King Of Pain

"There's a slippery spot on the floor today.....It's the same old spot as yesterday...."

This "song" has been running through my head all day.

At the bottom of our stairs, there is a slippery spot.  I don't know what it was from.  There wasn't any apparent spill or furniture polish residue, but it was slippery none the same.

Here's the thing.  I was not the one who first noticed it, I was the only one who didn't slip on it.  I was the one who decided to see how long these fools I live with would continue to slip on it before they did something.

I kid you not, my daughter slipped 5 times, my son about the same, my husband slipped so badly he scraped his arm on the corner of a little table we keep in the foyer.

NOT ONE of them thought to try and wipe the floor or maybe ask me if there was some way they could fix it.  They just continued to fall and yell and complain.  I said nothing.

This morning my daughter just all out slipped and fell and I think she scared herself more than she hurt herself, but there were tears just the same.

Once she was off to school, I decided maybe concussions weren't the lesson I wanted anyone to learn and I grabbed a sponge and a little soap and voila! , magically the floor was fine again.  Yeah, it was that easy.  I don't have a masters in slippery floor spots or anything.

I wonder how long it will take them to notice?

Might as Well Face it......

I'm addicted to mugs.

I love mugs.  I am not big on collecting things, but I can appreciate how a mug can make me remember a trip or a childhood memory.  Since I am a complete coffee addict, I often pick a mug that reflects the mood I'm in.

I thought I'd share my mug moods with you today.....

 This is a mug from a beautiful inn that just happens to be run by some family friends.  We had my Dad's 50th Birthday party there and it was a weekend full of fun, friends and family.  I enjoy the shape of this mug and the memories it brings back.

This you may recognize as a mug from The Titanic.  It's a replica, obviously, we saw The Titanic exhibit in Denver when we were visiting my sister.  It was great, but you weren't allowed to take any pictures, so we were excited to pick out a few souvenirs to remember the  day.  This is a perfect size cup for a quick cup of coffee before I'm off and running, or if I dare to sneak in an afternoon cup.

Nubble Light, Maine.  I will always always love you......This mug makes me happy.  So happy, we have 2 of them.

"

A mug for any occasion!  I usually use this one on the weekends.  My kids like to see what I write on there.  A few from the past have been, "Rain, rain go away"  "Go wake up Daddy" and "Ahhhhh...coffee".  A bonus is , it holds a lot of coffee, perfect for getting me in gear for the weekend.

No explanation needed. "Who are these kids and why are they calling me Mom?"

This last mug I have had the longest.

 It stayed in the back of the cupboard until recently.  My Aunt Louise brought it back for me when she went on her honeymoon over 30 years ago.

 When my parents named me Jennifer, they thought they had picked such a unique name, they didn't know anyone named Jennifer.  Sadly, about a kajillion other parents had the same thoughts that year.  I started out as Jennifer and soon became a "Jenny".

 Sometime around 6th grade, I decided that I was far too mature and cool and would now be referred to as "Jenn".  I went with the double "n" to try and stand out just a little.  Most of my fellow Jennifer, Jen and Jenn's ditched the "Jenny" and never looked back.  I know we all have relatives that still call us by our old names, but they get a pass.

 Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I don't mind The Jenny like I used to, and so the return of...

The Jenny Mug.

Control Freak

My refrigerator has always been haunted.

When we bought our condo 6 years ago, we had to purchase a fridge.  We were definitely looking for a deal as buying our place had sucked the life out of our bank accounts.  We were delighted to find a great deal at Best Buy on a nice fridge with a water and ice dispenser.  It had a dent on the side, but that side would be against a wall, so we were thrilled.

Soon after we moved in and we slowly settled in to all the new noises of our place, we noticed a high pitched humming that was coming from the fridge.  We tried a million things, but weirdly we got used to it and would only notice it when someone would come over and ask if our neighbors were vacuuming.  We would just joke that our fridge was haunted.

Then one day, the water dispenser stopped working.  My husband is handy, he has managed to fix a ton of things around the house, for which I am so grateful, but plumbing is not something he would attempt without a professional.

We then found ourselves living without the water dispenser, the ice maker still worked, so we were fine.  Then, the clicking began.....

Our ice maker started making ice at an insane speed, and it seemed as if this would be our fridge's swan song.  My husband did some research on the internet and it seemed the problem was our control panel.  He had seen where the company had actually sent people a new control panel at no cost and would then send a repair person out to install it.

We had the late night talk about the cost of the part (if it wasn't covered) plus a repair person vs. a new fridge.  I will admit, I had a gleam in my eye thinking about a beautiful french door fridge, but ultimately would be much happier to save some money.

After a phone call to the company, they said they would send us the part for $200.00, and schedule someone to come out fro an additional $100.00.  My husband worked them a little , a 6 year old fridge shouldn't die, etc and they agreed to overnight the part to us for $27.00, he told them he felt confident he could handle the installation, so for now, we didn't need someone to come to the house.

It arrived Friday and we eagerly awaited for my husband to install it.  The power kicked back on, it seemed to be starting to cool.  This was enough for me...I was thrilled.  Then he grabbed a glass and threw it under the water dispenser.....water came out!!!  The kids and I actually squealed with delight and Dad was declared a hero!!

Later that night, we heard ice dropping in the bucket, it seemed all was right in the household again.  My husband looked over and said, "Listen."  I didn't hear anything, which was exactly the point..no more haunted fridge!

We realize now that our fridge must have been dying a slow death all along and it was really a trooper for hanging in as long as it did.  We were so lucky that it only cost us $27.00, we didn't have much in there that had to be thrown away since I was due to shop last week.  My grocery bill this morning was less than desirable, but so much better than the cost of a new fridge.

What A Feeling!

In trying to give my life some order, you may or may not have noticed that I am trying to give each day I write a theme.  I've labeled them at the bottom of the post.  I have been inspired by  What Happens Matters a blog by Christine.  She is one of my blogging sidekicks and I encourage you to check out her blog, she blogs everyday and has really inspired to keep writing.

So with that, I introduce to you FLASHBACK FRIDAYS!!  Enjoy...

This is a picture from 2008.  My parents, my sister and her husband, and my family were in Maine for vacation and to celebrate my parents 35th anniversary.  My sister wrote a play, recreating their lives throughout each decade.  It was hilarious, full of lingo from the 70's, 80's and had lots of funny nicknames that my dad calls my mom.  My kids played my mom and dad getting married.  It was so cute, they were so excited to put on a play for their grandparents.  I think you can tell in this picture how happy they were. 


We stayed at The Anchorage in York, Maine.  I love that place.  My parents got one of the new rooms there and we stayed in the smaller rooms in back.  When we weren't at the beach, we all hung out in my parents room most of the time.  It was a really great time and such a fantastic memory that I will cherish forever.


I am also remembering that I had a horrible rotten toothache that weekend that I think resulted in a root canal and some serious medications.  I think it's a good sign that I mostly remember the good times that weekend.

See you next week on Memory Lane!

Random Thoughts Thursday

Luckily, I've been writing some of these down as they come to me.   The kids have a snow day today and let's just say our day started out with a bag of flour spilled in my front closet.  Snow day in my closet! 

Here's this weeks random thoughts.....

• Am I the only one who tries to rewind the radio in the car when I miss something?  (The regular radio, not my ipod, I am clearly spoiled by the wonders of DVR)
• I really wanted Christopher Plummer to win The Oscar, I haven't seen the movie, but I still have a massive crush on Captain Von Trapp.
• I cringed when I watched Sacha Baron Cohen on the red carpet, spilling whatever all over Ryan Seacrest.  I think it was cheap, awkward and not at all funny.
• I have learned I am unable to clean my house without music playing.
• Why oh why didn't I buy those snow discs that were $5.00 on clearance at Target?  I regretted it as I was blowing up 3 snow tubes today.
• I may be late to the game, but I have always been annoyed with how goopy and gross the lid/measuring cup from my laundry detergent gets. (You know the big ones with the press down spouts) I try to rinse it out, but it only helps a little and eventually it just gets gross.  It occurred to me this week that if I put a little bit of water in the measuring cup/lid, I can still measure it ( I pretty much eyeball it anyway) and it won't stick to the cup.  It gets diluted in the machine anyway, so no harm.   This isn't earth shattering , but an example of how something so little can make me happy.

Not too many thoughts this week, I have been too distracted by my closet clean-up project which I made not a bit of progress on today...Oh and also, my fridge is on the fritz...more on that later.

Cleanin' Out My Closet (A.K.A. "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie")

Have we all read the story about the adorable little mouse that when given a cookie, keeps getting distracted by other things only to end up back at the cookie?  Well then, you know exactly what it's like when I clean out a closet.

I have a fairly decent sized walk-in closet in my bedroom.  (Well technically off of my bathroom that's attached to my bedroom).  Since I don't have an extensive wardrobe and neither does my husband, the closet lends itself to being able to store other things as well.

This basically means that a lot of clutter and madness ends up in there and I have officially had it.

I decided that this week (that's right, I said WEEK)  I would be devoted to cleaning and organizing this thing once and for all.  It's Wednesday and I have created more of a mess than I had in the first place.

Here's how it went down.

First , I decided to put all our old mismatched photo albums and boxes of pictures into nice new matching albums that I purchased....two years ago.  So I had to take them all out of the shelf in my closet and they are now in piles on my dining room table.

Then, I unearthed a ton of frames that I no longer use.  I decided that I should "Nate Berkus*" those bad boys with some spray paint and give them new life, but it's cold and I can't do it now, so I guess I'll get a bin out of the basement and set those aside for a great spring day.

Now, I have a giant empty shelf in the closet that I need to put something on, so I contemplated moving our printer and shredder in there since the printer is wireless and we are limited on space in our bedroom/office.  I was just about to move everything when I realized that we have no outlets in the closet.  Stop. Call husband on realities of getting outlets.  Sigh, possible, but it will have to wait. 

Next, I decide that even though it's not a finished basement, now that the kids are getting older, I think I can move most of my craft stuff downstairs.  My daughter really likes using it and we have a spare table that we can set up down there and I can actually leave projects out while I'm working on them.

I head down to the basement and spend some time clearing an area to put my closet craft stuff in and I get completely distracted by other things that aren't organized down there.

Is it any wonder why it's Wednesday and it literally looks like I managed to clear one shelf in my closet while the rest of my house exploded?

This blog may be a glaring expose' into adult ADD, but I know eventually I will get back to the cookie....er..I mean closet.  I could totally go for a cookie though.

*Using "Nate Berkus" as a verb is totally acceptable.

Jenny-ology

My dad has asked me to help him put together his genealogy.  I am really excited to get started.  Since his dad passed away a year ago, he's definitely been more interested in remembering about all his relatives. 

This weekend we spent some time with my Grandma, I love when she tells stories , I could listen to them all day.  She is my last living grandparent.  I adore her, she is so sweet and never wants to be a bother.  I really cherish any amount of time I get to spend with her.  I love that she knows my kids, I'm so blessed.

She told us a story this weekend about how when she and her sister, Lorrette were little , her dad gave Lorrette 5 pennies for the collection at church.  Lorrette didn't know what the pennies were for , so she went and bought herself an ice cream at a chinese restaurant, the best part of the story is that Grandma still got such a kick out of it.

Another story was about how an uncle came to visit and when he got up in the morning and picked up his pants, all his change fell out all over the floor.  He called my grandmother in and asked her to pick it up, and then he said she could keep it!  She said she had $1.12 and she was so rich!  She said she didn't spend it for a long time because she liked feeling rich.  

My Grandparents, Fall 2010,  at my cousin's wedding.  They were married 61 years.

My husband, the kids and I really like the show "Who Do You Think You Are?".  It's so fascinating to see where people come from and how they unravel little mysteries about their pasts. 

I won't delude myself into thinking that we'll find anything as exciting as these celebrities do.  After all , they have entire production crews investigating their family trees and finding the most interesting branches. 

I can't wait to see where this journey takes me, and I think it will be a great way to spend some quality time with my dad as well.

Just Another Merkle Monday

Ahhhhh...the house is quiet again.  I really do love having my kids home for February vacation, but there is something amazing about that quiet cup of coffee on a Monday morning.

I was feeling so well rested when I got up this morning that I made my kids quesadillas for their lunches.  I know it's nothing earth shattering, but I mean, the cheese has to melt and cool, so yeah...

Last night was rough.  In an unusual turn of events, my son was all set and ready to go.  Set his alarm, got all his stuff ready and seemed genuinely excited about getting back to a schedule.

My daughter had a complete meltdown.  She told us that she didn't want to go to school, its boring, you just do the same thing every day and she just wants to be home.  This kid LOVES school.  As far as we know, everything is going smoothly and she has lots of great friends.

We settled her down, got her to bed, discussed the importance of an education (math is important, you need to read higher than a 1st grade level, blah , blah, blah).  We attempted to sit down and watch the Oscars (mostly to see what movies we should watch 5 years from now...get it?  we NEVER get to the movies), when she came downstairs crying hysterically.

At first, we did the usual parent, "Come on, what are you doing up, it's time for bed" and then she said,
"I tried to sleep , but I can't stop thinking that if I go to school , you and Daddy will die."

WHAT THE *&^^**@(#&*@( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do I do with that?!

Here's what went through my mind.
- Oh wow, didn't I just blog about how I would also get these kind of thoughts at bedtime?  Is she taking after me?  Ugh...why couldn't she just inherit my love for birthdays!?
-Is this for real, or is she that good at acting that she's trying to convince us that she can't go to school tomorrow?
-Am I going to die if she goes to school?  Is that how it happens?  Great.

My husband went into the , "That's crazy, that's not going to happen!" song and dance with little acceptance on her end.  We comforted , we brought her upstairs and I finally managed to say, "I know its hard to stop thinking about a bad thought once it gets in your head, what's something super happy we could think about?"

We decided that our upcoming trip to North Carolina was a happy thought.  We talked about what we would do, who would be there and I left her to think about what she would pack for the car, for the beach, etc.

Eventually she was sound asleep and when she woke up this morning, she didn't mention a word about her fears.  I asked her quickly at the bus stop if she was excited to go to school and she said, "Sort-of!" with a smile.  I'll take it.

I then veeeerrrry carefully crossed the street.

So Awesome I Could Cry...

There are some days that my kids are so awesome , I want to cry.  When those days coordinate with PMS, it's a perfect storm. 

Today my daughter had a play date with a girl in her class.  My daughter LOVES this girl.  She draws pictures of her, tell us all about her, and begs to have play dates with her. 

Her friend is almost 8 years old and has a syndrome.  I don't really want to go into a lot of detail on here, because hers is not my story to tell and she is so much more than this syndrome.

I am so used to seeing my daughter in the role of, "Let's play this " and " I want to do this", it was so amazing to see her play just as happily with someone who can't verbally communicate with her and to see them really have a ball together.

I think back to when she first asked me about getting together with her and I was such a wreck.  It seems so silly now, especially since that I've met the mom and she's just about as awesome as can be. 

At the time, I was nervous about how they would play, I wondered if my house would be an appropriate place for them to play and whether they would even have any interest in playing with us When I actually called and left a message , I received a call back from a mom who had never received a call for a play date for her daughter.  She was so excited to get the call and get the girls together.

Throughout the playdate, she kept thanking us and she kept saying it was so wonderful of my daughter to think of her daughter.  I hope I was able to convey to her that this get together meant just as much to us as it did to her.  I didn't want her to think we were doing this just to be nice, my daughter genuinely likes her daughter.  She told me today that this little girl is her best friend and I went in my room and cried a little.

As much as I like to teach my kids life lessons, this one was all my daughter and I feel so lucky that I was there to witness it.

Random Thoughts for the Week

This past week hasn't been very productive.

I was sick.  It was just a bad cold , but it really knocked me out.  I feel like I neglected everything; my house, my kids, Valentine's Day, my birthday and my blog!

Luckily, I have a great husband , who has promised a "do-over" this weekend for my birthday, but honestly it was still a great day and I felt very loved.

Ok...so being sick gave me lots of time to watch news, catch up on shows and watch some terrible tv.  It also gave me lots of time to lay around thinking about things. Here are my random thoughts for the week.

-Why does the guy on the carpeting/flooring  commercial ( I can't remember which company) act like he'd be all put out by 50% off and then says, " What's next free?" Umm, yeah, that would be great..anyone listening , I WILL TAKE FREE HARDWOOD FLOORS!

- There seems to be a lot of chatter on Facebook regarding honoring soldiers and Whitney Houston.  I think there's always opportunities to keep things in perspective, but there's no way these things should be compared.  She's a human being who was loved by her family and fans, despite her flaws.  She has no control over how those people choose to mourn or honor her and it doesn't take away from anyone else's loss.

- I got caught up in a Teen Mom 2 marathon.  I decided I wasn't as upset that these moms were immature as I was that they all had professionally colored hair, nails done, extensions and cooler phones than me. 

- Except Janelle, that girl is so incredibly messed up, as much as it may seem wonderful that her mom is raising Jayce, didn't she also raise Janelle?

- I had a moment this week that made me realize how frustrating it must have been to be my parents.  For every time I said , "I don't know"  I apologize.

- I also realized that I love getting presents both practical and impractical.  I was as thrilled to receive a gift certificate to get my nails done as I was to get new silverware and a car organizer. 

- I kind of like writing checks.

- Are we really buying roll covers for our back up toilet paper?  I just want to know.  They're pretty and all, but I'm not getting them unless you do.

I'd love to say, "I promise I'll write more next week!" , but its school vacation week and we're going to gut and reorganize the kids' rooms, so I'll probably be too busy banging my head against a wall.  Repeatedly.

Good Kids

If you want to feel like a rock star, go and visit a 1st grade classroom.  You will find a room full of little people who are genuinely excited to see you.  I help out in my daughter's classroom on Thursday afternoons and every time I walk in the door, I am greeted with adorable little smiles and loud whispers telling my daughter that her mom is here.

They're so eager to make a connection with you.  One child reminded me of the time we saw each other when he was getting his hair cut.  Another told me that he met my in-laws at Stop and Shop.  I try to reply to them with as much enthusiasm as they're giving me, it's pretty adorable.

This was pretty much going to be what I was going to write about today, and I was even going to say that now that my son is 13, I miss the days when his friends and classmates were excited when a parent came into school.

Then I went to the Middle School last week.

I was picking up my son for an afternoon appointment and I happened to arrive as the students were changing classes.  I could not have been more surprised to hear, "Hi Mrs. M!" I looked up to see one of my son's friends, walking with a group of his friends, with that same smile I had seen in my daughter's class, just happy to see me and thought he'd say "Hi."  It may seem like such a small insignificant thing, but it really made my day.

As I continued to the office, I heard at least 3 more, "Hi Mrs. M!"'s.  A boy that lives in my neighborhood even held the office door open for me.  As I was waiting for my son, another friend walked in the office and was asking if my son was okay. 

It is so easy to write off middle school aged children as moody or to think that they are only concerned with being cool, but I will not make that mistake again.

My son has managed to surround himself with some pretty amazing friends. I know that they're not all perfect, I don't expect them to be, but in those few minutes at the school, it reaffirmed to me that we are so lucky that these boys are in his life. 

It's really comforting to know that these boys have each other.  I know that things may change as the years go on, but I will always be grateful that they navigated middle school together.  I hope my daughter gets to experience the same thing, I want to be cynical and say girls are so different and dramatic (being one, I have some experience) , but I also want to trust that she may just surround herself with some wonderful friends, and I won't take it for granted.