Thinks By Me

Brainy Boy walked in from school yesterday and announced "Mom, we saw the adolescent development movie in school today". I'm not sure how he knew it was called this, since I'm sure that is not the title they used at school. However, this is an event that I have been awaiting since a month ago when I got several permission slips asking whether I would allow Brainy Boy to see the "growing up movie" in school. I had taken the opportunity to remind him of a few facts-of-life discussions we'd had and told him that he would eventually see a movie about his body growing and changing. He was horrified to think that a stranger would be openly discussing his private body parts, but it seemed like it never happened. But yesterday apparently was the day. I tried to pry some details out of him, but all he would say was that it was "disturbing". That's BBoy-speak for "personal, embarassing, private". Brainy Boy is quite the scientist, and...

It was a pitiful sight around our breakfast bar at 7am this morning. The two Olsen kids looked like a sorry little lot as they dragged out of bed after having all last week off for winter break. Our late nights and equally late mornings didn't take very long to brainwash their body clocks. We did attempt to get back on schedule over the weekend with normal bedtimes and regular wake-up times, but it appears that bad habits are a lot easier to set in stone than to break. At one point, during cereal pouring, I had two light-brown heads on the counter top with eyes tightly shut. I would have run to get my camera, but my laughing woke the two of them back up. I am sure that Eric dozed off when he was saying the blessing for his breakfast, poor kid. By the time they were dressed and ready to get in the car, they each seemed a little more chipper. I am sure by the time they greeted each of their friends, their bodies were much more alert and with it. The heat is on as state testin...

One of the most outstanding characteristics of the guy I call "mine" is the fact that the is absolutely crazy about his family. His worst day is when he finds out he has to travel somewhere overnight and be away from home. He has gone to great lengths at times to drive all hours of the day or night just to avoid spending the night away from us. One of my goals has been to entice him to enter Survivor (which he would absolutely be able to win) or go on the Amazing Race with me. But he absolutely refuses because of the time away from the kids. So it was with great reluctance that he saw us off on Monday as we left for DC. But it was with glee that he welcomed us back and complained about how lonely it had been at home by himself. On Friday morning, when I awoke at 9:30, it was to the sound of John and Caroline toiling away in the kitchen making "Dad's famous omlet" and cinnamon french toast. Caroline loves to cook and she really enjoyed the change from hel...

Our plans for the trip to Washington DC included departing Monday at noon, arriving in DC at dinner, and coming back at noon on Thursday, arriving home by dinner. Everything went pretty much as scheduled. Although we arrived in DC a little after dinnertime on Monday, we made up for it by staying up until midnight, everyone included (even the kiddos). They had a grand old time with their cousins Chandler (almost 6) and Gabrielle (soon to be 4) and Cameron (almost 1). We took the opportunity while there, to celebrate the birthdays of the cousins which will be coming up in March. We also took a few hours to spend downtown seeing the Air & Space museum and the Natural History museum. The highlight was definitely the Metro rides, though. Caroline had the best situation as she is 8 and loved playing with either Chandler or Gabrielle. At times, Eric felt he was a little mature to play with a 3-year-old female. So Caroline made the best of it and toggled between whichever cousin offe...

We're in Washington DC, a city I have adored since my earliest memories as a 2-year-old since that was where Grandma and "Sissie" (my mom's sister) lived. I am so excited to see that my kids are growing up to love it as well. We made the trip in barely over 5 hours from upstate NY and I navigated and arrived with no need of help from John! I will admit to one small detour as I went through the wrong toll gate and had to drive about 2 miles out of the way to a turn-around, but other than that, all was smooth. The highlight of the trip down was a quick stop into a McDonald's playland for a little leg-stretching. Even 9 year olds like an unfamiliar tunnel maze. It is always bittersweet though, because even a 20-minute stop can cement spur-of-the-moment friendships and my kids always lament that they will probably never see their "friend" again. Yesterday (Tuesday) we spent about 5 hours downtown in the Air & Space museum and a quick stop to peek a...

I am headed with the kids to DC for a few days to meet my brother, sis-in-law and kids at my aunt's house. All her neices and nephews call her "Sissie". All her friends call her "Bunni". Long story short, her given name is Harriet Louise. Go figure the nicknames. BUT, she is everybody's favorite aunt, loves to have us come visit, and we always have a grand ole time, and even the great-neices and nephews are thrilled about going. It feels a little weird packing this morning, because John is at work, not going with us. In my usual Type A style, the bags were all packed last night sitting in the appropriate rooms, just waiting for the morning toothbrushes and combs to be added before they get zipped up. The car is ready, clean and waiting to be filled. Pretty much the only thing not in the van at this point is our butts and the keys. The reason it feels strange is because when John goes with us, he always waits until we are ready to walk out the door t...

Our typical Sunday morning involves us scurrying out the door at 9:30 with John heading to teach the 2nd and 3rd grade Sunday School class with another teacher, our kids going to their class and me to mine. This morning was different since John was out of town for the weekend and arrived home late, so he arranged for the other teacher to handle class alone. I left him sleeping in bed where he remained until 11:30 this morning. When we arrived home at 12:30, I vocalized my confidence in him saying that I was sure he would have some superb lunch ready for us since he had been home alone all morning. He assured me this was true--our gourmet selections were 1) Cereal brushed with a delicate glaze of sugar topped with creamy, ice-cold milk or 2) Leftover corkscrew pasta with alfredo sauce that I made on Thursday or 3) Leftover General Tso's chicken take-out that Eric and I shared Friday night. John seemed quite pleased with his skills at offering us choice of delicious, nutritious m...

O my--I have undergone blogging withdrawal. We went without any cable service (including phone, tv and internet) for eight hours today because of super-high winds and cable lines being downed. But service is restored and all is right with the world again! Eric's sick day on Thursday was quite a success for both of us. For him, he sounded sick enough with that barky, croup cough that dad said he really needed to stay home and rest (mom was very skeptical). His day was a thrill of watching tv, eating sugar cereal and playing out in the fresh air since the croup really only shows up at night. It was a success for me too since I could be a little smug about seeing that he would have been well enough to go to school. So Friday morning came, and although he protested going to school again, I sent him and told him to call if he didn't feel well (mean mom that I am). I was quite startled when my exercise class ended and I had a muffled message from Eric that sounded like "M...

John has decided he no longer wants to live in our contemporary log home, set on a lovely five-acre plot surrounding by a country setting. I don't think it is so much the pine needles, tree bark and fresh air that he yearns to envelope him, but it's the wildlife. He has consistently sneaked into my contemporary decor, every species of animal that can be killed with a bow & arrow. We have multiple deer, pheasant, full flying turkey, and his two most recent vicitms, the bear (which replaced the turkey, which replaced my large grapevine wreath) and the coyote which arrived this morning (which replaced my candlescape and family pictures). These are just a few of the prouder displays. Regular curtains, wall hangings and art work just don't compare to the ruggedness of what you can kill, drag inside and slap up on your wall. And it's just not that impressive to brag about going over to Pier One Imports, hauling that big 40X60 oceanscape picture to the van and mountin...

The past two nights have been eventful. Tuesday night brought Caroline into our bed with a bad dream. She didn't keep to my cardinal rule of crawling between John and I. Of course, she came to my side of the bed, shoving me into the middle, a position I detest. A king-size bed is absolutely not king-sized when one of the occupants is an 8-year-old octopus. I did fairly well stumbling through the day on Wednesday, however, even with the interrupted REM sleep I got. Last night was a repeat, but it was Eric this time, barking like a seal. He practiced the same technique as Caroline, taking my side of the bed, my favorite pillow and the comfiest spot on the mattress, leaving me again, squished in the middle to be pummeled and prodded with no escape. Not only that, he continued to bark, wheeze and develop a croupy cough. Being the devoted mother that I am, always thinking of my childrens' best interest, I reverted to the emergency expert and instructed John to go find some m...

We woke with a start to our dog, Max, yipping, barking and having a fit at 3am. I thought perhaps someone had wrecked their car in our front yard, which happens regularly in the winter since we live on a curve. After peering out the front balcony and finding all clear, we realized that we heard yipping, yapping and howling answering our dog. We tried to shush Max several times, but she was raising the roof and we feared she would raise our kids as well. Since John always has his binoculars on the windowsill at the ready, he took a gander out the back window and sure enough, on the hill he found a couple coyote howling in the back yard. We had no recourse but to let the dog outside and hope that the group would be chased off by the sound of our Jack Russell since her stature isn't exactly a threat to the German-shepherd size of a wild one. The dog returned a few minutes later, wagging her tail and grinning her doggy smile claiming victory at accomplishing her mission of keepin...

As a 17 year-old, I met John in my senior year of high school. At that time, he was a big-deal college senior, five years older than me. I know it is unbelievable since I practically look like a highschooler even now, but we have shared 19 consecutive Valentines since 1987. As a tribute my great score in life, here are 19 reasons why I love him and why we'll have 19 more Valentines together, and then 19 more after that: 1) He gets excited every time he gets another blue fire department T-shirt (100 and counting...) 2) He saves peoples' lives as a hobby. 3) He plows our neighbors' driveways whenever it snows, even though they could do it themselves. 4) He's the perfect mix of high-tech engineer brainiac and country-lovin' hunter-guy. 5) He thinks he can fix anything, and when he tries, it always works. 6) He is always in a good mood and is the friendliest person I know. 7) The 40 year-old men think he's nuts, the 20 year-old guys think he's "rad...

This was the question I asked myself as I drove away from church Sunday morning with a van full of four little girls. When I arrived at church, I had a 9-year-old boy and an 8-year old girl, both mine. Somehow I got suckered in to being the nice mommy and letting my daughter invite three girls home for the afternoon. The exchange was that I sent my son home to another friend's house. I realized quickly that my Berkshire friend, who took my son and hers got the better end of the bargain! The afternoon was spent watching all the giggling, dancing, gymnastics, changing clothes and other previews from tween-dom that will be coming before long. John earned Brownie points by freezing his butt off taking them each for a spin on the ATV in the 20-degree weather. The girls didn't come in afterward either. They spent about an hour jumping on our trampoline in full winter regalia-snowpants, boots, hats, mittens and coats. I unloaded 2 of the girls around 4pm and took mine and anot...

Last night was my monthly dinner out with my kickboxing group. John took the kids to Gander Mountain while we were gone, and the kids were sad to report that the little army of camaflouged squirrels has been removed. However, they were thrilled to report that John took them to their favorite store in the world (Barnes & Noble) and they each bought an intelligence-enhancer called "Calvin & Hobbes" comic book. My kids knew about Barnes & Noble before they ever knew about Toys R Us due to my dad's genetic code of book obsession that was passed on to me. We girls chose a local Thai restaurant that had superb food. We each got a dish and then passed it around to share. It was an enlightening experience as I didn't know what anything was but everything we sampled was great. The after-dinner shopping was the same way. We all challenged one another to outlandish schemes of making this Valentines memorable for our spouses. We'll see how that goes after ...

It is a sad state of affairs when I crawl out of bed, squint at the alarm clock and groggily calculate how many hours left until bedtime tonight. It's even worse when I try to estimate whether or not I'll have time to squeeze in a nap before the kids come home from school. But exciting plans are scheduled for today, so the events go on. The most notable thing happening today is that John is keeping the kids busy while I have dinner with my kickboxing posse'. John is taking the kids to his favorite store, Gander Mountain. He says he is doing some advance planning for our 2 camping trips this summer. I say that he just needs a fix of roaming between the manly aisles, taking in all the bows, arrows, bullets and all the other junk that makes him a "mad hunter". The real thrill is going around looking at the little displays of dead, stuffed quirrels, decked out in little GI Joe clothes, holding their plastic toy rifles. They even have a few plaques with the rear...

I have a couple of friends that I talk to on the phone pretty much every day. One of them is my jewelry store friend, Jill. Sometimes we do miss talking for a day or two, and then when we catch up we have talked for an hour. Or two. The weird thing is, we don't actually see one another that often. Generally, we'll run into each other at church once a week. But if one of our kids is sick, or if somebody is traveling or has a scheduling conflict, we often go quite a while without actually laying eyes on each other. BUT, we faithfully exchange birthday gifts. Mine is April 29; hers is June 10. The problem is, we insist on exchanging the gifts in style. No meeting up and handing off. No dropping by the house to present the gift. It has to be done over brunch, lunch, a shopping day, or something equally deserving of the friendship we share. As a result, the gifts are exchanged long after the actual event has passed. We do purchase the gifts well before the arrival date...

Anyone familiar with little girls knows well that pink and purple are the colors of choice whenever selecting anything--this extends from choosing which crayon to color with all the way to which new jacket to buy. There does come a time, however, when pink and purple are too "babyish" for the discriminating taste of a maturing eight-year-old and the attempt to grow up causes them to hate all the pastel-colored items they used to insist on having. Shown above is my most recent load of laundry of Caroline's clothes. The reason they were all in the same load is 1) They are all black and 2) It is what she has worn in the past week. There are other items of black clothing that she owns, but those are in the next load of darks! I have only bought a couple of the items seen here --the others are inherited from other girls who have outgrown them and the kicker is that in this pile of 9 clothing items, there are 3 identical pair of black pants: same brand, same style, same siz...

Hmmmm, weird--sometimes I'm not here! If you can't find my daily post, look in the "Ancient Thinks" archives for the appropriate month and the most current one will be on top!

That blurry streak would be Bobcat slinking into the 6-inch hole in the dropped ceiling at the vet's office yesterday where she prowled around for the next 6 hours. The story goes like this. This morning started with Caroline telling me what a tough time I was going to have getting Bobcat into her crate (pictured above). Caroline knew this because she had been "practicing" with the cat to perfect the technique of entering the crate for the trip to the vet. By the time we were really ready to go, I had to bend Bobcat into a "U" shape and put her in spine first. We arrived at the vet around 9:30 am to get the overdue rabies shot but we ended up having quite a wait. As we waited, several bouncy puppies sniffed and peered at Bobcat in her crate. She seemed to take it all in stride and appeared fairly calm when we finally entered the exam room. She slowly came out of her crate and proceeded to sniff and explore around the exam room as we waited some more. Appa...

After the flurry of the weekend, I didn't even mention two other notable events that occurred: 1) We discovered on Friday afternoon that Bobcat is overdue for her rabies shot. The significance of this is the rabies occurrence of last week. (See Rabid Family). 2) I rechipped m front tooth that had a run-in with the trunk of my van about six months ago. So, as of this morning, I would not be whining to my mother about being bored if she were here. It will be off to wrestle a very indignant cat into a carrier for a trip to a vet. Unfortunately, she does not love this experience as much as Max, who practically pees with excitement at the prospect of visiting her doctor. Second, I will be dashing to the grocery store to refill Mother Hubbard's cupboard. After the business of the weekend, we made no pit stops for emergency supplies and we are what my jewelry store friend, Jill, calls "food poor". Then, I'll be calling the dentist to squeeze me in for a fix. I am...

After the flurry of activity of this weekend, it is sort of a weird feeling to have things back to normal; it's the sort of sensation you get when you are mulling around with a million things to do, but nothing pressing, so you feel like there is nothing to do. After the late night my mom and I had Friday night, we dragged ourselves down to my friend's jewelry store so as not to waste the $20 coupon we plucked out of the mailbox as we left the driveway. When we returned home we flopped on the couches in the living room while we considered what to do for dinner. Since everybody was pooped, we ordered Pizza Hut in and went to bed early. Since my mom's flight returned home today, we left the house for the Syracuse airport around 10am. We had an uneventful trip up, but we were puzzled when the gate attendant could not find my mom's reservation. You can imagine our delight when we realized that my mom was actually staying until NEXT Sunday, February 12! After an additi...

I pride myself on being self-sufficient, levelheaded and generally able to take care of business. So it was with a little bit of smugness that my mom and I arrived in Purchase, NY to attend a concert a full half-hour before we expected to arrive. We found the SUNY campus and located a flower shop and navigated expertly to Alyssa's apartment to meet up with our party all with no help. I temporarily relinquished the keys to Ken, Alyssa's brother, who got us to dinner and the concert with "minus 1 minute" to spare. We stepped into the conert hall as Alyssa hit the first note of her first song. After a short reception following the concert, it was with heightened confidence that I took the wheel and began a desperate search for a Starbucks. With no gourmet coffee in sight, we pulled into a strip mall and changed out of our concert clothes in the none-too-immaculate bathroom of a Dunkin Donuts. After getting our fix of medium joe-xtra cream-no sugar, we hoofed it nex...

My mom flew up from NC yesterday for a quick trip down to NYC (actually SUNY Purchase) to see a friend in a vocal concert at the Performing Arts Center. Since we don't know exactly where we're going, we're gonna give ourselves 6 hours to make a 3.5 hour trip. The directions look pretty straightforward, so we should have plenty of time for dinner. This is Alyssa in the red sweater, the girl we are going to see. She might eventually be my step-sister of sorts, since she is the daugther of the man my mom is dating. Alyssa's dad, Ken (my mom's friend) is in the middle and that's my John beside him. This pic was taken at Thanksgiving, when we all got together to meet for the first time. That's a sliver of me in the orange. We're heading right back home after the concert and reception, so we should hit the sheets around midnight, and get just enough shut-eye to entertain the kids with my mom tomorrow. On Sunday, my mom flies out of Syracuse around noon...

I'm bummed. My chi is dead. According to this ancient eastern philosophy, if you want to be happy, healthy, wealthy, have a good marriage or anything else positive in life then you need to order yourself around the principles of Feng Shui. One of those principals is to include living things in each room of your house (like plants, not people). My problem with this is that I have a black thumb. Not only do I kill all living plants in my house (I've tried ivy, cactus, ficus, even bamboo!) but I forget I even have them. This poor plant has survived since my in-laws moved to FL 2 or 3 summers ago, but it has been slowly dehydrating for who knows how long. It would be bad enough to kill it, but since I have blinders on when it comes to plants in my house, it sits there dead for weeks and I don't even notice it. I dust around it, I vacuum around it, I even scooch it over sometimes if it is in the way. It took John making a snide comment about me needing to water the plant ...