Merry Christmas 2007

Just a quick post to comment on our Christmas festivities...

Yesterday we went to Luke's parents to exchange gifts with his family and then last night after 4:00 Mass, his entire family (or a lot of them anyway) gathered at Joan's house for their annual dinner and gift swap. The boys looked so cute yesterday. Adam and Kendall gave them matching John Deere hoodies--which they put on immediately, wore again today and will probably wear again tomorrow! The only reason they took them off was to change into their church clothes...and my, did they look handsome!

Patrick was psyched because he got to hang out with Rebeckah at Joan's house. She looked beautiful. We really do not see her enough anymore. He was so happy to see her! He also got in his Caleb time, although from the looks of these two with their heads together like that, does anyone else think we ought to be worried?

My boys lookin' so smoooooth...especially Ben with his Rico Suave chocolate milk mustache!

When we got home, we put out our milk and cookies (and oats for the reindeer), read The Night Before Christmas, sang a Christmas lullaby, and then nestled our sleepy heads snug in our beds. It was a late night, so the boys slept in this morning. I hated to wake them, but Luke had to be at work at 11:00 (we were lucky to get that--his shift usually starts at 8:00), so we went up to drag them out of bed. We needn't have fretted. Patrick shot out of bed like a cannon and ran downstairs. He was not disappointed! I won't bore you with details, but it was a fun morning and the boys were thrilled with Santa's goodies. Patrick's favorite gift was two truck sticker books. It was all he asked for this year. We were glad Santa could deliver.

One of Patrick's presents was a scooter, but since it was raining outside, he and Ben took it for a spin around the kitchen. Ben had a ball opening gifts...this is year has been the first time that he's even begun to grasp the idea of presents, so that made it all the merrier. Altogether, it was a really sweet and cozy Christmas morning with just the fam.

Merry Christmas to everyone out there in Bloggerland, as well as to any random readers. We have had a truly blessed year. I was listening to The Christmas Waltz by Frank Sinatra the other day, and the chorus ends with "Merry Christmas, may your New Years dreams come true..." and it struck me that in 2007, ours did. Last year at this time, Luke was getting ready to tackle full-time school plus full-time job--which left me full-time alone--and we didn't know how things would turn out, or if there would even be a payoff. I'm glad to say there was, and now we're happier than ever. I hope for all of you that your New Years dreams come true. Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Jesus, Delmos and Joe

Patrick's first "real school" Christmas program was this week, and boy was it just darling. I was a very proud momma because he did so well and was sooooo handsome while he did his thang. The Pre-k and kindergarten classes did the "pre-show" (because they are just not cooperative enough to actually be in the program) but it was cool, since theirs was the best part anyway. They sang Rudolph and then a sweet song called Happy Birthday Jesus. It was actually a completely cheesy song, but when sung by 4-year-olds it was transformed into a tearjerker-and-a-half. It went something like this:

Happy Birthday Jesus
I'm so glad it's Christmas
All the twinkling lights
And the presents are nice
But the real gift is yoooooouuuuuuuuu....

And Patrick sang his little heart out.

After that the program took a turn for the worse, especially when Joseph appeared on the scene sporting a beard so heinous that I was sure they'd stolen it off a Hasidic SNL skit. I swear I expected him to bust out in a Yiddish tap number at any point. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture, so you'll have to use your imagination. Joseph--who was lucky enough to be Brennan, my boss son--later told us that the loud whoops and guffaws coming from our row were just the icing on the cake for him. Whatever. We had a great time.

So tonight Delmos came over to play X-box with Luke, but he always eats dinner with us too. And polite Southern boy that he is, he always offers to bring something. Tonight I told him to bring dessert and make it chocolate, so he showed up with a German chocolate cake--yum! Then we found out that tomorrow is his birthday, so it turned into a birthday cake, and of course Patrick was more than happy to help with the candles and such.

And tomorrow is also another little guy's birthday...sweet little Joe, who I think is the cutest thing ever, is turning the big FOUR tomorrow! And this is huge, as any of you who have survived a three-year-old will know. And if you haven't yet experienced the age of three...consider yourself warned. Two is just a warm-up, okay? So Katie, I raise my glass of skim milk to you--you have made it girl, and it's all uphill from here! Happy birthdays to D-to-the-elmos and the one and only Joe!

The First 48

Luke pulled his first 48-hour shift this weekend...ugh. He called me at 7:15 this morning and asked if I cared if he stayed on for another shift--with overtime pay. What's a girl who's hard-up for some Christmas cash supposed to say? It's probably been great for him, since on Saturdays they're required to do absolutely nothing unless there's a call, but for me...well, today was less than thrilling. However, it is 24 full hours of time-and-a-half pay, and Christmas is but a few short days away, so...whatever. He'll be home in the morning and I'll make him watch the kids all day while I sleep off the past two days.

But we did get to see him tonight, since it was the annual Fire Department Christmas dinner. Nothing exciting, but the boys were on cloud nine amidst the throngs of firefighters. The highlight of the night was when Santa came around to hand out goodies and Patrick told him we'd be leaving him a beer and some cookies on Christmas Eve. Gee, I wonder who put him up to that??? They also had a really great slideshow, with lots of pics of the guys doing cool things and looking very sexy in their gear, but in true Luke fashion, he managed to avoid being in every picture but one:

As you can see, there was nothing he could do to avoid being snapped here, so I guess he just decided to embrace it for once. And look what a cool picture it turned out to be! My favorite part is all the other guys' heads peeking out over the platform above. In the grand scheme of things, they are just boys being boys...and they're lucky enough to get paid for it.

I have no idea if this is Luke or not (probably not), but we'll pretend it is, because I know that this was taken during the physical test that all the applicants had to pass before they were accepted into rookie school. Among a slew of other things, they had to slam this tire with the sledge hammer until it moved quite a good distance. I can't recall how far, but I know I wouldn't have moved it an inch, so I guess I'll never be a firefighter. Too bad. I remember Luke saying this day kicked his butt, but he got through, and the rest is history.

I'm not sure when this picture was taken--I'd have to guess at the opening of their newest station--but I just think it is really cool.

So that's it. Thanks for reading--I'll catch you all later!

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat...

The thought of shopping for Christmas gifts popped into my head today...and let me say, I've never been less excited about spending my money on other people. Not to say I don't love you all (especially those of you with whom I will be exchanging gifts)--it's just that I've got no clear direction and that takes all the fun out of it. When you know what you want to get someone, it's exciting to hunt for the best deal, wrap it up all pretty and put it under the tree. Then you wait for the suspense to just eat away at the recipient for 25 days or so, because you know they're going to just love it. So a gift card--even a gift card wrapped up in a pretty box--just doesn't do it for me in terms of gift-giving.

I've already got a few gifts purchased, and a few more with a definite plan forming in my head; but by and large, there are a lot of blanks on my list. So I begged a little help today. Someone told me about a gift-finding website where you enter a person's info (age, relationship, interests) and it spits back literally thousands of gifts to choose from. I thought I'd try it out and see how many hits and misses I'd get. I'll let you be the judge. Would you like to become the proud owner of the Little Pink Pig BBQ Grill this Christmas? Or what about some shoe-shaped party invitations, does that sound like a treat you'd like to find under the tree? Wait--I know just the thing! You've been dying for this pewter lizard paperweight, haven't you? And you can't say the lip-shaped toothpaste squeezer isn't practical, if a little costly. One thing that I actually did find was for Sandi--a Warhol-syle painting of her dog, Schaeffer. She would love it. Unfortunately, I don't have $99 to spend on her, or anyone else for that matter.

Sadly (for you all), this is the best I could come up with. But just think, you'll be all set for next year's Dirty Santa gift exchange, and you'll have me to thank.

For the Holidays, You Can't Beat Home Sweet Home

As is the tradition, I headed home for the holidays this past weekend--to Atlanta that is--where David and Sandi were also going to spend Thanksgiving. As soon as we all got there, Mom got down to business and herded us all out on the front stoop to have a family picture...which will soon be outdated. Yes, in a few short months I'm going to once again become....an aunt. Hah! I know you were all thinking I was going to say mother! Nope, it's Sandi's turn, and she's due in March. Another boy for Gigi, who says we only need one more and then we'll have a basketball team. So I wonder how long Sandi will wait after this one before she has our little shooting guard...?

The picture-taking was less than successful. Nobody ever looked at the same camera, and at some point one of us was pulling a face--usually Luke. But you know, that's how it goes. I should point out that Matthew is not wearing an Obama shirt. I don't think that David and Sandi are big supporters of the O-man. So know that they're not exploiting Matthew's cuteness--the shirt says "Thomas", as in the train.

On Wednesday, we had a joint birthday party for Ben (13th), Luke (22nd) and Sandi (Dec. 2nd). And in case anyone's wondering what to get Ben for Christmas, I'll just tell you that he likes toys and all, but the boxes are still where it's really at.

Incidentally, I did not make the cake, it was from Publix. Sandi loves their cakes, and pregnant birthday girls trump everyone else in terms of choices, so that's what we had. But I did make an apple pie and pumpkin pie for Thursday, and they were insanely good. I liked the apple one better, but we discovered on Friday that the pumpkin one tasted better cold out of the fridge, so next year we'll remember that: hot apple pie, cold pumpkin pie. Either way, the crust on the pumpkin pie was to die for. It had a stick of butter in it and it tasted like a cookie. I also put in a layer of crushed gingersnaps and pecans that was supposed to keep the crust from getting soggy, but it didn't work and didn't change the flavor, so next year I'll skip that step.

Boys # 1, 2 and 3 (aka Patrick, Matthew and Ben). We had much discussion over #4's name, which has been narrowed down to Roger (after Roger Federer) and Jeff (after Jeff the Wiggle). I should point out that David and Sandi came up with the first name and Matthew came up with the second one. Right now they call him RogerJeff. But no matter what the kid's named, all I know is that next Thanksgiving is going to be an experience, with four boys (all five and under) running around. I better start catching up on my sleep now.

Ben has a Birthday Party and the Blog Gets a New Look

Sunday night we had one of a seemingly endless succession of Ben's birthday parties. This one was for all the folks in Luke's family, and we had it at his parents' house. I am so glad they were willing to take care of the hosting responsibilities, because the thought of having all those people crammed into my tiny house was almost enough to make me take a long walk off a short cliff.

It turned out to be a really mild day, so we were able to spill out onto the deck, site of the "Kiddie 500". At that point I was very glad that we never considered having a clown or anything, because I don't think any hired entertainment would be nearly as fun as racing in circles and competing to see who could claim the most spectator toes.

After dinner we opened presents. It was the usual mind-numbing chaos, and we got the usual motorized stuff...which my kids can never get enough of, so that's fine.

After presents we did cake--or cupcakes in this case. I hate store-bought birthday cake, and this is the one instance where I can flat-out refuse to have it. At least until next year, when I'm sure Ben will insist on some nasty sugar-laden confection decorated with tacky designs on top. BLECH! Yep, I was definitely going to squeeze in one more year of yellow cake with fudge frosting. Ben is completely mystified by the whole candle thing. He has got the present thing down pat, and he knows all about the cake, but put the candles in front of him and he just stares. We try and coax a breath out of him for about 30 seconds, then I get tired of the charade and blow it out myself. Let's eat already! I'm sure Ben is thinking the same thing.

There's no relevance to this picture except that no one ever takes a picture of me and my boys...so here you go.

Well, this month has kind of been my blog's birthday as well, so in honor of the occasion, I decided yesterday that it was high time for a makeover. Enough with the teeny-bopper colors I've had for two years now! Out with the old, in with the new! So after a looooooong search on Pyzam, I finally settled on this sleek brown and blue template and set to work making changes. I am really happy with the finished result, except that I was totally bummed when I opened it at work today using Internet Explorer and saw that it looked completely different than it does using Mozilla Firefox, my browser of choice. I couldn't see the pretty brown stripe down the side, and the words in my header were all messed up. Upon further investigation, I realized that Jennifer's blog also looked weird in IE (it had a blue background instead of the polka-dots) and that Katie's looked a lot better than it does on my home computer...leading me to believe that Jennifer uses Firefox and Katie uses IE. So you know what I say to all this? BOO! Boo to the fact that we don't all see the same thing, and double-boo to the fact that people looking at my blog on IE think that I don't care that my header looks messed up. Which I do. I care a lot! In fact, I am very OCD about stuff like that, but if I'm going to make it look good, it's going to look good on my browser for crying out loud!!! Once more, with feeling: BOOOOOO!

On to happier topics, I also added some junk in the sidebar--which is very fun for my narcissistic self--but I'm also hoping it will help me update the blog more often. I'll have to log on to change my widgets...after all, I don't want anyone thinking it takes me two weeks to read a book. Except in this case it might, because that book is a snooze and I have no desire to pick it up. Anyway, hope you enjoy all the stuff about me on the right.

So, we'll have one more b-day party for Ben at Gigi's house this week, and of course it'll also be Thanksgiving, so I'll catch you all on the flip side. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving! If you're looking for a little entertainment, you can alway try deep-frying your turkey--more often than not it results in a big old grease fire, and then a hot firefighter will have to come and take care of business. It's just a thought.

How to Keep Busy at Night After the Time Change

Play with your child's birthday presents. On the odd occasion, your children may actually join you, thus entertaining the whole family at once (a rarity). We suggest motorized toys with a penchant for crashing. Any toy that comes with a warning on the label can also be fun if you use your imagination.

Practice patient assessments on your child. This will not scare them at all, nor will it make them cry hysterically. Try thinking of something you never ever want your child to attempt in his or her life and making this the accident scenario. It should prove to be highly effective.

For more suggestions on how to pass the time, tune in all winter as we while away the hours as only people with two preschoolers can do.

Happy Birthday Ben!

Today is Ben's second birthday and we are playing it low key since 1) Luke is at work today and 2) he really has no idea what a birthday is anyway. We're having a party for him next Sunday and then again at Gigi's house over Thanksgiving, so that's enough. It's been a quiet day, but we've had fun together, just him and me. This morning we met a friend and went for a looong walk around the baseball stadium and then went to storytime at the library. It was the cameraman's birthday and everyone sang to the guy but I let Ben believe they were singing it to him...because even though he's clueless about birthdays, he still knows enough to get excited when that song is sung. And I'm thinking that once his two parties are over, he'll be a lot more savvy about birthdays from then on. Yes, two cakes and two sets of presents ought to do it.

So Katie tagged me to do a thankful post in the spirit of the season, and I'll just take this opportunity to name 7 things I am thankful for involving Ben. Kill two birds with one stone and all that. Anyway, here goes...

1) I am thankful that Ben is bigger than his brother was at this age, because even though they were born in opposite seasons and are two and a half years apart, Ben is fitting quite nicely into clothes Patrick wore exactly two years ago. This is great because his wardrobe is ready and waiting for him at each change of season.

2) On the same note, I am thankful that Ben really looks up to Patrick but has never let his big brother push him around.

3) I am thankful that when the sunlight strikes him just right, it picks up the red highlights in his hair. He got that from me and I got it from my red-headed Irish grandmother, and I think it's a cool trait to be passed on through the generations.

4) I am thankful that he's a good stroller kid. I rely on my daily walks to burn nervous energy as much as I do to burn calories, and he makes it easy to fit them in.

5) I am sooooooo thankful that he got the whole nap thing figured out. The first five months were touch-and-go with my sanity, but he's been a dream ever since.

6) I am thankful that his blankie is made of sturdy brushed flannel, and there is slim-to-none chance that it will end up looking or smelling like Patrick's.

7) And finally, I am thankful that he's mine, and that he's happy and healthy. Children can be tough on a person, especially two-year-old boys, but there are times when I look at him and the world seems to stand still. When he laughs and throws his arms around my neck, or as we kiss goodnight and zip up his snuggly jammies, or when he and Patrick delight in the same activity, whether it be tossing a ball or the destruction of an unsuspecting toy...having him nearby, an extension of myself that I can hold and love, those are the moments when I know all is right in our world.

Ben with his family on November 13, 2005.

Ben today. Happy Birthday baby!

Halloween and the Aftermath

So Halloween was fun, although it was so long ago, by this time I don't have much to say about it. Patrick surprised everyone by saying he wanted to be Spiderman (or as Ben calls him--MAN!), and I though he looked really cute in his costume. I thought the mask was a pain in the neck, and he apparently agreed, because he ditched it really quickly.

His Pre-K Halloween parade was first thing that morning, and they went to all the classrooms to collect candy. Very cute, but I ditched them after a few minutes and went back to work. Can I just say that I'm so glad our school is not afraid of Halloween? Ben's bible-beating preschool called it "Fall Costume Day" or some crap like that. And the preschool next door to him had "Cowboy Day", which really limits your dress-up options if you ask me.

Then we went trick-or-treating with Brian, Jenny and Mary Kate over in Jim and Donna's neighborhood. It was a great trick-or-treating neighborhood, except towards the end, it got really congested with people driving their kids around. What's up with that? Mark my words...give it a few years and we'll start seeing headlines about kids being hit by cars on their own street. Not to mention that there's something inherently wrong about driving your kids around to collect candy. At least make them burn a few calories before letting them gorge themselves on sugar. Ben was Superman, by the way. He wouldn't go near Patrick's tiger costume from two years ago, so we put him in his pajamas and went for the whole superhero theme.

Luke and Brian had matching costumes...they went as Mormons. Or at least we think that's why no one would open their doors to give our kids candy. Kidding...Brian came straight from work sans tie and Luke had just served as acolyte at the vigil mass for All Saints Day.

So that was the last bit of fun that we had, since the kids have been sick ever since then. Patrick came home at 11:00 on Thursday and has been laying low ever since. Ben got over the croup, but now his nose runs constantly and he's picked up Patrick's nasty cough. Oy vey. Cold and flu season has arrived.

Not Your Everyday Common Cold

This week was "Fire Safety" week in preschool--perfect time for us to score some brownie points with the teacher. The local fire department brings their truck over and gives the kids a pep talk about not playing with matches, etc., etc...but on top of that, Luke had access to kid-sized turnout gear through his department, so on Thursday all the kids got to try them on while Patrick's teacher put on Luke's full gear--tank, mask and all. I understand pictures were taken, but I've yet to see them. Anyway, here's Patrick--a little crazed with glee--modeling the kids' gear for me at home.

Also this week, we finally got around to doing our pumpkins...and just in time, I would say, because apparently Halloween has passed and I somehow missed it. Yesterday I was at Walmart and they were removing all the Halloween stuff and putting up Christmas stuff. Now this is nothing new to me--I realize that the Garden Center becomes Holiday Central on the Tuesday after Labor Day and not one minute later. But they were wiping out any sign of Halloween...even the candy aisle. It was Christmas stuff everywhere. Not to mention that they're completely skipping over Thanksgiving. I guess if you can't capitalize on a holiday then there's no use acknowledging it. There's no money to be made off of Turkey Day, after all. It's a very puritan holiday. Moving along, though...we finally did our pumpkins, but this year we painted instead of carved. Much less messy. Jenny gave me some awesome crafty ideas, which I was grateful for since I am unable to come up with that kind of stuff myself. Here's the little man again with the finished products.

Can I just mention that we had to go to three stores to find pumkins? No one was selling them any more. Sheesh. Anyway, for the big one, we cut out triangles of painters tape and then painted the whole thing black. When it dried, we peeled off the tape and voila! Instant art! For the little ones, we used leftover paint from my bedroom (which is actually powder blue, but on the pumpkin it turns out white...weird I know...but Jenny is all-knowing), and then more black paint to make ghost faces. Patrick's is the ghost of Groucho Marx.

So the week ended with Ben coming down with a speedy case of croup. Yesterday morning he woke up with nary a sniffle and by 6 pm he was getting very close to that barking cough and wheezing in a very scary way. I had called the doctor earlier that afternoon, but they just said to give him Albuterol and that I might have to go to the ER this weekend. Luckily, I have my ways around that. I took him over to the boss' hubby P.J., who showed enough concern to call his buddy at Urgent Care and tell him we were coming over. One of my kids had croup last year (I think it was Patrick, but I really can't remember), and I had forgotten that it is just a wee bit more frightening than just a cough due to cold. So even though the after-hours doctor visit was a breeze, the night was still tough. I was reminded of all the warnings my pediatrician had told me last year: listen for the breathing, if it's strained get him in the shower fast or stick his face in the freezer--just the face!--if that doesn't work, get to the hospital, watch his ribs and neck muscles for signs of distress, his breathing passage is extremely small right now, you might want to sleep next to him on the floor...

...which spells out a tough night for me. Ben actually had a very good night. When I picked up his steroids, I got a steam vaporizer too, which transformed his room into a tropical rainforest overnight. So he woke up all dewy and pretty refreshed. I was not quite so refreshed. Since Luke and I are mean parents and have made our kids sleep in their cribs since day one, I did not foresee that sharing a room with Ben would go so well. I settled for putting the monitor right by his crib, and the receiver right by my head and turning it all the way up...which was very effective, much as if I had broadcast his breathing over the loudspeaker system at Phillips Arena or something. So I heard every sound possible. But it wasn't the sounds that woke me up, it was the worry, and I spent a lot of time creeping into his room to make sure his breathing was okay. Which it was, thanks to the balmy temperatures and relative humidity of 400%, a la Vicks. Anyway, I knew it would only be one rough night and that the steroids would really take effect today, so we're on the upswing.

Tomorrow, we're going to the annual harvest craft fair, but I'm not taking pictures, since I'm sure it will be just like last year and you can see those pictures here. I guess I'll catch everyone on the blog after Halloween. Later!

The Chattanooga Pics

So as I said before, last Friday we braved the "rain" and went to Chattanooga for a family outing. You can see how rainy it ended up being...but that's okay, because we needed the pretty weather and it's raining now...so everybody wins. First stop was the Chattanooga Zoo...

...which is so much better than Zoo Atlanta, primarily because they call themselves the Chattanooga Zoo and they don't interchange the parts of speech in their title like BellSouth and Team USA and all those other names that people give themselves thinking they sound edgy, but really they sound dumb. Zoo Atlanta being one of them. I also think Zoo Atlanta is waaaay overpriced. When I was a teenager (which was not that long ago) you could get in for $7--which seems about right. The last time I went was two years ago, and it had not changed a bit except they added two pandas which are never in the mood to be seen and the price tag had been inflated in a major way. Boooooo. The Chattanooga Zoo cost $15 for all four of us to go into, and although it didn't have elephants or giraffes, it wasn't like they were trying to show us dogs and squirrels and stuff. It still had enough exotic animals to give my kiddies a major thrill, which of course thrills me. Also, there were like 50 people there...no thousands upon thousands of screaming school children in matching shirts blocking my kids' view. Nope, it was just us and the animals, strolling around at our leisure. Nice.

They really loved it all equally, except the Patrick was totally enamored with the macaws, which he is familiar with because Diego saved one at some point in time. He sat and talked to that red macaw for about 20 minutes, and to give the bird some props, he held up his end of the conversation. He also showed us how he could peel a grape and eat just the pulp with his beak--no hands! It was highly impressive. My favorites were the African crane (the large bird with the crazy hair in the fourth pic), because he was into some wild and crazy antics--all up in your face and such--and the jaguar, who was completely geriatric but still breathtakingly beautiful.

The other great thing about the Chattanooga Zoo is that they have kept up with the standards for animal sanctuaries, but they have still preserved that old-timey zoo feeling. In the early days of zoos, they were kind of what you would see in a Curious George or Richard Scary book. They were built right into the heart of the city, and the design was basically a cement landscape with cages scattered in a circular path around one large central cage (which usually held monkeys). Not so great for the animals, but eventually people wised up and starting building something a little more like a natural habitat. As we walked around, I could definitely see the structure that had once been there...but was now covered with much nicer surroundings. So all in all, I give the zoo two thumbs up, and we'll be going back in a year or so, because they're adding on a new section so that'll be more to see.

Moving on, our next adventure was not quite so cost-effective, but fun nonetheless. We went on the Chattanooga Ducks, one of those old war boat/car contraptions that have been renovated for tours and are now sprinkled across the country taking money from suckers like me. I actually really enjoyed it--it was a great day to be on the water--but I think maybe half of what they charged would've been appropriate for what was delivered. But ya know, wherever boats are involved, there's also a hefty fee...so if you can't escape it, you might as well embrace it.

In the picture of our reflection, I'm the one sitting up front holding the camera out. The driver was babbling about how if someone took a picture, we might end up on the internet (gasp!) and I wasn't going to make a liar out of him. We learned a few things, including the fact that the Tennessee River is actually a lake called Nickajack Lake...something about its flow pattern or whatever...and the guide told us about some prominent residents of Chattonooga who had built fabulous houses along the shoreline. Very informative all in all, and let's face it, who doesn't love a boat ride?

After that, we had an hour to kill before we met up with Luke's brother Adam and his girlfriend Kendall for dinner, so we headed down to the riverside behind the aquarium to play at the park. We had just learned on our boat ride that the city had spent millions renovating the riverfront to make it more accessible to people, so who were we not to put it to good use? Waste not, want not, that's what I always say. Most of the time.

Luke and I were talking about how Chattanooga has done a good job with itself. There's a lot of history and natural beauty there, and they've showcased it well. It's really easy to go for just a day or a weekend and do a lot and learn a lot too. We both think our town could take a few chapters out of the how-to book and do a little bit better. However, since Luke used to work directly under the Downtown Development Director and we both know her work ethic, I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon. But I digress. I'm glad Chattanooga is nearby for all the fun it offers. We had a good day trip and we'll be going back soon.

Boo for Blogging.

To all you naysayers out there who are giving me a hard time about my recent lack of blogging, let me just say that we've had a really hard time with internet connections lately. As most of you know, we use dial-up because the phone company still considers us "country" and the cable company wants to charge an arm and a leg and we just won't have it. Our other two options are using Verizon's new high-speed, which which would also require giving up said arm and leg, or HughesNet, who say they can give you broadband no matter where you live by using satellite technology, but the last time I checked, the start-up fee was over $700. Um, no thanks.

So for now we're sticking with old dial-up, unless someone wants to cough up $65+ per month for various forms of high-speed, but it isn't going to be us. It's not been so bad in the past, but as I've said, lately the connections have been really slow. You try uploading even one picture at 26.5 kb per second and then we'll chat.

Also, I've been really busy at work learning my new software and it's taken a lot of time, but I've gotten one publication out and I'm close to the second one being finished, so it's been worth it. But whenever I sit down at the computer--even at home--I'm pretty much working on that...not the blog.

So when I finally work up the energy and stamina to sit down and create a post (which usually takes about a week...to get my stamina up, not to create a post...that only takes 4-5 days), then I get codes like this from Blogger:

bX-9pjt6o

...which translates literally to: I'm not blogging tonight. Too bad because we went to Chattanooga yesterday and I took lots of pics and who knows when I'll feel like sitting down to share again? Perhaps tomorrow.

More Fall Fun for Everyone

We've been very active as of late...this is a busy time of year, it seems. Last weekend we went to Gigi and Grandpa's house for their church fall festival, which of course was loads of fun for the kids. I didn't take any pictures because as you can probably tell, blogging's not on my mind like that anymore, but here's a few of the next day at the fabulous park down the street:


And this weekend holds the various fall festivals at our church and school. Yesterday was the school's, and I spent all day Friday getting things ready for the bake sale and the cake walk. My boss Stephanie and I made sure everything was labeled and packaged nicely and ready to sell. Most everything that the parents brought in looked wonderful and delicious, but there are always some questionable items. One in particular this year was a cake that looked like it had been through the Battle of Bunker Hill on the way to school. The top layer had fallen off and cracked, the bottom layer was unrecognizable, and the orange frosting was all over the place. I told Stephanie we had to toss it, that no one would want to take that cake home, even as a prize for the cake walk. Can you imagine the letdown of opening your box and seeing a big orange mess piled inside? But no, Steph said...we were short on prize cakes and we needed all that we could get...it had to be included. I fixed it up the best I could, getting rid of the bottom layer completely and putting some Halloween decorations on top to mask the unappetizing ugliness of it all, but I repeatedly maintained (loudly) that someone was going to be very disappointed to take home that cake. And I was right. Someone was...and that someone was me.

So here's the disgusting cake that Patrick won. I could not believe the injustice. There were fifty other cakes on that table and the stupid volunteer had to pick up that one. I should have thrown the darn thing out when I had the chance on Friday...then I would have been the happy owner of a simple bundt or something. I will admit though, Patrick thinks it's the coolest cake ever. He loves it and he is going to eat the whole thing. Better him than me.

Other than that, the festival was fun. Today is the church picnic--also at the school--and if Ben wakes up from his nap in time, we'll go to that too. Ciao!

Fall Break

We've been on fall break since Friday, and I've realized that since I can't rely on Luke's schedule to help me keep my days straight, I've become very dependent on Patrick's. I feel like I've had five Sundays in a row now. It's back to school tomorrow, but we've all had a good vacation.

Patrick went camping with Ma and Pa on Friday morning, so we had some "just Ben" time over the beautiful weekend. Saturday we went to Mary Kate's birthday party, which was great, except now that it's over, it means I have to start thinking about Ben's. And I hate planning birthday parties. On Sunday, we took the plunge and finally went out and bought a seat for Ben to go on Luke's bike. We've been putting this off for a while now...probably because we really need two seats because Patrick is learning to ride, but he's not really fast enough to ride with the family. And two seats is kind of an investment...besides that, it's not really one I want to make...I'd rather Patrick just keep learning to keep up. Maybe it'll happen faster than I expect. And if not, we'll just ride and make him run alongside us. He'll turn out just fine. I'm sure of it. It builds character.

Anyway, for this weekend, the one seat was great and Ben had a blast. We rode all over downtown and stopped at the park for him to "PLAY!"

On Monday we headed to Tennessee to spend the day with the campers before fetching Patrick to bring him home. It was a fun campsite for the kids, right on the Hiawassee River, which is wide and shallow...this area of it in particular, so the boys could wade almost all the way across.

The water was chilly, but the air was warm, so they spent hours collecting river rocks and looking for crawfish while we skipped rocks until our arms fell off. They were perfect for skipping. My best few were six or seven skips, but Luke had some that were too many to count--probably about fourteen or so. He's really good at that. So we were all having fun until eventually this big guy came and chased us out of the water.

Another kid that was with us practically stepped on him out in the middle of the river, and I guess the only thing that saved him from a trip to the ER was that the snake had a mouthful of fish. I read when I got back home that copperheads are pretty testy and will strike quickly, but they won't inject a lot of poison in defense. Sometimes they won't even bite...they'll just lunge at you. This one was pretty irritated that we were interrupting his meal, but he didn't make any moves. Eventually he just dropped the fish and swam away glaring at us...literally.

The fam...we don't all get in a picture together too often, but I thought this one was a good shot. So our week kinda starts back up tomorrow...hope you all have a great rest of the week!

Happy Anniversary to Me

Six years of wedded bliss...

Love you Luke

First School Picture--YIKES!

Well, I won't be buying this one...

I blame my co-worker Christa, who said only last week--and I quote: "That kid couldn't take a bad picture if he tried."

Oh really, Christa?

Survey of the Week

I could start a new blog just for surveys the way they're rolling in...
Anyway, Jennifer sent this one, and I have done it before on e-mail, and there are people *ahem, Sandi* who may never speak to me again if I pass it on. So this way I still get to talk about myself (my favorite topic), but y'all only have to pretend to care. Here goes...

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

Becky Thatcher from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Interestingly enough, I am a sweet innocent girl who fell for a rascally country boy, just like my namesake. And you can bet if we were trapped in a cave together, I'd kiss him too.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Yesterday when I said goodbye to Mandy I teared up a tiny bit...what? I'll miss her, okay?

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
no

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Mesquite turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
um...yeah!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Probably not because I wouldn't let me. I'm snobby like that.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
No. I am the most genuine, sincere person on the face of the earth.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Let me put it this way...a few weeks ago, I went mountain biking on a bike with very poor shocks. I could literally feel my brain jiggling around on its stem. It made me very conscious of my mortality and I don't ever want to feel it again. So no.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Kashi GoLean. I've never tried the Crunch, Kara, because I've heard it's hard as a rock...but maybe now I will.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Flip-flops do not require untying and such.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Oh yeah...I'm an absolute beast.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Mocha flavored with chocolate pieces.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their hair, I guess.

15. RED OR PINK?
I like pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Non-flat tummy. It may have moved in permanently.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
I don't know. My brother, I think. I don't see him enough. But he's living the good life with Sandi and Matthew, so it makes me happy that he's happy.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
N/A

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
I'm wearing Victoria's Secret pajama's that Gigi got me when I was 17. She can say what she wants about that store, but they make quality stuff, that's for sure!

20.WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
A gelato milkshake.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Luke is sleeping on the couch while Judge Mathis tells it like it is to all his homeboys.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
I'm not answering any more crayon questions!!!

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Let's break it down by season, shall we? Spring--honeysuckle and wisteria, Summer--suntan lotion and salt in the air, Fall--pumpkin spice and cinnamon, Winter--evergreen and coffee

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Some psycho parent at the school I work at. A piece of advice to all you parents of young-uns: just say no to micromanaging.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yes, she rocks the hizz...and she found my new template for me.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
That one where the inside of my eyelids compete to see how long they can stay closed.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Brown with highlights.

28. EYE COLOR?
Brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
I love all foods, but my favorite thing really is my mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe, which I have mastered. It has a secret ingredient that makes it the best CC cookie ever. You think yours are good? Mine are better. Sorry.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Little Miss Sunshine--yesterday with Mandy, and I'm still laughing.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Pink and white pajama top. Exactly how does this question help people to know me better? I'll be wearing something entirely different in the morning. Whatever.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer is definitely more of a flip-flop season, don't you think?

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Neck hugs from my kids.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
One that I made.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
N/A

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
N/A

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
I'm trying to decide which book to start--the last Harry Potter (I'm so ready for that to be over) or one called The Thirteenth Tale.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
A beach in the Caribbean.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
The Fashion Review for the Emmys. It is my opinion that Sandra Oh looked the best. It's also my opinion that she's the only reason to watch that show anymore, besides McDreamy. Let's hope the writers don't ruin the last good thing they've got going for them this year.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
My kids playing happily together. I catch it in bits and pieces.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Monkees.

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Scotland or Italy, whichever is farthest

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Yes...it's called surviving.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Hartford, CT

Extra Credit : Mc Steamy or Mc Dreamy? See #41!!!

Goodbye to Mandy

First off, I have to give a shout-out to Jennifer for finding my new template for me! HOLLA! I love it. I'll get around to adding the links back in...uh, whenever.

Today Mandy came to visit me one last time before she embarks on her great Mexican adventure. As she told me, she's leaving on Monday for Colorado to go through a training program for three weeks, then she'll be back for a brief time and then she's headed south of the border for two years. But her brief layover back home will probably be very busy with last minute arrangements and business, so it was a good call to get together today.

We had a good day--started off by playing a little tennis, always fun! We both discovered fairly quickly that we were a tad rusty (like, we wouldn't want to take Katie on or anything like that!!), but after a little mini-tennis warm-up, our strokes were looking pretty much back to normal and we had some good rallies going on. After that we went to get Ben and rented Little Miss Sunshine...VERY funny movie if you can overlook the f-bomb being dropped like oh, every two minutes. Hilarious, though. And then after we picked up Patrick we packed a picnic and took the kids to the park to eat and play in the gorgeous weather.














Patrick with his "Aunt Mandy". He so did not get the whole leaving for two years thing, and it makes me sad that he won't see her for that long. She's been around since day one for him. We gave him the camera and told him to shoot away. It was an interesting experience and I hope that by me grouping all the pictures together, you'll fail to notice that he could not manage to get one good shot of us. But hey, this is no makeup, after playing tennis and lounging all day. What can we expect?


















I've known Mandy since college and she's been my classmate, my roommate, my partner in crime, my maid of honor, my confidant, my husband's informant, and my dear friend. Even though we don't get to hang out all too often these days, she's always been nearby just in case. I'll miss her so much while she's in Mexico, but I think what she's doing is really neat, and I'm glad she's following her dreams. And as she said, we'll always have the blog!