Pictures at work

I have a new job.  I work for a local school district as a secretary with many hats and gears to switch between.  For the most part, I like my job.  I have my own office and have covered the wall next to my desk and the filing cabinet behind me with pictures of my kids (and a couple with my husband).  Like any job, some days are better than others.  Regardless of what kind of day it is, when I need a mental break from the spreadsheets, the forms, the computer screen, or even if I don't need a mental break, I look to my left and look through the pictures of my kids.  And I'm amazed.  How much they've grown.  How much they've changed.  How much I'VE changed and my husband too.  Not just in how we look, but who we are and have become since we became parents.  Everyday, we see our kids and we know they are growing and changing.  We witness their personalities evolving right before our very eyes!  But it's not until we look at a picture, watch a home video or measure them on the height chart that we realize how much they've changed in such a short amount of time.

I am a working mom.  I enjoy being a working mom.  I love my kids and they are part of the reason of why I work.  And why I need to see them while I'm at work.  To remind me to really look at them when I get home and see for myself, in the flesh who they are now, so I can remember when I look at their pictures tomorrow, next week, next month, next year.  1,000 words doesn't cover what I feel when I look at their pictures and look forward to getting home and holding them.

Our Children's Daily Bruises and Accomplishments

We equip our children to be the best they can be and then send them out into the world every morning, hoping we did our best.  When they come home physically or emotionally bruised from the day's adventures, it's our job, as parents, to hug them, make sure there's no major damage, and equip them to learn from the bruises.  When they come home excited and eager from their day's adventures, it is our job, as parents, to hug them, celebrate with them, and equip them to learn from their accomplishments.

Empathy. Compassion.  Kindness.  Thoughtfulness.  Strength.  Resiliency.  Courage.  The list is long. When our kids are little, we have to put these tools in their toolboxes for them.  We equip them.  They build with them.

Our job is not to do for them, it's to teach them to do for themselves.   Always hug.  Always build on experiences.

Pile 'O Popcorn

My son is a Cub Scout.  A Wolf, to be exact.  Last year, there was a changing of the guard, so to speak, in our Pack as the former treasurer was leaving to follow her son to the Boy Scouts.  Somehow, I accepted the title "Treasurer".  As many of you know, in the fall, Scouts across the country participate in the annual popcorn sales drive.  Well, when I became treasurer, as there were no other committee members yet, I also became the "Popcorn Kernal".  Yes, you read that correctly.  That's what us people who run the popcorn sales are called.  "Popcorn Kernals".  We set up "Show & Sells", where the boys sell popcorn that we have on hand.  We organize the "Take & Sell" orders, which are the orders the boys take by selling off of the popcorn flyers.  We manage online sales, money, prizes and yes, popcorn.  This is what part of my dining room has looked like since the end of September:



There's more to the left of the boxes stacked with Kiddo's bunny "Cubby" protecting them.  And there's more to come when I go to pick up the "Take & Sell" orders.  Fortunately, popcorn season is almost over, and I'll get my dining room back.  Don't get me wrong: our Pack did really well selling this year, really embodied the "Do your best" motto of the Cub Scouts, and there are packs out there that I'm sure could fill someone's basement with boxes of popcorn and sell it all.  But I'm looking forward to not looking at boxes of popcorn.  Until next September.

The Fist Bump

It's a moment in time.  It's one of my favorites.  My husband and The Kiddo, walking toward the Pacific Ocean, talking about who knows what.  And at the moment my sister raised her camera to take their picture, a decision was made and they fist bumped to solidify it. 

Solidarity. Those two have it in spades. 95% of the time, Kiddo will side with Daddy on any topic, esepcially if it's at the comical expense of Mommy.   But watch out boys because Mommy has a little girl now, and she can work the charm (esepcially on her Daddy!).  So, keep on bumping fists boys, because you never know when the girls will strike and you're gonna need all the solidartiy you can muster!

For my sister: Cleaning a ceramic stove top

Okay, so apparently how to clean a ceramic stove top is not common knowledge.  Picture this:

While at my sister's preparing for our mom's surprise birthday party (yep, she helped us clean for her own party she didn't know she was going to have!), I walk into the kitchen to the metalic sound of my sister and mom scraping the stove with spoons.  Yes.  Spoons.  So I ask them, "Um, guys?  You do know there's an easier way?"  The looked up, sweat beading on their browns, with shocked, yet hopeful looks.  "Really?!"  Yes, really.  I give you: the magic of a razor blade.

1)  Get a razor blade.  You can get them from pretty much any grocery/dollar/hardware store in packs of 5 for darn cheap.


2)  Hold the blade at about a 45 degree angle and gently scrape away gunk.


3) Wipe clean.


4) Voila!  Clean stove!


Note: do not use a razor blade to attempt to clean marble surfaces - you'll only scratch/dig into the marble.

Time for Kettle Corn: Making your own at home in 10 easy steps!

I love kettle corn.  The sweet and the salt, the crunch and unpredictableness of when you'll get a really sweet piece or salty one.  I decided to try and make my own at home many years ago, and it worked!  I recently decided to resurect my recipe and I've had a couple people ask me how I make it.  So, for your kettle corn pleasure, a step by step guide to making your own kettle corn!

What you'll need:
Popcorn pot of your choosing (see "Pick your pot")
Oil 2 - 3 Tablespoons(vegetable, canola, blend...no olive oil!)
Popping corn
Butter 2 Tablespoons (not margarine!)
Sugar
Salt

1) Pick your pot.  I am  huge fan of Revereware copper bottom pots for making popcorn.  My parents used them and soon after I was married, and lamenting that I didn't have a proper popcorn pot, my dad and sister found one for me at a thrift store and cleaned it up for me.  I need a larger one now that there are 4 popcorn eaters in my family!  Why Revereware?  It's a very light pot and has a light lid, which allows the popcorn the freedom to move and easily raise the lid when I've put too much in the pot (which is all the time now because I'm trying to make bigger batches).

2)

Put about 2-3 T oil (depending on the size of your pot) in the bottom of the pot and tilt the pot to coat the bottom.  It should not be a puddle, but more than a thin coating, so add more if you need to.

3)

Add popcorn - enough to cover the bottom of the pot.

4)

Dice up the 2T of butter into smaller chunks

5)

Evenly distribute the butter chunks.

6)

Using a large spoon (table spoon?), scoop up a spoonful of sugar (it does help the medicine go down, right?).

7)

Liberally sprinkle over oil, popcorn and butter.  I do not end up using the entire spoonful.  Eyeball it for your own taste preference.


8)  Put the lid on your pot and set the burner to med heat.


9) Stay nearby!  When you hear the butter starting to sizzle, swirl the pot to help evenly distribute the melting butter and sugar.  When you hear the popcorn start to pop, swiftly push the pot back and forth over the burner.  Make sure you have your bowl ready!  When the popping slows to a pop or two every second or so, pour the popcorn into your bowl.

10)

Salt to taste!  Enjoy!

I am a mom.

When you look at this picture, what do you see?  Mom and two kids at the beach, who look pretty happy (the little one doesn't look too fond of the wind).  Here's what you don't see:  how the children were born (vaginally or c-section; natural or medically induced labor; epidural or med free); if they are adopted or natural children; if they were breastfed, bottle fed or both; stay-at-home mom, work-at-home-mom, or work-out-of-the-home mom; home-schooled, public or private schooled; if they were fed only organic or if they had McDonald's on the way to the beach.  You cannot tell any of that information by looking at this picture.  Here's what I can tell you about that mom and her kids: she loves them deeply, and quite frankly, doesn't care how they got into her arms, as long as they got there.  She dreamed of being a mom from the time she was a little girl.  She's not a perfect mom, but she does the best she can.  I am that mom.  And I'll be damned if anyone says I'm less of a mother because of how those children came into my world.  Who cares?  They are here and they are mine.  The "Mom Wars" need to stop.


*Inspired by "The Unnatural Mom" article on CNN.com: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1033811

Adventures in Cross Country Traveling: The Dos and Don'ts of Traveling with Multiple Children

This summer, my family (me, my husband and our two kiddos, ages almost 2 yrs. and 7 1/2 yrs.) traveled from Virginia to Oregon with my sister and her family (her, her husband and her two kiddos, ages 2 yrs and 4 yrs) via airplane to visit our mother's side of the family.  Here are some tips from our experiences:

DO:  Pack snack bags for each kid and adults.   My sister had the idea for the kids' bags.  I had just brought stuff we could toss in one of the carry ons.  She already had bags started for each kid with their names on them.  Since each kid has preferences, it came in handy to have their names on them.  Here's what were in the kids' bags: graham crackers, fruit pouches (Go Gos, Smashems, etc.), fruit roll ups, fruit snacks, raisins, Goldfish crackers, Crackerfuls.  Things that were relatively compact and easy to manage.  Adults had similar items, plus Twizzlers.  Don't forget to pack cups with lids for the kids (with or without beverage in them - TSA will let you through with them, but they will test the contents).

DO: Remember any medicines you might need for you AND the kids.  Both the toddlers were on antibiotics the whole trip and their meds needed to be kept cold.  We packed a soft cooler with ice packs and their meds and a baggie full of clean medicine dispensers.  Yes, TSA needed to check their meds, but that was fine by me.  We also brought along sinus meds for adults (air pressure can wreck havoc on sinuses!) and Children's Tylenol for the kids, just in case.  My sister also brought Dramamine.

DON'T:  Get on the plane hungry!  Your snacks will be gone before you know it!

DO:  Put the kids in similar/matching shirts.  This was my idea for the trip home.  While in Oregon, we went to the Portland Children's Museum.  The day we went happened to be tie-dye day, so we let each of the kids make a shirt.  I thought it would be cute if they all wore them on the trip home.  Well, let me tell you, it was quite nice to be able to look up and do a quick tie-dyed head count!



DO:  Pack extra t-shirt and pants for each kid (and at least a shirt for yourself!).  My sister saved my butt on this one because I didn't pack extra bottoms for my youngest, but she had packed extras for her oldest.  Both little ones had unfortunate diaper incidents before getting on the plane at 6:00 am.  Which leads me to the next DON'T:

DON'T:  Book a 6:00 am flight!  Yes, we saved some money. Yes, we got to Portland with a lot of daylight left.  But, we were an exhausted, hungry, virtually decaffeinated group of parents with 4 kids under the age of 8 who were able to nap at various points of the trip (never all at once!) and have energy to spare once we landed.  Granted: they were as well behaved as we could have asked them to be under the circumstances, but still...okay, so really it was the parents who had a harder time with it.

DO:  Try to get seats together at the back of the plane!  This worked wonderfully for us!  We were as out of the way as we could be, next to the bathrooms and near flight attendants should we need anything quickly.  The older two sat together and kept each other occupied, while the younger two sat with me and my sister or brother-in-law (whoever my nephew wanted at the moment).  Since planes don't go 4 seats across (my daughter was still a "lap baby" at just under 2 years, so that worked out well for us), my husband got a seat in the row directly in front of us (he's not a huge fan of flying so he really tries to get a window seat).  This was helpful because he was close enough to us that I could hand our daughter over the seat to him if I needed a break or she needed a change of scenery.



DO:  Pack books, DVD players/laptops/iPads with movies, small toys, crayons and coloring books, as well as a sweater for everyone.  Pack a camera (either on your phone or an actual camera) to capture wonderful moments such as these (Note: only climb up into overhead bins, visit the cockpit and explore the galley with your flight attendant's permission!):







DON'T: Expect there to be room in the lavatory to help your little ones go "potty".  Unfortunately, some airlines have bathrooms the size of a nickle, and there's no room to help your little one navigate getting pants down, sitting etc.  You may just have to change some diapers while they stand up on the toilet seat, or change them at your seat if they can't stand up (i.e. infants.  Our airplane did not have a handy changing table in the lavatory, like some other planes I've been on do).

DO: Bring your own car seats!  Unless you have seats waiting for you at your destination, bring your own car seats!  The car rental company wanted to charge us $65 a seat for the week we were in town!  Highway robbery!  For that price, we could have bought new seats when we got there.  It was worth carrying our own seats to the check in counter and having them checked.  It does not count against your luggage count and they are free to check at the counter or the gate.  At least with our airline it was.  Check with your airline before going.

DO: Spend the few dollars it might cost for those luggage carts at the airport.  You may not want to, but when trying to wrangle toddlers, you need all the hands you can get.  Get a cart, stack your luggage and car seats and have one person push that while others takes kiddos' hands and/or strollers.

DO:  Bring a stroller if you have toddlers.  Especially if yours has a storage basket under the seat.  If you have a couple of kiddos, have the youngest in the seat and the other holding onto the stroller, or walking next to it.

DO:  Give older kids jobs, like holding hands of younger children or pulling a rolling suitcase.  Our 7 1/2 year old was very helpful when it came to walking through the terminals - he held hands with his cousins and little sister, gladly carried his little sister's carry on, loved pushing the stroller - he loved being useful.

DO: Make sure you have enough time between flights, if you have a layover.  I prefer at least an hour and a half between flights to give everyone a chance to stretch their legs, use the restroom, get a bite to eat and have time to get to the gate on time.  Rushing kids is no picnic.  On our flight out to Oregon, our plane landed, but we did not have a plane change.  There was only 1/2 hour between other people disembarking and new passengers boarding, so my sister and I sent the husbands off for snacks, and we stayed on the plane with the kids.  I feared for mine and my sister's sanities.  Fortunately, we had an AWESOME flight attendant who let us play on the plane while we waited.  She was patient, inventive and fun (see above shenanigans pictures).  We will never forget Flight Attendant Kate!

DO: Have fun!  Yes, it was stressful at times, but on the whole, we had good flights!

There you have it!  I hope our experiences from flying this summer with multiple children are helpful to your future flying adventures.  It was certainly helpful that we had one-on-one coverage, but well thought out and planned flights can be fun and successful, even if you run into some turbulence on the way.  Bon Voyage!

Adding a challenge to summer reading

Well, it's that time of year again: summer!  Lazy days hanging out with friends, time at the pool, visiting family,  attending camps, reading and writing.  Wait.  What?  Yep, reading AND writing.  As you may recall, if you were a reader last summer, we created our own summer reading program for our 6 year-old son (http://citygirlinsmalltownamerica.blogspot.com/2012/06/summer-fun-and-reading.html).  His goal last year: to read 10 Magic Tree House, or other similar chapter books, to earn a trip to The Little League World Series and a t-shirt from the games.  It was such a success, that this summer, it's the same reward, but he has to read five, more difficult chapter books (he's moved up five reading levels since last summer, so we're expecting more challenging books, which may take him longer).  He's chosen a few of the Matt Christopher baseball books to start out with.  Any books he reads over the designated amount earns him a dollar per book to spend how he wishes at the game.

He's also going to write this summer!  His teacher sent a notebook home with every student encouraging and challenging them to write in the notebook 4 days a week during the summer.  If this is completed and returned to her at the beginning of the school year, they would get a special "mystery gift" from her.  Challenge accepted!  As our son is a very visual learner, we've created our charts again so he can track his progress for both his reading and writing.







There you have it!  A summer full of fun, sun, water, books and writing!  Stay safe out there!

To My Little Miss: Like Tinkerbell

To My Little Miss:

Like Tinkerbell.  Please.  If you choose to really like any mainstream female character, like Tinkerbell.  Here's why:

1) She's independent, but knows when and how to ask for help.

2) When she makes a mistake, and she makes quite a few, she tries to correct it and learn from it.

3) She's creative and uses her imagination to create new things out of "found things".

4)  She's persistent.

5) She's loving and caring to her friends and living things.

6) She's a problem solver and challenge accepter.

7) She takes chances and tries new things.

8) She likes adventures.

9)  She is strong of body and character.

My Love, you are incredible.  Already you take risks (sometimes giving your mother heart attacks and yourself bruises, but they heal).  You are persistent (and stubborn, which can be a lethal combination, but will serve you well, once you learn to use those skills properly).  You try again (that's why you're in a toddler bed already).  You are physically strong and have great balance.  You are loving and caring (I've seen you pat your brother's back when he's upset and you are very gentle with animals).  You're a problem solver (if you can't reach your fruit snacks, by golly you know how to get to your brother's!  I should probably move those again.). And challenge accepter (you'll probably figure out how to get to yours and your brother's fruit snack after I move them).  You are independent and you will try new things, but will ask for help, when you need it.

So, my loving, strong, independent, persistent, problem solving, risk taking little wonder: if you choose to like a female character, please choose a strong one.  Choose Tinkerbell.  I'll try to restrain myself from influencing your decision too much.

I love you!
Mommy

To My Kiddo...

Dear Kiddo:

I love you.  You amaze me every day.  You are funny, outgoing, a great friend and an active 7 year-old.  You have a wonderful imagination that is apparent in your writing from school, your art project choices, and your dreams.  You use your brain to figure out math problems much faster than I ever did when I was your age, and you enjoy the challenge of a new type of math problem or difficult word.  You enjoy reading and you're good at it.  You love school.

You're having some issues with some of the other boys at school.  I'm so sorry.  I know what that's like.  It's frustrating and confusing.  Yet, even when you've had a day with rough patches, you come home with a smile on your face.  I like your attitude!  When I hear about those rough patches and hear the hurt in your voice, my heart breaks.  I can't be there to protect you from all of this, and I shouldn't be.  It is my job as a parent to guide you so you know how to navigate these waters on your own.  So, here's my advice:

- Be of strong character and stand up for yourself and others who are in similar situations, but don't be obnoxious about it.  Look at the whole situation, say/do what needs to be said or done and move on.  Easier said than done, I know, but the other kids are trying to figure out this whole socially acceptable thing too.  Some have a harder time of it than others.
- Know when to walk away: if someone is just being mean, walk away and find a friend.
- Know when to tell an adult: if you, or someone else is being hurt, tell a teacher.
- Make other friends:  find some kids who like the same things you do and like you for who you are.  You have better things to do with your time than trying to be friends with someone who is not ready, or willing, to be a friend.
- Take pride in your accomplishments, but also take them in stride and encourage others who are doing well or struggling: in other words, "Be a good winner".
- Be a leader:  leading is about give and take, not about bossing others around.  A good leader listens to their friends and knows when to let others take a turn at leading.  That means not taking over or interrupting a conversation, my little chatterbox.

Lastly: don't ever change who you are to fit what someone else thinks you should be.  Your outgoing, active, imaginative and friendly personality will serve you well throughout life.  Right now, it's elementary school and the world is a very big place.  1st grade is almost over and 2nd grade is a new year.  A lot of growing and maturing can happen over a summer.  It's time to enjoy some well deserved time off.

I love you Kiddo!

Mommy

Camping: The Great Debate

Ah camping!  A tent, a good camp mat, a sleeping bag, the night sky and a campfire.  And a bathroom.  Yes, a bathroom.  Preferably with running water.  That's my definition of camping.  I came across this article this evening and I really enjoyed reading about different ways to camp and people's thoughts on camping.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/24/travel/camping-escape-debate/index.html?hpt=hp_bn10

I've been tent camping where we hiked to our camp site and had no running water.  I've camped at campgrounds, in the snow.  I've camped on a platform tent, in a camper, in a cabin and in my backyard.  Come to think of it, for a city girl, I've done quite a bit of camping in my life.  Most of it was done before 6th grade, but the experiences and memories are still there.  As an adult (past college age), I've only gone camping twice, and both of those were this year at Cub Scout Family Camps.  Thankfully, our site has been within an easy walk of the restrooms.  Kind of spooky in the middle of the night because you have to go down a road through some of the woods, so I try to limit my beverage intake before my last trip before bed.  But, I digress.

My questions to you are these: 1) What is YOUR definition of camping?  2) What is your favorite way to camp?

Shame on A & F, Well Done H & M and American Eagle

I am disgusted.  The company and CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is doing nothing but propagating and encouraging exclusion and bullying of people who are of a "larger" size. Read:

Abercrombie & Fitch wants thin customers

While in his 2006 interview he did not say, "Thin, cool people should go and bully those who don't fit our company's ideal", he might as well have.  What is he telling the impressionable, teen-aged customer by only having "hot" models in their ads and stores, or only carrying up to a size large (a size 10, which apparently is about an 8 in other retailer's sizes) in ladies clothes?  He's telling them that those who don't fit their clothes are not good enough, or cool enough and that they should be excluded.  Exclusion is a gateway to bullying.  Sometimes, it's almost worse.  Loneliness can be as damaging as harmful words.

On the flip-side, I applaud H & M and American Eagle for opening their sizes to those who are of a larger body.  Does America need to be a healthier nation?  Of course we do!  But why should those who are heavier be forced to wear clothes that don't help their self-image?  When people feel good about themselves, they want to better themselves!  And while outward appearances are certainly not everything, it doesn't hurt to want to look good in what you're wearing, be it from H & M, American Eagle or Target.  Larger people have fashion sense too!

My challenge to you is this, no matter what your shape or size:  boycott Abercrombie & Fitch.  They don't need our business and we shouldn't be including ourselves in the business of hurting others.  Give your business to their competition, H & M and American Eagle, or whomever you can afford that isn't A & F.

Just my two cents.

We're not moving...

In a different twist of fate, my family is not moving anywhere this summer.  Since my husband and I have been married (13 years), we have moved either every summer, or every other summer.  We have never lived in one house/apartment longer than two years.  We've lived in a town or city longer than 2 years, but never the same dwelling.

However, our first friends here in our small town are moving.  This is different for us.  We've always been the ones moving.  Now the shoe is on the other foot, and we're saying goodbye and staying.  When they told us they were moving, we were both excited for their new opportunities and adventures, and sad because they are leaving.  Our son and their daughter have become very close: two peas, I always say.  They "get" each other.  Due to one thing and another, we haven't seen as much of them this school year as we might have liked, and I'm bummed we won't have the summer to catch up at the pool, playground and backyard bar-b-ques.  Even though we're in a small town, and our kids see each other every day, sometimes it feels like we're states apart from our friends who live a mile away.  Thankfully, there's Facebook and Skype.  My family will always appreciate them reaching out to us, even before we arrived, welcoming us to the area, and introducing us to more friends.  It truly made the world of difference.  So, even though they have about a month before they leave, I want to say, "Thank you!".  Thank you for everything you have done and your friendship.  Good luck to you in your new home and on your new adventures!  We will miss you!

Kids and Owl Humidifiers

My Dear Readers,

My apologies for not writing in three months!  As I write this, I cannot believe it has been this long since I last wrote, but upon glancing back at my previous posts, I find it is true!  The last time I wrote was when Sandy was set to wreck havoc on the East Coast.  How did you guys fare?  It was windy and rainy here, but that was about the extent of her.  School was cancelled (just made that day up last week for work), and there were some large twigs and sticks strewn about, but that was it for our area, thankfully.

Since then, we have had Thanksgiving (did some pretty decent Black Friday shopping), Christmas and the New Year.  The most recent celebration in our house: our son turned 7 years old!  I know, 7 isn't very old, but it still boggles my mind that I have a 7 year old!  I see him every day, and yet when I look back at pictures from just the beginning of this year, he has changed and grown so much!  He's has literally grown an inch since November.  For those of you with kids, have you ever woken up one morning, looked at your kids and thought, "Gosh, did you change overnight?  You look different!"?  It's a bizarre phenomenon.  And amazing.  And it's not just their looks, but their mannerisms, vocabulary, personality and thought processes.  Today, Kiddo was playing Mario World on the Wii while his sister was sleeping and I asked him to turn down volume a little.  He said he would, but he really had to go to the bathroom first, and he didn't know where the remote was.  As he headed to the bathroom, I walked up to the tv and told him he could always walk up to the tv and push the buttons on the tv to turn it down.  His reply "Yeah, like in the old days!"  I know, I've seen that joke in the funnies before (Calvin and Hobbes, I think), but I don't think he ever has!  My husband and I just looked at each other like "Did our son really just say that?!" and laughed.

I don't know about you guys, but our house has been under siege of this cough/snotty nose/clogged sinus gunk that's been going around (Hubby and Kiddo also got the throw up with fever part and Little Miss added in an ear infection in each ear, just for good measure).  I have wiped every doorknob, faucet, keyboard, and remote within my reach with Lysol wipes.  I have set up cool mist humidifiers in each of the kids' rooms.  Miss has the humidifier that was in our room before she was born (we didn't need them last year).  Which leaves our room without cool mist and dry as a proverbial bone.  My lungs are getting calluses from all the coughing I'm doing.  "Go out and get a dang humidifier already!", you say.  Well, I would, except I'm a humidifier snob and I want a certain brand: Crane.  They are great!  No filter, reasonably priced, easy to clean and store and darn it, they're cute (Kiddo has a frog and Miss has an elephant) and I want one for our room!  "What's the problem?! Go get one and stop hacking!", you say.  I can't.  No stores in Western PA carry them.  I kid you not: not Walmart, not Sears, not Kmart, or Walgreens.  I've either walked in and looked, or called.  I even called over to Target in OH (I got the other two back in VA at Target) and all they have are the frog, elephant and a teardrop (who wants to look at a sad teardrop?  Sorry if you like teardrops.).  I want the owl.  Look at how sweet he is!


So, I'm ordering him from Walmart.  He'll be here by next Friday. Until then, Luden's licorice cough drops and lots of water will be my bosom buddies.  So, is this a small town thing or has anyone else had a difficult time finding these cuties in stores in their areas?

I hope everyone is staying warm!  We're getting the winter we had hoped for when we moved to PA: snowy!  We had a great snow covering over the Christmas holidays (about 8"!), followed by a weekend with temps in the 60s, and now we've got a couple inches of really fluffy snow on the ground.  We haven't been sledding in it, but I don't think it's really good sledding snow (nobody's been out sledding that we've seen.  Of course, they could all be inside sick!).

Take care, stay healthy and Happy New Year!

Oh Sandy...

Well, it's Sunday night.  The latest possible moment the Weather.com guys say is safe to get what you need before Sandy hits (although from what I've seen, North Carolina is already taking a beating and it's really not supposed to hit here until tomorrow evening, but I digress).  Do you have what you need?  Do you think it will meet all the hype?  As you know, I'm in western PA.  We're right on the cusp of the track of Sandy.  According to Weather.com, we're also in the "likely" area for power outages.  I haven't lived here long enough to ascertain if I should really be worried or not, but erring on the side of caution, I bought some water and shelf stable foods, made sure we had batteries for our lantern and busted out our candle stash (and I must say, if the power does go out, our house is going to smell really nice!).  I've also got a load of warm clothes in the wash with a couple of blankets to follow.  We're as ready as we're going to be, I guess.

Do you remember back in 2003 when a power surge hit a New York power grid and caused that huge blackout across the Northeast?  Yeah, my husband and I lived in Detroit at the time and my mother-in-law and brother-in-law were in town for the weekend.  We were actually having an early dinner at the mall when everything went dark.  We couldn't prepare for that blackout, but we somehow made it through.  Lots of PB&Js.  And I think we went 27 hours without power.

Being unprepared for no power is not something I want to do again.  So when I hear it's "likely" we'll loose power, yes, I'm going to get a few things, especially now that we have kids.  Even when my husband, raised from 6 weeks old in the Tidewater area of Virginia, says everyone is worrying over nothing, that it will fizzle, that nothing is going to happen, I would rather be one of those who goes to the store to stock up on things than get caught with nothing.  I picked him and our son up from their soccer game yesterday, and my husband opens the trunk to find a 3 gallon pack of water and he looks at me with this look of "Um...what the heck is that for?" and I told him that I "pre-panicked" to beat the crowd.  Go me.

Stay safe, stay warm and stay dry.  I'll talk with you after the storm!

Reading, writing, math and....Pokemon?

Those who know my family, know our son is a huge fan of Pokemon.  Trust me when I say, I was less than thrilled when his triplet cousins introduced him to Pokemon, and it didn't help that McDonald's was running their Pokemon promotion at the same time (and we were traveling quite a bit, which meant that he had opportunity to collect said promotion).  Why was I so opposed to this fad (that seems to be a recurring fad since the early 1990s)?  Honestly, I don't know, but for some reason it rubbed me the wrong way.  Maybe I thought he was too young (5 1/2), maybe I didn't want it overshadowing the highly educational value (in my mind) of the dinosaurs he loved, studied, researched, and fascinated me with facts about.  Whatever the reason, I was bummed as he became more and more excited about every card and action figure he collected.  I'd like to point out that he would buy his cards with his own money from his allowance.  Then along comes his father, who had played the Pokemon card game with his younger brother years ago, and teaches our son how to play the actual card game.  This is where I began to have a change of heart about Pokemon.

As my husband taught our son the game, he encouraged him to add up his own "hit points", or damage, (done by 10s), and to use adding up and subtraction to determine how many more "hit points" his Pokemon could take before being "phased" (knocked out of the game).  Huh.  Pokemon requires the players to use math?  As they were playing, we also encouraged our son to read his Pokemon cards to find out what moves his current character could do, or what abilities they had, etc.  He also wanted to sound out the various names of the different characters (and let me tell you, quite a few are a mouthful!).  Hmmm...reading too?

As he learned more about the Pokemon, he wanted to get books and more cards (enter Christmas, Easter and birthday presents, all other times, he buys them himself - hmm...more math! Saving and spending!) and even started writing his own Pokemon stories and making his own Pokemon cards (complete with made up names, abilities, hit points and character drawings).  Writing!

Like he has done with his dinosaur facts, he has, seemingly without much effort, memorized facts, moves, character descriptions and types.  Ask him any question and he will either have an answer or will find one.  He is excited about meeting with other friends of his who are either already into Pokemon or just learning (and he will "train" them in Pokemon battle techniques) to trade cards, or just talk shop.  Memory and socialization!

Yes, there is also a tv show.  Again, when we found out they showed reruns on Boomerang and new episodes on Cartoon Network, I was ecstatic (#sarcasm).  However, it is one of the most positive cartoon shows I have ever seen.  They promote teamwork, positive attitude, hard work, dedication, persistence, perseverance and kindness toward others.  Yes, it can be pretty predictable, but I'd rather he watch this cartoon than some of the other, um, junk (for lack of a nicer word) they put out there for kids.  While we no longer have cable tv, he can still get his Pokemon cartoon fix through Netflix or Pokemon.com.  It's a great reward for a job well done at school, or for just a break from our crazy, busy lives.

To recap, Pokemon has encouraged the following positive qualities, characteristics, values, skills:

Math, reading, writing, socialization, teamwork, positivity, perseverance, dedication, and kindness, just to name a few.  Someone tell me what's wrong with any of those things?

While I LOVE the dinosaurs (he's still very much into them and continues to read and learn about them - yea!), I'm glad he's also enjoying Pokemon, for all the reasons listed above.  So, if you're on the fence about your kiddo getting into Pokemon, I understand, I was there once.  All it took to convert me was finding the educational value out of the fun he was having.

City Girl Goes Camping!

Yes!  She can camp!  Our son's cub scout council holds a family camp two times a year so the families can come and experience what the scouts do during the council's summer camps (tour the various play structures, buildings and the siblings can also shoot BBs, bow and arrow, and this year - slingshots!).  Scout packs are also encouraged to camp over the weekend with the pack's families.  Last year, our pack didn't camp and it was a good thing too because it was cold, wet and miserable.  We went for the main event Saturday camp day, 2 month old daughter in Snugglie and all (we kept each other nice and toasty!), and still had fun, but camping would have been miserable.  BUT, this year, the weather couldn't have been more perfect!

When we got there Saturday morning, it was 27 degrees.  Okay, that's not the perfect weather part.  Yes, it was freezing, but once we got moving, and the sun started doing it's job, it was pretty nice!  First the mittens came off, then the hoods and hats, and finally, around 2:00, we were pretty much in long sleeves and sweatshirts, kids running around the campsite playing football and soccer.  After a morning of "Down on the Farm" themed activities (petting farm animals, horse rides, bee hive, snake and dog training exhibits), the kids were ready to ready to go do some BB/archery/slingshot shooting.  Our walk through the woods to get to the shooting range was beautiful.  I don't know about where you live, but here in PA, the trees have been brilliant this fall!  Bright oranges, canary yellows, fire reds and all the colors in those hue's ranges are represented as far as the eyes can see.  After the much enjoyed shooting range and scavenger hunt, we enjoyed a traditional hot dog dinner, s'mores and camp songs at the campfire!  Even after the sun went down, we were still in just jackets.


(Picture from our campsite, taken by one of the other moms)

I'm not sure how I thought the baby would sleep.  I think I thought she might sleep well because it was just a schosh chilly (and I bundled her as best as I could), but I think the breeze blowing the tent covering, and the fact that she wasn't in her own bed, probably led to her not sleeping her best.  But, she did do well and didn't wake anyone, but me, up with her occasional fussing.  While I may have been sleep weary come morning, I was glad no one else heard her.

In the morning, the men made breakfast!  All the dads hung out around the camp stoves, made coffee and cooked bacon, sausage, eggs, and potatoes and onions.  It was delicious!  More than I hoped or planned for  - these guys know how to camp!

All in all, a fun and fantastic weekend!  People were housed (tented?), organized and fed and there was only one hiccup: my darling husband left the hot dogs in the fridge at home and had to run to a local store for more.  For someone who hasn't camped since she was in 5th grade, I'm pretty proud of my first camping excursion with our kids!  A couple of families are already wanting to do a winter camping trip! I don't know if Little Miss would be up for that (or Mommy!), but we'll see.  For now, I'll bask in the glow of this past weekend's enjoyable camping trip!

Fall is in the air...along with the smells of apple crisp!

There's a nip in the air and the leaves are starting to change colors!  My favorite season is here!  Time to break out the warmer jackets, sweaters and jeans.  Put away the Crocs, break out the soccer cleats!  It's time for planning apple and pumpkin picking trips, playing in leaf piles, crunching leaves and apples, starting to settle in for the colder months and  baking all things apple.  Notice a theme in that paragraph?

Years ago, when my husband and I lived in Detroit, we started the yearly tradition of apple and pumpkin picking.  There have been a couple of years where, for one reason or another, we have not been able to actually pick our apples and pumpkins from the orchard or field.  For example: last year, my husband was not feeling 100%, and we had a nursing 2 month old ("You can go apple picking with a nursing 2 month old!", you say?  Read on).  But, we have still gone to a stand or apple store to gather our bounty for the annual apple creations.  This year, we're hoping to visit a place in OH that has both U-pick apples AND pumpkins (the closest ones in PA are about an hour and a half away! See where the nursing 2 month old bit could be a bit of an issue?).  And oh boy and am I looking forward to the treats we'll make with those apples!  Apple sauce!  Apple fritters!  Apple muffins!  And my favorite:  Apple crisp!  Tender apples, warm and gooey, with a sweet, brown sugary crunch on top.  Perfect right out of the oven for desert, or warmed in the microwave for breakfast.  Can. Not. Be. Beat.  I'd love to share the recipe with you, but I'm afraid I'd risk copyright infringement.  You'll just have to take my word for it! :o)

We got this fantastic little book at an orchard we went to in Michigan (I don't remember the name of it, sorry!) that has our tried and true recipes that we use every year.  Needless to say, it is well loved and our favorites are marked with sticky notes.  Definitely a book to hand down. Here's the name of the cookbook:  Apples!  Apples!  Apples!  Cooking with Apples by M. Mosley, published and distributed by Hearts & Tummies Cookbook Co. (a division of Quixote Press).  You may be able to find it at your local orchard!

Happy apple and pumpkin picking!

Theatre Widow

Three to four times a school year, and sometimes 2 - 3 months a summer, I become what is known as a "Theatre Widow".  What is a theatre widow (or widower, but for the sake of this blog, we'll use widow)? A theatre widow is a woman (or man, if it's widower) who is in a significant relationship with a person who is in the theatre business.  "How does just that fact alone widow you?", you ask?  When a show is close to premiering, cast, crew and production staff go into what is called "Tech Week(s)".  This is where they hammer out all the final details of the performance: any changes to stage blocking, the lights are hung and focused, set pieces are completed (some are drying as the opening curtain rises), sound cues are checked and rehearsals go into overtime as everyone works to make sure all the components work together well.  This takes hours.  Theatre is not a 9 - 5 gig.  So, during those time of tech hell, my husband is virtually invisible.  We'll see him in the morning as we're getting ready and that's the last time the kids will see him before the following morning.  I'm lucky if I see him before I go to bed!  He's not here = I'm theatre widowed.  As my background is also in theatre, I have experienced all facets of production and tech as well, so I know what to expect and what's going on, but it certainly doesn't make me miss him any less.

Currently, I am theatre widowed.  And I'm going back to work, which means the baby has started day care.  And (FINALLY) our son starts back to school on Monday, but I had to have someone watch him this week, so I had to take him there too.  This mama has been busting her hump this week (and I will most of next week too), single-handedly, and all the stuff that needs to get done, mostly got done (finding our son's lost shin guard did not happen, much to husband's chagrin).  Kids were fed, clothed, bathed, and entertained; dishes got done; and even some laundry made it through the washer AND dryer.  However, the house is in somewhat of a disarray.  I have never claimed to be the best Susie Homemaker, even when husband is home!  I feel for the mamas who are single all the time.  These times make me grateful for all the times I'm not widowed, but they also remind and empower me that I can do it.  I may not be the perfect theatre widow/single mom, but I do the best I can, all in the name of entertainment.

So, next time you go to see a show: high school (don't forget all those teachers who take time away from their families to work with those kids!), college, community, regional, professional, whatever, think about those who have worked tirelessly to entertain you, and their families who have not seen them for any significant amount of time.  Yes, it's a life choice, but so is any career.  And my husband loves it.  I get bragging rights: "Yes, my husband designed the show!  I'm so glad you enjoyed it!"  Enjoy the show!