Goodbye 2009

For the last few days the newspaper has had end of the year articles on 2009 and how many people are happy to see it go. The economy, Afghanistan and Iraq, H1N1, unemployment…. good riddance. But was it really that bad? More specifically, for my family?

The past year has been a tough one for Jason at work as his employer laid off a number of people, and Jason personally had to let a number of his employees go, people he both liked and respected. Those times were difficult and you thank God your family will still have a job the next week. Jason and I have been there, and it isn’t easy. On the day we were going to tell my parents I was pregnant with their ninth grandchild, and we had decided I would become a full-time stay at home mom, Jason lost his job. It’s scary, but with faith, family and hope, new opportunities come along. I pray that the people Jason had to lay off this year have found something new and rewarding in their lives.

One thing many people take for granted is their health, and back in March we got a reminder that each day is a gift when Jason’s dad suffered a heart attack. Nine months later, Grandpa has joined a gym and is on track to not visit the cardiac ward again. My own Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer the day before Christmas Eve last year. Radiation behind him, current treatment includes hormone shots resulting in hot flashes and other problems, but to quote my good friend Kelly’s dad who is a prostate cancer survivor, “Better than being dead.” Indeed. Here at home we have battled H1N1 and strep throat, sore backs, achey feet and failing eye sight. Better than being dead. Amen.

For our family here at #5, we started 2009 coming off of a major flood and power outage. Our goal in the New Year was to banish our basement of the horrible mold we discovered after the storm, and while not in our plan for home renovations, we now have a beautiful basement family room, complete with an installed generator to continually power our sump pumps. The flip side of that is that our long-term plans to renovate our den and sun room are again pushed out yet again, but for now, my kids are happily playing and watching TV downstairs. Somehow it all works out, and I will live with sagging dark paneling and dirty carpets in the den a little while longer.

Even with all these negatives, there was oh so much joy in our lives this year. On the top of the list for me was celebrating Jason’s grandmother’s 90th birthday with every single member of her family while on our beach vacation in New Jersey. The icing on the cake was that it was also Alanya’s 7th birthday, and she will always have that memory of a very special party. Grandma continues to enjoy each day and her family and I hope this coming August I can cheer once again as she swims in the Atlantic surf.

In 2009 Noah started his years of angst as a Middle Schooler, and promptly brought home a Student of the Month award as well as a spot on the Student Council, Wrestling Team and all-A Honor Roll. Benny continued being Benny, holding a top spot for his age-level on the cross country running team, excelling at piano, and being the sweet, emotional little boy that he has always been. His two favorite words now are "Hippie" and "Hobo", I don't know why. Alanya moved into second grade and finally became a reader, much to my delight. She marched to her own drummer, challenging me by cutting her hair, refusing to wear clothes I bought her and overall being as stubborn as I am. We couldn’t be more blessed.

Jason and I shared a four day respite alone together in Seattle in late March for a family wedding, and celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary in July. He makes me laugh, and I am constantly reminded of all the reasons why we fit together. I am so proud of him and what he does for our family, and I still get a flutter of excitement when I hear the garage door open every night when he comes home.

So there you have it. 2009. I guess it wasn’t so bad after all, just a gentle reminder to not take one moment for granted. Each one is a gift.

Happy New Year and blessings of peace to the world.

Happy Holidays!

Wishing all of our family and friends a wonderful holiday and a safe and healthy New Year! Thank you for the love, support and friendship.

My renaissance man

At 5:55 this evening, Noah was one of the last to wrestle at his match. He got through all three minutes which is a great match for someone who stepped on a wrestling mat for the first time a few weeks ago. Right now, not getting pinned in the first minute is the goal. After he finished, we raced off so he could shower, change, eat and get to church by 6:30 to sing in the Christmas Music program with Ben and the rest of the children's choir. Quite the renaissance man for an 11 year old. Enjoy the videos of his triumphs.

The eye of the storm

Last night we lit the last Hanukkah candles, and as Jason and Alanya sat waiting and watching for the last one to puff out, it made me sad to think we had to wait another year to do it again. I guess that's what holidays are about. If we did it every week, it wouldn't be special. There was something different about this year's Hanukkah though as our family raced through our daily schedule of activities it was a bit more of a challenge to carve out the time for a family dinner to light the candles. We do our best to eat together every night and it is a rare night when Jason can't leave work in time for dinner, even if it means working from home once the kids go to bed. I remember some nights that I had to light the menorah alone with the kids, and say the prayers while the kids mumbled along in some form of Hebrew. Those nights were a little odd and surreal for me, trying to keep traditions going, even when it wasn't my tradition. But that's the point... now it is.



Last night Noah had a wrestling match in another town and I knew having dinner ready for 5 starving people when we got home around seven was going to be a challenge. I was tempted to go out to eat, but alas, you can't bring your candles to a restaurant. So instead, we did the next best thing as you can see in the picture. Chinese Food.

We did have a true Hanukkah celebration with my sister and parents on the second night complete with dreidel, gelt, and Jason's latkes. That night we started what I hope will be a new Hanukkah tradition for our family - homemade sufganiyot, or jelly donuts. Jason outdid himself, and they were delightful.

Later today I'll get Alanya set up with the waxy menorahs to clean them with a toothpick, and I will continue wrapping gifts. No rest for the weary. This is a marathon for our family and this weekend is simply the eye of the storm. We won't slow down again for another week. The kids are having a ball, Jason and I are nearing exhaustion, and now I know why we only do this once a year.

What to do?

What do you get the child who's Christmas wish list says...

• four day trip to Disney World
• origami paper

Hmmmm.... ?

Thanksgiving 2009

What I’m thankful for....

Jason’s job that has survived three rounds of layoffs over the last year.

My friends who always see the good in me, even when it isn’t showing, and always find the time to laugh with me.

Three children who are healthy, do well at school and are simply nice people (most of the time).

My father and father-in-law who made it through the year after being faced with too many health challenges.

The last eight years I have had living down the street from my parents, a true gift as my babies have grown up.

My mom who spends more hours than can be counted supporting her five kids, four kids-in-law and ten grandchildren with phone calls, cards, emails and visits.

Finally, a best friend and husband who laughs at me and with me, and never seems to tire of me.

Quotes of the week

A few things I could have done without hearing this week....

“I’d like to take a minute to discuss ringworm” – the middle school wrestling coach as I sat in on my first wrestling parent meeting.

“Mom bought me some hoochy mama boots!” – Alanya, after I caved and bought her some Ugg knockoffs.

“There aren’t any flu shots in the state, so don’t even waste your time looking.” – my doctor, after I spent a week trying to track down seasonal and H1N1 shots for me and the kids.

And a few I wouldn't mind hearing again sometime...

“Mom, I got Student of the Month!” - Noah, after finding out he was one of three sixth graders selected at his school.

“In all my years I have never had a student master that piece in one week.” – the piano teacher after Benny knocked her socks off.

“Mom, Daddy brought home roses and wine!” – Alanya, after a really long week for me.

A message from the sick ward

Nine days ago I woke up and my life came to a screeching halt. Ben had a fever. The stories on the news of the H1N1 virus making its way through the schools echoed in my head. The thought of a day at home wasn't so bad at the time, but little did I know I'd still be here nine days later.

That first day Alanya got off the bus and I knew I was in trouble. She had it too. For the next few days we were the sick ward and miraculously Noah and I showed no signs of getting sick. I cancelled my plans and turned into a vampire, venturing out only when it was dark after Jason got home from work. Trips to the grocery store and pharmacy the extent of my travels.

Around Day 6, the two little ones looked to be coming out of it and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. And then... "Mom, my throat is sore," from Noah. Say it isn't so.

The doctor's offices around here don't want to see kids with the flu as there is nothing that can be done for it. No need to bring them out in public to infect others. Something was different with Noah though, and on the third day I decided to call. After more than two hours of busy signals I finally got through and convinced the nurse he should get in to see someone. Strep throat, not the flu. Go figure. My doctor, who had told me he highly doubted Noah had strep, but would do the test anyway, handed me the prescription for antibiotics and said that Noah was one of the few kids he could help this week, and he should be feeling better in 48 hours.

So here I sit, day nine. You'd think my house would be spotless, closets cleaned, yard raked. What do I have to show for this house-bound vacation of mine? Not much. I need a vacation.

Boy of the Year

Ever since I was a child I can remember my father saying that he was “Boy of the Year” in 1956. Now, if you knew my dad, you’d know that he has been haunted with perfection all of his life. The oldest of three, he was the golden boy, the altar server, the straight A student. He was the first to go to college, on a full athletic scholarship no less, and went on to become a successful and accomplished executive. By the time I was born, it was somewhat difficult to comprehend my father’s humble beginnings. I lived in a big beautiful house, went on family vacations and wanted for nothing - a far cry from the sad and rundown mill town where my grandparents lived when I was a kid. Dad would tell us stories of his childhood and the “Boy of the Year” was always thrown in, almost like frosting on the top. Of course he was. Sure.

Imagine our surprise when this summer my father shared with us that he received a call from the Boys and Girls Club of his youth and was told he was to be inducted into their Hall of Fame. For a second it sounded like a joke, but then it sunk in. He really was that boy, the skinny kid from the poor home who looked for a safe place to hang out with his friends. Not only that, he wasn’t forgotten. People knew him, remembered him, and didn’t want to forget him.

A few weeks ago on a cold Thursday night, I got the kids dressed up and we attended the banquet where my father and two others were honored. All of my siblings, seven of the ten grandchildren, my dad’s two younger brothers and other family and friends were there. My dad’s remarks were sweet and funny and made me cry. I sat there, thinking of the timeline going backwards in his life… 38 years of my life, 46 years married to my mom, 8 years of college and high school I could picture from snapshots and newspaper clippings when, even back then, he still looked like the dad that I have always known. That night however, it was about my dad as a boy. Like my 11 year old Noah, just coming into his own, not quite a little boy but nowhere near a man. It was a snapshot of my dad that I never really took the time to ponder.

It reminds me of the book The Time Traveller’s Wife, where a time travelling husband bounces to the past and spends time with his wife when she was a young girl. Imagine getting the chance to spend time with the people you love most, your husband or parents, at that most perfect time. When the reality of life has yet to set in and they still think they can play for the Red Sox some day, or an afternoon of playing in a pile of leaves truly is the best time ever. Or seeing them as Boy of the Year, ready to conquer the world.

Facebook killed your blog

“Facebook killed your blog,” said my mom about a month ago.

Early in the summer I finally sucked it up and started doing Facebook because I was sick and tired of having people ask me if I did it or not. Facebook is a funny world, communicating your emotions and thoughts in 25 word snippets or so to let the world know what’s going on with you. There is some satisfaction with posting how proud you are of your kids because they did X, Y or Z, and then you move on. No need to sit down and write it up for your blog. I haven’t been blogging lately and I’ve been wondering why. I’ve actually come up with a few reasons other than Facebook.

When I started this page about a year ago I did it primarily to keep my mom and dad in the loop of the every day and mundane while they are in Florida for the winter. With them home this summer, I didn’t feel such an urgent need to post photos or the funny thing that a kid did. October is here and they are gone again, so we’ll see if things change around here.

I think my silence began slowly this summer after I saw the movie Julie and Julia. The movie was delightful and entertaining and I left the theater with an overwhelming desire to cook Beef Bourguignon and to write more. For those of you who saw the movie though, you know that Julie wrote with a purpose, to find herself, to finally become a writer, to be something other than the person in the cubicle. She challenged herself and posted every day, struggling through the good and the bad to meet her goal. Wow… that’s deep. I’m just a mom who occasionally sits in the rocking chair in my kitchen with a laptop musing about how the Tooth Fairy screwed up again or how each of my kids are unique and different little people. Not ground breaking in the least.

I don’t have advertisements to make extra cash, I don’t have a theme to try and draw in readers, it’s just me and my computer who sometimes is the best listener. And after I get all my thoughts down, I often feel a lot better. So here it is. There is no grand scheme to this, it’s just for me.

What I learned in Junior High

My first child started Middle School recently, and that alone was a bit of adjustment for me. Wasn’t I just negotiating with him to leave his pacifier in the car when we went to tour preschools? Where did the time go? Even more disturbing is thinking that my little boy is being released into that horrible den of pre-teen hell called Middle School. For me it was Junior High, but it’s all the same. You couldn’t pay me to go back, not that I would ever tell Noah that. It is a rite of passage we all need to experience. The cruel twist of fate in my case is that he is going to the same school I did.

Last spring I attended a parent night and as I walked through the doors of the school for the first time in 23 years my stomach dropped a bit. It looks a little different with a new wing, and new color scheme, but so much is exactly the same. The memories came rushing back, both good and bad, but mostly the bad.

All summer it drove me crazy that all I could remember was the nasty girls, the insecurities and the teasing boys. I remember planning my outfit for the first day of school, and then once I got to my homeroom, immediately realizing I looked completely wrong; the sleepless nights; standing against the wall ready to vomit when a slow song was played at a dance. I decided to dig deep and remember some of the positives, and indeed, I did learn a few things about life in Junior High.

People can be cruel. They may regret it moments later or years later, but sometimes something can come over a person and once the words come out they can’t be taken back.
It’s never too late to apologize. When I was in college I ran into a girl from Junior High who had done something horrible to me. We stopped to say hello and to my shock, she apologized. I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but it must have been bothering her for years. I’m not sure I would have been that courageous, but she taught me it is never too late.
Challenging yourself is better than taking the easy road. In 8th grade, due to a scheduling conflict, I got put into a Social Studies class that was a level lower than I normally took. I was the teacher’s pet, got perfect grades, and barely had to lift a finger. And I was bored silly.
Life-long friendships are possible. I am still close to two of my friends from Junior High (Kelly? Mindy? Are you reading this?), and although our lives have taken us to different places and different parts of the country, when we do connect it is effort-less.
Family will always pick you up. The joke in my family is that whenever someone said or did anything hurtful to me (which happened more than necessary in Junior High) my mom and sisters would always respond with “they are just jealous of you”. It probably wasn’t always true, but it always made me feel better.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all bad by any means. I do remember being a part of the school volleyball team, the all-night slumber parties, the new independence, my first “boyfriend” and first kiss in the school gym. More than anything, I have to laugh at it all now as an adult. The things that seemed so important then are so small in the larger scheme of things. My wish for Noah is that he will figure that out earlier than later.

When will it slow down?

I thought with the kids back in school, I would find more time to write, but that has not been the case. The kids completed their fifth day of school today, and I see no sign of things slowing down anytime soon. I haven't even had a day at home with nothing to do but "home" stuff. On the way back from the dump today I thought there may be an hour or so unaccounted for.... but instead of coming home to get a jump on dinner or put away laundry, I stopped in at my mom's and we had a diet coke with our feet up instead. There's time for that other stuff later.

Tonight I ran off for the first PTO meeting at the middle school - my former junior high, but that's another whole blog post. I had direct orders from Jason as I ran out the door that I was to sit quietly in the back, silently support my friends on the board, and not volunteer for anything. For the first time ever he told me that if I take anything more on, he was sure something will suffer. After a little pressing from me, I think he halfway admitted it would be his dinner, or the laundry, the lawn not getting mowed, or our time together that suffered, but I'm not 100% sure on that. I did leave the meeting with a short list of the needs they have in the copy room, the library and the school store though. Better defrost some more veggie burgers.

Ten things that made me smile this summer

Another summer has flown by and school begins next week. We have a busy few days ahead of us with sneaker shopping, haircuts, organizing supplies and cleaning out dressers, but I did want to stop and reflect on a few things that made me smile this summer.

#1 - "Mom, can you believe I'm the only Jewish kid in the entire CCD class?" I hope the second grade teacher is prepared for this little girl!

#2 - Watching Jason's face light up when I suggested he take his motorcycle out to do some errands for me.

#3 - Watching my kids enjoy the lake where I spent my childhood summers.

#4 - Boogie boarding the perfect wave with the help of Jason's cousin, Luke.

#5 - Spending four days with my two nieces, Gina and Maddie, and seeing so much of my brother and sister in them!

#6 - Spending a grown-up evening out with Jason and my family for a wedding in Boston.

#7 - Watching the sun rise at the beach with Jason and the kids and then going out for breakfast.

#8 - Running the first PTO Board Meeting of the year and actually knowing what I was doing this time.

#9 - Spending time with my friends and laughing until my cheeks hurt.

#10 - Blueberries

Our small family get-together

I can't believe weeks have gone by since our vacation on the Jersey Shore. Summer does not offer the same quiet moments to sit down and blog, or perhaps I'm just too exhausted from having the kids home all the time. Either way, the summer can't end without reflecting on our seven days "on the shore" as they say. This was only our second year, but Jason's mother's side of the family has been vacationing there for twenty or more years.

All five of us had a wonderful time playing in the sand, and actually swimming in the ocean - something you rarely get to do up in New England. In New Jersey the water is actually warm enough to stay in for hours, which is exactly what the kids did. Noah would come out to eat and drink and then go back in. His boogie board was permanently attached to his wrist the entire trip.

The main event went far beyond just the five of us though. On the day we arrived, Jason's grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday in grand style with all four of her children, all eight of her grandchildren, as well as her five great-grandchildren. Throw in various spouses and a fiancee and there were 25 of us. Here is the official portrait for the week. It isn't often that a family that spreads from Seattle down to Los Angeles over to Georgia and up to New Hampshire can have a picture like this!

Much to Grandma's delight, she gets to share her birthday with her first great-granddaughter who turned seven this year. Alanya had to get up at three in the morning and endure nearly 10 hours in horrible traffic, but how many of us can say they shared their 7th birthday with their 90 year old great grandma?!

This is one of my favorite pictures we took that week. I happened to glance up and there they were with no one else around, just taking it all in.

For those of you who think we drag Grandma all the way to the beach to sit in a cottage, think again. Every day she makes it down to the beach and most days, with the help of her sons or grandsons, she ventures into the waves for a swim. She draws quite a crowd of onlookers. I actually overheard someone say "Oh my gosh, the old lady from last year is back!" Grandma always finishes her swim with a bunch of us cheering her on as she comes out of the water. It truly is inspiring to see.

More than anything, it is such a gift to be able to spend such a large amount of time with cousins, aunts, and uncles. I think what our family does is a rare thing these days. It isn't easy though, don't get me wrong. One of Jason's cousins was only there about 24 hours before she had to return for work, a few cousins had to leave for a day to work, and a few had to leave early because of other family commitments. But we all wanted to be there and we all made an effort to be in one place for one week. A rare thing for extended families these days. Every year we hope every one of us will return the following August, and maybe one year we won't. Until then, we're going to hold on to every moment.

What I did the other night

When was the last time you did anything spontaneous? When you become a parent, your life turns into one big schedule. Nap time, bath time, bedtime… drop everything and go out at the last minute? Can’t, baby goes to bed at 7:30. As the kids get older, there is a little more flexibility, but now you have homework, practice, babysitters. Spontaneity is hard to come by. Those moments that actually bring you silly joy.

The other night I organized a girl’s night out to the movies with three friends of mine. It was quite a production to get it coordinated and have husbands home in time from work so that we could make the 7:20 showing of The Time Traveller’s Wife (a wonderful book by Audrey Neffenegger that I absolutely love, but two out of three people who read it don’t get it… but that’s another post). We were laughing before we even got in the car, and we knew it would be a fun night. Four moms of school age children going out the third week of August without the kids? We could have just driven in circles in the car and it would have been good. Just being with friends was wonderful.

As we were walking out of the movie, we joked that we didn’t want the night to end and one of us happened to look up and see that Julie and Julia was starting in 15 minutes. We looked at each other, squealed and reached for our cell phones to call our respective husbands at home to tell them we were going to another movie. All the kids were home safe, no baby sitters that needed to be relieved, and the worst that could happen would be we had to drag ourselves out of bed the next morning after a late night. It was completely spontaneous and frivolous and silly, and we had a ball.

The boys and their tools

Around the same time the new motorcycle appeared in our garage, Noah got a new bike and all of a sudden our garage has become an accident waiting to happen. My gut reaction was a shed, but trying to find a solution that didn’t cost quite so much, we decided a bike rack was in order. Did you know bike’s these days often don’t have kickstands? So take a bike with no kickstand, a lazy kid who just wants to leave their bike anywhere and a messy garage in need of cleaning… you can imagine the chaos.

Weighing the options, Jason looked online and found a few bike racks we could buy, but then found plans to make a simple rack out of 2x4’s and 2x2’s. Last Christmas Noah got a tool set and he has been dying for some kind of project other than tightening drawer knobs, so we decided $25 spent on wood and hardware was a small price to pay to give Noah and Jason a fun project.

First step was to review the plans and determine what they needed followed by a trip to Home Depot. They then shut themselves in the hot garage for two nights. There were various lessons learned such as “righty, tighty, lefty, loosy” and “measure twice, cut once.” But the end result was well worth it... a new bike rack that was exactly what we needed, as well as some quality guy time with wood and tools. What is it with boys and their tools? I’ll never understand it.

Alanya Flower

When you buy a new home, there is a year or so of discovery as you learn things about the new place you live. The furnace might make a weird clicking noise. The ceiling fans may wobble on high. The refrigerator may sweat when it’s over a certain temperature. New discoveries are made every day, and the same goes for your yard. What color will those leaves turn? That area of the driveway gets covered in ice because of bad drainage. Is that a weed or a flower? Should we pull it or hope for the best?

Seven years ago was our first year in this house and I was also pregnant. It was a learning process as we discovered what each flower bed had to offer from the previous owners. Out near the mailbox we had a number of things coming up, and one plant was taking a longer time than normal to show itself. It was nearly August and still no flowers, although it was bursting with buds. What would it be?

In the wee hours of August first we left for the hospital. That morning we called my mom and the boys at home to tell them about the new little girl in our family. Much to our delight, my mom told us that the mystery flower had burst open over night, and it turned out to be spectacular pink and white stargazer lilies. A celebration of pink and perfume for our little girl we had waited so long for.

We call them “Alanya Flowers” and every summer she continually checks to see how they are growing. Finally, within days of her birthday they burst open just for her. I’ll never in my life be able to look at one of those pink blooms without thinking of my little girl.

So much to do, so little time!

Today it will be almost 90 degrees, I have to put together some meals for our vacation next week, we are hosting a gaggle of little girls for Alanya's 7th birthday celebration, and... oh yeah... it's our anniversary! How come after 14 years the most important sometimes gets pushed to the last thing on the list?

We'll be going out to celebrate tonight, but until then I have a huge list to tackle. Looking forward to 4:30 when Jason said he will be sneaking out of work. I wish I had time to write an ode to my husband, or perhaps a sonnet, but I have to get on with my day! So instead, here is a link to the first post I ever did on this blog. Happy anniversary Jason. I look forward to the next fourteen years. I absolutely do.

Our "cheap" blueberries

Yesterday we went blueberry picking with the intention of filling our freezer. All winter long Jason and Alanya eat frozen blueberries on cereal and oatmeal and this is the time to stock up on fresh berries dirt cheap. Ran into a bit of a problem though. I had asked Jason if $27 cash was enough, and he said sure based on what they picked last year. Problem was I didn't pick with them last year. Imagine our surprise when the girl weighed our berries and told use we owed $34.

How embarrassing.

So I get in the car to find an ATM, but remember we are in the middle of farm country. I had to drive almost five miles to the nearest one, had to pay a bank fee for a machine that was out of network, had to drive five miles back to find that Jason had bought the kids water bottles since they had picked berries for an hour in the hot sun.... cheap blueberries? I don't think so.

Good neighbors

We never got a garden in this year because of some major tree work we had done. Good thing too because they had to drop a large section in the garden area and we would have lost anything that was planted. There's always next year.

In the meantime, today I stopped at our favorite veggie stand that opens up about a mile or so from here and got the most spectacular tomatoes. Alanya and I enjoyed them with a light sprinkling of kosher salt. Luckily I drive by this stand often!

Yesterday our neighbor, who has quite the garden and fruit orchard in his backyard, invited us over to pick raspberries. He also sent us off with a few peaches fresh from the tree. Alanya, Jason and I enjoyed the raspberries... they are so delicate! Much to our delight this evening he invited us back over to pick again because of the impending rain tomorrow. We brought home another overflowing container of raspberries and another good handful of peaches.

Rule number one to home ownership - always stay on good terms with the neighbors who grow fabulous fruit and veggies!! Hopefully he'll invite us back when the blueberries need picking!!

New Hampshire at its best... part 3!

Our final day up north found us at Attitash, home of the famous mile-long alpine slide. I have very vague memories of riding with my father on the slide back around 1977, and I haven't forgotten it. The experience is still as thrilling more than thirty years later. You take a chairlift halfway up a mountain where you then get on a plastic sled with a control stick. Push it forward and it allows you to roll down the cement track, pull it back and you slow down and eventually stop. The slide curves through the trees and down the mountain for a fabulous ride. I wish I could post some pictures, but for obvious reasons they don't allow you to take photos while riding. All five of us had a ball and learned that going "full throttle" through the turns made the ride thrilling.

Next on the agenda was the bungy-trampoline jump. Our local mall has one of these contraptions set up inside and my kids have begged us to try it. Well, we all tried it and let me assure you, it was a new and fun experience, but once was probably good enough for us. The boys didn't quite understand you had to use your legs to push off from the trampoline, but Alanya got the hang of it quickly. Jason and I tried it too. It was fun, but I can think of other things I'd do first.

After a picnic lunch - it was an absolutely beautiful day - we took the chair lift to the summit. The top of Mt. Washington was in the clouds, but we had a spectacular view. Our last big activity was the climbing wall... another first for most of us. Again, the boys had a hard time with it, never really putting their trust in the attendants who were holding the ropes. I made it about 3/4 of the way up the wall, and Jason made it to the top, but the surprise of the day? Alanya is a climbing fool! She scrambled to the top of the "easy" wall twice, and then mastered the "medium" wall. We were all quite proud of our fearless girl.

Maybe she will be the next to get a motorcycle! Overall, a fabulous weekend, with lots of fun.

Ooooh, yuck!

For those of you who remember the post I did about Jason kissing the Blarney Stone in Ireland, consider this... the editors of Trip Advisor dot com has released a list of the top five 'germiest' tourist attractions. Guess what was at the top of the list. You got it. The Blarney Stone. Yuck! Get the Listerine and wet wipes!

New Hampshire at its best... part 2

Santa... in July? Only in New Hampshire at Santa's Village!

I know it sounds crazy, but there is a small, delightful (there is no other word to describe it!) amusement park in northern New Hampshire (actually more than one!) perfect for families with kids ten and younger. Storyland has always been our favorite, but this trip we tried out Santa's Village and we weren't disappointed.

Everything has some kind of Christmas themed twist, like the reindeer on the carousel. Instead of the teacups, you ride in the Little Drummer Boy's Drums. Instead of a sky ride you ride above the park in Santa's sleigh.

I have to admit, the only thing that did get old was the music... Christmas carols being played through the whole park can get on your nerves after a bit.

Finally, a trip to an amusement park isn't complete without a ride on the Yule Log Flume!!

We all had a great time, including Noah, but I know his interest level for a place like this may be fleeting with each passing year. Hopefully though we'll squeeze in a few more of these trips because I'm not quite done yet!

New Hampshire at its best!

This weekend we went up to the White Mountains and had a wonderful time. We didn't go last year and I really missed it. For someone who has lived in this state on and off for more than half my life, it always blows me away when go up to the mountains and realize what New Hampshire is really like. Living in the relatively 'big' city of the state, you tend to forget that the majority is lakes, farms and mountains. It truly is beautiful.

For any of you in the New England area who haven't ventured further than the greater Boston area, here is a taste of New Hampshire at it's best.

The Lost River Gorge and Caves

I had never visited this amazing park before, and we will definitely go back. A mountain river cutting through a rocky gorge of boulders and caves is an amazing sight, especially when you walk right through it all on walkways and stairs. It reminds you of Swiss Family Robinson as you walk through the trees and over pools of water and through caves. We had a blast squeezing through all the caves and exploring the different rock formations.

Here Alanya and I make our way out of one of the many caves.

Meet the Ninja

I'm still a bit in shock, but there is a motorcycle in the garage. It arrived late Wednesday night, and Jason only had about an hour or so to ride it Thursday night since we left for a long weekend Friday. He is still very much in practice mode and is slowly learning the bike around our house. He hasn't ventured more than a few blocks from our street yet.

Next on the list is to get it inspected and get a lightweight armored jacket so that he isn't riding in a heavyweight leather jacket in 80 degree weather, or he may just crash from heatstroke!

The motorcycle

If you haven't heard, Jason is getting a motorcycle. I know all the reactions by now, the shaking of the head, the eye rolls, the quick intake of breath. I know them, I've done them, I've seen you all do them.

For ten years I did my best to foil his intentions and I gave him every argument in the book on why this was a bad idea. I won't regurgitate them all here as we all know them. For the record, crying doesn't work and neither does screaming or calling him names. A few months ago he said he was going to do it. Period.

By this point I am tired. I'm tired of fighting. There are so many other things that could be wrong in our marriage, I gave up. That doesn't mean I'm not upset or scared or angry, but I'm done. I told him to increase his life insurance, and that I was done fighting. He did, and we are.

When I started to share this news of the impending bike with my friends, everyone of them confirmed what I was feeling, except for one. I was floored when my friend Becca said to me, "Laura, think of the joy you can bring Jason by giving him your blessing to fulfill his lifelong dream of having a motorcycle?" Huh? Becca's words, although not what I wanted to hear, made me stop in my tracks. And she's right.

So Jason has started shopping. I still haven't gotten to the point of showing enthusiasm when he shows me used motorcycles on Craigs List, but I'm trying. Now I'm just hoping that when he finally is on his bike, and I see his joy, that I feel it too.

The "destruction" project

See those massive, overgrown, 70s style hedges under the two front windows? I have finally had enough of them. I'd say they are original to the house, putting them at 35-40 years old. They trap leaves, provide homes for critters and crowd the trees and plantings that I do like.

About a month ago I mentioned to Jason I wanted to hire someone to take them out and replace it with some nice clean drainage stone and mulch. Hire someone? Jason jumped at the chance to do this project. It was destruction, and according to him he couldn't mess it up.

Step one was to cut all the greens off. Easy enough. That turned out to be about 3% of the total project. He then started battling the roots and stumps, unsuccessfully. This was more difficult than he thought.

Around the same time we were having some trees taken down so I asked the tree crew if they could pop the stumps out. The tree guy winced at the thought and said that wasn't as easy as it sounded. Three guys wrapped chains around the root balls and with a tractor tried to pull them out. Two of the eight got pulled out before they gave up. And we thought we could do it with loppers, a saw and a shovel?

To make a long story short, it took us many days of hard, back-breaking work but Jason happily posed for these "after" pictures on Sunday. Moral of the story? Never underestimate destruction!

Use the Force

Guess what. It's still raining. Before I even opened my eyes this morning I could tell it was pouring. For the life of me I couldn't think of anything else to do that wouldn't cost us money.

"Use the Force" Jason said. A Star Wars marathon was his brilliant idea and the kids totally bought into it.

I hooked our travel dvd player up to the tv in the basement and they brought down our four Star Wars dvds. Bean bag chairs in place, the lights dimmed and the movies going. They plan on having light saber battles in between movies. Best case scenario this could buy me about eight hours of peace, but I know Ben will be the first one to come up and say he's bored with it. Until then, I need to embrace the Force.

Off to get lunch started... Peanut butter and Jedi Sandwiches.

Noah... get your toolbox!

Today Noah came downstairs with his little toolbox, bored, looking for something to hammer or screw. I sent him to tighten knobs. Maybe instead I should have told him to start building an ark. For those of you lucky enough to not be in New England, let me be the one to inform you that it has been raining here for three weeks.

I'm not exaggerating.

I can remember two days in the last three weeks that we had sun, and luckily we took advantage of them. One day we went to the beach with my mom for the day, and the other we went to the pool. All other days it has poured, showered, been misty... just about every possible variation of rain you can come up with. It started while the kids were still in school, but they are now home. What to do?

First, you tell yourself you did in fact make the right decision when building a family room in the basement. It has been a lifesaver. We have had play dates and the kids can go down there and just have space. Even I found myself down there reading yesterday because it was quiet. Yes, thank goodness for the basement.

Second, you take advantage of the dry time when you get it. The other day the kids and I were walking through the mall and we saw sun coming through the skylights. We quickly hurried out of there, and on the way home I called friends telling them to come over to play wiffle ball in the yard. Of course by the time our friends got here it was a torrential rain, but again, thank goodness for that basement!

Today I finally broke down and took the kids to the movies, as did everyone else in a 30 mile radius. Looking at the 10-day forecast there is only one day that isn't described with shower, rain or thunderstorm, so it doesn't look like it will dry up any time soon. I suppose I'll keep coming up with ideas and things to keep us busy. It could be worse. I could be dragging sprinklers around my brown lawn.

Michael Jackson... gone?

I had a poster just like this one on my bedroom wall when I was eleven or twelve. In fact I had three larger than life posters of Michael Jackson over me bed. I remember when I was in seventh grade I went on a three or four day trip to Quebec with my French class and I listened to my Thriller cassette tape on my Walkman over and over and over again. It's a long ride to and from Quebec and I'm surprised the hinge on the Walkman door didn't break. Back then he was cute and entertaining and a star. Remember anxiously waiting for his latest Pepsi commercial?

He was too young to die, and the man had issues, but boy did he make this pre-teen girl happy in her day. I would try to moonwalk until my toes cramped up. I've pulled a few muscles trying to do that slap your knee - whip your body around thing he does. And who could forget the fabulous jackets we had with the puffy padded shoulders and stand up collars? Is this how my mom felt when Elvis Presley died?

He was the soundtrack of that horrible time in my life called junior high. It wasn't so much him, as it was everything about him that permeated kids my age then... the music, the dances, the clothes, and yes the one glove. You know you tried it, at least once. We all did before we felt stupid and put the other one on too. Michael was the only one that could pull it off.

Embracing the teaching moments.. even the difficult ones

Any pediatrician or experienced parent will tell you that you need to grasp onto "teaching moments" when they present themselves. Some subjects aren't always regular dinner talk, take divorce for example. Jason and I will be happily married 14 years next month, and my parents just celebrated their 46th anniversary. So how do you explain something like divorce? When the moments present themselves.

Each of our kids have had an "aha" moment when they realized Jason's parents must have known each other at one time. Grandpa lived here, Grandma lived there and it took awhile before they put two and two together. When Alanya was about three or four years old, Jason's mom was visiting and we were at a baseball game. Jason's father arrived at the field, and Alanya excitedly said "Grandma, I want you to meet my Grandpa!" She was just so excited for two people she loved so much to finally meet. It was sweet and sad all at the same time. That was a moment.

After that incident, once Alanya figured it out, she was obsessed with the idea that Grandma and Grandpa used to be married. In her world of Disney princesses and magical weddings, things like divorce never came after the happily ever after. She would sit on Grandpa's lap and ask him questions about Grandma. Where did they meet? Where did they live? Grandpa answered her, always short and sweet. Once when we were visiting Grandma, Alanya followed her around at her heels asking "but what was your dress like at the wedding?" It was all her way of wrapping her head around the "D" word. Since then, my brother has divorced, Jason's aunt has divorced, there are friends with step-dads and step-moms - each of these small moments for understanding.

Lately there has been a new layer added. Alanya and Ben have put two and two together and have figured out that Jason was a child of divorced people. I know it seems simple, but for them to imagine their daddy as a little boy with parents living apart has been slow coming. To understand what it must be like for children of divorce is not always easy to comprehend, especially when it's your dad. Recently though we have had a new learning moment present itself. Jon and Kate.

For those who haven't heard of Jon and Kate Gosselin (have you been living under a rock?), they are the parents of twins and sextuplets who have been the stars of a successful reality TV show. In the beginning, Jason and I would both watch the show if we stumbled across it. The kids were typical kids and ran the parents ragged, the parents would bicker and be exhausted, and we would thank our lucky stars that our life wasn't nearly as crazy as the Gosselins. About a year ago, my kids started watching the show and enjoyed seeing the eight kids go to an amusement park, or visit a museum, but in the last six months something has happened. The marriage of Jon and Kate has fallen apart on national television with my kids watching. It was rumored that last night they were going to announce they were divorcing (they did) and I told Jason I thought I should watch the show first to see if it was inappropriate for the kids to see. As soon as I said it and I saw Jason's eyes, I wished I could take it back. Since when is divorce "inappropriate"? It is his life. We watched the show together so that we could discuss it with the kids... another teaching moment.

Today while driving, I asked the kids what they thought of the show. At first no one really said anything, but slowly they started to open up. Ben wanted to know if Jon and Kate had told the kids yet, because for him he can put himself in their place and empathize with the kids. Noah said he wished they announced it would be the last show so that the family could have privacy and they could try to work out their problems. Alanya said "I think they shouldn't be sharing their feelings on public television." At six years old she has a better grasp of the situation than all the adults involved in making that show.

I don't know if my kids will continue to watch Jon and Kate, but maybe it will show them that families with divorced parents can still have happy times and still have love. And if not, I'm sure there will be more teaching moments down the road that will get them there.

And to my dad...

Wishing you the best Father's Day ever. You deserve it.

Happy Father's Day...

Some of my favorite pictures of Jason being a dad. You are the best! Happy Farter's Day... tee hee!

Congratulations Noah!

My handsome son had a promotion ceremony today as he leaves elementary school. He was one of about a dozen kids to receive a presidential award for academic excellence, all A's for both fourth and fifth grades. We are so very proud of him.

I didn't know if I would get emotional, but when all the kids stood up and sang the class song, The Climb by Miley Cyrus, Noah was looking right at me and singing and I lost it.

I know, this picture of him in catching gear has absolutely nothing to do with his promotion... but isn't he handsome? No, I'm not proud.