Mrs. Bennett's Class

Mady recently lost a tooth and got $2 from the tooth fairy. The best place to take a 6 year old with money burning a hole in her pocket is the Dollar Store. While there she found a huge teacher section and decided to use her money (and a little of mine) to get things to make her very own classroom. She is an excellent teacher. She is stern and efficient while also being patient and sweet. Here are some pics. Only in this school can you come in your underwear ;)

The End

So I just read Mike Nelson's report on the melting of the polar ice caps- add to that a picture of my friend in front of Mayan calendar with a post that says "don't go to work on 12/21/12 cuz that will suck" and my obsession with the new show Dooms Day Preppers and now you have a bit of paranoia. I decided just now though to be positive...... I'm not going on a diet or paying off my student loans until 12/22/12!

Parents Vs. DINKS

Lately I've been finding myself questioning how people without kids act around us or our schedule. Sometimes i get annoyed but then it usually makes me laugh. How easily I have forgotten those easy days before I had kids. Had I known then what I know now u would have- (no! Not gone without kids) I would have enjoyed those quiet moments more. Here is one of my many lists comparing how us parents think vs how DINKS (double income no kids) think.
Traffic: DINK "I hate traffic! I just wanna get home" US "I hope there's some traffic so I can take my time getting home and have some quiet time"
7:00pm: DINK "what should we do for dinner after this nice glass of wine? the new sushi restaurant or order in?"
US "oh God it's only 7? I have a whole hour before I can get these monsters to bed and watch something other than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Spongebob!"
7:00am- DINKS "oh I think I'll watch the news and then go for a jog before having a nice long shower"
US "OMG I have to pee but they are still miraculously asleep so I refuse to move from this spot in case I might accidentally wake someone up".
DINKS- "my dogs are the people I love most in the world"
US- "I never knew I could love (a real) person so much, I could sit here and stare at him/her for hours"

I would say parents are the lucky ones even with all the craziness and crying I would take it any day over a jog and a glass of wine. After all that's what long weekends away while the kids are with Grandma are for.

My Mommy Brain

The other day i was sitting by the pool with Joe as the kids are swimming. I was having my usual thoughts but this time I was saying them out loud to Joe. I soon realized he was looking at me like I was crazy. Then I realized the poor guy is a dad and a man so he is lost. Here's why.
As any of you who are mothers know it is is hard work to be a mommy. There is a lot of things to juggle and balance. There are messes to clean, dishes to do, errands to run, preschool to register for and do many other things. Lately though I've realized I have a lot of mommy worries. Some of them seem completely irrelevant and silly while others are deep. Here are just a few. If you have some of this pleae feel free to post yours so we can all feel normal!
- Do they have enough sunscreen on? Is it expired? When should I re-apply?
- are they getting enough veggies? Fruits? Do they eat too many processed foods? Should I only buy organic, non GMO foods? Can I afford that?
- Are they reading for the right amount if time each day? Is Mady reading at the right level? Is she up to par in school? Does she have enough friends? Is she confident?
- Do I play with them enough? Do I play with them too much?
- Do they watch appropriate shows for their age? Do they watch too much TV?
- Which activities should I sign them up for? How many is too many activities? Will they be we'll rounded enough?
- Will we be able to afford college?
- Will we be able to afford Disney World before they are too old to enjoy it? What time of year should we go to DW?
- Do they know they are loved? Am I smothering them? Will Noah be a mamma's boy?
- Are they spoiled? Do they need more toys? Are they deprived?
- Is Noah playing too close to the stairs? Is that bruise on his head something to worry about? What is this lump on her side? How long before you run them to the E.R. in any given case?

Anyway you get the point. There is of course much more and don't even get me started on this whole end of the world thing...we'll save that for another blog.
Our minds are always going. As long as we know in our hearts we are doing the best we can. Oh and in the words of my own mom "As long as everyone gets out alive that's all that matters".

Big News

I haven't blogged in awhile. A lot of times I wonder if anyone is even reading them or if this is just a diary. I have gotten some really nice feedback lately so I am going to try an keep up with it.So onto the big news. We have made the final decision to move back to Colorado in August. For several reasons.
A major deciding factor is that when we decided to move it was all dependant on Joe getting a good job in order to afford living here. He got a great job initially with a small restaurant in Boston that had just expanded to New York. After 60 days working there however, they closed the doors to the Wall Street restaurant and laid off 30 people including Joe. We decided not to get discouraged and he was out on the job hunt immediately. By the first week of January he was offered another great job at a high end retirement community that was expanding. Everything was still on for us to come from Colorado. Unfortunately another 60 days later he was laid off due to over hiring and a stall in construction. Since that time he has been unable to find anything comparable. Obviously we need a (good) income to survive as a family but that was not the final reason for our move.
It's really been no secret that I have been struggling with our move. My sister had me re-read the first entry from the morning after I moved and she said it was sad because it's so far from what I have been feeling in the past couple months. It is.
I made the decision to move here because I thought it would be a good place to raise our children around his big family. It sounds hokey butt I wanted the "Village" feeling. Soon after we got here we realized that his family is not as big as we remember when you are here day to day. When we would visit it would be a big to-do. There would be family in from Ohio and Florida and other people would visit. We have had a piece of that this Summer but it not like that all the time. I guess we were naive. I have really enjoyed seeing the kids with the family here especially my mother in law, Sheila.
Finally, we have just come to the conclusion that we consider Colorado to be home. We miss our friends and family dearly. We loved the school the kids went to and we miss the friends and teachers from Dry Creek Elementary.
The kids have done really well with the move here and we pray they do just as well with the move back. It has taken a toll on Joe and I though and our hope is that we can get back to the life we loved in Colorado. I do not regret the decision to move here. I have learned a lot about what I want and what I can do without. We know that if we didn't move here we would continue to wonder for years "What if...". For now we are back to my parent's basement until we find permanent work and a place of our own. Oh boy!!!

Camp Out

Over Memorial Day weekend we got the chance to go camping with some really great people. I knew Annmarie from when I lived here before and we always got along great .Turns out her husband, Matt is also a fun guy and they have a 4 year old son who the kids had a great time with. Here are some pics from our weekend. Hopefully this is the only the beginning of many great weekends together!

Noah and Matthew eating chips

Their weekend pet turtle

Aw, cute dirty camping couple ;)

Annmarie getting a splinter out but it looks like she's reading her palm ;)

the kids in the pool

Mady's first lost tooth

Mr. Nature

Mady and Matthew (He had a crush on her- so cute)

Noah's new friend Bently. He LOVED the dogs!

Only kid who falls asleep on a wagon ride

Just before he fell asleep



Wagon ride

In the pool with Daddy

They kept putting their chairs around the turtles home and staring at it for long periods of time- so funny

The turtle by the pond

Noah fishing



Noah and his fishing wing man Matthew

Looking for turtles and frogs at the pond

To Be or not To Be (the tooth fairy)

BIG NEWS! Mady lost her very first tooth! It has been lose for a couple of weeks now and we wondered if it would ever come out. At the same time we hoped it would take awhile- for 2 reasons 1. that is the beginning of her last bit of babyness going away and 2. She was completely inexplicably freaked out by the whole entire thing! I'm not sure why she decided it was horrible but when she discovered it was lose she completely lost it! She was crying and saying "I'm scared Mommy, I don't want my tooth to fall out". I thought maybe it was the pain but she said no. Then I thought it might be that she was afraid of the Tooth Fairy. Who wouldn't be afraid of a stranger walking through your room in the middle of the night while you sleep (wings or not). Plus thanks to Dwayne Johnson and Larry the Cable Guy the tooth fairy is now seen as a big burly weird guy- that's even weirder. Either way the day came. We were camping and she took a bite of her watermelon and I noticed there was a blank spot in her teeth. I told her to stop chewing and was looking everywhere for the tooth. I thought she swallowed it. That would make her totally freak out! Turns out it was just on the napkin (Thank you God!).
So now it was time to put it under her pillow. She decided she didn't want to do it on the first night even though we were at home. The next night it was time. She wanted to put it under her pillow by itself. I'm sure that would have been fine but I was worried it would get lost and the "Tooth Fairy" wouldn't be able to find it in the dark. I insisted we put it in a small jewelry box and then put it under the pillow, then she went to sleep.
The time came for the "Tooth Fairy" to do his/her job. Joe and I discussed who should do it but I insisted I would do it because he's not graceful and I was afraid he would mess something up or wake her up- and then the magic would be ruined. It's important to me that all the magic makers (Santa, Easter bunny, Tooth Fairy) stay real for as long as possible. At least Santa and the Easter Bunny hide things in the living room. This is different.
I sneaked into her room where it is completely dark. I go to the side of her bed- I can't even see her face. I am listening to see if she is making "sleeping sounds" whatever that is. It doesn't seem to me that she is. Then I started to imagine she was awake and hearing all this and thinking it was the creepy Tooth Fairy HESHE but she was trying to pretend she was sleeping so I panicked. I then decide its good idea to crawl into bed with her like I'm (her mother, not the creepy HESHE) going to cuddle and go to sleep with her. I lay down and put one arm under the pillow- gracefully. She immediately cuddles up and gives me a kiss- she was awake- crap! Now I imagine that if she feels me playing under her pillow she will surely know that it's a scam so I lay there for at least 10 minutes (while my arm falls asleep still holding a $5 bill (it's the first tooth)) until I think she's asleep-Then with my one arm I place the $5 bill in just the right position and then I start searching for the jewelry box. It's small so it's not that obvious. I search and search and can't find it. Crap. Now I decide to move to the other side of her where the box was actually placed. I get there but then she turns around and cuddles up again. Another 10-15 min go by before I can start fiddling under the pillow again. I finally found the box and with one hand now I have to get it open and get the tooth out- what was I thinking with that dumb box. I finally get it but now I'm afraid I will wake her up if I get up so I wait a little longer. Then I fall asleep with the tiny tooth in my fingers. When I wake up a few minutes later, the tooth is gone again. Crap. Eventually I found it and get out of the room without waking her up. Tragedy averted. She woke up totally excited for her $5 bucks and with no idea what I just went through. I hope next time I have a better plan or I will just let Joe do it.

Froggy Show Off

Last Thursday I took Noah to a park that is right up the street. Funny enough Joe had taken me years before when were young and I was visiting. Can you imagine it's right up the street and I haven't taken the kids?? It was so fun that we went again on Saturday with Mady. I wanted to show her that her mom could catch frogs and tadpoles- even though by nature I really don't enjoy icky slimy things. I caught at least 15 tadpoles and 2 big huge bullfrogs (with a net- not with my hands- Ewww). Well of course it figures Mady wasn't even impressed. I guess 6 year olds need more to impress them. We still had fun and yes Noah was impressed because he's only 3! I found myself fishing for compliments "Mady did you know your mom could do that? Did you see how big that frog was?" Nothing. When did I stop being cool? At least I still have Noah (for 2 more years) & then I'll be totally lame for good ;)

Noah's Engagement

So, this morning Noah and I had a very funny conversation. I promise I am not embelishing, this is what he actually said about our former neighbor who is 3.

Noah: "I miss going to Tatum's house.... I miss Tatum...... I love Tatum..... I am going to marry her.... I need to buy her a ring but don't tell her because it's going to be a surprise....her ring will have lots of sparkles on it... Mommy, where do you buy a ring?"

Me: "At a jewlery store"

Naoh: "Can you take me to a jewlery store?"

Me: "You have to have lots of money to buy a girl a ring. Do you have lots of money?"

Noah: "Mommy, can I have lots of your money?"

Me: "Yes, but not until you're big. You're only 3 so you can't get married yet. You have to be 18. I'll give you money when you're 18"

Noah: "I'm not going to marry her yet, I'm just going to give her the ring"

He is so funny and he doesn't even know it. Sounds like a real romantic love story. Boy loves girl. Boy wants to marry girl but has no money. Boy takes mom's money to buy the ring. Thinks she's the one. But he's only 3. Boy still gives her the ring just to make sure she doesn't fall for another boy (in preschool). Will their love last? Stay tuned...

Mady's Dance

I love it when the Mady comes home from school and has exciting things to share. She makes my day happy no matter how I'm feeling and adds fun to an already great day!

It is the end of her Kindergarten year and there is a lot going on. She has her school program, a dance recital, chicks and butterflies in her classroom and that's just some of it. Next year she will be a first grader which to me sounds so grown up! I hope she will still need me and will still come home and sing me her songs and tell me every detail of her day including the mean substitute she had and how she got to pet the chicks. It's so awesome to be her mom!! I am so lucky!

She is too funny! (Just like me ;))

Crushed 'Spirit's

I was lucky enough to go visit my wonderful sister this past weekend. It was a 'deal' I could not resist. I say that very lightly now. When booking, it came down to either Jet Blue (which I know and love) or Spirit Airlines (which I had never really heard of). The price of Spirit was $85 cheaper so it was too good to pass up.

I was really excited to go alone for the first time since 2 summers ago when we went to a wedding. It was a wonderful weekend with my sister and my beautiful and fun nice and nephew. A privilege I have not ever had since they were born because both our children are the same age. But that is not what this is about.

This is more a buyer beware blog. I will start with **always read the fine print**. The morning of my flight came and I checked online to make sure it was on time- and possibly check in online since I was carrying on seeing how I had no children with their luggage and airplane entertainment junk. When I went to check in it asked me if I was carrying on or checking- carrying of course. Then it asked me for a $40 payment- per bag to carry your own luggage on!! So I said "to hell with that- I'll check". Then it asked me for a $35 payment per checked bag (which goes up for each additional bag). Bastards!! (sorry for the language I just want to understand my emotions) . So I decided I would check since its cheaper.

Next I got to the seat part. I looked at how full the plane was. It was FULL. I don't mind getting my seat assigned and I never pay extra for legroom or warm towels ;). I realized that unless you pay at least $10 each way you will automatically get a middle seat. Again- "to hell with sitting in between 2 strangers during my only alone flight in 6 years" and "bastards". So I paid the stupid $20.

Ok so I get to airport relieved at least that my bags and seat were already paid for and now I can relax and enjoy. I figured the plane might be gross and without tv service. It wasn't gross. They are new planes however... They seem to have figured out a way to put an extra 10 rows into a regular size airplane- this equals VERY small spaces between each row. Insert pic of my knees touching the seat in front of me. I'm only 5'4! Imagine how the poor 5'9 girl next to me felt. Also you can't recline the seats. That must be too expensive to add.

So I settle into my crackerjack box seat and wait for the drink cart. There was a list of drinks in front of my 5'9 seat mate which I couldn't get because her knees were crushing it so I was unaware of what was coming next. I bet you can guess.

They make an announcement over the loud speaker stating "we will begin our service now. We have snacks, water and soda available for PURCHASE only". (Bastards). Insert pic of the menu I managed to finally get ahold of when she went potty. $3 Soda?!?! You have to be kidding me! That's like a 250% mark up!! Of course if you are like me and have never flown this airline and you also decided not to read every section of their website then you didn't pre purchase a drink so you S.O.L.

At this point I decide it's better to just bend over because it will make it easier for them to screw me. Then I put my music on and enjoy my $10 window seat and the time I get to reflect on things and have quiet thoughts which I never get to enjoy. That part was peaceful.

So in conclusion I have decided that 1. I wont fly their airline anymore and 2. That when the Spirit airlines people decided to put together an airline I think they actually sat in a room making jokes about the things they hate the most about flying and compared it with how cheap people are (myself included) and decided they could screw people as long as they offer cheap flights up front. In the end the Spirit flight actually cost more than the Jet Blue flight.

Insert pic of what you may be thinking and a great sign I saw in a bar where they were giving FREE shots. I guess it all evens out.

April Vacation Fun!

Mady climbing on the Castle

The kids looking at the Castle on Castle Island

These pictures are a little out of order. During the rest of our April vacation we got to do a lot of exploring! We went to a place called Castle Island. We went to the Roger Williams Zoo with some friends and finally we got to explore downtown Boston including a park on the bay called Christopher Columbus park. It was fun!

Climbing on the castle

At the beach at Castle Island

At the zoo in Providence Rhode Island

Madys new bikini

Mady, Noah and Jessica

Flying Kites at the beach

Plaing in a fountain in Boston at Christopher Columbus Park

Mady had to bring her "dog" so people would think she really had a dog. Poor deprived girl.

The kids eating iced lemonade at the zoo- no lids or spoons- FUN times!