A New Faith in Humanity

Yesterday was a crazy day for me. I was out playing with Z and wanted to water the lawn, so I placed my cell phone on top of my car and grabbed the hose. Z and I went to work watering the lawn, got a bit muddy and then went inside. After nap time we went to the store to buy a new sprinkler. As we were getting back in the car I looked for my cell phone to call S. I looked through my bag when a wave of nausea came over me.....I quickly jumped out of the car and looked on the roof of my car.....no cell phone! I raced home, looking at the side of the road as I drove. I couldn't believe my phone was gone. This was my new phone! S had gotten it for me when he got his. When he first brought it home I thought he was crazy.....after all what does a SAHM need with a phone like this? But I quickly fell in love with the phone and all of its cool features (especially the video camera when my camera broke).

So now the phone was gone! All of my info, videos, pictures...gone! S was going to be so upset!!! As I drove home, looking on the side of the road, my vision started to blur. I knew this feeling oh so well...I was getting a stress migraine. I tried to both drive and look for the phone but as my vision got more and more wavy, it was more important to focus on driving home. I flew out of the car and ran upstairs to see if my phone was plugged into the charger but knew that it wasn't. I called S in tears and he was surprisingly calm about it. He told me that he would come straight home and reminded me that the phone was insured.

S retraced my path with his car but could not find the phone. After dinner he decided to walk part of the path and told me he would call me when he wanted me to come and get him. Z and I drove to get him and then drove the path once again. S kept calling the phone, hoping to hear it ring. We ended our journey by returning to the store where I had bought the sprinkler but they did not have it. S stood in the parking lot and decided to give it one more call. This time someone answered!!!!

As it turns out, my phone had fallen off about 6 miles away from home! A man who worked at the gas station across the street from the store found it as he was walking to work. He had left a message at my house but I had been outside looking for it around the house. S offered the man a reward for finding the phone but he refused it and said that he was just happy that it was being returned to the proper owner.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to have my phone back. It is unbelievable that my phone was able to travel 6 miles of windy back roads before falling off!!! I also can't believe how wonderfully honest the man who found it was. He could have kept or sold the phone and the fact that he didn't even take our reward.....what a great guy! For those of you with a similar phone to me, I highly recommend the rubber protective cover....it helped my phone hold on for quite a crazy ride.

Thank you sir for returning my phone. Thanks S for going to great lengths to try to find it. This event has given me a little more faith in the people of this crazy, mixed up world.

A Wonderful Mother's Day!

I want to thank S and Z for a wonderful Mother's Day. My day started off at 6:45 am so that I could go for a run. As I went to leave the house, a card was carefully placed near the door :) Inside was a "note" from Z with a translation from S. Z thanked me for having had him and asked if I wanted to play trucks later :) He also included a gift certificate to my favorite spa! What a good little 19 month old! After my 5 1/2 mile run (I am building up slowly) I went to get some water and found another card. This one was from S and it was very sweet and included two scratch tickets. I won $10! S then made pancakes and it was a very special morning.

The afternoon was also nice. We went to a BBQ at my sister's house. My entire family was there (my youngest sister made a surprise appearance) and my brother in-law's family were there too. The food was delicious and S did a great job taking care of Z, so I could sit back and relax. Z painted these really cute pots for his grandmother's and great grandmothers. They were a big hit.

It was a wonderful day! I hope that Mother's Day was a special day for everyone yesterday. As long as someone (your child or spouse) tells you that they love you and appreciate you....what more could you ask for??? :)

It's Done!!!

Well it took about 3 weeks (because of our trip to Lake Placid) but Z's swing set is now complete! I think it was more fun for Z (and us) to have different parts of the set revealed every week. First he had his swing, the next week his slide and now he has his "twee how" (tree house). S and I felt a sense of accomplishment as we put on the roof of the set on Saturday. It was nice to work together to finish something for our Z. We worked as a great team :)

I highly recommend Swing N Slide sets if you are on a budget. For a little over $500 we were able to build the whole set (we have the Wrangler model) and they have other models which are even cheaper! We still need to stain and seal it but other than that it is done! It does take a whole weekend worth of time to build but it his so worth it :)

Happy Swinging!!!

A Tribute to Mom

Thank you Mom for all of your love and support. Now that I am a mom I truly appreciate all that you did to help raise the three of us. I think we turned out to be pretty good people (if I do say so myself) and we have you and Daddy to thank for that. I now have a new understanding of what life was like day in and day out and thank you so much for putting your career on hold for us! We loved having you around and you did so much for the three of us (Dad too).

Mom, I have always admired and looked up to you. I think you are one of the best teachers in your field and you are the reason why I became a teacher. You put so much into your job and the children in your class and they benefit so much from your guidance. Once again I am following in your footsteps by putting my career on hold to be home with Z. Staying home full time was never something I imagined I would be doing but after spending a year with him, I couldn't go back. I now understand why you stayed home as long as you did!

Over the past few years you have had a new role to fill, the role of grandmother. You have taken on this role with such love and pride and I think it is your favorite role yet. Your two grandchildren light up when you walk in the room and I am so happy that we all live close by so that you get to see Z and G as often as you do. Thanks for all you do to help us with them. We all love you so very much!

When thinking about this Mother's Day, I wanted to get you something special. I decided a trip down memory lane would be the most fun. So here are a few special memories I have of being with you mom. I love you and Happy Mother's Day.

-singing "I am going to wash that soap right out of your hair" to the tune of wash that man from south pacific
-splashing with us in the pool
-coming up with a hundred ideas of things to do when we would come to you and tell you we were bored
-watching and applauding for our many shows and dance routines
-spending time with us all crammed into the trailer at the lake and going to get us donuts in the morning
-marching up to bed with us like little soldiers (I do that with Z now)
-cooking great dinners for us (especially those runny fish sticks :))
-our trip to the condo during Hurricane Bob
-"Boston Market"
-strawberry and apple picking trips
-Your Woodsy the Owl Campaign in school
-pincer crab
-sharing our birthday together
-all of the beautiful doll clothes you made for us
-sending me off around the world with a new Big Bird stuffed animal
-introducing us (by forbidding us) to General Hospital
-our trips to Maine to see J, J and K
-making holidays so special, the traditions you put in place with both Christmas and Easter I have continued with Z
-playing cards and yahtzee at the lake
-helping Daddy "give me away" on my wedding day
-your hugs!!!

Potty Training Woes--Part I

This is all Z will do with his potty :) Potty training is not going very well. He knows all the signs around going to the potty (potty, more, all done, wash, poop and good job) and even has most of those words. He is pretty good at letting you know when he is going potty and Z is a pro at sitting on the potty (pants on) while S or I are using the bathroom.....but that is where it stops. Whenever I take his pants off and have him sit on the potty, he begins to cry and crawls up into my lap. I suggest we read a book while he sits on the potty and he wants to read it in my lap! I even put his portable sea on the big potty and he squirmed off and cried. If I could figure out a way for him to go pee while sitting on my lap I would....but that is just gross :)

Now most of you are thinking....well he clearly isn't ready and I guess I would have to agree. The problem is that we are part of a Baby Signs (R) Potty Training Study and it is designed for children under 2. I would also like him trained to cut down on the cost and the waste that diapers produce. I just bought him a new Elmo potty movie (he destroyed our Baby Signs (R) video) and we have a few books that he enjoys. Now that the weather is getting warmer I am thinking of having him walk around without any pants on and maybe move the potty out of the bathroom.

If anyone has any advice for us....please offer it up. I wasn't anticipating this fear of sitting naked when he loves to sit on it with pants :)

"Momma Had a Baby and....."

So I know it is rare for me to post two times in one day but I had to share this. Let me preface this by saying that we "try" to be an all natural family and don't believe in using pesticides or harsh fertilizers on our lawn. This being said, it does not look like something you would find on Wisteria lane but rather on Old MacDonald's farm. We are fine with this look and as long as it is mowed, nobody can complain (right?).

So Z and I were outside after lunch playing in the grass. He noticed the dandelions and so I explained to him that they were flowers. At that moment a wave of childhood memories came over me and I picked the dandelion and chanted "Momma had a baby and the head popped off" and then I flicked the head of the flower off the dandelion. It went sailing through the air and this threw Z into a fit of laughter. He signed and said "more" and so giggling along with him, we went from flower to flower chanting the very inappropriate rhyme.

Now in Elementary school we were banned from this innocent child's game because it was mean to say that a baby's head popped off. I know it is not the nicest of rhymes to teach my 19 month old but I find it to be fun and innocent. When we ran out of dandelion heads, Z took one of the heads and chanted "momma" "baby" and threw the flower around the yard. It was too cute! What a great afternoon!!!!

WW Giante Latte Ice Cream Bars

"Notice: Excessive Consumption May Have A Laxative Effect in Sensitive Persons"

Well that is not quite the effect that these delicious bars had on my system but let me tell you....I was messed up for over a week. I only ate one a day for 4 days and my stomach has never been so messed up. I gained a pound and a half!

After day four of feeling so horrible, I went through everything new that I had eaten. When I read the Latte Bar box closely I found the warning up above! Why are they allowed to sell products like this? I know they are only 1 point and I should have been suspicious because at only 90 calories, they taste so good. Well needless to say they went into the trash and I will never buy them again. Artificial sweeteners have always done me in. I can't drink much diet soda (once in a while), Splenda is not my friend and when Olestra came out....we were quick enemies. So the moral of the story is.....if you are "sensitive" like me, do not buy these bars!

Family Fun

We just had a wonderful weekend with my entire family. My mom, dad, two sisters, brother in-law, brother in-law to be, niece, S and Z all went away for 3 days together. We had so much fun! I love being all together and with our busy lives, it doesn't happen as much as it use to.

I am very blessed to have such a close family who loves being together. My sisters and I get along very well and my parents are more like friends (as of late) to us. We have 3 wonderful guys that have been added to our family over the last 10 years and they fit in so nicely and all get along so well. On S's side we are also very close. I love my sister in-laws and they have two wonderful guys as well. My in-laws are also great and so fun to be with. S and I are very blessed to have two such great families to spend time with.

This weekend we went to a conference put on by my dad and he did a great job. The drive was the longest that Z has ever been on and I am so glad we bought a DVD player for the trip. I always said that we wouldn't have one for the car but with a baby who doesn't sleep in cars (much) it was a life saver! We traveled at bedtime on the way there and Z slept for a total of 45 minutes! We traveled at nap time on the way home and he did not sleep at all. He only ended up watching 2 hours (total) of TV each way but it was nice to have the DVD player when he got squirmy and tired of sitting in his car seat.

Despite the weather forecasts, we ended up having beautiful weather, a lot of laughs and some great adventures. Our guys even won a golf tourney :) Here are some pictures of our fun (and yes Z is in his tux again :)). Dad we are very proud of you!!!!

The Babysitter....A New Parents Dream :)

I love having a babysitter! We are away this weekend at a conference and we have had the luxury of having a wonderful babysitter for both Friday and Saturday night. She is a family friend's daughter and a parents dream come true :) We have had so much fun staying out late, enjoying ourselves and not having to worry at all about Z :) Yes we are still in the same hotel in case something goes wrong but it has been nice to have "freedom" to live a life like we use to live :)

So now I am in the bathroom, Z is asleep in the room, typing this post before I go to bed. I have to admit that I have a nice buzz going and have been snacking on Weight Watchers snack cakes here in the bathroom. Thank goodness they only have 1 point a piece because this conference has been a Weight Watchers nightmare! When I drink (which takes up so many points) I get hungry and love to snack. Last night, my sister, S and two brother in-laws were hanging by the vending machine at the end of the night picking out our perfect drunken snack ;) Tomorrow I go back on plan and hope that I can at least stay the same. I lost 5.5 pounds last week!!! It feels great to be down a whole size :)

Well that is enough drunken rambling....S is still at the bars! I need to hit the sack :) Good night and thank goodness for babysitters :)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game....

We took Z to our local ballpark this week and he loved it! What a treat for me to watch my son's eyes light up as we walked into the stadium :) He loves watching and playing baseball and so when I told him we were going to go to a baseball game he jumped up and down with excitement.

As much as we love our Red Sox it is too difficult and too expensive for us to justify taking Z. We use to average 15 games a season before Z, now we are lucky if we make it to 3 :) We did see them in game 7 last year against the Indians though. What a game!!!!! (Z stayed home with his grandparents)

For 1/4 of the price of a Sox game, we can go and see our local ball team and have a similar baseball experience. We took Z last year but he was too young to appreciate it. This year (at all of 19 months) he was clapping, eating junk food and calling out "nice trow!". It was adorable and he lasted 3 whole innings :)

As I said to S, as long as he doesn't know any different, we will be making frequent trips to this stadium and wait until he is 6 or 7 for his first trip to Fenway :) That will be another special day for me. I can't wait to see his eyes light up again as he first sets his eyes on that big Green Monster!