BadBoys, BadBoys Whatcha Gonna Do?

In my case - BadGirl. I believe I have officially joined the ranks of criminal. Got stopped today for "Reckless Driving". Which - oh BTW - equates to driving 65 in a 40 mph zone. Only one problem - I was driving FIFTY-five. Not SIXTY-five. And I most CERTAINLY was not driving recklessly! I am a very safe driver. But try and tell THAT to a cop. Not me. I was too busy portraying the harried Mom, late for the dentist with two kids at home with strep. Teehee - what's a little white lie between criminal and cop? I DID have one kid home with strep! I'm screwed anyway.

So get this - BadMom also. I called the pediatrician to request a health form be filled out for Anthony and sent to me so he could go to camp for a week this summer. First they call me back to tell me he hasn't had a physical since 2008 and I needed to follow up with camp about whether they need the form to reflect an updated physical. In which case, I would have had to cram an f'ing doctor's appointment into our already overbooked life.

Sooooo - BadMom called the camp and basically they said just get us the form with his immunizations listed. Great! Call the pediatrician. Leave that message and like clockwork? They call me back and proceed to tell me that in 2008 - 6 months after his 2008 physical - he was supposed to come back and get weighed. Due to the fact that BadMom did not do a follow-up weigh-in (are you F'ing KIDDING MEEEEE?), they cannot fill out the form. This kid has seen more doctors in 2 years than I have seen in 15 years. A WEIGH-IN??????????? FML.

Soooo - BadGirl-BadMom went out and caught joy in her OWN way today. Can you say Manicure/PEDICURE???!!!

PS - so instead of automatically losing my license, going to court and paying a fine of $200+ for the criminal activity of reckless driving? I got "Disobeying a Traffic Sign" which carries a $90 fine, no court and no points on my clean and flawless 21 year record. Left-handed joy maybe??? At the very least I joyfully spent the $110+ I saved (operative word - saved), on that mani-pedi!!! I thought I did a good job finding $110 today!

Just When You Thought You Had All the Answers...

Sometimes - joy comes in the most unlikely places and at the most unlikely times...



When I found this homemade card from Anthony, next to my son Michael,(who woke up sick this morning) who was laying on my bed, I was filled with hope.

Then the school called! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa - Anthony not having such a good behavior day!!! Aghhh - go figure!

And the Livin' is Easy

It's hard to believe that it's June 3rd today. There are only 9 full days and 2 half days of school left. How can that beeeeeeee? Where did May go? I believe this past May was the fastest month of my life. I mean - seriously. I swear it was just May 1st and I was coming in from a mere 5 mile early morning run and my husband was holding up a sign that read "Say RABBIT". Wasn't that just last Saturday??? And btw - I say "mere 5 mile" run because last Saturday, we ran ELEVEN miles and this Saturday, we run TWELVE. Talk about fast!! Those required training miles sure came fast. Not that the runs themselves were very fast - haaaa - but yikes! The race is in 24 days!

Footnote: "Say RABBIT"? Who doesn't get that? I was telling a few different people about that sign and they had no idea what I was talking about. Don't you know the first word out of your mouth on the first day of every month is supposed to be "rabbit" so you have good luck all month long? I thought everyone knew that!!

But anyway - I expect June to fly as well but could it possibly go as fast as May? I hope this isn't the beginning of the end!! You know how old people are always saying, "time goes so much faster, the older you get"? Ooops - is that what's happening here? Am I saying that?

So it's June and we are finally opening the pool and I am actually working on my gardens and my flower containers. Check this out. I'm really liking this container I put together:















And my hammock is ready for those long hot days of yearning for laying around, relaxing, napping...POP!!! Whoa - that daydream disappeared fast...













No actually, my summer will probably look more like this!



Give me strength!

But there will be joy. The completion of my first 1/2 marathon in over 12 years with Robin and Laurel, a week on the vineyard with my family, reuniting with loved ones, including a weekend college reunion of sistas at the Jonathan Edwards Winery to see - who else - Jonathan Edwards! Long sunny days at the beach - Hammonassett AND Watch Hill - a day in Block Island bike riding with Nancy and Lauren, a Yankee game or two, oh oh, did I tell you?? I'm running a race at Yankee stadium with my family - INSIDE the stadium - in August!!! So lots of joy to catch this summer! God I hope it doesn't go as fast as May!

There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

Caught joy today telling a story to my friend Linda Christine. We were at our sons' baseball game blabbing about our kids and got on the subject of school band instruments.
I started to tell her about my Michael and how he came to play the sax but then remembered this story was way bigger than just that! Remembered? How could I forget...

In 2002, my husband and I were made permanent guardians of our son Anthony. That's a story for another day. Because we have not formally adopted him yet, the state provides certain services for him - for example - health insurance. Another service they provide is free hot lunch at school. So every August for the last 6 years, we get a letter in the mail that tells us that because we are guardians to Anthony, all 3 of our kids are eligible for free hot lunch. It never occurred to us to use this for all 3 kids, although we did have Anthony use the privilege.

This past August, the letter came and this year, it stopped me in my tracks. Remind me why we only have Anthony use this? I started considering it for a couple of reasons. A) My husband is responsible for preparing lunches for the kids because I am in the gym training all morning B) My kids are crappy eaters and anything you send them to school with never gets eaten! and C) Sick to DEATH of scrounging hot lunch money every freaking time they want to buy instead of bag.

This seemed like a no brainer. Bob flips out goes crazy every morning packing lunches in addition to getting the kids dressed and fed so this would alleviate that stress. And maybe the kids would start to expand their food horizons if they had hot lunch. Afterall, they started eating tacos last year because of hot lunch. Hey! Isn't that progress?

Need I address "C"????

So I spoke to the school about privacy issues (hell - I don't want my kids stereotyped!) and it sounded like it would remain private. So we went for it.

3 weeks later.

4th graders start band this year. So Michael comes home with the "band" packet. What instrument he could play, how much it costs to purchase, how much to lease to buy, blah, blah, blah. He decides he wants to play the sax like Clarence Clemons (you know - Bruce Springsteen's sax player?). So one Sunday afternoon, I finally go thru the paperwork and I see that the sax is like $40/month whereas the other instruments are about $20. So I try to reason with my son and encourage him to choose a different instrument explaining the sax is much more than say - the clarinet? NO WAY. He remains adament so I drop the subject figuring I'll make the decision later in the week.

Monday morning.

The phone rings. It's his band teacher. She's calling because Michael came to her and essentially told her (with tears in his eyes) that we couldn't afford the sax and he really wanted to play it. WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT - OMG. He DIDN'T...

She went on to say that the school had one in storage and we were more than welcome to use it for the year. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Bob and I looked at each other. I think I even cracked a welfare joke or two. Well, why NOT??? It's only going to sit in storage all year. It's not like we're taking it away from someone in need. Soooooo - we accepted the offer. Wow! Free hot lunch and a free sax? We are rocking the casbah this year!!

3 weeks later.

The kids get off the bus one afternoon and they all get in the van buzzing about these envelopes they received from each of their teachers. In each envelope was a $20 gift certificate for the school book fair. I immediately started swearing asked them if any other kids got them. They had no idea. Crap. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure THIS out. I immediately contacted the school and ripped them a new one inquired as to why my kids got these gift certificates??? Apparently, that hot lunch list ain't so private, afterall! Turns out, the list is given to someone who makes out the certificates. Urghhhhhhhh.

What's next? The free turkey at Thanksgiving? The sack of presents delivered in the middle of the night at Christmas??? OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG - fuel assistance???? well, that might not be so bad... NOOOOOOOOOOOO...

The moral of the story??

Take a GUESS!!! Could it be?

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch?? SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Such is My Life

Well - summer is here. I started cleaning the screened in porch that overlooks the pool. You know - the pool that's not open yet????? (The pool that's always open by May 15th?) When I get my butt out there cleaning the porch? It's summer! The question is - where does all that STUFF come from that piles up out there throughout the winter??? It doesn't pile up out there in the summer...so ridiculous. I had to borrow my father's pickup truck to haul all the crap to the town "dump". And guess what? My husband just found out he has a HERNIA. Lotsa help there. Yesiree. I feel so baddddd for him. Hmmmmmmmmm...timing is everything, isn't it? Haaa - oh well - such is my life...

Speaking of timing. I ran 3 miles this morning and let me tell you, training for a 1/2 marathon? It affects your life. And I don't mean the running part of your life. I was stretching with Laurel after the run and we were talking about what time we had to start the long run on Saturday which is 10 miles this week. All of a sudden it dawned on me! Crap! We had to leave the house by 5:30AM in order for me to get back in time to teach my first class Sat. morning. CRAP! I can't go to that party Friday NIGHT. I have to get up at 5AM. I can't DRINK the night before a 10 mile run! Damnnnnnnnn - could you believe I had to call and decline the invitation? I forgot about this part of training for a big race. So much for Friday being my favorite day of the week. Not between now and June 27th anyway! I like Saturdays after 9AM NOW! Such is my life...

Then - catch this - I run into an "obstacle" in my bedroom this morning and slammed the top of my foot into a beautiful black and blue piece of art. Hmmmmm - maybe I shouldn't have canceled attending that party afterall. Can I even get into a running shoe????? Good grief - such is my life...

Ok so enough of about my boring life. We've got much more interesting lives to watch! Sex and the City 2!!!!!! Opens May 27th! That's next Thursday! Now that's joy.

http://www.sexandthecitymovie.com/

Cause It Will Not Last Forever

Sunday night? I was sad. In a joy filled sort of way. Well, the joy wasn't right away but reflecting back, it did finally arrive.

Meet Bear-Bear.

Bear-Bear was given to Brooke when she was 10 months old. Within a few days, Brooke and Bear-Bear were inseparable. Not a night went by for almost 7 years, that Brooke and Bear-Bear did not sleep together. We had to come home early - from a wake - no less, because the babysitter could not find Bear-Bear (who is a she, BTW) and Brooke was inconsolable and refused to go to bed without her Bear-Bear.

So last night, I was tucking my baby girl in and I didn't see Bear-Bear. So I said, "Brooke? Where's Bear-Bear?" And she said, "Oh, I don't sleep with her anymore." WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT??????? I nearly choked. And I was like, "Ohhhhhhh, Brookeeeee - what do you mean? You always sleep with Bear-Bear!" And she went on to explain that the kittens had claimed Bear-Bear for their own and she was a bit icky from all the licking and sucking that had been assaulted on poor Bear-Bear for the last year.

I was DEVASTATED. Bear-Bear and Brooke were not 2 separate entities. They were connected. They were a team. They were my babies. I immediately reacted and kind of got a little weepy and inadvertantly threw a little guilt her way. (I am Italian afterall. And raised catholic!) "But Brooke, that means you're growing up. You don't needddddd Bear-Bear anymore???" I squeaked out. Ooops - open mouth, insert foot. Brooke starts crying. God I am such a JERK! I pull her into my arms and whisper to her and ask why she's crying. "I'm sad because I don't need Bear-Bear anymoreeeeeeee."

O-MY-GOD. So the next morning I confiscated Bear-Bear and threw her in the washing machine, got her nice and clean and was fully convinced that would change everything. When I went to tuck her in last night, there was Bear-Bear. But not in her usual spot tucked in the crook of my baby's arm. Nope - Bear-Bear was positioned high up on the pillow tucked into her own blanket. Sniffffffff...

So obviously a milestone has passed without my knowing it. My daughter is 8 and doesn't need her Bear-Bear. I was definitely sad. But today I spent some time meditating on the pictures in my mind's eye of Brooke and Bear-Bear. Bear-Bear in the crook of her arm, accompanying her day in and day out, making my baby feel safe. I so caught joy from that. It was bittersweet - but then again - sometimes the best things in life just are, aren't they? ♥♥♥

Bitch, Bitch, Bitch

Hey! What's going on? I guess I've been busy because I haven't posted in a week. People are complaining! That's a good thing, right? They like me? Cool!!!!!

Well, I have been consumed. With training my girls, Michael's baseball, my training (running, running, running), Brooke's piano, Brooke's skating, Anthony's school meetings, parties, LAUNDRY. Jiche (Is that a word??? You know - rhymes with quiche? Ahahaha!) I guess there's A LOT going on. Yeaa aaaa - it's MAY. That's what happens in May. Let's look at my schedule:

Tonight - Class at 6, Art Show at the elementary school
Tomorrow - Classes from 5:15AM - 9:30, run 3 miles, eye doctor at 10:45, meeting with Anthony's advocate at 11:30, meeting at elem. school at 12, class at 5:30, baseball game 5:30-8
Friday - Classes 8-10, piano at 4, take kids to play at 6:30, Lia Sophia party whenever (kinda double booked)
Saturday - run 8 miles at 6AM, classes 8-10, baseball game 11-1, skating 1:30-3, party at 5

Oh and then there's:

Tonight, tomorrow, Friday, Saturday - laundry, cooking, cleaning, homework, grocery shopping...are ya getting the picture? Of course you are because every single one of you is in the same boat! We need someone to throw us a freaking lifesaver - you know - A personal flotation device used in water rescue or lifeguarding or LIFE RESCUE!!!!!!!!

(Perhaps this boy can save us!)

And I know I forgot some stuff. But the point is - that's the way the next 6 weeks look! And, I am off the sweets again - as of today. Why? Because I am an addict!! I have been od'ing on sweets and treats. Here I am running 4 days a week totaling 19 miles this week and I am gaining weight. Some trainer - rigghhhttt?!!! Ha! So whatttt! I never said I was perfect. In fact, I think it's the secret to my success with my girls. I'm NORMAL. Not Barbie personal trainer! I'm normal girl personal trainer!

Anyway - I just wanted to tell you something. I had to run 5 miles this morning. Yesterday, it was bothering me all day. Aghhh - 5 miles, agghhh - so early, aghhh - it's going to be raining, aghhh - it's going to be cold, aghhhh - why am I doing this, aghhh - I hate running, aghhh - I don't want to do thissssssss. Hey Wendy Whiner!! STFU. God - I couldn't stand myself! But I was really dreading this!

Robin was coming at 6:55AM. So I set the alarm for 6:26AM (as late as I could make it!) got up, overdressed and met her on the front porch to stretch and bitch. Now - Robin isn't a bitcher so that wasn't any fun!!! Ok people, not feeling the joy...

7:58AM - soaking wet, cold, ROCK STAR!!!!!!!!!! Easy 5 miles, great conversation, no aches and pains, high as a KITE! Now,

what

is

wrong

with

this

picture??????

Moral of the story? Knock it off! Freaking baby...

PS - Laurel was doing the darn 5 miles in the cold and rain and DARK at 4AM this morning. ALONE! Now she has a reason to whine!

But! I bet she caught some joy - right around 5AM!!!! We missed you Laurel!