A Few Pix For You

I finally downloaded all the pictures from my camera. I haven't been taking much with it because I knew I couldn't download them (home PC is behaving badly). Most of the pix you've seen lately are from my cell phone.

Let's see what I can find here.

Oct. 26th - a belated birthday cake from my neighborhood Chick Nite girls. A varying group of us gather at my house on those Fridays where future ex has the boys. They surprised me on this particular night. I have to just say here how much my neighbors rock. If you recall, I had prayed long and hard for good neighbors. All I wanted were quiet people who weren't flicking cigarettes into my yard or peeing on my lawn. What I have gotten is a huge support group and some really awesome friends. God rocks.


Oct 31st - the Pokemon pumpkin I attempted for Pokemon Boy. It's a Piplup. Look it up because I don't get it, either. I had to make my own pattern as there were no carving patterns for any Pokemon that I was able to find.


...and here is the puppy pumpkin I attempted for Lil' Bro. He wanted me to make "Buddy" - his Old Navy plush dog rattle. Again, this was a pattern I made myself. It didn't really photograph well. I did the best I could. I wasn't thrilled with it but he loved it. I guess that's all that matters.


Nov 3rd - Lil' Bro came down with a weird fever thing. The first hint was how he fell asleep on the ottoman in the middle of a TV show. He slept like this for probably 30 minutes or more. Note the lack of concern on Pokemon Boy's face in the background.


Nov 17th - I kept Lil' Bro up too late, apparently. Pokemon Boy informed me that I might need to put Lil' Bro to bed. I asked why he thought that. He directed me to the back of the couch. This is what I found - the back view. Note that he's sleeping on top of a large metal model Nascar.


...and here is the front view. Fast asleep on his "Buddy" dog. I cannot tell you how much this face slays me. I wish you could see the whole view of him sprawled out amongst all of the toys. It really was quite a testament to my Mother of the Year skills.


Dec 22nd - Lil' Bro had his 4th birthday fun at one of those inflatable places in town. Pokemon Boy, Neighbor Boy and Neighbor Girl all joined him for the jumping fun. Here they are posing for me. Bunch of goobers!


...here is Pokemon Boy doing his best to look not jealous of all the presents and attention Lil' Bro was getting that day. I just think this is a cute shot of the both of them.


Dec 24th - Christmas Eve - Here is a shot of the fireplace after my Ridiculously Tall Bro-In-Law finished assembling the wheelie car thingies. Big Sis helped me stuff the boys' stockings. Mine had 2 things of chocolate in it. The 4th stocking had toys for the dogs. Wanda, do you see your print up there on the mantle? Don't worry - it's slated to be properly framed and hung. I promise!


...and here is how the front room looked with all of the presents placed under and around the tree. I just love my tree. And Big Sis helped me drag all the presents from my room down to the tree. She rocks, if I haven't mentioned that already.


Dec 25th - Christmas Day - There are tons of shots of the boys opening their glut. But this one just defines them. We had to take a lengthy break in the opening of presents at one point. Both boys had opened books. So we had to stop while they read their books. I love that they didn't chuck them across the room in disgust. Like I probably would have. HA!

Escape from New Jersey and Happy Birthday to Me!

I may or may not have mentioned that I had to go to Jersey City for a business trip this past Thur & Fri. Not too bad. But not a place I plan to visit when given options. There were some cool parts. Like every time I had to take a car service from my hotel to the office, I had to drive by the Statue of Liberty. I mean, it's closer to the Jersey side of things and you can see her very well from the highway. THAT was cool. Especially now that I live so far from her. The other cool part was the people. I work for corporate America - dull dull dull. But the people I met at this conference were all very nice and personable. And of course, the best part is all the free perks like all expenses paid, free dinner out with some of those people, nice hotel, car services. That's fun. Spending someone else's money is always fun.

Escaping New Jersey. There was a challenge. I didn't watch the news at all last week. So I had no clue there were all sorts of crazy storm systems in the north east. These were the same systems that just cause unseasonable tornadoes in the southeast. Good fun, that. Add to that that I was trying to fly out of Newark on a Friday night? Yah. Not really a good plan. But I wasn't going to stay and be flying for work on my BIRTHDAY.

I might as well have. Because I ended up flying on my birthday ANYway.

My original flight was supposed to leave Newark at 7:50pm. As we drove to the airport, another coworker who lives in Atlanta was telling me her flight was delayed until 10:30pm. I called my airline and everything was on time. I was smug. When I got to my gate a full 2.5 hrs early, I was psyched. I can kill time with my MP3 player and texting all my friends. No problem. I kept hearing announcements over the really really bad PA system saying something about delays up to 2 hrs. But our marquee keeps showing 7:50 departure. I wasn't worried. Well, those announcements finally became clear. There were delays on the runways - in and out - that were causing delays up to two hours. Ugh. At some point during my MP3 browsing and my friend texting, our gate's marquee suddenly changed to 9:35pm departure. Still, that's not so bad. I can take it.

At this point, I thought I'd get some food and change from my work clothes into my jeans. Yah. Well, the ladies' room was flooded. So you couldn't put your bags on the floor. And unless I was going to spontaneously grow 2 more arms? I wasn't going to be able to change. So business casual clothes (size TWELVE, again, thank you very much) was fine with me. I got some pizza and some putrid lemon ade that I ended up tossing. I played through all the songs I really wanted to hear on my MP3 player. I had texted everyone that wouldn't kill me for it about 4 times. I checked my email via my cell phone (love that feature). I called people. I slept. I walked around to wake my butt cheeks up. I chatted w/ people. I stared out the window. The marquee still said 9:35 but as we approached 9:35, there was no activity.

At 9:35, they finally informed us that our flight crew had been delayed in Tampa and was in the air, on their way. Expected arrival was 10:04pm. Then they'd get on the plane, do their safety checks and we'd board. So I'm thinking 11:00pm boarding at best. 10:00 rolls around and no flight from Tampa. 10:30pm or so, the flight got in but still no flight crew. I figured when they got to our gate, we'd all break into applause or something. Nope. We were too tired and trying too hard not to be pissy.

We finally got on the plane...I don't even know when. I think it was around 11:30pm. Keep in mind I had been sitting there since before 5pm. And there had been people already there when I got there. I was in the first row of the coach (queen of the po' people). So I waited for everyone to board. As I took my place in line, this drunk Irish dude (and that's not a stereotype - it's just a fact) offers to let me go ahead of him saying something about beauty before age. I declined and he insisted. I declined again and noticed his boarding pass said row 19. So I pointed out I was in row 5 which in my mind made sense for him to go first. Well, he was flat out drunk and starts going, "Oh WELL. Row FIVE. Well now, aren't YOU special!" It was in total jest but I was thinking, ok....where is THIS gonna go?! I joked that I hadn't meant that I was special and laughed with him. But he kept ribbing me and I was too tired for it but kept laughing uncomfortably - thinking where these well-meaning things can go bad. So he keeps referring to me as "your highness" and "princess" as we make our way down the gangplank. I kept joking that I thought there was going to be a party in aisle 19 - he agreed. Hoo boy. Anyway, he kept poking at me with the whole "your ladyship" and stuff so I finally said, "Be nice! I'm as tired as you and at midnight, it's gonna be my birthday!" Suddenly he grabs me in this sideways hug - almost a head-lock. And he starts kissing the top of my head going, "Well! Happy birthday darlin'! Happy birthday!" The whole group of people around us was cracking up - including me. So I got a few birthday kisses - albeit unwanted - from my drunk Irish "friend". It really was funny once I had some sleep.

So we all get on the plane with no nastiness or complaints to the people manning the gate. I was impressed by that. So I'm sitting there waiting to leave the gate and the pilot informs us that there is over an hour taxi ahead of us due to delayed flights. I would have cried had I had the energy. So at 1am on my birthday, our plane FINALLY took off.

I got home around 4:30am - Central time - 5:30am according to my body time. I couldn't sleep for a while but eventually my body just shut down.

I was awoken by the telephone around 10am. It was my aunt singing happy birthday. They drove from Maine down to Texas to be here today. She was about an hour away. So I got up, showered (in slow motion) and got dressed. That took 2 hrs. Like I said - I was totally in slow-mo.

I'll skip my day - mostly hanging with family and grocery shopping with my adorable boys. Nice and mellow. Just what I needed.

Tonight, my mom hosted a dinner for me. My aunt & uncle were there. My sister and her Ridiculously Tall Husband were there. And me and my boys. The boys had hot dogs. The rest of us feasted on salmon, cheesy potato casserole, green beans with almonds, hot rolls, raw veggies & dip and iced tea. It was amazing. Especially since I've been eating very frugal portions lately in my new attempt at a lifestyle nutrition change. Yah, I'm sitting here typing this with a huge gut sticking out. I can't even PRETEND to suck it in! My best friends (that live 3 doors down from me) came up after dinner. So add 2 more adults and 2 more kids. We all ate cake & ice cream. I got some LOVELY presents, too. I hadn't expected that.

My dad wanted to get me something special. He found me a silver heart-shaped locket with a tiny diamond chip on the front. He painstakingly worked to get teeny tiny pictures of my two gorgeous boys in there. My sister & her Ridiculously Tall Husband got me some lip gloss and some Coco Chanel body lotion - VERY subtle and lovely smell. My aunt & uncle each gave me a book. My boys had made cards for me. The Boy wrote me a poem on one. I have to go get it. Hold on. Keep in mind the names you won't know are Pokemon references.

Dear Mom,
Cacnea might not know
that it is your birthday, but also
then Pichu, Pikachu, Raichu, and more
could get invited and come in the door
But all of us - you know it's true -
We wish you a happy 42!
And when you are 43,
let's invite Delcatty!
If you want, at 44,
Grottle will come in the door!
And again - this is true,
Have a happy 42!

Lil' Bro's card had cute stickers all over it and my mom had written what he asked her to write. On the front it said, "Happy Birthday Mommy!" Inside it said, "Dear Mommy, I hope you come back for your birthday. Happy birthday! I love you, [Lil' Bro]". My mom tells me he came up to her and said, "Grandma, come here and write these words in this box," and she did.

So I'm sitting here all fat & happy from too much wonderful home-cooked food. And I'm wearing my new locket. Tomorrow, I will probably use my new Coco lotion so everyone at church will wonder why I stink. And I'll probably leave lip gloss on the microphone at church, too.

God - thank you for all of my wonderful friends and family. Amen.

My Birth Week. Get On Board, People!

If you don't already know me, you may not know my concept of a birth week. Birthday's are way too limited. One day? To celebrate the wonderment that is ME? No no no. This just won't do. I kid. In all honesty, I decided to celebrate birth weeks probably back in my college days. If your birthday falls on an inconvenient day, well, you're just out of luck, aren't you? Not me. A birth week assures you a Friday or Saturday night on which to have your party. It assures you plenty of time in which to receive cards and gifts from all over the country. I mean, it's just plain fun, ok? So get on board with this people. You're all wonderful gifts from God to this world. You should celebrate the week surrounding the anniversary of your arrival accordingly.

In all honesty, I have to say, I really claim a birth month. October (or "Rocktober", as I like to call it) has always been MY month. When my step dad entered my life, I had to share it with him. But he's a gracious man and has never hogged it. So Rocktober is always exciting when it arrives because it heralds my entire birth month. YEAH APRIL FOR BIRTHING THIS BABY!!!

So this past weekend could have been the kick off to my birth week. It's stretching the concept a bit but when has that ever stopped me? Let's pretend it did. So that will allow my segue into a little segment I like to call "What I Did This Weekend."

This past weekend was my first weekend without the boys due to the visitation of my oh-so-loverly divorce. Future ex and I are getting along - as well as we can. I'm playing nice and he is just...well, he's just himself. I'll leave it at that. So it was one of his weekends with the boys and he finally has a place. I packed up all their stuff and drove them the 25 minutes to his place.

I will just put this in here because it's relevant to the rest of the story. I visited future ex's apartment because I'm an idiot and believe that we can someday be friends. I'm an idiot only because I keep thinking that some day can be now. So I went in and took a look around. And saw that it's basically a really cool newly furnished apartment that screams future ex and his girl thing. Complete with pictures of the happy couple looking all gooby and delightful. Said gooby picture was a bit too much for me so I ended up making a quick retreat, tossing booster seats to future ex, and making a mad dash for the highway in tears. I cried the whole way home. I'm thanking God for the bumper to bumper traffic that went about 20 mph because I could barely see through the tears as I drove. Isn't that fun? Yes. Well, on to the actual FUN part of the weekend.

So I got home and my wonderful neighbor and best friend Sandy came over immediately to soothe my tears with pizza. She stood and listened to me gush and blubber until it was all over and I snapped myself out of it. Then my other wonderful neighbor Kim came over with a lovely bottle of wine. I was actually worried about this because who needs a weepy, morose, drunk, divorcee on a Friday night? Apparently, neither of them were worried about this so neither was I. Fortunately, Kim had the good sense to get a wine that is very light in the alcohol department. So we just all sipped wine and talked and talked and laughed and had a really fun time. Have I mentioned that Sandy and Kim both totally rock and I adore them?

After the girls left around 11pm, I puttered. You ever been in a big house with no kids when you're totally used to having kids there? And it wasn't even the fear of that nebulous arm under my bed that I just know will grab my ankle as I get into bed. It was just the emptiness. The total quiet. It's like screaming quiet. So I did what any normal person in my position would do. I grabbed my wine glass with the last of the wine, went into my office, opened up a bin of keepsake pictures and started sorting through them. From 11pm to about 3am, I found old pictures, scanned them and posted them on my MySpace site. I used to do live band photography in Boston for years. So I was finding some rather humorous photos of bands that don't exist any more. And some that should never have existed! I posted them and then went to those friends' sites and said, dude, you have to go check out the pictures on my site! So for the next few days, I had amused comments on my site about the pictures. How young we were. How we miss those days. How did we ever wear those clothes or that hair or whatever. It was a hoot. Glad I took the time. I still have 2 bins sitting here waiting for more pilfering. Should be fun.

On Saturday, you'd think I would have slept until noon. No such luck. I'm like Pavlov's mom. Conditioned to only sleep for 6 hrs a night. I woke up at 9am. Totally unfair. But good because I had a baby shower to go to and hadn't gotten a present. So I went shopping for baby stuff and ended up with about 4 cute baby things and about 5 tops for me. I'm sure the baby won't mind.

The baby shower was for a church friend so it was very nice. Lovely group of people. I must confess that I've never been friends with so many...I guess...traditional girls? I have never in my life been to a baby shower or wedding shower where they play games. I would have ridden anyone who suggested such a thing out of town. But my church girls rock. And I will play any game they ask me to play. And I had fun doing it. Sue me.

After the girly shower, I drove to my sister's house. She and my Ridiculously Tall Bro-In-Law informed me that they were going to treat me to a night out on the town. She wanted me to have a night that got better in the telling. Let's see if that's the case.

They took me to this awesome place on South Congress in Austin, Hotel San Jose. I totally plan to stay there some time. I just have to find the excuse. I might just make one up. It's gorgeous and totally affordable (or maybe that's just because I'm used to NY or Boston prices). We met some of their fabulous and fun friends there for drinks. Which cracks me up, having been a tea totaller for almost 2 decades. They have an outdoor courtyard with tables & chairs. The landscaping is gorgeous. It's secluded from the street and you can see the night sky. We sat around talking while having a drink. Unbelievably gorgeous. And I was still in shorts & short sleeves in October (sorry all you shivering New Englanders!). I got to hold the 4 month old baby of one of sis's best friends. He is adorable and I enjoyed just holding him and smelling the top of his cute baby head.

Then we went to a place across the street called Homeslice Pizza. It's a pizza joint, if you're not quick on the uptake. I thought they were kidding about the name but they weren't. There was a 30-40 min wait for a table. For pizza. So we went back to their outdoor patio (have I mentioned these outdoor patios are one of the main reasons I moved to Austin?). We had another drink or two while we waited. We talked more and I got to hear the "how did you meet" stories of my sister and her hubby as well as her friends. Always fun to get history on people. Especially when they're good story tellers.

The pizza was worth the wait. Good New York style pizza is always worth the wait. And to find it in Texas? Seriously. That's just weird. Weird but yummy. So we ate, we talked, I drank a ton of water and Coke to make sure I could drive. And I can assure you, their bathrooms were clean. It was a blast.

The plan was to continue on to The Continental Club for after dinner drinks and more fun conversation. But I was fading and I had to get back home to prep food for church the next day.

I am proud to say that I woke up on time Sunday and made it to church in time to rehearse with the band. Future ex dropped the boys off for church so I got to see them. Worship rocked the house. God was there, for sure. The sermon rocked - as usual. My entire church body just makes me smile. They are amazing and I love being there. If I could somehow finagle having church every day, I would.

But don't you think that was a killer couple of days for...
A) A newly single mom on her first weekend without the kids?
B) Someone kicking off their birth week?
C) A total home-body who needs to get out?
D) All of the above?

And the answer is yes. Yes it was.

Oh and Trish? I've been told by a friend to try a pomegranate martini. So we have to try that when we're in Boston.

10/16/07 Edited: Oh...to answer the queries - my actual birth day is Oct 20th!

Happy Pre-Birthday Weekend, Dad!

Monday is my dad's 80th birthday. I'm rather vexed that my work has asked me to travel to a very UNglamorous city for an even MORE unglamorous all-day meeting. I call it our divisional group hug. But without the hugging. And with more animosity and rolling eyes. Good times, that.

Normally, I would blow off said unglamorous work trip for my dad's much more important birthday. However, I haven't traveled for work in over 9 months. Thanks to the fun of watching my marriage dissolve and working on my divorce. So I can't really blow this one off. I've blown off quite a few pretty important work trips since I took my new position in April (the same day I uncovered all the lies). SO away I go on Sunday. Which is another thing. I hate flying on Sunday. I never work on Sundays. But again, I'm in a bit of a political pinch. I figure God is ok with this. Otherwise, he would have blown a winning lottery ticket into my house.

So tonight, I'm taking my parents out to a pretty nice steak house. Dad loves a good steak. The trick will be to get him to order like he wants to and not like he thinks my WALLET wants him to.

Tomorrow, my sister & bro-in-law are coming up. Dad wants basically a turkey dinner - with stuffing and the whole bit. Whatever an 80 yr old man wants? You give it to him. So tomorrow, I will eat well again! I will head to my work gathering looking about 20 lbs heavier, I'm sure.

So wherever you are, wish my dad a happy birthday in your head. I'm sure he'll pick up on the vibes!

Edited 11:29pm -
Wooooo-EE! Let me tell you, that place rocks. I just ROLLED in from hanging at my parents house - post meat fest. Dad, mom & I all had prime rib. Oh yah baby. That's the stuff. And dad loved it. The atmosphere of that place rocks and we had a wonderful (and adorable) waiter. And since I was paying, he got a good tip.

Must....digest....meat.....(mrmph).

Happy Birthday to The Boy!!!

With all my self-absorbed drama lately, I haven't posted much to do with the title of my blog. So let me get back to the original intent for a minute here.

Yesterday was The Boy's 7th birthday. Amazing to me that I have a seven year old. I remember when he was a teeny peanut of a baby, I couldn't imagine what he might be as a speaking toddler. What would his voice sound like. I couldn't wait until he could hug. And he honestly gave the best little hugs - still does. I just can't imagine how I got this wonderful seven year old.

The Boy is so beautiful. So incredibly wonderful. Smart, funny, sensitive, loving...the list goes on. We had a fun fun birthday yesterday. He woke up with a huge smile on his face because it was finally HIS DAY. He had received a gift certificate for Barnes & Noble from our friends in Boston and he couldn't WAIT to get there. We spent a nice long time there while Lil Bro played with the train table and The Boy picked out every dinosaur item he could find. Five books and two stuffed dinos later, we left. We headed to Walmart to find dino-themed party decorations. Found none. So we headed to Party City and found all the dino loot we needed for his "real" party which is next weekend - when everyone gets home from vacation. Then we went to eat at our favorite burger joint, Whataburger. Then off to Target to spend more birthday money. The Boy had a great day. And so did I. I love nothing better than spending a whole day with my boys.

Last night, The Boy informed me that he thinks his Tourette's might be back. His excessive blinking was back a lot yesterday and today. Not sure why. Yesterday, I could guess that it might have to do with me and the future ex. We started the morning with a huge phone fight. I had gone into my room and shut the door. I hoped the boys were sufficiently distracted by the TV but I was wrong. Well into one of my yelling sessions, The Boy walked in and informed me that he didn't want to hear this on his birthday. Score one for bad parenting!

I don't know if that is what triggered the blinking regression. But he told me he feels he can control it. We'll see.

Today, The Boy stayed home from camp again. I had to work but it was nice to have both boys around. I love having them near me.

I have nothing more to report. Pretty dull & boring. My neighbor is coming over tonight once The Boy is in bed. She's going to show me how to use some of that new Bare Minerals or whatever it is makeup. And last night, I dyed my hair a color that The Boy picked out for me (he picked Loreal, too - good taste). So now my hair is a bit darker than normal and minus the plethora of gray. It was fun and made me feel happy. The Boy likes long black hair. So he picked Natural Black. I have a good stylist.

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th!