Summer in the Fingerlakes....

Wow, I can't believe I have not posted anything here since January!! No promises this time on my next post but here's an update of what's going on here....

I am enjoying doing contract work for Tompkins County Health Department. Keeps me busy a few days a week, although the kids would rather have me home. It's my way of staying sane having 3 kids home for the summer! Debating on pursuing my DPT starting in January. Will have to see how I handle work, 3 kids in school full time, and all their extra-curricular activities before I make any crazy commitments.

Jack is continuing on his project at Ithaca College thru next summer. Fingers crossed that he will get another project close by because I AM NOT MOVING AGAIN. Thanks, had enough of that. He had back surgery in May for a herniated disc and is thankfully pain free and doing well, although the surgeon cautioned him against going back to running "unless he planned on having surgery again." I'm sure you can guess his decision on that one.

Jacqueline "graduated" from 4th grade in June and is headed to Middle School this fall. She is so excited...mom, not so much. My 1st born can not be going to Middle School...right?? She was just learning to walk last week?? She looks so grown up these days. She is still cheerleading and is toying with the idea of swim team in Middle School.

Allison is headed in to 3rd grade this year and is so happy that she has a bunch of her friends in her class...finally! She is still dancing and did another solo last season. For such a shy kid, she just loves to be on stage and dance. She is also learning to bake and cook and just this morning made pancakes for us all on her own (with mom supervising). She amazes me all the time and in so many ways reminds me of me at her age.

And, Harrison, my little man, is heading off to kindergarten this fall. Yes, I cry every time I think about it. He wasn't even born when we moved here and now here he is heading off to school! He is very excited to be riding the same bus as Allison and going to her school. He is going to try out soccer in the fall as well. He is quite the Lego master and has become quite a good swimmer this summer. And of course he still loves to help his dad with projects around the house.

We did major renovations in our house this year as well. New hardwood floors on the first floor, added a mudroom, and tiled the downstairs bathroom. The biggest project by far was the kitchen....and I love it! Granite counter tops and granite sink just make all the difference in the world. And I must add Jack did this all himself (as if any of you that know him would have doubted that) but the kicker is he did it with a herniated disc...he had his surgery before the kitchen was even done!! Yours truly had to install the sink plumbing with direction from Jack...yes, we're still married after that too!! We are loving the new look in our house. Still have to finish the mudroom floor (tile) and all the trim that we ripped out but it is awesome!!

Jack turned 40 August 1st and to celebrate we headed to Block Island, RI with our good friends, Peter and Emily, to celebrate for a week of beach and great seafood. We brought a babysitter and went out every night! Ate and drank a lot and had so many laughs. It was great and Jack got a chance to relax a bit. He actually didn't even pick up his phone all week - a major accomplishment for Mr. Workaholic!

I am heading to MA with the kids for a visit next week - our last roadtrip for this summer. The craziness will all start too soon! Hoping the weather will hold out so that we can go to the beach again. Of all the things I miss about living in MA, the beach has to be the one I miss the most. The lakes are nice here but just not the same!!

Until next time....
Sam

Delinquent Once Again.....

So I know I promised the last time I updated that I wouldn't go MONTHS without posting...well....it's been months....9 months to be exact. So much for keeping my word. A lot has gone on in that time. Probably too much to write about so the condensed version goes something like this....

*Jack is now working for The Pike Company out of Rochester, NY but is currently located at Ithaca College building the new Athletic and Recreation Center.
*Jacqueline is 9 and in the fourth grade, Allison in now 7 and in the second grade, and my "baby", Harrison, is 4 (almost 5 really) and is now in his second year of preschool!
*Our chickens (have I even mentioned we got them??) are now almost a year old and are giving us lots of eggs.
*I am now working part time as a contract therapist for the Tompkins County Health Department and really enjoying it.
*We just added a 3rd dog to our "farm"....a 4 month old Havanese. Yes, a small dog this time!
*My parents just bought a house in Lansing about 6 miles from us.
*We had a wonderful vacation at Disney in December and my mother in law came with us this time!
*And the most shocking for me....in another week we will have lived in NY for FIVE YEARS!!!! I just can't believe that one....

The Easter Bunny arrives...

I was awakened at 4:00 a.m. by two very excited little girls screaming at the top of their lungs "the Easter Bunny came and we saw him!" After pretending to be excited myself...come on how excited would you be after being startled awake at 4 a.m?...I ushered them back to bed and told them they needed to go back to sleep until 6. I know mean mom. Amazingly they didn't put up too much of a fight or wake up Harrison. I was able to doze off briefly myself before Harrison came in to the room at 5:45 not with the same level of excitement as the girls, however. Just to go to the bathroom and climb in to bed with me and wipe his runny nose all over my jammies. Pleasant wake up call #2 of the day. The girls have extra sensitive ears and they have heard him come in to the room and are not far behind him. The dogs by now are also on the bed demanding my undivided attention. Ok, so WHY doesn't anyone bug Jack?? We have a king size bed and everyone is on my side of the bed - 3 kids, 2 dogs, and me. Jack's still in his little cocoon over there on his side. So, I send the kids and dogs "over" to his side to wake him up - he needs to go down and "clean up" after the Easter Bunny before the kids can go downstairs and claim their goods. (That bunny's one messy guy, you know.) After lots of jumping, tickling and giggling (and mom getting kicked a few times) downstairs he goes with the dogs to assess the damage. Moments later we get the all clear and the kids are running down the stairs sounding like a heard of Buffalo. They spy some eggs along the way to their baskets then after ripping apart their Easter Baskets they go find all the eggs the Bunny has hidden and they do a really good job! Harrison was very in to it this year. By far his favorite was the Lego City people he got in his basket. He didn't care about the candy when he saw those. The girls got some nail polish and did their nails while I made breakfast. We had a relaxing morning hanging out and eating chocolate (how can you not have a nice morning when there's chocolate to be eaten?) Then the we got dressed and were off to Grandma and Grandpa's house for brunch which I was quite nervous about: 3 kids loaded with sugar + 1 crowded dining room = HUGE DISASTER. Who wouldn't be apprehensive? Fortunately Jack came to the rescue with a rather unorthodox solution but I was up for anything as panic was starting to set in - let them bring their DS's to brunch. With a little voice telling me this was probably not polite or appproved by Miss Manners, I said "OK" and went with the plan. And it worked!! The minute they started to get restless and look like they were going to explode, I handed out the DS's with sound turned off and I had 3 little angels at the table. Ahhhh....no children running around, no fighting with each other, no yelling....I could feel my anxiety level dropping and I actually got to eat my lunch! All in all we had a very nice Easter. Guess I'll be sending a thank you note to Nintendo....

And for those of you who thought I was off my rocker....

See....told you so....

Something's wrong with this picture....

Well, Mother Nature did NOT take my letter to heart and it is at the moment snowing in upstate New York. The grass is still visible but my deck is not and it's a frigid 27 degrees outside. Jack drove 40 mph on the thruway amidst snow plows and blizzard-like conditions for a "leisurely" 2+ hour commute to Rochester. Harrison has a turtleneck and a sweatshirt on for preschool and when I bundled the kids up to go to school I was seriously questioned by Jacqueline as to why her hat and gloves were on her backpack. Again. She asked me this with a look on her face that read "mommy has lost it for real this time." No MOMMY hasn't lost it, Mother Nature has. The local weatherman was kind enough to tell us this morning that the weather is more like January 7th than April 7th. Really? Thanks for rubbing it in! I keep reminding myself that this IS April and it's only a matter of time before the weather improves...... Right?

An Open Letter to Mother Nature.....

I have about had it with the weather here this winter, so in desperation I have decided to write to the "big cheese" of weather. With April vacation coming next week I am starting to get a bit panicky about having to entertain the kids inside all week without completely going insane. Here goes....

Dear Mother Nature,
A damp, frigid "hello" from Upstate New York where winter never ends. Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful here, but, this year in particular, I'm starting to believe winter is NEVER GOING TO END. Yes, we've had a day or two of nicer weather - sunny and 60 - but it's all a tease. 60 and sunny one day, 20 and snowing 12 hours later. It's no wonder everyone's sick. The germs can't figure out what the heck to do! The kids and their classmates just seem to be passing the same viruses back and forth....kind of like germ volleyball or viral tag. The dogs have even had colds and a stomach "bug". So, Mother Nature, I'm all for a good joke, but enough already. How about some sun and 50 or 60 degrees that lasts a week or so and just keeps getting better. Next week would be a great time to start since it's school vacation. I am hearing of more snow in our forecast for tonight, but I don't think it'd be too late to change that now would it? I don't think I'm being greedy asking for this as it IS April.
Hoping you will listen to my plea,
A desperate mom

Well, let's hope that does the trick! If not, the kids and I will be cooped up inside getting on each other's nerves next week. There's only so many times I can play various board games, do Easy Bake Oven, and destroy the kitchen table with arts and crafts. Here's to warmer weather!!

It's that time of year again!!!

At long last, a new post. I admit I have been really bad about updating my blog. I update my Facebook page regularly, so for those of you who haven't joined Facebook yet...sign up and you can see updates daily!! Anyway, Jacqueline started cheerleading competitions again and just completed her second of the season on Saturday. They were amazing this weekend...mini, youth and senior teams took 1st, and the juniors were 2nd. It was a long day in Albany but a fun and successful day.

Allison is continuing to dance and is on the dance team this year. She will start competing in May. She's even doing a solo this year!! She takes after mom...much better at dance than the tumbling stuff! She had no interest in cheering this year and I really think it was because of the tumbling!! She's doing really well and working hard!

Harrison is LOVING preschool. He is so different than his sisters. He really gets involved in everything at school. He loves when I get to come in an be the parent helper, too. We can't believe he will be 4 in just a few months!! He's growing up way too fast!!

We had a really rough fall/early winter here. Jack's business deal went down the crapper and he found himself looking for a new job in a bad economy. Luckily, he found one and is really enjoying his job again. The only downfall is a 1 1/2 - 2 hour commute each way. He has been working at home a few days a week which helps. His company is hoping to get a project here at Ithaca College which would be about a 10 minute commute - much better. He'll find out at the end of February! I am also looking to go back to work part time now...thank you economy...and am currently awaiting my NYS PT license. Not a lot of jobs out there, but hoping to find something!

My parents moved to Horseheads, NY in November - about 45 minutes away from us. It's been great having them close by and we got to spend the holidays with them - first time in 4 years!!

That's about it in a nutshell. Please do join Facebook for more regular updates!! Hope you are all well and surviving in this lovely economy!!

My How the Cat Has Grown!!

Now, I really don't think we feed the cats THAT much food...oh, wait, it's Cooper...Sorry, dude, you just will NOT fit thru there...

Allison turns 6!!

Today was a big day for Allison - she turned 6 years old!! She's been excited about her birthday, but it was very hard getting out of her exactly what she wanted for her birthday! Unlike her big sister, she's pretty vague about her desires when it comes to birthday's (and Christmas for that matter!) Harrison was insistant that the "big" gift was a truck. Luckily, for Allison, it was a Barbie. She got some video games for the Wii and for her Nintendo DS, an Eric Carle board game (she really loves his books), a Barbie that has red hair just like she does, and a cute little outfit (that's actually a bit big but she HAD to wear it today - anyway, I'm sure I'll shrink it, it's all cotton!!) She has the outfit on in the pictures. We had dinner at home per her request - chicken, fettucini alfredo, broccoli, and garlic bread. If that sounds familiar, it's the same thing Jacqueline requested for her birthday. Easy, comfort food - yes, they are my kids....For dessert she requested a brownie "cake" with chocolate frosting and chocolate brownie ice cream. Even I, a die hard chocolate addict, could not down all that chocolate!! Mom made the brownie and Allison decorated it when she got home from school. It was quite a masterpiece and she was very proud of it. Jacqueline wrote a very nice note to her sister in her card. It really proves to me that she is very grown up and does truly love her sister. As she put it "...even though we have some tough times, I still love you...." They never cease to amaze me. All in all, she had a very happy birthday and we are very happy our Allison is happy!!

I know I shouldn't say it but.........

I think I actually am starting to feel BETTER........I started taking antibiotics on Tuesday evening since my fever came back and I was feeling considerably worse at that point. Pretty sure I ended up with either bronchitis or pneumonia. I can still feel lots of stuff in my lungs when I take a deep breath!! And I'm still coughing alot. I have 2 more days of antibiotics so hopefully I'll feel much better by the weekend.

We went to Allison's open house last night and it was so nice! Allison was so excited to show us her classroom, introduce us to her teacher and help us find everything on the scavenger hunt list. We really had a fun time!! She starts her private dance lessons again in 2 weeks and will be going to NYC for a dance workshop with her teacher and some other dance team members in November. Should be exciting for her (and me too!!) We'll get some mom and Allison time which we really need!! Jacqueline is busy with cheerleading and has also joined 3rd/4th grade chorus this year - they meet at 7:30 AM on Thursdays - that's a real treat!! She loves it and is excited about being in their production of the Nutcracker this winter. I think that's the main reason she joined!! Harrison is still loving pre-school and still cries on occasion when I come to pick him up to go home!! So different than his sisters! He brings home paintings every time and he is quite proud of them - today he painted a rollercoaster.

My parents are moving to Horseheads, NY (about 45 minutes from us) within the next 6 weeks. They are excited as are we. It will be very nice to have them close again and be able to help them out. I really miss them as do the kids. Harrison cried when we dropped them off at the airport - "I want grandma and grandpa come to our house!!!!" It was quite heart-wrenching. Glad to have them moving closer again!!

That's all for today. Time to run Jacqueline to practice....again. It really amazes me how much better she is behaved when she stays very busy and active!!

Have a good day!!
Sam

The Never Ending Sickness and Other Tidbits from New York

Sorry it's been a while since I posted. I am STILL SICK and went back to the doctor yesterday pretty much begging him for help. The nice man couldn't find anything "dangerous" as he put it, but did give me some Tylenol with Codeine so I can sleep at night without coughing my brains out!! It helped until around 2:30 this morning when I woke up to go to the bathroom and couldn't get back to sleep. I contemplated taking another one, but didn't want to be a zombie at Harrison's usual wake-up time of 6 a.m. - this morning was actually 5:53 I believe!! At least I got about 5 hours cough free, passed out cold sleep. It's a start!! Now Jack has caught the "illness" which I pray is not as long and drawn out as mine. The only thing worse than sick kids is a sick workaholic husband who refuses to stay home when he's sick until he's so sick that he's ordered to stay out of work and rest or be put in the hospital by the doctor, not that that's ever happened in this house. (Snicker, snicker)

Some good news to report - my parents have been here the last week as well and have found a really nice Senior Living Complex in Horseheads to move to. For those of you not familiar with Central New York, yes, the town REALLY IS called Horseheads. They will be moving here in November. More on that to come!

I finally got to meet Jacqueline's teacher at Open House on Wednesday and I really like her!! I get to go to Allison's Open House this Wednesday. Cheerleading and dance started this week and the girls are so excited!! They'll be busy!! (As will mom) Nothing else exciting to report here for now. Have a great weekend!

I am not old enough to have an eight year old.....am I?

My "baby" turned eight yesterday, September 12th. I really can't believe she's eight - seems like just yesterday she was in my arms 24/7 and crying constantly (well, that part hasn't changed too much!!) We celebrated her birthday with presents, of course, and a dinner chosen by the birthday girl. Her request was "shake and bake chicken, pasta alfredo, and garlic bread" - her exact words so that is exactly what mom made for her. She also wanted strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting and strawberry and caramel ice creams for dessert. Your wish is my command (at least on your birthday in this house) so that's what we had. She had also requested a red table cloth, candles on the table, fancy plates with leaves on them (we went for paper ones with leaves rather than a new set of china!!) and balloons. This girls knows exactly what she wants!!!! She had a great day and loved her presents which were all Hannah Montana themed - bedding, towels, wall decals, etc., etc. Her best present was that her grandparents came from Massachusetts. They arrived on her birthday and will be hanging with us for 10 days. I love seeing my children happy. Happy Birthday Jacqueline!!!

It's a 911 kind of morning, or, Where do I even start this one?????

For those of you with boys, you're gonna love this one. For those of you with just girls, you're gonna be very glad you don't have any boys. This morning actually was going pretty well. I was feeling somewhat better, had managed to get the girls off to school without too much trouble (read yelling), had eaten my breakfast without severe throat discomfort, taken a shower, got dressed (even put on makeup today!), and was talking to my mom on the phone while switching the laundry. For those of you unfamiliar with my house, the laundry room is right smack in the center of the second floor of our house across from Harrison's bedroom. There is an electrical outlet on the wall across from the door of the laundry room where we have an LED night light that I just leave plugged in all the time, as it shuts off in the daytime hours. So Harrison was "helping" me switch the laundry and then he walked out of the laundry room and literally a second later, he yells "look mommy, fire" and starts flipping out!! I start looking for fire and don't see anything. Then the smoke alarm starts beeping and I get panicked and pretty much hang up on my poor mom who was already worrying about my dad. Harrison is pointing at the night light which I then notice is tilted off the wall. So, I flick it out of the outlet and the whole outlet and back of the night light is BLACK. So I panic even more and call Jack who doesn't answer his cell phone (big shock there) so I quickly debate calling 911 and I do. The dispatcher was awesome and sent the fire trucks out to check out my wall. (I have visions of fire in the walls by now) Harrison is crying and holding his ears and when he sees the fire trucks, the first thing he says is "why isn't the fire truck red?" (Lansing has those nasty yellowy-green shade of fire trucks.) They come in the house and Cooper starts barking wildly and bouncing around adding to the chaos. (I should add here that one of the firemen is a Harrison's teacher's husband/Jacqueline's friend's dad - yes, we live in a very small town) I show the fireman the outlet and he wants to see the breaker box. I take him to the dungeon - ah, basement - and show him the box. He finds the breaker and lucky me (or Harrison should I say) it is a GFCI breaker so it tripped extra-fast thus not letting my house burn down from the inside out. (I highly recommend using a good electrician when wiring a new house - it obviously saved mine.) After inspecting everything including inside the wall behind the outlet, it's decided that there is no fire in the wall and the only damage done is to the outlet, night light, and breaker (and my nerves). While this is going on, Harrison tells my friend, who has arrived in the middle of all the "fun" with her 3 year old son to go apple picking, "I put a penny in there." So she tells me and we tell the firemen (there are now 3 and 2 trucks - Lansing spares no expense!) They take a good look at the night light and the pattern of blackness on it and figure the kid is telling the truth and that it would make sense. We can't however find the "penny" which he has told us he put on the dryer. Reminder - I was in this tiny laundry room thru all of this. When all is said and done I am told everything is ok but I need a new outlet, new breaker, and a new night light (and perhaps a stiff drink at this point - it's noon somewhere, right?) After they leave, I am still puzzled about the penny thing and think maybe Harrison means under the dryer - sometime he gets confused -he is 3 you know. So I leave him downstairs under close watch of my friend, and fish under the dryer and sure enough, there I find what use to be a nickel. It is scorched black and half melted where it hit the prongs of the night light!!!!!!! He was telling the truth!!!! I am just very happy that he did not get hurt and that my house did not really catch fire. We had a little 3 year old chat about coins and outlets and I am going to be replugging all my outlets with those safety plugs again - obviously my judgement about removing them was not really good. I think I have finally stopped shaking and having visions of raging fire in my walls. I'll be saving the nickel, the nightlight and the outlet in Harrison's baby book!!!

Survival of the (un)fittest.......

Well, by the grace of my husband, who may at times THINK he's a God, I survived the sleepover without passing out, falling over, or bursting in to tears. I really do have the greatest, most awesome, patient, brave husband in the whole entire world. How many other husbands would play musical chairs to Hannah Montana music with a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds? He ran the show. Not (of course I had to put it in this disclaimer) how I would have run it, but I was in NO position to criticize in my state of health! I did manage to paint the girls nails while sitting at the kitchen table and to help out setting up and cleaning up here and there. Jack tucked them all in and then got up and made them all breakfast this morning. (Have I mentioned how much I love my husband?) Now, don't think for a minute that I got to sleep in, I was up too, he just did everything. The thing I had to laugh about was last night while we were waiting for the kids to pass out, he was sitting at the computer whining about how tired he was and about how much his feet hurt - welcome to my world honey!! Jacqueline had an amazing time and was very happy. All the girls actually slept and I think they all had a good time, too. They danced, sang, ran around and watched the Hannah Montana concert on DVD. Part of the favors was a head-set microphone that they all put on and sang along to every song Hannah sang!! Harrison even got in on the fun (he passed out about 2 hours before the others did on the couch in the middle of all the action. I have NO idea how he actually fell asleep amidst all the girly noise!) This afternoon I resumed my position on the couch as I am pretty worn out - again. The girls are really tired, but of course would NOT nap - trust me we tried!! Now I need to try to get some of that "rest" the doctor prescribed before my parents arrive on Friday!!

Sick. As. A. Dog........

I finally made it to the computer - been working off my blackberry while dying on the couch......I had to have a change of scenery, although I know it won't be long until I need to return to the "flat out" position on the couch. Took myself to convenient care last night around 8pm. I couldn't take it any longer - my throat hurt so badly, my ears even hurt. I had a banana and it burned all the way down. So, off I went. Luckily there was almost no wait and I was in and out of there in under an hour. Thank God for that. I don't think I could have sat up much longer, let alone drive myself home afterwards. I had a throat culture and it was negative. I just have some miserable virus that could last up to 10 DAYS!!!! Then the doctor told me I really needed alot of rest and should stay in bed for 2-3 days!!!! You've got to be kidding.....I have 3 little kids!! So I am trying to rest as much as I can today. Jack went to Wegman's and got everything I needed for the big birthday party tonight, came home and cleaned the house up, got the house semi-ready for the party, and made lunch for the kids. He just took them to a fishing derby that his company is having today, so I am going to try to get some rest and then take a shower, which, I am predicting, will completely wipe me out!! Now back to the couch for a while........

And the thermometer says.......

Now, I swear I did this to myself. About 3 weeks ago I jinxed myself by saying to Jack "boy, I haven't been sick in a really long time" What an idiotic thing to say - out loud no less. Well the Gods of Sickness heard me and sent out the troops. The kids got it first - fever and cold symptoms - and now mom has it. I haven't felt this horrible in a really long time. I woke up yesterday not feeling well and got progressively more weak, achy, and feverish as the day went on. By the afternoon, I could barely move, and Jack had to bring home dinner for the kids and more motrin for me (I polished off the last of it by noon). Last night sleeping was virtually impossible because every part of my body ached - the worst was my fingers!!!! It still hurts to breathe!! I seem to have escaped the fever now (please God) and just feel a little bit like cooked spaghetti. Jacqueline's birthday party (a sleepover no less) is tomorrow, so I have to get off the couch every once in a while to try to do a few things, like make a cake, etc. Hopefully I'll feel better by tomorrow!! That's all for now......the couch is calling!!

Harrison's Big Day!!

Today was Harrison's first day of preschool!! He loved it. When we got there he said "hi" to his teacher and immediately spied the easels with paint and HUGE paint brushes. Off he went and never looked back :( No crying, no clingys, nada....... I stayed a while thinking that this would be short lived, but no, when I finally decided to say "bye" for the morning, he didn't even look at me - just said "ok, bye mommy" and that was that!!!!!! My girls had to be peeled off me their first day of preschool!!!! Now, don't get me wrong, I really don't like the "peel my child off me and run for the hills" drop off, but a little bit of sadness might have made me feel just a tad better!!! When I picked him up he was on the swings, saw me and said "one more minute mommy"!!!!! Didn't run over to me or anything. He actually CRIED WHEN WE LEFT THE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!! He didn't want to come home!! Tell me that didn't make me feel sad. But he's home and after having a nice lunch together, he came over and gave me a huge hug and said "I missed you mommy". That made it all worth it!!!

The First Day of School

Well, the first day of school is here. The kids were so excited (so is mommy!!) They actually slept last night and got up all cheerful this morning, had a nice breakfast, got dressed and off they went. Fairly uneventful. The bus came earlier than usual and the route is changed a bit as well - good thing we were outside taking pictures!! We were all happy that the girls have the same awesome bus driver again, too! Mom is happy and sad. They really needed to go back to school and be challenged again but I have to say I really enjoyed spending time with my kids this summer and having a laid back pace to life. I really have amazing kids and I love them dearly. So, I was a bit sad too this morning seeing my little ladies get on that bus again. The house is incredibly quiet, even with Harrison still home. He is great at entertaining himself and is relatively quiet when he's the only one home!! Now it's back to the chaos of the school year and all the activities associated with it. Dance and cheer don't start up again until the 15th, so I have a little more time to actually have the whole family eating dinner together. Once that starts, Wednesday nights will be our only "free" night. Going to go buy myself some new running sneakers.....I'm going to need them soon!! Hope everyone else has a great first day. I'll let you know how the girls did and Harrison starts pre-school tomorrow - that should definitely provoke some tears from mom!! Have a great (quiet) day!
Sam

The dentist office

Well, my dislike for the dentist has just reached new heights. I really do not like going to the dentist. Never had a good experience as a kid, and no dentist since then has managed to change my mind about the "service" that they offer but I do still drag my anxiety ridden self there every 6 months to have my teeth cleaned. This morning I had an appointment for a cleaning at my dentist office, which shall remain anonymous. My appointment was at 11:00 am. I arranged for a friend to meet me at the playground and hang out with my kids during my appointment. I arrived at my dentist's office about 10 minutes early (which is a feat in itself for me) and checked in, the receptionist telling me that the hygienist would be "right with you". Well, I don't know in what language "right with you" translates to "you are going to have to wait at least 45 minutes" but I can assure you it is not English!! After my 45 minute torturous wait, I approached the desk only to be told that it would be at least a "few more minutes" - who knows what that really means so I told her that I would not be waiting any longer and needed to go. My kids were probably hungry and tormenting my friend at this point. So I stormed out the door and went to get my kids and my friend and her kids and we went to lunch because as predicted my kids were STARVING - after all it was 12:00 by the time I got back to the playground. Needless to say I will not be returning to this office as this is the 3rd time a situation like this has happened to my family there and I just don't have the time or patience to put up with this. In fact, maybe I'll tell the office they need to pay me for my time, since if the tables were turned and I was 45 minutes late for my appointment, I would have had to reschedule and pay for the appointment that I missed!!!

Embarrassing mommy moments 101

OK, I feel like the biggest loser mom in the state of NY. My dear middle child, Allison, has been taking private dance lessons ALL SUMMER, every Thursday at either 3:30 or 4:00. Well, about 1:30 today this brain-dead mother realized that YESTERDAY I forgot to take Allison to her dance lesson - DUH!! So, thank you technology, I texted her teacher and begged forgiveness. The best part is that last night I was at the dance studio for my boot camp exercise class and Jenna was there and didn't even say "so you blew me off today?" God bless her - she's way too nice!! With my humble apology today, I gave her permission to yell at me tomorrow at registration. She just laughed and said not to worry. I must have looked as bad as I felt last night for her to be so kind!! I know that had this been MY dance teacher I had as a kid, heads would be rolling right now and I would have been run out of the class last night! Jenna, however, is not only extremely talented and an awesome dancer, she's extremely nice and understanding. Even at that, I still really feel bad that I forgot!