Can I go too please?

So the day that we all went to the Christmas Show, this is how poor Hope felt when we left the house.....poor baby. She will get her treat this week when we leave for our holiday beach retreat on the Outer Banks......

JBM Takes Manhattan (Part 2)

OK, I know this is a few days later than promised....but here we go.

After St. Patrick's, it was off to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Again, the reaction was "WOW" and then, pride, as the tree came from the same town in CT where Nurse Nancy grew up and Nonnie still lives. Here is view of the tree with JBM.

Finally, the purpose for our visit was the Christmas Spectacular. Flyboy and I had not been to Radio City in 10 years and JBM had never been there. Again, the eyes and the awe were evident. The biggest thrill was waiting for the 3-D movie!

After Radio City, we walked down Fifth Avenue to 42nd Street and into Grand Central through the front door. We took note of the clock at the main entrance, the eagles on either side and, of course, the Chrysler Building which is my favorite building in the whole city.

Back on the train and after a bit of debriefing, the adventure was over.....

What a thrill for us all. Next year? We shall see.

JBM takes Manhattan....(Part One)

One week ago today, FlyBoy, JBM and I ventured into NYC for some Christmas fun. It was after school, so there was no playing hookey (until the next day). In his 8 years of life, the poor, deprived child had never been to Manhattan. Perhaps the mother lion in me did not feel comfortable taking a smaller child to such a big place or relish the idea of pushing a stroller through the insane Christmas crowds. Whatever the reason, he had never been there.

Our evening started with a train trip. The whole evening could have ended right here (and saved us some money) as being on a train is always a thrill for JBM. It was a local and stopped everywhere it could with JBM announcing each stop as if we could not hear the conductor. You gotta love it!

Arriving in NYC, we strolled into the main concourse of Grand Central Station and I watched JBMs face. It was thrilling. I do not have any pictures of this moment since I knew I could not capture the real moment. Looked up at the ceiling at all the stars and constellations and then scanned the room. After the initial "wow," the next comment was "I remember in the movie Madagascar, Alex got hit in the head by the old lady on that staircase!"

We moved on to Park Avenue. By far my favorite street in Manhattan during the holidays. I love the white lights on all the trees and turning back towards Grand Central to enjoy the old building against the MetLife sky scraper. JBM thought it was pretty cool too.

We headed toward Fifth Avenue and entered St. Patrick's Cathedral. We talked about the saint statues inside and I challenged him to find the statue of St. Peter. I knew it was in the front and we would be required to make a full circle around the cathedral in order to find it. We had such a nice time talking about all the saints, lighting a few candles along the way and reflecting in front of the nativity. About half way through, JBM turned to me and said, "This place is amazing."

Flyboy and I just love experiencing those things we have become used to through FlyBoys eyes.....

Part two tomorrow with pictures...provided my camera, iPhone and computer all play well in the sandbox together!

Renegade Donut!

Sitting in my office yesterday and in walk two first grade students. One was having a birthday celebration and was handing out donuts to the class and other staff in the building. It is always nice to be remembered....you kind of feel like one of the cool people.

Anyhow, as the students are coming in the door, I see the birthday child dive to the side to rescue the last donut that had fallen out of the box and onto the floor. She proceeded to put the donut in a napkin and place it on my desk! Thank goodness she did not wait for me to taste it. Mom tried not to laugh and the Nanny exclaimed, "A special gift, germs and all...."

While I do believe in the 5 second rule, I do not think it applies to the health office floor or the floor in a doctor's office. Guess it did not pay to be "cool" this time.

Happy Friday!

Which one?

I need two pictures for my Christmas cards. One picture needs to fit in a horizontal frame and the second in a vertical (both 4 X 6). Which two of these three would you choose? Have you done your cards yet?

Opinion vs. Fact

I spent part of the afternoon yesterday at the Ob-GYN office for my annual exam. Not my favorite thing to do but very necessary. Anyhow, I could not wait to engage my doctor in conversation related to the controversy about mammography and self breast exams. I have been going to this same physician for over 20 years and know that he is passionate about breast health. He did not disappoint. We talked at length about how "stupid" the idea of having mammograms every two years is and he had a laundry list of patients saved either through mammography and/or self breast exams.

Some interesting "insider" information. My doctor shared that a major part of the funding for the study was contributed by China. His thought, "they have a population issue so what do they care if people die of cancer!" Interesting. Second tidbit, he watched a panel discussion with the head of the study as one of the panelist. His overall opinion of this physician was, "it was like watching a talking tree stump." Guess she did not creat much confidence.

To make a long story short......do not sell yourself short. Have a screening mammography on an annual basis and please remember to do monthly self exams. Both of them save lives.

This concludes this Tuesday editorial....Have a nice day.

Drama

It is Monday morning and the holidays. Families spend the whole weekend running from one event or visit to another. On Monday morning the kids are wiped out and then have to get up and come to school. Guess where they wind up....you've got it. In the Health Office complaining that they do not feel well. I am currently entertaining one of my favorite drama kings. He walked in the office with his long curly hair all tosseled in his face and shared the following: "We are doing yoga in gym class and I suddenly felt very dizzy and can barely walk." GAH! Add an English accent and a frequency of dramatic visits all year long and you will know that my patience is being tried already.

I think we have an actor in the making.....and I am in need of a nice glass of wine.

Happy Monday!

Officially Made the Rounds

First it was me, then JBM and now FlyBoy. I certainly hope that the dog is not next. I do not want to say or hear the word flu in my house for the rest of the winter. Can you guess who makes the worst patient? I will give you a hint.....it is not the first two mentioned in the first sentence.

I do feel bad for FlyBoy but I know he will survive :)

A Dog's Life

This is a case of total contentment.....the blue bear is one of JBM's favorite buddies. He shares it often with Hope. Based upon this photo, I would say she likes it. Happy Tuesday.

New Addition

While I have always said that the blow ups in front lawns are cute but not necessary, my thoughts changed dramatically this weekend. On a trip to Lowes for some routine holiday replacement bulbs, JBM and Flyboy saw this....HeliSanta. Knowing them, was there any question that a purchase was in our future? The rotor blades work too. Guess this is a case of never say never.

How we spent our Thanksgiving Day?

With a very ill JBM. Woke at 2 AM on Thanksgiving day with a fever of 103, cough and eyes that looked like pools of glass. My thoughts? The flu! Went to work that morning, brought home a quick flu test and I was right.

He spent his day on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, feeling really awful and wavering between 101 and 103 despite Motrin every 6 hours. Could not keep food or liquids down...poor guy on the best food day of the year.

FlyBoy stayed home with him and I went to dinner at Bro's house. Brought dinner home for my guys. Both ate and JBM gave it all back to me within 30 minutes. Poor guy.

Next day, went to the doctor and confirmed the flu with pneumonia on top! It is amazing how quickly this H1N1 can settle into the chest.

Good news is that after a weekend of antibiotics, Tamiflu and nebulizer treatments he is ready to go back to school. I am glad the illness was short lived.

Happy Anniversary!

22 years ago today, I made the best commitment of my life.....I married Fly Boy and life has been wonderful every since. Don't always like him but always love him....isn't that the way it should be?

Happy Anniversary to Fly Boy and to Ellen and her guy too! We met on our honeymoon and were married the same day and same time. I know we liked them for a reason :)

Shopping?

It is the day after turkey day...Black Friday....are you going shopping today?

We haven't decided yet but I do know that the retail pull will get the best of me at some point this weekend.

Be careful out there :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

And this is exactly what I am doing.....heading to Bro's house after work for some good grub. Bringing the sweets and the wine...FlyBoy insists!

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Giving Thanks....

Just wanted to write a quick note about giving thanks. Since tomorrow is turkey day, I will not be thinking about blogging or posting. I will be thinking about all the things I have to be thankful for....not the least of which is my family, my health and my freedom to give thanks!

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and the chance to spend the day with those you love!

The Fruits of Autumn

Once the garden was put to sleep, it was time to turn attention to one of my favorite fall activities...making applesauce. I do not do it to the scale that Ellen does but I do make enough to share with family. This year, I had some special guest apples all the way from Missouri! Thanks to TSAnnie and her wonderful family.

Here is the picture of the results....I have another batch to do before the orchard across the road closes for the season. What is your favorite food in the fall?

A Milestone

JBM has reached another milestone.....his first experience with a power tool. He did a wonderful job blowing the leaves off the back deck and out of my perennial garden. My only concern...is this considered a violation of child labor laws?
Happy Monday.

It got me!

I learned a valuable lesson this week that I am not immune to everything. Having been a school nurse for five years and escaping the major illness plagued by those new to this line of work, I began to assume I would be immune to everything. WRONG! I survived the first wave of H1N1 unscathed, got all my immunizations in preparation for this one and am coming off four days where I can honestly say I have never felt sicker in my whole life! Fever, cough, aches, headache and the desire to remain horizontal on the sofa or in bed with my eyes closed and in total silence. I was great fun to be around. But I am back....a trip to the doctor, a trip for some acupuncture and a new herbal supplement that will take the place of antibiotics. All seems to be working. I am glad to be back but I think TSAnnie is going to miss the nurse she was working with who brought her breakfast and lunch every day. I hope she does not expect that from me...... :)

A Great Time

In addition to my adventure with FlyBoy this weekend, we had such a great time being away. Everyone was so relaxed and the weather was just spectacular. Ellen and I often refer to our families as family and that is so very true. We are so at ease with each other that there is no entertaining involved. It is just hanging out, relaxing, shopping and eating.....and a little wine. Who could ask for more. And to top it all off, my cousin and his wife were down at their house at the same time! We did not expect that and it was so much fun to hook up with them and have dinner at one of our favorite places on the OBX. Ocean Boulevard is just fabulous and we love going there. For the first time, JBM was able to dine there with us and not complain about having nothing he liked on the menu. We are turning a new corner. If you are ever on the OBX, please check them out. It is well worth every penny...... Check out the web site and menu at ocean-boulevard.com

We finished!

I am still experiencing technical difficulties and Flyboy is in full diagnosis mode. Thank goodness for technogeeks! Anyhow, just wanted you all to know that we survived our race on Saturday.

We both finished! Flyboy took one hour and two minutes and I took one hour and three minutes. That last half mile was the hardest and I might have caved had it not been for my friend Millie who was standing at the check point screaming "You go girl!" to me. She was my motivation to enter the race and my motivation to finish. The fact that Bruce was singing Born to Run in my ears really helped too. What a great feeling....we are already talking about next year.

Ellen told Flyboy and me to think of it as a date - hand holding, good music and heavy breathing! :)

The Day has arrived!

Remember in March when I committed myself to training for the Outer Banks Half Marathon....and in May when I actually signed up for it? Well, the weekend has arrived and I should be running the half marathon. To make a long story short....during my "months" of training, I tore a meniscus and discovered I have a cyst on my knee. Surgery? Cortisone shots? Anti-inflammatories? Nothing? I did anti-inflammatories for two weeks and did not run during that time. It worked but set me back big time.....then life, school, piano lessons, hockey practice, hockey games, family and two jobs took care of the rest. I have not run or even donned my running shoes in two weeks....... Did I give up? No. Instead of 13 miles, I am running an 8K (5.1 miles). Instead of running with friends, I am running with FlyBoy. All in all, it should be fun and the weather is predicted to be ideal. Good family time and Ellen is coming too which is an added bonus.

Will let you know on Tuesday how much we ran and how much we walked but we will finish! And I am sure we will have some pictures to share.

Technical Difficulties

I have been trying every day this week to email myself pictures from home. Why you ask? Because I took some awesome photos of my backyard in its full Autumn splendor and some very funny photos of JBM. Each night I send them and each morning I get to work and they are not here! They must be floating somewhere in cyber space and someone is enjoying them saying...why am I getting these #@*#@ photos?!

TSAnnie and I even tried to access them directly from the memory card from the camera and my ancient block of computer on my desk cannot see them!

Technology is wonderful as long as it works!

Happy Thursday.

Space Geeks!

JBM has an opportunity to share some of his love of space with his classmates. During academic choice (what exactly is that?), he has been reading books about Mars and the Mars Rovers and wants to share his new found knowledge with his class.

We have agreed upon what will be shared and have been chatting about how. I was hoping for the simple approach of a story board with facts he wrote himself and photos cut out from maagazines and front internet stories. How gauche of me! My two space geeks (JBM and Flyboy)have decided that this project requires technology.......Power Point, links to the NASA web site using the SmartBoard in the classroom.

Alas, I guess the days of dioramas and stick figures have gone by the wayside. And at some point, I will be overpowered by geeks or I might have to become one in order to survive in my house!

Will let you know how the presentation goes....Power Point in the third grade...oh my.

A Conundrum

I feel like all we talk about these days is H1N1....on that note, school nurses are caught in between helping to assess children who are ill and trying to keep ourselves healthy. Just today, our supervisor asked us to keep our physical assessments to a minimum so to minimize our exposure to ill children in school. We had our H1N1 vaccines but it takes up to 10 days to build true immunity.

Anyhow, my struggle is trying to be a good resource to parents. If their child becomes ill in school and we need to send them home, the first question a parent will ask is what are the symptoms we found. Does their child have a fever? Is their child wheezing? Is their throat red? Do they have swollen glands? I cannot answer those questions if I have to stay several feet away in order to keep myself healthy.

I might have the wrong idea, but it is more important to me to provide valuable information to a parent then to save myself. Isn't that why I went into this profession to begin with?

And...if I get H1N1...a few days off would not be bad even if I do feel like crap (oops I said the "c word")! Down Nurse Nancy...Down off your soap box yet again!

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate.....

That is the question I have been getting each and every day for many weeks now. Alas, I do not have the definitive answer. While I do firmly believe in the seasonal flu vaccine....get one every year as do my boys (since we all have some level of underlying asthma), I have been unsure about the H1N1. Some factors in the past week have helped me make up my mind.

1. The local health department is supplying vaccines for all the school health professionals in our town free of charge. If it is that easy for me to get, guess I should get it. Received it yesterday. Guess if I blog tomorrow you will know I survived.

2. JBM's doctor's office has a supply and gave an appointment for him. Since it affects younger children in a far bigger way than those at my youthful age, I am not giving him a choice. He will get his later this evening and hopefully will stay well enough to receive the next one in a month.

3. Flyboy is hopeful that his company will be giving the H1N1 at the same time as the seasonal vaccines. I do not think that is likely but I guess we shall see.......tomorrow.

My party line to parents who ask? Get the seasonal vaccine for all the kids in your family and for yourselves. If anyone in the family has an underlying condition, get the H1N1 for them. It is truly a personal decision whether to get one for yourself and also a matter of whether they are even available to get.

Most importantly, wash you hands and stay away from sick people and, if you are sick, from others who are not. So ends this public service announcement which has not been approved by the local health department or the CDC :)

By the way, for those of you who are interested, Army lost again to Rutgers on Friday night...but a good time was had by all. JBM spent the game sitting next to an injured player for Army who had just had knee surgery and did not have to suit up for the game. He now has a new insight on the game, the team and "high fiving" a cadet the correct way....although he will not tell me what that is.

Army v. Rutgers

Tonight my boys and Ellen's boys are headed to West Point for the Army v. Rutgers game. Last time the two teams played on a Friday night, it poured rain and the winds were close to hurricane force. We thought that would be to Army's advantage since they are training to be in the military and fight in all types of weather......we were very wrong!

This is a new era and JBM and I are both confident that Army will hang in there and put up a good fight! We are not making a prediction one way or another but we do know that a good time will be had by all....... Oh and, by the way, the weather forecast is for rain.

Ellen, JBM wants to know if BigJ has permission to buy himself a treat at the game tonight?

Go Army! Beat Rutgers!

Pearls of Wisdom

Each week JBM has a list of about 25 words that he needs to learn, spell and be able to write for a test on Friday morning. Each night he does spelling pages in his book and in the morning we have an oral quizz in the car. It is fun to be passing down the pneumonics I used when I was in school to remember how to spell certain words. His favorite so far is how I remembered to spell Connecticut.....our lovely home state....."you 'Connect' 'I' 'cut.' When doing writing assignments, it is fun to hear JBM spelling things out in his head (outloud of course).

Guess we parents do have some gems to pass on to our children.

Can you also conclude who does not listen to me at home? In reality, the answer is NO ONE...except the dog and that is questionable at best since she is 12 and hard of hearing :(

Vision and Hearing Screening

We have begun vision and hearing screening in between sending kids home with high fevers and tracking ILIs. This is by far our favorite time of the year. So far, I have had to brush off my French skills so that we could test a french speaking family and we have been dealing with a myriad of kindergarteners who twist their bodies in unnatural ways to show us which way the hands are pointing on the vision chart (many of them do not know the ABCs yet). Yesterday, TSAnnie had a five year old giving her the finger (thankfully, he had no clue what he was doing but I thought my insides were going to burst)!

TSAnnie and I are on opposite sides of the room as the testing takes place and the glances that travel back and forth are beyond funny. Once the classes are done, we take the time to review and giggle. This is, by far, the most entertaining time of the year. Love to tell teachers that their classes all passed with flying colors. It confirms for them that there are those students that simply choose to not listen!

Alas, I feel that way at home every day........

It is here.....

Staying with the theme of yesterday's blog....we are the fortunate recipients of the first confirmed case of H1N1 in our lovely community. Thank goodness for parents who are aware of their children's health and take them to the doctor even if the symptoms do not seem severe. No letters go out to the class. No communication goes out to the school. A weekly update is provided by the superintendent and a count is being kept on the BOE web site. Let's hope this is not the start of something big.....oh and did I mention that the affect student is in JBM's class! GAH!

On the front lines.....

H1N1 is in the news more and more each day. I was pleasantly surpirsed this weekend to hear a story on our local news station about one state that is depending upon school nurses to keep the local and state governments informed about absences from school for "flu like" illnesses and confirmed cases of H1N1. Finally some recognition!

On the other hand, the CDC has decided that school nurses are NOT part of the health care workers who should be getting the H1N1 vaccine. Imagine, we spend our whole day caring for students of all ages with "flu like" symptoms but are not considered high risk for getting the actual disease? What floors me even more is that doctors and nurses who work in pediatric practices (I do that too) are not consdered high risk health care workers either! UGH......or as MPM would say GAH.....

Coming down off my soap box now....but one more thing, if we are being counted on to keep track of cases, are not immunized and get H1N1, who will be tracking things when we are home sick?

A new season and a new coach

Those of you who know my family well have either tailgated with us or are bored to tears with listening to my family talk about Army Football..... We have shared in or most recently owned season tickets to USMA Army Football. One of the best places in the world to enjoy the autumn weather and a bit of militray tradition. Something that Flyboy and JBM live for.......helicopters, paratroopers, pomp, circumstance and, oh yeah, some football.

This year the team has several new things....a new coach, re-deployed players, and a new helicopter (no it is not a Balckhawk much to my boys dismay). And for the first time since 1996, they have a winning record and are fun to watch! Having a 6 foot 10 inch wide reciever does help when you do not have much of a passing game.

Maybe a bowl game is in our future this year? GO ARMY and maybe they will actually BEAT NAVY!

Lice anyone?

So the school year is in full swing and we received notice of our first cases of unwanted visitors this week......head lice. It is always so much fun to be picking through a child's hair and this search often includes siblings, parents and teachers as well. Always glad to help.....but what I do not understand is why some parents feel it is important to know who the child in a class is with the head lice! Yes, I know it is a pain to have to check your child every day for two weeks (that is why JBM is buzzed!) but it is a privacy issue and I would not want any child or parent to have to deal with the social implications.

So I ask those parents out there who may get a notice about lice to take the notice and treat it seriously...don't beat up on a teacher or the school nurse to try and find out who has lice. It does not matter! Just make sure your child doesn't. It is not rocket science.

I had lice in elementary school and my hair was down to my waist at the time. It was not fun for me or my Mom but we had plenty of girl time. Oh and by the way, my hair was cut short at the time and has not been below my shoulders since!

We're Back

So today is the first day of a new school year and this is the first moment I have had to even reflect on it. What does this year promise to bring our way? If today is any indication, it could be very interesting..... So far today, we have a few students out with "flu like symptoms," the lunch of a child with severe food allergies disappeared so we had to find them something safe to eat, we have news students on daily "vitamins" who really need them and waiting for parents to come and administer almost put me over the edge and we are drowning in the piles of paper that come with the beginning of the school year. I have grown to really dislike the color pink. All I have to say is...."is it June yet?"

Just a bit too much...

The past 1o months have been interesting in our neighborhood. The neighbors across the street took down five very beautiful trees (old, tall and majestic) and replaced them with a stone wall. This wall surrounds three sides of the yard and will soon come equipped with fancy lights and a motion sensor gate. In addition, this same neighbor ripped out all the landscaping around the house and replaced it with a paver walkway around three sides of the house with an occassional planter with some flowers. During this process, the excavator managed to hit the gas line in their front yard...no one was hurt. So we thought that this was it and they were done....NOT.

Last week, I was driving down the street and practically hit the stone wall when I saw the new fountain in the front yard! In addition, there was a fancy new mailbox (made of stone, of course). I feel like I am living across the street from the house in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

No the fountain does not look like this but I think we are headed in this direction. What is most amusing about this whole thing, is that the house is a simple center hall colonial. All the pieces of the puzzle do not fit together in my mind...but if it makes the neighbors happy..good! Do you think the house is next?!



On another note, I have decided to go on vacation and leave Mom and Bro home. While I do feel some guilt (what daughter wouldn't), my other Bro asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I told him that I wanted to be able to go away for 10 days and know that Mom and Bro would be OK and he would be there for them if they needed help. He assured me all would be OK.



See you on the flip side!

What would you do?

In a few short weeks, we will be headed to the OBX on vacation. These are two weeks that I wait for all year long. This year, my s-i-l from NJ was supposed to join us. She is JBM's favorite aunt (by blood - because Ellen is #1 on the list). As Flyboy says all the time, she is predictable and as predicted she has backed out of coming with us.

Now...being the dutiful daughter and having my big brother out of work for most of the summer, my immediate reaction is to invite Mom and Bro to come along. Flyboy has said "no way" because he feels I need a break from being a caregiver....but I feel guilty about not asking. Mom would not be able to go to the beach but a change of scenery is always nice. So, I ask, what would you do?

BTW, Flyboy thinks it is important for my other brother to step up and take over for me for 10 days....I would love to be a fly on the wall for that. He will have nothing to do unless an emergency crops up since I will have taken care of all needs before I go.

Quiet Day?

I am working today and the local middle school. I was told by both nurses who have been here all summer that this is a quiet place. Have been here for all of 30 minutes and seen three kids already.....think it is me?

JBM is with me today and he has just spent the last 20 minutes updating me on every weather event that has happened since school got out....

I think it is going to be a long day....oh and did I mention I am having a really bad hair day?

A few days off....

I am taking a few days off from blogging.....I am not working this week until Friday. In the meantime, JBM, Hope and I will be paying a visit to Ellen and her clan. We are headed into Philly to the Fanklin (or the Franklinstein) Institute to see the Galilea exhibit. I am not sure which JBM is looking forward to more....the train ride or the exhibit.

Catch you on the flip side with some pics and stories I am sure.......

Thankful

I woke up during the night and could not get back to sleep...seems to be a pattern these days. Instead of counting sheep, reading or watching TV, I decided to count the things I feel thankful for......

My faith in God
The depth of my faith in God
My health
The health of my friends and family
My friends and family
My dog, Hope
The health of my dog, Hope
The freedom of our country
Summer
The four seasons but mostly summer
The fact that I have a roof over my head and a bed to lay in to count my blessings.....

Then.....I think I fell asleep. Have I discovered a new cure of insomnia?

What are you thankful for....think about while you enjoy your weekend.

Happy Friday :)

Impressed

The creative juices are not flowing today....however, I did watch the All Star Game last night and was impressed with a few things....

- The President throwing out the first pitch! What a great job.
- The President visiting each locker room to meet each player before the game....
- The President's remarks to Derek Jeter. I thought they were very cute together and can only imagine what it must have been like for Jeter. No, I am not a Yankee fan but I do think Jeter is a great guy and would like JBM to consider him a role model.

OK, so in reading this, I guess I was impressed with the President more than the game itself. National League lost again and I am afterall, a Mets fan.

Your choice?

I had a conversation the other day with someone who actually planned a vacation to London to attend one of Michael Jackson's concerts. The concert was not a side event or a coincidence, it was the sole purpose for the vacation...... Anyhow, they are still making the trip and will enjoy the sights and sounds of England. I asked what happens to the monies spent on tickets. The answer, either a refund or replaced with a memorobial package of MJ stuff.

What would your choice be?

Me, I would go for the refund but, then again, I would not have paid money for the concert to begin with.....yes, he was a gifted performer but he was also several cars off the train track and I would not want my hard earned money to support the continuation of that lifestyle.

Comfort

Sometimes (all the time), I wonder what goes through little minds as they watch us all around them trying to stay in line with life. Just this weekend, I had this experience.......

Friday is grocery shopping day and JBM and I usually go together. This week, we had a somewhat larger order due to a gathering planned for Saturday afternoon. The end of the season party for JBM's baseball team. During our shopping adventure, JBM asked if he could have a yogurt that came with a "special stick" for freezing. I said that it would have to wait 'til this week for a number of reasons...including our larger than normal order. He stood and watched as the groceries were rung up and was astounded at the cost of the order. I was not except for the fact that for $154, I did not buy anything for the coming week's meals. But that is for a different day......

The next morning, I was getting ready to go off to work (part time job) and JBM handed me one of his favorite stuffed animals and told me to keep it. I explained that I was going to work and could not take it with me. He asked that I take it in the car for "comfort." I thought this interesting since I did not think I needed comfort.

This encounter perplexed me for the entire day until Flyboy shared with me that JBM felt I needed comfort because of the cost of the grocery bill the day before and that I was making a big sacrifice going to work so we could have his party.... :)

Do you think this will last through the teenage years? I can only hope so.

Happy Monday.

Can your dog do this?

When we arrived at the baseball game on the 4th, I noticed two beautiful golden retrievers on the field. My first question to Ellen was, what are those dogs doing? Her answer.....they retrieve the bats and balls during batting practice and then they retrieve the bats between batters during the game. Yeah right, I thought to myself and maybe outloud. I had never heard such a thing in my life. The game started and I watched in amazement....and laughed at the sight.


The only confusion came at the end of one inning when the pitcher left the ball on the pitching mound. The dog who came out to retrieve the bat could not decide if the bat or the ball was more important. The trainer then had to catch the dog.....


JBM has been trying in earnest since we got home to get Hope to fetch his hockey stick. Just not happening :)


Note: Sorry the pictures are so far away...the zoom on my camera only goes so far. I think you get the idea.

Honesty and Disappointment

Today is Thursday and this was supposed to be a very exciting day in our house. Flyboy was offered a "night at the ballpark" from one of his vendors. The event, a Mets game against the Dodgers, and the ballpark was Citi Field. We have not been there yet as the ticket prices are ridiculous and my lowly Mets are not playing very well of late. But, back to the story........

This is my evening to work and JBM was going to go to the game with Flyboy. As the week progressed, Flyboy recieved his e-tickets and realized that the face value of each ticket was $150. Since he is a man of integrity and total honesty, he decided to inquire with the corporate legal department if there was an issue in his accepting these tickets. Turns out, you guessed it, there was. So as to not appear to be "under the influence" of the vendor, Flyboy turned down the tickets.

Since we had already told JBM that he was going to the game, Flyboy was now faced with having to tell him that the plans had changed. We discussed all kinds of options including buying the two tickets...but again, expensive and are the Mets worth paying to see right now? NOT.

With a heavy heart and tears in his eyes (I love this about my guy), he told JBM the news. My little man, took it like a man and after a moment to absorb it, reached out, hugged his dad and said, "That's OK Dad. I understand."

Wiping tears from my eyes as I write this....another proud moment in my parenting life.

Brothers of Different Mothers

As both Ellen and I have said before, our two boys have a very unique and wonderful relationship. Both are only children but they have discovered in each other that "brother" relationship. They talk, they hug, they horse around and they annoy each other like only brothers can do. It is very special to our families and we hope it lasts a lifetime.....

I cannot take credit for the "Brothers of Different Mothers." That was Ellen's idea and I just love it.

RP on the 4th

As promised, here are some images of RP on the morning of the 4th. Keep in mind that it is 8AM and the town is out in full force.

Images of the day include, fire inspection and baby parade.

Flyboy's Dad was captian of this fire company the year he was born.

Images from the baby parade. Love the creativity of the parents and enthusiasm of the kids too!

The photo above is one of my favorite homes in town. They always have a big crowd with lots of family and decorate their home for the town contest. I look forward to seeing this house every year. It feels like a home even though I have never been inside.

Images of Americana and the true spirit of the holiday. This town knows how to celebrate our freedom.

Happy Tuesday!

The best ot times.....

...........with the best of friends.

So we spent our long 4th weekend with Ellen and her boys. It was truly the best of times with the best of friends.

Spent lots of time in the pool and in the sun (finally) and JBM is now tanned and toned and looking a bit pruney. He slept like a log and woke up willingly and happy....all good things when you are not a morning person.

Our morning in Ridgefield Park on the 4th was lovely as always and JBM had the opportunity to show it to someone else (Ellen's wonderful husband) and took advantage of his expereince as a fireman to ask lots of questions about fire trucks. Pictures will follow later this week.

Ellen's spawn made a great chef and fire pit manager so that we had burgers, hot dogs and smores. Very American.......

Baseball game was great.....long game and the team that JBM was rooting for lost....but great time anyway....two outs in the bottom of the 9th and a count of 0-2 and the home team hit a two run homer to tie the score. Game went 14 innings but we gave up in the top of the 13th....guess 4 hours of baseball is about all I can take.

Who could ask for anything more? Certainly not me. Thanks for a great time friends. And thanks to our troops for providing the freedom and safety that allowed us to have such a great time.

One other note....had our first cherry tomatoes from the garden yesterday....so GOOD!

Fourth of July

This is one of my favorite times of the year until I realize that I have to get up at the crack of dawn on a day off to be in my husband's hometown for the start of their 4th of July celebration. He grew up in Ridgefield Park, NJ. The town has the oldest continuous 4th of July celebration in NJ and one of the oldest in the nation.

The day begins at 7:45AM (we live 90 minutes away) with the national anthem...then 8:00AM is a fire department inspection. My father-in-law was a member and chief in the department so there are many fond memories. Next is the baby parade (my favorite part). People make floats for their kids and awards are given for the most creative and youngest child etc. The creativity and pride is amazing. My brother-in-law was the youngest one year as he was born in early June. Then the municipal parade....by now I am exhausted.....and we used to go to my mother-in-law's house to rest and eat. Since she is gone, our new tradition is to head south to visit with Ellen and her family.

This year, we are headed to Ellen's tomorrow and will head north on the 4th for what I hope is just the first three events. FlyBoy wants to stay for the municipal parade but with no where to hang and no handy facilities, I just don't see it!

Ah, the things we do for love. I promise to take lots of photos and share them next week.

Happy Fourth of July and God Bless America

Summer afternoon

Is there anything better than summer? The pace is a little slower, the days are longer and children are outside playing (well sometimes). Today I got home from school (working summer school) and announced to JBM that we were headed to the beach. Not the ocean or the nearby sound but the local lake which has a wonderful beach, great snack bar and a playground too! We spent a pleasant couple of hours and beat the rain home. Yes, it did rain yesterday but there was enough sun to make up for it. I just love watching kids splash around and play in the sand. It is the best!

Garden Update

Now that we have had almost three full days with no rain, I thought it appropriate to provide an update to the garden. So here is it.....it is growing. Sometimes I make myself laugh....

A reminder of where we started.....

Next is just after planting......





Just above was the end of last week, before the severe thrunderstorms and tonrnadoes (which skipped over my house so the garden does not look much different).

I am hopeful that we will have a plethora of burgundy beans in the next few weeks. I promise to do a blog on the exciting transformation they go through from purple to green!

Happy Tuesday!

Almost

JBM finished his 2009 Little League Season last week. The last game was Thursday evening and JBMs Reds were on the loosing side of the semifinal game. They lost to the Mets (at least one Mets team is capable of winning a game).

The boys handled everything very well and stayed in the game until the very end. JBM had a great play from second to first. I held my breath...and he went two for three at the plate. All in all, not a bad showing.

The championship game was Saturday morning and the Mets won. We were all happy about that since it is easier to loose to the champions.

Two weeks without sports and then camps galore.......

Finally!

The last day of school for the 2008-2009 year has arrived.....I won't tell you I am happy...but I am.

When we (Hope and I) went to wake up JBM this morning, it was tough but took a bit less time. Most likely becuase I shared with Hope that her job for the year was done. With that, she took her paw, placed it on JBM's face and pushed as hard as her 23 lb body would let her. That woke him up with a giggle.

Good way to start the last day of school. Not sure how much blogging I will do during the summer. However, I do plan periodic updates to the garden. Stay tuned.......

Pitching Debut

JBM will make his pitching debut later today.....he will most likely pitch only one inning. This has been an all consuming adventure for JBM and FlyBoy this week. I am staying out of it!
It has been an interesting journey to watch. The season started with a firm..."I don't want to pitch..I know I will not be good at it." Then, watching most of the rest of the team try, it became, "I guess I should think about it." FlyBoy and I decided it needed to his decision. So after the game on Saturday, JBM asked his dad if they could "practice." And practice they have for the past five days...at the field and on the "make shift" pitching mound in our backyard (see below) which was created when we removed a large tree a few years ago. Note the slightly less green area of grass. It was a joke at first and has become a reality.
I will go to the game but will spend most of the time staring at the ground since the stress will be too much for me :) Guess I had better get used to it.

Anyhow, it might not happen because it is raining...stay tuned.

Tattoo

No JBM did not get a tattoo and as long as I have control over him, he will not get one. So enough parental commentary and now to the real reason for this blog.

As you well know from my saga, yesterday was Field Day...finally and thank God! It was a great day. A bit nippy but we did not have to worry about heat exhaustion and the kids still managed to drench each other with the various water games. One of the stations featured a tattoo for all....most got the tattoo on the middle of their foreheads. As you can see from JBM below.

He managed to shower and wash his hair last night and save the tattoo all at the same time. Funny how that happens. FlyBoy questioned his washing techniques but it does not matter to me....it is all in fun afterall.

Three days to go........

Finally.....

With the chance for rain at only 20% today, we should get in our Field Day. Kids look forward to this all year long.....especially the water slide. Here are some photos of the set up.....I hope fun will be had by all and that I am very bored the whole day. That means not major injuries. Jr. Birdman and I will be racing each other in the 25 yard dash.....with my intense (Hah!) training, who do you think will win? I will let you know tomorrow.

Field Day Saga (Part 3)

And the saga continues......today would have been Field Day which has already been rescheduled twice.....in a sleepless night last night, I got out of bed at 3:30 AM and there was thunder...so I thought a quick shower. Fast forward to 5:00 AM, still raining. Thus the message below from the PTA this morning.

FIELD DAY CANCELED
We are canceling field day today due to the rain and the day-long threat of thunderstorms.

We will try again tomorrow.

And in the "out of the mouths of babes" department, as we pulled into the school parking lot this morning, Jr. Bird Man noticed the water slide set up on the hill. His comment, "Mom, today is a great day for the water slide." Yes, it was raining.

Postponed again....

Today was the day for Field Day! It was postponed from last Friday...and guess what? It is raining again! Now we are aiming for Monday.....right now, the weather does not look to be in our favor.

With next week being the last week of school, there are so many activities going on that teachers will be scrambling to fit in those activities around Field Day (whenever it is). Jr. Birdman is prediciting Wednesday. My vote is to wait for Thursday and have the 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony on the water slide. As each student reaches the bottom, they get their certificate. Novel idea?

Have a good weekend everyone!

Drama

I had the dramatic performance of the year on our lovely office the other day. One of the K students who finds her way here almost every day, opened the door and came across the floor dragging her left leg along as if it was being held on by a thread. When she arrived at my desk, she said, "I hurt my leg at home yesterday and it still really hurting." We had a wonderful discussion about how she needs to think about when and why to come to the nurse. I demonstrated for her what she should have said when she arrived WITHOUT the drama..."I hurt my leg at home yesterday and it still hurts, can I have some ice please?"

Once she got the ice bag, she held my hand to the door, said thanks for the ice and as she walked away she said....."I am going to miss you." Do you think that means she is not coming back at all for the next seven days or the next 12 hours?

Eight Days

There are eight days left to this school year.....they are counting down slowly...oh so slowly. Lots of paperwork this time of year. I thought that computers were supposed to cut down on the amount of paper we use...NOT.

Oh well....that is my weak political statement for the day. As you can tell, my creative mind is a bit sleepy today.

Pictures!

As promised, here are a few pictures from our weekend. First the recital......





JBM playing his most complex piece. Sorry that I am so far away but I have to believe that flashing lights in your eyes while playing would be a big distraction.

This is the whole group that played....JBM takes lessons right before the boy in the striped shirt and they both play baseball and hockey. They also performed together in the Young Musicians Festival this year. They enjoy each other's company.

JBM and his Nonnie.....the piano behind them cost $74,000. Nonnie had a hard time with that concept....me too!

On to Sunday and hockey...JBM is in the white helmet. He is wating for a pass...took the picture right before he scored a goal and at the same time the battery died on my camera....as MPM would say, GAH!

The busy weekend took its toll last night, JBM had a baseball game. Flyboy looked totally dejected when I got home from work last night. Comment from both parties...."we had an off game today....everyone was off and it was pure torture!" Oh well, not activities until Saturday so plenty of time to catch up on sleep etc.

Guess what, it is raining here today....what a surprise. Happy Tuesday.

Recital

As is common this time of year, many activities overlap. This weekend we had a piano recital and a baseball game which we thought were at the same time.....but Mom did not do a good job at reading the schedules without her glasses and got the times wrong! At first, we thought Jr. Birdman would have to choose between the two activities. Those of you that know our family well might assume that the athletic even won out.... Well, you would be wrong. Jr. Birdman chose the recital over baseball. The reason? "I have plenty more games to play Mom but we only have a few recitals a year." Good logic.
As it turned out, the game was in the morning and the recital in the afternoon. Nonnie was able to come the recital becuase it was held in a local Steinway Gallery and was handicap accessible. The kids played on a grand piano (which cost more than the new car we purchased last summer).
A good time was had by all.....including the dinner and ice cream with Nonnie afterwards! Thanks fo dinner Nonnie!

On a side note, with the addition of a piano in his life, Jr. Birdman has decided to try his hand at writing his own music. He has composed two pieces so far and played them for his teacher. They are recording them on his "tape" this week and she is going to incorporate how to write music in his lessons over the summer. Maybe we have the next Billy Joel in our midst.

On another side note, I had pictures to go along with this post but came to work with my camera but NOT the USB port to allow me to download the pics....guess I know what the subject of tomorrow's blog will be. Happy Monday!

Postponed

Today would have been Field Day....but it has been postponed for a week. Do you think it has something to do with the weather forecast?

Friday - Rain. High in the low 60's. East winds 15-20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Let's hope for better (and warmer) weather next Friday.

Have a great weekend!

It's Here!

We had our first case of confirmed swine flu this week in our school. Had to send a communication to all parents and all the staff. Staff have been reasonable and surprisingly parents have been too! Only one call from one teacher looking for information on classroom and student....did not understand why I could not supply that....ever hear of patient confidentiality?

I hope this is as bad as it gets.....the final countdown continues.

Bug Bites!

The final phase of the school year has begun....only 12 days left until summer vacation (but whose counting)! With this time of year, come the bug bites.....I think that our fine town grows the biggest mosquitos in the whole world and they are voracious. We use lot of Rhuligel this time of year and hear lots of ouches (since it is made mostly of alcohol). Works like a charm to get the itch out and we don't get any repeat visits! Maybe I should change my name to Nurse Ratchet....and this should be my new torture tool.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my beautiful Mom's 91st birthday. While her life has more physical challenges than a few years ago, she is doing remarkably well. We had a wonderful family dinner on Sunday and her whole family was with her.....at my house, of course. When I called her on the way to work this morning, she told me she woke up with the image of all of us celebrating her around the dining room table. That is what I had hoped for......so a very happy birthday to Mom and many more!!!! (She would not like that second part, she does not want to move way into the 90s but I really want her around that long or longer) :)

Christmas in May

After a year of searching, bargaining and contemplating the decision, Christmas has come early to our home. Jr. Birdman has been taking piano lessons for two years and has come a very long way using an electronic keyboard. Over the past six months, it has become very clear that he needed more.....so we purchased a piano. When the search began, I never considered that a piano is more than just an instrument....it is a significant piece of furniture being added to our home. A piece of furniture we did not plan for.....a piece of furniture we have no room for....a piece of furniture that comes with requirements.......it cannot be placed against a heating element. We have baseboard heat in our home and there is only one wall in the house that the piano will fit against! That wall happens to house my favorite piece in the whole house and I have nowhere to move it. After much deliberation and negotiation, the piano was delivered and resides in the living room. Not the best location but it works and the sound is magnificent.

The biggest part of the negotiation......where is the Christmas tree going to go this year. Our tree is 9 feet tall so it is somewhat limiting as well....we will worry about that in November :)

p.s. The scarf on his head is from a Field Trip that included a visit to a sushi restaurant. We are trying to have him say sushi chef five times fast....give it a try. It is impossible.

In a mood......

The school year is coming to an end and I have concluded that I am very ready! For whatever reason, I have been in a mood all week and feel the need for a good cry or a good bottle of wine. Not sure which will work better...maybe both! TGIF.

Life vs. Work

Nurse Nancy Life Story: I feel the need to brag today....... Plain and simple, everywhere I go with Jr. Birdman, I am constantly proud of how he acts in public places. Sometimes I think it is just me and that I am blinded by the love I have for my dude....but then, others makes comments about how good he is, what wonderful manners he has and how proud I should be. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside........and outside. I only hope it continues and he becomes a person of substance.

Nurse Nancy work story: Sent a child home Tuesday with a fever of 103. Made sure that Mom heard me say that said child should stay home on Wednesday. Wednesday morning teacher calls to let me know that student is back. Called Mom to say come and pick him up....."Oh, I am sorry I did not hear you say he needed to be home for 24 hours....." Do they think I am that stupid? He went home and I am sure he will be back today.......

Parenting 101

Would you send your child to school sick? Happens all the time with mild illness but a fever of 103?

If your child was going on a field trip to the beach for 5 hours, would you remember to apply sunscreen before putting them on the bus in the morning? Apparently not for more than 10 kids in a class of 22.....

Call me cranky but why don't people think (I know we are all busy but I am busy too and should be able to concentrate on more important things).....and I do think there should be a test that everyone MUST pass before becoming parents.....

Best Plans.....

I did what I said I would do this weekend and did not go anywhere near the computer....mostly because we switched ISPs last week and Fly Boy was still getting all the kinks out....but boy did it feel good..... What did I do instead? Transplanted and split plants in the perennial garden, read a book and caught some rays, in between working at the doctor's office which was nuts. Also had time to run (felt good), cook (which I love more than anything) and have some nice conversation with my boys (what could be better).

In the "go figure" department, I had a small cook out with some family on Sunday.....being the planning maven that I am, I had all the salads made, burgers made and the baked beans heating in the oven before anyone arrived. Just needed to fire up the grill. Had planned all day to have our first outdoor meal of the season.....Mother Nature thought differently.....a tornado warning and severe thunderstorm took care of that and the power too! We survived the storm, ate inside by candlelight and the power was back in time for coffee and dessert.....and a fun time was had by all.

OK enough rambling.....have to get to work now.

TGIF or should it be TGIS and a long weekend

Yes, I know it is Saturday and I am not one who lnormally longs for Friday each week.....I seem to have boundless engergy (or I am too stupid to listen to my body say STOP) and have enough things going on that all the days blend together.....however, this week is very different. We had our first case of positive H1N1 in our school district this week.....with it came panic and concern. While that was expected, it meant that our team spent endless hours on the phone calming nerves, talking to parents of potentially high risk children, documenting each and everyone of these interactions and keeping other important staff up to date.

Now that it is the weekend, I hope to NOT speak to anyone on the phone or type a single word into a computer (which is why I am getting this ready on Friday afternoon).

Wish I had a pool or hot tub to hang out in all weekend - with a glass of good wine, of course. Have a good weekend and everyone stay well.......

Swine Flu Update

We have to find the humor in life or it is not much fun.........

First celebrity to die from the swine flu.....guess we know who the carrier is......

It's Official!

I have officially registered for the OBX Half Marathon. 13.1 miles.....am I crazy? I see it as an amiable goal and I know it will be achieved. Afterall....there was money involved in the registration and that cannot go to waste. Isn't that always a motivation?

I am looking forward to this experience for so many reasons. The personal accomplishment, the health incentive and most importantly...a girls weekend with some new and old friends and the party that comes with it...after the half marathon of course.

Current training status.....I can run 1 1/2 miles without having to stop and walk or catch my breath. Only 11.6 more miles to go....... Thank goodness the event does not take place until November 8th.

We've Got Dirt!

The before........

Today was the day....the dirt is in! The plants are planted! The seeds are sewn! The watering has begun.....now how long will Jr. Birdman stay interested and help me......

The after....

And the supervisor....