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!