NYC Visit - Day 1

We woke up on a Sunday and Deb and her daughter Stephanie took us to Philadelphia. Only one hour by car and it took no time at all - I guess compared to an all day drive the day before, one hour was nothing! It was a good day to go; not a lot of crowds. It didn't take much time to get in and see the Liberty Bell. The displays ahead of time were helpful so we knew what we were looking at. What was so surprising is how very close we could get. If you were naughty, you could just fall forward and touch it!!

That whole city has such an Old World feel to it, it was so nice just to walk around and look at the buildings. We saw the outside of where the Declaration of Independence was signed, but didn't want to pay the boo coo buckaroo to get in, so we just looked at it and said "Huh, there it is." Then we went on to see where Betsy Ross lived, a statue of Benjamin Franklin etched with keys, and ate at an "authentic" Philadelphia restaurant ordering Philly Cheese Steaks. Personally, I am so used to ooey gooey cheese steak sandwiches, these were kind of dry and really had no "wow" factor that I was expecting. I think the boys were most impressed by the free M&M's ice creams they were handing out on the street - yum!! After that we went by Valley Forge, walked through a house that George Washington called his office (very cool). It was all set up like they were still living there. The rest of the area was replicated with the reproductions of life at the time. There was a neat museum and easy to understand movie about their time at Valley Forge. You think it was a battle, but really it was just a really super cold camp where some didn't even have shoes. Each state had a separate area to camp, it was just cool to see. Then we went back to Deb's home for relaxation and to get ready for NYC!!!

NYC - Travel Day 2

So the fireworks went well into the night on the 4th of July, with the M80's across the street rattling the house! But so what, it was the Fourth! The next morning the yard across the street was LITTERED with phone book pages - hysterical. And we hit the road running. Up through Ohio, across the tippy top of WVA and on into Pennsylvania. I was expecting things to be boring and flat. Boy, was I wrong. Absolutely beautiful, like driving in a really wide valley with mountains far away on either side. Gorgeous green grass even though it was July. Just lovely. Brian was kind enough to lend us his DVD player with a much bigger screen than we had, so the boys pretty much stuck to movies or books the entire trip. Close to the end we realized that we would be driving by Hershey, PA where my mom would be staying in a few weeks, so we drove in to leave her a surprise message at their campground's front desk. Not as simple as one would imagine. We got a full tour of Hershey before driving out completely another direction to find the campsite. We definitely have to go back there - who wouldn't love a city with Hershey kisses for lights? Yum!! And we bought a Hershey bar at the campsite for a snack and it was almost the best chocolate EVER - a silly Hershey bar, but it was so fresh and chocolaty. They need to put an "eat by" date on those things, kind of like beer except it's candy. Then on to NJ where we got lost yet again in the dark, but finally made it to Deb's welcoming house. Sigh. Long day, but fun and pleasant, plus bonus of Hershey!!

NYC Travel Day 1

I am rapidly forgetting about our NYC trip last summer, so I"m going to write what's left in my sad little brain.

Deb asked me in Spring 2008, "How about coming up to see me in NJ?" And I thought, "Great, why the hell would we want to go to NJ for vacation?" As if reading my mind, she commented "Did I mention that we are 1 hour out of NYC and the beaches, and I can write off your gas as a business expense." Needless to say, we were in.

We left on the 4th of July and drove up to our wonderful friend Brian's house, where we spent the afternoon walking across the purple people bridge in Newport and visiting a mostly abandoned (due to rain) 4th of July festival. There was an awesome racing car blow up maze for the kids, which unfortunately at the end, due to the seal to keep the house inflated, it looked like the bounce house was giving birth to the kids one at a time as they squeezed out the seal. Anyway, it was muddy and filthy and the kids had a blast. They even got to wade across a fountain before the guards came and told us to cut it out. You know you're having a good time when you are told to get out!! As we were walking back across the bridge, it started to POUR with rain and we all got very wet. Came home, dried off, ate dinner and set off several fireworks right at dusk. The kids loved the spinners and the racing cars, but were unnerved by the folks across the street who were blowing up entire phone books with M80's. Made me jump every time and what a storm of yellow pages! We walked up the street to the local park to watch fireworks, a really great small town feel without the kitch. It was so nice to hang out with Brian, since we really don't get enough time with him ever. The next day, it was an all day haul to NJ.

Now They Won't Stop

Iam not a baby/toddler person. At least not when I have to live with them. Other people's babies are great for a few hours, but then you get to give them back when they stop smiling. I couldn't wait for the boys to get out of toddlerhood and out of diapers. But now I want to stop time, put a brick on their heads to stop them growing. Now is awesome, now is so much fun. Will is a great conversationalist, a hysterical sense of humor, and so eager to do the right thing. Zack has slapstick down-pat. His timing is just right. And he loves to have fun and giggle. Buncha monkeys I live with and I am just loving it. But I know this time is fleeting. Z just lost his first tooth, Will keeps growing out of his clothes. Sigh. But still so many fun times. Zack and I went to the Brickey Mother/Son, Father/Daughter Kindergarten Dance on Friday. We went to Ruby Tuesday where his boutonniere kept getting smashed against the table as he drank the coveted Coca-Cola. They had disco balls at the dance and I have in my mind's eye a view of looking down at Z while he held my hands and spun around, the lights skimming past his freckled face. These are the golden years of childhood, aren't we lucky??

Perspective

So funny how talking to someone else gives you a whole new view. W is not an aggressive basketball player. That's a kind way to put it. We have to keep reminding him to keep his arms out in front and not hold one arm behind his back with the other hand and to keep involved in the game. I don't WANT to be those parents who coach from the sideline, but good God son, play ball!! And we see the kids reaching in and wrestling the ball away like those long ago parents trying to get Cabbage Patch dolls. And leaning on other's backs when they are guarding and as parents we get out of sorts about it. It just doesn't seem like a good game of basketball. But when I talk to other parents at halftime (in order to miss out on the sermon going on at court), a sweet sweet stay at home, home school mom tells me that it is not competetive enough and she wants her girl basically out there swinging!! Competely shockered. What we think is too aggressive is not aggressive enough for some. Who is right? We don't know any other perspective on how 8 year olds play ball. But W comes out of it saying he loves the game, and we try to point out things he does well (like guarding), so I guess it is all good. Unless they start requiring pads, mouthguards and cups. Then we may find another league.

Mmmm, ice creamish

My ice cream maker has been sitting in the corner of my kitchen for way too long. So I moved it into the garage. Then I felt bad for the poor thing sitting in the garage so I found the easiest ice cream recipe I could find. Pudding and milk. Yup, that's right, that's all. Any chocolate junkie can find chocolate pudding ($0.84 each) and milk (have to sell a kidney for a gallon of milk). I even put in the candy canes saved from Christmas but knew I would have to throw out the nasty things by 4th of July cause they hadn't been eaten yet. And now they're gone! So, is it really ice cream without cream? Ice pudding just sounds nasty, and it's actually really good. But then again, I do not have a sophisticated palate (had to Google that one for spelling, first time was palete which first comes up as a studio in Croatia, how bizarre!).

An irritating/interesting habit I have is to turn a random phrase into a song. So that last sentence? That OMC song, How Bizarre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfJe8hQ8ha0 Love it!!!!! One hit wonders rock. I can make the boys crazy singing songs for everything they say.

I've been surfing YouTube recently and found some great vlogs. I've been following Brotherhood2.0 for about 7 months now, ever since Hank came out with "Accio Deathly Hallows" but now I have found sxephil and whatthebuck and kevjumba. Another great way for me to find something else to do besides what needs to be done!! Speaking of which.....

Um, OK

And I thought last time was bad! It's been a while, I'll just start with 2008. The New Year has been really nice so far. Happy to be back home after traveling like crazy over Christmas and New Years. We always say we will stay at home but it never happens. I do know that we would be sorry if we didn't, so we do. Blah.

Recently went out to a lovely restaurant here in Knoxville called Oodles Uncorked. It's a wine bar and restaurant combined. Nothing like looking through a BOOK of wine options. I know Yellow Tail. Period. Not much else. I looked at my friend Stacey and said, "Would I like a wine with peach overtones?" I had no idea. So sophisticated, snort. But the food!!! Oh,......My.....God!!! Really wonderful. At first we each got cheese platters to sample. I now know that I don't prefer goat cheese. It's not like if someone offered it to me I would go, gag, no, never goat cheese. But I don't say mmmmmmm goat cheese. Too tangy and strange because I like tangy like gin & tonic but apparently not goat cheese. I'll shut up about the goat cheese now. Why do I carry on like that? I do it in person too and I'm sure people want to say "Shut up already" but they just nod their heads and let me prattle on and on and on......anyway. I had an $8 glass of wine. I remember the name because it is like mirror and tiramisu combined. Mirassou. I had to open up another window to get the spelling right, but dammit I remembered and I don't remember much!!! For the entre I had Moroccan chicken, baked in a tagine (another cool thing I learned that nite). So tender with figs and plums, yum. And a crappy tiramisu for dessert. Too bad about that because the rest of the meal was so yummy. And the restaurant was really pretty with a punched tin ceiling and twinkle lights everywhere. From there we walked (brrrr in my little black dress and 3" heels, what was I thinking I'm 5'10" as it is) to a bar called Sapphire. Had a yummy Tanqueray and tonic and a great time talking to the other 2 couples until they turned up the music and we started feeling old. Damn. So we left and went next door to the Brewery. Some got another drink and we played a great game of pool. Then it was 11 and we had to leave to relieve the babysitter. What a great evening with great friends.

We also spent another great evening with P&S and their son J recently playing Apples to Apples. Fun game, check it out. And I made the Blondies that Santa gave me for Christmas. Double yum and very rich. And drank WAY too much Kahlua on the rocks. Can't figure out why the Christmas weight isn't falling off yet, snort again.

Time to put the monkeys to bed. I'll try be more consistent, sorry!!