Softball, anyone?

Tonight, Tyler and I went to watch Frank play in the Fermi Seniors versus Staff and Faculty softball game. It was a fundraiser for "Relay for Life" and we had a blast. We joined Tyler's friend Olivia, her daddy Glen, and played on the swings, rooted for daddy and Elaine (Olivia's mommy), and ran around until we dropped! The faculty won and Frank had a single and two doubles for his team, including a few runs scored!

Taking in the game with a bag of chips!
There's daddy, in the outfield, can you see him?
Down on the field after the game. One of the faculty shaved his head and a senior was chosen to do it. Relay for Life has special meaning to this teacher and he was happy to oblige! Daddy and Elaine in the outfield during the Home-run Derby. The seniors won this, 17-15, despite a late run by the faculty-- the last player involved hit 9 home-runs!

Today's random thoughts....

Don't read this if you are easily grossed out!

Tonight at bathtime, I was paying bills at the computer and Frank was getting Tyler ready for his bath. This is the conversation I heard from the other room:

Frank (knocking at the door): "Tyler, are you ready to get into the tub?"

Tyler (as Frank enters the bathroom and notices him laying on top of the toilet, lid closed): "There's nothing to see in here!"

Frank: "Well there may be nothing to see, but I sure smell something."

Tyler (opening the toilet lid): "Look daddy, dinosaur poop! Mommy, get in here now!"

I, of course being the good mommy I am, run right to the bathroom and look into the toilet. I will spare you the rest of the details, but a few questions popped into my mind.....

Why are the 3 of us standing here looking at this, together?

How does such a small guy make such a BIG B.M.?

Green Thumb, Part 2

On Monday, I finally managed to get all of my plants into the ground. I think I was procrastinating a bit because they were doing so well in their little "peat pots". I hopefully will remember that they are there and that watering will be important if I ever expect to get anything from this! I was so good when I first started the seedlings-- I had everything labeled and sorted and ready to go. However, in all the moving around, the labels fell off, so I have no idea which plants are which. I guess that will be my extra incentive to sticking with my mini-garden!

Is this zucchini or squash? Maybe these are the pumpkins?
Or do these look like pumpkins? While I was trying to figure all this out, I did consult with the seed packages. Did you know that the seedlings I planted all look the same at this stage? Needless to say, the packages were not helpful!
In the meantime..... Frank and I have learned that without a fence around the yard, Tyler needs someone to stay with him. He had a ball playing in the sandbox and even called himself a "buckethead"-- with good reason, I suppose!

Oh, what a weekend!

As a little girl, we had the opportunity to go camping a lot. California's beautiful weather, great beaches and mountains afforded itself to that kind of vacation. I always loved being outdoors enjoying the special time we had. For years now, we have tried to go to Eagle Lake, in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. This is what Tyler calls camping. As a little girl, I used a tent, sleeping bags, and camping equipment. Tyler thinks a tent is only for the playroom and camping consists of a trailer with flat screen TV's, air mattresses, and a fridge! Anyways, we usually go for Columbus Day weekend, but this year we went for Memorial Day weekend instead and not one of us is sorry we did. We had a great time!

We left Friday night and getting out the door was a feat in itself! We couldn't decide if we should wait and leave later, or risk being stuck in traffic just like all the other long holiday weekends, but this weekend we decided to tough it out and leave right away. Lucky we did! We made great time, saw a lot of HIGHER gas prices ($4.29 in Danbury, Connecticut) and didn't see many cars on the road at all! The weather was beautiful all weekend long and as soon as the kids were awake and fed, they left the house! We played baseball, walked along the creek, went to the park, took golf cart rides looking for deer and turkeys, hung out around the fire, and even got to enjoy the Eagle Lake Beach Party!

Tyler didn't waste any time getting into the water. And it was COLD! None of us thought to bring suits for the kids, and Tyler's mom (who shall remain nameless) dressed him in a polo for the beach party?!? However, it was really nice out, so I took his shirt off. Shortly after this picture was taken, I reminded him that we didn't have any towels with us, either and that going further in was probably going to be a bit cold. He eventually came out and as soon as he did, he stopped in front of the life guard stand and announced (with his shorts and underwear halfway down) that he was going to take off his pants and go swimming!

Here is Tyler at the beach party. They had food, music, and a bounce house for the kids (I wanted to take a turn, but I guess they noticed that I was a bit bigger than the rest of the line-- maybe next time?).
Enjoying the campfire. Tyler TRIED his first marshmallow. I say tried-- he took a bite and then tried to put the other half back in the bag!
Skylar and Tyler "camping" in the loft at the trailer. Poor Sky was quite the trooper while everyone was running around this weekend, she had to protect her arm and she is doing a great job at it!

"Why can't I continue down this steep, rocky terrain, mommy? Why can't I?" Behind the trailer there is a creek and this Momma Bear didn't want anymore stitches on this child!
Posing at the beach-- behind him is the lake and a pier.
Posing for the camera during our wildlife hunt. We saw lots of deer, some turkeys, and as Tyler reminds me, we even saw a cat.
Messing around with the camera-- I really had no idea it was able to take a sepia shot! Maybe that is what the booklet said I never read!
Tyler and Conor enjoying the slide at the park.

Happy 6th Birthday, Conor!

We can't believe you are 6 today! Congratulations on becoming such a smart, bright, wonderful guy! We hope you have a great year and can't wait to see how big you are now!

Love,

Uncle Frank,

Aunt Jen &

Tyler

Arts and.... Craps?

Tonight Tyler got done really quickly with his dinner and his bath and we had some free time before quiet time. I asked him if he wanted to have some art time and he said "yes"! I pulled out his scissors and some stamps I had gotten awhile back for him and he went to town. He is a very bright guy, well spoken, and wise beyond his years.... except for the pronunciation of 'crafts'-- he says "craps"! It always makes me smile to hear him say it, so I decided to share my smile with you:

PS: By the time he was done with arts and craps time, he had blue fingers from the stamp ink. PROBABLY not a good idea to do stamping AFTER bath time!

PPS: Let me know-- music or no music?

Timber!

When we first looked at this house, I was amazed by all the trees and flowers that surrounded the house. The woman who lived here had a great Green Thumb and most people know that I do not! In the front of the house there was a smaller tree that I knew was going to be some type of flowering tree. We moved into the house in the Fall and I could not wait until the Spring when the tree bloomed. Needless to say, I have now waited 2 Springs and not one flower, leaf, bud, or anything came from this tree! The weekend was our weekend to say good-bye. We rented a chainsaw and I gave Frank my blessing, handed him the chainsaw and told him to go to town....


While I was keeping a watchful eye on my husband with the chainsaw, I managed to keep another eye on Tyler who took every toy he owned from the garage, played for about 30 seconds and then cleared them off the driveway so I could draw a rink for him to play on:
Did I mention that there are A LOT of trees, flowers, and plantings in the yard? On Sunday we had to head back out to finish the trimming, hedging, and weeding we didn't get to on Saturday. It was a feat all in its self but we managed to get most of it done! Because we were in the backyard, Tyler wanted to drive his "truck" around and help with his shovel. After awhile he had more fun playing in the flatbed part: He also pulled out his chalk and drew for a bit. I think there was more on his face, shirt, and pants when he was done! He also practiced some gold swings in the yard.

A peaceful night sleep?

I have never met anyone with a child who reported that they were well rested and if I ever do, it will be the first time I accuse anyone of lying. I have been meaning to post my thoughts on the subject of sleep for quite some time now. So here goes....

After Tyler came home from the hospital we went through the normal exhaustion phases-- you really have no idea what it is going to be like until it happens to you and you find yourself doing bizarre things at awful hours of the night (all mommies know what I mean). When he was about 2 months old, it really got easier (or we just blocked it all out) and he got up 2 times a night. Being a first time parent, I had all my books ready to consult with, the Internet, and any stranger on the street ready to give me their opinion about what should happen and what shouldn't happen at night. I'll admit. Nick at Night was our REALLY good friend for a few months and I now REALLY hate Roseanne. When Ty woke up, we would sit in the easy chair with him and watch TV while he ate. It worked and as they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"!

Fast forward to when Ty is 2. We moved shortly after his 2nd birthday. We had NO complaints, he slept great, was easy to put down and wouldn't get up too early in the morning. UNTIL Christmas 2006. We were in New York for the holiday. All I know is that I woke up one morning and my son was standing next to the bed, breathing on me and probably trying to figure out if I was still alive. He had climbed out of the pack and play and come over to me. We thought "how cute!." Yeah right! Over the next few months, we went though the crib tent at home, 2 toddler beds, and finally settled on a double bed. We bribed, we got upset, we let him stay up, and we gave him medicine (with the pediatricians blessing, of course). We had NO IDEA what to do. We tried the Nanny technique and ended up with holes in our plaster walls. He would have 4-5 hour tantrums in the middle of the night. And since we now hated Roseanne, Folgers became our new best friend! After a few months, things settled down again.

Fast forward to the present. We have been having problems again. We have, once again, tried EVERYTHING! Stickers, tattoos, money, taking toys away, sleep charts, special treats..... The Sticker Fairy worked for awhile, but then it lost it's effectiveness. All day long I supervise people about effective behavior management and I could not manage my 3 year olds behavior! We are now in the Super-Ignore stage (no more water/ potty/change of attire/ monsters excuses here)! I have also found that turning off the great monitor (I just had to have) also works (click here to see the demon in our house!).

Part of the reason I had to post this now was because Frank said that every day he has come home this week, he has found wierd things going on in the house. All me. I take the blame. I need sleep. Last night I tried to throw the dirty towels into the coat closet instead of the landry chute. I also mamged to buy 2 diet cokes today at lunch because I forgot I had already gone downstairs 15 minutes earlier and done the same thing.

Thanks for letting me ramble. And as they say, "what doesn't kill us only makes us stonger"!

After you read this, please knock on wood 3 times, this week has been really good!

Hockey, anyone?

Okay, the secret is out. Tyler loves hockey.

While we were eating dinner last night, Frank said that hockey season was almost over. Tyler replied that there was still basketball. I asked him who his favorite basketball team is-- IU (!), who his favorite baseball team is-- Yankees, who his favorite football team is-- Packers... So far, he was batting .100. UNTIL I asked him who is his favorite hockey team was. He said the Detroit Red Wings! I thought that Frank was going to have a heart attack right there, at the table. He held it together, though. Frank has been, and always will be, a New York Islanders fan. Grew up watching them, and I am sure that they will be on his TV when Tyler is Frank's age. Anyways, a bit more background on the Red Wings. We think his fascination with them comes from Frank, ironic enough! One of the teams that Frank plays on is the Red Wings. So hopefully this is a stage and Tyler will make his dad proud one day and answer that question differently....

Tonight I was running around putting stuff away and I came into the kitchen/ice rink and found this:

I guess a heated game was going on, so I took a seat on the floor to watch/play and I looked over and saw this:
I guess Puck didn't want to miss out on the action. By the way, she is sitting on Frank's hockey bag, which he had dragged up from the basement to go play tonight. I also decided that it would be a good time to try and catch some real hockey action, so I took a little video. Watch what goes on in my kitchen! I was really kind of scared to be on the floor in close proximity to his stick! As I was sitting there, I was able to notice what kind of shape my kitchen cabinets were in-- they were all dented and dinged up. Not to mention the refrigerator and dishwasher are in a very sorry state, and I am sure there demise will be sped up by a certain hockey player at 4 Brookside Circle-- no worry! I look forward to the kitchen remodel! Enjoy the video!

By the way, when I ask him what the score is, he says "50 miles". Huh?

Happy 60th Birthday, Grandpa!

Happy Birthday Grandpa! We hope you have lots of great fishing, yummy Belgian beer, and a terrific Packer season this year!

Love, Tyler

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

I have tried for many years now to think of a great gift that I could give my mom that would let her know how much I appreciate her and everything she has always done for me and continues to do for me. It is not possible. I always find myself thinking of all the great things she did for us as kids and when we got older. I remember being a pain in the butt teenager and being upset that I would not have the Guess jeans, or even a car when I turned 16... But now that I am a mom I understand that you can not give anyone everything. What I can give is my love, my time, and my patience and that is what I got from my mom. She was there to paint costumes for my kindergarten class (I was a grape in the Purple People Eater Play!), she made sure that I always sold tons of cookies for Brownies so I could go to camp. She also drove to soccer games in far off towns with my crazy friends and never minded even though she was one of the only mother's there. When I got married, she handled most of the plans since I was far away, and now that she is a grandmother, she spoils her grandson like any grandma can!

Thanks for everything mom and I love you!

Here is a little poem for all my mommy friends out there-- as well as for my mom! I love you! I hope you all have a wonderful day and are able to spend it with your family, relaxing, and taking care of yourself!

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom -I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.
Before I was a Mom -I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom -I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom -I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom -I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom -I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.
Before I was a Mom -I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Green Thumb?

Or at least purple....

Every year I have this great idea to plant a garden and every year I think about it and every year I forget to start it. Not this year. I was bound and determined to do it. I bought my seeds and my planting material early on (in March) and remembered to start it last week. Tyler and I planted a whole tray of different types of pumpkins and another tray of zucchini and squash. I chose these because in the summer we eat a lot of zucchini and squash when we BBQ. I chose the pumpkins because of a house on our circle. We went there trick-or-treating at their house and their pumpkins were amazing-- as big as Tyler amazing! So I figured I would give them a try as well.

We have been checking them every day and this was what I found this evening! I can not believe that I have actually managed to grow something and not kill it! The tricky part will be next week when I go to move seedlings outside and get them to grow in the yard! Wish me luck!

Just clowning around!

This weekend, we went to the Melha Shriner's Circus. I thought that after the Walking with Dinosaurs disaster, that this would be a cheaper mistake. I also thought that Grandma and Grandpa would like to go with Tyler to something fun. So Sunday afternoon we set out. I made sure that Tyler had a great nap and was well rested. The plan was to take in the Circus and then go out to eat. After all, what kind of circus would the Shriner's put on? I fully expected to see a bunch of clowns dressed up, riding around in little cars like they do at the 4th of July parade. I am proud to say that there were no little cars and because the circus ended 3 hours after it began, we had to forget the dinner plans! We all had a great time and I would definitely go back next year!

When we got to the circus, Tyler was a little aprehensive and aloof. After awhile, he seemed to think the clowns were funny, but he would still not go near them. THEN I told him it was time to auctually go inside the building-- that was when he really got nervous (I of course had flashbacks of the dino show in Amherst!). But as soon as we got inside and he saw the elephants, the switch flipped and this was a great thing for him! Here are the boys posing together and Tyler's reaction to seeing that there are elephants there. Of course, one of them was doing his business and Tyler was very enthralled with that-- after all, he is a 3-year-old BOY!
Family hugs at the circus!
Before the circus began, in the 3 rings in the middle they had pony rides (Ty kept calling them lambs-- why, I am not sure, he even knows that a foal is a baby horse...), face painting, and elephant rides. We tried to persuade him to go on one before the circus began, but to no avail. Then, right as intermission began, Ty said "I want to go on the elephant!". Grandpa took off to buy the tickets and we waited patiently in line. Tyler was so good up there, I though for sure he was change hsi mind at the last minute, but he didn't. He even touched the elepphants rough skin and hair.
As we were riding the elephants, they started preparing for the second half and it included TIGERS (in the cages behind Ty's back)! Ty was so excited! The lion tamer was really cool and the tigers even jumped through the fire ring! Not a bad circus by the Shriners!

One, two, three strikes you're out!

This weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Perry came to town. Frank and Grandpa got to take a trip to Yankee stadium in the Bronx to see the Yankees play. They had a great time! I only wish that there were a few oother tickets for all of us to join them! They drove to Long Island, parked the car and then took the train into the city. They decided that they were so early for the game, that they had time to take in some of the sights.... here is what they saw!

First stop-- McSorely's! Grandpa enjoying his beer and burger at McSorely's Ale House in the Village. A GREAT Irish bar to hang out in if you have time and don't have to be anywhere in the morning (if you know what I mean). Don't expect good service, but the atmosphere you will soak up is invaluable! It is one of the oldest Ale Houses in the country and only recently let women in. Other than a great burger and really spicy mustard, you will get two things in here-- light or dark, beer that is. And is is two-fers. You order one, you get two! Grandpa posing with the "Babe" in monument park. The reason why grandpa wanted to go this year is because it is the last season before the new park is opened. Luckily, Monument Park will be moving across the way into the new staduim-- eventually I will visit!Frank and grandpa posing in the outfield of Yankee Staduim. It was cold that day and they had to bundle up to keep warm! But the Yanks brought home a victory and the overcast skies were soon forgotten!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Happy Birthday, Papa! I hope you have a great day and we wish you a year of wonderful golfing and a winning lottery ticket!

Love, Tyler

Okay, I lied!

I have been trying for MONTHS now to get a video uploaded on the machine and I did it! Not to mention it's midnight and I will be plumb pooped tomorrow, but who cares!

Anyways, I lied, because now THIS is the last post of vacation. I had to get a little snip of Ty swimming. And yes, he does say "Dude" in this video (is he 3????)! So hopefully it works and if not I am sure that there will be plenty of other late nights fighting with the camera and the computer! Enjoy!

Cheers!

I promise this is the last post of our Florida trip......

When I was in college, I used to go to Florida with my family. During my senior year, my friend Kelly joined us. We had a great time. There was this bar, Dusseldorf's, that we would visit each night. It was a great place-- you could sit outside, people watch, drink good beer (they have an extensive menu from around the world), listen to music, and relax. One night when Kelly and I were there with my parents, we were talked into doing Karaoke (who's idea was THAT?). Anyone who really knows me KNOWS that I can NOT carry a tune. We chose Tainted Love as the song we sang and to this day, my parents still do not let me live it down! When we finished our song, the waitress gave us mugs and I still have mine (it's over 10 years old)!

Anyways, during our trip to Ft. Myers last week, we all went back to Dusseldorf's. Lucky for the patrons there, it was not a karaoke night!


Frank and I enjoyed some good German beer. I had a Edelweiss. I also had a Leffe Blonde to toast my dad, the connoisseur of Belgian Beers! While the adults enjoyed their beer, the kids ate their ice cream and were able to run around. Tyler even added to the ambiance and went up to the D.J. and asked that he "play some Bruce for my daddy."
Towards the end of the week, Conor asked "When are we going to go back to that bar?" We had to go back on our last night there and the kids all took turns at playing the ring toss game Dusseldorf's had set up (after they finished their ice cream-- again!). I am sure that whoever put it there did not envision two 3 year olds and a 5 year old taking turns! Here is Tyler right after he got the ring on the hook. Thank goodness he is easily entertained!
Our group picture on the last night. We all have big smiles on our faces!

Feel better soon, Skylar!

Today while she was playing at the park, Skylar fell and hurt her arm. As I write this, they are at the hospital awaiting the news of how it will be fixed. That's right, the girl out of these 3 crazy kids is the first to have a broken bone! Who would have thought? But for some reason, I can believe it! We are thinking about her and hope that Aunt Laurette and Uncle Jim are doing okay too and are holding it together! Tyler told us to tell her that the "hockey players all hope she gets better soon"! Were thinking about you, Sky!

Feel better soon, Skylar! Get that arm back so you can do more Missy Dissy Dances for us!