Thank God For Friday

I am so happy today is friday. This has felt like the longest week in the world! Especially since yesterday's fast felt like a week in itself. I am actually looking forward to cooking a little today...

There are 2 things I love to make for Shabbat. Challah and chocolate chip cookies.

Seriously, if anyone ever wants to do a food swap, I'm your girl. I actually have a little swap thing going with my MIL. I make her 2 challahs every week in exchange for a few pieces of shnitzel (breaded chicken, fried) for my kids. But my kids were getting kinda bored of the shnitzel so I sometimes just make them challah. Anyway, anyone ever want to swap any shabbat food... give me a call. I'm not really in the mood to wash dishes so I think I'll just grill anything else I make for Shabbat.... I love grilling. Whoever invented the grill is a genius.... food tastes good and no pots or dishes to wash. What can be better?

Anyway,

I was leaving the grocery store the other day, and a guy stopped to tell me that he loves my car. He wanted details about it and I gladly gave them because I love my car too. He said I have a sweet SUV.... and then the dreaded question... "Can you tell me how much a car like that costs?"

Ummmm.... AWKWARD. I got on the defensive. "Well my father in law worked for FORD so I got a really good deal... I mean it was so good, it was better than what the dealers get. And like it was the auto show so we also got $1000 cash back and a year of free financing....." And, he was all like "Yeah, but like if I was interested in buying this car how much would it cost?" And I was so embarrassed to say it out loud so I said, " You know, I really am not sure because I didn't pay this much, but like probably around $50,000. But nobody really wants SUVs these days, you could probably get a great price" And he responded, "Oh, because of the Obama thing?" And I'm like shit! What Obama thing? I have no idea what he's talking about. I really gotta read the newspaper and watch the news more often. But I simply said, "Oh, I just meant gas is really expensive these days. And apparently I am an idiot and know nothing about what's going on in this world." I think they were giving tax refunds if you buy a new car? Is that what he was talking about? Am I totally making this up?

Anyway, today is friday, and I get to hang with my friends and my family, and eat yummy food, and possibly read a newspaper or two.

The 2nd Most Dreaded Day Of The Year

Today is Tisha B'av.... the 2nd most dreaded day of the year (the first being Yom Kippur). No eating, no drinking, no wearing leather shoes, no makeup or lotion, no sex..... could they possibly think of any more ways to torture us???

Whatever, so far it's all good. I'm babysitting for my niece and nephew for a little while and then we are off to do something fun... not sure what. Maybe bowling, maybe chucky cheese, if only the exploratorium were open... that's a good, easy one. Oh well, I have time to think about it. We have all day to do nothing but count down till it's over. Admit it you all do it too. You look at the time and you aren't thinking, "Oh, it's 12:00" you are really thinking, "8 hours 53 minutes till it's over."

I just noticed that I never finished this blog...

There was a knock on my door around 12:30. It was the police! Apparently before Alyssa threw the phone at my nephew's head, she called 911. Oops.

Well, after that incident, my kids and I snuck into my neighbor's backyard to jump on her trampoline and eat popsicles... not at the same time in case you are reading this, Aliza.

Then we went to chucky cheese. Now it's 3:18 and the headache is starting to set in. I'll end it here. Have an easy fast, those of you who are fasting out there......

Just A Question....

The other night, my kids had a bake sale.






They made $24.14 selling




and cups of fresh blueberries.


It went kind of late because friends and family came over and stayed a while. When we were cleaning up, a friend walked by with her husband and kids and asked if she could use our bathroom. She lived kind of far and was walking home, and desperately needed to go. Anyway, I saw her the next day and she said that if I wasn't home she would probably have just peed on the side of the bike path because it was dark (9 pm) and she really needed to go. This reminded me of something I needed to ask all of you.

Don't judge me, this is just a question.....

Let's just say you decided to go blueberry picking with your family one sunday. And on the way there you and your daughter drank a water bottle. And when you were almost there, you both had to pee. And you didn't want to stop because you were meeting 7 or 8 other families there and didn't want to be the last ones. And when you get there you ask where the bathroom is and are told that there are 2 porto-potties at the back of the parking lot. And you go take a look because even though you would never use one yourself, you might try to convince your 8 year old that it's the only toilet and she has to use it. But when you open the door and almost throw up and see nastiness you won't even let your daughter go near (which by the way kudos to her she said "no way"... that's my girl) , and your daughter is telling you she can't wait much longer....

What do you do?????

What if you walked a little bit behind the house that was there, and see no one is home. And that there is a small pine tree that is just out of sight of all your friends and all the other people there.
What if it looked kind of like this one. Maybe a little wider and a little taller.




And maybe this little pine tree was calling out to you because it was just there. only one. And let's just say that you tell your daughter to quickly take off her clothes and pee. And while she's doing that some guy calls out to you from 20 feet away and says "Hey, miss. You shouldn't be back there." But you just look straight ahead and tell her it's ok.

When she is finished, would you take your turn and pee behind this little hidden tree, which obviously isn't too hidden? What if you are wearing a little jean skirt and didn't have to take anything off? Just some quick wardrobe maneuvering? What if the man walked away and you knew there was at least 30 seconds before he could possibly come back? Would you do it?


Just a question....






*Ali, I know you won't judge, I remember your coffee cup at the border story.

Kids LOVE Cell Phones

This is how you know your kids have been using your cell phone.....

1. When you suddenly have a new contact and the person's name is Agj and his cell number is 52.

2. When a real estate agent calls you asking if you tried to text him because he got a whole bunch of random letters sent to him in a text message.

3. When you see 9 pictures of this...

4. When you know you didn't take these pictures at Nordstrom one night....

5. When you are looking through your pictures from blueberry picking and you find these...

6. When your friend calls and asks if Alyssa can stop calling her.

7. When you look through your mobile album and find some extreme close ups...and random photo shoots...

Can't seem to find the close ups, but I have at least 25 pics of Will's eyes and nose.




And now for some crazy Alyssa pictures....

"Look what I found outside, Mommy"

She came downstairs like this one morning!

How does such a cute kid make such gross faces???

Oh, did I mention we got Rock Band. It's the older one for PS2. But still... it's really fun and only cost $50....

Will's feet are kinda short so when he does the drums... we help him with the pedal and pray to God we don't get hit in the head with the drum sticks....

My weekend..... And Jeff (...sigh)

I had a really nice weekend. I took Jessica and Emily for mani/pedis on friday, got together with friends on shabbat, and let my kids make a "carnival" for themselves in my front yard saturday afternoon.

Sunday we went blueberry picking! It was a bit of a drive, 1 1/2 hours each way, but we all had a lot of fun! We brought home 6 1/2 pounds of yummy, sweet, beautiful berries!

Um.... did I get implants while I was there?????

Emily wants to have a bake sale, so I'll be busy baking some blueberry muffins and a blueberry tart... I might throw in some chocolate chip cookies and Will's favorite rainbow cake. So, if anyone wants to stop by for a snack.... you know where to find us. Well some of you do :)




And now a bit of chit chat about Big Brother....


I normally don't like the dumb person on Big Brother, but there is something charming about Jordan. I love watching her and Jeff hang out. They are just so cute together. Last week Jordan admitted that she can't tell time on a non-digital clock. Jeff kept trying to help her understand what a quarter to eight was.... She still couldn't get it, and it was hilarious to watch... hahahahaha. But there is just something so sweet and innocent about her. Maybe it's the southern accent. Or maybe I have it all wrong and I'm really obsessed with Jeff because he's such a cutie and so nice and she just happens to be with him a lot. Whatever it is, they are my favorites on Big Brother. I don't like Lydia anymore! And Russell is a total jerk. I might even start liking Jessie if he doesn't turn into a jerk this week (he's head of household).

A Great Day....

I was driving through the Starbucks drive thru sipping my iced latte when I ran into a friend who had walked there. She was about to start walking on the bike path with her baby and stroller after she got her latte, so I decided to join her. I quickly drove home, changed, put Alyssa in her stroller, and ran to the bike path to meet her. We walked for almost a mile and then her baby started screaming. So she went to go feed him and I continued to walk. Alyssa was being really good in the stroller. Reading a book, sipping her Starbucks ice water... everything tastes better in a Starbucks cup. Anyway, I walked to the next major street and then turned around to walk home. Alyssa kept pointing to dandelions so I stopped and picked some for her. Truthfully my left calf has been killing me lately, so I kind of needed a break anyway. I continued along jogging, walking, jogging, walking, complaining about my leg to Alyssa..... When we were 3/4 mile from home, Alyssa started getting a little bored and kept trying to climb out of her stroller. So, since my leg was killing me, I decided to let her walk the rest of the way home. She picked flowers, pointed out all the garbage people left on the ground, and walked on the yellow lines. She really liked picking flowers, and I felt that liking flowers was a good thing to encourage, so I helped her and we made a beautiful bouquet which we put in her cup of water....



















Now I have pretty flowers for Shabbat! Thanks Alyssa! :)

A Basketball Court..... maybe

So, the hubby and I decided that we need a basketball court in our backyard. I was almost as excited as the kids!!! We (me and the kids) have been wanting one for a long time. I got it all priced out... we were all ready to go. Then the guy who was going to do it (Angelo) asked me for our Plat of Survey. Hmm... yeah, where is that thing? I looked everywhere. We keep all the "house" stuff in one folder and it just wasn't there. Angelo took a set of plans we had written up 7 years ago when we thought we were going to do an addition to our house. It had a small image of our Plat of Survey on it.... maybe that would be good enough to get a permit so they could start working. Of course it wasn't. I went to Town Hall to get a copy of it. Guess what? They don't have one. So I went to meet with the head inspector to figure out what my options were. While I waited for her, I saw an information sheet that listed all the reasons one would need a permit. I must live in the most strict neighborhood there is. And truthfully I probably "needed" a permit about ten times already.

This is the list:

YOU NEED A PERMIT FOR:

all electrical and plumbing work

air conditioning and heating work

lawn sprinkler systems

hot water heaters

dog runs

steps

porches

patios

fences

driveways and sidewalks

garages and sheds

replacement windows and doors

roofing

gutters and downspouts

alarm systems

tuckpointing

YOU DON'T NEED A PERMIT FOR:

painting (oh really, thanks. i can paint my house without your permission.)

changing ceiling tiles

carpeting or floor tiles

installing hardwood floors

changing cabinet faces, counter tops

changing existing light fixtures

normal installation of household appliances

That is totally ridiculous! They want us to pay $60-$250 to do these things. There might be 8 things I did without a permit, unless you work for these crooks people. Then I of course had a permit each time. I mean, I'm surprised they don't charge us to change a freaking light bulb!

Anyway, the first person told me that I could hire a surveyor to make me a new Plat of Survey for $300-$400. Umm... yeah, no thanks. The second person, who was in love with Alyssa, told me to call this other guy and see what he can do for me. Yeah, well he was very nice when we spoke, but hasn't called me back all week! I call him everyday now. Either we'll be best friends or he'll have me killed one of these days. I figure if I keep leaving him messages he'll have to call back eventually.... right? Just say yes so I'll feel better......

ALYSSA!!!!!!!!

I must apologize for not posting a blog yesterday... I was buried under a mountain of laundry.



Jessica is home from camp!!!! Totally exhausted, but back... and we are so happy to have her here with us again.

On a side note, check out this hilarious picture I found when I googled laundry pile....



I mean, that might be a load of laundry all on it's own.... it's HUGE! Definitely don't want to see the girl that those belong to. Holy Crap!

Anyway, Jessica came home monday afternoon. She was sooo exhausted! She went to bed at 6:15 and slept till 7:20 the next morning!!!! I guess I could have written tuesday's blog while the kids were at camp, but my head felt like it was gonna explode from the torture I call Alyssa.

It all started when she decided to wake up at 1 am and not go back to sleep. I turned on the Sarah McLachlan CD she likes to listen to when she goes to bed. It usually takes 2-3 songs. I heard the whole CD and she was still not asleep. Finally, not even sure what time, she fell asleep.... unfortunately it was in my bed, lying sideways with her legs on top of me.

So I woke up exhausted as usual, with a terrible migraine, and a pain that shot through my head every time I bent down. During breakfast, I left Alyssa alone for a few minutes to get Will's swim stuff together for camp. When I heard the loud crash, I ran downstairs and found Alyssa and the floor and the table and the chairs covered in milk and reese's puffs. She apparently didn't like Will's breakfast and threw his ceramic bowl (which he made himself and uses every single morning) onto the floor.

Later, when I recovered from that mess, I decided to take her to Border's to read books. She was hungry, so I gave her some lunch... (pasta). I looked at some books for a few minutes and when I looked back at Alyssa I almost lost it. Actually I think I told her that she is the worst child in the whole world. She chewed up the noodles and then spit them onto herself and her stroller and the floor.

I seriously wanted to just go back to bed and start the day over!!! Or even just go to bed and take a nap..... :)

At least I know today can't be any worse.

Although, you never know....




P.S. I was semi-productive today despite the migraine and crazy child, and had a really nice barbecue dinner with my sister and sister in law. Thanks for coming guys!

Not Me Monday

Well, it's not me monday again and you know how I feel about talking in the negative....

Last december I bought Will a Bakugan starter set for Chanukah. I never gave it to him because I think that Bakugan is stupid. He actually has asked me for a Bakugan at least once a month since last october. I finally gave him the stupid thing it yesterday since the husband promised to buy him one if he skated well at his hockey class.... They came home and I was all "look what we (meaning me) got you!!!!" I still think they are stupid. I don't care what every kid in the neighborhood says.

If you don't know what Bakugan is.... it's a little ball that opens up into an ugly thing when you throw it on the floor. Like I need more toys for my kids to throw on the floor!

On Shabbat I had to walk (can't drive on shabbat) my 8 year old to her friend's house at 6:30 p.m. for a sleepover party. It was a mile away. I decided to be nice yes, that does happen sometimes and take Alyssa with us in her stroller so the husband could have an easy night with Will. I also for some crazy reason decided to take Alyssa's friend Mia (18 months) because I was using my double stroller and had an extra seat. And cuz she's really cute!

When we got to the girl's house, I said goodbye to Emily but Alyssa wanted to get out of the stroller... she thought she was going too. Luckily my brother lives across the street so I decided to hang there for a little and let Mia and Alyssa play with my niece and nephew. When I decided it was time to go, I put them both in the stroller and started walking.... I got to the bike path and Alyssa started to lose it. She wanted OUT! So being the mom that gives into everything, I let her walk with me. She had so much fun running and walking on the bike path! Then Mia wanted to come out, so I took her out and she ran on the bike path with Alyssa. When I got to a major street I buckled them both in. I walked a few blocks and when I passed the park near Mia's house, learned a valuable lesson. LISTEN TO THESE WORDS OF WISDOM!

NEVER, EVER TAKE 2 CRABBY ONE YEAR OLDS PAST A PARK AT 8 P.M.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will end the story there. And as I'm sure you can all guess. I did give in and take them to the park... but only for a few minutes.
(Josh, I know that you are freaking out that they were even awake at 8:00, but in my defense, Alyssa had a late nap.)

One more thing....

I went to Will's camp to pick him up on friday and guess who I drove past in the parking lot???? The guy from "The Fight!" He looked at me when I drove by him. I parked and started walking towards the door at the same time as him. He didn't say a word, but held both doors open for me. I took it as "Yeah, you're right. I was an asshole. I was in a crappy mood and took it out on you. No hard feelings right? I mean, what was I thinking? Let's have it out in the office? What kind of loser am I?"