Dinner with a side of greivances

Last Saturday night we went out to dinner.  We went 2 miles from the house to a nearby Asian restaurant we all enjoy.  Within that 5 minute drive, the family managed to annoy me.  Not just one person, but all 3.  Now that is some fast acting going from feeling perfectly happy to feeling highly annoyed in no time flat.  It wasn't even the same thing that all 3 of them did collectively.  Nope!  Jeff, Ian and Sam each had their own thing they were doing that bugged the hell out of me. 

I bit my tongue and held in how I was truly feeling. Just because I was annoyed didn't mean I needed to take it out on them. At some point the feeling will go away and I'll be back to my happy self.  I guess I was quieter than usual because as soon as we sat down, Jeff asked me "Are you alright?" 

I answered honestly and said, "No, I am very annoyed right now by each of you."  I then listed what each of them did to bug me. I proceed to go around the table and one by one, told them what was bothering me.  By the time I got done speaking, I instantly felt better.  Just getting it off my chest and into the universe made me feel like a huge cloud was lifted from my mood.

I am pretty sure by the expressions on Jeff, Ian and Samantha's faces that none of them were expecting any of this.  Without missing a beat Samantha fills in the quiet moment that follows (otherwise known as shock) and says, "This is what is annoying me about all of you." She then proceeds to go around the table and tell us what we do that bugs her.  Then Jeff takes his turn and then Ian.  This is how our dinner conversation went that night at the restaurant.

We are all quickly amused by this turn of events and start laughing. Not only that, but we agree with each other that we've accurately described that each of our "quirks" that bug us are pretty much dead-on accurate.  You just can't get mad at the truth.  ;)

We are soon laughing hysterically each time another one of us speaks.  We are enjoying this dinner very much.  I am sure if there was anyone near us over-hearing what we were saying, they would be appalled.  But it was very funny! 

Jeff did say by the time we leave the restaurant this conversation needs to stop. However, on the walk back to the car, he did automatically go to the passenger side and let me drive us home.  It appears he was listening to every word.

I commented we've now turned the last night of Passover into the Seinfeld holiday, Festivus; the airing of grievances.

Meeting SDW ♥

My sister had a baby!   Sarah Dylan Wronsky was born on June 7, 2017.  She is beautiful and sweet and everything amazing.  Sarah joins big sister Rachel who is 3.5 years old and thrilled to have a sister.   In fact, Rachel thinks of Sarah as her baby. She is very possessive about her. 

Lori and Ben had Sarah's baby naming in early July and we had the best visit meeting Sarah and spending time with the family.  Now there is another reason to add to the list for wanting to move to Orlando. 

Ian's rockstar kind of weekend

About a month ago Ian told me how much he misses his relatives in Orlando.  I had an idea that if it was ok with Jeff and Ian was up for it, he could fly down to Florida for the long Memorial Day holiday all on his own. And so that's just what Ian did.  From Saturday, May 27th to Tuesday, May 30th, Ian had 4 days he will never forget.  

Years from now when Ian reflects back on his life, this trip to Florida will inevitably be at the top of his favorite things to remember.  My dad, stepmother, mom, stepfather, both sisters, niece and brother-in-law all went way overboard in showing Ian a good time.  OMG!  In my kind of way of putting things, they could either go BIG or go home and they went BIG!  Really BIG!   So big that I was a bit concerned we wouldn't be able to get Ian on a flight back home.  I am pretty sure part of him would rather stay in Orlando being adored by all these relatives who love him and don't bug the shit out of him like his sister does.

Ian said he would love it if everyone (all 9 relatives) could be with him the whole time he was visiting.  He wanted everyone to show up everywhere he was going.  I told him that wasn't realistic. He should know that everyone was fighting over him and they all wanted him for themselves the whole time he was in Orlando.  Somehow they managed a rotating schedule that made sense and Ian stayed a night at Dad/Rita's house, a night at Lori/Ben/Rachel's house and a night at Mom/Jim's house.

What Ian didn't know was there were many, many surprises in store for him.  And yes, everyone was going to be at almost every place he went.  My family raised the bar ridiculously high!

Saturday:  Dad, Rita and Meghan picked him up at the airport.
Saturday lunch:  Surprise!  Everyone was at Carrabas for lunch.
Saturday afternoon:  Surprise!  Indoor Skydiving with Dad, Rita and Meghan
Sunday evening:  dinner at Sweet Tomatoes with Dad and Rita.  

Sunday morning:  Everyone (except Lori & Ben) went to the make-your-own pancake place.  A favorite restaurant among our family.
Sunday afternoon:  Mom, Jim, Rachel and Ian spent the day at New Smyrna Beach.
Sunday evening:  Ian went for sushi with Lori, Ben and Rachel

Monday:  The Sanford Zoo with Lori, Ben and Rachel. This was a special request from Ian on wanting to go here.
Monday later in the day/dinner:  Surprise!  Dave and Buster's with everyone.  Mom planned a little party for Ian's upcoming birthday and had a cake ready to go.

Tuesday morning/afternoon:  Time spent with Mom and Jim before the airport with Mom-Mom's world famous oatmeal. 

WOWEE!  Ian had a jam packed 3 days going to all these awesome places with his favorite people.

I love that Ian got this time and this amazing experience.  And I love that my family treated Ian like a rockstar and went all out.

10 years later

Gosh this blog is a bit overdue.  I've been meaning to write and have lots to say, but life is getting in the way.   And I am ok with that.  I've come far in the sense that I don't feel this enormous self-imposed pressure to stay up late and write.   By the time the end of the day comes, I am exhausted and falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.  I've also become a bit obsessed lately making Apple Cinnamon Bread from the apples we picked at the orchard last week.  More on that later...but let's just say 11 loaves of bread don't cook themselves.  :)

About 2 weeks ago, we took a trip to Gatlinburg, TN for 5 days.  Jeff, the kids and I met up with Dad, Rita, Lori, Ben, Rachel, Meghan and Meghan's boyfriend Bradley.  The 11 of us coming together is pretty spectacular.  We don't do fancy, but boy do we have fun!    

We used to go to Gatlinburg each October.  Somehow through the years, the destination started changing and we've done cruises, Myrtle Beach, Cocoa Beach, and other locations instead.  In fact, we had a hard time remembering the last time we did Gatlinburg as a family.  Dad and Rita still go each year, but having us all be together is a different story.  It turns out Samantha wasn't even born yet.  Lori wasn't married yet; she just met Ben 2 months prior!  And Meghan was way too young to have a live-in boyfriend.  It was 10 years ago that Jeff, Ian and I last touched Tennessee soil.  And seeing as Ian was just a little over a year old, I am not sure how much his feet actually touched the ground.

October 2006

October 2016

Ten years later, our group has expanded and the laughter has gotten louder.  We are a crazy bunch, but ones who love each other deeply, with of course a little (or a lot?) of teasing thrown in too.  There is no one else I'd want to call 'family'.  XOXO!

The babiest of baby steps

Now that the boys are the ripe old age of 11, they had asked for lots of freedom to be able to do things on their own, unsupervised by their parents -- go to the arcade, the beach, rent a surrey, etc.   Leslie and I, along with the dads, had discussed in advance (without their knowledge), what we'd be comfortable allowing them to do on their own. One thing we agreed to was going to Uncle Bill's for breakfast -- completely on their own!   This is HUGE!  First time going to a restaurant and being responsible for every aspect of the process; getting a table, ordering, paying the bill and leaving an appropriate tip.

Our house was as close to Uncle Bill's as you could get.  The boys were super excited about being able to get breakfast on their own.  We spoke with them the night before and quizzed them on how much tip they should leave based on different amounts the check could be.

When it was time for them to go, I stood out on our porch and watched the boys cross the street and walk into the restaurant.  I texted Leslie and wrote, "I have confirmation that the boys went into the restaurant."   One minute later Ian texted me with "Mom we made it."   Seriously, how adorable is that?

Here's the funniest part of the story...Leslie's parents had spent the night at her beach house and decided to go to Uncle Bill's for breakfast.  Meanwhile, my mom & Jim decided to go to Uncle Bill's too for breakfast.  Neither set of grandparents realizing the other set was going to be there.  Uncle Bill's is a pretty big restaurant and wouldn't you know, Both Mom/Jim and Uncle Bernard/Aunt Beth got seated not too far away from where Ian and Max were.   The boys were surrounded by their grandparents!

Uncle Bill's has ridiculously oversized portions.  One of the best things about this place is ordering breakfast on one day and having leftovers for the next 2 days.  Yum!  The boys decided to split an order of cinnamon roll pancakes. As reported by my Aunt who had a clear view, instead of putting the pancakes on two plates, they just ate from the same plate. This must've been adorable to see in action. 

I couldn't take it any longer and had to go in and shoot a picture of the two of them, without them seeing me.

These boys are just too cute!   This was the babiest of baby steps in terms of independence and getting some freedom.  I was able to watch them walk into the restaurant.  And, they were surrounded by not one, but two sets of grandparents!  hehehehee.

The boys were giddy with the how great it went and wanted to go on the boardwalk to get lunch.  Ha!  Not likely.  We said this was it for this week and we can discuss what you can do next summer in another year. 

OC, NJ for the win!

Magical: beautiful or delightful in such a way as to seem removed from everyday life.

I love this definition of the word "magical".  It completely sums up our week at the beach.  Bringing our extended family together with my sister/brother-in-law/niece, mom/stepfather, and cousins has got to be one of the best feelings ever.  And to be with everyone for 7 days at one of the best beaches in the country (Ocean City, NJ) is magical.

I've never had a week of time go by faster.  I felt like we had just arrived when it was time to start packing up for our return trip home. 

This is our 3rd year of meeting at OCNJ, getting beach houses near each other and having a blast.  When we arrived on Saturday, July 30th, it just felt like home.  The excitement level of getting out of the car and thinking about all the things we had to look forward to in the coming week was through the roof.  We certainly have our favorite things we like to do (Aunt Betty's for ice cream, Uncle Bill's for pancakes, renting Surrey's on the boardwalk, going to the amusement park for the rides, Johnson's popcorn!, flying kites on the beach in the evening, countless hours chilling on the beach, playing paddle ball, and so much more).

And this year, we tried a few new things too!   Ian and Max took a surf lesson.  The boys were finally tall enough to go on the Go-Karts by themselves.  And we also let the boys go get breakfast on their own -- more on that later.  We found two new restaurants in a town nearby that we loved and will most definitely return to in the coming years.

One of the best things I have to report on:  Jeff took Monday and Tuesday off from work.  Yes!  He had plans to join us on the beach.  The rest of the week he worked remotely from the beach house and put in his usual 10 hour work days.  But for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday he was all ours!   Funny enough, the weather was the worst on the 3 days Jeff was available to put aside his dislike of the beach and join us.  On Sunday, we excitedly made our way to beach, set everything up, and within 5 minutes, the skies opened and it started pouring.  Both Leslie and I were a bit shocked as the weather app we used didn't say anything about rain in the forecast.   We did make it back out approx. an hour or so later, but at this point, Jeff was done for the day and opted to stay indoors.  Ha!   Monday was another washout and the skies looked gloomy most of the day.  None of us even put on bathing suits that day.  So Jeff got another free pass.  Tuesday we did better and not only made it on the beach with Jeff, but also went to Ian's surf lesson.  Although, I have to admit, you could actually see the switch flip from when Jeff was 'ok' being on the sand, to when he had 'enough'.  And when Jeff's had enough, its best for everyone he gets off the beach as soon as possible.

In other good news to report:  We had enough bedrooms this year.  Jeff and I didn't end up on the living room sofas or close to getting a divorce over my huge SNAFU last year.  Whew!  This went far in keeping the good vibes going all week long. Our house was in the most awesome location of being positioned right next to Aunt Betty's (fabulous ice cream place) and Uncle Bill's (amazing pancake breakfast place).  I joked with my mom, whose bedroom was closest to Aunt Betty's that if she rolled out of her bed the wrong way, she'd be ordering ice cream.  We were that close!

The beach is my happy place.  Even on a rainy or cloudy day, there is something so tranquil about being near the water, waiting for the sun to come back out.  We don't lack stuff to do together even when the weather is not at its best.

One of my most favorite times of the day is when we've been approaching 7+ hours on the beach and the sun is starting to set.  The kids are very content to stay and play much longer.  I've settled into my chair with a good book.  We are happily munching on our snacks, sipping our drinks and discussing what we will do for dinner later that day.  Time is standing still (but really it's not!) and we are savoring every moment.  At 5:00pm, the lifeguards call everyone out of the water and give us the speech that they are going home and swimming in the ocean is at our own risk.  It takes all our willpower to call it a day.

Yep, that's Ian surfing!

Proof we had Jeff on the beach.

It's like 2 peas in a pod x 2.  

The whole gang at Uncle Bill's

Heartbroken.

I woke up on Saturday morning at 6:30am.  A text had come to my phone at 6:17am alerting me to the fact that my friend's mom passed away the night before.  I wished I could be instantly transported to another city.  I never before so badly wanted to be anywhere but where I was.  Without hesitation, I didn't care what we had planned for our weekend; I was going to be on the next flight to Orlando.   This is a feeling that I've never experienced before.  

I've always had plenty of time to plan my trips to Florida before.  Even when I went for 10 days to be with my mom when she had her triple by-pass surgery, I had a few week's notice and was able to plan out my arrival and departure.  This was different.  

My friend Amanda and I have known each other since we were 5 years old.  Our families have a long history together.  Unfortunately, Amanda's father passed away on the same exact day I gave birth to Ian, 10 years ago.  It takes a special person to wish you congratulations on the birth of your first child (she was the very first one to call me) and not mention that her dad died just minutes before.  She didn't want to take away my joy.  I only heard about the timing of her father passing thru my own dad.  Wow.  I wasn't able to be there for her then, I was surely going to be there for her now.  

I quickly told my boss at the preschool why I wouldn't be able to go to work on Monday and Tuesday.  My boss said it was wonderful I could be there for my friend.  My reply was, it wasn't optional in my opinion.  I knew where I needed to be.   You can easily show up for the good stuff, it's the times when you show up for the crappy stuff in life that counts.  

I am heartbroken for my friend.  To say Amanda was close with her mom is like saying Siamese twins have a bond.  It's going to take some time for her to get used to this "new normal".  Ugh.

In the Jewish religion, it is custom to have the funeral within 24 hours of the person passing.  Due to people having to travel from Israel, the service was moved to Tuesday.  I was able to get a 9:00pm flight back to D.C. on Tuesday night.  It gave me plenty of time to attend the funeral and do a Shiva call before heading to the airport.  It made for a very long day, but it didn't matter to me how tired I would be getting home at 12:00am.  I was able to be where I felt I should be.   

There are not many people (other than family) I would drop everything I was doing, without even giving it a second thought, and change my world upside down to be with them.  Amanda is one of the few.  

I was home for 4 days.  It had been too long since my last visit when Jeff, the kids and I was there for Thanksgiving.  While I hated the reason for being in town, I cherished the time I got to spend with my sister and her family and my parents.  I've told my parents I am going to start infusing formaldehyde in their veins to preserve them.  It totally sucks to see them aging.  My friend's mom's passing hits way too close to home.  

Last, but not least, I can not write this blog and fail to mention my husband.  He is my rock and never-ending source of support.  As soon as I read him the text, early this past Saturday morning, before I could even say it, he said, "You've got to go."   With no notice, he rearranged his life for the 4 days I was gone and took over being the mom and dad to Ian & Sam.  Furthermore, about 6 hours after I left, Sam developed a fever and was home for the next 3 days.  Two days of missed school, a trip to the pediatrician and generally holding down the fort.   To say I married well is an understatement.  

The best was when he gave me a stern lecture on how I need to hold it together for Amanda. "This isn't about you."... I should be strong and not cry in front of her.    Yes, right....whatever.  I made it all of 10 minutes and then lost it.  As I was losing it, I was telling Amanda what Jeff told me.  Then I started laughing because I am sure whatever Jeff was imagining, I was much, much worse in reality.   Ugh.  

On Monday, I spent from 9:30am to 6:30pm with my friend helping her get everything ready for the service the next day.  It was a very crappy reason on why I was spending the day with her, but she appreciated me being there.  And for those 9 hours there was no where else I wanted to be.  Sometimes life sucks.  

Max comes for a visit!

Winter Break found us at home for the 2 weeks the kids had off from school.  We racked up more time hanging in our pajamas than was probably healthy.  But hey, given our fast pace, usual craziness of a schedule, it was nice to slow things down.  Going back to school and work on Monday, January 4th hit us hard!  I think we all could've used one more day.

One of the highlights of the break was having Max, my 10 year old cousin, come for a visit.  Ian had gone to his home in Connecticut last Summer and now it was our turn to have him here.  We met in Cherry Hill, NJ (the halfway point and where my Aunt and Uncle live) to do the drop-off and pick-up.  From Tuesday, 12/29 to Friday, 1/1 we got the chance to show Max what life was like in the NoVa area.

There were so many things we wanted to do with Max.  We whittled the list down to 3 or 4 ideas and took off for our adventures each day.  I made sure there was plenty of downtime at home too.  I knew the boys would want to play Xbox.

In the 2 full days we had Max with us, we did the following:

• Flight Trampoline Park - this was Max's only request
• Meadowlark Gardens for the Winter walk of lights -- So beautiful!
• Dinner out with friends
• Udvar-Hazy Museum
• White House / Capital Building / Washington Monument, plus a 4 mile walking tour of: Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial, FDR Memorial, WW2 Memorial, Vietnam Wall
• New Year's Eve party at my friend's house (very family friendly)

We had a wonderful visit and loved having him. The ONLY hiccup was how much he missed his family.  I knew his younger sister was 'clingy', but I didn't realize Max had some issues too separating from his parents.  I felt so bad for him.  He never had a sleepover before in his own city, let alone in another state for multiple days.  Wow!   Max missed his family something fierce and would Facetime his mom throughout the day when we were periodically back at the house.

The first night was very shaky and I wasn't sure we were going to make it another 2 nights.  Max figured out a way to make it work for his comfort level.  He'd Facetime his father on his iPad and have Matt (father) on one pillow and him on the other.  Max and Matt would talk to each other until Max would finally fell asleep -- it took about 1 hour to 1.5 hours.  Inevitably, Max would wake-up in the middle of the night and he'd text his mom (Leslie) to see if she was awake too.  Of course the texting is what woke her as she is normally asleep at 3:00am.  Leslie did a good job of texting back and getting Max to take deep breaths and work his way back to sleep.

By the time we got to the last night Max was at our house, he managed to sleep thru the night without waking up.  I felt like we had made some major ground just by making it thru the 3 nights and not making an emergency trip back to Connecticut.  Each night was touch and go, but Max did it.  Whew!

Fortunately none of this separation anxiety is keeping Max from returning.  He already said he'd be back.  Ian quickly responded that he wants to go back to Connecticut to stay with Max and his family.  Looks like we have a recipe for success!

Meadowlark Gardens Winter Walk of Lights

Max and Ian in a deep conversation about the Presidents

Walking along the Vietnam Wall

Washington Monument photo bombing!

Ringing in the new year!

Cool new gadget alert.

 At the end of April, I made a very much needed trip to go home and spend a long weekend with my family.  By myself.  From Friday morning to Monday afternoon, I had a great time seeing everyone and spending a few days at the beach with my mom and Lori.  I loved my time and absolutely cherish whenever I get the opportunity to be around them.  My family are the best!  It's hard having the distance we have between us.  That's why its important to me that I go down at least once a year, on my own, and get some one-on-one quality time.

I stayed one night at my Dad and Rita's house.  Since I had been there last, Meghan got a new shower head in her bathroom.   It has to be the coolest thing I have seen in a long time.  The shower head has a display showing the temperature of the water.  And it is color coded based on how hot it gets.  So incredibly cool!  I believe it changes from purple to red when it hits 110 degrees. 

Just think how neat it would be to turn on the water and not ever have to worry you didn't get the water hot enough or it was too hot before you stepped in.  You can find your perfect temperature you like, get the water going and step in to a perfect shower time and time again.  How awesome would that be?

I have no idea if this shower head has been around for a long time (and maybe it has), but I am so happy to have discovered it.  Just when you think that something can't be improved any more than it is, this comes along.  :)

Display reads:  104 degrees.

Display reads:  110 degrees.

Hanging with family

The kids and I ended 2014 spending the last 3 days of the year with my extended family.  We went to Cherry Hill, NJ and stayed at my Aunt & Uncle's house.  My cousin Leslie and her family came in from Connecticut and joined us. 

I am not exaggerating when I say Ian and Max (only 6 weeks apart in age) and Samantha and Ellie (only 6 months apart in age) are like two peas in a pod.  There are twins that have less in common than these 4 kids.  It is pretty spectacular how amazing it is when these kids get together.  Having 2 more kids is like having 4 less. 

From the moment we arrived Ian and Max instantly ran outside and started throwing a football around.  Sam and Ellie were like 2 sharks circling around each other in the water.  Leslie took one look at them and said, "You two just need to pick up where you left off."   We don't have enough time for you to warm up to each other again.  From that second, they were bonded to each other's side. 

We spent Monday afternoon at a roller skating rink/bounce house/climbing thingy combo place.  This was Ian and Sam's first time on roller skates.  Sam enjoyed roller skating very much, Ian not so much. 

Monday night at dinner, Sam and Ellie taking a selfie together.

On Tuesday we went to an indoor waterpark for over 5 hours.  Yowzer!  I never thought we'd last that long, but we did.  We had a delightful surprise when my friend Jen and her family decided at the last minute to join us. Yes! They drove from VA to NJ and back in the same day to go to the waterpark.  I love that my friends are crazy like that.  :)  We had a great day and the 3 older boys all did well together. 

On Wednesday, we had a few hours to spend together before hitting the road in the early afternoon and heading home.  We have annual New Year's Eve plans with close friends and needed to be back by 5:30pm.   The girls (my aunt, Leslie, her daughter Ellie, Samantha and me) headed to the Cherry Hill Mall for a little shopping and lunch.  The boys (my uncle, Matt, his son Max, and Ian) had a special treat.  My uncle was taking them to South Philly for Nick's Original Roast Beef for lunch.  Unbeknownst to my uncle, this restaurant had been featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" back in 2011. Ian had seen a repeat of the episode and remembered it well.  It was one of Guy Fieri's top 10 all-time favorite stops.  In recent years, Ian has broadened his palette and appreciates good food.  Apparently, according to my uncle (and now Ian), this is THE BEST roast beef sandwich a person can ever eat.  It is a hot sandwich served in a dive bar.  Literally, a dive bar.  The only veggie available is fries.  That pretty much sums up their whole menu.  With all the hype my uncle gave it and of course, the tv show, it did not disappoint.  Ian said roast beef from anywhere else has now been ruined for him.  I believe we've finally crossed the threshold of an experience Ian has had that Jeff wishes he participated in too. 

After lunch, we loaded up the car and headed home.  It was an easy drive back.  We simply had a wonderful visit.  My heart melts seeing the kids together.  They are growing up knowing their cousins.  To me there is nothing more important than family.  

With my cousin and her family living in Connecticut, it would be so easy to let the years fly by and life get in the way.  Our time together could easily be reduced to only major life events (bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings, funerals, etc).  I love that we both put in the effort to make time to see each other.  We are doing the beach again in August and will bring both families together.  We are all looking forward to returning to Ocean City, NJ and picking up where we left off. 

Love.

An Xbox for us all.

Ian may have gotten the Xbox One with Kinect for Hanukkah, but we've all been having fun with it.

Once I heard the movie "The Interview" was getting released, I knew I had to do my patriotic duty and stream it.  I really had no desire to see this movie, but it had to be done as a matter of principle.  I was taking a stand and letting North Korea know I couldn't be bullied.  They weren't going to tell me what I couldn't do or see.  There were a few ways the movie could be seen at home and via the Xbox was one of them.   Jeff and I made plans to watch it after the kids went to bed on Christmas day. 

As we were getting ready to watch the movie, Jeff and I came to the realization the Xbox only listens to Ian.  The gaming system is voice activated and to get to the different screens you need (xbox home, xbox store, what movie you are looking for, etc) it is done by your voice.  BUT it only knows Ian's voice.  The system doesn't do a thing when Jeff and I speak to it.  We had to get Ian to come downstairs and get us the movie.  We come to find out when putting the credit card info into the system that we've got parental controls loaded all over this thing and it won't play the movie for us.  Ha!  So yet again, we needed Ian to help us. 

Ian:  "Xbox go to settings"   hahahahaha. 

Ian had to turn off all the parental safeguards and remove the restrictions on purchasing a movie.  

It was pretty frustrating for Jeff and me to figure it out.  We did manage to access the movie and watch it.  We had no idea how to pause the movie, so as soon as it started playing, Ian had to leave the room quickly go back to bed.   I am pretty sure it could not have been done without Ian's help.

The next day Jeff says to me, "We have to remember to put the parental controls back on the Xbox."
Um, yeah.  I'll get Ian right on that.  :)

****************************************************************************

The day after Christmas, the kids and I are enjoying a lazy morning at home.  We end up skyping with my sister Lori, Ben (her husband) and Rachel (their daughter).  We hadn't tried skyping yet using the Xbox.  After I got Ian to install the app and launch Skype, we were golden.  It was great fun.  We got to see Rachel take a few steps walking. And we had a big dance party.  Rachel kept blowing kisses at us.  Ian and Sam only had one small fight during the call.  I'd say this was a success.

I noticed that you can now add another caller to the Skype call and conferenced in my dad.  I have to say it was pretty awesome getting us all in the same video chat.  When you add another person in, it splits the screen in half. 

While on the call, my dad's mailman comes to deliver the mail.  My dad had him come around to the computer and say hi to us.  It was pretty funny.  I took a picture.  See below.

Yes, that's the mailman.  :)

Before the mailman stopped by.  Having fun with Skype.

I need to figure out how to get the Xbox to recognize my voice.  Right now when Ian walks into the room, it will say "Hi Ian."  What are the rest of us, mashed potatoes?  Geez, I paid for the thing and it doesn't even know I exist.  Regardless, technology is sooo incredibly cool. 

The Jersey Shore

 

The last of our epic summer is coming to an end. The kids and I had one last hurrah and did a week at the beach.  We rented a house in Ocean City, NJ right next door to the house my cousin and her family rented.  Getting a house at the beach is dream of mine and as long as I made it clear Jeff didn't have to step foot on the beach (he HATES sand and the ocean), he was game too.  I had been fortunate in the past to go with my mommy friends and their kids to use a relative's beach condo (two summers in a row!), but this was the first year we took the plunge and spent $$ on a place of our own for the week.

While this summer has been filled with all these amazing adventures and experiences (I promise you, I don't normally have summers like this one...EVER!), it hasn't been all sunshine and roses.

Within the past month, two of my best friends lost people close to them; Wendy lost her mother-in-law, and Jennifer lost her father.  Additionally, one of The Girls got some very upsetting medical news about her mom and another is dealing with some challening medical info about her dad.  It is hard to be happy about my wonderful summer when people I am close to are having one of their worst summers ever. 

Furthermore, Jeff lost his job two weeks ago (yes, the new one that he was at for only 3 months) and this has put a big damper on things.  He is doing a good job of holding it together for the family, but I know how terrifying it is each day for him that goes by without new employment lined up.    If there has to be a silver lining in this whole ordeal its that we did get Jeff to join us at the beach from Saturday to Tuesday evening.  And Thursday evening to Saturday.  He went back home for a day and a half for an interview.  I couldn't persuade him to go on the beach, but it was very nice having him around to join us for the rest of our activities.  This would not have been possible due to lack of accumulated vacation time if he was still at his job.  Although if you ask Jeff, he'd much rather have the paychecks coming in than be available for a week at the beach. 

So while I am having the time of my life with the kids, there is a big gray cloud over our heads reminding me that not everyone is enjoying themselves.  Especially when all of these events have happened within the last 4 weeks.  Ugh.

In my next post, I will share highlights of our week in Ocean City, NJ.  It was filled with great weather, meeting up with best friends, spending time with my wonderful extended family, and experiencing some new things we've never done before.  In a nutshell, I'd say it was winner.  Jeff may even agree to us doing this again next Summer, as long he gets a job soon. 

Got potato?

The family that cooks together...eats together!

A few weeks ago Jeff mentioned it would be fun if we, as a family, cooked dinner together one night.  All of us.  WHAT!?!!?  Do I look like I am having that much fun in the kitchen each evening?  Do you really have nothing else to do that you have to invade my space and join me in this necessary evil called 'cooking dinner'?!?!?!  If you've never seen Jeff in the kitchen before, it is a sight to behold.  He likes to have everything he needs within reach.  This goes for pans, pots, mixing bowls, cooking utensils, measuring spoons/cups, knives, and pretty much everything you find the fridge and pantry.  Whether or not he will actually use it, it is as close to him as possible.  Most of the time he will find use for it all.  It becomes an impressive display how one meal can use so many pots, pans and mixing spoons.

I tried hard to let his suggestion of us all cooking together go in one ear and out the other. My goal is to find things to make for dinner each night that can be done as efficiently as possible.  In and out.  I am not there to linger.  I've got too many things to do!

We had a snow day not too long ago that kept us stuck in the house together all day long.  I had on the calendar to make Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner.  I wanted to put something with it as a side (besides french bread) and decided it was time to get the family involved in making dinner.  Yes, I was going to go there and fulfill Jeff's idea of a good time.  The kids and Jeff were going to make homemade potato chips.

I had been to a Pampered Chef party at a friends house back in January.  I saw this really cool gadget that made amazingly delicious, crispy potato chips (with no oil!) in the microwave.  The only thing you needed was a potato and salt. At the Pampered Chef party I had also ordered an easy slicer to help make the potatoes as thin as they needed to be for chips.

I pulled out the slicer, the special trays to microwave the potatoes and got my Toppall team to work.  Each person had a job.  Ian sliced the potatoes, Jeff patted the potatoes dry to absorb any liquid on them, and Sam salted and placed them on the trays.  The potato chip making ran like a well-oiled machine.  Each batch took exactly 3 minutes, 30 seconds to microwave.  It took about 6 batches before we all started telling each other to stop eating them as soon as they cooked and wait until we sat down for dinner.  They were so tasty and we were all starving from being outside shoveling snow.  It was hard not to devour them as soon as the microwave dinged.  Finally, Jeff, Ian and I started showing restraint.  Sam however, decided it was necessary to taste test each batch.  We were losing too many to quality control. 

Dare I say it?  We were having fun.  Jeff, Ian and Sam had their own thing going on and I was busy making the soup.  We were all in the kitchen cooking together.  It actually worked out well.  Who thought that was possible?  Well, Jeff did.  Guess what?  He was right. Yes, I am admitting it.  He was right.

Ian slicing the potato.



Sam putting the potatoes on the tray.

Yummy potato chips!!

They don't last long in our house.

Spectacularly surreal

TIME:      11:15am to 1:45pm

WHEN:    Wednesday, January 1, 2014 
WHERE:  Burke, VA, United States  (Specifically on Burke Centre Parkway)
WHO:      The Toppall Team (Jeff, Ian, Samantha and me)

We had New Year's day blissfully free of any place we needed to be.  I proposed an idea to Jeff, "Let's walk to Cafe Rio for lunch and walk back."  Despite the 35 degree weather outside, Jeff didn't find a reason to turn down my idea and it got presented to the kids.  Ian and Sam were game as long as they could use their scooters.  Heck ya!

Not once did we hear "How much longer?"  Not once did we hear "Are we there yet?".  No one complained about the cold, or being thirsty, or having to go to the bathroom, or their feet hurting, or being too hungry, or the path being too hilly, or the sun in their eyes.

For 1.85 miles in each direction we did it!  It was 2.5 hours total of being part of a bigger plan.  There was no quick escape or exit available.  The kids and Jeff did a great job of hanging in there.  I think the funniest moment came as we were walking into Cafe Rio and Sam realizes where we are about to eat lunch.  She whines LOUDLY as we're walking through the door, "AW, NOT THIS PLACE!  I DIDN'T WANT TO COME HERE TO EAT."   Come'on, you can't tell me she didn't know where we were headed.  Not only did we mention the name of the place several times as to where we were going, but she is fully aware geographically what is located in the direction we were moving.  Her whining went ignored, her hunger kicked in and Sam ate her brother's chicken taco. 

After lunch, Ian and Sam requested Sweet Frog (located at the end of the shopping center) for FroYo before heading back home.   We got our frozen treat in freezing weather and then hit the trail back home.

I loved it!  And was so proud of my family.  To the casual pedestrian or car driving by, we looked like a normal family.  One who enjoys being outside and getting fresh air.  No one knew that inside I could hear a clock ticking (quite loudly) just waiting for someone (any one of us that bears the Toppall last name) to explode and ruin this fantasy.  It never happened!! 

As we had our house in sight, I threw out the idea that since this worked so well, we could do it all the time.  I got a few glares back in return and felt I shouldn't press my luck. So I altered my thinking and said "Maybe we could just do this every New Year's day."   At which point everyone agreed in 365 days they would be up for doing it again.