Tissues, please.

It's funny how a movie you know so well, backwards and forwards, seen at least 50 times, can have the same effect on you time and time again. Yesterday on tv, I was flipping through the channels and came across the movie, "Beaches". This movie is easily in my top 5 favorite films of all time. It was playing on the WE network, which stands for Women's Entertainment and needed 3 full hours to play to fit in all the commercial breaks. It doesn't matter that I own the movie on DVD and could've played it straight thru without interruption. There is something special about finding a classic on tv, when you aren't expecting it and tailoring your original plans (read a book? play with the kids? start dinner?) to accommodate watching it.

I first saw this movie with my mom in the theatre when it came out in 1988. To this day we can still get a good laugh over how I started bawling in the theatre in mid movie (when you realize that Barbara Hershey's character is going to die and Bette Middler's character is on her way to her) and couldn't stop. Really. 30 minutes after the movie had ended and we were driving back home, I was still crying. And crying hard at that. It was insane. At one point during the movie when my crying was in full effect, I couldn't catch my breath and the sobs got harder and louder. I am pretty certain that everyone around us in the theatre stopped their tears because they were distracted by the display I had going on. Yes, it was bad and I went through a lot of napkins.

To this day, I am not sure what caused me to cry that hard or for as long as I did. But each time I've seen the movie since then, I can still start crying - no matter where I join in the film too.

Now here is the crazy thing about watching it yesterday at home. I would cry up until the commercial break, take the 2 minutes to do something and then start crying again when the movie came back on. Is this normal?!?! I can't imagine it is.

Towards the end of the movie, we had dinner on the table and I had it playing on our little tv in the kitchen. I managed to not fully lose it while eating dinner with the family, but the minute we started clearing the table, it was all over. Fortunately Jeff has seen my reaction to this movie a few times before in our relationship. He's good about coming over to give me a hug, comforting me and moving on. Since it has been a good 21 years from when "Beaches" first came out, I no longer cry past the ending. I am getting good about only giving the appropriate amount of tears and keeping it short and sweet. Although, by now you would think that I could recite every line, know what is coming up and brace myself for it. But that is not the case. Even putting in commercial breaks every 20 minutes did nothing to dull my sadness.

From a rational standpoint, I find this absurd. But this is me, who I am. And, if I channel flipped tomorrow and came across it, I'd still stop everything and watch it and have a good cry.

Back home where he belongs

There are not many national stories that make the news that capture my interest. I generally find myself more drawn to the human interest type stories that a magazine like "People" or "US Weekly" would write about.

There has been this one story that I've been following since before Sam was born. We're talking more than a year and half ago. In fact, the updates on The Today Show every few weeks has become so constant, that I can't even truly remember when they first began. And, now it appears we finally have a happy ending to the saga that was David Goldman's life in trying to get his son Sean back.

For anyone not familiar with the story (although if you watch The Today Show, how could you not be??!?!), back in 2004 David Goldman's wife took their 4 year old little boy to her country in Brazil for a visit. While she was there, she refused to bring their son back home, got a divorce from David and ended up remarrying in Brazil. In 2008, the ex-Mrs. Goldman got pregnant and died in childbirth. For the past 5 years, David Goldman has been desparately trying to get his son back home to NJ. His battle has escalated all the way up to Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton and President Barack Obama. The mother's family in Brazil refused to give him back and the Brazillian courts time and time again kept ruling against David.

Over the course of the 5 years, David Goldman has made dozens of trips to Brazil and never gave up hope. Finally, this past week the ruling was in his favor and the family was made to hand over the boy to his father. As of December 24th, they were making their way back home to NJ, just in time for Christmas.

It's about time. This father lost so much time with his son that he will never get back. In a million years I'll never undestand how a mother could do that to a father. Maybe their were problems in their marriage? Maybe he was cheating on her? Maybe she was miserable living in NJ? We will never know, but to take away a child from his parent is uncomprehensible.

I am so happy that Sean can now go back to where he belongs and reconnect with a father who loves him so much.

And now, I can put visiting Brazil back on my map of places to go. I was refusing to take a trip there until justice was served. Okay, so maybe that wasn't the only thing keeping me from vacationing there. :)

Getting into the Christmas spirit

This is the first year that Ian truly realizes we do not celebrate Christmas, nor will we ever. And, because of this, I believe he has a strange fascination with the holiday that seems just out of his reach.

For the past few weeks, every time we find ourselves in the car driving when it is getting dark, the Christmas lights get more pronounced on houses throughout the neighborhoods. I will hear Ian muttering under his breath, "they have Christmas lights, they have have Christmas lights, they celebrate Christmas...." And it goes on and on until we get home.

The other day Ian asked me if we will see Santa. I told him, only if we are at the mall and watch kids go sit on his lap. He said, "nooooooooooo, will we see Santa deliver presents to our neighbors? Can we see Santa go to Fritz and Kat's house?" These are our neighbors who are in their 60's that live across the street from us. I wasn't sure how to answer this. I mean, do I keep the magic of Santa alive for a 4 year old Jewish boy? I didn't want to be the one to tell him that Santa wasn't real.

I am sure none of this helps that during this time of the year I listen to 97.1 on the radio. They play Christmas music 24/7. I love all the songs and happily sing out loud to my favorites. I am sure I am sending some very mixed messages to my kids.

I did download an album of Hanukkah music on iTunes so that I could give equal time to our religion. Can you believe they were actually able to include 25 songs about Hanukkah? Who knew? It was a great find and I was certain it would do us all some good when driving around neighborhoods filled with Christmas-lighted houses. Of course two of the songs on the album titled "Hanukkah - The Basics" is Adam Sandler's two versions of the Chanukah Song. Gosh, I love these songs. And I think Ian might too. The other night I heard him getting ready for his bath singing "...what a fine-looking Jew".

It all balances out in the end, right?

More snow than we know what to do with

The snow started at exactly 9:00pm on Friday night, just as the weatherman predicted. When we woke up at 7:00am, we already had 6 inches on the ground. The snow didn't stop falling until 9:00pm on Saturday night. All told, we got a little less than 2 feet. The Washington, D.C. metro area doesn't get snow like this - EVER! If we are lucky, we sometimes get 6 inches and even that is rare.

In my opinion, this was the perfect snowstorm. It came on a weekend when plans could easily be rescheduled and we weren't missing anything super-duper important (Sorry Heather! We WILL get together for your birthday outing!!). We didn't have any travel plans. There wasn't any kind of holiday shopping that needed to occur and staying in for 48 hours with the family was even kind of appealing. I can honestly say, 2 days later, we all still genuinely like each other and could very well spend another couple of days together before needing to interact with other individuals besides my immediate clan.

Jeff and I got a shocker of a surprise. After the kids went to sleep on Friday, we set-up the wii and created the appropriate looking mii for each of us. I had an idea to create a mii for Ian and surprise him the next morning. He has never really seen a wii before and this would all be new for him. Jeff thought that maybe he was too young and wouldn't be able to fully grasp the concept. I've done my research and everyone says that 4 year olds really like wii bowling. As soon as Ian woke up on Saturday, I showed him the wii and the mii we created to look like him. I thought I did a pretty good job making him look like Ian, but after a few tweaks being directed by Ian, he was able to transform the mii to even more of a resemblance. Ian even gave his mii some blue sunglasses to wear. I showed Ian how to play bowling. After a few frames, he was able to master how to hold the remote, but didn't really take to it. We moved on to wii tennis and I was instantly blown away at watching him play. It was like Andre Agassi had come alive in my family room. Ian was a natural. He was serving like a superstar (from the first try) and volleying back and forth 8 or 9 times. It was almost like he had been practicing for years. But since I know what he does and where he goes every day, I know this isn't the case. Boxing, golf and baseball were all hits too. We'd show him how to do it once and he would instantly get it and be able to play. Ian loved the games and really got into them. As he was hitting the tennis ball back and forth, he'd shout to the tv, "Keep it coming, baby". Still not sure where he is picking up language like this, but it was really funny.

While Ian and Jeff were playing the wii, Sam was having a tea party and playing with Lego's. I decided to tackle cleaning the house and got 3 uninterrupted hours to do so. It was wonderful. Jeff went out twice and did some shoveling to keep up with it. When Sam woke up from her nap, we bundled the kids in layers and ventured outside to play. It was then we've come to the realization that our kids prefer a nice warm house over being outside in the cold, trying to navigate and walk in snow that comes up past their knees. It took us longer to dress and undress the kids for the snow, then the amount of time spent outside. Of course, we got the obligatory pictures we needed to take.

Later in the afternoon, Ian and I had fun making sugar, cut-out cookies and frosted them in some wacky colors (think army green and turquoise blue).

Before we knew it, it was time to put the kids to bed. I decided to watch my netflix film ("Julie and Julia" -- good movie!) and Jeff watched some football. The day went surprisingly fast.

On Sunday, we were able to dig ourselves out in under 4 hours. I shoveled for 2 hours and Jeff did 2 hours. We put Sam down for a nap and then it's off to Ikea when she wakes up. I have some organization and decorating ideas I'd like to implement. Please, I can't possibly spend that much time indoors and not think of things I want to change. :)

As we were watching the snow fall and pile up higher and higher on Saturday, Jeff was pretty certain that he wouldn't make it to work on Monday. By early evening Sunday, the Federal Government announced that they will be closed today and Fairfax County schools announced they will by closed for the next 3 days, leading up to Winter Break and open again in the new year. It looks like my Toppall team will be staying close to home for at least another day. It's good thing we are all still getting along.

14 to 20 inches

Just like the motto of the Boy Scouts "BE PREPARED", my Toppall team is ready to go.

The news media does everything in their power to create mass hysterics and get everyone in a frenzy. Current predictions is the Washington, D.C. area could see up to 20 inches of snowfall starting Friday night and continuing through Sunday morning. This would easily put us at the top of the list for the biggest storm the area has had during the month of December since 1932, when the snowfall then only totaled 11.5 inches. We are talking some crazy numbers here!!

Yesterday morning, my darling husband got concerned about the lack of milk we had in the house. Not knowing when I would be able to get to the grocery store and still have adequate supplies of milk available to purchase, I went at 6:30am on Friday morning and stocked up on all of our weekly grocery needs. It was actually the best time to go because as the day wore on, the estimates on our impending snowfall just got higher and higher.

At some point during his workday, Jeff went out and got Bailey more of his dog food from this speciality pet store because not everyone carries this particular brand. And, while he was out, Jeff also stocked up on more rock salt to have on hand.

We are ready! We recently did our monthly trip to Costco and stocked up on toilet paper. We have plenty of milk, bread and peanut butter. I can make 7 nights of dinner and still keep it interesting. Not to mention, I've got all the ingredients for Ian and I to make frosted, sugar cut-out cookies.

And, to my good fortune, the house never got cleaned this week and we will have plenty of time over the course of the next two days to tackle this. It's always good to have something to do!

Unfortunately all the wash I had planned to do is going to have to wait. Ian's is done, Sam's and Jeff's is too. However, the washing machine started giving me an error message when I went to wash a load of towels. I called Whirlpool and apparently we need a service call to fix the problem. The dirty towels have good company with my clothes too as I always leave mine to the end. Good thing I have plenty of clean underwear and can lounge around all weekend in sweats, because it maybe days before I see a service repair guy at our house. Should've bought a Maytag. :)

I have to admit, I am a bit excited about getting a storm this big. It has been a long time since our area has seen something of this size. I am sure by the end of the weekend, I will be going stir crazy and ready to escape these four walls, but until then, I'll enjoy the time with the family and work on my snowball-making skills for snowman and of course, snowball fights.

The power of an extra minute or two

I can tell you the exact moment in my day when my blood pressure goes through the roof. It occurs precisely at 1:25pm each weekday. For it is at this time that I realize I am late picking up my son up from preschool.

Ian gets released at 1:30pm, Monday thru Friday. Before having Samantha, I had a stellar record of always being on time to retrieve him and in most cases, was a few minutes early and could spy on him, without him knowing. For some reason the addition of Sam in our lives has made me perpetually holding my breath, hoping that we make only green lights and there are no slow pokes in front of me. It is a race to the finish line to park the car at the closest spot possible, grab Sam from her car seat and race walk up to the front door. I scurry inside and hope that we aren't the last to claim our own. Sam's body is usually bouncing up and down and she is holding on for dear life, as we make our way through the lobby and to Ian's classroom. 80% of the time, the moms are still lined up waiting for the classroom door to open. A big sigh of relief comes that I've made it. It's the other 20% of the time that I have to hope Ian has at least one buddy left to hang out with waiting for their mommy to come too.

Sometimes I am welcomed with the following;
Ian: "Mommy, why were you the last one to come?" Is there anything more sad to hear?
Or, "Mommy, why are you so late?" Oy! Again, it makes my heart melt.

It's then that the mommy guilt fully sets in and I quickly offer the chance to get a cookie from the Synagogue's kitchen on the way out.

To my defense, I have to point the finger towards to Samantha who takes a nap from 11:00am to 1:00pm. Sometimes she doesn't wake up right at 1:00pm. I try so hard to not to have to wake her and see if waiting another 5 or 10 minutes will have her waking up on her own. Or, if she does wake-up by 1:00pm, I try to feed her a quick lunch before having to get in the car to go get Ian. And, about half the time, Sam will wake up with a dirty diaper and I have to change it. There goes a good five minutes taking care of that mess.

Each new day is a new opportunity for me to try to get it right. I say to myself, this will be the day we are in the car, strapped in ready to go by 1:15pm. If only this could happen on a regular basis. Usually, on a good day, we are pulling out of our driveway by 1:19pm. My heart really starts beating fast when I put the car in reverse to back-up and the clock is flashing 1:21pm. It is a 6 minute drive (if all the lights are green). I've been known to seize up the traffic lights at Old Keene Mill Rd and Lee Chapel and go straight instead of turning left. I can shave 2 minutes by making a LEGAL u-turn and not waiting for the lights to turn in my favor. And, on the days we are really pushing it, I'll park in front of the dumpster because that is the closest spot without blocking any other cars. Ian has long stopped asking me why the car is parked there.

It's crazy that I do this to myself and I don't see it changing any time soon; at least not this school year. When anyone asks if I am ready for number 3, I'll have to direct them to this post. I just don't think my blood pressure can take it having to juggle a third child into this.

FINALLY!!

I love technology; love it, love it, love it. I embrace every new invention with open arms and can't wait to get my hands on the latest gadget to see what it can do. Some of my favorite inventions have been the computer (hello Internet!), the microwave (good-bye long cooking times!), the iPod (good-bye Walkmans!), the DVR (good-bye VCRs!), and the digital camera (good-bye film!)

My first cell phone came in 1989 when I left for college. 21 years later I still have the same cell phone number. I refused to switch cell phone carriers until number portability was available. I absolutely love my blackberry and don't even have a job that requires one.

Living on one salary has been 4 1/2 years of compromises. I wouldn't trade one day with being home with the kids for any of the latest gadgets. It is more than worth it and I am very happy with the choices we've made. I am also happy that Amazon.com sent me a $300 iPod Touch completely by accident. If it wasn't for them, I am sure we wouldn't have one of those in our household either. But as I've said before, Apple made something brilliant and it has become so invaluable to us that if it broke, we would have to replace it immediately. Plus, in a matter of months, we will become a 2 iPod Touch household when we get Samantha one. Yes, it is that much of a lifesaver when traveling by plane or long car rides.

To my delight, we were given money by my dad and stepmother for Hanukkah, with the clear instructions that it had to be used for fun -- no college fund and no bills. Last year when faced with this windfall, Jeff and I put the money in our savings account and used it in September to celebrate our 5th anniversary. We went away for the weekend and it was wonderful. This year Jeff came up with the brilliant idea to use the money on a wii. Yay!! To say I am excited is an understatement. For 3 years now I've longingly looked at the wii and its games and accessories. We've played it many times at friend's houses and at my sister's place. We've bowled, boxed, played tennis and golf. I've done the wii fit balance board, the step aerobics and hula hooping. Plus, there are so many other great games and fitness exercises. And, I've asked my mommy friends for suggestions for games for Ian and can't wait to introduce him to them.

Look, I am not trying to replace Sunday pizza and game night. There is something very old fashioned and wholesome about playing non-electronic, classic board games with the kids, but I feel like we are finally entering the year 2000. :)

In my effort to always get a great deal, the price for a wii officially went down to $199 from $249. And, Target this week was offering a $30 gift card with the purchase of one. Can't pass up a good deal like that, right? I guess it was good to wait 3 years and 24 days for us to purchase one. Not that I am counting or anything.