Beach Bound.

I know it seems odd, just as the new school year gets under way and we get used to our busy schedules, we take a week off to go to the beach.  But that's the way we roll!

My dad tries hard to bring the family together every year for a time-out from the hustle & bustle of our regular lives and give us a chance to hang with the family.  We've done Gatlinburg, Tennessee more times than I can count.  Cocoa Beach was the destination two years ago.  A cruise to the Bahamas before that.  And, we've even done a staycation that had us visiting various theme parks in Florida.  It really doesn't matter what the location is, being around the family is the best.  I adore everyone I am related to.  No matter what the situation, we laugh till our sides hurt.  And then, inevitably, we start reminiscing about previous get-togethers and laugh all over again.  Rehashing stories is what I enjoy best about being a Mazer girl.  That, and my superior driving skills. 

Tomorrow we will be in Myrtle Beach, SC.  We have (2) three bedroom condos to stay in from Saturday, 10/13 to Saturday, 10/20.  I think I am most excited about this upcoming trip because there is a good chance, I will get a bedroom to sleep in.  I usually end up on the pull-out couch in the living room.  Yes, I am the oldest of the three girls!  Yes, I am the only one to have given my dad and stepmother grandchildren!  You would think I'd have some clout and could pull my weight to snag a good bedroom.  In theory, every single year, there should always be enough bedrooms for me to have one.  But somehow, it is me, always me to end up on the pull-out sofa.

The only small hiccup in my grand plans of sleeping in a bedroom is the fact we are arriving a day later than everyone else.  My great friend, Wendy is getting married TODAY!!!!!! and we are staying local an extra day to see her get married.  Everyone else will be getting to Myrtle Beach on Saturday, and we won't arrive till Sunday afternoon.  As we all know, possession is 9/10ths of the law. 

But I am hopeful.  I think me being in a bedroom this year is actually going to happen.  It helps that I can now put Sam and Ian together in the same room if need be.  It also helps that Meghan has to leave Wednesday evening and get back home for school.  Therefore, Meghan isn't bringing a friend with her, which usually is the case each year.  So if I am doing the math correctly, Dad/Rita in one room, Lori/Ben in another room.  Meghan in a third room.  That leaves 3 bedrooms for my Toppall team and me.  It's actually even looking good that I could be sleeping in the same room as Jeff.  Wow, what a concept.

I am grateful to my dad and Rita for making these trips and time together a priority.  Other than a few days here and there doing side trips, Jeff, me and the kids have never had a full week off for a vacation together.  It's so nice that due to my dad and Rita's generosity this becomes possible. 

I am really excited about our trip and have some fun things planned for the week we are there.  It does seem a little "off" that we are going to a beach town after the summer is over, but knowing my family like I do, this just means less people around to get in our way.

Write this.

You know the Web site, Pinterest, where everyone "pins" everything under the sun from recipes, to crafts, to books, to pictures of beautiful locations, to design ideas, to even just pictures of shoes they love?  I seriously think there is a board or pin for EVERYTHING!   It really is amazing how you can put in a random word (any word) like "chair" and get thousands of ideas (step-by-step) on how to refinish one, different kinds of chairs, many examples of rooms with chairs in them, kid's chairs, rocking chairs, and so on.  The word "chair" alone will incite thousands and thousands of pins, all neatly organized.

So, I am on Pinterest just like the rest of the free world.  And, yes, I do enjoy repinning things from time to time.  I love all the ideas and get grand illusions of thinking I'll do them.  Ha!  Other than trying out one recipe, I haven't done any of them yet.  But boy am I ready to go if I decide to get going. 

I came across a pin recently that inspired me right away.  I don't think even 24 hours went by before I got my idea in action.   

Here was the pin as I saw it:

Mom and Me journal. Write letters back and forth with your kids. Ask a question, answer a question. Leave under their pillows...I love this idea.



I saw this and knew I had to do it with Ian. I couldn't wait to go out and get a journal for us to use. 

 

On the inside of the front page, I wrote the following:

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

 

I write you little messages, or ask you questions, or maybe tell you something funny that has happened. 

 

I'll leave this for you under your pillow to find.

 

When you've read it, written something back to me, or maybe just draw me a picture, you can put it under my pillow for me.

 

This will be our journal to use.

 

Love, Mom

 

I wrote my first entry and put it under Ian's pillow that afternoon.  I was so excited for him to find it.  He had no idea I was doing this and I had visions of all this wonderful writing going back and forth between us.  This was going to be something special just for us.  I thought about the future and how if something was troubling him, it might make him feel better knowing he could write it down.  Or when something really cool happens, he'd have a place to document that too.  An opportunity for us to keep the "conversation" going when he gets too big to want to tell me everything, like he does now.  This journal wouldn't go back and forth between our pillows every day....maybe just one day a week or randomly when something comes up.

This was going to be our thing.  Just me and Ian. 

Ian found the journal and opened it.  He read my instructions page and my first entry.  Then he ran with the journal and put it back under my pillow (while I was in bed reading).  That was it.  Hmmm, ok, maybe I need to start off asking him a question or two so he'll know to use the attached pencil.  The next night I put the journal back under his pillow to find.  My entry asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.  And then I also asked if  he could visit any state, which one would it be and why?  

Ian answered the questions and again, ran back with the journal to return it to me; trying very hard to be sneaky getting it under my pillow (again, while I am in bed reading).  There was no new entry with writing, questions, or a drawing back for me.  But we are making progress.  I think Ian is having fun with this and I will stick with it.   And if Ian ever feels inspired to do more than just read what I write or answer my questions, then he will have a place to do it.

Being Silly.

My Toppall team and I got silly trying out the new camera. I wanted to make sure I liked it and was happy with how the pictures were turning out. I was very ready to take it back if necessary. After spending this much money on a camera, it had to be a keeper in every situation I'd be using it.

The morning after it's big arrival, I was shooting various pictures to see how it performed indoors. Sam and Ian both said take a picture of us on top of daddy. So I took a bunch of the following picture.

Then, someone said to me, "You should get in the picture." Since the self-timer is something I would use from time to time, I needed to make sure I knew where the buttons were and how it works. So, we tried the photo with the four of us stacked on top of each other.

Only in our first try, Sam didn't even get close to making it on top of us. Those 10 seconds went by very quickly. You can see her in the left bottom corner.

Here Sam has done a bit better, but still she hasn't managed to get on top of us. We had no idea how close Sam came until we looked at the picture afterwards.

At last, we got Sam in the photo. We are giggling very hard, and managed to compose ourselves for when the red light flashed quickly to let us know the picture was about to be taken.

I think we spent about 30 minutes trying to get the picture to take with all of us in it. Turns out is impossible for Sam to have enough time to not only get in the picture, but also try to lay flat on top of Ian. She gets about 4 seconds to complete her part of the picture and its simply not enough time.

Pushing the button for the timer and then running into formation was hilarious. Poor Sam had the toughest job needing to climb up all of us.

It was a very fun morning. And I am very happy with how the camera did. And I now know that if we ever had to get moving in a hurry (you know, like a fire or something), we can do it in under 10 seconds. I just have to click the button on the camera to see everyone move into action, very fast.

Camera Fun!

I got a new camera.  I was tired of how washed-out looking the pictures were with my old camera.  And it was time to see how technology has improved over the years.  I think I am going on 4 years with my old camera.    As much as I love the idea of a DSLR, I really wanted one that I could keep in my purse and take out on a whim.  I am pretty sure I take more pictures than anyone else I know, and always like to have a camera ready to go.  I wanted a point and shoot type camera, but it had to take amazing photos, indoors and out. I researched a bunch of cameras and settled on one that CNET gave an "Excellent" rating to. 

This is it!

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX30V


Check out the size of lens!!

So the camera has a wireless component that will send photos to my computer without any cables.  This only took a 59 minute call with Sony's customer service to figure out why I couldn't do it with mine.  And, no, it had nothing to do with our computer's firewall.  But once I got it working, it has been a breeze to do ever since and is a really cool feature.  The other thing it can do is send photos to my iPhone.  This way, you can post to FB, email, etc.   This only took a 25 minute call to Sony's customer service to figure out.  But again, now that I can do it, I can keep doing it easily.   All the other settings/features, I've been pretty good about figuring out. 

I haven't mentioned Heather in a while...here's a picture with her and her
two youngest.  This is a great example of an indoor picture, with normal lighting.
Love it!

An action shot.

Self-timer.  What a beautiful picture! 

The camera takes amazing pictures.  It works well in any kind of situation.  I love it!  We have a beach trip coming up and I can't wait to see how the pictures turn out. I am very happy I took the plunge and got it.

The Bet is Over!

What happens when a girl who has had an American Express Card in her wallet since she was 15 years old goes one month without using it? 

Does she go through withdrawal? 
Do the shakes start as she drives by stores? 
Does AMEX call and find out if she is sick? 
Do any businesses close down from lack of business? 

I can now answer these questions with "No!"

I did it.  I went one month without using the credit card.  It was quite easy really. Anything that needed to be bought, Jeff took care of.  He made the weekly trips to the grocery store.  He made sure my car had gas in it.  It was like I was a kept woman.  hehehehee.  

I am sure Jeff would actually prefer that I got gas.  There were many instances when he went to drive us somewhere and I told him if we wanted to get there, we would need gas first.  Then he'd ask how long I had been driving with my low gas light brightly lit and I could tell he was less than pleased with the answer.  But I refused to use our check card to get gas.  I'd much rather get the reward points for every single one of those $50 dollars to fill my tank.

By the end of the month, we had spent less money on Amex than we had in many, many months prior.  Well, duh!  Of course that would be the case.  Jeff doesn't impulse buy when going grocery shopping.  He sticks to the list.  And all my usual trips to Target was consolidated into one trip, careful to stick to that list.

I showed major restraint when I had to go use my Old Navy "cash" that was issued during our last visit to the store.  I needed to spend $50 to get $20 off.  This was a coupon too good not to use.  Sam and I went in the store and she picked out 3 dresses and a pair of pajamas.  In addition, I picked out 2 shirts for Ian.  I wasn't sure what was on sale and what wasn't.  When we got to the register, I told the cashier that I want to keep it as close to $50 as possible.  The total ended up coming to something like $78.  I turned to Sam and said I only had enough money to keep it in the $50 range and you can pick 2 of the 4 items to take home.  Without any issue or causing a scene, Sam said she'd put back the pajamas and one of the dresses.  My new total, after the coupon, was $31.56.  Yep!  That's the way to do it.

A funny incidence occurred when I finally made it back to the gym.  It was a great work out and I had visions of going back in the mornings before Jeff left for work.  I got all excited until I came home later that day and there was a message from a guy at Gold's asking me to call him.  He said he saw I was back at the gym and wanted to know if I wanted to rejoin.  What?!?!?  Apparently when I went in there last on May 29th (OMG!  How pathetic, right?) to cancel the kids from Gold's kids club, they went ahead and cancelled the whole thing.  I hadn't been in there since then to realize this.

I figured I was in a position to negotiate the terms of my membership and got a sweet deal from the $21.99 every two weeks I was paying to $12.99 every two weeks.  And this will include 3 sessions with a trainer.  Woo-hoo!!   The sales guy was seconds away from putting the charge through (all the information was stored in the computer from before) when I said, "Stop!!  I can't use the credit card this month.  I promised my husband.  We are going to have to wait until October to put through this deal." 

All in all, it was a good month.  I knew that Jeff wasn't even going to come close to wanting to watch another episode of "Breaking Bad" so that he could win this bet.  But that's ok, because every time he logged onto Amex's website and saw where we were at, he was in a very good mood.  And that is a very good thing.

I'm happy to keep going with this.  I am happy for him to keep buying the groceries.  Getting gas in my car (as long as he goes to the gas station I like going to).  Just let me have it once each month to get to Target and stock up on everything we need.  Plus, it really does make me stop and think, "do we really need this?".  And in most cases, the answer is no.

Potty Progress

We are not out of the woods yet.  But Jeff and I find it very important to celebrate the small victories.  It's been such a long, painful road.  A journey that I was sure I wouldn't survive.  I already had visions that we would be getting an IEP for Sam when she entered kindergarten next year.  Yes, it was really that bad.  And I could easily see a future where Sam was wearing a pull-up to her prom.  Although, come to think of it, any 'action' that her date was planning on, would surely come to a halt when he reached her princess pull-up.  Maybe not such a bad thing. 

I am delighted to report that Sam has gone one month without any accidents!!  All peeing and pooping has been successfully completed in the toilet.  This is HUGE, people!!  Sam has pooped on average 2 to 3 times a day (big ones at that!!), each and every day.  Let me repeat, ALL SUCCESSFUL ON THE TOILET!!   No stripes, no little tidbits, no chunks of bigger things about to come in her panties.  This bears repeating!!  We have not thrown away one pair of underwear all month!!!

We all needed a moment to reflect and go absolutely crazy, over-the-top excited about the past month and celebrate how well Sam is doing.  So that there would be no pressure on her, Jeff & I came up with a surprise for our little pooper.  We would wake up this past Sunday and tell her she was going to the American Girl Doll Store and could pick out a doll.  Not another Bitty Baby, but the big leagues baby, an American Girl Doll!

Ever since we came back from our annual trip to the American Girl Doll Store for lunch, Sam has been looking at her catalogs and picking out the doll and outfits she wants.  She had no idea as she was looking at this catalog (multiple times a day, every day) that we had this plan in the works.

And so that Ian didn't feel completely left out of the surprise, we told him he could pick out where we went to lunch beforehand.  Of course, Jeff indirectly got Ian to pick where he wanted to go...Olive Garden.  But as long as Ian thinks it was his choice, that would work for us.

Jeff doesn't do well keeping surprises and it was very hard for us to keep the plan under wraps.  I have to admit, I even wanted to tell Sam what we had up our sleeves, but I knew it was important to not put pressure on her to not have an accident.  (Believe me, I know there is going to be times when she does have accidents.  I am so okay with that.)

Here is a picture of us telling Sam about her surprise:

Sam being told what is about to happen after we are done eating.

Picking out the McKenna doll.

Ok, so in the interest of full disclosure, Sam is still on 2 pieces of Ex-lax each and every night. I am not sure what will happen when she comes off of it, but until then I am most excited with the progress we've made. Our next appt. with the GI dr is on October 11th. We will find out next steps because Sam being on ex-lax for an extended amount of time is not a good thing. 

I keep feeling like we take 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.  For some reason Sam went to the bathroom first thing in the morning and didn't go again the rest of the day.  We have no idea why.  We kept insisting she try to go and she kept saying she didn't have to.  Even when we were getting her ready for bed, we pretty much forced her to try to pee.  I have no idea what that is about.  Oy!

But since we were only celebrating NO ACCIDENTS FOR ONE ENTIRE MONTH!, everything about today still applied.  We are so proud of her.  Let's hope the progress continues.

The Orange Juice Story

We've gotten into a great pattern.  Jeff drops Ian off at religious school and then brings Sam with him to Wegman's to do our grocery shopping for the coming week. I write the list of everything we need and hope for the best.  Two areas Jeff needs "gentle" reminders in is looking at expiration dates and only getting the quantity we need, not stocking us up like we are getting snowed in for a month.   I've learned by trial and error to grin and bear it with whatever he comes home with.  Once I asked for a plain rotisserie chicken.  Jeff managed to find a KOSHER BARBECUE flavored rotisserie chicken.  Yeah, that wasn't really going to work in my soup.  No worries, Jeff offered to eat it all himself.  In the same grocery shop, the milk he brought back expired BEFORE the milk we were currently finishing in the fridge.  Again, no worries, because Jeff offered to start drinking all the milk as fast as he could.  And in this same bag of groceries, was not one (as requested), but three containers of Danimals - which Sam decided on whim she no longer wants to drink.  Again, not a problem, because Jeff offered to drink them all too.  Jeff was very busy that week.

I am not complaining.  I'd rather Jeff go to the grocery store, take Sam with him and let me get things done at home.  I've learned to look at the groceries getting unpacked and put away in our kitchen with one eye closed.  They tend to look better that way.

With that said, I got blindsided last Sunday.  We'd be breaking the fast on Wednesday for Yom Kippur and I came up with a fun idea to do breakfast for dinner.  Pancakes, scrambled eggs, potatoes, fruit, and blueberry muffins.  We don't normally keep Orange Juice in the house, but I wanted to add an authentic breakfast drink for us to have.  I made out the grocery list and sent Jeff and the kids on their way.

Later that afternoon, I opened the fridge and saw this unfamiliar looking container staring back at me.  What the hell was that!?!?!  I reached in and grabbed it.  It was none other than fresh squeezed orange juice.   Where in the world did Jeff manage to find that!?!?  Upon closer inspection I see that this "Fresh Squeezed" orange juice was squeezed on Friday!  So Jeff managed to find two day old fresh squeezed OJ.  And the best part was, this OJ was set to expire the very NEXT DAY!  Not on Wednesday evening when we'd be drinking it.   The kicker on all this?   Jeff paid $6.00 for this container of goodness. 

OMG!  I had to do it. I had to go there.  It was really killing me.  I had to ask.

Me:  "Um, honey, I am asking this with love, not because I am criticizing." (I've learned my lesson to start any questioning with this.)

Jeff:   "What?"

Me:  "Where in the world did you find this orange juice?"

Jeff:  "It was next to the fruit.  And you had fruit on the list."

Me:  "I also had eggs on the list and Orange Juice (that doesn't expire for months and costs a fraction of this container) is next to them too."

Jeff:  "Oh well." 

Me:  "And you know this expires tomorrow, right?"

Jeff: "It will be fine."

Come Wednesday, as we are setting the table, Ian comes running in the kitchen and says, "Cool!  Orange juice.  Can I have some right now?"

Jeff pours him a glass and very quietly, Jeff and I watch Ian drink it.  Ian finishes his gulp and puts the glass back down.  We are both patiently waiting for a response from Ian.  Yes, that's right.  We made Ian the guinea pig to see if this orange juice was still any good.  How much do we suck as parents?!?!

Jeff:  "What did you think Ian?"

Ian:  "It's GREAT!!"

I have to admit, it was the best tasting orange juice I've ever had.  And I am sure its not because I hadn't eaten in 24 hours, but because Jeff managed to find the section of Wegmans that sells freshly squeezed orange and came home with it.

*Thank you to Jeff, who let me tell this story.  The gag order, unfortunately, is now officially back in effect.