Valentine's Day 2014

I decided to do something a little different for the kids for Valentine's day.  I came up with the idea to surprise them when they woke up on Friday morning with their doors covered in hearts; each one stating a reason why Jeff and I loved them so much.  I cut out hearts in various sizes and different colors (pink, red, white) and even used glitter glue on a few when writing to jazz them up a bit. Additionally, I created a banner up at the top of the door that said, "We LOVE...." and another at the bottom of the door that said, "Happy Valentine's Day!  Love, Mommy and Daddy"   And to top off this homemade creation, I found a "LOVE" banner that I hung across the bathroom door which is located directly across from their bedrooms.  The whole thing was constructed and put in place after the kids went to bed on Thursday night.  Additionally, Jeff bought each of the kids a card and I had gotten them Valentine's boxes of chocolate in designs they would like (Football for Ian, Hello Kitty for Sam).

How sweet, right?   Um, not so much.

I was so excited to see their reaction when they first woke up.  Sam got up first, got a kick out of her door, but wouldn't let either Jeff or me read her the 14 reasons we had written on the hearts.  She was pretty darn sure she could read each one on her own. Every time I started to read her one, she yelled, "I CAN DO IT!!!!!".  Ha!  Considering that one of the hearts said "How you love to learn to read", this was quite ironic.  Oy!  Who knows if she actually figured out what the hearts said or not.  I tried hard to get a few of them said out loud before getting screamed at.  How sweet for me.  :)

The older kid wakes up next.  He looks at his door, promptly slams it shut and goes back to bed.  It's another 20 minutes before he opens his door, tells us he does not like the hearts at all and wants them down.  Right now!  I was not expecting that reaction at all.  Ian especially does not like the heart that says "How you are with Samantha".  I told him to leave the hearts up until the end of the day.  I worked hard on the doors and want to enjoy it at least for a few hours.  Ian said he'd be inside his room until Valentine's day was over.  Ha!  Ian was acting like he experienced a bad break-up on the 14th of February and still hadn't gotten over the girl.  What got into him!?!?!  Jeff and I are not used to seeing Ian so grumpy early in the day.  I definitely didn't see that coming. 

When Ian emerged to go to the bathroom, I quickly seized the opportunity to run into his room and put the card and box of chocolates on his pillow.  After the trip to the bathroom,  he went back into his room, closed the door again and I could hear him unrwapping the chocolate.  At least he had use for that.

Oh, and I was told to next year hang the "LOVE" banner higher up.  Apparently having it their height was too low.   And on Sunday, Ian came to me and said he wasn't a fan of the chocolates.  They are "too chewy".  Whatever. 

It's so nice to do something fun and special for your kids and not have it be appreciated.  I can't wait for them to see what I do next year.  It will require very little effort on my part.  Very, very little effort.   Who am I kidding?  By the time another 365 days roll around again, I'll be ready to come up with another kooky idea to show them how much we love them. 



Sam's door

Ian's door

House of Cards.

Ever since I discovered streaming, I've tried very hard to find a show for Jeff and I to watch together.  With each series I'm about to start watching, I ask Jeff if he wants to join me in this endeavour.  "Breaking Bad"?  No.  "Orange is the New Black"?  No.  "Weeds"?  No. "Mad Men"?  No. 

It sucks that we don't have any pop culture interest in common.  I hear of couples all the time that stream television shows together.  They get into the series and start binge-watching.  How awesome is that to have the one you love get all caught up in the action too!  Someone to discuss the character development and plot twists right there next to you! 

I was ready to start watching a new series. And yet again, I asked Jeff if he wanted to watch it with me.  "House of Cards"?  Yes.  Yes?  Really?  Yes.  WOW!  I couldn't believe it.  We made plans to begin the next night.  If it was me, I'd be ready to start watching then and there.  But Jeff needed another day to prepare.  Whatever. :)

We watch the first episode. Jeff says he can see the appeal of the show.  I love Kevin Spacey and am already hooked.  However, I love Jeff too and am willing to go at his pace on streaming these episodes.  Therefore, the 2nd episode will have to wait for another day.  Since watching a show together is a dream come true, I restrain myself and patiently wait for when Jeff is up for watching this show.  We average an episode every other day; sometimes we go two full days between episodes.  It is hard to go at this snail's pace, but I do it.  I do it because I LOVE my husband and that's what you do when you love someone. 

It should be noted that as we are watching each of the shows, I've leaned into Jeff (very lovingly) and said to him, "I love that we are doing this!  This is like a dream come true for me."   Ugh, I could throw-up now having said that.

We make it to the end of episode #6 and Jeff says to me, "You can keep going if you want.  I'm not that into the show."  Um, ok.  Watch out people, because I can stream like no one's business.  I could be in the streaming Olympics with how I am able to squeeze in watching shows on my iPad, iPhone or TV at home while also getting everything else done.

I am now taking my iPad to the gym and getting in an episode each morning and another in the evening after the kids have gone to bed.  I come to the part where Claire has turned on Frank and I exclaim out loud, "Ooooh, Claire just double-crossed Frank."  At which point Jeff goes, "I know."

WHAT!?!?!?!!?!?!   I pause the show and look at him.  How do you know this?  Because the last time I checked, you weren't that into the show.  Jeff says he went online and read a summary of the remaining season.  OMG!  I am not a happy camper.  Obviously he was interested enough to want to find out what happens, but not interested enough to want to watch the show with me.  Sooooo not cool.  And to think that I showed such amazing restraint not binge watching this show for close to two weeks. 

I am presuming that Jeff must feel bad at this and not only apologizes but also offers to start watching season 2 with me when it comes out on Friday.  Yeah, thanks buddy, but I'd rather keep watching at my own pace.  I'll be done with Season 2 by the time the snow stops falling.  :)

I've learned my lesson. I am not going to try so hard to find a show for us to watch together.

Roots

I think I am going to Israel.  OMG!  I can't believe I just typed that sentence.  And I can't believe this trip may actually happen.  It's getting exciting for this mom of two from Burke, VA.  

My sister Meghan did a trip last Summer to Israel with Birthright.  Birthright's focus is to strengthen the Jewish identity and make a connection for young Jewish people.  The age range on who can go is 18 to 26 years old.  The trip is heavily subsidized and gives an amazing opportunity to a young Jewish person on experiencing the culture.

Meghan's time in Israel sounded magical.  I was completely mesmerized with her stories and loved that she got to experience all of this.   I kept thinking if they only offered something like this for older Jews like myself.  Going to Israel was never on my radar.  The distance (halfway around the world!), the expense and having young kids at home were enough obstacles to put the idea of traveling to Israel on the back burner; way, way back on the back burner. I mean just say I could come up with the money, I couldn't go for just a week and then come back home.  Flying that far requires staying longer and taking it all in.   If I had the time available to be away, the thousands of dollars for plane, hotel and sightseeing would make it near impossible to justify.  While it would be a dream to go to Israel, I never thought it was possible.

I recently found out about JWRP (Jewish Women's Renaissance Project) www.jwrp.org.  They do a Jewish moms version of Birthright. Various cities come together and send groups of Jewish moms to experience Israel.  The idea is make that Jewish connection and transform and grow through the experience.  Upon your return, be inspired and take an active role in the community, while also instilling the Jewish values within your family.  The ideal participant is a Jewish mom who has kids living at home under the age of 18.  As with Birthright, the trip is heavily subsidized and only requires paying for airfare and incidentals.

I applied for the trip!!  Holy moly!!!   It all feels like it is happening so fast, but if I am picked, the trip would leave on June 29th.  Like this Summer!  As in 4 1/2 months!!!  I met with the woman last Wednesday who runs the program for the D.C. area.  I was so nervous!  First day of school jitters kind of nervous.  I am still not sure I made sense or spoke in complete sentences.  I feel like I babbled my way through all the questions and answers.  And of course on the drive home, I thought of all this wonderful stuff I should've said. Isn't that always the case?

My friend Dawn applied to go on this trip too.  Her interview was on Friday.  She called me after it was over and filled me in on how it went.  According to the woman who interviewed us both, we are in.  Dawn said she loved us and wished there were more women like us who applied from the NoVa area.  I won't believe I've been accepted until I see it in writing.  The decision gets announced in March.  However, ever since Dawn told me how her interview went, this trip is all I can think about.  I can picture myself there.  The sample itinerary on the Website is amazing.  Not only is it all the great sites (dead sea, Western Wall, etc), but there are many lectures/classes mixed in throughout the days.  This itinerary really spoke to me. It sounds like a dream trip!   Camel rides, kayaking on the Jordan River, challah baking class -- so, so cool!

It will be a long couple of weeks until I hear officially if I've been selected.  I've already worked out the childcare issues.  Jeff parent's have very graciously agreed to take Ian and Sam for half of it.  The other half I will sign the kids up for full day camp at a place nearby our house.  Jeff will still be able to work and it should be manageable.

What a way to kick off the Summer!

Passport photos

I've gotten a special pass from my wonderful husband to tell this story.  Gosh, if I didn't know him as well as I do, I'd think he was doing these kind of things on purpose to get to me.

There has been much talk lately about international travel.  Jeff and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage in September and I am hoping we can take some kind of trip over the summer.  Jeff is less hopeful that our budget will allow a trip, but I want to be ready to go at a moment's notice should a good deal and the ideal timing present itself. 

I recently checked both our passports.  Mine doesn't expire until 2019. I am good to go!  Jeff's expired this past November.  I told him to please get it renewed now while we have time on our side and not have to pay expedited fees if we need it later on.  I pretty much did all the work for Jeff.  I went online and filled out the application to renew.  I printed it out.  I gathered his old passport and got it all ready to mail.  All Jeff needed to do was get new passport photos.  I even googled a place nearby his office in Arlington that could take the photos.  The CVS right across the street from his office offers this service.  And the best part, I found a $2.00 off coupon for getting these photos taken at CVS!!  Does it get any better?!?!  Just wait....

Jeff got the photos taken.  We are eating dinner later that day and I casually ask Jeff, did you use the coupon for the passport photos?  I always expect the answer to be, "No, darn, I forgot about the coupon."   Jeff has had this happen many times before.  I find a fantastic coupon and he completely forgets he even has it.  Surprisingly I've gotten ok with that.  It's a small price to pay to have Jeff do the shopping.  However, what happens next is a new one I have never encountered before.

Jeff:  No, the coupon was expired.

Me:  No, it wasn't!!  It expired on 12/31/14.  I checked before giving it to you.

Jeff (Now going to his coat pocket to take a look):  Oh yeah, your right.  I thought it said 1/31/14.

Me:  HUH? 

Jeff:  I asked them if they would take an expired coupon and they said no.

Me:  OMG!!  You are kidding me, right!?!?!  Let's just say that the coupon was expired (WHICH IT WASN'T!!!), why in the world would you point out to them that it was expired?  Why wouldn't you just give it to them and hope they didn't notice?

Jeff had no answer.  At this point we all couldn't stop laughing. 

I am so ridiculously in love with this guy that all I can do is laugh.  It's a good thing too.  Book smart?  Yes, brilliant!  The absolute smartest guy I know.  Street smart?  Not so much.  :)

 

A travel tale from the Crypt

I don't think I've ever fully explained what is involved getting The Crazy Man ready for a trip.  It's not the normal "let's look at the upcoming weather forecast for the city I'll be staying in" and decide what kind of clothing is needed.  Nor is it as simple as stopping the mail or the newspaper for the time The Crazy Man is away.  Oh no, it's so much more than that.  It's actually a process that starts many weeks in advance.

In order to get The Crazy Man to leave the NoVa area (either by plane, car, train or boat), the following gets done (by me!):

A Notebook (1 inch in diameter) is created.  The following sections are included:

• Reservation Confirmations

-All plane, car, hotel, cruise confirmation pages

• Phone numbers

-A list of all the phone numbers stored in his cell phone.  (Because you never know when the cell phone may go missing or completely break
-A list of emergency contacts with name and phone numbers
-A list of the doctors, medical professionals, and pharmacy contact info - complete with names, nurses, phone numbers.
-A sheet that includes anywhere from 5 to 10 names and phone numbers of who The Crazy Man wants to call while he is away.

• Back-up Info

-A list of all the medications currently being taken, including dosage, quantity and frequency
-A xeroxed copy of all the current credit cards and drivers license (including phone numbers on who to call if it needs to be reported lost or stolen)
-A xeroxed copy of the passport
-A xeroxed copy of car insurance info, health insurance card and triple A card

• Other Info

-A section that includes all museums, shopping, performances (plays, theatre schedules), and maps of the area being visited.
-Return address labels, stamps, his son's address labels to send postcards.
-FedEx prepaid labels ready to send boxes back.  (Not sure what is in these boxes he ships back. But he always ships a box or two back from wherever he's been).

Ok, so that is the binder that needs to be created.  And unfortunately, the information is always changing, so this information does not get transferred from one trip to another.

Next a day-timer gets created.  It is one of those pocket calendar type books that have a spiral bound and each page is a different week.  Only, The Crazy Man uses a day-timer from 2005 or sometimes older.  Yes, really.  So what I do is create these mini-pages on the computer and then tape them into the first few pages of a 2005 pocket calendar.  In the day-timer goes the following information:

A detailed trip itinerary that has flight info (airline phone number, confirmation #, date, flight #, time departing, time arriving, seat #s), hotel info (address, phone number, confirmation #, date checking in, date checking out, number of nights staying), car rental info (phone number, confirmation #, date and time picking up the car, date and time dropping off the car). And any other reservation information -- for example all the cruise info.

I also include a few blank pages because The Crazy Man loves to take notes.  The rest of the day-timer sports calendar pages that are over 9 years old.  Personally, that would drive me crazy, but The Crazy Man loves to recycle.

It should be noted that with each reservation that has been made (hotel, car, etc), I've called to find out the General Manager's name and direct phone number.  The Crazy Man (as soon as he knows he'll be traveling) has spoken to the General Manager many times about his impending visit.  About what?  Who the hell knows, but he finds something or other that has the utmost importance to be discussed.   So all of the General Manager's contact info is also included with this trip itinerary info.

Other items to be taken care of to prepare The Crazy Man for travel is:

1. Calling all his various banks and seeing if they can get in (100) $2.00 bills.  But they must be BRAND NEW.  Never been used.  Just so you know, banks can not request hot-off-the-press brand spanking new $2 bills. But I always try. And I always have to make the request to see what they do receive. This is always a fun exercise to do a few times a year.  The Crazy Man gets a kick out of handing out new $2 bills in whatever town he is visiting.

2. Calling all his various banks to see how many gold $1 coins they have available for him to get.  He likes these to be brand new too, but it isn't a deal breaker.  He also needs to know which president is on the coins before he decides if he'll go get them.

3. Stopping his newspaper and mail for the time he is away.  However, even if The Crazy Man lands at 11:30pm on the evening of his return, he will still want the newspaper delivered that day.

4.  The Crazy Man always has me call both UPS and FedEx to find out who will offer the best rate on shipping boxes back.  These boxes don't actually exist yet.  I use imaginary specs and weight to see what the shipping rate will be.

5. Calling the Walmart Pharmacy and finding out how many refills are left on each of his many, many prescriptions.  He wants to know that if he has to get a refill it will be available without having to call the doctor to get a new prescription written.  If there are no refills left, then I have to call that specific doctor (while also the pharmacy is doing it too) and make sure they get a new prescription on file.  I give it a day or two and then call everyone again (pharmacy and doctor) to make sure it got done.

6. Doing an analysis with a few different car rental places to see who will offer the best rate.  Then, once a car rental place is chosen and a reservation is made, I have to call AAA and find out if they will match the rate through their car rental program. I have to make sure I've spoken with a supervisor to make sure they understand that they could lose potential business by not matching the rate.  BTW, they have yet to match the lowest rate we've already managed to find.

6. For this particular trip The Crazy Man wanted to speak with Princess Cruise Lines many, many times.  His most outrageous request was asking if they could move Talent Night on the ship to earlier in the week.  Again, I have to ask myself, 'What the hell!?!?'   I think he simply dreams this stuff up to see how much he can get away with.   Seriously, he was putting in a request to get Talent Night on the night he wanted it to be.  Who does that!?!?!  Also, the woman he is traveling with is an Elite cruise member.  She has sailed over 185 days which means she is entitled to many privileges that normal cruise travelers don't get.  The Crazy Man wanted to discuss in detail the Elite status they will be enjoying on board.  For example, they get a complimentary minibar in their room.  Many questions stemmed from this particular benefit: What gets stocked in the minibar?  How often will it be restocked?  Do we have to call to get it restocked?  What if we only drink the water from it?  What if we drink one kind of liquor but not another?  What if we need it restocked more than you normally do?   Once he got "Elite status" confirmed with one staff member, I had to make sure another 3 or 4 people associated with Princess Cruise Lines also was aware of this.

7. Calling Triple A is always lots of fun.  The Crazy Man wants driving maps of everything under the sun.  Directions to all the museums, shopping, theatres and a listing of all the performances and shows playing for the time they are in the city.  I've offered to do this for him through google, but he is determined to use Triple A.  I think this an old school thing.  He loves the format it gets mailed to him in.  However, it takes a few calls of bugging them over and over again before we can leave Triple A alone.

There are a few other things that needs to get done in preparation but the above items are the big ones. 

The thing that really gets me is when I've done all this work and then at the last minute The Crazy Man will tell me he has switched hotels, or decided to change the car rental agency they are using.  That's the stuff that drives me crazy.

By the time The Crazy Man has left town, I am a happy girl seeing him go. 

Not as with "IT" as I think.

As of January 26th, I gave up my unlimited data plan on my cell phone.  I had been grandfathered in for years.  I paid $30 a month and could use all the data I wanted.  It didn't matter if I streamed episode after episode of "Breaking Bad".  It didn't matter if I watched YouTube videos or surfed Facebook.  I had no limits and was not in jeopardy of going over.  It was a freedom that I loved.  I never intended to give it up.  However, if I ever wish to upgrade my phone, I can no longer be grandfathered in.  Therefore, when the new iPhone 5S came out, I had a tough decision to make.  Do I get the new phone and give up the unlimited data plan or be content with the iPhone 4S I have now and enjoy my limitless data?   Oh, to have these first world problems.  :)

I decided to sit and wait.  Then Jeff's phone broke and he needed to get a new one.  He had no choice to but to go off the unlimited data plan and be put on the 2GB plan they offer.  It turns out that by going to the 2GB data plan, we will save money each month.  If I make the switch with him, we could save $40 a month together.  Wow.  Now I am convinced it is worth it to make the switch.  Especially after the Verizon lady does a quick analysis and tells me that I never even come close to using 2GB of data each month.  Sure, maybe not now, but what happens when they invent that next new thing that requires a ton of data usage?  What will happen then!??!   I guess this is a chance I'll just have to take.

Now that I made the leap, there is no reason to not get the iPhone 5S, especially after the Verizon lady tells me that I'll be given $199 as a trade-in value for my current phone and this will completely cover the cost of the new iPhone 5S.  I grab my purse and head to the Verizon store to get the upgrade. 

After waiting 30 minutes for an available sales person, I have my order put in the system.  I ask the guy about transferring over all my stored info in the phone (notes, reminders, photos, etc).  He says it would take way too long to transfer and he can only do the contacts.  He says I should do a back-up before handing over the phone.  He is happy to charge me the $200 for the new phone and then credit me later the $200 when I bring back the old phone.  Um, no thank you.  I'll just give you the old phone now.  Meanwhile, he says to go look at the cases and see if I want to get one.  I can't find one I like.  Not even a little bit.  It took me FOREVER to find the case I have now.  As we all know, the case for the 4S is not compatible with the 5S.  Why, oh why?!?!  I am hating the fact that I will have to settle on something I don't like.  The sales guy asks me about other accessories.  What about a charger for the car?   Ugh.  That's right.  None of my current chargers, adapters, etc will be compatible either.  I can no longer just plug my phone in any of the gazillion chargers I already have for my phone and the iPads.  So not fun.  I am now getting depressed about starting over with everything.  What is happening to me!?!?!  This isn't the Robyn I've grown to love.  I used to lose sleep getting so excited about the next new thing.  Now I am finding myself very content when my phone still works and doesn't need to be messed with.

The sales guy sees my hesitation and lack of enthusiasm over getting the phone and offers a suggestion.  Don't get it.  Wow, he is actually advocating losing a sale.  And it would be a big one with all the extra things I'd need to buy with the phone.  The sales guy actually tells me I should just wait for the next version of the iPhone to come out and then get that one.  I guess he doesn't want to see me back in the store for a long time. 

I thank him for his honesty and leave.  And with that, I still have my iPhone 4S and now 2GB of data to use each month. Somehow this doesn't feel like progress.  Could I be growing up? I am totally ok with saving money on not having an unlimited data plan that I wasn't really using lots of anyway.  And not needing the newest iPhone because what I have now works just fine?  Hmmm.  I guess so.  At age 42, my "needs" have won out over my "wants". 

Tale from the crazy crypt

The Crazy Man's pattern each year has him traveling for most of February.  This year finds him in California for a few days hanging out in LA and a week long cruise to Mexico.  Then he comes back for a day and heads to South Florida for 8 days. 

The last day I went to work for him before his trip was a new situation I had yet to encounter in my two years of knowing him.  It was a Thursday and of course was one of the many snow days we've had in the D.C. metro area this Winter.  This meant that Sam and Ian were home from school. I could leave Ian at home by himself, but I needed to take Sam with me to go work for the Crazy Man.  She has gone with me two or three other times in the past, so I knew she'd be fine hanging out with her iPad, sitting next to me.  As Sam and I were putting on our jackets to head over, the phone rings.

Me:  Hello?

Crazy Man:  Hi Robyn, I need your help. I'm in a crisis. I have an emergency.  You are about to come over here, right? 

Me:  Yes, Sam and I are putting on our jackets now.  What can I do for you?

Crazy Man:  I need you to go to the Pharmacy at Walmart. (He has been a customer there for years.  They know him and me without having to identify ourselves when calling).  They open at 9:00am.  When you get there, don't stand in line.  Cut the line and go to the front window to speak to the pharmacist.  This is an emergency.  I am constipated.  I need help.  Don't wait in line.   Whatever you do, don't stand in line.

Me:  Ok, I can do that.  What would you like me do once I get to the pharmacist's window?

Crazy Man:  Have the pharmacist call me immediately.  This is an emergency.  I am constipated.  I need to talk to her.

Me:  Ok, I'm on my way there now.

5 Minutes later, I get to Walmart.  I call The Crazy Man.

Me:  We are here at the pharmacy.  They don't open for another 5 minutes.  Don't worry, there is no one here standing in line.  I will call you back when I see the pharmacist.

Crazy Man:  Ok.  Good job.

I get to the pharmacist and tell her The Crazy Man is about to call her.  Could she please take his call immediately. He is dealing with a crisis and desperately needs their help.  She is wonderful and says, 'Not a problem.'   I can hear her talking to the Crazy Man.  She keeps saying, "That's alright.  That's why were are here.  Don't worry, you just need to be patient and let it work.  Yes, just be patient.  You will be fine."

The pharmacist gets off the phone and tells me it will only be a few minutes.  I take Sam and we go buy her some Swedish Fish for being so good about this little side trip.  Once I get back to the pharmacy, the assistant tells me they are done with his prescription and I can be on my way.  In a bit of TMI (too much information), I come to find out that after the Crazy Man's emergency constipation situation has been taken care of, he had a prescription of Viagra called in and needed to be picked up.   OMG!  I can't even begin to imagine what this pharmacist thinks of the Crazy Man. 

Apparently the Crazy Man plans to have a very good time in CA and on the cruise.