He is 14!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is hard for my to fathom, my Lil' Man is Fourteen years old. I am beyond Blessed to have this Child. Although the teen years bring their own challenges, I must say they are few and far between with him. He is the epitome of unconditional Love, and he inspires me to want to always be better.

I love you my Son!

Snow Day & Comfort Food

What is it about Snow Days that makes us want to consume as much comfort food as humanly possible? I love the (temporary) isolation from the outside world. It allows for the immediate appreciation of being (trapped) in the constant company of your little loving family.

This is when my cooking drive kicks into overdrive. Although it is only one day confined to the house, I must cook and EAT like we may never see civilization again. I shutter to think what I may weigh if I lived in Alaska!

So, it is the clambering of cold, excited children building forts in the frozen Tundra that drives this hibernation mode I enter in to. The NEED to fill their bellies and pull out clothes right from the dryer to warm those frozen bones becomes all consuming. Tomorrow School will return, plows will make a mess of streets, snow will even get 'dirty', but for today, I am content hibernating.

Christmas gift on Ice

We attended Larry's Flyer's Game which was his Christmas gift. Originally, my intention was to get two tickets, one for him, one for me....of course! Well, long story short, in my bleery eyed, 2 am sleep deprived state of mind, while shopping on line to get the tickets, I HAD to buy three. Yes, the deal that seemed too good to be true, WAS. I failed to check that the reason the price seemed PHENOMENAL for two tix that close to the ice, was because, AFTER I clicked PURCHASE (with no chance of ever changing your mind, fool) the UNBELIEVABLE price was for....wait for it....ONE TICKET! AAAGGHHH!!!!!!!!

So, with no chance of undoing this tragic mistake, I had to start searching all over again. Now more bleery eyed, and so sleepy I was praying for a Coma to kick in. To make it more fun, I now must find two tix close to the lone seat, so whoever (Me)sits in that amazing seat three rows off ice, directly behind our Fly Boys, will be near to the other two who wont be sitting in that amazing section. When the dust settled, I found two seats, a section over and three rows distance from the lone(amaaaazing) seat. The other two were very good also, and come to find out, the exact two seats I purchased a year earlier for my boys birthday. Kizmet? I don't know. But, those seats are right next to the opposing team, which that night was the Montreal Canadians, better known as the Habs.

I wake husband up after all tickets were safely tucked away in cyber world and now belonged to US (he now is included, which is news to him). I tell him while he is 3/4 asleep the whole ordeal in my best NJ fast paced, car salesman pitch, what went transpired, and that "Merry Christmas, you are going to the Flyers Game, HONEY!!!" From what I remember, he groaned and rolled over, which I took as his full approval of said situation. I fell into the deepest sleep I have ever known. Morning came earlier then usual. Now Hubs wants to rehash the sleep state conversation we had, not quit sure he dreamt it or not. I tell him how wonderful it worked out the way it did, and he can join his boy & I in the Sport we love intensely. I try a little reverse psychology and tell him I will sit with our dear first born, and he can have the seat ALONE near the Flyers bench. He mulls it over, and says,"YOU go sit by yourself and go screaming the way you do surrounded by total strangers." Inside, I'm jumping for joy. Outside, I say,"OK, that's only fair, you are right." Little does he know, I am among my people at these games, we ALL scream, and there is no such thing as a stranger in this environment. Maybe it was the "YOU ARE RIGHT"at the end of my sentence the cued him in to the farce. He decided he wanted to see exactly where the seats were located. UMPH! I begrudgingly show him. Now Mr. Neverwantedtogo Inthefirstplace, decides, HE will occupy the lone seat, since it's HIS Christmas gift! He trumped me. And you know what, I'm OK with it, no really! I have the best time at the Games when my son is by my side, screaming just like his Mama. We had a blast. Lesson learned, look for tickets prior to 2am, and ALWAYS check the quantity, or be ready to give up the good seat to you know who.

Planets, Clay & Tinfoil

Julia participated in the 3rd Grade Science Fair. She was very proud of the display and presentation she (with the help of Daddy) put together. When asked how she did after presenting her information to the class, she responded, "I ROCKED it!" That's my girl!!!

January Snow Madness! Dog Days are here.

The snow has brought with it many issues. Despite the obvious obstacles, travel, shoveling, food shortages, achy bones from spills from icy patches, the main one is the "Stir-Craziness-Mania" of being trapped in your own home for longer then you like.

I knew that applied to the human inhabitants of this abode. Then I stated to see how the Canine faction was faring, and what they did to keep their minds sharp in a time when one clearly feels like the mind is slipping away in the snow banks.

This was just one day in the life of Tommy & Ginger. They brought such joy to me this day. They let my "One step way from the Shining, All Snow & No Play Makes Coll a crazy woman" mind wander and focus on something other then the trapped feeling consuming my soul. Thomas became "obsessed" with the fleet of Ninja Squirrels taunting him from our window, and Ginger-I-really-detest-coldstuff-on-my-feet, followed her brother without a thought of the yuck building up on her paws. They were totally present in the moment, enjoying their dog-ness....and I couldn't help but follow them on this journey, if only an observer. I thank them for the Gift of Living in the Moment. I have so much to learn from my Dogs!

Sleepover Sillyness

Jul is very fortunate to have two "Sisters" that are known as Soph & Livie. Jul and Soph have been buddies since Nursery School. Soph & Livie's Momma is my dear friend Angel, who I actually went to High School with, small world!

The three girls do a wonderful job of hanging out together, and just thoroughly enjoying each others company. We usually try to be down the Shore at the same time. The girls have enjoyed the surf & sand together, a 4th of July Parade, and fun at 52nd Street Playground.

While most would say three girls on a play date is a recipe for disaster, and for the most part--I agree! But, not with this trio. They have had a few sleepovers at each others homes. There is a sense of comfort I have sending her to my friends home, more like she is going to stay with family, not just friends. I don't have that sense of "let-my-guard-down-peace-of-mind-comfort" with many situations that involve my kids and other people, but in this case, I DO! I sure hope my friend has that same level of comfort, in fact, I know she does, which makes me feel so honored!

Weekend Snow Day? We'll take it!

I was awakened at 7 am by my wonderful four-legged Alarm clocks, that wanted to go outside.
When they completed their task, back to bed we 3 went, while the other 3 (two-legged) family members slept. It seemed like 5 minutes later, but, actually it was about two hours later, my children were squealing with delight over the SNOW! OK, maybe it wasn't 'squealing' but on a Saturday morning that one hopes to catch up on a bit of sleep deprivation, it sounds like SQUEALING!!!! The other thought I had was, "they are insane, I was just up, there was no snow."

Well, the joke was on me, the fluffy white stuff must have started when I shut the door at 7 am, and crawled back in my cocoon, and it apparently did not let up. I am one who enjoys snow days. Let me clarify, snow days where none of my loved ones or I have to be out driving in it, today met that criteria. The next thought was, "I have no food!, why didn't I go get that milk last night?" Oh, yeah, because this snow caught me totally off guard. Last night, I took the boy shopping for some much needed sneakers. It was actually a quit enjoyable time spent with my oldest. As we left the Shopping Center I had to drive past the Grocery Store, I chose to squash the little voice that said,"run in and get those few items that are desperately needed in the fridge." Instead, I laughed at that little voice, with a flippant," there's always tomorrow" you see where this is going? We arrived home, and I speak with my Mom on the phone. She asks if I heard that there's going to be snow on Saturday? I double check with the resident Meteorologist (my hubs) who states he thinks it's not suppose to snow until Tuesday. Mom and I end our call, and I settle into a (false) sense of security that we will not deal with white stuff until next week. Well, that wasn't true, as referenced by above information regarding squealing children. The phone rang at 9:10 am this morning, just so my Mother could say, "TOLD YOU SO!"

Let the Good Times Roll!