Playdate

When life gives you lemons...

...rob a lemonade stand.

Lemonade is good.  But is it jail time good? 

They melt in your mouth, not in your hand

If you weren't strapped for cash thanks to the recession, gas prices, ever increasing cost of living, you can invest in these collectables...

Woaw.

I LOVE t-ball

...actually, no, I don't.

But I'm taking one for the team.

No question, a 5 year old in a baseball uniform wearing a helmet the size of a hybrid car is cuter than all the puppies in the world combined.  Absolutely, it's a great sport for the kids to learn teamwork, get eye-hand/feet coordination, and have fun.  And yes, I am loving the Kodak moments.  But when my husband signed up to be an assistant coach, that automatically signed me up for this commitment.  Let me tell you that running around getting to practice, games, photo shoots, I don't know - championship tournaments, with both kids and gear is not fun.  I don't even get to watch the games cuz I'm making sure Owen's not getting into trouble.  Sure I'm chatting with other parents but they are also watching the younger siblings of players. 

Rob and Ethan are having great fun together.  So if anyone asks, I will say through gritted teeth, "I love T-ball."

      

Composting? Me?

   

I guess I'm feeling guilty about all those disposable diapers we use.  I definitely feel bad about that summer I spent driving without a destination JUST to get my kids to nap.  It could also be my compulsive nature.  Recently, I decided to start composting.  I know.  Me, with my quick gag reflex.  Me, a self-professed city girl..composting? I know.  (Okay, so technically I've lived in the 'burbs for nine years.)  But I really want to give it a try. 

Last year, we had great success with our vegetable garden. 

  This year, I am planning a second bed.  Rob already moved some of our bushes around to make room in our yard.   It's very exciting.  (Yes, sadly, these are the things that bring me thrills.)  My kids love helping to water the plants and pick the vegetables off the stems.  My mom is also happy that I have taken such an interest.  She grew up on a farm and she has an amazing green thumb.  The woman can grow vegetables and plants in any container on her balcony in Queens.  ANY container.  I saw her growing scallions in a lasagna pan!!

So with my first vegetable garden under my belt, I felt I could move onto more things.  I had gotten a kitchen scrap container and box of BioBags from my MIL for Christmas (don't ask) so it seemed like a good time to try my hand at composting.

These BioBags are made of CORN and they biodegrade!  How cool is that?  Science is sexy.  No? 

Within three days we had filled one bag with kitchen scraps!  Think of all the trash we're NOT sending to the landfill!  But, Oh Crap!  I forgot about a composter!  Rookie mistake.

After a bit of web research and some advice from local moms, I found this unit to fit our needs.  The Eco-Cycle Base Tumbler.  Sounds impressive, right?

I can't wait for it to arrive.  (Perhaps it's complusive consumerism?)  No really, I AM excited to start my new "project" and I DO need to put these biobags somewhere.  I will say that even with rotting food inside, my kitchen doesn't reek.  Very impressive.  I heart BioBags. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm being guilted by the media into being "Green".  And some of this stuff can be really expensive.  It takes green to be green.  In the end, I feel like it's a good thing to do and just one more small step towards the bigger cause.

Wish me luck with the composting.  I hope I can produce some nutrient rich compost for my garden, for my mom's garden...and maybe yours.

A Good Patient

We had to schedule an emergency surgery today.

In a bizarre accident an ear was severed from Max, Ethan's animal friend.

Without anethesia, he was mended.  What a trooper. 

Our good patient is recovering nicely.

 

Sandy Aego

That's how my kids pronounce the beautiful Caliornia city we visited over spring break.  Indeed, it is sandy.

 

If you haven't been, you must go.  It's so lush and picturesque.  There are so many wonderful sites and all within several miles.  The picture above was taken near the children's pool in La Jolla.  That is where the sea lions bask in the sun.  We went there just after dragging the kids to the Salk Institute research building designed by Louis Kahn.  Never while in architecture school did we think we'd visit this great piece of American architecture with our two boys.

San Diego has so many great districts.  The historic Gaslamp district is beautiful.  Seaport Village has a great old carousel and cute little shops.  We had a great time at the city ports on the USS Midway learning about the inner workings of this amazing naval ship.  The boys got to sit in the cock pits of several fighter jets and Rob and I got to chat with retired officers who proudly served our country.  Very cool.  Old Town is the oldest city in California.  We had a delicious Mexican dinner right in the heart of the historic town center.  Balboa Park was the site for the 1915 and 1935 World's Fairs.  There are some intricate details on these buildings that were designed to be temporary.  It is a serious endeavor to preserve and maintain these buildings but as a result their beauty can be appreciated by future generations.

Within Balboa Park is the San Diego Zoo.  Its mountainside locale makes for a tiring day but the aerial tram and all the fantastic animals make the hike worthwhile.  A train ride just outside the zoo makes for a nice end to the day. 

The most fun had by the boys was in LEGOLAND.  Yes, a theme park where everything is made with Legos.  The animals...

...made with Legos!

The characters...

...all Legos!

The cities...

HOLY FUCKING SHIT...all Legos!!!

Okay, so maybe Rob and I really enjoyed Legoland more than the kids.

The city itself is very energetic and the people all seem like outdoor althetic types.  With the gorgeous settings, beaches and parks it seemed like everyone was out for a run, walk, ride, surf and swim.  The only chubby people were the tourists!  Who can blame us...every kid's meal came with a heaping helping of fries.  I couldn't find a vegetable on any regular menu.  Thank goodness for all that walking we did cuz I would have gained 10 lbs from all the tourist food.

Although I didn't get to indulge in our hotels finer ammenities, we did get to swim in the heated pools and the beach was a mere ten steps from our room door.  Not too shabby.  Paradise Point is located in Mission Bay and it was a little piece of paradise!

San Diego was totally worth two full days of travel (with layovers in Detroit going, then Minneapolis coming).  Although it wasn't a restful vacation it was truely memorable. 

California Dreaming....

   

Signs

Signs that I’m turning into my parents:

1) I turn off lights all around the house…even when my kids are sitting in the room.

2) I’m constantly cold and having to put on a sweater/scarf/extra socks…that is, when I’m not sweating like a pig.

3) I tell my kids that they are also cold.

4) I steal Sugar in the Raw packets feeling justified because my coffee cost $3.80 versus the $0.99 coffees I used to get.  (Unlike my parents, I bought the Equal and Splenda.)

5) I quote the costs of things from “the good ol’ days”.  Like gasoline and coffee.

6) I blame my kids for my gray hair (cuz it couldn’t be age!).

7) I say things like:

“I will stop this car RIGHT NOW if you don’t…”

“Well, if your friends wanted to jump off a bridge…”

“Because I JUST said so!”

"What did I say?  What did I JUST say?!"

“There are children who don’t have ANY food! Now eat what’s on your plate!”

8) I have to ask Ethan to read fine print for me.

9) I cut napkins and paper towels in half.

10) I save the rubber bands that the postman uses to bundle my mail, Whole Foods wraps around my berries container and the ones art projects are rolled with.  And I make a nice ball with them.

Let the ridicule begin...

Golden Auspicious

The McZen is here!

Damn.  Maybe franchise work isn't so bad?

"You don't see those very often!"

Is what local pest-control extraordinaire, Jerry Buckingham, said to me. 

I'm not big on animals. 

Well, I like the friendly domesticated kinds.  I like watching animals in their habitat.  I just don't like wild animals in MY habitat.  Last year's Spring bunnies on our front lawn was almost too much nature for me.  When I thought it was a nest of rats, I mustered up all the courage I could find to expose the nest.  I figured nature's food chain (the vultures) would take care of things for me.  There are vultures in Maplewood, right?  When it became clear that they were bunnies, all of a sudden their cuteness factor increased exponentially.  They are very cute...

...until most of them die and I have to extract the live ones from under their siblings for the animal rescuer to take.  Not cute at all.

In the nine years we've been living here, I've only come across one (dead) mouse under my laundry basket.  Lovely, right?  See why I don't like nature in my habitat?

Sunday night I was cleaning up and I heard scampering above the kitchen ceiling.  I went upstairs to check on the boys.  All three of them were sleeping.  I woke one of them, my husband, and told him about the noises.  He came down and we determined that there was indeed an animal between our floor joists.  Just a 5/8" thin sheet of gypsum wall board separated me from this mystery creature.  I did NOT like this scenario.

First thing Monday morning, I called the exterminator.  He, thankfully, came within 30 minutes.  He saw no signs of mice (or any other animal) droppings in our basement.  Thank you.  After our recent basement renovation, we're down there almost everyday.  I would hate to know we're not alone.  The attic was another story.  In the eaves (I've only peeked into them once in nine years) he found squirrel droppings that were old, which is a good thing as far as finding animal poop in your house is concerned.  Then, he nicely pointed out the more recent mice droppings.  Aaeeeeeehhhhhh!!!!!  In the other eave, he found some more mouse poop then said, "Well you don't see those very often."  There in the corner of my attic was our little scamperer staring back at us. 

A flying squirrel.

If not for the fact that he is an uninvited, unwelcomed guest in my home, he would be very cute.  Looked like a chipmunk with a fuzzy tail.  Well, after a glance I had seen enough and decided to return downstairs.  Owen, the ever curious animal LOVER, was at the bottom of the stairs.  He was VERY upset when I wouldn't take him up to meet our flying squirrel.  Luckily, Jerry helped my case and Owen reluctantly acquiesced.

Later that morning, Jerry came back to set up some traps with peanut butter.  Now I have to listen for the SNAP! and the CLANGING of moving traps in my attic.  {{{shudder}}} .

Unlike the crazies who took this picture, I will NOT keep mine (or any of his potential friends) for a pet.

 

Find your happy Zen place

Maybe I never had it, but I've misplaced my Zen.  I must have had some sort of Zen.  My parents are Buddhist so they have Zen.  But, I don't meditate so mine is definitely lost.

I certainly feel lost lately.  Perhaps it is the January blues and my throat cold/infecion isn't helping matters.  It very well could be the state of limbo many women experience between careers that is a direct result of motherhood.  Yeah, it's the third one.

Since I was twelve years old, I knew exactly what I wanted to be.  I started drawing plans of houses that I designed on any little note paper I could find.  By Junior High, I was pumping out mechanical drawings and doing axonometrics.  By High School, I was in a drafting class and making scale models for college credits.  There was no question.  I was going to be an Architect. 

I earned my professional degree, I nailed a job right after gradulation and I LOVED my clients and projects.  I even married an Architect.  On paper, it sounds so glamourous...so why, after 24 years, am I questioning my path?

The answer is kids.  What worked before doesn't always work under different conditions.  Women (and men) make such difficult decisions for the sake of their families.  Circumstances change yet again, and more decisions must be made.  Balance...flexiblity...limbo.  What I didn't know at 12 years of age is that my career would not be definite.  It's so hard.   

Zen (ˈzen) noun: Japanese, religious meditation: a Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism that aims at enlightenment by direct intuition through meditation.

I need to find some Zen.  Enlightenment.

Our kids love getting books from the library.  A recent find is this book by Jon J. Muth called Zen Shorts.  You must read it to your kids.  Hell, read it for yourself. 

I got such an amazing reaction from Rob after he read it to the kids.  One of the stories REALLY hit home for him.  Essentially, there is a young monk and an old monk.  They come across a woman in a sedan being held up by her servants.  They were stuck in mud and had packages in their hands, therefore could not help her down.  The young monk walked past them but the old monk walk through the mud and carried the woman on his back.  She complained and didn't even thank the monk.  Several hours later, the young monk couldn't contain himself.  He asked the older monk why he helped that awful woman.  The older monk replied, "I put her down hours ago.  Why are you still carrying her around?"  There are two more stories in the same book.  They are equally wonderful.  Any children's book that has a life lesson to be applied to an adult gets my praise.

Coincidentally, Rob just bought this book for me based on a recommendation from a fellow blogger.

So far I've just read the first chapter and although I had to put the book down momentarily to yell at my son, I did it calmly.  Maybe my Zen isn't that far away... 

Maybe I should order one of these...a Sad Lamp...to en-lighten me.  Sorry couldn't resist.  Until my lamp arrives, I mean, in the meantime,  I'll keep searching for my happy place. 

Oh, and I'll get my daily Zen here!