Sorry to be MIA for so long. I was totally wiped out after last weekend's festivities. I guess I'm getting old.
This was a long week of school here. I have switched Andy from Life of Fred math, which I adore to Saxon, which, surprisingly, he adores. Saxon is WAY more time-consuming, but at least it's all making sense to him and that's the point, right? But . . . I'm kind of burnt out. This is my fourth round with Saxon 6/5. It's a great program, but I'm thinking I'm burnt out. And, thinking I'm burnt out is stressing me out. A lot. With the older boys, it's a struggle to keep them on track with their college studies and their online work and keeping up with what we're doing here. I keep reminding myself that they're doing VERY well in college classes, but I want them to do better. I'm not feeling like much of a success in this department lately. It's frustrating yet, I have to keep telling myself, it's not me. They have a solid foundation and I cannot provide them with motivation. But, GAH! BIG GAH!
And, as an added bonus, I have to show up for jury duty in the morning. I'm sore tempted to take my brother's advice/theory and show up with an 8" string hanging out of my mouth - for the whole day. He swears they wouldn't pick anyone with a string hanging out of their mouths. It cracks me up just to think about it.
But, I believe in the process and, inconvenient as it will be, I will be happy to serve on a jury if they want me. That's a lie. I won't be happy at all. It will make a disaster of this week. And, still, I think it's worth it. Cross your fingers that I can behave tomorrow and make it through security and not do anything stoopid.
I'll keep you updated - jury duty???? That could be fun. Lots of people to watch, huh?
we had a party and the police didn't show up?? We did just that on Saturday. Amazing but true.
Dan and three of the young men he has been in Scouts with since he was seven all had their Eagle Scout Ceremony on Saturday afternoon. (l to r: Dan, Zach, Josh and Kyle) It was a wonderful, kind of bittersweet afternoon. All four families had been working and planning for this event for a long time. The boys' first leader came to be our emcee. My sister and her family drove nine hours to be here. In all, there were about 100, give or take, people there who all have watched these kids grow up.
I was tired when Saturday started. I'd been up the night before getting food ready and getting the house ready for our post-ceremony cook-out. I don't mind staying up at night; I do mind getting up and having to be nice in the morning. But, when I showed up with a truckload of food and decorations and walked into the civic center, it was all I could do not to cry. My friends, the other parents and Kaaren the awesome cake-lady, were all there. It was really happening.
The ceremony was wonderful. It was funny and touching and very personal. It was a time to reflect on how much all of the boys have grown up and changed while still being the same little boys I knew years ago. I remember when I could pick each and every one of them up to stick them on the kitchen counter when they needed a band-aid. Now, they could all pick me up and toss me across the street. But, I think they'd all still ask for a band-aid and a glass of juice if they needed it. It's just amazing to me that all four of them stuck together and finished up together.
After the official ceremony, we invited people back to the house for a cook-out. There were a bunch of people here yesterday. It was nice, sort of, that it got colder as the afternoon wore on because a lot of people went home to get warmer clothes. I had time to come home, bundle up and get things set up.
What a great afternoon. One, our neighbor never even called the police. (I kept my lip gloss handy, just in case the cute cop from New Year's Eve showed up. Poor Mike, he knows I'm insane, but not quite enough to have me committed.) Two, our house was bursting with friends and family and families who all know and love these boys. There were people everywhere - inside and out. It's so weird to me because I really am an introvert - I like people just fine, but I much prefer quiet. And yet, we had a full house and it seems like everyone had a good time and few things could make me happier.
The little kids were playing on the tire swing and in the tree house and out front on scooters and bikes and you name it. The adults were in the house talking books, outside talking grilling, outside making a fire pit for marshmallows. There were also a lot of people playing on the Wii. We do not have a big house, but it sure can hold a lot of people when we need it to do so.
We're so lucky to live in the town and the neighborhood that we do. We're blessed to have the family that we have. Sometimes, after an evening like last night, I feel like we're hogging all the good stuff, but there's plenty to go around, right? And, even if we are hogging it all up, it was just one day (well, two days if you count Harry Potter). Do you know that feeling? Like everything is just too good and happy and nice? That's how yesterday was. I'm sure the other shoe will drop (does anyone know what that actually means?) soon, but for now, I'm basking in the aftermath. So many wonderful people are in our lives - it's hard to wrap your head around it after things like this Eagle Ceremony. We really are incredibly lucky and blessed and happy to know the people we know.
Here are a couple of pictures. I hope you all have many days as wonderful as this one was.
Friday we went to Universal Studios with Bing, my sister, my brother-in-law and their three kids. This was our Christmas present from my parents. For a family of Harry Potter nerds, this was the BEST Christmas present ever! I've talked here in the past about Universal. I don't handle 3D rides very well, so it's never been my favorite theme park. That's all changed.
We, of course, picked the only rainy day of the week to go to the parks. But the morning started off with nice temperatures, high 60's and just some clouds. The older "kids" in the group started their day off with the Hulk roller coaster. I've been on the ride several times and opted to stay with the younger crowd. They rode some horrifying cartoon version of the tea cups. Next, everyone but me and my niece, Jesse, and Ian, who was wishing he hadn't had a big breakfast before going on the Hulk, went on the Spider Man ride. Jesse and I scouted for snacks, hoping for an open ice cream shop, but settling for some very expensive chips and drinks. We left Ian flopped on a bench semi-moaning.
Once everyone was sufficiently nauseated from Spider Man, we headed to Jurassic Park for the water ride. It was still warm at this point and it seemed okay if we got a little wet. Fun ride. A little intense for young kids, as witnessed by the poor couple sitting behind us with a 5 and 7 year old who were terrified. A little drippy, we headed into Harry Potter world.
To say I love the Harry Potter books is such an understatement. The whole thing is a mix of great stories and lots of good memories for me. I actually thought I might cry as we walked into the venue. It was perfect. So perfect. And, like they were waiting for me, the Beaux Baton girls and Durmstrang boys were doing their act when we entered. I am pretty sure I squealed. Mike, who is the only one in the family who is not intimately familiar with all things Harry Potter, plowed through like nothing was happening - we lost him for a while. The rest of us gawked and oohed and ahhed over the details in everything. Behind me in the picture is Hermione's dress from the fourth movie - can you say WEE? I could wear that thing as a garter. Still, it was neat to see it real life.
It was really fun because there were people all over from everywhere. Ian spotted our first manpri of the day. He was speaking French. Manpri's are the equivalent of wearing a speedo in the US - sure they might be comfy, but ... There was a Brazilian girls soccer team that was having a great time. There were people from Israel, the UK, Japan, Germany and those are just the languages I could recognize. And, every single one of them was a Harry Potter nerd. People had t-shirts, gowns, caps, scarves, wands, you name it.
The little shops, while very, very expensive, were beautifully detailed and full of all kinds of fun stuff to see. Hogsmeade was perfect from the snow on the roofs to the crooked chimneys to Ollivander's Wand store. (I'm ready to go back!) Butter beer is delicious - it's very sweet - I don't know that I could drink a full glass, but it was yummy. Like a very vanilla-y creme soda but less fuzzy and the foam is amazing - not sure how that works. That's Andy and Ian in the picture. Dan and Tim had fizzy Pumpkin juice with lunch and they loved it. I just couldn't go there.
The younger kids loved the Hippogriff roller coaster. Dueling Dragons, the bigger, scarier roller coaster, actually had Mike skipping and jumping up and down to go on again and again. I really thought he was going to start hugging strangers, he was that happy with the ride. The coolest thing, though, was Hogwarts Castle.
The line for the ride is a trip through Hogwarts and die-hard fans will not be disappointed. The park was not crowded while we were there. Usually, that's a great thing. In this instance, however, it would have been nice to go through the castle at a slower pace. There was so much to see - talking portraits, ghosts, Dumbledore's office and so much more. It was really cool.
Now comes the stoopid part . . . I KNOW I cannot handle 3D. Heck, I can't even handle sitting in the back seat of a car if the ride lasts more than 10 minutes. But, I really, really, really wanted to see the whole thing. Danny, who had already been to HP world, assured me it wasn't that bad. Danny is a liar. If you are remotely prone to motion sickness, skip the ride. Trust me.
My first instinct as the attendant was lowering the shoulder bar over me was to say, "Wait, I cannot do this," and get off the ride. But I ignored my instincts. Stupid is as stupid does. About 3 seconds in, my mom and Mike, who were sitting on either side of me, were shouting "Amy! Close your eyes!" I did and I spent the rest of the ride in a clammy sweat, praying for death or an end to the ride. Luckily, the ride ended. I was sweating and sick and in a panic. It wasn't pretty.
Of course, the ride lets out into a gift shop. During our visit to the castle, it had begun pouring rain. The gift shop was packed with people buying ponchos (think $8 garbage bags) and trying to stay dry. As a rule, I do not shove strangers out of my way. Friday, I made an exception. All I could think was "Please God, do not let me throw up on some poor unsuspecting stranger." People yelled at me, but I made it safely outside into the freezing rain and I just stood there breathing and breathing.
Eventually, Mike found me. I must have been absolutely ghastly pale, because Mike was freaked out. But, I felt better - the upside to cold rain! We went to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. Not bad for a theme park restaurant. And, it was warm and dry. AND, it was the Three Broomsticks!!!! There was, again, so much detail. If you're not that into the books you might not be as impressed, but I loved it. We were all wet and I was soaked through after my nausea-induced rain dance. We stayed for a long time eating and watching the kids dare Bing to eat yet another mysterious Bertie Bott's Bean. Even after an ear wax AND a vomit, she kept trying them. My mom is a brave hero. Ugh!
We spent the rest of the afternoon on rides and looking at everything and fuh-reezing!!!!! The rain never let up and we were damp and cold and cold. Everyone kept going. We had to leave to get home to get things ready for the Eagle Scout do on Saturday. Lynne, Paul, the kids and my mom weren't far behind us. I don't think there were ever people more grateful for a warm car in their lives! (Dan and Ian are actually not as miserable as they appear in the picture. I just stuck it in because it was funny.) Luckily, we have 2-day passes, so we'll be going back within the next two months. I can hardly wait.
I'm headed to bed but wanted to check in . . . Why do we go for long stretches with nothing that interesting going on and then all the interesting stuff gets bunched together?
In case you've never met me, I'm a Harry Potter addict. I love the books, I love the audio books and I mostly love the movies. A lot. For Christmas, my mom surprised me and my family and my sister and her family with tickets to Universal to check out the Harry Potter deal there. We all went today. (For the record, my brother was invited, but he hates theme parks, hasn't read HP and I think my sister and I and our combined seven kids make him twitchy lol). I'm not going to go into detail right now, but suffice it to say that I LOVED it. LOVED LOVED LOVED it. Despite being soaking wet and freezing for most of the day, we all had a blast. I promise more details in a future post.
Tomorrow is Danny's Court of Honor for his Eagle Scout rank. He's having the ceremony with three other boys/young men that he has been with since they were all about seven. It's amazing to have four kids from one troop, much less one little patrol, make Eagle Scout. I'm so incredibly proud of Danny. He earned this on his own. We were lucky to find a great group way back when he was in second grade. Mike and I have made some lifetime friends and Danny has as well.
After the official ceremony, because I'm clearly smoking crack in my sleep, we're having a cookout. It seemed small and easy when I was planning it weeks and weeks ago, but you all know how that goes. Three soaps to the person who correctly guesses the first patrol car at the house tomorrow. We're expecting between 35-50 people. No explosives are planned, but who knows.
Stay tuned for pictures and details on Harry Potter AND our imminent arrest ... err... Danny's Eagle Scout party. (check out the cake - I'll have more details on this later too - isn't it just stunningly amazing????? I can barely bake brownies! I can't believe someone I know made that in her kitchen!!!!!!!)
My BABY of all my babies is 11. How is that possible? And, then, I think to myself - I do that a lot . . . I turn 46 this year and my mom is still living her life and not clinging to me and weeping every June when my birthday rolls around. But, really, 11? That's stranger to me than Danny turning 18 this past September.
And we roll on . . .four more inches and I will be the shortest person in the house.
If you are asked and you accept to write a letter of recommendation for a student, friend, neighbor, whatever . . . do it. If you are hesitant about writing a recommendation or you can't meet the timeline, be up front. If you are dealing with a kid who has been homeschooled, REALLY be up front. If you won't, can't, or hesitate for whatever reason (and all you have to say is "No, I can't do this right now.") by all means speak up. Odds are you will hurt the feelings of the kid's parents more than you will the kid, but at least everyone knows where they stand.
Dan has been "stood up" now twice. Once for reasons I'm not sure about and twice because the teacher sent the recommendation to the wrong address and has since moved out of state. As his mom and main teacher for the past 10 years, I can write a recommendation, but it carries little weight. A strike against Dan who is finishing up his second year of college (junior/senior year of high school) with straight A's.
If someone asks you for a letter, take it seriously. Your failure to follow through can really impact that young person's life.
Sure, we've all watched A Christmas Story at least once. We all know you'll shoot your eye out with a BB gun. But, the "major award" is not getting enough publicity. I dunno, maybe lots of men win insane prizes and are inordinately proud of them. All I have to go by is the movie A Christmas Story and my own life. Sadly, I didn't get a leg lamp - which I would actually kind of like. No . . .
Mike entered a football pool thing on a local radio station and won. And we are now the proud owners of a beer tube - seen in the picture. It's currently sitting in the middle of my living room. It's plastic, so I can't pretend to knock it over and break it. Make it go away - someone, anyone.
(The picture isn't that clear - it's a football base, with a tap and a tube that holds a 12-pack, there's even a drain thingie. It's hideous and big and, did I mention, it's in the middle of my living room?)
Tonight Mike and I had dinner with one of our best friends from college. We've been in touch with him over the years, but sporadically - you all know how that goes. He's in town working on a project and we managed to get together. He and Mike talk more often and, so, in our later years, Mike knows him best.
When Mike and I walked into the restaurant, Mike immediately said "There's T." I looked and I looked and I looked again. I didn't see T. Ugh. Getting old sucks. T's formerly black, black hair is WHITE. And it's super short. And it is receding. I would have walked past him a thousand times!!!!! (Mike and I, with our Get By Free pass on the aging thing cannot relate to any of this.)
Yet, once we all met up and hugged and found a table, it was like 20-ish years had never passed. We were laughing and howling like old, old times. There was actual snorting of beer through a nose. We've kept up on each others' gains and losses and triumphs and tragedies over the years, but there is nothing like sitting down face-to-face. It was a great night - even though much of what we talked about was not great or fun or funny. (T has to clear it with his wife, but I think we're going to form an old people bagging groceries coalition in another 20+ years - finally a retirement plan that makes sense!) I love knowing someone who knows us so well that we can pick up like we'd all just talked a few days ago. You don't find too many people in life where that works.
On the way home we had to stop at the pet store, the drug store and at the grocery store (because, really, we are all about glamor) but Mike and I were laughing and still enjoying the night. Thanks T!
I love getting back into a routine - really, I do. But, must it be so painful? The older boys have classes on Monday and Wednesday that start at 8 am. If you are a teenage boy who lives on a farm, this is not too bad. If you are my teenage boys, this is akin to getting up at 5 am to milk the porcupines. It's not been pretty and tomorrow is only the second day of classes. My hope is that they will figure out how to better manage their time QUICKLY. Gah!!!!
Andy is another rocky road. The long break has rendered math to be an entirely new subject. It's absolutely mind-blowing. I remember this with the other boys, but somehow, with so many less distractions, it seems more tragic with Andy. I keep telling myself, "MUST not smother last child. The others learned and will soon be functioning adults. Back off, woman." To be honest, it's not really working. Happy note - he remembers all of his Latin. I'm not sure how this bodes for the future. Half-full or half-empty? Stay tuned.
In middle-aged-world, I'm in my yearly panic to get everything I ever thought of done in two weeks. I am aware of the pattern, but I cannot break it. We MUST do x, x and y NOW or bad things will happen. Currently, I'm trying to figure out 1) if I really do want to repaint the living room and kitchen and 2) are slipcovers worth the effort - I've made them before, just, well, I've made them before. It's not hard, it's just big and time consuming and is our furniture really that ugly yet?
Planning Dan's Eagle Scout ceremony. He's having his ceremony with three other young men. They've all been together since they were 8-year-old Cub Scouts. It's not that hard to get it all together, it's just something I have been delaying because it's another "last" for Dan. Who knew I was such a mushy person? I'm so surprised at how reluctant I am to see all of the "kid" things come to an end for my first-born while at the same time, I'm so excited to see what he does with his life. I know there's lots more to look forward to, but this is a weird-in-between-time.
To that end, I have a new-Christmas-yoga mat. I bought some new yoga pants. I have a video and a dvd lined up. What's stopping me? For now I'm going to go with my theory that yoga clothing must be broken in before it's used for actual stretching. I'm looking forward to starting it up. I think if I can get Andy back into his math groove, I should be able to carve out 30 minutes in the morning to ease myself into a calmness I've never possessed. Right? It could happen.
I hope I'm not alone after reading that headline and having the Talking Heads Psycho Killer running through my head. Love that song.
That said, this is just a "how weird is my husband" post. Yesterday, Mike and Ian spent the best part of the afternoon putting in a light in the back of the house for Mike to use when he insists on grilling in the dark (not to be confused with Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark - no psycho killers or grillers to be found there). It was supposed to be a quick and easy father/son project. It didn't really work out that way. In the end, I think Ian was teaching Mike (aka Ward Cleaver) creative ways to swear. To that end, I think it was a positive experience.
When Ian came in to shut the power down to the entire house, I noticed my neighbor sitting outside supervising her five year old on his new Christmas bike. I also noticed she had her trademark plastic cup with a straw that signaled it was, in fact, happy hour. I grabbed some cheese and crackers, an adult beverage and a blanket and headed to saner territory. We snacked, talked books and were freezing our behinds off when another neighbor drove by, asked to drop one of her kids off while she picked up the other AND would we be be there when she got back? Well, of course we would.
About the same time, my first neighbor's husband came out, as did Mike. It was a regular driveway party. For another hour, we all talked about crappy cars we'd all owned in the 80's among other things. I distributed ugly hats I've knitted to keep us all warm (we looked like a meeting of the house elf society - especially funny since 3 of 5 of us had on shorts and flip flops). (Note: This is not my hat - this is what I found when I googled Dobby hat - my hats are not nearly as pretty or sturdy.) And, then we were invited in for dinner. Who knew? Neighbor #1's husband had been watching football and making something called KILLER casserole.
All the kids and adults chowed down on this stuff - noodles, cheese, more cheese, onions and something else that was gooey - sour cream? I don't know, but it was delicious and perfect for a bunch of cold people. When we came home, Mike and Andy sat down to watch Alton Brown while I puttered with the laundry. An hour later, Mike came out to tell me he was going to bed. But, he looked worried. I asked about it.
"Why, exactly, is it called KILLER casserole?" I told him I didn't know, but I didn't think it was a problem. "Are you sure?" Now, I've met Mike's parents and I know how they cook. I guarantee you Mike grew up eating, if not the exact same thing something pretty dang close. I asked him how he felt and he assured me he was fine. I told him to go to bed and think of happy things. Mike did not look entirely convinced, but he went off to bed.
Later, when I went into bed, I slid in quietly - not because I don't love Mike but because despite the fact that we upgraded to a king-sized bed about eight years ago, Mike thinks we are sharing a twin bed. Mike is a snuggler. If he senses me getting into bed, I'm in a loving head-lock before I can even get my pillows adjusted. After all our years together, I've mostly adjusted to this fact. I get my time to sleep face down, sprawled all over the place after he gets up in the morning.
But, even for us, last night was extra weird. I slid under the covers and was on my left side when suddenly, Mike's hand was on the side of my hip and pressing it into the mattress. Nothing else, just the hand. Weird. I waited about 10 minutes and pushed him off of me. I thought he'd gone back to sleep when suddenly, the hand was on my hip and the other hand was holding my left arm straight up. Then I started to laugh - I was waiting for him to sing "I'm a Little Teapot." I waited again - he was DEAD asleep. Again, I pushed him away and claimed an extra 6" of bed for myself.
By this time, I was fully awake. I got a fresh glass of water and put on a Harry Potter cd and climbed back into bed. I wasn't sure what was coming next (everyone sing Psycho Killer with me) but nothing happened for a while. I was just dozing off when I felt the lightest touch on my hip. It was Mike. He had just one finger, ever-so-lightly sitting on top of the side of my hip. His arm looked incredibly uncomfortable. I waited, without moving, a good 20 minutes. Finally, I fell asleep - Mike's finger still on my hip.
I'm blaming the Killer casserole.
(I asked Mike this morning and he has no recollection of any of it. Oh, oh, oh ohhhhh . . . run, run, run, run run run away!)
How I have loved this Christmas break. This fall was exhausting and stressful for all of us between the Naval Academy stuff, Ian and Tim starting college classes and Andy and I losing our "class" this year. The Christmas break has been awesome. Danny scrambled and finished up all of his college application stuff before the break and, not really good news, his hours were cut at his job. Ian and Tim were on track with their online courses to take a decent break. So we all had TIME. Time is everything, isn't it?
We made cookies. We played a five-day-long game of Monopoly. We watched an eclipse at 3 am while laying on the hoods of the cars and eating potato chips and drinking Coke. The older boys stayed up WAY late with me rearranging and moving furniture to make room for the Christmas tree. We all re-read the old Christmas newsletters and the boys helped me come up with material for this year's letter.
After Christmas, we took advantage of the cold weather and drove out to Blue Springs to see the manatees (296 of them!). I was surprised when the older boys wanted to join Andy and me on our manatee adventure. We packed a lunch, some snacks, a cooler with drinks and hit the road. Aside from the fact that Tim was driving, it was like going back in time. It was COLD! We were bundled up, but it was still COLD! We ate our lunch in the glorious heat of the car and then, to my surprise, my giant boys wanted to go to the playground at the park. I think it was more about testing Tim's new camera than about swinging on the swings. No toddlers were harmed in their playground adventure. And, I love that they still like to do things like this.
Today, we all got up late. We decided to run some errands. Again, it ended up with all five of us in the car. Again, I was not driving. We went to the bank, the outlet grocery store, the thrift store, the downtown library and it was fun. I feel so lucky that we can still do dumb stuff and have a good time all together. I really love that the older boys include Andy, not because I insist, but because they actually like him. I love that, as different as all the boys are, they are so close and get along so well. I love that they don't mind me tagging along (shrieking in the passenger seat, no less).
I think Mike had just as much fun as I did. Roof time with staple guns, electricity and me yelling from below? Lots of baking (we are Baker's right?). Long bike rides and short walks with weird old Scout. Board games involving world domination? Watching Christmas Vacation. I don't think it gets better. Well, maybe in a couple more years when they can toss beer in to the mix, maybe. ;) You get it, right? It was a really great Christmas break. I'll be sad when Monday comes.
I am officially holiday-ed out. We had an awesome run, but I'm done. I don't want to smile, wear a bra past 8 pm or hug anyone for at least a few weeks. I think others feel the same about me and my family. We're all likeable in SMALL doses.
I spent much of last night and this evening putting Christmas away. I was slow, though. Now that the boys are older and less likely to eat decorations or make weapons of them, I take time to repair, clean and decently wrap things up. I never used to do that. While I was tending to Christmas, Mike and the boys started a game they received for Christmas call Axis & Allies. It's all set up in the middle of the living room and there are plans to resume the game yet again tomorrow night (think Risk on steroids). I cannot get to the Christmas tree without destroying the world on the game board. :::sigh::: I guess if I get the rest of the Christmas stuff off of the big table in the kitchen, the men could move their game and I could take the tree down. But, I guess I lot of stuff and most of it never happens.
I thought school was starting up again tomorrow, but our county has this week off - I don't know why, but this feels like a REALLY long break to me. I'm not even going to try and fight it. My fault for not checking the county calendar. In the meantime, the Huns will wait and I don't anticipate any major changes in Latin or long division. Andy reads a lot no matter what's going on, so no worries there. The older kids are scrambling to figure out their books and schedules for their college classes that start NEXT Monday. I'm sure it will all work out in the end - it has in the past. If it doesn't work out, I'm not sure what happens, but I don't think it's all that bad.
Hope you're all easing into your new year with no problems. Anyone know of a good vaccuum for tinsel? Every year I say I won't do tinsel. Every year, I cannot resist the tinsel. It's so shimmery and fancy and sparkly. And, ever year, I'm still finding tinsel as I hide Easter baskets. Surely there's a solution?
Happy New Year everyone. I hope you're all doing well with your jet-packs and hovercrafts. It's 2011 right? Aren't we supposed to be living the Jetson life by now? I know that's my plan.
First police cruiser arrived at our lovely, calm, quiet party at 8:36. The officer "assigned" to our case could have been my son (had I been a very irresponsible/unlucky young teen). He was as nice as could be. We talked and agreed that the calls to him were coming from one place. He said he'd no sooner take away our legal fireworks than come around on Halloween and say the kids could not trick or treat. He apologized and said he'd have to keep coming back as long as neighbor kept calling. While he and I were establishing our relationship, the neighbor actually came out and threatened our new neighbors (from Columbia) (one house up and across the street) with calling INS. Really charming. Since, my older kids were already hanging out with their older kids, we just all banded together. Stoopid neighbor, she could have had so much fun last night.
"My" police officer came around again at about around 9:58. We talked. I offered him more food. I really wanted to ask for his mom's phone number so I could call her and tell her what a great son she had. He moved on. And, so it went until midnight. What a crazy waste of time and energy and money. Still, it was nice to meet such a fine young man. I told him I hoped we'd see him if he had to work on July 4. He said he hoped he wouldn't have to work July 4, but that if he did, he'd request our neighborhood. Goofy, goofy, goofy.
It was a fun, fun night. We had a great group of people here and they all came bearing delicious food. It was a crazy mix of grown ups and kids. More and more, it's hard to tell between them. Kids (including my own) who have been coming here for NYE since they were wearing velcro sneakers are now driving themselves and showing up late because they "had to shave." Even Andy and his friends are growing taller than the shorter women in our group. At some point we might have to resort to kidnapping short people to round things out.
I am grateful to our neighbors who made a cameo appearance with their new twins. Nothing better than a whiff of new baby to ring in the new year!
Hope you all had a great night/day. Wishing all of us the best for 2011.
I'm Amy and, yes, I wear a foil hat. Welcome to my exciting life as a wife, mom to four sons, soapmaker, reader, whiner and attractor-of-strange people.
- Follow Us on Twitter!
- "Join Us on Facebook!
- RSS
Contact