Twas the Week After Christmas

Twas the week after Christmas
and all over the land
Moms all going crazy
No more Holiday plans

Up late every night
left kids snug in their beds
Getting them back on schedule
filled me with dread

Dad back at work
and me stuck at home
Dreaming of a time
When I'd be left alone

When up in the playroom
arose such a clatter
I ran up the stairs
to see what was the matter

Just a huge battle royal
in a new wrestling ring,
and Rock Band on the Wii
Boy, this family can't sing!

A mess end to end
Not a toy on a shelf
But I laughed when I saw it
in spite of myself

I tried yelling and bribing
to get the house straight,
But with so many distractions
that will just have to wait

Not a snow flake in sight
the sky a bright blue
How these children annoy me
with "nothing" to do

Now Ryan, Now Sam
It leads me to shout
Get up and get dressed
Get your shoes and get out

But now it is Tuesday
and I can see the light,
It's just a few days
until Sunday Night!!!

Christmas 2008

Memories

So today I began to have my annual "Merry Meltdown", which comes right before Christmas, as I am rushing around trying to get everything bought, wrapped, mailed...you all know how it is. I had said that this year we are going to scale back, simplify, blah, blah, blah, however, as the big day grew closer I went into panic mode thinking that I just didn't have enough "stuff" for the boys. I actually found myself making a list to see just how big their piles would be. I was convinced that their holiday would be ruined and their childhoods traumatized if they didn't get everything they wanted. Then I thought back to my post from a few weeks ago about my Nativity Scene. Several of my cousins left their own comments about the memories that they have from my Grandparents and their childhoods, and it made me realize that the greatest memories that I have from growing up don't include things that I got for Christmas. In fact, the only significant childhood Christmas gift memory that I have is of a Barbie RV that my sister and I got one year. When we opened it there was an entire side missing (the door slid open so you could play within the RV). The odd thing was that we never returned or exchanged the RV. This wasn't even presented as an option, which years later made Staci and I ponder whether that item had been acquired from a less than legitimate source. Not to imply that our parents would ever knowingly get "hot" Christmas toys for their children, but we were broke and it was New Jersey. Anyway, that is totally off topic and not what I was going for here, so I will try to get back on point.

My point is that the best memories that I have from my childhood are crabbing and fishing from the pier with PopPop, going to the Dairy Queen in my Dad's convertible, playing Ghost In The Graveyard with bunches of cousins, making these chains out of soda pull tabs and hanging them in the cellar at my Grandpa's house, pounding the tar out of canned biscuit dough at the kitchen table with my Grandmother in Jersey City, and the excitement of getting to play "Pong" when Aunt Rosie was home. None of those memories include anything bought from a store. Looking back over the things that we have posted about since we started this blog made me realize that these are the memories that Sam and Ryan will have in thirty or so years. Things like Pie Day and camping with The General, the fishing trip with Uncle Jeff, zip lining at Grandaddy's house, and playing Ghost in the Graveyard with their cousins on warm summer nights (see we are continuing that tradition down South and I hope the same is being done in the Northeast!).

So I have put away my lists and my worries, and from this point forward I am going to spend the rest of the holiday making memories with my family.

SO FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS, HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

Party Time

My Dad is temporarily taking over my blog to send a shout out from his annual Christmas Bash to his brother, Bernie, and his sister, Betty. Missed you guys and hope to see you next year.
Happy Holidays!

Up A Tree

Here in NC on December 19th it is currently a balmy 70 degrees. This just seems wrong, and a conversation the I had with Sam last night proves my point. Sam and his friend Karen were playing outside last night when he came in to tell me that his football had gotten stuck in a tree (picture a 20 foot evergreen). They have thrown a brick (???) to try to retrieve the football, which had become lodged in the tree as well. Sam got his bat to try to get the football. Two minutes later he is back -"The bat is now stuck in the tree". I give him our paint pole. Two minutes later - "The pole is stuck in the tree." He is now getting his night vision goggles, whatever. Now at this point I should have probably gone out to investigate, but no one was bothering me and they were out of the house, so I left well enough alone. It's not even our tree, it belongs to the house next door, which is for sale. Two minutes later I hear Sam's friend Karen's sweet voice:

Karen: "Mrs. Lockwood"
Me: "Yeah?"
Karen: "Sam is stuck in the tree"

You all saw that coming, didn't you? I went outside to see our new Christmas decoration of a football, a brick, a bat, a paint pole, and my 9 year old son hanging as ornaments on an evergreen tree. Sam compared himself to Rambo, I compared him to Dumbo. We got everything and everyone down, none the worse for wear, just a few scratches. But this is what comes when you mix a warm winter day with a 9 year old boy.

A Christmas Miracle

Anyone who has been to my house in the last two years will understand what a true Christmas Miracle this picture is!!!

I think this song is so funny. It goes out to my Dad - My favorite Guido

I had to remove this song - Guido Dad says it interferes with his hearing aide. Whatever!

The Saddest Nativity Scene

If you were to walk into my house and see my Nativity Scene you would say to yourself "that is one sad looking Nativity Scene". Set among my exquisitely designed Snow Village and my beautiful (if I do say so myself) "Winter Wonderland" themed Christmas Tree, it looks especially sad. But the story behind the manger makes it one of my most cherished possessions. Before my paternal Grandmother, whom we called Nanny, passed away she gave me this Nativity scene, which my Pop Pop had built. When she gave it to me she also told me "Don't let your sister take this from you, You know how she can be", but that is another post for another day. Anyway, I guess that I used to play with it over their house, because she had special memories of me attached to it. But I have to tell you, it is the flaws in it that make it so special. Look closely at the second picture above (it will enlarge if you click on it), you may be able to tell that Mary's head has broken off. It is actually taped on there with scotch tape. That is so my grandparents that I just can't bring myself to actually glue the poor woman's head back on. And the white sheep and the camel are leaning against the building because their legs are broken. There were cows and horses in the box, as well, along with four different angels, but I could never figure out where they were all supposed to go, so I assume they are "extras". You never can have too many angels. There are glue drippings everywhere, and the words "side" and "back" are actually written on the inside wall, so that my PopPop could remember how it was supposed to go together. When were putting it out today, the kids and I were laughing as we remembered how when Ryan was about three, he used to insist that everyone go inside the building because a storm was coming. I'd set it up and later I'd walk by and everyone would be inside. I guess this was after a particularly bad summer storm season or something. So we have continued the Separ tradition of making memories with my "Antique" Nativity Scene. It might be the saddest looking manger, but it's my manger, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Iceburg, Right Ahead!!

This past weekend we took the boys down to Atlata to the Georgia Aquarium. Ever since Ryan watched the movie "Titanic" this summer, he has become obsessed with this ship. He cannot get enough information about it, and so we headed there to see the special Titanic Exhibit that is there for several months. It was a really cool exhibit, with all of the artifacts that have been recovered. They also had mock ups of what certain rooms on the ship would have looked like, and an iceburg to touch to see how cold it was, and a simulator to see if you could avoid the iceburg. We all experienced disaster on that one, there would not have been a happier ending to the story if any of us had been at the wheel. As you entered the exhibit hall you were assigned an "identity" of a actual Titanic passanger and given a card with some information about that person, and at the end they had a list of everyone who survived and those who did not, and you got to see whether you survived. All of us except Ryan made it out alive, which royally pissed him off. He made a big announcement that there was no way that his Dad, who was a THIRD CLASS passanger, would have lived if he did not! And that was that!

This was a really cool aquarium as well. The boys are ususally not that big on aquariums, but this one had whales and sharks, and the like. And you stood in glass tunnels while they swam around you. The penguins were "on vacation" whatever that means, and that was a bit of a disappointment, as we always enjoy them. The touch tank with the stingrays and sharks was really neat too.

We also went to the World of Coca-Cola while we were in Atlanta, which was interesting. It gives you the history of Coke, and there was a cool 4-D movie, but to Sam, nothing beat the Tasting Room. He tasted every one of the 60 different kind of Coke products, which was his goal for the day. They even had a special holiday Coke, which was Coke, chocolate and peppermint flaver. It was interesting. My little adventurer Ryan stuck to the section of just the plain everyday Coke flavors.

Wanna Bet??

This post may totally out Scott and I as the nerds that we are, but I have to let everyone know about the bet we had. Last night while watching The Tonight Show we made a wager regarding a statement that was made during the "Jaywalker" segment (this is where they ask questions and make fun of the dumb people). Anyway, there was a statement made about "when Ben Franklin was President" and I commented to Scott that Ben Franklin wasn't ever President and he wanted to argue this point with me...thus leading to our bet. So what do you guys think:

Was Ben Franklin President of the United States?

Think you know....the basis for Scott's whole argument was that he is on money, therefore he has to have been a President. I must admit this logic almost threw me, but I stuck to my guns. And to my neighbors I say this..Scott is a graduate of Olympic High School...makes you consider moving doesn't it!

Anyway, the answer is NO, Ben Franklin was never President. I asked several people at work today and they ALL thought he was...Not that I work with a group of Brain Surgeons but geesh! But my knowledge earned me a nice lunch at McAllisters (and the fact that Scott always buys lunch when we work together is a moot point, I still won!!!)

He's baaack!

This is Kringle, he is our family's "Elf on a Shelf." If you are unfamiliar, I will explain. He arrived at our house last Christmas, along with a book that explained what we were to do with him and the rules we have to follow. The boys named him Kringle. He sits in a spot in your house every day and watches what goes on. Every night he magically disappears and goes back to the North Pole to report the goings on to Santa. He returns by morning in a different spot in your house. GET IT? The boys love looking for him each morning. He arrived back with us this year on Thanksgiving day. So far he has been in their bathroom, the playroom, and the living room. We cannot touch him, or his magic may disappear, and we can talk to him, but he cannot talk to us (to prevent him from spilling any of Santa's secrets). He has become a cherished holiday tradition, I just wish that he had arrived earlier than last year!

Five Things I Am Thankful For

1. My incredibly beautiful and healthy children. They are the joys of my life.
2. That my parents are healthy, and despite some scares with Scott's Dad this past year, he seem to be doing all right.
3. That although business is slow right now, we have been able to keep all of our employees at work.
4. That my husband has always insisted that we live beneath our means (this is a new one). :)
5. That despite #4 I have heated seats in my car (this is my frivolous one, but really, there is nothing like them).

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

This weekend Ryan and I were out running errands and there was Christmas music playing at the stores. When the song "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" came on, he told me that was his favorite Christmas song, but the radio was playing it wrong. I listened and was confused about what he meant, until he starting singing the Bruce Springsteen version. He was rockin' out and apparently this is the only way he knows this song. I was quite proud. He even added "Clarence, You been rehearsing real hard so Santa brings you a new saxophone." Now I just hope that this song doesn't come up at any Christmas programs, or we may have a problem.

We also had a pretty good laugh at Sam's expense over the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" (the John Melloncamp version). For some reason this song freaked Sam out when he was 3 or 4 years old. He would cry and cry and make you turn it off whenever it came on. We never did understand what it was about the song that he didn't like. I tried to explain that unless Santa was Jon BonJovi we wouldn't have a problem, but that didn't make a difference to him. Now that he is 9 he just says to turn it off because "It kinda sucks." Lovely.

Ryan's List

Ryan would like everyone to know that a list of the things that he wants for Christmas is now posted on his blog "Ryan Rocks"

The Dog Shelter

Admit it, People. You all saw the title and thought I'd given in a gotten Ryan the dog, didn't you. Well, not quite, this is the "Dog Shelter" that Ryan has set up in our hallway. He gave me a tour and told me that all good kids should have a dog, and I should just pick one out. Then he tried to charge me $29.00! As you can see some of the dogs are being housed in his beloved wrestling rings (Santa will NOT be bringing anymore of those this Christmas). I wonder if I offered a swap of a dog for all things wrestling if he would go for it?

Sam's New Bike

Here is Sam on his new BMX bike, purchased with the money he got for his birthday. We tried to make a thank you video, but we can't get it to upload, so you'll have to settle for a picture.

Lies

My husband lies to our children. Truthfully, lies may be too strong of a word, but he tells these little untruths constantly just to annoy them, and mostly they just annoy me. He tells them things like he was on the Titanic, or he learned to drive a car when he was 4, or that he was in high school when he was 8...weird things. And its all the time, and they are constantly coming to me to verify everything he says. The latest is that now that Barack Obama is going to be President we can only eat out once a week (pretty much anything that would cost money he tells them we can no longer do because Mommy voted for Obama). That's a fun one. Anyway, it brought to mind two untruths that I was told as a child (one by my Dad, one by my Grandfather) that have stuck with me, and turned out to be pretty good memories.

On a trip through the mountains one time, my Dad told me and my sister that the "Watch for Falling Rocks" signs were for an Indian Boy named Falling Rocks that was lost, and his tribe was looking for him. It kept us busy, and we swore that we saw him more than once. Now I always gave my Dad great props for being so creative with this one, until I heard a someone call in on a radio show with this same story. I even tried it on Sam once, and he just said "whatever" and went back to his Nintendo DS. Oh well!

The story from my Grandfather still makes me wonder what was wrong with us that we fell for this. My grandparents had a cellar at their house that we like to go into, but it was really creepy, so we wanted an adult to go with us. It was a real cellar, all dark and damp and dusty, not a walk-out basement like they have today. Even the lure of this fancy-smancy dollhouse that was down there couldn't get me to go. Anyway, my Grandpa was an archer and he kept his bow and arrows down in the cellar, with some boxes set up to practice shooting at. Oh, how we loved to do this, but we had to have his help, which he wasn't always too keen on, which resulted in us bugging the crap out of him until he agreed to go down and let us shoot. So he concocted this story about a mean lady named Mrs. Furnace (yeah I know) that lived in this little room in the cellar, and she hated kids and noise. To this day I have no idea what was in that room, I assume is was the mechanicals of the house (i.e the furnace, duh!). Hence when the furnace kicked on it made this incredible noise that we thought was the mythical Mrs. Furnace and we would hightail it up the stairs, putting to rest his obligation to help us with the bow and arrows.

My memory may have edited out my Mom getting annoyed by us insisting that we go back because we saw the Indian Boy, or my Grandmother getting annoyed by us running and screaming up the cellar stairs, so maybe my boys can edit out my annoyance when they tell their kids some of the memories that they are making by their father's "lies".

Sam's Birthday - Part 3

Somehow this child's birthday has been strung out for a week, which is just fine with him. Today the kids had the day off of school for Veterans Day, so we went to see "Madagascar 2" with some friends. It was quite funny, and highly recommended by the kids. After the movies we went back to Darnell, Lauren, and Alex's house for some cookie cake and ice cream. Then the kids played a game of football in the backyard. They had a great time - thanks guys!!!


Here are the boys at Crazy Flag Guy's house saluting all of our past and present men and women in uniform.

So, today is our 13th anniversary, and I had intended for the last part of this post to be a glowing testament to my love for my soulmate, best friend, dear husband, blah, blah, blah. That is not to be, as it is now evening and it appears that he is not aware that it is our anniversary. Now I have come to accept that we are not a sappy, gushy, gift giving kind of couple, and I'm cool with that. But damn, a little acknowledgement of the day would be nice. In his defense, he did buy me a new ipod last week for no reason, and that was very sweet, but still. And I don't want to hear anything about Key West. That was my trip that I planned and did all of the work for, he just had to show up. So if you should happen to see Scott over the next few days, please feel free to publicly berate him.

Sam's Birthday Part 2

On Sunday we had our families over to celebrate Sam's birthday with lunch and cake. He got the K'Nex roller coaster that he wanted, a new Wii game, and some cold, hard, cash. He is saving for a new BMX bike that will perform better tricks than his current bike. I am saving for the increased insurance premiums which are sure to follow. And, No Dad, you don't need to respond to this post by telling me not to worry about insurance, Obama will take care of us!!

Key West

We had a great time down in Key West this past weekend. It was a nice break from work, the kids, and just everyday life. We made no plans, we just winged it and it worked out well. We got a room at at nice resort on the water, which was also right in the middle of all of the action in Old Town. We ate a lot of great food, drank some really great drinks, and listened to a lot of good music. We had always wanted to make the drive on US1 through all of the Keys, but that turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment (and quite long). But overall it was a great trip.

Hope and Change

So even though my Dad said any children of his that vote for Obama were out of the will, I followed my heart and cast a vote for our new President (thus continuing our family tradition of my husband voting the opposite and canceling me out). Back to my Dad - since two of us went Obama, and two of us didn't vote, I guess he can just spend everything he has on whatever he wants. Like nice summer vacation trips for his grandchildren, even though mine voted for Obama in Kids Voting. Ryan was especially happy that the Obama girls get a new puppy to take to the White House. Once "Scott the Electrician" makes it to that top 5% of Americans, we can talk, but for now...

HOPE AND CHANGE!!!

Happy Birthday Sam!!!

I am now officially the parent of a "tween" - AAAHHH

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY SAM!!!!!

And We're Out

By this time tomorrow, I will be searching for my lost shaker of salt down in the Keys. So we will check you losers on Tuesday...enjoy the cold. And we'll drink a cold one for ya!!

Halloween

Here are the kids in their Halloween costumes. Ryan was Jeff Hardy, who is one of his favorite wrestlers. Sam was Scooby Doo. He was Scooby two or three years ago, as well, and for some reason wanted to be it again. The costume still fit (sort of) and it was another use out of a $50 costume, so it was cool with me.

Now onto my annual Halloween candy rant. Scott has to hear this every year, and now I share with you all. This neighborhood absolutely kills me with the quality of its Halloween candy. People, Smarties and Tootsie Rolls are not acceptable as Halloween candy. They are filler, to be given in conjunction with a candy bar!!! And my kids got an abundance of flavored toffee and peppermints...the kind that come with your bill at a restaurant. Come on now, if that is the best you can do than please don't participate in Halloween. If the quality of the candy in this neigborhood is a direct correlation to the financial status of the folks that live here, than we are in sad shape. Thank you all for listening.

Seriously!!!

So Sam presented his Social Studies project today. This was the one I posted about earlier, where they were to select a culture from their ethnic background and do a presentation on the way that culture has influences in the community. BTW, we found an Italian cookie without nuts. I don't know what they are called, they're those thin, ice cream cone like cookies. They have them at our Church's Italian Festival every year (thanks, Jodi!). Anyway, so Sam and a few others did their presentations today and when he got home I asked him what the other kids did theirs on. He tells me "The South" and "Appalachia". SERIOUSLY people!!! Your ethnic background is SOUTHERN!!WTF! The kid did, however, bring in Krispy Kreme doughnuts as his presentation aid which rates an "A" in my book.

Scarowinds

So last night, against my better parental judgment, we took the boys to Scarowinds. And it scared the wind (and other things) right out of Ryan. I knew he would not like it, but he kept insisting he really wanted to go, so rather than have the fight, I thought we would go and let him learn the hard way. Now I am not a big fan of Halloween. I'm not one of those adults that enjoys dressing up and all that. And I don't like haunted houses and people jumping out at you. And that pretty much sums up Scarowinds. We did one haunted house and Ryan said "Next stop, the parking lot!"
Him and I shuffled through that house so fast, I think we left another trail of Smoke. Sam seemed okay with it, although he did not argue about leaving. Later that night Ryan told me that it was my job to make sure that he did not do things that were inappropriate for his age. I swear, he used those exact words. Live and Learn, Boys, Live and Learn.

You can check out what Ryan thought on his very own blog. Click on the side bar for my profile and than go to Ryan Rocks. It is also www.lockwoodkid.blogspot.com


So this is our "Ghost in the Graveyard Brownies" that we made for the Cub Scout Cake Auction. Your cake had to be Halloween themed, and the money they earn goes to a charity. I thought we did pretty well, but these people take this way seriously, so who knows.

RIP Mike (the crab)

This post will probably only be amusing (albeit in a sick way) to my immediate family, but for those who choose to continue reading, I offer this background info. My brother's name is Mike and he has a 5 year old daughter named Lilly. Lilly is a little spitfire, and I see the potential for her to be a major handful in coming years. Now, onto the story.

Ryan had two hermit crabs as his class pets. The class named them Mike and Lilly. Ryan had nothing to do with this, he would never honor his cousin in any way. Yesterday, the children arrived in class to find that Mike had passed on to that great hermit heaven in the sky. The class concluded that there had been a fight and Lilly had killed Mike, as his limbs were strewn about the cage. Foreshadowing anyone? I did tell you the story was amusing, but sick.

Onto another subject, Sam is doing a project on his family heritage for school. He had to pick a culture from his ethnic background and write about it, as well as provide an item to present to the class. Sam chose Italy. He wants to bring a food item for the class to try. My dilemma is that the food has to be store bought (system requirement) and cannot contain peanuts or tree nuts. We thought of Italian Wedding cookies, biscotti, and Nutella spread, but can't find any in stores without nuts. Anyone have any ideas. Please leave a comment on this post to help us out (c'mon Aunt Betty, I know your out there!)

More Random Musings

I got this new phone about a few months back. It has all the bells and whistles, none of which I want or need, but it is this hybrid phone that has better service at our house than the Nextel alone. I have this pain in the neck boss that seems to think I need to be able to be reached even when not at the office. :( Anyway, I kept getting these jokes text messaged to me everyday. Since I am about 15 years too old to actually use texting, I couldn't figure out how to stop it, so I called Sprint. This nice young man explained to me that the jokes were coming because I had subscribed to a monthly service for them, at $9.99 a month. WTF!!! I explained that I had not, and he kept saying "Are you sure"? I told him that not only did I not know how to access the Internet from the phone to get this stupid service, but I didn't even know how to text, and couldn't he just block texting on my phone, because I didn't want it as an option. Now let me explain that at the time I was speaking with him, I had a huge canker sore on the underside of my tongue, thus swelling it and impairing my ability to speak properly. I sounded either drunk or mentally disabled. There was this pause on his end, and I know he wanted to suggest that I start texting, since this whole speaking thing didn't seem to be working out for me. But alas, he did not, he simply discontinued the service and refunded the three months of charges (yes, three months, I'm really on top of things). I did find it strange that Sprint could cancel the service and refund the money for me, yet they insisted that this was a third party service that they had nothing to do with. HMMM? My main point of this long rambling post, was that if people pay $10/month to have stupid jokes sent to them on their phone, do we really need global conferences on why our economy is in the crapper?

My boys have recently started reading The Hardy Boys Mystery books, and they both seem to really enjoy them. I have to read to Ryan and I, however, am having a hard time with the books. They are just so old fashioned. Not in a bad way, I just have to stop about every other page to explain something that doesn't exist anymore. Like getting a message by telegraph, having to call an operator to place a call, party lines, and having the ability to get on an unscheduled airline flight 5 minutes after getting to the airport. And we are only on chapter 2. The Hardy's are also friends with guys named Biff and call each other "Fella" and for some reason this really gets under my skin. At the library, I did find that there is an updated series, and I got one for Sam. It was about roller coasters, and they call each other "Dude" and play x-box. He didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the original,so go figure. It must just be me.

Strangely enough, Scott and I are having a similar experience with a new show that we are watching. Life on Mars is about a NYC cop in 2008 that gets transported back to 1973 after getting hit by a car. The whole time we watch we are saying "Do you remember those" or "when was the last time you saw one of those". It's pretty cool, but I have my doubts as to how long the show may last, since if you were born anytime after about 1970, you probably wouldn't get the subtleties, and without them, it is just another cop show.

So today I went and did early voting. I usually just go on Election Day, but this year we will be out of town. Early voting is fine (although the line was way too long, I can't remember ever waiting like that on Election Day). I do, however, have an issue with this "One Stop" voting. I don't think that registering to vote should be made that easy. If anything, make it more difficult, and weed out the slackers. You should have to put some kind of effort into figuring out how to register. If you don't care enough to put in the time and effort, you don't get to vote. And the no ID required thing, don't even get me started on that.

Boo

I wanted to share something that the boys did for their teachers that I thought was kind of cool. It is a take off on the "Boo'ing" your neighbor thing that goes around some neighborhoods this time of year. Anyway, they Boo'd their teachers. We decorated and filled two boxes with candy and attached this poem, which we modified to fit the teacher scenario:

YOU have been “Boo’d !!!

The air is cool, the season fall
Soon Halloween will come to all
Ghosts and goblins, spooks galore
Tricky witches at your door
Little ghosts are after things to do
A special one brought these treats to you
Which one is was you might never find
But someone thinks your cool and kind
So enjoy this sweet and tasty food
And the fact that you got Boo’d

And they snuck them onto their teachers desks. Ryan got found out, I don't think he was able to keep from giggling about it. Sam's teacher has yet to say anything at all, which is driving him crazy. I have a parent/teacher conference coming up next week and I may mention it. Frankly, I want the suck up points. I just hope that she isn't one of those that thinks Halloween is a devil holiday or we may be in trouble.

Updates

I sometimes get follow up questions regarding things that I have posted, so I am going to use this post the keep you updated on the progress in our lives. Here goes:

1. Sam's bike is fixed. The chain didn't break, it was just off the track, and he and I managed to figure out how to get it back on. So he is back on the road. Thank you all for your concern.

2. When I said I was getting rid of stuff in our garage I never intended to imply that the garage would ever in any way be neat and orderly. I have just come to accept the fact that my actually parking in a garage is not going to happen in my lifetime.

3. My sister, Stephanie, would like me to pass on the fact that she was given powdered milk, as well. God forbid anyone think that she has led a pampered existence. As her husband Todd would say "La-De-Freakin-Da" (that was cleaned up for the purposes of this post). Although she did remind me that my mother stored the powder milk box under the sink. Yes, that's right, under the sink with the cleaning products. Now, if a food item can be stored next to the Mr. Clean doesn't that tell you something?

4. While on the topic of milk, so many of you have told me that although you don't like milk, you do eat it in cereal. Apparently when combined with a favorite cereal, milk becomes more palatable. I may have to try a bowl someday soon.

5. In my post about Ryan's sign language, I made a reference to him sometimes being lazy. In listening to my Mom retell the story to my Dad she described Ryan as "just being Ryan in his own world," which I interpret as Grandparent PC for lazy!

6. I have added one new show from this television season to my viewing list. If you haven't checked out "Life On Mars" it is a pretty good show.

7. To our new friend in China, the boys are loving your comments, and are enjoying learning about the differences in our two cultures (like the fact that you can't get Wii). Please keep them coming.

8. And now to our most frequently asked about topic....the dog. Please understand that the poll we set up was for informational purposes only, and in no way was it binding, thus obligating me to get this child a dog. That being said, Ryan and I have come to an agreement that we will wait until after the holidays, and at a time closer to his 7th birthday we will revisit and reevaluate his desire for a pet. Until that time, please stop asking Ryan when he is getting the dog, since he won the vote (yes, Grandpa, this means you!).

Happy Birthday Donnie

Last night I went to a party for my brother-in-law, Donnie. He turned 50 and my sister, Staci, had planned a party for him at a little bar in Gastonia. Now let me set the scene for you. Don is a member of The Southern Gentlemen motorcycle club, so this was an interesting crowd to say the least. I felt as if I was on a set for some type of biker movie. Our table might as well of had a neon sign with the words "Family" and an arrow pointing down at us, with my Dad in his yellow dress shirt, my other brother-in-law Todd, in his dark pink polo shirt, and my sister, Stephanie, in her silk halter. I at least had on black so I more or less blended in. Every time we would see Staci speaking with someone, and they would turn and look at us my Dad would say "She's explaining us." I didn't take pictures because I think some of the guests may be wanted in certain jurisdictions, and may not appreciate their pictures being posted on the Internet. I'm just joking (somewhat), everyone was very nice and polite. HAPPY 50th DONNIE, WE LOVE YOU! (and we'd love you even more if you had let us have some cake).

Now That's Wierd

I don't know if any of you have ever noticed, but along the side of this blog there is a map which records the number of hits and locations every time someone looks at our blog. Normally there are 3 or 4 hits a day, and one of them is usually mine. After yesterdays post about Ryan's sign, the blog received 105 hits from all around the world. There must have been something in the post that was showing up in a popular google search. Now folks on every continent (except Antarctica) have seen my sweet baby basically giving the finger.

Here's Your Sign

Last night Ryan was telling me that his teacher is teaching them some sign language, and he was showing me some of the signs he learned. One of them was the sign for Thank You, which is two hands coming outward from under your chin. However, he kept doing it with one hand, and sort of flicking his fingers outward. Now, as a person of Italian heritage, I am acutely aware that these have two very different meanings. For those of you who are not familiar (or have never seen an episode of The Sopranos) I will illustrate below:

THANK YOU




F*** YOU

Do you get the difference? I couldn't understand why he kept doing it with one hand, and then he explained that it was easier (LAZY!) I told him that others might not like that particular sign, so use two hands.

Ever since Ryan was born, I have had this feeling that he is the reincarnation of my paternal grandfather a/k/a PopPop. Any Italian DNA in me that hasn't been smothered by the Irish, was passed on to him in looks, mannerisms, everything (and he is determined to give me agita what with the schoolwork, but that is for another post). Anyway, this latest "sign" from above just confirms it for me. Got to run, he's demanding his pasta!

It's Genetic

My plan for this weekend was to purge the house of all of the "stuff" that we have acquired that nobody ever uses. This is easier said than done. My children only part with things under the threat that "NOTHING NEW WILL COME INTO THIS HOUSE UNTIL SOMETHING ELSE LEAVES." Toys that they haven't looked at in years suddenly become their most cherished possession when you want to get rid of it. I have developed a theory that our family has a sort of pack-rat gene somewhere within our DNA. Both of our mothers have the gene. Our children are playing with toys and books that are over 30 years old (I know I should have written "close to 40 years old" but I can't quite go there yet). The stuff that they deemed worthy of keeping and storing for this long boggles my mind. Scott's dad has a version of the gene, although I'm not sure if his is more a form of cheapness than nostalgia (and I say that with love). I thought that the gene had maybe skipped a generation, as I do not posses it. I am all for getting rid of things that have no use. Purge, simplify, and ridding your life of clutter is what I am about these days. Scott's sister, Susan, has no trace of this anywhere in her DNA. In fact, when she went on vacation recently, she had a box built for her 19 year old cat in case he died while she was away. She wanted her buried and gone before she even got home. I wanted to warn the cat not to take a nap until after someone came to feed her, because if she was sleeping it might not end well! And I thought that Scott didn't have the gene until I ventured into our garage yesterday, otherwise know as the place where crap goes not to die, but to live in perpetuity. There is a truck, motorcycle, and dirt bike that have not seen the light of day in almost a decade. I dug through the truck bed, which has become a storage unit, and found an old gas tank (not a gas can, mind you, but a gas tank) a big exhaust fan that had a purpose at a house we haven't lived in for ten years, a chain saw that I didn't even know we owned (you never know, one of the TWO trees in our yard might need to come down someday), and parts for cars that I don't think we even own anymore. So my conclusion was that Scott does possess this genetic flaw and has passed it along to our boys, as every bike, scooter, and riding toy they ever owned was still in that garage. So alas, I am attempting to break the cycle and all of this "stuff" is being shipped off to the Goodwill or the recycling center, so in 30 years if any of it is pulled out of an attic for some kid to play with, they won't be related to me.

Random Musings

Yesterday something happened to me on our way home from school that made me realize that I no longer had babies, but I now had full-blown kids. As I was walking home, while attempting to carry a bookbag with one hand, navigate the bike that Ryan decided he didn't want to ride, and watch Sam trying to do some type of x-games move over a drainage ditch, I stepped into a hole on the side of the walking path and fell. Yes, that's right, I flat out fell. Both of my children acted as if they did not know me and walked right by. Oh, the love was overwhelming. The lesson learned is that children should carry their own damn stuff!!

I read an article today about the average person's love for cereal, and how it has become this affordable comfort food in these tough times. All of my boys love cereal. Sometimes it is all Ryan will eat in a day, and there are many nights when Scott gets home late and eats it for dinner. I hate cereal, and I began to wonder how I could dislike something that so many people love. My sister, Staci, does not like cereal either, yet my younger sister and brother do, so I came up with this hypothesis...POWDERED MILK. Yes, that's right, I was fed powdered milk as a child, and my conclusion is that this had some sort of traumatizing affect on my sister and I. Apparently times got better, because the younger siblings got real milk. Scott says he doesn't even know what powdered milk is (so a big thumbs up to you Margie!). I don't even know if they make powdered milk anymore, but until I read about a big surge in the demand for it, I refuse to believe that times are that bad!

Today Ryan learned one of the big secrets of childhood. He finally realized that if you are sick, you get to stay home from school. He has had a fever on and off since Friday, but had adamantly refused to admit that he was sick. This morning he woke up with a slight fever and said that his throat hurt. I told him he could go back to sleep, and I could literally see a light bulb go off over his head when he realized that admitting to being sick gets you a day off from school. I may have created a monster. Of course, 20 minutes after taking Motrin he was fine, thus proving my theory that if you pump them full of medicine they are good for a 6 hour school day. Sorry, Darnell, as a teacher I know you take offense to that (but admit it, you know you've done it!).

Birthday Party Fun

Yesterday we all went to my sister Staci's house for my nephew Trace's 6th birthday. In typical Separ fashion, it was an over indulgent, glutenous, free-for-all. I mean, what kid's birthday party doesn't need a fajita bar and margarita's? I kid, Stace, we had a great time. I ate way too much, and the kid's ate nothing but junk. What can I say, it's just the way we Separs roll. The kids all had a great time jumping in the air castle, painting pumpkins, smashing the pinata, and playing Wii.

Life Lessons From Sam

My Dad shared this story about a conversation that they had at a recent Pie Day that I found amusing. The boys and my parents had some visitors this past Pie Day, some coworkers of my Dad's, one from Texas and one from Minnesota. Sam is our family meteorologist, so he was really looking forward to the tales of Hurricane Ike, and he was not disappointed. The man from Minnesota told them all about ice fishing and driving on frozen lakes, which Ryan found fascinating as a big fan of "The Deadliest Catch" and "Ice Road Truckers". As they were leaving, one of the men said that he was on his way to meet his new granddaughter for the first time, and asked the boys if that had any words of wisdom that they would offer a new baby about growing up as a kid today. Sam threw his hands up in frustration, and said "3rd grade testing, just watch out for 3rd grade testing." So if these worsening economic times or just the stress of day-to-day life ever gets you down, think of Sam and remind yourself that things could be worse....you could be back in 3rd grade.

Life Lessons for Sam

Any of you that have had to wait on Scott to have something accomplished will be able to relate to Sam's plight. My husband is a wonderful man, but we all know that being dependent on him is not a situation that you want to find yourself in. Recently the chain on Sam's bike broke and he has to have his Dad fix it. As he was walking (oh the horror of having to actually WALK) to school in the morning I overhead him explaining his dilemma to a friend, and this is what he said. I am quoting "My bike chain broke and I have to have my Dad fix it...It could take two days, it could take two weeks, it could take two years, you just never know with him." I felt his pain, but I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

TV - Part 2

While watching the Emmy's last night and realizing that we hardly knew any of the nominees, Scott and I began to wonder one of two things: 1)we maybe didn't watch nearly as much TV as we thought or 2)we just watch really bad TV. The answer became apparent when we realized that the show and actor we were most familiar with was Two and a Half Men and Charlie Sheen...enough said?

Ryan watched the first part of the show with us and kept saying that he really liked John Stewart and wanted him to win. For a brief second I fantasized that he had this hidden humorous and politically intelligent side to him. Then he filled us in that John Stewart was the name of The Green Lantern's alter ego. Oh well!!

Uptown Girls

The "Mommy World" stopped turning last night and four of us stepped off. Today is my friend Darnell's birthday (sorry if that apostrophe is used incorrectly Carole!), and so myself, Jodi, and Carole, took her uptown for a fun "girl's night out". Darnell's wonderful husband, Dave, got us a hotel room, so we made the night a fun, adult sleepover. And to all of my family that makes fun of my strange sleep issues, I have found a soul-sister in Carole. She has just as many, shall we say "quirks" as me. We ate a really good meal at BlackFinn, sang our hearts out at Howl At The Moon (FYI to anyone going...$3 does not get your song played right away, but will get it played 30 seconds after you enter the bathroom), and danced the night away at The Breakfast Club. Yes, I know, Steph, totally uncool, but what can I say..it's our era.
Some of us even danced in a cage, but I won't name names. There is photographic evidence, but I don't have any because I never remember a camera. It was a very fun, well deserved, night on the town. Ladies, next time we take it on the road!!!

Happy Birthday Darnell!!! Not old, just older (you know what I mean)!!

My Favorite Season

Monday marks the start of my favorite season, and no boys and girls, I don't mean Autumn. It is the official start of the Fall Television Season!!! This summer seemed especially bad as far as TV, although I will admit that I did start watching Big Brother again. I season passed John and Kate + 8 and Little People, Big World, so that shows how desperate I was. And if I have to watch one more house being flipped I may scream. Pathetic, I know. But I started this new fitness thing where I am trying to get 20,000 steps a day, and any steps that I can't get in during the day have to be made up at night on the treadmill in front of the TV, so I must have stuff to watch. I have already been sucked into a couple of new shows...Raising The Bar, America's Toughest Jobs, and yes, I will admit it, the new 90210 (once again, very pathetic, but I could not help myself). Some returning shows debuted early, and I am right back on board with The Biggest Loser and Gossip Girl (yes, I am the one person that actually watches that show). But the real life blood of my TiVo starts this week. Most of you know that I am a reality TV addict, and the two biggies, The Amazing Race and Survivor, are finally starting. YEAH!!I think that my TiVo about blew a circuit when it tried to schedule my Thursday nights, what with Survivor, Greys, Ugly Betty, and ER. When Lost and Rescue Me (the best show that no one but me watches!) return later in the season, I really do expect an overload. I know this sounds really bad, and like I have no life of my own, but TiVo has revolutionized ones ability to maximize their TV watching. Watching when you want and no commercials cuts viewing time drastically. If you don't have a DVR, run, don't walk and get one today. It will change your life. I'm not usually a conspiracy person, but I do have this fear that there is some government agency somewhere keeping tabs on my viewing habits. I imagine that my file is not very impressive. I have even kept the show "Damages" on my Season Pass list because it is a very smart show. I stopped watching it after 3 episodes because it was too hard for me to understand, but I think it will up my intelligence rating in that file. Once during the last election, Scott and I were watching the Presidential Debates, and TiVo popped up and asked if we wanted to switch to Entertainment Tonight. It was as if it was suggesting that we were too stupid to watch the debates or vote. So, on that note, I will sign off...my show is on!

Sewing Badge

I didn't really realize the humor in this story until I was relaying it to my Dad and Brother tonight, and saw the laugh that they got out of it. It is probably one of those stories that Ryan will hate me for when he is a teenager. Yesterday I was sewing badges on Ryan's new Cub Scout shirt and he mentioned that he would like to try sewing. I got him a needle and thread and gave him an old sock that had a hole in it. He got the hang of it and was enjoying himself. Later when they were getting ready to go Scouts, Ryan announced that he was going to show the Den leader his sewn up sock and ask that his first badge be a SEWING BADGE. The "Oh, HELLLL NOOOO" look on Scott's face was priceless. I wish I had a picture. Thin Mints anyone....

A Message From Ryan

The following is a message from Ryan:

I would like to thank everyone who voted "Yes" in support of my pursuit of a canine companion. And to those of you who voted "No" I say this "BE AFRAID...BE VERY AFRAID!"


The preceding message was approved by The Committee to Get Ryan a Dog

Remember

Since September 11, 2001, my father has taken to flying flags in his front yard. Sometimes it is an American Flag, some make political statements, but mostly the flags honor Veterans and those that died on 9/11. Two years ago, during the 5th anniversary, I would kid him that if a reporter ever came by inquiring about the story behind the flags, he had better come up with something good or he would just be known as "the crazy flag man." My parents were born and raised in the NJ/NY Metropolitan area, and most of our family still lives there. We were fortunate that we didn't lose anyone that day, however, I think most people driving by and seeing the flags would assume differently. Lately I have come to realize that his story is simply that he remembers, and the flags are a reminder that we should also. I had to explain to my boys why Grandpa flies those flags and the meaning behind them, and they fully understand and know the importance of this day. The people that have stopped by and shared their stories, left flowers and mementos at the base of the flag, or just honked and waved as they passed by, let us know that they remember. Everyone that died that day in those Towers in New York, at the Pentagon in Washington, and that field in Pennsylvania was a spouse, child, parent, sibling or friend. Those they left behind can only remember. So if that reporter ever comes by they can quote me as saying "I'm proud that the crazy flag man is my Dad!" Please take some time today to REMEMBER.

To Dog or Not to Dog...

Those of you that are actively involved in our lives know that Ryan has been on a campaign to get a dog for about four months now. Borrowing my sister's dog, Sandy, for a few days over the summer bought us some time, but the memory of that long week is now fading. Spending time at Uncle Jeff's house with his THREE golden retrievers has once again stirred up his desire, and thus the campaigning has started in earnest once again. So I have started a poll, and it is up to you, my friends and loved ones, to help us with this decision. Please vote wisely.

Blue Belts

On Wednesday night, Sam and Ryan received their blue belts in Karate. They have been training for about two years now, and this is their fourth color rank. Each of them had to perform the green belt kata by themselves in front of the teacher, and they had to receive a certain number of point in order to pass. Sam was the only one to perform perfectly, and when the teacher announced this, he was very proud. When they started their training, they had around 40 kids in their class, and only 4 remained to test for their blue belts, so I'm pretty proud of them. This moves them to an entirely different level, and their training becomes much more serious, so only time will tell if they continue or it looses its appeal when they actually have to put forth a lot of effort.

Gone Fishin

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port,
Aboard this tiny Ship.

The mate was a mighty sailin' man,
The Skipper brave and sure,
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed.
If not for the courage of the fearless crew,
The Minnow would be lost.

This familiar theme song is quite an accurate account of the boy's fishing adventure (or should I say misadventure) this past weekend down in Charleston aboard their Uncle Jeff's boat. The men, of course, describe a perfectly pleasant sail on the ocean, with perhaps just one or two minor blips in the day. The boys, however, tell a tale that would be the second coming of the Titanic. Swirling seas, hurricanes looming, sharks everywhere, and almost capsizing multiple times, makes their version much more exciting. I think if Ryan could have found a way to shout out "ICEBURG, RIGHT AHEAD", that would have made his whole summer. I'm guessing that the truth lies somewhere in the middle, as the only element of the stories that were the same was that the day ended with having to be towed back to shore. Thanks, Uncle Jeff, for a great day to end the summer!

I'm Still Cool

I have loved the song "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock since I first heard it in the spring. When I told my sister, Stephanie, about how much I liked it, she commented (in that oh-so-snotty way of hers) "you would". And every time it would come on in the car both of the boys would roll their eyes and moan and groan to please change the station. This may have had more to do with my singing along quite loudly, but whatever. Well, Time Magazine has named "All Summer Long" as the "Song of the Summer of 2008", an honor which I don't think they have done before. So it's official, I am the coolest! SO THERE!!!!

Pie Day

My children and my parents have created this weekly ritual that they like to call "Pie Day". Just as the name implies, on Wednesdays after school they go and they eat pie (except for Ryan, who has Italian Wedding cookies, but what can I say, he's my little paesan). I think everyone at the restaurant looks forward to pie day as much as the boys do. Once when my parents were on vacation, I took them, and I swear they were greeted much in the same way that Norm was greeted when he entered Cheers. Occasionally they even have special guests join them. Once they ate pie with a Texas Ranger and even one of Sam's teachers came. Today their cousin, Lilly, got to join them to celebrate her first day of kindergarten! So if you ever get a hankering for pie around 3:00 on a Wednesday, head on over to John's Restaurant on Westinghouse Blvd.. They are a fun and interesting group, but I can't promise that you won't leave just a tad bit more confused than when you got there.

School Days

No more lazy days and carefree summer nights. It was rise and shine today for the first day of school. Although neither of the boys seem excited at the prospect of another long school year, they both seemed to enjoy their day and their teachers. From here on out, our days will begin to get busy again, with the start of Scouts and CCD very soon, and they are continuing with Karate. They test for their blue belts this week. Not to mention that Sam has decided that he wants to be the next Michael Phelps and start swimming lessons. And as we wrap up the boating and wakeboarding season, we move right into dirtbikes. Ryan should start riding more this year, so hopefully that will give me some Sundays to myself. Sometimes just getting everyone fed, bathed, and in bed at a decent time seems like an impossible task.

Scott is in Atlanta for a few days at a continuing ed class, so I am going to watch the Democratic National Convention in peace tonight. It should be quite a pleasant change to not have to listen to Mr. Libertarian's comments and moans after each speech:).

More Time With Grandpa

I must begin this post with a disclaimer. Some of the activities that my children took part in this weekend were not approved or condoned by me. So please don't tsk-tsk me or think that I encourage any of this. I'm just Mom, why would anyone listen to me?

Sam and Ryan, along with cousin, Trace, had a campout at Grandpa's this Saturday Night. The General put 2nd Lt. Sam in charge of these manuevers, with Ryan and Trace as his Troops. This put Sam on fire duty, and the General challenged him to keep the fire going all night. As you can see from the pictures, he took this challenge seriously. They roasted hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire, ate watermelon, and consumed massive quantities of soda (most of which contained caffiene, I'm sure). Then the three little ones took to the tent for lights out...ALONE. That's right, no adults, just Sam, to make sure everyone made it through the night. He is a Cub Scout after all. In the morning they ate a huge army breakfast.

Thankfully, they are back at home, safe and sound. Tomorrow the adventure begins on another school year.

Our Family Secret

Today I am coming clean with our family's deep, dark secret. I refuse to keep this hidden behind closed doors any longer. Here goes....I have raised a WRESTLEMANIAC. Yes, it's true. My sweet little Ryan is a WWE Superstar wannabe. I realized when we were at Wal-Mart (where else?) the other day, looking for a CD of WWE entrance theme songs, that we had passed the point of no return and there was no saving him. We put on the CD as soon as we got back to the car, and played some bizarre version of Redneck Name That Tune. He could name each of the 17 theme songs within about 2 notes. It was a proud, proud moment. I also just ordered a John Cena outfit for him for Halloween, which probably put me on some pretty weird marketing lists. So if anyone reading this is familiar with the terms Chain Gang Army, WOOOOO, Degeneration X, 619 or knows the nicknames The Animal, HBK, or The Deadman, than be proud and join me on the dark side....we have cookies!!

Summer winding down

Today we spent the day with the kid's friends, Lauren and Alex. Their mom, my friend Darnell, is a teacher, and teachers went back to school today, so they came to hang out with us while she was at work. This sort of marked the beginning of the end of the Summer of 2008. We had a great summer day though. I made the kids turn off the Wii and come outside, where I tought them a simple joy from my childhood....the game of "Kick the Can." They really seemed to enjoy it and I felt like I was back in Jersey circa 1976.

We really had a great summer, with many trips to the pool, Carowinds and the water park, riding bikes, boating at the lake, and just hanging out. We made special excursions to the Raptor Center, the Scheile Museum and Planeterium, Latta Plantation, and ice skating. We also had a great time at the annual "Separ Family Beach trip" where we got to spend time with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins, Trace and Lilly. There were a couple of things that we planned but didn't get to during the summer, but that gives us some Fall events to look forward to.

Sam reached a goal

So Sam finally completed a goal he has been working towards all summer. He has now rode on every ride at Carowinds. We completed the last two rides, The Borg and The Drop Zone, this past week. We waited over an hour to ride the Borg, which is completely unheard of for us. Usually if there is any kind of line the kids say "forget it". But he knew his time was limited with summer coming to a close and he had to get it done, so we did the wait. He says it was totally worth it. Later he watched a show on the travel network about roller coasters around the world, and has several that he thinks we should go try out. Isn't is nice to be a kid and think that things should happen just because you want them to.

Spending the day with Grandpa

This is what my children look like when they spend the day with Grandpa a/k/a "The General". Since Grandma was in Florida this past week, Sam and Ryan spent Wednesday with the General. In six short hours they managed to purchase and put up a tent, reinforce their fire pit, eat two meals, loose my phone, and plan PT exercises for when their cousin, Trace, comes to stay next week. They plan to "whip his butt into shape." They tell me this is good, clean, all-american fun, but I don't know.

Here We Go

Okay, so in an attempt to drag me into the 21st century, Sam and Ryan have insisted that we have a family blog. Life with two very energetic boys, a job, and a husband who has way more to do than he will ever have time for, can get crazy sometimes. We have a great life, and this will be our way to share some part of it with those we care about.