Special Visitor

I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. My sister, Ruth, is coming for a visit from Florida today. We haven't seen her since June and Chris has no idea that she is coming. I'm going to let him know as we are driving to the airport later today. Although she is only coming for a few days, I'm just looking forward to catching up. So, I may not be on the computer much in the next day or so. Be back soon!

Exercise

I was very motivated the other day to really get back to exercising. When we moved to NJ, I knew exactly where to find my Pilates equipment in our boxes. I pulled it out and there it sat on a shelf for about a month. So, I pulled it out the other day, got dressed in work out gear and found an activity to keep Chris busy while I exercised. I was mentally psyched and ready to go.

I had everything all set but was horrified to find NO DVD inside the DVD box. What???!? Where is my DVD and how annoying is it that all the equipment is there, I'm fully dressed and ready for action and no DVD. Chris is occupied, but for how long?? Hmmm... after a quick look in all the DVDs stored in the living, sorting through all of Chris' DVDs (which are numerous) and scratching my head, the reality hits me that there is only one place this DVD could be. In the garage, in "some" box. There are at least 40 boxes out there. Yes they are labeled, but many of these boxes have been emptied and refilled with other things since we will be likely moving again in June. Ugh....

So, I dash down the stairs to the garage and start my endeavor. I know we have a box of DVDs/CDs but it requires a lot of maneuvering to get to it. I finally wiggle it out and literally have to dive into this large box to get to all the things on the bottom. It's a dark garage and I'm having a hard time seeing. This is a process, people! After spending what seemed like an eternity in the boxes, I still had not uncovered the DVD. Chris was calling and I knew my "exercise" window had been officially closed. I definitely had a workout digging through boxes.. just not the workout I had intended.

Five on Friday

Five items I always keep in my wallet:

1) Emergency money (at least $30) -- better be a Dairy Queen emergency and not a flat tire for that little sum
2) A Band Aid - more so for me than little guy -- I'm an accident waiting to happen
3) A Quarter - because in NJ you have to put a quarter in the slot of the shopping carts at Shop Rite! (Didn't have this issue in Florida or Pennsylvania... I'm just saying..)
4) My health insurance card .. see point number 2
5) Picture of Steve & Chris

Time Out

Christopher had the following conversation with his two favorite toy balls this week:

"Balls, you are not listening to me. I'm putting you in time out!" (Chris takes his 2 favorite balls and puts them in his timeout spot which is on the top step of our foyer. Being balls, they roll off the step)

"You are not listening to me. You need to stay in time out." (Chris expels a loud sigh of frustration..just like Mommy does and then moves the balls to a new location.)

After several minutes he comes back to check on the offenders..
"Balls, do you know why I put you in time out? You were not listening to me. I don't like to put you in time out. I love you. Can you please try harder next time? Ok.. you can go now." (that's exactly what I say when he has been put in time out).

I guess I'll need to come up with a new lecture.. he's got this one down!

How Personal Is Your God?

On the topic of funny stories, this one is a classic. While living in Lancaster, I joined the Adult Choir and had the privilege of meeting some of the most wonderful people. Our choir director, Cheryl, always incorporated a time of prayer at the beginning of practice. We'd go around the room and anyone with a need could share it. Then, Cheryl would ask someone to lead in prayer.

This one Wednesday night while sharing needs, a fellow choir member was requesting praying for someone named Chuck. I can't remember what the specific need was, but it was an urgent need. There were several other names of people that needed to be prayed for as well. Cheryl called on someone to bring these needs to the Lord and the poor guy who was asked to pray, must have been really concentrating on the names and the needs because he started his prayer with "Dear Chuck... we come to you tonight with our needs" Well, you can imagine that I about lost it. He meant to say Dear Lord or Dear Heavenly Father... but Dear Chuck was all that came out. Talk about a personal Lord! The girls from the choir and I still laugh over it. I don't know how we managed to not laugh during the actual prayer.

Divine Email

While working my very first job out of college, my eyes were wide open working in a very corporate world, with many people who were not Christians. Eager to share my faith and to be a light to others, you can imagine my surprise when I received the following email from the Receptionist.

To: All Employees
From: Mary (Not her real name)
Subject: JESUS WILL BE IN THE LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM AT 3:00 PM

There was no further explanation. Just that simple email alerting us that Jesus was coming... at 3:00 pm to our office in midtown Manhattan. I looked at my screen and tried to figure out the meaning. Was there a news alert that Mary find out about and is letting us know? This was before the age of internet so we didn't have breaking news as we have it now. My curiosity had the best of me and I had to find out what this meant. After several minutes, I decided to go to the receptionist and investigate.

"Mary, I am a little confused. I am a Christian and know that Jesus is coming again...but why is it that you believe he's coming today at 3:00?"

"Oh honey", Mary replied... "That's Jesus" (Spanish pronunciation or Hey-Seuss). "He comes every 2 weeks to shine and repair people's shoes. He'll be here at 3:00 in the conference room for anyone that needs some work done. "

Every time I got that email for the next five years, I chuckled to myself.

A Day at the Movies

Several months ago, we decided that Chris was old enough to go see his first movie. He loves VeggieTales so we thought we'd take him and his two favorite babysitters (Tanya and Stephanie) to see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Very harmless movie with characters he loves. Great! So, we get to the theatre, buy all the tickets and walk into the dark theatre. We got there just as the previews were starting. I guess I forgot just how dark and how LOUD it can be inside a theatre. Chris wanted nothing to do with it. We had to plead with him to at least sit in the back and convince him that he was going to like it. He didn't want to hear it. Unfortunately, he had seen all the video games in the lobby and would much rather hang out there playing games. It was a battle of the wills and no one was winning. It was obvious after 20 minutes or so that he was not going to sit through this movie and we were so bummed that we just dropped $40 or so dollars on tickets, popcorn, etc. for a movie that none of us were going to get to watch.

Lesson learned. We won't be trying that again for a few years. No need to push it. He'll be ready some day. So for now we'll stick with renting videos from the library.

Whirlwind

Ok, so I'm sorry I left you hanging for a few days there. I am feeling 100% better, thank God. I don't know what happened to my back, but I was out of commission for about a day and a half. Thankfully, I was feeling much better by yesterday and did not even have to take any medication in the last day. So, thank you everyone for your prayers.

It's been a busy 24 hours around here. We decided to unexpectedly make a drive out to Lancaster, PA yesterday afternoon. I packed a bag just in case, and sure enough, we decided to stay overnight and drive back today. We saw two of my good friends, Missi and Becky, and also went out to dinner for some "PA Dutch" cooking.

One of the driving forces for this trip was that Christopher had a special request. Years ago while visiting Lancaster, Steve and I bought Chris a little wooden train set that had the letter C-H-R-I-S. At the time, I didn't think we needed to buy all the letters because the train was long enough with just those letters and the engine. Anyway, one day this past week, Chris was playing with this train when all of a sudden he ran out of the room, went to his playroom and brought me his step stool which is a name puzzle that spells out Christopher. He said "Mom, we need to get the TOPHER." I didn't know what he was talking about at first. So, he explained, "I have the C-H-R-I-S for my train, but I need the T-O-P-H-E-R like I have on the stool." My little boy realized the train just had part of his name and now he wanted the rest of the letters because "it will make it a really BIG train!"

So, as part of our journey, we stopped at the same store we purchased the train in Lancaster and picked up the rest of the letters. What joy that brought to his little heart. Lancaster still has a piece of my heart and I always enjoy my stays down there although it's never enough time to see everyone.

Happy Birthday !!

The twins are 75!! Happy Birthday to my wonderful Father and my Uncle Dave who are turning 75 today. When I was a little girl, I used to get them confused all the time. One time in church, I remember that a bunch of the men (including Dad and Uncle Dave) were standing in a circle and I somehow wound up in the middle of the circle. Someone said to me "Go give your Daddy a hug" and I kept looking back and forth between my Dad and my Uncle and I ran to my Uncle at first and gave him a hug, thinking he was my Daddy. The men roared with laughter and so I knew I picked the wrong guy, and then ran to my Dad. It really did confuse a lot of people in church since both our families attended there.

Anyway, I am blessed to have you both in my life and pray that you have many more wonderful and healthy years ahead of you. God Bless!

Prayer Request

Hi everyone -- just a quick post to request some prayer. I have very severe back pain. It started last night and has not subsided as of yet. Some of the medications I would typically take for a back ache are off-limits to me now because of my blood disorder. Anyway, I would truly appreciate your prayers for a speedy recovery. Thanks!!

Kids and animals

Yesterday Chris & I were sorting through the change in his piggy bank and putting them in wrappers so we could take the money to deposit into his bank account. It brought back a funny story from a few months ago while we were still in Florida.

My sister somehow had agreed to have a few pets in her house, one of them being a guinea pig that lived in Matthew's room. Chris had never seen a real guinea pig before and after inspecting it, let's out a "Hello piggy bank!" it was too funny! To him it looked just like his piggy bank. Thankfully, he didn't try to stuff money into it.

Another incident was at my cousin Dave & Liz's house. Chris has been around lots of dogs, but not many cats. Liz had a cat and Chris didn't know what to make of it at first. So, he came out into the living room saying "I saw a mouse! I want to pet the mouse" Liz was like "A mouse!!!" Thankfully, he really meant the cat and there was no mouse.

I guess we need a few more zoo trips.

Meatball Madness

Last night I made my mom's recipe for Italian Meatballs, a recipe that I haven't used in a long time. It brought back a really funny memory of my Dad, actually.

When I was younger, my Mom would go away for a weekend on a Women's Retreat with the women from our church (those of you who attended Bethlehem with me will appreciate this story). It was the weekend we hated to see come... the weekend where mom would be gone. It wasn't that we didn't love spending time with Dad...it was that we knew mom was off having the time of her life (and deservedly so) and we were not... we were at home.

While Mom was away, Dad made sure we were fed, bathed, clothed and behaving ourselves. My Dad even cooked for us while she was gone which, looking back, is impressive considering he could have opted for the McDonald's down the street. But, my Dad went the extra mile. One night while Mom was away, Dad felt impressed to make us spaghetti and meatballs. Sounds reasonable enough. Most kids enjoy that meal and we certainly were known for eating it when Mom made it.

So, we eagerly went to the dinner table when called, only to find 10 HUGE meatballs on each of our plates (It's definitely the Sicilian in him. Grandma was like this too. Mangia, Mangia) Now.. I was maybe 7 or 8 at the time and at most could put down 2, maybe 3 meatballs tops. There were 10 on my plate.

"Dad, I can't eat 10 meatballs. I usually only eat 2 - 3"
"You will NOT leave this table until you finish your plate"
"But Dad, Mom never makes me eat that many..."
"You will eat them all"
"But.."
"Eat"

I must have sat there for hours that night. I was a picky eater to begin with...but 10 meatballs was out of my reach. I think he finally let me go after eating 4. I don't remember how my brother and sister did. But, it was a long night.

Dad, I know you read this blog. I totally appreciate the fact that you took such good care of us (and you still do). You're the best!

Hide & Seek... Mall Style

Today we passed by a JCPenney and it reminded me of a day last year when Chris & I somehow got involved in a game of Hide & Seek that got way out of hand. We were at a JCPenney in our mall in Florida and, while waiting to pay for some merchandise, Chris was getting fidgety. So, I decided to take him down the escalator to entertain him while Steve paid for our things. As we were waiting for him at the bottom of the escalator, Chris & I started singing songs and playing around poking each other and before I knew it, he just took off running. Full steam ahead !! I guess he decided now would be a great time to play Hide & Seek.. in the middle of a department store. He headed towards the men's department and before long he was hidden amongst a sea of coats, suits, etc. I couldn't even see the top of his head around some of these displays. I'm running and running, calling out to him to stop and he just kept going. At this point, I'm running blindly because the floors were carpeted so I couldn't even hear what direction he was running in. Every so often there would be a break in the carpet and I'd hear his sandals against the linoleum floor so I could take off running in that direction after him.

Just as I catch a glimpse of Chris, it's too late.. he is at the edge of the store.. the part where it spills out into the open mall. I'm screaming his name at this point, getting looks from everyone and wondering where in the world is my husband to help me. Of course I'm wearing basically a flip flop and not sneakers so my attempt at running after him is greatly hindered.

Chris is now in the center of the mall running his little heart out and laughing. He's having the time of his life and I'm having a coronary. What if someone grabs him, what if he keeps running right out of the mall into the street? People see me chasing my son, see me yelling at him to stop and one of them could have easily tried to assist me, but I guess they didn't want to get involved. He runs down 1/2 the length of the mall into another department store where I finally catch up with him at the cosmetic counter. I'm so relieved and so mad all at once.

I'm sweating, my chest is heaving, and my little boy thinks this was the best game of Hide & Seek ever. I grabbed his hand and held it so tightly to let him know in no uncertain terms that he was not getting out of my reach and that there was certainly going to be a consequence for this action when we get home. As I walk back into JCPenney, I run into Steve who has no idea of what just transpired in the minutes since he saw us upstairs. All I can say is, "let's go... now!"

Thankfully, that happened over a year ago and we haven't had another episode of Mall Hide & Seek again.

Five on Friday

Maybe it's because my stomach is growling and it's almost 5:30... but here's today's Five on Friday:

FIVE FAVORITE RESTAURANTS

1) Friday, Saturday, Sunday (Philadelphia, PA) - very romantic place if you are ever in the area. Right in the heart of Rittenhouse Square
2) Iberia - Newark, NJ (definitely the place to go if you are a meat eater!)
3) La Familia Cafe & Restaurant - Riverview, FL (great place with awesome Spanish food and very friendly staff)
4) Franco's Pizzeria & Restaurant - West Caldwell, NJ (although there was a fire and possible mafia activity there earlier this year, this still rates as one of our favorite places for Pizza and they have awesome pasta dishes as well) Hey...what's Italian food without a little excitement?
5) OPH (Original Pancake House) - West Caldwell, NJ -- The Best Place for Breakfast..served any time of day. Think IHOP but 1,000 times better. Not cheap..but worth it.

Sept 11 - A Day of Rememberance

I just feel kind of numb today. Sept 11th is always like this for me. Grateful for my family and feeling so sad for those who lost friends and family on that awful day 7 years ago today. I thank God for my brother, especially today, whose life was spared on 9/11 thanks in part to his boss, and more importantly, being totally protected by the hand of God! He was supposed to be on top of the Trade Center as part of a crew filming a commercial. From what I recall, one of the senior guys on the project decided last minute to start shooting the commercial from the Brooklyn Bridge and then go the WTC later in the day. He saw the whole thing unfold from there. I'm sure many of you have similar stories or were even in Manhattan that day.

May God Bless those families who are still suffering so much... even now.

No Bible, No Breakfast follow-up

Well, it's been about a month since I embarked on my mission to have devotions and prayer time before breakfast each day. I'm happy to report that I did quite well with my mission this past month with only one or two days when devotions and prayer time came after breakfast. I know God doesn't care whether it's before or after, as long as I'm making the time at some point in my day. Has it made a difference? Absolutely!! I find that I'm not stressed about the things I would normally be consumed with. I've seen answers to so many prayer requests and I just feel like I've totally tapped into a daily relationship with God. How awesome is that?!

Is my prayer/devotion life perfect? No... of course not, but the more time I spend in the Bible and in prayer, the better equipped I feel for whatever comes at me. Rough times and hard decisions await me for sure, but starting my day on the right foot and praying for God's guidance in all things is sure to help me along the way.

Is there anything you need prayer for? I'm happy to add it to my growing list of needs. You can just leave an anonymous comment if you'd like with the need.

Privacy Please

Today little guy came into my bedroom, retrieved his little step stool and headed back to his bedroom.

"What are you going to use that for?" I inquired.
" I need it" was the response

So, I moved into the hall to watch him place the stool by his bedroom door, stand on the stool, and strain to reach and remove the little foam door stopper. We've always used this on doors, especially when he was younger, to avoid the risk of him getting his fingers caught in a door he was slamming.. I mean "closing".

Anyway, so with the foam stopper removed, he looked me in the eye and held my eyes until he had completely closed the door.

"Everything ok? I asked.
"Yep... just need some privacy" he replied.

From what I could hear, he was just playing with toys and enjoying himself. I guess he just needed some alone time and he figured out privacy is a nice thing every once in a while. Maybe he'll extend me some privacy when I'm the bathroom sometime soon.

And How's Your TV Reception?

This was the only casualty from our move from Florida. Steve finally got rid of the TV this weekend so we can fit a car in our garage now. At least it was an older model and we had insurance on it.

Five On Friday

Chris made it through (rather... Mommy & Daddy made it through) the first day of preschool. He had a good time and is looking forward to going back next week. As for me, I spent the 3 hours mopping floors, paying bills, filing papers and vacuuming... so much for a manicure/pedicure. Keeping busy kept my mind from worrying about little guy. Thanks for the prayers!

Five Quotes from Chris' First Day:

1) "Where's the sun? I need to go to school today"

2) "No Talking!" (We were trying to make small talk with him on the ride to school.. he wanted none of it)

3) "No, I don't want to hug you goodbye, I'm busy playing"

4) "Actually, Daddy, I went to the bathroom 4 times today... 2 times at school.. AND I closed the door"

5) "I like my school"

A Good Deal

Today I started Christmas shopping. Yes, I know Christmas is still over 3 months away. I wasn't intending to start today, but it was an offer I could not refuse. The "mommy, I really, really want this" gift was on sale and, when I was checking out the details online, it really seemed like a good deal.

When shopping online, I try to always get a promotion code or coupon code to use when "checking out". I save a lot of money this way. My favorite sites are:

http://www.couponcabin.com/index.htm
http://www.currentcodes.com/
http://www.wow-coupons.com/index.php

So, in addition to saving $10.00 on the price of the item I purchased, I also used a promotion code and received free shipping. So, in total, I saved myself $17.00 (not to mention the gas savings in not having to drive to a store to purchase it).

One gift down... and a lot more to go. One bargain at a time!!

The Countdown

Little guy starts Nursery School on Friday. I'm a little traumatized. He's our one and only so it's sad to see him grow up so quickly. He's ready this year. More confident, more talkative and ready to make friends. He loves kids and is always ready to greet them with big hugs. The school had two orientations this summer which was great so he could play with his classmates, meet the teachers, spend time in his classroom and, most importantly, check out the potty in the classroom.

He was a little disheartened when we first went to the school to discover the potty had a "loud flush". I really would like to speak to the genius who decided that designing toilets with the super flush and installing it in public restrooms (and classrooms) was a brilliant idea. The person who designed this obviously does not have small children. The flush can send the bravest child screaming from restrooms, never to return. Think about how their little ears, which are so sensitive, must feel when they hear that. Plus, kids are obviously shorter than us, so the sound is magnified. Anyway, little guy has been contemplating how he is going to work around this flush at school. He knows he is going to have to use the restroom there, and mommy won't be there to flush it for him so he can hold his ears. So, after carefully considering his options, he has discovered that he can hold his ears with his hands and use his elbow to flush the toilet. I call that problem solving.

As for what is in store for me on Friday, I haven't quite decided. I know the 3 hours will fly by. Maybe I'll run some errands to "forbidden" stores (the places you don't like taking an active 4 year old). This would include Hallmark stores, toy stores (when you are actually shopping for a gift for another child), Home Goods/Kirklands/Pier 1/Bealls or any store with breakables. There's always the opportunity to treat myself to a manicure/pedicure or maybe just a stroll along Main Street to window shop. Knowing me, I'll likely be at home... a quiet home which will be a rare treat - just savory the time, maybe shedding a tear and praying for my boy on his first day at school.

Reality Shopping

I hear that we are going to have a "heat wave" this week and that's great news for me. You see, after living in Florida for 4 years, I am in no way, shape or form ready for Fall, let alone Winter. Four glorious years of flip-flops, sandals, shorts, capris, and an occasional jacket or sweater for those days the temperature fell below 70 (not a joke) have ended. You can get used to living like that real quick, people. When we lived in Florida, I loved shopping in September. Everything was 75 to 80 percent off .... and it was all summer clothes!! It was great.

You can only imagine my horror at being in the Freehold Mall in NJ this weekend, only to realize that buying summer clothes on clearance wasn't going to be much help to me in October and November. Sure, I could buy Chris a tee-shirt in a larger size for next summer... but the way he grows, there's always a chance that the shirt may be too small for him next summer.

I better start doing some shopping or else I'll be the only one wearing capris dropping my son off at school when it's snowing.