Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Question: I need to buy a birthday gift for a five year old girl today.   And, I don’t want to spend a lot of money.

So, should I go to :

a) the boutique toy shop in the high-rent district of downtown Marblehead where no single toy is less than $25

or

b) Target?

And the answer is…..(drum roll)….A!

Because I need one toy.  And maybe a card.

I do not need a cart full of diapers, a six-window picture frame, juice boxes, spicy snack mix,  a few pairs of 5T blue jeans, Winnie the Pooh bath toys, scented candles, a cute new top and a six-pack of Right Guard.   And that’s exactly what I would get if I went to Target.

You hear me, girls.  I know you do.

Read Full Post »

A few months ago I posted a blog about how there are certain things that should be discussed before a loving couple decides to tie the knot. There are obvious things (children, finances, family issues) and then there are the not-so-obvious things that, while maybe not a big deal at the time may, over the years, drive you certifiably insane night after night after night.

I swear, my husband is half-Eskimo.  And, the man has been freezing my a** off for seven years now.  He truly believes that any temperature above 60 degrees is downright tropical and certainly much too warm for bedtime.  I, on the other hand, apparently have lousy extremity circulation so my nose, my fingers and my toes are in constant danger of turning blue and falling off.  Nightly.

When we go to a hotel, he can’t wait to get into the room and turn the air conditioning to “full arctic blast”.  And then we get back from whatever evening activity and it’s Siberia in there.  And, I’m miserable and want to turn the heat on for Christ’s sake but he’s happy as clam.  Or a polar bear.  You pick.

(He almost always fall asleep first, though.  And then, as you can imagine, I take matters into my own hands and quietly sneak over to the thermostat to crank that heat right up to where I’m comfortable again.  This practice, by the way?  He just loooooves it.)

Oh sure, he thinks the issue lies with me.  That I’m the freakish one.  That I’m James Arthur Ray and he’s my lodge prisoner.

Either way, we’ll likely be fighting this battle for many years to come.   The up side is that at least I’m saving lots of money on skimpy lingerie.   So, there.

__________
Just a little p.s.  — In my search for a harmless and/or humorous illustration for this post, I Googled “animals in lingerie”.  Umm, yeah.  Don’t do that, let me tell you.  Excuse me while I go wash my burning eyes.  Goodness gracious.


Read Full Post »

Who’d you think I was talking to?

Read Full Post »

Grocery shopping
Rock throwing
Life’s alright…

Read Full Post »

Big Brother had his five-year old physical yesterday (broke my heart not to call it a “well-baby check-up” anymore).  45 lbs, 45 inches tall.  Peed in a cup for the very first time.  Eye check, hearing check.   Four shots plus a lance to the finger in a hemoglobin check.   Poor baby.   Took it like a champ.   Tried to be tough because his little brother was watching and he’d been promised a lollipop from the dry cleaner when we finished up.

Doctor asked him all the important safety questions.   Do you wear a bike helmut?  Always?   What do you do if a stranger offers to take you home?  Gives you candy?  What’s your address?  Phone number?

Then, these nuggets. Nuggets worth saving for my own memory.

_______

Doctor:  Do you brush your teeth?
W:  Yes.
Doctor:  How many times a day?
W:  Well…..(looks around a little nervously).  Two.
Doctor:  Ok…
W:  (Nervously)  But, sometimes, I sneak and trick my Mom and…well….
Doctor:  It’s ok.
W:  Sometimes I do it three times.

_______

Doctor:  Do you go to pre-school?
W:  Yes.
Doctor:  How many days a week do you go to pre-school?
W:  Well, I go every day except for the last day before the weekend.
Me: (Interjecting.  Couldn’t help myself)  So, if there are five days in the week, and you go-“
W:  No, Mom!  There are seven days in the week!”

_______

Yip.  That’s my boy.

Read Full Post »

Thank you.

I follow a number of blogs lately.  I’m sort of immersing myself in this weird, new culture and unless you are in it you probably have no godly idea how ridiculously huge the blog world really is.  Huge.  I’m something like two years behind the trend, too.  Women like me (and women not at all like me) have been blogging away, sharing thoughts and deep feelings and humor and intensely private things to total strangers across the world for a long time now.   (Men, too, but whatever)  There are blogs I read in which the writer has well over 500 readers, whose comments sections alone are much longer than most of  my entries.  I can’t decide if I’m jealous of those writers or if having that many people paying attention would totally freak me out.  I know it would freak my husband out.

Writing has always been something I love to do.  It’s in my blood.  My mother, who dabbled in some journalism, is a very talented writer.  Her own sisters’ resumes include Editor, The Boston Globe and Emmy-Winning Writer, All My Children.

I’m also an only child which means that while I crave attention I also crave my secrets.  I need something I can call my own (mine! mine! mine!).   And, as Husband has strongly suggested to me, there are just certain things that shouldn’t be shared to the larger audiences.   To me, these include intimate details of:  sex, someone else’s (read: Husband’s) career, true and scary marital issues…oh, and when you’re going on vacation.  Because you might get robbed.  Right?

Yesterday I read a blog titled “…and the horse you rode in on” in which the author talked about how much she couldn’t stand her husband.  And, I judged her for that.    Then, today I read a blog in which a woman stated that she and her husband “never fight”.  And, I judged her for that, too.

So, I guess my point is that blogging is a weird, weird thing.  I think that those who do it (including myself) are desperately seeking …something.  Listeners?  Validation?  “Followers”?  Feedback?   A voiceless Sounding Board?  It’s an intensely vain yet altogether vulnerable practice.

Do they like me?  Do they think I’m funny?  Annoying?  Full of myself?


Do I care?   Probably.

Either way, thank you.  All five to ten of you.  For being there.  For reading.    Thanks.

Read Full Post »

Dear So and So...
Dear Market Basket Store Manager,
I want to keep coming back, really I do.  Your prices are far better than my local stores and even somewhat better than your chain competitors.  It’s worth it financially for me.  But, man oh man.  It’s a rough trip.  And, I’m all for exposing my children to the filth diversity of your plentiful clientele, but not willing to expose them to scurvy.   Where are the Handi-Wipes?  And the mouth masks?   It frightens me.  Really.
In Cleanliness,
Swooper
_____
Dear Dog,
You know we love you, right?  Hate your hair.  Hate it.  Hate it on my wood floors, hate it on my black clothes, really hate it on my bed.  I know we let you sleep there for six years but it was a lot cuter when you were 10 lbs than it is now that you’re 80 lbs and shedding.  Get off.  You have your own bed.  Use it.   There’s a pound around the corner and, I promise you, their cold, dank floors are not as comfy as your Orvis bed.
Sincerely,
The One Who Feeds You
_____
Dear Husbands,
Big, heavy bags left at the bottom of staircases mean “pick me up and deliver me to where I belong.”
Sincerely,
The One Who Feeds The Dog Who Is Quickly Running Out of His Kibbles & Bits
_____
Dear DJ Lance Rock,
Your show is weird.  Just plain weird.  You’re the Telletubbies of my kids generation.  I don’t get it.  Kids love you.  Grown-ups?  Not so much.  And, don’t let the Brad Pitt thing go to your head.  He dresses like a homeless person most of the time so your orange jumpsuit was an upgrade.   As soon as I can get my hands on the DVR remote, your days are numbered.
“Yooooooo!  It’s Almost Time To Go!”,
Swooper
_____
Dear Libido,
OK.  Kids sleeping through the night.  Lost some weight.  Settled into my new home.  Come on back, old friend.  Welcome.
I’ll Leave the Door Unlocked,
Swooper
_____
Dear Oil of Olay,
I’ve been using you every day since I was 14.  So, if you’re not helping me look younger too and I’m a wrinkled old raisin at 60, I’m coming after you.   And, $4.59 once every two months for 46 years ain’t gonna be cheap.   Just sayin’.
With the Better Business Bureau On My Speed Dial,
Swooper

_____

Dear Evan Lysacek,
Saw an interview with you yesterday in which you explained how you aren’t like all the other male skaters.  That you are, in fact, quite masculine (gasp).   Here’s a tidbit from your interview:


“I think I’m bringing an element of style and showing that this is my idea of what a modern man should dress like and look like,” Lysacek explains. “It can still be stylish, but [also] be masculine at the same time.”


Here’s what you wore last night for the Short Program.

Are those curly q’s on your shoulder blades?  Feathers on your fists?


Uh huh.

Thanks for the laugh,
Swooper

Read Full Post »

35 degrees.   School vacation week.  About an hour before naps.

Perfect.
        
Go nuts, my little men.  Go nuts.

Read Full Post »

Last week my boys each got a progress report from their Nursery School.  Each report was good.  Certainly nothing to worry about.  Both are performing all tasks relative to their ages.  Big Brother speaks softly but often.  Little Brother still has a little issue with Mommy-separation at drop off but then has a wonderful time about 5 seconds after I’m out the door.

A typical Mom, I, of course, felt that they should have received Above Average scores across the board but I’m their Mom so maybe I’m just a teeny tiny bit biased.  

And then we went away to CT for the long weekend.  Bernie, our six year old yellow lab, stayed at a nearby kennel.  Where he’s a bit of a regular.  It’s pretty posh as far as kennels go, though, and we’re pretty sure they like him there.   Yesterday at pick-up they handed me the usual details on his stay with them — a doggie report card, if you will.  

And, well….compare for yourselves.   Here they are.

KIDS:

DOG:
Hmmm…perhaps we need to refocus our efforts a bit.

Read Full Post »

Sweets with My Sweets

Channeled my inner Martha Stewart on Valentine’s Day and made hand-rolled lollipops and little chocolate stars with Ross and the boys.  Everything came out surprisingly well and we got to spend a little extra time creating a Valentine’s Day memory or two.
 
Oh.  And now I get to hear “Can I have a lollipop?” every 4 1/2 seconds.  So, that’s a real bonus.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »