Excitement times 10.

view from the marina

the hotel's pool and beach access across the street!

YAY! In a little over 2 weeks, my husband and neglected best friend will finally be getting away for the honeymoon we never had. I can't even begin to describe how absolutely excited I am for this get-away as the ever so taxing (haha) dreadful, depressing, time known as tax season is looming in the not-so-distant future. How wonderful it will be to wake up to the sound of nothing. Oh, how I/We NEED this. This will be the first time since we got married that we have gone away for multiple nights in a row and a plane ride away. I know I am going to miss those little faces, but in the meantime I can drown my sadness away while laying in the sun on the sandy beaches of Treasure Island, Florida. Sorry if I am making you jealous!!

In other news, the hubs and I went to our first Eagles game in two years last night. Holy crap, it was freezing. It's hard to believe that 2 weeks ago, I was cursing the warm, humid weather for bringing back the ants in our kitchen. Ben and I played it safe and decided not to tailgate and lo and behold, I made it through the whole game without taking a nap, lol. Yeaaa, tailgating is not my best friend. I'm just happy the Eagles won, and I got to spend more uninterrupted time with my hubby... too much rushing around and missing each other reeks havoc on a relationship. Wow, and I just realized that Ben and I will be celebrating our "original" anniversary on November 25th... in sunny Florida, to boot. Lucky number 7 years together!

In the meantime, I just have to keep trekking along. Nathan was sick with croup last week, Ollie is getting sick currently, and I can only hope that Ben and I do not get sick next. The rest of the year is going to fly by now... Nathan is going to be 4 soon (omg) and Christmas is only 6 weeks and 5 days away... ahhh! I hope this year we can make it up to NYC to see the tree. OK, I'm rambling now. Off to go clean this mess of a house. Peace!

Drawing a blank.

It's amazing how fleeting my mind can be sometimes. It's been a week since my last post and I know I have had a lot of things on my mind since then, but absolutely nothing is coming to mind right now. That's what happens to me when I find a lull in my day. I am so used to the hustle bustle of everyday living, that when I actually find a moment of solitude and quiet, I have no idea what to do with it. I know I shouldn't be wasting precious time on the computer, and I know I have a million things that need to get done around the house... dishes, laundry, cleaning, blah, blah, blah. Sometimes it seems never ending. I'm not complaining by any means, I am blessed to be able to work at night and be able to stay home with my children, it just seems that life as a mother has infinite demands and a mother's work is literally... never done. It can be quite overwhelming at times, and even with all of the help I receive from family and friends, I still feel like I am not doing enough. What is with this mommy guilt and why is it so hard to shake? Is it just a woman thing? I wonder if Dads feel the same way, too. As mothers, why is it so hard to understand that sometimes we need help and can not do it all? Are we our own worst enemies? The weirdest thing about this whole day is that it hasn't even been a stressful day for me at all.... most days I am SO ready to go to work at night and punch out my mommy time card for the day, but today, for the first time in a while, hasn't been overly stressful, but yet I still feel a certain way and like I should be doing more. Maybe it's just me and my over-achieving attitude, when will I just learn to relax? I think I need a relaxing vacation where all I am allowed to do is lay there in the sun... I'd probably get bored, though, lol. Ben's right, I am never satisfied. ;)

Oy.

Today I was in the mood to torture myself so I did a few things that sane mothers do not normally do. I took the kids to Best Buy, (too obvious) the park after a rainfall, (mud city) and last but not least, flu shots around nap time. The power cord broke to the precious lifesaver known as a dual screen DVD player, so silly me thought I could run in and out of the "Blue Store" as Nathan calls it. Not only did they not sell the cord, the kids ran a muck amongst the children's DVDs and wanted everything from "100 Episodes of Sponge Bob"to the latest box series of Max and Ruby. You really can not rationalize anymore with an almost 4 year old, because instead of just believing everything I say, Nathan rationalizes right back at me and tells me that he knows the DVD player is broken, but that I'm going to fix it. "That's why we're here, Mom," he tells me. Duh, Mom. Anyway, I almost made it out of there without spending a small fortune, but the damn machines with the crappy plastic toys and sugar-filled candies beckoned right outside the doors, and of course the kids wanted in on that. Even Ollie started yelling at the top of his lungs, "Money, Mom! Money!" Hey, at least I can get away with only spending 50 cents and them being happy about it, right?

On to the next tortuous activity for the day... playing at the park after it rained last night! Yay! I should have just thrown them in a mud puddle and called it a day. After an hour of running around like little drunken maniacs, I finally lured them back in the car with promises of more candy and headed back home to get changes of clothes.

After I literally wrestled them into clean clothes (they love to be naked for some reason), we met Ben for lunch. We ate our weekly pizza fill at King of Pizza.... yum! The kids were hungry after rolling around in all that dirt. I guess I'll get used to it eventually, but I really need a clean ally in our house.... at least Blue (our fish) isn't too messy.

After lunch I took the kids to the Dr. for Ollie's 2 year check up. I can't think of anything more stressful than taking two rambunctious boys to the Dr. during nap time and having to wait a half an hour before being seen. It irritates me because I figured it would be slow at that time and it was, but yet it still took that long?! Don't they know I forgot to take my Xanax this morning and I'm feeling very edgy? Can't they hear my kids pummeling each other with those throat sticks? If I had to say, "Don't touch that" one more time I was going to lose the last marble I had held onto so far today. Ugh. Yes, they nearly tore the roof off that room while we waited. Ollie is in the 50% for both height and weight, 34.5 inches and 28 pounds. Nathan, in comparison, was 33.25 inches and 26 pounds when he was two, so not that much of a difference. Both the kids got their flu shots, but Nathan was the only one that cried. I hate shots, I can't even look when they are getting them! :( We have to go back in a month to get the booster shots, more fun awaits!

The gist of the rest of the day was.... kids refused to nap, Mommy had a slight breakdown, Ben comes home from work to the house looking like a hurricane went through it, and Ollie monster finally being defeated and falling asleep on the floor at 5:30. Guess who's waking up with the chickens tomorrow?

Oy.

Happy Birthday Oliver Francis

Oliver Francis Goldwasser

Ollie's 1st birthday

Ollie's 2nd Birthday (Ben hasn't changed a bit, lol)

Two years ago I had just pushed a 7 lb 7oz. bowling ball out of a ... well, you know the rest. I still can't believe I did it all without pain medicine, but I like to think the morphine drip that wore off right before my water broke did the trick. If you want to read about Ollie's crazy birth story you can find it here on Myspace. Remember Myspace? God, I feel like it's an old re-run that you come across every now and again, like TGIF from back in the day.

Anyway, back to what I was saying... yesterday was Oliver's birthday and what better way to celebrate than to press our luck and take the boys out to lunch, right smack dab in the middle of a lunch hour surrounded by businessmen in expensive looking suits. Sorry about that spaghetti sauce stain, buddy! Nah, the kids were actually on their best behavior for once, and I think I have found the secret to eating in "peace" and not having to scarf down a meal in three bites.... (drum roll, please) bringing them out to eat when they are actually hungry and having their meals come out the same time as ours! Seems easy enough, right?! How long have we been parents now? For the most part, we've only tried going out to dinner, the kids are usually tired and cranky and dinner has never been big for Nathan, he's still picky and since I usually don't get to feed the kids dinner since I'm at work, I'm sure he doesn't eat much at that time. Ollie has always been a great eater, but yesterday he didn't eat breakfast, so he was really hungry at lunch, which made him sit still for once, instead of climbing the booth. Plus, we have always made the mistake of ordering the kids food first, but I notice that whenever we do that, by the time our food comes, they have finished eating, and are on to more important things, like opening sugar packets all over the table, and smearing food on the floor. So, dinner at a restaurant for us usually ends up in cold leftovers reheated at home, and a buzz from the wine we consumed without any food in our stomachs. So, yay for us having an "ah-ha!" moment... only took us a few years.

I was lucky enough to get off of work at the last minute, so we took the kids to one of their favorite places, Bounce U around 6, worked up a sweat bouncing away there, then went to Peace-a Pizza for dinner. Peace-a Pizza is a really cute concept, and they have a play area for kids, which always helps parents, who like I said earlier, have a hard time eating in public with their kids. The only recommendation I have for them is: make better pizza! My kids love pizza and would eat it night and day, but they hardly touched their's last night. They have tons of gourmet pizza slices which look good, and believe me, I'm like a pizza connoisseur, I am not a fan of their pizza, it's too doughy and doesn't taste like much. Peace-a pizza, if you are reading... step it up a notch, I will bring you lots of pizza eating kiddie business if you do!

Oliver is not impressed with whatever WHYY program I just put on for him, and is instead climbing behind me on the computer chair and jumping off repeatedly while yelling toddler obscenities. I better go, maybe I will get another blog post in before the end of the year, at this rate. Have a great day, everyone!

Diaper Genie

This is a drive-by blogging. I haven't been able to blog in over a month, and that's because we were so busy in June, I think we crammed a year's worth of activities into one month. The gist of it was ... my birthday (for one week straight) girls' nights, wine, Phillies game, beer, NYC for the weekend, 2 of my best friends' kids' 1st birthday parties back to back, Father's Day, 2 nights of Phish, and then Sesame Place. Somewhere in there I slept ( I think it was in NYC).

Anyway, it's 8:40am and my boys are still asleep! I am going to attempt to drink my first ever HOT cup of coffee in it's entirety. I am too afraid to go into the kitchen, though, and make it for fear of disturbing the sleeping mini giant since his bedroom is right off the kitchen. Speaking of mini giant, I peeked under his door just now to make sure he wasn't asleep on the floor (we took his crib rail off because he was climbing out) and what do I spy on the floor next to his bed? (Has anyone seen Toy Story 3 yet? I felt like Mrs. Potato Head, taking her eye off and sticking it under the door to see) .... his diaper!! That little stinker has been taking off his diaper in the morning and SMEARING the contents all over the place. Yup, that makes for a good breakfast appetite. He now tells me "poopie" and "pee-pee" when he goes. Unbelievable! Nathan was almost 3 when he was ready to potty train, and I think this little guy at 22 months may be trying to tell me something, lol. Maybe he is telling me he would rather just join the nudist colony and pee where he wants to. Also, if it's not one thing it's another... Dr. wants me to try him on Lactaid milk because he has had diarrhea now for like 2 or 3 weeks, and I think it's because of his milk consumption, the kid pounds a milk like his mom pounds a margarita on a hot summer night.

Well, my daydream of a hot cup of coffee will have to be put on hold. Nathan just came out of his room and requested that we start painting... how many days till vacation??

Kids say the darndest things

wearing my hat that Nathan made

Last week Nathan's class had a Mother's Day party. It was so cute, they made us funny hats to wear, frosted sugar cookies, and planted seeds for us. To my horror, the next thing the kids were to do was to stand in front of the class and show us a picture that they had drawn of their mom and what she likes to do. My heart started pounding as soon as the first kid went. What was Nathan going to say his mommy liked to do?! Go on the computer?! Drink wine?! Play with knives???! The first boy said his mommy liked to draw, and the next girl said her mommy liked to drink soda. Another girl's mommy 'liked daddy' and another boy's mom liked to clean. Then, it was Nathan's turn. He shyly gets up in front of us all and points to a picture of me (all colored lines with two eyes) and says....

"My Mommy likes to vacuum!"

Whew!! I thought all my secrets were going to be divulged to his little preschool friends and their moms, but alas.... my one true enjoyable chore was let out of the bag. Yes, it was revealed that I love to vacuum, and I let out a relieved sigh and teared up right then and there. My little boy is growing up and is the most observant, honest little guy. Oh, how I love my Nathan.... and of course, my Dyson vacuum.

OCD .. I'm just O

Ok, now that my life has settled down as much as it could possibly could, I can try and focus on blogging once again. I have had a certain habit throughout my life and it has once again bit me in the ass. When I stumble on something new and exciting, I take the reigns and become obsessively passionate about it.... for about 5 minutes. After I exhaust the hell out of it and it starts to lose the initial appeal, I am on to the next obsession. I can't tell you how many times I have went to Michael's, dropped a small fortune on supposed crafty projects I was all gung-ho about and then find these unfinished crafts in plastic shopping bags months or years later. Even better, one of the boys will find them and either scatter the pieces all over the floor or start playing with them like toys. I think my friends can vouch for me when I say I literally have a new obsession as often as the season change. (which is every other day, with the crazy weather we've been having lately!)

As you all know, my latest passion has been getting fit, and now that I can finally check Broad Street Run off my bucket list, I need a new hobby.... not that getting fit is a hobby, it's become a lifestyle now, and it actually pains me to eat a damn french fry without a moment of guilt. Don't get me wrong, I still have dessert and an occasional (aka often) glass of wine, so I haven't completely lost my mind just yet. But, for me, I need something new to strive for. I've always been a busy kind of person, and if I don't have a new goal in mind, I start to go a little stir crazy. Maybe I need to take up something entirely different, like glass fusing! Yes, that's it... glass fusing! I'll Google it when I am done.

Now, onto more interesting things that have been happening. Yesterday, the Swanky Babblers (the playgroup I've been helping organize) were invited by the Food Network to dine in a restaurant that Chef Robert Irvine was trying to re-vamp. If you have watched Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay, it was something like that. A group of about 24 of us went to dinner at Villari's in Palmyra. Ben used to go to the restaurant as a kid and he remembers it being very dark inside. The inside was redone very nicely and was open and bright. Our waitress was pleasant and took our drink and dinner order right away. Our apps, salads, and drinks were delivered right away and were pretty delicious, especially the Crab soup. Then the chaos started to ensue... 2 hours later, we still hadn't gotten our dinner. The only thing we had going was a buzz after ordering like 5 rounds of drinks before dinner finally came! Ben's seared tuna was awful, but at least my seafood fra diavlo was good. I coerced Ben to send his tuna back and he ordered lasagna in it's place, which was pretty good, but come on.... who can mess up that?! Basically, the wait staff was totally overwhelmed (some of them had just been hired and it was their first night!) the kitchen was definitely not ready for a crowd of that caliber (they probably hadn't seen it that busy in a loooong time) but I will definitely go back and try it again when there isn't a major TV station filming a pilot.

The company we were with really made the food aspect seem less disastrous, and Ben and I really had a great time talking and laughing with new friends. Even though it seemed more like everyone was laughing at us (for the record, Ben was not sunbathing with a fanny pack on lmao) but I guess we can't help it if we're funny people, haha. Overall, it was a very memorable experience and I am so glad we were able to be a part of it. Now, we just have to wait till the fall to see if any of us even made the cut to be on TV! The show is going to be called Restaurant:Impossible and it is going to air sometime in the early fall!