We Are Blessed

What a special Christmas we had this year--and we have so much to look forward to in the coming year. It's times like this that make me realize that we are truly blessed. As Tony and I have said, 2011, is really going to be "The Year Of....." So much is going on--the wedding, the new baby, the new house, the retirement--what an amazing year we are going to have.

The big news of today is that Jenna and Jon are meeting the birth parents of our little girl for dinner this evening and then will be in the delivery room when the mother is induced. I know that they are excited, nervous and ready for this baby to come. They have waited so long. For me and my sister, it was an opportunity to shop for pink things and we really enjoyed ourselves. Our new baby has plenty of things to keep her warm and fashionable for the next 3 months!!!

The other big news of today is that Tony and I are going to go shopping with Tony and Marie for wedding reception stuff. Marie asked Tony to design a unique idea for guests to "sign in" at the reception. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Little by little, their wedding is falling into place and I know it's going to be a beautiful event.

We all got great gifts for Christmas--for me one of the best was a picture frame that digitally displays hundreds of pictures that you download to it. I can't wait to set it up and take it to work and have slide shows!!!

In addition to the digital picture frame, we're really getting tech-savvy.....well, not really us, but Tony Jr is connecting our computer with a camera so we will be able to see and talk to everyone. That will be so cool.


Notice that I have downloaded pictures from Christmas day. And of course, notice that I have two of the same picture of Jon and Jenna. I'd love to say that I did that because they look so good, I had to download the picture twice, but of course, that would be a huge fib. Once again, I flunked picture uploading--how I uploaded them twice, I don't know...but they do look good.

The kids had a great time playing with "Aunt Ma-wee" and Uncle Tony. They were very well behaved and enjoyed all of their gifts. At one point, someone referred to Tony Sr as "Uncle Tony" and Ben announced, "that's not Uncle Tony, that's Papa." Nothing gets past Ben!! Sammy was a doll....he is just Mr. Personality and so cute. Jenna had them dressed alike and it reminded me a lot of David and Tony Jr when they were small. Little "brudders."


It was great to see Chris and Shannon, the brothers and sisters-in-law and my sister for the holiday. The house was full of memories, good food and gifts from the heart.

Tony and I are truly blessed to have the family and extended family that we do and we love all of you very much.

Chief Wunning Water

Sometimes everything falls into place. The stars align and good things happen. It was that way today. I had a ton of boring work to do, but I looked out my window at the bright, breezy day and wished I had a reason to be out in it. My eyes fell on my assortment of pictures of Ben and Sam and I was reminded of a conversation I had with Tony a few days ago, when he asked me if I had seen them lately. I had not...and I was sure they had grown since I did see them.

Just then, the phone rang. It was Jenna asking if I could pick up Ben from pre-school as she was stuck in traffic. Could I....I had my coat on before I hung up the phone!!

Ben's pre-school is just a few blocks from my office, so I got there in no time. I got to see his school room and the owl that he made that is hanging on the wall. I saw his favorite pre-school toy, a train set, and his teacher told me that he plays with that most of the time when he is there. I saw his "own mailbox" with his name on it and looked at his "homewruk." And you know what's coming next....yep...it took me back 30 years.

Ben's teacher told him to show me what he made in school and tell me about it. "It's a necklace," he said, holding it out to show me. "It's got a feather on it and this is not macaroni that you eat." Ah, good point. At the bottom of the necklace was a round piece of what looked like cardboard. "Tell your grandmother what your Indian name is," his teacher told Ben. Ben looked confused so I suggested she tell him to tell "Mo Mo." She did and you could see the light bulb go off over Ben's head. "OH," he said. "My Indian name is Chief Wunning Water." His teacher explained that they were talking about Thanksgiving and the Indians and Pilgrims. They were also talking about the elements and each child had to pick an element and give themselves an Indian name associated with the element. Ben picked water. He told me, "when he goes to Mo Mo's and Papa's house he plays in the fountain with wunning water and the hot tub." What beautiful logic.

From pre-school, we went to "Two Dad's Diner" and had some apple juice while we waited for Mommy and Sammy. We talked about coming over to our house next week and how Ben is going to play with airplanes with Uncle David. The time for me to go back to work came all to quickly by--but, I got to see pre-school, had a great conversation with Ben and Jenna, I got to see a sleepy Sammy and I have to admit this was one of the best afternoons I have ever had "at wruk."

Thanks, Jenna, for getting stuck and thank God the stars were aligned just right!!

When Laughter Is In the House

Tony and I laugh. We laugh at "Two and a Half Men," we laugh at the stupid things we do because we are getting older. We laugh at the day's events when we both come home from work. But there is no better laughter in house than when Ben and Sam are over.

We got to have them over today for a few hours while Jon was building new beds for them and Jenna was shopping for sheets. Ben made me laugh. He willingly told me that he had to go to the potty and could do it himself. So he went in and shut the door. Sammy followed behind him going, "Potty, Potty???" but Ben said, "Sam, I need my privacy." And so Sammy waited quietly outside of the closed door. Ben finished up and ran into the "other" living room and proudly pulled down his jeans, showing me his tiny belly and long legs. "Look, Mo Mo," he said in a very excited voice, "I have on super hero under pants." And so he did. Sammy, who always wants to be just like Ben, showed me his diaper.

The next time I laughed was when I gave the kids lunch. I was feeding Sammy some yogurt and Ben was fixated on the TV. "Ben," I said, "eat your yogurt." Ben never took his eyes off of the TV but said to me, "I will, Mo Mo, but I can't go anywhere....I have to wait for Sponge Bob, he'll be back after these messages."

Ben told me about Thomas the Train's number. It's 1. There is a number 1 painted on the sign, so we went through everyone's number. "What is your mommy's number," I asked Ben? "I don't know," he replied. "Your mother's number is 34." I said. "No way," Ben replied. "Well, I asked, "how old do you think Mommy is?" Ben gave this some thought and said, "as old as Ty."

The best laughter came when Papa was home. Each boy, at some point, went to the kitchen door looking for Papa to return from the grocery store. And finally, there he was. Papa...the pilot who unlocked the airplanes, Papa the hero, Papa the entertainment.

Papa bravely got down on the floor with the boys and was the bucking horse, the rolling log, the bridge....anything they wanted. And during all of this...they all laughed. Ben and Sam and Papa. They laughed with the pure joy of being 2 and 4 and being able to push a grown man down to his knees and then on to the floor. They laughed as Papa pulled them over his shoulder and down to the floor. And they laughed as they climbed all over him. And Papa laughed too. It was Papa and his boys playing on the floor and he wouldn't have changed a minute of the time they were here.

Tony and I laugh. We laugh at "Two and a Half Men," but never so much as we do when our two lesser than half men are over. It was a good day.

1 Year Anniversary

A year ago on October 24, 2009, my mother stopped yelling at me. She's been dead since 2006, but in my dreams over and over again, she would implore me, "do something, I don't want you girls to drift apart." She meant my sisters and me--3 people who have very little in common and could literally go years without seeing each other.

But, so I could get a good night's sleep and put my mother to rest, I organized the first sisters lunch. It was uncomfortable at first, but soon the "do you remember when's" started and it turned out to be a good time.

We tried to do it once a month, but got behind in the summer. Today, October 23, 2010, was sisters lunch again. My niece, Sarah joined us from Kent State and put up with lots of teasing and embarrassing jokes--but I think she enjoyed herself.

Next week, we're going to see my nephew, Joe, in a play. Two sister events in two weeks--I think I'm entitled to some extra credit, ma. Keep Fritz awake next time we drift apart!

4:01

I titled this blog 4:01 because of it's meaning to Jenna and Sammy. They were both born at 4:01. Jenna was born on June 7, 1976 at 4:01 a.m. (thanks, Jenna!!) Sammy was born on October 15, 2008 at 4:01 p.m.

Last night we went to Jenna and Jon's to celebrate our little Sammy's birthday. He and Ben look so much older with their new haircuts. I wish they could stay little forever.

Sammy was very social. He went right to Tony and called him "Papa" just like Ben does. Of course, he called me "Papa" and Noreen and Scott to, so I'm guessing Sammy is either really into simplicity ("hey, I'll just call them all the same thing, I know they're going to respond...") or he just hasn't quite figured out genders yet. That's OK, he can call me whatever he wants.

Sammy too, is going to share Ben's and (the real) Papa's passion for airplanes. Sam got a Mickey Mouse airplane from Ben and the pure joy on his face when he held the plane up over his head and said, "Micky flying..." was great to watch.

And so, as Ben said, "Sammy's number is 2 now," we watched our other grandson change right before our eyes. He's keeping up with the big kids now. He says "again" really well and can finally say real words to communicate with us.

Each boy has a special place in my heart--Ben because he was our first grandchild and Sammy because of his Morgan looks. When Jenna has him on her lap, it takes me back 32 years to when my little girl had that same smile and energy.

Happy Birthday, Sammy. Two is a great number for you!

Nature/Nurture

Tony has always been very respectful regarding Jenna's father. He never tried to take over that role and he understands the void that she feels. That is not to say that he is unwilling to fill that void--but that he knows he can't. At best, he can be a substitute--much like I was for David and Tony--but the real thing is the real thing and we all know that.

When Jenna was pregnant with Ben, Tony felt the same way. He talked about Ben calling him "grandpa Tony," reserving the term "grandpa" for Scott--a "real" grandpa. But Ben changed all of that. At one point, the day that Ben was being born, Noreen asked me what I wanted Ben to call me. In reality, I wanted Ben to call me "his favorite", but I settled for whatever he wanted to call me as long as he knew that I loved him and would never let anything hurt him.

But then, there he was....born and in distress. He was being taken to Fairview Hospital and the person in charge of transmitting him from one place to another gave us one shot at taking a picture of Ben in his isolet before being taken away from us. "Be ready and do it quick," he said. And Tony, stepped up to the plate. "I'll take it," he said. And he did. At that moment in time, Ben looked right at him--tubes in his nose, with his big blue eyes, and ready to be taken away. His eyes said, "take my picture, Papa," and Tony did. It remains one of our favorite pictures of Ben.

We had Ben for the weekend--the weekend that Ben said he needed--the vacation away from Sammy. And what a good time we had. We went to the airport and saw airplanes, we went to a block party, we baked cookies. I don't honestly know how Tony and I will get along without Ben. The Ben who opens the refrigerator door, who pushes the "go" button on the dryer....who puts the mail in the mailbox and raises the flag to tell the mailman there is something to pick up. How do Tony and I do this without him?

Ben brought an airplane book with him for this visit. He sat and listened intently as Papa read the book, and even corrected him on some of the passages. We went to the airport and talked about cargo planes and the wind. I watched the two of them sit on the couch and talk about propellers (probably didn't spell that right!!) and the kind of airplanes they like.

I thought of Bill--Jenna's father. He didn't know about airplanes, but I know he would have found common ground to relate to Ben. They would have been friends. But on this day--on this "vacation for Ben," he shared his thoughts and his passion with "Papa." His Papa and it was a beautiful sight to see. Ben and Tony love each other. Ben loves Tony as his "Papa," and doesn't know or care that they don't share blood. And Tony....well, Tony loves Ben as his grandson and he too, doesn't care that they don't share blood. They share love for each other and air planes and the things they do togheter. Bill is Ben nature--his DNA, his looks. Tony is Ben's nurture--the things they share together that Ben will remember. I am in the middle. I am lucky to have loved two men--one that gave me Jenna and one that loves Ben and Sam and me, very, very much.

Jenna and Jon will have a little girl one day. Her nature will be her looks--her nurture will be Jenna and Jon...and she will be a very lucky little girl.

A Man and His GPS

As wives, we like to think that our husbands are invincible...let's face it, they want to think the same thing!! I have to admit being on this trip with Tony has been very entertaining. Tony bought a Magellin GPS and named it Wilma...a tip of the hat to our new life in Wilmington...but, Tony and Wilma have not been getting along. Wilma tells Tony how to drive... He's not crazy about that. "Turn left in .5 miles to highway...." Tony, being Tony says...."what are you talking about? Turn left...that will take me right back to where I started." And, being Tony, he will either turn right or go straight....which, as you can imagine, annoys Wilma a great deal. She will tell him to make a "legal" U turn or will adjust her route...but Tony just doesn't trust Wilma...he goes the way he wants to go. Now, there are times when he ends up in a construction zone and has to backtrack....which drives him nuts...but, there are also times when Wilma will take us down I64 West and then tell us to turn onto US Route 122, only to take us back to I 64 West 5 minutes later.....so, go figure. But, it is comical to watch. Tony finally let me drive in Virginia. I turned Wilma off and drove down I 64 to where we needed to turn off. Wilma and I are fine...Wilma and Tony fight like cats and dogs. She is a silent preditor...laughing when she takes him down long, winding roads and ignoring him when he yells..."what do you mean get off the highway....we need to stay on the highway!!" I think that Wilma should be programmed to say things like, "I heard that, asshole." Or, "hey, I got you here, what's your problem????" Or "why did you buy me if you knew where you were going?" Anything that will zap Tony. Tony drives with 6 maps, me and a GPS. We get where we're going everytime...is it Tony? Is it the maps? Is it Wilma> I know it's not me...I just go along for the ride and enjoy the exchange between Tony and Wilma...all we need now is a female engine that gives him the raspberries as he tries to pass someone one...or who complains about cramps when he's putting gas in the tank! Now that would be a hoot!!

A Birthday and A Wedding

We had a busy weekend, but it was all fun!! On Saturday, we went to Bill and Andrea Kall's wedding. Tony Jr and the "Kall Kids" have been friends for years. It was an odd experience seeing all of the "kids" that used to come by being young adults--some with children of their own. It was great to get to see Tony and Marie and do wedding talk...the countdown begins!

Andrea and Bill looked great! And like all of the "Kall Events" this one was a blast.

But, the BIG event of the weekend was Ben's birthday. Since we went to the wedding, we had Ben's birthday with us on Friday. He's getting so big. It was great to see the enthusiasm on his face and hear him say, "wow" when he opened all of his gifts. I don't suppose I will ever convince Jenna and Jon that I didn't know the helicopter made noise!!

Here's the "old folks" at the wedding!




Here's our big boy with a puzzle--almost as big as he is!


And, as always, I have the pictures in the wrong order, so here he is blowing out the candles and the next picture he is sitting by the cake. Do you think I will ever learn how to do this? At any rate, it was a terrific weekend.

Wow, What A Birthday!!

Well, what a day I had!! I got to work this morning and stopped at my usual cofee place in the building where I work. Jerry, the owner, told me that he heard from several people that today was my birthday. Guilty, I said. Jerry gave me free coffee and pastry.

As people arrive at work, I got more coffee and gifts. What a surprise. The funniest gift was a "pill box," you know, one of those big plastic boxes that you put medication in and there's a slot for each day. That was a hoot. I also got a bottle of wine, a book, several cards, a coffee mug, flower and a small cake. But, of course, the best part of the day was having lunch with Jenna, Jon, Ben and Sam. The boys made me "crafts" that are now hanging on my cube. The best gift of all were the hugs and kisses they gave me for my birthday.

I was truly amazed at how kind and generous people were today. Now, a nice dinner with Tony and I'm set until next year!!

Happy Birthday

Oh Lord, another birthday. We've been so busy with work, the bathroom re-modeling, having the kids for the weekend, tracking Tony Jr's travels and catching up with David and his health that I haven't even thought about being another year older.....not that I want to...but, you know what I mean.

We started the month of August in a whirl of activity and it's been non-stop ever since. Even at work...I sign off on things and date them and in my mind, I say..."it's August 15th already..where is the time going?"

And so, tomorrow, I will be 58. A good thing in some ways since I thought I was going to be 59. Go figure...I added a year somewhere and am glad to have it back. I'm having lunch with the Purdums tomorrow and will have a nice dinner at Crocker Park with Tony. And the heart walk from downtown on Saturday....Next week we will celebrate with cupcakes and dinner because as Ben has told us all several times...he will be 4 on August 29. I can't wait.

Tony and Marie are coming in for a wedding that Tony is in and we are attending on August 28, so it will be good to see them.

Tony Sr and I are planning our vacation and looking forward to getting away for two weeks. But tomorrow...tomorrow, my children, I will be one year older. Notice I didn't say wiser...but one year older. Like you probably have, I could never imagine myself being this old...but here I am. So for all of you...happy birthday...whether your birthday has passed or is in the future....happy birthday to all of us...and love too.

Well, I think I know now how Jenna lost all of the weight she was carrying......I give her a lot of credit for being able to keep up with Ben and Sam. We continue to have lots of fun. I'd like to go on record here for bathroom bragging....no, not the re-modeling....Ben says that we have more bathrooms here than at his house or Gram's. I'm not sure where he was going with that, but he sounded impressed.

There's more verbiage below, but enjoy the pictures of our day so far. Only 30 minutes of TV during breakfast, Mommy. Even for me!



How I managed to attach these two pictures is a mystery to me.




So big

Practicing their "form"

Sammy being a doll.

Ben said he was tired!

Ben was "fishing" in the fountain with the streamer pole Tony and I got at a wedding reception

Reading the corn hole instructions after they played the game!

Talking to Mommy

Ben, Sam and I are having adventures today. We took a walk, played corn hole at 9:00 a.m., (Ben said Papa told him to work on his "form!!") played in the fountain, watered Papa's flowers and all of the plants on the rock garden and each other. We've had the kids for less than 24 hours and they've already had two baths.

While the kids were playing in the fountain and watering themselves, I was watering the plants. It was so hot, I raised the hose up into the tree I was standing under and let the cool water fall on me. Just at that moment, Ben came up to talk to me and got wet. "It's raining," he said. "No," I told him, "I made it rain." And then I did it again. Ben loved that. By this time, Sam was soaking wet because he kept putting the water from the fountain down the front of his shirt and pants and then saying, "ta da." So, it didn't seem like a bad idea just to hose us all down in the heat of the afternoon. The kids squealed and ran around and neighbors walking by laughed at us, but we had fun.

After about an hour, we were dripping and muddy, so I said it was time for a bath. More fun. They flew airplanes and watered each other with bath water and the little orange sprinkling can. After that, it was a quick lunch and a nap. Even Ben said he was tired.

Ben has been explaining more things to me. He looked up in the sky and said, "Look, Moe Moe, clouds." He continued by saying, "Do you know what happens to clouds?" I had to admit I didn't, so he said, "the sun pushes them away and rain comes. When it gets dark, the moon and stars push the rain away. When it gets light, the sun pushes the stars away." Hmmm, seemed logical to me.

He's also being the Sam Police. When I carried Sam downstairs this morning after he woke up, I didn't realize he had his binky in his hand. Ben saw it right away and pointed and yelled, "no binky, no binky. Binky is only for sleeping." As if on cue, Sam dropped the binky. Ben is interested in Sam's eating habits. He has told Sam at least 4 times that if he doesn't finish his food he will not be getting a snack. Being the good, big brother that he is, Ben told Sam that he wasn't a good boy Papa and I could put him in time out. And then he added, "me too." I wasn't sure if he was telling Sam he also had that authority (over Sam,) or he was also subject to time outs. Sam seemed to get it either way.

Sam is the sweetest little boy. He watches Ben so closely and tries to do everything he does. Ben wanted some water this morning, so I gave him a (water) bottle that was half full. Sam went to the refrigerator and knocked on it. When I opened it up, he picked up a water bottle and tried to open it. I opened it for him, but instead of putting it to his mouth, he put it up to his nose. Needless to say, he got a little wet and coughed, but he had fun. We all had fun.

The Reasons I Love Talking to Ben

We have the boys for the weekend while Jenna and Jon attend an adoption class. No matter how often I see them, I am constantly amazed at how they interact and communicate with us and the world.

I love talking to Ben--here are some examples of why:

Ben: Moe Moe, do you know my number?
Me: Your number?????
Ben: Yes, do you know my number?
Me: I guess not, what is your number?
Ben: 4, Moe Moe, my number is 4. I'm going to be 4 on August 29.
Me: Oh...that's right. Your number is 4.
Ben: Moe, Moe, do you know what my number is now?
Me; Yes, Ben, I do. Your number is 4.
Ben: No, Moe, Moe....my number is 3. I'm 3 NOW. I won't be 4 until August 29.


Ben: Where is your house?
Me: Well, we'll turn right up here and get on I71 and drive for awhile.
Ben: We'll turn right and then what?
Me; Well, after we find our exit, we'll turn right again, then turn right again.
Ben: Can we turn left?
Me: No, if we turn left we won't get to the house.
Ben: I want to turn left.
Me: Why?
Ben: I like left better.
Me: Why?
Ben: Because left will take me to my house.


Ben: Moe, Moe, you have boo boos on your arm.
Me; Yes, Ben, I do.
Ben: Are they sketa bites?
Me; Yes, Ben, they are.
Ben: I don't like sketa bites
Me: I don't either.
Ben: Then why do you have them?


Sammy: Shoe....Shoe...
Me; Ben, can you fix Sammy's shoe?
Ben: Can I get out of my car seat?
Me: No, can you just put the strap back on?
Ben: I will fix it.
Me: Thank you.
Ben: Your welcome.
Ben: Sam, your shoe is fine, stop talking.
Ben: Moe, Moe, I fixed Sam's shoe.

Ben: Moe, Moe, Sam will be three.
Me: No, Sam will be two.
Ben: No, Sam will be three.
Me: But he's only a little older than one now.
Ben: Moe, Moe, Sam will be three.....after he turns two.

Ben: Moe, Moe....I'm going to be 4.
Me; I know, you'e getting so old. Soon, you'll be going to school.
Ben: Yes, I know, but first I'm going to your house.

I love talking to Ben.

Better Than A Coffee Break

An original photograph by Benjamin Purdum!




Jenna brought the kids to a park near the building where I work and called to see if I wanted to spend some time with her and the kids. HMMMMM....GEE LET ME THINK ABOUT THAT!! Sammy freaked out when he saw me because I think he thought Jenna was going to leave him with me. But I had a great time. Ben is into photography, as you can see. He took this picture of the building and told me he was taking pictures of the "kwouds."

And then he ran under the tree and took a picture straight up. I remember being on a picnic with Tony a few years ago and I did the same thing. Tony said I was finally thinking like a photographer.




Sammy really had a tough time at the park. One of his little friends brought a toy with her, but dropped it in favor of playing with a ball. Sammy picked up the book and was happily playing with it, when she decided she wanted it back. Sammy was not a happy guy.








Jenna took this picture of Ben and I.





This is Ben deciding to run with the other kids or play ball. Big decision!!

Thanks for calling, Jenna.

Blue Feet

Construction on our bathrooms has started. While having only one working bathroom has presented a few challenges, the outcome will be worth it. Tony and I are rotating staying home from work to be with the builders. Tony stayed home on Monday. It turned out to be a frustrating day for him and when I got home from work, I found that he was eager to talk about the whole experience thus far. While I was interested in what he was saying, I couldn't get past his blue feet. He was wearing sandals, but very clearly marked, in some Avatar sort of way, were patches of blue all over his feet and part of his legs.

I know Tony. Being married to him for this long, I know his communication style. If he thought blue feet were important, he would have started the saga of his day with them. He didn't, so while they were a distraction, I was confident they weren't life threatening.

And indeed Tony had a day. Work men tearing down the bathrooms, talking to people at work to solve a problem even though he was on a vacation day and then the air conditioning decided to go off and leave us with frozen coils.

What a day. I found his story to be an interesting illustration of the differences between us. When I have a day off, I am thrilled to have back to back episodes of Frasier, Lifetime TV movies and Dr. Phil--and if I can find a "Top Model" marathon, it's even better. A day off to me is an excuse to do absolutely nothing....and seriously, while I may do a few minor things, I'm certainly not going to do anything that is going to annoy me. Tony on the other hand, sees a day off as another opportunity to take care of the house and yard. God forbid he should actually sit down and watch something on TV. He's up early, has his coffee, hits the hot tub and then attacks his "to do" list with vigor.

As the builders were tearing down our bathroom, Tony saw an opportunity to tackle a problem that has apparently bothered him for years--the toilet in the small bathroom off the kitchen "runs." Now, I recall, there were times when Tony would stick his head into the bathroom as I was applying my makeup and say, "that thing is running again, do you hear it?" From my perspective, that's not really a fair question. Do I hear water? Yes. Isn't a toilet supposed to have water? Yes. So I never really understood the "running" part. But, it annoyed him greatly, so when the builders took the toilet out into the garage, Tony found that to be an excellent opportunity to fix it.

He went to Home Depot and bought new and improved, "toilet insides." I can't get any more specific than that because I know they go inside the toilet--what they do when they're in there is any body's guess.

So Tony took out the old insides, opened up the new ones and struggled for the next hour to get the new insides to fit. Apparently nothing worked. He twisted, bent, attached, re-attached, swore and finally gave up. See, this is the difference that I was talking about. When Tony drives my car and asks how long a noise he hears has been going on--I can't tell him. If I hear a noise, I turn up the radio. If something doesn't work, I go out and buy a new one. I don't credit myself with the talent to take something that isn't working, apart and put it back together in a manner that will make it work better or different...that's just not me. But, in the long run, I don't spend an hour in the garage on a muggy, 97 degree day, either. Call me crazy, I'd rather be inside the air conditioned house, watching Top Model.

But, in the end, Tony fixed the toilet with the old insides and managed to return the new parts to the box so that all of the pieces fit. But, he still had work to do. Tony likes "blue toilet water." You know that stuff that you buy called "A million and three flushes," but in reality, after four flushes it's not blue anymore? Well, there was some blue water in the bottom of the toilet, so Tony decided to flush it out with the garden hose. It flushed all right...all over him--hence, the blue feet. He finally picked up the toilet and put it over a drain in the garage to get rid of the blue water.

There was a sense of pride and accomplishment in Tony's voice, but also a sense of frustration in back tracking from Home Depot, not being able to install the new part and getting blue feet.

Like I said--Tony and I are different. I can absolutely assure all of you that I will never have blue feet because I flushed blue water out of a toilet in our garage with a garden hose on a hot summer day. But, my sense is that Tony is the better person, for he wore his feet proudly and I had to admire his spirit for trying.

I don't think that Tony will ever retire. I think he will continue to take care of our home, possessions and property where ever we are. And, if that means having blue feet--God love him.

A Candle in the Wind

When I was in a job search, I used to call all of my potential interviews, candles in the wind...they were out there, but the slightest thing could blow them out and I would be left with a burned out candle. But to me, it was nice to have candles in the wind...they were opportunities, they were potential career moves. They weren't official, but they were something to give me hope.

"Official" things in life are funny. We always knew that Marie would be in our family, but it wasn't "official" until Tony asked her to marry him. We always knew that Jenna and Jon would have beautiful children, but it wasn't "official" until Ben and Sam were born...and we always knew that David and Joanna could weather any storm, but it wasn't "official" until David got sick.

Retirement and moving is becoming more and more "official." We got our first lot loan payment notice on Friday...meaning we own (or are at least paying on official Swegle dirt!!) And, Tony's retirement clock is "officially" ticking off each day.

I posted that when we went to North Carolina, I talked to the builder, who is trying to set up a Call Center, and ultimately, sent him my resume.....well, I got an email from him on Friday, asking if I was still interested and asking me to call him.

It's a candle in the wind....the wind that will blow across our new property and new stage of life. It may not work out....but it give me hope. Never blow out your candles in the wind, children...they light your path.

From One Extreme to Another

What a fun day I had yesterday. Jenna, Ben, Sammy and I went to the bank to flip over some money in Ben's savings account to a CD and to open a savings account for Sammy. Ben was so big. He sat in the chair next to me holding his savings pass book. I told him to give it to Nora, the banker who was helping us and he did. After a few minutes, he looked at Jenna and said, "Mama, she's not giving my book back." Nora cracked up. A few minutes later, Nora asked him his name. Apparently Ben has been cautioned about giving out too much information, because he said, "Moe Moe, she wants to know my name, but she's a stranger." Nora cracked up. Then, Ben decided that he wanted to tell Nora his name, so he asked Jenna if he could tell her. Nora asked how old he was, and Ben responded, "I will be 4." Nora asked when his birthday was and Ben said, "soon." Nora said, "really, when???" Ben responded, "really soon." Nora cracked up. I finally convinced Ben that he could tell Nora when his birthday was even though she was a stranger. Nora completed the transaction of turning some of Ben's money into a long term CD and I gave Ben back his book and said, "Ben, this is your bank...you have money here." That impressed Ben a great deal. He said, "Mama, this is my bank...I work here." Nora cracked up. She told Ben at the end of the transaction that she was glad he was a customer of First Federal of Lakewood and that she hoped she saw him often. Ben said OK, waved and was on his way.

Sammy started out being a little afraid of the bank, but soon was running and jumping on the couch. He too is a customer now, but I think it will be awhile before he is handling his bank book like Ben did.

And then, after work, Jenna and I headed for West 25th street. Call me crazy, but West 25th street has always been a suspect area. An area to avoid. But, there we were heading to a tattoo place to get her Sammy tattoo--my birthday present to her. You couldn't go to Strongsville??? I asked?

Ah, it was an interesting place. The smell of lack of air conditioning, ink and sweat hit you as you walked in. Men were walking around in various stages of undress and ink and a young lovely came and went--apparently a girlfriend of one of the "tattoo-eese" with even less clothes on than he, even though he was only wearing shorts. What is that line from a movie about "something about napome in the morning???" Well this was like, "there's something about butt crack in the tattoo parlor."

The music was ..interesting. It was a combination of heavy metal, rap and good ole boy country. I had no idea that the word f**k applied to so many kinds of music. There was the country song...."I'm Layin Here Wasted While My Woman is Out Getting F**ked" Then there was our personal favorite...."I Can Polish Off A Bottle, But I Can't Polish A Turd." Oh...and then there was, "She Used to Be Pretty, But Now She's Just Pretty F**ked Up." The heavy metal songs were harder to identify as far as words were concerned....it was kind of like. "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, AHHHHHH, EEEEEEE,,,,,and I told her you better get ready to f**k.....or I would BAM, BAM, BAM, OUU, OUUUUUUUUU, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. I'm sure the words are much more classy than that, but I just couldn't decipher. I thought of asking if they had any Barry Manilow or Air Supply, but Jenna didn't think that was a good idea.

But finally, she had two beautiful tattoos. One of a B17 with Sammy's name across the top (see her blog, I was only going to post the outline, but she has the whole thing there looking beautiful.) and her father's signature on her shoulder. That one made me cry. I hadn't seen that signature in 34 years, but I remembered it instantly.

I had fun. It was hard to watch Jenna be in pain, but I was there with her this time and I wouldn't have missed it or given the opportunity to anyone else for the world.

From bank to tattoo parlor--from one extreme to another, but what fun I had!

We're All in a Good Place - No Pictures

Make sure you check out the blog I did earlier, showing part 2 of the backyard...it's so pretty. But I was thinking today, we are all in a good place in our lives--and I hope we all realize that.

Tony and I got notification from Compass Pointe that our lot loan was approved and we now own dirt in North Carolina!!! Yea!!! And soon, a house will inhabit that dirt--oh boy, can't wait. David was advised by his doctor that he can go back to work on Monday. That means that Joanna will be going to cosmetology school soon. Tony and Marie put a deposit down on a hall in North Olmsted--not their preferred date--but you never know what can happen. And, Jenna and Jon are #5 on the adoption list--possibly #3, depending on circumstances. So, we are healthy, we have beautiful nephews and grandchildren--we will soon be adding on to our family and we are happy. What a good place to be. Take a step back. Think about where you are individually and where we are as a family and enjoy the moment. So often life is filled with challenges and difficult moments. Isn't nice that we have a good place that we are all in at the same time? Isn't it nice that for a moment in time we are all connected and we are all good?

Enjoy the time, my children. We love you lots.

An Asshole and a Beautiful Day

Today we went to wine coutry--Ohio wine country...Geauga, Conneaut and North Kingsville...where some of our favorite winery are...Tarsitano, is my favorite--good food, nice wne and two people trying to make a living. Ken and Kelly are very special special people.

It's unfortunate that when you are having a wonderful day, someone spoils it. Today, it was someone who cut us off on the highway. He cut in front of us with litereally less than a half a car length between us. I don't know how Tony managed to control the car, blow the horn and give him the finger all in one gesture--but he did. I felt better as we passed him up the road and I gave him a full finger out the window. How stupid that was. How it could have turned out. That someone needed to be in front of us for a minute and would risk the outcome...but he did. Be careful as you are traveling--people are crazy out there.

But the rest of the day was wonderful...good food, good wine, walking in the downtown area and just enjoying the day. Thank you for recognizing Tony as a great father and grandfather--that made my day.

A Wonderful Day, A Beautiful Bride

No matter what fun anyone else had today, I had more. Today was wedding dress shopping day with Marie, her mom, sisters and friend. What a great time we had. We started at Leonardo's in Rocky River. We found dresses with bling, dresses that were pouffy, dresses that were "fun" and all kinds in between. Our problem was the bride. She looked absolutely beautiful in each and every one of them. She didn't walk, she floated and sparkled. And then, with a veil---well, what can I say? She was a princess, a sweetheart, a matador, a mermaid and a goof. She put on one dress with yards and yards of train--and who but Marie would say, "I can have this floor dusted in a minute, watch me...." and then take off with the dress trailing behind her as she chased down dust bunnies!!

Lunch was at Salmon Dave's, hosted by Mona. I was going to wrestle her to the ground for the check, but she beat me to it. We had a great time talking about past weddings, proposals and rings. I am so pleased that Tony gave Marie a wonderful wedding proposal memory. There's nothing like a bunch of teary eyed women sitting over lunch going, "aw, isn't that sweet" to make a bride proud of her groom.

From there we went to Dora's in Fairview Park. They had a great selection at really good prices. But, just like before, our problem was the bride--absolutely beautiful in each and every dress.

After that, we finished the day at David's Bridal in Strongsville. It's a big store, but their dresses just didn't seem to have that "wow" factor that many of the other dresses that Marie tried on did.

I'm not sure if Marie found her dress today. I think she confirmed what she really wants to look like on her wedding day--and I think that she was surprised by how much she liked some dresses that really didn't look that great on the hangar.

I am so glad I was invited to share in the day. At one point, Marie was looking at herself in a dress and she said to me, "do you think your son would like me in this dress?" To which I replied, "Sweetie, you could wear a burlap sack on your wedding day and Tony would still think you were the most beautiful bride in the world." And I know he would.

THE dress is out there and when she tries it on, Marie will know right away that this what she is supposed to look like on this very important day.

Thank you, Marie, for asking me to be part of the day.

The Way We Were

Tony got home from Tampa last night....we had a nice dinner in Berea and then came home, sat on the deck and talked. It was nice.

Tonight, I came home to cut grass, a neatly trimmed lawn and dinner being planned and cooked. Stupid Cat is no where in sight....ah....this is how it's supposed to be.

No laundry tonight. The alone factor is gone. All of the sounds are where they should be.

It doesn't get much better than this!

And Then Ben, Mommy and Daddy Came Back....

Do you think I'll ever remember to post the earliest first??????

Oh Happy Day

What a good day it was today. We found out that David is being moved from Intensive Care to a regular room and will be walking soon. What a relief that was. We thank the Perez family for being there with him and keeping his spirits up.

Today we had lunch with Jenna and Jon and the kids. Jenna, Jon and Ben were going to go to the movies to see Shrek. It would be the first time for Ben to see an actual movie on screen. He kept talking about the "big" TV he was going to go see at the theater. That means we got to keep Sam. Oh what fun we had.

Sammy is so much his own person when he is here alone. He went to the diaper bag and pulled out his juice and then pulled it again and laid down by it indicating that he had "pee" in his diaper and wanted it changed. We did "sleepy boy" until Tony put him down for his nap. And then Ben and Mommy and Daddy came home. Who could sleep through that???

He got up and Ben took pictures that captured the day. How we love those babies. And how thankful we are that David is OK. No matter how old your children get to be--they are always your babies.

Stay tuned for pictures...you know me by now...they will be ahead of the text!!

Sick Kid

As you know, David went in for surgery today on his left leg. We are waiting for the results, but he is a strong young man and we are sure he will be fine. All I can say is "thank you" to the person at Mercury Insurance who told David he should go to the doctor. So often, we put things we know we should do out of our minds because we don't want to seem weak or whiney. "I'm fine," we insist, but we know we really aren't. And then, there's the cost of going to the doctor--missing work, co-pays, prescriptions--who has money for that?

I am the worst about going to doctors, but when your kid is sick, that's exactly where you want them to be. I know David is 29--nice birthday being hospitalized!! but no matter how old any of our children (and extended children) are, a sick kid is a worry to parents.

Don't ignore persistent symptoms. Listen to your bodies--take care of yourselves, you are the only children we have and we'd like to keep you around and healthy for a long time.

Thinking of you, David.

LIttle Men - 5 Photos

Little Men - 4 Photos