OK, round two. Last weekend we went to a pumpkin farm with my sister M, her husband C, and their darling daughter, C. We took them for the two main reasons you take toddlers to a pumpkin farm: 1) to buy pumpkins, and 2) to take tons of pictures because, really, who could resist?

                                                  Answer? Nobody. 

 

That's not distorted perspective: the place had gigantic pumpkins the size of small car tires. We loved seeing the kids examine them.

 

C adores J and won't stop hugging him. As you can see, he's not quite as enamored. Perhaps it has to do with her rather aggressive hugs, which still knock him over.

 

This picture may seem a bit unfair to J, but it's only because we know that one day he'll either hug back or finally get bigger and defend himself against her loving embrace.

 

The farm had white pumpkins called "ghost pumpkins"--I'd never seen that before. Very nice contrast to the bright orange of the others.

 

I just love the haphazard shapes and varied colors of little gourds. 

 

 

Happy fall family!

In other news, we're finally getting J tested for his speech, or lack thereof. He's a bit behind as compared to others his age, and he doesn't point very much, which I've found out also correlates to talking because it's a form of communication. After speaking to Feather Nester (she has expertise in this area) about it, we decided to get Early Intervention involved. Either they'll tell us to relax and see where he is at 18 months or they'll suggest something more to do, either one of which works for T and me. We just need some guidance. If it turns out we've made a First-Time Parenting Freak-out Move, that's fine, too. We just want to make sure J can communicate with us and others. He seems to understand quite a bit, so that makes us wonder if it's that he can talk but won't, for whatever reason. Mercifully, because we live in the school district, everything is free and they're very accommodating. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, he seems to be settling in to day care, slowly but surely, and he's getting molars and growing and just a happy guy, which is all we want.

True Love

Two days ago as T and I sat at breakfast, I told him about having some cheesy instrumental 80s TV theme song in my head. I could not remember which show it was, and it was driving me crazy. Upon my belting out the first bar, he immediately joined in and we sang it together.

"Is it Magnum?"
"No, no, that goes dum bum bum BUHnahnahnuh..."

[and I then joined in and we scatted out Magnum, P.I. together at the table and laughed hysterically.]

"But that's not it...what IS IT?"

[long pause]

"CHiPs! It's totally CHiPs!"

My husband's recall for the utterly useless is excellent. This is why 1) I had that damn song in my head all day, and 2) it's one of many, many reasons we're so well-matched.

Advice from someone who knows

So we've started reading Tuesdays with Morrie in the one class I teach. If you haven't read it, I will write here that I truly did find it inspiring and believe that if we could all live a little more like Morrie Schwartz did, we'd all have much happier lives. Honestly, I found myself disliking Mitch Albom, the author, a lot, but loved Morrie. If you find this sort of stuff treacly and sappy, well, maybe you're just not ready to let in the life lessons? I don't know. I enjoyed it.

Here's what my students have to write about tonight:

On p. 42 Mitch considers again Morrie's statement that "The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say, if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it." Look not only at that quote but what Albom writes immediately before and after it. [he writes about how everyone was so wrapped up in the three-ring circus of the O.J. Simpson trial and how he writes stories about athletes and their celebrity... and who actually CARES about what house Andre Agassi just bought? Why does that matter?]

Do you agree with Morrie's statement? How easy is it to not give in to our culture? How does the media influence us to care about superficial things instead of what might be more meaningful? Any other comments based on Morrie's original are welcome.

So what do you think? I wrote a response about how our culture really doesn't make us feel good about ourselves a lot of the time...we should look a certain way, buy certain things, always look young, make tons of money.... How many of us know more about Lindsay Lohan's latest arrest and how many know about the fact that Chilean miners were rescued today after two months underground? How often does news start with a story that truly isn't newsworthy but is entertainment? We have become so used to being entertained and instantly gratified that I think we (well, I) lose perspective sometimes.

I had a wonderful time with T on Saturday just getting the yard raked and mowed, and winterizing the porch. I didn't want to do it, but I got outside, I accomplished something, and I felt grateful for the fact that I have a lovely, large backyard and a house to winterize. I think Morrie got me thinking about that. Went out dancing with the girls Saturday night--such fun. Then I had a rotten morning on Sunday and had a lovely afternoon with my dear friend M who took me out for comfort soup and shoe shopping because she knew I needed it. That's what's important, not an NCIS Columbus Day marathon or what some reality show star (now, there's an oxymoron) is doing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Simple Joys

I need to write this quickly because I'm on my way to do several extremely important errands that could be life-changing. Not kidding.

I've got some worries going on because of school budget woes--it's coming out soon, and things can go a few ways. One of those ways may well include massive cuts, and those would probably include me. Instead of worrying about what may or may not happen, instead of freaking, T and I are being proactive and doing what we can in the meantime--we can only control so much, so we're making sure we do and letting the rest come as it will because, honestly, that's all we can do. I mean that in a calm, ride-it-out kind of way.

So last night we ate dinner out on our porch complete with candles, a good bottle of wine we'd been saving for "something phenomenal", and a terrific thunderstorm. We ate, drank the wine, listened to the storm, and played cards all evening with Penny sometimes jumping into our laps.

That's what it's all about.

Oh yeah, I have a blog (and happy belated Valentine's Day)

See, I'm trying to concentrate more on getting my work done during the week so I can relax on weekends, so I don't blog a lot during the week. Then I relax on the weekends, and I forget to blog.

However, this week I'm on break, so in between studying for my upcoming certification exam and getting a super fun, 24-hour stomach bug yesterday that had me eating nothing but white rice and feeling wretched on the couch, I thought I'd get some blogging done. I am feeling much better, thank you.

This past weekend we celebrated Valentine's Day by going away for the night to the same B&B that T took me to when we got engaged. We haven't been there since, so considering that was almost four years ago, I took it upon myself to book the room again. Such a nice little place, and it was only 40 minutes away in Lewiston (about as close as you can get to Canada without crossing the border), an historic little town with lots of charm and wineries nearby. Perfect. Plus this time T wasn't incredibly nervous--remember, he was about to propose--and I wasn't incredibly sick. Yes, in case you didn't know, about two days before we went away for my birthday weekend/engagement weekend, I became sicker than I had been in YEARS. This greatly helped T because I wasn't alert enough to notice he was acting odd. Anyway, it was a lovely weekend--plus sneaky T had a dozen roses waiting for me in our room. He does like the flowers. AND he wrote me a little poem. For all of those people out there who say, "Well, wait ten years/twenty years. You won't get that stuff any more," please, please shut up. Let me enjoy my flowers and poem. I'll find out if you're right or not on my ownty-own.

We just had a nice dinner out and then a glorious breakfast, cooked by the owner of the B&B, who's also a friend of ours. It was a perfect little getaway, and Penny was extra glad to see us when we returned. Then the next night we went to women's roller derby, which is a ton of fun. The place is packed when they have their bouts (that's what they call the matches) and I have to say, as I posted on Facebook, there's just something about watching women on roller skates knock each other over that captivates me. Plus we got to cheer for our friend M, as it was her first bout. They all have derby names, like Ivanna Killem and Claire Violence, and they wear fishnets along with their uniforms. It's awesome. If you come to visit me, we'll go.

You know, I've had nice Valentine's Days and crummy ones and non-celebratory ones, and what it all comes down to is that you're with someone you love, no matter whether it's romantic or not. T and I did it up for this one, but we're pretty low-key and would have been happy with just a fire and the couch. For me, it's more the acknowledgment that I'm so fortunate to have those who love me that I can't even believe it, sometimes. I got a card from Mr. Ouiser thanking me for being such a good friend--I almost burst into tears, it was so sweet. My mom sends multiple cards. My dad always sends something from a "secret admirer". So I'm pretty lucky and I want to extend that love to YOU, folks. LOVE!

p.s. I also love the Olympics. And baking cheese bread. Recipe to follow--it is SO EASY.

Stolen Time is Good Time

Well, my class got out an hour early, and I'm waiting for my sister to take a shower before we go to dinner, so I've got a few minutes. Been CRAZY busy and woefully neglectful of my blogging duties.

I think the biggest life change is that we finally dumped my trusty old Daewoo (referenced in the bizarre and funny movie Pineapple Express) and went to Indiana two weekends ago to take my grandmother's even trustier Buick LeSabre off her hands. We haven't officially gotten rid of the 'Woo yet--because it's technically a salvage (damaged in the October Storm of 2005 and fixing it cost more than the value of the car, which tells you something), the dumb DMV never sent me my title back, so I will get it in six to eight glorious weeks. Hooray. At this point, we'll take any money we can get for it.

So we flew to Indianapolis and stayed at my grandmother's retirement place, which in my eyes is pretty nice, though she says the construction is a little bothersome. She's 91 and sharp as a razor--man, with my two grandmas as lucid and together as they are, I am SET. We had a lovely weekend despite the fact that the brake line was rusted through and my thankfully charming husband managed to find a mechanic who was 1) semi-open on a Saturday afternoon and 2) willing to help us. Truly, they didn't have to and they fixed our brake line for $100. Oil-covered angels they were, and I mean that. Thus we had a friggin' palatial ride home--lots of room, cruise control, and it didn't feel like the slightest gust of wind would blow us off the road, which I have too often felt in the 'Woo. T is a little envious of my sweet ride, but I'm not giving it up. Plus she sold it to us for $1 because she had to have us pay something--I don't think you get a better deal than that. All in all, we had a hugely successful visit on all fronts--lovely visit with Grammie and a nice car to boot. Not a bad weekend, all in all.

Halloween Friday Musings (or What I couldn't post on Facebook or Twitter because I left my phone at home)

I also forgot my camera because I am a sillyhead, so no pictures! :-(

- The teachers all dressed up as clowns today. I have a parent conference at 2:00, so my make-up is minimal. Not sure what it would mean to a parent if I came to a conference dressed in full make-up and rainbow wig.

- As usual, students push the boundaries of proper school costumes. I saw two students dressed as the gentlemen from the "dick in a box" video. I nailed both of them and said they had to remove the boxes. One kid said, "But Mr. L [vice-principal] saw it and didn't say anything...." to which I replied that he might not have gotten the reference, but I did. I even told the kid: funny but inappropriate. We also always have a few sexy something-or-others and two boys dressed as Teletubbies. I've seen some other fun ones as well; this is the best day of the year for some students.

- We found a tick on Penny this morning. I had to remove it and felt like Bad Mommy because I KNEW we were late with her flea-and-tick treatment but this neverhappenedbeforeofcourseshe'llbefinemypoorfuzzylittlegirlnoooooooooooo. She seemed fine. The vet said to keep an eye on it and keep it clean. Crisis averted.

- It is hard (or just lunacy) to give a test on Halloween Friday when teachers down the hall are playing "Thriller". Everyone's either giving tests or throwing a party.

- Tonight I think we're going to build a fire--our first of the season! It's going to be one of those hideously rainy fall evenings, perfect for bad movie and crackling warmth and Southwestern Mac and Cheese. Yum!

- I can't stand Bella Swan...yet I can't stop reading Eclipse. Damn you, Stephenie Meyer, and your Harlequin teen trash. You suckered me right in. Does anyone else feel Edward's a totally static character and kind of wish Jacob would get a break...by falling in love with someone who's worthy of him who isn't the hot mess that Bella is? Am I getting too into this? Probably.

- How is Monday already November 2? When did that happen? And don't forget to turn your clocks back!

Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!

Domestic Tales, continued

i wanted to post Friday but realized I didn't have a camera, so you'll have to wait for pictures. But here it is:


Last night (Friday) T and I had our own very different, very stereotypically male/female victories and excitements:

1) T. got himself a great deal on a Sony PlayStation that, admittedly, does have amazing graphics AND the ability to play Blu-Ray DVDs. Plus it gave him the initiative to set up our surround sound, which has lain dormant in a closet for two years. This rocks, from the movie end of things. I honestly don't care as much that the car racing video game he got looks almost real, though I appreciate the quality of it. Truly, you could see extremely realistic clouds...and they moved so the sun randomly shone on the track. As if there was a breeze. Now, that's detail.

2) I finally got the drill bits needed to put up new shades in T's den and our bedroom. No more ratty, vinyl, ripped pull-down shades for THESE suburban dwellers. Our one window faces the street, so the partially ripped blind gave the house that oh-so-fashionable abandoned look. House & Garden was thinking of doing a story on us.... Plus I got top down-bottom up shades (the kind that go up or down from either end...it's like we're the freakin' Jetsons, we are so modern) because our bed cuts off the entire bottom third of our one window, so it made sense to get shades that actually could give light from both directions. I have never cared that deeply about window shades before now. I love them. They fill my heart with a joy heretofore unknown. Truly, we lay down to sleep and marveled at the change. I'm not kidding. Plus I got to have fun with the drill, so the handyman side of me got a charge out of the whole process. I'd say that's a big plate of WIN.

Weather predicts a typical fall day: low 60s, windy, maybe rain later on, and it's Homecoming Weekend, so I may have to take time today to watch the parade as it goes by my house and see some of the football game, especially since I have a student on the team and he will ask on Monday if I saw him play. Which just makes me smile and want to reach up and pat him on top of his 6'2", newly shaved head.

School, wedding, summer fun

I feel I've been so out of posting, but then I look and realize it hasn't been THAT long. I've just been insanely busy. My last day of the school year was June 25, a Thursday. My other summer class started on the following Monday and I've been up to my eyeballs in Special Education since then, considering a four week summer class has to squish a semester's worth of information into that time. Plus I have another class on Wednesday nights. It's all fascinating stuff; things I wish I had known years ago as a teacher. I feel out of sheer ignorance that I have too often unfairly glossed over the needs of my students with special needs or even my students who just need extra help, assuming that "someone else" would take care of them, such as the special education teachers. It's not that I don't help my students; I just think I can do more, now, to reach a broader spectrum. Now I know how to work with numbers, see patterns in what errors they make, and have more ability to alter my teaching style to best fit them. I'm very excited about implementing new strategies in the fall.

So yes, that's been my summer so far, with a few nice interludes in between. One of longest-known friends got married last weekend at her family's summer house in Canada. For those of you who don't know, that's not that strange around here to spend the summers across the border; it's right there. With good traffic, I can get there in half an hour. Anyway, she got married at the house and had the reception right in the back yard. Everything went perfectly and we all had a wonderful time. Here are just a few of the pictures I took:

It looked so gorgeous once the sun went down

Bridesmaid L, the bride, and me--we've all been friends since we were tiny

The bride's sister pulled out the boas for us all when they played "Lady Marmalade"

The bride and groom

We also took the weekend to spend it with T's cousin, also in Canada, and Penny spent the weekend at doggie day camp at Pet Smart. Combine that with a visit on Sunday to T's friend's family place out where there's a lot of land and numerous dogs, and we had one tired pup on the way home. Plus she fell into the pond, so she looked and smelled like something that had been following the Grateful Dead all summer, as T said. She was so tired that she slept all the next day, which was what we wanted to do after our fun weekend.

Now my sister's home for a while, the annual Taste of Buffalo is this weekend, and Harry Potter's coming out on Wednesday. Makes for a good summer! But I think this picture sums up summer for me:

Allentown Art Festival

Buffalo has such fun events in the summer, and so many are free...at a time when everyone's trying to save, it feels nice to have so many options. This past weekend we went to the annual Allentown Art Festival, which is always a great mixture of quality work, chintzy and kitschy stuff, great food, and great people watching. We usually get one or two fun things, and this year we spotted a fun find: This man makes all sorts of statues and gizmos out of metal. If you saw the Pixar movie Robots, they look a lot like that. We found a key holder (with hooks--I don't know what to call it) that looked...familiar:

Pretty fun, huh? We've needed somewhere to put our keys for a while and this seems perfect to me. Here's a slideshow of the festival, in case you want to see some interesting folks and fun art. Better pictures of this one man's metalwork are at about 2:45 if you just want to scroll ahead. Another note: The guy blowing bubbles does so as soon as the weather gets warm, from his second floor apartment. It's one of my favorite signs of spring.

The Allentown Art Festival from Dan Fisher on Vimeo.

Getaway weekend

I now have appreciation for the newly coined word "staycation". Thanks to the generous wedding gift (only took two years to use it) from C and M, T and I got to stay in a lovely bed and breakfast a scant 45 minutes away from home. It was just far enough to serve as a getaway: We made it out of our own area code. Truly the nicest little place, owned by a retired couple who do all the repairs and cooking. She's a former English teacher, so we talked shop, plus she makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies and cooks a mean breakfast. He redoes all the rooms and repairs himself. Roses in the room compliments of DH, plenty of videos and board games, and part of the package included a gift certificate to the Red Osier restaurant, which does not mess around with its prime rib, let me tell you. Plus T knew the owner through work, so the latter sat us down at the bar afterward for a final on-the-house drink and chat.

The inn used to be an old mill, so they have a lot of original beams and wheels and things. We walked around the property, T taught me how to play Parcheesi (I had never learned!) and I actually won once, we slept in.... Just a great birthday weekend for me. Plus the B&B is down the road from the Genesee Country Village and Museum, a "living history museum" where the people dress in period costume and you get to go into all the old houses and stores. Neither of us had been there since our respective third grade field trips, so we wandered around a bit, even though it wasn't quite open season. Unfortunately for those who work there, the 38-degree day doesn't do much when you're in a house only heated by the fireplace/oven; the one poor girl had her shawl wrapped around her so tightly I almost offered her my coat.

our room!

view from the bed (it was a pretty cozy little room-perfect)

After dinner

The whole experience was just what we needed, and we definitely want to stay there again. It reminded me that we do have so many little places to explore within a 100-mile radius. We've got museums, nature trails, historical destinations, wineries, white water rafting, Niagara Falls.... If I got a travel brochure that tourists to this area pick up, I think I'd realize my area has a lot more to offer than I realize. It's something we want to explore more in this economy and time in our lives. Do you even know half of what you can do in your town and its surroundings? See what you can find. :-) I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Change is Good

It's not what you think:

Yesterday we collected all the change we had in the house, amassed over at least the past five years, filling random mugs, glasses, and coin banks. We separated them into denominations and so far, we have $220 in quarters alone. Haven't touched the dimes, nickels, or pennies yet. Perhaps a Wii is in the cards after all...? We'll see.

Last night we also did a date night, only to realize that everyone in the 'burbs goes out to dinner no matter how rotten the driving (and it was nasty). They will also wait 40 minutes to get into Red Lobster. I don't care how succulent the shrimp is; I just don't have the patience. Thus we ended up at Wegman's (best grocery store EVER) where there was no wait, no screaming kids and overly permissive parents, and sushi. I think the whole suburban chain thing will get us going back into the city itself or eating at home, both of which I prefer anyway, thanks for asking. Ah, then we saw Gran Torino: Amazing. As my sister M said, nobody growls like Clint Eastwood. The man takes an old, racist, bitter, gun-toting throwback to another era and makes you fall in love with him. Just really well done, we thought. I won't write any more--just go see it.

I forgot to mention that we had this date night partially because T took me out to dinner to soften the blow from the $120 ticket I got for talking on my cell without a hands-free device. Yeah. [groan] It did not matter that I was literally five minutes away from my mom's; trust that I will not make such an expensive mistake again. Neither should you--we all need to get the frig off the phone in the car anyway.

Golden Globes tonight--I plan to see if Heath Ledger wins for The Dark Knight and then read the fashion commentary on Go Fug Yourself tomorrow. Happy Monday, folks.

Last Weekend's Fall Fun

We went to my FIL's for a visit and for Penny to race around and generally act like a dog with his three dogs. I'll treat you to a few pictures; he has a pond, which she found immediately and had a happy time racing around becoming completely muddy filthy. She did NOT like the bath she had to take as a result....

I wish I'd gotten pictures of the glorious leaves; you can see them a little bit. I love this time of year most, even though (because?) it's so fleeting.






Tonight we'll have dinner with my dad, who's in town, and my 93 year-old grandmother, who still has a sharper mind than most people I know. She's been around a while (OBviously) and, as an aside, says that while she doesn't entirely like either candidate, she's voting for Obama. I laughed my head off when, before the VP debates, she said, "Maybe Sarah Palin will bring her baby up on stage to get a few more votes." How fantastic.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Various Crew-related Tragedies

Yesterday, Sunday, DH volunteered the two of us to help at a local regatta. We ended up as a safety boat to make sure nobody did anything, well, unsafe. No problem. I knew it would rain, so I brought a raincoat. No problem. We had a battery-operated megaphone and one of the newer motorboats, so, again, no problem.

Riiiiiiiiight.

After trying one clunker of a boat, we got the newer one mentioned above and drove out to a huge green buoy near the docks to anchor there and direct as needed. Keep in mind that this is the Erie Canal, so these buoys are, as mentioned huge. And green. However, this did not stop one of the more novice eights (an 8-person boat with one coxswain, the tiny screamer in the boat who NEVER yells "stroke, stroke" contrary to popular belief) from zooming full-tilt at said buoy and us in our normal-sized motorboat. Here's how it played out:

Me: Honey, I don't like the course that boat's on.
DH: Yeah, it's really coming this way....
Me: How do they not see us? Or the buoy?
DH: I have no idea, but they obviously don't. [expletive]
Me: I think we better say something, pronto. [expletive]
DH: [using megaphone] Number 27! Change your course! You are headed toward the buoy!
[throws down megaphone in disgust when we realize the batteries, fine on shore, are now dead.]
DH: COXSWAIN! CHANGE YOUR COURSE! NOW!
Me: 27! MOVE TO PORT! MOVE TO THE LEFT! NOW! NOW!
DH/Me: 27! WEIGH ENOUGH! (crewspeak for "stop rowing") WEIGH ENOUGH! HOLD WATER! (crew speak for "dig your oars into the water and come to a dead stop RIGHT NOW) STOP! STOP! STOOOOOOP!!!!!!!!!!!

None of this seemed to get through until about a second before they ran into the buoy and us, with T catching the bow of the boat and shoving it between them. Miraculously, the bow sustained little damage and the crew simply rowed out the race. Ludicrously, the coxswain didn't seem fazed (I wondered if she was in shock, frankly) and didn't really realize what she had done. So that broke up the morning a bit. After that we got an old-fashioned cone megaphone that required no batteries.

Now, it also rained. A lot. I had a raincoat and regular shorts. I own rain pants but for some crazy reason didn't think I'd need them. In the rain. For hours. Fortunately the sun came out and dried out my soaked lower half by about 5pm. Fabulous. I also had had a purple pen in my bag that Penny had eaten a few months ago, so ink had pooled on the bottom pocket. We brought this bag with us, ironically to keep our dry clothes in. The ink, when wet, spread throughout the bag. My gray t-shirt now has a large splotch on it that reminds me of oil puddles at the gas station: A large purple spot with a sort of blue ring around it. Either it'll wash out or the shirt will become a rag, so it will still find use. Plus it stopped raining in the early afternoon, so we had that going for us, which was nice.

Keep in mind that we drove out to the buoy at about 9:00. By 11, we had to take a bathroom break, but when we got back to our green friend, for some reason the motor decided it had had enough of idling and petered out, never to start again. Thus we floated dead in the water, with DH paddling like mad every time a race came down to make sure we didn't blow onto the course, and me grabbing onto the buoy to ensure this as well. We did get towed in because, as a fellow volunteer said, "Rule of the sea: Never leave a man behind." Well put, sir.

Fortunately it all ended with pizza, beer, and blue skies, so I have to say that all in all, I really did have fun. Plus I got to spend hours of quality time with T. ;-)

Chasing Winter Blahs

In some places, a foot of snow over a weekend in March would make folks cry and drink out of bottles in suspicious looking paper bags. Not here.

Recipe for winter fun:

1. Find snow gear
2. Go to local hardware store, buy sleds
3. Go to local sledding hill. Leap on and don't hit anyone!

Yes, DH and I went sledding today. We had tons of snow, new sleds, freezing cold temps, and at least 30mph winds, and we had a ball. I regret that we don't have pictures, but with the wipeouts we both took, a camera wouldn't have survived. I know we were the oldest people there without children by about fifteen years. What a blast! And what a workout--you forget that the better slide down the hill means a longer walk up the hill. Combine a 45 degree incline with six inches of snow, and you've got yourself quite a slog. We're totally doing that again.

Have a great start to your week, folks.