I am sitting in my bed, hiding from the chipmunk....and probably his friend, the squirrel. About an hour ago, I heard some noise in my family room. Didn't think much of it..thought maybe it was the wind. Then, I saw something move in the garage. How did I see something move inside my garage from inside my house? The wall unit in our family room had to have a hole drilled in one of the cabinets (in the back) in order for the cable wires to run from the box to the something or other thru the garage. Do other people have to do this?? Have wires running all over and in random areas???? And, in order for the high tech remote that Jordan got us to work, the cabinet must be open in order to change channels or to change the volume. Anywho....first the noise.....then something filled up the hole. Then, that something was running across my floor. I, literally, was standing on my couch screaming bloody murder, when the chipmunk realized he ran into a corner, then ran back into the cabinet and thru the whole.
First, I called Steve crying and screaming. (just what every man wants to hear while he's at work) His answer was for me to call the village. Um, why would they give a shit if I have a chipmunk in my house? I kept crying and screaming until he said he was on his way home. Then, I called my dad. He didn't answer his phone. Next, I called my mom. She said it was interesting. Really????? As interesting as when you went postal over the mouse in your house?????? Then, she told me to call my father. So, I called him again and this time he answered. I told him of my situation and he also said it was interesting. WTF??????? He said I should go open the garage so the chipmunk could leave. Um, then I'd have to get off the couch, which would cause me to not be able to watch the hole where the said chipmunk kept playing hide and seek. Then, he suggested I call Jordan and have him bring Oliver, his dog, over to scare it away. That would probably work, but Jordan is swamped and doesn't have time to deal with my idiotic phobias.
Steve came home with weapons still attached to his uniform, along with a scissors and duct tape. He closed up both sides of the whole while I kept yelling and crying and he proceeded to laugh at me for being a baby. I'm not sure why a furry thing running thru our house is funny......Maybe it would be funny if Steve was the one who was home alone and saw it.
I am now completely paranoid that the little shit is still in my house. His friend, the squirrel took refuge in my garage on Sunday, but I got rid of him. Apparently, he didn't like the rain. We once had a raccoon die in our garage. Steve and I were in Arizona and my parents were with the kids. My dad opened the door from the house to the garage and saw the raccoon climbing a ladder we had against a wall, and my dad freaked and yelled, and the raccoon fell backwards. He then crawled to a corner of the garage to die. My dad knew he was dead because he had my mom keep throwing objects at it and poking it to see if it would react. It didn't. At that time, Steve somehow convinced the village to come get rid of it. Their suggestion was to throw it into our garbage can. Oh---great idea...so then all the random animals can get into my garbage can and have a giant picnic.
I don't know why the animals like my garage so much......it's a garage...not appealing in any way, shape or form. Maybe it's because my children don't seem to understand the concept of CLOSING THE DOOR. I keep telling them there will be animals. No one seems to want to believe me. When one runs in front of them, maybe they'll get the idea. Although, really, I hope we are done with this. I cannot take it. I can't breathe. And, I'd rather not spend the rest of the day in my room.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Grass is Greener...or the Chicken Tastes Better
Yesterday we had awful, awful weather here in the Chicago area. Non stop rain and it's still raining today. My ducks are back. My mallard and his lady friend were having quite the time in my pond-like backyard. Perhaps too good of a time....we may have ducklings here soon. Great. Like I don't have enough mouths to feed here as it is. Oh. And I planted my garden. So, of course Peter Cottontail is back too and looking rather fat. I sent Andrew outside to scare him away. I need to go get one of those fake looking plastic animals to keep in my yard so Peter and his friends don't come back. Then, I found a limping squirrel. It's like Old McDonald's farm here full of special animals.
In any event, due to all the rain, baseball was cancelled last night and that left us with no plans. So, I decided to defrost some chicken and actually cook dinner for the first time in weeks. Many of you know about the dinner struggle here between the children and me. So...I decided to stop fighting and to just make life easier for all of us. I had no menu plan. Each night, I asked them what they wanted and I made it. I was playing short order cook, but, everyone ate every night and there was no fighting or prodding anyone to eat. So, things were calmer. It was almost zen like. But, dinner for Steve and myself became a struggle because we didn't want what the kids were eating and we'd stare at each other trying to decide what to eat. Yesterday, I decided I wanted real food, hence the chicken.
The boys came home from school and around 430, the questions began. What's for dinner? I told them we were having chicken. Well, what kind of chicken, I was asked. I told them the kind that I make for you. (No one liked that answer) Andrew said he wanted BBQ chicken, so that was what I made. Meaning, I poured BBQ sauce over chicken breasts and threw them in the oven for an hour. My good buddy, Uncle Ben, provided the rice pilaf and I sliced up a bunch of raw veggies. Issac went on to tell me how he doesn't like BBQ chicken and could he make himself a sandwich. I told him to go for it. But, he didn't do it. (Not sure if he was feeling that lazy or started to think that maybe the chicken would be decent enough to eat.) Everyone sat down...and here's the thing....EVERYONE ATE EVERYTHING. There was no whining, complaining, kvetching or prodding. I was in shock. Steve had to work late so it was just the boys and me. It was so pleasant. Then, some wanted ice cream after dinner. And, since they ate dinner so nicely, I told them the freezer was their playground.
When Steve came home, I sat with him while he ate dinner. He told me that last week the little guys asked him why I stopped cooking dinner. (I like how I first heard of this last night.) Could it be, that chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, pb&j sandwiches and noodles aren't as appealing as home cooked food???? Could it be that the boys didn't realize how good they really had it? Maybe frozen, processed, sodium filled food isn't quite as tasty as food made with the best ingredient of all, which, as we grownups all know, is mom's love? I'd like to think my boys learned to appreciate what they have. But, I know better. Today, if I were to cook, I am sure they wouldn't enjoy it. So, maybe we need to find the happy medium, and I can stop killing myself to cook every single night. If I mix it up and alternate between "real cooking" and the "food" they really like, we can all be happy and not argue. I'd like to believe that I have found the answer. But, I am not naive. I know that every time I think I have found the answer, things change. So I'll just savor the memory of last night and the taste of the super delish chicken.
In any event, due to all the rain, baseball was cancelled last night and that left us with no plans. So, I decided to defrost some chicken and actually cook dinner for the first time in weeks. Many of you know about the dinner struggle here between the children and me. So...I decided to stop fighting and to just make life easier for all of us. I had no menu plan. Each night, I asked them what they wanted and I made it. I was playing short order cook, but, everyone ate every night and there was no fighting or prodding anyone to eat. So, things were calmer. It was almost zen like. But, dinner for Steve and myself became a struggle because we didn't want what the kids were eating and we'd stare at each other trying to decide what to eat. Yesterday, I decided I wanted real food, hence the chicken.
The boys came home from school and around 430, the questions began. What's for dinner? I told them we were having chicken. Well, what kind of chicken, I was asked. I told them the kind that I make for you. (No one liked that answer) Andrew said he wanted BBQ chicken, so that was what I made. Meaning, I poured BBQ sauce over chicken breasts and threw them in the oven for an hour. My good buddy, Uncle Ben, provided the rice pilaf and I sliced up a bunch of raw veggies. Issac went on to tell me how he doesn't like BBQ chicken and could he make himself a sandwich. I told him to go for it. But, he didn't do it. (Not sure if he was feeling that lazy or started to think that maybe the chicken would be decent enough to eat.) Everyone sat down...and here's the thing....EVERYONE ATE EVERYTHING. There was no whining, complaining, kvetching or prodding. I was in shock. Steve had to work late so it was just the boys and me. It was so pleasant. Then, some wanted ice cream after dinner. And, since they ate dinner so nicely, I told them the freezer was their playground.
When Steve came home, I sat with him while he ate dinner. He told me that last week the little guys asked him why I stopped cooking dinner. (I like how I first heard of this last night.) Could it be, that chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, pb&j sandwiches and noodles aren't as appealing as home cooked food???? Could it be that the boys didn't realize how good they really had it? Maybe frozen, processed, sodium filled food isn't quite as tasty as food made with the best ingredient of all, which, as we grownups all know, is mom's love? I'd like to think my boys learned to appreciate what they have. But, I know better. Today, if I were to cook, I am sure they wouldn't enjoy it. So, maybe we need to find the happy medium, and I can stop killing myself to cook every single night. If I mix it up and alternate between "real cooking" and the "food" they really like, we can all be happy and not argue. I'd like to believe that I have found the answer. But, I am not naive. I know that every time I think I have found the answer, things change. So I'll just savor the memory of last night and the taste of the super delish chicken.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Chicken & Porn
Yep....chicken & porn. Maybe it's one of those weird sounding yet really good combos like chicken and waffles? I'm not sure though. I never really got an answer as to what the chicken & porn thing was.
We had no power at our office starting around noon on Monday. ComEd notified us it could take up to 3 days to restore service. They rock. So....BOOM held office hours out of the satellite office, a.k.a., my house, yesterday. We all worked very diligently around my kitchen table on our laptops...cell phones buzzing.....it really was a very productive day. (And, a giant shout out to David and Devin for helping me out by taking a quick break to run and pick up my car from the dealership---not that I needed it....GMC could've kept it til July 13...and they didn't seem to care that they still had it sitting there...it had been there for 5 days...in any event...since I can't drive, it requires a small village to do this simple task, so thank you to them for helping me out!)
While sitting around the table, David began speaking of chicken & porn. I thought it was an interesting combo. Reminded me of the Seinfeld days when George wanted to have his pastrami sandwich while having sex. One may view this as weird; others may view it as multi-tasking. In today's super busy world when all of us have so many things going on, maybe it's practical? Devin thought it was a bad idea because then his hands would be greasy---good point. I asked David what this was about. I didn't really get much of an answer as we were then discussing what to do for lunch. (Anytime we hear food, it opens a whole new discussion....and, honestly, so does porn...usually it's not at the same time....bonus day yesterday!)
We headed over to Butterfields since we couldn't decide on anywhere else to go. (I also have my 10% discount card there...thank you Northbrook Baseball) Jenna, Jordan's girlfriend joined us so at least I was not the only female at lunch. But this group of guys is way cool so being the only female doesn't bother me. David ordered an iced tea which seemed to perturb Big Daddy a bit. He was nervous David was changing too much. I thought it was an excellent choice. I was still trying to figure out the chicken & porn thing---I can't let things go....clearly....this was another great example. We got into a whole other conversation on sex that led to details on things I had no interest in knowing and left me feeling rather nauseous. I will not write these details...I am finally feeling better. But, really.........DIS-GUS-TING.
We headed back to the house and got a lot more work done. My boys came home...they seemed to love having everyone there. Simon made his daily bag of popcorn and didn't want to share with anyone. (shocking) He talked to Devin about his earring and they compared stories. Jenna got bigger hugs from Simon than I have in a long time. All in all....it really was a great day! Just as they say a house is just four walls and a home is where your family is......an office is just walls too.....wherever our BOOM family is....that's home. And if there is chicken & porn....then it's a bonus.
We had no power at our office starting around noon on Monday. ComEd notified us it could take up to 3 days to restore service. They rock. So....BOOM held office hours out of the satellite office, a.k.a., my house, yesterday. We all worked very diligently around my kitchen table on our laptops...cell phones buzzing.....it really was a very productive day. (And, a giant shout out to David and Devin for helping me out by taking a quick break to run and pick up my car from the dealership---not that I needed it....GMC could've kept it til July 13...and they didn't seem to care that they still had it sitting there...it had been there for 5 days...in any event...since I can't drive, it requires a small village to do this simple task, so thank you to them for helping me out!)
While sitting around the table, David began speaking of chicken & porn. I thought it was an interesting combo. Reminded me of the Seinfeld days when George wanted to have his pastrami sandwich while having sex. One may view this as weird; others may view it as multi-tasking. In today's super busy world when all of us have so many things going on, maybe it's practical? Devin thought it was a bad idea because then his hands would be greasy---good point. I asked David what this was about. I didn't really get much of an answer as we were then discussing what to do for lunch. (Anytime we hear food, it opens a whole new discussion....and, honestly, so does porn...usually it's not at the same time....bonus day yesterday!)
We headed over to Butterfields since we couldn't decide on anywhere else to go. (I also have my 10% discount card there...thank you Northbrook Baseball) Jenna, Jordan's girlfriend joined us so at least I was not the only female at lunch. But this group of guys is way cool so being the only female doesn't bother me. David ordered an iced tea which seemed to perturb Big Daddy a bit. He was nervous David was changing too much. I thought it was an excellent choice. I was still trying to figure out the chicken & porn thing---I can't let things go....clearly....this was another great example. We got into a whole other conversation on sex that led to details on things I had no interest in knowing and left me feeling rather nauseous. I will not write these details...I am finally feeling better. But, really.........DIS-GUS-TING.
We headed back to the house and got a lot more work done. My boys came home...they seemed to love having everyone there. Simon made his daily bag of popcorn and didn't want to share with anyone. (shocking) He talked to Devin about his earring and they compared stories. Jenna got bigger hugs from Simon than I have in a long time. All in all....it really was a great day! Just as they say a house is just four walls and a home is where your family is......an office is just walls too.....wherever our BOOM family is....that's home. And if there is chicken & porn....then it's a bonus.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Stressed???? Why Would I Be?
I have noticed that in the last few months, my skin on my face has gotten awful. I used to have pretty nice skin, with an occasional blemish around TTOM. But now, I ALWAYS have blemishes on my chin, and it has spread to my forehead and the side of my face. WTF??????? I made fun of Andrew a while back for getting his first pimple. Perhaps this is karma paying me a visit. He hasn't had one since and I have them all the time. Don't get me wrong. They aren't like giant, puss filled pimples all over my face. I get one or two of those every few weeks. But it's just this weird, not normal stuff and I HATE looking at it. But, when I thought about it further, it seemed to coincide with me starting my anti-seizure meds. So, of course I Googled to see the known side effects of this particular med. Nowhere online does it mention acne. Awesome. But when I read different message boards, many women complained of acne and they too felt it was connected to the medicine.
I have tried different cleansers, creams, make up removers, etc. Nothing seems to help. A couple made it worse. I even treated myself to a facial last month. (I told myself it was a medical necessity. Too bad I can't get my insurance company to buy that.) I just look like a hot mess. Even Steve has made comments about it, and he never notices anything. I have bought different coverups to try and hide everything. Even with that, you can still see everything. I am so frustrated.
I decided yesterday while I was home to email my neurologist to ask his opinion. I was even funny in my email stating that I doubted it was a side effect and that it was just Kerry's luck. I got a phone call back from his nurse. She said that acne is not a known side effect. Duh. Tell me something I don't know. She then went on to explain that acne can have many causes. Hormonal changes, different products or, even stress. She asked if I was stressed. Me? With 4 kids? A job? A house to manage? OH and NOT DRIVING?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Why would I be stressed? She laughed. I'm glad someone could. She asked for details about how these blemishes looked. I explained. She asked if I had any other seizures. Um. Dontcha think I would've called the office ASAP if I had? She said my doctor was gone for the day but she'd speak to him today and call me back.
Don't get me wrong. I really like this doctor and his staff. They are super nice and pleasant. They are VERY attentive in returning calls and emails and are always eager to help. But this phone call was just silly. I mean, I am 35 years old. I got the "your body is going to go through changes" speech when I was 10. The only"talk" I should be getting is "the big change will be approaching in the near future". I know that your period causes hormonal issues and pimples. I know stress can wreak havoc on your body. But, seriously? I mean, I get that she had to ask me all these questions in order to make a presentation to the doctor but come on! It's 10:32am. No call back yet. So, I'll just sit here. Not driving anywhere; trying to "not be stressed", even though I have errands that have to be run and groceries that need to be purchased so my 4 kids can be fed; waiting on emails back from people to see if they can shlep my children to various activities that I cannot take them to. And, when my doctor does call back, I have a funny feeling that I will not have anything different to share with any of you than I do right now. But again, why would I BE STRESSED?
I have tried different cleansers, creams, make up removers, etc. Nothing seems to help. A couple made it worse. I even treated myself to a facial last month. (I told myself it was a medical necessity. Too bad I can't get my insurance company to buy that.) I just look like a hot mess. Even Steve has made comments about it, and he never notices anything. I have bought different coverups to try and hide everything. Even with that, you can still see everything. I am so frustrated.
I decided yesterday while I was home to email my neurologist to ask his opinion. I was even funny in my email stating that I doubted it was a side effect and that it was just Kerry's luck. I got a phone call back from his nurse. She said that acne is not a known side effect. Duh. Tell me something I don't know. She then went on to explain that acne can have many causes. Hormonal changes, different products or, even stress. She asked if I was stressed. Me? With 4 kids? A job? A house to manage? OH and NOT DRIVING?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Why would I be stressed? She laughed. I'm glad someone could. She asked for details about how these blemishes looked. I explained. She asked if I had any other seizures. Um. Dontcha think I would've called the office ASAP if I had? She said my doctor was gone for the day but she'd speak to him today and call me back.
Don't get me wrong. I really like this doctor and his staff. They are super nice and pleasant. They are VERY attentive in returning calls and emails and are always eager to help. But this phone call was just silly. I mean, I am 35 years old. I got the "your body is going to go through changes" speech when I was 10. The only"talk" I should be getting is "the big change will be approaching in the near future". I know that your period causes hormonal issues and pimples. I know stress can wreak havoc on your body. But, seriously? I mean, I get that she had to ask me all these questions in order to make a presentation to the doctor but come on! It's 10:32am. No call back yet. So, I'll just sit here. Not driving anywhere; trying to "not be stressed", even though I have errands that have to be run and groceries that need to be purchased so my 4 kids can be fed; waiting on emails back from people to see if they can shlep my children to various activities that I cannot take them to. And, when my doctor does call back, I have a funny feeling that I will not have anything different to share with any of you than I do right now. But again, why would I BE STRESSED?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Hep To, Andrew!
Hep to!!!! When I was a little girl, I couldn't say Happy Birthday. Instead, I said Hep To. And once I was old enough to say Happy Birthday, my Bubby still wished everyone a Hep To. Today, I wish a half Hep To to my Andrew who is 12 1/2. Shocking to me that he is getting so big. His Bar Mitzvah is now 6 months + 1 day away. We just ordered his invitations--a big step in making this day "real". Well, that and the Haftorah lessons he's been taking for months.
Last night, Andrew and Issac were in my bedroom watching TV with me. For some reason, the Teletubbies came into our conversation. I cannot remember why. (not shocking...I don't remember much lately) The boys were trying to remember how the theme song to the show went. I remembered every word. So, I broke into song for them. They couldn't stop laughing. Then, Andrew did me a favor and made a video of me singing and talking about Noo Noo and Tubby Toast. He posted it on Facebook. Lucky me.
It's hard to believe Andrew used to watch the Teletubbies. It's harder to believe I let him watch that ridiculous show. It really was so weird. Although, not as weird as Caillou. What is up with that kid??? I miss the days of sitting on the couch watching Blues Clues and Rugrats. I remember the nighttime special that aired when Paprika got a sibling and Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper introduced their new baby and when the Rugrats were all Grown Up. I remember when Dora the Explorer made her debut on Nick, Jr, and then, later, when Diego got his spin-off show. I miss watching re-runs of Kipper. That dog just cracked me up. I loved his accent. I miss Maisy. That was another good theme song. And, it was rather devastating when Steve left Blues Clues and Joe showed up. The show was never the same after that. You can't just change characters once a show has taken off. It doesn't work. (Hence my feeling with the upcoming Two and a Half Men now starring Ashton Kutcher)
Now, all we seem to watch is the Disney channel. I guess it was sad to see the Suite Life end. I was never into it, so it doesn't effect my life in any way. iCarly is still in high school hanging with Sam and the boy whose name I can never remember. Occasionally, Nickelodeon still gets put on here. SpongeBob is still having adventures under the sea with Patrick and fighting with Squidward. Rugrats are only on at like 4am. That show was so freakin funny. Angelica and the babies.
This is all making me feel rather old. I'm not old. I'm just older. I catch myself saying things like my mother and father. I'm not sure it's a good thing. Andrew went to his first Bat Mitzvah this past weekend. He won't tell me who he "snowballed" with. Why? His answer "cause you're my mom". Well, yea, I am. So why can't he tell me??? I guess that's not cool :o( I think I'm cool......at least, kinda cool.
In any event, Hep To to my handsome boy!!!!!!! Maybe we'll have half a cake later on!
Last night, Andrew and Issac were in my bedroom watching TV with me. For some reason, the Teletubbies came into our conversation. I cannot remember why. (not shocking...I don't remember much lately) The boys were trying to remember how the theme song to the show went. I remembered every word. So, I broke into song for them. They couldn't stop laughing. Then, Andrew did me a favor and made a video of me singing and talking about Noo Noo and Tubby Toast. He posted it on Facebook. Lucky me.
It's hard to believe Andrew used to watch the Teletubbies. It's harder to believe I let him watch that ridiculous show. It really was so weird. Although, not as weird as Caillou. What is up with that kid??? I miss the days of sitting on the couch watching Blues Clues and Rugrats. I remember the nighttime special that aired when Paprika got a sibling and Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper introduced their new baby and when the Rugrats were all Grown Up. I remember when Dora the Explorer made her debut on Nick, Jr, and then, later, when Diego got his spin-off show. I miss watching re-runs of Kipper. That dog just cracked me up. I loved his accent. I miss Maisy. That was another good theme song. And, it was rather devastating when Steve left Blues Clues and Joe showed up. The show was never the same after that. You can't just change characters once a show has taken off. It doesn't work. (Hence my feeling with the upcoming Two and a Half Men now starring Ashton Kutcher)
Now, all we seem to watch is the Disney channel. I guess it was sad to see the Suite Life end. I was never into it, so it doesn't effect my life in any way. iCarly is still in high school hanging with Sam and the boy whose name I can never remember. Occasionally, Nickelodeon still gets put on here. SpongeBob is still having adventures under the sea with Patrick and fighting with Squidward. Rugrats are only on at like 4am. That show was so freakin funny. Angelica and the babies.
This is all making me feel rather old. I'm not old. I'm just older. I catch myself saying things like my mother and father. I'm not sure it's a good thing. Andrew went to his first Bat Mitzvah this past weekend. He won't tell me who he "snowballed" with. Why? His answer "cause you're my mom". Well, yea, I am. So why can't he tell me??? I guess that's not cool :o( I think I'm cool......at least, kinda cool.
In any event, Hep To to my handsome boy!!!!!!! Maybe we'll have half a cake later on!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Karma--do people get what they deserve?
For years, I have listened to people say that "people will get what they deserve" or "they'll get theirs" or "karma will catch up with them". Will it? Will the people who treat others poorly, the people with little or no character, no ethics, no feelings, or who are just downright nasty get what they deserve?
Have you ever known that person who never has bad things happen to them? Their cloud always has a silver lining? No matter what goes on, the grass is always greener with them. Many times, these people have done nothing worthy of having everything go their way. In fact, I have found, more often than not, these people don't have kind hearts or good intentions. They just seem to have luck. Then, there are the people who try and do and bend over backwards to help people and all they do is get shit on. Are they going to get what they deserve? When their time is up and they move on to the after life, will someone be waiting for them with a drink and a big gold sticker to praise them for all of their hard work?
When Billy Joel said "only the good die young" he knew what he was talking about. So often you hear stories of younger people who die young; and then you see people still wandering around and you wonder, how are they not dead yet? You know why they aren't dead.....because even the devil doesn't want them. They are that evil, that cold hearted and who wants to be around that?
I have to wonder sometimes what I did to deserve the hand that I was dealt. Don't get me wrong...my life, now, is wonderful. It wasn't always that way. I have been thru many a trial and tribulation. I've come out on the other end, stronger, tougher, more aware, kinder....sometimes a little bitter....but for the most part, I think I'm a better person because of all of it. These events have shaped me into the person I have become. I like who I am. (most days) I appreciate life. I appreciate the gifts I have been given. I appreciate the people in my life and am grateful for them. I feel badly for the people who "don't get it". They take advantage, they are self righteous, they do whatever they have to in order to get what they want, no matter who they hurt along the way. I have faith that one day these people will get what they deserve. I don't know whether it will really happen. But, I have to have faith that it will happen. Without faith and hope, what else is there?
Have you ever known that person who never has bad things happen to them? Their cloud always has a silver lining? No matter what goes on, the grass is always greener with them. Many times, these people have done nothing worthy of having everything go their way. In fact, I have found, more often than not, these people don't have kind hearts or good intentions. They just seem to have luck. Then, there are the people who try and do and bend over backwards to help people and all they do is get shit on. Are they going to get what they deserve? When their time is up and they move on to the after life, will someone be waiting for them with a drink and a big gold sticker to praise them for all of their hard work?
When Billy Joel said "only the good die young" he knew what he was talking about. So often you hear stories of younger people who die young; and then you see people still wandering around and you wonder, how are they not dead yet? You know why they aren't dead.....because even the devil doesn't want them. They are that evil, that cold hearted and who wants to be around that?
I have to wonder sometimes what I did to deserve the hand that I was dealt. Don't get me wrong...my life, now, is wonderful. It wasn't always that way. I have been thru many a trial and tribulation. I've come out on the other end, stronger, tougher, more aware, kinder....sometimes a little bitter....but for the most part, I think I'm a better person because of all of it. These events have shaped me into the person I have become. I like who I am. (most days) I appreciate life. I appreciate the gifts I have been given. I appreciate the people in my life and am grateful for them. I feel badly for the people who "don't get it". They take advantage, they are self righteous, they do whatever they have to in order to get what they want, no matter who they hurt along the way. I have faith that one day these people will get what they deserve. I don't know whether it will really happen. But, I have to have faith that it will happen. Without faith and hope, what else is there?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Today, is Sunday, May 15th, my sister Tessi's 23rd birthday. Tomorrow is my brother and sister in law's 1st wedding anniversary--yea Lance & Roya! One year ago today, we were in a castle in Tuscany preparing for the wedding. It was cold and rainy just like it is here in Chicago today. Just as with most weddings, the hours leading up to the actual ceremony were somewhat stressful. But, in the end, a beautiful ceremony was held, followed by a magnificent evening of dining and dancing. What am I about to write may come across as mean, harsh and perhaps hurtful. LET ME SAY THIS NOW: IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM IS IT MEANT TO BE THAT WAY. I AM STRICTLY TRYING TO BE FUNNY AND SHARE OUR EXPERIENCE WITH ALL OF YOU ON THEIR ANNIVERSARY. ANYONE WITHOUT CHILDREN IS GOING TO PROBABLY TAKE THIS OFFENSIVELY. ANYONE WITH KIDS IS GOING TO HAVE A GOOD LAUGH. I LOVE LANCE & ROYA VERY MUCH AND WISH THEM A LIFETIME OF LOVE, HEALTH & HAPPINESS, AND MOST OF ALL A VERY LONG TRIP WITH KIDS IN TOW AND A HELL OF TIME TRAVELING WITH THEM. :o)
That's all nice and good. And being in a castle in Tuscany is magical, like out of a Disney film--that is, if you aren't traveling with 4 kids in tow. Yes, you read that correctly. We shlepped 4 kids (at that time, ages 11, 9, 6 and 5) half way across the world to be at this wedding. The first question most people asked me when I told them this was whether Lance and/or Roya lived in Italy. The answer: no. Were we Italian or was Roya's family Italian? Again, the answer was no. So, then why Italy? I suppose, because it's a very romantic thing to do. I am not married to a romantic nor was I the first time. I, myself, am not a romantic person. I like the idea of romantic things and gestures, but on a whole, I am not. I believe Lance and Roya are. I also think that Lance and Roya live in a fairy tale land sometimes. They do not have children. They have a ton of friends and many of them do not have children. It's quite simple to pick up and go whenever you want, wherever you want when it is just you and your spouse/partner/friend, whoever.
I expressed my deep concern over this trip to Lance when I found out they planned this Italian wedding. He wasn't interested. He simply told me that Steve, the kids and I would all be there. Period.
Just buying clothes, luggage, passports, copies of birth and death certificates and getting packed was enough to cause me to need Xanax on a daily basis for weeks leading up to this trip. I had a nervous breakdown while packing on the floor in my living room. I sat crying and called Tammy, who told me to stop. She came over a couple days later and packed for ALL of us in a matter of minutes. Thank G-d for her. I will say that our flight to Italy was not awful. Our flight was delayed, but that proved beneficial as it helped the kids to fall asleep easier on the plane. Tessi, who was also on our flight, had her hands full. She was busy waking the kids up to make sure they had their Dramamine so they wouldn't get sick, dealing with Andrew and his anxiety and Jordan,who also flew with us, decided to mix a bunch of pain killers for his back and was throwing up and she became his nurse.
When we landed in Rome, we found a very nice driver, whose name escapes me right now, who was able to fit all of us in his van to drive us to our hotel. We spent a couple of days in Rome which were fine. I am not big on site seeing. I mean, I know there are major things to see in Rome. The double decker bus tour was perfect for me and allowed nap time for those who still needed sleep. Then, it was on to Tuscany; the ultimate trip from hell and I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on anyone.
First off, we arrived at the train station. We had pre-purchased tickets and hoped to just walk to the correct platform with all 9 of us (my mother in law was with us as well) and our approx. 16 bags of luggage plus DJ equipment that Jordan was carrying--mind you...he was 6 months post-op from his Spinal Fusion and shouldn't have been carrying anything. We couldn't find ANYONE who spoke English in this hell hole. Tessi, who spent a semester studying in Spain, couldn't find anyone who spoke Spanish either. We thought we were at the correct platform and had gathered all of our things and people and were waiting. We found out, with literally minutes to go, that we were at the completely wrong part of the station. We had to go RUNNING with ALL of our stuff PLUS 4 KIDS up a ginormous flight of stairs and halfway across the station. Simon almost fell backwards down the concrete stairs while trying to pull a suitcase behind him. Not one person in the train station who watched this happen offered us any help at all. Tessi somehow managed to save him, told him to stop his crying and keep going. He actually listened. I went running (and if you know me, you know I only run when chased, and even then, I'm more likely to lay down and play dead) to try and find the right track. I kept trying to look back to see if kids were following me and they were. Tessi managed to find the right track and I followed her to the train. Kids were slowly dragging behind us but they knew better than to open their mouths and complain or else they would've been left behind in Italy forever. Tessi screamed at me to get on the train with the kids and to just find them seats. We needed to somehow get this luggage on the train in the overhead areas. So...I stood outside the train with the luggage while she kept screaming and swearing at all the non-English speaking people. Steve finally arrived at the train. Then it dawned on us that Jordan was nowhere not to be found. His back gave out from carrying all of his equipment. Tessi screamed at Steve to go help him, but Steve froze and didn't know what to do. So, Tessi went running to get him. I stood with one foot on the train and one foot on the ground so the train couldn't leave. Steve, who was 2 months post-op from hernia surgery was trying to pick up the luggage to put on the train. Tessi arrived back with Jordan who looked like he was about to collapse and started swearing again and made Steve, Jordan and me get on the train to catch the luggage she was about to throw at us. But, there was a group of women from some country we couldn't identify who refused to move from the doorway so we could do this. Tessi kept yelling to get the fuck out of her way and they just kept jibber-jabbing in whatever language, ignoring her. Tessi continued with her profanity and eventually they moved. Somehow, she managed to throw suitcases that each weighed 50 lbs over her head into the above seat compartments. We all sat in this non-air conditioned part of the train (even though we paid for 1st class) ready to die and had luggage at our feet as well, so no one could even move, when we began texting our mother. We started to tell her of this horrific situation we were in. She tried to be sympathetic. It wasn't working.
On this 2 hour ride, we sat, sweating, starving, and exhausted talking about how we were going to let Lance have it when we got to the castle. My mother kept texting all of us to see how we were doing and at that point , it was like, what the fuck do you want us to tell you??? This is a NIGHTMARE. Jordan, though, who had no money and was supposed to stay in Europe for a few more days after the wedding, texted my mom telling her he had no money and she better change his plane ticket so he could leave with the rest of us. She felt badly since he was in so much pain and told him not to worry, she'd help him. Well played, Jordan.
We arrived in Arrezzo and had to somehow get all of our luggage off this train. So, Tessi makes us all get off, and she literally is throwing these suitcases at us. Then, Lance's friends, who were on the train in the real 1st class section showed up. They offered to help us. They should've run far, far away. While one of us stood with one foot on the train and one on the platform and Tessi threw luggage, some guy, carrying a plastic bag of various drugs, kept yelling at my mother in law in Italian. She kept pointing her finger back at him and yelling "no, no". The two just kept yelling at each other, but, it bought us enough time to get all the luggage off the train. The next challenge was how to get all of us and the luggage down all the stairs. The kids just started dragging bags when Tessi and I spotted an elevator. We headed over there and got into the glass box with a bunch of bags and Steve. The elevator made some weird noise, he stepped out, the doors shut and he left us there not knowing if we were going to live. Thanks. We all met up at the bottom and needed to find cabs to get us to the castle. After much hard work, we found cabs and just started shoving people into them. One of the boys ended up going with Lance's friends. They asked us if they were getting the "good one". Sure. Whatever you wanna hear. Just get in the G-d damned car.
The ride was so super nauseating, it's a miracle none of us threw up on one another. We drove around in circles up this mountain at full speed. When we finally arrived at the top, we all piled out of the cars. Jordan wanted to know where the bell boy was to take our bags. I told him to look in the mirror. He said, "fuck this". We all went to find Lance to let him know just what we went thru to get there. He basically said he didn't give a shit.
Our time at the castle was not what we had anticipated due to the explosion of that volcano in Europe right before our arrival. The ash was screwing up the weather and it was FREEZING and raining. I didn't pack warm clothes. My poor children wore the same sweatshirts for 10 days straight. We couldn't head into town because I didn't have enough Dramamine to deal with the twirly mountain cab rides down and back up and to take the flight home. We bought the wrong adapters for our cell phones and the boys Nintendo DS's. So, in the house we had at the castle that we shared with Tessi, we all had to take turns with her charger. We were losing our minds without our phones and toys.
The staff at the castle was marvelous. They were so wonderful to us and the kids and made us feel very welcome. The wedding was just beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves.
Then, we had to come home. Just when we thought we had we had survived a nightmare, another one was about to begin.
We opted to forget the train ride back to Rome. We rented a very nice limo bus (thanks Mom!) and arrived back in Rome in less than 2 hours. We had air conditioning. Everyone had room to sprawl out and nap. It was fabulous. Because I am smart and I prepare, I made sure everyone showered before bed and laid out everyone's clothes for the morning flight. This way, it would be simple to leave the hotel.
I woke up the next morning and knew something wasn't right. I went to look at my phone and saw I missed a call from American Airlines. I had left the phone on vibrate, which I never do. Oops. I call them back to find out our flight had been canceled. WTF?????? So, they put me through to a sales rep. She says that our direct flight was canceled but she can get us on a flight to NYC and then onto Chicago but it leaves 90 minutes earlier than our original. I look at the clock. We literally would need to leave instantly. I make sure she books the 6 of us, my sister and my mother in law, and then I wake everyone up. We were out of the hotel in less than 10 minutes...would've been sooner if Jordan hadn't been beating around the bush trying to ask me to give him some cash.
We arrived at the airport and barely made it thru security and what not to find out that they didn't book my mother in law on the flight. Tessi, again starts swearing. The airline rep tells her to "not use those words" with him. They were inches from arresting her. But, she calmed down. They got my mother in law booked and in business class, no less. We make it on the plane. Our seats are spread out and one of the kids ends up next to a friend of Lance & Roya's. She looked panicked. "Will he be ok here? Is he going to need things?" LOLOL. "No, he'll be great." I tell her. BAHAHAHAHA.
We arrived late in NYC...330pm to find out they let our flight to Chicago leave without us AND there were no more flights that day from JFK to O'hare. Are you fucking kidding me????? So--we had to go to LaGuardia to catch a flight. I just sat down on the floor. And, if Tessi hadn't been with us, I'd still be sitting there today. We split into 2 cabs to get there. Tessi, again screaming and swearing at the driver. He told her to shut up at one point. Steve's cab driver was Osama Bin Laden's long lost twin. Simon asked him if he was a Rabbi. Good move, kid. Then when Steve's cab arrive at LaGuardia, he realized he had no cash. All he had on him were Euros. And, the cab driver took them!
Thank G-d the American Airlines rep at LaGuardia was sympathetic to us, looking all beat up and exhausted. She got us booked and we headed to the gate. Again, we were all starving. Tessi and I hit Auntie Annie Pretzels and pretty much bought out what they had. The people in line behind us were less than thrilled. And a couple hours later, we made it home. In my life, I had never been so happy to touch down in Chicago.
People have asked me if I still am upset about this trip. What do you think?
That's all nice and good. And being in a castle in Tuscany is magical, like out of a Disney film--that is, if you aren't traveling with 4 kids in tow. Yes, you read that correctly. We shlepped 4 kids (at that time, ages 11, 9, 6 and 5) half way across the world to be at this wedding. The first question most people asked me when I told them this was whether Lance and/or Roya lived in Italy. The answer: no. Were we Italian or was Roya's family Italian? Again, the answer was no. So, then why Italy? I suppose, because it's a very romantic thing to do. I am not married to a romantic nor was I the first time. I, myself, am not a romantic person. I like the idea of romantic things and gestures, but on a whole, I am not. I believe Lance and Roya are. I also think that Lance and Roya live in a fairy tale land sometimes. They do not have children. They have a ton of friends and many of them do not have children. It's quite simple to pick up and go whenever you want, wherever you want when it is just you and your spouse/partner/friend, whoever.
I expressed my deep concern over this trip to Lance when I found out they planned this Italian wedding. He wasn't interested. He simply told me that Steve, the kids and I would all be there. Period.
Just buying clothes, luggage, passports, copies of birth and death certificates and getting packed was enough to cause me to need Xanax on a daily basis for weeks leading up to this trip. I had a nervous breakdown while packing on the floor in my living room. I sat crying and called Tammy, who told me to stop. She came over a couple days later and packed for ALL of us in a matter of minutes. Thank G-d for her. I will say that our flight to Italy was not awful. Our flight was delayed, but that proved beneficial as it helped the kids to fall asleep easier on the plane. Tessi, who was also on our flight, had her hands full. She was busy waking the kids up to make sure they had their Dramamine so they wouldn't get sick, dealing with Andrew and his anxiety and Jordan,who also flew with us, decided to mix a bunch of pain killers for his back and was throwing up and she became his nurse.
When we landed in Rome, we found a very nice driver, whose name escapes me right now, who was able to fit all of us in his van to drive us to our hotel. We spent a couple of days in Rome which were fine. I am not big on site seeing. I mean, I know there are major things to see in Rome. The double decker bus tour was perfect for me and allowed nap time for those who still needed sleep. Then, it was on to Tuscany; the ultimate trip from hell and I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on anyone.
First off, we arrived at the train station. We had pre-purchased tickets and hoped to just walk to the correct platform with all 9 of us (my mother in law was with us as well) and our approx. 16 bags of luggage plus DJ equipment that Jordan was carrying--mind you...he was 6 months post-op from his Spinal Fusion and shouldn't have been carrying anything. We couldn't find ANYONE who spoke English in this hell hole. Tessi, who spent a semester studying in Spain, couldn't find anyone who spoke Spanish either. We thought we were at the correct platform and had gathered all of our things and people and were waiting. We found out, with literally minutes to go, that we were at the completely wrong part of the station. We had to go RUNNING with ALL of our stuff PLUS 4 KIDS up a ginormous flight of stairs and halfway across the station. Simon almost fell backwards down the concrete stairs while trying to pull a suitcase behind him. Not one person in the train station who watched this happen offered us any help at all. Tessi somehow managed to save him, told him to stop his crying and keep going. He actually listened. I went running (and if you know me, you know I only run when chased, and even then, I'm more likely to lay down and play dead) to try and find the right track. I kept trying to look back to see if kids were following me and they were. Tessi managed to find the right track and I followed her to the train. Kids were slowly dragging behind us but they knew better than to open their mouths and complain or else they would've been left behind in Italy forever. Tessi screamed at me to get on the train with the kids and to just find them seats. We needed to somehow get this luggage on the train in the overhead areas. So...I stood outside the train with the luggage while she kept screaming and swearing at all the non-English speaking people. Steve finally arrived at the train. Then it dawned on us that Jordan was nowhere not to be found. His back gave out from carrying all of his equipment. Tessi screamed at Steve to go help him, but Steve froze and didn't know what to do. So, Tessi went running to get him. I stood with one foot on the train and one foot on the ground so the train couldn't leave. Steve, who was 2 months post-op from hernia surgery was trying to pick up the luggage to put on the train. Tessi arrived back with Jordan who looked like he was about to collapse and started swearing again and made Steve, Jordan and me get on the train to catch the luggage she was about to throw at us. But, there was a group of women from some country we couldn't identify who refused to move from the doorway so we could do this. Tessi kept yelling to get the fuck out of her way and they just kept jibber-jabbing in whatever language, ignoring her. Tessi continued with her profanity and eventually they moved. Somehow, she managed to throw suitcases that each weighed 50 lbs over her head into the above seat compartments. We all sat in this non-air conditioned part of the train (even though we paid for 1st class) ready to die and had luggage at our feet as well, so no one could even move, when we began texting our mother. We started to tell her of this horrific situation we were in. She tried to be sympathetic. It wasn't working.
On this 2 hour ride, we sat, sweating, starving, and exhausted talking about how we were going to let Lance have it when we got to the castle. My mother kept texting all of us to see how we were doing and at that point , it was like, what the fuck do you want us to tell you??? This is a NIGHTMARE. Jordan, though, who had no money and was supposed to stay in Europe for a few more days after the wedding, texted my mom telling her he had no money and she better change his plane ticket so he could leave with the rest of us. She felt badly since he was in so much pain and told him not to worry, she'd help him. Well played, Jordan.
We arrived in Arrezzo and had to somehow get all of our luggage off this train. So, Tessi makes us all get off, and she literally is throwing these suitcases at us. Then, Lance's friends, who were on the train in the real 1st class section showed up. They offered to help us. They should've run far, far away. While one of us stood with one foot on the train and one on the platform and Tessi threw luggage, some guy, carrying a plastic bag of various drugs, kept yelling at my mother in law in Italian. She kept pointing her finger back at him and yelling "no, no". The two just kept yelling at each other, but, it bought us enough time to get all the luggage off the train. The next challenge was how to get all of us and the luggage down all the stairs. The kids just started dragging bags when Tessi and I spotted an elevator. We headed over there and got into the glass box with a bunch of bags and Steve. The elevator made some weird noise, he stepped out, the doors shut and he left us there not knowing if we were going to live. Thanks. We all met up at the bottom and needed to find cabs to get us to the castle. After much hard work, we found cabs and just started shoving people into them. One of the boys ended up going with Lance's friends. They asked us if they were getting the "good one". Sure. Whatever you wanna hear. Just get in the G-d damned car.
The ride was so super nauseating, it's a miracle none of us threw up on one another. We drove around in circles up this mountain at full speed. When we finally arrived at the top, we all piled out of the cars. Jordan wanted to know where the bell boy was to take our bags. I told him to look in the mirror. He said, "fuck this". We all went to find Lance to let him know just what we went thru to get there. He basically said he didn't give a shit.
Our time at the castle was not what we had anticipated due to the explosion of that volcano in Europe right before our arrival. The ash was screwing up the weather and it was FREEZING and raining. I didn't pack warm clothes. My poor children wore the same sweatshirts for 10 days straight. We couldn't head into town because I didn't have enough Dramamine to deal with the twirly mountain cab rides down and back up and to take the flight home. We bought the wrong adapters for our cell phones and the boys Nintendo DS's. So, in the house we had at the castle that we shared with Tessi, we all had to take turns with her charger. We were losing our minds without our phones and toys.
The staff at the castle was marvelous. They were so wonderful to us and the kids and made us feel very welcome. The wedding was just beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves.
Then, we had to come home. Just when we thought we had we had survived a nightmare, another one was about to begin.
We opted to forget the train ride back to Rome. We rented a very nice limo bus (thanks Mom!) and arrived back in Rome in less than 2 hours. We had air conditioning. Everyone had room to sprawl out and nap. It was fabulous. Because I am smart and I prepare, I made sure everyone showered before bed and laid out everyone's clothes for the morning flight. This way, it would be simple to leave the hotel.
I woke up the next morning and knew something wasn't right. I went to look at my phone and saw I missed a call from American Airlines. I had left the phone on vibrate, which I never do. Oops. I call them back to find out our flight had been canceled. WTF?????? So, they put me through to a sales rep. She says that our direct flight was canceled but she can get us on a flight to NYC and then onto Chicago but it leaves 90 minutes earlier than our original. I look at the clock. We literally would need to leave instantly. I make sure she books the 6 of us, my sister and my mother in law, and then I wake everyone up. We were out of the hotel in less than 10 minutes...would've been sooner if Jordan hadn't been beating around the bush trying to ask me to give him some cash.
We arrived at the airport and barely made it thru security and what not to find out that they didn't book my mother in law on the flight. Tessi, again starts swearing. The airline rep tells her to "not use those words" with him. They were inches from arresting her. But, she calmed down. They got my mother in law booked and in business class, no less. We make it on the plane. Our seats are spread out and one of the kids ends up next to a friend of Lance & Roya's. She looked panicked. "Will he be ok here? Is he going to need things?" LOLOL. "No, he'll be great." I tell her. BAHAHAHAHA.
We arrived late in NYC...330pm to find out they let our flight to Chicago leave without us AND there were no more flights that day from JFK to O'hare. Are you fucking kidding me????? So--we had to go to LaGuardia to catch a flight. I just sat down on the floor. And, if Tessi hadn't been with us, I'd still be sitting there today. We split into 2 cabs to get there. Tessi, again screaming and swearing at the driver. He told her to shut up at one point. Steve's cab driver was Osama Bin Laden's long lost twin. Simon asked him if he was a Rabbi. Good move, kid. Then when Steve's cab arrive at LaGuardia, he realized he had no cash. All he had on him were Euros. And, the cab driver took them!
Thank G-d the American Airlines rep at LaGuardia was sympathetic to us, looking all beat up and exhausted. She got us booked and we headed to the gate. Again, we were all starving. Tessi and I hit Auntie Annie Pretzels and pretty much bought out what they had. The people in line behind us were less than thrilled. And a couple hours later, we made it home. In my life, I had never been so happy to touch down in Chicago.
People have asked me if I still am upset about this trip. What do you think?
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