To Be...Or Not To Be...?

That is always the question when it comes to Pal.

Pal has been a Cub Scout since First Grade, starting out in one Pack and then transferring at the end of 2nd grade to a bigger, better Pack with his best buddy. We had just moved here when Pal started Cub Scouts so we didn't really know that many people. This group of people - from the Cubmaster to the parents that are involved, have become some of our closest friends in this town.

So, when Pal was crossing over (or "graduating") from Cub Scouts as a Webelos II Scout on January 25th, the natural progression of scouting is for them to join Boy Scouts. There is a terrific Boy Scout Troop that is a continuation of our Cub Scout Pack, and it is all the same families that are involved. There were 6 Webelos II Scouts that would be crossing over. Except that Pal decided he doesn't want to be a Boy Scout. Figure in that Hubby is an Eagle Scout and credits his involvement with Scouts with keeping him out of trouble as a teen, (or most trouble, I should say!!) you can imagine that we were heartbroken. When your child doesn't want to do something that you've always dreamed you would do with them, a little part of you dies inside. I saw the utter disappointment in Hubby's eyes, but he had promised Pal that we wouldn't force him to do Boy Scouts.

Last week, things changed. Pal and Hubby were home (it was school vacation) and they decided to go shopping with all of Pal's gift cards that he got at Christmas. Pal had his heart set on a new video game system that cost more than the gift cards, so Hubby made a deal with him: I will front the rest of the money if you will TRY Boy Scouts. My initial reaction was "You just made a deal with the devil!". But, I could see how much Hubby wanted Pal to at least try it, with the hope that he will love it and stick with it. Unfortunately, this is NOT Pal's strength!

Last night was their first meeting and it seemed to go pretty well. I can only hope that the deal lasts and Pal doesn't try to back out of it. My sincere hope is that one day we will be at Pal's Eagle Scout Court of Honor and we will be telling everyone how he didn't even want to TRY Boy Scouts!

Wish us luck!
-G

This is the Crossing Over Ceremony for the Webelos II Scouts (Pal on far left)

Marathon Start

I feel like I have been running a marathon since I last blogged. (Okay, stop laughing NOW!). The last post was all about our Summer activities. Since then I have gone back to work, Pal has gone back to school, and it is now October. I didn't even have ONE post in September! I will catch you up as best I can:

Pal was at Cub Scout Camp during the week of my last post. He didn't really like it this year because they decided that the Webelos II scouts would go to an offsite Boy Scout camp instead of staying in camp with all of the others. So they would pile onto a bus for a 45-minute ride to the other camp every day. Then on the last day they brought them back into the camp with all of the other kids and it was (to quote Pal) "awkward". Plus this was the first year that I had to be back to work and couldn't go as the "Den Escort". I like to think he missed his Mom. =)

Back to work came early for me this year. Myself and 2 others got a promotion and this brought on a ton of new responsibilities, (it was a whole other job on top of our regular jobs), and boy were we in shell shock. I have never had so much work to do in such a short period of time before. I was EXHAUSTED at the end of each day! I would rather be busy than bored, but at this point I could have used enough time to take a bathroom break!! Especially since I was looking around and it didn't seem like the other 2 had as much work to do as I did. Thankfully they noticed, too, and everyone pitched in to help me when I needed it. When I got home every night it took all I had to keep my eyes open!

Pal started school before Labor Day. He seems to like his new teacher and isn't getting loaded down with homework, yet. This teacher likes them to get as much done IN school so they don't have to take it home. I love that theory, but I worry about next year when he goes to middle school and has to manage his work himself. This is not his strong point! He is also doing Karate twice a week and has decided to keep learning trombone in the school band this year. On top of all of that he has CCD and Cub Scouts, so we are always going somewhere.

In the same week that Pal went back to school, he turned 10! We had a "Lego Store" party with 3 of his buddies, with pizza and cupcakes after. Then we had a family party at the house, which was small this year. And that was just fine with me!! Here is a pic of the Lego Party:

Toward the end of September, one of my cousins from Arizona came to New England with his wife for a short vacation. I'll call them the "Carbs". This is one of my "long lost" cousins that our family never really knew until I made contact with one of them about 10 years ago through email. It was so great to see both of them, and this was her first time to the east coast. She just fell in love with it, and we all got along so nicely. Here are a couple of pictures from their visit: My sisters C & P, with myself and RCarbs


The Four R's
RCarbs, my Dad, my Brother and my Nephew)


My Dad and RCarbs (they kinda look alike, don't ya think??!)


Mr. & Mrs. Carbs and Dad

My family once again did the Alzheimer's Memory Walk as the team "Memory Keepers". Here is a picture of the whole team:

Now we are headed into Columbus Day weekend - at long last! It is also Hubby's 39th B-day next week! He will be spending the following weekend camping with the Cub Scouts (did I mention that he took over their den this year?) Look at how cute he is in uniform:I will be thoroughly enjoying some time to myself (in other words, the house will get cleaned and stay clean for longer than 10 minutes!!!). I have made some plans to hang out with the ladies and I am SO looking forward to it.

Mom's disease is progressing, and she now needs assistance with eating. She looks pretty good though and doesn't seem to be in too much pain. Here is a recent picture of her with 2 of my nieces:


I've caught you up on my life since August (not 100%, there isn't enough blogisphere out there to chronicle ALL of it!!!!). Pretty soon it will be the holidays and we will be saying, "Where did 2009 GO?"!!!

Have a great long weekend!
- G

Work/School's out for Summer!

I can't believe that it is June. Today I am out of work for the Summer, and I have that same feeling that I used to get on the last day of school when I was a kid. It's a giddy, bubbling sensation that won't allow me to sit still! I am dreaming of lazy days, staying in bed until I feel like moving...ahhhhh the dreams you dream....

Pal will be out of school in 10 days. I am also looking forward to this, because it means no backpacks, homework, trombone lessons, etc. No schedules. I truly feel that kids deserve Summer vacations because the school year feels like it is forever long, and they need a breather. I'm sure I will feel differently by mid-July!!!!

Yesterday the 4th Grade performed a musical concert for the parents. It was really good, and the music teacher did a great job picking songs that weren't too "baby-ish" or silly. These kids are all about 10 years old, and they don't want to look stupid. There was one kid who I gave a lot of credit to, he did a solo and tried to impersonate Elvis - it was awesome! He did forget the words halfway through but just the fact that he did it was great.

Here is a picture of my shy guy:


For the Summer, Pal is going to a morning camp in town with some friends. I won't make him go every day but for the amount of money they charge he will be there as much as possible! Other than that we are planning on going to our campground on the weekends and hopefully hosting some friends and family there, and in August we are taking the pop-up with a group of friends to Maine. Not sure of any other plans but knowing Hubby there will be more to come!

What are your plans for Summer? Please enlighten me!

Happy Friday!
-G

Vacation Memories

This is the new version of "The Thinker"!


Our vacation was wonderful. How could it not be? We were on a 900+ foot luxury ocean liner, visiting gorgeous Caribbean islands, eating what and when we want, and meeting people from all over the country and world. There were a lot of New Englander's on this cruise because of school vacation week. We had the amazing opportunity to have dinner with the ship's Doctor - a very interesting man who was born in Australia but is an ER physician in Taiwan. Here is a picture of Hubby and Pal with our very own Adam Bricker:


He told us our cruise was one of the busiest for him - there were a few serious ailments, one man almost died but they were able to stabilize him long enough to get him off the boat in St. Thomas. We actually saw them taking him off the ship and into the waiting ambulance. I sincerely hope he was able to get the proper medical treatment in St. Thomas and is on his way to recovery.

The first place we visited was Samana, which is in the Dominican Republic. This island is lush and beautiful, but also one of the poorest places I have ever been. It was so disheartening to see the poverty, but we also used it as a teachable moment for Pal - he saw how other people have so much less than he does. I can only hope that the images of the dirty children and emaciated animals will stick in his mind the next time he whines about not getting the newest video game or toy! One thing that struck me about the children of Samana, though, was how happy they were - they always smiled as Pal waved to them as we drove by. They were happy with life, not because of what they had or did not have.

This was the waterfall we hiked to in Samana: Gorgeous, huh?

The next island we stopped at was St. Thomas. Hubby and I had been there once on another cruise. We loved the sight of Magen's Bay so much that we vowed to come back and swim there.
So, Pal, Hubby and I went to the beach at Magen's Bay. The water was so crystal clear, and the beach was incredible.

Next, on to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
I may have even liked Tortola better than St. Thomas! The first thing we did was "Swimming with Dolphins". Expensive, but totally worth it. The dolphin we had was a 3-year-old male named Atlas. They are such intelligent, gentle creatures, and their skin is so soft and leathery. An experience of a lifetime. I have pictures, but have to scan them in so I will update this post with those as soon as I do it!

After the dolphins, we went to Cane's Garden Bay. Take one look and you'll fall hard:

Here is Pal on the beach at Cane's Bay:

After a full day at sea and nursing our sunburns, our next and final stop was Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas - which is NCL's own private island. They tendered you from the ship onto this little strip of land in the middle of the ocean. We were on the 2nd tender of the morning and there was already a race for beach chairs. The other thing that Pal really, really wanted to try was parasailing, but Great Stirrup Cay was the only place that Pal met the age/weight requirements. When we inquired about getting a reservation through the ship, we were told it was sold out. So, as soon as we arrived onto the island, Hubby went right over to the parasailing kiosk and asked if there was any availability. The guy told him that they could go on the next trip out! So lucky! So, before the age of 10, Pal has been swimming with dolphins and parasailing, not to mention going to Hawaii at age 5 and going on a helicopter ride over a volcano!!!

Here is the view of the ship from Great Stirrup Cay:


Here are a couple of pictures of them parasailing:



As you can see, it was quite the trip. None of us got seasick, there was no major travel issues and we came home with lots of memories and pictures. I'll leave you with one of my faves - it was just a comical moment at that kids pool.




Have a great weekend!
-G

Not A Creature Was Stirring

I find myself, strangely, home alone tonight. Completely alone. With the possible exception of the dog, 3 goldfish and an elf who has taken up temporary residence here until Santa takes him back on Christmas Eve. Which is tomorrow. Wow, it's already Christmas and I can't say that I'm sad to see 2008 go away. This year has been filled with a lot of trials and tribulations for my family. Here's a synopsis of life for us this year:

You might remember that as January began we were dealing with Pal having MRSA. That was one of the most disgusting things I've ever dealt with (see posts from last February, there are pictures...). The last flare-up he had was in July, and I am hoping that we are MRSA free, forever.
February brought many changes to my immediate family. My Father, after several close calls with my Mom wandering out of the house, and at all hours of the night, finally made the decision to move my Mom into an Assisted Living Facility. Our original plan was to move both of them into this one place we had already picked out, but my Dad decided that he wanted to stay at their house and just move my Mom. It was one of the hardest things we, as a family, and I, as an individual, have EVER had to do. Of course, all of us had assumed that once the "burden" of my Mom was off of my Dad's shoulders, he would regain his former life and continue on in freedom. However, this was NOT the case at all. My Dad became almost reclusive, drinking to drown the sorrow over the loss of the life he once shared with my Mom. It was something none of us saw coming, and we began the process of talking about selling the house and moving him elsewhere. He has always wanted to go to this one retirement community which is an excellent place for active seniors, but my Mom never wanted to go. I am thankful that I can say that we have SOLD his house and he will be going to that retirement community in January!

March brought on another problem my Hubby and I were dealing with, and that was Pal. His inability to pay attention or control his impulses had reached a boiling point at school, and he was ending up in trouble with the Principal, a LOT. Our suspicions had been suspicions long enough, and with the encouragement of Pal's teacher and lots of "discussions" between Hubby and I, we decided to have him evaluated by a team of professionals. Of course, we were not surprised in the least to have them tell us that he was "classic case" ADHD. He is not hyperactive, and there are other signs and symptoms of ADHD that he does NOT display, but the impulse control (or lack thereof) and inability to pay attention were the symptoms he displayed greatly. I felt so scared, but reassured that we were not crazy, and Pal's problems were not due to bad parenting or lack of discipline. Funny, how your own words can come back to bite you -- I had said many, many times previous to having my own child that I thought ADHD was a copout for those parents who didn't discipline their kids!!! Open mouth, insert foot. Thankfully, since he was diagnosed and put on a very low dose of medicine, his behavior at school and his grades are definitely MUCH better! He even commented to me yesterday that "he is so glad that the medicine helps him to act better because he hasn't been to the Principal's office once this whole year!". Thank God for small favors!!!

In April my father-in-law had a knee replacement surgery and everything went really well. That was until they looked at some blood-test results and his Ph levels were sky high. He ended up needing a transfusion in the hospital, and they sent him for a bone-marrow test. It turns out that he has leukemia. CML to be exact - Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. It is highly treatable and is not fatal, but it does explain the chronic fatigue he suffers from, as well as some other minor complications. He has been taking an oral chemo drug for 6 months and his Ph levels have evened out. He still has bad days but overall is feeling well.

May was fairly uneventful, with the exception of Pal's allergies. This poor kid looked like someone punched him repeatedly in the eyes! They were so swollen, and we were back and forth to the Pedi several times before they found a medication that worked. Another major event in our life was that Hubby went back to being self-employed. This was what he has wanted for a long time and now that I carry our health insurance it was the perfect time.

June brought dental problems for me, a nasty fall for a close friend of mine in which she was hospitalized and in rehab for almost a month. She ended up with the same injury as Christopher Reeve, except she didn't sever her spinal chord. Then the Assisted Living Facility (ALF) where my Mom was called us and said she needed to go to the hospital Psych ward and be evaluated because they "just can't handle her". Basically what was happening was she needed to use the bathroom (urgently most times) and because of her Alzheimer's she couldn't find the bathroom and would end up having an accident on the floor. And it was usually in someone else's room, or in the director's office. It was obviously embarrassing for my Mom, who was always an extremely proud and independent person, and she began refusing their help. She wouldn't allow them to help her clean herself, and she wouldn't allow them to put a "Depends" on her either. In my opinion, and hindsight, this was mainly because they just didn't WANT to deal with her. She was evaluated and in the Psych ward for 2 weeks, where they had her on a toilet schedule and she was allowing them to help her with her hygiene. As soon as she went back to the ALF, the same behavior started (and they didn't stick to the toilet schedule, either!).

In July, we got another phone call that my Mom had fallen and they sent her back to the hospital; our opinion is that she had not fallen, but they were shorthanded and didn't have the staff to deal with her. In all of this, we were adjusting her medications to see if that would help. When she went back to the ALF, the dosages they had her on made her catatonic and very lethargic. Funnily enough we stopped receiving complaint calls from the ALF while she was so doped up.

July also brought about my niece K's surgery, which I posted about a few times. This was an extremely stressful time for my sister, and obviously our whole family. K came through the operation fine, but hit a few bumps on the road to recovery and didn't end up going back to college like she had planned. Her healing has taken much longer than she expected and because she is such a "go-getter" she has had a hard time adjusting to a slower pace. Right now, she is improving every day and is hoping to return to college in January.

August. This was our emotional roller-coaster month. My Mother-in-law was laid off from her job of 10 years and this was especially hard on her, mostly because it bruised her ego a bit. I don't mean to imply that she has an ego, but that getting laid off was a tough pill to swallow for her.

On August 5th, my Dad and I went to my Mom's ALF for her 6-month evaluation. The director sat with us and told us that although my Mom gets agitated, they can handle whatever she throws at them. She reassured us, several times, that my Mom's behavior was 100% normal and typical of someone with Alzheimer's. We left there feeling pretty good about where Mom was. Then the end of the month rolls around and we get a call that they were sending her back to the hospital because they had seen blood in her stool. We knew this already, because it had been discovered previously that she was severely anemic and her doctor felt that she was most likely bleeding internally. Because my Mom would refuse most tests needed to determine where the bleeding was coming from, the doctor put her on iron pills and told us to consider a colonoscopy. My Mom would never, ever, have agreed to a colonoscopy in her RIGHT mind, so we said no.

Well, when the ALF sent her back to the hospital this time, the doctors at the hospital agreed to keep her in the hospital to do the colonoscopy, and that we should find out what was wrong with Mom for our own health history, if nothing else. My sister, C, had a very hard time making this decision but we all reassured her it was the right thing to do. They prepped her for 2 days before and did the colonoscopy on Tuesday. The preliminary results came back the next day: huge, bleeding polyp, most likely malignant. Colon cancer. Wow. I hadn't even given cancer a second thought, but with our recent family issues with colons, I shouldn't be surprised. The doctor told us that my Mom has probably had this for some time, and she could live a long time with it. It was, however, inoperable. She was released back to the ALF and we contemplated what to do about this new diagnosis.
This was now the end of August. The ALF called me to complain that nobody had notified them of my Mom's return and they were not prepared to care for her, so we would have to hire a 24-hour assistant for her. HUH? Isn't that what we are paying YOU for??? Someone even mentioned to my sister that we should probably start looking for another "place" for my Mom, because they were just unable to care for her there. This threw us into a tizzy, because most places have waiting lists. My sister and I went to a few different ALF's but didn't find one that seemed capable of handling my Mom. We finally found a Nursing Home (NH) that had a bed available, and my sister's sister-in-law was also a nurse at this NH. They took her with no questions asked, and we could not have been more grateful to get my Mom out of that godforsaken ALF.

September has arrived at this point, and Mom settled in nicely at the new NH. School has begun, I am back to work, and things are actually calm for once.

October, though, brought us to the death of a close family friend. You can read my full post dedication to Mrs. D. in August of this year.
Another friend formerly of our campground also passed away, 7 weeks to the day of being diagnosed with cancer.
Toward the end of the month, Hubby's Nana, who turned 90 in September, took a turn for the worse. We had a family trip to Disney planned and were obviously worried about Nana. All we could do was pray that the two didn't interfere. I know it's not nice to think about someone's death affecting your vacation, but let's be serious and think of all the money that would be lost - there were 13 of us going on this trip.

Sadly, Nana passed away on November 1. We buried her 2 days before our big trip. (Thanks, Nana!!) The Disney trip was definitely the highlight of our year. Of course, there are always highlights to go with the lowlights in life, but unfortunately it seems like we can only remember the low.

As we enter into this Christmas season, I know it will be difficult not having my Mom by our side during our annual traditions. But I rest easy knowing she is safe, cared for, and comfortable where she is. I visited her today and will say a prayer for her on Christmas. I will miss her deeply, too.

I can only hope that happier times are ahead for my family. The end of December 2008will bring about a lot of change for my Dad as he prepares to move out of the house he's lived in for 46 years. My prayer, and I hope you all will join me in praying for this: 2009 will begin a fresh start to those who need it, and a new outlook on life for my Dad.

I'm sorry for the Bah-Humbug post! I really do wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy New Year.

-G

We're Off To See The....Mouse!

No wizards for us - we're Mouse fans!

Tomorrow we are headed to Florida for the family trip with Hubby's side. This is an Anniversary celebration trip for Hubby's parents who were married 40 years in June. We didn't go in June because it would've been too hot for my in-law's. Or rather, too hot for me!!! I hate the heat, so why would I leave New England to go to Florida where it's even HOTTER??? 13 of the 15 immediate family are traveling together, so this should be interesting!

This will be Pal's 5th trip to WDW (I know, spoiled brat!). I lost count of how many times I've been there...I know it's over 10 at this point, and that's only since 1990.

My first trip was with my brother and his (then girlfriend) wife, and my (at the time) boyfriend. It was a great time because I was experiencing Disney for the first time, but I should've left the at-the-time-boyfriend at home!!!

After that trip I broke up with the boyfriend. On my husband's birthday. Ironic?

I continued my newfound obsession with Disney by going with my new boyfriend, now Hubby, along with his sister and her (then) boyfriend, now husband. Hubby and bro-in-law would drive his Grandparent's car down to Florida for them so they could fly down, and then his sister and I would fly down with them and we would take our vacation from there. A couple of times we went to Disney, but a couple of other times we went on a cruise and to Marco Island. Those were the greatest times - no kids, no marriage, no worries! Hubby and I refer to those times as "Glory Days".

I also went in 1997 with Hubby's sister, and we rented a convertible sports car! We thought we were hot sh*t!!! We did everything from Busch Gardens to Disney to visiting the Grandparents and some other retired people we knew down there. It was an awesome trip.

Today marks the 10 year Anniversary of my Disney trip with my siblings. We went for 5 days and had a lot of laughs (and a few fights). We still giggle every time we mention certain things about our trip like "Who's that lady?"; "Disney is obsessed with water!!!"; "our brother's clipboard"; "I don't have a mug. Still."

We started taking Pal when he was 2. It was right after 9/11 so there were no crowds. He was in awe of all the activity and we loved watching him. He loved the Playhouse Disney show, until Winnie the Pooh and Friends came on...he turned to me with his nose all scrunched up and said "Can I play with my trucks now?"!!! Too funny, he never did like Pooh. Poor Pooh.

We went back with Pal when he was 4, with my in-law's. They had taken the other 2 grandsons when they were each 4, but we weren't comfortable with them taking Pal by themselves...he would be too much for them to handle. Well, that turned out to be the best decision we ever made, because Papa had a heart-attack about 2 hours after we landed. Luckily, we were with Hubby's cousin who lives down there (and happens to work for Disney!), so she knew the closest hospital and we got him there within minutes of the first chest pains. Thank God he was okay, it was so scary. Papa never did make it to any of the Parks. Then, in the same trip, Pal got bronchitis and we spent 7 hours at the ER with him, and I came down with the stomach bug and missed an entire day at the parks. I was too busy "riding the porcelain bus". Sorry, there's the poop talk again.....

After the previous trip from hell, and after Papa recovered nicely from his heart attack, we decided to give it a go one more time. This time we invited my oldest sister who loves Disney, and hadn't been since our siblings trip in '98. So, it was Hubby, Pal and I, my sister and my in-law's. We had a fabulous time, and Papa even surprised my sister by telling the waitress at "Whispering Canyon Cafe" (an oxymoron) that it was her birthday - they put a brown paper bag over her head because she was so mortified, and the entire restaurant sang Happy Birthday to her!! We laughed so hard because she was so embarrassed. Good times.

And then last year, Hubby kept bugging me to take Pal again, and I kept saying no...until I caved of course. So in 5 weeks time we booked, planned and executed our 4th trip without Pal knowing...We showed up at his school on the last day, dismissed him early and drove straight to the airport - he had NO idea before hand! The look of shock on his face was priceless - it was an awesome moment.

So now here we are at Pal's 5th trip to Disney. He will have his 4 cousins from Hubby's side to play with: 2 older and 2 younger. I'm sure we will take lots of pictures of all 5 boys and I will post one when I get back. My in-law's are excited to travel with (most of) their family. Now all I have to do is survive (most of) their family!!!! Just kidding. Really.

I'll say hi to Mickey Mouse and friends for you all!

G

A Banner Day

From what Pal said, the first trombone lesson went well! Of course, he thinks that he should have been able to play a full song after his first real lesson....he is quite challenged in the patience department! So this will be a lesson in patience for all of us....

Another big happening around here today was Pal had his first ice skating lesson. We tried this back when he was 3 and it didn't go over too well, so tonight I was apprehensive about the lessons because I knew the class would consist of mostly 3-year-olds. And I was right. Fortunately, though, the instructors (and there were plenty of them) stuck right with him and he actually did really well! Again, the patience was a factor....he thought that because he could walk on the floor in the skates, he was going to walk right out onto the ice! His first fall wasn't until the instructor told him to sit down on the ice for a minute, and he looked around himself like "How am I going to get DOWN there?" and then he fell forward and sat. Whatever works, right??? He did fall a few more times, but all in all for a first time on skates, he did great. Ray Bourque watch out!

Not to mention that he did this skating lesson less than an hour after having 2 more teeth pulled! His mouth was still bloody - that's how soon after it was. I was impressed at his resilience.

Added to the trombone lesson, the skating lesson, the teeth extractions - Pal made it through the school day (especially a Friday) without getting a punishment essay!!! Yay for a homework free weekend!!!

A banner day, for sure. I'd love to have many more of these to come!!!

Have a great weekend!

G

"76 Trombones In The Big Parade"

Today, Pal got on the bus with his huge Trombone in his hand. I should have taken a picture of it, it was so funny. The case is almost as big as him! The night I went to buy the trombone, you should have seen the box that the case and trombone came in - I almost couldn't carry it, so one of the high school band members had to carry it out to my car! Of course, I was still having trouble breathing after seeing the price of said trombone!! They don't call them "wind" instruments for nothing - it knocked the wind right outta me!!!!

So, off he went with his newfound interest this morning. We'll see (after school) how his first real lesson went. Last week, I hadn't gotten the information and we didn't know he had to bring his trombone to school, so his first official lesson consisted of watching the other kids. But as soon as he got home, he opened up the case (he had been forbidden to even open it - by the music teacher, not us) and started making noise! He loves to assemble it, play it once or twice, polish it, disassemble it, put it back in the case...wait 20 minutes....then repeat the process all over again! He is already able to make some loud sounds with it, so I am hoping that he learns how to play it and comes to love it.

I wish I had learned how to play an instrument as a kid, and that doesn't include my sister's electric organ!!! It had numbered keys instead of chords, so instead of knowing how to play "Silent Night" by key chords, all I know is 5-6-5-3, 5-6-5-3, 9-9-7, 8-8-5, 6-6-8-7-6-5-6-5-3, etc.!!! Although I can play a little piano by ear, but that's about it.

Keep your fingers crossed (and your ears protected) as we go through our first foray into the wonderful world of music! Who knows, maybe someday he'll be playing the trombone for his college football team! One can only hope....


((((****Side Note - Punishment Essay Count: 4****)))) Will he ever learn????

G

A Good Start to 4th Grade

First, I just want to say that Pal DID go to N.H. with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law last Friday!!! Yay for us! He had a great time and so did we!!!! We had dinner out Friday night, and I slept in Saturday morning (not hubby - he's too busy to sleep!). We enjoyed reminiscing about the days when it was just the 2 of us, and we didn't live in a house with his parents. It's not that we don't appreciate what we have now, but it's fun to go back to the "glory days" once in a while!!! I love my son and my in-law's, but it was a nice break.

So tonight was the Open House at Pal's new school. In our town, the public school kids switch schools 5 times from Kindergarten through 12th grade. So Pal started at the "Intermediate" school (4th and 5th grade) this year. His 3rd grade teacher had a hand in picking his 4th grade teacher, which I was very glad about. Pal has some behavioral issues and he needs someone who will keep him in line. Since his 3rd grade teacher was excellent with him (tough, but kind), I had the utmost faith that she would pick someone just like herself.

When we got to the open house, my hubby was wearing a BC Hockey shirt and the first thing the new teacher said to him was "Nice shirt". It turns out she went to BC! She started out the meeting (all parents, no kids) immediately making everyone laugh, and I could easily see why Pal comes home every day with funny stories and excited about the things he is learning. This.is.a.first.for.us!!! Not once in the 5 years he's been in school (pre-k til now) has he ever come home excited about school. He almost doesn't mind doing the homework, either. His 3rd grade teacher gave a ton of homework, and so far the 4th grade teacher seems a little more relaxed in the homework arena. However, in her words, "the world had better open up and swallow you whole if you don't DO the homework". The first time you don't have your homework, you get a 125-word composition on responsibility. The second offense, a 250-word composition. And the third offense (which she claims no one has ever been stupid enough to get!) is a 500-word composition!!! Yikes!!

So of course, you know that Pal has already written a 125-word composition.

And a 150-word composition on paying attention to directions. On a Friday. Which meant weekend homework. The worst!!! Hopefully, we will not break her 500-word stupidity theory......
With any luck, he has learned not to mess with her. All in all, the fact that he is liking school right now is a good enough start for us. Let's hope that it continues.


On a side note - Pal had 2 teeth pulled today, and is having 2 more pulled next Monday. He handled it like a champ, and has NO idea they used a needle for the novacaine!!!! Some things are better off left unsaid!

Have a great night!

G

Just the Two of Us???

Pal might be heading up to N.H. with my sister-in-law and her family, and we'll meet them up there tomorrow after a friend's housewarming party. My in-law's are also on a cruise, so there is a distinct possibility that hubby and I will have the entire house to ourselves....could it be true? Is it possible? I really could not tell you the last time that Pal was not with us - he doesn't get many invitations to sleep out, and I am not a big fan of sleepovers anyway. Mainly because we are the ones who suffer the consequences of the lack of sleep!!

That's IF Pal really goes...he usually has an anxiety attack at the last minute and backs out. The only thing that might work in our favor is that he wants to go up to N.H. (to our campground) because it is "Halloween" and they get to carve pumpkins, go trick-or-treating and then there is a "spook ride" later tomorrow night. Hubby took him last night to get some costume accessories, and he was talking this morning about getting all the candy (which he doesn't even eat half the time!).

Dare I wish? Dare I hope? Dinner out alone? A morning to sleep in...undisturbed??? Other than the dog, that is, but he will sleep late if we do!

Keeping my fingers crossed until Pal gets in their van and they drive away!!!


G

Happy Birthday, Pal.

When you're 9, it's all about the cold, hard cash!!!!


Wow, how time flies. Nine years ago today I was a new Mom. Here I was, holding this little perfect boy, and he was mine. I remember specifically looking at his elbows and saying to my hubby "Look, he has elbows!". (This went on for hours, I was so totally fascinated!).

I won't bore you with the details of his birth or how many hours (19) I was in induced-labor-hell (19). I won't freak you out telling you about the size of my C-section scar, or how I had an imbedded staple in it. Did I NOT mention the (19) hours of labor?

Pal has been a whirlwind of activity since day 1. He screamed all the way home from the hospital, probably because he received his "bris" (except we're not Jewish, if you catch my drift) right before we left the hospital. He hated the car from that moment on, too. I used to dread long rides with him.

Pal has brought us so many fun times as a family and we are so proud of him. Most people who know him well know that he is a sweet, kind, caring little boy who enjoys playing with his cousins, playing with our dog, Rusty, swimming, stuffed animals, Bionicles, lego's and watching his favorite TV shows. I can only hope that he will always know how much his Dad and I love him, and that he will grow up to be a warm, caring, responsible young man.

We love you Pal. Happy 9th. Love, Mama and your Da

The Official "End" of Summer

Seeing that Labor Day is so early this year and the kids are back to school, it feels like Summer is over. Part of me is happy, even though that means I also return to work next week. The weather wasn't even that hot this year, and seeing as I live in New England this is unusual. It was rainy, but that didn't really matter (other than when I was in a pop-up for 3 nights!!!!).

Since Pal is out of school for Friday and Monday, we are going to end the Summer with a couple of trips to local amusements. One is an amusement park, the other a water park. Then we will head to our camper for the remaining part of the Labor Day weekend and spend time with our family and friends who also camp with us.

Then my baby, my only child, will turn 9 on Tuesday!!! 9 years ago I was bringing him home from the hospital on Labor Day. I remember the first car ride, going home with him in the car - we were so nervous and have never driven so cautiously! Pal cried the whole way, and I sat in the back with him. The nice thing was that our families were at the house when we got home and my nieces had hung signs all around our dining room welcoming us home. It was the best Labor Day, ever!

I want to say Happy End of Summer and Happy Labor Day to you all!
See you on Tuesday!

G

Symptoms of Only Child Syndrome

My son, "Pal", is and will always be, my only child. This being vacation week, my nephew (from hubby's side) is staying here and he is just one year older than Pal. This is like the ultimate for Pal - a live-in playmate. There is only one problem - he has "Only Child Syndrome". Common side effects of said syndrome: The "I-DON'T-PLAY-WELL-WITH-OTHERS-FOR-LONGER-THAN-A-COUPLE-OF-HOURS" issue, as well as "LET'S PLAY WHAT I WANT TO PLAY AND WHO CARES WHAT YOU WANT TO PLAY". My nephew, being mild-natured and having a 15-year-old brother, is used to taking the back seat and most of the time will give in to Pal's wishes. If you are Pal, all is good.

Today, while I went to the dentist, I brought the 2 of them over to my sister-in-law's house to play with her little boys. When I got back, I told them it was time to leave, and nephew decides to stay at Auntie's house and doesn't want to come back to my house with Pal. Can't say I blame him - although the 2 younger boys will drive him mad in a matter of hours. Obviously, Pal is C-R-U-S-H-E-D!!! I can't make my nephew come here if he doesn't want to, but it hurts me that my son is hurt. On the other hand, I feel like saying to him (but hold my tongue!) "Well, if you didn't act like a spoiled little brat then maybe he'd WANT to come back with us." I just told him that we'll see nephew later in the week, and we came home. Now he's all mopey and doesn't want to listen to any of my suggestions of what he can play - by himself.

That's the kicker of it all...no matter how many play-dates or sleep-overs he has, he will always, in the end, be alone. It makes me feel bad, but....I think I'll go lie down until this feeling goes away!

G