H is sitting on the couch icing his swollen, bloody nose. He has just come home from his last sparring/training session before his fight on Saturday. Tonight I actually got to ask the question, "Is that your blood on your shirt?" Nice. Overhead we hear TD not settling down for a long nights sleep but instead thudding around in her room. She has already been told if she doesn't settle down action will be taken. Action that includes taking away her beloved stuffed rabbit, Cuppy. Another thud can be heard coming from upstairs with a yell that can only be described as rebel-H: I've been punched in the nose way too many times today to fuck around with that kid.Guess that means I'll have to be the heavy tonight. … [Read more...]
Fight Club at My House
"The first rule of fight club is that you do not talk about fight club."A true gem of a film.So it's not exactly fight club but on Saturday night H will enter a ring and fight his first boxing match. The past few months he has spent training for this event (Read: his dream/my nightmare). He would come home from training and sparring sessions looking like Edward-Isthatyourbloodonyourshirt?-Norton. How people viewed this all at his office I do not know. The black eyes, the swollen nose, the bruised chin and bloody lip. All of them have made me incredibly squeamish. It's one thing to watch a boxing match on TV and entirely another to see someone you love willingly get the crap punched out of them. Not that H will have that happen but I'm prepared for the worse. And possibly some new teeth. … [Read more...]
No, You May Not Frost My Cupcake
It's discussion time again and this week I'm posing a question about friendships, the relationships between men and women and what is appropriate and what is not. It's up to you. Read the issue, discuss in the comments and offer up your opinion. You are sitting at your friends house and her husband makes a comment along the lines of, "I'd like to frost your cupcake..." or the classic "I'd like a (insert your name and your friends name) sandwich. Heh heh. (Insert a comment about how he might be into polygamy too)". It's not the first time he says things like this but because you don't want to embarrass your friend you smile and brush it off. She laughs it off each time as well. However, it just keeps happening.What do you do? Do you continue to keep quiet for the sake of your … [Read more...]
Not a Wounded Antelope
Saturday 5:45 a.m.- my alarm goes off and my brain and body freeze up. Today is the day. Today I will run my first 5k. While I am sure my body can do it, my brain has decided it wants a monopoly on the whole thing and will go to any lengths to psyche me out of doing it. Stupid brain. Initially, I was going to go up by myself and H and the girls would meet me later. Why drag them out at that ungodly hour too? However, The Comedian got up bright and early and before I was done showering and trying not to puke in my bathroom sink, she was ready to go. TD followed a bit later, wearing her "My Mom is Blogging This" t-shirt. Tweeting would be more like it. It was better that they came with me instead of me driving solo and freaking myself out about parking, traffic and of course, the race the … [Read more...]
Have You Seen My Rose-Colored Glasses?
The radio in the kitchen is playing its familiar morning radio show, the smell of coffee is wafting through the house and all the bags from our trip are unpacked. I stand completely amazed that we made it up to CT and back without much of a blip. Nothing blogworthy to write about in two whole eight hour drives. I just might have a place in parental history.I want to say a big thank you to our fellow travelers at the Delaware rest stop who stopped by our lunch table to remark on what beautiful children I have. It brightened my day and gave me a bit more energy to get back into the car with my two "angels". It would have been even better if one of those fellow travelers had read my mind and gotten me a steaming hot latte from the nearby SBUX, but no worries. This trip gets mixed … [Read more...]
All Full Up
It's time to pack it in, round up the cattle, er I mean, kids and head for home. I've had my fill of hot, tasty clam cakes. Ooh that salty, clamtastic goodness. Many photos have been taken of old seaside scenes and the oldest carousel has been ridden. I saw old friends, slept past nine, watched way too much VH-1 than can be healthy for my brain cells and had a whole bed to myself for a week. I've eaten too much once again, gotten a bit side-tracked in my 5K training and I'm starting to get a bit freaked out that the race is in a mere six days. Today we return to the turnpike and brave the roads. Let's hope "the crazies" have decided to stay home. I have no intention of believing that the trip home will be as easy as the trip up.BONUS!!!!!!!!!!!!! … [Read more...]
$2 Underpants and an Early Bird Special
I'm wearing $2 Walmart underwear with a plastic peace sign hanging on them. Can you say teeny bopperesque? Yup. I'm going to admit it is the first time I've bought the big W underwear and I can only describe a lot of it as eye-searing tricktastic looking. The 3 a.m. hookers in the District might think it is too loud. At 3:59 p.m. yesterday I realized that both my parents had whole dinner plates full of food in front of them and they were eating...um, dinner. I had dinner at 4 o'clock people! Isn't that earlier than the early bird special? It is day four of intense clouds, rain and low temps. For my probable last trip up to the New England area it is kind of a bust. I'm missing the beach but the idea of dragging a baby and toddler to the cloudy sea is not an idea that is going to … [Read more...]
Dating Violence: Is Your Teen Getting the Message?
I was fourteen when I met a boy who I thought was of no consequence. I figured I would date him for a month tops and then it would be over. He was so persistent. Five years later I found myself sitting in a my university's counseling center sobbing uncontrollably over the monster that that relationship became. The one that tried to swallow me whole like it was some mutated Cracken from the sea. I got through it and came out stronger, vowing to tell my story and educate others from my experience.Now Macy's leading the way with its support for the RESPECT! Campaign, which offers the tools parents need to define and promote healthy relationships, and intervene effectively if abuse begins. FVPF (Family Violence Prevention Fund) states-"Teens across the United States are experiencing high … [Read more...]
Notes from the Road
Queue the ridiculously bad and entirely inappropriate except for the song title Barry Manilow song, 'Looks Like We Made It' The girls and I had hit the road yesterday around 4:30 a.m. Typical of TD to stay awake for the whole drive and consume her weight in goldfish crackers while watching 'Bolt' two times in a row before screaming, "I just cannot watch Bolt again!"To the woman at the Woodrow Wilson rest stop with the white fluffball of a dog: Thanks for telling me my kids are so well cute and well-behaved and all. However? So not cool to then dash into the bathroom ahead of us and take the only handicap stall. Thus leaving me, one antsy toddler and The Comedian in a baby carrier car seat to squish ourselves into a Jersey Turnpike single person bathroom stall. I like being close to my … [Read more...]
Win a Free 23andMe DNA Kit!
Newsflash! An amazing giveaway is at your fingertips. First, a bit of business.The various online communities that have been growing at the 23andMe website the last few months are anything but dull. I have had the privilege of having my whole family’s genetic information at my fingertips and I cannot believe how it never ceases to amaze me. As a founding blogger hired by 23andMe for their pregnancy community I feel like I fell down the rabbit’s hole of ancestral information and my own personal genetic history. It has made me reflect on my past two pregnancies in-depth and communicate with others. One thing is abundantly clear, no matter how similar we may seem on the outside with our experiences and relations we are all unique due to our environment and genetic make-up. It has truly been a … [Read more...]