Thursday, September 27, 2007

Last night was kids night at Skyline. Samantha brings her purse every week and she and Tara get stickers and gum out of the machines in the lobby. It's like slot machines for kids. She keeps her quarters in the urine specimen container my dad gave her! It makes me laugh every week.



The other night Samantha was being disagreeable. I told her she just lost an 1/2 hour and would have to go to bed at 8:30pm instead of 9pm. She stared wailing and flailing... she begged me to give her back her 9pm. I told her I would consider it if she would stop wailing and flailing. She stopped and asked again. I told her I would decide after she took a shower... that if her attitude stayed good she could have her 9pm back. She demanded to know NOW!... and said that not knowing would devastate her... I tried so hard not to laugh. I even tried to hide my face so she wouldn't be able to tell that I was about to laugh but it didn't work and I busted out laughing. She got mad an stomped off into the shower.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

We had the most wonderful family evening last night. We made our own sidewalk chalk and painted with it on the driveway. Paint? With Chalk? Yes!


You mix 1/4 cup of corn starch with 1/4 cup of water and add some food coloring.


It makes a paste that you paint on with a paint brush and when it dries it makes chalk. Samantha loved it and John and I even painted a little too. Jess, Mark and the kids came by when we were almost done but there was still enough left for them to make a few pictures. It was a perfect evening, warm but not hot and there was a harvest moon out. That's where the moon has a red cast to it right?




This morning Samantha and I talked about something that happened last night: While we were all outside Jess said something to Hannah that sort of took me aback.... She said, "Shut up Hannah". And then she said it again, "Shut your big fat mouth Hannah". I asked Samantha if she had noticed and she said yes. She said she thought it looked like Hannah felt uncomfortable and she said she felt bad for her. We talked about how sometimes I say shut up but you can tell by the conversation that I am joking around. She said she understood the difference. I am proud of her for noticing things like that and having feelings like that for other kids. She used to be the kid that didn't care if her best friend was standing there sobbing. She would go right on playing and when you asked her about it she would say she noticed but didn't really care. She's a strange child...


On Friday Samantha and I went to the play: "Junie B Jones and a Little Monkey Business". It was our first play of the season and we had a great time. Afterward it was still quite warm so we went for a walk in the Short North and went to Jenie's for ice cream.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Work has been stressing me out the past two days. The owner has been questioning things I do, and have done for the past 8 years. This is fine, after all he is the owner of the company and it is his money I am spending. I just feel like he does not trust my judgement. I also feel like sometimes he does not listen to the entire explanation on why something is done the way it is and he jumps to a conclusion that is not always exactly correct. The muscles in my neck have tightened up right away upon arriving at work the past 2 days. But, all in all I love my job and the company I work for... really, I do.



On Sunday Samantha and I went in and met John for dinner. He is training a new officer named Tom. We went to Mad Greek for dinner. The owner stopped by our table and told us we needed dessert. He brought us out the most amazing custard. Samantha and I were so full we thought we would explode on the way home. When we got home I sat outside and talked to Jess while Samantha played with Hannah. I asked her if she knew how Tammy's open house went and she said she wasn't sure but that she had told the kids they had to stay inside that night. Then she said Mark had gone out to mow the lawn before her open house but Nick had poured water in the gas tank and it blew up half way through. Jess said she was horrified that anyone going to Tammy's house would see their yard next door looking like that. I laughed and laughed over that.

Yesterday Samantha and I cooked dinner. Samantha made an apple strudel from scratch all by herself. She even used the apple-peeler-corer-slicer contraption all by herself. I made Greek chicken with rice and vegetables, zucchini, carrots and green beans. After dinner John fixed our bed. The wheel piece in the middle had broken off from me moving the bed around so much rearranging the furniture in the bed room. It was fun to watch all the faces he made every time he hit his fingers with the hammer or drill. Then Tammy called to see if we wanted to go to Chestnut Ridge with her. It was about 7pm so the sun was down and we had a really nice walk through the woods. We saw 3 deer who paused so we were able to get a good look at them. Their little white tails look so cute as they bounded away. We also saw a snake. I picked it up and everyone squealed like a bunch of little girls. John thinks its funny that I am terrified of birds but will pick a snake up. When we got home Tammy came over and had apple strudel with us. Yum, it was really good.

It has been quite hot here, in the 90's today and yesterday. But the weather forecast looks more like fall by the end of the week.

This afternoon while on my way to pick Samantha up from school Tammy called. She said that she had just talked to John but that he had not been all that receptive to the conversation and she went on to talk about her relationship with the Irish guy and what does all their phone sex and web cam sex mean.... what do I think he is thinking... etc... Well, no wonder John was not very receptive... I just think it's sad that she thinks there is a relationship... he's there... she's here... he has a girlfriend whom he lives with... um, no relationship...

My neck is killing me, right around my shoulders too. I know it is stress because I can feel it when things flare up at work. Right before I left there was a whole other crises... one where the cost of something isn't what we are willing to pay but there really isn't any other option... I know there is nothing I can do about it but it still gets to me.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Oh boy am I cranky today. Last night there I was sound asleep when I awoke to a beeping noise. Bucky Katt, from my favorite comic strip "Get Fuzzy", spent the last week beeping every time someone tried to speak. So, I think, oh my God, he's real and he's here in my house, cool. After all it was 2am. But sadly, no Bucky Katt, just our alarm beeping. I had a momentary freak out where I thought someone was in the house and going to take my baby. I yelled for John but he wasn't home from work yet. He had a crash at the end of the night and didn't get home until 3:30am. I had to get up and fix the alarm myself. I wasn't sure how to make it stop beeping but something I did, don't recall what, made it stop. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't because John wasn't home yet. See, this is the reason I take sleeping pills, I don't like falling asleep when my hubby is not here. That sounds nice doesn't it... but really I just don't like being woken up when he comes home. So, John gets home and I'm still awake. I think I sort of fell asleep for a brief while but then I woke up at 5am as I do everyday because the neighbor's neurotic, poop eating dog is barking. UGH, I am cranky.



Am I the only person in the entire world who has never seen an episode of "Survivor"?

Thursday, September 20, 2007

I hate that John has hutt his back and is in pain. I hate that I can't do anything to make it better. And, I hate that he is stubborn and insists on going to work which consists on putting on about 50 pounds of gear supported by his back.



Every year we go apple picking at the best orchard. It is set on a hillside and the trees are not is such rigid rows like some orchards. Nor is is overly comercial. There is a pond and a barn with home made apple treats. This year we called to see when picking was to start and the woman told us they have no fruit at all this year due to the really severe frost we had this spring. What? No apples! This is not good. I spent the rest of the day thinking about how sad it is for the family who owns the orchard.



Last night Samantha and I met Kelly and the kids at Skyline for kids night. Samantha and Tara actually did the craft this time. Usually they say it's more for little kids. But tonight it was a coloring contest for which the winner receives 2 tickets to King's Island. I think the girls mostly did it because Danny couldn't and he really wanted to but it was for kids 10 and under. One of the mom's from Kelly's preschool has started coming to kids night. Her name is Tasey. I remember it because it is like tastey without the second t. Anyway, she sits at the table next to us and we all chat while the kids eat, play, or do what ever it is they do while we are trying to pretend they don't exist. Even though Skyline is fast food and all I really enjoy going each week and chatting with everyone. This week Ciera, our regular waitress was not there and Whitney thought my drink order was strange. Ciera always makes me some sort of really good concoction of lemondade and iced tea. She gets just the right amounts of lemonade, sweet tea and unsweet tea... but I just felt like a dork trying to explain it to Whitney. She said it reminded her of Jeff Lewis from the show "Flipping Out" on Bravo! Oh my God! I can't believe I've been compared to him, not sure whether to take it as a compliment or not. Whitnery did come up with a great drink though! At least I'm quite easily satisfied.



After Skyline we went over to Kelly's for a while. Last week Sean had been upset about something and I had promised him a ride, by himself, in my car. The kid never forgets a thing so this week I gave him his ride. Now that he is in kindergarten he seems so grown up. We had the most lovely conversation. He's such a cute kid. Samantha and Tara played for a while and Kelly, Tim and I sat outside on the fron patio and talked:


  • They had never heard the story about John being left in the Georgia room at his interview for the police department...

  • We talked about how Kelly never cries... you know, now that she said it I realize that I have never seen her cry...

  • We talked about nature vs nurture and the whole "no child left behind" topic...

  • We talked about all the news we read in the local paper...

And, I just have to write about, again how much I love Samantha's teachers and the school in general. Both of her teachers have the best senses of humor. I think it adds so much to the learning experience when it is fun.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Sunday was our 12 year anniversary. John had to work but that's okay. I met him for dinner. The rookie he is training was there too but that's okay too.

On Monday John and I went up to Samantha's classroom so that John could meet her teachers. He loved them as do I. We talked and laughed for about 45 minutes. Samantha said that's how they are in class as well, that they laugh a lot. We went up a little early and stood out in the hall and watched Samantha when she didn't know we were there. The desks are pushed into groups of 6 and Samantha is surrounded by boys. She said they are nice though. While we watched her she was siting at her desk chewing on the sleeve of her jacket. (She said she was listening to the story her teacher was reading.) Then one of the little boys leaned across the desks to talk to her, it was sweet. Oh, John got invited to come in for career day too. Samantha will enjoy that.

The Waffle House down the street on the way to school opened up yesterday. Yeah! On our way to school the sign still said: Opening Soon but on the way home it said: NOW OPEN. I got an email from Linda and she said my nephew is working there with his girlfriend. (I've never met the girlfriend.)

This evening we were outside with our neighbor, Skip. Samantha got a bean bag stuck in a tree and the guys set about o get it down for her. They tossed the level, the really long one, up there but that got stuck in the tree too. I ran in the house to get my camera but they wouldn't let me take a picture of it. Then Skip brought over a pole for painting and they got it down with that. We also have had an old Kroger bag up in that tree for about 2 years. John got out the ladder and Skip climbed up with the pole and got it down too. At first they had suggested I climb the tree... you're little, climb on up there... It so doesn't work that way. There is no way, short of being chased by a wiener dog, that I could get up that tree.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

John had school today so he left before Samantha and I got up. But, yeah, he will be home this evening.



It was another nice fall morning, crisp and cool, whenI dropped Samantha at school. I am so very greatful that Samantha does not cry anymore at drop off.5 years of that was plenty! She really seems to be enjoying 3rd grade, her teacher and her class.



Since it was the Jewish new year no one was in the office today. Ellen, Carla, Susie and Patricia were all off. That's only 4 people but it seemed like more. And, out T1 line was down all day so that made things interesting. I had been putting off doing PO's for over a month and today was a good day to work on them.


After work I got to school early so I could sit and read a book and enjoy the beautiful weather. Oh, it was gross, this guy pulls up to the curb in from of the school to pick up his kid from the mentally challenged program wearing no short! With these kids the teacher walks each kid out to their ride home and makes sure the get in okay. So... there he is chatting away with the teacher with no shirt and he was definitely a hottie dad. Kelly and I commented that the girls would just die if their dads did that.



Then it was time for pick up and I chatted with another mom. Well, I don't know if chat is the right word because what sh told me was pretty heavy. We started out commenting on this years drop off and pick up routine and she commented that she was glad her kids do not have to ride the bus. I agreed and told her I was glad that I am able to work only part time and am able to adjust my schedule around Samantha. Then she said she has been a stay at home mom for the last 9 years and how lucky she has been to be able to be there for her kids but... she said she didn't know what she was going to do because her husband is in stage 4 liver cancer. She said he has just months and she is trying to adjust to the fact that she will not have him around. How the heck do you adjust to something like that! She said she would have to get a job and then what would she do with the kids. My heart ached for her and I could not stop thinking about her all night.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

I can feel autumn in the air. This morning Samantha and I had a lovely walk up to school. The air was cool and crisp and we enjoyed watching the steam rise up from our steaming mug of coffee that we share each morning. I love fall!

Conversation on the way to school this morning:
Samantha: We had a substitute yesterday... her name was Mrs. Bitler.
Me: I wonder if she is related to Mrs. Bruney... Mrs. Bruney the kindergarten teacher not Mrs Bruney the 2nd grade teacher... because her maiden name was Bitler.
Samantha: But Mrs. Bitler's maiden name is Smith (Totally surprised she knew that!) so how could she be related to Mrs. Bruney?
Me: But if Mrs. Bruney has a brother and her brother married Miss Smith then they would be related because Mrs. Bruney's brother will always be a Bitler.
Samantha: Huh?
Me: See, Mrs. Bruney was Miss Bitler until she married Mr. Bruney... and Mrs. Bitler was Miss Smith until she married Mr. Bitler... so, Mr. Bitler, is possibly Mrs. Bruney's brother because Mrs. Bruney used to be Miss Bitler which would make Mrs Bitler Mrs Bruney's sister-in-law... get it?
Samantha: Well I know that they are related because Mrs. Bitler told us so... I wonder if they are related to the principle, Dr. Bruney?

We both laughed the rest of the way to school...


Every year I seem to go through an "I hate my job" phase. I hate these phases and am so glad mine is over for the year and I am back to loving the best job in the whole world.

And speaking of work... there is this cat that appeared on Monday and has been lurking outside our office. It's black and whit and has a little black mustache that makes it look like Hitler. And, it's a sneaky cat. Yesterday I went downstairs to use the rest room and it was lounging on the stairs. I picked it up and tossed it outside, went in to use the rest room, came out about 2 minutes later and did a double take... it was back lounging on the stairs. Sneaky little Hitler Kitty.

John was off yesterday. He made tacos for dinner and afterward we all went for a walk through the neighborhood. The house with the plethora of Pitt Bulls now has a sign out front stating: Warning Security Dogs. Yeah right, how's a dog in a cage going to provide security... I totally want to tack up a new sign that says: Warning Dog Fighting Dogs Locked in Cages on the Premises!

Monday, September 10, 2007


This evening we went to an antiques appraisal at the Town Hall. It was sort of like "Antique Road Show" on PBS. We took a French bayonet from 1881 and a gun we thought was from the Civil War. The appraiser said that the gun may or may not be from the Civil War. He said it is the right age but that a lot of men would just pick up their farm gun an go fight in the war so it is really hard to tell for sure. It was really interesting though. John and I were the youngest there by several decades. I sat next to a 91 year old retired veterinarian. He was awesome. He told me about a 27 caret star sapphire ring he has. He collects men's rings. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him. The appraiser talked about how the demand for sterling silver flatware has diminished because the younger generation doesn't want to take the time to polish it. And, one of the woman said that she still enjoyed stirring her coffee with a special spoon though. I think that sounds lovely. I plan on digging out one of the silver spoons from John's grandma's set and will have fond memories whenever I stir my coffee with it. That is my favorite part about antiques... the stories behind them.


On Friday evening instead of the concert in the town square Samantha and I decided to go to the high school football game. We had the best time and stayed until the very end. I was pleasantly surprised that Samantha was really into the game. At one point I asked her if she wanted to walk around and she said no, maybe at half time. And when I would look over at her she was intently concentrating on the game. I thought she would rather watch the cheer leaders or people watch like I was but no, she just wanted to watch the game. Plus, it was a perfect evening, not too hot, not too cold. When we got home we settled down on the couch to watch TV and about 10 minuted later it started pouring down rain. How's that for timing!

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Oh my... we live among crazy people. Between our neighbor having web cam sex with her European boyfriend and our other neighbor who is pregnant, in a custody battle with her ex and trying to get foster kids... wow, I feel normal. Maybe I'm not all that normal but just seem so in comparison... hhhmm.

This evening Ellen came over. She had never been to our house before so it was fun to show her around. When her youngest son goes away to college next year she ad her husband are going to buy a condo. So, I showed her a few places in town that would be nice. Then we went in to town and had dinner. Samantha had been so excited about going to dinner with Ellen. I thought it was sweet considering that Ellen is my friend and one would think she would find going out with grown ups boring. But, the last two mornings when she looked at the calendar she commented on how excited she was. She was also too sweet ordering from the regular menu. She looked at the kids menu and then seemed upset. When I asked her what was wrong she said she wanted chicken quisedillas and a salad.

This evening Samantha and I went for a walk. We saw Julie out with Cesar who is learning how to walk on a leash quite nicely. Julie said that Co-Cheese died on Saturday. That's sad. She also mentioned that the Shim is supposed to be out of the house soon. It's nice that they didn't get kicked out before Co-Cheese died. I wonder where the Shim will go.

Tomorrow night there is a concert in town that Samantha and I were planning on going to but Samantha said she would rather go to the football game. Maybe we can do both, we'll see.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Ah ha! I knew John would like the kitties! I caught him in the shower saying: "kitty say what"!

And I've figured out a way to get kids to stop saying things... just wait until they hear their parents saying it, case in point: John and I walking around the house all weekend... "kitty say what"... Now when Samantha hears it she rolls her eyes and begs us to stop.

This weekend, on Friday, John worked his regular shift and got home around midnight. Then he got a call at 3am to go in and work a crash. He was there until 4pm Saturday afternoon! I don't know how he works hours like that. I guess it might have something to do with him absolutely loving what he does. Mom always says Dad is happiest at work and I think the same thing about John.

I finished reading "Freedomland". It was a great book. Really well written. I love the way Price described things. So, I finished and then checked the guide for the movie channel and John and I watched it over the weekend. The movie was not good and I was disappointed.

On Sunday Tara came over and we went to the Labor Day Festival in town. It was a nice evening, not too hot and we found a great parking place right up close. They had a band playing Beatles songs. The girls asked what was with the bands outfits. When I explained that they were trying to look like the Beatles the girls said the girls said they totally missed the mark. The girls played a few games, darts and a mouse game where you put a quarter on a number and then this guy let a mouse out of a box and if it ran in the hole with your number then you won a prize. We felt bad for the mouse.

After the festival we all went back to Tara's house. The girls played and Kelly and I hung out and talked. Then when we got home Samantha and I settled in in the living room and watched TV. And, we could just see the fireworks from the festival. Samantha wanted to stay up until Daddy got home but we both fell asleep.

On Monday we went to the Labor Day parade. We got there early and laid out our blanket in a shady spot under a tree along the parade route. I sat and did some great people watching while John and Samantha went to play games at the Labor Day festival. Samantha played skee ball and won 5 stuffed snakes and a yellow stuffed dog. We had a BBQ beef sandwich and waited for the parade. We love parades but wimped out on this year's after 1 1/2 hours. Boy was it long!

We found a dead bird on our front walk. Gross. I wonder what that means... John said it meant someone was going to die but I made him take it back immediately. If it's something bad I totally don't want to know.

The new industrial sales rep starts tomorrow at work. I have this thing about not liking new people and have been trying to talk myself into not feeling this way. It's taken me about 4 months to stop not liking Mark because he was the new guy. It is just with in the last 2 weeks that I have come to the conclusion that he is a nice guy. Maybe this new guy will be different though because he is on the industrial side of things which I don't have much to do with. I wonder if Susan would be surprised that Carla hired someone so quickly...

The house next door, to the east, has been on the market for about 6 months and we noticed that there is a "sale pending sign" out. I am so curious. The people next door have been good neighbors. Actually we do not know them at all and have only spoken to them a handful of times. I suppose it's like that saying, good fences make good neighbors.

And speaking of neighbors... Jess came by this evening when we were out in the front yard. She said that they are having issues with custody. Her ex-husband's mother wants shared custody of the kids and even though she has no chance of getting it she is still causing all kinds of problem. And, her ex is not living up to their custody agreement. Listening to her tell all about things really made me thankful that we are "normal". She also told me something else but I can't write about it yet because I don't want to jeopardize it... but soon.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Friday night Samantha and I went to the ballet on the river front. And we sat by the river and watched the ires. We loved the boat with the people dressed all in black who would silently float in and put fresh wood on the fires. It was a lovely evening spent with Samantha.

Picture from the first day of 3rd grade