Around the World in a Minute

A trip of a lifetime.

I really got choked up watching these videos. They are a result of a project from director Rick Mereki, director/producer Tim White, and actor Andrew Lees as they traveled through 11 countries in a little more than a month. 38,000 miles later they have produced three videos telling of their experiences.

I was fortunate to travel to South East Asia for a few months after college. It was certainly a trip of a lifetime for me. Even though I wished I could have kept going, I felt an obligation to come home. I don't know why. I was young, able and had no real commitments. Now that I'm older and have many real obligations and commitments, I fear I will never see and experience parts of the world I dreamed of going to.

So for now, these will have to do. What an amazing trip this must have been. I'm so thankful I stumbled on these beautiful and inspiring videos. Hopefully, the world will some day welcome my boys when they are ready to venture out and experience what I have missed.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Never Too Sleepy for Sports

We've been battling with night time potty training for some time now. It's really become an onus for me, because I'm the one who has to wake Bii up and drag his fanny in to our bathroom a couple of times a night. Like his Daddy-O, he's an incredibly sound sleeper and he just can't wake himself up when he needs to "go". Our pediatrician assures us this is normal and tells us not to worry; he'll out grow it in time. (Daddy-O had issues until he was 10 or so... sigh)

The trips to the bathroom are particularly funny though. He is most asleep on our first trip somewhere around 10:00 pm. He trips and stumbles as I waddle behind him, holding him up and steering him away from the trash can and to the actual potty. Occasionally, while sound asleep, he'll catch an invisible pop-fly and throw the ball to first to complete the double play. Sometimes he'll talk to me: "Did you see my touchdown pass Mama?"

I was watching the Stanley Cup Final in our bedroom last night before bed. When I got up and hauled his sleepy butt in to our room, he walked past the television and without skipping a beat said, "Hey look Mama! The Bruins are up 3 to nothing!"

The kid eats, sleeps and pees sports.

Stop This (F*ing) Ride - I Want to Get (The F*) Off!

Lately, we've been on a roller coaster ride. An old, unstable, wooden monstrosity that feels like it's going to come tumbling down any minute and crush us. Perhaps a bit over-dramatic, but I don't deal well with things I have no control over.

Daddy-O has been (somewhat) silently suffering with hip pain for, get this, TWO months. He finally agreed to see this doctor - who suggested and x-ray. Low and behold, the x-ray showed some concerning "lesions" in his hip joint. Up next: a CT scan, but not before a looooong-ass weekend of worry. Scan complete, and we wait two days for the call. I'd like to point out that Google is not always your friend when you have too much time to kill with an uncertain diagnosis. The unspoken C-Word loomed heavily in our house like a mustard gas. Long story, short; it's not cancer. But it's really not all that much better. He's got some pretty serious shit going on in his joint and he meets today with an Ortho-pod who will, hopefully, have a good plan for reducing his pain. But it looks like joint replacement is in my Love's future. (He's pretty pumped though, about some day being known as The Bionic Dan! At least his sense of humor hasn't dulled.)

On top of this, Daddy-O's work environment sucks. He can barely make it to work without throwing up. Will he have a job today? The stress is too much - especially for someone whose tolerance is already being tested. There's an atmosphere of dread and doom: One false move and you're history. Nice environment.

To add to all of this, Tuesday was the anniversary of my mother's death. It's only a day, but it was the worst day of my life. It gets me every time. Sucks me in and drags me down; Chews me up and spits me out. God, I miss that woman.

I'm a big girl. I can handle it. I know there are others out there who have it SO much harder than we do. I count our blessings every day. I just need to bitch and groan sometimes and today's the day. Sorry. But thanks for "listening".

xo

Snort

From The Queensland, Australia newspaper The Morning Bulletin

It's The Little Things...

1.) Two dry little boys this morning = no sheets to wash

2.) Sun, sun and more sun with promises of temperatures near 40 tomorrow

3.) Free museum night

4.) A perfectly ripe avocado for breakfast


Counting my blessings and praying my husband can find something positive in his day too...

SnOMG!

Super Cool

And Unto Us...

...a snausage was born?

funny or sacrilege? Happy Holidays Ya'll!

Partly Cloudy

He limped in the room, clearly upset. One moment ago he and his brother were playing (nicely!!) in the living room. In the blink of an eye he was crumpled and distraught.

“Mama, I don’t want to go to school tomorrow…”

He dove in to my bosom, sobbing.

“What is it Goose? What’s going on?”

Tomorrow is Tuesday and that means Gym Day. I don’t get it. He’s the most active kid I know. He loves every sport and is particularly good at them. He wakes in the morning asking if we recorded last night’s game. The minute we get home from school he asks if he and Daddy-O can throw the football. He's non-stop.

But he doesn’t like Gym.

He insists that nothing’s wrong. He just wants a day at home with Mama.

We get down on the floor and talk a bit and it becomes a little clearer; they play a lot of tag in gym (he’s SO outgrown tag) and he really doesn’t like running the obstacle course…

“You know Goose, there are a lot of things we don’t always like to do, but we have to do them anyway. I don’t like to have to do the dishes every day, but I have to or we'd get sick. I don’t always like to do the laundry, but then you’d be the stinky kid no one wants to play with. (tiny giggle) And you might not enjoy running the obstacle course, but you know what? It may not seem like it now, but it’s getting you conditioned to be an even better football player.”

“Really?” He perked up a bit.

“Of course! You know how you have to make quick decisions on which way to move your body? It's just like the Running Backs you’ve been reading about. They have to be able to move fast and change direction in a split second. If they weren't able to move so fast, they wouldn't be so important to the team.”

After reading another chapter of his Football library book with Daddy-O, he snuggled up and slept soundly.

This morning he woke with his usual excitement. Our little talk last night seemingly cleared the partly cloudy outlook he had forecast for today.

“Can we go to school yet Mama?”

“Soon Goose. Soon. Let's have some breakfast so you have lot's of energy for the day.”

"OK!"

This kid really is pure sunshine.

Morning Ritual

We've had a morning routine going for a couple of years now.

We get ready to go, brush up, hugs and kisses all around. The boys strap in to the car and roll the windows down. Daddy-O stands on the front stoop and waves good-bye.

From the back seat they call...

Olii: "Daddy, there's a skunk on your head!!"

Daddy-O feigns shock and horror, hands on head, shaking about...

Bii: "Dad! There's an alligator in your pants!!"

Daddy-O does a frightened, over the top dance trying to find said alligator...

Sometimes multiple rounds ensue until we drive off. Big grins all around.

A similar chorus began as we pulled out the driveway this morning, but ended with an extra bonus:

Bii: "That never gets old"

You're right Goose, it doesn't.

More Outta the Mouths of Babes...

"Mama, how many more goodness does it take to earn those Zhu-Zhu pets?"

His Idea of Heaven

At the grocery store together, Bii noticed I was buying two different kinds of potatoes. Curious, he asked why. I told him one was a white potato that I would use for a salad and the other was a baking potato.

"Oh Man!! A BACON potato!?!"

Another Day In Paradise

God, we're lucky to live in Maine. And even luckier to have a boat!

We didn't get stranded at the Fort this time. DaddyO dropped us at the beach and the boys and I explored while DaddyO tried, but didn't catch fish. He did pick some lovely fresh mussels which we brought home and steamed. Yum. It was a perfect summer day and it wasn't even officially summer yet.

Bii starts round one of summer camps today, the official start of summer. Happy Solstice!!

Really?

Kindergarten graduate? Say it ain't so Baby.




Congratulations Big Guy. We're so proud of you!

Awesome Romance

This totally makes me smile...



And this song has been stuck in my head for weeks now... and it's SO awesome!!!!

Transported

I've been caught up in too many thoughts lately. Too much going on. Too much stress. Too much negative crap clouding my way...

Driving home from work yesterday (in the million dollar car...) I found myself lost in thought again. It was a very strange afternoon: Dark rain clouds combined with the ever present Quebecois fire smog created a surreality I only wish I could paint. My mind wandered as I entered a hazy section of the road.

As I came through it, a cool breeze blew through my open window clearing the fog in the air and my head. I gripped the wheel and for a moment found myself transported to Route 73 North on the approach to my home town. The roads were wet from a sudden downpour and I swerved to avoid the frogs that were ever present in the road after a storm. A simpler time. A beautiful place. A ride home to sit on the porch and talk with my mother and watch the clouds lift up over the mountains.

And as fast as it came, it was gone. I wasn't in New York. I was on my way back to reality. But that short trip soothed my soul and gave me strength to move forward again.

Mama's Little Helper(s)

O-Wine

The Rock and The Effing Hard Ass Place

I knew the situation was bad when Daddy-O called and said, "Look, I really need for you to hold it together and not cry this time. We have to make a decision".

I've been crying non-stop for over a week now.

Screwed. That's what we are. My car had a major problem that the dealer "repaired" last September, but it broke again.

Well, thank our lucky stars the parts are covered under warranty! Yep, that's roughly $7.95 of that $1030.81 bill.

The new fix is going to cost about $4K.

We've been battling with the dealer and the manufacturer all week but they keep pointing the finger back at us.

I've been driving a rental all week while we try to sort out the options (Fix? Trade? Torch? Seriously, if I wasn't such a "good girl" we would set the damn thing on fire.)

It doesn't make sense to trade it (they wouldn't give us what we owe on it anyway) and then have a new - higher - car loan on another used car.

Looks like we'll be investing in a shiny new engine for this lovely piece of shit. (Oh yay! More credit card debt!!)

I'm usually a "count your blessings" kind of gal. This one has really worn me down. But I'm not out. Yet.

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

While enjoying a lazy Sunday morning snuggle in bed with the boys, the conversation drifted from yawns, to snakes, to trips to the beach, to family, to life, to death, to Mema.

We talked about how even though my mother is in Heaven, she is always with us.

As he curled up in the crook of my arm and draped a leg over me, Owen looked up, so innocent...

Owen: Mama, is Mema in your belly?

Mama: No Silly, she's in my heart.

Owen: No Mama, I think she's in your belly. That's why it's so big!

Off to the treadmill for Mama...

It's Time

You'd want me to be stronger by now. But even after 5 years, the pain is still so strong. But it's time though. I promise you I will be stronger from this point forward. I love you and miss you every day.