It's on like Donkey Kong.

I've been letting my blog slip through the cracks of life.  When I started this little journey, I swore I'd be consistent...at least for the sake of Zeke.  I want to be able to look back and remember our times exactly the way I experienced them.  Pictures are great, but putting the memory into words?  Even better.  But, alas, life has gotten in the way.  It's the everyday that gets in the way, it seems.  Same old story.  I won't let it happen to my blog though.  Even though my life may not be that exciting to most, it's exciting to me.  It's fulfilling and happy and, yeah, sometimes annoying.  But if it weren't it'd be boring.  And for that reason, my blog will live, damn it! 

In the midst of all the "everyday blah-blah-blah", I've begun something new...just for myself.  Now that Zeke is in school all day (it seems sooooo long that he's gone each day), I found that it was time to figure out just who I was again.  I started job-hunting.  I found something that I thought would be fun...but really, I wouldn't have been compensated as well as I feel I deserve.  I searched some more.  And I searched my soul.  What did I really, really want?  I knew first and foremost, I still wanted to be Mommy.  That's my full time job until he's on his own.  I swore to his little tiny face when he was just a newbie that I'd always be there when he needed me.  And for sure, it's still my priority, gladly.  But, I knew I needed something else in addition to Mommy-ness.  Something to drive me, use my skills, and make me feel like a contributing member of society again.  Pauly and I talked and brainstormed and mulled.  And after much deliberation, I think I've sort of just hatched a new baby.   It's Beakers.  And Beakers will be awesome.  It'll be fun for me, fun for any kids that happen to benefit from a Beakers program, and fun to develop.  In a way, I'm pregnant again.  I'm starting to grow something new...something that has come from deep inside me and has been on my mind for a long, long time.  And I'll grow this Beakers baby into something great.  Just you guys wait and see.

Stay tuned.

Hey Ya.

What have we been up to?  Check out my new slideshow to the right...

Product Reviews

Being a hot mama blogger (ummmm...what?  did i really just say that?) has it's perks every now and then.  Certain people and companies want me (well, really, Zeke) to try their products out and give my opinion.  So, what it all boils down to is this:  Zeke gets a package in the mail every now and then, opens it in a very giggly manner, and plays for some undetermined amount of time with the contents of the package.  Now comes my job...I have to give feedback.  Did he like it?  Was it "dorky, mom"?  Was it yummy in the tummy?  Or was it REEEEEEEE-jected by my icky, picky 5 year-old?  Here are some results from our latest reviews:

Hexbugs:  um...hells yeah.  Let's just say the little mechanical critters are a go.  With Zeke and about 4 of his little friends.  They love them.  And really, they're just little battery-operated Legos, if you ask me...with a few plastic-y whisker/leggy things on the sides.  But, hey, the 5/6/7-year-old crowd thinks they're sweeeeet.  So be it.  Thumbs up for Hexbugs.

Nature Valley Granola Bars:  this one is simple.  He ate them.  He ate more.  And I was totally okay with him eating them since they were a healthy option to chips, cookies, candy, etc.  I love a product that gives back to the community when I spend Pauly's hard-earned money on it, so here are some nice details about what Nature Valley will do for all of us if we save our wrappers:

Since the dedication of Yellowstone as the world’s first national park in 1872, America’s parks have been visited by hundreds of millions of people who marveled at their beauty, found peace in their wildness and shared their experience with others.



However, these national treasures need care and support to help them flourish. Years of underfunding and environmental problems such as pollution and climate change are threatening our National Park system. To help preserve our national parks and ensure their existence for generations to come, join Nature Valley® and Patricia Shultz, internationally best-selling author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and travel industry leader, to help support the National Parks Project. This year, the National Parks Project will focus on restorative work at Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Biscayne National Parks.



To get involved, simply purchase a box of specially marked Nature Valley Bars and mail in your wrappers to the address below:



National Parks Project


PO Box 450328


El Paso, TX 88545-0328




Nature Valley will not only recycle the wrappers, but will also contribute $0.10 to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) for every wrapper received (up to $600,000 in total). To learn more about the National Parks Project and how you can make a difference, check out PreservetheParks.com today. And don’t forget to visit Nature Valley on Facebook or Nature Valley on Twitter to “Like” or “Follow” the brand. Facebook fans can enter to win a trip, as well as share photos and videos of their summer vacations. All of these sites will also feature updates on the restoration projects, as well as videos and pictures from “National Parks Project” volunteers.




There are many other ways you can enjoy the natural beauty and diverse wildlife of our national parks this summer while supporting the cause. The easiest thing you can do to support the national parks is to experience them for yourself and share them with your family – remembering as always to “take only pictures and leave your footprints.” So grab your backpack, your boots and some granola bars and go soak in the scenery.

Nature Valley provided Zeke (me) and one of my loyal readers a super-nice prize pack of goodies, including some tasty granola bars, a copy of Patricia Shultz's book, and an awesome water bottle through MyBlogSpark.  Yippeeeee...we all really enjoyed the package!

Stay tuned for more reviews as Zeke submits his opinions....

And never look back.

No, I'm not apologizing for the looooooooooooooong gap in posts.  I've been busy, people.  It's been summertime.  Summertime means fun time and that equals no time.  To post that is.  But now things are coming to a screeching halt, so I'm back.  Tons of goodies have happened, so I'll do my best to summarize:

1.  Pauly, Zeke and I went on an awesome trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas to celebrate my BIG birthday.  That's all I'm going to say about just how "big" my birthday was.  For now, we'll call it my 23rd.  But the Caribbean was amaaaaaazing, the water was gorgeous, the relaxation was primo, and I'm ready to go back.  I love collecting those stamps in my passport...

2.  Zeke started school.  Full time school.  Big time SAD for me.  I'm still not sure if I'm actually coping or just muddling my way through the empty days.  All I know is that I horribly, terribly, ridiculously, insanely MISS my baby boy.  I wonder all day every day if he's okay, if he needs me for anything, if he's hungry, if he's thirsty, if he has to go to the potty, if he's too hot, if he's too cold, if he needs a tissue, if he needs a wet wipe, if he bumped his head and needs an icepack (very possible), if he wants me to read him a story, if he wants apples and peanut butter, if he wants to go to the park to ride his Razor Scooter, if he wants to play Club Penguin on his laptop, or if he needs a Band Aid.  Mostly I worry that my baby just needs his mommy to give him a kiss and tell him that he's the most fabulous kid on earth and that he's so smart that when he grows up he could most likely rule the universe.  Five year olds need that.  And five year olds need their mommies.  So why is he in school all day?  Not sure if that was a good decision on my part yet...(insert lots of sobby, wet tears here).

3.  My dove breeding days have slowed.  I'm down to one singular dove.  After a series of events including the sad euthanasia of the "wacky-legged dove", I'm left with the original mommy dove of the flock.  She's a gorgeous ring necked girl who has become quite the talker.  I really do love her but fear that she's lonely.  It's that teeny, tiny nagging fear in the back of my mind that could very well lead to yet another round of dove breeding if I cave in and get the little mama a "friend".  Oh boy...

4.  Zeke is playing football and I'm not sure I like it.  I'm happy that he's enjoying a new team sport, but the mommy side of me wonders why they call it "flag football"?  The kids are tackle-crazed and forget to go for the flags about 90% of the time.  And to top it all off, they don't wear helmets.  :(

And that's about it.  Or at least what I can recall in the haze of what was a super nice summer.  I enjoyed each day with my boy, with our friends, and with my hubby.  I'll always kinda' remember this summer as the "last one"...the one of innocence for Zeke...the one before he stepped into the cold, cruel, crazy real world of the 9 to 5 grind.  There's no going back for him now.  But somehow, I don't think he really minds.

Nancy + Albert = Love

I want a cat.  Ever since we catsat last month for Kitty Cat Princess Precious Nellie, I've decided that our home can handle a feline friend.  So, everyday at some point in the day, I hop on Petfinder.com.  Pathetic, I know.  I need to stop the Petfinder madness or get an intervention or something...but until then, I'm a Petfinder peeper.  I've seen tons of kitties on there that I've loved and lost...a Sphynx named Mrs. Bigglesworth was my biggest love...but now I'm loving this guy.  He's very handsome, don't you think?

Really? I'm really talking about Ripa?

Yeah, surprise, surprise...I'm going to give a thumbs up to Kelly Ripa for her latest project: "Splits for a Cause" with Electrolux.  I'll be honest and say I'm not ususally a K.R. "fan"...but this time I'll get in her corner and give her a hand...anyone who is supporting cancer research in such a public fashion COULD possibly make it to my oh-so-hard-to-get-on Friend List.  :)

So, here are the deets:

Banana Splits For A Cause + Win $25 American Express Gift Card!


Kelly Ripa has teamed up with Electrolux in their Banana Splits for A Cause campaign to support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund this Summer.
Here’ s the deal and how you can help: Right now you can visit Kelly-Confidential.com and create your own virtual banana split. For each day that you create a banana split, $1 (up to a $750K maximum commitment) goes to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund through September 7, 2010. Once you create your yummy virtual banana split you are also entered to win one of the $50 daily prizes and the GRAND prize of a new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux.

But here's the TOTALLY AWESOME BONUS PART of this coolness:  my little bloggity-blog here (aka Three's Company) is also giving away a $25 American Express gift card to one lucky reader on behalf of Electrolux. To enter to win just leave a comment letting me know that you’ve created your virtual banana split and what toppings are your favorite!!  Yeppers, it's that easy.  And who wouldn't like to (pretend) make, (pretend) eat, and (pretend) lick the dish of a virtual banana split???  All the fun and NO calories!! 

RULES: This giveaway is open to US residents, void where prohibited by law. One entry. The deadline to enter is July 23, 2010 11:59 PM EST. One winner will be chosen at random. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

*Disclosure: We were given a $25 American Express gift card from Electrolux to write about/participate in this campaign.

 

Summering it up.

True to form, I've got a lot to cram into this post as I haven't written in a while. It seems that the nice weather pulls me away from the computer screen and out into the vast world of funness. It's all good though, I'd rather be worn out to the bone from enjoying the warm weather than have carpel tunnel from updating my bloggity-blog-blog with boring crap about the kid who picked his nose and wiped it on the shopping cart in front of me in line at Wegman's yesterday. Dontcha think?



Now to cram...stay focused and buckle up...this is gonna be mind-blowing:

So, since the end of May-ish, we've:

-ended preschool for Zeke. He's officially bound for Kindergarten and I'm officially devastated about it.
-Zeke and I have noticed the return of Petey and Rusty our neighbor horses to the pastures down on our corner. SOOOOOOOO happy to be bringing them apples and carrots again!
-the Slip & Slide from Aunt Susan is open for business on our hill in the backyard.
-Zeke finished up t-ball and received his first ever trophy. He brings it everywhere with him.
-we've been to about a zillion birthday parties and Zeke bounced so hard at one he bloodied his nose. Now that's what I call a party....
-we've been babysitting Kitty Cat Nellie for about a month and have completely fallen in love with her. I don't want to give her back even though she does bite me really hard. It's her way of showing love, I think.
-Zeke started and ended Tae Kwon Do simply because I don't want to be running him over to classes 3 and 4 times a week in the summer. I'm not about to commit to that madness.
-swim lessons for 2 weeks almost did me in...but Zeke can now swim in the deep end with confidence so it was all worth it.
-we celebrated Father's Day by taking Pauly out to brunch. We had a nice time and I hope he realized how much he means to us...
-we had a quick visit from Pop Pop Ebs and had the opportunity to see family that we don't often get to visit.
-we daytripped to the mountains again to visit Cookie and Pop Pop. We swam in the lake (well, they did...I don't do natural bodies of water), followed up by a trip to their pool. It was a fun, tiring day.
-we've found some new hiking trails that seem pretty good and have been hiking and biking our old favorites.

And to top it all off, we just booked our summer vacation/my birthday celebration in the Caribbean!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! Can't wait to go!

This weekend is July 4th weekend so it's time to go scout for fireworks. We're gonna' be "that family" that lights off our own fireworks in our yard. Should be very trashy and awesome. Pix to follow.

Summing it up.

The warmer weather is here, so things are heating up as far as our "fun stuff" goes. Here are just a few of the things we've done over the past 2 weeks:

-Hershey Park
-a trip to the beach, complete with miniature golf and amusement rides on the boardwalk
-hikes in the arboretum
-t-ball every Saturday morning
-Grandparents Day at Zeke's school
-Day Before Memorial Day trip to the mountains to visit Cookie and Pop Pop at the lake
-Memorial Day trip to Uncle T's house to cook out, make cotton candy, and play in the pool
-play dates in the park
-play dates at moonbouncey places
-end of school picnic in the park
-Kindergarten Orientation at Zeke's new school
-violin lessons
-gymnastics classes


Check out the pix for a visual buffet...

And then it was dark.

I turn off street lights. A lot. Not on purpose...it just happens. I've read up a bit on this phenomenon and there are crazy theories out there that say I'm extra specially electromagnetically charged or that perhaps I'm an Indigo adult. Both of which are possible, I guess. I tend to just really like my Dad's theory though: he thinks I'm just such a highly spirited, extremely bright person that lights find the need to actually DIM around me when I come near. Phffffft...if only. But, it's true - street lights really have shut off many times when I have driven or walked under them. It has freaked me out in the past but lately I've been thinking that maybe what Pauly says is true: it's just a sign that I'm on the right path. His theory is murky, at best, and even with much prodding over the years, he won't really go much further into it. He just mumbles on about the "right path" stuff a lot.

Now, after watching the series finale of Lost the other night, the "right path" stuff may just be starting to feel a bit better to me. I know that sounds completely ridiculous. I mean, how can a TV show really matter? It's just...entertainment, right??? I've always thought so. And I fully admit that along the Lost path, I became a semi-hater at times. The show got wacky, sidetracked, and loopy in my opinion. Then again, I was always watching it around 10:00 at night when my nerves were shot and my kid was probably still awake and playing his drumset much past his bedtime. Way too much ANNOYING adding up there for me to really like anything. But, in the end, the finale spoke to me. The fact that the Lost friends gathered in the end to travel together for one last eternal journey? That moved me. It jived with my system of beliefs. Because, you see, for me, I can't just move around this world thinking that this is it. That the lady who gives me my change at Wawa is nobody other than a change-giver. I believe we experience each other for a reason. If even for one minute of one day of our lives. And in that minute, I want to be able to leave an impression on that Wawa lady. I want to look at her and smile and say "thanks" and mean it. I want her to think "what a nice girl" when I leave. I want her to feel something other than sick of her job after she has given me my 36 cents back at the end of our bread and milk transaction. And I want to do that every single time I move in this life. Every time. Because every time is an opportunity. An opportunity for me to fill up my circle - the circle of people that will wait for me at our final destination. I want that circle to be full of faces that I remember. Ones that I know I've smiled at before...just to try to let them know that they mattered. That's the path I'm on. And I guess that's why street lights go out. Because I'm on the right path. Thanks Pauly. I think you may be right after all.

So?

Have you ever noticed that when you walk to your car in a parking lot, more times than not, the owner of the car next to you will be getting into their car RIGHT NEXT TO YOURS??? Strange but true. Check it out next time you go somewhere.

Just my random thought of the day.

I only have vowels.

A little friendly competition is good for the soul. At least I thought it was. Until, that is, Pauly and I started playing Scrabble together on our iPhones. You see, the battle commenced about a week ago when Pauly got his new iPhone. I've been telling him FOREVERRRR that he needed one, couldn't live another day without one, and was basically a knuckle-dragging caveman toting around the cinderblock he referred to as his cell. Ridiculous. So, finally, he upgraded. And now I've got him hooked on an app that allows us to play head to head Scrabble...day and night. It's simply delicious. I've triple-word-scored him, I've double-letter-valued him on a "Q" (holy moly, that's got to be worth 20 points right there...), and I've slam-dunked a game or two slapping down a few words that I never even knew existed. All the while, the two of us are usually sitting right next to each other, iPhones in hand, fiercely fighting for the next Big Move...all without moving an inch. If that's not modern day togetherness, I don't know what is.

Outside lite.

So lately Pauly and I have really been working on getting healthier. We've been watching our diets and exercising much more frequently. It's been great - we've both lost around 8 or 9 pounds and have become more fit because of our efforts. Besides all of the blah, blah, blah stuff about the weight loss junk that most people would normally say, I've found more things that have made me happy about my recent health sitch. First, most of our exercise has been taking place outdoors. This..is..great. I've never really considered myself "outdoorsy", but I'm totally NOT an indoorsy type either. I'd say I'm a girl who loves to be outside, with her makeup on, hair looking nice, and wearing a pretty decent get-up. I'm okay with getting a bit dirty, but I'll have nothing to do with getting super buggy, overly muddy, too sweaty, or, of course, killing/fishing/catching any type of animal. But the types of outdoor activities we've been doing all fall nicely into my Rules & Regulations, so it's been a blast. We've hiked, walked, rode and yes, wallowed through a few muddy trails. We've found nice new places to exercise and revisited some old haunts that are now back on our list of top places to frequent. All along, Zeke has been right by our side, covering every mile like a little trooper. He hikes and rides right along with us. It's actually pretty amazing the miles he has covered with his little legs. But he too just loves it. And along with an ever-so-slight loosening of my waistband, I'm feeling oh-so-much closer to my boys. I love spending this time with them. There's no sound of television in the background, no music, not much chattering. It's just the three of us out there...on the trails...enjoying each others' silence.

Schools and shindings.

The past few weeks have been madness for me. Since my current title in life is "Parental Technician", I've engrossed myself in all things Zeke. In doing this, I have been swallowed up by tons of, what I consider, HUGE decisions concerning his life. Of course I check in with Pauly here and there, since most of these decisions require financial backing and well, if I must disclose all truths, I guess he really is the Treasurer of this little Kane Company I'm running here. So, ideas get run by him, funding is secured, and I (in reality being the CEO & President of the corp.), funnel the money into what avenues I see fit. The biggest choice that had to be made recently was regarding Zeke's schooling. We finally decided where he fit in best and yesterday we received word that he was accepted. Whew...big weight off my shoulders. I now know where my kiddo will be next year and am thrilled about the prospects of him being able to settle into a great school for the foreseeable future.

The other all-encompassing item on my list was Zeke's 5th birthday celebration. Most years it's pretty easy-peasy stuff: call a moon bounce place, secure the date, get a cake and some pizzas and all kids involved are thrilled. But, alas, I'm raising a big-thinker here. Zeke wasn't content to have the typical bounce-o-rama gig this year. He wanted animals, live animals, and he wanted them in his own house, for him to pet and cuddle and feed. Oh. Live animals? My mind clicked into full gear and I searched for petting zoos. Once I started jotting down all of the details, I realized the scale of his request. Ummmm, what if it rained? I was completely fine with a yard full of farm animals (in fact, I was like a kid in a candy shop...), but the petting zoo owner told me that if it rained she could simply move it inside if I had a big enough room. Wait. What??? Like, inside my HOUSE? I'm uber-cool with having my dogs, my birds, my frogs, hamsters, fish, etc. hanging out in our digs. I kinda' draw the line at farm animals though. Even I...the lover of all things feathered, furry, and fishy...have my limits. This is my house we're talking about here, folks. Don't mess with a woman's abode. So, I had to arrange this whole soiree and pray for good weather. And pray. And pray. The day of Zeke's party arrived to a mixed bag of weather. It was to be sunny in the early part of the day, but rainy in the latter part. We were having the party at 2:00. Is 2:00 early or late??? I wasn't sure. But, to my distinct pleasure, the sun was out, the yard was gorgeous, and the animals were aplenty. Zeke was glowing with delight at all of the animals hanging out in our own backyard. We had tons of red and white balloons and tablecloths, hay bales scattered around, and cowboy and cowgirl hats for the kiddos. All of the kids got to feed and pet the farm animals and they each got turns taking a pony ride around our yard. It was so cool! We battled a big number five pinata and won - tons of candy rained down on the crowd - and followed it up by distributing goody bags that were actually red bandannas stuffed with all kinds of treats for the guests. By the end of the day we were exhausted and partied out - and just as we got all of our tables and chairs into the house the rain started to come down. And I was just fine with that. I snuggled my five-year -old up in my bed and we watched the video of his party that Pauly had shot. It was a great way to end the party day.

Happy birthday Zeke. You're the light of my life, kiddo.

I don't think God minds if I do..

It's quiet here. Well, except for the chirping and cooing of the ten thousand birds I've accumulated over the past 3 months. But, aside from the bird noises, it's quiet. And it's been quiet for a while. Zeke went to test out his new school. He's there for FOUR WHOLE HOURS. That's a long time in my world. Usually I drop him off at 12:30, get home by 1, then leave to go back and get him by about 2:30. So, by the time I'm done catching my breath, it's time to get back in the car, basically. But today is different. Today I'm clock-watching. I'm nervous and jittery. And I'm even dreadfully low on caffeine. The jitters are of the natural sort. I just want my baby to be...okay. He was brave when I left him. He wiped his tears and joined the other boys. He actually looked like he was on the brink of having fun. I, on the other hand, walked out of there thinking that every step I took away from those school doors was a major step away from my little boy. A step further from being able to help him if he needed it, a step further from reaching out and hugging him if he felt lonely or scared, and a step further away from completely kicking someone's ass if they hurt a hair on his head. But that's just the "Philly Side" of me coming out (Mare, you know what I mean...). I just feel very far, far away from Zeke right now. But I also feel like maybe he's in a good place. A place filled with love and learning and mostly, God. And that's just how I want my kid to grow up.

But I'm not above kicking ass if need be.

Absence makes you love me more. I think.

I'm not EVEN going to go into making excuses for why I'm so behind on posting. I've been busy. Just busy. I'll post pictures to keep my crazy, enormous fan base up-to-date on our lives over here at 3's Co. But for now, here's a quick synopsis of what's been happenin':



Zeke and I have listened to and met Matthew Ryan on the 10 Show, Pauly and I had a great date night at the Tin Angel in Philly when Matthew Ryan played a show there the same night, my family and I celebrated my Mom's birthday at Bucca di Beppo with a ginormous pasta dinner (yum!), Zeke's doves have procreated YET AGAIN making our total count coming in at a whopping 6 doves, Zeke still enjoys his hot tubby at night with bubbles and pretends he's Bubble Boy (see picture), all three of us enjoyed a quick trip to the gorgeous Longwood Gardens, Zeke and I joined Mom Mom Mare at the College for a show with Taiko drummers and dancers from Tamagawa University in Japan, we're in bigtime planning mode for Zeke's 5th birthday party which has taken on the theme of Backyard Barn - Welcome to the Kane Zoo (complete with travelling petting zoo and pony rides), Zeke went to the dentist for his semi-annual checkup and his big boy teeth are visible via x-ray but definitely not ready to come in yet (guess he'll be looking like a hockey player for another year or so), I'm on a mission to lose a few lbs. so by default that means Pauly is too, we haven't yet decided on a summer vacation - I'm torn between going somewhere amazingly exotic/educational or just jumping on the ridiculous Disney cruise and schlepping around in flip-flops and sunglasses with Mickey Mouse for a week (Zeke's pick, of course), we've searched high and low and contemplated schools for Zeke for Fall '10 and think we've found the perfect place for him, Zeke took a week of swim lessons and all he got out of it was a disgusting bacterial infection on his arm requiring oral antibiotics (I was one angry momma), and finally I've continued to clean up after all these pets I've somehow acquired over the past few months. Lucky I'm not opposed to poop patrol or this house would drown in it...

As you can see, it's been eventful. And that's just a sampling of the happenings. Check the pix for now and I'll try to post more often. But don't hold me to it - the warm Spring air keeps me away from the keyboard now.

yeah man.

Cool things:

1. Zeke and I are going to be audience members at the 10! Show tomorrow morning. We're specifically going because Matthew Ryan is the featured musical guest, and well, we both loooove his music.

2. The baby doves are about 50 - 65% the size of the mommy and daddy doves now. I feel an overwhelming sense of success knowing that I (along with the parents) brought new life into the world from egg to hatchling to "kid" as Zeke calls them now. Very cool and very inspiring to see how nature works.

3. The auction project for school is complete and although it's certainly no masterpiece, it has 12 little faces shining out from it that are precious and beautiful. When I finally looked at the finished piece I realized that it's not really how an item "turns out"...it's how much meaning the process held. Although I was semi-stressed getting this done, I did it out of love for Zeke's class and his school. They've turned my baby boy into quite a confident, smart, and caring kid. And for that I'll volunteer my time anyday.

4. We saw the sun this week and it felt like heaven. I can sense that spring is on it's way and with that comes tons of time outside and fun in the parks, yards, beaches, etc.

5. Zeke wore his first pair of shorts today. There's no going back, baby.


Uncool:

1. I bought a $50 bottle of stuff from the Clinique counter and all it's doing is making my face breakout. How VERY uncool. Obviously, for $50, it really wasn't supposed to do that.

2. My office space in my house is a total wreck. Can't...function...in...disorder.

3. I'm on a diet.

4. I'm treadmilling like a freak and it's only making my joints ache worse. Way, way, way uncool.


So that's it. Cool/uncool list is updated. More to come after tomorrow's insanely awesome day of Matthew Ryan-esque-ness. LOVING IT. If you've got a brain in your head you'll go check out his music. It's (as my older brother used to say when he was about 14 and I now say just because I like it...) deeeeeskins. Awesome music from an awesome songwriter. And then go tell a friend.

Who's your girl???

I used to have music playing in the background of my bloggity-blog-blog. When I really thought about it, I realized that maybe, although I think my taste in music absolutely ROWCKS, some people may not enjoy having my tunes pumping out through their speakers as they peruse my postings. So, I stopped the tunage. But to be honest, I miss hearing all of my faves when I travel down Memory Lane looking at all the pix I've posted on here. I used to love hearing my all time fave - Matthew Ryan - as the soundtrack to my blog. Alas, I must take into consideration that some of you poor folk may be cubicle monkeys - trapped in a bone-colored four by four cell all day at work - and your bossy-poo may not appreciate hearing Matthew Ryan or any of my other chosen artists screaming out of your laptops at your cube neighbors. So, it's quiet here at Three's Company for now. And Zeke has noticed. When he pops in to check out my blog, he always asks "where's Matthew Ryan, mom?" I just tell him that MR is on "quiet time" for a while. That seems to satisfy his 4.5 year-old curiosity. So, you can see, that Zeke too has an appreciation the Ryan-esque vibe that this piece of technology has offered in the past. So much so, that he has consistently asked me to bring him to a concert. Now, I can't do that, but I've scored something pretty darn close for my little buddy. I've gotten us two tickets to the live taping of the 10! Show in Philly for next Thursday. The super-awesome part about these tix is the fact that Matthew Ryan will be featured live on the show! Zeke is stoked. He's telling everyone he's going to see Matthew Ryan in concert. Funny how he has skewed the picture to fit his own little fantasy world. But hey, I'm cool with that. As long as he remembers his uber-cool Mommio who landed the tix when he looks back fondly on this gig!!!

I didn't even know I was expecting.

Life has sprung anew in our household. The doves have successfully hatched their eggs! The whole process of these tiny little dove eggs has been insane. The first clutch of eggs didn't survive. My nephew surmises that the temperature of the cage didn't stay warm enough to allow the developing embryo to live. It was a sad day when Zeke and I realized that the mommy and daddy dove had given up on the first two eggs. They left the nest they had so carefully guarded for 18 days. Just left it high and dry. Zeke and I left the 2 eggs in the nest for about 5 more days, unprotected, but nothing happened. That's when I knew the mission would be fruitless. We removed the eggs and planned on a burial, but of course we had to know first if the eggs contained anything other than, well, yolk. So, the dissection began. I let Zeke get some tweezers and break into the egg. Sadly, we saw a tiny little dead dove. Same with the second one. We said a little prayer, Zeke told God he could have the baby doves as His pet, and we buried them (in the toilet since it's about -90 in the region right now...). The good news is that about 2 weeks later we found a new clutch of eggs in the nest (actually it's the doves' foodbowl, but, oh well...). We took good care of the eggs this time and kept them warm with a tiny space heater. Zeke watched and waited and about 17 days later.....TWO BABIES APPEARED!!! The babies are about 12 days old now and they're precious. The mommy and daddy dove take very good care of them, providing them with all the nourishment they need, and within about 2 to 3 weeks the babies will be out and about in the cage on their own. Which leads me to the ultimate question: what do I do with all of these doves???? And what do I do if little Miss Mommy Dove decides to keep on producing little chicks????????? Ummmmm, I'm all about first-hand biology experiments and everything, but I can foresee this deal becoming an overpopulation situation. Anyone want some doves? They're cute and they're free. As long as Zeke and I get visitation, that is.


So, other than populating our region with doves, Zeke has also been going to a science class on Tuesdays. He loves it and looks forward to it each week. It has mostly been about animals, so I think that could be the major attraction for him. I'll have him in veterinarian school before Pauly can sink his finance/accounting fingers into him. :)

That's it for now. I'm not feeling overly wordy, so I'll post a photo diary of the baby doves over to the side. Have fun browsing our little babies!

Subzero.

Going in and out of my driveway is currently like competing in an Olympic sport. It's a luge track, I tell you, long, narrow, and extremely icy. Add to that, the fact that I'm driving an SUV in which I can barely see over the steering wheel, and I've got issues. Issues that occur over and over and over and over multiple times a day as I run here, there, and everywhere just doing my life. Because you see, "doing my life" means that I'm jumping in and out of my car and driving up and down the luge track that was once my driveway, about 34 times a day. It's irritating. The snow that was, for a few glorious days, fun and pretty, is now icy, annoying, dirty, and ugly. I'm over it and I'm ready to move on to spring.

Zeke has enjoyed the snow though. I guess all this whiteness is a dream come true for a 4 year old. Snow days, sledding, hot cocoa and pizza parties with friends...what's not to love? Today I put some food coloring in a squirt bottle and let him "paint" the snow. He had tons of fun. After he emptied the squirt bottle and I told him it was time to come in (mostly because I was shivering and freezing and sooooo extremely ready for a hot cup of tea), he stomped in angrily and told me he wanted to keep playing. I told him that was enough outside time for today and we'd do more tomorrow. As I shuffled him upstairs for some snuggle/tv time, I asked him to carry up a few books that needed to go into my bedroom. My hands were already full of folded laundry, so I needed an extra hand getting the books up. Well, I guess he was irritated and tired and cold and whatever...but he blurted out on his way up: "WHY ARE YOU SO HELPLESS?????" Ummmmmmmmmm......what? Why am I so helpless? Like, when was the last time I asked you for EVERY SINGLE TINY THING I NEEDED TO LIVE???? What the heck is with this kid? Amazing how quickly he forgets where his next meal is cooked.

So, that's it for now from here. Dealing with the snow, hating the frigid air, but enjoying time with my baby and my hubs. Come on spring...

i'll take the gray, hooded one.

0nce again, it's time to play catch up. shocking that i haven't posted in over a week. i'm in a funk with posting life news at the moment, i guess. when i lost my friend to cancer a month ago, things got strange. i started thinking that my little posts about going to the park or to a museum were RIDICULOUS compared to the fact that my friend is now no longer even walking the earth. but slowly (like snail's pace-slowly), i'm figuring out that it most certainly is the news about the park outings, the moonbounces, and the museum trips that are worth posting. these are the days, my days, with my kiddo. and they need to be logged, jotted down, photographed, remembered. this is a life i'm working on here...a little person i'm growing...and he deserves to be blogged.

so, based on all of that supreme knowledge, here's what we've been up to:

-every tuesday morning, we go to science camp. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. love it. last week was baby animals week. helllllo.....what more could a kid want than to start his day with an hour-long class about baby ANIMALS. sweeet.

-the carpenters and painters are finally finished in our den. it looks really awesome. now i've slammed pauly with the hard facts: i can't live without new furniture in the room. the old stuff doesn't match and won't work. sorry. so, to make a long story short, the new furniture is supposed to be delivered on wednesday. woman wins.

-but, another g.d. snowstorm is supposed to hit smack dab in the middle of my furniture festivities. the snow is supposed to come in hard tuesday night through wednesday - directly in the middle of my scheduled delivery. woman may lose. temporarily. still a big ew for woman.

-on a sad note, my little chi-chi timmy is coughing more and more each day. his heart is beating hard in his chest and i feel like i'm watching him slip away each day. he has congestive heart failure and is doing one day at a time at the moment. i love my timmy. he was the perfect addition to our little family 11 years ago when it was just pauly, otto (our first chi-chi) and me. timmy is a smiley little creature with the most beautiful colors i've ever seen on a doggie. the caramel colors around his face are delicious. the browns on his back are gorgeous enough to make me want to go brunette. and the white fur around his neck is so soft that i call it his "bunny fur". i can't imagine saying goodbye to my tim-tim. he's my sweet, sweet baby boy. i really pray that i can face whatever is in store for me with my pup. i pray and pray and pray. because i love my pups so darn much....

ugh. so that's it. a bunch of incomplete sentences, terrible grammar, and no capitalization. but that's about all i can muster in the middle of february with snow all around and 2 feet more of it on the way. spring isn't even a blip on the radar and i find myself only wanting to wear heavy, hooded sweatshirts so i can pull the hood up tight over my head. maybe i'm trying to stay warm in all of this white mess....or maybe i'm trying to drown out the sound of reality on the horizon. either way, i just want to go on wearing my hoodies for now. :(

Happy Birthday (to me).

This week is the week of The Great Hatch. Now, for those of you who aren't following my waaaaaaaaay exciting life on Facebook, let me fill you in (60 Cent!). About a month ago, Zeke convinced me to buy him a pair of doves. We had stopped in a pet store to browse (what a retarded idea, knowing my propensity to bring home all things cute...), and that's when we saw the doves. Zeke asked and I obliged. Pauly had no idea they were here until he heard the coo-coo-cooing and realized something was askew. Now, Pauly will ALWAYS say no when asked if we can adopt a new pet. I guess it's the gaybird "responsible" side of him surfacing. Buuuuuttt, when faced with the notion of actually kicking out an animal that has already been brought home? No waaaay will he do that. That's when the tough facade cracks. He, like me, sees the sweet soul of each little creature and simply can't abandon them. I guess that's why I married him in the first place. If he hunted or smoked, I never would have EVEN given him a second look. But anyway, the doves are now here and are part of our brood. One thing I hadn't bargained for when I brought home these sweeties is the fact that they're a breeding pair. Yep, they're ready to populate all 4 bedrooms of my house and possibly even the man-cave with little dove babies given enough time. As I type, Diane (the female) is sitting on her first pair of eggs, anxiously awaiting their hatch. So, I've dubbed this the week of The Great Hatch. It'll be our first experience with hatching. Our first experience watching new animal life come into the world. And our first experience watching it from the comfort of our own home. I have to say...I'm like a kid at Christmas.

Contractors and co-pays.

In the spirit of my Carpe Diem attitude lately, I've decided it's time to spend a bit of money. If we're doing the whole "full disclosure" thing-a-ma-jig, I guess I should say I'm spending more than a "bit" at the moment. But, it's worth it. I'm renovating an entire room on our first floor and it's beginning to take shape into exactly what I imagined. Here's the deal though: one of the carpenters working for us just had a baby. Awesome, right? Yeah. But here's the rough part: he was recently laid off from his full time job - and this was after buying a new home to start his nice new family life. I've been so rocked by the total sadness of this guy's situation that it hurts. He's a super-nice guy, hardworking, quiet...a simple, quiet man who is now searching high and low for work because he's one of the many catastrophes that's happening as a result of the economy taking a nosedive. This is the first real example I've experienced of the crappy economy. I've read about people losing their houses, their cars, their businesses in the newspapers. But to hear that this guy has a 2 week old baby and no health insurance??? I'm stunned to silence. And that just doesn't usually happen.

I'm lucky to have what I have and be where I am. I'm lucky for so many reasons and maybe for even meeting my carpenter. He has made me realize that small things - things like a $15 co-pay - are things for which to be thankful. Because his co-pays may take him years to payback.

Grab the ball and run

I've noticed something very strange about life: it keeps on truckin'. And, whether you're in it or you're out...it keeps on moving. The sun rises the next day, everyone wakes up, has their caffeine hit, and proceeds with their day. This has shocked me into a morbid reality lately. The reality that I'm kinda' disposable. I mean, not in a depressing/I-want-to-slit-my-wrists kind of way, but in a way that shakes the cobwebs out of my mind and makes me realize that life must be lived...and NOW. I can't simply auto-pilot through my day, counting down the hours until it's time to crawl back into bed. It won't cut it. I need to grasp it. Observe it. Make it a teachable moment for my kid and even for myself. I need to LIVE the hours of my life. So even if I'm just trekking to the park or to Chuck E. (crappy) Cheese, I'm gonna' grasp it. For the sake of the friends who aren't here and wish they were - even for just one more sunset.


~In Memory of Shari~

Silenced too soon.

I'm troubled tonight in a way that goes beyond words on a stupid blog. The deal is: a friend of mine died. There it is. Pretty blunt and out there, huh? Well, that's how I feel about it. She and I were quite close at one time...but our friendship was interrupted by cancer. And yeah, that's cancer with a small "c" because it just doesn't ever deserve a capital one. Once my friend started battling the disgusting disease, our time for long phone chats, dinners at Bucca, and spur of the moment pizza dinners when the hubbies were working late just seemed to vanish. Suddenly her time became filled with simply surviving. I, along with her amazing core group of friends, supported her and prayed for her, but it seemingly wasn't enough. This amazing, vibrant, fun, vivacious, creative, loving friend/mother/wife is just gone. And tomorrow we bury her and the hope for her cure. I can't stand the thought of tomorrow and all that it stands for. Because tomorrow means that it's for real: my friend is no longer here to talk to, email, call, read her blog, or simply laugh with. And it's the laughter that I'll really miss. That laughter was contagious and big and loud and good. The kind I think I'll have to wait for a lifetime to hear again.

Jam of the Day | Matthew Ryan - The Wilderness

Jam of the Day Matthew Ryan - The Wilderness

Posted using ShareThis

It took a decade to create this list.

Haven't posted in a while. I think my blog is mad at me. Sorry, sorry, it's been too insane to stop and download photos or even get a thought down in here. But here's the scoop: tomorrow school starts again for Zeke and that means it's the official end of the holidays. I'm so sad about that. I'm not ready to move into a new year, let alone a new decade. I'm procrastinating, dragging my feet, and feeling sappy about things that are moving too fast. Before I know it, June will be here and my baby will be on summer break. I hate how time is flying by. Grab it, hold onto it...it's all so fleeting.

So, my friend Missy over at The Fox and the Crow summed up her decade with a pretty mind twisting list. I'm stealing it and repeating here on my blog with my own decade memories, hoping that she doesn't mind the thievery:

Best Day: the day I gave birth to Zeke
Worst Day: I have to agree with Missy, 9/11/01

Best Decision: to adopt our third dog, Simon
Worst Decision: to allow Nixon (a family dog) to be adopted out

Best Realization: that I WAS meant to be a mom, after all
Worst Realization: that I probably wouldn't be able to fulfill all of my career goals

Biggest Hope: that I make the best decisions regarding Zeke's education
Biggest Fear: that the new Lupus drug, Benlysta, won't pass FDA approval and my Lupus will get worse.

Best Year: not sure, but '09 has been pretty good.
Worst Year: 2001. 9/11 made me realize how vulnerable we are.

People I can't live without: Paul & Zeke
People I can live without: dead weights in my life

Best Fashion Find: long, shawl collared sweater
Worst Fashion Find: long, shawl collared sweater (love 'em, but they make me look even shorter)

Fashion Obsession: OMG, purses, of course
Fashion Hate: yeah, I agree with Missy, UGGS. And I'm not ashamed to say that I wore a pair for 10 minutes back in '08. What was I thinking?

Best Food/Drink Find: Ty-Phoo tea from England
Worst Food/Drink Find: Hawaiian Pizza - McMahon made me try it and I tasted bacon for hours.

Food/Drink Love: Tacconelli's pizza
Food/Drink Hate: any food with meat and any drink with milk

TV Love: Jockeys, Lost, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bridezillas, Jersey Shore, Big Brother
TV Hate: Two and a Half Men (I hate most of the Sheens. Emilio seems okay based on the fact that he changed his last name, seemingly disassociating himself from the other Sheen bozos).

Internet Love: petfinder.com
Internet Hate: Twitter (don't waste your time telling me that you're about to take out the recycles. I'm not about to care.)

Best Development: Zeke learning the nuances of all of the Nancy/Paul jokes and when to interject the appropriate punch lines
Worst Development: Timmy's (my 2nd chihuahua) heart condition

Best Investment: our current home
Worst Investment: BOTH of the old Volvos we purchased thinking we'd drive them for 50 years. No such luck.

Best Travel: England
Worst Travel: Philadelphia (it's not really "travel" but it takes us about 30 minutes to get there and it seems to irritate me EVERY time.)

Personal Empowerment: being on the verge of 40
Personal Struggle: career deprivation

Best Accomplishment: Zeke and my marriage
Worst Failure: I've lost faith in the Catholic church.

How I Started This Decade: unsure
How I'm Ending This Decade: confident in myself as a woman, loved by my family, in love with my boys, hopeful for a healthier future, determined to find career fulfillment, kinder to the animal world, and on a mission to educate people about the importance of respecting animals even if you don't choose to love them.


Happy 2010 everyone. May it be peaceful and filled with love.