animal kingdom park

this park was less crowded, more relaxing, and the most superbly art directed of the parks. strolling through africa and dancing with an african troupe were highlights. the kids loved the dinosaur ride, but s was terrified by the bugs' life movie in the tree of life.

disneyworld--animal kingdom lodge

where to start? and where to end?

what a whirlwind of a week. what a busy vacation. in a nutshell, i don't think we've ever been as busy or as relaxed, and none of us wanted to come home.

disney is no longer a theme park, it's an experience. not just rides, but cultures, art, learning, exploring. we all took something different away from it.

the animal kingdom lodge where we stayed is phenomenal. the lobby, restaurants, pool, art direction (african) are unparalleled. the rooms leave something to be desired. small and un-kid-friendly. the best thing about the room was the balcony which overlooked a savanna filled with african animals.

the smartest thing we did? buy two mugs for $12 each at the snack bar that could be refilled with beverage of choice for the rest of the stay. hot coffee in the morning! soda for the kids! hot coffee in the afternoon! hot coffee in the evening! wahoo! and luckily there wa a fridge in the room so we saved $$ on food, too.

there was a great playground for the kids, too, and 'simba's cubhouse' where you can leave your kids for $10 an hour. totally worth it. all around are safari animals, waterfalls, hot tubs, etc.

veterans day

a day without school CAN be a fun day. REALLY!! take for instance my last post from halloween. the day off was fun filled, adventurous, happy. today was miserable, stress-filled and yucky. i did have a ton to do with company coming this weekend, but the majority of the stress was caused by my usually type B (but sleepdeprived) son. he was just crabby and ill all day. s was her usual contrary self, and jane was chewing the walls, just begging for a walk.

once i got the lion's share of the cleaning done, t and h went to get our friend joel (from london) at the airport. things calmed considerably, and i was able to squeeze in a shower and a walk. s wanted to sit in the stroller (at nearly 4 1/2 she's WAY too old) and i relented as it gives me a better workout. jane has been a much happier dog the rest of the day.

i took out a turkey breast to thaw this morning, planning on a pseudo-thanksgiving. t is on a low-carb diet, so all he would be able to eat is turkey. when he came back with joel, he informed me that joel is a vegetarian. ah, the best laid plans. one is all meat, the other is no meat. i can't win. they inform me that they're going out tonight anyways. c'est la vie, and i don't have to cook after a long long day of cleaning and fighting children. wahoooo!

after spongebob the kids are going straight to bed and i'm going to soak in a hot hot hot tub and read a book with a big cold glass of chardonnay by my side. now doesn't THAT sound nice???

Blogger for word

I’m trying blogger for word today in the hopes that it is more accessible than online blogger. Maybe I will write more if I can publish more easily, and LOOK! It’s capitalizing all of my bad lowercase typing. Does that take any of the ambiance away from my work? Also I’ll bet I can do a word count on each and every post and know how many words I write, say, per YEAR. I’m trying, really, I’m trying, to write more. That pesky old thing called life just keeps getting in the way. Have you ever noticed that too much living gets in the way of life? By that I mean, you spend all week running and running, doing a million gazillion things, both tedious and fun, but in a month you sit back and think… ‘what did I do last month? Where did the time go…?’ and it totally escapes you.

Okay, I need to do a quick note on Halloween as I am a parent to two small children and Halloween happens to be one of their two favorite days of the year. (now i'm back on regular old blogger. can you tell?) first, both kids had halloween parties at school last week. on saturday, dance class was halloween themed, and they could dance in costume. Sunday was long-overdue cleaning day, and t took the kids to target so I could toil all day at home. It was worth it… a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

Monday, Halloween, was also a teacher workday. Since the house was sparkly and the laundry was done, I decided to take the kids on an adventure. The paint-it-yourself pottery place was closed, so we went to the planetarium. Neither one of my kids had ever been before, so it was a brand new experience for them. h though it magical, s was a little fidgety. we walked around campus after that, and took time to eat pizza, then ben and jerry's. forgot to mention that in the spirit of halloween i had a blue wig with cat ears on. all day. there is a photo of me (and the kids) on www.chapelhillcomics.com from our stop there on the way home.

the kids got in their costumes after dinner... batman begins and the cat princess. they went on a hay ride first around the neighborhood and gathered some goodies door-to-door. then the neighborhood had a gathering at the community area with a bonfire and hot cocoa with s'mores. it was dark, confusing and smoky, but the kids were elated.

now the candy sits, uneaten, on the kitchen counter.... staring me in the face every time i walk by. 'resistance is futile!' screams the chocolate.

the rest of the week is a blur now, as i'm writing this on veteran's day. shows how far behind i am.

slow DOWN!

man, i almost got in a wreck leaving scarlett's school the other day. i was turning left out of the school (it's on a curve) and a huge oversized load truck came barreling around the curve, probably going over eighty. he bore down FAST on my bumper, and i was afraid he was going to hit me. i sped up, even though i was in a school zone, then turned off the road in to the front lot of the school, just to get out of his way and calm my jangled nerves. man, why is everyone in such a hurry?

i went out to dinner last night with four lovely ladies, and had to heed my own advice. slow down. listen to the stories of others. ask questions, understand. it's so easy in conversation to jump on the last few words of another's sentence. slow down, girl!

it just seems like we've been going and going and going. with the remodeling, the housework, the puppy, and the deadlines at home. with the pta meetings, the homework, the parties, the fundraisers, and the volunteering at school. with the birthdays, the appointments, the gym, the shopping and the playdates out and about. we need to slow the heck down! i sat and held my big baby girl this morning and watched a tv show with her, and just felt her warmth and kissed her head. i almost cried with the relief (after getting up hours earlier, running around to get h ready for school, cleaning up, etc.). i noticed for the first time that my daughter's hands look just like her dad's. when did i miss that?

i just need to slow down. i'm starting today. i'm doing crafts with my daughter. i'm going to h's halloween party at school. i'm cancelling half the crap i'm supposed to do in the next few weeks. i'm spending so much time living life and doing all the things i'm supposed to do that i've forgotten to enjoy it. just for today i'll try not to overachieve.

raw sewage

yep, RAW SEWAGE. what a post title.

about a week ago when my parents were still here, we noticed that the septic tank was overflowing into the yard. that's NOT good. the pump was running, so dad the useful thought quickly and shut it off at the breaker. a DAY later, at 8 pm, the guy showed up to "fix" it in the dark. turns out there was a rock in the impeller so it couldn't pump the s*!t out into the drainage field. the septic guy and dad tried to remedy the situation in the pitch black, but it wasn't easy. they settled with dropping a used pump down in so that we could at least use the toilet and shower. since then, we haven't heard back. i was just wondering what to do about the whole situation when the county septic inspector showed up. she told me all i never wanted to know about s*!t and it's disposal, all in the wonderful aroma of the stuff itself. she promised to call the septic guy and pressure him for answers.

what a life.

grassroots

as soon as my browser stops giving me massive amounts of annoying trouble with blogger, i'll post on this topic. promise.

YAY! i am back in business for a few minutes.

today was the last day of the grassroots festival and since it wasn't raining and our friends were playing, we decided to take the kids and frolic in the mud.

the never played at noon, so we skidded our way through the muddy parking lot in the trusty minivan to get there in time. usually my policy for sunday is that i go nowhere, see noone and do nothing. it's therapeutic. but this is a very special occasion, as the never are our wonderful friends. they did a short set today, since ari is away at college in boston. noah, joah and johnny are still regrouping as a three-man band, and doing quite well in such a short time. our kids are the littlest groupies, and even had on their tie-dyes to fit in with the hippies dancing about the stage.

in between shows we went to the food court. the kids shared a bbq chicken skewer, while i had chicken curry and veggie korma. tommy had an amazing falafel sandwich. i swear, that festival is worth it just for the food. to top it all off, we had homemade ice cream on still warm waffle cones. mmmmm!

we wandered over to the stage where woodwork roadshow was playing. noah(from the never)'s brother jones is a chip off the old block, and plays the double bass for this incredibly talented bluegrass band based out of wilmington, nc. i say he's a chip off the old block because their dad, snuffy, has played for many years with a band called the bluegrass experience. they played on saturday, but we unfortunately had to miss them. the kids played and danced, but s was having a "hurt" day, where no matter what she did, she kept getting hurt.

after frozen pizza and a big huge bubble bath, the kids are still going strong, so i'd better try to calm them enough for bed.

The Way Things Are Here In The South

first of all, am i the only one that has a running blog commentary in my brain? of course, i'm not sitting and actually typing, but the way i would blog my life or certain topics is constantly running through my head. i need to post more often and get the drivel OUT.

yesterday for lunch, t and i went to allen and son pit cooked bar-be-que, one of our favorite takeout places since the dawn of our move here almost ten years ago. however, we had never 'eaten in' at the 'dining room.' now, most folks in this country wouldn't even consider setiing foot in the joint. maybe folks in other countries wouldn't either, i don't know. but i digress. we walk into this dingy, low-ceilinged room with a sticky screen door that slapped shut after we walked in, and sat down under fluorescent lights at a red-and-white checkered plastic tableclothed (is that a word?? tableclothed??) table. i am instantly transfixed by the psychedelic effect of the lights and the checkers together, and momentarily am able to drown out the curious stares of the locals and daily customers. we ordered our usual-- barbecue plates (oh, pardon, bar-be-que plates) and sat back sipping our tea to wait. now this 'cue isn't the regular smoky red flavored 'cue. it's the eastern north carolina kind, which is pulled pork with a vinegar and red pepper flavor. it's close to heaven for a displaced mid-westerner by way of los angeles.

the people who came in after us get served, and we are still twiddling our thumbs, especially since we need to pick up s at preschool soon. turns out it was OUR food that was delivered to the nice folks at the next table, as they come over bearing the cafeteria-style compartmented food plates that belong to us. "d'dj'all order these here plates?" they asked (that's southern for did you all order these plates). why yes, we replied, and they set the food down in front of us. now, in most parts of the country (and possibly the world), this might be a faux pas. no one in their right mind would actually consider EATING the food that was delivered to another's table first. well, here in the south, particularly at allen and son pit cooked bar-be-que, we did. we not only considered it, we did it.

and that's the way things are here in the south.

aaaah, parents

there is absolutely no wiggle room when my parents come to visit. they get down to business fast, and keep their noses (and my nose) to the grindstone for the whole time that they are here. the result? improvements galore, making my life so much more streamlined. curtains sewn, rods hung, mowers fixed, garages cleaned, all the debris taken to the dump or the thrift shop. it's simply amazing what can be accomplished with two extra helping hands.

especially since i have my twice-yearly allergy headache. i've decided to fight this time-- with drugs-- but so far it looks to be futile. i'm still just as dizzy, nauseated and blinded by the pressure, no matter how many clarinex, nasonex, allegra or whatever i take. i'm just not a big fan of drugs, and this dilemma is supporting my theory.

t is in boston, hanging out with the blvd guys at the comic convention. on friday, the feature article about t was printed on the front page of the "life" section of the n & o. it was exciting, and fun. i want to share it with the world, but i'd be afraid to look like i'm bragging. i can't help it! my big boy is so talented. at least dr. k saw it and commented on her "famous" patient when i saw her friday for my parasthesias recheck. oh, and on that topic, i'm going for an mri in a few weeks to rule out brain/ nerve causes. i'm sure it'll come back totally fine, leaving us to scratch our heads as to why my hands and feet continue to tingle.

maybe i'll try going back to sleep now. after all, it is sunday, the only day i can "sleep in." whatever that phrase means when you have 2 kids and a dog! at least the sun is not shining directly into my eyes thanks to the lovely curtains made possible by my lovely parents.

on the madness of my son

so here is an exceprt from h's 6 "ishu" godzilla comic mini-series. this particular subplot involves godzilla's experimentation with wine. when i first saw this, i was on the FLOOR laughing. now, we know that he couldn't possibly be making a subconscious reference to his mother's 1 glass a night habit, don't we?

now, he wants to write a book about alexander the great and his horse, bucephalus. we'll see what insights into alexander's life a 6 year old will bring us. i don't think we'll be having him watch the recent colin farrell biopic for inspiration, either.

the kid is so excited about this weekend's retrofantasma festival of horror films at the carolina theater in durham. they're showing 'the monster squad' and he couldn't stop talking about that movie for DAYS after noah loaned it to us. i can't remember the other film they're showing, but any out-past-midnight evening for a 6 year old is very very exciting.

on the warped mind of my daughter...

i just wrote an entire post then lost it due to internet malfunction. this time i'll hit 'save' a few times before i post.

last night i was wondering where my daughter could possibly be, for she had been quiet far too long. if you are a parent, you know that this can be a very dangerous (or at least messy) situation. i found her at the kitchen counter, her new favorite place to play with the dangers of puppy teeth elsewhere. she had her 'littlest pet shop' toys all set up around her. now, if you've never seen these things, they are tiny bobble-head creatures and they are hideously ugly. the designers must have been attempting the 'they're so ugly they're cute' look, something like a cabbage patch kid. in my estimation, they failed miserably, because these things are just downright ugly. anyhow, my daughter must have been channeling christo, for she had mummified all of her pets in scotch tape. i was so baffled, i took a picture. what would a psychoanalyst say? probably that she's either a freak of that she's going to be a sort of process or performance artist. personally, after listening to her sing ALL the way through target yesterday, i think she'll be an opera singer. i was cracking up the whole time, but other customers didn't find her projecting her vibrato to be amusing. don't we always think our kids are funnier than other people do? anyhow, when we got home i played her 'opera singer' by cake-- one of my favorites-- but she was unimpressed. if it's not the soundtrack from 'annie' right now, just forget it.

tomorrow i'll ramble on the warped mind of my son.

hard labor

yes, i know labor day was YESTERDAY, but some of us are just getting to their blogs TODAY. okay, i haven't written since maybe FRIDAY, but i'll try to catch up a little. so much is lost along the way, but i simply can't get on every day.

saturday was another no-dance day thank goodness. we're back to the studio next week, and while the kids are excited, i'm not looking forward to over 3 hours of waiting. we celebrated the last day of saturday freedom with a water party, even though h is still feeling crappy. i filled the baby pool, the slip-n-slide, and some water balloons. i turned on the bubble machine and the kidz bop (ugh) and we licked bomb-pops and enjoyed the lazy day. that is, after the trip to walmart (ugh again).

sunday was catch-up-on-housekeeping day since i no longer have barb to take care of me. i did run into her and her daughters at walmart, though. they're splitting their time between richmond and here for a year. i can't imagine how tough that will be, but i know their roots are here, and it's hard to just up and leave.

labor day was just relaxing. we had an invite to go eat ice cream with the sanfilippo/vanfleet clan, but i didn't think h's runny nose would go over well with anyone. we stayed home again, which causes my brain to go ch-ching! when i think of how much gas $ we're saving. gas was $3.19 at the pump on sat, and there was a $50 limit. this is now a post-katrina world. what a mess, naturally, emotionally, politically. i wish we could do more than just give $ to the red cross.

today i sent h to school so he would not be counted absent even though i need to pick him up for a dental appt at 10:30. i won't take him back... it's too much more fun to play hooky. i though maybe the unusually hellish chuck-e-cheese's might be just the post-dentist ticket. he's already sick (c-e-c's is notorious for germs) and there won't be many school-agers there. i have to steel myself for the possibility. true grit, i'm tellin' ya.

saturday again

thursday ended up being a therapeutic day of quiet accomplishment. s and i took it easy all day, mostly played polly pockets. those things must have been created by a fashion frustrated mother. it's so much fun to mix and match polly styles, then give her a bag and shoes to match. she can go cruising to the salon in her cool hot-tub car, and chat on her cell phone. the only drawback is that the pieces are sometimes about 1/8 by 1/16 of an inch. when there is loss and heartbreak, not much can be done about it. the other ultra-cool website for moms and kids is the barbie.com paper doll maker. we've both had hours of fun creating, printing, and playing paper dolls.

the fun on thursday came when h got off the bus crabby, tired, and getting sick with a cold. ALREADY! seems it's going around like wildfire. so while t was still working in the studio on the new ea project, i put the crying and whining boy-child in bed at 7 pm. then proceeded to put s and myself in bed not long after. i let h sleep in before school yesterday am, which he probably needed. now, maybe he can recuperate from this itty bitty cold over the labor day weekend.

all this put me behind yesterday, which is always frustrating but a little nice. no race to the bus, race to pre-k, race to the gym and home to help t. helps me relax to just let cosmic forces sweep me along, nothing much i can do about it. so not much was accomplished before h got off the bus with his lovely girlfriend morgyn. man, those kids are 2 peas in a pod. it slays me. no wonder they're in love! but, according to h's diary, they will not kiss until college. so i have no worries. ah, young love! isn't it grand.

t went out with noah last night, i'm still not quite sure what they did (other than go to best buy for christy's birthday present) because t's still not out of bed. piglets and i walked jane around the block, thus de-energizing the lot of them. i let them watch tv kind-of late 'cause they were being so darn good.

busy, busy days

these first days after school starts are a little shock to the system the rigid structure and sheer quantity of things that need to be done just throws me after the carefree summer days! we'll get into the swing of it after awhile. but just for today (after freaking out getting all of h's preparations for school accomplished) s and i are going to have a home-girl day. chilling out doing girl-stuff at home. and maybe i can squeeze in some of that neglected housework, too. working in the studio for t when scarlett's at school takes away the time when i could do uninterrupted housework (in half the usual time, and without the interruptions and disruptive aftermath). i enjoy *actually* working so much, though. and it's such nice time with my husband. we can actually have a whole conversation!

jane is having tons of accidents, i really need to buckle down on the potty training. hah! i'll do it in my *free* time. she's so so so sweet, though, and is so happy to see each one of us every day. she even ate some of my seaweed salad yesterday, and i was so impressed. a little sushi girl, after my own heart.

so i ended up at the doctor's office on tuesday with parasthesias, the technical term for tingling in the hands and feet. we're trying to get to the bottom of it (i'm sure the diagnosis will be that i'm insane) but it sure is annoying.

time to go snuggle with my girls and watch tom & jerry with a steaming cup of fresh coffee.

jane

okay, so here she is. the child that i am (thankfully) not genetically responsible for. the all-american girl, born on the fourth of july, jane mary. isn't she cute? i can ask this without bias since she is not biologically mine. you can't ask anyone the same thing of your natural children or they will think you're insane. her favorite thing (so far) is a red yarn pom-pom. she loves kids, and took her first leashed walk yesterday. really i should call it a drag. very comical-- wish h had his video camera running. if it had been on, h would have titled the movie "janezilla 7: attack of leashota" or something equally as h-ish. no dance class today or next week, then we are back at the studio for the entirety of saturday morning. there's enough going on right now without dragging up to town first thing in the morning on saturday. i'm thankful today for being able to chill out! well, if cleaning puppy puddles is chilling.