when you cut your own hair...

every time i cut my own hair (which is every time my hair gets cut)
i cut it an inch or two shorter than i intend to.
what gives?
these are the perils of being your own hairdresser i suppose.

the good news is...hair grows.

4

back to normal + updates

life is finally getting back to normal.

after all of the morning sickness and family events this spring

we are now faced with a gloriously open calendar.

it feels good.

matt

matt went to grandma ahern's funeral and did a wonderful job singing. many accounts came back to me via facebook saying his song was wonderful.  the entire family was reunited at the funeral...minus me and the girls.

 

matt came into town last night at 1 or 2 am to find his wife pretending to wait up for him, but actually sleeping like the dead on the couch while the tv blared on the bravo channel.  he woke up this morning, showered and off to work while me and the girls still slept.  i have told him before what a perfect opportunity moments like this are for a good, old-fashioned, call in "sick" day, but alas, he is too noble.   

emilie

my bleeding stopped mid-week while in boston and my nausea is almost gone. i am now a "new woman" and have been organizing the house and dreaming up craft projects.  i am now 17 weeks along and our baby is the size of a green pepper (why do i love those baby size/food analogies so much?).  "little quatro" is also starting to make him/herself known by light kicks to mommy.  only three weeks until we find out the gender. yay!  i spent the "single mom" weekend well enough, but had to get the kids out of the house and to a park every single day or we may have killed each other.

ella

got her third report card of the year and has shown improvement in every single area since the depressing first and second report cards.  she is now only slightly behind the average and i have high hopes that over the summer we can catch her up to be on equal footing as second grade starts in the fall.  at the last parent/teacher conference her teacher told us she qualifies (and very much needs) summer school.  i agreed whole-heartedly...until the paper came home on friday informing us that summer school costs $250!!  wha? isn't that part of public school?  and shouldn't it be free as long as she qualifies as being in need?  now i have no idea what to do.  money is the worst.

evangeline

eva started art lessons two weeks ago and is loving it.  she is attending the chester county art association.  ella has begged to join in, but for now we are letting this be eva's thing.  i feel soooo guilty that we basically ignore this kid because she is succeeding and low-maintenance while her older sister needs sooooo much help with her school work these days.  i felt eva needed a special class to shine in and feel special.

bianca

bonkers took daddy's absence that hardest, constantly wondering where he was.  she has been ultra-emotional this week as a result, one minute being her usual happy self and the next dissolving into tears because i moved the ketchup bottle an inch to the left at the dinner table.  

she has developed a bad cold and has been hacking and sniffling the weekend away.  i did catch her performing a wild rendition of "twinkle, twinkle, little star" yesterday while standing on her "stage" (the bathroom hand-washing stool).  classic bonka.  please to enjoy...

(click HERE to watch in YouTube)

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Boston 2013: Day 7 & 8

- - -  THURSDAY, APRIL 18  - - -

On our last day before traveling home we went to the Kids Museum of Science in Boston. Traffic was fine and we got there without any potty emergencies.

This science museum is wonderful! We were there for a few hours and I feel like we didn't even come close to seeing everything it had to offer. We started in a projects room where the kids engineered their own toy top.

There were tons of fun exhibits and experiments to do. 

There was even an engineering challenge which Evangeline won quickly!  Holla! My kids are geniuses.

There was an awesome playground inside that all of the kids loved.

But the big winner of the day was the Butterfly Room.  Oh. My. Gosh. It was completely enchanting.  We had to pay, like, $10 for our family to go in, but I told Matt I would have paid $50 just to go in there myself.  It was so cool. 

Bianca was a little freaked out at the random flight patterns and unpredictability of the butterflies.  She spent a lot of time pointing angrily and giving the butterflies the no-lips face.

Butterflies even landed on Kirsti and her daughter Sophia.

It was so cool I decided I needed a picture of this magical moment.  Guess who made it kind of hard?

That evening we had a Bake-Fest-5000 with the Calls.  We made Grandma Erekson's Gingersnaps as well as her Date Balls (pictured below). We also made my Healthy Double Chocolate Muffins.  All were a huge success and super delicious, but even more fun was spending time in the kitchen with James and Naomi (Kirsti's oldest children).

- - -  FRIDAY, APRIL 19  - - -

Today we bid a sad goodbye and traveled home to our fabulous friends and hit the road.  This was the day of the Boston lock-down during the manhunt and the circumference of lock-down was widening.  When it was just 15 minutes from the Calls' house we hopped in the car.

We got stuck in traffic in New York City.  It took hours to drive the highway between the Bronx and Manhattan.  

When we finally got out of NYC our kids were starving and so we decided to visit the White Castle. We are all White Castle virgins and I wanted to see what all of the fame was about.  We stopped at the White Castle in Newark, NJ of all places (not the classiest city ever).  They were really delicious little burgers. I am a fan.

As soon as we crossed the border into Pennsylvania Ella began sobbing.  She was so sad to be leaving and just kept crying about how much she already missed the Call family.  I promised we would go back sometime soon.

It really was a fantastic vacation and I will always remember it! 

5

ten years

today chachi and i celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary.

he is 2,200 miles away to sing at sweet grandma ahern's funeral.

i am at home with the three kids and a very messy house.

but isn't that what marriage is about?

when we were engaged matt said to me,

"i can live without you, but i don't want to."

some might find this odd and un-romantic, 

but i think it the sweetest sentiment ever.

of course, we can all live without each other.

people lose spouses, fall out of love, 

are separated by war service 

or jobs 

or illness 

ALL the time.

matt and i can live without each other, but we wouldn't want to.

we want to spend a life together, 

good times and awful times included.

and that is what it's all about.

not just a legal or moral obligation to be together,

but a true desire to be together.

because we love each other,

but also because we like each other. fiercely.

happy tenth, honey-ham.

i love your guts.

7

Boston 2013: Day 6 (this is a long one!)

- - -  WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17  - - -

We had planned on visiting the Boston Commons on Tuesday to ride the Swan Boats, but it was closed.  We called ahead and found out they had re-opened, so we decided to head into Boston for the day.  But, before we even got into the city, we had a crazy-bathroom-debacle, in which I became a Super-Mom.

We had driven 20 or so minutes to the city's edge when Evangeline mentioned she needed to pee.  Our GPS said we were a mere 8 minutes from arriving at Boston Commons, so I told her to wait, we would arrive in no time.

Then a sudden right turn appeared that we were supposed to take. The turning lane was jammed so Matt decided to keep going and we would turn around in a block and take the turn then.  Oh man...madness ensued.

The coming blocks were all marked "no turn" and the GPS re-routed us far from the original path.  Soon twenty minutes had passed. Then thirty. We were still way off course.  I had forgotten all about the pee plan until Eva announced from the back that she had peed in her pants a bit.

"How much?" I asked.

"Ummm...42." she answered.  Awesome.  Very helpful.

We had just entered the edges of the city center.  Store were starting to pop up on the streets and we were in a full-on traffic jam. We sat in the same place for at least 10 minutes.

( Me, annoyed by traffic...and by my husband for missing the turn )

When we had inched forward enough to see an open business I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I grabbed Eva and jumped form the car, crossing traffic and running to the sidewalk, sprinting down the street to the open Korean Dry Cleaners.  I darted in the door and asked for the restrooms.

"We don't have restrooms that open to the public." said the flustered Korean lady.

"Then my kid is peeing on your floor and it's happening...NOW." I replied.

The Korean woman silently pointed at a white door.  We rushed in, peeled down the panties and Eva went.  I have to say, I cannot believe a child's bladder could actually hold that much liquid.  She really needed to go.  We finished (no hand washing) and darted from the store.  It had taken less than a minute, but when we emerged the traffic, which had been at a dead stop for ages, was suddenly moving.  We looked where we had been parked but the van was gone.  I looked up the street and there, three blocks up, was our van with Kirsti's van behind it.  And, most damning of all, the left turn signal was on in preparation to turn off the street entirely.

Bad-rest-be-gone I grabbed Eva's hand and screamed "Run, Eva! Run!"  We sprinted down the streets, crossing cross roads while barely checking for traffic.  I could see the light change and the car begin to inch forward in the left hand turning lane.   When we were finally on the same block Is aw that the front van window was open. I began screaming at full voice, "Matt! Open the Door! OPEN THE DOOR!!!"  

We cut across the lanes of traffic while Matt struggled to open our van's side door, but the van was in Drive and it wouldn't open.  I arrived at my door, flung it open and literally threw Eva inside, climbing in behind her.  I shut the door and we made the left hand turn.

It took me a full thirty minutes to stop panting and heaving.  

-    -     -     -     -     -     -

In my naivete I thought the city would have basically returned to normal since Monday's attack. Well, I was a fool.  Everywhere we drove flags were flying at half mast, which was expected, but I didn't expect all of the men.

As we began driving towards the center of Boston we saw police men....and more police men...and SWAT teams...and National Guardsmen....and guns.  A lot of them.

WE continued to try to reach Boston Commons, but encountered street after street, being guarded by men in heavy suits and holding weapons in front of street barricades.  Finally, we made it to the Commons.  After that torturous ride we decided there was no going back without riding the Swan Boats.

It was a beautiful day!  The park was gorgeous. As we walked down the beautiful park paths we also walked past Police Tape, armored vehicles and men fully garbed in protective gear, holding massive guns.  I was afraid of taking a photo with my camera. I imagined snapping a shot and then encountering...."Ma'am! I'm going to have to confiscate your camera! You cannot take photos of official US armored vehicles!"  But this is exactly what the men in the park were wearing...and holding...

( img src )

And we saw this exact same vehicle parked on the park lawn by the Swan Boats...minus the men pointing guns, it was just parked there.  These are moments and scenes I will never, ever forget.  It was very surreal.

( img src )

Despite these external factors we had a glorious day at the park.  The Swan Boats were free that day in honor of the recent occurrences.  We had a lovely ride which was so relaxing and fun.

After our ride we visited the statues commemorating the book "Make Way for Ducklings".  I still can't understand why there isn't a stand by the statues with people hawking the books for way too much, because I totally would have bought one.

( me and baby bump riding the mommy duck & the obvious duck-lips shot )

We ate lunch at the Ear of Sandwich cafe in the park and it was great!  When we finished the kids played a wicked game of red Rover...and that's when I realized what a bloody and accident-prone game that is.  It's pretty much guaranteed that someone is ending up in tears from a hurt wrist or from falling over.  They still had fun though!

-     -     -     -     -     -     -

That night Kirsti and Daniel watched our kids and Matt and I went out to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary (which is actually occurring on April 26th). We had seen an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives recently which showcased Rino's Italian restaurant in Boston.  We headed there.  We got on the wait list and headed across the street to their bar/appetizer restaurant to wait.

( So in love and so sunburned )

We ordered waters and the Torretta. It was grilled eggplant stacked with fresh mozzarella and homemade red sauce. Baked and topped with pink pesto. It was sin on a plate. Yum!

When it was finally our turn to go to the restaurant I ordered Chicken Parm (my fave) with a side of freshly made Fettuccine Alfredo and Matt got some chicken, mushroom thing with a side of Gnocchi. My Chicken Parm was just okay. Nothing special.  One notch above Olive Garden. My Fettuccine Alfredo was tragic. The homemade pasta was over-worked and too thick and the sauce was watery.  Matt's food was great, but his Gnocchi was, oddly, too big.  it kind of wrecked the whole Gnocchi experience.  If we went back to Boston I would move heaven and earth to go to the bar and get a full order of the Torretta.  It was amazing.  But skip the restaurant itself.

While we ate we got two texts with photos from Kirsti while she watched our Bianca and her Sammy (both 2&1/2)...

( Busted! )

After dinner we headed to another Food Network recommended place for dessert.  Flour Bakery in mid-town Boston. 

Oh man...the raspberry bars...I still dream about them.  Delicious.

2

Movie Review: 42

★★★☆☆

Recently Matt and I went on a double date and saw the movie 42. It's the story of Jackie Robinson and his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey.

It was fine. Entertaining, but not fantastic. I wanted it to be in the vein and tone of "The Natural", but it was more like one step below "Remember the Titans". I very missed opportunity in my opinion.

This is a serious and important topic. But it was given a Disney movie treatment which heavily dumbed it down and reduced its possibilities to lines on an inspirational poster.  This came complete with a score right out of the Steven Spielberg playbook entitled, "Using Intrusive Music, Swelling to a Crescendo, to Illicit Audience Response: A Beginner's Guide".  But I could have excused the score had there been any meaningful dialog whatsoever.

For instance, we become aware mid-movie that Jackie Robinson has received many, many, death threats against himself, his family, and his young son, but the film never addresses this important aspect of the story with Jackie or his wife. His wife is written like an ultra-supportive cheerleader...made of cardboard. Never once do you see the vital and important discussions between husband and wife about what this historic move means to the safety of their family and their child. Instead, Jackie's wife gives him a dutiful kiss and a pep-talk at every opportunity. While she may have been supportive in real life you can't tell me those conversations never happened and were not an important part of this journey.

Similarly, Jackie's teammates and opposition are portrayed with a similar one dimensional treatment. Right down to the under-acted trading of one of his opposing teammates ("Oh darn! I don't want to get traded to Pittsburgh! Not Pittsburgh!"...audience chuckles with satisfaction.) and the slight smile on Jackie's face as he leaves the locker room. There was no rage. No developed or truthful dialog between characters on this highly-emotionally-charged subject. And isn't that what is truly at the heart of this story?

There was no bad acting or bad execution in the film....its flaws started at the very beginning with the writing of a shallow and uninspiring script by Brian Helgeland and it's really a shame. Although the eye-candy who played Jackie Robinson really eased my disappointment. 

If you liked the films Miracle or Coach Carter this is right up your alley, but I wanted something much more and left disappointed.

3

Boston 2013: Day 5

- - - TUESDAY, APRIL 16 - - -

We had planned on spending this day in Boston, but had to rearrange those plans in the wake of the bombing.  Instead we headed to the Franklin Park Zoo, which was far enough away from the bombing area that it was unaffected and still open to the public.

( I mean, they look thrilled, right? )

Since I am on moderate bed-rest and the zoo is quite large I forced my poor spouse to push me in a wheelchair for the entire excursion (Thanks, babe!).

It was a pretty good zoo.  We saw zebras (and even a baby zebra...awwwww...), tigers, lions, lots of birds and reptiles.  The giraffes were gone and that was sad-times, but the other animals we saw were awesome.  

Funny enough, the playgrounds at this zoo were the big hit.  They were pretty awesome.

When we got home we left our kids with the very capable James and Naomi (Kirsti's oldest kids) and went on a double date.  We went to dinner at The Alehouse in Amesbury, MA which promised genuine Poutine.  Well, it wasn't genuine, but it was good.  We had good food and good conversation in which we established that Daniel Call and I share a common neurosis of having to sit facing the front door in a restaurant.  Even better, we realized that the reason was the same for both of us.  What if an attacker or a grizzly bear came through the door to get us?  We want to be prepared.  I love finding people who share my borderline OCD tendencies...it makes me feel more normal somehow. Yeah, I said normal.

Then we went to see "42" in the theater.  It was fine. Entertaining, but not fantastic.  I wanted it to be in the vein and tone of "The Natural", but it was more like "Remember the Titans".  I very missed opportunity in my opinion.  Although the eye-candy who played Jackie Robinson really eased my disappointment.  Holy hot-pants!  Read my full review HERE.

2