A Picture Tour of Dad's Visit...

We had some long awaited visitors last week! (If I missed an email or phone call I'm sorry!) Dad and Donna came and they wore us out--let me rephrase--Dad wore Donna, the kids, and I out. We went all over the city and hit most of the "tourist" sites. We ate FABULOUS food - Keen's Steakhouse is a must, but come hungry and bring $$$ make that $$$$. They were also here for the San Genermo Festival in Little Italy which was basically an Italian street fair--totally worth the trip into the city. We also walked Greenwich, CT and Mamaroneck Harbor. I overdid the pics this time to entice any and all visitors to come for a visit!



Dan must be forgiven his 5 o'clock shadow...he just came off a week (6 days in a row) in which he slept exactly 13 hours...we were lucky we got him out of bed to join us!











Erika and Carson each got a "treat" on Canal Street. A Sponge-Bob watch for Carson, fan for Erika.




The result of letting him wear Crocs for the day...yuck!

the trouble with dogs...

I had a FABULOUS week last week....my Dad was in town and we spent the week walking all over Manhattan and beyond! It was such fun! Near the end of the week I lost my NEW cell phone--yes, the one i waited a year for--suffering with a phone that didn't work till I got the new one. Well, after searching fruitlessly we decided to just go buy a new one so that I could survive. I found a Verizon store in the city and upon our arrival at Grand Central we headed off to find it.

After walking 12 or so blocks I found the store and approached the door, only to stare in wonder/horror at the sign on the door. It read:

SERVICE DOGS ONLY!

Well I didn't know what to do. I looked around for another entrance, but to my dismay there was no other entrance door to the store. (At this point there were several people waiting in line behind me to get into the store.) I was so baffled because I could see the people inside and couldn't figure out how they had gotten there. I turned to my Dad and he asked what was wrong...I pointed to the sign and he shrugged and replied, "So?"

"Well I can't find another entrance!" With the realization of what I had just said dawning on him he told me in a tone of voice you would use on a dumb animal, "It doesn't mean 'Dogs Only', just that no pet dogs are allowed." As the waves of humiliation crashed down (those waiting behind me laughed as they passed me on their way into the store) I realized what I had just done. I pulled the ULTIMATE dumb blonde moment! Well, I have no excuse for myself...

Thoughts on becoming a "Soccer Mom"

I have now reached "soccer mom" status... The kids both joined the Mam'k soccer league and our Saturdays will now consist of haning out at the soccer field with all the other doting parents. I must say I prefer this to Dan's usual fall Saturday schedule of College Football and ESPN Sports Center for 12 hours ;) Dad had at least as much fun as they did and they adored having him their. Carson LOVES the thought of being on a team. As you can tell from the pics it was 85 degrees and 85% humidity at 9:30am and he was HOT! That didn't stop him from running around and having a fabulous time. He was thrilled that he and Erika happened to both get green team colors--like Notre Dame. This is a first for both the kids and they were great. Erika is very fast...she has the speed...now she just needs to work on technique.






I have to admit something...although I am competitive myself (to a fault). I am not a competitive parent. I want them to win, do well, etc., but it is too much stress so I just hope they have fun. I was very worried that I would become the scary Mom on the sidelines screaming explitives and throwing things at coaches, parents, and kids! It was fun to watch and I did yell a few times (nice things), but overall quite tame. Sometimes I surprise myself. Not to say that the scary parents didn't show up...they were there! During Erika's game we had one Mom that freaked out and screamed at anyone who was close...including the girls! I really can't believe they are so serious. It was a little scary.

The kids each have a team sponsor...Erika's is a local diner. We told her if her team won we would have to eat at the diner in celebration. Carson immediately wanted to know what we would do if his team won. Unfortunately his team is sponsored by Toyota City (Car Dealership)...a new car maybe? I told him so as a joke and he firmly believes that we will buy a new car on the day his team wins. Don't I wish--I'm pretty sure we couldn't even get a discounted oil change!!!!!!

What happened to August?

Well, I will now offer a short explanation...

At the "last minute" we packed up and flew to Idaho for work. Which means my business partners and I (Dan's mom and sister) attempt to work while our kids (Erika age 9, twins Alli and Andrew age 5, Carson age 4, and Ty age 1) tear up grandma's house which is completely NOT childproof. This means what should take us an hour generally takes four because of all the potty breaks and time spent helping grandpa and grandma fix whatever the kids broke or attempted to destroy, etc. All in all, we still accomplished quite a bit.

I was hoping for a little time to visit a few people, but because of the afformentioned schedule (and the fact that the plane tickets were paid for out of our business) I didn't make it. (Please forgive me Lisa and Kim and Richard and Diane!) I was able to squeeze in a tooooo brief visit with my family on Saturday afternoon and Sunday! It was great to see my brother and his girls (i'll forgive Sally for not coming because i know she was saving it up for a trip out east instead--broad hint intended! Hugs Sally) And really fun to see my sister and her girls too. The kids LOVE the cousins. My Mom and Dee saved Erika and Carson by coming up when they could to rescue them and take them back to their own house (one mile away) to ride horses and play.

While we were gone Dan went to the opening Notre Dame game with his brother. I should require him to post this himself, but he may never get around to it so in short:

*met in Chicago and were going to drive to South Bend

*the car company took their reservation, but they didn't HOLD their reservation! (finally got a car)

*they arrive at the game after half-time.

*ND is crushed...pulverized by Georgia Tech...OUCH!!!

*Had a FABULOUS time with his brother anyway!

We are back safe and sound and trying to get it and keep it together!

Perks...

I know I have been MIA for a long while, i will not attempt to update...yet. Today Dan spent his afternoon watching Venus Williams and Justine Henin on center court 10 rows up (my jaw--and yours--drop). Yes, every once in a while they release him from his cage, i mean cubicle, and allow him time to stretch his legs and get some sun. We are getting closer and closer to the same color ;) I can't help but be just a little jealous!