Way Back and Watch Out!

Where have I been for the last month? Well, you are about to find out!! I am going to post DAILY blogs for the next week, just to get some of this stuff off my mind and onto my blog!

First of course, we need to start with a Way Back Weekly!

When we went to the Poconos this year my Dad gave me several large file folders of photos containing lots of pictures of people I don't know ... but plenty of gems. With Halloween right around the corner I'm sharing this one:

This is a photo of Mom and Dad at a Halloween Party (I sincerely hope!) I think my Dad told me it was at their Golf Club in Mahopac. My dad is wearing number 75, which I believe is my brother T.A.'s actual football jersey, which would date this photo to the early 1980s. Also both my parents are smoking so that would mean it was before 1990 when my mom quit (although if memory serves me correctly Dad quit first, right?)  Anyway, the picture makes me laugh -- until I remember that these two crazy kids were the age I am now, when this photo was taken. And that's the scariest Halloween story I can tell...

Simple Woman's Daybook

For September 15, 2013

Outside my window... A gorgeous almost-fall day after a week of roller coaster temps. On Tuesday it was 94 degrees and yesterday it didn't get out of the 60s. Today though it's the low 70s with just enough of a breeze to bring the smell of burning leaves to our house and bright, beautiful sunshine.

I am thinking... that just when I think I have my daughters figured out they go and get all grown up and stuff on me. As many of you know both girls have learning disabilities and have to work extra hard just to keep on grade level. Well Lizzie worked at her math nearly every day this summer and earned herself the ipod touch that she'd been wanting for a couple of years. To be honest, I didn't think she had the discipline to do it, but she did. So yay for Little Bit! Hannah also worked on her math, but not nearly as much, so she earned a pair of earrings from Claire's that broke about 10 minutes after she had them. (Don't worry, I am a crazy fix-it mom with super glue!) Hannah also figured out how to NOT whine and have temper tantrums in the last couple of weeks, too. So it's all good here. (At least at this very minute!!)

I am thankful ...for my husband who has decided to teach the children both horseshoes and tennis. Hannah is actually quite good at these things, which is clearly a DNA thing, while Lizzie is not, which is quite probably a mom yelling "watch out for the ball" thing.

From the kitchen... Meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner (and something green, too -- probably broccoli) and then I've got to get the stuff together for lunches for the week ahead.

I am wearing... green leggings, grey shirt, yellow big shirt and blue, yellow and green deck sneakers.

I am creating... so much stuff! The Eagle is keeping me busy (thank you!) and I've also agreed to become a reporter (volunteer because that's just the way I roll) reporter for the National Organization of Mothers of Multiples Club newsletter again. Oh, and also, I've got some fiction that's nearly ready to send out to an epublisher that wanted to see it (a year ago ... we'll see if they are still interested!).

I am going ... to keep my house clean. No, really, that's not a joke. In the last couple of days I've fixed my "desk" (aka coffee table) in the family room to keep all my stuff (don't worry, I'll put up a blog about it next week sometime) and the girls and I try to declutter every day. Rob's very good with directing weekend cleaning and the girls are finally old enough to vacuum well AND THEY LIKE TO DO IT so I have hope that my house (which will never be perfect) will continue to be presentable.

I am reading... Desperate Duchesses. I actually had to get on the waiting list at the library again because I only got to the first half in the two weeks you're allowed for a digital download. I like it enough to want to finish it, but not enough to really worry that it will probably be another few weeks before it's available again.

I am praying ... for way too many people these days. First my mother in law who is having a very very slow recovery from cancer treatment (but I am so happy that her most recent scan came back cancer free) and my friend Gail's mom who will begin cancer treatment for the second time and an old high school friend's daughter who is awaiting the results of a biopsy on a brain tumor. Please keep them and all the suffering in your prayers.

I am hearing... Rob cleaning out the vent for the dryer. It's been taking a good 90 minutes to dry even a small load, so it had to be done. We have a long long long dryer vent so my very smart husband figured out how to snake the thing and we are hoping it will work so we won't have to buy a new dryer. I think it will work because when the vent is disconnected the dryer works quickly, but the laundry room becomes a sauna, so, unless you want a sauna, it's not that practical. So Rob is being Mr. Fixit there!

Around the house... As I mentioned, things are looking pretty darn good. Once the clutter is under control I'm going to start a family tree project in either my living room or dining room (not sure which) that includes some cool wall stencils.

One of my favorite things... my recumbent bike. I got it well over a year ago and I still use it just about every day for 30 to 60 minutes.

A few plans for the week ahead... a quick look at my white board shows me that we've got a crazy week ahead of us (what else is new?) Lizzie's got dance on Monday, then on Tuesday we've got both Girl Scouts (remember, I'm the leader) and CCD and I usually visit my hospice lady on Tuesdays. Wednesday is back to school night and then on Friday I take off for a Girl Scout weekend training thing (I have to learn how to camp overnight, so I can then take my troop camping overnight!), so Rob's got the weekend driving duty. On Friday Lizzie's got TWO dance classes (ballet and modern) and then she's got nutcracker rehearsal on Saturday followed by rehearsal for the student choreography piece she's in and then on Sunday she's performing the piece at a local assisted living place. Also during the week I've got several interviews set up and Hannah has agreed to practice singing with me once a week for a half hour (because she was nervous about going back to voice lessons since there were high school seniors in the class.) Oh, and of course there will be homework and nightly reading and now Hannah is thinking she may want to do one of the after school intramural things ... luckily we like to be busy (or at least I do!) As you may have noticed we've got nothing Thursday night -- I really try very hard to leave one night per week "free" and one weekend day "free" so we can just hang out as a family.

Picture thought I am sharing: These pictures are big so that you'll be able to see what I'm talking about. On a recent trip to Somers I captured some ghost photos. In the first picture you can see a foggy blog near the sign post on the left of the photo, and then in the second picture it has moved to the right of the elephant statue, just below the elephant and sort of in the tree and then on the final photo it's moved over to the Elephant Hotel sign, just above the window over the letter "T." Of course it could be glare or dust on my lens or some other camera issue, but these weren't in any of the other shots, so I'm going with a ghost. Now WHO the ghost is, is open to discussion, but I have heard the town hall is haunted (and not just by the current Town Board ... ha, ha!) They may be a bit hard to see (the second one especially) but I didn't want to change the picture in any way before posting.

Way Back Weekly

It's BACK!
When I was in the Poconos my dad gave me several albums full of photos (most of people I don't know!) with enough photos to keep us in Way Back Weeklies for a good long time to come. Here's the first one:

I'm starting with this one because it's actually dated AND I recognize everyone in the photo. The picture is dated April, 1969 so it's a safe bet that this was an Easter photo taken at the house in Somers when my cousins Mary Kay (on the left) and Ann Elizabeth (on the right) were visiting. Also, we are dressed up (especially T.A. in that nifty jacket...) and it looks like someone did my hair in kind of an Annette Funicello send-up so it was some sort of special occasion.

There must have also been a run on bows somewhere since both Aunt Anonymous and I are wearing them. I speak only for myself, but I am pretty sure once we got a look at this photo (or, you know, a mirror) it was the last time we wore bows.

Tina probably looks the best out of all of us (because I swear my mom used to like to put a part in T.A.'s hair and you can sort of see it, and that it never worked) but I do have to tell everyone that she's wearing a hand-me-down dress (the price for being the youngest of four girls ... although it's quite possible T.A. is ALSO wearing a hand-me-down from one of us, too...) That dress has appeared in a few other pictures of ME, so at least she has good taste.

So, in April of 1969 I was 10 years old, Aunt A was 11, Terry was 8 (she turned 9 in June) and the twins were two (they turned three, also in June). I believe my cousin Mary Kay is a year younger than me and Ann was a year younger than Terry (but I'm sure Uncle Al will correct this if it's wrong -- now we are holding steady at 29!)
Basically this is a revelation that when this picture was taken I am the same age as my daughters are now (although I was in 6th grade because of the way they based birthdays for the school year).

I just showed them this picture and they both laughed at my very stylish hair-do but then said I look EXACTLY the same (which is why I love them and need to take them to the eye doctor...).

Back to School

Hannah and Lizzie started fifth grade today. I know that EVERYONE is writing and posting and saying that they cannot believe how quickly time goes, but I swear they were just little kids yesterday (and to be honest yesterday Lizzie was actually entertaining herself by watching Sesame Street...)
Now they are practically in college.
See what I mean? Here they are this morning:

 In my mind's eye, this is how I see them (and I think this is the last time they dressed the same on the first day of school). This was when they started first grade (and yes, Hannah has a black eye thanks to a run-in with a picnic table during a game of hide and seek two days before school started!) Oh, and that's our neighbor Abigail on her first day of kindergarten.  She's gotten a lot bigger, too.

 

And here they were with Abby this morning. Abby's a year behind them in school so they'll be together at the bus stop (AKA the end of my driveway) next year too and then Hannah and Lizzie are in middle school and then college and then ... well, you get the picture.

 I am happy to report that they had a great first day of school. They like their teachers and they each have enough friends in their classroom to make it worthwhile attending school. This year for the first time they are eligible (?!) for detention and Hannah is wondering what they have to do during detention (because during iCarly Sam has a GREAT TIME in detention and dances this Scottish Highland dance). I told her that it didn't matter what happened on iCarly, if she gets detention in 5th grade she'll basically be grounded for the rest of her childhood by her mother who is NOT a fan of Sam on iCarly. So she no longer has any interest in being selected for detention. (OY!!) But look at those sweet angelic faces ... no chance they'll get detention...

 I did my usual thing on their first day of school, which means I went to my friend Deb's house to have a boo hoo breakfast. We've done this enough now (her son is in sixth grade) that we don't boo hoo, but we do love the chat so we keep it up.

Then I come home and bake something for an afterschool snack for the girls. THis year I made brownies that I added caramel filled chocolate kisses to. There was something wrong with my oven so it took about 2 hours to cook (because it took two rounds in oven one for me to figure out that the brownies just weren't cooking at all and then I switched ovens) but I have to say they are delish!

So we'll see how the year goes ... but I do have to say we started strong and that is a blessing!!

Poconos 1 of 3

Well, another Garrity week in the Poconos is done and (as usual!) it was punctuated by a lot of laughing, a lot of eating and a little shopping. We did a few different things this year, but of course for Hannah and Lizzie, the water park is a highlight.
Here's Lizzie on the surfboard/flowrider. The guy running it this year didn't seem too enthusiastic, so neither one of them tried to stand up (they noticed that if you stood up and fell, the guy didn't give you another chance!) So they both rode on their bellies and had a great time:

Hannah's turn.

These are the leap pads and you can jump across them, as Lizzie did...

Or you can crawl across them as Hannah did (she also walked across them):

THis is Lizzie standing under the mushroom that is sort of like a rain umbrella:

And here are the girls and a friend (I swear that Hannah makes friends EVERYWHERE she goes) on the family slide. I went down with them, too, and had my usual good time!

Here's Hannah on one of the single tubes. The lines were not long by the middle of the day and Rob took them back after dinner when there were NO lines, so they were up and down and up and down for about six hours!

Artsy picture of Lizzie just as the giant bucket of water was hitting her:

Of course there's a lot more to do in the Poconos in addition to the Water Park and it's really all about family. Here's Grandpa (our host for the week) and the girls.

 

Here's probably one of my favorite pictures from the week. This is Aunt Anonymous doing yoga with Hannah and Lizzie. This is appropriately called the Warrior Pose. This was followed by a push up contest between Aunt Anonymous and Aunt Beanie, of which I have no photos (it was forbidden) but it all made me just so happy that my daughters get to spend this time each year with their incredible aunts!

 

Uncle Anonymous visited, too, but (as far as I know) he doesn't do yoga, so here's a picture of him at dinner:

Here are Hannah and Lizzie hanging out on the shore of Big Boulder Lake in the late evening:

And of course, it's not the Poconos unless we see some wildlife. We fed this deer a couple of sweet potato wedges and the girls were very impressed with how close she let us get to her and her babies (she had twins). Of course I told them that I often used food to get them to come to me when they were babies, too. My friend Kara loves to tell the story about how they'd come running out of preschool in opposite directions and I'd yell that there were french fries in the car and they'd be in their car seats seconds later. So food works on ALL animals, I think. Make sure to keep reading as there are three of these posts!

Poconos 2 of 3

Oh how we love the food in the Poconos! (I love it just because I don't have to cook it!!) We make a point to stop at our favorite restaurants a couple times during the week. Here are the girls with Aunt Anonymous and Aunt Beanie outside of Hog Heaven, where we always go for ice cream (more than once!)

And here are Rob and Aunt Beanie at Piggys, which is right next to Hog Heaven. We always go there for breakfast on our last full day in the Poconos because the girls get to pick out a toy from the gift shop if they've been good all week. Or really, if they've just been mediocre during the week....

While we waited for our meal, Hannah drew this picture and the waitress said they would have it laminated and use it as a placemat in the future. Hannah was very excited, so I think we need to go back to Piggys at least once a week to see when it gets into placemat circulation:

Lizzie went more for realism (the finished product will also be a placemat) and copied the pig on the kids' menu. She wants to make sure everyone knows she did NOT trace it, but drew it freehand, which is why her tail is longer...:

Grandpa takes the gang out for dinner one night during the week, when the most people are available. This dinner was attended by the Anonymouses, us, Grandpa, Aunt Terry and Shelby and Aunt Beanie. It is always a good time and this year the waiter suggested that Hannah and Liz get Shirley Temples. They loved them and even knew who Shirley Temple was (due to their mother's love of old movies, I think!) Here's Lizzie and Shirley:

Here is Hannah trying a mussel for the first time. She loved it, which didn't surprise me because she loves most shellfish and bottom feeders. (YECH!) Lizzie tried one, too, and said it was okay, but she didn't feel the need to have any more ever in her life.

Here's Rob with his hot fudge sundae at Hog Heaven.

And here we all are with Aunt Beanie at what turned out to be our best-tasting meal of the week. We went for the (cheap!) pasta special on Sunday night and had some delicious pastas and sauces. Really good stuff. I know that I like the Romana sauce the best but can't think of the noodle... some sort of long, flat egg noodly thing. It was a really great dinner.

Poconos 3 of 3

So, what exactly do we do all week? Well Grandpa goes to play golf. Here's the foursome out on the links, which, from the looks of it was a par 17. :) Shelby didn't really golf, but the other three did. I was happy to be a part of the gallery for one hole.

The adults spend a lot of time in front of the condos sitting and talking to each other, so the younger set is often left to its own devices. Sometime during the week Lizzie befriended this daddy long legs spider and named him (her?) friend. Friend spent his nights in her dresser drawer and his days on Lizzie's hand. I don't know what was wrong with him, but he DID stick around even when we left to go on adventures.

One of those adventures was to hike boulder field. This is a natural phenomena that occurred at the Hickory Run State Park. The girls hiked it a couple of years ago (I did not) and were happy to go back and do it again (I did not, again.) I sit at the edge of the field and watch them and this year they made it all the way across to the forest on the other side. I took several pictures of them as well as other people who asked me to help them out, since I was just sitting there:

This year the Master of Coin sprung for the $5 net, and the girls spent some quality time "fishing." They didn't catch anything bigger than a thumbnail, but they sure had a lot of fun:

Hannah's face will tell you how well we did at the Turtle Races this year. (LOSERS!!) It's fun to watch them run though and I have to say these were the fastest turtles we've ever seen. (The speed of a turtle being relative, of course!)

Here's a couple more golf shots. Here's Aunt Terry about to hit a hole in 14!

"The hole is over there," says Aunt Beanie:

It went a little wide, but not to worry, Hannah waded out into the thick brush to find the ball, which Aunt Terry happily (well not really) autographed at dinner that night:

Lizzie took this picture of the waterfall along the Hawk Trail. I made it almost all the way there, but my walker wouldn't fit on the path after the bridge, so I waited for them to see the falls and then hike back to me. The part I DID manage was pretty steep and rocky so getting back to the car was an adventured -- but I did it!

 

Rob took this picture of me and the girls once we were reunited after the water fall and it's one of my favorite pictures of the three of us:

We always make it a point to have a picnic at the Walter Francis Dam to see how the water table is doing. THis year it was doing so well that nearly all of the access road was underwater. Panama Bob and the girls were able to traverse it though, so I could grab this picture.

Paddle boating was new this year and a great time was had by all (even me, sitting on the shore with a delightful breeze and reading my book!)  I  may give the paddle boats a chance, once I saw how great Hannah and Lizzie were at it -- I probably wouldn't have to pedal at all!

We did have one rainy/cloudy day, so I took the girls over to the indoor pool. They loved it (as did the 14 million other kids in the pool!)

 

It's always hard to say goodbye to the Poconos (and to family) but we're already planning on what we're going to be doing next year (tubing, anyone?)