I can't stop laughing...

I forgot the video!

2011-05-03T10:30:00.000-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/neeniebelle#p/a/u/0/qkJzp6Uq3qA

Here you go!

Gavin doing "The Dougie"

2011-05-03T10:28:00.000-04:00

Gav told us last night that he can "do the dougie". Really, we said. I cannot WAIT to see this I thought. We were on our way home from Carvel, enjoying our slightly overpriced ice cream (geez I really really miss Baskin Robbins on Greenwich Ave and Purchase Street). As soon as we got out of the car Gav starts hopping around all over our front lawn yelling "film me, put this on You Tube". He managed to Dougie once or twice before losing his balance and falling on the grass. Of course Francesca had to put her two cents in and we all know she has no coordination - insert "yeah she's just like her mother" comment from Scott here - so she gave it a shot before falling miserably to the ground.

Scott then proceeds to tell the kids that he knows someone named Dougie...or would that be Doogie...not sure how he spells it...and the kids now are convinced this guy from PC has a dance named after him! No, we tell them, he was Doogie before there was a "Dougie" dance. Anyway, Francesca and Gav are now on a quest to meet Doogie and spent the ride home asking us where they could find him. Not sure I said, but I'll keep my eyes open...

Weekend Recap

2011-05-01T21:22:00.000-04:00

Friday night Checka and I went to see the PCHS production of "A Chorus Line". She loved it. Her childrens' choir director, Kim, was in it and Francesca was really excited to see her perform. The kids did a great job. Francesca loved the music and the songs. She was really curious about the fact that there was some swearing in the play.

"Mommy, do you think their moms and dads get upset when they hear their children use bad words on stage? If I was an actress would you let me swear onstage?"

ME: Well, Checka, those kids are ACTING. They are playing a PART. They are just PRETENDING.
(OMG was I doing a Chandler Bing from "Friends" impression? Why was I emphasizing all these words??)
I am sure their moms and dads understand that they are acting. It's OK. Yes, if you were an actress and your part called for a bad word, I guess I would be OK with it because you would just be acting.

"So Mommy, if I was in that play, you would be OK if I said the word "tits"? The blond girl on stage said that word and I think it may be a swear word."

Why, why, why does she ask me these questions? I really had no response for that other than to sigh and tell her to fasten her seatbelt, we were headed home.

Yesterday Francesca had her first tennis class and Gavin had his first baseball game playing in the rookie league. I had to work, so I missed tennis class. Baseball was at Lyons Park. I am not a huge sports fan, but I do want to be supportive, so I go. But I brought a book. I bring a book everywhere. You never know when you'll have 5 minutes to read. I clapped and cheered when appropriate but mostly I read my book and tried to decide where to go to dinner.

I really wanted a good burger for dinner so after mulling it over for a bit, we decided to go to JT Straw's
http://www.jtstraws.com/ in Port Chester. It's a bar that also has great brick oven pizza and about 10 different kinds of wings. The drunken calamari was calling my name but I really really wanted a burger so I got a bacon cheeseburger, and it did not disappoint! We started with onion rings and wings. The onion rings were really crispy and crunchy. Scott said the wings were good too. Scott and I both had bacon cheeseburgers, Francesca had a plain cheese brick oven pizza and Gavin had the steak quesadillas. Next time I am going to get the clams casino pizza, just because it sounds good. Not sure I'd take the kids there anytime after 7 or so, because the bar crowd may be hopping, but it's perfect around 5:30 when there is only a few people there.

Today we just hung around at home and got some things done. Francesca has ELA testing this week at school so we wanted to make sure the kids went to bed early tonight so she would start the week off fresh! Busy week ahead - Scouts, religion, baseball, Communion practice, Communion, the party and then Mother's Day!

Where have I been?

2011-04-29T09:44:00.000-04:00

I have got to stop these months-long blog hiatuses! Everytime the kids do or say something funny, Scott says "babe that is SO blog-worthy" and I say yep and keep going. Living with Francesca and Gavin is like having 2 short, young comedians giving me my very own comedic performance for FREE! It's all comedy, all the time. Well, almost all the time. Sometimes the Drama Mama takes over and Francesca is a moody, grumpy just-about-9 year old. Gav flares his nostrils and tries to be angry but it just makes me and Scott laugh.

It's Spring around here and that means spring sports, lots of ice pops at Palateria Fernandez, grilling outside for dinner and an itchy-scratchy Francesca (who has to basically do shots of Zyrtec so she doesn't itch her way through the spring and summer). Gavin is making his Communion 1 week from tomorrow, Francesca turns 9 two days later, Scott is traveling to DC for a few days and I am looking forward to having a minute to just take a breath! May and June are hectic, but it also means some of the extra activites are coming to an end - Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts, PTO, CCD. We can enjoy the weather and the extra time to just chill.

I noticed when I logged in that I now have FOUR FOLLOWERS! Wow I picked one up somewhere...gotta go thank that person. I've said it before but I will say it again - I am going to try to blog more regularly. Hey if I can post just about everything the kids do to Facebook, I should be able to blog about it, right? I just went back and read the last few posts and realized that I posted about Gav's fish from Christmas 2009. Well here's an update - we are down to just 1. Gav has now taken all these fishy deaths in stride. Even when we came home from Cub Scout camping one weekend and found one of the fish half-eaten and fuzzy (not sure what happened there) Gav did not blink an eyelash. Later that night another one of the fish died - "flush him Daddy". We just have Sam the fish now. Plus Picky-Picky and Toots, the fat cats. Gav would like to get a gerbil though - or a "grrrr-bull" as he calls it. That's doubtful. Picky would eat a gerbil for a snack.

Let's see how long it takes me to write a new blog post and spruce up this blog. Scott, bets? Anyone? How about one of those four followers? Eh. See you soon.

Welcome 2011!!!

2011-01-03T13:48:00.000-05:00

Welcome to 2011! 2010 was not a bad year, I expect 2011 to be pretty good as well. We had a wonderful Fall season and Christmas holiday. The kids went back to school after a week off - phew, it was time for them to go back. I can always tell - they get very snarky towards each other, and the loving behavior they show towards each other around the holidays goes out the window! Our family was lucky enough to spend New Year's Eve with 7 other families that we are close with - we all have kids at the same elementary school and most in the same grade as Francesca. We rented the local Knights of Columbus party room and had dinner, drinks, snacks, games, movies and fun fun fun! It was great because we were all local, no one needed a babysitter, no one had to go out for a pricey evening and our kids were thrilled to spend 6 hours with their friends.

Today I started the "Bible in 90 Days" challenge over at Mom's Toolbox - http://www.momstoolbox.com/ - with Amy and over 700 other readers. I actually read through the B90Days Bible for the first time this summer and was thrilled to finish it in October. This time I am reading it again and am a mentor for one of the groups of women who have chosen to read as well. I am looking forward to encouraging my group over the next 3 months and getting to know them better.

Well, my lunch hour is almost over and I need to finish my reading and email a friend! Will post NYE pics soon!

I'm back!

2010-07-14T21:19:00.000-04:00

OK....so it's been over 6 months since I last posted anything. Yikes! So much has gone on in our lives and I've blogged none of it! Well I guess I could say we've been too busy running from activity to activity for me to blog about it all but that's really a cop-out. So, one of my goals for the 2nd half of the year is to blog. We'll see. Since I've last updated this blog, we've had Gavin finish first grade and Francesca second. Francesca made her First Holy Communion and also had a pizza party for her 8th birthday. Both kids have participated in Scouting and sports - tee ball for Gav, tennis for F. Scott's become a Knight (3rd degree now, go honey!) and I've become the 2nd VP for our school's PTO. We've gone camping and had many adventures. Right now I'm just gonna stop writing because this is reading like someone's Christmas card letter and it's even boring me! Tomorrow's another day and with that brings the potential for something funny to happen. So I hope you're glad I'm back (all 3 of you who follow me, plus my mother-in-law who reads this but doesn't know how to follow me), I'm glad to be back :)

The Christmas Nightmare

2009-12-26T20:08:00.000-05:00

Gavin wanted fish for Christmas. 3 fish to be precise. He wanted them to keep Spot, the fish he currently owns, company. So we bought him a big fish tank and on Christmas Eve Scott went to PETCO and bought him 3 more fish. 2 small sharkfish-y things and 1 sucker fish (UGLY btw...). He put them, in their bowls, on the top shelf of our closet. The plan was to transfer all 3 fish to Gavin's current fish tank after the kids went to bed. Well, before we got a chance to do that, 1 of the sharkfish went belly-up. OH NO I thought, this is NOOOOOO GOOD. Remember this? http://icantstoplaughing.blogspot.com/2009/06/rip-fish.html ). Don't worry, said Scott. We still have 2 fish...

Gavin woke us up at 2 AM to tell us that Santa had brought him 2 fish! Great...now go back to bed! We got up around 7, went downstairs and the kids opened presents. Gavin was so happy to find a new huge tank and some gravel for it. Later that morning, Scott happened to go into Gav's room to check on the fish and found sharkfish #2 belly-up. Mr. Sucker-fish (aka "Sucky") was not doing too well. OH SHIT we thought. So I called Gav upstairs so we could tell him. He took it in stride so we thought, until I went downstairs and found him sobbing into the couch pillows. My dad came over to bring some presents and food over for our dinner later and found poor pathetic crying Gavin. He was inconsolable. Sucky ended up sucking his last breath and getting flushed too. It took us a few hours to get Gav calmed down. Our family was warned not to even say the word "FISH" at all during dinner. We promised him that come today, we'd go someplace other than PETCO and get some more fish.

Today we went to an actual fish store and bought Gav FOUR new fish (we felt bad after yesterday's tragedy), a tank heater and a large coral thing for the tank. I am happy to report that all Sam, Sally, Sid, Sucky and Spot are happily swimming around their new home. Toots the cat has been watching them very closely. We hope that the fish will have a long long life in Gav's room and I won't have to blog about dead fish again!

The Christmas List

2009-12-24T09:10:00.000-05:00

Francesca is a list-maker. She loves to write things down and make lists of things she wants, things she likes, people she likes/doesn't like - you get the picture. We always ask the kids to make a Christmas list to give us some idea of what we should be looking for. This year she outdid herself - she started her list on a long piece of drawing paper and has been taping and stapling extra pieces of paper on to the bottom as the need arises. So here (in no particular order) are some of the 70+ things on F's list. Keep in mind some of these things are requests for Gavin, Mommy, Daddy and the cats too!

Francesca's Christmas List 2009

- a TV for my room (good luck with that one, not happening this year!)
- cat food for the cats
- more mixes for my Easy Bake oven
- icing mixes for the Easy Bake oven
- 3 fish for Gavin to keep his fish Spot company
- a Nintendo DSi
- a case of hash (they ask for, and receive this every year from my parents - they LOVE hash)
- OJ for Big Guy
- socks
- a toothbrush and toothpaste
- a package of paper (to make more lists I guess)
- a more sleep for Mommy and Daddy (boy am I wishing for this one!!!)
- the Wizards of Waverly Place "Alex" doll
- a Jonas Brothers CD

The list goes on and on and on and that is all I remember at the moment. We'll see what they actually get!Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the LaDore's.

What ARE nipples for anyway???

2009-12-22T22:18:00.000-05:00

Leave it to Gavin...as he was waiting for the shower to heat up tonight, he puts his hands on his chest and looks at me and says, "Mommy, what ARE these things called?". Oh my...Well Gav, they're nipples. "Nipples?" (giggle giggle giggle) "What do you do with them?" Oh my AGAIN. "Well Gav...boys REALLY don't do anything with them" I can see the wheels turning in his brain. Then he says to me "well what do WOMEN do with them?"

I told him to hop in the shower and that was a conversation best left for a few years yet. I just don't know where he gets it, I really don't.

Ladies Love Big Guy

2009-10-09T16:24:00.000-04:00

LLBG. That's what Scott and I call Gavin sometimes. It stands for "Ladies Love Big Guy". This kid is a chick magnet. He attracts all girls, ages 5-15. Yesterday I went to pick him and Francesca up at religion class. I was talking to the director, who mentioned that Gav had come out of class to go to the bathroom. Another mom who was standing there at the time (I hadn't arrived yet) told the director that her daughter had a crush "on that little blond boy" and the director said "oh that's Gavin". I am also a catechist in the evening religious ed. program, so they know my kids. Yessss I said, that is a common occurence. Girls love Gavin. Just watch, I told her as class was dismissed and Gavin came to stand next to me.

Gavin was standing next to me as the other classes came down the stairs. Then he started to slowly inch behind my back.

"Gavin...come give me a hug...Gavin, come here, come here you cute thing."
"Mrs. LaDore, Gavin is so cute I just want to eat him!"

Poor Gav. Those were 2 FIFTH-GRADERS. Scott told me at religion drop-off a fourth-grader went up to Gav to say hello and smile. Gav just grunted and walked away. That is his general reaction to girls.

When he was in the tub the other night we had a little chat about love. He told me that 2 kids in his class "were in love" and he knew this because they always try to talk to each other in class and they sit next to each other at lunch. He also told me that the girl who was "in love" with the boy ALSO loved him; interesting! He was very nonchalant about the whole thing, as if girls just automatically think he's cute, which, frankly, they do.

Gavin is a magnet for older women too. At last year's Halloween dance 2 girls wouldn't stop "petting" his head, telling me how smooth his hair was and how cute he was. He is going to be the "bad" Spiderman this year for Halloween. It has a mask that fits over the head. Gavin told me that he picked this costume not only because he liked it, but because with a mask no one will know it is him, and the older girls will not be able to follow him. He made Francesca promise not to say his name or call him at the dance "and give it away". I told Scott the other day that someday, Gavin will be some older woman's Ashton Kutcher to her Demi Moore.

"Bad Words"

2009-10-06T21:13:00.000-04:00

I heard Francesca talking earlier this evening to the boy down the street out on our front porch. They were whispering (well they think they were, Francesca has an "Irish whisper", as in she doesn't have one) about curse words that were uttered on the playground today. After making sure that she was not participating in this bad word party I left them alone and went back inside. Later on we ran to the grocery store while Scott and Gavin were at a Cub Scout meeting. As we were driving she brought it up to me

"Mommy, a few boys were saying BAD WORDS on at recess today. BAD WORDS."

Umm OK Checka, share with me. Spell it, whisper it, tell me what it rhymes with. Does it rhyme with "truck"..."spit"..."smell"??? Nothing. She's not talking. She told me that she didn't want to say it because she may get in trouble. Noooo I reassure her, Mommy just wants to know what they were saying so we can be sure it's something you shouldn't say. So tell me Francesca, what does it begin with???

"Well Mommy it begins with an 'S' and I'll tell you what it rhymes with. It sounds like 'HEXY OBAMA'. Baaaad words Mommy."

Hexy Obama? Damn I'm confused. Hexy Obama...Then she whispers it from the back seat...

SEXY MOMMA!!!

Ohhhhh sexy momma. Yep, I guess to a bunch of 7 year olds that would be a bad word. To someone my age, it would be a compliment. As long as no one's calling HER a sexy momma. Nope, she's another word that rhymes with Obama...she's DRAMA!

A Curious Phenomenon

2009-10-05T20:24:00.000-04:00

So Scott discovered something about Gavin yesterday while at church. AT CHURCH OF ALL PLACES! We get to church and Gav, OF COURSE, has to go to the bathroom. Gav has a bladder the size of a flea - either that or he just likes exploring bathrooms. He's been to the one at Our Lady of Mercy before; several times in fact. But of course, right in between the homily and the Prayer of the Faithful Gav starts doing the pee pee dance. I thought Scott was going to shoot him - not in church of course, but Scott was not happy. But he took him.

When they got back, Scott had a smirk on his face. He whispered to me, "I sent you a text message. Oh, and I figured out why Gavin holds his hand behind his back on his butt when he pees". Really? Hmmm I can't say that this was keeping me awake nights, wondering why my son holds his ass when he pees. Not to be gross, but watching Gavin pee is hysterical enough. We do value our privacy here at 62 Wesley, however, Gav tends to pee with the door open. He POSES when he goes to the bathroom and it reminds me of Mark Wahlberg in "Boogie Nights" - you know the last scene, when he's standing in front of a mirror, admiring his super-long...well you catch my drift. Gav literally poses and pees. It's hysterical. And he knows he's funny. But back to the hand on the butt thing. Mind you, I have my misselette in hand and I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE ON BEING HOLY AND MY HUSBAND IS TRYING TO DISCUSS OUR SON'S TOILET HABITS. So I shoot Scott a dirty look and tell him I can't check my phone and he can tell me later. OK, Scott's idea of later is the sign of the peace. I lean in to kiss him and shake hands and I get:

"Babe, he holds his hand on his butt when he pees because he says he doesn't want the poop to sneak out"

Oh my God. Put a fork in me, I'm done. I can't even look at any member of my family because if I do I'm going to bust out laughing. Thankfully there is no one in the row in front of us. In back of us is Scott's sister Joelle, our niece Ali and her friend Trina. I pray they didn't hear this, although that little revelation would likely liven up Mass for them. I look at Gavin, who just shrugs his shoulders and shoots me a smile.

Never a dull moment in the LaDore house.

Week in Review

2009-09-18T12:53:00.002-04:00

Well Monday to Friday let's say...This was a busy week - Mommy's meetings started again. Religion. PTO. Back-to-school night. It's always something. The kids start clay class today at the Clay Arts Center http://www.clayartcenter.org and they are soooo excited. All I can think of is the mess they are going to come home with. Francesca is going to have clay in her hair, Gav will probably have it up his nose or in his mouth. OMG I cannot even start to think how bad this will be. But they asked to take this class, and they asked nicely, so who am I to refuse? They made clay tiles at Port Chester Day and had a blast, so Scott and I thought it might be fun for them.

PC Day - that was last Sunday. It was supposed to be on Saturday but the crappy weather put the kibbosh on that. The kids could not wait until PC Day, mostly because of the jumping castles. They were so itchy to get there they wouldn't sit still at home! We got to Lyons Park around 11:30 and the kids ran straight for the jumping castles, tossing their sneakers at us and barely yelling goodbye. I was left holding their sneakers...and their PC Dept. of Rec. visors...and the free balloons from said Dept. of Rec...and free frisbees. Ugh! All this free stuff. The kids were delighted. Me, not so much, I had to juggle all their crap. Until I wandered around and found myself a freebie from USA Bank - a tote bag. Oh yeah and Gav snagged himself a free piggy bank from them too - his 4th or 5th piggy bank I might add. He has QUITE the collection of freebie banks from well...banks.

While Gav was jumping around on the blow-ups apparatus Francesca was exploring the fire department "burning building" simulator, where she climbed through a house that was "on fire" and had to figure out the safest way out. Scott managed to snag himself a free fire extinguisher - GREAT, MORE CRAP TO CARRY. He actually carried it the majority of the time though. The kids bounced around for somewhere around 5 hours, taking quick breaks to socialize with friends, grab more freebies and have something to eat. The Village of PC needs to give some serious thought to this whole jumping castle thing. Either provide benches for the poor parents carrying bags of free crap to sit on or install an invisible fence around the whole thing that would beep when a child goes to leave. It was exhausting walking back and forth, back and forth among the attractions. Plus I was carrying all that crap! Scott had a really good idea for next year's PC Day. He thinks that the village should fence the jumping castles in and surround the fenced-in area with a beer garden so that the parents can watch their kids and have a beer at the same time. Of course then the Village would also have to find a way home for all the now-drunk parents.

The rest of the week was kind of un-eventful. Francesca had several clothing crisises throughout the week. Her socks were too bunchy, her shoes were too tight, her jeans were too loose and then too tight (?) - ummm that's why they're called SKINNY jeans Francesca...My child cries at the drop of a hat over the most stupid things! Then there was Gav. He really doesn't complain about what he's wearing; he just wants to make sure his hair is done right. He likes to have a "faux hawk" sometimes so he can look cool for the ladies. Apparently Gav is "the man" - as told to me by the mom of a 5th grader. "Gavin is 'the man' - he walks around like he owns the place" - greaaaattttt. My 1st grader thinks he is a BMOC. That kid is going to get to PCHS and be voted "most likely to date a teacher" or something like that. Mark my words...

Scott and I went to "Back to School" Night on Wednesday. We squooshed into little desks and chairs, admired schoolwork and left little notes for the kids. They left notes for us too. Francesca signed hers "Fanny" - hmmmmm now she has a new nickname? Fanny? Um no. Not now. Not ever. I'll even take "Franny", but "Fanny"? No. She just laughed at Scott when he asked her about it.

Tonight starts the weekend and tomorrow Francesca stars tennis classes. THAT should provide lots and lots of blog-worthy material. I won't be at tomorrow's class because I have to work but I will be sure to get the blow-by-blow from Scott and fill you in accordingly. Enjoy the weekend bloggy peeps.

Summer Recap, Part 1

2009-09-13T10:06:00.003-04:00

Well since I was such a bad blogger I am giving you, my readers (wait do I even HAVE readers??) a recap of the LaDore Summer of Fun. I will say right now that Francesca and Gavin had a way-funner summer than did Scott and I, mostly because we still had to go to work...boooo work. We started our Summer of Fun at 11:31AM, Friday June 26th, 2009 - one minute after school let out. Scott and I both took the day off of work and we picked the kids up at Park Ave., bid adieu to friends and headed for Boston. Yippeee!! My home-away-from-home from September 1991-June 1996. The home of Northeastern University, my alma mater. I was soooo excited and so were the kids. Scott was too, I guess. Scott is way low-key compared to me and the kids. Anyway, after 3 hours, several bathroom breaks (Gavin has a bladder the size of a flea) and many many many "Are we there yet's???" we were there!!!! We were able to check into our hotel, the Colonnade on Huntington Avenue. A BOUTIQUE hotel. A BIG RISK with the LaDore children. They were a bit miffed that this hotel did not offer continental breakfast, as they are used to when they go away with my parents and stay at a Hampton Inn or a Holiday Inn Express. For Francesca and Gavin a good hotel is not measured in AAA stars but whether or not they get cinnamon rolls, unlimited juice and all-you-can-eat cereal in the lobby in the morning. We assured them that they would not starve and once they saw how cool our room was they lightened up. They also saw the rooftop pool, which was way cool in their estimation.

We headed first for the Boston Childrens' Museum, which on Friday nights from 5-9PM is only $1 admission. Such a deal! They had a great time at the Childrens' Museum, exploring all 3 floors, climbing, jumping, playing and just having fun. We followed and occasionally got to help. After leaving we headed back to our hotel and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory across the street at the Prudential Center. Of course the whole weekend was overshadowed by Michael Jackson's death and the ever-present litany of questions from the kids about him. Such as "Why does he look THAT WAY and his brothers look so different?" Oh boy I did not even want to delve into that one...not then, not ever. I don't remember what answer I gave them, but I guess it shut them up for the moment.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early - because even on vacation F and G don't sleep late - and hopped on the "T" (the Boston subway for those of you not in the know) and took it to Government Center, where we could walk to Quincy Market. We bought tickets for the Red Trolley and waited....and waited...and waited. For God's sake, where is this trolley? Every other trolley went by except the Red Trolley! Finally we were picked up and were happy to discover that we were just about the only people on the trolley. There were 2 other couples but we picked up a few more people at the next stop. As is the case with the kids, they will talk to anyone. Anyone. Not always a great thing, but anyway. The trolley driver was very animated - an ex-New Yorker I believe. Gavin kept answering his questions and the next thing you know, Gav and Checka were being invited to sit at the front of the trolley across from the driver. Oh boy they were so excited. For me and Scott it was almost an hour of sightseeing uninterrupted. We were sitting halfway back, enjoying the sights and the kids were up front, helping give the tour. Within 10 minutes the tour driver knew their names, what grades they were in and what we planned on seeing that day. The funniest moment had to be when we crossed into Cambridge and drove past MIT. The driver started talking about MIT and Gavin says "Oh my mommy went there!" and the driver said "Really??" like he was all impressed. I had to correct Gav and say nooooo I am a Northeastern alumni. He was still impressed, just not so much.

We got off the trolley at the Constitution and waited for about 30 minutes in the hot sun to board. You actually have to go through National Security to get on line. Kind of sad that it has all come to that. But we all loved the tour and had fun exploring the ship. After we re-boarded the trolley and headed back to Quincy Market we had decided that we needed to take a boat cruise. So we did. We took a tour of the Boston Harbor. The kids loved that and we loved sitting down for 45 minutes. After that we were suckered in to taking the kids to Build-A-Bear.

Back at the hotel we were very disappointed that it started to rain and we could not swim in the rooftop pool. The hotel manager gave the kids water pistols instead and suddenly their impression of the hotel improved. "No cinnamon rolls Mommy but I did get a water pistol". We couldn't leave as quickly as we wanted to because there was a wedding going on and every freaking wedding guest had valet parked and our car was blocked in. What a nightmare! It took us, the manager and 4 valets to get the van out. 30 minutes later we were on our way to the "No Name Restaurant" on the water for seafood. Yum-O to quote Rachel Ray! We waited for about 20 minutes and then were amazingly sat at a table overlooking the water. Granted our immediate view was the docks where fish is unloaded but hey it was still the water. The waitress gave us a big plate of garlic bread, which the kids eagerly ate. They didn't realize it was garlic bread and we didn't tell them. Not until the plate was clean did we tell them what they ate. If looks could kill...Scott and I would be dead. It was too funny. We all enjoyed our dinner - deep fried seafood for me and Scott, chicken fingers for them. Followed by gooey chocolate and carrot cake for dessert. One cannot come to Boston and not have fried seafood. The kids just about collapsed into bed and we started packing the suitcase to leave the next day.

Sunday June 28th - a national holiday in my book. Actually it was my birthday. The trip was my present. We ate breakfast and then headed out. We drove past Northeastern and I was shocked how much it had changed! Buildings went up where parking lots previously stood. Wow. A former dive bar was now the faculty club! The kids were not impressed. I was. It made me remember how much fun I had going to college there. Francesca said she thought she might want to go to school there. At almost $40K a year I hope she gets some sort of scholarship. I did read that they give athletic scholarships for every sport offered - over 40. Guess we will be finding an obscure one for her to pursue. On the way home we stopped at the "Travelers Rest" restaurant in Vernon, CT. I think it was Vernon - it was exit 74 off of I84. It's a restaurant that is also filled with used books. In fact, everyone gets a free book when they leave. The kids agonized over what book to choose - I think that took longer than eating lunch! After that we drove the 2 hours home and were happy to be back.

We saw so much in Boston but there is so much more to see. The kids definitely want to go back. So do we!

Hello again

2009-09-11T14:44:00.002-04:00

I should just repeat my June post that says I am a sucky blogger but I won't. I should have blogged all summer but I didn't. So this weekend, I will make time to blog. I'll add it to my to-do list. The kids are back to school and already funny stuff is happening. The conversations that the LaDore children have in the back of the car are waaaaay too funny. I should seriously hide a mike back there and tape what they are saying. The other day I almost had a car accident because I was laughing so hard.

We went shoe shopping and F and Gav were introduced to the concept of the "Ped" - at least that's what we always called them. You know, those pantyhose like things that you put on when you try on shoes. They were fascinated with them. They wanted to take them home - which they did, several in fact. So we get in the car and are driving home and all of a sudden those things are on their heads! And they're laughing their butts off! I hear Gav say to Checka, "You look like a cafeteria lady!". OMG I almost crashed my car on I95 I laughed so hard. She said to him "You want ketchup with that kid?" They found so many uses for those sock-thingys over the next few days. I finally had to hide them and throw them out. Cafeteria ladies indeed!

Have you ever heard of this game?

2009-06-11T13:53:00.002-04:00

My mind works in funny ways. I have a big mouth (me??? noooo...who are you talking about??). I sometimes say things I should not. Who doesn't? Tuesday I did not feel too good and told Scott I didn't want dinner but when I got home I'd cook for everyone else. Scott, being the great hubby that he is, told me not to bother, that he'd get the kids and pick up dinner. He came home with dinner (and flowers for me - for no reason!) and the kids. They got dinner from a place in PC (which I will not name, to protect the probably-guilty parties). When he told me which waitress was working, I commented "Oh I bet she'll be playing 'hide the sausage' later with ..." I can't tell you the owner's name because then you'll know where I mean if you live in PC. Ha ha. So then Francesca, who was sitting next to me, says

"Hide the sausage! Hide the sausage? Is that a new kid's game that you play? I've never heard of it. How do you play it?"

I almost choked on my food, as did Scott. If looks could kill, I wouldn't be typing right now. We explained to Francesca that it was not a game and Mommy was just talking about something that people who work in restaurants do...umm not the best explanation but whatever. She did not mention it again thankfully. I really have to watch what I say. Those little ears are always listening!!

R.I.P. Fish

2009-06-11T13:33:00.002-04:00

If you are a follower of my blog, you'll remember the fish incident we had over Christmas break. Never again will we volunteer to host the class fish over school break as we almost killed the one we were watching. We blame all that on Picky Picky, she likes seafood and was looking for a snack.

Anway, Gavin attended a birthday party last week where the "take-home gift" (goody bag kind of thing) was GOLDFISH. OMG I was really hoping Gavin would not see this but of course he did and had to get on line to get one (or two in our case; guess he smiled real nice at the kid's mom and she gave him an extra). So we go home with 2 little fish in a Ziploc container. Scott was oh-so-thrilled when we got home. Francesca was ecstatic, as were the cats! SNACKS, they said! We kept the fish in the plastic container overnight and went to PETCO in the morning to get them a real home.

We came home with a simple tank, some rocks and a lighthouse for the inside. Mommy put the kibbosh on anything too fancy, "because fish die" I said. Wow was that ever prophetic! Scott assimiliated the fish into their new home and all was well...for the next 6 days that is.

Fast forward to last Friday night. We all come home from work/school and the fish are fine. We went out to dinner and then to Kohl's (Mommy needed a new outfit). Got home, walk upstairs and Gavin goes into his room and turns on the light.

"Daddy, COME IN HERE NOW!!! DADDY!!"

One fish had sunk to the bottom of the tank. Uh-Oh...Scott scoops the fish out, shows it to Gavin and says "Gav it's dead. The fish died".

Oh my I have never seen a more heart-breaking and pathetic scene. Scott explained to Gavin and Francesca that when he was younger he would flush his fish down the toilet when they died. Scott had alot of fish over the years, he's an expert on fish. Gavin literally hit the floor in the bathroom, started to sob and covered his eyes with his hands. Francesca started pacing and crying herself. It took everything we had to say goodbye, flush the fish, get the kids into their pj's and calm them down. We thought that it might be nice to all get into mommy and daddy's bed and snuggle. So there we are, in bed, and Gav says

"Mommy, could you please 'say something' about Fish #1?? We need to pray...'In the name of the Father...' "

Oh my, I almost could not get through the "Fish Eulogy" without laughing. Tears were streaming from my face, and not because I was upset. I talked about how Fish #1 was a faithful pet for the 6 days that we had him/her and that him/her enjoyed swimming in the beautiful tank with his/her friend Fish #2. We finally got them into bed and to sleep. We went to bed. The next morning I was woken up before my alarm went off. Why, you ask?

"DADDY!!! MOMMY!!! It happened again!!! Fish #2 is DEAD!!!!"

More tears. More flushing. Tee ball followed by a trip to PETCO to buy 3 more replacement fish. Scott washed out the tank. Fast-forward to Tuesday. 2 of the replacements went belly-up. Literally. One bigger, stronger (we hope) fish remains. Gav is taking all this fish death in stride. He tells us every morning "The fish is alive! It made it throw the night!!"

TOOTS!!!!

2009-06-11T13:26:00.002-04:00

Toots is our new kitten. I will post pix but right now I'm at work and have no pictures to post. She is a mini version of Picky-Picky, our 10 year old fat cat. Well she looks fat now next to Toots, who is only 9 weeks old. We went back and forth over what to name this new addition to our family. I liked "Toontses", like the driving cat on Saturday Night Live, and "Pippa". The kids liked Toots, as did Scott. So Toots it is. The first night though, Gav called her "FiFi" because he "did not want to name the cat something that comes out of him every day". I kid you not. But she is Toots now. Toots is very jumpy - she jumps on us, on furniture, on poor Picky-Picky. Gavin is sort of afraid of her; whenever she is around he yells "TOOOOOOTS" and we know he is crounched in a corner or on a table far out of her reach. He also yells "CAT FIGHT" when the two cats start wrestling. It's all good, she is a cute little thing and we love her.

The World According to Gavin

2009-06-11T13:22:00.003-04:00

A few mornings ago, Gavin was being a good little boy and washing his face/brushing his teeth, without me or Scott having to covince him to do so. I looked at him and said, "Gavin, how did Mommy and Daddy end up with such a cute blond-haired, blue-eyed boy?" to which he replied

"Well Mommy didn't you just ask God for a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy?"

OMG, so cute he is! I cannot stand the cuteness.

"No Gav, I just asked him for a healthy baby, and we got you".

"Hmmm, Mommy...don't you think you should be able to request what you want? He should take requests."

The Gospel According to Gavin :)

I am a sucky blogger!

2009-06-11T13:20:00.000-04:00

Enough of the apologies on my part, I just need to blog more consistently. Funny things have happened at the LaDore house, many in the past week, and Scott shoots me a look and says "That's blog-worthy"...yeah yeah yeah. So again, my apologies, those who actually read my blog (don't think it's many of you) and here goes...

Wow...I'm back!!

2009-04-22T14:42:00.002-04:00

Yikes it's been almost 3 months since I have last posted!! And boy have we been busy! School, vacation to Disney World, lost teeth, tee ball, stomach bugs, birthday parties...But here I am, back at the blog. My husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law will be happy to see a new post. Every now and again they sneak in a comment about my blogging absence; like Scott, who said "Gee Dineen that's blog-worthy...if you even blog anymore...". So I am back. We just started tee ball again, and that means many a blog-worthy story will be coming your way via this blog.

It's almost the end of the school year and I am happy to report that Gavin is loving kindergarten and Francesca is loving the first grade. Neither child can seem to keep their mouth shut (they are their mother's children after all), hence we have gotten a few notes home alluding to the fact that both kids like to chat. Oh well, in the grand scheme of things there are WAY worse things they could do while at school...

One of these days I will post the Disney World pix. We have some great ones of Francesca with the characters, and Gavin trying to hide from the characters. In fact, Gavin enjoyed the character breakfast while hiding under the table, eating a bowl of canteloupe. He actually asked to go back to Chef Mickey's the next time we visit Disney, not to see the characters but to eat at what he thought was an amazing breakfast buffet!

Well that's it for now. I am sure that I will have SOMETHING to blog about soon. I'll keep you posted. I promise.

Fishy...very Fishy...

2009-01-06T22:31:00.002-05:00

So Francesca volunteered us to be a "host family" for Lolly, one of her class's Japanese Fighting Fish, over the holiday break. We were not sure how this was going to go, being we have Picky-Picky (our cat). For the most part everything went smoothly. Picky even slept a few nights in Francesca's room, where Lolly had taken up residence as well. Until Sunday. Sunday afternoon, we were hanging around the house, getting ready to go to a friend's for a few hours. I heard something upstairs fall, but did not think much of it. Francesca tends to pile her toys up in piles and one or more things usually falls over. Fast forward a few hours now...

We are back home and Scott is painting the front door. (It's now midnight blue - it was poopy brown. I love it now. Oh and Scott if you are reading this I think it needs a 3rd coat, but let me get back to the fish story). Scott happens to look at me and say "Babe is Francesca's door open?". We had been keeping the door shut the whole time the fish was vacationing at 62 Wesley. No reason to tempt the cat. OH MY GOD, I think. I RUN upstairs and look on F's dresser. NO FISH BOWL. I look on the floor. There it is...the bowl turned over, the top off, and the fish barely swimming in about 2 inches of water. HOLY CRAP I think. We killed the fish! How is my daughter going to show her face at school tomorrow? Wait, our silly little town has both PETCO and Pet Smart (we don't have a friggin' bookstore but we have 2 pet stores...I digress); if we killed it odds are Scott can find a replacement. I scoop up the fish in the top of the container and the bowl part and run into the bathroom. I dump the fish back in the bowl and add water, all the while screaming OH MY GOD OH MY GOD SCOTT GET UP HERE NOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW! He comes racing upstairs, paintbrush in hand, followed by Francesca, who quickly realizes what has gone down. She is now pacing and yelling BAD CAT BAD CAT at Picky Picky, who prances by the bathroom with a smirk on her face. Scott shooes us out of the bathroom, telling us that all this yelling is stressing the fish out and I stressed it more by adding cold water to the bowl. Oh thank goodness my husband had many a fish in his younger days.

A few minutes later Scott comes out of the bathroom, fish bowl in hand. Gavin has now joined us upstairs and thinks the whole situation is hysterical. Thankfully Lolly is breathing and has a heartbeat. Scott tells us that he shocked it back to life by connecting 2 wires to a 9-volt battery and shocking it, plus he did fishy CPR. He is such a smart-ass sometimes...So we shut Lolly back in F's bedroom, lights low, door shut! Damn Picky sat outside Francesca's bedroom, waiting for her chance to pounce again. I could not wait until Monday morning so Scott could return the fish safely to Francesca's classroom. We already told Francesca (and Gavin) NO MORE CLASS PETS VISITING OUR HOUSE. That's all I'd need, to be known as the family who killed the class pet. We'd have to move...

Holiday Pictures

2009-01-05T21:06:00.002-05:00

Our day in NYC - 12/27/08

Christmas Day at the LaDore's

A New Year of Francesca and Gavin

2009-01-05T20:52:00.003-05:00

It's time for me to sit down and blog about the holidays. We had a lovely Christmas and a quiet New Year's. Here are some of the highlights of the past few weeks, both holiday-related and otherwise:

-Gavin wanted to convert to Judaism this holiday season. After learning all about Hanukkah and eating potato latkes, he proclaimed them "better than the hash browns at McDonald's" and wanted to celebrate Hanukkah, as "it lasts longer than Christmas". I told him that we weren't converting this year but I could most definitely scrounge up a recipe for latkes.

-Gavin also surprised us by changing his mind about Disney...HE IS GOING TO DISNEY NOW!!! At first he said he would just get on the plane, but thanks to his sister, who convinced him the characters would not come near him, he was decided to join in the family fun.

-We "cookied" some friends and our local police/fire/ambulance corps. The kids got into that, wearing their Santa hats and carrying big trays of homemade cookies. The EMT's at the PC/RB Ambulance Corps even invited us in for a tour! The kids got a HUGE kick out of going on the ambulance and seeing the lights and listening to the sirens. Scott was our driver. It was a fun day.

-Francesca sang in our church's childrens' choir on Christmas Eve. She was very nervous about forgetting the words. I told her not to worry, if she forgot the words she should simply hum or open her mouth and pretend to sing. She made it through the Mass just fine, we were all very proud of her.

-We spent the Saturday after Christmas in NYC, taking in the holiday sights and sounds. We saw the windows at Macy's, walked through the Times Square Toys 'R Us, and had dinner at Mars 2112. We then walked through the Fireman's Museum of NYC and saw the tree at Rockefeller Center. Our last stop before going home was St. Patrick's Cathedral, to light candles and say prayers.

All in all, a lovely holiday season. I'll be happy to do it all again next year!

Holiday Musings

2008-12-23T15:11:00.002-05:00

Francesca would like to know why we wish everyone a "Merry" Christmas when on every other holiday we say "Happy" (Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween...)

Gavin has announced this year that he would like to celebrate Hanukkah. He learned all about it in school this week. I am not sure if he likes the idea of presents for 8 nights, or what. I told him he can go to my brother and Pam's if he would like to partake in a Hanukkah celebration. They celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah.

We have a new addition to our family this Christmas season....it's Blue, the class fish, from Francesca's first grade class. She wanted to take Blue home for Thanksgiving, but someone else had already volunteered. So she volunteered for this break the first day back from Thanksgiving break. So Scott picked Blue up at the end of the day and safely brought him home to Francesca's room. Francesca was very worried about Blue's safety given the presence of our cat Picky-Picky. That would be a real Christmas treat for Picky, fresh fish! So hopefully we will not kill the fish over the break. That would really suck.

To you and yours, from me and mine, a Happy, Healthy and safe Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and any other holiday I may have missed!!!

The Wallet

2008-12-12T10:27:00.002-05:00

Gavin wanted a wallet. Why, we are not sure. Francesca has some girly kind of wallet, which totally would not do for him. Scott has been promising to get him one. He went to Jembro yesterday and bought him one for $3. Gavin LOVED it. He was so proud of his wallet. I don't think he'll be putting it in his back pocket though, it's probably bigger than Gav's right butt cheek. He showed me and Francesca what was in his wallet, and let me tell you, if he ever decides to have a big adventure on his own, he's all set.

Contents of Gav's wallet:
$2
Scott's business card
A Dunkin' Donuts gift card (not sure if there is any credit on it)
A Metro Card (Scott thinks he may be able to get downtown with it, Gav VERY excited by the thought of hopping on the subway)

I am sure that Gavin will continue to collect treasures in this wallet. I can't wait to see what else he hides in there!

Gavin Lost a Tooth

2008-12-12T10:08:00.002-05:00

OK I was thinking on my way to work this morning that I had not blogged about Gav and his tooth, and then someone commented that I had forgotten to blog about it! So Monday night Gavin showed us his really loose tooth. Gavin actually has 8 loose teeth, according to his most recent dental visit. Like Francesca, Gavin has really teenyweenyteenytiny teeth. It was getting close to bedtime but Scott and I were afraid to let him go to sleep with such a loose tooth. That's because Gavin is a grinder and we were afraid he'd grind grind grind that tooth right out of its' spot and swallow it! When Francesca lost her first tooth she was eating popcorn at the time and her tooth was so small...well you get the idea. Thankfully she did not realize it and we were able to keep her occupied until we were able to run to my mom's (she saved all of my teeth) and grab one of my old ones, and then, POOF, Oh look Francesca, your tooth fell out! She was 4, she believed us. May she never read this. My mom actually made me return the tooth to her too! But back to Gavin. He sat on the counter in the bathroom and twisted and wiggled and pushed and pulled. Scott offered to tie a string to it and then tie it to the bathroom door. NO NO NO said Gav. He even swished water around in his mouth about a hundred times hoping that would do it. No. We finally had success brushing the teeth over and over again and then it just popped out! He was so excited. The tooth fairy brought him $1 and some stickers and a Matchbox car. He told me last night that he has another loose tooth. I hope it falls out a little easier than this one!

Peace on Earth...blah blah blah

2008-12-10T12:51:00.002-05:00

There may be peace somewhere, but it ain't on Wesley Avenue. Well, at least not if you are Francesca and Gavin. They argue incessantly. Scott said they argued all the way to school (well all of the 1 minute it takes to get there) and proceeded to yell at each other once they both went into the gym to line up with their respective classes. They yelled across the gym at each other. What were they fighting about you ask? Francesca accused Gavin of stealing her turn to put another mini ornament on our Christmas tree Advent calendar. This is a big deal in our house. The kids deliberate over who gets to put the next ornament on and which ornament it will be. Yes you did, no I didn't, yes you did, no I didn't. And so on...Scott finally said that Mommy (me) put an ornament on and maybe they should yell at me. Thanks hon!

Last night they fought over the layout of our Nativity scene. I bought a manger this year at Wal-Mart (amazing what you will find for $10 when you are there at 4:45 on Black Friday). We finally found the big bag of people/animals that my mom had given us last year. Gavin meticulously placed every figure where HE thought they should go. Francesca took issue with this, mainly because she thought there SHOULD NOT BE 3 BABY JESUS'S IN THE MANGER. Well in Gav's defense he placed all the Baby Jesus's in different parts of the manger and had different people/animals looking at them. She did not like this and told him so. Loudly. He proclaimed that he was IN CHARGE and she should just go away. She then not-so-accidentally swept a few pieces off the buffet where the Nativity scene is set up and walked away. I thought a throw-fest would ensue but amazingly Gav just picked up the pieces, re-configured them and walked away. We will see how long all those Baby Jesus figurines last. I tried to tell them that maybe Baby Jesus should not be there at all until Christmas morning, but they did not want to listen. I told them that when I was little, their Uncle Rob, my brother, would hide the Baby Jesus and we would have to find him. Every day. We also had to find my brother's glasses the year he was 5 and hid them in the Christmas tree but that is a whole other story! So maybe ALL the Baby Jesus's should be hidden until then. That was a no-go. Oh no. Baby Jesus (all 3 of them) were staying right there. So stay they did. For now.

So there you go. Stay tuned for the story of Gavin loosing his first tooth. That happened 2 nights ago but I need to run out for lunch now so I'll blog about that later!

You Ate WHAT???

2008-12-04T21:57:00.002-05:00

Last night was my holiday party for work. My parents picked the kids up from school, fed them dinner at their house and then brought them over to our house, got them changed and put them to bed. We got home around 9:30 and all was well, kids were asleep. No reported problems and my parents went home. This morning my mom leaves a message on my cell phone telling me that she forgot to tell me a funny thing and to please call. So I call and she starts laughing before she can even get the story out. I am like her in that respect, I do the same thing.

She tells me that once they got to our house she was getting the kids washed up and ready for bed. My dad was downstairs, apparently in the kitchen where he spied a plate of Christmas cutouts. My mom and the kids came downstairs and saw him holding one. The conversation went a little like this...

Pa: "Linda, these cookies that Dineen made are awful hard. What's in them??"

Ma: "I have no idea....."

Francesca and Gavin: "PA!!!!! WHY ARE YOU EATING OUR CINNAMON APPLESAUCE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS??"

I am so glad he only got one bite into them and did not break a tooth or something like that. He really would have been pissed off about that. In my defense, the ornaments had broken a little bit (well a few of them had dropped) so they looked a little "crumby". The reason they were on a plate was because Francesca wanted Scott to try to fix the broken ones. I guess they sort of looked like cookies. Really hard cookies. Oh boy did I get a good laugh at work over that one. That made my day.

Francesca's New Vocabulary

2008-12-01T13:27:00.002-05:00

Thursday night, after all the Thanksgiving hoopla was over, Francesca and Scott settled into our bed to watch Andrew Zimmern's food show on the Travel Channel. I can't think of the title of the show right now to save my life, but you know the one; he travels to exotic locales and eats things that we would not, in our right minds, ever eat. Gavin and I chose to snooze on the couch and forgo television altogether. Francesca really got into watching it, and apparently asked Scott a few questions about what things Andrew was eating. As in...

"Daddy, what is that man eating? They said he ate the brain, stomach and...the what?"

Scott: "Go ask your mother to explain that word to you."

Francesca: "Mommy, what is the tes...test...TESTICLES! Andrew Zimmern was eating the testicles of the WILD WHORE!"

Me: "WHAT??? SCOTT! Turn the channel! Francesca, the testicles are part of the willie...sort of. And it's a WILD BOAR, not wild whore! Isn't it time for bed?"

Francesca: "HE ATE PART OF THE WILLIE??? THAT IS DISGUSTING! Why would he do that?"

Well, all weekend long we had to hear about Andrew Zimmern and his delicious wild boar testicles. I really really hope she doesn't go into school and tell people what she watches on TV. Ugh.

What's New...

2008-11-19T13:51:00.002-05:00

Not too much, actually, which could account for my lack of blogging. I will say, however, that the LaDore children seem to be taking some pretty hard stands on the political future of our country. Let me just say that both Scott and I are INDEPENDENTS, which mean that we don't force the political views of either party down our children's throats. We really don't talk politics in front of them, because they have a tendency to repeat what they have heard, usually at the worst possible time.

Gavin seems to be anti-Obama. He's 5, so I am not sure how he can be anti-anything, except, nail-clipping, tooth-brushing and showers. At any rate, all one has to do is mention President-Elect Obama and Gavin launces into his "BOOrack Obama" chants...as in..."Boo-rack, Boo-rack". We have explained to him that President-elect "Boo-rack" will be leading our country for the next 4 years and that he should not mock his name, but Gav doesn't care.

Francesca is very interested in the idea of a President, and how one becomes elected. Last night she told me that she knew that 2 people with the name "Clinton" were trying to be President. She asked me if they were perhaps brother and sister, or maybe cousins? No I said, Bill Clinton was our President at one time, and his WIFE Hillary had attempted to run, but she was beat by the aforementioned "Boo-rack Obama" in the primary. Ohhhhh she said...got it.

A few nights ago, Scott was reading Francesca a book she took out from the library, called "So You Want to be the President". It had interesting facts about all the Presidents and she was enjoying it. I was brushing Gav's teeth when all of a sudden I heard Scott say "WHAT? WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT? REPEAT IT FOR MOMMY!" Oops I thought, what did she hear??

Francesca: "Did you know that George W. Bush took money from the poor people? Did he really do that?"

Scott: "Francesca where did you hear that? I hope you did not hear that at school...wait a minute, Dineen, when was the last time my mom babysat??????"

Grammy Carol, I know you are reading this, and we love you, but NO MORE POLITICAL COMMENTARY TO THE CHILDREN. Scott then explained that no President is perfect and the beauty of being an American is having opinions...Democracy at work right on Wesley Avenue!

What's New

2008-11-04T21:21:00.002-05:00

Yeah yeah I haven't blogged in a week or so. Soooo busy. I have to blog about the Vermont trip and Halloween. But tonight I am glued to the TV watching the election returns. But I have 2 quickies for you all.

Gavin apparently thinks Barack Obama is Italian, as he keeps referring to him as "Rocco Bomma". As in "Mommy, did you vote for John McCain or Rocco Bomma today?". My kids are too cute. They went to vote with Scott. He said that Francesca was yelling "WHO DID YOU PULL THE LEVER FOR? MCCAIN OR OBAMA??? TELL ME DADDY!"

Last weekend I was in CVS with Francesca, picking up this and that. We were in the feminine hygiene aisle, picking up some necessary items. Francesca was intrigued. Hmmmm, I could see the wheels turning in her head as she picked up a box and turned it every which way trying to figure out what one would do with such things.

Francesca: "Mommy, what do you DO with these things? Where do they go? How do you use them?"

Me: "Ummmm...Ummmm...well...ladies use them."

Francesca: "What for?"

Me: "Well Francesca. They keep ladies fresh."

Francesca: "YOU MEAN YOU CAN GO BAD????"

Oh my God I almost fell down laughing in aisle #12. It was such an innocent statement. I have explained many things to my kids (remember the 'how are babies born?' post?) but I could not could not even begin to explain THAT to her. As it is I only have about 5 more years before I have to explain it all in depth. She really made me smile that day.

Gavin Gavin Gavin

2008-10-24T15:07:00.002-04:00

Every day I ask Gav what happened or what he learned at school today. His new thing is to tap one ear and then the other. At first, I thought it meant "stop talking Mommy and listen to me". Oh no...Far from that. He told me that it means "the things I learn go in one ear and out the other...so I can't tell you what I learned. It slipped out already." Okayyyyyyyyyyy, one guess where he got that little gem. He can thank his father for that one. I told him last night that maybe if he puts his hand over one of his ears things won't slip out.

Goings-On with the LaDore's

2008-10-20T21:32:00.002-04:00

Hmmm...what have we been doing? Well on Oct. 11th we went to the Danbury Railway Museum for the Pumpkin Patch Train ride. That was fun. The kids wore their costumes and got to pick free pumpkins in a pumpkin patch. They loved the train museum and could have spent hours there. Then we went for lunch and headed home. It was a nice, sunny fun-family day!

This past Sunday we took the kids to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. Francesca is very into the following science-related subjects - the weather, the solar system, hurricanes and tarantulas, so we thought this museum would be fun. Gavin is interested in dinosaurs and fish so there were things for him too! We started out in the Hayden Planetarium space show, which was loud (according to Gavin) but very neat (Francesca). From there we walked through the exhibit of the solar system and then had lunch. Gavin impressed some lady at the salad bar by requesting cucumbers, shredded carrots, broccoli and grilled chicken. She remarked that she had never seen a kid ask for veggies before. Aha I thought, you have never hung with the LaDore's!!

After we finished lunch we headed to the 4th floor and worked our way down. The kids hung in there. A few times Gavin complained he was tired, but once he found exhibits that interested him, his "exhaustion" quickly faded. They both seemed to enjoy the Native American peoples exhibit, especially after I told them that Pa's (my dad is Pa) grandmother was a Native Sioux Indian, which makes me and the kids a little part Indian ourselves. And yes, Francesca, she DID have the long braids! Francesca also liked the South American peoples display; she is all into Machu Piccu and the ancient ruins lately, so she loved seeing the replicas. Of course both kids were very amused to see the people wearing loin cloths or no clothing at all - "Look Mommy I see his willie! And her boobies! Why don't they have clothes on? They should cover their willies!!!" WHY OH WHY are my children so fascinated with genitalia? Francesca even pointed out the baboon's protruding body appendage. I know these museums strive for accuracy but could they maybe just turn the animal/people ever so slightly so as to hide the willies????

I am proud to say that we walked all 4 floors of the museum. We were all very tired last night. But we had fun. Our next city excursion will be to either the Childrens' Museum of Manhattan, the new sports museum or the Intrepid. Scott is away tonight, on business in New Jersey, so I can blog in peace with the kids sleeping. But I must sign off now, because if Miss F starts sleepwalking and finds that I am not in my bed all hell will break loose. I don't want that, seeing as how she has already cried because Daddy is not home tonight. Blah blah blah...like I am chopped liver...she forgets that I endured 2 bouts of bedrest, preterm labor and then after all was said and done 2 failed inductions and then a C-section to bring her into this world! But who's complaining???

I'm Not Going!

2008-10-15T23:07:00.001-04:00

We are going to Disney World next February - YIPPEE!!! It's my parents' 40th anniversary next July and they are celebrating by taking a family trip to Disney! So that's the 2 of them, the 4 of us and my brother Rob and his wife Pam. We are excited. Well, 7 of us are excited. Gavin wants NO PART of this trip. He has character issues...Not his character of course, that is just A-OK. He has issues with Mickey, Minnie and any other big-headed over-sized character. He keeps telling us he's not going. Scott has told him that we will be taking a monorail from our hotel to the Magic Kingdom. We've told him that we may run into 'Lightening McQueen' at the Disney Hollywood Studios and take several different train rides in the different parks. We've talked up the pools, the LEGO store, the GREAT FUN THAT IS DISNEY. It's not working. The other night, out of the blue, we had this conversation:

GAVIN: Mommy, when you are in Florida (note the YOU here), when you go outside and go to the front of the hotel, the lobby, what do they call it, could you do me a favor?

ME: Umm...sure Gav. What do you mean 'when YOU are in Florida'? YOU are coming with us!

GAVIN: Mommy, when you go to the lobby, could you buy a postcard and send it to me?? Because I am staying home.

My son is too much...way way way too much.

The dreaded Flu Shot

2008-10-09T13:47:00.002-04:00

Today the kids are off from school. My parents are watching them. My mom brought them up to my office for their flu shot. I told them both last night that they were getting flu shots today, and they both ignored me. Totally ignored me. Pretended that if they didn't react, maybe just maybe I would forget about their flu shots. Ha! As if that would happen. Gavin has asthma and Francesca has had a tiny murmur since birth. They NEED their flu shots.

So they came running over to my triage area, all smiley and happy. Until I said "come on let's go find Nurse Shannon." Noooooooooooooo they screamed. Gav dug his heels into the floor and hung on to my desk and said he was not moving no no no!! So I picked him up, dragged him and Francesca into an exam room and held fast to Gavin while Shannon quickly gave him his shot. You would think that I had just pulled his toenails out one by one with pliers, the way he was screaming. Francesca actually hid under a chair! I got her out too. My whole office knew they were there. How could you not hear them - they were screaming loud enough for people 3 states away to hear! But it's over for another year. Hopefully we will all stay healthy this winter!

Out and About

2008-10-05T16:26:00.002-04:00

I went to church this morning (the rest of the family stayed home). Then we went to Chef Central so I could get some baking supplies. On the way home both kids of course started to complain how hungry they were...what else is new?! Scott and I decided to take them to the local Chinese Buffett in White Plains, since we were about 5 minutes away from it at that moment. Francesca was so excited, and said she could not wait to have "orphan cookies". We could not figure out what she meant, until she said it again and we realized she was talking about fortune cookies.

Francesca only will eat fruit, white rice and crispy noodles while there. Gavin truly "gets" the concept of a buffett, and goes for several plates. He had one full of fruit - watermelon, apricots and honeydew. His second plate had sweet and sour chicken (minus the sauce so it was just chicken), rice, boneless spare ribs and a mushroom/pepper/meatball on a stick thing. He ate everything but the pepper. Then he had another plate of the meatball things plus more fruit. And then a little piece of cake. We're not sure where he puts it all sometimes. He fell asleep on the way home. The kids are doing arts and crafts now while Scott and I are folding laundry and doing stuff in the basement.

A Busy Saturday

2008-10-04T19:57:00.002-04:00

This morning started with our furnace kicking on; Scott and I thought, "hey it's cold but not THAT cold". So he hopped out of bed and turned it off. Not ready for those high heating bills just yet. We had a busy Saturday ahead of us. I had a list. It began with the library. The LaDore's love the library. We never leave the library with less than 10 books. Today we were probably at around 12-15. Makes for one heavy tote bag!

Our next stop was Home Depot. Home Depot, on the first Saturday of the month, does a FREE kids' project workshop. Scott and the kids discovered this last month while wandering through Home Depot. They made mini football goalposts. Today's craft was a wooden firetruck. So the kids grabbed their Home Depot orange aprons (given to them last month at HD) and away we went! Once we got there we realized other people knew about this great find too. But the kids signed in and we found spots at the long table and set to work. Gavin and I were a team, and Scott and Francesca were as well. The kids did pretty good, even doing the hammering on their own (for the most part anyway). The only injury was Daddy's thumb, tapped by Francesca's hammer once or twice. Kids' workshops at Home Depot are such a great thing! Plus they are FREE FREE FREE (readers with young children take note).

After we finished at HD, we headed for Target for Halloween costumes. Francesca decided on a "cute witch" or "pink witch" or something like that, while Gavin chose a Red Power Ranger. Mommy and Daddy did not get costumes. Sniff sniff...

We then did some more errands - quick stop to my parents' house, gas, the ATM, haircuts. Then we went to the Port Chester Rams football game. Scott and I are both graduates of PCHS and we live 3 blocks away from it, so it is fun to go. We ran into our friend Ed while we were there. Gavin and Francesca made a beeline for the concession stand, proclaiming they were STARVING. They had hot dogs, because there is nothing those 2 kids love more than a good ole' dirty water dog. Gavin even asked Scott for more money so he could go up and get himself a snack, BY HIMSELF THANK YOU VERY MUCH. When his sister tried to follow him (or "help Big Guy" as she put it) he turned around, looked at her, pointed and yelled "YOU STAY THERE!!!". We had to laugh, especially when a woman looked at the guy she was with and said "those two sound like an old married couple". We left at halftime, but I think they must have won the game, because we heard lots of beeping horns and that usually signals a win. Haven't heard the beeps in a long, long time...go PC RAMS!!!!

I then headed to the grocery store by myself and Scott and the kids stayed home. Dinner was quick and then Gavin passed out on the couch. Hopefully F will do the same and Scott and I can watch a movie! More stories tomorrow I hope!!

Gavin's Morning Musings

2008-10-03T20:40:00.002-04:00

Gavin usually gets up right around the time I am getting out of the shower and drying my hair and putting on my makeup. This morning I heard a little knock and then he entered the bathroom. He gave me a big hug and kiss because when I got home from teaching last night they were already asleep.

"Mommy, Daddy did not cook for us last night. He took us to Burger King for dinner. But look! I got a toy in the Kid's Meal. Let me show you. But first I have to go to the bathroom. Mommy, you know what? I am going to sit to peep. Let me tell you why. I want to read the directions to my toy and if I stand to go peep I can't hold the toy and directions because I have to hold my willie so I don't pee all over the walls. That makes Daddy mad. If I sit, I can peep and read the directions."

He sits...

"Actually Mommy since I am sitting I might as well go poop too. Since I am sitting you know..."

Oh my he makes me laugh. But you know what, he thought it through and gave me a good argument why he should sit instead of stand.

Port Chester Day, PCMS Carnival, The Mets

2008-10-03T20:20:00.003-04:00

We went to Port Chester Day on Sept. 13. We spent a good part of the day there. The kids were very excited because there were blow-up things for them to jump on like a jumping castle and blow-up obstacle course. The kids went from thing to thing and we stood around holding their shoes. I was kind of bored. But then I discovered zeppoles and I stood around eating zeppoles and holding their shoes. I talked to other parents who were standing around holding their own kids' shoes. Plus we listened to the various musical acts that were playing. Francesca volunteered to go up on stage and sing along with Lou DelBianco, a local childrens' entertainer. A bunch of kids went on stage and sang "Around the World" with Lou. It was cute. Then they did some sand art and we went home. Until it was time for fireworks. Then we returned. Minus Gavin. Gavin is not a fan of fireworks. Gavin opted to stay with my parents. My parents only live a few blocks from Lyons Park where PC Day was being held. But I guess he stayed inside during the fireworks. It was a win-win situation for the LaDore children. Francesca ran around the park that night with some of her friends and had our undivided attention. Gavin stayed with my parents, pretended he was an only child for a few hours, and had their undivided attention.

The next Sunday we went to the Port Chester Middle School carnival. More blow-up jumping things. More games. No zeppoles but they did have pizza fritta, although whoever made it was obviously not a professional because the one I snarfed down at the fireworks display the week before was much better. Anyway...the kids even played Laser Tag inside a dark, blow-up enclosed space. The vest that they had to wear was so big on Gavin we thought he would not be able to stand up if he was knocked down. But he did OK. They played a bunch of games at the carnival too. Francesca chose plastic blow-up instruments and animals as her prizes. Gavin chose yo-yos. 5 of them in fact. He kept going back to the same booth, putting his sunglasses on and smiling at the 8th grade girls. I think they just let him win the game. They thought he was "soooooo cute" and adorable. They all knew him too, because those girls all had me as their religion teacher for 5th and 6th grade CCD class so they remembered Gavin from way-back-when. Gavin loved being the center of attention, especially since there were girls involved.

Last Saturday we went to the second to last baseball game at Shea Stadium. It rained a little but we sat through it. Eventually it stopped, the game started, and we had a fun time. Gavin really got into it, clapping and yelling right along with Scott. I had a bad cold and was miserable. But it was fun to be there, especially since next year the Mets will play at their new stadium, "Citi Field". It was a fun day.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

2008-10-03T19:57:00.002-04:00

I know I've been slacking in the blogging dept.; I keep saying to myself that I need to sit down to blog. I even wrote it in my planner - "blog!" Today 2 people reminded me that I was doing some major blog slacking. My sister-in-law emailed me to say that I was not keeping her up to date with the kids' "goings-on" and then "Anonymous" commented along the same lines - could they both be Joelle? Who knows. At any rate, I'm back and full of stories.

School has been going pretty well. Gavin loves kindergarten. He runs in every morning and half the time doesn't even stop to kiss and hug his daddy. I was off this past Monday and brought the kids to school. Gavin started to run in and only when I yelled "Hey where's my kiss" did he turn around and come back to give me one. Gavin has discovered the joys of buying lunch at school. Francesca will only buy lunch on pizza day (Fridays) and "Brunch for Lunch" days, when they offer French Toast sticks with either sausage, ham or bacon. Gavin is more adventurous and has sampled not only pizza and hamburgers, but the cafeteria delicacy "rotini with meat sauce" - yesterday's lunch - but is not sure why the cafeteria ladies choose to serve green beans with the rotini. He did enjoy the side of Italian bread though.

Gavin comes home full of stories and details about school - who was bad, who was good, who he played with on the playground. His teacher told us at Back to School night that he tells her every morning what is going on in his life since he last saw her the day before. Uh oh, Scott and I thought, we'd better watch what we do and say at home; he's liable to tell her EVERYTHING that goes on at home! Gavin was also lucky enough to be chosen "Singer of the Week" one week by the music teacher. We found this incredibly funny since we can't remember the last time we heard Gavin sing anything. He claims to have sung "Humpty Dumpty" at school.

Francesca likes 1st grade. She just is not as enthusiastic in the mornings. Poor Scott. He has to deal with her and her moods in the mornings. Last week I tried to make the mornings a bit easier. Francesca and I sat down on Sunday night and picked out a week's worth of outfits, based on the Weather Channel's predictions and when she has gym and has to wear sneakers. Everything was examined and tried on, and accesories and shoes were picked. Then we actually wrote it all down on an index card so there was no confusion about what she was wearing on a particular day. The only problem we had was with her socks. She always complains about her socks. "Bumps in my socks" is what she tells her father. This infuriates Scott. Especially when she starts this crap as she is exiting the car in front of school. A few mornings I have called Scott at work to see how drop-off was and he is still exasperated over our daughter's sock issues. Aside from her potential wardrobe malfunctions she is doing fine.

It is nice to have them both at the same school but sometimes I think they don't like sharing the school with each other. Francesca has a year up on Gavin so she thinks she is a bit "cooler". Gavin has an "I-don't-really-care-what-you-think" attitude and ignores his sister on the playground. I picked them up from the after-school program one day and Gavin told me that his sister "tackled" him:

GAVIN: "Mommy, Checka attacked me on the playground. She tried to tackle me and her friend helped! That wasn't nice."

ME: "Francesca, why did you tackle your brother?"

FRANCESCA: "I wanted to say hello to him and he would not say hello to me. I was just holding on to the back of his collar so he would stop and say hi!"

GAVIN: "Mommy, I DID NOT WANT TO TALK TO MY SISTER. I told her to leave me alone and she would not!"

School is good.

Francesca the Fish Feeder

2008-09-11T13:49:00.002-04:00

Francesca's 1st grade class has a fish; a Japanese Fighting Fish to be exact. Its' name is "Blue". She is the "official" fish feeder. I guess it is her job every day to feed Blue. 2 days ago she even took an interest in feeding our cat, Picky Picky. She came home, changed her water and gave her a few cat treats. Which Picky happily ate. I hope Francesca is not like my brother when he was 6. I had 2 fish, Arnold and Willis (named after the brothers on the TV show Diff'rent Strokes). Robert fed my fish one day and killed Arnold. I should say that he smothered them in fish food, just covered the top of the bowl. Arnold ate too much and his stomach probably exploded. Oh well. I hope Francesca has an easy hand when it comes to the food...

Gavin and the Rosary

2008-09-11T13:41:00.002-04:00

So, as previously mentioned, Gavin is making a nice transition from nursery school to kindergarten. He is happy to get up in the morning, get dressed, and come downstairs for breakfast. Yesterday he came downstairs dressed and accessorized - by 2 sets of Rosary beads. Nope. Not happening in public school buddy.

"Ummm, Gavin...You need to take those off, honey. You can't wear Rosary beads to school."

"WHY NOT MOMMY? I could wear them to Our Lady of Grace."

"Yes, Gavin, I understand, but Park Avenue is not OLOG and you can't wear them to school. Why, Gav? How do I even explain this to you...At OLOG you learned about Jesus; at Park Ave. you don't. Remember? No praying in the mornings at school anymore. There are alot of kids at your school, and not all of them are Catholic. Some are different religions and go to different churches or places to pray. OK???"

How do I even START to explain separation of Church and State to my kindergartener??? Ugh! While I am very happy that he is being religious I also don't need a call from the school telling me my son is throwing a hissy fit because they didn't say Grace before snack. Readers DO NOT FLAME ME. :)

"Mommy? Can I wear my Rosary to Church on Sunday? Is that the right place to wear it?"

"Yes Gav. Right place. And you can even wear the glow in the dark Rosary too."

Happy little boy.

What we've been doing...

2008-09-09T13:54:00.003-04:00

Last night as I was talking to my sister-in-law, she reminded me that I have not blogged since returning from vacation. The last few weeks of relaxation before school started took hold, and I never sat down to blog. We've done some fun things with the kids - an afternoon at Rye Playland, a whole Sunday at the Bronx Zoo, a loooooong playdate with Jane and Gwen, and several trips for ice cream.

School started last Thursday. Since I had planned ahead (for the most part) there was no running around last minute for school supplies. New backpacks were in their closets (thanks Mom) and both kids had new outfits for the first day. I labeled EVERYTHING, including each and every one of Gavin's crayons (2 boxes of 16 each) - and don't get me started on how many pencils I labeled for Francesca. But I feel better knowing they have THEIR stuff to use, and I felt very vindicated at the end of the last school year when F actually came home with supplies bearing her name!

I knew Gavin would be OK on the first day. I had the day off so both Scott and I could bring them to school, and I could attend the Kindergarten parent coffee. Gavin marched right in the front doors of Park Avenue, acting very much like a BMOC. That's "big man on campus" for those of you not in the know...I guess in Gav's case it would be BGOC - "Big Guy on campus"...ha ha ha. Anyway, we found his class assignment and stayed in the corner of the gym where his class was meeting. Francesca by this time was already sniffling and sniveling with Scott in another part of the gym. By the time I went over to her it had snowballed into full-scale boo-hooing, for which neither of us had any patience. Several people tried to comfort her - us, her friend's mom, her old Kindergarten teachers' aide, her new teacher, the speech teacher, the principal and the school psychologist. UGH!!! Finally someone disentangled her from us and away they went (I later found out she was fine, just pissed that Gavin had a half-day and was going out to lunch with me). Gavin did not make things easy on her either:

"Oh Checka...I won't need lunch today...wanna know why? I have a half day and mommy is picking me up...oh and we are going to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch, and you are not..."

Thanks for making things easy for us Gavin, we soooo appreciate your help! So far so good with school. They both like it and have been relatively problem-free in the mornings while getting ready for school. I should have lots and lots of stories to blog about now that school has started. I promise to be better!!!

The Catskills, Big Indian and the Bear that never was

2008-08-25T21:57:00.003-04:00

Monday we left Bennington, headed for Big Indian in the Catskills. Our friends Gloria and Judy have a cabin there that we have been fortunate enough to stay at for the past few summers. It is sooo quiet there - they don't have a TV so it's REAL quiet! But the kids adjust, they love running around outside, looking for "treasures" and stuff to pick up. We had to go grocery shopping in VT before we left because there are no big grocery stores anywhere near the cabin. We couldn't even get cell service unless we were in the parking lot at the lake 10 minutes away. But that was OK, sometimes it's nice to be removed from the outside world. I did miss watching the Olympics though. Thankfully the little local deli/market had a nice selection of newspapers so I could snag the NY Post and NY Times every morning. We did have to watch out for the bears that may run wild around the area. We saw more than a few deer, but thankfully never a bear. Although Francesca (and me too I will admit) kept watch over our shoulder making sure there were none!

We spent most of our time at the Pine Hill Lake/Belleayre Beach. This is a state-run, manmade lake. They basically poured concrete on one side of the lake and dumped a whole lot of clean sand on top of it. $7 a car to get in and stay all day. Which we did. We had sandwiches, drinks, snacks and sand toys. Francesca and Scott tanned (naturally), Gav got a little pink and then tanned, and of course I still have a sunburn on my chest and legs even after using sunblock. One day we even rented paddleboats and paddled around the lake. Well Scott and I did most of the paddling, the kids sort-of helped. They insisted on having 2 seperate boats ("the boys and the girls") and kept telling us to try to bump the other one.

One morning we went to Sweet Sue's, which is this awesome place in the middle of nowhere (actually nowhere is Phoenicia, which could be considered urban nowhere because it has a main street, a gas station, a bank, a few restaurants and a library - BUT STILL NO CELL SERVICE). Sweet Sue's has fabulous breakfasts and strong coffee. This is what we had for breakfast -

Dineen - chocolate chip pancakes - yum yum yum
Scott - huevos rancheros - mucho bueno
Francesca - french toast
Gavin - fruit (naturally because that's Gav for you, but the fruit was fresh and sweet)

Our family did a few things this year that we had not done in the past. We drove up Belleayre Mountain, hoping to find the Belleayre Chair Lift ride open. It was not. Instead, we found the Catskill Mountain Nature Center. We were the only ones there that day. It was free and fun! The kids loved it! They explored the room, looking and touching all the exhibits. Which was OK because they were there to be touched. They put on a puppet show, pretended to be birds collecting worms, climbed inside a tent, and completed giant puzzles.

The other really fun thing we did was on our way home. We went to the World's Largest Kailadoscope (I know I spelled this wrong but you know what I mean) in Mount Tremper. It was in this hoity-toity complex of gift shops that was next to a hoity-toity spa and resort. IT WAS SO COOL. I can't even begin to tell you how cool it was. We were the first group of the day. The guide brought us into the windowless room and told us to either stand up against the back supports or lay on the floors with a pillow (provided and since we were the first people of the day I did not worry so much about lice - my brain runs wild sometimes, I admit). Francesca and I got down on the floor with our pillows while Scott and Gavin stood. The lights went out and the show began. The kailiedoscope (trying a different spelling this time, still wrong I think) is in an old silo. It is an electronic show that is beamed to the top and set to music. Our kids are still talking about the coolness of it all, days later. If you are ever in Mount Tremper or Ulster County you have to go to the Emerson Spa and see the World's Largest K (I won't bother botching the spelling this time).

We got home Friday afternoon. It was a fun vacation but all good things come to an end. Plus the cat really missed us. Even the kids noticed that Picky Picky was in an especially pleasant and meowy mood when we got home. She nuzzled us instead of trying to bite us! We unpacked, rested for a little bit, went through the mail and then went out to dinner since we had no food in the house! A great end to a fun vacation! Stay tuned for more LaDore adventures. Be sure to keep reading, because we are planning to return to Bennington in October, when the town plans to host a "Thriller Dance-a-thon" which purports to be a large gathering of people doing the Michael Jackson "Thriller" dance moves, along with other cities across the world, in order to try to break a Guinness Book of World Records record. I am not making this up, I swear. Scott and I decided that this is an event not to be missed!!!

Vacation Wrap-Up

2008-08-25T21:19:00.001-04:00

OK, I am really too tired to post right now, but it has been a while and before my dear SIL Joelle sends me an email telling me she has not read anything new on my blog I figured I'd better sit down and let you know about the LaDore's vacation.

We started out on 8/16 heading up to Bennington, Vermont. For those of you not familiar with Bennington, it is in the southwestern corner of Vermont. Robert Frost is buried there. Grandma Moses painted there - she may be buried there too, I forget. It is where my dad was born and raised. It is also home to the Battle of Bennington Monument, which actually took place across the state line in Hoosick, NY. Whatever! Anyhoo, we always go to Bennington around this time of year because it is "Bennington Battle Week". This year I had other ideas, as in Lake George. Scott put the kibbosh on that real quick, telling me it is "tradition", that we have gone to Bennington in August every year since Francesca was born. He's right - she attended her 1st Battle Day parade at the tender age of 3 months. So off we went. The kids were sooooo excited - they love love love Bennington. Not sure why. Maybe it's the clean, fresh-air smell. That's my favorite. Maybe it's the apple cider donuts we get at the Apple Farm. Maybe it's the Hampton Inn pool (a close second). Nooooo, bet you can't guess. I'll tell you. It's the Bennington Monument. Why, you ask, are my kids so fascinated with this Mini-Me version of the Washington Monument? I couldn't begin to tell you! But I do know that as soon as we hit a certain part of VT Rte 7 and they could see the monument they were jumping around in their seats and pointing. Francesca has always loved the monument. In fact, she has a little wooden replica of the monument that she would carry around with her, until we had to confiscate it after she started using it as a weapon against her then-infant brother.

So we stopped at the Monument, walked around the grounds and then went up to the top (it was free that day). Yikes, I did not like it last year and I did not like it any better this year. IT WAS HIGH AND I HATE HEIGHTS!!!! But up we went, and I started to freak out as soon as the elevator door opened. Gavin had his camera and wanted to go right up to the OPEN (but barred) windows and take pictures. I almost started hyperventilating. I kept trying to pull him back towards me but Scott would not let me, trying to tell me that the open (but barred) part was higher than even Gavin could reach. Gavin is like Harry Houdini, he can get out or wiggle his way into, anything! I thought Scott may actually punch me, because once Francesca saw me freaking out she decided to follow suit. We were probably only up there for about 10 minutes but it seemed like a lifetime! I was soooo happy to get down back down on the ground and vowed never ever to go up it again.

Then we went and checked into the Hampton Inn. It is the biggest (but still only 3 floors) and one of only 2 chain, hotels in Bennington. In the past, we have stayed at the Best Western, the Paradise Motor Inn and even Darling Kelly's (when F was a baby - I felt like we were staying in one of the rooms at my grandparents' house). The Hampton Inn has 24-hour fresh coffee (a plus for the parents), afternoon cookies, a hot continental breakfast and most importantly an indoor pool!!!! We CANNOT stay anyplace that does not have a pool! The LaDore children must swim. We ate at Carmody's that night, a local bar and grill where you instantly feel welcome even though it's been a year since you last set foot in the door. The kids and I walked up to the local chocolate/candy store and bought fudge and goodies while we waited for a table.

Sunday morning we got up, ate breakfast, and then went to put our chairs out along the parade route. We can do this in Bennington and not worry that they are going to be stolen, as they would be if we did that at home. In fact, you can kiss a good viewing spot goodbye if you don't put your chairs out by 9 or 10 am the latest! We got ours out by 9:15 or so and then went for a ride. Then they dropped me off at church and Scott and the kids went to the VT state fish hatchery. My parents and grandparents used to take me and my brother there when we were little. For a nickel, you get a handful of stinky fish food pellets to throw in the fish ponds. The kids love this. They go throw several handfuls and watch to see if any fish jump up to ge the treats (the fish always do). Then it was time for the parade.

Oh the parade. We pretty much always sit in the same spot, right near this cute little antiques store called "Junque" and across the street from the big white-trashy family. Granted, there are alot of people who could fall into this category in this town (I still love you Benningtonians but I speak the truth). 3 years ago we sat in front of their house and shared the sidewalk with 1 guy, his 2 girlfriends, a gaggle of kids and someone's mother-in-law. At one point, one of the kids got some red lollipop stickyness on his face. To be nice, I pulled out a wipe and handed to his mom (at least I think it was his mom, it may have been his auntie or his dad's baby momma #2). But I digress....No, she didn't need my wipe, she just took off his tee shirt and wiped his face with it. Ewwwww...Do you see why we sit ACROSS the street from them now??? Anyway, my day isn't complete until I see "our friends" at the parade. Then there is the 35 year old still getting around town on his BMX bike. I should shut up now because if Scott and I ever hit Powerball we are buying land in Bennington and building a log cabin and these people could be my neighbors!!! But the kids love the bands and picking up candy that is thrown and of course the fire trucks, because the parade is sponsored by the fire department.

We swam in the pool Saturday night, Sunday night and Monday morning before we left for the Catskills. Catskills coming up in the next post.

Grumpy Checka

2008-08-12T19:22:00.003-04:00

This daughter of ours is a real grump. I can't even begin to imagine what the teenage years are going to be like. I imagine there may be alot of alcohol involved (on me and Scott's part, not hers; we will need a stiff drink every night) and probably a belly piercing or maybe a tattoo (her not us). Yesterday I asked my mom to meet me at the library with the kids after I got out of work. She obliged and even took them a little early to choose their books. Well of course Miss Grumpy a bug up her butt about something, not sure exactly what. She huffed and puffed like the Big Bad Wolf over some (imagined) injustice committed by me unto herself. When we got to the car, my mom asked the kids for hugs and kisses. Gavin was more than happy to give Ma his cheek but Checka gave a humpf and got into the car. My mom said "Checka are you going to give me a kiss?" to which she answered with a humpf and a sigh. Gavin looked at my mom and said "I think that's a NO Ma!" We laughed and laughed and even F giggled a little at her own sillyness. I love Miss Grumpy but boy am I tired of her moods...

Tag Sale, Part 2

2008-08-12T19:15:00.002-04:00

I forgot to mention Gavin's favorite (and first) tag sale "purchase" of the day - his old comforter off of "his" bed at my mom and dad's. He was HORRIFIED that my mom would even THINK of selling it. He actually dissolved into tears and hid in the basement after we told him that he could not keep it. Scott found him about 20 minutes later still crying. So after looking at his sweet tear-stained face we all said "OK Gav you can keep it". He was so happy that he dragged it upstairs to his room and put it on his bed. Neatly. He has proceeded to make his bed (with 2 comforters on it) for the past 3 mornings. So I guess I can't complain too much about it...Now if I could only find something that would make Francesca make HER bed!

The Tag Sale

2008-08-11T21:19:00.002-04:00

Saturday was our tag sale. As much as I enjoy getting rid of things, I absolutely hate having a tag sale. The haggling, the touchy-feely kids with their moms, the early-birds.....it just drives me crazy. But it was time to do it, so do it we did. We were not as successful as in years past but we did get rid of our stuff. Whether we sold it or it went to the Salvation Army store it wasn't coming back into our house. Well there were a few things that made it back into the house, by way of Francesca and Gavin. They each "bought" a few things at the tag sale. Actually Gavin did - he rustled up a few quarters and handed them over to pay for his purchases. Francesca just blatently grabbed items off the table, huffed at us and walked away. These are the "treasures" that they each saved from the tag sale table:

GAVIN: a Boppy pillow; a Thomas the Tank Engine shirt (which was too small); a book or two; my brother's old dartboard and darts (Scott was actually in favor of that one)

FRANCESCA: a cosmetics bag; a shirt; a wooden cutting board (by that point she was just looking for anything to take)

We were exhausted by the end of the day and tired of trying to hide things from the kids. Thank goodness it will be another year before we do that again!

The Sweetness that is Gavin

2008-08-08T21:25:00.002-04:00

Well, sometimes...Last night he was so tired he fell asleep on the couch at 7:30. Thankfully he was already in his pj's. I was able to transfer him up to his bed and he slept until 6:15 this morning! So nice...He woke up in such a good mood. Happy and sweet and full of kisses and hugs. He got dressed without complaint and bopped downstairs, ready to start his day.

He watched me make Francesca's lunch and then told me to get out of the kitchen because he had to "do something". So I left. I went upstairs to wake up Scott and Francesca. When I came back downstairs, avoiding the kitchen of course, he had pulled a chair into the pantry so he could reach the cookie cutters. Then he got the bread and the peanut butter and proceeded me make me lunch! Exactly as how I make Francesca's. This is what my lunch bag had in it:

-2 peanut butter sandwiches, one in the shape of a star, the other in the shape of a heart
-a bottle of water
-Goldfish crackers
-fruit snacks
-a note written on a napkin that said "I love Mommy. From Gavin L."

Plus he wrote "MOMMY" on the paper bag and drew a happy face and a heart on a piece of paper and taped it to my lunch. I felt sooooo loved at that moment. When I ate it later for lunch it was truly the best peanut butter sandwich (sandwiches actually) that I had ever eaten. He was so happy when I called him later to tell him that I enjoyed it. It was a nice mommy moment!

Tag Sale Woes

2008-08-07T22:10:00.002-04:00

We are having a tag sale this Saturday. We do this every year, usually somehow on the hottest day all damn summer. This year the weather report is forecasting a high of 77, which is not bad. Last year it was so hot we sold water! And sold out of that! Francesca is selling lemonade this time around. Our problem is that the children do not want to sell any of their stuff. We have tried being rational..."Come on if you sell some toys you will have more room for new stuff". Doesn't work. We have tried being stern - "You ARE selling some of your toys!" We have tried appealing to their love of money (especially Gavin) - "Selling some old toys will fill up your piggy bank..." - nothing is working. They see items in the boxes and they take them out, telling us that whatever it is "is my faaaaaaaavorrrrittttte toy, Mommy how can you sell that, I play with it every day" - as I brush the dust off of whatever that toy is. Gavin has gone so far as to march upstairs holding things behind his back. They wear me down. Grammy Carol if you are reading this could you come over and amuse the children in the backyard on Saturday? My mom will be helping me with the hoardes of hagglers -"Oh this is marked a quarter, can I have it for 10 cents???" - NO says my mother. I need to make sure my children are otherwise occupied so I can sell their "treasures", ha ha ha...

The President's Job, According to Francesca

2008-08-04T20:57:00.002-04:00

Last night, after all the wedding hoopla, we settled in to read some books. I read Francesca "Otto Runs for President" about a boy/dog who runs for class president. I told her that this year, our country would be electing a new President. She was very curious about why this was happening:

ME: "You know, this year the people in our country will elect a new President."

F: "REALLY??? Why?? Did the other one die or something?"

ME: "No, but after 4 years, or sometimes 8 years, we have to find someone new."

F: "I understand, he has a hard job. He has to go on TV a whole lot and go to a bunch of meetings. He wants to rest now."

ME: "Yes, I guess he is tired."

F: "And his daughter got married, I saw it on TV. He had to plan the wedding, I bet. He needs to retire. Planning a wedding is really tough."

Well that, in Francesca's option, was W's greatest contribution to the United States; helping to plan Jenna's wedding.

The Belle of the Ball

2008-08-04T20:48:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a busy busy day. It was Barbara and Pat's wedding day. Barbara is one of my co-workers, also a pediatric nurse. Pat is Scott's cousin (actually his dad's cousin but who's counting). They have been dating for 5 years and yesterday got married!! They met at Francesca's 1st birthday party, over strawberry shortcake. It's very sweet actually (the 2 od them I mean, not the cake, although that's good too). We were all in the wedding -

Me - Matron of Honor (or special person as I call myself, I hate the word MATRON)
Scott - Best Man
Francesca - Flower Girl/Fairy Princess/Belle of the Ball
Gavin - Ring Bearer/Mini Stud Muffin

The kids performed their parts beautifully. Francesca tossed lilac flower petals, and then later picked them back up, only to re-toss and re-pick all afternoon. She had her hair curled especially for the day and could not stop bouncing her curls, a-la-Shirley Temple. Gavin "carried the pillow" as he called it, WITH THE REAL RINGS!!! I told Barb she was taking a chance with that one but they held tight (so tight I almost could not get them off the pillow). They stood still throughout the ceremony and even walked back down holding hands. It was so cute. The kids knew they were on display, so to speak, and smiled from ear to ear the whole time.

The reception was fun, we all danced alot, and we got home by 4:30, exhausted and ready to collapse. It was only 4:30 in the afternoon but we were beat! After quick showers all around we got our pj's on and relaxed for the rest of the evening! It was a special and fun day!

Further proof that I am getting old...

2008-07-31T20:59:00.002-04:00

Tonight we went to Carvel to get some ice cream to beat the heat. Francesca was shimmying around the ice cream store, eating her chocolate ice cream and bopping to the beat of the music playing. Later when we got home I caught her humming the hit song "I Kissed a Girl". Oh my, I am so not ready for her to grow up. Then, I went into her closet to look for her party shoes which she needs on Sunday for her role as a flower girl in my friend's wedding. There at the bottom of her closet (along with many other things) was one of my COSMO MAGAZINES!!!!! WHAT???!!!!! It's a good thing she can't read too well just yet. I don't even want her looking at some of the pictures in Cosmo! Oh my. Scott was sufficiently horrified as well, although he did think it was a teeny bit funny.

The (mis)adventures of camp

2008-07-29T21:18:00.002-04:00

So there are some new faces at Gavin's school/camp. A few girls, which of course pleases Gav to no end. But a few boys too. One in particular. I won't name names (to protect the guilty party). He is about two times the size of Gavin, and at least 1 year younger. I admit Gavin is on the teeny tiny size but this kid is HUGE. According to Gavin, this kid has a pushing and biting and shoving problem. It seems he has a problem with everything...well except eating, he has NO PROBLEM doing that. The other day Gav could not wait to tell me what this kid (we'll call him CHUNK) did.

"Mommy!! You are not going to believe what happened! CHUNK thought Ethan's nose was something to EAT! So he reached out and bit it!! It was so red. He thought it was a snack! But it wasn't! It was his nose! He got a time out and he was bad."

Oh boy. I told Gav to stay away, CHUNK might think Gav's arms would be tasty to snack on. Every day, Gav can't wait to get in the car and tell me what happened with CHUNK today. Those poor nuns. They have at least 2 more years of him. Gavin has 3 more days, 3 too many if you ask him. Gavin has even taken to hiding his snack because he said CHUNK liked what his lunchbox looked like and wanted to know what was in it. Oh boy. Those nuns must be doing alot of praying these days...

The little things in life

2008-07-28T17:12:00.002-04:00

Today I was off. I was super busy, running all kinds of errands by myself. One plus was that I picked both kids up a little early from camp. They were both surprised and happy. When we got home Francesca decided to watch Hannah Montana (again) and sing along with her microphone. Gavin was redoing his train table tracks yet again. I was flipping through a cookbook I picked up from the library. All of a sudden Gavin's ears perked up like the cat's when she hears a bird.

"Mommy!!!!!!!!!! I hear the ice cream man!!!!!!!!!!! Quick!!!! Money!!!!! Mommy!!!!!!"

Gavin goes tearing down the stairs and flies past his sister who also heard the ringing of the ice cream truck. Even I was excited - it was Jim, the guy with the soft serve! Francesca got a small chocolate soft serve with rainbow sprinkles. Gavin got a muti-colored Popsicle. Gavin said that ice cream is one of his favorite things about summer.

On another note, my sister-in-law Joelle emailed me that she was very happy that I blogged today. I am glad that I could make you happy Joelle!!!

I am a bad blogger

2008-07-28T09:06:00.002-04:00

I have not blogged in over a week! Yikes! My sister-in-law Joelle reminded me a few nights ago that I have been "slipping" in my blogging duties. Joelle, I apologize that I have not given you any good stories about your niece and nephew lately.

A little about our weekend...

Friday night we met some friends (and ran into Joelle and family, who reminded me of my blogging responsibilites) at the Oakland Beach to watch the fireworks. The kids had fun running around, playing in the sand, snacking...until Francesca saw (and wanted) ice cream - at 9:30 at night - and all bets were off on good behavior. We said that awful, awful word to her - NO - and she started with one of her famous flip-outs. It's a good thing that the fireworks were over and we were leaving anyway. She pouted the whole way home. Oh well.

Gavin, on the other hand, was being all sweetness and light for some reason. He drew me a picture and then handed me a quarter - "It's for you mommy, for being the best mommy in the world" Oh my word, can he lay it on thick...No wonder he has so many girlfriends at camp. He is Don Juan de Big Guy (get it...like the Johnny Depp movie Don Juan de Marco)...anyway. My heart melted and he beamed. He probably figures that the next time he does something bad I will remember that and forgive him.

Saturday night we had our friend Roland ("Uncle Rol" to the kids) over for dinner. Having Roland over is like having a much taller, much older and way more hairier version of Gavin at the house. Gavin LOVES Roland. He could not wait for him to get there. The kids were playing on their Slip & Slide and when he got there, they took turns getting tossed down the slide by Roland. A good time was had by all!

Sunday we got some errands done and then cleaned the basement. Ugh. Yuck. It is not totally done but it was a good start. The kids now have a place for all of their arts & crafts stuff. Francesca decorated the cork board that Scott hung up with her and Gavin's artwork. Then we went to my parents' house for dinner. Gavin spent most of the evening there pouting in the garage, after knocking over his plate onto the floor. Scott brought him into the garage "to have a talk with him" and then when it was time to come in Gav refused. So there he stayed. He is one stubborn child. I hate to say this, but my son would be one good P.O.W. (God forbid) - when his is mad he refuses to look at you, stands looking at the wall with his head down and arms crossed, and when is spoken to, grunts in return. No enemy would get info. out of him. He eventually came back in when he heard dessert was being served.

So it's now Monday, everyone is at camp and I am off because I am working the long shifts the rest of the week at work. I have a long to-do list, but I think I can get most of it done. Time to fold laundry. Check back later this week for more LaDore adventures!

Francesca's New Word

2008-07-17T21:26:00.002-04:00

Why oh why are my children SO OBSESSED with genitalia??? It's not like I am an OB/GYN or a porn star. They do not have examples of genitalia thrown in their faces every minute of the day. Scott and I don't have nude statues or anything of that nature in the house. So why, why must my children get SO EXCITED over these things????

Tonight (and last night too) we took the kids to Rye Beach to beat the heat. How fun it was to come home from work, quickly eat dinner, throw on our suits and head to the beach 10 minutes away. We don't even have to pay to get on the beach after 6 (but we did have to pay to park - small price to pay for such fun). Anyway, tonight we were all in the water splashing around. Our little guppie, Francesca, was swimming around under water, with her eyes open by the way. Next thing you know, I hear Scott yelp and Francesca giggle.

"Ha ha ha Daddy. I got you. I grabbed you in the PENIS!!!!"

Oh my God. First of all Francesca, you are too old to do that and think it is funny. Second of all you grabbed Daddy's thigh. She was easily confused - there is alot of Daddy to grab (Scott I love you I know you are reading this and cursing me...). Next we have to explain that PENIS is not a word that she should be using, although readers you do know my fondness for medical correctness - see last week's "where do babies come from" post for further explanation. Where did she learn such a word? From a friend in Kindergarten; she just chose to save that little gem until the right moment!

So fast forward to home. I was giving Francesca a shower when she (correctly) said:

"Mommy! Daddy has a PENIS. Big Guy has a PENIS. You, Mommy, DO NOT have a PENIS."

Yes Francesca, thank you for pointing that out. I can now sleep easily tonight knowing that everyone in my family has the correct genitalia. I can see it now; my daughter is going to be the one in middle school who explains the birds and the bees to all the other kids. Although...the way we are going, it may be the 4th grade...

Boyfriends, girlfriends and faces being licked

2008-07-13T21:05:00.003-04:00

Francesca told her father a few nights ago that a boy at camp "likes her", or at least that is what SHE was told by someone else. This made Scott go even more gray than he already is, and if you know Scott, you know he is gray enough already for not-yet-35. Upon further questioning, Little Miss Blond Hair Blue Eyes mentioned that the purported Romeo is older, perhaps in 3rd grade, and she is not sure of his name. But she will find out. Great. Stay tuned.

Gavin, on the other hand, is ALWAYS looking to expand his harem of "girlfriends". He realizes that once camp is done, he may never see his 3 sets of twins, plus the new "extra one" ever again. No wait, one of the sets of twins has an older sister who is a friend of Francesca's from nursery school. We will continue to see them from time to time. I have to tell him that; he will be relieved. Anyway...Gavin has had his eye on one particular girl from T-Ball and kindergarten registration. He was very excited to see her, of all places, in church last night. They both had to stop and wave and make google eyes at each other at the end of Mass (at least Gavin was googling at her, not sure if she was returning the gesture). He was soooo excited to find out that her family goes to the same church as ours, and immediately informed me that he wants to go to that Mass (Saturday @ 5:30) instead of our usual one, Sunday @ 8. That particular Mass is populated with old ladies, not cute 5 year olds. That made his night, he was smiley from that point on!

This afternoon I was running to meet a friend who is planning her wedding. As I was leaving, I gave the kids, and then Scott, kisses. Gavin was sitting next to Scott and watched intently as I kissed my beloved. Then he turned to us and said:

"Ewwwww...you and Daddy just licked each other. THAT IS DISGUSTING!"

I tried to explain that I was just giving Daddy a kiss (a quick and relatively chaste one at that) but Gavin would have none of it. He just wrinkled his nose and turned away shaking his head. Good. I hope he feels the same way at 16. Doubt it. Suddenly Mr. Where-do-babies-come from has turned into a little angel. Humpf!

You must HATE ME!!!!

2008-07-06T19:47:00.002-04:00

You would think that my daughter is 16, not 6. On July 4th, she was pouting over something, probably because I said NO to her. So she looks at me and says

"YOU, DADDY and MA are being mean to me. You must HATE ME..."

Umm, no Francesca, we love you very much. I said no because whatever it was she wanted to do, it was not the right time to be doing that. I don't even remember what IT was. We eventually got through that crisis and fast-forward to today. F came upstairs to ask me if she could go on the computer. I said no because she had already had 2 10-minute turns on the computer. Of course she did not like what she was hearing, hence this is what I heard...

"Again, Mommy, you must hate me! Hmphhh!"

And she stormed away only to come back 5 minutes later, this time asking somewhat sweetly. The answer was still the same - no.

"Once again Mommy, you said no. And I still think you must hate me! Goodbye! I am asking Daddy!"

This game of hers was getting real old. Real old. I don't think I pulled this crap until I was in middle school at least. I don't know - Mommy if you are reading this please figure out how to leave a comment and tell my readers what an angel I was. And don't lie and say I was a bad child. You know I was not. Anyway...Francesca and Gavin were playing in the sandbox this afternoon and she was complaining (again) that he had too much of the sandbox. I decided to make it fair and draw a line down the middle. She said I gave him just a little bit more space, and, you guessed it, accused me of "hating her" and giving Big Guy too much sand. I cannot even believe this child sometimes, I am not sure where she gets it from.

Francesca is enlightened...

2008-07-02T21:42:00.002-04:00

Overheard while driving to the grocery store:

GAVIN: Checka, I fooled Mommy. Buggy is a girl. And she is having a baby! This right here (points to small seam at the back of stuffed animal) is her heiney, and this (points to spot above it) is her cookie. That is where the baby comes out of. Listen, if I squeeze her the baby giggles (makes squeaky giggly noise).

FRANCESCA: What, Big Guy? What do you mean her cookie? MOMMY IS THIS TRUE???? You told me that me and Big Guy came out of your stomach, that the doctor cut you open and took me out. Big Guy too. Who is coming out of the cookie? Babies??

GAVIN: No Checka it's true, Mommy told me. Tell her Mommy.

At this point I have put my head down on the steering wheel and started to hyperventilate. I explain to Francesca that yes, babies can come out "that way" and also try to make it perfectly clear that this IS NOT something we discuss at school or camp, because everyone else's mommy and daddy should have the pleasure of explaining it to them themselves.

Thanks!!

2008-07-02T12:53:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to say thanks to whomever is reading this blog! I just made it to 1000 hits today, so someone out there is reading...Please readers, leave me a comment every now and again, so I have some proof that someone is reading this blog other than my husband, my mom, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law (who lets me know when it's been too long in between posts). Hope you are enjoying the adventures of Francesca and Gavin, there's alot more to come!

The Birds and the Bees...AGAIN!!!!

2008-07-02T09:09:00.002-04:00

Why, oh why, does Gavin always ask ME these questions???? And always on the way to his Catholic nursery school/camp, where he should not be discussing such topics??? He brought his stuffed bug "Buggy" in the car this morning and asked me when Buggy was going to have babies. I told him never, as Buggy is a stuffed animal and therefore does not reproduce...well I didn't use that particular word...So then he asks me how old he has to be to have babies. I told him much much older, and by the way, you will not be having the babies. That will be your wife's job, someday in the future.

"Why can't I have the babies? "

Once again, Gav, you don't have the right parts. God made the boys to have one set of parts and the girls to have another.

"So where does the baby come out once it is ready? Your heiney?"

Oh my God I am saying to myself, I AM NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW. NOT NOW, NOT ANYTIME SOON. Ummm...well Gav, the baby comes out of the "cookie" (which has been our family slang for the va-jay-jay ever since Francesca was a baby - why I don't know, don't ask!).

"Wow Mommy, how does that happen? Are the cookies that BIG?????"

I can't I can't I can't discuss this with my 4 1/2 year old. To divert his attention I suddenly announced it was donut time and hurredly pulled into Donut Delight in Stamford. I am so going prematurely gray right now....

Our Camping Adventure

2008-06-29T20:09:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I turned 35. I do not freak out about birthdays, doing so just wastes time and energy. I guess I can now say that I am officially in my "mid-30's". I figure I can't truly be that old, I can still remember what happened on most of my previous birthdays. Anyway, I decided that for my birthday I wanted us to do something fun. Camping, for us, is fun. So I found the "Brook-N-Wood" campground online, in slightly-upstate Columbia County (specifically Elizaville), 90 miles away. So we packed our camping gear and away we went yesterday morning.

Once we got there and set up our campsite, we got changed and headed for the pool. The campground was full of things to do and we took advantage of all of it - the pool, playground, hayride and even an ice cream social in the evening. We skipped BINGO and "Manhunt" at 9PM though - the kids were already sleeping. This morning we got up, cooked breakfast over the roaring fire, and went back in the pool. Before going to the pool, Gavin decided to go "peep in the woods" - his favorite camp activity! Not 2 minutes later he comes running back with his shorts around his ankles, screaming his head off.

"A spider tried to get me! It almost tried to bite my willy off!!!! ARRRRGGGHHHHH"

Oh my, we could not stop laughing. It was too funny...well not to Gavin. The rest of the morning went off without a hitch. We swam for awhile, then went back, got changed, tidied up our campsite and checked out. We definitely plan on visiting the Brook-N-Wood again, maybe this time with something to keep the spiders away!!

Kindergarten is finished

2008-06-26T21:34:00.002-04:00

Today was Francesca's last day of kindergarten. She got a good report card and brought home her yearbook. We got next year's supply list (Hello Staples!). Camp starts in 1 week. Gavin is already at camp, continuing on at Our Lady of Grace until August. We are going camping on Saturday for one night. It's my birthday. I wanted to do something fun. We love to camp. Hopefully we will have fun and come home without any tick bites.

Camp Rock

2008-06-25T23:03:00.002-04:00

Francesca is OBSESSED with Camp Rock, the new Disney movie starring the Jonas Brothers (or Mr. Jonas, Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas as Gavin calls them). All we have heard for the past 2 months was "June 20th, June 20th, June 20th Mommy is the day that the movie comes out". For her graduation she wanted only Camp Rock things. So my mom got her Camp Rock underwear, a Camp Rock shirt, a Camp Rock nightshirt. We got her Camp Rock sheets. I washed them as soon as I got home from work. I dried them. I got ready to change her sheets - oh she was soooooo excited, she would be laying on head on Joe Jonas. At least I think it was Joe - maybe it was Kevin or Nick. Who knows...Anyway, as I am just about to start stripping the sheets off her bed, she stops me:

"Mommy, don't do it. I don't want those sheets on. Joe Jonas's eyes are TOO BIG. They are staring at me. It's freaking me out!!!"

Grrrrr....

Gavin tells me today that there is a new girl in his class at camp. Maybe she can be his 7th girlfriend he says. Didn't know he was interviewing, I thought 3 sets of twins was enough. Guess not.

Graduation, Part II

2008-06-23T19:28:00.005-04:00

Today was Francesca's turn. She graduated (or "moved up" as the school likes to call it) from Kindergarten at Park Avenue Elementary. Like Gavin's graduation, there was singing and speeches and all-around cuteness. There was over 200 people in smooshed into the gym at Park Ave., plus it was a very muggy, sticky morning. Ugh. When it was all over, we had to collect our children in the cafeteria, where they were eating cake. At 10:30 in the morning...great...I have never seen 100 children sitting so nicely as they were this morning, shoveling cake into their mouths.

My mom was nice enough to keep both kids at her house today. We thought Gavin would want to see his sister's special day, so he got a get-out-of-camp-free pass today from camp. When I spoke with my mom later in the day, Gav was bugging her to (yet again) assemble his train set that resides at her house.

"No Gavin, I cannot stand to do that again, to try to put that train set together."

"No, Ma, it's OK...you can sit and do it."

My mom and I really laughed over that one. He is a quick one, my Gavin. So now summer begins. I have 2 graduates now, no more nursery school tuition (well no more once camp ends) and 2 lists of school supplies to start hunting down. My babies are growing up. Oh boy. Someday I will blog about their dating adventures. Well, given the way my son is, that could be next year, as he is trying to woo some unsuspecting kindergarten girl by offering her his lunch.

Gavin the Graduate

2008-06-22T19:37:00.002-04:00

Oh my baby graduated yesterday from pre-school. It was too cute. He had a light blue cap and gown and was near the front (they lined them up by height and he is teeny-tiny). All the children carried red roses down the aisle. When the children were asked by Father Bob what was going to happen after graduation, Gavin called out "We will go to a new school!" and Father Bob said "Yes, you will. Very good!" Very good indeed, I thought for sure Gavin would say that after graduation you get gifts or something like that. Phew! My family and I breathed a sigh of relief. Gavin sat so nicely throughout the mini-Mass, all the songs and the actual handing out of diplomas. He did, however, grab his diploma from Father Bob, instead of reaching out his hand and taking it nicely. Oh well. He did not move from his seat during the whole time, I couldn't have asked for more than that! After everything was done, Gavin posed for pictures with Francesca, Ma and Pa, Grammy, Uncle Larry and finally me, Scott and Francesca.

After the graduation we quickly headed home, got changed, and headed back up to Stamford to Cove Island Park for the family picnic. The kids had a blast, and Scott and I managed to sit on a park bench (for a few minutes) and relax. We also took a ride on the tram around the park. The kids liked that. The highlight of the picnic is Sister Luigia and her water pistol. It's not just a water pistol, it's a Super Soaker. With a backpack attachment. That nun is fierce with a water gun. She was soaking everyone, parents included. Plus she kept asking the kids to go grab her some water bottles so she could refill the gun. We had our own tiny water pistols, but you can't squirt a nun. I think God might get a little pissed off at that...By the time we left, the kids were hot, sticky and very very tired. But it was fun.

My baby is growing up.

2008-06-18T18:11:00.002-04:00

I'll really feel that way on the first day of Kindergarten. Today Gavin had Kindergarten orientation. I wasn't as nervous as last year's with Francesca. I knew what to expect. I could be calm, cool and collected!! Gavin was really excited. He was hoping to see Francesca's classroom and was a little disappointed to not see Francesca (current Kindergarteners were dismissed early to prepare for the new kids' visit). When we got there, Gavin spotted one of his TBall buddies. We sat next to her and her mom, and when it was time for the kids to leave with some teachers to do a craft and see the classrooms, Gavin, ever the gentleman, hopped off my lap and held out his hand for his little lady friend to take. Then he ever so nicely guided her out of the cafeteria and into the hallway, shielding her from all the other 5 year old Don Juans...

After we heard all about what next year would entail, the kids returned and sang us a song. It was so cute, and unlike Francesca last year, performed with a smile! I cannot believe that next year BOTH of my babies will be in elementary school. Yippee!!!

Our Saturdays are free again...

2008-06-14T21:58:00.002-04:00

TBall ended today. Whew. It was fun, but it was hot, and some days I could not take the whining that came off the Nissan City bench. Who pushed who, who touched who, who didn't want to sit next to this person or that person...Our final game was at 1PM and the end-of-season PCYBL BBQ was at 3PM. I have to give kudos to the PCYBL; every child got a trophy and we all ate for free! By the time the BBQ started the we had been at the park for close to 3 hours. Francesca was whining (of course) because she took too many spins on the circular swing on the playground, she thought she was going to throw up. She told this to just about everyone who came within 2 ft. of her. Gavin was OK until Scott picked him up and he bumped his chin on Scott's shoulder. This caused him to bite his tongue, hard I might add. There was blood of course, and crying. His tongue now has a rather large black and blue on it. Anyway, after we handed out team pictures, got something to eat, and gave our team a big round of applause for their trophies, we left. We were tired and sweaty. The kids both said they will do it again next year. I will post their pictures soon. They are too cute for words.

The Birds and The Bees...and Gavin

2008-06-12T21:10:00.003-04:00

Just when I think it's safe to take a deep breath and relax, Gavin comes up with a zinger. We were driving to school this morning and listening to the radio. The news reported a car accident (or what I like to call "2 cars bumping" - doesn't scare the kids as much). I wasn't really paying attention but apparently Gavin was; see previous blog post "Hey Shithead" from back in February, which explains how well he really does listen! Gavin says to me,

"Hey Mommy, do you remember when Daddy bumped the deer with the minivan??"

Actually Gavin, yeah I do, and Daddy did not bump the deer, the deer bumped, or should I say jumped, into the minivan...exactly one week after we got that damn car. Anyway, there is NO WAY Gavin would remember that, as I was 5 MONTHS PREGNANT WITH HIM AT THE TIME.

"Well Mommy I remember that. Where was Francesca? Was she scared?"

So after I try to explain to him that he did not witness the minivan massacre (neither did I, I was at work) he asks me if him and Francesca were inside my tummy at the same time. No, I told him, she came first. Then him. Well, that was not good enough for Gavin.

"But why did Checka come first? How did we get there? Are you sure we both weren't there at the same time? That can happen you know, my girlfriends are all twins, they were in their mommy's tummies together! What did you and Daddy have to do to get me in your tummy? Did you order me from God?"

Okay...I am not going into that with you right now, I thought. Not now, not in a year, not in 5 years. Yes Gavin I ordered you and Checka from God. Yes, I apologize for ordering her first. I still love you.

Sometimes I wish he wasn't so smart :)

Soaked on Sunday

2008-06-01T21:55:00.003-04:00

Today was a really nice day. After church, we grabbed our packed picnic lunch, got some breakfast, and headed off to Brooklyn. BROOKLYN!!??? Why, you ask, did we go to Brooklyn? Well, we were on an adventure, headed to the Prospect Park Zoo. We have a family membership to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which includes the Bronx, Central Park, Prospect Park and Queens Zoos and the NY Aquarium at Coney Island (another great reason to go to Brooklyn). It took us about 45 minutes to get there, and we walked through the gates shortly after the 10AM opening. The kids loved watching the sea lions being fed, the petting zoo and the aviary. We loved the fact that it was not as huge as the Bronx Zoo. We also really loved the fact that there was no gift shop. Well, there was a gift vending machine. It dispensed small stuffed animals at $5 a pop. At first Scott and I grumbled, but then I figured we actually were getting away pretty cheaply, compared to the loot we've brought home from other places in the past. It was fun to walk around, see everything and have lunch while watching the sea lion feedings. After 2 1/2 hours, we headed home.

Once we got home, the kids decided they wanted Daddy to fill their kiddie pool so they could cool off. Great! We could sit outside and relax, we had no other places to go or things to do (Scott had mowed the lawn Friday night and I went grocery shopping yesterday). So they splashed and we sat. I enjoyed a nice cold gin and tonic and a book. Then the water fight began. Gavin and Francesca were already splashing us and squirting us with their pails and water pistols. I am not sure how it got out of hand, one minute they were filling up the water pistols, the next minute I had filled a large bucket in the basement and was ambushing Scott. He had the hose, I had the bucket, the kids were in between us running around...Eventually Scott and I were SOAKED and he picked me up and dumped me in the kiddie pool. By the time our friend Roland stopped by to say hi we were drenched. After the kids took showers and we put on some dry clothes we grilled outside. F and Gav were soooo tired but just did not want to go to sleep, thankfully they did eventually. It was a nice day, I hope we have a summer full of them!!!

Butter

2008-05-26T19:30:00.002-04:00

This morning, Francesca was buttering her toast and commented on our choice of margarine:

"I Can't Believe It's Not Butter? Mommy, is that a joke??"

I was howling. I forget sometimes that she is learning to read. Plus our kids are mini-advertising geniuses. They know EVERY sign, brand, slogan...Scott and I thought that was so funny. She got confused, because of course, it LOOKS like butter. No further explanation needed.

Mud puddles are so much fun

2008-05-19T20:03:00.002-04:00

Right now I am soaking their clothes from TBall. Their sneakers are in the washing machine. I hate mud. They love mud. I run from mud, they run towards it, embrace its' mushiness and jump in headfirst. Ugh. Francesca was scooping up great big handfuls of mud and sand that was supposed to be the squares enclosing the TBall bases. She was supposed to be playing third base, not squishing mud through her fingers. I guess mud is part of being a kid. I think it was way more fun when I was the kid making mud pies, not the mommy praying for it to come out of the clothing. To my mommy, I now apologize for all the mud pies I made. I can just imagine all the cleaning that came along with them!

I really hope the field is dry on Friday when it's time to play our next game!

Kisses...Ewwww

2008-05-18T10:20:00.002-04:00

We went to the PC Coach Diner after church this morning. Gavin protested a little, as he wanted to go to th IHOP in Larchmont. However, with a vote of 3 to 1, the diner won. I love IHOP, but didn't want to wait 45 minutes to be seated. So over a leisurely breakfast of eggs and hash (them not me, I don't touch the stuff) Scott told the children how him and I used to come to the diner in our much younger years, late at night, for our old standby of iced tea and fries with cheese and gravy.

"That was when I was wooing Mommy, guys."

"Wooing, daddy??? Did you mean mooing? What's wooing?"

No Gavin, he told him, wooing was when I was trying to get mommy to like me and date me. And give me kisses!

"Kisses!!! Eww!!! That's disgusting! Why would mommy want to give you kisses???"

"Well, Gavin, if mommy didn't like me and give me kisses, you and Checka would have never been here..."

"EWWWWW...still, why did she have to kiss you?? That is really disgusting!"

And that is a discussion best left alone for a few more years!

The Master of His Domain

2008-05-16T19:34:00.002-04:00

Gavin and I ran into Stop and Shop quickly last night before we went home. I had to pick up dessert for my religion class - it was our last night and we were having a pizza party (and I did not bake it myself, geez sometimes I disappoint myself). Anyway, Gav was happy. The lady who sliced our cold cuts gave him a piece each of bologna and turkey. Ah, what a life. Bologna and turkey just for smiling and saying please...

In the meat and poulty section I spied chicken breast for $1.99/lb. What a deal. Who cares if I had to buy 3 lbs. or more - we have a deep freeze! So there I am mulling over whether I want to buy the chicken, and Gav is getting antsy. Now that he has finished his little snack he wants to make a beeline for the OJ and grab some to take home. I asked him (why I don't know) if I should buy the chicken.

"Gavin, should mommy buy chicken?"

"I don't know mommy. I am not the master of chicken. You are."

"OK. What is daddy the master of?"

"Steak. Daddy is the master of steak because he cooks on the grill."

"Are you the master of anything?"

"Oh yes, Mommy! I am the master of cold cuts!! I am the master! Now get me some more bologna!!"

Then I started giggling to myself, thinking of the Seinfeld "master of his domain" episode. I couldn't even explain to Gavin WHY I was laughing.

Francesca's Birthday Party - the recap

2008-05-12T20:57:00.002-04:00

Our weekend was hectic. I stressed all week about the weather. If it rained, how was I going to squeeze 13 kids (plus an assortment of parents) in my living room?? Saturday morning when I woke up I was soooo happy to see the sun. It wasn't really shining yet, but it was trying to peek through. The day started off good - went to Weight Watchers and didn't gain. Didn't lose, but hey, can't win 'em all. I am still down 25 lbs. which is a major accomplishment considering I will eat almost anything that isn't nailed down. My kids and husband are proud of me too - 2 weekends ago, we went to our friend's daughter's birthday and Francesca proudly announced as we walked through the door, "MY MOMMY LOST 25 POUNDS. DOESN'T SHE LOOK GREAT??" Thank God we were the first guests to arrive....Anyway, back to the party. After WW, T-Ball and various trips to pick up balloons, beer, ice, the cake and Garden Catering, we were home and ready for the party to begin. Both kids were itchy with excitement.

All of our party guests arrived and all the kids hung out on our swingset. It's so nice to see kids just playing - no XBox, no computers, no heavily scheduled activities. Just playing. Running and jumping and swinging and yelling. Lots of yelling. After a quick lunch of Garden Catering chicken nuggets, fries and potato cones (my favorite) the Bear Bus arrived!! The kids loved the Bear Bus, and we loved that they came to us!! That took about 45 minutes or so, and then the kids decorated sand pails with foam stickers. Then we had cake. And fruit. A watermelon bowl to be exact. Scott decided to make a scalloped watermelon bowl at 11PM the night before. Gavin loved that more than he loved the cake. He couldn't keep his little fingers out of it.

After that party was over, we had about 1 hour before our family party started. Time to make some Sangria!!! Yum-O, as Rachel Ray would say. That was fun too. Francesca had a good time, Gavin crashed and fell asleep on the living room rug. We covered him with a blanket and left him under the watchful eye of our nephew Nick (or "big scary Nicky" as Gavin likes to call him. I guess when you are Gav's size, someone as tall as Nick is scary. Nick is tall. Gavin comes up to like his kneecap...no, maybe his hip. Anyway, Nick is tall!) Scott and I were exhausted that night. But the kids had fun. We had fun. Francesca is already planning her 7th birthday! Poor us!

The birthday cake dilemma

2008-05-07T18:35:00.003-04:00

I ended up ordering her a Barbie princess cake from Harrison Bake Shop. You know, the cake where there is a Barbie standing straight up in the middle and the her dress is the cake. The thought of doing all that baking and decorating and praying that it looked good was just too overwhelming yesterday. But I am baking 25 cupcakes right now for her to take to school on Friday. They will get iced tomorrow night. I still have to bake some sort of cake for our family party Saturday night but that is no big deal. As long as it has a candle in it, Francesca will not care if it is a Bundt cake or a 27-layer cake.

Scott comes home tonight. It's a good thing, because Francesca was pretty peeved in the middle of the night when she walked into our room looking for her daddy. Once she woke up a little and remembered he was not there, she huffed and then snuggled under the covers with me. Humpfh! I guess I am not the one she wants in the middle of the night (mostly because I tend to sleep through her calling us)...

Am I nuts?

2008-05-05T21:32:00.002-04:00

Without knowing the question, those who know me would say yes. Francesca's 6th birthday is coming up this Friday, and I have a whole load of baking to do. Friday it is her turn to bring snack into her kindergarten class. Our school has (supposedly has I should say) a healthy eating initiative, so I can't just send her with a pack of Oreos Double Stuff. I have tried, since the beginning of the school year, to send healthy stuff. She has brought in Go-Gurt's, bagels, pretzels, HOMEMADE low-fat, low-sugar chocolate chip muffins (see how nuts I really am?) and most recently mini yogurts. One of the memos sent home by the principal stresses how we should make sure that if we are baking for the class, we use applesauce instead of oil and "healthy" ingredients. Yeah, OK, are they going to test my cupcakes' fat and calorie content? Anyway...Her Royal Highness Princess Francesca Audra has decreed that she wants "fruit kebobs" for her healthy birthday snack. While this is a great idea, I will not be responsible for one 5 year old poking another's eye out with said kebob skewer. No way. I have to figure this one out.

Meanwhile, I have her birthday cake to contend with. Scott suggested I buy a bakery cake. Oh no. I make a damn good cake. I am a good baker. I may not be perfect, but I can bake. She wants a princess castle cake - with turrets. So I have been looking online for recipes. From what I can see, this castle cake is going to be a little labor-intensive. I haven't committed to this cake just yet, but I think I will need to start baking the layers tomorrow night, freeze them for a few days and then decorate late into the hours of Friday night/Saturday morning in preparation for her birthday party on Saturday. Then get up for TBall Saturday morning. Then have 15 kids at our house for the "Bear Bus" birthday. Then have our families over that night. I am nuts. Did I mention my husband is in Las Vegas on business??? I have to bake the Princess Castle Cake. When she was 2 I made her a Crayola Crayon box cake. When she was 5 I made her a Ladybug ice cream filled cake. For Gavin's birthday last year I banged out Thomas the Tank Engine. I think it's time to go print that recipe and make sure I have enough flour, sugar and vodka (for me not the cake) to see me through the weekend! Check back next week for pictures!!!

Gavin-speak

2008-04-29T13:50:00.002-04:00

Gavin and I were driving to school this morning and he noticed that his old, well worn and loved, owned first by Francesca (but we'd never tell him that) teddy bear had a few unidentified sticky things stuck to his fur. So he tried and I tried to pick them off, with no success. So he thought that maybe we needed some help...

Mommy, you need to get the 'tweeze nips' to take this piece of something off of teddy.

The what? I thought. "Tweeze nips"?? Did he mean to say Cheese Nips? Why would I use a Cheese Nip to remove the sticky pieces off of teddy??

Gavin, do you mean TWEEZERS???? Not "tweeze nips"...

Yes Mommy - Tweeze nips...cheese nips...tweezers...you know what I meant, didn't you? Just get the tweezers and remove the sticky stuff from teddy.

Once we were stopped at a red light and I had stopped laughing I was able to remove the sticky little pieces of what may have been candy from teddy's fur. Tweeze nips...too cute.

And they're back...

2008-04-25T10:05:00.002-04:00

My little darlings came home last night. I think this may be their last mini-vacation with their grandparents for awhile. There was alot of whining this trip. Oh well, they are not perfect. They took a ride on the Strasburg Railroad, visited a pretzel factory, and did alot of swimming. I think Francesca's favorite part was seeing the Amish. She kept telling me on the phone about the Amish - "Mommy, I saw the Amish, I saw the Amish!!" She was very excited about the grape jelly she bought "from the Amish lady". I'm glad the Amish made her so happy!

Scott and I had a nice 2 nights without the kids. We went out to dinner Wednesday night, to Pasquale's, where we were able to converse without being interrupted, and out for ice cream Tuesday night. We kept saying how much we missed them, and they told us when they got home that they missed us too. And really, that is all a parent wants to hear from their child.

And they're off...

2008-04-22T19:15:00.003-04:00

On vacation, again!! Those two kids of ours are away again! Seems like yesterday I posted about their trip to Mystic and Newport. Now they left this morning for Strasburg, PA. It's spring break week in the Port Chester school system, which means Francesca spends her days with my parents, unless me or Scott is able to take a day off. So, my mom and dad decided it was time to take the kids back to Vermont. The kids have been talking about this for 2 weeks or so.

Yesterday, I called my mom to see if she made reservations and she sighed "Big problems, Dineen. The hotel pool is under renovation. I don't know where we are going to go." Big problems is right. Scott and I were all set to have 2 blissful, uninterrupted nights of sleep, with no Francesca coming in our room at 2 AM and no Gavin crawling in between us, "because his sheets were cold". This would not do. Plus, if the kids didn't get to go anywhere I would have 2 very grumpy children on my hands. So I got to work. I tried to give my mom ideas - different parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania. Finally they agreed that Strasburg, PA might be fun. Strasburg is home to the Strasburg Railroad, the National Toy Train Museum and close to many, many other things. My mom was able to make reservations at a hotel with an indoor pool and they were all set. Phew!!

Francesca and Gavin set off this morning with packed suitcases, backpacks filled with their Leapsters and small toys, and 2 Webkinz each. Plus I believe Happy, Francesca's stuffed unicorn, snuck into her suitcase. And 2 Thomas the Tank Engine trains in Gavin's. Of course. Can't go to the National Train Museum and not bring one of your own!!!

As much as I wish Scott and I were there with them, it is nice for our kids to make memories with their family outside of memories shared with us. Someday, they will be older and look back on times with their Ma, Pa, Grammy, and other assorted aunts, uncles and cousins and smile. I know that when I think of things that I did when I was younger I smile too.

National Arts in the School Day

2008-04-17T21:15:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, in all of the Port Chester schools, "National Arts in the School Day" http://www.nationalartsintheschoolday.org/ was celebrated. It is a program that the Port Chester Council for the Arts started and piloted in our schools this year. For Francesca's class, she was instructed to wear old clothes that could get messy. No problem there, since she seems to get paint on almost everything she wears. Her class, from what I could tell based on her description, did some art projects with paint and maybe some shaving cream (she could be stretching the truth here, never sure with her). She was very excited because local PC entertainer Lou DelBianco was at her school!! http://www.findlou.com/Default.htm Oh boy are we Lou fans. Last year we caught his show at Rye Town Park and Lyon's Park during Port Chester Day. We have one of his CD's that the kids listen to all the time, and I mean all the time. Sometimes in the car we have to ban Lou DelBianco because if I hear that CD one more time I may bang my head against the car window. I think it is time for a new Lou CD this year...

I think it is great that our small town and its' schools gets to be the very first group to reap the benefits of this awesome program. Although I am not theatrical in the least (my mom and Scott may disagree here), I see Francesca having a dramatic future - shoot she has a dramatic present - and I am thrilled that the Port Chester Council for the Arts has these great offerings for our children. I am sure that once she gets a little older we will be attending every play as she will want to be in them!!

We are soooooo old

2008-04-12T23:15:00.002-04:00

Today we were busy. We went to the library, the post office, the Apple Farm (local fruit and veggie store, one of F and G's favorite places to go). Then we went home - I did some laundry, Scott cleaned out the fireplace. It was time for dinner, I had not taken anything out of the freezer. So after much deliberation, we all decided that we would go to Applebee's in Mamaroneck. We were sitting in our booth, enjoying our appetizers, when Francesca looks at all the memorabilia on the walls and says to us:

"What's that circle thing with the hole in the middle and writing on it? What do you do with that?"

Scott and I look up and realize she is looking at a record album and we both start laughing after thinking 'oh boy, are we old'. So he tries to explain to her -

"Francesca, that is a record. When Mommy and Daddy were your age, that is how we listened to music. You put the record on a record player and it spun around and you heard the music. Sometimes we even had small ones that you could listen to".

"What???? No CD's??? What about iPods? Did you have an iPod then? Stop being silly. That could not have played music!"

By this point even Gavin was getting a good laugh over the idea that you couldn't just carry your music around wherever you went 'back in the day'. They only know CD's and iPods. Scott and I are turning 35 this year, but that conversation made us feel about 100!!!!

Francesca, what will we do with you????

2008-04-10T13:55:00.002-04:00

Francesca is one sneaky almost 6 year old. This morning, Scott was helping her pack up for school. He went to put something in the front pocket of her backpack, and noticed a folded up piece of paper. Not wanting to miss some important notice or memo, he took it out and unfolded it. It looked like homework! It was homework! Francesca had done her homework during the afterschool program. It was neat! It was a miracle! It was done in blue magic marker...She did her homework in blue magic marker, but did it quite neatly. Knowing we would not approve of blue magic marker, she folded it up and put it in her backpack. But wait! That homework needed to be signed by a parent (some worksheets need to be signed, some don't), so she did what any kid who wanted to hide something from their parents would do - SHE FORGED OUR SIGNATURES!!!!! Very neatly, in super-neat printed blue magic marker handwriting, she wrote "Scott LaDore". She even managed to remember that the "D" needed to be capital.

Scott was now in a quandry. He thought, "do I yell because she signed my name or do I compliment her on the nice handwriting??" He gave her a high-five for the neat printing but reminded her that she should never, ever, ever sign mommy or daddy's name to ANYTHING, especially when you are in kindergarten and should not even know that trick!!!!

T-Ball Wrap Up

2008-04-09T19:53:00.002-04:00

Well, they survived...and I didn't even need the first aid kit (at least not this week). Gavin loved it - he ran for the ball, tried to throw someone out and generally gave his all. Francesca, on the other hand, ran off the field when she saw me approaching. Asked me if I remembered the first aid kit "just in case". I don't think Francesca and T-Ball are going to click, but I am hopeful. Next practice, 1 week from today.

T-Ball

2008-04-08T21:07:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow night starts T-Ball. It is the kids' first practice. They got mitts on Sunday and are pretty excited (well we hope they are). Scott is assistant coach or something like that. I will be there after work, mini first aid kit in hand. I better grab a few band-aids from work tomorrow before I leave - you never know who will fall down and skin a knee - although if I had to bet, the initials of the child would be F-A-L. Let's just hope my children don't have my athletic ability - which is slim to none...although for your giggling pleasure, let's run down my illustrious athletic career:

High school softball - made it through 2 practices, was then told by the coach "I would not play you if we were losing 20-1"...I promptly quit and cried to my mom who called the athletic director quicker than you could say strikeout. Coach apologized, I told him I wouldn't play on his team if he was winning 20-1!!!! End of high school career.

Tennis team - can't remember if I actually went out for this or if I am confusing myself with someone else...

College - bored during 3rd year, decided to go out for the crew team...HA!!! Family thought that was hysterical! The oars were bigger than me, plus the idea of Dineen actually working out was mind-boggling. My biggest work out to date was lifting heavy nursing textbooks. Surprised them all, rowed crew for a season. Got the team jacket, buff arms from all that rowing and mom could say that HER DAUGHTER WAS AN NCAA ATHLETE!!!!! (at least for 6 months or so)

I hope Francesca and Gavin enjoy every moment of T-Ball, I will post lots of pictures of 4, 5 and 6 year olds running willy-nilly around Lyons Park...

Weekend at the LaDore's

2008-04-06T20:33:00.002-04:00

For the first time in awhile, we had nothing special planned for this weekend. No work for me, no birthday parties, no special events. It was great to just hang around and enjoy the days. Friday night we did have Family Bingo Night at Francesca's school. Talk about chaos! It was loud and tough to hear those bingo numbers being called over the screams of the kids. But we had fun. Gavin even won a basket - the Boy's Toy Basket, which was the exact one he was hoping to win. Francesca did not win a basket, but Gav promised to share a water pistol with her and that made her happy.

Saturday after grocery shopping and a quick trip to Kohl's we decided to go to Rye Town Park and fly kites. Rye Town Park is where Rye and Oakland beaches are, so the kids brought their sand pails and shovels, hoping to dig in the sand as well. Playland is right next to Rye Town Park, so Gav asked if we were also going to "Disneyland Beach"...Playland Beach, Gav, it's Playland Beach. But the wind did not take off too well, so we had a hard time flying the kite. Scott managed to get it in the air a few times, but without any big wind gusts our kite-flying adventure was cut short. After the park, we drove to the Read Sanctuary, which is right past the end of the Playland parking lot. The kids wanted to look for frogs. No frogs, but alot of mud. We had to hose off their Crocs when we got home due to all that mud and their penchant for stepping in it.

Today we went in search of baseball mitts for Tee-ball, which the kids start practice for this week. That in itself should produce MANY funny stories to blog about! We found them both mitts and then headed for lunch with Grammy Carol at the Port Chester Coach Diner. After a lunch of hash and eggs for Francesca and hash and french fries for Gavin we went home and cleaned the house. Yuck...no fun. Back to work and school tomorrow.

The Wait is Over!!!

2008-03-29T20:37:00.002-04:00

Francesca's tooth FINALLY fell out. After 1 full week of being loose and 2 days where it was literally hanging on by a thread, her tooth fell out this afternoon. She took 1 bite of penne ala vodka at a birthday party and it just popped out. This after countless attempts at wiggling it out. I also tried to remove it by sticking my finger in her mouth and gently wiggling it, while she was sleeping of course. I only succeeded in getting my finger bitten. This is Francesca's 6th baby tooth to fall out. Now she has a big gap where her 2 front teeth should be. She looks so cute.

The wait is on...

2008-03-24T20:04:00.002-04:00

Francesca has a loose tooth, and you would think by all the moaning and complaining she is doing that this was her 1st loose tooth. Ha! It's #6, she has already lost (and grown in) her 4 middle bottom teeth. One of my previous posts was about the snaggle tooth she lost and now its' mate is ready to depart her mouth. We have been on "ToothWatch '08" since last Friday when she called me at work to tell me that she bit into a bagel at my mom's and her tooth hurt. Since then all we've heard is

"Will the chicken nugget I just bit into make my tooth fall out??"

"I just chomped down on a chocolate bunny and it made my tooth hurt. Do you think it will fall out??"

"I can't eat my dinner, it's too hard and my tooth might fall out...Oh but what's for dessert? If it's soft I can eat it..."

If this tooth doesn't fall out pretty damn soon I am going into her room while she is sleeping and giving it a good twist. Gavin has already offered (way too willingly I might add) to punch her in her mouth, in the hopes it will dislodge the tooth. Scott offered to get his pliers and yank it out. Now her big fear is having it fall out during school tomorrow, because then she has to go to the school nurse. Don't know what the problem is there, she LOVED going to the school nurse back at the beginning of the school year; she would sneeze once and tell her teacher she had to go. Francesca (like many other almost 6 year old girls) is PURE DRAMA...I may be totally gray by the time she hits high school, ugh!

The Results Are In!!

2008-03-20T21:19:00.002-04:00

We have a tie for this week's poll - 2 votes each for "Francesca-The Automatic Flush" and "Hey Shithead". "Gavin driving the convertible into the garage" got 1 vote - yeah I guess we didn't think that was too funny either, especially moments after it happened. Oh well, we can look back now and laugh (well maybe we don't laugh too loudly..or too long...sometimes I look at the garage and want to cry). No one voted for "As-Seen-On-TV". Oh well. So this week's poll has come to an end, and I have to think of a new one. Happy Easter to all of my readers who celebrate it. My kids are eagerly awaiting the Easter Bunny, although Francesca is convinced that the Easter Bunny is really Santa Claus in a bunny suit. Works for me.

Francesca and Gavin

2008-03-17T22:37:00.001-04:00

Striptease in the 4 year old class

2008-03-17T18:47:00.002-04:00

Let me just start by saying it was not Gavin. THANK GOD. Cuz' he likes to be naked and show off what God gave him. On the ride home Gavin tells me all the exciting things that happened today at school. Someone broke the toilet, causing the floor to overflow with water, Gavin to slip and land on his butt, necessitating a change in pants. Thank goodness the nuns keep spare clothes at his school. But the real news was what went on at the beginning of rest time:

"Mommy, guess what happened at rest time?!! The girl in front of me pulled up her dress and down her underpants. She showed me her butt!! I did not want to see that, so I yelled NO NO NO!! Then Sister gave her a time-out. It is not good to pull your pants down in front of people."

Yikes! That was some excitement. I am surprised that Gavin was able to sleep after that. But that was not all. Apparently it was "show your stuff" day in his class.

"Mommy, then the boy in back of me pulled his pants down and showed the class his willie! I REALLY did not want to see that!!! That was disgusting! He got a time-out too! I kept my pants up, don't worry."

Boy he could not stop talking about "show and tell" today. According to my husband, Catholic schools certainly have changed these days!

When You are Older

2008-03-15T18:45:00.002-04:00

This is a Francesca "oldie-but-goodie" from July 2007. Sorry, they haven't done anything too funny so far this weekend so I thought I would amuse you with this.

So Scott takes Francesca to his office 2 nights ago because he can't find a notebook with client info. that he was supposed to bring home. They find the notebook on his desk, safe and sound. Francesca then asks her daddy what is so important that they had to go back to his office to get it. He tells her - "client information".

"What's that, Daddy?"

"Stuff I will explain to you when you are older", he tells her.

"Oh.....like sex?"

Scott can't believe his ears. What did his precious daughter just say???

"WHAT DID YOU SAY FRANCESCA???"

"Like sex....when I am older!"

At this point Scott is so flustered he pulls the car over, afraid he might actually crash the car if he hears his daughter utter that word again. "Francesca, tell me again what you said?"

"DADDY!!!! You said it was something you would tell me about when I am older....Like SIX! SIX YEARS OLD!!! What did you think I said?"

Oops.....said Scott.

NEW POLL!!!

2008-03-14T09:26:00.001-04:00

We have a new poll at the bottom of the page, check it out and vote for your favorite Francesca and Gavin story! OR, if you know my kids personally and your favorite story did not make the poll, leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite is!!

Chatting with Francesca

2008-03-12T22:36:00.002-04:00

I was off from work today, as I had to register Big Guy for kindergarten (oh how the time flies). Francesca had a half-day, due to teacher conferences. My mom picked her up so I could get some errands done. On the way to Stamford to pick Gavin up from nursery school we talked about her morning at school and her birthday, coming up on May 9th. All she can talk about is her birthday and how we are going to celebrate it. She would like me to bake a chocolate fudge cake, and perhaps I could bake it in the shape of a princess castle. OK...Next, she asks me how much money Scott and I have saved, because she would like to have Hannah Montana come sing at her birthday party. I told her that no amount of money (that we have, anyway) could bring Hannah Montana to her birthday party.

"Mommy, if you and Daddy go to the bank every day and take out some money, we can have enough to call Hannah Montana and have her sing at my birthday!"

Oh boy...I left it to Scott to explain to her why she was not having Hannah at her birthday.

Francesca also told me that she would like to go to Texas on vacation this summer. OK, why, I ask. What do you know in Texas?? She told me that today in school they read a book on tornadoes. She would like to see a tornado, and the book says they can be found in Texas, Kansas and "middle America". According to Francesca, tornadoes are "big swirly winds" are to her that sounds exciting. Well, again, not happening, my dear. I told her to watch her brother some time. He is his own tornado!

Ding, Dong, AVON Calling!

2008-03-09T20:13:00.003-04:00

Today we went to the Greenwich St. Patrick's Day Parade. Always a good parade, although Scott and I personally think it was way better back in the day when you could actually BYOB and drink while you were freezing your butt off. After 1 hr., 2 cold kids, 4 hot dogs, 2 shamrock necklaces, 1 Irish sword, 1 magic wand decorated with the Irish flag colors, and handfuls of candy thrown by marchers, we went home. We were all cold and tired and the kids actually fell asleep in the car on the way home. Of course, as I tried to transfer them from car to house they woke up. Then they got their second wind.

Francesca decides that we are going to play "makeup store". She was the AVON lady. I agree, as long as I can sit on the couch and read a magazine. So up she goes into the bathroom and comes down with all of my makeup, plus cotton balls and makeup remover. Uh oh, I am in for it. She starts applying eye shadow to my eyelids (and the surrounding areas of my face) in wide strokes, telling me I look "bee-you-ti-fullll". I then get poked in the eye with a mascara wand. Oops, she says. I now have to explain that eyeliner is not for my cheeks and please don't try to sign your name on my forehead in Luscious Red lipliner. For a moment I thought the game was ending and we would all relax, but no, Gav had to get in on the action.

"Mommy, I am Mr. Gavin. Wait a minute while I put this powder on your face. Ha ha Mommy, you look pretty funny right now. Checka, go get a mirror so Mommy can see how she looks!"

Actually I did not want to see how I looked. I was afraid someone might come to the door and I would have to answer it looking like the Bride of Frankenstein. After a quick swipe of makeup remover they were at it again. Now "Miss Francesca" tells me that I may need to help her for a minute...

"Mommy, do you have any cucumbers? " What for, I ask. "For your eyes, Mommy. You need to cut it up and put slices on your eyes. It makes your eyes pretty." Yes, I have a cucumber. No you are not getting it I tell her. It is for salad this week.

Gavin - "Mommy if you are cutting the cucumber for your eyes could you cut some up for me? I am really hungry. Or I could just eat the cucumber slices when you are done with them..."

I finally had to put a stop to this oh-so-fun game. It took me 10 minutes and alot of soap and makeup remover to get their handiwork off my face. My face is still stinging, 4 hours later.

It's a Lazy Day

2008-03-08T17:10:00.002-05:00

Well it's rained all day here in Port Chester. My big accomplishment for the day was walking 40 minutes before it started to rain and going grocery shopping (BY MYSELF!!!!!). The kids have been stuck inside watching TV, playing games and napping. Francesca fell asleep sitting up on the couch, her head leaning on the arm. We had a 2-hr. stretch of no whining, so peaceful. Gav was awake of course, because they haven't both fallen asleep at the same time in about 3 years. At 4 and almost 6, they don't routinely nap anymore, but if they happen to fall asleep we don't complain. Finally, Francesca woke up and Gavin eventually fell asleep. I was downstairs folding laundry and Scott calls me upstairs because "I have to come see Gavin". There he is, asleep, with a smile on his face...his little hand in his pants. No wonder he is smiling. :)

Family Movie Night

2008-03-07T21:30:00.003-05:00

We just (barely) survived our first "Family Movie Night" at F's school. Ugh...For $10 for the 4 of us, we got to sit on hard metal chairs, or the floor, if we choosed. We watched (really didn't) "Game Plan" with The Rock. With all the kids, including my own, running around and screaming I could not for the life of me tell you one iota of what went on in that movie. Admission got us 4 free small popcorns, which satisfied the kids for about 30 seconds. Then they moved on to the real good snacks, in their opinions. Ring Pops. Twizzlers. Cotton Candy. Hey at least the popcorn was not too bad for them. Plus, they opted for bottled water over soda. You know, for a school that has a "Healthy Eating Initiative" they don't give a crap about nutrition as long as it is after school hours. Oh well, I guess Ring Pops sell alot better than bran muffins. They did have coffee for sale for the parents. I found myself wishing that someone had a bottle of vodka stashed in their purse; a shot or two would have made the evening WAY more bearable. Gavin, once again, was trying to sweet talk the ladies. This time it was the PTO moms. Here's how it went:

"I would like 2 Twizzlers please." (Twizzlers were a dime each)

"Here you go, and here's your change." (He had a quarter.)

"Oh no. Keep the change!" (He's obviously trying to get in good now, knowing once they get to know him next year they'll be calling him the kindergarten's Eddie Haskell.)

Thank goodness we don't have another nighttime school event until April. I think it's BINGO. I'll pack my BINGO markers and pray for no Ring Pops.

As-Seen-On-TV, Part 2

2008-03-03T21:49:00.002-05:00

For those of you who know Francesca and Gavin, you know that they are OBSESSED with "As-Seen-On-TV" and all of those lovely products that we can buy on TV. My mom broke down and bought them the "Pancake Puff" for Valentine's Day; boy were they excited. I tried to make Pancake Puffs that weekend but had run out of Bisquick. I had to improvise, and well, mine were not what they saw on TV. Gavin tried a few but Francesca refused to eat them.

"Mommy, those DO NOT look like the Pancake Puffs on TV. Maybe you should have let Daddy make them."

Whatever. The cat had no problem eating them. Scott made them the next weekend and the kids raved about his ability to make a perfect Pancake Puff. Well he was lucky, I had just gone grocery shopping and had a new box of Bisquick.

This morning, as Gavin and I pull into his school parking lot, I realize that my iPod is not in my purse. So as I am rumbling around my big Mary Poppins bag, Gav looks at me with his big blue eyes and says:

"You know, Mommy, if you had the 'Buxton Organizer' you would be able to find your iPod right away. You could even find your cell phone blindfolded. It comes in black, red and tan. Plus, you get a free 'Memory Mate', you know...you talk and it remembers what you say. Milk, bread, eggs...your whole list! Mommy, you really need the 'Buxton Organizer'.

My children are walking advertisements for infomercials. Yesterday Scott used "Mighty Putty" on a crack in the basement. You would have thought it was Christmas, for all the jumping around that was going on in our house. "Mighty Putty" is their favorite As-Seen-On-TV commercial. They are convinced that they can find a use for it everywhere in our house. Gav has already asked me to please tell the Easter Bunny to bring him some.