New York City with the In-Laws

The City

The Tourists

The Plan

1. Leave at 8am. Drive in and Park.
2. Get All Day Metro Tickets
3. Bus to Central Park (Strawberry Fields and Carousel)
4. Bus on Broadway to 42nd Street (Times Square) through Theater District
5. Bus or walk to Empire State Building and, depending on time, go up
6. Bus to Greenwich Village and eat the best cupcakes in the world, then walk to John's Pizza for lunch, and visit various other cool things in the village.
7. Bus to Ground Zero and see Trinity Church and Wall Street
8. Bus to Battery Park/Statue of Liberty
9. Bus to the United Nations
10. If there's time, visit Seinfeld Cafe and "You've Got Mail" Cafe on Upper West Side
11. Leave NYC by 6pm



After much research and printing of maps and prior experience in NYC and with the help of the beautiful D'Arcy and her handy guide to NYC, we were SET to enjoy the wonders of the city and enjoy some new and tasty gems, again thanks to D'Arcy. She told us of Magnolia's Bakery, home to the best cupcakes in the world and John's Pizza, home to the best pizza in New York and a favorite dining spot of Johnny Depp and Woody Allen. Huzzah! I love stuff like that!

What Really Happened

1. Drive in and Park Take Ferry from New Jersey.

After a lovely drive around Jersey, looking for the ferry terminal, and after talking to a very nice Ukrainian man whose directions didn't quite work for us, Vivian, Mark, Stacy, Thing 1, and Thing 2 are packed and ready, having prepared the night before, and therefore begin walking to the ferry. Gary returns to car 4 times to get stuff. (He loves me--I can write this stuff).

On the ferry--notice Gary still getting his stuff together as Vivian patiently looks on (she packed the night before, remember?)

2. Get All Day Metro Tickets Get those later.
3. Bus to Central Park Do that later.
4. Bus on Broadway to 42nd Street (Times Square) through Theater District No need. Get off the ferry and be bussed to Times Square by the ferry company. And it's lunch time, so maybe go to Greenwich Village first to eat at John's Pizza. Wait, never mind. Lady on bus says there's one closer, so eat there. And because we took the wrong subway (but we did get those All Day Metro tickets!), bag the original plans and walk to the U.N. first instead of ninth on the list (why did we make a list again?) and take part in skip the tour. Who cares--flexibility and impulsivity is much more fun.

Times Square -- we heard at least 12 languages as we walked around. We mentioned how it's too bad we'd miss it at night since it's really spectacular to see how bright it is when the sun goes down. Oh well. Gary thought it would be cute to take a picture with some NYC cops. They didn't think it was so cute. Welcome to New York.

Times Square -- thanks to the tourists from Kansas that I met on the very hot bus from the ferry, we discovered that there was a John's Pizza in Times Square/Theater District, so there'd be no need to hurry to Greenwich Village. Good, because it was already, amazingly, lunch time and we were hungry!

The boys at John's Pizzeria -- all the wait staff had T-shirts that said, "No Slices" and we're still not sure what that means. We were too hungry to think to ask. It really WAS good pizza! No exact measurements of anything, according to the menu. And it was baked in an old-fashioned wood stove with no set temperature. Delicious!

The girls at John's Pizzeria

Seriously good pizza, Thing 2's favorite!

Resisting urge to caption picture and state the obvious

Walk out of John's and you're in the Theater District and there are LOADS of cool shows playing. Gary and Vivian went from a bit apprehensive about visiting NYC to really enjoying it and wanting to return and see a show! Despite the fact that I looked for a LONG time online to find us decent tickets, I couldn't find any. Turns out Wednesdays are matinee days. Who knew? (Gary knew).

On our walk to the U.N., we passed (surprise to us, too) Grand Central Station, so we stopped in, because why not?

We gave money to the street performer, a violin player!

Check us out! We're in Grand Central Station! And it wasn't even on the list!

I liked Visiting the United Nations -- we walked along U.N. Way and saw cool flags (Portugal, Cabo Verde, Japan, etc.) and we took some cool neighborhood pictures (I love pockets of New York like that). We took some pictures in front of the U.N. and on the grounds. They had the friendliest security (so unlike the scary D.C. security people). They had cool sculptures on the property.

It's so cool to visit the U.N. because you're considered on international soil! So neat! They had a children's international art show about how children view the world and also how they represent their country and of the Olympics. Some of the pictures were so difficult to view--some children in the world have seen very scary, awful things. The kids got to sign the guest book and share their thoughts on it.

A lot of South Korean tourists enjoyed taking their picture with the picture of the current Secretary General. I liked Kofi Annan when he was on Sesame Street. They were hoisting some equestrian statue outside so I took a picture so we can show we saw it being erected in case it's really famous some day. And we took pictures of more flags.

Neat place. We decided to skip the tour so we could get to the other stuff (now badly out of order on our list).

5. Bus or walk Taxi to Empire State Building and, depending on time, go up Don't go up. It's a 2-hour wait, so let's keep seeing the city.

Us, seeing the Empire State Building

Done with that. Moving on.

I have no pictures of what happened next. I'm fairly certain that my father-in-law purchased stolen goods. I don't know details but he went in to a questionable tourist shop to buy a memory card and walked out with a memory card, rechargeable batteries, and a charger. And a big smile on his face. And a spring in his step. It was the biggest highlight of NYC for him so far.

6. Bus to Greenwich Village and eat the best cupcakes in the world, Do that later then walk to John's Pizza for lunch, did that first instead and visit various other cool things in the village Later. Instead, walk to Penn Station and see Madison Square Garden (surprise again!) and get some water and a snack from some hot dog vendor at some hot dog place.
7. Bus to Ground Zero and see Trinity Church and Wall Street Do that after the Statue of Liberty
8. Bus Subway and then walk to Battery Park/Ferry Miss Ferry to Statue of Liberty

Basically, we were noticing how the day was already flying and we had about 8 more things we wanted to get to and Thing 2 especially wanted to see Lady Liberty, so we cruised on down.

In the subway station, while Gary eavesdropped on a conversation with more NYC cops (I'm not sure if he was really that fascinated with the officers or if he was trying to get arrested--he does this thing sometimes where he thinks he's George Costanza, so anything is possible). None of us knew where we were, so I asked the cops. Gary was impressed. I was sick of trying to figure out maps and getting bad information and taking wrong subways and standing around looking like clueless tourists, so I asked. He calls it "Stacy having a thing for men in uniform." I call it "proactive." Idyllic. Green. Tomato. Tomata.

Papa on the subway with Thing 1 and Thing 2. Check out the graffiti behind them!

So, in keeping with our day . . . you know, not following our list, not doing the tour at the U.N., not going up the Empire State Building . . . we missed the day's last ferry to the Statue of Liberty. ARGH. This was quickly becoming the "Poor Man's Tour of NYC" -- Hey kids, that's the U.N.! No tour though. Hey kids, see that tall building? It's SO neat to go to the top on the super fast elevator and see the city from the top, but not today!! See that statue out there? Well, enjoy the view from Battery Park because we missed the ferry!

I figured we'd go to the cupcake place next and look in the window while drooling over the world's best cupcakes and say, "Don't those look YUMMY? Well, too bad! We're not getting any!"

So, what do you do when you're disappointed about missing the ferry to Lady Liberty? Pout, whine, and cry? Throw a tantrum? Nope, not our kids (thank God!). Chase pigeons! The backdrop for pigeon chasing is Brooklyn, for those interested. :)

7. Bus Walk to Ground Zero and see Trinity Church and Wall Street
8. Bus to Battery Park/Take Ferry to Statue of Liberty Miss Ferry and wave at statue from Battery Park (after talking to men in uniform again)
9. Bus to the United Nations We already did that. Try to keep up.

The bull on Wall Street -- a popular place to take pictures

Wall Street and Broadway--New York is just so cool!!

Trinity Church
Statue of George Washington . . .

. . . on the spot where he became president.

New York Stock Exchange

View of Trinity Church from Wall Street/NYSE

We visited Ground Zero. They are building new buildings and there is no memorial at Ground Zero itself beyond the ones for the firefighters near the fire station that is right next to Ground Zero. It felt somber to visit there. It felt strange that there is no memorial, no wreath of flowers, nothing. It was a HUGE open space where there used to be 2 enormous buildings--buildings Mark and I have seen as newlyweds, buildings we can see on old Friends Episodes (always so surreal to see them), buildings I've entered as a child. What was most poignant/difficult to think about, as we walked around the entire area (it was huge) was how people ran through those streets, running from smoke and dust as fast as they could. How horrible. How scary. And telling your kids about it is awful. We've told Thing 1 the full story. We haven't given quite as many details to Thing 2 yet.

Okay, so moving on . . .

6, 7, 8. 9, 10, 11 on our list became more like 9, 8, 7, 6, don't do 10, moving 3 to 9.5 didn't work, and 11? Yeah right.

6. Bus (Subway) to Greenwich Village and eat the best cupcakes in the world at Magnolia's Bakery, then walk to John's Pizza for lunch (start thinking about dinner), and visit various other cool things in the village sit down with pain and exhasution in every part of our legs and bag the rest of the itinerary.

Okay, so I love Greenwich Village. I love the bohemian feel of it, I love the brownstones, I love the small town feel right in the middle of the city, I love the trees and the parks, I love the brick walkways and black iron gates, I love the little shops, I love the rooftop terrace gardens, I LOVE it! This was, as far as I can remember anyway, my first time to the village. We had spent much of the day in the "big city" parts of New York and I kept thinking, "How could D'Arcy stand this? How could she live like this for college?" And then we got to Greenwich Village. And I understood. And then I wondered how in the world she's not living in NYC anymore! How is she living in Utah instead of this magical place? D'Arcy, it's FABULOUS! I love it--thank you for introducing me to it!!

In the village

quaint city neighborhoods

This one if for D'Arcy--it's me in front of Magnolia's Bakery (under construction apparently)!

You have to see these cupcakes to believe them--they're AMAZING! I don't even like frosting that much and their frosting was OMIGOSH so so so delectable. And the cupckes were dense and fluffy at the same time. I don't know how to describe it. Rich and filling yet not heavy. And oh so delicious. I don't even love cake that much and I can see why people rave about them. It's worth a jaunt to the village just to try them. Plus it's apparently so "Sex and the City" to walk around Greenwich Village (I think they must've filmed part of an episode there or something--it said something on a picture on the wall in there). Simply charming. The bakery is teeming with people and the bakers are busily baking as the cupcakes (a limit of a dozen per person, the sign teases) fly off the shelves. You can box them or grab a plate and put one on. Choose your cupcake and walk across the street to eat in the darling little city park. Yum! I got a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. Mmmmm. Thing 1 got a pink frosted one with rainbow sprinkles at the suggestion of a little girl at the bakery. So cute. Thing 2 got chocolate--see picture. I don't remember what we all got, but we all liked them!

Oh are you noticing that it's getting dark? Yeah, us, too.

Yum!

All sugared up!

Isn't this a cute park?!

So where were we? Ah yes.

10. If there's time, visit Seinfeld Cafe and "You've Got Mail" Cafe on Upper West Side
11. Leave NYC by 6pm Bus from Greenwich Village back to Times Square and find a place for dinner since it's now 9pm.

On the bus--one of many times throughout the day where we enjoyed the people of New York. You feel like everyone's friend there. It's a marvelous place. Gary enjoyed a lively political discussion with a woman on this bus. And we learned a little bit about the cost of living in the city (high). One of my favorite parts of visiting New York is enjoying the people of the city. You can't help but like them.

So, as a reminder:

7. Bus to Ground Zero and see Trinity Church and Wall Street
8. Bus to Battery Park/Statue of Liberty
9. Bus to the United Nations Did all this earlier and out of order. Bus back to Times Square.
10. If there's time, visit Seinfeld Cafe and "You've Got Mail" Cafe on Upper West Side No Soup For You! We can do that next time.
11. Leave NYC by 6pm (Insert hysterical laughter here) Hope we don't miss the last ferry and pray we get out of the city by 11pm or so.


Well, remember what I said earlier in this post?

We mentioned how it's too bad we'd miss it at night since it's really spectacular to see how bright it is when the sun goes down. Oh well.

Well, never mind! Since it was well past 9pm, we DID get to see how spectacular Times Square is at night! NYC is truly "the city that never sleeps" -- it's amazing! There is ALWAYS something going on. There were a million places open, the whole area is so lit up that it's just NOT dark, and people are bustling everywhere!






We decided on The Hard Rock Cafe--one of Thing 2's very favorite parts of the trip. BOY was it loud in there! The 70s and 80s music and videos was great (weird to the kids, nostalgic to me---ah MTV. Remember when MTV started and people thought it was so evil?). We enjoyed some good food (we were all hungry!) and more of the nightlife of NYC. It was VERY, very fun.

Cool Beatles Memorabilia

So, we ate and then caught our bus to our ferry, leaving NYC after 11, getting to Jersey (the ferry ride is like 8 minutes long, if that), finding our car, and driving back to PA and getting home and right to bed somewhere around 2AM. What a day!!

On the Ferry from NY to NJ

From NJ to PA

Moral of the day: We are nothing, if not flexible and fun! :)

It was a great day--thank you so much to Gary and Vivian for being both willing and fun about it all. They told us they enjoyed it even more than they thought they would and would enjoy going back someday again, so that's good.



Notes for next time: Start with the Statue of Liberty. Do Central Park and Seinfeld and Friends. And maybe don't bother making too specific of a plan. :)

An older, funny post

Mark posted this the day after Palin's speech at the Republican Convention. Something got messed up with it, so we've since fixed that and reposted. Enjoy! :)

Generation X

You know you're in your 30s when . . .

1. You talk politics, financial investments, and business on a date with your spouse.
2. You get really annoyed by grammatical errors in the news.
3. You volunteer for your library.
4. You serve on a community board.
5. You help work a voter registration table for fun on a Saturday afternoon.
6. You start checking age boxes that lump you with 60-year-olds (34-60! Seriously, who writes those?!).
7. You have gray roots.
8. You talk books and politics with your friends with mad delight and passion.
9. Eating junk food, especially fast food, (except for maybe once a month) doesn't appeal quite like it used to.
10. You sponsor a community blood drive at your home business.
11. You start to say things like, "When I was a kid, we didn't . . . "
12. You can see how you look so much younger in pictures from 10 years ago.
13. Your idea of a nice, relaxing evening consists of eating a bowl of cereal and watching a Friends rerun.
14. You debate politics with your loveable brother-in-law on your blog and enjoy it thoroughly.
15. The stock market volatility scares you (though maybe not quite as much as those who tick the 60 and up age box).

I'm seriously noticing this stuff and how it ages me. I don't mind it, but it is kind of interesting/funny. Anyone got any more? (Terah, I'm counting on you!!)

Another Funny One

From SNL. This is HYSTERICALLY funny. (And HOLY, Tina Fey looks just like Palin!). Enjoy!

Too good not to post

This post is political and I'm feeling pretty riled up--my friend and I volunteered with the Obama campaign today at our local farmer's market to help get people to register to vote (it was set up as a non-partisan table so we hid our Obama pins :P).

It felt good to be involved, but it was depressing to hear so many people say things like, "Oh, I won't vote because I don't get into politics" or "I don't want to vote because I don't care" or "I don't want to register because it doesn't matter anyway" or "The President doesn't run things; a higher power does so I'm not messing with voting" or "My vote doesn't count" or "It's not a big deal" or "You think our President runs this country?! He doesn't so it doesn't matter!" Ignorant comment after ignorant comment. It was depressing. The woman at the jewelery shop to one side and the man at the flower shop to the other side gave us understanding faces and rolled their eyes and shrugged their shoulders, both telling us later that they're Obama supporters and that it's just sad to see such ignorance and blatant dismissal of such a privilege for which so many in our world long. Vote for who you will, but the point is VOTE. And if you don't vote, keep your complaints to yourself afterward.

Anyway, I'm not big into Hollywood types waxing political, especially if they're uneducated themselves, but I have no problem with a Hollywood type voicing his opinion, especially when he is as clued in as Matt Damon (plus, I think this clip is also kind of funny):

A visit from CA

So, Gary and Vivian arrived on Monday evening. The kids spotted them before they were even on our street. They RAN out the door to greet them. Papa was still parking. So, we talked for a bit and started with a tour of our barn/carriage house and yard while it was still somewhat light out. Then we gave them a tour of the house and clinic. This all took a while because it's a big farmhouse. It was so fun to show it to them in person!! And we're pretty proud of the work we do here. :)

We had grabbed a bunch of veggies from our garden and made this with some pasta:



Mmm-mmmm. And remember, with us? It's all about the food. So, we enjoyed a relaxing evening and stayed up late talking. We decided to hang out at home the next day, figuring on some jet lag for them and a nice day on the farm. :) If you're paying attention, you'll know that food is important, so here was our menu that day (and anything that could come from our garden, did):

We greeted our guests with a farmhouse breakfast the next morning:

Dutch Babies/German pancakes (Di-VINE--one of my all-time favorite foods)
Breakfast Sausage
K's Blueberry Muffins
Baked Oatmeal with berries and walnuts (a local, Amish treat)
Several juices

It was quite the spread. Yum. Something about living in a farmhouse makes us really crave and enjoy breakfasts like this from time to time.

Lunch was, hmmmm, I don't recall . . . that pasta and homemade garden sauce, I believe. And probably garden salad as well. Whatever it was, it was good.

Dinner was a REAL treat. We ate outside (surrounded by fireflies and the sound of cicadas and a bat overhead--the bat lives in our attic/loft on the 3rd floor) and made:

Oven-baked Butternut Squash with butter and a touch of brown sugar
Fresh Corn on the Cob with butter and sea salt
Afghani Chicken (one of our favorite recipes and an oft-requested recipe of ours--we discovered it when we made this as theme food for our book club meeting on The Kite Runner).
Grilled Na'an (S-C-R-U-M-P-T-I-O-U-S)
Fresh Garden Salad
Homemade Cookies and Cream Ice Cream for Dessert

YUM!

We also played and relaxed all day--inside and out. Other highlights include our really good and wonderful friends from down the street stopping by to play. Grandma and Papa playing games and reading with the kids. Playing Catch outside. And Papa giving M a black eye (the pictures on the swing--Papa's trying to make up for it while M ices his eye). "Good one, Gary." ;)

The next day we enjoyed a GREAT day in New York City. But that deserves a post of its own . . .

Me and My Father-in-law

My Father-in-law is a thespian, so this format is just for him. :)

Setting: Gorgeous day; Resting on a bench in a beautiful park and admiring the scenery here in rural PA; Hanging out with my in-laws . . .

My Father-in-law (pondering): You know what word I'd use to describe where Mark and his family live? (Thoughtful pause as we all wait expectantly) . . . Green.

(My Mother-in-law nods in acknowledgment of his remark).

Me: How about Idyllic?

My Father-in-law (considering me for a second and laughing): No, I'd still say "Green." See, I'm an accountant and you're a Humanities Major. You say Idyllic. I say Green.

More Summer Fun . . .

. . . because it's been that long since I've posted pictures. :P

I cut up this tomato in July and the color was amazing. It was so juicy and beautiful and very, very delicious. We've been pretty much picking our lunch out of our garden all summer.

My little laundry helper :)

I couldn't resist this picture.

While I hung laundry (which I love to do), these guys helped shuck corn. We got several dozen ears of corn from our good friends and so we shucked and blanched and cut and froze a whole bunch! Our freezer and pantry are filling up with fruit and veggies! And soon, we're getting PORK MEAT, too! Our friends who have a farm are raising pigs and we're going in on one with them and getting half a hog! We've done this before and I'm so excited--it's usually cheaper and whether or not it is, it tastes so much better and you know where it comes from.

Nature Hike

Our awesome homeschool group enjoys nature hikes several times a year--we got to play some great games, take some hikes, play in the water, and have some quiet, reflective time. Gorgeous place!

Gardening

BeatleMania
This was a blast! We attended a fabulous open-air amphitheater concert put on by this wonderful group--they used no recordings; it was all live! They used over 20 guitars to replicate the sound of the Beatles and they do all of their mannerisms, from the way Paul sings to the way John Lennon and George stand to Ringo's wave to the audience. It was fabulous! The kids are on a TOTAL Beatles kick and we've enjoyed reading about them all in prep for the concert. Thing 2 especially loves to sit and listen to the entire Beatles "1" Album and can often be found rocking out in his room putting on quite a show (when he doesn't know we're listening at the door). Very entertaining!

Be sure to look at all the pictures--you can see how the guys switched their costumes to show the progression of the Beatles' style. (And there are a couple of us in there, too). The screen behind them showed Beatles footage as well as events current to the time they're singing. Great show!

So, the day after Beatlemania, what do you do? Imitate what you've seen! (Our children do this ALL the time--they love to imitate fun stuff like this--Olympics, something we've read, concerts, etc.). Here they are as The Beatles singing . . . Back in the USSR! (Notice the makeshift electric guitar--hooked into a massage chair thingy and the makeshift drumset. Oh and the costumes!). :P

Our Freakishly Cool Carrots

The Symphony

The orchestra

The music-identifying kids

Okay, so, same theater. Next night (what can we say--it was a great concert series and cheap tickets, so we attended two on two nights in a row!), we attended the Hershey Symphony. It was SO much fun. They played a lot of movie theme stuff and American music and at one point played the theme from every branch of the military while people in the audience stood to be honored--it was great fun! And very, very comfortable and lively!

My favorite part of the evening was when the conductor (who kept talking to us--the feel was more like a jazz concert . . . not stuffy at all) talked about John Williams and all of his recognizable movie music and said the orchestra was about to play a medley of his songs from 5 different movies and wanted to know if we could identify every movie from the music they played. He then started with the most obvious--Deh Neh! Neh neh neh, NEH Neh. Neh neh neh, NEH Neh . . . so of course (I mean, c'mon, the conductor asked!), Thing 2 raises his hand, jumps halfway out of his seat, while yelling fairly loudly and very excitedly, "Oooh! Star Wars!!"

My eyes wide, I quickly put my arm around him and tried to let him know we don't call out like that and praise him for his good work identifying the song at the same time. He pretty much figured out himself (since no one else was calling out answers) that you don't do that and I didn't want to make him feel badly because he was SO excited and that's not even his nature to call out like that (he was THAT excited) so I tread lightly. He doesn't show easily how sensitive he is (he plays everything cool), but I could see it in his eyes, so I didn't want to squelch his excitement and pride for a job well done. He thought the conductor meant for us to call out answers. What a cutie. Everyone behind us got a good chuckle out of it as did Mark and I. (The other songs, by the way, were Jaws, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, and Superman). :)

Morning Exercises

For my birthday, Stacy got me a really cool gift. She signed us up to do a series of yoga classes together. She also got me some comfortable exercise clothes appropriate for flexing and bending and a yoga mat, required equipment for our classes. There is a woman in our community that runs classes at the library once a week. They have a large room downstairs (incidentally, this is where we do our homeschool classes, as well) that we can use before the library opens. When Stacy signed up they told her there were about 6 people signed up at the time, and no men. No big deal. I am used to my "token male" status.

I was actually pretty excited to get started today. I've long been interested in learning more and so has Stacy, plus we have a video of beginning yoga that we've done on occasion. We thought it would be really good to go to a class in person, though, so we can get personal instruction on the poses and learn to do it "right." Being at the library meant the kids could go and hang out while we had class, too. This morning when we got to the library, the street in front and the parking lot were pretty full. The class was full, too. I'm guessing there are 20 or so people in the group. The extra 14 are all women by the way. Still, no big deal.

So, we got started. In the beginning we were told to find our intentions, or reasons for being in the class. OK. Got that. Next she started talking about ahimsa and how we should avoid doing harm, especially to ourselves. I thought it was a good thing to know, but wasn't sure why it was too relevant to me this morning. We went through some seated relaxation poses, Child's Pose, Cat Pose. So far so good. I was feeling pretty relaxed and could tell this was a wonderful way to start the day. Then we got to the Warrior poses. Sounds like a pretty masculine thing. And then I learned why I needed to learn ahimsa.

A little background--over the weekend we and some friends decided to can applesauce. A lot of applesauce. In fact, we picked 4 bushels of apples during the week and turned them into 58 quarts of applesauce. We had a lot of stations, one of which was the shove the cooked apples into the food mill station. The way it was set up it made a lot of sense for me to do all the shoving since I was the tallest one there. It was still a tall enough set-up that I was putting a lot of torque on my shoulder, and I knew I'd feel it today.

So, Warrior poses. Step back with your right foot and press lightly through the heels of both feet. OK. Feel the tension in your legs without causing pain. Got it. Raise your arms above your head and hold them. Uh, what happened?! I looked around and saw all of the women raising their hands straight to the sky, and it looked like it was pretty easy for them. I wanted to rip my right shoulder off and toss it on the ground just to avoid the pain. Ahimsa. Right. I eventually swallowed my pride and rested my hands on my head in the first alternate pose. Warrior Two. Now take a similar stance, and extend your arms out to your sides, parallel to the ground. In case you missed it, 4 bushels of apples, shoved through a food mill. My shoulders kept yelling, "Ahimsa, you idiot! Ahimsa!" My brain couldn't hear it because it was still trying to coordinate my inhalations and exhalations without thinking. Before I knew it, I was getting ready for Warrior Three. My shoulder was quite interested in the painful possibilities this next pose could bring. Step back slightly and balance on your front foot. So far, so good. Let your arms hang forward. (Shoulders: "Ahhhh.") Raise your back foot if you'd like. OK, I'm game. Then the instructor lifted her rear leg to a position parallel to the ground as she made a human T. The token male almost took a face dive. Luckily he caught himself.

After the Warrior poses it was time to do some additional stretching and relaxing poses, eventually getting to Corpse Pose. You can imagine how relaxing that one is. No one wanted to get up afterward. It was an incredibly relaxing experience, but it also has plenty of strengthening and toning properties as well. I'm looking forward to going back next week. Thanks for the great gift, Stacy!

The greatest "of course" moment came after the class. This guy with a camera so big he can only be some sort of newspaper reporter came into the room and asked anyone who didn't mind being in a few pictures to get into yoga position. The library is doing some feature in the Lifestyles section of the local paper and this photographer was there to get pictures of activities going on at the library. He let us know he'd be taking pictures of individuals, too, and Stacy knew exactly what was coming. Who was his first subject? If you guessed "the token male" you would be right, although not necessarily that clever because who else could it have been? In the end it only makes sense: the acupuncturist at the yoga class. Sure, why not?

Overheard one morning this past week

I walk to the kids' room and stand at the door to watch them play--they're on the floor each holding a stuffed animal. They are smiling and laughing and having fun together. As I walk away, I hear:

"But I want to talk to Bear about Star Wars."

"But the Ball is going to start!"

(I'll let you guess who's talking in which line). ;)

************

Also, I have a couple of sweet things to share about our great kids.

The other day at our local amusement park (local reading program--post to follow), Thing 1 got on a ride by herself (I would've gone on but I was take it or leave it and she wanted to do it herself and that's fine) and Mark was already dizzy just looking at it (he doesn't like spinning rides) and Thing 2 had no interest (not a big fan of some of those rides). So, as we're watching and cheering Thing 1 on, we notice the lady seated behind Thing 1 with her baby who was less amused by the minute. Thing 1 tried to console the baby by talking to him over her shoulder. Thing 2, by my side, said, "Oh no. That baby is crying. I wish I could do something to help feel him better." (I love how he says "feel him better" so it's one of those things I simply do not correct--it's too cute to correct). :)

A couple of weeks ago, we did dates with the kids. Mark took Thing 2 to see the new animated Clone Wars (Thing 2 could barely contain his excitement, practically busting out of his seat he could hardly sit still! I know because Mark called me to tell me HOW excited Thing 2 was about this--he LOVES Star Wars). I took Thing 1 to our really cute local coffee shop/sandwich shop/ice cream shop and we got soup and sandwich for lunch and had a lovely time. So, as I'm paying for the sandwiches, I notice Thing 1 quietly and sneakily put a quarter in one of those little yellow cardboard boxes people set up near registers asking for money to help causes. (Mind you, she'd found that quarter on the ground days before that and had been carrying it around excited to have found it). She caught me looking at her and looked coy and a bit guilty. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was using her quarter. I asked, "Do you know what that is and are you sure that's how you wanted to use your quarter?" She said, "Yes, I read it and that's what I want to do with my quarter. I really do." I hugged her and told her that she's very sweet.

I am often in awe of how great they really are--they teach me so much. Thing 2 immediately thinks of how he wishes he could console that baby. I, feeling badly for the baby, was (I sheepishly admit) wondering what the mother was thinking taking the baby on a ride that "spinny." Thing 1 finds a quarter and gives it to charity. How often do I look right past those little cardboard boxes or not even notice them? We have great kids and we're super blessed to be their parents.

46 chromosomes and I don't know @#$%!

Ah genetics! I was reminded today how strangely wonderful the whole concept is. Not long ago I was teaching Thing 1 all about Gregor Mendel and his pea plants and how people are exactly like peas, or something like that. Today, as we were enjoying a rainy day in, and working on a school project together as a family I was thinking about how I can see both Stacy and me in our children.

We have adorable children, which doesn't follow classic Mendelian inheritance since they each got at least 90% of that from their mother.

Our kids are smart and clever. I will take a little credit there, but maybe only the math and science parts.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 have a lot of energy and can talk a lot. Although each of their parents expresses the talkative gene a little differently, that trait is a definite 50-50 split.

People say we all look alike. They're probably right.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now I've got some things to teach all of the geneticists out there. I have a list of discoveries as well as a "wish list" of sorts.

Stacy has a version of the "don't know when to stop" gene (DKWTS). As an adult it's expressed more as the persistence gene. Apparently the DKWTS gene is dominant because the Things are fully expressing it today!

Thing 2 has a gene known as the "I'm so darn cute" gene (ISDC). This enables him to do any amount of mischief and then get away with it because his parents can't keep from laughing. His mother also has a version of this gene.

Thing 1 has a slightly different version of the ISDC gene. Her mischief is usually a little less bold.

Thing 1 has inherited her mother's ability to eat slowly. This leads me to believe that eating speed is somehow related to a combination of X chromosomes. You genetic researchers find out for me, will you?

(Funny Aside: Stacy invented a game at dinner to calm things down a bit. These things almost never work, but somehow this one did. In this game you have to eat slowly without talking. The last one to finish gets to talk first. If you talk before you're done, no dessert for you. So, Thing 2 thinks the first one done wins, so he shoved it in so fast Hoover would be proud. At least he finished. I figured Stacy would win given her X chromosome linked eating speed, but I actually outlasted her. Thing 1 seemed determined to win, but also determined to mime constantly throughout the entire meal, as if this somehow was calmer than actually speaking. Then she noticed that I had one bite left and started to smile and point.I then held my bite aloft without eating. Thing 1 started shaking her head. A game of chicken ensued. Naturally I then divided my already minuscule bite into many more. Plus I started chewing a lot. Then Thing 1 reclined in her seat and slowly played with her pasta. I then pretended to serve myself a little more broccoli. Thing 1 rolled her eyes. I have the "super stinker" gene, which my children both have inherited. Stacy has it, too. [DING!] That's the Buddhist bell bringing me back to the story I'm telling in this moment. Anyway, as Thing 1 and I prepare for a standoff, Stacy breaks the silence declaring, "It's like watching a Pixar short!" At this point we all laugh, I finish my bite, Thing 1 wins, and I start counting the minutes until tuck-in time.)

Back to genetics . . .

I'd like to know the pattern of inheritance and mutation for the following genes:

1. I think anything related to underwear is funny gene (I suspect it's on the Y chromosome, but there must be a minor expression somewhere else since both our children think underwear is funny.)

2. Every once in a while I need to be roughed up gene. (Likely another Y chromosome item.)

3. When I see my brother being roughed up, I think it would be fun, too gene.

4. Mischief is more fun when we both try to annoy Daddy gene.

5. When I see a scrap of paper I must cut it into a million littler scraps of paper gene.

6. Daddy can clean it up gene.

7. I'm much more comfortable just wearing underwear gene.

8. No matter how crazy I am during the day, I look angelic while I'm sleeping, and Mommy and Daddy won't be able to wait until I wake up gene.

Thanks all of you genetics nuts. I'm looking forward to your earth-shattering research.

[Update: I actually called this post "22 chromosomes and I don't know @#$%!" before I caught myself and changed it to 23. Then I realized, that should be 23 pairs, or 46 total, so now you know how little @#$% I really know.]

My Mom is alive . . . and she oughta know

I've written quite a bit about my Dad on our blog. It's been extremely therapeutic for me and the outpouring of love from family and friends has been a balm for me.

One of the nice things about writing about my Dad is that I know that he knows that I think and feel these things about him. I've told him these things. These are not just things I've written in eulogy to him. These are things he's heard me say. I miss him more than words can convey. And dealing with his death has been painful and difficult. Writing about my feelings has been healing for me.

Well, recently, I've been wondering, "Does my Mom know how I feel about her?" I mean, I tell her things and we talk frequently. I even post about her from time to time. I've been thinking that she, too, ought to know my feelings for her, just as my Dad always has. I think she knows these things, but why not make sure?

See, my Dad had a major heart attack several years ago. It wasn't even clear if we'd make it in time to see him alive. So I panicked and quickly wrote up things I've always felt about my Dad but worried I hadn't shared with him. I desperately wanted him to know. DESPERATELY. So, I typed them up, emailed them to my mother, and begged her to please read it to Dad. I knew they were going to perform open heart surgery on him and that he was on an external pump to keep him alive and that he was barely hanging on, and I needed him to know my feelings for him, my profound love and respect for the man that is my father, my Daddy.

I typed up a beautiful tribute to him. One that Jim enlarged and framed with a picture of me, my brother, my mom, and my dad. It was a Christmas present Jim gave me as my Dad lay dying. It made me cry. I love it and haven't been strong enough yet to hang it up and have that constant reminder before me. I'm still getting used to my Dad not being here. I still sometimes think he's in the background when I talk to my Mom. I still sometimes think he's in the other room when my mom visits. I still sometimes think he's alive and then I'm jolted when I recognize that he's not. And that's painful.

I have his sweater. I wore it all the way back from MA after his funeral. It felt like he was hugging me, holding me. I don't put that sweater in a closet or drawer. I keep that sweater behind a pillow so that it doesn't take on the smell of anything else. Because it smells like him. I touch that sweater every day when we make our bed, but I've only had it in me to bring it to my face a few times to smell him, to feel him, to think of him. Did you know that our olfactory sense is the one most closely tied to memory? It's powerful. So, I don't do it often. And when I do, my eyes immediately well with tears.

So, Mom, I want you to know things, too. I want you to know that I think wonderful things about you, too. I want you to know that I'm glad we're not only parent-child, but friends. I want you to know that I'm grateful that you love my husband. I want you to know that I'm grateful that you love our children. I want you to know that I love that you tell us what you think, that you're proud of us. I want you to know that I love you.

She's led an amazing life. There are lots of things I love about my Mom.

She values education and good books
My mom immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 9. She had to drop out of high school to help support the family. She wasn't happy about it. She loved going to school in America. She's always wondered about stuff she's missed out on (prom, graduation, etc.), but she's always valued education far above that stuff. So, she went back. Years later, she went back. She got her G.E.D. and then her Bachelor's (no woman of her generation in our family had done that) and then her Master's (and no one from her generation has done that)! All this without a whole heck of a lot of support from anyone in her family and immediate circle of influence. She didn't care. She did it anyway.

My mom instilled a love of reading in me. She introduced me to great books at a young age. She made sure I knew about Little Women and The Secret Garden. She talked of the beauty of Tom Sawyer and The Little Princess. She got excited when in high school I was assigned to read To Kill A Mockingbird and The Scarlet Letter and Romeo and Juliet. When I was a kid, I loved to find a spot or climb a tree and read, read, read. This love carried me through school, college, graduate school, and continues to be a love of mine that I share with my husband and children. We have a fantastic collection of books, much due to my mom passing along so many of my childhood books on to us. This is saying something, because a lot of stuff got thrown out or given away when my parents moved from my childhood home to their retirement condo. But not the books. We got the books. Lots and lots of them.

She's a fabulous woman
Many told her she shouldn't do those things (you know, go to school, get a driver's license) because she was a woman. My mom has taught me that being a woman doesn't mean you quietly shut your mouth and do what others expect from you. Being a woman doesn't stop you from pursuing your dreams. Being a woman doesn't mean you give up. Being a woman doesn't pigeonhole you or make you weak. Being a woman doesn't mean you do what you're told. My mom has always disliked "silly women" as she terms it. She has little patience for people who stand by and allow others to dictate how they ought to live their lives. She could barely stand it. And she'd speak her mind on that, too. TO the silly women!

I think my mother is incredibly brave. When my mother was 34 years old, she forged her own path spiritually. She gave up the Catholic religion of her parents and extended family and culture and chose what made sense to her. She was met with a lot of resistance and disappointment from family and friends, but she followed her heart undeterred. It didn't matter what made sense to them. She did what made sense to her. And she affords her children that same courtesy and encouragement.

She didn't shelter us from other beliefs in the world--She took us to Mass and Portuguese, Catholic Holy Ghost feasts, we attended Cambodian cultural festivals as she sponsored a refugee family, I was christened Catholic, baptized Mormon, and attended a Born Again Christian school. She managed to forge her own path all the while teaching us a respect for different religions throughout the world.

A lot of people call my mom "strong" and while she is, I sometimes think that's an unfair pressure or burden to put on her, at least in terms of what people often call "strength," See, I have a different take on strength. When I hear her sob on the phone because she misses my dad, I see her strength--the strength and courage to be real, to show emotion, to say it sucks.

She's always encouraged me to be whatever I want to be. I didn't realize it at the time and it's only been recently, in my 30s, that I've recognized it, but my mother is quite a feminist. We never termed it as such, but it's true. And I'm proud of her for that.

She's an amazing wife
My grandmother insisted that my mom marry my dad. It was an arranged marriage. My mom was 18. 18! That is so young!! I grew up thinking that 18 was a typical age to marry since my mom had and my sister-in-law had. And then I turned 18. So young! There was no way I felt ready for marriage yet. (Ready to meet the man who'd become my future husband, yes. Get married at 18, no.) So my mom traveled to her home island of Sao Miguel, the mother country, and met and married my dad. She wasn't amused by the situation in the slightest (until she saw him--hubba hubba!). It is astounding to me that in today's day and age and in this country, you can still find people who have had their spouses chosen for them. Can you imagine?! My mom didn't get that choice--it was made for her. Thankfully, it was a good match.

It wasn't always easy. In fact, it was pretty damn difficult for a long, long time--there were years that many, including myself, would call "hell." But they stuck together for close to 50 years (and counting). And whether or not they'd ever admit it, they didn't stick it out in the name of "sticking it out." They had nothing to prove to anyone else. If you ask me, they stuck it out because they're perfect for each other. Truly perfect. And I saw a profound love in their eyes as they looked at each other when my mom held my dad as he died. It was beautiful, heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

She's a good mother
My mom and I didn't always see eye to eye. My Dad was always the peace maker and the least likely to get riled in our house. My mom and I both have that fiery Portuguese spirit that is lively and ardent and passionate. So we would equally want to get our point across and equally be right and equally want to convince the other (although I've always been the more logical thinker and we all know that I am always right). :P As we've gotten older, the dynamic has changed or we've grown up or my therapy has worked. Something. We are friends. We get along. We enjoy one another. I'm sure we still drive each other crazy from time to time, but you wouldn't know it like you would when I was younger. And it's not about being right anymore. Who cares? It's about supporting one another and being there for each other.

In the Portuguese culture, family is always family. The predominantly American mindset that a child is on his or her own at 18 is foreign in many other cultures, including mine. Parents continue to help children and likewise children help parents--it's all about who is able to do so rather than some "role" or expectation. My grandparents were too poor to help their children very much, so their children helped them. When my Vavo got to where he couldn't really be by himself, family pitched in and cared for him. My parents' generation worked VERY hard and did well for themselves and they in turn help their children. I've heard it's the same in Asian countries and I know it's the same in South American countries and European countries. I'm a part of a beautiful culture and I'm so very, very proud to be 100% Portuguese. Who can claim being 100% anything nowadays in our country? I think it's pretty neat and enriching and I'm very grateful to have been raised bilingually and biculturally.

My mom and dad have been amazingly trusting and supportive of us in all of our choices--they trusted me as a teen, they trusted my choice of college, my major, my going on a mission, my choice of husband, our moving to Arizona to attend medical school, living in a nice trailer, my attending graduate school, moving to PA, buying a townhouse, our handling of dealing with my depression, family practice, homeschooling, quitting residency, starting our own business, buying a farmhouse, you name it and they've never doubted and have always had the utmost confidence in our abilities and passions and dreams.

Any time that we have gone to them with anything, including things we thought they might wig out about or be concerned about (depression, homeschooling, quitting residency), they've been almost immediately supportive. If they were a bit skeptical or nervous at first, it didn't last long, because they know us and trust us and love us. I think they have sometimes believed in our dreams more than we have at times. They are always right there with words of support and encouragement as well as concrete support to help us make things happen. They didn't have a single, solitary doubt about our business. My mom calls me from time to time just to tell me, out of the blue, that though she didn't know what to think at first, how grateful she is that we homeschool and how she sees the good effects from it and how proud of us she is for all we're doing. There's no trying to convince them that what we're doing (all of it) is so right for us. They see it, they see us, they know we're happy and in love and that's enough for them. Which brings me to the next point.

She's a pretty great mother-in-law
I think the person that gushes most about Mark after me is my mom. She adores Mark. My parents have ALWAYS loved Mark. My mom even had us go to Olan Mills and take pictures together (seriously, they look like engagement pictures) after our freshman year at college and she proudly displayed that picture the whole time we were on our missions. She'd talk about Mark as if he were already part of the family and treated him as such. I'm pretty sure that marrying into the family hasn't been so difficult for Mark--the entire extended family loves him and has welcomed him with open arms, both figuratively and literally. The running joke is that they all want to marry Mark! Mark has told me that he's very comfortable when my Mom visits and it's kind of nice to have her "puttering around." We don't ever ask her to do anything around here--she just does. Dishes, cleaning, cooking, whatever. It's comfortable and easy. She has always been open about her love for Mark and has always explained that it comes down to this--she says, "Mark loves you and is so good to you. How could I not love someone who loves my daughter so much?" That's it. No conditions, no tests, no judgment. Pure acceptance.

She's a wonderful grandmother
My mom hasn't always been able to visit much, especially while caring for my Dad. Before and during that time, she would visit more often, but when he got really sick, it was more difficult for them. We've always lived away from grandparents. She doesn't let the physical distance cause a dissociation from us. She calls often, has always talked to the kids all she can, and sends fun packages in the mail.

I sometimes get a little jealous when I read friends' posts that mention how they got to have their kids enjoy grandma's house for a day while they ran errands or had the grandparents over for the day or Grandma taking everyone out for some errands and helping out with groceries, or one of the biggest ones for me--Sunday Dinners at Grandma's house. While we're very happy and wouldn't trade where we live, that is something we know we miss out on by not living close to family. Day to day and even the big holidays, we don't notice so much, but on Sundays and 3-day weekend/BBQ times, we do. Thankfully, we've had families in Utah (Gessels) and here (Leedoms) who have treated us like family and invited us over, but with the Leedoms moving, we're feeling it even more. Well, my mom does what she can long distance.

See, my brother spent the first decade of his marriage living a couple of towns over from my parents and so they got a lot of Sunday Dinners, dinners out, and special treats. I wondered if we'd be sort of "out of sight, out of mind" by living farther away. But nope. Something we appreciate very much is that she occassionally calls us and says, "Buy the kids Happy Meals" or "How can I help with homeschool/school supplies and curricula?" (stuff I know she'd do if she were to live closer) or "Go out to eat on me" to make up for the lack of Sunday Dinner, I guess. Or probably just because. All I know is I love it. Since we do live so far from extended family, we love when family visits because we feel looked out for, treated--the dinners out, fun outings, etc.--we have so much fun! So, these special "just because" treats are also really nice for us. I love eating out without stressing about having to pay for it! What a treat!!!

I have a couple of true confessions, too.

1. I didn't think she'd visit much after my Dad died. She said she would, but I really wasn't so sure. I thought she'd have different reasons or excuses and maybe not really want to despite her insistence while caring for my Dad that if she could, she would. So, I wasn't sure. I'm eating my words. She does visit often and we're glad for that. It feels nice and comfortable. She loves us, our house, our yard, our friends, she loves where we live. She even says things to us like, "If I were to move, and I'm not saying that I'm moving, I'd move there, because it's SO beautiful and there are so many great people there!" It's true. We love where we live. And we love that she DOES visit us often.

2. As much as I love her visits, nothing about them pains me more than taking her to the airport to go home alone. It physically pains me. And it is in that moment that I feel the change happening--the one where you sort of go from being the one cared for by your parents to the one who is caring for your parents. It's poignant and melancholy and bittersweet. We're sort of in the middle of that change, I guess. It's a gradual thing. Because she helps us--she has helped us get our business going, she looks out for us, takes us out to eat, etc. But yet, it is in that moment that I feel that I'm the child caring for the parent. She seems so vulnerable and alone in that moment and it just seems wrong for her to get on that plane alone and go back to her condo alone. I don't want the pain of those departures to stop her from visiting and I think it helps knowing that she can come whenever she wants--it's relatively cheap and easy, but the pain is there. And I feel such love and protection for her.

So, thanks Mom. For everything. I hope you know all this and more. No one should have nice things said about them at their funeral only--they ought to hear those things in life, too. I have no regrets about the things I share about my Dad--he's always known those things from me. And I want my mom to know my feelings for her, too. I love you, Mom.

It's as if I've forgotten how

I feel like I haven't blogged in SO LONG. And yet my mind constantly thinks of things about which to blog.

But, alas, as much as I love blogging, there are other things I also enjoy like being outside, riding bikes, catching fireflies, swimming, picking fresh fruit, working in our garden, cooking, doing field trips, learning, watching movies, picking flowers, home projects, celebrating birthdays, getting together with friends, reading, work, playing games, playing pretend, going to the park, day trips, eating, doing parent-child dates, hanging out with my husband, enjoying family visits, talking politics, researching, catching up with old friends, you get the idea.

I have a near blog obsession--not so much an addiction, but this obsessive need to be "caught up" on everyone's blogs and be up to date on our posts. I love reading everyone's blogs and I enjoy commenting on them (hey, I'm a blogger--I know what fun it is to receive comments!). Posts for the sake of posting posts make me crazy (because, you know, I have to obsessively read them). I love it when my favorite bloggers take a break from blogging so that I'm not "behind." It's crazy! What is a fun and interesting hobby is turning into what feels like busy work! And that's just not cool. And that's no one's fault but my own. Apparently I have a blog obsession.

So, stay tuned. We've been doing lots of fun stuff (besides blogging obviously) and we have lots of obsessive catching up to do. I hope that's a good thing and not something that burdens anyone out there in bloggerland. Are there other blog-obsessive people out there?

On Blood Pressure

About 4 months ago my doctor (yes, the doctor has a doctor) told me my blood pressure was a little high. Nothing terrible, but high. I'm fairly certain I just need to get some of these extra pounds off of my midsection and life will get better. So, knowing the drill, I let my doc know I'd be losing some weight and we'd check in 3 months later. I went back 3 months later and about 10 pounds lighter and my pressure was a bit better, but not "normal" yet. I told him again I'd take 3 months, lose a little more weight, and check back in. (Side note: family visits with the requisite eating out and disrupted routine did nothing to assist fat burning, but miraculously I maintained my weight over those 2 weeks.) So, I'm feeling pretty good about myself and thinking things have got to be getting better. I did discover something that is not helping my blood pressure at all.

Oh, and last night I was trying to relax but made this mistake.

As much as I've enjoyed the buzz surrounding this year's election season, I'm so glad my appointment is after November 4. (Nothing against your birthday, Mom, but I think you understand.)