Family | Peaches Prattlings

{May 16, 2014} Just another day in Boston, yeah right!

The day started very early, about 6:15, when the birthday girl, MGS, came in to say hello.

That’s a wee bit early, add to that the fact that I had taken a Zyrtec and it knocked me out! I have to tell you that I didn’t come out of my fog until late today!

So, MGS came in to say hello and I tried to stay awake. She left and then EJS came in to say hello, I could barely keep my eyes open. I was disappointed in myself because usually when they come in in the morning, I get up to spend time with them.

I passed out again and got up just as EJS was getting on the bus and she said to get mommy “Why does Auntie J sleep so late when she’s here?” (8:00 is late, awesome!)

I got up, got dressed, GES headed to a dentist appointment Abe I straightened things up, the cleaners were coming. When she got back we went to get some brunch and a little shopping done.

We got back and then both got some work done and at the same I made a batch of brownies for MGS’ birthday at school. We headed out to school to celebrate her birthday in hey classroom.

After Brown brownies and singing, we headed to do some return and get some extra shopping done.

All of a sudden, it was time to meet the rest of the family at the Cheesecake Factory, where MGS wanted to go for her birthday dinner.

We got there and Poppa and La La were waiting, they had picked up EJS and when ACS got there with MGS it was time to site down.

Everyone was glad to be together and had a really great time at dinner. For dessert, there was Cheesecake and singing happy birthday.

After dinner, it was home for presents, stories and bed..ahh. And now that everyone is asleep, It’s my turn, goodnight!

{May 13, 2014} Nice surprise

Staying in a hotel, you don’t normally get things like mail.

That is unless you have something shipped to you. And I’ve had one or two things shipped to me, especially when I knew I wasn’t going to be going home for a while, it’s just more conveient.

Well, today, I received a wonderful treat in the mail! My sister told me she had a card for me and asked where she should send it. I gave her the address here at the hotel and today, when I got back to my room, it was waiting for me!

You can see the card here and inside, the most adorable picture of EJS and MGS. Inside was written by EJS, “Dear Aunite J, Happy Mothers Day” and they both signed it! I teared up it was awesome!

I will treasure this card for always, for now it will sit on the nightstand, soon, it will go in the clear sleeve for my calendar, that’s where their valentines day card is. I am truly blessed and touched.

Thank you. I la la la love it!

{May 8, 2014} I have a 26 year old…what?

You may or may not know that I am a mom.

A step-mom to be precise, I became a mom when I started dating the wasband oh so long ago. When I met my kids, my son had just turned 7 the day before and my daughter was 8, it was a new experience. I was in love and I never wanted it to end.

From the moment we became a family, I never called them anything but my son and daughter, I didn’t see a difference. I may not have given birth to them but I don’t think I could have loved them anymore! I like to say I have all the joys and none of the stretch marks!

There were many times that they tested our patience, mine more than his because if you’ve never been one, [this is my opinion] being a step-parent is incredibly stressful, you want to be the best parent you can be, ensure everyone is happy, worrying that there might be a blow up, not wanting to overstep boundaries, so many things. Sometimes I joke when people are expressing frustrations with their teens and pre-teens, this too shall pass and I can say that my kids lived, that’s pretty good.

On the flip side, being a step parent can be the most rewarding experience ever. I wasn’t sure about being a mom when I was younger, but I fell in love when I met them and what adventures we had. I became a mom and I loved every minute of it, even the moments I didn’t love at the time.

They were both shorter than me when we met and as you can imagine, that didn’t last long! They are also so very smart, I know, you think I’m biased, and in some ways I am, but they were both very smart, graduated with honors, sometimes ‘not a lick of common sense between them’, but they were mine and I was so proud of all they did and were.

They tested my patience at times, as every child does to their parent and they made our time together special. I loved throwing birthday parties, coming up with creative ideas to surprise them, introducing them to so many new things and experiences. And as for the birthday parties, 20 was the last one I got to celebrate with my daughter, her dad and I were divorced a few months later.

No getting maudlin.

I think about my daughter every year on May 8th and my son on November 11 and send them love and hugs and wish them well. I think about them other times, just especially on those dates. And as today was her birthday, I was inspired to tell you a little about them.

Even though I don’t see them I still talk about them to anyone who will listen, I brag about them and so…I have a 26 year old! Imagine that!

Hap Hap Happy Birthday TYH! I love you!

{April 29, 2014} Busy day!

The day started at 5:15am, what?

The alarm went off at 5:15, I snoozed until 5:30, I thought it was fair. (Luckily I only have to go a mile!) Showered and dressed, had to dress in pants, shirt and sweater, not the dress I was hoping to it was too cold! Mother Nature..what’s up? (I never mind wearing my Danskos though)

Off to co-teach class starting at 7, we have to be there at 6 for classroom setup. Good class, lots of good questions and people with interest in what we were teaching. After class, we were exhausted. We went full force from 7am until 4:30 with an hour for lunch, a very successful class. We both headed in our respective directions.

I put on my workout gear, with the intention of walking to Whole Foods, but it started raining, so in the car I went. Got some good veggies and tofu and vegan cheese, I so miss cheese! Moving on!
I got back to the room, made a quick lettuce wrapped cheesy veggie burger with raw mushrooms, it was fantastic!

I ate quickly because I had a Face Time date with SDL and Miss A! Always a favorite time for me! What a doll baby, how I love that little girl! It was so good to see both of them, catch up on the little things and even the big things, important to have that time.
Maybe next time I can read her a bed time story!

After our face time, I was thinking about the treadmill or passing out, I was do tired!

TS called and we chatted for a while, then decided to get together we went out for drink and food, I drove, no drinking, shocker! We caught up, commiserated, ranted, laughed, it was just what we both needed.

On the way back we talked about the amenities each of our hotels have
she came to check out the gym and pool at my hotel and then we made a decision, go put on our swim suits and meet at the hot tub and we do!

It was so relaxing to sit in the hot tub and talk to a friend, just what the doctor ordered!

Now I’m back in my room talking to you and realizing the alarm is going off in a few hours, I have a CVT class at 8:15.

ZZZZZZZZZ. GOOD NIGHT.

{April 21, 2014} Happy Easter

To one and all.

I hope all my friends and family who celebrate Easter have had a fantastic holiday.

I love seeing all the wonderful photos on Facebook some with the Easter Bunny, some with parents and grandparents, at Easter Egg hunts, eating chocolate bunnies, enjoying themselves. Seeing pictures of LB, Baby A and L enjoying what we sent them via the pictures their moms posted on Facebook and tagging us, makes us feel so good!

As a kid, I used to spend spring break with my grandmother in Philadelphia. We would go down to the square in front of her apartment building, The Rittenhouse Claridge, I would search for Easter eggs and then we would watch the Easter Parade, everyone dressed in their faster finest, the women in their Easter bonnets on their way to church. so wonderful! Then we would go home and Watch Easter Parade with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.

I hope whatever you did to celebrate was enjoyable and just What you wanted.

Here are a few of the fun pictures I found on Facebook, enjoy.

(The first one was for me)

{April 16, 2014} Boston Strong – One Year Later

One year ago today life in Boston was changed forever.

At 2:49pm, Monday, April 15th, there was an explosion at the finish of the Boston Marathon and less than a minute later, there was another explosion less than two blocks away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings

I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day, it was quite an experience. All of Boston was affected, as well as the entire country and everyone was affected in their own way, not one experience was the same. I’m going to tell you what my experience was like as I have incredibly strong ties to Boston as you know.

I was visiting DCM in Colorado right after he moved, we were going to go apartment huntung and wouldn’t you know it, by the second day, a freak snow storm, and I mean a snow storm, slow getting to work for DCM and I was stuck in the hotel, but I was working, so I wasn’t bored. I think I knew the Boston Marathon was happening that day because it’s one of those things you know, but that was about it. I knew that RG would be announcing the finishers and one or two people I knew would be participating, but that was it.

I was working and then I got the first call from SDL, “Is your family ok?” “Um, yes, as far as I know, why?” There was a bombing at the finish line and she wanted to check on me and my family. I immediately tried to get in touch with my brother-in-law who happened to be downtown in Boston with EJS, we eventually made contact, so I was able to breath at that point, from my family’s side. GES was in London for work trying to do the same thing, a little nerve wracking to say the least!

I then tried to contact everyone I could think of that might have been in the area, I reached out to RG, I had been checking her Facebook page and finally her husband posted on her page that she was ok. Next I tried JCT because I knew she was working in Boston somewhere and I wanted to be sure she was ok. She was close enough to feel the rumble, but she not close enough that she was in harms way, she was safe. I checked with CC and he was ok, so I was able to breath a sigh of relief over all.

The calls, texts and Facebook messages started pouring in, it was wonderful how many people thought about me and my family to see if everyone was safe and ok and how I was, I am a very lucky person. And I was able to tell them everyone was ok, that felt good.

It’s been a year and Boston has remained strong, just like the campaign says, Boston Strong. Never forgetting what happened as so many lives were touched. There were 3 deaths and 264 injured in the blasts, the fourth casualty was the officer killed during the manhunt for the two bombing suspects. The road to recovery has been a long one and will never be forgotten, like the bombings of 9/11, this did not kill the resolve of the people or destroy us like it was hoped by the ones responsible.

You can’t meet someone in Boston who doesn’t know someone who was there/involved or afftected personally by the bombings and their resiliance and sense of community is amazing.

Today was the one year anniversary and the tributes were touching, heart wrenching and heart warming. It was timed perfectly inside the Hynes Convention Center, to include The Boston Pops, Boston Children’s Choir, the former and current mayor of Boston, former and current police commissioners, survivors who were injured, Vice President Joseph Biden, just to name a few. Then everyone went outside and headed towards the grandstand at the Marthon Finish Line for a moment of silence at 2:49pm and then the bells began ringing, the flag was raised and the national anthem was performed. It felt good to be there with my sister to stand side by side when the national anthem began. The bagpipes were mournful and appropriate.

The celebration ended with members of the honor guard from different branches and cities marched down the street carrying the flags for their cities and branches.

It was eerie, fitting and touching and a day that we will never forget. I will close with the closing from Vice President Biden “Next Monday, on Patriot’s Day, when 36,000 people line up to start the marathon, you will send a resounding message around the world … that we will never yield, we will never cower, American will never stand down. We are Boston, we are America. We respond, we endure, we overcome, and we own the finish line.”

http://www.wbur.org/2014/04/15/boston-marathon-tribute-ceremony

{April 14, 2014} A zissen pesach

Tonight began the holiday of passover and it’s time to start the celebration.

The day started like any other Monday, I got tosee the girls go off to school. Before EJS left for school we broke the matzoh brittle and had to taste test it and the macaroonS of course, we had to Make sure they were fit for others to eat…wink wink!

After the kids and ACS left for work and School, we got down to the business of cooking. GES and BR got a lot done as well as and myself, but not to worry, there was plenty to do!

There was cooking, straightening, cleaning, setting up, dishes washed, dishwasher unloaded, loaded, unloaded, loaded, Presents wrapped.

In the middle of the Craziness we went to watch EJS’ gym class perform “their Sentence”
They each Start with a letter, improv stuff in between and a period or balled up pose to end.

after we got home, we continued to work on stuff and at 5, I went to pick up EJS from school, ACS got home with MGS, AS was there before her husband JS, then BF and BR showed up with their adorable Kids, LS arrived and then Zafta, our group was complete.

We sat down to the seder and the food began to fly, all sorts of wonderous treat from homemade chicken soup with matzo balls to the fantastic desserts.

Everything was wonderful for the celebration was fantastic friends and family we’re together , not to be missed.

After a few hours of good food good friends and family laughter and warm it was time to make care packages and everyone head home.

then came the really fun part, cleaning up. Haha. We did say that next year we should hire someone to help serveand clean up, so we said it again this year, let’s see if we remember!

After that, it was stories and bed time, trying to keep your eyes open and then zzzzz!

I already fell asleep once, writing to you! That tells me it is time to go to sleep! I bid you a good nite abs good Pesach!