Family | Peaches Prattlings

{September 26, 2013} It’s Costume Time…Auntie J/G, JJ is on the case

It’s almost Halloween and everyone needs a costume! And the list is growing, this is big responsatility [so said Tommy Pickles on the Rugrats!]

When EJS was born, I asked my sister if it would be alright if I got her a costume, GES said that would be great, if I didn’t, she might not have one, ha ha. I took my job very seriously! She has been a monkey, Eeyore, princess, pirate princess and last year, she decided she wanted wanted to put her own costume together, I had mixed feelings, proud because she wanted to make her own costume, perplexed because I won’t be able to help, but joy! for her witch’s costume I made a fabulous sparkly belt and buckle, wahoo! I got to help!

This year, when I asked what she wanted to be for Halloween…a Pink Power Ranger! I didn’t even know it was still on tv or that she knew it, not so…she saw the costume at Costco and that’s what she wants to be! Guess what I found this weekend at Costco! [I may have told you that already]. My favorite? About two weeks ago, I was “Facetiming” with the girls and EJS said, with great enunciation, “Auntie J, when will my costume be here?” “Well, EJS, Halloween is about two months away, it will be there”, “Yes, but when?” “How about 2-3 weeks?” “Ok, and will it say EJS?” “Yes it will!” So demanding! Then today, she asked when it would be there, Wednesday or Thursday? OK! I’ll make sure that happens! The pressure!

Her sister, MGS has worn mostly EJS’ costumes that she has grown out of, I ask every year what she wants to be and she chooses something from the costume closet, I did send a pirate princess, but she loves the monkey and Tigger costumes! So, a new candy bucket it is! I’m ready when she makes a declarative statement like her sister, then whatever she wants, she will have! So says Auntie J!

When Miss A came into into our lives, I didn’t want to end my streak! Auntie G was up to the task! A soft and fuzzy monkey! One of her mommy’s nicknames for her, so cute! Last year, I got her a pirate princess. She has so many costumes because of all her social engagements and parties that time of the year, she can’t wear the same costume twice! The best thing…when we went to Dragon Con,”The world’s largest fantasy/SF convention, held annually in Atlanta, GA, on Labor Day weekend.” http://www.dragoncon.org/ When we were still in Atlanta, we would go to the parade every year and of course Miss A participated with a costume, last year it was Wonder Woman and man, it was a wonder!

So, for Halloween, it was the absolute best! SDL put Miss A in the monkey costume with Wonder Woman on top! OMG! It was Wonder Monkey! I think we both lost it and all composure trying to get Miss A into the Wonder Woman Costume! AWESOME! This year… Princess Leia! Miss A has the longest hair, so the plan is to do the Leia buns, so all I need to do is find a white muslin dress/robe, wish me luck! I cannot wait to see the pictures!

And lastly, well, for now anyway…We were “facetiming” with LB last week and we were talking about one of her favorite shows, Dora the Explorer! She loves Swiper the Fox, so JJ said, “You want to be Swiper for Halloween?” “Yes!” alright! So, off to find a Swiper costume! Guess what they don’t make in anything bigger than toddler up to 18 months? yup, you guessed it. Will JJ be swayed? Not a chance, I am going to find a way to get that adorable girl a Swiper costume! She’s already told people about it!

Ok, wish me [Auntie J/G, JJ] luck! Boo!

{September 16, 2013} Run For Your Lives (for real!), Break Fast and Breakfast

So as to know, I participated in the Run For Your Lives 5k obstacle run yesterday. It’s funny, someone asked if I did the run yesterday because I didn’t post anything on Facebook or text.

Here’s why and then what the rest of my day and today was like because they were better.(and be prepared, this may take a while!)

I also realized that I didn’t get anyone to take my picture, so I won’t have any of me this time, oh well, maybe there will be one on the race page that I can tag and my friends can see it.

I flew in on Friday night as you know, drove 1.5 hours to Dalton, GA to spend the night, no way I was getting up before the sun to drive all the way down to run a race. I’ve started doing that, if the race is more than an hour, I will spend the night and sometimes, even if its an hour away, could be a fun night out.

I got up in the morning, got ready, requested a late checkout so I would have a place to shower, thank goodness! I had plans later and wasn’t going home first. I headed out, got cash for parking and was on my way. I got the with enough time to check in, check my bag in, get an Atlanta zombie shirt and line up for my heat.

Last year, I really enjoyed the run, it was at a dirt bike park track in the woods and it had been raining, so it was muddy, muddy, muddy. (Friends on Facebook, look for those photos from last year) we lined up in three corrals based on your pace (appetizer: 7-9 min mile, entree: 9-11 min mile and dessert, 12-14 min mile, guess where I was, yup, sweet sweet sweet).

It was so muddy that I lost the soles in both my shoes, almost lost a shoe at one of the obstacles. The obstacles yesterday weren’t in abundance or that spectacular, they seemed more like other obstacle races, last year there were hay bales, mud pits, mud bogs.

This year, except for the places they made muddy, it was DRY, DRY, DRY. Not that much fun running or walking on dry, huge rocks, so there were not many people running, partly because of the rocks, but it felt like the entire course was uphill and the downhills were straight down! People were complaining and getting hurt!

The zombies were in abundance, and they were great, the thing I liked better this year, the zombies weren’t as aggressive or body checking people, which they were rejected for last year. There is one zombie, KR, who I also met at the Vampire 5k earlier this year, he posted that it was great to see me, he’s great, he has two extra heads on his shoulders (ha ha) and squirts water at people.

There were doctor zombies, nurse zombies, (I told them I had lost all faith in the medical community that day!) mommies, kids, cheerleaders, brides, prom queens, you name it, it was probably there! The cool thing was that after you finished running, you could have volunteered to be a zombie, how fun would that be!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do most of the obstacles because…wait for it, as I was told by one zombie, I figured out how to avoid or survive the zombie apocalypse, I was injured! Just at the start, I stepped in one of the hundreds of holes, there was one zombie actually standing in one so people wouldn’t fall in, I wasn’t so lucky, stepped in one and turned my right ankle, I felt and heard “POP!” Ouch! I started limping and several people asked if I was alright, even the zombies asked if I wanted medical attention, no not from the zombie doctors! Everyone was very nice! I said no thanks, I’m going to try to walk it off and I am going to finish!

There were a bunch of people who got picked up and driven back on golf carts, it was bad. Eventually they were starting to put out flags to mark the holes…

So, as I’m walking it off and looking pathetic I did it again! Darn it! But I was going on! I kept limping and let me tell you, zombies are actually quite sympathetic when you look that pathetic! They even asked if I was injured! I told some of them they could go for my flags, I wasn’t moving any faster! Some even gave me flags back! (The flags were cool this year, had the logo on them!)

I don’t remember if you recall from yesterday’s post about how Yom Kippur crossed over into the zombie run…one of the zombie nuns was approaching and I said “So, sister, tell me all your bad habits!” I thought it was funny, so did she!(DCM is rolling his eyes right now) and she said, I’m Jewish! I asked if she was fasting! She was, said she had a talk with g-d and it was alright, she was drinking water. I wished her an easy fast and a good Yom Tov! The world is very small!

So, I limped my way through the course and along the way met a lot of cool people, we all talked about different runs that we’ve done and liked. I met a really cool family, J and her husband, C, who lost his glasses, I really hope they got lucky and found them! They were with their daughter and one of her friends. This was their first, they were in from Charlotte, NC, so of course I had tell her about the run I did there and I would be back. We traded email addresses, I hope we’ll keep in touch! I’m hoping she comes to Atlanta for the Hot Chocolate in January!

(For anyone new to reading my blog, specifically J & C, they’re not all this long! Sometimes I just have a lot to say!)

After the run, I collected my gear and headed to the medical tent. There, the EMT looked at my ankle, I told him I did a number on it, he said, woah! And called another EMT over to look at what I done, see, told ya! I don’t do anything half way! He wrapped my ankle up, I found out I could get the wrap wet and it would harden, so far so good.

So…here’s where it gets a little worse, as I’m limping and apparently looking pathetic, a nice guy offered to give me a ride back to my car, on his bike. I had seen him earlier talking to people who worked there, so I said thank you, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble. Well, I climb on to the TEENY TINY back seat, held on and away we went. Very nice bike, by the way orange and black soft tail, too loud for my tastes, but in great shape!

He told me it wouldn’t be smooth, due to all the rocks, no problem, we took the street for part of it. We are ow I the parking area and it’s straw and grass, about 1/4 mile from my car,we are taking a left turn and I’m not sure if it was too fast, all of a sudden, a serious flash, I am on my back with a motorcycle on top of me! In a flash, there were about six people surrounding us picking up the bike, which was good because the foot peg had dug into my LEFT ankle! When I stood up, everyone was checking that I was ok,the driver included, we checked each other out, we were fine, no worse for wear, but better than his bike, the shifter snapped off! He was not going to be able to ride that bike anywhere, luckily he had his truck.

When I was sure he was alright, other people were helping him, I hobbled to my car. It didn’t take very long for the golf ball sized lump to appear on my ankle, pretty solid thing! It’s going to turn very pretty colors! If you’re lucky, I’ll share pictures! Let’s just say this morning, it was tough to get out of bed! I can tell were the bruises are going to be on my left side and backside, but I am lucky, it’s no where near what I had when I crashed my bike a few years ago.

Alright, you heard about my morning, lets move on to the good stuff! (By the way, this all happened before 12:30pm!)

I went back to the hotel for a hot shower, was not as muddy as I have been, thankfully for the hotel cleaning staff! I got in the car and headed downtown to meet some friends for dinner and to Break the Fast, perfect, with my friends. I stopped off at an outlet mall for some retail therapy, it helped my wardrobe for work, not my feet…

I was meeting some of the gang at Yeah Burger in VA Highland, I love it! CKM was there, of course, and first to arrive so we caught up a bit, but I didn’t want to give too many details for fear of repetition, shortly after, DL, my former co-worker and dear friend and her husband, ML, (and CKM and I finally got her to agree to do the Hot Chocolate 5k with us!) we caught up for a few minutes. It was ML’s birthday Friday, Happy Birthday M! Next was SDL and Miss A, you know I scooped that one up and barely let go! Next was TS, looking fabulous as always! I was so excited to hear what she has going on and coming up!

Rounding out the group was another couple who are former co-workers, JC and CC and their adorable son, M, he has gotten so big! I think CC is going to do the Hot Chocolate as well!

We had a great time, ate (I broke the fast with a delicious hand made veggie burger with goat cheese, yum!) caught up, laughed and had the best time! It’s never enough time, but it was great. I was so happy they were able to come out to dinner! I’ll be back, I can’t wait to see them again and if I missed you this time, hope you can join us next time!

After dinner, CKM, SDL and Miss A and I went for dessert around the corner, they had gelato and I had a crepe, yum! We talked a bit more, as we always do and as we are getting to SDL’s car, I walk off the curb and TURN MY FREAKING RIGHT ANKLE, what?!? OUCH! I yelled out quite a few expletives, apologizing the whole time, thank goodness Miss A isn’t repeating what we say! I felt sooo stupid!

SLD gave me a ice pack and after a while, drove me to CKM’s car, who drove me to mine. I felt so stupid! I did feel a little better when she gave me my birthday presents early! I got a stack of books, a patch for climbing Stone Mountain and what I asked for…”whirled peas”! When we were kids, my sister and I would ask my dad what he wanted for his birthday…his response was a digital watch and peace on earth or world peace! So what did I get? Whirled peas! Thank you!!!

I drove home, finished my post, elevated and iced my ankle, as instructed, and passed out!

Are you ok? Need a nap, get a glass of water? (you have to pack as much as possible when the time is short)

Today, I got up and went to meet LK and her three girls, K, J and K. The youngest, K had asked if I would come in for her birthday, it’s in two weeks, of course I wanted to and…it just worked out perfectly. We met at Mimi’s Cafe for a fantastic breakfast and fun. I think I’ve seen them more since if moved than in the last two years I was I Atlanta, I have a lot of time to make up for. When we got there, the youngest K, gave me a bracelet that she made for me, I love it! How did she know I love jewelry made by my nieces?

I told them I would see them when I am back in a we months, we took pictures, gave hugs and kisses, love and we were off!

It was so good to see them ad we would have spent more time together, but one had a softball game, one had a soccer game and I had playtime duties!

I headed to SDL’s house to play with Miss A while SDL mowed the lawn. We played, talked, giggled, ate caught up a little more since last night and a few hours later, it was time to head for the airport.

I dropped off the car, hobbled through security and off we went.

I hope you aren’t too wiped out from my adventure! I need for recoup! Thank goodness I don’t have to get up early tomorrow! I need a nap! Good night!

{September 4, 2013} A first grader!

There were other things to tell to about my weekend,but I have to tell you something way more important!

I am the aunt of a FIRST GRADER!!!

Am I crowing? Am I proud? My sister is the mother of a first grader! I still remember the day we brought her home from the hospital! What? I remember meeting EJS for the first time, she was two weeks old and today..she got on the school bus and went to her first day of school and she was a champ!

The day started early, I set the alarm for 5:45 so I could call EJS and wish her well on her first day of school. The first thing she said was “I know what I want to be for Halloween!” My sister said, “slow down! How about Hi auntie J, how are you?” We were laughing so hard! “Hi Auntie J, how are you?”

I asked all the questions I could think of: What are you wearing? What’s in your backpack? What’s for lunch? What are you most excited about?

While we were talking, MGS wanted to show me all the dolls she was playing with and said “I can’t see you!” She thought we were doing FaceTime and couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t see me!

EJS and I talked a little more about school and what she was most excited about, I was so excited for her and I couldn’t wait to see pictures! After she was done talking about school, it was time to get down to the next important order of business…what she wanted to be for Halloween. This is a very important discussion and as I am in charge of getting the costumes, I need to know what she wants to be!

When she was little, I used to get costumes, I had a lot of fun choosing, now that she’s getting older, she is making the decisions, which makes things a little easier for me! I miss picking something myself, but it is great to see her making her own mind up and this year, as of right now, it’s the pink power ranger, did you know they were still around?

Then as quickly as we started talking (I think this post is longer than we were on the phone!) it was time to go to get on the bus, good luck, I’m proud of you, have fun and I love you!

Photos went out, I asked how she did and GES said she was a champ! I expected nothing less.

In the afternoon, I checked to see if they were home and they were, FaceTime! EJS was excited and told me all about her day, riding the bus and making a friend, coloring, meeting the principle, gym, lunch, after care and mommy picking her up. I asked what her favorite part was and it was lunch, because being in the cafeteria with everyone made her feel grown up.

After telling me all about her day, she was done with me! I got to catch up with my sister and then, as luck would have it, about five minutes later, in comes MGS and we got to chat for a few minutes until she was done with me!

I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling! I have a niece who is officially in the big leagues and I am so very proud of her! (And my sister for keeping it together!)

{August 20, 2013} FaceTime!

The good mood started on Saturday and went all the way through today!

First…I was in the kitchen juicing my veggies on Saturday when I heard DCM talking to someone, telling them I was making a lot of noise, guess who! LB! Granddaughter extraordinaire! She was excited to talk to Grandpa and JJ and show us her room, read us a story and talk to the cats, sounds like a good start to the weekend!

Today…I reached out to GES today to see about chatting with the girls. Dinner was over, it was a little before bath time, still a little odd as I’m two hours behind, haven’t quite had dinner and they are getting ready for bed, but you know me, I’ll take any moment I can get!

Here they come onscreen all talk, talk, talk, over each other. MGS wants to know when I’m coming to visit, more importantly, how many minutes until my visit! Just like when I left a few weeks ago, she’s asking again, looks like we might need to plan a visit in the next few months, hmmm, twist my arm?

I had very important business to discuss with EJS. She is starting FIRST GRADE in a few weeks! What? I still remember meeting her when she was just two weeks old! Her daddy works at Staples, he is very excited to get her school supplies, but I wanted to get her something for her book bag, something special.

She discussed it with her mom and we decided on a pencil case and some colored pencils that she can keep as most of the school supplies are communal. I asked if there was anything special on the pencil case, its pink, maybe Cinderella or Ariel. I am on the case!

We chatted about camp, which she loves until she found something more interesting and moved on and it was me and MGS. She talked to me for a long time, from the kitchen to the bath to getting ready for bed and then…”I’m done with you now”, well, alrighty then!

I talked to EJS for another minute and then she was ready to move on so I said ‘night ‘night, I love you and blew kisses, then it was over.

A few minutes later guess who was free! Miss A! We connected and she was sitting there posed just like Rodin’s “The Thinker”! Big difference, she was giggling, giggling, giggling! What a great sight and sound!

We chatted a bit about school and how she was liking it and then I got the entire scoop from SDL, Miss A is a woman of few words, more giggling, sometimes hard to get a word in edgewise! We talked about her new school, riding the bus, aftercare, her appointments and the rain, rain, rain that won’t go away!

I’m excited that I will get to see my munchkin in a few weeks when I’m Atlanta for a race, how lucky am I!

Then it was time to get her ready for night night, so I blew kiss and accepted the ones I got, said I love you and see you soon and signed off with a smile on my face, almost as good as the giggles and smile coming from hers!

So, who’s next? Night night!

{August 6, 2013} Goodbye, work, travel, delays

The day started with my sister waking me to see if I wanted to say goodbye to the girls, what do you think?

I dragged myself out of bed, brushed my teeth, (I thought that would be best for everyone) ran downstairs to say goodbye to my girls. Never gets easier, but knowing I’ll be seeing them sooner than later helps. MG wanted to know where I was going and why I wouldn’t be there when she got home from school, then she wanted to know when she would see me again, I told her as soon as I could. My favorite question at that point…”how many minutes?” How could you not love that?

EJ let me kiss her on the cheek and forehead, didn’t look up, I’m kind of used to that, she doesn’t like it when I leave so if she doesn’t look at me, it’s not real and I’m ok with that, feels good, to be honest. And I’ll see them soon enough during FaceTime, I’m not worried, ah technology!

They left and I checked my email, then took a quick shower and GES and I got down to work. There was a call and reports and emails and spreadsheets, oh my! AS, my sister’s sister-in-law (did you get all that?) came over to help out, it was nice to see her, since we missed each other Sunday when they left. She is a great cook!

About 3:15, we headed out to the train, I had a conference call at 3:30, I gave my sister one of the headphones and we listened together, that was interesting. It went well, I got on the train and headed to South Station, got on the Silver Line bus to the airport, which hit traffic, fun. I was, however, early enough that I could get something to eat, a Fuddrucker’s veggie burger, yum! I need to find out if there is a Fudd’s in Colorado.

Boarded the plane about 6:40 for the flight that was supposed to leave at 6:45, hmm…we finally took off at 7:30, at least that’s what I think the time was. Then…let’s just say, I watched the last half of one movie and another full movie and possibly could have watched part of another one. We were supposed to land in Minneapolis about 8 something, after circle for what I heard was an hour, we landed about 10:20, 10 minutes before we were supposed to land in Denver, and 45 minutes after we were supposed to take off, go figure.

I did sit next to a very nice woman and we chatted for a bit on the way, we had a seat open between us, that was nice, we could share a tray table and sort of spread out. As we were coming in for a landing, the woman to my right asked me what I had been watching. It was the original “Yours, Mine & Ours” starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. That took us down the road of classic movies and actors and favorites and sharing, the woman in the seat ahead of her joined in. I always love those conversations, you know, about movies, imagine that! (I’ll give you a review of that movie another time).

The good news is, all flights were delayed coming in, so my flight was probably delayed. When I got off the flight, the board said my flight was leaving at 11:20, as of about five minutes ago, we were told we might leave at 11:50, fingers crossed.

I was lucky to find an open charging port, my phone was almost dead, you know…DED dead! My iPad is at 39% and the flight is about 2 hours, lets hope for the best. I am going to post now and tomorrow I’ll let you know if and when I got out of Minneapolis!

{August 6, 2013} Goodbye papa, camp, dinner, games

Up early, hang with the girls for a few while sister and brother-in-law got the girls ready for camp and school respectively.

Say bye-bye to papa, “why?” so cute! Out they went…dad and I went to breakfast at a new place, well, new owners and name. Food was decent, would have been better if the server had listened to my order, oh well. Company was great, conversation was good, that’s all that matters.

Dad dropped me off at be house, we said see you soon and he was off. I got settled in and started my day, first conference call went off without a hitch, then it was emails, calls, spreadsheets and updates.

I finished about 4:15 to go get EJS at the bus stop. MF was also on her way, she’s the fantabulous neighbor who gets EJS off the bus some afternoons and babysits as well. She’s going into her second year of college, criminal justice, very cool. When she’s around, I’m invisible, it’s too funny, she love having me here, but when it comes to getting off the bus, M picks her up and no one else will do (I’m not the only one! Mommy, daddy, papa, doesn’t matter!)

The entire family is an extended family to ours, COF calls me Auntie J, love that! She’s fantastic and a lot of fun to hang out with, MF is her husband, a great guy and great to talk with. Their other two daughters, JF and OF are very sweet girls and will watch EJ and MG sometimes. I always enjoy coming to visit to get to spend some time with them.

The great thing about this neighborhood is the people, my sister and brother-in-law got very lucky. If we’re not sure where the girls are, they’re probably across the street, they are very comfortable being there, just hanging out. Or they could be at some of the other neighbors, everyone looks out for each other.

It was 30 minutes of TV, bath, then A was home with MG, play a little, get ready for dinner. After a dinner outside on the back deck, which was comfortable, it was wonderful, bath for MG, games and stories. When I was saying goodnight to EJ, she said “I wish you could stay longer!” Sigh…who doesn’t want to hear that! I’ll see them soon!

GES had a conference call starting at 9:30, yes, that was 9:30pm. She is a director of global HR, she’s on with Australia, England and California, she’s a whirlwind and very good at what she does! I hope she gets to get some sleep tonight!

I feel so useless, she’s down there on a conference call in the middle of the night and here I sit playing on my iPad and blogging! I’d keep her company if she wasn’t on the phone, I don’t want to get in the way, I just go down and smile at her every once in a while.

Ok, not sure how to end this after that! So I’ll just say, g’night!

{August 4, 2013} What a day! Breakfast, pool, party, futbal!

Good morning dad/papa! Happy birthday!

The day started with a sleep in, 8am, wow! I walked upstairs to hear happy birthday singing to my dad, terrific. While GES was making breakfast, I did a quick walk down to CVS, I needed some green juice! Then back for a delicious breakfast of eggs and cheese, sausage and eggs, bagels and blintz souffle, Y.U.M.! I’m going to get the recipe and share it with you!

After breakfast, get readying its time to go to the pool! Wow, EJS’ swimming has improved so much over the year, swim lessons are just the trick! Molly is improving lesson by lesson as well. We swam and splashed and played with noodles, and lunch and snacks and it was time to leave.

GES, EJS and I all went to the grocery store while AS, dad and MGS went for a drive, guess who they were trying to get to fall asleep? At the grocery store, we picked up a few needs things and a Carvel ice cream birthday cake. For those of you who don’t know Carvel, it’s a great ice cream store that’s been around for over 75 years. Growing up in NYC, there were Carvel’s everywhere I still remember when they opened one in Georgia, too awesome! I haven’t found one in Colorado, but I’m looking. http://www.carvel.com/

The story behind our getting a Carvel cake…in the summer, we always had a Carvel ice cream cake, vanilla on the top, chocolate on the bottom and chocolate crunchies in the middle, yum! A tradition was born a very long time ago! Last year, we were I the Birkshires for day’s birthday, we found a Carvel cake at the grocery store, tradition was not lost and this year the tradition continued!

The cake was to celebrate day’s birthday, the reason we needed a sheet cake, we threw him a surprise birthday BBQ! All the wonderful “usual suspects” were there, the friends and extended family. There were adults and kids of all ages, there to celebrate papa’s special day! We had burgers, dogs, veggie burgers, turkey burgers, salads, (I need to give you the recipes) chips, drinks and cake, sounds perfect!

We played, we swung, we ran, we sang, we shouted, we caught up, we laughed, we smiled and we ate, sounds perfect, right!

Almost as soon as it started it was over and we were out the door, it was the perfect afternoon! But the day wasn’t over! We piled into the cars and headed to the Gillett Stadium, Home of the New England Patriots! We were going to see a New England Revolutions game! They are the professional futbal team (soccer for those of us on this “side of the pond”). They were playing Toronto! It was a great game, we lost, but what a great evening, a lot of fun! I got the girls some cute Patriots jerseys, so cute!

There was pizza, popcorn, cotton candy, water and beer for the grown ups. We all and a great time!

http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/

After the game, it was to go home. Here I am to tell you about my day say goodnight!

Happy birthday daddy!

{August 3, 2013} Surprise!

Ok, so now I can tell you what happened!

Bottom line…I surprised my dad for his birthday! Surprise! Happy Birthday Daddy!

I called my dad a few weeks ago and asked what he was doing for his birthday, this coming weekend, and it was a few things in NY, so I was going to fly up and surprise him and then last week he decided to come to Boston to spend his birthday so guess what I did tonight!

It was last minute, so flights were interesting, time and connection wise. I don’t know if you’re like me, but you want the shortest trip time, least number of legs, stuff like that. Travel time wise, this wasn’t a bad flight, there was a layover in Detroit, well, we landed and I had about 15/20 minutes to get to the next flight and total, it was about 4.5/5 hours, just seemed to take a long time, but I made it!

On the first leg of my flight, Denver to Detroit, I sat next to two very nice guys and a pilot joined us in the jump seat. They were great, we talked about movies, music, flying, football (well, they talked football) and things to do in Denver. Hi guys! Thank you to the pilot for giving me a list of about 15 things to do and places to eat. Look out DCM,we have things to do!

The second flight was fine, the woman to my left complained a bit too much, but her loss.

When I got to Boston, my fantabulous sister, GES, picked me up at the airport, we drove to the house and we were chatting before going to bed and EJS was coughing, so GES goes upstairs to check on her. I came up about two minutes later, she was coming out of the bathroom, saw me and her face absolutely LIT UP! She grinned, ran and jumped into my arms, right there, that made it all worth it! It reminded me of one of the times we were at Atlantis, she was about three and they had just gotten there, they got off the shuttle, she saw me and her little face lit up and she came running up to me! There is nothing like that feeling in the world!

This morning, it was up about 7 to see the girls before school and camp. MGS saw me and looked at me sideways, then hid behind her mom, she looked out, realized who I was, remember she had just gotten up, she ran over, tackled me and kissed me, ahhh..there’s my Miss M!

A and MG left for school and work and it’s Friday, that means its Dunkin’ Donuts on the way to work! GES and I drove EJ to the bus (it was raining, by the way) for camp, we dropped the car off for inspection and walked home. We both cracked open our laptops and started working.

A few times during the day, dad would call one of us and tell us where he was in his journey, we both played along so well. Right before he got there, we took quick showers, not quick enough apparently! Just as I turned off the water, he was here!

GES met him after he came in the house, they were chatting when I snuck down the stairs and crept around the corner, as he turned from the kitchen counter, I walked into the kitchen and said “Happy Birthday Daddy! Surprise!” He was surprised and yet, not so much! He’s a smart guy and had a feeling.

I was not too surprised that he had an idea, I’m kind of known for surprising my family with a visit. There was one time in college, I came home, walked into the restaurant and my mom went nuts. My dad looked up and it was as if I was supposed to be there. He was still surprised and it was the best birthday present ever!

The rest of the day was laid back, pick up EJS from the bus, a little shopping, wait for A and MG to get home, cook dinner, set the table, wait for B & B to come with their two boys, J and his new baby brother G, what a doll baby! I got to hold, feed, burp, snuggle and love on G, it was awesome.

Everyone finally left, it was games, stories and bedtime. Whew.

Happy early birthday daddy!

You’ve now had stories, it’s night night time!

{July 15, 2013} What a day! Try to keep up!

Today was a whirlwind! Ok, the weekend was a whirlwind!

I got in to Atlanta yesterday afternoon. I know you’re saying, “What? JJ, you were just there last week” and to you I would say, “You are correct! Quite observant I might add! I have really smart friends!”

So, the whirlwind really started yesterday afternoon when I got to Atlanta. After renting a car, I called JCT to see when we were getting together and decided to go to Ikea, since I hadn’t been since it opened. After a while, we connected and there was a mis-communication so we didn’t get together, we were still going to see each other at brunch Sunday.

CKM and I were calling each other at the same time and it just worked out that we were both hungry and we decided to go to Farm Burger http://www.farmburger.net/ in Decatur, great burgers, fantastic veggie [quinoa] burgers, fresh cut friends and onion rings, great options for toppings. AL was able to join us, it was a nice relaxing evening, but by 9:30, I was done for, ready to get home and get into bed and away I went. I got to the house, registered for the Dirty Girl Atlanta for next year, Saturday, April 19th, to be exact if you want to join our team! Blogged, then lights out!

Today started at 10am, out the door at 10:30 to head down to Sun in My Belly, http://suninmybelly.com/, in Kirkwood for brunch. It was divine! I had a MLT! [Mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, basil and basil pesto panini Y U M!] I was fortunate enough to be joined by RS, CKM, SDL and her sister DJL and of course, wait for it, Miss A! [the fashionista was in top form! from the top of her head with a silver sparkly bow to her tank top [pink and orange butterfly with silver sparkly spots], jeans with a, wait for it…pink and orange belt down to her pink and orange sneakers!

We had fun at brunch, laughing, talking, catching up. It’s like no time has passed, love that!

JCT was on her way to join us and got a flat tire, had to wait for AAA, so she wasn’t able to join us, bummer! Unfortunately, she was heading back to Boston this afternoon, so I will have to wait until the next trip to Atlanta to see her or, maybe in Boston!

The best part…Miss A walked to me! she took about 6 steps from SDL to me, but she did it on her own! How proud am I? Can you feel it all the way through your pc?

Next, I headed to Smyrna to meet my dear friends, KH and JV and KH’s new baby girl, JH! What a DOLL BABY! cute face, big expressive eyes and wonderfully fat arms and legs, dimples everywhere! So squeezable and scrumptious! I got to feed her and hold and rock her. The rocking and patting finally worked and some of what had gone in came out, it was all good, no worries at all!

While I was feeding her we had a nice long chat, about all the things we would do together when she got older, games we would play, visits she would make, races we would run together [we’ll start off with a 100 yard run, then move to a kids 1 miler, then to the 5k, who knows where next!]

What a treat to see these two women, I haven’t seen JV in a few months and KH in over a year, both looking fantastic and KH, so happy and well in her new role as a mom, what a joy. The only person missing, TS! We all used to work together, JV and KH left on their own, TS and I, they said bye-bye. Looking forward to seeing them again, maybe our little foursome will be able to get together sometime when I’m back in town, only this time, it might be a 4.5!

After we parted, I went to see my friends and their new home, BG, CA and their son J. I’d seen pictures and heard stories when they were home shopping, always better to see in person! It’s a charming house, but you need a map to find your way! J helped give the tour, but you had to be careful! The hardwood floors were lava, you had to jump to the carpet and area rugs, then the kitchen tiles were ice, what were we to do! A few of the coolest features, besides the screened in porch, big back yard, great closets were the attic with a net up, almost like a batting cage, J and his friends and cousins love it! He has a bonus play room, which doubles as a guest room and the extra garage was fantastic! The previous owners had Harley’s and created this work space, it was a mechanic’s dream! I know that would have been my playroom!

After the tour, we sat down to chat, they realized what time it was, fed me some great salads left over from their family reunion and CA’s birthday [Happy Happy] and peach pie. Apparently it’s pie week at Whole Foods! All I can say is, who cares, it was yummy!

So happy for them that they found a house that they love, in a neighborhood they like and near schools that are great for their son, it’s been terrific so far and it’s only been a month!

All of a sudden, I realized it was after 10pm, BG had a 6:30am flight and had to pack, I had an hour drive home, so off I went.

Now, I’m at the house, writing to you and about to nod off, have to work in a few hours! G’night!

{July 6, 2013} Boy how I love me a little fashionista monkey!

I woke up wishing I had taken the day off, oh well.

I started working this morning and luckily, since its a holiday week, it wasn’t too heavy with calls and emails, got caught up. DCM got up eventually and we went to lunch after my one call of the day. Welcome to Moe’s! After lunch, DCM went to see his kids, DCM, KAT, CS, LB and new baby A, lucky dog!

I went back to work and eventually CTS came over to pick up her new lawn mower and we caught up for a bit, it was great! She said that since I said I was moving and moved, we’ve seen each other more than we did before! No complaints here!

A few hours later, I went to meet SDL, her sister, DJL and you guessed it, Miss A!!! Ahhhh…snuggle, hug, kisses all over, bounce, jump, bounce, jump, giggle, snort, snuggle, kiss, hug, jump, bounce and do it all over again. Miss A was cute too!

We met at Texas Roadhouse, the rolls were great and the Caesar salad was tasty, veggies, not so much, but that’s not the main reason we were there. It was great to catch up with SDL and JDL and play and snuggle with Miss A, I got to play with her while her mom ate, then I handed her over and she had dinner, sweet potato, salmon, pork, apple & pomegranate sauce, fall colors!

She was in her normal fashionista fabulousness! Bright, sparkly and put together nicely, with a cute, pink, sparkly bow! Perfect! Made my night to get to spend time together with good friends, always happy when they can make time for me!

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