Where's the rain???

Doing this one from home, where I've been off this week. Planned to do a massive housecleaning early in the week, then enjoy the rest. Well, it's Thursday, and I still have some big projects that I put off. I'm glad I didn't start, I had fun with the kids instead. We did the Sprayground at Dorbrook Park (a great place for little kids, if you haven't been there yet, and it's free, always a good thing!) and Six Flags, my middle kids started camp and the little man and I have been hanging out together all week. So I'm kinda hoping it does rain today. Otherwise, we have swimming lessons and a 5K to hit this evening.
Oh well. I've got time off in August. Maybe I'll get all my housework done then. Or when I retire.

Waiting seven months for a hug

A few years back, I was outside our local community center when a father and very young son were walking along the sidewalk. I overheard the father saying he would be leaving for Iraq soon. I remember crying on my way home, thinking how sad it was that the little boy wasn't going to see his dad for so long. As the years have gone by, it seems so normal to hear of people being deployed. It's almost lost its effect on me. But this clip my buddy Mark sent me brings it all back home. No explanation needed; it's a tear-jerker!

182014FatherReturnsHome.wmv

Hushing up a talking toy

Ever been driven crazy by a talking toy? The other day, when dropping my youngest off at the sitter's, I encouraged him to leave his talking Superman behind -- so as not to risk devastating loss -- by buckling the doll (or should I say action figure?) up in the car seat. Unfortunately, I didn't locate the "off" switch for the talking, and the button that triggers his speech must have been pressed against the seat belt. I heard Superman's entire repertoire on my way to the office, over and over again. After the umpteenth "Up, Up and Away!" I was hoping he'd fly right out of the car. After I parked, I scooped him out and found the switch, ending all talk of Metropolis and Lex Luthor, along with the stern warning that "Crime doesn't pay."

One toy I wasn't able to turn off was, awhile back, a plastic Little Mermaid necklace that was the prize in one of the fast food kids meals. Hitting it triggered this very sultry, breathy voice saying, "Isn't it fantastic?" It hardly sounded like the cute little redheaded mermaid who combed her hair with a fork. Her tone prompted raised eyebrows from me, my husband and even our teenager. I was happy when interest waned in that one!

Don't give a penny to the deadbeat dad

I'll bet there's a toasty little place in Hades for this guy -- Leon Caldwell, a New Jersey resident, is suing for half the $2.9 million benefit his ex-wife was awarded after their single, childless 30-year-old son Kenneth was killed in the World Trade Center attacks.
But Leon Caldwell left the family when his son Kenneth was 2, and had little contact with him throughout his life. And he wants about $1.5 mil? Sorry pal. You don't deserve a cent. He didn't even learn his son had died until long afterward. The story ran in our New York briefs column. A longer story in the Daily News said how Leon also took half of his son's $50,000 worker's compensation payment, but had to turn over $12,000 of that because he owed it in arrears for not making his $30-a-week child support payments.
What a creep.

The "tween" week

As of Monday, all four kids were done with school. Next week, we hit our real summer schedule. The week in between is hectic, but a nice wrap-up time for everything. Our teenager starts driving lessons tonight. Our girls finish softball this week. They finished ballet already, piano lessons moves to its summer hours next week, and our sitter goes on vacation Thursday, so I've got the grandparents taking turns with my kids and my brother's boys. They all start camp next week. Although it's become expensive, it's a relief knowing they'll be busy, get swimming lessons, make new friends and have a lot of fun for eight straight weeks. I've never heard a complaint from any of them -- my oldest missed it the first year he was no longer eligible.
And it's nice to be able to pick them up and not have any activities scheduled, the way we do all fall and winter. There's a discussion thread on it ... check out http://forums.jerseyshoremoms.com/viewtopic.php?t=639 in the forums. This start of summer is a fun time. Everybody's looking forward to the "down" time over the months ahead, visiting the beach and boardwalk or lazing around a pool. One mom spoke of chasing fireflies and eating ice pops. I had to laugh. I just picked up one of those boxes of 100 ice pops, where you throw about 20 into the freezer at a time. They're a big hit!

21 months' worth of Mischief Night

I've got a day calendar on my desk, Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck if ..."
Here's one for his future calendars: In a story in Saturday's paper, a mother and daughter were indicted in June for various crimes that happened between September 2005 and May 2007, including the "egging" of a State Police car in their neighborhood. The kicker? The father/husband of the two indicted women is an investigator with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
OK, maybe, just maybe, had this been a one-time occurrence, you could blame it on someone losing their temper and snapping. But this went on for about 21 months! One family's cars were left with $3,537 in damage and the State Police car damage claims were for $2,010. That's a lot of eggs. Cars and homes were reported to be deliberately damaged.
Wow ... the worst thing I ever did with my daughters was T.P. our own tree on Mischief Night, prompting my 7-year-old to say, "I hope the cops don't see us!"
What could have been going through this woman's mind if, indeed, the charges are true that she did this with her 19-year-old daughter, and possibly another child, since both were charged with criminal mischief and using a juvenile to commit a crime? Mom was also charged with stalking and terroristic threats. I just can't imagine.
What kind of grudge could launch people into such a long, orchestrated campaign of destruction? For the full story, cut and paste http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706160391

Two words: Chain latch

A mother of two was charged with child endangerment after her two kids, ages 1 1/2 and 3, were found at 4 a.m. today sitting outside an A&P Supermarket in Fairview. Details from the Associated Press story were sketchy, but apparently the kids walked about 200 yards from the home of a friend of their mom. The mom and kids are from Brooklyn.
Before anyone jumps down this lady's throat -- and I'm not saying she didn't have any responsibility -- I have to admit I did the same thing. At age 2 1/2, I wandered out of my parents' house and down the block, wearing nothing but a teddy bear and slippers. Bath time for the then-four of us kids involved Mom or Dad doing the baths and the other doing the pajamas and hair and supervising teeth brushing. I slipped past point B and kept going out the door. A neighbor a few houses down returned me home.
In my home, one summer evening when I was still at work, my mother-in-law was in the kitchen, my oldest child was 9 and running in and out of the house, my older daughter was 2 1/2 and my younger daughter was an infant, when my older daughter went toward the kitchen, then right past my mother-in-law who was busy at the sink. My husband, sitting in the TV room with the baby, figured my mother-in-law spotted the 2-year-old coming in, but something made him double check. Nope, she was out the door and on her way down the block -- my mother-in-law figured the screen door opening and closing was one of my 9-year-old's many trips back and forth to the back yard.
We set up new rules then ... access to the enclosed back yard is only through the back door. That has a top lock secured every night. We have chain latches at the tops of the front and side doors. You can never be too careful. We don't know much about the mom in Fairview yet, but let's not pass judgment too quickly.
The early story can be found at http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070615/NEWS/70615030

I don't know, but I'm sure it's something wonderful

Experiencing death for the first time, with her great uncle and a favorite teacher passing away within weeks of each other, my 7-year-old was doubly affected, saddened and so very full of questions. I tried to ease her mind, but sometimes I just don't know what to say. I try to answer her many questions as best as I can, but when I don't know, I'll tell her that, then give her my best guess.
I was stumped by her question, "What do they DO in heaven?" I told her I'd look into it, and will probably ask our pastor at Mass this weekend how to answer that one. I know my daughter: she'll bring it up again until she's satisfied with the answer. My uncle, a priest, was my quick telephone call for answers to all things spiritual, another thing I'll miss.

Where'd everybody go?

I can't wait to hear the explanation on this one. Plumsted school officials are investigating this week how 21 kids, two chaperones and a teacher got left behind in Philly during a class trip last week. TWENTY-ONE!!!! I know head counts are tough, but when 21 out of 150 kids were missing, didn't anyone notice? There were six other teachers -- didn't they do a headcount of colleagues to notice they were one short? Wasn't there a half empty bus???????
The teacher called the district with her cell phone and a bus went back for them. The administration says no one was ever in any danger. I don't have a problem with them being in danger -- they were properly chaperoned. I'm just floored at how nobody noticed they were missing.

Not exactly a penny from heaven, but ...

Ever hear of pennies from heaven, something about how loved ones reach out to you by leaving you a shiny penny somewhere for you, that it's a sign an angel's watching over you? I'm going to teach my kids about that one. They need it right now.

I'm absolutely convinced our loved ones who have died are not only still with us in a sense, but they reach out to us too. A few years back, a very good friend of mine, Kristen, died unexpectedly and quickly of a cancer she didn't realize she had until it was too late. I never got to say goodbye.
But from time to time over the years, this little scruffy stuffed cat she gave me will show up in the oddest of places. I know it could be my cat or my kids moving it around, although a few times it really was in really strange spots, like the bathroom sink, but I'd like to think if it's them, Kristen's prodding them somehow to put it in a place that will make me laugh. She could always do that -- she was very funny.
A short aside that will make sense later: Kristen and I went to Mexico together in our single days, and we found a bakery company there named "Bimbo." We thought it was hysterical, and of course we took pictures of us standing by Bimbo signs and trucks.
Back to this week: Early this week, I was stopped at a traffic light, going into Avon. I was crying pretty hard, we were about to lose my beloved uncle to cancer. The light for me turns green, and what pulls up to stop at the light that just turned red? A Bimbo truck. I haven't seen that company name in more than a dozen years. I had to start laughing.
It makes sense that the rising number of Mexicans who have moved to the area would be followed by Mexican companies bringing their wares for sale in ethnic groceries and the like, but I prefer to think it was Kristen, telling me "Hi," and that everything is going to be OK.
This morning, I was telling someone about my Uncle Bob when I spotted a dime. I picked it up. It was probably for me. He wouldn't have settled for only a penny.

Karate school, we're on our way back

I took karate several years ago with my oldest child, and always knew I wanted my other children to enroll. I'll probably put the girls in together in a little over a year, when they're 9 and almost 11. I'd like to see them take it through the middle school years, and into high school. Stories like today's news update on the man charged with trying to lure two girls into an SUV with five other guys in Asbury Park last month are reminders of exactly why I want them to learn how to protect and defend themselves.
Fortunately, the situation in Asbury was spotted by a woman driver who realized the girls were frightened and pulled behind the SUV, telling the guys to leave the girls (ages 14 and 16, they were on their way to school) alone. Good for her! The guy was apparently acting menacing, and she reacted right away. That takes some guts, stepping up instead of dialing 911 on the cell and hoping police will get there quickly.
The full story is listed now under Web updates at app.com, cut and paste the link:
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070607/NEWS/70607002

Good reason to be AWOL

Damn right, this woman deserves to go AWOL. Did you read about the New Hampshire female soldier who turned herself into Fort Dix Army authorities Tuesday? She found out -- while serving in Iraq -- that the father of her 7-year-old daughter's father, who has been taking care of her, has been arrested for domestic violence and that there's a big problem with alcohol and fighting in the home. So she left, and the Army is deciding whether to grant her an honorable or dishonorable discharge. The story reads, in part: "Hayes was serving her second tour in Iraq when police in Dublin, near Rindge in southwestern New Hampshire, told her they had twice gone to the home of her ex-husband, Tim Knight, on domestic violence calls. Knight had primary custody of Brystal. In November, Knight's mother and his girlfriend, Brenda Brown, got into a fight, Hayes told the Monitor. In December, Brown was charged with assault, false imprisonment and criminal trespassing after Knight reported she had hit him in the head with a telephone, knocked him down, duct-taped his wrists together and slammed his head on the floor, according to a police affidavit."
Think you'd leave your 7-year-old girl in that type of situation? Now, the Army's point is that Spc. Lisa Hayes didn't follow exact protocol to get released from duty. I hope they have compassion in this case. Who can think of procedures to follow when your little girl is in a house where people are beating each other up with phones and duct-taping wrists?
The full story can be read on app.com at http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070606/NEWS/70606005

Priceless

We had our "Student Voices" essay contest end-of-the-year awards program last night at Brookdale (which sponsors the contest with us). Last night, we invited all the first, second and third place winners from our two essay contests (7th and 8th grades, then 9th through 12th) and the monthly editorial cartoon contest winner.

These kids just beam when they walk up to pick up their certificate, and we pick a runner up and winner from each essay age group for the best essay of the year, plus an editorial cartoon of the year. The reaction from the teenager who won the cartoon winner was priceless. While the girls usually come up with big smiles, the boys, being boys, usually shuffle up and look a little embarrassed, offer a quick smile for the camera and beeline it back to their seats. Same thing with the boy who did the cartoon, he got his certificate then shuffled back to his table, boy slacker stuff. When his name was called again, for the cartoon of the year, a few minutes later, his head whipped around, wide eyed, jaw dropped, then that jaw slowly worked its way into a big smile. You could see him trying to maintain his cool, but you knew he was busting up with pride. It was so cool.
There's nothing like the look on a child's face when they're unexpectedly honored for an accomplishment. That kid made my night.

Finding my five reds

Any good suggestions for keeping track of kids on a group outing?
I was a chaperon (I prefer an "e" on the end of that word but spellcheck's giving me a hard time!) on a second- and third-grade class trip to the Philadelphia Zoo last week. The school had it well organized -- kids were all instructed to wear red T-shirts, notes went home saying which chaperon the kids were assigned to, we sat near our "charges" on the bus. Parents were asked to send in $5 for lunch money in one envelope and gift shop money in another envelope, those were handed to the chaperons. Only glitch in the system was the gift shop money. You tell kids they've got $10 to spend, they all grab something for $9.99. Fortunately, a few teachers stayed by the cash registers and covered the tax.
We were allowed to free roam the zoo or join up with another group. We occasionally did join others when we were in the same exhibit, but I found it so much easier when it was just my five and me. About once a minute, I'd count up five red t-shirts. When we were with other groups, they were a red swarm and it wasn't as easy to pick out my five. But the red t-shirts made my day so much easier, as there was always one dawdler, or one who tried to jump ahead.
Another friend once took a group of kids, all about second grade, to Six Flags. She made them all wear bright purple baseball caps and that worked like a charm.