We're Back - In More Ways Than One

I never planned on abandoning my blog. I've done it before - left a big gap because 'real life' took such twists and turns that I just couldn't steel myself against it's force to sit down and plink out a couple of lines about what was actually happening. 

Right before Halloween, we left for our much awaited trip to Disney World. I was obsessing about what a difficult trip it could be. I cannot wait to share out trip with you, but the time is not now. I meant to blog about it as it was happening, but circumstances changed our priorities.

Upon our arrival to Florida, in our home state of NJ, friends and family were being hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. I cannot imagine what they went through weathering this storm. I have heard stories of hundreds of popping transformers, fires, cracking trees, falling wires, flooding and terrifying winds. I was really strange to be so far away. I know that many of you reading this were suffering.

I was incredibly thankful, that because of Ethan's car accident, our trip was moved and we happened to be safely sheltering in sunny Florida. I know it would have been really difficult for us to be home in the midst of it. It was hard to be happy for my immediate family while the storm raged. Due to our tight ties to social networking and the fact that we remained connected to the internet through the entire thing, we were able to stay constantly connected. That was a very distracting and disconcerting thing. 

I worried about people, places and things. I worried about our family, our house, and our neighborhood - all while visiting Animal Kingdom. When I should have been present with my kids, I had my phone in front of my face way too much. I just had to know what was happening. 

Our house was spared any physical damage, but our neighborhood ended up looking like a war zone. No one we knew had power, essentials that they needed, and gas was impossible to get. I think if you did not experience it - you can only understand it so much. I was floating in a pool, feeling warm and relaxed, guilty and helpless. 

An interesting facet is that because our internet connection was not interrupted, we were able to pass on info that other people could not access. I knew more about support our town was offering than those still trapped in town. We were able to be helpful in only that way. My neighbor moved our rabbit, secured items in our yard and generally watched out for our house. My mother eventually went and emptied the rotting food from our fridge and freezer. Others gave us advice about not returning home as our vacation was coming to an end, so we tacked two additional days onto the end of our trip. 

We knew that we were returning to no power, no heat, no food, no gas and it was a mad dash to figure out to assimilate to our new surroundings. My mother purchased a generator for us, we order a cord of wood and had it dropped on the front lawn and stocked up on gas cans and propane heaters in Florida. Weird. 

We pulled into town to darkness and snow and an open pizza parlor. Once fed, we headed back to our house. We spent two hours passing out flashlights, lighting candles, starting a fire, moving furniture, planning sleeping arrangements and boiling water as we had been told it helped the air temperature. Two hours into our 'ordeal' our power snapped back to life! The only thing is, the rest of our street and neighborhood or our friends, or family did not. Again, we were grateful and blessed, but sad and desperate for everyone else. 

We commenced with offering what we could to who we could. Food and heat and a place to charge a phone. This storm really had a way of snapping into sharp focus what is really important - I'd love to know what you found that to be. 

We still have friends without power. We know people who have sustained significant damage to their homes and belongings and those who lost vehicles. We know people who need homes for beloved pets. We have seen photos and video of our favorite beaches washed, literally, into the ocean.

My hope, for now, is that we can be a small part of helping those in front of us and then part of the larger effort to restore NJ to it's pre-storm state. I hope life gets back to some semblance of 'normal' for you and yours and me and mine.

Polygamy or Cloning?

My kids each need their own mother. I think each of them could keep a mother busy, meeting their needs and addressing their issues on a full-time basis.

I mean, Sean's 3, right? His energy level and curiosity are competing for high scores. He would like for me to read to him for hours on end. His attention span is such that setting up the paint and the playdough sometimes seems to take longer than he enjoys them. He loves games and wants a competent player to compete with. He would like to visit the park everyday, usually when his brothers would prefer to be doing something else. Same with toddler time. He wants juice, Xbox, to bake cookies and for me to sing him a song - now! He's all needs...all the time. 

How about Mikey whose favorite mantra is 'what should I do now?'. He needs a cruise director extrordinaire. He likes focused attention, workbooks, and games. He can't find what he's looking for. He needs help picking out 3 good books for him to choose from.  He wants set up with music to listen to, books he can read, and projects he can work on. He wants Sean to not mess up what he's tying to do. Mikey needs lots of reminders, directions, lists and more reminders and to know where his favorite Star Wars guy is - now!

Gavin wakes up with questions about whether animals have souls or not. Did I hear about 'that guy' on the news? He wants to know what I know about the Gold Standard and the Federal Reserve and where he can find more information. Who else is running for president besides the usually suspects, what's for lunch, and do I want to play a game without Mikey & Sean? He needs documentaries about WWII and the rise of The Third Reich, and to know how long will it take me to decide if he can read The Killing of Osama Bin Laden. He wants to know where he can he find more cardboard and tape. Gavin loves to narrate entire conversations to a willing audience - me!

Ethan needs full time surveillence. He also needs a manager for all the chargers of his electronics. He wants AutaBuy to publish as a daily magazine and for me to find it - even if it means we stop at two 7-11s and several Quik Checks to find the right edition. We wants more Hot Wheels cars - now! He needs to download several songs and apps on an emergent basis. He needs to go to the store for one more coloring book and a Coke - you guessed it - now!

My kids are interesting, challenging and unique. But all four of them together are a force to be reckoned with. If I had to deal with each of them to the exclusion of their brothers - it might not be so bad - but right now their demands overwhelm me and I think I need a sister wife or a clone or three. Help! I'm sinking.

Why Go Do Freaky Things?

I enjoy strange attractions like Ripley's Believe It Or Not and The Mutter Museum. Destinations and pit stops brought to my attention by Roadside America and Weird NJ and Geocaching thrill me. I am interested in the odd and off-beat. I also enjoy passing on my penchant for the weird to my kids.

I recently took Gavin and my niece to see David Blaine stand on a podium, covered in metal chainmaille, the target of 7 Tesla Coils producing 1 million volts of electricity. Gavin pointed out that people who went and saw Houdini perform his stunts, didn't know he would become an icon - or die doing one of his famed stunts! Good point - so we went.

Why go? Why spend the effort and energy and often $$ to see these things?

The Journey

Whether we are headed to a big city or the middle of the country, I just like the process of going somewhere. When we visit NYC, if we are not in a rush, I have enjoyed trying to master the subway system. I don't mind a long car ride and always manage to find other unintended spots of interest. I like finding a new spot to spread a picnic blanket. Getting there really is half the fun.

The Excitement

It's fun to have something to be excited about. Going in search of an obscure landmark or a freaky tombstone (yep!) has a way of breaking up the mundane. I find it interesting to read about something, see pictures of it and then actually get there.  The idea of hearing about something and then seeing the real thing can be really fun.

'Back here you can see her booty and the baby's booty!'

Bragging Rights 

Just being able to say 'Been there, done that!' is great. We are slowly ticking off statues in Central Park as we visit. Lots of people visit for the usual stuff, but I want to make sure we've seen Balto, Alice in Wonderland, The Tempest and Christopher Columbus. There are also lots of 'secret spots' in Central Park'. 

This is not a 'secret' spot - this is strawberry fields, a tribute to the late John Lennon

Of all the people who come in and out of Union Station in Washington DC every day, how many know that the roman soldiers that seem to stand guard had to be reconstructed to add the shields they hold today because the were deemed obscene due to their very conspicuous cod pieces (that you can still see if you can stand just at the right angle - which we did).

Will you be able to say that you've been in St. Joseph's Catacombs, Lucy the Elephant or the wax museum? How about participating in the crowd that stands outside the GMA show?

Educational Value

What?! How can wacky spots across our state and others be 'educational'. When my kids see new things they ask new questions. Because of some of the places we've visited, my kids have investigated interests like electricity and magnets, JFK's assassination, watched countless documentaries (most recently about owning exotic animals), compasses and sundials, art mediums, robotic surgery, the Mayans and Egyptians, anime, lighthouses and other topics. We've seen shruken heads, terracotta warriors, a collection of automata, The Dead Sea Scrolls, the country's first lifeboats, more than a few 9/11 memorials, spots that famous early Americans died in duels and plenty of other obscure items of intrigue.

Why view great works of art? Why watch sporting events? Why shop for clothes or listen to music or watch movies for that matter? Some of these I 'get', and some I don't - mostly don't.

So, do what it is that you like to do, because that's part of what makes life what it is. While you're doing that, I'll be looking for The World's Largest Frying Pan.

Columbus Day is Cousin's Day

After a particularly fantastic day at Belmar Beach on October 10 last year (yes, that's right!), I declared that each Columbus Day from then on to be "Cousin's Day" Although we spend lots of time together, I know that in the coming years the kids will get older, more busy and more independent. I hope that my sister and I can foster this habit now, and hope that the cousins will continue to meet up on this day every year in the future. I love making up a holiday!

The night before, there was an impromptu jaunt into NYC with these two. (More about that trip in a later post)

They made me laugh so hard on the train that people must of have thought I was drinking. They also informed me twice that I was embarrassing them by asking questions of an MTA employee about riding the subway and they were also texting each other in close proximity. They are truly practicing being teenagers.

We decided on The Philadelphia Zoo for our official 'Cousin's Trip'. This is the whole crew.

May I present a photo montage or our 2nd Annual Cousin's Day!

Orangutan Arms

Bald Eagle fascination

He actually did not expect to get pecked.

Draft horse ride.

Carousel in a Spinning Basket

Tiger fascination - 25 minutes worth

Waiting for the polar bear to dive in.

African birds in Philadelphia!

What's wrong with this picture?

If you have cousin's, think about making up your own cousin's day. 

I hope to bring you many more installments. 

I wonder if someday I won't be invited?

Dear Ms. Over-Reaction,

That was some scene you made in the supermarket. 

After chasing me down by yelling in a panic-sticken voice, "excuse me, you can't leave your young children unattended in the car!" you still refused to listen to reason. Even when I explained that one of my children was nearly twelve and completely capable of caring for his brother (who is not 2 as his size indicates) for 10 minutes, you continued your rant, nice and loud so that bystanders could get involved. 

You were so confident and self-righteous as you yelled about how 'the law says you can't do that'. Even when I told you that you were incorrect, and although I truly appreciated your concern - you continued. Again, I explained that my child was nearly 12 years old and capable of being issued a 'Babysitting Certification' from the Red Cross, was currently CPR/First Aid Certified and was very experienced in caring for his brother. I explained that the children had, in fact, asked to wait instead of traipsing through the store.

Your response to two happy children safely left for 10 potential minutes in a cool, locked car - call 911?! Really?! Part of me wishes that I could have stood around and debated this with you and the soon-to-arrive police officers. I would have enjoyed them telling you that there is, in fact, no law against it. But my kids would not have liked it. Police involvement would have upset them and would have been pretty traumatic - unlike being allowed to quietly play their Nintendo DSs together in the car.

 I told Gavin why we were leaving the parking lot. He said that he thought it was ironic how many times I told him to just come in the store with me - not because I was less than completely confident in his abilities to remain carefully in the car  - but because someone might call the cops on them waiting in the car. He said he hardly believed it could happen.

So this week, as you recount how you saved two poor, neglected children from certain bodily harm and injury, I'll be around, making my kids confident and competent to handle the world around them. I'll be teaching them to cook on the hot stove and allowing them to cross the street. I'll be preparing them to spend some time home alone and cut with really sharp knives. I will teach them to think for themselves and to remain confident in their own abilities and how to deal with those who would have them believe that they can't. 

Sincerely, 

Ms. Still-Shaking-My-Head

P.S. I am not sorry for swearing.