F is for Fall . . .

Fall is my favorite time of year . . . back to school, Halloween and Election Night . . . it just don't get no better than this. Oh, and my upcoming birthday on November 14 in case you're interested.

Here are some pics from our fall highlights . . .







K's first day of 2nd grade. She's doing much better this year and getting in and after school tutoring for reading.

Finally! After a summer full of wondering if we should put her in wedges to go to the park , K was tall enough to ride the big coasters at Dorney when we went in early October for Halloween.

Messing around in Virginia Beach . . . one of our stops on the Fall Fun Tour since students get a fall break for the Bloomsburg Fair . . . yes, the fair.

K's "casual" Halloween costume . . . worn for the Annual Boucek Halloween Bash, trick or treating at the Y and handing out candy at the AMVETs.




























K's "good" Halloween costume, worn for the church Halloween party and trick or treating in town. Also, my Halloween costume (or normal Sunday attire, minus the jester hat which is K's).

B is for Baby (Shower)

Apparently all of my October blogs are going to be titled with an alphabet theme . . . although I sincerely doubt I'll be writing be 26 of them.

After a fairly mellow week around here (our biggest project was K making a picture frame out of foam pieces for her dad's birthday) we more than made up for it this weekend. I had a planning meeting for my 20th class reunion Friday night so we bypassed Movie Night and K had a Girls Night with her aunt and cousin. I think the part of the evening Aunt Jamie enjoyed most was when she got her house (and some peace and quiet) back.

K and I finished about a gazillion errands for mom Saturday morning while she was working. And since living in Virginia Beach for the first 7 years of her life has left K's winter shoe collection woefully inadequate, most of the afternoon was spent trying to find something more substantial than a flip flop for K to wear to school. We also attended a memorial service for my great uncle who passed away Thursday afternoon. We wrapped the evening up with a short stop at the Kishbaugh's on our way home from The Great Shoe Hunt.

K with Nishu at her baby shower.

It was an early night because we had to be at church early today. K had a life long wish granted when she got to sit in the front pew since the first four rows were reserved for First Communion candidates. After church and CCD class, we jumped in the car and headed to Nishu's baby shower. The original plan was to say hi and get home in time to see Big Ben's return to Heintz field. Those plans changed as soon as K walked in the door. It took about 10 seconds for her to start dancing to the Bollywood music and after seeing all the beautiful Indian outfits the only complaint K had was that she didn't stop at home to get some bling after class.

After eating her weight in baked beans and winning a rousing game of musical chairs, we finally headed home where K was able to catch an encore presentation of the new Scooby Doo movie we missed on Saturday and I managed to make Chicken Tortilla soup for the Halloween party Saturday.

After all that excitement I'm looking forward to Monday and the start of a nice quiet week.

A is for Apple

Now that school and fall activities are back in full swing, things have settled down a bit around here. Hopefully that means I'll be able to update the blog on a slightly more regular basis than I have been. On the boring days (like you have any of those with a 7 year old) I'll be flashing back to some of the highlights since school started.

K and her cousin "working" the cider press.

Last weekend, in attempt to squeeze every last drop from our Dorney Park passes, we swung into action as soon as K's feet left the school bus and hit the ground. After a quick run through of chores and a potty break, K and I jumped in the car and headed across the river to hook up with our friends the Kishbaugh's. One hour (and no car sickness) later, we pulled into the parking lot in Allentown. We were all delighted to see that all this country air lead to K having a growth spurt over the summer that allowed her to hit the magical 54" mark on the ride board. Basking in her achievements, we hit the first two roller coasters in the park for the first time all year.

After two hours in the park, we piled in the car for a sleepover with our friend Nora who lives in the area. K was delighted to spend some time with Sarah and JP and I enjoyed the newly finished man cave in the basement with the rest of the grown ups. We also scored an entire bag of clothes that Sarah had outgrown, including some very cute horse themed shirts which K has already debuted in school.

Saturday included a lazy morning, a bout of car sickness that was thankfully relieved in a Burger King bathroom, a quick trip to Wal Mart and a birthday party for two of K's classmates.

Sunday morning was church and a parent's meeting for her upcoming first communion then home for the real fun of the weekend. Weeks ago Sunday had been scheduled as "Apple Cider Day" around here. By the time we got home, my brother and his family were here with my dad, my cousin and his son. The back of the pickup was loaded with red and green apples that were being shot into a contraption that chopped them up before the buckets were hauled a few feet away to the apple press whose mechanics I still don't quite understand. Even though the bees drank their share, we still ended up with a lot of yummy fresh apple cider. Most of it was handed out to pay the help, but some of it did end up in the freezer and our tummies.

The day and the cider were just delicious.

Too Darn Quite Around Here

My godson, Jordan . . .
Lord, it's hard to believe I used to change his diapers.

I had a great weekend in Pittsburgh, visiting my best friend and having her spoil me rotten. There were trips to the outlet mall, Rivers Casino, the Church Brew House and of course, the Steelers Store. But like any good adventure, the hangover is now setting in. The main point of the trip was to drop K off with her dad so she could spend some time with him in Virginia after celebrating Grandma's last day of work with a surprise appearance at her retirement party Friday.

Lord, it sure is quite around here without that girl. Not to mention the poor dog now has no one to play tug of war with.

Yawn . . .

Not too much going on today. I've been trying to finish up the "Rearrange All My Crap in the Limited Space That is My Bedroom" project before heading back to work for the Census. My goal is to be finished before I head to Lisa's wedding this weekend . . . so far, so good.

Tuesday is Weigh In Day and I am happy to report that I was under 220 for the second time in three weeks . . . since I'm guessing each of my boobs weights at least 10 pounds, I am now under 200 pounds in my imagination. Thirty pounds to go before Thanksgiving and my 20th class reunion.

Since K and I were both going stir crazy today (and I need to get started on those 30 lbs), dinner was a picnic at Riverlands followed by a nice long walk on one of their nature trails. Other than that, today was a big old yawn.

I Really Do Try . . .

I try to be a good person . . . I really, really do . . . super secret swear. But sometimes it's just plain hard to take the high road, especially when people who have no idea what they're talking about take pot shots from their ivory towers. Then I just take a deep breath, pray for patience and remember that I generally don't care what other people think. I know who I am . . . a great mother, a loving daughter, a good friend and an all around decent person. I don't lie, I don't steal and I try to treat people better than they treat me. Sure, I can be a little snarky at times, but for those who love me, it's part of my charm. But enough about that.


K and I had a great weekend. Saturday we got to join my cousin Jim and his amazing wife Wendy as they celebrated her daughter's graduation from high school. Unfortunately, we weren't familiar with the house and no one told us there was a pool. Lucky for us, we don't stand on ceremony around here and after watching K gaze longingly at the pool for several minutes I made an executive decision that a proper bathing suit was not required to enjoy the festivities . . . especially since it would have been a 20 minute drive back to the house or 20 minutes (in the other direction) to the nearest Wal-Mart. In addition to her hillbilly swimwear, K also created a makeshift raft . . . we had swim noodles in the car, but no swimsuit . . . go figure.



Today was even better. After K and I went to church, my brother, sister-in-law and niece came up to celebrate Father's Day with me, Mom, Dad and K. Nothing beats London Broil, potato salad and corn on the cob . . . unless it's the girls playing Crazy 8s, Old Mail and Jenga while the boys slept off their supper.



To add icing to an already perfect day, K finally dislodged one of her loose front teeth. We're hoping the new one comes in before her official Flower Girl duties at Uncle John's wedding in August. Luckily, one of the few things that isn't packed away in the storage unit was the special bag the Tooth Fairy gave K to put her teeth in. She will be pleasantly surprised in a few hours to realize that, yes the Tooth Fairy does apparently work of Father's Day . . . but only because she found one of the gold $1 coins she trades for teeth in the ashtray of Mommy's car . . . we'll keep that part to ourselves.

Paying it Forward

When K was a baby, I would pray and pray every day that she have a happy, healthy life. We have truly been blessed on that front and while we have (thankfully) never needed the services of the American Cancer Society, we support them every year by going to Relay for Life. Last year two of my coworkers were high up on the planning committee so we knew what to expect. This year we went in blind . . . and loved every minute of it.

My sister-in-law and niece met us for dinner (and for the girls, dancing . . . gotta love K, she just can't help rocking out to an 80s cover band and her cousin, being 4, follows in her footsteps). After dinner we were on our own. K talked me into a $3 pony ride to get ready for her upcoming trip to Daddy's house in July and she used her allowance (5o cents at a time) to feed the llama, goats and sheep in the petting zoo. I love having a child who doesn't mind giving up a little of the money she makes each week cleaning kitty crap to a good cause. It makes me incredibly proud of the kid she is and gives me great hope for the compassionate women she will one day become. There were trips to the bouncy house and duck pond, more stints on the dance floor and an incredible booth with awesome raffle baskets we hope will be calling us tomorrow.

We got to spend time with our friends Megan and Gene, badgered an e-mail address from an HR rep to send a resume and I ran into two friends from high school. It was great catching up with the girl I graduated with and a lot of fun catching up with the still cute football player who used to take the pickles off his hamburgers at McDonald's after the games to take home to his dog. Of course since I'm apparently not supposed to have sex again until K is at least in college, I also got to meet his gorgeous wife and 9 week old son. We left after the luminary ceremony, a beautiful if somber lap around the track (in this case led by a bagpiper) once all the luminaries in honor or in memory of cancer patients and survivors have be lit. It's such a touching part of the event and it never fails to bring tears to my eyes. The two honorary chairs for the event were a recent high school graduate and a local 3 year old girl who are both battling cancer. It never fails to make me thankful for the healthy child I have.

Speaking of that healthy child, K survived her week of Math Camp . . . it included two half days at school, a field trip to a dairy, playing in a creek (her classmates caught minnows, crayfish and a leech . . . apparently he was full so they could hold him . . . ummm, no thanks), a trip to the lake and counting M&Ms before eating them. Sounds like fun to me.

School's Out for Summer . . .

The highlight of our week was Tuesday around noon. K was excited because it was her last day of school . . . I was thrilled to read her report card and see she is headed to Second Grade in August . . . there are times I wondered. The girl knows everything she's supposed to know, it's the whole "stay in your seat and be quiet" thing she has trouble with.

Since yesterday was officially the first day of summer vacation, we continued the tradition of celebrating by heading to the amusement park. The park was different (Dorney Park, not Busch Gardens like last year) but the fun quotient was the same . . . despite the rainy drizzle that continued all day. One the down side, she is still too short to ride two of the big roller coasters (by 2 inches) and the rain meant the other coasters were closed for slippery tracks. On the up side, since we were already wet we hit the water rides early and often (we usually save those for our way to the car and dry clothes). Despite the lack of any actual roller coaster time, we had a blast on the twirly rides, K had a solo trip on a big "swing you around in the air" ride (the bar wouldn't close over my boobs, so I had to sit that one out) and we both did the "take you up in the air and shot you straight down to scare the crap out of you" ride. We called it an early day and hit the mall on the way home for hot chocolate and hair accessories for the 4th of July. All in all, not a bad day.

One of the things I missed most about PA is the summer carnivals. All of the fire companies here are run by volunteers and their main fundraisers are summer carnivals. The first one started last week and we stumbled on it after a special Thursday night soccer game while we were driving through town trying to figure out what to have for dinner. Carnival fare won hands down.

We went back Friday to celebrate the last full day of school (seemed like a good reason) and just had to join my folks when they went after Tuesday's soccer game for some ham and bean soup. K is disappointed that her mean mommy won't let her buy a baby turtle from the stand in the middle of the carnival grounds, but we were both delighted to find out she shared my love of Skee-Ball.

Almost Heaven

Last year my brother and some of his friends pulled together and got a campsite and trailer at a campground less than 2 hours from the house. K and I had never been there . . . until yesterday. It was fabulous. Mike and Jamie took my niece up Friday night and K and I followed Grammy, Pop Pop and Reggie (the dog) up yesterday so I would be able to actually find the place. The campground is named "Almost Heaven" and that's exactly what it was.

Even though the camper has two bedrooms and my folks were just making it a day trip, K and I decided to pitch our tent. My concern that our nylon "cabin" was too far out from the trailer was quickly assuaged when the new next door neighbors put their inflatable pool right in the driving lane and then dug permanent horse shoe pits even further out.

Lunch consisted of hot dogs over the campfire and my niece (who's 4) following K around trying to be just like her. Then it was off to the creek. I expected a shallow bit of water for the kids to splash around in. When I saw that it was deep enough for me to swim in on the far side, I hightailed it back to the camper for my swim suit and beach chair. Sadly, dinner called so our fun was short lived. After dinner we packed up Grammy, Pop Pop and Reggie, rustled up some twigs and got down to the serious business of making smores. Some of the more adventurous campers set off several fabulous firework displays and the rest of the night was spent sitting around the campfire. It's just don't get any better than that.

True to our adventurous nature, K and I snuggled in on the air mattresses in the tent at 10:00 and midnight respectfully. By 2:00 a.m. we were making use of the extra bed in the camper. K would have slept in the tent all night, but when I couldn't sleep and noticed she was cold from her nose to her nails, I decided to play the Mom Card and move it inside. I seriously doubt I'm in contention for the Mother of the Year Award, but I figured letting my kid turn into a Popsicle would definitely put me out of the running.

This morning we cooked bacon and eggs on the campfire grate, cleaned up the site and headed back to the creek. I'm not sure the two lonely fisherman were thrilled to see two rambunctious kids and their mamas come traipsing in, but if they minded, they didn't say. K had a blast with her cousin and the other kids and dogs that came later and I got to work on tanning the parts of my shoulder that don't usually see the light of day. I expected a full fledged fit when it was time to go, but K was a trooper . . . especially after I reminder her that we can come back any time we want to. I think she's expecting a two week vacation there at the end of June.

My sister-in-law and niece left the creek about 30 minutes before us and since I told them we'd be following along in about 10 minutes, I was surprised they weren't sitting in the car gnashing their teeth when we strolled back in. After swapping our wet bathing suits for clean underwear and dry clothes, we threw our last remaining items in the car and headed out. K kept me company for the first 30 minutes and promptly fell asleep for the last hour home. If I'm really good she'll let me take a nap once I post this.

Sunny Day

Well, today did not suck nearly as bad as I thought it would. I had a little down time between when K got on the bus and I had to be at my Census meeting so my Sudoku book and I got reacquainted. Since my meeting was quick, my route was short and my Census check hit the bank yesterday, I decided some retail therapy was in order.

It's a 30 minute drive to the nearest Ross, but it was worth every mile. For a little over $40 I got a very cute skirt, a nice sleeveless shirt I can wear for work and an awesome outfit to wear to Lisa's wedding in June. Personally, I think it shows a little too much cleavage (what doesn't on me) but the other ladies in the dressing room assured me I didn't look the least bit hoochie.

By the time I hit the road to get home in time to meet the school bus, the melancholy of the morning was gone, the damage to my wallet was minimal and all was right in the world.

Ugh!

I am loving my job with the Census Bureau and meeting lots of fun people (and one or two bitchy ones), but today just about did me in. Yesterday I got transferred from the boonies in the mountains to the little town across the river. While I'm delighted that driving around the "block" now takes 5 minutes instead of 20, the downside is that I'm not in the car long enough for the AC to cool it down . . . not good when it's a gazillion degrees out like it was today. My plan to wear a skirt and tank (or as little as possible) did not help . . . but I did look pretty cute. Which was, of course, my secondary motive since my new supervisor happens to be around my age, male, single and pretty darn cute to look at.

I was so disgustingly sweaty by the time I was done I could hardly stand to ride home with myself. I would have killed for a shower, but decided to postpone since I couldn't see drenching another bra with enough moisture to sink the Titantic when we headed back out an hour later for K's make-up soccer game. K's team is filled with incredibly talented kids, but she held her own today, including one spectacular kick down the field when she was on defense. Since it's payday and , amazingly, there was no line at the ice cream place, we stopped for soft serve with rainbow sprinkles on the way home. Since K was still eating hers two miles later when we got home, I walked straight in the door and into the shower . . . it was better than sex. Not, of course, that I actually remember what sex is like.

In other news, I finally found a battery for my cell phone to replace the one that was lost/stolen at the Piano Bar in Pittsburgh Mother's Day weekend. Ironically, having it go missing was a blessing in disguise. (Of course I didn't think that when I visited 2 Verizon stores, the Super Wal-Mart electronics department and Best Buy in Pittsburgh only to be told no one carried the battery when I was getting ready to start a 4+ hour road trip home with a 7 year old.) But I have since seen the light . . . ever since I replaced the battery (and the magical man at the cell phone store punched mystical buttons and updated my phone) the demons have been exorcised. It no longer shuts off by itself (usually as it's ringing) and it actually turns on when I hit the button . . . magical!

Today was hot and sweaty, but pretty fun all around. I am not expecting the same tomorrow. May 27 was my wedding anniversary and, even though the divorce was for the best, nothing reinforces my insecurities and colossal rejection issues and just generally puts me in a cranky mood than my non-anniversary. Ugh!

Cute as a Bug and Busy as a Beaver

The official team pictures will be taken tonight, but I just couldn't resist posting a preview . . . it just doesn't get any cuter that this.





K's soccer game on Saturday was a blast. She seems to be over her fear of the ball (after the gut shot she took a week or so ago) and actually managed to kick the ball several times Saturday . . . in the right direction!

After her game we ran some errands and spent the rest of the day with our good friends the Kishbaugh's for Ryan's 9th birthday party. K had tons of fun playing with all the kids and ended up asleep on the couch with the birthday boy . . . plum tuckered out after a crashing from her sugar high, a trip to the barn and running around all day in the clean country air. Life is good.

It was tough getting up for church on Sunday, but we got there. K decided she wanted to sit in the crying room . . . I don't think she'll make that call again. Immediately after church she had her final CCD class for the year, which included their farewell party for Mrs. Trioni, who is "retiring" after years of volunteering as the 1st Grade CCD teacher. We will surely miss her, but I imagine my friend Renata (who also happens to be her daughter) is delighted since it likely means her kids will have more more weekend visits with Grandma.

Today starts my first full week working for the Census. I'm looking forward to hitting the field today and getting ready for our trip to Pittsburgh this weekend.

SOLD!

It's official! The buyers signed the final paperwork this afternoon and I have never been happier to be homeless! From what I hear, the new owners are "good people" and they already know the neighbors across the street. It's nice to know that there's finally someone living there who can give a great house the love and care it deserves. This old girl tried her best, but I knew when I was beat. I wonder when the rest of the hood is going to let them know they have to host the Halloween Part this year.



To add icing to the cake, apparently I passed the WorkKeys assessment I took last week (the lovely 3 hour test) because today's mail contained my certificate. That magical piece of paper was the last thing I needed before I can start stalking the HR department for the #1 job on my list.



It's been a great end to a fantastic week. My Census training finished up yesterday and I had my first go at actual solo fieldwork today. Luckily I got an area close to the house so I didn't get lost . . . finding all of my houses was a different story! Lets hope practice make perfect in regard to my navigational skills. My trainer and classmates were awesome and I got a promotion after only 4 days. Most of the time I will just be one of the annoying people who interrupts your morning coffee to probe for your personal information, but on the days my Crew Leader is tied up, I get to be her and liaison with the rest of the crew. Works for me.



K had four "green" days at school this week and her behavior chart had more smiley faces than X's this week. It just doesn't get much better than that . . . now if I can just find a good job, a good house and a good man, life would be perfect.

We also had a great day (in addition to an awesome week). After K did her chores and homework we headed up to the Kishbaughs to help Ang get ready for Ryan's 9th birthday party tomorrow. K loves to play with all the other kids and I am an official member of the Veggie Slicing Crew. The evening ended with me going to collect K only to find her curled up on one side of the couch with the birthday boy curled up on the other. It was so darn cute I could have kicked myself for leaving the camera in K's soccer bag. Lucking Ang captured the Kodak moment, now one of us just has to remember to e-mail it to me.

Tomorrow is soccer and the birthday party . . . can't wait!

Catching Up . . .

Although I didn't actually see one myself, I heard snowflakes were spotted in the area today. Yes . . . snowflakes . . . in April. It's hard to believe two weeks ago I was having dinner on the boardwalk in Virginia Beach with Erin and today there were errant snowflake sightings in PA.

Speaking of Virginia, the rest of the Closeout Tour went great. I signed most of the closing documents Friday when I met with the realtor and the title agent had a daughter the same age as K who shares her flair for the dramatic . . . there's speculation they were separated at birth. I collected the last few odds and ends from the house and met Erin at Mahi Mah's for a mojito and dinner outside on the boardwalk then headed to Murphy's Irish Pub for a Harps. I love PA, but it was nice to be back in civilization, even if it was only for a few days. Saturday I helped Kristin out selling her awesome chocolate at the Herb Sale in Ghent then met the girls from work at Knuckleheads for some live music and Miller Lite. Sunday morning Rick utilized his amazing packing abilities and managed to fit all my stuff in the car while still leaving room for me, K and 2 suitcases. I am constantly amazed at the spacial aptitude of men. I collected K and we headed back to PA.

Monday and Tuesday were spent mostly getting K back on schedule . . . apparently 5 day weekends are not conducive to smooth Monday mornings. Wednesday was fairly uneventful which was a good thing since I had to take my WorkKeys Assessment test on Thursday at 9:30 . . . this is the three part 4 hour test I need to pass to even be considered for the only job I've applied for since January that I would probably actually enjoy. I got home in time to take K to her last soccer practice before games start. Practice only lasts an hour, but somehow she managed to stop a corner shot "between her leg and her girly parts" (ouch). If that wasn't enough to make her gun shy, about 10 minutes later, she got hit so hard that she actually had the imprint of the soccer ball on her stomach for over 2 hours. Needless to say, I had to bribe her with a double scoop of ice cream on the way home to get her anywhere near a ball for the last ten minutes of practice.

Friday is Movie Knight around here. Mom and Dad go to the AmVets and K and I commandeer the living room, scarf down pizza and popcorn and enjoy a good movie. It was our first movie night in awhile, so I though K would be excited, but she shot me the "Seriously?!?" look when I told her I rented "Dr. Doolittle, Million Dollar Mutts." Of course, once the animals started talking, I was Mother of the Year again.

Saturday was K's first soccer game of the season and we spent the afternoon working on her very first speech . .. Yes, apparently public speaking training starts in 1st grade. K selected Bears as her animal of choice so we spent most of the afternoon online finding out Koala Bears are not really bears and Black Bears are not always black. The rest of the afternoon was spent sorting through K's stash of stuffed animals for the perfect visual aids. Then it was time to head to our friends, the Kishbaugh's for dinner with their family and my brother, sister-in-law and niece. It just doesn't get any better then that.

After an early night, it was up bright and early Sunday morning for church and K's CCD class, lunch and fine tuning the Bear Speech . . . we also found a great Black Bear Word Search and Maze to copy and hand out to the kids . . . hey, a little extra never hurts! After about 12 run throughs of the 2-3 minute Bear Speech (which was somehow taking 5 minutes a run) I was ready for a drink. Instead, I settled for making sure K and I both had clothes for Monday since she had school and I had work. Yep, w-o-r-k. After more than three months of applying for everything from the temp agency to the copy shop, I finally found someone to hire me. Thursday is my last day of Census training and I've met so many interesting people in class. Next up, knocking on doors!

Who Says You Can't Go Home?

I love being back in PA . . . the snow, the mountains, the roads that look like whoever paved them was "either drunk or following a snake."

But yesterday I brought K down to Virginia for a much anticipated visit with her dad and I'm reminded of all the great things I've missed about my "other home" . . . the beauty of the sunset when you're crossing one of the giant rivers that pour into the Chesapeake Bay . . . the way it took me 2 hours to get out of the neighborhood when I was just "stopping by" for 5 minutes because everyone was working outside and "saying hello" has a 20 minute minimum time frame . . . Mexican restaurants . . . driving past 7 different fast food options on your way to, well, anywhere (our PA home has a McDonalds and a Burger King . . . both are more than 10 miles from the house).

Overall, Day One of the Closeout Tour was very productive. I paid my $60+ balance at the VB dentist and scored the bonus of our charts and x-rays, closed K's bank account so we can open one in PA, paid the library the $8.20 late fee left over from December, actually spoke with a real live person at the post office to explain that my mail is still not being forwarded and could they please, please, please make sure the third time was the charm? Then it was a stop at the Treasurer's Office to see if I had an outstanding utility bill (note previous reference to mail not being forwarded) and pay the $60+ balance due. I'm sure there was more stuff, but the highlight was a visit with my old neighbors the Haws . . . and thanks to Sianna, I can finally charge my camera. Yes, I can't quite remember where I packed the power cord for the Kodak EasyShare . . . so I had to borrow one from a sixth grader. Of course since I bought the camera years ago because of how easy hers was to use, I knew right where to go. Now I can post pics on the blog again (as soon as the camera juices up).

Day Two of the Closeout Tour should be productive, too. I'm helping Kristin package her awesome handcrafted chocolate for an event on Saturday, then it's off to the Realtor to sign some papers and get wiring instructions. Since it looks like a field of wild flowers in the back yard, I'll probably spend the afternoon cutting grass (damn, I thought I was done with that) and if I'm really, really lucky I'll be ending Day Two with a pint at Murphy's or a Miller Lite at Knuckleheads.

Bubbleland, PA

Grammy's backyard has officially been renamed Bubbleland, PA. Reggie and have taken to grabbing K as soon as she gets off the school bus and hauling her behind the house for the "Bubbland Spectacular." Now that K has taught the dog how to use the kiddie slide, we needed something new to entertain ourselves. Basically the Bubbleland Spectacular involves K using all of the bubble paraphernalia I dug out of the storage until last week . . . at the same time.

In other news, today K and Grammy drove the tractor while Pop Pop sprayed the fruit trees. I'm pretty sure if you're 7, life doesn't get any better than this.

Country Living

I need to start following Julie's example and travel around with my camera strapped to my chest . . . okay, maybe not my chest, but somewhere handy. Yesterday morning as I was doing the Double Check Everything Before We Go Wait for the School Bus check, something caught my eye out the window. Realizing what I was seeing, I ran into the living room and hauled K to the side door where we looked through the storm door at eight or nine deer . . . right in the yard . . . heading across the road and up and mountain. It was beautiful and K was amazed. I'm so glad that we are living in a place where she can really enjoy nature . . . from behind a glass door of course.

I learned two other valuable lessons: the library opens late on Fridays ands even though they are closed you can still pick up their wireless signal from the parking lot. Thanks to that modern technological advance I was able to complete the pre-interview paperwork for my meeting on Monday and get the information I needed to file my taxes. I came back after my tax appointment and finished up the a few other online job applications. I should have listed "resourceful" under special talents.

Once K got home from school, we headed to church with Grammy and Pop Pop for the Friday night fish fry. Pop Pop had a big pot of meatballs on the stove, but once he remembered we don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent, he got on board. We ran into an old high school and college friend who was visiting from out of town and K got to meet my friend's mom, who also happens to be her new CCD teacher when she picks her religious education classes back up this Sunday. Of course K had already interviewed her bus driver and found out he was going to be there cooking so she raided the candy stash and took him a goodie bag. Apparently I am raising an incredibly thoughtful child.

Even though Friday night is Movie Night and we had Night at the Museum II waiting at the house, we took a detour after dinner over to her school where they were hosting a science fair. K loved seeing some of her friends and I ran into a few of mine, too. God , I love small towns.

K digging for fossils at the Science Fair.

Today we helped Grammy make peanut butter Easter eggs at her church and took the dog for a nice long walk at Riverlands. Pop Pop is still adjusting to working nights during the outage, so we try to keep the house quiet for him during the day.

All in all, life is pretty good. We're headed out the door to visit friends for dinner, I have an interview Monday with an employment agency and the census job should start later this month. We're getting there . . .

Snow Days!

Our second attempt at building a snowman was far more successful than our first. The snow that led to our four day weekend melted just enough to make it slightly slushy and roll like butter!

In other news, K has finally found someone who likes to dance as much as she does.

Country Living

The downside to country living:
You have to drive 19 miles to buy paint.

The upside:
Seven year olds have lots of room to play tug of war with 100 pound dogs.

So far, Reggie is winning.

Winter in PA

K's bedroom suite didn't even make it off the rental truck before she was taking her new sled down the small hill in front of Grammy and Pop Pop's house. Our second day here, my mom was in hog heaven as all her chicks were home to roost. My brother, sister-in-law and niece came up to go sledding on the "big hill" behind the house. Grammy was having such a good time she even took a trip or two down the slopes herself. Sledding was followed by a picnic . . . yes, a picnic . . . outside . . . in the snow . . . in 30 degree weather . . . complete with hot dogs and marshmallows over the campfire. It was fabulous.

K barely won out over the video of my mom sledding.

I love snow. I love it so much it apparently followed me to Virginia Beach. Late in January I took a weekend trip to Virginia Beach to sign some papers with the realtor, do some yard work at the house and finish cleaning out the garage. I had a great weekend with the Joslin's even though Kristin wasn't making chocolate. I also got more than a foot of snow . . . in Virginia Beach . . . where they don't have snow plows . . . or cinders. On the up side, my snow shovel actually got to be used to shovel snow at least once in Virginia. That was four weeks ago and apparently the snow missed me.

Early last week the news was all abuzz about the massive storm front scheduled to hit the east coast resulting in SNOWmageddon. I woke up Wednesday morning expecting a 2 hour delay, and saw CANCELLED scrolling across the news. Needless to say I've still got enough kid in me to enjoy a good old snow day. We spent most of the day shovelling off the porch . . and the stairs . . and a path to the mail box, etc. We did manage to get in a few runs on the sleds and attempted to build a snowman. Apparently, my architectural skills are more suited to sand than snow these days and I couldn't get a ball of snow to actually roll to save my life. Kaitlyn's help consisted of snow dancing with a 100 yellow lab and making snow angels when he knocked her down.



The "snOMG" storm continued throughout the day and school was cancelled on Thursday as well. Friday was already scheduled off for teacher in service and Monday was closed for President's Day. Surprisingly, we somehow avoided cabin fever the entire time.




I love playing in the snow and I love playing with K, but after our 4 day weekend turned into a 6 day holiday I could have cried tears of joy at the sight of the big yellow school bus coming down the road this morning.

A New Start to the New Year

It's been a crazy few weeks around here, but I figured if I didn't get an update on the blog Julie was going to disown me. Seeing as how (next to Kaitlyn) she's my favorite Boucek, I figured I better get crackin'.

Despite a few hick-ups the move to PA went pretty smoothly. Big thanks to my mom, dad and my cousin Jamie for all of their help packing up the truck and another one to Rick and Scott for lugging all the heavy crap down the stair . . . sometimes, it really helps to have Navy SEALS for friends. The Ryder truck and all our help left around noon on December 30 while K and I stayed behind to clean (ironic, I know). We hit the road around 5:00 and since K wasn't feeling well and my contacts were "fuzzy" we decided to stop after 4 hours and stay over in Dover. Thursday morning we woke from our comfy hotel beds to a sea of white outside and a bit of puke inside. Needless to say our 7:00 a.m. start time was slightly delayed until the sun came up and the roads de-iced.

K apparently picked up a stomach bug on Moving Day and spent most of the morning and all of the car ride throwing up everything in her poor little stomach . . . including the bile. Big thanks to Grandma Boucek for the small tub she "lent" K after their camping trip last summer. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant trip. If K wasn't sleeping, she was heaving. And trying to find a shoulder on a barely plowed road so the poor kid didn't have to stare at a bucket of bile for hours was not an easy task . . . any of the ten or so times we had to pull over. Thank God K is a championship puker . . . even as a toddler, she could hit the training potty in her bedroom with nothing but a nightlight when she was sick. I'm sure this skill will become handy when she gets to college.

By the time we made it to PA, my parents, brother and cousin had the rental truck unpacked and the storage unit filled. That was the good news. The bad news would be everything that was crammed into 2700 feet of our beautiful Virginia Beach house is now crammed into a rather large storage unit. And I have no idea where any of it is. Since I missed the "unpacking" stage I have no idea which box is where. So I have been spending a few hours a week digging around the unit armed with a Sharpie organizing boxes and making sure their labels actually face outward. The process is almost finished and to K's delight, I found most of her books and all of our jewelry.

Our first day back K and I had a slumber party in the former guest room of my parents' house. The day after we arrived, my amazing parents, brother and a different cousin than the one we put through the ringer in Virginia Beach hauled K's entire bedroom suite and my dresser out of the rental truck and up the stairs. K sent most of that time taking her brand new sled down the whole 1/2" of snow on the bank about 100 times. Apparently, moving your entire life north by 4 states is all good as long as you can play in the snow.

Our first weekend here was wonderful . . . but that's another story for another blog.