METSLUMBERFEST 2008

We went. We ate. We played. We slept. We gamed. WE ROCKED IT!!!

METSLUMBERFEST at AMA's house was a great success. Props to whoever came up with such an awesome idea! Oh yeah, it was me!

Seriously though, it was an excellent weekend. Those of us who were up to the challenge of co-habitating at Aunt MarieAnne's for the weekend (more on the SLACKERS who passed later) arrived Friday evening. The guest of honor (RISSA'S IN DA HOUSE!!) arrived a bit late - I place the blame squarely on Scoot's shoulders - just in time to scrape up the last of the dinner before we "vultures" finished it off. Scoot brought a game called Bananagrams (it's all the rage in the hick-ier states); even we suave NY'ers got hooked and played till the wee hours of the morning. WRIGHTCastles were procured but largely ignored by all due to the late hour - kudos to Joe and ACA for getting them anyway. Then off to bed - clean sheets, extra pillows, aerobeds - AMA had it all worked out. Except for blankets. We all slept soundly nonetheless. Except RISSA, due to a certain ding-dong-bonging that went on about every 15minutes.....



Up bright and early to catch batting practice. Bagels and cream cheese courtesy of AMA. Gift bags for all, conceived by Michele and brought to life thru the efforts of her, me, and AMA. 5 adults and 3 car seats in a 7 seat minivan. We worked thru it. Arrived at Shea and had our picture taken, then strolled into the field level seats. We strutted a bit. Found out the Mutts did not TAKE batting practice that particular day. We soldiered on, took pics of the kids and of Ken Griffey Jr. Pulled out the oxygen tanks and made our way to the upper decks, with a quick pit stop for food. $35 for 4 hotdogs, a bag of peanuts, and a bottle of water. Priceless. I led the way to our seats. Well, I led the way to someone's seats, not ours. We made AMA climb back down and up again. She persevered! Found our real seats, and settled in for a day of baseball. The SLACKERS eventually joined us at the stadium. Mets kicked a**. Kids played musical chairs for 7 some odd innings. RISSA aka Mrs. Wright made googly eyes at a certain player and charted his every move. Dogs were downed. Drinks were drunk. Fun was had by all.






NINE people now in the mini van for Part II of the 'FEST.




Back in Bayside. Pizza (and more pizza, and still more pizza, and yet MORE PIZZA thanks Scoot!) and the WRIGHTCastles. Yummy. Some hula hooping. Lotsa laughs.






More Bananagrams! Song writing, complete with envelopes addressed to "RADIO STATION" (Cee's idea!) and videos with the kids. A rather dramatic end to the evening, but it all turned out okay. I think. Early to bed as we were all beat.



Sunday morning was lazy by comparsion. Scoot and RISSA got ready to fly back to Texas. Rest of us deflated beds, folded sheets, packed up clothes, etc. etc. etc. Then, just as quickly as it began - it ended. Much too soon.



Now, about those SLACKERS who did not slumber at METSLUMBERFEST - here they are, in no particular order. Feel free to deride them. Loudly. And often.



JP

Mike

Jeanine

UJ

Joseph



Thanks for a great weekend, all! A special thanks to AMA for doing what she does best, opening up her home and making everyone else feel as if it is their home too.



Till next time.....

Jill

Mary Mary, quite contrary....

how does your garden grow?


Well if you live in the West End of Long Beach, on a 30x60 piece of property, it grows in pots. Or "containers", as the gardening guides call them. The gals and I started our "container garden" early this year after having to wait till almost September for tomatoes last year. We were the first ones on the block (me. first. write down the date for posterity's sake people, it doesn't happen often!) to have our spring planting done. After an iffy beginning and two rounds of dead basil, things seem to be taking root.


This is the second year Nat and Cee have participated in the planting. They did surprisingly well their first time out last year; how in the world the seeds they "planted" managed to grow I have no idea. If you saw the pots (2 inches of dirt in some, others overflowing, etc. etc.) you would understand what I mean. So this year, I gave them a little more rope (and upgraded supplies) and they went to town. So much so, that I had to go and buy bigger pots, er containers, and more dirt to transplant the lima beans, brussel sprouts, carrots, and the "mystery pot". Along with the cukes, tomatoes, eggplant, zuchinni, and strawberries that I planted, and the few seed packets the girls have left (pumpkins! THAT should be interesting!) we should have a plentiful harvest this year. As well as a lot of fun tending to our garden. Together.




I'll take some pictures of my little gardeners this weekend when we are out watering our crop! That's it for now.....................





Jill

New Look, Same Drivel......

Welcome back!



Some of you may notice a few subtle changes to this blog. Some of you may not. Some of you, may have visited another blog over the past day or two, and thought you were on this blog, right down to the counter style. Which is what necessitated said subtle changes......



First free speech, then independent thoughts and ideas - the repercussions of censorship seem to have precipitated a dangerous downward spiral. Will the next card to fall, be the one that tumbles the entire house?



GOD BLESS THE FIRST AMENDMENT!

Jill

PS - METSLUMBERFEST was kicka**. RISSA was in da house! Peeps went BANANAS, peeling and splitting all over da place! WRIGHTCASTLE dropped by for a late night shi-vizzle! More on all dat good stuff later!

1984 or 2008 - You Decide!

Who among us (especially the kolij folk) has not read the George Orwell classic, 1984?

"Big Brother Is Watching You". "Thought Police". "Newspeak".



One of the most dreaded words in the arsenal of Newspeak was the most heinous offense according to the Party – that of “thoughtcrime” which was sure to be punished by the Thought police. Thoughtcrime can be loosely defined, as free thinking.....



As our family "welcomes" its first censored blog, I thought it appropriate during this election year to post a poll to find out what YOU all think of censorship. You can voice your opinion (NEVER CENSORED!) via the poll on the right side of the page.

Enjoy!


Jill

Much ado about nothing aka The Great Debate

Despite my promises to "try and lead a more interesting life" (well, SLUMBERMETSFEST should prove to be exciting at least!) and my hopes that Jon-Paul would be weighing in with some posts, the responsibility for blog info and upkeep appears to have fallen into my lap. At least, for now.


So, my world these past few weeks has been revolving around the kids. What elementary school are we going to send them to? Can we afford to send them to summer camp? Which summer camp? And of course, the always popular discipline debate between Jon-Paul and myself.


Jon-Paul is a great believer in the "because I said so, THAT's why" method of discipline. He says jump, the kids should ask how high, etc. etc. etc. Not to say that he never cuts them any slack because he does. However, I feel that a 5yr old child cannot and should not be expected to snap immediately to attention every time his/her parent doles out an order.


Nor am I a big believer in yelling at the kids. JP will say that is an outright lie, that I yell at them "just as much as he does" (does that make it right???) but overall I think that I am the parent more likely to try another tactic before resorting to yelling. My reasoning for this, is simple: our children learn much more from our actions, then they do from our words. If they see us resort to yelling when we are frustrated or angry, they will then perceive this as the "correct" method to deal with those emotions. Same principle behind why we rarely (and by rarely I mean I can count on one hand the number of times it has happened) spank the girls. I for one, NEVER thought that I would be against a good spanking. Before I had children, I would see other mothers with their tantruming brood in tow and think, "now there're some kids who deserve a good smack on the butt!" But a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum...I remember an incident when the girls were probably around age 2, and one of them was angry at the other and smacked her on the hand. Because up till that very point I had not been above doling out a little hand smack when I deemed it necessary. And it was like a lightbulb went on over my head, literally: of course they are going to react that way when they are angry, because that is the way they see ME react. And if I yell at THEM when I am frustrated, they are going to yell at ME and at OTHERS. And so on, and so on, and so on.....


So therein lies the heart of The Great Debate. To yell, or not to yell? Also, to "discuss loudly" (read: argue) about such things in front of the children? (Note, my vote on that is a resounding NO). It came to (another) head yesterday when Nat was supposed to be brushing her teeth. JP turned the water on, she turned it off. A few times, apparently, I cannot say for sure as I was in my bedroom with Cee at the time so I did not witness the series of events that led up to JP blowing his top and Natalie ending up in tears. Well, almost in tears, she was doing her best to hold them in for fear of further reprisals. However, when she came back into the bedroom and saw me she climbed up in my lap and the dam burst. I will not go into all of the details except to say JP "discussed" our ongoing differences of opinion all the way thru breakfast despite my preference not to do that.


Is there really a right or wrong in this issue? Other than the "dicussing" in front of the kids part, which in calmer times JP will agree with me is not a good idea for anyone involved... Who is to say, that my way is better than his way? Who is to say, that yelling at them will not end up in them learning to listen? The best I can do is try to set a good example, for my husband as well as my children, and hope that I am doing the right thing.



That's it for now. Am SO looking forward to a weekend of shenanigans over at AMA's!!!! SLUMBERMETSFEST HERE WE COME!!



Jill

And the beat goes on....

Warning, more about nothing contained....

So we all pile into the car today, to do some running around, and Ceci spots the CD case and asks me to put some music on. Jon-Paul, meanwhile, had already put an Allman Bros. CD in the player and tells her "I just put a CD in Cee". So she pauses for a few seconds, but then asks again "Mommy, can you put one from that case on?" Jon-Paul tells her that the CD he put on IS from "that case". Another pause. Then, "But Mommy, I want to hear some real music!" Note, "real" music to my daughters, is something we can dance to. As in the disco genre.

I LOVE these gals!!!

That's it for now, will try to lead a more interesting life tomorrow

Jill