Adventures in NON-babysitting

Writing another Mama Kat's Writers Workshop
I chose:
5.) A memorable babysitting job.

Because I couldn't choose #3, even though I wanted to...I just can't chance it.

I was an awful babysitter. It wasn't that I lacked the desire to babysit, I always wanted my own babysitters club. I would have friends named Claudia, Mallory and Stacey and we'd run a lucrative babysitting business in Connecticut. I just didn't want to actually have to watch kids. Which leads me to my most memorable babysitting story...

My sister worked at McDonalds in high school, her manager was looking for a babysitter. She recommended her younger sister, (me, then 12) as a perfect fit. It was set up that I would watch his 2 kids after school, on weekdays for about 2-3 hours. A nice job, I earned money, and I was cool with that.

I showed up for the first few days of babysitting...and I.was.bored. The kids were annoying, they watched boring cartoons, and I had no interest in spending my afternoons with them. So I slept. What did it hurt? They were watching TV anyway. Well...it didn't turn out to hurt anyone, but myself. Because there was that one day their dad got home early from work(or maybe it was on time), and there I was still asleep on their couch while the kids watched TV.

Needless to say he drove me home that night, and he never picked me up to watch them. EVER. AGAIN! Who can blame him!? I think if I came home to find a babysitter asleep on the kids with my toddler aged kids running around, I would go berserk. I am lucky he was a mellow guy, I am lucky he drove me home.

Ever Wonder What a Bitch Looks Like?

Or two bitches for that matter?

bitches (noun)\ˈbich-es\: Usually two women running away with their jogging strollers without offering to help after your angelic son has flipped over the double-stroller containing your 8 month old baby girl.

Where I live....

This post is brought to you by Mama Kat's Writers Workshop...because I am always sucker for a good prompt.

The prompt I chose this week was:

Show us where you live. Not on a map (security please), but take a picture of the view out your front door, back door, or neighborhood.

Instead of showing my neighborhood, (not much of a neighborhood, and I showed a photo of my house in a previous post) I thought I'd show you all the region where I live. I am in LOVE with this region!! It's an absolute dream here, and I wouldn't live anywhere else in the world! I feel pretty strongly about where I live...so let me share with you: its the land of waterfalls, lakes, and wine. It's history is rich, and scenery divine. The nearest metropolitan area is 2 hours away. In fact, we still have farm stands where the honor system is king. Surprisingly, it's still a hidden gem, because if you ask many people if they've heard of where I live they'll tell you "no." I hope you enjoy these photos...and if you're ever interested in visiting where I live let me know...I know some good tour guides (shameless plug) :)

I love where I live because in the Winter it looks like Narnia

I love where I live because we have beautiful waters


I love where I live because there is WINE...LOTS OF WINE, made right here from grapes off these vines

I love where I live, because this was my view on my birthday

I love where I live because we have hundreds of waterfalls, and I still haven't seen them all

I love where I live because natures beauty is literally 2 minutes or less from my house

I love where I live because I can teach my children how to observe and love all of God's creation

I love where I live...did I mention the wine!? OH YEA!! THE WINE!

I love where I live because the ones I love live here

Who Else...??

Is gonna be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween?? None other than my 2 year old. Big shocker, because it's not like there will be 100 other Buzz Lightyear's out there. But at least mine will be rockin' the zebra print glasses...

Comment Sensitivity

I started this blog to mostly take part in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshops...I was always a reader of Mama Kat's, and I wasn't able to participate due to the family blog being private. It's kind of ironic that the family blog is private, and yet none of my family knows about this blog.



At any rate, one of the prompts from MKWW instructed us to write about a journal entry from an old journal. I got a few comments on the post, as I usually do for MKWW, however I don't think that my feelings were correctly interpreted in the post.

Here is the post:

really really! no really!


When I was thirteen I lived with my Dad. My parents were still “married” but my mom was living in another state attending law school. At thirteen, I thought it was just that, it never entered my mind that my parents were actually separated and didn’t tell me. So my mother wouldn’t lose touch with me, she bought us both journals. We traded journals whenever we saw each other, about once a month. We both wrote in our journals every night before bed. Once we traded journals we could go back and read what the other person had been writing. It’s strange thinking back on that time in my life. My mom was only 2 years older than I am now. At 30 I know the truth and the circumstances behind my parents divorce, and it gives me a whole new perspective. At any rate, I don’t know what ever became of those journals, maybe my mom still has them, or maybe I threw them out. If I were to open one of those journals today I think the entry would read something like this:


Sometime in 1992…
Hi Mom,
I wish that you didn’t have to go back to law school this week. I really really really miss you! It was really nice having you here this weekend. I know you said it would only be three years, but I just can’t wait for it to be over! I really don’t like my math teacher, he is so boring, it’s even worse that he’s my homeroom teacher too. I really think that I wouldn’t mind living with you, I think it could be fun trying a new school, but I guess I understand why I have to live here. I really can’t wait to see you again, only 26 more days until you visit again. Well that’s all for tonight, I am tired I guess, I’ll write more tomorrow. Marbles says “meow”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo, ME


I think the hardest part in reading the comments was that the main consensus was: "wow, how great that your mother found a way for you two to keep in touch." When in reality I was actually really hurt by the fact that at the age of 10 my mother moved away and shirked all of her parenting responsibilities off on my father. For me it was a hard time in my life...going through puberty with a father who was very hands off, and me trying everything I could to get my mother to accept me. In the end, I never really understood what my mother was going through and dealing with in her own troubled mind, I probably never will. I guess my point in revisiting this post is that I wanted to clarify my feelings about it all. In future blogposts I hope I can express myself better so readers know where I am coming from.



This is the Second Post in the SITS "get back to blogging and jump start your blog" challenge that is happening all week long. To sweeten the deal, the event is sponsored by Standards of Excellence, Westar, and Florida Builder Appliances, and someone may even get to take Thelma and Louise(a washer and dryer--not the movie) home with them!

First Posts

The purpose of this post is to bring you the first blog post I EVER wrote...well that would be from a blog wrote about 7 years ago, and subsequently deleted, and so I bring you my first blog post from my family blog(which is a private blog, so this should be considered quite a treat).



The family blog I keep is essentially a baby book and chronicle of my children's lives. I chose not to post the first blog from 'Bite of the Day', because well...its easy to find...just click the blog archive to your right or this link: FIRST POST (ironically they both have similar subject matter)



And now I bring to you....my first post:

2/19/2008

After some urging....26 weeks-14 to go!




Well to be honest, it didn't take a lot of urging. Just one email suggestion from a friend and I decided a blog could be fun...we'll see how it goes.


As you can see I've posted baby's first photo, this was around 7 weeks...I wonder who baby resembles? This was taken about two weeks after we found out we'd be expecting.


Tonight I told my wonderful fiance we've reached the 26 week mark, only 14 more to go, 98 days! Then we got to talking about the day we found out. He remembers coming home from work and sitting at his desk. He remembers me sitting at the table next to him and blurting out "I'm pregnant" "What?" he responded...So I repeated "I'm pregnant." He then asked me "are you sure?"

"Well, I took a test and it came out positive" And for the past several months since we found out, it's been an amazing experience!


I look back and read that post and think: "gosh, it was so basic, so blah!" I could have added more to the story, I could have given it a little punch, some pizazz! Ugh, I hope I've come a long way since then...either way I hope to write more on this blog as it's the one that has been suffering.

This First Post post came to you because to the ladies at SITS are having a "get back to blogging and jump start your blog" challenge all week long. To sweeten the deal, the event is sponsored by Standards of Excellence, Westar, and Florida Builder Appliances, and someone may even get to take Thelma and Louise(a washer and dryer--not the movie) home with them!

What My Single Friends Don't Understand

I don't have many single friends or childless friends. The one that comes to mind is getting married in two weeks so she won't be single for long...and hopefully she'll have babies very soon too!! Besides all that, she understands more than most single friends, and she definitely understands more than my husbands single male friends!! This list incorporates more of his friends than mine!

What Childless Friends Don't Understand:

-That I am really not sorry that my son broke your dye cast model whatever...he thought it was a toy...oh wait, because it IS A TOY!

-That I need multiple toys or distractions for my 2 year old and 6 month old if we go out to dinner...that's why I tried to encourage a BBQ in the comfort of my own home.

-That I really didn't want to go to your wedding with my kids. Because it ended up with me running around after the 2 year old the entire time, and me trying to apologize for him stealing the grooms cake off his plate.

-That going off into the woods to poke smot at your pig roast is NOT on my to do list...unless you want to change the 6 month olds diaper, and then the 2 year old...because all this fresh air is making.them.poop.

-That no, babies aren't born potty trained.

-That I would love to just pick up and leave this godforsaken part of the country every winter and drive to California in my vintage car, and then to Key West(like you). But I can't. I. HAVE. KIDS!

-That saying "AAAAH BAAAA!" to a two year old isn't necessary...he can talk now. USE YOUR WORDS!


This has been a part of Mama Kat's Writers Workshop...head on over, read other entries and write your own!

Childhood Fears

So I haven't participated in Mama Kat's writers workshop in FOREVER!!! It's summer in upstate NY, and that means that we're BUSY!! Also, it's been a task juggling the two little ones, and finding time to blog isn't top on my list. However, with summer ending and Fall just around the corner I'd like to start blogging again...when I can!

So here goes:

Childhood fears I've brought to my adult life...thankfully it's plural...because there are a few!

-I'm afraid of the ball...don't ever pick me to be on your volleyball team, because ever since I played volleyball for the first time at age 9...I've been afraid of the ball. I am the person who shirks away from the ball as it's flying toward my head and lets it land on the ground. You've all seen "Meet the Parents" right? Well that's me, I'd rather NOT get the bloody nose, so ya...don't pick me.

-Carousel Horses: I HATE THEM! They have got to be the freakiest part of the carnival/fair...well maybe not compared to the scary guys with abnormally large hands, who work the midway, but a close second. I mean, come on!! Have you looked at them? HAVE YOU? They are totally writhing in pain with a pole stuck in their backs, going in circles in a room full of mirrors and the creepiest music I've ever heard. NOPE, not a fan of Carousel Horses.

-Dams, and swimming in the lakes attached to them. I know it's probably unrealistic...but in my mind if I swim in a lake with a dam, I am bound to end up in one of the intake tanks and die. I'd just rather not, thank you very much.

That about sums that one up...Happy Thursday...and Happy Writing!

Photo Link Up

Well I know it's been forever since I posted, but I couldn't help link up to Mama Kat. My favorite photo of this week was when Baby A got her first taste of solids

Famous People

Another installment for Writers Workshop

I have had my share of run-ins with celebrities…what can I say? I am cool like that. Actually, I used to work at a private air terminal in southern California, and famous people frequent those. I had encounters with Jim Carrey, Oprah and her dogs, Mr. October aka Reggie Jackson, and I even helped Mark Maguire make a bottle for his baby. My most frequent interaction would have been with Harrison Ford. He flies his own small aircraft, and he was in and out a lot. There are two times that stick out in my mind…the time I harassed him, and the time his credit card declined.

The time I harassed him, he didn’t take it as well as I had hoped. I was just being funny sarcastic me…and well...he didn’t “get it.” Where I worked we offered pilots the use of a courtesy vehicle to make quick trips if they weren’t staying long. Harrison Ford made regular use of these vehicles. One time when he was going to fly out, he was in a hurry and he forgot to return the car keys to me. I ran after him calling his name “INDY, INDY!!! You forgot to leave the keys!!!” He didn’t stop. So I was all “HAN, the keys!!!” he kept going…I finally called out “HARRY, please don’t take my keys!” He finally stopped and I got the keys back. The next time he came through the terminal and asked to borrow the courtesy car, I told him, “sure, no problem, as long as you don’t take the keys with you” *wink-wink* He didn’t laugh, he didn’t even smile, instead he gave me the evil eye. I wanted to curl up in a ball, I got the evil eye from Indiana Jones. Not the highlight of my career.

The second encounter I had with Harrison was probably about a year later. He had purchased some fuel from us for his small aircraft. He came inside to leave a credit card number, and then he flew away. I ran the card later that afternoon and it declined. WHAT? That can’t be right I thought. So I ran it again-DECLINED-the machine blinked at me. What now? Well, lucky for me Harrison left his phone number for us when he borrowed the courtesy car. So now I had the privilege of calling him and telling him his card declined, yay. I dialed the number expecting to hear his voice, instead I got some woman. “uh, er….I think I got the wrong number” I said. The woman answered “We’re an answering service for this number, you can tell me what you’re calling about and I will relay a message to the numbers owner” Well of course she is! Harrison Ford wouldn’t leave me his real number, duuuuh! It’s like he knew I would stalk him or something, weird. So I left my message, and two days later I got a call from a representative of Mr. Ford’s who gave me a credit card that was accepted.

Harrison kept coming in, despite the colorful girl behind the counter. I was even there when he introduced his mother to Calista Flockhart. It was interesting working in a place where you see famous people everyday. After awhile they just don’t seem famous anymore, and they’re everyday people like you and me…getting their credit cards declined and forgetting to return keys.