friday photos

After several nights of staying up way too late, I have finished reading Harry Potter, all seven books in a row, from beginning to end. Lots of crying, of course, but overall very satisfying. Now that that's over, I can return to the real world and start blogging again.

Last Friday, before I got into full-swing Potter-mania, I met up with my friend Jessica and her family in Ithaca for the day. James got to play all day with his old friend K (Jessica's 7-yea-old daughter) and we all got to do some sight-seeing and relaxing. We had a lot of fun. It was so good to see you, Jessica!

We went to Taughannock Falls to hike and play:


One of few recent photos of myself that I've liked -- it helps that the world's cutest toddler is perched on my shoulders, of course:

Jessica's family, my boys and me at the falls:


And Evan, who won't actually get into a pool, but feels that he needs goggles to look into the water from a distance:

And now that Harry is through, I have to get serious about packing, so I'm not sure how soon or often I'll be back to the blog in the next couple of weeks.

Read More...

Summary only...

i have not been posting lately because

We have found an apartment (another townhouse, actually, almost identical to the place we're in now, except that the new place has a DISHWASHER!) and we are moving over the first weekend in August. So I'm beginning to pack, pack, pack, putting away all of the things we can live without for two more weeks. It's strange: the walls are nearly bare now, and surfaces cleared of decoration. Yet the rest of the house is messier than ever, and that's saying something.

The other major thing that will keep me from posting for the next week or so is the upcoming release of the last Harry Potter book. Yup, Harry Potter. We are, like all good fans, having our copy delivered on Saturday, and I will read it as soon as I finish re-reading the first six books in preparation. I should probably go see the new movie, too, if I really want to call myself a fan.

So there it is: moving, and Harry Potter, two things important enough to keep me away from the computer for the near future.

Read More...

Summary only...

i can't believe i forgot to mention this

In all of the 4th of July fun and post-holiday travel, I totally forgot to report back on a matter of utmost importance: James' tooth!

That's right, my darling first-born has lost his first tooth. Did you remember he had a loose tooth? It only took like a month to fall out so I wouldn't be surprised if you'd forgotten. I forgot about it sometimes during that month.

But last Tuesday, as he was eating goldfish, out it came. And I did promise you gaping-tooth-hole photos, didn't I? Well, I won't disappoint you:

We're not doing the tooth fairy -- no, James is keeping his little lost tooth in his mini treasure chest.

And already, the tooth next to it is loose. I'll let you know in a month or so how that turns out.

Read More...

Summary only...

another way in which he takes after his father

Those of you who know James know that he is a mini-Greg. I'm pretty sure the only things he inherited from me are a love of reading, excessive sweating while sleeping, and a propensity for whining and melodrama. So it really shouldn't surprise me, at this point, when another Greg-like quality emerges. But it's still a little disappointing sometimes.

James has finally, within the last year or two, started liking adult music. We've played him bands like Weezer, Franz Ferdinand, Flogging Molly, They Might Be Giants, the Pet Shop Boys, and the Beatles, all of which he's liked. So on Saturday, as we're driving from my mom's to meet Greg and some friends at the lake, I decided to put on a mixed tape that my sister made for me, oh, about 10 years ago. I couldn't really remember what was on it, but I remembered that I used to like it pretty well.

One thing you should know about me is that I don't claim to have good taste in music. I know what is good, and I like to listen to good music, but I also listen to a lot of crappy music. I know that it's terrible, horrible music, but I like it. Terrible music is often the best stuff to sing along to.

So the first song to come on when I put on the mystery tape was a John Denver song! I was psyched; I started singing along. "Country roooooaaaads, take me hooooome..."

"Mom," James whined, "I don't like this song."

"It'll be over soon," I replied, and went back to my singing.

James continued to whine for the duration of the song. Okay, so he's not a John Denver fan. I can't fault him for that.

The next song to come on was one I really love to sing along to, so I turned it up a little. I mean, who doesn't love Air Supply? "Makin' looo-oooove outta nothing a-at all -- Makin' love! Outta nothing at all! Makin' love!"

Well, you would have thought I'd invented some kind of new, particularly evil torture method and inflicted it on my son. James started crying: "Turn it off, Mom! Turn it off!" He covered his ears with his hands, and tried to curl into a fetal position, as much as the seat belt would allow, anyway. For the whole duration of the song (which, being the sadistic parent I am, did not turn off), James continued whining, crying, pleading, begging me to TURN IT OFF I HATE THIS SONG.

I just sat there thinking, Your father would be so proud of you.

When we got to the lake and I told Greg the story, he nearly wept with pride. Well, no, but he laughed, a lot, and said, "Yeah, James! Good boy!"

It is becoming more and more clear as the years go by that these boys will always join forces to outvote me. Ah, well, Evan's still young; maybe he'll be interested in Air Supply. But, knowing him, I'm not holding my breath.

Read More...

Summary only...

friday tuesday photos

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog-reading to bring you a special Tuesday photo post! Photos are on Tuesday this week because 1) I missed Friday photos last week and 2) I'll probably miss them again this week since I'll be out of town.

I managed to cross two more items off my 101 Things list (I still haven't decided on the last two things, by the way, but thank you all for your suggestions): 1) I hand-picked strawberries, made them into jam, and canned a dozen jars of jam, and it's the most delicious jam I've ever tasted, and no, I'm not biased at all. Yes, I am aware that you can buy jam in the store, and yes, I'm aware of what century we're in. I think we all know by now that if a complete stranger were to judge me based solely on my hobbies, they would conclude that I'm at least 70 years old. I know. But making jam is fun! And really, really delicious.

Anyway, moving on. The second item I crossed off my list this weekend was a visit to Chimney Bluffs State Park, and that, my friends, is what you will now see photos of.

The park is named for the crazy bluffs overlooking the lake:

There is a lovely beach hike below the bluffs, where Evan happily threw rocks into the water:

And where James happily posed for photos:

And where James also spent a lot of time climbing on things:

It was a really pretty hike, and a really beautiful day:


I'll be heading over to central NY to visit with my mom and sister and niece for a few days. Not that I ever blog that regularly, but don't expect anything for a while.

Oh! And while I'm on the subject of photos -- Yahoo is shutting down their photo site, so I've transfered all of my photos to Google. I've even uploaded recent photos (there are actually some that don't make it onto the blog) so check it out.

Read More...

Summary only...