Time flies when you are having fun

I still can't find my camera (did I tell you it went missing?). I think it might be in the bag Billy got from his "Breakfast with thePats". It was filled with goodies like a Dunkin Donuts gift card, a hat, a few pictures and a magnetic schedule. He had a blast and was actually in our local newspaper!

When I dig out the camera I'll have a picture filled post for you!

Until then............

Totally random on Tuesday

As some of you may know I love Mondays. I also love Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I'm not so much in love with the weekends. Call me crazy but when everyone is home, it's chaotic, stressful and for me, overwhelming. So, on Tuesdays it's calm and quiet here. We've (me and Abby) settled into the week and have gotten back to our routine.

Here is a list of random things floating around in this old brain this week.

1. I live on the same street as the Middle school. It's very very busy (ha ha ha, I just typed "busty" by accident....oooops, it's not really all that busty around here!) in the morning and afternoon with parents dropping their children off at school and the picking them up (throw in a little construction work on the surrounding side streets). I will also mention that the high school is on the next street over and one of the elementary schools is behind the middle school. So, yes, very busy indeed. I am a little aggravated in the mornings. Not because of the traffic, I find the noise and hustle and bustle kind of comforting (I am totally nuts, I know). Tommy is only 9 years old. He's old enough to look both ways and cross the street, at a "not so busy" time of day. In the morning, at precisely 7:20 A.M. I walk him to the sidewalk to help him cross. And NO ONE stops! They all whizz by us like we aren't even there! I am the 3rd house on the right and by the time the cars reach my house they are going at least 30 mph. Might not seem that fast until you are trying to cross the street (not to mention the children walking down the street to school). Yesterday the traffic stopped on one side to let us cross. The cars coming in the opposite direction, who clearly could see we were trying to cross and the other people were letting us go, DID NOT STOP! Five cars went by before anyone stopped. A friend mentioned that she was glad she didn't live over here, you know, having to deal with all the high school kids driving to school (you know how that can be). But to be honest with you, it's not the high school kids who are being careless and rude, it's the PARENTS! The high school kids all come down here around 6:30 A.M., they are in class by the time I'm crossing Tommy. So frustrating.
2. I am a little jealous this morning (and when Melissa hears this she is going to be jealous too!). My husband, Bill (a.k.a. Coach) is having breakfast with the New England Patriots this morning!!! BREAKFAST WITH THE PATS!!!! He was nominated by his players and some of the parents and he won. He invited me to go along, but you know he wanted to take his assistant coach. It was really for them anyway, so I declined (even though I really wanted to go. Could you imagine? Seeing Tom Brady? Tedy Bruschi? I probably would have embarrassed myself anyway, peeing my pants or drooling). He brought my camera and if he can figure out how to use it, there may be pictures to share (the friggin' Pats, man o man).
3. The planets are aligned, the moon is in a zone, karma is on my side.............Jamie has done the dishes 3 days in a row.......without being asked..........
4. Benedryl is evil in a bottle. So much for making you drowsy. I gave Abby a dose yesterday because she has a runny nose and a tickle in her throat (or "throaf" as she would say). Um, read the fine print because at the very end of side effects, after the whole, "may cause drowsiness" it states, "may cause excitability" in some kids. Yeah, excitability isn't the word for it. About 15 minutes after the dose she was doing headstands on the couch. Then she was sliding across the kitchen floor and then she was doing jumping jacks and gymnastics in the living room. This went on for a few hours. We eventually brought her into the backyard but it was not big enough to contain her. Billy had to bring her to the park until it wore off. I am not ashamed to admit I threw it away. I threw $5.99 in the trash and didn't look back.
5. I hate it when I make a cup of coffee (the instant kind) and then forget about it on the counter until it's cold. Normally this wouldn't be a problem. I could just reheat it in the microwave. But, my microwave died.......
6. I found a new blog that I like to read. Crystal is so funny! Check it out here.
7. I bought some new yarn that delights me. It's Lorna's Laces, Seaside . I bought it on Ebay, from Yarnbow . She has the fastest shipping ever. I ordered it on a Thurs. I paid right away through PayPal and I received it on Monday! And the yarn is awesome too, plus she has a huge selection. If you are in the market for some yarn, check her out, you will definitely be pleased.

Tomorrow (or when I get around to it) I'll post some pictures of my honey and the Pats!

My brother and his children

A very nice picture of my brother, nieces and nephew. Aren't they a great looking group?

Haircut

My niece Breanne has been growing her hair long for a while now. First a little background on Breanne and then the reason she was growing it long.

Breanne is one of those kids. You know the ones, the really thoughtful and sensitive ones. She notices things that other children her age don't (she is 6 years old) and she has a strong sense of empathy. She cries when she sees injustices and feels sad when she sees others hurting. She picks up on other peoples feelings and truly empathizes with people. She has an old soul.

So one day she pipes up with wanting to donate her hair to Locks for Love. She had heard about it and really wanted to do it. She talked about it often and was really excited about donating. She never wavered, so very confident in her decision. It definitely wasn't a passing fancy or something she wanted to do because everyone else was. This was her own choosing. My sister and brother-in-law swelled with pride, their big girl has a heart of gold. We sure could use more people in this world like my niece Breanne, a truly kind, loving and caring girl!

Brenda took her to the hair dresser where they measured and cut her hair! They also packaged the hair and sent it off. We are so very proud of Breanne. Below are some pictures. *warning: be prepared, your heart is going to melt from all the cuteness!!

Sunny

This weekend we went to visit my uncle and his family. My cousin Cheryl has a cockatiel named Sunny. Abby loves all animals. When we went to the Southwick Zoo she went right into the petting zoo and sat down (on the ground) with the goats. She was loving them, kissing them and just seemed to be at ease with them.

So anyway, Cheryl took Sunny out of his cage and let the kids hold him. Abby was first and she was so darn cute and funny (me and Brenda almost peed our pants laughing). I never remember to bring my camera to these get togethers, thank goodness my sister doesn't leave home without it (she is more apt to forget one of her kids than her camera).

Is she not the cutest? She really does love animals. Before we went to the BBQ I stopped at my mom's house. As Abby was coming down the stairs she heard the neighbor's dog bark. Tommy jumped, he's afraid of dogs. But Abby squeals and says, "Oh I love dogs and, um......sea turtles." She says the funniest things sometimes.