It's A Bit Chili Out There! - good thing we had a gift card!

Times have been tough lately, and we had just finished stretching a few dollars on some grocery items. And I do mean stretching. A few things that could be combined with a few staples already in the pantry, to create several evening meals for a family of five.

So how did we end up with a veritable smorgasbord of delicacies from Chili's restaurant for dinner tonight? With one simple ingredient: a leftover balance on an old gift card.

Months ago, during Employee Appreciation Week, Hubsy had received two Chili's gift cards from management. We saved them for a few months to be able to treat ourselves to an anniversary dinner. We used one whole card, and a teensy bit of the other.

Now lately, as you know, we've had it kinda rough. Although my Darling Hubsy wrestled with his intestinal symptoms, we were actually able to wrangle some good news out of this day, and wanted to celebrate. (The GI Specialist agreed to do Hubsy's Colonoscopy, even though we couldn't afford the $800 fee, up front, that he was originally asking.

Taking the gift card, that held a balance of $43.10... we ordered 2 of Chili's "Two for Twenty" meal deals. Each meal comes with an appetizer plate, and two entrees, with sides. We ordered online and picked it up an hour later. Of course, with tax, there was a tiny overage.  Are you ready for this?

The Appetizers:

• Fried Cheese Sticks
• Spiced Panko Onion Rings

The Meals:

• Half Rack of BBQ Ribs
• Crispy Chicken Crispers (chicken strips)
• Bacon Ranch Chicken Quesadillas
• Chicken and Pork Carnitas Fajitas

The Sides:

• Loaded Mashed Potatoes 
• Homestyle Fries
• Flavored Rice

We brought it home and spread it all out on the kitchen counters, and all five of us lined up for the buffet that costs us a total of FIVE DOLLARS out of pocket!

God Bless Us... Everyone!

Nope, No Teenage Dramatics Here.

Anyone with a teenager has probably developed a discerning taste for dramatic sagas.  Not just any, old run of the mill, poorly planned drama will do.  It needs to be a really good one to get your attention anymore, but the simple ones have now become some of the best comedy performances you could get for free.

Like this one: "I am NOT being dramatic", (as she stomps up the stairs), "STOP saying that I'm being dramatic!", (as she slams her bedroom door).

Or the one that played out last night.

Punkin was quite perturbed that we had limited her computer use to FOUR hours. That's THREE hours more than her average day, due to her punishments, (Merry Christmas, Punkin!).  She decided to express her unhappiness by putting away the leftovers from Christmas dinner, and cleaning the two tables, and vacuuming the spillage off of the living and dining room carpets.

Hey, wait a minute, I like this temper tantrum!

Okay, so she did the chores angrily. I'll give her that.  But it was the events that transpired just a little later in the evening that had me cracking up... internally, mind you... you can't let them see you laugh, or it ruins the whole point, and then the fireworks WILL fly.

Once the cleanup was complete, we all began to settle in for the family movie.  Of course, our little rebel announced (angrily) that she had no interest in the family movie, and that she would be in her room.  

Okay, fine, but she never made it out of the kitchen.

The previews began to play... she moved like a mist into the dining room and flopped into a chair. But her earphones were on and the volume turned up, as an indication that she still was not interested in spending time with us. I can't pinpoint the exact moment, but I knew that at some point, the mp3 player was turned off... but we weren't supposed to know that.

"What movie are you guys going to watch?" she asked.

"Does it matter?" I responded.

"Maybe." she replied.

"Insidious II" I answered.  (I know, it's not the typical family style movie, especially on Christmas Day, but it's our style.

Inch by inch she made her way to her final destination, the overstuffed recliner in the living room, and we all had a lovely time.  She had forgotten about having to disconnect from her boyfriend's Skype call, and all about being angry with us.  And she thinks I've forgotten all about the temper tantrum, and how it was, first very helpful, and then very funny... keeping Mom in a nifty mood, even though Mom was exhausted at the end of the Christmas Hurricane.

The Charm of the Farm

Trouble had been brewing for weeks... months, maybe years, depending on how you look at it.  But for at least the seven days prior to this one, the powers of the Universe had injected enough hardship and trouble into the main arteries of our life, to cause a serious blockage. 

Hubsy had chosen the wrong week to quit his anxiety medication and try to go it alone.  He was overly stressed at work, and then subdued and depressed at home.  It was the week we had discovered that Punkin had been cutting math class ... all week, and then was late for after school curfew.  The two of them weren't just standing on the edge, they were wrestling on the edge.  It was a grudge match, and the loser just might be forced to find shelter elsewhere.  So, of course, as the fearless leader of this spasmodic side show, I decided to take on the world, and try to save every body from themselves.  Luckily, the Universe heard my sobs of distress, and blessed us all with one perfect day.

We arrived at Betty's farm, along with Vegas and Malibu, at about four in the afternoon.  The first order of business for all was to grab a beer (or soda) and gather for a meet and greet on the screened porch.  Her kids met our kids.  Our kids met their dogs.  Their dogs incited a riot amongst themselves, and ran rampant throughout the house, and across our feet, legs, and laps.  The weather was remarkably Springy for a mid-January weekend, and it was wonderful to be outside in the warm sun again.  It helped to lighten our moods, and alleviate the pressure of the choices we were in the process of making.   

Before long, we had all mosied out to the barn to visit with the horses.  I have this thing about horses;  I love them to death, and I'm scared to death of them.  Not my family, though.  Punkin, Princess, and Hubsy all stood casually by the rail fence and allowed the animals to nose through their hair, and nuzzle their necks.  I hung just a little further back, but in no way allowed my safe distance to diminish my elation.  When I felt more comfortable, I did get to pet them (As seen on TV!).  While hanging out by the barn, we also harassed the chickens that mistakenly made their way onto Betty's property some time ago, and decided to roost.

As the crowd cracked jokes, and shared amusing anecdotes, Betty's Hubs, and her twenty-something son tuned up the ATVs.  When the engines purred (or grumbled and growled), a line began to form for rides into the "outback" out back.  It had rained the day before, and so the wooded trails were a muddy mess, but still a blast to slide and splash along.  Those who rode with the tour guide under ten played a game of bob & weave with low hanging twigs and branches, that he had no issue with, and thus never thought to give warning!  Whoa!  But as the sun was setting, we managed to make it to the edge of the property, and through a distant neighbor's back field, to shout at his ass ... donkey, that is.  At one point, one of the machines broke down and had to be towed in for more tuning.  It was an omen for an incident to come.

After devouring some burgers and dogs from the backyard barbecue, back out we went for some night riding, a bonfire behind the barn, and another round of brew.  It was a surreal experience.  The horses came to the back fence to join our crew, and so we included them in our conversations, while the kids fed them soft peppermint treats.  My apprehension waned, and I thoroughly enjoyed their company.  The fire was fed with dead branches, construction debris, dried out holiday firs, and even a rotted out doghouse (that actually rolled out of the fire and chased us for several feet!).  Being two towns away from the city, well outside of the halo of light pollution, we were finally able to trace the constellations out of the masses of stars in the night sky.  Stars that I had forgotten had ever existed.  It was a glorious night for all... until the incident.  

The finicky four wheeler decided to conk out again, right after it had taken Vegas, Punkin, and Princess out into the silent darkness, along a desolate private road.  There they sat, struggling against their imaginations, and the images of wolves, bears, and crazed machete killeres, in hockey masks and overalls... until the rescue rider retrieved them.  And at that point, we said our goodbyes, and with much gratitude to our hostess, gracefully bowed out.

The day had been like a restful vacation in a peaceful green valley, that sat between the mountain that we had just fallen off of, and the mountain ahead that we are about to climb.  I am recharged and ready to tackle the high school home school preparation that awaits me.

I'm ready ... I'm ready ... I'm ready

 

Waiting On The Woman Who Runs The Show

Earlier this year, I found out that The Hubs and The Boy take bets on how long it will take me to get ready for a family outing.  Whether it's our week long vacation, a trip to the zoo, a hike in the woods, a picnic in the park, or a day at the beach.  They bet on how late I will be, past the projected departure time.

That's okay, I have a good defense.  I'm the Mom.  Not only do I have to prepare myself for the day, I have to prepare for the day itself.  While each member of the family only seems to think about themselves : washing, dressing, eating ..."Okay, let's go!".  I have to think about what the events of the day may require of us... all five of us.

First there's the morning routine:
1) Have Punkin and Princess taken their daily medications?
2) Are they dressed appropriately for the occasion?
3) Have they made their beds and straightened their room?
4) Have they eaten breakfast?

Then we pack (depending on our destination):
1)  The camera and some extra batteries.
2)  Sunblock for the before, and skin lotions for the after (when applicable).
3)  Insect repellent, hand sanitizer, and wet wipes.
4)  Bathing suits, towels, and a change of clothes.
5)  Electronics;  mp3 players, cellphones, handheld gaming devices, Kindles, and all associated chargers.
6)  Have I chosen a geocache or two to hit while we're out?  Print the map and clue sheet.
7)  Pain medications for the old folks, and allergy meds for whoever may be in need.
8)  The cooler, lunch, and snacks.
9)  Accessories; hats, sunglasses, purses.
10)  A short list of things to pick up on the way out; gas, ice, snacks, bottled water.
  
Before we even think about leaving, I must prepare the house:
1)  No dirty dishes left in the sink.  I certainly don't want to come home achy and tired from a full day of activity, to be confronted by kitchen duties.
2)  Take out the trash, (especially if we plan to be gone for more than a day).
3)  Be sure that the pets have ample food and water.
4)  Take the dog out for a good long 'relieving'.

Oh yeah... I forgot about myself.  Am I ready to go?
Be the sure that the kids have something to occupy themselves with in the car, and finally...
Does anybody have to use the bathroom?

So go ahead, Gentlemen, place your bets.  We may be a half hour behind schedule, but you're guaranteed to have a good time today, because The Mama was prepared.

Is it just me, or are your outings this hectic, too?    

The Real Life Friends & Family Plan

Friends and Family.  It's so nice when these two elements of your life can combine so beautifully, and create an experience that no phone company calling plan can compete with.  We invited our friends, Vegas and Malibu, and my Punkin invited her best friend, Bunny, to join our circus for a day out of town.

anybody got to go?

Although the day got off to a late start, we managed to make the drive to Wilmington interesting.  Hubsy and I led the way, while Vegas and Malibu played surrogate parents, and transported all of the kids!  Of course, Hubsy played his typical game of Musical Lanes, and passed the exit for the rest area, which Malibu had requested.  But that's okay, a few miles down the road, we managed to find him some "alternate facilities".

Our arrival at our first destination, my Aunt CC's house, erupted in a slurry of family photos.  My cousin, whom I hadn't seen in years, and her young boys had been visiting for a few days.  So our grandfather, who lives with our aunt, had the opportunity to have his picture taken with two of his grandchildren, and four of his greats.  When the flashes faded away, we scurried to load up some folding chairs and an umbrella, so that we could get on our way to Wrightsville Beach.

sirens of the sea

As many times as Vegas has walked on the beach, this was the first time in 20 years that she immersed herself in an ocean.  Like the girl with the itty bitty bikini, once she went into the water, she never came out.  Not because of her suit, but because she was fearless.  While the tide was out, a swimmer could make it past the breakers and through the swells, to reach a sandbar, where once again the water came just to thigh level, and one could play in an entirely new set of breakers.  Vegas, not caring about the very real possibility that could very well be "aquatic predators" at this depth, and in the area, swam back and forth between the shore and the sandbar many times over.  In fact, she was hoping that an encounter with an animal might give her a free pass from work on Monday.  The fear of sharks was a very real factor for me.  Usually, despite my apprehension, I do follow Hubsy out into the deep, but these conditions were different.  The sky was overcast, and the water was dark.  A distant storm miles off the coast, whose clouds were visible from the shore, was creating a steady stream of deep rolling swells, and high cresting waves.  Twice I made it halfway to the sandbar, but, let's just say... in honor of The Discovery Channel's Shark Week... I turned back.  The teens occasionally followed Vegas in her attempt to invade Great Britain by sea, while Princess stayed behind and played in the shallows with me.

Once in a while, you could find Hubsy, Malibu, and I taking a smoke break in the beach chairs by the blanket.  We chatted up a storm, and sipped from a few of the beer cans hidden in the bottom of the cooler amongst the colas.  (Sshhh, don't tell).  It turned out to be a rather nice day, considering that the predictors of weather anticipated a series of thunderstorms.  It was bright and sunny when we arrived, and gradually became more and more overcast.  A long slender ribbon of dark clouds took all afternoon to pass over, but waited until it they were off shore to gather and release their rain.  We never saw a drop, although the wind did pick up, and kick sand across the blanket ... oh and let's not forget (as Hubsy's won't let me), also blew the umbrella away.

Hubsy looking all serious

Malibu looking all Malibu

Dinner on the patio was practically waiting for us when we arrived back at Aunt's CC's.  Of course, Hubsy and I were late, after getting lost in the five miles between her house and the beach, and after changing into dry clothes, I was the last to the table, but the chicken and spinach enchiladas were still steaming hot.  The strawberry cake that followed was warm, and the vanilla ice cream that surrounded it was cold.

It was still daylight when we left, but just barely.  We still had a geocache to conquer before we hit the highway, and needed to try to get Bunny back at a decent hour.  By the way, it was she who actually found the cache!  Princess chose to stay with us for the ride home, and promptly crashed out during the drive.  The two teens wished they had stayed with us because, from what I heard, Vegas and Malibu acted a little too much like an old married couple.  You see, that's what happens when you spend a whole day with my children.

Malibu, Vegas, and Bunny

Sinking into bed around midnight, I felt refreshed and recharged, and right with the world, just like I do every time I spend the day on the edge of the ocean.  But this time was a little different. 

When your family feels more like your friends, and your friends have become a part of your family, it's not just a good day... it's a good life.

Otherwise Known As Camping

Every circus has a tent, or two.  We barely had one. But with a stocked cooler of water & beer, and a package of hot dogs, we embraced the onset of temporary insanity and left the safety and comfort of our modern amenities for an adventure in temporary homelessness ... otherwise known as camping.

Punkin Testing The Tent

We love spending time outdoors in our local state parks, so when a friend invited us to tag along on an overnight excursion, we jumped on it.  It would be a hands-on learning experience, to let us know what lessons or future purchases we would need to someday become true campers... outdoorsmen... survivalists.  After all, we are halfway through 2012.  Isn't it time we get prepared? 

We would be camping in a large grassy yard, next to a lake, and behind a travel trailer that had become a permanent structure on the lot, that we would have access to.  The girls would be sleeping safely in the trailer, and Hubs and I would share a super-single sleeper tent, that seemed to be roomy enough for two.  Notice I said "seemed", but that's an issue I'll revisit later.  The trailer also had a lovely thing I like to call "plumbing", and mankind's greatest gift to itself... air conditioning.

True to it's recent reputation, the day was hot.  Hot, like Buster Poindexter eating a tamale on Liz Taylor's tin roof... hot.  As soon as the cars were unpacked, and the tents set up, we high tailed it to the lake beach for a refreshing swim.  Okay, so the water was about eighty degrees, but when the heat index is one hundred and fifteen, even a warm bath is somewhat refreshing.

We had a blast floating up and down on the swells created by passing boats and jet skiers.  Punkin discovered fresh water clams buried in the sand, and recruited Bee (our hostess) in digging up a small bushel.  We practiced our people watching, most of whom were in rare form.  Let's just say it was evident that Lake Royale was no South Beach.  After a few hours, we retreated back to the campsite in search of food, however that hunt became a search for the campsite!  But this episode of LOST was one of the best parts of the day... an extra hour of riding in the back of Jay's pickup truck, along those little country lanes!  Jay even did a little off roading, accidentally of course, but that doesn't negate the enjoyment.   

Malibu and Vegas

We coaxed a true summer feast out of two small gas grills:  hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob roasted within the husk, and baked beans, with watermelon and potato chips.  The fire pit was fueled, and the beer began to flow.  It was about that time that the party crashers arrived. 

Party Crasher

No, not "Vegas and Malibu",  the friends from Raleigh that showed up with bags of graham crackers, Hershey bars, and marshmallows.  I'm speaking of the wolf spiders that crawled out of the grass to investigate our tent!  The "smores smugglers" were a welcomed addition to the evening, partly because I'm quite fond of them, and partly because they offered me a ride back to the city if the spider situation got out of hand.  I did not take them up on it, but I almost wish that I had.

Quirky Docksiders

After a little conversation (and some quirky behavior) on the dock, we headed back over to the lake for a belated fourth of July fireworks show.  (Yaaay, back into the pickup truck!).  We stood at the end of the dam, where we could watch the techs lighting the fuses by hand, and the explosions were right over our heads.  Of course, we had to stand in the grass for an hour, because we didn't think to bring chairs.  Not even a blanket or a beach towel.  Seating became a major issue for me by the end of the night.

With spiders on my mind, and an unbelievable ache in my back, the night took a darker turn for me at that point.  Irritable and moody, I climbed onto the hood of the car to rest my throbbing feet, and watched as everyone danced around, and even through (I know, men are idiots) several colorful fountains of sparks.  The girls battled each other with sparkler swords.  The firepit popped with firecrackers, and glowed in a mist of red and green smoke bombs. When the smoke cleared and the sparks died out, most of the group disappeared into the darkness on the dock.  Hubsy fed the fire until it satisfied his latent pyromania, and then vanished into the darkness behind Bee and the Jayman, leaving me alone and frustrated.  I would have joined them, but again, no seating.  Every chair on the dock was "occu-pado", and my legs were as heavy as "hippo-pados", so I waited.  Upon Hubsy's return, he listened to me vent, and like a snake oil salesman, he suggested a remedy to cure my most pressing ailment ...  full sobriety.  On such a sweltering day, I opted to keep bottles of water nearby, rather than beer, for the entire day.  Now it was late, and I was thinking "Better late than never!"

The Princess and the Sugar High

I must take a moment to mention that my girls were handling this whole experience very well.  They, too, think fondly of our friends, and they thoroughly enjoyed being allowed to sit among the adults and participate in the mature conversation (although mature might be pushing it a little).  I'm sure that deep inside they were engaged in some serious Darwin-like observation, and making mental notes of everything said and done.  They were living it up on the temporary reprieve of their soda restriction, and the marshmallowy gooeyness provided by Vegas, the self proclaimed "best smores maker ever".  By the way, who ever decided that smores were the perfect snack on a camp out was probably not sober at the time, either.  If you should decide to partake of this decadent dessert, make sure to be near a water source, or bring plenty of wet wipes!

Men and Their Fire

When much of the crew left the dock and retreated to the comfort of the trailer for a while, Hubs and I confiscated the dock chairs, and set them up around the fire, for some comfort of our own.  Since the battery of Jay's truck was wearing down, from playing the radio all day, Hubs turned it off and turned on the music player on his Kindle Fire.  Malibu and Vegas headed back to the city, and Bee and Jay joined us on the lawn.  The kids were sent to bed, and they reluctantly obeyed, although popped out a few more times to test the waters.

The rest of the evening was reserved for the remaining adults.  We shared a few scary stories in true campfire style, but it didn't take long for us to realize that, at some point, we had morphed into the walking dead.  The time had come to test the tent theory, and my theory had been disproved.  The super single sleeper tent was not large enough for Hubs and I sleep, even uncomfortably so.  The body heat of two adults who had been active in the sun all day turned the small space into a sweltering tropical dungeon.  After about thirty minutes, we were clambering to get out and worship what I came to know as "Sweet Mother Oxygen".  Indeed the night air was sweet and cool with a slight breeze coming off the water.  We sat on the dock in the small hours of the twilight, listening to a flock of geese honking and squawking in the darkness, and trying to figure out if our eyes were playing tricks on us, or were we really seeing little critters on the lawns around us.  We completely enjoyed the peace and serenity of our environment, until deciding to seek slumber from the reclining bucket seats of the car.  It came complete with air conditioning and soft music.

I managed to coax twenty minutes of rest out of the night.  Hubsy was blessed with a solid two hours.  At six in the morning, I went inside for the benefit of ... plumbing, and discovered that, while the Princess snoozed soundly on the sofa bed, Punkin hadn't had a minute of sleep either.  And so the first fireside meeting of the Biancos was called to order, and we second and thirded the motion to get the hell out of there!  Not wanting to seem like ungrateful campsite flee-ers,  we cleaned up the area of scattered debris from the previous night, wrote a farewell note, packed up, and headed back to, what I have come to call "Sweet Mother Home".  Does anyone see a pattern developing here? 





The Circus Travels The Eastern Seaboard

The Ringmaster's personal circus recently returned from a ten day tour of the Eastern Seaboard!  It was an amazing time, but we are very happy to be home.  A six hour drive from Raleigh to Baltimore became eight hours on the road, but that's nothing new to us.  There's just something about Southern Maryland that makes people decide to park on I-95 and enjoy the scenery (I guess).  Not to mention the broken down tour bus in the center lane just outside of DC.  A few days at my mom's house, and then we hit the road again, on our way to Connecticut.

Here is a top ten list of our favorite vacation memories, in no particular order.

(1) Geo-caching

For those of you, who might be unfamiliar with this "sport/game", then may I direct you here to learn all about it.  For those who are familiar, let me tell you about our travel caching adventures.  It started at the NC border, where I left my mark in a micro-cache hidden at the Virginia Welcome Center.  On our first day in Baltimore we donated pints of blood to the thorns and mosquitoes that guarded an unfinadable cache in the woods, but we were rewarded with two other finds on that day.  Once in West Haven, Connecticut, we found our first cache right in the town square!  We braved the rain, and the wrath of the nesting American Oystercatchers, to hunt for another unfindable on the beach, but made up for it by finding one on our day trip to the Mystic Seaport!  Before leaving New England, we braved snakes and skeeters to find another in a hollowed out tree trunk in the woods.  On the way back home, I revisited a previous find in Baltimore to place my trackable Travelbug, Benny the Bear.

(2) Batman

This is one of the nicknames for my four year old niece, who regularly dresses up in super hero costumes to rid the living area of dastardly villains.  I haven't seen her in two years, but in that time she has somehow morphed into an eccentric, three foot tall, thirty year old Yale professor... with attitude.  Her precocious quips kept our jaws gaping in shock and awe, as did her rebellious tantrums.  (I may someday have to incorporate a series in this blog, dedicated to her antics, because you really need to experience a series of events and conversations with her to truly understand why my sister is losing her hair, and my mother babbles in the corner after a day with her).      

(3) Mr. Cooper

The working cooper's shop, (the barrel maker), was an educational experience.  The cooper himself, whose name was Sam, looked just like actor Patrick Harris!  He recruited my Princess to assist in a couple of demonstrations.  Then Punkin joined in, along with several other children, to construct a small bucket.  Several hours later, as the village was closing up for the day, and all of the employees and volunteers were heading out, along with straggling visitors, Mr. Cooper stopped me.  With his hand on my shoulder, and his bright blue eyes looking right into mine, he complimented me on the raising of my daughters.  He said that of all the children, they were the best behaved, with the sweetest personalities.  He said that he just knew that that would be my doing.  Up until that point, it had been a wonderful day.  The weather was just perfect, the sky was clear, a little breeze blew off the harbor.  I had gathered and experienced a wealth of historical information.  My Hubsy, as always, was chivalrous and generous.  The girls were happy and not fighting.  And then Mr. Cooper came along, and made me cry, bless his heart.  He just sent me over the top.  I don't think Mike Tyson could have punched the smile off of my face that evening.

(4) The Breaking of the Wind

As we toured a quaint little museum house full of nineteenth century (and earlier) works of art, depicting whaling ships and their captains, and such, the little old lady who stood nearby experienced a little wind in her sails, so to speak.  I must admit that as the echo died away, I resigned myself to the possibility that the culprit was indeed one of my own clan, and so I simply walked away in delightful ignorance.  Hubsy tells me that he immediately and automatically looked in her direction with shock and disgust on his face, only to be met by her own disgust, at his disgust.  Of course, as soon as the lady left the room, the kids ran over to publicly accuse their dad! 

(5) Revolutionary

While checking out the tourism site for Connecticut, we saw that their motto is "Still Revolutionary".  Thinking on our temporary lodging in Hubsy's mother's apartment:  no internet, and only two television channels (both resembling a perpetual Nick At Night marathon).  Whenever you got a cellphone call, or a text message, There goes the channel!  If it weren't for our Kindles, full of gaming apps, and the local library's wi-fi service, the kids would've lost their minds!  Hubsy and I looked at each other and said "Yup, still revolutionary."

Every Circus Has A Horse

(6) Jack And Zena

I am such a sucker for a horse and carriage.  As soon as I spotted one rolling around the Mystic village, I started snapping pictures.  After lunch, since the restaurant was just across the lawn from the carriage stop, we decided to take the ride.  That's when we got a real education!  John (or Jack), the driver, explained how he and some of his 20 horses have appeared in several movies, and a television series.  Matthew McConoughey and Morgan Freeman rode in that very carriage in the movie "Amistad".  And Hugh Jackman was seen riding it in "Kate & Leopold".  He currently films scenes in the series "Boardwalk Empire".  While we were captivated by the Hollywood connection, Zena became captivated by Hubsy.  After the ride, we stood around and chatted with John, and took photos of the horse, as we rubbed her sides.  She kept turning her head, and butting Hubs with her nose, until he petted her again.  I swear, we just can't take him anywhere where the gals don't flock around.

(7) Fort McHenry

Another day of soaking up a little history, especially in the year that marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.  My Dad joined us, as did my sister and the little Batman.  The day started off interesting when we lost Hubsy in a crowded theater room.  After searching the lobby, the bathrooms, the gift shop, and peering outside ...  Sissy  discovered him among the crowd.  We called it her first cache!    During our tour of the grounds, I reacquainted myself with one of the old prison cells, near which I had one of my first paranormal experiences as a child.  No experience this time, though my daughters and I gave loving prayers to any remaining spirits.  Batman beat on the bongos for a while.  Actually, they were barrels of gunpowder.  I hollered to her "they're gonna blow!", and she ran like the wind.  Some superhero.  We found a bird's nest with beautiful blue eggs nestled inside.  We arrived in time to watch the changing of the flag, and watched volunteer soldiers stand at attention while musicians played.  To top the whole day off, Sissy and I stood at the tip of Locust Point (the little peninsula in Baltimore's outer harbor, on which the Fort sits), and memorialized our great great grandfather who drowned near here in 1897.  The following weekend, on our way through Baltimore, heading back home to North Carolina, we were lucky enough to catch part of the Blue Angels Airshow, being performed over the harbor, and directly over our car on I-95!

   

Second Cousin-In-Law

(8)Meeting Friends

Some time ago, I began Facebook chatting with one of Hubsy's long lost cousins.  I say "long lost" because they are both the kind of relatives that you typically only see at weddings and funerals, and my Hubsy typically only goes to the funerals.  Cuz and I stay in touch regularly, and discuss anything from politics and religion to social issues and (my favorite) family ancestry.  He's a real intellectual, and his vocabulary intimidates me, though his never ending stream of shared guitar photos bores me.  But when Facebook says "He read this article:", I think I'm gonna check it out (as long as it's not about the Grateful Dead).

(9) The Time Warp

As I mentioned in the Ft McHenry section, I nurtured my internal connection with a respected and beloved ancestor, Peter Barrows, with a tree and a prayer, at Locust Point.  While trapped in a traffic nightmare in New Haven, I glanced down a side street and was able to pick out the house where my husband's paternal great grandparents had once lived, after immigrating from Italy. Learning the Cooper's secrets in Mystic Seaport gave me a taste of life for some of my earlier ancestors, who also worked in the trade.  As an ancestry researcher, I am completely in love with the history, and wherever I go, I tend to find myself making connections to the family tree. 

(10) Quality Time

Of course, we had our quality time together on this trip, but The Boy had some quality time of his own.  While we were experiencing a celebration of American Independence at Ft McHenry, he was experiencing a little independence of his own.  Ten days alone in the house, with no one to nag him about his chores.  Having to rely on his own feet to get to and from work, without the assistance of our car.  Having to prepare his own meals, without me to answer his pleas of "Mom, how do I cook this?".  He is twenty years old now, and I was hoping that a little taste of life on his own would encourage him to get that second job, so that he could save for his own place.  Hmmm... Didn't seem to work.

The Texas Gal Writes About The Ringmaster

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me draw your attention to the blogwriter in the center ring!  She's a stay at home mom, raising two little rodeo clowns, deep in the heart of Texas.  She raises ornamental poultry, among various other domesticated creatures, including a country husband.  She's also the writer of the mom-blog "Mommy's Personal Space".  I've given her the key to the bigtop today, to show off her writing skills to my own readers, and... well, just to show her off!  She's my eldest baby!

________________________________ 

Taking The Show On The Road 





by Crystal Burton

(Mommy's Personal Space)



Running a household and raising children take so much time, effort, and creativity. The Family Ringmaster chose well with that title—at times “the circus” is the only way to describe it. It may be years on down the road, but one day the children will grow up and move out of the house and start families of their own.

It is at that time when the Ringmaster must bring down the tent. When the main attractions decide to part with the circus and become their own Ringmasters, putting on their own shows. The Punkin and The Princess will have their hands full with the maintenance and upkeep that comes with any circus, and they will have new found appreciations for their own Ringmaster mama. The Boy, while perhaps not standing in the limelight as Ringmaster, will surely be running the show with the lights and cameras and technical details to the circus he becomes a part of.

What will happen then with our beloved Ringmaster? The show must go on... and go on, it shall! Just imagine where she might end up if she were to take her then circus-of-two on the road...

If you follow your Ringmaster's other blogs, you know that she is very much interested in Genealogy. Her grandmother wrote many journals documenting her research of the family trees, tracing back to Charlemagne, early Caesars, Lord Baltimore, and many other amazing historical figures. This captivated the Ringmaster so much that she started a blog to document her own findings, not only of her family but also of her husband's. (The Genealogy Junky). Seeing all of these amazing familial links on a computer screen or in a book is fascinating as it is, but with the free time (and spare change) that grown children leaving home has to offer, this opens the possibility for the Ringmaster and her Hubsy to visit all of these historical sites, not just the more well-known battlefields but anywhere an ancestor lived or died.

Maybe they would start by traveling up and down the eastern seaboard, revisiting the historical sites that her grandmother took her to when she was younger. And not even limiting themselves to only her family history, they could go to New Haven, Connecticut and see where Hubsy's ancestors lived! Then they would travel out of the country, to the Philippines, to see where Ringmaster's great uncle John Hall Owings, Jr served in the Battle of Bataan in World War II. Perhaps they would even go to Genoa, in northern Italy, to see where her Hubsy's ancestors lived just before they came to America. (I will gladly go along with them on that one, since I too have ancestors, and possibly even living relatives, in Italy.)

The traveling doesn't even have to stop there. I remember a time, years ago, when your Ringmaster was also a novelist, working on a story set in the olden times of Celtic Anglo-Saxon England. The few pages I had read of her work-in-progress left me waiting impatiently for the next chapter, and sadly it never came. Some things just have to be put aside for a while, but with the chance to actually visit the lands her book describes, she may just be inspired to continue her writing. (Once again I would gladly go along on that trip to see such beautiful countryside. Not even Texas could compare to England, from the pictures I've seen.) Just imagine, though, reading a book and seeing the Ringmaster on the back cover!

This is only what I would imagine the Ringmaster might do. Perhaps she will discover a new hobby? We can only wait till the tent comes down to find out, and that is still many years in the future. If I'm lucky, maybe she'll travel to Texas and stay out here with me. I'm sure I could bribe her with a few cows, or farming plots...

Our Family's Christmas Traditions

Some things never change, and some things must.  It's up to us to figure out which things are which.  That's life, in a nutshell.  Holiday traditions are no exception to that rule.  Here is a top ten list of our family's holiday traditions, some that will never change, and some that are in the midst that very process this year.

1)  The Winter Holiday season does not begin until after the fall harvest celebration, otherwise known as Thanksgiving.  Regardless of the stores that tried to force it down our throats while we were still preparing our Halloween costumes.  As tempted as I may have been, which was somewhat tempted, I didn't even dig the Christmas boxes out of my closet until after the turkey platter was used, cleaned, and stored away.  However, my daughter had been hospitalized for two weeks before the Autumn Feast, and I had promised her that I would not put up the tree until she came home.  So this year's tradition was almost thwarted ... but we were blessed once again, as God brought her home to us on Thanksgiving Eve!

2)  The countdown begins.  Some of you have calenders, with little windows that you open each day to reveal a festive scene, as you count the days until Christmas eve.  Some have calenders with pockets that you fill with a treat to take each day until the BIG one.  We have candy ribbons.  My mom made one for my sister and I when we were very little, and each night we ate a piece of candy before bed to help us keep track of the days of December.  She crafted one for each of my children, to keep the tradition going.  I tried to go without the ribbons this year, I really did.  But on December 9th, I fell to the rebellion.  The ribbons are up.

3)  Santa Claus will NOT be coming down our chimney this year.  Not because I intend to light the logs in the fireplace.  And not because we're on the naughty list, although some of us may very well be.  But because the youngest of the young'ens has finally been made aware ... of what I won't say because I don't know who may be reading this, and I'm not one to spill someone else's secrets.  Let's just say that we've said our farewells to the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Slash (for you South Park fans).

4)  Holiday cookies... are coming out of a Pillsbury tube this year.  Last year I spent a whole day kneading and rolling dough, just so my girls could cut and decorate ONE tray of cookies before they declared boredom and abandoned me.  Hubsy, The Boy, and I were left to cut and decorate another three dozen sugar cookies on our own.  I am NOT doing that again.  Another tradition gone.

5)  The Christmas Ham.  Yummm.  Each year the whole house fills with the wafting scents of that roasting thigh of pig, the honey/brown sugar syrup in which it bathes, and the tender hint of the cloves that pin the sweet pineapple slices to the meat.  I can almost smell it now... which is weird because we're having turkey this year, dammit.  I waited and waited for the grocery store to stock their freezers with the hams that go on sale this time of year.  They never came.  Instead, those freezers just kept filling over and over again with turkeys, and at the lowest prices for the biggest birds I've ever seen.  So there's another tradition busted.  Dammit.

6)  Sort of a recent tradition that we enjoy is taking the Neighborhood Tour.  We head out just a few days before Christmas to oooh and aaah at all the twinkles and sparkles that light up the oaks and maple trees, the snowmen, stars, nativities, Santas, and such on display in front yards, and on various roofs.  I think my favorite thing to see is a Christmas tree lit up in the front window of a home, for the world to see.  Last year we began counting how many "trees in a window" we could spot.  Maybe this year we'll make a scavenger hunt out of it.

7)  Mrs Smith will not be invited for dessert this year.  One tradition I am happy to bust.  I have finally learned to make my very own pumpkin pie.  And I'm not talking about popping open a can of Libby's mashed pumpkin.  I'm telling you that I bought three huge pumpkins this past Halloween.  I cut them into chunks, I boiled them, I mashed them, and I stocked my freezer full of the pumpkin guck.  I have already baked four pumpkin pies, and three pumpkin breads since then, and I still have enough for two more pies, and three more breads.  C'mon Christmas.

8)  Homemade ornaments on display.  That is one tradition I simply cannot give up.  Whether it's the ones my twenty four year old made in Sunday School or Kindergarten, the ones my nineteen year old son made in Cub Scouts, or the ones my younger daughters have made almost every year in elementary school ... I have to have them out.  One year I felt so guilty about not including my children's ornaments on my blue and silver themed tree, that I bought a small three foot tree designated only for homemade treasures.

9)  Christmas Eve has always been a very special time for my family.  We've always had our big Christmas dinner that evening, and as we sit around the fire, we open the gifts that have been sent from our out of state relatives.  I also use this time to remind my children about the spiritual meaning behind it all.  As exciting as it is, to get that early taste of Christmas, it's also satisfying enough to help the kids get to sleep at a decent time.

10)  Christmas Day traditions?  I don't think it's a tradition as much as it's just something we always do.  There will be coffee, and Christmas music.  I'll put on the seasonal cable channel that shows us a crackling fire while playing carols in the background.  We'll pass around gifts, and watch delightfully as each person receives something they either desperately wanted, or desperately needed.  There will be horrible photographs of everyone with bedhead (and me without makeup).  Afterward, we'll snack on coffee cake and fresh baked pumpkin bread.  The rest of the day will be spent enjoying our gifts, and each other's company.  We'll make phone calls to Connecticut, Maryland, Florida, and Texas.  We'll pull out the Christmas Eve leftovers, and top it off with coffee (or cocoa) and pie.  At the end of the day, we'll all be exhausted, but who wants a day like that to end?   

Time Traveling Through Genealogy

I confess...

It's been quite some time since I've written a post, here, or on any one of my other blogs.  I haven't been Tweeting, and my face has hardly appeared on the "Book of Faces".  I can't even begin to tell you how many afternoon episodes of Law and Order I have missed.  Although, I have kept up with the laundry, and have thoroughly cleansed the bathrooms and kitchen, I must admit that several items in my home are blanketed in a layer of dust.

Yesterday, at the suggestion of my Punkin, it occurred to me to wonder if any of you have been wondering if I've fallen off the face of the planet.  Well, the truth is, I have, sort of.  I have fallen out of the present day, and have spent the past month wandering through the misty fogs of several other time periods.  I started my journey in the recent decades of Connecticut, and Virginia.  I followed a few trails leading into Georgia, Maryland, and New York.  I spent the nineteenth century dazed and confused in the little villages of County Cork, Ireland, and currently, I have found myself in 15th century England.

How have I managed to achieve these adventures without leaving my desk chair?  By immersing myself in online family ancestry research.  As I know I've mentioned before, my paternal grandmother had spent decades of her life tracing our family bloodlines, and discovering such gems as former American president, George Washington, several royal houses of Europe (Kings of England, Scotland, France, and Portugal), Charlemagne, and even Julius Caesar.  She's put together eight (or nine) volumes, for family reference, of lineage charts, copies of her documentation, and certificates of lineage from National and Worldwide Historical Societies.  As much as everyone in the family is impressed with her findings, I seem to be the only one who literally has to hold on to something heavy to keep myself from floating away to seventh Heaven, or dangerously attempting back flips, over it. 

So, I have become the next generation's amateur genealogist.  At this moment I have my hands full of several projects.  I'm putting together a volume of lineage for my Hubsy's maternal line.  I am reworking my grandmothers charts, and I'm tracing my maternal grandmother's line.  I recently assisted my best friend in building her lineage chart, and The Boy has asked me to trace his father's lines as well.  Whew!  I know, it's a lot, and yes, I burn myself out, some days, but I am in love with this work!  Several people have expressed to me that I should do this for a living, and I couldn't think of anything I'd love more, but I wouldn't even know where to start... except...

...Maybe if any of my readers would be interested, or know someone who might be interested, in having a little genealogy research done... drop me a line, and we'll try to work something out.

Grandbabies Make For The Best Week Ever

My oldest daughter (otherwise known as my Texas Gal) and her husband, recently spent four and a half fabulous days with us, as she does every odd year, with even years belonging to her father. I thought, perhaps, the best way to sum up our visit, would be to "top ten" the highlights.  So here you have it (in no particular order)...

1)  Hubsy and I got to meet our new baby Grandson, Levi, for the very first time.  He's five months old, which is the very age our first grandson, David, was when we met him for the first time.  There is a world of difference between the two boys.  At five months, David immediately disliked anyone who couldn't offer him a tasty breast on demand (which was all the time), whereas Levi seems to love everyone, regardless of anatomy.  Levi gurgled and cooed and laughed, whereas David screamed ... and screamed some more.  Needless to say, this visit was far easier on the ears, than the last one.

2)   Approximately twenty five consecutive hours after they arrived, David, now two years old, warmed up very nicely to these two strangers, who called themselves Grandma and Grandpa.  When he opened his eyes on the morning of the second day, I waited for the cry.  But instead, he crawled right over his parents, who lay sleeping on the air mattress on the living room floor, and right into my arms.  That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.  Another one formed that evening, when David ran straight to his Grandpa, all smiles, as he walked in the door from work.  On another day, he ran to the driveway, excited to greet Grandpa at the car.

3)  Hubsy left work early one day, and the seven of us used those extra hours to bowl a few games at the local alley, not including Levi (who slept through much of the commotion), and David (who assisted some of us with our throws).  I lost my breath and bit my tongue whenever the little guy tried to pick up a ten pound ball, and carry it to the lane.  That's when we stepped in to assist him.  Because the whole family applauded whenever he rolled a ball, he clapped for us too!

4)  Since the boys are being raised on a poultry farm, surrounded by chickens, ducks, and geese (not to mention pheasant, turkey, peacock, and quail), I thought it would be fun to take them to the lake, to feed our local ducks.  I didn't realize that just before leaving the farm for vacation, David had been attacked by a rooster in a "fowl" mood, leaving him terrified of animals.  So David didn't chase the ducks, but the ducks chased whoever had the bag of bread, and David's Daddy chased my Punkin... right into the lake!

5)  David's new fear of the animal kingdom had him running and screaming every time our dog or cat came into the room.  Though, as long as he felt safe in someone's arms, he showed great interest, and would point and laugh.  For a few days, I had to keep the pets locked up in my bedroom, but by the end of their visit, it was the dog who was terrified of David!

6)  For evening entertainment, we broke out a new family game, Apples To Apples.   You should've seen us... seven people, ages 10 to 40-something, rolling on the floor in laughter so deep, it was actually painful.  Laughing at ourselves, at each other, and at Waco TX and Andy Warhol.  During one session, it took us a while to realize that David wasn't happily talking on his toy cellphone, but was actually having a conversation with his grandmother in Texas, on his daddy's very real cellphone!

7)  My twenty eight year old son in law, who is somewhere around ten at heart, is a real down home country cowboy.  A redneck.  An outdoorsman.  A survivalist.  If he can't hunt it, shoot it, skin it, build it, raise it, wreck it, or ride it ... then he just has to climb it.  He climbed to the top of the kiddie playhouse, the jungle gym, and even to the roof of the pavillion!  I think he had more fun on the playground than the little ones did. 

8)  Now that Levi is discovering that he has some control over his own tongue, I spent some wonderful moments on the floor, "la la la-ing".  Although he couldn't quite get it down, he sure did try, and my silly vocalizations made him smile and coo.


9)   David is learning to talk, but he really only makes one sound.  G-go.  It's his version of "gonna go".   He will surprise you with other words occasionally, like "daddy, doggie, please, hello, and go away".  But if you prompt him to repeat what he had said, all you're gonna get is G-go.

10)  As Punkin and Princess enjoy dancing with The Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii, we got David to bust a few moves as well.  My daughter tells me that he usually sways to music, but this time he was really jumpin', and he even "got low" ... real low ... rolling on the floor, low.

We hosted our visitors just one month after my mother hosted us, for our vacation.  Now I know why she gets so sad when we leave.  I cried for two days after watching my daughter and her men drive away.

Our Trip To Gettysburg

(A continuation of Last Blast)...

The Saturday morning sun watched us drive through some quaint country towns in upper Maryland and lower Pennsylvania.  The kind where everyone knows everyone, and on this community yard sale day, everyone owns something that once belonged to everyone else.  We counted the deer that stood by the side of the road, poised to jump into the traffic... (four).  I began to wonder if any other vegetable actually existed, because all anyone ever grows is corn!

We stopped in at some of the local tourist shops, and walked away with the typical souvenirs; a t-shirt, a shot glass, some toys soldiers, and a key chain.  We armed ourselves with refreshments and a map of the area, and headed out for an adventure.

I was fully prepared to do some ghost hunting, with my digital camera, and voice recorder.  However, I ended up just so awed by the beauty of the landscape, imagining the plight of the soldiers, on both sides, and listening as Daddy recounted the events of those three horrendous days of battle.  Besides, there were such crowds everywhere we went, that I didn't want to start talking to ghosts, and have people think I was some sort of a loon.  The girls and I did find a moment of solitude in the garden of unknown soldiers, where we conducted a brief EVP session, and said a prayer for the men "known only to God".

Punkin's Ironic T-Shirt

Between the six of us, we climbed every last boulder that jutted out of the earth, trying to imagine the Union soldiers hiding among the rocks at Little Round Top,  firing at the Rebels across the valley, who hid among the rocks at Devil's Den.  And vice-versa. Those rocks hold the memories of the history they've seen, and I needed to soak it all up before I prayed for them to forgive the horrors of man.

Princess Hiding From The Sun

When Daddy finally made it to the top of a very steep hill on Seminary Ridge, he huffed and puffed and announced "Whew, I made it!"... I replied "Okay, now go fight a battle.".  It puts things into perspective, doesn't it?  Another thing that helped us gain a little perspective was the sighting of a few throwbacks to the day, who kindly paused in mid-conversation with another visitor, to pose for my camera.  From our viewpoint on the hilltop, we could see a tour group, using modern Segways to navagate the paths below.  One of the soldiers quipped "Here come the Confederate Segways... It's the only way they can take the hill".  LOL.  At that point we began referring to everything as Confederate... like the Confederate McDonald's where we later stopped for a Rebel milkshake.

All in all, it was a most wonderful day.  A good hike on a clear and sunny day, a few tears shed over some history remembered, and a lot of laughs during some family bonding.  I walked away with an appreciation, in that the three most important men in my life have not had to experience such an ordeal... and a compassion for those who have.