Voyages in Parenthood

Somewhere around 2am this morning I awoke with a start...totally forgot to blog on Saturday! oops! We were just having way too much fun with Uncle Dan and Aunt Maggie and Grandpa and Nana! Just didn't have the time to think about blogging! And tonight, I'm tired and achy...hoping I'm not coming down with something else...I haven't quite gotten over whatever is causing the cough! But we are home and safe and hopefully going to be warm soon...Brock is starting a fire. And we'll hit the sheets early tonight and hopefully start December on a positive note...hopefully the sun will shine tomorrow?? Oh well, I blogged 29 out of 30 days. Most were boring, but I made the effort! Too bad I totally blew it! ;-)

Don't know if it's just having a Friday off from work or all the Turkey from yesterday, but I've been tired all day! I guess it's a good thing we didn't do much today! We played around the house, read, went shopping at Silas's and napped. Then Aunt Maggie and Uncle Dan came and Leda is in all her glory showing off for all the new relatives! Maybe more to report tomorrow. Maybe we will actually go out and play in the snow tomorrow!

Today was a full day. A day full of baking (pies), making thanksgiving dinner, spending time with family, playing in the snow and TURKEY! A successful day all around. My pies came out pretty good...Apple was a hit (thanks Mom!) and we'll save the pumpkin for tomorrow night. Leda's been having a ball playing with her toys, dressing up for the adults and just plain being cute! We'll see what the rest of the weekend brings. Uncle Dan and Aunt Maggie are here tomorrow afternoon. I think we may have to try and build a snowman tomorrow! There's plenty of snow here! ;-) Happy Thanksgiving!

Off to Grandpa's house...heading north into the wilderness. Packing the kid, the dog, the various other necessities into the car and off we go. Tomorrow there will be pies to make, Turkey to eat, and at least one if not two playings of Alice's Restaurant! It's a Thanksgiving Tradition around these here parts. I'm gonna take it with us to NY. Gotta love iTunes! Lite post today, since we are gonna spend the next 5 or so hours on the road. But I'll be posting tomorrow! And the next day. And so on and so forth! Internet gods willing!

This weekend we are heading off to Grandpa's house (Brock's parents) for Thanksgiving. Brock's brother Daniel and his wife Maggie will be in town from the west and we wanted to spend a few days with them while they are on the "right" coast! And I don't mean that politically! The last time we had seen Aunt Maggie is a year and a half ago when she and Uncle Dan got married. That was the week I came down with pneumonia. I started coughing on Saturday and it has gradually gotten worse and it's the same type of cough I had that week! Oh Joy! I said to Brock this morning that I didn't want Maggie thinking that every time we see her I get sick! ;-) So I am coughing my way through the days (and nights, oh even more joy!) and hoping that this thing will go away. And I am planning to make two pies on Thursday morning! Nothing like a little extra pressure piled on! Leda and I are going to watch Snoopy tonight! Leda has been bugging me for a few weeks now that she...

This morning came too soon. Leda had no nap yesterday so she just collapsed at bedtime last night. So tired was she that she didn't use the potty before bed. So tired were we that we didn't notice! 3AM...Leda calls out. Brock goes in to check on her and her bed is wet. Both of us are wishing we had remembered to have her go potty before bed! Instead of changing the sheets (we DID remove the wet ones) we had her get into bed with us. I think the 10 minutes or less that it would have taken to change the bed would have been worth the hour or so of sleep I lost due to little kicking feet and a dog who had to sleep on top of me as well! So, this morning came a little too soon! Leda came into my office before she left for daycare and gave me cuddles. She asks: Leda: "What day is today, Mama?" Mommy: "Monday." Leda: "Oh. I don't like Monday's." Mommy: (a little laugh!) "Me neither honey. Why don't you like Mondays?" Leda: "I don...

Well, I thought about it, I really did. I was going to come up with an amazing post tonight, but alas, I decided to clean out our storage closet instead. Now, I'm just sore and tired. Almost happy that my storage closet will store more stuff now that we cleaned it up a bit and got rid of stuff that we didn't need anymore. We've still got a bit to do, but I might actually end up with an office that doesn't have piles of stuff in it. Because I will be able to put the stuff away. I'm also a bit stressed...I've decided I really need to start doing something with the stuff I have kept over the years and loath to get rid of. Like Christmas, Birthday, etc. cards that I have kept since, well, for like ever! I just don't know what to do with it. I have some ideas, so I guess I'll have to see what I can end up doing with it....maybe my office won't be so clean after all! And, I'm depressed. My Eagles Suck. Not much more to say about that. So, I'm savin...

I am. I am so far ahead of the game, I'm practically planning for Christmas 2009. Well, okay, I'm not that good! But I went shopping today for Christmas Cards and I think I have half of Leda's stocking purchased! And then some! I'm so proud of myself. And I didn't forget the Christmas Cards. In fact, I've already purchased a certain person's birthday cards (and she should remember this for when she gets the cards the first week of January (two weeks AFTER said birthday) because I purchased them A MONTH A HEAD OF TIME and will forget where I put them. Seriously!) Oh, and yes, I shopped at Target! Well, and A.C. Moore. I promised Leda some crafts that she and I would do this weekend. Mostly it's me doing the crafts, because there is glue involved. But she helped. And we planted a spruce tree and some alyssum flowers ("carpet of snow") - we planted the seeds in small little pots and we'll watch them grow over the next couple of weeks. And if t...

Okay, so it is ONE of my favorite scenes in The Sound of Music ...Off to find the song on iTunes... Geez, YouTube has got everything!

It's SNOWING! I'm torn between pure joy and absolute fear....pure joy that it's SNOWING and absolute fear that this winter is gonna SUCK! Oh well! Music's good this morning... You Don't Love Me , Matthew Sweet You Make Loving Fun , Fleetwood Mac Sweet Savannah , Shooter Jennings Back Door Man , The Doors Bringing Out The Elvis , Faith Hill Short Skirt/Long Jacket , Cake White, Discussion , Live Private Eyes , Hall & Oates Bobby Jean , Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band A Trick Of The Tail , Genesis

Tonight I decided to leave Jillian in her box and I did Pilates instead. Reason, because I had a busy day at work, so busy in fact, that I barely drank enough water and I didn't eat lunch. I know, really bad habits if I am going to try and lose some weight, but by the time I had a few minutes to eat, it was 3:30 in the afternoon and I couldn't justify having lunch then. I had misplaced my favorite Pilates DVD (we own a small house...every DVD we own is accounted for EXCEPT for the one that I want to watch at the moment!) and I was really bummed about it. The instructor is Ana Caban who I really liked...she made it fun...mostly by how she explained the exercises. I've only just recently discovered the joys of On Demand. Actually, we've know about them for some time, we've used it to keep Leda happy when she wanted Little Bear and he just wasn't on any channel. But I hadn't really ventured further than Kids. I discovered how easy it was to order movies in May....

Todd finally came through. Apparently he was studying too hard or going to class or something of that sort and was too busy to give me any ideas for posts until the past Sunday. And, I wasn't paying attention until today! And I like the ideas. I've been thinking about several and there's a few posts here over the next couple of days. There are some I will skip, but not because they aren't thought provoking. Like, how can I realistically tell you what our family can do to reduce it's carbon footprint when I live in an idealistic world? ;-) I also won't be writing a post about how I would design Obama's cabinet because, well, I'm not President and I really wouldn't be good at it (now, get Brock to start a blog and ask HIM to design the cabinet...he's the political junkie in this family!) Besides, I'd be picking Hugh Jackman for Press Secretary and George Clooney for Chief of Staff, just so I could look at them on a daily basis! Speaking of Hugh...

Okay, that was horrible . I'm sure that Jillian wouldn't suggest doing this right before dinner, but hey, I just can't do mornings. And, I am pretty sure that doing this first thing in the morning would kill me. Because I am pretty sure I came about 2 seconds away from death about 5 minutes into the 20 minute workout. But I stuck with it. Even with Leda saying, "Hey, I can do that. Look Mommy, look at me, I can do that," all while Jillian is kicking my ass butt! Oh, and not only did Leda want me to see what she could do (which was about three moves WHILE she sat on the couch and drank her milk) she drank all my water, too! Nice kid! I had read where people mentioned that this workout was pretty darn hard, so hard in fact that it caused some to want to vomit during or after. I thought, it can't be that hard. Oh, but it is! I did want to vomit afterwards. I didn't so I am hoping that is a good sign. (Not exactly sure when not vomiting when wanting to became...

Seriously. Can't think of anything to write. All interesting thoughts are avoiding my brain apparently. For like the entire month. (Yeah, I'm sure there are some of you thinking that they've been avoiding my brain for a lot longer than that!) There is just nothing that is interesting me these days. Nothing. Nada. Zip. It's quite sad. At least, there's nothing interesting that I haven't already written about. Like the past. There's lots of that going on! But I've written enough of that. I'm not giving up though. This might be a post about nothing, but at least it's a post! I mean, come on, Seinfeld was on for nine seasons of nothing. I can at least make it another 13 days. Hopefully they won't be 13 days of nothing. At least, for those of you who still come here, I hope for your case, it's not 13 days of nothing. So, how about a cute picture? Yesterday the Durhams joined us for dinner and football/NASCAR. Leda and Paige 'read' a bo...

Okay, here you go. Cyndy's Christmas List. And no, nothing from Brock yet. So don't ask! I've already asked him. A billion times. Hopefully soon. First, Leda's List didn't mention that Tinkerbell the Movie and Cinderella and Ariel Barbies are already something that Santa has already has on his list of things to deliver, so refrain! ;-) I don't think I put them on her lists, but just in case, already done! So, my list. And yes, it will probably be TOTALLY unsexy again this year. But it's what I want! First and foremost....my Amazon wishlist . I want everything on this list!!! ;-) It is in order of items added to my list, but everything on this list is still something I want! It has been cleaned up recently. donna karan cashmere mist perfume donna karan cashmere silk cologne kitchen compost keeper, stainless steel would be nice. Something like this Buddha statue Candles, candle holders, nice smells A NFL Championship. In the next five years would be nice. Micr...

I realized this morning that I am just too old to stay out until 2am! But it was lots of fun! I got together with an old friend last night and we sat around and talked all night. By the time we thought about looking at the clock, it was REALLY late! By the time I got home, it was after 2! It was fun, but morning time comes early around here due to some evil spawn of my loins! ;-) So today, after we did a little cleaning, was a lazy day. A little napping, a little football, and some friends for dinner. A perfect Sunday afternoon. Go Eagles!

A few days ago, we decided today would be a good day for Leda's first trip to a real movie theater! It is supposed to be rainy and yucky (although really warm) so, perfect, right? So about ten minutes before we leave to go grab some lunch and the movie - the sun is out. Oh well, anyway, headed off for a nice little lunch/late breakfast and then headed off to the movie theater to catch Madagascar 2 . Leda was very excited. We got there and headed first for the restrooms to make sure that the two large lemonades she had for lunch didn't interrupt the movie and then we headed over to the popcorn lady and got us some popcorn. With butter! I have to say, movie theater popcorn is not what it used to be. The butter just doesn't match what butter used to be in the movie theater. It's a shame, really. Anyway, off to the movie theater to catch us some seats...Actually Leda and Brock headed off to the theater while I was in line getting the popcorn, so they scored some good seats....

Have you seen this video yet...Seriously, click there and go see this video...it's of a little kid at the Phillies Parade a few weeks back. You know the one...the WORLD CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL parade? Yeah, that one! Anyway, it's all over the news up here...This kids mom took him down to the parade and as they were waiting for the parade to get started, she started taking this video of him on Broad Street. And she asks him "how big?" and he raises his hands up high. And every time he does, the people on the other side of the street, also waiting for the parade, raise their hands up and cheer. And the kid's like, dude, what the heck is up with all those people over there? It's like dripping with cute! Be careful, could cause cavities, it's so sweet! I dare you not to feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Go on, dare ya!

Thank the Gods it is Friday! I'm probably not sleeping late tomorrow morning (we'll see!) because I'm going to get motivated and get my butt up early and start the 30 Day Shred ! Ha! As I said, we'll see! Here's what I'm listening to... I Wanna Be Adored , The Stone Roses Room At The Top , Adam Ant Gimme Me Some Lovin' , The Spencer Davis Group Rehab , Amy Winehouse Rock Rock (Til You Drop) , Def Leppard Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through , Meat Loaf Not Even The Trees , Hootie & The Blowfish The Interlocutor , Squirrel Nut Zippers Before He Cheats , Carrie Underwood Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee , Indigo Girls

Tonight at dinner, we saw a report about some investigative work that is being done about how (or who, or from where) Kennedy (JFK) was assassinated. The report indicated that through some testing, the investigators have determined that the damage done to Kennedy was most likely created by a shot from the 6th floor of the Book Depository. (I can't find a link to the report...it was on the NBC Nightly News.) It was an interesting story and Brock and I were having a discussion about it and I used the name Lee Harvey Oswald by just saying "Oswald". And as we were talking about it, Leda says, "Mommy, why are you talking about the Blue Guy?" And Brock and I said, "What? What Blue Guy?" And then it hit me. Leda heard me say "Oswald" and immediately thought I was talking about this guy . Oswald to Leda is a big blue octopus who hangs out with a wiener dog named "Weenie." Wait until Arlen Specter and the conspiracy theorists get wind of th...

I got to go shopping by myself tonight. I therefore plugged the earphones in to the iPod and rocked my way around KMart! Hope the guys watching the security cameras had a blast, I did. While I was rockin' it out, and on the way home, and while wrapping my niece's birthday present, I had various random thoughts. Some struck me as funny. Some not so much. But hey, I needed a post, so this is what ya get! ___________________________________________ I'm probably too old to dig Nickelback . But I do! More importantly, I'm pretty sure that when my husband reads this, he's going to think, "What the heck is a Nickelback." Anyway, I do. Dig them. And I dig my old man, too! (love ya honey!) ____________________________________________ I think the fact I use the word "dig" to describe how much I really like something PROVES I am too old to dig Nickelback! Oh well! ___________________________________________ You can inherit genes that make your hair the colo...

Our child has become awfully bossy these days. Or rather, she takes us to task for doing things that we probably, at some point or two, have told her not to do. This makes life interesting. I've been told during a major sporting event that I should be quiet when people are trying to sleep. She's right, I do need to resist my natural urge to yell and scream during a major sporting event that a Philadelphia team is playing in, especially when said game is taking place after 8PM (the kid's bed time). Just not sure if I want my three-year-old child reminding me! Brock and I were talking in the kitchen while he was making dinner just a few days ago and Leda comes out of her room and tells us, "shhhhh, my baby is sleeping" and stomps back into her bedroom. Brock and I had a little giggle about that. I was on the phone with my sister last night, in the living room while Brock was watching TV and the kid was playing with her baby doll. At one point, the kid comes up to m...

I need help. I'm totally drawing blanks on what to write, so unless you want a whole month of lame posts, give me some ideas!! One or two or three ideas would be good! My brain is a bit fried this week, having had to take a test for certification for work that took a week and was just horrible! So coming up with something to write about with any hope of entertaining the HORDES of people who flock to my blog has suffered due to having to use all brain cells on work. And those 10 brain cells are very, very tired people, so give em a hand and give me a topic or two! In the meantime, I guess I could always spend the rest of the month complaining about my Eagles and Andy Reid's UNBELIEVABLY stupid challenge and play on 4 and 1...Yeah, I know, I'm not the coach, I probably couldn't have done much better...blah, blah, blah. The run on 4 and 1 was STUPID and I challenge anyone to tell me I'm wrong. Even Tiki Barber said it was a bad call...and I HATE when I have to agree wi...

Wow! Did we have fun last night. Even feeling like crap didn't dampen the mood too much! Leda was so excited to have 'visitors' last night that when Caitlyn and Paige (tag-team babysitting!) arrived, Leda completely forgot Brock and I were still in the house...I swear she would have practically pushed us out the door if she could have! What a change from the last time...and all times prior to that. Usually there is lots of crying and screaming, "I want to go with you!" as we are walking out the door! My, how times have changed! So we headed off to our night out, but not before we realized, about a mile from the house (thank goodness!) that we forgot the concert tickets! So a quick back to the house and then we were on our way. First, dinner at Plush, which was as good as it ever is. Was nice and relaxing, well, except for the first couple of minutes, which were the last couple of seconds of the Penn State game, in which they lost. That was a bummer. Other than tha...

Make that a week...it's been overcast and sometimes raining just about all week around here. I think the sun peaked out for about an hour or two yesterday. That's been it. So we didn't get a whole lot done today. Besides the fact I have a cold that has been slowly moving into my head, darn it! We did head off to Ikea and bought some bookcases...one for our bedroom and one for Leda's. Leda's got a ton of books that need a place to live and since we moved her clothes into a smaller dresser...well, one that doesn't take up so much wall space, we have some more room to use! Brock and I are off to see Arlo Guthrie tonight. So I am looking very forward to having a good dinner. Hoping that the cold and the headache will try and hold off until after Arlo plays. Don't expect Alice's Restaurant tonight...but expect lots of good music!

Because we have a kid who is now old enough to ask for everything under the sun and knows exactly (EXACTLY) what a toy catalog is, Leda and I sat down this evening and went over what she wanted for Christmas. So, here's Leda's Christmas List (or what we have edited to be Leda's Christmas list because, you know, she wants everything!) Don't get your hopes up...this does not mean that you will soon get a Cyndy and/or Brock Christmas list...gotta keep you waiting a little bit! Leda's Amazon Wish List Leda's etoys.com Wish List Leda's Toys to Grow On Wish List There are a few things on these lists I'd like to point out... 1. Books. She loves books. Books are always a good thing! 2. Train set...Ask her why she needs a train set and she will respond, "because I don't have one." Same goes for the pirate ship. Although, I have to say, she does like to play with train sets (and pirate ships.) 3. Horses...she is all about horses these days. Must run ...

Today my shuffle is gettin' the Led out...Already about 20 songs past my top 10 and have heard at least 4 Led Zepplin songs...right now, rockin' out to a little Black Dog ! Celebration Day , Led Zeppelin Six Months In A Leaky Boat , Split Enz Rocket , Def Leppard From the Beginning , Emerson, Lake & Palmer Do You Want To Dance? , Bette Midler Oye Mamacita , Los Lonely Boys Angel From Montgomery , The Angels Everyday America , Sugarland Blue Angel , Squirrel Nut Zippers Another Rainy Night (Without You) , Queensrÿche It's the end of the week. I'm fighting a cold and looking forward to an evening with Arlo Guthrie tomorrow night (plus dinner at our favorite before-concert-at-the-Keswick restaurant, Plush.) Have a great weekend!

Tonight we are off to grab some sushi and go have some dinner with a friend with a 4-week old baby. We can't wait to meet her! And I'm really looking forward to the sushi! So much for best laid plans...I had planned to get some sleep last night, but turns out, due to a sore throat, I spent most of the night coughing myself awake! So not happy with my body! It is not cooperating. Hopefully after some good sushi, baby cuddling time, visit with a good friend and maybe a glass of wine, I can come home, catch CSI and Life on Mars and head off to dreamland without interuption! That would be nice. Then, I might be able to come up with a truly inspiring post! Instead of this rambling mess!

The past two weeks have seen me up past my bed time too many times! Phillies and Presidency have me low on sleep! Turns out, the Eagles will probably have me up late on Sunday for the Sunday Night game. Geez! Will I ever sleep again? Yes, I stayed up late last night. Watched until the bitter end (12:45am, when I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer). I watched history....no, I participated in history last night. And, putting aside who won and who lost, I am so proud of this country. You came out and voted! Highest percentage of eligible voters to vote since 1908! That right there is amazing! Because, if we are going to be a democracy, you gotta vote...you gotta make your voice heard. And I'm totally impressed with the college-age voting block! In our area, they more than doubled their turn out! That is awesome! I've found myself emotional throughout today, especially when I think of Martin Luther King Jr. and his words and his works and how far this country has come since ...

Tonight's gonna go on forever! We've all voted, it's now a waiting game. And listening to the spin! Oh boy, can't wait! Leda went with me to the polling place, as she has for every vote since she was born. She ate pretzels and 'stole' popcorn from the snack for workers table and was happy to see her Daddy who has been working the poll all day. They've had long lines all day. Luckily we only had to wait for 10 minutes. So we voted. Now we wait to see who wins.

Well, here we are, the day before the election! A very important election and historic either way. Living in a 'swing' state, the phone has been ringing off the hook this past 48 hours! I guess, since both Brock and I have volunteered for one of the campaigns, we aren't getting as many as others! I know some people have had twice as many calls and visits as us! Being that this election season has been the LONGEST of all time (like, hasn't this been going on for.EVER), I'm so looking forward to the day when not one news station or news program will discuss politics. At least not election politics! It's been a long hard road. Leda's been aware that something is happening. She knows the candidates names and knows the one we are supporting. We've even been good about not portraying the other side as bad or wrong, just that this is an election and that both sides are good, we just like one candidate more than the other. That it is okay to disagree, it doesn...

What a beautiful weekend we had this weekend. Yesterday was a work around the house day. With some resting in between! Brock cleaned up a lot of leaves around the house and saved some to pull into a pile for Leda to play in...since she's old enough to want to try and I told him it would be okay if he made sure there were no sticks! So Leda got to jump around in the leaves yesterday! Last night we rented movies and had tacos for dinner before we sat down to movie night. We rented Madagascar for Leda. We figured that would be a good movie for all of us and since I am thinking that her first movie theater movie might be Madagascar 2 , it was a good pick. We got The Happening and Charlie Wilson's War for the adults! Madagascar was HYSTERICAL! Totally recommend this movie to adults as well as kids. We all enjoyed the movie, but I think Leda and I laughed the loudest at Brock who got absolutely hysterical in some parts! After Leda went to bed Brock and I watched The Happening , which...

This years Halloween was my favorite! As I alluded to yesterday, Leda had decided in the morning that she did not want to be the Little Mermaid, she wanted to be Cinderella. And she was quite insistent that she had a Cinderella costume, it was in her closet. Well, there was no Cinderella costume, but there was lots of crying so I told the child to go off to daycare for their Halloween party with her Little Mermaid costume and Mommy would figure out something for Trick-or-Treating. That seemed to be a good deal for Leda, so the crying stopped and off to daycare she went. I figured I had to go to Kmart to see if they had a Cinderella costume left. I had called my boss (and friend, who so happens to be the house we go to for Trick-or-Treating, and the Halloween Party this year!) and he said, come on over, we've got a bunch of princess dresses, no Cinderella, but lots of other princesses. So, I ran over there, got a bunch of dresses and headed off to the grocery store to buy our contri...