To Facebook or Not to Facebook

My brother Chris recently closed his facebook account. I swore I would never, EVER, have one!!! SO what did I do last weekend, open a facebook account.

I made "friends" with Annie first, which linked me to my nieces, Chelsea and Veronica. I was happy to be "talking" to them again but by the end of the weekend I was so sad. My brother Mike is not well and doesn't talk to my folks and I haven't seen him or his family in 11 years. My younger sibs have gotten in touch with him over the years. I email him now and again but it can be so painful I stop after awhile. getting in touch with his kids just reminded me how much my kids and I were missing. I don't think I could handle opening them, or myself up to visiting him and being disappointed...again. They live in Missouri now so a visit would be a very long trip with unknown results? Jack and Kate already miss their NC cousins terribly. To have another set that they would have fun with and then not see for another 11 years...why expose yourself to that?? (See I am talking myself out of it)

On another note: I joined a St. John's group...my elementary school and there were pictures posted from some kids (they are 40+ now) who went to school with my brother Steven. They had been commenting about him and it was so cool to know how much people care after all these years. Seeing them and hearing their stories has been great. I will be sharing their stories and pics over my next few posts. It has been sad but wonderful. Half of my facebook friends are kids that Steven went to school with.

My brother Steven is the boy on the right, holding up the number one! He was the coolest.

The Right Stuff

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."

Mother Teresa

(I had to add a quote at the top. Cathy, I love your quotes and needed to add some depth to my existence and my blog!)

I know I brag about my kids a lot but I just have to write about something my son did yesterday. There was an assembly in our gymacafetorium for the PSSA's ending and each student received an award for attendance, behavior and working hard. It was an hour long and kids will pick at each other even with teachers in the room. I saw Jack sitting there with his friends, having fun laughing and joking on the top row. All is good, right? Well he told me later another 7th grader was getting picked on in front of him. The kid told them to stop but they kept on calling him names and trying to poke him. The kid was getting visibly upset and they kept it up and tried to get Jack involved. He wouldn't do it and told the kid move up by him so the others would leave him alone. A little act of kindness that probably meant a great deal to that kid. They tried to get the kid to tell the guidance counselor but he wouldn't. Of course, I try to make a big deal out of it and Jack gets mad. "It's no big deal mom." I guess that's the cool thing about Jack. He really didn't see it as a big deal because it is so much a part of him and who he is. How did I get such a great kid? If he knew I was writing this he would be annoyed.

Dear God,

Thank you for the gift of my children

Thank you for giving me the guidance to raise such

a sensitive loving person

Help keep them safe and continuing on the right path.

Help them continue to make good choices.

I feel like I need to say a dozen rosaries in thanksgiving for all that I have. I can be a catty, mean spirited person at times. Everyone thinks I'm this great Catholic or something. I don't always feel that way. I am grateful for what I have. Great family and friends and kids that want to hang out with me. I haven't been to confession in years. Maybe that's what I need to "clean" my soul!

Enough introspection. Yuck!
Enjoy the rest of your Saturday! I'm making homemade meatballs and sauce. Kate made homemade chicken salad earlier. Very yummy.

Copyright Infringement or Homemade Gift?

"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how!"

Dr. Suess, "The Cat in the Hat"

I love simple fun. We were invited to my good friend's son's birthday, last Saturday. (what a mouthful!)He turned 4 and you would think my kids had been invited to a King's Palace. They hear Casey talk about her kids all the time and they love her nieces. Of course "no gift please, just come." but I love giving gifts so, the kids and I thought for awhile about what to make. Anyone that knows me, knows how I love books on tape. (I should start calling them audiobooks) My old SAAB only had a cassette player and we would go to the Mary S Beisecker library every Friday that I was on maternity leave with Kate and then Sat's when I went back to work. We would take out their books and cassettes. I would make copies of the tapes sometimes and mix songs with stories and it make our road trips so much fun. (This story is actually a separate blog, so I'll finish that another time)

Anyway, those cassettes are gone now (eaten by the player) and I upgraded to CD's. But I have no little kid books on CD. Well itunes does! For 95 cents to about 2.95 for the longer stories each we got Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, Green Eggs and Ham, Where the Wild Things Are, and two Curious George stories. I downloaded them on the computer and burned them to a CD. We made them two CD's for them. I did have Frog and Toad on CD so we burned that for them too.

Here is the "cover art" by Kate for the CD and Jack made the card( Above)





Remember: Have FUN!

Family Conversations

We have some insightful conversations at our dinner table, car rides, doing dishes, etc. I find myself not listening sometimes and feel guilty because what they have to say is important and some day, in the not so distant future, they will be away at school and I'll be...alone.

Anyway, sometimes I will pose a silly question, just to see what they think. Like, "who is your favorite Simpson character: Bart. (They live vicariously through him.) Who do you dislike the most: Marge "She's smart but she stays with Homer even though he is a bad parent/husband/alcoholic".....interesting thought children...I guess (hope) in their minds I have earned points for leaving their dad.

They are developing a healthier attitude towards alcohol. And not that I ever want them to drink but as little children, (5 & 6) they would get visibly upset if they saw it...I got a Christmas gift once ..a bottle of wine from our Superintendent..and the comment was made "That's not any kind of present! Why would someone give you that." Then the other day we got a promo card in the mail for a 'Murphy's Pub' I almost bought some until I saw the mug of beer on it and said they couldn't wear them to school. Comment: "Kids wear Hooters T-shirts and that's worse" True oh so true my little cherubs. Only 11 and 13 and they know the reference to Hooters on a t-shirt. We didn't buy them.

Kate took a career interest test and came out being an interior designer, Jack was a cop last year. The Moon project is completed after about 20 plus hours of work. In two weeks it's the state exams and some pressure will be relieved! If you don't watch the Simpsons, you missed a good one Sunday night. Springfield Elementary was getting ready for the VPAT's (Vice Presidential Aptitude Tests) as part of "No Child Left Alone" act and "how well you do on these will determine how much federal money this school gets" It was so appropriate for this time of year. I hate that so much rides on those exams. It is frustrating.

Hope you have a great weekend! Tomorrow is Friday and our Life Skills class is selling Starbucks coffee!! Yum!

Family Visit

We had the best 4 days. Annie came to see us and we had a great time. We saw Twilight, Pink Panther 2 and made fun snacks, homemade pizza and watched a really funny comedian. Jack was laughing so hard, he almost couldn't breathe and Kate kept saying, "That's so true" and laughing! We talked and talked and talked and just enjoyed each others company. It was great. Hard to say good-bye today.

She is so easy to get along with and so fun. I hate that she is driving at night, though I know she can take care of herself.

Thanks for coming little sis and best aunt! we love you.

Just Gotta Laugh

I was playing around with how to post pictures and found these on photo booth from my college reunion this summer and from this Christmas. Both times everyone was playing around on the Mac and laughing hysterically. There are over 40 photo booth pics on this computer. I just remembered how hard we laughed that weekend and at Christmas, and how good it feels to laugh like that.

Just need something to laugh about!!! I realized how good I felt on Saturday at the movies.
We saw Mall Cop this past weekend...I started laughing as soon as the title came up. It was so stupid and SOOOOO funny. At one point in the movie, he is depressed and pulls out a cassette tape (he doesn't get technology) and it plays.....Barry Manilow, Weekend in New England. I laughed so hard, I couldn't even hear the singing. It was so ridiculous. So funny. My stomach hurt from laughing. I love laughing like that.

I finished Breaking Dawn this past weekend and stayed up until 2am to do it. I was hoping for more of a fight at the end but it was suspenseful and I enjoy that. Jack laughs about it, "you hang up first, no you, no you go first." He said the girls at school are always debating who they would want to date, Jacob or Edward. Vampire or Were-wolf....I go with the were-wolf.

Jack continues to be funny and fun and is actually enjoying scouts since his "fight". He is working on his Citizenship in the World merit badge with his history teacher, who is a detail guy and Jack enjoys details and History, so it will actually be fun for him.

Kate gave a Joan of Arc report this week and by all reports gave a great presentation. Jack and I snuck here Joan of Arc book when she was working on something else....what an awesome young woman! Kate is but I mean Joan. I never really read her whole story before and I was very interesting. Kate just came down and kissed me goodnight. She is a sweet, sweet girl.

I haven't cooked anything good this week, except homemade mac and cheese on Monday. I'll have to make something fun this weekend. What should it be??? Any ideas???

Kindergarten Dinner

Tonight I made fries and terriyaki chicken nuggets and peas. Kate called it a Kindergarten dinner, because that is what I used to fix when she was in Kindergarten. You don't step it up one night and they call you on it. In my defense, I did make a salad, but they called me on the Good Season's packet and not homemade dressing. Tough crowd.

GOOD NEWS: Nick is good! Thanks for your prayers. Pathology reports are not back yet but it looks benign and the doctor's are optimistic for a full recovery. He is home now and doing well.

Kate is working diligently each night on a Newspaper for History class. It is due Thursday. It's only half done, I hope she gets it finished without too many tears. So far so good. Jack keeps giving her ideas for funny articles and she just rolls her eyes at him. He has had little homework the past two nights (but always has a bunch on the weekends!) and is working on a comic for the Middle School Paper and wrote a story for school. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

SPACE....The Final Frontier

Space...the Final Frontier. I am Jack Murphy, a Billionaire, who went on a journey through Space with Richard Garriott, Bo Bo the monkey, Donald Trump and Lee Majors. A few of our crewman featured Captain Kirk, Mr. Sulu, Scotty and a creepy man named Spock.
We were in our spaceship, The Excitement, and in a few hours we would be landing on Earth. Donald Trump was playing a game of checkers against Bo Bo the monkey and losing. Bo Bo took his last checker.
"You're Fired!" shouted Donald Trump.
Just then Richard Garriott walked into the room.
"We have to get some experiments done people," he said. "We haven't done any experiments for five days."
"Who made you the boss?" asked Lee Majors.
"Maybe," said Spock "We could try the Coriolis Effect."
Everyone in room stared at him in confusion.
"The Coriolis Effect is when a liquid rotates to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in Southern Hemisphere."
"So you want us to flush a toilet and see which way the water rotates?" I asked.
"Pretty much," Spock said.
"Awesome!" said Majors.
Everyone rushed into the bathroom.
"You know I never really thought about this before," Trump said to me.
"Me neither," I replied.
"Fire Scotty!" shouted Captain Kirk
"Aye Captain!" replied Scotty
Before I could see what would happen, Bo Bo jumped on my face and started screaming.
"My face, my beautiful face," I squealed.
Kirk tried to pull the monkey off of me but then Bo Bo jumped on his face too.
"Get your paws off me you dirty ape!"
Bo Bo went on a rampage and threw Donald Trump's immense wallet into the toilet clogging it up.
Nobody could see what happened when we flushed the toilet so we had to think of something else. We didn't have much time until we landed.
"We can see if a Fruit Rollup is really three feet," I suggested.
"Genius, pure genius," sobbed Majors.
Bo Bo started clapping.
"Scotty get a ruler, Sulu get a Fruit Rollup,” commanded Kirk.
Both came back with a ruler and Fruit Rollup. Garriott began measuring when Bo Bo lunged for the Fruit Rollup. Lee Majors saw what was going on and ran to tackle the monkey. He was able to jump in front of Bo Bo but instead of biting the Fruit Rollup, he bit Majors in the leg instead.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" screamed Lee Majors.
"Thanks Majors, you saved the experiment," said Garriott.
"Don't worry I'm fine," said Majors sarcastically.
"It's three feet!" exclaimed Scotty.
"Huzzah!" shouted Spock.
Everyone stared at him.
"We're landing!" shouted Sulu.
After that I never forgot the time I spent in Space.