100 Things...

I recently stumbled upon a blog called 100 Things (http://100things.com.au/). I love it. This guy made a list of 100 things he'd like to do during his lifetime and is spending time checking off each one. One of my big mantras in life is to never look back and say "I should have..." Life is for living and we need to make decisions every day that should be the best decisions we can make. Why should we ever look back and say "I wish I had..." Why not just go ahead and do it? We weigh our actions all the time. There is no reason not to make the right decision at the time. Sure, sometimes hindsight is 20/20, but still - we do what we can and we should be proud of the decisions we make.

Anyway, we all have our bucket list...some of the things we've already checked off, some of the things may be slightly unrealistic, others may linger on the list a little longer than we like. I challenge you to make your list of 100 things...Or even just start with 25...here's my first 25...some I've already checked off...they are in no particular order but I'm sticking to those that are fairly realistic.

1. Have more than one child. Check.
2-8. See the 7 natural wonders of the world. According to thesevennaturalwonders.org, these are: the
2. The aurora borealis
3. The Grand Canyon. Check.
4. Paricutin
5. Victoria Falls. Check.
6. Mount Everest.
7. Great Barrier Reef.
8. Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
9-15. See the 7 man-made wonders of the world. These are:
9. The Great Wall of China.
10. Petra in Jordan
11. Christ the Redeemer in Brazil.
12. Machu Picchu in Peru.
13. Chichen Itza in Mexico.
14. The colosseum in Italy.
15. The Taj Mahal in India.
15.5. The Pyramds in Giza. Check. (the Pyramids were kept as an honorary member according to Wikipedia).
16. See the monarch butterfly migration in Mexico
17. Go on Safari. Check.
18. Live with a tribe.
19. Try hang gliding or para-gliding
20. Go scuba diving. Check.
21. Become PADI certified.
22. Learn to play an instrument.
23. Go to Marrakesh. Check.
24. Go to Timbuktu.
25. Go cage diving with sharks.
26. Swim with a whale shark
27. See crab migration on Christmas Island.
28. Ride a camel in the dessert...while I've already done this, I'm not checking it off...I'd like to do a more substantial ride!
29. Get a pilot's license. Check.
30. Get a motorcycle license. Check.
31. Visit every continent.
32. Swim in biolumenescent water.
33. Experience zero gravity.
34. Meet Richard Branson - he's my idol.

Okay, so there is my first 34...I'm sure I could come up with more, but this should do for now! What's your top 100 (or 25)?

Our Latest Trip

We just returned from the Maldives...a group of islands located just southwest of India in the Indian Ocean. It was spectacular! I had a conference there, so I took the kids for about a week. Our hotel was on a small island with nothing else on it...it took about 20 minutes to walk around the entire island. No cars, just sand everywhere. The water was as clear as it could be and the sand just melted under our feet.

We went snorkeling, I went scuba diving - something I've always wanted to do. Everything I read said that this was the best place in the world for scuba diving. Of course, now that I've tried it, everywhere else will pale in comparison! I took a short lesson and was able to go down about 30 meters. It was amazing - hundreds of fish in as many different colors. The anemones were full of bright colors, as well, and we managed to spot a black tip reef shark (harmless - this one was about four feet long, I'd say) and an eagle ray (I'd guess it had about a four foot wingspan).

The kids had the time of their lives playing on the beach and at the pool. It was a REALLY long trip to get there (about 30 hours travel time there and about 36 on the way back!), but the kids did great and really enjoyed themselves. Here are some pix!

Sticks and Stones (warning - a lot of detail!)

may break my bones....and, damn do they hurt! Stones of the internal kind and sticks of the needle kind! Last Wednesday I started to have some abdominal pain...I thought it was just lunch taking awhile to digest or something...well, it just got worse. By evening, I was doubled over in pain. I took some heavy duty prescription pain medication I had lying around and it did almost nothing. I knew I was having a gall bladder attack and, in the past, when I've spoken to the doctor about these, there's nothing they can really do about them. They tell me that they are just going to get more frequent and worse until I finally have to get my gall bladder taken out. Well, I finally was able to get to sleep around 4 am.

The next day I was still in pain, so I called the doctor to see how long this should last. I got scheduled for an ultrasound the next day and got some blood tests to make sure it hadn't affected my pancreas or liver. Fortunately, the blood tests came out fine. Thursday night I was in agony. Way worse than the night before. Five doses of oxycodone brought the pain level down to about an 8 and I was afraid to take anymore. Finally got to sleep again around 4 am. The ultrasound showed stones and sludge but no blockages. Also a swelled gall bladder and a distended tube coming out of the kidney.

By Sunday, I was still in pain so decided to go to the ER. They took some more tests and pretty much said that I just needed to wait for the swelling in my gall bladder to go down and that they really didn't know what the problem was. Apparently, when it comes to abdominal pain, they can diagnose only about half the time. To come to this conclusion, they put an iv in and took more blood. I'm a REALLY tough stick...small veins are something I definitely inherited from my mother. The iv lady was able to get in the first try but the blood lady took two and had to go in through my hand. The worst blood draw I've ever had since she was moving that damn needle all over the place. ouch.

Then the pain medication got me constipated. So, thinking that at least some of the pain might now be related to constipation, I stopped the pain meds yesterday and started loading up on laxatives. I can't tell you how much fun I'm having. Still in some pain but at least I can poop now.

SNOW!

This past weekend we went to RI for my niece's bat mitzvah. H even came along. Since he is not Jewish and had not met any of my family, this was really trial by fire for him! My sister really went all out on the bat mitzvah planning. Everything was perfect and beautiful for the 100 or so guests. The luncheon and party afterwards was a lot of fun, complete with a DJ, a kid handler (to make sure all those 13 year olds had the time of their lives) and lots of loud partying and dancing. H got to meet my siblings and several cousins. H was such a sport. Even though I don't think he was feeling great (he had a terrible cold), he was helpful and patient with all the goings on. I think this one is a keeper.

The bat mitzvah was on Saturday. By the time we got there, it had started to rain a little. By mid- afternoon, the snow started and the nor' easter started heading in. The timing was good - the party was already starting to break up anyway - so we headed back to CT to stay at my sister's house before we were to leave to come back home the following morning. By the time we got to my sister's house, the snow was in full force and there was already several inches on the ground.

We made it up the hill to her house. At the end of the cul-de-sac, my sister had just pulled in as well and ran out to tell us to go to a hotel because it was too dangerous. Trees had started to fall all over the place. She didn't have any power. As we sat in the car and listened, about every minute we would hear craaaack, craaaaack....trees and branches breaking. Some were already resting on power lines. It was REALLY spooky. The kids got very scared and e even started to cry a little.

H, the trooper that he is, ran inside the house and got all our stuff (thank goodness because we would have had a very difficult time getting it the next day!) and we went and stayed at my brother's house instead. Even though he lives less than a mile away, he did have power. We all camped out there for the night. He lost his power, too, around 2 am but since he has gas on his stove, we were all able to have a nice breakfast. Throughout the night, the snow got heavier and the situation worsened. I've never seen anything like it. By morning, there was about a foot of snow and hundreds of trees and branches down. Across the street, one large branch was straddling a power line...it was pulled taut, but had not snapped yet. Apparently, the cul-de-sac where my sister lives was full of trees and branches. If we had stayed, I'm sure our car would have been hit. H went out to help clean up the driveway and cars so we could get out and E and e, of course, went out to play in the snow.

We finally got on the road around 10:30 am. As we drove out, we went down several streets that we could just barely get through, with all the trees and branches down. We saw a few power lines down and even ran over a couple (dead, of course). It was unbelievable. Every single yard was full of large branches and trees. We didn't see any houses that were hit, but did see one car that got a little crushed. As we drove home, it was well over an hour before we could find an exit where the restaurants had power. The highway crews must have been out in full force all night because there were lots of trees on the side of the highway - many of which had been cut to make travel safe.

All in all, a very interesting weekend!

Pets

The baby bunnies in their nest

So, last month we found some baby bunnies in our yard. The mom had built the nest just a few feet from our driveway, so when I saw all the dead grass all over and didn't remember the patch being there before, I moved it aside to reveal five, very cute, baby bunnies. At the time, I'm guessing they were just 3-5 days old. I did a lot of reading about them and learned that you can, in fact, handle them and the mother will still come back. She only comes back about once a night to feed them and leaves them alone the rest of the time so she doesn't attract attention to them. So, the kids had a great time visiting with the bunnies every day. And, boy, were they cute.

Holding the baby bunnies

Then the rains came. The nest got flooded out. I came out to find some of them sitting in a cold puddle in the nest, not knowing where to go. Everything I read online said that the nest could be moved to about ten feet away and the mom would still find it. So, we moved the nest up the hill a little bit, out of where the water was gathering. I also put a box over the hole to help keep them dry since all the grass that was covering them was now wet and/or gone. The mom apparently was coming back and the babies were doing fine. Their eyes all opened and they were getting lots of fur and starting to jump around. Then two died with all the rain....Very sad to see them out there, but we got rain and cool weather for about a week and they just couldn't make it. I had also read that only about 10% of the wild bunnies survive because there is so much going against them. Another one died a couple days later and another one ran away (at least that's what I told the kids...it was very active and I'm guessing it just attracted attention to itself). The kids had been pleading and pleading to keep them, so when it came down the the last one, we took it in. Thumper did well for a few days, but then died - unfortunately while under the care of a girl next door (and her party pals - I'm hoping we didn't create any psychological scars!) while we were away....

Thumper in the fire engine

After that ordeal, and seeing how well the kids handled the bunnies and the whole lifespan thing, I figured they were ready for a pet. After doing a ton of research, I decided to get E a couple dwarf hamsters for his birthday. I don't have any pictures of them yet, but they really are fun to watch and are very cute. I told him that we needed to figure out a way to tell them apart. He put them next to each other and said that one was fat and one was skinny. So, guess what he decided to name them? Fatty and Skinny. I know, very creative. He is a really happy camper with them.

His birthday party was a huge success. I LOVED the place where we had it. All I had to do was show up. Unfortunately, it was a really windy day, but not too, too cold, so it wasn't too bad. We had the party at one of the local farms. The kids played in the hay barn, went on the slide, and in the corn maze the whole time. I didn't have to lift a finger. I had 13 kids there and they supplied 40 hotdogs with buns, 20 cupcakes, two huge bags of chips, lemonade, and tons of supplies to make s'mores. They built the fire for us and tended it. LOVE that. The kids had a great time cooking their hotdogs on the fire, making s'mores and running around in the corn maze for three hours. I want to have a party there every year!


After E's party, we went to a Halloween party at a friend's house. The mom gets the hostess with the mostess award from me, that's for sure! She had a dozen kids in her basement, she had decorated the place with Halloween stuff all over, had plenty for them to eat, and a list of probably a dozen games that they played throughout the afternoon. This was one of my favorites where they had to try to eat a donut on the end of string without touching it. Of course, E won for the boys.


Yesterday, we joined some friends to see a local reptile exhibit. We really love this place, too. The dinosaurs move and roar, and one of them even spits at you! I loved how they put a fake arm in the T-Rex!

October Happenings

It's hard to believe that my little boy will be eight years old tomorrow! Where the heck does all the time go? I have a party planned for him over the weekend at one of the local farms. Lots of fall stuff to do there like the corn maze, slide, pumpkins, hotdog roast. All fun stuff. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be a nice day. So far, the forecast says we will be cool, but no rain. Phew!


Last weekend, the kids had a great time at Sunday school decorating the Succah and making their own candy Succot. This is really a fun holiday for them.

And, did I mention we did the artificial skydiving again last month? WHAT fun! e still wasn't up for it, but she watched as E and I pretended we were superheroes!

I Really Need to Stay on Top of This Better....

The whole reason for starting this blog was so I could remember all the great things the kids and I do together...well, that doesn't help, if I don't keep up with things! So, a brief update on what we've been up to. Before school started back we went camping at the family camp near Pittsburgh for a week. I always enjoy that time. It's SO relaxing for me and the kids have a blast. E took horseback riding lessons and e and I did a lot of kayaking. I did the zipline, too, but got stuck! They had to come rescue me because I didn't make it all the way to the end. Oh well. Still a lot of fun. The kids and I took long bike rides in the woods almost every night after dinner, too. Great bonding time with them.

We've been busy doing a lot of other things, but of course I don't remember a whole lot right now! So, I'll give you an update on the man situation. I'd love to get your thoughts. I really like this guy. We've been seeing each other for about seven months now. He's wonderful with the kids and he's great around the house. I enjoy spending time with him. Neither of us have uttered the "L" word, but I think the feelings are there. A couple weeks ago we spent the day together (just he and I) at a football game. The kids spent the night at a friend's house so H was able to spend the night at my house for the first time. About a week earlier I had mentioned to him that I wanted to take the relationship kind of to the next step - meaning have him stay over once in awhile. I'm not really sure how to make this transition with the kids, so it worked out well that the kids went on a sleepover that night. Anyway, when I said "next step" he thought I meant marriage! Well, I'm in no way ready to get married, but I thought I'd want to work towards that.

So, on the way home from the football game, we had a long talk and he said he never wanted to get married again (burned badly in his previous marriage of 20 years). I told him at that time that I did want to work towards that and that I would have to move on. Now, I don't know...I mean, what is really the purpose of getting married? I'm already established financially, I have my own kids, if we did get married, we probably wouldn't live together for awhile since he built his house himself and I would never ask him to sell it...besides he loves it there and he's close to his own work (about 40 minutes away from where I live). And, I live a mile away from my office in a great neighborhood for the kids that is about a quarter of a mile from all the schools they will attend through high school. So, what really is the purpose of getting married? Especially at my age (47)? Is it just so we can say we're married and have some financial benefits that go along with that? But then we are totally entwined...financially and otherwise. And things get complicated....now I'm thinking why can't we just have a committed relationship without getting married? I don't know...I always thought I'd like to get married someday, but now I'm just not sure what the benefit is. I'm not even sure the kids need a "dad" so much as a father figure...H is great with them and a wonderful role model...isn't that really what we all want? Is that enough? Chime in at any time....