My Real Life

March 7, 2010

You Get What You Pay For

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 3:51 pm
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Grrr…

So, Real Man and I have a tv in the bedroom.

We’ve had this tv for years, and while it works, it is small.

Real Man is not a fan of having a tv in the bedroom.

I’m so tired at night, I hate watching on the couch, falling asleep, having to rouse myself, head to the bedroom, then try to fall back to sleep.

So, we often watch in the bedroom.

Real Man found a deal on a 40″ flat screen Sony Bravia.

When I say deal, believe me, I mean DEAL! (More than 1/2 off)

So, it was delivered on Friday, and when I got home from the play on Friday night, it was all set up.

We settled in to watch the last episode of Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica and it was beautiful.

For 5 minutes.

Then, this happened.

Do you see them?

Those, those…lines???

It’s like anyone who appears on the left-hand side of the screen is in jail!

Needless to say, we were on the phone with Sony immediately and they are sending a new one.

Eventually.

Were we unhappy?

You betcha.

Do I continue to watch, even with the lines, until the other one comes?

You betcha.

Can’t help but wonder if sometimes, you really do get what you pay for.

March 5, 2010

Back to the 80’s

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:21 pm
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Tonight is the night.

Our spring musical.

It’s been a long road.

But, tonight is the night.

Every year we put on a show that could seriously rival some off-Broadway, and when we did Beauty and the Beast, Broadway shows.

I don’t say it to brag.

I say it because it is true.

This year, we’ve been nervous.

There was a mix-up with the company and the scripts didn’t arrive until the middle of January.

We’ve had tons of snow days and half-days and days where we couldn’t rehearse.

It’s nervewracking.

At this point, it is what it is, and in the end, the kids always pull through.

So, I’m excited for tonight and tomorrow night.

Like, totally excited. (See…I’m getting in the 80’s spirit!)

As the choral director, I have taught the kids all the songs and tonight, I sit in the pit with the band and mouth all the lyrics, in case they get lost.

The pit decided to dress in 80’s duds.

So did I.

Like, Oh my God!

Do you LOVE my blue eye shadow?

I even bought a “Throwback Pepsi” in honor of the occasion!

So, wish that we break a leg, and I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

March 4, 2010

Special Treat

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:57 pm
Tags: , ,

Real Man had a “work dinner” tonight, and so the monkeys and I were on our own.

My first instinct was to pick up wonton soup and rice, because they love it so.

Then, I thought, “You know, these kids are AWESOME.  I think I should give them a real treat.”

So, to Friendly’s we went.

Needless to say, they were beyond thrilled.

I thought I ordered Monkey in the Middle a lemonade. (Yep…I went all out…I didn’t even make them drink milk, like I usually do)

However, looking at this picture, I’m not so sure lemonade is what was in his cup.

As always, the monkeys always cover the spread, in whatever they do.

Baby Monkey ordered this:

Monkey in the Middle ordered this:

Monkey Girl, ever the mediator, ordered this:

Me?

What did I order?

Yeah, that’s right.

I had a plate full of mini-mozzarella sticks.

So what?

For dessert, they each had sundaes. 

I didn’t have enough time to get my iPhone out to get a picture of their desserts before they were gone.

My dessert, however, was the Reese’s Pieces Sundae.

I was seriously considering the seven scoop Reese’s Pieces Sundae.

I can polish it off.

Ask Kim.

She can tell you.

However, in the interest of not setting a horrible eating example for the monkeys, I went with the three scooper.

And polished that off.

The monkeys were SO well-behaved and we had a wonderful time, just chatting about our days.

The boys made me laugh. 

Apparently, they’ve been paying attention to all of the Food Network shows, because they did a little cooking show while we ate.

Hmmm…maybe they’ve just been listening to me in the kitchen.

Although, they had a cute little psuedo-Italian accent like Giada.

Monkey Girl asked if she could please, please, please bring her book, The Titan’s Curse inside, because she knows we don’t read at the table, but she only had four more pages to go.

I said yes.

Who am I to get between a girl and her book?

When she finished, she joined right in on the fun.

We missed Real Man.

I took pictures and e-mailed them to him on his cell.

Yet, it was a great time, and those monkeys deserved the treat.

Come to think of it, so did I!

March 3, 2010

Lest You Think They’re Perfect

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 2:04 pm
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I’ve got a good life going on over here.

I really, really do.

However, I frequently get e-mails from people saying, “How are your kids so happy and well-behaved all the time?”

My friends, they are happy and well-behaved 99.9% of the time.

Yet, they are kids.

Plain and simple.

And kids, (as do adults), have their moments.

So, having already shared with you the Anatomy of a Breakdown, I figured I’d share his latest drama.

Ages 3-4 were Monkey in the Middle’s “Terrible Two’s.”  A year or two late.

And, while they weren’t truly ‘terrible’ they were definitely trying on this Mama’s nerves.

Looks like it’s going to be age 4 that is Baby Monkey’s “Terrible Two’s.”

This morning, Baby Monkey decided I was mean because I wouldn’t let him have a box of Girl Scout cookies for breakfast.

Yesterday, I was mean because I wouldn’t let him sleep under his bed.

Tomorrow, I’ll probably be mean because I won’t let him stick a pencil up his nose.

These days, I’m a mean Mama, and he’s “not my friend anymore.”

And, that’s okay with me, because by the end of the day, he’s asking for seventeen hugs and kisses at bedtime and asking me to snuggle for “two-four minutes.”

It’s all good.

Anyway, I figured that I’d even out the pictures I post of happy monkeys with a picture of Baby Monkey, as I found him this morning, during our Girl-Scout-Cookies-for-breakfast discussion.

It would enrage him to know this, but this picture kinda makes me giggle.

He’s all drama, this one.

March 2, 2010

Woke Up This Morning

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 7:49 am
Tags: ,

As I woke up this morning and made my way to the kitchen, in the quiet house, I was struck by the sun coming through my living room window.

I don’t claim to be a photographer, and I don’t have a fancy camera with a lens to make this shot all smoky and warm, but I still had to capture the photo, as this particular scene just really put me in the right frame of mind to face the day.

To me, it signified the simplicity of the day, the beginning of something new, and seemed to perfectly capture my home.

I don’t usually get philosphical around here, but it touched me a bit, so I wanted to share.

I’ll be back to my normal goofball self later, I’m sure.

March 1, 2010

Never Alone

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:12 am
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I thought I had done it.

I thought that the monkeys were occupied with something else, and wouldn’t notice that I was going to go to the bathroom.

I thought that, for once, I might be allowed to take care of business like an adult.

Alone.

In private.

Then, it was so quiet, that after I was done, I sat on the edge of the tub, for just a moment.

Listening to the silence.

Then, I saw it.

Reminding me that I am never alone.

And what a wonderful way to be!

(Baby Monkey was kind enough to do a reinactment for me, so that I could snap a picture, because…well, let’s just say that my camera comes with me almost everywhere, but not quite.)

February 28, 2010

Some Things You Didn’t Know About Me

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 12:16 am
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I was at Elsie’s blog, A Beautiful Mess, on Friday night and she had a Friday Night Secret Telling  post.  She listed some things that she thought her readers might not know about her.  Then, she challenged her readers to do the same, if they had a blog.

In the excitement and preparations of Monkey Girl’s birthday party, I didn’t get to it during the day on Saturday, but after the house emptied of 9-year old girls, I sat down for a little bit and tried to come up with some things I thought you all might not know about me.

The very fact that this blog exists is a bit telling about the fact that I am, after all, an open book.  However, I think I may have kept some things back, and that there may be a few things up my sleeve that may surprise, shock, and astound you. 

On the other hand, you may also be thinking, “Oh good God…is nothing sacred?”

Either way, here are a few things that I think you may not know about me and my real life.

1.

I could subsist on popcorn alone.  Just popcorn.  Popped by Real Man, on the stove, in a pot, cooked in oil and butter.  I mean, if times were tight, I could do with air popped.  I could also probably do with microwave, but only if it was poured into a bowl.  I don’t like sticking my hand in the popcorn bag and getting it all greasy.  I’m picky like that.  I could DEFINITELY substitute movie theater popcorn, but only with a drink.

Which brings me to #2.

 The popcorn would make me thirsty, and so my drink of choice for the rest of my life would be Vanilla Coke.  Me + Vanilla Coke = TLF (true love forever)

3.

I am terrified of porcelain dolls. 

 Terrified. 

 I used to housesit, and there was one family who took me to the guest room, the first time I was there, and said, “This is where you’ll sleep.”  There were porcelain dolls in the room.  I said, “Um, no thanks…I’ll sleep downstairs on the couch.”  The woman said, “No problem…I’ll put them in the armoire!”  I said, “No!  Then they’ll be angry and they’ll really be out to get me!”  She just looked at me and said, “Okay…the couch it is.”

Another doll story is when my handbell choir went on tour in the summer after my junior year of high school.  In one city, the people who were housing Kim and I took us to our room, where there were twin beds…and a collection of dolls, surrounding the room, high on a shelf.  I made Kim share one of the twin beds with me and made her hold my hand all night, while we slept.

So, know when I say I’m afraid of porcelain dolls, I ain’t jokin’, folks.

4.

 

When I was in high school, I tried to dye my hair brown.  I just wanted to be a brunette.  It didn’t take.  Michaela and I used two boxes of dye.  I was still blonde.

 5.

I tried to become a smoker in college.  I thought that I was too good, and that I should get a vice.  I didn’t drink, never tried a drug, and thought that smoking might be the way to go.  Like with the brunette hair dye, it didn’t take.  Not really sure I even finished the first pack.

 6.

Despite the fact that I’d have to rename both Baby Monkey AND Monkey in the Middle, I think adding one more monkey to the mix would be divine.

 7.

As of tonight, I have successfully made it through the entire 2010 Winter Olympics without watching one second of it.  I don’t hate the Olympics, but I’m really not into them and I thought that this year, I’d see if I could avoid them completely.  I did.  My own little personal challenge.  Gotta have a goal, folks.  Gotta have a goal.

So, there you have it. 

7 things you didn’t know about me before right this second.

If you want to play along, leave us one thing you think people might not know about you in the comments!

(all photos courtesy of flickr.com)

February 27, 2010

It’s A Mystery!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:41 am
Tags: ,

Today is Monkey Girl’s birthday party.

11 9-year old girls, plus my three monkeys, all in my house.

The girls that she is friends with are sweet, sweet girls, so I know it will be fine.

It’s just a lot of 9-year old girls in one place, at one time!

As I’ve mentioned, Monkey Girl likes theme parties.

This  year, it’s The 39 Clues!

It’s this great book series that she’s been reading and totally loves.

I must admit, not a bad series!

So, when everyone arrives, they’ll be paired up into teams and given a case file.

In the case file is a description of the crime, a list of the suspects and a list of the evidence.

Then, the girls have to figure out who committed the crime and how.

We have crime scene tape to section off Baby Monkey’s bedroom, as the scene of the crime, and we’ve made a masking tape outline on his bed of where his blue blankie was, before it was stolen.

After the mystery is solved, we have a “Tape the Magnifying Glass on the Detective” game, and then after cake and pizza, the girls all get their own code to crack that will tell them where their goodie bag is hidden in the house.

I have to say, these parties are a lot of fun.  I wish I had thought of something like this when I was a kid!

So, as we do party preparations around here, I thought I’d share the case file and see if YOU can figure out the mystery. (I hope so, because it’s geared toward 9-year olds, and my guess is that you are all adults!) 🙂

Enjoy!

(And remember…names have been changed to protect the innocent!)

 

Case File #731137

The Victim: 

“Baby Monkey” Bozza

The Crime:

As  “Baby Monkey” Bozza headed to bed on Friday night, he found that his favorite nighttime lovey, “Blue Blankie,” was missing.  The last time blue blankie was seen, it was laying on Monkey’s bed, waiting to be snuggled.

The Suspects:

Mommy “The Cleaner” Bozza – The Cleaner has previously been arrested for moving items while cleaning up the house, and then forgetting where she put them.  As she was dragged off to jail, she was heard to yell, “But it’s messy!  The house must be cleaned!”  She is currently out on parole.

Monkey in the Middle “Big Brother” Bozza – Big Brother was on trial last year for allegedly taking the Monkey’s toys and hiding them because, as he said, “That’s what big brothers do.”  The jury found him innocent, though, as they believed his courtroom testimony in which he said that he loved the Monkey and would never want to make him sad.  Although he was not convicted, it is possible that Big Brother may have taken blue blankie, trying to keep things interesting because of the cabin fever the family has caught due to all the snow.

Monkey Girl “Jailhouse” Bozza – Jailhouse has served time for “accidentally” kicking toys under beds, into closets, and other strange places, as she walks around the house with her nose in a book or her DS. The judge has reminded her to be more aware of her surroundings, but it is possible that Jailhouse slipped, and is the culprit for the missing blue blankie.

The Evidence:

1.  Dirty sock – This dirty sock was found laying in the doorway of Monkey’s bedroom.  There was no other dirty laundry in the area.

2.  A smear of blue liquid on the doorframe.  Police were unable to get a fingerprint from the liquid, but it appears to have been left there by the thief.

3.  A toy train from Big Brother’s room was found on the floor of Baby Monkey’s room.  The rule is that before bedtime, all toys are to be put away, so police were unable to deduce why the train from one room was found in another.

Can you figure out who committed the crime AND how it was done???

February 26, 2010

To Make You Smile

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 12:30 pm

I’ve recently upgraded the blog to allow me to post video.

Not to worry…

I’m not going to subject you to hours of home video.

I think.

However, today, I thought I would share with you a very brief video that always brings a smile to my face.

Because, there is nothing cuter than watching Monkey in the Middle hula hoop on the Wii Fit Plus.

Snow Days, in a Nutshell

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:54 am
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Yesterday and today were snow days.

Northern New Jersey has been hit with a storm that has made the, normally, level-headed Jerseyans lose their minds.

I thought “Snowmaggedon” was a funny name for the last storm.

However, this storm has pushed people’s creativity too far.

Snowzilla.  Snowicane. Snowvelations.

Real Man made up “Judgement Snow.”

We crack ourselves up.

Anyway, these snow days have been awesome because I’ve had two days, non-stop of monkey time.

Yesterday morning, around 5:30 am, I was sound asleep, when I felt eyes upon me.

I opened my eyes and there stood Baby Monkey.

As our eyes met, he said, (in his best 4-year old evil villain voice), “Ah…so we meet again!”

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

This morning, I was dozing in bed, listening to the sounds of Real Man fight with the snowblower when the bed started to shake.

I started to get a little nervous because of the small earthquake that hit our area last week (I kid you not…look it up!) but then I realized that it was more of a rythmic bumping.

I popped my head out from under the covers and was greeted with this:

Mr. Garbage Can Head.

Again, I say…

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

Yesterday was full of games.

Monkey in the Middle and I played countless games of air hockey on the mini-air hockey table he got from a friend for his birthday last week.

Love that toy!

We played “pedicure” and everyone had their toenails done.

The big monkeys had a Wii Fit Plus tournament.

Baby Monkey and I built Lego cities.

We napped.

The monkeys snuggled in Baby Monkey’s bed and watched movies.

Another side effect of snow days (actually of most days of my recovery) is that I’ve watched a lot of the Food Network.

Not a big deal, on its own.

However, when discussing me, it is important to always remember that I am an only child of two only children.

Although I had my “sisters-by-choice” Kim, Erin, and Michaela, when growing up, I was also on my own quite a bit.

I’m used to entertaining myself.

And so, as I prepared dinner last night, I turned to see Monkey Girl standing in the doorway, laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked her.  Dinner looked good.  I wasn’t sure what was so funny.

“Who are you talking to?” she asked.

Yes, after all these hours with the Food Network, I’ve fallen back into old habits from childhood and from before Real Man and I were married and I had my own place.

When I cook, I like to play “cooking show.”

What that means is that I explain every step along the way, make corny jokes, talk about the importance of one spice over the other, etc.

I imagine it actually might be quite entertaining to watch.

Hmmm…perhaps if I knew how to cook interesting foods, I might have another career.

However, I’m not sure how many people would want to watch last nights show on baked chicken and brussel sprouts.

We’re relaxing.

We’re enjoying each other.

I’m not sure what we’ll do today to enjoy our time together.

There will be cupcake baking and preparations for Monkey Girl’s birthday party, which we are holding tomorrow.

There will be games.

There will be naps.

Hope you are all enjoying your days, whether it’s in the snow or not.

Most of all, I hope you are spending it with those you love and cherishing every second!

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