Hangin' at the ALCS

My husband and I went to the first two games of the ALCS.

(For those of you with Internet access under your rocks, it's the Boston Red Sox vs. the Cleveland Indians.)

Game 1 was fabulous. And had the desired outcome for Sox fans.

We stayed overnight in Boston and spent the day being "tourists" (after a delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast at the hotel!) before going to Fenway for Game 2.

As you can imagine, Beantown was abuzz with Sox excitement. And we were totally part of it.

My husband was thrilled about running into Alex Cora - and getting to take a picture with him:


And he was more than excited about his photo op with NESN's Tina Cervasio:


As for me? Yeah, I got this guy:


And on top of that, well... you know the outcome Game 2.

Come on, Sox. Let's get 'em tonight!

- Sharon

Pay Day

No one can deny that payday is their favorite day of the week. But what happens when you are no longer the employee –but rather the boss? And just how much do you pay these micro employees? And just what do their job descriptions entail?

At Casa Del Whirlwind, pay is at an all time low. All work is done on a volunteer basis. So far, there has been no mutiny, but I feel those days are numbered. With a growing affection to all things Pokémon and knowledge gleamed from communicating with peers*, it's only a matter of time before they demand an allowence.

So far, it’s been accepted that it is their job to help set the table, clear their plates when finished, help make their beds and pick up toys when they are finished playing with them. Einey has even started helping with the laundry, if she’s with me, she’ll try to mate socks and fold the washcloths. Moe feels it’s her duty to clean the lint filter and will fight for that job. All three of the girls take turns making sure the dog is fed and has clean water. Come time to feed the lizard, they take turns going to the pet store and “paying” for the crickets and then carrying them back home. Other than that, their other responsibilities are finishing their homework when they come home from school and being nice to their siblings. Now granted, not every task is carried out without complaint, but they usually get most of it done.

During the summer months, they help outside by raking, planting, and carrying sticks to new locations. They pull weeds and pick the vegetables. None of this is required of them, they just think its fun to help. When does it go from being fun to being a chore?

Apparently I should be paying them for these tasks. Or so it's been mentioned. Just when should they get an allowance? And for what tasks? Is it too much to just expect them to do basic household help without expecting money for it? Or should I have to pay them to do things that should be their responsibility to do in the first place?

*Daughter goes to a private school where not only is it apparent that many kids get allowances, but also the Tooth Fairy leaves $5.00 per tooth.

A Scary Time of Year

I've always enjoyed Halloween. My husband and I met at a Halloween party, and my birthday is about a week before the 31st, so I get a lot of festive fun at the end of October. I've always enjoyed coming up with unique costumes, something that started in the 5th grade, when I borrowed a neighbor's antique hoop skirt and created a kick ass princess costume that garnered a lot of attention and admiration for my budding artistic skills. It also taught me the necessity of wearing shorts under skirts any time I might inadvertently flash someone, but that's another story.

Over the years, I've fashioned costumes ranging from simple to elaborate. Some of my favorites were the last minute ones, like the year I wasn't planning on going out until a last minute party invitation became irresistable. Instant costume: take an egg and blow it out, crumple up a paper bag into a nest shape, hot glue the egg to the nest and the nest to a barrette, throw on a green tunic and brown tights and voila! You're a tree!

Obviously, I've always had fun with the costume part of Halloween, but since becoming a mother I've had other issues. Halloween can be very scary for kids, and that is something we are dealing with this year. There have been umpteen discussions about different varieties of monsters, and lots of whining about costumes and begging to watch Halloween-themed television shows. We went searching for a costume at a party store and my son reacted to some of the way-too-adult decorations I tried to hustle him past with a catatonic deer-in-the-headlights gaze.

For our family, though, there is an extra level of scary on Halloween. When my son was 18 months old, he had an allergic reaction to a cracker that had traces of peanut butter on it. When your child is diagnosed with a severe food allergy, it's a frightening shift in the level of responsibility for what goes into your child's mouth to realize that every bite of food - heck, even the smell of peanut butter sets off some allergic reactions - is potentially dangerous. My first thought after getting confirmation of his allergy was, "Oh no! Now I'm going to be That Mom! The one who won't let you bring cupcakes to school to celebrate your kid's birthday! The one who pesters you at the party about the ingredients in the cake! Dammit!"

These days, I try to take the kids out trick or treating and enjoy it instead of freaking out. I just never thought that the scariest part of Halloween would be the candy.
____________________

The best place I've found for information and support for the families of children with food allergies is FAAN - The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.

This is what Autumn is all about

'Tis the season... for Fall Festivals. Oktoberfests. Autumn Festivals. They go by many names.

And when the weather is as perfect as it was here in Rhode Island yesterday, nothing beats 'em.

Yesterday Jane and I took William and Benjamin (Alexander was home taking a nap) to a fall festival hosted by Prudential Gammons Realty to benefit A.D.O.P.T., a not-for-profit volunteer organization dedicated to helping stray, abandoned, homeless and injured animals in our area.

They had face painting and pumpkin painting.



A "pin the face on the pumpkin" game.



"Find the quarter in the haystack."



And, of course, the standard fall festival food and refreshments. Including the mother of all candy apples. (Trust me, this thing was huge. The picture doesn't do it any justice.)



Fall Festivals. They're a perfect way to spend time outdoors... after the summer heat and before the bitter cold of winter.

And yesterday was a fun, exhilarating time for all.



Well, for most of us.

- Audrey

Blame It On The Rain

I sit down at my beloved Dell keyboard ready to write something genius. Mind blowing. Artful. Insightful. Inspirational.

Today will be my day.

My fingers freeze. I see the letters and keys in front of me, but my hands are stuck. They tremble over the laptop buttons, but can't find their way through the maze of letters.

Paralyzed.

I have no choice but to force my fingers to type. Something. Anything.

Tap Tap Tippity Tap

But all that appears on the screen is crap crap crappity crap.

Backspace. Backspace. Backspace. Backspace. Backspace. Backspace.

Start again.

Click clack clack click.

Still crap.

Do I get up and do something else? Do I make myself write even though nothing of substance comes out?

Why is it that on some days the words flow so effortlessly it's as if my mind has been storing up creative thoughts for an eternity. The thoughts pour out of my head and onto the screen like warm honey. So sweet and delicious are my words. MY words. They fit together perfectly. I see my voice on these days.

But there are Other Days too.

Oh, are there Other Days.

Other Days where my mind is blank.

Where the most interesting thing that I write is my grocery list.

Milk, Juice, Cold Cuts, Bread, Cheerios, Yogurt, Pancake Mix, Chicken nuggets.

Yep, that pretty much sums up my daily existence on Other Days.

As frustrating as they are, I try my best to wait out those Days. Hope they pass quickly. Pray that the Warm Honey days out number the Grocery List Days.

If I wait long enough and pretend that I don't care (but, oh, how I DO care!) the Grocery List Days usually come to an end. Which makes the honey all the more sweeter.

Unfortunately, I've been having a Grocery List Day for the better part of two weeks.

I blame the rain. Damn, New England weather.