Anyone feeling motivated today?  Because I am staring down a suitcase full of dirty clothes and I am not feeling it.  Babe-o’s emptied a can of breadcrumbs onto the wood floor in the dining room and was playing in it like a sandbox.  I guess that’s what the central vac is for…a favorite feature of my new, old home.   Looks like we are rained in the rest of the day, a good day to get under the covers and take a nap.

Where do you call home?  Is it where you grew up or where you live now?  I have lived away from Ohio now longer than I lived there but still refer to the place I grew up as home.  It’s that warm fuzzy feeling I have when I get there that makes it home.  It’s the places and people I want to see and things I want to eat when I get there.  Being at home makes me feel like I’ve taken a good yoga class- totally relaxed.  But sad to say, like Cinderella, after 4 days or so the magic wears off and it’s time to go “home” to my grown-up life. 

This week is turning out to be an adventure which is what I guess vacations are all about.  It’s hard having to be mom and dad since dad is not with us, but we’re finding our way.  I may not be the best person to throw the football around with but I think my son and I have found our thing.  Last night I took him to the roller arena that I grew up skating on.  I haven’t been a regular since sixth or seventh grade.  We brought our blades and we were good to go.  They had not one, but six! disco balls and some great music.  And I had enough sense to sit out the hokey pokey so as not to embarass him.

I’m sure one of you caught The Bachelor last night, probably after you watched Dancing With the Stars.  Since we live in the central time zone I can never watch Dancing because it starts at 7pm when I’m getting everyone ready for bed.  Anyway,  I was embarrased to watch these women compete for the bachelor’s attention.  It was like one big Wringling Bros. freak show with women singing for him or showing him how flexible they were.   

It reminded me of a strange phenomena that occurs in our home when visitors come calling.  My mother-in-law brought the daughter of one of her dear friends over to meet us recently.  Now I will say that she was a charming young woman and she did come bearing Pop Tarts in every available flavor. (i think to shout out that she is a “fun” mom)  But as soon as we sat down in our living room to have a “grown-up” visit, my children started displaying all of their talents…some I didn’t know they had.  We had gymnastics, ballet, lip synching and wrestling to name a few.  “Play chase!” “Play  hide and seek,” they asked of this poor woman.  My children turned into these needy little people and any attention they received was soaked up like a sponge.  I guess we don’t get many visitors but I also know I need to play with them more.  My automatic response has become..”in a minute,” Or, “after I clean up the kitchen.”  Since I’ve left all dishes behind this week I have no excuse.  I’m going to play more and see what happens. 

The suitcases are out and nearly ready to go.  My son tells me that going to Ohio is NOT a vacation.  I guess it’s not the typical spring break like most families around here take..you know, like Florida or Mexico or skiing the rockies.  But I say that anytime I don’t have to take the laundry with me or cook when I get there, it IS a vacation.

Oh happy Spring!  We are under a winter storm watch with 6-10 inches on the way but on Sunday we will be dressed in our Easter best..bonnets and all.   Ham’s 5th birthday is on Easter this year so we will have double the fun!  (Ham is from her brother, not me, he shortened her middle name, Hamilton when she was a baby)

One of my favorite Easter memories is the fantastic egg hunts I had with my cousins including, Katy from www.katyshops.wordpress.com  We have these hilarious home videos of us running through the yard (usually muddy) with the grass falling out of our baskets.  Then the end of the video has us all lined up showing off our find.  I don’t remember elaborate baskets filled with toys like they have now, it was all about the thrill of the hunt which I guess we’ll be having in the snow this year.

Move over soccer mom.  You’re familiar with the affectionate term that refers to a middle or upper middle class housewife with school age children.  Since it gained popularity during the 1992 and ‘96 presidential campaign and since we’re in that season again, I think it’s time for an update.   Although I’ll warn you I’m not so sure I like the new term I’m proposing but I think it’s a little more current. 

As I was picking up Babe-o’s asthma meds and shopping for pull-ups and Easter candy, I saw no less than three moms from my Ham’s preschool.  Navigating my cart through the store I started to cringe at what I’ve become…a Target Mom!!  And since it is still the Lenten season, I think it’s a habit I need to give up.  I mean, what is the value in running in to the store to pick up the diapers and getting caught in a time warp and coming out an hour and at least $100 later? 

Remember that song, “make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold”  Well, two things got me thinking about friends recently.

One, a fun questionnaire aimed at helping you get to know your friends better crossed my email the other day.  One of the questions asked if I made friends easily.  I instinctively said yes but now I think that maybe that’s not so true.  I mean, it’s easy to make acquaintances but I think true friends are hard to come by.

The second thing was a phone call from the husband of a friend from my days at CNN.  He is planning her 40th birthday party and said that we are on her short list of those she wants to share her big day with.  We were in the trenches together working our first job out of college and through the ups and downs of boyfriend traumas.  We were in eachother’s weddings and although we don’t talk on a regular basis, when we do we seem to pick up right where we left off.   So I have been wondering what makes a good friend?  Is it someone who knows all the details of your life and is with you every step of the way…or someone who you know you can count on for the big things.  Or, are you happy to have a group you share the same interests with like a bunco group or book club, but you never really share intimate details..

My friend Laurie and I grew up together and have a long history. But we lost touch as adults.  I’m grateful that we reconnected two years ago.  She was there for me when it mattered: dressing my babies for my dad’s funeral when I could hardly dress myself.  I consider myself lucky to have friends such as these.  How about you?

Did you see this in the news?  A suburban Chicago mom appeared in court this week to answer charges of child endangerment for leaving her toddler asleep in a parked (and locked) car.  She was never more than 30 ft. away from the car, which was in her sight at all times.  Now, she wasn’t doing this for some selfish reason like running into Starbucks to get her morning fix.  No, she had a do-good reason which was to walk her two older children over to a Salvation Army kettle to deposit $8.49 they had collected for the annual drive.  The Assistant State’s Atty. eventually dropped the charges.

I’m wondering, have you ever left your kids alone in the car?  I can tell you that I just did it this week.  Babe-o’s had her wee gourmet cooking class and her older sister was too sick to go.  So I left Ham (an affectionate name from her brother) in the car while I walked Babe-o’s into class.  I thought about dragging Ham in with us but  didn’t think anyone would benefit from her coughing all over the place.  I’ve also done it to dodge the carpool line at the church preschool.  I would never leave her alone at say, the Shell station or in a Target parking lot.  But really, what’s the difference?  There could be carjackers or gypsies waiting to snatch a little cutie anywhere.  In fact,  I have let my husband have it for running into a gas station while our son was in the car, as if the church parking lot is really a “safer” place.

I’m sure our parents did it plenty of times or maybe not since there were no carseats back then  and we all just rolled around on the back seat.  I’m curious what you think.

We had a situation yesterday. When I went to pick Babe-o’s up from her cooking class, the teacher handed me this note.

Dear Mrs. H.

I talked with C. today.  She knows that if she wets herself next week, she will not be able to continue with Session 2.  Children need to be out of pull-ups and completely (underlined for emphasis) toilet trained for my classes as stated in the Recreation brochure booklet from which you registered.  Please encourage C. with her toilet-training goal so that she may continue with Wee Gourmet.

Thank you,

Mrs. W.

fyi -Babe-o’s toilet training is one of my highest priorities right now and I take it very seriously.  Also, I am glad this is my third child and I can have a nice little chuckle and know that it won’t impact her future aspirations.