Pea Soup

This just in....it's a little warm out. Ew. I just bought a car on my birthday earlier this month. It's black with black leather interior. The steering wheel is black, the floor is black, the radio is black, the roof is black, even the TIRES are black! My parents said I am nuts for doing that because black means HOT. I am nuts. I LOVE it though. Now that it's 165 degrees outside, getting into my car is like being sucked into a black hole, next to the sun, nekkid. You can seriously suffer 9th degree burns on your tuchus if you are not careful. All of that does not matter, though, because the car is a chick magnet. It's a new Audi A4 with a 5-speed turbo engine. Zoom zoom zoom. Chicks dig it. Thing is, they look in at me driving it and think I'm smiling at them when the truth is that I'm grimacing from the incredible pain my testicles are experiencing sitting on a black leather seat in the summertime. Whatever the case - it's a cool car and I love it. Barely fits the family but that's OK cause we got the family joneser - the Buick Rendezvous - to carry the four of us.

The title of this entry is dedicated to my dad. Everytime he came home from work, if it was over 75 degrees out, he would walk into the house with the same routine...

"Hello hello! Mmmmmmmmm....something smells YUMMY! Yech - it's hot in here . It's HAZY HOT AND HUMID outside. It's PEA SOUP!"

So everyone enjoy the heat - it should get better this weekend. More updates with Elijah and Hannah next week!!!!

dad

Sum-Sum-Summertime!

No matter how old I get, I always get the same butterflies in my stomach at this time each year. The school year is over and its SUMMERTIME! For Elijah, that means no more school until September. No more Ms. Joyce. No more 7-5:30 and no more naps on his cot. Today, camp started! Five days per week, Elijah will go to the JCC at 7am and stay until Mommy picks him up at 2pm. He is in room SIX now which means he is older. He's no longer a "fish" anymore; he's graduated to a "peacock." ALL weekend long, he was talking about going to camp on Monday and being a peacock. "School's over. I'm a peacock now!! NO FISHY!! No more Ms. Joyce. My teacher is Ms. Claudette now." Very adorable. So he goes to sleep last night after having a little trouble - he asked me to lay in his bed with him. I think he was a little scared about starting camp but he would not admit it. We got up this morning and he was so excited about going to a new room wth new teachers. We drove to camp and walked in to the JCC. Because all the kids come around the same time in the morning, everyone meets in Room 2 (Elijah's old room). Ms. Dominga (one of Elijah's old teachers) meets us in there and then the teachers come and take their kids. So...as soon as we stop to go into Room 2....he starts crying. TEARS are streaming down his face. He would not walk into the room. By the time he calmed down, he said that he didn't want to be a fishy anymore and wanted to go to his NEW teacher. "No more Ms. Dominga!" It was adorable. He didn't understand that we were just meeting in there for a minute - he wasn't staying in there!! Thank goodness, Ms. Claudette came and took him by the hand and we walked together to Room 6. Elijah saw his name all over the place and felt much better. He's going to have Ms. Claudette all summer and then all next school year as well in the Peacock room.

Deb is picking up Elijah every day at 2pm for the summer. After camp is over, he gets a two week break and then school starts up again!!!

Later!

A Picture is Worth....

I've had lots of requests for pictures so I will post them more often. Hannah is changing so fast, it seems every day we notice something different! Anyway...most of you will be receiving a nice picture with the birth announcement in the next week or so. Here you go with some new pics!!





Isn't she awesome? ;-)

Always more to come...

dad

You Can't Always Get What You Want.....so pee on the floor

The Terrible Two's. The biggest farce I've ever heard. There is no such thing as the terrible two's. I believed we had cleared a hurdle when Elijah turned three last December. We said, "Terrible two's? That was easy!" He he he. No. Folks, if you have not had a child reach the age of three yet...fasten your seat belts! Now don't get me wrong here...it's not "terrible" as the phrase goes. It is, however, the most challenging time of our lives. It's like the most difficult test we had in school. You know that if you choose 'B' and the correct answer is 'C', it could ruin your semester and make the rest of your college career more difficult. So the decision on what action to take when your three-year old is sitting on the floor crying and screaming because he does not want to brush his teeth is a BIG decision!! Hard to believe...but true!

Elijah woke up this morning in a great mood. He knew that Grandpa was picking him up early from school to take him bike riding. He knew that tomorrow there is no school because he is going to see Thomas the Tank Engine live with his cousins. Life was good. Until he realized he was three. Deb was washing him with a washcloth because he sweated during the night and she was freshening his up for the day. He decided he didn't want to be fresh for the day so he sat on the floor and threw a tantrum. He was screaming and yelling LONG after Deb left the bathroom and returned to our bed. I jumped in the shower. The best thing to do is let him have it out. Trying to talk and reason with him makes it worse. So I am in the shower and I hear his crying getting closer to my bathroom door. My head is full of shampoo and I hear Deb calling me, "Jord - big problem here. I am feeding Hannah and Elijah has to go potty." Now, about a month ago, Elijah started going potty standing up at home. He only has to sit down when he has to...well...you know...sit down. So he stands all the time at the toilet. So I call out to Elijah to come into the bathroom and go potty. He's not having it. Already in a tantrum from earlier, he is standing outside the bathroom door screaming that he wants to be picked up and placed on the potty. Not happening. Now I am rinsing my hair of the shampoo. All I hear over the running water is Deb saying, "GO IN THE BATHROOM AND STAND AT THE POTTY" and Elijah screaming, "NO!" Well, I turn the water off and step foot out of the stall and...you guessed it...he had stood there outside the bathroom door and completely peed on himself and made a massive "morning pee" puddle. Can you believe this? He gets his stubborn attitude from Mommy. I mean, this boy chose to stand there and pee on his favorite Superman PJ's then listen to his parents and walk 10 steps to the toilet. So, I clean him all up and he's still pissed off, like its our fault that he went peepee on himself.

"Elijah, next time you have to go potty, go to the toilet and pull down your pants like you always do, and go potty in the toilet."

"NO!"

"Do you want to act like a baby?"

"NO! I'm not a BABY!"

"Then go potty in the toilet!"

"NO!"

You see where this is going. Stubborn...stubborn...stubborn.

By the time we got to school he was happy as a kid could be. He was running around and saying hello to everyone. Ugggh. Another learning experience.

This is Elijah's last week of school. Summer camp at the JCC starts next Monday.

I'm going to go potty now. In the toilet.

dad

Don't Overcook It

If you ever want to make me laugh, approach me when I am cooking at the BBQ and say, "don't overcook it." It's instant laughter. You see, my Dad LOVES to BBQ. We ate BBQ in my house all summer long. Chicken, steak, london broil, fish, you name it - Dad grilled it. The procedure was the same every single time - no exceptions. Mom would prepare the meat and deliver it to Dad on a plate. Immediately after handing him the plate came the first D.O.I ("don't overcook it"). Dad gave the proverbial nod of the head and the eyes roll back. You know that look. The grill received the meat and began to cook it. About twelve and a half seconds into the cooking, Mom looks out the window from the kitchen and utters the SECOND D.O.I. Dad, again, keeps his cool and continues to turn the meat and sip his Michelob Light. Ninety one seconds later, yelling from the upstairs guest bathroom is Mom's voice with the third D.O.I. Now, Dad can't hold back any longer. "Jeez, I heard you for heaven's sake!" Then, fearing un-acceptance of the finished product and, ultimately, the wrath of Mom, he whispers for me to walk over to the BBQ. Cutting a small slit in the side of the meat, he asks outloud, "Is this done?" Now I was the one in the pickle. If I say "No" and he ends up overcooking it, I'M the one who ordered the meat scortched. If I say "Yes" and we bring it in bleeding, I'm the one who's the cannibal. Whatever, I'm screwed. So I take the high road, "Dunno, Dad, you are the cook. I just eat it." He he. The walk into the house with the cooked meat on the plate takes place in slow motion. As Dad is putting the plate on the dinner table, Mom is watching him and the meat. Her eyes go back and forth and back and forth. His eyes NEVER lock with hers. It's in God's hands now. "It BETTER not be overcooked." We sit down. Dad cuts his meat - "Ummmm.....YUMMY!!! Delicious!!!" Mom sits down and cuts her meat and promptly asks if she can trade her sharp knife in for a hammer and chisel. Dinner is served.

The Middletown BBQ was this past Sunday and it was yummy! Everyone had a blast and we missed the DePadova's and the Sollog's. Everyone met Hannah and she got a storeful of gifts. Elijah and Matthew played great and Katherine stared at me for 3 hours. I loved it. It was great to see everyone there and we shoud do this more often!! As we were leaving, I was walking with Dad to the car and I said, "Great job with the chicken, it was delicious!" Dad looked at me and said, "Really? Mom said it was overcooked." The more things change.....

Send me e-mail!!


More pictures to be posted soon!!!

dad

Back to the Future

It's Friday morning at 8:42 and I am already pooped. It's been a miserable week for me at work and, as a result, I have felt extra tired and worn down. I'm telling you - in sales if you are having a bad week, it seems like your life is crashing down on you! Then again, when you have a good week, you feel invincible. This year has been great for me professionaly...until this week. Brutal! But when things are going bad, you always hope there is some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. For me - that light is this weekend.

Tonight I am off to the Phillies game with Elijah. Father and son. Baseball. It's heaven for me.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Now, I admit I have had problems with my birthdays in recent years because...well...that means I am older...BUT - this time I am OK with it. Maybe it's because my family is "complete" now with Hannah having arrived. Maybe because it's 36 and NOT 30 or 35 or...{puke} 40. 36 to me just seems like a number. I didn't even realize that my birthday was coming until a few days ago. Mom and Dad are hosting a breakfast for me. Complete with all the sausage and eggs I can eat!! YESSS!! Those of you who have eaten with me the past four months know that I am a devout follower of the Atkins way of eating and sausage and eggs are my soup and sandwich.

The best part of the weekend, however, will be on Sunday. There is an important picnic at my parents house. EVERYONE will be there. Who is everyone? Man, how do I explain that. Hmmmm..... Well, I guess I can ask the question, "When you were growing up as a young person, what or whom motivated you to become the person you are today?" I grew up (until age 12) in Middletown, NJ. Our street had more nice and friendly people on it than ANY street in the WORLD. I am serious! People waved at you and everyone knew eachother. From that ONE street (Richard Terrace), my family gained over ten lifelong friends. Count the offspring and you have 20-30 people just from Richard Terrace! My parents have not lost touch with ANY of them and its been 32 years since they met. How many of you have had ONE friend for 32 years?? We are blessed in the fact that we moved to Middletown at all!! Some of the very best and warmest memories of my life happened on Richard Terrace. Whether it was in the "circle" or in someone's backyard playing whiffleball or having a picnic by the pool. I still remember the sign on Alice's pool - "Welcome to our ool. Notice there is no P in it. Keep it that way." Mark had a pool too. He learned a valuable lesson one day. DON'T sit on the edge of a 4 foot ABOVE GROUND pool. He still has the scars where the pins were placed in his arm. John's pool had a HUGE wooden ledge that went around the whole pool. It was huge! He had a huge yard - we could play whiffle ball and then jump in the pool. Ahhhhh....

That was my life in the 70's. Made me who I am today. So many influential people - all so different but all special in their own ways. Johanna is John's mom. She's STILL influential in my life - she's motivated me to keep writing on this site!

So Sunday everyone congregates at Mom's house. Everyone will be meeting Hannah for the first time and Mark had a new daugter Katherine too. My hope is that Hannah and Katherine and all the kids have people in their early lives like I did. 32 years from now, maybe they will be able to say the same things!

Have a great weekend everyone...I know I will!!

Send me e-mail


dad

I Got Your Back

My mom takes great pride in the fact that her older son has always been "protective" of her younger daughter. Truth is, Candice and I have always been pretty tight. That's one of the reasons why I was happy to have Elijah first and then Hannah. Same setup as Candice and I. My hope is that Elijah and Hannah grow up to be close and that they watch out for eachother. I want Hannah's boyfriends to treat her nice for fear that her brother may come and kick their butts. Two days ago, there was already evidence of this "protection." Deb went to Elijah's school to pick him up and introduce Hannah to the teachers. After the second of the three teachers had a turn holding Hannah, Elijah blurted out, "Mommy - YOU hold her." I love it!!! She's three weeks old and her brother is already looking out for her.

Now I know I always talk about how wonderful everything is and sometime people ask me about that. "How can EVERYTHING be so great in your life ALL the time?" I guess I am not always real enough! Hey, it's not easy having two kids!! I don't want to sugarcoat things. Believe me, Elijah has had his tough times. But that's what they are.....times. 95% of the time he is a joy. 5% of the time his head is spinning on an axis. Either way, I love him. Last week, during a particularly difficult 10 minutes, Elijah was not happy with our answers to his questions and decided to..well..I guess the best way to describe it is he acted like he was three. (If you have a three year old....you KNOW what I am talking about!!) He was running around screaming and then gave us THIS line, "I don't like you anyMORE!" He was expressing himself! Deb didn't hesitate for a second. She came right back and said, "that's too bad because you know what? I LOVE YOU." Good line. Five minutes later he was asking for tickets to see Superman Live. There is no such show but the kid has imagination. "Eli, sweetie, there is no Superman Live show."

"OK. Can we get tickets?"

"No - you see - um...Superman is on TV and in the movies but there is NO live Superman show."

"OK - if I'm a good listener at school then we can get tickets to Superman Live?"

"I love you Elijah."

Maybe when he grows up, he will produce a Superman Live show.

Send me e-mail!


dad

It's In My Head

You know how sometimes you meet someone new and they know that they are gorgeous? The kind of person you talk about and say, "He/She is perfect - but they know it." I know now that that mindset starts at an early age. Elijah knows he's gorgeous and awesome. I hope it lasts forever!! For now, it's very funny sometimes but also gets us into trouble.

For instance, EVERY time we go to the red store (Target), he knows he is getting a present. Not good. I mean, we LOVE to buy him presents - that's for sure. It makes us happy to see him happy. Problem is...if we go to the red store and try to NOT buy him a present - he cries all the way home. He thinks he deserves a present every time. Until now, we really didn't have a way to tell if he deserved it or not. NOW we do!!

We are putting together this simple system of stars. Everytime Elijah is a "good listener" he gets a star on the board. When he's not a "good listener" he gets one taken away. When he reaches a certain number of stars, he gets a present from the red store. Perfect! Stay tuned to see how Elijah is doing Shooting for the Stars!

Meanwhile, yesterday the two of us went to bring Buba her dinner (Buba is my 95 year old grandmother). Elijah and I brought her her favorite meal - a fish sandwich from McDonalds. While we were there setting it up, Elijah picked up the phone in the room and pretended to call my mom (his Abuela). He didn't think I was listening but I heard every word...

"Hello Abuela. You are my grandma and I am your grandson. I am delicious. I am gorgeous. OK? Bye."

Then he said to me, "That was Abuela on the telephone."

He knows he is loved.

Hope your weekend was great! Hannah is doing great - there's not much to say at this point because she is still sleeping and eating but her awake time is getting longer and she is beginning to show signs of play! We may get a smile soon!!!

Send me e-mail!!


dad