tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70908557356598472492024-03-05T02:07:43.035-06:00WaldenMommy: Life Behind the Red Front DoorLife behind the Red Front Door.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.comBlogger758125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-65831951985987031062016-01-19T10:13:00.002-06:002016-01-19T10:13:41.410-06:00The end is but the beginningI'm ending this blog for now. You can find me at: laurakcolon.blogspot.com<br />
<br />
Thank you!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-45915073719630647272015-08-03T21:01:00.000-05:002015-08-03T21:01:17.121-05:00Bathe yourselfI promise, promise I am getting to the post about the book launch and a giveaway. Promise!<br />
<br />
This summer has been all about growing up. My oldest spent 3 weeks with his grandparents, My daughter is wondering about all the things and suddenly is interested in good smelling bath products and bathing. The little boys... well, I think I have to force them to grow up.<br />
<br />
It's not that I want to rush my kids into being teens or adults. But my little boys were little for so long and in so many ways. I mean, they didn't talk on time. One took longer to potty train. Cole is smaller than alot of kids his age and, frankly, they are my two youngest kids, only 16 months apart. Yeah, of course they tend to get a little more babied than the other two, who had a sibling on the way to "force" them to do "big kid" things.<br />
<br />
They had a couple bad habits, enabled by their exhausted parents who just wanted to sleep, damn it, and were/are tired of arguing with the older kids. We didn't have the energy to argue over who sleeps where- just fall asleep in our bed already!<br />
<br />
But we're done. They're too big and too heavy to easily move from our bed. As I type this, I am sitting in their room as they fall asleep, a big improvement from both boys laying on me in the master bed to go to sleep.<br />
<br />
And bathing. Oh, the baths. I mean, yeah, HUGE improvement over when George wouldn't even sit down in the tub. But baths are still a 30 minute ordeal with lots of water splashing and then clean up. At five and six, I figured it was time they learned to shower on their own.<br />
<br />
As you can imagine, they were not impressed. I began the night by saying, "Tonight you boys are going to take a shower! Yay!"<br />
<br />
They looked at me like I had suggested nuking kittens. "I HATE SHOWERS!!!" they wailed.<br />
<br />
I got excited, hoping they wouldn't see through my lies. "You LOVE showers," I proclaimed.<br />
<br />
"I HATE SHOWERS!!" they screamed and ran away. I finally flushed George out from behind a door and carried him into the bathroom, stripping off his bathing suit as I went. He whimpered. I dumped him in the shower and turned it on.<br />
<br />
He whined.<br />
<br />
I washed his hair and handed him a bar of soap and a washcloth. "Scrub," I instructed and pulled the curtain closed.<br />
<br />
Silence. No wailing. And then... laughter. "This is so much fun!" he crowed, scrubbing himself clean. I sighed.<br />
<br />
And repeated the whole thing with Cole, right down to dumping him into the shower and having him love it two seconds later.<br />
<br />
Fifteen minutes after dumping George into the shower, both boys were running down the hall, screeching, "I love showers!" to my husband.<br />
<br />
Weird kids. And I give up.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-92220553514077768682015-07-17T12:03:00.000-05:002015-07-17T12:03:17.082-05:00Book Launch, Pizza and Bagels: Three Days in NYC (pt. 1)(Begin <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2015/07/less-than-24-hours-from-now.html">here</a> to read about how everything magically fell in place.)<br />
<br />
Whenever something big happens, for good or not, my anxiety tends to ramp up. It's a perfectly normal response to excitement so I'm used to it. I was even amused when I woke up at 2:30 am, shook Adam awake and said, "What time is it?!" fearful I had missed the alarm and my plane.<br />
<br />
My husband. He's a good sport.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, I did NOT miss my alarm or plane. I was up, dressed and out of the house before six am. I made sure to reward myself for my prompt and early arrival:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOPMxtEytJaNAz8YoSmFW_efUG5AvsiBRRHswWi5OzuE6u_H-jGZgYTNESUa5prQgaOBvIgJR_wwKOfcn15giteixe0P__vIkoMLyOND59IXWp-cn5JKrgScOUHOffSoW9xCZG5NlPNM/s1600/11728857_10155822471215710_852300237350095546_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOPMxtEytJaNAz8YoSmFW_efUG5AvsiBRRHswWi5OzuE6u_H-jGZgYTNESUa5prQgaOBvIgJR_wwKOfcn15giteixe0P__vIkoMLyOND59IXWp-cn5JKrgScOUHOffSoW9xCZG5NlPNM/s200/11728857_10155822471215710_852300237350095546_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Cute story: When I was in line at Starbucks, a mom and little girl were in front of me, chatting away in Sign. I know a few baby signs and couldn't make out anything they were saying but, "Can I have this donut? How about this candy? Or this?" and "No! It's too early for junk!" are conversations that would never need a translator!<br />
<br />
My flight from KC to TX was on-time and smooth flying. I read <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316234494/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316234494&linkCode=as2&tag=wallifbehther-20&linkId=4PIBGZNH7XGBOXSN%22%3EThe%20100%20(The%20100%20Series)%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wallifbehther-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0316234494%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">The 100</a> on the plane and really enjoyed it. It's different from the TV show; enough different that I can't compare the two except to say that if you like one, you will like the other. The flight from TX to NYC was a little bumpy and I learned an important lesson: If you have to pee in TX, don't wait until NY to find a bathroom!<br />
<br />
(Adam: You know you can pee on the plane. They do have bathrooms.<br />
Me: I didn't want too! I was by the window and didn't want to climb over people!<br />
Adam: It's better than peeing on them!)<br />
<br />
For the record, I did NOT pee my pants. I just had trouble finding a bathroom when I got to NY and my bladder was not happy.<br />
<br />
So. Enough about that.<br />
<br />
People say NYC smells funny and I suppose it does. It defiantly doesn't smell like where I live in KS, which, at any given point, could smell like skunk, pollen or people grilling. Mostly it smells like nothing at all, a generic nothingness as if the entire county has been detoxed of any identifying odor. But the city smells like so many things, mostly like my childhood. In a way, it smells like Nana, my aunts and my cousins and so many fond memories of visiting them<br />
<br />
And it's loud. So loud! I'm sitting in my bedroom now and it's too quiet. The city never really sleeps and I remember the sounds soothing me when I spent the night at my nana's.<br />
<br />
I felt pretty slick taking car service by myself to my cousin's. I mean, ignore the fact that she arranged for it. The driver was really nice and told me he once owned his own company doing embroidery on shirts and jackets for places like Hard Rock Cafe, Disney, tourist shops, etc. It was fun to chat about colors and logos and such with him.<br />
<br />
My cousin! Ack, my older cousin and my plus one for the evening! It was so amazing to see her and my aunt. I haven't seen either of them since my uncle's funeral two years ago. My cousin cooked dinner, we walked the dogs and caught up on everything and I got a shower in my aunt's new shower that looked exactly like something out of a "bold look of Kolher" commercial. It felt even better, as if I was bathing in sunshine and rainbows. I'm moving in, just for the shower.<br />
<br />
I have one living grandparents, my father's mother that we call Nana. All of us- her children, in-laws and the grandkids- would do anything for Nana. She's an enigma. You do not cross Nana and if you gain her favor you get Spaghetti Pie and cookies from the Italian bakery.<br />
<br />
Ah, who am I kidding. She bring us cookies in the white box with the red twine no matter what!<br />
<br />
My cousin and I took the afternoon to visit Nana. She ordered real NY pizza and I had two slices and it was .... heaven. It was storming outside and another cousin told me I brought the mid-western weather with me. I agreed and he said he was going to throw me outside to sacrifice me to the weather gods. He was kidding. I think.<br />
<br />
Lunch with Nana was too short. Most of the time, I'm okay living where I do and I do love the life I have in the midwest. But it's times like that when I wish I was closer and I could have pizza and cake with my nana more often. I wish my children could visit the city like I did and have memories of playing in a pool in a small, cement backyard with astroturf grass. Many times during the trip I reminded myself to make sure I bring the kids to NYC to visit.<br />
<br />
Okay, enough about memory lane. After lunch, it was time for... the subway.<br />
<br />
Now, when I was younger and we were visiting Nana, my father put the FEAR OF GOD into me about the subway. I have no idea why. He never took us on it. We were too young to go on it with even our oldest cousins. We didn't live in the city. A few days before I flew into the city, I mentioned to Dad that my cousin and I were taking the subway to the book launch and he was all ZOMGOSH NO SUBWAY.<br />
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Of course I had to send this picture:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WFZaXgDHMuX33_uHXbh5rM_fkgCj8_8IJEluv7Shvtpd7FKwcUIBE8ndmeYwKACMx6ftAkOwI-vRk8MMcO2Ir4N2jhh5ARL2ohFJ5D-D9ebZ-uXXFZjVhv_iVl6GA3JvEjEZTE7cnI8/s1600/11705317_10155827093650710_4574859405631672633_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WFZaXgDHMuX33_uHXbh5rM_fkgCj8_8IJEluv7Shvtpd7FKwcUIBE8ndmeYwKACMx6ftAkOwI-vRk8MMcO2Ir4N2jhh5ARL2ohFJ5D-D9ebZ-uXXFZjVhv_iVl6GA3JvEjEZTE7cnI8/s200/11705317_10155827093650710_4574859405631672633_n.jpg" width="112" /></a></div>
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With the caption, "I'm on the subway!"<br />
Then I sent this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-HapVFL5jz43APjuJP21UN3nbpBt6VsmrMb22pYQt8myPmy-xySyV9ojwS3Uuc96TMJcNNvU6aDvgKI1EK0GgXCX0PfKeM2CpKgaa3ZHS_yzniiGhAnJNcmy4fClw_PEA3iJ795ge6U/s1600/11755712_10155827340615710_4338387188509364560_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-HapVFL5jz43APjuJP21UN3nbpBt6VsmrMb22pYQt8myPmy-xySyV9ojwS3Uuc96TMJcNNvU6aDvgKI1EK0GgXCX0PfKeM2CpKgaa3ZHS_yzniiGhAnJNcmy4fClw_PEA3iJ795ge6U/s320/11755712_10155827340615710_4338387188509364560_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
To prove I was getting ON THE SUBWAY and not just standing on some dirty old street. Look, I might be 35 and have four kids but I'm never too old to drive my parents crazy.<br />
<br />
Oh, and the subway? So not scary. Okay, the stairs were a giant pain. I was sweating and my thighs were burning by the time we were done. It's because I'm from the midwest and everything's flat. I joked that I had altitude sickness by the end of it. I was hot and sweaty and UGH. But stairs aside, it was FINE. I mean, yeah it was kinda dirty and it smelled funny but as long as you don't sit in any wet spots, you're good. As my brother-in-law's friend said, "If it smells funky, find another car." Wise words, that.<br />
<br />
We finally ended up in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn. I took many random pictures, just to show the kids the different landscape and how close we were to the water, trains, etc.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcL9dxMXtj3JVDdo_kdmYoYbaOkoOMoXNTYvAn1AgO9OU_95RDmAtPLF5buwH0gPvbaAZhSSrIP0lj2__wDp-ny_0GzzT3weq3UJn0vNPe2EuyJ9ObJQ25ItLdsWevWZSoIdaKJKtm5Q/s1600/dumbobrooklyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcL9dxMXtj3JVDdo_kdmYoYbaOkoOMoXNTYvAn1AgO9OU_95RDmAtPLF5buwH0gPvbaAZhSSrIP0lj2__wDp-ny_0GzzT3weq3UJn0vNPe2EuyJ9ObJQ25ItLdsWevWZSoIdaKJKtm5Q/s320/dumbobrooklyn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We even rode the Carousel! It was $2/ person and so fun!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsidtvg7qFIYq0MPBj4J1jXszkn4-ZMX9vxva88Tye6JnBUBiwYw9F73RrE2YE2x3Y0Qb57rF2Kvr2Yu2mI4BOMgG0WxjvGjWeYmX4NPcZMJYSEuKaEZZyTyaYOD0q5AGy9Vu7fA0e5o/s1600/11760100_10155827339115710_7730676598202222581_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsidtvg7qFIYq0MPBj4J1jXszkn4-ZMX9vxva88Tye6JnBUBiwYw9F73RrE2YE2x3Y0Qb57rF2Kvr2Yu2mI4BOMgG0WxjvGjWeYmX4NPcZMJYSEuKaEZZyTyaYOD0q5AGy9Vu7fA0e5o/s320/11760100_10155827339115710_7730676598202222581_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and the city in the background.</td></tr>
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I think we spent a good thirty minutes just hanging by the water, talking and admiring the building. Admid the hustle and bustle of the city, it was so calm and peaceful. I told my cousin it felt like home, like every good childhood memory I have of visiting my cousins. I can remember waking up in the car and being so excited to see the bridges because I knew we were close to Nana's.<br />
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But then it was time to mosey back and get ready for the launch.<br />
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(You seriously thought I could make this one post! HA! Stay tuned for more fun!)Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-2177997102083519732015-07-13T15:41:00.002-05:002015-07-13T15:41:52.895-05:00Less than 24 hours from now...I'm getting stupid excited for the book launch. And it's not even my book! I dunno. I think it's everything- the launch, seeing my grandmother, my cousins, my aunt, my brother-in-law AND meeting his girlfriend. I took the kids out to get presents for some people and we're now home watching TV and waiting for laundry to finish. Just this morning, I have:<br />
<br />
checked in early<br />
printed my boarding pass<br />
printed the info for the car service<br />
printed information for Adam on who needs to be where and when<br />
e-mailed workouts for "my" group to the head coach AND printed copies for the other coaches<br />
bought a book<br />
downloaded several books to my Kindle app on my phone AND my computer<br />
downloaded a new album to my phone because heaven forbid I be BORED<br />
got presents for people. Yep, super cook Kansas presents. I am awesome like that.<br />
Bought a pretty new skirt to match my lucky white shirt.<br />
Read<a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/07/12/421133751/after-fight-for-life-and-media-firestorm-distressed-baby-is-happy-toddler?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150712"> this article </a>about the book<br />
<br />
Speaking of parenting things, my oldest is hanging out with my parents for 3 weeks. So far he has mowed the lawn, helped my mom in the garden, gone to the barber, helped baby-sit his cousins and gone shopping for the food pantry. If he thought it was going to be all fun and games and SUGAR... poor kid. I'll feel bad for him sometimes. ;) No, really, he's going to have a blast.<br />
<br />
I have to run and finish packing. Shoes. I need to pick SHOES.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-42874341471584079962015-07-01T12:48:00.001-05:002015-07-01T12:48:21.887-05:00It's a .... thing?It's July one, which means:<br />
1. My oldest nephew's birthday is today! Yay!<br />
and<br />
2. The anniversary of my niece's passing is next week. Um, big booooo.<br />
<br />
As a result of number two AND a wicked sinus infection that required drugs upon drugs, I've been feeling a little down in the dumps. I'm tired (thank you, stupid infection), hot (thanks, summer) and agnsty. I'm not as bad as I could be, as I'm taking great care of myself, but everything's just been a little off.<br />
<br />
Then Sunday I logged onto Facebook and checked a local preemie charity I follow. They posted a picture of a baby they are helping and he's wearing one of my hats! A hat I donated and made in memory of Miss Who! I was really excited, as I've never seen one of my donated hats on a baby before! (I've made ones for friends and seen pictures but not one I've donated to a local NICU.) It made me feel great to know they are being loved and used!<br />
<br />
The next day, the kids and I found a ladybug in the pool. I didn't know ladybugs could swim! When I got close to scoop her out of the pool, I noticed she had alot of spots on her back and some of them were heart shaped. I called my kids over and they agreed; heart shaped spots. She was not happy that I was trying to get her out of the water and scurried around until Camille carried her off to the roses that grow in the nearby garden.<br />
<br />
(Ladybugs are always associated with my niece. We see them randomly but always at times that are important to us, like when we did family pictures.)<br />
<br />
Tuesday, I fired up my computer to find... and invitation to <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2015/05/so-this-happened.html">Deanna Fei's book launch. </a><br />
<br />
To say you had to peel me off the ceiling is a major understatement! I was so, so excited! I really wanted to go but was fairly sure it couldn't happen. I mean, it will be in NYC and I am so not in NYC. Besides, I don't want to travel around a major city alone... but wait.<br />
<br />
I have cousins. Cousins who live in New York.<br />
<br />
What happened next was a flurry of texting and calls to my husband and my cousins. My husband found out that we have enough points to get me to New York for FREE if I stay just 48 hours. My cousin is off work that week and I can stay with her. The venue is 15 minutes away from her house and she can be my plus one! I can see my grandmother! The whole trip is going to cost me time off work and food.<br />
<br />
I'd like to say it's a God-thing. That there's a reason this random trip resulting from a random comment left on an article is happening now. Is there? Perhaps. It's so easy to say that God (or my niece) had a hand in this trip. I mean, look how everything fell into place! I don't know, though. I think God has a hand in everything and that if this trip hadn't worked out, there would be a reason for that too. (And even though it worked out, the loss of 3 days pay for me has me nervous... hello, trust.)<br />
<br />
Maybe this trip is a God thing.<br />
Maybe it is a Miss Who thing.<br />
Maybe it's .... a thing.<br />
<br />
But at the end of the day... I'M GOING TO A BOOK LAUNCH!!!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-21099095112599215982015-06-17T09:30:00.000-05:002015-06-17T09:30:19.693-05:00Best Laid Schemes<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-indent: -1em;"><i>But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,</i></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -1em;"><i>In proving foresight may be vain:</i></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -1em;"><i>The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men</i></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -1em;"><i> Gang aft agley,</i></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -1em;"><i>An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,</i></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -1em;"><i> For promis’d joy!</i></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(from <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173072">"To a Mouse" by Robert Burns</a>) </div>
<br />
This year, I had plans for summer. I was no longer <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2015/03/i-refuse-to-get-my-hopes-up.html">going to put our summer on hold because we "might" travel.</a> I wasn't going to sit around and look at everyone else's pictures of the beach, mountains and cruises while I was at home, hitting up the neighborhood pool for the millionith time. I wasn't going to be "cruise director" and do ALL THE THINGS for the kids. Nope! Camps were to be had! Swim team needed to be coached and swum! Robotics! The LEGO exhibit at the gardens! A mother's helper to help while I worked! Imma gonna take back summer and have fun, even if my husband is allergic to traveling!<br />
<br />
Well. Best laid schemes and all.<br />
<br />
I've been working for a swim team that takes place year 'round (henceforth known as the Year Round Team, YRT) since September.<a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2015/04/wonderment-of-good-job.html"> I love it and enjoy what I am doing. </a> This team reminds me why I love swimming and working with the kids. It's just a good situation and a team I would happily put my kids on.<br />
<br />
Because swimming can be seasonal and, in the past, my employment has been based off numbers, I am always slightly unsure if I will have a job in the next season. It's just the nature of the beast and has nothing to do with me as a coach. Yet most swim coaches know that if you want to pack in the hours and dollars, you can work for a summer league team. Thanks to my awesome networking skillz, I heard about a possible position with a summer league (SL) team. Long story short, I was offered the job and accepted.<br />
<br />
I knew the head coach had a reputation for being... not what I am used to... but I figured I could work with it. I can generally work with anyone. Plus, sometimes people get a bad rap just because of one thing or because their style doesn't work for everyone. I met the head coach, HC, a couple times and could see why her personality was polarizing; you either loved or hated her. Still, it didn't bother me too much and I figured we could work together. Even though I got looks of pity from the other YRT coaches, I figured I could suck anything up for seven weeks.<br />
<br />
I couldn't.<br />
<br />
It came down to a few things: a) don't belittle me in front of parents and swimmers; b) I will not teach strokes incorrectly and c) don't yell and belittle the swimmers.<br />
<br />
The parents were awesome. The place where the SL team is held is very multi-cultural and I loved getting to know people from all walks of life. The guards were great- sweet, funny and professional. I enjoyed the other coaches. It was just the HC who ruined it for me.<br />
<br />
I mostly feel horrible. Lots and lots of people I trust- my parents, my sister, my husband and the YRT coaches- have told me it is not worth staying in a toxic situation.Not even for the money- and oh the pay was good! We could use the money but, as my mother-in-law said, most people can always use more money. Based on the events that came to a head, and pushed me over the edge into quitting, I know I pissed off the director and assistant director. I like both of them and am upset that I angered them.<br />
<br />
And the money. Sigh. It would have gone a long way towards paying for speech. I was going to treat myself to LUSH products and spoil the kids with a trip to a water park this summer. Between the two teams, I was working 20 hours a week and the house was a mess but I would have enough money for a housekeeper when Adam has his surgery. Oh, and we could sock it away for emergencies. Not that we can't live off just Adam's salary- we can and do. It's just... extra is nice. (Vacation anyone?)<br />
<br />
In spite of feeling horrible, I'm trying to look on the bright side. Do you know how bad I smelled after coaching on a steamy deck? I think my tweens smelled better! (Hence the need for Lush products!) I can spend more time with the kids (yay!) and keep the house cleaner (yay). We can still hit up a local pool and the splash pad, although the water park is out. Since I won't be on a pool deck every two hours multiple times a week, we should be able to go to a late afternoon movie. Oh, and it looks like I will be with the YRT in the fall! That has me the most excited!<br />
<br />
While the kids are at VBS this week I am taking back my summer. I have open days now and we're going to do allll the things I had planned on cramming into my days off. My best laid schemes went awry but you know what? I'm not going to let my FORMER head coach destroy the summer for us,<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-15864133920618652992015-05-26T22:23:00.000-05:002015-05-26T22:23:25.329-05:00So this happenedAbout 18 months ago, I read an article by Deanna Fei, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/02/tim_armstrong_blames_distressed_babies_for_aol_benefit_cuts_he_s_talking.1.html">My Baby and AOL's Bottom Line.</a> It's well-written and sharp but something about the author's tone made me send a message to the author.<br />
<br />
Now, I never leave comments in the combox unless it is a blogger I know or I'm entering to win something. And I never, ever, <i>ever</i> message author's I don't know. ComBoxes tend to make me weep for humanity, especially when it comes to articles that might be controversial. As for e-mailing authors... eh. I leave great Amazon reviews. I tell everyone about their books. I favorite them on Goodreads. But I don't e-mail them because I don't want to seem like some pre-teen fangirl even if I <i>am</i> totally fangirling inside.<br />
<br />
Yet I did. I have a vague notion of what I said, something about how she is not alone in her feelings. I e-mailed her, I received a short note in reply and that was that.<br />
<br />
Until last week, about 18 months after I read the article. I received an e-mail from Fei thanking me for my comment and how it was one of many that inspired her to write a book,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1620409917/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=WLTAQNHIWRP4&coliid=I19YLTUCISGCJC"> Girl In Glass</a> (due in July) about her experiences. A few e-mails later (!!! because who am I kidding, I was sitting there with a dumb grin on my face thinking, "THIS IS SO COOL!") she told me that my initial e-mail to her is quoted in her book! It's anonymous, of course, but still!!!<br />
<br />
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get paid nothing. My name's not even in there. BUT. PEOPLE! A real live, honest to goodness writer- like, she's written <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thread-Sky-Novel-Deanna-Fei/dp/0143118625/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1432695804&sr=8-2&keywords=deanna+fei">another novel</a>! She make a living writing!- said that something I (yeah, yeah, yeah, and others) inspired her next work. At swanky dinner parties (that I never attend), I'll be able to toss my hair, casually sip my wine and just happen to say, "You know, when I was quoted by/inspired an author..." Years from now, I'll pull the book off my shelves and show my grandchildren where I am (not) mentioned in a book.<br />
<br />
Okay, yes, I am a complete goober. I'm aware this is interesting and super cool to only me. I am also aware that I might be mildly in awe of anyone who is published because I know how long, hard and slogging the process is. But it's funny, you know, how having a preterm infant puts everyone on equal footing: a housewife and swim coach with four children in the suburbs of the midwest suddenly has something in common with a writer in NYC, all because of an intensive care unit. I have a feeling we could sit down over tea (or KC BBQ or, even better, NY bagels piled with cream cheese or butter) and not run out of things to talk about. We have a common ground in our children, their early beginnings and our struggles. It seems we both have a passion for educating people about pre-term infants and everything that it entails, during the NICU and after.<br />
<br />
You know what the best thing about this is, though? My words made someone feel better. I never know if reaching out to someone is going to be well received, especially when her daughter was born much earlier than my son. Yet it did and, to me, that's better than any (not) mention in a book.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-50299143484068764222015-04-29T12:49:00.004-05:002015-04-29T12:49:58.928-05:00Well, now you have me madJust Tuesday, I was waiting for the speech therapist to arrive when I noticed dog poop on my capris. (Long, not glamorous story about the dog being locked in a closet.) I grumbled about it a bit and the therapist laughed and said, "You are so calm about everything!"<br />
<br />
Haha. I am so not calm about everything. Like right now. Right now, I am PISSED.<br />
<br />
You see, a kid has a rash. It is a common rash at the tail-end of an even more common virus. A couple nurse-friends looked at him and said, "Meh, it's the rash at the end of a virus.He's not contagious. Don't waste your time at urgent care." I didn't. I told the teacher what it was, kid felt fine, so he trotted off to school.<br />
<br />
I got a call saying he needed to come home because the rash was spreading. He came home. Rash looked better today. I sent him back to school.<br />
<br />
All four kids were in school at the same time today because of a field trip. Adam and I jumped on the chance to see each other before 9 pm and were out the door to breakfast when the call came. Kid still has a rash and since a physician didn't confirm that he is not a germ infested cess pool, kid MUST LEAVE SCHOOL.<br />
<br />
Oh, hell no.<br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
My kid wants to be in school and you want to send him home for no reason? Not gonna fly. You want an MD to confirm what 3 nurses told us- it's nothing, don't worry? Good, you can pay the 75 dollar co-pay at urgent care. What? You have no sympathy that 75 dollars is not a drop in the bucket for us? And then...<br />
<br />
"I'm sorry that you don't care about the health and well being of your child or the others in the school."<br />
<br />
Excuse me? Excuse ME? EXCUSE ME?! Oh no YOU DID NOT. I just sat there, stunned. One does not play the "you don't care about their health" card. Nope. Nope. I have a therapist, medication and a diagnosis that would say otherwise. In fact, I've spent the past six years working to NOT freak out over every cold and cough.<br />
<br />
Me, who will Google what whopping cough or the croup sounds like when a kid has a super-nasty cough.<br />
<br />
Me, who has been known to count respiration and look for retractions.<br />
<br />
Me, who has done CPR on her own kid.<br />
<br />
Me, who has scrubbed up to her arm pits to end the NICU and used so much hand sanitizer in nursing homes that the staff looks at me weird.<br />
<br />
I'm going to remember how much I don't care when I pop my anti-anxiety and anti-depressants. When I go to my therapist, when I have my sister and friends talk me down off the ledge and remind me that my kids are really healthy and fine.<br />
<br />
The kicker? I just defended this person as a professional to someone else this weekend!<br />
<br />
Oh, and the double kicker? Another kid had a low grade fever and was pulling on his ear. They couldn't reach me so they sent the kid back to class! What happened to calling emergency contacts?! Forgive me if I don't take the ZOMGOSH RASH! seriously.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-16374554969791919032015-04-27T05:55:00.000-05:002015-04-27T05:55:00.329-05:00Wonderment of a good job<div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
My drop off in blogging is a direct result of my new-ish job coaching swimming. I work evenings now. It's not for every long, about 3 hours an evening, but by the time I get home, I am so brain dead. I just want to, and often do, curl up in bed and go to sleep. I'm so thankful I am home during the day to take care of the kids and the house because otherwise nothing would get done!</div>
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I adore my job. It's not perfect- nothing is- but I like the coaches, the kids and the parents. I have fun and I learn alot from everyone. But, even though I am so happy doing what I love, I have been having horrible anxiety-driven dreams. It took me several weeks to figure out why- I'm happy! Life's good! Sure, there are still challenges at home and stuff but why am I having anxiety over my job??</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Then it hit me- I have hardly ever been in a good work situation. My first teaching job was a disaster. I was totally set up to fail. When I coached another team six years ago, I had a great director, until she left for another position. The new director was the one who fired me because I had a baby. In both positions, I would be told to change something, or do something different, and I would. But it was never good enough, it was never right. Maybe I'm older, wiser or my give a damn is still off because when the head coach tells me to do something or whatever, I don't feel like she's trying to make me fail. Or maybe they just like me and want to help me.</div>
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It's weird being in a spot where I feel people like me. For me, it's not normal to think of the long term possibilities in a job. So I don't, really, I don't dare to hope that I will be there in the fall or winter. I mean, I want to! How I WANT to be with this team, these coaches, long term! I would be crushed to lose my job. And hope... well, I try not to think that every time I am positive about something, I lose it. I can't. I won't walk around bitter, thinking, "well, I loved my last coaching position and look what happened!"</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Instead, I tend to think in the here and now. Through the summer, I have this great job that I love. I will always have wonderful memories of being on deck. I working my hardest, correcting my mistakes and learning. I'm trying not to overthink everything I say or do. It's hard, given my past and the feeling that every time something good happens, the other shoe will drop.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Because, really, that's not a fun way to live.</div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-17949597752622080822015-04-22T08:05:00.001-05:002015-04-22T08:05:59.003-05:00Guest Post: SCHISM book release!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vCGZ349TSL6ZBXtmuKdwmI-zxiJHxyXBkT43DQVRiawQZ34p-5byIg0-9YMB1Q2NqSD7-Xu999099LDdNOzmaBLnT9lGFqzeZvahY5aSlGzdERj0i6rPbplo1aqIIrrly9zall9qg7c/s1600/BlogTourBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vCGZ349TSL6ZBXtmuKdwmI-zxiJHxyXBkT43DQVRiawQZ34p-5byIg0-9YMB1Q2NqSD7-Xu999099LDdNOzmaBLnT9lGFqzeZvahY5aSlGzdERj0i6rPbplo1aqIIrrly9zall9qg7c/s1600/BlogTourBanner.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Guest Post: Masks - A portrait of Lea Huckley
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you for hosting me on your blog today. I’m very excited about
SCHISM being released into the world, and I’d like to talk a little about one
of the main characters, Lea Huckley. Though Lea is introduced as a secondary
character, she’s a co-protagonist alongside Gabe. As the story progresses, she
becomes more and more important.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lea is exceptionally fun to write. She’s driven, overtly “Type A,” and
quite analytical. She’s also got her own host of issues. Because her parents
were falsely incarcerated in a mental institution from the time she turned
eight, Lea struggles with others’ perceptions of her. She wears a “mask” over
her emotions and acts how she wants other people to see her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Essentially, Lea pretends to be eccentric and a little crazy, so if
people say she’s crazy, they do so because she made them. Otherwise, they’d
judge her for where her parents are, and she can separate their predicament
from her own identity. Wearing this mask takes its toll, and she begins to lose
sight of her real emotions. She doesn’t allow herself to feel freely. Worse
than that, it blunts her ability to connect with people as well. Since she’s
constantly creating a false representation, she assumes everyone else is free
to do the same. How can you possibly know what someone else is feeling or
thinking? She’s a terrible judge of what’s going on in someone’s head. She’d
much rather be solving a concrete problem, something she can test or
experiment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Through the story, Lea obviously deals with these issues and becomes more
of her true self. She opens up and allows herself to be vulnerable.<span style="background: #FFF9EE;"> </span>Gabe certainly plays a major role in her
transformation. I hope everyone enjoys reading about her as much as I had fun
writing her. You can find
me on the internet in the following places:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author page:
<a href="http://www.lauramaisano.blogspot.com/">www.lauramaisano.blogspot.com</a><span style="background: rgb(255, 249, 238);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitter:
@MaisanoLaura<span style="background: #FFF9EE;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/LauraMaisanoWriter">www.facebook.com/LauraMaisanoWriter</a><span style="background: rgb(255, 249, 238);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Google + <a href="http://plus.google.com/+LauraMaisano">http://plus.google.com/+LauraMaisano</a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">SCHISM (Illirin Book One)</span></b></div>
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Laura Maisano</span></b></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4SQzPS7RQUdn_cHuUmhkPt99QcwQwyP4w9ciTxMk75Ysi2QLvkNmcPHlV4hd_As5YzGk8f4ude_bdn1EQ1o70weSu-YFi2iGamFwbZe3KqHyLdRMJkUgHjcWaghX7QX7cZuR_NyskBM/s1600/Schism+333x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4SQzPS7RQUdn_cHuUmhkPt99QcwQwyP4w9ciTxMk75Ysi2QLvkNmcPHlV4hd_As5YzGk8f4ude_bdn1EQ1o70weSu-YFi2iGamFwbZe3KqHyLdRMJkUgHjcWaghX7QX7cZuR_NyskBM/s1600/Schism+333x500.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Art therapy hasn’t done squat for Gabe
Jones. A thousand sketches of his fiancée can’t bring his memory, or her, back
to him. Nothing on Earth can. His past lies in another dimension, a world just
out of sight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another
student on campus, Lea Huckley, unknowingly shares Gabe’s obsession with the
fourth dimension. The monsters from the other side attacked her parents and
fled, getting her folks locked up in the loony bin. Proving this other world
exists is the only way to free them. Lea and Gabe strike a deal to help each
other, and together they manage to open a door to the world of Gabe’s true
origin. She’d use him for proof—if she didn’t already care too much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While Gabe tries to reconcile his feelings for
Lea and his rediscovered memories of his fiancée, a much more sinister plot
unravels. He uncovers his history just in time to become the unwilling lynchpin
in a conspiracy to start a war. His memory holds the secret to the final riddle
the would-be conqueror needs to get the upper hand. Gabe must protect the
riddle at all costs, even if that means leaving Earth, and Lea, behind forever.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/SCHISM-Illirin-Book-Laura-Maisano-ebook/dp/B00TWPORSA/ref=sr_1_381?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424725151&sr=1-381&keywords=young+adult+urban+fantasy"><b>Amazon</b></a><b> </b><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/schism-laura-maisano/1121274677?ean=2940046334715"><b>Barnes and Noble</b></a><b> </b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25004482-schism"><b>Goodreads</b></a><b> </b><b><a href="https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/our-authors/63-our-authors/authors-m/483-laura-maisano">MuseItUp Publishing</a></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="76efe12f2" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/76efe12f2/" id="rcwidget_kuol7quo" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Excerpt </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lea
packed light. Other than her phone’s GPS and a flashlight, she kept a small
notepad, her lucky pencil, and the thermometer in her cargo pocket. She didn’t
need to find data, now she needed proof.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">She led
the way down the alley where skyscrapers blocked the glowing moon and the lamps
from the highway. Yellowed fixtures above each back entrance threw faint cones
of light onto the cement, like holes in Swiss cheese.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lea
checked the coordinates on her phone while she walked, and the little red arrow
crept closer to the flag icon she placed to mark the interaction point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gabe
spent his time surveying the area for anything that might be a danger. He kept
fidgeting behind her and turning around every few seconds, a twitchy meerkat on
patrol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“We’re
only between buildings. It’s not the end of the world.” Lea checked her phone
again to make sure they were headed in the right direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He
glanced over his shoulder. “I still don’t like it. It’s night, people do get
mugged, you know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“The
statistics of that are so low. We’re really not in any danger, considering the
population and how many times that sorta thing happens.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He
shifted uneasily behind her. “Whatever, we’re raising the chances by being out
here at night.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lea
rolled her eyes. “I’m not missing this opportunity.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I know
that. Neither am I.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Good.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They
came to a cross section behind two major offices where the loading docks and
dumpsters sat for both of them. A stream of water trickled down the concave
cement into the large sewer grate. Old garbage left a fume hanging around, and
the humidity only made it worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lea
double- and triple-checked her coordinates, cross-checking with her notes.
“This is it. Within I’d say, a fifteen foot diameter, low to the ground.” She
shoved the phone in her cargo pocket. “Perfect.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“How
long?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Roughly
ten minutes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ten
minutes may as well have been six hours. She paced back and forth, her sneakers
scuffing the gritty pavement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gabe
continued to keep a watchful eye out for muggers or vagrants. What a dork.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She
snickered quietly. For someone who didn’t know his own experiences, he sure
seemed paranoid. She watched him standing straight, darting his eyes to the
entrance and even up to the windows above them. Watch out bad guys, Gabe’s on
to you. She smiled and turned to see what looked like heat waves rising from
the cold cement. Crap. The interaction had already started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Gabe…”
She waved him over next to the loading dock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This
interaction provided no shining lights or obvious movement. Not much stood out
visually, except maybe the air glistening like summer heat waves if she
squinted hard enough, but her digital thermometer found the coldest point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Here,”
she whispered, not wanting anyone or anything on the other side to hear. She
stretched her arms forward, and Gabe did likewise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.3pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“On the
count of three.” She waited for him to nod. “One…two…three.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They both reached<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>through</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the interaction point and grabbed at
the thicker air. Nothing. They tried again, pulling, grasping, and making any
sort of motion to trigger a rip. Finally, Gabe leaned in and pulled out at just
the right angle, because the light tore across like a jagged line. Lea grabbed
the edge of it and tugged, opening the tear wider until they both fell through.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">About the Author</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKEFkQZN7M3N1EwUAQoQKcwLSjahTrcfwIGjF_jOdFGFBmjzWX3b-n1Pon7RiIxA9vOxO-EXzWl2t8OErgPJREjhIN2RynIwXm-71prtRfit-Wepd6muPM533FmYyEIN8rDZ063xBdlo/s1600/img_3914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKEFkQZN7M3N1EwUAQoQKcwLSjahTrcfwIGjF_jOdFGFBmjzWX3b-n1Pon7RiIxA9vOxO-EXzWl2t8OErgPJREjhIN2RynIwXm-71prtRfit-Wepd6muPM533FmYyEIN8rDZ063xBdlo/s1600/img_3914.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: default;">Laura has an MA in
Technical writing and is a Senior Editor at Anaiah Press for their YA/NA
Christian Fiction. </span>She’s
excited to release her debut YA Urban Fantasy SCHISM, and she’s finishing up
the sequel UNITY.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: default;">Her
gamer husband and amazing daughter give support and inspiration every day.
Their cats, Talyn and Moya, provide entertainment through living room battles
and phantom-dust-mote hunting. Somehow, they all manage to survive living in
Texas where it is hotter than any human being should have to endure. </span>Check out her blog at
LauraMaisano.blogspot.com.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">Website:
</b><a href="http://www.lauramaisano.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.LauraMaisano.Blogspot.com</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Twitter:</b> @MaisanoLaura<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-59213247250458808142015-04-10T13:22:00.000-05:002015-04-10T13:22:05.495-05:00Happy birthday to Cole!Our little bird boy turned FIVE Tuesday!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjY9cQbWWUQNZWPeBNrnAJ6o1uGcwxRqpabQW7PP3CdVFR6kaLCB2OGJ5Wa9g9HlGqAngiMgDuvqEmLpVNbMBgO4PxZIFVLzVfxeiPuhFol6kD9h7Py5a5kPxSytYkn-GaBoQzQEHs_Q/s1600/11146236_10155417659060710_7807284368993686029_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjY9cQbWWUQNZWPeBNrnAJ6o1uGcwxRqpabQW7PP3CdVFR6kaLCB2OGJ5Wa9g9HlGqAngiMgDuvqEmLpVNbMBgO4PxZIFVLzVfxeiPuhFol6kD9h7Py5a5kPxSytYkn-GaBoQzQEHs_Q/s1600/11146236_10155417659060710_7807284368993686029_n.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
He also received a Ninja Turtle LEGO set. I had to peel the bird shirt off him the next day to wash and he threw a three hour long fit until it came out of the dryer!<br />
<br />
Grandma gave him binoculars, which he calls his "bird googles."<br />
<br />
Today was kindergarten round up! First turning five, then round-up.... what's next? a date?! In a note of cute, he kept calling it "Kindergarten Round House," like the kick! Super adorable!<br />
<br />
His party is in two weeks and we will be painting bird houses and making binoculars. He is super excited and can't wait.<br />
<br />
Happy birthday sweet Bear-Bear!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-22892305344469928632015-04-06T06:00:00.000-05:002015-04-06T06:00:06.207-05:00Happy Easter!Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!<br />
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Look at those four lovely children who only required an insane amount of bribery to sit still! And while I agree the fireplace is lovely, I cannot take credit for it; we took the picture at my in-laws house.<br />
<br />
Easter was a bit different this year. Last year, we learned our lesson and held the Easter baskets back until after Mass. Yeah, it only took ten Easters to figure out that children do NOT like to be dragged away from their goodies to get ready for church and kids + candy + no proper breakfast does not equal good Mass behavior.<br />
<br />
So! Last year I took Easter pictures after Mass while Adam set out the baskets. This year, I packed up the baskets and gave them to my mother-in-law so we could do baskets at her house! Joseph had to serve at early Mass and I knew that giving them presents and candy, dragging them off to 7:30 Mass and then dragging them away from the toys AGAIN for brunch.... ugh.<br />
<br />
We put the kids to bed early Saturday night and woke up at six am Sunday morning. I was smart enough to prep the coffee the night before and got a few sips and a granola bar in before we had to leave. All the kids had a granola bar (or, in Cole's case, frozen corn- weirdo) for breakfast. Super early Mass was nice because it was crowded for 7:30 but no more crowded than our normal 9 am Mass. Getting out was hairy, as the nine am crowd was coming in and Cole decided that he wanted donuts and was going to lay prostrate on the floor and cry until he got one. Unfortunately for him,we don't have donut Sunday on Easter and I had to basically drag him out of the church crying. (A couple people asked if it was post-candy meltdown but he hadn't had any!) We did end up getting donuts because it is Easter and we suck as parents.<br />
<br />
Brunch was at my in-laws and, again, it was more relaxed than in years before. I brought a birthday cake to celebrate Cole's fifth birthday on Tuesday and a huge fruit salad. With bagels, eggs and ham, I am now in a post- brunch coma.<br />
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Of course, Easter baskets:<br />
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I got organized and didn't over buy this year! Since I am never without a child during the day, it is super hard to go from store to store. I just ordered everything from Amazon. They received a toy (in Joe's case, a movie), book, Nerf darts, some Minecraft figures Joe found at a consignment store (six figures for 7 dollars- nice work kid!) and a chocolate bunny. In case anyone is looking for ideas:<br />
<br />
almost 11 year old boy- The Giver movie and the second book in the Maze Runner<br />
9 year old girl- hideaway pet bunny and Dog Diaries book<br />
6 year old boy- stuffed Creeper and 2 Pet the Cat books<br />
almost 5 year old- stuffed cardinal that makes REAL bird noises and a bird book<br />
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<br />
Cole's cake is proof my younger siblings "stole" all the art genes. I make great tasting cakes. I can do chocolate frosting. But the look? My father-in-law said it looked like someone took a bite from the side and it did! When Cole, George and I tried to put the frosting on it, it kept crumbling. In hindsight, my friends and sister said it was probably too warm, as I had taken it out of the fridge earlier in the day. The candies on it are those malt ball eggs. I was going to make a nest on top but... no. Hey, it tasted great!<br />
<br />
My parents got him a hummingbird feeder, more bird food and a book about birds. My little bird boy!<br />
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In all, it was probably the best Easter we've had. Nice and relaxed with the right amount of candy and leftover. The house in a normal state of disarray and I didn't have to spend all day cooking AND cleaning. Couldn't ask for a better Easter miracle.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-37885757657183472642015-03-20T06:00:00.000-05:002015-03-20T06:00:06.466-05:00Spring Break Takes1. Spring break began on a Thursday. The kids and I relaxed at home and I finished up a class that night. The next day, we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and my parents arrived in town that afternoon.<br />
<br />
2. We had a free room from a hotel voucher and Adam wanted to use it for his birthday. Honestly, I would have said no except, you know, his birthday so his call. It was right near his office, 20 minutes up the road and, in my opinion, not worth the energy to pack, unpack, etc. It was a very nice hotel and I would certainly stay in one when and if we traveled but for 20 minutes up the road? Eh.<br />
<br />
3. We had dinner at a Sushi restaurant and it was really good! I had the Godzilla rolls just so I could tell the kids I ate Godzilla! We poked around a few shops and I found Star Wars pancake molds at Williams Sonoma for $5! The kids are going to be so excited!<br />
<br />
4. My four year old is super interested in birds now so I found a downloadable pattern on line to make a stuffed bird. I have been making birds out the wazoo for two weeks now. Everyone wants a stuffed bird! Since I have my machine out, I'm also making myself a dress using a thrift store dress and a little bag for my bird-boy.<br />
<br />
5. Speaking of my bird-boy, I'm making him a little bag to carry his bird watching books in, binoculars and I found a shirt on Zulily with real birds on it. He informed he wants one with real birds, not Angry Birds or anything else. Do you know how hard it is to find a cute bird shirt for BOYS?<br />
<br />
6. Spring break is... interesting. As much as I was looking forward to being off work and sitting around, I was reminded- rudely, rather- that my children do NOT do relaxing. They will watch TV or whine the whooooole time. Not cool. And they days they didn't want to do anything? It was sunny. The days they wanted to go to the zoo? Rain. UGH.<br />
<br />
7. Summer camp sign ups began this week. Guess where you are going, kids? I'm kidding... but swim team, VBS and science camp sign ups begin soon! Our summer won't be packed but they will be busy!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-23295167555325412112015-03-19T20:34:00.001-05:002015-03-19T20:34:24.426-05:00I refuse to get my hopes upMy husband has two siblings, both of whom are in the entertainment business. His younger sister works as a new producer out in CA and his brother waits tables and works in musical theater. (He also has his own web show, Vash and Justin, where he and a friend review movies.) Over the years, his brother has worked for Disney, both in the theme parks and on the cruise line.<br />
<br />
When George was an infant, my brother-in-law had a fairly decent stint on a Disney cruise ship. As such, he received discounts that he could pass onto friends and family. My sister-in-law and my in-laws took advantage of these discounts and were able to go on the cruises.<br />
<br />
This was 2009, so Joe was about five, Camille three and George was a baby. We had just had a NICU baby and gone through a six month long house selling and buying process. Needless to say, I was stressed beyond belief. I had very little help with anything, from a baby who couldn't go out in crowds to keeping the house perfect for prospective buyers to keeping the children entertained when we had to leave at a moments notice. My husband was always harping on how expensive the move was or was going to be. Many days, I drove around crying as my baby screamed in the back seat as I had no where to go, no money to take them to a play area, it was often snowing and I was exhausted.<br />
<br />
When we moved, things finally calmed down and I told my husband I really, really, REALLY needed a vacation that did NOT involve going to see his grandparents. I adore them but the kids were young and active and it was hard to keep them contained. I just needed to get away, to relax, somewhere, anywhere. BIL encouraged me to look into the discounts he received on the ship and I did. Together, we got the cost down very low and I even worked out a travel plan that would make getting to the site cheap.<br />
<br />
My husband said no.<br />
<br />
In the end, it was fine because we would have been there in October, when I would have been three months pregnant. For me, I was sure morning sickness and a giant ship wouldn't mix.<br />
<br />
I sound like I handled it well but I didn't. I still don't. I was pissed. I needed a break. In the years that followed, I needed a break too but never got one. In fact, it hasn't been until I began coaching again that I feel like I've gotten a bit of a break. How ironic or sad is it that WORK is my break from STRESS?<br />
<br />
(I love what I do, though, so don't feel too bad on that account.)<br />
<br />
I used to make excuses to everyone, myself included if I am honest, as to why we didn't do anything other than go visit his grandparents. I used to make excuses as to why the "trip" he wanted to take was a week long but a family reunion for me was three days, most of it driving. This past year, I decided to be done with excuses. I no longer kept our summer open in the hopes that we might visit my parents or people might visit us. On the advice of one of our kids' therapists, I enrolled them in camps and fun things to do. It was probably the happiest summer I have had as a parent.<br />
<br />
This year, I've been asked how my summer vacation schedule works with coaching. My response was, "I'll take all the hours you can give me!" I've started putting the kids in camps and swim team. My boys are doing baseball. If I can't have the family vacation I dream of, we might as well have fun at home. And when people ask me why we don't travel, I don't give them the half truths of "we can't afford it" or "we're busy." I give them a snarky version of the truth: My husband is allergic to vacations or traveling.<br />
<br />
It's the truth because what is holding us- him- back isn't our children's ages or money or anything. He refuses to save for a trip. He says I only want to take them to Disney (not true) and he hates Disney (true). He says it is too expensive and makes up the amount of money it will cost in his head. No amount of logic or anything will convince him that no, family trips can be done for much cheaper.<br />
<br />
The other week we used a free night in a hotel for a mini-staycation for his birthday. His brother called him to say hello and told my husband that he, BIL, had auditioned for another job on a Disney cruise ship. We are, of course, happy and hopeful that he is offered the job.<br />
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He said, "I get discounts, you know. You should bring the kids."<br />
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I snorted. "I know. Trust me, I know. It's not me you have to convince. Talk to your brother. He does not vacation."<br />
<br />
My husband talked to his brother and, after they hung up, he said, "We should do that."<br />
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I choked. "Whatever."<br />
<br />
"It only costs XYZ dollars."<br />
<br />
I pointed out that it cost that much five years ago and he refused to go then. I reminded him that it would a Disney cruise and he hates Disney. There would be small children there, etc. He finally said, "Unless something else comes up, we should save for it."<br />
<br />
I've heard this before. Something always comes up. Someone always needs therapy or new shoes or the house needs to be repaired. (Currently, it needs to be washed and painted.) He'll find an excuse to not take the kids out of school, even if they only miss a day or two, even if it will only get harder to take them out in the coming years.<br />
<br />
I am actually refusing to discuss this with him. (To be fair, I also won't discuss our annual trip to visit his grandparents since he is not entertaining the idea of me going to a wedding.) Why? I know it won't happen. I'm toying with the idea of taking the kids to visit some friends. While I don't relish the idea of taking them alone and I really, really want a vacation with just the six of us, this is the hand I've have to deal with. I want to experience things with my kids and I'll have to do it on my own, while my husband stays behind.<br />
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And hey, if I have to stay in the midwest and be envious of other peoples vacation pictures, I might as well do it while I'm hanging out on a deck, working.<br />
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-12563320662953975272015-02-26T09:49:00.001-06:002015-02-26T09:49:43.343-06:00Screaming into the voidAdam has a friend who has several children. One of them, his son who is about ten, died last night.<br />
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It wasn't unexpected but it still sucks. It's horrible. My heart goes out to the family.<br />
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And, selfishly, as I was driving the kids to school and trying not to cry, I was screaming in my head, "I can't, I can't, I can't. I can't do another funeral. I just can't." I had flashes of the last time I saw my niece, I felt her in my arms. I wanted to kick something, to throw something, to scream that this- child loss, knowing people whose children have died- needs to stop. I just can't.<br />
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The thing is, I will. I will go to the funeral, I will buy the card, I will hug the parents. I will suck it up and deal because whatever trauma and flash backs and stuff I have to deal with, it's nothing compared to the parents.<br />
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I will remind myself that these children, our friend's son and my niece, are so very lucky. Their lives were too short but they were filled with love and peace. To die peacefully surrounded by the ones you love and who love you is a gift. To feel only love your entire life... that's not something everyone can know. A short life, in the womb or out, is still a blessed life.<br />
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Yet I want to scream into the void, "Why?!" Why these children, why these parents? No one deserves this.<br />
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But maybe it's good that no one deserves this because what would we be like if we did?Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-26954114439158532832015-02-10T12:57:00.001-06:002015-02-10T12:57:20.565-06:00Oxygen! It's Awesome!Whoa. Oxygen. It's amazing. Addicting. Who knew well-oxygenated blood could do so much?!<br />
<br />
Okay, I should back up here a moment... or several months. Warning: I'm about to get all TMI on you.<br />
<br />
I turned 35 in August. I swear that very month, my body went, "You're old!" and began to crap out on me. My next cycle was six weeks long. This was completely different than my post-baby normal of a period every month, lasting only about 3 to 4 days. I've had cycles of varying length and heaviness my entire life so to have a period that was less than a week and fairly light left me VERY happy. I had a few months of super-heavy-painful cramps but some medication took care of that. I was in happy period land... until I turned 35.<br />
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My mom said my cycles might go long-short for awhile so I chalked it up to normal. Then in December I had a very, very heavy period. (This is about to become TMI, peeps.) I had two days of bleeding then nothing. I thought I was done but when I used the restroom during Mass, I had some really heavy bleeding. It reminded me of the first few hours or days after you have a baby only it was pure blood, no clots or anything. Of course I didn't have a tampon on me, so I went home to get one. I began to feel shaky, tired and weak. I thought I was coming down with something so I sent a sub to the nursing home instead and went home to sleep.<br />
<br />
Even laying down and sleeping, my period was still heavy and I still felt so tired. After a few days, though, I was back to normal and my next period was heavy, but nothing like the one before it.<br />
<br />
Except... I wasn't so normal.<br />
<br />
The first week back from vacation I was fine. I had energy. Well, a reasonable amount. Then I began to get really tired, even after a good nights sleep. I thought it was just part of getting back into our routine. Then I had a period and, well, I'm always tired around my period. But I was still tired. Coupled with some hair loss and swelling I finally made an appointment with my doctor. I had been putting off because I didn't want to hear about how much weight I need to loose (I KNOW OKAY!) but it seemed like my thyroid had finally given up.<br />
<br />
Nope. I was anemic.<br />
<br />
Anemic? Well, that makes sense. All the symptoms I had (including the sudden need for a two hour nap in the middle of the day and STILL being tired!) are signs of anemia. The doctor told me to take iron and vitamin C and to come back in three months for a re-check.<br />
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I took my first iron pill that day and PEOPLE. Energy! I had a little breakfast and then went to do some pre-planned organizing and rearranging. I kept going... and going... and going... At one point, I stopped for some lunch and realized I wasn't tired. I wasn't stopping for a breath (something I had been doing and thought it was because of my weight) and I wasn't "I need a nap" exhausted. In fact, Joe and I snuggled to watch a TV show and I didn't fall asleep! I couldn't believe it was working already and joked to Adam that if this was a placebo effect, I'd take it!<br />
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The next day was just as awesome. I helped both Camille and the boys in their room and began plans to declutter the house over the next few days. Adam joked he was going to hide my iron. I said the real test would come this week, when I was working and on my feet more.<br />
<br />
Well, it's Tuesday. Yesterday was good. George snuggled against me and napped but I didn't! I felt pretty energized and clear headed when I was coaching. I was more tired than the night before, and fell asleep around ten, which I consider a reasonable bed time. It's one pm now and I am feeling a bit of a mid-afternoon slump but nothing like before. My stomach is a little "Eh" but I have really upped my diet of iron rich veggies and cut back on caffeine, both of which is likely playing a part.<br />
<br />
I'm giving myself one full cycle to see how this goes (I'm also starting medication to help with the heavy bleeding) but if this energy keeps up, I might even get up early to go swimming!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-47213009978894492582015-01-03T19:07:00.001-06:002015-01-03T19:07:18.865-06:00Whirlwind tripAbout three weeks ago, I had arranged to visit my parents for a few days before Christmas. The thought was that the kids and I would drive down after Joe's cello recital, have "Christmas" early and then drive back after only 2-3 days. Just as I was talking to a friend about this, my brother sent a text that he was coming to visit!<br />
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We hadn't seen each other in 18 months, so I was STOKED. I changed my plans with my parents and the kids and I drove down on the 31st. We had a huge dinner with my parents, sister and her family. George had his first sleepover ever with his cousins and did great! In fact, he spent two nights with them! He's been asking for a sleepover for ages and this was a great way to test the waters, so to speak.<br />
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The next day, Joe went to hang out with friends and my sister and I hit the mall. We went to All the Stores!!! that you can't take kids into. Our brother arrived that night, just in time for another HUGE dinner. All our kids were so excited.<br />
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Unfortunately, that night Joe got sick. He spent most of the night throwing up and he slept the entire next day. Literally. He dragged himself to the recliner in the living room, slept, woke up to take a bath, and went back to the chair. He didn't even have the energy to drag a shirt over his head. My mom roused him enough to take him to bed and he slept all night. He woke up Saturday his usual, snarky self.<br />
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And really, really, really unfortunately, a bug seems to be going around. Camille threw up once, as did Cole. George has been hit the worst. The poor boy rarely gets sick but when he does, he makes it worth it. He was complaining of his stomach hurting Saturday morning and then threw up riiiight in the middle of family pictures.<br />
<br />
Oh, yes. You see, my sister and I went "Everyone will be together! Let's do pictures!" She got the photographer, we picked a color scheme and everyone looked lovely and charming. We got a group shot of our parents and the grandkids and then kicked the kids out to do group up photos. Five minutes later, Joe ran in to tell up George had puked. Poor boy. And poor my extended family, who will now get the stomach flu.<br />
<br />
But! Happier note! The pictures are going to be awesome! I'm so happy we have them! The visit itself was perfect, seven insane kids and one demented cat and all! Just a word to the wise: if you want to do family pictures, do them at the beginning of the trip, before your parents have stuffed you full of turkey, ham, bread, cheese, pasta and lots of wine. Otherwise, your pants might not fit. I have no idea how I know this...Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-65443715063715350662015-01-03T18:36:00.001-06:002015-01-03T18:36:50.490-06:00Christmas Re-CapWow, where to start. We've had a little more than two weeks as a family and reality will hit Monday morning. I do not want reality to hit and am firmly in denial that I will have to drag my butt out of bed at six in the morning. Nope. Nope. Annnnnnd nope!<br />
<br />
We began the season with presents at my in-laws. They helped us by a new TV so their gifts to us were light, which was perfect. They got the kids one outfit, books and ornaments. Cole also got a game. I received a pretty, new infinity scarf that I just love. I wear alot of solid colors (in short, I have the wardrobe of a goth business professional) so I love scarves to brighten things up!<br />
<br />
Christmas was awesome. I had a touch of insomnia and was awake beginning at 3:30. It was actually very peaceful to sit cuddled in the recliner, typing, with the Christmas lights and presents around me. Camille and George woke at six but played in her room for 45 minutes until everyone got up. Santa brought baseball cards and chocolate in their stockings which kept them occupied until the coffee brewed. Once we were all fully awake, they tore into their presents: a Sonic Screwdriver, Chicken AT-AT walker... thing ("MOM! IT IS NOT A THING!"), a sewing kit so someone leaves my sewing stuff alone, lots of Star Wars and Percy Jackson.... and science kits. Oh, and LEGO. For a solid week the kids have played nicely with each other. There has been some Star Wars/LEGO mash up going on in the dining room and a Nerf war daily. Happy kids, happy parents.<br />
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The day after Christmas our music teacher, and friend, took the little boys to see Big Hero 6 while we took the older kids to see A<i> Christmas Carol</i> at the KC Rep! I won tickets through a website and the show was awesome! It had some cool special effects and just the right amount of audience interaction. Joe was "meh" about the whole thing but Camille really liked it!<br />
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I've been so spoiled. Adam and I have taken turns sleeping in and the kids are old enough to get their own breakfast, so we can sleep past seven. Everyone has been helping with the cleaning. It's so nice to see my husband for more than just and hour in the evening. We've been watching lots of Doctor Who together and drinking pots of tea. He's even watched a couple episodes of "Outlander" with me. He doesn't care much for the show but he doesn't hate it, so there's that. (Kinda like me and "Top Gear." It's okay but I'm not in love with it.) I've had help with the speech therapy runs and TKD. I'm not ready to go back to school and work! Bah!<br />
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-91541045846864571092014-12-22T07:00:00.000-06:002014-12-22T07:00:04.938-06:002014: The Year in ReviewWow, this year has gone by fast. At the beginning of the year, I decided that I wanted our theme this year to be peace, hope and healing. I think I did get my wish! We had a fairly peaceful, quiet year. I feel a bit more healed after the mess that was 2013. As for hope... depends on the day, honestly, but yes, I am seeing more hope for the children in certain areas.<br />
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I finished my book, began cross-stitching again, made more crochet hats for the NICU and discovered my love for reading. As of the last count, I have read 39 books this year! I think I've read more than that but I know I forgot to record some.<br />
<br />
And now, the highlights<br />
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<b>January</b></div>
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Camille turned 8! I gave everyone a <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2014/01/recipe-homemade-goo-be-gone.html">Goo-Be-Gone recipe</a> and Cole began <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2014/01/overheard-and-bonus-vacation-day.html">saying</a> some of the most hilarious things! No, he hasn't stopped either!</div>
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<b>February</b></div>
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Camille has a Snow-Much-Fun! party early in the month. My old laptop died an <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-laptop-and-epic-death.html">EPIC BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH.</a> The kids had school conferences and I blogged about how <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2014/02/dont-take-it-personally-but-i-hate-you.html">I hate some people. </a></div>
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<b>March</b></div>
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Adam had a birthday and Camille informed us that life is half over when you turn 40. At 35, neither of us were amused. <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2014/03/late-to-hunger-games.html">I discovered The Hunger Games</a>. We had more meetings at school, more "games plans" for our children and God and I were not BFFs. Hey, we were on speaking terms but eh.... I realized I was living in a Good Friday and hoping for Easter Sunday. After all, <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2014/03/every-iep-is-little-lent.html">Every IEP is a Little Lent. </a></div>
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<b>April</b></div>
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Cole turned four. Joe turned ten. Easter and our 12 year anniversary. Our community was hit with two tragedies but <a href="http://waldenmommyandfamily.blogspot.com/2014/04/love-won.html">love won</a> in the end. I also learned that our parish is going to be getting the CGS program and we received a sign via a lady bug that everything will be okay. </div>
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<b>May</b></div>
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Camille's first Communion and the March for Babies! We marched with my parents and sister's family and it was so much fun!</div>
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<b>June</b></div>
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VBS went much better than I ever thought it could. George and Cole played t-ball and George was on FIRE. My sister had a healthy baby and Camille and I began taking Communion to people in nursing homes.</div>
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<b>July</b></div>
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Our Annual Trip Up North. Adam went to Spain for a week and I Did All The Things around the house. George learned to swim on his own!</div>
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<b>August</b></div>
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School began, I had a birthday and did not burst into a hysterical sobbing mess when George began kindergarten</div>
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<b>September</b></div>
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The Royals kept winning and I was a baseball widow. I found a grey hair and began looking into hair dye in bulk. I also began coaching swimming again, yay!</div>
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<b>October</b></div>
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Mooooore baseball and Halloween. And, oh, blue fever. Baseball. So done with baseball.</div>
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<b>November</b></div>
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NICU Thanksgiving, George turned six and grew about a foot!</div>
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<b>December</b></div>
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Crazy-ness and fun. Adam and I will be seeing all our siblings over break and we are both excited!</div>
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It seems like nothing much happened and, in some ways, I'm okay with that. 2013 was so nuts that I needed this year of peace, hope and healing. I wanted the peace and hope and healing to go on into 2015 but I hope to add some good excitement into the mix. Maybe I'll find a summer coaching position! Or we'll go on vacation! Something fun, filled with family bonding. Wouldn't that be awesome?</div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-45000620533368470112014-12-15T08:11:00.003-06:002014-12-15T08:11:47.679-06:00Mundane Family StuffAs if life with the Herd could ever be boring! (Could it be? Please? Just one year?)<br />
<br />
George has his piano recital Saturday. I actually ironed his dress shirt, forced him into a sweater and scrubbed him until he shown. He looked so handsome! I was afraid he would refuse at the last minute or would make it to the stage and not do anything- but he didn't! He did great! Of course, the kids in his class are 6 to 8 years old, so it was about what you would expect for beginning students. George kept looking for us in the crowd and I finally stood to the side with the other picture-taking parents so he would see me and play. He did; he tried very hard but the "drums playing without a drummer" confused him. Still! He got up there, played and did an excellent job!<br />
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The other day, I heard "Mary had a little lamb" coming from the playroom. I walked in and CAMILLE was playing it! She taught herself some beginning piano from George's book! I am so impressed!<br />
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Joe's recital is Saturday and I've been hearing the cello more frequently now. He's beginning to out grow his half size cello and will need a 3/4ths one soon. Adam's already begun looking for one. We're going to keep the half-size, though, since George has shown an interest in it. We joke that he can't begin until he grows into it!<br />
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We took the kids to the zoo on Sunday. Santa was diving with the penguins and we knew the kids would like that. They did, although it was a creepy Santa with all his scuba gear on. I mean, really creepy. You could have your picture taken with Santa and the penguins. I thought it would be Santa in front of the tank but no, he was in the water, in front of the glass! Creepy, creepy.<br />
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It was warm and lots of animals were out. Since there was a football game going on, it wasn't crowded and the zoo keepers were able to talk to us. We learned that there will be baby penguins before the new year, which elephant is the "alpha female," how elephants talk, that all the penguins have names and more. Even the lions were out and we heard them roar! It was pretty cool!<br />
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The not cool part? The bird show, where my family chose to sit next to one of the perches so the damn birds were flying over us. Oh, then as we walked by the elephant enclosure, one of them was flinging dirt at people. Yeah, I almost got elephant dirt flung on me. Cute. Not.<br />
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The last day of school is Friday, so I'm making a list of all the fun things we can do over break. We've hit the zoo and I think the little boys want to go to the children's museum. Add a bounce house or two and a trip to visit my parents and we will have a busy break!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-31852669729566012652014-12-14T21:31:00.004-06:002014-12-14T21:31:58.305-06:002015: The Year of....The past few years seem to be marked my a general upheaval in life, either externally, like a new baby or a move, or internally. (Emotional turmoil for the win!)<br />
<br />
2013: The Year I Did or Experienced All the Hard Things<br />
2014: The Year I Rediscovered All The Things I Love<br />
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I want 2015 to be the year I get my body back. I want to finally, this fall when Cole is in K in the mornings, to go to the gym. Get rid of the 40 extra pounds. I'd like to feel good about my body again. I NEED to do but I've made promises like this before. Can I? I'll let you know in a year.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-5446855142633755662014-12-05T06:00:00.000-06:002014-12-05T06:00:10.813-06:00Quick Takes Friday: John the Baptist and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge1. I teach kindergarten CCD once a week. (Note: Never again. Never, ever, ever again.) When they first come into the room, I have a children's bulletin with coloring activities at every spot. They work on this for a bit before our story. This week it was about John the Baptist and it had a picture of him baptizing people in the river; the kids were supposed to find the differences between two pictures.<br />
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One little boy was confused as to why John was drowning people. I quickly explained full-immersion baptism, which the kids probably haven't seen. (It's clear the children all attend Mass but our parish doesn't do full-immersion baptisms.) The group thought for a moment and then someone's eyes lit up and he said, "Oh! Like when you dump a bucket of ice on someone's head?"<br />
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It took everything in me to not burst into hysterical laughter. I mean, great connection, right? But how hysterical would it be to baptize people via the ALS ice bucket challenge?<br />
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2. George began piano last month. He likes it and is doing very well. We finally went and got him a keyboard. He practices frequently, much more than a certain older brother of his. (I'm looking at you, Joe.) Of course, this creates draaaammmma because Cole is not taking piano lessons. Cole likes to go up to the keyboard, turn it off and scream, "I DO PEE-ANO TOO!"<br />
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Keep in mind, Cole takes preschool music classes at the same place George takes piano and Joe has cello lessons!<br />
<br />
3. Camille now wants to take piano. It's official; I coach swimming so my kids can take music lessons.<br />
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4. Speaking of swimming. I have four weeks off until the next session begins. This is working out well, since both boys have recitals, Joe has a strings concert and its generally just a busy season for us. I may pick up some hours here and there but I'm off for awhile.<br />
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5. My older two kids have several sticks of deodorant each. Cole has been swiping one and applying it. My four year old now smells like a tween boy who is having a love affair with Axe.<br />
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6. I think we over bought for Christmas- again. At least I can put some of Camille's away for her birthday.<br />
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7. I got to read a short story a friend wrote and helped her brainstorm the title. It was really fun to talk shop with a REAL writer- she's published! You bet I will pimp her story out when it goes live.<br />
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hop over to Jen's for more quick takes!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-65327672236696079052014-11-28T12:23:00.001-06:002014-11-28T12:23:43.812-06:00Justin and the Herd Review Movies and Act AdorableMy brother-in-law, Justin, has a YouTube Channel where he and his friend Vash "review" movies. I say "Review" because they mostly fight about the movie. (Spoilers: Justin likes them, Vash sleeps through them.) Most of their reviews are family friendly, if you want to follow them on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/VashandJustin">YouTube</a>.<br />
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Justin came home for a wedding (and Thanksgiving but, you know, mostly the wedding) and took the Herd to see Penguins of Madagascar. While I thought he should have taken them alone so Adam and I could get ready for Thanksgiving (yeah, that's what we're calling it now), he was too terrified to take four children to the movies alone. Whimp. Thankfully, Adam wanted to see the movie so he went to help out. I stayed home, made cinnamon rolls and enjoyed the sounds of peace and quiet. It was quite worth it because, well, watch the adorableness!<br />
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For those of you who follow this blog for information about CAS and speech therapy, the six year old is the one who has been in speech since he was 22 months old and was once non-verbal. I never, ever thought he would be able to do something like this! People, this is the result of hard, hard work and years of therapy and listen to how good he sounds!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-44689373402617424942014-11-24T06:00:00.000-06:002014-11-24T06:00:05.739-06:00Mockingjay, Part 1This post contains spoilers about the movie Mockingjay. However, if you've read the book... very little will be a surprise.<br />
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Whoa. I went to see Mockingjay with two friends last night. We had an amazing moms night out. One of our local theaters has a "fork and screen" option where you can order food and watch the movie. My friends had gone to Fork and Screen before but I hadn't. I was totally cravings red meat and fried stuff, so I had a hamburger and fries. It was a little better than Applebee's quality but totally fun for a MNO and a movie the three of us wanted to see.<br />
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And. Whoa. Some amazing stuff:<br />
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<li><i>Haymitch and Effie.</i> They deviated from cannon here and had Effie take the part of Katniss' prep team. She was awesome and the banter between her and Haymitch was a much needed reprise from the very serious nature of the film. One of Effie's best lines? "You know what needs a revolution? That hair."</li>
<li><i>The Hanging Tree.</i> Why this isn't in the official soundtrack that you can purchase, I don't know. Jennifer Lawerence says she can't sing and, true, she's not Taylor Swift or Lorde but she does have a pretty voice. In the books, Katniss' singing voice is a Big Deal but not so much in the movies. Still, the took The Hanging Tree and ran with it and the effect was so powerful. It's a motif that carries through the entire movie. Listen closely to the background music when Katniss and Finnick are talking during the bombing of D13. It's<i> The Hanging Tree! (Random note: I've had this song stuck in my head for two days and I've been humming it around the house. My four year old likes the song!)</i></li>
<li><i>Gale. </i>I feel like the movie rounded out Gale's character well. In the books, he comes across as a possessive jerk. I wanted to reach through the pages and smack him, telling him to leave Katniss the heck alone, the poor dear had been through enough and didn't need to pick a lover! In the movie, Gale is always in the background, seemingly protecting her. There's a brief scene when they return to D12 where they kiss but it seems like Gale knows her heart isn't into it. In fact, in the movie, it is Gale, not Boggs, who tells Katniss to be with Peeta when he wakes up. <a href="http://arollercoasterthatonlygoesup.tumblr.com/post/103233856942/two-things-i-saw-that-havent-been-talked-about">He seems to know Katniss loves Peeta in a romantic way and while it doesn't thrill him, he's resigned to it.</a></li>
<li><i>Peeta. </i>Someone needs to give Josh Hutcherson an award for the last fifteen minutes of the film alone. We know he's a good actor but he blew me away with hijacked!Peeta. </li>
<li><i>The rescue scene and stuff with Snow. </i>Snow is completely revealed as someone who likes to eff with Katniss' mind. I mean, we knew that but to see the evil of this man...I also loved the rescue scene, which was different from the book. In the book, Katniss is out for most of it or hiding with Finnick. In the movie... well, watch it. It's good. Moving. Imposing. Powerful.</li>
<li><i>The ending. </i>Again, give J-Hutch an award for this acting. I was basically correct as to where they cut it but they cut from Peeta in the hospital to a speech to Peeta and... THE FEELS, people. THE FEELS.</li>
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What I wish we had seen more of:</div>
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<li><i>Coin as the evil mastermind she is</i>. Okay, maybe evil is too strong... naw, evil. We learn more about her back story, which makes me wonder if she wants/hopes/is using Katniss to be a replacement for her family. And when that ends.... In the book, Katniss tolerates Coin for the sake of saving her friends and family but in the movie, it seems like Coin really likes Katniss and tries to help her. They're going to have to do some major stuff in movie 2 to make her killing Coin justifiable. </li>
<li><i>Finnick</i>. There is no "Finnick Odair in his underwear" scene, which is so funny in the book! That makes me sad! We don't learn much more about his character and his involvment in the Capitol. I guess we don't need to but new info would have been interesting. Annie is in the movie for about five seconds, total, and we mostly see her hair. Because of where they cut it, this is to be expected but I still wish we had seem more of them together. Maybe in movie 2?</li>
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I want to go see the movie a second time to pick up some stuff I missed (follow the link above. Dandelions!) I don't know if I will have time so I guess I just have to sit on pins and needles until the DVD comes out!</div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090855735659847249.post-75374628230416527252014-11-20T13:32:00.002-06:002014-11-20T13:32:57.015-06:00Overheard: The Weaslys and manlinessI have a swimmer who says the most random and hilarious stuff. The most recent: I'm somewhere between manliness and bar mitzvah.<br />
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I just laughed. The kid in question is about six!<br />
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There's a girl who I refer to as my Honorary Fifth Child because I used to watch her in the AM before school. We carpool to CCD together and like to chat about Harry Potter and Doctor Who. Last night, the little boys were running down hallways at the school and she said, "You know, you're family reminds me of the Weaslys, minus three kids and the ginger."<br />
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I jokingly said, "Do I look like Molly Weasly?" and did a, "NOT MY DAUGHTER!" imitation.<br />
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And that, dear readers, is why our parish thinks we are nuts.<br />
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345135760495892431noreply@blogger.com0