What a Mess

I do not claim to be the most organized person. Far from it – although I do know where everything is. Dave is the same way and since we live in a small house, with very little storage and way too much “stuff” it gets cluttered quickly., no matter how hard I try to stay on top of it. I have been working hard this year, part of a resolution I made, to get rid of things. Whether I throw it away or give it away or file it away, I am trying…slowly….to get to it all. It is not dirty, just cluttered.

Sadly, Drew has inherited this “clutter gene” from us. Unfortunately it has gotten out of control for him. We tried the “its his room – let it be” route for awhile and just keep his door shut, but once it began creeping into other rooms, I had to stop it. Taking away privileges didn’t work. The mess doesn’t seem to bother him but it is overwhelming me so I bit the bullet and set out to work on his room yesterday. I know he’s old enough to do it himself but I just couldn’t wait for him to do it anymore.

First task, laundry. I am embarrassed to say we even let it get to this point. He leaves his folded laundry pile in the hall and just pulls from there for his clothing rotation. There was so much clothing on the floor of his room, I had no idea what was clean or dirty so I grabbed a few laundry baskets and got started. FIVE large loads of laundry later, we have this.

In those pile are FORTY-SIX tee-shirts!. Who knew he even had 46 tee shirts!! 13 sweatshirts, 17 pairs of boxer shorts 19 odd socks, pajama pants, long sleeve tees, shorts, long pants….Some of it doesn’t even fit him anymore. Those are going immediately into the give away pile. He has more dresser space than any of us but instead of clothing in those drawers, I found baseballs and hockey pucks.I couldn’t even count the number of baseballs, broken baseball bats and hockey sticks. His closet is so full of jerseys, there is barely enough room for his ONE dress shirt and blazer.

These piles don’t even show the thirteen towels. I had no idea I even had more than 13 towels!

Also found in his room, and I am horrified to admit this since I really try to enforce the “no eating upstairs rule” I found, a jar of peanut butter  –  in his bed, a can of reddi-whip under the bed, half empty bags of potato chips and pretzels, my missing salt shaker and so many empty water and soda bottles, I filled our recycling bin.

There were over 40 pens, pencils, sharpies and markers. Three pairs of scissors, seven screwdrivers, a hammer and a ruler.

I don’t write this to embarrass him. In fact, I thought a lot before posting it. He won’t read it, but I needed to write it as a reminder to myself just in case his room starts to get out of control again. His room is nowhere near done yet. I gave him the incentive that when we are able to do it, his room can be the first we repaint if he leaves it neat. I don’t know if he can or will do it but I can dream….

Take Me Out to the Ball Games

We made it to Spring Break!! We didn’t make any big plans to go away. Flights were too expensive to fly anywhere and Dave had to work so we decided to make it a staycation instead.

A few weeks ago, Drew and I made plans to go to Philadelphia to see the Mets play the Phillies on Monday.  My friend Melanie and her family are going to the Orioles vs Yankees game on Sunday and that got me thinking….

I found some good seats right near their’s and a last minute hotel deal and surprised Drew tonight. Maybe this will move me up a few points on the “fun mom” scale!!

Might not blog for a few days…but…you never know what stories will pop up. If I have something fun to share, I will. Otherwise, back at it next week.

Sharing a Video

I was thinking of skipping writing today – but then saw this and since I love the song so much and was amazed by the talent of Marcelito…I thought I would share it instead.

Rainbow

A wicked thunderstorm passed through our area today. It had been raining all day but the lightening started right at dismissal from school. The thunder was so loud, it shook the school! The downpour lasted for hours and then, the sun came out and the rainbow photos began being shared. They were stunning. I love rainbows. I missed getting a photo of one myself, but loved seeing them all!

Flight to Nowhere

Airfare…

We don’t travel much so maybe I am out of the loop, but is it always so ridiculously expensive? I know I was looking during a “prime time” but as a teacher, I don’t have a lot of flexibility of when I can go away. Our Spring Break this year happens to fall during Easter Week so the prices are astronomical!

I tried all the bargain sites out there. We were hoping to fly to Las Vegas to visit our cousins. I never found a price under $500 and we just can’t swing that right now. I have already begun to look for flights in August – the next break I will have from work. I often wonder, (and envy) how people who fly often can do it.

I have registered for “cheap flight alerts” in the hope that a good deal arrives in my inbox…we shall see, or maybe I will win the lottery!! Then we can fly anywhere anytime! I can always dream right?

 

New Friend

Last night, my brother’s girl friend asked my sister and I if we wanted to meet up for a girls night and get dinner. We all happened to be free tonight so we decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory. The only problem….we didn’t say which one! Kathi and I went to the one in Short Hills. Gina, went to Willowbrook. Oops!

We told her we could find a halfway point and meet up there, but she told us she’d come to us and I am so glad it all worked out. We had such a nice time. It was the first time we had been able to really get to know her without anyone else around.  There was never a lull in the conversation and it was almost as if we’d known her for years. It was really nice. I look forward to doing it again.

 

Count Down

Although for our family it will just be a “Staycation,” there are only 4 days left until Spring Break! I know we all need it.

Let the countdown begin!

Just Do Your Best

We’ve always told out boys that they don’t have to be perfect but they should always do their best. They don’t have to bring home straight A’s as long as they are trying and putting in the effort. The same goes for sports.

The high school in our town does not have a hockey team. A group of parents have been working hard to start a team. This of course has thrilled Drew. For now, they have created a club team that combines three towns. The students are in grades 8-11 – which leads to quite a size range! Drew, although a 9th grader, is one of the smaller players. This doesn’t stop him though. He is not as skilled or as fast as some of the boys who have been playing for years, but he still gets out there and puts everything he has into it. They had their first game tonight and although he didn’t score, he got a few assists and at the end of the game, he was just…happy.

It is just like football. I don’t think I wrote about it on my blog, but last summer, he came to Dave and me and told us he wanted to play football. Of course, we said, no, reminding him of his two concussions. He also never played real football before. He persisted and pestered and finally, we decided to let him try out for the kicker. We never thought he’d make it, but we also knew it was one of the safer positions if he did. Drew, all 90 pounds of him, put every bit of effort into those summer practices. He went everyday, went over and beyond and when it came time to announce the team, he not only made the freshmen team, he made varsity! The coach made a point of telling him and his teammates that he earned it due to the effort he showed each day on the field.

Drew knew he was not the best on the team. He was by far the smallest – the program listed him as 5’3″ and 95 pounds – and that was being generous! He doesn’t care. He put so much heart into those games. He didn’t get into every game, the team had a pretty bad year and so there weren’t a lot of opportunities, but he was still there at every practice and on the sidelines, cheering on the rest of the team whether or not he got in or not.

He has never been a strong student academically, and having sports to keep him motivated has been huge for him. He’s not going to college on an athletic scholarship – we all know that – but he’s having fun and when Drew is happy, everyone is happy.

 

April

In Kindergarten we count down the days to “something special.” This month we counted down the days until St. Patrick’s Day, our field trip and until the first day of April. It has finally arrived. April, May and June are my favorite months of the year. Spring.

Budding flowers, longer days, warmer weather…it just lifts my spirits. Now we will count down the days for one week. That’s all the days we have  left until Spring Break.

Then, the count down begins for summer!

Lucky Kid

Tonight we took Drew and his friend Jason to a charity hockey game in Newark. Rutgers Medical School “Medwings  vs Bitewings” – (Doctors vs Dentists.) This year’s game supported Smiles Across Bangladesh, a fund that provides aid to children and adults afflicted with oral and maxillofacial disorders in Bangladesh. Friends of ours have a son who we have known since he was a little kid. That little kid, is now a doctor and plays for the Medwings so we go to support him and the charity.

Drew looks forward to this game every year, partly because it is fun but mostly because of “Chuck a Puck.” This year, he was a winner again and so was his friend!

For those of you who don’t follow Drew’s lucky sport streak, it is a bit uncanny. He has caught or won so many things I have lost track! He has a World Series ball, 1995 team signed NJ Devils stick, game worn Devils jerseys, baseball cards, broken baseball bats from when he was a BatBoy with the Newark Bears, too many baseballs to count, and so many game used hockey sticks, we could build a small shed in the yard with them. At least three New York Giants have given him their gloves after games ….and after tonight, he has a team signed NY Islanders cap to add to his collection.

Somehow tonight some of that luck rubbed off on his buddy who won an autographed hockey puck but as for my puck, which I had him toss for me, that of course was not a winner.We have tried giving him money to buy us lottery tickets, but unfortunately the luck doesn’t transfer to us. Maybe when he’s old enough to buy lottery tickets of his own someday, he will remember us when he is a big winner!!