August 18: Ready, get set, GO!!!

August 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This morning was extremely rushed – for some reason hubby and I both slept through the alarm and woke up to Twin Husky talking at 7:15.   We had to hustle.   But we promised both older kids that they could take showers this morning (badly needed) – we both jumped out of bed and started RUNNING.

  • I woke up Big Bro and Red.   I got their clothes ready in piles and got them ready for their showers.  Big Bro would go in next after Hubby.
  • I grabbed Twin Husky and Twin Crazy next.  They were happy that it was morning and it was a new day.
  • I corralled all kids into our bathroom (it is actually really big so we weren’t cramped at all).
  • Big Bro jumped in shower.   He does good in the shower by himself but needs some help with the “important parts”.
  • I diapered the Twins.  They were busy playing with brushes and pointing at things and saying “That!”
  • Big Bro is out!   Get dry and dressed!   Mommy and Red are in!!!!   The shower was like a revolving door this morning.   The water never shut off.   Hubby in and out, Big Bro in and out, Red/Mommy in and out.   It was seriously crazy.
  • Mommy and Red are in!!!  Quick showers.   She is so sweet.  I had to be careful with her owie.
  • We all got dressed quickly and then ran downstairs.  Twins were already down with Hubby.  Big Bro ate a bagel quickly.  We packed an envelope of oatmeal for Red.   Hubby packed me a bagel (THANK YOU)
  • TIME TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Drop offs were very quick.  Hubby and I are on the ferry now still decompressing.   We had literally 45 minutes to get all four kids out today – and we were set behind because of two out-of-the-ordinary showers.   I don’t know how we did it.

Today at work I will be focusing on the proposal.   All day.   I’m not looking forward to it that much but it will get done.

The sky is foggy, grey.   Not that cold though which is nice.  A lot of people are playing with their phones and iPads.  I got some new gear for my iPad that I’m excited about and also BUSINESS CARDS for Mama In Motion.   I’m going to start giving them out soon once I become brave enough.    I will work on the recipe submission for today as well.   I’ve received a lot of recipes from folks so thank you to all.  Keep them coming.  I have a backlog now so it may take a while for you to see your submission.

I’m going to get a coffee now!

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • Answered some questions to potential members of a new forum we are creating
  • Talked to the whitepaper client and she liked our work.  She will arrange to come in our office in the next two weeks to talk about other work.
  • Set up a meeting with a potential client for Monday afternoon.   We gave him a proposal yesterday and he will visit us on-site on MOnday.
  • Picked up some lunch to eat at my desk; while picking it up I stopped in my kids’ old day-care center.   We miss it there so much.  It was great to know that the kids were right downstairs in my office building — that I was close to them in case I needed to be.   We loved that center and the people there.  I even had an opportunity to hold a baby…. a TWIN that the Center Director had; she is 8 months old – I held her and I saw her brother sleeping.   How sweet.   I just can’t imagine working in a place where my kids were literally a few rooms away.   I held that baby and something just clicked in me; that mothering sway and holding her and smelling her head.   I just love it.   How amazing.   Thank you Mama J for the diversion today!!!
  • Spent most of the day working on a HUGE proposal.  It was actually a stressful day; I still had more that I would have liked to do but I had to run to the ferry.    I can’t get back on-line until 8:30 PM tonight after the kids go to bed, so I handed off what I’ve done to two other team members, who will take it further.   I’ll check email at 8:30 to see if there is something more I can do.   We will then send the draft to the East Coast so our other Partner can pick it up and work on it further since he will be 3 hours ahead.   We will likely have a team meeting in the AM to divide, conquer, and send out the final proposal.
  • Made changes to the proposal during our end of day meeting and literally emailed it to the others as I was packing up – I have a ferry to catch!

So now I’m on the ferry.   I tried to give out some business cards while folks were waiting in line but I got about 6 rejections in a row so I got discouraged and ran back to Hubby in line.   I need to think about a better pitch than “Are you a working mom?”.   Sooo lame.

I also have some flowers with me that a friend sent to me yesterday – they are absolutely stunning.   Soooooo beautiful.  Thank you so much Ted!   You are a wonderful friend and so thoughtful!

It is still cold outside, but it’s a bit sunny.   We are going camping this weekend on a trip organized by a parents of multiples club – so just imagine about 20 families going camping with all of these twins and triplets everywhere.   We’re going to start packing tonight and we will hopefully leave a bit early tomorrow afternoon.   I’m looking forward to the weekend.

Where are all the working mothers on this ferry??!??!?!??!

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Pick up for Big Bro was  a bit sad; he was just sitting on the couch looking out of it.  He claimed his stomach hurt but one of the teachers said there were some older kids playing a DS (??? what is that?) and she asked them to share with Big Bro but they ignored her.   So he may just be sad/depressed and not really sick
  • Pick up for Red/Twins was cute.  They were going for a walk again.  They all seemed happy.
  • In the garage things got crazy.  Twin Husky kept pushing the van button to open, close, open, close the van door.   Then I went around to the other side and he was running away from me.  He is such a boy.
  • Inside things got progressively crazier.   I set up Big Bro on the couch with a movie.
  • Red requested socks.  Don’t ask me why she took off her old socks with her shoes and why she needed a new pair.
  • Twin Crazy was walking around with a rubber band which frightened me a bit.
  • Twin Husky got lost.  I heard him, but could not find him.   I eventually found him in his room with the door closed.   “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyyyyy”.   I had to go over to him and tickle and kiss him on the floor he was so cute.
  • We’re doing an old standby for dinner – boxed mac n cheese and chicken nuggets.  Hubby and I are going to order Indian Food for us.
  • We talked about camping.   Red asked if we will bring “SACKS” there.   I said, “Socks, of course we can bring socks there.” “No mommy, not sacks, SACKS.   Like graham crackers.”   Ohhhhhhhhhh.   Snacks.   “Do I have lions in my ears again?”   I applauded her for going out of her way to explain to me what she meant, instead of breaking down in tears like she usually does.  She’s getting so much better at her conversations.
  • For some reason we kept walking up and down the stairs – I don’t remember why.   Red pointed out that we were both wearing white socks with grey toes.   She has a thing for socks lately.
  • Mother’s Helper was busy doing laundry and rearranging the closets.
  • Daycare asked for more clothes for the twins so I packed stuff up for them for tomorrow and next week.
  • Twin Crazy was walking around with a book.  Someone (Hubby) eventually read it to her.
  • All kids ate well at dinner, including Big Bro.
  • Hubby started packing for the camping trip – all of our gear.  We may need to get some flashlights because I have a feeling the little ones will be fighting over them.  It would be good for each of us to have our own flashlight.
  • Twins went down for bed
  • Notary public came to the house for us to sign loan docs
  • We rushed Red and Big Bro to bed
  • Signed loan docs
  • Ate Indian food
  • Hubby is now continuing to pack; I wrote a list of clothes and food to pack tomorrow (I will work from home).
This was a crazy day – running non-stop essentially the entire day.  After I post this I will need to check work email to see if I need to do anything with the proposal tonight.   I swear the tension in my neck and shoulders is so bad…. this whole day was running.    But I got some good tickles and kisses in there and Red was really cute today with lots of interaction and talking and mothering her little brother and sister.
All in all a good day, but hectic day.
Til tomorrow –
– Mama K
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August 17: Kids in all directions and a GREAT breakfast

August 17, 2011 by 3 Comments

This morning was great; I had a lot of personal time with the kids and was full of energy.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • I was getting ready when I heard Twin Husky in his room — I guess they slept in a bit this morning!  This was great because Hubby usually takes them downstairs the first thing.   So I had the pleasure of opening their door room and looking at their faces as they smiled and lit up.   Sometimes they go so far as jumping up and down and squealing but they were moving slowly this AM.  I took their smiles happily.   Picking them each up out of their crib and holding them, hugging them, smelling their hair, is such a joy.    First was Twin Husky.   “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyyy”.   Then to Twin Crazy.    They are so cute together – both standing in their room and exploring and talking to each other.
  • On the way out of their room we were greeted by Red.   She was doing her sheepish smile, and I was poking her belly.   She showed me the band-aid on her arm — and I joked with her that Daddy must have given that to her last night because I did not want to give in when she came out of her room last night saying that her arm “hurt”.   I joked with her saying that she was a lucky, lucky, girl that daddy gave her that band-aid and was poking her belly to make her laugh.   She was trying to hold her laugh in but it was almost impossible.
  • The three of them came back into my room as I got dressed.   Twin Crazy and Twin Husky immediately went to the hair brushes and started to brush their hair.   Red asked for a pony-tail and I said i would give her one but as I sit here on the ferry I realize that I forgot…. must remember to make this up to her tomorrow.
  • Twin Crazy goes the closet and says “shoes” — begins to pick up hubby’s HUGE work shoe and start to carry it around.   Hubby appears upstairs to get the kids and Twin Crazy anxiously goes to the closet and shoes hubby his shoes.   She gets two of them (different pairs) and we both thank her so much and tell her how helpful she is.
  • Downstairs I was swinging Twin Crazy between my legs and she kept asking for more.
  •  We lose Twin Crazy for a minute.  I find her in the office playing with the computer mouse so now the computer is on.  I think she is concerned about this as I whisk her away.  I tell her “don’t worry, I’ll turn off the computer for you.”
  • Upstairs I hear a door slam – I go upstairs and there is Twin Husky – he made it back up there by himself.  I opened the door to my bedroom and immediately he pokes his head around the door and says “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyy” with a huge smile.   We were both cracking up.   This was another opportunity for me to pick him up, hold him tight, and smell him.
  • Downstairs, Twin Crazy is busy carrying around two milks.  She is trying to find Twin Husky to give him one of the milks.   She is really helpful these days and will go out of her way to find things and give things to people.
  • Diaper change for Twin Husky was a challenge.   He kept reaching for something he saw in the kitchen so kept squirming everywhere.  I got to kiss his belly and his feet.   He calmed down a bit.  After the change he ran into the kitchen but I think he forgot about what he wanted.
  • Twin Crazy diaper change was cute – she was playing with a milk sippy cup so got milk all over herself.   Twin Husky came over and started pointing to all the milk drips on her… from her belly to her face.   I love seeing the interaction between those two.
  • Hubby made me breakfast – bagel and strawberries.   THANK YOU HUBBY  🙂
  • I help Big Bro get changed (that is his time with me) and we joke about the piece of toilet paper we found still in his butt.   Red wants to get changed at daycare so I pack up her clothes in the to-go bag.
  • Time to go!!!!   Strap in Twin Husky; we lose Twin Crazy down the driveway and she was running towards the street.   She is very bad with that and we cannot seem to teach her to stay away from the street…. she just keeps testing us and thinking its a game – a dangerous one.
  • Both drop offs went great.    Kids were saying bye-bye.   Big Bro brought in a foam baseball and bat that he wants to share with his friends and school.

So, this morning was WONDERFUL.  I think having coffee and breakfast really helped.   As you can see I’ve captured a lot of this morning because I had the energy to do so.   The day is grey.  It looks like rain.   For work today I will likely be focusing on the one big proposal due at end of this week.   I’ll also follow-up with the white paper client from two weeks ago to see what other work she may have for us.

Tonight I have my doctor appointment so will not have much time with the kids.   I’m thankful that I was able to spend a good morning with them today.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • did some sales outreach for our partnering initiative
  • participated on conference call for our big proposal due end of week.   I now own the Master document and need to coordinate with the rest of the team to pull the rest together.  There are still a lot of questions about the approach that I need to figure out, and will need to focus on that for tomorrow.
  • Talked to the client about the Whitepaper we wrote for her and she liked the work and will get back to me middle of next week to talk about more.   Whew!   I really want to build a good relationship with this woman.

Commute and Bedtime:

I had an appointment tonight so Hubby is at home with kids.   So now I’m waiting for the ferry having a mineral water am in a much better state of mind.  I should have enough time when I get home to see my older kids off to bed.  Hopefully they were good for Hubby tonight.   It is dark, cold, and grey.   A winter of a summer.   I am so over it.   I would love to have my feet in some hot sand before the summer is over but not sure how possible that is…

8 AM:   Made it home and yes I was able to spend some time with the older kids!!

  • Red was upset about a new “owie” — and it does look bad.  A big scrape on her elbow.  I put Neosporin and two band aids on it.  She felt better.  She asked me to help her get on/off the toilet and also help her get dressed because of the owie on her elbow.  How sweet.
  • Big Bro told a “story” with story cards we recently received from a friend
  • Red took out and lined up some story cards, but she was silent.   I guess she had a story in her head.  Big Bro kept trying to steal her story so I had fun trying to cover up his mouth
  • Tonight was the first time I heard Big Bro refer to his sisters as “the girls”.   “I was playing with the girls….”.    [Oh my god I have four kids.]
  • I heard Twin Husky talking as he was going to sleep.   “Uhhhhhh ohhhhhhhh.   Uhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhh.”   Cute.   I can’t wait to squeeze them tomorrow.
  • We talked about Big Bro taking a shower in the AM.  He’s excited about this.
  • Then Red said she wanted to take a bath.  I said there wouldn’t be enough time but offered her a shower with me.  She’s excited about this now too.
They are both upstairs now and I don’t hear a peep out of anyone.  I guess they’re looking forward to tomorrow and taking their showers.   How simple!
Till tomorrow,
– Mama K
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August 16: Powder fight!

August 16, 2011 by 1 Comment

First of all THANK YOU for everyone who reached out to me today; this means a lot.  My story is much more complicated than you know but nonetheless I really appreciate all the good vibes people are sending.  Thank you.   These are my notes from my morning commute and rest of the day….

 

I feel completely out of it this morning.   Woke up in the middle of the night crying – so as well as feeling down, I’m very sleepy.   My eyes are swollen this morning so with no make up I must look like a sight.   Anyway,

Highlights of the Morning:

  • I missed most of the morning with the kids.   Red came in to greet me all dressed and EXTREMELY proud of herself.  “I got dressed all by myself!!”.    She asked me to help her roll up her sleeves — the sleeves honestly did not need to be rolled up but I did it anyway and made a real big fuss about how great she did and how proud of her I was.  I think the rolling of the sleeves was her way of holding on to me… maybe knowing I was still there for her.   How sweet.
  • Big Bro was already downstairs — it is Chocolate Tuesday after all.
  • Twin Husky was busy saying “Hiiiiiiiiiiyyyyy” when I saw him.
  • Twin Crazy was acting anxious — I was not sure if she wanted some bread with Nutella too so I offered it but she looked at it like it was dirt and walked away.   Later she came up to me with bread crusts and I’m not sure if she wanted me to try again with Nutella or if she was just giving me garbage.   I did not have the energy to figure it out.
  • I made some coffee this AM
  • Got the kids their vitamins.
  • Hubby already loaded everyone in the car; I grabbed the bag and found the random shoes.
  • first drop off went very, very well.   I again made a big deal about Red picking out her clothes and putting them on all by herself.   She seemed happy and smug.   Daycare told us that ALL day yesterday Twin Crazy was singing to herself and moving her hands.    I’m wondering if she was singing Twinkle Twinkle or maybe Itsy Bitsy Spider???!??!?    How cute.   Twin Husky smiles when I bring him out of the car seat and says “Byyyyyyyyyyyye” to Big Bro.    He snuggles in for one last hug before I hand him over to Daycare.   They all seem happy there.
  • Drop off with Big Bro went well.   The teacher noticed that he did not bring in a game today – I wonder if the kids were too rough with his Uno cards yesterday.   He gets particular like that over his things.

Ferry ride is quiet; the water is still.  It is gray and foggy.   I just want to break down and cry some more but am holding it in.    Today at work I’ll likely work on a proposal and continue to do sales outreach for the meeting in October.   After departing the ferry me and hubby walk together and I finally let it loose; I am so unhappy – and he knows it.    We go our separate ways and I fall to pieces.   I grab some breakfast, coffee, and OJ and the stranger behind the counter pleads with me that she knows there is something terribly wrong but sometimes just putting on a smile gets you through the day…. little does she know that I’ve run out of smiles a long time ago and can’t find my smile unless I’m with my children.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • I spent most of the day working on the finishing touches of a proposal.   We shipped it off at the end of the day and it is very likely that we will start the work on Monday.   We do not think the client is going to any other consulting firm – I’ve been the day-to-day contact with him so this is my first true “lead” sale.   (he got to us through a random phone call from the website, but I answered the call…. lucky me!)
  • I also assisted with a big proposal that is due to the potential client by end of week.   Coordinated the “references” so we can begin to reach out to our previous clients to see if they would feel comfortable serving as references for our work.
  • I did some sales outreach for the meeting in October.   Sent materials to a client I sold into the membership – so again, I am the point person for a new client relationship here.

 

I had a pretty bad day.   I was crying a lot at work and it was very visible that I was distressed; “No, there’s nothing you can do, but thank you” was always my response.   I’m hoping things can change – my family is depending on it.

 

Dinner and Bedtime:

I had an EXCELLENT time with the kids tonight.   I missed them from last night and this morning so really they were such a joy to be around tonight.

  • We pick up Red and Twins and it was so cute, they were going for a walk along the cul-de-sac.   They are so sweet.  No more babies!   They are so big now!
  • At home, Twin Crazy and Twin Husky are extremely interested in Red going pee-pee on the little potty.    They both wave goodbye to it as I flush it down the toilet.   I clean out the potty and Twin Crazy sits on it (clothed) as does Twin Husky.   Then Twin Crazy flushes the toilet again.  So cute.
  • I don’t know all the details, but I do know that Twin Husky took a bite out of Red’s thigh somewhere near the bookshelf.  So maybe they were fighting over a book.   This is REALLY a first for us.  I promptly reprimanded him and put him in his first “time out” for about 1 1/2 minutes – he was screaming, then sulking, but he knew that what he did was wrong.    Poor Red has teeth mark bruises on her leg now.  She was brave putting ice on her leg.
  • Twin Crazy’s foot got caught in a tissue box
  • Twin Crazy opened the refrigerator and took out a juice… then all the rest of the kids requested juice, even Twin Husky “juice”.   We usually only give milk or water before bedtime so this was a real treat for them to have juice at dinner.   I guess this is a rule we abide to for now on?   All for one and one for all?    Hmmmm.   I don’t know about this.    I think I’m going to have to back down on this one.
  • After dinner, Twin Husky was still crawling around on the floor picking up left-overs.  We don’t even need a dog in this house because of him.  Red thought that this was EXTREMELY funny.
  • Big Bro said he could count to 100, to 1,000, to 10,000, 100,000.   I mentioned 900,000 and then he mentioned 1 million.  I asked him if he had ever seen anyone write out 900,000 and he said no, so I grabbed my notebook to show him.   He’s really interested in numbers and science and reading – I am so psyched about it.  He goes to Kindergarten in less than two weeks and I know that it will be a lot for ME.   I think I need to take him shopping for a new lunchbox or something.
  • I changed Twin Husky and put some powder on him.   We all proceeded to feel the powder, me put powder on their bellies, powder in their hands, and suddenly all five of us were covered in powder.   My shirt still is grey and stinks of it (at least it’s a good stink).
  • Off to bed!    Books and kisses.   I love all of them so much!
I had such a great time tonight – what a roller coaster of a day.   My eyes are still swollen and burning – hopefully tomorrow will be more consistent.
Till tomorrow,
– Mama K

 

 

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Random Thought: Martha or McDonald’s?

August 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Our family tends to take the path to least resistance when it comes to meals with our kids.   Since we have four little ones, I usually want to keep things simple and offer only one meal that I hope all will like – instead of being a short-order cook for each one of them.   That leaves me with a few options of good old stand-bys — the “tried and true” meals that I know will (somewhat) work for all.   Or, maybe I’m just not trying hard enough to diversify?   Which brings me to this week’s random thought about the meals we give to our kids.   I’d like to ask the group the following 3 questions:

Time is so limited but I would expect to see variation in answers; and I’d love to hear comments on tricks/tips that you use to keep your meal ideas new and varied…. this is something our household could really benefit from!

As always, thanks for participating!

– Mama K

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August 11: Flying high and evening reunion

August 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Today will be a very unusual day in our household.   I am taking a day-trip flight to present our findings and recommendations to a client audience of 15 people including the Senior EVP.   This means that I had little to no time with my kids this AM – only Red was awake (sortof) when I left the house…and hubby had to do the morning routine and get 4 kids out all on his own…

Highlights of the Morning and “Commute”

  • I woke up much earlier than normal.   Showered, and ran downstairs to make some instant coffee.  I got dressed in a dress and black blazer, and actually blow dried my hair to make it more presentable.
  • Red woke up during this time.   She is always the early riser of the bunch.   She was a bit cranky.
  • Big Bro last night asked me to leave him a note with the names of the games on my iPad – I downloaded some and then wrote the note as I promised.   So I left the note for him by his bed.  I also left a note for Red – “I ♥ you   – Mommy”
  • Since she was cranky we went back into her room to find her note.   I sat with her and read it to her and told her Big Bro received a note so I HAD to leave a note for her too.   She looked at me and started to smile – still holding it in but then jumped on my lap and gave me the biggest hug.    That made my morning and the feeling will help me through the morning since I didn’t have time with my other children.
  • The ride to the airport was easy – we live very close.  I parked in the hourly parking lot.
  • Got the ticket at the kiosk – business select – breezed through security
  • Grabbed fruit, yogurt, coffee, and juice – the best breakfast ever.   I ACTUALLY ATE!!!    AND I DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANYONE EXCEPT FOR MYSELF!!!
  • Make up in bathroom (this I guess was part of my usual routine — but there was lots more counter-space and lots more light)
  • Now on flight.   And its quiet!   I don’t have any kids jumping around or trying to run down the isles or looking behind or kicking the seat in front or needing an activity or complaining that they are hungry/thirsty/tired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • However, I do need to prepare for a major presentation I will give 3 hours from now.
  • Text from Hubby:   “Everyone was in a bad mood.   [Red] crying and not eating.  Twins fighting over yogurt…. spilling all over.   Dad exhausted and heading into long day.  [Big Bro] was sleeping in and ok.”
  • And another coffee on flight… my third…. yes I’m flying high at this point
Highlights of my Working Day:
  • Met up with Director and grabbed a taxi to the client.
  • Looked through presentation and made some last notes to myself for talking points.
  • Met with client 1/2 hour before the meeting so she could give last minute guidance; also sold the concept of another project to her and she is excited and completely on board.  She needs to coordinate with some others in the organization but it looks like we can add them to our list of interested participants in the study we are jointly conducting with our partner.   YEAH!!!
  • Had a 1 hour presentation where we presented some very sensitive material.   I tactfully handled areas of sensitivity that I knew of, however there was a person on the phone who was not part of the process at all and was extremely defensive.   We were challenged by him since 1) we tried to include him in our previous interviews/discussions but he sent a proxy instead — so he was working with us on the first time with a lot of these issues; and 2) he was on the phone and not face-to-face.   Face to face with these kinds of meetings is so much better so you can establish actual connections to the people.   In the end though the leadership gave us high accolades, again, so we felt good about the work.
  • At this point it’s 1:30 — grab taxi to airport.   We’re at different terminals, so I’m on my own.  Go thru security, I’m starved…
  • Grab lunch — pizza, and a BIG heffeweisen beer.   I’m psyched.    During lunch/beer I start writing the proposal that is due this week.   I actually made a lot of progress and then realized my flight was boarding so quickly closed down and ran to the gate

Work and beer go together wonderfully

  • Continued the proposal on the plane; talked business with the guy next to me — he had some ideas for this Blog so I am grateful for meeting him.
  • Grabbed another beer — the day is getting better and better.
  • Grab car – head home.   I go to ferry station to drop off the Audi and pick up the mini-van.
  • Head home and continue to work on the proposal for another hour.   Get it to a point where I can email to a Director on East Coast so he will look at it and then give me his feedback (he is 3 hours ahead of me which works well).
  • Talk to Hubby.   The plan is for me to pick up the kids and get to the ferry station in time for them to see the boat arrive.   I’m on my way!!!
Dinner and Bedtime:
  • Pick up kids — WHAT A REUNION.    I did not see them a lot the previous night, and definitely didn’t see them in the morning.  So this was fun.  Big Bro was talking about the note I left for him.  He likes it and said he’s always going to keep it.   I have to write him more notes [feeling guilty…]
  • Red was wearing her pajamas from the night before – I guess Hubby had a hard time dressing her this AM.    Then I notice that Big Bro is wearing the same shirt as yesterday (that he also slept in).   I’m wondering if he at least changed his underwear and socks?   Oh well.
  • Ferry came in and all kids were fixated on the boat, and seeing Daddy.
  • At home with everyone!    I played with kids; tickled, hugged, laughed, ran, I love the reunions.
  • Red needed to pee and wanted privacy; Twin Crazy was running around; Big Bro was playing with a beach-ball “globe”; Twin Husky was cranky — wanting Daddy and his doggie blanket.
  • Dinner went great; Big Bro ate like a champ.   Hubby brought out mangos which were a hit
  • Afterwards we played – animals, balls, cars — and the kids all helped putting toys away
  • All kids went to sleep quickly
So, it was an unusual travel day with significant work presentations… hubby had to pick up the slack in the AM for me to be able to even do any of this.    The kids looked good and healthy – they were a bit smelly from old clothes but that is the least of my concerns.   We were happy to be back together and getting back into our normal routine together.
All in all a very good day –
Till tomorrow,
– Mama K
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Recipe: Carmella’s Ice-Box “Cake”

August 11, 2011 by 1 Comment

This is an oldie but goodie. My grandmother, Carmella Pellulo (recently passed away in 2010) created this and it is now going on 4 generations!!!!    This dessert is so unbelievably easy it is a crime not to share! It sometimes looks like slop when you put it on the plate but trust me your kids will love it and it is a good option for a dessert.   This is also something that the kids can help with — mixing pudding, making the layers, placing the cherries.   So, I suppose this recipe was created by “Mama C” (thanks Nana) from Philadelphia, PA and submitted by Mama L from Bensalem, PA.

Carmella’s Ice-Box “Cake”

Ingredients:

  • graham crackers
  • vanilla and chocolate pudding (instant or cooked; I like cooked better but either is fine) Note: for a 13X9 pan, you will likely need two boxes of each flavor
  • maraschino cherries (optional)

Instructions:

Cook/mix pudding (keep the flavors separate). Line a casserole dish with graham crackers, and then make layers with pudding (alternating the flavors) until the top layer is pudding. Crush graham crackers and dust the top layer, then dot with maraschino cherries. Keep refrigerated – it gets better the longer it is stored in advance of serving.

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time and assemble time: 10 – 20 minutes

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August 10: A bag with a computer, presentations, high heels, baguette, package of cheese and chutney

August 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

 

  • While getting ready i heard Red crying; she was in one of those moods where she just laid there in a ball crying, and didn’t tell me what was wrong.  I try to be patient but it is hard.   What is it sweetie?   Why are you upset?  Did you have a good night sleep?   What can I do to make it better?   She was handling her loosened pony-tail.   Is it your hair?   do you want met to fix that for you?   Still no answer.   Twin Crazy came into the room and pointed to Red, “talking” in her baby talk and me responding “Yes, Red is upset.  She is sad.”   Twin Crazy is very empathetic and she gets it when someone is upset.  I have an idea.   Can you help me with my lotions?   She helped hold the bottles as I got my face cream and eye cream on.  That seemed to help.
  • Twin Crazy came in with two toothbrushes and was saying “brush”.  She loves to brush her teeth.
  • I still couldn’t find my brush since Twin Crazy took it downstairs yesterday and it never made its way back upstairs.   So Red, Twin Crazy and I went downstairs.
  • I fixed Red’s hair in a pony-tail and I asked her to tell me how Daycare does it.   She directed me with water first, then brush, then put in pony-tail.   So I told her that I was going to follow her directions exactly as she told me.   She seemed VERY happy from that point on.
  • Finding clothes was a bit of an issue this AM since we have 6 loads of unfolded laundry in our back bedroom.  I had to do some searching.   I came out with jeans for Big Bro but he wanted shorts so I asked him to go and look for some.  He got overwhelmed with the back bedroom but then I found him fishing for some in the dryer.  He was successful and found a pair of his favorite shorts.
  • I then diapered the Twins, talked to them.   Twin Crazy was reading a book.   Twin Husky was playful and I asked him if I could kiss his belly.   They are so sweet.
  • OK!   Time to get in the car!!!    I pack up the bag with their jackets and shoes.   Big Bro finds some books to bring to school.   Both drop-offs went wonderfully.

We are on the ferry now, it is grey but the water is flat.  Some people are chatting with each other but many are reading books or listing to music.  I wonder what they do for work.  I wonder what their situations are with kids – do they have any and at what ages?   I feel so old to be having these kids so young.  We see some of these faces at daycare in the mornings but for some reason we mind our own business.  This is a nice way to commute, probably one that cannot get any better.

 

Today at work I am going to be hustling:

  • I have to get the presentation complete for our huge meeting tomorrow
  • I need to confirm objectives for potential project so I can start that proposal
  • I will have a face-to-face meeting with an old client who will give us some insight on potential business opportunities and guidance for 2 proposals under consideration so they do not die.

So – it will be a busy day for me.  I will again need to hit the ground running.  I wish we had a good bagel place by our office.

 

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • got myself ready in the ladies room – make up and hair
  • grabbed tea, water, and an entire box of fig newtons.  This was my breakfast.  I need to get better at this – I need to start bringing in something healthy to eat – yogurt, fruit, or something.   This is getting ridiculous.
  • worked on the presentation that I will deliver to the “expanded” client team, tomorrow.  The content is there, it just needs to be repackaged for this new audience.   I received feedback from our client as to what to include, so I hit the ground and attacked the presentation.   It was in great shape for Director review; very few edits.   We went to press with it and then sent it to the client for them to print on their end.  Tomorrow’s meeting makes me a bit nervous since we may have some push-back from people – especially if they are on the defensive.   But the Senior EVP will be in the meeting too so hopefully that will keep the meeting tame.
  • sent out a draft of project objectives and key questions for a proposal due this week; once potential client confirms, I will be able to write the proposal.  I will likely write it on the plane tomorrow if I receive feedback from him early enough.
  • joined a business lunch that was rushed but got chicken parmesan so that made up for my shitty breakfast.
  •  went to face-to-face meeting with an old client – he is moving on to another company so this was really to catch up with him and also gain his help in understanding who we can contact within the company for work and also follow up on status of two outstanding proposals to them.   On the way back from the meeting the Director and I talked through a go-to-market plan for this client/organization on who we should be talking with; we are going to start setting up meetings to do this; i love this kind of stuff – being more client facing versus managing a team to get the work done – project management is fine when the team is dependable but it is really hard when they are not – then the work falls on you and I just don’t have the time available to deliver a team’s worth of work myself – I only have a limited number of hours in the day and fewer than what most consultants are able to do.
  • picked up the presentation materials, packed up my computer.   I’m now headed to an appointment so I have all sorts of things with me; iPad, computer, presentations, my high-heel shoes,etc.   I sort of look like a bag lady but with too much technology.

 

Commute Home:

During Wednesday nights I have these appointments so Hubby holds down the fort and we now have a NEW mother’s helper so I don’t feel guilty.    If I’m lucky,  I will be able to see Red and Big Bro off to bed, and only if they are dragging out their teeth, PJs, and book routine.   So I’ll think of them now and miss them.   Wednesday nights are hard for me for so many reasons.
4:45 PM:  NOTE:  There is a woman on the train who is bouncing her baby too much.   he’s in a baby Bjorn but she is honestly physically comforting him too much.   She must be a new mom.   She does not realize that she is creating a spoiled child who will not be able to soothe himself – creating a being who will be dependent on her for his satisfaction.   What the hell is she doing?  She’s bouncing all over the place and hopping.   I know I did this with my first, but by 3 and 4, you know better and I want to tell this woman to stop it but I know I can’t.  There she goes again, bouncing all over the place.   Even though the kid does not need to be bounced now.   STOP IT PLEASE YOU ARE MAKING ME NUTS WITH THE BOUNCING YOUR KID IS NOT FUSSING NOW AND YOU ARE CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT WILL DRAIN YOU FOR YEARS ON END.   Whew.  That feels better.

 

6:50 PM.  OK.   My appointment finished and I had to wait and wait and wait for a train to take me back downtown to take the last ferry home.   It is absolutely freezing outside.   I really have had it with where I live.   I don’t know if I’ll have time to grab the glass of wine I was hoping for.

 

7:34.   Yes, I did.  Unfortunately I had to guzzle the glass of wine.  I shoved just one bite of baguette with some Mt. Tam cheese; had to wrap the rest, including the chutney.  So now I have a bag with some presentations, a computer, a baguette, and a saran package of cheese and chutney that I’m sure is fallout out all over the place.   There are few people on the ferry tonight.  I feel buzzed with the one glass of wine that I downed in less than 10 minutes.   It is freezing outside.   Think October/Nov weather.   I hope the kids did well tonight.

 

8:05 PM:   I’m still not used to the iPad and as I’m walking home in the freezing cold (windy, cold, snot dripping from my nose) I hear the Bee Jees coming from the iPad in my bag.   I need to figure out how to work this thing.

 

8:15 PM:   tuck Red and Big Bro in bed.   Ask them how their day went.   Scratch Big Bro’s back.   Talk to Red about a lot of stuff I don’t remember now.   I tell them about my trip on the airplane tomorrow and how I think I’ll be back in time for their dinner.   Big Bro asks me to see what games are on my iPad and tell him…. I tell him I’ll leave him a note so he can see it in the morning.   Now I have to figure out games on iPad…. I’m going to finish the baguette and cheese with hubby as I do this….

Till tomorrow

 

– Mama K

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August 9: Too much laundry but we’ve been saved by another “New” Mother’s Helper!

August 9, 2011 by 2 Comments

Today was a bit rushed; we woke up later than normal – 7:20 AM and we need to leave by 8 AM with 4 kids! We posted for another ad in Craig’s List so hopefully we’ll find someone soon. OUr place is a wreck – we tried to keep up last summer when I went back to work but it was physically and emotionally depleting. I just couldn’t do it with four kids and work FT. Hopefully someone good answers our ad soon.

  • Twin Crazy was playing with a brush, and Red was also with her. Twin Crazy trapped Red in the closet – she is getting very good with her muscles and she loves to open and close sliding closets (to my fear)
  • Twin Husky then comes out and the four of us start playing with puzzles on the floor. That was really sweet.
  • Everyone heads down for Chocolate Tuesday!
  • I can’t find my brush so I head downstairs and there it is on the floor.
  • I take out dry stuff out of dryer and put on top of the growing mountain of clean clothes to be folded in the back bedroom
  • Twin Crazy and Twin Husky are eating yogurt for breakfast so I clean them up and get them out of their chairs
  • Twin Crazy “helps” me put the wet clean clothes into the dryer. That was cute.
  • I put in another load of wash.
  • Red and Big Bro are REALLY busy with Chocolate Tuesday – they are eating their faces off.
  • I make Big Bro’s lunch and pack up the bag for daycare.
  • We change the Twins and then help Red and Big Bro change. They are old enough, and they can do it by themselves, I think they just want the attention from us so I can’t help but give in. Big Bro and I discuss the system we had where he picked out the clothes by himself and came downstairs already dressed, and how great that was. We’re going to try that tomorrow.
  • Twins are playing with the stereo components and wind up turning it on. Big Bro laughs at this — he is so sweet; he looks at what they do, but hangs back. Will only intervene if their safety is in question. Otherwise, he enjoys seeing them develop and do funny things, just as I do. I’m so proud of him as a big brother.
  • OK – 8 AM!! Time to go! Everyone get their shoes on!!! Twin Husky went to the garage and found his shoes so I could pack them in the bag. How cute.
  • Twin Husky was difficult getting into the car seat today. He kept wanting to turn around and laugh at Big Bro. You can really see the development between the two brothers recently. It is so sweet.

So now I’m on the ferry, no makeup, no breakfast, and no coffee. I feel like shit.   For work today, I will need to:

  • Work with one of the directors to map out one proposal. We need to complete it by today or tomorrow – So I’ll need to focus on that.
  • Think about high level approach for the big proposal we will submit in two weeks.
  • I will need to participate in a coordination/status meeting for the big meeting in October. THis will take 1 hour out of my day
  • I will also likely lead a different meeting for the firm initiative with our partner – I’ll need to walk through the go-to-market materials I sent out yesterday.

So, lots to do today. I think I’m going to treat myself to a big breakfast and HUGE coffee on the way to work today.   On the ferry the people around me are talking about t-ball, swimming, soccer, baseball, and birthday parties, and camps. The people around here are so Type-A and everything appears to be done to the extreme. Giant trampolines. Swim lessons since they’re 3. Hearing this makes me feel so guilty that we’re not able to do this with our kids – there just isn’t enough time and the last thing we want to do on weekends is run around with extra activities and/or formalized commitments.   I’ll probably post something on this topic at a later time.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • I grabbed an excellent breakfast this morning on the way to work – breakfast tacos, a HUGE coffee, and I decided to splurge on orange juice.
  • Got myself together in the ladies room before going to office. Now I feel more like myself.
  • Rearranged some meetings today
  • Started to work on the presentation for Thursday’s huge meeting with the folks from the project that just wrapped up. I had no fear going in to present to the Senior EVP of the bank, but these types of meetings where you need to present to the workers… the doers… is very stressful for me. Everything in black and white is a critique on how they do their jobs – sometimes they react favorably to this type of work because maybe their fighting for investment budget for automation and to make their jobs easier — however sometimes it just looks like plain criticism — and in this case we were evaluating potential areas for outsourcing so some of these people will be fearful of their jobs (or their teams) as a result of this work. So, I’m not really looking forward to Thursday’s meeting. It will be tougher. It will be harder emotionally.
  • Ate fig newtons for lunch. Sent out a Random Thoughts post during lunch.
  • Sent follow-up to our Whitepaper partner to see if she is happy with the results; I’d like to get more work from her. The work is not complicated and it would give us a great way to supplement our existing work and keep our junior staff busy.
  • Started working on a “Best Practices” document to send to the institutions we interviewed for our last project.
  • Started fleshing out the objectives for one proposal – we are supposed to deliver it to the prospective client this week but I don’t know how that is going to happen… I have face-to-face business development meetings tomorrow and I am traveling on Thursday…..
  • Conducted the touchpoint status meeting for the initiative with our partners; there are some updates to the go-to-market materials which I incorporated and then re-sent everything out to the team so we can begin our sales efforts. I will need to start reaching out to companies before the next status meeting in 2 weeks.
  • Fired our undependable Mother’s Helper, and arranged for someone who answered our ad to come visit with us tonight. I’m going to put her to work with all of our laundry and all of our hand-washables. Our house is a disaster.

I had a good day today but am still feeling down – I am not recovering as quickly as I would like from my bout of depression from the weekend. I can’t shake this. The city where we live is too stressful and extremely expensive. I have no choice but to work the way I do. I feel like I have no choices at all anymore. I’m feeling alone again and need to snap out of this. OK I’m off to the Ferry. Will likely start to write-up another blog entry on the way home.

 Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Red came out of daycare today with her hair pulled back in a pony-tail (she has very, very little hair so I’m always amazed when people are able to do this for her – I certainly cannot).  I made such a big deal out of this.  We later kept giggling to each other that we both have pony-tails and we put them together and said how our pony-tails were mixed together.
  • Twin Husky absolutely loves Big Bro.  It is tough to get him in the car seat because he’d rather stand up and look at Big Bro.   We talk about what kinds of toys they can play with each other when we get home and Big Bro decides on “cars”.   Then Red proclaims that she wants to play “Princess” with Twin Crazy when we get home.
  • Twin Husky and Twin Crazy have a blast on the slide structure.   They keep taking turns and running around — one slides while the other climbs up the structure… on and on and on and on…..  Too cute.  They were laughing their butts off.
  • Our potential new mother’s helper came over.  She is great with kids and works in summer camps and social work programs with kids for a living.  I think she’ll be great with our family.  Red took to her right away and we had fun showing her around the house.  We went outside (all the kids) to show her the apple tree.  I picked an apple for each kid and used that as leverage to get them to eat their food.
  • A conversation with Big Bro went like this tonight….     Big Bro:  “If you had a monster, what would you do with it?”  “Well, is it a good monster or bad monster?”   “It’s anything you want it to be.” “OK.  I’d like it to be a good monster.   But would you kids be scared of it?”   “I wouldn’t, but Red might, and Twin Husky and Twin Crazy would be too.”  “OK.  Well in that case, on a day when I work from home and you kids are at school and daycare, I would invite the monster over for lunch.   That’s what I’d do with the monster.”
  • And yet another conversation with Big Bro….  Big Bro:  “I’d like to have a dinosaur and have them in the house.   I’d like to ride them.”   He then starts to mention all of them by name and I don’t remember what they are but we did have a long conversation about the ones that fly and how we would love to fly on them if they were nice to us and kept us safe when we were in the air.
  • All ate well.   Big Bro ate so many carrots I thought he was going to turn orange. Big Bro and Red wound up on my lap after dinner eating apples.  I loved it.
  • Big Bro wanted to play a game with me where you connect “dots” to form squares and the person who forms the most squares wins.   I’m telling you, this kid was strategizing.   I actually had to pay attention to what I was doing.   Hubby thinks that I’ll be no match for this kid in 1-2 years.
  • Twin Crazy started to do something funny with her sippy cup tonight — shaking the milk out into a spoon and then drinking the milk from the spoon
  • MH puts the Twins down for bed – everything seemed to go well.
  • Big Bro had a tantrum about a blanket.   Red is still saying she’s scared.  I think she’s at the top of the stairs again now….
The older kids are just so funny at these ages.   I feel like Big Bro and Red are full-fledged people.   The way they banter, the way they joke around with me, the way they interact and the give and take to the conversations.   I love it.   I sometimes get side tracked and forget things for them when too much is going on, but I ask them to PLEASE remind me when that happens.   They are so good with that.   For example, Big Bro had to remind me that I didn’t answer his question about what I would do with a monster.    I love how he accepted that I got pulled away, was mature enough to wait, and then approached me when he knew he could get my full attention.   It is so easy with him and with Red sometimes but then just 10 minutes later they regress and throw tantrums about a blanket of all things.   So I guess I have some more time to wait but by then it will be a different issue so I just have to be happy for what I have now!!!    AND, I AM THRILLED AT THE POTENTIAL OF OUR NEW MOTHER’S HELPER!!!!    There is a mound of I think 5 loads of laundry that she will need to conquer…. I’m going to sit down now and maybe watch some True Blood.
All in all, a good day.
Till tomorrow –
– Mama K
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August 8: Busy at Work, Busy at Home, and NO Mother’s Helper (again!)

August 8, 2011 by 2 Comments

Oh, Mondays. These used to be really rough for me but my weekend was not that spectacular so I welcome getting back into a normal routine. We did not do much of anything on Sat or Sun. The highlight was taking the kids to a nearby park and having all four of them tear down the little, medium, and big slides. Twin Husky was flying down the medium slide head first, laughing his butt off. Both Twin husky and Twin Crazy would go down the little slide and then topple over onto the bark ground which they thought was hysterical, and me and Big Bro thought even more hysterical. The weekend was very cold and gray. Twin Husky got some more biting practice in. Poor Twin Crazy, and also Red. They are beginning to fear him.

 Highlights of the morning:

  • Red woke up first and climbed into our bed, playful. She seems like in a great mood
  • Red and Twin Husky make it down with Hubby for breakfast
  • I hear Twin Crazy screaming… because she woke up alone in her room.  She was really pissed off that she woke up and her brother was not there.  She feels like she’s missing out on something.   I fetch her and she has a good time combing her hair and my hair.
Twin Crazy is pissed that everyone is downstairs except for her
  • I wake up Big Bro and start to gather clothes for the day. He has definite opinions. He needs to have a picture on his t-shirt or else it is rejected. We have so many plain t-shirts that just never get used.
  • downstairs the Twins are busy eating applesauce, bananas and Cheerios. They are talking up a storm and having fun with Red.
  • Big Bro is in a great mood.
  • Getting them dressed was no problem. Red and I played a game where I was helping her with her socks but she kept giving me the foot that was already “socked”.. “I don’t need THAT guy [referring to her foot], I need THIS guy [referring to her other foot].” “I’m giving you THIS guy”. “No, I need THAT guy.” It was really cute. She is in a great mood. She even had time to put on a tattoo that she was excited about.
  • I gathered clothes for daycare for Twin Husky [this is something that I should do the night before to make the time more efficient in the morning….]
  • Shoes on! Let’s go!!!
  • Red says she wants to see Daddy go on the ferry and then all of us go to Big Bro’s school. I say we can only do that on days that I work from home. That does not seem to satisfy her much.
  • Drop off #1 went without a problem. She whisked them away because it’s really cold outside
  • Drop off #2 went well. Big Bro brought in a book “101 Dalmatians” and his teacher said “Cool! Great book. Do you want me to read it?” I love that place. We will likely have Red start in the same school in September.

Today for work I will need to double-task and hustle. I am double-booked in the AM where I need to get a deck ready for distribution for an internal team, yet I also have an internal call to strategize for a new proposal we will be developing. It will be hard for me to multi-task on this so I need to hit-the ground running when I get into the office to get the first done before the second begins. But I’m hungry. I guess it will be more coffee and trail mix. Later in the day I will need to reach out for more business development for the meeting in October. WE have a status call tomorrow that I will need to be ready for.

 

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • Ran into the office, did not have time to eat (trail mix) or put on make up…. I updated the go-to-market materials and quickly sent off to our internal team – I had just 20 minutes to do this since I had a call at 9:30
  • 9:30 conference call to discuss the potential proposal that we will likely bid on; it will be a very big project across regions and we have 2 weeks to pull it together. Three directors and I got together to talk about the business need and think about what work we’ve done that we can leverage approach / thinking of the business issue. It will be very interesting if we get it.
  • Quickly put on some make up and grabbed trail mix. Headed to next conference call
  • Internal call on the go-to-market materials I sent that AM. I received some great feedback and spent the next several hours incorporating. Grabbed some lunch take-out and ate at my desk while working. Sent all materials to our team and our partner.

 

Today went reasonably well. I think I do better (mentally) when working in the office vs. at home. I was busy, had the heater on in my office so I was nice and toasty, and I was extremely comfortable in my garb (nice soft long sweater, leggings, high heels — sexy but comfy).

Me and hubby are headed home now; ferry is great, sun is finally out. Dinner? Just talked about this with hubby and we are leaning on spaghetti and meat balls (Costco). I’m looking forward to pick up with the kids and hearing their squeals (Twins) when we arrive.

 Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Pick up for Big Bro went great; Pick up for Twins and Red went fine. Today they drew outlines of their hands. Our daycare provider does the minimal in terms of creativity so I was surprised at this and made a huge deal over it.
  • We started dinner – pasta and meatballs. Kids were really hungry/cranky so we gave them some raisins and crackers to hold them over.
  • While it was cooking I started to dance and play follow the leader with all the kids to our electric keyboard. It was a lot of fun.
  • 6:30 came and went. It looks like we were stood-up again by our new Mother’s Helper. I have two loads of laundry in our back bedroom that need to get folded, more laundry to start, and an entire sink of hand-washables. *I&^$*&^(*#^$)(&^
  • Everyone ate well. Even Red. So much so that Hubby made the kids ice-cream cones. Ryan was very frustrated that he wanted more. Threw himself down on the ground with a tantrum.
  • Hubby went out front with the kids so Big Bro could ride his electrical jeep and the rest of the kids could run off the sugar. It was freezing. It’s so cold out here where we live.
  • I in the meantime cleaned up from dinner, started doing more laundry, and got the PJs and milk out for the Twins
  • Bedtime for Twins was fine. Singing twinkle twinkle and itsy bitsy spider. Twin Crazy likes to take part with her hands. Twin Husky was too cranky to participate. Both “brushed their teeth” which was cute.
  • We usually do a round of kisses with the Twins but Twin Crazy did not want to get near Twin Husky. I guess they were fighting a lot today and I think she may be scared of his biting. When he gets pushed to far he lashes out with his teeth and does a throaty grunt.
  • Big Bro was great tonight at bedtime. I read him a book and he caused no problems. He laid down with his head in my lap and I was loving it. Red was a different story. There were issues with her and the potty, and issues with her getting into PJs. Then she came in and out and put the hallway lights on. Then she came out and needed a towel to dry her hands. As I type this she is now out saying that she is scared. “Just pull that blanket up to your chin honey…. you have to go to sleep now.”  I think I hear her now sighing and dreaming, upstairs, at the top of the staircase landing.    Don’t tell me that she’s asleep in the hallway!

 

Today ended just fine. The house is a mess but we had fun with the kids. Laundry is going, this post is done, and I will now put another ad in Craig’s List for yet another Mother’s Helper. This time I’m going to stress dependability and will probably ask for references.

 

Till tomorrow –

 

– Mama K

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Retrospectives: Feeling free and acting bad-ass with my first car, a used ’78 SWEET Camaro

August 7, 2011 by 4 Comments

When I was in high-school, I anxiously awaited the day when I could drive and better yet, have my very own car. My high school was probably pretty big by some standards — over 2,000+ students.  My high school at that time, like many, was very much like the “Breakfast Club” movie.   There were the different groups and sets of people.   I was part of the “bad hair metal crowd” — tight jeans, high permed two-toned hair, lots of make up, high heels. I actually looked like Jon Bon Jovi.
Anyway, at the end of each day, a spectacular event occurred….. essentially all the people who drove to school, along with their friends, swarmed to the student parking lot and looked cool and blasted music.  I think I took the bus for a year but after that I usually found a friend or someone who would drive… so I was one of those people in the student parking lot in a friend’s car, ready to go.   It was such a scene.

Then, it was time for the exiting procession.  The first vehicles to exit were the busses.   There were two lines that formed… one exiting left, the other exiting right.   It was really very dramatic seeing all of those busses peal out of the parking lot and get into formation.   There was a winding road along the back of the school which led to the exit.  There were probably 15 busses snaking their way along the back road of the school towards the exit.  When we saw the busses starting to leave, that’s when our cars started their engines anxiously — the student car line ups were READY. Engines on, cigarettes lit, music echoing across the lot.  This exiting routine was always so dramatic for me. I loved it. I felt like an adult. I felt anxious for the motion. I felt pent-up but ready to be set free.   So through the years, leading up to my sixteenth birthday, I dreamt of owning MY OWN car and heading down that procession.

Parade of cars leaving high-school, we were SO COOL

I worked for this first car since I was fourteen – a job at a pizza joint that essentially paid me in cash but still took out “taxes” so the guy was obviously ripping me off. I then started working at a 24 hour diner which was when I hit the jackpot. Cold-hard cash — averaging ~$60 EACH night worked. It was awesome. I quickly saved up the cash to buy my first clunker.   I paid cash for the car and made sure I had enough for the insurance.  I did it all on my own.   The year was 1986 but I think my car was a 1978. It was blue. It was beautiful. It was a Chevy Camaro — and the best part was a spoiler on the back. It was so unbelievably bad-ass.

1978 Bad Ass Camaro with Spoiler.... so cool

I felt so free driving it. I also felt accomplished working for it myself.  I worked hard for my beauty and I appreciated it.   I remember clearly the feeling of leaving that high-school in the line up.    Hoping that I didn’t stray to far into the other lane.   Hoping that making a “left” would be easy and traffic-free.   Or if I felt too nervous, I would take the right hand lane out for an easier exit.   I had people in my car.   We were laughing and having a blast.   I remember sometimes driving nowhere just for the sake of driving.  I’d always volunteer to get pizza pick-up vs. delivery.   I remember warm summer nights, me and my car, driving the winding roads and listening to music.   Sometimes there would be friends with me and sometimes there would not.   I learned all the back roads very quickly.   I discovered parts of the town I never knew existed…. small bridges over streams… run down homes that looked haunted… and of course I did drive-bys of the homes of the boys I had crushes on.

The only downfall of this beautiful machine that I could see was that it didn’t have a tape deck (remember those things?).   Well of course I bought a tape deck and had a friend rip out the existing car stereo that was securely installed in the dashboard of the car.   He maneuvered underneath, pulled out wires, pulled back plastic, and somehow got the thing hooked up — however, during the installation process he completed fouled up the entire electrical make up of the car. I tried to overlook this the best I could – but it was difficult.

  • First, the radio would work fine — but only when driving UNDER 35 miles per hour. This was pretty annoying since sometimes it’s hard to look cool going only 35 miles per hour.  I eventually found a trick where I could accelerate above 35 and just tap on the brake and that was enough to get the radio going again.   But regardless, it was pretty annoying and was something I constantly had to pay attention to – it was a tradeoff.   Either drive under 35 miles per hour, or go faster but look like I didn’t know how to drive since I was always tapping on my break.
  • Second, the gas gauge never worked from that point out. This wasn’t such a huge problem since that just gave me more excuses to fill up my car more often.   It gave me a reason to spend more time with my beauty.   However there was a dark, dark time when I headed on a road trip (without my parents’ knowledge) to the Baltimore aquarium (4 hours away).  You guessed it, we ran out of gas on the way home and I had to pull over to the left on a major highway (I-95). At sixteen, and in the 80’s, none of us had much cash or credit/debit cards. To make a long story short, we had a lot of walking to/from the next exit and had to pool our cash, with fingers crossed that we would have enough gas to make it home. I think that was the last long trip I took with that car.

Anyway, I loved it. I loved the way it smelled in the hot summer. I loved filling the tires with air. I loved washing the windshield. I loved the featherclip hanging from the rear-view (and later the tassel from my graduation cap). I loved driving around with my friends aimlessly…. essentially driving just to drive. Exploring.   Being free.  Being on the move. Going places. And knowing that I worked for all of it. It was mine. So what I couldn’t go above 35 mph without touching on the breaks every now and then. Usually me and my friends were laughing so hard when cruising that we didn’t need the music anyway, or at least the breaking became funny after a while.

I remember this so clearly despite it being more than 20 years ago, because this is really the essence of who I am.   I have had to work for everything that I have – no one has ever had to come to my rescue to support me as an adult. I like to drive.   I like road-trips.  I like going places.   I love the feeling of freedom. I love the feeling of going somewhere – the motion. I like the windows down and music blasting.   I like the wind in my hair and the smell of sunshine.  I like the feel of the wheel in my hands.

Obviously things have changed a bit with four little ones.   Now, it’s a mini-van with four car seats in the back.    They know that sometimes certain songs come on and I suddenly crank up the radio, roll down the windows, and sing at the top of my lungs.   They do wonder why mommy is so excited over loud guitars and killer bass and drums. “Back in Black? What is that Mommy?”   But they laugh.   And the wind goes through their hair.  And the toddlers kick their legs and act silly.   And Big Bro and Red look at each other smiling, and then look back and me trying to hold back their smiles.  At least now I’m not smoking cigarettes, don’t have a featherclip hanging from the rear-view, and oh… the electrical system works just fine.   So I guess things have changed a bit but I’m still loving the motion and the music – and I’m happy to share these feelings now with my little ones.   I wonder though…. do mini-vans have spoilers?

Cruising with my babies

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