Are You Ready for Some Football???????????????

The long anticipated event came this past weekend......the NY JETS vs. the New England Patriots. It was the home opener for the JETS against their biggest rival. Andy decided he would be on good behavior and invite some friends over, so Llewellyns and Doubravas plus kids came over to spend the day with us. I actually like to have friends come over on Sundays, it puts Andy on his best behavior, ok.... more like fairly decent behavior. These 2 families are old neighbors and good friends from the Pacific Beach days, so they understand Andy's "enthusiasm" for all things JETS and Yankees. Anyway.....it was a great day for the JETS, not so good for the Chargers. We all had a good time regardless of the poor San Diego outcome. Hurray for football season! Feels like fall. Now, if only it weren't 102 degrees out today...........

I like to pretend I don't need the reading glasses sitting on top of my head, but in reality, they are almost always on. Time to schedule an appointment and get some real ones. I always blamed my deteriorating eyesight on being pregnant, but in reality I had just turned 40, and they say that's when your eyesight starts to go. Poor eyesight along with being asked if you are your kid's Grandmother are fun parts of living life in your 40's! What the hell does that have to do with football? Focus Ann, FOCUS!!

I think the pilfered JETS pint glass might be the good luck idol this year. I think Andy was singing some ditty about what a great wife he has. He cracks me up, always doing sweet things like that.......


Pete & Jason whooping it up...... they are maniacs!

The day turned ugly when Pete couldn't escape his appointment at Rose's House of Hair

Alex & Joey racing Hot Wheels


The girls headed to the garage to watch something superior to football,like Hannah Montana, Face the Nation, or something equally terrific

Here are some oldies but goodies of the kids in all their JETS finery. Guess they need some Chargers gear........

Start Spreading the News, I'm Leaving Today......

Normally when you hear the song being sung in this house, it has something to do with the Yankees. This time it's just to tell you about our weekend in NYC. Andy has a great friend named Morgan Powell. To use Andy's phrase, Mo is one of the Best Guys Ever. He really is. He and Andy were neighbors, then roommates in Pacific Beach years ago. They have remained close friends and see each other pretty regularly, considering Mo lives on the East Coast now...and has for while. Anyway......Mo got married to a really nice girl, Janice, whom we met a year ago when they came out here on vacation, got engaged and went to the JETS / Chargers game with us. (The Chargers won that game, for anyone wondering) They live in Manhattan, and so off we went to share their special occasion with them.

Usually Andy goes back to NY alone as I'm home with the kids. This time we made arrangements so I could go too. (Aunt) Helene came down to stay with the kids for the weekend. We left EARLY Friday morning, so Helene had to get the kids up, ready for school, scoot Rose out the door to walk to school, then take the boys to drop David off at school. I got a good report back from a mom in David's class that she handled it with flying colors! Andy and I flew without incident to NY. We got our nifty rental car, a Jeep Compass, and headed out in the rain to meet Roz (Helene's sis) and her step-daughter, Jamie, for dinner. We went for Chinese food.....because the Chinese food here just isn't any good, just like our pizza, pastrami or bagels. (I'm sure I'm forgetting something......EVERYTHING is better in NY.) Anyway, we ate dinner and Andy and Roz watched Derek Jeter get his hit to pass Lou Gehrig as the all time hits leader for the Yankees. It was nice to visit with Jamie who recently got engaged to her fiance, Dave.....good name. She has a ROCK for a ring. It's BEAUTIFUL! I digress..... After dinner we headed to Roz's house where we spent the night. We had bagels for breakfast the next morning... REAL bagels according to Andy, got to visit with Roz for a little while, then headed to Manhattan for the rest of the weekend. Driving with Andy was a running commentary on his entire life. He got off at this exit for this, used to get off that exit for that, St. John's is over there, so-and-so went to some place off this street to pick up whatever for whatever reason.... I'm sure he rattled off every friend he ever had regarding an event in relationship to an exit or area we were passing at the time. We stopped at the Roosevelt racetrack (where he used to go with so-and-so MANY times to bet on harness racing, and where he went w/Jeff Cooper the night before his 2nd SAT's) which had turned into a shopping center so we could hit up Target. We had to get a present for a 4 year old's birthday party Saturday afternoon.

As soon as we saw the skyline for the city, I saw the Empire State Building and told Andy I wanted to at least go there and to the top as we had no time to really do anything touristy over the weekend. We headed to the hotel, the W on Lexington Ave. right across the street from the back of the Waldorf Astoria. It was a nice place, but sort of funky and very minimalist. For the longest time we couldn't figure out how to turn lights on. We got ready and headed off to some fitness club for Sydney Kaufman's 4th birthday party. Sydney is the daughter of Mike Kaufman, one of Andy's old NY friends he has known since elementary school. If you don't know Andy well, he makes a friend and keeps them forever. He is still close friends with so many guys he went to school with, from elementary school through college. We got to see Mike Kaufman and Jeff Futoran and family, another old friend. Jeff was Andy's best man at our wedding, and he and his wife Sandra share our anniversary. We visited for about 2 hours, then headed off the Empire State Building. It was raining, so I didn't get any pics of the outside of the building. We took a virtual skyline tour of the city (like a helicopter ride) then went up to the top to the observation deck. It was socked in with clouds, so we didn't get a whole lot of good viewing of the city, but now I can say I've done it. We headed back to the hotel, got ready and were off the wedding. The reception was in an old warehouse converted into a cool / trendy event place overlooking the Hudson River. We had a great time. Mo and Janice have a lot of great friends, so even though I didn't know very many people, I had a great time. After the reception, we headed to a bar where we met even more old friends. We were early, so we went to a deli right down the street. For the first time in a long time Andy had good pastrami. I had a pretty good Reuben sandwich. We then went down to the Black Sheep to meet everyone, including cousin Eric Stitzer. We had a lot of fun. I know Andy was happy to hang out with his friends...and it was nice for me to get a chance to spend some time with the guys. I really don't know Andy's friends (who don't live out here) very well. As a stroke of good luck, Andy's first beer was served in a JETS pint glass which later some how slipped into my purse. (I don't know how that always seems to happen to me.) A good time was had by all and we all headed back to our hotel. Eric came back with us and spent the night on our floor.

Morning came all too soon (for a drunk girl) and we got up and said goodbye to Eric. Andy then took me on a driving tour. We drove over the Brooklyn Bridge through Brooklyn....then I don't know the specifics of everywhere else. We saw the Statue of Liberty from across the water from many different angles. Even from far away, Ms. Liberty is pretty impressive. I am determined to see her up close next time I get to NYC. We went to Rockaway Beach and saw the old houses where Andy grew up. He pointed out every house he knew in Rockaway. I got to get out of the car and see the beach very briefly....then headed off to the local diner, which was torn down and turned into a bank, so we went to the diner in the next town over instead. It was all so relevant to Andy, but was lost on me. After that it was time to head to the airport. We got there in plenty of time to watch the JETS beat the Texans in their first game of the season. We lucked out and were asked to take an earlier, direct flight to San Diego, so we got in a few hours earlier than we were supposed to. Helene did a GREAT job with the kids, but was out the door about 2 seconds after we came in. Well, she lasted a little longer than 2 seconds, but she did tell us as we walked in the door that she was done. The kids had a great, busy weekend and really didn't miss us at all. I take that as a sign of success! Helene is the BEST!! We couldn't have gone without her! I understand she is sick now.....a parting gift from the kids. You are welcome! We really had a good weekend. It was FAST....but a whole lot of fun!

Ava & Cossette Futoran

Jeff & Sandra Futoran

Observation Deck of Empire State Building

Andy & Mo

Paul Zamoyta, Andy and Dave from Toronto

Eric Stitzer

2 guys from sleepaway camp and Michael Honig on the right

Mike Kaufman, Andy & Eric

Michael Honig, Eric Stitzer, Andy, Bobby Honig, Mike Kaufman, Andrew Flum

Flum, Honig, Stitzer, Kaufman, Stitzer

Andrew Flum & work chums

Mike Kaufman, Me, Bobby Honig

Are You Sleeping, Are You Sleeping, Brother Joey?

I used to move sleeping children when they were in an odd spot, looked uncomfortable or seemed cold. Inevitably, they would wake up and not fall back asleep. No more. I'll take naps any way and any where I can get them. Today poor Joey lay down under the table with his good old friend the blanket and fell asleep. Poor guy has been getting jipped on naps recently with funky school schedules, errands to run, doc appointments, whatever-s. Seems like recently there is always something. Dirty face and carpet aside, there is really nothing sweeter than a sleeping child.

Take a Picture, It Will Last Longer!!

Today was picture day for David at Garden Road school. So what does the lame-o Mom extraordinaire do? She dresses her boys up in matching shirts and heads off to school. Is Joey getting his picture taken too? No! But hey, how much longer will the boys notice that I sometimes do lame things at their expense? Probably not much. We sent Rose a-packing.... off on her trek to school, and the boys and I were off to school ourselves. I wasn't working in the classroom today but stuck around and helped until it was time for us to head over for pictures. Joey is very used to spending time in the preschool room with Mrs. Martin and will be there next year, so he is always welcome. I LOVE Mrs. Martin. So do all the kids. Anyway.....it was time to head off for pictures. We all lined up and marched to the auditorium (now they call it a multi-purpose room, which bugs the hell out of Andy...) and waited in line for our turn. This year not very many Moms stuck around to go take the pictures, so I went into 'annoying Mom' mode, got out my brush and started attacking every child with whacked out hair. If all the kids catch lice....I'm in SO much trouble! We are a clean home (ok, messy at times, but clean) and everyone knows me now, so I figured it would be ok. (Maybe I crossed the the line when I brushed the hair of a second grader whom I didn't know, but who REALLY needed her hair brushed. Her Mom would thank me if she only knew.....although her outfit looked like something out Ringling Bros. and I'm not kidding. Her pants were CRAZY. Perhaps her hair was the least of her worries......again, I pray there isn't a sudden lice outbreak.) After we did all the individual pics, we went to the front of the school and got a class shot. There were 2 kids missing today, so the photo isn't quite complete. Boy I love preschool.....the kids are so much fun! Long Live Picture Day!

Top L-R: Kayla, Thomas, Kai, Sue Martin, Kendal, Lana, Kai Leah Bottom L-R: Kyvia, Emily, Joey (not mine), Lucas, Tommy & David

9/9/09.......Happy Birthday Roz!

Today is 9/9/09. I thought I had better make an entry on such a monumental day, and what better than to wish Roz Langer a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Roz is Andy's first cousin (their Moms are sisters) but she is Auntie to the kids. They adore her, and she adores them right back! She has a great condo right on the Atlantic ocean in Lido Beach, NY. Rose and I went to visit her 5 years ago for her 50th birthday. Rose was just 6 months old. It was her first time to put her feet in the Atlantic. We don't get to see her as often as we wish, but not too bad considering we live on opposite coasts. Roz went on the cruise a few weeks back, and Andy and I will actually get to stay with her this Friday night. We are flying in for a wedding on Saturday, so will get to celebrate her birthday a little late, but in person. Roz is the best....and can cry at the drop of a hat. Doesn't take much to get her going.....happy, sad, mad.....you name it. When I first met her I really should have bought stock in the Kleenex company. I would have lost all the money when the market tanked last year, but it would have been a nice little nest egg to lose! Happy Birthday Roz....we love you!! (I know I've posted this picture recently, but I can't find any pictures of just Roz. And is it just me, or is the towel animal more reminiscent of a raw turkey or chicken than a monkey? Oh, and the picture with the baby is also David at 3 months. There is something about Roz and David.... they seem to have a special connection. The other baby is Rose at 6 months.)

Hot Fun in the Summertime............

The kids are back to school, but the weather has been so hot we are still in full-on summer. The kids and their friends have been "swimming" in our pool and slip-n-sliding away. I love that all the neighbor kids like to come here and play. They are all older than my 3, but still love to come over. Perhaps it's because we still have so many fun toys....and yummy snacks doesn't hurt either. Or perhaps I'm the coolest Mom on the block? I'm guessing it's the snacks. Today I surprised the boys and busted out a spaceship pool that's been in the garage since last summer. It has a shower feature that we didn't turn on as the hose water is pretty cold today. It was funny to watch David as I was inflating it. I had it all blown up and he still didn't know what it was. I told him to run across the yard and look at it. Off he ran then turned around. His face was great.... he looked awestruck and said WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They LOVE it! Happy Summer!

Marin, Hadley, Madeline, Rose & Lexie

Lexie, Rosie, Hadley & Jessie

The Gang

Natalie and Delaney

Bed Time for Bonzo!

Joey loves his new bed! When it's time to go to bed, he lays down, kicks the wall for a little while, chats about current events with David, then falls asleep. I don't think he knows he can get out whenever he wants as he still waits for me to come get him in the morning, and hasn't gotten up in the middle of the night yet to wander. Last night I went in to check on him and he was mostly sleeping inside the bookcase headboard. I of course had to snap some pictures! Man, I'm annoying.

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle, the Tiger Sleeps Tonight..........

Every time we go anywhere that has face painting, David always begs to have his done. Cheap-o me just can't stand to pay for it when I can do it at home for free, so I always say no, and yet we never do paint it at home. (It's SO expensive....for example, the zoo charges $14!) Yesterday the kids were painting and David finally convinced me to paint his face. Now, I think I could do a better job with the right kind of paint, but here was my 2 minute version of a tiger. He LOVED it....running around the house roaring. Joey decided he would paint his own face. Not bad for a 2 year, 9 month old! And by the way, Rose LOVES to paint. She's pretty good too!

Bye-Bye Crib, Hello Big Boy Bed..........

I now have to face up to the fact that I don't have any more babies. Last Saturday I decided to take some pictures of Joey's crib and put them on Craigslist to see if there would be any interest. I washed all the bedding, made the crib up all purty, took some pics and placed my ad in the early evening. At 8:50 AM Sunday, I got a call from a girl who wanted to come see it. "Can we come by in about 15 minutes? We live in Rancho Bernardo (right next to Poway) and I know right where your street is....." Uh.....sure? Who calls at 8:50 on a Sunday morning and asks to come over so quickly? I guess if you are a savvy craigslister and have lost out on things you really wanted? More likely they are people who actually get up at a reasonable hour and get their day off to a productive start. So I hung up the phone and went into panic mode as I stood there still in my PJs. "KIDS, don't ask for breakfast, I can't give it to you right now!" I frantically tidied up (so the couple wouldn't think we are complete slobs.... I did post that we are a CLEAN, smoke free, pet free home) and awaited the arrival of Joey's nemesis.....someone to look at and hopefully buy his last real link to babyhood. Andy was in Vegas for a bachelor party, so I was on my own to get dressed, clean the house and make sure the kids didn't start a massive fight and kill each other, (which they have been known to do when I really need to get something urgent done) all in 15 minutes. Fortunately the gal called at the 15 minute mark to let me know it would be more like half an hour...."oh, no problem," I replied coolly as I crammed all the boys clothes into Rose's room and shut her door. (I had all of their clothes out sitting on top of the unused bed, sorting them for outgrown sizes, for the cruise and back to school.) So the cute, young couple arrive and I escort them to the boy's room to see the crib. They end up liking it and made an offer, which I accepted. Their baby isn't due until February and have just begun their trek to getting all the baby stuff. The poor husband looked like a deer caught in headlights and barely said a word. They left while I took the crib apart, the husband returning a few hours later to pick it up. Joey was very helpful taking the crib apart. He had no idea I was selling off his youth.

That night Joey kept talking about sleeping in his crib, wondering where it had gone. After a few minutes of protest of the big boy bed, I lay down with him and he fell asleep. I was able to sneak out unnoticed and went to bed. For whatever reason, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. At 1 AM I got up and took pictures of Joey in bed, hoping I wouldn't wake him up, which I didn't. Last night he went right to bed and after a few minutes of talking, the boys went right to sleep. Bye-Bye Baby..... Hello Big Boy! Next up, potty training............