It was awfully touch and go thanks to Hurricane Alex, but the clouds parted, the sun shined and oh my FUCK was it hot outside for the fourth of July around these parts. I was personally showing my celebratory patriotism with good ol’ American boobsweat – as our forefathers intended. Also, not a good hair day if you have ANY capacity for the JewFro. Hoo boy.

Benjamin could not have been more excited to put out flags and see the parade. What’s even more exciting is that he is finally (FINALLYYYYYY!) riding his tricycle at the age of almost 4. I have no idea why he was so opposed to pedaling, but he was. So, from a pure kid-development perspective, I was thrilled to see him go after it. Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend.

As we got ready for the parade, Husband noticed he had a stowaway on him. This little guy hung around for close to 10 minutes and wouldn’t go away. Isn’t it good luck when a butterfly lands on you?

Okay! Time to get our parade face on! Woo Hoo!

And now – a peek into our neighborhood parade. Here are snapshots of all sorts of folk gettin’ their Amurica on — my favorite is the hunting vehicle. As it should be.

There are a lot of folks in Washington who have forgotten what America is about. It’s nice to get a peek at the folks who still get it. G-d bless the men and women who have fought for our freedoms, died for them, and for their families who so bravely stand behind them so that we can dress up in stupid costumes to celebrate the land they choose to defend.

Hope wherever you are you had a great weekend full of fun, freedom, family, food and friends. G-d Bless, America.

It’s been 3 weeks since we dropped Leah off at camp. Or a hundred. I’ve lost count. Benjamin, however, knows EXACTLY how long his big sister has been gone and that is FOREVERRRRRRRR and he is ready for us to go and get her.

“Go get my sister, Mommy.”

You got it, buddy. In just a few days.

Husband and I were talking last night about how we didn’t miss her until now and is that okay? I think it is. The pictures below are stolen (quite outright) from the camp’s website (thus the crappy resolution, sorry) so we’ve gotten to see her happy and having fun and this is good because waiting for letters from her and trying to get any details out of her in those letters is a futile, futile exercise in futility.

Before she left we needed some time apart. You know that feeling. But now? After seeing the fun and big goofy nutjob smile on her face? I want to see her and that smile and have some fun with her again.

Six days. Six days, buddy and we’ll go get her.

Benjamin: Mommy! Look at the clouds!
Me: Yes… what do they look like?
Him: [Softly] Shadows.
Me: Is it wonderful?
Him: [Whispering] Yes….

Yesterday Benjamin and I were so excited to go to the mailbox. You see, we both knew it was the day we would receive our very first letter from Leah at sleepaway camp and I couldn’t wait to share with him what she had written and see his little face light up. The amount he misses his sister is bordering on awful to watch.

Lo and behold there were TWO magical letters and oh to see how he held those envelopes in his hands as we walked into the house. I’m pretty sure they were radiating rays of light and glitter in his eyes. I’ll admit I was pretty excited to read them as well.

I open the first one and there is a very folded up green sheet of paper. I open all the creases to find one single line of text: “Mommy, you FORGOT the Kleenex. You were WRONG.” Love, Leah

All righty then.

I know in her head she thought she was being funny because we high-fived after unpacking her that we DIDN’T forget any items this year. (Last year we somehow forgot soap and ended up buying a bar at a gas station on the way into camp.) But, really? This was not cool – for me or for Benjamin.

The second letter was very similar to the first except now I was wrong because “there’s no Maccabia (color wars) this year because they spent too much money on the new sports complex.” (Little does she know that’s a lie. Staff tell all kinds of lies so that when they break (surprise them) Maccabiah it’s a huge surprise and all the kids lose their ever-loving mind.)

But, again – not a nice letter.

The only way I have to communicate with her is via letters or email and I had to make a decision about whether or not to let this slide and see what the next letter brings or address it through long distance communication.

Yeah, I’m not letting it sit.

So last night I wrote her a letter telling her how excited we were to see two letters in our mailbox and how sad we were to see what she had written. I asked her to think about how she would feel if she had received a letter she was so excited to get only to find ONE line that was not nicely written. I reminded her that her ability to go to camp is a GIFT and she might be more thoughtful and appreciative of that when she writes her next letter by sharing her experiences with the family.

I will not be there when she reads the letter. I will not be there to make her feel better after I made her feel badly. I can only hope that the lesson on paper will be learned. I can only hope that she knows I still wish her a wonderful time at camp – and that I love and miss her.

I can only hope I chose good words – and the next letter is better than the first.

My old high school friend, Shannon, wrote a thoughtful post today and it has stuck with me. You should go read it. Also say hi to her – she’s awesome.

And she’s right. For all the great things social media and this digital age brings there is a side that can feel defeating. Isn’t it easy to see who’s traveling the world, holding the dream job, saving lives, making policy, making people laugh and building a second home?

There’s the girl who became beautiful long after you lost touch. The quiet boy who is now smart and handsome. The technology innovator you never knew. The stay at home mom who looks like she has it all together. The one who had a book published. The one who is working with rock bands.

It can be unnerving, our friends’ success. The second guessing of choices. The “what ifs” that creep in at the weaker moments.

There is a movement going around many blogs asking people to write a letter to their 20 year old selves. It’s an interesting exercise, isn’t it? In many cases sites like Facebook bring you virtually face to face with your life as a 20 year old. How does it look 20 years later?

I think it’s that mirror effect of Facebook that’s so hard sometimes. I don’t begrudge other people their success – and I know that for all the openness and rawness that makes the Internet so compelling and interesting we’re all still putting a measured picture of ourselves out there. It’s the daily exercise of facing old decisions – good, bad or never made – that can wear on you.

Living in the present is hard. Hell, there are times where living in the moment is damn near impossible. But trying to integrate that “life as a 20 year old” with “a life today” – well, it’s still a work in progress.

Sunday we dropped off Leah at her sleepaway camp.  This is her third year going, but the first year she will stay for the “big kid” session of 3 ½ weeks.  That’s kind of a lot.  It was also the first time Benjamin made the trip with us.  Here are some favorite outtakes of the trip that took 3.5 hours each way.

First it should be noted that Benjamin hates the car for any length of time , so we knew immediately that the 3.5 hr trek up there was gonna be FULL of sparkles and unicorns the whole way.  Thus? Liberal application of technology in the form of a DVD player, an iTouch and many, many replays of movies and games.  We did play the requisite “punchbuggy” and “alphabet” games for the first 30 minutes.  I was going to consider it a win if we could make it OUT OF HOUSTON before we unloaded the technology.

We barely made that milestone before Diego was on the DVD player.

We actually went to Waco, TX the day and night before we dropped off Leah because it’s just easier that way.  The added benefit to that is being able to visit with some old college friends who live there – super bonus!  We met our friends at their new country club, Ridgewood, (and, yes, in my head I was giggling at “Bushwood” the whole time – because I am 12) and had a blast chatting while the kids swam and hit the waterslides.

You know what’s hard?  Sleeping in a hotel in the same room as two kids sharing a bed.  Know what else is hard? Getting a four-year-old to sleep when he’s all wound up and exhausted all at the same time.  The amount of whimpering and whining and general NOT SLEEPING that happened Saturday night was extraordinary.  Truly.  It was one of those times I wished for baby Xanax.  Or, you know, vodka.

So, Sunday.  Here is the story in pictures!

This is the exit sign to Bruceville, TX, where the camp is.  At first sight it causes great applause.

This is the last sign telling you where to turn before you get to camp. It illicits HUGE applause.

Waiting in line in the car outside the gates.

Benjamin has had ENOUGH of waiting in the car outside the gates.

One of the things you have to do upon arriving at camp is check in. This takes FOREVER. Luckily it happens near a basketball court where Benjamin could run and play.  See this face?  In two years Benjamin gets to go to this camp as well.  I’ll have the same picture then. 

Sitting on the ever-popular “top bunk”.  Benjamin loved being up there with Leah and declared he loved “Leah’s new room.”

One last hug before we go.  I may or may not have been a little sad. 

I will say that Leah was a little quiet.  I know she was nervous about the longer stay.  And I will readily admit that I was a little nervous for her, too.  I know she will have fun, but I remember as a camper what that felt like.  This is a big thing for her, this longer session.  A test of sorts to see how she does on a longer stint away.  I really, really, really hope she has a good time.  But, also?  I really kinda miss her, too.

Benjamin was not totally happy about having to leave Leah at camp and last night while we were laying down watching TV turned to me and said, “Mommy, I want Leah to come back.”  I can’t blame him – he misses his best friend.  This will be a challenge for him as well.  Leah is the center of his little, silly world.

He was a trooper, though.  That 3.5 hour car ride back home was pretty easy – made easier with the roadtrip necessity of a Dairy Queen stop.  I knew he was tired, but wouldn’t sleep in the car (damn!!).  He asked to go swimming when we got home, so we did.  It’s too damn hot to do anything else. 

We quietly wrapped up our day with dinner and some TV time.  20 minutes later this happened:

Note the time. He’d been asleep for 30 minutes when we realized he had fallen asleep in our bed. 

And after the roadtrip and fun we’d had? We ALL slept like that.

You guys! Want to help me cross off a life list item?

OF COURSE YOU DO.

While at BlogHer ’10 in New York City, I want to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s not only a Life List item for me, but also right before I turn 40 and, really? I think celebrating in NYC is the way to go. Also? What better time to accomplish it than at BlogHer! The lovely Amber is going to join the fun because helping someone complete a Life List item is on HER Life List. See how this just gets cooler every sentence?

OF COURSE YOU DO.

I’m thinking the weekend is jam packed with exciting things already, but perhaps all who are interested can gather that Sunday morning (August 8th) for the stroll before heading out of town? If you want to join the party which may include other fun things yet to be determined, leave me a comment or find me on Twitter and we’ll see what kind of hungover brave group we get for the event.

(I’m looking at you, ladies of 1970!)

This is gonna be awesome. Join me!

I am going to usurp this little piece of the internet to pimp out my friend April’s genius idea to combine Twitter and Ebay into a TwagSale this Saturday, June 5th.

Go HERE and read all about how my alter ego, The Accessory Whore, will be participating as well as links to the instructions for the sale. I hope you’ll join the fun and end up with fantastically clean closets and a few new finds for yourself!

(That sort of cheesy alliteration can only be pulled off with copious amounts of Bloody Mary on the morning of Memorial Day.)

Ahem.

Don’t let anyone tell you that the whole MommyBlogging thing is a waste of time. They lie. If it were not for this little red piece of the internet, the Mom2Summit and Twitter, I’d have never met Ellie who is now squarely on my list of Most Awesome People in the History of Ever. Her husband and kids, too.

Because we continued to crack ourselves up on Twitter every day and “me, too” the hell out of things, we decided to meet “in real life”. Most amazing for two women is that we decided to meet in real life IN OUR BATHING SUITS WITH LITTLE TO NO MAKEUP ON. (The chicks understand that statement.)

So we met at a public splash park near her house. Benjamin and Leah were convinced it was like going to Disneyworld. Buckets that dump water! Spraying water fountains! Snow cones! Water slides!

Let’s talk about the water slides. There were three to choose from. A small kiddie frog slide, a medium sized tunnel side and a big, two-story one. My kids would go on NONE of them. Well, not entirely true. LEAH would go on only the kiddie frog slide. Benjamin WANTED to go on the huge one, but they wouldn’t let him because he wasn’t tall enough, much to his dismay.

But the mommies did. Oh, YES WE DID. And I’ve got the pictures to prove it.

Top of the slide tower

Ellie’s slide

My slide!

After the splash park we headed over to Ellie’s home for more kiddo playing, some killer margaritas and some equally badass thai shrimp pasta. Not surprisingly the Husbands had some fun hazing us about our prolific internet and iPhone usage and have now decided to form a Non-Blogging Husbands of Mommybloggers Support Group. There may be shirts involved. And maybe a hunting trip. The details are a little sketchy, but Ellie and I may or may not be looking for that URL as we speak.

You should also know that Ellie is a masterful face painter and Leah wanted to sleep in her fairy makeup forever and ever and ever. Benjamin’s Thomas the Tank Engine was a highlight in his little life…until he hung out with Ellie’s oldest daughter who he now has a crush on. He digs the older chicks.

Best Memorial Day weekend in many, many years. It’s hard to beat new friends, good food and a water slide.

Yeah, you read that right. We’re fighting. Sometimes I win, sometimes it wins, but it’s still a fight. After this last round of back injury deliciousness and the added fantastic side dish of food allergies I decided to really focus on getting back in shape.

I’ve been working out in ways I’ve never experienced before – and I love it. But sometimes I hate the immediate after effects.

For instance, the excruciating pain.

It doesn’t happen often and I can usually tell in advance if a certain routine or new move is gonna kill me later. But sometimes, just sometimes, it sneaks up on me. No warning while doing it, but the next day? HOLY SHIT.

Like say…. Squats.

I did a modified version of those two days ago. A simple up and down motion onto a bench. Feet spread apart. No big deal. Wasn’t too terribly difficult – two sets of 15. Okay, so 12-15 on that last set were a little uncomfortable. But I DID THEM, g-ddamnit. (I have this thing about finishing. It’s stupid.)

Yesterday I woke up and felt, uh, some pain. By noon I was ready to take a knife and cut my quads off my body. Like a fish being filleted. One large blade, held next to the bone, slight sawing motion – RIGHT. OFF.

It never got better and by the time Husband got home from work I could barely move. Sitting at the dinner table was a challenge. Well, not sitting, but actually getting my butt to the chair. THAT was bad. You would think I would have taken that hint that my legs had no interest in helping me out last night.
But I didn’t. I’m pretty sure the pain clouded my thinking. I had this fantastic idea to get in a hot bubble bath, the hottest water I could stand, soak for a while and then stretch out a little. Totally logical, right?

Also? Bubbles!

It was lovely. I read some more of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on my iPhone while I soaked. The room smelled of lavender bubbles.
And then it was time to get out.

Have I mentioned that I have a really large tub? Longer than I am and really deep? No? Well, that information will come in handy for you right about…now.
I couldn’t move. More specifically I couldn’t get my legs to bend and get up underneath me to be able to stand up. It was comical, but not. I decided to see if “backing out” of the tub might work. So, with great grace, I flipped myself over onto my stomach and tried to get up on all fours.

It worked! And, man, did I look hott.

By only the power of my arms and abs did I push myself up to a standing position. Benjamin watched the whole thing and in true three-year-old style declared, “Mommy? Sometimes you’re weird,” and then ran out of the bathroom.

I kinda thought I deserved a standing ovation.