No Entries For A Week?

Has it really been a week?
I have no excuses
I've been busy
Tis the season
I suppose

Not much has happened
this past week
we got a lot of snow
T and I shoveled
and it was fun

Somehow even the most laborious jobs
become fun
when I do them with T

Tonight I'm hosting a small gathering
we are having a "dirty" yankee swap
Can't wait to see what I end up with
T just picked up some handcuffs
to put in from him
my contribution requires batteries
should be a fun time

I promise to post every day this week

-b

Hanukkah Dinner With Joe's Family

-b

Happy Hanukkah!

-b

Weekend Reviewed
(in no particular order)

shopping on newbury street, pad thai, cold and windy, new hat from cole haan, chocolate molten cake at finale, two headed shower, dog at pet hotel, lobster spring rolls, down comforters, gingerbread house decorating, boys away, buying more ornaments, sleeping past 8, lots of alcohol, saturday morning services, shopping for hanukkah dinner, losing money to jenn, snow falling

-b

Comforting thoughts

Homemade French Onion Soup
Happy children playing dreidel by the Christmas tree
A writing group meeting that went well
A bottle of wine and smoked gouda with crackers
An MRI that came back completely normal
I will sleep well tonight

-b

Life Clarifications

My house has a Christmas tree in in! The irony of this is that we are Jewish, and I have always sworn that I would never own a Christmas tree. yet we have one because of T, and it's really pretty, and I love it.

Behold the Christmas Tree

I gained 5 pounds over this past week. I have since lost 2 and a half pounds, but T is making Freanch Onion's soup from this month's Cooks Magazine, and I will likely gain them back!

Jacob has his MRI tomorrow. He will be sedated. We will get the results tomorrow, but he was amazingly brave. I was so very proud of him.

Jacob and Brooklyn resting together after his procedure

My niece and nephew are the cutest. No clarification needed.

I got to see Owen and his partner, Charles last week. I really miss Owen and wish he lived closer. I wish Charles lived closer too!

T's parents stayed with us until Sunday! And I was sad to see them go! But it was nice to be done entertaining for a bit.

T and I are going away this weekend. But I really and truly am not expecting a ring. :O( But it should still be a great weekend, We are staying here.

I love The Hills on MTV. Still do.

I'm halfway done with my book. I have been working on a book in my writing group. I'm really liking how it is coming along, but am slightly disturbed by the fact that a very similar book was just published. Hopefully it will do well, and publishers will be thrilled to see another book in the same genre. BTW, I am not reading the other book, for fear that I will accidentally steal the ideas. But feel free to buy it and tell my your thoughts on it! Maybe I'll even let you read my story so far so you can compare the two.

I miss your comments. Please say hello. You guys are the best.

-b

Life

My house has a Christmas tree in in!

I gained 5 pounds over this past week.

Jacob has his MRI tomorrow. He will be sedated.

My niece and nephew are the cutest.

I got to see Owen and his partner, Charles last week. I really miss Owen and wish he lived closer.

T's parents stayed with us until Sunday! And I was sad to see them go!

T and I are going away this weekend. But I really and truly am not expecting a ring. :O(

I love The Hills on MTV.

I'm halfway done with my book.

I miss your comments. Please say hello.

-b

Some pictures from Thanksgiving:

My sister, our kids, and me outside our neighbor's houseThe boys

Sophia

My brother and sister-in-law

Happy thanksgiving!

-b

I am thankful
for my friends
my family
my job
my life

I am thankful
for my health
my home
my freedom

I am thankful
for a houseful of people
food to feed them
laughter shared

I am thankful
for time
helping to heal
wounds

I am thankful
for finding love
and for love
finding me

I am thankful

Happy Thanksgiving

-b

It's My Blogiversary

two years ago today
I started writing
and sharing
my thoughts
my hopes
my fears
my sadness
my joys
my silliness
my anxieties
my life
with all of you
some of you friends
some of you family
some of you strangers
two years later
I'm still sharing
Thank you
for reading

-b

The Positive Side Of Stress

I lost 5 pounds this week
I am now down almost 40 pounds!

Only 20 more to go!
Yay stress!

-b

Jacob's Appointment

Jacob does not have Epilepsy
at least the doctor doesn't think so
but
he does have something blocking
a section of his brain
near the back
What is that something?
We don't know
it could be something very harmless
(That is what the doctor thinks is most likely)
that would not need to be operated on
or it could be something bad
An MRI is now being scheduled
the saga continues
please continue keeping Jacob in your thoughts

-b

Updates

Sorry for the lack of posts this past week
Thanks for all your support with my previous post
I have no updates on it
I'm hoping it has gone away
as much as intolerance can go away

Jacob has been talking a lot about wanting to be dead
I'm not sure if it's because he knows it upsets me
or if there is some truth to it
either way I've sought out some
professional help for him
Hopefully he can work out whatever it is
he needs to work out

We also have his Neurologist appointment
this Wednesday
I will post after the visit
with an update
fingers crossed it's nothing big

I have broken out in a strange looking rash
Kind of looks like little pimples
all over my neck
thoughts on what it could be?

Josh is doing well, but wants to be with mommy
all of the time
normal stage? Can't remember.

I am still not engaged
but am still in love

The boys are napping
so I'm going to take this moment
to order all their holiday presents online

love,
b

The World Has Gone Mad

About a month ago, my class wrote a letter to the local paper about gender equity at McDonald's. Here is a copy of the letter:

We are a third-grade class at the E School. We are writing to you because we are very upset that when we go to McDonald’s drive-thru, we have to choose either a toy for a boy, or a toy for a girl. If you are a boy, it can be embarrassing to ask for the girl toy, even if you really want it. And the same holds true for girls. If we go inside to order, we are not even given the choice, and are handed the toy meant for our gender. We hope that the McDonald’s in N and Boston will change this practice, and offer one toy to both genders.

Lo and behold the letter was published in the local paper a few weeks ago. My students were thrilled to see their words published, and came into school all excited.

Today I got called into my Principal's office. Apparently there are some school committee members who feel like I am pushing a "gay agenda" on my class. Excuse me? Are you kidding? So now I have to defend myself to the Superintendent and the school committee.

The world has gone mad.

-b

Sometimes I have good luck

I picked today to be a personal day way back in August. I spent the day in J & J's classrooms. I picked a good day to miss. There was quite a bit of excitement in the town where I teach today and all of the schools were placed in a lockdown for a few hours. I'm glad I missed it all, but even more glad that no students or teachers were put in harm's way.

-b

More Halloween Pics

These are my crazy third grade co-teachers. They make teaching so fun. Strange costumes, huh?

Here's Al. She teaches first grade, but was my student teacher 4 years ago. She is dressed as another teacher. I think she looks hot.

-b

A few pics from Halloween
more to come...
Hope your Halloween was as great as ours :O)

-b

World Series

I hate hate hate
that Joe isn't here to see this
not fair not fair not fair

-b

p.s. I left out someone's name in my post a few days back. Thank you a thousand times over to my neighbor Chris. She reads here but never comments. Thank you for coming to the house and picking Jacob up when I was out. Thank you for keeping him overnight while I stayed with Joe at the hospital. Thank you for watching Jacob during the funeral. Thank you for telling me that Joe said "goodbye" to Jacob. I never really believed it, but it meant a lot that you told me that anyways.

No Surgery Needed

Met with a surgeon today
and as it turns out
I don't need surgery!
This is very exciting news indeed

Sorry that I haven't filled you in on the details
trust me, you don't want them
but to stop any rumors from spreading
I do not/did not have an STD
and I am not/was not pregnant

Thanks for your support
as always

-b

Thank You

Maybe it's the World Series that has suddenly got me thinking about Joe so much
but he's back
and so are my memories of the end of his life
I can't help but think about all that he's missed out on
The world series is the least of it
but would have been such a big thing
for Joe to witness

While reflecting on his last days
I realized I never thanked all of my amazing friends
who helped me get through those days
So here is a post dedicated to you
It may be quite lengthy
and I'm sure I will leave out a few of you
But I'll do my best

To my sister:
Thank you for dropping everything in your life and staying with me for weeks at a time. Despite being 6 months pregnant, and incredibly uncomfortable, you came through for me in a way in which I'll never be able to repay. Thank you for lying in bed with me, and crying with me, holding my hand, cleaning my house, playing with Jacob, making me laugh. Thank you for standing with me as we lost Joe.

To my brother:
You are rarely mentioned in this blog. Probably because you don't know it exists. But you are a very important person in my life and in the lives of my kids. Thank you for coming to the hospital at 2am and staying with me until Joe died. Thank you for calling me that night and telling me, through your tears, that you will help me raise my boys. Thank you for fulfilling that promise and for being the best uncle my kids could have.

To Melanie:
Thank you for being a best friend in a way that I never knew a best friend could be. Despite having a newborn baby at home you dropped everything for me. You came to the hospital in the middle of the night, you called a long list of people to let them know that Joe died, you helped me through the days, weeks, and years that followed. I know that I am not as good a friend to you as you are to me. I don't have it in me to be that selfless. But I hope you know that I don't take you for granted. I hope you know how lucky I feel to have you in my life.

To Allison:
Thank you for pitch hitting (Or is it pinch hitting? Now I'm not sure of the right term) for me at school. You stepped right in and took over the job for me. I never once worried about my class once I left. Thank you for talking about Joe with me all the time, and helping me get through the past few years. Thanks for making me laugh every time I see you.

To Jenn:
Thank you for watching Jacob while I was in the hospital with Joe. Thank you for cleaning my house in the days that followed. Thank you for telling me Joe stories when I most need to hear them. Thank you for reminding me of all of his good sides when I'm focusing on the bad. I'm so glad you are back in town. I really missed you last year.

To Nikki:
Thank you for cleaning my house despite being ordered around! Thank you for being a friend I can call when I'm sad, and I know I don't have to speak. I can just say, "I'm sad." (Now I'm actually crying, thinking of how often I used to do this. It's been a while...) You never try to cheer me up, you let me talk or not talk. You let me feel what I need to feel. I really appreciate that. Thank you for sharing your Joe memories with me. Thank you for reminding me that I'm really just a total goof.

To Kristen:
Thank you for always telling me how hot Joe was, and how much you loved him. Thank you for visiting the cemetery on your own. Thank you for being an amazing friend to me in good times and bad. I miss you.

To Owen:
Thank you for taking me to your Cape house the week after Joe died. It was a break that I needed, and I appreciated you flying home for me. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for leaving the funniest comments on my blog. Even when we don't speak, I know you're here with me.

To Brett:
Thank you for being Joe's friend. Thank you for visiting him in the hospital, and for being a part of the funeral. I know that you are thinking of him during this series, even without speaking to you. Thank you for thinking of him still. Thank you for all that you did for the boys and I after Joe died. Joe was incredibly proud of you, I'm sure.

There are so many more I should thank. That's the problem with this idea. Some will be left out. I just feel so lucky to have so many great friends. The amazing part is they are all still my friends, and, since Joe died, I have made so many new friends who have helped me along in my journey. That includes all of you readers. Thank you for reading, and letting me write endlessly about myself. I am very lucky indeed.

Go Sox

-b