Interview With The Lurker

My 16 year old nephew, also known as my favorite lurker, recently complained that I hadn't written a post in a while. I decided to interview him and turn it into a post.

Here goes:

1. Have you started driving yet?

Not yet

2. What's your favorite subject in school?

American History

3. Who do you most admire?

No one in particular

4. If you could hang out with any one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

Tyler Seguin

5. What's the best part about having me for an aunt?

Good question

6. What's your favorite sport to watch? To play?

A tie between hockey and baseball

7. What college/university are you hoping to attend?

Boston College

8. What was the best day of your life?

When the Bruins won the Stanley Cup

9. What was the worst?

When I had to get glasses

10. Who do you like better, your brother or your sister?

Sister, by a sizable margin

Well, there you go. I'm not sure I like the answer to question number 5. I'll have to get to the bottom of that one.

Hiking at Blue Hills

This may come as a surprise to you but I'm a really outdoorsy kind of girl. When I say outdoorsy, I mean strolling around Derby Street Shoppes.

On the rare occasion that I want to be outdoors in nature I take my niece and nephews hiking at Blue Hills in Milton/Canton.

My 15 year old niece is kind enough to take turns with me carrying the backpack and she walks next to me. The boys take off and run up the mountain. Literally run. Then they argue about who has to wait for the "slow poke" Auntie Laura. Meanwhile, I'm about 1/2 mile behind them barfing up a lung from exertion. I'm grossly out of shape.

Next to the trail side museum at Blue Hills they have a few animals on display. The first one is that we see is a River Otter. That little guy loves to perform for people. They also have turtles, a couple of snowy owls, deer, turkey vultures and ducks that you can feed.

Three days after we went hiking, Harry couldn't stop talking about it. He and Brennan loved running down the hill that you see above. It doesn't look like much but walking down it was pretty intense, just ask my thighs.

In closing, if you see a blonde woman, in her early 40's, huffing, puffing and chugging her way up the mountain, don't be alarmed, it's just me.

I'll Take That 'Aunt of the Year' Award Now

A few weeks back I got into a little scuffle with my 7 year old nephew, Harry. Harry's a very good kid and is usually well behaved. He does have his moments though. When those moments come around, he does something that Kelly and I have dubbed "The Ugly Face Cry." His face scrunches up and his mouth opens and his eyes water. It's not pretty. One of these days I'll get a picture of it. Then I'll use it to blackmail him into giving me a hug when he's in high school.

Anyway, a few weeks back I brought over a jump rope that I received at a blogging event. I only had one so, of course, he and his brother fought over it. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that there are about 8 jump ropes in the garage from their older sister. But, I digress, the boys were fighting over the jump rope, yet again, that's when "Mean Auntie Laura" came to play. I yelled at them both to "stop it and give me the jump rope!" Brennan quickly obliged and went on his merry way. Harry was holding firm. He wanted that jump rope and he wasn't letting go. I said to him, "give me the jump rope RIGHT NOW" in my scariest voice. His response? "NO!" It was like he slapped me in the face! You don't say no to "Mean Auntie Laura." It has never been done. That's when I got all mature on his a** and said this: "You're being a real jerk right now." Yes, I said that to my 7 year old nephew. His response, "No, YOU'RE a jerk."

At that point I knew that I had to walk away. I yanked the jump rope out of his hands and gave myself a time out. He did the same. We apologized to each other about 15 minutes later. And we lived happily ever after.

The end.

Happy Birthday Bryce!

Today my nephew, Bryce, turns 16. This is a milestone. He's the oldest grandson/nephew in the family. Since he also reads my blog religiously, I thought I'd give him a shout-out.

Dear Bryce,

In honor of your birthday I wanted to share a few things with you that you might not know.

1. When your Mom was a few months pregnant with you we took a trip to Sanibel Island, Florida. As Mom and I were swimming in the pool we decided to play a game of "who can hold their breath the longest." She won the first couple of games before we realized that it probably wasn't a good idea to withhold oxygen from the fetus (you). Sorry about that.
2. Mom gained A LOT of weight when she was pregnant with you. I mean A LOT. We're talking 'outgrown your maternity clothes' a lot.
3. You were born with a full head of hair. I don't think you ever lost a strand of it.
4. A few days after you got home from the hospital your big sister couldn't keep her hands off of you. Mom had to yell at her, which prompted her to grab her Barbie guitar and make up a song. It went like this: "I don't like my mother, she's so mean. Oh Bryce-ee, oh Bryce-ee cockadoodledoo." I'm surprised it never made it to the Billboard charts.
5. I fell madly in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you.

I was going to use this post to list all of the things I love about you, but there are just too many.

I wish you nothing but happiness as you continue your journey into adulthood.

Love,

Auntie Laura

P.S. Here are some pictures of you that I love.

Fun Things To Do This Weekend

This weekend is chock full of fun things to do. Since it's fall, it's a great time to do some apple and/or pumpkin picking. I'm not sure about the weather, but let's hope for some sun.

Here are some other fun things going on:

Saturday

Weymouth-The Great Pumpkin Give-a-wey. This is a great event for the family. It's 12-4 next to the Town Hall.

Weymouth-The Weymouth Food pantry is hosting its annual S.O.S (Stock Our Shelves) walk on Saturday to coincide with the pumpkin event mentioned above. It's a short walk for a great cause.

Hanover-There They Grow Again is hosting a huge children's consignment sale at Riley Hall (515 Hanover Street). The sale actually starts Friday, September 30, 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. They have over 60 consigners selling everything from clothes to toys to books to baby equipment and gear. I have about 60 items in the sale this year, 50 of them are brand new with the tags still attached. You're sure to find some good deals. Shop early to get the best selection.

Wrentham-My friend Diane is hosting a yard sale at her house (44 Federico Drive). All proceeds from the sale are going to TEAM HARDCORE. Team Hardcore is in honor of Diane's cousin Kristen, who is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She's 34 years old. Yes, 34. The team is doing the Susan G. Komen race on October 30 in Boston. Go Diane!

Sunday

Take the day to rest. You deserve it.

Your turn...anything fun going on this weekend that you'd like to share?

The Bank

My 7-year-old nephew, Harry, is a bit of a money hoarder. If you give him a dollar he runs right to his room to put it in his wallet. His 6 -year-old brother, however, spends every dime that he gets.

Recently Kelly opened a bank account for Harry. Whenever we drive by the bank (which is near my parents house) he says, "there's the bank where my money is." He also wanted to let my dad know. Here's how that exchange went:

Harry: "Grampy, there's the bank where my money is."

Gramps: "Oh, that's great buddy."

Harry: "Gramps, since you live so close to the bank, can you keep an eye on my money?"

Gramps: "Sure. Good idea."

Well, yesterday the bank got robbed. No one was hurt, thank God. When Kelly found out, she immediately said, "don't tell Harry! He'll be devastated." That's all my dad needed to hear. He keeps saying that he's going to call Harry and tell him that the robbers left everyone else's money but got his. We're doing our best to keep Harry and Gramps apart.

Happy Auntie's Day To Me

According to Savvy Auntie, yesterday was "Auntie's Day." I waited and waited and waited at home all day for calls and gifts and maybe a plane flying overhead professing undying love for me from my nieces and nephews. Sadly, nothing came.

I guess there's always next year. Sigh.

I'm Back!

I've been gone for a whole week. Did you miss me? Wait, did you even notice I was gone? I went on a lovely vacation with the family. We had a great time (more on that later). I missed a few things...technology being one of them. We all unplugged for a whole week.

If you know me in real life, you know where I've been, if you don't, well, here's a hint:

My Hero

I've decided to start a series called "My Hero." I will showcase a different person (or people) that I consider a hero(s).

My hero is my nephew Joshua.

He was born in 2001, shortly after 9/11.

He's a twin.

He's very outgoing and has a great personality.

He also has Crohn's Disease. He was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis when he was 3 years old. His diagnosis changed to Crohn's when he was 8. He's now 9 and has to endure medication transfusions every few weeks. True to form, he goes through it with a smile.

He's so brave.

Josh lives in Texas with his mom, dad (my brother), twin brother Justin and little sister Jessica. I miss them all terribly. I miss them even more when I know that Josh has to go through all of this.

Even though he's only 9, he is a hero to me.

I love you Josh!

Fun Summer Things To Do For Families in the Boston Area

Last year, I sat down with my niece and nephews and did a spreadsheet of all the fun things we wanted to do that summer. I printed the list and my nephews (ages 4 & 5 at the time) loved crossing things off the list after we did them.

One of our favorite things was taking the boat into Boston. It was a perfect day for it; not too hot and not too cold.

Kelly and the kids on the boat ride in.

When we got to the city we walked around Faneuil Hall and got something to eat. After doing some shopping and watching the performers we headed to the fountain. The kids had a great time splashing around.

Another favorite thing that we did in the spring was visit Southwicks Zoo in Mendon, MA. It's my favorite zoo in the area. Franklin Park Zoo is closer to us, but I, personally prefer Southwicks.

Speaking of Mendon...another really fun thing that we did was go to the Mendon Drive-In. I don't know about you, but I haven't been to a drive-in since I was little and we all piled into the station wagon with my parents. We had a blast!

We made this mistake of doing a day trip on one of the hottest days last year. We headed down to Plymouth to do some sightseeing and go on a pirate cruise. Plymouth Cruises does an AMAZING job with this. All three kids loved it, including my 14 year old niece. The captain does a great job of entertaining the kids the entire time and the hour long cruise is just long enough to hold the kids attention.

Do your kids love baseball? Do you feel like shelling out about $300+ for an evening at Fenway? If not, check out a Brockton Rox game. They really cater to the kids and the seats start at just $5.

On one of the days where it was just too hot to be outside, we went to the Museum of Science. Be sure to check your local library for discount tickets before going.

One of my 6 year old nephews favorite things that we did last year didn't cost us a penny. We went for a picnic at Castle Island. We packed a lunch and wore our sneakers and we walked around and checked out the planes taking off and landing, ran on the pier and even rolled down the grassy hill. Moms-don't forget to bring your camera!

Some of the things on our list to do this year include:

• New England Aquarium. We're dying to see (and touch) the new Shark & Ray Touch Tank.
• Bowling
• Buffy's pool
• Aunt Joan's lake house
• Our family cottage in Hull
• Beach
• Riding the Go Karts at Starland
• And to repeat the day trips mentioned above.

Phew! Looks like we have a busy summer ahead of us. It's a good thing we have a friend with a pool (hi Buffy!). By the way, if anyone wants her phone number it's 508-555-1234, just tell her Loopy sent you.

Do you have any fun summer plans?

Happy Earth Day!

I wouldn't exactly call myself a tree hugger..despite the evidence below:

Although, I do recycle like a crazy person. Last year I worked for a family that didn't recycle. I would literally go through their garbage and take the recyclables home withe me. It pains me to see someone throw away a plastic milk container. I just can't sleep at night knowing that I didn't prevent it. Seriously.

My dad is the one that got us all into recycling. He did it before it was even trendy. About 15 years ago the town that they live in announced that they would have recycling bins available for residents. My dad picked one up and the rest is history. We would call him "The Recycle Police." God help you if you threw something away that had a #1 or #2 on the bottom. You'd get a lecture on how those don't go in the trash, they go in the recycle bin.

In honor of Earth Day I took my nephews out for a "nature hike." Okay, I really took them out so my sister could get her house in order for Easter. But, I made a big deal about going on this hike and it being Earth Day. I think it made an impact since the first words out of my 6 year old nephews mouth when he saw me today was, "Happy Earth Day!"

Here are some pictures from our day:

A rare sweet moment

Climbing up a cliff

"We made it!"

We brought some bird seed for the birds.

Tired after our hike up the hill.

We had a great day out in the fresh air honoring Mother Nature.

As my dad would say, "Rememba to recycle!"

Quotes and Conversations with my 5 year old

*The following was written by Kelly, part-time contributor to this blog and Loopy's sister*

Here are some of my favorite conversations with my 5 year old:

It's amazing the things that come out of his mouth. Makes me wonder what's going on inside that brain of his.

* On our way to the grocery store B says "We don't need to stop and look at the toys in the food store. All the toys are expired."

* "What's Chicken + Chicken??" Answer: "Chicken!"

Every morning when he wakes up the first thing he asks is a math question.

"Mom, what's 100 + 100 + 100?"

"Mom, what's a billion + a billion + 1,000?"

This is before I've even opened my eyes

Hubby's favorite quote from B "Let me outta here....I am not an animal!" He says this in a really creepy voice. I think the quote is from the movie Marmaduke

"Antarctica is the coldest CONDIMENT in the world."

"Nobody's pretty in here after all". This was said minutes after telling Auntie Laura and I how pretty we were and then when I reprimanded him for something he got upset and took back the compliment. He sure showed us!

*B has informed me that he's NOT going to sleep away college. He's going to live with us forever.

B also doesn't think he wants to get married. When he's older he's going to drive a pick-up truck and he doesn't think there would be room for his wife, since all his stuffed animals will be riding up front with him.

He told Grammie that she can't take him to Burger King for lunch because the workers pee on the floor. (ummm, yeah, NO idea where that came from. I think McDonald's had a better toy in their kid's meal)

My little man. Love him to pieces

Slipping Away

I've noticed a trend lately. One that I don't particularly like. When I get my nephews off the bus, no one is willing to hold my hand for the short walk home. This is what I see instead:

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This time last year, the 6-year-old refused to hold my hand. He decided that he was too cool. I just never thought the redhead (age 5) would abandon me. That kid is always up in my grill. He still insists that I kiss him on the lips (it's pretty gross, if you ask me). I guess I just can't believe that the littlest child in our family is now 5 years old. It just doesn't seem possible. Sniff, sniff.

Conversations With The Red-Head

The other day I was leaving my sister's house. This is the conversation that I had with B:

Me: I'm leaving. Bye.

B: Bye Auntie Laura. I'll miss you.

Me: I'll miss you too.

B: I'll miss you more than you'll miss me.

Me: I'll miss YOU more than you'll miss ME.

B: Are you calling me a liar?

My Favorite Lurker

I had an interesting conversation with my oldest sister last week. She was complaining that her boys hijack her laptop and she never gets to use it. Then she told me that she found the laptop unattended for a moment and decided to check her email. When she got to the laptop, guess what page was opened? MY BLOG! Apparently, my 15 year-old nephew is a lurker on my blog. I figured I'd take this opportunity to thank him. Here are some pictures of the nephew:

"Please don't take my picture."

He doesn't smile much and when he does, it's usually more of a smirk. You have to be quick with the camera to catch it.

"Uh oh, I see a camera. I'm outta here"

A nice picture with his mom.

Nephew and his cousin, mini-me.

"Ugh, why does Auntie Laura make us pose for pictures with her?!"

Here I am imitating his non-smiling face.

I hope he's not too embarrassed by this but I'm willing to bet that none of his friends read my blog, so it should be okay. Oh, and I want him to know that I love him. So much. I wish I could pinch his cheeks right now and give him a kiss.

Birthday Recap

I feel as though I've been celebrating turning 40 for the last two weeks. It started with a dinner for my BFF's 40th, organized by her husband. He was kind enough to put my name on the cake as well. Our birthdays are only nine days apart.

Then, this past weekend, I went out with some friends that I met through work ten years ago in Boston. We call ourselves "The Vault" (more on that in another post).

The Vault took me out to dinner and gave me a beautiful Pandora bracelet.

The bracelet has a treasure chest charm on it. It took me a minute to figure it out but I realized that it symbolizes a vault. They are so clever!

Today was the actual day and it was great! I was kind of dreading it for a while, but fortunately for me, I have some really great people in my life.

First, I slept in a bit, which was glorious. Then I looked at my blog and saw this post from my sister. I laughed and I cried. It was sweet and touching. I loved it. She did a great job. It was a wonderful surprise.

Next, I headed off to meet my best friend for breakfast. She had her three kids with her and I just adore them. They are three of the most well-behaved children you could ever meet.

After breakfast came some gifts:

This gift was a beautiful silver necklace with the letter L on it. My three friends and I decided to get each other this necklace for our 40th birthdays. We all have it. Here it is on my friend Janie:

After that I went to the mall to meet Kelly and her boys. We had a great time just leisurely shopping.

For dinner I went to Kelly's where she made my favorite: her meatballs (they're famous in my family) and spaghetti. My parents came over as well.

The kids loved helping me blow out the candles.

I received some wonderful gifts: a new power cord for my computer and a purse that I really wanted.

My parents gave me these:

I've always wanted diamond earrings I thought 40 might be a good age to get them.

I had such a great day. I'm almost sad to see it end. End it must, though. I need to get to bed. I'm an old lady now, you know.

Happy Birthday Papa!

If my grandfather was alive, he'd be 103 today.

Let me tell you a little about my grandfather. He had many names: Leo, Dad, Uncle Leo, Papa. Whatever people happened to call him, there's one thing for sure; they all loved him. He was one of the best men I've ever known.

One of my favorite Papa stories is this one:

Papa was very hard of hearing. You basically had to scream for him to hear you. My best friend, Laurie and I would always stop by Papa's to see him....it didn't hurt that his house was on the beach. Laurie and I have been best friends since 5th grade. Papa had known her for a very long time. One day, as we were heading over to his house, Laurie said to me, "can you please tell Papa my name? I don't think he knows it." I said, "what?! Of course he does. Don't be silly." When we got there, I did say (well, scream) to him, "Papa, you remember Laurie?" His response? "Yeah, I know Dorothy." I was laughing too hard to correct him. In the years to come Laurie would often stop by Papa's, with her boyfriend or other friends, and he still called her Dorothy.

Papa at the cottage

Papa died in 1996 after a battle with cancer. We still gather at his house ("The Cottage") every fourth of July.

I still miss him. I can't help but think of him when I smell moth balls and salt air.

Papa with my nephew, Bryce

Uncle Gerry, Papa, my brother

Papa, my brother, my dad