blathering

so, here i am in need of a blathering of sorts. it's been a wee bit 'o time here, and perhaps a little "chapter format" is in order ... my friend Kim did this on her blog and i mentioned i'd be heisting it as i really liked the idea of it - so here we go.



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annual family reunion


every year, on the sunday of labor day, for the last 32 years, so essentially my entire existence, save for maybe a few (uhm, guess i'm not counting) years, my italian side of the family has gotten together to have a Bocce Tournament. the original formation of said event was in honor of my late great grandfather's, Poppa, birthday. since then, it has morphed into a wonderful annual event of his children (he had 6) their children (there are 20, i think) and their children (30-something) and now even their children (absolutely countless). so, when it all started way back in 1975, there were probably 30-40 people. cousins, and aunts, and grandparents, and children. i was one of the children back then, obviously, we gathered at one of the family houses, and played Bocce. against each other - for the title: Bocce Champ. we ate lots of italian home-cooked food, and drank, and enjoyed one another. the event sometimes lasted into the late evening, needing headlights from the various cars, or flood lights on the houses. if you and your family won, the party was then at your house the next year. through the years, there were switches to the houses, and the venues, however, my family, and one other families won many years in a row, and it became a wee bit unfair for that same group of people to host the event. so, we started just getting volunteers to have it at their house. this year - we volunteered.


there were 85 people here. 2 kegs, and an unbelievable amount of food. we rented a bouncehouse, the pool was fantastic to swim in with the weather being PERFECT for swimming, and we had 40 quarts of Del's frozen lemonade here, too.


the kegs were kicked by 6:00PM (party starts at 11:00) the food was demolished. (NO leftovers - sean and i were stunned the next morning hunting the refrigerators for some morsels! the horrors!) and the bouncehouse and pool were busy ALL day.


we didn't win the tourney, but that's okay, and we didn't volunteer again for next year, and that's okay too. :O)


it was a blast, and apparently (did i mention the kegs? yeah, i helped .. a lot) everyone felt the same way - LOADs of fun.




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inner-puppy


monster mash. higgy-monster. monster-man.


those three names will be heard throughout any given day addressing the furry addition to the family here.

he is delicious, and really adorable, and truly one of the best things we've ever done as a family. he is smart, and silly, and engaging, and loving. he is a wonderful breed, with the personality that is incomparable to anything i have ever experienced. he is also six months old. today. and that means he is still a puppy. and he found the comfort in his soul, and his heart, to snuggle right in to the house here. he owns the place in his mind, and he seemingly is flexing some muscles. but - he just fits in here.

however, we've become a wee bit more, ah, aware, of our possessions laying on the floor. we've also become a wee bit more aware of training him - consistently. he begins school next thursday. it's time. she's coming here, and training all four of us to work with him, and that makes me happy.

the other two dogs are finding it in their hearts to be kind and loving back to him. the big one, most of the time. the little one - well, not necessarily most of the time, but some of the time. in good time we'll have a cohesive mix. they have their own timeclock, i recognize this. either that, or when he's 100+ lbs, she'll learn the harder way. silly cocker spaniel.

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back to school .... back to routine? or finding a new groove?

so, we've been in school now for three weeks, and in all, a decent transition. not the smoothest we've seen at this house, but then, we've not gone into 2nd and 3rd grade before either.

the big guy has a posse, i know i've written about it before. he's got a good solid 6 friends in school that are inseparable. 5 are in the other classroom. all 5. no rhyme or reason for the separation. principal decides the year before, kids are randomly selected to go into classrooms. probably the same everywhere. he was sad. devastatingly sad, initially. but then, we had the hot dog roast, and he learned that there would be some other old friends, and acquaintances in his new class and perhaps he could make a new friend or two with the three new kids to the school. so the smile returned, and then the first day came. SUCCESS! all smiles with the day. new kids "are really cool, mom!" and "guess what? i have a few kids that were in kindergarten with me that haven't been with me since, that are now back in my classroom!". phewf. narrowly escaped disaster, perhaps? ;o)

the sweet-pea has had some different things going on, too. initially, loads of 'belly wiggles' and 'weird feelings' with the new teacher, new classroom atmosphere (now an open style of classroom versus a single closed one from last year). we worked it out, and discussed it thoroughly, and within a few days, and several carry-alongs with her "girl power" ring (remember that?!) things were slowly beginning to 'unwiggle' in the belly arena. the friends thing was a wee bit touchy for her, too. fears, and unsurety with who was going to be where in the which classroom, where will i sit, who will sit next to me ... you know usual 2nd grade stuff. good news, though, some old very close friends connected with her immediately in the same classroom, and even got assigned a seat next to her. all smiles, and giddy after the first week at school ...

so, where then is the "tough transition" i was speaking of, right? in my heart, it think. i sense some changes with them. the summer was a summer of change, and a very good summer, but changes. they somehow became bigger to me in just 8 weeks. babes no more, they gently, and quietly found a way to become kids. they process differently, and i sense some new and different feeling with regards to the school work, and the relationships there and in their lives all over. positive, and energetic still, and completely loving the whole picture of school, they really, really do. they are just, well, bigger. so, with that said, i do believe it's not as much a challenging transition as it is a new groove. dancing to some new music. :o)

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speaking of music .....

the big guy is going to take up violin, or viola. 3rd graders can learn a string instrument through school, and mom and dad need to have the instrument for them. he chose viola, and the music store mentioned that he should probably go with the violin, although when all is said and done, they mentioned there is very little difference with the exception of the length of the strings.

tomorrow we go to get the instrument, and have him sized. i'll be sure to get some photos of this one, for sure.

his mission? to learn and "bide his time" until he can get ahold of the true object of his desire - the electric guitar. :o)

god i love this kid.

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new job ... new manager

sean started his new gig, and so far he loves it. all kinds of wonderful opportunity and the country is the oyster for the company. his territry is (get this!) the United States. yep, entire country. crazy, but what a ride so far. he seems so happy, and that is worth it's weight in GOLD.

me, well, my manager got a promotion within the company, and that meant a new manager arrived to be with us. i miss the old one for the mere reason he was good. i mean good. the new one could be just as good. eventually. it's a transition (there's that word again!) and so far relatively smooth. it's early though. i like the new one, he's different than the old one, and that's okay.

so, i think that might be it. if you've made it this far, thanks. if not, hey check in tomorrow - i'll have some more photos! :o)

i'll leave with this really adorable shot of the squirt and the monster mash hanging before the bus arrived.