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Showing posts from 2011

Happy New Year!

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, December 31 was a night full of potential.  It was full of hope and promise, and it was billed to be the best night of the year.  Somehow, for over a decade, I searched elusively for that perfect night.  Here are some examples: 1993-1994: When I was 18 and a senior in high school, I spent New Year's Eve at Sea World in Orlando.  I was performing in the halftime show of the Citrus Bowl the next day.  It was a cold and rainy night, and we rang in the new year watching fireworks from outside the park, waiting to board the bus. 1994-1995: (my freshman year in college) I spent New Year's Eve at First Night Albany (remember that Anne?).  It was again raining, and Albany was a lot colder than Orlando.  After the excitement of college, First Night Albany was very tame.  And cold. 1995-1996: (my sophomore year in college) I was up at University of New Hampshire with my college roommate.  It was actually a very good night, and we spen
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Dear Jake and Sophia, Today, we had a perfect moment.  It was just after lunch.  I settled in on one end of the couch, while the two of you settled in on the other, and we were facing each other.  We were all sharing the fuzzy blanket.  I was reading my nook, and Jake, you read a book to Sophia.  It was so content and peaceful.  It's how life should be. I thought about getting up to get the camera to immortalize the moment, but knew that would ruin it. I want you both to know how special siblings are.  You are very, very lucky to have each other.  Some people do not ever get the chance to have siblings.  Some people, like Dad, lose their siblings much, much too early.  Please always try to remember that.  Siblings are the first friends we have in life.  If we're lucky, they stay our friends throughout our whole lives.  Siblings have shared our childhood.  They can laugh at the jokes that only you get.   They remember the hard times too, and help each other get through it.  

Frustrated...

****WARNING:  This is a soap box post.  It is what I think and I believe.  It is me, exercising my first amendment rights.  You don't have to agree with me, but think carefully about what I say.*** Right now, Pat and I are watching a TV show that I like to call the "Feel Good Show of the Year."  In the TV guide, it is listed as Intervention.  For those of you not familiar, it is a show about an addict and the family stages an intervention in attempts to help save the person's life.  The current episode is about a 22 year old addict who has turned to prostitution.  She has a 3 year old son, who is being raised by his father.  This young woman was born to an 18 year old mother who was incapable of caring for her daughter. She dropped her daughter off on her father's doorstep at the age of 3.  Her father cared more about partying and women than of being a parent and his parenting strategy was just to buy his young daughter stuff.  He was on his second or third wif

Not far off...

So, I was really not that far off in my post yesterday... Multitasking stresses out working moms more than dads - NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports By Jenifer Goodwin HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Ever unload the dishwasher while helping with a child's homework? Ever keep one eye on soccer practice while checking your voice mail and trying to figure out what to make for dinner? That's called multitasking, and in a fast-paced world, American working moms do a whole lot of it -- and seem more stressed by it than working dads, a new study shows. According to the research, working mothers spend 9 more hours a week multitasking than do working fathers, or about 48 hours per week for moms compared with 39 for dads. And, when they have to multitask, women don't particularly enjoy it. The research found that when women are trying to do multiple things at once, they report feeling stressed, while men don't s
So, I've seriously been meaning to write.  For, like 2 weeks now.  About Mommy ADHD.  But it's taken me this long because I keep getting distracted. No joke. Mommy ADHD is a serious problem, affecting up to 100% of mothers.  Ok, I don't really know that, but I'm just guessing because every mom I talk to knows what I'm talking about. Mommy ADHD is commonly noticed when trying to accomplish an insurmountable number of tasks in an unreasonably short period of time.  For example, prepping for and cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  With young children around.  While working.  For those 0.0001% of you not familiar with Mommy ADHD, here is a typical (and pretty true) case study. Task:  Clean off the dining room table (45% covered with miscellaneous items) to be used for Thanksgiving dinner (or actually any meal, for that matter). Estimated time start to completion: 30 minutes Actual time start to completion: 4 days Task analysis for catastrophic time failure:  Wal

Little Bear

So, thanks to Election Day (which can barely be counted, considering many of the candidates in Colonie are running un-opposed) and Vetrans' Day, my kids have a really short week.  They are home on Tuesday and Friday.  Which happen to be my two days off.  Which means childcare will not be an issue.  But which mean I get no time to do my mommy things, like grocery shopping and cleaning.  Also, my husband is in California, so it's all me.  Ok, it's all me with some help from my parents.  But I have 12 days of being on duty, 24/7. So, today was day off #1.  I blissfully turned the alarm off last night.  Silly me.  I was awakened suddenly to Jake's face about 3 cm from mine at 6:00 am.  After my heart started beating again, I tried to get him to go back to bed.  Instead, he laid down with me.  I don't know if he fell back asleep, because I certainly did.  Until 6:20 am when Sophia came noisily bounding in.  That was it for Jake sleeping.  By 6:35, they were sitting on

And Life Goes On

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind.  My grandmother went from having an"upset" stomach to passing away.  On Saturday, she was dusting her apartment. By the following Saturday, she was being buried. Despite the fact that she had 93 years on this earth, it went all too quickly.  I just can't believe that it's all over.  Now, we have the unenviable task of cleaning out her apartment. We moved my grandmother into her apartment 6 years ago.  I am thankful that we had sort of weaned things out then.  My grandmother was impeccably neat.  However, she hid a great secret. She was a secret hoarder.  The woman saved EVERYTHING.  While that is charming when it comes to birthday cards, drawings, school show programs and obituaries, it loses something when we are talking about the tags from clothing.  And the free address labels sent to her by any charity that thought she would give them money (and this includes the address labels from her old address).  And elastic from th

Waiting is the hardest part

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I write this as I sit in the hospital room with my grandmother, waiting for her to die.  She is truly at the end of her life, and all there is left for her to do is to pass on.  She is 93. This is awful. She never wanted to end up in a hospital bed, unable to move, unable to speak.  We have never wanted it for her. She has commented for many years that she doesn't know why she is still here.  She has been ready for her heavenly reward for many years. My grandmother is a wonderful woman.  Stoic is her middle name.  Actually, it's Slavin, but Stoic is a better fit.  She's also tiny, and everyone loves her.  Even in the ER on Sunday night, people were commenting on how cute she was.  Osteoporosis has not been kind and she is about 4'6."  When I would come over to visit, she would say, "Oh good, a tall person is here.  Can you get this down for me?"  She is the only person EVER to refer to me as tall.  Of course, this is after she fell off a ladder at

This post is brought to you today by the letter B...

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Brand new Baby Boy Biel Balloon Best team ever (2004 Red Sox, in case you were wondering) Baby Butt Basket Bathtime Boo-Boos Binkie and Blankie Big Boy Bed Baby sister Box Butterflies Bus Baseball Boy scouts  Birthday Boy! Before Being Brave Buds with Buzzes Biels Bald is Beautiful! A special thank you to all of our friends and family who supported Jake in fundraising for St. Baldrick's.  With your support, Jake personally was able to raise $700.  His school was able to raise over $10,000 to help fund research for kids with cancer.  Our personal thanks to: The Vagianelis Family David Kopach Patti and Matt Kopach Daryll Cook The Nicchi Family Trish Peterson Linda Lee Herriman Shirley Biel Barbara Frenzel Chris & Julie Kopach Stephen Kopach Irene & Edward Morris The O'Neill Family Patty Black Michele Fobare & James Kopach Mary Rose & Ph

Really Keeping It in Perspective

So, my 7 year-old asked me what could be considered an odd question the other day.  "Mom, can I shave my head?" While to some, this might be out in left field, it made perfect sense to me, as his school (Forts Ferry) is hosting a St. Baldrick's fundraiser on 10/21/11.  Jake's school is big on teaching kindness and compassion.  They participate in Rachel's Challenge, which promotes kindness and compassion.  Rachel's Challenge was formed in memory of one of the Columbine victims.  Forts Ferry is continuing on with that message by hosting a fundraiser to benefit kids with cancer.  I'm not sure he really understands what this is all about.  So, we talked about it.  Part of Jake's Aspergers is that he has trouble with empathy.  It is hard for him to picture what it must be like to have cancer.  He didn't understand what having a shaved head had to do with cancer.  But he also has sensitivities to somethings that would not bother most kids.  Like

Keeping it in perspective

Sometimes, I get so involved in what I'm doing that I lose perspective of the world around me. Usually, this directly corresponds with fatigue on my part. The more exhausted I am, the easier it is for me to lose perspective.  And then other bad things happen.  Like I yell at my kids.  I make snap judgments.  I feel a strong urge to hit my husband over the head with a frying pan.  What causes me to feel this way?  Here's the current rundown: I work 3 days a week at my "regular" job.  This week, at this job, I visited 11 schools.  Considering I had Monday off, and only worked 2 days, that's kind of impressive.  Next week, in my 3 days, I will visit 15 locations.  16, if you include going in on a day off to attend a meeting.  This, in and of itself is exhausting.  Then add the fact that I'm constantly moving and demonstrating exercises.  My job seems to be sapping all the life out of me this year. Plus I have a second job, which I work one to two Saturday m

Fall in New York

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The start of fall is my favorite time of the year.  I love when you can feel the crisp-ness to the air.  I love when I can wear a sweater or two.  I love a bright and sunny fall day with blue skies and red leaves.  And to many people, fall in NY is equated with apple picking.  And apple pies. Now, I don't like apple pies.  I know, un-American.  But I do love getting all the fresh apples.  And, of course, the cider donuts.  But, at this time of year, I feel obligated to make pie.  But I don't really enjoy it (probably since I don't eat it).  My dad does like to make pies, and likes to have the "help" of his grandchildren. Jake, age 2 1/2, making pies with Grandpa.  Fall 2006 Working in schools, I usually get to go on a field trip to some of the local orchards/farms.  It's great, because I can get my apples and donuts, and the crowds aren't too bad, unlike when you try to visit on a weekend. Indian Ladder Farms, September 2007 Sophia

14 Years...

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14 years is a long time.  A lot can happen in 14 years.  For example, it the past 14 years, I have: Gotten 3 college degrees Lost 2 grandparents Moved about 6 times Lived in 5 states Worked 11 jobs Bought 4 cars Met and married my husband Had 2 wonderful kids And this says nothing about how the world has changed. 9/11, cell phones, the internet.  14 years ago, blogs weren't even invented, let alone Facebook.  My friends and I mocked people who walked around talking on their phones.  Now I feel as if my phone is another appendage.  14 years ago, the Red Sox were still waiting to reverse the curse. But today is significant for another reason.  14 years ago today, my college roommate and I got a kitten.  This kitten was sired by a good friend's cat.  Our friend had been tragically killed in a car accident earlier that summer.  We took the kitten as a link to him.  His favorite bar (and ours at the time) was Harper's Ferry on Brighton Ave.  We had been there with h

Is this my fault?

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As anyone who knows me knows, I'm a control freak.  Type A.  A micromanager.  I come from a long line of females like it.  And my daughter is one too.  I plan and analyze and then end up trying to do everything myself because I need it done a specific manner and a specific time frame.  I add a lot of stress to myself.  And I drive my husband insane with it. So, I'm this person who thinks they can control everything.  I talk to inanimate objects.  When something is not cooperating (think stacking items that are sliding all over the place), I tell the objects to, "Be nice."  I talk to other drivers, warning them not to pull out in front of me.  As if they could hear me.  And yes, I talk to the tv.  I feel that I can control the outcome of, say a sporting event, by yelling at the TV. Now, I know, realistically, that this is insane.  However, I do know that I have some actual proof that I can control the universe.  And the weight of that responsibility is weighing hea

The Great Wall of Biel

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When we renovated our house over four years ago, we knew the yard would need some work.  Our house faces south and is oriented on a hill that runs east to west.  As such, the driveway is lower than the house.  The previous owner used wood to terrace the hill part.  There were 2 main problems with that for us: 1. The wood was rotting out and home for carpenter ants. 2. We are HORRIBLE at maintaining flower beds, and they looked disasterous.  As such, Pat came up with a wonderful idea to build a retaining wall and a new set of stairs.  Ok, fine by me.  Pat rents an excavator and digs out.  October 31, 2008 Once Pat dug the whole, winter set in quickly, and we had a large hole in our yard until the following summer.  Once the heat of July hit, Pat got to work building the wall.  Each block weighs about 70 pounds.  I tried to lift one once, and nearly wet my pants.  Pat lifted every single block into place. Working on the stairs, with the assistance of Sophia. July 2009. Nic