What superhero are you?

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You are Superman

Superman 75% Iron Man 60% Batman 55% Spider-Man 50% Green Lantern 50% Supergirl 45% The Flash 40% Robin 35% Wonder Woman 35% Catwoman 20% Hulk 20%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

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Siesta or a Break from Work?

Sheepish and I were talking today and both of us agree that this vacation week is more of a break from the work routine than it is a siesta. Too many family obligations has meant less time to dedicate to the "I can do that during the vacation" list. I know that I had a lot of personal to-dos that are going by the wayside as each day passes. I've come to the realization that this will only be a break from the work routine and I'm okay with that. February's vacation week contains less family obligations so that it may be more of a siesta, if I don't put too many expectations on it.

Here are some of the pictures I promised:The bounty Santa left behind!
The scooter that I cursed last night!

The train set starts small...

Testing my creativity side...

The future culinary star of the family.

Yes, Parent2 these are tickets!

Round 4 is done, thank goodness

No blood was shed during breakfast this morning. Although my brother and his wife almost got an earfull (in the moment but the moment passed) when they crank called me at 8:00AM when we weren't there (they were running even later). I was a good person and kept my mouth shut as I was already scolded by my grandmother about potential behaviors.

After picking up CamMad we went to Toys R Us to make a couple of swaps and to get a helmet that fits! I was prepared for a busy store with returns but oddly the store was pretty empty. I got my store credit in about 2 minutes. We were able to get a couple of things to replace what was returned and out of the store without lines. 48 hours earlier I would have been there for a couple of hours I suspect.

During the time I've been working on this post I've been interrupted during my "break" at least 3 times. I've tightened a scooter and helped build train tracks. Now I hoping for a little piece and quiet while CamMad starts to play with their new stuff!

Pictures will be coming later in the day for the some of the best of yesterday's bounty.

Rounds 2 and 3 are in the books...

Everyone in the CamMad house is sleeping (except for me) as we've endured the marathon of the holiday season, rounds 2 and 3. Rounds 2 and 3 consists of gifts at the CamMad house and the cousins respectively. CamMad must have been very good in Santa's eyes because our house is bursting at the seams with the new clothes, toys, books, and just good stuff that was bestowed on CamMad by Santa and his elves.

Let me back track 19 hours ago when the final present was placed gently in front of the tree waiting for Santa to deliver his presents to all of the good boys and girls in the CamMad household. If it wasn't for the fact that we just got home and this is the first peace and quiet I've enjoyed today I would be showing pictures of the glorious bounty left behind. Santa even ate his cookies and let the 'deer have a quick snack. (I promise to deliver the picture tomorrow)

The gift I'm looking forward to in the world of CamMad is portable DVD that Santa brought. This might provide some sanity on those extended cars rides (although it didn't today-more on that later). Child1 is most excited about the contributions to the Molly phase and the ability to start a culinary career with the Easy Bake oven (watch out Sheepish). Child2 is probably most excited about the scooter.

The scooter is probably the gift that I'm ready to throw out after the car ride home from the cousin xmas party. For 45 minutes all I heard was "Can I play with scooter when we get home?", "Where is the scooter?", or "I want the scooter now!" Parent2 tried to feign sleeping hoping to lure Child2 into sleeping as Child1 was watching Full House Season 5 DVD. I was about to start up smoking and look for a pack of cigarettes and never come back. Everything work out in the end and everyone is home safe and sleeping allowing me some time to clean up and regain my sanity.

As I'm typing I've realized that in 12 hours round 5 starts up which might personally be the most painful round. Round 5 is a breakfast with all of the grandchildren hosted by my grandfather at the restaurant of his choosing. This year we are going to be going to a place that is the size of a large kitchen that is literally in Sheepish's backyard. There may be screams like, "Mickey, cut me! Cut me, Mickey!"

****Clarification-the quote is from Rocky so it is the trainer not the cat!****

Let me get back to the present and not stress about future events I have little to no control over. Parent2 got a few things to be excited about included new shoes, sweater, and a watch with CamMad's names engraved on it. I'm hoping the most exciting thing would be the Red Sox tickets I scored for next season. If nothing else the tickets represent a night of freedom!

On a personal note I'm excited about the tablet bestowed upon me. Sorry to those who provided me a lot of cooking related stuff. Those things were nice but I'm a techno-person who enjoys new things. I promise to post a picture of this device tomorrow. Am I going to turn into a graphic artist? Probably not. Will I have a lot of fun integrating the device into my life? Yup!

I hope everyone had a Christmas that was bountiful and pleasing as it was to be with the CamMad family today! Merry Christmas to all and a good night!

Round 1 is over

Well Round 1 of xmas is over. The big extended family got together and had their xmas party. My grandparents got their picture of the great grandchildren and they were very happy. We ate and watched the Pats game (yea Pats). At halftime we had our Yankee Swap. Parent2 ended up with a gas card and I started with movie tickets but my brother traded it for a big package of toilet paper and a solitaire game. My brother was suppose to give the gift to my Uncle but his wife vetoed it when she got stuck with a yard of sausage. I'm cursed when it comes to Yankee Swaps and Secret Santas.

Now we are preparing for Santa's arrival and cooking for tomorrow. I'm not sure if this is going to be the last post before xmas, if it is we wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Just call me Kevin, Bob, Steve, Ty, Norm, Tim...

Yes I'm doing some household projects during the siesta. Today's was done by accident. After watching "This Old House" I thought I would check on the water pressure in the shower. We've wished we had the pressure Seinfield joked about in his famous shower episode. Anyway I took apart the shower head and realized there was enough sand clogging up the shower head to fill a sand box. Within a couple of minutes we had full pressure in the shower! Yippee! Next I went to the kitchen and removed a smaller amount there. Okay I'm done with the household projects today. I'm going back to regularly scheduled programming.

Just don't be surprised when I come out with my very own home improvement show...or not!

Let the Siesta Begin

We are now in Siesta mode. We all enjoyed sleeping in (well Parent2 went to bed early) this morning. We are busy getting the house ready for Santa and all of the presents CamMad is going to be bestow on this household. Tomorrow starts up the family festivities.

We hope everyone is ready for the Green Christmas celebrations.

We are another day closer

There is definitely an inverse relationship to the number of days until Christmas and children's level of excitement (yes I did well in math). CamMad is getting more and more excited as we approached that magical day in their lives. Getting to sleep each night is interesting as they say "I'm too excited to go to sleep!" they are going down pretty easy. I think they are so tired that the excitement just wears them out.

Tomorrow we start to turn up the holiday stuff up a notch as work takes a siesta and family preparations takes center stage. Ironically the 'rents have work-related projects that we're trying to get done during the vacation (mine is related to the great idea from last night). Oh well! There should be a lot of time to dedicate to the family and enjoy our company despite the fact that this siesta is short and extended family obligations are going to tie up a lot of time.

I'm hoping that we're done xmas shopping. Tonight I picked up the final gift card for the Yankee Swap that no one is excited about but we're doing it for the "family". Now we've got to start assembling and wrapping. Last year we were up very late. I'm hoping that doesn't happen this year. I think I'm going to try to get CamMad out of the house on Saturday long enough for Parent2 to get a head start. Who knows what fate has in store for us.

Until the next posting...

How do you know when you're having a bad night?

I think fate is trying to tell me something. About an hour ago I heard this loud bang and I looked around and didn't see anything out of the ordinary so I dismissed it. 10 minutes ago I went down to the laundry room to get something for tomorrow morning and noticed a sea of blue on the floor. Yes, the laundry detergent bottle, about half of a 300 oz econo size, leaked on the floor! I should have called in the DEP but I decided to clean it myself. The towels don't need anything else for the next 7 laundry washing cycles! Ugh.

Fate stepped in earlier in the night when I had put my computer away and I tried to stop thinking about work and cycle down for the night. A few minutes later a great idea for work popped in my head. These great ideas don't understand timing and the mental state of mind. So my mind is racing as I'm trying to quantify the idea (too boring to blog about) so I can go to sleep!

Is it Friday yet!

A new theory about children behavior...

I have a new theory when it comes to children's behavior and the different phases of the moon. You've heard me talk about the connection between the full moon and children's "off" behavior. Off as in behaviors that are uncommon and usually uncharacteristic. Well my new theory now includes the "new" moon. Lately I've noticed a lot of children's, mine included, behaviors being off. At first I chalked it up to the upcoming siesta and mass presents that might be coming their way. I looked at the calendar and realized the new moon was this morning! Ah-ha a rational explanation of children's behavior...at least that is what I've convinced myself.

Each day that leads up to the siesta brings new challenges to the CamMad household. Today's challenge: a gift for Child1's beloved teacher. Right after school I returned to shopping mode, something which I thought I had finished. Fortunately I had a plan: Go right after school, pick the "mini" mall instead of "the mall", and I wasn't looking for the perfect gift just a good one. I stuck to the plan and 20 minutes later we were done!

I made a discovery today: I need more protein in my diet. I'm dragging in the late afternoon after a long day at school. I realized that as soon as I have some dinner I have this new energy to get the rest of my work done (thus why I'm blogging tonight). Conclusion: Protein=Energy=Alert Parent for CamMad. Sheepish Annie has almost completed her fasting with fruit. I don't need to as far as she has but I need to add some protein bars right after school to give me the necessary energy to make it home safely and not require my power nap that keeps me up even later.

We're hoping that Santa doesn't judge Child2's behavior in the last couple of days as the final determining the naughty or nice list. If Santa looks at the whole body of work we're fine if not we might be in trouble. We still love that Child not matter what.

Tomorrow night is normally a gymnastics night but it has been canceled to make way for the town to have their holiday party. This means there is a good chance I will be able to blog. I hope everyone has a great Thursday!

This elf is tired

It has been a very busy week getting all of the elfin' duties taken care of before showtime next weekend. I haven't been able to get it done in the traditional sense (after work or during the weekend) that I decided that I needed to take the bull by the horns and take a personal day from work to commit to my goal. Yesterday I must have walk the equivalent to 10 miles, dodged carts, swirved around slow people in the express lane of the Mall, and forsaked lunch in order to be on time for our Thursday night commitment. I didn't get it all done by I got enough that I feel I will be ready for showtime next weekend.

In the world of CamMad the excitement level is starting to grow. Child2 could be on the "naughty" list by next weekend if the trend continues. It is not like the child has been very bad but the ability to follow directions and listen at home has left a lot to be desired. Fortunately it is occurring at home and not anywhere else.

Cars rides are becoming incredibly stressful as I hear the same 2 xmas songs every day! At times they are sung in a round about, ugh! I've wanted to play The Chanukah Song in the car but it is definitely not appropriate for little ears! Next week I'm going to have to pull out the big guns of U2 and Springsteen to balance out the limited repertoire of Xmas songs CamMad has in their inventory.

I think in the GTD category for this weekend we are going to try to focus on the big things around the house so when siesta week comes around we can "enjoy" it without having to worry about cleaning.

I'll blog more over the weekend as my mind is mush after this week.

Child1 lost some weight today

Yes it was inevitable but Child1 lost some weight today. That front tooth that was hanging by a thread was gone before lunch. The child walked around school and home showing off the beautiful little treasure chest that the school nurse provides so the tooth fairy can make the swap off later tonight. That was the big new of the day at the house of CamMad. Everything else was ho-hum.

I think the prevailing attitude around the house is let's get done what we have to so we can relax during the upcoming siesta. CamMad wants their visit from Santa sooner than later. The 'rents just want to enjoy a couple of morning (hopefully in succession) when the alarm is not set or having to do the 5 AM shuffle. I've looked at the holiday schedule and a siesta may not be right word for it. Extended family time at inconvenient moments may be a better phrase. Only time will tell.

I'm Now Excited for Xmas

There are a couple of reasons why I'm excited about Xmas this year. The first one will be that it will mark the one year birthday for this blog. Doesn't sound like much but I'm pretty proud of the stories we've told. I just scored a present today that I'm very excited in having the Parent2 open. I hope everyone understands why I can't disclose anything more.

CamMad has gotten me more into the spirit each day. I forgot how much the joy of xmas can make an impact on others. This week I really feel like I'm going to be in the Xmas spirit as I'll be taking a day for myself to take care of some of the items that I haven't been able to because of that thing called work.

"Have a holly jolly Christmas, it's the best time of the year..."

Sorry for the lack of postings

This week has been a busy week in the land of CamMad. The 'rents have had later meetings and the kids had successful weeks that got us out of routines. For some reason when we get out of our routine there isn't as much time (funny how that happens) to blog. Anyway let me provide you (the reader) a recap of the last few days.

The tooth fairy has not made the deposit but it could be any day now. That tooth must be holding on by a thread. Speaking of the child with a loose tooth, the accolades continue as that child was named Student of the Month under the theme of responsibility. We are very proud of that child!

Not to be outdone the other sibling has been dry the last couple of days. Maybe the need for those designer undergarments may be a thing of the past. No good deed goes unpunished though as we will have to start remember any and all rest stops between destinations!

Yesterday was a needed rest day. Yes we were lazy bums despite the fact that there is so much to do this time of the year. Parent2 did venture out to the shops in the afternoon, the rest of the family was suppose to accompany the parent but someone decided it was more important to get some sleep.

Oh yea I forgot to mention my travels Friday morning. CamMad lives in a rural area of the state where we rely on municipal services to keep the roads clear because regular traffic patterns don't cut it. Well for the first storm of the 06-07 season the crews must have decided they needed to sleep in because we took our lives in own hands to make it to our destination.

Our travel adventure started on our first "real" road. I knew it was a bad sign when you pass by a police officer who is traveling slowly with their lights on. The end of this road is a little hill with a bend. Did the road crew treat the road? NO! As I approached I saw an ambulance and more sherrif vehicles. I went to slow down and apply the brakes I realized I was on ice and the car then was at the mercy of the travel gods. All I saw was trees and a telephone pole. I remember saying to CamMad in the backseat, "Here we go!" I was thinking we were going to run into something for sure. As we skid by the pole and heading for the tree embakement the travel gods had pit for us and steered our car back on the road and to a complete stop without going into the intersection!

Did the kids freak in the back? One did! Did I have a near heart attack? Yes! Did I want to turn back and go back to bed? YES! Did I? NO!

The rest of the trip we found cars on the side of the road or cars kissing each other (with unhappy owners) and emergency vehicles scattered throughout the trip. Eventually we made it to our destination (a trip that normally takes 30 minutes took 50 minutes). The rest of the day was fine as the storm stopped and the sun came out.

Xmas shopping is coming together but I think we need just one day to get it all done. Do I think the 'rents can get one day? No way Jose! Maybe someone in the future would be willing to watch CamMad so the 'rents could have a kid-free shopping experience. Well one could always wish...

A tease

Today was the typical early winter tease weather-wise. Either it will snow 6 inches or snow with no accumulation. Today was the later. Around 8am Child1 and I noticed the paper flake size snowflakes. It last for about an hour with zero accumulation. Alas we have the early winter season in the Northeast.

Child2 had a great weekend trying to make the transition from disposable undergarmets. Hopefully we will not take the Sheepish Annie approach to new undergarments for Child2. We're hoping for a speedy transition that will only happen once. Grammy may be the happiest person when it is complete!

Mickey has not taken down the tree and we haven't been finding ornaments on the floor so that is a good sign of things to come.

We are less than 3 weeks before CamMad will enjoy a siesta. This year the siesta is more important to the 'rents than the kiddies. Unfortunately this year the siesta is much shorter than in past years. There will be extensive discussion between the 'rents about the balance between mental and physical stability with family obligations. This should be interesting.

Not much else to talk about tonight as we're all getting back into the swing of the routine. Until tomorrow...

Some random thoughts

Is this the beginning of December? Yesterday's weather said differently. We had temperatures in the 60's and thunderstorms! The thunderstorms were bad enough to prevent Child1 from going to sleep last night until much later. Oh well! I'm sure we will pay for this kind of weather with high temperatures that can be counted on one hand with fingers left over.

You may have noticed the new addition with the last post. A colleague in Georgia brought Meebo to my attention. Meebo allows you to embed an IM window into a web page. You can set up private IM sessions with people and if the author of the page is away you can leave an offline message for them. I thought that would be interesting. I've put into my professional blog but I can't seem to figure out how to embed it with blogger. When I get into the HTML of the template I don't see when I can put it in so it appears on the side of the page. Oh well.

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday...

It shouldn't be this difficult

Yesterday was the famous put up the Christmas tree with the ultimate hope that Santa will find his way to our house and leave CamMad lots of presents (as long as they stay on his good list). It was not as easy as it should have been. CamMad really wanted to help out but their version of help actually made more work for the 'rents.

We do not have a real tree at times I wish we did but more often than not I'm okay with the artificial tree. If we had a real tree we would not have been able to set it up yesterday as we would have wanted to get used to the new environment. That would not have sat well with CamMad! I like the fact that we can set it up and break it down and not stress out about the dead spots or figuring out if it is going to fit. The biggest downside is the lack of the smell but we can use scented candles to mimic it.

It was nice to have the family time with the xmas music blaring on the Sounddock. Am I looking forward to the extended family time coming up due to the holidays? Well...my mom taught me that if I couldn't say anything nice then don't say anything at all.


Here is a copy of the final product:


The tree is ready for Santa to fill the bottom of the tree with the goodies that we're all dreaming of during this holiday season.

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