POTTY TIME!!!

Woo hoo! I have a 27 month old that asked to 'poop' on the big toilet last night! (Sorry if this is dinner time reading!)
I figured that this was our typical testing out the throne ritual that we have been seeing for the past few days...but since he did surprise his Dad and himself the other night before bed with a pee-pee, I put him on.
He was on the regular toilet with his ring seat. Wearing nothing but red socks and a pacifier. Legs swingin' and he was singing and talking...a real Broadway Show! I would ask about every 5 minutes if he was done... "No....."
"Are you done yet?"
"No, one more."
"Ok..." I am totally thinking that he was blowing smoke up my skirt -
"Are you done yet?" We hit the 15 minute mark.
"Yeah."
I go over to help him down and low and behold!! 2 Prizes just for me!!! I hooped and hollered, clapped and squealed! At first I think he was unsure if I was happy or mad...but when I offered up the double high-five, he was as happy as I was. Cameron was home with us and came to celebrate!
I got the phone and we called my mom, or Nanny as he calls her. He was telling her all about it. "One more. I poop. One more. YEAH!!" He clapped and jumped up and down. He was so freaking adorable!!
We called Monica and Nana. More of the same. We called Aunt Jan to say thanks for taking Anthony to practice and for the Halloween cards & goodies. He told her and wanted her to tell Paul. :0) Daddy got the great news when he got home from school.
We can only hope that this is the start of something wonderful. Heck, if he keeps up, he'll have a whole 15 months up on his brothers- they trained at 3 1/2!
Definitely the highlight of the day! Geeze...I need to get out more :0)~

Down a Zombie - Tackling a Mummy

Last night saw the completion of Cameron's Halloween Costume. We went to the local thrift store, the DAV, and spent $9 on a good selection of dress clothes. We got a pair of dress pants, dress shirt, necktie, vest and suit coat. We tattered the pants by tearing them and I put random cuts in the material. We did the same with the dress shirt and gratefully we got a lot of unraveled effect on the edges. Cuts went in the jacket - we left the tie and vest intact (those might actually be used again). I have to say, I think that it came out very well. Just have to dirty it up a bit and he will be good to go. He is excited about the makeup job that I will be doing. I am too!

Tonight I will be creating Anthony's Mummy costume. I have material to tear into strips and I will fabric glue the wraps to the long johns. This one will get a good aging tomorrow as well, before the BIG day! Makeup will finish his look as well. Of course there will have to be a trailing piece of mummy wrap for authenticity :0)

Dominic will be a chicken courtesy of his Auntie Monica and her neighbor Julie. Both women accepted the challenge and whipped out one fabulously, funny little costume. Can't wait to see him in it.

Mommy will be a witch... but I'm one of those every day!! Stay tuned for pictures!

Sometimes...

Sometimes I feel completely inadequate as a wife, mother, worker, daughter, granddaughter, friend...human.
I seem to be go, go, going all the time but somehow staying in place- not making any real progress.
There is so much I need and want to do but when? How can it all fit in? Is it acceptable to be tired at the mere thought of doing "more"?
Sometimes I would just like to be 5 again...my biggest pressures were coloring in the lines, afternoon kindergarten and a pesky little sister. The only to-do's were: playing, an occasional nap, playing, eating and following life's simple little rules. Why do we spend our childhoods wishing that we were adults and then spending adulthood wishing we were kids again??

Guess it is obvious that it is a cold, cloudy day today. RELAX Dana...it's all small stuff :0)

Nuts

For those of you who know my middle son, Cameron, you will be able to conjure up your own little mini-movie to go with the story that follows. :)

I came in the door the other night, from work, and just as I get both feet firmly planted on the landing at the back door...Cameron and Dominic rush to greet me. I am slathered with hugs, high-fives and kisses and a breathless "Hi Mom." Dominic's greeting follows closely behind but it is, "Hi Babe."

As with every day, Cameron sweetly asks, "So, how was your day Mom? Did you have a good day at work? Did you have fun with your friends? How is your boss?"

Smiling from ear to ear, inside and out, I said, "It was a great day. We got a lot of work done and had fun doing it and Lynn is great. Thanks for asking." I pause, "How was your day?"

Mind you, I am still standing at the back door, on the landing, purse and bag in hand...

"Oh, mine wasn't so good...my friend kicked me in the nuts." He cups his prized possessions and continues, "It doesn't feel very good when your nuts get kicked."

Ok- Inside I am LMFAO. Stan is sitting at the kitchen table, back to me, shaking from his attempt at stifled laughter. On the outside, I am proper Mom. Outside I am unphased.

"Oooooh. I am sorry to hear that. Was it an accident?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well, you'll have to tell me if they keep hurting or if you have any problems peeing -ok? (Can't keep the stray thought of would be nice if you could actually keep your pee in the toilet and flush everytime from entering my mind) and you know what?" I make sure he is engaged, "Yes." he says.

"You shouldn't say nuts. It doesn't sound very nice. Maybe...privates? Testicles is even better - it's the proper word."

"Well ok, but I'm going to say nuts to you and Dad."



That's our Cameron :0)

Should I Be Worried?

No one has asked when the heck I became an ordained minister?! Rest assured that I prefer the term Wedding Officiant. I do not, in any way look to under value the years of study that pastors, ministers and reverends put into their clergy study but it is the technical name that I was given by the online ordination site. (I could have also picked from: Goddess, Mistress...but that conjured up all sorts of freakish images...trust me- I don't have the body for second skin-vinyl!)
In all seriousness, it turns out that it doesn't take much. It may seem incredulous but it is perfectly legal. I can baptize, marry and bury you. I won't, but I can :0)
Just willing to officiate wedding ceremonies. I got ordained at my cousin's request. That is who is getting married in the picture I have put up on the blog.
I was thinking of this for a website name : DanaGetzYouMarried.com Catchy? Huh?!
I spent much time investigating, inquiring...it's the real thing. If you know anyone that might want to use my services...let me know.

D-Day; Work Style

Ok, to most of you out there this will just look like Blah, Blah, Blah, blah blah, BLAH. Today was a HUGE day at work for me! I was in at 6:30 to run the latest report to find out if the many hours spent on troubleshooting a data upload was going to be for naught. The suspense!
Well, I would have liked it to been greater but we saw an increase of 3.57% in one month. This is reflective of all preventative services done for a particular patient population. It was hopeful. Back to the drawing board to see what else can be cleaned up and sent :0) We WILL surpass our goal...I put my name on it, so it has to!
Alright...so I really just put this here so that I could sleep tonight - I had to let it go. Thanks for being there. (Lol!) Have a marvelous night.

Date Night

Stan and I got a surprise date night, thanks to my Mom. She came to stay with the boys and sent us to dinner and the movies - to see Fireproof. We had an excellent dinner at the new Chili's on Plymouth Rd. and great service. We dashed across town to make the 7:30 showing of the movie and due to long concession lines, missed the very beginning but WOW! What an amazing movie. We both loved it. We would encourage anyone that is married or engaged or divorced to see it. The theater was packed...it was not an easy task to find 2 seats next to one another. Thanks to the couple that moved over to accommodate us. It may have been in the 2 row...but it was great all the same!

Nice battery recharge. :)

An Unexpected Lesson on Life

Being a person who whole-heartedly believes that nothing happens by chance but by the order of God's Great Plan, I was moved to comment here, in my own blog. Since just before my Reunion, I had been invited to join Facebook so that I could keep in touch with all those people that I care about but somehow fail to connect to on a regular basis. Well, since my Reunion, my Facebook account has just exploded with prose from so many of the faces from my past. One in particular, Lucy Cirroco. Lucy and I had gone to St. Edith together from 2nd to 8th grade and then for another 4 years at Ladywood. If you read one of my earliest entries, I actually mused about her and hoped to see her at the Reunion. Well, Lucy made contact with me first on Facebook, and I was tickled to see that familiar smile and the blond hair, fondly remembering that she could clasp her hands together and step through them, bringing them all the way around her body with out breaking her hold- to the starting position. :) Hey- we were only 8 or 9 but she could impress us all! Anyway, I was reading a note from her the other night and I noticed that she had written that she had a headache from all the crying she was doing over the death of her friend. At first, I just took it as a random statement with no real personal application but then- I know better. She included this friend's blog address. I clicked. I cried. I grew exponentially. I never saw it coming.
I'm including it here, for you. I hope that you look at your own life differently afterward visiting and absorbing her reflections. Her words are SO true. To be so clear as you stand in the shadow of your own death is a gift. To share it with others is a treasure. Live each day as it is your last...make a difference...leave YOUR mark.
www.diaryofadyingmom.blogspot.com/
Thanks Lucy, for sharing your friend and your pain. I'm better for having had the chance to read her message. Nothing happens by chance ;o>

Big Thanks

Just wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank some special people:

Aunt Jan - Your willingness, committment and time donated to taking the boys BOTH to football practice last night was incredible and so very appreciated. The love that you shower on the boys and Stan and I is a blessing. How those 2 "conned" you into getting them McDonald's is beyond me! They did have dinner before they left!! :) Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Brian - Your drop-everything-to-help at the last minute, coming over to help Stan get the Washer and Dryer out of the basement and being willing to go and get the new ones with your truck was above and beyond what most people would/could do at the last minute. I am sorry that I missed you...but needed to thank you personally! Hopefully no hernias developed because of it :0)

Ann Marie Thomas - Ladywood Highschool Class of '88 - Thanks for taking all the time to put that spectacular DVD together for us. I loved it and so did my kids!

Mom - For stepping up and volunteering to take Tuesday Dom Watch, while I am at work and Stan is at school. It was an unexpected offer and we are forever grateful.

Dad and Viv - Thanks for coming out to watch the boys so that we could go to Giacomo's wedding as grown ups! We had such a nice time because of you!!

My Co-Workers: Thanks for giving me a place to come everyday (ok, nearly everyday) that makes me feel good about myself and my work. I would be absolutely lost without you. So nice to count you among my closest and dearest friends.

Nana- For being there...ALWAYS. For letting us keep the off season wardrobes in your basement. For helping with Dominic. For listenening to me and never cutting me short. For laughing at my attempts at humor. For just being YOU.

For Cindy and Ellen - for always loving us and keeping connected, even when we aren't holding up our end. :0) You both are so very important to who we are and where we are going. xo

Ohhhh Man!

~RIP~
Our washing machine has died. The motor seized and the basement filled with smoke. We have gotten 8 years out of it, inheriting it from the previous owner of our home - and we know it is older than that. She has served us well.
The financial gods must know that we were feeling a bit of progress and stability was being reached in spite of unemployment hitting the 1 year mark :0) Funny how 'they' always know!
Oh well, we know it could be worse. We'll take our lumps and move onward and upward.
Pray for my Stan. He will be going through laundry withdrawal sooner than you may think! God help us when the new one comes and he 'tries' it out! Lol! :0)~

Whew!

What an exhilarating weekend! It went by in a blur and was jam-packed with excitement from start to finish.
Duncan (my furry nephew) came to stay with us for the weekend while Monica and Dan went up north for the weekend. We love when he visits. We were hoping that he didn't snack on Annabelle, as this was the first time that they met.
Saturday morning the boys and I woke early and suited up, headed out and arrived at IKEA at 9:30am. We were pumped up and hopeful that we would get the 10 packages of flooring that we needed to do the living room and hallway. We had scoped it out on Thursday and were confident that with the proper strategy in place, we would be victorious.
Uh, not quite how it worked out.
We went in the store and were surrounded by 500+ other folks that had the same objective...that and the 17 piece plastic storage set for $1.99. The workers looked nervous and reluctantly opened the floodgates as the clock chimed 10am. Holy crap. I have NEVER witnessed anything like that in my entire life...NEVER. The boys were awesome - they listened perfectly and stuck close to Mom, perhaps out of pure fright at the way the adults around them- shoved, pushed, climbed, grabbed, fought and swore around them. It was like watching feeding time at the Zoo after the animals had been starved for a few days.
Needless to say, I gave it my best shot but was unable and unwilling to put myself or the boys in harms way for some good flooring at a great price. Oh well...we had a memorable adventure at the very least. :0)
We left there and headed to Michaels and the boys decorated their own pumpkins for the house. They enjoyed it and did some nice work. Dominic was especially enamoured with the glue and the googly eyes. Another item on our list of to-dos checked off. We were all pretty darned hungry by then and since they stopped serving breakfast at IKEA while were about 10 people from the front of the line...I took them to Mickey D's. Even let them get 'meals' (which means drinks) They thought they had died and gone to heaven or perhaps that I had fallen and hit my head. :0)
We went home, got ready for a birthday party. Dropped the boys off at the bowling alley and came back to put Dominic down for a nap. Got a phone call and hour after drop off saying that Anthony was not well. Woke Dom, drove back. Anthony was fine when he got to the car. He was either faking for some unknown reason or he might have pulled a groin muscle while bowling. Cam was not happy with his big brother for making them leave early and rushing him to finish his cake. :0(
Dash back home and now time to prepare for the reunion. Now the butterflies set in. Why in the heck I'll never figure out...but they were annoying me while I was trying to figure out what to wear! Thankfully, it turned out to be a good hair night and I felt pretty decent about what I wore and how I looked... I'll post separately to tell all about the big night a little later. I have to figure out how to put pictures in. All in all - it was a great time.
Sunday was crazed. We spent 3 1/2 hours at the football field. It was hotter than hot. Of course all my summer clothes got packed before the extended forecast called for 80+ degrees, so I roasted. Cam had a double header. He tied his first game and lost the second. Anthony lost his. :0( Both boys had great personal plays where they were the ones to pull the flag and end the play...so not a total loss. Dominic was a trooper - red cheeks and exhausted as he was. We all collapsed when we got home.
After dinner, Monica and Dan came to pick Duncan up. We always are a bit sad to see him go back home. I think he is a bit too... Annabelle was relieved and ate voraciously after his departure however.
Made lunches, got ready for Picture Day, took showers, got ready for bed. Dad came home from work helped get the troops in bed, we talked for a bit and I retired to my room early to watch Brothers and Sisters. Maybe it is the full moon...maybe it was the reunion...but my mind has been remaining active trying to get to and during sleep. Hope that ends soon.

20 Years Already?

Tomorrow I am going to Ladywood High School's Class of '88- 20th Class Reunion! What?! When did that happen? When in the heck did 20 years race by without my noticing? Geeze Louise- I'm still a mere 15 years old (ok, well if just in my head!). 20 years...yeah right!
Well, ok- I guess if I do the math (not my strong suit :0) ) the numbers are right. Yikes!
50% of my close circle of Ladywood friends will be there. Jackie decided not to come, Dionne is going away with her hubby (sounds like a better time to me) but Lisa and I will be each other's dates for the evening. (No reason to make Stan and Lee suffer!)
Have no idea what I am going to wear...not that it really matters. I am most interested to see where life has brought the women I used to see on a daily basis. Any famous? Any infamous? Hopefully none that have had their lives end early... should be a good time.
I'd love to see what happened to: Katie McNulty, MaryJo Orlowski, Barb Losi, Nahreen Sesi, Jill Bommarito, Lucy Cirrocco, Michelle Morad, Melinda Benson and Stephanie Juhnke. Hopefully a few will be there.
Wish me luck!

Getting Things Started

Well, I have decided to give this blogging thing a try since I love to tell stories and often have trouble keeping my mouth shut :0)
I'll have to give some thought to when will be the best time to post and what to post. I'm thinking that it will just be nice to have a central place that I can update the Getz family happenings and keep all interested abreast of where life is taking us.
I'll do my best to keep it fun and lively...but then I guess these blogs can be more of a public diary - so I guess I should just see where the day takes me.
Today is dismal with the rain, so I am feeling a bit sleepy and too, like I am fighting off a cold or such...tomorrow I have the day off and will take the pets to the vet and take my car to the dealership for tweak of the squeak in the steering column. Dommy and I may get some time at the park or perhaps we'll pop in to see Nana at her garage sale. We'll pick the boys up at school and go up to IKEA so they can use their birthday gift cards and I can scope out the laminate flooring that they will have for .49 a square foot.