Bearly there....

For the past nine or so years I have resided here in Western NY. I lovingly call it the Tundra. But seriously folks, I love it here. I have lived all over NY state and spent the better part of a decade in Georgia. I love Georgia too. But thats another blog.....one thats coming soon.

I have blogged about this on myspace before, but its a first for Blogger. Arkport has about 800 or so residents in the Village, where I live. I don't know how many more folks live out in the hills but Im sure theres a lot more..... We have a P.O. , grocery store, a new Florist, Insurance Agency, gas station, feed store, gun shop, hair salon, and two family restaurants. ( One can fit in my kitchen, and my kitchen is waaaay bigger.) And a bank too. My kids walk to school. We have a lovely park, and the kids also play at the school playground.

If you take a left outta my street and head up Oak Hill a mile or so, you come upon Reddy Hollow. It is as rural and beautiful a wooded seasonal road as it gets. Our family has been blessed to enjoy this area on snowmobile, four wheeler and, yes, quite often, in the Jeep aka Family Truckster. In the winter, theres nothing like it. You cant drive it. It must be done on snowmobile or cross country skis. It looks like a Currier & Ives Print. Snow covers all the trees like an old covered bridge for most of the trek. Its so quiet and peaceful out there.
Its also gorgeous this time of year. Everything is greening and coming back to life after the very, very long winter. So last night, Tom and I loaded up the kids at dusk to head up Reddy Hollow to see if we couldnt spot some Bears. We took our time, enjoying the sights and checking everything out. No signs of Bears.

We rolled back into the Village a bit after 8:30. We noticed a Trooper, Stan, and a bunch of our neighbors over behind Chads home. Tom goes to see whats going on. I notice some lights up and down the Hill by the cemetary and Mahaneys land. The boys were with their Dad running around looking for the bear and getting the story.

Im holding Sophia in my arms at this point when I look behind me and see a Bear cross Oak Hill Street and head towards our neighbors house. Sophie and I headed for the Jeep again and stood next to it. We sat there for a few minutes watching that bear play in our neighbors back yard. While all the men were our running trying to find the bear, we sat back and watched it. After a minute she realized how BIG the bear was and said, "I want my Daddy!"

Now, mind you this isnt the first time we went bear watching and kicked a bear into town. It happened the last time we did it too. I am coming to think my husband is in tuned with the Black Bears in our area. It was a sight to see, that enormous Bear bounding around Caitlyn and Hannahs swingset. I am looking out there now wondering where it is.

The bear wandered out of our sight and we didnt see it again last night. I hope its doing well today. My daughter and I were at home last May when Tom called me to tell me the school was on lockdown. I could feel my blood run cold. Why? Whats going on? Visions of Columbine start to play in my head..... His response, " There's a bear running the track."

Sophie and I jumped in the VW (:( ) and headed down just in time to see it take off up the hill by Lisman Lane. Me and my daughter have seen lots of bears together in this town. We don't have much in the way or entertainment or shopping, or even places to eat. But theres a certain charm to Arkport, or Mayberry, as I call it. If the schools on lockdown for a bear running the track, I'll take it. I can even take the extra cops around, if its for the bears. At least this time, it didnt kill my peonies.

And if you need any info on Bears, Come see me at the Library. I ordered a copy of the DECs Living with NY State Black Bears last year. You can take it home and view it. It might be good for the kids to watch.

My Middle Child

I have been a Mama now for a decade. It feels longer. Yet it seems like only yesterday that Jack was born. I can look at him, and still see his baby face in the nine year old eyes that I continually annoy. Apparently, My Mason is quickly losing his Motherlove too. I must admit I never thought I'd see the day that Mason wouldnt think I hung the moon, but I have. And it sucks.



I am going to dedicate todays rambling, heartwrenching, ranting release to my beloved middle child, Maters. Mason is my challenge. He was my runt. He started sleeping through the night when he started Kindergarten. He holds the world record in ER visits. And possibly for the shortest attention span. He singlehandedly changed my opinion of child harnesses, I used to be very strong in my opinion they were a horrible contraption. I still have never owned one, but secretely wished I did. I know why they are made. I have one of those kids. And I absolutely love him to pieces.
My son has run away from me while I was 9 months pregnant pushing the grocery cart ringing up my groceries in Wegmans with one of those "car" carts. He just climbed out the front window and took off running out the store. Being in the cramped check out area behind the big shopping cart and unable to move, Jackson jumped out of the car too and ran after him for me. Jackson brought him back. In tears. No, not Mason....Jackson was crying because Mason ran out into the parking lot and Jack had to grab him by his collar and drag him into the store. Thank God for big brothers. I almost gave birth to their sister in Wegmans that day. I know why child harnesses are made.



Let me first say, my son is the sweetest, most caring and sensitive boy you could meet. He is a joy. He is a friend to everyone. Just ask the 68, 71 and 92 year old bachelors who live on my road. He visits them, they think he's great. He's a lady killer as well. He's very thoughtful and considerate of others feelings. Not always mine, mind you, but most others.



His teacher tells me he's the peacemaker at school. He's a leader on the playground. But he HATES schoolwork. No time for it. Cant focus, sit still, pay attention. Not for the world.

He can sit with you and discuss the election. Or have a nice grown up conversation. Tell you about his favorite Beatles song. But he will holler out any old sight word to get it over with!
I just dont understand. The correlation between his language skills and his ability to focus makes no sense.

He understands the game of baseball. He can pick up and play the entire game. He could ride a bike at 4 like a pro. We took the wheels off and he went. That was it. Never fell, nothing.



He is always BORED. Everything is boring to him. He needs to constantly be entertained. Yet I basically have to force feed him to get him to eat. And bedtimes are a nightmare.

We are now at a crossroads with my middle child. He has repeated, and is recieving extra help. His teacher would like him to be evaluated. I am resistant because I know my child is a bright, intelligent child. I believe he has some focus issues. We will let the Dr evaluate those. It is with a very heavy heart that I will agree to give my child stimulants. They are going to have to work hard to convince me, but at this point I just want him to feel some sucess. Mason is tiny. He's my runt. He's never eaten or slept well. I just want to bring him up to speed without wearing him down.

Working with him one on one is more than I can do. Ive been doing it and havent seen any results. I dont want to fail my child. Im frustrated. I want him to succeed. I havent been as happy with the resources at the school this year as I have been in the past. I am frought.

On top of all this, Im finding it harder to click with Maters these days. He's a bit distant. He's trying to be independant, and I want him to feel proud of his accomplishments. I wish I knew the right steps to take to bring him up to speed. Because this child has been keeping me up to speed for the past six years.

Kellys Awesome Blogging Adventures

Okay, Basically I copied this directly from one of my myspace blogs, but I wanted to repost it here as well. This is a terrific blog and I'd love to see it get as much traffic as possible. Im sure if you give it a try you'll find something you like!

http://waitingfortips.blogspot.com/

Hi Everyone.

The link above is to my very dear friend Kelly Cottons terrific blog. Some of you may know Kelly, others may not. Kelly has been a server in Ga for some time now....I worked with her at Johnnys before I headed back to NY. She is the best waitress in America with a heart the size of Texas. She also happens to be one of the funniest, hard working, loving people I have ever met. Please take a minute and check out her blog. Especially if you've ever made your living in the very honorable, very tiring, often aggravating service industry.....First there was waiting, now theres Cotton.
* Just a side note- Have you ever seen me Smile big and very sweetly and quickly say"Fuck you very much." So that you didnt even know I said the F word? Well, my girl Kelly is the originator of that lil gem. *
* And another thing- way , way before 9/11, in 1998, Kelly and I had a boss who was somewhat of a PizzaNazi. He made folks cry from time to time. Kelly once cut out Bin Ladens photo and perfectly placed it over his picture on his liquor license. It was there for days before he noticed. He was mad, but she told him how rich Bin Laden was and he seemed ok. (Like I said years before 9/11.) Kelly, way ahead of the curve!*

Im becoming a bit obsessed with HGTV and the Style Network.....

So a few months back I was all about figuring out how to pay for some new carpet in our house so we could sell it and go buy a new one. When Tom and I bought the house a few years back we did so to get into Arkport for the school district. It had three bedrooms, and a nice big yard. It wasnt in line really with our style, but we found a house we could afford in Arkport...and thats a feat in itself.

So a few years and another baby later, a few things have become glaringly obvious to me.

1. One bathroom is NEVER gonna cut it. Period. Not for us. Not for resale.

2. We have no closets. Okay, we have 2. In the Master and the boys room. Thats it. No linen, coat, none in Sophies room, nada. Storage nightmare.

3. Our enormous kitchen is so poorly planned it's a complete waste of space.

4. Drop ceilings suck.


So I got hooked on House Hunters, on HGTV. Then moved on to Clean House on Style....I love this show. If they ever left Cali, I'd be on it. If I ever move to Cali, I will be on it. Im a pack rat nightmare. Even Tom likes this show. Trust me. Then I recently got totally stuck on Divine Design. And Im hooked. Now rather than sell, I want to redesign my house so I can stay here for a while. Thanks to HGTV and the Style Network, I think I know exactly what it will take and how to go about it.

Back to my Top 4 Home Renovation Problems List thingy.....

I have number one covered. Ive even talked to my extremely construction savvy Dad-in-law ( who has one of the nicest bathrooms Ive ever seen-DIY no less) about my possibilities. Its do-able. Its not going to break me.

I have an idea for number two in Sophies room and the downstairs. Part of the storage problem can be resolved with fixing number three on my list.

Number Four. What do you do about drop celings? Ive yet to see this covered on HGTV. I cant find it in any books at my library. Do I ask at Home Depot? No one has ever had an idea that sounded good, or remotely within the meager constraints of my cheap ass budget. Any ideas?

What the hell will happen to me in HGTV is ever taken from my local programming? Will I have withdrawal symptoms? What if I really do win the Dreamhouse someday?

Spring Break

So my three children are out on Spring Break this week. And now I need a break. In addition to my three, I have an additional three here with me today....have yet to have a minute to myself, and yes, Sophie is still talking.

How do I explain this phenomenon in our house? I was blessed with three beautiful, healthy, vibrant and very different children. For many years I was the Momma of two boys. Very fun, very cool. Im pretty good with my little dudes, I know them very well. They love me. And yet, I longed for a daughter, and my prayers were answered. I now have a gorgeous, hilarious not quite four year old Princess who rules my roost in her plastic tiara. While Talking all the while...

And just so you know, she's no dim bulb, this child. She has had the most quality one on one time with her Momma of the three of my children. Its not favoritism or anything like that folks....its just the way the cards fell. She gets a lot of attention. She's the last in line. I was working like a dog when Jack was a baby, running a daycare when Mason was a wee one, and Sophie is fortunate. She comes to work with her mother at a library. What better beginnings are there than that? Preschool and the library and at home with Momma. So, she's smart, a smart ass, and did I yet mention she likes to talk. She wakes up in the middle of the night talking. She talks all day. We talk a lot. She spends lots of time with Momma, and she knows how to work Momma over too.

Tom comes home for lunch:
" Here's your Princess Daddy!" and then continues to talk over me the entire lunch or to interject our conversations with her own questions and observations. As if her three year old insight had somehow escaped us. Ive tried to tell her how rude it is.
" I gotta drop it like its hot."
" Im hungry."
": Is your Mommas name is Sue?"
"My Mommas name is Joannah."
" I'm sorry I'm so annoying." And sometimes, Im at a loss for words. Well, you are annoying. So there.


Tom bought me a puppy for Valentines Day. A tiny Shih Tzu named Harleigh, whom I lovingly call Harlo Kisses. Well, Sophie thinks Shih Tzu is about the FUNNIEST WORD IN THE WORLD.

Let me make my case. My Mom watches her on Tuesdays for me. When I pick her up Mom says, I understand you let my granddaughter say badwords? ( She's smiling folks) I respond, What?! No I dont.

Sophie says, " Momma, youre a liar, you let me say Shit sue! he he! "

She had loads of fun telling her teacher at school that she got a new Shit Sue puppy too. I hope to god she didnt follow with the bad word story. Im too embarassed to ask.