Sunday Night Dinner

When we moved to Fairfield this past summer, one of my brothers-in-law moved back to town as well.

From Budapest.

Hungary.

Which is a bit further away that Norwalk. If you aren't from Connecticut, you can check it out on a Google Map. Or you can just trust me.

So, now my in-laws have all three of their sons and all seven of their grandchildren living in a five mile radius. To say they are thrilled would be an understatement.

We all try to get together for dinner on Sunday nights. Some nights it is all 15 of us, but most times it is some subset. We also try to rotate so that no one is making (or buying) dinner and cleaning up after 15 people.

It makes Monday seem a little bit further away (ride the weekend as long as you can, baby!). And the kids all have a good time together. Especially my kids, the babies of the bunch, that get lots of love and attention from their older cousins. At least until AK starts spinning like a top and making everyone dizzy.

The food gets a bit repetitive. Pizza (my in-laws go to place is Maione's, coincidentally the deal from the new FairfieldCoupon.com on the date of this post is $10 for $25 worth of food from Maione's), deli, bagels.

Fortunately, each family puts its own twist on the standard offering. And, honestly, a lot of times I don't care what I am eating as long as I am not making it! Seriously.

So, what would you make for 15 people, ranging from 3 to 70, to make sure everyone has something to eat AND you don't break the bank?

Top 5 Signs I'm Getting Old

I was going to call this post "The Tipping Point" but then I realized that I already used that title about 5 years ago. Which just reinforces the new and improved title.

1. Our synagogue is interviewing for a new rabbi. Both of the leading candidates coming in to mingle with the congregation are younger than me,
2. I volunteered at LP's kindergarten Valentine's Day party. It was really nice and the kids enjoyed the mini-cupcakes she helped me make. One of them called me "Mrs. Bow."
3. LP's teacher is younger than me. She is awesome and all of the kids totally respect her. And she wears her hair in cool wrapped braids. I can't even make a decent French braid in LP's thick, glorious hair.
4. Yesterday I was trying to transfer contacts from my BBerry to the my new trial phone (which now has Internet and phone capabilities, by the way). I followed the instructions closely, putting the 'Berry on Bluetooth mode, making it "discoverable"...then I got to screen on the Lumia that said "Tap to connect to BlackBerry 9650". And I was confused. I literally tried to bang the phones together. Then I Googled the term. Finally, I actually touched the Lumia screen where it said that...and it worked.
5. I went to the JCC pool with the girls and my 13-year old niece. The lifeguard knows us and has seen all four of us at the pool before. He asked me if my niece was also my daughter. When I explained our relationship, he said, "I was going to say, 'Wow! You look good for your age' if she was your daughter."

Could it be Love?

My Nokia Lumia 710 arrived yesterday. LP helped me put it together and get it plugged in for charging. She then followed me around the house asking when she could play Angry Birds.

Once I figured out that I could just use wi-fi to get it going (instead of activating it with a new T-Mobile account), the fun started. This also happened to coincide with the girls going to bed. Which certainly made it easier. While I sat at the computer, downloading Zune so that I could update the phone and add apps through our PC instead of trying to search on the phone itself, the Hoos grumbled from the couch.

As I clicked and dragged, pinning apps and people and email accounts to my start screen, he surfed the channels, watching several shows at once.

When I exclaimed, "Oh! This is cool!" or "The girls are going to love this," he rolled his eyes at me. Although he did say, "It is small, not as big as the iPhone." Apparently the iPhone is big to him.

And when I sat down next to him with my loaded up, fully charged "toy," he glanced at it, and returned to Gold Rush. But then, this morning, when LP climbed into bed with him, holding the new phone, he raised an eyebrow. And, when she started sharing strategy tips and showing him how to actually PLAY Angry Birds, I saw a glimmer.

And, a few minutes later, when he said to LP, "Okay, one more shot and then it is Daddy's turn..." I knew he was hooked.

And we have had the phone less than 24 hours.

More to come. Maybe even posted from the new phone - if I can get LP and the Hoos to share.

Life in the Fast Lane

Today I came home from work (about an hour after I got there) to hang out with my baby schmoopy. It appears that AK has a cold, which is causing her nose to run, which forces her to wipe it, which leaves her looking like Rudolph. All be it a very, very cute Rudolph.

So, while I work from home (WFH) in the dining room, she is learning to navigate the world wide web. I left her in her comfy clothes, with some snacks, juice, and a box of tissues dressing up Disney princesses, and now she is watching full episodes of Little Einsteins on the computer. Still innocuous, but I  honestly have no idea how she got from A to B or how many stops she made in between.

All of this makes me realize that by the time they are 10, both of the girls will have far-surpassed my knowledge of technology. I didn't even understand Napster - and that was around when I was in college! I was excited a few months ago when someone taught me how to turn YouTube music videos into mp3's that I could listen to on my Blackberry. And even then I only downloaded Taylor Swift songs for LP!

Which reminds me...they have ALREADY passed me in terms of their knowledge of current pop culture. And so far, since they have avoided "Bieber Fever," they appear to have okay taste. If you don't include AK's love of old Scooby Doo cartoons and LP's interest in "Good Luck, Charlie." Okay, maybe we have to work on taste...

Watch Out Angry Birds!

The Hoos and I are far from early adopters when it comes to technology.

The first DVD player we had was a wedding gift in 2002 - approximately 10 years after they become popular.  We still have it. And a bunch of old VHS tapes.

We lugged tube-TVs from apartment to apartment, house to house, just getting our first flat screen this past fall after our movers unceremoniously crushed our old 50 pound TV - making it not only unusable, but unrecognizable.

In the Fall of 2010 we finally upgraded to cell phones that did more than send and receive calls. I got a Blackberry - already an old technology - and the Hoos got a phone with texting (but no data) capabilities. We even got an unlimited texting plan. For us, this was huge.

Yes, even though Droids were coming on strong in 2010, I chose the Bberry. I was intimidated by the whole touch screen thing. I also remember thinking - what else would I possibly need a phone for beyond checking my email, texting and sending and receiving calls?

Of course, the world of smartphones has continued to evolve. Verizon now offers an iPhone, the Hoos' (stodgy, traditional) firm even supports the iPhone, my (3 and 5 year old!) children regularly ask if they can play "Angry Birds" on my 'Berry! For the record, they can't. They can play this super lame matching game, though.

So, when I got an email from Nokia earlier this week, asking if I would be willing to check out and review their new Nokia Lumia 710, I jumped at the chance. The Hoos and I are due for an upgrade in a couple of months and this will give us a chance to figure out if and how we would use an Internet-ready smartphone. Also, since the Lumia is Windows-based, maybe the learning curve will be less steep.

Plus, even though our old house had awesome Verizon Wireless reception, our new one doesn't, so a free three-month trial account with T-Mobile will give me a chance to check out a different carrier.

And, at the very least I can actually play Angry Birds and see what all the fuss is about.

Stay tuned. 

Touchdown!

In case you didn't know - the Giants beat the 49ers!

And, in case you were wondering, crickets from the boss.

I am looking for the right opportunity to inquire about my gift cards. But I won't be letting it go.

In other winning news, A's Mom?! You are getting some Frito-Lay Frito Scoops and a chip and dip bowl! Be on the look out!

And, in more winning news - because the Giants are GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL - Frito-Lay has extended another opportunity to me. Three other readers can get this cool chips and dip set AND their own Fritos Scoops.

So make your Super Bowl predictions and share a quick dip recipe in the comments and you too can be a winner (even you Pats fans).

Must Be in the Genes

The other day we got a Valentine's Day note home from LP's kindergarten. Being hyper-efficient by nature (and really just wanting to get the cards purchased so I wouldn't forget), the following day I asked the girls if they wanted to go to Target to pick out them out.

"Mama? can we make cards instead of buying cards? We can pick out the stuff we need at Target - like glue and glitter and stickers."

Figuring that making cards would take up more time than just buying cards (considering we had about two and a half weeks until it was actually Valentine's Day), I accepted this challenge.

Although purchasing cards (at about $2 for a box of 24) is way cheaper then making cards, we were able to find some V-Day themed paper and foam hearts in the $1 bins at Target so it was not too painful.

When we arrived home - the girls immediately started making their cards. LP got to work cutting sheets of large paper into quarters (so 8 pieces of paper became 32 cards) and then making each square into a hand-cut heart.

AK spilled out a bucket of glittery foam heart stickers and began individually decorating the 14 large foam hearts she needed for her class, "Mommy, when I finished, you will write the name on the back. The one with all of the cupcakes is for Mrs. P."

So, in essence, an activity that I thought would give them something to do after school for at least 5 afternoons? Took three hours.

Tag! You're It!

Despite my anxiety about traveling for work, my trip to Colorado went well, as I said in the last post.

In all honesty, I don't mind traveling. I have my Kindle, and my cell phone, and my laptop. I am plugged in, entertained and well fed.I don't sleep too well, but at least I have a big bed all to myself.

The worst part about traveling is the guilt. You would think I would feel most guilty about leaving the girls. But you would be wrong. Of course I miss the girls, but I spend lots of time with them, too. I am most guilty about leaving the Hoos.

While I don't know what it is like to be a single parent, I do know what it is like to spend a day or a night single-parenting. And it is HARD. And TIRING. And I feel really bad leaving the Hoos for a night or two on his own. For the record, he feels guilty when he leaves me too. It is just natural.

That being said, when I was away, the Hoos and the girls did just fine. I think the Hoos kind of liked leaving work a early on Tuesday to get LP off the bus. In fact the text he sent me was, "LP had a great day". When I asked later what was so great, he indicated basically his comment was based on her huge smile when she ran off the bus.

Other texts he sent me, included:

• Can LP and AD take Doritos with lunch
• Is cream cheese and jelly sandwich, doritos and slices of apple enough for AK? Same for LP but peanut butter and fluff
• Going to Penny's [the local diner] with my parents tonight
• We are at my parent's for bagels. Wish you were here

So, reading between the lines, he needed the most guidance on packing lunches (my job, which I hate, but it is a fact of parenthood) and he didn't have the girls alone for dinner either night I was away.

To me, what all of this really means? Is that I shouldn't feel guilty about going away. The Hoos is on top of things and doesn't even really need me.

A Winning Team

I am back home with my family! Yay! I had a good time in Colorado - which despite its reputation is way flatter than expected - and it was good for me professionally. So good, that I may have to travel again in the future.

I finally - FINALLY - developed some sort of rapport with my new boss. Up until this point we were awkward and just didn't really get each other. I am a direct New Yorker, he is a hippy from the San Francisco Bay Area. We just didn't have much in common. I know we respect each other, we just really didn't communicate well (or at all).

The good news is, we found a topic we could both rally around. The bad news - it was football. From my perspective this isn't bad news because I was born with good taste in football - GO BIG BLUE. Unfortunately, her is a 49ers fan. And, the 49ers and Giants are playing in the NFC Championship game this weekend.

So, depending on how the NY Giants play this weekend, we may be back to being not such good friends. Although I will be on the receiving end of $125 worth of restaurant.com gift cards (don't ask how we came up with that wager).


Any ideas from the peanut gallery on how to survive this? It is too late to rescind the bet and it is not an option to not back the Giants.

A friendly sponsor, Frito-Lay, offered up the idea of sending him some of their Scoops so he can console himself with snacks after the Giants trounce the 49ers. They will even throw in a set of "touchdown bowls". Fortunately (for a lot of reasons), my boss doesn't read this blog - but you do! Give me some good advice by the time the Giants' game kicks off on Sunday and Frito-Lay will send one lucky reader a bag of Scoops and the bowls to serve up healthy dips.

If you win, I won't even make you send them to my boss. He can like Frito-Lay on their Facebook fan page to win his own set. Then again, maybe a 49ers fan doesn't deserve consolation after all. Or, maybe I should send him the prize pack they are sending me for including this chance to win on the blog...

In a fortuitous coincidence, all of this is a true story: Frito-Lay contacted me about offering up the prize pack (and getting my own in exchange) at pretty much the same time I was having dinner with my new boss at Old Santa Fe in Louisville, CO. Thank you, Frito-Lay.

Packing It In

Tomorrow I am headed out on a business trip. While I have come a long way since my first business trip with kids, I still don't really relish them the way I used to before I had children. I don't know what has changed, my sense of adventure? My mentality? My ability to handle guilt? Other options:

• Sleep. Despite the fact that my children have been waking me up in the middle of the night lately, I don't really sleep any better in a hotel.
• Inconvenience. Two of the days I will be gone are LP's short days - which means the Hoos has to leave work early.
• Routine. Like in most families, the Hoos and I have our assigned jobs. Among other things, I make the girls' lunch and pack their backpacks. A daily activity that the Hoos has to add to HIS daily routine (temporarily).
• Snugs and Kisses. My co-workers are okay. But the people I really want to snuggle with won't be traveling with me.
• The Snots. I will not miss the snots. But it seems like every time I go away or am planning on going away, someone gets sick. Dealing with the snots should really be a parentally shared experience in my opinion. 

Oh well. I am off to Colorado in the morning no matter what. I am sure the family will not only survive but have a great time without me. I know I won't have a great time without them,  but maybe, just maybe, I will find a way to relish two nights with a king-sized bed all to myself.