Museum Of Natural History

We finally were able to see 'Rex' at the front of the museum. Last time we went we only saw the dinosaurs in the dinosaur area, however, this time we found what we think they tried to create in the movie, "Night at the Museum." At least that's what we tell our kids anyway. :)

This was our 2nd trip to the museum and much more enjoyable than the first time. We were able to cover more ground since the kids are older. We had a fantastic time and saw a great deal that we somehow missed the first time. Well, I know exactly why we missed it. The dang place is gigantic to say the least. With a little help, we happily found 'dumb-dumb'. I tried giving him some dentin gum I had in my pocket but nothing happened. Maybe he likes the actual "bubblicious bubble-gum". Oh well, it also wasn't dark yet. ???

Some of our other highlights included, seeing a 3 ft lobster, a monster jellyfish, another enormous floor of African mammals, and the hall of ocean life. (this was closed last time)

We still skipped two whole floors and a ton of the museum! The kids were great though and we wanted to keep it that way. Plus I think Andy secretly wanted to get back to watch a game.

Payton took his camera he got for Christmas and is now a 'professional' photographer. He had a blast taking as many pictures as he wanted. It made him so much more interested in everything too. I think he literally took pictures of almost everything we looked at, but we hadn't adjusted the camera yet so the flash messed up most of them. oops! We hope to go one more time before we move though so next time bud...:)

Halle also had a great time. She "ooh" and "awed" everything. This is seriously one of the best places to go with kids if you get a chance.

Halle loves getting her picture taken and saying 'cheese'. However, she stops smiling to say cheese. Gotta work on that one. One of Paytons proud pics.

One big Celebration

We had a fun time celebrating Andy's birthday. He is so spoiled I swear. He had 3, yes, 3 little happenings for his gettin olderness.
Our first fun event was a family dinner with our good friend Cindy. We decided to try a new place close by. Andy said it was a pizza place, but after looking at the menu, we quickly realized it wasn't. I couldn't pronounce half the stuff on the menu and even the spaghetti description didn't make me believe it was actually spaghetti. It turned out ok though. We then had home-made sundays and let the kids terrorize Cindy's dog Oreo. It was a lot of fun.

Date #2 the kids and I spent the whole day planning for dad to come home. We made home-made cards out of foamies, glitter and stickers. We then drew a huge card on the wall and even attempted to make pictures of ourselves and our dog. Next, we made another big poster of dad and put all sorts of pictures of things that remind us of dad. That was so much fun. It's actually still on the wall and the kids keep adding to it daily.

Payton and I even made a ginger bread man cake. Ginger bread men are Payton's new current obsession. I let him to it mostly himself and it turned out...ok. :) Na, it was great! (I realize this doesn't actually go in order of the pictures but hey, I didn't want to re-do them.) :)

As soon as dad came home the kids and I waited quietly behind the couch. When he opened the door we yelled, "surprise!" They laughed and gave him big hugs. Payton then gave one of his famous tours throughout the house and showed him all we had done.

Last but not least, the next night Andy and I went out alone. Wow, that doesn't' happen too often. Thanks to our good friend Afton we had a nice night. She watched the kiddo's while we went to Ruth Chris' Steakhouse. This was 'our' not Andy's first time at a really nice place. We had to laugh that they even had fancy little gadgets to get the crumbs off the table between each course. It was very yummy, but we'll probably stick to Wendy's. It's slightly less expensive. :)

All in all it was a great Birthday. Payton is now counting down the days until his.

Everything's bigger in TX

One thing I miss about Texas is how everything seems to be bigger. In NY, everything is smaller.....small apt, small dogs, small family, small portions, smaller wallet (for us), smaller parking spaces for---smaller cars. Payton asked me the other day on the freeway if we were ever going to have a big truck and our dog Boo. I told him, hopefully soon. Then a tiny little car zoomed past us on the freeway like it was going to the the back nine on the golf course. A chase was encouraged/ensued and we pulled right up along side the "smartcar" and peeked over into the tiny window-- and yep------- it was a nomadic hippie who then flashed us the "NY peace sign". Payton had never seen that sign before, so he flashed it back...sort of...I've heard it said that your vehicle is usually compensating for something, but at least with these dad gum "smart cars" they spell it out for you. Happy Groundhog day y'all.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad! Here is a little letter from the kids.
Payton: Because I love dad! Because he's fun. Daddy likes to wrestle with me. I like playing toys, I like playing basketball. Andy makes me popcorn. I like eating ice-cream. I don't know, because I love dad!!!
Halle: Yeah, I love daddy. I want a yogurt! I love Cindy.

Well, they can't focus for too long but either way, we love you and hope you have a wonderful birthday!!
The big 29! Dang we are getting so old. I can feel the Botox just around the corner.
Here are a few things we love about dad. Random ramble here, so be patient. :)

I love that you try and teach me the things you love. (Except Xbox thank goodness.) You're a great outdoors man and I love that ruggedness about you. Makes me feel safe. We'll never starve, that's for sure. I love how excited you get, just by seeing or hearing the sound of a goose. Cracks me up. I love and hate at the same time how when we are fly-fishing you tell me where to cast and when I can't get it you do it in one little swoop.
I love that you are sensitive. Great men are a little ya know. You have a feisty side too and I love that too cause I like your honesty.
I love that no matter how ugly, fat, or dumb I feel sometimes, I always feel good about myself because you are always telling me how great I am. Even when I was preggers you told me I was hot. Liar, but a good man!
You are great at your work. You're co-workers love you cause you make them feel respected and you are a positive person. You have worked your tail off this past 2 years and I am so proud of you! Almost done babe.
I love that you dream. As expensive as it can be sometimes. :) I admire that you set so many goals for yourself and work to achieve them. I love that you urge me to do the same.
I love you more, but the kids are climbing all over me as I type. :)
Happy Birthday! Love, Kris, Payton and Halle

Just Like Dad.....?

I love the little things that kids choose to listen to and then hang on to. Ya know, not the things like, we always pick up our toys after playing, but the Lion spits out his water on Madagascar and then they decide to do it too...all over the TV.
The other day, Andy and I were talking about the rotation he just finished in OB. He was able to participate in a lot of C-sections and repairing surgeries. He was telling me about the doctor giving him the knife to do the cut and so on.
He then continued to tell me about how much he loves his new/current rotation of Ortho. His second day he did a knee surgery and he was explaining how many saws and tools actually go into a replacement.
This of course is 'normal' dinner talk at our house for some strange reason. Payton looked up and asked him, "Dad, why do you cut babies?"
Dad, "what?"
"Why do you cut the babies?"
Andy just started laughing so I told him that sometimes, the babies are too big so they cut the mommies belly to take out the baby and then put a big band aid on it. :)
"Oh" he said.
The next morning, Payton kept asking where his Handy Manny saw was. He said, "Cause I'm a doctor and I have to cut the babies!! I get my cut and then my hammer and go bam bam!" Basically he's an all around doctor who can do childbirth, plastic surgery and knee replacements all at the same time. I know we should be so proud. He just doesn't listen to what we say now. :) Luckily he's only seeing Halle's dolls as patients for now.

Limit, shminit..

I've been trying to get my blog private but since both of our extended families are large, it's been difficult getting everyone in at the 100 limit. I fixed a few things and then I had the number down to like 93 people or something. Blogger kept telling me it couldn't add because the limit was 100. What? It would not budge. Those of you who've gone private, how do I get this right? Much appreciation. :)

Special Deliveries.....memoirs

Well, Bill Cosby once said giving birth was like a man grabbing his bottom lip and pulling it over his head, or like that rich man getting to heaven...you know the whole needle/camel thing (ouch!). I know most of y'all have been through labor or held a leg or two, but what makes it interesting is when you find yourself in those situations with different religions, cultures, ages, pain levels, etc, sometimes very entertaining. I just finished OB/Gynechiatry (I call it) last week at the Labor and Delivery in Richmond Hills about 10 miles east of Manhatten. Though I saw things I hope I never have to see again, in the contest of the both evil and benign, here are 3 of the finalists.

Bronze Medal goes to: Luke ch 2. Around the 23rd of December the L&D floor was packed, many people wanted to Induce and get home before Christmas with a new baby. We had a hispanic couple come in late--all we had was one of the small triage rooms till-- we could get a decent suite. While doing the history her name was Maria (Mary) and the husband's name was José (Joseph). Wow!! And the baby's name? You guessed it------Alejandro. Either way there were no complications--and I did get the baby some nice Aveeno oil from the nursery. On a side note...God always prepared men to do his special work by showing them visions of the work being done, then the finished product. I hope before Joseph got to bethlehem he had one of the visions of the birth, and he didn't faint, and he knew about the placenta too, and uterine atony, and sterile technique episiotimies. Of course, in bethlehem, there were lots of experienced animals around as well who had all been through it.

Silver Medal goes to: A nurse. My second day we had a muslim patient that I was assisting in delivery. I was doing the enthusiastic/dramatic coaching, and after about 3 hours of pushing, the baby finally was delivered--prayers were pronounced immediately and the nurse slapped the father's bracelet on my hand--- ya know the one the father gets so he can take the baby to the nursery and security clearance. I looked at the nurse somewhat cockeyed, she said, "You're not the father? but you were so into it...wow!" I replied with a red neck twang, "Well, mam, if that's what it'll take to git a gud grade on this rotation, I just could be--whatever u want. But--- you might want to give it to Achmed, the dark skinned guy with the long white robe and the turban shaking his head over there on the couch---before things get too crazy." The nurse agreed.

Gold medal goes to: Tight sweatpants. While not considered a trend setter or used for attraction, sweatpants do save lives. Last monday a few minutes before coming on shift I was the only one not in the conference room for shift change (for some odd reason). I hear a man's voice yell down the hall "Ya viene el nino. Ya viene el nino!!! (The baby's coming!!). And I knew this was not a weather pattern change. I sprinted down the hall, watched the woman collapse in her husband's arms, and he slowly lowered her to the floor in the middle of the hallway. Again, I was the only one there. I pulled down the sweatpants (and a thong) and quickly heard a loud cry from the middle of the woman's sweat pants on the floor. I yelled for some gloves--that another patient threw at me from a room, I shakingly picked up the perfect little thing out of the sweat pants, reduced the chord, and gave him to mama. By then the word got out... and nurses were scrambling...then the doc clamped and cut the chord and she was able to walk into a nearby room. We all took pics with the family. They said they were thinking of naming the baby Andres (Andy)Wow!! But my question is, how did the baby get past that thong? and----I'm glad she wasn't wearing a dress...

Anyway, now on to Orthopaedic surgery.... all men---a stable environment. I won't have to instruct women on how to breast feed, how long they have to wait till they can be intimate again, bleeding, crying, the funny flatus question, whining, yelling, cramping, pushing, etc. OB was fun, but it is a job for women or men who pretend to be one...not for me. Studies say that every 10 seconds there is a woman giving birth somewhere in the world............she should be found........ and stopped! FYI: The above pic is one I pulled off the internet, not an actual patient.

PG ?

Today we were watching our recordings of American Idol. Payton was getting excited for those who could sing really well. This one lady came on. Payton stopped, stared and said, "Mom, she scares me."

"She scares me too bud."

He did what?

My mom sent this to me and I laughed so hard. Mainly because Andy hates shopping, well.. not the sporting stores, but Especially at Walmart. I could see this situation happening to us.

This is why women should not take men shopping against their will. After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart . Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunately, my wife is like most women - she loved to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Wal-Mart:
Dear Mrs. Samsel, Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Samsel are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.
2 . July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away.'
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.
6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
8 August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'
9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
11. October 3 : Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the ' Mission Impossible' theme.
12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his ' Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.
13. October 18 : Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'
14. October 21 : When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!' And last, but not least .. 15. October 23 : Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!'

Oh, they got it too!

You're only as strong as your weakest link. Yep. This was so funny. Maybe Mel will post her video. JK :)

Go Jack! Lead Doodlebop/Rocker

Our Groupies??

We can Rock!

For Halle's birthday we adults decided we could either sit and watch the kids play or we could pull out the rock band. Uh, hard decision. As soon as we got it out, the kids had to join in. Being the good parents we are, we of course told them, it was our turn first... We eventually let them play though and it was a lot of fun. I love the seriousness and concentration of Payton's face.
Most of us stunk of the drums but our solo's and guitar rocked! Even the little kids could hang....well, for a little while. The only thing I don't like about Rock Band is that you have to sing it exact. I like more of a Karaoke where you just have to say the right words.
Oh yeah, my girl can sing.

This is a classic Payton. This boy LOVES to sing. He actually has a nice voice. He's more of a Pop, Disney, Soul kinda guy though. Metal/Rock is not his forte.

Gotta start em while their young. They didn't like that if you mess up, you get booed off the stage.

Happy Birthday Halle

Last week our sweet...well, temperamental but sweet little girl turned two! I can't believe how much she's grown. When we moved to NY she was just 6 months old, a little blob on the floor. By 9 months she was walking and fighting to keep up with Payton. She can hold her own now and does a lot of teasing herself. She is notorious for taking something you want and running away laughing. If you chase her it may take a while but ignore it and she comes back with a smile saying, "here ya go!"
She talks so much. She can sing her ABC's, several High School Musical and Christmas songs, I am a child of God, and our song, "I love Halle."

We had a little party with our friends while Grandma was here visiting. It was a full house and so much fun. Thanks you guys for coming in a snowstorm! Halle was so excited for her birthday. If you told her Happy Birthday, she would say it back to you. Didn't quite understand it was just HER day.

She is just the cutest little girl. I can't say enough good things about her. Yes, she makes a huge mess of our house and rips the flaps off the books but she brings so much excitement to our home. We love you so much Halle! Here's to another exciting year.

City Lights

So it's probably not the best idea to see the city lights the week after Christmas. But we finally had a warm day and just had to go. Though my hubby said he would, and I quote, "never, never, never.never,ever, ever, never, ever, ever,ever, etc,ever,ever...." you catch where I'm going? "Ever go there again!!!" I think he had about 25 more ever's but who's counting. The kids and I loved it and had a great time. My mom was here so we took her up 5th avenue to see the store windows and such. It was so interesting to see all the different displays. There were millions of people, everywhere! We made it to Rockefeller Center but sadly for Payton, couldn't get to the ice-rink. He was really upset. He loves watching the skaters. We got right next to the tree but since we got separated we didn't have a camera for a picture. ugh! Mom got lost and since she forgot her phone we spent about an hour looking for her. This added about 10 more ever's to Andy's list. Thankfully we re-united and was able to enjoy a few things before heading home.

My snuggle bug!

The kids just plan on seeing Elmo and Cookie Monster when we go to the city. This time they also got their picture with Shrek. Some Santa wanted to take a pic with the kids but Payton told him he wasn't the 'real' Santa. Luckily the creepy guy walked off. :) Sometimes ya just gotta love when they say inappropriate things.

In front of Macy's (one of our Favorite stores). They have the BEST sales!

Somehow, our house seemed not quite as festive when we got home.

Home for Christmas

Contrary to the look on her face, she had a wonderful Christmas. From the moment we put up the tree and lay the first present beneath, it's been a constant trial to keep them from opening the packages. They would literally sit and stare at them asking if it was time yet. And each day we would mark another flap on the calendar, smiling and jumping the days away.
We had our first Christmas alone as a family. It was definitely different but nice. Andy worked a 24 hour shift the day before and since the kids and I had to take him back and forth, we all spent a lot of the time sleeping and playing in our pj's. In fact, we took the kids for a ride to see some Christmas lights and by time we reached the end of our road, they were asleep. We didn't get to bed early though since the kitchen took forever to put together!

Halle is a tough chick and a fireball to say the least, but she LOVES all things girlie. Dolls, make-up, princess, pink. Thanks to grandma's and grandpa's she got a kitchen, doll set and princess dress. Though Payton loves the kitchen too, he was excited to get a camera, puzzles and some train accessories. (It will be nice not finding pictures of random things on my camera. I one time found 40 pictures OF pictures on the computer.??)

"I'm just like dad!" Thankfully the stethoscope really works.

Halle pushed this around ALL DAY. I'm glad we didn't buy much because she wouldn't have known. She sleeps with her babies and when she walked in to see a NEW baby, she immediately threw her 'old'one. Poor doll, good thing they can't really talk like 'Toy Story'. Who knows what would really go on at our place.

Payton wakes up early so Andy and I set little 'booby-traps' to hear him wake up. We didn't want him snooping around before we all got up. We piled a bunch of stuff in front of the bedroom door, everything except a pit and a lion. Didn't stop him though. We of course didn't hear him and he came in to wake us up. He told us everything that was out there and gave us a tour when we came out to look for ourselves. The funniest thing was when he found a bell in his stalking. He looked at it, shook it near his ear and then staring at it again said, "I believe!"

Nice to meet you!

Last week while Grandma Lori was visiting, we made a trip to the city to see the lights. The kids love riding the train, especially since it's been 'Polare Express' season.

Halle kept hugging and kissing Payton. She'd say, "Nice to meet you!" Then hug and kiss him. Hopefully they aren't quite so friendly the older they get.

Fun before Freezing

With days of rain and cold it was getting hard to keep the kids in check. The other morning we heard the city horn go off two times, which means school is canceled for the day. I looked outside and it was cloudy, nothing else. By noon, however, we had a few inches of snow. This is what the kids did all morning... stare out the window... Boring!! We decided to bundle up and go play. Now, my kids don't have any boots or anything really fit to play in the snow, with the exception of a coat and hat. We've only needed boots and suits at my moms so they stay there. Oops. We found a few layers to last a little while.

The neighbor from downstairs came out with a sled and his mom was kind enough to pull the kids up and down the side walk. They had so much fun. This was Halle's first time really playing in the snow and she loved it. They certainly had winter rosy cheeks too.

We build an awesome looking, strange, safari, pear shaped snowman. This small man took a long time cause all the kids kept knocking it down when trying to pack it. We used a carrot of course and then malt balls for the rest. Hey, it's all I could find. Thanks mom for sending the candy. Halle kept trying to eat them with each one I put on.

We then were getting cold and went to go inside but the door was locked. I hate my door. The lock turns easily and I didn't have a key cause we were just a few feet away, playing in the snow. UGH!! Thankfully, the landlord lives two blocks away and my neighbor let me take the kids in the sled to get a key.

My 2nd thankfully, she was home!! She gave us a key and chocolate candy! What could be better than that. The kids jumped in for a long bubble bath to get warm. Payton is of course Santa Claus. I asked him what he wanted to ask Santa for. He replied, "I want his Santa coat." This is because he is of course an 'actor' and we got the kids Santa hats. I told him I didn't think Santa would let him have his coat. :0

Since all the kids were out of school, they were still outside playing when Andy got home from work. They kids went out for a very quick snow throw. Luckily, they decided it was too cold. I bet they are glad I made them wear a coat and hat unlike going out barefoot and half naked like they tried prior.

They snow is still here and it's too dang cold to even get my mail out the front door, let alone do my laundry downstairs. Burr....I was happy that they had a fun time though. It was nice to get out of the house and run around without even one spot of yellow snow.

That's the way the gingerbread crumbles.

I've missed a few fun events lately, like our ward Christmas party, which was actually pretty dang fun. They had an international Christmas so we had a ton of yummy food. I couldn't believe how much food there was, especially since normally they run out at our shindigs. Other than that, I can't remember a lick of what we've been doing.

I've been trying to get the kids to do a few Christmas projects around the house. Last Sunday we made the all-famous Ginger Bread House. Ours was a pretty sad house. It's probably the ugliest house I've ever seen. The kids helped a lot (last year I did it myself) so it was very unique. It was so much fun though. This picture of Halle is basically what she did the entire time. I think she put a few candies on but she ate most of them. Notice the cheeks full of sweets.


The house kept sliding down the icing because of course, we don't read instructions, (who does?) We didn't let it set before adding the candy which upset Andy since he wanted it to look like the picture on the box. Consequently, I decided to just throw the box away.
We've been stuck to our house quite a bit with colds, but mostly due to the fact that Andy has ended his Peds ER rotation of night shifts and is now doing OB-gyn. Fun, I know.

I'll let him write about that. :)
Thankfully, some of our friends have came over to keep us company.
Reagan and her son Jack brought fun foam to make Christmas trees and snowmen. The kids had fun for a minute and then she and I finished them. She and I had a great time though. The kids had more fun jumping on the bed. They actually made some cute cards though.
Some of you may be getting them for a Christmas card since they've since found more interest and it's become a daily project.




Payton takes it very seriously. I love the concentration. When he's not doing this, however, he is acting. For real. My kids are singing songs all day and acting out some movie. He goes back and forth from 'Polar Express' and his old fav, Larry from 'Night at the Museum'. Thankfully, we've had a break from his Botox routine of 'Christmas with the Kranks'.




Payton and Jack are so cute. Jack just had a birthday. We went to a gym called Playrobics and the kids all ran around for hours. It was awesome. Afterwards, they were so hungry they all sat down at the restaurant and ate without a fuss. I've never seen so many kids sit so good.
Jack also shared one of his Favorite Christmas Cd's with us and the kids are now addicted too. So much that I can't get them to GO TO SLEEP!!! They are too busy singing in their beds.....

MY NY...

When most women think of NY they want to go into the City and get in the traffic, trains, buildings, Subways, Broadways, and Parkways on the Expressway and throughways. In fact there are many "ways" to get to NYC, but maybe the best way is not to go west at all, but east. I am not a woman (last time I checked) and hence have the tendency to flee from any situation where I'm obligated (I signed the contract I know) to carry the purse or a half eaten gummed hot dog and stuck carrying that huge stroller up those two flights of subway stairs. That's not me. The city is OK maybe once a month (at best), but it can be like herding hamsters when you have little kids. I prefer to go East--further on Long Island (FYI--nuclear fallout falls 10% per mile--hey I think about that stuff), and carry my 3.5 inch Mossberg Semi Auto instead of a purse and a stroller. They actually have country stations and 60 miles of Sod farms and beautiful Oak forests. Long Island remains somewhat warmer than the other parts of NY, thus enticing tens of thousands of Canadian Geese to winter here all year. Canadians can reach 12-15 lbs and people here hate 'em because they leave their huge droppings everywhere in the parks. There are actually companies that are hired(they drive Prius's and have this crazy EPA logo) to scare the geese out of your park, yard, or Golf Course or put this nasty stuff on your grass as goose repellant (pictured above left). There are better (and funner) ways New Yorkers...Guys like me who have goose hunted the dream hunt areas of Eagle Lake in TX for years with Dad, can continue the tradition of really scaring them and grow even fonder of NY. For most of y'all who don't know how goose hunting is done, I'll give you a quick talkin' to. In TX you usually haul 700-1000 wind sock decoys through the mud after driving a few hours to then sit in the mud and wait for the skies to come alive. It is a blast, we've done it for as long as I can remember. In Tx you shoot mostly smaller snow geese which can sometimes number 40-50,000 in a field, but with lots of hunting pressure, it can get quite tough to have them committ to landing within 40 yards, or with my gun--within 60 yards. On Long Island, it's not a well known thing and it's only about a 45 minute drive to reach miles of beautiful Sod fields, in this case right behind the big Splish and Splash Waterpark (you can see it in the background in the very first pic). And with no hunting pressure, the birds are let's say, very naive. It definitely makes for a more comfortable hunt. In fact I wore my Crocs (open heeled shoes)on this hunt. The temp dipped to about 28 degrees with a slight NW wind, perfect to get the geese moving. With just about 35 full body decoys put out in two groups next to(within 40 yards) a dug out box blind to conceal Me, Toby and my good friend Tom Casey from Long Island Waterfowling, we were all set up in about 15 minutes compared to the 2 hours it takes when hunting Snow geese in TX. The Geese leave their roost (home) at about 8am, fly down the riverbank to work (us) and hit this field by the hundreds. They see our full body Goose set up and hear the calling, and land---in my freezer...Long Island has a 3 bird per hunter limit. We don't use the dogs here, that would be just plain laziness. The season usually runs from Thanksgiving till Feb 7. We limited with 9 birds by 9:30am. The interesting part is always bringing home that many birds home to debreast without a shed or a yard, you can get some crazy looks from your tree huggin environmentalist neighbors...that garbage man sure was surprised I bet. While I was cleaning 'em the conversation went like this... "Dad, you killed it? Yes son. Did it hurt? No, son. That one's bleeding dad...I know son. So there are no more to feed at the park? Fortunately for us...yes, son." Anyway, so if you're only seeing 1 turtle dove or haven't seen any at all this year, chances are--they could be in season. Merry Christmas y'all.

Better watch out.

See these smiling faces. Yep, that's because the day after Thanksgiving we slept in and opted not to shop. Oh it felt so good! After finally deciding what to do we headed to Manhattan to check out the lights and all the crazy happenings. Our good friend Mike was here for the weekend and thankfully took some pictures with ALL of us in them. That is a rarity I must say. On a side note, the day after this pic, we watched ELF and Payton said, "hey, I was there!" He was pretty excited. (they have a snowball fight on this bridge.) In fact, he said to me the other day while watching 'Santa Claus', "Mom, so have we been to the North Pole yet?" "No honey, we haven't." "Oh, well we still need to do that."
It was a little chilly but the kids still had fun running around in Central Park. I wish I would have taken my camera when it was Fall time and all the leaves were gorgeous! Payton loves having his picture taken but it's hard to get him to not pose all 'model' like.??? He's the next Zoolander, what can I say. We call this Gold steal.
What awesome parent doesn't take their kid on the dirty subway, I mean come on. Actually it's just a joke we have but the kids think it's cool. Jazelle road the subway Payton will tell you.
This picture would be perfect if Andy just had a fluffy hat with on ball on top.
We saw, Cookie Monster, Elmo, and of course Santa. (the one ringing the bell on the corner) Payton only said, "I saw Santa." Later however, when we were of course threatening him to go to bed the conversation went like this...
"You better go to bed cause Santa will see you and put you on the naughty list."
"Mom, I already saw him in NY!"
"Well maybe he had to do a little shopping too." :)
"But I saw him in NY! He's not at the North Pole to see me."
"He's magic. He goes home just like we do."
"Are you kidding me! Fine! I'll go to sleep!"

Mr. Mom

This week has been just fabulous! Well, if fabulous includes everyone throwing up for 4 days straight. Just have to share a little love for my hubby who has been tired, caring, somewhat grumpy, yet mostly wonderful this entire week. The kids and I all got sick, actually, VERY SICK, and he took care of all of us. He stayed up all night cleaning up the kids throw up while I slept on the bathroom floor dealing with my own sickness. He went from room to room and then finally threw a big blanket in the living room and put us all in there to lesson the damage. He did loads of laundry, filled lots of juice cups, and gave plenty of hugs to help us get better. And any guy who can put up with watching Disney movies for 4days straight is a hero. Did I mention that he has this great quality that he can tell you what is wrong with you and why your body is reacting a certain way, the treatment, recommendations, reactions, etc. Made me want to throw my shoe at him! But I guess it's good to be informed. ??? I'm sure he was exhausted and I'm so grateful to him and all he does for us. You're the best babe.
Thankfully we are feeling much better and thank goodness for Lysol and bleach. I've cleaned all day and at least till morning we are germ free. Ha!

Just thinking...

We use these posts as a kind of journal so I figured I should write a little bit before all gets lost in time. The last 3 weeks I have been doing a Pediatric Emergency/trauma rotation in Brooklyn that has been at times like a fast and testimony meeting--sometimes a little slow and boring, then other times trying to detach myself so I don't look soft. And other times like testimony meetings in Texas where you're left wondering what the cotton pickin' heck just happened in here?
Most of the time it is asthma, croup, pneumonia and the diarrhea/vomiting or a few stitches here and there, broken bones,etc. But sometimes it's the kid who gets a 22 bullet (unfired) lodged in his ear or a toy truck fire engine antenna through the top of his mouth into his brain, swallowed a safety pin, or who's face lost a fight to a pit bull, or swallowed roach spray, or car accidents, gang fights, or not alive at all. Most are hispanic and no one else speaks spanish so I get funneled to being the guy up front on most. Those experiences when you're doing CPR for an hour and they ask if you're tired and you are but say you're fine and the mom is in the back of the room screaming not to stop, "save my baby!!" moaning and wailing...for the 2nd time tonight another kid in heaven for Christmas. When the night's over and you quietly get back in your car, slowly, and hit the Expressway and the roads are empty and quiet and get home and climb into a warm bed after going into each of the kids' rooms and giving them each a kiss on the cheek...and you wake up---and all is well.
I started reading Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" for the season and Payton said he wanted to go "feed the ducks down by the water too" like tiny Tim so we did today down on the Sound. These were mostly seagulls and Canadian geese with a few ducks, but with the sun out and watching him try to get the birds closer and closer and start pointing out the ducks from the seagulls...and then watch him get scared when they were fighting over scraps on his shoes...it was a calm moment to just sit back and think "Thanks Lord, for giving me these darn kids."
And all reading this with little ones, maybe sometimes impatient like me, frustrated with everything no one ever warned us about kids--then realizing that their Decembers at home are numbered... and you start taking every funny face, awkward question, tight hug, bit of astonishment, all of their little dreams, and for me this year, calling it Christmas.