At the Convenience of the Undertaker?

This is a phrase I've often seen at the end of winter obituaries. "Interment/burial will be held at the convenience of the family." Sounds nice, pleasant, considerate of the grieving family members.

NOT!

It's seems like it's more at the convenience of the funeral home. My father-in-law's burial would have cost more if held on a weekend, and since business is brisk apparently, we had to quick book a date soon. Hmph. So 1:00 on a Friday right before Memorial Weekend. Real convenient.

ESAM Visit

The three of us (Alison slept in, of course) enjoyed an all-you-eat pancake breakfast at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum in Glenville this morning. We spent an hour touring the museum inside and out after our satisfying meal. It's a great place, next to the Schenectady Airport, $8 per adult and free for kids. Eric had a blast sitting in the Army Chopper!

Online ID Calculator

This is kinda cool, I made sure to search on both my maiden and married names.

Spring "Break"?

Let's hear it, all ye parents of school-age kids! Spring break is no break for us. Especially if your family is a two-income one like ours. It's quite a spectacle to behold, working parents juggling play-dates and sleepovers with other parents to make sure all those gaps when you can't be home yourself to play chaperone are filled.

And the sleepovers. Ouch. We agreed to let four of Alison's 12-yr-old friends sleep over Monday night. There was NO sleep for anyone (except her 3-yr-old brother who can sleep through anything apparently, I admit I was jealous of that ability).

"Spring is Exhausting"

Looking good on paper

Yikes, only blogged once in March and now it's April 8.

We visited back home this past weekend. My Mom gave me a small plastic bag with mementos she had unearthed from my high school days and Cornell Graduation, not least of which was the menu for the restaurant we went to to celebrate the event, & where Mike proposed to me (I know, "awwww").

But it also struck me that I haven't lived up to my potential. All the newspaper clippings about my high school and college accomplishments, Dean's list, B.S. with Distinction, winning the French contest with our book and getting that book published years later. Whew. This Mary Elise Loiacono chick looks awesome on paper. What happened?

Student loan payments. Corporate America. The economy. Mortgage. Marriage. Babies. Agile. Scrum.

That's quite a list.

"Marching" in

Whoops. It's already 7 days into the new month and this is my first post of March.

Each day it is more and more depressing to read the latest news on the economy. Anyone care to guess the title of this month's "Intercom" (the Society for Technical Communications' periodical for us tech writer types)?

Drum roll please......

ADAPT OR DIE



Whoa.

So what is so wrong, with alcohol?

Miscellaneous Musings from a Mom

Just some random thoughts for a February evening:

Why did my 3 1/2-year-old son suddenly decide to start calling us "Mom" and "Dad" instead of "Mama" and "Daddy"? It is cute the way he pronounces both titles so emphatically and carefully, but it is sad! Way too grown-up, even our 11-year-old daughter calls me "Mommy" still.

And why do schools need to drum into Middle-Schoolers' heads that alcohol is bad, bad, bad! I had to jointly fill in a health worksheet with her tonight to refute all the myths about alcohol and kids. True, it is not good for growing kids to drink, but telling them it is all evil will just entice them more. Why can't we be like Europeans, and just set good examples for our kids, that good wine and beer can enhance a good meal with good company?

Lastly, why don't Moms get tips for cooking, serving, and cleaning up after dinner? I put this question to my family tonight, after once again cooking a nice supper and having to clean up after they wolfed it down in minutes and fled the scene. I pointedly remarked that at least when I waitressed at Ponderosa I got tips and didn't even have to wash dishes. My daughter at least got my drift a bit, she asked if doing dishes counted (not that she does them, but still). My husband just gave me a weird look and disappeared back down into his basement office. I should have loudly replied that "Yes, I do accept non-monetary tips!" Hah!!