OBX experience 2006

The sixteen hour drive home was excruciating. The remnants of sand throughout the car and in every single one of my orafices, were all I had left of the lazy hazy crazy days of OBX. It is bittersweet.Sad to leave such a great group and happy to chalk up another great memory of OBX. The initial shock of size of this group this year finally wore off by day three. The realization that we actually knew so many people on this beach was unbelieveable. The row of umbrellas topped off by the infamous Red O'Maley tent(which is how Sly, the lifegaurd knew us), only told part of the story of this catch-all clan. The unsuspecting newcomers had no choice but to get with the program. The program goes like this, "do what you want say what you feel and one thing leads to another".... and you'll do just fine.
It wasn't totally about the sun and the waves and the beach, which by the way, we had just about perfect weather.

My little neices have not all been together for a very long time. It was like they have seen each other every day for the past two years. I had such a good time playing Deal/ No Deal with them, which included commercial breaks that each little one took a turn performing.I know....isn't that just precious? They were pretty inventive too. And they were the surfer chicks...move over Bri and Keenan. Jaci was nailing those waves. Later in the week, Cassie and Jenn were hanging ten with little Mac following up at the end.

This vacation was like a cruise ship, each night there were different opportunities eg. kareoke and virtual guitar game night., beer pong at the B's house another night,guitar nights,Poker night, the beach games and volley ball in front of O'maley's during the day. We even had our own beer boy complete with belt and accessories. His name is Chris and he's HOT. Too bad girls he's married.

Since Bri and Jake could not join us , our neices brought their version of "Flat Bri and Flat Jake" to join in festivities and pictures. Soooofun.I did have little prego Reagen that I could talk to her tummy, so I sorta got a Bri fix that way. Poor little thing, she was very patient with me. Wait till her little girl is born ..as soon as she hears my voice she'll freak....wah! that's that crazy voice!
I received the best birthday present ever from Susie O. The coolest bottle cap opener that I had the best time uilizing all week long. Imagine that, like I needed an excuse to open a bottle.Really...It was like magic. It always goes so fast and we can not believe the week is over. It's different every year, yet it's the same focus.....relaxation.

I must say, I did a much better job this year with the sunscrean. I know Cassie will appreciate it when she's fifty, unlike her Aunt Jill with my "something about Mary" tanned skinned.I did get my saturation point and had to sit under that umbrella.Everyone was cringing when I was coming at them with that sunscrean. Even the big folks.

I had a special time with my Richmond Ya ya sisters hanging later.....just us as the sun went down, it was very cool. I loved that, I know whatever. It's an old bag thing. We take em when we can get em. Okay, there was way more stuff. And when they hit me I'll fill ya in. It was a great year. There's never a bad time at the beach.
I love my family and I love my friends. Next year will be so fun, but I'm not aloud to talk about it yet. It makes my man sweat. We need to live in the now.

The Ohio Connection

Grandma and Aunt Joyce hit the gold mine of garage sale of babydom. The dilemma is how do you get the stuff from there to here?

The buy was made in Canfield and stashed at Auntie Joyce's. The pick up was made by Aunt Judy, the drop took place in Streetsboro, thus the the Little Old Lady from Indiana traveling in a small convertible that was jam packed with this Babies-R-Us overload. I am sure the passers-by on 70 East thought I had robbed the store. A plethora of baby items...an umbrella baby stroller,per Aunt Jo Ellen, car seat, remote controlled bassinet(not sure what the remote does remotely, does it feed the baby when he wakes), nippy nap (FYI - a small baby seat that infants can be placed in before they can sit up on their own,.....this one vibrates), and a multitude of baby clothes from said garage sale and two bags of infant things from Aunt Jan. Shoo! Not only is Bri set but Granny Jillsy has a great start. It was a mission of love and the babe will luckiest kid in Indiana. Thanks to the Ohio connection. I have heard that it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a verry special family to prepare for this little pinenut.

And that Great-Grandma has gone into grannies gone wild mode, I am slowly understanding the super hero love that we have all witnessed for her grandchildren over the years. It's sort of scary how these urges are uncontrollable. It's a grandparent thing. Thanks to her and all the other gang members that made this baby have all these items that will make life so much easier for the parents, and make my house grandchild ready. You are all wonderful cohorts in crime, I mean babydom. It's the most perfect birthday present of all time. Thanks Great-Grandma.

"Sibs"

Birthing order has been a focus for many years as an influence/insight as to the person you eventually grow to be. I have been struggling with this due to the fact that birthing order really has not applied to me. Cause I am the youngest of the older kids, oldest of the younger kids and really smack dab in the middle of the whole crew. So I could take any of the roles and make them my experience.

Right from the cover of Time magazine this month, siblings very much influence the person you are. Well hell yea, I could have told you that. I had the advantage of watching my older sibs, and not make the same mistakes as them. On the other hand I longed to have their good grades...thanks alot Jo Ellen and Griff, which by the way never happend. Be as popular as Judy, Miss cheerleader and Prom Queen. Date cute guys,like Janet,at Kent State would have three dates a weekend and you name it Sorority, Flasherette, Homecoming Queen. When they all went away to college and there I was the oldest of the last four. So, I all the sudden I had this leadership role that I really did not want, but guess what I got it.

Mom and Dad would leave me in charge, I would make up games so the kids would clean the house. They actually listened to me. It was great! I gave them lam-o prizes , so that only worked a few times. John and Jerry really liked Rob and Ron,who started coming around when I was 13, so the boys would basically get along with me so they could hang with us. And my brothers were pretty entertaining too. We all covered for each other.

Then there was the Jeanie factor. Jeanie was joined at my hip all through middle shool years. I'd wait for her at the bus stop after school, I tutored her in the summers, and take her with me to baseball games, the park(where all my friends would hang out.) I guess I thought I was watching her, but my mom I am sure, had her watching me, ..hellooo Jeanie tells all. Mouth that ate Cleveland. And it always wasn't exactly correct in her interpretation, but Mac would get the basic info. Enough to ask more questions.

As the article states, you are with your siblings more than your spouse or friends. And you interact with brothers and sisters even more than your parents. The article explains, if you have a fight with a sibling you still had to end up in the same house, most likely the same bedroom, so you had to work it out.Of course this would influence how you deal with people in adult life.Wow! So it's not the mothers fault if you are all screwed up. So do ya think my brother is messed up cause I dropped the ceramic Kool-aid pitcher on his head down the clothes shute and it broke into a million pieces. I was 6 and he was 4.
This has finally made sense to me. Even more so than parents your siblings are the ones that make up who you turn out to be.

Now I am freaked out that Bri and Robby may have issues because of the way I threw them together for everything. Why, you ask? Cause it was a heck of a lot easier for me to take them to one place. Bri was in Gymnastics, I signed the boy up. He was there anyways....Why not get some exercise? Hey get off my case. He got trophies. And not just the lam-o participation kind. He was good. Freak'n Lynn Swan took ballet for God's sake. Alright when Robby really complained,about it I took him out. I still say that's why he had such good balance in soccer.


Then came the swimming thing. Well that turned out pretty good for both. I don't feel guilty about that one. Although, I do believe the tortureous practices marred them both for life, NOT. I do remember telling them over and over, you have to watch each other's backs, cause that's your only brother, or sister. You 'll have them for life.

I do think they have some special bonds, and I think they understand the opposite sex a little better cause they had to deal with each other. Like when Bri freaked out befor a dance when her hair was in a big fat "up-do". Or when Robby became obscessed with sports, and would be soo upset if the Cubbies lost. Or the fights they would have about folding clothes or cleaning house. I am sure that has helped them in thier adult lives.They have seen each other experience mistakes,joys,sadness, disappointmets,and accomplishments. Watch each other, problem solve, handle conflict, and fall in love and out of it, graduations, weddings, and funerals.

I just know that it makes me feel better that they live in the same city when we are some place else. Cause you know there is someone that knows you a little better than even your friends, or spouse, or even parents for that matter. It's your sib...and they really know you, even if you think they don't. That's pretty cool. Now if we could just get Sidney and Ozzie to understand that.

Well we are officially in the vacation month. So that means gathering up the necesities for the beach. Cute outfits , sunscrean, party pajama for the cousins, sunglasses that aren't geeky, reading material, beach towels, sheets and loose twenty pounds in 17 days. Yes, when the time gets closer I start fretting how my little short white legs are going to look at the beach. So elyptical here I come. Yet again it's too little too late. It's the same every year, so you'd think I'd plan ahead. I do sometimes, and then it's too early and I have months to put the pounds back on and I do. EEEEE! it's a vicious circle.

Then you get there, and you have that first half hour at the ocean, and you don't give a rats ass what you look like cause you're at the beach. And believe me you see it all. So noone really cares how the little old middle aged mama with spider veins, the red presription sunglasses and the queer hat looks. And by the third day,and maybe several beers later you are so immune to wearing bathing suits that you actually are walking around with no cover up. Shut up!For real life.

This year I attribute the lack of self control to Bri's pregnancy. The girl had morning sickness for four months and couldn't eat. So I ate enough for both of us. She had a back ache the other day, so I needed to eat to ease her pain. She wanted potatoe salad when she visited, so I made it, and ate half the bowl. Just to be supportive of course. She had a pain under rib, I had heartburn for three days. So her little life is coming together and the baby is almost here, I think I can pull myself together for 17 days to prepare to eat and drink uncontrollably on vacation. Too bad you can't wear pany hose with a bathing suit, it would really help with those bumps and jiggles.

I have decided that the older you get your body starts reverting back to the toddler stage of life. Chubby little fingers,no chest, fat knees and of course the rotund baby belly. Waking up several times a night. Why isn't it so cute on a 51 year old? It sorta is. Especially if you are wearing a Led Zepplin t-shirt and a floppy hat. Hey, if anyone finds a pink princess sparkly skirted bathing suit in the women's section of Elder Beerman please call me, and ladies if anyone else wants to join me in the princess theme, I'm okay with it.