lawmummy

Philadelphia International Airport really stinks.

Now, you know I love Philadelphia, so it pains me to say it but it’s true.  The folks at the airport are incapable of managing anything - from a small shop to airplane traffic - and the quality of the folks that are hired leave quite a bit to be desired.  This should come as no surprise to anyone from Philadelphia.  This is, after all, the same place that had initially gave a company belonging to Milton Street (our mayor’s brother) a multi-million dollar contract despite having no management experience and no real employees.  But I digress.

At any rate, we arrived last night at the Philadelphia airport to pick up Chris.   The girls were thirsty and I promised them something to drink.  The little shop, though clearly still open, refused to sell me a bottle of water because "we’re closing."  Not "we’re closed" but "we’re closing."  Lazy ass.

Anyway, I then moved onto the only other place in the terminal that sold beverages:  a bar/restaurant.  Only, since it was then past 9pm, the waitresses were no longer working.  One took pity on me and told me that the girls could sit down and I could get a fruit punch from them on the other side of the bar but that there was no way that the stroller could get through and technically, the girls weren’t supposed to be in the bar.  I figured I could leave them there and get the fruit punch in less than a minute.  But no.  I waited while the girl at the register had an extended conversation with the man she was ringing up about how she’ll probably have to take Spanish in college.  The girls and Charlie were both out of my line of vision, so I had to keep leaving the register to check on them and then come back.  I was the only other person in line.  The girl was still having a conversation about Spanish.  Finally, the cashier rang the guy up and it was my turn.  Only, she then turned to the guy and said, "Oh, did you want that toasted?" pointing at his sandwich.  He says yes.  She starts to pick up the sandwich and I lose it, saying very loudly, "I am SO sorry but can I just get a fruit punch?"  She looked pissed but got me the fruit punch.  She then held it in her hand as she rang it up, and couldn’t remember if it was $1.70 or $1.94.  I gave her $2.00 and told her that I really didn’t care how much it was, and that I had three children, ages 4, 2 and a baby on the other side and I had to get back.  She was still trying to ring the damn fruit punch up as I walked away.

The restaurant closed shortly thereafter so we had to leave.  They actually closed the grate with us inside before noticing that we were there (they opened it but it was freaking Katie out in the meantime).

Chris’ plane was slated to arrive at 9:05pm but the schedule said it would be 10 minutes late.  The monitor claimed the plane had arrived.  But there was no plane at the gate.  I texted Chris that we were here, he replied, "Me too."  An HOUR later, he was still not at the gate.  In fact, there were no planes at any of the gates at the terminal.  The reason?  The morons that manage traffic at the Philadelphia airport had scheduled too many planes to take off at the same time so all of the planes that landed were forced to wait in what was described as a "traffic jam" to get to the terminal.  It was insane.  There was what I called "an angry mob" gathered at the terminal entrance waiting on loved ones.  All of the monitors read "Arrived" but there were no announcements, even as a courtesy, to those of us waiting.  We only knew what was going on by the cell phone conversations many of us were having with those on board.  Yeah, nice, huh?

By this time, the shop, which was still open had attracted a number of shoppers.  I went in to get some water since I was thirsty and I assumed, since there were about 10-15 people in the store, that they had re-opened due to the crowd (again, there was nowhere open to get a drink or snack).  Only - get this - they were still "closing" and rather than make an announcement or pull down the grate, the "manager" (if you can call him that, considering his lack of management skill) was going from person to person, telling them very quietly, that they were closed.  I thought he was asking if they needed something at first, until he got to me.  The door was still open.  The register was still open.  The cashier was still at the register.  What morons.  I put down my purchases (a bottled water and some paper dolls for the girls to help pass the time) right on the tee shirt table (a personal pet peeve of mine as someone who worked retail) and stormed out, along with other shoppers who were still coming in! 

At some ridiculous hour, after 10:30pm (flight arrived at 9:15pm), Chris’ plane finally arrived at the gate.  Thank goodness.  I had advised him that we would have to leave soon - and he would have to get a cab - if it was more than an hour because the girls were going nuts.  There was no place to sit down.  There was no store/restaurant/any other amenity open.  More than 50 people were forced to stand in a tight circle and just wait.

Chris got off the plane and we left.  The girls were completely exhausted.

In the car, Chris asked Katie if she missed him.  She had this to say, "Um, only a little.  But Amy missed you a lot.  And Mommy was glad you were home.  But I only missed you a little."

She doesn’t adjust well when Chris travels.  When he went to Germany, she actually refused to talk to him on the phone because she couldn’t see him.  So for this trip, we bought iSight.  Chris made them a little video and Katie made me play it three times.  She missed him a lot.  But she was right on one point…  I really am glad he’s home.

And Chris isn’t here to pester - not that he’d have an opinion about this anyway.

So here goes…  Currently, my hair is brunette streaked with blonde highlights - but really obvious blonde highlights a la Kelly Clarkson in her "Since U Been Gone" phase.  The problem is that I had it done in May and I now have roots.  So, I could go through re-highlighting…

Or go bright, bright red as in Ruby Twilight.

And yes, I realize that Israel invaded the Gaza Strip, that the Syrians are shooting at Israeli war planes, that we’re in a war and that there is flooding in my state.  I don’t claim that choosing a hair color is of the utmost importance.  I’m just in the mood to do something to my hair and I thought I’d solicit opinions…

There is a graffiti artist in my house.  And if I had to guess, I’d say she was about three feet high with curly blonde hair and a name that rhymes with "Atie".

The walls have already been victims of her handiwork.  I don’t REALLY care since we’re having the house painted soon - or whenever we get around to having the architect draw up the plans for the renovations (That’s not sarcasm, we really are having the house redone.  That’s a whole other post in itself.)  However, I certainly don’t want to encourage this behavior.

She moved onto the toilet seat.  Yes, the toilet seat.  She actually drew a picture on the toilet seat.  In red ink. Yeah.  While it’s certainly a creative venue, it’s not exactly what I want on the toilet seat.  So, today, I took a little trip out to Home Depot to replace the toilet seat and installed it myself (I am woman!).

I had a discussion with Katie about the graffiti.  "Katie," I warned, "ON THE PAPER or I’m taking the pens away."

Yesterday, I found that she had drawn several pictures on the toilet paper.

That kid will be the death of me yet.

This makes me sad. 

I don’t know quite what I think about it. 

Clearly, Andrea Yates is guilty of killing her own children.  The question is whether she has any sanity.  I can’t understand how anyone can have any ounce of sanity and do something that terrible.

I woke up this morning with all kinds of ideas about what I would do with my morning…  Make some breakfast for the girls, take Chris to work (it’s pouring out), finish off my novel (really), that sort of thing.  And then I saw the clock:  it was almost 9am.  That seemed impossible.  How could I have…?  And then I saw the diapers.  Since Charlie is upstairs with us, I change him there rather than going back downstairs to the nursery.  It’s in the middle of the night and I often forget about it when I wake up.  But the pile of diapers is proof.  Last night, there were five.  Five.  That completely explains my exhaustion this morning.

Now I have a ratings system that I can rely on for how restful my night was.  Last night?  Not so much.  A five diaper night.

Yeah, it’s true.  My children are officially growing like weeds…

After spending (almost) four years in the 5-10% range for weight and height, Katie shot ahead to (gasp) average.  Yes, indeed, she’s at the 50% mark now for weight.  Wahoo!  She’s 33 pounds and 37 inches high.

Charlie, on the other hand, will never know what it’s like to be in the 5-10% range (and I am thankful for that).  He weighed in at a healthy 11.75 pounds and is an amazing 23" long.

Ames?  Well, we’re not yet sure.  Her check-up is next week.  She’s getting quite tall but I have no expectation that her weight has increased.  She still can’t keep 18 months pants on her little waist…

But all are happy and healthy.

Whew.

I am having one of those weeks. You know the ones I’m talking about… Where before Monday even starts, you’re dreading the week.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not normally a dreading the week kind of girl. I don’t hate Mondays. I enjoy Sunday nights even though the TV stinks - no, I don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy. I like the idea of chatting with Chris in the family room and thinking about all of the great things I accomplished during the weekend. But not this weekend.

First of all, I accomplished nothing. Na-da. Zippo. A little laundry and some dishes, sure. But no vacuuming. No sweeping. The Swiffer stayed in the mudroom. No yard work. No dusting. Nothing.

I blame the weather. It’s hot. Hot and rainy-humid, which is worse than just humid-humid. So I did not feel inspired to do a thing.

It wouldn’t be so bad except that the week ahead looms with things to do every single day.

The birthday extravaganza that is the month of June continues with the girls’ joint birthday party on Monday. Party is a bit much said. It’s really just some hot dogs and cake with the girls’ friends in the pool. As long as Katie can call it a party, she’s happy.

Following Monday’s gala event, I have two community-related meetings on Tuesday which should eat up most of my day. Super Nanny is gone that day, so, gulp, we’ll see what happens. Chris goes out of town for business (yuck) in the middle of the week. Chris’ brother and my two nieces fly in from Jordan at the end of the week and we’re having a family get together at my in-laws’ house on Friday. And Saturday we leave for vacation. Boy, are we going to need it.

Okay, so I’m not making this up at all.  I received this information from The Bone Appetite, a store that we stop by to grab the occasional treat for Lyle in Chestnut Hill:

We are asking that you & your businesses participate
in "Take Your Dog To Work Day" this Friday, June
23rd.  The purpose of this day is to promote the
human-animal bond in order to encourage more
people to adopt pets from shelters.

             

The Realities of Pet Overpopulation

 

• An estimated 6-8 million dogs are euthanized in
  shelters each year.
• Over 2 billion is spent annually by local
  government to shelters
• The Humane Society reports that 7 dogs are born
  every day for 1 person born in the U.S.  Of these, 1
  in 5 puppies stay in their original home for his/her
  natural lifetime.  The remaining are abandoned in the
  streets or end up in a shelter.
• ‘Purebreds’ account for 30% of all the animals in
  shelters.
• The National Council on Pet Population Study &
  Policy reports that approximately 55% of dogs and
  puppies entering shleters are killed based on reports
  from shelters across America. 

 

"Take your dog to work day" was originally created a
few years ago by an organization called Pet Sitters
International.  The purpose of this day is to
encourage non-dog owners to seek out local shelters
and adopt a pet.  Our hope is that by facilitating
positive interactions between dogless co-workers &
their colleagues’ canine companions it will change the
way they view pets and inspire them to own one for
theirself. 
To get your pet ready for his/her big day at
the
office we invite you to come into our store and get a
spiffy new collar and leash set.  You might even
want to stop in and get a few treats so that your co-
workers can win the heart and stomach of your
pooch.
Even if your place of business does not participate in
this special day, make a poignant effort to take in
pictures of your pet and share stories about your
special bond.

 

To learn more about how to get involved visit Pet Sitters International website

 The Bone Appetite K-9 Inc 

We are an upscale dog boutique that believes
the best pets are those found in your nearest animal
shelters & or rescue organizations.  Please stop in
and ask us for our list of rescue groups & shelters in
the immediate area.  We are located at:
8505 Germantown Ave. Philadelphia, PA  19118

Okay, it’s not me.  It’s my good friend, Madeline, with my daughter.  Go visit.  They’re so darned cute.

It’s not only my girls that have curiosity about "stuff" - I do, too.  I love knowing how things are made, how they work, etc.

With that in mind, we all headed out to Herr’s Snack Foods Factory today to find out how they make potato chips, pretzels, etc.  We had a good time, though Super Nanny has now sworn off Herr’s Onion Flavored Rings when she found out that they weren’t really made out of onions…  The chips, though?  Yum.  We got to taste them right out of the cooker.  They were divine.

We found out the info about the tours here.  You can choose your state and find a factory near you.  Enjoy!