We're Back!

The kids spent a week at my parents' house and we went and picked them up this weekend. All in all it seemed to go pretty well, except that the boys had basically NO RULES for the entire week. They are happy to be home, though, and I am happy to have them home. How quiet a kidless house is, even with two dogs running around.

It was GREAT to be back in NY even for such a short amount of time. I got to see some old friends, and we looked at all of the changes in town. Things are growing by leaps and bounds there, and there were some cool new stores and the road construction is all done. They did some great road improvements and traffic seems to flow a lot better than it has previously.

I really miss it there. I think the major thing I noticed though is how absolutely CLEAN it is. People take care of their stuff, stores make sure the windows and doors are spotless, the floors are sparking, and the signs are not all old and corroded. Even the "bad" neighborhoods seemed to look good to us - I still haven't figured out if they have been cleaning up their acts or if I got used to seeing what we see around here.

Jay and I also figured out that moving back is probably never going to happen with the cost of real estate there now, and it keeps just going higher and higher. The bubble was supposed to have burst last year, but yet, the prices are still going insane.

Zachary fit in with his friends like he never left, and seeing them was so good for him. I can't lie - I've missed his best friend, Schuyler, too. That kid is just awesome, and a great friend to Zachary. That's the kind of friend that you find once in a lifetime. I hope they continue to keep in touch.

Only in my house

The kids are getting ready for their trip to NY to spend a week with my parents. Jay and I are trying hard to conceal our glee at the prospect of having the house to ourselves for a whole week. So, we have the kids packed and ready and they went outside to play for a little bit.

We called them inside to get ready for bed, and Devon, who is quite excited for his trip, came running into the house first. Full speed running. In bare feet. And the next thing I knew, Devon was sprawled out on the floor holding his knee and screaming.

I ran over to him and he stood up and I noticed his legs were all wet. WTF? He slid through a puddle of puppy pee from Marsha! Thankfully, he can walk just fine and although his knee is slightly swollen, it doesn't seem to bother him. I can just see explaining that one to an ER doctor!

Happy 4th of July!

This has been a heck of a holiday, beginning with our annual 4th of July party last weekend and lasting through today. We had a great time at our party, and we met several locals from the town message board here. Putting some faces to names was a great thing, and I hope everyone had a fun time.

Last night we blew off some fireworks, and our neighbors down the street came over to see. We then had a few beers afterwards, and the kids all hung out in Zack's room. It's nice that we are beginning to socialize more. I was pretty bored with no one to hang out with. Perhaps we'll have more of a social life now that we seemed to get the ball rolling a little.

Jay surprised me with Billy Joel's live album, recorded at Madison Square Garden, and last night we listened to that and played some darts after our neighbors went home. It really pumped me up to see Billy Joel in concert again. He does a fantastic show, and now I have turned Jay into a fan as well.

I've been thinking about becoming a home party consultant to have something to do and bring in a little cash, and I have been searching on the net to see what might be a good business to get into. I'm bored with the ones like Pampered Chef and the like, that charge a fortune for things that you can buy in Walmart for half the price. I found some interesting companies out there, but I think this area might be just a tad too conservative to hold an adult sex toy party. LOL