Girlz Gone Not At All Wild

My sister Melissa and cousins Nikki and Jenn convened in the booming metropolis of Wadsworth last weekend for a girls weekend. Needless to say, they didn't know what hit them.

For those of you who may not know, my mother is the youngest of 9 children. There are a lot of cousins. In the past, we have tried to get together every other year at a gathering affectionately known as FlemFest (as mom's maiden name was Fleming). This has recently turned into an annual event, but we won't get into that now. Even as an annual event, there just doesn't seem to be enough time for the "youngins" to catch up. So we tried a girls weekend, or really, a sleepover, instead.

The hotel was lovely and provided free ice cream snacks and - as bizarre as it may seem - corn dogs. Alas, by the time we returned from dinner, the freezer with the frozen treasures was gone. Not to be deterred (not many Fleming women are), Jenn received 2 ice cream sandwiches by accosting Doug, the FABULOUS desk attendant. We highly recommend the Holiday Inn Express in Wadsworth, Ohio.

Much giggling and talking ensued, until the herd if elephants checked in at midnight. Again, Jenn took care of the situation. Upon reflection, I see we had silently agreed upon a lead of the assembly. There was a group if I-don't-know-what racing up and down our hall at about midnight. At this point, someone knocked on our door. We all looked startled. All of us except for Jenn, who got up like she was gonna brawl. She flung open the door and stared down the woman who had knocked who immediately - and to who own horror - realized she had the wrong room. Apparently she was the herd's chaperon. Traveling with them, we would later overhear, was someone named "Pa" who would, as the party decried in hushed tones, administer a "whuppin'" if he caught the girls running around the halls anymore. Their words, not mine. It was at this point that Nikki wondered aloud whether Laura Engles Wilder had come to stay in Wadsworth for the night. Did I mention that all of this was made funnier by alcohol and the fact that we were all up way past our bed times?

Suffice it to say that a good time was had by all. We all caught up, know way too much about some others' of ours' medical conditions and indulged in some excellent overpriced beverages from Applebees. Overall, an excellent weekend.

Retiring as Event Organizer

I am beginning to wonder if I only have friends because I invite them places.

Since college, I have been the organizer of the group. If there was a birthday, a party to be planned, a cookout to be had or a gathering to partake in, I am your gal. I think I am getting kind of tired of the role. Especially since, with the exception of Erin's Easter Egg Hunt, we get invited nowhere.

Taking stock in the places we've been and the social events in which we've participated in the past year, most have them have been here. Girl's night blew up after Naomi's birthday. Nobody apparently has interest in it but me. Playdates have gone to the wayside and with summer coming up, here we are again, at cookout season.

We're having a party Memorial Day weekend, which no one seems to want to commit to (except Feeb - thanks). I know Osi will want to throw another July 4th Brunch, but I think I will protest, especially given what is turning out to be a poor turnout at the Memorial Day event.

Yes, I am bitching again. Perhaps that is why I never get invited anywhere. Is it that people are too involved with their everyday lives and families to get together with friends? Or is it that they have made other groups of friends of which I am not a part? I don't know, but it makes me sad either way.

Fair Trade vs. Made in the USA

As I was washing and hulling my $1.38 a carton strawberries this evening, I actually thought about the illegal migrant worker that probably picked them. Thank you, presidential campaign, 2008. So, while this is produce that was, technically, "Made in the USA" as so many Fords with gun racks like to proclaim, why am I feeling all full up on guilt and yuckiness as well as my tasty, tasty berries?

I am finding it hard to figure out how we are supposed to live in this global-economy-green-as-you-can-be-erase-your-carbon-footprint-and-save-Darfur kind of world. It is as easy as the old paper or plastic debate. Plastic - even of you recycle it as a dirty-diaper-holder or trash can liner as we do - still end up in landfills. Paper, well, put my name on the list of people cutting Darryl Hannah out of her beloved trees. There seem to be no good choices.

Yes, I have switched some of my light bulbs to the fluorescent kind. I've switched them in the rooms in which I don't mind being reminded of grade school classrooms or doctor's offices. Yes, we recycle, just like every other good Bexley-ite. But not everything we could. Because that would mean composting and doesn't composting lead to methane production? You see what I'm getting at here?

Oh how I long for the blissful oblivion of my youth, where running the water while I brushed my teeth was not a crime that made my conscience see a scolding Al Gore in the mirror when I popped back up from spitting. Oh to eat from a paper plate, with - gasp - plastic utensils! Seriously, are picnics so 1989 or are they all just biodegradable now?

Run, run reindeer....

I am running back and forth to Starbucks today. Not for an out-of-control caffeine addiction, but to interview many, many sitters for the Sitter Connection gig, which I failed to cut myself completely loose from a few month ago. These gals can;t meet all in a block, noooooo, so I had 2 at about 11 a.m., another one at 12:30 and, thankfully, another block starting at 2:45. If I could just get them all one right after another, it would be a lot easier. The fact that I am only paid $6 an interview is not helping.

On the upside, we are going to Cincinnati this weekend. Looking forward to that. Also, I found out a week ago or so that I am Sisterhood's Volunteer of the Year. How kooky is that?

I need to read everything I can get my hands on by some nutjob named Ekhart Tolle. Apparently he is making millions off of my knowledge that you are NOT the voice in your head. My mom thinks I am NUTS (literally) because I acknowledge the Voice In My Head. The VIMH is very negative and mean-spirited. Apparently Ekhart knows this and is very zen about the whole thing and has a whole following. I need to find out if old Ekhart has found a way to shut the voice up. Short of going all "Fight Club" on myself. Now THAT would be very helpful (shutting the VIMH up, not going "Fight Club.").

OK, well, I am off to the next interview (and get all hopped up on a latte). Maybe I'll sneak in some Target time in between the 12:30 and 2:45 interview. Target may be my Happy Place. Isn't that sick?

Team Jack Meetup

So we met with Jack's teachers, the early intervention specialist and the (waste of carbon matter) director of the Early Childhood Services at the JCC yesterday. Sadly absent was Nili Tallis - Fantabulous Infant/Toddler Coordinator at the JCC and all around Super Cool Chic. Seriously - if you ever have your kid in the JCC, deal directly with her.

It was a surprisingly positive meeting. Both the Early interventionist (Shara) and the teachers (Jamie - super-fantastic) and Leslie (also fantastic, but not very vocal) have seen improvement in Jack's communication skills and his interest in playing and interacting with other kids. There has been a little less interest in the doors, but when he wants to play with the door, the redirection is working a little less well, as he is developing a little bit of a temper. He comes by that honestly. Helloooo. Have we met?

So we explained to them that we do not want to have Jack tested for anything right now. We also explained that in the last two weeks we have seen major strides in verbal skills and a lot less door fixation at home and hopefully that will carry over into school soon. We all agreed to keep communicating and, if in six months we don' see the kind of progress we should be seeing, we will revisit the testing issue.

I need to call the pediatrician after they reopen from lunch this afternoon and bring her into the loop on our decision. The people listed above, plus our pediatrician, Dr. Davies (could not possibly ask for a better baby doctor) is who we refer to as Team Jack. Probably Grammy and Grandpa, too.

In other news, my sister and two cousins that I thoroughly enjoy have FINALLY scheduled a girls' weekend in - of all places - the great oasis of Wadsworth/Lodi Ohio. The plan is to drive to Wadsworth to stay in the lap of luxury (i.e. The Holiday Inn Express) and drink ourselves silly and gossip about all the relatives that are not there. Then get up on Saturday and shop the Lodi outlets. Mostly, it is about hanging out with the people we are related to that we actually enjoy. Since we are the offspring of 9 brothers and sisters and there are only 4 of us going, that says something, doesn't it? The rest of them are kind of certifiable. At any rate, I am totally looking forward to it, and that is something, baby!