Birthdays and Parties

Yesterday was my daughter Erin's 15th birthday. We spent ALOT of time together: time shopping at Wal-mart, walking around town and just hanging around the house without the guys. It was altogether a good daytime spent for us. We talked each others ears off. I'd say it was the most we've talked together in a LONG time without yelling and lecturing.

Of course, it being her birthday I did the typical remembrances of her birth. Just a few. I may have even embellished a little. Things like "at this time 15 years ago I was screaming at the top of my lungs GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME" and stuff like that. In actuality I had a really good epidural and, although uncomfortable, I didn't have much pain until the actual pushing and I WAS too busy to yell. I did eventually tell her that too. I told her the facts like time of birth - 6:29pm, height and weight - 8lbs 14ozs, 21inches. Every year I tell her these things and she wonders how I remember them. Of course they're just what mom's keep embedded in their brain forever. I can forget so many things but there are some things that are just THERE.

One thing that ties her together with Gavin's birth is that she was there to witness it. YES, she was 9 years old, but I deemed she was old enough and mature enough to watch the birth. I figured she would then decide that she would never want to have a child of her own. Isn't that cool! Seriously, I just wanted the family to all have part of the birth. My mom, Ken and Erin were all there. Gavin was Born October 4th, 2006. But today we are having his birthday party.

I'm being a little bit pouty right now. Only one person in Gavin's Kindergarten class has RSVP'd. Do people not do that anymore or is no other child out of 27 children going to come to his party? I'm so worried about this. This is the first real school party I've thrown for Gavin and I'm this anxious about it. I never had this much anxiety about Erin's parties. We had enough friends in Lexington that I knew almost exactly how many people would be at her parties, plus people RSVP'd. I'm out of my element here. Ken and I haven't been here long enough to have made many friends with the people in the area, especially the ones with kids Gavin's age. I have a few kids coming, including family so I know the party won't be empty. But it's Gav's first REAL party away from the house and I wanted it to be special. I'm sort of living vicariously through my children. I never had a party away from my house, EVER. I lived in the mountains where there was not many choices of places, if any, for parties away from home. Now I get excited about giving my kids fun times when I can. I just want them to have the most fun they can have. Gavin probably doesn't care one way or another. It's just me.

Whatever happens today for the adults I am positive the kids will have a good time. I'm now heading off to get the cake for Gavin and the party is in less than two hours. I'll update this later.

UPDATE:

Of course Gavin loved his party. What  kid wouldn't love skating, playing video and token games, getting to ride around in a giant skate and eating pizza and ice cream? He got plenty of well wishes and lots of hugs. That's all he needed to give him plenty of a rush and keep him up later than I would have liked. He did eventually go to sleep, but it was a good day and night altogether. His favorite gifts were his razor scooter and light saber. Now he can ride his scooter with the neighbors without borrowing one of theirs. The light saber is neat as it is a light up that does the sound and clash stuff. So, I'm pleased anyway that he has fun no matter what my hang ups are.

Dreams

Dreams in the course of a life are a natural thing. Dreaming at night, dreaming during the day, and then there are the long term DREAMS. Those we have that we want to DO. Our obsessions. What we want to do besides our careers. What we wish were our careers.

One of my husbands and my friends opened their family's restaurant last night. I am so very happy for his family. They went for their dream and made it real. It took time and courage. There will still be lots of heartache and worry because a venture like that is never completely solid. But it is a dream come true. I envy that. It's amazing and wonderful. Congratulations to Nash and Dijuana at Pescara's Pizza.

I've had many dreams. I've wanted to be in space, an author, a hotel manager and a business owner. This, I'm sure are just a few, but they stand out among the crowd. I never really went to much effort in becoming any one of these things, except get the assoc. degree in business. It was mostly talk and dreams. I went through my life working my jobs, not even careers, thinking I've got plenty of time to work on this. I can still do things later (except for the  being in space thing of course). Life gets in the way. The there came even more life than I expected, stuff that I got into that I hadn't planned on, but did anyway and years passed without me even noticing. Now here I am and I'll be 40 in a few months. What have I done with my life? I feel as if I do not have time to do anything else with it.

But the fact is I am only 39 and I still have plenty of time to work on other dreams. No one says I can't think small and work my way up. Author doesn't have to mean book. It can mean short story.Business owner doesn't have to mean brick and mortar, it can mean selling my typing services from home, or something like that. I just have to think smaller. I don't need to make myself fail before I even begin to do something that might actually become something good.

Now if I can just make myself truly believe that all the time I'll be good to go.

Politics and Other Ramblings

I'm already sick of hearing about anything having to do with politics. I am NOT into politics at all. I never really participated much in the elections in my past. I would try to go out in the presidential elections and "make my voice heard." Truth is, I probably did an "eeny meeny miney mo" on most of the other candidates. Or I selected the one I actually remembered hearing their name somewhere (good advertising is critical). Now, for a personal reason, I cannot vote and am pretty happy about it. I have a good excuse to stay away from the polls.

My husband, however, is somewhat political. I think he does pay attention to things going on around us but we don't talk about it. It's not a topic of conversation in our household because I could not care less. I haven't even asked him who he'd choose as president. He would probably tell me but I'm certain the reasons why would not come after that answer. He knows I'd zone out.

Facebook is a fount of information about the candidates. Even a few of my friends have been waging their own war of words. I will not unfriend them, nor will I shut them out just because they are pushing through stuff I don't want to see. I've been quite guilty of that kind of thing in the recent past. I got heavily into trying to win eBooks or other prizes and had to "like" a bunch of things and people as well as post ads for books and such. Sorry about that by the way. I often wonder how many people put me on their no show list because of that. I even got tired of doing that stuff myself. It was too time consuming, taking me away from my real love - reading books.

On a happier note, my daughter and I spent time together today and at no point did I want to strangle her (just a matter of speech, not a death threat people). I was frustrated a few times, rolled my eyes a whole lot, and flat out told her the truth of my disappointment with her recent bad behaviors (I will not write about), but I still kept cool. That is something to celebrate for me, a real breakthrough.

We were at an appointment most of the morning but afterwards we went to the mall to pick out her birthday gift. She turns 15 at the end of the month. I wanted to get her a small Coach purse but she wanted special shoes. I got her both. A Coach wristlet and Nike hightops. The shoes are where we disagreed. She wanted men's shoes and I think men's shoes are too bulky. Not to mention they were more expensive. In the end she got her way as it was her birthday present. Sometimes she can manipulate me into anything. She is, after all, my daughter.

IKEA, the PlayPlace of Adults

Ken and I have decided to go to IKEA to get a set of bookshelves. These are not just any bookshelves because IKEA is not just any store. The Billy Bookcases can be bought in little pieces so they are so customizable we can set them up any way we need them to fit in our house. We can put glass on the front of one or two shelves or on a whole wall unit. We can put drawers in some, and doors on some, or choose not to. I LOVE it. All we need when we go there is the dimensions of the area we're putting the bookcases in and we can start designing.

Oh, and even better is that the parts all come flat and ready to assemble with easy instructions so we'll be able to do it ourselves. I know we can because I've put together an IKEA bunk bed frame before and it was a snap. The furniture is all supposed to be made like that. I just need to ask my mom if I can borrow her truck. How about it mom? You can drive our car.

I call IKEA the PlayPlace of adults because you have little to no stress while shopping since they provide childcare and a place to eat if you get hungry. Then of course there is the stuff they sell. It is amazing! You have to have a map to get through it. They sell everything there, all created for living in smaller spaces, with a minimalistic look and higher efficiency. IKEA is a foreign company so they do things differently as far as furniture and decor. I like it. I could stay and play with the stuff there all day long! Oh, the really best part is that the stuff is really affordable! Totally within a normal person's price range. Like, the duvet cover I need to keep my lovely cloud feeling comforter from getting dirty is going to cost at least half if not less than that if I had gone anywhere else.

Unfortunately there is a time limit on the childcare so I will have to check out, hmmm, unless Mom will take care of Gavin too, giving us longer time to shop... How about it Mom? Please? I'll owe you one. I never get to have fun anymore and really need this playdate.

Here's the kicker: I can't go there often because the closest IKEA is in West Chester, OH, 127 miles from here. It's still worth the drive. The only other time I went to an IKEA is when we were in Orlando, FL visiting Ken's family. That's when I fell in LOVE.

Walt Disney World "The Magic Kingdom"

Hold on to your hats folks because we're going to see the mouse! Wait. I didn't say that right. I meant THE MOUSE! MICKEY MOUSE! That's right! This little branch of the Pflug family is going to Walt Disney World in November over Thanksgiving holiday. We're going to brave the roads and drive down, maybe stay one or two nights at one of the economy lodges on the Disney property, and spend a day in the Magic Kingdom. We'll probably just spend the next day in Downtown Disney. Then we'll be spending a couple more days in FL hanging out with family.

The four of us will be going to Disney: me, Ken, Erin and Gavin. Erin and I were there in 2005 to celebrate her 8th birthday, Gav's never been and Ken hasn't been there for close to 25 years. Many things have changed since then. We read up on the parks and decided on the Magic Kingdom as our park since we could only go to one park. I've done a little reading and sort of remember some of the stuff mentioned. It would be great if anyone who might read this comments or writes to me and gives me some inside tips for the Magic Kingdom. Maybe which restaurant is better price for the food, or where to stand for the parade to get the best pictures.

Of course the free guidebook I downloaded lists the main attractions and some of the facts. It really takes a regular attendee or a local person to know the ins and outs of anything going on inside the park. I do know one thing. I'd better make reservations to eat with characters early if I expect any of that to happen.

Wish us luck on getting the trip on it feet, as well as actually getting there.

Little Luxuries and a Birthday Party

I was able to do some special shopping last week and got two luxuries I'd wanted for a long time: a very nice COACH purse and an iPad!

I am actually enjoying my purse more than the iPad right now because the purse is just so new smelling and has so many pockets for everything. Plus I get so many nice compliments on it, etc. I LOVE it! Went to the Coach store with my three potential purses on a list, looked at each and chose one. Easy peasy. Then went to Godiva to get some chocolate to ease my stomach a bit before heading into Apple for the iPad.

It was also easy to get the iPad since I knew exactly what I wanted. Just tell the sales guy and boom, we're outta there. I know I'll enjoy the iPad a whole lot more when I start getting into the apps that are specific for it. Right now I've only downloaded two apps that utilize iPad at it's best. I've mostly been using it to read on or surf the web. Plus it takes the place of both my computer and the Kindle.

I am probably going to let Gavin use the Kindle for more of his games on trips and such. Also he likes the HD talking storeybooks. The Kindle has been useful this week, though, when I didn't want to close a window I would just have both the Kindle and the iPad up using both to do something.

I guess I could use my computer but I prefer mobility. My laptop is such a dinosaur that it's more of a desktop now, non-moveable. I actually have a picture frame back velcroed to the top of my laptop so that when it's open it can stay propped up. Otherwise it would flop all the way open like two halves of a hotdog bun; the joint connection is broken and has been for several years. My computer is 7 years old.

A laptop is a luxury. I can get a really nice desktop for the same price as I can get a halfway nice laptop. But I want to move around. Mobility is important to me. My dining room chairs are not something I like sitting in for long lengths of time and that's where we have our office set up.

Oh yes, a luxury for the iPad luxury came in the form of the iPad case. I believe that some protection is necessary for those things. What I spent was not necessary just for protection, but because I want to be able to read a certain way I have to pay for it. Isn't that always the way it is? Longway or horizontal is the way people are apparently excpected to read their iPads, Kindles and other readers and such. I say that because getting any kind of Portrait or verticle cover is not easy. I found one locally, not cheap at even the cheapest place, Wally world. (finding a good one online for my Kindle was a challenge).

Gavin is having his B-Day party at Windjammers Fun Center

September 30, a Sunday at 1pm, Gavin will be having his birthday party at Windjammers Fun Center at 3846 S. Danville Bypass, Danville, KY 40422. I'll be sending out real invitations to kids but if anyone wants to come let me know. Adults can come but BYOF. I'll supply the cake and drinks.

Gav actually turns 6 on Oct. 4. His sissy Erin turns 15 on September 29 so we'll be singing happy birthday to her too at Gavin's party.

Family Reunion

I went to my family reunion this weekend. It is the first time in over three years I have been to visit the county I grew up in. I was so glad to finally get to go to visit because I really missed my family. It just isn't enough to keep up with people on Facebook.

The reunion I went to is called the Mills, Horn, Crum reunion (104th year) and it is held at My family's old Homestead on Turkey Creek in Martin County KY.  The old homestead is the house my great great grandpa Thomas built (remodeled now) during the civil war when the Confederate soldiers took everything he had at another location and forced him out of his home. So the homestead is where his son, Paw Fed, started his family. His 14 kids and their families are the ones that make up most of the giant reunion we have today. Out of the 14 kids there were at least 45 grandchildren for Paw Fed and his wife (I'd lay money on there being several more). That is my dad's generation. No one has bothered to count my generation and heaven forbid trying to count my daughter and son's generation! That's only 5 generations still living through my grandmothers line. But I know there is a 6th generation living because my grandmother was just one of the youngest siblings. Her oldest sister, who is still alive and comes to the reunion sometimes, has great great grandchildren. My point in all this is that we are a large family. There was around 150 people at the reunion this year and many more just stopping in to chat.

As far as my Grandmother's contribution to the family, she has 9 children. They each have at least on kid, most have two. That's about 19 grandchildren. We are all continuing the tradition by having roughly two babies each. So, soon we're going to just have to branch off and have our own little reunion ourselves.

Completely and totally off the subject....

I once took a finance class that talked about Social Security. I learned that Social Security is an insurance, not a savings account. What we pay in to it is not put back for our use later on. What happens is, the people who come behind is are the ones who are paying into a pool of money for our retirement. Meaning those who are working right now are paying for those who are retired. With the economy having the most retirees EVER because of the baby boom, and I'm at the tail end, or beginning of Gen X (close enough), there just isn't enough money in the work pool going in to the Social Security fund to pay for all these retirees. So that's why they really can't retiree as early as they previously were able to. So, when my generation and the one after mine, gets old enough to retire, We are going to have to make sure there are enough people in the work force paying in to the Social Security fund to keep us living well in our retirement. What are we supposed to do about it? HAVE MORE KIDS! At lease have two kids per household instead of one, maybe even three. It's worth the expense in the long run. They will work their tails off in the work force paying taxes in the future so that we can retire and enjoy our retirement.

My grandmother's generation had it right. Have kids, let them take care of you in your old age. Guilt them into doing it. The baby boomers screwed up. I have two kids. Now I just hope they have a good work ethic and realize they have to have kids to keep them up later in life too.

Just My Fragmented Humble Opinion

OK, Next thought.....

401K's
If everyone had 401k's or retirement funds Social Security wouldn't be necessary...
Yeah, right. And everyone would drive their own Mercedes (I want one!) and live on Rodeo Drive too. Get real. If EVERYONE could do it, it would be done. It might even be possible, but not likely. It's possible for EVERYONE to stop smoking or drugging, but not likely. I only READ fantasy. I have to LIVE in reality.

Why did I get on the subject of Social Security? Who knows. Thoughts pop into my head sometimes that just get me thinking and I want to write about it. Now you know.