Need a Job

Me and Jack and Moca

Jack: (looking at used cars on his phone) How much should I spend on a car?

Me: What? You’ll get my car when you’re able to have one on campus.

Jack: But what if I want a NICE car.

Me: you think you can afford something nicer than a 2019 Subaru, loaded?

Jack: (keeps researching) Hmmm, what kind of car payment do you think I can afford?

Me: (silence)

Jack looks over at me. What??

Me: it depends how much money you make at your JOB. (Of which he has none).

Jack: (visibly deflated) Point taken.

Me: Monthly payments assume you have monthly income. Free car sounds pretty good eh?

When you’ve never really worked for a living, you kind of don’t realize that everything you do depends on how much money you make.

Jack at age 3 with Stripey

Egg Sammich & Spooky… Somethin’

As it turns out he dies still say sh*t even while away at college 😂

Jack and I were talking on the phone earlier. He was getting ready to start packing for his spring break rowing trip and was debating whether or not to get some homework done before break or after, and then was worried about an egg sandwich he took from the dining hall.

Me: Dis you start packing yet?

Jack: No, I have time. I’m wondering if I should go do my homework at the Q center now to get it over with.

Me: That sounds like a good idea so you won’t have to think about it over break.

Jack: I’m not thinking of it at all.

Me: Well if you have time to do it then pack.

Jack: I’m more worried about this egg sandwich.

Me: Uh, what?

Jack: I took an egg sandwich from the dining hall and it’s going to sit here for a week.

Me: So eat it.

Jack: It’s cold.

Me: So heat it up! 🤨

Jack: oh yeah I could eat it now.

Me: Or wrap it up and take it in the van as a snack later.

Jack: I just said I’m eating it now.

Me: Sigh. Ok. Give your dad a call too before you go.

Jack: I would but you’ve been talking forever.

Me: Oy! Ok byeeeeee.

Jack: Oh wait I have to tell you this funny story. This guy was using the bathroom at work and the lights went out so he took a spooky dooky. Hahaha!

Me: Wasn’t that what happened to you last summer.

Jack: No it was some guy on Twitter.

And there you have it, the last mom son convo before Jack’s first ever spring break trip.

Spooky dooky…. geez….

Wiping the slate clean, so to speak.

Photo from a concert we went to Sunday night in NYC. That’s a can of water btw. 😆🥳

I picked Jack up from rowing practice today after work. In the winter they workout at a gym and lift weights and use the rowing machines, etc. Not as fun as being in the water!

(Side note, Jack is in my shower singing “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra at the top of his lungs. He’s got a great voice, and can definitely sing the low parts haha.)

Anyway, we got home and I remembered the cleaning girl had been there. (I’m allergic to dust!! Don’t judge!!) 😆 She’s amazing and even makes little bows and roses on the tissue boxes and toilet paper rolls. Ahhhh. Such pampering.

me: Hey take your shoes off, the house was cleaned today and I want to keep it that way for at least a little while. Ok? I look down and notice sand on the floor already. Gah!

Jack: I know, I was home after school, remember?

(Totally forgot his dad picked him up from school earlier…I was at the office all day. And that explains the dirt eh?)

me: Oh yeah, I didn’t remember that.

Jack: I wiped my butt with a flower.

me: Sigh.

😵🤣😆

Jack turned 17!

Happy 17th Jack!

And mom has not updated the blog. How did I get here? 🧐😫😵

We had a small family birthday dinner on Tuesday for Jack with a tiny little cake. His friend celebration is this weekend which includes a much better and prettier cake (peanut butter/Reese’s, his choice) and a day of skiing with friends. Therefore this was more of a symbolic cake hahah.

Jack art directed my photos, naturally. i got him a skateboard by one of his favorite artists, Vexx (go check him out on Instagram). His dad got him the Apple Pencil to go with his new iPad.

Jack: Mom, put the skateboard behind the cake like this. And then, no no no don’t aim at it like that you have to go like this.

He gets in front to demonstrate pretty much what I was going to do anyway.

Jack: then just get the candles and I’ll go behind it.

me: You done? Get over there because the candles are melting.

Dennis (Jack’s dad): Is glitter getting on the cake? I don’t want to eat melted glitter.

me: The glitter is edible.

Jack and Dennis: No it isn’t!

me: Sigh.

So I took the photo and we sang happy birthday. Well, I sang. Dennis scraped glitter off the cake.

And then we ate the cake and Jack hung the skateboard on his wall. He turned another year older as easy as that. Coincidentally he was born on a Tuesday so this brought us right back to a bunch of memories.

Before bed we watched Rhythm and Flow on Netflix. It’s a good show/contest about trying to find the best new rap star. I loved the series and had watched it in 2020 when I was home. Home a lot. I got Jack into it and he’s hooked. I won’t spoil the ending but we are going to see the winner perform in NYC next weekend and we are both so excited!!! Eeeeeeee!!! Though it’s in a Sunday night. Oh well. YOLO as Jack used to say a few years ago. You only live once!

When the show ended jack said he had to go study for a Spanish midterm. I started telling him about the day he was born and how he came 5 weeks early and how I didn’t get an epidural and his dad passed out, etc.

Jack: Well that took 45 minutes! I have to go study.

me: Well I guess I had to get that story out. Do you see what i went through? 2 days of labor. Birthdays should really be celebrations for the moms. Look at all the work I did omg!!

Jack: yeah that’s not happening. Don’t eat the rest of the cake.

me: Sheesh Jack.

And there you have turning 17. Driving. Prepping for midterms, finalizing college financial forms and waiting for acceptance letters to roll in. 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Omg I almost forgot I have to update the blog header again! Someone remind me in the comments LOL!! oh, and Jack got an97 on that midterm. Yay!!

One smile!

Art director

From our hike last Sunday

Lunch Lady… what???

Jack and I were sitting on the couch the other night. He was showing me something from school that I simply cannot remember right now (Oy!) and I had to lean in to see what he was showing me. Then he looked at my arm, reached over and jiggled it. (It’s a wonder he made it to 16)

Jack: Hey your arm jiggles like a lunch lady!

me: Whaaatttt???? (I start winding up for the knock out punch)

Jack: No! No! Don’t worry! The top of your arm is fine and that’s the important part.

(???)

Mac and Cheese Coma

Jack and I ate dinner while watching an episode of Madame Secretary. He is so into that show now, and i’m watching it all for a 2nd tme. Really good if you haven’t seen it yet! We would highly recommend it as your next binge.

This week Jack has been interning at my friend’s business and understands what it feels like to be busy all day. We get up at 5 to be at rowing practice at 6, then finish up, go home, shower and I drive Jack to his “job” for 9 then I go to work (luckily they are close to each other), then we head home, walk the dog, feed the cats and slap some dinner together.

Anyway, we were tired from a full week of getting up at 5am. Trust me, as much as I like seeing the sunrise on the beach, I just want a day of solid sleep. We were in the mood to veg out on the couch. I made a giant pot of mac and cheese for Jack, along with veggies, etc., and made sure to make enough for left overs hopefully for lunch tomorrow.

We were eating, or at least I was still eating, and Jack I guess had finished his food, and slumped over like he was in a coma, groaning.

me: What happened?

Jack: Ate. too. much.

me: Really? It didn’t seem like you at a lot at all.

Jack: I ate the whole pan.

me: The whole entire pan??

Jack: Oohhhhhh….. (more holding of stomach and groaning)

me: Jack, that was 8 SERVINGS roughly!

Jack: Yeah, I know, I should have thought that through. Here you can have what’s left.

He hands me his bowl with like 10 little shells in it. Gee thanks.

10 minutes later he eats a half of a banna and a whole apple covered in peanut butter. That was dessert. LOL!

Boys are gross.

Permit Test Day!

Jack is getting his driver’s permit right now. Oh Lordy!! Stay off the roads! 🤣

The security guy at the door of the DMV stopped to check our mountain of paperwork.

Guy: What’re you here for?

Jack: Permit test.

Guy: How old are you?

Jack: 16

Guy: Wow, you are tall!

We’re used to that kind of reaction. Anyway, Jack already passed in what seemed like 5 minutes. (Hoping they actually tested him!) We now have another driver in the household.

me: We need to stop at the store and get a few things for tonight.

Jack: Can I drive to the store?

me: Sigh.

And so it begins. He’s had the slip of paper exactly 15 minutes haha. I’ll definitely share more stories of how THiS goes.

In the meantime…

I have a few more funny texts that I found that made me laugh so I’m sharing them now. Jack is the gray and I’m the blue. As if you couldn’t tell hahaha.

(I think I answered him in like two minutes!)

____

(Jack and friends were in Target haha)

____

(Sigh)

____

(Really…)

____

(No clue hahahaha)

____

(I think this was when PoBo kept jumping in my trash can)

____

(As always)

Well that’s it for today, have a great weekend everyone!

Top 10 Sayings While in Quarantine

Jack has had to expand his activities during quarantine, and only after I boot him off XBox. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when you have the time (or are forced to.) None of these things would have been possible without this virus to keep us home and steadily burning through our boredom activities. One by one. Until you’re scratching around at the bottom of the barrel for something to do.

Here are the top 10 phrases I can recall recently that will give you a glimpse into what Jack has decided to do with his free time.

10.
Jack: Where’s the stand for that old electric keyboard? I’m gonna learn how to play piano!
me: We don’t have a keyboard stand soooo you’re out of luck there.
Jack: I need to go to the bathroom now.
me: And that takes care of that…

9.
Jack: I’m going to check out my legos.
me: Why don’t you pick out the ones you want to get rid of and I can take them to Goodwill?
Jack: Not gonna happen.

8.
Jack: Mom, these plants are NOT gonna grow if you don’t move them into the sun! (he fussily moves the baby squash plants into the patch of sun on the floor like a worried grandpa.)

7.
Jack: Check out the rose I drew for Spanish class. (he shows me a line drawing he did on his laptop, of a rose and a book).
me: That’s so cool Jack. You should color it in.
Jack: No, I like it like this. Now I need to order a stylus so I can do real drawings.

6.
Jack: I went for a run today. Now my heel hurts.

5.
Jack: (helping me cook dinner) This is either really going to be awesome or really going to suck. There’s no in between here.

4.
Jack: Ok ok, cut my hair already!
me: Really? Yayyyy!! (I had wanted to cut his hair after watching a few YouTube videos ha ha)
Jack: Just don’t mess it up…
me: Well, I can’t promise that, but it will be quarantine passable.

3.
Jack: I want to go through all my old school papers.
me: They’re organized in folders by grade, so please just put them back in the right folder and in order ok?
Jack: Um, it’s not rocket science mom.
(later…I look on the floor and the papers are scattered and completely NOT back in the folder where he got them…grrrrr…)

2.
Jack: I’ll vacuum but only if you buy a new one. This one doesn’t even spin!
(I immediately bought a new one on Amazon. Arrives Friday!)

1.
Jack: Oh look! My old drones! (the animals went crazy over this one…)

Bonus:
Jack: Oh, the 3rd episode of the Tiger King is where everything happens.
me: You’ve watched 3 episodes of the Tiger King? It’s really not appropriate Jack…
Jack: … no…?
me: Oh really, no?
Jack: Okay, I already finished the series.
me: Sigh.

I hope you are all not going completely crazy at home, and that all your kids and spouses and animals are still getting along. Jack and I keep our distance, joining up for dinner and maybe some TV. Maybe. PoBo kept trying to sit on my neck while I typed this in bed. Moca is sleeping on my foot. Luna is at the end of the bed looking regal. Jack is… still in the bathroom.

Typical night here! Be safe everyone! In CT tomorrow we now have to wear our masks full time while in public. Praying for this to be over soon.

Goodnight 14-year-old

Jack will wake up a 15-year-old! Gah! When did this happen?

Well, technically he will turn 15 at 4:36pm… but still! He has friends coming over tomorrow for an escape room adventure, then a hibachi dinner then X-box. Just as it should be.

Jack has had a week of midterms and a week of a head cold. Both are just about over now. Studying can wait a day and resume on Sunday night for the dreaded Algebra 2 test on Monday. 🤮 Then he’s done! Wooo! I have felt as though I’ve lived through 10-th grade again with all the study help I’ve given Jack.

I hated Algebra, loved Geometry! Jack takes after me. Right brain!

So, I am currently mourning my 14-year-old, looking forward to another stellar cake tomorrow and realizing that I have to change my blog title. Which I will do right now. I’ll share the cake tomorrow as I always do. (Rowing theme!!)

I will leave you with this little exchange from a few minutes ago. Oy! Does anyone else out there get this from their teen??

And, Goodnight everyone!

The one missing ingredient

Jack and I are on vacation in The San Diego area after attending his cousin’s wedding this past Sunday. (So much fun!!!). We’re acclimating to the scenery (rocky hills) and the climate (dry sunny heat) and the available activities (not much at our resort aside from swimming or hiking or shopping or … that’s about it. Oh, or eating.)

However we did take a few day trips to the San Diego Safari Park and to the Carlsbad Pier and to Oceanside to see the beach and watch the sunset. Very low key. Today we saw a movie, “Yesterday” which we really liked. And now, we are chilling in the room reading and blogging!

Our meals have been really nice here even though the resort restaurant looks like it’s trapped in time (a much older time) they must have a really good chef. We’ve eaten at least one meal a day here and they’ve all been excellent. Fish tacos and shrimp Caesar salad, omelettes and French toast, baked cod and cob salad, etc. all extremely yummy and fresh. Jack had an amazing looking burger for lunch today.

Normally Jack eats cereal almost every day and drinks milk with most meals. We haven’t even had milk on this trip. It’s been iced tea, lemonade and coffee along with orange juice for breakfast.

I wanted to see if Jack realized that he hadn’t had a glass of milk in about a week.

me: Hey Jack… (obligatory wait for him to remove headphones)

Jack: Huh?

me: Guess what you haven’t had for at least a week?

Jack: Fun?

😖

Sighhhhhh….This kid doesn’t miss a beat.

We DID have a lot of fun at the 400-foot high balloon ride over the safari park AND the 400-foot-high zip line over the endangered animal park. Simply frightening and breathtaking at the same time.

Anyway, back to reality tomorrow as we travel home. Happy summer!!!