This Full House Archive

Category: So, You From Joisey?

Sharing in a little bit of November magic.

When my husband, Garth (not his real name) heard that Melisa was going to visit with us, his initial reaction was, "Uhhhhhh, okay then, where are you going to take her?"

Considering it is November and summertime is pretty much over on the Jersey shore, after traveling all the way from Chicago, he was afraid the weather would not cooperate and that she would be bored.

On the contrary, Melisa and I have been going non-stop since she got here: we dropped her bag at the front door and headed back out to explore the hiking paths that run through Longstreet Farm in Holmdel Park. My kids have been going "to the farm" since they were babies and it is still one of our favorite places to go to walk, talk or just air out our brains, a little.

We hit the beach on Tuesday: visiting the world's tallest sandcastle (seriously, it was AWESOME!) in Point Pleasant Beach. It was built to help raise money for Restore the Shore and we're hoping that it will stay intact long enough for Melisa to come back and see it in the springtime…when our faces won't freeze off…hopefully!

We rode the train into Manhattan on Wednesday to meet up with our dear, sweet friend Patty (she blogs at Enjoying This Life). I adore Patty and absolutely love the pic we took after our lunch date. It took us a couple of tries: it was a very windy day, which is conducive to taking ridiculously unflattering selfies.

Melisa and I then decided to head into Central Park and, although the weather was still on the chilly side, it really did turn out to be a perfect autumn day and we each found new and exciting things to explore.

Belvedere Castle: the official Central Park weather station .

The tree behind me cast a shadow on the stone of the Belvedere Castle that I think is both cool AND creepy.

Alice in Wonderland, in Central Park

There are many bronze statues found throughout Central Park, but Alice in Wonderland is my absolute favorite.

Bethesda Terrace Arcade in Central Park

We also found another cool staircase, followed it down and…WOW!!!…we were both blown away by the beauty of what we found. There are literally thousands of Minton tiles found in this awesome walkway in the center of Central Park that leads to the Mall and Central Park Lake.

I was also reminded of another reason why I love living in New Jersey: it's right next door to NYC, one of the most magical places in the world and I am SO glad I got the chance to share it with Melisa, in November.

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

November 14, 2013
Sandy Castle, the world’s tallest sandcastle.

One of the many reasons I love living on the central Jersey coast (yes, ON PURPOSE!) is our close proximity to, well, everything.

Agricultural and dairy farms, campgrounds, hiking trails, lakes surrounded by two state parks and OF COURSE our favorite beaches are ALL less than a 30 minute drive from our front door.

Problem is, I want to show ALL of it to Melisa or, at the very least, do my best to make her…you know…want to come back to Jersey.

Yesterday was our first full day of exploring, so first thing on my list of "show Melisa ALL the things" is: Sandy Castle at Jenkinson's Beach in Pt. Pleasant.

Sandy Castle was declared the world's tallest sandcastle by Guinness World Records on October 29, 2013: one year anniversary of Super Storm Sandy.

Sandy Castle was built to raise money to help Restore the Shore.

Although, my brain was too frozen to think about having her stand next to it (the temperature didn't go above 38 degrees, yesterday) she did manage to snap one off of me…because, she's smart AND really good at this blogging thing, like that.

P.S. Check out HometownHeroes.org to see all the awesome stuff going on in our community of helpers, here in Jersey.

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

November 13, 2013
When even a walk in the park, is no walk in the park.

One of the many reasons why I love living on the East coast (and YES, there is more than one reason to love Jersey, shuddup!) is our ability to experience all four seasons…sometimes all in the same week, even…so today, it's autumn.

Oh, hello there Autumn!

It's been a very stressful week/month/year/seriously, it's probably better if we just quit keeping score, because…DAYUM!!!!…it's hard out here with teenagers…the stress, she is NOT leaving…so, I kicked myself out of the house and took my two oldest girls with me, because they really should learn to plan on NOT being home…a little better…next time.

They've walked along this trail about a thousand times, it never gets old.

Now that my kids are older, they have this thing about walking alongside their mother. Not because they're embarrassed about being seen walking with their mother (not that they've admitted to, out loud, anyway) it's just that I am not a very good walker, especially when I have my camera with me.

I don't mean to be a bother, but…SQUIRREL!!!!…somebody carved my initials into that tree…oh, and look at the texture of that bark…hey, that's a really cool place for mushrooms to grow, you think…oh AND hey…is that a Hobbit hole?!?

They're a lot faster and much more nimble than when they were little.

Everytime I looked up…I mean, faced-forward…the girls were further ahead than the last…SQUIRREL!!!

Teens are lot further away than they seem, trust me!

The thing about being out of shape is that you do not realize just how badly you are out of shape, until you are way far away from the car.

In this case, my borked-up back was getting on the sciatic nerve in my left leg's…ummmm…last nerve.

"You wait here, I'll go and get the car."

So, while my oldest went to get the car (pausing to acknowledge any residual angst about my having a kid old enough for a driver's license, SHUDDUP and DER!!!!) my middle girl and I…very…very…slooooooooowly…started our way back up the trail and I was feeling pretty low (not to mention, old-ish) when she grabbed my hand, gave it a squeeze and then tried her best to make me feel a little better.

"That's okay, I have to go pee, really bad, anyway!"

Aaaaand, you know what?!? It worked!!! Because I, on the other hand, had the good sense to go before we left.

[sound of crickets, chirping]

Hey, look…doesn't that look like a really fun roller coaster…for squirrels?!?

[SLAM!]

Good thing I have jury duty, tomorrow: all that mostly sitting (for the next 2 days) will have me in tip-top shape for the cancer walk, this weekend.

Stupid borked-up back, dumbass cancer.

© 2003 – 2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

October 16, 2013
Our Stay, Play and Eat Weekend at Morey’s Piers

My family and I were very honored to have been invited, as special guests of Morey’s Piers, to spend the weekend in Wildwood, NJ and meet the famous Morey brothers, in person.

Okay, so I was THRILLED!!!

I got to revisit some of my favorite childhood memories of summertime(s) past: when my twin brother and I would spend our days playing on the beach, as my parents sunned themselves while listening to my dad’s favorite doo-wop radio station (WCBS FM 101.1), and then follow the parade of flip flops, begging our parents for “Please, just one more quarter?!?” to play any one of the dozens of carnival games (it was a long time ago, shuddup!) along the 2 miles of boardwalk, at night.

Okay, great, but what really made this family getaway even MORE fabulous:

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July 2, 2013
Tell Them About My Name

My kids love hearing the stories behind their namesakes and each still pretty much like their given names, except for our youngest: while playing a name game at a friend's baby shower, Hope insisted she wanted to be called Robin.

"How come my name doesn't start with a H, like the girls?"

For two reasons: naming your children with the same letter sounds harmless enough, until you try hollering for one of them, and can't seem to remember their names, without sounding like an idiot…each and every blessed time…because, I'm smart like that.

There is also a pretty neat and totally goosebump-worthy story behind the reason why we chose to name our son, Glen.

One of my husband Garth's (not his real name) earliest childhood memories was from the summer when he was about 4 years-old: he fell into a rose bush, ten times his size (as he remembers it) when a really big boy from the neighborhood ran over and, without hesitation reached in through the thorns, lifted him out, brushed him off and then walked him home.

The really big boy was a 19-year old, his name was Glen Bates — a few months later, he was killed in Vietnam.

But wait, my story is about to get a whole lot goosebump-ier.

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April 29, 2013
S.O.S. The Jersey Shore is Open!

National news crews were very good at bringing the rest of the country (if not, the world) to our doorsteps, when broadcasting heart-breaking images of devistation along our ENTIRE Jersey shoreline (all 130 miles of it) in an effort to record the storm that changed the topography of our state, forever….aaaaand then they left.

We spent many staycation afternoons hanging out in Belford, NJ: I taught my kids how to fish at the pier here.

It's been 5 months since Hurricane Sandy made landfall here in New Jersey (I blogged about our experience, once we got power back) so, some folks may be growing tired or even a little weary of hearing yet another #Sandy story.

The beach and the pier today, as well as many of the businesses here in the small fishing town of Belford, gone.

I'm going to take this moment to share yet ANOTHER story with you, but it's a good one: the Jersey shore is OPEN!!!

My husband, Garth (not his real name) is a member of the NJ Chamber of Commerce (Northern Monmouth County…represent!) and he and his collegues have organized Shop our Shores: the BIGGEST shop local movement EVER to help businesses recover from Hurricane Sandy (the witch!) and it's happening this weekend!

So, what does that mean to those of you who do not live in Jersey?!?

Well, there's an awesome list of local shops participating in Shop Our Shores and many of these small business owner's have links to their store's website, as well.

So, grab yourself a beverage or a light snack (or both) and help support our recovery efforts here in New Jersey; with a little virtual window shopping, perhaps?

We may be down a couple miles of coastline, but don't count us out when planning your spring and summer vacations…either 🙂

Oh…and All the rest of the stuff you may or may not have heard from OTHER folks about Jersey…FUHGHETABOUTIT!…they wish their armpits looked so good.

Come on ova, we'd love to have yuhs!

© 2003 – 2013 This Full House

March 13, 2013
Winter Photo Walk, Pre-Naptime Moments Edition

Raising older kids, folks sometimes ask me about stuff I miss the most about their being…you know…not so little, anymore. That's easy. Naptime!!!

Aaaaaand, those precious pre-naptime moments, when I would take them to the park, or drag them out into our backyard (2 out of 4 STILL hate bugs, me too) and just watch, as they race each other from tree to tree (protip for parents of younger kids: best distraction tactic ever, works EVERY blessed time!) with little or no fear of their running into a sharp corner…or a wall.

Now, it's me they have to worry about (or the dog, because he too forgets to slow down and look, before turning too quickly, sometimes) and dang if I couldn't use a REAL good nap, right about now.

Aaaaaanyway, now that they are older (not me, I'm still 19, in my head, anyways) the kids have their own agendas (none of which include me) and, well, snowy weekends were made for pre-naptime activity, yes?

"No one will go outside and make a snowman with me."

[insert sad face, extending lower lip, over upper lip, here]

My youngest, on the other hand, would insist that no one never, ever…NEVER…wants to do anything, with her…EVER!

"I will!"

Judging by the skepticism, written all over her face (protip: I don't think pre-teens EVER get rid of "the look" until AFTER they have kids) she probably did NOT mean me.

See, it's written all over her face: seriously, Mom??? YOU??? The woman who would not even be able to bend down (or stand up) without having to take a nap, afterwards?!?

Fiiiiiiiine, maybe I can't build a snowman worth a lick (stupid sciatica, dumbass herniated discs) however, we CAN go on an awesome wintertime photo walk and catch a few gosh-darned-mighty-fine-pre-naptime moments of our own.

Aaaaaaaand, guess what THIS weekend's project is going to be…g'head, I'll wait…unless it snows again and then, well, I call naptime!!! Who's with me?!?

[sound of crickets, chirping]

Dumbass-delinquent drain pipe, stupid-ignorant ice.

© 2003 – 2013 This Full House

February 15, 2013
Ice, Ice, #Nemo

We heard it was coming, a few days after experiencing our first earthquake and it was supposedly to be one of the biggest storms to hit Jersey in recent memory: Hurricane Irene blew in late Summer of 2011, which suddenly sounds like a really long time ago.

Aaaaand, then Superstorm Sandy hit the east coast last October, nearly knocking us back into the stone ages, changing the face of New Jersey, forever.

So, yeah, I was a little nervous when tracking our first major winter storm since even before the hurricanes hit, especially one named after a cheeky fish.

Nemo was much kinder to us than our neighbors in North Jersey, but I'm pretty sure that friends and family in New England are STILL digging their way out.

I spent the first few hours of Saturday morning, peering out our front door, willing the snow to melt, hoping that it would thaw out in time for me to take my oldest daughter to work.

You see, I don't do snow, or at least I don't drive in it very well. I had a pretty bad car wreck the first year I started to drive (YES, they had rubber wheels back then, be quiet, child!) and, well, I can still hear the CRUNCH in my ears, as my car was being rear-ended and my forehead hit the steering wheel.

I woke up in the hospital to find out that…YES!…apparently, a person can so sprain their esophagus.

"Do you want me to drive, Mom?"

My oldest is super-soft spoken (no, she does NOT get it from me!) but, I still jumped as if my daughter was talking into a bullhorn and nearly swallowed my coffee mug.

"No, I would much rather you call in sick."

Yeah, great role model…I know…and I realize that she has been driving for over a year now and will need to practice driving in snow, sometime, just not nearly a foot and on her first attempt.

Good thing she wasn't scheduled to work at the hospital until midday, it took all morning for my son to chip away at the ice and snow that Nemo dumped all over our car (another advantage to having older kids, free labor!) and only now do I realize the irony: the daughter of the world's clumsiest and most accident-prone woman WOULD work in a hospital.

"C'mon Mom, you're just making yourself more nervous, you'll be fine."

Aaaaaaad, that very fine line between parent and child (trust me, it's there) was blurred, once again, by my inability to shake stuff off and get over myself, already.

"Besides, you're the one who taught me how to drive…remember?"

Yes, yes I did and she's a gosh-darned good driver (in spite of it) so I guess there is still a little hope for me, yet.

"Hang on a second, I'll grab my coat."

Besides, the last time I attempted to drive in weather like this, I abandoned my car in the school parking lot and walked home, with all four kids in tow, while snow continued to fall…sideways…and I didn't have a coat.

But, NOT this day.

"Thanks Mom, I'm proud of you!"

Tell you the truth, having made it there in one piece AND without embedding my fingers into the steering wheel, permanently, I was pretty gosh-darned proud of myself, too.

"I'll see you after my shift!"

Nope, but I didn't bother to tell her that her father would be picking her up, later that night, and I really shouldn't have to explain why…this LATE in the game…now, do I?!?

Stupid ice, dumbass Nemo.

© 2003 – 2013 This Full House

February 11, 2013
The Afterglow of Giving Back: Helping Us Get Past Hurricane Sandy

It's been a month since Hurricane Sandy made landfall here in New Jersey (I blogged about our experience, once we got power back) and although the news crews and Weather Channel folks have since moved on to other more immediate and pressing matters (sadly, there is bad stuff happening in the world, all the time) reminders of just how cataclysmic this storm really was remain and, well, the devistation isn't going away anytime soon.

I realize that some folks may be growing tired or even a little weary of hearing about yet another Sandy story (I'm looking at you, dude on my Facebook stream who insisted that Jersey should just get over it already) trust me, we get it.

On the other hand, a large percentage of my husband's customers are small business owners who lost both their homes AND their livelihood, excuse my Jersey when I tell you: he hears it ALL friggin' day. In fact, there are people STILL living it, every day.

Either way, the sense of helplessness is incredibly overwhelming.

So, when my good friend, and fellow NJ Digital Mom, Elizabeth Norton (that's her up there with one of her adorable sons!) suggested we get together and help give back by volunteering to serve dinner to the good folks of Samaritan's Purse (a non-denominational Christian organization providing relief to victims of war, poverty and natural disaster) I was all, like, FRIGGIN'YAH!

I got to share the experience with my oldest daughter and, honestly, she and I were a little nervous about how the evening would play out.

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November 30, 2012
Hurricane Sandy: Getting Back To The New Normal, Here at the Gateway to the Jersey Shore

WITH A GREAT BIG SHOUT-OUT TO MY DEAR FRIEND MELISA: THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR AWESOME GUEST POST WHILE WE WERE HURRICANE-ING!

A week ago, at this very moment, I posted a semi-lighthearted Facebook status — something about my husband Garth (not his real name) going out and hunting down donuts before we all go Amish for the next few days — having lived in the Bayshore area of New Jersey all our lives, we are no strangers to storms.

It's a bird, a plane, HOLY CRAP dad is on the roof!

Truth be told, considering Hurricane Irene ripped us a new one a little over a year ago, my husband and I were more than just a little concerned about our roof riding out the projected monster of a storm known as Hurricane Sandy (a.k.a. #Frankenstorm, #Blizzicane and/or #Snor'eaterscane).

Reinforcing trouble spots, courtesy of Hurricane Irene.

Our house loses power whenever the town burps or hiccups (see also: FUBAR) so, stocking up on can goods, batteries, candles, lots of ice and Ibuprofen (okay, that last one was for me) is pretty much the norm.

At our house, everyone gets their own flashlight!

I continued posting snarky stuff on Twitter too, like: whoever came up with #Frakenstorm is most likely NOT from Jersey, better known as #Frigginstorm.

Or, contrary to what some folks believe about NJ, how I did NOT plan on being very warm and/or welcoming…sorry, Sandy.

Then the lights went out, we lost ALL contact with the outside world and stuff in our town started blowing up.

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November 5, 2012