The Best Laid Plans----------

I sat down at about 11:30pm last night with a not stingy glass of Coke Zero laced with O'Reilly's White Chocolate (a product of Ireland - you figure it out) and a leprechaun cookie from Wegman's, and I proceeded to fill in what has been going on (hence my extended absence from here) in northern Virginia.  Clicked 'publish' and CRASH! (me, drinking more Coke Not Zero).

Here goes again:

I coached an Odyssey of the Mind Team (my team above) (little kids - 3rd and 4th grade - my twins were on the team) all of them first-time OM-ers.  Our competition was March 5th.  I won't deny that I was hating life for about the last 4 weeks prior to the competition...and I won't deny that I swore up and down that I would NEVER NEVER EVER again coach a team (you know where this is going, don't you?)...and I will admit that I probably swallowed more Xanax in four weeks than I previously had in my entire life, my little team did amazingly well.  They placed fourth in a field of 16.  The First, Second and Third place teams were all much older and were competing in our division for the final time as they were just about ready to 'age out' into Div II.  The First and Second place teams had last year placed First and Second just in reverse order.  There were only ELEVEN points separating my little team from First Place and ONE POINT separating my team from Third place.  Not shabby.

To everyone who heard me vow, swear, promise, and state emphatically that I would NOT EVER coach an OM team again, well, that ship loaded with negativity, exhaustion, frustration, and rule books has sailed.  To those who accused me of being 'competitive' (and used it like a 'dirty' word - what's up with THAT?) my official response is:  'I am NOT competitive.  I simply KNOW that I can do things better than anyone else so why shouldn't I do just that?  Since when has doing what one is absolutely capable of doing (and maybe it IS actually the BEST anywhere) become something to shy away from or be ashamed of?????  That being said, bring on the 2011-2012 OM problems and my little team and I are SO THERE!  And to the parents of my little team members, the bottles of Kahlua and Vodka (really excellent quality I might add) were incredibly appreciated!

Fast forward:

Our house looks like something out of the movie E.T.  It is swathed in zippered plastic sheeting which is pretending to be hallways where there were no hallways and doorways where there were no doorways.  The zippered doorways are problematic for Guidry and he resembles a circus dog leaping through the hoop of flames as he makes a running start for the kitchen doorway - exiting or entering, doesn't matter.  He is so confused by all of this that we have had to switch him to yet another very pricey, very not-available-at-PetSmart dog food for his sensitive hound digestive system.  Fortunately, that really bad flatulence issue seems to be behind him -- no pun intended! (wink, wink)

The demolition and renovation of this house should be completed in 3-4 weeks and will then go on the market.  We are building (on paper) a really nice, not ostentatious, reasonably-sized home in Alexandria......which is where for the past 9 months I seem to have spent most of my time driving to and from as everything we do seems to be done where The Father of Our Country lived.  Hey, if it was good enough for George, it's good enough for me.  A friend tells me that since we will be building in the Mount Vernon area of Alexandria on land that was originally part of George Washington's original estate, we will get a Certificate or Plaque or something stating that our home is on property that once belonged to GW.  Really.  I cannot tell a lie!

Back to OM -- Madison's team (division II) mostly 6th graders, placed FIRST and they are going on to State Level competition in the middle of April.  I feel a little like Al Pacino in THE GODFATHER:  'Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in.'  I am driving her to practices and rehearsals in Alexandria anywhere from 3-7 times a week.  Oh, and with gas approaching $4.00/gal, I am not a happy Hummer driver.......well, I am actually b/c I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Hummer, but I am beginning to think that fairly soon I am going to have to start deciding between food and gas.

Off again to Lowe's and Home Depot today.  Tuesday of last week (Mariano was on travel) I went to no less than FOUR Home Depot stores and ONE Lowe's between the hours of 7:30am and 8:00 pm looking for counter tops for the mud room.  I have now learned my lesson and I am committed to staying at least TWO material requests ahead of our contractor.  Hence, the fact that we spent yesterday in and out of numerous Home Depot stores and numerous Lowe's stores and went to THE TILE SHOP (clearly bathrooms and kitchens for the Rich and Famous).  We ended up at 3:30pm parking the truck in the lot at GS in (where else?) Alexandria, took the dog (he had been traveling with us all day) for a wonderfully long walk around Mt. Vernon, arrived back at GS around 4:50pm and saw all the kids' little friends from co-op running into 5:00 Mass.  So, yes, I had the kids wash their faces and hands and sort of neaten up and look somewhat presentable, and we joined everyone for Mass (I go to Mass more than most Catholics).  Mariano sat in the way back and ran out a couple of times to check on Guidry who was in the truck.....a HUGE thing as we had never done that with him before.  Mass, out to dinner with all the co-op families (dog still in truck and loving it -- I was glad he didn't eat the steering wheel or one of the headrests), and finally home at 9pm.

And, THAT is where we have been for the past month.  Add in having to have dinner out 4-5 times a week b/c of the construction, OM rehearsals, the fact that we are usually in Alexandria and our house is not......well, I do think it's better than kicking back in a La-Z-Boy recliner (is that redundant?) with a cold one.......btw, I don't even drink beer.

On Tuesday I asked the kids what they thought we might do to prepare for, say, some kind of EMERGENCY -- you know, a weather emergency, or a tree falls on the house, or something like that.  When the overwhelming answer was:  'Call Mr. Lynn and see if we can get our old suite' (Lynn is the Manager of the Towne Place Suites where we lived for four months while our house was supposed to be repaired by the insurance company) well, I knew it was time for FEMA 101.  I'm happy to report that a short lecture by moi and a one hour trip to WalMart has resulted in our family having quite an inventory of flashlights, batteries, safety matches, bottled water, peanut butter, saltines, manual can openers, and cookies.


Photo of my wonderful OM team is up top.  Photos of demolition and destruction.......oops, I mean construction will be up soon.

The Suite Life........................................

......................that would be our family at TownePlace Suites in Chantilly.  Really.

Eighteen months ago, we arrived home from the most perfectly wonderful family vacation at the beach.  We had been driving for five hours, and Miss Eenie Weenie ran into the house to use the bathroom.  'Hey,' she says.  'Why is the ceiling on the floor?'  'HUH?' I ask.  'And I can see right upstairs to the kitchen,' she says.  DH (dear husband) and I go running towards the bathroom and when our feet hit the new berber, it is awfully spongy and soaking wet.  A few more steps and we are looking at wall studs, dry wall (no longer 'dry') lying in curled piles on said berber.  And, we look up and where there had been kitchen floor.......well, there isn't any longer.  Need I say that it was the end of the most wonderfully perfect family vacation?

We scrambled to make phone calls to our insurance carrier, Serv-Pro (Manassas) who were absolutely fabulous, and within the week we were informed that we would have to move into an extended stay hotel as mold remediation and removal was about to begin.  We were given a list of properties, we were told that repairs would take two weeks. DH and I went and looked at all of the  properties and the TownePlace Suites by Marriott was an excellent fit for us in every way.  We toured a Suite, were assured that our hound (recently adopted from Rescue) was welcome, and we began moving in.

I have mentioned, haven't I, that we are homeschoolers?  The kids and I loaded the Hummer with school books, white boards, maps, DVDs, and drove to our 'new home.'  Staff showed up with luggage carts and carried tons of books and supplies to our Suite.  And, literally, from our first day, TPS became home.  The Manager, Assistant Manager and everyone on staff went out of their way to make this 'home.'

As guests, we were treated to Complimentary Breakfast, free laundry soap, hot coffee all day, and fresh baked cookies every night at 7pm.  Yes, we became spoiled and loved staying there.  Good thing, too, because our two week stay was extended on a sort of regular basis, and we ended up being in residence there for FOUR months.  That's right - FOUR months. 

We were there for two weeks when the New York Yankees won the World Series. We decided to put scarecrows and pumpkins outside our door for Halloween.  They stayed out there till Thanksgiving.  We decorated for Christmas, put up a little tree in our suite, listened to firecrackers set off on New Years' Eve, enjoyed the Super Bowl, three major snowstorms and finally moved out on February 14th.  the staff would photocopy tests, worksheets and quizzes that we needed for school, the kids could sit in the Business Center and they would be monitored while they took tests or did seat work. 

Our housekeeper would knock on our door when it was rainy or snowy with a bag filled with complimentarybreakfast items so 'the babies' wouldn't have to go and get breakfast themselves.  How do you not love these folks?!

On February 14, we were sad to leave.  Glad to be going back home, but the people at TPS had been our family for four months as we were aggravated on a daily basis with shenanigans from the contractor hired by our insurance company.  We visited during the summer, used the pool, and even checked in for two nights over fourth of July to have a mini-vacation.  We were so happy to see everyone and they were happy to see us.  One individual, imparticular (M), told me that we liked it at TPS because 'this was like family.'   She was correct!

We stop in from time to time, drop in to say hi to staff and wish them a Happy Birthday, and on Wednesday night when the ice brought down a power line in our driveway and ripped our electrical meter out of the house ('press one if there has been an explosion' -- I did), dh's first phone call was to TPS.  Our friend, D, told us he would call in the a.m. and tell us when to come on over, and he did.  We arrived Thursday in the early afternoon to hugs and hellos and 'let me get you extra towels' and it did feel like coming to visit family.  Dh went down to the office last night for a cup of coffee and to see if any cookies were left.  He came back with coffee but no cookies.  'They only do cookies once in a while now,' he said sadly.

This evening, M came on duty and we saw her for the first time since the summer.  The kids rushed over to the office to say hi, and hugs were shared.  M touched my heart when she said to the Assistant Manager, 'The kids are here.  I'm going to bake cookies!' YAY!