Double the Fun!

A couple of weeks ago, my sister Marie and brother-in-law Tristan wanted to attend a friend's wedding in San Francisco and needed babysitters for their 6 1/2 month old twin boys in San Diego.  My sister asked my mom and I if we could come down and we jumped right on it!  We love our little twins!  My dad also wanted to go so he could see these cutie pies.

My mom and I had helped out when the twins were born, but at that time, Marie and Tristan were home.  This was going to be different, we were on our own.  Now, I have always had an appreciation for how they handle taking care of their precious boys but my appreciation has gone to a whole new level!

Double diapers, barf, feedings, playtime, baths and tons of laundry.   I must have washed at least 8 loads of baby items and 100 bottles in just a 24-hour period!  The boys, Evan and Isaac, have two very different personalities and are not on the same schedule.  Evan is the night owl and wanted to hang out with me all night.  When they were finally down for a nap or bed, I would take the 5 minutes of opportunity that I had and wash the dishes or tidy up a bit.  Right on cue, one or both would wake up.  I now see why Marie doesn't have a chance to return phone calls or emails sometimes. With us taking care of them like this, I have a glimpse of what Tristan does on a daily basis and what Marie does when she gets home from work.  Tristan has a full-time job at home!

Of course, with Auntie Lisa being a photographer, you know there were tons of pictures!  If you are interested in checking out what life is like with the twins, go check out Tristan's blog and YouTube videos.   Since he is also a musician with his band, Country Rockin' Rebels, his blog and YouTube videos are appropriately titled Rockstardaddydaycare.

These two boys are so lucky to have wonderful parents and I am so happy to be a part of their lives!

Remembering September 11th

World Trade Center - 2000

World Trade Center Plaza 2000

View from a plane a few days after the attacks - September 2001

This date brings back fresh memories for me as I am sure it does for most of the world. It really hit close to home as I was living in New York and working as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines. 

I had just called in sick on the night of the 10th and was sleeping in when I was awakened by a phone call to turn on the TV.  I was disoriented and thought I was watching a horror movie. What was happening? I couldn't grasp how or why someone could do this to us! I found out one of the flights was United Airlines flight 93. My mother is a flight attendant for United and has worked trips from the west coast to NY on a few occasions. Where was she? Was she working? I started panicking and called my mother. She didn't answer her phone. I then called my father who let me know that my mom was in Japan. My sister was in Ireland and tried for 8 hours to get through to the U.S. to find out if my mom and I were okay. The lines were jammed up for hours all over New York.

A few of my close friends came over and we just sat in silence while watching the television and the horrors that were shown. We could not stop the flowing of the tears. I wanted to help in some way...try to find survivors...do something...anything. The news reports just kept telling everyone to stay at home. One of my friends and neighbors at the time came over late in the evening and was covered in ash from head to toe. He worked at the WTC and had walked a lot of the way and across the Brooklyn Bridge. I was extremely happy that he had made it out okay.

The next day, I tried to go down to Manhattan but could only get as far as Greenwich Village. The Red Cross could not take any volunteers because there was no one to help. The sky was still filled with smoke. Everywhere I went, subways, walls, sidewalks, billboards, storefront windows, had missing posters and people begging for their loved ones to be found. The usually bustling city was quiet. Everyone was somber.

When I could finally get down to Ground Zero, it was such an eerie sight. I had been there many times, shopped in the WTC mall and eaten at the restaurant, Windows on the World. I had even video-taped the view from the restaurant out of the windows because you could see 5 states from up there. I had just been to the towers a few days prior.  Now, looking where the great towers once stood, were just skeletal remains. Twisted metal, broken glass, and piles of debris were all that were left. Windows in surrounding buildings were broken.  It was heart-wrenching and I had a difficult time trying to understand why someone would do this.

I went down to the site several times and on one occasion, had taken my camera. As I was taking pictures, a person behind me started talking about how disgusting I was to be taking pictures of Ground Zero. I ignored her and thought, this is history, this is my way of dealing with this tragedy.

Now, 10 years later, a beautiful memorial is opening at the site and a new building is in construction.  I am proud that we are rebuilding, but I will never forget September 11, 2001.

Purple People Eaters

"Annie" Playbill

Wow, it's so funny what one will run across when going through paperwork. Somehow, a piece of paper from my childhood got mixed in with current bills and magazines. I picked up the piece of paper and could not stop laughing as it brought back a flood of childhood memories. Why on earth was I "Annie"? I can't carry a tune at all. The Mathes sisters were the ones that could sing. I guess that is why we put the age as 7 and under for admission. (We wouldn't want any of the older kids or adults to suffer the pain of having to listen to me sing.)

When I was a little girl, my siblings and I lived on Keswick Way in Sacramento. We were in a club or several clubs with pretty much everyone on the block. We had homemade doughnut sales, haunted houses, roller-skating shows, plays and many other things to raise money. I can't remember exactly what we used our money for, probably something like candy or ice cream from the Thrifty's or Lucky's up the street. Back then, Thrifty's ice cream was only $.10 a scoop.

Ah, the gang...Melissa, Melanie, Cheryl, Angie, Marie, Amy and me. We had different names for our clubs, one of which was Purple People Eaters. I think that Melissa was the one that came up with that one. To this day, some 35 years later, I am still friends with all of the gals listed on this "playbill".

Good times, good times!