Private or Public?

And I ain't talking toilets, ladies! Thank you for the three of you who have so diligently continued to email me - really, everything is dandy! I'm just consumed with all the things that are now part of my routine...I truly have less time now than when I was working! Thank goodness school is over for the summer.....for all of us!


BUT I want to discuss what is a "hot" topic of conversation in my neck of the woods these days. School. And listen up - we have good, no, GREAT SCHOOLS in the greater DC area.


Are your kids going private, or public next year? Well, the following are some of the responses I've had when discussing said topic. See for yourself, then get back to me on your views and opinions.

random lady: Are you sending your kids to private or public school next year?

me: oh, public - fur shore! why, are you considering private?

random lady: yeah, I mean, should it take 20 minutes to pick your kid up, in the drop off lane?!
me: ummm, yeah - my kids are in private pre-school, and yeah, if you are "Mrs. I'm so Entitled" the drop-off lane is your peronal gold star parking space for being a "mom of five".... crap....choices.....or birth control

crazy lady: guns...I'm concerned about guns

me: ummmm.... what about guns?!? you can have guns in private school too - they're not exempt! ...rolling eyes....


church lady met in the parking lot: I want my kids to go to school with "like minded" kids

me: what do you mean? thinking.... FREAK, like that's "real world" preparation....ugh

church lady met in the parking lot: you know, brought up in the same type of home, pray the same

me: oh, not me - I'd drop my kids in DC if I could. I'm all about "diversity" - you know, Ex-pose-ur!

freaky woman: well, I think you'd want your kids going to private, cuz all the Chinese kids are so smart and always get the highest grades

me: restraining from punching her... I think my kids have a disadvantage... I'm their mommy! Walking away, thinking if that's the kind of kids in private, mine will be staying in the public school system

hot mommy: she really was hot, and likable. I'm not getting up that early, at least with private they don't have to be there til 9:00am... how bout you?

me: laughing, (cuz she was so honest!) nope, i'm all about buying my condo in Florida, education is so over-rated!

neighbor: you should send your kids to private so they don't have to go to school with the "poor" kids...

me: yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking... NOT!


Interestingly enough, not one person(NOT ONE!) that I've discussed the school thing with, has mentioned they're sending their kid to private for a better education. Meaning, because their kids are currently getting a sub-standard education. Our schools(NOVA) are some of the BEST in the nation, (top 100-150) however if I could send my kids to the Jewish Day School (25 miles away) and it wasn't 22k EACH (yeah, swallow that nut) - I would put my kids in private, and no, not for the educational advantage, but for the religious component. BUT, it's a two hour ++ commute each day, and I'm not putting my kids or myself through that, not to mention it's almost 45k for two kids to go to elementary school. I don't need that kind of pressure. Besides, you already know how I feel about my Florida condo.

I do wish the public schools required students to wear uniforms. Boy, would my life be so easy.

So what's your thoughts?!


p.s. I only post comments that are in English.

Which way?

With the expense of some of you snorting out loud (Sam be still) I will give you an upfront view of our trip to Ohio. I have made this trip from northern Virginia 100 million times and well, gosh darn I know how to get there. But, as we were wiping the crumbs from our face at the McDonald's we stopped at in West Virginia I asked the worker bee how far to I-70? After scratching her head and repeating "I-70" three more times she finally said she would get someone who would know. Well, the "manager" politely told me I needed to jump on I-79 North that I had gone oh, um about 75 miles out of my way! I smiled and told her very politely (I really did) no, I've traveled this route a gazillion times AND I always go SOUTH on 79!! Much to my dismay I was wrong. Especially AFTER I quickly turned on the "nav" system (that had not been turned on) and yes, she confirmed too that I needed to be going NORTH. Who would have thought from Virginia to Ohio I should be traveling NORTH?! I must have thought I was heading to Florida. Yeah, that's it........ laugh, laugh hard.... I'm a wallking mapquest.! Needless to say I am using my nav system to get to "The Beegle Inn". See you soon sweets!

Update: I knew you'd all get a chuckle out of my sense of direction. I do get lost in my neighborhood and I live on a dead-end street. To Potomac River!! We are having a fan-tas-tic-o time and the girls love this "bed-hopping"... ahhh truly like their momma... We are having lunch at the "Mowhawk and taking a mini car tour of downtown Columbus and then... and then... we're off to see the Wizard. Bwahahaha.

Stop the craziness.....

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Hurricane Andrew. Not sure if I was coming or going. I'm sure you've all had days or weeks like this. Please tell me you have...In between all the crazy ass fun the "Nana" flew in on her
magic carpet super sonic jet to add a little spice big grin to our oh-so boring life. (insert sarcastic-right). We had a revival. No, not like that. A birthday celebration. The millennium. I mean Nana's *cough* ummm, 49th again. She is not getting any older. Ever. Going down with a fight. A merrymaking better than any New Year's Eve bash on Times Square with all the lights, flash and fireworks. Big bang fun. Miss Mai has officially(thanks Mai) bumped me out of my coveted "favorite "dil" spot forever. Nana was in "awe". Big points with the "mil". She surprised her with a custom made life like poster (ass licker) of photo ops of the fam-dango. Yes, our little Asian princess managed to order with out any of us knowing. --Did I hint she special ordered it and behind my back"?? Nana was blind sided and didn't see it coming, nor did she expect anything. Neither did we. Imagine our jolt when she unveiled it for all to see. Fh and I both gaped at one another with mouths open as if catching walleye. What the hell were we going to do for an encore?!? We were however insistant compassionate enough to concede to Nana's desire to prepare her own birthday dinner. Yes, we do count on our guest to cook and clean. Bwahahaha. Anyhoo, the "mil" was moved to tears. Truly. She kept saying "this is the best gift ever". Ummm, whata' ya saying nana?! Note to self: Pretend I don't notice. I'll never hear the end of it if I don't. *Big snort*. We gorged, sucked and smacked our lips together like a bunch of hungry wolves devouring the titillating feast Nana so effortlessly whipped up for all of us. You're wondering if I was just lying around eating bon-bon's while Nana slaved over a hot stove? Not exactly. I layed on the couch and barked orders to everyone within a 5 state radius! One of which was "don't bother mommy, she's resting, bring me the phone and don't touch that". Yes, I actually delight in Nana's bi-monthly visits. Let's see, if I calculated right she should be gracing us with her presence in (November is a free month due to T-Day) December. She's almost as predictable as my monthly cycle. Must select some new menus for her to prepare for family. LoL.

While Nana was here we met up with my friend Annie and her twins. Wouldn't want her to think for a minute raising twins is easy. We had agreed to meet at the Botanical Garden and then to Chuckee Cheese. Believe it or not none of us had ever experienced the big rat. Well the garden was just the ticket. The girls ran and squealed like wild banshees. Man, oh man did they all have a big time. Well, until Abbey deliberately squeezed her head between the fence overlooking the lake to feed the fish. It looked as if our only option was going to be jaws of life. But, no thank goodness Nana broke her out. I don't remember if she used some fancy schmancy oil to wiggle her free or not. As we all sat around and watched the girly girls we thought better of going to Chuckee Cheese. As Anne Marie so eloquently put it, It's terrible! I was feeling a bit gasey and overly bloated. Yes, I was relieved. We decided on one of my favorite gin joints for lunch. Clyde's. You might think quite upscale for children, but they actually offer a kids menu. So, yes they were expecting us--reluctantly! We kept the waiters engaged with four little 2 year olds not to mention the mess we left for them to clean up and running and keeping the mommy glasses full of wine. We left with more food on the floor than on their plates. They worked for every penny of their tip.....

No sooner had we dumped dropped Nana off at the airport, deflated her air mattress and we were packing up the family machine and heading to my parent's home in Ohio. I know I mentioned last week my dad fell this past winter and broke 6 ribs and punctured his lung. I needed to see him. My mom had reported that he just wasn't healing as well as expected and he had been really blue. Really blue. I was worried about him. Dad was having difficulty not being able to do what he once could do with ease. His body was betraying him and it was making him bitter. Cross. Resentful. He gets gets winded easily and has been unable to do any type of physical exertion since the accident. Yes, my dad was still earning a living before the accident. He is /was an artist and does/did artistic custom faux walls and ceilings. Absolutely beautiful creations.

We spent all day Tuesday lounging at my sister's watering holel! I was like a beached whale lying out in the middle of the pool with a kid floating on my belly.Perfect weather and boy did we have so much fun. The only thing missing was a pina colada and a cabana boy.

Our last day there we headed to the famed Columbus Zoo to meet Sam and her deliciously cute little girl Kieren. It was as if I had known Sam my entire life. There was such an ease. We chattered about everything. A total gagfest. I don't know that we ever finished one sentence. Did we?! Our kids jumped, skipped, giggled and danced. They were like recent parolee's with their new found freedom. I still find myself smiling when I think about how Kieren "called" the girls. She would pat her leg as if calling the dog. Cute beyond words. Kieren by the way is all girl. Wickedly cute and so sweet. I chuckled watching her run. Ahhh...... Last stop was to visit my girlfriends Jody and Kelly. This would be where I chewed off my right arm and hooked the I.V. up with alchol! That's right. My oh-so purrr-fect girls were over stimulated and both had a melt-down in front of friends. No naps.....First time ever meeting them! Sadly for me there is no predicting when this will happen or a way to defuse it. They finally settled down and we enjoyed a delicious dinner. Mommy and friends slung back a few glasses of wine and caught up with one another. It's was as if no time had ever passed. We've been friend's since the 9th grade. That's a long time..... So, how was your week?