Friday, March 28, 2008

The adventure is in the journey NOT the destination!

My trip to China was definitely eventful! Upon arriving I puked in the plane, missed my connecting flight, experienced 12 hour jet-lag and Sam had his passport stolen! This trip could only get better!
It’s pathetic to admit but I enjoyed being strapped to my seat for 13 hours-knowing I wouldn’t be beckoned to the bathroom to wipe a toddler, or hear the words: “Mom, I’m hungry.” As far as I was concerned this 13 hour flight was 13 hours of bliss. Every so often a drink, snack and 3 corse meal were brought to me on a TRAY! I had an air conditioner, light, remote and stewartest button at my fingertips, and my seat transformed into my bed when I was ready to sleep! The last time I experienced treatment like this was at the Hospital after giving birth! I soaked it all up! When the final hour to my destination arrived my luck changed. I was hit with motion sickness! I no longer wanted to be alone. It was a humbling experience utilizing the “paper bag” and not have anyone to deflect the awkwardness. I was then burdened by carrying the evidence throughout the airport in search of the trash bin! That obscure little paper bag felt like it had neon lights and bells attached announcing my unfortunate luck to the population of Beijing. I had just enough time to find the “water closet” rid myself of the encumbrance then move on to customs and make a connecting flight to Xian where I was to meet up with Sam.
Once again my good fortune came through and I found myself at my next flight in no time. I checked the gate and saw passengers loading but the destination was not Xian, so I sat down to wait. After the airplane at this gate pulled away I checked to see when my flight was scheduled to leave. At this very moment fear struck me. The long and the short of it is I had to reclaim my luggage, reschedule my flight, recheck my luggage and go through security again. (Which apparently means; Chinese men get to cut in front of American woman! I surprised myself at my courage- considering my misfortune as of late.)
Now, I enjoyed another 2 hours of airport bliss before my journey continued. I’m a quick learner so I made sure to take Dramamine before boarding, as to not repeat the first adventure that started all this. I boarded the plane and fell asleep, for the first time in 20 hours.
I stumbled into Sam’s Hotel room, noticed the bed was pink and crashed.
The next morning I woke up 7am China time (7pm US) and was ready to go. That was the end of my jet lag!
I joined our friends at breakfast while Sam went to the Hotel Safe (located at the front desk) to secure my passport and money. My good fortune didn’t waste any time to sleep and jumped right in to pay homage to Sam. His safe was empty! His Passport, wallet & cash gone! Once again our agenda for the day was interrupted. The reality of this was Sam couldn’t fly in or out of the country now. He didn’t have an identity. While the Chinese police were called, and the US Embassy contacted I called home and disturbed 4 separate families at an odd time of night in search of a copy of Sam’s birth certificate and a fax machine ASAP! By noon, Sam had been questioned and did his fare share of questioning before we had a faxed birth certificate and Hotel management back in the safe looking in each box. After being assured it would be impossible for his key to open a different box, Sam insisted they take him inside the safe and prove him wrong. To our relief the 3rd box they tried revealed Sam’s misplaced property! It turned out the worker assigned Sam key #241 and put his belongings in box #214! Now, our vacation would begin.
The following 5 days were full of sites, chopsticks, and now memories!

My pictures tell the rest of our journey.

Pictures from China



Sunday, March 2, 2008

Not-So-Mary Poppins on Broadway



Sometime in January we took a mini-trip into New York City. Sam was there for a few days for work so we tagged along. I’m just now writing about it because I needed time to recover. It’s still a bit painful to remember but I think there is a lesson to be learned in every trial (nightmare). So, here I go:
We stayed in the Park Plaza Hotel, located across the street from Central Park. It was a very nice Hotel, the kids loved it. Because of the rain we didn’t get out too much, but I did splurge and treat myself (and the kids) with tickets to the broadway show Mary Poppins! We’ve watched our fair share of Mary Poppins so I thought for sure the kids would enjoy it. The show started at 8pm and it was an adventure in itself getting there. My night started in the taxi line outside our hotel. If you’ve seen Fantasia’s Rhapsody in Blue you might have an idea of what I went through. First of all it was raining. The kids found some pleasure in standing in the rain- right in the path to the doors. I was getting the “looks!” are all three yours? I stood in line behind the lady with the fur coat, she was very disturbed by any person that walked passed with an umbrella. Because we were under a pavilion we were dry but passerby's would cross our path holding their umbrellas that leaked rain.
She seemed completely baffled at her misfortune. I was very aware of my humble circumstances compared to hers. I was wearing my “comfy” clothes with my sons bright red Power Rangers backpack holding a polka-dot umbrella. My biggest concern was if it was legal to load all my kids into a Taxi without car seats and what am I going to do if they fall asleep! She couldn’t keep her eyes off us. I think she was waiting for the father to appear. Her eyes would bounce from them to me. After waiting about 15 min. it was our turn for the Taxi. Let the drama begin!!!

"Where’s my seat? I want to sit by the window! That’s my side! Why is Jace on your lap? Are we speeding? Why are they honking?"

Isn’t it possible to break the rules just once without the kids calling you on it? I just want to get to Mary Poppins!

We got there unscathed, but the kids didn’t want to get out of the Taxi because of all the rain. It was a site to see. It could have passed as a kidnapping. I basically had to throw them to the curb and then make sure they were with me as we ran for cover.
At last we were in our seats! The theatre was beautiful! We were on the balcony which seemed a little nerve racking at first. We were the second row from the rail over looking the stage. Walking to your seats you actually felt like you could fall. We spent the following 10 mins. playing I spy with the intricate detail of the ceiling artifact. Once I noticed the naked sculptures I tried to change games but it was too late. Jarom and Jennica had spotted them and all laughter broke out.
Mr. Potato head’s quote from Toy Story “uncultured swine” came to mind as I noticed the audience was not going to be patient with me. That’s when I realized I was in over my head! Mommy magic was all I could hope for. The lights were off and I went into a panic! I made the mistake of sitting Jarom and Jennica together. I knew better than that! I learned that lesson very early in our weekly trips to church. It was too late though, if you’ve ever been to a broadway show you know they don’t leave ANY room for movement. Once you are in your chair you are stuck! If you aren’t careful you can easily find your knees bumping the head of the person in front of you. If I were to make any change I would have no room to do it unless we backed out of the aisle and started all over again. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. The very first scene was awesome. Right on stage was the Banks family house! (Try explaining that to a 5 & 6 year old)
They were transfixed but at the same time wouldn’t stop asking questions. Jarom has a great imagination and can get carried away sometimes. It’s not uncommon to see him jumping up and down with arms flapping in excitement when he is completely engrossed in a movie. I spent the entire show reaching over to sit him back in the seat, breaking up their lingering laughter, or loud remarks. This was a rude awakening to me (and everyone else on the balcony) that my kids don’t have public etiquette.
I experienced a very humiliating moment as a mother while at Mary Poppins. Shortly after the show began I noticed the seats in-front of me and to the left all the way to the aisle were still empty. I thought the kids could get a better view on the front row and they would be less disturbing because they wouldn’t be surrounded by people. I set Jennica first on my lap and slid her into the empty seats and then Jarom. Just as I did this I heard a comment from the people sitting next to me: “Well, that really helped us a lot!” Because jarom and Jen are smaller they had to lean forward to see over the railing which blocked their view. I didn’t realize that would happen! Now I made a bigger mess of things! Getting them down there was defiantly easier and more discrete than it would be getting them back up! I felt like the biggest idiot. We were such a distraction! after a few more huffing and puffing from my neighbors I assured them i would move them back. I reached for jennica to pull her back up to her original seat and my sweet little princess could have just as well yelled “FIRE!” she threw the biggest fit and in my mind I pictured myself picking her up and throwing her off the balcony and begging the police to lock me up. That option looked better than what I was going to have to do to get her back in her seat without a big scene. But at that VERY moment a mother angel sent me a miracle. On the stage a scene in the kitchen took place where all the pots and pans fell off the wall and the dishes came crashing down. The noise was terrible and caught everyones attention.....except mine. I grabbed Jen and Jarom and had them back in their seats before they or anyone else noticed. That’s what I call a blessing from Heaven! Jennica didn’t even know what to think of it. We were all in shock as to what just took place but nonetheless, we were back into our proper seats now. My legs were numb, my heart racing and I was in a complete sweat. I wanted to leave but had NO way of going! I couldn’t possibly do it alone, I needed help! I sat there in this theatre full of people and felt so completely alone and humiliated! I cried a silent prayer as i missed Sam like I’ve never missed him before. I have done a lot of things with the kids alone and feel I have been blessed with a great tolerance for my children but this day I was a fish out of water!
The show went on with more distractions by kids being kids but by this time Jace had fallen asleep in my arms and i was completely restricted. Every once in awhile I dare sneak a glance to my neighbors and find them laughing at Jarom flapping away in excitement or Jennica expressing audibly her reactions to Mary Poppins and her charm. In fact, I found myself lost in the magic of Mary Poppins myself. The show really was amazing! (Despite all the extra drama on my row)
We returned to the Hotel at 11pm where I fell onto the bed in complete exhaustion while the kids bounced endlessly on their bed. Lesson learned: “it is not good for man [woman] to be alone. Oh how happy I was to see Sam!
I recommend Mary Poppins to anyone- I’ll even watch your kids for free!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Pizza Rehab


Hi, My name is Ember Hobi and I am addicted to Pizza! I think I’ve been this way all my life. I ate a lot as a teenager. I remember walking to Little Caesars EVERYDAY during lunch and feeling like I was eating the best thing in the world! I LOVED it! It has always been difficult for me to eat a few pieces. Once I eat two I’m just getting started! Something happens and I kick into auto and the next thing I know I’m onto five or six. I don’t like just any pizza. My favorite is Little Caesars but it is hard to find on the East Coast. I get sick if I eat Pizza Hut. I can’t do frozen pizza, and the “Pie’s in NY” aren’t doing it for me. Fortunately, we found a pizza place a rocks throw from our house...with free delivery, and the best Margarita pizza in town. (No mom, no alcohol) Now, here is where the problem began. We are on an eating out budget which allows Pizza once a month. Suddenly pizza is over coming my thoughts, just like most addictions do. Anytime I am real hungry all I want is pizza! If I have a hard time thinking of dinner ideas I default to pizza. Even on the way home from the gym I crave pizza! Once the new month rolls around and our budget starts over- you bet we have pizza the first week! I can easily eat my own Medium pizza. The problem is I don’t always eat pizza because it tastes great. Sometimes it’s not good at all. I eat pizza because of the way I feel while I’m eating it. That’s how I know I’m addicted! It’s an escape of emotions and feelings. The best time for pizza is on a friday night after the kids are in bed and Sam is home. I have trained myself to “escape” through pizza. Perhaps it’s because pizza is used to celebrate so often. We didn’t order pizza often while I was young. Ordering pizza was a BIG deal. I remember, to this day, the excitement I felt driving to Little Caesars and picking up the 2 for 1 pizzas. (Pizza, Pizza) The smell would consume me in the car, it was torture having to wait. Even worse was being a guest for dinner when pizza was served because I knew I had to manage my appetite.
Pizza was considered a “splurge” when we first married. There is no way we could afford it then. Now that pizza isn’t such a scarcity to me, maybe I am reacting to my previous cravings or limitations unreasonably.
I go crazy inside, I can’t get enough. Stuffing myself with pizza satisfies my unbalanced emotions.
During that meal I “feel different.” Slice after slice I tell myself I “feel better” or I “deserved it.” It’s bad news when I feel stressed. I dare say I have had Pizza overdose. Most the time I quit eating because the pizza is gone, not because I’ve had enough. And I feel sick inside every-time and swear that I won’t over do it next time. Well, I did it again, and again, and again.
Today I am doing something about it! Today I am admitting that I have a Pizza problem and I am putting an end to it! I am going to google “calories of cheese pizza” to scare me (or gross me out) because I’ve always wondered how many fat calories I was consuming but I haven’t been prepared to make the change. (Ignorance is bliss!)
Now I’m not giving up pizza entirely, that would be silly. Certain events beckon a great pizza feast. I will set a limit to hold myself accountable to.

I, Ember Hobi, herby swear I will enjoy 2 and ONLY 2, fat and juicy slices of pizza at a setting. I will smile and wave as the box is tossed into the garbage full or empty! I will feel satisfied and good about myself when I eat pizza. I love pizza. Pizza is my friend. I will no longer allow pizza to interfere with my emotions!

Please feel free to hold me accountable! I AM POWERFUL!!!

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

9 years of bliss


This month Sam and I are celebrating our 9th Anniversary!! Boy how time flies. I thought I would write up a beautiful tribute to my wonderful husband. And talk about the exciting adventures and wonderful years we’ve shared. You know, the kind that paints the perfect picture of the perfect man...
I just turned to find him sitting up on the couch with a book in hand, mouth open, dead asleep! Mind you, we were just having a conversation a few seconds ago. This image of him is quite funny. I stop to take a picture- because I was just about to describe that “perfect” picture- why not just post it? I thought how great would this blog be to have that pathetic picture! As I zoom in for the kill I am laughing audibly. As the shutter clicks he wakes up. How do I explain this one?
Oh wait....TIMBER! He falls over to the arm of the couch and is gone, ...AGAIN. All the romantic thoughts just ran out the door as I took pity on my hard working husband. My Friday night can’t get any better than this. I casually return to the computer to give him a few more seconds to soak up REM, then I check the camera to see if I captured the moment. What a bummer- no memory card!! Lucky Sam.
Here’s to an exciting 10th year ahead! :)

Monday, November 5, 2007

Halloween 2007




I don’t like Halloween! I can’t find anything GREAT about it. There is nothing fun about spending $25 plus on a silly costume that either gets ripped apart before it’s time to go Trick-or-Treating or they never touch it again after Trick-or-Treating. I don’t think the decorations are appropriate for young kids! Walking into Party City can give any child nightmares!! I don’t want to explain to my kids why there are blood and bones hanging from the ceiling nor do I want to explain why I am covering their eyes when looking at adult costumes! A trip to Party City puts more into my child’s head than watching a a rated R movie!! Who needs that?

Now that it is clear that I am the scrooge of Halloween let me tell you how it all went down for the Hobi kids, ages 6, 4, and 2.

In SEPTEMBER I bought the costumes!! Not because I was anxious for the wonderful nightmare to begin but because I have been searching for Power Ranger costumes for Jarom and Jennica to dress up in. So, one afternoon, in late September, I noticed Party City had Halloween costumes out. They had Power Rangers, and I knew they would be a hot item, so I purchased them right away.
Then I came across the cutest Witch costume for Jen. She LOVED it. She wanted to sleep in it! She wanted to wear it every- where. Once she got home from school, her school clothes were off and this Witch dress went on! I was so happy to have found a costume that was such a hit. I figured I’d get all the miles I could off this dress.

As October is nearing an end, I realize no one has said a thing about Halloween! They are still dressing up in the costumes but it didn’t seem to me that they thought the costumes were directly related to this silly event about to take place. (Where you cover these expensive costumes with coats, because it’s freezing outside, and go door to door getting candy from STRANGERS on a school night!)

My scrooge mind gets thinking, “Maybe we can get away without going Trick-or-Treaing!” After all it’s a school night and I DON’T WANT MY KIDS TO HAVE ALL THAT CANDY!!! I went as far as declining Trick-or-Treating invitations from several friends on the account that we weren’t going out that night.

Well, the day before Halloween Jarom came home from school excited as all get out, because he gets to dress up at school the next day! Then he asks, bright eyed and bushy tailed: “Mom, are we going Trick-or-Treating tomorrow?”
It wasn’t really a question. He asked with complete confidence that it was happening.
I casually said, “No Jarom, it’s a school night. You’ll get to dress up with your friends at school.”
And that was that. He didn’t say anything else. I thought I was getting away with it!
It wasn’t until dad came home that I heard Jarom telling him how unfair it was. So, I was the mean mom and Jarom passed the news to Jennica and they went to bed upset that they were being robbed of Halloween.

Halloween morning came as any normal morning does. I didn’t color their pancakes orange, or create any spooky fun at all. Jarom headed to school with his Power Ranger costume in his backpack ready to soak up all the Halloween joy he could before returning home.

I took the other kids to the school to watch him in the Halloween parade and while we were there a few more of my friends asked what our Trick-or-Treating plans were.
It wasn’t till I heard how excited they were about their kids going that I began to see how scroogy I had become.
One friend laughed when I told her I was hoping to let it all pass by.
She asked, ”What’s next Ember, There’s no such thing as Santa Clause?”
Now, that was funny! I needed to hear that.
So now, here it is mid-day on Halloween and I’m back peddling. Wishing I had put more effort into enjoying this crazy day instead of ignoring it. Why couldn’t I have thought about making orange pancakes, or colored my hair crazy that day? I could have had some good laughs with the kids!!
I quickly find out what street his best friend was planning to attack and the time and decided to live a little.

The kids were so excited about going they were jumping around and doing almost ANYTHING I asked of them. So, we dressed up and went out! (Jennica did NOT want to wear the witch dress during this event. Go Figure!)

I am so glad we went! I had so much fun seeing them and all the other kids so excited. We had a great time. Even little Jace loved the concept of walking door to door to get CANDY.
The first door we went to he said Trick or Treat and took the candy and said thank you. We walked back to the street and headed to the next door. His smile got bigger. Once we moved to the third door he looked up at me and said in surprise “More candy again?”

The best part of the night was when I approached a door just as Jennica and Jarom were leaving. Jen looked up at me with deep concern.
“Mom, throw this in the trees!” She said as she handed me her candy (AirHead) she just got.
“What? Why?” I asked getting a little nervous. The paranoid mother kicked in and I had thoughts of poisoned candy and mean tricks. And by the look on her face I could tell she was really serious. She looked me right in the eyes and said matter-a-fact: “Mom, if I eat this candy my head will blow up like a balloon and I’ll float away! That’s what I saw on the commercial. Throw it in the trees!”
First I gave her a big hug because I could tell she felt insecure about her possession of that candy,
Then I tried really hard not to laugh so much about it. After getting rid of the AirHead and a few reassuring hugs she was off again.
Of course the next day they were rummaging through their goods and Jen came across the Air Head. She couldn’t stand to even touch it! She shooed it away like it was a mouse. It was so cute to see her respond this way. It took some time to convince her it was just candy. I finally got her to hold it then I took a picture. (picture attached) I convinced her to eat it but with the condition that I would hold her feet down so she wouldn’t fly away. As you can imagine, I had some fun with that!!
Next year will be different. I won’t try to avoid it all....I will probably dress up as the true Witch that I am!!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Jarom goes to Kindergarten


My Kindergarten Days made an impression! The number one thing I learned about was FEELINGS! I remember feeling things socially, emotionally, and physically that I hadn’t dealt with before. I remember flying off the Teder Toder after a rainy morning and landing in a puddle. I remember walking along the swings only to find myself on the ground with a numb face. And I remember riding my bike balancing a Birdcage on my handlebars for Show and tell, only to find out it wasn’t show and tell day!
No wonder I had a difficult time sending my oldest off to Kindergarten. I felt the sudden need to protect him from the “hard life” he was about to encounter. Have I prepared him?
The weeks and even months leading up to the 1st day of school very little was said about what was going to take place. He knew he was going to Kindergarten but I didn’t want to allow idle time to mess with any concern he might have. I figured we’d ride that wave when it came. Well, the night before the first day of school a group of our friends met at the park and ate pizza for dinner. When we arrived a father asked Jarom if he had any exciting plans the next day. Jarom said, “No.” So the father prodded a little more with, “nothing NEW is going to happen tomorrow? Are you maybe going to try something different for the day?” He was clueless that he was experiencing his first “school night” of his life.
When Jarom was born we lived in a house across the street from an Elementary School, in Ohio, and I would watch the little kids come and go to school. Holding my new baby I had terrible feelings at the thought of sending him off to school. Oh, how I dreaded that day. Now fast forward to the present day...Jaorm’s 1st day of school. This is how it went.
He wakes up and picks out his sleeveless Spider-man shirt and shorts to wear. Not the choice I would have picked out of all the new school clothes he has hanging in his closet. (lesson #1 to Mom- Jarom has an opinion of his clothing! I’ve had to return several shirts on the account that they look like church shirts because they have a collar and buttons!) Then he moves on to doing his hair. I thank my lucky stars that he likes his hair short and spiky and pray the day will be slow to come when he likes it in his eyes or a different color! I can handle a half wet head and a gob of gel in the front at this age- No Problem! Ok, we’ve arrived at the school and I notice he has syrup pasted all over his cheek! I search the car for a wipe and on this particular day, not one can be found! You guessed it! I did what every kid hates and licked my finger and attempted to do the job. I placed myself in the “annoying mom category” and I knew I crossed that line. In that moment I looked into his eyes and drew some strength from my 5 year old. There wasn’t a trace of apprehension on his face. He was moving forward with or without me. As we began walking through the parking lot he held my hand and for that brief walk I felt the bond between us. I felt the security I gave him and the years of preparation we enjoyed together. Then it happened. Without saying a word or even slowing in step he withdrew his hand from mine as he approached the school doors. I’ll always remember how I felt when my child let go of MY hand. It was as if he was saying to himself or perhaps even me, “I’m ready for this.” Together we walked side by side into his class.
This wasn’t how I envisioned the day to go. Lesson #2 to Mom- Mom needs to let go.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Jen leaves for College...I mean Pre-School


Today is Jen's 1st day of Pre-School!!
She was very excited to go this morning. The problem was, she didn't have school this MORNING, she goes at 12:30pm. She thought she was leaving the same time Jarom was going, at 8am! Yes, it was a sad moment at the bus stop when she realized she was walking back home with me.
The time finally arrived but the poor girl was late because we had to wait for Jarom to get home from Kindergarten. ( it turned out the original bus driver called in sick so the new driver got lost which made the arrival of Princess Jen a little on the LATE side the 1st day of school.) She didn't have any problems leaving me. It would have been just as well if she gave me the finger as she walked into class. :)
The following 3 hours were quiet! :)
When I picked her up she ran to the door to greet me. But before she actually made it to the door she triped in true Jennica fashion and just about took the teacher out. The first thing she said was; "I made a necklace mom!" holding up two beaded necklaces. "One is for me and the other one is for my....(looking into my eyes with a slight concern) BABYDOLL!" I think she was relieved with my responce just as I was relieved by her comment.
As we were walking to the car she announced: "Mom, I met Lucifer today!" Just my luck......