Grandpap's Old Car

This is the same car that Steve's day used to have. I believe it's the same color and everything. Needless to say, Steve greatly wishes he still had it!

Nathan's Corvette Commentary

Hamming it up at the museum

Corvette Parking Only

Almost to Maine

Okay, actually, we've already been here for over two months, but I've been terrible, again, about updating the old blog. I know I'm on Kentucky still, so our time there was short, but we did spend a fun couple of hours at the Corvette museum after Steve got back from his tour of the plant. Here's some more pictures.

Kentucky Fried Cicada

Sorry it has been so very long since I've updated. Between unpacking and setting up the house, and both boys going from colds to stomach flu over the last couple of weeks, and my own nasty little head cold, I just haven't felt much like posting. But I am going to get through this and then start journaling about the present.

Kentucky - I admit that I had preconceived notions about it. But contrary to my stereotypes that they might be a little less refined as a general population then, say, a New York city or something, this small town of Bowling Green is the home Corvette plant where people go to watch their very own car, which they've spent mega bucks to order to their own specifications, being built. Steve was able to enjoy the tour of the plant, which he'll have to tell you about if you're curious, because I had to stay back at the hotel with the boys (no one under 12 is allowed) and play with the cicada that was trying to get into our hotel room.

More Indy Pics

Back to Indiana

Indianapolis has this amazing looking downtown, though we had no time to hang out there with our hectic traveling schedule, so it was all about the Indy Speedway. The Speedway, though cool, is in a pretty undesirable part of town.

Steve thinks you can tell rough parts of town by the fact that they have White Castle Burger or Popeye's Chicken restaurants. I made my judgement on an overall vibe, and the fact that when we called the Best Western 5 miles away and asked if they were the best place to stay for access to the Speedway, she said, "yes, come here. Do not stay by the Speedway. It is not safe!" Yikes!

The area was a lot better in the light of day. Following our everything-is-closed Taco Bell dinner the night before, and our tense Cracker Barrel why-is-Dell-screwing-with-us-and-should-we-get-a-divorce-over-it-or-just-eat-lots-of-applewood-smoked-bacon breakfast, we finally made our way to the famous Indianapolis Speedway.

Putting Dell aside, Steve was able to enjoy the historical site of lots of great car races, which made both he and Nathan happy, although Nathan was a bit miffed that he was only allowed to sit in one car. I was in a fat gram coma after my previous two meals, so Joey and I were just chillin'.

We took a shuttle tour of the speedway. This really sweet driver with a Southern drawl was accommodating and personable and hard not to like within the first 30 seconds we met her, so we were shocked when one of her co-workers starting yelling at her as we were getting in the van, and snarled, "you need to get it in your head that I'M your boss!!!!"

She was visibly shaken, but kept her smile and said, "sorry you folks had to see that. Now, let's get on with the tour."

Towards the end, Steve brought it back up again. "Was that your boss?" he asked.

"Oh, no," she said with a smile. "He's just a coworker. Again, I'm really sorry that he had to do that in front of ya'll."

Steve, good, fair manager that he is by trade, and especially considering the fact that he had to deal with a temper-tantrum throwing co-worker at his last job, took it upon himself to speak with the driver's manager and let her know about the incident. She was thrilled that he came forward. Looked like they were trying to create a file on Mr. Boss Man, who we confirmed was definitely not our driver's boss, and Steve's coming forward seemed to be what they were looking for - an eyewitness account from an outside party. Of course, we don't know the full story, but we know that our gal was gracious and professional and her coworker was just the opposite. After Steve gave his statement, they gave him free tickets to the museum we had just finished looking through for the last two hours. Ah well...

That was most of the excitement in Indianapolis. We got our fill of the track and museum and then headed on our way to Bowling Green, KY for more car-centric fun!

Preschool Blues

I interrupt the Indiana program to give you this brief diatribe that is psychologically necessary to get through the next hour or so.

Why, do you ask, in the world, would I be eating stale Cheez Doodles at 10:30 in the morning? Because Nathan started preschool on Monday, and we're both having a very hard time with it.

Monday wasn't bad. He cried for about 7 minutes and then was fine. I know the exact amount of time that he cried because the preschool is right next door to us, and I could hear him gasping and sputtering inconsolably, and I had to stop myself from going over and taking him back home about 112 times in that 7 minutes.

Having the preschool next door is a great convenience, but I didn't think about the fact that I can hear the kids from my living room. Monday's first 7 minutes were sheer torture, but then it was over, and I went on with my morning and hung out with Joey and when I picked Nathan up, he was happy, and had projects to show me, and all was well. Ah, maybe this wasn't going to be so hard after all.

Then, this morning came - day two for him, as he's going Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He opened his eyes and said, sleepily, "I don't want to get out of bed." He's NEVER said that. He's always ready to go when he wakes up.

So I said, "come on. Let's go have some breakfast!"

To which he replied, "and then we'll go back to bed?"

Now I knew I was in for it. The next half hour was basically him crying in his cheerios, literally, about how he didn't want to go to school. He even went so far as to tell me, "daddy said if I don't wanna go, I don't have to!" (Needless to say, Nathan was a fibbin' on that one!)

Miss Lisa, the teacher, had to pry Nathan off my leg, and I had to walk away from him as he screamed and cried hysterically.

So, now, I sit here and think, gee, I've been told parenting is hard, and it's frustrating, and it's rewarding, and it's all these things, but no one ever highlighted how painful it can be. The responsibility - ay ay ay. And I'm not talking about life or death responsibility. That's a whole other ball of wax that led me straight down a fast path to Zoloft.

I'm talking about the responsibility for the psychological damage. If I didn't send him to preschool, he'd surely have a harder time adjusting in elementary school, and then when he's a 30-year-old, unmarried, shy nerd living at home with us, he could curse me for not pushing him harder when he was small.

But by pushing him now, causing such tumult in his little being, maybe he'll come home in his late teens with a pierced forehead and a tatoo on his chest that says "Mom Sucks" with a knife through it, and introduce me to his girlfriend and his boyfriend, saying "we're polyamorous. Get with the program," while a gray haired Steve and I try to be hip and down with whatever the kids are doing these days, all the while wanting to go back in time and never have sent him to that darn preschool when he was 3 1/2!

I'm thinking too much, per usual, and the snacks are not numbing the pain, but rather just making me feel a little sick. Where does this emotional eating come from? Oh, yeah - Children's Corner Nursery School. I was four. They made me eat all of my food that was covered in gravy the consistency of snot before I could have a drink. I hated that place. And now I have a tattoo. It's a black cat on my ankle - nothing against my parents, but they hate it as much as I hated Children's Corner.

On the bright side, I still adore and respect my parents, and always have and always will, so I guess that's what I'll have to hold onto. This whole parenthood thing is nothing but a big your damned if you do and your damned if you don't, huh? In the end I guess you just have to hope that your kids know you're doing your best and don't hold too much against you when they inevitably rebel.

But I'll be damned if I'd give it up for even a second, of course.

This is just the beginning, Jen. Just the tiniest tip of the iceberg. Get ready!

Better go stock up on Cheez Doodles. And cookie dough. Yeah, there was some cookie dough involved. Did I leave that part out?

Indianapolis

So, we headed out of St. Louis after rushing back to grab the cats and barely making it for our super late checkout, following the great time at the arch, and made an afternoon drive to Indianapolis, IN. This was a little out of our way, but seeing the Speedway was on Steve's wishlist.

Unfortunately, it was at this point that Dell had held onto our money for the laptop computer order we'd canceled for about a week and a half, and since we were fronting a lot of our travel expenses before getting reimbursed by Steve's new company, things were getting a little scary. So much of Steve's good time was marred by multiple phone calls to Dell's frustrating customer service call center in India.

Though this guy isn't from India, it was a bit like this video on You Tube, but imagine each of us calling about 50 times a piece over the course of a few days: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bF5bVi5wKQ

We wanted to show Nathan a good time, so we decided to take him to Chuck E. Cheese, a new obsession of his. It was definitely late, but we didn't realize that we had crossed another time zone that evening, and were informed that the pizza chef had already gone home and they were closing in 15 minutes. Nathan was pretty disappointed, so we at least let him play a few games.

Arch Tram Video

Inside the Arch

So, we bade adieu to David and Jason, and headed back to the St. Louis Arch visitor's center so we could board our 1:30 "tram" to the top.

This so called "tram" is actually an uber white, antiseptic looking, teeny-tiny little enclosed room - more elevator than tram. For someone that has a strong case of claustrophobia, this would've been a no go. My fight or flight reflexes tend to cofound the me and go regarding small spaces, but I wouldn't dare say that I'm fully claustro.

I had a tiny twinge of anxiety as I entered, but I was able to go zen and get through it. It was worth it for the view at the top.

This was the family favorite as far as sightseeing. We were all in great moods and arch experience really interesting and fun!

Pre Arch Lunch

We didn't realize that when you buy your tickets to go up in the arch, they give you the next available time window. Unfortunately, Jason and David had some other plans, so they weren't able to stick around for the 1:30pm tram time, but they were able to join us for a quick lunch, and we all enjoyed the company of both of them ever so much.

David made sure to order the toasted ravioli for the table as an appetizer. It's another St. Louis local thing and it was yummy!

The St. Louis Arch

What a pleasant surprise the St. Louis Arch was. All four of us Longs love, love, loved it. If you are ever in that area, go. In spite of being such a tourist attraction, it's just dang cool.

St. Louis - Dinner at Sage

David and Jason picked a nice restaurant for us to go to. It might have been a tad less kid friendly than we wanted, and the service was just a little slow, so there was a lot of tap dancing on Steve and I's part to keep the boys in check.

It was at this point that Nathan's behavior piqued at the absolute worst it has ever been - screaming, saying bad words, harassing Joey, and generally testing us. Looking back, he was just plum tired of traveling. We were expecting an awful lot of those boys, with really long days of driving. He'd get to a hotel and just be bouncing off the walls, and we'd have short fuses from the travel ourselves, so we probably didn't always parent with patience and poise.

Steve's reaction tended to be "this isn't fun and I just wish we were there already." Mine was more Griswoldian. "Hey, guys, we're probably never going to see this ball of twine again, so let's enjoy it, dammit!!"

Well, though our hotel in St. Louis was probably the nicest we had on the entire trip - a Marriott Residence Inn with a kitchen, king bed and pull out sofa, that was super clean and had parking right outside the door of our room - Steve had absolutely had it. He was so over Nathan's outbursts and insolence that he was seriously threatening to forgo dinner and stay at the hotel with Nathan as a punishment.

I was looking forward to David seeing my kids, since he moved away to St. Louis right about the time I was pregnant with Nathan, and had only been back to California a couple of times, I wasn't incredibly keen on Steve's plan. I was also in the throes of a bad cold, and so I was barely holding it together myself. Eventually, I talked Steve into giving Nathan one more chance, and so, under the impetus that if he misbehaved even once, Steve would take him out to the car, we made our way to David's place.

You saw the video of David, and how he made up for his shirtless-not-readiness with drinks and snacks and his usual amusingness, including a nude mannequin in his bedroom and a new wardrobe hanging to dry in his basement that consisted entirely of black t-shirts. It was just great to see my old gay boyfriend. It felt like old times, immediately.

We had a fair amount of trouble finding the restaurant, but we made it for our 7pm reservation. I enjoyed a glass or two of wine, Steve had a couple of beers, David dirty martinied, per usual, and still asks for a side of extra olives. I ordered the trio of sliders - burger, pork and chicken. Steve had a filet mignon, and David enjoyed the plank cooked salmon. I can't remember what everyone else had, and it would probably be a bit creepy if I did.

Anyway, we had a nice time, so much so, that David and Jason decided to join us the next morning for our most touristy endeavor on the trip, thus far - The Arch.

Back to St. Louis

Okay, so let's travel back in time about a month to my arrival in St. Louis. We went there with the main goal to see my good friend and former hairdresser (the best I've ever had!), and general little-brother-like pain-in-my-a** but cute-as-a-button gay boyfriend David.

Here's some David for you. I can't explain why he greeted us shirtless, but what a great host!! He surprised us with a choice of wine, beer, various sodas and juices that were all local, and went to the trouble of buying an age appropriate sippy cup for each of our boys. (Come to think of it, maybe he meant those for Steve and I...hmmmm....)

Trampoline Boys

Nathan loved jumping on his friend Grahammy's trampoline in Oakland, so he's been thrilled that the Hausman's have one, as well.

The Auntie/Nephew Bond

So, Nathan was a bit of a mommy-centric baby, and my poor sister, who, by circumstances of living far from us, has only gotten to see him a couple of times a year since he was born, has been a bit disappointed to find that he tended to be a little standoffish with her. We were all a little surprised, because her first son, Tommy, is the type of kid that connects with most everyone, and so he and I had an instant auntie/nephew bond from day one. We all assumed that my first son would be the same with his auntie.

However, sometimes, like a fine wine, things need time. And so, we're thrilled to see that now that Nathan's at least sticking his beak out of the nest a little, he's more willing to forge a strong relationship with his Auntie Michelle. The two have had some really cute moments on this trip, not the least of which was an hour long "preschool" session this morning where Auntie Shell went over the calendar, did a story and lesson on circles, a cooking class, and helped Nathan draw some pictures. He was completely mesmerized by his "teacher."

This video clip is an earlier part of our trip when we left the museum and Nathan held his aunties hand without complaint for the first time.

Can you name this movie quote?

"Son, you got a panty on yer head."

And even more silly museum pictures

Don't Jump, Jen










Auntie Shell reads Nate The Art of War











Pattycake, pattycake










Steve discusses the plan














Then we ran the Fayetteville Marathon, just for fun

More Silly Museum Pictures

Not far from the tree

My sister is working towards being as impressive a host as our mother. Our mom is the type of hostess that keeps the guest bathroom fully stocked with extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, shampoo/conditioner, etc., in case you might have forgotten a sundry or two. She always has a snack and cold drink waiting for you when you arrive. And she keeps a TV and DVD player in every room, and has a DVD collection to rival a Blockbuster store, should you want to relax with a movie.

My sister, as a hostess, is a marvel when it comes to offering options of things to do. Every day that I've been here, she's provided me with a multitude of possibilities of places to go to or eat at that will suit everyone's desires and needs. She really is quite the tour guide. I feel like I'm getting a very good overview of Fayetteville. And she saved me from eating deep fried fat back at the crazy southern buffet restaurant we went to last night. I thought they were weird french fries.

One of our first stops when we arrived here was the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, (which she made sure to plan on a day when Steve was still here, per her thoughtful master hostiness) and thankfully I was indulged in my desire to carry on a personal tradition I have of taking goofy pictures any time I'm in a museum.

The Hausmans steal our kids

I've really been quite terrible about updating my blog while hanging out in North Carolina with Michelle and the boys. It's just that we're all having so much fun hanging out, on top of which, I've become mildly addicted to Rock Band and Guitar Hero, and I've just found myself drifting back into late summer mode - the kind I used to have as a kid when you could stay up as late as you wanted and sleep in, and float from meals to video games, to board games to swimming to watching a movie to running errands... It's been a nice flashback to some great times I had with my sister growing up. And such a trip that we're both moms now!!

So the next several entries will be NC photo/video heavy, and then I'll back track to St. Louis and the rest, and by then, Steve and the boys and I should be on our way to Maine.

Fayetteville Arrival

So, it looks like I'm going to have to fast forward, and then work my way back, eventually, as Steve needed to take our laptop with him to Maine, and on it are the most of the rest of the photos and videos through St. Louis, Indianapolis, Bowling Green and Knoxville. However, I am now having an amazing visit with my sister Michelle and my nephews Tommy and Ben, while Steve gets his barings at the new job and tries to find us a house to rent in his spare time.

So this is our arrival in Fayetteville, North Carolina:

St. Louis Bound

I started feeling a tickle in my throat and sneezing up a storm in Kansas last night, had a restless night's sleep as my throat got increasingly painful. NOOOO!!! I can't be getting sick!!! We're on our way to visit my gay boyfriend David who lives in St. Louis, and I'm stuffy and achy and this just stinks!!!!!

Junction City, KS

From Denver, we made the long drive to Kansas. One of my favorite moments of the drive is when you first cross over from one state to the next, it’s called Kanarado. Now that’s creativity!!

We made it all the way to Junction City, where we got a surprisingly nice and clean room at a Holiday Inn Express. The humidity in Kansas was pretty stifling, but we were excited to have a Cracker Barrel just across the way.

If you haven’t been to a Cracker Barrel, it’s lard infused, sweet creamery butter drenched, cheesy, salty, gravy soaked goodness. And to top it off, it’s cheap and they have a really cute gift shop.

My sister first introduced me to C.B.’s when she lived in Colorado, and the highlight is their cheesy hashbrown potato casserole. And to my delight, they serve breakfast all day, so I ordered myself up a nice artery clogging Oldtimer’s Breakfast – two eggs overeasy, grits, biscuits and gravy, hashbrown casserole and thick sliced applewood smoked bacon. Not a low sodium, low fat, low cholesterol item on my plate, which is the smart thing to do when you’re embarking on a sedentary adventure of driving 400 miles in a day.

After that, we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few essentials and do a sociological observation of the Junction City locals, who, by and large, seemed like a group of people eager to escape the confines of a town too small to offer them a whole lot in the way of excitement. At least that’s what I thought until we made our way to the parking lot and saw a man yelling at his wife with a golf club over his head, threatening to strike at any moment, just one row over from us. Perhaps we should have stepped in, as altruistic citizens of these United States, but since we had the kiddos in tow, we got everyone buckled up at lightning speed and high-tailed it back to the Holiday Inn, realizing life was much more exciting in Junction City, Kansas than we originally thought.

A little sign from Grandpa Joe

My wonderful grandfather (Joey's namesake) passed away this past March. He was full of great stories. Among them, one of the most famous was that my grandparents had decided to leave New Hampshire with 3 small children, pulling a trailer cross country to live and settle in California. (I have noticed a parallel or two, however opposite, with our situation and the timing of it in our lives.)

Anyway, Grandpa Joe talked many times about a place called Stuckey's, that was probably at the time one of the few roadside stops, as opposed to todays endless gas stations with foodmarts. As my grandpa would say, just when you had driven so many miles that you felt like you couldn't drive another one, you'd see that Stuckey's in the distance, pull off and have an amazing chocolate shake, and buy a pecan roll for later. He'd always end the story with a gleam in his eye, and you could tell he was back there for just a moment as he'd say, "boy those shakes were good!"

So, when I saw the red roof and the sign on the outskirts of Colorado, we just had to pull off and take a picture, since I felt like Grandpa Joe was giving me a little hello. :)

Colorado Scenery

If there's any confusion as to why Steve and I are so attracted to Colorado...