Good Morning and wasn't it nice to hear the birds singing this morning!

With all the running around this weekend (or, more specifically, sitting around at a conference), I didn't have a chance to fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket.
Usually, I am able to get around three done myself then have the children pick one and feel really bad by the end when they beat me.
This year, though, time just got away and, really, I forgot.
It's a good thing. I definitely would have picked Notre Dame, Georgetown and Marquette. When all three Big East teams lost (and Villanova nearly lost), my first thought was: 'At least I still have my five bucks!'
Seeing the weather report for the weekend made it even better. Now, when it hits 70 degrees, I won't feel the pull to put on a basketball game.
I might even try to play a basketball game, which will make my knees hate me even more.

Good Morning and welcome to the middle of the week!

Ever since the first cold air blew into the area, I've gotten the same question over and over, 'Is it going to be sunny out?'
The question, from a precocious 5-year old, was meant to ask if it's warm out.
So, yes, I would say, it's sunny out today, but it's still cold.
'Awwww!' was always the response.
Sunday, it was with great pride I could finally say it was 'sunny out.'
It's really amazing how the mind works. Yes, it looks nice outside during the doldrums of winter, but it's not exactly inviting.
Bundle up, walk outside and the first thing you want to do is run back inside.
The last few days have been a welcome respite. Sure, there was still some melting snow around, but the hope of a warm day can make a lot of things look better. Well, at least for a little bit.
Hey, there were even a few flowers blossoming from the mud.
So, while the rain and chilly air is blowing back in for the next few days, we can finally look forward to sunny days. We all need a little bit of sunshine.

Good Morning and welcome to (what feels like) spring!

Hope springs eternal, or so it's been said.
When it feels like spring, things change.
For the past few months, the early-morning requests were exactly the same: 'Can we watch TV? Can we play Wii? Can we play with the DS?'
It was cold outside. More often than not this winter, it was snowing. There are only so many times (even for children) that bundling up and heading out into the snow is fun.
With the temperatures ticking upward, though, the requests changed.
'Can we go outside? Can we go to the baseball field and practice? Can we go to the playground? Can we ride our bikes?'
That's what spring is all about. Rediscover the air. Rediscover what's important.
Sure, the heat of the summer will be upon us and the requests will change, but, now at least, there's a whole world out there to be discovered.

Good Morning and welcome to another Wednesday!

The good thing about Wednesday is you can almost see the end of the week, but you know there's still some work to be done. Plow through it and you'll be rewarded. Well, at least you have to have hope.
Speaking of hope, after a long winter of sitting inside, the last thing a child wants to do in April is look out the window at rain falling.
They want to get out. They want to run around. There's a little clock in their hearts that goes off once May rolls around. Enough of playing board games, we want the bikes. We want the balls. We want the Frisbees. We want the ... ice cream?
That's right, why wait for the heat of the summer, it's spring, which is close enough, so it's time for ice cream.
Now, none of that low-fat stuff. No, it has to be real ice cream. It has to be full of fat and milk and chocolate and goodness.
Since the frozen banana ice cream just won't cut it this week, it's time to head to the store.
That's where the fun begins. Now, not being a huge ice cream fan, I usually by-pass that aisle in the store. This trip, there was no stopping (after all, it was a trip primarily for ice cream).
So, the orders came in: I want mint. I want cookie dough. I want peanut butter chocolate. I want candy and ice cream and whipped cream and chocolate sauce and more candy.
So, with two small ones to help, we stopped at the ice cream aisle. I want that one and that one and that one and that one.
OK, just one. There's not enough room in the freezer (not to mention the bank account) for one of each.
With so many choices, it was information overload. It takes an adult to step in. Well, here's chocolate peanut butter and, look, there's a baseball one. It's baseball season let's get that.
NOOOO. I want the football one.
NOOOOO. Get the baseball one.
NOOOOOOOO! Football! NOOOOOOOOO. Baseball!
Executive decisions don't work when a little girl wants ice cream with little chocolate footballs inside.
Or, maybe I'm not the executive anyway. That's why we end up with too much ice cream jamming up the freezer.


If you have any cool links or photos, send them along to onlinedelco@gmail.com

Good Morning out there as we start the last full day of winter!

Never does something look so good as the coming of spring. After sitting through a winter of dreary, wet, cold days, we get a glimpse of sunshine. We can almost smell the flowers as they break up through the dirt.
We can also open the garage door and dust off the bikes. Pull out the rakes. Get the hands dirty. Play with the baseballs, frisbees and lawn darts (lawn darts?).
Anyway, I get excited about spring, even if it means purchasing just one packet of seeds and seeing if they can grow, which isn't a bad thing for about a buck.
All of that is fine for the weekends, it's the regular work week that gets a little bit tougher. The last thing anybody wants to do is go into work when the weather is first turning warm.
Unfortulately, it's just something that has to be done. Unless, of course, you can get a government bailout and cash your checks.
So, even if it's not too warm this weekend, get to a park (just don't take SEPTA) and think of the spring.
You have to do something. Then again, maybe it's a better weekend to watch some basketball.


If you have any cool links or photos, send them along to onlinedelco@gmail.com

Good Morning and welcome to a new week!

It's hard to believe just one week ago we were digging out from the biggest snowstorm of winter. Now, with the exception of those giant hills in shopping centers, there is no snow. Sounds pretty good.
Speaking of weather, those warm days over the weekend sent the mind racing to the best rite of spring, baseball. Grab the gloves. Rough up the ball. Pick up the bat. While those high-priced players are enjoying the Florida weather, the real future of the game was being played on muddy lawns and driveways this weekend.
Sure, there were plenty of basketball games and the sound of bouncing balls as well, but spring means baseball. It's kind of interesting how the change in seasons bring certain things to mind.
Spring is baseball. Summer is swimming. Fall is walking. Winter is, well, winter is something we all have to get through.
While it's not going to be as warm throughout the week, it's not going to be freezing either. Time to start thinking about that garden.


If you have any cool links or photos, send them along to onlinedelco@gmail.com

Good Morning and aren't we all wishing for more of Sunday's warmth?!

There's really nothing like an unexpected spring-like day in the middle of a cold winter. Not only does it give us a chance to turn the heat down for the day (I'm thumbing my nose at the oil companies at least for one day), but we all get to go outside.
What to do? Well, you could take a walk. You could ride bikes. You could head to the zoo. You could just sit on the front steps and enjoy the warmth.
The best thing is to head to a playground, especially when there are three little ones getting stir crazy by the winter. After all, there's only so much cleaning, reading and watching movies you can do before the brain goes crazy.
So, instead of bouncing off the walls, let them bounce off playground equipment. Up and down the slides, onto the swings (for hours?), running around with reckless abandon and that's just the adults.
While in the middle of summer the playground might not have the same appeal, the middle of winter offers hope. Get out, remember what the air felt like. Throw the ball around. Scream. Yell. Pretend to be a monster.
If only the day could last forever.


If you have any cool links or photos, send them along to onlinedelco@gmail.com