Holiday Fluff 'n Stuff

I am happy to pimp my friends' blogs. I will tell anyone who stands still long enough about a good deal or great service. Self-promotion isn't my strong suit. I'm just gonna put on my big-girl panties and suck it up because I have GOT to show you what I am stocking tomorrow (noon EST) for the Holiday season.

Christmas Kittens


Christmas Puppies


Rudolph


and Custom Holiday Embroidery

let the Pimpin' continue

next up in the Hot Seat is Missives From Suburbia

Deb is another dear friend and talented writer disguised as a Mommy. Like Cathy, she has a kid about the same age as Colin. She also has a husband who bears a striking resemblance (on the phone anyway) to Santa! I better not for get her pack of (not so) wild dogs. her blog is halarious! she is in the midst of packing and moving.... and injuring herself.... you can also check out her appearance on the Today Show on her blog.

Pimps 'n Hos - Blog style

So, have you noticed that I've updated my sidebar? I added more links to the blogs I frequent. I thought I'd highlight them on at a time so you can see why I read them... My original plan of attack was to just go right down the list, BUT I decided that if you're pimpin' me you get to move up.

First in the Hot Seat- For Me For Once

Cathy is a writer cleverly disguised as a full time Mommy. Her blogs range from silly and playful to very deep, raw and real. She looks at life and family - and all of its ups and downs. I admire her not only for her talent, but for her courage to wear her heart on her blog and her strength to put her butt on the Beach..

So go check her out already! If you wanna be pimped - or moved up the list.. drop me a comment

Inner Diva

WARNING - THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT DISCO - TMI FEMININE CONTENT AHEAD

One of my favorite breastfeeding benefits has been the lack of a period... I sure miss those days.. still breastfeeding, but not enough to ward off "the curse". sigh... since it has returned.. it has returned with a vengeance... very heavy - like "cant leave the house" heavy- followed up with day after day after day of spotting which seems to stop as soon as I decide I need to call my midwife.

My husbands reaction is to call/see the doctor for every little thing (yes, I know he is the exact opposite of most men - but trust me this is equally annoying.). Now ladies, you KNOW what she'll say when I tell her my period is problematic, right? yeah "The Pill"- now, as wonderful as it is, I really don't want to have to remember to do one more thing each day - never mind the potential side effects (migraines, weight gain etc).

While perusing a cloth diapering message board, I see frequent discussions on cloth pads... they sound comfy but I have never been a pad girl.. even cloth. I just can't stand them. I'd seen a few mentions of a menstrual cup- which sounded interesting, but complicated and uncomfortable. In one such conversation about a month ago someone mentioned that, while there is a short learning curve, it is as if you aren't even wearing it.. AND - this is what sold me - you only have to empty it 2-3 times a day...

SO- in short, there is a product that does not wick or leak, you can't tell you are wearing it AND you only need to "deal with it" a couple of times a day. No more late night runs for tampons - or forgetting to stick some in my purse (shudder) - or trying to find a clean bathroom on a construction site... I can "deal with it" in the privacy of my own (clean) bathroom...

I ordered the Diva Cup a few weeks ago and finally had a chance to test drive it. I think this past weekend really was a true test-and it passed. Train ride- no problem. subways, walking - no problem. lunch, play, hot cocoa - totally forgot about it!

I am SO glad I have found my inner Diva!

A subway named Desire

I spent a lovely weekend in the City (that is NYC - Manhattan actually - for those of you who aren't from these parts) with (blogless) Kim and (are you blogging again?) Kathy. we were all over the city. good food. decadent hot cocoa. hilarious play! bargain shopping. and of course stellar company and conversation....

unfortunately, thanks to the USCG, Kim had to take a late train back to suburbia. damn military... keeping us safe harumf!

I always enjoy talking to Kathy. She is smart, crafty and witty. she is also single and has the time/opportunity to consider things like what her own desires are... I tell you I am jealous. There are times I envy the freedom and excitement of being single in a big city... but at the end of the day I am happy to be home with my husband, kids, cat and suburban lifestyle...

It did get me thinking... what are my desires? If you asked me last week I would have said 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep... ok - did that. I spend my work day focused (more or less) on my clients' desires and trying to make them happen. then I go home and focus on the family needs/desires (kids can't tell the difference). I guess that means that I desire an income to support my family.. and I desire peace in my house... which means fulfilling my families desires. but what about me - just for me? I'll have to think on that..

Halloween recap

we started festivites 10/20 with Andy attending a birthday/Halloween party. here he is on he way out - right before the camera battery did..grrr...


The festivities continued on Saturday with a party at AMAA. there were LOADS of kids there and lots of fun. Colin started dancing, but Todd and the camera were on the other side of the room and by the time he got to us with the camera, this is all I could get.



since Todd was manning the camera, I didn't realize that most of the pics were blurry... so no good group shots. I do think this is a pretty spooky pic of Andy...



for reasons I don't understand, Ryan was in a snit. I he could have won the prize for "most creative" costume if he's acted like a swamp monster, but he wouldn't perform... he also didn't want his picture taken.. see..


HA! I caught him!


notice the 3D glasses? those were his "glowing eyes" his idea.. as was the swamp monster. I, however designed & sewed the rest of the costume. since he REFUSES to wear any pants other than "soft pants" (the rest of us call them sweats) I have removed the "swamp" and now he has another pair of soft pants for school - not that he doesn't have a dresser drawer vomiting jeans...sigh...

I took the day off on Halloween when it occurred to me that there was NO way I was going to have a clean house, hot food AND my sanity for the evening's festivities. I was even able to be a "harvest helper" for Andy's class.

yes- "harvest helper" why not a Halloween helper? apparently Halloween isn't PC. the kids put on costumes for a costume parade and had treats for their "Harvest Parties". seriously... do they actually think that ANY of these kids are harvesting anything other than candy????



the kids looked great and had loads of fun (not to mention sugar!)



then I took the boys and headed home for our own party. FIL took lots of pictures. I asked him to email them to me when he uploaded them but he said something about "film" and "developing"... whatever... he did take this with our camera.

I believe I was in the middle of telling Ryan to stop punching the blow up ghost..

I went in and took pics of these cookies

b/c I wanted to remember to post about them. YUM-O! 1 box yellow cake mix, 15oz can of pumpkin and a half bag of mini dark chocolate chips. drop onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 min. SOOO good! they were a big hit at school and in our house. they were SO easy I'll certainly be baking them again soon!

I also made this interesting punch.

Jell-O, 7up and gummy body parts. it was good, but I'll jsut save it for next Halloween...

I then put my camera on the counter and didn't take any more pictures... aside from the usual culprits (the grandparents, my sister, Jimmy, Kim and Jason) my sister had a date! yes! and the MOST surprising part? he isn't insane, drunk or a total ass! the best part is that he is SO good with Jimmy - it seems instinctual for him- and that makes me a very happy auntie!

we also got to meet the lovely Cynthia and her equally lovely family. I'll wait while you go check out her blog. make sure you get to see the pics of her little cutie Em! He is SO sweet! and such a good boy! we chatted and ate and compared baby sweaters before we said goodbye. (the boys were chatting about cartoons, Muppets and music.. hee..hee..). about 3 minutes after they left, I realized that we didnt' get any pics of us or the babies.. WAHH...

so then I cleaned up and went to bed... I'm still tired...

Ryan

Where do I begin to explain this boy?

At 10lb3oz (50th percentile for a 3mo!) you'd think he was a tough birth. In actuality, he was my largest baby, but by far my easiest birth. at 2:00 am on 11/30/02 I politely informed the nurse that I was pushing and she needed to get the midwife. at 2:01 am I was screaming at the nurse to get the effin midwife. at 2:02 am the midwife came in to catch (she heard me yelling - the nurse was convinced it was "too soon"). at 2:03 am I was cuddling a very big baby!

it has all gone down hill from there! he has been demanding and controlling since he drew that first breath at 2:03 am.

It isnt' all bad though. he can be really sweet. he love to hug and cuddle.

and he is a wonderful big brother to Colin (in spite of a smidge of jealousy..)

He is quite the ladies man - and THAT is going to get him in trouble! I see a LOT of angry fathers banging down our door. Todd better keep up with the martial arts classes.

When he was 2, he was throwing pebbles at a little girl at camp. then he said, "I'm sorry" and gave her a hug- it was all a scam! this summer - two years later - I went down to the campfire to find him curled up in the lap of the very same girl! (her father is a cop- yikes!)

Friday, he was flirting with a little girl in his karate class. he invited her to his birthday party. on the way home he informed me that he loved her and that she is beautiful.

Sunday afternoon the big boys attended a birthday party for the 10yo next door. they were the only boys with a bunch of 9 and 10 year old girls. Andy was doing his own thing - as usual.

but Ryan.. well...


Then yesterday we realized we were in BIG trouble. there was a note in his backpack from his teacher. he kissed a girl during rest time. (her father knows where we live....). the teacher explained to him that we only kiss family. when I saw the note, I went in the other room to laugh my ass off tell Todd. We reinforced what the teacher had said, but it was clear that he was quite embarrassed.

whatever lady is lucky enough to land him (eventually) will get a great husband though.

ROCK STAR

well, maybe not just yet...

I tried getting all artsy and just ended up with a bad picture and Andy rockin' out (in front of a mountain or laundry...).

I know very little about guitars. BUT we got it at Route 1 Guitars and I am sure that if you stopped in, called or emailed, Gail or John will tell you everything you want to know about it. He first picked out a red one - because red is his favorite color (gotta love the mind of a child!). Unfortunately, the red one had a critical design flaw that prevented it from actually being plugged in and played. So, we traded it in for the black - which while not his favorite color, is actually functional!

Andy has had his first 2 lessons with Mike Nuno (if you are a Jazz fan, then I'm willing to bet you've heard him play). After his last lesson, Mike told Todd not to be so tough on him and to let him have fun. He gets upset when he makes a mistake. Yeah- that's not us - that's Andy! he gets SO upset when things don't go exactly right. He does practice every day and his fingers are getting stronger.

Threes

"They" say that bad things happen in 3's. I hope that is true, because if it is, it means that our extended family is done with fire-related disasters.

1. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know that we had a fire in our house in July of 2004. details of the nightmares that ensued can be found in my archives.

2. Todd's cousin Martin was in a very nasty & fiery car wreck in August. while he did escape with his life, he did lose one foot. he is still in the burn unit, but is on the road to recovery.

3. Todd's brother and his family are still evacuated (since Monday) after fire came less than a mile from their house on 3 sides. all are well and anxious to get home and getting things back in order.

so that is 3-near death experiences with fire. we're done now, right?

the thing I have learned is that it isn't the fire itself that is the real horror. it is the aftermath.

the fighting with the insurance company for the money we were are entitled to (and NEEDED to rebuild our home.) the night terrors and nightmares that Andy has suffered the last 3 years (yes, he still has nightmares! whenever they talk about fire safety in school or he sees anything about fire on TV, they come back.) not to mention the developmental delays he suffered.

Martin is alive and recovering, but he still has a very long road ahead (don't worry man, we've got your back!).

Doug and family will have a HUGE mess to clean up and their community will be rebuilding for some time. I don't think the emotional impacts have set in for them yet - and I wish there was some way I could warn them or make it easier - but I can't. no one can. it is like becoming a parent. you can not fully comprehend the emotions you will feel until you are in the moment - and no one can really describe it to you. I hope you, my dear blog readers never have to know them first hand.

the fire itself... it happens SO fast, then it is over and we are left to sift through the ashes... sometimes literally.

I think he thinks too much...

I took Andy to Sunday school this week- it is a family-based program that meets monthly. This was our first session as Andy will make his first communion next year (yes - next year!). in the classroom, the teacher asked the children how they could be more like Jesus. most kids gave the standard responses - love one another, be nice share etc. What does my kid say? "I want to be a doctor so I can make people better when they are sick." wow.. THEN we are all back in the big group and Fr. Tom asks what we learned about Jesus. Andy raised his hand - I held my breath 'cause I never know what this kid will come up with. Fr. Tom called on him and he said "Everything is easier with Jesus' help then by yourself." I just hope he remembers that when he is a doctor...

Speaking of doctors.. the big boys went to the pedi yesterday. Ryan has seasonal allergic asthma. Andy has a cold in addition to his seasonal asthma hell... his peak flow was 50% of what it should have been.. so they both have more meds and a follow-up & flu shots for all 3 in 2 weeks. Joy... Here's the kicker.. Andy was pestering the doctor for a shot - he was convinced that it would make him better immediately. If only it were that easy...

Lifting my "spirits"

Among my birthday loot was a gift card - with instructions to use it ONLY for me! whee! It had been a long week - teething toddler, hypo-manic hubby, and coughing kiddos. No rest for the mommy... and mommy NEEDED a little self-indulgence. I grabbed the card and raced out the door before anyone could argue - and before mommy-guilt changed my mind.

I needed a sports bra for my self-defense class. (I'm sure it is easier to fend off an attacker with proper support, lift and separation.) Sports bra in hand I was ready to move on to the next dept. but it occurred to me that I was wearing a 5-year-old nursing bra...and my baby usually nurses after I am bra-less anyway. I no longer pump either.. so why am I wearing these worn, stretched and boring things anyway...

In the last 7 years, I have only worn white or beige full-coverage cotton bras. These boobs haven't see under-wire since Y2K! Time to give the girls a lift! I was normally a white, pink or beige kind of girl BK (that's before kids - not the burger joint I worked at in high school). that way they didn't show too much. After so many years forced into white/beige cotton.. a bright red lacy under-wire number caught my eye! and of course I HAD to buy the overpriced matching panties too... even if I prefer Hanes...

I have to admit that the under-wire has boosted more than my sagging breasts. I feel much younger and sexier than I did when I was younger and sexier!

What now?

Something I've been contemplating for a while now is the direction this blog is headed in. To this point, it has been pretty stream-of-consciousness. I blog the most recent pictures, crafty projects and whatever random thoughts pop in my head (in case you missed the title...). I have considered separate family and crafty blogs, or maybe just bringing this one into focus.

Sometimes I wonder if I am just blogging to myself - which is fine because it is cheaper than therapy- but I am seeing some comments lately (Hi!). So, since it appears that there are people reading this, check out the sidebar poll. Cast your vote (you can pick more than one item) feel free to add other suggestions in the comments below (I will even allow Anon. comments for this one!). your votes are anonymous too, so feel free to tell me my knitting sucks or that you are sick of looking at my kids...

Happy Birthday to ME! Happy Halloween to the rest of you!

ok- so it isn't until tomorrow... but in true Todd fashion, I got my gifts early! I swear that man couldn't keep a secret if you paid him...

If we've met IRL, then you probably know that I LOVE Halloween! I love everything about it! a fire in the fireplace, crunching leaves in the street, candles flickering, tacky decorations all over the house and lawn (I need to get primed for the Christmas decorating!), tiny candy bars... and .. of course... spaghetti dinners! I don't know if it is it's proximity to my Birthday - and all of the Halloween themed Birthday parties - or the fond memories of the parties my Grandmother used to throw.

Grammy was ALL about the tacky decorations. Give her a reason to celebrate and she had some plastic crap to decorate with. She made a big (yet disgusting) spaghetti dinner for all the kids in the neighborhood. we' d choke it down then grab our pillowcases and hit the streets and we didn't come home until we had too much candy to carry!

A few days after my 11th birthday, my Grandfather, Pa, passed away. He'd been quite ill. We knew it was coming. Hell, he lived 6 years longer than the doctors thought he would. The night he passed, he came to me in my sleep and said goodbye. My biggest worry was the Halloween Party. I know that may sound cold, but remember 2 things. 1) I'd already said goodbye and made peace with his passing, and 2) I was -barely- 11. Grammy pulled through with the party. I remember some of the neighbors thinking it was a bit odd. Admitedly, Grammy was a bit odd - but in a sweet and charming way. In reality, she was a pretty smart cookie - even if she never thought so. She knew we ALL needed a party - and a good heaping dose of "normal".

Now, I live in Grammy and Pa's house. We continue the tradition of the Spaghetti supper (though I REALLY hope my baked spaghetti is a touch better than Grammy's "American Spaghetti") and over-the-top decorations. I love EVERY minute of it. The decorating, the cooking, the company.

So, this is what my loving Hubby (and kids) gave me for my Birthday...


There was an inflatable cat in a witch's hat (they've decided it is Prof. McGonagal), Vampire Tigger, and 2 tombstones. The lights we've had and there are hanging ghosts and lanterns to put up, and luminaries too. The peeling siding, while festive, is not an actual decoration... we just haven't made it that far down "the list" yet.. still finishing the inside of the house.

I used to decorate the lamppost like a ghost or scarecrow too, but our electrician deemed the old wiring a fire hazard and cut power to it. (That too is on "the list" - above the siding.) I may do the scarecrow anyway....

Ice Ice baby....

Andy went ice skating for the first time! (all you Canadians can stop laughing at us now!) He was invited to a skating birthday party. He caught on pretty fast and really enjoyed it!




so as a reward for good behavior, I'll be taking them to "open skate". I didn't realize how cheap it was! $5/person incl. rentals! it'll be a good test for Ryan before we fork over the $$ for Hockey....

RIP Bandit...

Snoozing in his favorite spot - Colin's changing table.


yet another one of our cats snuck out and got hit by a car. he was just a baby though... he was Colin's cat. he made Colin smile when he was sick and nothing else would. he is going to miss his "kitty kitty"...

Defining ADD

I frequent several message boards - mostly parenting issues. One such board is for parents with children who have ADD/ADHD. It is nice to see different perspectives, fresh insight on our issues and an abundance of research and information. What bothers me deeply is when I see SO many moms defining their child by their disability (or different ability if you prefer). "my child is ADD" - no your child has ADD! semantics? maybe... but I think how we talk about our kids reflects (or does it really shape) the way we think of them. I posted the following on that message board and I thought I would share my feelings on the matter here as well. You are welcome to share your thoughts in the comments as well...

Andy is not ADD. he is not Asthma. He is not PTSD. He is a child - a smart, happy child with several medical conditions. They do not define him. He defines them.

He does not suffer from these ailments (ok- he did suffer terribly the first year or so with the PTSD...). They provide challenges and obsticles in his life. He may struggle sometimes, but his illnesses are not barriers.

He is a child full of potential and faced with challenges. He is defined by his actions, his soul and his heart... NOT his ailments.

In knitting news...
I did finish Ryan's Tiger socks...he has worn them and he likes them ("they poke me feet with soft!")... but he wont cooperate for pictures... I am going to try (read "bribe") Andy and Ryan to pose with their socks together. wish me luck!

I am also working up some mock-ups for a cool little commission project for a "celebrity" I know (watch the Today Show on Thursday!) I'll post picks of those once I have all 4 styles complete...

Halloween Hineys!
I have a couple Halloween diapers left in stock (is it wrong for me to hope no one orders the one in Colin's size?)
I am also doing a special Halloween FFS Lottery! you have until noon tomorrow to enter! GL!

oh and nothing to do with Halloween.. BUT I only have 1 of these adorable Giraffe diapers left... you might want to snag it before I change my mind.. that Giraffe SC is SOOOO soft!

Cheeky Monkey!

ADD Awareness Day

Visit www.adda.org or www.chadd.org for more info on ADD

Going Forward

When events happen that change our lives – your wedding, birth of a child or a tragedy like 9/11 – the moments of that day become ingrained in our memories. The events, the weather, the smells and our emotions our sense memories are so strong that it seems as though it just happened.

With such strong memories, it is easy to forget how much time has passed. I can hardly fathom that six entire years have passed since 9/11. How much our world has changed. How much my life has changed.

I had just returned to work from maternity leave after having Andy – who is now in the first grade. He now has 2 little brothers – one of which is in Kindergarten. Todd and I crossed the big 3-0 line into real adulthood (or so I’ve been told…). We had a tragedy of our own when a fire started in Andy’s room (Our family marks time as “before the fire” and “after the fire”.). We moved out and back home after renovations. Colin joined our lives – and had his first birthday. The ‘stang and I parted ways (..sniff..). I’ve changed jobs 3 times. I taught myself to knit. I discovered the world of “real” diapers and started my own custom diaper biz…

It was hard to believe 6 years ago, but life has gone on… and it keeps on going – with or without us. We can’t go back to being innocent and ignorant, but we can’t hide in fear either… Go.. Live.. Love…

Never Forget

Where were you? The question we are all asking one another today.

I was in the truck on the way to a jobsite. I actually sat in the truck listening to the radio most of the day. The news kept coming in... More planes missing… another crashes into the Pentagon… one more in PA… the President was flying around somewhere… are we under attack? Who is doing this? Is it really happening? The whole thing sounded more like an action flick than reality…

Being a Civil Engineer, I knew the towers were going to come crashing down- soon. Tens of thousands of people were about to die. I was – and still am – impressed at how long those towers stood – at how many people were able to escape with their lives. It was as if the hand of God was holding them up as long as he could - in answer to all those praying for the people inside. In the days following, critics were quick to blame the engineers who “should” have designed for such an event. Tell me this – on 9/10/01, how many of us could have even imagined something like this happening? Exactly… The buildings were engineered way ahead of their time. The engineers who designed the WTC are the unsung heroes of 9/11.

We hear a lot about the Firefighters and Police officers who died trying to rescue others. I don’t mean to belittle the NYPD or NYFD or make light of their losses, but why don’t we hear more about the people who died sitting at their desks, reading their e-mail or getting their morning cup of coffee b/c as far as they knew… it was just another Tuesday morning. What about those on the floor above the impact? They knew there was no way out. They made their good-byes and waited for a painful death. What about the people on those planes who were just taking an ordinary flight and ended up riding in a bomb. What of the flight crews murdered by the terrorists? We seem to almost have forgotten the plane that hit the Pentagon and the lives lost there. Can it be that this tragedy is still to great to wrap our minds around six years later?

Where I live, only an hour from The City (we’re so close we don’t even need to say New York), we could see smoke rising from the west for weeks. If you went to the beach, you could see the Manhattan Skyline and the smoke billowing up from ground zero. On a clear day (remember how clear and bright that day was?) you can still see the skyline and anyone around here can tell you where the WTC was. There is a gaping hole to remind us of how much we lost that day.

We lost more than real-estate, more than those 3000+ lives. We lost our innocence and our security. We used to feel safe. War happened “over there”. Terrorists were in South America and the Middle East. If we saw an unattended bag in the airport we might have brought it to lost and found. Now we are afraid to open our mail. An unattended bag gets the building evacuated and the bomb squad is called. We are spying on our neighbors and suspicious of cab drivers. I can no longer promise my children that nothing bad will ever happen to them.

The truth is – we are never really safe. We just didn’t know that before.

So I ask you blog readers: Where were you the day our world changed? Share your story, thoughts and reflections in the comments…

What do you eat?

that is the first thing people ask when I tell them about our assorted food allergies. we eat a lot of things.. just not dairy, beef, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts or Cheerios...

.. but there is dairy and wheat in everything...

true enough.. read a few labels and you will be surprised at some of the things that contain dairy and wheat ingredients. BUT it is not in EVERYTHING!

sure, there are some things - like Sunbutter -that I need to go to Nature's Way for, but for the most part, I shop a a "normal" grocery store. I can get soy milk, yogurt and Cheese in the whole foods section.

Shop the perimeter

I can't remember who said it to me or if it was in reference to eating healthy or saving money, btu it applies to both. I dont' care what major supermarket you go in, BUT - you find your fresh produce at one end, then usually the deli ( you may need a little extra thought in your deli order to keep it helathy..) then your seafood and meats along the back. the dairy case, eggs and fresh OJ (I get the kind with Calcium and D added since I don't drink cow milk) then your fresh baked goods. then of course, I need to hit the paper goods and cleaning products aisles BUT I am trying to use more re-usable containers and I am shifting to more natural cleaners live vinegar and baking soda.. ones that won't kill me kid if he accidentally gets hold of them....

yes, I do get some stuff in the middle- cereal, some snacks/treats and Todd's diet soda (I do want to stay married... and I am considering the diet part a small victory at this point..) but the core of our diet comes from the perimeter - Fresh, whole, natural foods.

It takes to long to cook from scratch.

not really. chop things ahead. use a crock pot. stir fry! every fresh cooked meal doesn't have to be a Sunday-dinner roast! learn how to recycle left-overs into a new meal! my mom could feed us for a WEEK on one large roast chicken! you cna even make big meals on the w/e and freeze the extra for the week.

Back to School!

Andy is off to first grade and Ryan started Kindergarten!




The children were returned to us unharmed, so we sent them back again today :P



Todd and Colin were SO excited they didn't know what to do first... so they napped... I was more productive... I used up my Sugar 'n Cream from Dish Rag Tag! (we're in the home stretch now!)



I also made these over the w/e. I also made 2 REALLY cool Star Wars dipes, but the camera battery decided that would be a good time to quit and I had to mail them out before it could re-charge.