Hey look! A real live menu to post!

It's been a long time!! But I'm trying very hard to get us into a summer routine. Last week was a bit crazy with things scheduled and this week should be more like our "normal" summer. Hopefully I can get into a nice groove. I was recently telling a friend how scattered I feel when I don't have a "plan". I like to have things planned out like Laundry on Thursday, scrub the house on Friday... stuff like that. I am just not a fly by the seat of my pants type girl when it comes to that stuff! I do much much better (as does my family) when I know that certain things need to get done on certain days. Of course, I'm flexible though. Scrubbing a toilet or shower is not going to keep me from an invitation to the park. Well, unless there's mold or something nasty growing that will gross me out to no end but that rarely happens or at least I try to prevent it from happening!

So anyway... the weather should warm up this week finally. We haven't seen rain in a few days and while I'm loving not running the sprinklers and watching the plants dry out I'm sort of over the rain. It should feel like summer soon and we'll be able to pull out the shorts and sundresses! The Farmers Market started back up down the street. I did my weekly fruit & veggie shopping and will happily eat it up until Friday comes around again. Yay!

• Sunday - Homemade pizzas and garlic knots. SMA took FG and the kids to a baseball game and I had to work until 3. So I made a batch of dough before I went to work & another when I got home. I'm hoping to start keeping dough in the fridge for lunches for the kiddos - healthier than the frozen ones I've been letting them eat!
• Monday - grilled pork chops with bbq rub served on toasted buns, Farmer's Market (FM) corn on the cob, cabbage slaw salad of some sort (going to search new recipes)
• Tuesday - I work but I have a baked ziti ready for FG to bake for him and the kids
• Wednesday - BBQ Chicken thighs and legs (aka CHEAP) in the crock pot, noodles (I may even attempt to make my own since my bread machine will do most of the work, we'll see!), FM green beans
• Thursday - FG works, grilled chicken w/ alfredo sauce (DD's favorite and her request), noodles, veggies
• Friday - Tacos, rice, tossed green salad w/ homemade french dressing*
• Saturday - I work all day so probably take out!

* French Dresssing
1 cup oil

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup sugar

1 medium onion

1/2 cup vinegar (I use cider vinegar)

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons salt

1 clove garlic

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor.

Now I'm off to find a recipe for the cabbage slaw since I'm getting weary of the same two I always make. DD also wants me to find a recipe for strawberry ice cream. I promised her we would make it this week since I froze some of the fresh yummy strawberries I got a couple of weeks ago when they were super cheap. We have one of the wooden ice cream makers that I have to do outside because it's messy and loud but it makes some yummy ice cream!

15 Years

Wow. It still blows me away. I'm happy. We've built a great life and we've done it together. We are also very lucky that we got married so young, have changed so much and still like each other. We've watched many of our friends get married and divorced because they grew differently. As an added bonus, I still get butterflies in my tummy with him.

Karma in action?

So the little creepy punk across the street that I yelled at last weekend? Yeah, remember him? I come home to unload my ungodly expensive groceries (and I'm a thrify shopper - we eat good cheap!) and see him digging stuff out of his girlfriend's car. Then awhile later I see the two of them sitting on the curb. Shortly after that I hear a big truck and glance out the window. Really, I'm not watching them! I just have lots of windows in my house! I can't walk around the house and not see out the front windows. Anyway, it's a tow truck. Next thing I glance out and see is her car on the back of said tow truck and it driving away.
Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Rhubarb Muffins

This picture is from the second batch I made. The second batch I changed and didn't exactly follow the recipe. I'll post the regular recipe first, then tell you what I did on the second go-round so you know what not to do.

Rhubarb Muffins

1 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup oil

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nutmeats (I used almonds that I slightly toasted)

1 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb, finely diced

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. melted butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk. Beat well. Stir in rhubarb and nuts.

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and add to wet mixture.

Stir until combined.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Combine melted butter, sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of muffin mixture in cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-18 minutes.

Ok, that's just how I made them the first time. They were yummy! Even DD liked them though she picked out the nuts. I got some more rhubarb from my mom's yard and made them again the other day. This time I omitted the nuts for her and I added 1/2 whole wheat flour. I didn't mix the melted butter/sugar but instead just sprinkled the tops with cinnamon & sugar from the shaker I keep mixed up in the cabinet. Eh. Not so great. The butter really enhances the top and the wheat flour just wasn't as pleasant as the regular flour. DD took one bite and said, "Um Mom. Maybe I don't like these anymore." argh. Truth be told, I don't like them much like that either. I hate it when I waste ingredients!

Then I had to take a picture if for no other reason but to remind myself why I use muffin pan liners.

Now I'm off to see if the local restaurant supply store has a website. FG told me that starting next week they are having a 50% off sale - the only one of the year. He started off by saying, "You probably don't really need anything...." HA! I rattled off a list of things that I want. No, don't necessarily need but sure do want! I always compare my baking/cooking to his golf. Sure he could play with just a few pieces of equipment but it sure does make it easier and a more enjoyable hobby to have some extra stuff. He could get it done with a few clubs but having that range finder is awfully handy sometimes. It usually gets the point across.

It's official!

I'm old. Anyone who follows me around on Facebook knows that this was cemented yesterday (as if there was any question).

I love sitting on my front porch. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful perfect day - not too hot, not too cool, slight breeze, sunny blue skies with only a couple big white puffy clouds to make it simply picture perfect. I had baked up a storm in the morning (when the house was coolest - time for that summer routine of baking first thing in the morning) and had worked my tail off cleaning things up. The family and house were in order so I took the opportunity to enjoy the glorious day, my comfy front porch and a book. The kiddos had gone down the other street to a friend's house for an hour (and as they were leaving the not-so-favorite-of-mine neighbor kids were headed this way and DS told them they were going the other way to play with some other friends - whew! See - PERFECT DAY).
I'm enjoying the whole thing until I hear some squealing tires. The teenage girl across the street never drives her car, her boyfriend who basically lives there drives it. He came screeching around the corner and flew into the driveway. Something came over me. Now I've yelled at kids before - for using terrible language while sitting on the sidewalk directly on the other side of the fence from the swing set my kids were playing on, for kicking my rocks out of the yard and getting them all over the street, for throwing their trash in my yard and the street and down the gutter drain... But yesterday a true Mama Bear came out and I roared. I don't even remember getting up from my comfy spot on the wicker couch. I know I did lose my place in my book because I think I sent it flying. I stood on my porch and waited for that kid to climb out of the car. As soon as his head emerged I roared at him - "Slow. Your. Ass. DOWN!" "I'm sorry Mam" (WTF?! Mam?! Ok, whatever at least he's not a complete asshole kid and yeah, I guess at the age of 38 talking to a 18 year old I deserve the Mam). "My kids play on this street and do so all those other kids that live here! You cannot drive like that!" "I'm sorry Mam, I realize that and it won't happen again." "You kids scare the hell out of me! Somebody's going to end up hurt!" "I'm sorry Mam."
And I sat back down and he went inside the house. I didn't see him or anyone else from the house again.
Two blessed minutes later I hear the slap slap of little feet running and my son crossing the street at the same corner. Bless his little heart, he ran all the way home to ask if he could play the Wii at his friend's house knowing that I had said he was done for the day because he played ours in the morning. He's such a good rule-follower most of the time. My heart was still pounding in my chest as I could still hear those squealing tires in my head and the slap slap of his little feet. OMG, had he come home literally 2 minutes earlier my 100% perfect day would have been 100% hell. I get a lump in my throat thinking about it.

So yeah, I'm officially old. I'm officially the cranky old lady on the corner yelling at the teenagers. I don't give a crap whatsoever either because I think what I actually am is officially a Mom.

Whew!

Goodness. See what my silly mind does to me?!
I was right all along.... she has another kid who is a bit older and has the same name as my son (it's not an extremely common name).
He liked his class ok. He did well. It's every Saturday for several weeks for only an hour. That's just a bit too short to drop him off and come home so I sat in the car and waited.
I'm just glad it wasn't him right now. I'm just not prepared for that possibility yet.

How my day started out with torture

DS lost a front tooth at school the other day. It makes his sweet little face look funny!

FG got a Mini Cooper. Did I mention that already? It's fun! DS loooovvvves cars and he's been in love with Mini's for awhile. He loves to go on their website and design his own. So when FG got a Mini, DS was so obsessed he would go out in the garage and just stare at it. freaky.
Today there's a "Mini Rally" at a little cute mountain town less than 2 hours of winding 2-lane road away from us. FG planned to go and take DS for the afternoon (after his golf tournament of course). We haven't told DS because he would be so excited.
Then I realized last night that DS starts his acting class today with his casting agent. Damn bad timing. There's only 1 Mini Rally a year. shit.
But I've been trying to teach DS about COMMITTMENT and when you say you are going to do something, you follow through. So blowing off a class he's committed to taking in order to further his acting skills because it's something HE really wants to persue isn't exactly a shining example of committment.
I called his agent's office this morning because I realized I hadn't heard any confirmation on the class. Maybe it was cancelled. Maybe they didn't have him signed up and it was full. I held onto a tiny glimmer that maybe we could find a valid excuse to blow off the committment and do the fun stuff. Nice huh?
His agent happened to answer the phone instead of one of the staff. I was kind thrown off. So I identify myself and ask about the class. She says it's on and yes, they are expecting him. OHHKAAYY, that answers that one.
THEN she tells me, "I needed to tell you something because I was talking to an agent about him so we need to talk. Except I'm in the middle of a makeup shoot so I can't right now." Uhhh, ok what the hell do I do with that?!.
I'm sitting here thinking maybe she is speaking of the wrong kid. Maybe she mispoke. HOLY SHIT she is the only agent in our town so she must mean somewhere else and what the hell does this mean for him and us and oh my God what are we going to do is he really going to do a movie or a tv show or what the FUCK?!
Thus is my torture. I am not a "I've got something important to tell you later" kind of person. I do not wait well. My mind goes all over the place and I freak out.
I'll let you know. Right now I must go keep busy until it's time for his class and continually remind myself he's never actually done anything except his plays so the likihood of anything major is really minute. It's nothing, I'm sure of it.

Whirlwind

Yesterday was CRAZY.

My MIL got both honored for her work in the morning and, as she put it, fired in the afternoon yesterday.

She was honored by the Historical Resources Commission of our city and presented a plaque at the City Council meeting yesterday morning. Then the commission had a luncheon.

In the afternoon she recieved her Emeritus status from the University where she worked for 40 years. Then she threw a party.

I'm dang tired. I went to all of the events.

As many differences as she and I have had over the past 17 years (HOLY SHIT when did that happen?!) she is my husband's mother and my children's grandmother. She has mellowed out a LOT in those years too. I think a divorce and different life has changed her perspective on how things should be. The fact she's been dating but not married to a man for the past 8 1/2 years is a good example. Their relationship really works just the way it is and I think 17 years ago, she wouldn't have thought that to be possible. They don't live together but they act as though they are married most of the time. It's good for everyone.

Anyway, it was a crazy crazy day of events and ceremonies yesterday. She has worked really really hard on many wonderful projects. Now I suspect it will continue for her but on a freelance basis. She's pretty valuable to the geological and mining world. Now that she's been honored as a "historic resource". hee hee hee.

So I need to see if I can pick my ass up off this chair and get some laundry done! The week isn't about to slow down for me either. Birthday party for one of DD's classmates today and we're helping a fellow mom and taking her friend with us (she has 4 little girls, one of whom is about 6 weeks old - she's a bit too busy to drive across town in the afternoon for her daughter to attend a birthday party for 2 hours during nap time for the two youngest girls). Tomorrow morning is a breakfast that the school teachers put on for those of us who volunteer. It's always a nice event. It's also a 1/2 day of school. Then in the evening we're going to a friends house for dinner to celebrate his birthday. Saturday FG has a golf tournament and then he may take DS and go on a quick little day trip involving cars. Sunday is supposed to be HOT so we may take the boat out for a spin for the first time since last fall. As long as I can sleep in on Saturday and find time to get the laundry done, the house cleaned up and cook some decent meals I'll feel like I've accomplished something. Thank goodness it's my Saturday off!

My mother's day sucked

My husband and my kids were great - it was the rest of the family that were complete asses! Well, oddly, except for my Mother In Law. I seriously think I need a re-do of Mother's Day because yeah, I was robbed.

First, I've shared that we don't have the best relationship with my FIL's wife. She's fairly opposite of us in parenting. The fact she is still giving her kids an allowance at the ages of 21 & 22 while also paying for their apartments (yes 2 of them - one each kid) and I'm sure the rest of their expenses while they BOTH work and go to school, is a good indication of how different FG and I are. Because at their ages we were gettin' married. :) My parents paid for my school and helped me along but I didn't have my own apartment (I did get to live in the sorority house but that was so I could hold an office which was good "life experience" and it was only while school was in session). I had a part time job and I always took a full load of classes. I finished in 4 years with good grades, got 3 jobs, paid for half of our wedding and then was out on my own. So we find it R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S that FIL puts up with his wife paying so much for her kids.
Anyway, back to my crappy MD....
Sat. night we had FIL take our kids overnight. FIL's wife has been bugging us to pick a date to let them take the kids. It just so happened that we had an event to attend so that was a good night for it. Here's where I get annoyed and please, internet world, tell me if I'm over reacting. They said 1) they were going to the cabin at the lake and 2) they would have the kids back in the morning sometime, like mid-morning. I told them good because we wanted to go to an event at our river downtown.
Noon on Mother's Day, I call them to find out where my kids are because dammit, I want to leave and go to the event! They said morning, I figured at the lastest 11 am they would be home. They tell me they are just leaving the grocery store. Then they tell me that 1) they never left town to go to the lake 2) instead they took the kids to the event downtown yesterday!
That's where I'm furious. We have told them time & time again, if they change their plans to PLEASE JUST CALL US AND LET US KNOW WHERE OUR CHILDREN ARE. As their parents, don't we have a right to know where our kids are?! When we think they are one place and it turns out they are not there, it just does not sit well with me.

Then after they get home, DS tells me all that they did and how they had so much fun. Turns out they ate barely anything except SUGAR (ice cream 2x, two bags of candy, the most sugary cereal for breakfast...), they stayed up until 11:30 and got up at 8 blah blah blah. So for Mother's Day I got an awful feeling that I hate not knowing where my 8 & 4 year old are, that I have been somewhat decieved by members of my family that I trusted with my children and two very cranky and tired kids coming off a sugar rush. (I don't deny them sweets but my rule is they eat good food first which turns out that they are generally too full to eat an overabundance of crap). So I get that grandparents have a little lee-way with sweets and bedtimes but I feel that they went a bit over the top. The thing about FIL's wife is once she feels like she is doing us a favor, she also feels she can disregard any of our parenting and do whatever she wants with them. She also has this thing about doing fun things with them first if she can get to it. She's done it so many times and I have started to specify "Do not take them to see ____ movie because they have plans to go with _____ already." "Do not get them _____ because _____ is going to." "Do not take them to _____ because we are doing it next week." But I didn't do that this time because I didn't think I needed to when I thought they were going the opposite direction to a different town!
Oh and to top it off, my dad stopped by just after the kids got home. I was mad, the kids were obviously not themselves and it was just bad timing all around. But my dad got his panties in a knot and huffed off leaving me standing in the driveway trying to get him to tell me what was wrong.
I went inside and cried. My whole day was just fucked up by everyone else.
We went to the downtown event but took the dog (FG's idea) so we ended up not being able to go over by the band w/ the live music or most of the cool tents to check out the "stuff". The kids were tired, hot and cranky so they just whined and complained. I finally said, "let's just go home!"
I made dinner. SMA came over. FG opened a nice bottle of wine just for me. I took something to help me sleep and went to bed.

According to the calendar - summer is getting closer

according to the weather outside, summer is far away. I'm so over this crud!

I registered my baby for Kindergarten yesterday. Oh. My. God. She's my littlest one! (not hard when I only have 2). I'm going to cry when I send her off to school. No way can she be old enough. Yet it does seem like she's been here forever sometimes.
I hope to fully enjoy this summer like I try to every summer. For Mother's Day I told FG he can just get me the passes to the waterpark. I have to buy one for DD this year. Um, yeah, that's $300 for us. But that's ok, we just have to go a handful of times for it to pay for itself. Last summer we went a lot and FG went with us one day and finally got the kids on the big slides and out of the toddler area. I'm going to have killer legs this summer from climbing the stairs hauling those big tubes up.

DS will also be going to overnight summer camp for a week. He also will possibly be doing some community theater stuff. I'm not so sure about that yet. We went for the "audition" this past Saturday and were surpised to see that the person running it is a Sophmore in High School. There were only 5 kids that showed up so we'll see what happens with that. I'm not so sure I want to commit to 2x a week rehearsals for the summer.
We also got both kids signed up for a Vacation Bible School at the church DD goes to preschool at. It was only $20 a kid for a week of mornings. I'm not real big on the VBS thing because I'm not huge on the church thing. But it will be fun for them and they can take out of it what they want. I want them to form their own opinions and I just strive for them to be decent people, not live by some book of stories or what some person tells them they need to do. (Can you tell I'm just not so big on the whole organized religion thing? It's really a take it or leave it for me.)

We want to plan some weekends away and take the boat out a lot too. I'm ready - bring on the warm temps!

Harsh reality checks

I have more friends going through marriage problems. It just breaks my heart. You know, if I ever had that happen to me, I would be so completely devastated. I walk around thinking that my marriage is great, just fine. I even tell myself to not be such an idiot. So when I hear of this going on with friends I do a double check of my own marriage. Poor FG gets asked a lot if he's happy with me. Then he reminds me that the last thing he needs is another woman to deal with. The last time I was freaking out about this he did a few little things that showed me that all is ok. They were small, but very significant.
A good friend of his told him that he cheated on his wife. I have never heard FG lay into a friend the way he did that time. Oh my. Not too much rattles FG but this really seemed to and he gave his friend a huge earful. While my heart broke for my friend (even though she's much better off now! ;) ) I was reassured of how seriously FG took marriage.
I know one thing, he can't completely mind me freaking out about what's happening to my friends because he sure gets some good action out of it! Just my own little way of making sure he doesn't look elsewhere.

This 'n' that

Because I can't seem to have a real topic to write about lately, here's some more random bullets.

• I just mistakenly sent a "invite your friends to join Facebook" email to my BIL. ugh. I hope he doesn't. I meant to search for him so I could be prepared if he send me a friend request. Dammit. I'll blame it on a computer error (and keep quiet about the fact it was a computer OPERATOR error).
• DS his home from school today. He's had a sore throat the past few days and sounds terrible. I probably should have kept him home yesterday as well but he thought that meant he got to play video games all day. Mean mom I am, I sent him to school after seeing him perk up like he did at the thought of non-stop electronic entertainment.
• FG is on his way "over the hill" as we like to refer to our mountain range separating us and California. He's hoping to buy a new car. He's been borrowing his mom's 1994 BMW. It's basically become a P.O.S. He drives a lot for his work and he comes home every day and says his back is killing him. I hadn't really thought much of it until today when I had to drive it. Ugh. No wonder he's been complaining and can't wait to get a new car! He's going for a Mini. I hope he finds one that works well. If he does, the payments will be a ton less than what he was paying for his Audi lease. And this one he's buying because the financing is so good right now. Hopefully it all goes smoothly. Thanks to Lovely Las Vegas, Nevada is having a hard time getting financed.
• I am taking a class tonight on how to "manage" my son and his acting career. I'm basically 99% clueless on the business and if he works, it will all be new to me. Since he's a minor, we have to handle it all. The class is cheap (even cheaper since my parents insisted on paying for it for me) and I'm hoping to come away with some knowledge on the business.
• With DS home, I'm going to have to do something to make myself remember to pick up DD from preschool. Yikes. I keep forgetting.
• I'm having one of those days where no matter what I eat I am still hungry feeling. CRAZY. Last night after work I ate a little frozen dinner. Then a yogurt. Then some chocolate. I went to bed feeling like I hadn't eaten dinner at all. This morning a giant bagel with cream cheese and cup of tea left me feeling the same way. Though I am forcing myself to NOT eat anything else. My jeans are already tight and I don't like it.
• Last weekend was so busy I didn't feel like I had a weekend.
• I did a little voluntary PR work for the toystore last weekend and my boss is so happy with me. She must have thanked me 20 times in person and via email. All I did was make a few phone calls and get the news to cover an event we had at the store.
• Another busy weekend coming up as well. Though this weekend I do hope to have more downtime than last weekend. Any good movie recommendations for a Family Movie Night?

Too much info?

This afternoon I watched Oprah. I don't watch it often as she can really get on my nerves. But I was bored and wanted to just sit. DS was home from school and wanted to build his new Lego set next to me in the living room. Then they did the "warning this isn't for small children" on Oprah yet I didn't change the channel. I wanted DS to see some of it. She did a segment with Lisa Ling on child porn. They didn't show the images but they described them. DS has never asked us what "sex" is. He just seems to know it isn't something he's supposed to discuss yet. He doesn't shy away from things and never has hesitated to ask us to explain what a word means. He's just simply ignored it like he already knows (and with my belief that this isn't his first go-'round, he probably does!).
So watching it I just said to him, "There are just bad people out there who will hurt you. Even if they have kids of their own and we all think they are ok, they could not be ok. We just never really know. If ANYONE ever gets you in any sitution that isn't comfortable in any way, you get the heck out of there - yell, scream, do whatever you have to ok?" He went into his 8 year old tough guy rant about how he'd beat them up. I explained that he couldn't possibly beat up an adult but to not hesitate to do anything he needed to to hurt them enough to get away.
Having heard these things in the past I know that generally a predator does just that - preys on the child. I know every situation is different and it could very well happen that the first time he's around an adult who is evil would do something awful to him without the "several visit build-up". I meant to do things like poke them in the eyes or just simply get out if there was any opportunity. Honestly, I didn't really want to even think about either kid in that situation.
Anyway, I probably shouldn't have let him watch it but I want him to know. I want to be upfront with him on how the world works, I've always been that way with him. Yes, it could seriously kill some innocence but so could not being aware and having some awful person do something to him.
The whole thing turned my stomach. We just never really do know do we? I don't want to keep them from fun things like sleepovers or playdates or camp (yes, someone brought that up to me the other day when I mentioned DS is going to camp this summer). I don't want them to live in fear. I want them to live informed and know they are loved and their father and I are here. They can tell us anything and we will do whatever to protect them. Gosh this parenting thing is really hard!

Finally the sun & something fun

Today has been good - finally we did something FUN!

We just got home from seeing Monsters vs. Aliens. It was good. I love the 3D stuff! I will admit, I got a bit sleepy with DD curled up next to me, all warm & snuggly and a belly fully of popcorn. I took a little snooze. Hey, it's a kid's movie. I was able to sleep for 5 minutes and pick right back up. It was cute though - the kids liked it and that's all that really matters.

We also went to the park this morning and met DD's playgroup. I had DS put his scooter and helmet in the back of the car. While he did, our poor lonely doggy (Ha! She's been in the house more than not since our other dog died) put her front paws up on the back end of the SUV and wimpered. I lifted up her big ass and put her in. She was such a good girl at the park! I know people get (rightfully so) freaked out about dogs around little kids but this one is such a Mama. She adores babies and when mine were babies, any little squeak caused her to run to them and sniff, run to me and wimper, run back to the baby and sniff, back to me... until I evnentually tended to them. She still goes and checks the kids at night before she goes to bed in our room. She waits by their doors and sniffs them until she's satisfied. So I have zero fear around her and kids. I've seen kids (my own mainly) take bones that she's knawing on right out of her mouth and walk away. She has never even bared a tooth or made a noise other than a hefty doggy sigh. Still, at the park I kept her tight on her leash 95% of the time and let the kids approach her if they wanted, always holding her leash tight. She was so sweet and only barely gently kissed their faces. She was just so happy to be out with her kids too! So it was fun for the kids to have her there as well as get out and go to the park.

Of course, right before we left for the movie I see the neighbor's car drive by and a few minutes later, the kids show up at our door. FG told me that he sent them home yesterday because they were being mean. The boy asked DS if he could keep just about everything he touched. Then they apparently were being mean to DD. I've gotten on all 3 of the kids before for being mean to DD and DS has shaped up about it. I guess when The Girl took one of DD's favorite stuffed animals away from her, DS ordered her to give it back and told her she had to be nice to his sister. Yay! He's finally figuring out that he needs to stand up for his sister, not join in on any teasing! We praised him up & down. Also, I think The Boy is sick and that peeves me to no end! Do NOT dare send your sniffling, coughing kid to play at my house! I have refused them entry in the past because one of my kids wasn't 100% healthy and while other moms think it's no big deal, I don't want to be "that mom" who feels it's ok to infect other kids with their kids' germs. Apparently she is one of "those moms". ugh. What really irks me is they come over here, are mean to my kids and then when my kids say "we can't play today, we're getting ready to go watch a movie" they start in on the 10,000 questions.... "Where?" "Oh, when will you be back?" "Why can't you take us too?" "Why can't you play when you get home?" "What are you going to be doing?" "Why are you doing that?" and on and on. I wanted to just scream at them today but calmly said, "Nope. They can't play now and they can't play later. Not today at all. Maybe tomorrow but I'm not sure yet. Besides, _____ is sick and I don't want DD & DS to catch anything." They claim, "He's not sick." and I retort, "Um, yes, you're coughing and there's snot running out of your nose. You are sick." Have I ever mentioned that I'm thankful their parents both work so they go to a daycamp thing during the day? Yeah, little saving graces.

Just not feelin' it

Sometimes I consider myself a really good and fun mom. But this week, the kids will most likely have more tv and video game time than ever necessary. I'm just not feelin' the groove of the whole "fun mom" thing right now. So I wait. It's really not fun if it's forced anyway, right?
Yesterday and the day before were B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L days! We had on short sleeves and dresses. It was nice to feel the warm sun on our skin and breathe in the sweet fresh air. Right now, it's snowing. uh huh. Is there some rule that says it must snow at least once a week in April and then tease us with warmth again?
Rain, I can deal with. I understand, it's fine! But snow? pahlease!
I guess the best thing is I have to work tonight and tomorrow night. Both days we aren't supposed to get out of the 40's. That means a couple of things - I won't feel guilty not being home and doing fun outside things with my family. Second, it means that the store will possibly be slow. We're so dang busy most of the time I'm there that I feel like I'm going crazy. It's nice because people are spending money (and helping pay my salary!) and it makes the time go really fast but once in awhile it would be nice for it to slow down a bit. Let me restock the shelves properly. Let me clean the dust off the backs of the displays. Let me straighten the wrapping area. Let me take a breath or go grab a drink and a granola bar so I don't feel like I'm going to pass out by the time I leave the store!
Hopefully I'll have a couple of new recipes to share. FG's birthday is Friday so we've decided to have an open house type thing-a-ma-bob to gather friends. It's really an excuse for me to make some goodies and drink some wine. :)

Update

• DS had his audition yesterday. They want to "represent" him. Then they recommended we take a couple of their classes. Immediately FG and I became skeptical. Did they agree to represent everyone who walked into the open auditions and recommend they take their classes? Was this just a ploy to get $$ from us by taking their classes? Hmm. I asked DS's Acting teacher about it and she felt it is a reputable company. We don't pay them a dime to be represented by them unless he gets a job, which we then give them a percentage. And it's a fairly small percentage at that. So we'll see. I'll go ahead and sign the contract (I read it all, it's pretty basic and straightforward and they aren't asking for a kidney or anything). Then I'll probably take one of their classes that is only $30. Then we wait. DS is excited and was quite charming in the interview. I do hope he gets a little job here & there. He just loves it so much!
• You may (or may not) notice that I dropped a couple of blogs from my list and added a couple more. I'm still on the search for new ones. I just added a couple that I had bookmarked but never added to my list. I never read them regularly but now I'll check them out and evaluate if they are worth the little time I have online. I'm just sort of done with the one-way street "friendships". Not that I live for comments but hey, I would like to know who's reading about my life. Also, if I'm taking the time to become part of someone's life by reading their stuff and making comments the least they could do is return the favor once in awhile. No, I don't mean the mega-blogs with the hundreds of readers or even the 10's of readers, I'm talking the littler ones who are like me - just a few loyal readers. You can't tell me they just don't have time to comment or don't have anything to say. I drivel on enough, they could just tell me to stop babbling and get to the point even!
• That all said, I've spent waaay too much time online this dreary morning. But DD slept really late and while I don't know exactly when she woke up, I walked into her room at nearly 10:20 this morning and announced it was way too late. I can't blame her though - the morning just screamed for laying in bed and being lazy. I had to force myself in the shower. Now I must force myself to clean this messy house. Is it not messy when my back it to it facing the computer screen?

A little Tuesday babble

I guess I could just do bullets for my little update.

• There is some big news on the DS front. (I really should think of a proper nickname for him huh?) First, I am very proud of him regarding school. He brought home an awesome report card last week. Second, he's been having some strange issues with a friend of his. The actions and words of this friend have me wondering what the heck is going on with this kid outside of school, as in, is someone doing improper things to him and he's projecting it onto other kids he knows he can pick on? The two boys have been friends since the beginning of 1st grade and he's always been a nice kid, if not the polar opposite of my little bouncy ball. He's what FG and I call a "flatliner". Anyway, all of a sudden he's been groping DS, saying terrible and violent things. DS, who seems incapable of telling a lie, comes home and tells me everything. I have discussed it with the teacher, she has discussed it with the principal and his parents as well. Well, in class, DS and "Flatliner" have been paired up in their "centers" where they do independent work. It's been a problem for DS as "Flatliner" hasn't been behaving and getting DS into trouble. I told DS that in this world he was going to have to learn to work and deal with all sorts of people but ultimately, he was responsible for himself and his own actions. He agreed but then came home the next day and told me he asked the teacher to have a private talk with her. He brought up the problems he was having with "Flatliner" and how it is making it hard for him to get his work done. BAH! I think it was an "in your face Mom!" saying, "like hell I have to work with this kid and have him keep getting me in trouble! Don't tell me I have to learn to just deal with people." I saw it as a big sign of maturity on DS's part that he asked for the conference and explained his reasons for wanting a different center partner. Whoa, where did this kid come from again?
• Also in regards to DS... he's going to SUMMER CAMP this summer. Excuse my language but HOLY SHIT he's not old enough for SUMMER CAMP - like sleeping away from home in a cabin and not seeing mom for a whole week summer camp. Scary thing, he IS old enough. He could have gone last year when he was entering into 2nd grade. It's the same camp that FG went to as a kid, located in a gorgeous spot less than an hour away from us. DS's first questions: "What does it smell like?" "Do I have to sleep in the same bed with other kids?" (when we told him there were a bunch of kids in one cabin), "What kind of food is there?" I hope he does ok. At least he's aware of his sensory issues - thus all the questions. I fully expect to pick up a very hungry and very dirty child at the end of the week. According to FG, the showers don't get so hot and I know DS takes the hottest shower he can.
• And another one regarding DS.... tomorrow we're taking him to a casting call at a local talent agency. Time to put this kid to work! We'll see how it goes. I just want him to be on their file if something comes up and they need a little kid like him. When I was in the advertising business, we used this agency for talent so I'm familiar with the process. I'll let you know how it goes!
• Now onto DD. I had to go buy her a new summer wardrobe the other day. Thanks to a really good paycheck and FIL's contribution (he likes to buy the kids their clothes) I was able to get enough mix & match clothes that she should be good for the summer. Then I created a monster by bringing the full length mirror from my room into hers and making her try on all the clothes in various combinations. It took over an hour. There was lots of posing and dancing and twirling.
• Onto me! I had the weekend off work - yay! It felt great. I wanted to do something fun as a family but alas, basketball games on TV prevented it. Why yes, I am a tad bitter. So I started a jigsaw puzzle. Want a way to get off the computer? Yeah, put a puzzle on your dining room table. I'm a bit obsessive about such things and all I can say is thank goodness it's nearly done. Then of course, I told FG I would get another one for the family because it's been kinda nice to have us all working on it together. I spent some good quality time with DS last night working on it.
• And finally, I think I need to find some new blogs for my reader. No offense to those of you reading but I get comments from the same loyal friends. I like that. I like that even though I should pickup the phone and call you I know that you are keeping up with me and I can keep up with you as our time permits. But I'm also noticing that there are a few that I loyally read and try to comment on that I'm not listed on their sidebar and they don't comment on mine. So, I'm going to find some new ones. Some like-minded friends who I find interesting and maybe I don't bore to tears with my blabbering and endless drivel.

Finally - the salmon burgers!

I FINALLY made them. They have been appearing on my weekly menu for months now and I just haven't gotten to them. I finally did them yesterday.
They were OK. The worst part was getting the bones out. I'm wondering if I need to try a different brand of canned salmon. But that part was kinda gross and stuff doesn't usually gross me out when it comes to cooking and food. Stick my entire arm into a turkey cavity and dig out the innards left for me, no problem, whack up a whole chicken, no problem. Take the bones and skin off a canned fish, um, ewwww.
I made them basic for the first go-round. Just salmon, bread crumbs, an egg and some seasoning. Nothing fancy. The kids actually took a few bites but didn't dig into them. I ate 95% of mine. It didn't have an overwhelming fish flavor or any overwhelming flavor at all, really. I'm not sure if I'll make them again or not but if I do, I'll steel myself to the task and maybe search some different recipes to add some flavor to them.

Side note, I am starting to hate Wednesdays. Especially when I forget to start up my PMD meds. Oy. I'm a tad overdue on them. Since I'm supposed to start them sometime mid-cycle, that would involve paying attention to when mid-cycle is. I'm excellent at knowing what's up with my body and when it's doing it's thing but have been so busy with life lately that I haven't taken notice. Whoops. I should have because I'm a few days late in starting those yummy little pills and it showed last night. My Facebook status said it all and was something about not wanting to hear the word "Mom" for at least 8 hours. 4.2 seconds after I typed that last night, I heard "Mom" at least 3 more times and a few more at 3:30 am for good measure. Just to make sure I knew my title I guess. I recall saying to one of the kids last night when I heard their bedroom door open at 9:43, "Unless you are dying, bleeding or throwing up, GO BACK TO BED!" and I heard a sweet little voice say, "I am Mom, I was just letting the cat out of my room." And whoosh! There comes the Mommy Guilt raining down on me and soaking me to the bone. Same with the 3:30ish "Moooommm. I had a bad dream. Can you come with me and make it better?" Get her all tucked back in bed (I was already grumpy because that same damn cat was sleeping on me and being an annoying HOT bed-hog, thus causing me to not sleep and no matter how many times I moved her or threw her off the bed, she still came right back to the crook of my legs) and when I start to leave the room she says, "But Mom! Wait. Can you just stay here for a little bit so I feel better?" Damn, dumped on by a bucket of Mommy Guilt again for trying to sneak out of the room and leave her to her own coping devices. She's still FOUR and yes, doesn't have all the coping skills to simply make that bad dream go away on her own. This is all after a hectic Wednesday where I have to rush around running DS and pal to Acting Class (DS got the role of Danny in Grease. I'm so proud!!!), wait for them for an hour while DD wiggles in the backseat and watches a movie, run DS's friend home and finally arrive home just after 6:30 and manage to get dinner made. Wednesdays are also "bath night" because I bathe them every other day in the winter and do so on Preschool days. Wednesdays are also the night that FG plays in a pool league with my dad and doesn't get home until after the kids are in bed and I'm usually wiped out. Thus I am not liking Wednesdays much right now. And you can bet your booty that I started taking my PMD meds this morning. Whoohoo, only a week 'til AF rears her ugly head. Lucky me.

The weather and mean people and a menu

Spring is a big fat tease! It lures us, seduces us, makes promises and then, leaves us hanging and teetering on the edge. Damn you Spring! Probably why it's my least favorite season. I know, it's many people's favorite season but to me, it's just a tease until the blessed Summer comes in and eases the tension, satisfies that desire. Thus, our wonderful weather here lately. 70 one day and I'm hanging clothes on the clothesline, the kids are playing outside for hours and wearing themselves out; 38 and snowing the next. Damn.

Onto mean people. Spring must have made some people mean because I worked yesterday and geez, there was something up many people's butts! A little message to parents: If you are in a really crappy mood and all you are going to do is yell at your kids, don't take them to a great toystore and yell at them there. Then don't snip at the person working there trying to help you. Really, they would much rather be home with their OWN kids than listening to you yell at yours. Honestly, they DO just want to help and they are just doing their job when asking you a question or two at checkout. If you dont' want to answer the questions, then don't take it out on the employee.
Yesterday I had more nasty people in than I have encountered working there the past few months. I guess I try to look at it from a kid's perspective... they don't fully understand the economy and money and whatnot yet. They shouldn't either. They are kids! It is natural for them to see things and want them. We all do it's just that little kids don't have that filter on them to not proclaim outloud that they want something every 10 seconds. Sure it's annoying because I've gotten annoyed at my kids for it too but I try to understand that they are little and don't "get" it yet. So when parents come in with their kids to "look around" I don't really understand why they spend the whole time getting mad at their kids for asking for things. We have lots of things open for the kids and parents to explore and play with. It's much more fun to see and feel and experience a game or toy before you shell out the money for it. Yet some parents get annoyed. I really don't get it at all! Then there were lots of people who snapped at me. Add to it that I did not feel great and my head was pounding. I worked 10 - 3 without any food after my english muffin at 9:45. It was not a good day. I came home and managed to throw dinner in the oven, closed my blinds, took some drugs, curled up with a blanket on my bed. My kids didn't even realize I was home for another 2 hours (don't worry, FG was there the whole time). I've been working too much. I'm tired. I need a day off! I think next weekend I may see if one of the grandparents can take the kiddos on Friday so I can have a teeny bit of downtime. I work again on Saturday and then Sunday we have a birthday party to take the kids to at Chuck E. Cheese. No downtime there!

So hey, this week's menu is kinda pathetic....

• Sunday - Baked whole chicken, baked potatoes, roasted asparagus, honey french bread.
• Monday - Roast beef, mashed potatoes, veggies.
• Tuesday - I work, FG is on his own.
• Wednesday - Chicken & Broccoli wreath, fruit
• Thursday - FG works, Chicken nuggets & tater tots for the kiddos
• Friday - I still haven't made those darn salmon burgers! I'll add them here for yet another attempt.
• Saturday - Lemon Chicken over rice w/ veggies.

Menu Plan Monday

We are still getting used to our crazy schedule here. I'm happy to be working and happy that I told my boss I need some extra hours (meaning, I need extra cash! desperately at the moment ugh) and happy that I still like my job. But it's hell on a family who is very scheduled. Poor FG is not used to this either. He needs to figure out some fun stuff to do with the kids. Right now he's muddling his way through. He's not doing a bad job, he's just not really into a good groove of what to do with the kids all day. What's funny is after 8 years of me being home with them and being at his mercy of coming and going alone, the roles have been reversed for short time periods. He is where I was 8 years ago - trying to figure it all out. It's good for him.

So anyway, I've been using the crock pot and making myself prep things ahead of time. I was sick as anything on Friday afternoon and literally lay on the couch all afternoon blowing my nose. For dinner I had some frozen pulled pork BBQ that I had thawed the day before. FG could totally handle that one and he prepared dinner for me. Even changed the grease in the deep fryer so we could have fries that didn't taste like old onion rings :).

Here's this upcoming week:

• Sunday - Maui Chicken* over rice, Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake** (which DD and I whipped up after I got home from work and we played a few games - had to spend some quality time with the kids after working all weekend!)
• Monday - Meatloaf w/ bacon, veggies, apple slices, bread
• Tuesday - I work so FG gets to figure that one out.
• Wednesday - DS's starts up acting class again, FG has his pool league so I'm going to attempt some stir fry shrimp over pasta. FG may or may not get to eat before he has to leave.
• Thursday - FG works. I may make breakfast for dinner with the kids.
• Friday - Burgers on the grill, noodles w/ butter, garlic & parmesean cheese, corn
• Saturday - I work but hopefully I can get some salmon burger patties made and we'll eat those.

* Exported from MasterCook *
Maui Chicken
6 boneless skinless chicken breast or one whole cut up chicken

2 tablespoons oil

14 1/2 ounces chicken broth

20 ounces pineapple chunks in juice

1/4 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic -- minced

1 medium green bell pepper -- chopped

1 small onion -- chopped

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup water
Brown chicken in oil. Transfer to slow cooker.
Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken.
Cover, cook on high 4-6 hours or low 8 hours
Serve over rice.
Source: "Fix It & Forget it Cookbook"
NOTES : I add a bit of powdered ginger and ketchup to the sauce before cooking.

* Exported from MasterCook *
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake
Recipe By: The Cake MixDoctor

1 package chocolate cake mix -- devils food, plain

1 can cherry pie filling -- 21 ounces

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. LIghtly mist a 13 x 9" pan with vegetable oil spray.
Place the cake mix, cherry pie filing, eggs and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again as needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smothing the top with a spatula. Place the pan in the oven.
Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just startes to pull away from the sides of the pan, 30- 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze.
For the glaze, place the sugar, butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips. When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm cake so that it covers the entire surface. The glaze will be thin but witll firm up. Cool the cake for 20 minutes more before cutting it into squares and serving.

NOTES : Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze the cake, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

On a side note, and this really deserves it's own post... we had to put down our sweet old dog this past Tuesday. It's been a really rough week for all of us. I still cry and miss him. Our other dog, who has been with our other one since she was 5 weeks old is really really lost. So she's getting lots of extra attention. She's in the house if anyone is home during the day. We also realized she's been eating double for who knows how long. She's FAT! So she will be getting diet food now and lots of walks. I miss my big baby though. It's been hard to sleep at night because he's been sleeping in our room for 12 1/2 years. I miss the smell of him and hearing him breathe and grumble at night. He was our first "baby" when FG and I had only been married a couple of years and bought our first house. This is also the kids first experience with a family member dying. They keep saying how much they miss him too. It's sooo hard to look in the backyard and not see him laying in the sun or hear him barking at someone walking along the fence. My heart is a little broken right now and it's going to take awhile to heal.

I made it through yesterday

The wedding in one word. Trashy. I know, I know. I'm AWFUL I just put it out there in blogland that I thought it was trashy. The couple is not trashy. The wedding was on a budget. I could have helped. Really I could have but I was never asked and I wasn't going to volunteer. It's just not a position I wanted to put myself in to be seen as "taking over". But I could have helped.

I got a jug-o-wine poured for me from a box. Uh huh. I did. In a big plastic cup. Not a plastic cocktail glass or wine cup, nope. A big clear plastic cup that most would use for a soda at a BBQ. It was damn near full. I guess the tap on the box wouldn't close or something.

I'll spare you pictures.

My Bullet-ey life!

• Working a lot. Liking it a lot. I'm getting more comfortable and I think they are seeing that I can handle plenty too.
• I'm a blond again as of this morning.
• 2 hour "snow" delay for school today. That means preschool was cancelled. The streets were dry when the bus would have normally picked DS up and 2 hours later they were bone dry. Lame.
• When there's any delay for the county schools, preschool is closed. "Snow DAY" for DD.
• FG is Mr. Mom a lot lately. He's been home a ton when I work. He stayed home today during my hair appt. and packed DS's lunch and got him off to school, kept DD entertained with pretend play, cleaned up breakfast. Thankfully his schedule allows it. A laptop can go anywhere so work can be done right here when he doesn't have to be doing off-site stuff.
• FG's brother is getting married this weekend.
• FG's brother is NOTHING like FG.
• He had to be convinced not to wear jeans to his own wedding. His bride is wearing a full on wedding dress. 2nd marriage for both of them and they are both in their 40's.
• After the wedding we're feeding about 15 or so family members here.
• It caused quite the stir because FIL's wife originally was going to host the dinner. FG and I realized that wasn't such a grand idea since MIL should be included as well. MIL probably wouldn't like to go to FIL's house with his new (10 years vs. the 33 FIL & MIL were married) wifey. And if FG's cousin is there with his kid(s) there is ZERO to do at FIL's house besides break wifey's glass sculptures. FIL agreed it would just be better to have everyone at our house. That didn't sit well with wifey because she didn't like that FIL is siding with MIL. Oh good times, good times.
• It's all worked out now and I'm making baked ziti and bread and cookies. I asked FIL & wifey to bring salad and drinks.
• FG informed me this morning that he thinks we should clean the carpets on Friday. EXACTLY what I wanted to do on the day I normally would be working while the kids are in school and I have to prepare food for 15 people. How did he read my mind?! ARGH.

Over and out. Hopefully I'll find some time to breathe soon and catch up on all the blogs I haven't read!

Ample warning time

Ok, so maybe "warning" time isn't exactly the correct term.
I informed FG last night that he has under 6 months until our 15th Wedding Anniversary and I want a diamond anniversary band. Something sort of like above but not exactly. I'd like princess cut diamonds and I'd like 15 of them. Do you think I'm asking too much? I hope not because I've been pining for one of these babies for 15 years. On our 10th Wedding Anniversary I was hugly pregnant with DD and couldn't wear my wedding ring. He swiped it and had the diamond changed out. I'll be damned if I didn't squeeze that sucker onto my finger and wear it after he gave it to me! Then she was born a couple of weeks later and it hasn't been a problem since. For our 5th Wedding Anniversary he had an extra gold band added to my ring. We had the wedding band and engagement ring fused together for the wedding anyway and he balanced it out at 5 years by adding the other band to the front. I expect to be unable to bend my finger by the time we reach 50 years. A girl can dream...

NEED A BREAK

I don't know exactly why but it's been one of those times that my kids are just wearing on me. I need a serious mommy break. I haven't really had one unless you count working (at a toy store with OTHER PEOPLE'S KIDS and OTHER KID'S PARENTS) and my few hours of skiing with a friend last week. Where we took her son up with us, I hung out with him for a bit while she got his ticket and found his dad then had him jumping on my toes during my apres ski beer.

We took the kids to see Coraline last night. LOVE Tim Burton. Loved the movie. I had people tell me it was too scary for my kids ages but they were fine. Went straight to bed when we got home, slept great all night and when asked this morning, said they did not have creepy dreams.

I'm working on 1. "Fancy" hair for DD. The blog on here - Little Girls Hair - gave me some great ideas. While mine has not been nearly as clean and smooth looking, it's been fun and easier than expected. Most things I have done have not taken that much extra time either. 2. I'm perfecting my face painting skills. I am not an artist but I'm having fun doing little fun things on my kids faces. I hope I can use my new skills at the store too.

The menu this week is well, weak. Things have changed with me working and FG playing in a pool league (with my DAD, poor guy). That means I'm gone on Tuesday(I have a story about last Tues I'll get to in a sec.) for dinner, we have to eat early on Wed before he heads out and Thursday he works. Friday is not a big cooking day for me. It's always always been a casual day for me. I grew up that way. Friday was the homemade Chef Boyardee pizza night with soda to drink instead of milk. Friday was the "let's go out for burgers or fish fry" night. It's part of my makeup to not cook a regular meat & potatoes dinner on a Friday. This week DS's 2nd grade music program is on Tuesday so I switched days and work on Wed. That means Tuesday we need to eat quick before heading to school and Wed. everyone is pretty much on their own.

• Sunday - Take out.
• Monday - Balsamic pork chops, mashed potatoes, asparagus, fruit
• Tuesday - Corn Dog Muffins (I am going to try them, I'll let you know how they are!), baked beans, salad
• Wednesday - everyone is on their own
• Thursday - Spaghetti & garlic bread, salad (FG works, I have some sauce frozen :) )
• Friday - ??
• Saturday - I work until 7:30 and then FG and I are going out for All You Can Eat Sushi and a much needed date night - ALL night.

Ok, really quick. LAST Tuesday I had to work until 7. I thought I was being a good wife & mom by putting a whole chicken in the crock pot for the day, making mashed potatoes and putting them into a buttered casserole dish for FG to bake(reheat) at dinner time, cleaning the cauliflower and getting it into the steaming pot and getting everything ready for FG to mix up a packet of gravy. I figured making real gravy like I would have was way too much to ask since he doesn't usually cook. I even baked a batch of snickerdoodles (DS's favorite cookie) that were warm when DS got off the bus. What does FG say when I walk in the door at 7:30 from work? "This was a really tough dinner for me!" um, hello???? He meant he didn't know what to do with the leftovers or how exactly to keep it warm for me when I got home because I had told him to NOT have dishes waiting for me to wash. But all I heard out of that was the complaining and I will be honest, it hurt. I tried to be helpful and make sure my family had a nice meal while I wasn't home. I told him that it hurt and he tried to explain why. I guess I should just let it go and understand what he meant but part of me wanted some big time praise from him on doing all the dinner work for him. Oh well. Now he gets to figure it out this week and we'll see what's harder - figuring out how to save the leftovers or figuring out ALL of dinner without a drive-thru.

Trying to find the boring side of life

Ok so I don't have any Disney pictures to share yet. I will. Right now I'm just trying to get back into the swing of regular life. I am uneasy and not sure it will ever happen! I don't like chaos. I like normalcy most of the time. But I can't seem to find a "normal" right now. I am looking for a routine that isn't coming easily. Life just feels so odd and scattered. ARGH!

My dryer died. FG bought me a new one (that I went and picked out) last week but it won't arrive until Wednesday sometime. He leaves on Thursday morning for an out of town work trip. He needs underwear on this trip. The kids need underwear too. Want to find out how many clothes you really have? Be without a washer or dryer for awhile and see how you find things to wear! Thankfully, it died right after I had gotten a lot of laundry done. But it's starting to pile up now and I'm not liking it. Even though I tend do do laundry once a week, I am not liking the fact I can't throw in a load of towels just because there's a full load!

No school today. I helped out a friend/neighbor/good client of our business by letting them drop off their 7 year old at 8 am. It threw off my son, who normally loves to have her come over to play. He was a grump while she was here. He wasn't expecting it and she arrived too early for his taste, I think. She was only here for a couple of hours and when her dad picked her up and she begged to stay, I didn't speak up and offer. DS didn't beg along with her, he simply said goodbye to her so that was my cue that it wouldn't be a fun day if she hung around all day.

I am enjoying my new job. It was busy on Saturday when I worked so I got thrown right into it on the register. I had to ask quite a few questions and be walked through certain things but hopefully I did a good job. It's another thing I'm waiting to fall into place. I want to just feel really comfortable with all aspects of the store. I don't like feeling like I can't handle something and that's where I'm at right now.

All of the grandparents want to go to Disney now. None of them have ever been to Disney World. FG and I are considering another trip next January with all of them. God help me. But I understand that they too want to experience the pure joy that the kids have there. And I want the kids to share it with them at a time that they are still young enough to really love it and old enough to remember the experience with their grandparents. This face sums up our trip and who wouldn't want this again???!

Home

Damn Disney World can wipe a mom out.
Fun time. Pictures to come soon.
Definitely the Happiest Place on Earth.
And Oh so nice to escape all realty for 6 days. (unless you count all the undesireable people/parents we encountered.)

Monday, The start of a crazy week

• Last week I turned 38. My DS told me bright and early "Wow Mom. In 2 years, you'll be 40!"
• My actual birthday day was just like any other day.
• I did get a funny text message from a male friend. It said, "Happy B-day! Nice A$$!" It's a LONG story but it made me laugh, made FG laugh and wasn't a bad ego boost to my 38 year old a$$.
• Friday I got a job.
• I start that job today.
• It's at a local toystore that sells mainly educational toys.
• I sure hope I can bring home ANY sort of paycheck. I doubt it though. I LOVE the store. It's close, it's cool, the people are always nice to my kid and the toys are great!
• I start today. I'll only work a couple of days per week. PERFECT!
• I work again tomorrow night. That won't go over well with DD. But they are only open until 7 pm so again, perfect. I'll be home early enough to eat some dinner myself and help get the kids to bed.
• FG is very cool with the fact he will have to come home from the office and let me go to work once in awhile. I'm lucky that he's so accomodating knowing that I'm not really going to make much $$ but mostly doing it as something for ME.
• Wednesday I'm in the classroom at DS's school. Mean mommy I am, I am going to get next week's homework for him to do on the airplane.
• I have to pack for our trip.
• We leave Friday morning. Thankfully I have several people helping us out with the house/animals while we are gone.
• It's not soon enough for either kid.
• I'm obsessively watching the weather for Orlando.
• DS has totally come around and is bouncing off the walls wanting to go to Disney. I'm very glad he's so excited and not stressed out like I feared he may be. I'm glad he's mature enough now to realize it's not possible for us to live at Disney World.
• DD came to me on Friday night, at 5 pm of course, SCREAMING because he ear hurt. Pediatric Urgent Care, here we come! I looked with my own ear scope first because dang that one came on fast and I really don't remember the last ear infection either kid had! I didn't want to go all the way across town if it was just irritated or stuffed from her cold. I hadn't used Pediatric Urgent Care since DS was a baby. An 8 year record, not bad!
• Her medicine is NASTY and I have to take it on the trip with us. I hope airport security doesn't give me a hard time.
• I have a to-do list a mile long this week. Why I agreed to start work THIS week is beyond me.
• No menu plan or recipes this week. I did make my grandma's pulled pork bbq sandwiches yesterday. MMMMMM. We'll have the leftovers on Tuesday because that's easy for FG to make for dinner.
• Ohhh, I almost forgot. I got a fishing pole and $$ to buy myself a fishing license and a pair of slippers for my b-day from my parents. FG asked where the house-coat was to go with the slippers. hee hee hee. Now I have no reason to not take DS fishing this summer. SMA gave me a g/c to our favorite aestetician. Kinda weird for SMA to give me a brazilian wax but hey, as long as he doesn't ask to see it, I guess it's more of a gift to his good friend FG. ha ha!
• FG won his court case against a former client who owed us money. He has a few more scheduled. We all hate that he has to go that route but he's been a nice guy long enough. Time for us to get the money we are owed! The letters and negotiations aren't working so off to court we go!
• Have a great week everyone! If I don't get back on, you'll be inundated with WDW pictures soon enough. :D

To take her or not to take her?

DD is fighting off a cold. We've been EXTREMELY lucky that we have all been very very healthy this fall & winter season so far. But last week at preschool drop off, I just knew she was going to catch something. So many of the little snotty nose kids running around and one of her best friends had been out the day before. I heard her mom say, "I gave her some cough medicine to control it but she should be fine." Oh joy. I just knew it was coming. So sure enough, it was absolutely no surprise when DD's little nose started running the other day.

She isn't totally stuffed up. We've been doing good with the vitamins and the Zicam and frankly, after getting both of their tonsils out, my kids fight off illnesses rather quickly. Colds rarely linger and turn nasty. I give them Sudafed at night to keep the drainage minimal so it doesn't go sit in their ears. We do Zicam and honey during the day. It seems to work. (Meanwhile, I'm eating a ton of fresh oranges and drinking up Airborne like crazy because we all know the house falls apart when Mom gets sick!).

I let her sleep this morning waiting to see how long she would sleep in and how she felt. She just got up at 8:30. She seems ok. A little stuffy, a little cough. No fever and she's eating her breakfast. So of course the big question is... do I take her to preschool or not?

I can go two ways with this thinking. 1) She obviously caught this bug from another classmate so heck, they've all been exposed already. 2) I don't want to be one of "those" moms who drugs them up and drops them off. There's no real need for her to go today. Sure I'd like to go grocery shopping alone. I could go into the office, which I don't do if she's with me. But there's no dire need for her to go. Other than I pay for it and it kills me to pay for a day she doesn't go.

I'm leaning toward just keeping her with me today. I may curse myself by the end of the day. Though right now she's in full on pretend world and yelling up the stairs to her "friends" from Strawberry Shortcake. Her cereal bowl is drained and she's breathing through her nose. UGH! Why can't there be a clear answer on these things?! (She says she wants to stay home and then "coughs" saying she's sick. Then in the next breath she asks if she can watch cartoons. The TV junkie in her will do about anything to get her fix so I don't entirely trust her judgement!)

***Ok, I took her to school. She was bouncing around, singing and acting totally normal with lots of energy. When I took her in, her teacher is worse off that she is! So I think it's just fine. When I told her she could watch a movie AFTER school, she said, "Yes! I want to go to school!" THEN, 5 minutes after I leave, they call and she says she wants to come home. She's really working it! I talked to the preschool director and she agreed that she is fine to stay and probably working me trying to see if I'll come get her. I left it to her discretion and told her I would certainly pick her up if she felt I needed to. She laughed and said she would send her back to class and call me if anything changed. Stinker.

A teeny tiny recap

Hi, oh yeah, sorry.
Um, Thursday FG and I decided to book a lil' trip to Disney World - two weeks from now.

Friday I, yeah, uh, partied way too hard and while I had a great time, once a year (or decade) is enough of that. I hated myself on Saturday.

Speaking of Saturday, we had DS's 8th Birthday party at this really awesome place. We don't do "big parties" outside of the house for the kids usually. I felt we should do one this year as it will most likely be the last of the kind for him at his age anyway. And I felt that we should "pay back" so many of his little friends who have invited him to their big parties over the past couple of years. So we did it. It was great. Bowling, black lights, swirling strobe lights and mom with a hangover! ey yi yi. Thankfully I got into playing with the kids and forgot how bad I felt. The kids all had a fabulous time and it was only 2 hours long. I went home and napped. I do not remember the last time I had a hangover - one like that was at least a year ago. At least. I just don't do that stuff anymore, except the once a year I lose my freaking mind and forget that I am not a 22 year old college student. I must say, I enjoy a glass of wine immensely and in a week or so, I'll go back to enjoying my glass of wine. My one to two glasses only per my normal life.

I've spent the past two days prepping the kids for the upcoming trip. When we went 3 years ago, poor DS was so traumatized by having to leave Disney World he cried every day for 2 weeks straight. Then he did the healthy thing and swore off ALL DISNEY forever. He hasn't watched the Disney Channel for 3 years. He breaks out into a sweat if we turn it on in the playroom and he bolts. It's really fascinating! I've even consulted his Dr. and considered taking him to a psychologist over it. When we told him we were going back, he went pale and asked to go to his room. He's slowly coming around to the idea. We have always said we wanted to go back this January when DD is close to the age that he was the 1st time we went. I put it out of my head because I certainly didn't think it was financially possible. But we have been working damn hard and being so unbelievably frugal with our $ that we are able to do it. We just didn't know it until a few days ago. And we have free plane tickets that need to get used so that makes it a pretty darn cheap trip. If you are considering it, WDW is offering such amazing deals right now. Wait a couple of months and you will pay more - thus, we gave ourselves 2 weeks to get ready to go. My butt had to get kicked into gear on this one fast! DD is of course a maniac knowing she will get to meet the real live princesses. I've already booked breakfast for her & I one morning and I picked up a princess dress at the resale shop the other day. They even have on file to call me if any more come in. They only had a Snow White dress (couldn't pass it up for $6!). You've seen DD - she's got white blond hair! So if I can find a Cinderella or Aurora dress for her to wear to breakfast, ohhhh yeah.

Also, Facebook has taken over my life. Unfortunately there are a few too many pictures of me in college on there right now. I should just delete my account but now I'm sucked in.

Me - Beaming

image from www.anonymousspace.com

I worked in DS's classroom yesterday. First I did some "busywork" stuff for the teacher like I do every other week, copies, etc. Then I worked on telling time with the kids. It's on a standardized test next week. 99% of them were very bored with it and knew how to tell time perfectly. I should hope so by this point! But I like sitting down with the kids one on one anyway, I don't care what we are doing.

But when I first arrived to school, the kids were at recess. The teacher was especially chatty, unusual for her as she's very quiet and reserved. She went on and on about how smart my son is. How he thinks on a different level and in such a different way than the rest of the class. I can't tell you how happy this made me. She told me she is really enjoying having him in her class. Again, me, beaming. He's such a quirky kid. Sensitive and extremely funny. His comedic timing has always been excellent and well beyond his young years. He's just intense sometimes and a lot to take too. His SPD can really get on a person's nerves big time. His little quirkiness can make a person pull their hair out. So I'm thankful that yet again we have a teacher who loves him and understands that he's not wiggling around the classroom to be annoying or disruptive but that's because that's who he is. She said she makes recommendations for the Gifted and Talented program because it starts in 3rd grade. When we met with the school officials at the end of 1st grade, the principal, his 1st grade teacher and the psychologist all recommended it as well based on his IQ test at the age of 4 and his current knowledge level in class. I told his current teacher that yes, we wanted to have him tested and see if he could qualify. I would love to have him surrounded by kids who think it's fun to take his "Flags of the World" place mat and his globe and match up the country with their flag, who think Time Warp, Planet Earth and How it's Made are the best shows EVER, who get excited because they are starting to learn geometry (and he's already ahead of his mommy), who have to be told repeatedly that it's time for lights out at night because they don't want to stop reading that new book Mom got them from the library (if it weren't for the library, I would be broke as I just checked out 3 new chapter books for him yesterday). We'll see what next year brings but gosh, it can sure make a mom's heart soar when someone else is marveled by your kid!

Menu and Broccoli Cheese Soup

Mondays have been busy, thus I've been posting my menu on Tuesday. So shoot me, whatever. I went skiing again yesterday - alone. Ahhhh!!!! I'd love to go Friday too if I can. I remind myself how dang lucky I am every time I go because I drop off my DD at preschool at 9 and I am on the hill by 9:30. It's wonderful! Having a pass helps too because then I can ski for just as long as I want and head home. Yesterday I was home by 11:30, ate lunch, changed my clothes etc. all before going to pick her up at 1. It's just perfect! Now we just need more snow....

• Sunday - Baked pork chops, salad, twice baked potatoes, honey oatmeal bread, corn.
• Monday - leftover broccoli cheese soup, grilled ham & cheese sandwiches
• Tuesday - Chuck roast in the slow cooker, veggies (whatever I decide at dinnertime), noodles
• Wednesday - FG working, probably egg & bacon sandwiches & fresh fruit for the kids & I
• Thursday - Basketball game, not sure yet
• Friday - OUT! Birthday party for several of us who have January birthdays
• Saturday - not sure, DS's birthday party for his little friends is that morning and then there's a basketball game that night. We'll just wing it!

Now onto my new broccoli cheese soup recipe! I had a bunch of broccoli and time on my hands last week. So I did my usual of read through a bunch of recipes and make up my own. Here it is:

Broccoli Cheese Soup

5-6 cups chicken broth

2 small potatoes, cubed

4-5 cups fresh broccoli florets

Put into a large saucepan and boil until tender. I added a bit of salt too.

1/2 onion, diced

4 tbs. butter

Saute until tender and add

1/2 cup flour to make roux, stir in 1/2 cup half and half or milk

Add thickened mixture to broth & veggies (I should have drained off some of the broth at this point because my soup was a little thin).

Use an immersion blender or add to blender and blend in small batches until smooth. (I removed some of the broccoli and returned it to the soup after I blended. I wanted some chunks in there but FG is not a fan of broccoli chunks in the soup so most of it was smooth.)

1/2 brick Velveeta, cubed

Salt to taste
1/2 - 1 cup heavy cream

All all ingredients to a crock pot and simmer on low until ready to eat and cheese is melted.

I kept having to add some flour/water mixture to thicken it up so next time I will use less broth. I added shredded cheddar to the top and I attempted to bake bread bowls. They were good, just too small. It was excellent! We ate it again last night as leftovers and it was thicker and still yummy!

Happy Birthday to my Dear Son!

My sweet baby boy turned 8 yesterday. My gosh this kid has changed my life! I can't even list the ways. All I know is I am incredibly blessed to have him in my life and to be his mother. Even though he can frustrate me to no end some days, I am so filled with love for him it is sometimes unimaginable. I'm not ready for him to grow up. If time travel were possible, I'd go right back to when he was like this:

Menu Plan Monday / Banana Bread Recipe

Good Morning! Ok, I think I'm done bellyaching about the house cleaning stuff. I'll let you all know what I come up with after your suggestions. I was in the office yesterday and very much wanted to just tell FIL but I held back. I know for sure I am going to wait until he's really done doing much of anything for our portion of the business. He was doing some collection work for FG and I just didn't want to mess with anyone who was working to get us our money. :)


I know it's Tuesday but here's our menu for the week followed by a banana bread recipe that I made the other day. I have been busy, as many of you have, getting back into the normal routine of life with school and homework and meals and stuff in general. It feels good.

• Sunday - Pork Roast w/ rosemary & thyme, corn casserole, sugar snap peas (SMA and I eat them but no one else), glazed carrots (SMA & FG eat these but no one else), salad, fresh bread (can you tell I'm trying to load up on veggies?)
• Monday - BBQ Chicken thighs in the crock pot, pasta salad, cauliflower (DS's veggie choice!), salad
• Tuesday - Hot dogs w/ homemade meat-chili sauce, roasted red potatoes, salad, green beans
• Wednesday - Soup & Grilled cheese, fresh fruit (FG is working)
• Thursday - Shrimp stir fry over pasta
• Friday - DS's 8th birthday! Homemade pizza & garlic knots.
• Saturday - no idea!

Now for the banana bread. I am usually the only one who eats it so I'll usually take 1/2 a loaf to the preschool teachers. But this time, DD decided she wanted to try some as I was slicing it. She told me I am the bestest baker ever. **GRIN**

Banana Bread

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup mashed ripe banana

Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Beat butter until creamy. Add sugar gradually & beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beat well. Add flour mixture alternately with bananas. Pour into a well greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes or until bread is done in the middle.

This time I added a scant cup of blueberries and folded those in before I put it in the loaf pan. I always sprinkle the top of the batter with some raw sugar too.

OH YUM!