Lot o' time on my hands....

My life is just never the same, never really "boring" or normal.  FG spent nearly 3 weeks in S. America completely out of communication.  He lived on a boat in Brazil on a tributary of the Amazon for 7 days.  Then he was able to email me a bit after he had been gone for 10 days and they were en route to Uruguay.  There he lived in a remote fishing resort, if you can call it that, for another 7 days.  Then due to volcanic ash in the air from a volcano errupting in Chile, he was delayed getting home and had to fly to Argentina to get a flight back.  A little crazy?  Yeah. A little nerve-wracking for me?  Yeah!
The day he was supposed to come home but was delayed, I lost my job.  The Bitch fired me!  Well, actually, she made some really stupid business decisions and couldn't afford to pay me any more.  She cried. She hugged me a little too long. She had the balls to ask me to take care of a project after she let me go.  I did it because I cared about where the project was going and who else it would affect.  I'm not the type to take my toys and go home.  So I followed through but I charged her mileage for driving down there & back to take care of it.  So there! 
Now I'm looking for work.  I've found something very part time and low paying.  I'm thinking of getting my substitute teacher license to supplement.  Then I also interviewed for a very promising FULL TIME job.  Ey yi yi.  Am I crazy?  I'm going to have heavy shoulders of guilt.  I won't be here when my kids get on the bus in the morning - FG will.  I won't be here when my kids get off the bus in the afternoon - Grandma (hopefully) or FG will or they will have to go to the after-school program a few days a week.  I don't know why I'm stressing so much about it, I haven't been offered the job!  But the positives will have to outweigh the negatives.  The job will be interesting and it sure would be nice to have things like a good paycheck and benefits.  FG promised me that with that good paycheck we would start having fun again instead of stressing about every cent going to a bill.  So just tell me that my kids will be ok if I end up getting the job, alright?  The part time gig that I am supposed to start next week just doesn't really interest me.  Yeah, it's super flexible and it's easy but it's not interesting to me.  I have a project I'm supposed to start working on this week and I don't have an ounce of motivation to do it.  I think I'm too focused on the full time thing and if it happens all the changes it will bring to our lives.  I can't wrap my head around anything else except how I will have to do certain things differently - silly things like packing lunches and laundry. 

Wish me luck.  I'll be sure to post the outcome.  It's going to be awhile, unfortunately.  The job is corporate so there's all that corporate bullshit to deal with to get hired.  I am definitely qualifed and I know the manager I would report to.  I know a few of the co-workers I would have too.  That's how I got in there in the first place - it came to me.  After I met with them last week, they pulled the job posting off their website.  That's a good sign for somebody and honestly, I'm hoping it's me.

Side notes:  Both kids are doing excellent in school.  DS is having a 1000x better year than last and his teacher is great.  His report card was an amazing 2 A's & 3 B's.  For him, that's awesome.  He saved up enough $ so we went and bought him his ipod touch as his reward.  He paid for it but we decided he earned it.  DD is too freaking smart.  She's also boy crazy.  And boys are crazy for her.  Oh help me.  She's a very tall, blond boy-crazy girl.  She's reading and writing well above her grade level.  Math, poor girl. She is so like me.  She is doing fine in math but it's work.   And the best news, FG doesn't have any crazy trips planned for awhile.  Hopefully not until next spring.  Next up are Nepal, Vietnam and Ireland again.  They talked about Columbia but I don't want him going there.  Or Russia to some crazy remote place where they have to fly them in on military helicopters.  For 2 hours.  Nope.  I'm going to protest those two as much as I can!  They just aren't going to tourist spots!

Bullets for a glimpse...

That's all I have time for!  I miss blathering on about what is happening with me, around me, to me et al. 

• I'm a bit more disenchanted with my job.  6 mo. and I've realized it's a HUGE uphill climb. Pushing a giant boulder.  I see potential but I cannot do it on my own. It is not my business.  If it was, it would be run very differently.  The F-bomb would not be dropped at every available moment either.  I finally told my boss yesterday that I am having a hard time because if I'm going to be the only one who cares, I can't handle it.  I'm not just a "paycheck collector". I CARE.  I strive.  I attempt. I feel like the only one too many days.  All I can say is Thank God it's uber-flexible.  It's certainly not the pay that is keeping me around!  It's the fact I can come & go as I need to and that I do still see potential and I am given a very long lead to do my job the way I know it should be done.
• FG had a grand adventure in Alaska.  A bit too close to too many bears for my taste!

Yeahhhhhh.  That's too close to a mama and her cub!

He had a quick trip to Oregon and next month he's off to S. America for nearly 3 weeks.  Good times, good times.  ARGH!

• During his little trip to OR, he forgot a crucial piece of equipment.  Given that he was IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERESVILLE he called me very panicked.  What's a good wife to do?  Arrange for the kids to be watched all day and hop in the car.  uh huh. I did.  I drove 500 miles to save his sorry butt.  It didn't even need to be said that he owes me big time.  And the massage he gave me two days later doesn't count because we all know what "massage" translates to for a guy. 
• School is going well for my kiddos.  They are enjoying 2nd & 5th grades.  DS has a MUCH better teacher this year and DD has the same teacher DS had for 2nd grade.
• Today was my first day helping in either classroom.  I went to DD's 2nd grade class and did the same thing I did when DS was in there.  So it was easy and she was happy to not have to walk me through the whole process. She is very particular about how things are done. 
• My stuff for PTA is going along.  I'm just trying to not feel guilty about not devoting a gazillion hours to it.  I should be working on some stuff right now but I don't want to. I wanted to read some blogs and write on mine. :)  I have been giving of myself so much that I have learned to take care of ME a bit more sometimes.  The knot in my neck and the headache are usually good indicators that I need to take some time for myself or I am no good to anyone.
• Our cow is almost ready!  Hopefully next week!  We're starting with 1/4 because a whole cow is around $2,000.  I'm excited!!  The kids love red meat but we don't eat it often.  This is going to be so much better for us!  And it's much cheaper per pound to buy a 1/4 cow.
• I'm still happy with our organic fruit & veggie delivery!  I think they should give me a discount with all the people I've referred.  It's not a CSA so I can "shop" from my computer and then it gets delivered.  This week I was supposed to get some chard.  Uh, I would be the only one to eat it.  So I had that taken out and will exchange it for something else - probably some grapes that I know the kids will eat.  So glad I've started it and it's going well for us. 
• I need to get back into menu planning.  I have been kind of doing it but not regularly.  It's tougher when FG is gone.  I found a new recipe for Orange Chicken that DS loves.  I haven't really been baking too much but a few of the "regulars" here & there.  I have been eating a boatload of salads. 
• I should take a picture of the kids clothes organizers.  I broke down and bought the hanging closet shelf things.  I have never seen two kids so excited about organizing!  I think it had more to do with going back to school and the fact that I started those and got new backpack hooks right before school started.  I tell ya, it has been wonderful though!  Especially  now that I have to get myself ready & out the door shortly after they leave.  We pick out the clothes for the week on the weekend and they know what to wear every morning.  There's no looking for socks, mismatched clothes or wrong "temperature" clothes.  We look at the weather and decide together what to wear for every day of the week.  DD knows she can't wear a dress on PE day and that she must have tennis shoes.  So yay! There's no more fighting over the clothes every morning or the night before.  It's once a week and done!

Truth is, you can go home again

Either that or time travel really does exist. 

Long long ago in a place, well right here, I worked in the advertising business.  I spent a shit-load of money and got spoiled like crazy.  I literally was wined and dined and I put out - the ad budgets of my clients. I worked a super small agency, a long standing large agency and a long standing even larger agency before I left it all for the glamor of being a SAHM.

Now with my "new" job (I've passed the 6 mo. mark, it doesn't feel so new anymore as I get frustrated and really enjoy my days off and some of the excitement has definitely worn off), I'm back in the game.  It really is all a game.  Now I'm not in the large fancy-schmancy agency with the staff and memos and lunch brought in for meetings regularly, but I don't have quite as much pressure as I used to.  I really like the fact I can come & go and my boss trusts that I will get it done.  She keeps giving me more & more to do and I keep getting it done so obviously I can handle it. 

Last night was a local TV station event to showcase their new fall lineup of programming.  Because one of the businesses I market is a chocolate store where we make everything possible out of chocolate, I called up my old sales rep and offered to do a little trade.  I was thinking holiday client gifts but they wanted give-aways for their premier party.  So I went to the party to network and be proud of the fact we re-created their logo in chocolate for each guest to take home.  They looked great, if I do say so myself.  And yes, I helped design them and made our kitchen staff re-do several of them because they were not perfect enough for me.

I wasn't nervous to go to the party.  I had been to plenty of them in the past.  Sure it had been over 10 years and the last one I attended I had a big round belly to show off and I couldn't drink wine (lots of drinks flow at these things).  My boss planned to go with me but as I figured, when it came down to it, she forgot and couldn't make it.  Bummer for me because I figured she could learn a thing or two about who she's not paying enough to do all that I do and have the knowledge I have.  Not trying to toot my own horn but yeah, she's got it good with me sitting in the next office.  (I have it good with my loose schedule and the fact I do something from home, keep track of the hours and she never questions it).

I walked through the doors of the museum and stepped into a time machine.  My old reps were there, my former boss was there, various colleagues I had attended what felt like a gazilion similar events were there.  I got a lot of "Oh my gosh!  It's great to see you!  What are you doing now?"  and I got several quizical looks with the "I'm so sorry, I KNOW that I know you but I can't place..."  until I said my name and they went "Oh my God! " after I barely got out my first name.  Then there was always a memory or story brought out, "Do you remember....".  EVERY SINGLE PERSON there was around when I was in the business 10 1/2 years ago.  It was freaky.

When I left advertising I said I would never be back.  Sort of like a teenager leaving home but they always come back around, don't they?

Life is good

It is. I feel like we have emerged from this dark cave into the bright sunshine.
I'm sitting next to my parents pool watching my kids play. They are getting along and laughing. Last night we had the clients over from the new fishing show. One guy lives in a town near us, the other lives in Ireland. They are such nice people and they like FG a lot. In their honor, we opened a 48 year old bottle of Canadian Whiskey. FG figures his parents have had it since they got married in 1963 and when they got divorced in 1996 we ended up with their liquor cabinet & bar glasses. So we pulled out the 1960's highball glasses & cracked the paper seal on the whiskey & toasted to a great partnership. FG and I felt it was worthy. I agree. It's all part of what is making 2011 so much better than well 2009 AND 2010.
My son has been pretty darn good lately too. Yeah he still gets nuts from his SPD and he's still a space cadet at times but he has been helpful, responsive, cooperative and responsible. I have praised him a lot for his behavior. His sister, well, she's still tough, doesn't give a darn if she gets in trouble even when I take away her precious TV (no, she does not have one in her room, she just loses the privilege to watch theirs in the playroom). But he was like that at 7 too and I expect that by the time she's 10, she'll behave a bit better.
What I am not liking is FG being gone so much. The guys broke it to me last night that they got ANOTHER TRIP planned & paid for in August. At this rate it's a trip once a month! But he enjoys the work & he's getting paid so it's better than the alternative!

I'm still alive

Very very much alive.  Very very much busy.  Yeah yeah, I know that's terrible grammar.  Get off my back. I'm going crazy here!

Summer is half over - wahhhhhh!
Since I've been good with bullets, here's some more if you care to get caught up.

• FG got a new gig.  It sort of fell in his lap with 2 weeks notice to be out of the country on a project for 2 weeks.  He is now producing a new show that involves fishing and travel.  So he went to Ireland for 2 weeks to work.  Right now he's in the Northwest on some lake following the guys around.  In October he's going to the Amazon. As in the RIVER for 2 weeks.  Next spring, back to Ireland and then a month or so later he's going to Nepal.  They will be bunking with some buddist monks.  And he GETS PAID to do this.  Frickin' amazing.
• My job is going along swimmingly.  My boss loves me.  I do the job well and I work hard for the 4 businesses I'm doing marketing for.  It's amazing what I can get done in 15 hours a week and just how much 15 hours a week pulls me away from other things.  I do not miss the toystore one tiny bit!  I heard the manager was badmouthing me.  Yeah, probably because I busted her for being a grouch and was sick of her shit so I left.  I heard business is really slow and it doesn't surprise me at all.  They have the wrong person in there as manager.
• I pulled the kids out of school a week early and we flew to the midwest.  My cousin got married.  I'm the oldest cousin by 15 years so they have always been little kids in my mind.  Now they are in their early 20's and getting married.  Freaked me out when one of them got me a beer.  Then we spent a week in N. WI where I grew up vacationing.  My kids LOVED it.  They keep asking to go back. I thought for sure DD would hate every second of it but she decided to prove me wrong and adore fishing!
• DD and I flew home to finally see FG (our trips overlapped so we went 4 weeks without seeing each other).  DS stayed behind.  He couldn't get us on the plane fast enough and have his aunts all to himself.  I can't blame him, I did the same thing as a kid. I spent all summer with my grandmas and my aunts.  DS stayed 99.9% of the time with my aunt who is his favorite person on earth. 
• DD went to Girl Scout camp in the middle of the woods.  FG and I kept driving and looking at each other like, "Are we seriously leaving our 6 year old here?!"  She couldn't wait to kick us out of the camp.  (What is it with my kids?!  Do they hate me?  Lie to me and tell me they are just well adjusted and secure knowing they can be away from mom and survive.)
• With both kids gone for a week, FG and I reverted back to being DINK's.  We enjoyed ourselves.  Actually I think we kept ourselves busy so we didn't think about the fact our kids were all over the place.  One day we worked from 9-5, had a client event at 5:30 which was Family Night to see Cars 2 (we snuck out since we didn't have kids and saw Green Lantern), then we went out to dinner together at a swanky bar downtown and didn't get home until after 10 pm.  I don't think we've done that since we have had kids!  Then we spent a few days in San Francisco before picking up DD on the way home.
• DS came home 2 days before DD's 7th birthday.  He was not happy to come home.  He had a blast but I was more than ready for my kids to be back under my roof!
• DD turned 7. She had a nice party. She got her ears pierced. 
• Now I'm doing the kid-juggle every day for work.  Thankfully one grandma will take them on Mondays.  A friend who's kids play with mine takes them some Tuesdays.  Wednesdays I work with FG so they just come to the studio with us and then Thursday they have been spending the day with my dad.  I'm off Fridays. 
• Last Friday since they had been shuffled around so much all week without much fun - lots of errand running with the grandparents etc - I decided we would have a super fun day.  We went pottery painting, had a picnic lunch, watched a play, made pizza at home then went mini golfing when FG got home from work.  They had the "best day ever!"  I explained to them that is why Mom works and they have to go do not-such-fun things sometimes.  I think they are old enough that they got it.  They seemed to  understand that the things we did took money and mom has to work for money.   Of course the next day they were at each other's throats all day and I punished them by making them pull weeds.
• I'm trying my damndest to get us to eat better and having a bit more income is helping that.  Tomorrow I get my first delivery of organic fruits & veggies - as local as possible.  We are going to get 1/2 a cow this fall.  I'm starting to get local fresh eggs.  For the past year I've been giving us local raw honey for allergies (works ah-maaaaay-zing!).  I'm anxious to try the fruits & veggies.  It was pretty inexpensive actually!  Almost as cheap as what I pay for non-orgainc stuff at the grocery store.  The cow I'm excited about too.  It won't be ready till fall but they are fed the grains from a local brewery and alfalfa.  No steriods, no hormones, no pesticides.  Happy drunk cows! 
• We may be the only people in the country paying off our debt.  As sucky as it is at times, when we look at where our bills started to where they are now, we are proud of ourselves.  Business is improving, FG's new project doesn't hurt either!  We are still fairly broke and still watching every penny but we could have easily said screw it, and walked away from all the bills.  I know it's taught our kids a good lesson and FG and I have survived through I think the worst of it. 
• I'm getting the house cleaned every other week and FG is no longer speaking to his dad's wife.  If you've read any of my posts over the past few years this will all make sense to you.  FIL finally saw first hand that she is a selfish, money-grubbing bitch.  I don't know that I've ever met anyone as selfish.  But now we are done paying for them to get their house cleaned every week and me working essentially 3 jobs (PTA/School stuff can take up as much time as my paying job!) and scrubbing my own house.  I told FG that if the whole thing went away, fine, he could sell that space and we would at least get income for it.  I only want it because it's there and it's dumb that we are giving it away to his dad's bitchy wife every week.  So yay me! 
• 2011 so far is 1000x better than 2010!

Well Hot Damn! It's been awhile!

Let's see... I'll give you a little run down in case you care.....

• I turned 40. gulp.  FG had a great party for me. It was 80's themed and everyone got into the spirit. It was fabulous and over too fast and I didn't drink enough because I was up at 7:30 the next morning cleaning the kitchen.  Now I'm 40.  whoa.
• DS turned 10 (before I turned 40, thank you!).  I got to experience having a bunch of little boys around for 2 days straight.  I gave him a great party - complete with the chocolate fountain, no cake.  I am C-R-A-Z-Y.
• We've had some bumps and bruises at school. Not the literal sort.  Thank God we have an amazing principal and counselor at our school.  The teacher is not worth a whole hell of a lot.  Fourth grade is tough tough tough anyway.  But this teacher has one foot out the door of the school since she's been there 25 years. I was about ready to kick her butt the rest of the way.  We had a big meeting. FG got to play Bad Cop, I got to play Good Cop.  The principal got to play even Badder Cop and the counselor got to play mediator.  We got what we wanted, DS seems happier and all is going much better. 
• I've been kidnapped by the school PTA.  It all started when I volunteered to help out with the first book fair of the year.  Our party-loving librarian decided to have a Girls Night Out as a thank you to everyone who volunteered.  That included teachers, parents and the principal (thus getting to know her better).  Yeah, so that was great and all but becoming friends with a 50 year old librarian with no kids who likes to have parties and do-do-do and go-go-go has not been good for the relaxation part of my life.  Now I'm do-do-doing and go-go-going because she ropes me into stuff.  It's fun though so the social part of my life has been busy. And really, how many people can say they hang out with the school principal and drink wine and gossip?  I've learned SO much from being around these other parents and the more out-going, social teachers who aren't afraid to hang with the parents from the school.  It's helped (see above about the Big Meeting). 
• This has also caused me to volunteer to take on the membership chair for the PTA next year.  Miss Librarian and I did the nominating committee for next year's board.  Now suddenly we are signed up to do all sorts of (fun) stuff and going to the PTA convention.  I told FG they have a PTA store there and maybe I'll come home with a cool fanny pack or tote bag to show the world I'm a PTA member! He called me a Goober.  But really, for membership I have a ploy to fill people's bellies with wine and yummies so they'll volunteer for more stuff. I'm sneaky that way!
• I quit my job at the toystore.  My last day is tomorrow.  I decided that I was done with it all.  I do not like the manager. She is negative.  I mean, we work with toys! It's supposed to be FUN.  She was such a downer every day.  She "hates" everything that comes in and thinks it's all "stupid". She's just not pleasant and honestly, sales are showing!  My boss, the store owner, dragged it out of me yesterday so I finally gave her the full scoop.  I told her that is what prompted me to start looking for another job.  It took a few weeks but I found one that will be challenging and fun at the same time. 
• Now I have to find stuff for my kids to do over Spring Break and in the summer.  My new job, a Marketing position for three businesses under one umbrella, is flexible and it's still part time but I do need to go to the office. I don't want to start and say, "Oh by the way, care if I work from home all summer?"  yeah. not a great way to start off.  She's cool, she's flexible but she's still running a business.
• Today I am sorting and tagging a gazillion things for a large consignment sale coming up.  It's all kids stuff and it seems like DD suddenly got too old for so many of the toys & games we have.  So shortly after Christmas I ruthlessly cleaned things out.  Now I'm going to consign as much as I can and what doesn't sell will get donated to charity.  I drop it all off on the 24th and will never see it again! Then I just have to sit and wait for my check.  I'm really hoping I get a decent amount so I can go buy the little girl some new clothes.  She is a weed, I tell ya!  She's sooooo tall!!! 6 years old and needs a size 8, at least.  Some of her shirts I have been getting in a 10! 
• DS has been playing basketball. He's a little guy. Doesn't play very well but dang he loves it and gives it his all!  For a kid who doesn't like people too close to him, he is right in the middle of the game.  It's awesome to watch!  He's totally bummed that the season is ending. :(
• One amazing thing the principal did for my little sensory kid is she got him a sensory cushion!  This boy has not sat down in a chair in class in 4 years.  Now, he sits.  He says he likes the bumps on it.  AHHHH-MAZING!
• Other than all of that, I am still plugging away with my coupons and bargain shopping.  I've done really well lately and it's been necessary.  I've even dragged FG with me and he gets into it too. :)  We are still no where close to the "extreme couponers" but I have saved our family a decent amount of money!

Extreme couponing?

I watched the show last night.  ugh.  It disgusted me.  I guess what bothered me is that these people who do this clean out the shelves so there is nothing left for those of us who are just trying to save their family a little money.  I have a "stockpile" which is a small cabinet/pantry in my garage.  Pitiful in their eyes.  But it sure was nice last night when I was making stir-fry and ran out of soy sauce that I just went to the garage & grabbed a new bottle.  My supply is really low though.  Christmas put a damper on my stocking up.  But really?  These people need 1000 boxes of pasta?  When they already have 1000 at home?!  So that I can't go get 5 for my family?!  That and the fact that they spend so many hours in the store, taking up so much of the employees' time then they pay nothing for any of that.  Talk about selfish. Those costs - the cost of the product they aren't paying for, the cost of paying the employees, the cost of the gazilliions of plastic bags - will simply be passed on to the rest of us in higher prices. 
I'm all for a deal.  I love to use coupons, combine them with sales, get a good price on food.  BUT, this is ridiculous.  I won't buy something I won't use.  Occasionally if I do get something for free that I know we won't use, I will donate it.  But for the most part, we only purchase what we need and consume. 
I also noticed no fruit or veggies and protein in those carts.  Lots and lots of soda, bottled drinks, pastas, cereal.  I saw lots of chemicals, HFCS & artificial dyes.
FG agreed with me that I do pretty darn good for what I do.  I don't spend ALL of my free time looking for sales and spending money building a stockpile of crap.  I found it nuts when I had 18 boxes of cereal.  But they are gone now - a few months later.  I'm scanning the ads for more cereal deals.  I promise to leave some on the shelves for you though.

Macaroni Grill's Rosemary bread copycat & Spaghetti Carbonara recipes

I did it!!!  I copied the yummy bread at Macaroni Grill.  My whole family ate it up and then took the rest in their lunches the next day.  The kids couldn't get enough.  FG ate his at his office and wouldn't share because he had such a small piece.  But his office-mates were drooling and telling him it smelled exactly like it.  MMMMMMMMM!  I'll share the recipe...

I started with my basic french bread recipe and tweaked it.

Into bread machine place (in whatever order your machine asks you to place the ingredients, mine wants liquid first)

Rosemary Bread

3/4 cup warm water

2 tsp. honey

2 tsp. olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. pressed garlic

3/4 tsp. dried oregano

3/4 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

2/3 tsp. salt

2/3 tsp. sugar

2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp. yeast

Run the machine on the dough cycle and remove.

On floured surface, separate dough into two balls. Knead slightly and pull to form two nice dough balls.

Place dough balls onto greased cookie sheet, a few inches apart and let rise.

Once dough has risen (I always place mine in my oven that I put on "warm" and it takes about 10-15 min. to rise) brush tops with a little olive oil, just enough to moisten but not soak.  Sprinkle with kosher or flake salt and more dried rosemary. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 min. until tops are golden and dough is baked through.

Since I just winged it on this, my measurements and time may not be exact.  So you'll have to experiment with it on your own. If you don't have a bread machine, I would imagine you could easily do this by hand or with a mixer/dough attachment.  I'm making it again tomorrow for a Girl's Night Out at a friend's house.  It was so easy and so worth it I can see myself making this regularly!

Here's what I served it with....

Spaghetti Carbonara

(adapted from Classico Alfredo sauce's recipe)

16 oz. spaghetti pasta

15 oz jar prepared Alfredo sauce (I like Newman's)

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 lb. pancetta or bacon (I had bacon on hand)

2 large shallots, chopped (the store was, gasp! out of shallots so I used a mild onion)

2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to package. Reserve about 1/2 cup pasta liquid to thin sauce later.

Mix eggs and Alfredo sauce in separate bowl.  Set aside.

Saute pancetta or bacon until crisp.  Reserve drippings (I skimmed off 90% of the grease and kept just enough to saute the onions in. I didn't want it too greasy or fatty).

Saute shallots and garlic for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in wine and cook for another minute. Remove from heat.

Return pasta to pasta pot over low heat.  Add shallot mixture to warm pasta and lightly toss.  Increase heat slightly and slowly add sauce mixture, stirring constantly so the eggs don't scramble. Cook for about 6-7 minutes until sauce is cooked and thickened slightly.  Add pasta water to thin if necessary.

Add cheese and pancetta. Cook for another minute, stirring frequently.  Add salt & pepper if needed (I added pepper - it was salty enough from the bacon).

Place on plate and sprinkle with a touch more cheese and parsley.

All in all, it was a fabulous meal.  Not too difficult and FG and I ate the leftovers in our lunch the next day!  This is a meal I could see serving company because it's all in one and fairly easy.  I could see getting the bulk of it done prior to guests arriving and just keeping it warm.  I'll have to try it with the pancetta and shallots next time!   I'll also have to try it with my own Alfredo sauce.  The jar is easy enough in a pinch though!

All geared up for the food holiday!

I'm excited. I'm in a good mood.  It's snowing like crazy and I made my kids ride the bus.  No wimps in this house!
2 days until the big food day!  I think I have experience on my side and thankfully this year, time.  The fact that I have roasted many chickens and done now quite a few Thanksgiving dinners is putting my mind at ease.  I know what I'm doing.  I know what it takes. I know what to expect.  I know that I will get up early and work on the bird.  I know I will chop the fresh herbs and mix them with other seasonings into the butter and slather that sucker inside & out with it.  (I do the under the skin on top of the meat with the herbed butter thing and it makes for a yummy bird!).  I will mix the stuffing up to the right consistency without really paying too close of attention to measurements. 

Having time on my side this year is so helpful too.  I worked at the toystore yesterday but am off for the next week.  Holy Moly how did that happen?  The paycheck will hate it. I am going to try to enjoy it and not think about the lack of funds coming in a couple of weeks.  So I already started on some of my T-Day prep.  I made the red cabbage on Sunday.  As I stood over the pot, stirring and watching the color change to such a beautiful purple, I closed my eyes and was back in my great-grandmother's house.  I don't have a fabulous memory except of many things when I was small.  I can picture her house - details of her house - at any time I want.  The red cabbage smell just intensified the memories.  We had many Thanksgivings there when she was still spry enough to cook for a huge family. 
Today I'm going to work on the dining room and if I can get FG to put the leaf in the table, by the end of today, my table will be set for Thursday.  I cover it with an extra table cloth and then that's that.  I can take my time cleaning out the crystal glasses and making sure the silver isn't tarnished. 
Tomorrow I will clean the house and make the mashed potatoes.  I started doing this a few years ago - I make them a day ahead of time, adding cream cheese to them when I mash them.  Then into a large casserole dish they go, only needing to be baked after the turkey comes out of the oven to rest.  The result is fluffy, yummy, creamy potatoes that have gotten rave reviews.  Really?  Mashed potatoes?  They are such a staple in this house anyway and have been all my life - we ate them (and do now) regularly with weeknight meals.  But honestly when I make them like that people can't seem to get enough of them.  I'm just happy it's such a huge time saver!  I'll make the pies tomorrow too.  Pumpkin.  My mom is bringing lemon at DD's request (the girl loves lemon flavored anything except chicken picatta - weird).  MIL is bringing pecan at FG's request.  Everyone is bringing wine!  Yay!!!  But me, I could eat an entire pumpkin pie by myself.  I have.  Not all at once.  When it's here, I eat it for breakfast and dessert.  MMMMMM! So I'm making two. One for me and one for everyone else. 

Now, I'm even excited about leftovers!

Thanksgiving dinner cost - It's not as bad as you would think!

We are hosting Thanksgiving dinner again this year.  I usually do because 1) my mother doesn't like to cook 2) my MIL isn't a fabulous cook (she's a "let's get it done fast cook")  3) my MIL likes to make Christmas Eve dinner and my mother makes Christmas dinner.  So I get Thanksgiving.  Since I enjoy it and really don't find cooking a turkey all that difficult, I am fine with it.  FG and I were talking about how inexpensively we really can feed everyone on the big day focused on food.  This year we'll have 9 people with the possibility of having a few more.  We have a couple of open invitations out there to a few people.  One being a girl (woman?  it feels weird calling someone in her 30's either doesn't it?) in FG's office who's DH is a fireman and is working that day.  As long as I know before we sit down to dinner, I'm fine with it if an extra or two show up. I'm not changing the way I cook or the amount - there's always plenty!

So my breakdown of food and costs, not including the staples like flour & sugar and spices that I keep on hand anyway is this:

• Turkey  18.94 lb - $6.44 (my store sells them at $.34 per lb w/ a $50 grocery purchase)
• Red cabbage (a German tradition in my family) - $1.83
• Canned Pumpkin  - $1.58
• Evaporated milk - $.68
• 2 boxes of cubed herbed stuffing that I will "doctor up" - $2.78
• Large bottle of Raspberry Lemonade - $2.78
• Black olives (appetizer plate) - $.98
• Sm. carton of Whipping Cream (no cans here! gotta whip it myself!) - $1.43
• 10lb. bag of potatoes - $.97
• Cream cheese (for the mashed potatoes) - $.98
• Frozen corn - $1.76
• Canned broth - $2 (4 cans, I like to save my homemade broth for soups)

That brings my total for dedicated Thanksgiving Dinner purchases to: $24.39

Sure, I'll use my eggs and my flour and my sugar and celery and onions but the above is strictly dedicated to that one dinner and leftovers.  I'm having others bring things as well.  My mom will make cranberry sauce (no cans here!), rolls and maybe another pie made with Splenda for my dad, my MIL will bring a burned pecan pie and her boyfriend will bring some nasty Chardonnay (FG and I are "ABC" people - anything BUT Chardonnay!), SMA will bring a bottle of Fume Blanc because he knows me better.  I might go purchase some asparagus to roast.  I didn't want to get it too early and have it go limp. 

Thanksgiving really doesn't have to be such an expensive meal!  If you break it down and round up to include the staples I'll be using, I'm spending about $3 per person! (and as usual, the dog will get a good meal from the giblets!)

Goodbye Bubba

FG's cat died today.  His mother is a mess.  Bubba lived with her.  There was some shared custody after FG's parents divorced but for the most part, Bubba was the companion of my MIL.  He was a cranky old cat, with good reason.  FG got the cat in 1991 a few months before we met in 1992.   Thus, we stared calling him "Yoda" because he was so freakin' old.  He used up all of his 9 lives in the first few years - he was 1) attacked by a dog and nearly killed - he had a notch out of his ear as his battle scar
2) Shot.  That shattered his leg and it was rebuilt.  He had a funky external cast thing on for awhile that looked like a handle sticking off his leg.  I think that was on there when FG and I got married.
3) right after he got his "handle" off, he jumped and broke the same leg.  Literally days later.  He had more surgery and got some metal put in there.
4) he developed kitty diabetes and had to have shots of insulin daily

I think there's a few things I'm missing because it seemed like that cat kept the Vet in a Mercedes. 
He was obnoxious when he was younger too.  He sat and tried to take food off my fork when I would eat dinner.  Why he bothered me I have no idea.  But always me.  He would swipe at my hand while I ate.  He also "felt me up" regularly.  FG would pick him up and hold him like a baby. He would reach out one paw and always put it on my boob.  When we were first dating and FG was still living at home, I would spend the night even though I wasn't supposed to.  We managed to keep it a secret in his little twin bed and MIL would come in and put the cat on FG every morning.  As we hid under the covers trying to look like one person, she plopped the cat on us.  We finally told her a few years ago and she swears she had no idea.  (Yes, she really is that clueless sometimes).

The funniest thing about him is the past few years he had a "gang" of old men cats.  I have never ever seen a cat go to another cat's front door and meow until the other cat was let out.  Bubba had two friends who did this regularly.  They came to his door and waited until MIL let him out and then off they would go - grumpy old men.  I think they swapped kitty war stories...."Then the dog, enormous with giant sharp teeth, had me in his clenched jaw...." 

MIL will be very sad for awhile. It's hard to have a cat that long and not miss him.  FG will miss him too.   My kids will really miss him too.  DS does not do well with the animal's deaths.  So I lied. This morning before school I told him that Bubba was sick but still alive.  At that very moment, he was but the vet was on her way over to change that and I knew it.

Super cheap-o dinners

Last night I roasted a whole chicken.  I have to say I went old school and did not waste a thing with this chicken either.  I paid $3.58 for it. (I picked up three whole chickens on sale last week at $.77/lb).
This is what I got out of it. I even fed the dog.

• Cooked the giblets for the dog's dinner
• Family had 2/3 of the chicken for dinner.
• Used a small portion of leftover meat and mixed it with the rice pilaf we had as a side dish - that will be FG's lunch tomorrow.
• Saved the rest of the meat for another family meal - maybe enchiladas or pot pies?
• Simmered the carcass for a few hours for stock.

I am not sure how much stock I got yet because it was late so I just put the whole pan in the fridge to deal with this afternoon.  I'm guessing 1 1/2 quarts.

Not bad for one $3.58 chicken!

Whoa! Slow down Time, just a little bit please!

Yikes! October is well upon us.  What did you do for 10-10-10?  I went to a baby shower.  It's been awhile since I've gone to a baby shower.  Baby Showers and Wedding Showers seem to be abundant in your 20's & earlier 30's.  By the time I hit my mid 30's the Wedding Showers were rare and now that I'm, gulp, in my late 30's approaching 40 Baby Showers aren't happening every week either. 

Since I only blog on my PC but can do just about everything else on my ipod I haven't been on here at all. I feel so behind catching up with Bloggy friends!  A few little highlights have been:

• I chaperoned a field trip for DS's 4th grade.  We had to take charter buses and we left school at 9:15 am and returned just before 6 pm.  It was 95 degrees outside and we were in the middle of the desert with NO trees.  It was hot, dusty and sticky.  LONG day that wiped me out.
• I covered for a girl who was sick at the toystore the next day.  It was busy and we are training newbies.  Not fun on a super busy day.
• Last week was Walk (bike) To School day so I helped herd along 9 little children walking to school from a park.  (Our house is a bit far.  Maybe next year we'll attempt it!)
• DD whipped out a poster on Safety about 3 minutes before we left to meet others at the park.  The school was having a contest.
• DD came home from school that day saying she won a new bike & helmet.  I didn't believe her so I called a few people and the PTA President confirmed that she indeed won the bike. 
• DS was very upset.  I do not know how to make this kid happy. I seriously want to take him to a psychologist and find out why he seems to thrive on being unhappy.
• I have been helping out in DD's classroom too.  So. Many. Kids.
• I switched out my summer clothes/shoes for the cool-weather ones over the weekend.  This was after I spent my ONLY day off in a couple of weeks scrubbing down my house.  It was 80 degrees outside while I was packing away shorts and flip flops and pulling out sweaters.  It was definitely a conundrum but I know I won't be wearing the linen pants until next spring anyway.

Now here's my menu

• Sunday - Soup & grilled cheese
• Monday - Roasted whole chicken, rice, veggies
• Tuesday - Kids will get their choice. FG and I have to go to the parents night informing us what they will be teaching our son for the sex-ed program they start in 4th grade.  Lord help me!
• Wednesday - Pork chops, roasted red potatoes, veggies
• Thursday - Grilled tri-tip steak, noodles, spinach salad
• Friday - no idea. I'm hoping FG and I get a date night!
• Saturday - Homemade pizza

Last week I made a chuck roast in the crock pot, chicken fajitas (I had mine on a salad instead of in a tortilla), bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts, hot dogs.  It wasn't an overly exciting week!

Monday already?

We went wine tasting over the weekend. We had a great time with friends who joined us.  We drove down in our big car & our poor friend J was a teeny bit hungover.  He neglected to tell us that his birthday was the night before!  Thanks to Facebook I found out so we had a card & an itunes card to surprise him with.  But sitting in the backseat of our large SUV on curvy mountain roads with a hangover was not much fun for him.  He rallied though and we had a great time sampling at several wineries.  They had never been to that area before - it's such a nice little gem!  Better than Napa, I think, which has gotten so full of itself.  This area doesn't charge for tastings, you are generally chatting it up with the winemaker and they are generous with their pours.  We were admiring the grapes on a vine at one vineyard and the owner was over explaining to us when they would pick them, what they should look like, why he was taking off small "new" clusters and tossing them down on the ground. I just don't think that happens in Napa much anymore.  He let us taste the grapes, explained how the seed would be darker when it was time to harvest and told us, "Go ahead and taks some bunches if you want them." 

The kids bounced between grandparents for the time we were gone.  I found out that FIL left DD sitting on a bench in a busy and zero secure place.  He took the kiddos to go indoor blacklight mini-golfing.  Apparently DD got scared of it (because it's such a good idea to take a 6 year old to a place like that! It was nice enough they could have gone to the outdoor one where there would not have been and terror issues. But no, this one is great because it's scary - like a haunted house!).  So I will give him the fact that he was in a no-win situation with the kids.  He hopefully learned a lesson that he can't take the kids to do things like that on his own.  He was going to get it for leaving one kid or the other alone or just simply having a terrified crying 6 year old drama queen with him which would have made DS miserable as well as everyone around them.  So I'm not sure if we tell him we are unhappy with having her sit on a bench alone, by the front doors, or not.  They are fine. They are safe. They had a good weekend.  I think we'll just leave this one alone for now.

But now it's Monday. I have no menu planned. I have another busy week.  I have piles of laundry to get through and it's going to be HOT.  Like record breaking HOT.  I guess we'll be getting a bit more mileage out of the kid's summer clothes and the grill.

Hopefully I'll be back at ya tomorrow with a menu.  As of right now, I've got no clue!

Yesterday

• Got the children's beds totally cleaned - comforters, blankets etc.  They were all happy and cozy getting into their beds last night!
• Got the junk drawer cleaned out!
• Got bread made for dinner.
• Made a nice dinner & my dad joined us.  My mom comes home tonight - whoohoo!
• Made blueberry muffins at DD's request and had two warm ones waiting for her when she got off the school bus.
• Played games as a family before bed last night.
• Kids got their homework done while I prepped dinner and after they were done eating, they actually played together, nicely & quietly in the playroom.  Thus the reward of family game night before bed!
• Got a nap in!!  A short one but it was a nice little power nap all the same. 
• Got the PTA committee stuff organized and now am just waiting on a return phone call from the principal as to when we can meet to discuss what I want to do at the school. 

Ahhhh!  I love it when I actually get some of the things done that I plan on doing!

Today

• I have the day "off".  Meaning I don't have to go to the office, I don't have to go to the toystore and I don't have to volunteer in either classroom.
• Yesterday I attacked the Little Princess' room with the vacuum.  I also too the opportunity to clean up all the little crap.  I think every kid seems to collect copious amounts of little crap!  The dust is gone, her room is cleaner and more organized.  She was happy and didn't even notice the missing "treasures".
• Today I am stripping both children's beds and washing everything - comforters, blankies et al. It felt so good when I washed our bedding last weekend that I decided to share the wealth with the kids.  Must be because the nights are getting cold.
• I am counting down the hours until Saturday morning!  We are going to wine country!  We're driving the big car and bringing another couple with us. We got a great deal on a B&B and where we go, the tastings are all free.  Tomorrow I'll be baking fresh bread & cookies and maybe making a little Chinese Chicken Salad.  I'll hit the cheese counter for some yummy cheese & slice up some apples.... I have been looking forward to this for weeks.
• The biggest downside - my mom is just getting back into town so I didn't ask them to keep the kids. Instead they are going with my FIL and his wench.  I hate it when my kids spend a lot of time with them. They just do NOT respect the fact we are their parents and we have certain parameters.  FG explained it to his dad this way - it's like borrowing a car and returning it dirty, no gas and with a flat tire.  Sure the car is really OK but it's not how you loaned it out.  Same with the kids - they are always returned to us dirty (literally), out of gas and with flat tires.  They let them eat nothing but crap, let them stay up WAY WAY too late and don't even bother to change their clothes.  So we may be very lucky to have a night alone when the kids go with FIL but we pay for it several times over the next day.  I decided awhile ago it wasn't worth it until FG had a talk with his dad and his dad seemed to get the car metaphor.  We're giving them another chance & we'll see how it goes.  Then my parents will have the kids all day on Sunday since my mom will be home. I realize we are super lucky to have family around willing to take the kids but I also think the kids are super lucky to get to spend so much time with their grandparents!
• Right now I'm procrastinating working on the "Go Green" committee for our school.  Somehow I got named the committee chair.  Lucky me.  Now I have all these wonderful volunteers emailing me all their ideas.  Thankfully, I'm not half bad at delegating and when someone says, "How about this?"  I reply, "Great!  You seem to have a good handle on it so far so go ahead and run with it!"  hee hee hee.  Nope, not gonna be the one to have all the ideas thrown at me and have me execute them.  You have an idea, you better research it and get to work on it!
• I also need to clean out the junk drawer.
• I also need/want to clean out my makeup. - All these little things I always say, "If I had a whole day to myself I'd get that done!"  I hope to accomplish some of it.  And a nap. :)
• I think my arch fell slightly and my ankle has been KILLING me for two weeks now.  I'm taking a ridiculous amount of ibuprofen because my whole leg aches.  I have to go get some decent inserts for my shoes.  I think wearing all the cheap flip flops and flats have really made me pay.

If you had the whole day at home to yourself, what would YOU do?

Menu 9/20

I'm happy to say, I followed my menu last week!  I switched two days but made what I planned to make.  I've also been getting the "Mooooommmmmm. What's for dinner?" question a lot.  DS is even asking what's for dinner the NEXT day before dinner the current day!  So having it listed on the fridge is helpful. I no longer answer him, I tell him to read it!

• Sunday - Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, brownies (I was really not in the mood to cook yesterday!  I told the guys they were kinda lucky they were getting anything at all!)
• Monday - Cheeseburgers, rice, green salad
• Tuesday - Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser/Carnival at the elementary school
• Wednesday - Balsamic pork chops, cous cous, broccoli
• Thursday - Soup & grilled cheese
• Friday - ???
• Saturday - OUT! No kids!

Nothing too exciting this week.  It's another busy week of work/school events.  After last week, I'm giving myself a break too.  The weekend was just so so busy and I've been cooking so much that I don't want to get totally burned out.  I'm teetering on the edge of that and it's no good for the family when that happens! So easy on me, easy on the family this week. 

How grown up's enjoy a Capri Sun Houseparty

Big bummer - I have no pictures.
We had another House Party last night.  It was a Capri Sun party.  I was so excited to get to host this one.  But the "party box" wasn't all that impressive.  In fact, of the 3 House Parties I've had, the box was the smallest and had the least amount of give away stuff.  I got 2 boxes of juice boxes, Frisbees, napkins, magnets, Teracycle tote bag and teracycle pencil cases.  They did include some coupons for $1 off a pack of 100% juice or the water.  eh.  So I had to not only host the party but I had to go buy a bunch of juice boxes.  In my marketing opinion, they should have reduced the number of parties and sent more stuff.  As a marketing friend and I were discussing, the cost of doing focus groups is $$$$ and this is an awesome (& inexpensive comparatively) way for them to have 2,000 focus groups across the country.    So knowing how important focus groups are and how much they cost, I was a bit bummed out by the swag.

We hosted a pot luck dinner anyway.  I got scheduled to work even though I wasn't supposed to.  We were I.N.S.A.N.E. at the toystore too. When I ducked out at 2 pm, I felt guilty but hey, I wasn't even supposed to be on the schedule and I had worked 5 Saturdays in a row.  Pshaw! That's what the college kids are for!  So I decided a pot luck would be best.  And it was.  It looked like a bomb exploded in the playroom and then a tornado carried the toys through the backyard.  One girl went home with one shoe because we simply could NOT locate the other one.  I guess that classifies as a "wild kid party".  It has really taken a lot for me to learn to "let it go" and let the kids just do what they want and take stuff where they want.  FG and I got it all cleaned up by 10:30 so all was ok.  Still, a lot of damn work.

The kids drank a gazillion juice pouches.  FG used the 100% apple juice ones to mix the adults some yummy appletini's.  Yep. That's how adults do Capri Sun. Add a little vodka and it's allllll good. 

Needless to say I'm worn out today.  FG and I marveled this week at how we had a free Sunday! Yay!  Unfortunately too good to be true.  I had to go to church with my dad and the kids (I don't care for going to church, then I had to tell the Sunday School teacher to stop giving my kids candy every.single.Sunday. and that I really really don't care for her giving them Tootsie Pop's and letting them come back for the rest of the service sucking on them!) then DD had a last minute b-day party to go to.  Now SMA will be here for dinner soon, the kids need to be bathed, DD has some homework (Ugh! First time EVER on a weekend for either kid!), and the week will begin again.  Work, school functions, laundry, meals....  But next weekend.  No kids, a night away at a B&B and wine tasting for the weekend with friends.  Ahhhhhh! I cannot wait.

Menu Plan Monday! 9/13

Can I get a little pat on the back please? 
This Saturday after work I ran to Smith's (our Kroger).  I wanted to get a couple of things that were on special that I knew wouldn't be coming back around for a while. While I was there, I looked at the meat section like always.  They do have good deals on meat fairly often.  I picked up two great Manager's Specials - the chicken legs we ate on Sunday and the beef we are eating today, plus another piece for later.  The chicken legs were $1.36 & $1.18 a package and the beef was $1.99 per pound for london broil.  Whoohoo!  It gets a bit expensive when I have to feed SMA.  He can eat a lot!  And knowing it's his only home cooked meal a week, I try to make sure he gets enough. 
This morning I got the kids off to school, got the laundry separated and started, dishwasher emptied, dinner in the crock pot, animals fed & watered and I'm even blogging! Wow!  I am liking this new schedule so far - kids on the bus at 8:20, I leave for work about 9:45. 
Here's this weeks' menu!  (I should note that I stuck to my menu the past two weeks too!  I had a "?" on Friday but we ended up getting pizza because DS had a friend sleep over. I also worked that day filling in for someone so I wasn't in the mood to be making a big meal.)

• Sunday - Teriyaki chicken legs in the crock pot, potato/zucchini pancakes, veggies, bread
• Monday - Beef Tips w/ gravy (crock pot), mashed potatoes, cauliflower
• Tuesday - Grilled Pork Chop Sandwiches, noodles, corn
• Wednesday - Beer Battered Fish & oven baked Chips, salad
• Thursday - Mexican Waffles (Taco meat over savory cornmeal waffles) w/ all the works
• Friday - Take out
• Saturday - Pot Luck Capri Sun House Party!

Because of my computer being so screwed up, it's tough for me to easily locate my recipes I have stored.  I'll give a little rundown of both the crock pot meals
The chicken legs went into the crock pot and I mixed up 1/2 cup soy sauce, 3 T. brown sugar, crushed garlic & some ginger.  I let it cook all day on low while we were on the boat.
Beef tips w/ gravy - saute sliced onion in a bit of olive oil, when tender, tranfer to crock, season cubed beef w/ salt & pepper & brown in same pan onions were sauted in.  Transfer to crock.  Mix up 3/4 cup water w/ 1-2 t. of beef boullion mix (I use the Better Than Boullion paste in a jar).  Add to crock.  Cook on low all day.  About 1 hour before serving, mix some flour & water and add to crock to thicken into gravy. Add seasoning if necessary.  That's it! I usually serve this over wide egg noodles but I have potatoes right now so we'll have that.

Back in session!

Headed out the door!

School is back in session here.  Yay!  Back to school night for parents was last night.  As usual, our classrooms were packed with parents.  The school holds 2 sessions on one evening.  In our DD's 1st grade class there are 35 kids and 2 teachers.  We attended the 1st session in her class and FG counted 35 parents packed into that room.  There were more waiting to attend the 2nd session too. Which means that nearly every child's parents were there and many of them had BOTH parents attend.  Awesome.

I signed up for what I wanted to volunteer for both in each child's class and with the PTA.  I didn't do more than I wanted to do.  FG will chaperone a field trip for each kid too like he has every year. 

We had a funny moment when the 1st grade teachers were telling the parents the importance of getting the kids on a routine, having a designated place for backpacks and homework, getting enough rest and having them know where they are supposed to go.  FG gave me a look.  I chuckled quietly.  Haven't I been working on that?  I got the Command hooks for the kid's backpacks put up the other day.  The kids know what they are supposed to do and while it's only been 2 days, there was very little reminding on those days. They got off the school bus, emptied the packs, gave me important papers, put homework (yes DS had homework on the 1st day of 4th grade, no messing around!) on the counter, put lunchboxes at the sink, hung up their packs and washed their hands.  It all went smoothly. So when they were strongly suggesting these things, I had to give myself a little credit. Then again, I've been down this road before and many parents haven't.  Still, it's just in my nature too. 

The obligatory "front of the school" shot.

I am still not used to them being gone all day.  I worked on Monday, which was a good thing for me to keep my mind off the fact that I had just taken my baby to 1st grade and my son barely said goodbye as he ran off to find friends on his first day of 4th grade.  Yesterday I managed to get things caught up and today I'm headed to the Apple store for my Genuis Bar appt. then to work with FG.  I'm keeping myself busy so I don't break down and cry.  It just goes SO fast once they are in school all day!  Yes, we need this but I'm still not ready for time to just fly by either.  Happy Medium please?

DD in her bright pink skirt. I was in the hall talking to other parents and she had no idea I was still at school. I had to snap a shot of her walking into the cafeteria for their first day of school assembly.