mommy on the bus

Lealoo's Lovelies

2011-03-12T20:31:00.000-05:00

"Pebble Beach"

I've been having a lot of fun with my etsy shop lately. I love having an outlet to be creative and make pretty things. My sales pretty much support my crafting habit! After a few sales I start browsing supplies and getting new ideas for new items, and before I know it I'm clicking that "Add to cart" button. I've been having dreams about setting up a craft room (a big white desk with tons of storage, light robbin's egg blue walls, eyelet curtains. I can dream!)

A lot of the things I've been making have a bit of a summer-y, beach-y feel to them. Shells and pearls and turquoise. Makes me want to go pick up some dreamy coconut lotion and put highlights in my hair!

Here are a few things I have going on with my shop. Please check it out!

There are currently 7 pairs of earrings that are 50% off in the SALE section.
Use code MARCH10 for 10% off during the month of March.
Between now and April 2nd you will receive a FREE, handmade autism awareness pin with every purchase, while supplies last.
Send in your own appreciation photos for a chance to win a free pair of earrings. If I use your photo in my Etsy shop, I will send you a free pair of earrings!
Lealoo's Lovelies now has it's own Facebook Page!

Hair stick, your choice of 3 styles.

If you head on over to the facebook page I'm currently running a giveaway for a free hair stick. Ends Sunday night, so hurry on over there! There will be lots of exclusive coupon codes and more give aways there too.

Now I'm ~~patiently~~ waiting for some supplies I ordered to arrive so I can make some new pretties! Happy crafting!

Why YOU should wear BLUE

2011-03-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

My daughter has autism. So does 1 out of every 110 children in the United States. Children with autism sometimes act differently than other kids. Sometimes it looks like they're misbehaving. Sometimes strangers think they're being "bad." As a parent of a child with autism, it's hard going out and knowing that your child is different, and knowing that people are going to judge your child, stare at them, whisper about them, laugh at them and even scold them.

April 2, 2010

The United Nations has declared April 2nd world autism awareness day. Last year, I wore blue on April 2 to show my support. I asked my friends and family to do the same. They did, and it felt great. Seeing everyone who cared about my daughter wearing blue felt like a visual representation of our solidarity. It's silly, I know... but it meant something.

What really surprised me that day, was when I went to the mall and saw so much blue. Not every person, but it certainly seemed like more than usual! I'd see someone, catch their eye, give them a smile. Sure, they might have spilled coffee on their red shirt and the blue one they had on was the first they grabbed from the closet. Sure, that smile might have been because they were subconsciously picking up on my happiness and good mood. But then... I saw a Mother and son both wearing blue, and I could have sworn that I recognized that look in her eyes. And then I saw an entire family, all wearing blue, right down to the hair ribbons. Well that just made my eyes get all misty.

These people, these strangers in the middle of a mall, these people wearing blue: they got it. They understood. They cared. For just one day, for just an hour at the mall, I got to see how many people support my daughter, and understand that she is different, not less.

So I'm asking everyone to wear blue on April 2nd. Maybe someone like me will walk past you, and feel just a little warm and fuzzy that you understand.

Jewelry Cards

2011-02-28T08:00:00.003-05:00

I'm a big fan of the Graphics Fairy blog. So when I was looking for a way to display the earring in my etsy shop, I didn't have to look far.

I found this great image, printed it on business cards with the name of my shop and the web address underneath, punched two small holes with a hole punch and tada! Business/earring card!

I love the way it frames the earrings!

c25k week 1 day 1

2011-02-17T11:02:00.000-05:00

Funny thing about counting calories... if I count it, I want to eat it.

It drives me crazy when (for example) I have an afternoon snack of cut fresh veggies with 1 TBS of lite red wine and olive oil vinegrette, and when I'm done there's still a ton of dressing on the plate! I measured that TBS and it was 50 calories. I recorded those 50 calories, and yet some of them are still on the plate. I didn't eat the whole 50 calories! That means I should be able to eat more of something else! Or I'll just lick the plate.*

It brings out the crazy in me, I know it does. I also know that for me, it works. For me, dieting without tracking calories would be like going on a shopping spree with a budget, but not looking at price tags.

I also started the Couch To 5K program last night. I listened to some music on Sami's iPad (she graciously let me borrow it since my current mp3 player sucks) and I used this app to tell me when to run or walk. Week 1, day1 of the treadmill version goes a like this:

00:00-5:00: Warmup walk
5:00-6:00: Run
6:00-7:30: Walk
7:30-8:30: Run
8:30-10:00: Walk
10:00-11:00: Run
11:00-12:30: Walk
12:30-13:30: Run
13:30-15:00: Walk
15:00-16:00: Run
16:00-17:30: Walk
17:30-18:30: Run
18:30-20:00: Walk
20:00-21:00: Run
21:00-22:30: Walk
22:30-23:30: Run
23:30-25:00: Walk
25:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk

Which is basically alternating 1 minute of running and 1:30 min of walking with a 5 minute warm up and a five minute cool down.

It kicked my ass.

I hate running. I would rather walk for an hour than run for 5 minutes. Since I loathe running so much, I've never really given it a chance. I figure if I do the full Couch to 5K program and I still hate it, I'll never make myself run again. I'll try another type of exercise, and say "F* You, running!" But if I start to hate it a little less... well I guess that wouldn't be so terrible.

Anyway, I did it. I ran. It was horrible. I'm sure I looked like I was about to have a heart attack. Also, confession time! I skipped the second to last run. Terrible! I had a major cramp in my left calf, so I decided that walking through one of the runs but doing the entire time was better than quitting early. I'm glad I did, because I was able to finish the workout and felt pretty good about it. I might do an extra day of the week 1 program to make up for it. We'll see.

Day off today, although I might do an easy 20 minute walk, then on to day 2 tomorrow!

*I will NOT lick salad dressing off a plate. I will use the last piece of vegetable to scoop up as much of the left over dressing as possible though.

losing more than my mind

2011-02-16T10:36:00.002-05:00

Spring is coming, and you know what that means! Time to lose weight again! I managed to get close to goal last summer, but I am a stress eater. And this winter was stressful! I'm thinking about trying this popular running program... Couch to 5k - C25K Running Program, but this is the treadmill version. It's too cold to run outside right now, not to mention we don't have very clear sidewalks due to all the snowbanks. Anybody have any good music suggestions???

I've also started using www.fatsecret.com which is a terrible name, but I find it easier to use than the other calorie tracking websites I've tried.

Of course, as soon as I start eating right and focusing on a healthier lifestyle (I've lost 4lbs already, woop!) I discover something like this: COOKIE DOUGH DIP! I think I gained 4lbs back just looking at that.

from how sweet it is

The universe is a cruel, wicked place sometimes.

chill RAGE pizza

2011-02-11T18:21:00.000-05:00

This is a snippet of a cartoon my sister drew recently. It pretty much sums up my life.

sob stories

2011-02-10T12:44:00.002-05:00

I don't like movies that make me cry. I don't like TV shows that make me cry. I don't like books that make me cry. I've seen Titanic once and have no intention of watching it again. The Temple Grandin movie was heart wrenching for me (though I would recommend it to everyone.) So I tend to choose my entertainment based on what won't make me cry. I refuse to watch Parenthood, despite how much everyone raves about it. I like happy stuff.

So I pretty much hate it when stuff sneaks up on me. I was watching American Idol with hubby last night, and the last guy on just damn near broke my heart. I cried. So did he. He seems to cry a lot, but it seems to be more endearing on him.

James Durbin has Tourette and asperger's syndromes. Oh yeah, and his Dad died of an over dose when he was 9. Oh yeah! and he has a baby boy of his own.

The hard-knock story told by James Durbin, 21, was almost too much to believe. He grew up barely knowing his bass-playing dad, who was always on the road, and was raised by his mom after his father died of a drug overdose. Later diagnosed with both Tourette syndrome and Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, Durbin turned to music to help calm his sometimes-rattled nerves. (mtv.com)

In this video, he's got pretty good control over his tics. When he says he has to "keep calm, keep still" he means it. People with tics can sometimes control it, but it can be exhausting to do so, and when they're really stressed out it can be close to impossible. Think of it like feeling like you have something stuck in your throat, and it's getting more and more uncomfortable and the only thing that can help relieve that discomfort is to clear your throat.

Anyway, I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I found it touching and inspiring that he is doing something that makes him happy, even though it's hard for him. I wonder how he'll handle the stress if he progresses in the show. I hope he does, because I think he's got a great voice.

EDIT: woooo! He made it through the 1st elimination in Hollywood!

wordless Wednesday: little wizard

2011-02-09T09:56:00.002-05:00

oopsie!

2011-02-08T18:09:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's February. My last post was November. It seems like half my posts are about how I suck at posting. In my defense, most of my "spare time" lately has been going into my etsy shop. I'd love to say that I'm now financially so well off that I can quit my job and sell jewelry online to feed my family, but the truth is the small amount of money I get from those sales pretty much goes back into either jewelry supplies or crafts of some sort. Hey, at least it gives me a creative outlet.

If you happen to be interested in checking out the jewelry I've been making, you can go to www.lealoo.com or www.etsy.com/shop/lealooboo.

I'm really going to try to post more. For now, I'll leave you with some recent pictures of my babes.

1 month later

2010-11-23T11:40:00.001-05:00

I'm still here. Thanksgiving is in two days and I'm excited to be having a nice low key holiday at home, although I will miss family we won't be seeing that day.

I'm also excited to be trying out some new recipes! Hubby and I will (hopefully) be going to the grocery store to pick up everything we need tonight. Nothing like leaving everything last minute, huh?

I find that I'm really looking forward to the holidays in general this year.

quick and dirty

2010-10-24T19:17:00.002-04:00

I just whipped this out in like five minutes. Frame I had on hand, scrapbook paper left over from something else, scrapbook stickers, fabric flowers I made a few days ago from one of my daughters old rompers, and a big black dollar store spider.

The spider was supposed to be higher up and on the other side, but it wouldn't stick to the glass with tape and I don't want to permanently alter the frame. Gotta use it for other holidays too! To fill the blank space left where the spider was going to go, I took a dry erase marker and wrote on the glass. If I can round up the right stickers I might use those to write "days to go."

UPDATE:

I couldn't help myself! I dug out the proper letters, and while I was at it added some swirly embellishments too. I'm even happier with it now, but I still need to figure out how to make something stick to the glass without forever being stuck... hot glue?

critters, skulls and spiders

2010-10-24T17:26:00.001-04:00

hmmm. I guess since I posted that wire metal basket 2 weeks ago I should probably show you what I did with it.

Two stripey little pumpkins, a Dollar Tree crow, and Dollar Tree Spanish moss.

The whole table, with my mini apothecary jars, metal basket, and large glass vase.

I also got this spooky black cloth from the Dollar Tree. I might go back and get another! Also, please ignore the ugly heater vent.

oooooooooh! spooky!

A sugar pumpkin nestled in moss, with a couple friendly Dollar Tree spiders.

My apothecary jars got an update too.

Creepy critters, skulls, & spiders from the Dollar Tree as well. We'll see how long the candy corn lasts. My husband loves the stuff!

I have a couple more ideas for this little table between now and Halloween. I also have an idea for a cute bunting I want to try, but we'll see if I get around to it. I haven't had as much time for crafty stuff recently. boooo!

a tisket, a tasket, a wire metal basket?

2010-10-09T12:14:00.000-04:00

Check out this metal basket thing I got for $1 at a yard sale across the street. It was originally all rusty brown, but I hit it with the black spray paint as soon as I got it in the house.

I'm thinking put it on the wall, stuff the bottom with Spanish moss and put some mini pumpkins in it. What do you think, any ideas?

I also grabbed this bowl and vase for a buck each. The vase is HUGE. I'm definitely putting a pumpkin in it.

just a LITTLE nuts

2010-10-01T10:22:00.002-04:00

I realize a lot of people probably think we're nuts for letting a THREE YEAR OLD have an iPad. Don't worry, I think we're a little nuts too. The reason we didn't wait... Samantha needs it now. She can speak and at one point had 50 words, but she has had a significant regression since school started, and we want to make sure she has every opportunity to KEEP the skills she learns. Also, it has been shown again and again that the earlier kids learn language, the easier it is.

So, to keep this incredibly expensive and fragile tool working for years to come...

This is not a tool Sami will be bring places for now. Or even walking around with.
She will be sitting, with an adult at all times when it's being used.
We're getting an Otterbox iPad Defender case. It's seems pretty heavy duty!
We'll hopefully also get the accident protection plan. We only have a few days to add that on, so I'll have to convince my husband we need it!
Also, Samantha has never ever thrown or hit out of frustration or anger. She just doesn't. So I'm not too concerned about that, but like I said, it will be a sitting with adult tool only.

She's already doing so well with it!

This is a reward page after a matching game.

This takes serious concentration!

Some more news... we're looking into getting a speech therapist for home appointments once or twice a week. Every little bit!

I always feel like I need to add this, and I hate that BUT... We're not trying to change Samantha. We love her just the way she is. She's perfect to us. But she's happier when she's able to communicate with us. IT's obvious to everyone who knows her. Not being able to tell us what she wants is very frustrating for her, and we clearly see the satisfaction on her face on the rare occasion she is able to tell us. I'm going to do everything possible to make sure she's happy.

total and utter shock

2010-09-30T20:49:00.000-04:00

My iPad post got a lot of feedback. How much feedback? Well, I'm no longer hoping for a rich anonymous benefactor. Instead I have my brother, sister and "step" sister, who teamed up and BOUGHT MY DAUGHTER AN IPAD! I'm just... in total shock. They surprised me with it today, and pulled it off without telling anyone. It's so amazing.
The best part, Samantha loves it, and figured out how it works very quickly. I'm so excited about the doors this could open for my Sami, and it's feels great knowing that my family cares so much. WOOOO! I can't wait to find all kinds of great apps for her. Our current favorite is ABC 123 Blocks, but once I think she has a feel for how her iPad works we're going to try out some apps that are geared more towards communication. I am so excited and so happy YAY!!! I'll post pics and video of her using it as soon as I can!

iSam

2010-09-28T20:59:00.007-04:00

Anybody want to buy me my daughter an iPad? Sounds crazy, right? I know, I know... but check it out.

Image via Wikipedia"Teachers and doctors are using iPads as a tool to reach out to children with Autism or Asperger Syndrome and the results are remarkably great. Autistic children are showing tremendous improvement after playing fun-filled exercises on iPad which is less stressful and more fun for both the teachers and the students."

And here:

"What draws autistic children -- some of who cannot grasp daily tasks such as dressing or handwashing -- so naturally to the iPad? The main explanation the article offers is that autistic children know what to expect when they tap or slide on the iPad -- but they cannot anticipate human expressions and reactions, which frustrates them. Even things like drawing are easier on the iPad, because pencils and crayons are difficult for autistic children to handle.

But it's not just the predictable tapping action of the iPad that's helpful. Certain apps have proven useful for autistic children, too -- particularly ones that match fun graphics to words and actions, and help the child visualize a task. When an autistic child watches a step-by-step guide to handwashing on the iPad, for example, he can predict how to do it in real life (as was the case with a child in an autism-iPad study conducted in Australia)."

Image by 3dom via FlickrCool, huh? I know Sami would love one. Here's hoping Apple takes note and maybe develops something more specific for kids with autism. Now I just need a rich anonymous benefactor, and a very thick iPad case!

spooky photos

2010-09-27T11:22:00.007-04:00

I am so excited to have a post for today's Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy. If you haven't checked out this blog, run there now!

Like some of the labels from my Vintage Bottles, I got all of these images from The Graphics Fairy. The ornament hanger was from the Dollar Tree, but was shiny gold/brass, so I spray painted it black. The frames are also sold at the Dollar Tree as place cards in the wedding aisle. Again, those were ivory, so I got out the handy spray paint for those too (if you notice, one of the frames is peeling apart a bit, I could easily glue it, I just haven't got around to it.)

I printed the images out on white paper, using Word to get them roughly the right size. Then I soaked them in coffee for 5-10 minutes. They were very delicate after I took them out, so if you try this be really gentle with the paper. I lightly crumpled, creased, or in a few cases tore the paper, then smoothed them out a little and laid them out on paper towels to dry. Once dry, you can also add drips of more coffee to give them a really aged look, but I liked the way they came out so I skipped that step.

Then I just hung them with orange embroidery thread! Since I had the spray paint and coffee, it only cost me a dollar for the frames, and a dollar for the ornament hanger. My kind of project!

The hardest part was getting the frames to all hang facing forward! Also, don't mind the black smudges of paint in the background. That's a hutch remake that we haven't quite finished yet!

Vintage Bottles

2010-09-25T12:36:00.002-04:00

I am very excited today to be joining in on the fun from the Practical Magic Blog Party! Practical Magic is one of my absolute favorite movies.

I have been inspired to finally do something with my collection of antique bottles. My collection is actually very special to me, because all of these bottles were found in our house or on our property. Like the amazing home featured in Practical Magic, we also own a Victorian, although ours is actually considered a folk Victorian, and is nowhere near as impressive as the movie home.

Anyway, on to the pictures! Most of these bottles were found while we were leveling our backyard. They were most likely tossed in a trash pit by the original owners.

I added some "potion" labels I found online. Now they remind me of the bottles in the Practical Magic home!

Some of them are more fanciful than others... I wanted to spook them up a bit so they can be used for Halloween decorations.

I only had white paper to print them on, and some of them looked too NEW, so I soaked them in coffee, wrinkled them up a bit, and once they were dry added a few more drops of coffee to make them look as if they had been used many times over and perhaps been spilled a bit.

These are my littlest bottles. Normally they sit on my kitchen windowsill with a small flower in each.

Many of the bottles are gorgeous in their own right. I stuck the labels on with double sided tape. I wanted to make sure the bottle wouldn't be permanently damaged. Unfortunately many of the labels won't stick at all as you can see in some of the pics.

Click Here! for more fabulously magical posts!

Wordless Wednesday- Be nice!

2010-09-22T19:21:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in days and I'm putting up my WW late. Blog loser! I've been super busy. Poor excuse. I am working on my project for the Practical Magic Blog Party post! If you haven't heard about it, go check it out. It looks like it's going to be a fun new way to enjoy an old favorite movie.

Midnight Margaritas, anyone?

Eye of newt, toe of frog, wing of bat, tongue of dog.
Adder’s fork and blind worm’s sting…
Barbados lime is just the thing.
Fragias salt, like a sailors stubble…
Flip the switch, and let the cauldron bubble!

On to Wordless Wednesday!

Me, reminding Elliot to Be nice to Mommy, when he was getting a little naughty. Elliot needs lots of reminding sometimes. This photo was taken while blueberry picking. We go a sand bucket FULL of blueberries for less than $5. It was awesome.

round peg, square hole

2010-09-14T18:55:00.001-04:00

This is my Sami. Isn't she just the most gorgeous little pixie you ever saw?

Ok, she's actually pretty sweaty and sticky in this picture, but she's adorable none the less. Samantha amazes me everyday. Recently we've begun to suspect that she is learning her letters. On her own. We have a sneaking suspicion she knows how her name is spelled. She can't yet put two words together, but she knows how her name is spelled.

I realize more and more all the time, that Sami is like a kid's shape sorter. You know the kind. With a little work you can get all kinds of things into it. It might take a little patience and hard work, but pretty soon it's practically full! Now for most kids, when it's time to USE those shapes, you just pop off the lid and take out the square or the diamond. For Sami, it's like taking the box and shaking it wildly all over the place. Mostly they just rattle around a lot in a really frustrating way. It's in there, she just can't get it out!

Every once in a while we get a peek. Something square falls out of the square hole and she says exactly what she wanted to say. Sometimes it comes out a whisper like she's testing it. Sometimes she works at it really hard and is proud when she gets it out.

We're pretty pleased that this year seems to be going better at school than last year. She's adjusting. It's a long day for her. Since school has started she seems a little bit more stubborn and definitely more wired at home, but compared to last year when she was just exhausted, miserable and constantly falling apart... well, wired and stubborn doesn't seem so bad.

mini project- dollar store jars

2010-09-12T12:14:00.003-04:00

I've seen similar projects on lots of websites, and I decided I had to try it myself. I purchased the jars and candlesticks at the Dollar Tree so this project cost me $6 plus the chalkboard paint and glue, which I already had on hand. You could certainly do this for cheaper (or practically free!) by using thrift store finds or what you have on hand.

Supplies

glass candlesticks (I've also seen this done with spray painted wooden or metal candlesticks)
glass jars or cups
E6000 glue (if you craft, you need this stuff on hand)
chalkboard paint (I'm a huge fan of Krylon spray paint)
painters tape
newspaper
optional dollar store decorations

The first step is to make sure your candlesticks and jars are clean with no label residue on them.( I was pretty happy at this step of the process that I had picked up some Goo Gone at the Dollar tree a few weeks prior, because those labels would have been a pain in the ass.) Then turn your cups/jars upside down, apply a thin bead of glue around the edge of the candlestick top, and plop that baby right down on the bottom of the jar.

I waited overnight to make sure they were really dry, then I put down some newspaper, taped off shapes on the front of the jars and put a few coats of chalkboard spray paint on them. I just LOVE how they came out.

What I love about them:

They were easy and cheap to make. I can use them year round. I'm going to add Halloween candy to my Dollar Tree skulls, crow & spider as soon as I pick some up. Seashells, would look great for summer, little ornaments or candy canes for winter... the possibilities are endless. Also, I'm all about chalkboard paint right now. I'd spray it all over my clothes and draw on myself if I could.

What I'd do differently:

Next time I make these I'm going to look for jars with lids. The Dollar Tree I went to only had one style of glass jar with lid, and I really wanted three slightly different jars. I think lids would really give it more of an apothecary feel.

a love affair

2010-09-10T11:11:00.002-04:00

I've been having an affair for quite a while now. Well, two actually. Since I was very young, before I even met my husband, I have loved thrift stores. My family was not loaded and we shopped at thrift stores quite a bit. Even though we had to shop there at times, it was still enjoyable. My Mom and I loved the hunt. There's something so satisfying about digging through piles of blah only to find a real gem.

Recently, I've discovered Savers. Savers is sort of like a classed up Goodwill. I find you can definitely get better prices at the smaller mom & pop thrift stores... but Savers is great for it's organization and selection.

My other love affair is more recent. It only start in the past year.

Purple.

I have a purple purse, purple phone case, 4 purple teeshirts, 2 skirts, nail polish, eye shadow, ect... even when I don't intend to buy purple, I do and don't realize it until I get home. I'm obsessed. It's terrible and wonderful.

So you can imagine my delight when I was at Savers a few weeks ago and saw this fabulous dress for $10.

Oh do I love this dress. Now, call me cheap, but $10 is the absolute max I will pay for clothes at a thrift store. Even then, I have to love it and it has to fit perfectly. Luckily, this beauty did and I'm wearing it to my Father in law's wedding tomorrow. Along with a pair of sexy black NEW heals I also got from Savers for $5.

Now let's just hope my stupidly hormonal face clears up overnight so I can get some great pics of me in the dress.

New Friend Fridays!

Wordless Wednesday- Found

2010-09-08T10:27:00.000-04:00

My Wordless Wednesdays are never actually "wordless." This sign and antique grate hang in our three season porch.

I just hung them both this weekend. The sign was from Christmas Tree shop and was only $5. If you don't have a Christmas Tree Shop near you, I'm very very sorry.

The grate was found buried in our backyard along with hundreds of glass bottles and china. Most were broken, but we found a few that were in great condition. I love discovering old and original bits of our house.

Corked

2010-09-06T14:25:00.002-04:00

This was my great grandmother's chalk/cork board. It hung in her kitchen as far back as I can remember, then it hung in my Mother's kitchen. I decided I really needed a place to keep important papers that might not be needed now, but would be soon, so my Mom passed it on to me.

First I sanded the edges, then I used Krylon chalkboard spray paint to coat the frame and green chalk surface. Since I needed to put a layer of cork on the other side anyway, I didn't bother taping it off.

I cut the roll of cork to size and stuck it on with spray adhesive, then I used some black and white gingham ribbon over the cork. I didn't have anything on hand to hold the ribbon in place (I wanted it to be temporary in case I ever want to switch it out) so I used the chalk board paint once again to coat some thumb tacks.

Krylon chalk board paint is seriously awesome stuff. It was so easy to use I made several other projects with it too, and I have more in the works. I'll post those at a later day.

The absolute BEST part of this project. It did not cost any money. I had everything on hand! It's so insanely satisfying!

In this post several people commented that they liked my daughter's room. I actually did a little more to it last night, hung a few things that I've been meaning to and so on. Here's some more pics!

Crafty

2010-09-05T18:54:00.000-04:00

Over the past two days I have completed five crafts (four of which involve chalkboard paint, and I have another planned) and helped my husband rearranged and decorate a mostly unused room. Busy busy weekend! As soon as I get all my photos organized I'll post about them.

While I was in my basement looking for various craft supplies, I found this ratty old newspaper clipping. I wish it was complete... I would have framed it and hung it up!

I do have a couple other newspapers that I would like to display someday. They are in remarkably good shape considering they are from 1893! We found them insulating the walls of our basement stairs. The joys of living in an antique house. I think I'll most likely scan and copy those. I don't think I could cut them up!

I can't believe I still have tomorrow off too. Four day weekends are quite disorientating! Not that I'm complaining. In fact, I'm wondering what else I can create before I have to go back to work.

repurposed and girly

2010-09-02T12:06:00.005-04:00

Years ago I had a skirt. I think I bought it on clearance, probably at Target, like so many of my clothes. I loved this skirt. The pattern and the colors were so me. However, the length... was not so me. I'm 5'5" (average, not short!) and this skirt was neither long nor short. Just not good. Also, it had a broken zipper. So it sat in my closet for years.

One day, as I was painting an accent wall in my daughter's room, it suddenly struck me where I had seen that particular shade of purple before.

Since I had never worn the skirt, I decided it would make a perfect valance for my daughter's single window. True, it's a bit longer than a typical valance, but I like it. For now, because I was able to simply rip the seam and stick the rod through the top hem, it's just on a pressure rod. I may eventually put it on a real curtain rod, but that would require some finagling, and this was just too easy.

Those little fairies above the window are left over decorations from her first birthday. I got them at the Dollar store.

Speaking of faries...

I used to collect Tinkerbell stuff. I've loved the spunky little fairy since I was little. Now that I have my own little pixie named Sami, I thought it was only fitting that I passed my collection on to her. Dollar store mirror and a $3 flower shelf from Savers.

It works wonderfully in my daughter's room! I have a few framed prints I'd like to hang too. I'm so glad the things I cherished when I was little have new purpose and aren't collecting dust in a box.

Welcome Wednesday

2010-09-01T12:21:00.001-04:00

This looks like a neat way to find new bloggers!

Wordless Wednesday- Back to school

2010-09-01T10:48:00.001-04:00

I swear he's happier about back to school than he looks here!

Also! Those stupid beads! My husband gets the kids on the bus in the mornings because I'm driving a bus in the next town over. I leave Anthony's clothes out for him, but apparently he decided to add some crappy old mardi gras beads .

the wheels on the bus

2010-08-31T17:58:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is my first day back at work. It was such a nice summer vacation... I wouldn't have minded another week or so. Hopefully tomorrow will go smoothly. The worst we usually get on the first day are students who aren't out on time, and of course terrible traffic at the schools. Here's hoping that THAT particular problem gets sorted out this year. Since 20 school buses have to pull into those schools twice a day, you'd think they could come up with a better design than what we're dealing with now. It could be worse I guess.

I am looking forward to seeing some of the kids I've had in years past who are really great. I'm also looking forward to seeing the kindergarten kids on their first day (Friday I think) because they are usually SO excited and I love being a part of that. I have had one or two kids who cried because they were scared to leave their parents, and that breaks my heart, but as soon as we get going they stopped.

BTW Moms and Dads, if you have a little one who seems really afraid to get on the bus, try driving them to school in the morning, but sending them home on the bus in the afternoon. I never have kids cry in the afternoon. They usually have someone they want to sit with, something that happened during their school day that they're excited about, and look forward to getting home. Also! Remind your kids often that if somebody is bothering them on the bus to tell the driver right away! The driver is paying attention to the road first and foremost. We try our hardest to make sure nobody is getting bullied or teased, but the fact is we can't always catch everything. Tell the driver right away so it doesn't get out of hand!

fly me to the moon

2010-08-28T23:21:00.004-04:00

We had a lovely, lovely time on our minivacation. We stayed at a beautiful place, Gabriel's at Ashbrooke. Our room was beautiful, clean and sunny. There was a lovely little balcony with a view of a charming little courtyard and a view of Pilgrim Monument. There was a great background music being piped into the room, and my husband discovered a new love... the Rat Pack.

We arrived early afternoon on Sunday and immediately walked down to Commercial Street for lunch. We had skipped breakfast and were very hungry! We went to the Governor Bradford, and I wished I had read the reviews first. While the food was ok, the service was terrible. We didn't let that ruin our mood for even a minute. Instead we walked around a bit more, popping into little shops and generally just enjoying each others company.

After a while we went back to our room, changed our clothes, took out my little netbook and browsed local restaurants for a place to have dinner. Before we ate we went to The Patio for a drink.

The bartender was friendly and made great drinks. I had a watermelon mojito and it was as tasty as it was strong. I only had one!

Since we both love Thai food, we decided to check out Thai Sushi Cafe at the Gifford House. It was early when we arrived, so there was only one other table of diners. The room was lovely and quiet and the service was great. I tried a Thai beer for the first time and really enjoyed it, especially with the spring rolls I shared with my husband. We both ordered chicken Pad Thai for our dinner and it was SO GOOD.

After dinner we wandered around a while, hoping to catch a show or find some sort of entertainment. There were a few shows that were starting later that I wanted to check out, but we were pretty tired and didn't want to be out too late. Believe it or not, we ended up back at the Governor Bradford! This time we sat at the bar to watch Drag Karaoke with Dana Danzel. It was fabulous! So so so much fun, and there was no cover so it's good for a cheap night. However, the mixed drinks were not so great :(

The next morning we slept late, a rare treat. Then we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the Great Room of Gabriel's. It was such a nice way to start the day. Unfortunately, the day was rainy and miserable! My husband and I decided we were not going to let that bring us down. We headed out with an umbrella and determination. Again, we popped in and out of shops. After we grabbed some sandwiches, it was nap time. A nap... yet another rare treat!

Later on we headed out again to brave the wind and rain. This time we went to Saki for a small early dinner. The building was a beautiful renovated church. It seemed modern, cozy and sophisticated, with recognizable bones of the old church. There was a great mural behind the bar, which happened to be empty... once again we were out earlier than most. The bartender was wonderful, he gave us a couple samples of saki since we were completely ignorant of what it tasted like. We chose an unfiltered saki and shared a tempura vegetable plate. It was heavenly.

I could eat tempura vegetables every day.

We hoped to find some entertainment that night, but it was so miserable out we didn't want to wander around. Despite the fact that the drinks weren't great, we headed back to the Governor Bradford! I just loved watching the karaoke. I would never participate (my voice is terrible) but we both had a great time watching the show. Dana Danzel was a riot, and there seemed to be several very talented regulars. We ordered beer to avoid the less than stellar mixed drinks, and we had a great time.

The next morning we enjoyed another great breakfast then checked out of our room. We both were homesick and missing the kids. Of course, one more night might have been nice too! Anyhow, we checked out, then walked around one last time, picking out some salt water taffy for Anthony and looking for something little for the babes.

When we got home and picked up the kids they seemed so happy to see us. It was the best feeling ever. I got so many great hugs from them. Hopefully, hubby and I will get a chance to get away and have some nice one on one time again.

no rain

2010-08-21T18:01:00.000-04:00

I still have so much to do :( I will not have time to get myself a manicure today. Quite frankly, I'll probably be plucking my eyebrows in the vanity mirror on the drive there. I was able to get to Target for a strapless bra and a light sweater. I have a closet full of sun dresses and I plan to wear nothing but while we're in P-Town. I did pack a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts, but I fully intend for them to stay in the bag unless absolutely necessary. Unfortunately the forecast is not looking good.

Curse you, Mother Nature! I'm trying to remain optimistic and ignore all those cartoon clouds. It's not going to rain, and we're going to have a wonderful time walking around sunny Cape Cod! (But I bought a nice umbrella while I was out shopping.)

Friday Fill-Ins #190

2010-08-20T11:44:00.003-04:00

1. Laughter is the best medicine.

2. "To whom this" are the three words that started off the last email I sent.

3. What I'm most looking forward to today is checking items off my to-do list.

4. Baby kisses puts a smile on my face.

5. Where in the world are my tweezers?!

6. A vacation is just what I needed!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting the house settled, tomorrow my plans include packing and Sunday, I want to get an early start on our trip!

This was my first Friday Fill In and I liked it!

soooo much to do

2010-08-20T10:39:00.000-04:00

This Sunday my husband and I are going away for the first time in over five years. We're only going for a two nights and three days, and only an hours drive from home, but I'm looking forward to it like crazy! We'll be staying at a bed and breakfast in Provincetown on Cape Cod. It looks like a beautiful place and it's right in the middle of all the action.

I definitely need the time away. I'm going to miss my babies like crazy though. I've never been away from Elliot overnight, and I've only been away from Samantha when I was in the hospital having Elliot. I know I'm leaving them in the best hands, but it's going to be a challenge to enjoy myself completely and not call home every ten minutes. Anthony will be in hog heaven, I'm sure. He loves spending time with our family.

Today and tomorrow... UGH I have so much to do. I have a sneaking suspicion that the not-so-fun stuff that I have to do is going to interfere with the more enjoyable stuff I want to do. Like getting a mani/pedi and shopping for a couple small things. Doing the have-to's is so responsible and yucky!

careful what you wish for

2010-08-19T12:51:00.000-04:00

Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I was hoping I'd have something interesting to write about today. A morning trip to the ER was not the inspiration I was hoping for. Now, let me just start off by saying everyone is ok!
Samantha woke up a little early this morning, but she was playing happily in her room, so we left her there. Around 7:30 I heard her crying, so I ran in to check on her. She was sitting on the floor crying next to a light cord (unplugged) that we had attached to the wall with staples like these.
A few months ago I noticed some of the staples seemed loose, so I pulled them out. As she was sitting there crying, I suddenly realized I could not remember if I had taken out 2 or 3 staples. There were 3 holes in the wall. So if I had only taken out 2, we had a problem. She was crying and had her hands to her mouth, but that's pretty normal for her when she's upset. I didn't see any blood, but I was still worried.
A while back, I saw a clip on America's Funniest Home Video's of a little girl who had swallowed a coin, and they used a metal detector to check if it had passed yet. Similar to this. I borrowed my Dad's metal detector, but unfortunately it could only sense the staples if the sensitivity was turned up all the way, and then it beeped at everything. It was pretty inconclusive. At that point we had two choices... wait and see, or go for an x-ray. Samantha has words, but she's still not "talking" and isn't able to tell us how she feels, so I just wasn't comfortable with waiting it out. I just knew that any little cry or whimper all day would send me into a panic that her insides were getting torn up.
Off to the ER we went. Luckily it was pretty quick, and Samantha handled it fairly well. She was frustrated and bored, but still pretty well behaved for a 3 year old in a hospital. Long story short, they took two x-rays and didn't find anything. The nurses there were super sweet and gave Sami a really nice teddy bear.
Now I'm going to go tear her room apart, and possibly pad the walls.

I want to... I really do

2010-08-18T23:33:00.001-04:00

Should I start blogging again? I don't really have anything profound to say. I'm not that exciting. I might just bore everyone to tears.

Yup. Gonna do it.

feb vacation

2010-02-19T11:20:00.002-05:00

I'm seven days into Feb vacation and I'm just now sitting down to blog. I've had free time here and there, just not the kind of free time that allows for organized thoughts. Let's separate this down to categories, shall we?
The kids... Well, it's vacation week, so I've got all three of them. All day. That's the nice thing about work. I can't wait to get home to see the kids. I miss them so much. No work = no chance to miss the little ~~devils~~ darlings.
Anthony is doing alright. He finished a big book report project just before vacation started, so he's pretty happy to not have any homework this week.
Samantha is a sweet pea as usual. She has an appointment this afternoon to get her hip checked. It keeps popping and her foot turns in when she walks. Cross your fingers that it's nothing because this poor kid does not need any more issues! Also, she apparently loves furries :/ We saw a giant kangaroo and koala at the mall the other day, and she ran right up to them, waved and yelled, "HI!"
Elliot is SO close to crawling. He gets all over the place now, he just can't manage to get one knee in front of the other in the typical crawling style. He's also picking up microscopic specks off the carpet and eating them. Gross.
The House... We're refinancing! On Monday we're signing papers. Yippie lower payments! We're also going from a 40 year to a 30 year loan. Our house appraised for more than we were expecting. This means we don't have to pay March's payment either, so I think the hubby plans on putting that money towards expanding the deck. All around great news.
Weight loss... I have a gym buddy now! It's so nice to have someone to go with. I'm down over 36 pounds so far. Less than 10 pounds to go. I've been using my wii fit plus on my days off from the gym and I LOVE it. That thing is awesome. I definitely need to start toning, clothes are fitting better, but I'm still quite jiggly. EW. Let's face it, I'm never going to be seen wearing a bikini again. I have the worst stretch marks of any one I know. Roseanne Barr once said, “The only way to get rid of stretch marks is to put on ten more pounds just to bang them out.” I'll stick with one piece bathing suits.

preschool evals

2010-02-06T08:47:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy week at our house. Samantha had preschool evaluations this week. I can't even handle it. She's still a baby! Ok, she's not a baby. She'll be three in May and that's when she'll be officially starting, but wooo she still feels like my baby. Anyway, she already seems to love her school. When we left after Friday's evaluation I told her, "Say 'Bye bye, school!'" and she signed and said "More!" So I'm sure I'll be the one crying her first ~~day~~ week (or three) of school.

Elliot is teething which has been a bit hellish. He has his two bottom teeth and one top. He's chewing on his hands so much they're turning bright red. My poor little guy. But he's soooo smart. He gives me kisses when I ask him. Disgusting, spitty, open mouth, wonderful kisses. And he knows what "clap" means and will clap when you ask him too. He's still not crawling properly, but it's amazing how far he can get by going backwards, spinning and rolling.

Not much else going on. I'm trying to get to the gym more and I'm down just over 30lbs now. Go me! I want a Wii Fit Plus like crazy! WANT.

101

2010-01-17T19:19:00.000-05:00

My last post? The one where I was all bitching and feeling sorry for my self? It was my 100th. Nice.

The day got better. See?

Calgon take me away

2010-01-16T11:20:00.001-05:00

Most days it does not matter one bit that Samantha is autistic. She is so wonderful and sweet and generally easy, that most days it's not even an issue. But some days the simplest of things are challenging. I brought Anthony to karate this morning, which is a completely normal thing... parents do it every day. For me it was almost a nightmare.

First there was no parking near the door, so I put Samantha's monkey leash on her so I didn't have to worry about her letting go of my hand and running across the parking lot while I was also carrying Elliot. We got to the front door and my heart sank. Stairs. Sam doesn't do well on stairs. She can climb them, but she likes to hold my hand, and she's not very good at all going down them. By the time I managed to get all the kids out of the car, across the parking lot and up the stairs the class had already started and I didn't get a chance to talk to Anthony's teacher. All Sami wanted to do was run into the middle of the class, so I was holding her back with the leash while trying not to drop Elliot who had just decided that it was the perfect time to wiggle. Oh, and some weird guy decided it was ok to touch my baby's face just then too. Creep. So Sami was whining and pulling, Elliot was squirming all over the place and I was getting hot and lightheaded in the small foyer. I totally should have had breakfast before we left. I finally asked some of the other parents if they knew if it was ok if I just dropped him off since his uncle was going to be there for the next class shortly and was taking him home. One mom said she knew there were some parents who do that (hanging in the air that she was NOT one of those parents) and that if I could if I was comfortable with it. Another mom offered to keep an eye on him until his uncle got there. I picked up Sami under one arm, Elliot under the other and high tailed it out of there.

I felt like such a loser mom. I need an Advil. Or four.

music man

2010-01-12T12:41:00.002-05:00

progress?

2010-01-11T11:16:00.001-05:00

Look! The "holiday weight" is gone! That makes me happy.

I'm eating better but I still haven't made it to the gym. I don't know what it is but it seems like I have less time than I did before the holidays. I AM starting to feel motivated again though. I was pretty disappointed that I did not hit my second mini goal. I was 6 lbs over what I had hoped to be at New Years. Oh well, moving forward... just keep swimming... all that crap.

back to the gym

2010-01-09T11:30:00.005-05:00

Back in October my husband and I joined a gym. I ate right, tracked my foods on the Daily Plate, and went to the gym. By the end of November, I had lost 20lbs... half of what I need to lose. Then the holidays hit. I hate the holidays. I haven't been to the gym since just before Thanksgiving and I have been eating terribly. I've gained back 2lbs. That's not a lot, I know, but I feel like shit so it's time to get back to it.

Starting today I'm tracking my calories again, and hopefully sometime this weekend I'll get my ass to the gym as well. Tracking calories is important for me. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but it definitely does for me. Plus, I'm still nursing Elliot, so I have to be very careful I'm getting enough calories.

*ahem* I just completely lost my train of thought. While I was searching Google images for a scale to use for this post, I discovered this...

The Toilet Scale

WTF!? Seriously, that is one of the strangest things I've seen in a long time.

previews

2010-01-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

My obstetrician once told me about a study a colleague of hers did when they were in school together. She had a theory that a child's temperament the first hour or so after birth was indicative of their temperament as children, and apparently she found some evidence to back her theory up. Quite frankly, I'm not surprised.
Let's start with Anthony... one of the most memorable things about newborn Anthony was that he was very chatty. He was only hours old and he was ooo-ing and ahh-ing like babies that age are not supposed to be doing yet. Eight years later and he still hasn't stopped talking. His first words were at 8 months old!
Samantha on the other hand... as soon as she opened her eyes she was being sweet and lovey and quiet. That STILL describes her perfectly.
And then there's Elliot. Oh boy, Elliot. He was angry. I could not believe what an angry cry that little baby had. It has been just over seven months, and he's the sweetest little guy 90% of the time. He loves to cuddle and kiss. He has an adorable smile and an infectious laugh. But he has the angriest, most ear piercing cry! When he doesn't get what he wants you had better watch out. I hope this is a phase. A seven month phase and not a glimpse of what I'm in for!

Dirty laundry

2010-01-03T14:36:00.001-05:00

Dirty laundry. Yes, I have lots of it. And I don't mean that in a Desperate Housewives, whispers behind your back kind of way. I mean literal dirty laundry. I can't believe how much laundry we have in our house, and I do not understand it can pile up the way it does. I think part of our problem is that nobody in this house has a good place to put the clean clothes, and it all ends up staying in baskets, which eventually gets tossed about and grungy and needs to be washed all over again.

Also, folding laundry is a problem for me. I actually don't mind it at all. My issue is Samantha likes to help. She sees me taking clothes from one basket, folding it, then putting it in another basket, and she tries to do the same. Sadly, she has not quite mastered folding and sorting. She IS really good at undoing everything I do. Elliot doesn't mind if I fold, but he'd like to be sitting on my lap while I do it. Kind of tough to do.

Also, in order of most to least clothes:

Chooch
Samantha
Anthony
Elliot
Me :(

Mama needs a new wardrobe.

At the moment both Sami and Elliot are napping, so I'm cutting this short so I can get back to sorting and folding. The hardest part is actually filling laundry baskets with clothes my babies have outgrown. Sami's cute spring dresses and outfits Elliot wore once, if at all before he outgrew them. Sad Mommy.

Photohunt: lick

2010-01-02T11:28:00.000-05:00

This is Samantha last summer at her friend Sabrina's house. It was unseasonably hot that day and all the kids were SO happy to have popsicles.

Photohunt Saturday!

Happy New Years!

2010-01-01T09:53:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice New Years eve. Mine was very low key but perfect. We stopped by a friends house early in the night. Didn't get to stay long because we had other plans as well, but it was really nice to catch up and hang out.

Then we went to the Chinese food place down the street for food with more friends. (Incidentally, I just learned that Chinese food on New Years is a New England thing. The rest of the country should take note. It's a fun tradition.) After we all shared our pu pu platter for two, we came back to my house, ate some brownies and peanut butter cookies and played wii. Well, I watched them play. I'm not a video game person. The only game I've ever been good at was duck hunt.

We also wrote our resolutions on slips of paper and then put them in the fire. I wrote down several things, one of which I'm sure is probably one of the most common resolutions... go to the gym more!

Then I had another cookie.

Fred

2009-12-30T17:32:00.005-05:00

Today has been spent hanging out at my mom's house with the kids. Samantha's ABA therapist comes on Mon-Tues-Thur and she's currently switching speech therapists so we had a rare day off today. They do great work with Sami... in a short time we've already seen changes, but it's really nice to have a day off.

My Mom made this great stupid sock creature for Anthony. She had to kind of wing it, but I think it came out great.

His name is Fred. I come from a long line of extremely talented... sock... crafters. Yeah.

My grand plans for the rest of the night: Get Chooch to watch He Who Must Be Held so I can clean the kitchen. I have all the ingredients for peanut butter cookies and coconut macaroons, but the kitchen is too trashed for baking!

Wordless Wednesday: Babes in Blue

2009-12-30T11:16:00.001-05:00

Here we go again.

2009-12-29T17:18:00.008-05:00

It has been a very long time since I wrote. I'm hoping that now that I have my sweet, lovely little netbook it'll be a little easier for me to post.

There have been quite a few ups and downs since I last posted, and we have a lot to be thankful for. Elliot was born on June 1st, 2009. He is now almost 7 months old and we love him so SO much. He's an absolute peach and never cries (as long as you are constantly holding him, that it.)

Shortly after Elliot was born, Samantha was diagnosed with autism. It's mild, and we are very lucky it was diagnosed so early. She's seeing an ABA therapist 3 times a week as well as a speech therapist. I won't lie, at first we took the news pretty hard, but I got over it quick. Really, there was nothing to get over. She's still the sweetest, most wonderful girl there is. She learns a little differently than other kids (she has a hard time following directions, but catches on very quickly when shown how to do something,) she gets overwhelmed a little easier than some kids (too much going on and she has a hard time focusing and paying attention,) and her language skills are behind, but she's making lots of progress.

I just want to be clear, Sami has autism, but that is not all she is. She's funny, sweet, loving, friendly, happy, playful... "autistic" is at the bottom of the list of things that make her who she is, and what is important about her.

Oh yeah, then there's that other child of mine. Anthony. I'm silently shaking my fist at him right now. Boy, you better start doing your homework! Honestly he has been wonderful through these rough months. A new baby in the house, appointment after appointment for Sami... he's older and we expect him to be able to wait and wait while his younger siblings are dealt with first. He might grumble a bit, but he's really a huge help and he plays so well with them.

So that's it. I'm really going to try to keep up with this thing!

2009-05-04T07:31:00.000-04:00

My little girl is 2 today! I'm going to start posting again, I swear. My computer keeps freezing in a very annoying manner. But I WILL be back!

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house stuff and muffins

2009-03-22T12:20:00.006-04:00

Um... so, Hi! Yeah, it's been a while since I've written anything. I'm lame. We've had several projects coming along around here lately. We painted Samantha's room so it's no long HOT PINK. It is now a lovely shade of light green Valspar calls Summer Rapture. It's lovely and bright and neutral for a room shared by a little girl and boy. It really brightened it up in there and it makes me feel happy every time I walk in. All the furniture is back in, the ceiling is painted and the ceiling fan has been switched to a simple white one. I still need to get some white curtains and use the fabric that I bought to sew valances, 2 dust ruffles, a crib bumper and two blankets. Since Elliot will be in our room for a few months anyway, Sami's pink stuff will work for now.

We also bought a great hutch that we're doing some work too. I'll post pics of that as soon as it's done. AND!!! We installed our tin ceiling in our kitchen. It looks SOOO nice. We're just waiting for the company to send us a couple pieces of crown molding that were on back order, and the it'll be done and I'll post pics of that too. I just love how it came out.

I've also been pretty busy, um... baking muffins. So far we've had banana, cranberry peach, strawberry (too sweet in my opinion), and today blueberry (the best so far.) I have an unhealthy love of muffins.

Also, if any of you are members of Swap Mama's (and if you're not, you should be) here's some of the things I have listed to swap, ready to be mailed out to anyone who needs it.

Twitterpated. For realz.

2009-03-13T10:10:00.002-04:00

Do you guys remember that scene in Bambi where they all get Twitterpated. And no, I don't mean this kind of Twitterpated.

I mean this...

That is what all the kids on the bus have been like lately. Even the little ones who aren't technically flirting, still seem to have caught the bug and are hopping out of their seats and acting generally more rambunctious. I assume it's the same in the classrooms, so to all you teachers, I'm very sorry.

Wordless Wednesday: Tony in a box

2009-03-04T09:59:00.001-05:00

Anthony, 3 years old.

a day for ME

2009-03-02T18:21:00.003-05:00

Despite that fact that it snowed (even though I very firmly stated that there would be no more snow allowed) I had a pretty nice day today. School was canceled, so I got to sleep late (you know... 7am instead of 5:30) and I didn't have to deal with a sore back from the tension of driving a ginormous school bus full of kids in nasty weather. Then we had a super late breakfast of banana pancakes and scrambled eggs.

Later on, I looked in the mirror and screamed in horror at the state of my eyebrows. They were beginning to take over my entire face. In my defense, I usually pluck them long before they get that bad, but I can no longer get close enough to my bathroom mirror to do a good job because my stomach hits the counter in a very uncomfortable way. Since Sami was napping, Chooch was home and I had a gift card to the salon at the mall anyway I decided to just go get them waxed. It has been so long since I've had them done professionally.

It was wonderfully relaxing, just laying there with my eyes closed, letting someone else do all the work. Even if waxing isn't the most comfortable thing ever. I kept wishing I could make it last longer. Tell the nice lady to keep the hot wax coming. But.... I didn't want to end up with eyebrows so thin they looked like they'd been drawn on with a Sharpie. eeeek.

Then I wandered down to Borders where I had another gift card to use. Unfortunately as I walked in I saw one of the second graders from my bus, and quite frankly, I get enough of this particular kid while I'm working. So I was in and out of there a bit faster than I would have liked. I did manage to pick up a book for myself, and I stopped at the cafe' for a small chai tea latte. Yum.

After that I wandered around a bit. Found a cute "Mommy Loves Me" onesie for Elliot for $1 at Target. Window shopped a bit more. It was just nice to go out to the mall, by myself, with no real goal or mission, and no real time limit. Of course, if I had stayed much longer my back and feet might have started protesting, but it really ended up being a pretty good day.

PhotoHunt: Thankful

2009-02-28T08:34:00.004-05:00

February 28 - thankful

This is the first glimpse we ever saw of our house. It was the picture posted on the realty listing. It still has the awful fake brick siding a year and a half later. But it's ours, and for that I am extremely thankful.

six things: smile

2009-02-28T07:34:00.009-05:00

2/28 – 6 things that never fail to make you smile

This one seems easy.

Samantha. She is seriously the sweetest little girl. I dare anybody to not smile when she turns on the charm.
Anthony. Now... sometimes I don't want to smile at him. Sometimes he's getting in trouble for something, but manages to say something so dramatic/profound/just damn funny, and I can't help but smile.
Actually, he must get that from his father, because the same can clearly be said for him. Even when he's being a total AssHat, my husband still makes me smile. I hate that.
Baby animals. Kittens, puppies, bunnies, baby pygmy hippopotamus... doesn't matter. I get all gooey.
Flowers. In particular Lily of the Valley. Seems like a silly one, but they remind me of several things that were and are important to me. And they smell so wonderful. Someday, I want to get a tattoo, maybe on the back of my shoulder, of a small bouquet of Lily of the Valley.
Ok this last one is hard, because I can think of a few more things that make me smile. My family, a good book, all of my ultrasounds, blah blah blah. I'm pregnant, so I'm going to go with this:
I really like cupcakes.

you'll thank me

2009-02-27T17:34:00.008-05:00

Ok folks, I just have to get a little bossy and demand that everyone go over to Swap Mama's right now and join. It's amazing. Here's an explanation of How It Works. And trust me, it works. Here's how I described it to a friend...

Basically if you have stuff you no longer need, you offer it there. And you can browse in groups to see if anyone has anything you need. So you swap stuff. Sometimes people have stuff to offer, but they don't want anything in return, and sometimes they do. No $ is supposed to be exchanged to keep it simple, so the GIVER pays shipping, but if you give and get it hopefully evens out.

In my last post you saw a cute picture of Samantha wearing a pink striped shirt with a little seahorse on it, with a matching polka dot sweater. That came from Auds @ Barking Mad. She is also a member of Swap Mama's. She posted some dresses, and even though I didn't have anything she was specifically looking for, she sent them to me (along with so many other beautiful clothes I can't even breathe) and I'll be sending her some fabulous jewelry. Well, as fabulous as I'm capable of making with my own two hands.

Anyway, a few days earlier I got a box of great clothes for Sami from another user, gsdane. Here's everything altogether!

I know, right? TONS of awesome clothes. And that's not even all of it because Sami has already worn a few of the cooler weather outfits. I won't need to buy anything for Sami this summer. Woohoo!

So I think everyone should join. The more people there are, the more chance there is that someone will have something you need, and that you'll have something someone else needs. Another user described it as "...more wholesome than Craigslist, more convenient and simple than Ebay." and I agree 100%.

a nice February day

2009-02-27T14:42:00.004-05:00

Samantha enjoying a beautiful day outside Nanny's house. Note the adorable shirt and sweater she is wearing... I'll be discussing this in my next post.

And chillin' in the new minivan. I'm almost done scrubbing the inside. Tomorrow I'll finish that (just the front dash area to go) and then I'll give it a vacuum and power wash at the carwash down the street.

I have to say, I LOVE that this minivan has the LATCH system for the carseats. I've always been really careful about installing it in the Grand Prix, but it never seemed as secure and tight as it does now.

Wordless Wednesday: Babe in a box!

2009-02-25T17:25:00.001-05:00

she needs a name

2009-02-24T17:31:00.005-05:00

Well, we bought a caravan. I'll be a lot more excited about it once I get it clean. This thing is disgusting. There's gum smashed into the carpet and all sorts of unidentifiable gunk in the cracks and cup holders. If you were going to try to sell your car for a substantial amount of money, wouldn't you clean it first?!

If I had gone with the husband to go see it (like I wanted to) I probably would have asked that we keep looking. It's a great car, I just didn't want to deal with this. SO gross. I can't wait until it's sparkly and nice.

I really am happy. It's exactly what we need, and it's going to be so much easier and more convenient with the kids. I'm happy with it, but not in love with it. I need to make it feel like our new car, instead of some icky old hand-me-down.

Chooch thinks I'm completely ungrateful and is barely speaking to me. I'm going to go eat some ice cream.

editing to add: I just spent an hour vacuuming the caravan in the driveway so I can wash all the carpets/upholstery tomorrow... I put the passenger side window down to put the vacuum cord through, and it won't go back up! Or move at all!

PhotoHunt: Warm

2009-02-21T20:16:00.008-05:00

Two posts in a day... crazy, I know. But I like this idea...

February 21 - warm

Our wood stove keeps us nice toasty warm in our drafty old house. I LOVE when Chooch gets home and starts a fire on a cold day. I'm not so good at getting it lit, but I can usually keep it going.

six things: Flasher!

2009-02-21T09:36:00.003-05:00

2/21 – 6 things you would be willing to flash someone for

A minivan! More on this later.*
The infant car seat that matches my delicious new Sit n' Stand double stroller. Do I need it? No. Do I want it. YES.
A diamond pendant for my gold chain. I have a nice gold chain, with nothing on it. My husband has not given me any jewelry since our wedding rings. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE my rings. But he only gets credit for them for so long.
Granite counter tops and new cabinets for the kitchen. We ordered fabulous tin ceiling tiles that I love the look of and match the age/style of our house. But we still have the crappiest, cheapest counters and cabinets ever
.
A sweet new camera. Mine pretty much sucks.
Laptop. I would love a laptop. I would make out with it a little bit.

The good news is, I don't think I'll actually be flashing anyone for any of these things. Nobody wants to see this right now. Trust me.

*Back to #1... We're going to go look at minivans tomorrow!!! I'm so thrilled. We're going to buy used, because we do not need and/or want a car payment right now. But I don't care. The thought of having to try to fit two car seats, a booster seat and my new monster of a double stroller in the Grand Prix was stressing me out.

I'm honestly just amazed my husband is agreeing with this. Last time we bought a "family" car was 7 years ago. He researched it and decided that the only car he would accept was a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. And it had to be a GTP because it's supercharged. It was pretty much the sportiest car, in our price range that had my one and only requirement of FOUR doors. If I suggested a minivan back then (and I think I may have) he would have laughed in my face and said, "NEVER!" (I think he did.)

My honey is growing up.

Anyway, I can't wait to go looking tomorrow, and I swear if the weather ruins this for me I'm going to be pissed. I'd like to say we'll just go another time, but who knows when Chooch will have the ambition for this again. He loses intrest in things pretty quick, so you have to strike while you can.

Recipe Swap: thanks Betty!

2009-02-20T08:38:00.004-05:00

Betty Crocker emailed me this recipe this week and I am dying to try it. Sounds SO good! Or maybe I'm just pregnant and hungry???

Turkey Polpettone

Prep Time: 20 min

Total Time: 45 min

Makes: 4 servings

Patties
1	lb ground turkey
1/2	cup Progresso® Italian style bread crumbs
2	tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
1	egg yolk
2	teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1 1/2	teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1/2	teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1	teaspoon sea salt, preferably gray salt
	Freshly ground black pepper
2	oz whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 4 equal pieces
Coating
1/2	cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper
1	cup Progresso® panko crispy bread crumbs
1	egg
	Olive oil for frying

1.Heat oven to 350ºF. Place turkey in large bowl. Add remaining burger ingredients except cheese; work in gently by hand. Divide mixture into 8 equal pieces. Flatten each piece into round patty. Top 4 of the patties with a piece of cheese and then with second patty. By hand, press edges together to seal and make patties of even thickness.

2.On separate sheets of waxed paper, place seasoned flour and panko bread crumbs. In shallow bowl, beat egg lightly. Coat patties lightly with flour mixture, next dip into egg and then coat with bread crumbs, pressing crumbs gently onto patties.

3.Heat 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add enough olive oil until 1/8 inch deep. When oil is hot, add patties. Cook about 1 1/2 minutes until nicely browned, then turn and cook other sides 1 to 2 minutes or until browned. Place skillet with patties in oven; bake about 10 minutes until turkey is no longer pink in center.

Wordless Wednesday: Valentine's Day 2009

2009-02-18T14:36:00.000-05:00

Busy weekend!

2009-02-17T16:44:00.005-05:00

What did I do this weekend? Saturday I busted my butt gutting, cleaning and decorating our bedroom. It's been clean before, but never decorated. Still needs a few things, but I'm very happy with it. Click here for pics or see the slideshow below.

Then Sunday my husband and I went and got this great hutch for our dining room that we're going to refinish. Very excited about that. And THEN on Monday my FIL came over and re-textured Samantha's ceiling so that I can paint it sometime this week.

Of course, now the kitchen and living room are completely neglected and trashed. So I should be doing that instead of you know... sitting here telling all of you about it.

SOB

2009-02-11T05:25:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I made a big pot of soup. I was very proud of my soup. I took pictures of it for chrissakes! I used left over ham, some stuff that was in my cabinet, and spent less than $3 at the store for everything in it. I was super careful to makes sure it was safe for Samantha to eat too... the broth had no soy in it (most brands do) and it had no dairy either.

I had two bowls for dinner, and Samantha had a cup of it. We both loved it. I was planning on freezing half of it today.

Last night Chooch came home and instead of heating up a bowl, he plugged the hot pot back in. And fell asleep. He ruined a huge pot of soup that I worked really hard on. I cried when he told me. I was going to take a picture of the evidence, but honestly I can't bear it. ugh.

24 weeks and counting

2009-02-07T14:09:00.003-05:00

I am 24 weeks pregnant today. I'm finally over The Black Death of all Viruses. I'm still congested, and occasionally have a coughing fit or two, but all in all I'm much better. Feeling just a bit bitter though... in one more week I'll officially be in my third trimester. I totally missed out on the second trimester energy boost. Lame. The third trimester aches and pains have already started. Not fair. I have sciatica so bad I limp! There aren't enough pillows sold in Walmart to make me comfortable at night.

However, my belly is looking pretty cute.

I think I look a bit bigger than 24 weeks, and no, I'm not having twins. I have finally gained some weight though. Two pounds! And since lil Elliot weighs over a pound himself, I feel pretty ok about those two pounds! I definitely don't feel bigger anywhere but my belly. Quite a difference from my last pregnancies.

On to my other babe. Sami insisted on feeding herself her morning oatmeal today. I thought it went pretty well.

Of course, she did manage to rub it into her hair when I wasn't looking. Of course!

It's conditioning, right?

my husband, the con

2009-02-07T10:18:00.005-05:00

Oooooh boy did my husband have a day yesterday! He got arrested! Put in the back of a cop car. Had to sit in a jail cell for an hour, and was brought into court in shackles. Why?

Because 12 years ago, when he was 18 years old, he bounced a check at Sears. The debt was settled and dismissed, but apparently someone screwed up, because yesterday a cop ran his plates at a stop light and found out that he had a warrant. For a twelve year old bounced check to Sears!The absurdity of it all doesn't end there. When they arrived at the police station an officer had in one hand a piece of paper saying that the charges against Chooch had been dropped, and in the other hand had a paper with the same date, issuing a warrant for his arrest. The officer called a clerk at the courthouse and tried to get it settled over the phone, but because the case was so old, and there was no paperwork associated with the case still in existence, they were told that he HAD to appear in court.

So hubby was driven in handcuffs in the back of a cop car two towns over to the courthouse. Luckily, after he was brought into the room in cuffs and shackles, the judge pretty much took one look at the case and dismissed it.

We all had a pretty good laugh about it. I mean, I'd love to say it's something that could happen to anyone. (Who hasn't bounced a check when they were a teenager?) But no. This is exactly the type of thing that happens to my dear husband. The good news is that it happened now, and not when we were, you know... on the way to the hospital to deliver the baby, or at some other equally inconvenient moment.

Still, it's not all funny. He did lose a day's pay AND have to shell out $90 to get his car out of impound.

a rose by any other name

2009-02-03T09:53:00.005-05:00

So Chooch and I have picked a name. No middle name quite yet, but I don't think that'll be as hard. It's strange though... in the process of choosing a name I think Chooch and I were a little surprised how strongly people can feel about a name for someone else's child. We decided to name our little boy Elliot, and while I am absolutely thrilled and feel like it's the right name, I still feel like Oliver was sort of ruined for me. While many many people loved the name, quite a few hated it too, and had no problem telling either me or Chooch that. That seems so odd to me. I would never tell a friend that I couldn't stand a name they had chosen for a child. I'd keep it to myself, and there have certainly been times in the past when I've done just that.

I think people forget that the child makes the name. Even if a name reminds you of somebody from some stupid commercial, as soon as that baby's personality starts coming through they will forever change the name to anyone who knows them.

All that aside, as I said, Elliot feels right. The people whose opinions matter love it as much as Chooch and I do, and I think it fits nicely with Anthony and Samantha. I'm SOOOOO happy we finally have a name!

I'm a winner?!

2009-01-31T14:04:00.005-05:00

I won something! I never win stuff! I went a little overboard at the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival and entered a ton of giveaway contests. Pretty much every one that remotely interested me, and didn't make me jump through hoops to enter, because less face it, as much as I want to win stuff, I'm also pretty lazy.

Anyway, what is so exciting about this is that I really wanted what I won. I'm sure it's going to get a ton of use. It's a Blush topless undershirt. Sounds weird right? But it's actually very cool. It basically is like wearing an extra long tank top under your shirt that's too short, but that's really useful when you're pregnant. AND I'm hoping I'll be able to use it for nursing as well... put it on under my tshirt and that will cover my belly, while my regular t shirt covers the boobage.

A big Thank You to Trisha at Sweet 'n' Sassy Girls for hosting this giveaway!

In baby news, we have officially narrowed the choice of names down to two, although no middle name yet. He's either going to be Oliver or Elliot. I LOVE both names, and so does Chooch (so feel free to tell me if you like one, but if you really hate one, don't bother because it won't change our minds) but we can't seem to commit to one or the other right now. If we can decide before he's born, great. But at this point I really would be thrilled with either name, so if we have to wait until he's born and decide which one is more "him" then so be it.

sniff

2009-01-19T19:39:00.006-05:00

I'm going to start slathering my body, and the bodies of all my loved ones in Purell. I just can't take it any more. First, I've had a cold on and off for about 6 weeks. Whatever, I can deal with a cold (even if it has lasted forever and I can't even remember what it's like to breathe out both nostrils). Then Anthony came home from school with a fever, which eventually turned into a 10 day thing that included a double ear infection, conjunctivitis and a minor case of upper bronchitis. This past Friday, I started feeling pretty bad. I've had a fever on and off since, and now I'm starting to suspect a sinus infection. And now poor Samantha has the same fever and symptoms Anthony was having!
I can't take it anymore! I want us all to be WELL. The worst part is, pregnancy-wise... I feel great! No more nausea, no aches and pains, more energy. Except for when I'm sick and dying, of course. I tend to lose a bit of energy then.
So be forewarned: If you sneeze, cough, breath heavily, or belch in my direction, I may be forced to stab you. Just a little.

twosies onesis

2009-01-13T10:09:00.003-05:00

I just realized all my recent posts have been about the baby. Sorry. Someday I'll write normal stuff. I promise. No, really.

I went shopping yesterday at Walmart. I had to get diapers and essential and stuff like that, but I also had a goal... I really wanted to get a lovey for the new baby. The new baby had nothing of his own yet, and I felt this need for him to have something that is HIS. Samantha adores her pink bunny lovey, so I wanted to get a similar one for the baby, in blue, yellow or green. Walmart only had pink! They did have a neutral Winnie the Pooh one too, but I'm not so big character stuff. So then I thought I'd get him a coming home outfit. BUT I didn't like any of the ones there. They were all too... macho. I like my newborns dressed in softer colors, penis or no. I had just about given up on buying anything for my little guy, when I saw these two long sleeve onesies.

This one I thought was particularly appropriate, since everyone went two months thinking he was a girl!

mmmm guacamole

2009-01-10T18:23:00.006-05:00

I am 20 weeks pregnant today. Woohoo! That's 1/2 done.

Week 20

I was going to take a picture of my baby bump today, but I didn't technically shower (or get dressed. or brush my hair), so I think I'll leave it for tomorrow.

Today was pretty so-so. Anthony was feverish and sick all day, but seems to be perking up a bit now. I was craving Mexican food but had no cash, so for lunch I made a box of taco flavored Hamburger Helper that had been in the cabinet a while. It did not satisfy. But now hubby is home and he's making me burritos. With guacamole and sour cream, which he totally doesn't even like but knows that I do. He wins today.

I also spent half the day looking for print yourself birth announcement templates online. Pretty silly. I still have 140 days before my due date. Jumping the gun much, Leah? And since we don't even have a name picked yet it was kind of hard to make sample versions anyway. Speaking of which, there's a little name poll over on my side bar. It only let me put in 4 names, so those a re just some of our current contenders. Vote!

baby rambles

2009-01-08T10:51:00.009-05:00

As my previous post already announced, we found out on Monday that our new baby is a boy. I'm actually becoming more and more excited about it. I love the fact that Samantha gets to be my only girl. I know it sounds silly, but I feel like I'm not taking as much away from her like this. She may not get to be the baby any more, but she'll always be our baby girl. And Anthony is so much more excited now. He loves his sister, but I'm sure he was starting to feel outnumbered. Even our dog and cat are girls!

I have so many ideas how to decorate Sami and the baby's room too. Even though this baby (we really have to think of a name, more on that later) is a boy, he'll still be sharing a room with Samantha for a long time. It just makes more sense to put him with Sami, who will be only 2 years older than him, instead of Anthony who will be eight years older. And I've been dying to paint Sami's room anyway... the previous owners left it hot pink, blegh! My mother and mother-in-law said they'd help paint over February vacation, so I'm really looking forward to that.

I hope choosing a name for him will be easier than if he was a girl too. (Although my husband JUST admitted to me that he liked my #1 girl name. Jerk!) We have a list of names we both don't hate. Hopefully we can narrow it down a bit more. I'm tempted to get it down to 3 or 4 names, then wait until he's born and pick one when we see him, but nobody else seems to pleased with that idea.

This weekend I'll be twenty weeks along. Halfway! Too bad the second half is always sooooo looong. I think I'll take a picture of my belly, because it's looking pretty cute. Fully clothed though, nobody wants to see my pale, streched out flesh. Ew. Luckily I haven't gained a single pound yet. This is quite the departure from my previous pregnancies. Most women gain between 5-10 pounds by this point, and I think with the other two I had gained 15 by now. eeek. So for now I'm pretty happy!

Ultrasound says....

2009-01-05T17:23:00.002-05:00

The Intelligender test can kiss my butt! I'm having a BOY!

And I'm honestly really happy. I always say I'm NEVER surprised. Nobody has ever surprised me with anything. I always find out before-hand. This little guy though... he's a tricky one!!!

Boston Children's Museum

2009-01-04T14:11:00.002-05:00

Christmas still?

2009-01-02T17:44:00.003-05:00

Because I am an awful terrible wife, I returned the Christmas present my husband got me and instead bought this printer today. Actually hubby just came home with it. We chose that one because it only costs $25 to replace the ink cartridges, unlike our old printer which would run us $70. I just got our desk all cleared off and organized in anticipation. Yay!

Today we also got a new filter for the refrigerator's water dispenser. I'm way too excited. Our tap water tastes chlorine-ish to me, so it'll be nice to no longer have to buy bottled water. And I should really be drinking more water than I have been. I've let myself get too close to dehydrated too often lately.

We also got the trim to finish the hallway doors. I'm hoping maybe once that is up, my husband will get the ambition to paint the rest of the trim and crown molding that have been up but unpainted for months now.

And while my husband was out he picked up an order I placed from Walmart. Maternity jeans! They fit and they're soooo comfy. I've been living in stretchy yoga type pants, so wearing jeans makes me feel like I'm actually dressed!

It's like Christmas all over again!

but I'm happy it's over

2008-12-27T10:15:00.006-05:00

I had a great Christmas and I hope every body else did as well. The kids had SO much fun this year.

The most exciting gift I received? A garbage disposal for the sink! I'm not being sarcastic here... I am so happy my parents bought this for us. I can't wait til hubby gets it installed. He's pretty funny though, he's terrified of the thing. I guess when he was little he saw some horror movie where someone got their hand stuck in one, and that's all he can think of.

And now I'm on vacation. Yippie! We have no big plans besides a New Years Eve party we'll be attending. I'd like to try my hand at this neato craft (I got tons of cards from friends and family, as well as all the kids on the bus, and I already have all the supplies, not to mention I think Tony could probably "help"), and I'll most likely make a trip to the library... top of my list though is making some time to get together with my girl friends! I need some grown up time! Happy Holidays to me!
In baby news, I've been feeling quite a lot of squirming as I lay down for bed every night. That's nice, but I'm also looking forward to feeling her all the time (for now, ask me again when I'm 8 months). Speaking of "HER" we'll be getting an ultrasound on January 5th to confirm that the little one has no extra dangly bits. That'll be nice. Then I can really badger the hubby into ~~naming her Lucy~~ choosing the perfect name.

2008-12-24T12:36:00.001-05:00

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What's in a name?

2008-12-18T12:09:00.004-05:00

I am having a hell of a time choosing a name for this baby. We get our ultrasound on January 5th, but for now we're going to assume that the intelligender test was right, and I'm having a girl.

My husband and I cannot agree on a name. Sure, there are a few names we both like, but they've all been vetoed for one reason or another. And we're both so picky. I'm insistent that the name go with our other kids names, Samantha and Anthony, which to me means that the name should...

Not be too unusual. Samantha and Anthony are both top 20 names, and picking something really bizarre would make this baby's name stand out. I want it to fit. ( But it shouldn't be too common either, I don't want her to be one of three girls with the same name in her classroom.)
Not be anything that could be a boys name. There are plenty of names out there that work just fine for a boy or girl, but Samantha is such a girly name, I think her sister's name should be feminine too.
Not sound too much like Samantha or Anthony. Antonia and Savannah are out.
Has a nickname. This is weird I know, but both my kids have nicknames... Tony and Sam/Sami. I like names that can have fun, shortened nicknames, or if they grow up and want to be serious, they can go by their full name.

Yeah, like I said. I'm picky! My husband likes names like Tiffany, Ashley, Lindsey, Courtney, Michelle, & Elizabeth and names like that (I'M SORRY IF ONE OF THESE IS YOUR NAME) seem boring to me, or like it peaked out in the 80's.

I like names like Lucy (my absolute top pick,) Ella, Sophia, Mirabel, & Olivia. Along with many others that my husband has shot down. I've poured through numerous name books. I've hit so many baby name sites I'm surprised I haven't crashed the internet. I want to give up! We both kind of liked the name Melody, but I do not like Mel or Melly, and we both kind of like Alexandra, but he prefers Alexandria which I think sounds more pretentious.

Perhaps this is the trouble with knowing your child's gender at 10 weeks. Too much time to obsess! I've considered waiting until we see her, then picking a name, but I'm afraid I'll be exhausted from childbirth and give in to anything my husband suggests. Not to mention there's no way I can wait that long.

I don't even like cashews :(

2008-12-11T11:33:00.007-05:00

I heard on the radio this morning that the average American has 6 coffee mugs that they received for free. I have quite a few more than that. In fact, I have at least 2 dozen Christmas mugs in storage that I never use. All of them gifts from the students on my bus. It IS the thought that counts, and I appreciate every single gift I get from my students, because it feels good to know that they thought of me and wanted to show their appreciation of what I do.

That said, if you want to get your child's bus driver a present they will remember and love, don't get them a mug (nice travel mugs are a different story! We love those.) Even a mug filled with candy. I think we can safely add cheap candles and $1.00 bargain store, unsalted cashews with the price sticker still on (and not even a bow) to the list of not great gifts. Yes, I'm serious. What's better? A card! With a well written "Thank you for keeping my child safe" note on the inside.

Other great gifts for bus drivers (or teachers!):

Gift cards. Easy, right? Book stores, the local mall or supermarket, Walmart or Target, even a gas station. It doesn't need to be for a lot of money. $5 is GREAT! Be careful with the coffee store gift cards though, last year I got a total of over $200 to Dunkin Donuts. I like coffee, but that's a lot!
Cash. Bus driver (and teachers!) don't make a lot of money. During the holidays, we could use it. Again, it doesn't need to be a lot. Once a parent gave me $100 from her 2 children (I cried) but most of the time it's $5-10 and every single penny is greatly appreciated. I can't tell you how many last minute presents I've bought from the generous gifts of my students and their parents.
Hand made stuff. Some awesome things I've received... a tote bag painted by the student with a yellow bus on it, hand painted wine glasses from a mom who sold them online, a pretty necklace from a mom who made jewelry, a book mark with this cute prayer on it. All great stuff. If you or your kid can make something, we love it.
Baked goods and candy! Yes, we WILL gladly take your home made cookies or box of delicious chocolates. Even if we do not eat them all ourselves, we will happily share them at a party or with guests who come over.

Of course, that's just a small list of gifts that I love to get. There are plenty of other gifts out there that anyone would love. And it doesn't have to be expensive! One of my favorite gifts was a Blockbuster gift card for $5, a movie theater size box of Gummi Bears and a single package of microwave pop corn. How cute is that, and it was probably less than $7.

Final thought (how Jerry Springer of me) school bus drivers really do work hard to get your children to and from school safely every day. Many drivers also go out of their way to try and make the ride not only safe for everyone, but also enjoyable. It means the world to us to have that acknowledged. A hear felt "Thank you" is really the best gift you can give.

Although I kind of wish I still had the kids with the $100. And no more mugs please.

Twenty-ten

2008-12-09T11:37:00.003-05:00

Today is my birthday. I'm a tiny bit sad. I liked being in my twenties. Today is a regular work day as usual. BUT over the weekend I had a ton of fun. Saturday night my parents came over to babysit the kids and the hubby took me out. It was a surprise. We took the T into Boston and he got reservations at Jacob Wirth's. Good thing too, because otherwise it would have been an hour wait! The food was fast, delicious, and the atmosphere was great. Hubby got the beer battered fish and chips, and I got....

Boursin Mushroom Burger
Fresh 8oz Angus Hamburger Patty smothered with Creamy Boursin Cheese and Sautéed Mushrooms, with Lettuce, Tomato and Red Onion, served on a Sesame Bun

Yum! Also, hubby's cole slaw was to die for. They had a huge beer selection too :(
And I'd like to give a ginormous THANK YOU to the waitress who brought me a band aid for the blister on my heel. She was awesome.

Then we walked a few minutes down the street to Blue Man Group! I went YEARS ago, but hubby had never been and we had such a good time. We had balcony seats, so no goo on us. We laughed our asses off. Definitely a great present.

Then on the way home as we were waiting for the subway a very drunk man asked me to open his pack of gum. Later, on the train, the same drunk man gave a homeless guy some cash, and told him if he used it to buy drugs he'd punch his teeth out. But the homeless guy had no teeth!

On Sunday we went to Bog Hollow with some friends. Samantha was super crabby the whole time and later on in the day she puked. Anthony complained the whole time that his hands were cold. It was still fun though, the snow was beautiful.

After we got home from Bog Hollow Sami took a nap and I went and got a hair cut and did some shopping. My parents gave me a gift card to the mall, and I tried to spend it on myself, because it was my birthday present, but of course I failed and bought a couple things for the kids. I DID get a cute dress to wear to my BIL's wedding this Friday.... HEY! It's half price online! I wonder if it is in-store too? I wonder if they'd give me a credit????

Wishes

2008-12-04T09:50:00.003-05:00

My Over the Top, Money is No Issue, Only in My Dreams Christmas Wish list.

Maid service. How sweet would that be? Someone to do things like dusting and scrubbing toilets. Seriously, that stuff sucks.
New hybrid mini van. When small child #3 comes along, they are barely going to fit in the back of my current car. I want something that fits all my kids, plus friends, and won't cost me a million bucks in gas.
New bedroom set. We currently have NO head board. Or curtains. Or matching bedding. Or artwork/decorations of any kind.
Family vacation. We've never been on one. I'm thinking a cruise to somewhere tropical. Relaxing, but with plenty of fun things to keep us and the kids from getting bored.
Laptop. Ooooh, I'm dreaming big now. A laptop would be awesome, but we've always got something more important to do with our money. Which would be why I still don't have matching sheets on my bed either.

What is your In Your Dreams Wish list?

little bits

2008-12-01T11:52:00.004-05:00

*I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. We had ours at our house for the first time. My family and the hubby's. It was great.

*I managed to get the tree up and decorated so I could take pictures of the kids for the Christmas cards. Here are a few that did not make the cut.

*I have not yet read Twilight, although a lot of people have insisted that I should. I did however, re-read the entire 8 book series of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse aka Southern Vampire series over the long weekend. So good! From what people have told me about Twilight, this series is pretty similar, but with more um... grown-up parts. The newest book doesn't come out until next spring and SO impatient.

*This amazed me. When is it ever ok to cut somebody else's hair, forcibly, without consent from them, OR their parent? And for a teacher to do it?! I am confused about the "$1,000 in compensatory damages" part. Does the kid get thousand dollar haircuts regularly? I don't get it.

*Next week, I will be twentyten years old. I can't even ~~drown my miseries~~ celebrate because I'm pregnant. Perhaps instead I will overdose on peanutbutter brownies and Tums.

Intelligender Says...

2008-11-13T09:32:00.002-05:00

2008-11-12T18:20:00.002-05:00

I'll be taking the test tomorrow morning and I'll update as soon as I get home from work!

small girl child

2008-11-10T19:29:00.003-05:00

Samantha. She is addicted. To Cheerios. She's like a tiny crack addict, but with Cheerios instead of crack. I'll have to ask my friend Alora to upload the video she took, because you'll see what I mean.

Also, lately she's been doing this thing that I think a lot of babies do around this age... spinning in circles. Except that she falls on the floor and cries after wards. And when she's finally stable enough to stand up, she does it again. Why, baby? Why?

In other news, I'm very impatiently awaiting the arrival of the gender prediction kit so I can start harassing my husband about names for the latest in our brood. That's my favorite part.

school bus politics

2008-11-04T09:21:00.004-05:00

Everyone is going to go vote today, right? I normally hate politics, but this time around I felt like I really had to take some sort of interest in it. I'm voting for Obama today, because I really truly believe that we need a change. It has nothing to do with the fact that every time Palin opens her mouth I want to stab myself in the eardrum with a fork. That is totally irrelevant.

That said, in case some of you are still undecided, I'd like to provide you with a conversation I heard on the bus yesterday. Both children really had very compelling arguments.

Kindergarten kid #1: "Barrack Obama would fart right in your face!"
Kindergarten kid #2: "Yeah, but that other guy says really stupid stuff!"

One of the middle school kids also told me that, "Once you go black, you never go back." Good to know!

meow

2008-11-03T14:42:00.001-05:00

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

showing up

2008-10-31T11:04:00.003-04:00

Long time no see. I haven't had internet for a week. It was so sad! Long story short, we paid our internet bill, the money came out of our account, but Verizon has no record of the payment. So my husband called and they turned it back on "temporarily" while my husband mails them his bank statement as proof. So hopefully I won't be going anywhere for a while.

How am I feeling, you ask? Eh. A little better. I've got the same head cold I get every year, and for the third year in a row I can't take anything but Tylenol. Stupid fetus! At least the ~~morning~~ all day long sickness is getting better.

As of tomorrow I'll be 10 weeks along. This morning as I was letting the kids off the bus at the school a 1st grade kid asked me if I was having a baby. I said, "What?! Get off the bus and go to school, you silly!" Good thing I'm actually pregnant or I would have been pissed. The strange truth is, I AM starting to look a little pregnant. I've actually lost weight since I found out, so I know I'm not just getting fat. Well, I should say fatter because I am slightly overweight. If I hadn't already had an ultrasound I'd be afraid I was having twins!

After this weekend, I'm going to be taking this...
Intelligender at home gender predictor test!

I'll post all about it as soon as I do. It's 87% accurate, so we'll still be waiting for an ultrasound for the final say, but I still think it looks cool.

"IntelliGender's G.P.T. is a simple in-home urine analysis similar to an in-home pregnancy test which identifies whether an expectant mom is having a boy or a girl.
First morning urine is collected in the collection cup provided in the G.P.T. kit. A measured amount is added to the test cup and the result is read within minutes. A yellow to orange color represents girl and a "smoky green" color represents boy (see examples below).

Laboratory tests have an accuracy rate of 90% (in-home results of 82%), depending on the stage of pregnancy."

I swear I haven't disappeared.

2008-10-25T10:11:00.001-04:00

I swear I haven't disappeared. We have no internet at the moment. I'll be back with a real post asap.

rotten morning

2008-10-21T09:34:00.005-04:00

In all the arguments/fights/disagreements my husband and I ever have, I am always the one who is wrong. I know this, because my husband never says 'sorry', takes any blame, or admits fault. So it must be me right? I find this surprising, because it means that I have really awful opinions about everything, AND I'm a gigantic bitch who has no right to complain about anything ever. I just figured that, you know, once in a while maybe I might have a point. You'd think that the law of averages would back me up here, and I'd be a least a little right occasionally. Nope.

I'm always wrong.
I always have bad ideas.
I'm always nagging and/or bitching.

Good to know.

oops!

2008-10-20T11:53:00.006-04:00

I haven't been updating lately and it's really bugging me. I sort of have a good excuse though. The thing I wanted to write about, I couldn't. But now I can.

I'm pregnant.

Yes, it's true. Only eight weeks, so it's still very early, but man do I need to vent about it sometimes! So I'll be writing more now that the cat's out of the bag.

Right now we're a little stressed out, but we are happy about it. And our families have been wonderful too. For some reason I was nervous telling them. Samantha and the baby will be 2 years apart, which people do all the time, but I just had it in my head that everyone would think we were crazy and stress us out more than we are. Everyone was great though. Well... my sister called me a slut and my brother told me to teach my husband how to use condoms, but they meant it lovingly. The little shits. Just wait until it's them!

twitter tag

2008-10-09T10:41:00.011-04:00

Mammamulla from Mommay's Mayhem tagged me and I will comply. Especially since I've had nothing to blog about lately.

6 things my twitter pals don't know about me.1. My husband and I own every season of Star Trek Voyager. I bought the first season for him just before we got married, and within 6 months we had bought the other six seasons. I love that show. We've watched the entire series all the way through twice, and still occasionally watch a favorite episode here and there.

2. When I was in 4th grade we were assigned to write a descriptive paragraph. I wrote about an oak tree in the fall. What I wrote was so good that I was asked to read it in front of my entire class AND the class next door. When I was done, one kid yelled, "You didn't write that! Shakespeare did!" It was absolutely one of the happiest moments of my childhood.

3. I love old houses and wondering about the lives of the people who used to live in them.

4. I can whistle in a particular way, that sounds exactly like a cricket. This comes in handy during awkward silences after bad jokes.

5. I have tons of great crafty ideas, but I never get around to doing any of them. Case in point: I have a bagful of beautiful amethyst beads I keep planning on turning into a necklace for myself. They've been sitting in that bag for 3 months now, and every weekend I swear I'm going to start it.

6. I love animals, but I can't stand the thought of any of my pets sleeping in my bed with me. Just the thought of it horrifies me. EW.

And I'm going to tag:

It's about time!

2008-10-01T11:29:00.000-04:00

how about a wine spritzer?

2008-09-26T12:10:00.004-04:00

It's Friday!!! There is no day of the week I love more.

Conversation over the school bus radio earlier this week.

driver: Bus 1 to base
dispatcher: Go ahead, bus 1.
driver: Did the school send you any notice about two new students on my route? Last name is Champlain? Champagne?
dispatcher: No, I haven't heard anything.
driver: No Champagne? I thought I heard somebody mention that name.
dispatcher: um, I don't recall any Champagne.
driver: Oh.... Well maybe I drank it.
me: *dies laughing as I come to a bus stop and get strange looks from a confused parent.*

I always knew I was hot

2008-09-25T11:24:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited I could pee my pants. I was ~~voted~~ randomly selected as winner of Not Quite Hot Enough calendar! There was some really stiff competition there. I mean seriously, check out some of those girls and guys. HOT!

Of course, a big thanks to Happy Hour Sue & McMommy for hosting the best ever virtual and will never actually be printed calendar featuring not quite hot enough bloggers EVER.

I'm going to wear my tiara and sash all day.

mom myth #5

2008-09-22T16:46:00.003-04:00

And here's the last mom myth from Woman's Day. Took me a while, but I got to all 5.

Myth 5: A good mom belongs to one big, supportive Moms Club

I lucked out here. My friends are very supportive. We have differences, sure. I was pretty much the only one of my friends who breastfed. It might have been nice to ~~complain~~ talk to someone about the hard parts of it, but I never felt as if I were being judged by them either. Since my closest friends had babies around the same time I did, I always had someone to talk to, and that was great.

ground turkey enchilada

2008-09-19T19:01:00.002-04:00

ground turkey enchilada

2lbs ground turkey or beef (We used turkey, it was delicious!)
10oz can of green enchilada sauce
11oz can of corn
15oz black beans, pinto beans or your favorite
4.5oz can of chopped green chilies
1 pouch of Spanish style Ready Rice
8oz sour cream
2 bags taco cheese
approx. 16 corn or flour tortillas (Corn is traditional, but I couldn't find any. The flour tortillas tasted great though.)
2- 19oz cans of red enchilada sauce

I made this recipe using just one pound of ground turkey, but I ended up with several half full cans of the other ingredients, so I'm doubling the recipe because I hate stuff to go to waste. This would be a great dish to bring to a pot luck or party.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 13X9 baking pans with cooking spray. In a large pan brown your turkey or beef. Drain fat, return to low heat and add green enchilada sauce, drained corn, drained beans, green chilies, and rice. (All of these ingredients are really to taste. I used the ratio of 2lb of meat to 1 can of each ingredient, and it came out great, but you can increase or decrease each to your preferences.) When it's all heated through, stir in sour cream and one bag of taco cheese.

Pour a little of the red enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pans. Place a scoop of meat mixture on the center of each tortilla and roll tortilla tightly. Place seam down in baking pan. After all the the enchiladas are placed in the pan (it's ok if they're tight) top with red enchilada sauce and remaining bag of taco cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until bubbly.

We served it with another pouch of the Spanish rice. My husband and I both loved it. The turkey was almost half the price of ground beef, and better for you. Could easily be made with any ground meat, or even chopped cooked chicken.

Here you can see it in the oven, I put black olives on top because my husband loves them. He'd put them on cake if I let him. He loves the gross things that much.

And here they are on day two. I forgot to take a picture the first night, because I was so damn hungry. They microwaved great after I cut each one in half. The were BIG!

I was cute once

2008-09-19T11:06:00.002-04:00

I should probably be saving these for a Wordless Wednesday, but I'm too excited because I just hooked up my scanner and saved these to my computer.

This polaroid is me with my Great Grandmother. I was skinny just like Samantha.

This one is great... baby me, my Mom, Aunt Peggy, Nanny Ann (my Grandmother), and Grammy (Great Grandmother) taken in the back yard of my Grammy's house. On her lap is her little Yorkie, Kewpie.

Me, playing dress-up in Grammy's room. Those four dolls scared the crap outta me when I got older.

Me, being all Diva in a Bradlees shopping cart.