FancyPantsMom

2012-02-10T12:01:00.001-05:00

It would seem that Warren's little baby ears have a giant "welcome" sign attached to them beckoning any and all bacteria to come, kick up their feet and relax for a good long stay. As far as I can tell, the bacteria have whole heatedly accepted his invitation and are thoroughly enjoying their cozy, rent-free existence.

But no more, I tell you! We are cutting a drafty window in the wall of their toasty lodge and blowing them out of there! ( Translation: we are scheduled to get some tubes put into this babes ear drums.)

Warren has had horrible ear infections since October- (Although I have to wonder if they didn't start way before then, and I just missed it, never having had a kid with ear issues before this.) Even when they aren't infected they are still full of fluid and pressure. He has been miserable. He doesn't sleep well, and you guessed it....neither do I. This is my first child to have chronic ear issues. It's terrible!!! I have never gone through so much infant Tylenol and I have never before experienced such prolonged sleep deprivation. If I get so much as one 3 hour stretch of sleep every few days I consider myself lucky. I am a walking zombie most days, plagued with thoughts that perpetually sound like this: "uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh.......ummmmmmmmm....uhhhhhhhh."

That's about it. My brain is totally shut down. I no longer have coherent thoughts. It's been a lovely experience.

I haven't written this whole time because "uhhhhhh....ummmmm....and uhhhhhh" don't make for very exciting blog entries. It's sad though because I missed documenting Thanksgiving, Christmas, 2 kids' birthdays and a myriad of other events. Funny how, even if mom gets no sleep and can't think straight, life still plods along and things happen. We still smile, cook dinner, wash the laundry, wipe down the counters, help with homework, do the shopping, etc., etc.. It all just keeps going.....such is the life of a mom.

After numerous visits to the doctor and eventually trips to the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat specialist), we are going forward with the ear tubes. I have been told by many who have gone the tubes route that I can look forward to a much happier baby. (We had a couple of really healthy weeks right after Christmas and I think I met that baby. I really liked him.)

I will say this- you learn to love and bond with a sick, troubled baby in a special way. You just can't help but desperately love a helpless little guy that so desperately needs you-- hour after hour in the wee of the dark nights. My heart aches that he is so often uncomfortable or in pain, and there is so little I can do for him except hold him, rock him and feed him. Thus, that is exactly what I do. I hold him- a lot! I rock him- for hours! and I breastfeed him- a ridiculous amount for a near one-year-old. (This kid isn't even close to being weaned!-but that is another story for another day).

I'll be anxious to see how the tubes change things for us. Maybe after a few full nights of sleep I will start to miss those quiet times we have together, just him and me, rocking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth......no, probably not, I'll take the sleep. We can rock during the day.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-10T14:51:00.001-05:00

I did finally finish my kids' costumes so they didn't have to trick or treat in bathrobes or anything. It was so much fun to see them put these on. Laura made sure she had a book in her basket and sang and twirled everywhere she went, Tustin could be found practicing his sword fighting whenever we weren't watching (don't tell him I told you), and Kimball?...On some level, I think that Kimball truly believes that with his costume donned he actually becomes IKE from Fire Storm. I love that about him, and hope he never grows out of it--- well at least not for a few years yet.

I wish I had better pictures...but we've heard that story before.

Laura as Belle

Tustin as Link

Kimball as Ike

and Warren as a spider, with me the web

Library Discrimination!

2011-11-10T13:53:00.000-05:00

It is a beautiful day today, so I took Warren out for a walk to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air and to pick up a few books at our local library that happens to be about a 1/2 mile up my street.

**side story...I love books but stopped buying them about 3 years ago when our town sent an itemized tax sheet home which showed what percentage and dollar amount of our obscene property taxes was going towards the library... Turns out that we pay a whole lot every year for our library. A LOT! I could buy every book I ever felt like reading, and I read a bunch, in a 12-month period and still not come close to the dollar amount we pay for our local library each year. Thus, I vowed to get as close to my money's worth as possible and I use the library for all the books, music, and movies that I can.

Anyhoo......Our library has just recently re-opened after a long construction hiatus and I am always perplexed by the architectural choices that are made for these types of things. Our original library is a beautiful colonial style that was built in 1927, so when planning an addition shouldn't one stick with a similar look? Instead, they added a straight lines modern building. It's nice too, but I think its silly looking next to the old. What's wrong with keeping with the traditional style? Here's a rendering of the new library from the architects (BKSK Architects). The picture has softened it up a bit...I think it looks much more harsh in real life.

They did this at our high school as well when they added on. I don't get it.

Another issue I have with are new library is the change in flow. The new floor plan is completely compartmentalized. It's like a hotel. You walk down corridors and hallways and go into various closed door rooms in order to get books from different categories. Where is the big open floor plan with the comfy ambiance that we used to enjoy? Gone----long gone! Here is what happened to me today at the library that we pay out the wazoo for...

I wanted to find some more of my preferred reading....fun no-brainer reads from the Young Adult section. (I know it's lame, but I love all the mindless vampires, werewolves, magical creatures and fairies etc., etc.. Are they great pieces of literature? Of course not! They are, however, quick and easy and don't require much, if any, focus to read. I don't have the time or energy to read anything deep and involved, and I refuse to read anything depressing or disturbing, which is so often the focus of adult fiction. Who needs that? I just need a few fun chapters to fill the boredom when I am stuck nursing a baby every couple hours. ( yes...my 8 month old still nurses like a newborn.)

So......I checked the library directory and discovered that their Young Adult Section was moved to it's own location on the lower level. After navigating the elevators and hallways with my giant jogging stroller I arrived at the door to the YA room. I opened it, and found the lights were turned off in there. A librarian approached me and said, "Oh...this is the TEEN room. ( emphasis on "teen" with an added raise of her eyebrows) We don't usually open until 1PM..... closer to when school gets out."

What?! So now, ---not only have they made the various books hard to get to, they are deciding who can read certain books as well? There are only certain hours that these books are available?

Where once a library was an open and "free" resource to find and check out any books that satisfied your hearts content, my new multi-million dollar box says I'm too old to enter the room that houses the very books I like to read?!! Rude!!!

After making it clear that in the future I would be discriminated against and barred from coming into that particular room, due to my apparent maturity, and especially before it's proper hours, she made an "exception" for me today and allowed me to "peruse." Seriously?!! Completely ridiculous!

I was so put out and offended that all those delicious reads lost their flavor for me, and I left the library without a single one. Now, in the future I will just have to drive to a neighboring city's library to avoid the raised eyebrows and dirty looks. Unbelievable!!

Speaking my Piece

2011-10-15T15:22:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, at Halloween time, I wrote about how disgusted I was with the sort of costumes on sale for women and girls. Since I have griped about this before, I will keep my ire to a minimum. (Or I'll try).

Seriously people! Enough is enough!!!!

These days, Halloween stores and costume sections need to have warnings posted such as: "Not suitable for children!!!" They have become no better than porn shops! Who buys all those trashy costumes? Who would prostitute their teenage daughters, and even their little girls, in all those slutty outfits? What message are we sending to our girls when the ONLY costumes available for them to buy send an obvious message..."Check out my bod....I'm for sale!!!!"

It used to be that I could just avoid the Halloween stores, and my inevitable irritation, all together by going to the safe haven of a fabric shop to find appropriate costume patterns. Simplicity and Butterick, you have been my friends and my safe haven from the commercialized hoochie-witches and slutty-Dorothys.

Uh....No more!!! You sold out!!! Shame on you!!!!!

What did I find when I went to your pattern selections this year? Page after page of prostitute costumes! You have whored out Dorothy, Alice, Cinderella, and Belle. Even innocent Raggedy Anne is now a royal slut out to sell her wares. Why would I want to sew that? Who would bother? There is no shortage of corsets, thigh high boots and cleavage bearing costumes on the shelves. I can buy them for cheap at any local Walmart or Target.

Can I just say how tense this subject makes me? Our society is so screwed up! We are training our little girls from a very young age- even at Halloween- that their value lies in their bodies and their sexuality. It is so perverse. Parents put their six year olds in slutty clothes and think it is "so cute!" No- it is not! It's gross! It's wrong. Stop it all ready!

Every self respecting woman and mother needs to take a stand and say NO! If everyone of those stupid costumes- or patterns-- or clothes on the racks---are left on the shelves catching dust, then someone will get a clue.... right? If they aren't making money....they will have to be retired and we can look forward to a future where the innocence of Alice in Wonderland, and our little girls, is just that---innocent.

I have said my piece (or is that "peace?")...at least until next year.

Halloween Project Runway

2011-10-14T12:55:00.001-04:00

Every year I say this...but I LOVE Fall!

I love the weather- about 6 weeks of crispy mornings and nights with sunny vibrant days. I love the decorations and the pumpkins, and loading up my little porch with hay and mums and scarecrows.

I love the flavors of fall with pumpkin-everything, apples and warm spicy cocoa and cider.

I love trick or treating! I love free candy! I love that smell that comes from my kids pillowcases and buckets- a sweet mixture of chocolate and sugary confections. Cavities be darned!

And I love costumes! I love making them and I love wearing them.

However, speaking of making them....my boys love to pick hard costumes. After last years 20 + hours of labor making these...

...which turned out awesome and were so worth it, I told them that this year they had to pick something easier and less time consuming. They agreed, put their heads to thinking and decided on the following...

Kimball- Ike from Fire Emblem and Super Smash Brothers Brawl ( yes...those are video games)
Tustin- Link from Zelda ( yes, yes.. also a video game. Pick your battles people!)
Laura- Belle ( the blue dress provencial Belle- NOT the princess Belle)

Ummmmm....can we say NOT easy? I'm a pretty good seamstress, but I am NOT a good pattern maker. It is really hard for my brain to figure out how to construct something without clear instructions. Not one of these costumes has a pattern available. ( Not one of them is available for purchase either-unless you want to spend $200 from a Cosplay website. As if! Speaking of Cosplay- I get such a kick out of all those gaming adults into their character dress ups. Some of them have way too much time on their hands. But you have to respect their passion- and in some instances their amazing costume construction skills.)

So...I spent an hour or more sitting at the pattern book table at my "local" Joanns searching for clothing patterns that I could alter to work for me. I came up mostly empty handed. How am I supposed to make that neckline on Belle's dress? And Tustin is pretty sure his sword should be real....made of wood...shaped and painted just right...Urrggggh!!!

I have a mini Project Runway going on in my dining room as I try an invent these things. So far I have clocked about 5-6 hours and I've only just made Kimball's blue coat!!! It is all trial and error. Who knows how I'm going to make all that leather armor! (which he's convinced needs to have leather studs and spikes...I bought a bunch of brown pleather and will just start going at it...maybe I can use some tin foil here and there.....)

The Man asked me this morning..."Why don't you just tell them no? Make them choose an easy costume." My answer is a simple one. How many years do I have where my kids want to dress up as their favorite characters? How many years do I get where their little faces light up with adventure and make-believe as they head out into the night dressed up as pirates, knights and princesses? 10-12 years maybe?All too few.

Still, some days I wonder if it's worth my time. They are kids....do they even appreciate it all? Then last week Kimball wrote an essay for school and, no joke, here is an excerpt from what it said:

ThisHalloween is going to be the best ever. I am going to be a character named Ike,from Fire Emblem which is a video game....

....My mom says that my costume is avery complicated one because Ike has a lot of little elements. On his leftshoulder he has a leather piece of armor. He also has a cape, a headband, ablue jacket with tales, gloves and boots with metal on them, blue spiky hair,and a sword. I think that my mom works a super long time on these hardcostumes, and I am only going to wear it one night, which I think is a littlesilly, but it really shows me that my mom loves me. She will go to all thiswork just to make me happy. That’s why she is the best mom in the world!

My brother is going to be Link forHalloween, which is a character from the Legend of Zelda games. I think it isalso going to be super awesome. It is cool that we are both dressing up likethis because we are awesome characters that are both great fighters.

Maybe there will be a lot of peoplethat won’t know who I am. I don’t really care. The only thing I care about isthat my costume is special. I might be the only person in the entire world thatis being Ike. I can’t wait for Halloween night!

My slave labor....is all worth it!

Happy birthday hamburger

2011-10-05T12:50:00.002-04:00

My husband loves a good hamburger, so it is only fitting that for his birthday a few weeks ago, we made him this cake:

The kids were really into this and had a great time helping me craft vegetables out of Starburst, gumdrops and fruit roll ups. I don't have the first clue how to make, or use, that fondant stuff, so off to the candy aisle I go when it comes time to decorate confections. (Growing up, my mom used to make the best candy covered cakes. What kid doesn't want a piece of cake covered in skittles or M&M's? It's always a winner!)

For future reference though, cutting a cake that is layered with fruit roll-ups and Starburst inside it, makes it nearly impossible to cut into slices when it comes time to eat it. Oh well! It still made for a fun celebration.

Happy Birthday to The Man!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Feeding the hungry Wolves

2011-10-05T10:09:00.001-04:00

( I'm a visual person, and don't enjoy reading blog posts without pictures, so I am throwing this snapshot in from a dinner last week. It's this recipe from TheSistersCafe. My kids love it!-- a no, we didn't eat all four loaves! Whenever I make bread I like to double the recipe so that we can send loaves to neighbors or friends. Everyone loves hot bread!)

The school rush is underway and I am desperately trying to keep my sanity balancing all the homework and after school activities while still trying to feed my kids decent meals......They are ALWAYS hungry, and if I'm not on my A-game, they end up eating a less than stellar diet.

A few weeks back, I planned an entire month of meals. My thought was to just repeat this same monthly menu for 6-months and then make a new one. I presumed this would work great, but each day, when I checked my schedule, I'd find that whatever was planned didn't sound good to me. Who wants to make something that they aren't in the mood for? It takes the joy out of it. I'm just too fickle with my food!

My other goal has been to have a big snack ready for the kids as they walk in the door. If I don't have it ready then they start frantically grazing on whatever random snacks (usually nutritionally low carbs)that they can find. This inevitably leads to the "I'm not hungry," proclamations when it's time to sit down to dinner, and then you can bet that I will go to bed feeling guilty that another day has passed and my kids missed eating a single vegetable. Not to mention that my kids and I tend to suffer from a form of hypoglycemic crazy-people syndrome. If we don't eat quality food regularly we start to foam at the mouth and breath fire!

However, trying to come up with snacks and a dinner plan, as well as cook it all, in the middle of the homework and chauffeuring chaos that is my afternoons, is never a good mix and often causes my evil half to creep to the surface. (Some of you may have never met her. Let me assure you that she is not pleasant. She lacks patience and calm understanding and generally speaks with sounds that include a lot of hissing and gnashing of teeth. Not pretty!)

If my evil twin gets out at this particular time of day, everything falls apart. By evening, when my poor husband walks in the door expecting a kiss and a "welcome home," he instead meets a ferocious growl and a cold shoulder. The whole house goes to bed sad.....very sad. Particularly me. No mother wants to look back on her day and find a stock pile of moments with her kids gone wrong. Our time with them is too short. I hate days like that!

And it all gets back to food.

Recently, I was sharing some of this food angst that I have with some girlfriends and one of them mentioned that when possible she actually tries to have dinner ready for the kids right after school. She figures that they are the most hungry then and will fill up on a really good meal. Then later in the day they can have a light snack before bed. She said that when she gets this done, it works brilliantly. This got me to thinking...

To make this plan work, I would still have to be on my A- game- I would still have to plan the meals and get it done, but the beauty of this is that it doesn't mix the cooking with the homework and car-pooling etc. I could get it all done before the rush and I believe I might be able to tame the tired, hungry and crabby beast that lingers in me. (My husband's dinner would always be about 4 hours cold, which is a bummer for him, but he might be willing to sacrifice if it meant the death of Mrs. Hyde).

Time will tell. Hopefully my efforts won't bite the dust like so many of them do.

Do any of you have dinner time plans that work for you?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Animal shortage

2011-10-03T11:22:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, my husband called me from work and suggested that we meet him at the theatre that evening to surprise the kids by taking them to see the Lion King for FHE. I thought it was a great idea, so when the kids got home from school I told them daddy had a special surprise for Family Night and that if they got all their homework and piano done quickly that we could go. ( I wish I had a similar piece of fruit to dangle everyday because they got right to work!)

Thus, at about 6 o'clock we headed out, and the kids spent the drive trying to guess where we were headed. After numerous incorrect, and sometimes crazy ideas, Laura guessed,"Are we seeing animals?" "Why, yes, we are," I answered. However, since the zoo and the aquarium were both closed by then, this puzzled them.....until we got closer to the theater, which happens to sit right next to a Petco store, and that is when my sweet Kimball began to hyperventilate...

"We are going to Petco! Oh my goodness... We are getting a pet!..... WE ARE GOING TO GET A DOG!!!!!!"

He was convinced. I think he was having convulsions back there in his excitement.

My heart sank. I had to break it to him that no, once again, we were not going to fulfill his heart's desire and get him a dog. We were simply going to a movie. How quickly something fun turned into a total let down! Poor little boy.

Kimball has always been an animal lover. He does not get this from me or hid dad- it comes straight from his Grandma Neilson. He has the same animal loving soul that she did. He is fascinated by the wild kingdom out there and came right out of the womb reaching for stuffed animals, plastic dinosaurs, toy horses and reptiles. He especially loves books about animals. While other children check out story books from the library, my son brings home non-fiction books and encyclopedias about tree kangaroos, green mamba snakes, cheetahs or other kinds of wild animals. Every month he soaks up our latest National Geographic magazine with it's pictures and articles on wildlife.

Kimball's first word wasn't "mama," it was "neigh," (as in the sound that a horse makes.) It was an awesome sort of whinnying sound and actually sounded exactly like a real horse. He would toddle around holding his stuffed horse and say that all day long. I can't remember what his second word was, but it was most likely "moo," or "oink" or something along those lines.

It is because of this sweet natured boy of mine that I am starting to feel very guilty that I don't care for animals. I just don't want a creature to pick up after. I don't want to smell them, and I don't want them destroying my furniture. We have a small house! The last thing I need is something else under foot in addition to the toys and shoes and backpacks and miscellaneous what-nots that are always here already. And no matter what anyone says, we all KNOW that I would end up the main popper-scooper around here! But.....I still feel guilty.....My animal obsessed son is almost 10 years old and I have yet to give in and get him a "real" pet.

Does this make me heartless?

We've done the fish and even the little lizards, but since you can't cuddle either, they apparently don't count and recently Kimball's desire for a real pet has grown exponentially. It certainly didn't help when he attended a birthday party last Friday where the birthday boy had just gotten a giant bearded dragon for his birthday. He wore that ginormous lizard on his shoulder all through the party, and Kimball thought he was the coolest, luckiest boy who ever lived (Of course this same boy also has a dog, so his parents REALLY love him.) Since that party, Kimball has worn a plastic lizard on his shoulder, or on his lap, ALLday long for 3 days. A rubber plastic lizard is what my son is reduced to for his companion. Here you can see it resting on his knee while he plays DS:

Last week Kimball told me that sometimes in class they talk about their pets and it makes him very sad because he's never had one.

DAGGER TO MY HEART!!!

I keep telling the kids that someday, when we have a bigger house, or a bigger yard, or even just a bigger garage that I will consider getting a dog.... but that is just my excuse to avoid ever getting one. ( I know....heartlesS). Is my misery worth the joy on my sons face? I can't decide.

The hubby (seriously, I need to come up with a good nick-name besides, "He Who Shall Not Be Named.) thinks that if we concede we should get a redbone hound. Crazy!!That is a big, dog!! He would take up a lot of space.

What if we get a dog, and I hate having it around (which is likely), then I just can't take it so we have to sell him off or give him away? Wouldn't that be worse than never having had one? I am just trying to protect him from further sorrow, right?

Right?

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Coconut Ice Cream

2011-09-22T13:23:00.001-04:00

Oh Trader Joe's Coconut Ice Cream-

How do I love thee!

Let me count the ways...

You are creamy and delicious,

You are just the right amount of sweet,

You are dairy free

You are soy free

You are strawberry heaven

Or coconut bliss

But alas!

Where have you gone?

You have been missing for nearly 2 months!.

Come back to me!

Please!!!!

I love Trader Joe's. However, they have pulled this number on me many times. They offer me something wonderful, I make it a staple in my kitchen, I come to rely on it and then swoosh!---It's gone- never to be seen or heard from again and I am left always feeling its loss, never getting to say goodbye. Is this some sort of cruel marketing/consumerism trick?

If you live anywhere within 50 miles of me and happen to see this lingering in your TJ's freezer, drop me a note so I can speed on over and buy you out!

Parting is such sweet (and hungry) sorrow.

Picture Day

2011-09-21T11:19:00.003-04:00

Picture day is coming up this week at my kid's schools. Our school actually does a great job with these photos and they aren't usually the painful snippets in front of ugly screens that were typical when I was a kid. They take the kids outdoors and even offer sibling photos after school. Here are a few of my favorites from the past for example:

Last year it was raining, so we had to do the white screen....which didn't turn out nearly as ho-hum as I thought it would. (pardon my scan quality)

Anyway, gathering up clothes for pictures this week made me realize that I have never taken Warren in for some studio shots. I have always taken my kids in around 4 and 9 months just to officially capture them at each stage. I missed 4 months! How did that happen? It makes me so sad because I can't get that time back, and as we all know my personal camera is soooooo lame that nothing I took myself is up to snuff! Urgggghh.

Thus, I quickly took Warren down to the mall yesterday and The Picture People store. Get excited people! He did great, and looked so cute (even with their lame backgrounds.) Here are a few of my favorites. (Don't worry mom, I will send you the real print outs.).

Don't you just want to squeeze him!

Summer Highlights 2011

2011-09-19T14:44:00.003-04:00

We've started our 2nd full week of school here so "real" life is in full swing. I'm already missing our carefree summer days. (And speaking of missing summer, fall weather is kicking in way too soon around here. I love fall, it's the best time of year when considering New York weather, but slow down already! Let me catch my breath! The stores are pushing costumes and cornucopias on me and I'm still wearing my flip-flops!)

So what did we do this summer, now that it's over and I rarely posted? Here is a quick pictorial recap of our summer highlilghts:

Highlight #1- Went on a Disney cruise to Alaska with the entire Neilson crew, cousins and all!

Decked out for "Pirate Night"

Loving the characters:

The scenery from every angle was beautiful:

Loving those sweet baby cheeks:

Playing with the dogs after our dog sledding excursion:

Took a helicopter ride to the top of a glacier:

it was freezing up there...so Warren stayed huddled inside my coat:

the kids got a drink of pure glacial water:

We panned for gold. Much to Laura's disapointment, she did NOT strike it rich:

And through it all, I ran the portable dairy farm:

Highlight # 2- Off to lake Tahoe for the annual Greene family vacation where we....

...learned how to travel the modern way- with entertainment!

We kayaked with grandpa,

we yee-haaad at the truckee Rodeo,

flew runner band planes that Grandma Greene gave us,

practiced our yoga on the beach,

went for our first boat ride,

and spent lots of time with family.

And even though the hubbie couldn't go to Tahoe this year, he still joined the fun via FaceTime. I love that!

Highlight #3 Boys trip to Zion's National Park to hike "the Subway."

First stop: The Hoover Dam:

Second Stop: St George and the gorgeous red rocks

Third Stop: let the hiking begin!

I love this picture! It is amazing what water can do to rock!

Then, back to St. George for more boy fun.

I wish they had a place like this in New York!

And what were the the NY Neilson ladies (along with baby Warren) doing whilst the boys were playing out West? We were having LOADS of fun and weren't jealous in the slightest...We were huddled down with hurricane Irene and no electricity! However, we were one of the lucky ones and managed to avoid flooding because of some very generous friends who loaned us this generator to run our basements sump pump, so the hundreds of gallons that would have filled my basement were very nicely routed to my lawn instead.)

There you have the 3 main highlights of the Neilson summer 2011. Now I guess I have to face that it's really back to the grind and fall is truly here.Bring on the pumpkins!

Slipping Through My Fingers

2011-08-18T11:55:00.002-04:00

Each time Warren reaches a developmental marker, such as rolling over, outgrowing the Bumbo chair or nearly sitting up on his own, I cry and cry. Stop growing up baby!!!

He's moved on to solid food and is so pleased with himself. I cry with every spoonful!

Seriously. I get very emotional about this. Time is moving too fast.

And it's not just my youngest baby- but my oldest son too. Tustin has been gone all week at Boy Scout Camp, earning his merit badges, having the time of his life and most likely not stopping to miss us at all. It is my first time sending him away for something like this and I, on the other hand, am really feeling his absence. I miss my big boy. I can't wait for him to get back tomorrow night. I hope this gets easier in the coming years...but I doubt it will.

Often, as I'm gathering clothes that Laura has outgrown and preparing them to give away, I find myself stroking the fabrics and reminiscing on sweet memories of her dancing and bouncing around in them.

These are also the times when my husband loves to pass me in the hallway singing, "Slipping Through my Fingers," from Mama Mia, knowing that I am helpless to the power of that song, and will immedietly collapse into sobs! If you are not familiar with this song, then take a moment, get a box of tissues and watch. If you are a mother- especially to a daughter, make sure someone is with you. You are going to need a hug.

This week my husband sent me a link to a short article written by Joshua Brown, on The Reformed Broker. A new school year has moms and dads alike feeling my sadness. I thought he expressed it beautifully:

My daughter's going to kindergarten in two weeks and my son just stopped taking naps on Wednesday. I was at work but this is what I've been told. Just out of nowhere, he's a baby and then he's not. And the little girl whose crib I slept on the floor next to will be walking into a school with 12-year-olds in it. I swear she was born yesterday. I can't throw away another stroller or see another garbage bag filled with the baby toys that so many of my memories are attached to. And if I can't stop or at least slow these kids down from growing up I think I might just lose it...i just want to stop time. Or at least slow it down.

Mr. Brown, I know just how you feel.

Fashion Forward?

2011-08-18T08:49:00.001-04:00

I received the latest DownEast catalog in the mail yesterday. Usually, they have some great skirts, jewelry and basic T's. I'm a fan.

However, this particular Fall-line is dominated by what looks to me like knit sweatpants/MC Hammer pants. Remember those?... they weren't cute on MC, or my fellow-3rd graders, and they are most certainly NOT cute on ANY grown woman today!

I am a firm believer that if the model in the catalog does not look good in something- then you can be sure that the rest of us real-figured women would look utterly horrendous! I can guarantee that this particular shape of pant will give you the appearance of an extra 5-10 pounds of "junk-in-the-trunk." Or, even worse, give others the opportunity to stare at your rear and wonder if you might have a bladder-control problem and thus be wearing a necessary diaper. Who needs that kind of speculation regarding their derriere? Not me!

Seriously, am I missing something? Is my sense of fashion completely out-dated? Totally out of it? Are any of you considering donning a pair of these?

Joy in the Journey

2011-08-15T19:23:00.003-04:00

As many of you know, both my oldest son's have dyslexia. This is another one of those huge subjects, like hypothyroidism, that I have never sat down to write about. How could I possibly get all those thoughts on paper? Incidentally, it is these two same subjects that are often the cause of my interspersed, sometimes long absences from this blog.

Thus, to my future posterity: when you look to these archives to get to know me,(your great great grandmother), and you wonder what I was doing during the weeks and months I left blank, you can fill in the void with the most obvious conclusions...

Conclusion #1- I was in the midst of a vicious hypothyroid down-turn, exasperated by failing adrenal glands. Both of which were likely aggravated by having a baby and getting my hormones all out of whack. (of course, it was still worth it!)I was exhausted and struggling to think straight. I was dizzy, moody, out of breadth...yada, yada, yada. Don't worry, I had an excellent doctor. He helped me get educated about the proper medication and diet for me- and he consistently worked with me when things changed. I got better.

Conclusion #2- I was talking with teachers- a lot! I was having meetings with neuro-psychologists, reading therapists and other specialists. I was not accepting the, "We see that your child is struggling, and not performing to his potential, and proven high intelligence, but he is still within an acceptable 'average' range, so we don't believe we can give you the support you need," for an answer. I was fighting and advocating day in and day out for my children. I was spending countless hours reading about and researching every possible tool to help my kids in their school work. Then I was doing homework. Hours of it. (Because east coast schools and parents think lots of homework and busy-work is essential for a child's success, and future entrance into their coveted Ivy League schools----despite studies that prove otherwise!! Urghh!!!)

So- that in brief is why I will never be a great, consistent blogger.

Anyhoo...... the reason I bring this up....

...Over the course of the last school year, I have become more and more concerned with my son Kimball's posture. It is not good- and as a former dancer ( I say former, because sadly I am a mere shadow of that girl I once labeled "dancer." Where did she go? Where did her legs go? Sigh...) I cringe when I see him slouching about. It is so bad, that there seems to be a bump arising on his upper back. In addition, he has his dad's flat feet, and my hyper-extended knees. Genetically, he is destined for postural failure- and since he has me for a mother, ( a woman who values strong posture) this stresses me out!

I've been doing a few exercises with Kimball- and constantly nagging him about sitting up-straight etc., but I got to thinking that it might behoove me to have him check in with a specialist and just make sure that this is in fact a muscle training issue- and not a bone one.

Off to the Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon we went! ( I am a firm believer in specialists. I don't like to beat around the bush and wonder--so the head honcho it is!) They took X-Rays of Kimball's spine and of his feet and then the doctor checked him out. Turns out that Kimball has very loosy-goosy ligaments, which is why everything falls out of alignment- but secondly he has developed a "kyphosis" of the spine. Lovely! (Kyphosis is a curving of the spine that causes a bowing or rounding of the back, which leads to a hunchback or slouching posture.)

Fortunately, Kimball's current version of kyphosis is what's considered "acquired postural kyphosis," meaning it is caused by muscular weakness, not abnormal bone growth, and won't require any type of brace to correct. Luckily, we have caught it early enough- before his bones started to grow the wrong way! In a few more years we would have been in trouble! For now, Kimball will start receiving physical therapy 3x/week. (Another plug for always following one's mothering-stress-induced-intuitions!)

So, I ask...why is it that my kid can"t just have one issue to deal with? He has to struggle with dyslexia, (which is not a minor thing around here) and now physical issues as well? Poor kid! (Or maybe, poor mom- because Kimball thinks going to therapy is super fun!)

I just hope that these things will make him stronger and that as he grows up he will never shy away from a challenge, and he will face the world head on--- and he will, above all, keep his sense of humor and be happy. With a kid like this...

(This is what happens when Kimball gets a hold of the Ipad)

...it shouldn't be a problem. Find joy in the journey, right?!! I think he has it down.

***if you are looking for good info regarding either dyslexia or hypothyroidism, here are a few of my favorite sources where I have found quality help:

Dyslexia:

Bright Solutions for Dyslexia: (If your child is struggling with reading and writing, I highly recommend you spend some time on Susan Barton's site. She has great videos and information that are so helpful). http://www.dys-add.com/

The International Dyslexia Association. (Has state chapters that offer meetings and lectures and can help you regarding your local laws. They will also refer you to qualified testers in your area). http://www.interdys.org/

Hypothyroidism:

Stop the Thyroid Madness: ( if you need a lot of info, and you are struggling with how to find a good doctor. This is a great place to start. Beware- there is a lot of info and it might scare you! ). http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

Dr Doyle: (This is my doctor. He now has a great website where you can get good information and watch short video lectures. ( If you live anywhere near Stamford, CT, I highly recommend him.) http://www.gotodrdoyle.com/

Stop the Thyroid Madness: ( if you need a lot of info, and you are struggling with how to find a good doctor. This is a great place to start.)

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

Dr Rind. (He has some excellent info regarding adrenal fatigue, metabolic therapies, and taking your temperatures, etc.)

http://www.drrind.com/

Giant Height Chart

2011-08-09T14:27:00.004-04:00

I feel so unbalanced lately. I think I need to build something....or sew something....or paint something...make a craft! Any old craft will do- I need to feel productive, and just making dinner, and trying to keep things half-way decent and clean around here, is not sufficing. (My baby's continued mission to go for the world record in hours not sleeping isn't helping matters!)

This is going to be my first project. The Giant Ruler Height Chart. I love it! ( I thought I'd share in case another mom out there is getting a little feverish and stir crazy.)

Some history: Awhile back I was at a girlfriends house and noticed her wall where she had recorded the growth of her children over the past 9 years. I've always wanted to do this, but have never found the right wall to use consistently, and with the number of times I repaint and change colors around here, it would be such a lost cause. Which brings me to this post and tutorial by Ashlee on Topsy Turvy. What a great idea!

Love it! Love it! ! I am so making one of these. What a great idea! Now I can make a height chart that can move about and I never have to worry about losing it to paint. I love all the creative moms out there who post their fabulous ideas. I will post pictures of my attempt when I'm done!

Sling Anyone?

2011-05-24T14:28:00.004-04:00

I have been researching baby slings and I don't know which way to go, so I need some experienced advice.

In my previous post I mentioned my inability to get things done around here. The reason for this has a name- his name is Warren.

Let me explain. Something magical happened when we took our trip to VA and ever since he has been sleeping completely through the night--about 10 or 11 hours every night! I know. It is awesome and I will take it, but during the day he has to make up the difference, which means he eats about every 1 1/2 hours. The only way I can even write these posts is because The Man bought me an IPad for my birthday/anniversary/Mothers Day present so I can post from the couch while Warren dines.

It's not just the frequent nursings that keep me out of commission though. I have a baby who wants to be held, talked to, sung to, and otherwise entertained every waking hour and, if I fulfill his wishes, he is happy all day long. So....I hold him- A LOT. And doing anything with a baby-in-arms is a challenge. Chopping onions? Awkward. Mopping a floor? A major pain.

With previous kids, the Baby B'jorn was a winner and all I ever needed to free up my hands with a baby in tow. However, with the "holding" hours I am pulling with Warren, I need to change it up here and there. Having him hang off the front of me hour after hour is not fun. Which brings me to the slings... I think they look a little silly and I swore I would never wear one, but I am going to eat my words because I think they may be just what I need.

Now, if you start to research slings, you will find that there is an entire "baby wearing" society of moms who believe that if you wear your baby most of the day they will be more independent and smart etc.. I even read a promotion from one mother who ALWAYS wears her baby, even in the shower!-well into their toddler years! (she has a special mesh sling she wears-- in the shower! I kid you not!) You have to admire her dedication to the cause, right?

Anyway, whether or not Warren turns out to be an independent genius, because I am lugging him around all day, remains to be seen. I am just doing it so he'll be happy and continue to give me my beauty rest at night.

Which one? the Maya Ring Sling looks good and I think can be used with bigger kids.

I know some women who loved the Moby Wrap- but it is a lot of yardage.(6 yards of knit fabric) I'm not sure I want to mummify myself to carry this kid. (however, again, I am prepared to eat my words if it works out the best.) Don't ask why I can't get this picture smaller- I have no idea!

There are countless other sling-type contraptions as well. Such as, the Over the Shoulder Baby Holder, The Peanut, the Baby K'tan, or a Hotsling. ( love the names these things have!)

Any advice? Maybe I should just order them all and return what I don't like.

Finished lists

2011-05-24T13:33:00.003-04:00

I love a good list.

Most evenings before going to bed I can be found with note paper in hand writing all my "to-do's" for the following day. Without a list I am lost! ( mostly because of that early-onset dementia I seem to suffer, and which causes my children tremendous grief!) The success I feel at the end of each day is often gauged in direct correlation to how many of those items on my list have a line through them.

Problem? Yes, this is a problem, because with this particular criteria, I have become a total failure! My list is ALWAYS incomplete by a huge margin! Ending each day feeling that way is never good for ones self esteem. I go to bed thinking I'm a loser who just can't keep up and who will always have a grungy kitchen floor.

But, never fear! I have the solution to all my problems and I am putting it into use pronto! I got this particular idea from a super cute lady at church a week ago. She said that, instead of making her list before the day, she makes it after, and on her list she only writes down the things she accomplished- so everything has a finished line through it!

I had to laugh. What superb thinking! Thus, yesterday (a Monday, and historically a very long list day) I tried it out. I did not have a list. I went about my business- which mostly involved nursing, changing diapers and cleaning spit-up- and when the day was done I wrote down my to-do list. It looked like this:

-wash one load of laundry

-clean and adjust the jogging stroller ( which has been rotting in the garage for 4 years)

-make dinner

Three things! Wow! I did it all! Every last thing on my list was checked off! What a great day! I am such a go-getter!! ( I am not going to think about all those other things that were forgotten and missed. I am not... i am not....they do not exist to me...)

I highly recommend this plan to anyone with a social newborn who likes to be held all day. Just think- you can accomplish anything you put your heart to! I did! :)

Mother's day 2011

2011-05-22T21:38:00.003-04:00

When we moved to the east coast (nearly ten years ago!) we thought our days of taking road trips to visit family were over. (And I do not jest when I say that I LOVE road trips. I have such great childhood memories of them and I get excited when I can pass on the experience to my own kids.) So, when my brother and his family moved to Virginia we were thrilled. Bring on the Travel Bingo!

Last week we took advantage of this great blessing of family and played hooky from school to take a week long trip to Virginia. Not only did we get to visit with my brother's family, but my parents came as well and we had a terrific week exploring Williamsburg, Jamestown, Fort Monroe, the beach and Busch Gardens. I'll post a little about our fun throughout the week, but today, being Sunday, I wanted to post about Mother's Day 2011 and why it was a precious one to me.

First, and foremost, I got to spend it with with my own sweet mother and be with her in person. Dad bought all the moms corsages to wear. It was great fun. My husband (he, who I have been informed, should not be named on this blog.. so I really need to come up with a pseudo name for him) and I laughed thinking about the last time he pinned a corsage to me, which would have been our high school homecoming dance way back in 1992! Yikes!)

I'm sure that many people would say the same thing, but I really do think I have the best mom! Isn't she beautiful?
On to the next great thing about mother's day: Warren's baby blessing. We chose not to bless him in NY so that we could share it with family in VA. He looked so precious in his little white outfit. (Interesting note....I bought it about 4 years ago at a time when I didn't think we would have anymore kids...but it was so soft and white and perfect for a baby boy so.... I just bought it! My subconscious, or fate, or whatever, just knew!) His dad gave him a beautiful blessing and, of course, I cried and cried! Thank goodness for water proof mascara!

I wish he would have shown his adorable smile for the pics, but he just wanted to chill that day.

Then I cried some more, because we ordained Tustin a deacon. How is it that my first born turned twelve and is such a little man now? He was so handsome in his suit and his dad gave him a beautiful blessing as well. More tears!

It was a perfect day and one in which I spent one moment after another reflecting on all my blessings. I grew up wanting to be a mother and now here I am, in the thick of it. I love being the mom to my little brood! It is the hardest thing I have every done, but it's also the best thing I've ever done too.

There are six of us now and we are all ( including the man and myself) growing up way too fast! Here is a picture where we at least look presentable. (Wherever that world is --where everyone gets those fabulous family "glam" shots-- we haven't visited it yet. The frameable wall photo continues to elude me! Urgh!)

My Little Poet

2011-05-16T16:43:00.006-04:00

Laura is in first grade and has been writing a lot of poetry in class. Today she brought home from school a fat manila envelope filled with all her literary works. I thought I would share some of my favorites. This stuff is priceless.

First we have the one about me.

Mom

My Mom is so beautiful.

She helps me.

Even though you yell at me,

I still love you.

I love my Mom.

Just lovely... And here is the one that my husband gets. Can you tell who is the "good cop" parent in this household? So unfair.

Dad

Nice

Kind

Gentle

Helps Me

Fun to play games with

Kind as a bunny

Gentle as a bird

I love my Dad

Here is a great one for winter.

The Snow

The snow is white.

It is fluffy.

You can eat it.

But whatever you do,

Keep away from the yellow snow.

And don't stick your tongue to a pole.

I love these two as well...

Blue

Blue is the color of the ocean.

Blue is the feeling of sadness

Blue is the color of tears.

I love blue.

Box

A box can be anything you want it to be

It can be a boat.

It can be a house.

It can be a toy box.

But whatever it is,

It is a box.

There were dozens more where this came from. I think she is a terrific little writer. I think I will type them all up and get a book of "Laura's Poems" made.

Margarita cupcakes

2011-05-05T16:28:00.004-04:00

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Historically, I have never done anything to celebrate Cinco De Mayo with my kids, which is very sad because I love any excuse to have a party! This year, being that Tustin began his first semester of Spanish, I am going to get my act together and bring on the Latino flavor!

I've got dessert all taken care of with these super yummy Virgin Margarita Cupcakes. I smooshed two different recipes together (omitted all the usual alcohol) and made a change here and there. They are so delicious! I love anything that is tangy and limey so these are just up my alley.

Here's the recipe:

Margarita Cupcakes:

Cake:
1- white or yellow cake mix
1-3.5oz. instant vanilla pudding mix (dry)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup margarita mix
1 TB orange juice
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1.5 sticks butter, room temperature

zest and juice of 2 limes

2 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake ingredients and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. Spoon into cupcake liners and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool.

For the frosting: Combine the cream cheese, butter, lime juice and zest, and vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy. Slowly add in salt and sugar, and mix until combined.

Frost cupcakes and top with a lime slice and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Now go and make them!

Happy Anniversary!

2011-04-26T13:16:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it has been 15years!

How did the time fly by so fast?....I think we must be old now? (At least in the eyes of our children.)

I still feel young.. but even on the days that I don't, I'm so glad that I get to grow old with, and spend the next 50- 60 years (my plan is for us to live vibrantly into our 90's- then sit down together, hold hands and just peacefully fall asleep. Good plan, right?) with my very best friend and the kindest, handsomest husband a girl could ask for.

Happy 15th to us!

Then....

Now...

Not too bad, right? I wonder what these photos will look like in another 15 years! Oh mercy...

To Milk or Not to Milk

2011-04-08T19:28:00.008-04:00

Lately I've been cooking some vegetarian meals and quickly learning what is good and what is not. What is not? Fake meat. It is gross! Whether it's made from soy, or rice, or wheat- or whatever else they can come up with... it is all disgusting! Thus I have reached a conclusion for myself... I cannot be vegetarian. I will just stick to that great advice given by the Lord: "eat meat sparingly." So thankfully the BBQ fare will still be happening at my house this summer- and I won't worry about it.

As for milk? The jury is still out. I'm positive that I could never cut out all dairy, forever, and make it work for me. (What I said about fake meat? That applies to fake cheese too. I tried it-- nasty!!!) I could reduce it to a much smaller amount though, so I mentioned my no-dairy/less-dairy thoughts to my thyroid doctor. ( Why I frequently see him is a long over due post that I will some day get around to writing as I believe many women could probably benefit from what I have learned about hypothyroidism over the last few years. But that post needs to be quite involved in order to be sufficient... so I've been avoiding the drama.) He had quite a lot to say about that. To make a long story short, he is vehemently against cutting out dairy. However, what he does believe I should be consuming is quite interesting... He believes I should be consuming raw, unpasteurized dairy. He had a lot of science and thoughts on the issue- but still....seriously?

This is the one doctor who was able to help me when numerous others couldn't. He has a good track record with me and has always been right, thus far, regarding my health--- so I should trust him, right? But raw dairy? That sounds gross- and dangerous. Can I believe him on this one?

What to do now? I have not yet decided. In all fairness, I will keep researching each viewpoint and then I think I will have to continue experimenting- by trying it all out. Raw dairy farmers are hard to come by near me, being that we lack farms this close to the city, but I've tracked some down that bring their products in, so I will find out for myself if it's something I could even consider long term.

Either way, I found a dairy-free smoothie recipe that is actually quite delicious. I like it so much that I have made it twice already today! It's the Cinnamon-Bun Smoothie from the Happy Herbivore's website. Delicious! I make it with rice-milk and use frozen bananas. You should try it.

Red Quilts Galore!

2011-04-08T18:30:00.004-04:00

Last week some friends convinced me to get out of the house for a few hours so that I could join them at an amazing exhibit in the city. With my arsenal of baby gear, we ventured down to the Armory in Manhattan where they were displaying over 600 red and white quilts. It was spectacular! They had them suspended from the high ceiling in circular formations. I was in awe.

I used to spend a lot of time quilting when the boys were babies, but as they have gotten older my time for it has dwindled. This exhibit made me want to whip out the machine and some scraps and make the time. It was so inspiring. So many of them were hand-quilted with such detail!
The really interesting part of the exhibit is that all the quilts are "part" of one woman's collection. I have no idea where she stores all of them, but talk about a fetish! In the info pamphlet given out at the show it said she bought many of them back in the 50's at flea markets. They weren't considered valuable at the time and could be had for a mere 5 dollars! It made me wonder what fabulous treasure of tomorrow is being sold at the flea markets today for pennies.

I had to laugh when I looked at this picture of Warren and I because he is yawning! ( I think in his brain he must have been thinking, "Boring!" Definitely getting that attitude from his dad!)

Laura's Baby Book

2011-04-08T17:18:00.007-04:00

Now that we've had another baby I feel especially guilty that I have never finished Laura's baby book. (She was born over 6 years ago!) Both of my boys have big thick books that they love to look through, and poor Laura has a skinny little book with all of 4 pages done. It's very sad.

I know that this is a common situation for any child who is not the first born, and I could simply tell her, "Too bad for you, join the club!" but you should see her face every time the boys get out their books. It's heartbreaking! I feel awful about this.

Anyway, I woke up this morning and became determined to get to work. After all, I need to get her book done ASAP so I can get Warren's started and going. I refuse to see his disappointed face in a few years when there is no book and he wonders why I don't love him as much as his siblings.

So.... this became the inspiration for my day and when I wasn't nursing or rocking my little guy I was creating pages. They aren't too special, being that I'm trying to crank these out fast, but here are the finished ones so far. I have a very long ways to go, but one page at a time and eventually I will be finished!

See Laura-- I DO love you!

No Meat or Dairy? Yikes!

2011-03-31T17:45:00.004-04:00

I've never been one to watch TV during the day. If I have a moment to rest I would rather read a book because daytime TV is usually pretty lame. However, when it comes to reading books during the day I have to be careful because I have never been good at self-monitoring myself and can find that "I'll just rest and read for 20 minutes" quickly turns into, "Oh no! School's out already? How did six hours go by?" way too often.

Anyhoo.... back to my point- I don't watch daytime TV. Then about a month ago Warren was born and, as I have mentioned before, he prefers me to be with him at all times and likes to nurse A LOT. So, that being said, I have found myself spending many hours on the couch flipping through channels and coming upon a number of interesting shows. To name a few:

"I Didn't Know I was Pregnant."- it's hilarious-and sometimes disturbing. I never knew so many babies were born in the toilet from "constipated" and unsuspecting mothers.
"The Doctor's"- I quite enjoy them and their medical chatter.
"An Idiot Abroad"- British people are always extra funny.
And don't ask me why, but I actually enjoy watching "Hoda and Kathy Lee" in the morning on NBC. They make me laugh and keep me updated on all sorts of pop culture that is totally useless to know.

Anyway...the reason I bring this up is because I was watching "The Doctors" the other day and they had Alicia Silverstone there talking about her book, "The Kind Diet, " which is all about her Vegan lifestyle and why it's so great. I have never been one to even consider Veganism but she happened to bring the doctors a sampling of her "Crispy Peanut Butter Treats With Chocolate Chips" which are her healthy and vegan version of rice krispies and they looked super yummy. I couldn't stop thinking about them all day so I picked up a copy of her book from the library and soon found myself engrossed in it.

I doubt I could ever go completely dairy or meat free- but she makes a number of points that have me cutting back a fair amount. ( Did you know there is cow puss and blood in every cup of milk you drink? If there is even a chance that that is true- it really grosses me out. I can't ever look at milk the same again! Which actually kind of makes me sad. I like milk! We typically go through about 6 gallons of it a week. But this week that has decreased to about two. I sort of get the heebie-geebies now just looking at it!)

Actually- as of 4 days ago I went dairy-free anyway because I've been advised by a number of moms to give it a try for fussy babies and actually it seems to be doing the trick. Warren is much more relaxed, so I will be sticking with that for awhile. I think I will go ahead and experiment with the whole philosophy for a week or two and see how I feel. It's a bit of a challenge for a girl like me since I am against soy products, which seem to be a staple of most vegan diets. (But that's another story altogether.)

So I made Alicia's rice krispy treats and then proceeded to feast on the whole pan over a span of about 48 hours, which probably negates the whole "healthy" treat part. Oh well! They are yummy!

Maybe I will post more on these new Vegan thoughts another day.... or maybe I will just forget it altogether and eat a big juicy steak! Stay tuned.

Sick Day- Yippee!

2011-03-30T12:50:00.004-04:00

Unlike most people, my kids love to get sick! Getting sick means no school, watching lots of TV and getting pampered. No one takes this to heart like Laura! Yesterday she came home from school feeling a little under the weather with a mild fever. Now today, even though she is coughing, has a mild sore throat and headache- she couldn't be happier.

Being that I do not want myself or Warren to catch whatever it is she's got, I told her she would be quarantined to her room. She just smiled, grabbed an IPOD Touch and went happily to her bed. However, after a couple of hours this morning she called down that she was hungry and would need "room service- on a tray!" Priceless! She then proceeded to write out her order and toss it down to me. As you can see her breakfast request was pancakes, orange juice and syrup. (Side note: It warms my heart when I see her writing because it is relatively phonetic! Yippee! After two dyslexic sons- that is unusual around here- and very exciting!) And since I believe that being sick does in fact warrant lots of pampering I got cracking and brought her a tray of food- to which I added some mangoes. Oh how I love mangoes!I mentioned how Laura really takes her need to be pampered seriously and her next note, a request for a snack, shows just how much. She writes:

Snack
1. crackers
2. Nutella
3. Orange Juice
P.S. May you come clean up Breakfast!

Yes ma'am! I'll get right on that!
Got to love her!

Meanwhile, Warren is chilling in his new favorite location: The kitchen counter. He likes to be in the middle of all the action.

The Truffle Shuffle!

2011-03-30T08:19:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I confessed to a friend that as I get in the shower (which unfortunately for any close friends and family doesn't happen nearly as much as it should these days) and catch a glimpse of my post-pregnancy bod in the mirror--I either start to cry or burst out laughing! Depends on the day.

On the more upbeat days, when I have a good chuckle at myself, it is always because my reflection makes me think of "The Truffle Shuffle." I told this to my friend and she got a perplexed look and asked 'What's that?" Really? Could it possibly be that there are people out there not familiar with The Truffle Shuffle, from the great 80's movie "Goonies?" It's one of those scenes that probably shouldn't be funny, but it just is.

If you haven't seen Goonies- then log into your Netflix account and add it today. My kids love this movie. ( Although I have to say that they watch an edited version I purchased a few years back since the language is a little too much for my taste. Why is it that family movies in the 80's thought is was OK to have scummy language? For instance, the breakfast scene in E.T. where all the kids are smut-mouthed-- come on Steven Spielberg! Clean it Up!)

So...for explanation purposes of why my reflection makes me giggle, and to enlighten those of you who have still never seen this movie, here is the "Truffle Shuffle." Enjoy!

And just for laughs...if you want to see my favorite scene from this movie- and possibly out of any movie ever.. go here. (I can't embed this one.)

Still Under Construction....

2011-03-29T22:49:00.002-04:00

Like most "construction" projects, this one is taking longer than this "contractor's" original estimate. (Can you tell I love quotations?) I'm still working on a new header. Until then... sorry about the blah!

Construction Zone!

2011-03-28T08:16:00.003-04:00

I'm feeling sad that our family photo above is one kid short and there are a number of blog "buttons" I think I should be adding so, I'm going to try for an overhaul today of my blog design and template etc.. However, it may take me a number of hours to figure out the new "template designer, " so, if you are one of the few people that actually read this, (mostly just you Mom!)I'm sorry for the mess!

Hopefully I will be newly beautiful by the end of the day!

Spa Baby Tub

2011-03-27T11:42:00.006-04:00

I mentioned before that Warren doesn't care for the bath. He hates to be naked, or even mildly chilled, which was becoming a bit of a problem for me because I LOVE a freshly bathed baby. They smell so delicious and are so warm and snugly. What was a mom to do?

Then I remembered this crazy bath "pot" that my girlfriend used when her daughter was born. (shout out to you Marianne- the queen of all the latest gizmo's- I love ya!) I thought it was so funny. It looked like you should fill it with soil and plant tulips in it.. but I wondered if it might be the solution for my little guy to finally get happily clean. So I gave it a try...

I kid you not- this thing is awesome!! I stripped my baby naked which, of course, started the scream fest and then the moment we placed him in the pot-- wallah!!-- Instant relaxed baby! All the tension oozed right out of him. It was amazing! He was so happy. I think he could have stayed there all day! Check out his glazed over look...

Isn't that adorable? He looks like a little Buddha that we planted for the spring!

If you are having similar problems bathing your babe--I highly recommend this! Here is the website for the Spa Baby Tub, which I'm using. They say it's the most warm, relaxing, calming, soothing and womb-like tub on the market. ( I whole heartily agree now.) You can even watch their video on why this is the best tub ever! There is another brand called the Tummy Tub that looks exactly the same- but has an optional pedestal type stand/stool for it. I'm sure it's great too.

**The one negative is that whilst your little one is small and can't hold their own head up- it's a little bit awkward to hold their head out of the water and clean them at the same time. It works best for me to have my husband hold his head up while I do the scrubbing. Normally this would seem like a pain and a major deal breaker for me- but now I'm just grateful for something that works, and it's actually been fun for us to bathe him together at night. Family bonding time!

I love love this tub!

Revenge of the Pickle

2011-03-23T09:23:00.003-04:00

Saturday night was our annual Cub Scout Pine Wood Derby. Kimball entered his car he named "Revenge of the Pickle." His car was the fastest from our Bear den this year so he gets to take his car to districts.

Last year Kimball entered his first "pickle" car. His design philosophy was inspired by an episode of "Myth Busters" where they tested whether or not the dimples on a golf ball in fact helped the ball to travel farther and faster. To make a long story short- they proved it scientifically and Kimball became inspired for his next car. Thus- the dimples! And what other color could a car be if made by Kimball but green? It has been his choice of color since he came out of the womb. It doesn't matter what it is- clothes, toys, food or Pine wood Derby cars- he wants it green! I've never met another kid quite as color obsessed as Kimball. It's another reason I would love to spend a few moments inside his brain and just experience things there. I imagine it would be very interesting indeed.

Anyway.... once he had dimpled the car and painted it green, it took on a peculiar resemblance to a pickle so.... that's what he named it. It was very fun to hear the kids chanting "Piiickle! Piiickle! Piiickle!" whenever his car went down the track. And since the first pickle won fastest in his den last year-- he felt it imperative that he make another pickle this year.

I imagine that next year we will be making our third pickle and although I can't say for sure whether next years car will be a fast one I can bet that he will once again win a ribbon for "Tastiest Car."

"Revenge of the Pickle." The perfect Kimball car.

Couch Potatoes

2011-03-22T13:36:00.004-04:00

Shhhh! Nobody move! He's sleeping!

It is well past lunch time and I have finally gotten this little stinker to rest. I strapped him down into the car seat and forced the binky on him. It will probably only last 10 or 15 minutes. A mother can dream...

Call it colic, reflux-- I don't have a clue-- but I might lose my sanity soon! I keep thinking there must be something I'm doing wrong--something I forgot in the last 6 years that it took us to decide to have this baby.

I've never had a child like this! In my past experience my babies will nurse and then snooze for a few hours, thus letting me sleep if needed, or clean and work on projects or run errands or something! I will take anything at this point! I can't figure this kid out.

He hates the bath. All my kids have loved the bath! It's warm and splashy- and mommy sings to them... but not Warren. He will have none of it. (I thought maybe he just hated my singing- but the silent bath is no good either.) He screams bloody murder the whole time.

He hates to have his diaper changed. Again- bloody murder screaming- which is especially lovely at 2 in the morning.

He could care less for the binky! All my kids love the binky! I love the binky! How can this be?

Some days are better than others. Take yesterday- he acted fairly normal and although still more agitated than my other babies, he had a good Warren day- a day where I started to think that he's coming out of it and that we are getting into the swing of things.... and then the sun sets and we have a night like last night. He just won't sleep for any extended period of time.

I would call it an overall lack of contentment. It's very sad! It makes me sad for him and it makes me sad for me. Even the before mentioned tummy sleeping doesn't seem to be working these days. If he were 6 months I'd let him scream it out, but I can't do that now when he's so little. It would break my heart.

So we sit here together on the couch all day.

I may never get out of my pajamas. I guess I should get online and order some cuter ones.

But that will have to wait for another 10 minute window. My current window just shut..

Parfaits

2011-03-21T12:45:00.004-04:00

Every now and then I get an itch to make a yummy fun treat. Now for me, "every now and then" is equivalent to a couple times a week- and is a key reason why diets would never work around here. (especially since 2x a week only relates to making the treats. My desire to eat the treats is a daily occurrence!)

Luckily for me, I don't believe in dieting, and in fact think it's morally wrong, so I try not to worry too much about it! Thus- another reason I will remain post-pregnancy-chubby for much longer than I probably should. Oh well! Like I always say, I would rather exercise for an additional hour each day than stress about every calorie.

Anyway, yesterday was one of those days and since Warren was taking long luxurious naps, I had a few extra minutes and used them to make a time-honored favorite of mine. Jello Parfaits!! ( a few years ago I wrote about how fantabluous they are.)

Aren't they pretty? I never will outgrow them.

Warren was so excited about our parfaits that he lost his usual seriousness for a fraction of a second and, I believe, gave me a smidge of an un-related-to-gas first smile!

Back to Sleep?

2011-03-13T09:51:00.003-04:00

A number of years ago the "powers that be" told every new mom that we needed to lay our babies down to sleep on their backs--- AND ON THEIR BACKS ONLY---otherwise the chance of losing our little ones to SIDS was greatly increased. All three of my previous children slept exactly that way as infants--- on their backs, which brings me to my current problem..... Warren is a tummy sleeper!

Every night, I lay this boy down to sleep on his back, or even on his side, and he will sleep at the most 3 hours- but usually only about an hour and a half at a time. But, during the day when I lay him on his tummy to nap on the couch and get his "tummy time" (another must-do proclaimed by the powers that be in order to fix the whole flat-head and weak-neck issues brought about by the "back-to-sleep" campaign) he sleeps dreamlessly for hours on end! Just look at how peaceful he is!
So what is a mom to do? I know that if I put him down on his tummy at night I could go back to actually sleeping and then possibly join the living some time soon. ( Instead of my current state of wandering around in my unbuttoned pajamas all day staring off into space in a foggy stupor.) But, I won't/can't do it! The pediatric profession has made me too paranoid! I could never live with myself if my baby became a statistic because I wanted to sleep at night. Thus he only gets his precious tummy sleep when it's day time and I am awake to check on the rise and fall of his back every few minutes or so.

Stanton is convinced that the whole "Back to Sleep" program is based on bad science- or some study done in rural Australia with suffocating sheep skins or something... but even if that were true... there is still that little OCD voice in my head saying, "But what if they're right?" "What if there is only a .00001% chance that they are right?--- Do you want to take the risk?"

It's so frustrating to live inside my brain!!

So.....we continue on. We DON'T sleep all night-- on our backs, and we sleep A LOT during the day-- on our tummies.

Oh sweet delicious sleep!

Welcome Baby!

2011-03-10T07:27:00.007-05:00

I've had a number of people shoot me emails etc. wondering if I've ever had the baby. Thankfully I can announce that yes!!... I am NOT 42 weeks pregnant!

Warren Rockwell was born on February 26th . He did NOT come early like my other kids, and he did NOT come fast like my other kids. I think we have started a trend here and this little guy will most likely be quite the individual with his own personal style about things. Although- if you think about it- individual style (with a touch of quarkiness) could actually be considered a norm amongst my offspring....so it all depends on how you look at it.

I went into labor Friday night around dinner time and arrived at the hospital around 3AM. Going into labor at night is the pits because you end up missing an entire night of sleep. By Saturday morning I was completely delirious from lack of sleep and that makes the pain so much worse. Stanton kept encouraging me to "go natural" because he knows I like the faster recovery time I get that way...so I toughed it out all night long. Then in the morning around 10AM they broke my water ( mine never breaks on its own) and I fell apart. Per usual everything was much worse after that. I felt like I'd been put in the stockades all night long and I panicked- so I begged for the epidural!

But alas, I had waited too long and Warren was not hanging around waiting for me to get more comfortable... so the anesthesiologist suggested he give me a quick "spinal." At that point I was desperate and would have taken anything he wanted to give me- so the spinal it was. Let me say- that was a crazy sensation! Within seconds I was a complete parapalegic! I couldn't feel anything! Stanton and the nurse each had to hold onto one of my legs so they didn't completely flop off the table. My lower half was a giant dead fish! It was VERY glamorous!!

(Looking back, part of me wishes I had just gone for it. After all, I only had about 15 minutes left to go. But at the time I was so tired, I just couldn't deal anymore- so the other part of me says-- "Been there done that!- No thanks!" I'll take the dead fish!) ...and about fifteen minutes after that Warren joined the world!

He is a little angel. There really isn't anything like a newborn. Just looking at him makes me feel peaceful. (except for maybe at 2 AM when he's still sucking the life out of me for the 3rd hour in a row.) But- all the other times--I feel quite relaxed!
It's all worth it. Every ache and pain, every varicose vein, every extra pound I'll be stuck with for the next year or so, all the lost hours of sleep, all the lost hours of everything...he's worth every last bit of it.

Pregnancy Blues

2011-02-22T14:31:00.009-05:00

I should NOT still be pregnant! Urgh!!!

I have been "nesting" for months on end, making lists upon lists of things that need to be done, and made or purchased around here before I'm ready for this baby, and now I have finished! I'm finally ready. My projects are completed. But- no baby.

I know this frustration is my own fault. All my previous children were born a week before their due dates- so naturally I decided this one would join us last week. No deal! No baby! I hate it when things don't go according to my plans! I am in a perpetual bad mood about this.

I have stopped answering my phone and have become a recluse. I do not want to have another conversation with a well-meaning friend or relative about how I am still with child! I know it is all well-intentioned- but it still doesn't make me feel any better! I am a walking, sitting, never comfortable, disgusted by my own reflection human-walrus and I hate hate hate it!!! (note- the above picture was taken over a month ago- because the picture taken of me today is not fit for human eyes. I have become scary!!)

So...... if you are wondering if I have given birth yet to this child-NO! I have not, and I am trying not to think about it! So- by all means call me- we can chat- but if you are a friend, you will not mention this baby, or this pregnancy, or anything child related. (Truly-it's probably safer just not to call at all. Seriously! I am losing it over here! The likely-hood that I will say something rude or ungracious to you is very high--- don't risk it.)

Call me in a week- hopefully I will be in a better place.

Deep Breath.......so I mentioned before, I have finally checked off a long list of to-do's around here. In the interest of "focusing on the good" brought by this pregnancy, I will share. ( please note, that I am lacking a good camera so the lighting in these pics is as good as it gets from me.)

First, being New York square-footage challenged we opened up the basement by 6 more feet to give us something along the lines of a family room. No matter how I tried- we couldn't squeeze another bathroom down there- so we are still making do with one, but all in all the extra play space is very nice.

We've gone from this:

To this:

It's still not large and I've yet to furnish it. Those decisions will take me awhile I'm sure, so I'm making do with the IKEA temporary fixes-- but I do love my carpet tiles! They are so fun! We also had the staircase to the basement redone, since our last one was a death trap. It makes such a difference!There is "no room in the inn" so to speak for this new baby boy of ours, but Laura is willing to share so I set to work on their new room last November. My first goal was to install wainscoting on the walls. I am a huge fan of my nail gun. It is a woman's best friend. My second goal was to find fabric that could work for both a boy and a girl. That took forever! Then I started sewing the bedding, crib bedding, window treatments etc... and then I put it all in the room and what did I get? A VERY girly room! Oh well. I tried! I really did! Girly just comes naturally for me. (We'll have to add another room somewhere onto this house in a couple years before our son develops gender issues.)

Stanton bought me a new Lazy-Boy, which I believe is a must for any nursing mom. I love it! And I made a new "boppy-pillow"- also a must have.

We repainted the dining room a light blue-grey color. I can't believe what a difference it makes in there. I love red rooms( it's previous color)- but have learned my lesson in regards to small houses- stick with light colors. The room looks so much bigger now.

I finished building the picture ledges for the upstairs hallway. My plan is to paint all the frames various light colors and make this my "family-history wall" full of black and white photos of ancestors to go along with our family tree. Now, I just have to track down all those pictures...

I finally chose tile for the back splash! Yippee!

I got out the nail gun again and built a ledge of hooks for the kids backpacks etc.. It's right smack in the kitchen- but it does the job. For those of you spoiled enough to have a mud room- I hope you appreciate it!We finally finished the built ins. After stripping and painting some base cabinets I got on Craig's List, and then building the shelves, I gave up and hired someone to do to moldings. I'm so glad I did! Miters have never been my strength.

I even finished sewing a new sassy diaper bag for myself!
Not pictured? We cleaned out the attic, layed a new plywood floor up there and reorganized it. I cleaned and reorganized the garage. I added a shelving system underneath the basement stairs to organize toys and games. I repainted the kitchen a color almost identical to the one it was before- but which makes my happier anyway. I installed more shelving in the boys' rooms and made them a giant fabric covered cork board. I made a new cover for the car seat and a bunch of burp cloths. I bought diapers, wipes, layette clothes, binkies, bottles, and just about everything else I could think of!

I have been a manic, crazy, project lady- but now I am done! I have finished all the manual labor and I'm ready!

So, please, please, please baby boy....Stop the torture. Come today!

Don't Fence Me In

2011-02-22T08:54:00.004-05:00

If someone were to ask you to tell a story about David from the Old Testament, I am sure that for most of you, like me, you would tell about the young boy who because of his faith in God was able to slay the mighty Goliath with a single stone. That would be most of us...

I however, am the mother to a little boy who never thinks inside the box. I often wonder what it would be like to spend a day inside that beautiful brain of his. I'm not sure that I would be able to keep up actually, since it's always going a mile a minute and making crazy 360 degree turns and such.

Anyway--- back to my original thoughts about David. Kimball's primary teacher approached me to share a funny experience about my a fore mentioned son. They were playing a game of Scripture Pictionary and she gave Kimball the clue of "David." He quickly went to the chalkboard and proceeded to draw an eyeball, a stick figure off to the side, and an arrow pointing from the eyeball to the figure. She was a little perplexed and needless to say, nobody in the class could guess what Scripture story he was portraying- so he told them:

"You know, it's when King David was looking at the naked lady."

Oh... well.. Yes, of course. Can't believe we didn't think of that one first!

Now, for some reason I can't stop singing that Bing Crosby/Andrew Sisters song titled: "Don't Fence Me In."
Don't worry, Kimball I wouldn't even try. I love the way you think.

Snow, Snow Go Away!

2011-02-01T10:50:00.003-05:00

This is the view around my house, and has been for over a month now. I would get some better- more dynamic pictures- but I don't want to actually go out there. Just know that it is worse than it looks. It never melts- it just keeps piling up! We have now received at least 20 more inches of snow than is the average around here for this time. I'm sure if you live in Northern Minnesota this is your norm- but I am losing it! Shoveling even a mere 10 inches of snow when you are almost 9 months pregnant is painful!

We have lived here in NY for 9 years ( how did that happen?), and it snows every winter. However, our storms are spread out here and there, and they always melt in between each other, so when they come it's an adventure and usually a fun day off school to go sledding.

This year is a whole other game- it never ever melts! I feel like every street is a dirty white Grand Canyon. Backing in and out of driveways is a disaster. There is no room- and way too many people park on the street around here. I have done countless 20-point turns trying to navigate my way around and through the snow-canyon walls of my neighborhood. (It's the curse of living in a town where 80% of the homes were built before cars existed-- thus no garages.) We have had a number of snow-days and delayed starts at school, which is still fun- but the snow is such on those days that by the time we dig ourselves out, we are all too tired to go sledding or enjoy it. Ugh!

Thoughts regarding the weather from my 11-yr-old as we slowly trekked our way to school :

"Gee, I sure wish Global Warming was for real. That was a big lie, wasn't it."
(I swear that came with no indoctrination from me!)

Spring Is In the Air!

2010-04-06T12:12:00.018-04:00

The kids started back to school today after our week-long spring break. Some parents love it when school starts back up- but I'm always a little sad. I like doing our own things. Oh well!

We went to the movies, painted ceramic animals, dyed Easter eggs, made our own movies,( all indoor activities for the three days of rain we had), played lots of games, had a picnic in the park, roasted marshmallows and hot dogs in the backyard and had a jolly good time.

Although all of that was fun, the highlight of the week was going to Virginia to camp with our cousins, hunt frogs and celebrate Easter. My brother moved to Virginia last year and it's been great having family within driving distance for the first time in 7 years!

We found a great campsite near Gettysburg so after visiting the battle grounds we stayed up late and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows again (they never get old!). For much of our time around the fire the kids told jokes. Kid's jokes are awesome! Half of them are "new" jokes that are somehow the very same ones I remember telling 25 years ago to my own cousins and the the other half border on being so stupid that they aren't even funny at all!-- Yet, interestingly enough, for that very same reason- they ARE funny and we all laugh and laugh. Good Times!

On to the "frog-hunting" part of the trip. Within the camping facility is a little fishing lake which we took the kids to on Saturday morning. There we discovered a little marshy pool of water loaded with mating toads. They were everywhere! The males were croaking and blowing up there necks to look macho and then pouncing on the lady toads right and left. The older kid figured out what was going on right away- and the little ones thought it was cute how they were giving each other "piggy-back" rides. Too funny.

Kimball waded right in and started catching toad after toad. It took a little while for the other kids to warm up to it- but soon everyone was catching toads- even Laura. This was my favorite part of the week and the good news is that I actually pulled out my camera!

Kimball wading right in!

Laura trying to work up the nerve to catch one.

Success!

At one point my nephew picked up a "couple," and no matter what this little guy would not let go of his lady. He held onto her with the jaws of life!

Awww Spring! Got to love it!

I did get this one other picture!

Overlooking Gettysburg

I Pray for You

2010-04-06T12:01:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine introduced me to this song last week. It makes me laugh. And....he is quite the cutie! Enjoy.

But No Elephants

2010-03-23T10:14:00.003-04:00

There is nothing like snuggling with a little one and reading a good book! It's the best. Every night before bed one of us reads books with Laura, and last night we read one of my favorites, "But No Elephants, " by Jerry Smath. This book just warms my heart- not only because it was one of my favorites as a child, but because our copy is the very same one that I had. It's still in great condition and I love to think about my own little chubby hands turning the pages and listening to my my mom read it to me again and again.

The story is about a little old lady who lives all alone and is trying to get ready for the upcoming winter. A pet man comes along and sells her various animals, each of which become a great friend and help her in one way or another to prepare for the oncoming cold. She buys a canary who sings to her, a beaver who cuts the wood, a wood pecker who fixes her roof, a turtle who carries her on his back when she is tired. Each time the pet man sells her a new animal she proclaims with passion, "But No Elephants!"

Finally the pet man comes to sell her with his last pet left and of course it is the elephant. Grandma once again refuses him. What would she do with an elephant after all?

The pet man must have decided he didn't want an elephant either because he ditches the poor animal right in front of Grandma's house. Then winter begins and it snows and snows and snows and they can all hear the elephant crying. Grandma feels bad and her heart is softened-- so she lets him in. ....

This of course causes all sorts of problems! He falls through the floor and gets stuck and then he eats all the food. Grandma says, "What will we do? We cannot leave or we will freeze. We cannot stay or we will starve!" The elephant feels terrible for what he's done and he wants to help, so he stands up and starts to walk (imagine a little house with elephant legs sticking out of it). And he walks and walks and walks until they get to a warm sunny place!

The book ends with a very groovy looking grandma serving fruity drinks to a bunch of elephants out side of her new sunny warm home hosting a sign that says, "Welcome Elephants!"

Every winter when the dark and dreary cold sucks the life out of me I dream that a elephant in shining armor would just pick up my house and walk me someplace sunny. Grandma sure had it good!

I love that I can pass on this sweet book to my kids. I will make sure they each have their own copy for when they get to sit down with their own chubby-fingered babes.

Craft Ideas

2010-02-27T17:53:00.005-05:00

I found something adorable online the other day while surfing blogs. It was one of those afternoons where I sat down to look something up and somehow ended up wasting a couple of hours in the world of "link-a-links," jumping from one craft blog to another admiring and imagining all the cute stuff I could make.

I got really excited in particular about this adorable valentine tree some other crafty Mom(most likely a Utah resident) made. It was just the perfect idea for my dining room table to add that whimsical touch of romance for our valentines dinner.

Here's the problem- I went back the next day to see the photo again and start my project- but I could not find it anywhere! I forgot to bookmark it and since I arrived at the blog through the before mentioned "link-a-link" method I had no idea where I saw it. I was so bummed!

To solve this problem I have now decide that whenever I see something I love, and that I want to make, copy, purchase, or just continue to covet, I am going to post it here. This way I can always find it again- and the few people who actually keep up with my family's simple life will benefit as well!

With that in mind, I found silhouette pendants , designed by Whitney Phippen today! I love, love them. Wouldn't my neck look gorgeous with these? It's like having one of those Victorian cameos- only cuter because it has your own kids silhouettes!
You can purchase them here. They are a little pricey- maybe I can come up with a way to make myself a knock-off version? Or drop a few hints for Mother's Day?

Also- I think I will need a few more kids to get the full effect here. It looks adorable with six and I'm afraid my mere three children would make a necklace that was much too sparse!

A Morning Boost

2010-02-02T09:04:00.009-05:00

This morning I woke up to music and it was great! I always wake up to the radio- but it's usually set to NPR and I drag myself out of bed to the drone of some British voice talking about Afghanistan, the latest from Obama, the state of the economy- or other equally depressing stuff.

But not today.... Somehow my clock had gotten switch to a music station and it became a major boost to my day!They were playing the song above by Train titled "Hey Soul Sister." I love it! It puts a smile on my face and makes me want to dance- and I firmly believe that dancing is the best way to start any good day!

So, with such a positive morning, why don't I always have my clock set to awaken me with music? Simple--my past experience with morning DJ's is this: They are all disgusting! They are crude and vulgar and full of themselves and I hate listening to them.

Why do radio producers think we want to wake up to, or commute to work listening to, a bunch of jerks telling crude jokes and laughing at themselves? If they would all shut-up and just play music then I would tune in, but they don't! They blab on and on offending me right and left and so I avoid them at all costs.

I have to believe that a huge portion of America would agree with me on this because I also believe that most of America is still made of decent, moral, family-going folk and NOT the select group of trashy a-moral losers that get themselves videoed on various reality shows! And if my suspicious are indeed correct- radio hosts should figure it out and stop with the nasty potty talk!!!

OK- I have said my peace. Back to the music...

I have learned a good lesson today, and I'm going out to get a clock that I can hook up to my IPOD, thus ensuring me many more smiley, upbeat, music-filled mornings in the future! (Because honestly people- I couldn't care less about what Obama said or didn't say this week! He makes my skin crawl!)

I love the new song by Train, but it is not alone in my list of happy, pick me-up songs. I'm sure you each have your own, but in case you want some ideas here are a few of mine. (I put links with some of them so you can have a taste!) Enjoy!

"When The Night Hears My Song" by Bedouin Soundclash
"The Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani (clean version!!!)
"Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus **my kids and I can rock the kitchen with this one!
"Mardy bum"by Arctic Monkeys- not a big dancer but still makes me happy
" Sk8er Boi" by Avril Lavigne
"Dancing with Myself" by Billy Idol try the Glee version here!
(this will always make me think of my older brother dancing in the family room and jumping all over the furniture- about 25 years ago! It's still a good one!)
"Shot Through the Heart," and "Livin on a Prayer" by BonJovi (They never get old!)
"Blue Suede Shoes" by Carl Perkins
"Cowboy Casanova" by Carrie Underwood
"Young Blood" song from musical "Smokey Joe's Cafe"
"Good people" Jack Johnson (again not a big dancer- but i still love it.)
"Pata Pata" - an African folk dance song. So fun for kitchen dancing!

8 Great Years

2010-01-31T10:57:00.002-05:00

Here is the video I made for Kimball's baptism. So much of his life was before we had a digital camera, so I had to have a lot of photos scanned in at ScanMyPhotos.
***(If you are not family- be warned- this is long and probably NOT of interest to you!)

Kimball's Baptism

2010-01-31T09:00:00.012-05:00

January is over today and I couldn't let it pass without journaling one very important event(for family history's sake)-Kimball's 8th birthday and his baptism.

Kimball has one of those right-after-Christmas-forgotten-about-birthdays that gets itself smooshed into Christmas every year. I would feel bad about that except that this actually works out well for him being that most years we are on vacation at the time. This means that most years he gets to celebrate with his cousins and grandparents and we have convinced him many a time that we go to Hawaii, Disneyland or to California or "Ruby's on the Pier" in Balboa-just for him, in celebration of his day. My favorite was the "volcano birthday" in Hawaii with a cake made out of Ding Dongs and Ho Ho's. We even did fire-works that year. He thought he was so special!
However, we may have over done it in this regard because I now have another child who has started asking me, "Mom, how come we don't get to go on vacation for my birthday?" That's the thing about parenting: you try and do something nice for one kid and, inevitably, that very thing is somehow viewed as an oversight by another. Another example? I walk into the room and notice "Child A" drawing a lovely picture.

"Oh, what a good artist you are. That is lovely!," I say.
In comes "Child B":
"But, mom- I could have made that way better! I'm a better artist-right? "

Geepers! Is this just my children? Did I fail somehow? ........ I will add it to my ever growing list....

On to the real story here- Kimball's big day. This year Kimball turned 8 and we debated about where we would baptize him. It was important to us that he get to be with as much family as possible and being that Grandma Neilson can't travel right now, and we wanted her to be there- we decided to fly to sunny CA. Seriously- shorts and tees in January? They are so spoiled!
It was a perfect day with all four grandparents and lots of cousins from in town and from out. I wouldn't have had it any other way. It's hard for me to believe, or accept for that matter, how much my babies are growing up. Kimball is such a delight in my life. He is always cheerful and loving. He never lets a days pass without giving us all hugs and telling us he loves us. Kindness is one of his great talents. Thank you for being you-Kimball! We love you so much!
**One funny side note: Stanton had told Kimball before the baptism that he could be the one to go down and pull the plug in the font when it was over. Unbeknownst to us- he took this very literally and no sooner had Stanton finished baptising him- but he let go and dived right in! My family thought he was taking a wild swim- kicking and splashing and having a dandy ole time-( it was Kimball after all!) but he was just trying to pull that plug out! It was hysterical.

Oh how I love that boy!

The FlipCamera

2010-01-24T10:47:00.004-05:00

This Christmas we received a great toy from my brother's family- the Flip-Camera! I love it! It's the perfect size to take with you wherever you go, but the best part about it is it's simplicity. It's very basic, with just a couple of buttons. Even my 5 yr. old has it mastered. For that reason alone it gets used a lot in my house. My kids catalog their weirdness all day long. We are very rapidly creating hours upon hours of video that I can use to embarrass them with later in their lives.

Here are a two moments of randomness from our home:

Happy Haunting!

2009-10-23T14:00:00.000-04:00

This makes me laugh every time! Enjoy!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

A Great Book!

2009-06-29T21:58:00.003-04:00

My husband and I both just finished reading this book. It is terrific! If you love to run, or wish you did- then you need to read this book. Go to your library and get it. It will change the way you think.

After you read it you will start running barefoot, or in these. That sounds like it would hurt or something, right? It doesn't. In fact, in feels great! Truly.

In addition you will start consuming a lot of chia seeds or putting "chia gel" in whatever you can. Who knew that your chia pet was hiding something so awesome and life-sustaining!

It would take forever to explain it all- so get the book. Seriously- stop what you are doing and get it now. It's a great read!

Needed Blessings

2009-06-27T16:19:00.003-04:00

The other day while driving in the car on the way to church, Kimball had some questions regarding fasting. (It happened to be Fast Sunday) As parents it feels great when your kids ask questions like that. It opens the door for you to have what will surely be a great parenting moment, right?

I for one have a wonderful dream of what will occur..... a couple of minutes where we share a deep, spiritual conversation. We are moved. Our children are moved. I imagine that those few moments impact them forever and when they are adults they write it down and then quite possibly submit it to the Friend magazine for publication in the form of a story, "based on real events."

So, we had our discussion and I thought it had gone very well. Then came the time to ask some questions and get their feedback. One of the questions? Stanton asked Kimball if there was something specific he might like to fast for. After a short pause, Kimball's response was:

"Yes! What I really need is.......... the power to read people's minds."

Well, all-righty then. Good talk. Good talk.

Another big catch-up.

2009-06-27T08:22:00.008-04:00

Summer Vacation has finally started! Our school year lasts so long every year that, come the end of June, we are all fed up with the schedules and homework and very anxious for some free time and fun!

Maybe I will blog about all we do......but maybe not. ( I feel bad for my posterity. They will have big empty gaps of my life to try and figure out on their own. Oh well!)

As for what we've been doing lately, here are a few updates for Grandma!

Budding Talents

Most recently, Laura has started designing. She approached me last week with a drawing of a purse that she had thought up. "Mom, it needs to be a crescent shape, with polka dots." Since I'm always up for a new project to sew, we got to work. She chose her fabric from the basement stash and sat down to draw a pattern on tissue paper. It was very basic so it came together quick.

She is so delighted with her creation and takes it everywhere we go. I can't wait to see what drawing she brings me next.

New Hair

We decided to save money on the barbers and shave some heads. Kimball and Stanton are both sporting the buzz look from now on. I love the ease of it, and think they both look adorable.

Piano Recitals

The boys performed in their first ever piano recital. Tustin was so nervous that he had a migraine and probably an ulcer or something. Poor kid! They both did great- and forgot to bow. As soon as they finished- they practically ran off the stage.

Laura Graduates

Laura graduated from preschool this year and something weird happened to me. Maybe it's because she's my sweet little girl- or maybe it's because I fear she may be my last child- but I got emotional!

When the boys both had their "graduations," I remember rolling my eyes and feeling embarrassed for all the moms and dads taking pictures and crying with pride. Come on people! It's preschool!

And- now here I was watching my daughter walk up for her little diploma and my heart melted. I lost it. Where have the years gone? Will I ever have another preschooler? Another baby? Is this the end of those sweet days when the world is so full of wonder and mommy is their favorite person? I wish I knew what the answer was. I wish I knew what I wanted the answer to be.

So, I am now humbled and I send out apologies to all the preschool moms that I have mentally mocked in the past. I have joined the ranks of blubbering boobs.

Bugged by Bugs

2009-05-21T22:20:00.005-04:00

Bugs love me. They flock to me. They follow me home. They eat me as often as they can. They strive to live where I live- and most recently- they strive to EAT where I live. To the bees I must smell like nectar. To the mosquitoes my blood is the most sweet. To all other creatures-spiders, beetles, fruit flies, ants, crazy caterpillar things, crickets, and so on- my front door must say, "Welcome! Please Enter. Come one, come all!!!"

I am convinced this must be true because every spring I am plagued, plagued, plagued!! Actually- that is exactly the word for it. I must have a major sin hanging out there that I have plain forgotten about- because pestilence is upon me, and this year is the worst of them all.

Let me give details.... First, my garage, dining room and front porch have become infested with carpenter ants. I have read that in order to truly eradicate them and stop them from turning my home into Swiss cheese I need to find and destroy their nest/nests. I keep watching the little buggers and their "travel" habits seem to lead me every which way. I have no idea where they are staying!

Second, I have another carpenter friend; the carpenter bee. These guys are huge. They have eaten hide-aways into the trim of my house. The males are aggressive, and although they can't sting they love to chase me and buzz right in my face whenever I go outside. Hello! This is my nest- not yours! Get off my property!! I have read everything I need to know about eradicating the stinkers. It is a major pain and due to their location will require a huge ladder.

On to the next winged terrorist- the hornet/yellow jacket. We used to get a hornets nest every year in this old built in-barbecue in our yard. Since, it didn't work anyway, we had it removed, along with the little buggers. Did that stop them? No, of course not. Now they have taken up camp in the eaves of my dining room. They have built their hive, are raising their spawn or whatever they do, and will continue to attach themselves to various places on my property no matter how many times we kill them.

Fourth- I've noticed some funny yellow dust below the legs of my kitchen table. Every day I wipe it up- but then I wake the next day to find it again. Upon further investigation I now know that my table, and even my hutch next to it, are both infested with powder-post beetles!! Not only is my house being slowly chewed and tunneled apart- now my furniture is victim as well!

This problem is not just here in my home. I take my kids to the park, or I go out in the garden to plant some tomatoes, and although I douse myself in bug spray and all sorts of chemicals sure to cause me cancer, I will return from these jaunts looking like a victim of small pox or something. They will not stop eating me!

Today I went to our outdoor shed to get some gardening tools and potting soil I had stored in there. When I came out I felt very itchy. I had been attacked by ants! They were everywhere- crawling all over my arms and legs, in my hair and in my clothes. I had to immediately run into the shower to get them all off, and hours later I still feel like they are in my ears and down my shirt. I can't stop itching!

I have nightmares about bugs eating me, and attaching their suckers and goo to me. I have panic attacks about my house crumbling to the ground because some creature chewed away all the structural beams holding us upright.

Seriously-what did I do? Somebody just tell me so I can make restitution and be saved from these creepy crawlies. I'm losing it!

Hopes from Kimball

2009-03-22T17:02:00.004-04:00

( a strawberry smile!)

My son Kimball has some great personality characteristics, that i must admit he gets mostly from his Father. He's easy-going, thoughtful, unselfish, quick to laugh, softhearted and kind. (He has a few other character traits that drive me up a wall, but still I wouldn't trade him in for the world!)

He came home from school last week with a project he made in his class. It looks similar to a mobile that has three hanging paper shapes. Each shape represents something- his community, his world and himself, and on each one he wrote his hope/dream for that particular thing. I love what he wrote and want to remember it, so I'm sharing it here:

Kimball's Desires:
For his community: "That my family will honor it." ( I asked him for clarification - and he said he wants everyone to obey their parents...I'm never going to throw this away!)
For his world: " That everyone will worship the right God."
For himself: " That my fish will live a long time."

love that kid!

Creative Inclinations

2009-03-22T16:09:00.005-04:00

My kids' elementary school encourages kids to use recycling to create their art projects. My guess is it's cheap for them and aids in their goal of "green living."Over the past five years my boys have come home with what feels like hundreds of sculptures and contraptions made from toilet paper tubes, egg cartons, cereal boxes and various plastic containers. I love that they get to use their imaginations and express themselves so open-endedly, but for the most part these projects look like what they are; trash kept together with tape and glue, so what am I to do with them all?

Thus far, I have had a system of elimination. I praise them for their ingenuity, possibly take a picture or two, and within a few days sneak them into our box to be put out for "recycling" yet again. I wash my hands of them and we're done. ( I know I am a heartless mother)

But last week, my son came home with this:
He named him George. Oh my goodness! He is huge! And unlike the others doesn't look like trash. I actually think he's a pretty cool robot. I don't have the heart to put him out- he looks at me with those big robot eyes and I just can't do it.

So now George is a permanent part of our family.

Onto other creations:

Last week was the Pine Wood Derby, and although Tustin's car was lacking in speed (my husband is still pretty frustrated about that, and convinced that someone sabotaged the well-polished/graphited axels and wheels), he took a second place trophy for "Most Artistic." ( I love all the awards they come up with at these things so that every kid can be a winner. Some of them are a real stretch- but I'm sure all the moms are grateful, as am I, that their son goes home a winner of sorts regardless!)

The 2009 Pine Wood Derby

Perler Beads & Baking Cups!

2009-03-22T15:05:00.005-04:00

My daughter loves color, and especially making patterns with color. I have to admit she has a talent for it. ( I guess I have a future quilter on my hands!) However, as of three months ago I had no idea that this was the case. All of that changed one afternoon when she opened up a drawer in the kitchen and discovered an assortment of silicone baking cups! She was delighted!

Since that day, she has spent innumerable hours stacking, sorting and playing with them. It amazes me that making various patterns of red, yellow, blue, purple and pink over and over---and over--- again could keep her interest for so long, but such is the case. It's crazy-but I have to admit, I have come to appreciate all the extra time it gives me to do my own stuff-uninterrupted.

(A "Perler Beads" set)

This inclination of hers for color and pattern has now become even more pronounced since we discovered "Perler Beads" a few weeks back. How was I ever a parent before these delightful little things? (Seriously- if you do not have them, run to your local Michaels and get some. Even my boys enjoy them- if not quite so much as their sister.) She hardly ever wants to watch television anymore-she just wants to stay in her creative realm with a pile of open-ended beads. I love it!

Using different peg boards, and plastic macaroni-like beads, my daughter has spent endless amounts of time making all sorts of creations. She loves to play with the colors and organize hearts, stars, turtles and flowers, etc..

( some of her latest works of art!)

I am really impressed with the beautiful designs she comes up with. My dining room is no longer used for eating- just Perler Beads, but I love that she has found her passion and I can't wait to see the next artistic medium that it manifests itself through.

As soon as she is old enough to use a sewing machine we will really have some fun!

(Enjoying her two favorites- Baking cups and Perler Beads)

Valentine Violins

2009-02-14T22:05:00.002-05:00

It is Valentine's Day 2009 and I am alone.

Where is my husband you ask? Oh---- he would be somewhere in Canada, with other Neilson men, skiing, getting massages, and soaking in the hot tub.

Surely this was a special, one time, couldn't pass it up opportunity.

But wait! Where was my husband on Valentines Day 2008?.......You guessed it!! --Somewhere in Canada, with other Neilson men, skiing, getting massages and soaking in the hot tub.

Now, where will my husband be on Valentine's Day 2010? I cannot say where his heart will be that day. Perhaps it will be dreaming of the slopes and a good massage-- but his physical presence, his actual person, had better be here WITH ME!!!

I understand the need for male bonding - but this sacrifice on my part will not extend another year! I see no reason why this weekend trip cannot be planned for any other single week out of the winter season that does not "coincidentally" happen to fall on this romantic day, that CANNOT be planned another day. (You can pretend that the week before or the week after is Valentine's Day- but it's not.)

I've said my peace. Love you sweetheart!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Scrapping Templates

2009-02-09T14:27:00.006-05:00

I love to use scrapbooking templates. Even though I often rearrange them a little, I find they are a great jumping off point when I feel uninspired (unfortunately for me, this is most of the time).

Another thing I love is free templates! These are all over the Internet due to talented and generous bloggers. I recently came across one at just2morethings.blogspot.com. She has a lot of two-page spreads which I like because I can get a more pictures and journaling on them. Check it out!

Here's is one of her templates put to use:

Techno Mumbo Jumbo

2009-02-08T16:02:00.003-05:00

Slowly but surely I am figuring out all this "blah blah blah" that one needs to know in order to escape blog/web page disasters.

First- never type something in Microsoft Word and then cut and paste it into your blog post! (It turns out that Word attaches all sorts of crazy html code to your document that in turn messes up your entire blog's formatting etc.) This is what happened to my blog due to a "pasted-post" I did about a month ago.

Second- You will not be aware of this problem, as I wasn't, if you browse with Mozilla- they automatically fix the issue. You, and your fellow Firefox users, will think everything is hunky-dory and be none the wiser until an Internet Explorer friend says, "Hey, I can't see anything on your blog! It's all white without a side-bar!." Thus starts the frustration!

Third- in order to fix this you must either delete the Word-pasted post and abandon it, delete it and retype it, (losing it's archive placement and posted comments) or do what I did and painstakingly enter the offending post's html and erase all the crazy stuff added by Microsoft leaving just your words and then reattach the pictures. It's a hassle- but it does the trick!

Hopefully these tips will save some of you from making my mistakes.

Who knew?

Blog Errors

2009-02-08T13:55:00.002-05:00

Can You See Me Now?

According to many friends, they can't see my sidebar on this blog or any of the cute page elements. (I see everything just fine on my own computer so I'm having a hard time finding the problem.)

If you are reading this, will you post a comment to let know what you see? Can you see my profile image on the right or any of the links to blogs and sites I like? Do you get an error code? What does it say?

Any ideas? I have no idea how to fix the problem

A Pinkalicious UN-Birthday.

2009-02-02T14:00:00.009-05:00

I've always enjoyed throwing parties for my kids' birthdays. I like making the invitations and the decorations and planning treasure hunts and presents. Yet, even though I like doing them, it doesn't preclude me from my usual downfall of procrastination. For instance, last year my son's birthday party was in June, even though he was born in December! That was a full six month lapse so I guess I'm making progress being that my daughter actually turned 4 in November. That's a full three month improvement!

Laura loves the Pinkalicious book and when I saw it listed on her Scholastic Book Order form an easy party idea started brewing. I figured all I had to do was make some pink cupcakes and some pink play-dough, read the book to the kiddos, then let them play-- and call it done! So that's just what we did. It was a fun day.

(The invitation)

The go-home-goodie- a Pinkalicios book and a specially wrapped package of fruity Mentos.

Party Highlight- reading the book of course!

Some kids felt a little nervous about eating the pink cupcakes and worried they might actually turn pink!- we had some green foods on hand just in case!

My birthday girl!

I can't believe my baby is now a little girl! She is such a joy in my life. Without her I may never have become a fancypants mom- and oh how I do love the fancies!

When Laura received her baby blessing her Dad blessed that she would "be a comfort and a joy to her mother." Truly that is what she is to me. I just love her so much!

Happy Happy (belated) Birthday to my own pinkalicious, fancy girl!

Scripture Reading Tip!

2009-01-14T13:53:00.004-05:00

Every January I vow to be better at my regular scripture study. I'm not terrible- but like most things in my life there is always room for improvement. It's odd that I find this habit slips through the cracks so easily, especially when the rewards for doing it are so great. With just a little bit of effort I get the maximum reward. Things are better when I'm regularly reading my scriptures. I feel closer to the Savior and my testimony of Him is that much stronger. I have a greater peace in my life. I feel more well-rounded. I'm a kinder mother, and a better friend. I seem to have more time on my hands and so I get more done in the day. And the list goes on. (With all that in mind, I feel sort of pathetic for being so bad at this one.)

This year is no different from any other and, once again, I'm committed to reading my scriptures. However, this year I'm excited about a new way of doing some of it.

A friend of mine started a blog with her mother called Two Pages a Day. Everyday, they are posting two pages of the Book of Mormon. What a great idea! I have added it to my Google Reader Account, so that each day when I check my email- there it is, and in no time at all I've read the scriptures and thus improved my life.

I thought I should share in case anybody else wanted another tool to increase their chance for scripture reading success!

I love it! Thanks so much Kathryn!

Statistics for Men

2009-01-09T11:11:00.003-05:00

A watched this from a friends blog and just about died laughing so I had to share:

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

2009-01-06T10:42:00.002-05:00

I got sucked into Masterpiece Theatre Sunday night watching the first half of "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," based on a Thomas Hardy novel. I love it so far, but in an effort to find out a little more about what's going to happen in part two, I surfed the net.

What was I thinking!? Not only did this ruin the show for me, but it let me in on a terrible bit of news- this story does NOT end happy! I hate that!

Happy endings are imperative to me. I don't mind the heart wrenching stories as long as they end happy. Who wants to watch a show, invest oneself in the characters and grow to love them only to have them die? It's awful!!

I should have known better. After all- this is Thomas Hardy. I once spent four hours watching, "The Mayor of Casterbridge," based on another of his tales. I watched the entire thing waiting for it to get happy. It never did. Yuck!!

Now what do I do? Knowing I will have to suffer the major emotional let-down, do I watch it anyway?

I know I'm going to. I'm a sucker for punishment.

New Years Resolution

2009-01-06T09:27:00.004-05:00

Snuggling up on Christmas Eve

Another Christmas season has come and gone. They never last long enough for me. It seems like vacation is the only time to just chill and visit with the kids. We have the time to talk and play games and do fun things together. I love it!

I dropped my daughter off at pre-school and another mom exited at the same time as me saying something like, "Phew- after two weeks of them I am so glad my kids are all back in school and I can just be alone again." I felt so sad for her. Certainly, I value my personal time, but she seemed excessively happy to be "rid" of her kids. Maybe her children are particularly difficult- I should give her the benefit of the doubt. Mine definitely have their bad days, but I can't hold it against them, considering how many bad days I seem to be able to crank out myself. But, in the end, cranky moments and all, I still really like being around them and am always a bit sad when they're off and gone.

Besides, it's only a matter of years before they decide it's not cool to hang-out with me anymore. I need to cherish these days when they still think I'm a little bit cool.

Thus, my main new year's resolution is to "stop and smell the roses." If the dishes aren't done, the beds aren't made, and my front room is a disaster---- and yet my daughter wants to sit and read a book with me? I'm going to breathe, find my inner peace and read the darn book!!!

So, if in the coming year you visit our home and are a bit surprised at the mess, just know that I love my family. My sister gave me a cute saying that I think expresses it nicely:

FAMILY
We may not have it all together,
but together we have it all.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Snow Day

2008-12-20T12:31:00.013-05:00

Yesterday was our first snow of the year and they canceled school. I couldn't have asked for a better kick-off to our Christmas Vacation. Snow days force you to stay at home and drop the schedule, and since my agenda often overtakes my life, a day indoors with the kids was exactly what I needed.

Up until yesterday we haven't made time to “stop and smell the pine-trees.” In fact I've been so crazed that we didn't even get our Christmas Cards made and sent this year. (I am currently dealing with major guilt in regards to that. I love the cards. I love making them-- and especially receiving them and seeing how everyones families' are growing. Often it's the only catch up I have with old friends and distant love ones, but I just couldn't get it together this year. Still- I cannot give them up entirely, so we plan on doing a fun Valentines Card, or possibly President's Day.

The swag of cards. I love 'em!

So, what did we fill the day with? First, we cleaned the whole house. That doesn't sound like much fun, (and my kids didn't think it was either), but it set the stage for a peaceful Mom day. With everything clean, I was able to really relax, and although they would never admit it- I think they like playing in a clean space as well.

We baked. We made English Toffee, and Russian Teacakes, both of which are long standing Greene Traditions that I'm passing on It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without either of those.

Russian Tea- Cakes

We played Christmas music all day and took every opportunity we could to sing and dance. We read Christmas stories and scriptures. We shoveled and played in the snow. The kids built a snow fort which they are very proud of.

I found time to sew some projects I've wanted to work on. Currently we're making corn bags to give as gifts. (I guess I should explain what those are- but that's another post.) To top it off, Stanton came home early! To see him in the daylight on a weekday is exciting indeed!

Corn-Bags

The best thing about our snow day was just being together. I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by how much I love my three munchkins. They are growing up so fast and, as hard as I try, I can't slow it down.

If only everyday were a Snow Day.

Pumpkin Love!

2008-10-27T13:20:00.003-04:00

My front porch decked out with mums and my favorite pumpkin fellows from
"Christmas Tree Shop!" Love those colors!!

I looked out my front window today and could not help but revel in this, my favorite season: Fall, Glorious Fall! How I wish this time of year could last.

The leaves are beautiful, the sky is blue, the air is crisp and I'm craving soups and cinnamon and all things pumpkin!

And speaking of pumpkin, I made some "Pumpkin Crunch" last night for dessert. This is a great recipe because of how easy it is, and with some vanilla ice-cream and a dollop of whip cream it's always impressive and a nice change from pumpkin pie. ( although if you are counting calories this is not the recipe for you. But, remember we all need to splurge now and then.....)
Pumpkin Crunch
1 package yellow cake mix
1 can (16 oz.)solid pack pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped pecans
3 TBSP brown sugar
1 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease bottom of 9x13
3. Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt in large bowl
4. Pour into pan
5. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture
6. Top with pecans
7. sprinkle with brown sugar
8. drizzle with melted butter
9. bake for approx. 55 minutes
10. Cool Completely

-Serve with whipped cream and/or ice cream
-Refrigerate leftovers

Enjoy! Happy Fall!!!

Kimball Rides a Bike!

2008-10-19T22:14:00.004-04:00

Pardon the fuzzy video quality but this had to be blogged for family history reasons.

Many of you may think that having your 6 yr. old ride a bike is no big deal, but for us it is major! Kimball has been trying to learn for about 3 years now and, for whatever reason, the skill has alluded him. All our attempts have ended in frustration and the older he gets, (and the more of his friends that ride their bikes), the sadder it is.

We happened to be at dinner at our friends' home last week (thanks again Daniels!) when the subject came up and they mentioned a program called "PedalMagic." that teaches a few simple tips that might be of help. So I went home and read up and watched a few online videos to learn more for myself. (If you want the whole program you have to pay for it. I just took the few free tips I could glean from the presses and decided to try those first.)

Anyways, this past Colombus Day we had some extra time and drove to our church parking lot (which is large and flat) to try, yet again, to teach Kimball to ride.

He did it! He actually did it! A few more practices to get the confidence he needs- but we are on our way!

Thanks for the tip Denise and thanks to Pedal Magic!

Almost Done!

2008-10-19T21:43:00.002-04:00

The counter tops were installed.
The plumbing was connected.
I have a dishwasher again!!

Life's simple joys!!

Things are getting close to finished. We are functional again. Woo Hoo! Yippee!

We still have a lot cosmetic work to be done such as moldings (crown, base, door and window) Also, the back splash still needs to be installed (pending that I ever make a decision on tile) as well as the under cabinet lighting ( again- having a hard time deciding on it) and then we should be about there. Oh- and bar stools. We'll need a place to sit.

Even unfinished, this new space is so much better than the old. It's more organized, more functional, has much better traffic flow and is all together more pleasant to be in.

I know it's silly, and probably some sort of mental placebo, but I think I've become a better, more compassionate, more patient and benevolent mother now that my primary domain is a nice place to be. (My old nasty tile and falling-off-the-walls kitchen was sucking out my personal joy!- Seriously!)

Thank you to all of you who had us over for dinner, dropped food off, took my kids, chiseled away at tile, or otherwise helped me during this process. You are the best friends ever!

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Stick with Barton's!

2008-10-03T09:41:00.002-04:00

Tuesday we took our annual trip to pick apples at the orchard. We had a great time, but it could have been much more enjoyable if I had gone to the farm that I like. Instead, we tried out a place called "Silverman's" in Easton CT.

If you live around here, let me make a suggestion for you: DON'T go to this farm. The owners are crabby, they force you to buy a certain number of bags based on your party size (even if half of those party members are under the age of 4!), they limit you to picking one type of apple only, they charge extra to see their farm animals and they are located right on a busy street which you have to cross with all your kids and produce in hand. I will never make the mistake of going there again.

If you are looking for a fun, family-friendly, good-old-country picking farm to go to- go to Barton Orchards. I love that place! It is a huge friendly farm where you can buy the number of picking bags you want regardless of how many children you gave birth to. You can pick a variety of apples, pumpkins and gourds, as well as raspberries, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, peaches, and a myriad of other yummies. They have a fun playground for the kids and animals you can look at- for NO additional cost. They usually have a corn-field maze and all sorts of other attractions for the holidays and it's out in big open space where there is room to breath and the kids can truly have an experience that they always will remember. My kids love to go there and every year we leave exhilarated by the experience.

Writing this makes me want to go there this very week, even though I already have more apples (forced upon me at Silvermans because I have more than one child) than I know what to do with.

Live and learn. Live and learn.

At least I got a couple cute pictures:

Cabinets are Here!!

2008-10-03T07:47:00.004-04:00

The tile floor was finished this week. I love it so much. The grout came out lighter than it was supposed to but I will plan to seal it a whole bunch and then never allow red Kool-Aid in my house again.

The walls were painted yesterday. I had big plans for doing some fabulous color and although I tested a number of them on the walls, in the end, I chickened out and went with "Palace White." It's safe. I'm good with safe!

The cabinets were delivered this morning and I got a little teary. I can't wait to start getting them all in place next week!

First Dance Class!

2008-09-26T13:56:00.002-04:00

Laura had her first dance class this week. I'm not sure which one of us was more excited. I couldn't wait, and I was really anxious about whether she would like it or not. (OK, OK, I'm sure I would be fine if it didn't end up being her thing, and I would never push it on her if it wasn't. But, I have to admit that, in my heart of hearts, I want to share of love of dance with her. I really, really, really wanted her to like it. )

Yippee! She loved it and can't wait to go back. (I'm a total dork- but I almost cried with joy to see how much she took to it all.) Everyday she asks me if it's time for dance class. What a love!

An Update- Finally!

2008-09-26T13:10:00.005-04:00

I lost my Internet connection last week due to some some confusion with Verizon. It has taken them an entire week to get me back online!! So Frustrating!!! I called their "helpful" technicians every single day for the past week, and finally found one today who actually new what he was doing. Yeah!!

I didn't realize until this experience how much I rely on the Internet. Sure, I use the web for communication- but most importantly it has become my friendly "Great Big Book of Everything" that I turn to with all the constant questions that plague me. Such as: How much Motrin do I give to my kid again? Is this weird lump cancer? How do I make that yummy pizza dough? And, especially at a time like this when I am trying to be my own contractor- What grade of plywood do I need for a subfloor? Should I use nails or screws? I had to borrow friends' computers to research all this stuff- and I'm sure they did not appreciate me hogging their personal screen time!.... Verizon, Schmizon!!!

With that said, here is all the latest on our Kitchen:

We finished the demo and then had some new plumbing and a ton of new electrical done.
After all the hard labor with demolition we were left with calloused hands, sore backs and a patio that looked like this:

Thus, we ordered one of these lovely dumpsters and filled it to the very brim! ( When it came time to fill this sucker my sister-in-law happened to be visiting and I convinced her to help me "woman-handle" the mess. Kimberly you are awesome! Thanks a million!)

Next Step: Stanton and I stayed up late for a few nights to lay a new layer of sub floor. ( Our old one was terrible and could hardly support my 3 yr.old!) Doesn't it look so pretty?
Then the drywall company came. They still have to finish with the second layer- but just looking at the new walls as they are now makes me feel all giddy inside.
The wood floor company is here today to install my new wood transitions and the tile guy comes on Monday. It will be so nice to have a real floor again! So far everything is moving along according to schedule. (Knock on wood!!)

Latest Fancy Pants Item

2008-09-13T10:05:00.004-04:00

Fruit Basket Set

Polka Dots (no matching shirt yet)

close up of fish- love 'em!

The "twirl skort"

Laura loves to wear skirts and, to avoid the constant "panty-flash" that comes with that, I try my best to only purchase ones that have built in shorts underneath. Unfortunately most of those seem to be shorter skirts that on her height come off as way too short for my liking.

But, then I found this great pattern at one of my favorite websites. (If you love to sew clothes and projects this is a great site for you!) It is adorable. It looks like a layered skirt but really it's shorts underneath! I just bought t-shirts and embellished them to match.I've made three of these outfits in different fabrics. They are great!

Now Laura can look girly and still maintain a polite decency!

Kitchen- Steps 3 & 4

2008-09-13T09:24:00.005-04:00

In our last kitchen update we still had our lovely sea-foam tile floor. After 6 hours of "I think I'm going to fall-over a die," hard labor with a a hammer and crowbar, I got it up. In all honesty it actually took about 8 hours, but the last two were accomplished by my friend's husband. (Marianne and Michael I will owe you forever!!) Stanton was conveniently on a business trip for this stage of the demolition and by the end of the day I was falling apart in tears, so Marianne made me shower and whisked me away while Michael stepped into watch the kids and finish hacking away at that wretched tile. Seriously, show me better friends....impossible!

So- after banishing the ceramic beast we were left with the vinyl floor/press board dragon. ( see above photo) Decorating in the 60's was especially lovely wasn't it? It took another 8 hours of that before mentioned self-torture to get it up ( including a few more hours help from the same great friends)

All I can say is I am so glad that I started a more serious weight-lifting routine this past month! In fact if you ever plan on doing a similar project- make sure you spend a few weeks in the gym doing a lot of dead-lifts. It will save you! I know it did me. Another thing that helped me was my constant mental soundtrack of,"She's a maniac, maniac on the floor!" ( If for some crazy reason you're not familiar with this classic song you can listen to it here.)

So now we are here with only the sub-floor: (which we have discovered is very poor quality and needs to be replaced as well. Of course....)

Last step to demo? Saying goodbye to the stove, sink and dishwasher. For the next month it is barbecue and paper products only- with a side of microwave meals from Trader Joe's( they have some good ones) and generous donations from good neighbors. :)

The adventure continues this week with electrical and plumbing work.

So much fun!

Happy Birthday Stanton!

2008-09-10T09:19:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to You.
Happy Birthday to You.
Happy birthday dear Stanton.
Happy Birthday to You!!!!!!!!

I'm so glad your mine!

I won't embarrass you by posting a picture or saying all the corny things I really want to (at least not here). Instead, I'm giving you huge birthday praise by sharing with everyone a picture of your awesome pumpkin! I even put a standard size drinking glass next to it, so people could see just how big it's growing. I can't wait to display it on the porch for Halloween.

You should have been a farmer!

Kitchen- Part 2

2008-09-10T09:10:00.002-04:00

We took out the fridge as well as the cabinets above it. The peninsula is gone as well. Boy does my kitchen feel huge!

I knew that my cabinets were pretty "bargain basement," but I was still surprised to find that they were mostly made of a cardboard material- not even plywood! Worse than that- they were not even screwed to the wall. They were nailed on like swiss cheese! Crazy!! I guess the previous owners didn't want to bother finding any studs so they just threw in a bunch of nails and hoped they would stay put. Double Crazy!! I'm lucky they didn't tumble off the wall and squish me! I had no idea they were this bad! I'm so glad to be rid of them.

Hopefully the last section of cabinets will hold to the wall for another week or so....

New Hair?

2008-09-06T08:34:00.003-04:00

I saw this add in a magazine and pulled it out to put on my refrigerator. Could I pull this look off? I love it on her, and I WANT to love it on me.

It's a little bit sassy, and slightly messy- which my hair always is anyway (the messy part, I mean)- so maybe that would be the way to go, rather than struggling with a roll brush and flat iron everyday.

The sticky part? I think I would need to get a perm which I have not done since the 80's. ( do salons still give those?) Once upon a time my hair was naturally curly enough to do this- but not anymore. Do they have really big rollers so i don't get the Q-Tip look?

The big worry? What if the stylist doesn't do it just right? This is a haircut that could very easily look bad, and stick me in the 1980's "Mom-Do" category, and I can't wear a baseball cap to church.

Thoughts anyone? Should I go for it, or is it too big of a risk?

When you Die....

2008-09-05T10:24:00.003-04:00

Kimball- fishing and thinking about all the odd things he thinks about....

This is the latest from my 6 yr. old:

KIMBALL: "Dad, you know how when people die they give some of their things to other people?"

STANTON: "Yes"

KIMBALL: "You know that thing that you stab into meat and it tells you how hot it is?

DAD: "Yes"

KIMBALL: "When you and Mom are dead, can I have that?"

Great!.... My son is dreaming of the day his parents die- all so he can inherit a cheap meat thermometer.

I am truly valued.

The Mess Begins- Yippee!!!

2008-09-04T10:14:00.003-04:00

A skinny little doorway- finally nice and open!

Anyone who lives close enough to be in ear shot of me on a regular basis knows that for the last 5 years I have been slightly obsessed with the idea of redoing our kitchen. It's not terribly ugly- but it has a host of "unusual" ( translation: awful, gross and disastrous) elements to it. This is all due to some previous owners who, while ambitious, were not good with tools.

The often heard quote at our house, when referring to one of these said owners various home improvement projects is, "So Wong! So Wong!" (No, that is not mis-spelled- it is a direct quote from an Asian cable guy who came to our house for a ten minute job- which turned into a nightmare 3 hour experience in which he finally came to me with a bewildered and horrified expression and said, "This is all so wong,, soooo wong.") I still feel bad for that man. His was the inaugural visit that kicked off the many visits we have since had from electricians, plumbers, AC service men, contractors, phone service-men, pest control........ you name it, they have been here, and in one form or another have professed that same horrified phrase..."so wong!"

Anyway, above all the other "unusual" hidden elements of my home, the kitchen is the biggest thorn in my side. The floor sinks, the counters slope, the lights flicker, the tile is chipped with yucky grout that seems to get dirtier the more I clean it, and the list goes on and on....It is finally time to say adios to it all! Yippee!! Hallelujah!!

I can hardly wait. We are trying to do most of the work ourselves, and bring in various professionals where needed so that future home owners don't also bemoan any amateur details. If all goes according to schedule we should be done in about 6 weeks. My plan is to expect it to be a bad experience- and that way when the inevitable problems arise I won't be frustrated and disappointed.

Above is a picture of the first wall we removed. We'll start re-framing it in the next couple days. (Thanks due to a highly talented friend. Thanks so much Michael!! We owe you once again) Already I love the open feel from the family room into the kitchen. It's great!

My son once told me that my kitchen re-do was "like the Cold War. You talk and talk about it, but it never actually happens." At the time- his insight could not have been more correct. But, for lack of a better analogy, we are finally going to war! I hope we come out the victors!

Vampire Love!

2008-08-05T02:07:00.003-04:00

I've been incognito for awhile now. Summer has a way of keeping me from the computer- which is actually a good thing if you think about it. I've noticed (by checking in on a few of my fellow bloggers), that the excitement and bliss of carefree summer days has affected many of you likewise. It comforts me to know I'm not the only one who has failed to post since mid June.

I'm still in California- but couldn't resist sharing a little about my passion this week. Yep- you guessed it-- vampire love!! (Many of you "literary" types who roll their eyes at anything less posh than Dickens just move aside- I am a simple woman and I absolutely love this stuff!) The fourth book in the Twilight series was fabulous. I prepared myself by re-reading the first 3 books this week. I highly recommend doing that. I can't believe how many of the little details I had forgotten. I love fun writers like this. Who knew a vampire could be so delicious?

The only drawback is that it's over. That's always the sad part about finishing a good book. It's like saying goodbye to a close friend. Sigh.........

I won't spoil it by saying much more- just read it!

2008-06-19T20:11:00.002-04:00

I've never been an "Austin Powers" fan. My husband loves him, but I find him gross and disturbing. However, I have discovered a little bit of charm from him that now boosts my everyday life.

Let me explain...

Last Christmas I bought Stanton a GPS Navigation system to have in the car, and since he's rarely home to drive anywhere, I'm the one who benefits most from the gift. ( I love presents like that!) I think it's great fun driving around town having a friendly voice tell me where to go. I even turn it on when I'm driving the carpool and to various locations that I hardly need any help navigating- I just like the adult company. ( Hopefully, that doesn't leave me sounding nearly as pathetic as I think it might.)

Anyway, I usually have the navigator using an Irish or British accent, (those are so much more distinguished sounding than our Yankee-ness), but the other day Stanton added another voice for me to try...Yep, you guessed it----"Austin Powers!"

Ewwww, I thought. The last thing I want is to be accompanied on my drives by a nasty, womanizing, disco freak!

And then "Austin" spoke to me. The next day when I arrived where I wanted to go he announced my route completion with the usual, "you have reached your destination" phrase that all previous navigators had used. But, then he did something different. He shouted "Groovy Driving!! Yeahhhh!"

I love it! How nice to be complemented. No other navigator had ever done that. It made me feel groovy indeed!

So, "Austin" is here to stay. He's my buddy, and I love that he makes me feel extra special every time I get to a new place. What a guy!

Although, I still think the movies are lame. Sorry honey.

Neilson Happenings

2008-06-19T19:27:00.003-04:00

We spent the last week in California celebrating a number of special occasions with my family and with Stanton's. We had such a great time, and it was sad to return home only to have to go back to school. (Here in NY we have school until the end of June! Yucky, with a capital Y!! Once June hits it's supposed to be summer people! I need some free time.)

Stanton's younger brother had his two little boys blessed by Grandpa. It was so great to see everyone who traveled in from out of town.

Laura playing "mommy" with her cousin Carson.

My brother Tyler came home from his mission to Spain. We spent the day making signs and banners and blowing up balloons so we could give him a proper and very exuberant "Welcome Home." Times like these call for some of that cheesy family stuff. My kids loved it. And we especially loved seeing him again.

I always love it when we get a cute photo. As usual, Kimball wasn't looking, but I've learned to just be grateful that he no longer pulls a "Ninja Turtle"/karate pose. I'll take the normal child- looking or not- over that any day.

Grandma Greene bought some new Big Wheels ( These are awesome! You can get them here.) and the boys spent hours having their own version Nascar.

The kids with Grandma and Grandpa Neilson.
Nobody loves you like the Grandparenst. My kids are so spoiled!

We head back west in just a few weeks for a long summer trip. I'll be in California with the kids for nearly a month! I can't wait.

The Recorder Concert

2008-06-19T19:06:00.007-04:00

Tustin ready for his solo jazz career!

At our elementary school all third graders learn to play the recorder. Ahhh the recorder, what a lovely sounding instrument......so soothing to the ears and most enjoyable while driving a car...

...Seriously though, the recorder? Could there be a more obnoxious instrument? (especially when played by a beginner.) I realize that the recorder is most likely chosen because it can be acquired in mass quantities for a very low price, and is relatively easy to play. But, with the high taxes I pay, can't we try getting guitars or something? Anything but the recorder! Come on!!!....

...Now that that's off my chest, I have to say that Tustin has absolutely LOVED playing it, and when the entire 3nd grade class performed in their "concert" it was actually quite charming. A hundred recorders playing together in a large room, accompanied by a piano and some singing can be delightful, and it really was. ( I think I even cried at one point.)

But, one lone recorder in my kitchen, living room and vehicle? No Thanks!

The Good Life

2008-05-26T20:40:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we spent the day in Massachusetts at a friends farm giving our kids a taste of the country life they are so far removed from. The kids ran in the fields and collected eggs hidden out in the tall grass, (eggs, you ask? Well, it was way too cold to have a good outdoor Easter Egg Hunt in March, when the Easter festivities called for it, so they postponed the affair until now.) they jumped on the trampoline, rode the tractor around and around, roasted s'mores, peeps and whatever else they could put on a stick over the big fire, chased a porcupine, and danced in the barn. It really was a day spent in the “good” life if you ask me, and it once again got me looking for ways to simplify, simplify, simplify! I look at my home and my life and think, "What can I eliminate?"

The school year hustle and bustle, with the lessons, homework, meetings and never ending carpools to here, there, and everywhere, wears on my soul. Some women love it, but if I thought I was capable of doing the home school thing I would seriously consider it. I love the summer when we can do what we want, when we want. I like to be about our own agenda of the library, the beach, the pool, the park, riding bikes, eating watermelon and reading books together on the lawn. That sounds like the good life right?

Unfortunately for us, while the rest of the country, (particularly the west coasters), are mere days away, or perhaps basking in summer already, we are here in Westchester plugging away until the end of June, because this crazy community, (which most of the year I really do love) thinks that long school days and endless lists of homework are the key to a future Harvard education, and ask any East Coast Suburbanite parent, and they will readily support how important an Ivy League Education is a key to ones future happiness!....... (whatever!).......

..........so, every now and then a day on the farm is just what we need to re-focus on what's important and of course- what is NOT!

With that in mind I will continue to throw out things we don't use, avoid signing my kids up for the endless list of unnecessary lessons, try each day to stop and "smell the roses" and last, but certainly not least, strive to get my basement and garage organized- (Personally, I think that will be a neccesity if I ever want to be at peace enough to access the good in the "good life." )

....or we could bag it all and follow our friends example and buy a farm. I could dump all our unused garage stuff in a nice big barn and call it good.

But, if we did, I would need to own some cows because goats milk is just plain weird!

Kimball's new summer do!

A Huge Catch Up!

2008-05-04T20:04:00.006-04:00

I have dropped off the blogging planet for awhile. The odds are it will happen again many times over. I will never reach the "daily-blogger" status, if one can call it that. My crazy, non-digital, life seems to take over and either leave me with no free time- or no energy to actually do anything in that free-time.

Once the kids are in bed, I often find my brain switches to hibernation mode, and I can't hardly think of a coherent thought, much less write one. Being a Mom is a constant switch from "go-go-go," to complete exhaustion. Maybe someday I'll learn to find a happy medium.....

Anyway, rather than bypass all the last months happenings that I never mentioned, I thought I would give a quick summary of what I think are some of it's highlights! .....

April 12- We started our garden. Rather than buy the more expensive plants, we started from seeds this year. The kids loved being able pick their own fruit/vegetable.

Stanton is determined to grow 300lb. pumpkins this year and purchased special seeds that hopefully will do the trick.

Planting day even won us a cute picture. Yeah!!!It was only about 3 days before the lettuce sprang up! I can't wait for those salads. The neighborhood bunnies better back off this year!!

April 14th- We had a very bouncy Family Home Evening. We joined up with the Schmidts to have Jumper Ball races. They make adult sizes now, and they are so much fun!! (You can get them here if you're interested)

The starting line....

.....and the finish line!

April 21- drove to Philadelphia with friends to check out the "Star Wars" exhibit at the Franklin Institute. For my own two "Jedi's" ( who wore their cloaks and all) it was terrific. I just had a great time getting away and hanging out with the other mom's.

April 25th- We had an "Under The Sea Adventure" birthday party for Kimball. His actual birthday is two days after Christmas, but let's face it, that is a total bummer, so we held off the celebration with his friends until warmer weather allowed us to keep the party outdoors.

I thought the cake turned out terrific, thanks to Family Fun and a lot of crafty Mom's on the web who post their pictures and ideas for me to plagiarize!

April 28th- We celebrated Tustin's 9th birthday. We'll have his party in a few weeks from now, but for the actual day he chose these fruit tarts from Costco instead of cake. Grandma and Grandpa sent Tustin this Lego Star Wars contraption and he could not have been more pleased. Currently it is overtaking the dining room on various cookie sheets and trays as he figures it all out! We'll be sure and give it a prime shelf location when he's finished. Tustin got his first IPOD! It seems like such a "big kid" thing. Where is my little boy disappearing to? Sigh....May 2nd- Laura fell out of bed and broke her collarbone. (I really need to bedazzle the ugly sling she has to wear.) The good news is that the orthopedic assures me that kid's bones are somewhat magical and she will be back to normal in just a few weeks, with no remaining scars or bumps. May 3rd- I ran in the Revlon Run/Walk 5k in Manhattan, along with some friends and thousands of others. It was great fun. Short and sweet! I love this confetti shot at the START line. It' amazing to me that they can completely shut down roads in New York City for these things. What a great place to live!

So, that's about it. Hopefully it won't be another month before I find time to write again.

What??!!

2008-04-11T09:31:00.003-04:00

American Idol lost Michael Johns last night and I'm really bugged about it! Who is voting out there? You are messing up my show. I do not want to listen to Kristy Lee Cook for another week. Why is she still in this thing?

Such a bummer.

DisneyWorld!

2008-04-10T16:42:00.004-04:00

We had a great time on our trip to Orlando this last weekend. It's always nice to get away and have grown-up time. Sadly I don't think we thought about the kids that much. ( except to notice how relaxed and nice things were without them) Don't get me wrong- we love our kids and actually enjoy being with them, but it's been a long time since we were at an amusement park without having to constantly take a head-count and worry about their safety. Not to mention the incessant need my kids have to be fed because they are always "dying of starvation," and don't forget the ever inconvenient "potty-trips." It's a guarantee that after you've waited in line for an hour to ride "Dumbo", (and when you have finally reached the "boarding" area), one of the kids has to go-"real bad!! )

None of that this time. Just Fun!

My favorite part of the trip was the night we went to see "Cirque de Soliel" ( which is an awesome show. I wish I had the guts to try even half of the stuff those people perform with such ease. ) After that we ventured over to "Pleasure Island" to take a peek at the Disney night scene, and wouldn't you know it but there is a dance club called "8Trax" that only plays 70's and 80's music and is full of the "old folks" like us- which was right up our alley! It was so much fun!

This month we will have been married for 12 years! Where has the time gone?
It was a great anniversary trip and I'm so lucky that I get to spend another gazillion years with my very best friend!

New Camera!

2008-04-03T08:06:00.002-04:00

Yeah! I finally have a new camera, and just in time for our trip to DisneyWorld! (I can't wait to feel the sunshine without the bitter freezing wind that's plaguing us here.)

It took me forever to decide which camera to get. (I want to get better at taking pictures and hope to eventually get a nice SLR but for now I need a camera that will fit in my purse and be ready to go. ) Researching cameras and reviews only made the decision more confusing because all the editors write in photographer jargon that goes way over my head. At this point, I have no idea what "aperture" or ISO mean, but I guess I need to learn if I want my photos to look better.

Anyway, after weeks of over-my-head-review-reading I finally gave up trying to understand all the information and just went to Costco to buy one that looked good to me. Costco has such a great return policy that it makes big purchases like this much less stressful. (If for some reason I decide it's not what works for me they will take it right back. I love that store!)

Hopefully in a few days I will have a whole file full of beautiful photos of us in sunny Florida!

Start of a 2008 Collection

2008-03-25T17:37:00.003-04:00

I finished this outfit for Laura last week. It has a really cute peasant style dress that goes under this one with flounced sleeves and a ruffle that peeks out below. Unfortunately she refuses to wear that part of the ensemble. Oh well, we can't win them all. This is the best picture I could get before the battery on my old camera died on me.

The Blessings of Humidity.

2008-03-25T17:00:00.002-04:00

I've never been a big fan of humid weather- I like things warm and dry. But since we live in the east I have come to accept that it is an inescapable part of my life and I might as well look for the good in all this wetness.

Well, I have found the good. For 3 1/2 years I have waited to be able to say something nice about my daughters hair. For the most part, she hasn't had any, and when she finally did get some, it was so nasty and stringy that she earned herself a nickname of "Gollum" from her father. ( for those of you who can't remember who that is, think "my precious.....my precious.....") well, I think the bulk of our sad days may be over thanks to the dreaded humidity.

We had a relatively warm day a few weeks ago and took our kids out to play on the rocks at the beach. I took the time to snap a few photos of Laura and I noticed an exciting transformation that the salty wet air treated us to. Her stringy, lack luster hair turned into a head full of wispy curls! I could have cried, I was so happy!

I have since invested in all sorts of curl enhancing hair products and must say that the results have been quite pleasing. She'll probably never have thick gorgeous locks, but we'll take what we can get.

Yeah for humidity!!

Fabulous Easter!

2008-03-25T16:17:00.004-04:00

I love the way Laura's Easter dress turned out this year. The best part?... She loved it too. Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours at the sewing machine only to have the creation completely rejected by her! It is so exasperating when they get an opinion! But, I lucked out on this one- she thought it was a winner. I took her to the bathroom at church on Sunday and she stopped in front of the full length mirror to check herself out. She was quite pleased because she announced to all the other bathroom patrons, "FABULOUS!. I look FABULOUS today!!"

The boys looked quite handsome as well, although I couldn't get them to smile "normal" in a single picture! (I debated making them some matching pink-polka-dotted ties, but I felt confident their father wouldn't actually let them wear them, so what would be the point?) I still think it could have been cute!

Won't You Be My Neighbor!

2008-03-14T15:09:00.002-04:00

Two days ago I got into a conversation with my neighbor and he let me know that his wife had been ill. In fact, she had been taken by ambulance the previous night due to a blood clot and had suffered a mild heart attack. Geepers! Then he confesses that he did not go to the hospital with her because it was late at night and he couldn't leave the children who were fast asleep in their beds.

This is where my stomach dropped and I realized what a rotten neighbor I have been. Sure, I've been friendly. I smile and wave and comment on the weather whenever we both happen to be outside, but that's about it. Not once have I invited their family over or taken them Christmas cookies. I've never bothered to get past any formalities and become more than just "Mrs. Whats-Her-Name." For crying out loud- I didn't even know their last name until this week! And now, when they could have really used some help, I was of course oblivious and they were of course uncomfortable calling on me for their aid. In all reality I am a stranger, and most people do not trust strangers to watch their kids or seek them out for help when they are in need.

If I had taken the time to be a friend they could have called on me and he could have been with his wife in that ambulance instead of sending her off and desperately hoping she would be all right and come back to him. (The image of that makes me nauseous and horrified!! I am a wretch!!!)

To put it all in a nutshell. I am ashamed of my un-neighborliness and I vow to reform.

So.... I made this little map. Looking at it embarrasses me. I have lived her for 4 years and it is inexcusable that there are so many question marks on it.

Who are these people? I must fill in these blanks!!

If you happen to be one of my friendly neighbors, please accept my apologies for being self-absorbed and unaware of you. And now- be prepared to be bombarded!!

In a few years I might be known as "Mrs. Always- Bringing-Cookies-and-In-Our-Business," but at least you'll know me, and possibly feel comfortable giving me a ring should you need some care and help from a good neighbor.

One Hill of FUN!

2008-02-25T20:48:00.003-05:00

(I'm still camera-less and I'm finding that it really lessens my ambition for blogging! Without a picture to post this loses some of its fun).....anyway....

Since we never got the chance during last weeks vacation to hit the slopes, I decided to extended our week of no school by one day and head up to ThunderRidge this morning. It's a local ski-hill up in Patterson. I call it a "hill," because really that is all it is. There are three chairlifts that allow you to come down basically the same exact run.... the east side, the middle or the west side. It's perfect for beginners and we had a great time. An added bonus?- the weather was absolutely beautiful today. We hardly needed coats at all. Another bonus? We were one of about 15 people there, so it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

Kimball finally learned how to turn and how to stop. Pheww!! Previous to this day his technique was something like "Go that way really fast, and if something gets in your way....." - don't turn!! ( bonus points for anyone who can name that movie- one of of my all time favorites.) For awhile I was worried he was going to kill himself, an innocent bystander, or even a helpless little tree with his crazy-no-fear technique!

Tustin became so confident that he wanted to advance to the "intermediate" runs and even went off on his own for awhile. (before anyone freaks that I let him do this- might I remind you about the "one hill" terrain of ThunderRidge. He could go as far as he wanted and I could still probably see him.)

As we left Tustin said, "Mom, thanks so much for bringing us. This was a great day!" Unprompted gratitude from one of my children!! That is a big thing for me as a mom and just about brought me to tears!

Sometimes, ditching school and being together is just what the doctor ordered.

It was a great, great day.

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-14T16:55:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

My Valentine ditched me to go skiing in Canada with his father and brother. But, he sent me these flowers so I will try and forgive him.

I refuse to let his absence be an excuse to allow this day to go by without a yummy candlelit dinner, so the kids are going to take his place and we are having a yummy steak dinner tonight! We're going to sprinkle rose petals, light candles, eat chocolate dipped strawberries and have a grand ole time!

Hopefully we won't have too many spilled drinks and "ew, I don't like that's" to go with it as well.

Keith Urban- I LOVE YOU!!

2008-02-14T01:03:00.007-05:00

If only I had really been this close!

That big screen was great for those of us way up high!

I just got home from an amazing concert at Madison Square Garden. I went with great friends: the Roddys, Schmidts, and LaBelles, and (since Stanton is out of town and I did not want to sit home and miss out on this) my friend Jen took his ticket and came with me.

Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban are on tour together. I've always been a big Carrie fan- but by the end of the night it was all Keith for me! That man is gifted!! I love his music- but you can't really appreciate it, and him, until you see him in person. I had no idea that he was that good. And not to mention- he is pretty dang gorgeous!

He can play the guitar like you wouldn't believe! I've never even cared for the electric guitar much before tonight ( I guess I've always asssociated it with heavy metal music which was never my thing)- but when he played it, it was again - breathtakingly awesome! He was an amazing performer. I want to listen to his music over and over now. It was so much fun!!

I can't even think of what else to say- it left me speechless!

If you can get a chance to see this concert- go. He is unbelievably good!

(Seriously- I'm all a flutter about it even now!)

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

2008-02-07T17:35:00.000-05:00

This has been one of those days:

I woke up with the flu ( for the second time in 6 weeks)

My water bottle emptied into my purse and destroyed my camera. ( my blog will now be picture-less for awhile)

My daughter peed on our "Love Sac," ( a giant foam-filled bean bag of sorts) and since it soaked all the way through the cover and into the interior stuffing, we either have to throw it out, or just accept the fact that we are now snuggling on a latrine.

I learned, from watching "Oprah," that living in a cluttered, unorganized house will contribute to a person gaining weight.... Great, just great.

If I really thought about it , I'm sure I could come up with a lot more, but nobody likes a Debbie Downer and now I feel much better having vented.

According to one of my favorite books (shown above),"some days are just like that."

And according to one of my favorite childhood movies,"The sun will come out tomorrow."

"Kimball Wisdoms"

2008-02-05T21:01:00.000-05:00

I had a conference with Kimball's Kindergarten teacher today so that she could tell me all about his progress and go over some of his work with me. She shared a particular experience she had with him last month.

The class was working on a project regarding their New Years Resolutions. Kimball wrote that he wanted to learn how to climb a coconut tree. Well, although she thought that was fun and original, she really wanted the kids to focus on something that they could actually practice and accomplish, and being that we live in the northeast (where coconut trees are not generally found), she thought he should try and come up with something else, and told him so.

He looked at her and shared some insight:

"Mrs. Lilien, I am a Mormon, which means I have free agency, and that means I can do whatever I want. And I want to learn how to climb a coconut tree."

I'm not sure that this was a good missionary moment for him or a bad one, and I've decided not to worry about it. I'm just glad that he's confident and willing to speak up and express himself and be who he is. You tell her darling boy of mine!

Keep practicing that "free agency, " ( And please only use it to do exactly everything your mother says. I know best!)

Some New Favorites

2008-02-05T14:24:00.000-05:00

My kitchen has been completely transformed this year by the use of some terrifc new gadgets I got for Christmas, so I thought I would share. Here are three of my top rated:

#1-THE GEORGE FOREMAN G5 INDOOR GRILL.

This appliance is everything they say it is! I use it almost every day, and an added bonus?- it's cute red color. I can leave it on the countertop and it fits right in with my decor! It is awesome! I can cook salmon fillets or chicken breasts in about 3 minutes! (I used to boil chicken for soups or even broil it sometimes- but that either took too long or gave me unreliable results, like leathery meat) I've even put frozen breasts on it (because I never actually get around to the whole -"plan the meals and defrost the meat in the fridge the night before - routine.) and with a couple added minutes they cook up marvelously!

Another added bonus about this "speed cooking" is that I no longer feel a sense of panic at 5 o'clock when I haven't planned any dinner and my hungry children turn into violent, screaming, whining beasts because they haven't been fed yet. ( Stanton would be sure and interject here that they get this whole "I'm starving and will be unreasonable and unkind to all" trait from me. Sadly, on this one account I must concede and admit my guilty genes.) But no longer! Now I can whip out a hot meal in matter of minutes. I love it! Love it!

( Thanks Mom and Dad for a great gift.)

#2- THE MAGIC BULLET

I have mentioned before that I am an easy sell when it comes to infomercials, but when I first saw the TV Ad for The Magic Bullet I was skeptical. It jusn't didn't seem like something I would ever use. But, I changed my mind after a conversation with my sister, Wendy, who I was surprised to learn actually owns one and thinks it is terrific.

So I added this little gadget to my wish list, and Christmas morning I was delighted to find it under the tree from my in-laws. ( Thanks again Ralph and Katherine. It's the best!) I have used this kitchen toy almost every day since as well. It is terrific. It's small and can stay on the counter top without making a big scene. I love that you can blend a quick little smoothie in the very cup that you drink out of. It negates so much mess. It's super user friendly and it's easy for the kids to use themselves. I've even grinded wheat in it to make bread. ( It took a while because I had to do it in small batches- but it worked!) It gets 5 stars from me!

and #3 THE OXO MANGO SLICER

I have a paasion for mangoes and average about 1 a day. The biggest draw-back to this love of mine is that mangoes are not easy to slice. They have a large oblong seed that is diffiecult to work around and still get nice pieces that are'nt smushed and mutilated. With practice, I got pretty good at it, but still this tool makes it so simple! Love it! Love it! Another winner from Santa! ( thanks Stanton!)

A Scrapbook Solution!

2008-01-28T14:28:00.000-05:00

A page for Christmas morning 2007 made with "Amy W. Designs" digital template #18
(sadly this was one of the best and only photos we have since I was sick with the flu that day.)

I love to digital scrapbook. (If you want to know all the reasons why, you can read about it here.)

I am far from superb at the art form, but I think it's fun, and I've enjoyed dabbling in it over the last year and a half. I have however, been frustrated with one element of it- the printing. I want 12x12 inch prints that look great and don't cost me a ton. ( such as at Shutterfly where they will charge a hefty $6.99 per page! That is so ridiculous!)

I tried an on-line service that was priced right, but when I got my pages I was really disappointed.- the coloring was way off and it made everyone in the photos look like lobsters, as if we had spent four hours in the hot July sun well after our sunscreen had lost it's potency.

I have also read many comments from other scrappers who have had success at their local Costco. Unfortunately for me, the photo-people at my local store seem to have a very limited education of sorts... so I have been frustrated. What's the fun in making pages if you can't display them in albums?

But, I have good news. Last week I found another website called scrapbooksplease.com that specializes in printing digital pages. I was excited to see their prices, (about 99 cents for a 12x12 print) so I crossed my fingers and ordered some. They came in the mail today and I think they are terrific!

So my excitement for scrapping is back. I can't wait to print the next batch!

If You Need a Really Good Laugh...

2008-01-24T13:11:00.000-05:00

This is so funny, you have to check it out!

(Thanks Denise- I am spreading the enjoyment)