Katerbug Blue

My husband’s 40th birthday is coming up in July. I’ve already started thinking of something fun to do–because honestly, we’ll really have to start saving for it now. I’m not really one who thinks 40 is over the hill and requiring gag gifts like a walking stick with a horn or wrinkle fillers, but I want something with all of his friends that is both fun and memorable.

If you ask him, he doesn’t want anything–but I would love to do a pig roast. Sadly—he is the “pig roast” guy–and he’d end up catering his own birthday party. Not so great!

Late last year I made a goal to find a life insurance policy for my husband. I need one too–but I’m feeling the most vulnerable about him, as I would be the one left behind. When he feels vulnerable about me…maybe he’ll start looking too! Well, I’m sad to admit that thus far…I haven’t really been looking. I’m hoping to roll everything into an umbrella policy–but finding the right company is hard. We’ve been with our auto insurance company for nearly a decade–and they don’t offer the other types of insurance, and I really don’t want to leave them.

I will have to pick up again this week and see what I can find–because it really is silly to raise 4 kids without life insurance to help them if anything were to happen to us!

We have been up to our elbows in insurance plans. We have recently switched to Blue Cross NC and although they have been great to work with, it’s killing me getting all of the billing sorted out. Our dental insurance remained the same–and is billed to one company. And then all of our health claims before the switch date go to the old company, except for two dealing with my husband’s injury which go to a third company….you know…I’m looking for a job–but I’m not sure why. It seems this will be a full time job for the next several months!

My sister just turned 50 and let me tell you she looks AMAZING! She sells a new anti aging product and if I had a bit more pocket change…I would be ordering one today! There isn’t a wrinkle on her face and her decolletage looks even better than mine–and I’m 12 years younger. She swears that she’s found the Fountain of Youth–and looking at her, I have to tell you, I may just agree!

Do you watch the Kardashian’s on E? Honestly, how can you not? It’s like a train wreck week after week. It would be funny, except that it’s blazingly sad as these are real people who really live and think this way! These are the times I’m incredibly grateful for my “boring” family!

It looks like the three older girls are working on a fat burner review, and honestly–they are doing pretty good. Not that any of them were huge to begin with. But if it helps them–and boost whatever self esteem they may have…I’m all for it!

My husband’s aunt and uncle spend every Winter and Spring in panama city beach Florida. They are retired, and they rent a condo not too far from the beach. It sounds nice, but we’ve never gone to visit. Every year their daughter and her family flies out for a visit, but due to some financial issues this year she’s staying home. So they invited us to take her place. I’m not sure our finances will allow it either–but I’ve never been to Florida, and this seems like a less expensive way to discover it!

You would think I didn’t feed my children! Yesterday my litle man was wandering around the kitchen while I was cleaning it and he happened upon my pantry shelf full of weight loss products. He found what he thought was a granola bar and asked if he could have it. I had purchased these months ago while couponing and had actually made money by purchasing them. I told him that he could eat it, but that I really didn’t think he would like it.

Have you seen the videos of kids eating strange things for the very first time? The faces they pull? Yeah—his was awesome!! I only wish I’d made him wait for me to get my camera before beginning. Needless to say, I’m down one protein bar…and I’m not thinking he’ll be asking for any of the other items anytime soon!

I’m starting to think that I was born with bad skin, and I will probably die with bad skin! How pathetic is that? I was at Target last week stocking up on all of my products. I like phisoderm and Saint Ives, and my favorite moisturizer is Oil of Olay–but not the expensive purple night cream…it wreaked havoc on my poor skin!

I may never have the clearest of skin, but it is nice that it’s not quite so bumpy and red anymore. I’ll take what I can get!

It seems like after the holidays end, every blog I read includes an appetite suppressant review, really? Is it that apparent that I need this product? Could it possibly be because I’m actually sitting here reading other people’s blogs instead of upstairs running on my treadmill? Yeah–I know!

What you may not know is that I have been running on my treadmill 3 times a week. Yes, chalk that up to a pretty good new year resolution so far! I’ll let you know if I’m still doing it come Spring!

Tomorrow I’m taking down my Christmas decorations. I’m sitting here looking at my door full of Christmas cards and I have to admit that I’m amazed at just how many picture cards there are this year. I LOVE them! You used to get a Christmas card with a photo in it, but not so much any more.

I have gotten two baptism invitations, a birthday party invite and I’ve even seen photo graduation invitations! I don’t know why I like them so much. But they give me a chance to see the child or children–and it really seems to cut down on the whole “Christmas (Keeping up with the Jones’s) letter” that comes year after year! Me likey!

I have to admit, I’ve never really thought about auto insurance quotes. You know, I go to many sites and input all of my info—and out spit the quotes. I find the smallest one—and off we go with a new policy in hand. THEN…we moved! We no longer live as close to Chicago as we once did and my insurance quotes dropped by $600! SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!!! How is this possible??? Had I just listed my cars as being parked in my in laws suburb years ago I could have saved TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS a year! That’s shocking to my very soul! Mind you, that would have been dishonest…and even illegal—but seriously! I lived in Chicago for 6 years…I never had an auto claim….and that’s $7200 that could have been in my pocket! Yeah…..that’ll teach me to run auto quotes on any particular city if we are ever looking to move again!

My husband isn’t bringing home his normal stash of office supplies lately! It’s gotten so bad, that I’ve had to resort to stealing pens from the school supply box. There used to be ball point pens and sharpies everywhere I turned–now, there is nothing. Mind you, I had to confiscate the markers due to little fingers thinking white walls were really great to color on. But when the time comes that you need a pen, and there isn’t one….NOT COOL! So he either needs to kick his purloining back into high gear, or I’m going to have to break down and buy a box of pens the next time I’m in Walmart!

Woo Hoo–a new year brings a new workout routine and nutrition overhaul. I can’t believe it’s been a year, and that I made it! I’m not sure I’ll be changing much, mainly because I’m not usually one for change, and I’m pretty used to my schedule, but I would like to add a nutritional supplement like Stimerex ES or a protein supplement as well. I haven’t decided which will give me what I’m looking for–but I’m looking into either one.

I may try to bump up my “at home” workout time and cut back on the gym time. Most everything I do there, I can do at home—and at a fraction of the cost. All in all–it has been a great year, and I’m healthier for having lived it!

I was laughing today as a friend of mine shared a story about Christmas morning with me. Apparently she got her two daughters those cardboard displays of the two Twilight guys. Well, it turns out in the middle of the night she was heading for a little trip to the loo, when a car came around the corner and back lit the two cutouts in the dark living room. She gasped, yelped and took off running! It wasn’t until her husband came in to check out the scene that she realized what it was. All she saw were two human shapes in the darkness, and she was just sure that they were there to steal Christmas.

When I was younger, my brother worked at the grocery store when Bo Jackson’s book had come out. He knew I was a total Bo fan–and that I had to have the cut out. When the promotion was over, he got to bring it home and surprised me with this “thing”. I was thrilled and put it down in my room against the wall. Every stinking time I walked into my room—-I jumped! My mother would bring in laundry baskets and it got her every time to. Finally I put a towel over his head, and shortly there after he was gone.

As cool as the displays look–they can totally freak you out!

There is a little boy at church who was recently diagnosed with cancer. He is 7 years old, and has tumors in his back, leg and lung. I have to tell you—he is one of my favorite little kids ever! As a church group we are serving this family by providing meals and child care for the younger kids. We’ve taken up collections to get the family some nights in orlando hotels and a few days at Disney. We don’t know what the final prognosis is for this sweet boy—but if there is any chance for miracle—we’ll take it. If not, we want him to have some fabulous outings with his family. And for his family—we’d like to offer some wonderful memories of moments with this beautiful boy!

Are you and your family big gift givers? Do you give practical (needed) gifts? Or do you move more towards the extravagant ones? We have generally tried to purchase items that are normally a little more pricey than we would get as a gift, or just as a regular purchase during the year. One year we redid the back bathroom. Another one we pulled out the upstairs linen closet and tapped into the water lines behind it to give me an upstairs laundry closet with a stackable washer and dryer (my favorite!!!) This year, we are looking at garage flooring. It isn’t that this is too expensive, it just requires a lot of work on our part to clean the garage out enough to take care of it. I’m happy just to paint it—but leave it to the “Man” to want the works!

This is the house we will probably die in—so it’s nice to spend a little more money here and there to make it perfect for us!

My husband’s uncle is retiring this year. They are having a big blow out bash for him later this month. I think it’s a lovely gesture, but I have no idea what to get him. If I were to follow my mother in law’s advice I should get him fishing equipment. My husband thinks Black and Mild cigars, and the man’s wife thinks blocks of wood that the man can whittle would be great. You know, none of these even sound remotely like a gift I would want to give him. Although he’d enjoy each and every one of them—they are just leaving me lacking!

If someone has worked hard all of their life….what would you give them to send them off into a happy retirement??? Without seeming cheesy of course!!

I have been spending the last little while getting registered for school. I know, I’m 38…it’s kinda late for that! But I’m pleased to announce that my old university has welcomed me back. Sadly, it’s located in the state of Utah…and I’m, well, not! So I will be taking online classes for the next 3 semesters. After which I should graduate and be able to do just about nothing! Actually I’m doing this, so that I can then substitute teach at the nearby elementary school. You have to have a degree, and that is the one thing I don’t have.

I remember back a decade ago when I was actually in school. I was always amazed at the fact that it cost as much for books as it did for tuition. I would spend around $750 per semester only to sell textbooks at the end of the grading period for a minuscule fraction of what I paid. I don’t know how the textbooks work when you are going to school online—but I do hope they are covered in the grants I’m hoping to receive!

My girlfriend just bought a pair of black Stuart Weitzman boots. Oh to die for! Every winter season I get a pair of short black boots. High heels and super pointed toes. This year every pair of short boots had the heel, but the rounded toe—which just makes my feet look awful! But they did have a pair of knee high boots with the toes and the heels. They aren’t Stuart Witzman’s…but they are pretty darn cool. I call them “Sexy Boots”…although the real things are so much sexier!

My mom has been going through a rough patch lately. She’s trying to get healthy and is having a hard time with some of the prescription pain medications her doctor put her on. She’s added a few diet supplements to help cleanse her body more quickly, and she seems to be doing a lot better this week. I’m worried because she is supposed to be coming to Chicago in early December, and I’m hoping she’ll be up for the trip. Last week she could hardly talk on the phone it was so bad, and that part is at least seeming stronger. But I’m dreading that phone call the first week of December letting me know they aren’t going to make it. But until then, we will keep sending “happy thoughts” and she may just surprise us!

I’ve been looking over our monthly bank statements trying to find a way to cut some of our spending. We are surviving, but it would be so much nicer to be doing more than “just surviving”. So imagine my surprise when I find numerous entries for auto accessories! I called my husband in to give him a real talking to. A dressing down if you will! I was on a roll–and I was ticked. We don’t need to be spending money on silly items. A car is to get you from point A to point B and it doesn’t have to be all tricked out to do it! He let me go on and on and when I was good and finished, he let me know that I was getting an automatic starter as an early Christmas present. You know–it starts the car and heats it up on those freezing, cold winter mornings! Yeah—consider me thumped, and THRILLED to play with my new little toy!

I have been looking into online backup. My poor laptop has been sidelined by some virus–and if it hits this computer I’m toast! At least I can start backing it up with a push of a button–and that will save anything I have that could be lost. The price isn’t too bad at all, a few dollars each month. My worry is more about the longevity of the company backing it up. What if they fold in the next year or two? What happens to all of my supposedly safe stuff? So maybe a good old fashioned disk back up is the way to go. It just sounds so archaic!

This Wednesday I will un-bury my treadmill! Yes, I know, it has become the $700 towel rack that people called it when we bought it. But no more! I will be walking on it 3 or 4 times a week, and it’s gonna be awesome! Why wait until Wednesday? Because today and tomorrow my husband is home–and it’s no fun to work out with an audience! So Wednesday it is! I’ll let you know how it goes!

We are getting a new kitchen sink! I know, it shouldn’t nearly as exciting as it is. But we are getting a wide basin sink, instead of a deep one, and I can’t tell you how cool this is. I would rip the current sink out and install the new one today if it were here. Sadly, it’s been ordered and it will be here this Wednesday. I hate to do dishes, but I think I will have to break in the new sink with a couple of loads and I’m thrilled about it!

My husband is a professional Chef and has all of these desires to update our kitchen. I love the idea of stainless steel appliances, but not so much with their size. I do have a nice size kitchen, but nowhere near the size he’s used to. So we are starting small, or wide in this case. I’m letting him get the sink! Yeah, we let him think it’s all for him, and if I can keep him from seeing my happy dance—I may just get away with it!

My in laws recently downsized to a much smaller house. It works, but most of their excess “stuff” ended up at my house. Since they aren’t planning on staying in this little house, we are just storing it all until they move again. That is fine with me—but I’m thinking they are planning on me taking as good of care of it as they did. For example, they brought over a patio set. Their new house has a lovely backyard, why do I have it? Well, in their old house, they would bring all of the outdoor cushions in when it rained. I’m sorry, I have four kids and a business-those poor cushions have been through every rain storm sitting right out there where they left them! I did finally have my boys move them to the shed. So there will be no more rain on them, but oh the stress!

Recently my high school alumni website added a live chat feature. I haven’t been on it at all, well, because I am on Facebook–and can catch up with most of my friends that way, and because I don’t keep in touch with too many high school friends. We had our 20 year reunion last summer, so I’m sure there has been more people connecting, but a live chat still seems odd!

I have used live chat for instances where I’ve needed technical help, and it has been a lifesaver! This little blog wouldn’t be here, if it weren’t for live chat!

The holidays are coming—and I’m going to be looking for a really good fat burner! Every holiday it’s the same–we just won’t eat so much! But if this past Halloween was any indication—there isn’t a chance of that!

Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday, and I’ve done really well the past several years. I eat enough to fill me up—but I haven’t had that over-eating, roll me out of here feeling since before I had kids. I just need to keep that up in all things!

A moment on the lips…really is true!

Main goal for November….find an affordable life insurance for my husband and I. We were watching TV last night, and there was a show on where they send really rowdy kids away to live with really strict parents for a week. The one last night was about a teenage girl, struggling to get along with her mother after her dad passed away suddenly at a very young age. My husband is only 39. He will be the first one to tell you that he has the body of a 75 year old man. We want him around for many, MANY years to come. But if something happened to him–my kids would lose their dad and their mom. I would have to go back to work full time, as well as pick up a couple of side jobs just to make ends meet.

So — after this little glimpse of just how hard life is without the bread winner….I’m thinking it’s time!

Do you remember several posts back I was slightly complaining about a friend that we were supposed to be having dinner with, but he canceled to take his family to Orlando for the 400th time??? Yeah, well—they are home. And we thought it would be really nice to get together and finally had it all planned. But you knowwhat—that’s right, he canceled! Seems he owns a few gulf shores condos and needed to get down and make sure they survived the nasty weather churning up, as well as to winterize them, since he won’t be getting down again before Spring.

The nicest thing of all….they left their 4 kids with us! Yay, just a little piece of “Crazy” for all of us city folk!

Do you know that I HATE Christmas? No really I do! I decided long ago, that I LOVED Thanksgiving because it was all the family of Christmas without any of the expense of gift giving. Yes, just call me Scrooge!

The main problem I have year after year are the in laws. My parents request that we don’t get them a gift. They do know that money is tight, and lets face it…they have it all! But my in laws have never said the same thing–so year after year I stress about making my budget stretch just a bit more to include a nice gift for them. Last year I got them the one gift that I had always wanted. A digital frame. They seem to like it. Turn it on if they happen to remember—and after their move…they don’t even remember where they packed it.

Me, on the other hand, I want 4 of these frames. I want to load each one with photo’s of one child per frame. Then—it’s like a moving scrapbook of each of my children’s lives in each frame.

A little piece of heaven if you ask me!

My husband works with industrial equipment all day long. In fact, we seem to be a part of two different worlds. When he’s home, he just can’t seem to find the right tool to get the job done fast enough. Yet, when I’m with him, I can’t find the right tool (read “small enough”) for me to get anything done either.

I do have to say, there is one piece of equipment that I will own…someday! A pizza sheeter! You know—they machine they feed the balls of dough through that roll them all out uniformly for them. No—I don’t work with bread dough all day long, or ever for that matter…but from my time working at a pizza place…it was always the coolest machine in the joint!

My in laws have recently moved into the home that my husband and I just moved out of. We’ve been out for about 2 years, and it’s been nearly a year since I’ve even been in the home. So we sat at the kitchen table on Halloween chatting–and it was truly odd to be sitting in this house again–and yet, strangely homey.

After every one had moved to the living room, I decided it would be fun to do the dishes one last time. This house didn’t have a dishwasher (I did buy a rolling one that you could hook up to the sink) and I stood and washed the dishes. It took me forever to figure out what was wrong. It didn’t feel right–something was different. Then I noticed (after I was nearly done) thatt they had swapped faucets with the house that they had lost—so it was my old sink and their old faucet–and honestly, it just messed with my head! It was much nicer than my old faucet, I will give them that!

My parents are looking to sell motorhome and stick around Dodge a bit longer! Really, it’s kind of sad for me. It means that they are getting too old to take care of it and getting it set up and taken down again are really starting to take a toll on my dad. I don’t know why–he’s only 77!

So this year, they are staying home for the holidays. Which may seem a little selfish of me, but I’m thrilled. I think there is always going to be a little girl inside of me, that wants her mom and dad around for the holidays!

We were supposed to have dinner this past weekend with a dear friend of my husband and his family. We were actually looking forward to it until they called to cancel. Turns out they had another one of their orlando vacations, (they’ve had 15) and were taking their two kids to Disney World. Now I’m sorry—I’ve never even been to Florida…and they are going AGAIN! What’s wrong with this picture?

I’m hoping prices come down a bit, because my dream would be to wrap up airline tickets and Disney tickets and let the kids open them up for Christmas. I think they would be thrilled! We lived in Arizona with two of our kids—and we never even made it to Disneyland. Hey, our oldest has been to Sea World—but he was only 6 months old!

Did I tell you that my parents were looking at homes to buy in Arizona. The market is perfect there for a second home–and honestly—it almost seems like stealing! They were looking at both manufactured homes and PUD’s. They normally pull their 5th wheel to Yuma in the winter months–so this would have just been an investment property for the future.

My uncle and his family live in Gilbert and I have an aunt and a cousin in Queens Creek. We used to live in Peoria but have since moved to Chicago. How fun it would be to visit them all in Arizona and to have a neat place to stay to do it! But you know what killed the deal? Turns out, my manly man of dad is just a wee bit afraid of scorpions. The family members in Queens Creek have found as many as 10 a week inside their homes. I lived in Arizona for 4 years and the only scorpion I ever saw………was in a Dixie cup at the zoo!

Do you know someone struggling with cancer? I have a dear friend who found a lump just a month before giving birth to her first child. Because of her pregnancy they wanted to wait to start her cancer treatment & prescriptions, but also really wanted to get a jump on it since she caught it relatively early. They gave the baby the steroid treatments to help her lungs–and they brought her 3 weeks early. She started her treatments 2 days after giving birth.

Can you even imagine? Last week there was a 10K cancer walk in downtown Chicago—we had to be there at 5:30 am—but let me tell you—-what an amazing experience it was!! The amazing feeling of support just emulated through the mass of people there to walk for friends and loved ones. It was an honor!

We are looking at moving. I know, AGAIN??? Yeah, I’m with ya! But really—it’s a great time for us to move and upgrade since many homes are worth much more than their price. Since we are looking at renting our current home–we’ve been looking into a couple of things that we can improve to really make the place spiffy. Definitely new carpet, a fresh coat of paint, some new Naples Fl custom doors, well—maybe we’ll put those on the new house—just some quick and easy things to give add that little touch of curb appeal.

The one thing that I’ve always wanted to do–but never had the money. I would extend our front porch–to give it a touch of a veranda look and then plant box hedges to hide the ’secret’ path up to the house. We won’t do it now—but boy, it would’ve looked great!

I will be looking for the best acne treatment around in the next few months. No not for me (for once!!!), for my 11 year old son. Yesterday—I actually popped a zit on his cheek. It hurt so bad that he wouldn’t even let me near the one on his forehead. Poor kid! Puberty is such a hard time–and talk about embarrassing! What’s amazing is it doesn’t seem like all that long ago I was knee deep in it–and now my kids are getting to that age. I know everyone always says this growing up thing goes so fast, but you know what…I had NO idea!

I’ve been looking for some really good Daytona Beach hotel deals. Actually, I’ll settle for just the deal–it doesn’t even need to be “good”! My husband is heading south in 13 days to spend 3 weeks in the sand and sun. Ok, not really—he’s working! They are opening a new hospital down there, and they are using his companies computer products. So he is going down to set it all up and to train the employees how to use it. Three weeks is way to long to hang out in Florida with kids who need to be in school, but there is a long weekend in there–and I intend to surprise him for it! Yeah—I didn’t mention the kids in the surprise did I? That’s cause they aren’t going! They are staying with my sister, and we are having a romantic getaway! He just doesn’t know it yet!

I read this online today, and it really made me laugh.  I was such a better mom before I had kids.  You know, I had lofty goals and ideas on just how life would go.  I think it went something like me having fresh baked muffins every morning before the kids headed to school.  Or me being the “cool” mom in the neighborhood, out playing football with my boys and their friends.  I’m not even sure they think I’m cool enough to invite to play, and I’m certain my ’skillz’ are outta date as well!  I would need to find and invest in some fat burners, and who knows—maybe I’ll regain my “Cool” card!

Not much of my original blueprint is in tact.  Rarely do they get anything I thought would be so fun.  In fact, most of the time, I’m just happy their actually fed before their heads hit the pillow at night!

I gotta get better!

This week the husband and I ventured into the Home Depot. He usually forbids me to go there–cause I seem to be drawn to everything from the cool bath faucet to the awesome new obsidian glass vanity sink. I could spend hours in a home improvement store—well, hours and thousands of dollars (which is why I’m grounded!!). But on this trip we needed new lighting over our medicine cabinet in the master bedroom. Since I stay home all day—I wanted to have a say in just what we got (or how much we spent on it).

While he looked at lights, I meandered around with my 9 year old and I’m happy to report that we only came home with the lights…..and a handy dandy “No Soliciting” sign and a super cool new phone plug. Not to bad for a kid in a candy store, eh!!

My aunt has found the best weight loss pill. She’s only been on it for 3 weeks and already she looks great. She doesn’t have the best health, so I was a little worried about her. Until I saw her. She says that she isn’t hungry on this pill—but that she has a TON of energy. She’s even taken up biking! How would it be?

Of course, right now it sounds miserable to me (cause I’m sick) but seriously—energy to go out and really enjoy my kids? I can’t even imagine it. I always wanted to be the “cool” mom. The mom out in the front yard playing football with her boys. Maybe after I kick this cold to the curb…I’ll check them out. See just how ‘cool’ these old bones can get!

We had the chance to head downtown last Monday to the Lincoln Park Zoo. One last outing before the school year started. We went with some friends from our current house, and met some friends from our old house. It was a fun afternoon and brought back so many memories as we headed home. The kids begged to ride together so we decided to detour through the old neighborhood on the way home. We’ve only been away from it for 2 years—and already so much has changed. The huge Circuit City building is now empty. The library has been turned into the Early Childhood Education center for all of the Kindergartners. Even the neighborhood vegetable stand was gone. Has it really been long enough for all of this to change? It still seems like yesterday that we moved here–and yet—so much really has changed. Time really does fly by!

Our family has gotten addicted to audio books. It’s something that we enjoy listening to in the car and it helps keep all of the kids entertained. We just finished a series about “Uglies, Pretties and Specials”. It all took place 300 years in the future and there were surgeries that you get when you turn 16 to go from being Ugly to being pretty. They make you the perfect height and weight. The recreate your face and teeth. Even your skin is polished to perfection. Sounds kinda nice, eh?

Mind you–I don’t really want any type of surgery–but it certainly beats weight losss supplements in my humble opinion. The kids seemed to enjoy the stories, but also got bored with everything being so perfect.

My oldest is 11. He’s a little round–but I’m a little nervous to see what Mother Nature has in store for him when puberty sets in!! Poor little fella!

Most people have problems with speech anxiety in their lives. This isn’t something I’m familiar with—unless I have to talk on the phone. Then I become a bumbling idiot! I’m not going to get all preachy on you…but in our church we are practically raised speaking in public. From prayers and scriptures in front of all of the other kids starting at age 3 to speaking in front of the whole congregation a couple of times a year starting at age 12. I’m telling you—we are trained to speak.

Last night as we sat at the pharmacy filling the prescription for my daughter, my 9 year old son decided that he would entertain me with his dancing. Now I should say…he’s very good. No training or classes or anything–but very definitely a natural beat is in his soul! So he starts rocking to “Can’t Touch This” yes, MC Hammer. He’s rollicking back and forth on his feet…he’s rippling his shoulders…the boys is getting into it. And he was awesome. He didn’t even care that there was a crowd of other waiting patrons with us. It wasn’t until he broke into his own rendition of “I Feel Pretty” and everyone started giggling, that the slow blush crept across his cheeks and he sat down quietly.

It’s funny–he’d been in his own little world, not caring what other people thought. Who does that??

Every time I’m sick with congestion in my lungs I always start claiming to have something much worse than a chest cold. You know, mesothelioma or the Swine Flu! I’m happy to report that I have neither, but you can still feel sorry for me–I do!

My daughter was in the E.R. yesterday. She has been sick the last several days as well, and Friday night started complaining about severe pain in her right ear. Now you all know how it is in the E.R. in the middle of the night. It takes forever. So I promised her that if she was still in pain when we woke up, that I would take her to the doctor. Well—guess what! Saturday morning she woke up–and the pain was gone. Miracle of miracles, right? Wrong!! Turns out–the intense pressure of her ear infection caused her ear drum to rupture during the night. Thus relieving the pressure and the pain. Problem is—her entire right side of her head was caked in dried blood. Now bleeding from the ears…that’s just plain scary.

So we took her in, they put her on Zithromax and sent me home. In her discharge papers (generic) it says to bring her to the E.R. again if her fever spikes, or if she is dizzy or vomiting or if there is discharge from her ear…blood or pus. So this morning I wake up to another dried blood caked ear. But do the “discharge from the ear” instructions still apply to me–since I took her in with discharge–and it’s the same? Or is this considered new discharge and she needed to go in? Yeah—I’ve no idea either!

So I watched her. Her fever remained gone with no medication. She wasn’t lethargic, and her ear didn’t bleed again the entire day. So I didn’t take her back. Now…..if there is blood caked on her face tomorrow morning…she’s going in first thing!

My computer is running slower than ever. I know it’s a memory problem–and I can fix it by adding some ddr. But you know what…I’m sick today, and I just don’t feel like ordering anything. Silly, huh? When I’m not feeling my best–I put things off. The kids started school last week, so I really should have plenty of time in any given day to get these minor things taken care of. But when I’m sick—nothing gets done. I’m in shut down mode, and I’m hoping tomorrow is better! I have a growing “To Do” list that is getting chokingly long!!

I am the second to youngest of 7 kids. Actually, we are a combined family with the four older kids belonging to my dad and us three younger ones belonging to my mom. But we’ve been together for so long—we really are just family.

I had the opportunity earlier this month to see my sister Lori. She is the second to oldest of our 7, and she just turned 50. She was in town for a convention and I have to tell you, she looked great! I don’t know if she found the best wrinkle cream ever, or if she’s just living well–but that girl hasn’t aged in the past several years since I’ve seen her. I was amazed. I’m not even in my 40’s yet, and she definitely looks better than I do!

She claims to have found the “Fountain of Youth” and from the looks of it…she may be right!

Yes, this is the week school starts! Finally, we live in an area where the kids go back earlier in the month of August rather than later. I know, I don’t sound like a mom who enjoys having her kids home for the summer. But I really do. They just seem to get “bored” a whole lot quicker at home than they do when half of their day is eaten up by school.

The other fabulous thing about this week. Even though the kids don’t go back to school until Thursday, they start their school year bedtime right now. That means that every night from now on, these precious little cherubs will be snug in their beds by 8 pm. That means quiet time for me from the time they head to bed, until my husband gets home a couple of hours later. It’s happening…right now! Can you hear it??? Yeah, neither can I—-it’s silence—and it’s AWESOME!

Do you things in your life that you are fanatical about? Well I spent an evening with my cousin last week, and I have to tell you they are UBBBBBBBBER passionate about BYU. Now, in my home state you are either a Ute fan or a Cougar fan…fence sitting is strictly prohibited! When the two schools play one another in football–it is known as the “Holy War”. I was raised by a man who graduated from the University of Utah. We had season tickets to every Ute basketball game ever played!!! My brother is a die hard, red blooded Ute fan, and I thought his school pride was unrivaled—until I spent the evening in the “Blue” house! They had a “Y” strung out on their porch in Christmas lights, they had pictures on the fridge of them at the beach where they had taken the time to scrawl out a big old “Y” in the sand and then crowd around the masterpiece for a family portrait. They have “Y”s on their motorbikes and automobiles. I didn’t even know they had BYU truck accessories–but they found EVERY one of them! It’s a sickness I tell ya!

Back at home in Chicago I can honestly say, I know nothing about any of the schools here–except that they each cost about $30K a year to attend! But it was really enlightening to find people truly passionate about something!

I was just reading over on my sister’s blog about her aversion to all things electronically advanced! I can vouch for this–she hold onto most of her dinosaurs until they are long dead and petrified! My husband on the other hand is the first in line to own anything brand new. From ipods to iphones, Palm Pilots to Laptops…he’s got the newest, shiniest everything.

Now–I have to admit–my sister probably has it better than I do simply because new devices inevitably cost quadruple the price she’s going to pay by waiting–and all new items come with BUGS! Little irritating bugs that have to be worked out. Super frustrating!! But still—the man must be first in all things!

This morning they had a water party at church.  That just meant that the kids got to dress up in their swimming suits, and get wet.  There were little splash pools, a slip ‘n slide, and water balloon launchers.  My kids got soaked, but they were immensely happy.  Lunch was lemonade, PB&J’s, chips and watermelon with popsicles for dessert.

It was pretty toasty outside, so it made for a perfect day to get wet.  And honestly, aside from a few loaves of bread and a watermelon or two, there really wasn’t much involved in the way of costs.  Not a bad party for anyone on a budget!

School starts in 31 days. Now, I know that makes me sound like a bad mom—I really do enjoy spending time with my kids, but there is the whole “schedule” thing to look forward to. Going to bed at the same time, getting up at the same time, having one child at home for 6 hours a day to keep the house clean! I know, I’m bad—but this year there is something pretty cool I just found out. I’ve been looking for insurance for the kids, and I just found out that we can get student short term health insurance NC for the school year. That may just solve all of the problems we’ve been having.

I will find out more at registration…but until then…I’m giddy!

We are getting ready to hit the road next week. I have found several books on tape from the library, and even located all of my sd cards for my camera. I just need to juice up the mini DVD players, rent the car and pack–and we’ll be on our way!

Have you ever used books on tape while driving long distance? I’m a little nervous that it will make me sleepy–as normal reading always puts me to sleep. But with 20 hours ahead of us…I’m hoping it works like a charm!

My older brother was blessed with twin girls 10 years ago. When they were born they were so easy to tell apart. We just assumed that they were fraternal twins. But as they got older it became harder and harder to tell them apart, and last year we took one look at their school photo’s and wondered why the parents bothered paying for two sets…they looked like the same picture. So my brother and his wife took the girls to the doctor for a chromosomal DNA testing and shocker of shockers (not really), they really are identical twins. Honestly, before the age of 2 no one thought they were. Now, there was just no question!

I have been looking for low cost health insurance the last couple of months. We have the kids covered under my husband’s plan, but in the next couple of months the premiums are set to go up drastically. So we are thinking about finding a good plan for just the kids. Lower prices, higher deductibles we are fine with that. We mainly only use the insurance to cover doctor visits to register for school or when they are really…really sick. But because I don’t want to tempt fate–they have to be covered, because the moment they aren’t…something bad will definitely happen!

Do you remember several months back when I was complaining about my son’s desire to find Ferrari parts for his Pinewood Derby car? Well—I talked him out of it for the race with the promise that someday in the future I would search hobby shops with him and we would build a NEW car!

Well, I thought that was a brilliant diversion until now–4 months later, when he suddenly remembered the “plan” and is now begging to head out looking for parts. Now it isn’t that I wouldn’t LOVE to build a new car—well, yes it is…I have no desire. But since his request is followed by the “You Promised” (famous last lines) I’m thinking tomorrow after breakfast–we’ll head out!

Wish me luck!

This past week my sister was put in the hospital to have her first baby. Everything seemed to be going downhill for the last couple of weeks, not only with her and her blood pressure–but the baby’s heart beat has been unstable. So she has been in the hospital since Monday the 13th of July, and just 2 days ago she gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Delia. She’s been bedridden for so long that all she needs is the baby’s picture and to add her stats and the birth announcements are ready to mail.

After a couple of harrowing weeks, I can honestly say, I’m so glad they are both out of harms way—and healthy!

Why is it when you spend a couple of weeks away from your kids–and then you come back and you catch everything going around the elementary school? We got home last week from our trip and everything seemed fine–until Monday! I have been so sick since then, I’m honestly wondering if there is an internal organ that still desires to be a part of my body! I have thrown up, coughed up everything I’ve tried to eat since then. I missed every single event at our local street festival/carnival. I know to most people that isn’t a big deal, but to me–it’s my favorite time of the year. I thought I would just push and get there–but there was just no way possible. If I was upright I was sweating and faint and vomiting. If I was sitting up, I was sweating and faint and coughing–either way–they wouldn’t have let me anywhere near the school!

Maybe next year!

I have lost 25 pounds! I know, it’s amazing! Funny how when you have tons to lose 25 doesn’t look like much, but when you don’t have a lot to lose–it’s drastic. Sadly, I’m in the “doesn’t look like much” category! But thanks to the best diet pills ever, I’m hoping to drop even more. Maybe 50 will look better???

A lot of this is baby weight, so it should come off pretty quick—but for some people in my family–it doesn’t matter where the weight came from–it’s not going anywhere!! I’ll post my before and after pics as soon as I hit my goal!

There is one thing to be said about spending your days in bed. You get to catch up on ALL of the good, the bad and the ugly on TV. Have you heard of this horrible new kids show called Yo Gabba Gabba? It’s HORRID! My two little ones hung out on my bed with me because I couldn’t chase them around the house and we watched this:

I’m sorry, but this is just terrible! People mocked Barney and the Teletubbies–I know, I was one of them. But this one takes the cake. I can’t imagine anyone acting in this, making it or paying for it to be on the air. It’s just unfathomnable!

Our neighbors just got home from their second honeymoon. They are the nicest people, and just married off their 3rd and final child. Hence it was time to “rediscover” themselves as a couple! They headed off to the Wynn hotel in Vegas for the week, and had a great time.

I love looking at pictures of Las Vegas hotels. It seems like each one tries to out shine the others, so you get some pretty beautiful and amazing hotels. The Wynn is definitely one of my favorite. I’ve never stayed there, but we always take a walk through it when we are in Vegas. I actually have a picture that I had to take in the Ladies Room. Who takes photos in the Ladies Room? It is amazing, and the tile work is to die for!

All of this just makes me wanna hit the strip soon!!

My sister is an incredibly talented cake decorator. She is totally self taught which honestly, makes her work even cooler! Well this week I went with her to Restaurant Depot. She was wanting to price cake ‘things’ wholesale rather than continuing to purchase them from the local hobby shop.

Can I just tell you that this store was AMAZING!! It had everything from exit signs to those cool air deodorizers you see hanging on the walls in the swanky restaurants that send out a fine mist of yummy smell every few seconds. Just enough to keep the restroom smelling fresh and clean. Yeah, I totally bought me one of those!

Kids aren’t allowed in the store at all, and with 8 kids between us it’s kind of hard to find a sitter for all of them in order to go together. But baby….this little outing has caused quite the addiction…and I can’t wait to go back!

Well, the in laws have changed their minds…THANK HEAVENS!! They have decided that rather than piling on more debt while they are already so deeply in a hole—that they will just live with the consequences to their foolishness (my words…not theirs) and will be moving into the house that we moved out of. Now we are looking for cheap long distance moving companies. I mean—why are we not getting a ton of family members together to move these people? Why are we spending one more dime (that they don’t have) to have someone come and do it for them.

Now, I understand hiring someone to come and get the super heavy stuff…but everything…that’s just crazy!

Do you wanna know one more crazy thing?? They have a big beautiful refrigerator in the house they live in now. The one in the house they are moving into is old and nasty. I should know…it was mine for the 6 years I lived there. But instead of swapping out these refrigerators, they are going to leave the big one in the home they are in now, and buy a brand spanking new one when they get settled. Well…that’s what they think. Once they are done and out of their current house, I will be hiring someone, and we will be swapping out our crappy refrigerator for the one that they left behind. And yes…I am paying them a couple hundred bucks for it!

I’ve gotten a few comments about my previous post. My in laws do own two homes. Both outright at one time, but due to some really poor financial choices, they are losing one. They do have the paid off home up for sale, but it is an older home closer to the city of Chicago. It has a tiny front and back yard, and the garage is too small to park a car in. That leaves you parking on the street. There are two bedrooms in this home–and honestly, old as it is, it’s a nice home. However, prices in that area have dropped considerably and they wouldn’t be able to get the amount out of this house that the owe on their house. But worst of all is the fact that homes aren’t selling in this area nearly fast enough to save their home.

Since I wrote the last post however, they have come up with a possible solution. I’m a little wary of it, but if they plan to keep the home they are in, their hands are tied. They are taking out a $50,000 loan on the home that is for sale. This will pay up the current loan on their house–as well as finish off some of the repairs they need on the other home. Neither mortgage will then require a payment for a year and the home should sell within that time frame. I’m wary because these people don’t move on things! They had 2 years before they got into trouble with the home their in. I pray their house sells, but if not–they will be walking away from this house as well as losing the home that is currently for sale. At that point, the only thing I will have left to offer them, is the boys bedroom upstairs. And I will be LIVID if it comes to that!!

I wrote a few days ago about the ‘bridge’ loan my in laws were taking out on their older home to pay for their newer home. With this loan, there has been enough money included to finish fixing up the house. I was over there today and my father in law and brother in law were in laying tongue and groove laminate in the kitchen. It was looking really good. So much better than the crappy floor we had to live with! After the flooring is in, they will fix the front door and put it up for sale. We are all hoping for a quick sale, but here in Illinois, that isn’t always what happens, and with 3 other homes on the block for sale…it might be a long wait!

I am married to a man who takes his Chicago sports VERY SERIOUSLY! Honestly, the Blackhawks made it to the semi-finals in hockey before losing to the Red Wings last week, and he’s still grieving! He’s also a huge Bears, Cubs and White Sox fan. He’s the only one I know that would schedule a trip to New York around the possibility of getting New York Yankees tickets when they play the Sox. Me–I’m good for NYC anytime of year, but if the Sox aren’t in town, we don’t need to be either!

I guess tickets to the ball game for him and the boys, and tickets to the theater for me and the daughter sounds pretty good to me. At least the theater is air conditioned!

My mom has been working really hard these last few months to get her life back. Due to constant pain, and prescription pain killers that have been prescribed to relieve the pain, she’s found that if she doesn’t take the medication she goes into withdrawals of sorts. So she is basically addicted to pain killers. Not by any abuse on her part, but because her body is just used to having them around.

Anyway, she’s worked really hard to slowly wean herself off of these pills. It’s brought with it more pain, but she is determined to beat them and she’s doing great. The problem is, she’s not finding any sort of “health” benefit from it. She’s now wondering if she needs to find a cleanse, like Colonix but for the liver. To try to finally rid her body of all of these toxins that the liver has been in overdrive for the past several years.

I don’t know what will come of this, but for her sake (and mine) I hope she finds what she needs to finally be able to start living life again. We miss her!

Summer is coming! I can’t believe my kids only have a few more days left of school, I just don’t know where all the time went! Summer brings with it the horror of this body in a bathing suit–ha, in and of it’s self, terrifying! Yes, weight loss pills would be a great boost, but I’m realizing, I must not care too much. Either that, or the fact that eating healthy is neither cheap nor easy makes it seem like a daunting task!

I do have one son that is a little rounder. He’s 11 and starting into that “self image” stage, so I do need to start thinking about his body and it’s particular needs. I want nothing but health and happiness for him in his life.

Tomorrow is June 1st. Just a typical day to most, but June and December bring with them the joy of renewing our auto insurance. We’ve never actually changed insurance companies, but this year I would like to look at comparing term life insurance quotes as well as adding our Homeowners insurance. You know, get an umbrella policy for all of them. I don’t know how much of a discount this will add to our already good rate, but in these times, every little bit counts!

As I mentioned in the last post, vacation ideas are alluding me! With this economy we’ll have to find some amazing travel deals in order to go anywhere. There is somewhere close that I would like to see, Dyersville, IA! Why? Because that is where the “Field of Dreams” baseball field is. It’s not too far from home here and other than souvenirs, it’s a free afternoon with my family!

I know my boys would LOVE it, and it’s something that seems to draw a lot of people from all over the country. I do want to wait until a little later in the summer when the corn is in season and tall against the backdrop of the baseball field.

Today was the last Wednesday that the kids have school.  They would normally finish up the year on Friday, but they have 2 snow days to make up next week, so next Tuesday is IT!  I’m looking forward to this summer with my kids. Normally I’m a bit intimidated by the prospect, but I’m hoping to make this one really fun and relaxing for all of us.

As far as plans for a summer vacation go, well, I don’t have any!  My sister is taking her family up through the Dakota’s and home and that sounds like a nice trip, especially the Sturgis, North Dakota portion during Biker Week! 

I found out today that my in laws are most likely going to be losing their house. It’s a heart break, but there is nothing in our bank account to help them with. My father in law hasn’t even told my mother in law about this, and I think holding on to this alone is literally killing him. They have a home to move into. It’s completely paid for, and a very nice home for the two of them. It ISN’T however, their home! They’ve lived in this home for 9 years and have loved every minute of it. They have a huge yard with a swimming pool for the kids. But they have been helping two of their sons and that help has ruined them financially.

I think it’s imperative that my mother in law finds out and finds out soon. I think she would much rather have her husband stress free and live with the disappointment for a year or two until they are back on their feet and the real estate market is better. Then they can sell the older home and buy something beautiful again. These may just be the last few years of this man’s life, lets try to remove some of the stress from him. She will be disappointed of course, but again, I think she would rather have him happy and alive then hiding this secret from her while he tries to figure something out!

I have been taking a bit of a break from blogging lately.  This is about the only time in the year when my body can stand to be outside working on the yard.  Not to far off from now I will not be venturing out much at all.  I have taken a few before and after pictures over the past week, and I have to say, I can’t wait to be able to get them up, it’s amazing how much nicer the yard looks just by clearing away the old wet/mildew stained leaves and other remnants of winter.  I even pruned the raspberry bushes and I’m actually planning to jar some homemade raspberry jelly.  I can’t wait!

I would like to find a nice wholesale electronics site to find a flat screen TV for my husband. I have just the spot for it (above the fireplace) and with our 12 year anniversary coming up, I think it would be perfectly fitting!

He would love one, but truly in this economy I’m thinking if it isn’t wholesale, there is no way we could afford it! But if I can’t get him that, I just don’t have another idea. What do you get a man after 12 years? Well, aside from that!!!

He’s not one for tools, although now that I think about it, the lawn mower is broken. But it seems like it would be getting your wife a toaster for her anniversary, so I’m not thinking it’s the best! Any ideas out there????

I found this video over on Marissa’s blog, and it was definitely blog worthy! The woman got a standing ovation when she was finished, and I tell you–she deserved it. I would love to have the words to this thing–I say every one of the lines several times a day! Great job!

Ok, I forgot to insert a picture of the “B” man after I was talking about him on my last post! Since I’m on Rob’s computer–let’s see if I can find one that sums up his cuteness in one easy stroke!!

This one is taken mid-chant! He’s just a silly little doll baby! So happy to be alive–and he’s going to let you know just how pleased he is to be here!

I didn’t mention–he’s starting to tell knock knock jokes–so cute. He’ll say knock knock and you say who’s there and he’ll say chicken who and then you say chicken who who–and he answers with Knock Knock and it starts all over. He even tries to play I Spy–which is really fun to hear this little two year old attempt! Such a cutie!!

Robyn’s son Barrett is 2 1/2 and he is a total ham! He loves to sing and will walk around the house chanting songs or conversations that he’s heard. He’s potty training and can get his diaper off–but can’t get another one back on. So he’ll wander around naked for a bit. Rob asked him, “Barrett, are you naked?” and he yells back “Bummy Man”. Robyn calls him Naked Bummy Man and it is so cute to hear him repeat it. He just walked in from his nap with the gallon of milk and his bottle. After the bottle was filled he started chanting “yay, yay, yay, yay” as he carried the milk back to the fridge with the bottle nipple embedded between his front teeth!

What a cutie!!

I was reading a blog, on a local paper no less, and the woman was cracking me up. She delved into a subject that is usually kept to one’s self because of the embarrassment factor. She was talking about the afternoon she spent on the neighbor’s trampoline with her daughter and how she had to run home to change her pants. Yes, life after child birth brings on the need for incontinence supplies. I’m not sure if it’s worse after childbirth–when the baby is out. Or during pregnancy with 5 pounds of baby sitting on your bladder.

When you have been in bed for 4 weeks straight, you start finding things that you can do while there. Recently I’ve worked on sewing projects, craft items, heck, I’ve even finagled the ironing board so I can iron in bed. But sitting with a mirror just a few inches from my face in order to put my make up on, or wash and moisturize it, I can honestly say, I’m up for microdermabrasion!

Doubtful it can be done from the comforts of my own bed, so it will have to wait until after I am done. But after so many years with problem skin, I’m definitely looking forward to the idea!

Have you heard about the big change coming up in a few years? After 2012 you will not be able to purchase the normal, run of the mill light bulbs any more. It will only be the “environmentally friendly” swirly ones. Yes, the ones that send you to the ER for Mercury poisoning if you break…yeah, I’m real excited about that! NOT! So we have started our own little stockpile of light bulbs. Every size, every watt…we are covered! And the best thing…unlike storing food…light bulbs never go bad!

I have been chatting with my sister quite a lot lately. She is on an extreme weight loss kick in order to get to her 20 year high school reunion this fall. She ordered some of the best diet pills and a program that goes a long with them. I must admit, I was skeptical at first, but I’ve been pretty surprised. She’s looking really good.

I’m not in any possible position to start looking at getting back into shape….prego and all. But as soon as this baby is here, and 6 weeks old, I’m right back at it. I think I’m going mental in this bed here. I just can’t wait to get back into the gym. Heck, the back patio sounds like Heaven these days!

Oh MY!! This past couple of months has been a whirlwind. This is pregnancy number 5, and suddenly…we have “baby drama”! Yep! I’ve been put on bed rest. I have to say, I always thought that sounded so nice. You know just one of those moments when you get to say, “Oh Honey, could you get that…my doctor won’t let me get out of bed!” Can you imagine the luxury of lounging around in bed all day long? It sounds like heaven, doesn’t it! Well…………………..

It’s NOT cool! Especially with four kids wreaking havoc on my house while I lounge in said bed! My parents are being so cool. They are trying to find ways to help out any way they can. They are trying to locate rv parks near by, so that my mom can help me with the kids. How sweet is that?

So, my sister has set me up with her laptop, and I’m chillin’ in my bed hoping to get back into the swing of things!

Wish me luck!

My husband bought tickets last week to a Chicago Blackhawk’s hockey game. My boys were so excited to be able to go, and VERY disappointed when he let them know that he wasn’t taking them, he was using the tickets as a way to re-connect with a friend he had lost contact with.

What a fun night he had. It was as though no time had passed between these two. They even talked about me! It seems this boy works in my favorite field…accounts payable. My husband let him know that I would DIE for his job, and he practically offered it to me! Turns out, he’s looking for jobs in finance and will most likely be leaving his current job if he finds something. Now, with this economy, he may not—and with my youngest only 4 years old, it’s not the most opportune time. But oh, how fun it was to think back to my days as the old A.P.!!

We had the birthday party for my 21 year old niece here last night. We are the only ones with a house big enough for all of the family, and with 21 being such a “big” birthday, they wanted everyone invited. We love this girl. Really we do. She’s a kind of “drama queen” like I’ve never seen. It isn’t so much that she creates the drama. Drama just seems to have an uncanny ability to find her. For instance…her biggest gift of the night was from her dad, a Garmin GPS system. She was so excited about it–apparently she spends quite a bit of her life lost! So before leaving the house she gushed about how she had programmed our address and her address, and she was just going to follow the directions all the way home.

1.5 hours later, we got a call from her dad. He’d left quite awhile after her, and she still hadn’t made it home. He was wondering if she’d come back to our house for something. NOPE…..she failed to switch her directions to “quickest route” or “highway” and it was pre-set on “WALK”. By the time she figured out that it was messed up…she was totally lost!

See…DRAMA!

I have been looking at the possibility of getting this family to Sea World this summer! I’ve tracked down the cheapest airfare, even found an affordable San Diego airport hotel. The only thing holding us back is trying to get our schedule (I’m a stay at home mom with four kids out of school for the summer…we have no schedule) to jive with my work-a-holic husband’s! He refuses to take too much time off of work. You know, I respect that–but puh-lease! I’m not paying thousands of dollars for a quick weekend trip across the country. Maybe if we still lived in Arizona…but definitely NOT happening from Chicago!

…If only for a few hours!

We were watching an old movie last night with the kids. It was one where the family heads out to a fabulous beach rental for the summer. Their days are filled with family fun, their nights with cookouts and toasted marshmallows next to the surf. Everything was perfect, there were no kids fighting, no bugs…just pure family fun. I would love to find something like that for my family. Outer Banks Rentals offers properties in North Carolina, which sounds like a charming place to visit. It’s always more work for the mom though. Laundry and packing for everyone. Cooking and cleaning, and you know my kids will kill each other and there will be a ton of bugs!! Ok, maybe not the bugs, I’m not sure I’m up for too much family time with MY family! Isn’t that so sad! They are good kids, and I’m sure they would have a great time–as long as they stay 3 feet away from each other!!

My husband has let me know that the time has come to cut down my tree! He has promised to wait until it drops all of it’s Spring blossoms. It is a heavenly, magical tree. We had never had a Spring with it before last year, and I can’t tell you what a surprise it was to when this baby bloomed! I have always loved Plum trees in the Spring…but this was even better!

Of course, it’s a crabapple tree, and as anyone who knows crabapples will tell you…they are horrid in the summer and early fall! The fruit falls on our driveway to get crushed by the cars and kids playing. And the squashed rotten fruit attracts flies…HORDES OF THEM! So it is with heavy heart, I say goodbye to my magic tree!

I am going over to my sisters old house tomorrow to help her and her mother in law pull things out to be put in a garage sale in a couple of months. What is so fun is that the attic and basement are full of her husbands grandparents things–total “Antique Roadshow fodder up there! There is depression glass, and even an old stove from the 1920’s in PERFECT condition! That alone could fetch several thousands of dollars–and it still works!

Then I have to hit the streets…major coupon savings happening this week! I need to hit Jewel, Meijer and Wlagreens…I even hope to find a great deal on pet supplies!

So tomorrow will be really an interesting day–I can’t wait to fill you in on what else I find!

Holy Crap–there is a ton of snow out there! But you know the one thing that drives me nuts–there could be 10 feet of snow outside our door and my children’s school would not be canceled! I guess they figure we can all walk-so why not keep it open! Yes, we can walk–but there is no way my kids are walking to school in 10 feet of snow–so I have to dig my car out of–not 10–but 15 feet of snow thanks to the snowplow shoveling me in! MMMM HMMMM Thanks guys!

I finally bit the bullet and called the kids in sick! I’m sorry–if it’s snowy enough for every other school to close in the state–it’s snowy enough for my kids to stay home and snuggle where it’s warm! They are all prone to Bronchitis–so this is another precaution for that! When the sun comes out a little later–we will go out and begin the digging out process!!

I told you a few posts down about the TV stand I want in my bedroom, but I didn’t tell you about the TV wall mount we put in the family room. I was originally against the idea, I’d only ever seen these in hospitals or motels but my husband convinced me to give it a try. They are HEAVEN! For two reasons. First off, they are up in the air and not taking up valuable floor space. The whole room just looks bigger and I can vacuum under the TV anytime I want to without having to move it. The reason that made the most sense and actually sold me on the idea (long before I saw how cool they really were) my 2 year old (Houdini) wouldn’t be able to climb on it anymore. I’ve heard so many horror stories of kids being squashed by furnishings that they try to climb up and then that item falls on them and kills them. That was my worry with my little man. But this way, unless he’s part monkey, he won’t be able to climb on it any more. If you have little ones or even a smaller TV room, you’ve just gotta look into these!

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day? Living in the Chicago area there are a ton of things to do and plan. You can go your whole life without duplicating a Valentine’s Day! Unless you are boring like me! I don’t need a lot of hoopla–I just enjoy a quiet evening out with my husband. It doesn’t happen very often so it makes it extra nice to be able to drop the kids off and head out as adults.

As far as gifts go, I tend to go more on the practical side. New robe, slippers, hockey jersey–you know–”guy stuff”. My husband has surprised me on a number of occasions with jewelry, flowers and even organic gift baskets. I have to say, I’ve enjoyed all of the above. It’s just really fun to open the door to the delivery man holding a box filled with a fun Valentine surprise! Even if you don’t spend a lot of money, that moment of opening the door–or the one just following that when you are pulling beautiful blooms out of the box and arranging them in the vase, it’s just fun and girly. I don’t know any girl who doesn’t love that!

I have long been looking at the idea of going back to school. Well, when my kids are a little older anyway. I’ve had my eye on a couple of career ideas and I’m hoping with the current slow down in the economy I’ll be able to find something when the time comes. jobs in logistics seem to be going strong right now, so there may be hope.

If not, I can always go back to doing what I was doing before we got married. I love working in an office environment, so it isn’t really a bad thing at all. I enjoyed having the chance to work with people everyday, and now after a decade and a half of kids, I’m kind of looking forward to some “grown up” time.

I have been loving my new kitchen. Not much is new, we just painted the cabinets and had a new counter top put down. I have a new kitchen sink and a cool new faucet. It’s not as beautiful as the Danze faucets, but compared to what we’ve been working with the past year and half, it’s heaven!

We painted the cabinets black which was kind of scary at first. It’s such a bold color for such a small room, but it really works. We put the little glass tiles on the walls of the backsplash, and it just came together so nicely with everything. I’ve been baking in the kitchen the past few days, and for some reason, it just makes me happy. Lame I know!

I wrote not too long ago about wanting one of those tv stands that raise out of a dresser and then disappear back down when you aren’t watching. Well, guess what I think I’m getting for my birthday? Isn’t it nice to know that my sweet husband pays attention when I blog about things I like!

Of course, if he were going strictly by the blog I’d be getting a new laptop, a KitchenAid and an Arizona room…so I’m just happy he found something the he’d like too!

I still can’t believe I’m going to be 40! It’s not that I haven’t been around a long time, but I just don’t feel 40. I still feel like a teenager in so many ways. I still want to do fun things that we did when we were younger. I’m just not ready to be old and stuffy! But I guess age really is just a number–I probably shouldn’t worry about it so much!

A few months ago we were over at my husbands grandparents home helping his parents clean it out. The fun thing about cleaning out these types of homes is the history you find deep inside. There was depression glass, antique toys and these little old fashioned espresso contraptions. They were so amazing in a couple of ways. One-they didn’t look like they would actually work–even when they were new, and two, they were in perfect condition. These were older than my mother in law, and there wasn’t a scratch on them. We’ve visited my mother in laws house since then and have seen these little things sitting on the top ledge of her stove. She love espresso, but hasn’t figured out how to work them. Kind of funny. She has these two cool little things, but for her birthday in a couple of weeks we are looking at modern espresso machines for her. One that comes with directions anyway.

My aunt called me the other day. She has always been one of my favorite people in the world. This woman can complain about everything from vaginal dryness to the clickety clack heels of her next door neighbor. My favorite complaints, I have to admit, are about her husband. The poor man! I’m not quite sure how he made it to maturity–he’s quite forgetful and pretty darn clumsy! He’s flooded their house not once, not twice but FOUR times! The funniest one being the time he hooked up the hose to the water bed to empty it, but forgot to put the other end of the house outside of the house. They were all in laying on, rolling on and pushing on the waterbed to get all of the water out when my aunt walked into the kitchen and found not only the other end of the hose on the kitchen floor–but all of the water they had been working so hard to remove. GALLONS of water on her kitchen floor!

I listened for awhile about all of the craziness going on at her place before I heard a loud shatter upstairs, and little feet scurrying to flee the scene! It seems my kids were climbing on top of my dresser to get the old fashioned gumball machine down when it slipped and fell to the floor. I still find gumballs in the oddest of places! I can’t wait to see what kind of things I get to complain about when I’m old!

We just finished our remodel. We updated the kitchen and many of the door knobs. What is funny is we had to change them from the decorative french ones to really round industrial knobs. The reason? Our little 2 year old could get outside just by pulling down on the handle.

Now normally that may not be a big deal, but there was NO keeping him in the house. The first thing he would do when he woke up…head outside! If I ran to use the bathroom for 30 seconds…he was outside. With the weather turning cold it just wasn’t possible to have him running outside every chance he got!

I’m hoping we only have to have these door knobs for a short time. Hopefully he’ll grow out of this stage and I can have my decorative handles back!

My kids have all been sick this week. It’s kind of strange. My daughter was originally sick the day before the two snow days. Then after one day back at school my middle son comes home feeling ill–he missed two of the four days of school that week. This week, is all mine! My youngest goes back to preschool on Tuesday and then the headphones go on, and my feet hit that treadmill.

It’s hard getting the workout in the schedule with a house full of kids. So when they head back to school-it’s “Me” time! I can’t wait!

I’m not quite sure why I’m falling apart! I’m not that old–well, I’m not that young either, but seriously–in a crowd, I’m hard of hearing. I don’t mean the normal ‘woman’ thing where there are 14 different conversations going on at the same time and you some how can’t turn enough of them off to make out a coherent one. I’m seriously losing my hearing. Then add into that the 14 other conversations and you get this (and I’m not kidding, it happened at the church dinner just last week!!)

Friend: I’m so glad the kids are going back to school tomorrow.
Me: Me too, I will finally be able to turn Rockband off and have some quiet time.
Friend: Well, my quiet time isn’t so quiet, Brielle watches Barney every minute of the day.

Ok—I’m going to veer off of this verbatim for a moment–because I look like a fool in like 5 seconds, but in my defense…there is noise all around us. 250 people worth of noise, plus her 4 kids and my 3 kids—I didn’t stand a chance…..

Me: Oh I love those (Breil watches). My mother in law got one for Christmas and it’s classy yet casual–I might have to ask for one for my birthday.
Friend: …….strange look on her face….Twilight Zone music playing in her head…..
I’m sorry? What are you talking about?
Me: Uh….wha? Huh? What were you talking about?

Yeah…she was talking about her daughter, Brielle watching television. I heard Briel Watch—and off my brain fumbled through an incoherent conversation!

Ah, good times!!

Ok, I have to ask–what is the additional safety equipment in a car worth, if it can cause more damage because of it? Well, in this case it would have been my fault–and nothing did happen, but it got me to thinking. Last night my kids and I headed to the local drug store to take advantage of the last minute deals before they ended. It had snowed heavily here in the Chicago suburbs, and the road clearing process was going a bit slow. I pulled into the parking lot and tried to slow down for a stop sign. Unfortunately, my car was having none of it and we started to slide. It’s a two way stop and the car waiting to make a turn must have thought I had my “stop” under control because they pulled into my lane. I narrowly missed them. Yes, if there had been an accident it would totally have been my fault–and I’m glad there wasn’t. But what brought this question on is after all was said and done and everything was fine my son pointed out where is foot was resting. Right on the front passenger dash board. Had I hit that car, even as slow as we were going, his air bag would have deployed. And with that kind of speed and power—what exactly would have happened to that poor little leg and foot? Sure, his head wouldn’t have hit the dashboard or windshield, but how mangled would his leg be??

Note to self…….no more feet on the dashboard…EVER!

I have loved the last few days because it’s actually been warmer outside than I ever expected it to be! Mind you, I’m not going swimming or anything, but how nice to hit the streets in nothing more than a sweatshirt! My one problem…my toes! I have spent countless amounts of money on warm socks and slippers, I even used to sleep with a heating pad wrapped around my toes. My husband finally wised up. This year for Christmas he got a very nice electric blanket for our bed. How nice it is to turn it on just a few minutes before you are going to bed, so that you can crawl in to an already toasty bed! The only unhappy members of our family…the two dogs! They used to lie under the covers, but with the heat and their fur coats they just get too hot!

Nothing is funnier than the dogs clawing their way out from under the covers panting heavily!

Are you on it? I’ve only been on it a week, and I’m amazed at how many of my friends and family members are on it. What a great way to keep up with people in your life. Even people that I went to high school with, that I’ve not spoken to in years…it’s like no time has passed. We all meet up online, and talk about our lives now, how cool we ‘thought’ we were back then. It’s just made this holiday season just a bit more special. Family and friends really are the best!

My husband has been under a tremendous amount of stress lately. So much so, that I really don’t mind when he’s not home. How bad is that? But seriously, he is G-R-U-M-P-Y!! We had the Christmas Eve party at our house this year, and I have to say it was horrible! The kids have never been yelled at as much as they were in the days leading up to Christmas, and honestly, they were quite the same as normal. He just could NOT handle the stress in his life mixed in with the stress of family.

I VOWED we would never host this party again!

With things going the way they are in the economy, they are looking at laying off a couple of managers. That leaves my husband picking up the slack. More hours, no more pay! So I let him know how bad that is, and if he truly is going to go this route, then on his next day off we would be getting him some life insurance! Now let me say, I know nothing about life insurance…I don’t know how much we would want on him, how much would we want on me. Since I’m not currently insured medically, I would have to find a no exam life insurance policy, because I can’t pay a fortune to get into the doctor just now.

I do know his policy would be worth more than mine. I would lose the breadwinner of the family, and we would need something while I figured out our road for the future. He would need enough on me to cover any child care expenses he would have, because he would have to continue to work. These are all thoughts going through my head right now, but I do know…if he’s going to kill himself at work…we are going to be protected!!

Did you have huge storms these past few days? We did! The worst part is that it’s all melting and our window wells filled up, and flooded the basement. Not anything huge, but enough. What makes me the most irritated (that’s a little harsher than what I’m feeling) I had made sure that everything on the bare floor was protected in the big rubbermaid bins.

Then, trying to be helpful, my husband went down to straighten up the basement before the Christmas Eve party and ended up putting many cardboard boxes on the floor. Now those boxes are soaked! He did have the good sense to leave the Samsonite luggage on top of the coat shelf, so that is completely dry, and I’m now using it to hold everything that was once housed in a cardboard box! I will be hitting the store sales on storage bins later this afternoon and if I’m lucky, there won’t be a cardboard box left in the basement!!

Have you taken a blogging break this holiday season? I have! Not really planned, just because everything seems to jump out at you the last month of the year. Holiday decorations, school parties, orchestra concerts, Christmas gifts for teachers, Christmas gifts for everyone, having the kids home all day, EVERY DAY!!, baking, cleaning, cooking…..oh my goodness! There just hasn’t been a spare moment for anything not holiday or child related!

And so, late as it may be…I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas! And then ask, How was your holiday?

You got a taste of ours, but it really wasn’t so bad! We had two major holiday parties at our house this year. Christmas Eve with the entire extended family, and then Christmas morning brunch with just the in laws and their family.

As nice and festive as it is to sit in a dimly lit room full of twinkling Christmas lights, I have to say, the immense feeling of ‘recovery’ as you vacuum the last pine needle away for the year…THAT is well worth all of the work!

The other thing my sister is doing on her blog Kid Cookin, she’s putting up a new recipe everyday for a different cookie exchange. I think it’s so fun to see all of the different kinds of cookies she’s got on there, and I completely want to try them all–but this weekend I did try one. It’s the Impossible Peanut Butter Cookie, and after eating the entire plate…I’ll definitely be in need of some Leptovox!

These are truly peanut butter cookies, and honestly, reading the recipe they don’t seem like they will work because there is no flour or leavenings in them. It’s just a cup of peanut butter, a cup of sugar, and an egg…sounds like a big mess maker to me. But honestly, they were the softest, creamiest peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had. You can shake the recipe up a bit and make it with crunchy peanut butter (which I don’t have on hand)…I bet they would be good with crunchy peanut pieces in them too.

Take my word for it–they are the easiest, yummiest cookies EVER!!

Do you have memories from when you were little? When I was younger, my mom was a single mom–and so there are some different memories than some of the kids my age would have had. I mean how many kids watch their mom’s getting ready for a date? She married again when I was 9, and we got a fabulous man to be our dad. He had a pretty high up job in his company, so there were many occasions when I would sit on my mom’s bed and watch her get ready.

She had a lot of pretty stuff…both to look at, and to smell! My favorite was her Oscar de la Renta perfume. Whenever it’s Christmas I try to find it again for her, that or Chanel #5! I’m not sure she has many places to wear that kind of thing now, but whenever I smell it, it takes me back to being 10 years old, sitting on her bed. And that is really nice!

I was clearing out some of my older posts this past week, and I have to tell you, it was so fun! Reading about the events that happened in our lives over the past few years, looking at the pictures. Even my oldest son who probably needs a diet pill, had pictures of him where he was thin. It’s kind of hard to remember those days, simply because we’ve been so worried about him for so long.

The strangest, seeing my baby, who is now 4 years old. In my head he’s always looked the way he looks now, but to see his newborn pictures and even his 2 year old photo’s, he’s grown up so much. How fun it would be to be able to go back and hold those precious little things again.

What a busy first week of the month it has been! Between birthday parties and Christmas shopping—-HOWAH~~it’s crazy! I’ve always been amazed at how many family birthdays we have during the month of December. So on top of Christmas shopping for Ping Golf clubs for the “Man”, I’m also forced into looking for Barbie dolls and baby dolls in order to make a birthday seem totally different than Christmas.

Last year I was finished with all of my shopping by this point in the month…this year? I’ve barely started! Christmas decorations are also behind as well. Honestly, I better get on the ball–or we’ll be celebrating Christmas in January!

Christmas is up! That’s always the big announcement of the year. This year is the last year I will be pulling things off of bookshelves. I will be putting the Christmas decorations in storage bins in the basement, and using the shelves as an extended linen closet.

Currently the table downstairs is piled to the ceiling with sheets, blankets, towels and table cloths. So tomorrow, they will find a permanent resting place–and I will have to store Christmas like every other American does.

How was your Thanksgiving holiday? I did really good. Although I did pick a bit of dark meat before dinner officially started, I did NOT stuff myself. As much as I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner, and since we were guests there were no left overs for us…I still tried to just eat a bit of everything, and then, if there was room, I could go back in for a little bit more of something. That something…the freshly baked rolls! Mind you, they don’t work too well with my alli diet pill, but OH, I could not deny myself one more! A thin slice of pumpkin pie and an even thinner slice of apple, and my Thanksgiving was officially over! Yummy, but over!

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Well, we are off to visit family! Hope your “Turkey Day” is “All You Can Eat”!!

Tonight my oldest had to print out his Dare report for school tomorrow.  His last big assignment before the Thanksgiving break.  He worked on it all week last week, and it was pretty darn good.  Until we had to print it!  I don’t know what is wrong with my printer, but it seems to be dumping ink! Ok, so it’s not really, but holy cow we go through that stuff like there is no tomorrow…and that stuff ain’t cheap!

We got it all printed out, and looking OK, when I remembered that the two younger kids had been out of school all week, and had spent their days printing out coloring pages and coloring them in. See…I knew I had a new ink cartridge in there!

Before we got married, my husband and I worked for the same hotel chain. I worked in accounting, he was a manager. Since then I’ve moved on to wife and mom and he’s moved up to General Manager of his own hotel. Normally my day to day work doesn’t mix with his, but there are rare chances when I get to help out. The entire hotel is moving to a centralized accounting program and in order to do that they have to back up the entire system through tape drives. These tapes had to be driven out to O’Hare so that they could be shipped to the corporate offices really quickly. They would then take the tapes and convert them onto the new system. So starting first thing Monday morning, when the staff gets started on their work, they are on the new system and all of their old information has been integrated!

Ok, so my job wasn’t all that technical, but when they pay $.75 a mile…it was quite a nice little pay day!

A few posts down I showed you the new glass tile back splash I put up in the kitchen. The next stop…bar faucets! There are some really pretty ones out there these days, and the prices are amazing. There is a dark pewter one that would go so well with the tile. It just finishes the whole look of the kitchen. Along with it, I would love a deeper sink. I know, my list never seems to end. But I figure if we’re changing all of these things anyway, we might as well do them all right the first time. Next, you ask? Hardwood floors or new black cabinets. See, I told you the list goes on and on!!

I have finally dug out my treadmill. I figure if I get started now, I can have a worry free holiday season. Eat what I want, and work it off at the same time. I’m easy! Sadly, it’s missing one of the industrial knobs that hold it upright when not in use. It takes up way too much room if it’s left down, so I have to find one online to replace it.

My kids seem to find the treadmill a great toy! Even the three year old knows how to put the key in and turn it on. Not always the safest of playthings, so with the opportunity to put it up…it’s a must! I’ll have to let you know how my holiday workouts go!!

I just found out that my brother and his wife just bought a million dollar house for less than half of that! How do you do that?? They are selling their home (beautiful) and moving uptown. This home comes with everything. Each bedroom has it’s own bathroom, home theater seating in a huge room in the basement, and even a pond out back stocked with trout.

Mind you, this kind of home wouldn’t be possible here in the Chicago area for that amount of money, but in the West the economy isn’t quite as bad as it is here. I’m sure my property taxes are even higher than his…and my house isn’t worth nearly what his is! The green eyed monster is rearing it’s ugly head, let me tell you!

Do you watch any shows on TV? Nothing is more important in my house than my TIVO! I watch a couple of shows religiously. Right now I’m watching Cold Case. It’s one of my favorites, but there are moments when some of the clues are just too far fetched. For example, in tonight’s episode, a case was reopened based on luggage! A girl who died in 1989 has a bag show up (in perfect condition) on the arm of some ‘gangsta’…yeah right!! Still, even though it’s ridiculous to have that as a premise, the writers still do a great job weaving their tale. They do the same kind of things on “Without A Trace” which is another series I Tivo daily!!

Have you started thinking “Christmas” yet? It’s hard to believe that there is snow falling outside my window right now. It’s just too early in my mind, but truly I guess it’s here. I’m looking forward to this holiday season. I know there are tough economic times hangin’ around, but I’ve been saving for months to finally have a chance to spoil my family for the holidays, and if I want to buy my sweet husband one of those beautiful Movado watches, I’m gonna do it!

My kids are getting a Wii! They’ve wanted one forever, but have been happy to just have the opportunity to play it with their cousins. Now maybe we can have them over to play at our house.

We normally go to my husband’s aunt’s house for Christmas dinner, but I think I will invite the in laws over for a huge Christmas morning complete with gifts and a wonderful holiday brunch! I can just smell the french toast casserole right now!

Last year my husband and I took a trip to Europe. It was amazing, and we had the freedom to skip around different countries for a couple of weeks. With his hotel discounts and trade outs, we got away pretty light on the budget. This year our son is in his first year in Spanish. We’ve told him that if he gets A’s in Spanish on every report card for the year, we’ll take him to Cancun. That means he’ll need a passport, and since they seem to take forever to get, I’m thinking we’ll need to get right on it after the new year. I think it would be so fun to see his face scaling the pyramid in Chichen Itza.

I wrote a couple of days ago about the back splash tile that I purchased for my little buffet area in my kitchen. It came yesterday, and I spent a few minutes putting it up today. Yes, I literally mean A Few Minutes! I bought the premixed adhesive–and I do have to wait several hours for that to dry before I use my premixed grout–but honestly, this baby could be finished before the hubby gets home! That’s generally how I ease him into my hair brain schemes, like beautiful bamboo blinds above the kitchen sink. I could have said I wanted glass tile–and he would agree that it would look nice, but that would be where it ended. This way–he doesn’t have to even think about the dos and don’ts, it’s already done. And even without the grout (which is brown by the way) I think it looks really sharp!

I am bound an determined to get into some sexy swimwear come next summer. This weekend my son and I joined an online weightloss support system. My 11 year old was too young to join, but he and I will live, eat and exercise together. He only has a few pounds to lose, whereas I have plenty! I did, however, do 27 sit ups this morning. I would have done thirty, but my 3 year old tipped a clothes hamper over onto my head. I am not too excited to think about my sore abdominals tomorrow…but it was well worth it!

This weekend my husband’s hotel is having a huge trade show. These are my favorite things because he comes home with tons of fun promotional products for the kids. I’m particularly fond of the pens, we have a million of them, but you know, you still just never have one when you need it. Tonight at the grocery store I purchased one of those packages of 12 blue Bic pens. I LOVE those! But I will tell you, they will all be missing by Friday!

Did you notice gas prices lately? I paid $2.99 a gallon to fill up this evening, and it wasn’t even with a car wash. Mind you–it’s still $1.99 more expensive than when I got my license (oh so many years ago), but after paying close to $5 for several weeks during the summer, it was a welcome relief.

It’s times like these that I would love to get a huge gas tank in the back yard and store up a TON of gasoline, just for those times when the gas stations don’t have gas. Remember the late 70’s? Carter was the president. I use a lower case “p” on that, as he was the most inept president of our times…Until November hits when THE MOST INEPT President is elected. I give Obama 1 year before we are just as bad off as we were in the late 70’s……and it will all be his fault! I can’t wait!

I would love to truly find one of the amazing fat burners available. I’m tired of slow and steady! Give me quick and easy anytime! I’m not too over weight, but I think every woman has a few spots they would love to melt away. I wouldn’t mind a good cardio class at a local gym, but I run into problems when child care comes into play. By the time you add up the cost of joining a gym, plus the monthly fee, plus 2 hours of child care for four kids two or three times a week…I can pretty much afford the best diet pill or liposuction procedure around.

The first step should be to find some really good, low calorie dinners that my family would enjoy. If I can just get a couple of those-I’m set. It’s just hard when everyone is starving. Then I just cook to fill up tummies rather than to worry too much about the caloric intake of each child. I so don’t want them to suffer with weight issues later in life, so it would be really nice to get them started now.

My aunt has been looking into franchise opportunities recently. She would like to open my FAVORITE little store, a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and let me just say, I’m all for it!

You know how people (my husband included) have dreams of visiting all of the major league baseball parks before they die? My dream is to visit all of the RMCF! Silly I know, but they are so gooooood! I don’t even need the gourmet candies behind the counter, I just need that Rocky Road Carmel Apple. It’s HUGE and covered with everything! I’m sure it contains the recommended calories for a week in one apple—but sign me up! I’ll eat it slow!

It’s always around this time of year I get the itch to get away with my husband. Probably because it seems to be the season when we always go. Whether it’s Europe or Boston, we always head out together this time of year. I wouldn’t mind making las vegas hotel reservations or just some fun reservations for a weekend in downtown Chicago–just to have some “alone” time with my man. That would be amazing!

It’s hard with so many kids. If my sister takes them, it’s EIGHT total, and that is just unfair to anyone. Yet, everyone else around us works full time and can’t really meld our schedules into theirs, so it may not work just yet! Maybe we could get two rooms connected. Put the kids to bed early in their room…and have the evening all to ourselves in our room. But honestly, even more romantic than “bed” time, is dinner time and just walking the streets holding hands…and having four kids tagging along for either event really dashes the romantic flair.

It’s probably smarter with the uncertainty of the economy, to just stick around home until things start to look up. Maybe just an evening out at a local steakhouse would do!

My husband is desperately in need of a raise. By the time you figure in the hours he works and the amount he brings home, he makes less than minimum wage. That’s his fault, not the hotel’s. They don’t have any business performance management software, or something to monitor his hours. It’s not like they care too much, he’s there working whether he’s supposed to be or not. Saves them a ton of money on another employee. But I hate it.

I have been trying to get this body back in shape. I’m not going to worry about whether it needs diet pills or more exercise, I’m bound and determined to find a way to get healthy. My oldest needs a little help as well, so maybe I’ll involve him on my health crusade (except for maybe the diet pills). I think we’ll work on walking the dog everyday, a little longer each day. That will also give us a little time together to bond a bit more. As he grows older, we seem to be drifting a part a little bit, so that will be nice.

My mother has a magnetic bracelet, and it’s kind of fun to see just how “particular” my son is about perfection. Her bracelet is made up of box magnets and barrel shaped magnets. As she clicks it on and off, the boxes and barrels can group up together in no particular order. But when my son gets to it, he works until the pattern of box/barrel/box/barrel is acheived. Even if it is only for a short while before it gets messed up again, and he fixes it. What’s more fun is watching my mom search the house when she loses it, only to find it attached to the dryer door in the laundry room. It sticks to the door as she takes the clean clothes out. Such a fun little bracelet.

The big job for this weekend was winterizing the yard. It’s really gotten chilly, and I’m sure the days of grilling out are over. So I had to bring out the outdoor furniture covers and we power washed the patio. After cutting back the raspberries, and tossing out all of the trash, I was almost ready to grab some steaks and start the summer all over again! As nice as it is to have the full, amazing foliage in the backyard throughout the summer—it does get really big. So it felt good to trim it back!

I’ve never looked into self defense products but with the stories going around our newspaper these days, I may just need to. There have been several arrests in just our quite neighborhood. People getting carjacked, robbed at gun point in their garage, it’s just scary. With the kids and I home alone so often when my husband is on business trips, I get really nervous every night just watching the news. Maybe a great big guard dog would be great too!

I have a blogging friend who has been working on her weight just like me. She was trying alli and aside from some of the side effects you hear about, she was seeing some success on it. It really boiled down to living the food restrictions that they give you. As much as I am interested in losing the pounds…I’m not sure I have the will power to restrict my food intake that much. I’m hoping to see how she does before I jump in on my own!

We got a call yesterday from an agent promising us cheap auto insurance. We will most likely move our coverage over after Christmas when our current policy expires. Sure, it’s cheaper with the new company, but we’ve already paid for this policy and you know how hard it is to get money back from an insurance company. If you’ve paid it, you might as well finish it or you are just out a ton of cash! So come January, when all of my money has been paid for…we may just move on over!

Do you love office supplies? I seem to have an addiction! Before we got married I worked in the accounting department for a major hotel chain. In that job, I was in charge of ordering all of the office supplies for our office, and it was awesome. New Bic pens, steno pads, even the cool, multi-colored post it notes. Even now, 10 years later, I LOVE 5 subject notebooks. I have hundreds of them, and every time I see one I just have to own it too!

Our nephew was recently released from drug rehab. He’s been in and out of jail, rehab and half way houses for the past three years. I can’t even imagine it, three years in limbo. Well, a hellish limbo, but still-not able to do anything in your life to move you forward. Three wasted years!

His first stint in drug treatment came when he was in high school. He’d gotten high, and stolen a car. Who does that? I mean, I come from a pretty quite, conservative family. We just don’t do those things. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever known anyone personally who did do anything like that!

He’s home now, and we are hoping that he’s finally gotten the help that he needs, an dthat he’ll be able to keep himself clean and out of trouble. I’ll keep you posted!

Have you seen the new Flip camcorder? They are amazing! My sister picked one up and to see the amazing images captured on something the size of a cell phone is surprising! We have an old, clunky camcorder that we purchased before our first baby was born–11 years ago! It’s about time to trade up for something much newer than that old dinosaur. I’m going to be asking for a Flip for Christmas! Cross your fingers for me!

I can’t believe it’s September already. Where did the year go? This time last year my husband was looking into San Francisco jobs, well, San Jose…but close enough! He had a really good offer, much more money than he makes now. But when you added in the cost of living and the taxes, we really just couldn’t afford to make the move. Plus it added a ton of hours to his already too many hour work week.

I would have loved it though. Our favorite area in the world is San Francisco! Of course, we’ve only ever been there as tourists. I’m not sure what living there would be like–but hey, if they doubled their salary offer…I’d be there in a minute!

It has been a down week! It all started when I thoroughly cleaned my daughters room and carpet. It took hours! Who knew a 5 year old could create such a mess! Since then, I’ve been desperately wishing the were some amazing energy pills around that really worked. I would be an addict if there was a drug that truly gave you energy!

On the days that I’m down NOTHING gets done. My poor husband made dinner Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and then came home to pancakes last night. Yeah, they were the easiest thing we had on hand without going to the grocery store! I’m hoping to start feeling better soon, and then I can knock out some of the other things on my “To Do” list!

My in laws finally have a For Sale sign up at our old house. It’s taken MONTHS to get it there. There was a time when they thought they would just keep it and rent it out, but honestly there is more involved to being a landlord than just collection the rent. They would have to contact one of those companies that do background checks and employment screenings to find out if they even want to accept applications. Then you get into the whole collection of funds and evictions when necessary! Let’s just say…I’m thrilled they are just getting their money out of it, and letting it go!

I am a huge collector of recipes! When I spent the summer home last year I went through all of my mom’s old recipes that I had grown up with. I have a huge number of recipes to use, but honestly, I just don’t get around to cooking ‘that’ big very often! I’m moving more into the quick throw together to fill tummies than a full service dinner for the six of us! Especially after finding out that my kids love sandwiches for dinner. How easy is that?

We have two dogs in our house. A big one, and a little one…well, at least an old one and a young one. For the past 8 years, we’ve had two dogs. There were a few months last year, after we put our oldest dog down that we only had one, but right before Christmas we got a second one. I’ve been surprised that with one or two dogs the amount we spend on dog supplies really doesn’t change. I did go out a month or so ago and buy them both new puppy beds. Funny how they love them during the day, but when the sun goes down they both still pile into bed with us! It makes for a very strange nights sleep when you are curling your body around the dead weight of two dogs!!

As mentioned in the previous post, we spent last weekend at a family reunion up north. We went up Thursday with my brother in law and his daughter and everyone else came up on Friday. Thursday night as we were debating whether or not to build a campfire my brother in laws cell phone rang. It was his son (coming up on Saturday). He had borrowed his sisters car and had been involved in an accident. Luckily all parties involved had car insurance, but now the problem is…they are totaling her car and paying her $2500 less than what she owes on it. How pathetic is that? I mean, I know how car insurance works, and it is important to have. But when you really need it, that’s just not the protection you get! How wrong is that?

We found out last weekend just how important strollers are! We had gone to Wisconsin as a huge extended family and one of my nieces brought her 10 month old baby. My kids adore this child and didn’t mind keeping him company. But as always with camping…the floors are dirty. Even though we were in a lovely villa with hardwood laminate floors–the dirt just comes in. So after his bath, he was relegated to arms. Once your arms got tired from holding this growing boy…we had to pass him on to someone else. It would have been really nice to just put him in his stroller, but it had been forgotten. The next nearest child to him is my nearly 4 year old, and he’s been out of a stroller for 2 years! So we didn’t have one to share either. Oh I remember those days! My kids lived in their car seats if I didn’t have a stroller to strap them into. OH—I wish we had thought of his car seat last week, DUH!

As you all know, a week or two ago we celebrated my husbands birthday. It’s always really hard to think of something fun. This year was no different, but since he and the brother in law were planning a trip to “Biker Week” in Sturgis, ND, I thought it would be fun to look into used Harleys. They really aren’t feasible in our situation in life at the moment, but he really likes them and really would look kinda sexy on one. Maybe after the kids are married off, I’ll let him rediscover the days of his lost youth!

This time last year I blogged about an upcoming Alzheimer’s Memory Walk that I had been wishing I could take part in. We were in the middle of moving at the same time, and juggling kids going to school in the new area while still living in the old one. I remember at that time I decided that I would do it “next year”. Well….next year is now!

My grandfather passed back in 2002 after a long and wonderful life. Sadly, the last several years of his life were lived in a blur for him. I was married and out of state when the full ravages of Alzheimer’s hit him, but before I moved I did have the heartache of having to introduce myself to him whenever I had the chance to see him. He held my first born, although I’m not sure he ever really knew him and possibly didn’t remember him shortly after we left. How sad is that? This is a disease that robs people of their memories, of their families, of their lives! We have got to do something to push the search for a cure, and the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk is a great way to do it. They are looking for Team Captains, if this is something you are able to do…sign up! If it’s something you are unable to do…sign up to walk. It’s 2-3 miles with the promise of so much more. I may just throw my 3 year old in a stroller and take him along for the ride!

My husband finally broke! He’s been the one thing keeping me sane on NOT replacing our tattered furniture just yet! The kids are still kind of young, so I was trying to hold myself back until they were out of the ‘destruction’ years, and he was my main cheerleader helping me! Well, last night he caved! He sat down in his tattered old recliner and it crunched underneath him. Not that we can blame that one on the kids, but since he LIVES in that chair when he’s home, we can’t live without it! So if we are replacing that, it’s cheaper to just get the whole matching set! I love the new modern furniture! I haven’t gotten to pick out new furniture in nearly 10 years—so these coming days will be too fun!!

My husband is losing one of his key managers. He’s taking over one of the hotel properties on the East coast. I’ve always wanted to move to the East coast, just for a little while. Of course, if you follow the blog at all, you already know that! The thought of a cross country move right now seems more than my energy level can stand. I would have to find a mover NYC to help out because the husband isn’t home nearly enough to get anything out of him! I’m quite content where we are right now, but it is always fun to see new parts of the country that you just don’t get to experience on a quick vacation!

I wish I was more handy around the house! There are things going wrong, but I don’t have a clue how to fix them. Our bathroom fixtures leak. Not all the time, but if you lean back against the toilet tank even a little, water hits the floor. It wouldn’t be such a big deal, except that it’s getting underneath the tile, and I’m sure rotting the floor boards! One day, I can just see whoever happens to be sitting on the pot when it goes, plummeting through the ceiling! How fun will that be? I’ll call the plumber on Monday!

Any of you that read my sisters blog know that she’s been using acne treatments for the past month or so. Hoping to finally get her skin to clear up. She’s had freckles her entire life practically, and now she is suffering with the little irritating bumps as well as the zits. She’s nearing 40 and is wishing it would all just go away! They say that most acne can be blamed on hormones, so maybe after Menopause she’ll finally get some relief!

Is there such a thing as “legal steroids“? I know there are ways to bulk up at the health food stores, but is there really something to help you grow taller? I remember when I was younger, the idea was to drop iodine in milk to kick start a growth spurt. I never did it, but with my boys entering that stage where they seem to be the last ones getting taller, I’m starting to wonder! Mother Nature will kick in any day and they will be the height they are supposed to be someday, you just hate to see them constantly be the littlest ones in their classes!

My husband celebrated his birthday yesterday. We spent the afternoon in the pool before leaving the kids with his parents and heading out for a quiet birthday dinner together. It’s funny the things that come to mind at odd moments. We had been in the pool, and I was trying to come up with birthday gift ideas and at that moment Nautica watches. Timing is everything after all. It just struck me funny because I know that my husband doesn’t wear a watch. Not even on ‘dressy’ occasions. I’m not sure he likes the feeling on his wrist, but his excuse…I don’t want a watch until I can afford a Rolex! OK, good luck with that one, Sweetie!!

I have been raised around golf. I don’t remember a time when my dad didn’t go golfing. He got my younger brother into it and eventually even made my husband a set of golf clubs. They weren’t Cobra golf clubs by any means, but they were custom and he loved them. Now my oldest, 11, is looking to get into the sport as well. I know he won’t be a Pro or anything, but I’m happy to see him taking an interest in something healthy.

Have you ever bought a new house and after the other person moves all of their stuff out, you are left with all of their electronic cords and Cat5e Keystone jacks that you have absolutely no idea what to do with? We have at least 10 of these jacks, and I don’t even know what you use them for. It’s almost as though our house isn’t living up to it’s potential! We only know enough ‘electronic’ stuff to be dangerous–and I am clueless when it comes to these things. I almost need my brother in law to come and give me a tour of my own house! Part of them have something to do with surround sound, and others are strictly internet or something. It’s like a bionic house and I’m so not worthy of it!

My sister purchased one of those new little video cameras. It’s really very cool. She had it at a family party this afternoon, and I have to say, I would LOVE one. I don’t have the greatest memory, and with my kids growing up so fast, I would be so happy to have something so small and compact that can catch all of those cute moments with my kids. They are growing up so fast and I’ve missed so much, soon my little ones won’t have little voices anymore, and it will break my heart not to have it on tape to look back on when they are all grown up.

We are getting new carpet in our living room and dining room. It’s about time! This carpet has been in our house since they day it was built, and that was 12 years ago, and it totally shows. Sadly, when the new carpet gets in I know it’s going to make the furniture look just as shabby as it really is. Hey, there are four kids in this house with a great big dog, NOTHING looks good anymore. I would love to have the hubby look at a couple of furniture catalogs with me. I don’t need anything huge and expensive, just non-holey and minus the stains. I would rather not have a huge cherry red couch, but I’m not closing my mind to anything!

I was talking the other day about looking into a diet pill to help kick my body into the weight-loss mode. I just found out that you can get Phentermine without a prescription. That’s big news! I don’t know if it’s the one I will choose, but I thought it was amazing that it’s now available to anyone. My thyroid is dead so it definitely needs a jump start and I haven’t found something to do it that doesn’t make me jittery. There is nothing worse than that! I will have to look a little more into this, and I’ll let you know what I find!

Colon cancer runs in my family. I just found out that my uncle nearly died after a botched Colonoscopy, they perforated his colon. My mom goes in for the same procedure every two years and my aunt goes in every year. All of this because it’s quite possibly what killed my grandma. It is what killed my sweet aunt, and my other uncle has had half of his colon removed. I wonder if something like a colon cleanse would help with this at all. At least cut back in the frequency of having a Colonoscopy.

I recently bought some diet pills online. They were supposed to be really good, but as usual with me–they make my head hurt. I don’t know what it is, it’s part of the jitters that most people get, but somehow it affects my head. Because of that, I stopped taking them. I was supposed to be taking four pills in the morning and four pills in the afternoon, so I think I will try cutting it in half and taking 2 and 2. Or even 4 and then 2. There is caffeine in them, so I have to be careful just how late I take them or I have a sleepless night! My husband’s twenty year high school reunion is coming up in October, and I would like to look a little better by then!

Do you have a burial policy? I think that is such a morbid thing to call it, but as morbid as it is…it is so necessary these days! The cost of everything is going up, so why not the cost of funerals and burial needs. We are looking at getting life insurance policies for both my husband and I. Just to cover us both in the future. With four kids, it only makes sense.

We were lucky enough to spend part of our Fourth of July weekend at Rib Fest in Naperville. We try to go every year especially since my brother in law is the Executive Chef at Sweet Baby Ray’s and they have a booth there. This year was really amazing because Sweet Baby Ray’s took the first place trophy for their ribs and the second place trophy for their sauce. It was AWESOME!! The trophies were both bigger than my kids. It was quite an honor!

We just got home from the street festival where the kids were ANGELIC! And well, Dennis Deyoung was pretty darn awesome himself! My husband was supposed to stop on his way to work and set down our blanket…but he forgot. So we were miles away from the stage, but it was still fun to hear! I have one particular favorite STYX song, and of course, they didn’t play it. So on the way home we blasted “Show Me The Way” about 6 times to make up for it!

The kids each played one game each, and rode quite a few rides. We had Chinese food for dinner (it wasn’t great) but all in all, it was a beautiful evening with good friends and good music!

STYX is coming! Well, OK, Dennis DeYoung is coming to play the music of STYX, which is a heck of a lot closer to actual STYX music than any tribute band–so Saturday night we will be at Frontier Days in Arlington Heights to enjoy an evening of STYX and BBQ ribs! The kids are working for tickets in order to play games and ride the rides, but for me, I’m looking forward to an evening out with fun carnival food and good music!

Good News!!! We are going to leave the in laws for a post or two and focus on the ‘other’ soap opera going on in the extended family!!

This morning my brother in law got home from a romantic weekend away with my sister in law. Sounds pretty normal, huh? That’s where you would be wrong…and where this twisted ‘love affair’ turns Jerry Springer on us all! My brother in law is my brother in law because he is my husband’s oldest brother. My sister in law is my sister in law because she is married to my husbands MIDDLE brother!! That’s right folks! My brother in law is sleeping (and vacationing) with his brother’s wife! Woo Hoo, wasn’t that fun!

Mind you–all of their kids are screwed up! The brother in law has a son in jail for the umpteenth time, and the sister in law has two daughters (un-married) with two babies (different fathers), and honestly–it’s not hard to see that the apples don’t fall too far from the tree!

What in the world is my husband’s family coming too! It’s like drama everyday. Honestly, I should be taking notes and developing a night time soap opera to rival the likes of Dallas!! Sad…Scary and Sad!!

No worries…stay tuned, and I’ll keep you posted on this whole sordid freak show!!

Chicago Catering has added a new player with Sweet Baby Ray’s joining the mix!

The best thing about the kids making Mother’s Day gifts at school is the fact that come Friday (two whole days early) the kids are so excited to share their treasures, that I get my gifts early!  I just got mine from my oldest.  It’s a book that has the beginning of sentences pre-written, and then the kids have to fill in the blank.  My book made me cry.  It reminded me just how forgiving our kids can be of our faults-and I have many.  But this book was filled with heartfelt treasures.  I told my son that the next time he told me that he hated me and that I was the worst mom in the world, I would just read his book.  At 11, he’s mastered the ‘eye roll’ previously set aside for 13 year old girls.

We spent the evening at my in laws house.  The kids had the day off of school and my mother in law was off in the evening.  We both have terribly busy evenings this weekend, so this was our shot.  We took the kids and headed to their favorite restaurant, The Old Country Buffet, for dinner.  It was so nice to see my father in law teasing my kids and laughing with them.  It’s been so long since he’s felt ‘light’ enough to play with the kids and to really enjoy them.  I think my kids have been a little shy around him because he has been so quiet and stand-offish lately, but today they just giggled with him and wrestled.  It was just so nice to see.  It was visible that the weight of the world has been lifted off of his shoulders!

It’s been a really nice week this week. Not so much on the sun-shiney type “nice” week, but not wet, but still cool. These days are perfect for me. I sat outside yesterday with my 2 year old and marveled at the fact that he’s grown up so much in just the last couple of weeks. He was running across the yard yelling to me exactly what he was doing. Running and talking?? My baby? His legs have suddenly sprouted into these long extremities that carry him where ever he desires to go with no problem at all! He even tried climbing the tree out front. He will need about 5 more inches before that was possible. Every time I would see a car in the distance I would call to him, “Car’s Comin’” and he would run back as fast as he could to sit next to me before the car made it to our yard. He beat it every time. It was just a fun afternoon out with my boy!

I spent the morning pulling down wallpaper in the kitchen.  Since no one ever comes to visit I’m going to be doing it “little by little”.  That way as I pull the wallpaper down for that section I can spackle and paint that section only.  Then, when all of the sections are done, the kitchen is finished!  Otherwise, I would pull all of the wallpaper down, spackle and sand the whole room and then paint!  Mind you, it would take just as long, it’s just easier for me to get it done this way.  Plus, there is no way I can get the whole thing finished in a week or two–so this way I get one section done, and the rest of the kitchen is still finished and not living in a state of “forgotten” for too long!

This past weekend we attended the baptism of my nephew Grayson.  It was so neat to see all of the family there together.  Grayson looked darling in his little outfit, and now he wants a suit.  What a kid!

After the service we went to dinner at my brother in laws restaurant, and all I can say is YUM!  We ate in the private dining room which made it a lot easier to chase my kids.  We had threatened all of the kids with corporal punishment if they left the room.

I had some St. Louis Ribs, roasted chicken and of course, my favorite, the Red Beans and Rice!

Do you do anything fun in your family to celebrate this “odd” little day?  I have to admit we go all out in ours!  We have a leprechaun that comes and messes everything up!  The kids have a hard time finding their backpacks on the 17th of March, the pesky leprechaun has hidden them underneath the rocking chair.  All of the couch cushions have been moved to the kitchen table–and oddly enough all of the milk has been dyed green along with the eggs and waffles!  The older kids (in the know) have a lot of fun watching the delight of the younger kids as they discover the strange tricks that have been played on them by the friendly leprechaun!  They then find their best green to wear for the day to keep in good graces with the leprechaun so he doesn’t take it out on them next year!
What does your family do?

I just got off the phone with my mother in law. Good news finally! My nephew has been in and out of jail and drug rehabilitation for several years now. He keeps getting back into the drug scene and his father keeps reporting him. I don’t blame him, I really do want the best for this boy. But at the same time, he is on his final shot. One more relapse, and he’s in prison to finish out his 2 year sentence. I’m not sure I could turn him in with that staring at me. Anyway, enough about me! This boy is out of rehab, and back into a halfway house. He seems to be doing really well and is currently working two jobs. In the last halfway house he was in school and doing really well. This current one doesn’t offer schooling, but hopefully when he is out in a month or two, he can get himself back into school. I’m so hopeful for him again, but at the same time, we’ve been here before. Send him “happy thoughts” if you could!

As we were driving out of the cul de sac this past weekend we noticed that our neighbors trampoline had bit the dust. They leave it up and together all year long, and this year with all of the snow, the frame finally buckled. It’s a death that is just killing my kids! There is nothing in this world they want more than a real life, BIG trampoline–not the mini trampoline we have in the basement. Although, I have to say–they adored that thing for the longest time. But as with all things–they’ve grown up to bigger ideas of fun! I’m not sure I would ever get a full sized trampoline–both my husband and I were hurt when we were younger jumping on them…it’s a wonder we are both still around!

There is a man at my husbands hotel that is finally getting married. We aren’t really sure where he met this woman, but she must be amazing if Doug is willing to settle down. He is a wild man! He’s always been so much fun because he’s so crazy! He’s the type of guy that would have a beer pong table in his living room. We’ve been invited to the wedding, and my husband even a garnered an invitation to the Bachelor Party (so not sure he’s allowed to go!!), but I’m just stumped as to what to get them. Do you go traditional? Do you go wild and crazy? Do you go the easy out with cash?? Honestly, I’m just praying that they register because I’m clueless!

How was your Christmas? Ours was busy! Really it was stressed out crazy! My father in law had gone into the hospital for a quick (yeah right) angiogram and ended up being admitted for many days in order to get him stable. It was a close call for quite awhile, but I’m happy to report that he is finally home and resting comfortably. We had Christmas really, really late on Christmas day. My poor kids were such troopers. Most of us were just really worried about grandpa–so we are all thrilled that he’s feeling better!

You Are a Tree

You love every part of the holidays, down to the candy canes and stockings. And you’re goofy enough to put a Christmas tree ornament on your tree!

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

I found this cute little quiz through the Alexa Project over at Lynne’s blog. I thought it was so funny that at the bottom it says I’m goofy enough to put “A” Christmas Tree ornament on your tree–when one of my answers to the questions was…”I put so many ornaments on the tree that it tilts to one side”–ha ha! And some of them are indeed Christmas Trees! Yes, I am goofy!

Can you believe that today is the last Friday before Christmas? I just don’t know where the month (or year) has gone! Tonight we are making the traditional pilgrimage downtown to see the lights. I don’t know why this is a tradition, it’s always a miserably cold mob scene, but it’s tradition.

Today is the last day of school until January 7th. That sounds like such a long time. Normally I’m a little worried about this time and keeping the kids occupied, but mainly I’m really excited to get to sleep in. I’ve been exhausted lately, and I’m not really sure why. So possibly a trip to the doctor’s office is in order as well!

How is your Christmas shopping coming? My sister is done already! Over a week early, I’m so jealous. In fact, she isn’t just done shopping, she’s got everything but the Santa gifts wrapped and under the tree. She even found several cool things for her husband which is honestly the hardest part of Christmas shopping.

I am getting into the Christmas mood. I haven’t been blogging as much recently due to the fact that the kids have been busy with different holiday productions, and I’ve been trying to bake to get my neighbor gifts out. It’s so nice not being the new ones in the neighborhood anymore. We actually have friends to talk to rather than that awkward meet and greet phase!

Oh well, back to my shopping list writing!

It’s snowing, again! I barely got the shoveling done yesterday and now there are four more inches. Why oh why didn’t I head out and buy that snow blower yesterday?

My oldest started to help me out yesterday, which was really sweet of him. But then before he was finished he was pulled away to his best friends house to build snow forts. Now I’m all for the fun of childhood, but sadly he took the only snow shovel we have and he left it there. So tonight when my husband got home and needed to shovel, we had to wake him up, bundle him up in his coat and boots and send him outside to find the snow shovel. He was not happy, but neither was dad, so it all balanced out!

How Fun! I got tagged today by Karen. It’s cool, I rarely get tagged at all–and by Karen! I actually have laid eyes on this person–isn’t that so bad! In Vegas at Postie Con–I was sooooooo sick, that I only caught the afternoon session of the conference and part of the after party at Tao–but Karen really was really nice. However, I am such a boring person, that I have no idea what to say! So…

Here’s how it works:

You have to come up with seven “facts” about yourself and post these rules:

1) Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself.
3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So…here we go!

1. I come from a family of SEVEN. In this crowd, (including spouses there’s 14) there are two Robyns and two Kellys.
2. I met, got engaged to and married my husband at work.
3. I want to get a little Jackapoo named Wasatch.
4. I met a sister I hadn’t seen in over 25 years last summer. She’s a blogger too.
5. I have a niece that shares my same name. Her name is Blakelynn Kate, my name is Blake and my daughterss name is Kate.
6. I follow my sister Robyn from one state to another. So far we’ve lived in Utah, Arizona and now Chicago.
7. I would love to be an ultrasound technician if I ever needed to get a job outside of the home.

See, I’m pretty boring!

I killed myself today! I finished all of my Christmas shopping for all but one child–and he’s pretty easy. But when I got home from shopping, it was time to shovel the walks. OH MY ACHING BACK! I definitely want a Snow Blower for Christmas now…this was MURDER! The bottom of the driveway is total ice, and I will have to go tomorrow to purchase the ice melter before I actually head out to take a hack at it! As for now, I’m heading up to bed with my hot water bottle!

I have to pick Daniel up. I just got a call from the school that he is not feeling well. Poor thing! Out of all of my kids, he handles being sick–the WORST! I’m glad it’s this week though, instead of next week. It’s bad enough Rob has to drive the two oldest boys to school a half hour away everyday and then pick them up after school. But to have to stick a daytime trip in when one isn’t feeling well is just asking too much!

Apparently he has a fever and is complaining of a sore throat–so I believe we will be at the doctors office later making sure it isn’t Strep Throat–with three kids to keep healthy, strep would be bad right about now!

I’m taking the kids in later this week to have their Christmas portraits done. This is always an exasperating time because there are four of them. It’s never easy to get four kids (including a 2 year old) to look good at the same time. Rob is pretty smart. She just takes individual pictures of her kids and then puts them together in a grid for her card. Every child looks amazing, and the sitting isn’t nearly as exhausting.

However, I love the look of a family portrait-or at least a portrait of all four faces in one. So I brave the Kiddie Kandids year after year, hoping for the best! I’ll let you know what we come up with!

We spent the afternoon and early evening doing the yard work. Whipped it in to shape, so to speak! We have 6 yard bags full of leaves–and that is more than I’ve ever had. When I was a kid we lived in a house with so much scrub oak. Every fall we would have to load the leaves into bags and take them down to the bottom of the yard and dump them out. My dad would then go through with his tiller and mulch them all. After many years of this we got smart. We got bed sheets for a king size bed–and we would rake all of the leaves onto the bed sheet and pull it down the path to the bottom of the yard. It saved HOURS of work! Oh how I missed the bed sheets yesterday!

Wow—the night before Thanksgiving–and we are getting SNOW! How fun is that! If it wasn’t so dark, and so cold, I would send the kids out to frolic in their first snow fall of the season!

Hopefully it will still be on the ground when they wake up in the morning. The first snow is such a treat!! I can’t wait to get out there and enjoy it with them!

We purchased this movie when it came out–and I have yet to watch it. My kids and my husband watched it last night–and they all thought it was a wonderful movie. One of the best animated ones yet. My sister’s family loved it as well-possibly because her husband is a Chef-so this is right up his alley!

I guess it is up to me to join the fun, and watch it this weekend!

We are traveling today!  I still can’t believe it!  We never go anywhere, especially during busy travel dates.  But my husband would like to spend Thanksgiving with his family, so we are heading to Wisconsin today.  It’s not too bad, it could be a lot farther–but it really limits the amount of left overs I’ll be able to take home with me!  Silly, I know-but isn’t the turkey sandwich at midnight the very best part of Thanksgiving?  Honestly, it doesn’t get any better than that!

I think all of this “World Travel” has left my body drained! We all got sick after the last trip–then last weekend in Vegas, I was bamboozled!! Flat in bed–so sick to my stomach, I was dying!! I missed most of Postie Con, stuck my head in for the last couple of classes, and of course the Argus Roll Out–boy was that sweet! I made it to the Tao after party–which was amazing and so nice to have little appetizers. That way I could add one to my tummy, see how it handled it, and then add another one! It was not the first time I was happy that I don’t drink however! I’m afraid that would have been the last straw and poor Tao would have had a big mess on their pretty red carpet!!

We spent the other evening with my nephew for his third birthday. It was so cute–he’s gotten to that fun age where he understands what is going on–and everything excites him. He ran around the entire party singing Happy Birthday to himself–actually, most of the time he was yelling it–but hey, he’s 3!

The cutest part of the evening came when we were opening presents. As with most little kids, he would open one gift and run off to play with it. His mom and dad would corral him in, and get him back to the task of opening his other presents–and it would happen again and again. Finally, he opened a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt–and wanted it on. His parents said no, but he wouldn’t listen. He finally just started to take his shirt off while running around to avoid capture. Finally he won, and the new sweatshirt was on! It was so cute!

I know most people don’t have Halloween until Wednesday, but our church has a yearly Trunk R Treat. That is tomorrow night, from 7 until 8 at the church. The kids go into the gym at church for crafts and games–and then outside to “trick r treat” around to the trunks of each car. It’s also nice because it isn’t just candy on top of candy on top of candy! There are the toothbrushes, and pencils, personalized pens and novelty teeth. Although my kids favorite is really easy…they love the stickers!

So here we are, one day away from our first Halloween event–and my youngest doesn’t even have a costume! Can you guess what we will be doing this afternoon and evening??

My little Brett just cut his finger on a razor blade! I am no new comer to kids and blood–but my question is this…WHERE DID HE FIND A RAZOR BLADE??? I cleaned the bathroom this afternoon and searched the house for one. With little ones learning to brush their teeth-I have toothpaste glopped on the sink at all times. It’s just easier to razor the globs off–but I could not find one.

Give up on the search, find something else to do–turn my back on him for 2 minutes and he finds the one thing I searched 1/2 of an hour for!! mmmmm hmmmm, that’s just scary!!

He’s wasn’t unhappy or crying at all–but he’s not thrilled with the big paper towel taped to his finger with strapping tape! Again, with little ones in the house–band aids are a rare commodity!!

Poor thing!!

I have to start this post by saying that I never really thought about segregation and racial problems when I was growing up–because I wasn’t raised around anyone that looked different than me. So when I grew up and kept hearing about there still being racial tensions-I was surprised that it was still an issue.

I would in no way consider myself a racist. When I see a person of a different ethnicity–Sure–my mind notices that fact. Just as it would if I walked by a fat person–or a bald person–my mind notes that–nothing more–nothing less–just a note. Beyond that–there is no difference in my opinion and life moves on and goes forward.

I do have to say—I am very intolerant of stereotypes–any stereotype–I don’t care what ethnicity you are–you don’t have to “live” the stereotype. It’s like meeting a gay man–I’ve never met a woman as “feminine” as some of these people. They are living a stereotype–and I HATE IT! I hate grills, and tats, and piercings, and doo rags, and dread locks, and pimped out cars—I HATE ALL OF IT! Why? Because no one is doing any of these things because they like them—they are doing them to be “IN”–and where is the individuality in that!

At the same time–I must admit–I fit the stereotypical stay at home mom! I’m a ‘big’ girl, I wear frumpy clothes, I rarely wear make up, and my hair is in a pony tail 24/7! And you know what–as stereotypical as it is—I HATE MYSELF FOR IT! But honestly–with four kids–I really don’t stand a chance!

So in all of this I have to say–I’m not a racist–although I do hate the stereotypical portion of it. I’m not homophobic–but I do hate the stereotypical portion of it–I am a frumpy, stereotypical housewife–and I HATE IT!!!