Are you a wannabe?

I am pms'ing and I definitately do not feel great. I am going to a holiday party and what cheered me up was my little bout of creativity. I am bringing assorted cookies and I wanted to present them in a neat way. I purchased an adorable handpainted flower pot with Santa's chubby face. I lined it with tinfoil (so noone ingests paint and dies) and lined it again with a festive holiday towel. I gently filled it with a mixture of cookies and covered it with a matching festive holiday towel. It is SOOOOO cute! Just call me a Martha wannabe.

1-800-Santa

Tonight, cherub 3 asked for a rocket ship toy set for Xmas. I told him we should write it down on his Xmas wish list for Santa. He confidently replied, "No, Mom, we'll just call Santa on his cell phone and tell him about it." Times have sure changed.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

The Good: Favorite part of the day- painting xmas tree ornaments with the kids. It was a blissful, giggly hour that involved smiles, songs and no whining. :o)

The Bad: Least favorite part of the day- 3:30-5:30pm. Whining seemed to be the way my children had decided they were going to communicate with me tonight. Can you say early bedtime?

The Ugly: Grey's Anatomy is a repeat! Isn't it like November? Why are there repeats on?

A 5 Star Rating

Hands down, one of the best afternooons and evening in a looooong time. Right off the bus, the kids were playing joyfully with each other. They all wanted to play the same thing, they settled differences (on their own) like champs and had a ball. My favorite part was when the four of us cooked a new recipe all together. We always laugh hysterically while we cook! They all at least tried and almost all loved the new food. We had soooooo much fun together. I am thankful for these moments. 5 Star Day!

Not a Convert

I have been forced to the other side. My cell phone broke and my hubby insisted that I take his old blackberry. It is great, I will internet and everything. Simply put, I am afraid to be sucked in and become addicted to this little machine as everyone else is. My thought, is it really that imperative that everyone be able to reach me all the time on email? I think not. I am just not that important of a person. Daily slogan...blackberry not crackberry.

My Cup Runneth Over

Cherub 1 drew a sweet picture of 'Mom' and 'God' at CCD and labeled it 'Two people that love and protect me'.

Cherub 2 asked me if I could sit with him while he fell asleep tonight because he wanted to 'just hold my hand'.

Cherub 3 pointed at the Barbies in Toy Story 2 and said 'Mom, they are beautiful like you'.

It doesn't get much better than this. I am a very lucky mom.

Redefining the Work Day

My hubby called tonight at 6:20pm and asked if I minded if he worked late tonight. My answer, "it is already late". He sounded stumped. When did we let it happen? When did we make it ok for all the companies around the world to expect our partners to work crazy hours, carry blackberries to answer emails at all hours, and basically do at least a little work 7 days a week? I am thankful, don't get me wrong. My husband has a wonderful job, excellent pay, very nice bosses etc. However, when did coming home 'on time' get pushed to 6:45-7pm? I think we have all been brainwashed. Cherub 3 wanted to wait to say grace at the dinner table until Daddy got home. Let's just say, we didn't wait.

Dad Avoids Meltdowns

After cherub 3 ate every last morsel of his cocoa puffs today, he asked me if I could put the leftover really chocolately milk in a cup so he could drink it. Huh? I told him to just tip the bowl if he wanted to drink it. Meltdown ensued. I asked who does that for you, Daddy? The teary eyed blondie looks at me and shakes his head yes. Not that another cup is a big deal but, hello, who does that? That is how Dad avoids meltdowns in the am. Does he know they are old enough to tell me his tricks?

Take Five

How is it that kids go from being down and out with the flu to starring in their own Rocky movie right there in the vets office. That is right. I am trying to listen to the vet about how our dog needs ear drops and all I can see and hear is my boys punching each other. Go to your corners and take five (before I level you both...j.k.). My friend J is right, there is something so cute about how they are so loving when they are sick. Cuddly, nice, not fighting. Not that I want the flu back, just the quiet that came with it.

It's 16 to 3, any chance of a comeback?

While the Patriots are throwin passes and goin on with each win, my little team here is throwin and goin a different way, and we are not winning. We are behind 16 to 3. That's right, in 16 days, we have managed 3 healthy ones. Our team medic actually called us at home today because he is so concerned, how is that for service? The doc was overjoyed to hear that cherub 3, plagued with the flu for 14 nights seems to be cured. I drafted him to the master suite hoping the change of venue would cure him. It may have done the trick. No such luck for cherub 2 and myself. We spent the better part of the day tanking the teams score. Now that I am feeling a little better and not dizzy when I stand, what is the first thing I did? Laundry, of course. The team must continue to play.

The Side Effect of the Flu

I am loopy from the pukey and the poopy.

Easing into the Week

Gotta love this world. Sitting in my tie dye fleece pj pants while enjoying Desperate Housewives, I reviewed my cookbooks, made a weekly menu plan, and grocery shopped online. For a mere $6 the local grocery store will bring my weekly order to the door tomorrow. It was easy, peaceful, I didn't have to hear 'can we buy poptarts and fruit snacks' 100 times, which face it equals $6, and did you catch that...I was in my pj's? Too bad I can't order a chef too. :o)

Taste the Good Old Days

One of the best things that happened to me this fall was that our McDonalds burnt down. Seriously. It wasn't even that we were going there for food all the time but I was addicted to their Coke. Something about a nice, cold, fountain Coke on ice. I always said that if you could put me on an island without Coke or chocolate I would (die) lose weight. Anyway, I have lost weight since the no Coke rule got real with no McDonald's to run to. But giving it up was giving up one of my stress relievers. I know, it doesn't make sense. But whatever. Anyway, tonight my hubby is at the Patriots game so I took the kids to the new Bee movie, the playground and McDonald's as a treat. Now they are all in bed and I am savvvvvvoring my Coke. Yes, I need serious help (or a life).

Alien Abduction

Cherub 2 asked if he could clean the toy room tonight. Ummm, sure. Who stole my son?

Can A Duck Wattle?

My husband is what Dr. Phil calls a right fighter. He will argue any point until everyone knows that he is right (or we finally give up and let him think he is right). Tonight my husband was insistent that a turkey's wattle was spelled waddle. Cherub 1 informed him that wattle had two t's and was different from a duck's waddle that had two d's. I had to look it up on the internet to prove her right. He receded, with a quiet 'really?' look on his face. I think he has finally met his match. She loves proving him wrong as much as he loves proving me wrong. This makes me smile.

The New Restaurant in Town

If you can't use your sense of humor to get you through the tough stuff, your in deep doodoo (yup I spend too much speaking toddler). For exactly 14 nights, cherub 3 has struggled with night vomiting. He has had blood work, neurological exams, CAT scans, and 3 doctor visits (all with no results). We are stumped, the doctors are stumped and I feel totally helpless. On Monday, if he isn't better he will have more blood tests and then we will determine where we go from there. I am trying really hard to stay calm and trust that he is ok. So here is where you have to laugh, otherwise your ship sinks. On Thanksgiving, all the kids (my 3 cherubs and my 3 nephews) were playing restaurant. Because puke has been such a big part of our lives lately, cherub 2 came up to us at the 'restaurant' and said to his customers, "if you are angry, you're out of the restaurant, if you are happy, you are out, if you puke, you are out". We all burst into laughter. Not good when your little ones start playing puke.

Thanksgiving Hangover

My friend & I started Black Friday with the rest of the females in the land by awaking at an ungodly hour, slipping on Xmas socks (that was me), grabbing our caffiene and heading out to the stores in hopes that we could catch a few Christmas bargains. We were surprised to be greeted by swearing drivers, grumpy shoppers and long lines. My dear friend hit the nail on the head, we think people forget what they are out doing in the first place. After the first two stores we were giddy when we we finally found nice sales people (Xmas miracle in itself around here), no lines, and sales at our least favorite store, KB (b/c it is so small and crowded). We felt guilty b/c we were just bad mouthing the store. Never again!

After arriving home I was told by my hubby that 'I am disgusting' because my car was a pit. The car should be condemmed after the week we had, however, I am positive that it has seen worse days and that there may have been a nicer way to say it (he agreed). Following that, my daughter (exhausted from staying up late on the holiday) told me she didn't want to live in our family anymore because we were all selfish and rude. Hmmm. What happened to the thankfulness, cheer and peace we experienced yesterday on Thanksgiving Day?

Caribbean Girl

Cherub 1 was out to lunch with my sister, cousins, and some friends the other day. She was chatting with her little girlfriend and my sister overheard her say 'My dad has a workshop in the basement. I wish he would clean it out and make it into a tanning salon.' Whaaaaat? Not such big tanners, my hubby and I, we wonder, where does this stuff come from?

5 Little Turkeys

5 Little Turkeys, one leaves everything on the floor
She waddled off, and then there were four.
4 Little Turkeys, one hits his brother and decides to flee
He waddled off, and then there were three.
3 Little Turkeys, one paints the wall blue
He waddled off, and then there were two.
2 Little Turkeys, one works a ton
He waddled off, and then there was one.
1 Little Turkey, cleans up, come what may
For soon it will be Thanksgiving Day.

Just give em' a Smack!

No, I am not doing anything illegal. Ha ha. When you need a pick me up. Hand out the pillows and take wack. (No hitting each others in the head is the rule.) You will be amazed how much you can giggle in the middle of a pillow fight with your cherubs! Ready, set, smack!

Homophones in 2007

We, found the Wii! My Lesley girls will appreciate this as a modern example. We could have used this one to study for the dreaded MTELs! We, Wii. Two words that sound the same yet are spelled differently and have different meanings. Times have changed. It reminds me of the first spelling test I ever gave to 3rd graders. One of the words was 'cell'. I started to use it a sentence, 'our bodies are made up of trillions of tiny cell(s).' The students were baffled. One of them raised their hands and asked 'Isn't it like a cell phone?' Get with the times, I thought to myself while stifling my laughter.

Ground Hog Day

Our life is the movie where you live the same thing each and every morning. Everyday for almost a week, cherub 2 has asked me, "Is it Thanksgiving today?" It is funny how time is one of the hardest things to teach. Each day I tried to explain how many more days were left until the big day. To no avail. His answer was always, "It is taking forrrrrrever!" Today, I wrapped up our homemade corn muffins for him to bring to his Kindergarten Thanksgiving feast . He exclaimed, "yeah, it is finally Thanksgiving!" I don't have the heart to tell him we will celebrate Turkey Day 'again' this week on the real day. This is sure to confuse him.

Vocab Words of the Day

Clarity- when a doctor tells you to send your 4 yr old for a CAT scan to 'rule out' something really wrong it is the most frightening feeling in the world. Clarity makes your head and heart instantly reach out to what is important. Simply, those that you love. We were lucky, as it turns out, serious the problem is not.

Guilt- the emotion that takes the most out of me and constantly rears it's ugly head. I had my parent/teacher conferences yesterday and today. I love teaching, it feels right. I love the children, celebrate their successes, thrive on the challenges, and feel guilty that my love for my career takes me away from my own family. I once told my Dad that woman's lib is totally unfair. Woman are so blessed that they have choices now, however, those choices can be heartwrenching at times.

Confessions of a Holy Roller

That is right. With this post, I will be sure to make someone mad, disappointment, sad, thoughtful, possibly even faint. I of course am talking about my family (but it might shock my friends who for the majority think I am a holy roller). So please, sit down and read with an open mind.

My daughter is now going to CCD weekly, we have been trying to be faithful about church, and I am trying very hard to show my kids that faith is something that is there if they want to take hold of it. I am trying to provide them the opportunity to combine our family's faith with our values (and not feel like I am jamming it down their throats).

Every summer, my kids go to our church's Vacation Bible Fest. They combine our faith with fun! It is an amazing week in which they learn about our faith, sing (sing, sing, sing, sing), and do lots of fun stuff (face painting, outside games, etc.). Everything is brought down to their level and they love it. Really. I even love it! Last year I was one of the teachers and it was awesome. It is the one week a year, that our religion totally makes sense to me!

So, why are our weekly masses so boring? They are rarely inspiring. Ok, I have said it out loud. Now I have guilt (guilt is a post all of it's own). However, the question remains, is the guilt because we chose not to go today or that I actually feel bad b/c I didn't look forward to it enough?

To be clear, I am not questioning my faith or my values. I am just questioning why it can't be enjoyable like camp? Let's forgo some of the hand waving, wordy readings and longggggg drawn out speaches and replace it with inspiring sermons. Words to literally carry you through the week until you come back next week for more! I have been to some masses like that. They leave you happy, tingly almost. You leave with an understanding of how the teachings of the religion reflect our very own values. We could connect our everyday lives to our faith. Let's make some changes. Amen.

It gives new meaning...

When most people say 'it's five o'clock somewhere' they are justifying that they are pouring their favorite weekend beverage just a tad early. My husband told me last night, "Since I have been in Canada all week, you have been up with 3 kids with the flu by yourself all week, and I have to work on Saturday, I will be home at noon on Friday to give you a break." An 1hr and a 1/2 past when he should have been home, he called from work and said "I am leaving now". My response, "it's noon somewhere".

Emergency!

"Mom", cherub 3 exclaims, "my thumb is turning red!" I check out his raisin like thumb to find it is in fact red. I determine and explain to him it is because he just had 'magic' gatorade (red color) and then sucked his thumb. Hence, the red. He looked at me and said, "Mom, it is not from the gatorade. I think my insides are on fire."

Ding Ding Ding

I haven't been posting much about cherub 1 recently. She is going through some growing pains. She thinks her brothers are out to get her and tells them constantly she hates them. She thinks my husband and I are 'unfair' and that we favor the boys, which we NEVER play favorites-honestly. This morning, she put all her feelings aside and made a get well card for cherub 2, who came down with the flu in the middle of the night (that is right we are on night 9 of the flu). It was a precious thing to see her demonstrate her empathy and love for her brother. I am sure when she comes home from school today they will back in their corners of the boxing ring for another round. In the meantime, I am going to bask in the sweet intermission filled with their cute little love.

How much can you carry?

Ok. I tend to be a stress eater. You can imagine what 3 kids, 1 husband, 2 families, and going back to school for my Masters did for my waist line. I recently cut out a magazine article titled 'No, Thanks, I'm Trying to Lose a Bald Eagle by Christmas!'. Huh? It tells us pounds are so limiting. Instead of 'I need to lose 12 pounds, say I need to lose a bald eagle'. It is actually gross and it puts things WAY into perspective. If you need to lose 20lbs, you actually need to lose a 'standard vacuum cleaner'. If you are me, you need to lose a midsize microwave oven (36lbs). Imagine carrying around a microwave attached to your belt everyday (who am I kidding about a belt). I have the article hung on the outside of my cabinet. So to get to my 'needsomethingtoeasethestressfood' I need to see the table of pounds vs. items and so far it is working. For Christmas, I want a belt from Santa. :o)

HO HO HOld the Phone...

"Santas warned 'ho ho ho' offensive to women" is one of the headlines in today's yahoo news. A very bored group of people with much too much time on their hands thought of this one. What is next, we can't call 'Barbie' Barbie because within her name is the word that represents an adult establishment? Come on people, it's Santa!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071115/wl_asia_afp/lifestyleaustraliachristmasoffbeat

Night Olympics

Many of my friends have heard me refer to our nightly going-ons as the night olympics. You know the drill. You have finally headed to bed after all the laundry, clean up and a quick peek at your favorite show. Upon entering REM, their are two BIG eyes right next to you. You can't see them, but you feel that they are there. Mom, I have to go to the bathroom (ok, honey, go). Mom, I had an accident (ok, honey, lets change you and the bed). Mom, can I sleep with you (sure, b/c I am too tired now to argue). Now add 7 nights of the flu to the night olympics. Here is how you start to talk when you have no zzz's...

NoREMatallduetoBIGeyes,accidents,coughs,poops,pukes,laundry,bedchanging,can'tthink,
loseabilitytoreason,stopmakingsense,loseyourmind,winthegoldmedalforsurviving. :o)

Sweet Addiction

Since the flu has been running rampant in our house for days, I have not been able to steal time away at the grocery store. I ran out of my coveted Diet Sunkist TWO days ago and can not believe how much this affects me. I am starting to wonder, is my pride too high to go next door to my parents house and BEG for a tonic? Pleazzzeeee can I have something with caffeine so I can function? (Yes, it's tonic in our New England world even if it is not tonic water.)

Tall Man

Sitting in a circle with the boys this morning, we were singing 'Where is Thumpkin?' Cherub 3 was having trouble with tall man. Tall man did not want to voluntarily stand on his own without me helping(it is hard to keep the other fingers down). The three of us were laughing hysterically but secretly all I could think of as I forced my son's middle finger up was, at what age will Tall Man be not only standing on his own but be directed at someone in particular? Ahhh, the innocence. Can we keep them free from the big bad world forever?

A Man's Job (Rated R for Content)

After composing himself from the shock, my husband thanked me last night because the house, including the dreaded tile bathroom, was spotless. We started talking about house jobs and he suggested I make a schedule of jobs (Monday- bathroom, Tuesday- dust etc). I told him I resist the schedule (remember my earlier post of a friend that had 'sheets day'). He laughed and told me his Vavo (Portuguese Grandmother) even had curtain cleaning on her schedule. Are they really supposed to get cleaned weekly??

(Hang in there...I am landing the plane soon...this one is a long one.) He said if I made a schedule even he would adhere to it for his jobs (right! he doesn't even remember to put out the recycling on odd weeks...imagine the pileup when you miss a week). He asked me what I thought was a man's job. I started listing (I admit an 'old fashioned but how I feel' list of chores) "taking the trash out, cleaning the garage, shoveling, changing light bulbs (we have those really high up, ugly, ceiling lights)". He interrupted my rambling and asked "why is changing the light bulb a man's job, because it involves screwing?" Funnnnnny.

Crackin Up

Hey mom, cherub 2 asked, "did you know your eyes are crackin" (while pointing to the skin around my eyes)? He continues, "did you know that means you are getting older and older and older"? I guess I am crackin up-literally.

Cuddle with Me

Cherub 2, normally wild at the library, was cuddling on the couch with me reading story after story. Thinking I was finally living the fairytale (and we weren't going to be scolded by the librarian for running, screaming, etc.), we read for a while. Eventually we checked out and went home. That was when I realized... he had a fever. I am going to pretend that we were the Hallmark commercial, no matter what the cause of the cuddle. :o)

Meet me at the Ball Field

Thank you to my very good friends that helped me through my Lynette moment today. You know, fellow D.H.W. followers...when Lynette loses her marbles (actually, unlike me, she was addicted to riddlin) and runs away from her kids and hides at a ball field. All moms NEED good friends to laugh, cry, (drink wine with) and remind them that it is normal to feel overwhelmed sometimes. Thank you to all my friends who picked me up from my 'ball field' this morning. Please know, I will return the favor tenfold when you are having a bad day too!

Nothing a night of leap frog, dancing and a crisp walk around the block didn't cure. I wore them out with fun and now my cherubs are sleeping. They look so peaceful! Thank you!

Later

"Honey, we will talk about 'it' later."
"Mom, I will pick 'it' up later."
"We don't want to come (to dinner, the bath, inside etc.) now, how about later?"
If everything is going to happen later, than why do we have a now?

Two Types of Forget Its

FORGET IT #1- Why is it that no matter how hard I try and how many millions of things I do remember, I still forget something? I went to the store today to stock up on bday party items for my daughters party. I filled my cart with her 'friend' bday party stuff and food for the house. How is it that I forgot that our families are staying for dinner after? (Take out anyone??) Forget it, I'll never remember everything. Mind as well stop pretending I can. PS-If one more smart alek gives me (the unwanted and unrequested) advice that I should 'use a calendar and make a list because that works for me' I will actually scream I DOooooooooooooooooo!!!

FORGET IT #2- My OB told me today, in onelongmeanspiritedmonotonecoldheartedsentence to forget about having another baby. He said 'I wouldn't, you run the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure b/c of being overweight (I only need to lose 25 pounds...FINE 30) and you have coagulation (blood clotting) issues'. I think he FORGOT his bedside manners, he could've:
encouragedmetoloseweight&thencomebackandtalktohimaboutcontrolling the coagulation?