6 @ the Zoo

Update

2011-08-23T14:55:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my mother-in-law. She is doing very well. She is currently undergoing radiation five days a week for the next six weeks. I think the hardest part of this for her is the drive. They have to drive over an hour each way for her treatments.

Please Pray

2011-06-24T21:49:00.002-05:00

This is my sweet mother-in-law. She is truly wonderful. I love her very much. I think she has loved me since the first time she meet me. I don't know why. She hugged me as soon as she meet me. Daddy-O told me later that she was not a hugger. I think she was just really grateful that her son had brought someone home besides all his hungry guy friends. Maybe there was hope that one day his clothes would match and he would not be moving back home after college.

We celebrated her 78th birthday last week. Three-fourths of the kids and I drove to Dickson to meet her, my father-in-law and two of my sister-in-laws for lunch. We went to a Chinese restaurant.

This is what you get there if you are celebrating your birthday.

Pretty cute, huh?

A rabbit made from a boiled egg eating carrots.

About three weeks ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was detected very early and the tumor is very small. The day we meet for lunch she had come from the Cardiologist to make sure she was healthy enough for surgery. This past Tuesday she meet with the Oncologist to discuss her options. She will have a lumpectomy on this Monday followed by six weeks of radiation.

If you are the praying type, please pray for her. She is a very devout Catholic and will appreciate any prayers you send her way. I feel confident she will do fine with the surgery. The six weeks of radiation afterward will be difficult on her and my father-in-law. They will have to drive over an hour each way each day. If you will please keep them in your prayers over the next few weeks we will all be very grateful.

First Haircut

2011-06-19T22:14:00.000-05:00

Here we go! Time for the first haircut. I love The Messenger's blond locks but it they were interfering with his swinging and his chronic runny nose. I didn't know how he was going to do. But, he jumped right up into the chair like he'd done this before.

Still doing good.

Ugh...Those blond locks falling to the floor.

Crazy hair!

Ok. I may be a little biased. But, isn't this just the cutest face? I could just eat him up! L'OREAL should pay him for the privilege of him wearing their cape.

All done! No more sheepdog hair and a chocolate kiss to boot. Great job!

First Holy Communion - II

2011-05-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

Dear Jesus,

At first I felt nerves and scard I wanted to leve. But onuce I receved You I felt beter.

Love,

No. 1 Son

I found this in No. 1 Son's folder today. Precious, that's all I can say, misspellings and all.

First Holy Communion

2011-05-16T16:33:00.000-05:00

"This is the wonderful truth, my dear friends: the Word, which became flesh two thousand years ago, is present today in the Eucharist."

- Pope John Paul II

Isn't this a beautiful site? Another precious soul joining at the table of our Lord. It was a wonderful day for No. 1 Son. He was very excited and serious. I have never seen him so serious. We were blessed to be able to sit on the front pew. I got to see each and every First Communicant receive; I cried the whole time. That night Daddy-O and I were talking about the day. He said he was crying too. He was telling me that after the First Communicants had all received he realized it was our turn. He said he said to himself, "Pull it together! Pull it together! It's time to go up!" It was probably for the best that his parents were sitting between us. If we had been next to each other we probably would have been hysterical. When it comes to sacraments we are both very emotional.

Congratulations No. 1 Son! We are so excited for you. I love watching you receive each Sunday.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-09T00:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms out there!

With the exception of the Blessed Mother, the greatest mom ever is right up there! This is my mom. It was very difficult to find a picture of her. And yes this one is from circa 1975.

She was funny, strong, supportive, stricked, beautiful, loving, a great cook, tough, inspirational, creative, talented, everyone loved her.

She grew-up the oldest in a very very poor family in Massachusetts. After graduating from high school she joined the Marine Corp. She met my dad and became a sailor's wife. Moved thirteen times in the first twelve years of marriage. When she was about 7 months pregnant with me and my sister was about eight months old she drove from Long Beach, CA to Swansea, MA by herself. She had cancer when she was pregnant with me. The doctor want to abort me. She said no. She had a complete hysterectomy when I was six weeks old. She spent a lot of time raising my sister and me on her own since my dad was out to sea nine months at a time. She moved to the farm my father grew up on in 1976. Had a pond dug within weeks of moving in so she could see the water. She loved the ocean. Loved shellfish but thought mussels were bait. Moved to the South during a time when Yankees and women weren't well thought of. Worked in a country store close to home and earned the respect of a lot of county folk. Officially became a farmer's wife when my dad retired from the Navy in 1979. Raised two daughters to be strong and independent. Had many friends. Diagnosed with lung cancer in 1993. Fought the good fight. Inspired many. Knew that heaven awaited her. May 20, 1995 with my dad, Daddy-O (only my boyfriend then) and me at her side in the house I grew-up in, she took her last breath and smiled. Without a doubt I knew she had seen those that had gone on before her and was welcomed into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father.

I miss her greatly. I wonder if she is proud of me. Feel certain she would be crazy about my kids.

I love you mamma.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-08T18:17:00.000-06:00

Daddy-O suggested this be our picture for our Thanksgiving card this year. Since Thanksgiving has come and gone I guess it should be our Christmas card. However, I know for a fact there will be no Christmas card this year. This became official today. We were told at work (Target, the second job) that we will be going in at 2:00 am the rest of the week. Ugggg!!!! Oh! It get's even better! Starting Monday we will work every day until Christmas. Wait, I'm not done yet... We have to come in at midnight starting on Monday! I'm not sure what time we'll get out of work. Let's just be frank, this really stinks. I'm not sure when I'm suppose to sleep.

So, if you are reading this Merry Christmas! You are one of the lucky one. Because of the 150 plus people I hand make and send cards to, they will be getting something around Easter if I live to see 2011.

PS - Ever wondered about the test pattern? A test card, also known as a test pattern in North America, is a television test signal, typically broadcast at times when the transmitter is active but no program is being broadcast (often at startup and closedown). Used since the earliest TV broadcasts, test cards were originally physical cards at which a television camera was pointed.

Really, do I look that bad?

2010-08-16T13:14:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. I haven't posted anything in forever. But I believe that should be expected from me. Seeing as I only have two nights a week that I don't have to go to bed at 8:00 it's harder than ever to post. And did I mention have our computer is still dead?

I have been working at Target for a little over 2 months now. It's going pretty good, I can't complain. Five days a week I get up at 3:00am and get ready for work. Sometimes I shower, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I pull my hair in a ponytail, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I wear make-up, sometimes I don't. However, I always where khaki pants, a red shirt and tennis shoes. That is the uniform, love it or hate it. On days when I work at the office I change clothes. I will either change at the office or go home. It's really easier on the kids if I don't go home. The last couple of days I've changed at Target. It's usually quicker if I change clothes there and cooler. Today I changed at Target which was no big deal to me. I just go dressed in the bathroom and headed out.

As I was leaving I said to good-bye and see you tomorrow to Robert (I'm not sure what his title is, but he is in charge of everyone that comes to work at 4:00 am.) His back was turned to me when I was speaking to him. He replied with the standard, "Have a good day, see you tomorrow." and then turned around. The poor man was flabbergasted. He said wow a couple of times and made some kind of crazy laugh. I replied with, "Yes, I can look with a human being." and walked out the door.

In the parking lot I saw one of the girls I work with and she said, "Is that you, Lori?" Uh, yes... Finally, as I was getting in to my vehicle another girl I work with said, "You look beautiful."

This is what I was wear.

Really? This caused a grow man to stammer? One girl not to recognize me? And another to proclaim I look beautiful?

Do I really look that bad when I go to work?

Summertime and the living is easy...

2010-06-23T14:11:00.000-05:00

... not so much this summer, Gershwin.

Ahhh... summertime. A time for kids to enjoy their summer break, vacations, swimming pools, fireflies, staying up late, fresh fruits and veggies.

The kids are on summer break. So far there hasn't been a vacation. I don't see a swimming pool anywhere in the future. The fireflies have been plentiful unfortunately there hasn't been much staying up late. The fresh produce has been coming in and it has been yummy.

When most are preparing for a leisurely summer, what do I do? I go and get a second job. Yes, a second job. The economy stinks and engineering is still suffering because of it. Daddy-O and I are each driving vehicles from 1997 and I feel we are facing impending car doom. So, I did the most responsible thing I thought I could do, get another job.

What kind of job did I find? I am on the Target Flow Team. And what is the Target Flow Team you ask? Well, I work from 4am to 8am each day that Target gets a truck which is normally everyday except Wednesday and Sunday. I work soft lines which is anything that's on carpet (clothes, underwear, accessories). I help unpack all the boxes and put out all the stuff in the boxes. And that's it. That is what I do from 4am to 8am.

I was looking for something outside the box that would not require me having to find childcare and this is it. There are two drawbacks. One, I have to go to bed at 8pm so I can get up at 3am. Two, I don't have weekends off or even two days off in a row.

Anyone else at there still struggling with this economy? What are you doing do make ends meet?

Randomness

2010-05-16T22:14:00.000-05:00

Well. It's been a while since I've been here. A really long while. I was slammed in late March through April with the big boys school fund raiser. I also taught two Natural Family Planning classes concurrently, one in Nashville and one in Clarksville. Too much. And then work was just as busy as I crunched number all month long trying to come up with the best way to save money and not let people go. The gist was pay cut across the board and someone retiring. Hopefully, the economy will turn around soon. Please...

Now May is here and things are just as crazy. The school year will be over in two weeks and there are so many odds and ends that need to be wrapped up or attended. And of course in the middle of all this is the worst flooding Nashville as every seen. We were blessed to not have any damage. We have lots of friends that weren't so fortunate.

Oh yes, the water restriction. I think we have gotten fairly creative with our water conservation efforts. Less flushing, less laundry, fewer dishes, military showers for all, capturing the cold water from the shower in stock pot until the hot arrives, etc. The kids have never been cleaner after their showers; its just difficult keeping them clean once they are out of the shower. We only have a limited supply of clothes and we use cloth diapers so have to do some laundry. We are just trying to get the kids not wear more than one outfit a day. The good news is we have a high efficiency washer. The water reserves are up. We are trying to do our part. I can't wait to see my water bill!

I've been loosely looking for a second job. My two best options are Target and Home Depot. They both have inventory type positions with shifts from 8pm to Midnight or 4am to 8am. It's part-time and I won't needed to pay for childcare. We've got to get a little more money coming in. Both of our vehicles are 1997s and just feel this impending doom of car trouble. And, The Messenger's tube came out of his ear this morning which was just put in six months ago. I really don't have the money for another tube surgery.

No. 1 Son got glasses. He looks so cute. I'll have to post a picture of him when I can.

The big boys are playing t-ball. They're pretty good. Both are heavy hits. It's fun to watch them.

Daddy-O is out of town for a few days. It's always interesting when one of us is not around. I did think ahead and purchased groceries before he left. I will not go to the store with all of them.

I hope everyone is doing well out there.

My Catholic Women of Faith

2010-04-01T14:41:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Catholic Women on Faith Conference in the quaint little town of Franklin, Tennessee. Blessed because I was able to get away for a little while, blessed to be able to attend Mass, blessed to hear great speakers, and blessed to spend time with friends. The conference doors opened at 7:30 am followed by Mass with the Bishop Choby at 8:30. Great speakers followed, then there was lunch, another speaker, a concert and then home.

But this is what really made my day, the friends! It was the quintessential Lori Day! My friend Angela had arranged another friend, Kristen, to meet at my house and we all ride together. Well, I got a call early Saturday morning that Angela was not able to finish her paper that was due and she would have to meet us there later. So, Kristen and I rode to Franklin together and we got to visit, just the two of us. We sat together during Mass and then headed to the break area for coffee afterward. When I returned to the Church after the break I saw another friend, Mary Lyn. Mary Lyn is a new 1st Grade mom at our school. Her daughter and No. 1 Son are in class together. I was visiting with her when the first speaker started so I decided to stay put. There was another quick break after the speaker. I felt bad because I had abandoned Kristen so I was going to invite Mary Lyn to move over by Kristen so we could all sit together. I didn’t want anyone to sit alone! Well, in the mean time one of Kristen’s friends joined her, Lorraine. I decided to stay with Mary Lyn since she had her spot and Kristen had a friend.

I had not ordered the boxed lunch. I wanted to be able to get out at lunch time, go for a walk, and have lunch in one of the cute eatery downtown. Mary Lyn also did not buy a boxed lunch. She had been wanting to walk around and explore as well. So, she joined me. We had a great lunch and even better conversation. It was really nice getting to know her a little better.

Sidebar – Earlier as we made our way through the sea of some 700 women to go eat lunch I saw another friend of mine, Tooh-lin, but she was too far for me to get to: I would have to find her later.

Mary Lyn and I made our way through the sea of women again and founder our seats. We said the Divine Mercy Chaplet and settled in to listen to another speaker. I kept scanning the room for my friend Angela. I finally spotted her once the speaker was finished and gave her the crazy we-are-over-here! wave. She found us. Next up a break then the concert! Mary Lyn decided she really need to head home and was going to skip the concert.

It was time to find my friend Tooh-lin. I headed in the general direction that I saw her last. She had on a red sweater, this would help. I see her! But at the same time I hear in unison, LORI PEZZI! It was three friends from the church Daddy-O and I use to attend before we moved to Nashville. I made a quick round of hugs, hellos, how have you beens and head to see Tooh-lin before the concert started. Well, before I even get there I see another person I know, the 2nd Grade teacher at our school. Of course I had to say hello. Finally, I make to Tooh-lin. Another quick round of hugs, hellos, and how have you beens but with the addition of how many kids to you have know and what was the last one named. Back to me seat with Angela.

The concert begins. Oh no… she has a beautiful voice but I don’t think I can sit here any longer. I whisper my concerns to Angela. She agrees she can’t sit there either. We make our plan. We are right by a door; we are heading to the cupcake store! She tells Kristen our plan.

Let me just say Saturday was a gorgous day! It was a amazing outside. We walked back downtown and checked out a few stores. Finally, we picked out our cupcakes, sat outside the shop, and visited. Awesome!

We decided to head back. As we approached the parking gargage we noticed the conference had ended. I saw my friends Elizabeth, Bea, and Clare that I had only been able to talk to breifly. I asked if they had room for one more and they drove me home. More visiting time!!!

Needless to say it was a great day for me: Mass, great speakers and lots of girl time with many great friends!

She's 3!

2010-03-17T13:14:00.000-05:00

Where are you going, my little one, little one

Where are you going, my baby, my own?

Turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four

Turn around and you're a young girl going out of my door

I can hardly believe my little girl is three years old. Princess E, when did you get so grown up?

You are definitely your own person. Very girly, not like your mommy at all in that respect. You love shoes and pajamas! You are very opinionated about your clothes and have no problem dressing yourself. You love pink which was the first color you identified correctly every time. You love to help, can get your own water from the refrigerator, and gladly put your dishes in the dishwasher. You really enjoy coloring and painting; I think you are going to be a lefty. You are so sweet but have a temper like no other person in our house. Your blanket is your most prized possession.

In your honor and to celebrate your turning three we had a Pajama Party. You love to wear your pjs! We did things a little differently this birthday. We had a brunch with all kinds of yummy breakfast food and everyone came in their pajamas. You wanted a pink cake for your birthday so I made you a pink Angel Food cake with pink whipping cream. A cake most worthy of a princess.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

The Princess in her pajamas and new jewelry.

(When you press the button on the necklace it says, "Hello, I'm Cinderella."

The Princess with her new crown which has a tiny silver shoe hanging from the top and kitchen.

Pink cake with strawberries and pink whipped cream!

What is not pictured here that should be is the four pair box of princess shoe that The Princess LOVED! The coveted clippy-clops thanks to her Fairy Shoe Godmother.

Star Wars Invades Music City

2010-03-04T11:38:00.000-06:00

I'm guessing if Nashville was invaded by small characters from Star Wars this is what it would look like. At least someone is playing the guitar.

Oh....I'm so far behind. I'm not even sure why I haven't posted anything. But, be on the look-out for The Princess's and Daddy-O's Birthdays, both of which have come and gone. Oh yes and my thoughts on Lent this year. That's if I get something written before it's over.

The Big Reveal!

2010-02-03T07:30:00.003-06:00

Warning!

If you have boys and they like Star Wars you might want to have them leave the room lest you find yourself holding a roll of painters tape and a few cans of paint! Okay, it's not all that and a bag of chips but I think we did a pretty good job. At least we worked really long and hard.

Ta da!

The boys' new room! Big boys' beds and shelves.

Little boy's crib and shelf.

A window looking out into space.

Space-agey looking crates for well organized clothing and shoes.

Framed picture of my little troopers and a bobble-head trooper found in the clearance section for each of them. Score!

My little Yoda and his Yoda.

Yes, that is a 3 foot kite of the Millennium Falcon.

Our destination. The unknown gaseous planet on the left and its inhabitable satellite on the right.

A view of the stars from the window.

It's finished! Well, almost finished. I still need to make a fabric cover the cedar chest and paint the closet doors. I have to find cheaper fabric and decide the color of the doors. But it would still be a work in progress from now until summer if the kids hadn't gone on their trip a few weekends ago.

They love it. We love it. So far it's stayed pretty clean. Everyone's happy!

13 and counting

2010-02-01T08:08:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess this would be one of those instances when tweeter would come in handy. I really don't have much to say other than today is our Anniversary. We have been married thirteen year. There is no special celebration planned. It's pretty much our standard Monday night around here. Dinner, homework, kids to bed, and one of us off to the grocery store. Daddy-O pulled the grocery straw.

In spite of our lack of celebration I like to think the tie that binds us is greater than an gift, card, flower or dinner. Another year as come and gone. And I still love him just as much today as I did thirteen years ago. We have had thirteen very happy years with the last seven being much louder and crazier thanks to the addition of the monkeys.

Happy Anniversary Daddy-O! I love you very much!

Snow Daze

2010-01-31T22:04:00.000-06:00

The snow here in middle Tennessee was delightful to say the least. Friday the boys enjoyed their day off from school. Daddy-O and I went into work for a few hours and then headed home to enjoy the snow with the family. By mid-afternoon there was plenty of snow to play in.

Surfer Dude had a rough go of it for a while. On Friday No. 1 Son was making a snow angel when he found a golf club in the snow. He decided to give it a few good swings without checking around him and wacked Surfer Dude right above the eye.

Golf club gash being nicely cover by band-aid.

Saturday morning rolls around. Surfer Dude survives the night. Boys play in snow for awhile. Come in a little later to eat breakfast. We all then head outside to play. The boys finally get to play in the coveted front yard since there is now parental supervision. Surfer Dude's first ride on the sled down the front lawn goes smoothly until he hits the ditch and is thrown face first into the other side. There is blood and tears and hole in the crusty snow where his face used to be. Back in the house for Surfer Dude.

The kid's pretty tough. He has the obvious cuts, scratches and swollen face. The not so obvious scraped up gums and bruises in his hair line. But he says he's ready to go back out again, he just needs a drink. Heck Daddy-O and I thought we needed a drink too. Something a little stronger than the water he requested.

Isn't he pretty? Kind of reminiscent of a hockey player, don't you think? No, he didn't loose the teeth in the sledding or golfing incident. They came out on their own earlier last week.

Any snow daze at your zoo?

A Whole New Ballgame

2010-01-27T08:20:00.000-06:00

Okay, it's not really a ballgame; there are no balls. It's not even a game. But it is a sport. And I knew NOTHING about it until two weeks ago.

Wrestling!

Yes, we have enter the world Catholic school boys Greco-roman wrestling. It was recommended to me that No. 1 Son wrestle by his cross country coach. I looked into it back in the fall. The season didn't start until January for his age group. Two Sundays ago we head to Father Ryan High School for sigh-ups and practice. Watched some kids practice. Talked to a few parents. Surfer Dude was in all the way. No. 1 Son, "Ugh, no thanks." Oh,well. The child that was suppose to be wrestling is not. He is really going to wish he did. I'm sure it won't be long before Surfer Dude has No. 1 Son in a half nelson.

Now I know a little bit about wrestling. Only because I've been to two practices. I was actually on the mat tonight showing Surfer Dude and his buddy how to do the move. The buddy's dad got a kick out of that. Surfer Dude is in the Crumbsnatchers Divison. HA! How funny is that? It's for grades K-4. And based on his age he is classified as a Tot. I also learned there are take downs and escapes. Full nelsons are illegal. The match is divided into periods, how many? No idea. But I do know there is a red man and a green man. What that means? I'm clueless. Oh, and I think in each period they change it up; they have to take each other down, the green man has to escape from the red man, the red man has to escape from the green man. I think, I could be wrong. Who knows! But this is what I know: Surfer Dude is having a great time and so am I!

The Gift

2010-01-26T10:55:00.001-06:00

A week ago this past Thursday Daddy-O and I received a gift. No it wasn't money, a car, or a coffee maker (which we really need by the way). We received one of the greatest things you can give a couple with four children, time.

My sister-in-law loves my children to pieces. And on top of that she has always loved keeping the two older boys. It had been almost 2 years since they have spent the night with her until Thursday evening. Not only did Jan take the two big boys but she also took The Princess. Oh and it gets even better! She had them from Thursday evening until Monday afternoon!!! Okay, don't get me wrong. I love my children but it's nice to have a break, occasionally.

From Thursday evening until Monday afternoon it was just the three of us: Daddy-O, The Messenger, and me. We had a great time together, but the main focus of the weekend was transforming the boys room in to a Star Wars room (that post will be coming soon). However, Daddy-O and I did get some time to ourselves.

We started our weekend off with breakfast at Cracker Barrell and then home to paint. I spent Thursday evening moving things out of the boys room while he took the kids to Jan's and then back to work until 3:00 am! We work diligently all day. It was finally time for dinner. We have been wanting to try the Korean restaurant down the street for quite awhile. We headed there for dinner. The Messenger loved it. We got a sitter from 9-11 pm so we could go see The Messenger's godfather play in his band. That was fun, but really, really, really loud.

Saturday came bright and early and we continued to paint and work on the boys' room. We took a break around 12:30 to head to Hendersonville. We bought The Princess a play kitchen off of craigslist for her birthday and had to go pick it up. On the way home we stopped at Sonic for a drink and a banana for The Messenger. It's amazing how different a trip to Sonic can be with just one child. It was very quiet and relaxing. We actually were able to talk to each other.

We made a quick tripped to Wal-mart to find the crates for under the boys beds to store their clothes. We returned home to continue working on the room. At 4:00 The Messenger's godmother and godfather came over to hang with him so we could go to the movie! After much deliberation we decided on Avatar 3D. We enjoyed it. It was visually stunning! And you've got to love movie popcorn! After the movie we ran over to The Home Depot to purchase the shelves for the room. We actually got the big boys up that night.

Sunday morning we went to mass at 8:30. Afterward we went by the office to "hide" the kitchen until The Princess' birthday in February. While we were there we decided to pack up the cardboard to recycle since it was about to take over the back corner of the office. It was now 11:00. We were hungry and decided to have lunch at Amerigo's. Yumm! I had the goat cheese pasta, my favorite thing there! We haven't been to Amerigo's in at least three years.

The Messenger was pretty whipped out. Daddy-O dropped us off at the house while he recycled the cardboard and went to purchase Surfer Dudes bed. I painted. We finished The Messengers shelves and the last of the painting we could do on Sunday. We started putting the room back together, assembled the bed, putting the boys things on the shelves.

Monday morning I made an early trip to the store to pick up the bobblehead clones I had found and then to Walgreens to pick up the pictures of the boys I wanted to have in their room. Then for a special treat I ran by Best Donuts so we could have coffee and apple fritters for breakfast!

Daddy-O had to make one more trip to a different Walmart to get the rest of the crates for the clothes. Also, he ran to Brookstone to get the Frog-o-Sphere No. 1 Son wanted for Chirstmas, they finally had some! I finished up the room by making the beds and storing the clothes. And then spent the rest of the time running around like a crazy woman picking up the rest of the house. Around 2:00 we decided we were toast and head to Schlotskis for a sandwich. We got home in time to sit a minute before Jan pulled up in the driveway.

It was a great weekend. We were incredibly busy, I'm pretty sure I didn't list everything we did. I'm so greatful for the time we had. We really enjoyed our time together and with The Messenger. What we accomplished in those few days would have taken weeks and a lot of yelling and frustration with all the kids home.

The Big 1 - The Party

2010-01-16T08:00:00.002-06:00

The Cakes!

The Candle!

The Curiosity!

The Chomp!

The Yum!

The Chow Down!

Yes, the birthday boy is in there somewhere!

Don't throw him out with the paper.

The Cowpokes

2010-01-14T21:58:00.002-06:00

These handsome cowpokes had the honor of attending the cowboy party. It was a great cowboy party. Amy you did a great job!

Zoo Wisdom

2010-01-06T15:17:00.000-06:00

This morning as I was getting the little ones ready for school, I looked down into the playroom where The Messenger was playing. I noticed he had something small in his hand. I asked The Princess what it was. Her reply, "An eye." So, quickly retrieved said eye from The Messenger. As I was returning to the kitchen The Princess said in her most parental voice,

"Messenger, don't choke on the Monkey!"

Now that is sound advice if I've every heard it.

It's the Big 1

2009-12-29T20:59:00.011-06:00

Happy Birthday Messenger. My sweet little boy. I can hardly believe you are a year old today. It is amazing how time has flown by. Needless to say you have changed a lot. You are no longer a chunky new born. Now you are long and lean. And you are strong! You have survived your three older siblings as well as almost non-stop ear infection since you were four months old and finally ear tube surgery. (which wasn't the magic bullet as I had hoped)

You are full of smiles and blond hair with two swirls on top.

Your starting to cruise around the furniture and you have mastered the two steps to the playroom. You are so proud of your self!

You love to throw things and empty drawers and boxes.

Your becoming so independent. You like to feed yourself. You really don't want us to help.

And last night you gave up your pacifier. Or the "fier" as we call it around here. I want to keep you little forever but I know that is not possible. Mommy loves you so much.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

I'm Still Alive

2009-12-22T20:40:00.002-06:00

Yes, I'm still alive. No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I know I haven't posted anything since November. It should become easier to write now that I'm no longer a closet blogger. Yes, he knows. It went something like this. I was sitting at the computer, he was standing at my shoulder, and we were searching for who knows what on the internet.

Daddy-O says, "Do you have a blog?"
Me, Yes.
Daddy-O, "Do you write much?"
Me, No.

And that was it people. He didn't ask a single question about it. He didn't ask what it was called or what I write about. He hasn't mentioned it since.

Other things going on here at The Zoo:

As far as Christmas goes we started off with a bang. Got the tree and decorations up at the first of the month. I still have three dead mums and a very flat pumpkin on my front step. My goal is for them to be composted by the start of 2010.

Let me just say I am so glad we do not celebrate Santa Claus!!! Because at this point The Princess and The Messenger would be thinking they were on the naughty list. I know we still have a few more days before Christmas; hopefully, we can get to the store tomorrow night. I'm not really worried about The Messenger but The Princess would like to open some gifts from her family. I ordered two things for Daddy-O, they're still not here. He'll be fine. He has purchased nothing for me. I'll be fine too.

This past weekend was The Stomach-Virus-Festival here at The Zoo. Yes, all the little monkeys were throwing up. Yippee! The adults didn't have the throwing up kind of festival, we'll leave it at that. We rounded of the weekend with Daddy-O getting Conjunctivitis. I think this helps explain why were are so far behind on our Christmas shopping.

I still have about 20 parts of Christmas presents to make. The good news they are gifts for Daddy-O's family and we won't be seeing them until Sunday. There is still time.

Well, I'm sure there are about a 100 more things I would like to write about but The Messenger is calling me. I think he would like a snack. Until next time. Hopefully, it will not be next year. But just in case,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The World's Most Expensive Garlic

2009-11-24T22:35:00.005-06:00

Here at the Zoo Daddy-O is trying to grow the world's most expensive garlic. No, we are not farmer. However, Daddy-O has agrarian desires. His ancestor were farmers in Northern Italy, I think it's in his blood.

Back to the garlic. Daddy-O has wanted to try his hand at growing garlic for a while. Late this summer he bit the bullet and ordered his garlic which arrive in early October. Garlic is planted in the fall and harvested the following year, sometime in the summer. $19.00

On Saturday he headed to hardware store to acquire the items he needed to make his raised beds for the garlic. As well as the stuff to enrich the soil. Garlic likes to grow in sandy soil. Tennessee soil is made of clay with is nothing like sandy soil. $71.00

Daddy-O returns from his trip to the store, marks his plot for the raised bed, removes all the grass, proceeds to turn all the soil to loosen and enrich it and hacks up our telephone line. Service call just to look at the hacked up line $85.00

So far we are up to $175.00 and the garlic hasn't even been planted yet! I don't know how much it will cost to repair the telephone line, but up to this point if they all produce, each bulb of garlic will have cost us $3.50. Depending on the cost of the repair that number could double even triple! Everyone is getting garlic from us for Christmas next year, consider yourself warned.

"You-Get-To-Invite-Friends-To-Your-Birthday" Birthday Party

2009-11-19T11:13:00.007-06:00

As with most post from this blog, better late than never is the motto. I should have posted days, huh, weeks ago.

This was the first official "You-Get-To-Invite-Friends-To-Your-Birthday" Birthday Party we have ever had. I have to says it went pretty well, much less stressful than our normal "Invite-All-Of-Daddy-O's Family-And-Cook-A-Huge-Meal-For-30-People" birthday party.

No. 1 Son was allowed to invite 4 friends and their siblings. We had Pizza Bianca for a snack, soda, and beer and wine (the adults only). The weather was spectacular so we all sat on the deck and let the boys run wild!

Daddy-O made each of the boys a marshmallow blow gun which they all L-O-V-E-D. For approximately 2 hours for boys shot each other with marshmallows with a quick break for cake and presents. Success!!!

The Cake.
In case you don't know or recognize, it's the Death Star from Star Wars.

The guests with party favors.
Marshmallow blow guns.

The Lute!
He's saying with great excitement and enthusiasm,
"I got TWO Mouse Trap games!"

One happy birthday boy!

Pizza Bianca

2009-11-09T10:57:00.000-06:00

This is a staple at our house. I make it at least once a week. I think it's super easy. Enjoy!

Serve the pizza by itself as a snack or with soup or salad for a light meal. Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter. Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick. This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp. Serves 6 to 8

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
1 2/3 cups water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (whole leaves)

1. Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3. Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
4. One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. 5. Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.
6. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes, sprinkling rosemary over top and rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Brush dough lightly with remaining tablespoon oil. Slice and serve immediately.

Pizza Bianca with Tomatoes, Sausage, and Fontina Toppings

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 cups shredded fontina cheese (8 ounces)
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage

1. Remove sausage from casings. Cook sausage in large nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking into small pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Place 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes in fine-mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Let sit 30 minutes, stirring 3 times to allow juices to drain. Combine 3/4 cup tomato solids, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/8teaspoon table salt. (Save remaining solids and juice for another use.)

7. Bake until spotty brown, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Using metal spatula, remove pizza from oven, spread tomato mixture evenly over surface, and sprinkle with shredded fontina and sausage. Return pizza to oven and continue to bake until cheese begins to brown in spots, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Wisdom of the Zoo

2009-11-08T07:27:00.003-06:00

As I was sweeping before heading to work the other day The Princess said,

"Mommy, don't sweep up the sun."

My heart melted.

Happy Birthday No. 1 Son!

2009-11-05T14:01:00.004-06:00

For starters, who are you and what have you done with my little boy?

I can hardly believe how big you have gotten. I don't know what 1st graders are suppose to look like, but I don't think this is it. Speaking of 1st grade, you're learner to read! This just amazes me. I have to admit it's not you best subject; it will click soon enough. However, math is a whole other story. You are a whiz and love it. You also are excelling in science and religion; I find the religion part kind of funny. Your are always conduction some kind of experiment which usually water and a plastic bottle and trying to save some little bug or frog. You are also on a little team of students that goes to the other grade to talk about composting. Kind of funny but awesome. You are definitely my child despite the fact you look nothing like me.

You recently developed a love affair with board games, can't get enough Battleship. You are d-y-i-n-g for a bb gun and a bow and and arrow or even a Nerf gun. The weapons will have to wait for a few more years. But I know you will totally freak about what we got you for your birthday!!!

So, today is actually your birthday however your party won't be until Saturday. For snack at school today you wanted me to bringing Pizza Bianca for you class. (All you lurkers will have to come back Monday for the recipe.) I got up bright and early this morning to make a fresh Pizza Bianca for you and your class. They all loved it.You'll have it again for dinner since you said you wanted it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think snack and dinner should suffice.

I have so much I should say here. But this is all for now.

Happy Birthday, Big Boy!
Mommy loves you so much!

Orange Smiles

2009-11-04T10:14:00.004-06:00

Enough said.

Happy Halloween Part II

2009-11-01T08:30:00.006-06:00

Clone 18 and Clone Captain Rex

Ester Williams

Yoda

This was the first year I did not make the monkeys' their Halloween costumes and I don't feel one bit guilty. It was cheaper and much less time consuming and stressful. The Princess never officially had a costume. She wore a UT cheerleader outfit (barf!) to the zoo. It was something in her closet that my sister-in-law gave her. When we went to the bank on Friday to have their picture taken she wore her swimsuit and flip flops and then again on Halloween night. Friday wasn't so bad, Saturday night was COOLED! I did pack a cute pair of pink leopard print pj's that she finally agreed to put on after the sun went down.

I also broke a 11 year tradition of having some kind of Halloween get-together at our house. It all started when we moved in our first house in Ashland City. We would have around 500 trick or treaters each year. It was so much fun to watch all the kids in their costumes that we would have a little party to watch the parade of ghouls and goblins. This was even before we had our own little monsters. When we moved to Nashville we continued our tradition in spite of the low number of caped crusaders. Well, this year we got an invitation early in the month to go to someone else's neighborhood and I jumped on it. We had such a good time! I actually got to take my own characters out for treats. I didn't have to cook or clean my house. It was awesome! So, I raise my bowl of candy to new traditions! Clunk, crunch, rustle, rustle...

By the way, our schedule is wide open for next Halloween. We are currently taking invitations.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T09:51:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween from the Zoo!

Lame Fish Post

2009-10-12T21:28:00.005-05:00

Ok, so this is probably the lamest post in the history of blogging. But I really haven't had any time. October is always crazy busy for me since I'm the director of the Cumberland River Challenge which is a bike ride to raise money for a really nice trail in Ashland City. So, here it goes...

For all of you who lay awake at night wondering about the status of our fish that suffer rug burn and shaken by a baby syndrome, he is as healthy as a horse and doing fine. No need to worry any more. The other 8 fish, however, are as dead as door nails and have made the trip to the great fish bowl in the sky with a solemn flush.

That's it. That's all I got until after the bike ride. Go back to your exciting lives.

The END!

2009-09-23T21:14:00.004-05:00

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! It’s a sign of the apocalypse! It’s the end of humanity as we know it! Okay, not really. But it is the end of the road for my favorite pair of shoes. Favorite!!! I mean absolute favorite. Wear them every day favorite. Wore them to the hospital in labor in the winter, not one but twice, favorite. I love these shoes. I rate a lot things based on my willingness to pay full price. How was the movie (Insert any movie title)? It was awesome! I would pay full price at the theater! Or, it was alright, watch it on Netflix only if you can stream it. You get picture. I bought my favorite shoes for 75% off three years ago. I would buy them again at full price plus shipping and tax, hands down. They are the best. But alas and alack I must say good-bye to them. I have tried to repair the separating toe and flopping sole but to no avail.

Good bye sweet Keens, you’ll be missed. Sob, sniffle, boo hoo…

These are the temporary replacements, I needed something. They ain’t no pair of Keens I can tell you that for sure. Granted the color combination is cute. But they will have to do until I find the perfect replacement, another pair just like above (maybe in a different color).

Picture Day

2009-09-22T12:44:00.000-05:00

That single moment in time that marks an entire year in your academic history. I remember picture day from my childhood. Picking out the perfect outfit, making sure my hair was just so. Looking back there are a few pictures that needed to be burned, some very bad fashion and hair choices on my part. However, some of the best school pictures come from when we are still young. When mom helps pick out the outfit and makes sure every hair is in place. Sure there were missing teeth but those are the best pictures.

Yesterday was Picture Day for No. 1 Son and Surfer Dude. It would be Surfer Dudes first official school picture. I have been planning this day since last year. Last year No.1 Son made is kindergarten picture début wearing a crisp white oxford with a navy sweater vest proudly displaying the schools emblem. He was so handsome! So, of course this year would be a repeat of last but for Surfer Dude.

Monday night I carefully laid out the boys clothes so there would be no confusion to what was to be worn. Tuesday morning arrives and there is some kind of noise coming from the boys’ room. Daddy-O comes back in to our room and asks if Surfer Dude has to wear the outfit. I said yes. A few moments pass and surfer Dude is curled in a ball against my dresser make some kind of noise which resembles a cat in heat and an out of tune violin. Intermittently and practically inaudible punctuated by the words too cold and too scratchy. People, the sound he makes when he is upset is like nails on a chalkboard to the 10^th power. I plead a little, beg a little, and cringe a lot, no luck. He is not going to stop making that noise as long as he is wear the oxford and sweater vest. I say in my most calm voice, “If you just say ‘Mommy, I don’t want to wear this.’ in your big boy voice you can change.” And then I leave the room because he continues to make the sound.

He eventually appears at the breakfast table wearing uniform shorts and a long sleeved red polo. At least he is dressed… Oh, and the back of his hair is standing up like Alfalfa from The Little Rascals.

No. 1 Son arrives at the breakfast table wear the nice white polo I laid out for him but not the shorts. He decides he will wear pants. This would not normally be a problem except for the fact that they are way, way, way to short! And he is wearing white sock, black shoes and navy pants. Beautiful! I have longer pants for him however, he WON’T put them on. And his hair is standing up too! At least when he drops is cream cheese bagel on his shirt this morning no one will be able to tell.

Picture Day did not go according to my plan. I guess I did not plan as well as I thought I had. So, as the boys left the house I said a little prayer that their hair would lay down, that No. 1 Son would be standing behind someone else for the class picture, and that all pictures would be taken before lunch. Because what did the boys want for lunch that day, pasta covered in red sauce!

And the winner is...

2009-09-18T16:15:00.001-05:00

Oh magical blender container of potential yummy goodness, who is our luck winner?....

suspense...

suspense...

suspense...

And Surfer Dude says,

Congratulations Jennifer!!!

Fishy Tale

2009-09-17T09:28:00.000-05:00

This is our fish tank. It’s a little cloudy right now for some reason. No big deal, Daddy-O has been faithfully working on it and it is so much better than before. The boys received the fish tank as a gift last Christmas after our dog died. They really wanted another dog but we were about to have a baby so fish would be the new pet. The fish live in their room so the boys are pretty happy.

This morning I went in the room to help them get dressed as I do on most days when I forget to lay out the uniforms the night before. Things are going quite smoothly. I hear The Messenger army crawling down the hall heading for us. He joins us just inside the doorway. I continue to help the older boys as I enjoy the squeals of delight that are coming from The Messenger.

Before I continue on with this riveting story I need to give you a little background information. Daddy-O comes from a family of hunters and fisherman. Our children all received Lifetime Sportsman licenses from my in-laws when they were born and fishing rods as soon as they could walk. At any given time you can find rubber worms and other fishing lures around our house.

As I look over at The Messenger he continues to squeal and I now know why. He holding one of the 100s fishing lures that seem to be everywhere in our house and he is swinging it wildly to his own delight. I look at him. I think, hum… that sure is a big lure… I don’t remember seeing it before. And then I realize it’s our plecostomus! He is supposed to be in the tank! It is times like this when we really need to have a camera crew in our house.

I grab The Messenger trying to keep the dead fish out of his mouth while scream like a mad woman for Daddy-O all the while completely freaking out No. 1 Son. By the time Daddy-O gets the fish out of The Messenger’s hand I am completely unnerved for some reason, No. 1 Son is panic stricken, Surfer Dude is somewhat curious, The Messenger is unaffected, and The Princess is still sound asleep in the room next door. Daddy-O with fish in hand looks at me and heads across the hall to the bathroom for a proper burial at sea when he turns around and says, “Uhhh… I think he’s still alive.” What? How could he still be alive? He has been on the carpet and then shaken like crazy by a baby?

I have no idea how the fish got out of the tank or how long it had been in the carpet. And even a greater mystery is his surviving The Messenger. But for now he is alive and in the tank.

Just another crazy day at The Zoo.

Today's your last chance to win a gift certificate to Las Paletas. Go leave a comment, Sisterhood.

Sisterhood

2009-09-10T07:45:00.000-05:00

True love. So what is true love? True love is when someone drives all the way from Columbia, MO to help you clean your house for a week. I mean seriously clean. With a tooth brush on hands and knees clean. Yes, I do believe that is the definition of true love.

My dear, dear friend Cindy came to visit me last week. Cindy is someone I would call family not just friend. She is more like a sister. People have actually asked if we are sisters. By heart only, no blood relation. I do have a sister; we are not close, mainly because she doesn’t like me. This makes me very, very sad. However, I have Cindy to help fill the space where my sister should be.

Cindy and I meet at work. She was working in abstinence-only education program for a local mental health organization and I was hired to help with a grant that help fund her program. We worked in the same office with the same goals for the program but doing really different things. We hit it off immediately! This was 7 years ago this summer. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long.

Over the past 7 years Cindy and I have been on a few adventure together and apart. She was there when I purchased the pregnancy test and the first to know I was pregnant with No. 1 Son. She then became one of my labor coaches when I had No. 1 Son. She attended all the birthing classes with Daddy-O and I. When the big day arrived she was on her way to a conference in Memphis, I believe. I can’t remember if she was on her to give a presentation or not, but she put on the brakes and headed back to our house. She was there for the remaining twenty hours or so of my twenty-seven hour unmedicated (that’s right, no drugs) labor and delivery. She was awesome, totally rocked. I think Daddy-O many have crashed and burned if she hadn’t been there.

I convinced her to walk a half marathon with me only to be so sick from my pregnancy that I then had to con Daddy-O to walk with her. We have since walk two half marathons together, the Music City here in Nashville and the Louis and Clark in St. Charles, MO. We spent a week ski in Colorado, wrangling three kids, and tightly packed in small room at the hostel we were staying. At some point during this adventure she looked at me and said, “I thought I was busy. You guys are really busy.”

We have rendezvoused in St. Louis for other adventures including visiting the City Museum and wrangling kids at a friend’s wedding which was by a pool. She has used our house as a staging area when she was in a friend of hers wedding here in Nashville. And we were blessing to have her as one of the Godmother’s of The Messenger.

We both have gone through some dark times, ironically at during the same time. Mine was postpartum depression with Surfer Dude. Hers was the job situation she was in and just trying to figure out what she was going to do with her career and her life after moving back to Missouri to be closer to family.

Since those darker days we both have been shinning much brighter. Cindy went back to school to become a nurse for which she is first-rate. She doesn’t give herself enough credit for being such a good nurse. She is smart, kind and filled with compassion. She just finished her three year indentured servitude to the University of Missouri. Ding! You are now free to move about the country. Which is really convenient because Tom, who is also an uber smart, kind and compassionate guy, just asked Cindy to marry him!!! IT’S ABOUT TIME TOM! Oops! Did I say that out loud?

So, Cindy came to Tennessee to help me clean my house from top to bottom. Because that’s what sisters do for each other. We had such a great time we talked the entire time about life, work, weddings, getting married, weddings, kids, money, weddings, not having any money, houses, family, and weddings. Did I mention that we talked about wedding stuff?

It wasn’t all work and no play. We also left the house a few times. We HAD to go to the popsicle store of course, twice. We also went to get my haircut and then out to dinner at Cantina Laredo. Where, by the way, we saw Reba McEntire. She said she LOVED my new haircut. No, that’s a lie. We didn’t speak to Reba. Cindy actually had to point her out to me. I failed Country Music Star Identification class. There was also someone from Lone Star. I have no idea what his name is or what he looks like. She said he was there and I believe her.

Cindy is back in Missouri preparing to buy a house, plan a wedding, move to Saint Louis, get a new job, and marry Tom all in the next twelve months. Yikes! That is a lot to do. I am extremely excited for her as she embarks on her new adventures and am looking forward to hearing all the details in the months to come. And planning the wedding cake I’m going to make!

In honor of Cindy and all the sisters that are really sisters to us and all the girlfriends that should be our sisters I am giving away a gift certificate to the popsicle store. The gift certificate is for two popsicles.* Now you can take your sister out for a treat and tell her how much you love her.

If you are local or willing to commute for the world’s greatest popsicle leave a comment by Thursday, September 17 to be entered into the drawing.

*This post is not sponsored by the popsicle store. I used my own well-earned-squirreled-away-money because this place rocks and we all should spend a little more time with the ones we love.

New Do

2009-09-02T22:48:00.000-05:00

Before.

During...

After!!!

What do you think?!?

I know, it was about time I cut my hair! It was really looking disheveled. I have been wanting a new do but wasn't having any luck with what to do with it. A few weeks ago I took the monkeys in to have their hair cut when I mentioned to Cassie that I really needed something new.

A little history:
Cassie used to cut my hair about 10 years ago when she was just getting started in the business. Since then she has started her own salon, EYECANDY. Daddy-O and I both went to her way back then. He has been a loyal client ever since. I on the other hand, not so loyal. Not because she wasn't any good (she total rocks!) but because of money, time, job, location, kids, etc. You get the picture. When the monkeys needed someone other than an untrained, non-professional, ahem... me to cut their hair I took them to the local discount hair cutting place. They didn't do such a good job. After about a year of okay haircuts I called up Cassie and she started cutting their hair. Now they are loyal clients.

Okay, where was I... Oh, yes monkey hair cuts. As always she did a great job on their hair and we went home. A few days later I received a card in the mail. It had a little note from Cassie saying she had a few idea for a sassy new hair cut for me. I was so excited, I immediately called and made an appointment. Let me just say, she did not disappoint. I think she did an awesome job! Now I just have to find the extra money in the budget to keep going back. I wonder how much money I could make selling plasma?

*This post is not sponsored by Cassie or EYECANDY. She did such a great job I just want everyone to know! Okay, let's be realistic, the six people that read my blog, I want to let you know.

Tzatziki Sauce

2009-08-30T16:25:00.000-05:00

With the overabundance of cucumbers this time a year I thought this would be a good recipe to share. Tzatziki is typically serviced with gyros and other Mediterranean dishes. I think it's a great dip for veggies and pretzels, plus it's a great way to sneak another vegetable in on your kids!

32 oz container of plain yogurt drained*
2 medium cucumbers peeled and seeded
4 green onions roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tsp dill
1 tbs lemon juice

Place all ingredients in the food processor. Pulse until well combined.

Enjoy!

*To drain yogurt place a coffee filter in a strainer, dump in yogurt. Place the strainer over a bowl, return to the refrigerator. Check frequently to make sure the strainer is not setting in the whey. The longer it strains, the more whey removed, the thicker your dip will be. I prefer my yogurt to be the consistency of cream cheese; the cucumbers will thin the yogurt when processed.

A Birthday Fit for a Knight

2009-08-26T12:54:00.000-05:00

A Castle Cake

Defenders of the Castle

Silver - Good

Black - Bad

Swords and Shields for Party Favors

Two Knights and a Princess

The Knight and his Castle

The Knight and his Take-along Castle

The Knight and his very cool castle book

Surfer Dude had a Knights and Castle party for is 5th birthday. Castle cake thanks to mom and swords and shields compliments of a very cool and handy Daddy-O. We usually have the monkeys' parties here at the Zoo with family and a couple of family friends. This year we headed to Daddy-O's parents' house for the weekend so we could get one more weekend at the lake. So, we hauled the party to the end of earth where there were no children. This was the party that should have been at home with a bunch of kids invited. What would have been more fun than a herd of small children dressed in medieval attire wielding wooden swords and shields?!?

Guilt in a 4 oz. Jar

2009-08-26T12:15:00.000-05:00

Sunday night I did the grocery shopping for the week. Between Daddy-O and me it's the event one of us get the pleasure of attending. This week it was me. Yippee!!! Some quiet time to myself.

On the list this week was baby food. I headed down the aisle that housed all things baby. As I approached the little jars of food I had an overwhelming feeling of guilt. The Messenger would be the first to no have homemade baby food. There were two reasons for this decision: one, I'm work and have less time, and two, I felt with the variety of baby food options maybe he would be open to eating more and different things unlike the two older boys. These are reasonable and acceptable reasons for my decision. None the less I stand before the rows and rows of little jars and containers with a pit in my stomach. I make my selection from the sea of options and head home knowing that these feelings are just crazy.

Fast forward 12 or so hours. Remove one of before mentioned little jars, offer it to The Messenger, he won't eat it. Try again the next meal, nope, doesn't like. The next day offer a different variety, no dice. What is the deal? I stood in the grocery store aisle racked with guilt trying to make the best choices for you and you won't eat it?

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Summer Reading

2009-08-19T16:41:00.001-05:00

This is what the summer reading looked like at the Z00. We read 173 books this summer. My goal was to read all of our children's books. We only accomplished about 1/3 of my goal. It was loftier than I anticipated!

So, what was in the stacks this summer? There were a lot of books from the Imagination Library. A few of my favorites were Good Night Gorilla, The Mine-O-Saur, and Take Care, Good Knight. The one Imagination Library book I hate: Red Red Red. I can't put my finger on it but I do not like this book and dread reading e-v-e-r-y time. There were award winners like Make Way for Duckings, Were the Wild Things Are, and How Do Dogs Really Work? The Ugly Duckling, Giant Treasury of Peter Rabbit, Curious George, and Buford the Little Bighorn were some of the classics. We read a couple of books written by stars: I'm Gonna Like Me, Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem by Jamie Lee Curtis and a book by Madonna, no not The Madonna's 101 Ways to Raise a Messiah. Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna is actually very good. There was also a whole stack of Golden Books, who doesn't love a Golden Book?

Some random favorites of mine are Weslandia, Never Too Little to Love, Lift and Look Castle and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. The boys love anything Star Wars. Strangely, one of No. One Son's favorite books is an encyclopedia printed in 1965. Specifically, it's volume 1 A-An of the little Young People's Science Encyclopedia. The Princess loves Llama Lama Red Pajama, Never Too Little Too Love, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Where the Wild Things Are, and Good Night Gorilla. We read these every day and most days at least twice.

Some of my non-kid reading included Beowulf, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and currently The Canon by Natalie Angier.

So, what was in your stack?

Happy Birthday Surfer Dude

2009-08-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

90% for weight and 95% for height; hopefully, brains to match!

I can hardly believe you are 5 years old today. It really takes my breath away. It's as if over night you grew-up. As I think back I can remember the month you changed from a little boy to big boy you are becoming. It was December of last year just before The Messenger arrived.

When you were smaller you had to touch the mole on my neck when I would lay down beside when you would take a nap or when you would sit in my lap or if you needed comforting. When you were much smaller you would just come over and sit by me just to touch it. I think you were just checking in with me. You would put one of your little fingers on it. I think you did it because you could feel my heart beat. But you do not need that anymore.

You started riding a bike when you were about three. You loved to go fast and make quick turns, such a daredevil! You still are. The day The Messenger arrived you decided it was time to get rid of the training wheels. It was only the day before that No. 1 Son removed his. You still like to ride fast and make quick and daring maneuvers around things but now your are learning to pop a wheelie!

You don't take naps anymore. You still need one sometimes and if you stay still long enough will fall asleep. There was a time before last December that I could coax you into a nap if I lay down beside you. No more, you know that trick and you also know that it still works on you.

Yes, he is really asleep. I found him here just like this on The Princess's floor. Daddy-O and The Princess are asleep on her bed.

He apparently stopped for a minute.

You use to love to snuggle. I love to snuggle with you. You don't like to snuggle as much anymore. It's always on your terms. It makes me sad that I can't cuddle you as much as I want. You are just to busy being a boy.

You have always been independent. You practically potty trained yourself. You have always liked to get dressed on your own; you have picked out some very stylish outfits. Some days you would come out of your room with your shirt on backwards. When I would say something about it you would always reply with, "I like it that way!" And, I'm sure you did.

You continue to be independent. Now you can pour your own drink and make your own toast. You have been know to make some crazy concoctions for breakfast and lunch; bread with cream cheese and cold refried beans or biscuits with jelly, sausage, cheese and honey or peanut butter and cheese sandwiches.

In 3 days you will start kindergarten and it's all so bitter sweet. Another notch in your belt of independence. I'm so excited for and your new adventure but I am missing my little boy that loved to cuddle and wear his shirts backwards.

Happy Birthday Surfer Dude! Mommy loves you so much!

Closest Blogging

2009-08-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

So, why don't I tell Daddy-O about the blog? That's a question I've been pondering. It's not like I have any deep dark secrets lurking around here or that I write badgering post about him that I don't want him to see. He know how I feel about him good and bad, 99.9% good and .1% bad with a margin of error of + or - 4 points.

I think I just wanted something that was just me. A place to try and be creative, which I don't think I've been very successful. But that's ok, it's not a competion. Also, I'm a terrible writer. I know this about myself. I commuicate better in person. I can tell a really good story and make people laugh. I not that successful with the written word. Blogging is a challenge for me. I have to try really hard most of the time. But that's ok. I can come here and write and practice and be challenged.

None of this really explains why I don't want the person who knows me the best in the world to see. But it is what it is.

Now if Daddy-O has a blog I don't know about his. But if he did it would be awesome. He is a wonderful writer. His gift is in the written word not the spoken. He's an introvert. He is a thinker. He's not into small talk. He hates to talk on the phone. When he puts pen to paper amazing prose appears filled with much though and emotion. He's the writer of the family. He would not judge or criticize my blog but I'm still not ready to let him know about it. One day, maybe. But not today.

This post was brought to you by the generosity of my in laws who we are staying with, Daddy-O who has taken the big boys fishing, The Princess who is playing in the tub and The Messenger who is napping all unbeknown to any of them.

Margarit-Her and Closet Blogging

2009-07-28T16:44:00.000-05:00

Part 1:

I did something new Saturday evening. I attended my first blogging event. I had a great time and meet lots of hot blogging mommas. We gather at Cantina Laredo in The Gulch.

I started the evening off with a Pomegranate Margarita (my first margarita ever!) and guacamole made table side.

That's what I call fresh!

And ended the evening with a yummy 12 layer cake. Special thanks to Michelle and Jordana for helping me eat it. (It was MUCH bigger than the sample.)

Oh! And I can't forget, I won tickets to the Wiggles! This is pretty funny since I've never seen the Wiggles. The kids will love it even if they don't know who the Wiggles are.

***********************************************************************

Part 2:

I've been blogging for almost a year. And I have a confession to make; I’m a closet blogger. That’s right, I said it, I’m a closet blogger. So, what exactly is a closet blogger you might ask? Well, I write a blog that my husband and family know nothing about. A very, very few friends know about my blog, like 5 tops. I only know of 3 that read it and thankfully one of those faithfully leaves comments. I love comments! That’s one of my favorite parts of reading other peoples blogs.

OK, back to being a closet blogger. It's really hard to write a blog when your significant other has no idea that you are trying to blog. (And if he does know he needs to come clean now so this won't be so hard.) It's very difficult to write during the day for me. With it being summer and 4 monkeys hanging around needing to be fed, finding time to sit at the computer can be challenging. The problem with writing at night is that Daddy-O is home. Our computer and TV are in the living room side by side. There is no need to explain why that doesn't work. So for now I am going to have to live with infrequent and convert posting. Hopefully, once school begins in a few weeks I'll have a little more time during the day. It has taken me 4 days to write this!

But really people, when do you find time to write?

Warning: Enter at your own risk!

2009-07-23T18:03:00.000-05:00

I’m pretty sure a bomb went off in our house last week. That can be the only explanation for the debris all over the place. By Friday our house was completely trashed. I’m not really sure what happened. It was awful. I am certain if I post a picture the Department of Children’s Services would soon be knocking on my door.

Our house was a trashed inside and out. The lawn need to be mowed. I think every action figure, Lego man, Star Wars character, boat, car, truck, ATV, and any other random toy you can think of was strategically placed on our carport and deck. The rest of the toys the boys own were tossed all over the playroom floor. Dirty clothes were erupting from every hamper. The kitchen was a disaster. There were papers piled EVERYWHERE! There were books in stacks all over the house. I could go on and on. I’m just grateful that we don’t have a dog right now.

Of course a pig sty of a house is not going to stop me from some much needed social interaction. We invited some friends over on Friday evening for an impromptu marshmallow roasting. Thanks God it was dark. I tried to hide the mess by leaving the lights off and praying that no one went in the house. However, in the event someone did need to go inside I kick path through the playroom, turn off all the lights, and turn the dim little nightlight on in the bathroom. I figured they would stay on the cleared out path and could follow the dim light to the bathroom if the facilities were needed. I don’t know how well I disguised the sty but to my knowledge no one was injured by tripping over toys or being buried under an avalanche of dirty clothes.

By Saturday evening the lawn was mowed and most to the toys were back in the house. I did between 8 and 10 loads of laundry; I started losing count. I could see the kitchen counters again by Sunday morning and the piles of papers were mostly gone by Wednesday.

I’m thinking about exchange all the kids toys for dusting clothes, brooms and toilet bowl brushes. That should cut down on the clutter and clean up the place all in one shot. Only one outfit every two days; the baby can just wear a diaper. Finally, we will all start drinking out of the milk and juice jugs and at meal times everyone can grab a fork and eat out of the pan. Oh… we should get a goat for the lawn. He can eat the grass and the toys left outside.

We need a housekeeper…

and someone to pay her…

or a dumpster.

I need a drink...

2009-07-14T20:32:00.000-05:00

I've never been much of a drinker. I bottle of champagne once a year was about the extent of it. But after today I think I could through back a few drinks. Today has really been a pretty good day. The kids have been good. I got some serious snuggles from all my monkeys. The weather was nice. Dinner was easy and everyone ate. I got to go to work. I even met someone new and saw someone I haven't seen in a long time. Overall, it's been a really good day.

Except for one little thing. We are half-way through July. It takes approximately $55,000 each month to pay all the bills and make payroll at the office. uuhh... We have gotten in $700 this month. Enough said. Bartender make it a double and keep them coming...

The Grass is Greener

2009-06-11T22:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with a new friend and her 5 children. The children and I had a great time and look forward to spending more time with them. I look at most mothers and feel like they have it all together. I marvel at what they accomplish. I always wonder how they keep their houses clean, get their children to behavior, stay so calm, act so chipper, have gardens, work, raise their children, love their husbands, worship God, have a prayer life, go places, get to go on dates, not look like train wrecks 85% of the time, etc. You get what I mean. Mothers amaze me. This mom was no exception.

She is a Catholic homeschooling mom of 5 with a cute house, nice yard, and beautiful garden. And she didn’t look like she had been hit by a bus. She is very sweet and cheerful. There was something magical about her home. I don’t really know how to explain it. There seemed to be a lot of hope and excitement for the future there. And don’t mean the Obama Hope crap. It was a place where imaginations could run wild and dreams could come true. Maybe it was because there were 9 children in the house. Maybe it was all the beautiful icons. Maybe it was the 100 year old house speaking to me. I don’t know.

I left her house thinking I could have beautiful flower beds and a vegetable garden. That I could home school my children without having to start drinking and taking handfuls of psychotropic medications. Moms inspire me. Yesterday I was inspired by another great mom. So, the grass on the other side of her white picket fence (I’m not making this up, she has a white picket fence) looks a little greener than the grass on this side of my chain link fence.
I’m not envious or jealous. I really love seeing how other moms be moms. But it does make me wonder what other moms think when they visit our little zoo, if they think anything at all.

1 Down 79 To Go

2009-04-05T19:53:00.000-05:00

Eighty. That is the number of baby teeth that will be lost in our house by the time it is all over with. That is a whole lot of teeth especially for someone who gets the serious hee-bee-gee-bees when it comes to teeth. However, No. 1 Son lost his first tooth on Thursday evening and he and I fair the situation quite well I might add. His tooth was so loose. He would push on it with his tongue and it would practically be at a right angle to his other teeth. I kept telling his to just pull it and get it over with for the past few days. Finally, on Thursday night he did it. I'm sure he thought it was going to hurt. It didn't even bleed a drop. After he pulled it out I had to bride him to take his picture. It cost me a dollar. We don't do the tooth fairy so he got a dollar for losing his tooth; he liked that. I think a dollar is pretty good. I got a dime when I was little.

As you can see from the picture you can hardly see a gap. His teeth are so crowded. I'm sure we will be getting are referral to the orthodontist the next time we go to the dentist. Ugh! Please send donation to the No. 1 Son's dental fund.

The Wisdom of the Zoo

2009-02-04T20:56:00.000-06:00

This evening as I was cleaning up the dishes from dinner I asked No. 1 Son if he wanted leftovers for lunch tomorrow. He had three helps for dinner so if was a logical question. He said no. I asked him what he wanted and he told me. Then he said, "And I want this to drink!"He grabbed a bottle of Caffeine Free Coke that was on the counter. I said no. OK. I didn't just say no. I said if I give you that to drink Mrs. Wilson will shoot me. And then he said in a very excited voice, "Mrs. Wilson doesn't even use a gun! She doesn't even like toy guns or bows and arrows!" The wisdom of a 6 year old.

The other day I had a glass of ice water which I almost always do. Surfer Dude says to me, "Mommy you need to drink that before your ice gets hot."

So that's why they're so skinny...

2009-01-26T13:00:00.000-06:00

I've always wondered why my children are thin. They most definitely did not take after me. I mostly assumed they were thin because they were so active. However, it was revealed to me this weekend.

I swear I have been sweeping entire meals off the floor for the last few months. I'm not talking a few crumbs but a whole meal: protein, carbohydrate, veggie, fruit. How can so much food hit the floor? I've put a moratorium on cracker eating in the house. If you want a cracker you have to eat it outside. I don't care if it's 15 degrees, put on a coat. The amount on food on the floor is ridiculous!

So, why so much food on the floor in the past few months? Violet, our beloved crumbing eating dog, died a few months back. Ah ha! Okay, I'm a little slow sometimes. But hey, I've been pregnant the last 8 months. The pieces of the puzzle all came together this weekend. If they would just eat the food every one's weight would be at least in the average range and I would not have to sweep so much.

The food goes in the mouth people! Not on the floor!

So many things to say, so little time and memory

2009-01-17T21:19:00.000-06:00

There are so many things I have been wanting to write about. However, I have a couple of things going against me right now. First, I'm really tired. Second, I can't remember what I want to write about. I think the second is directly related to the first. If given the opportunity I think I could sleep for at least 12 hours straight. However, I would have one hungry baby and I would be sleeping in a pool of milk.

I've been trying to remember some of the things I wanted to write about in hopes of one day writing. I have come up with a couple of things: Surfer Dude's growing up, Gratitude for all the food people have brought us, the labor and delivery of The Messenger, the FOCA novena, Why I'm so cold and exhausted. These are just a couple of the things I want to write about. I know there are more because I have this nagging feeling that I'm forgetting something. Oh well, one day I will remember or not. Hopefully, I will remember since the point of this blog is to help me remember this time in my life when I'm old and can't remember.

Now what was I saying?

Why is this so exciting?

2009-01-13T17:00:00.000-06:00

Can someone tell me why this machine is so fascinating to the little people in my life? Anyone who's gaze falls upon this device is not stirred with giddy anticipation of getting to use it. There are two main thoughts for me: 1, I'm so engorged I think my breast will explode or 2, I should have a little milk in the freezer in the event I'm hospitalized or get to go on a date with Daddy-O. I see hospitalization a more likely event then a date.

However, when this thing is turned on the kids come running. It's hard enough to relax when you're hooked up to the milk machine. Then I get the added bonus of 3 little people starring at me asking questions and providing a running commentary. What's this for? What's that for? Why do you nipples do that? I think it's saying hull-a-ba-lu... on and on and on... which leads to the following email I received from No. 1 Son's teacher the first day he was back to school.

Lori,

I think you will get a kick out of this. While waiting for you to arrive at dismissal, upon seeing your car drive up, No. 1 Son made a comment about seeing his car. I asked him who was picking him up today (thinking perhaps the routine was different because of the baby). He said you. I then said “I bet your Momma is so tired.” He goes “she has been pumping milk all morning!” It was funny hearing that from a little boy! He was so matter of fact about it. I then told him that yes, between that, and changing diapers and taking care of the other children...Moms get tired”. He reported that his brother was a big help with the legos. It was a sweet and humorous conversation.

I didn't get a chance to show the pictures to the class today, but I will tomorrow. Thanks!

Hope all continues well!

Mrs. W.

Oh the things a 6-year-old will say.

The Messenger

2009-01-02T19:53:00.000-06:00

It is official, we are 6 @ the zoo. On December 29 at 5:54 am The Messenger joined our family. He actually arrived on his due date. Maybe he will always be punctual? He weighed in at 9 lbs and 6 oz. and is 22 inches long.

Welcome to the Zoo little guy!

The Meltdown

2008-12-23T21:43:00.000-06:00

I had a complete meltdown today. I had enough. I think I have been a little over stimulated. With Christmas, Daddy-O's company tanking, the impending birth of this baby, all of the kids being home all of the time, Lego's all over the playroom floor, I guess it was destine to happen. The monkeys have been particularly crazy here at the Zoo. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the weather. It's been either raining or below freezing. Playing outside for any length of time is pretty difficult. I've tried to let them play creatively indoors. Lots of pretend. Lots of Star Wars. OK, too much Star Wars. But, oh my! They are just so LOUD! I can barely stand it. I trying to get them to keep the loud down in the playroom, it doesn't stay, ever.

At 4:00 pm today I lost it. I was at the other end of the house putting away clothes when I couldn't take it anymore. They were playing Star Wars and pretend a Mylar balloon was a probe droid. They just keep hitting the thing with their light saber and sword. I couldn't stand the sound. I yelled something about fighting and all the noise and then took the balloon cut it up and through it in the trash. Then I returned to the playroom to tell them that I had enough of all the noise and mess and I was about to leave and never come back.... I'm a terrible mother. You do not say stuff like that to your children. Then I cried hysterically for the next 30 minutes. I called Daddy-O at work and told him he needed to come home.

What do my sweet over stimulating monkeys do for me while I'm sobbing out of control on the couch? They actually quiet down a bit. Then they come to me with an old Happy Meal bag full of presents. No. 1 Son made me 3 paper airplanes and Surfer Dude gave me two sheets of stickers and a little picture he drew of me. Now I feel worse than ever and I'm crying because they are so sweet. They sit beside me and I just hold them and tell them how much a love them and how sorry I am. They still love me. Why? I'm not really sure. But I'm glad they do.

Daddy-O gets home and looks really puzzled. The Princess and No. 1 Son are coloring at the dining room table. Surfer Dude is collecting more presents for me in the playroom. I'm sitting on the couch all puffy eyed and runny nosed. And the house is quiet. It was entirely too peaceful for normal, especially after the call to come home. We talk a little and he says "See, they do listen to you. You just have to be really, really sad for them to do what you want." Thanks Daddy-O, but I don't want this to happen for them to listen to me.

The end is near

2008-12-22T13:21:00.000-06:00

Well, I don't think it will be much longer now. I'm 39 weeks today, there really isn't that much time left. I'm sitting on the couch trying to type with the laptop on what's left of my lap. There is not really any space. The computer is touching my stomach and someone keeps kicking it.

My sister-in-law, Jan, called this morning, she asked what I was doing. My answer, "Cleaning the house." With great enthusiasum and excitement she says, "Are you nesting?" Uhhh, no. I'm trying not to live in complete and total filth. I think everyone is about to explode about when the baby will be born.

I try not to think too much about when the baby will be here. I still need to do some things like type out the instructions for taking care of the kids. That would be really helpful. I would like to go buy a boy and a girl coming home from the hospital outfit. Daddy-O would appreciate not having to go to the store after we had the baby. I need to wash the car seat and dig out the thingy that goes in it to keep the baby from flopping around. I would like to have some food in the house. It would be nice to have the Christmas presents all wrapped. Oh yah, and The Princess's doll high chair finished and all the kids blankets sewn and then the sewing machine put away. And I really need to make the kids' t-shirts for when the baby is born. Now for the true nesting item, clean the carpets. I guess if someone calls and I'm cleaning the carpets I would probably say I'm nesting. But for now I'm just trying to keep the basics under control: laundry, dishes, feeding, and food off the floor.

I have been thinking about what day would be nice to have the baby. If it's a girl, it would be really nice to have her on January 1 since it's the Solemnity of Mary. Of course I would have to miss the holy day mass because I was in the hospital, but I do believe that having a baby is a "good reason" for missing mass on a holy day of obligation. If I had the baby on Tuesday, December 30th and it was a boy there would be the tradition of having my boys on Tuesdays. It would just add to my continued confusion of the boys' birth dates since they would all be born on dates divisible by 5 which for some reason always makes me stop and think before I can answer the birthday question. I have to teach an NFP class on January 8. It would be really nice to be out of the hospital by then or at least not in labor that night. I just want this little one to be here safe and sound exactly when he or she is supposed to be here.

It would be nice to have an idea when the big day might be. Daddy-O's family's Christmas is going to be on the 29th. I have said for a long time, months, that we would not be traveling there for the big get-together. Now I'm having second thoughts. Which is crazy because they live two hours from our house and the nearest hospital to their home is an hour away! I don't know what I'm thinking. May be I have a secret desire to have this baby in the car? NOT! Even if we did go, we would have to go early in the day so we could get home at a decent hour. And as of this morning they plan on having thier Christmas at 5:00. That's just too late. We wouldn't be getting home until midnight.

The end is near. When exactly, only the Lord knows. I'm going to enjoy these last few days of my pregnancy as it will most likely will be my last which makes me sad. But I'm going to enjoy this last few moments of being pregnant and my wiggly baby.

I guess I'm an ass

2008-12-15T13:28:00.000-06:00

I really get tired of people emailing stuff that really doesn't pertain to me. My sister sent me this email with an attachment about the longest (Psalm 119), the shortest (Psalm 117), and the center (Psalm 118) chapter of the Bible . It also said that there were 594 chapters before and after chapter 118 for a total 1188 chapters in the Bible. And finally there was the center verse of the Bible, Psalm 118:8 which says, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." The pictures were nice and the sentiment was nice, but come on I CATHOLIC. I don't even use a King James Bible. Besides, this just sounds like a bunch of numerology to me. But, I'm not going to get into that.

The part that makes me an ass. I email my sister back the following:

Subject: The Bible - interesting but not true for all Bibles

This is only true for the Protestant Bible. Our Bible, which was the first bible, contains the apocryphal books which make the center something else. These books where removed during the reformation to separate the Protestants from the Catholics.

She replies with the following:

The sentiment is still beautiful, that’s why I sent it. I don’t need a lesson from you.

Okay, I guess I could have said something nice and then mentioned the other stuff. And I miss spoke a little when I said out Bible was the first. What I meant was first there was the Catholic Bible and then there was the Protestant Bible. After sending her an apologetic email I looked up this whole middle of the Bible stuff; it's all bogus. This whole center thing isn't even true for the King James Version.

Now I'm on my soap box.

I'm not a blanket forwarded. If I'm going to forward something to someone I'm going to make sure first that it's true and second that it's appropriate. I don't believe in luck. I don't believe there is anything magical about sending some prayer to 10 people in the next 10 minutes or I'll have bad luck or whatever the crap the claim is. I believe in God and Jesus Christ His son. And as Christian we are to have no other gods. Which to me means not being superstitions and putting my faith in some email. If there is a nice prayer being circulated that's fine. Take the time to edit the non-faith stuff out. And make sure the information is true!

Does anyone have an opinion about this? Or am I the only one bothered. I sure would like some feedback.

A Rare and Illusive Photo

2008-12-09T21:15:00.000-06:00

OK, this is truly are rare and illusive occasion. And seeing that this will probably be the last time I'm pregnant, which makes me sad and is a whole other story, I thought I would post this. A picture of me pregnant. I'm rarely on this side of the camera as most moms are on the picture taking side. And I never really think about having my own picture taken. So, here I am in all my glory, 37 weeks to the day!

I'm usually a worry wart

2008-12-05T11:28:00.000-06:00

I had a prenatal appointment this morning. The baby and I are perking along nicely. The midwife checked the position of the wee one. Wee one is not really head down. He/she is resting its head on my right hip. Class, can we say breached baby? Margaret, my midwife, says that this is not a big baby and there is still plenty of room for the him/her to move around.

I not really concerned about it. I guess a more correct response would be, I'm not concerned at all. And that is how I've been for this entire pregnancy concerning other things. The way I see it with the whole breached situation is the worst case scenario is I have to have a c-section. I'm not trilled with the idea of having major surgery, I don't know who would be, but I still get the baby. And that's what pregnancy is all about, the prize at the end. The bouncing baby boy or girl.

Again, the grace of God is all over me this year, not that He wasn't there before. The spirit is just really strong this time. At my very first prenatal appointment Margaret said my uterus was measuring larger than normal. So, what does that mean? One of two things: fourth baby = bigger uterus or more than one baby.This was a shock for me. I was planning on having my fourth baby not my fourth and fifth. There was some serious shock. If I said OK one time I must of said it 100 while I listen to her. A million thoughts raced through my head. God blessed me with an ultrasound that very day and the presence of one little baby. See now really worry just stunned for a little while.

The next time I saw Margaret she did a routine blood draw. I found out that I didn't have any platelets. You know the stuff in blood that keeps you from bleeding to death if you get cut. OK, I had some but nothing in the range of normal. This was really odd to me since I use to be a platelet donor for the Red Cross and could do a double donation because I had so many platelets. I didn't worry about it, I assumed it was some kind of lab error. There was another blood test to recheck and again a really low platelet count. I still didn't worry. I wasn't even a little bit concerned. Then there was talk of an auto-immune disorder. Still not worried. More blood work. No auto-immune disorder. See, nothing to worry about.

I really could get used to this no-worrying lifestyle. I like it. I didn't even flip out a little when Daddy-O came home the other night really worried about the state of the company. Normally, I would have joined him in panic. Nope not this time. Complete calm and composure. It was really strange. Nice, but strange.

So, here I sit with a crooked baby inside me and a husband in a financial panic. And I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than fine. I'm festive. I'm not worried. It's Advent. We are preparing for the coming of our Savior and all things are good. All things will be fine just as they are supposed to be.

Time to Decorate

2008-12-04T19:41:00.000-06:00

I'm not usually a Saturday-After-Thanksgiving kind of Christmas decorator. Growing up we never put our tree up until the week maybe two before Christmas and then it would stay up just past Epiphanie. I have followed that tradition for the most part until this year. We put our tree up the Saturday after Christmas. It took all day Saturday and part of Sunday morning before church. Our tree is not that big, it's just that there is more to putting up a tree than just putting up a tree. In our house it involves cleaning and then rearranging furniture, which took the biggest part of Saturday. I thought the boys would explode before we got to the point which we could put on the decorations. They survived and had a blast!

I'm not really sure why I wanted the tree up so early this year. It's usually a struggle for me to get up the gumption to even think about decorating. The year I was pregnant with The Princess my sister-in-law was so concerned the boys wouldn't have a tree she came to help and make sure it got put up. Ever since my mother died Christmas always makes me a little sad. Not this year! I am feeling incredibly festive. It's very strange. Maybe it's the impending doom of the economy that makes me want to have one last hoorah before the economy collapses and Daddy-O doesn't have any work.

Daddy-O and I decided we would just put up the tree and a few other things and not worry about all the other decoration. It really only makes sense considering the baby is due right after Christmas. So, that's what we did this past weekend. However, I want more! He has agreed to acquiesce to my request. So, tomorrow night I get to put up more stuff!!! Which means I have to put away a bunch of other stuff. This is probably a good and needed event, there is some serious dusting that needs to go on in our house!

I really don't have a lot of room to put much stuff but I'll find a spot or two for the things I want out. I guess if I didn't have four nativity scenes I might have a little extra space. Yes, four: a traditional ceramic scene, a Playmobil, Little People, and The Princess' plush set. If I had my way and a couple of extra thousand dollars I would have a life-size set in the front yard and every piece Fontanini makes in my living room. My living room would look like the lower-level of St. Mary's Bookstore!

Again, it's really strange to me that I want to do all this. I think God has blessed me with a little extra energy to do it all so that really helps. He gets full credit for my deposition as well. Maybe my mom has been talking to the Big Guy since we plan on naming the baby after her side of the family this time.

I'm even thinking about having an open house the weekend before Christmas so the neighbors we know can meet the new neighbors next door. We'll have to see how that comes together. It sounds like fun. I don't mind having parties. What I do mind is the clean-up! Yuck! My guess is we'll have the open house, I'll go into labor before I get everything cleaned up, and then be mortified by the disaster left at my home as I rush off to the hospital.

So, at our house the Christmas music in playing, the Christmas scented candles are burning, the tree is lit, and I'm feeling festive. Come on by!

I'm probably going to Hell

2008-12-03T11:48:00.000-06:00

Let's just get to the point shall we? I HATE the song Christmas Shoes. I have had the Christmas music on since Saturday that's only four days and I'm already sick of the song. I think the station plays it more than any other song.

At any rate I'm probably going to Hell because I despise a Christmas song about a little boy who buys is mother a special gift just before she dies.

Move over folks, I'll bring the s'mores.

Just call me June Cleaver

2008-11-21T21:26:00.000-06:00

With the exception of the pearls and heels I most definitely had a June Cleaver evening. I cooked dinner in real clothes that most people would not be embarrassed to be seen in public wearing. I had a prenatal check-up this morning so I actually took a shower, put on make-up and jewelry, and fixed my hair (I use the term fixed very lightly; when you have crazy hair, fixing isn’t what you do to it.). I have to say I held it together fairly well through most of the day.

It’s Friday evening; a time when most people are worn out from a long week, including us stay at home moms. When thoughts of take-out, feeding the family peanut butter and cracker, or just making them fin for themselves run ramped through the mind of the primary food provider. Tonight was no exception. However, the menu on the refrigerator plainly stated what was to be served. The menu has been planned and food had been purchased; I must carry out the plan. So what is being served at the Zoo this evening you might ask yourself? Are you setting down? If not, you need to be. Lobster Newberg, shrimp and popovers. I know, what am I thinking and who eats Lobster Newberg at home with three kids and one on the way on Friday night? Well, Daddy-O requested popovers at the beginning of the week. Growing up we only had popovers with Lobster Newberg so that’s what I made.

Let me digress at little and explain the lobster when I was younger. One might think if I grew up eating lobster in landlocked middle Tennessee that I came from a family with some cash. One would be very wrong to think this. During most of my childhood my parents qualified for food stamps and we could have received free or reduced price lunch at school. My father was unemployed for quite awhile after he retired from the Navy because he was overqualified for most jobs where we lived. However, we lived on a farm so we always had food which really, really helped. We raised cows, pigs, chickens, and tobacco (no we did not eat the tobacco, we sold it for money) and we always had a garden. I would not have called us poor, we just didn’t have much. My dad grew up incredibly poor but always had food because he grew up on the farm I grew up on. My mother grew up incredibly poor and a lot of times went hungry because she lived in the city in Massachusetts. Food makes a huge difference when it comes to being poor. Pepére, my mother’s dad, was a wheeler and dealer. He would swap and trade for anything. Odd boxes would show up at our home throughout my childhood. One time he made some kind of deal with a fabric store. We had boxes of fabric. We made all kinds of things including a prom dress. He and my Memére would come to visit every other year and they always brought fresh seafood from Massachusetts when they came. There would be all kinds of stuff: lobsters and clams, chow mien noodles from Fall River, coffee syrup, Portuguese sausages, etc. All of which came courtesy of some trade he made or piece of junk he strip for metals to sell. We would feast the first night and freeze the rest for the months to come. We didn’t have much but we ate well!

Back to Friday night. I’m looking all modern day June Cleaver in my cute outfit cooking out of my mother’s Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. First, I start the popovers; they will take 45 minutes in the oven. I move on to the Newberg sauce. I get the water ready for the shrimp. Back to the Newberg sauce, keep stirring and pray that The Princess doesn’t have a meltdown. I don’t think I will be able to pull this off if I have to hold The Princess, stir the sauce and temper the egg yolk all at the same time. Thank you God! No major meltdowns! Time to put the lobster in the sauce, which isn’t really lobster. A lobster walked by some Pollock which was then taken to a fish plant and formed in to something that doesn’t really resemble or taste like lobster and then put in a package called Lobster Classic. It has enough lobster in it to send my sister-in-law in to anaphylactic shock. It’s close enough for us; we can’t afford a lobster this week. Boil the shrimp. The popovers look amazing! Thanks mom! I’m sure she intervened from heaven to make them turn out so nice. Popovers, ready. Shrimp, ready. Lobster Newberg, ready. Table set. Oh, look who just pulled in the driveway. Daddy-O is warmly greeted at the door by his children (ok, it’s more like a freakishly loud and crazy greeting). Dinner is on the table. Another feeding time at the Zoo brought to you by the Pregnant Modern Day June Cleaver. Let’s not do this again anytime soon, thank you!

Pajama Day

2008-11-20T12:34:00.000-06:00

Today has been a pajama day for me. Usually, it’s the kids hanging out in their pajamas all day, not today. They were actually all completely dressed from the get go this morning. I on the other hand not some much. It’s been more out of circumstance than choice. Uhhhh…I don’t have anything to wear. Ok, I don’t have any pants. Ok, Ok, Ok that is not entirely true. I could put on a pair of slinky black pants with beaded trim around the ankles. Then I would need to put on the red shiny shoes and the red top that goes really well with the black pants. Of course I would have to put on make-up and jewelry and fix my hair if I have on that nice of an outfit. I would most likely look like a modern-day June Cleaver pushing around my vacuum, fixing lunch, and folding diapers. Of course June would never be pregnant because she and Warren slept in seprate beds. But, no I still have on a pair of lavender pajamas with penguins all over. Oh yes, and a waistline much thicker than it should be due to lack of proper undergarments, gravity, heredity, and nursing three babies if you catch my drift.

So, why do I have no pants? First, when you have a child that wears a uniform to school, their clothes become the priority. I had to make sure No. 1 Son had appropriate clothes to wear to school today. Last night his uniforms were the laundry priority. I am pleased to say, he was dressed to code this morning. Second, The Princess was about to run out of diapers. We can’t have a naked, unpotty trained bottom running around now can we? Diapers were the laundry priority today. Third, I just couldn’t get the clothes in the machine this morning. This I have no idea how it happened. However, I am pleased to announce that its 12:30 and the pants are in the washing machine! They need to be washed, dried, and on me by 2:45 at the absolute latest. If not we are all in big trouble. I will have to get in the car, drive to school, and pick up No. 1 Son in my pajamas! How modify! For everyone involved! I will most likely run out of gas, the van will break down or be in an accident. Please, please, please pants be dry on time!!!

News Flash

The world can rest easy. I did not have to go to school in my pajamas. Fortunately, I did realize that I had no gas before I ever got in the car. No, I didn't have any dry pants. I did have to wear shorts, a long sleeved shirt and a puff vest. I was beautiful! But not scary. The pants were not dry in time to leave to get gas and get to school. But I did not have to go in my pajamas.

I love being pregnant

2008-11-19T12:28:00.000-06:00

I love being pregnant. Most people who have been around me at least during for the first half of my pregnancies are really surprised to hear this. I get really sick. Really sick. With the last three I’ve weighed less after they were born than I did before I got pregnant. It’s gotten better and shorter with each pregnancy; 22 weeks with No. 1 Son, 20 weeks with Surfer Dude, 19 weeks with The Princess, and about 17 weeks with this little one. I actually thought I had some kind of crazy illness with No. 1 Son. I thought I was entirely too sick to be pregnant. I would wake up in the morning throwing-up, go to work, throw-up all day, most days Daddy-O would have to pick me up from work because I was too weak to drive, get home, go to bed around 6:00, throw-up on and off until around midnight, finally sleep, get up and start all over again. I rarely ate during the first trimester. I eventually was put on medication so I could eat and not throw-up all the time. My sister-in-law, MaryAnn, was so surprised when we told everyone we were pregnant with Surfer Dude. She didn’t think I would ever want to be pregnant again. She has three adult children and said that if she had been as sick as me with her first he would have been her last. I think MaryAnn is pretty tough.

Other than having really bad pregnancy sickness things are really good for me while I’m pregnant. I don’t have any other pregnancy problems. No gestational diabetes, swelling, headaches, high blood pressure, heartburn, indigestion, etc. I’m just me with a baby.

I love being pregnant. It's not because I'm really cute when I'm pregnant. Up until the very end I'm sure most people are debating, "Has she just put on some weight or is she pregnant?" Plus sized maturity clothes are just clothes. It’s not all the special attention I receive while I’m pregnant that makes me like being pregnant so much. Basically, after your first, there is no more special attention. No more baby showers (I did have one with The Princess), no more cute cards of congratulations, no more Daddy-0 taking off work to go to some of my prenatal visits, no more help moving the furniture. With this pregnancy Daddy-O has forgotten at times that I’m pregnant. It’s a little harder to miss now since I can’t move around in the kitchen without the baby running into him.

I love being pregnant. I love the idea of being co-creator with God in making a new life. I love the power of a woman’s body to be able to conceive, carry and deliver a baby; perfectly created, Amen. Women are amazing creatures; much more amazing then men. I love the excitement of adding a new person to our family. I love the anticipation of not knowing when the baby will arrive. I love not knowing if we are having a boy or a girl until delivery. I loved the look on No. 1 Son’s face when I showed him the pictures from the ultrasound and told him we were going to have another baby. I loved the way both of the boys told Daddy-O that evening when he got home that mommy had another baby in her belly. They were so excited telling him and he responded to them with the same enthusiasm as if he was hearing the news for the first time. I love feeling the baby move. I love baby hiccups.

I love being pregnant. I don’t mind stretch marks, heck I’ve had them all my life. I don’t mind my hips hurting. I don’t mind my jaw popping or my arm and hand going numb. I don’t mind getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I don’t mind waddling, I do try not to. I don’t mind the stuff I had to drink for the glucose tolerance test. I don’t mind peeing in a cup even though I’m not good at it. I don’t needles or blood work. I don’t mind gaining weight this time. I don’t even mind the $5000 deductible for my insurance, granted it would be nice to only have to pay $100 for the baby.

I just love being pregnant.

It's that time again

2008-11-17T13:00:00.000-06:00

That time in my pregnancy when my sister-in-law calls and says, "We need to get together so you can scrapbook part of you last child's like before the new baby in born!" And that is what I did this weekend.

Yes, I spent the weekend away from the zoo at my sister-on-law’s home in the middle of nowhere. It was wonderful! I didn’t have to cook, I didn’t have to do laundry, I didn’t have to clean, I didn’t have to chase, pick-up after, change diapers, feed, wash anyone! The only thing I had to do was scrapbook the 125 pictures that I had printed out of The Princess’s first events of her first year.

I know 125 pictures is a lot. Especially considering none of the pictures includes holidays or her birthday. But let it be said that I am not a one-picture-per-page scrapbooker. I have to get as many on the page as I possibly can, which is usually a max of five if I want to put any words or decorations on the page.

I had such a good time. I got to MaryAnn’s around 6 pm. And immediately unloaded all my things and set in to my project. She had all her things set-up on the kitchen table. She had already designated everyone’s zone for working. Amber, her hopefully, soon-to-be-daughter-in-law, joined us.

So, I plopped down and started sorting, gathering, cutting, gluing, etc. MaryAnn had prepared something for us to eat, it was on the stove. I didn’t bother eating. I was on a mission. Must get all 125 pictures in book by Sunday… I kept to my task until I decided I could do no more. I went to bed at 12:45.

I actually slept in on Saturday. I woke-up at 7:45. I don’t think I’ve slept that long or late in years. I jumped up, threw some clothes on, brushed my teeth, pulled my hair back and returned to my zone. And there I sat until midnight, working tirelessly on The Princess’s first moments. Ok, did get up and move around every now and then. I also decided it would be a good idea to eat, drink, stretch, and use the bathroom on occasion. But I did not dally at these tasks. I did what needed to be done and got back to my mission.

At midnight I decided I was finished for the evening. Besides, I needed to iron my shirt for church the next morning.

I woke-up at 6:30, showered, and got ready for church. I was ready before 7:30, which meant I had a whole hour before we needed to leave for church. So, I scrap booked. After church, in a somewhat pleading voice, MaryAnn asked if I would like to go out to lunch. I acquiesced to her requested. Heck, I’m not going to pass up a meal out with adults and no children. We had Mexican food. Again, we are in the middle of nowhere, were choices are very limited. There are not chain type restaurants and our other choice was some kind of country buffet. We enjoyed our meal out and head back to the house.

My spot was just as I had left it. I began. It was Sunday. I planned on heading home around 6:00. It was a school night and I had volunteered to help with a mailing for No. 1 Son’s school, so I didn’t want to stay too late. It was also a 1 1/2 hour drive home. At 4:00 I decided I should start cleaning up my mess and gathering my things together. I’m glad I did because it took me forever! I didn’t leave until 5:30, which is still 30 minutes earlier than I had planned on leaving. If I had waited until later to start packing I might not have ever gotten home.

I arrived at the zoo safe and sound. The place was still standing, which I was very glad to see. Everyone was still alive, which I was even happier to see. Daddy-O had only called me twice during the whole 48 hours. Once to find out where the glue sticks were. It really impressed his sister that he was going to do a craft with the three kids all by himself. The second time was on Sunday to find out what time he should expect me so he could figure out dinner and to let me know we had no bread, milk, or juice. I was a good wife and stopped by the store on the way home.

The weekend was a success. I had a great time. I completed 25 pages. I did not get all of my pictures in the book. However, I am going to seriously try to do it by myself over the next 6 weeks. Yikes! Only 6 more weeks until this baby is due. In about 6-7 weeks we’ll check the progress of The Princess’s scrapbook and the status of this baby. Until then…

Another year older

2008-11-05T17:27:00.000-06:00

At 3:45 am six years ago we officially became a family with a child, No. 1 Son joined us. It is so hard to believe that it has been six years. The changes are incredible. Kindergarten. Tying his own shoes. Running cross country. Writing. Starting to read. Making decisions. His vocabulary. Hairy boy legs. Favorite PJ's. The list can go on and on. Somethings are still the same. He can be very high strung. Very dramatic. Does not like to waste time sleeping. And still loves to have is face washed by mommy and daddy. He is an amazing creature. Worth all 27 1/2 hours of unmedicated labor and delivery!

We celebrated his birthday on Saturday with family and a few special friends. We had one of his favorite meals, spaghetti! It was a military themed party. I could have done a better job. He seemed to be happy with what I did. I don't think I'll be scarred.

What would a birthday party be with out presents? No. 1 Son received a lot of cool gift. This was the year of the LEGO!

So, today is his real birthday. Poor guy got sick at school this morning and had to come home early. He didn't even get to have his special snack with his class. Hopefully, his teacher will save it for tomorrow. He also got his name on the board for putting his head down during church. He was not having such a good day.

I decided to get him an ice cream cake today. I had to try to make his birthday day a little special even though we had already had a party. Wow! That was so much easier than make something! Even with fighting the seniors at Senior Shopping day at Kroger. It was a lot of fun with just us. No. 1 Son enjoyed putting his candles on his cake. We all sang. And the kids really enjoyed the cake; it was so much fun watching them.

Happy Birthday Big Buddy!

Halloween

2008-11-04T12:23:00.000-06:00

I love Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays. I like the silly, cutesy side of the day not the scary, gross side. Our decorations consist of the Halloween tots from Sonic, a paper ghost garland, a door wreath of purple, orange, and green bells and a big wreath in our front window made of all kinds of crazy Halloween themed items(stamps, straws, pezdispensers, ghost lights,etc.)

I don't know why I like Halloween so much. I just do. I love to watch the trick-or-treaters come to the door. When we lived in Ashland City we would get around 500 kids. I loved it! I would always invite friends over to watch the parade. And this was long before we had our own children. I love carving pumpkins. I love making costumes even though I really don't like to dress up as an adult. I should say I love making costumes for my children.

No. 1 Son as Luke Skywalker, The Princess as a Princess, and Surfer Dude as a Knight.

Daddy-O and The Princess.

Surfer Dude, The Princess, No. 1 Son, and Jacob at the Zoo.

Me in my Supermom outfit from last year and The Princess's hat.

Pumpkin Carving and Peep eating!

I've been slammed

2008-10-29T13:37:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since my last post. Well, actually I can. I have been way too busy for someone as unimportant as me.

October

1 – Watcher neighbors dogs.

2 - Watcher neighbors dogs.

Daddy-O class 5-8

Me NFP class 6-10

3 - Watcher neighbors dogs.

Soccer practice 4:30 -6:30

4 - Watcher neighbors dogs.

Soccer games 12:00- 2:30

5 - Watcher neighbors dogs.

Cross country meet 12:15 – 1:30

Jacob’s birthday party 2:00-6:00 – bring lemonade

6 – Back of shirt artwork due

7 – Bug man 9:00

First Why Catholic meeting 7:00 (on the other side of town!)

8 –

9 - Daddy-O class 5-8

Me NFP class 8-10

10 - Soccer practice 4:30-6:30

Make cupcakes for end of soccer season

11 – Soccer 9:30-12:30

12 – Cross country meet 12:15-1:30

13 – Surfer Dude – No school

Confirm all fire and police help for ride. Confirm rest stop locations.

Pick up t-shirts

Pack for camping

14 – Why Catholic meeting 7:00

15 – 10:00 stuff goodie bags and fold shirts.

Print que sheets and maps. Waivers. Call Sam at bike shop.

Pack for camping

16 – NO SCHOOL!

Parent teach conference 11:15

No. 1 Son goes to movies with friend 12:10

Daddy-O class 5-8

Me NFP class 6-10

Pack for camping

17 – Pack for camping

18 – Cumberland River Challenge 6:30-3:00

Go camping 3:01

19 – Camping

20 – Camping

21 – Put away camping stuff

Make Halloween costumes

Why Catholic meeting 7:00

22 – Make Halloween costumes

Still putting away camping stuff

23 - Make Halloween costumes

Daddy-O class 5-8

24 – Pre-natal appointment 9:30

Make Halloween costumes

Take kids of Zoo for trick or treating

25 – Take kids to sister-in-laws

Clean house

Remove everything from attic

26 – Retreat with Bishop 9:30-3:00

27 – Friends of the Trail Meeting 6:00

28 – Why Catholic meeting 7:00

29 – Start cooking for Halloween and No. 1 Son’s

Stuff goodie bags for No. 1 Son’s Halloween party

Carve pumpkins

30 - Daddy-O class 5-8

Me NFP class 6-10

31 – Halloween

Friends come over for Halloween 5:00

November

1- No. 1 Son’s birthday party

2 - Collapse

I think this has been one of the craziest months of my entire life. The calendar above doesn’t even include the normal things that have to been done like laundry, cooking, picking up kids, dropping off kids, going to church, grocery shopping, buying birthday gifts, cleaning up the house, etc. The normal things I have to do can some times overwhelm me. Every Thursday Daddy-O is in class from 5:00-8:00; every other Thursday I have to teach a Natural Family Planning class by myself since he is in class. The 9^th annual Cumberland River Challenge fund raising bike ride that I direct was the 18^th. I’ve been working on it pretty much non-stop since August. Once mid-September arrived my phone has rung constantly about the ride. My email has been the same. Like a big dummy I plan to take the family camping the same weekend of the ride since it is No. 1 Son’s Fall Break. Let’s not forget Halloween. I’m too cheap to buy a costume so I have to make a knight, Luke Skywalker and a Princess costume. They have to be ready a week early so they can wear them to the zoo. Like a big dummy times 2 I plan No. 1 Son’s 6^th birthday party the day after Halloween. And it can’t be Halloween at our house unless we invite some people over. So, we are having dinner and friends on Friday and then lunch and friends and family on Saturday. I have no one else to blame but myself. I love all the things I get to do that involve people coming to my home. But come on Lori, what were you thinking!

The Simple Pleasures

2008-10-08T13:01:00.000-05:00

I had the good fortune of getting to enjoy a few simple pleasures in life the other afternoon. The first involved The Princess. The Princess has always been incredible easy to put to sleep, even when she was a newborn. We just had to lay her in her crib. When she got a little older we just had to lay her in her crib, put a blanket over her including her head, and then close the door. She never liked to be rocked to sleep or even held. The other day she woke up in the middle of her nap and needed a bottle. After she finished her bottle she fell asleep in my arms. It was heaven! I sat in my extra comfy chair and held her for an hour. She has never let us hold her like that. It was so sweet!

If that didn’t make a great day the boys were really fun that afternoon. No. 1 Son is going to be Luke Skywalker for Halloween and Surfer Dude is going to be a Knight. They both have the appropriate accessories for their costumes, a sword and a light saber. I am not a fan of play fighting or toy weapons. However, they were pretending to be Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. They were so funny! We were all outside. Surfer Dude was Darth with his sword and No. 1 Son was Luke with his light saber. They were repeating lines that Daddy-O had taught them from the movie. And they were really playing well together. A lot of times they end up playing to rough and someone, No. 1 Son, ends crying. They were just so much fun to watch. I wish Daddy-O could have seen them. Darth Vader, “Luke, come to the dark side.” “Never!!!”, Luke.

Finally, I got to use my new leaf blower. It was awesome! I can blow the deck and carport off in 5-10 minutes. I can’t wait to use it again. It’s been raining the past two days so I’ll have to wait until it dries up. Maybe Friday…

It was a Happy Birthday

2008-10-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

Yes, I had a very happy birthday thanks to the many wonderful friends in my life. The day started off with presents in bed (that was a little more practical than the shower which is where they first found me) thanks to No. 1 Son and Surfer Dude. It was very sweet. They had each made cards for me. No. 1 Son's was covered in hand drawn Star Wars characters and Surfer Dude's was a picture of me with the baby in my belly, very cute. No. 1 Son made me a paper airplane which was wrapped in paper that he had decorated himself. Surfer dude gave me two toothbrushes and a package of dental floss. I'm not sure what he was trying to tell me. His too were wrapped in paper that was self decorated. Wrapped packages are awesome!!! The toothbrushes and dental floss were a little surprising and odd. Well, not too odd. I really do love a new toothbrush. When Daddy-O took them to the store I would have thought he would have directed their purchase a little.

My sister-in-law, Mary Ann, showed up at the house around 7:30. Mary Ann usually makes birthday cards. However, this time she gave me this very touching card about being sister-in-laws. It was very nice. She wanted to take me to a movie and lunch. Since it was not a school day for Surfer Dude I thought a movie would not be the most enjoyable event with him and the Princess. Instead we headed to the farmers market for pumpkins, mums and pansies. We had a great time, it was so nice walking around outside yesterday. I had great success. I even got three hanging baskets for $3 each, what a deal!!! We had a nice lunch and then head home to put the Princess down for a nap and put out the pumpkins and plants.

While we were decorating, what should arrive, FLOWERS!!! Not only were they flowers but a cute arrangement that was shaped like a birthday cake! Thank you so much Amy, Mr. P, Sugarplum, Shark Boy and Bear. The Fairy Godmother really appreciated your thinking of me!

Mary Ann left around 5:30 and I started preparing dinner for the family and dinner for my birthday celebration. Daddy-O had called and said he would be picking up No. 1 Son for cross country practice. He asked if I need anything. I mentioned that I hadn't picked up any champagne and I only had found one type of chocolate. I finished up dinner and setting the table outside. Pulled out all the candles I owned. Swept the leaves off the deck. etc, etc, etc...

Daddy-O arrives with No. 1 Son and a present for me! Oh! What could it be?!?! A diamond ring? A hedgehog? A miracle spa treatment. It's a leaf blower! I could have used this about 20 minutes ago. It's wrapped! It's not hand decorated like the gifts from the other men in my life, but he did wrapped out of plotter paper from work and he did make the bow out for some paper strips. It's not the one I asked for but I'm sure it will be fine. Thanks! He also has a bottle of champagne, a bottle of Prosseco (Italian champagne) and a variety of chocolates. Thanks Daddy-O.

The children have eaten. They are ready for bed. I leave for the airport. I pick up Angela and Matthew. I bring them back. I send them to the deck to relax. The children are asleep. I think Daddy-O is asleep. I bring out some drinks and wrap up a few things with dinner. Daddy-O emerges from the boys' bedroom. We go outside. We have an awesome evening with our guest. The weather is perfect. The company is great. The food is wonderful, if I do say so myself! And then a surprise! We get ready to have our dessert and Angela hands me a bag! I present!!! It is the cutest purse made out of paper from Brazil! Fair trade and everything! These are the kind of things I love! My mother said you should always put a little money in a purse or a wallet that you give as a gift so it would never be empty. There was something better than money, a chocolate bar! Also fair trade from Ghana. Who needs money or diamonds when you can have chocolate!!! Do not tell Daddy-O this!

It was a wonderful birthday. Thank you to everyone that made me feel so loved and special. Especially, Mary, who called and sang happy birthday and offered to bring me coffee. Mr. P, who took time during this tumultuous financial time to leave a wonderful message on my answering machine telling me how special I am. Kathy, who left a message wishing me happy birthday. Jan, for sending me a card and post-its with my name on them. Kelly, who emailed me. Holly, who called. And Mark, Carole, and Bridget for sending me the hilarious e-card. (I don't know how long this will be available but it is so funny (e-card).

All of you have made my mother really proud by carrying on the tradition of making me feel super special on my birthday. Daddy and Renee (my sister) you all are in the doghouse. Did you forget it was my birthday? No card. No call. tisk tisk

The Birthday

2008-09-29T11:51:00.000-05:00

It's the eve of my 37th birthday and I'm planning my own party. I'm not surprised. Don't get my wrong. I love surprises! I would love a surprise party. I would probably die from the shock! Bless Daddy-O's heart, he just doesn't have it in him. Never has. At this point, never will.

I love birthdays! My mother always made a big deal out of birthdays when she was alive, even in the short time that she knew us as adults she always made a big deal. There was always a special dinner, whatever we wanted. A birthday cake that she made. And presents! Nothing extravagant, but something we would love. No friends. Just a few close family members. I loved it! I always felt really loved and special on my birthday.

Now I'm my mom, to myself. This is sort of weird. Happy Birthday! I'm so special! I made myself dinner and my own cake! Yippee! I planned it all! There is absolutely no trill of surprise. I know I will be getting a leaf blower for my birthday. Daddy-O actually asked me yesterday where he can get! What! Do I have to do everything!?! There will be no little extra surprise. Just a leaf blower. He just doesn't work that way. Hopefully, it will be wrapped. I love unwrapping presents! Real paper please, not the bag it came in. (This has happened before, not good.)

Enough of my whining! Let's talk birthday party! So, I decided last week as I was taking friends to the airport that I was going to do something on my birthday. I have to pick up the couple from the airport at 7:35 on the evening of my birthday. They will be my victims, I mean guests. They agreed to come so they are officially my guests. Just because I have both of their car keys doesn't mean they are hostages.

The children go to bed between 7:00 and 8:00, depending on which child it is. Daddy-O can take care of that while I run to the airport. The plan is to have an adult dinner on the deck after they go to sleep! Doesn't that sound wonderful! Just adults with adult food and not having to pay for a sitter!!! Perfect! The menu will be steamed shrimp, yummy bread with even yummier spread that I make and steamed asparagus. For dessert I decided on a variety of dark chocolates and chocolate covered strawberries (I will need to make those today). I think I'll pick up a bottle of champagne. Surely, a sip won't give this baby fetal alcohol syndrome. And maybe some decaf coffee with real half and half. I plan on setting the table outside and putting every candle I own on the deck and lighting them. Ambiance, something that doesn't happen often with 3 kids 5 and under! It will be great!

If I get my leaf blower in the morning I won't have to sweep... Daddy-O, you need to go to Home Depot this evening!

They're really gone

2008-09-22T20:43:00.000-05:00

Yes, our favorite neighbors are really gone. I honestly can't believe it. They left on the September 1 and returned on September 18 to close on their house. Now, they are officially gone. They are no longer our neighbors.

I have cried buckets of tears over their move. I thought I was finished with the tears when they pulled out of their driveway at the beginning of September. Nope. I was crying before I even said goodbye again on Tuesday. I was just standing in the kitchen cooking dinner and praying for them when the floodgates opened. And then about 30 seconds later they are coming in the front door to say goodbye. More tears by all. I finally get the tears under control when the new neighbor pulls up in the driveway. We all walk over to introduce ourselves. Yes, a herd of three kids and two parents can be a little overwhelming, I would think. But lets make it a little bit more overwhelming for the new neighbor, Lori! Yes, now the pregnant woman is trying to introduce the family while crying. I eventually was able to get it together; I wasn't hysterical, thank the Lord!

I start working on getting the family back in the house to eat dinner. The Princess does not want to come with me. She keeps heading for the neighbors' front door. She eventually looks to the car where they are and with a little help waves goodbye. And then she blows kisses. Lots and lots of kisses. I'm crying again. The Princess loves her Fairy Godmother. I pull it together again and head into the house for dinner. Dinner is on the table. Everyone is seated. We start to bless the food and I start crying again. All three children are very confused. Fortunately, Daddy-O steps in and explains. I eventually am able to eat.

Needless to say, they were more than neighbors to us. No. 1 Son would call him "My other dad." She helped me train for my first marathon. I helped her make her her first curtain. We borrowed stuff from each other; all kinds of stuff. I called myself their commissary. I usually had most cooking items they might need. I would borrow jewelry. He would borrow tools from us. Daddy-O help with all things electrical. We would watch their dog. They would watch ours. I would keep an eye on the house when they were out of town. We would take them to and from the airport. I was standing in their kitchen when my water broke with the Princess. They took care of the boys until the in-laws could arrive when the Princess was born. They were Godparents to the Princess when she was baptized. He went with me to the emergency pet hospital one evening this summer with Violet when Tony was at work. He stood by me when I had to make the decision to have her euthanize. He was dubbed the neighbor husband that night. She stayed with the children while we took care of Violet. Their dog loved me. I don't think anything on earth loves me as much as their dog, including my husband and children. The dog really loved me or she is a really good actor. She and I had code green when he was out of town. I made sure she felt as safe as she could when he was out of town. He almost felt the wrath of code green one night when he came barreling up the driveway at one in the morning (a day earlier then expected). I jumped out of bed, through open the curtain only to find that it was him not a burglar. He is so lucky I didn't come flying out of my house in my pjs wielding a baseball bat preparing to clobber him if necessary. But that's just part of the plan, along with many other things when I'm in code green mode.

They are no longer our neighbors. But, they will always be part of our family.

Daddy-O, your the greatest

2008-09-18T22:30:00.000-05:00

Daddy-O is the greatest husband. Ok, maybe I'm a little bit biased since he is my husband. Yesterday, I had planned to go engagement ring shopping with a friend. Surfer Dude had pre-k class and I had only one day left to put the Princess in parents day out and it was yesterday. It would be perfect!

I got up early and took a shower (something that doesn't normal occur as frequently as I would like). I got dressed and even put on make-up. I made breakfast and packed lunches. Got Daddy-O and No. 1 Son out the door. Now let's see what else needs to be done. Surfer Dude needs a breathing treatment. He's been congested for a while and has had a runny nose the entire month of September. We affectionately call him Snotacus. I get the machine all set-up, get him set-up, and go get the Princess dressed. Why is the machine not run? What do I hear? Buddy, are you ok? Surfer Dude is now throw-up in the bathroom. God bless the little guy, 99% of the time he makes it to the toilet! Today, we are in the 99%. I get him cleaned up. I know his not really sick as in stomach virus sick; he's just over come by congestion. However, it's been over two weeks for this runny nose, it's time to call the pediatrician. It's looking like he needs to go today. Oh! This is going to mess up today!

I call Daddy-O with my plea of selfishness. I know you are really, really busy and if you stay at work all day today you will still have to go back to work tonight after the kids are asleep. But you know I was suppose to go shopping with Angela and I know I'm being selfish.And this is the last day the Princess can be in parents day out. And by the way Surfer Dude should probably go to the doctor today. Could you come home? If you say no I will understand. Of course he says he'll come home! He's such a good guy. He has to run by the office and stamp some drawings and pick-up a few things to work on at home. I take the Princess to parents day out, Surfer Dude goes with us. We get home and Daddy-O pulls up. He takes a few notes regarding Surfer Dudes condition and off to the doctor they go. Before we all parted ways I tell him I should be home in time to pick up the Princess at 2:00.

Lovely day... lovely day...lunch...lovely day....

Yes, we are having a good time. We have been looking at lots of pretty diamonds. Could you get the Princess? It's 1:30, I don't think we can be there in time. "No, problem" says Daddy-O, "I'll go get her." Ok, thank you. I should be home in time to get No. 1 Son. Daddy-O is the greatest!

Yikes! It's 2:30! Hey, honey! Uh, could you go get No. 1 Son? Again, not a problem for Daddy-O. While I have him on the phone he tells me he chased down the ice cream truck that hasn't been down our street in 2 years and buys all the kids a popsicle. What a man! He's my man! Daddy-O scores again!

Fast forward the day until just before dinner. We are all outside waiting for dinner to finish cooking when the Princess falls and hits the back of her head on the very vengeful and unforgiving aggregate driveway. Daddy-O jumps up for me since being pregnant and sitting at a picnic table does not lend itself to quick movement. He rushes to her side while I wrangle myself out from the table. He looks at me and says, "There's blood!" He wasn't joking, it was dripping on her shirt. She is cleaned up and recovering nicely. She's fine. Daddy-O scores again for those lightning reflexes!

That evening Daddy-O was a confession. I think he almost passed out when he saw the blood dripping onto the back of the Princess. He said when he picked her up he kept telling himself, it's just a little blood. She's okay. She's been hurt before. The kids have hurt themselves before. They are all okay. It's just a little blood. Daddy-O, thanks for being so brave!!!

I can only think of one other time Daddy-O had first hand experience with our children and that much blood. And that was about 4 years ago. If I remember correctly he was pretty panicked. I was not. That's ok. He has many, many other high quality characteristics. He doesn't have to be a knight in shining armor when it comes to bleeding kids. He just needs to have a job with health insurance to pay for bleeding kids if a hospital is need. Three cheers for Daddy-O! He has a job with health insurance!

Some things about me

2008-09-16T12:45:00.000-05:00

I realized there is an About section over there to talk about me. However, this is really for purposes of my memory. I want of me able to read this when I'm 75 or in a few weeks and remember what others and I thought of myself when I was almost 37. I'm not 37 yet; I still have a few more days. I'm sure I will continually add to it until I've decided I've changed so much that I need to start over.

1. I've been told by some of my friends that I'm the greenest person they know.
2. I think this is funny.
3. The things that I guess make people think I'm green:
a. I use cloth diaper. And have with all my children.
b. I use cloth grocery bags and have for at least 5 years now.
c. I hate plastic.
d. I compost.
e. I can not throw away tissue paper.
f. I have to control myself at other peoples parties when they just wad it up and throw it in the trash.
g. I recycle everything I possible can.
h. I have more recyclables in a month than household trash.
i. I don't like paper plates, plastic cups or disposable flatware.
j. I have purchased enough glass plates, bowls and dessert plates that match for a party of 30. I need to work on the drinking glasses.
k. I have silverware for 24. I really need more.
l. I wash the plastic zoo pals flatware I let the kids use at the parties.
m. I don't like to use paper towels.
n. I have a very large collect of rags for cleaning up messes
o. We use cloth napkins for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
p. It is very hard for me to throw something in the trash that can be recycled. I will bring things home with me to recycle.
q. I'm sure there is more, but this is enough for now.
4. I think I'm the best mom when my children are between 0 and 1 year.
5. I love babies.
6. I hope after this baby is born and turns one I get really good at the after 1-year-old part of the rest of my children's lives.
7. Some days I really suck at being a mom.
8. Some days I think I would be a better mom if I went back to work.
9. I would miss my children if I went back to work.
10. I'm really disorganized.
11. I know where everything is; it's in one of these piles...
12. Our house is probably too small for our family.
13. There is no way on God's green earth that I could possible sell a house with three children and one on the way and then move.
14. There are days when I would like to throw away 75% of the stuff in our house.
15. Where is the number for the drop-off dumpster place?
16. I have great husband.
17. He's really funny at times.
18. He crack's himself up which totally cracks me up.
19. He doesn't know I have a blog.
20. I wonder if I should tell him?
21. I love lobster, dark chocolate and champagne (extra dry, not brut).
22. I love my children even more than lobster, dark chocolate and champagne.
23. My kids are really beautiful, smart and funny. They amaze me everyday.
24. I'm a whipped cream snob.
25. I hate cool whip.
26. No, whipped cream and cool whip are not the same!
27. I once went to Taco Bell for lunch; they didn't have any tacos.
28. I love to get mail!!!
29. I don't love junk mail, but I do love to recycle it.
30. I'm not good at hand writing letters.
31. I miss my mother terribly.
32. She died of lung cancer when I was 24.
33. I have one sister.
34. We are not close; this makes me very sad.
35. I have awesome in-laws. They love me very much and treat me very well.
36. I am very blessed to have them in my life.
37. I have awesome friends. I love them all very much.
38. I am so blessed to have them in my life.
39. I love being pregnant!
40. I do not like throwing up.
41. If throwing up was an Olympic event I would win gold every time.
42. I've never throw up from drinking too much.
43. Naming children is very difficult for Daddy-O and me.
44. This baby may never have a name.
45. Picking Godparents for our children is just as hard.
46. I love being Catholic.
47. I love the way we worship God!
48. I think service to others and volunteering are very important.
49. Daddy-0 and I teach Natural Family Planning.
50. We have taught for almost 10 years.
51. Since becoming a parent my prayer life has pretty much tanked.
52. I once told my mother-in-law this. She told me that as a mother my life is a prayer.
53. This made me feel really good.
54. I still think I need to do more.
55. Lord, please let me not kill (insert child's name). This is not what I'm talking about
56. Mary was the greatest mother ever. She never had to say number 55.
57. I walk 1/2 marathons (13.1 miles)
58. I have trained and walked 5 so far.
59. My goal is to walk one in every state and a full marathon the year I turn 40.
60. to be continued...

The mole

2008-09-15T12:47:00.000-05:00

I believe every child has their own thing they need to comfort themselves: a favorite toy, a blanket, maybe a special pillow, a piece of ribbon, something soft, etc. I've meet children that need to twirl their mother's hair and one that liked to rub her mother's earlobe. No. 1 Son sleeps with Lamby and the Princess sucks her middle two fingers at night and at times of stress. However, Surfer Dude is a whole different story.

Surfer Dude has to touch the mole on my neck. As long as I can remember he as always needed to touch it. I like to think it's because he can feel my pulse, but who knows why. He needs to put his finger on it when I'm putting him to sleep, when he has been hurt, if I'm reading him a story, holding him, or if he is sleepy. When he was younger, he's 4 now. He would be playing and if I were sitting down he would climb up beside me and put is finger on my mole. He was just checking-in. It was pretty sweet.

Well, now he is older and has opinions. This morning, like most mornings recently, he comes into our room at 5:15 and tells Daddy-O that he as to potty and Daddy-O needs to go with him. After this little ritual he gets in the bed with us and goes back to sleep. This morning Surfer Dude is having difficulty finding the mole on my neck. So, there is a little 4-year-old hand roaming all over my face and neck in search of the beloved mole until I direct it to the right place and ask him to stay still. The little hand is happy that it has found its spot. However, there are now complaints from the head, "Your hair is in my face." What? Excuse me, the last time I checked this was mommy and daddy's bed and it's not even 5:30!!! Go back to sleep, please. No, I'm not cutting off my hair.

I realize the mole is a really odd thing, but it's what he does. I'm sure people who see him touching it are wonder what the heck is going on especially when it looks like he is about to strangle me. Or hear him proclaim, "My mole!"

I want a leaf blower for my birthday

2008-09-11T13:05:00.000-05:00

There has to be something wrong with me. I'm six months pregnant, I look like a train wreck most of the time, my birthday is in a few weeks, and the one thing that keeps coming to mind is, "I really would like a leaf blower." What? That's all I can think of for my birthday! Lori, you have got to be kidding yourself! (Ok, I do have a secret desire for a little hedgehog, which I have had for years. They are so cute, why wouldn't someone want one.) A leaf blower is entirely too practical gift. What I need is a class on how to fix my hair without the assistance of a ponytail holder, a moisturizer that doesn't make me sweat, a manicure and a pedicure, the hair permanently removed from my underarms, upperlip, chin, neck and legs, and some kind of treatment to remove the wrinkles from my forehead. What I need is a miracle and a makeover! Oh yes, and all that accompanied by a bottle of extra dry champagine (not brut) and some really good dark chocolate. Now that would be a real birthday miracle.

But lets be realistic. I need a leaf blower. I have to admit I have a thing for vacuuming the floor. I like to vacuum. And this little thing creeps outside as well. I have a strange need to keep our deck and carport area (its big enough to park three cars) clean. I have no idea why, I just do. Since I don't have a carport vacuum, I sweep. This is crazy! I am crazy! I am sweep our carport. I have been sweeping it for 3 years now! It's outside! It's suppose to get dirt and leaves on it. A leaf blower would make this one little cleaning compulsion in my life so much easier. I could go out in the morning, blow off the deck, the carport, maybe even the driveway and then be done with it. The monkeys and I could play outside on our nicely cleaned surface. It would be so much quicker too. That is a big factor. Sweeping takes a lot of time. I would be more efficient! Maybe what I really need is my own personal carport Zamboni....

Another new adventure for the Princess

2008-09-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

Today was another new and exciting adventure for the Princess; she got her first haircut! Here she is looking quite sheep-dogish with her daddy before the big event.

I have to say this did not go as quietly as I thought it would. She cried almost the entire time. I don't know what happened. She loves to have her hair fixed. And she has been here before with her brothers. Fortunately, there where lollipops and strangely enough, a dog. The combination of the blue lollipop and the fuzzy little dog help some. And can someone tell me why there is a dog in a adult oriented hair salon? Why do people bring their pets to places like this? Yes, I said adult hair salon. Our kids get their hair cut in a place called Eyecandy. I know it sounds a little crazy. The stylist that cuts the kids' hair has been cutting Daddy-O's for 10 or 11 years. Plus, the haircuts on No. 1 Son and Surfer Dude still look good even when it's time for another.

Even with her few tears I think she did very well. No. 1 Son was a completely different story when he got his first haircut. I had been cutting his hair at home and thought it was time for a real haircut. He cried and screamed like he was having is arm amputated without anesthesia. And that was just to get him to sit in the chair! Come to think of it, I don't think he ever got his hair cut.

So, here she is with her sweet new hairstyle. I just wish she looked happier and didn't have snot and blue lollipop running down her face!

The Princess and her new shoes

2008-09-09T22:40:00.000-05:00

The Princess loves shoes. I guess as all good princesses should love shoes. Not only does she loves shoes, she wants everyone to love shoes. If you take off your shoes she will bring you a pair to put on. The girl loves shoes. She even has a mentor. You can check her out at http://milkbreathandmargaritas.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-cheated-on-man-with-other-man.html

All of her shoes have been soft soled shoes purchased from either Target or Old Navy. Since she did not start walking until about a month ago I figured there was no big rush for "real" shoes. She had also snagged two old pair of sandals that belong to her brothers which she loved. She was happy.

Yesterday I decided to take her shoe shopping. I even put on make-up and jewelry for the occasion. She and I went on a date. We headed to the mall. I need to make a return and there are shoe stores there. First of all, I haven't been in a mall since last December. The items I returned were purchased online. Second, I'm not much of a shopper. I probably could be come one if I had an endless supply of cash for clothes and babysitters. Thirdly, we are a household of early riser. The Princess and I show-up to the mall before it was even OPEN! It was The Princess, me and a bunch of senior citizens walking circles around the inside of the mall!

After a good dose of exercise we make our return, did a little window shopping, and head to the little people shoe store! Ok, did I mention I'm not much of a shopper? We cruise in Stride Rite. You have got to be kidding me! $45 for a pair of shoes 3 inches long that will be only worn for two maybe three months, tops! Thanks, I appreciate your time. I really don't see anything the Princess really will wear... where's the nearest Target?

We go to Target. We pick out two pair of shoes, neither of which I'm trilled about but the Princess was happy to try on the shoes. We go home.

Well, today I decide I really don't like the shoes I purchased and we should go to Payless Shoes. It's no longer a date but an adventure because Surfer Dude is with us. Jackpot! Two pair of shoes and one happy Princess!

I think kindergarten will be the death of me

2008-09-08T22:36:00.000-05:00

I think today has been the best and worst day of my life as a parent. However, leaning much closer to the worst than to the best. No. 1 Son brought home a note from his kindergarten teacher today. Oh no! The dreaded note! The note said that No. 1 Son hit another student on the playground, repeatedly. At this point I almost throw-up. He is not a bully, what is going on? This is the third time he has hit someone at school. I found out about the other two times on the same day last week. I was not happy then.

Last week I wrote the teacher, told her I was mortified by his behavior, explained there would be consequences at home for his behavior, and said that I explained to No. 1 Son the consequences at home and at school so he would understand. She wrote back saying she was glad we were both on the same page. Daddy-O and I both talk to No.1 Son about his behavior and explained what the consequences would be. And the consequences were as follows: the next time he hits someone he would have a toy taken away, permanently, as in to the Goodwill. Not just any old toy but one of his favorite toys and then I list off his top three toys.

We fast forward back today. I read the note and almost throw-up on my child. First, I had to put the boy in time-out as soon as we got home. He needs to think about what he as done. And he doesn’t just get the one minute per year rule; his is doubled today. I talk to him after time-out about what he did and why. He really can’t seem to tell me what happened or why. I’m not sure if he won’t or if he can’t tell me. I explain to him that he will lose one of his toys tonight. He starts to cry. I let him go play. We will worry about it later. Daddy-O gets home from work and I let him know what happened at school. He is not happy. He tries to get No. 1 Son to talk about it. It’s not going very well, but it’s time to eat so they come and have dinner. It’s hot today, I’m 6 months pregnant, and I’m so upset I can’t even eat the dinner I cooked. I don’t even sit with them for dinner, which is something that never happens in out house. I chose to give the Princess a bath instead.

The dish are finished and the Princess is asleep. I feel much better. Now it’s time to get down to brass tacks, back to the business of the consequence. I have decided that he must also write a note of apology to the student he hit. This is quite a task for someone that doesn’t really know how to write. I scripted the note and Daddy-O helps him write. I compose a letter to the teacher explaining what we have done at home regarding the hitting. While Daddy-O is helping No. 1 Son with the note, which takes about 45 minutes, I get Surfer Dude ready for bed.

The Worst Part

Now the fun begins, no… not really. Daddy-O and I take No. 1 Son down to the playroom and tell him he must pack up his Mack and Lightening McQueen toy to be sent to Goodwill. I assist in the packing. He starts screaming and crying. Not like a fit. More like a person that has just been told someone they love has been tragically killed. I am not kidding! It lasted for at least 15 minutes. It was so bad I was crying. It was awful. He was so upset. He was so mad. He was so desperate. He begged, pleaded and tried to bargain his toy back. He kicked. He screamed. He pushed over a garbage can twice as tall as him. This was the first time in his short life of almost six years that he has lost something he truly treasured right before his eyes. It was just raw emotional pain from a loss. It was very painful to watch. But we were sticking to our guns and had to see it through.

The Best Part

Daddy-O and I have never been on a more united front than tonight. We both agree on the same method of discipline, but it’s usually one of us taking care on the discipline while the other is up to their ears in other family related things. Not tonight! We both sat there together trying to help No. 1 Son understand how wrong hitting is and then trying to help him pull himself together after the fact. We let him do what he needed to do without hurting himself or us. He eventually regained his composure and was able to get ready for bed. He is now sound asleep. Daddy-O and I can sleep well tonight knowing we did the best we could, together, in this situation. Thanks Daddy-O, you're an awesome dad and husband.

The Sensitive One

2008-09-05T01:30:00.000-05:00

One of the monkeys in our zoo is very sensitive, if that's even the right word to use. Maybe dramatic is a better choice. Every toy he owns is "very, very special to me!" Most things his younger brother does are "bothering me!" His feelings are hurt easily. And, it's not uncommon to hear the words "it's not fair!" proclaimed from Son Number 1. He is predictable and frustrating all rolled into one adorable kindergartner package. Which brings us to this afternoon.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays Son Number 1 has cross country practice. Today, he had the good fortune of mom and dad getting to watch him run and then all of us heading to the playground for some family time (Surfer Dude and The Princess included).

We had a great time at the park swinging, sliding, climbing, finding bugs, etc. Then it was time to go. As we approached the car I asked Son Number 1 where his backpack was. He and Surfer Dude made a quick dash down to the tree where all the backpacks sit during practice. As they are running toward the tree Daddy-o looked at me and said, "If it's not down there, he is going to fall apart." And sure enough, it was gone. And the reason I knew long before he was even close enough to tell us, he was hysterically crying. The tears were flowing, the shoulders were heaving from the sobs, and his face was as red as the running shorts he was wearing. Ding! Ding! Ding! Daddy-o wins the prize! There is just something about knowing your children.

As for the backpack, I was almost 100% sure that someone from school picked it up and took it back with them. His name is in it and it's a small school. They probably know every child's backpack without looking for a name. I tried to explain this to him. However, in the block and a half drive back to the school he had convinced himself that bad guys had taken his backpack with his lunch box in it. And what were we going to do about it? Let me just say there is no amount of talking a parent can do to convince a child that bad guys did not take his backpack and even if bad guys did take his backpack and lunch box we would get him new ones.

We return to the school, because even though it was after 5:00 pm this could not wait until tomorrow morning! Daddy-o jumped out of the car to find someone who might know something about the missing backpack. No sooner than he closes the door to the van and walks away my phone rings. It's the principal. He's just calling to let me know that Son Number 1's backpack is in the cross country coach's office. Daddy-o is given the backpack and all is right and good in the world for now.

A new adventure for me

2008-09-04T22:15:00.000-05:00

It seems to me that everyone I know has a blog (or is it called blogging ? See, I have no idea what I am doing). And the only thing I can say to that is, where do they get the time? I think everyone has a blog: stay at home moms, work at home moms, working outside the home moms, and men. We'll just call the men, men for now since I currently do not know an men that are staying at home with their children. I really don't know where people get the chance to do this. By now means am I saying I'm busier than everyone else, they must be more organized than me. I can believe that. I'd like to blame my lack of organizational skills on being pregnant, but honestly I've been like this for a long time. I dream of being organized, but that is a post for another day!

Everyone is blogging. So, I'm going to give it a go. This may be my first and last attempt. I'll see how it goes. My opportunities to sit in front of the computer are based on a number of factors: time of day, number of children screaming, number of children needing to be feed, picking up and dropping off little people, laundry, dirty dishes, husband using the computer, and generally being conscience enough to type and think at the same time. All systems are currently a go! Three children are asleep, the husband went back to work, the dinner dishes are finished, the clothes are in the dryer and I'm still awake!