tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42855013897435736742024-03-12T19:46:25.292-04:00From Rostov with Love...Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-84658328176014804262009-02-16T14:07:00.002-05:002009-02-16T14:09:23.918-05:00New blog...Join me over at my new blog at ...<br /><br /><a href="http://srlsfamily.wordpress.com/">http://srlsfamily.wordpress.com</a><br /><br /><br />(now I'll see if I can figure out how to automatically send people there!)Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-25734970027675375982009-02-13T16:08:00.003-05:002009-02-13T16:32:31.142-05:00Laundry...I took the day off today to catch up on my house. We did a pretty good clean (with the exception of my room/bathroom) the Saturday before Logan's birthday party. But then I went on service and...well, let's just say that getting the laundry in the machine (most of it) was all I could do (besides cooking and getting the kids to school and picking them up from daycare)!<br /><br />Started out at 9 AM cleaning the kids bathroom. It was a mess!...and can I tell you that I hate boys - especially boys who don't hit the toilet water when they are peeing? ...oh yeah and who don't empty the tub water when they take a bath with the babysitter? and who smear toothpaste all over the sink and counter top. Okay that took a while. <br /><br />Next I went to my room. Now, my room is a MESS. I haven't cleaned it since before Thanksgiving so (believe me I will spare you pictures)...I started with going through my closet and my bureau drawers and taking out all of the (now) too big (YEAH!) clothes that I had accumulated over the last 2 years since I last was successful with weight watchers. There ended up being one GIANT - overfilled - stuffed to the gills garbage bag for me to bring to Good Will. It feels good to get rid of it. My closet was in complete disarray...really since this summer and all of the painting. The contractor had just moved everything into my closet and knocked everything onto the floor. You'll be happy to hear that I now can walk into the closet and actually pick out clothes. <br /><br />Next I moved to all of the kids "junk" that has come into my room and removed all of my sheets, rotated my mattress and put new sheets on and washed and replaced my comforter. I then turned to my bathroom. Can I tell you how much I hate boys - especially boys who don't hit the toilet water when they are peeing? Okay...I'll spare you the details a second time! Also, we usually use my tub for baths and there was dried soap scum all over the floor and tub surround. I threw out two garbage bags full of dirty ripped kids clothes, random papers and dried out markers. <br /><br />Meanwhile I came across a recipe for English Muffins and made 20 whole wheat English muffins.<br /><br />Finally, I put a LOT and I mean a LOT of laundry on and started folding. It's 4:27 and I think I will have all but one load folded by the time I have to leave to go pick up the kids. And that is mainly my clothes, so I plan on having that done by the end of the day. I think I might have a clean room by the time I go to bed tonight. <br /><br />We have a 3 day weekend because the school is off for President's Day and the daycare is taking it as a Teacher Education Day. We will do some cleaning each of the days to bring the house back into control. Saturday, we will go to a VCU Women's Basketball game.Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-6968256317585003442009-02-13T16:05:00.002-05:002009-02-13T16:08:01.078-05:00Long time...I have been lax about blogging. I have been "on-service" the last 14 days in a row and between getting the kids up for school, working all day...and rushing home to get them before 6PM...well, it has left me spent at the end of the day. Not to mention the multiple sick days for the kids (we are smack dab in the middle of a vomiting epidemic in Richmond!). Both of the boys got to spend at least one day in the last 2 weeks in my office...bothering me and my assistants.<br />...some developments<br />...we had Logan's Princess birthday party the weekend of the 24th. Twenty kids, 7 parents and lots of fun and food. I got my house cleaned just in time. The girls in attendance loved the dress up station, the make your own wand station, the Princes Playdoh - complete with sparkles to mix into the Pink and Purple colored home-made Doh. The boys liked the swords and swordfighting, the Pin the "S" on Superman game, the Pinata, and the Cannon ball fight. Everyone liked the chicken nuggest and tater tots and, of course, cake. (unfortunately, I was so busy making sure everyone was involved in some activity or other, I didn't get any pictures...)<br />...so, for Addison's party we went a little lower key. She LOVED getting presents and has told me each day for the last 4 days that it's "MY BIRT-DAY"...unfortunately, it isn't her birthday everyday. We went to Red Robin with Wendy and Pat and they sang to her and brought her a sundae...she told everyone the next day who asked her about her birthday..."I like ice cream!" I got this cool doll at Target (and it was on sale 50% off) - it is a doll who either laughs or crys. When you push it's belly it giggles. When you push the back, it cries and it's cheeks get red (running a temperature)...if you put a thermometer in it's mouth it stops crying (or if you put the pacifier in its mouth)...it has a medicine spoon and she makes slurping sounds and then her fever goes away! She loves the baby (and so do all of the other kids who have been playing doctor to her).Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-35730137886762886472009-01-24T19:59:00.002-05:002009-01-24T20:21:06.592-05:00Oh my god...Crockpot YogurtI started making yogurt in my crockpot in October when I saw a post on the web by my favorite website of the year last year - "A year of Crockpotting". It tasted pretty good, however, I just couldn't get it to "gel" enough. I was using skim milk and the website did say it was more difficult to get non-fat (as opposed to whole milk) to gel. The last 2 times I did it, I added some unflavored gelatin (as suggested in another website) and all I got was thin yogurt with glops of unflavored jello (UGG!) ----Until today!!! -- turns out I was adding the gelatin at the wrong time. <br /><br />Seems like a big deal - right? for yogurt right? Well, with my trying to do the WeightWatchers thing, they want you to have two 8-ounce glasses of skim milk a day. I - AM - NOT a milk drinker but I do like to have yogurt on my cereal. Well, two of those cups of yogurt a day can be pretty expensive and ... 1/2 gallon of milk is (relatively) cheap. <br /><br />Here's the secret recipe...<br /><br /><span style="color:#996633;"><em><strong>Totally Gelled Non-Fat Yogurt</strong></em></span><br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><ul><li>1/2 gallon of nonfat milk</li><li>1/2 cup of powdered non fat milk</li><li>1 packet of unflavored gelatin</li><li>1/2 c non-fat yogurt (from the store - with active cultures - this acts as your starter)</li><li>(optional)</li><li>(1/2 cup of splenda baking sweetner)</li><li>(1 tablespoon of vanilla) </li></ul><strong>Directions: I used a 4 qt crock pot</strong><br /><ul><li>Pour milk into crock pot and turn on low for 3 hours - 3 1/2 hours (this kills bad bacteria)</li><li>Stir in 1/2 cup of powdered non fat milk and sprinkle package of gelatin on top</li><li>Once it warms up the milk, stir several times during the heating process to distribute the gelatin</li><li>Turn off crock pot and allow it to cool for 3 hours (or to temp of 90 degrees)</li><li>After it is cooled, take out approximately 2 cups and put into a clean bowl and whisk in the yogurt starter and then add it back to the crockpot</li><li>Stir the mixture well </li><li>Cover the crockpot and then unplug it and cover the entire thing with a towel +/or a blanket to keep the cultures warm while they are working</li><li>Leave undisturbed for 12-14 hours</li><li>Once the 12-14 hours are up, uncover and be amazed!!!</li></ul><p>Once you make it, you can put it into different containers. Save 1/2 cup to use as starter for you next batch! You can use the yogurt you make as starter about 6-7 times then it gets a little stale so you will have to buy another 1/2 cup yogurt at the store. </p>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-90724504773490233422009-01-24T17:25:00.005-05:002009-01-25T10:04:41.319-05:00Shopping Trip<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXuYHw0zv0I/AAAAAAAAAtw/JTdJot80RuA/s1600-h/piggybank.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294993046037053250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 146px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXuYHw0zv0I/AAAAAAAAAtw/JTdJot80RuA/s400/piggybank.jpg" border="0" /></a> After spending way more than I wanted on all of the supplies on Logan's b'day party this weekend, I had a great shopping trip at Kroger's today.<br /><div></div><div></div><div>Many of you know that I am a closet couponer and frugal wannabe. Anyway, I read about a couple pretty good deals at Kroger and so decided to go and finish up my stocking for the next two weeks since I will be working 14 days in a row and won't be able to go shopping. I had bought fruit and milk and some other staples over the past few days but needed some cheese for pizza and some lunch meat for the boys. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Kroger is having their annual super sale...for selected items (and you can mix and match) if you buy 10 you get $5 off. so, here is what we got.</div><div></div><ul><li>10 -Kraft 2% shredded cheese packages - on sale for $1.99 (- $0.50 each) and "surprise" there was a coupon machine right by them for $0.75 off each bag - so I got each bag for $0.74</li><li>3 lunch meat for $2.99 (-$0.50 each)</li><li>5 Armor Meatballs for $2.99 (-0.50 each)</li><li>6 Tostino Pizza Rolls for $2.99 (-0.50 each) with a surprise coupon machine for $1.00 off 2 </li><li>6 Steamer vegetables for $1.99 (-0.50 each) with 2 $1.00 off one coupons and 2 $0.50 off of 2 coupons which were then doubled. </li></ul><p>So, I spent $40.41 and based on sales prices and the deals, I saved $54.11. </p><div></div><div>I am excited about it! Now I hope my freezer doesn't die!!</div>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-23504508138083443942009-01-21T09:35:00.007-05:002009-01-21T09:55:22.032-05:00My beautiful 4 year old...<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2EyluBHI/AAAAAAAAAsE/ibdrQeVR10s/s1600-h/Photo_102705_009%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293759342924661874" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2EyluBHI/AAAAAAAAAsE/ibdrQeVR10s/s320/Photo_102705_009%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2pA8BWjI/AAAAAAAAAs8/JVoRZ7BqhEY/s1600-h/logan1.jpeg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293759965251590706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2pA8BWjI/AAAAAAAAAs8/JVoRZ7BqhEY/s320/logan1.jpeg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2ShvuR_I/AAAAAAAAAsM/L149tt-L29w/s1600-h/PARTY+%26+Christening+043.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293759578921388018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2ShvuR_I/AAAAAAAAAsM/L149tt-L29w/s320/PARTY+%26+Christening+043.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2Sko4ejI/AAAAAAAAAsc/TSqBnYES4yc/s1600-h/IMG00031.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293759579698002482" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2Sko4ejI/AAAAAAAAAsc/TSqBnYES4yc/s320/IMG00031.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2TH1G89I/AAAAAAAAAsk/xAFFCvAUCfw/s1600-h/logan+on+the+beach.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2o9kIFxI/AAAAAAAAAs0/mzmLccO3tO8/s1600-h/logan+on+the+beach.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293759964346062610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2o9kIFxI/AAAAAAAAAs0/mzmLccO3tO8/s320/logan+on+the+beach.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2SpNGQjI/AAAAAAAAAsU/HRuvePi5MLI/s1600-h/logan1.jpeg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2TZ_NGuI/AAAAAAAAAss/JCazGl3T7Ns/s1600-h/christmas+2008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293759594018708194" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SXc2TZ_NGuI/AAAAAAAAAss/JCazGl3T7Ns/s320/christmas+2008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Letter to my beautiful daughter on her 4th birthday...</div><br /><br /><div></div><div>Dear Logan,</div><br /><div></div><div>I can't believe that you are turning 4 today. It seems like yesterday that I was visiting you in a Russian orphanage and couldn't get you to smile. Now you have turned into the girl with the mile-wide grin and the silliness to go with it. You have brought such a difference to my life and our house - a place that was all trains and trucks became castles and dolls. You have taught me so much about love and joy and have taught your brothers about softness and kindness. </div><br /><div></div><div>My favorite sayings of yours are "I love my family" and "I have a silly family". You see the good in everyone. </div><br /><div></div><div>Please don't grow up too fast, let me still have mornings like today where we carefully picked out the prettiest dress and tights you have so that you could feel special, let me stare at your beautiful face and see your inner beauty for a long long time. </div><br /><div></div><div>Love,</div><br /><div></div><div>your mother</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-6580502704944452802009-01-05T19:51:00.007-05:002009-01-10T11:00:19.015-05:00The drive down...<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SWjFyfbIizI/AAAAAAAAAr8/5mFH3lSXqEA/s1600-h/disney+arrival.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289695233566083890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SWjFyfbIizI/AAAAAAAAAr8/5mFH3lSXqEA/s320/disney+arrival.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><div>12/26/08...</div><div>...the presents were opened, the supplies packed in suitcases...we went out to dinner with Wendy and her mom. The plan was for her to come home with us and we would leave after she and I packed everything into the car. Unfortunately, she packed all of her stuff except she couldn't find her license - and we needed that - to get into the hotel and for her to do the rental car! Ugh! so she spent 20 minutes on hold with the Mechanicsville Wal-mart where she had taken it out to return something earlier in the day but no luck - then did the 30 minute drive back to her house with her mom worrying about all of our plans going to pot - and then she texted me that it was in her pants pocket from earlier in the day - wrapped in the Wal-mart receipt. </div><br /><div>...one disaster averted!</div><br /><div>...meanwhile at the ranch, Riley and I packed the truck and strapped it onto the trailer I have for it. She arrived at our house around 8:45 and we did some final adjustments and off we went. </div><br /><div>...The kids were so excited they couldn't sleep. Riley was awake most of the night consistently and kept asking us what state we were in now. It brought back memories of my childhood when we would stuff 7 kids and 2 parents into a station wagon and drive 4 hours from our home in Massachusetts to our previous home in NY. "Are we there yet" was a much hated question and like the cartoons, I can remember us asking it repeatedly! Of course, I was taking pride in what I thought was his burgeoning geography knowledge until the ride home when he asked if we were back in America yet? dunno where he thought we left the country (or continent) during the trip but he clearly didn't realize that all of the states were in "America" (LOL).</div><br /><div>...Logan and Addison slept pretty consistently and Matthew also was asleep between 11 and 4 or 5 in the morning. </div><br /><div>...By 4:00 there was no containing Riley anymore and - by extension the others because he cannot modulate his volume well - so we decided to put in a video. It gave us the extra hour of driving we wanted to get to a good stopping place for breakfast and to fill up the gas tank.</div><br /><div>...10:00 am we arrive ...the hotel/condo is right behind SeaWorld and even though we didn't plan on going there, the kids recognized roller coasters when they saw them and knew we were "THERE". They wanted to go to the park right away!</div><br /><div></div><div>...We used Wendy's GPS to find the local Wal-mart and went there to buy food ...after a shopping trip that was complicated by a lot of touchy hands (I wants, can I haves?, and gimmes?) we arrived back to the hotel and Wendy tried to check in. Even though she had called earlier in the week and asked for an early check in (which they assured her we would get!)...they had allowed the people in our room to have a late check out - huh??...so here we had frozen, refridgerated and other food in the car and the possibility of no check in for 4 hours. We were tired, frustrated and neither Wendy nor I were good at concealing it - especially with 4 tired kids and luggage for a week to unpack! Ultimately, one of the bell man came and took our food to their restaurant refrig and freezer, and took all of our luggage so we could go to the pool. At 2:00 (instead of the 4 we were told), Wendy got a call that our room was ready. So up we all went. They delivered our food and luggage a few minutes later</div><br /><div>...The hotel had 2 main large pools and sprinkled around the area was a playground, a life sized chess game, ping pong table, pool table and 5 hot tubs and 2 children's pools (one a 1 foot pool and 1 a splash pool with spouting water!)</div><br /><div>...After a dinner of (yum) spagettios...the kids were ready for bed and so was mom...</div></div>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-23275521321336030082009-01-04T16:21:00.002-05:002009-01-04T16:55:29.712-05:00The lazy blogger...Okay, okay...I definitely have been lax about blogging but, I can say that I have had one of the best holiday 2 weeks of my life and there really hasn't been time. I plan on blogging about the time over the next several days but here's a preview...<br />...12/24/08 - all of the kids woke up and we went out shopping for brother and sister gifts (at Dollar Tree)...then went home to finish up and get ready for Christmas.<br />12/25/08...had a wonderful Christmas complete with happy children and mom and not too much clean up...a great dinner and just enough time to relax and go to sleep.<br />12/26/08...did some errands and got ready to pack for the Disney trip...it started raining...pulled the trailer and back end of the truck into garage to pack but it started pouring so went out to dinner and then packed...waited for Wendy who had misplaced her license...she found it and we packed while she went home to find it...left at 9 pm...<br />12/27/08...arrived in Orlando FL around 10 am (after 2-3 stops and breakfast)...went to Walmart for some food supplies and then back to the hotel/condo to check in...they weren't ready so we ate lunch and then went swimming and got to check in around 2PM...everyone went to bed around 6pm...<br />12/28/08...first real day...went to Animal Kingdom...had a great time<br />12/29/08...went to Magic Kingdom...my back started hurting on the drive in (did absolutely nothing to it!)...left mid day to pick up Denise, Elena and Nina at the airport. Made it back for a few hours at Magic Kingdom...back spasming (is that a word?)...borrowed some medicine from Wendy's friend Tracy...it didn't work. Slept with an ice pack on my back...<br />12/30/08...woke up barely able to walk...we decided to make this our day to stay around the condo...Denise and girls went to Animal Kingdom, I stayed with 6 kids at condo complex while Wendy and Tracy went shopping at Downtown Disney...back was "somewhat better in water"...made lunch after 2 hours of swimming...all kids did quiet time (mom napped) for 2 hours and went back to pool - went to bed around 11 pm after picking up some muscle relaxers at Walgreens<br />12/31/08...Back to Magic Kingdom...back was better - if I didn't move - or sit - stayed till around 3 pm but the kids were wiped and we left for a nap...Parks were "Closed" to new entrants so we couldn't go back (not that my back would have taken it)...Wendy and Tracy did get into Epcot for the festivities. I heard them from my bed at the condo!<br />1/1/09...Hollywood Studios...excellent day...pain was manageable with meds and no fast movements...driving was hard<br />1/2/09...Epcot...good day but we were all tired and all of the walking didn't really help my back...<br />1/3/09...swimming in the morning...left Orlando around 2 pm; ended up hitting traffic in Georgia so stopped at 1:00 am in NC and slept<br />1/4/09...home at 11:30 am with 4 kids who are tired, cranky and restless...can't wait for bed time.Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-38084588731850867382008-12-25T16:49:00.003-05:002008-12-25T17:53:16.256-05:00Merry Christmas to all...<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SVQDq2bTRLI/AAAAAAAAArs/qRsSjarF61U/s1600-h/christmas+tree.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283852297511847090" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SVQDq2bTRLI/AAAAAAAAArs/qRsSjarF61U/s320/christmas+tree.jpg" border="0" /></a> It was a tough transition last night, all of the kids were definitely excited and behavior was off. Ultimately Logan, Addison and Matthew went to bed crying. Riley ended up crying because Matthew was so loud he couldn't sleep. I ended up eating a hershey bar (and I haven't done that in a long time) because of the stress. Then, I put the presents out, wrapped the last couple and filled the stockings. I was in bed by 12:30 and only had 2 people in my bed this morning when I woke up.<br /><div>...Speaking of waking up...Riley did - at 7:30! - I think a personal late record for him! He came into my room and laid next to me and said,..."know what?...Santa came!" I asked him how he knew and he said...cuz I saw that the cookies were gone. "I asked him to write a note back to me on the cookie note so I want to see if he did" - (score one for the tired Santa cuz I had - at the last minute written a note on the back of the cookie note! - there was no sign of asking for it but I thought it would be cute so, whew!)</div><br /><div>...I got up and made them wait till I got dressed before they went downstairs and then, there was a mad dash down the stairs to the living room where the tree and presents were. By the time I got there, the packages were separated into piles and they were waiting patiently for me. ...It took all of about 5 minutes but mostly there was squeals of happiness and excitement. all of the packaging (and you know how hard that is) was undone by about 1 hour after we were up and they were happily playing with new toys...the first broken toy occured at 9:30 and there was some consternation (and squabbling) but again Santa scored by (accidentally) choosing two radio control cars with the same frequency! - so the one whose antenna broke could use his brothers control panel to run his car!!!</div><br /><div>...Wendy and Pat arrived around 1:00 just as I was getting the girls down for a nap. And I started finishing the cooking. Dinner (and the girls) were ready by 3:00 and we opened presents from Pat and Wendy...and (score again) the boys got another radio control car and guess what? the one whose first control panel was broken got the one that has the same frequency as his first car! now he can use both cars at the same time?!</div><br /><div>...We all sat down to dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, mixed vegetables, and these "to die for" pumpkin dinner rolls that I made. Boy I ate about 4 of them and I am stuffed!! The ham was the moistest one I have ever eaten. </div><br /><div>...all of the kids ate (first miracle), talked about what was great about their Christmas in turns (second miracle) and thoroughly enjoyed themselves( and so did I). </div><br /><div>Merry Christmas to All...I hope your day was good too.</div><br /><div></div>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-921440142593852042008-12-24T13:44:00.003-05:002008-12-24T13:51:11.317-05:00Ready, set, go...<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SVKEjfShfQI/AAAAAAAAArk/H4kMXJD-S1E/s1600-h/ready+set+go.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283431058088492290" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 264px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SVKEjfShfQI/AAAAAAAAArk/H4kMXJD-S1E/s320/ready+set+go.jpg" border="0" /></a> ...went to the car repair place and finally found someone who understood why I didn't want to leave the Tahoe...I will have it repaired the week we get back...then the Pathfinder will be big enough! <div><br /><br /><div>...today we did some last minute end of the year stuff...delivered 5 more bags of clothes we've outgrown to Goodwill...went to the Library to get some new DVD's and books on CD for the trip...went to Dollar Tree for the kids to buy presents for each other. It was a disaster but I think we have everything...</div><br /><br /><div>...now we are doing quiet time and naps and I'll decide if we are going to try to go to Walmart to return a tablecloth I bought there which doesn't fit my table (cause I am mathematically challenged!)...</div><br /><br /><div>Merry Christmas to everyone!</div></div>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-8710138301186447042008-12-22T19:34:00.004-05:002008-12-22T20:12:38.482-05:00Last minute details...I decided to take today off to complete some last minute details for Christmas.<br /><br />It all started out well enough...drop kids off at daycare...stop at WaWa and pick up a free coffee (with a coupon that was due to expire on 12/31/08)...drive to Dominion Chevrolet to drop off Tahoe to get speedometer repaired and the 2nd seat seat belt latches replaced since they have been broken for a couple of months...<br /><br />...here is where the trouble started...waited over an hour for the courtesy van to get back from its first run to drive me home...called Pediatrician and begged to get Matt's meds refilled even though I didn't give 2 day notice...went upstairs and went through all of the presents I've bought ...answer cell phone...it's Dominion Chevrolet - did I forget my pocketbook in the courtesy van?...curse!...they will drop it off on the way back from their next drop off...wrapped all of the presents...determined what I still needed to buy and made a list of places I needed to go to...walked outside to the minivan to do some errands...it was out of gas!...curse!...curse again...answer cell...Tahoe is done...Good! can they send the van to pick me up?...40 minutes later get back to Dominion and pick up Tahoe and head to CVS...buy a few things...go out to lunch with Debra...get call from Ped office - Rxs are written and I can pick up...head out after lunch to Ped office and pick up Rx's...head back down Broad St and stop at CVS along way cuz I didn't get all I needed...<br /><br />...get into a fender bender in parking lot leaving...curse!...curse again!!...talk to insurance agency to report it...they want me to bring it tomorrow to be repaired...need it for trip to Disney...promise me they will give me a comparable car to rent (first $600 is on the insurance company)...head to Walmart...buy last minute gifts and 2 gallons of milk...talk to insurance investigator...he also assures me I will get a comparable car (but will it fit the trailer?!!)...<br /><br />...go to Walgreen's and drop off prescription...go home and read email and order pizza for dinner...go back to Walgreens and pick up prescriptions...pick up Pizza...pick up kids at daycare...eat pizza in Family room in front of television.<br /><br />I'm tired...anyone else?Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-77491196290820540572008-12-20T18:07:00.003-05:002008-12-20T19:20:54.165-05:00Christmas BlessingsIt has been a rough couple of weeks, but I think I can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel (and am hoping it isn't a TRAIN!)...I do feel blessed this Christmas season despite this and want to take the time to make sure that I comment on them.<br /><br />First, my Matthew. He has taught me so much about unconditional love and facing adversity. He has grown up a lot in the last year and though he still makes a lot of impulsive, poor choices - I definitely can hear him - on occasion - at least saying the right things. He is a sweet older brother who gets along great with his youngest sister and loves to make her laugh. <br /><br />Next, there is Riley. I can't believe how much he has struggled and how far he has come this year. He definitely continues to be my sensitive one as evidenced by his struggles with back-to-school and his behavior at times. He worries alot about how people see him and wants to be good. He has become so helpful around the house - last week cleaning his bedroom and "labelling" his drawers for his clothes. This morning he got up with the two girls and played with them for 15 minutes and then took his youngest sister to the potty and got them both dressed for the day. I laid in bed smiling the whole time imagining him as a teenager and hoping that he remains so helpful and wonderful. <br /><br />Logan continues to be the princess of the family though she is showing signs of an impending Barbie obsession (oh no!). She is silly and mischievious and sweet and outgoing...everything that I am not. I am told almost on a daily basis that she is the life of the party at her daycare class. And even at 3y11m I know that we are in for a lot of "girl drama" as she gets to be a tween. She has the most amazing imagination and tells me stories of her and her frineds every day...of course I don't know which to believe and which to not but that is part of her charm.<br /><br />Addison has become a Lavoie in record time. She is feisty with a dramatic flair and has more melodrama than the other 3 combined - any booboo is met with tears and screams - that disappear with one word..."fine"...I say...you are fine...she says "fine?" and I say yes...you are fine and she is off. She loves music and dancing and being the baby of the family. She is sweet and loves kisses and hugs and taking her shoes off in the car. She also has a mind of her own that gets her into trouble but has a great way of saying "I'm sorry" and you know she means it. <br /><br />I also am blessed by a career that I continue to love and feel privileged to have. I am blessed to have a wonderful extended family who I don't get to see enough and friends who are there when I need support. I am blessed with good health and the good health of my children, to live in a country where we are free and have amazing plentitude. <br /><br />Merry Christmas to all who know me and I hope your next year will be full of blessings and wonder.Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-36176920318865471832008-12-12T10:16:00.003-05:002008-12-12T10:22:47.574-05:00Buncha stuff going on here...<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SUKBsnMbAcI/AAAAAAAAArU/DR9O8bJO_S4/s1600-h/0052.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278924316666954178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SUKBsnMbAcI/AAAAAAAAArU/DR9O8bJO_S4/s320/0052.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SUKBQYzIPkI/AAAAAAAAArM/MPbrsEdOqmA/s1600-h/0061.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278923831766433346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SUKBQYzIPkI/AAAAAAAAArM/MPbrsEdOqmA/s320/0061.jpg" border="0" /></a> Not much time (and too emotionally raw) to write about it. But thought I could share some of the pictures we took the other day. Merry Christmas!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-82036977051313102032008-12-01T19:01:00.003-05:002008-12-01T19:32:56.130-05:00trip from......well, you know where...<br />We arrived home at 2:30 pm, nearly 23 hours after we left Denise's house on Sunday. I should have known it was going to be bad when at noon it started hailing in MA as we left for a trip to the mall to see if the kids could run off some of their energy. We actually entered the mall right next to the Santa display and there was one family on his lap and...no...one...else...in...line so we slipped right in. Matthew asked for a WALL*E toy, Logan - a princess computer, Addison - nothing in particular and Riley asked for a Go-Kart (to which Santa - bless him - said he would think about it!). Addison was not scared in the least and I actually thought she did great. <br />So, we started out at around 4PM. It was dark and raining pretty hard. First thing I did wrong was\ go the wrong way on the first interstate which took us about 12 miles out of our way. When we finally were appropriately headed South we started going. We made pretty good time considering it was pouring rain until we got into Connecticut. At this point, we started hitting random 10 mile sections of complete gridlock. I had this goal of getting to the NJ Turnpike but the kids started getting anxious and even Matthew started bugging me about eating dinner. Finally around 7 pm we got into NY and we stopped at the first rest area. IT WAS PACKED. The kids were crazy and were trying to run around and (did I mention) it was pouring rain. Okay, the lines for food were like 75 people deep at each of the restaurants so I elected not to eat. There was a lot of grumbling but we got back into the car. So, we continued like that with these random 10-15 mile back ups and then open road through the George Washington Bridge to the NJ Tpk. By now it was really dark and there are few lights and my eyes were dry and tired. We got to around the Newark Airport and I decided to try and stop for the night. I could see about 10 hotels ...but could I get to them? No way...we were driving around random clover leafs and finally I took a wrong turn that was taking me back to NY City and I got off ...oops onto another semi-highway and there was no way to turn around and finally I got off of that and was traveling in this (how shall I say this) less than affluent area of Newark (and I was scared!) for about 45 minutes until I happened to get back onto the semi-highway going south and almost got turned around again but finally found my way back to the NJ Tpk. Now I wasn't going to stop for a while and we went about 1/2 down the Tpk and I got off and we got to a hotel around 10:30. By this time the kids were starving...including Matthew who was very cute but could definitely see that there was no McD's at this hotel. I reached out into the back and grabbed the first bag in the bread that my brother Steve gave me (shout out - you saved the day!!!) and grabbed a bag of bagels. Matthew saw them and said the famous words..."Are those bagels...I want a bagel!!!" (for those of you who know him, know that a bagel is like poison to his mouth! a texture he just doesn't do! so for him to want it was a testimony to how hungry he really was!)...as a bonus they had apples at the front desk and I took 5 of them and he ate one of those too...and she gave the kids pretzels and he ate two small bags of them too!<br />Day 2 dawned at around 6:30 for the family and we were up and in the restaurant (with Matthew leading the cry for food!)...and out on the road by 8 am. We made pretty good time in NJ but Delaware, MD and Virginia were all randomly stop-and-go. As we got toward Richmond, we saw some black clouds (and a rainbow!) and I just knew that it would rain on me as I was unpacking and wouldn't you know, we got a huge downpour as we were trying to clean out the stuff out of the seats. <br />So, all-in-all, it was a good trip, but it will be a long time before I attempt to drive it again.Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-56226274872020824372008-11-27T20:09:00.002-05:002008-11-27T20:30:12.851-05:00Part 1 of trip down...We left right on time at 2:00 am on Wednesday. We had gotten everything packed and all of the kids and I went to bed around 9:00 pm. I was getting my coffee and the last few things together and went out to start and warm up the truck. <br />I turned around and the au pair cam walking into the house through the open garage door! Okay, a little annoying...I was hoping that she would help me to stay awake but since she was walking in the door at 1:45, that idea went away. <br />We got the kids into the car and I started driving. I filled up the gas tank down the street for $1.66 a gallon (have I said that I LOVE these gas prices!)...<br />Sometime around the time I was merging from 295 onto 95 N, I looked down and noticed that my speedometer read 55 and the speed limit was 65 so I sped up. After a few minutes, the car was really loud and I was trying to get my speed up and...that was when I realized that my speedometer was STUCK on 55...I pulled off the highway and it stayed at 55! So, now I had the majority of the trip to travel without knowing how fast or slow I was going. For the next 3.5 hours, I travelled at 55 and passed many many people. We stopped for breakfast on the NJ Turnpike and when I got back on the road, the needle went to 130 mph and varied between 50 and 130 depending on my speed the last 3 hours. <br />Despite (or because of) the broken speedometer I arrived at Jean's house at 9:00 (with a stop at Dunkin Donuts).<br />Wednesday was a slow day. I took the 4 boys bowling at the local lanes and after we checked into the hotel, we had lasagna and came home to sleep. Today we woke up at around 7 am and go to Jean's around 9 am. We ate Jean's "famous" French Toast and Riley, Addison and I went outside and played. After a great Thanksgiving dinner, we came back to the hotel and the kids went to the hotel pool. After the pool, we went back to Jean's for dessert. Now we are lying in the beds, watching Zack and Cody and getting ready for bed.Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-13747750464292289652008-11-25T20:03:00.003-05:002008-11-25T20:17:20.239-05:00Thanksgiving...<div>The car is (mostly) packed. </div><br /><div>The kids are settling down. </div><br /><div>The au pair is out on a date. </div><br /><div>And I am trying to psych myself up for this trip. </div><div> </div><div>Don't get me wrong, I am totally looking forward to Thanksgiving (with the exception of the drive from LI to MA on Friday...and the drive from MA to VA on Sunday). I love spending time with my sister Jean who I think is the coolest (and calmest) mom going. She gives me strength and we haven't seen her since May ...so looking forward to it. I wish that I could spend the entire time at her house...aside from the driving it just is more stressful for me to go visit the entire family.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SSyixFFFxaI/AAAAAAAAAqk/OvcQNTKOPsk/s1600-h/grandpa.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272768227804824994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 137px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 132px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SSyixFFFxaI/AAAAAAAAAqk/OvcQNTKOPsk/s320/grandpa.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>But, Logan is really on a "grandpa" kick. It started about 2 months ago or so...she just randomly started asking when we were going to visit her grandpa...then, everytime she was sad, she would cry and say..."I miss my grandpa" and lately, everytime she doesn't get her way or something doesn't go her way she says..."My grandpa would get that for me (or let me do that!)". </div><div>Now, for those of you who know my father (and clearly Logan doesn't), he isn't (usually) the warm-and-fuzzy-bake-cookies-with-you type. Logan hasn't seen him since 2 summers ago when we spent a week with him (kind of) in Maine (well, maybe a lunch sometime in between that and now). </div><br /><div>So, she has been really looking forward to this trip and I am going to do it so that I can get some pictures of her and him for the future. It is so sweet and I hope I can get her some</div>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-77887663326868236802008-11-22T19:06:00.002-05:002008-11-22T19:25:51.961-05:00Getting ready for the holiday...Well, we have had a busy day. I went to bed last night with a headache at around 9:00 pm and woke up at 1:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally I fell back to sleep around 3:00 am and still had my headache when I got up at 6:30. After breakfast, I brought the kids to River City and then made a little detour to pick up the food that I ordered through this program called <a href="http://www.angelfoodministries.com/">Angel Food Ministry</a>. This is the second month I have used this program. <br />After the girls went down for their nap I was able to re-hang all of the kitchen cabinet doors. The kitchen looks great...even if I do say so myself!...I just have to do two more doors and a couple of drawer fronts and it is DONE...finito...over! <br />This afternoon, I finished culling through my closet for shoes and we went to donate them on our way to the local gas station. $3.25 (at $0.75 each 4 minutes) later worth of vacuuming and the truck is empty and ready for our trip to Long Island and Massachusetts! Tomorrow we will put the trailer on the truck and get everything ready to be loaded Tuesday afternoon so we can leave around 1:00 am Wednesday morning.Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-65948387231057852008-11-17T21:09:00.003-05:002008-11-17T21:18:29.014-05:00You forgot to remind me...<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SSIllJsiyfI/AAAAAAAAAqc/7z7BuLIBx20/s1600-h/crazy+mom.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269815834165037554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dB4oxF5VKLo/SSIllJsiyfI/AAAAAAAAAqc/7z7BuLIBx20/s320/crazy+mom.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />..."mom...you forgot to remind me to put on a long-sleeved shirt this morning...umm...can you ask your boss if you can come home and bring me one to school?"...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />...mmm...<br /><p></p><p></p><br /><br /><br />...mmm...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Yup, that's me...mother-of-the-year...who forgets to tell her son to wear a sleeved (never mind a long-sleeved) shirt on a day when the morning temp is below freezing...also, I fought with him when he wanted to wear a coat and told him that he just needed to wear a sweatshirt!Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-15720684073660268032008-11-15T13:38:00.003-05:002008-11-15T15:19:56.640-05:00Lazy Saturday...I was hoping to have one of these and so far it is...the kids woke up pretty early but I was able to stay in bed until around 7. After showering (with Addison screaming outside the door totally pissed bc I wouldn't let her in)...we got dressed and ate breakfast. After a little cleaning and re-cleaning up the toys, we all got in the car and went to River City for gymnastics and dance class. I was running on empty and so I filled up the car for $42 ...over 23 gallons at $1.789!!!! (have to say I am loving these low gas prices and really dreading when they go back up).<br />There was actually very little fighting and bickering at River City (Addison got a little feisty at the end of the two hours) and we came home and I made lunch and then set up Nastia's computer in her room.<br />She had been using mine, but wants to be able to instant message at 4 am cuz that is the time her parents are up...because of the time zone. I decided to give her one of the two that I had bought for the boys. But, I haven't had the $ to buy a replacement wireless receiver (since the boys had broken both of theirs)...so last week while we were looking for her camera, I picked one up (which was only $39.99 - compared to the $60 ea I had spent on the other two)...any how, it is up and working so hopefully that will help with her happiness and with me keeping people out of my room.<br />Now, the girls are in bed, the boys are watching disney channel and I am about to take a little nap. Hope you all have a great weekend.Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-3267926789957938222008-11-14T13:21:00.003-05:002008-11-14T13:27:35.163-05:00Making your home a haven - Inviting and giving - Day 5...Day 5 of the Making your home a haven is inviting and giving. I was struggling trying to think of what to do for this part of the challenge yesterday but events of the night have taken that struggle away...<br /><br />My oldest son came into my bed in the night and was moaning in his sleep. Finally, he snuggled up to me and said those fateful words "I think I have to throw up!"<br /><br /><br /><br />The rest of the night consisted of washing sheets and blankets (he had already thrown up)...rubbing his stomach and head...and worrying about when the rest of them would get it! I had planned on going out to dinner with Wendy and Pat (our surrogate Grandmother and aunt) but that will be cancelled for a quiet family night. Hopefully we can get some sleep tonight and will feel better tomorrow cuz it looks like it will rain all weekend and having 4 kids in various stages of stomach sickness stuck in a house because of the rain might just send me completely over the deep end.<br /><br />So, I'll leave you with a quote that I love...<br /><br /><em>You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.</em>- Winston ChurchillLucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-41558083549136694472008-11-13T08:46:00.002-05:002008-11-13T09:17:07.309-05:00Making your home a haven - FUN (Day 4)<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"We are driven by five genetic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom and fun"</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">- William Glasser</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So, today the challenge is to add some fun to our house. Isn't it so true that relationships within our families and houses are what make our homes havens? Against the outside? I have already had a morning where my plans have changed several times so I hope to - most of all - be flexible and try and insert fun wherever I can.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I went to bed last night after telling Riley that I couldn't drive him to school after all. Last weekend I had told him that I would drive him on Tuesdays and Thursdays - if he wanted. Well, when I realized that I needed to come in to work for a 7:30 am meeting and then be home by 9:00 am for my post-placement social work visit, I realized that I needed to leave the house at 7 (and I can't drop the boys off before 7:20)...He was mad and accused me of "lying"...ugh. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">After dinner, I was tired so ended up going to bed at 9:30 or so and really fell asleep. I was awakened twice during the night by the girls coming into my room </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">but must have fallen back asleep quickly because when I woke this morning (at 4:50 am), I felt more rested than I have in several weeks. As I lay there thinking about the day, I decided that the stress of trying to get to my work and back was too much for me and made the decision that I couldn't make the 7:30 meeting. Woke the boys and Logan at around 6 and started getting breakfast ready. I got to tell Riley that I had changed my mind and that I would drive him to school (and we can stop at the Library on the way to return the books! This is the start of FUN cuz he loves to put the books into the automatic feeder while sitting in my lap in the drivers seat!). </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">While we were getting ready to leave, I got a call from my SW who said that she was feeling ill and couldn't come this morning (ugh, this makes the 3rd time she has changed this visit!)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">but, the deed was done, I was missing the meeting and off we went.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Here is the rest of my list for today:</span><br /><ol><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Get to work and complete a couple of projects that I need to do (make hotel reservations for our trip up north over T'giving and email a patient list to my colleagues who are doing clinic with me this afternoon)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Blog (oh yeah, that is fun!) - and keeps me from working!</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Do my afternoon clinic </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Since I only have 2 patients this afternoon, hopefully I will finish early and if it isn't raining too much, I will ask my colleagues to join me in a cup of coffee at Starbucks across the street from the clinic space in the Mall (fun for the mommy who never gets out with her friends)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Go home and feed the kids dinner. Eggs and garlic toast with fruit.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Make cookies with the kids (and let them eat one before bed!)</span></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://thehomespunheart.blogspot.com/">Check out </a> how others are putting "fun" into their days today!</span></p>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-158635210715282702008-11-12T20:30:00.001-05:002008-11-12T20:32:24.245-05:00LMAOOkay, <a href="http://www.foddy.net/Athletics.html">this</a> is addictive...and scary...and hilarious...and another one of those crazy things that are on the internet...Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-8811109686627339592008-11-11T22:15:00.002-05:002008-11-12T18:43:18.358-05:00Make your home a haven - CARED FOR (Day 3)First, here is my quote for the day...<br /><br />"You are willing to go anywhere, but are you willing to stay where you are?"<br /><br />I plan on reflecting on this today with the idea of caring for myself will ultimately help me to care for my family and those around me and I tend to be the type of person who has to be moving, not exactly "ADD-like" but as if I am so important that if I am not doing 3 things at once I will be not working.<br /><br />Today I woke up at 5:30 and was able to get myself ready and go choose clothes for the kids before anyone (including Riley) awoke. This was such a blessing and allowed me to be much more relaxed as I woke each of them up with a little song about what they were going to be doing today. This was (relatively) easy since they were all sleeping in my bed (had arrived at various times during the night).<br /><br />The plan for today is very busy and so I am going to care for myself in that I am going to just try and take one thing at a time and remain calm.<br /><br />1) Up and eat breakfast and get the boys ready for school and the girls ready for pre-school<br />2) Make and pack lunches for the boys (calzones I had made a couple days ago)<br />3) Today I allowed them to watch a video for "exactly" 5 minutes because we had made such good time getting ready. It worked to help Matthew out the door when the bus arrived...not so much with Riley who wanted to dawdle over putting on his sweatshirt (vs wearing a T-shirt in 30 degree weather)!<br />4) At work today, we are interviewing again and I will try and arrive early to meet with the applicants and mingle (something I am not good at) and then interview several of them later in the morning.<br />5) After the interviews, I will go home and pick up Nastia to bring her to the European Deli in town. She is missing (I think) Russian food and can pick up some of the supplies. I hope by caring for her, my kids will reap the benefits of her presence in our home <span style="color:#000099;">This was successful though I got there a little late, we were both able to get some food shopping in and back to the house 15 minutes before the bus arrived. What good timing because I had just enough time to take the bread out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter to rise and to put the food away. </span><br />6) After this, I will be home for the boys to get off the bus. We have an appointment for the 4 kids to go get the flu shot today. (I have offered to pay for Nastia to get one too since I think it will make me less anxious if she doesn't get sick this winter either). <span style="color:#000099;">It was nice to be home for the boys. They both ran and gave me a big hug. I think they miss their mom being there when they get home ...that ol' working guilt...but what choice do I have?...I am going to try and do this a couple times a month to try and keep in touch with them as they get home from very busy school days. After they dropped off their stuff in the house, we jetted to pick the girls up and drive to the pharmacy to get our flu shots. They were all really brave (but got the nasal flu mist so no real bravery was required)...and were great for the pharmacist. </span><br />7) After the flu shots we will try and do something fun... I haven't decided yet what but I will plan on being there with my kids in whatever we decide. <span style="color:#000099;">So, across the street from the pharmacy is a Dollar Tree so I took them there to pick out a toy and I bought a package of "oreo's"...we had a nice little jaunt to climb on the nearby "chick fil a" climbing place and eat a package of french fries and go home...but wait...oh darn, Mamma forgot that we have Logan's 3 year post-placement visit from the social worker tomorrow at 9 am. So we made a detour to the local Walgreen's ...luckily I had my camera in my purse so I could print out 6 pictures to go with the report. We arrived home just in time to eat left-over spaghetti and meatballs and for me to put the garlic bread in the oven. The house smells so great right now I might just fall asleep. </span><br /><p>8) Dinner will be left-0vers ...we have pizza, spaghetti and some chicken<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Overall I think today was a successful day in our haven (home). I really did a good job of trying to block out the competing influences and spend an enjoyable time with my kids...this was made even easier since I left my cell phone/beeper at work trying to get out on time! </span></p><p>Good Luck to all who are making their homes haven's today.</p>Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-58185391235626266662008-11-11T10:59:00.005-05:002008-11-11T21:56:13.193-05:00Making your home a haven - CLEAN (Day 2)Here is my second installment in the <a href="http://thehomespunheart.blogspot.com/2008/11/making-your-home-haven.html">Making your home a haven </a>segment. The theme today is CLEAN...(okay, everyone who knows me needs to get up off the floor!)<br /><br />Here is my quote that I found to reflect on during the day...<br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;">Cleanliness and order are not matters of instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you must cultivate a taste for them</span><br /><span style="color:#660000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">...Benjamen Disraeli</span><br /><br />Here's my timeline...<br /><br />1) up at 6:00 am...(Riley was already downstairs, and luckily I was able to get showered, dressed, made up and ready for the day before the other 3 were awake). <span style="color:#000099;">DONE</span><br />2) get girls dressed and help boys get dressed for school <span style="color:#000099;">DONE</span><br />3) breakfast of cereal and pumpkin oatmeal bread (homemade) for the kids; make my coffee and breakfast to bring with me <span style="color:#000099;">DONE</span><br />4) take completed (yeah) kitchen cabinet doors off of the dining room table and get the next ones prepped so I can work on them after supper <span style="color:#000099;">(1/2 DONE...finished with the first set, but didn't get to do the next part)</span><br />5) clean breakfast dishes (thanks Nastia for the help)<br />6) drive the boys to school <span style="color:#000099;">DONE</span><br />7) Work...I have both morning and afternoon clinics today so will be running from the time I get there. <span style="color:#000099;">ACTUALLY NOT AS BAD AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE...one PM patient came in the morning and 2 PM patient's cancelled so was out by 4 PM</span><br />8) Hopefully I will finish by around 4 and can get home to make dinner and complete the "clean portion.<br />9) During dinner prep, I am hoping to spend some time with the kids (if it is still light) playing outside <span style="color:#000099;">Didn't get to go outside, but we had a good time in the house while I was cooking.</span><br />10) Paint (prime) the next set of cabinet doors<br />11) Do homework with the boys and cuddle the girls and get everyone to bed by 8 pm <span style="color:#000099;">OK, this is where I had some trouble. Forgot that this was my WW meeting night. So, instead of this, I went to my WW meeting and spent some quality time with my friends Wendy and Pat. It was a good night. </span><br />11) Go through my closet and bag up the shoes that I haven't worn for > 1 year for Goodwill. I have been meaning to do this. (for those of you who don't know me, I have about 200 pairs of shoes and most of them just sit in my closet...since the beginning of the re-model this summer, I have been planning on really culling them)...Tonight is the night! <span style="color:#000099;">I am still planning on trying to do this before bed. </span><br /><br />Dinner tonight will be spaghetti and meatballs with left over cling peaches and homemade italian bread (garlic toast)<br /><br />I'll post back pictures from the last two days tonight.Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285501389743573674.post-84357555519172690872008-11-10T20:35:00.002-05:002008-11-10T20:59:54.775-05:00Making your home a haven - Tidy (Day 1)Today is the start of the Making your home a haven challenge. The theme is tidy (Whaaaa, you laugh) but I do have something to contribute here...<br />1) First, I spent about 15 minutes this morning as I was getting ready where I allowed the kids to watch television while lying in my bed and it gave me a few minutes to think and welcome the day. Once I got my coffee made, I sat at the computer and looked for quotes that I might be able to use to reflect on today. It might be too much of a chance for bringing lightning bolts so I won't be using a bible quote...<br /><br />Instead, I give you this:<br />"You were made perfectly to be loved - and surely I have loved you, in the idea of you, my whole life long." by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. <br /><br />This is how I want to be with my kids, free to give unconditional love - love that is -free from expectations and judgements. I hope that I can try and achieve this for 15 minutes...no 30 minutes...no an hour or two or three. If I can do that, then I can string a day and then two together... <br /><br />2) My plans for the day were ...<br />...go to work...we are interviewing for residency applicants today and I have two meetings and a mid-year evaluation to do this afternoon. I hope to be done by about 4 and then hope to do a little shopping on the way home...<br />...dinner is pizza (homemade pizza dough is in the fridge ready to go) and cling peaches and going to make a couple of calzones so that I can send those in for school lunches later in the week...<br />...after dinner it will be a little quiet play time with the kids and starting homework with the older boys...<br />...finally, to get to the "tidy" theme, my goal is to complete the painting of several of the cabinet doors and get them ready to be hung up tomorrow. <br /><br />Tomorrow I will try and get pictures posted of the days chores.Lucky Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16592812984417659135noreply@blogger.com2