My Peeps Are Getting So Big.....

Henry turned 8 years old last week. I thought I would be sadder. Eight just seems like the start of the big kid years to me. I had a twinge here and there about having two "big kids" now, but overall I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I like having big kids. I didn't know how I would handle "middle-age childhood"....after all, I was a preschool teacher before I was a mom and so most of my experience with kids was with those still in diapers or Underoos.



But, here I am...mother of a 5 year old, an 8 year old and a 10 year old and I am finding that I really enjoy it. They are witty and smart. They follow the "don't wake mommy until the clock says 8" rule most of the time. The mostly follow directions.....mostly. But, overall, I think it is really fun to watch them as they start to become the people they are going to be. Maybe I would feel differently if I didn't have such great kids....if I didn't totally love the people they are becoming. But I do.

Ella is smart and funny and about the most helpful 10 year old on Earth.


Henry is hilarious and creative and finally realizing that there is a world out there that doesn't revolve around him.


And Charlotte....well, she's Charlotte....she is inquisitive and bold and the most compassionate animal lover I have ever encountered.



So, though I miss the new human bean stage of life....nursing, baby-wearing, adorable little clothes, etc, etc, etc......I am content and downright happy with the three children I have and thrilled with the older human beans they are becoming <3

Summer's Coming

My kids reminded me today that next week at this time school will be OVER for the year. Another year completed....I find it hard to believe. But instead of boo-hooing over where all the time has gone I am going to prepare for a summer of fun....swimming, parks, day trips and weekend trips too.....and, as we do every summer, we will wait to hear the happy tune of the ice cream truck coming through our neighborhood.

My kids do fight..

Here is a conversation I just heard between my children, ages 9 (Ella) and 7 (Henry):

Ella: When I have a child I am going to name her Lillian Kathleen

Henry (who can't remember anyone's name EVER): When I have a child, I am going to name him......

Ella: Henry, just name your kids Thing 1 and Thing 2 because you won't remember their names anyway.

Henry: Ella, I am building a punching machine

Ella: Henry, I don't NEED a machine.

This is the manner in which my children argue. I can't really get too mad at them because they aren't generally disrespectful to each other and they keep me entertained so I just hope it won't doesn't get any worse than this :)

Some day are better than others........

Today was a great day. Seriously. The only problem with that is I have no idea WHY it was a great day. I wish I could bottle the good mood I am in and use it on a day where there is more stress and less patience (like every other day of my week). Here is how my day went.......you'll understand my confusion if you continue reading:

We got up late....the kids need to be out the door by 8:00 am and we rose (to gray skies and pouring rain on a Monday morning no less) at 7:21. I should say *I* rose at 7:21....the children dragged themselves from their cozy warm beds at 7:30. Rush through breakfast, brushing (both kinds), dressing and lunch packing(x2). My oldest complained of a sore throat the entire time she was getting ready and the youngest coughed until she nearly vomited.

Three phone calls before 8 am: Ex-husband informing me of a relocation of the items I asked him to leave on his porch for me, Henry's teacher to inform me of a schedule change which doesn't allow me to volunteer in his classroom this morning as planned (WHEW! I guess I accidentally double booked myself!) and Charlotte's teacher informing me that the torrential downpour outside my window will force us to reschedule the field trip to the pumpkin patch.........bummer.

Drop off the two biggest peeps right on time and decide to take the younger out to breakfast. All went mostly ok there except our waitress ran so far behind that I only ate 1 slice of toast, 1 piece of bacon and 3 bites of egg before heading out to drop the littlest peep off at preschool......I did manage 2 cups of coffee though :)

The highlight of my day came after dropping the littlest off. I went home.....and hired a cleaning lady! She was quirky (took her wooden clogs off outside the door because she prefers to work in her bare feet. I don't care WHAT she works in if she is cleaning my house!). She has clown-like curly hair (which was not helped by the rain) that she tried unsuccessfully to stuff under a baseball cap. She paired a bleach stained sweater with a long denim skirt. She was................perfect. She said everything I one day hoped to hear my cleaning lady say....using beautifully tidy and sanitary words.....ahhhh, I can hardly wait until next Wednesday.

I decided to grocery shop while still on the "hiring high". I went in with a list which is a plus for me because I do have ADD and often the items pulled from my shopping bag after a "list-free" excursion show just how severe this disorder can be. I was shopping for ingredients to make chicken corn soup and pumpkin rolls, a few household odds and ends, and the list of cleaning supplies my new friend requested I buy. The trip was uneventful...........until I walked outside. It was the kind of rain that you can FEEL before you are even out the door. And the bag holding my cans split.........in the parking lot......on the bottom.............on a hill. I chased creamed corn down the parking lot in a downpour....4 cans to be exact. And yet my good mood remained.

It remained straight through picking up the littlest peep (and getting a good report from the teacher...woot!), picking up the sickest peep at school (slightly more frustrating as Charlotte "re-organized the staff nametags in the school office while we waited) and right through the unloading of the groceries (even when ANOTHER bag tore leaving 4 cans on the ground again.......I can only be thankful that it wasn't on a hill....because it was still raining). Doctors appointments made, it was time to DO something. My house was a mess so, obviously, the only thing to do was........Bake and cook!

I made 4 pumpkin rolls (all of which fell apart in the rolling process leaving them deliciously ugly) and 2 huge pots of chicken corn soup.........and the non-perishable groceries are still on the kitchen floor as I type this. Tomorrow's another day. I rushed out to pick up the boy.....I had to be first in the carpool line in order to be able to make it to the girls' doctor appointments. Both girls did beautifully performing all tasks requested by the doctor. Prescriptions in hand (each had a sinus infection) and out the door we go. Run home, finish pumpkin rolls and dart out to deliver food to friends. This might be the part that sealed the deal on my good mood. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE to bake and cook for people. I know I am going to be the grandma that forces food on her grandchildren when they come to visit. I will be the one that thinks she needs to "fatten them up". I just love it....hopefully the friends do too.

I came home, greeted my best friend (who lives with us) as she arrived home from work, got dinner on the table and.............breathed. I love dinnertime with my family. We each go around the table and report on our "best and worst" moments of the day. I cherish these discussions. After all 3 kids lost interest in dinner conversation I ran to the grocery store to get the girls scripts..........and stopped off at K-Mart for a red teapot I have been eying up....a treat to myself.

Now it is time to crawl into bed and snuggle with my 9 year old as we watch the celebrities stumble through their routines on Dancing with the Stars.......a wonderful tradition I look forward to each week.

Well, reading back over this, I guess it is obvious why I am in such a great mood....I am really, truly bless with a great life. I hope tomorrow it is as obvious as it was today <3

Guess What I am Doing

I ordered new jeans....I am not comfortable discussing the reason WHY I ordered new jeans, but let's just say that if muffin tops were in style this season that I would be the ultimate in high fashion. Regardless, I ordered new jeans.........and had them shipped........we won't discuss WHY I had them shipped (Skinny ass little girl at the store who needs a sandwich could tell ya.......extended sizes.....WHATEVER, beanpole). ANYHOO.....the jeans were shipped...........to an address in Middletown. Please don't question why they are sitting on a random doorstep in a town 12 minutes away because I really don't have a good answer for that. All I know is that I am leaving my cozy house on a cool windy day (wearing shorts for reasons I, again, would rather not discuss.....I mean, who GAINS weight over the summer anyway??) to go on a stealth mission to steal what is rightfully mine off a complete stranger's doorstep in a neighboring community........stay tuned.

So, here I am

I am not sure why I decided to start another blog. I have attempted "Real Mom in a Digital World" and "Sephora Whora", but I never got inspired to write on them. I think the reason is because I don't like limitations. I don't want to write about a TOPIC.....I just want to write. My thoughts are sometimes odd, but then again, so is my life. So, I decided to start a blog under just my own name and write whenever I feel like it about whatever thoughts are in my head........that should be ok, right? Well, we shall see.

I ask questions like anyone is reading this. I haven't mentioned to a soul that I am starting this blog so it is unlikely that anyone is going to answer my questions....well, except if you are reading this you have obviously found this blog and, therefore, should answer my questions, right? Did you answer? Well, whatever....h

Today I volunteered in my children's school. Let's just say that I learned something at school. I learned that I am not "secretary material". I arrived and got a run through of what I was supposed to accomplish in my two hours. I was to copy 2-2 sided sheets of paper 132 times, fold and staple said pages into those little "books" the children bring home to practice reading and separate them into 6 groups of 22 books each rubberbanded together. Easy peasy, right? Well, maybe for someone who is not me. In the first 10 minutes I had made only 14 copies and jammed the copier 2 times which forced me to go into the main office and ask for assistance...great. The REAL secretary that came to rescue me kindly told me that the printer "has issues"......I think she was probably just being kind by not pointing out MY issues which were pretty obvious at that moment. You'd think that it would be smooth sailing for the remaining time, and it was........until I jammed the stapler......3 times.......and had to get a lead pencil to "pick" the smooshed up staple out of the hole where it had gotten all stuck. Did I mention that I thought I was super cool because I had discovered a "folding" option on the copier. I figured that this little find could cut my book-making time in half..AT LEAST! I was going to be a STAR VOLUNTEER! Then I pulled off my "pre-folded booklets".....oh, I was so excited......except I put the original sheets in the wrong order and all the books were inside out. Long story short: I finished the books...it just took a bit longer than what I had originally hoped. Moral: Don't apply for administrative assistant positions.

J