the girl who...

the girl who has a mind reader

2009-05-05T18:11:00.004-05:00

Tio Sabi is missing some money.

That really doesn't surprise me as he can be prone to be, ah, scatterbrained (to put it kindly) about his personal (and other people's personal) possessions. I think its likely he spent it and forgot about it.

However, as things go in this household, when something is missing, we go to the kiddos.

"Boys, did any of you pick up a $10 bill you may have found laying around?"

Solemn faces, "no."

Ok, fair enough. We asked, they answered, my mom alarm didn't go off, so they are in the clear. (and, like most moms, I can tell when they are lying. They're pretty terrible at it.)

However, Ian has become my little story teller. He likes to participate in conversations by claiming he has performed the activity being discussed or owns the item currently being spoken of, or is "best friends" with whomever the conversation is about. He does it with a perfectly straight face. He is a classic "one-upper."

So, after the quick little mass interogation, he comes into the room, slides onto Tio Sabi's lap and lays this one on us:

"Sabi, Zacky took your money. I hear his mind say so."

the girl who has a warning

2009-04-12T15:54:00.003-05:00

If you decide to decorate cupcakes with green frosting
and if you use the remainder of the tube of gel coloring
and if you throw that away and it misses the trashcan
and if your toddler picks it up off the floor and (unbeknownst to you) sucks it dry
and if you find the now completely empty tube on the floor of the living room with no idea of how it got there

then

don't be surprised
alarmed
or intimidated

by the florescent green diaper that said toddler gives you the next morning

and

if you use your powers of deduction
when the color starts bleeding out of the poop stuck on his leg and tints the bathwater a sickly green

you just might figure out what happens

when you decide to decorate cupcakes with green frosting.

(no pictures. I thought about it, but decided not to inflict that upon my very very few readers!)

the girl who is catching up

2009-04-10T08:39:00.007-05:00

so..since my last post I've

straightened my hair (temporarily)

made Breakfast for dinner on April Fool's Day

Met up with an old friend and her kids

taught some classes at the Scrappy Store

scrapped a little for myself

discovered Lomo and all of its yumminess

Gone to the Celebration Art Festival and, feeling artistic myself, took a bunch of pictures.

and not found a job

Don't know how much longer my landlord will be understanding, but I'm crossing my fingers the employment drought will end soon.

Quotes from the boys:

"Mommy, the school bus ride was AWESOME!"
(matthew)

"I am the Master Prankster!"
(Zachary)

"I'm making costumes."
(Ian, my little dress-up guy)

"This?"
(Eli's favorite new word)

the girl who is wishing Princess a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2009-03-07T11:12:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Princess! You are my mentor, my guru, my scrapping buddy and my friend. I think Jen Jen said it best when she said, "Happy Bday to the bestest boa wearin, tiara totin', F-U page scrappin, hair flippin, hairball throwin, shovel sister a girl could have! Love you Princess!!" That's pretty much all of our private jokes rolled up into one declarative sentence!

It can't be repeated enough, Love ya Princess!

the girl who is teaching a class

2009-03-02T18:36:00.002-05:00

Coming soon to Piktails Scrapbook Store in Orlando, this Mixed Media Mini Album, taught by yours truly.

We will learn some painting techniques (crackle, dry brushing and stenciling), work with TONS of glitter, do a little dry embossing, and have tons of messy fun. This book incorporates chipboard, sheer acetate, acrylic, corrugated cardboard, and paper pages with surprises! We'll make a pocket page, envelope page and fold out page. This album incorporates 2x2, 3x3, 3 1/2 x 5, and 4x6 pictures. There is room for a minimum of 25 pictures in this album!

I chose a bright, Spring, color scheme for this album so you could customize it for your Easter, baby, family, or Spring pictures. Would make a great gift for a baby shower, mother's day or birthday.

Call Debbie at Piktails to sign up, but HURRY. Because of all the techniques, we are limiting this class to 15 members.

the girl who feels unmotivated

2009-02-28T12:37:00.003-05:00

I have reached the doldrums. the blahs. the "meh" mentality. And I'm not quite sure what is worse...being in this particular mental state, or recognizing I'm here and still not doing much about it.

I have been unemployed for two months now. Two Months! I don't like it. I enjoy the ordered structure of having a schedule, having meetings, tasks that need to be completed: in short, having a job to do. I have tried, oh so desperately tried, to establish that same sense of order on my personal life, but it just isn't happening. I don't understand why I can't order and schedule and break my home life up into manageable chunks, but the dynamic is completely different.

What inevitably happens is that I maintain for a little while and then, suddenly it seems, it all goes to pot at the same time, I look around and see just too much to do at once and I shut down and enter the stage of "meh."

Example:

This is my loveseat. It is covered with a week's worth of washing. I feel like I just cleared this off, I turn around and its full again.

This is the surface of my furniture. It is filled, not only with thoughtful, decorative knick-knacks and family pictures, but all of the STUFF I pick up off of the floor, set down "just for a minute" or liberate from a toddler and set up out of his reach.

This is said toddler. The activity for the morning while I *try* to muster up the motivation to take care of Mount Washmore, is for his older brothers to put him in the back of this Tonka dumptruck and push him--SQUEALING at the top of his lungs--up and down the only clear pathway in the house. I'm sobbing a bit inside because I took him to get his curls trimmed last weekend and now he just isn't as curly anymore. I want to send the boys outside to play to get out of my way, but two of them are grounded. It's funny, I was just giving my humble advice to a friend this past week where I advised her to look for punishments for her child that didn't punish her as well and here I go, locking my two most active kids into this nightmare of a house with me. I'm a dolt.

So what HAVE I been doing with all of my freetime these days, you might ask?

Well, I've certainly caught up on my reading. Thanks to Book Mooch and Paperback Swap I have a ton of new books in the house. I've started reading Nora Roberts novels, FSM help me. They are addictive pieces of fluff. Well written pieces of fluff, but nothing but entertainment that doesn't require a whole bunch of thought. Addictive too BECAUSE they are well written. I get completely caught up in the story and end up with a perfect excuse to be unmotivated.

I have not been scrapping as much as I would like to think I would be. I did finish this lo at Island Jen's Craft Love Fest last weekend.

One lo. That's it.

But I have been working on a minibook class for Piktails, my local LSS. The sample is nearly complete and I'll have to start organizing my anal retentive instructions for the actual class. Here's a preview of the materials.

And I've been visiting friends, going out to lunch, and running errands for Larry and Judy. All of which keep me out of the house but don't go a long way to accomplishing anything about the mess.

So I am BEGGING for someone to leave me a hint, a clue, throw me a rope or SOMETHING. While I spend my time sending out resumes, making phone calls and trying to find a job...how do I get this personal life of mine into the same order as my professional life?

My friends laugh at my organizational needs. How I NEED to have things ordered, alphabetized, cross-referenced and filed. But WHY can I not transfer that same obsessive compulsive tendancies to my home life?

Help!

the girl who is wishing Island Jen a Happy Birthday!

2009-02-20T09:31:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Island Jen! I couldn't find a pic of you on the laptop, so I stole one off of your flkr page. I love this one! Have a great one and I can't wait to see you tonight!

the girl who is playing with pictures

2009-02-12T02:06:00.006-05:00

Because I am not the photographer I want to be, don't have the photography equipment I would like to have, and don't have mad photoshop skills, I am forced to rely on programs found on the web to make my pictures better than they actually are. I thought I'd share some of my favorite "photo manipulation for dummies" sites out there on the big bad world wide web.

let's start off with a favorite picture of mine straight off of the camera:

All in all, an adorable picture of my middle man. However, it could use a little work. I may not have photoshop, but photoshop has a free basic photo editor available online. I play with the white balance, up the saturation, and use their touch-up feature to remove the perpetual dar circles under Ian's eyes and I get this:

Nice, huh? It's pretty easy to use and you can store your pics there as well. Not too shabby for a free program.

But maybe I want more "oomph." I want to make more of a statement. Say I want to do one of those fancy color pops on a B&W background. Then, I can turn to Color Select Studio's site. Yes, you do actually have to pay for this one, but it's pretty darn cheap and you can use forever. No messing with layers and flattening and all that business in photoshop, this does it all for you. So easy *I* can use it. And this is what it looks like:

You can select anything to highlight in color. I could have just popped the pumpkin, but I wanted to keep Ian the focal point.

Speaking of focal points...I stumbled across this little site. This feature is called "tilt-shift" and it's intended purpose is to turn landscapes into pictures that look like miniatures, but it worked for this purpose too--blurring the background behind Ian.

Now, I would only reccommend this for portraits where the subject takes up the entire height or width of the picture, and it only will edit horizontally, so if you have a vertical subject (like I do) you will need to rotate your pic before uploading it. But I like the effect.

And "effects" nicely segues us to this site: Be Funky. I found this site coutesy of Emily Falconbridge's blog and spent half a morning playing with pictures. Seriously, it was addicting. Not only does the site offer the standard effects like sketch and ink and such, but it takes it a step further with textured backgrounds and frames and just more.

I really have fun here. So much fun, I'm giving you another version with a different effect.

It is just a ton of fun.

Lastly, I bring you pikfix. This site offers much of what can be found on any basic editing site, but I find photoshop online easier to use. The reason I bring this site up is pretty much one reason, and one reason only. That reason can be summed up in one, now sadly defunct, word: POLAROID!

You can do a grungy polaroid, slightly smudged, plain, etc. Just be sure to edit your picture to a square first because it is, after all, only a border feature and the site does not stick to the standard polaroid shape.

They have other neato-skeeto options as well. The montage feature is cool:

As are the filmstrip, grunge borders, etc. A fun place to play.

Lastly, I can't give you all of these great sites without closing with my favorite place to get them printed: ScrapbookPictures.com. There are quite a few reasons I *heart* this site. 1.) the price is right and shipping is not exorborant. In fact, they charge the same for shipping one picture or 200 (and I've ordered 200 at a time before!) and the shipping is QUICK! Once your order is printed, expect them in a matter of days, not weeks. 2.) Sizes--besides the standard 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 they have 6x6, 4x12, 12x12...so many combinations!, 3.) photo paper: you can order in glossy, matte, or metallic. how cool is that? try it on a b&w and be amazed at the depth, or a vibrant color scene and thrill at the richness of the color!, 4.) Extras: they have borders of all kinds that toatally fake going all digital with photoshop. You can layer two on top of each other, change the colors, it's such a great feature! And these aren't cheesy either!, 5.) HUMANS process the pictures. They don't just upload to a machine and hit print. They look over your shots a make color corrections to ensure you get skin tones that actually look like skin tone and not ruddy or sallow., and lastly, 6.) Service. They actually have SERVICE! Got a question about your order? Fire off an email, you WILL get an answer! Have an issue? They will correct it! I had an issue once where I had actually fiddled with my pictures to washout the subject. It was totally on purpose and for a good reason. Well, I had forgotten about the Human eyes looking at my pictures, and they corrected it back for me. There were only four or five pictures that were affected this way, but when I brought it up, they reprinted my ENTIRE order for me and I had it within three days. (For the record, they have an option where you tell them "I have this the way I want it, don't make any corrections") That is service!

So there you have it. Some of the fun timewasters I use to make me look like a better photographer/photo editor than I am.

Now go have fun!

the girl who is emptying the nest

2009-02-05T10:14:00.004-05:00

At the beginning of the school year I tried to enroll Matthew in the Voluntary Pre Kindergarten classes at Ian and Zacky's school. Unfortunately, the classes were filled. However, they run on half-year cycles, so I attempted again for the classes starting in January. After filling out twenty-ga-jillion pages of paperwork, I sent it off to school with Zachary.

That was a mistake.

I have learned, to my chagrin, that Zachary is not the most reliable of messengers. I discovered this after I was looking through his backpack and found the paperwork--three weeks later. I missed the deadline and Matthew missed out on preschool.

Until yesterday. Yesterday I got a call from the school. A spot had opened up! So today, my little Matthew started pre-school. Today I have just Eli home. Today I am going crazy!

first day

And would it be too much to ask that he NOT be so darn excited that he didn't show the slightest hesitation? No wavering, just marched right in, announced he was "King Mick Jagger" and then sat down to color. His teacher says he's "a natural." Matthew asked what the computers were for, his teacher said they were for the class. Matthew responded with an enthusiastic, "SWEET!"

My Sweetie Pie is all grown up and the house is too quiet.

the girl who can taste the rainbow

2009-02-01T17:38:00.004-05:00

So I was surfing the Internet and came across this post detailing how to make a colorful, no fat cake. I liked the look of it and decided I could do it even better. So this is what I came up with.

Yes, my "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" cake. Since I didn't need to go low-fat, this are my instructions"

Step 1.) The ingredients: Make sure you use the gel colors, they produce much more vivid colors than the traditional liquid ones

Step 2: the technique: prepare cake according to directions and divide into roughly equal portions and color. I actually dived the mix up equally using a mesauring cup, then had some extra left over and beefed up the top three colors. Going in ROY G. BIV order and starting with red, layer the colors in a tube pan one on top of the other, trying to stay directly on top of the preceding layer.

Step 3.) the decorating: I mixed in one packet of blue kool aid into most of a tub of frosting. You may want to add additional confectioners sugar if it is too tart or use the pre-sweetened singles. Since white cake is pretty much tasteless, this adds some flavor to the party.I smeared the whole cake with the blue frosting, lumped on white "clouds" from the reserved frosting and added some sprinkles because EVERYONE likes sprinkles!

Step 4: the result: pretty cool, huh?

Step 5.) Enjoy! This cake produced some very happy customers!
Enjoy it! It was really easy. The kool-aid coloring trick could also be used on the cake, but, I think it would end up just being overwhelmingly fruity. Well, you could always just use the flavoring in certain layers. Something to play with. Also, I think I'd probably use two mixes next time.

Enjoy!

the girl who ain't a sissy

2009-01-14T18:50:00.003-05:00

So, even though there seems to be a complete lack of Hospitality HR positions out there, I WILL be employed by next month.

I will.

I will.

I will.

(I have to!)

the girl who survived Christmas!

2008-12-30T01:29:00.008-05:00

So, again, let me reiterate that December is CRAZY busy around here. Aramis' birthday is the 19th, Ian's is the 22nd, then, of course, there's Christmas. I guess the silver lining in being unemployed is that I had the time to really put effort into all of the festivities.

I was able to make gifts this year, which was both economical and a good use of my free time.

For my good friends at work, I made these Christmas trees.

Yes, I still went to the office Christmas party as my friends made it quite clear my presence was expected. I enjoyed myself, even though it was bittersweet.

For the kids' teachers, I altered some tins I had on hand and filled them with Christmas goodies. For Ian's teacher, I had Ian draw some Christmas-sy things and decoupaged them onto the tin.

(That's Santa's reindeer on top of our house.)

And for Zacky's teacher--a fellow scrapper--I went all out because I knew she'd appreciate it.

For my mother, I had this crazy idea I could get a massive cross-stitch project done in time for Christmas. And, I couldn't make it easy, no sir. You see, a few months ago my mother casually (Ok, about as casually as a Mac Truck) mentioned that she had cross-stitch projects from all the female members of the family framed and hanging on her wall and she would really appreciate one from me. Now, about the same time, my LSS hosted a sillhouette artist. Now, since my mother has sillhouettes of my sister and me and has always remarked fondly on them, I decided to get sillhouettes made of the boys. Then she mentions this cross-stitch thing and, silly me, I decide to combine the two and translate the sillhouettes of the boys into cross-stitch for my mother.

I started in November. I've had roughly six weeks and I got two boys done--even with my extra free time. Turns out my brilliant idea is HARD to execute!

But, as it so happens, I did get this far, and so maybe I'll have the other two boys done by her birthday (in September.)

Sorry about the sideways--Blogger is not cooperating! grrr!

Next up, Aramis' birthday. I made an awesome lasagna from scratch for him. Seriously, I wish I could put a sample on my blog because it was THAT good! We ate lasagna for two days and then I gave the rest to my neighbors. (I make an obscenely large lasagna.)

Three days later, it was Ian's birthday. Right about this time, someone on Freecycle put up some Batman decorations, so we actually had a theme going here. And since we decorated, we invited some kiddos over to share in cake and ice cream. I'm not up to hosting a full-on party, but I'll tolerate the neigborhood kids for an hour or so. Ian loved it. My little guy is six! Can you believe it?

Next up, of course, was Christmas. Thanks to some very special Christmas elves, we were able to fund Santa more than we had anticipated. It was a blessing, and unexpected, and oh, so welcome.

Getting ready for Santa takes up much of Christmas Eve. First, we must do the holiday baking, starting with GranMary's special Mincemeat cake. It's a Christmas tradition. The other part of the tradition is that no one but myself enjoys it, so I eat myself sick on this expensive treat. (still going!)

Then we bake cookies for Santa, open our Christmas pajamas (supplied this year by GranMary and Pa)--and btw, Ian was QUITE disappointed to find pj's and not a toy on Christmas Eve. You'd think the past six Christmases would have given him a clue! We put out reindeer food, to guide Rudolph and Co. But this year, I forgot until the day of to get the ingredients and had NO intention on going to ANY kind of store on Christmas Eve, so we improvised by putting out carrots. Zachary insisted we roll them in sugar ("because its shiny!") and then carefully arranged them into an arrow shape pointing at our door. After that, we track Santa on Norad and drink our foamy milk and eat our cookies. Finally we read "The Night before Christmas" and issue dire threats to all children about waking Mommy and Daddy before 7 am and put the kiddos to bed.

They actually went down without too much fuss--something that should have made me suspicious.

We let them sleep for about an hour or so before we get to work doing the last bit of wrapping and assembling. But the kids TRICKED us you see. They got up at 3 am--just when I was getting ready to put the toys out and drop off the stockings. So we wait.

And wait.

And wait for the kiddos to go back to sleep.

Not happening I tell you.

I drop off the stockings in front of the doors and say, let's go to bed. But Zacky GRABS his stocking as soon as he sees the lights go off in the livingroom and proceeds to WAKE UP his brothers!

At 4:30 we decided to just do Christmas as the kids would wake us in approximately 2 and a half hours anyway. We haul a semi-comatose Matthew and a-not-ready-to-be-awake-what's-this-Christmas-stuff-all-about-anyway?-Eli out of bed, set them among the toys and call out the other two.

Chaos ensued.

As you can see, the boys enjoyed themselves and had a great time. At seven am (our scheduled wake-up time) we sent the boys to their rooms with their new treasures and went to bed until noon. At some point, my BIL showed up because the kids woke us up to ask if they could let him in. I was only planning on sleeping until ten or so, but with an awake adult in the house, we grabbed a couple more hours. Then Christmas breakfast (lunch, brunch, whatever) and then I started making Christmas dinner.

We ended the day with only one child awake (I have no idea how Zachary managed it) watching WALL-E.

Oh, and I might mention that the tooth fairy and Santa Claus battled it out on Christmas Eve. Zack lost a tooth that morning, and I was awakened by the screams of Ian as Zack tried to dislodge a tooth in Ian's mouth that he just knew was loose too so they could both get visits from the tooth fairy that night. Because certain little boys refused to go to sleep, the tooth fairy managed to sneak in while putting away brand new toys Christmas morning. Luckily, Zack was so excited about Santa, he forgot to look for the Tooth fairy's present!

And now, I leave you with another Christmas tradition. Each year, my mother sends ornaments for the family and each year I also get each member a new ornament. We have a Christmas Code around here. Zachary is Santa's, Ian is Snowmen, Matthew is Teddy Bears, and Eli is Gingerbread men. This holds true in wrapping paper as well as ornaments. The boys also have their specific animals. Zachary is my Monkey Boy, Ian my Tree Frog, matthew my Mouseling, and Eli is my Eli-phant. So if its not one, it's usually the other. So I leave you with our new ornaments for this year.

the girl who has royalty in the house

2008-12-17T14:37:00.003-05:00

So I was going through the pictures on my camera and I found this one of Matthew.

And it struck me how much he looked like Mick Jagger:

Make that a young Mick Jagger.

Matthew overheard me telling someone this and somehow decided at that point that I had changed his name. Yes, he now thinks his name is Mick Jagger. Of course, I've done nothing at all to perpetuate that. :)

So Matthew..I mean, Mick Jagger, goes to his dad and asks him if his name is now Mick Jagger. His dad--never missing an opportunity to guarantee a rich therapist somewhere in the future--tells him, "No, your name isn't Mick Jagger. It's Sweetie Pie."

Now, Matthew hates, simply hates, being called Sweetie Pie. I don't know why. So of course, he gets upset. And of course, I tell him, "no, your name isn't Sweetie Pie. That's your middle name. Your full name is Mick Jagger Sweetie Pie Matthew Nolan Francisco Martinez."

Somehow that was better.

So for the past two weeks, he has been alternately responding to Matthew or Mick Jagger. Sometimes if you call him Matthew, he corrects you. Other times he'll answer to whatever.

Until last night.

I was taking a soak and reading my guilty pleasure of a Nora Roberts novel and Matthew-Mick Jagger comes in wearing Ian's gloves, his Superman cape, and carrying an empty wrapping paper tube like a scepter. He asks me if he looks like a King. I say, "of course you do, honey. You're the best King I've ever seen."

Having settled that point, he announces that his name is now KING Mick Jagger.

Who knew I was raising royalty?

the girl who is updating

2008-12-15T11:18:00.005-05:00

December is always so busy, and this one seems like I haven't had a chance to breathe. I mean, come on, it's December 15th and I haven't bought one single Christmas present. Ok, not entirely true, I've bought two, but they were impulse buys, not really the main event, so to speak. However, I now have some breathing room. More on that in a sec.

So, the craftiness on a budget continues and I added to my Holiday display for work.

I thought it was pretty groovy. Amazing what you can do with wrapping paper, copy paper, scissors, tape and clip art.

Of course, I will never know if I would have placed in the competition because I have been relieved of employment. Yep, laid off twice in one year. Merry Christmas!

On the bright side, I figure I saved $ on not having to participate in the three different office gift exchanges and potlucks I was going to have to do (Managers, Exec Committee and Office), I know have plenty of time to do that Christmas shopping and get a little crafty to save $ elsewhere (now I'm regretting my lack of Christmas paper stash!), and the staff was really very heartbroken to see me go. My last day I got lunch, gifts, tears, hugs and flowers.

It's nice to be appreciated, even if that appreciation doesn't extend to keeping my job.

I also had a chance to see Ian perform in his "World Fair Showcase." He sang "This Land is My Land." Of course, he never learned the verses (all 20 billion of them) just the refrain--and even that he wasn't entirely complete on. Lol! So we were treated MANY practice sessions that went something like this: "(very fast) This land is your land, this land is my land, from California (slowing down) to the..mumble...mumble...indistinct...(and then very loud) THIS LAND IS MADE FOR YOU AND MEEEEE!!!"

But he made an adorable cowboy!

And I made the bys really clean their room...which lasted, oh, a couple hours. Five hours to clean, six minutes to trash. I took out furniture so there would be nothing to shove under the bed. It was nice that Eli wanted to help too.

Speaking of little bit, his hair was starting to evolve from the "Oh! Look at those adorable curls!" to dandelion fluff disaster. So I took him for his first haircut.

Before

After

Still curly, still adorable, but less of a mess. Your baby is safe, Mom! I kept Aramis away from him with the clippers! Aren't you proud?

the girl who is decorating on a budget

2008-12-07T12:15:00.003-05:00

Work is having a decorate your office contest for the holidays. I happen to be running a very tight budget (as usual) and just plain don't have the moolah to spend on decking the halls (or cubicles as the case may be). However, I felt a bit of pressure as I watched the season invade steadily, office by office. So I made do with what I had. And what I had was a roll of wrapping paper I had ordered from someone's kid for a fundraiser. I had never taken it home. So, a roll of wrapping paper, a ring cut from a copy paper box, my trusty stapler and a bit of miscellaneous stuff left over in the office Christmas tree box and this is what I came up with.

Martha Stewart, eat your heart out!

the girl who has loved a guy for ten years

2008-11-30T09:07:00.003-05:00

Today is my ten year anniversary. Much has changed, much hasn't. We're a few pounds heavier, a few hairs lighter. We've added four children to the mix and taken away so many preconceived notions of parenting. We've discovered new things about each other and taken comfort in the familiar that never changes. After ten years, we don't finish each other's sentences, we finish each other's stories. We've been through sickness, we've been through health. We've been through good times and bad. We've been through poorer...I'd love the opportunity to go through richer. We love each other. I know that. Even on the days I want to strangle him, or pick a fight just to have an excuse to blow up, or when I feel like he just doesn't get it...I still love him and I know he loves me. And that makes it all worth it in the end.

So today, no renewal of wedding vows with a ceremony (as I had planned when we eloped ten years ago) but I will make my hubby breakfast in bed, and I will let him sleep him, and we will go out tonight for some grown-up time sans kids.

And we will keep on loving each other.

Here's to more to come.

the girl who watched history

2008-11-17T18:46:00.002-05:00

So this weekend was what might be the last night shuttle launch. sigh! Knowing the momentousness (is that a word? Must be, spell check didn't ding) of the occasion, I set the alarm and herded the boys out.

This is what we saw:

The boys whooped and hollered and generally got excited over the light in the sky. I will miss the funny quotes from the kids on the shuttle launches. (Zack, "Someone's drawing in the sky" and Matthew, "Buckle up!) All good things must come to an end.

the girl who is a stealing the stealin's

2008-11-15T17:35:00.002-05:00

This little post is courtesy of Princess who stole it from Jen who stole it from...well, you get the idea. Any potential thieves out there, post this list and bold the items you've accomplished.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (and DisneyWorld!)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (I'm not sure about this one. I've been to Venice as a child, I can't imagine we didn't ride a gondola while we were there, but I have no memory of it)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (I'm a mutt, so too many places to go, but my Mom's side is mainly German and I lived in Germany, so I'm counting it!)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (I did art modeling a couple times in highschool, I don't know if any of the sketches made it into paintings, but I posed for another artist when I moved to Florida and I know he was doing a painting from the sketches. I never saw it finished though. :( )
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (not that I'm proud of it, but I have)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Lots more to do. Although #90 might be closer than I think, since I got my jury summons!

the girl who welcomes the weekend

2008-11-09T11:06:00.003-05:00

Saturday

crisp air
cleaned house
did laundry AND put away
took some pictures
some scrapping done
all and all, a great fall day

My Sunday plans

a little more cleaning
a little more laundry
I'm going to make some of my mom's stew and bake some bread to go with it
I'm going to cuddle up with hubby and watch "Hang 'em High"
I'm going to make the boys play outside
and right now, this very second, I'm going to go make some Pupkin Spice coffee

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

and unrelated to *this* weekend, but I wanted to share...

there was a pumpkin carving contest at work and I was chosen to be the carver for my department. (Selection process went thusly, "You picked the pumpkin up, you carve it!")

So I made this little beauty right here:
Isn't he adorable? A little owl in a cage! I was awfully proud.

But the contest went on for a week, and well, there's not much left supporting that pumpkin. So the inevitable happened. the pumpkin decayed. Fortunately for me, it decayed artistically...

Unfortunately, Hedwig did NOT win. That dubious honor went to the cliched "Vomiting Pumpkin" However, I don't bear grudges. No, not I. I'm above all of that.

bastards!

the girl who voted

2008-11-04T23:11:00.002-05:00

and I took Zachary with me.

Five minute drive to the polling place with a brief discussion of the classroom vote. (Apparently his school is Democrat heavy, Obama carried)

Brief discussion on how voting is private and how he was not to discuss Mommy's choices with anyone in the polling place.

A step-by-step introduction to the voting process, "This is where they verify that I am registered and this is my polling place. This is the ballot. this is the voting booth. These are candidates, these are proposed amendments to the state constitution."

And then, as I was filling out my (four page) ballot with neat little ovals like I was taking an SAT for America, the inevitable...

"Mommy, are you done yet? I'm bored!"

And let me just say this about that...

I am incredibly thankful that we live in a country where voting can be considered boring. It is not a life or death choice to go submit your choice for your leader. There is no danger in deciding who you feel should be given the trust and responsibility of running the country on behalf of the people.

And the very fact that I can inflict this boredom on my child gives me the responsibility of doing so. Not only MUST I vote, I am obligated to pass that sense of civic minded duty onto my children.

Watch out, Ian. In 2012 it will be your turn to be bored.

the girl who is putting this down for posterity

2008-10-16T17:29:00.003-05:00

Matthew "isms"

"Mommy, you're the beee-yoo-tiful Mommy in the whole wide world!"

"How do I look? Am I ADORABLE?"

"Mommy, I'm so thirsty, my stomach is KILLING ME!"

"Mommy, I love you two hands AND two feet!"

"Tarter Sauce!"

head-ick=headache
rogocheese=macaroni and cheese
cutterbutter samwich=peanut butter and jelly sandwich

just putting them down so I don't forget them

the girl who feels like doing an HR post

2008-09-27T14:36:00.002-05:00

I love my job. I'm coming right out and admitting it. Not just the work I do, but the environment I do it in. If there were an Almighty Employment God whose sole purpose of existence was to match people according to personality and professional ethics to create the most ideal working atmosphere, well, suffice it to say, my getting hired would have been a major feather in their omniscient cap.

So why do I love it? The work itself appeals to me. The location is close to my own little personal bubble in Orlando. The job is challenging enough that I don't get bored and routine enough that I have confidence in what I do. I get a fair amount of perks, a fair amount of personal control and responsibility and a nice little office that is organized exactly how I like it. On top of that, I "get" my employer, so that the little idiosyncrasies that may make him the boss from hell for some people are recognized and respected so that I never take the blow ups personally, but always seriously. And the company does care about its employees, so that's good. And they recognize the job I do and the value that I contribute. My opinion--while at times directly opposite of the powers that be--is respected and taken into consideration. And then there are the people I work with. I think that we have formed a close little group. Scratch that. The close little group was there when I arrived, I just fit in perfectly, as if they had been holding a spot for me all along.

So there is the gushing. I can't help it. The old maxim "Everything happens for a reason" always seems so trite when uttered (comfortingly) in a crisis. However, it is one of those platitudes that only is recognized as wisdom in hindsight.

Now to the actual HR content: the economy is floundering. People are getting laid off left and right (two similar businesses just laid off 200+ workers between them this week) and you can't help but feel the effect in HR. Now, one would hope that this would create an environment of healthy competition where employees would recognize how lucky they are that their workplace has not had to resort to such measures. I would hope that it would inspire new heights of employee performance, where each employee does their best to go above and beyond and prove their worth as an employee. But that is not to be. Unfortunately the competition as not been directed at improving one's personal performance. Instead, I've seen a rash of backstabbing and throwing co-workers under the bus. Positively Junior High reactions. "Well, instead of me working harder, I'll just point out how everyone else is screwing up, then I'll be safe."

Here is a lesson: it does not make you safe. It points out that you are NOT a team player. Why do I enjoy my job so much? because I am part of a team, on every level. Employees need to recognize that supporting their teammates so that the entire unit achieves success is a much better job-retention ploy than pointing out their co-workers' faults and failings. That kind of negativity is poison. A cancer. And once HR figures out where the tumor is located, its best to remove it.

Likewise, now is not the time to gripe about compensation. NEVER tell your supervisor you "should be" making more money. Let me spell it out to you. YOU accepted the position you are in at the wage you are making. YOU made the decision to get out of bed, shower, perform whatever morning ritual gets you going, get into your car and come to work. And YOU will decide on how well you perform to KEEP receiving the wage YOU agreed to when you took the position. Compensation is the most immediate reward, but what about the intangibles? A good work environment, location, benefits? It isn't ALL what shows up on your paychecks, and face it, very few people are ever going to be satisified with what they get paid. A good employee SHOULD always want more because it is the most tangible reward for a job well done. But a sense of entilement for a better salary is never going to beat good job performance. I don't want to be the hardass, I simply want everyone to be as happy with their job as I am. We all work on the same team. So if you don't like the conditions, leave. Simple as that.

With 200+ industry workers recently made available for employment, I don't think there will be an issue replacing you.

So I urge everyone to find what aspects of their job make them happy and work on fixing those that don't. Either suck it up and fix it, or leave. Above all else, be a GROWN UP about it and remember, everything happens for a reason.

the girl who welcomes fall

2008-09-21T21:57:00.006-05:00

The past month (van drama notwithstanding) has been packed full of fall activities:

Starting school and sending my new Kindergartner off. giving Zack the responsibility of walking his brother to and from.

watching clouds with Matthew-"Look, Mommy! A castle! A bear! A piece of candy!"

Going to open houses at school and learning that Ian's Kindergarten class (and all of the others) is overcrowded so they are hiring a new teacher and dividing up the classes. I hope Ian keeps his pixie-teacher. She's perfect for him!

Dealing with the first cold brought home from school as it sweeps through the house. Little bit seems hardest hit. Constant glazed donut face.

Likewise, dealing with Eli's first brother-induced injury: a black eye and cut.

Going to Draven's b'day party and getting to splash and play in the bouncy houses. Good times.

Getting Island Jen to take photos of me throwing Eli up into the air over and over to get the perfect shot. Some may call it child abuse, I call it scrapbooking! (lol!)

Meeting Claire and marveling in how laid back her parents are. They are pros already!

Starting violin lessons for Zacky. Pray for me.

Buying new shoes and new glasses. (pictures will follow)

Trying to scrap and not being able to sustain the creative process. My scrap space is a MESS and it is stifling me. But facing the prospect of losing a scrap night to organize puts me off too, so I just wind up throwing something together from what comes to hand and then throwing it all back into the cabinet. So unlike me.

And finally, a day like today. Cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry avoiding and an apple pie. The perfect end to a 90 degree fall day!

the girl who is mellow

2008-08-23T20:36:00.002-05:00

or at least I'm trying to be. Thanks to everyone who responded about the van. I'm still hashing it out with the insurance company and driving hubby's beater. Hopefully, I can get this resolved soon, but I'm having to prove a negative here. I have to prove I didn't take my own van, crash it and then report it stolen. Which, in theory, I understand the need for because of all the dishonest people out there. However, theory doesn't mean much when I can't put my whole family in a vehicle and roll out.

Seriously though, if I had a dollar for everytime my insurance agent told me that if it were just a straight collision case and I didn't have the theft report in there it would be so much easier...insert significant look and pause here...then I could have bought a new van already. I promise, on my children's heads, that some asswipe took my van and that I was not involved, had no knowledge before or after of the perpetrators and I am not running an elaborate insurance scam. Because really, I'm coming out the loser at the end of this anyway.

On to better things...I went to a crop last night that boasted an apearance by Rebecca from Fiskars (and won a "Leave it to Weaver" punch!) It was good to get out of the house and crop for a bit. I also have found a "must have" that might encourage me to actually use the stamps I have. Voila...the "stamp Factory!" Don't you want one?

I happened to sit at a table filed with woman making paper pieced pages for eBay. Yes, not for their own family albums, but to sell on eBay. they came equipped with hundreds of pieces of cardstock pre-cut by their cricuts to chalk and shade and piece together and an equal amount of printed examples of pages that had already sold on eBay to copy and reinterpret.

Now, I am not going to bash these women for making a living with their hobby. (or at least paying for their supplies with the profits) I know its an outlet for them just as it is for me and they certainly were having a good time. I just don't scrap that way or that style, so I felt like the Sesame Street game of "One of these things is not like the other" sitting at their table, using pre-made embellishments and letter stickers with nary a paper pieced teddy bear to be seen. It just goes to show, when it comes to art, there is no "right" or "wrong" way.

Now I'm going to quit stalling and get to work on my latest project for work: a power point presentation of our benefit plans. I've reached new levels of geekdom, now that I've discovered PowerPoint. No presentation will be safe from now on!

Happy weekend!

the girl who is super pissed

2008-08-11T16:32:00.005-05:00

So, some idiots stole my van and then wrecked it about 100 yds away from the complex that they stole it from.

Yes, you read right. Some idiots out there stole a MINI VAN! With CAR SEATS in it. I mean really, where is human decency? It's not like its worth anything for parts and certainly worth more to me than anyone else. This is my primary mode of transportation for myself and FOUR CHILDREN. A fact they certainly could not have escaped the notice of the oh, so bright thieves as they had to unbuckle the car seats and shove them to the side to get anyone into the back. Which, apparently they did. I'm surprised they didn't just chuck them to the curb. But hey, small favors, huh?

And then, to wreck it pretty much as soon as you make the turn out of the complex? I mean, really, you can go to jail for this you know, so why not at least make it worthwhile. A hundred yard joy ride just doesn't see worth it in my book.

Then again, I'm really not socially equipped to think like a criminal. Example: let's play the super powers game shall we? You can have any super power in the world, what would it be? Well, when I play this game, inevitably, I think of ways where I could profit from said super power so I can improve my family's life. (I think that's just human nature) But it always backfires on me. Say I give myself the power of telekinesis, moving objects by sheer force of my mind. How can I get that to profit me (without revealing my superpowers to the world, of course)? Well, I could move that stack of money right out of the bank into my purse, right? Wrong. because this is where my lack of criminal savvy gets in the way. You see, I have worked enough retail and, yes, even accounting, jobs to know that when money is involved, there are always checks and balances to keep track of said money. I visualize making this undetectable little appropriation and I can't help but visualize along with it the consequences. Not for myself as I have superpowers and am, therefore, undetectable. But for the poor person who will end up taking the fall for the missing money because they just happened to be the one in charge of that till.

See? I can't consider a wrong action without thinking of how it effects other people. So I certainly can't visualize taking a mini-van loaded to the gills with car seats, knowing that this will deprive a family of needed transportation.

I mean, really, WTF?

My mother and I had a "kids these days" conversation last week, and this just really is the perfect example. So little respect for yout fellow human these days. And its not that lack of respect for humanity is really anything new, it just seems more prevelant. The mouths of some kids these days! And the scrapes (a mild term) that children get into! I mean, an 11 year-old just held up a Walgreens last night! (not kidding) What was I doing at 11? I think the extent of my mischief was riding my bike out of boundries (which were considerable) or coming home from a friends house late (and late was coming home past dusk). My kids don't have that freedom, and I regret that. But I'd rather regret their lack of childhood freedom than regret that they fell into the wrong crowd because I didn't supervise their activites enough.

My mother and I placed the blame with parents. (It always comes back to parenting) But how do you fix that? Especially when there are stories like this out there? Neglect, abuse, general apathy--all causes. And you know, the economy doesn't help. how can you be a proactive parent when you have to work 9 hours a day (or maybe more if you need to have more than one job) and your kids spend the majority of their time with daycare providers. And finding a good childcare provider generally means paying that premium, so, at the end of the day, you're working to pay your childcare bill. Or going with a less reputable (and therefore less expensive) provider and taking your chances? Is it any wonder that parents decide once their kids are in school, they don't need daycare anymore? Give them a key, tell them not to touch the stove and that's that? No supervision, no interaction, and then little Jimmy takes his bb gun to Walgreens and demands they empty the register.

Ah, but I could go on all day. It doesn't bring my van back. It doesn't pay the out of pocket expenses to go through the insurance process and, ultimately, get a check that won't pay for a vehicle, but maybe the down payment on another vehicle I can't afford anyway. All the bitching in the world won't bring back my van or my sense of "right" in the world. So I'll just leave you with pictures of what the idiots did to my car.

the girl who had a bad hair day and everything that followed...

2008-07-12T21:43:00.011-05:00

A year ago I gave birth to this little wonder right here.

my little Eli-phant

So to celebrate his momentous milestone, we planned a joint party with some friends, one who has a birthday on Sunday, and my FIL who has his birthday Monday.

Saturday morning I wake up, do some housework and then set out to run errands to get ready for our get together.

I take Zack with me as the first order of business is to allow the boy to see again by getting him a haircut. We go to the same place we always go and I describe what I'd like to the stylist. "Surfer cut, chunky and shaggy, bring the hair in the back up to the nape, and shorten the bangs to above the eyebrows."

I was picturing something like this:

What we ended up with was this:

Not really the look I was going for. A brown football helmet with a circle cut out for the face. So I try again. I show the stylist a picture on the wall. I repeat, "chunky, shaggy, skater style, Zac Efron."

So she cuts and snips some more and Zack ends up with this do:

Definitely NOT what I had in mind. I'm sure its a good cut technically, but it is not what I described or what I showed from the picture. I was pretty disappointed and actually, quite mad. I had to go to Target next door, so I figured I'd walk around for a little bit and see if I could get used to it. If not, we'd go back afterwards and get a different stylist to see if we could fix it.

So we go to Target and I'm looking for gifts for my boy, our friend, and my FIL. I find these (Jen Jen, they don't make them in larger than 18 month size, but they DO have the cutest little robot hoodies up to 4T, thought you'd like to know.)

Gift for baby, check. Gift for friend, check. Gift for FIL...not so much.

So I call home and ask dh what a good present would be. He is absolutely no help whatsoever and in my present state of mind, I'm not really in the mood. The ensuing conversations had me in a state of extreme frustration. THEN I get the news that we are expected over at the friends' house ASAP as the birthday girl had been called into work. So no going back to get Zacky's hair fixed. So I'm frustrated at Zacky's hair, irritated at dh's "cooperation" (or lack therof) and now I'm in a rush too!

So I stop by Publix on way home to pick up the birthday cake. I had not been particularly enthused about any of the birthday cake designs in the book at the bakery and had not pre-ordered a cake. I figured, they were all so "meh" why spend the extra money on a trademarked design? I planned to just get a generic decorated cake from the cooler and have them personalize it. I grab one, give them the names and rush to pay and get home. After I finish paying, I'm walking out (in frustrated, irritated, rushed mood) with Zack trailing behind me, and I TRIP OVER A DISPLAY which sends me to my knees and the cake flying.

I had had it.

I broke down.

I covered my face with my hands and just gave up, crying in the middle of the highest traffic area at Publix with an embarrassed boy behind me and a squished mass of buttercream and marble cake in front of me.

A very kind bagger came over, and overlooking the insanity factor, helped me up, guided me back to the bakery and helped me get a replacement cake. He carried it out to the car, wished me well, and told me to bring Eli by to show him off. He was a lifesaver. I don't like breaking down in Public like that. I prefer to maintain the illusion I have it all under control, but it just seemed that all the little things were hitting me hard that morning.

In the end, I got my cake:

We went over to the friends' house and enjoyed it:

We found the world's tiniest frog swimming in the pool:

and generally had a much improved evening.

When we got home, I stripped Eli down and gave him another piece of cake for the gratitious icing shots. Let me tell you, this kid is pretty neat compared to his brothers. He barely got any on him! A trifle disappointing, actually. lol.

But, he certainly thought it was yummy!

Yes, that is the secret to neatness: lick your fingers clean!

And Papa Smurf was celebrating right alonf with us. If you ever wondered what happened to Parker, we passed him on to Papa Smurf. He fell in love with him and now he's not so lonely anymore. Parker has grown into a MOOSE! But he is still a huge old teddy bear.

Abuello has left, and he took Zacky with him. Yep, he has kidnapped Zack for the week and will return him next weekend. We talked on Sunday night and I told him I missed him already, the house was so quiet. His reply was, "I know why! My brothers must be sleeping!"

lol!

the girl who had a happy 4th

2008-07-06T10:57:00.003-05:00

I will start this post by admitting we really don't celebrate the Fourth of July. It isn't that we are unpatriotic or anything: we simply don't like crowds. And the Fourth of July seems to be nothing but crowds.

However, I impulsively bought sparklers this year, figuring the boys were old enough to handle this trip to the emergency room on a stick. Plus, I wanted to try out this setting on my camera to see if I could get some cool shots. It all comes down to the photo ops, folks.

Then friends of Aramis' Dad invited us over for a barbecue and day in the pool for the following day, so we actually got out of the house.

And how does this fabulous holiday pay me back when I finally decide to acknowledge it?

It rains.

Don't we have some deal with the weather gods that it will not rain on the 4th of July? Seriously.

It had cleared up by the evening, and I got out the sparklers.

I cannot describe the chaos that ensued as soon as I walked out the door with sparklers in hand. It seemed as if every neighborhood kid converged on my doorstep insisting I give them a sparkler to play with. Being the mean mom that I am, I repeatedly said, "No, you need your parent's permission." It was amazing how many said "Oh, my parents let me play with hot molten fire on a stick on a regular basis, it really is no problem at all." So I took their word for it and grudgingly allowed a single sparkler each, praying there would be no opportunity for a lawsuit.

But I held some back, and after watching the neighbors light various incendiary devices in the parking lot, I tried again. And this time I got my pictures. Mission accomplished!

The next day, the weather gods smiled upon us and it did not rain. We went over to the aforementioned friends' house. They have a pool. My kids do not know how to swim. I have not been in a bathing suit since...well, I'm not sure since when, but I do know that it was at least one kid ago. Needless to say, the whole operation required an immense amount of courage.

I'm happy to say that I, all of my children and my spouse, survived. It was funny, Matthew couldn't wait to get in the pool and started stripping down (like he knew what he was doing) the second he saw it. Ian was dead set against the whole idea. Aramis had to wrestle him into swim trunks and practically throw him into the pool to get him to go splash in the shallow end. Zack was all for it and was begging me to teach him to swim.

Fast forward.

One accidental dunking and a snootful of water later, Matthew had enough of the pool and did NOT want to go back in. Ian was a little fish, staying in until the bitter end when I had to pull him out, kicking and screaming, lest I end up with a raisin for a son, and Zack decided learning to swim was not nearly as much fun as simple scooting around the edge of the pool by hanging onto the wall.

And what about Eli? Eli was chill. All the other boys, when introduced to the water, held on for dear life. Eli took to the water like he was born to it. Kicking his little legs in the water, resting serenely on the back of the obsequious inflatable aligator, and all in all, having a groovy time.

Besides the pool, there was the food. Every time I turned around, there was food being pushed upon us. The kids ate it up (if you'll pardon the expression) and pretty much had something in their mouth all day long. These friends decided they were in love with our kids, so when Aramis and I were tired and worn out, they shooed us home and we left the kiddos with them. We came home, did a little housework, took a teeny nap and three hours later, we picked them up again.

It was a nice break. We might do it again sometime.

the girl who has a three day weekend (and a migraine)

2008-07-03T21:42:00.002-05:00

One is not caused by the other, I promise.

It just seems fated that I would have a terrible, horrible, no good day at work when I have a long weekend coming up.

First, it was a "but first" day.

I have to get these I-9's finished, but first I better check that blinking red light on my phone and return some calls, but first I better meet with the DOL Investigator, but first I better term someone, but first I better go to my meeting, but first I need to investigate an incident, but first I need to stop and listen sympathetically while someone complains about their performance review, but first I need to stop and listen sympathetically to their subordinate complain about the job he's been assigned, but first I need to go term someone, but first I better get an escort 'cuz he's a BIG guy, but first I need to talk to the owner, but first I need to get back to the office, but first I need to term someone else, but first I better get something to eat, but first I better take care of the dozen notes I wrote in my notebook, but first I better check that blinking red light on my phone AGAIN, but first I need to take care of the background checks of the dozen employees managers have hired despite the hiring feeze, but first I better get ready to go home, but first I better put my desk in some semblance of order, but first I better get those I-9's finished.

ugh.

Then I'm driving home and my cell phone rings. Yes, my cell phone. I haven't had one for about a year and I've gotten along just fine and what happens? The company issues me one. Now I can be reached night and day.

Yay.

Then I get home and the tingling in my scalp that always seems to preclude a migraine starts to intesify. It actually feels like I have bruises on my scalp. And I come home to a house full of boys whose every sentence starts with "Mommy, can I?" or "Mommy, I want..." in the highest pitched tones.

So I take some pills which are always unpredicatable. Sometimes they make me pass out within 20 minutes. Other times they bring the migraine to a terrible climax where I can feel every blood vessel in my head tighten and squeeze until I am literally tearing up and curled in the fetal position bargaining with the Flying Spaghetti Monster to just let me pass out and slip into peaceful oblivian, and other times--such as tonight--I feel oddly detached and energized. I feel the blood throbbing through my head, but it's relaxing, like a massage and the fuzzy blackness on the edge of my vision is just makes everything a little vignette. I tried to sleep, but my mind was restless, so I got up to read. And now I'm here, listening to people set of firecrackers a night early, and I particularly stress the NIGHT part.

So I'm a little grumpy.

At the same time, looking back on the day, it's just so nice to feel the stress again. To have something to do and to feel necessary. Even coming home to the four screaming monsters...they're MY monsters and they love me and need me, and I them.

Maybe it's the drugs, maybe it's the day finally winding down and giving me the opportunity to reflect, or maybe it's just me being the babbling idiot that I am, but it was a fulfilling day--migraine and all--and it makes me appreciate the long weekend that much more.

the girl who has been and come back (and has the pictures to prove it)

2008-06-29T21:23:00.008-05:00

So today I went to Tampa to see this girl who was at the Hilton by the airport giving a seminar on leadership to the management staff there. This girl was my road trip buddy. We drove up in her hubby's Prius and might I say that is a neat little toy. When they make one that can fit a family of six, sign me up!

We had a wonderful conversation on the way up, talking about this and that and before we knew it, we were there! Princess met us in the lobby with sinful black and white cookies from TooJays deli and we all loaded up into the electric toy to go to the mall and have lunch. Um, sorry, brunch.

You can tell it was brunch because there were Mimosa's. And you can tell it was brunch with us because we took pictures of the Mimosa's. gee, you'd think we never got out of the house or something.
After brunch we walked around taking pictures. When we spied this lion we knew we needed to do a photo series with Miss Jen.
Remember this shot? This was taken the day of my baby shower, about a year ago. Also the last time we all saw each other. I think Jen has an affinity for lions (and black tank tops.)
Yeah, I had to get in on the picture taking too. Good thing those blinds were closed because I'm sure the people inside would have thought I was nuts.
Then, a stop at Ruban Rouge. A drool inducing scrappy store in Tampa. (Love this place!) I could have dropped a butt-load of money but restrained myself and walked out within my (very meager) budget. Proud of myself and a little regretful too.

While we were there we met Kelly Noel. Kelly is a HOF'er, a MMMaster, a member of the AC DT, and just an all around gifted scrapper. I recognized her name from her work and then made the (duh!) connection to her PeaName when she clued us in. We exchanged PeaNames and she said, "Ck42? I know you!"

I'm thinking to myself, "Kelly Noel recognizes my PeaName? She must have liked my lo's! Someone who's style I like likes me back! Woo Hoo!"

And then she says, "Yeah, aren't you the one who had a baby in her van?"

Cue deflating balloon.

Of course, we all dissolved into fit of laughter over it all. Jen made the pithy comment later, 'Well Jules, we all gotta be known for something!"

The next stop was a flea market to walk around in the heat and look for knock off designer handbags for da Jens. Me, not so much. But we got to hear some very interesting conversations between stall owners and management and see the place "where dollar store items go to die." I love this pic of Princess making her patented Elsie face.
I was hamming it up and mugging for the camera when this shot was taken. It was near the end of our lap around the (closing) flea market and I had wondered alound where the head shop was. It just isn't a flea market without a head shop. Of course, I had to explain what a head shop was to my poor, naive little friends, and then, I'm sure they wondered why and how I knew the terminology. But we won't discuss it here. All i'll say is that the explanation isn't nearly as salacious as you're probably thinking.

Then we took Princess back to the hotel and drove home. It was way too short of a visit. Of course, I talk to these girls every day , but I still miss our silly times together. Lots of one-liners between the three of us that would never translate well in print, but at one time jokes were cracked about everything from dictionaries to airplanes.

I love these girls and our good times together!

the girl who is road tripping!

2008-06-29T08:30:00.003-05:00

In about half an hour I will be on my way to Tampa to spend a day with these two lovely ladies!

I can't wait!!!!

the girl who got cozy

2008-06-10T22:08:00.004-05:00

I haven't really blogged about it, being uber cautious about mixing work and blogs, but I did finally break out of the unemployment rut about a month ago and landed a really good position. I'm HR Manager for a "Vacation Resort" (i.e. timeshare) and I am enjoying the daily challenges of my new position immensely.

During my job hunt, I was asked one of the standard "Why do you think you'd be a good fit for this position" questions. And I actually formulated an answer I think is perfect.

You see, deep down at heart, I am a nerd. I love spreadsheets and paperwork and filling in forms *just so.* I get a kick out of writing and reviewing policies and training manuals. I adore the minutiae of a finely crafted Excel Spreadsheet. Give me a place to make my mark and it will be alphabetized, indexed, labeled (with computer generated labels--not handwritten), and entered into a spreadsheet for easy reference. So an administrative office-type position totally fits that aspect of my personality.

On the other hand, I am also a "people person." I like interacting with people, I enjoy solving problems for them, and I love the chance to stand up in front of a group of people and give a presentation--even if it's merely to explain the open enrollment in benefits process.

Stick me behind a desk and I'm a happy camper, but if I don't have the chance to actually interact with the people behind the paper, I'll go a little insane and start organizing my paperclips in terms of size, condition, and general shininess.

So HR is a good fit for me I think.

So this new position is organizational nirvana for me. This company was without HR for about three months and prior to that had gone through three HR Managers in the space of a year. It's a little discombobulated and I'm up to my eyebrows in my element. Add to that the fact that this company (and all of its employees) is generally VERY HAPPY to have me there, and, well, we'll just say that being appreciated for the work that HR is can be quite intoxicating. Especially given the dichotomy in attitude about HR between my prior employer and my present.

The only downside to being appreciated and included is the meetings. I've never really had to use the calendar function of Outlook before as any meetings that came up were usually so few and far between that simply writing them on my page a day was sufficient. Now I pull it up every day. My whole day is blocked out in little segments of allotted time. One organizational tool that is starting to intimidate rather than thrill me.

Take tomorrow for instance: I go to work at 8:30 and my office is off property (although a mere 2 min away by car). I have a 10 o'clock meeting on property and then have allotted from 10:45 to 12 to set up in my site office to receive employees to take care of a paperwork compliance issue. From 12 to 12:30 I walk the property for my daily meet n' greet with the employees to remind them that they have HR again. Now, normally, I would think that my compliance meeting would be sufficient, but there is another meeting on site at 12:30. When that is over, I'll grab lunch and go back to my office (off property) to check email and phone messages. At 3, it's the weekly Staff meeting, which should end about 4. Then I can go back to my office and figure out something to do with the next hour and a half and leave around 5:30.

So a ton of metings, but not much work getting done.

Luckily, tomorrow is an extreme example, but the past two weeks it's seemed like I didn't start "work" until about 2 in the afternoon.

So today was a nice change. I actually was in my office for the majority of the day. It felt good. I can see my desk again and I made a dent in the piles. Barring the time to actually fulfill my compulsive need to organize everything, I've resorted to piles with sticky notes on top, file drawers with sticky notes for future organization, and stapled packets with sticky reminders of salient points and tasks buried within.

Post-it threw up in my office.

Oh! And I have a PaperMonkey! So she has been given the task of alphabetizing and labeling and sorting. Some of the piles are her assignments. Slowly but surely, I am restoring order to this little cubicle that is all mine.

So, knowing that tomorrow will be a royal pain in the patootie, my last task of the day was to set up new assignments for my PaperMonkey tomorrow. The clock was inching inexorably towards five, and I thought I'd cut out at the actual closing time. But, I just wanted to finish one more thing. At 4:54 the controller (who is always there well past me) packed up and announced he was leaving as the sky was getting ready to unleash the SPCA. I thought I'd be ok as I only had about ten minutes left on my little project. At 5:06, I shut everything down and heard the thunder. Between 5:06 and 5:10, the threatened thunderstorm reached its full potential. I looked out the door, realized that the wavy green blob thirty feet away HAD to be my van, even tough I couldn't make it out through the sideways rain. At that point I called home, turned my computer back on and worked for another hour until it stopped raining--or at least let up enough that I could drive instead of row.

I was warned about the tendency for the street in front of the building to flood, but the term "flood" seems rather mundane a term for the ravaging river sweeping tree limbs, construction cones and the occasional Ark along in its wake. I took the prescribed alternate route which only required a small outboard motor as opposed to a Coast Guard escort and eventually made it home.

I was late, I was damp, I was chilly from having to run the defogger (while being damp), and I was TIRED. So I decided it was a night to get cozy and, ignoring the lovely lady lumps of chicken in the fridge, I went to my go-to meal for damp weather.

Yep, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

Of course, what I thought would be a simple meal, ended up with me being tethered to the stove for about 45 minutes endlessly slathering white bread with margarine and adding slices of processed cheese food as the kiddos snarfed them down and demanded more.

Even Eli got a sandwich all to himself and a sippy cup full of warm Campbell's Mmm-mmm Goodness.

Each kid (except Eli) had two sandwiches each (lovingly cut into dinosaur shapes with my special sandwich cutter--cool, huh?) and a cup of soup for dunking. Aramis had another two sandwiches, Eli and I had one each. Of course, I could have eaten more, but by the time everyone else had placed their order, i had gone through an entire loaf of bread and most of a package of cheese (a big one at that!). So I was left making a sandwich out of heels.

Yep, nothing better than a heel sandwich on a rainy day.

the girl who is putting away money now for the therapist bills

2008-06-07T23:24:00.004-05:00

Here is a life lesson in parenting...ask a nine year old to clean his (shared) room before he is allowed to go outside and play on the first weekend of summer vacation and you will get:

a lot of huffing and puffing and general stamping of feet
an annoying whine listing all the reasons why the mess is not his fault
angry, pouty, tears
and a LOT of yelling and screaming and general bossiness directed at his younger brothers

Eventually you will grow tired of the noise coming from the room in question because now you have not only a po'd, frustrated and yelling nine year old, you have a sulking five year old throwing things, a screaming, crying four year old, and a nearly one year old squealing in delight at the action being played out before him.

The prudent parenting reaction would be to take the nine year old out of the equation for a moment and explain to him in your deadliest-I-am-being-serious-ignore-me-to-your-peril-voice that if he would just STOP the yelling at his brothers, buckle down and DO IT, then he could be outside (and, not so coincidentally, out of your hair) playing on his new Razor scooter in less than an hour, but by continuing to yell at and boss his brothers around he is not only prolonging the chore at hand, but he is also creating a situation guaranteed to work his mother's last nerve and ensure that somewhere along the line there will be CONSEQUENCES and he most likely will NOT like them.

If you are extremely lucky, this will work, the room will be cleaned, the boys will be let loose to wreak havoc on the neighborhood and you can go back to folding laundry in (relative) peace.

However, if you are me, you will get this little gem:

"But Moooom! I just have anger management issues!"

the girl who is a word nerd

2008-06-02T20:05:00.003-05:00

I admit it. I love words. Especially big ones. Any chance I get to use a $10.00 word in the place of a measly 25¢ word, I get a little giddy.

Which is why I got a particular warm fuzzy feeling deep in the cockles of my soul when I ran across this phrase: "hermeneutic of stupidity." So much so that I had to run to Dictionary.com and look it up.

(did you go? I even put a link there for you. Go ahead, do it. I'll wait.)

Cool, huh?

Doesn't that sound so much cooler and more professional than saying, "He is such a dumbass, I really don't need to explain to you how he f****d up, you should be able to guess."

And so I learned a new word today. I am fulfilled. I am proud. I must use it in a conversation to which Princess will go, "What the heck is she talking about?" and then life will be complete.

On another note, sorry on the poor blogging. I'm kinda keeping things on the dl right now since I want to enter MMM and I'm saving all my pictures and cute stories for that. Apparently, posting them on a blog only a handful of people read would still violate the MMM rules about not sharing ANY part of an entry online.

So quick recap and you can email me for any in depth stories: I got a job (!!!) which is a ton of work but I love the challenge, got the offer the day after my old job asked if I'd consider coming back (ha!), we had Mother's Day and I got force fed cereal in bed, Matthew broke a toe, limped hideously until we took him to the Emergency Pediatrics and then was fine, Zachary turned 9 and got a scooter and was promptly grounded the next day for taking a mile when he got his inch in new privileges, I'm super pissed at some people (and I'm deliberately NOT using their new pet names because my mother reads this blog and I've probably shocked her enough with my "dumbass" and "f*****d" earlier) who screwed over my Florida family, and I've taken a TON of awesome pictures lately!

whew!

Anyway, entry for MMM is due July 31st and I'm not really certain when they announce (and will deliberately try to avoid cementing that little factoid in my mind) so things may be sparse for a bit. Never fear! I will probably break down and do some sort of nonsense post (like this one) every now and again.

the girl who invites you to "Family Day"

2008-05-04T21:30:00.006-05:00

Today started as a normal day. Wake up, get the kiddos breakfast, pop in a DVD to keep them occupied, make coffee and go sit on the porch with the laptop to really wake up.

At some point today that changed. It became "Family Day," a new official holiday for this clan.

And what sparked this? The Max and Ruby DVD I put in for the kiddos. Apparently, Ruby decided to throw a party for her family and the episode dealt with all the things required for the perfect party. Well, Zack got it in his head that he was going to do the same thing. While I groggily refilled my cup o'Joe and reminded myself that staying up into the wee hours scrapping was going to take its toll on my diurnal clock (go ahead, look it up, Princess), Zachary was corralling his brothers into tidying up the living room (!!!) and then decorating it with various blankets and stuffed animals.

He was making up games and creating a schedule of events. He was having his brothers create invitations for Mommy and Daddy and making sure that even the Luvvies were invited.

In short, I have a party planning prodigy on my hands.

Here is the schedule of events, complete with timeline!

Unfortunately, the party was just about to get started when some friends stopped by to play. I could see he was clearly torn, so I told him to go ahead and play, I had to go grocery shopping and we'd do the party tonight.

While I was at the grocery store, I was inspired by the marked down baked goods. So what if the cake is a day old? It's half off and I was in the mood to celebrate! So, I got us a cake and had it piped with the following:

The Baker gave me such a smile when she handed it off to me!

Ok, we have the makings of an official celebration now, don't we? After all, if it's written on a cake, it's cause to celebrate! lol!

So after unloading the groceries, we got down to the First Official Martinez Clan Family Day Celebration.

It started with Arts and Crafts:

We're making headbands and Macaroni necklaces out of ribbon from my stash I threw in the Kids' Arts and Crafts box.

Check out the tongue action! He is soooo is mother's son! (Seriously, it helps me concentrate!)

After Arts and Crafts, we had "Make Your Own Pizza." English Muffins (Mom and Dad used French Bread), some Pizza Sauce, Turkey Pepperoni (don't tell them, they'll suddenly decide what was fine when they didn't know is now disgusting), and olives. I made each kid a plate with two English Muffins split and spread with sauce, and then gave them another plate with cheese, pepperoni and olives. Completely on their own, they made faces!

While the pizza baked, there was dancing to Radio Disney and a lesson on how to "juggle" tissues courtesy of Zachary. I wish I had gotten pictures of that, but I was busy in the kitchen cleaning up the pizza mess and unloading the dishwasher. I peeked through the pass-thru occasionally and nearly busted a gut a couple times!

Next was dinner and a movie. Spider-Man 3 to be exact. I got a commentary from dh throughout the whole movie about what actually happened in any of the various comic incarnations and what was unique to the movie. Quite an education. I did marry a Geek, ya know.

After the movie, cake and ice cream. The boys argued for candles and I was happy to oblige. We all blew out the candles together, and even relit them since Matthew was a beat behind and was upset he didn't get to blow any out. Six family members, six candles.

And lest you think Eli was ignored in all of this family fun, Zachary made him a ziti bracelet, which turned into a teething ring, he was served a (naked) english muffin of his own with his dinner, and he got to taste cake for the first time. A good warm up for his birthday in just over two months from now. (!!!)

Actually, I think he did pretty well, considering. He managed to actually navigate most of the cake to his mouth with minimal (for an almost 10 month old) icing smearage.

After getting hopped up on cake and ice cream, the kids took their baths, got cups of our traditional nightcap of "hot foamy milk," (warm milk, flavored with vanilla, frothed by our improvised cappuccinno maker, and sprinkled with raw sugar) "Kiss, Hugs!" (our traditional name for tucking in) and nighty-nights all around.

How cool was that?

At the end of the night, I cuddled Zachary close and thanked him for making this such a special day. Mother's Day is next weekend, but I feel like it came early for me tonight.

I'll admit, these past couple months have been tough on me emotionally. I haven't had any luck in the job market and constantly worrying about the fall out of that has made me quite moody. However, it has given me so much time with my family, and today was a celebration of that.

So here's to the start of another great Family tradition, thanks to my wonderful son.

the girl who is victorious!

2008-04-25T17:53:00.001-05:00

BOO YA! I won the scrappy challenge and have managed to keep up the pace and continue doing lo's. Just the kick in the butt I needed. Next up: MMM!

the girl who is bringing the PAAAAIIIIN!

2008-04-21T10:45:00.002-05:00

Whew! and I even went to bed at a reasonable hour!

the girl who is upping the ante

2008-04-20T13:30:00.005-05:00

doing time
The only punishment that seems to sink in with Mr. Matthew--the corner

"G"
Eli and his GranMary

Pumpkin Angel
My little bit snoozing in the Pumpkin Patch

Trouble
Self-explanatory, don't cha think?

So there! That's TEN layouts in 2 days. Although, only 8 that I am happy with. I believe tonight will end the competition and we shall see who is victorious! Although, in a way, we all are because we all will have accomplished something scrappy. I have a few more in my head just begging to be let out, so let's see what happens tonight!

the girl who is ready to RUUUUUUUUMBLE!

2008-04-19T13:40:00.008-05:00

So the Jens and I, (Princess and Jen Jen) gave ourselves a little challenge this weekend. Since, sadly, none of us has been scrapping much lately (and you think I would be at least considering...) we challenged each other to see who could create the most layouts this weekend. The Jens obviously forgot that I really rise to the occasion when challenged. Nothing like a little competitive spirit to make me hop to it.

We are all donating to a scrappy stash to be awarded to the winner and this is my contribution:

A few of my favorite scrappy things: shiny brads, cool paper flowers, some delish Hambly rub-ons, a transparent title, and my favorite go to stuff--various epherma and buttons!

I think I might have an advantage here--I can afford to let housework stuff slide and stay up really late because I don't have work to worry about on Monday!

So behold what I accomplished last night:

tenacity
Very much on the simple side for me. I may have to go back and tweak it some more. (i.e. add more junk to it)

one happy kid
I love how this one turned out! My cheesy grin boy!

sandbox fun
These pictures are two years old, about time I scrapped them!

I'm Batman of course
My two pagers are usually really simple comparatively. this is Halloween before last.

Captain Me
A cute Shel Silverstein poem.

thumbsucker
Another Silverstein poem. He makes journaling so easy!

So there you go girlies. The gauntlet has been thrown. AND I have plenty more where these came from! Step it up!

Last night was all about Ian, tonight I think I will get some Matthew out of the way...unless the lo's I wanted to get to last night with Ian but didn't because it was so late call to me instead. We shall see.

Y'all are going down like Charlie Brown!

Muahahahahahahah!

the girl who has a tooth!

2008-03-25T23:21:00.003-05:00

Well, not me, but this little guy.

Sorry I can't show a picture of the actual little nub, but at the moment, that's all it is. However, I am so excited to see that tiny sliver of white! I swear, this boy has been a cranky, drool monster for the past two months. I've been anticipating this little milestone for a good long while.

So he's hitting his milestones fast and furious now.

He is officially a crawler in the past week or so, going from the unsure, move my hands forward, flop on my belly, get up and repeat mode to full out, high speed clamber. And climber too. Nothing can hold him back it seems. Given the concrete floors and the plethora of small, chokeable toys (and pieces of toys) generated by his brothers, he has a very small, but well defined play area in our bedroom. It keeps him happy and me hopping, pulling him out from underneath our computer desks and the wires he loves to gnaw on so much.

He reached another milestone yesterday between morning and night.

Yesterday morning he was pulling up on his knees in his crib. Last night, he achieved full standing status. This, of course, led to the dismantling of the crib and lowering of the mattress. He also lost his beloved crib bumper. The boy is no fool and enjoys his comfort. He constantly would pull the bumper down and use it as a pillow. Awww! Now, of course, it can also be used as a step stool, so out it goes.

He is also fully Daddy's boy. His first word is "da-da" and full out "Daddy" And, yes, he has reached the stage where he isn't just stringing words together. He actually is using it to get Daddy's attention. He says "ma ma" occasionally, but usually when he is whining about something. I'm not sure if he's made the connection of Mommy responding when he makes that sound, but it follows the pattern the boys have set. When you want to play, call for Daddy. When you want something, call Mommy!

I'm doomed.

However, after seeing the latest pictures, I've had several people comment that Eli looks like me. All I have to say about that is...FINALLY! These little boys of mine favor their Daddy so much, it's nice that my last baby finally looks like me!

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

A shot of my little mini-me-in-attitude:

Yes, Matthew is his own person. Not content to sleep in his bed (simply because he was told to) he begrudgingly goes to sleep, but must still rebel by not sleeping in his bed. This doesn't look at ALL comfortable, but he slept through the night. (At least until his usual three o'clock transfer to sleep at the foot of my bed at my feet)

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

And about a week or so ago I alluded to a special project I had made for a friend. Since it has now been mailed and received, I can reveal that it was a Housewarming/Birthday/Feel Better pressie for my good friend Princess.

Here it is in its entirety:

And here are the detail shots of its gorgeousness. I know have a request from my mother to provide her with one as well. I'll have to see what I can come up with.

the girl who is maxed out on family time

2008-03-22T22:05:00.010-05:00

So it was an extremely busy Easter.

With the boys being home and not getting to go to Miss Mitzi's (and they ask EVERY morning if they get to go back...sigh) I thought I'd try and have a day just for the boys. So Saturday was chock full of Easter projects.

We colored eggs, made paper plate bunnies and topped it all off with birds nests cupcakes (a coconut maroon nest atop a cupcake with a skewered Peep and jelly bean eggs).

I was exhausted at the end.

Then there was today, the actual Holiday.

The Easter Bunny left the baskets out for the kiddos to see in the morning. I think that was my first mistake. They started the day on a sugar high and I was never able to fully account for all of the candy and ration it. lol, that'll teach me.

Plus, I...I mean the Easter Bunny... found some kites at the dollar store. Yeah, you definitely get what you pay for, but they seemed functional and I thought it would be a fun activity. Unfortunately, the kiddos opened the kite packaging before I woke up and destroyed them in their efforts to see if they would fly with the wind generated by the ceiling fan.

Please don't ask, it's only funny from the outside, I'm still cringing.

Then Easter brunch where I inadvertently used up the last raw eggs. I had done this yesterday when I boiled the eggs for coloring, forgetting I needed to have a raw egg or two for the meatloaf I made last night. So I made an unscheduled visit to the grocery story to buy an 18 ct carton because I luckily remembered I also needed them for eggs for Sunday brunch. That unscheduled trip turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Publix had all of their Easter paraphernalia deeply discounted. I found these uber cute little rabbit shaped melamine egg plates for a quarter a piece! I bought four and they came in handy when the boys were coloring their eggs. Anyway...I used the rest of the carton making eggs this morning and totally forgot that I needed raw eggs for the cheese filling of my lasagna!

Eggs, I can stretch a dozen for a week or more and never think about it, but when I absolutely need them, I forget!

So another unscheduled trip to the 7-11 and I was set.

In between brunch and the trip to 7-11 we had the egg hunt. I had to post a guard and felt terrible. The neighborhood kids saw me hiding eggs and were asking to join. I felt terrible saying "I'm sorry, it's a family event" but it really was! Sure, I could have let one or two join and it wouldn't have been completely terrible, but I selfishly only wanted my own kids in the pictures! Does that make me a terrible person?

So after the hunt, the kids continued on a sugar high while I made the lasagna. And then it rained so I couldn't send them outside. Ugh! Finally, at around 4:30, I had the lasagna baking and the kids screaming so I locked myself in the bedroom and took a brief nap.

When I emerged, ready to continue the holiday I found out that my kiddos are resourceful.

Did you know that Willy Wonka makes a jelly bean covered in Nerds?

Did you know that my kids decided they didn't like the Nerds coating, but still wanted the jelly bean?

Did you know that Nerd jelly beans soaked in a bathroom sink filled to the brim with water will lose their Nerds coating?

Did you know what a mess that makes?

Did you know that if you attempt to clean up that mess with toilet paper before Mom sees it and accidentally submerge a fresh roll in the water in the plugged up sink and leave it there, that it will dissolve into a paper mache sludge that will completely block the drain?

Well, now you do.

And that was my Easter. How was yours?

the girl who has scrapover

2008-03-11T22:01:00.005-05:00

From the "What the hell was I thinking?" files:

Last night I continued work on my super secret project for a super special someone. I've been doing it in stages because the prep work involves several steps involving wet mediums, i.e. gesso, acrylic paint and mod podge, and I wanted to take it step by step with plenty of time in between so that things would adequately dry and not warp.

I reached the final mod podge stage last night. Ah, my old arch nemesis. You see, I have a love/hate affair with mod podge. I am not the type of girl to alter things. Really, I'm not. It's something that really keeps me from joining design teams. It seems they all want an altered project EVERY month. And that's just not me. I want to join a design team that allows me to do my own thing without having to do something I wouldn't normally do just so I can show you can use your scrappy supplies for something other than layouts. But once in awhile, I do like to get my alter on and I'd like to think I'm more or less successful. When I do get it in my head to alter something, mod podge is my medium of choice, but it took a bit of a learning curve to work with it.

My first efforts warped.

Alot.

The paper wrinkled, the finish was NOT smooth and, invariably, mod podged items would end up sticking to each other.

I think I've learned the trick of it now though. And it was no huge thing either. The trick is...be patient. Take it slow and let things dry in between coats.

See, I'm always in such a hurry to get to the "fun" part (the decorating) that as soon as the first coats are down and dry-ish to the touch, I start decorating.

Nope, you can't do that.

You have to apply your thin coat and let it dry. Then sand it ever so lightly, apply your second coat and let it dry.

That's a lot of time involved just to get something ready to go to town on.

But I was good and I took my time and I held myself under control.

Until last night.

I was finishing up the second coat of mod podge last night and had all my different elements drying neatly, so I took a break with the trusty ol' laptop and played endless rounds of Poppit (so addicting) until the low battery pop up, well, popped up.

At that time it was about midnight-ish, so I decided I'd call it a night.

I had the television on the local news (nice background noise) when I heard a reminder about the night launch of the shuttle.

Well, I've never seen a night launch and I have enough of a view from my backyard that I can see the flame trail going up. So I decided to stay up the extra two hours to see if I could catch the flames through the clouds.

So in the midst of putting up my project materials, I decided the project was dry enough that I could start on the fun part of decorating it.

I pulled EVERYTHING out and lost myself in artistic bliss, only to be interrupted by the shuttle launch.

I decided that I need to share this with one of the kiddos and went to go wake up Ian, and ended up accidentally waking Zacky instead. For that I felt a little remorse. You see, the FCAT started today and we had sent the boys to bed extra early so Zacky could get plenty of sleep. This kid was so pumped and excited about taking the FCAT (I'm sure the schools are really rah-rahing it) that he went to bed like a kid on Christmas Eve. Only MY child would be excited to take a test. Bless his little nerdling heart, I'm raising him right! So he was sleeping on pins and needles of anticipation.

So with the damage done, we set up a blanket outside in the backyard aimed at the sky and waited.

And waited.

and waited.

Didn't see a damn thing.

Apparently the clouds were too thick over here and we missed it. How anticlimactic.

So I shooed Zack back to bed with a promise I'd walk over to McDonald's with him in the morning and we'd have breakfast together, just the two of us, before school.

I went back to my project with the intention of cleaning up and going to bed, but ended up wanting to finish just one more thing. Which led to just one more little thing, which led to...well, we'll just say that when my eyes were burning and my head drooping and the project was 99.9% complete, I cleaned up and went to bed.

At 5:30.

Yeah, stupid huh?

And then at 7 o'clock the alarm rings and I grudgingly get up to take my eldest to his promised Mommy date.

When I get back, everyone else (except DH) is up so I round up breakfast for everyone and start to pick up around the house only to collapse on the couch in front of the Backyardigans and completely zone out. I swear, there was a vacant stare, glassy eyes and a teeny bit of drool leaking from the corner of my mouth. Somewhere after lunch and around "Maggie and the Ferocious Beast" I finished up the project, sent the boys off for their nap and finally went to bed for two hours.

So what do I have to show for it?

Something I think is purty darn spectacular. I can't wait to give it away and secretly hope she hates it so I can keep it for myself!

Would you like to see it?

Sorry, that will have to wait, lol. As much as I want to show it off to any and everyone, I want it to be a surprise.

But here is a sneaky peeky.

The bad part is that the recipient lives out of town, so I will have to mail it to her and I won't get to see her face.

But even though I will miss that reaction and I have had maybe four hours sleep total in the past 48 hours, I just know it was so worth it.

the girl who took some pictures

2008-02-29T01:10:00.004-05:00

Got into a picture taking mood today. Matthew was just so darn cute in his hat and the light was all golden and the sky was so blue...it had to be done.

Enjoy!

the girl who is waiting for a break in the rain

2008-02-23T14:13:00.009-05:00

It's a rainy Florida Day and I'm waiting for it to clear so I can go meet the locksmith at Albertsons and pay him $200 to change out the ignition switch on the van which, inexplicably jammed up on me. (Although, apparently its a common problem on that particular make/model/year)

Matthew comes out to the porch and sees that its raining and proceeds to make the following statement:

"Mommy, it's raining. The sun is saaad. You have to make it happy. Sing Mommy, sing about cars. Go 'Cars, cars, cars!' (in sing-songy voice) Do it, Mommy! Do it!"

So I oblige by singing "cars" over and over.

"It's not working, Mommy! Do it again!"

I guess there are reasons I don't have a singing career as it is still raining. Lol.

******

So what to do when it's raining except take pictures of the little boys all together on the bed?

Here they are, all together on the edge of the bed. My two baldies and two Breck models side by side.

Now they are head over heels having fun.

And finally, it's tummy time for all.

*****

I love where we live. The location is excellent with the school across the street and easy access to grocery store, gas station and babysitter. The cons are pretty much that we are six people living in a 1200 sq ft space with all the "stuff" six people accumulate. Add to that the fact that the storage in this place is not overwhelmingly great and you find you have to get creative.

One of the purchases I was looking forward to making (but have since put on hold) was an IKEA expedit bookcase. Scrappers swear by it and I thought it would be a good place to store my ever growing collection of albums and possibly some scrappy supplies. The boys still get into things, but they have learned that Mommy and Daddy's toys are to be respected, so I was finally comfortable putting some of it more in the open. Sure it would have taken up the last remaining wall space in the living/dining room, but at least I had a place for it.

Well, after cleaning out my office at work, I had to find a place for the cradle my "assistant" used to occupy. My grandfather made it before he passed and it has been passed around to all the grandchildren for the great-grandbabies. I'm the most recent to have it, and possibly the last. So, until my parents come to visit from Texas, it's mine to take care of, cherish, and store.

Thing is, its big. I'm talking a nice sized wooden cradle that does break down to some extent, but we aren't talking pack and play here. So it took up the spot destined for my bookcase. However, I still had two problems. 1.) I just knew that the kiddos would look at it as an invitation to play on/in it and Ididn't want it damaged. 2.) I still have a ton of albums overflowing their storage. So, I found a solution.

Nice, huh? My "babies" all in one place. Now there are still a couple albums stashed away, but the bulk are here and it makes me happy.

*****

Speaking of creative storage solutions, I'm trying to streamline my stash. Now, I'm using more and more of it as I complete lo's (even though I've fallen off the wagon slightly.) but it still occupies my amoire and chest and some space in the bedroom as well. I got a clip-it-up last year and discovered that while it stores everything magnificently, it just doesn't work for me. It's awkward to turn without overbalancing it and it was sort of crowded. I dream for the day I have a room of my own (or at least a room I share with dh just for our playthings) and can use the clips on a rod type system. I think that will work better. Aside from the embellies, I also have a huge stash of ribbon. I really don't know why, I don't use it enough to justify all the ribbon I have, but there ya go. It's a scrapper's mentality. the second I get rid of it, I will probably need it for some project. I'll search all over for it, get frustrated, and finally remember I purged it Don't laugh! It's happened!

To that end, I've tried several systems: the all wrapped neatly on wooden clothespins system, the wrapped neatly on chipboard cards system, and the kept on spools and sorted by color system. Trouble was, I always seemed to revert to the carelessly unrolled and thrown in whatever storage container was handy system.

These were all the containers I was using to store my ribbon in. Yes, some have been repurposed since my revelation (more on that in a sec) and I'm not inclined to UN-repurpose them for the sake of a photo.

Now the revelation. My LSS was selling some ribbon organizers recently and I was skeptical as to how well they would work. I was certain that the ribbon would get all sorts of tangled. However, after seeing the owner work steadily during a crop (back in December) to fill this organizer, I was amazed. She managed to get a box about 2 ft square, filed to the brim with ribbon (on spools, loose, in baggies, all of it) into this little bag about the size of a makeup case...with room to grow!

So I sat on the idea for a little while and finally took the plunge. This is the result.

And there is plenty of room left over to grow. What I like about this is that I can still add ribbon and keep it separated by color without having to move anything else. Plus it's squishy and easily stores in a quarter of the space I was using before! And, I'm happy to report, I have had no issues with tangling (as of yet) All in all, a good $20 investment. Love it!

*****

Eli update: the little boy wants to crawl! He spends a LOT of time practicing. Raising up on his knees and rocking back and forth. All with a look of concentration on his face. Catch him at it and he drops down to his belly, so I'm going to have to go stakerazzi to get a shot, but this comes close.

He's still the happiest, most easy-going baby ever. I am so happy he joined the family! Every day I think about how, even though I had my hands full with three boys, I always felt the family had some growing to do. And when I was pregnant, I really didn't have the little girl longings I had with the others. I knew (or was resigned to, lol) I was going to have another boy. He's my ray of sunshine, my little Eli-phant, and I love him to pieces.

****

Well, there was a break in the rain and went to meet the locksmith at my stranded van. $210.00 later, I'm mobile again. Now to use it to go job hunting. It's funny how not having to go to work changes things. I'm using my down time to organize and purge, slowly but surely. We want to move to a house with more room to spread out when our lease is up. I'm hoping to find something in the area and same school district. Of course, being employed will make that a whole lot easier, lol, so I better get back on track.

the girl who is unemployed

2008-02-18T01:05:00.005-05:00

Technically that is.

My last day on paper was Friday. But I'm going in tomorrow to make sure payroll goes off without a hitch, because I have good work ethic like that(and it's my pay that's being affected too!)

My "assistant came to work with me one last time and got smothered with kisses from everyone. I think that they will miss him more than me. He;s been a little mascot for them. They've seen him grow from the little not-quite-five-pounder that he was when I first started bringing him to work, to a robust, chubby little not-quite-fifteen-pounder. Plus he's adorable, how can you not get attached?

My babysitter is quite heartbroken over the possibility of losing the boys. She loves them and I love her for loving them. I can't exactly ask her to hold their spaces though. She's one woman running her own daycare and can only take a limited number of kids. Well, I'm taking up three spots. I can't ask her to do without that income. But, she's given me some tips on some things, and hopefully we can make it work.

She loves Eli, especially (who doesn't?) and has this thing about wanting him to be in real little boy clothes. I'm happy to let him stay in sleepers all day, but Miss Mitzi likes him looking like a little man. So much so that she started looking for clothes for him. This outfit is courtesy of her. He DOES look like a little man. He has just grown so much!

And he's Mr. Personality too. I'm sure he'll be just as much trouble as Matthew, because he is very much "look at me! play with me! pay attention to me!" But as a baby it's adorable.

Speaking of Matthew, I'm trying to figure out if its him or Ian who did this.

Yes, that's a Happy Face drawn right where Mr. Happy hides.

I'm leaning towards Ian, since he's the resident artist. But I was baffled as to why he would be drawing on his undies.

Then it hit me.

These are plain white undies. No decoration. No cartoon characters. Naturally he had to iven them up!

I have strange children, lol.

In other news...I was asked to be a guest designer for the Color Challenge on 2Peas. I had fun with it.

This was the Color Combo I was given:

And this is what I did with it.

I'm running out of stash, so my layouts are becoming more streamlined. I can only hope that I become employed soon, or else I won't be able to take advantage of all the yummy BOY goodies (finally) from CHA. I'm in love with several items and simply want to go crazy.

So this is kind of a rambling, pointless post, but I wanted to show off the pictures, lol.

Will post any job hunt successes as they happen!

the girl who needs an umbrella (ella, ella)

2008-02-13T23:17:00.003-05:00

No pics again, but an update.

Washer is fixed. I did it myself actually. The first repair guy that came out diagnosed it with a broken transmission.

Landlord wanted a second opinion.

Second repair guy (from different company) said same thing so eventually she consented to order parts.

Third repair guy missed the Saturday appointment for the day I was home and forced me to take a day off of work to wait for him so I could have a working washer. This was the day I got called in to go to a meeting which was useless. The next day I found out they were eliminating HR.

However on that day I thought I had a working washer because they replaced the transmission. So the washer finally spun again, but wait...nope, not working. Won't agitate now.

Fourth repair guy came out and looked it over and ordered parts.

Fifth repair guy came out to install said parts, but they were UNNECESSARY as the only thing wrong with the washer at that point was that repair guy #3 (coincidentally also repair guy #4) didn't put the machine back together correctly and left off (and left with) the part that actually makes the agitator grab on to the thingie that makes it agitate. (For the record, the part is called a "spline" don't know what the agitator thingie is called.) So repair guy#5 asked me if *my husband* was mechanically inclined and told me how to tell *my husband* how to fix it. I'm surprised he didn't call me "Little Lady" and ask me why I was wearing shoes in my kitchen. (For the record, it's to stomp on the roaches).

So the part arrives before I go into work last Tuesday and in five seconds I have the whole thing running smoothly and washing clothes.

Repair Guy #6 shows up on Saturday (you think I'm going to cancel? Hmph, they better come out just for the hassle they've put me through) and I explain I fixed it, but could he please put the housing back together correctly (something repair guys 1-5 haven't done yet) so it will open properly. He did, clothes are clean again and the love seat is now sporting the layer that needs to be hung.

So that's some good news at least. I thought I'd lead with that.

But here is where the umbrella comes in since when it rains it pours.

Florida Dad had a heart attack Monday.

He's as fine as he can be right now and I've been doing my best to help out. Scared the bejeezus out of me, but I'd never let him know it. He's too ornery to die. Besides, then he'd have to give up his post as president of the DOMC (Dirty Old Man Club) and I don't think he's ready for that yet.

But I did request that he have pretty nurses during his convalescence.

More rain on the way.

DH got some bad news about his job too. Going into Pop culture speak here, the Bobs are at his work and the TPS reports aren't being stapled correctly.

So in a couple weeks he will be joining me in looking for new employment.

Sigh!

My last day at work is Monday.

No nibbles yet, but at least I got the benefits pushed through before my exit.

I gotta take my victories where I can.

At least I'll have clean clothes to wear for my interviews.

the girl who sees you

2008-02-05T22:52:00.001-05:00

I see that visitor count keep going up (even though the comments remain the same, hint, hint, a girl needs a little PVM ya know) but don't really have anything new to post.

I'm in a crappy mood and don't really want to bring the whole world into my black hole.

Still looking for a job and still going into work every day until the final day. The resentment and "why bother" attitude is starting to pervade and becoming very difficult to fight. I keep reminding myself I'm staying for the employees so I can get through open enrollment and they can have their benefits and so I can finalize training of the person responsible for their pay.

I remind myself this was my idea to stay long enough to accomplish this and that I really fought for it, and even though the extra paycheck is definitely a motivating factor, it's really because I hate leaving things undone.

But it's hard to go in and remain positive and professional.

It's hard to try to finish up projects that may, ultimately mean nothing to anyone but myself.

It's hard to hear another person come up and say "you're leaving? why?" or knowing why and telling me why its so unfair.

It's even harder to put a smile on my face and say, "I'm sure it will be a positive move and things will work out, don't worry." instead of agreeing with them and ranting and raving about the injustice of it all.

I had an employee in my office for 20 min the other day actually crying because she had heard the news.

It's hard, and just add to that a washer that STILL isn't fixed and a cold that WILL NOT GO AWAY and I am just drained.

So I'll try to post when I am in a better mood or have good news.

Thanks for lurking.

the girl who survived another birthday

2008-01-27T15:44:00.003-05:00

So, Matthew turned four (I can't believe he has survived this long sometimes!) and we had the usual festivities. Unfortunately, I had to work on his special day and you just don't tell a kid who is counting the days to his birthday that you'll do it on the weekend. Every time he spoke of his birthday it was "Cas, cars, RACEcars!" so I figured I was pretty safe in being able to pick out something he's like.

As you can see from the pictures, he got his wish. A racecar birthday cake and some more Disney Cars shake n' go cars. He also got a Cars pillow book and a Cars tee. So all in all, quite the respectable haul for a four year old.

The days of showering the kids with gift after gift after gift are long since gone. For one thing, may I point out I have four children? It isn't just the financial aspect (although that certainly plays a part) but it is the sheer amount of STUFF that accumulates when you have four kids.

I hate to say it, but when it was just Zachary he was spoiled at gift giving time. If one action figure would be cool, then the entire collection of action figures should be that much better! Right? I think Daddy had a little bit to do with that too. What man really grows out of crashing cars and playing good vs evil?

"Yeah, Honey. I think he really needs the entire collection of He-Man figures because I remember them from my childhood and I had so much fun!"

Never mind that that retro craze only lasted about three months. They were the right three months because they fell right around Christmas!

Of course, I can't really talk. I'm sure if we had a little girl it would look like Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony went on a bender and vomited all over my precious little princess' room. But we dodged that bullet, lol.

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

Of course, with the birthday comes the annual check-up at the Doctor's. Poor Matthew had to get FOUR shots. But he was as fearless as ever and only started to cry on the very last one. You know, those icky intra-muscular ones that burn when they go in. He got to that one and statred wailing, "Mommy, I don't want to do this anymore!"

For putting up such a brave face, he earned his reward of a McFlurry on the way home and was actually neat enough with it that it only took one pass with the hose to wash out a small serving of imitation vanilla frozen treat with oreos out of the van.

Eli was also due for a check up so he tagged along. My little porker is a big boy now! Six month old and 14lbs 12oz. He is 26 inches long and has completely caught up developmentally.

No mother is supposed to have favorites, but I do. He is my favorite baby. (Just like Zack is my favorite 8 yo, Ian my favorite 5 yo and Matthew my favorite newly-minted 4 yo.) I just am enjoying him so much! He is so interactive, he holds your gaze and will have a conversation with you in coos and burbles.

I think its because Zachary was my first, and I really had no clue what I was doing. He survived (Thank goodness!) but the anxiety I felt over "Am I going to screw this up?!!" diminished the joy slightly. Ian and Matthew came so close together (and then Matthew had a slew of health problems--not that you'd know it now) I never got to enjoy them as babies. But Eli. With Eli I can take the time to wonder at the chubby cheeks and perfect rosebud lips. I can confidently play with him, feed him, bathe him, all of that and still have time to marvel at how he responds, the teeny fingers, how strong he is. He is such a little miracle to me and I just turn to mush whenever he smiles and grabs my fingers. Even though he was the surprise to end all surprises, he truly completes this family.

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

Update on the washer. The repair guy finally made it out last Monday after missing our appointment on Saturday. So I had to take the day off of work because you couldn't make an appointment for a specific time and the window was 8 am to 5 pm! Really? Sheesh, could you be a little more vague? I got the call to come into work, they're having an all manager meeting with the owner and everyone must be there, so I had to contact the repair service and tell them that they couldn't come for the next two hours. I go to the meeting (at which HR was not addressed even once--more on that later) and got home to find two repair guys struggling with the washer. (DH was home by that time) After about an hour, they got things mostly put back together and declared it fixed. I say mostly because the front cover wasn't attached in one corner and hung all whopper jawed off the side. But, hey, it may not look pretty but it works, right?

My landlord called to follow up and I said, "Guess what I'm doing RIGHT NOW!" Yep, I was washing. Hallelujah! It took me about three loads to figure out that, yeah, it spins once more but NOW IT DOESN'T AGITATE!! Grrrrr!

So the repair guy came out again yesterday, looked at for five minutes, declared he needed to order parts and he'd see me NEXT Saturday.

Double grrr.

And I can't exactly use the hotel anymore to wash my clothes.

In brief, when the hotel was bought last year the new owners came in proclaiming they didn't believe in HR but offered me the position of Manager anyway. Wel, they weren't kidding. Now it's a year later and I've set everything up for them, so I guess my services aren't needed anymore, thank you very much.

I'm trying not to be bitter and look at it as an opportunity to grow somewhere else, but it still was a surprise, for all that it wasn't completely unexpected.

And my last day would be two weeks before I qualify for vacation.

But I negotiated with them and explained they really needed to keep me a little bit longer to train someone on payroll. So I have three weeks before I am unemployed.

Yay.

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

In other news: Zachary is currently burning batteries in his new cd player listening to Radio Disney Jamz 10 over and over and over. It was his reward for bringing home straight A's, Honor Roll and perfect attendance. Give me just a moment to revel in the glory that I didn't screw him up and he's doing just fine! Until the teenage years at least...

Speaking of the teenage years. My LOAD quest continues and I've done pretty well at keeping up. Here's a smattering of my recent lo's (but not all, I'm actualy keeping some back for pub)

I can wait
Zachary just seemed a little too teenagerish in these pictures, hence the journaling about how I really can wait.

Smitten
This cutie girl latched on to Zack at a birthday party. He was oblivious, but I knew she was making a play for my little guy!

8
A layout designed around the premise of a little boy emptying his pockets. No frogs though.

It's not easy being green
My mistake. How could I possibly buy a green shirt for my OCD boy when his color is blue? green is Zack's color!

Waiting
this one is kind of a cheat because I did it a little bit ago, but I posted it in lieu of a different Eli one I'm holding to submit. It tells about waiting for Eli to come home from the NICU.

Lucky

How lucky are we to have found Mitzi? A woman who loves my kids (and Eli especially) as her own?

And that's it until I have something else that's blogworthy come up. Seems like it wouldn't take much, lol.

the girl who tackled Mount Washmore!

2008-01-14T16:19:00.001-05:00

So my washer is broken.

And I have four children.

One who regularly soaks his bed because diapers just aren't built to take that kind of overnight load.

One who is hit or miss with soaking his bed because he can't wake himself up to pee.

One who likes to change clothes a million times a day because dress-up is his favorite game and he hates being dirty.

And one who will go commando to school because he just doesn't like underwear--so I guess he saves me a bit on laundry there.

Plus there is myself who goes through a billion towels cleaning up messes around the house caused by these four lovely children.

And factor in pajamas every day in addition to the daily outfits, along with bath towels for six because no, we can't just hang a towel up and reuse it, we must toss it on the floor either intentionally to soak up the water or intentionally because we are too short/lazy to hang it up again.

Are you starting to get a picture of my laundry needs here?

My landlord, bless her heart, has been playing "second opinion" and between my schedule and DH's, well, its hard to line that up. I think we might actually get it fixed next weekend.

Pray for me.

So, because of the massive amounts of laundry that my family generates, I was in desperate need to do some washing. And a laundromat would have been hideously expensive. Luckily for me, I work at a hotel with an on-site laundry for doing towels and sheets and such. So asked for and got permission to come in and utilize the massive, industrial size washers and driers on property.

Want to see how much laundry a family of six can generate in two weeks time?

The four year old is there for comparison of size. That's two laundry hampers, two sterilite bins that I use for sorting and four sheets bundled with whatever didn't fit in the actual laundry containers. Yes, I am ghetto.

It took two loads in the industrial sized washers plus two loads in the smaller industrial (think extra-extra large capacity, it took one hamper and one bin) to complete this mess.

On the bright side, I got all of my laundry washed and dried in about four hours.

On the down side, now I still have to fold it and put it away. A task that may take another two weeks.

Ian is still bald. This is his new favorite hat. For today at least. The boy has always loved hats and now he has an excuse to wear them more often. Little fashion victim that he is. Yes, he is sleeping with it.

And we have a thumbsucker! I thought for awhile there that he was going to be a knuckle-gnawer (say that five times fast) but he recently found his thumb and seems quite happy at the discovery. Of course, I also suspect that he is teething. We have just started formula and cereal together. Next up will be veggies! Yum!

Want to show off my Target dollar spot find. Look at this cutie-patootie, totally Elsie inspired apron! $2.50! I lurve it so much!

And of course, my layout a day quest continues. I have done so well so far! I am four layouts away from finishing Zachary's 7 year old album and recently finished up year 6. And, since we are half-way through year 8, that means minimal catching up there. Once I'm done with Z, I'll work on Ian, then Matthew, then Eli. This is a good time for catch up as I seem to always have a slump in picture taking between Christmas and Easter.

Here are a couple from this week. Not all, as I don't want to overload you, but a couple of favorites.

"E"

This is Eli's title page to his album. It's 12x12 picture that I had printed at Scrapbookpictures.com on metallic paper. It is so much lovelier in person.

finding neverland in your own backyard

This one came together so quickly. And I love the journaling. I've had people say they love the "quote" but I gotta brag, it's all me! I wrote that! It says: "Never again will playtime be this free and unfettered, fluid and changing, limited only by your imagination. This is the secret to youth."

Which Way to Fun?

Another example of take everything you have and throw it on the page. I *think* this works. In any case, it's fun.

And I'll try to pop in a picture of it later, but my big news from the Z-Man is that he was chosen "Student of the Month" for his school! Unfortunately, I did NOT receive a tacky bumper sticker to slap on the back of my official Mom mini-van to thumb my nose at other people's apparently sub-standard children.

Darn!

the girl who had a typical day

2008-01-05T18:57:00.002-05:00

A typical day with kids. More specifically, a typical day with boys. Ok, a typical day with my boys.

I was awakened this morning by my trusty alarm clock. After the third round of snooze, I was ready to get up and go to work (yes, it's Saturday, but circumstances dictated that I go in today.) and was just at that terrible point of inevitability where I really have to get up...the next time the alarm goes off.

Well, as fate would have it, I was destined to get out of bed much quicker.

You see, at 7 am the boys were awake. Don't they know Saturdays are for sleeping in? It's not like it was in my day, when cartoons were only shown Saturday mornings and you HAD to wake up early. They have entire channels devoted to cartoons these days, why not enjoy the comforts of your bed a little while longer?

As I lay on my sliver of the bed, snuggled up against my husband's knee (this is the penalty you pay for going to bed after your spouse--they spread) and wrapped snugly in a quarter of the blanket, I hear a distinct "WHOOMP", a quickly silenced shriek of surprise? shock? pain? and all the electronics in the bedroom suddenly go off. Coincidentally, my alarm clock (in the bathroom) starts going off again.

It's a sign to get up.

So I go investigating. Zack is on the couch watching HSM2, Ian is happily drawing away (good to know those Christmas presents are being appreciated) and Matthew meets me at the door to his in Eli's room with a pale face and wide eyes and immediately starts saying "I sawy Mommy! I sawy!"

"What did you DO?!"

Of course I can't understand what he's saying because now he's started to cry.

And then I see it.

The blackened socket.

After guesswork, a fair amount of translating Panicked-four-year-old into English and Mommy's intuition, I think I figured it out.

I think that there was a bug crawling on the wall and it went into hiding between the nightlight and the socket. (This from Matthew's anguished announcement that "The bug died-ed" ) Being unable to pull the nightlight out of the socket and also determined and resourceful, Matthew went after it with a piece of broken car toy. A metal piece of broken car toy.

Yeah, this is the result.

Yes the broken axle is now fused to the nightligh.

I'd like to think that it is only my child who does things like these, but I actually distinctly remember intentionally sticking a metal hair barrette into a socket to feel the tingle. I never blew one up though although apparently I'm lucky I survived to procreate and produce a child to carry on in my idiocy.

Matthew is the only one who has to burn his hand on the stove to be convinced it's hot. He is the only one to run away from home--twice (and let's not forget one of those times he was naked). He is the only one who has had stitches and a dislocated elbow--twice. In short, he is a BOY with a capitol B and one of those is quite enough for me. But no, I had to go and have FOUR. Of course, the other three are a little easier to handle. Sometimes.

So after our introduction to Mr. Electricity, Eli noticed I was awake.

He is a very good baby about sleeping through the night and actually will patiently wait for me to come to him in the morning. I've snuck up on him before and he'll be laying there quietly, exploring his hands or blankets or some such, just entertaining himself until Mommy starts his day. However, if he hears me or sees me and I don't acknowledge him right away, he will start to let me know, "I'd like breakfast and a fresh diaper RIGHT NOW, please!"

So I did not acknowledge him right away as I was resetting breakers and calming down older brothers. And by the time I got to him he was quite frantic.

Of course he was! He was SOAKED! Onesies have an amazing property--they wick any excess diaper leakage up the baby's torso, insuring even urine coverage. And we'll just say that that Pamper was just no match for the 8 oz of formula he had had some 8 hours earlier. Onesie, bedding, blankets--all soaked. So he got a bath, the bed got stripped and remade (helpful Mom tip, don't just buy multiple sheets for your crib, buy multiple mattress covers too. Trust me.) and I got to smell baby powder toes.

I think he is channeling Jabba the Hut in this picture. What do you think?

ok, ok, he is MUCH cuter than Jabba, but still...lol

So bath, baby powder toes and bottle and he's good to go, no one else has done anything life threatening and I've got to go to work. At least at work I won't have to deal with this for a few hours.

Right?

Wrong.

Throughout my relatively short day I received minute-by-minute updates from DH via phone on my children's behavior. Yes, it was always reported thusly:

"Your children have scribbled on the furniture with markers. "

" Your children just made themselves breakfast out of leftover pizza and milk. Yes together in the same bowl."

"Your children just tried to lasso the ceiling fan with a blanket."

"Your children just blew up the tv." (they didn't...it just got switched to the wrong output. You'd think my techie hubby would know that.)

My spontaneously generated, virgin birth children are destructive geniuses I tell you!

Let me show a picture of these tnt tyrants.

Adorable, right? Hmmm, Ian seems to be having some trouble seeing through his bangs. Note to self, take him with you when you go to the store tomorrow and get his bangs cut.

Oh, wait. Ian is the helpful child.

The independant child.

The loner.

The child I don't really worry about when I don't see for awhile because he likes to entertain himself by drawing or playing with his toys quietly.

So while making my pick up the house rounds I come across this.

Oh no!

Oh. Yes.

And, despite my begging Daddy that I could take him to the salon right now and they could fix it, Daddy reacted the same way he did when Coo-Pa tried to helpfully trim his bangs last year. (Remember?)

Yep, he broke out the clippers and fighting off the crazed, crying woman holding on to his child in the bathroom (no, not Britney Spears) he buzzed my little angel's head clean.

Sort of.

He did it half way and then told me to finish it up. I did through tears.

Matthew, seeing his half-shorn brother, starts crying, "I want my brother back!" Which put a touch of humor in the situation and lightened the mood. After calming Matthew (and now Ian) and explaining that hair grows back (please grow fast!) I finished the job and we were left with this.

Notice the divot in the head. There are about three of those on his noggin where he "trimmed" his hair right up to the scalp. So no, the salon would not have been able to "fix" it. Sigh!

Of course, now Ian is terribly embarassed by the whole situation and has decided that he is going to wear this hat until his hair grows back.

He even went to sleep with it on! (I'm sure Daddy calling him "Baldy" all night didn't help.)

So tonight, while tucking in the boys, I reviewed our lessons learned for the day with the boys:

1.) NOTHING goes in around or near electrical sockets. Never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never do anything like that again!

and

2.) Scissors are for cutting paper not hair. If your hair is bothering you, please ask Mommy to get you a haircut. there are people whose job it is to cut your hair and they know how to do it and make you look good. I promise.

And Zachary is the only one who left me without a story for the day. Of course, he is on round 2 (3?) of battling this cold we keep passing back and forth and was pretty much self-confined to bed or couch for most of the day.

So now the boys are asleep, the kitchen is calling and once I get that squared away I am going to continue with my goal of creating at least one new layout a day so I can get caught up on my huge (over 100 and then some) backlog of waiting layouts. On top of what I showed last post, this is what I've accomplished since the first of the year.

just my size
(Eli in his little shoebox sized tub)

2 boys in the Wild West
(there is a little mini book with more photos and a brochure and map from the Fort hidden behind the pictures on the second page)

Every boy's Dream Job
(this screams "needs MORE" to me, but I'm trying to let things go. Not every page has to look like it belongs in a magazine)

pure charisma
(journaling reads: to pull off this look and still look this cool takes pure charisma)

stuck in the middle
(journaling about Ian's middle child status)

Goodbye
(saying goodbye to GranMary after our Spring Break visit in '06)

pzzt-ow!
(Matthew's reaction to his first encounter with static shock. Appropriate for today, don'tcha think?)

Every Dog Needs a Boy
(Parker when he was still of a size Zack could control him. The dog is a MOOSE now and much happier with my FIL who can give him the time and attention he deserves)

And that's it for now. We'll see how many I can complete tonight. Although, I think I might only do one and just set up some more for later in the week so I don't pull all nighters trying get one layout done.

I'm just hoping for some not so typical days in my future so I can do this!

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

Ok, as I was finishing up this epic post, who should wake up but Matthew. He had a bad dream. Apparently a monster came into his room and turned the floor to lava. Now he's scared and says he needs a new room. Sure that this was a flashback to events this morning, I patiently explained that there was no monster, the floor was not lava, that was the only room we had to give him and this is why we don't mess with electricity. Matthew makes the great observation that "I didn't see it and it hit me!" Aramis, of course, pipes in with his wisdom, explaining how electricity powers the lights. And, of course, that Matthew might get super powers now that he's been shocked, but he has to watch out that he doesn't get EVIL superpowers.

Great.

Aren't we supposed to be DISCOURAGING the boy?

sigh!

Tomorrow is another day.

double sigh!

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

another update: no scrapping for me tonight. Matthew has a fever and started throwing up. Sheesh.

So, of course, my mind starts creating scenarios. What if this isn't the cold we've all been passing around? What if Matthew fried his insides and now has been cooked inside? Hmmm, After Hours Pediatrics will be closed by the time I get there, is this serious for a trip to the ER?

ER...don't I know someone who works in the ER? lol. My sister is the Manager of the Nurses for the ER in my hometown. I figure with the hour time difference I'm skirting on the edge of inappropriate time to call, but that also increases the chances that she is actually home. Besides, if she isn't home, my BIL is a paramedic/EMT so he could talk me down.

Which is exactly what my sister did.

She told me quite calmly that if he had "fried his insides" that he would have gotten sicker pretty much immediately and that he probably just caught the bug.

Ok, I'm fine. All the kids are fine (relatively speaking) and should live to see another day.

Let's see if I survive to see it.

the girl who has had a lot of celebrating

2007-12-29T11:19:00.002-05:00

All my Boys in one place!

So the month of December regularly kicks my ass. As if Christmas wasn't enough of a stress factor, I have two big birthdays in the immediate family and then various ancillary birthdays I have to remember.

The season really kicks off at the end of November with my wedding anniversary. Next up is my hubby's birthday on the 19th. This year, he had to work and my employer decided that the 19th was the perfect date for the Employee Holiday Party. I really didn't want to go, but as Human Resources Manager, was obligated to. So my poor guy worked all day and then had the kids all night while I was out making my appearance.

I tried to make it up to him the next day. He had the day off so I sent the kiddos to the sitter's for the day so he could have some "alone time." Then I got us some steaks for dinner and we watched "The Simpsons Movie" (his present, he's a huge Simpsons freak) as a family.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Next on the Birthday list is Mr. Ian. He turned five this year on the 22nd. I can't believe I have a five year old! Let alone the 8, soon to be four and 5 month old! When did I become a MOM? lol, I still being a mommy and wouldn't have it any other way.

Ian had a Diego birthday. He has been so excited ever since we picked out his cake a few weeks ago. I went to go pick it up and it said "Happy 5th Birthday Jan" They quick fixed it by piping an "I" over the "J" but I wasn't happy. They could have redone it, but it would have taken an hour and I was on a timeline. So I asked for a discount, got it and decided, in the long run, the only one it would bother would be me.

We had the usual cake and presents and Ian got all Diego'd out. A good time was had by all.

Next, of course, is Christmas...and that is just the usual fun stuff. Lots of mess and cute stories, but I can't remember them now. I've caught a cold that's been being passed around since right after Christmas and it sucks.

I'm really consolidating now because I started this post after Christmas and its now after New Year's. Just a sign of how stressed I am. I have, however, started scrapping again. I want to try and do at least one Layout a day. Last night I did four! So let's see if this helps me put a dent in my backlog. Enjoy the creativeness below.

the girl who went to see Santa

2007-12-18T14:45:00.002-05:00

So I braved the crowds and took the kiddos to go see Santa Claus this weekend. I am a Bad Mommy. It was the first visit for everyone except Zack, and he hadn’t been since he was three I think. Every new kid decreases my interest in leaving the house. However, I figured that I really did need to do this if only to try to extend the magic a little longer for my eldest who is 99% sure Santa Claus does not exist. Strangely enough, he does still seem to believe in the Tooth Fairy. Then again the Tooth Fairy brings money and perhaps he’s afraid if he stops playing the game, the $$$$ will dry up.

(Aside story: Zacky lost a tooth last week, but it had a cavity in it. He jiggled it so much trying to work it out early, that it broke, so he only presented the tooth fairy with half of a tooth. The Tooth Fairy only left half of a dollar bill and didn’t take the tooth (that part was unintentional, but that’s what happens when the Tooth Fairy’s husband fills in because the Tooth fairy went to bed early). So when Zacky asked if half a dollar bill was worth anything, I told him, “Not without the other half. I bet half of a tooth isn’t worth anything to the tooth Fairy and she was trying to tell you to take better care of your teeth.” I think he bought it. He’s been brushing much better since then.)

Back to the Santa story. Downtown Disney really has the best Santa Claus. Real hair and beard, snowy white and the right build. And while he isn’t exactly “jolly” he certainly looks benevolent. I think he could get cast as God in the next 10 Commandments if he lost his “bowl full of jelly.” Lol. Seriously, he does have a really “all knowing” look about him. Well, we got to the line and it didn’t look too long and then they put up The Sign.

You know.

The one that says, “Santa has gone to feed the Reindeer and will be back at ____”

Great. Half an hour of standing in line with four kiddos and not even advancing. Just great.

And about that time, the temperature decided that after weeks of 80 degree weather in December, it would be a good time to drop the temperature about 15 degrees. Of course I hadn’t made the kiddos bring jackets.

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Have I mentioned we haven’t been to see Santa in years? Now you know why.

Anyway, thanks to the family behind us and their kids because they kept my kids entertained with games like, stroller shake, toss the popcorn, and, my favorite, SCREECH! Those parents were so understanding, and I think they took pity on me, standing in line with a hyper 8yo, whiney 5 yo, and no fear, not gonna mind Mommy 4 yo with a 5 month old strapped to my chest. Why haven’t mothers evolved extra arms?

When the reindeer were fat and happy, Santa came back to the tune of “Here Comes Santa Claus” and then he completely floored me by actually walking through the line of kiddos waiting to sit on his lap, shaking hands, giving hugs, and tickling baby’s chins. It was such a thoughtful entrance. Zack almost seemed to get that spark of belief back meeting the Big Guy in person. Matthew was so overcome by awe that he hung back on the sidelines and Ian—well Ian though the music was too loud, so he stuck his fingers in his ears and wouldn’t even look at Santa!

When it was finally our turn, Matthew had regained his courage and his charm and stuffed Geckie (his security blanket) under his shirt and walked up to Santa with his big belly going “Ho, Ho, Ho! I Santa!” I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture! Bad Scrapper! Bad! But he made Santa laugh! They were quickly shuttled on and off Santa’s lap (ugh! I know its necessary, but I wish they could have spent some more one on one with the Big guy) and gave their lists to Santa very quietly (for my kids).

Zack wants a Wii, a DS and Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl game to go with either. (In his dreams!) Also, High School Musical 2; the extended edition. (That’s the important part, it MUST be the extended edition. I don’t think they even MAKE a non extended version, so he’s pretty safe there.)

Matthew wants a Cars bed, and Cars Toys, and Cars game. Basically, put Lightning McQueen on something and he wants it. They could sell Cars broccoli and he’d want it.

And Ian. My sweet, precious Ian. His needs are simple. He just wants some crayons and paper.

I think Santa can arrange that!

Eli, of course, is too young to want anything besides his next bottle, so he was singularly unimpressed. Plus he’s nursing a cold, so he wasn’t his usual smiley self.

So the kids got their requests into Santa, a little magic was restored in my suspicious 8 year old, and Mama got her pictures. Sort of.

Afterwards, instead of a picture, I was handed a card and sent on my way.

Wait, what?

No instruction or anything, just a little business sized card with a website address and an ID number and NEXT! To the people behind me.

What?

Disney has a program where every time you stop and have your picture taken, they assign it this special ID number and you can basically get your entire Disney vacation online. You can view and share the pictures and order prints or even just the cd with all the images to print yourself ($12.95 per print, $124.95 for the photo cd) Yep, Disney always finds new and creative ways to make their $$$ while making it more convenient for their guests to spend it.

But I wanted to walk out of there with an actual picture!

So I sigh, and figure online ordering won’t be so bad and go off with all my little duckies in a row to Ghirardelli’s for some of the world’s best hot chocolate. On the way there, we pass the Guest Service Building and notice a family that had been behind us in line striding purposefully in as another family that was ahead of us came walking out…looking at a picture.

Light bulb!

So I go in and see that we can view and order our prints there. Let me tell you something. I have worked in Orlando for nearly 15 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that Disney really does want and expect their employees to always be on, not have a bad day, and always treat each person as if they were put on earth only to serve them for that moment. I like that. I appreciate that. No matter how many times I am disappointed by bad service when I go out and about, I can always rationalize it with “What do you expect? It’s Wal-Mart after all.” (Or Subways, or Burger King, or McDonalds.) There are places where bad service just doesn’t surprise you. Disney is not one of them.

The guy behind the counter apparently had not gotten his dose of Pixie Dust that day because he was monosyllabic and offered no instruction or help at all. He just stood there, waiting on me to do…something. I finally had to say, “Pretend this is the first time I’ve done this and have no clue what’s going on.” And even then, all I got was a bored, “Pictures here, prices here. Choose which one you want.”

After waiting an hour to Santa with four kiddos in the rapidly colder weather, I really could have used a little Disney magic and I just wasn’t getting it.

And apparently, the photo ordering section doesn’t have a register. So I had to go to the store next door to pay and then bring the receipt back to pick up my picture. The added inconvenience of dragging the kiddos to and fro ate up my last nerve and we cut our visit short. We got the hot chocolate, grabbed a quick shot with Buzz and hightailed it out of there.

Still, I did end up getting a shot of the kids. I wish the photographers had actually tried to get the kids to smile…they will on cue, but were overwhelmed with the moment of meeting Santa. (Who was awesome in making sure he got full eye contact with each kid) But I understand with the cattle call nature of Santa Pictures and the line behind us they were rushed. I can understand that, but I also think my perception of the pictures was a little distorted because of the experience I had just had with the associate.

I wish I could share the picture with you so you could judge for yourself, but after all of that hullabaloo, I'VE LOST THE CARD!! So I guess extra prints are now out of the question. Lucky I go the one.

Even after all of that, we’ll go back to DTD next year for more because that Santa RAWKS! I’ll just try to either go earlier or find a time where the line isn’t so long and the boys can spend a little bit more one on one time.

Now all I have to do is help Santa out with the shopping and Christmas is done. Yay!

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

In other news: Zachary continually tries to find ways around practicing his handwriting. One of the exercises he has to complete every week is to use each of his spelling words in a sentence. Well, he figures that if he can write a sentence that uses multiple spelling words, then he doesn’t have to write as many sentences. Pretty smart, huh? Of course, then you end up with sentences like this:

“Morning has two vowels and, of course, no planets.”

Snort!

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

Gotta share the kiddos artwork with everyone. These are so going in the “save until they’re grown up and embarrass them with it on Prom Night” box. Just cute, nostalgic little memories no one but their Mama appreciates!

the girl who has a strange child

2007-12-11T13:28:00.001-05:00

This post is dedicated to Ian. He is such a unique child. I mean, you can really see he has his own outlook on how the world should work. One thing I have found holds true when raising children, is that they will always surprise you. Not always in a good way, but at least parents (moms especially) can never say that their life is boring.

How can life be boring when your kids do things such as this?

It’s a lovely diorama/playhouse nicely ensconced in a drawer. It reminds me of when I used to make Barbie furniture out of Kleenex boxes. At least my kids’ imaginations won’t leave me hanging when I have a runny nose.

The other strange thing from Ian I, unfortunately, did not take a picture of. Basically, it creeped me out—although it was done in innocence. Ian enjoys “decorating” the underside of Zachary’s bed (it is the ceiling over his bed after all.) I wandered into their room the other day to find a Beanie Baby hanging from the underside. By his neck. I mean, seriously, it looked like he just couldn’t take the cuteness anymore and decided to off himself! I half expected a “Goodbye Cruel World!” note clenched in his furry little paw. I found this mildly disturbing and morbidly funny at the same time. Of course, Ian wasn’t thinking of lynching that poor bear on purpose. He just wanted him to decorate his space. Lol.

Or how about this?

Ian saw a commercial for a nail salon on tv and decided he wanted his nails painted. I asked him what color he’d like and he requested blue. As luck would have it, I happened to have some blue nail polish. (incredibly old, I haven’t painted my nails in years) So we end up with blue nails for Mother and Son.

We also end up with a slightly miffed Dad. Nail polish, of course, is just for girls. However, it was late at night, I was folding laundry and watching Jon and Kate + 8 and Ian woke up and wanted to join me. We had a silly bonding moment (for the record, he painted my nails after I did his) and it was F-U-N!

At least he didn’t ask for pink nail polish!

And then there was last night.

Ian enjoys dressing up so much that I keep all the Halloween costumes in a drawer for him just for that purpose.

Last night he got into the Christmas Spirit, so allow me to introduce…

Buzz Batman Claus!!!

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

Thanks to my friend Jen for the kick in the butt needed to start menu planning. It took a couple hours of thought at the puter, and my shopping trip was longer than usual, but I planned meals for the month and went shopping for the next two weeks this past weekend. Now, she bragged about spending only $250 for the month and I’m not quite there. Of course I have twice the number of people in my fam, so I think spending $285 for two weeks was a good deal. Plus, between store specials and coupons, I saved $50. I put so much in my cart, I actually had to park the cart in a closed lane and put a note on it: “Working on cart #2, please don’t put away!”

And how did I fill up one and a half carts prior to checkout, but walked out with three carts? Some weird grocery physics. I guess it just proves all those hours spent on Tetris weren’t wasted after all.

And here is something to make you feel old. The bagger (little whippersnapper that he is) had never had homemade Rice Krispie treats! He said he didn’t even know you could make them at home, he grew up on the premade stuff!

Ok, Sonny. I’ll make some for you as soon as I get my walker out of the shop and my gout dies down.

Anyway, the trip was great and so far, I’m loving not having to do any thinking about dinner. When I go to make tonight’s dinner, I’ll pull whatever I need to defrost from the freezer and it will be ready for the next night. I’m starting to get a system and I really like it.

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

Eli update. Nothing new really with the little guy, but I wanted to show off some pictures!

This outfit on Eli sparked Matthew’s infamous “baseball game” adventure.

And this was taken last night after his bath. Can’t you just smell the “new baby” scent?

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

The tree went up last night and I finally allowed the kids to put more than one ornament on the tree this year. Unfortunately, they still wound up all in one spot, so I let them do one box worth of ornaments and then went back and rearranged. Hey, it makes me feel better!

Anyway, we had our first casualty of the Christmas season. R.I.P. Oscar, the Grouch. Zack fumbled him in his excitement and he wound up breaking…although you can’t tell in the picture. The entire back side of this ornament is completely caved in and broken. I am actually expecting more as this is the first year with the concrete floors. Sigh! I miss carpet!

So, again, the past two weeks in a nutshell. Time is flying and I can’t believe that 2007 is almost over! Now all I have to do is panic about Christmas and the year will be done before I know it.

the girl who has an anniversary

2007-11-30T19:07:00.001-05:00

Nine years ago Aramis said to me, "You want to do this today?" *This* being get married. So, having the day off and nothing else to do, this man I had met five months prior took me down to the courthouse and we exchanged vows. Now, while it was a little spur of the moment, we were actually engaged and had been since three weeks after we met. But we had been tallying up the cost of a wedding and had recently found out we were expecting Zachary as well, so we decided to elope.

When its right, its right, and having a white dress and a huge florist's bill doesn't make it more right.

So I'm sure we have exceeded all of our "friends" at the time's expectations. But here we are, nine years, four kids and countless moments later...still together, still in love, and still wondering how it got to be so many years when the love is still so fresh and brand new.

This is the first song Aramis dedicated to me. (He likes to do that, find a song that speaks to him and dedicate to whomever it reminds him of) It may seem an odd choice, but it melted my heart and I still think of it as "our" song.

Artist: Hum
Song: Suicide machine
Album: You'd Prefer an Astronaut

Sleep comes to everyone while we wait for the Sunday afternoons.
Sleep comes to everyone, everyone maybe yeah, but you.
Sleep comes to everyone while we wait, wide awake and blue.
Sleep comes to everyone, everyone maybe, yeah, but me and you.

And so I give myself away, to everybody everyday.
And so I give myself to you, and you need it more than I do.
And so I give myself away, unto everybody everyday.
And so I give myself to you, and you need it more than I do.

Sleep comes to everyone while we wait for the Sunday afternoons.
And sleep comes to everyone, everyone maybe, yeah, but you.
And I had this one figured out,
That's why the suicide machine is built for two,
A simple sick device devised to overload on love,
To bring us colored dreams and soundtracked waves of fun.

And so I give myself away, to everybody everyday.
And so I give myself to you, and you need it more than I do.
And so I give myself away, to everybody everyday.
And so I give myself to you, and you need it more than I do.

Sleep comes to no one else like we have falling through the ground,
Fulfilling promises of endless summer nights,
I'm losing ground, you're losing sound.

Somewhere through a thousand blues,
A dragonfly descends with just a whisper, I'm lonelier than God.
And all my wishes spin the fishes in the air and every one,
A different shade of you.

And to the left where up is down
Now stands a zebra made of shapes of me,
And silver and the sun.
So bring no guilt with you up above the flat-line,
Let's just hit the sky exploding into one.

I love you, Baby. Happy Ninth Anniversary!

the girl who is celebrating "Happy Day", for REAAAL!

2007-11-26T13:23:00.001-05:00

Today is "Happy Day," so decreed by my nearly-five-year-old. I'm not quite sure what sparked it, but he woke up and announced it. Apparently on Happy Day, you get to go to Miss Mitzi's school! So I guess we celebrate it Monday through Wednesday. I wonder if this will count as one of our paid holidays for work?

Busy, busy, busy time of year and then I just add to it by taking on this modeling thing. The Friday before last, I got an email from our Scout about a modeling call the next day in Miami. I figured I'd go and use it as a learning experience even though we didn't have Zack's composite cards yet. The Scout told me to take all three of the older boys even though Ian barely qualified for their age requirement and Matthew didn't. So I did. And it was quite the learning experience for me.

I learned I can’t be away from Eli for 24 hours and not bring my breast pump, as much as I thought I was close to weaning.

I learned traveling with three kids in a mini van for four hours is torture,

I learned that my public Mommy Manners only last about 12 hours and after that I snap.

I learned that Ian falls asleep in the car, Zack will join him soon after and Matthew will stay awake the entire time asking me questions.

I learned Radio Disney doesn’t last much past Kissimmee.

I learned that when the call asks for a specific age, they really mean a specific size.

I learned that there are many pretty people in Miami and they all showed up for the call.

I learned that professional models have no modesty issues and I got to see quite a bit of toned, buff, chiseled bodies as they stripped down to try on samples.

I learned that I am going to avoid open calls in Miami and concentrate on papercasting and local calls because $150 a trip is not in my budget.

And lastly, I learned that Zack really is serious about this and might actually have what it takes.

The call was interesting, and I found out later it was not done “professionally” (I could have guessed that when we were all lined up outside someone’s (really cool) house in South Beach) and that it was normally handled by a casting agency. They dismissed the younger two right off the bat, but did seem interested in Zack. They had him try on a sample outfit (kinda Euro-punk cute) and took his picture and asked him some questions about sports he liked and if he could ride a bike. However, not having a completed comp card really hindered us in this case, since they didn’t go through a casting agency. I was told that the casting agency will have you fill out a form and take a Polaroid to attach along with your comp card and resume, so the fact we didn’t have one yet wouldn’t be a huge deal. They didn’t have anything like that and I ended up scrawling Zack’s info on a scratch piece of paper. Since we haven’t heard back, I’m assuming he didn’t get cast, which is fine. I don’t think I could have handled the Miami drive again AND prep for Thanksgiving.

And Thanksgiving was the next item on my schedule. I ended up taking the Wednesday before Turkey Day off to clean the house, shop and prep the food. I needed it! Got everything ready, only to find out my FIL was not going to be coming! He was the one I was stressing out over!

Fast forward to the next day and I had decided to take a more relaxed approach and was taking my time in getting started in the morning. Then FIL calls to say he's coming after all so I go from relaxed to stressed in 2.9 seconds.

All I have to say about Thanksgiving is that its over and the leftovers are gone at this point so yay.

I ended up working on Sat to make up for not going in on Wed and so between the drive the previous weekend, Thanksgiving and working on Sat, I feel like I haven't really had a weekend in awhile!

Add to that, we did Zachary's headshots this past Sunday. Wow! What a difference a professional photographer makes! My little 8 year old looks 12! He didn't much care for the makeup (a dot of undereye concealer, a light dusting of powder and some carmex on his lips) and kept making his squinty, pouty face, but he had some awesome shots. I hope these comp cards get him some work, because I am NOT driving to Miami for calls anymore. We will go for actual castings , but unless we win the lotto, it's just not feasible. Although I hear that they have calls in town once in awhile, so we can definitely hit those.

Eli is up to nearly 13 pounds! Here he is with his chubby smile. He has wrist bracelets, dimpled knees and no neck--the perfect level of chubbiness without being too chubby. Just the right size to sqeeeeze! I still love carrying him around in his sling. I must say, I tried every padded, buckled, belted contraption and this is by far the easiest, most versatile and most comfortable baby carrier around. I have so much freedom in it and getting Eli in and out doesn't rquire being next to a padded surface and an extra set of hands. And he loves it too!

Every time I go out in it, someone comments on it and asks me how it is. I think I need to order another one since I plan on using it for awhile and I think I ordered this one too short (I'm not wearing it precisely correctly. The rings should be on my shoulder.) Plus, I'd love another color choice to coordinate with more outfits.

And Matthew is his usual charming self. He has two phrases that he has been repeating incessantly lately. It was cute at first, but now its getting to be annoying.

The first is, "Deal!" He tries to get his way with something and he'll come up and present you with it very matter-of-factly, then he'll end it with "DEAL" and stick out his hand for you to shake. Example: "Mommy! Mommy! The toy on tv, we gotta buy it! You hafta go to the store right now! Deal, Mommy? Deal?" or "Mommy, I don't want to go to bed. I want to watch teedee (TV), Deal?" I don't think he quite grasps the concept that making a deal usually means *I* get something out of the bargain too, lol!

The second is "for real." He says this incessantly to impress upon me his sincerity. "Mommy, Zacky hurt me, for REAAAAAL!!!" Yeah, right, I saw him brush up against you on his way to the bathroom. I saw you look for an audience and then throw yourself on the floor howling. I know you're an actor looking for a stage. For real.

Next up is Christmas. Between all the shopping, cleaning, working, organizing, crafting, baking etc. that needs to be done between now and then, I could use a few more official "Happy Days" between now and then.

For real.

the girl who would like to introduce

2007-11-12T19:23:00.002-05:00

Ford Modeling Agency's newest child models. Yes, we did it. We signed him up. Now all we have to do is get his headshots taken ($$$ YIKES! $$$$) but the scout was very enthusiastic about ALL of the boys. However, because of the expense involved, we are only going to market Zack and Eli. Eli because he doesn't need headshots (being an infant apparently snapshots will do.) and is a baby and will only be expected to be cute and Zack because he is the most mature at the moment and really can understand what is expected.

So this is our newest adventure. I hope it goes well. They are interested in Ian and Matthew too, but little Drama King Ian had a meltdown at the scout's office and we agreed that maybe he should work his way into the business gradually. And Matthew...well, we might do a sibling shot on Zack's comp card (see I'm already getting the lingo down!) and market him from that, but one $600 expense at a time, thank you very much!

The big thing here is that its Ford Models. Wowza. That's a HUGE name in "the biz" and I have high hopes we will be doing some serious road tripping to Miami for some college tuition opportunites.
And of course, this is Eli at the present moment. Getting stronger and chubbier every day. Look at those baby push ups! Such a big boy! He is really becoming VERY animated and smiling, cooing, razzing and really working at engaging people. He has excellent eye contact too. If he's sitting next to you and you're not paying attention to him, he'll start to razz and smile until you start playing with him. And the boy has a huge attention span! Mommy and Daddy get bored with the game long before he does.

Eli actually has a call for a catalog shoot for Mini Boden on Wednesday, but I don't think we can make it because he is coming down with a little cold. We shall see if I can make arrangements for the other boys and how he's feeling before I decide anything.

Still, I'm amazed it was this easy to get the boys signed. I've always known they were something special, but when someone else tells you that they're so special they want to make money off of them, well it's a huge ego boost to this Mama.

And one more triumph for the Martinez boys: Zachary not only got straight A's on his report card, but he was the oNLY kid in his class to get straight A's! Go go, little Einstein!

the girl who is exhausted

2007-10-31T22:58:00.001-05:00

Whew! Halloween sure can be tiring...for parents. The kids ran on a sugar high and anticipation of more candy all day long. Give a kid a chance to dress up and beg for candy and there is no stopping them!

I only went in for a half day today and got out shortly after lunch to pick up Zacky from school. After the briefest of naps (I earned it!) We went to the sitter's to pick the rest of the crew up. She was just starting the "party" for the kids so we hung out for an hour or so so the boys could enjoy themselves. After that, photo shoot in the backyard and then off to the school for "Gross Out Night."

Now I remember the Halloween Carnival at my elementary school and I must say, while I admire the premise, this PC thing is just destroying fun for the kids. Back in my day (OMG, did I just say that?!!) the school was transformed. Classrooms became haunted houses, cafeterias were divided into booths filled with games and treats, there was always a cake walk and a raffle and a costume contest. But, nooo, Halloween is a terrible pagan holiday and some people might be offended by it and we certainly wouldn't want to pretend we endorsed Satan of all things so the Halloween Carnival begat the Fall Festival begat Gross Out Night.

Gross Out Night was held in conjunction with the science fair for the fourth and fifth graders. Yep, a scientific Halloween. They really tried to appeal to the kids and give them a place to go, but filling the cafeteria with educational explanations for bodily functions got really old after about ten minutes. Yes, there was fake snot and farts and scabs and ear wax and yes, even edible fake vomit. But it just wasn't the same.

Ah, how I long for the "good ol' days."

I can't remember at what point I was allowed to go out Trick or Treating on my own (or with big sister) but I do remember going up and down the street, knocking on doors and ringing on doorbells. My parents would turn out the porch light and hide in the back of the house (spoilsports) being the dark, empty house on the block while my sister and I trolled the streets for candy, usually in homemade costumes. Either that, or we'd be dropped off at a local elementary school to experience those delights, back when such a thing was still delightful. Nowadays, well...it just doesn't seem as magical. I hope the kids have good memories of these times, but I hesitate to think of what it will be like for their kids if these experiences are compared with their children's and the latter comes out lacking.

Anyway, back to the fun part. We did attend Gross Out Night and the boys seemed like they had a reasonable amount of fun. However, with barely enough candy to line the bottom of their buckets, we decided to hit the houses on the way home. Much better. With four kids, (yes, Eli tagged along, and while I did not hold up "his" pail at every door, more often than not, people slipped something into the bucket while admiring him. Something about babies in Pumpkin Hats.) the candy haul was more respectable.

Eli was more or less a pumpkin. My Mom sent him a Halloween sleeper, "My First Halloween" bib and a pumpkin hat. He was cute enough and I was over trying to find a costume to fit him. He passed out with all the noise and heat of the cafeteria and didn't stir for all of the banging on doors and shouts of "TRICK OR TREAT!" Which made him all the more adorable.

Zack was a Ninja--but refused to wear most of his costume. The gauntlets broke trying to remove them from the packaging, the sash was lost and the scarf for over his mouth was uncomfortable. The hood was pretty much a no go too, but he popped it off and on sporadically. Now I was surprised when he announced in the costume aisle that he wanted to be a ninja. No ninja movies out lately, no ninja cartoons (that I am aware of) and he'd never shown an interest in Ninjas before. But I figured it out when he approached me with a three foot long six inch wide hard plastic sword with the title "Ninja Sword." He wanted the accessories, he didn't care about the actual costume. Looking into my Mommy crystal ball, I saw a broken tv, an eye put out and an infant brother becoming "collateral damage." The sword was nixed, the costume approved, and a much, much smaller (and more aesthetically pleasing) foam sword was purchased instead.

Ian was a Cowboy. He originally picked out a pirate costume, but then Matthew (who had originally picked out Thomas the Tank Engine) decided he wanted to be a pirate too. Fine. I'll get two different pirate costumes. But at checkout, I discovered that Matthew's pirate costume was missing pieces so back into the fray we went. I could only find another costume like Ian's that was complete and in Matthew's size, so we were going to do that. But Mr. Ian didn't want to match his brother. Originally, he said he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear. My sister sent me one of my nephew's old costumes, and Ian is in love with Buzz, so he claimed it and wears it constantly. (The other day it was footy pajamas, Buzz Lightyear costume and a Batman cape...to go to sleep) Once he saw his brothers were getting new costumes, he wanted one too. But I had pretty much planned on that happening. Anyway, back to the great costume debate. I couldn't convince Ian to forget about the pirate and go as Buzz or pick another costume (other than the Wednesday Addams one he fell in love with--don't tell Aramis) so I asked him if he'd like to be Woody from Toy Story. Of course they didn't have a Woody costume, but they had a generic Cowboy and Thank Goodness he fell for it. I must say though, he made a fine looking Cowboy. It totally suited him!

Now I expected that after all the fuss and bother of the pirate costume debate, that Matthew would stay true to form and change his mind on his costume as we were checking out, or better yet, on Halloween. I expected crying and a meltdown, simply because he rolls like that. But no, he was happy with the Pirate costume, it fit his little body perfectly and it also suited him. He was the cutest pirate out there!

So this year's festivities are over and done. The candy has been hidden away, to be sorted through when I recover from the night.. And the kiddos crashed and actually went to sleep when they were sent to bed.

All in all, exhausting, but worth it.

the girl who went to the pumpkin patch

2007-10-27T16:16:00.002-05:00

So we took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch and, as usual, I love the pictures. This is my yearly tradition and the boys are very good at humoring me. We did actually pick out a pumpkin in addition to taking pictures, and picked up two gourds as well. I plan on seeing how clever I can get with these.

Also, as usual to my experience, taking pictures of slumpy babies doesn't go so well, so Eli only got a couple of shots. You really don't want to test the patience of a sleepy infant because as soon as he really wakes up, he's likely to be hungry. So eyes closed but still cute.

It kept threatening to rain so I tried to be super quick. I still managed some fabulous shots. Family members, put in your requests now!

the girl who has some stories to share

2007-10-26T21:44:00.001-05:00

We've been having trouble with bedtime.

Again.

It's a never ending cycle of tucking in and kiss! hug! and where is Geckie and Bunny and Puppy and I want my piwhow that's not my piwhow and potty! potty! I need to go potty! and Mommy, I thwirsty and kiss! hug! and laughs and giggles as wrestling ensues amongst the million stuffed animals and then there's the musical beds and I don't want so and so to sleep with me I want to sleep with so and so and go to bed! Go. To. Bed! and

GO TO BED!!!!

sigh!

Inevitably someone's butt gets red an hour (or two) later and once the histrionics die down they finally fall out.

So tonight, after a blah never quite rained but always looked like it was about to day where both Daddy and I had our patience tested at work and at home, I sat them down before bedtime and gave them The Speech.

"Ok Boys. 1, 2, 3, eyes on me. Are you paying attention?

Good.

This is how its going to work tonight.

I am going to tuck you in. I am going to give you kisses and hugs and tell you I love you. And then you are going to
go.
to.
sleep.

There will be no extra trips out of bed for any reason.

So go to the bathroom now. Grab your lovies now. Decide which blanket you want to sleep with now. Decide which bed you are going to sleep in now.

Once you are in bed, tucked in and kissed goodnight
that.
is.
it.

No giggling, no playing, no wrestling, no traveling from bed to bed. Do you understand?

Good.

Because the alternative is I just spank you now and get it over with. Are we clear?

Good.

Now you have two minutes to get everything you need to go to sleep.

Go!"

And probably because the boys had been nothing but trouble all day and might have sensed Mommy and Daddy were OVER IT they actually sort of did what I asked.

When I was tucking in Matthew I laid down in bed next to him to stroke his cheeks and scratch his back like he likes (I love it when he says in his little almost four year old voice, "Aww, that feeld GOOOOD!) he says to me, "Mommy, I have two piwhows. You sleep with me. Come on Mommy. Come onnnn!"

The expression on his face as he was trying to coax me into sleeping with him was adorable and the tone in his voice was too cute. So grown up and persuasive.

So I tucked the other two in and cuddled up next to Matthew, intending to just lay down with him until he fell out.

He then proceeds to tell me a story. I think it started off with him telling me about being woken up this morning by the garbage truck, but it went on to describe "fwying punkins" and the sun going up and down and the moon coming out and (slightly disturbing) the garbage truck killing him and him climbing a ladder (complete with sound effects and hand gestures) to the sun. He must have liked his own sound effects because he repeated them a few times and then started listing everyone he knew climbing a ladder (wadder) to the sun too. He ended it with an earnest, "And you too, Mommy!" and then just dropped his hands as if to say, "The end."

My child has the BEST imagination! I love it!

Of course, I ended up dozing next to hm, waking up when Aramis came to find me to tell me goodnight at ten o'clock. I contemplated just going to sleep then, but, of course, then Eli was up. So here I am, wide awake and trying to decide between organizing all my new scrap goodies and actually scrapping.

Either way, I should have some fun. But first I have to make sure Eli is settled. So I'm nursing Eli on the couch and I hear pages turning. Feeling thirsty, I call out, "Zack, I know you're up. Go grab me a Coke." (This is why I have kids, you know.) He takes that as permission to come spend some one on one time with me. All of the boys manage to do this trick at least once a week. It's kind of sweet and gives us time with the boys individually.

So he puts on the tivoed High School Musical and we watch and sing along together. And then a commercial comes on for some video game with Drake Bell that teaches you how to play guitar and he comes at me with this:

"I was thinking about learning to play guitar. Because if I learn to play guitar, I'll get a lot of girlfriends. But if I get a lot of girlfriends, I'll probably go CA-RAY-ZY!!! (little giggle here) Right, Mommy? So maybe I don't want a lot of girlfriends. I think just five. Yeah, I think five girlfriends would be ok."

Lord help me, he's only 8.

So, we're at the finale right now ("We're all in this to-ge-ther, WILDCATS!") and he'll be off to bed after Shar-Pay gets her cookies. (Yes, any Mom who has sat through HSM knows what I am talking about.) He's currently singing and dancing along and Eli is happily swinging and cooing along. Soon, I'll have MY time to scrap or organize and my blah day will end on a high note.

And I guarantee that I will wake up in the morning with Matthew at the foot of the couch (my temporary sleeping place until Eli sleeps through the night) and Ian asleep on the loveseat beside me.

The day was blah and I was at my wits end with the kids, but when you have stories like these to tell, it makes it all worth it.

the girl who is a BAD GIRL!!!

2007-10-21T09:57:00.001-05:00

Yup, ask anyone (especially my mom, lol!). But now it's official and comes with perks!

Yes, I successfully completed my semester at Bad Girls Academy and graduated Suma cum Laud. Translation: I WON TOP DESIGNER AT THE BAD GIRLS SITE!

Floored, shocked, amazed, how many other adjectives can I come up with? Astounded, excited, ecstatic....bring me a thesaurus, I could go on all day! This contest was so challenging and fun, and had some pretty tough competition too! Layouts like this, and this, and this just blew me away. (if you can't see these, that means you're not a bad girl! Sign up, this gallery is chocked full of eye candy and the kits are simply luscious.)

Wendy Rago--the owner and founder of Bad Girls--has such a talent for putting all of these goodies together (and is pretty sweet besides) so when she asked me to also join the Design Team I was over the moon! SO that means that not only do I get this prize package of goodies (try not to drool on your screens)

but I also will get a nice package every month to play with. There is always something super cool in the kits. October's kit has damask printed packing tape! Just imagine what you could do with that! If you want to see my entry in its entirety, go here.

My mother was super excited, my husband (who is amazingly supportive) was proud and da Jens are excited for me to because I promised to share my prize pack with them! (Ok, they're proud of me too!)

So all of this "Top Designer" stuff has me on a scrappy high--so much inspo everywhere. I found these sites today and could seriously spend all day just clicking link after link after link drooling over all the creativity. Unfortunately, my winning streak does not extend to the lottery. Nope, checked this morning and we still didn't win. A girl can dream, can't she?

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

In other news:

My friends Holly Golightly and Jim Balent are in town this weekend for their annual Halloween Horror Nights trip. I love this couple! So sweet and approachable! I met them when I worked at the Hard Rock Hotel and have stayed in contact with them ever since. They are truly fun to hang out with and I have the biggest girl crush on Holly. She epitomizes my inner goth girl--the girl I would love to let out and play more often, but being Mommy gets in the way. So I'll live vicariously through her and enjoy it.

And a couple pics of Mr. Ian to liven your day. One of our favorite places to grab a quick dinner is Firehouse Subs. We get something that isn't deep fried and the boys get fireman hats! So everyone wins! My BIL is a firefighter, so my nephew has a multitude of firefighter themed apparel. I recently got a box of hand-me-downs for the boys and now we have more firefighter pj's than you can shake a stick at! (Although I don't know why you'd want to shake a stick at them, I'm just saying we have more than you could) So, of course, I had to take a pic of Mr. Shy being all cute and excited with his firefighter hat and pj's.

Ian is relishing his role as bigger brother (Matthew is the big brother, Ian the bigger, Zack the biggest). He has always been very caring and nurturing and loves to help out. He's adorable with Eli, but quite frankly, just plain bossy to Matthew and worships Zack. It's interesting to see the family dynamic change over the years. Two years ago, Matt and Ian were inseparable, now Matthew is the odd man out and has been usurped by the baby besides. I remind myself of this constantly as he is definitely acting out these days. I guess I've been lucky--I didn't have to deal with the "No!" phase coming from my kid with the older too.

This too will pass.

Next weekend is definitely our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. One of my favorite photo ops of the year! So be prepared to be inundated with pictures next week!

And lastly, my mind is currently racing with ribbon ideas. Why? Because that's the next challenge in Last Scrapper Standing. Yep, I made it through to round three and am super stoked!

I have an idea, but, of course, none of my expansive (and frequently unused) ribbon supply fits my vision. So I'm going to try to sneak over to Michaels this evening and get some cool trim. I'll let you know what I come up with!

Happy Scrappy!

the girl who has an assistant

2007-10-16T21:34:00.002-05:00

I am pretty darn lucky.

"Take Your Child to Work Day" is every Friday for me.

You see, I didn't really take a maternity leave. I gave birth on a Wednesday and was back to work the following Monday. And--as my GM loves to point out to people who have attendance issues--I managed to call in 2 hours in advance from the ambulance as they were loading me in.

clearly I haven't lost all my baby weight yet

Why so dedicated? Do I love my job that much?

Well, the truth of the matter is that I am in charge of payroll, and Monday was the day to run payroll. Since Eli came so early, my replacement wasn't trained and if I wanted to get paid, well, I had to do it myself. After that, well, Eli was in the NICU and being able to go to work for a few hours when I felt like it was good for me. It kept me from worrying so much and actually gave me a chance to rest more than I would have at home. I was given the best terms ever. I got to come and go as I pleased for the first three months after the birth, as long as I got payroll done and took care of the "essential" parts of my job.

Completely Awesome!

It gets better.

Once Eli got out of the NICU, I took some time off (about a week and a half) to bond and visit with my parents who drove from Texas. When I went back, it was with Eli in tow. I worked the hours I wanted and was able to take time for the doctor's appointments and such. Heck, I even took time because I just felt like sleeping in! The important parts of my job got done, but I wasn't trapped in the house.

I set up a little cradle in the corner of my office, got myself a baby sling to tote him around in, brought in a little changing station and we were good to go. When he was hungry, I'd just close the door and nurse while one-handed typing. Bliss. Plus he became everyone's favorite little guy. He even has his own nametag. It says "Eli Eleven, Human Resources Assistant."

When I came back "officially" to full time, I started leaving him with the sitter's. That didn't even last a week. Every day it was, "Where's my Baby!" "Where's Eli?" People would tip toe into my office just in case he was in the cradle sleeping. Anyone who walked past my door would always peek to see if they could spy him in his cradle.

And I missed him too.

So that first Friday of full-time, I brought him back in. I needed my Assistant after all! So Fridays are Eli days. I still get asked about him during the week and I just say, "Friday, he'll be in on Friday." Now that he is getting more active and is awake and alert more, he gets fussier, so it really can't last much longer. But I'll enjoy it while I can.

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

In other news:

This is how I stand in the two scrappy contests I've been participating in.

For the Effer's Last Scrapper Standing, I have officially progressed to Round Three! Yaaay! This was my entry for that:

Pretty Darn personal. The challenge was to scrap 7 random things. Since I scar so easily, it grew into this. It evolved from a previous idea I had where I wanted to do seven totally unrelated random things, but work my journaling into the picture. After failing to find a revolving door in a decent driving distance, (it was relevant, trust me) I decided to just scrap random things about my body and write directly on myself. One of the random things I had thought about is the fact that my second toe is longer than my big toe. However, when looking at my feet, didn't want to take a picture because of the scars I have everywhere. Little nicks and dings, not really aesthetically pleasing. So I decided to just scrap my scars. I really have always wanted porcelain, Nicole Kidman, luminous skin. But I've learned to accept I never will. Its just me.

And now, onto Round Three! I can't wait to see what the challenge is, they've already narrowed the ranks from 250-something to 42, so just getting to Round 3 is a feat I can be proud of.

*****

And in the Bad Girls contest....this was week 5, using the design element of unity. I chose shape and color as elements to create unity. Lots of round and circles here and lots of orange to contrast the blue in Ian's outfit. I love this pic, even though you can't really see Ian's eyes.

I am happy, pleased and otherwise estatic to announce that I made it to the finals! Yes, it's down to just ten ultra talented ladies and I am in that number! I got a personal call from Wendy Rago--the owner of Bad Girls Kits--and she is just such a cool girl to talk to. If the boys hadn't started killing each other in the next room, I'd still be on the phone with her!

The neat thing about the Bad Girl's challenge is that it has been structured like a class. Each round of competition has been a class in design. It's been pretty awesome. I was always the kid at school who did really well with parameters. I have plenty of creativity on my own, but give me a set of rules to follow and some guidelines and I'm off! I've been loving this! I will be so sorry to see it end and can't wait to see who gets chosen as Top Designer.

And, btw, I think I have a new kit obsession. I'm definitely jumping on the waiting list for this club!

Final entries are supposed to be up by eight pm (EST) on Thursday. I'm actually done. I had an idea, I ran with it, and Aramis even allowed me to get some adult time in this weekend by going to a crop. (A definite mood lightener since I've been feeling a little trapped lately. He doesn't have his weekends off anymore and we have no time together as a family. Which means my weekends are filled with all of the kids home with me when I just want to relax and unwind sometimes. I have no time during the week to run errands which means I have to take all four kiddos with me when I go to the grocery store, get an oil change, get a haircut, etc, etc, etc. I've been stressed out by it all) So my page is done, but I don't want to post it yet. I wwant to wait until the due date. I guess its the competitive side of me not wanting the other contestants to see it just in case they haven't completed their own. But I can't resist sharing a little sneaky peek since I love this layout so much. Who cares about the contest when you get inspired to create this kind of art?

Here it is! Shhhhh!

Well, I'm off to get some sleep and dream of scrappy goodness.

the girl who has a porker

2007-10-11T13:02:00.002-05:00

Look at my little Eli-phant. He is just getting bigger and bigger each day! I think it’s his sitter. She just loves feeding him. He’s starting to get more personality too, learning to smile and laugh and coo. He is just one of those babies that you fall completely in love with. And there is something about his head—it begs to be kissed repeatedly. Aramis pointed it out to me that I was kissing his head every few seconds. I believe his exact words were, “Stop it! You’ll give him a bald spot!” Lol! I’ve noticed my sitter does the same thing. I had handed him over to her at the drop-off and we were chatting for a moment. I noticed that she absentmindedly would kiss his head every minute or so, almost like punctuation. And when I picked him up that evening, I thought for a moment he had bumped his head somehow. No, it was just lipstick prints all over his noggin.

My child, the kiss magnet.

In other news, I set a dangerous precedent last month by putting Radio Disney on the car radio when we were going to be driving for a bit. (Draven’s b’day party) Since then, the boys expect it every time they get in the car. How bad is it that I forget to switch it over after dropping them off and end up finding that I am singing along to Hannah Montana? Not to mention that I now have the entire soundtrack to High School Musical 2 memorized?

Someone, please help me!

The girl who has been putting it off

2007-10-01T13:47:00.002-05:00

I am a procrastinator by nature.

I swear it's an inherited trait as I distinctly remember my Mother (a retired teacher) always stressing out about the lesson plans she hadn't completed. Now, the benefit of this is that I am a great improvisor and work well under pressure. Give me a six-week deadline and I guarantee you I will be starting (rather than putting the finishing touches on) the project at 11:30 the night before it's due. And I'll probably be missing some vital companent which will force me to get creative to replace it or at least get creative in whatever excuse I use to justify its absence. I also guarantee that the project will probably turn out just fine. Nothing like a deadline to get the ol' creative juices flowing.

Add to that the fact I am also pretty competitive and what do you get? You get someone who was on the varsity speech team in high school and routinely wrote her speeches on the bus on the way to the tournament I signed up for six weeks ago. Or, in my present life, you have someone who hasn't managed to find or inspiration to scrap in the past three months, yet still enters TWO large elimination based scrapping contests.

What the hell was I thinking?

So, the two contests I have entered are the Bad Girls Top Designer and the Effer Dares Last Scrapper Standing, Vol. 2. I entered LSS 1 last year and was so stoked! It really challenged me to produce some awesome layouts and kept me going. I'll admit to being a little burned out when all was said and done, but I made it to the final round and every layout I produced for that contest was picked up for publication. Awesome!

This year I hope the creative juices get flowing again and I make it through all of the rounds again. I doubt I'll win, considering the talent this contest pulls, but I enjoy the creative push. I have so much respect and admiration for the Effers (including a huge scrappy crush on Kristina Contes) that I really push myself to impress them.

Anyway, the first challenge was to use 8 transparent elements on a layout. And this is what I came up with.

I printed the pictures on transparency and then sprayed chrome paint on the back to make them metallic. Trust me, it looks completely awesome IRL. Then I mounted all of my transparent elements on a 12x12 mirror tile, but I spaced them using clear acrylic beads. The effect of the transparent elements reflecting in the mirror came out exactly as I had hoped and is elegant and funky at the same time.

LOVE IT!

And apprently the Effers did too because I made it through to Round 2 along with about 80 other girls. I don't have exact numbers of entrants, but it looks like they cut the competition down by more than half. So now I'm just waiting for the next challenge.

For the Bad Girls contest, I am up to round four. Entries are due today and, silly me, I actually got mine in a day EARLY! lol!

party animal

This is the Round 3 entry where the contestents were given a lesson in seven elements of design and then asked to choose one to emphasize in their layout. I used the element of line. Notice that all of the horizontal and vertical lines converge on the picture, making it the focal point. Apparently the judges liked my take because it led to this:

so in love

Yes, my early entry for Round 4. This round's assignment was to use white space effectively. Now I LOVE using white space. I think it could be one of my favorite design elements. In this case, my white space isn't truly "white" it's actually a subtley textured background, but I think it adds to the feeling of peaceful serenity of the picture and the banner element continues the lines of my embellishments, helping direct the eye to the picture. I love this layout!

In other news:

Aramis has grown a beard. I think it's part a.) laziness and b.) because he can. Anyway, I am now married to Grizzly Adams' Cuban brother. I kinda like it. I like a simple goatee better, but I can deal with this.

Plus it cuts his prep time for work down to, like, ten minutes. lol!

Zack is doing well in school, despite his best efforts to not do his homework. I swear, he spends more time and effort in thinking of excuses and hiding his Agenda so he can say he "forgot" it then it would take if he just the darn homework in the first place!

Ian is talking non-stop these days. Still can only understand about half of what he's saying, but at least he's vocal. He has switched allegiance from Matthew to Zachary. Now the two of them gang up on Matthew and use him as the universal scapegoat. For the first time, I'm having to tell the boys they are not allowed to say they don't like their brother.

Matthew (and maybe because of being picked on by his bigger brothers) is a little pill. A cute and adorable little pill, but a pill nontheless. Yesterday we had an epic 20 min temper tantrum over leaving his backpack at the sitter's. He ended up getting a fully clothed cold shower and early bedtime with no dinner for that performance. And yet, I still melt when he demands a "hug, kiss!" even after being punished. His new ritual is to give me an imaginary present before I leave for work and admonish me not to open it. Awww! Although I really am curious as to what he thinks he's giving me. Maybe just the fact its a present is enough.

And Eli is getting bigger every day. I know he's over 8 lbs now, but now the exact weight. He is a clingy little guy though. He's happiest when he is *on* someone. And by "someone" I mean, me. And by "on" I mean using my breast as either a pacifier or pillow. He can be dead asleep and you move him to the bed and off his "pillow" and, while he won't wake for the transfer, within five minutes, he's figured out something is missing and is wailing away again. It's nice to be appreciated!

Finally, the weather was GORGEOUS this past weekend. So much so, I even braved taking all four boys to the park. There were TWO birthday parties going on so I had to really watch the boys, but they had fun and it got them out of the house for awhile. (It also gave me an excuse not to do laundry, shh!) Considering the beautiful day, I tried to get a pic of all four boys in the sunshine.

This is the best I could come up with.

And these are all the "other" shots.

Notice at least one, if not two, kiddos are not looking at the camera or looking with a horrible expression in each shot.

And yes, I know Ian needs a haircut. I planned on doing that, but we went to the park instead!

the girl who is just putting this on repeat

2007-09-25T14:58:00.002-05:00

You know how you get tired of telling your kids the same thing over and over? Well, I'm just going to start playing this everytime they act up!

the girl is already over it

2007-09-20T00:55:00.002-05:00

I usually have very few privacy issues--I mean, with four boys in a small house, I can't really expect much. But what is it with the bathroom? (TMI alert) Why is it impossible for me to go to the bathroom by myself? You would expect a closed door would be a signal of sorts, but not so. Apparently a closed door is an invitation to corner Mommy while she is trapped on the toilet. And it doesn't matter WHAT is going on in the bathroom, the boys want to be part of it. Locking the door has no effect, other than to encourage the child to stand outside the door banging on it over and over and getting worked up--which translates to LOUD!

Mommy's taking a shower? Let's leave the door open so it gets ice cold and then ask Mommy why her nipples are hard enough to cut glass and what do they do and can I come in with you and here's a bath toy for you Mommy and I want a drink Mommy can I have some juice and Mommy, so-and-so called me a name and Eli's crying Mommy and Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, MOMMY!

Mommy's is trapped on the toilet offending herself? A perfect time to come in and discuss the fact that you would like some Boo-bah toys (don't know why Ian is on this kick, right now. It's a resurgence.) and by making this request, you expect immediate, as in get up and let's go now, action or time to come in and stay just out of arms reach while going through all the toiletries and ignoring Mommy's cries to put down the lipstick now or, even better, come in and just sit and chat while asking Mommy questions about her bodily functions and (even better) inquiring about the sanitary products Mommy is currently using and wanting to know if Mommy is ok.

So let's say Mommy is getting ready for work. Now is the perfect time to come in and ask about book fair money or to insist on using all of Mommy's hair mousse, deodorant, et all, or again, with the sanitary products, only add breast pads to the list because I'm nursing, and again with the request for juice, expecting immediate action.

There have been times when the entire family (including the cat!) have taken advantage of the fact Mommy was trapped to converge upon the bathroom and just chill out. It's amazing, really. So my embarrassment quotient is pretty high and I actually had to go, huh? when that body guard of Britney Spears testified she spent time naked in front of her kids. Between the lack of bathroom privacy and breastfeeding, my kids are very well acquainted with female nudity.

So normally, its not really an issue. I'm kinda used to it. But today I just wanted a little alone time and when the bathroom barrage began I ended up growling and snapping at the kiddos. Of course, they each had to beard the lioness in her lair and each got their own dose of "CAN'T I JUST GO TO THE BATHROOM IN PEACE!!!!?"

Where did I put that Valium? Yep, Valium and some duct tape and a maid (or bulldozer) and I just might make it through the day. More importantly, my kids might make it through the day!

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

So, Little E got snipped this week. Poor baby! He couldn't have it done before because he was so small, and then there was a slight (ahem) insurance snafu which took some time to get resolved, so at ten weeks the little guy went in for his procedure. The little porker is up to 7lb, 14 oz! Yes, that is "normal baby" size. But keep in mind, his corrected age is just three weeks, so I'm pretty satisfied. He, however, was not satisfied. On top of having his turtleneck altered to a crew neck, the Dr. had to add insult to injury by giving him four vaccinations! I guess its better to get it over with all at once, but still--poor baby!

This is him before the dreaded procedure. Isn't that hat and baby blanket combo adorable? They were made by a lovely girl that DH works with. I met her once very briefly when DH took me all around his work to show off 11. She stood out from everyone and I remembered her out of all the people I met that day. I tease DH and call her his GF. But you have to be careful when you tease like that in front of the kiddos. Zachary now refers to the blanket as "the blanket Daddy's girlfriend made." Lol! So thank you, Laura, its adorable and I love it and can I get those cute hats made for each of my boys?

Speaking of all these little shorthand acronyms I use, my Darling Hubby isn't familiar with all of them and when he spotted me using DH in reference to him, he translated it to something completely different and got himself quite worked up and offended. For the record: "DH" is not an acronym for Richard Cranium.

Lastly, gotta share this lo I did for a scrappy contest recently. I love these pics of Matthew and you might recognize them from an earlier post. I had a ton of fun with this lo and it was good enough to advance me to round three of Top Designer at the Bad Girls website.

shake it, Matthew!

the girl who wants her medal...NOW!

2007-09-16T11:57:00.001-05:00

So yesterday, the fabulous Miss Island Jen hosted a party for her little guy, Draven's 3rd birthday. She chose Lake Lotus Park waaaaaay on the other side of town from me. I mean, really, Jen. You should be more considerate and host all of your get-togethers close to me for my convenience! tsk! tsk!

Anyway, so I loaded all four of the kiddos into the car, got a full tank of gas and off we went. The boys had thoughtfully wrapped Draven's present (using more wrapping paper and tape than I believed possible. And yet, there were still plenty of gaping corners and Draven could have breathed heavy near it and the wrapping would have come off. Some weird kid physics I must have forgotten when I grew up.) so that was one chore I didn't have to do. I did, however, dress them all in pirate shirts since Draven's party had a pirate theme. Poor Matthew didn't have a pirate shirt, so we remedied that with a foam stamp and some acrylic paint. Pretty proud of myself for that one!

Matthew's improvised shirt

So off we go, fortified with Gatorade bottles and directions from MapQuest. Let me tell you, those directions SUCKED! I got to the very end to the critical part and got lost. Someone out there needs to come up with "Directions for Chicks" you know, "Drive down until you see the McDonalds next to the used car lot and take a left. Drive until you see the pepto bismol pink house and then look for a street to the right. Turn there and when you see the house with the tacky mermaid statue in the front yard start looking to your left, we're about three houses down. If you run into the dark purple house with the green trim, you've gone too far." You know, directions that make sense!

Not "Travel East 2.9 miles on 414-W going towards N.Lake Destiny Drive. Turn right on Gateway, travel <.9 miles and arrive at your destination." NOT!!! And I am not even exaggerating. I am quoting!

We arrive at the party an hour and a half late after three stops for directions and four complete circles. But we got there. As soon as I got off the tram with my crew, it started to rain. Typical. Luckily it was only a brief shower and enabled me to get my kids under cover. I think the party was running smoothly up to that point!

Jen gets ahold of Eli

Within five minutes of our arrival, I had dumped Eli into Miss Jen's arms, prepared three plates of hot dogs and chips, Matthew had received his first face bruise by falling on the playground, I had improvised an ice pack, the park ranger came by with animals and I had to juggle the kids, food and baby while trying to get my camera to take pictures of the kids with the baby alligator, Zack was interested, Ian was terrified, Matthew was missing and Eli was sweating. The ranger brought out a tortoise, Zachary was bored, Ian was interested, Matthew tried to take the Ranger's golf cart for a joy ride and Eli was sleeping.

meeting the critters

I retrieved Eli so Miss Jen could take pictures of her own and then I tried to eat. The entire day was me trying to keep track of where each of my kiddos was. Zack was constantly underfoot trying to be the boss of everyone. And he had a willing follower in a cute little girl named Parissa. (I think) She was adorable, obviously infatuated with Zack, and he was oblivious. Ian kept going off to play on the sidelines, as he is prone to do and Matthew kept trying to leave completely. There was another party being hosted at the next pavilion over and he kept crashing it. Unfortunately, this meant either someone else was always either chasing my kids or holding my baby while I chased my kids.

Zack and Parissa

After trying to rein in Zack's eagerness to "help" with the present opening, Matthew's method of "eating" the provided cupcakes (licking off all the frosting on top, dumping the actual cake part and then going back for more), and Ian's tantrums over his party hat breaking, I took advantage of Jen's offer to take the baby into the car's A/C to cool down. It seemed like a good opportunity to feed him too so I gratefully accepted. So that left my kiddos running wild and free under the watchful eye of Jen's dh, TJ.

the boys hard at play

After 20 mins or so of blissful silence and cool, I buttoned up and decided we should probably pack up as the party was winding down. I do a head count and come up one short. Ian is missing, but so is TJ, so I'm not panicking yet. I figure they are together. Then Jen gets a call on her cell from TJ requesting my presence at the bathrooms.

Poor Ian! He had evidently let loose before he had his pants completely down and had dribbled, um, a "mess" all down the back of his pants. Did I have spare clothes for him? Of course not. That would imply that I was prepared! So we improvised by taking a bath in the restroom sink and rinsing and twisting his clothes out thoroughly. I'd rather have a wet child than a "dirty" child and to be honest, in the heat, he was probably more comfortable that way. The strange thing is, that his underwear disappeared somewhere along the way. I asked TJ to check the men's restroom, but they weren't there. I am deathly afraid that my son may have flushed them down the toilet to get rid of them.

So once I get rid of that problem and start heading back to the pavilion, I come across Matthew eating "grapes." I think it was a flower and not an actual berry, and I would assume that the Park Rangers would not plant a brightly colored, berry-looking plant next to a playground if it was poisonous, but we did a quick manual clean out of the mouth and had him rinse and spit, just to be safe. I woke up this morning with as many children as I went to sleep with, so I assume everything is ok.

the flower/berry culprits

As I pack up to leave, I tell Jen that I my feelings won't be hurt if we don't get an invite next year, and laugh nervously....

saying goodbye

When we get home, I immediately go into the frantic "clean up and make it look like you accomplished something in the house before DH gets home" with three wound up kids and one somnolent baby (Thank God!) Apparently the (much shorter) ride home was just long enough for them to doze under the blissful tunes of radio Disney (I am a masochist, aren't I?) and refresh themselves. So they had fully recharged and were bouncing off the walls when we got home. I put them to work, cleaning when I had this conversation:

Ian: (to Matthew): "You're a Loser!"

Matthew: "Am Not! Mommy! Ian called me a loser!"

Me: "Boys! We don't call each other stupid, or losers or anything bad."

Zack: "Yeah, because if you do then you're bad and you'll get yelled at. That's the Circle of Punishment."

Such wisdom at such a young age!

So I survived, my kids survived and even Draven's party survived. I still think I deserve a medal, especially after this morning.

This morning, Mr. Mouse came at me with this:

"I don't like you Mommy."

Said very matter-of-factly, with just enough attitude to let me know he was serious. This after trying to poke me awake this morning, giving up and leaving after giving me a sloppy kiss on my forehead. I have no idea where it came from. I, of course, responded with MY Mom's standard response of, "That's too bad, because I love you!" It didn't do much to change his mind. I switched tactics and said, "Too bad, because this is my house, so you're going to have to live with me even if you don't like me." To that, he replied, "Mommy, I leave the house."

Ahh, if only!

I kid, I joke. I know that one day, 18 to 20 years from now when I do have a completely nest, I'll probably be lonely. Of course, there's a good chance I'll be a grandma by then--the kids are 8 years apart after all. Then, one day, one of their children will come at them with the infamous line: "Daddy, I don't like you!"

And the Circle of Punishment will be complete!

the girl who has some reading to do.

2007-09-10T19:48:00.001-05:00

Madeline L'Engle is dead.

I loved and still read on occasion her Time series. Just last month my Mom came to visit me and while looking for a book for my chapter reading son, I found "An Acceptable Time" the last in the Time series that I never knew it existed!

I think my preference of that series would be:

1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. Many Waters
3. A Wind in the Door
4. A Swiftly Tilting Planet
5. An Acceptable Time

Although "Wrinkle" is the ultimate manifesto of "Be yourself, even if it goes against the crowd and won't make you fit in or be popular," "Many Waters" is a close second in popularity for me. It's actually the fourth in the series, but probably the second in terms of amount of times I've read it. Hell, it might be the first, but "Wrinkle" should hold the top honor since it got me into the series.

A big thanks to Mom too. She bought me my yellow covered Dell paperback before a roadtrip. It mysteriously sprouted what I think was Mylanta stains at some point, and still has them. Yes, I still have that copy of the book. It is one of the ones I have saved for my kids along with the Chronicles of Narnia and the Chronicals of Prydain.

It seems odd that I just now discovered the connection between the Murray's and the Austins. I read some of the Austins books but only "A Ring of Endless Light" appealed to me. And now, 15-20 years later, all I can remember is that I liked the poem in it and it had dolphins.

From "The World" by Henry Vaughan

I saw Eternity the other night

Like a great Ring of pure and endless light,

All calm as it was bright ;

And round beneath it, Time, in hours, days, years,

Driven by the spheres,

Like a vast shadow moved, in which the world

And all her train were hurled.

I remember this poem just spoke to me. And now I need to remember why.

Thank you Mom for making me love reading (even if buying books for a kid who get carsick reading was maybe not the smartest thing, but it made nights in the hotel along the way bearable.) and Thank You Miss L'Engle for writing such good books.

I have some reading to do.