Just a few words...

As I head off to Paris, I will leave you with this cool design created at www.wordle.net! I may try and blog from the City of Lights!

Overheard...

So early this morning I climbed into bed with my girls to get some extra snuggle time before I leave for my trip tomorrow. After a while we were all talking and the girls made some of the funniest comments.

• K was telling B she would love going to her camp next summer. "They don't serve you food so you get to bring all your own stuff!" - seriously, that was her number one selling point!

• K was telling B about all the games they have at camp. My mind wandered and I hear B say "Well, what happens if a black guy comes up behind you?" and K says "Watch out cuz he will jump you!" I am like "WHAT???!!!" They were talking about checkers. Both girls always pick red.

I love how kids talk.

Crafty Weekend

Over the weekend, I worked on a few crafts projects I've had stewing in my head.

First, shrinky dinks. Do you remember these from your childhood? I used to love them, my husband had never done them before. Anyway, I recently read a blog that showed that any #6 recycleble plastic is shrinky dink plastic. This is the plastic containers you get from salad bars and stuff like that. I wanted to make the girls a special something to think of me while I am in Paris. So I used shriky dink paper to make some charms like these:

Aren't they cute? Just cut out the plastic, color on it with sharpies, punch a hole, cook for 1 minute, and wala! I plan to put them on a necklace or bracelet for the girls. I am also doing an Eiffel tower charm.

I also want to make the girls personalized Disney autograph books for our trip in November. I know it is early, but I was too excited to work on these. I really wanted ones where they could get autographs on one page, and have room to attach a picture to the opposing page. Here are a few pages I have started.

So that's what I have been working on, how about you?

It's called PINK eye, People!

So my lovely daycare sent Big Man home with "pink eye" yesterday. And he couldn't come back without a doctor's note. I was sure he didn't have pink eye and when we saw him - with bright white (albeit gunky) eyes - I knew he didn't have pink eye. You see, they call it "pink eye" because when you have it there is discharge and your eyes are PINK. His were not at all.

Instead, like his sister before him, Big Man's nasal passages and tear ducts are closely related. So along with a runny nose, he sometimes gets runny gross eyes. His sister did it too. What he does have is a cold. And, as it turns out after a dr's visit, a double ear infection. Poor thing. He has been in a great mood - so hard to believe. And, ANNOYING considering the poor guy has ear tubes. This would be his third bout with ear infections since getting the tubes in October. My poor Big Man.

But -- ear infections are NOT contagious you crazy day care people!

We are keeping him home today while the antibiotics take hold and he is on the mend. But seriously, they are starting to make me crazy. I am all in favor of not spreading disease, but its driving me up a wall.

Rant mode = over

Berries Berries Everywhere

On Saturday I took the girls berry picking. We went to the same farm we did strawberry picking last month. It wasn't too hot a day, so it was really fun. First, all three of us picked blueberries. Oh my goodness they were so good. Not as big as the berries we picked last year, but oh so yummy. Then B and I went and picked blackberries (K rested in the shade under a tree). These blackberries were so sweet and SOOOO big! Like Silver Dollar big. Delicious! B and I also tried raspberries. But it is very early in the season for raspberries, and they were difficult to find ripe and there were lots of thorns, so we probably picked about 20. Lastly, K and I went to the flower garden and picked flowers. We got a huge bunch that we put in 3 vases when we got home.

On Sunday the girls and I made pies. We made blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry (from the frozen stash we picked last month) pie. We made one large pie, and three small pies. YUM YUM YUM. On my diet, I only had one bite- but tonight I get to have a piece! The girls wouldn't eat them (an entirely other post altogether), but they smelled and looked awesome! I love berry pies because you don't have to do anything to them. Just add a little cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice - and pour them in the crust. They have all the flavor themselves. Can't wait for my piece tonight!!

Workin' It

So for the last 3 weeks I have been on this crazy diet. It is called Cracking the Fat Loss Code. It is a plan that is supposed to train your body to use your fat loss stores for energy and not just what you are eating. For the first week you have to totally carb/sugar deplete. It is not easy, but its just a week, so bearable. After that, you rotate carb up and down days. In three weeks I have lost about 15 lbs. Not bad. Not sure about the science of the diet - but these days I need the discipline. I am a carb-lover (pasta/bread/etc)..so this isn't easy for me. But it is working - maybe not from the science, but just cutting out a LOT of calories/fat.

I have also been upping my exercise. I am trying to do 5-days a week now. During the deplete week I tried to run. It wasn't even funny. I made it a mile, and then hit a brick wall. I felt like I was having a heart attack. I walked for a block, and tried to start running again - no dice. It was awful. So instead I stuck with a new 25-minute workout tape that is KILLER. It is called the 30-day shred, and is done by Jillian, the trainer on Biggest Loser. I have been doing this 3x a week for 3 weeks, and man it really kills you. I highly recommend. I am on level one (of three levels)...I don't expect to move to Level 2 for at least a year!!! I am also back to running (now that I have some level of carbs/sugar), and had a great run yesterday. I also signed up for my 3rd 5K for the end of this September. REALLY want to break 40 minutes.

Of course, on Friday I leave for Paris. I don't have any planned exercise - but expect a LOT of walking. Also expect a lot of bad eating- cheese, wine, pastries, chocolate. But at least I feel like I am in a mode now that I will be able to get back into it when I return.

Any good dieting/fitness tips!

Vacation Planning

So I am in process of planning two big vacations. What I cannot do without is a notebook. I have three dedicated notebooks for my trips - where I write down, and tape in, anything to do with the trip.

1) My trip to Paris. This is next week and I cannot wait. I am going with 6 of my girlfriends. Of the 7 of us, 4 turn 40 this year - so we are celebrating. A whole week in an apartment in the City of Lights - without kids or husbands. I am sooo excited. For this trip I have all information in a pretty travel journal with tabs. I have sections for shopping, eating, sightseeing, logistics and other. I have either written down information or cut and pasted information in. I plan to bring this with me on my trip.

2) DisneyWorld. We are taking our girls on a trip to Disney in November. I have been planning this from last February. I have a simple spiral notebook that I have used to write tips I have heard/seen, all of our advanced dining reservation confirmation codes, etc. I have even started to paste in maps and such.

These notebooks are the way I stay organized, and have all the information I need in one place. That is what works for me! For more tips visit rocks in my dryer!

Play Ball!

So our kids are spoiled. They had never been to a baseball game that wasn't played in a professional stadium. Well, Saturday night we joined some friends at a summer college league game. It was in a beautiful brick baseball park, but still our girls were like, "where is the stadium?" It was kind of sad, really. But we all ended up having a great time. The food prices were actually survivable ($1.50 for popcorn vs $6.50 or so at the big park)! And we were sitting about 15 feet behind home plate (as opposed to our season tickets in the nose-bleeds!).

The best part though was that the girls were picked to announce the start of the game. Someone came through and asked one of our little friends, who said no. She then turned to K and asked her, and she was like "YEAH!" and of course, B had to go with her. I had Big Man on my lap at the time and was sitting 2 rows behind talking to a friend. I didn't even know what had gone on. At one point, I was like, where are the girls. But I noticed DH was gone, so figured they were all off somewhere.

They do the introductions of the teams and stuff, and then you hear over the loud speaker "And now we have 4-year old B her 6-year old sister K to begin the game!" and they YELL - "LET'S PLAY BALL!!!!!!" They were SOOOOO excited. They really loved it. We had to call Grampa after we left to tell him all about it. It totally made the night for them!

K pointed out that they were unlikely to get the chance to do that at "our" park, because "we sit too far away - they probably pick kids from the front". I told her she was probably right, and that she wasn't likely to yell "Play Ball" before a Nats game, but you never know!

A book just lying around

I was tagged for a meme by Julie at http://abbilyeverafter.com/.

Here are the “rules”:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.


Here is what you’ll find on page 123 in the book that is laying on my desk….

"Le Marche' Saint-Pierre is an old wooden building that houses five floors of fabrics of every imaginable color, texture, print and waver. Le Marche' Reine across the street is a competitor, but the prices, the variety, and the quality at Saint-Pierre make it worth the trip (ca vaut le voyage, as the French put it). The sales program is superbly organized, and the goods are enticing to judge by the number of shoppers and the intensity of commerce."

Oh yeah, baby. Its a book about the Markets of Paris. And I will be leaving for Paris exactly 2 weeks from today!!!!! YAYYY! And no, we won't be hitting the fabric market, but will hit some other ones! More about the trip later -but just 6 words - no work, no kids, no husbands!

I won't tag anyone, but feel free to try it yourself! Let me know if you do!

One and Only

I saw this on another mom blog and thought I would give it a shot. One word answers only.

1. Where is your cell phone?........purse

2. Your significant other? ........working

3. Your hair? ........clean

4. Your mother? ........ gone

5. Your father? ........bored

6. Your favorite time of day? ........morning

7. Your dream last night? ........ unknown

8. Your favorite drink? ........ water

9. Your dream goal? ........ sanity

10. The room you’re in? ........ cluttered

11. Your ex? ........ who?

12. Your fear? ........ loss

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? ........ relaxed

14. What you are not? ........ thin

15. Your Favorite meal? ........ pasta

16. One of your wish list items? ........ cabinets

17. The last thing you did? ........ work

18. Where you grew up? ........ Massachusetts

19. What are you wearing? ........ suit

20. Your TV is? ........ off

21. Your pets? ........ swimming

22. Your computer? ........ busy

23. Your life? ........ insane

24. Your mood? ........ good

25. Missing someone? ........ always

26. Your car? ........ messy

27. Something you’re not wearing? ........ hat

28. Favorite store? ........ target

29. Your summer? ........ fun!

30. Your favorite colour? ........ periwinkle

31. When is the last time you laughed? ........ recent

32. When is the last time you cried? ........ ages

33. Your health? ........ good

34. Your children? ........ looney

35. Your future? ........ BRIGHT

36. Your beliefs? ........ simple

37. Young or old? ........ young

38. Your image? ........ professional

39. Your appearance? ........ reworking

40. Would you live your life over again knowing what you know? ........ absolutely


Your turn! If you fill it out too, send me a link to your blog so I can read your one word answers.

Random Items

Just a few thoughts I have been having...

*a 40-year old woman should only have to buy Stridex for acne if she also gets to have her 15-year old body along with it!!!

*do not try and go for a run after 5 days of a carbs/sugar depletion diet. Really not a good idea!

Funny thing B said to me this weekend. We were at the baseball game and all three kids hate the fireworks. They just think they are too loud. B was asking why anybody liked fireworks, and I said because they were pretty. She said, but they are still too loud. I said, well..maybe they are like you - you are pretty, but sometimes you are loud, and people still like you. She looked at me like I was crazy and said "but mom, I don't go zooming up in the air!". hee hee

My New Bike!

For our anniversary this year, DH and I decided to get each other new bikes. The Toys-R-Us ones we bought about 10 years ago just weren't cutting it any more. Leaving them out in the snow/rain for 10 years didn't help either. Now that we have a shed, we decided to get new ones.

Here is mine. I just love it. An awesome pink bike with white-wall tires. It totally looks like something I would cruise around Cape Cod with (if I could get to cape cod). I just need to add a basket or something, and I am set.

Should be perfect for family bike rides.

Its More Than Just Camp

So K is at day camp this summer. We decided to send her to the just-have-fun and be a kid kind of camp as opposed to educational or sport-oriented or any other kind of camp. This is camp where they do crafts and go to the pool and run around. She is loving it.

But the first week, I was totally surprised (and pleased) by what was going on. I have mentioned before that K is good at math. Well, at her first week of camp they had one section of the day called "train your brain" and they could chose what kind of activity to do. K, of course, picked math. The worksheet they gave her had addition in columns like this:

42

+11

We have tried to teach K addition in columns like this, but she never understood the whole carrying concept. They weren't doing this in Kindergarten, so we didn't spend much time on it at home. But in one day at camp they explained it to her and she can add huge numbers now. Basically all they did was draw a line down the center of the numbers, separating the columns. Somehow that made it click for her. She can even do 3-4 digit numbers now! She is so excited, and so am I.

Who knew that even fun camp can be educational!

Sex and Single Women in the City

I went to see the Sex in the City movie a few weeks ago, and was really disappointed. If you haven't seen it - you may want to stop reading - spoilers ahead!!!




Ok...so I liked the story lines with Charlotte, and Miranda. I thought Samantha could have had a happier ending - maybe her and Smith move back to NY so she can go back to being her? But it was believable. I thought Carrie's storyline was just wrong. I mean, she has been with Big for more than 10 years at this point and she is in her 40s. So when he calls her at the library - I don't think she would react like she did, and she certainly wouldn't have stomped over and bashed him with her flowers. I really don't think she would. My scenario would have been that he makes that call and she says, "Get over yourself buddy, put on your big-boy tuxedo and get your ass in here right now!" And he would have been like, "oh yeah, ok, you're right". I mean seriously, she would have taken that crap from him, I don't think so.

I doubt any of my close friends would ever handle things that way. Now that I am in my 40s, I know what I want, and how I want it, and I think I am pretty good at voicing it. And after being with my husband for 14 years, I would never let him get away with that (not that he would try). I don't think Carrie, in her 40s, and with big exclusively for 10 years, more than that overall, would either.

But I am not single. And none of my close friends are single. I have a few friends from work who are in the 40s or 50s and single. And I had this discussion with one of them last week. She TOTALLY disagreed with me. She loved the movie and thought it was perfect that it happened like that. She said she knows women who have been in long-term relationships that ended in similar fashion. I pointed out that Carrie ends up marrying him in the end (which again, if all the previous had happened, I don't think she would do). And my friend said that was totally believable.

I guess I am lucky to not know. But what do you think?

Singing with the Birds

So since we now have a porch and a nice big deck, I bought the kids this great book for birdwatching. It is called "Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song" and has full color pictures of birds along with a device to play their calls. It is a little pricey, but oh so cool.

A few weeks ago, after a brief rain storm, a bunch of birds were in the back yard pulling up all the worms the rain had brought out. Most of them were Mourning Doves, but there was a Robin and a Cardinal as well. K had a great time tormenting the Robin by playing his call over and over. The bird kept looking up and trying to find the other Robin. He finally flew over and landed on the roof just over our heads.

I like it because it gets the kids interested in the outdoors. And its fun to mark how many birds we have been able to identify.

Ahhh....the beach!

Okay, so it wasn't exactly relaxing, but it was fun. We went to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. First, the trip there and back was awesome. We went on a Sunday and came back on Wednesday - great days to avoid traffic. We also planned it so we were driving right during nap time. All three kids slept for all but 20 minutes of the drive up, and 40 minutes of the drive back. SWEET! Second, we had a great hotel. We stayed in the Avenue Inn, and I highly recommend it. Free breakfast, happy hour daily, and nightly chocolate chip cookies included! They also had laundry machines on premises, and a cool indoor/outdoor pool. It was all indoors, but had big sliding doors open to a rooftop patio. Perfect for enjoying the weather with no sun exposure!!! The customer service was fantastic - they drove us in a golf cart the 2 1/2 blocks to the ocean to help us cart all our crap. AMAZING!

I had never been to RB except for just walking around for a few hours. It is SOOO kid-friendly. No packs of rowdy teenagers, lots of lifeguards, and plenty of police presence. The beach is really nice - the girls LOVED it. Big Man, not so much. He was ok with the sand, as long as he didn't have to see, hear, or know the ocean was there. He REALLY did not like it. In his defense, they were red-flag no swimming days the whole time we were there, and there was a lot of surf and wave-crashing action. But he HATED it. Would become hysterical when he could see the ocean. The girls loved playing in the surf, building sand castles, and digging for crabs.

There is also this great place called FunLand. It is a little cheesy amusement park - but perfect for little kids. And it is CHEAP. We spent a total of $40 on ride tickets the whole 4 days we were there, and we let the kids go on anything they wanted. The littlest rides (perfect for Big Man) were 1 ticket (which worked out to be something like 18 cents)!!! He LOVED it. All three of them did. We did kill another $10 or so winning them race horses in a skee-ball type game.

We also rented bikes, flew a kite on the beach, and ate lots of really bad-for-you food. All in all, a great time! Will definitely do it again.