When you want an honest answer - ask a kid

So I wear my contacts constantly. Like 17 hours a day since I was in the 10th grade. I think I can count on both hands the number of times I have worn my glasses during the day instead. Well, yesterday was one of those days. And when I was getting B ready for school, she said "Mommy, I really like your glasses. You look pretty." I said, "Thanks, honey." Perhaps 45 seconds passes. Then B says, "Actually Mommy, I don't. I don't like you in your glasses. You look much better without them." "Thanks, hon."

Then K asked me what I ate all day when I was at the movies. I told her mostly popcorn and M&Ms. She said "Mommy, you are going to get fat again. You will have a really big tummy."

Oscars 2009

So on Saturday I got to see all 5 Best Picture nominees back to back. First let me say how fun this was!! The place was PACKED - sold out completely. Many people come every year and apparently get there really early, as we showed up (pre-purchased tickets) about 1/2 hour early and had to sit in the 8th row. Luckily, it was a stadium theater, so it wasn't too bad. The order of the movies was Milk, The Reader, Benjamin Buttons, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon. There was about 1/2 hour between each flick (no previews), and few restaurants next door to the theater. Although I mostly ate popcorn and chocolate all day. (hee hee).

I LOVED Milk. It was my favorite of the 5. What an uplifting story..well, except for the end. But really - so great. Sean Penn was AWESOME and COMPLETELY deserved his Oscar last night. He WAS Harvey Milk. I didn't even recognize him as Sean Penn about 20 minutes in. The Reader was very provocative. I don't mean the nudity (of which there was a lot!) - but the story was very intriguing. Benjamin Buttons was a cool story and I would love to see how they did some of the special effects. I did enjoy Slumdog. Really interesting story - and a little something for everyone - romance, mafia, adventure, good vs evil, happy endings. It was my 2nd favorite. I did not like Frost/Nixon. First, I think the timing of the day was bad. It was definitely the driest material - don't save it for last after being in the theater for 12 hours. I fell asleep for a few minutes - which was not all the fault of the film - but it just didn't do anything for me. Frank Langella was great. He really took on the part. But that one I don't need to see again. So my favorites were:

1) Milk
2) Slumdog
3) Reader
4) Benjamin Buttons
5) Frost/Nixon

Then of course I stayed up to watch the Oscars. So I am movied-out right now. But I hope to do it all again next year!

Movie Marathon

On Saturday I am going to spend the whole day at the movies. No really - from 10:30am until about Midnight I will be sitting in an AMC Theater watching all 5 Oscar Nominated Movies. I cannot wait. Since I was a teenager, I always wanted to spend a whole day watching movies. When I saw this promotion, I knew I had to do it. I haven't seen any of the flicks - so it is the perfect opportunity - and only $30 with all the popcorn you can eat!

DH is being the biggest sweetheart and dealing with the children enjoying quality time with his kids for most of the day. We have a babysitter at night so he can catch the last two. A friend from work is coming with me. I can't wait. Am I crazy?

More Bargain Shopping

Since I have been losing weight, my clothes have stopped fitting. Not a bad problem to have - except I don't want to spend a lot of money on the step down clothes, so until I figure out where I am going to stay, I want to wait to buy clothes. So what to do? I have had lots of luck at Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Ross. But my best deals have been at Goodwill. yes! Goodwill!

I have found 3 suits so far at Goodwill - two for $10 each and one for $5!! And I have gotten great compliments on them from people at work. These are nice suits (one Anne Taylor, one Calvin Klein, other I can't remember). I have spent more to dry clean these suits than it cost to purchase them!!!

I have learned you may have to go to a few Goodwills to find the "good" ones - and it is still very hit or miss. But for those types of bargains it is definitely worth giving it a shot, I think!

What was that blur? Oh yeah, it was the weekend.

So this was a CRAZY weekend. I know I said that about last weekend (making over Big Man's room), but it had nothing on this one!

On Thursday morning I took the train to NYC for a conference. Great conference - also had a fun time walking around Greenwich Village - sooo cute! Anyway, hopped the train back on Friday arrived around 7:30pm.

Saturday morning left the house at 8am with a packed car and kids and DH to drive to upstate NY to visit DH's Grandmom. She is 93 and has pancreatic cancer. We haven't seen her in a year. It was past due. Got up there in about 6 1/2 hours. Grandmom was great. In great spirits. Kids had a blast playing with the snow in her yard, and we even got them on a sled around the yard. When we pulled it out, the kids said "What is that??!!" They had never been sledding, but c'mon! In K's words, "aren't sleds red and round like the one clifford has in puppy days?" That is so sad. They couldn't even recognize a traditional sled with runners. So I had found a sledding hill near Grandmom's (thanks google - sledding hill + Portville NY) and we took the kids up there. They LOVED it. Even though it was freezing, and they weren't wearing the appropriate clothes, and it was snowing, they had a blast. So Sunday morning we went to a local KMart and picked up snowpants for all. We also got some $6 sledding mats (foam with some kind of slick plastic on the bottom) so they could sled again before we left. Around 2pm, we headed home.

Monday morning we got up and headed northwest again for a planned day of Snow Tubing. We met some friends there and had a blast. Actually most of us did. The grownups and the biggest kids loved it. The youngers liked it alot, but also got tired more quickly. B went down 2-3 times, but was a little scared. Big Man was too small for the runs, but had a little hill. He went down it 2x and was done. He spent the rest of the 2 hours watching. I thought it was awesome.

So that was the weekend. Fun, but exhausting. I don't want to know how many miles I logged between Thursday and Monday. CRAZY. Here are some pics:

Big Man's Big Boy Room

Here are the pics. The walls look white but they are light blue.


I kind of feel like it looks like a 7 year-olds room, instead of a 2-year old. But I really like it.




Here is his old room - note the crib, and horrible mirrored (somewhat covered) closet doors.

It's My Blog-iversary!!!

Ok, not really. It was yesterday. I was too tired to do a post. How sad.

We had a crazy weekend. We redecorated Big Man's room this weekend - complete with a "big boy bed". Said bed is blue and shaped like a race car (acquired on Craigslist). It completely violates my prohibition on toddler beds. I always thought toddler beds were a colossal waste of money and time cuz then you have to transition from a crib, to a toddler bed, and then finally to a twin bed. Plus all the sheets and stuff you have to buy. But it was such a cute bed, and Big Man has a tiny room, so what the hell. We farmed the kids out to Nana on Friday night and started prepping and painting. We did that until about 11:30 on Friday before crashing. Then Sat morning we did a final coat and touch-ups, replaced the doors (YAYY!! I HATED the mirrored closet doors in his room that took up the entire back wall!), decorated, and wala! Finished about 4pm Saturday - in time to run to the grocery store before cooking dinner for 9 adults and 9 kids who came over at 5:30. Yeah. Luckily it was just pasta with this awesome Rachel Ray vodka tomato cream sauce - yummy! Yesterday was church/Sunday school, a playdate, baking from hell for this week's bake sale at daycare, gymnastics, home, dinner, bed. I am wiped out.

Tomorrow will have a post of Big Man's room. Sadly I forgot to take "before" pictures, but may be able to cobble some together from general pics taken in his room.

Report Card Riddles

So K got her report card from First Grade this week. It was all good. "K a joy to have in class" blah blah blah.

DH and I have been a bit concerned about her reading - which she is still struggling with. When I asked her teacher for the name of the Reading Specialist - she told me that K was doing great - right at grade level and I shouldn't be concerned. DH and I also know that K is doing really well with math. At home she adds multiple digit numbers using columns and carrying, etc. Advanced stuff for first grade.

So we get the report card which says "reading at grade level, comprehension excellent." It goes on to say "Her only weakness is recalling details and key facts about the story." Ummm..isn't that what comprehension is??? I think her comprehension is awful cuz she is too busy concentrating on sounding out the words.

Teacher also says she is at level for math. Really? She can add five-digit numbers in columns, using carrying. Given what I have seen from her homework - that is way ahead.

I am just concerned that maybe her teacher doesn't know her so well. Thoughts? I already emailed and reiterated our desire to talk to the reading specialist. Maybe I should talk to the math specialist too? Or am I getting worked up over nothing?

Shoe Fetish

I love shoes. Really I do. I think part of the reason is that regardless of how my diet is going - my shoes always fit. Recently I have had some luck finding some really cute cheap shoes. This pair I got for $17 in the clearance rack at DSW. I had gone in trying to find purple shoes, as I have recently found myself wearing a lot of purple (I have no idea why). Anyway, I first found a few pairs that were patent leather kind of burgundy. They would work, but not exactly what I wanted. I was carrying them around and after 30 minutes, decided to try the discount rack in the back. And there they were - really cute shoes with several shades of purple, black, and a nice heel. And they fit! Woo hoo! Here they are:


I get more compliments on these shoes. Seriously - every time I wear them 3-5 people tell me how much they love them. I love a bargain that makes a statement!

Facebook Addiction

So I am little addicted to Facebook. But now like most people - not for the social networking or catching up with old friends. I love the games. I love competing against my friends. Is that so wrong? I love the word games especially, although GeoChallenge and Suduku. Anyone have any fun ones they want to share?