Three Time Mommy

Spring Cleaning...on the hottest weekend in July

2011-07-25T11:11:00.006-04:00

We didn't want to do much to leave air conditioning this weekend, with temps over 100 degrees! So, of course, we decided to clean out the refrigerator. We were inspired by this picture we found on Pinterest (if you haven't tried pinning, you are missing out!)This is what our fridge looked like before. Think we could find much of anything in there? nope. We decided we wanted to use containers

The Ways of the Universe!

2011-07-07T10:54:00.002-04:00

We have quickly been reminded that the universe always has ways of even-ing things out. Just 2 weeks ago we made our last daycare payment. After 9 years of daycare payments, we are finally free. Think of the money! Well, the universe quickly took care of that. First, our car died. Totally died, leaving me at work stranded, when I was supposed to pick up all three kids and get two of them to

How To Store All Those Cool Ideas

2011-06-16T09:15:00.004-04:00

Have you heard of Pinterest? It is soooo great! It is a place where you can store all the great ideas (recipes, crafts, decorating, gifts, etc) that you find online, and categorize them and make them easy to find! You can also see what others are "pinning" and "repin" their stuff too! I love it, and has really freed up all my saved internet pages and "starred" google reader stuff.For example,

Get Your Day Started Right

2011-06-15T08:47:00.003-04:00

I am back on WW. And I am actually following the program, so that's always good. ;) The hardest thing for me was breakfast. I was having a light yogurt every morning, and while it was low it points, it also made me hungry by 10am.At my WW meeting, someone mentioned oatmeal. Now I have NEVER been a hot cereal type of gal. My grandmothers both had cream of wheat every morning and I thought it

B Turned 7!

2011-06-13T11:45:00.005-04:00

We are entering the "odd years" with our kids, and by August they will be 9, 7, and 5. B's birthday was this weekend. She is in love with the Disney movie "Tangled", so that was our theme. She actually had three parties - #1 at school (10 minutes, max - i brought in donuts and juice - they sang); #2 at out house with family friends (had the fancy cake, did a few of the activities with the kids

Spring Break - part 2

2011-06-10T07:51:00.000-04:00

When we left Columbus we made a small stop. I am a HUGE sucker for random Americana. World's largest ball of twine? Awesome! Foamhenge? Can't wait to go. So we had to stop and see the world's largest picnic basket that also happens to be an office building! I know! so cool! It is the headquarters of Longaberger - a company that makes baskets, of course. Is this awesome or what? People WORK

Preserving Memories

2011-06-08T07:28:00.001-04:00

Someone was asking me about this the other day, and I thought it would make a good idea to share. My mom died 7 years ago, and I still miss her nearly every day. ( I swear, a week or so ago one of the kids did something, and my first thought was to call her up!) But one thing I did when she passed continues to bring me happiness.Several months after her death, my Dad and I went through her

Spring Break - rv/baseball style

2011-06-06T07:24:00.001-04:00

So last month (ok, in April) we went on Spring Break. We took the RV and went on an adventure to see 3 major league ballparks. (when we got the RV we decided we wanted to try and bring the kids to see every MLB ballpark before K graduated from high school). Weft on a very rainy Saturday and headed to Cleveland. The game on Sunday was thankfully not rained out. It was a beautiful, albeit

Little Chefs

2011-06-02T07:25:00.001-04:00

When K turned 9 at the end of April, she wanted a cooking party. (Well, first she wanted a pool party, but thought of it too late and all the indoor pools were booked). It worked out great, so I thought I would share what we did.First, we kept it small. She invited 8 girls from school, and only 6 were able to come. Awesome!Second, we kept it simple. The girls were "making" three dishes. We

Freedom

2011-05-31T11:18:00.003-04:00

So, K turned 9 recently (details on her fun party soon). And we are trying to give her little bits of freedom. Last year, I raved about this book. So I am trying to do it (give my children the kind of freedom I had). I mean, my parents used to throw us out of the house with a "see you when the streetlights come on" and that was that. Now my kids have to beg to be allowed to walk around the

Spring (undies) Cleaning

2011-05-04T07:13:00.000-04:00

So last week I was at Target buying socks for my girls. I have no idea what in heck they do with all their socks, but they got to a point where they didn't have any more and we were about to go on vacation. (nevermind that they ended up leaving their suitcase behind and we had to stop at Walmart and buy them all new clothes...) While I was there, I noticed that Target had cute women's cotton

What is a Soldier to Do?

2011-05-02T14:05:00.002-04:00

Heard an interesting story last week on NPR about soldiers returning from war who feel lost. Often combat soldiers return and feel stressed and confused about their role in the non-combat world. Well, a few returning vets realized that these soldiers have specialized skills that could be used for humanitarian relief at quick notice. The created a group called Team Rubicon, which "bridges the

A Tourist in Our Own Town

2011-03-23T07:36:00.004-04:00

We are lucky to live in a very picturesque, historic area that is ripe for tourists. But, like many, we tend to ignore all the feature available to us. So thanks to Groupon and Living Social, in the last few weeks we have acted like tourists.We took the Old Town Trolley (tour bus) around town, seeing all the sites. We only got off at a few stops, but had a great time. We stopped at the Bureau

Swingin From the Trees

2011-03-02T14:22:00.003-05:00

Doesn't this look so cool? They are hotel rooms suspended in trees. I think it looks awesome. Not only do you get the cozy treehouse feel, and the amazing views - but they are suspended, and so sway in the breeze! It is in Vancouver, Canada, and not that expensive. I would love to try it some time. The only downside is that the bathroom is in a separate building. But you know what, I'd deal

Our Daily Bread

2011-02-22T11:29:00.003-05:00

K is such a picky eater. We have tried everything. We have cooked together. She LOVES to cook, but won't eat what she has made. We have bribed and begged her to eat things. She does, but hates it. Now the kids at least follow the 3 bites rule (you must eat three bites of everything on your plate), but getting her to like new foods is a constant battle.To try and find something we could work

Lose Yourself

2011-02-22T11:16:00.004-05:00

Sometimes it is good to let go of who you think you are. I am an overweight, out-of-shape middle-aged woman. But I don't always have to act that way!Last year I blogged about going to ski for the first time. At the time I had just turned 42 and weighed about 180. I wasn't in great shape, but I was doing pretty good. I was excited to try skiing. I took a class, and got a few good runs on

I am still here

2011-02-16T10:31:00.002-05:00

I am still here. Work has been INSANE, and I am feeling overwhelmed. But I am still here. We are all good. Hope to be back soon!

Great Kid's Book Find

2011-01-05T07:51:00.001-05:00

Of course we have read dozens of Dr. Seuss books over the years. But I had never before seen the "Cat in the Hat's Learning Library" series. These are rhyming books in Dr Seuss style that actually TEACH something. They are great!! They have them on LOTS of topics - space, insects, the human body, mammals, etc. The kids love them and I have actually learned some stuff too! I highly recommend.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T22:03:00.003-05:00

Things I am so Thankful for:My Immediate Family ( my DH and my 3 amazing kids - as crazy as they make me, my life would not be as blessed without them!)My Family (my MIL - who we literally couldn't live without! my Dad, whom the kids adore, and we don't see nearly enough; and my brother and his family; whom we never see, but I want to interact with just the same)My friends (who are my rock and my

Food, Glorious Food

2010-12-16T09:10:00.003-05:00

Recently overheard at my house:"no, you must finish your french fries before you can have any more broccoli."ok, seriously. The kids are making me so crazy with their food issues, that I am clearly losing it. We have a dinner system in our house. Every other night we try "new" foods. "New" foods are those the kids hate. They have either not had them before, or are on record hating them.

Quick and Easy Gift

2010-12-07T22:06:00.004-05:00

Saw this awesome tutorial and thought I would try it. They are fast, easy and cheap.1) buy a few 1/2 yards of fleece in different colors/patterns2) cut them into 6" widths (the length of the fabric)3) sew 2 of them together right down the middle (just eye-ball it)4) cut fringe the whole length (making sure you don't cut through the middle)ENJOY!That's it. So easy. When fleece is on sale,

Still a few Days Left

2010-12-06T09:40:00.003-05:00

If you celebrate Hanukkah, or are celebrating with someone who is, you MUST make these. They are in the current issue of Family Fun, but I can't find it on their website.Anyway, they are so easy. They whole container of Fig Newtons took about 20 minutes to turn into these awesome dreidel cookies. Four simple steps:1) cut fig newton into point on one end (save the pieces, they make a great

One Last Advent Tradition

2010-12-03T07:54:00.000-05:00

This week I also was rushing to get ready for one last Advent tradition. Each year I gather up all our Christmas-themed books, wrap them up, number them, and stick them under the tree. Each day of December a kid opens one of the packages, and that book is added to our nightly reading.The kids love it, and I try and add a few new books every year.I should note that this is in addition to reading

Advent Calendar Just Like Mom

2010-12-02T07:37:00.001-05:00

In the 70s, my mom made an advent calendar out of felt that we used every year when I was growing up. A few years ago, my Dad and I searched the house and couldn't find Mom's calendar. I was bummed, but made due with other stuff. This year, I decided I would make my own.Of course, I decided this abourt 4 days before December 1. Not much time. But thanks to my friend Kathy, and the Dollar store,

Advent Fun

2010-11-30T14:29:00.005-05:00

I posted about this last year, but still love it, so here it is again. An Advent Joke Tree. This is a fun and easy craft that will take you less than 1/2 hour and your kids will LOVE it. All you need is a single sheet of 25 jokes (each joke on its own line), a piece of green construction paper, an exacto knife, and buttons or small plastic jewels.All you do is form the construction paper into a

It was Inevitable

2010-11-04T07:08:00.004-04:00

4 yr old boy + playground equipment = trip to the emergency roomFrankly I'm surprised it took this long. Big Man has always been a climber, jumper, etc. In other words, a normal 4 year old boy.On Saturday, he fell off a some playground equipment (you know those thingys that are like a fireman pole with a loopy thing around it??) - kind of like this:and he used his left arm to brace himself.15

Exercise Your Civic Duty

2010-11-02T07:34:00.000-04:00

If you have ever criticized a politician.If you have ever complained about the government.If you have any stake in how you country/state/city/school board/local government is run.Then VOTE. please.

Christmas is Coming!!!

2010-11-01T07:03:00.000-04:00

I have used Shutterfly for photos every since K was born in 2002. I love it. I really do. There picture quality is great, the delivery is pretty fast, and they have great products. And it is so easy to share great photos with friends and family.We just recently sent out Halloween cards (yes, I know - WHO does that?) and they were great.Now I am looking at their amazing selection of Christmas

Yes, We Are Batty!

2010-10-29T07:51:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!

Disney Secret ----shhhh

2010-10-27T08:44:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we took the kids to Disney. I had a conference in Orlando, and so we took them out of school for 2 days and had a BLAST. More on that later.For now - I found out one of the BEST KEPT SECRETS of Disney. If you are a Disney freak (like me) you are well familiar with the Bippity Boppity Boutique, where kids can get made up like a Disney princess. It it awesome, and the girls

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2010-10-22T07:23:00.000-04:00

Fulfilling a life long dream, DH and I finally went to the Baseball Hall of Fame. And it was amazing. There are SOOOOO many artifacts! We could have been there for 6-8 hours easy, but the kids took it happily for about 2 1/2. The museum is great in that is includes a scavenger hunt for kids that keeps them engaged!We particularly like the multi-media movie presentation, the individual team "

Loving the Foliage! (and apparently beer)

2010-10-20T07:05:00.000-04:00

2 weeks ago we went on an RV vacation - this time to New York, specifically Cooperstown. The leaves were in FULL color and just GORGEOUS!Here in the DC area, we had a bit of a drought, so the leaves are not that great. But up North a few hours - spectacular!We had a great Fall weekend of not just leaf-peeping, but apple loving too! K especially liked cider press, as she is learning about

Fun Easy Craft

2010-10-18T09:57:00.004-04:00

I got a bunch of these bottle caps to try the bottle cap necklace that is all over the blogosphere. They are super easy, and I think they are cute. Really takes just 6 steps.1) put caps in small frying pan and heat up for about 5 minutes. This allows you to peel the wax/plastic thingy from the bottom.2) using a nail and hammer, make 2 small holes in the side of the bottle cap.3) find images

Easy Peasy Knitting Project

2010-10-12T11:06:00.004-04:00

So we went on a fabulous RV vacation last weekend (the kids didn't have school thurs, fri and monday!) that I will share with your soon. While we were gone I made two really cute scarfs that were SOOO easy, and probably took about 1-2 hours each. The girls love them. I just used this yarn:Just one ball and it makes this:Isn't that so cute? B got pink and purple and K got black and white (her

This Election Makes Me Crazy

2010-10-06T07:15:00.001-04:00

The Republican rhetoric of this election is making me NUTS. Don't get me started on the Tea Party crazies, but even mainstream Republicans are just spewing it....First - check out this awesome video. Its great to say you are going to cut spending - but how??? Love to hear someone who knows.Second - Everyone hates TARP. Just a clue - TARP was signed by President BUSH - not Obama. BUSH. On

Making Xmas Gifts

2010-10-04T09:53:00.003-04:00

K started a knitting class last week, and is hoping to make some scarfs for Christmas gifts this year. That got me thinking that I should get all 3 kids involved in making some presents. We are going to do these to start.1) Marbled Paper (with shaving cream!!) We did this years ago, and ended up losing all the papers we made accidentally. Will try this again. Directions here.2) Bottle cap

Quick and Easy Halloween Wreath

2010-09-30T15:35:00.004-04:00

Have seen a bunch of cute halloween wreaths in the blogosphere and decided to try a quick one myself. Picked this up for about $6. I had the wreath form. Bought the ribbon, skulls, orange stuff (bath scrubbers) and used the netting from the bag of small skulls. Took about 10 minutes.Lots more halloween coming up!

Its a Pirate Party

2010-09-27T07:17:00.000-04:00

Big Man decided he wanted to wait a few weeks and have his 4th bday party when we were at the beach with our friends. This was fantastic news to me, as it would be so much easier to plan. And, even better - there were exactly 12 children. Can you say Oriental Trading?The kids each got an eye patch, a sword, and a telescope. Then we sent them on a scavenger hunt (in 3 teams) around the house.

BANANGRAMS

2010-09-24T08:20:00.001-04:00

If you like word games (think Scrabble or Boggle) you will LOVE this game. It is easy to play (even the kids played it at the beach) and VERY ADDICTIVE. I even have the App for my ITouch now. It is called Bananagrams, and it is soo much fun!I think it is better than Scrabble, because I am easily intimidated by Scrabble. With Bananagrams - you can make all 3-letter words with no penalty.

So many vacations

2010-09-22T07:08:00.001-04:00

We took several fantastic vacations this summer. I already blogged about our trial RV trip back in July. In August we did our annual beach trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We shared a fantastic house with our friends and their kids (23 in all!) and had a BLAST.The kids (ranging in age from 9-1, with most around 6) are getting to an age where they preferred playing with each other to

Overwhelmed??!!

2010-09-20T12:02:00.002-04:00

I have been feeling very overwhelmed recently. And I can't quite figure it out because life is actually a little less crazy right now. The kids are back in school (cutting down on the crazy - which camp are they in this week of summer), they haven't started any extra-curriculars yet - although they do next week; so really - what is so overwhelming?I think part of it is my to do list, which is

Oh Yeah, I have a Blog

2010-09-09T10:55:00.002-04:00

I am sorry I haven't done a darn thing here on a regular basis in months...many many months.Working on a bunch of posts now so that hopefully I will be regularly posting again - goal is 3x/week. Thanks if you have hung in there. Will be back shortly.

Love the Big Man

2010-08-16T07:17:00.000-04:00

The other night at dinner Big Man was talking about playing with his best friend Macy at school that day. I asked him if Macy was his girlfriend. He giggled and said, "NO! You are my girlfriend mommy". I said "thanks, buddy", but just then Daddy across the table growled. I told Big Man that Daddy didn't seem to like that. He said "Ok Daddy, you can be my boyfriend."hee hee

Pajama Party (lite)

2010-08-13T09:58:00.003-04:00

Following the amazing genius of Kat, last night we surprised the kids with a nighttime trip to get ice cream.We waited til about 8:45 (kids had gone to bed around 8:15) and just as it was all quiet upstairs, we ran up, and burst into their rooms yelling "pajama party". They were like "WHAT??!) - we said "Hurry up, get on your shoes, quick, get in the car!" They got all excited and we jumped in

WE DID IT!!!!

2010-08-10T07:42:00.000-04:00

We bought a travel trailer. And what a trailer it is! It is 35 feet long (think - towing a small condo!) and so cute. It has a Queen bed for me and DH and a bunk bed room that sleeps 5+ for the kids. We don't have possession yet, and will post pictures as soon as we pick it up - hopefully next week. We are very excited. Here is a preview:DH would kill me if I didn't also mention we bought a

We Are Going to Hell

2010-08-09T09:39:00.003-04:00

It has been a crazy summer. I feel like I can't catch my breath. And, of course, we haven't been to church since June. (ok, May!!!) ARGHHH! I knew it was bad, but didn't realized HOW bad until last week. I was out with Big Man and he pipes up - Hey! There is our church! I said, yup. He's says "awww...but it closed for the summer." We are going directly to hell.

Every Little Step

2010-07-22T09:08:00.002-04:00

Saw an AWESOME movie last night. If you ever saw the musical "A Chorus Line", you must see this. I saw A Chorus Line 3 times on Broadway. Seriously. When I was a kid every year or so we would take a trip to NYC. We would get to pick our choice of show (often ones we could get at the half-price TKTS window). Every year, I picked A Chorus Line. 3 times my parents relented. The last time (I

RV vacation - continued

2010-07-19T09:46:00.004-04:00

So after dragging the kids away from the amazing fun at Luray, we headed across the state to Williamsburg. Here we stayed at a KOA, which was very nice. I did not have nearly the amenities of the Jellystone, but was still lots of fun. The kids enjoyed the pool, the bouncing pillow, and activities like Tie-Dye (again). They also LOVED LOVED LOVED the pedal karts you could sign out for free.It

Worst Case Scenario

2010-07-14T07:23:00.000-04:00

While we were on our trip, my MIL came and visited us at the campsite. When she went to leave her car wouldn't start. Nearby campers jumped into help, but the kids (down for bed in the camper) were getting worried. I went in to talk to them and said, c'mon guys, let's think - worst case scenario, Nana& Grampy can sleep in the camper with us! They were excited about that, but wanted to know

We Did It!

2010-07-12T14:31:00.006-04:00

Last week we went on our first RV trip as a family and....had a blast!!! We rented a Class-C travel trailer. For those not "in the know", that is the kind of RV you drive that looks like a truck in the front. We decided to go not too far away, so we planned for campgrounds just a few hours away.We picked up the RV on Saturday and had the day to pack it, as we couldn't get in the campground we

Beautiful in Pittsburgh - who knew?

2010-07-01T07:39:00.001-04:00

Last week I went to Pittsburgh for work. I had never been to Pittsburgh and always thought Pittsburgh was kind of a industry, dirty hole. I could not have been more wrong.Pittsburgh is GORGEOUS!!! REALLY! I know! I was so shocked. The waterfront (3 rivers) is beautiful! The skyline is awesome! You know how a lot of cities have just a bunch of tall buildings with little interest?

More Easy Necklaces

2010-06-28T20:24:00.002-04:00

Made these for the girls' teachers as a end of year gift (along with a gift card, of course). Thought they turned out cute. Just glass tiles with pretty scrapbook paper and some Diamond Glaze. Sorry the pictures are so dark.

Childhood Angst

2010-06-24T07:42:00.000-04:00

Last week was angry week in our household. K is 8 going on 12. I didn't think I would be dealing with a moody preteen until she was, you know, a preteen. How naive. One morning she became sobbing hysterical because I put the wrong kind of applesauce in her school lunch. Yeah. I would say she was PMS-ing if she wasn't 8.And Big Man has developed his angry face. Witness:He is really pissed.

Summery Fun

2010-06-21T15:48:00.005-04:00

Yesterday it was HOT. So DH - that wonderful Daddy - was spraying the kids with a hose in the front yard. Yes, we do have a sprinkler and a slip and slide, but they like it old-fashioned. Anyway, after a while of that, it became clear that the fun thing to do would be too play in the little divot at the end of the driveway in the mud. (does anyone else find it sad that my kids have so little

My Fancy Girl

2010-06-15T10:17:00.008-04:00

B turned 6 last week. And being the fancy girl she is, she wanted a Fancy Nancy party. It was a huge success. All the girls were invited to wear their "most posh ensemble" to the "soiree". As each "mademoiselle" arrived, they were provided a boa and 'pearl' necklace.We had 3 stations with fancy crafts. We decorated headbands with flowers and bows; clips (for hair or dresses) with flowers and

hee hee

2010-06-11T09:49:00.003-04:00

I think Big Man is teething. He has been complaining that his mouth hurts and doing lots of whimpering at night. Maybe 3 year molars? is that a real thing? Anyway..the other night he gets up in the morning and comes to me sobbing, carrying a paper towel.I said, "Buddy, what's wrong". Through the blubbering he spouts out.... "Someone stole my ice!!!"hee hee hee...i love him so much.

Personalized Pretty Necklaces - DIY

2010-06-09T06:56:00.001-04:00

The blogosphere is full of tutorials on washer necklaces and stamped jewelry. I have never seen both. So I decided to make these for my girlfriends to commemorate our recent trip to Key West (these are not my favorites, but I gave those away before taking pics!):I really can't believe I haven't seen these more places. Basically, I took a washer, stamped my message on the back, then turned it

Key West - TAKE ME AWAY

2010-06-04T07:07:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah. This weekend I am off to Key West. Even better? I am going with my girlfriends. No kids, no hubbies (sorry dear). I CANNOT wait. I soooooo need this vacation. Work has been crazy, the girls have had lice on and off for months, and Big Man is going through a mommy-only phase. I cannot wait to get out of town with my 7 best girl friends. Will be thinking of you all while sipping

Note to Teachers Everywhere

2010-06-02T12:05:00.001-04:00

When you call a parent on their cell phone in the middle of the day, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE start the call with "everything is fine" or some other disclaimer. Otherwise I will be on edge and waiting for you to say my little precious has lice, has thrown up, has a fever, broke her arm, or some other calamity, and I will ignore everything else you say waiting to hear that. Thank you.

Letting Go

2010-05-26T09:18:00.003-04:00

So I have been struggling with how much freedom to give my now 8 year-old K. She is actually very responsible and has good common sense. I have let her ride her bike around the block alone a bunch of times now, and she loves it. But really, that is all I have felt comfortable letting her do. And that is so ridiculous, really. When I was 8, my parents sent me off in the neighborhood and I

2010-05-18T07:32:00.000-04:00

Last week, K received her First Communion. This is a big deal for more than just her. Our family joined the Lutheran Church about a year ago. I grew up in a VERY strong Catholic family. And despite having LOTS of problems with Church/Pope policy, I had been very happy with the Catholic Church DH and I had been attending and that all 3 kids were baptized at. But when K turned 4, I wanted her

Still Here

2010-05-17T10:30:00.002-04:00

I have not fallen off the planet. (I just wish I did!) I had two conferences back to back with a total of nearly 10k of my members (I work for an association) in town over the last 2 weeks. VERY exhausting. I have actually been working on a REALLY cool craft project that I hope to share with you all very soon. Let's just say - its funky and CHEAP! Hope to share soon.

I felt so Amish

2010-05-06T14:48:00.003-04:00

After being inspired by Jane's blog, I decided to have some fun with the girls (while Big Man was napping). We took a simple container of heavy cream and had a blast. First we made whipped cream. Using the Kitchen Aid (and a bit of sugar and vanilla) the girls LOVED their homemade whipped cream. They both said it tasted like melted vanilla ice cream. Then we took the same container of heavy

How Much Freedom?

2010-04-27T07:46:00.000-04:00

So my oldest is now 8. And I am struggling with how much freedom to let her have. For example, she loves riding her bike. When I am on the porch, I let her ride up and down our street a block or so in each direction. I have let her, a few times, ride around the block by herself. She wants to do more. I am torn. Part of me remembers tearing around on my bike at her age all around the

Cowboy Birthday!

2010-04-26T10:10:00.008-04:00

We had a busy weekend, K turned 8! She wanted a cowboy party (absolutely no idea where that came from but, ok!). We had 18 kids, a successful party, and an exhausted mama. What did it take?1 cowboy boot cookie (K doesn't like cake)cowboy hats, bandanas, and sheriff badges (thanks Oriental Trading!)holsters (hand made by yours truly!) with water gunshobby horses (again, made with love)western

Great Deals!

2010-04-20T19:34:00.001-04:00

I am a big fan of Groupon. It is a website that sends out a daily deal for things near where you live. Recent group-ons that I took advantage of include:$25 for $50 at a local greenhouse$75 for a family photo shoot, including 1 hour of photography and 20 images on CD with printing rights!!$20 for $40 at a local trendy restaurant for brunch$10 for 3 games of laser tagGroupons only come weekdays

Hydrangea and Butterflies

2010-04-11T15:50:00.006-04:00

I saw this awesome wreath, and knew I had to do it. It took a lot of scalloped circles, but was done in less than an hour, while I watched the girls ride their bikes. I think it came out great. May make another one for my office. Have seen it done with old book pages too and think that would be cool.

Stand Up and Be Counted

2010-04-06T15:45:00.003-04:00

Fill out your census people. It takes about 3 minutes (a minute more or less depending upon the size of your family). It is very simply basic questions. Very non-intrusive. In fact, I can't believe they aren't asking more! There is lots of data that it would help if they collected. The reponse rate is only 60% nationwide. My community is at 62%. That is pathetic, people! PLEASE answer your

"Sick" Days

2010-04-02T09:02:00.003-04:00

So Big Man was sent home from preschool with pink eye on Wednesday. The Dr confirmed pink eye and also diagnosed double ear infections. Big Man could break a toe and the Dr would find ear infections!! Anyway, he was feeling fine, but couldn't go back to school til Friday. So we had a day to ourselves yesterday.It was GLORIOUS here - with blue skies, and bright sun - probably 75 degrees. We

Everything's Coming Up Roses

2010-03-29T09:12:00.003-04:00

Ok, not roses, but after several years, I finally did some landscaping around the front of my house this weekend. When we renovated our house (in 2007!) both our front and backyard were destroyed (thanks to the addition in the porch in the front and addition in the back). We paid some random guy to come in and help with the grass and such early last spring, but never got around to replanting

How to Sleep In With Kids

2010-03-25T08:48:00.005-04:00

Sleep is REALLY important to me. I love to sleep and I never get enough. So when the kids were little we started a rule that has been huge for my sleeping.On Saturdays and Sundays, the kids cannot come into our room and disturb us until 8am. 8am!!! yay! They can wake up. They can play in their rooms. They cannot go downstairs (we live in one of those houses where the bedrooms are upstairs

It's Contagious!

2010-03-25T08:44:00.002-04:00

Until now, Big Man has been out of the clothing fray. Pretty much all little boy clothes are red, blue, or green - so they pretty much all go together. Then there was this morning, when Big Man came into our room wearing a greens striped shirt and red plaid shorts. I couldn't object to the colors/patterns, but I told him he couldn't wear shorts- it was only Spring, not Summer. So he went

Yummy Quick Dinner!

2010-03-22T09:42:00.003-04:00

So last night I made a really yummy dinner. DH and I loved it, Big Man liked it, the girls complained, but what else is new. I made mini meatloaves, using a muffin tin. But these weren't any meatloaves - these were delicious cheese-stuffed meatloaves! Here is the basic recipe -1/2 lb ground beef1/2 lb ground porksprinkle of garlic powdersprinkle of onion powdersalt & pepper (i use crazy salt)

Pick Your Battles

2010-03-17T09:06:00.005-04:00

I have learned that with your kids there can be many thing to fight over. One thing I have surrendered on is clothes. As long as you are not vulgar and are seasonably dressed - I don't care. And my kids have worn some crazy stuff. B loves to wear layered looks - often pairing a layered dress with a layered skirt. K will wear soccer socks with capris and a sweater in winter. One of K's teachers

Springing Up All Over

2010-03-15T08:39:00.004-04:00

So in an attempt to bring on Spring, we made these fun wreaths this weekend. They are so cute, and took maybe 20 minutes each! Highly recommend! Found the idea here. Got the foam bunny and chick at Goodwill for $1.00 each.They are now brightening up our front door and my office (cube wall)!Think it will bring Spring any faster?

I'm Just Here for the Food

2010-03-11T08:32:00.003-05:00

Big Man is obsessed with food. At 3 1/2, he LOVES candy, cookies, etc. Neither of the girls were like this - it is really insane. When he wakes up, his first thought it where are his (gummy) vitamins. Shortly thereafter he wants a poptart. In the car on the way to work/daycare, he asks what is for dinner. When we pick him up, before saying hi he says "what's for dinner?". When we get home

Old Fashioned Fun

2010-03-08T08:37:00.002-05:00

For no explicable reason, last week I remembered the little clapping song "say say my playmate, come out and play with me, etc". I believe I played that for hours and hours and hours in my childhood. So, this weekend I taught it to the girls. They had never heard it, and loved it. They couldn't wait to get to school today to teach it to their friends. I am now trying to think of other games

When it Rains it Pours

2010-03-02T09:48:00.003-05:00

Sorry I have been so quiet. Lots going on. First, all three kids got lice last week. So gross. Big Man's got if first, and I shaved his head right away. Girls unfortunately got it too. They are not as easy. Cannot tell you how many hours I have spent combing and nit-picking their hair. Cannot tell you how many loads of laundry we have done.doesn't Big Man look cute with a crew cut?Then we

And now, back to me...

2010-02-25T21:12:00.002-05:00

Saw this on a blog and thought it was cute. 99 Things I Ought to Have DoneInstructions:Copy the list, bold the ones you've done (with explanations if needed), share with friends.1. Started your own blog2. Slept under the stars - maybe one day once I get my RV (hint hint DH)3. Played in a band (ok, marching band - but hey it was a band - oh, and Rock Band, of course)4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a

Starfish of the Week

2010-02-23T09:57:00.003-05:00

K's 2nd grade teacher has a cute project for the class. Each week a different student is chosen to be "Starfish of the Week". That child gets a bulletin board in the class that they get to decorate however they want. They can also bring in any kind of props. Then each day they get 5-10 minutes of "circle time" to talk about themselves or their family and answer questions about the stuff in

Follicles of Fun

2010-02-19T09:14:00.001-05:00

So why did I get up early and cut my workout short this morning? Crazy hair day of course. K insisted she wanted her hair to be striped different colors. Well, Target didn't have any hair color spray last night. I had some pink left over from (I think) crazy hair day 2 years ago. And then...in the $ spot - I found these. Pom-poms. 2 per color for $1 each! INSPRIRATION.Here are my crazy

A Day of Dicotomies!

2010-02-16T10:56:00.005-05:00

So on the last day of snowpalooza the unplanned, unscheduled February vacation, we decided to do some really fun stuff. The kids hadn't been to school in 12!!!! days.Some friends had made the coolest sledding runs in their BACK YARD! not a big back yard, either. Pretty standard for our urban neighborhood. But it was SOOO cool. The kids loved it.After a short lunch break, we decided to hit

For Your Viewing Pleasure

2010-02-12T21:08:00.002-05:00

yay! The Winter Olympics. I have always loved watching the Olympics, and now it is so much fun with the kids! Bienvenue!

Killing Time

2010-02-08T16:43:00.006-05:00

3 snowy days =lots of fuse beads (occupied the girls for nearly 3 hours!!)TONS of cookies for the bake sale that is hopefully still this weekSpin ArtMake and explode a volcanoroller paintssparkly marshmallowsmelted candy cane heartshmmm...more days to come (tomorrow for sure) - what next?

Mind Over Matter

2010-02-05T07:45:00.002-05:00

I have blogged previously about the amazing connection (for me) to running and mental exercise. I didn't start running until age 40. I did it for about 18 months. But I HATED it ever second I did it. Really. Some people talk about a runners high, or getting out there and getting some personal time. Not so much for me. I spent every minute of it wanting to stop. So for me, running was

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-03T08:47:00.002-05:00

Did we relocate to New England and nobody told us? Still..its beautiful!

Sleep Help!

2010-02-01T09:43:00.002-05:00

All three kids are really good sleepers. We have been very lucky. But now, at 3 1/2, Big Man is fighting sleeping in his room - more specifically, sleeping alone. It is hard to blame him. Afterall, I DH and I sleep together, and the girls sleep together (often even in the same bed!). He is the only one sleeping alone. And just last week he decided he HATES it. WE let him sleep with the

Valentine Crafts

2010-01-25T11:11:00.005-05:00

Had been seeing this adorable wreath on the blogs for a while. So this weekend I ran to the fabric store while the kids were at Sunday school and grabbed some cute fabric. And in about 1/2 and hour me and the girls made these cute wreaths:It was really so easy. While the kids were at gymnastics, I sat in the observation deck and cut (and ripped) the fabric into squares. Then we just glued and

new blog design - yay!

2010-01-21T20:32:00.002-05:00

Isn't it soooo cool? I really like it. It was designed by Lauren at Designer Blogs. They have a special - book in January and get 30% off. So worth it. And, btw, blogger finally fixed the problem with videos, so you can see adorable Big Man below.

Enjoying the Flakes

2010-01-19T19:44:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we went to Wisp with two other families (total of 6 adults and 7 kids). We had a blast. We went snow tubing on Saturday - played it easy on Sunday (expected bad weather arrived), skiing on Monday (first time for me and the kids) and home today (tried to snow tube, but not open until the evening on a Tues!). Also tried out their mountain coaster - which was fun, albeit

RVs...here we come

2010-01-18T07:17:00.001-05:00

This weekend is step #2 of convincing DH we need an RV. Step #1 was to talk about it, and then bring it up at every opportunity (such as pointing out RVs every single time we see one, work it into many conversations (we should get that movie on DVD - yeah! It would be great to watch in our RV), an so on). Step #2, go to an RV Show. This will let DH see all these new fancy high-end RVs that we

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-01-17T07:23:00.002-05:00

Let's keep our fingers crossed that I don't actually break my leg (or arm, or hip!) on my 42nd birthday!

What the Hell

2010-01-15T07:10:00.000-05:00

I saw a card at Trader Joe's last week that read:"Ever notice that "what the hell" is always the right decision?" Marilyn MonoeWell, I hope she is right. This will be our what the hell weekend. We are going to Wisp Mountain with 2 of our closest family friends. There will be 6 adults and 7 kids (who are those people with 3 kids that mess up all the ratios??!!). 6 of the people have skied

Learning Boards

2010-01-13T07:13:00.002-05:00

When I redid the girls' room, I had come out with this idea of them each having a whiteboard by their desks. We could use it for reminders or even as a teaching tool. Instead of a pricier white board, I just got 2 12x12 picture frames from Ikea, and some whiteboard markers. I flipped over the stock picture and used the white side. Works great. Well, ok, the yellow doesn't really show much -

Kids and Language

2010-01-11T08:26:00.002-05:00

I have found it very interesting to watch how my kids' language skills have developed. We thought K was very talkative, until B came along. At 3 that girl could TALK! It was crazy, her vocabulary and just love of talking. Now 5, she still can talk and talk and talk! Big Man didn't talk much for a while - then we got him early intervention speech therapy and now we can't shut him up. At 3 he

It's Hard Being the Little Brother

2010-01-08T10:06:00.004-05:00

Last night after dinner, Big Man came in the kitchen carrying a Snow White costume dress and a Belle costume skirt. He wanted help putting them on. I asked why he had 2 skirts. He said "in case of emergency", I said, "a princess emergency?" DH piped in with, "buddy, if there is a princess emergency, you need a sword and shield!" K said, "no, a Princess emergency would need the Powerpuff

2010, really??

2010-01-07T08:07:00.000-05:00

Where did the last year go? I have no idea. Work was busy, kids were crazy, life was insane. Basically normal with a little bit of extra craziness thrown in.I do not have a resolution for 2010. I have decided to just do my best. Try and not scream at the kids as much. Try and lose the weight I gained back. Try and exercise more. Try and keep my house from looking like a college boy's dorm

Big Bedroom Reveal!!!

2010-01-05T07:59:00.008-05:00

So back here (!!!) I started talking about what I was going to do to the girls room. We had finally convinced them to move out of their smaller bedroom into our old bedroom - with two closets. They wanted princess decor. They wanted pink and Ariel and Cinderella. And...without further ado...we gave it to them!Yes, I did the paintings on the walls - but I used a $10 projector I bought at Michaels

Happy 2010!

2009-12-31T23:54:00.000-05:00

Goodbye to 2009 and many hopeful thoughts for 2010!

Merry Christmas One And All

2009-12-24T15:48:00.003-05:00

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace, The gladness of Christmas give you hope, The warmth of Christmas grant you love. ~Author Unknown