It's Not The Size That Counts

Not too long ago someone I know wanted to buy my sons each a gift for Christmas. This person asked me if I knew what they would want. This was an easy question. My boys were just telling me about this certain type of Axe body wash/shampoo/deodorant kits that come in various scents. I love those gifts because my kids are getting to the age where they need to use deodorant and any time they request it I happily oblige (no offense to my kids but they are teenage boys who play baseball so that's 'nuff said).

When I came back with the kits from the store, the requestor asked how much I owe. When I said $10 each for a total of $20 I was told that was not enough. I was kinda surprised. "But that's what they really want and it didn't matter how much it cost."

It made me think back to all of these years that I have tried to show my kids that it's not the size of the gift or how much is spent on it but the thought and effort that goes behind the gift. Boy does that sound like my own mother but I can't help it. It's true.

The reflection made me think of my own cherished gifts. I have gotten so many of them over the course of my 44 years of life that most are bound to be forgotten. No offense to anyone who may have gotten me gifts in the past. It's not that I don't appreciate them and it's not that I don't love them but most times unless I write it down, I don't remember the details of those gifts 10, 12, or even 16 years later.

Except there was one gift I remember well. When my first child was born over 16 years ago I am pretty sure I received a lot of gifts, flowers and teddy bears. I am certain of it. I think. I don't know. I don't remember. But I do remember very clearly ONE gift that I got on that day.

After the baby was born, my mother, who was waiting in the lobby, came strolling into the room to see me. She had seen the baby in his bassinette and had the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face. She was truly beaming with pride. She was a brand new grandmother for the very first time.

She was also carrying a balloon. A big mylar Precious Moments "It's A Boy" balloon that cost a couple of dollars. That was all she had. This big balloon and a big smile. She apologized for not having more to give me and I told her that was just fine. And I have never forgotten it. And I don't think I ever will.

Where Have You Been?

I have been so busy lately with other projects that I simply have let my blog fall off the radar. With the holidays and my dad's recent passing, life still goes on and on and on. There is so much on my plate with my older ones in high school I am trying to keep up with all that goes on there not just with homework but with their sports as well. They go to a Catholic school so volunteering is essential and involvement is really key to their success. So that's that. Then there is baseball, cross country, and basketball. Practices and games and any other social activities that they need to be driven to. There is also the weekend SAT class for my older one as well as weekend baseball showcase camps.

The little ones are active too. My princess is in soccer but thankfully wrapping that up. She also has her homework and other activities she likes to do. She also has CCD.

The kids are not overbooked but I am. I don't really mind it in fact I think I am quite good at it. It keeps me busy and productive and I don't mind the work. I just feel bad sometimes when my blog activity takes a back seat.

My latest project is starting my princess' own blog. She is a terrific story writer and there is nothing more that I would love than to put her stories up on a blog for others to read. The stories are quite funny and interesting. She tries her heart out to get all of the words spelled correctly. Of course then there are the pictures that she draws to accompany the story. Truly hilarious and I would love to share all of that with my fellow bloggers. Maybe this weekend I will be able to set it up.

I have re-engaged myself in my own Organizing Blog that is really my secret passion. Won't you please visit it here and consider adding me to your blog reader? There will be menus, easy recipes,and all kinds of organizing projects along the way.

Happy Friday everyone!

Drawings

My princess was at it again. Yesterday I found her in my office at the desk drawing her little heart out. I can't explain this talent she has. Neither myself or my husband can draw. Well he is a little bit better than me and somewhat on the artistic side. But I notice with her she has a passion to draw and create art whether it is painting, sculpting, or making jewelry. I notice she loves to have her hand in something artistic at all times. Here are a two of the creations she came up with yesterday.

Here she is jumping rope while two bunnies watch her. She just learned how to jump rope which has quickly become another of her passions.



In case you didn't get a clear shot of what one of the bunny's faces looks like she drew you an up close picture of it.

My Perfect Pantry

So excited! My pantry is featured this week here.

Check it out and also check out this blog and my other blog in general. I would love to have you as a reader.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Isn't She Cute?

Yesterday my princess came home from school and in her planner was her homework assignment. I am beginning to really love first grade! And I love that she is taking her work seriously enough to look like this.

Whew..where did time go?

All of my followers must be thinking that I fell off the face of the earth. Actually I have been working hard at some various projects that just take up most of my time. One of them is this and the other is this.

For two weeks in July I was also away at jury duty which was a most awesome experience that I promise to blog about one day in the near future.

I've been working on some business stuff while trying to brace myself for the coming school year that is about to start in just 12 hours. The older ones are off to high school and the little ones are in elementary and preschool. Good thing I am organized or I fear I would never make it.

Back to planning dinners a week in advance, preparing and planning for school lunches, and waking up early in the morning to get everyone ready for school and out the door.

I have a new driver in the family so maybe I can get him to drive us to school. And then while he is driving us I might be able to catch a few zzzzzzzzzzzzzz's in the car.

RIP MJ

Unless you have been hiding under a rock this past week, you know the tragic news of Michael Jackson. Now admittedly, I did not really follow MJ since "Bad". I just thought he was going off the deep end with the crazy behavior. I liked some of the newer music like "Man In The Mirror", "Feed The World", and "Black or White"...but his behavior and the accusations and the plastic surgery caused me to lose interest.

However this was not how I felt growing up. Now that I am approaching 44 years of age, most of my life had some piece of the Jackson empire in it whether it was the Jackson 5, the Jacksons, or MJ. In the spirit of this week I revisited my albums, youtube and my ipod to enjoy the music that I grew up with and was amazed at how so MANY songs from many different eras brought back a distinctive memory. I don't know of another group or singer that has spanned my life through music as clearly as MJ has.

When I was growing up in elementary school in the early to mid 70s, we all tried to do the robot dance in Dancing Machine. Even though I could not dance like this I knew the words and I sang the songs. Include in there "Ben" and "I Want You Back" (which is one of my top 5 Jackson songs). Then I went to junior high school from 1977- 1980 and we oozed the Jacksons and MJ there too with my personal favorites "Shake Your Body" and "Off The Wall". In high school, obviously it was Thriller. Gosh, they played so many MJ songs at my senior prom. I don't have a favorite but I know the words to each one on this album. In college, it was "Bad" which is one of my all time favorite videos. I loved MTV at that time. It was new and exciting. It was something that I had to distract me from my college homework. MTV was a neat outlet. Back then it was all about the videos that I really liked so much. "We Are The World" was a great video and I still love to re-watch it naming all the stars in the video and drooling over the younger and oh-so-hot Bruce Springsteen.

After I grew up out of college, I appreciated more of the charity type of songs that MJ produced and sang like "Heal The World" and "Man In The Mirror"...such beautiful songs about giving and loving and helping.

In the mid to late 90s and into the 2000's I didn't care for MJ because of the strangeness that followed him. I was disturbed by the molestation allegations and I still don't know how I feel about his involvement (if he did it or didn't do it). He didn't produce much after this and I lost track of him. But now that he has tragically died at a young age, I am really enjoying my ipod and youtube reliving my memories of yesteryear. It was such a great time to grow up.

How do you feel about MJ? Have you been reliving music from the past like I have?

Has It Been A Month Really?

I just noticed that it has been a month since my last blog post...shame on me. I feel like I should join that group "Blogging Without Obligation". I must have lost some followers along the way. :(

But it was not without reason. With my summer vacation (where my laptop conveniently broke and I could not blog from the vacation trail), all of my kid's activities (isn't summer supposed to slow down?), and my business ventures and social networking it's no wonder I have not had any time to blog on here. Oh and did I mention that my home computer crashed too so I have been spending time trying to reinstall every program on there that gave me such great convenience?

So my goal is to blog as soon as possible regarding my summer vacation which took us through our great state of Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. It was not just a vacation but a tour of colleges for my older guy who will be going off to college in two years. Every time I say that I shake my head in amazement that it is not far off.

I will also blog my kids activities between the baseball tourneys, the basketball league, dancing recitals, and swimming lessons, it will fill up the holes of my blog.

And when am I not pursuing a new business venture..ummmm..NEVER! It's always something in my mind. But check it out on my two newer blogs...and if you can follow me there or add my blogs to your reader I would be forever grateful.

The Mommy Organizer
Organizing Your Home and Life

Feed A Cold....With Exercise

Yesterday morning I woke up with the first signs of a cold..sore throat and post nasal drip. I started to become upset because we are going on our one and only summer vacation next week and the last thing I need is to be bogged down with a nasty cold on the trip. I took a few vitamin C which always gives me acid reflux but I take it anyway hoping to fight off the cold. All day long I was feeling the sore throat and it was making me feel tired and lazy. I contemplated calling off my personal training session. I don't have that many left and I don't want to waste one on a day where my performance is not optimal. But something made me keep the session and off I dragged my achy body to the gym.

When I got there I did my usual warm up which is a mile long jog around the upstairs track. It was ok..not my best and not my worst but the throat was bothering me and I was feeling lightheaded and my stomach was acidic from the vitamins and the drip. Disgusting.

When I got back to the exercise floor my trainer, Amy, tells me that today was going to be a unique day. We were going to be doing our entire hour long workout with these ceiling straps that dangle almost to the floor.



There were so many different exercises and they were extremely tough and left me winded and dripping with sweat all hour long. But I made it through somehow without barfing, although a couple of times I swear I almost was going to.

I was beat on the way home. I dragged myself into the house, took a shower, and went to bed. And then the most amazing thing happened this morning. I woke up and my cold and sore throat were completely gone.

Maybe there is something to this exercise thing. It must build up immunities. Maybe I sweated the cold out. I am not sure but there is one thing for sure...I know what I will be doing if I ever feel another cold coming on.

End of a Great School Year

The school year is coming to a close and it is bittersweet for me. It's been a hectic year logistically because this is the first and only year that all 4 of my kids were in different schools. This made getting them to and from a big huge challenge. In all honesty that was the only draw back.

I enjoyed watching my princess in her first year of school. She really thrived in kindergarten much better than I had ever hoped she would. Her teacher was so wonderful and the year was filled with so many exciting lessons and activities. She started off the year learning how to read words and ended the year reading full books. Not only is she reading but I have noticed that she is actually understanding and comprehending what she is reading. She is able to feel what the author is saying. She is in love with the library and we just went and checked out 15 books this month for her to read.




I am also so pleased with the great progress that my baby boy is making too in his preschool. He is speaking so well now and his thoughts are so cute and keep me smiling. His latest venture has been on the computer. He loves the computer and enjoys playing on some of the reading websites like starfall and funbrain.




The older boys had a great year too. My younger teen ends his middle school years on a happy note. Straight As and a first place math trophy. He is off to a foreign school next year where the only person he will know roaming the halls is his older brother. He is going to miss his friends, I know that. But we are able to give him a really great opportunity at a wonderful private Catholic high school that will hopefully open more doors and teach him on a deeper level than he would have gotten at the high school near our house. I know he is sad but I have faith that he will meet some really great kids there too.



What can I say about my oldest boy except that I am finding bittersweet in all of the days that lie ahead of me. I no longer feel like I have oodles of time left before he is walking out the door to college. It's only two years away and suddenly two years feels like tomorrow. When he was on the JV baseball team I didn't worry because that meant he still had Varsity. But now he is at Varsity and there is nothing after that at high school. He is getting his high school ring in a few months and the milestones keep rushing in. It feels like it is all coming so fast. He is into men's clothing, shoes, and smelling nice. He is not shaving yet thank goodness. Still a baby face to me. I remember when he was a baby. I had all kinds of time with him then.




We are going off on our summer vacation next week and I think that there will only be a few more of them before he is off to college. I hear a lot of parents say our jobs are to give them roots and wings. I like the roots. I don't like the wings.

I promise to embrace the roots as long as I can and give thanks for all of my four wonderful blessings. I love them so very much.

My trusty old friend

I knew something would eventually happen to my computer's hard drive. After all, it is older than my princess by a few months. That would make it 6+ years. The computer has seen me have another child since then. It has seen us buy a new larger flat screen monitor for it. It has seen us evolve with newer programs for preschool children that will only tax it's memory and processor speed. Two older boys would now do their homework on this computer that used to be just mine. It's been through thousands of downloaded photos. It never failed me, ever. Sure it's slowed down over the years and has caused me to reboot many many times but I felt loyal to it. I never looked to replace it. Yes I knew one day it would die. I knew I would have to back up my files. I kept postponing that process hoping that it would come more later than sooner.

But just last week I opened up my own account on igoogle and google docs. I got out of my denial and purchased a few jump drives and emptied all of my photos onto a jump drive, just in case. I started uploading my important files to google docs and also downloaded my outlook calendar to google, just in case. I was going to work on email and contacts this weekend. I was going to do the rest of the files today, just in case. But last night while working on my trusty Dell in the midnight hours while everyone else had gone to sleep, something went terribly wrong. The screen froze. But that had happened before and maybe I had too many windows open. I rebooted and then got the message that this might be the end. It was the blue screen of death. The one where it gives you the message that some important looking and too long sounding file is corrupt. What was I going to do. I had not yet completed my documents backup. I rebooted. It didn't help. I rebooted again. Nothing. The tower started making funny noises. This wasn't good. I knew it. My just in case moment came and I felt panicky. I lost my internet access. I lost my email. All of them. I could not get to my blogs or my reader. Nothing.

I went to my closet where I have carefully stored all of my computers disks and backups. The only thing I knew was to reinstall Windows and pray. I found the disk, put it in, and hope that something can be saved. It rebooted, reinstalled, but everything was lost. My internet access, drivers, files, email, applications, programs, and my bookmarks. I turned it off and went to bed. I couldn't sleep. I felt like I lost a special friend.

When I awoke this morning, it felt like a sad day. No computer. I was going to have to start shopping around for a new one. Initially I thought of just starting from scratch on the trusty old Dell but I have come to the realization that 6 years to a computer is like 90 years to a human. I am going to retire and bury my trusty Dell and replace it with another Dell, a newer and improved model. I am sure I will get to love my new Dell, once I buy it and set it up. But I know that it will never be the same as my old best friend. RIP my old Dell and I hope that the new Dell is as good to me as you were.

So Much Going On

There is just too much going on but for some strange reason my brain likes being on overload. I have always been that way but never could explain it. A lot of times people say to me "Where do you get all of your energy" and I tell them I have no clue. I can no longer blame it on the caffeine from my daily diet cokes (jumping for joy). But the strange thing is that the more sedentary I am, the more tired I am and the less productive I become....ie, lazy...and I hate that. I guess I will never fully retire.

I cram a lot of things in my one day. It's like a personal challenge to try to get as much done but a lot of things that I do are just plain fun to me...like playing with my kids, polishing my daughter's nails, cooking my family dinner, making brownies, playing on facebook and catching up with old friends and relatives, sweeping up the mud and dirt that the kids drag in, working out with my husband, organizing, decluttering, cleaning, yada, yada, yada.

I feel compelled to tell how I do all of this every day. Take my 4 kids to 4 different schools and then manage to get myself to work, take on the demands of my job, pick the 4 kids up from the 4 different schools, make dinner, do laundry, get at least 2 of the 4 kids to some sort of sport or extra curricular activity, get baths done, homework done, get the kids to bed, and then get myself to bed. I swear seeing it written down on paper makes my head spin. I forgot to mention that I pay the bills, clean up, prepare for the next day, and countless other things. I have a husband who helps A LOT..thank goodness for that because I know people who don't have that support...but even with his help, I seem to be the one driving the train. I am ok with that because I am a bit of a control freak in that respect. Do you kind of relate to that because I think a lot of us moms do.

I love this life. I wouldn't slow it down at all because it keeps me fit, physically and mentally. One of my goals in life, god willing, is to be active, fit and healthy enough for my future grandchildren. I want to be a hands on mother and hands on grandmother. I can't imagine retiring because even if I retired from my working life, I would still find some other ways to occupy my time like spending time with my kids, babysitting grandkids, traveling with my husband.....

the list goes on and on and on and on and on......

My New Hobby/Blog

I have a new blog and I am so excited. I have been busy researching content and drawing on personal experiences to fill the blog with all kinds of fun stuff. If you get a chance please visit it and I would love it if you would subscribe to my feed and follow me on this exciting journey. And if you are so inclined, please pass me along to other friends or tweets. I would really appreciate it.

The Mommy Organizer



And if you are ever in need of a blog makeover, this girl is a gem.

Teacher Conference

This morning we went to our end of the year teacher conference with our princess' kindergarten teacher. We have really been very pleased with this particular teacher and the school in general. The school is so well run and organized. Her growth has really exceeded our expectations.

I was particularly happy to learn that the system by which she is evaluated for her reading level is very thorough. I don't know all of the metrics that the teacher is looking at but she did explain it on a high level. At the beginning of kindergarten they are usually reading at an "A" level and by the end of the year the school expects them to be reading at a "C" level. Our teacher's goal is to read at a "D" level. Our princess is reading at an "H" level so I am particularly happy about that. The one thing that the teacher explained to us was that the school has a really great resource center that allows the children to use materials that suit their individual learning levels, not necessarily the level of the other students. So if there are children that fall above or below the average level of the rest of the kids, the teacher can provide materials to each kid at that level. So that made me feel very good.

Her evaluation of her math skills went really well too. She knows how to tell time but now we are going to work on fractions of hours like half hour, 15 minutes past the hour, etc. She understands most denominations of money except for the quarter (but she sure knows how to spend it!). We will work on her money skills too. She also can add and subtract single digit numbers and can count to 100 by 10s and 5s and can count to 20 by 2s. So exciting.

One skill that I have been working on is money. I try to give her every opportunity to understand money because I think it is important to know these skills early on. When she got $5 from the tooth fairy a few weeks ago I took her to the toy store and helped her pick out something that was within her price range. I also let her pay for it at the counter and let her receive the change. We counted the change together. She has a piggy bank and we put our change in the piggy bank. Whenever she gets money she puts some of it in the piggy bank.

It will be bittersweet when we end the school year because I am going to miss her teacher very much. Hopefully we will still stay in touch.

Picnic Fun

Yesterday was such a great day with my two little ones. First stop was at the daycare where they had a special breakfast treat for all of the moms. Donuts and juice. I was so glad to have some time to spend with my little man while we drank juice and ate donuts together.





Afterwards it was off to my princess' school where they had a special Parent Picnic filed with fun and games in the morning and then a picnic lunch. The games gave me great ideas for future parties here at the house with my little ones.

Bouncy Ball Races



Bubble Making Station



Sack Races



Eating our lunch together



Time to go back to class



The whole class together



Time for a goofy picture



Even though I was so hot and sweaty and exhausted from all of the activities I really enjoyed making friends with some of the other moms. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. It was so nice to be in a circle of friends.

Lost First Tooth

The other day my princess lost her first tooth. I have to say though that I have been through this with my two older boys so the novelty of this has worn off a bit. Even so, she's my princess and this is yet another reminder that my little girl is growing up.

She looks so different.






She is still my precious princess.

A Very Special Princess Birthday

I am not a big believer in going somewhere expensive and overpriced for birthday parties. I have done this in the past like the bowling alley or Chuckie Cheese but it has been rare and everytime I have done it, I remind myself that I can put on just as good of a party at a fraction of the price right at home. This year I did just that for my princess...it was a pool party with lots of games and swimming right in our backyard. Even the cupcakes were homemade. A Dad of one of the girls who came told me that he really enjoyed just relaxing in a backyard home party instead of those over-stimulating, headache inducing, game room type of parties. Here are a few photos that commemorate the occasion.

First we had to make the cupcakes....



I made them with a regular chocolate store bought cake mix and lined the cupcake tin with pink liners. I frosted them with a vanilla buttercream frosting that is so easy to make. The recipe is below. After frosting the cupcakes, I sprayed a pink color mist food coloring on the cupcakes to give it a slight tint. I then sprinkled on some ice cream sprinkles to give it a party look. Play around with the food mist colorings and decorations for a fun cupcake.

Buttercream Frosting:

1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened or Crisco
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk

In large bowl, beat together sugar, butter, vanilla and milk until smooth. If necessary add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency. Mix everything well.

Chocolate buttercream frosting - add 1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa.


After the guests arrived, we jumped into the pool with some pool toys and rafts.



More Swimming



Even the little guys played together



After getting out of the pool, we played a few games such as egg race, sack race, and fill up the jug with water (I was having so much fun with the last one that I didn't get a photo of it). For the egg race, get two hard boiled eggs and two large spoons. Make teams. Each person has to walk around a cone and back balancing an egg on a spoon. If the egg falls off the person has to pick it up and put it back on. The team that finishes first wins. Fill the jug up with water is also fun. You need two empty jugs, two buckets of water, and two scoops. The object of the game is for the first person on each team goes to the bucket of water, scoops up water in their scooper and goes over the jug and drops the water into the jug. They run back and the next person does the same thing. The first team to fill the jug up to the top wins. Because the kids were smaller I used a half-gallon empty jug to fill up and a small paper cup as the scooper. The kids had loads of fun with the games.


More Egg Racing



Sack Race...we recruited the teens to make this game more interesting and believe me, this was the most fun to watch



Slide



Happy Birthday 6 year old!

Willpower

For as long as I can remember I have been a diet coke addict. It's been so long that I don't remember when it started. My habit usually took me to anywhere from 2-3 cans a day. I tried to stop so many times but it never worked. I even blogged about it.

But 11 days ago on a Saturday morning, in the midst of my big workout regiment, I admitted to my trainer/friend that I felt sluggish because I had not had a diet coke yet. She looked at me curiously and we started talking about it. I admitted that I had a hard time breaking the habit and I felt I needed it to get me going in the morning. Just talking about it made me feel better about wanting to do something about it. She asked me to try hard to stop this time and if I did drink a diet coke I would have to admit it and then she would work me out 200% harder on our next workout. I think that worked because it got me to stop and now I am 11 days clean of diet coke.

Definitely I think about it a lot. I think about how good it would taste right about now. That's when I turn my thoughts to something else and grab my bottled water. People are asking me "are you getting headaches" or "are you going through withdrawal" and the answers are surprisingly NO. Which led me to wonder how much of my "addiction" was physiological or psychological. I think it is the latter.

I don't think I could give any good advice on this subject since it took me so long to cure my own self. But what worked for me was an objective third party to give me a good challenge that I could not pass up. For some reason, this time, it worked.

Let Them Misspell

My daughter is in kindergarten and we are so lucky to have a really wonderful teacher. Early on in the year the teacher spoke with us about her plans to teach them how to write sentences and short essays. I was pleased with her aggressive approach. One of her requests to us what that when she writes that we do not spell any words for her. We were supposed to encourage her to write the words how they sound. Spelling them for her does not get her to think about the word and phonics. So we did what sounded reasonable to us.

I deeply feel from that logic that my daughter has really learned so much about phonics and words and has improved in her spelling all on her own. And the essays we get from her are so cute and funny. The words are sometimes really big and to see her give her 100% effort on getting them right really warms my heart...and helps her to learn so much more. So if you want to really help your kids learn words and how to spell them, let them make mistakes on their own.

Menu Monday err..Wednesday

I like the idea of starting a Menu Monday....I had the menu all planned last weekend but failed to put it on my blog so here goes...a little bit late but here nonetheless.

Monday - Leftover Turkey from Easter, Stuffing, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes.

Tuesday - Ribeye Steak, buttered noodles, green beans, brownies

Wednesday - Pizza, mixed green salad

Thursday - Shrimp with orange pasta

Friday - Asian pork in the crockpot

Saturday - hamburgers/hot dogs, slaw salad, brownies

Sunday - Lasagna, garlic toast, mixed green salad

Enjoy your menu this week!