Joys In My Life

Meme Time

2012-02-23T14:11:00.000-05:00

I've been Meme tagged by Cat and I'm going to try to get this one done real quick, so I don't feel that I forget to do it. I'm usually notoriously bad at getting back to these.

The 11 questions I want answered:

Name the one product in your kitchen you can not function without. Olive oil if we are talking food product. My Kitchen Aid mixer if we are talking about a prep product.
If you can change your career decision, what would you like to be (disregard training, money etc- this is a dream job). This is easy, but I pick two. A high-school math teacher and a yoga teacher.
What is your favorite toy (as in gadget, craft item, etc). My daugher's iPad. It's even better than my iPhone.
What is your favorite book of all times? (or just choose one for now) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
If you could give your 16 year old self one bit of advice only, what would it be? - It will all be OK.
Chocolate or vanilla cake? And specifically what type. Chocolate, although my real favorite is carrot cake with real cream cheese icing.
Meat, fish or chicken? Fish! Especially salmon or tuna
On what would you spend R300 or 40US$ or the equivalent thereof as a spoil for yourself? A massage.
Which building in the whole wide world do you think is beautiful or have captured your attention? My favorite building is the Fine Arts Library on the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It's by Frank Furness who I think was a fabulous architect. This building was shown as a law library in the movie Philadelphia. This building is beautiful inside as well as outside.

If you could go on a dream holiday right now, no costs spared, to which one destination will you go and who will you take along? (no world tours allowed - one destination). Rome, Italy
If you were a flower, which one will you be. And why? A Chrysanthemum. They are by far my favorite flower.

Well, my putting in the picture messed up the numbers, but you get the idea. I'm going to get a pass on tagging for the next round, as I have to go bug my husband to stop working so we can leave for the wake of my grandfather.

Enjoy!!!

The Last Real Cowboy

2012-02-23T13:33:00.000-05:00

My grandfather passed away Tuesday evening. He was the only grandfather I ever knew and he was the best. My Dad's dad passed away when I was very little and I don't remember ever meeting him. So Poppy was all I had as grandfather's go. By the way, my absolutely fabulous grandmother does read my blog sometimes, so if you see this, "Well now, Rose Marie." LOL.

Poppy has had a long fight with Alzheimer's, so in some respects it is good his suffering is over. He's on to better places and eating donuts with the angels in the sky. I will always remember his stories of World War II, in which he was a Marine. I will always remember what he looked like coming to meet us on a tractor with the sun setting behind him as he finished work in the fields. I always remember the conversations we had while we picked blackberries along Pennypacker Lane. I'll always remember riding on his shoulders of his 6'3" frame and ducking under the door frames as we walked around. It's a wonder I became afraid of heights. I'll always remember the stories of how I was just like his brother who died in WWII. He always said I got my intelligence from his brother.

We'll be leaving soon for the wake and the funeral will be tomorrow. Phoebe will go with us and we'll leave the boys at home. I can't believe looking at pictures of Phoebe with Poppy when she was a year old that she'd become such a young lady that fits into my dresses.

By the way, for those of you who listen to the Flylady radio show, the title is from a song she plays and is one of the only country songs I really love. It's always reminded me of Poppy.

Awesome Toddler Pics and Au Gratin Potatoes

2012-02-21T16:21:00.000-05:00

I got some good pics of the boys over the past weekend. Enjoy!

Tommy with all his cuteness...

Here's the boys eating lunch one day this weekend!

Cutie Liam!!!

Tommy saying "Cheese" and showing us his chipped tooth!

Here's the boys outside getting ready to play with their ball.

Boys kicking the ball with Daddy

Liam showing us his best Primal Scream, as he is allowed to do that outside!

I also made Au Gratin Potatoes last night and they were so yummy. After seeing this recipe on Dinner A Love Story for this, I was in such a mood for it. I can now remember this recipe by heart, as it is so easy!!!! Here's how it looked:

Post Surgery Pic

2012-02-19T11:48:00.000-05:00

I'm sure it's hard to tell any changes as I'm wearing black, but needless to say, I always used to wear this dress with a bra on, and I don't have one on at all! I'm very happy with my new found curves! Best thing I ever did.

By the way, I know a lot of people think what will I do when I get older. My thought is, if I don't like them anymore, they can come out! Especially since this is not a forever surgery. The implants only last about 10 years and then they need to be replaced or come out.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T15:29:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone is having a great Valentine's Day!!! I'm feeling very blessed in love this Valentine's Day. Can't believe DH and I are still so happy in love!!! I also got to drive Phoebe to school today, as she did a great job making sure her bed was made and laundry in the hamper, but we realized at the bus stop that she forgot to grab her Valentine's Day cards before we left the house. So we went back to the house and I drove her to school. It was nice spending the extra time with her this morning. She's in 5th grade and that's only the second time I've ever done the drop off line in the morning.

Sorry I've been MIA, but I've been off taking Action very seriously. Here's some of the things I've done recently:

Made an appointment with a vascular surgeon about my varicose vein on the back of my right leg
Made appointments for Phoebe to have her HPV shots
Had a culposcopy done because I've been HPV positive two years in a row. Let me tell you, if you haven't ever had this done - you don't want it!
Called the preschool the boys are going to in September and got them on the roster to start full time then.
Got another elliptical machine so DH and I can work out together!!! It also arrived today, which is why I'm working from home and I could afford to drive Phoebe to school.
And I'm sure tons of other stuff that I'm forgetting right now.
And lots of great stuff at work that aren't worth mentioning. But I did get a great document done today for work that I'm very proud of and I had to call some people to talk about how proud I am for pulling that together! No one asked me to put this together and I think it will help so many people at work!

On my recovery from surgery back on Jan 5, I'm doing great! Today was the first day I could wear jeans without any compression garment on underneath. And it doesn't hurt! I will still say that the tummy tuck was the hardest to recover from. I can also feel the movement of the muscles where my breasts are and that feels kind of odd, but the doctor says that will become less noticeable over time. I'm currently cleared to begin using the elliptical again. The doctor still does not want me to do any abs or upper body strengthening exercises yet.

I will also say I'm very happy with how I look. At first my breasts were pretty swollen and much bigger than what they are turning out to be, and I was scared they would stay that way. But after a month post-surgery, they are looking very nice, natural and what I wanted them to look like.

Word for 2012 - ACTION

2012-02-03T14:39:00.000-05:00

My word last year, if I never posted it was "Dream". I wanted to dream about all the great things I wanted to do in the future, now that my dream of having a complete family was realized. Last year was about dreaming about what was next. This year's word is Action! It's time to take action on what I've dreamed up last year. When DH and I talked he suggested "Execute", but that has such a work ring to it, I'm not a fan. Action is really resonating with me though.

I've already started working with this word. I've been taking lots of action both at work and home. My surgery alone is an example of taking action that I've been wanting for quite some time. Now I'm off to look at my to do lists that I've been keeping track of and seeing what's next for me to take action on.

Tommy Chipped a Tooth

2012-01-19T20:11:00.000-05:00

Tommy fell on the ceramic tile floor in the kitchen while I was at work today. Niki called me and I immediately made an appointment with the dentist for that afternoon. I asked her to give him ibuprofen for any pain and let him have some applesauce for lunch in case is was bothering him. He took a good nap before I took him to the dentist and he was what the dentist said was his best patient that day. And he went to our dentist, not a pediatric dentist so that was a big feat for him. He shook the dentist's hand, took a ride on the dentist chair, laid back in the chair and got everything checked out. The dentist doesn't think there's much to be done, but keep an eye on it and make sure there's no sensitivity eating or drinking. He doesn't seem to, as he ate and drank fine at dinner. The dentist asked me to call on Monday morning and let him know how things are going. He said if he did anything it would be to file it down a little and coat it with something if it was rough. Apparently his daughter did the same thing when she was a toddler too. So I think he's fine, he just gets to look like the bruiser he is until his baby teeth fall out. Thankfully, it's not that noticeable, even if he's smiling.

Back to Work

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday at the doctor's office, I was cleared to drive and go back to work, but no physical exertion yet, meaning no working out.

Let the madness begin....

Getting Back to Normal, Current Guilty Pleasures and Helpful Household Hints

2012-01-17T10:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the first day I really felt like myself, having energy and not wanting to go take a nap after just a little bit of moving around. I was able to get some cleaning done and took care of the boys by myself from after nap time, through the witching hour of dinner, bath, book time and bedtime. And I was feeling fine the whole time. Other days helping with the boys, I just wanted to go pass out. I go see the doctor at 11:30 AM today, so we'll see what he says and if I'm cleared to go back to work. I have to admit that I do love wearing the bandage wrap around my stomach still. It seems to help me keep moving around and not feel uncomfortable. It's funny, the experience has led me to wonder if there is something to wrapping your stomach post-delivery. I remember seeing a show on it and I think they were saying that doctors said there was nothing to it, but considering what the plastic surgeon is having me wear the compression garment and wrap my tummy to get everything to be "sucked back in". I do wonder if there is something that it might help post-partum. Not that I ever plan to be that way again.

So while I've been resting, I've gotten to indulge myself in some guilty pleasures. I've been watching "The Tudors" on Netflix on my daughter's iPad. I had only ever found time to watch the first season. I'm now on Season 4!!!! I'm loving it!!! The other two movies DH and I just watched back-to-back was the Swedish version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Girl Who Played with Fire." My neighbor lent them to us and they were amazing!!! I haven't read the books, so we had no idea what to expect. I've heard critics say the new Hollywood version is not as good and we haven't seen that, but I can see why. It was just unbelievable. If you like action/suspense/mystery type movies, this is for you! Of course, DH didn't mind watching a movie with English subtitles, as being a hearing-impaired person (not that he will admit), he doesn't miss a single part of the dialogue. When we were starting to date, I got him hooked on watching foreign movies with subtitles. Usually the story lines are better than Hollywood ones and you don't mind reading the bottom of the screen. I will admit "Like Water for Chocolate" is one of my favorite movies with subtitles. It's so romantic and extreme.

Last but not least, my helpful cleaning hint for the day. If you have a really disgusting inside of a microwave because you've been sick and no one wipes it out after they use it. I usually clean it out every few days to keep it from driving me crazy. And with me being sick, we've had a lot of food to reheat that splatters nasty - chili, spaghetti sauce, etc. So when you're feeling better and you're faced with this awful looking mess, take a glass measuring cup, or any other cup that is microwavable safe and fill it with water. You can also add a tablespoon of baking soda if you also need to get rid of some odors. Cook the water in the microwave for 5 minutes on high. If the water starts to boil, that's great! After it's done cooking, let it sit for a few minutes to soak in all the steam. You should now be able to go at the mess with a washcloth or sponge very quickly, as all the mess is steamy and ready to come off with very little work. My microwave is much cleaner now!!!

Overdoing it Post-Surgery

2012-01-10T16:40:00.000-05:00

I went to the doctor for my follow up today and guess what? I'm overdoing it. Surprise, surprise. I'm the queen of "get back on my feet" and get stuff done. I swear I think I'm completely incapable of sitting still. I'm in bed with my feet up on doctor's orders and I think I'm starting to twitch! I'll never forget when I couldn't stop bleeding post-partum with Phoebe over 11 years ago. The doctor asked me if I was overdoing it. I said of course not! I'm sitting around taking care of a baby, not training for a marathon! She then asked me how many times I was going up and down the stairs. Ummmm - whenever I need to, that's no big deal. Apparently it is. Climbing stairs multiple times a day post-partum is considered too much physical activity. OK..... I was forced to agree to take everything with me downstairs in the morning that I would need for the day and then do the same going upstairs when I went to bed that night. I was only allowed to do the stairs those two times for the next two weeks.

So I'm trying to be good. I even called my DH on his work cell phone to ask him to come upstairs and talk to me about what Phoebe needs to do this afternoon and evening at her ice skating classes. I've got my compression garment on for my tummy tuck and lipo to pull it all back together. The doctor said I was looking a bit swollen and puffy today in my abdomen, which I have to agree. That's where he said I was probably doing to much and needed the rest. I'm about to look up the breast massage techniques on his website as I have to do that 3X a day starting today. The breasts are still swollen and they look kind of how they do when my milk first comes in after having the babies. Which I guess is good, because I pretty much wanted them to look like how they did when I was breastfeeding (after the initial swelling went down from my milk coming in), which was a natural, very nice size. I should end up a 34D when I'm fully healed.

Post-Surgery Update

2012-01-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday evening, I was able to take off the compression shorts, gauze, bandages, etc. and take a shower. DH came in and helped me wash my hair, which was lovely. So I feel a bit more human now. The pain pump also came off. I had to pull the catheter from the pain pump out of the incision last night too. It came out pretty easily. I also had a foley catheter that I got to remove before the shower. They sent me home with it so I didn't have to keep getting up to go to the bathroom. When I was going home with it, I wasn't that crazy about it, but believe me when the pain kicked in and I just wanted to take my pain meds and sleep it off, going to the bathroom was nice not to have as a priority, LOL!

So post-shower, all I have left is the drain from my tummy-tuck incision. I think that will be taken out at my next post-op appointment tomorrow, but we'll see. And I have a lot of bruising and swelling. All I'm currently allowed to wear is a sports bra and DH's boxer briefs (with the drain bulb from the tummy incision safety pinned to them). I'm wearing a bathrobe over it all and fuzzy socks to keep my feet warm.

I'm getting up and moving a little, but not overdoing it. So I'll get up and do a few things that need to be done and then sit back down for awhile and relax, maybe even take a nap. I'm working from home this week as I can't drive yet. I'll see the doctor tomorrow and find out what my next care instructions are.

I'm getting pretty excited right now, as it's been 5 hours since I last took Percoset (the pain medicine) and I'm not feeling the excruciating soreness that I had been in the past. Maybe today I'll be able to not take those so much. I'm never very happy having to take medicine. I'm going to go downstairs now and make a protein shake with banana and make sure I'm getting my vitamins in. I'll be logging into work soon and checking up on things that need taking care of, but I shouldn't have any meetings to call into until tomorrow.

Telling You About Me

2012-01-07T09:22:00.000-05:00

I won an award from I Believe in Miracles and have been challenged to tell you 7 things about myself. Thank you so much for the award. Hope these whet your appetite to know more about me:

1. I drink French Press coffee every morning. Usually using Starbucks French Roast or Italian Roast. I love my coffee very strong with a little sugar and a little milk, not half & half.
2. I'm a perfect size 39 in Prada shoes and I'm starting to swear I will only buy that brand for heels. They are so comfortable, I can run in them. They give me plenty of room in my toe area and I can feel weight in my heel, not just on the balls of my feet. If you remember, one of my goals was to get back to wearing heels at work, and these are making that goal much easier. I hate wearing uncomfortable shoes. When I'm not wearing heels to work, I love sneakers and Sketchers.
3. I am really a shy person, who has worked hard since high school to overcome my shyness. I still get really nervous when I'm about to talk to a group of people. I'm fine one-on-one or in groups under four, but over that and I'm a nervous wreck. Kind of funny considering I manage a group of 11 people right now.
4. I'm still so much in love with my husband that when I see him walk into a room, or if we're meeting up in the middle of the day (usually cause my office is near the train station that he sometimes takes when he has to travel to work), I still get this feeling of "Wow! What a gorgeous guy!"
5. When I was younger, I would color my hair anything but blonde. I didn't want to be blonde because I didn't want people to think I was stupid. Now I can't see myself as anything other than the platinum blonde hair color I have. I like to say I'm an ambassador for smart blondes.
6. I learned to read when I was 3 years old. I don't ever remember a time in my life that I couldn't read.
7. I can eat very very well with chopsticks. To the point that Chinese people in the office (like my new boss I got in December) say I hold them like someone who grew up eating with them. I sort of did. My best friend in 4th grade was Korean. She was adopted, but her adopted single mom wanted her and her sister to know all about their ethnic heritage. Her mom made the best kimchi (Korean spicy pickled cabbage), which I still love!!!!

Hmm.... who to pick for this:

123 Blog (You were picked already, but I haven't seen your response, so I'm going to pick you too!!)
Swimming Against the Tide
Juggling Act of Life
It's a Crazy Beautiful Life
Strong Blonde
Baby, Borneo or Bust
Peesticks and Stones

Hope everyone is enjoying their beginning of 2012!!! I know I'm psyched!!!

Mommy Makeover

2012-01-06T23:11:00.000-05:00

I've been absent, I know. However, I've been very very busy on my goals. Work is going great! The house is getting decluttered and organized. And yesterday, I had achieved one of my goals I've had for a long time. I always said that when I was finished having children I would get my breasts enhanced. I've never been very gifted in that area. I was an A cup for most of my life, managed to fill out a B in college and then after having the kids, I went back to a 34A. Ugh. I've always loved how full my breasts were when I was pregnant and wished they could stay that way.

So my best friend that lives a few minutes from me is an Operating Room nurse and has worked with most of the plastic surgeons in the area. She highly recommended Dr. Chris Saunders and he was wonderful! We went with increasing me to a 34D, which is very proportionate considering I'm 5'7" with broad shoulders and decent size hips. We also did a mini-tummy tuck since having twins did leave me with extra skin on my abdomen that no amount of working out could make go away. It was just excess skin. Since I was also already going to be in surgery, we decided to do liposuction on my buttocks/outer thigh area. That has always been my problem weight area.

I hope no one thinks I'm being vain or superficial doing this. Please don't leave me those comments or I will delete them. I did this completely for me. As I've gotten older, I have really prioritized working out and I love my body when I feel strong and have energy. Ever since the boys were born, I really prioritized getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight, working out after the kids go to sleep at night. I'm so excited about what I've done and I love my friends and family that have supported my decision to do this.

BTW, the next thing I'm going to do to feel good about myself, is I have the name of a vascular surgeon who can fix the varicose veins on the back of my right knee. It's only on the back of that leg and it makes me so self-conscious when I wear skirts above my knee without stockings.

I'm looking forward to my healing process right now, taking care of myself following my doctor's orders for rest and getting back to exercise when he says I'm ready. Phoebe and I are looking forward to starting to take yoga classes together at a local yoga studio.

The Boys at 30 Months

2011-11-29T21:21:00.000-05:00

The boys are officially 2 1/2 years old today!!! In six months, they will be 3 years old! I wanted to take some pics of the boys tonight to commemorate the day, but they were exhausted. I wanted to take the pictures with the boys in my favorite of their pajamas, so we waited until they ate dinner and got them changed afterward. They ate so much at dinner tonight!!! We had pineapple chicken sausages, roasted rosemary potatoes, and steamed veggies. They had seconds and in some cases thirds. I haven't seen them eat this much in ages. So we did PJs and then I got them on the couch. These are what I got.....

So how are the boys personalities these days? They are amazing, exhausting, sweet, lovable and amazing!!!

Tommy is my bull in a china shop, but he's also very happy and always expressive. You can see the way he is saying "cheese" with his hands included in the pictures above. He's also a bit of a drama king these days. Liam will just touch him in a thought to push him and Tommy will collapse to the floor and cry. It's really pretty funny how he over-reacts sometimes. He is also very verbal about what his interests are. I'll say "It's time for bed." I get from Tommy, "I not!" We went to the park on Sunday and when it was time to go, Phoebe got Liam to walk to the car with no problems, but I eventually had to pick up Tommy as he made a break for going back up the slides. He got very upset and said "I not! I need the park!" I eventually got him to say "Bye bye, park. See you another day!" But all in all, Tommy is usually the happiest kid ever. He wakes up with a smile on his face and if he's doing what he wants unimpeded these days, he's really really happy. He loves books, but we can't trust Tommy with any books, even board books. He pulls them apart to shreds if you give him a book when he is in bed.

Liam is sweet, sensitive and loves to be held. I mean really really loves to be held. If I knew he loved to be held so much, I would have bought one baby sling and at least had my hands free. A common phrase from Liam is, "Up, please!" He loves to give kisses and knows how happy it makes me to say "mini-me", so he says it for me on command all the time. He is truly my mini-me. He really looks like my identical twin, but a boy version. He's very serious and loves to read books. We could even trust Liam with a regular book in bed and he would just turn the pages carefully and pretend he is reading.

One of the things that makes me the most proud is how good the boys are with their manners. Tommy has learned to say "May I?" instead of "Gimme that." Liam doesn't even think of saying "Gimme that." Both boys know their pleases and thank yous and Tommy even said "Excuse me" to someone on Thanksgiving when he was passing by them in the room. They are learning to say "Bless you" when someone sneezes. I'm so proud of my little boys and how they are learning about the world and growing both literally and mentally. Next step after the holidays - potty training!

Villanova Football Game

2011-11-28T09:00:00.038-05:00

DH went to Villanova University for his MBA and he loves to take us to Villanova basketball and football games. This was against University of Delaware and unfortunately we lost :-(

The game was played not at either university, but at a soccer stadium for the Philadelphia Union team. It was really cool. Here was the view of the waterfront from our seats.

We were all decked out in full Villanova attire. I'm pretty happy with this pic DH took of me.

Me and my girl, Phoebe. She was so into the game. She won that hat at a game in the alumni tent before the game, lucky girl!

Here's DH and I, photo courtesy of Phoebe. She is a good photographer!

Phoebe then took over the camera for awhile. Here's one moment she noticed of someone wearing their pajamas to the game.

She liked the cheerleaders and the team mascot. They are the Villanova Wildcats. Here's the cheerleaders showing off their gymnastic skills.

Here's the team mascot!

Here's a pre-snap shot of the teams.

And yes, they lost, but there will be another game next year. This was the last football game of their season, so "Let's go Nova!!!"

Official Thanksgiving Pictures

2011-11-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

Phoebe and her aunt prepping one of our two turkeys. They were huge at 35 and 36 pounds.

The stuffing of the bird! You can see Phoebe is having a hard time.

We cook them overnight. They went in about 11 PM on Wednesday night at 250 degrees. We turned it up to 300 degrees at 4 AM and then up to 350 at 7:30 AM. They were done about 10 AM on Thursday. They take up the whole oven!!!

Here's the table with the turkey and all the trimmings.

Phoebe and the boys all tried to tackle eating the same turkey leg. Finally, their dad got what was left of the turkey leg. Here's Phoebe tackling the leg. Notice all the pies behind her. I made those the day before.

Here's Tommy trying to tackle the same leg when Phoebe was done. The boys both had fresh haircuts from Wednesday morning when their dad took them to the barber. #2 clipper on back and sides and scissor to match on top. Or as my one friend said, "time to join the military hair". I love them with short hair.

Liam looks happy to have his chance at the leg when Tommy was done! He also liked the cranberry sauce, which is the red colored goo on the side of his mouth.

And here's the boys the following day enjoying their Boy Scout popcorn delivered by their cousin Jake to Thanksgiving dessert.

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Hope all my US readers all did as well! Now we're on to Christmas holiday planning!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T10:37:00.001-05:00

Wow! A lot has been going on around here, with much more coming too! I'll give the update next week on my goals. Some have been working out, others not so much.... LOL It's nice that I tried. I'm sure next month's goals will be better. One big piece of news - I finally dropped my cell phone in the toilet at work after so many years of bringing it in the stall afraid someone would steal it. Of course it was my nice iPhone that didn't have insurance, as I've never needed it before. It seemed like a waste of money. Well, I've ordered the iPhone 4S and I'm going to suck it up using DH's old phone until my new one comes in sometime in December. I did get insurance this time.

Right now, I'm working from home today so I can get some pies baked, other Thanksgiving foods prepped and straighten up the millions of hotspots that seem to surround me. I currently have two pecan pies in the oven. Soon to be followed by 3 pumpkin pies and 1 coconut custard pie. Then we have fresh cranberry sauce to make and onions and celery to cut for the stuffing.

DH and Phoebe took the boys to get their hair cut as it was getting pretty shaggy. Please note that my boys walk into a barber looking like some boys come out. I'm much happier with their hair short. I think DH said he gets a #2 clippers on the sides and scissor cut on top to match and blend. I'll do pictures later today if they are not as cranky as they always seem to be lately. After they go down for a nap, they'll stay here with Aunt Niki while DH, Phoebe and I run to Philly to get our two 30 pound turkeys from the Amish stand we get them from every year. Yes, two over 30 pounds each! We do that every year, but this is our first year to actually host and we're very happy about that. We've been driving to my in-laws every year for about 19 years and helping make all the dinner there where we don't have all our kitchen equipment. Now we have two and a half ovens, six burners, a big ice maker and a huge refrigerator. Did I ever mention we like to cook?!

So I hope everyone has a very very Happy Thanksgiving!!! I have a lot to be thankful for and part of it will be the food, LOL!

Phoebe's Fifth Grade School Picture

2011-11-07T13:48:00.000-05:00

Here's Phoebe's 5th Grade School Picture. I really like her in red or bright colors. She's definitely becoming quite the little lady.

November Goals

2011-11-02T15:48:00.000-05:00

Marcia has prompted me to think about and write down my November goals. Mine are lofty, but I believe some are very doable. Here we are:

Personal

Work out 6 days a week (I'm trying to become a person that works out daily. It's good for my back issues)
Practice my morning, after work and evening routines everyday
Get up and dressed before the flow of the family (I'm pretty bad about this)
Plan for the holidays (both Thanksgiving and Christmas)
Build my Financial Control Journal and budget
Meal Plan weekly - even if it's just documenting what we did eat, LOL
Blog on my progress on these items

Work

Ensure the completion of the conversion we're working on goes smoothly
Finish and deliver the presentation I've been working on to my boss's boss (Sr. Director) and my team
Transition the planned work to the new Mumbai team
Keep minor ad-hoc requests at bay at work in emails

I'll report on 12/1/2011 with how I made out....

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-11-01T07:12:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Here's Phoebe before she left for school yesterday. She recreated the "humilitard" that Jordan had to wear on "Big Brother" this summer.

The boys still fit into their dinosaur costumes from last year, although the legs kept riding up. They were not in a great mood yesterday, so we only went to a few houses with them and then took them home. Here they are with Daddy watching Shakira's video "Waka Waka" before we went out. It is their favorite music video to watch. She came out with that song for the Soccer World Cup in South Africa. I think their thought is "Guys playing soccer and a pretty lady dancing... It doesn't get better than that!"

Here's trying to get a view of their costumes.

Bye! Happy Happy Halloween! PS - like the bushes across the street? That's at our house!

Snow in October!!! and Eating the Frogs

2011-10-30T21:29:00.000-05:00

We got the earliest snows this year ever!!! I don't ever remember it snowing in Philadelphia in October. Maybe a freak snow late in March, but never this early. Here's some views from our back deck.

I was very motivated today. As Marcia would say, I ate a lot of frogs. But oh, they tasted so good!!!! The saying means to do the biggest, most important stuff you need to do in the day. Today I did the following:

Cleaned the kitchen very good, including kitchen appliances wiped down, the inside of the microwave, the top of the stove, and I mopped the floor.
Drove Tom to the train station. He's opening a new office in NYC in the morning. He'll be back for trick or treating in the afternoon.
Vacuumed and shampooed all the carpets on the second floor and the back staircase. I am sorry to say it was the first time ever since we moved in 2006. They look awesome!
Did the same to the living room where the boys play. I swear, I shampoo that carpet every 3 months!!!
Baked carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing for my team at work tomorrow. We've been working very hard lately, and I thought some treats were in order. I had some batter left over and made some mini cupcakes for the boys and the rest of us. I just didn't put any icing on those. We can choose to later or give the boys ones without. They'll love them just the same.

So now I'm just relaxing with a glass of white Bordeaux wine and catching up on blogs. Tomorrow, I plan to eat many a frog before I get to dress up as a pirate and take my two dinosaurs and my Big Brother humilitard-wearing daughter (that's her costume she made)

Life Updates And Toddlers in the Tub!

2011-10-26T16:55:00.000-05:00

Feeling minorly overwhelmed right now. There is so much I need and want to get done. I'm hoping to have time to do it all. I keep making my lists and then I get distracted by my daughter getting sick, working from home and having a toddler or two come over to me and the computer, a husband that needs to talk about something, etc. I know things are moving in a forward direction, but I'm having such a hard time not feeling that I wish I was getting things done faster and able to avoid distractions.

On another note, I recently read Julie and Julia and I have to admit I liked the book much better than the movie. In the movie, I thought Julie was kind of whiney and Julia Child saved the movie. The book is much different. I can completely get into where she is in her mind. Did you know the book character Julie has PCOS and part of her issue that drove her to cooking was doctor's telling her that she better try to have children now because of her "syndrome" before it's too late? It almost made me want to do my own project, but I'd cook my way through "The Girlfriends' Guide to Macrobiotics". Hmmm... That does give me some good ideas.

But one of the things I've been doing that's good for me is P90X. It's an exercise program of videos and it is kickass! I'm on week 3 of the 90 day program, but I will admit I haven't exercised the 6 days a week they want you too. Somedays I'm just way too tired. So I only got 5 days in the first week and 4 days in last week, but I'm feeling much stronger and do feel overall that I have more energy.

So that is my word that I'm focusing on right now - Energy! I want more of it! I'm going after it! I have been doing Marcia's Time Management sheets and it does help. I think I'm just asking too much from myself, but what's wrong with that???

To end with the really joyful part, here's some latest pics of the boys. They've started scrunching up their faces when they do smiles for pics. Here they are in my bathtub hamming it up

Then I took pics of them in their tubby that night. Here's Tommy with a big grin for the camera:

Here's Liam with a big grin and Tommy checking out the water or something on his hand:

Love them so much! Could just cuddle them forever, but they would just push out of my lap, LOL!

Pics from the Weekend

2011-10-18T20:22:00.000-05:00

BTW, we did get a phone call from the gluten-free girl's mom on Monday after school thanking us for handling her daughter's diet restrictions so easily and making her seem like she was eating what everyone else was eating.

Here's a pic of the girls all asleep at 9 AM on Sunday morning. Phoebe is the one on the left air mattress that looks like she's running in her sleep.

And here is Phoebe in her 1950s finest for the cotillion party that Sunday night.

And yes, I'm a Yankee that makes her daughter do cotillion. It's the only thing we've not given her a choice on. This is her first year and I think we'll do it again next year. For those that don't know what cotillion is, it's a very Southern USA thing where children are forced to dress up (boys must wear suits and girls must wear skirts that are not more than 2 inches above their knee) and learn to dance ballroom dances such as the Rumba, waltz, cha cha, etc. and learn about table manners, how to make a good first impression. It's really dancing and social graces. I never got to do any of those things and I think it will make her more confident in the future. Hope everyone enjoys the pics!

I Survived This Weekend!!!

2011-10-17T15:55:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a weekend! I don't know what to do other than give it to you in chronological order with all the fun details.

Friday night we went out to a great French bistro restaurant in Philly called Zinc. The food was amazing! The wine was amazing. I say if you are in the Philly area and want to try the best yet unpretentious French food in the area, make a reservation and get thee to this place! It was by far the best restaurant I've ever been to and had the best service. Our server actually recommended the white wine - a wonderful white Bordeaux which is my current favorite wine nwo. I have a case on order from my local wine shop. It's very reasonably priced when you're not at a restaurant markup price. I also highly recomment their private label French sparkling wine. We had it with our appetizers and it was very very good.

Saturday we ran errands getting ready for our daughter's sleepover party that night. She has one friend with peanut allergies, which was much easier to prepare for than the friend with the gluten-free diet. Thankfully, we planned individual cheese pizza's for the girls and the gluten-free girl we bought a frozen individual pizza that met her needs and then it looked just like everyone else's. For Sunday breakfast we had my pumpkin pancakes, sausages, bacon and scrapple (I love scrapple!) and we did have gluten-free bisquick for the one girl. Everything looked the same, but was slightly different. I quietly made sure the one girl knew what was hers and that it was taken care of.

Saturday night, the girls did not sleep of course. Us parents were upstairs watching TV and keeping an eye on what they were up to. We fell asleep for a bit and then when I woke up at 2:15 AM from the little catnap, I talked to the girls about settling down (they had an obstacle course setup on the first floor of the house, LOL!) and I think they all fell asleep in the living room setup we had for them with the couches and air mattresses around 3 AM.

Sunday morning, we had coffee and got the girls waking up and getting them breakfast before their parents came around 11 AM to pick them up. After the pickups, we then had to get ready with what Phoebe was going to wear for cotillion that night as they were having a 1950's dress up party that night. At first Phoebe said she was going to wear capris, a blouse and a high ponytail, but at the last minute she wanted a poodle skirt. Please note that earlier that week, she definitely refused to wear a poodle skirt. So we make a quick run out with the boys, Phoebe and her one friend left to the Halloween store and got the skirt. She then wore a black shirt I had that was perfect to go with it and had the high ponytail with a scarf tied around it. She looked awesome!!! I then had to feed her an early dinner, get her dressed for cotillion, drop her friend off at home on the way and while she was there I went out for sushi with two of the other cotillion moms.

After I got her home and in bed, I immediately fell asleep. I now think I need a few days off work to "recover" from my weekend.

Updates and Pics

2011-10-11T07:07:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's been a long time. I'll try to get better, but things have been very busy lately in a good way. We've been working hard at living intentionally. Doing things around the house and having good family fun. We went to the Renaissance Faire this past weekend. Here's a pic Phoebe took of the boys and I with a knight. Tom was off in a long line for a pint of beer, LOL!

Phoebe also had her 11th birthday and got braces. Here you can see both!

And a few weeks ago we went to a wine tasting, corn maze, fall fun stuff for kids to do at a local vineyard that we hadn't been to before. Went with a fellow blogger in the area who her and her husband are so much fun! And their daughter is way cute! Here is a pic of Tom and the boys that day. Liam does have an odd expression on his face in this pic.

I started working out again last night, so I'm feeling pleasantly sore. I'm doing the P90X and I'm working on getting my good friend to be my coach on the Beachbody website. So things are going very very well.