Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

TGIF Wrap Up

March 11, 2011

All righty, I’ll tell ya now – I’m pooped!! It has been a busy week and, quite frankly, an exhausting 4 months. So, I’m taking a school break today to catch up on laundry, housework, and a little paperwork. In the meantime I’ll tell you what we’ve been up to. Oh, and last Friday I took a day off and caught up on loads of paperwork – that felt SO good!

1. Matt, my oldest, started working at a new place of employment on Monday. So far it seems to be going quite well. Also, he will be moving out on his own around May or June. Don’t ask me how I feel about that yet – it’s all jumbled.

2. Jeff and Chris will have their spring break next week from college. Chris is also taking vacation from his job so they’ll be chillin’ for about 10 days. I’m making a menu plan with that in mind – lots of their favorites.

3. I am in book buying mode since Maggie and Joe finish up Sonlight’s Core 1 this month and will be going into Core 3+4 (American History) in May. We haven’t been able to buy this many books in a LONG time and I’m having a blast!! Core 4 Science and a Flashmaster (for math fact practice) arrived yesterday – lots of great stuff!!

4. Katie and Becky are doing well in school and Becky is really starting to move with her reading. Each day is easier for her and brings more success. They were not happy about their new handwriting books however.

5. Some of us are still bowling on Friday nights, but the girls and I have been staying home of late to have a girlie night in. They get tired after one game so it’s less frustrating to just stay home. I like bowling, but I like having sanity more.

6. Lent started on Wednesday and I blew it right away. It was a long day and I was low on fuel and ate a piece of caramel chocolate while watching What Not to Wear. Oops. Oh well, I’m unperfect remember?

7. I’m starting to bring out my springtime music – namely REO Speedwagon – and it is SO good to hear it again. Yes, I am a seasonal music listener – it just suits my soul better this way. I also bought five new songs from Napster and will talk about all this Monday for Music Monday. Hopefully I’ll remember :-).

8. I realized while talking to my brother, Dan, that I have lost 15 pounds since last August!! Wow – how did that happen?? I was thinking maybe 5 to 8 lbs but I did the math (several times) and indeed I am 15 pounds lighter. Talk about motivation! My new goal is to lose 9lbs by Easter. Hopefully giving up coffee and chocolate will help.

Okay, I think that sums up my week and then some. See you back on Sunday for Weekend Gallery and to talk music on Monday. Happy Friday everyone!!

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Lent Starts on Wednesday

March 6, 2011

Ash Wednesday is this Wednesday – later than usual but now it’s creeping up fast it seems. That also means I have had more time than usual to think about what I will do this year and I have come up with some ideas:

1. Give up coffee – I think this could be easier this year seeing as how I’m not needing it as much these days and I’m all out of my Keurig coffee at the moment.

2. Keep a tight rein on my tongue – This will be really hard because I have a lot of things in this area to work on, but since sacrifice should be difficult, it’s worth a shot.

3. Give up chocolate – Actually I don’t eat as much of this as I used to so it could be a go.

4. Cut down on internet time – Since it is book buying season, I have been spending more time than usual online. Wouldn’t hurt to cut back especially since I’ll be finished soon.

So, those are the four things I’ve come up with and we’ll see what I can do. Maybe the coffee and keeping my talking in line because I’m in most need of the sacrifice of giving up the coffee and learning to keep my mouth shut sometimes. I’ll keep you posted.

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A Funny Oh Crap! Moment

March 4, 2011

Yesterday I was making pancakes for lunch, everything was going well, and I was taking the first pancake off the griddle. I turned to put a pancake on the plate and that pancake zipped right past the plate, off the spatula, and onto the floor. I had to laugh!!

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Making Progress

March 3, 2011

Well, I stepped on the scale this morning and find that somehow I’ve lost another 1/2 pound!! Now, you might be thinking that’s not a lot, but I will beg to differ. I’m going in the right direction of losing weight, so any amount is to be celebrated and it will help propel me forward to make the changes I need to make. SO, I feel good about that!

On the other hand, somewhere along the line I fell off the take care of myself wagon and lost my housecleaning groove as well. Last November and December were incredibly busy and emotionally draining for me, and I think I basically used February with it’s cold and snow to huddle up against all that. Now that spring is coming around, it is time to get out of my funk, acknowledge that it was a difficult time, but now it’s time to move forward. There is a part of me that doesn’t want to let go, and I’ll let her catch up when she is ready.

I bought two books that are going to help me with my Improve Me project – one is called Simply in Season and the other The Happiness Project. Simply in Season is about seasonal eating in regard to fruits and vegetables and it makes so much sense to buy what’s in season when it’s in season. The food is tastier and cheaper as well. It has information about how to pick, cook, and preserve your food and then has loads of recipes as well. All in all I think it’s a good book to get me started eating more fruits and vegetables. I hope the family will like it too.

The other book is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and it’s a memoir of sorts of a project the author did one year to increase her happiness. I don’t even know if I know what real happiness is. I have feelings of happiness from time to time, but it never lasts so I don’t think that’s what it is. The book goes through the changes she made in her life and how it affected her and her family. I have already looked through the book via the one I got from the library, and it has a lot in it that has made me stop and think about my own life and how I can find happiness within myself instead of from outside sources only. I am reading it with a friend and I think together we can find some solutions for ourselves.

So, that’s my progress for the last month and a little goal setting for March. Here’s to making progress and really, isn’t life just a work in progress anyway – always moving forward?

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Long, long time ago…

February 24, 2011

…in a living room far away :-). Well, okay, it was in our other house not so far away, but the older boys were little and so it does seem like it was long ago and far away from where I am today. Come with me down memory lane.

I was walking through Wal-Mart today in the magazine aisle and I saw one of my old favorites – Victoria magazine – and I leafed through it just for old times’ sake. It was then I remembered how I used to make time for me by having a cup of Irish Mocha Mint, the window open on an early spring day, and looking through the latest Victoria magazine. Ah – that was precious time indeed! The magazinewas (and still is) beautiful – beautiful houses on Cape Cod, beautiful food, beauty products – well, you get the picture. It was a break from my whirlwind days of boys, toys, and housecleaning. A break into a world of beauty and romance. I really don’t do much of that anymore. I think it’s something I need to get into again because at the core of my soul I am an incurable romantic feminine woman. A woman who loves wearing skirts and dresses, who loves dressing up to go someplace special, who loves pretty jewelry and perfume. My boys have a hard time viewing me like that, but that woman is still inside me somewhere. Maybe, now that I have a little more time again, it’s time to bring her back out. I think it’s time to find a special pleasure like my coffee and Victoria, and find some me time again. Hmmm….

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Music Monday…er…Wednesday

February 16, 2011

Today is clean up and catch up day and what makes cleaning up funner? Music, of course! So, I cracked out this fantabulous boxed set and started with disc number 7. Well, Joe said he wanted to listen to Disc 3 after that and that’s what is playing now. And as I was listening I thought – DUH – let’s talk about this set! So, let’s set it up shall we?

Back in 2008 when I was happily buying songs from the 80’s for my collection, I wanted to find a compilation album of as many of my favorites as possible. Well, those cd’s are few and far between or there aren’t that many songs on them, so I was content with building my own collection. That is until I found Like Omigod! The 80’s Pop Culture Box (Totally). It is a seven disc boxed set of most all the great songs from the 80’s with a few lesser knowns thrown in. Well, I thought about it and thought about it, but when I saw I could get it for 1/2 price at Amazon, I jumped on it. I knew I wasn’t going to find it for that price again and it would be my birthday present to myself that year. I couldn’t lose!

The day it arrived I was ecstatic and the first song I listened to was “Major Tom (Coming Home)” by Peter Schilling – remember that one?? I hadn’t heard it in over 20 years and it just seemed right to start with that one. I cranked up the volume and started dancing right away to it – I think my kids thought I was crazy. No matter, they were soon singing along every time I played it :-). I think I went through a disc a day (there are 20 songs on each disc) and it was wonderful to hear them all again.

There is a booklet that comes with this set that gives history behind the songs, also what was going on the world at that time, and lots of photos that will bring back memories and make you say, “I remember that!”. The set also starts off at about 1979 and ends with “Roam” by the B52’s which came out in 1989. The first two songs are “Whip It” and “Video Killed the Radio Star” which really characterized the start of the video generation along with the start of MTV. So, really, as you listen through the discs, you are going on a 10 year journey through music history – I really like that aspect of it.

There are 142 songs total on here so I can’t list them here, but you can go to Amazon following the above link and click on Listen To Samples to see all the songs and listen to snippets of them. Also, I don’t think it’s widely available anymore, but you can still find it used at places like Amazon and Ebay, and sometimes at your local used game/video/record stores if you’re lucky. That makes me even happier that I bought it when I did because it really is a collector item which makes it one of the best purchases I ever made! Take a look and enjoy! Now, if only there was a 1980’s video collection somewhere – still waiting for that to happen.

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Weekend Gallery

February 13, 2011

I think it’s been awhile since I put up a Weekend Gallery so I’m going to put a picture or two up from some events from the last few months that I’ve not blogged about – November and December were rough months around here. Without further ado – Weekend Gallery.

Maggie turned 10 in October

Becky and Katie turned 7 in November

Christmas Haul!

Elves Matt, Jeff, and Chris brought this for the family

Helping Dad with the dishes.

Maggie sitting on a snow monolith Feb 12 2011 - still plenty on the ground.

Stand By Your (Snow) Man - Becky made this one

Joe's Omelet Recipe - He did a good job of cooking it too. He was inspired after watching Worst Cooks in America

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Blizzard 2011 Take 2

February 12, 2011

Yes indeedy, we got more snow this week – another 12-15 inches on top of the other 12-15 inches we got the week before. It seems more like the North Pole here lately – especially when temps get to 20 below zero! I took some more pictures and here’s the dig out Tuesday afternoon once the snow had stopped. Enjoy!

Looking out the front door and down the steps. Wait a minute - where's the steps??

Okay, the door is open now - let's find those stairs!

Mike found the first step!

I think he found another step!

All uncovered! Now to make a path to the van.

A lot more snow covered the van this time. We had to sweep the roof off.

The big pile of snow between us and our neighbors.

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Snow Humor

February 11, 2011

Overheard at lunchtime Tuesday:

Katie: I can’t wait to go outside and eat some snow!

Me: I wouldn’t eat the snow.

Maggie: Yeah, you don’t know where it’s been!

Becky: The sky?!

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Yes, it really was that cold this morning!

February 10, 2011

When I got up this morning, the local news channel was reporting that the temp in our town was 25 below zero. Yeah right, I thought – the town thermometer is broken again. However, once it got light out I did look at our outside thermometer and indeed it said -20!! YIKES! Who knew it would ever be that cold here!! We also received another foot of snow yesterday and we are buried again. I’ll add pictures later when I can get in the office again – it’s way too cold in there now (I’m borrowing Jeff and Chris’ computer at the moment). Anyway – hope you are warm and snug and comfy wherever you live! I can’t wait for this weekend when we’ll have spring like warmth. Bring it on baby!

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