Date Night

Two weeks before Christmas I realized my husband and I hadn’t been out together since we celebrated our anniversary in June. Granted, that celebration was a 5 day trip to Vegas and it was fabulous, but still…it had been 6 months! So, a last minute call to the babysitter was made and then we looked at each other and said “now what?”

You would think that when we get out so infrequently we would have a list of things we wanted to do and places we wanted to go when we finally had time and a sitter. That just doesn’t seem to be the case. So we tossed out some restaurant ideas. The first one we pulled in to was so busy we couldn’t even find a parking spot. So then we started rattling off some more places and finally settled on one that we hadn’t yet tried. When we were done with dinner we looked at the time and decided it was too early to go home, the kids weren’t even in bed yet! So we went for a standard of ours, going to Barnes and Noble and browsing through the store. I love book stores and can get lost for hours in one. However, I’ve decided it isn’t necessarily the best date night selection because we are usually in different parts of the store!

Ideally, we’d spend more nights like we did in Vegas. Strolling hand in hand, taking in the sites. We’d have a yummy dinner and go to a show. In fact, we went to a show every night we were there! We only live a little over an hour from New York but it just isn’t feasible to go into the city for a Broadway show too often.

When the kids were younger I had declared Saturday nights as our date nights. We’d usually rent a movie, I’d pick up a yummy dessert. To switch things up once in a while we’d play a game of scrabble. Somehow we got out of this routine and I’d like to bring it back. I’d like to try some new things though!

Here are some ideas I have so far:
For date nights in:
• Beer tasting: pick up a few different kinds of beer at the local liquor store and give them a try
• Wine tasting: same as above!
• Cheese tasting: along the same concept only here you will want to visit a cheese shop and ask for some tips.
• His choice: make him come up with something creative!

I'm always looking for new ideas for great dates so don't forget to enter for your chance to win a date night!

Restaurant.com giveaway and Date Night Challenge

I remember dating.  It was fun, always something new to do.  Then came kids and there went the dates.  Sound familiar to anyone? 

Well I'd like to send one of my lucky readers on a date.  Yup, you heard right.  A date!  A night out with your significant other!  I have a $50 gift certificate to Restaurant.com to give away to one of you!  (sorry, it doesn't come with a sitter...that part is up to you!). 

However, I'm going to make you work a little bit for it.  Don't worry, its not too bad.  I want to hear about some of your best date nights!  It doesn't matter if it was a date night in or a night out on the town.  I'm always looking for fun new ideas (especially for at home date nights!) and so I'm hoping you have some great things to share. 


In addition to the gift card, Lisa from  the etsy shop Rosy Stitch wanted to share in the fun and has graciously donated some of her hand made hearts.  The winner of the  restaurant.com gift certificate will also receive this LOVE heart set:

Since we want to spread the love with as many of you as possible, 2 random winners will win one of these hand made hearts from Rosy Stitch:

 To enter:

Tell me about your favorite date night!

For additional entries:

Please leave a separate comment for each entry and a way to contact you!

• 
  
  Become a public follower of Life in the BAT Cave
• 
  
  become a fan on Facebook
• 
  
  enter my Zoodles.com giveaway

Winners will be chosen on Sunday, February 7, 2010 so you can receive your prize just in time for Valentine's Day!

Be "the" place to hang

I'm participating in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.  I chose the prompt Share one piece of advice from someone who knows stuff.

I'm a Registered Nurse and so in a typical working environment the majority of staff is female.  This produces a lot of advice, some solicited and a lot of it unsolicited.  However, one piece of unsolicited advice has stayed with me throughout the years. 

I became friends with an LPN on our nursing unit.  She and I hit it off and truely enjoyed working with one another.  I just KNEW my night would be an easier night when she was on and if I could snag her on my assignment I would be almost giddy with joy.  While working on this nursing unit I became engaged to my husband.  This of course was cause for excitement....and cause for unsolicited advice.  My friend and I were chatting about her kids (a teen, a tween and a toddler) one night and she looked at me and said "when you and the hubby decide to have kids put a pool in".
Me:  Why?  (besides the obvious of it gets hot here in NJ over the summer!)
Her:  Because then your house will be the one that your kids and their friends will want to hang out at.
Me:  But what if I don't want them all at my house.  Maybe I'd rather them bother someone elses parents.
Her:  If they all hang out at your house, you always know where they are, what they are up to, and who their friends are.
Me:  huh
Her:  trust me
Me: huh

So anyway, my kids are still on the younger side.  I know where they are and who they are with.  However, this piece of advice has stuck with me.  We don't have a pool and no intentions of ever getting one though, that doesn't mean I still can't be the house to hang out at. 

It's My Birthday!

Yup, it's true...today is my birthday. Happy Birthday to Me! I won't tell you my age, but it does start with a 3 and this is the last year I can check my "box" before moving up to the next one.
I know I'm not getting any younger because I've looked at the things I asked for this year. A steam mop, a new dishwasher, a remodeled kitchen, a new mattress. I know you are all laughing at me. The sad part is these are actually left over requests from my Christmas Wish List!

I started my birthday celebration a little early. Saturday night I went out to dinner with 2 of my girlfriends, 1 of which has a birthday just a few days before mine. Sunday, my parents had us over and mom cooked us a delicious brunch and baked me a cake....mmmmmmmmm. It was seriously good.

No the picture isn't blurry, that is all the smoke from the candles...

Mom actually counted out the correct number

Today's plans include a "surprise" breakfast in bed (I'll let you know later what they serve me), a long awaited massage at the spa and dinner out with the family. Sounds like a perfect way to spend my day!

Terrific Tuesday

I'm not sure how another week has gone by but here we are again!  At least today is off to a better start than yesterday.  Yesterday being a Monday was bad enough.  To add to the Monday morning drag I hit "off" instead of "snooze" on my alarm....and it was a dark, rainy morning.  So, do you think I hopped out of bed bright and early?  Nope I fell back to sleep, quite soundly I might add.  For once I was thankful for noisy kids and a dog who woke me up. 

This week was my first weigh in at Weight Watchers after doing a week of maintenance.  I was curious how it went.  They advise to begin maintenance by adding 4 points to your daily total.  If you gain weight, you will adjust down, if you lose weight you will adjust up.  In the beginning of the week I had trouble eating those extra 4 points.  (I know right?  Who ever would have thought those words would come out of my mouth.  However, after a few months of dieting, I finally learned how to feel full while losing weight and not to eat when I'm not hungry.)  Then there was the weekend (I started celebrating my birthday a little early) where I wasn't so "good".  So, curiousity piqued I stepped on that scale to find myself .8 pounds down!  I'm very excited to have survived the first week of maintenance!

On another note, I belong to a fabulous community Trekaroo where parents provide reviews and tips about traveling with kids.  They asked me to contribute to an article on spring break destinations that was being featured on another blog.  You can check it out over at Ciao Bambino. 

To top it off, don't forget about a terrific opportunity for you!  Check out my post from Sunday and enter to win a premium membership to Zoodles!

Hope you are having a Terrific Tuesday!  Leave a comment with something terrific to share!

A Tasty New Adventure

With all the food influences in the world today  it's amazing that we are still making the same old supper's for our families and friends. From the Food Network to great magazines like Taste of Home and Cooking Light there are so many choices out there to be sampled and served.

How many of you bookmark recipes online or tear out great sounding dishes but once in the grocery store still migrate to your normal shopping list items? It's time for a change! It's time to take your supper and turn it on it's head. It's time for

 

I am going to be working in a group of 6 women blogger's in the hopes of breaking out of the staple of stale supper's.  We want to challenge the same old standard's that we have created for ourselves! We will be pulling out our cookbooks, dusting off our creativity and getting busy in the kitchen. We will give you recipes, idea's and inspiration all while blogging about the trials and tribulations of learning new techniques for getting dinner on the table.

Each week we will host a MckLinky blog hop for you to share your recipe posts too! We are looking for some recipes to feature in February...if you have any delicious recipes that you think we should see -- Link Up Below!!

I hope that you will join me on my yummy journey!

Zoodles Review and Giveaway

About Zoodles Kid's Browser:
Our goal is to give kids a safe place to play and learn online. We knew that we couldn’t just give kids a typical browser and send them off to explore. Most sites today are way too complicated for young kids to navigate on their own, and they don’t provide enough safety from all the bad stuff lurking on the web.

So, we started from scratch. We built a FREE browser, especially for kids, that makes it simple for them to find lots of fun activities – all by themselves. By launching the icon on your desktop, your child will enter a full-screen mode of Zoodles that will keep them from exiting out and finding inappropriate content or accidentally deleting your important files.

5 Lucky Readers Will Win a 3 Month Premium Membership

My Take:
Zoodles is a great way to allow kids to explore online.  I am a parent that does not allow my kids online often, because I don't feel they have the ability to navigate the internet and do not understand what is inappropriate content.  With Zoodles I can assist them to log on to the computer and leave them be to explore!  It was a quick and easy download and is super simple to use.

Each child can be set up with a separate toybox.  This toybox is filled with age and skill appropriate games.  We aren't just talking a few, we are talking hundreds!  Many of these games feature my kids favorite characters which makes it fun and entertaining for them.  My 5 year old daughter's current favorite is the Imagination Movers The Missing Scribble Sticks where she gets to draw prompts that are then inserted into the story that is played for her when she is done.  She loves seeing her creation pop up on the screen during the story!

As a parent there are many things I love about Zoodles.  I feel I don't have to hover over my children when they are playing.  The browser covers the entire screen so they cannot accidentally click on something else allowing them to explore the internet or your computer files.  When they want to quit, it is a multi-step process so again, they can't just accidentally end up somewhere you don't want them to be.  The Parent Dashboard allows me to see exactly what games they have played, how much time they spend on each one and what subject content applied.  I can block ads, "push" certain content (like math for my 9 year old and reading for my 7 year old!) and really customize their experience.  I also receive weekly emails letting me know all of this info!

Free and Premium accounts include:

• Full screen child browser
• Virtual toybox filled with content that is education as well as appropriate for age and skill level
• Safe browsing with only approved URL's (in my opinion the most important feature!)

Premium Accounts additionally includes:
(Pricing for the premium account is currently $7.95/mo, $39.95/ 6 mo., $59.95/yr.)

• Ad blocking
• Parental Monitoring
• Promote time on specific educational subjects
• Educational reports showing skills your child has been developing
• Ability to block sites
• Ability to block specific characters
• Ability to block games and activities
• Reports Showing types of content your child is playing with

 Zoodles is giving 5 of YOU a 3 month Premium Membership!

All of you can log on to http://www.zoodles.com/ and sign up for your free account.  However, I am happy to have the chance to award 5 of my readers the chance to upgrade to a Premium Account for free!  You have until Saturday, February 6 to enter.  I will be choosing the winners at random and posting  them next Sunday, February 7. 

Here is how you can earn your chances to enter:
(one chance per action)

(please leave a separate comment for each and an email address to contact you)

• 
  
   Follow Life in the BAT Cave (or tell me if you already follow)
• 
  
  Become a fan on facebook
• 
  
  Tell me your child's favorite website to visit
• 
  
  Share ways you limit your child's screen time
  
  

*Disclaimer:  I was provided a complimentary 6 month Premium Membership from Zoodles.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions are my own and formed from my experiences with the product.  I found this opportunity through The Product Review Place. 

Life is full of Lemons

This has been a week where I feel life has been throwing me lemons.  I've had a few things going on and I've had to make a few tough decisions this week.  I've shed a few tears, I've hid under the blankets, but eventually you need to come out from under there.  Rather than dodge the lemons I've decided the best way to handle them is:

I'm sure my kids would much prefer I made them some lemonade but that just gives me one more thing to do.  This way of handling the lemons seems to be much more my style. 

Are You Positive?

I don't know about you gals, but I personally am at my wits end.  I'm tired of nagging, yelling, refereeing, screaming, threating and grounding.  Really, I'm e x h a u s t e d.   I'm drained.  I can't take another day of it.  So, I've been wracking my brain to come up with a solution to the mayhem. 

Many moms I know are into positive reinforcement.  I've always laughed a bit at it.  I mean, should the kids really have to be rewarded for behaving and doing the things they should be doing?  It always seemed backwards to me.  However, I'm going to give in and give it a try.  I've got to change the way I'm doing something because obviously what I'm doing isn't working!  I'm trying to come up with a system that isn't too complicated.  I don't want it to be too time consuming for me or too confusing for them and I hope it will eventually teach self monitoring.

This is the plan I've come up with so far.  I'm still tweaking it but hope to figure it all out soon so I can set it in motion.  I'm going to post a list of responsibilities on the fridge.  For each one they do without having to be reminded a zillion times (in the beginning I'll give them a reminder or 2 then hopefully eliminate them), they will earn a ticket.  They will also be able to earn extra tickets from time to time for lending hand when asked with "special" tasks or if they are "caught" being good.  They will lose tickets for things like FIGHTING with their sibblings or talking back to their parents.  They will then have to use their tickets to buy rewards such as TV time, playdates, movie nights and video game time. 

I am also going to start a collection box for things found left lying around the house.  They will have to use tickets to "buy" these items back.

I'm open to suggestions so, PLEASE, share with me what has worked for you!!!  I'm on a quest to restore my sanity.

Terrific Tuesday

Well it is official....I AM AT MY GOAL WEIGHT!!  Woohoo!  Actually, .6 under.  Can you see my little happy dance?  Huh, can you?  (Guess I should figure out how to post a video).

I want to share a terrific tip of a recipe with you.  The girls at WW shared it with me last week and couldn't believe that I, the chocolate lover of the group, had not yet heard of these.  So, I, the chocolate lover of the group, looked accusingly at all of them and accused them of holding out on me.  So they gave me this super simple recipe and I rushed home to try it out.

Haystacks

Ingredients:

2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 sleeve of Fiber One Original cereal

Directions:

melt the chocolate (I use the microwave but if you own a double boiler go for it)

pour in the cereal

mix it all together

Drop in spoonfuls onto wax paper and let set (I popped them in the fridge)

Yields 20 treats for 1 point each

Now, I can't say these exactly replace the yumminess of a chocolate covered pretzel but I will say they were pretty good.  It gives you a taste of sweet and the enjoyment of crunch.  It is large enough to feel like a real treat and it can last you an entire cup of tea or coffee.  I hope you enjoy!

Family Dynamics

I've always been aware how the addition or subtraction of one person to a group can completely change the dynamics in a group.  However, to see it in action among my own children is always an astounding thing.

My Big Boy was on a "vacation" at the grandparents over the weekend.  Sunday was like heaven around here.  The Middle Child and Baby Girl got along....All.Day.Long.  There was no fighting, no arguing, no tackling body slams.  There was no whining, no screaching, no yelling at any time.  By them OR by me!  That is right folks...I made it through an entire day without yelling at my kids once.  It was an astounding revelation.  I'm not sure it has ever happened before! 

Last night was topped off with a "camp out" in the basement.  The Middle Child and Baby Girl set up their sleeping bags on the pull out couch, stayed up late watching a movie and some TV and then curled up and slept like angels.

Watching Monsters Vs. Aliens

Sleeping like angels.

 Listen carefully and you can hear their soft snoring.

Flash forward to 2:30pm this afternoon when we picked up the Big Boy.  We weren't in the car for 5 full minutes when the teasing, the yelling, the screaching, and the screaming started.  I joined in on the screaming.  Sigh....it was such a lovely day yesterday. 

After dinner tonight I pointed out how yesterday was so quiet and lacked fighting.  Big Boy replied "but isn't it always peaceful when The Middle Child is gone?  Isn't it always nice when Baby Girl is gone?" .  Yes, it is.  Just removing one child from the mix completely changes the dyanamics.  If only we could make the dynamics a bit more peacefull when we are all present and accounted for!  I'm constantly working on that one!

Friday Fragments

• I finally got all the Christmas decorations packed away until next year. Is it me or does it seem to take twice as long to put them away as it did to put them up?
• Why does an empty tree you are about to decorate look so pretty and promising and an empty tree that you just took the ornaments off of look so depressing?

• I had a great date night with my oldest son. I really try to get out and spend a little one on one time with the kids once in a while and I let them choose what they would like to do. My oldest loves to go out to dinner so we dined at Olive Garden (his favorite!), had some great conversations, and then browsed through the book store afterwards.

• The winter BLAHS have officially set in. I was hoping to hold them at bay just a little longer. I was also hoping to figure out a better way to chase them away this year.

• I took the kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks over the past weekend. I loved the movie and laughed a lot. I only had one problem with it. A children’s movie should NEVER ever contain a reference to pole dancing. What were these people thinking? My 5 year old daughter sat there and kept saying “pole dancing” and laughing. Thank goodness she doesn’t actually know what that is! (and if she ever finds out I may have to lock her away forever!)

• Jillian Michaels is a sadist. I decided to try out her 30 Day Shred after reading in the blogosphere a few other bloggers who have been giving it the ol’ college try and liking it. As you know from my post from Monday, I’m trying to make peace with exercise. There ain’t no making peace when Jillian Michaels is in charge.

• My favorite quote of the week “It’s like a cat barking. It just shouldn’t happen” Spoken by Simon Cowell on American Idol in response to an audition.

• Today I get to be the Mystery Reader in my daughter’s kindergarten class. The teacher gives clues to identify who is coming in and the kids have to guess. She asks us to give one clue that only our child would know…lets see if she guesses it’s me!

• Tonight I’m attending a pajama party with our Girl Scout troop to kick off our cookie sale. I think I’m as excited to go as my daughter is!

• My kids have off from school on Monday for MLK day. Didn’t they just go back to school? I’m having trouble coming up with something to keep them busy for our 3 day weekend. I think I’m unloading one on the grandparents. Gotta love those grandparents.

And the Rose goes to....

Welcome to the most shocking rose ceremony in writing prompt history. Please award roses to the ten people (or items) in your life that you’d like to continue pursuing a relationship with.


Oh, who and what to pick! The possibilities! It might be hard to narrow it down. However, after much consideration I would like to extend roses to the following:

To the things in my life:

My books. Thank you for taking me into a world of tantalizing fantasy that helps me to escape the sometimes messy reality of life. I’ve been to thrilling places, had scandalous affairs and hunted down murderous villains with you. You have made me laugh and you have made me cry. (You may have to share this rose because I’d like to say thank you to my brand new Kindle for making an appearance in my life.)

My laptop. Some say obsessed, I say practical. I’ve decided I like being plugged into the world and being able to check up on happenings far and near throughout the day.

My TV. I admit it, I watch entirely too much of you. But I love to unwind at the end of the day and watch other people’s problems (which usually make me laugh). At times you have the ability to alter reality, make me laugh, make me cry, but without fail, you never judge me. I like that I can let my hair down, wear my comfy jammies, and sometimes even stuff my face in front of you and you never hold that against me. I can just be me with you.  I also appreciate you for entertaining my kids in a pinch.

My WW friendly food. My Fiber One yogurt, my 1 point mini bars, my sandwich thins. Without you my journey through weight loss would not be so bearable. With you by my side I have become a smashing success on the scale.

To the people in my life:

My sweet Baby Girl. You are growing up way to fast, in the past few months you have both grown physically and emotionally. It thrills me to no end but also makes me sad that you are no longer my baby. You are truly a joy to be around and light up my entire life.

The Middle Child. You have made me laugh in your short life than any other human on this earth. You are quirky and spontaneous and see things from a slightly different view point. You can be a challenge but that makes me love you more.

My Big Boy. At times you amaze me at the amount of responsibility you are willing to take on and how much help you have truly become. You have a truly compassionate heart that I wish you would let shine more often.

The Hubby. Well, you’ve put up with being married to me for 10 years and say you are ready for the next 10 so I guess that is pretty deserving of a rose. You are a great daddy to our kids too so I’ll keep you.

My Parents. (yes, I realize you are two people and should technically receive two roses but I’m running out and you live together so you can share). You let me live to make it out of my teen years so that should be reason enough to be deserving of a rose. Beyond that, you have become grandparents that my kids can’t wait to see and the bestest babysitters in the whole wide world.

To the almost people in my life:

My dog. Sebastian there are times I’d like to open the front door and let you run free but you make me laugh and you keep me company so I’ll keep you around. You are lucky you are so cute and sweet.

For more Writer's Workshop fun visit Mama Kat.

Control Issues

Hi, my name is B and I’m a control freak. There I said it. I made my confession and acknowledged my imperfection.

I didn’t know I was a control freak. Really, I didn’t. It came as a bit of a surprise to me to make that realization this week. Perhaps the people around me have always thought this about me, I’m not sure. I didn’t know it about myself though.

I know I’m opinionated. I know I like to plan things and even run things sometimes. But honestly, I really thought I could relinquish control.

I always place myself on committees so that I can have a hand in what is going on and give my opinionated opinion and constructive criticism. I offer a great helping hand. However, that doesn’t mean I want to or need to control things or lead things.

I’ve always said I make a great Indian but not a great Chief. I like to participate and be a strong part of things. However, I really don’t like being the one at the top. This way the headaches belong to someone else. The true responsibility belongs to the Chief. (I also don’t delegate well and avoid confrontation, which are not qualities you want in a Chief.)

This week I realized that I’m not happy in the Assistant Chief position. I found myself trying to take over from the Chief and change the way things were being done. I planted myself in a position where I’d know everything that was going on and I insisted that everything be run past me. When the Chief tried to keep me in the position of Assistant I stood up and put myself in a position to be viewed as equal to the Chief. I realized that I really can’t relinquish control in some situations and that I wish I had volunteered to be the Chief in this one. (But really, I don't want to be the Chief!)

Now that I made this realization it’s going to be put on my “To Do” list to work on. I don’t want others to look at me like I’m a crazy freak. I don’t want the headaches associated with taking charge of everything. I want to learn how to take a step back and let things happen without my interference. So, I’ll work on that. Really, I will.

My name is B and I don't want to be a Control Freak!  There, I said it.  Now I have to change it.

Terrific Tuesday

Time for some more "terrificness"! 

First up, my WW weigh in.  Yup, still feeling pretty terrific about those weigh ins, even 16 weeks later.  Know why?  I was down .6 pounds today.  Even though I went from losing whole pounds to fractions of poiunds I'm still okay with it.  Know why?  It's better than gaining.  Want to know another reason why?  Todays .6 pounds put me only 1.8 pounds away from my goal.  As a returning lifetime member, I didn't have to pay my weekly fee today!  Hopefully, I will never have to pay it again!  Know what the sweet lady weighing me said?  That I was the first person she met that was a returning lifetime member and actually got back to her goal.  Then they all did a little happy dance behind the desk.  What a way to start my day!!! 

For all of you out there trying to tame the battle of the bulge...keep with it.  Rember slow and steady wins the race and even those fractions of pounds add up to whole pounds before you know it!

Some other terrific news...

My friend called at the last minute today and asked me to bring my daughter over for a playdate after lunch.  So, I'm sitting here typing this in total peace.  The only noise in the house is my fingers clicking away on the keyboard.

I was chosen to be a Superoo over at the travel site Trekaroo.  If you haven't taken the time to check this site out, please do.  It is full of places that have been reviewed by parents traveling with kids.  Whether you are looking for a way to fill an afternoon around town or venture to another city, you can find great places!  Be sure to leave our own reviews to! 

Oh, I know what else is terrific.  The homemade ice cream I made with the kids on Sunday.  The Middle Child (who now wants to be known as Bubs), insisted on getting me an ice cream maker for Christmas.  I tried to be excited about it but was really wondering, where am I going to store this thing and how often am I actually going to use it?  Well, we gave it a test run on Sunday and all I can say is Oh. My. God.  Best ice cream I've ever tasted.  Fresh with no freezer burn, nothing but pure creamy ingredients.  Yum.

Actually, the whole weekend was pretty terrific.  It was the first weekend in a while we weren't booked solid.  In fact, Sunday was wide open...in this house to have an open weekend day is a rarity.  I had a great date night with my oldest.  We went to dinner and had great conversations and then went and browsed through the book stores in the mall.  Sunday, (after the yummy ice cream) I took the kids to see the chipmunk movie (which was great!) while my husband got to stay home and watch the Packers lose the playoff game.  (so maybe Sunday wasn't as terrific for him).

Now it's your turn!  Tell me something terrific!  It can be something that happened, a terrific tip or recipe...you name it!

Yup, its frozen solid

De-spise
Pronunciation: \di-ˈspīz\ Function: transitive verb

1 : to look down on with contempt or aversion
2 : to regard as negligible, worthless, or distasteful
— de•spise•ment \-ˈspīz-mənt\ noun
— de•spis•er \-ˈspī-zər\ noun
synonyms DESPISE, CONTEMN, SCORN, DISDAIN mean to regard as unworthy of one's notice or consideration. DESPISE may suggest an emotional response ranging from strong dislike to loathing . CONTEMN implies a vehement condemnation of a person or thing as low, vile, feeble, or ignominious . SCORN implies a ready or indignant contempt . DISDAIN implies an arrogant or supercilious aversion to what is regarded as unworthy .

con•tempt
Pronunciation: \kən-ˈtem(p)t\ Function: noun
1 a : the act of despising : the state of mind of one who despises : DISDAIN b : lack of respect or reverence for something
2 : the state of being despised


You may wonder why I’m starting my post with definitions. These are words I would use to describe how I feel about exercise. Actually, there is no word in the English language that can adequately describe my distaste for exercise. So you can imagine my surprise when I decided to blow off a meeting tonight to hit the treadmill.


~~~~~SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH~~~~~


That was the world coming to a halt on its axis. Yup, ladies and gentlemen, I have discovered why we have been in the middle of such an arctic blast. Hell has truly frozen over. I take full responsibility and I must apologize to you all.

Okay, so let me back up just a tiny bit. If you’ve been following me then you are aware that I’ve been going to WW and trying to tame the battle of the bulge. I’ve been doing really well and actually beating the bulge. However, as I approach reaching my goal weight I realize that I will need to go on maintenance. While WW is all about learning a healthy lifestyle and NOT dieting, the fact remains that while actively trying to lose weight you receive fewer points to eat throughout the day (thus a “diet” in my eyes) versus when you are on maintenance. I know I will have some difficulty maintaining my weight and not letting it creep back up. And, I can’t be on a diet forever. So, I’ve decided I need to make peace with exercising.

I’m starting with baby steps ( I wouldn’t want to kill my body from shock after all, its been a long time since its seen any exercise!) but we all need to start somewhere. In the past week I’ve exercised more days than not. While I may never learn to love exercising I think I have the ability to slowly make peace with it.

Friday Fragments

I'm participating in Friday Fragments with Half Past Kissin' Time.  Pop on over to join in the fun or check out some other fragments for the week!

I'd like to start out with saying a big THANKS to Mrs. 4444!  She chose one of my fragments last week as her favorite!

Now on to this weeks fragments:

*A note to others: please stop looking down your nose at others. You really have no room to judge.

*A note to other moms: some of us work, some of us don’t work. We can still co-exist peacefully in the same world. (See my blog post  Mommy Wars for further explanation of this note)

*A note to my husband: when you punish one of your children with an early bedtime it is advisable that you actually pay attention to the time and follow through. Don’t rely on your wife to look at the clock and then get mad when said child is late to bed. It is also advisable that if you don’t want your wife angry at you that you don’t pour yourself a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios while dinner is still going on, then head to the bag of M&M’s and wonder why your children aren’t eating the dinner that is in front of them.

*A note to the middle child: yes, there are consequences for your actions. The sooner you learn this and respond accordingly the happier we will ALL be! We don’t hate you (as you love to accuse us), we are not ganging up on you, and we do not favor the other kids in the house. Everyone here has the same rules to follow with the same consequences for breaking them!

*I’m really glad the kids went back to school yet I must admit I enjoyed the “down time” of not running to all of our usual activities.

*I felt really bad for my son when he came home from school looking very dejected. He announced he “had a very rough day” to quote him. His class was very noisy and she took away their holiday party (delayed from before Christmas due to snow breaks) and it broke his little heart. She did the same thing at Halloween time. I told him that his teacher hates parties and looks for any excuse to not have them. (hey, it’s kind of true and I can’t defend the teachers all the time when my kid needs some cheering up!)

*My 5 year old daughter came home from dance class and when I told her to go upstairs and change, she said to me “yeah, then I can relax. I haven’t had any time to relax today” (in her oh so sweet tone of voice). My husband and I shot looks over her head trying to conceal laughter and I just bent over and gave her a huge hug. She will never know how cute she sounded at that moment.

*Today my children are having “holiday” parties that got snowed out the week before Christmas. Well 2 of them anyway, (see note above). Really, wouldn’t it have been fine to just move on and get back into ACTUAL SCHOOL WORK? I swear it’s been forever since they have actually learned anything. Since when is school supposed to be fun?

*I actually exercised three times this week. Perhaps hell really is freezing over and that is why it has been so bitter cold outside! Sorry folks.

Terrific Tuesday

It's time for Terrific Tuesday again!  I just don't know where the days go and how another week has slipped by.

For starters today was my weigh in day at WW.  I really didn't know what to expect today.  I ate out a lot last week.  I mean a lot.  I can't say that I went with WW friendly choices either.  Tuesday was a night out with the girls for drinks and really yummy apps (mmmm....I'm DREAMING of that spinach dip again), Wednesday we went out to eat with a g.c. we received for Christmas, Thursday was New Year's Eve and the hubby and I always go out for a nice dinner (mmmm....that may have been THE BEST meal I've ever eaten) and then Friday the kids were with the grandparents and we skipped cooking.  So, as I approached the scale this morning I decided that anything less than a 3 pound gain could be considered a success.  Success be had!  I was down .2 pounds.  Yes, I realize that isn't much, but did you just read how much I ate out last week?!?

I'm not sure if I've ever fully expressed my detest for exercise here on my blog, but I detest exercise with all my being.  I'm trying to come up with a way to convince myself to embrace it and force myself to do it.  Yesterday I actually gave it a try.  I'm going to attribute this to my .2 success. 

Some other terrificness:
The kids are back to school and we are getting back to our normal schedule.  I'm glad the kids are back to school but I have some mixed feelings about returning to our usual program of events.  I enjoyed a little down time with a break from all the activities. 

I won 2 tickets to a show called Finian's Rainbow through a terrific site called Trekaroo.  If you like to travel with the kiddo's take a few minutes to pop over there.  You can search for places and read reviews written by parents for parents.  You can create your own profile and leave your own reviews too! 

Okay, time to hear about some terrific things going on in your life!  It doesn't need to be something that happened, it can be a terrific tip or terrific recipe, anything you'd consider was terrific!  Leave your comment!

Mommy Wars

I was insulted today and my feathers are a little ruffled over it. I was sitting in the lobby of my daughter’s dance class and a few of us moms got talking about the kids going back to school. I happened to mention that I was glad that they went back; it’s been far too long since they’ve learned anything and to be honest, they were starting to drive me a little crazy. This other mom said to me (I wish I could portray the tone of voice in print) “Well you are home aren’t you? You stay at home moms; of course you’d be glad. In my next life I’m going to be a stay at home mom. You are home, right?”

I’m sorry, what? You didn’t just say that to me, right? I literally looked around the room to see if she could have possibly been talking to someone else. This other mom is a teacher and she wasn't looking forward to the start of school today because she didn't feel like facing work.

Me: Well sort of, I have a very part time job right now that I’m able to do from home.
Her: Oh, that Creative something?
Me: Yes, I am a Creative Memories Consultant but that is not what I’m referring to. I’m a nurse and have a job as a nurse but I don’t have to go in very often.
Her: honestly, I stopped listening at this point. I can’t remember what she said. I couldn’t believe I was actually having this conversation in the year 2010.

Instead of engaging her in this conversation any further I picked up my magazine and started to pretend to read. I say pretend because I was in shock another mother said something like that to me.

I wanted to ask her if she ever had to leave her children on Christmas day or miss special events on weekends because of work. No? Well, that has been my life as a nurse. While you were at home enjoying your holiday, enjoying your summer, enjoying your weekend, I was at work hanging IV’s, prepping patients for surgery, handing out medicines, and wiping asses, and if I was having a REALLY bad night, doing CPR or consoling a family of someone who just died. I’ve had to fight the tears as I’ve dried my child’s tears and answer the question “why do you have to go to work right now?”, as I leave the Christmas festivities. But yes, as far as you are concerned I’m a stay at home mom living a leisurely life.

I also refrained from pointing out that this is the first time I’ve been completely home with my kids. That just 2 years ago I was going to school full time, working part time and still managing to be the scout leader and run a gift auction. I refrained from telling her that the reason I’m home this year was a very difficult decision that I agonized over and felt guilty about. I made the decision to leave both of my part time jobs in the past year. I left one part time job last March because I decided no amount of money was worth the frustration and stress that job brought me. I left the second, a job that I enjoyed for over 5 years, because we were having increasing issues and I no longer felt safe there. I left before the police had to show up at my front door explaining to my husband and children that I wasn’t going to be coming home because something happened to me. But yes, as far as you are concerned, I’m just a pampered princess who stays at home and doesn’t work.

I refrained from telling her that even when I was working, I worked midnights and evenings and weekends which still allowed me to be home with my kids during the day. (unbelievably this still apparently qualified me as a stay at home mom in most people’s eyes.) I refrained from pointing out that I’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices as both a working mom and a stay at home mom.

I refrained from asking her if she ever relied on a friend that was a stay at home mom to watch her kid. I refrained from pointing out that for working full time she still had it pretty good, she only has to work 184 days of the year. I refrained from pointing out that I’m juggling the schedules of 3 kids while she is complaining about the over-booked schedule of her only child.

I refrained from pointing out that I’m a Cub Scout leader, a Girl Scout leader, a vice president of a non-profit organization, a committee chair, and the soccer team mom. I refrained from pointing out that I did all of these things even while I was working.

I refrained because I don’t have to justify myself. I’m lucky enough that I’m able to be home with my kids. I don’t have to explain that to anyone. If she would like to sit on her high horse and judge me or be jealous of me or whatever the hell her whole point of ever saying that to me was, then so be it. However, I really thought that we were beyond the “mommy wars” of the working mom vs. the stay at home mom.

Since I refrained from tearing into her you are the recipients of my vent. So thank you for listening to me (assuming any of you made it this far!). What I would like to say to all of you, my readers (if I have any still reading at this point!), please choose your words towards each other carefully. We don’t know what the circumstances of the other person are. Don’t make assumptions and please, don’t ever judge. Whether you are a full time working mom who has to pull in some overtime on top of that, a work at home mom, or a stay at home mom, bravo to you. Keep up the great job being the best you can be at all that you do.

General Mills reduces sugar!

We’re excited to share some great news for cereal lovers.  General Mills announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grains.


Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children’s diets.

Other cereal benefits:

Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children’s diets.
Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet today.
More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.
For more information about kids and cereals, please visit wellness and health.
Right now if you visit here you will find a $1 off coupon for one of four General Mills cereals. If you choose to participate we will also provide you with VIP coupons for 4 boxes of General Mills cereal to help your family come together at the breakfast table every morning.

MY TAKE:
Breakfast is an extremely important meal in this house.  All 3 of my kids are huge breakfast eaters. My kids would love to eat more of the "popular" cereals that I always tend to avoid because I look at them as being high in sugar and low in nutrients so I'm glad that General Mills has responded to this.  Now if only my middle child would eat his cereal with milk in it!  Sigh, I guess General Mills can't solve all my problems. 

Disclaimer:
All information was provided by General Mills through BlogSpark.  I was provided 4 VIP coupons for free boxes of cereal but was not required to post a review in exchange of coupons.  I received no other compensation and my opinons are my own. 

Friday Fragments

I'm participating in Friday Fragments today.  To view more fragmented fun visit Half Past Kissin' Time

*  I have a headache.  I wish it was from partying too hard last night but I've actually had a headache that I can't get rid of for 3 days now.

*  My house is TOTALLY quiet right now.  Kids are at the grandparents and the hubby is at work.  I've done nothing today...the most productive thing I've accomplished is walking the dog.  I know you are jealous.

*  The house is still a mess from all the Christmas happenings but I don't care.  No more company is expected and I'm enjoying my laziness today.

*  I had some fragments I wanted to share and now can't think of them.

*  I don't believe in resolutions.  Instead of declaring resolutions for the New Year I'm adding to my perpetual TO DO list.  A few items I'm putting on it:
         1.  clean out all of the closets in this house
         2.  organize what is left in those closets
         3.  organize all my photos
         4.  convince myself I really do want to exercise
         5.  train this damn adorable dog

I'm pretty sure these were all on my 2009 To Do list.  But see, that is what I mean.  If I resolved to accomplish these things and didn't I'd be disappointed and feel like a big failure.  However, I have no qualms shuffling them from one to do list to another.  

* Once I missed a trip to Germany because I drank enjoyed myself too much on New Years Eve.  I should really do a blog post on that.

*  My son got me an ice cream maker for Christmas and I'm still trying to look happy about it.  Really?  What the hell am I supposed to do with this thing?  What was my husband thinking letting him choose it? 

*  I really had no idea today was Friday.  I knew it was New Years Day but all the days have blurred together.  Its seems like its been forever since the kids were last in school.

*  It HAS been forever since the kids were last in school.  The 3 days they were supposed to be there before Christmas were snow days.  I can't wait for Monday.  Back to school!

*  I think snow days should be accompanied by the option to drop your children off at the home of the person who made the decision to close school that day.  They might be a little more motivated to get the parking lots cleared and encourage the town to do a better job clearing the snow.

*  My lazy day has just come to an end....I hear my husband's car in the driveway!

I Am Woman

Every year comes with some low points. Heck, not every day can be all roses and sunshine, right? For me the biggest lowlight of the year was having surgery. Not just any surgery. A hysterectomy. At the age of 33. Surgery sucks enough on its own but this one came with a lot of emotional baggage that I just wasn’t prepared for.

When I went to see the doctor in October I wasn’t surprised to hear him say the words. I was prepared for it; I knew we were heading there. I thought I’d be happy to have it done. I’d finally be rid of the pain and issues that I’ve been dealing with for years. However, I cried the entire way home. When I got home I walked past my children, went up to my room, crawled into bed, pulled the covers up and cried some more.

The surgical scheduler called me a few days later. She asked me if I was aware that there was going to be a wait to do the procedure laproscopically. I said no, he told me November. She said no, we are into December. December 22 was the first available date. I just laughed at her. She couldn’t seriously think that I was going to schedule surgery 3 days before Christmas.

To shorten the story a bit, after she talked to the doctor and they got a doctor from another practice to agree, they got me scheduled for November 3. Which was great but that was only a week away. I had a week to make arrangements for the kids, get my pre-admission testing done, get my pre-op appointment and make arrangements at work for my husband. Talk about inciting a little stress.
As I moved through the process of the pre-admission testing, the nurse taking my history and I didn’t hit it off. She was trying to bully me into a signing a consent form that I wasn’t having any part of and it was adding to my frustration and nervousness. I just wanted to jump across the desk and yell at her “have you seen the procedure I’m having and how old I am??? Maybe you should be asking me things like are you handling this okay!!!

Jumping ahead a bit….surgery went well, I was glad to get home when they discharged me the next day. Recovery wasn’t any fun and progressed much slower than it should have. (in fact I still don’t have the thumbs up from the doc yet and have to go back AGAIN next week).

Throughout the whole process the thing that surprised me most was that nobody (not even my husband) bothered to ask me how I felt about all of this emotionally. I have shed so many tears and I’m still shedding the occasional tear. I’m only 33 and I should still be able to have children for years to come. It doesn’t matter that my husband and I had decided not to have anymore children. The fact is I should still have the ability to have them. I’ve had other organs removed. In fact I’ve had several surgeries in the past few years. However, this is the only one that has made me question who I am and affected my self perception as a woman.

Today is a new day and the start of a new year. I am hopeful for a healthy year for us all and many good things to come.

To see my highlight of 2009 see here to see my last post.