Oh Fall, How I love thee...

...let me count the ways

The crisp feel to the air

The vibrant colors of nature

The crunching sound of the leaves beneath my feet

Apple Picking and all the yummy recipes to follow

Coming up with Halloween costumes

Trick-or-Treating

Bud's Birthday (he is turning 10 this year!)

I get to pull my Uggs out of the closet

I don't need to worry about shaving my legs...time to break out the pants!

Peace and Quiet for 6 whole hours each week day


for more Writer's Workshop be sure to visit Mama Kat

Ovarian Cancer

My cousin, who is a year younger than me, will be burying her mom in the morning.  As I hugged her tight tonight at the wake I told her this wasn't right.  We are too young to be burying our parents, we are supposed to be old biddies ourselves.   Her mom was hit by ovarian cancer. 

Recognize the signs and BEAT ovarian cancer:

Bloating that is persisitent

Eating less and feeling fuller

Abdominal pain

Trouble with your bladder

Take a few minutes and visit http://www.ocrf.org/ and http://www.ovariancancer.org/ to learn more about this sneaky but deadly disease. 

MixPups Party

Saturday was a fun day in this house.  Baby Girl invited some of her very best friends over to meet the new MixPup puppies.  MixPups are a great new toy with interchangeable hair, clothes and accessories.

The night before we created a puppy themed menu and set up the table:

 My daughter and her friends love making crafts so they created dog bones for their new puppy friends.

The giggles began when they each opened their 2 pack of MixPups and they began swapping the hair and accessories.  The girls were delighted to each receive their own MixPups 2 pack to take home.

The Middle Child was not going to be left out of the fun.

Baby Girl loves her new MixPups friends!  She has dragged them to the soccer field, spread them all out over the dining room table, and has had fun seeing all the different combinations she can create with the hair and accessories.    

Disclosure:  I was sent a "party pack" of MixPups and accessories for the intent to share them with my daughter and her friends.  No other compensation was received and I was not required to express a particular view. 

She's a Saucy Mama!

The winner of the Saucy Mama condiment gift pack is.....drum roll please.....comment #19 Queen Bee.  Congratulations!  I'm sure your family will enjoy some yummy recipes that you whip up!

I will be contacting you via email and you will have 48 hours to provide me with your information. 

Why?

Why is it that when people ask you a question they don't really want to hear the answer?

Why is it that when you speak the truth people don't really want to hear what you have to say?

Why is it that when you tell it like it is you are perceived as the trouble maker?

Why is it that hard to have something nice to say?

Why is it that people feel the need to put you in the middle of things?

Why is it that even though we are grown adults it still sometimes feels we are in high school?

Why is it that some people will just never be happy?

Why can't we just let our kids be kids?

Why?  Why? Why?

Identity Theft

I've had my identity stolen and I want it back.  The problem is, if I find it I don't know that I'll even recognize it.

Thirteen years ago my name was Beth.  I worked hard and had responsibilities as a Registered Nurse working full time, paying the rent and my car payments.  However, on my days off I was Beth.  A 21 year old single girl living the single life.  I was primping for dates, planning for a night out until the wee hours with the girls, lying on the beach with a book and spontaneously throwing clothes in a bag to take off for the weekend. I knew what was happening on my favorite soap opera and I even found time to go to the gym once in a while. 

Now I'm known as Mom.  I'm also known as  the mom of Bud, The Middle Child and Baby Girl or  Mrs. K.  I'm known as the hubs wife.  I've even been referred to as M'aam (ouch!).  I'm known as the soccer mom, the class mom, the scout leader.  I'm not known so much as Beth any more. 

My friends used to be mine.  Now my friends are the mom's of my kid's friends.  Don't get me wrong, I've met amazing women through my kids who I've become the best of friends with.  It is just different. 

Here is my dilemma.  Baby Girl just went to first grade and is now gone all day like her big brothers.  My babies aren't as dependent on me (except to perform taxi services!).  I've been left behind while they go explore the world, expand their wings, and see what is beyond the next horizon.  While this is great for them, I'm left wondering "now what?". 

As our kids grow, it isn't only a transition period for them but for us as their parents.  I'm definately at a transitional stage and I'm not sure what direction I want to take.  While once upon a time I thought I'd just fall back into life before kids, I've now discovered that I need to rediscover myself, my interestes and my talents and see where that takes me.

Time to get back on the wagon!

So, remember when I was religiously following Weight Watchers and I dropped 32 pounds?  Yeah, well, summer happened which included vacations, cocktails by the pool, eating out at the ballgames and on the boardwalk and well, I gained about 5 back.

Yes, I know 5 pounds isn't so bad.  However, as we all know, if we don't catch those first 5 they easily turn into 10, 15, 20 and more!  And since my pants aren't buttoning so easily this past week or so, I think it is definitely a sign I need to stop those 5 pounds in their tracks. 

Now that the kids are back in school and we will hopefully be settling into a routine, I need to hop back on that wagon!  Time to find those healthy (and easy!) dinner recipes, cutting back on my snacks and forcing myself to eat a sensible lunch instead of shoveling a bunch of shit in my mouth. 

Luckily, those 32 pounds came off with little exercise (we all know how much I despise exercise).  Portion control really does work ladies!  Today I declare I'm climbing back on that wagon and getting back to counting my points.

Community

I wasn't quite sure what my blog would be when I first started.  One night I was watching television and I was getting upset over the lack of quality family shows available.  I was wondering who I could vent to after 9pm and ended up turning to Blogger where I created my account and blog.  I promptly unloaded my thoughts on the topic.

Then I thought that perhaps I could use my blog as an online diary.  Every night I could log in and make a small entry about the events of the day and the thoughts I had on them (think Doogie Howser style).  However, I'm really bad at maintaining diaries. 

So, unsure of what I was doing with a blog, I just began to write.  If you look back over my posts, you will see many different topics.  Many about my kids, some about cooking, some about crafts, a few about friends or something that happened to me.  It really came to be a place I could just talk to people like I would in every day life.

As I began blogging more, I also began exploring more blogs.  I have found so many great writers, moms, cooks, comedians  and more in the world of blogs.  What I have discovered is a community.  So while I may not have realized it when I haphazardly stumbled my way into the blogging world, blogging has come to mean community to me.  If you look, you will find people just like you (as well as very different from you).  I enjoy being able to unload my thoughts and somebody out there just "getting" it and understanding. 

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This post was written as part of SITS Girls Back to Blogging week.  Thanks to the sponsor at Standards of Excellence, Westar, and Florida Builder Appliances, the SITS girls will be awarding a beautiful washer and dryer pair to one lucky blogger!  Woohoo!  I have Thelma and Louise's home ready and waiting for them!

Little Lady

Today's post topic for the The SITS Girls Back to Blogging Challenge is to write about a woman who inspires me.  I thought long and hard about this trying to pinpoint who it is that inspires me.  The more I thought about it the more I kept coming back to my daughter.  Now, my daughter is only 6.  She doesn't yet qualify as a woman, however, she is a woman in the making.

My daughter is a happy girl.  She wakes up happy, she goes to bed happy, and 99% of the time in between she is happy.  She has a bright beautiful smile that is contagious.  She truly enjoys the things she is doing and the people around her.  You can't help but smile when you are with her. 

She loves unconditionally.  Her love for her older brothers is proof of this! 

She puts her all into things.  I have never met a teacher or instructor who has not had the same exact thing to say about her:  she tries so hard at what she does, she listens and takes direction, and makes class/activity fun. 

She isn't afraid to try new things.  If you ask her if she'd like to try something new her response is "Well, I'll try it.  If I don't like it I can always stop." 

She loves being silly, loves to dress up, loves to play with her dolls, and loves being her.  She isn't trying to dress exactly like her friends or do an activity just because her friend does it.  She is her own person. 

Through her actions every single day, she inspires you to keep your heart open and love freely.  She inspires you to always try your best and to keep going and to always try new things.  She reminds you it is okay to be you and put yourself out there.  She makes me not only want to be a good mother to her but to be a better person so I can always be a role model in her life.  I learn from her each and every day and I hope that never stops. 


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This post has put me in the running to win Thelma and Louise!  Thanks to the sponsors from Standards of Excellence, Westar, and Florida Builder Appliances.

Goose Turds : Again

A few months back I titled a post Goose Turds.  Why am I so proud of that title?  Because people actually read a post called Goose Turds!

Goose Turds

The Middle Child is playing Little League Baseball this year. I don't know about the the towns you live in, but here, Little League is not cheap. We pay a hefty fee for the pleasure of watching the grass grow at our son's baseball games. If there ended up being a little action we have the additional pleasure of scrubbing grass stains from the knees of their pants.

In addition to that hefty fee we have to write a separate check for a "work bond". The league holds that check and the parents have to "Volunteer" a minimum amount of hours to have their check returned to them. I truly don't know how they can call it volunteering when it is forced labor but, whatever.

Well, if you know me, you know I'm a Cub Scout Leader, an assistant Girl Scout Leader, the vice president of a mom's group and the soccer Team Mom. I looked at my darling husband and told him this work bond was his responsibility. When he told me they could keep the check I almost leaped across the table and strangled him. Guess who won THAT argument. If you guessed me then you would be right.

So, this weekend they had a work weekend at the fields. That gave us the chance to work off the entire bond in one shot! Guess who I volunteered to go!!! Yup, that would be the hubs. He dutifully got up and was at the fields by 8am. He rolled in a little after 12 all dirty and tired and I asked him what he had to do. His answer? Rake goose turds.

I fell on the floor laughing. While I know he has done his duty schlepping the kids to practices and games, I still feel I log more time when it comes to their activities, so I wasn't feeling too sorry for him. He wasn't amused.

I'll take setting up fundraisers, running meetings and making phone calls over raking goose turds any day!
 
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This post was written for the SITS Girls Back to Blogging event.  I want to bring Thelma and Louise home to my house thanks to the sponsors at Standards of Excellence, Westar and Florida Builder Appliances.

Woman to Woman

As part of The SITS Girls Back to Blogging event, we were asked to pick a post that we wish more people had read.  I chose the following post because it was a very emotional one to write.  I had ended the year with 2 posts, one about the highlight and one about the low light of 2009.  I struggled withe the decision to write the post because there are many people in my life that I have not disclosed my surgery to.  However, I made the decision to be open and honest and put it out there.  So when I didn't get a lot of views on this post I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or sad that I had poured my heart out and nobody saw it.  In retrospect I think it was a combination of timing and a poor title.  I bring to you the post I wish more had read. 

2009 in Review: Low light of the year

Every year comes with some low points. Heck, not every day can be all roses and sunshine, right? For me the biggest low light 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.

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Now that you are done feeling sorry for me or wondering what in the world is wrong with me, please visit the sponsors of the Back to Blogging giveaway Standards of Excellence, Westar, Florida Builder Appliances.  I'm hoping to win Thelma and Louise!

Lose for Good

 For the third year in a row, Weight Watchers is teaming up with Weight Watchers members and charitable sponsors to help FIGHT WORLD HUNGER.  As you lose weight and participate in other activities from 9/5/10-10/23/10, you can HELP FEED children and families in need.  Help Weight Watchers meet ther $1 million donation goal!  For campaign details visit Lose for Good. 

How else can you help?  Spread the word!  Participate in today's Lose-A-Palooza.  For every approved social media mention of the Lose for Good Campain, Weight Watchers will be making a donation of $1, up to $60,000.  To help you out, here is an approved tweet:

Today Only! Lose-A-Palooza -Weight Watchers donates up to $1 for each #LoseForGood social media mention http://bit.ly/LoseAPalooza

Family TV

A thought on TV

My 3 munchkins got tucked in for the evening and I decided to curl up on the couch and relax in front of the TV. As the show I was watching started referring to masturbation and an orange penis I looked at the clock. It was only shortly after 8:30pm.

Now, my kids are little so they are usually in bed by 8 or shortly thereafter. However, many of my friends have kids that are still up and I know it won't be long before mine are awake past 8. It made me think about all the shows I enjoy watching and I realized there isn't one thing I'd find suitable for my children to watch.

When did 8pm stop being the family TV hour and shows about pregnancies as a result from a one night stand and orange penis' become acceptable viewing? Call me old fashioned if you will but I long for shows like the Cosby Show. That was a show I watched with my entire family and we'd joke how we thought they snuck in to view our mishaps and put them on TV. Or my dad would get an idea from Cliff and Claire and swear he was going to try it (like the time they put price tags on all of Theo's belongings and he was expected to buy them back).

I also love watching old reruns of Leave It to Beaver...a good wholesome FAMILY show. Media people...please....bring back some good viewing that I can enjoy with my entire family! People, am I alone in this??
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This post was originally published on Monday, October 5, 2009 and is part of the SITS Girls Back to Blogging series.  This is the first post ever here on my blog and I chose to re-post it as is, unedited. 
 
As part of the Back to Blogging week, I am eyeing up my chance to win Thelma and Louise.  They are a  Turquoise Sky (my FAVORITE color) washer and dryer from Electrolux.  Pop over to Standards of Excellence, Westar, and Florida Builder Appliances to see how you can beautify your home.

I'm feeling a little devilish {giveaway)

Saucy Mama was kind enough to send me a box full of marinades, mustard and olives.  My mission is to create a recipe using the products to be served up at a party.  Guess what.  She sent me a box to share with you too.  Wasn't that nice of her? 

I have a love for Deviled Eggs.  A love like no other.  My problem is, the traditional recipes never have enough "tang" that I'm looking for.  I'm always adding a bit more vinegar and/or mustard to achieve the zip I crave.  Well, today I stepped out of the box of traditional eggs and I bring to you Deviled Eggs: 2 Ways.  (I think I finally mastered how to hard boil eggs while at it!)

To cook eggs:
Place eggs in a pan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Shut off heat and let simmer for 12 minutes.  Dump hot water and place eggs in very cold/ice water for 3-4 minutes.  Remove and peel eggs. 

Hot Deviled Eggs
6 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. Saucy Mama's Hot Wing Sauce
3  Tbs. light mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/3 tsp. sugar
Saucy Mama Jalapeno Stuffed Olives

Directions:
1.  Slice 6 eggs in half, length wise, and carefully scoop out yolk and place in bowl.
2.  Combine yolk from 6 eggs, Hot Sauce, salt, pepper and sugar.
3.  Carefully spoon back into egg halves. 
4.  Slice a Jalapeno Stuffed Olive in half and place on top of egg as garnish.

Chipotle Eggs
6 eggs
2 Tbs. light mayonnaise
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. Saucy Mama Chipotle Mustard

Directions:
1.  Slice 6 eggs in half and carefully remove yolks.
2.  Combine yolks with mayo, vinegar, salt, pepper and chipotle mustard
3.  Carefully spoon mixture back into eggs

Now comes your chance to win the following Saucy Mama Prize Pack!

Includes Saucy Mama Chipotle Mustard, Jalapeno Stuffed Olives, Hot Sauce, Cracked Pepper Marinade, Lime Chipotle Marinade, Sweet Onion Marinade

To Enter:  Tell me what you'd like to cook up for dinner when you receive your Saucy Mama prize pack!

For additional entries:
1.  Pop on over here and tell me what other Saucy Mama product you'd like to try.
2.  Pop on over to the Saucy Mama Blog and sign up for their newsletter.
3.  Pop on over to From Blah to Ta-Daa to see what else I cooked up using some Saucy Mama and leave a comment over there. 
4.  Follow me on GFC, twitter, or facebook.  An extra entry for each platform you follow me in.


Be sure to leave a comment for each entry!!!  You MUST include an email for me to contact you.  Contest ends 9/23/10.

This giveaway is open to continental US residents 18 y/o and over only.  Winner will be chosen using random.org from all qualifying entries. 

Disclosure:  I received the above mentioned Saucy Mama products  for the purpose of creating an original recipe to be entered into recipe contest.  No further compensation was received and all views expressed are my own.  I was not required to express a particular view on the product.  The recipe contest entered will result in 3 winners to receive cash prizes and additional product. 

Back to School Blues

So, the kids are back in school and  I thought I'd finally get on some sort of schedule with my life, including blogging.  However, even though school has started they aren't on a regular schedule yet. This in turn is making it hard for me to get on any kind of schedule.

They started school last Wednesday, September 1.  Since we went back before Labor Day, they of course were off yesterday for Labor Day.  They had school today and they go tomorrow but then they are off on Thursday for Rosh Hashana. Then they decided to stay closed on Friday and make it a teachers inservice.  See what I mean?  They've had more days OFF school than they have had IN school.  Which is making. me. nuts. 

At first I thought it wouldn't be so bad, we could all ease out of summer mode and back into school mode.  However, it is really just making it harder to adjust to school mode.  Then next week we will finally be on a regular full week schedule but  all the chaos of all of our after school activities begin. 

And you want to hear the BEST part?  In the middle of this 4 day weekend, I have to be at the school at 7:15 Friday morning to set up a breakfast for the teachers.  Newsflash fellow PTO peeps....I'm not a 7am kind of gal. 

Oh, and don't even get me started about how they changed the school times this year.  You really don't want me to go there.  I'm starting to think homeschooling is sounding better and better.

Friday Fragments

Time for another edition of Friday Fragments where we dump all of our fragmented thoughts from the week.  Hook up with Mrs. 4444 to link up or check out what others have on their mind.

*I would have gotten this post up earlier but my husband and I decided to take off for the day.  We walked a few miles on the boardwalk, checked out the effects of Earl on the beach and had a lovely lunch. 

*Is it wrong of me that I enjoyed my lunch and was a little tipsy?  Ah, even if you said yes, really I don't care.  We all need to let our hair down every once in a while.

*  I survived sending my baby off to first grade.  However, this puts me at another crossroads in life.  Many have asked what I'll do with my free time and for right now the answer is I just don't know.  I'll get back to you on that one.

*  The beginning of this school year is crazy.  The kids started Wednesday, now have a 3 day weekend and then only go 2 days next week and have a 4 day weekend.  Who made this crazy schedule?  Shouldn't complain though, some schools haven't even gotten started yet.  At least we will have 5 days in before they even start and will be out a week earlier in June. 

*  I don't feel like cooking dinner tonight.  I feel like crawling in bed and taking a nap.  Is that wrong of me?  Ah, even if you say yes, I don't care.  I feel like being lazy.

*  My kids want to watch Camp Rock 2 tonight but I don't want them to stay up for the whole thing.  Why can't Disney start these things at 7 instead of 8?  They do know that the age of their audience aren't the adult set who stay up late, right?  I put my kids to bed at 8pm.  Yes, even on the weekends. 

*  Can't think of anything else to dump on you all.  Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Wordful Wednesday

Today was the first day of school. 

The only one actually happy about starting school is the little one. 

Off we go...I'm glad we are walkers and I don't have to put my babies on a bus.

What you don't see?  Me behind the camera crying.  My baby left me for first grade today.  Not only is my house empty all day, she was happy to go.  Sniff. 

On another note...for those of you who insisted I post a pic...

The hair cut that prompted my hairdresser to ask me if I was having a nervous breakdown.