Just a tip:

Have you all visited the fishful thinking banner to the right??
In case you were wondering, I have joined the fishful thinking campaign. I think the message it offers is something worth looking into. It is all about helping parents build optimism in there children in order to help them deal with life's ups and downs. Each week, Fishful thinking gives parents new tips on communication, relationship builders, or just great fun activities to engage in with your children. Today I am offering up the chance for Moms to click on this link to check out some tips on how to be a happier Mom.

http://fishfulthinking.repnation.com/Log.ashx?a=2&i=136&r=333a67b1-d80e-4889-ab36-e1ca67e166fd

We all say we are really happy being moms, but lets face it, It isn't always peachy. This site identifies with those feelings. Check it out.

(each time someone checks out fishful thinking from my blog......I earn points toward awards.....no pressure)

*Or go here
http://fishfulthinking.repnation.com/Log.ashx?a=2&i=134&r=333a67b1-d80e-4889-ab36-e1ca67e166fd

And participate in

"Fishful Thinking Ingredient Activity 4: Grateful Sayings
This week, many families across the country will gather together and observe the Passover or Easter holiday, so this week’s Fishful Thinking Ingredient Activity is one that the whole family can appreciate and participate in."

200 TO GO

Today on the count down to our Disney Vacation marks 200 Days To Go! Yikes! - it's starting to feel Real. The excitement is mounting!

It is Kind of hard to relay how long 200 days is to 3 kids under the age of 7. Kyle of course, being the oldest, has a better concept of time than the other two. We tell Kyle that he just has the summer, then school will start, and about a month and 1/2 after that, we will be off to Florida. He gets a little hmmmf about that, because I'm sure that seems like forever away to him still.
I can remember when I was his age and the end of the school year was so fabulous because it felt like summer lasted forever. and the start of the next "school year" seemed so far off, I didn't have a care in the world. that all seemed to end when I started working at 14 yrs old - then the time started whizzing by.

But anyway, I have no idea what Vivian's perspective on 200 days is right now. I think she thinks it's closer than it really is..... She finds pennies on the floor and runs to my bedroom to add to the "Florida Fund" Jar. She is cute........ start finding a lot more pennies Viv!

Forget Kerrigan....What does time really mean to a 21 month old? She can't even wait 2 minutes for lunch, much less 200 days for a vacation. I just hope that by October, a then 2 1/2 year old will be a good traveler!

Things to do in 200 Days:

1. must loose 6 pounds per month. (not an unreachable goal I don't think?)
2. potty train Kerrigan ( so much less to lug around at Disney)
3. save spending money ( once the car is paid off this will be easier)
4. buy travelling clothes for Gary and I ( the kids wardrobe seems to be the healthiest)
5. Find Volunteers to take care of Sandler/freddie/oscar - shouldn't be too hard (right Reagan?)
6. stock up on the Valium for Gary on the plane!


Ok - the list isn't too long!

When we reached the 250 day mark, We all gathered at Gary's parent's house for Dinner to celebrate. We all wore our Disney Character shirts we got from his mom for Christmas to get in the spirit. Tonight we are having a cook out to mark the 200 day count down. Along with our character shirts.
lets see........May 26th marks 150 days........July 16th marks 100 days....September 4th marks just 50 days........and then we leave October 24th! ........ see, the breakdown makes it really seem close! We can't wait!!

My attempt at an Interview....

A couple of other bloggers I follow, have recently written posts where they "interviewed" their young children and reported there answers. Some interviews were successful, and some...not so much. The questions were pretty general...mostly just about life...nothing too leading. I liked these questions because they left it open to the children to answer freely and uninhibited. Kind of like the show Bill Cosby used to host called "kids say the darnedest things".

So I decided...I have a couple of spit fires at home that will think this idea is pretty cool....I bet they will come up with some knee slapping answers and it will make for a glorious post showcasing their sweet, imaginative, perceptive personalities. ......ummm, yeah, ...it was more like trying to have fun at the dentist.

I put a little thought into the interview before I actually did it. I started with Vivian. I knew that to have her undivided attention, I would have to administer the questions while we were in the car... you know, strapped in with no other choice but to listen to me. (by no means was this a Forced interview). I wanted some of the questions to be real easy, so she would confidently answer. and others to be something she would have to think about, and perhaps "make up" an answer to - That could be cute too.


I will get to the interview in a minute.....but first you must know that I also interviewed Kyle afterwards. He was a bit more skeptical about the whole thing. pretty soon he started asking ME questions, like, why are you asking me questions? When I told him I was going to blog about it.... he insisted I not put his answers on my "stupid blog"! I was made to promise that I would not put his answers here. I agreed......phfah!. I didn't sign anything! - I will sneak his answers in there somehow.

So on to the interview. My questions are in Green. Vivian's answers are in Purple. Kyle's Answers are in Blue...:


Hey vivian. Do you want to do something fun with Mommy on our way to pick up Brother?

Yes

Let's do an interview! It's where Mommy asks you some questions, and you answer them. It can be any answer you want... You aren't going to be right or wrong. It's just whatever you think - Ok?

OK

Ok.. - How old do you have to be to get married?

I don't know?

Can you guess?

I don't know?

are you old enough?

NO!

Is Greg old enough? (greg, my nephew is 13)

no?....You just gotta be out of school?

(Kyle's answer was 20)

Why do people get Married anyway?

I don't know?

Viv we aren't going to get very far with these questions if you keep answering with "I don't know". - just say whatever you think.

ok - because they are the Bosses.

Kyle: to not be alone, ...to take care of kids, and to get babysitters when you go to work.

(should I be worried that there was no mention of being in love as the reason for marriage??)

What do you want to be when you grow up?

ummm. I want to be the COOKer!!

Oh - you mean in a Restaurant?

No - At home. And I want to be the Mom.

Kyle: I'd like to be like Jeff Corwin - not like steve Erwin because he died!

Where would you like to live when you grow up?

At home.

Like with Mommy and daddy?

YUP!!!

OK! As long as you still want to be the COOker!

Kyle: the USA

(by now I think they thought these questions were stupid, so I decided to lighten them up - not make them think so hard I guess)

What is your Absolute Favorite Food?

Broccoli, Cottage Cheese and Sausages....and one something else that I like....POPCORN!!!!

(viv really liked answering this question. I'm glad she named such healthy foods...I could have sworn she was going to say CHIPS)

Kyle: Hamburger Casserole

What food is the Yuckiest?

Spicy stuff

kyle: Lemons

What happens when you really REALLY want to buy a special toy, but you don't have the money to buy it?

get something else....(which promted her to carry on about....) how about we get 2 DS's so we don't have to fight??? doesn't that sound like a good idea? because I really want one and...and....(yadda yadda yadda)

kyle: wait until you have the money

(oh yeah? really kyle? you don't whine and throw a fit and beg and finally end up saying you want to go to meme's then?)

And that concluded our interview. I think it was pretty cute. looking back, I think I should have tried it at bedtime maybe. oh well, maybe another time.

This interview was "out of the mouths of these babes:

Except for Kerrigan......just insert NO! for every question ....... it's her favorite word lately.

Thanks for listening!

Some Sloppy Kisses!

First let me introduce you to My niece's new (a couple months) Puppy. He is a tiny fur ball of the YORKIE kind and they call him HUDSON ( kind of a big sounding name for a peanut of a dog right?)

Look at that sweet little face - he just screams PAMPER ME!!!

Corin came across this store in Saratoga Springs Called Sloppy Kisses. It is Treat Boutique for Dogs.

It is a place to take Man's best furry friends when you are looking for a treat, a leash, clothing, a gift basket etc. to pamper them. Corin took along my oldest and middle children when they went to pick up a little MET'S baseball cap they bought for Little Hudson. ( you can't even imagine how cute it looks on him). The kids thought it was really great, and Corin was nice enough to let my little monsters pick out 2 Gourmet treats to bring home to our Dog, Sandler. If sandler was human? - he would be the obese guy at the party that goes around finishing up the leftovers on peoples plates and heading back up to the buffet for dessert 3 times. He eats everything in site. We can't leave ANY food out unattended. There is no mystery in our house of where the missing cookies went that were not put back in the cupboard! So when Corin and the kids came home from Sloppy Kisses with these Gourmet ORGANIC dog treats...I had to giggle....seemed like kind of a waste of money on our dog. We don't monitor too much of what goes in his mouth. That would be a full time job. But it was very nice of her anyway - and Vivian couldn't wait to give Sandler what she had picked out for him!

Viv picked the donut and Kyle picked the ducky cookie.

The donut looks like one that came right from dunkin donuts - you would never know without touching it that that it wasn't soft and squishy

It came in this nice Boutique box with a ribbon on top.

And as you can see from these pictures, Sandler was quite impressed........He was probably also a little confused at first - "ok? they are intentionally going to GIVE me this donut? - I don't have to wait until they can't see me to snatch it? what's the catch?"

Ok Fat buddy - Organic treats are gone - you are back to the usual stealing goodies from babies and snatching that oh-so-easy because it's-right-near-the-edge-of-the-table, slice of Pizza!

wait a minute....it will come to me....

warning: - just a silly post

Have you ever had that "just on the tip of my tongue" feeling? Do you think it's annoying?

I happen think these situations are kinda fun. I don't know why. During those moments of agony when you are trying to think of a name, a movie, a song title.....I go pretty nuts. Why? because I just HAVE TO think of the answer before I can rest.

Whether I am trying to tell a story and get stuck because of a name of someone that's related to someone, that's a friend of a friend.....yada yada, or if someone else is telling me a story and it conjures up a memory of some movie that I can't think of the title to........I will not rest until I have come up with that name/title/song etc.

Just the other day, I was riding home from work with my sister, and she went through this exact scenario. I said a person's name, Corin said - "oh I think I know her. I think she was friends with (so and so) her kids were in her wedding....husband's name was blah blah blah..... oh man why can't I think of her name?" ---------meanwhile, all of that had nothing to to with what I was trying to talk about.........and come to find out, as I continued on with my story, Corin was too preoccupied with remembering the woman's name to even listen to me.

Truth is, this is exactly how I get! I start playing the word association game in my head to try and pinpoint the words I am searching for. I do this with movies and actors quite often. I am pretty good at remembering lines from movies, or when I hear a song on the radio that brings me back to a great movie moment....."Take my breath away" that song immediately makes me think of the movie Top Gun. (back when I thought Tom was the yummiest and not the freakiest) that would then lead me to try to remember the actress in the movie......and so on. Its almost like I am trying to stump myself.

I may not get my answer soon....it could be hours later, after I'm not even thinking about it anymore......
My favorite part of this weirdness is the moment that it "POPS" into my head. The answer will literally just fall off my tongue, almost like I had no control of it. Almost like my brain went through all the files in my head searching for the answer, finally found it, and just throws it at me to relieve the pressure! lol .....That is the best feeling. "aaahhh, phew, man that was a tough one".

I think this is why I enjoy Crumbs in the Minivan's daily song title - she challenges you to think of the singer. a lot of them I have no idea, and that doesn't drive me nuts. But if I know I know it, I won't rest until I think of it.

That aha moment! it makes me giggle!

The Science Fair

Ok so (we) Kyle signed up to enter the science fair like 6 weeks ago. It was open to any kind of project he wanted that had anything to do with science.......His first choice was (enthusiastically) a Volcano...mom doesn't know how to help make a volcano. I suggested a poster all about his bee keeping and the importance of bees. (we have tons of bee keeping pictures he could use). "ummmm.......NO!"

So I searched the Internet for science projects that would be easy enough for a first grader to create, and still know what the heck it was about. ---found the Volcano ..... sounded expensive .... acted like I didn't find the volcano.

I did find a Rock Candy experiment. Kyle thought it sounded cool, so we attempted it. we used lots and lots of sugar....a little bit of water......boiled the crap out of it until it was a syrup....then put it in a jar with string hanging down. (we followed the directions). We waited like 2 weeks for the "crystals" to start climbing up the string to start forming the "rock Candy"........ then we waited another week .......... NOT even one crystal formed. BAD science project!

So then we were down to like two and 1/2 weeks left. ummm... we were pretty lax about it.

Thursday night after we finished Homework, I mentioned to kyle that we needed to decide quickly about the science project.
Kyle: How many days left?
Me: 4 days!
Kyle: We should have started this sooner!
me: No kidding!

I so perfectly popped the idea of the bees back into his head. I reminded him that we had all the pictures, and he could bring in a jar of our honey, and a piece of the comb, and his bee net hat. I also reminded him that the judges would be going around asking questions about the projects and the kids are supposed to be able to answer them. - He would have no trouble talking about the bees. He is an expert now.

He agreed to make it his science project (UN-enthusiastically). I was relieved - No! not because I had won.....but because I knew it would be easy for me him.



Over the weekend, we traveled to AC Moore to get our supplies....glue dots, yellow poster board, foam board, and a fresh set of markers. (the ride home from this shopping trip deserves it's own post due to the fact Kerrigan was miserable - we found out why in the car - she puked all over herself (the real stinky kind) her car seat and her bag of lunch. I had to pull over, kyle climbed out quickly while gagging, I stripped her naked, sat her on a sweatshirt back in her seat, and had my mother continue driving us the rest of the way while I sat in the back with a plastic bag, "catching" the 2 more puke episodes. - not fun)



Kyle had a great time with the glue dots. Some of them were even used on the poster. He also insisted on drawing some of his own pictures....... it was a great Idea! - then in his own words, he described each of our pictures and the importance of the bees. This part was not his favorite... oh he had such "hand cramps after all that writing" boo hoo. (somewhere around the eleventh hour of him whining about all the writing, I was wishing we had just done the damn Volcano!).

Here is the finished project.......

Notice Kyles original artwork in the middle section. ( this was our first big project - it was a little hard for mom to let him do it without help. All I did was make sure the pictures were pretty straight.)

The things on the table are a jar of our honey and a piece of the honey comb. Kyle wore his bee keeping hat during the whole fair. (I couldn't get a picture of him with his project because it was extremely crowded in that little library with 15 to 20 science projects + the kids and their families.

I was VERY happy when I noticed that 5 other children had done Volcanoes ....... and none of them won.

Kyle didn't win either........1st, 2nd and 3rd place got gift certificates to a book store.......but he did get a certificate for participating, and a little bag of goodies with some gross goopie stuff that he was very happy with. On the way home, I told kyle I think he was a winner because he did something original. No one else had a bee project, and everyone that walked by was genuinely interested in his poster and his hobby. (deep down I was happy he didn't blame me for not winning...since I did have to coax him into the bee idea....phew.)

Another thing I learned about the school science fair?- never bring kerrigan again!!!!! - She was a little monster. - She wanted no part of being cooped up in that library..... She finally coped when I took her to the little kids book section and let her pick out her own books......I pity the librarian that had to deal with that aftermath.

Vivian was an angel :0)

Change is nice

This nice Color yellow here is the new look of our hallway. (off the living room, on your way to the rest of our house.) When we redecorated the living room (about 5 years ago) We didn't continue the new paint into the hallway. I think the reason was LAZINESS lack of enough paint. Then we put up fresh new wood trim throughout the living room. we didn't continue that project into the hallway either. I think the reason for this was LAZINESS lack of time. So last week, when Gary brought up the fact that he still had enough wood to finish the hallway, and threw out the idea of a fresh paint job at the same time, I jumped on the thought. Hey any time a husband is willing to start a home improvement project - Don't dilly dally or the moment will be lost for years who knows how long. So Thursday I ran to Home depot on my lunch hour. Picked out the nice yellow to compliment the red we have in the living room. ( I have never picked out paint that fast in my life - a time limit is good for me). When I got home from work, Gary had all the old trim off the walls. All I had to do was take down the pictures, wait for all three kids to fall asleep, and start painting at 10:00 at night. (Kyle fought off sleep extra hard that night)
I finished the second coat at about 1:30am and flopped myself into bed.
Hey - you gotta paint when the painting is good. (when all 30 tiny fingers are asleep.) As of today, Gary has most of the new trim up. It looks MArvEloUS! I absolutely love the red and the yellow together. Yellow is my favorite color to begin with, but that shade is now my most favorite. There is just something about the feeling you get after painting a room in the house. It makes me want to keep going to the other rooms that need a face lift. money prevents me from getting too excited, but for now, I have been hanging out in the hall a lot. All of those dreams about knocking down walls, and making a new living room - they just got Color added to them!