Santa Claus Revealed

Christmas night about 6:00 PM, members of the family gather. This is my Mom's family. She is second of 11. My youngest Uncle is 2 years older than me. I have cousins close to the same age as my kids. There ae about 75 os us that gather. Hubby loves this party and it is a must-do for us every year. Ever since I was little, Santa has always paid us a visit. He tells us he is on his way back to the North Pole after going around the world distributing gifts. Santa usually brings another small gift for each child under 10 with him.

This year, the 8 YO sang "Jingle Bells" at the top of is lungs so Santa knew where we were. He held a coversation with Santa, posed for pictures on his lap and accepted his present. He came over and sat under the table I was sitting at while other kids were called up for their turn. He looks at me and says in a whisper "that's just a guy in a red suit and a fake beard." I replied "Yes, but isn't it fun?"

On the way home I took the opportunity to ask if he didn't think that having a guy in a red suit and a fake beard come every year was fun. He decided that maybe it was. We discussed about how Santa embodies the spirit of the season, how we believe that Christ is in everybody and by giving them Chirtmas gifts, we give Christ Brithday gifts.

The 12 Yo never has come out and made such a bold statement. Actually I am relived. next year I do not have to worry about keep special wreapping paper. (Santa only brought three gifts for each boy every year. ) And I won't have to make sure I have cookies around so that Hubby can eat them before falling into bed.

So, I hope my kids continue to hold the image of Santa in their hearts as the spirit of Christmas. I plan to continue to fill their stocking on Dec 6th for the feast of St. Nicholas. I plan to continue to sing jingle Bells on Christmas night until I hear him rings his bell and shout "ho ho ho".

Merry Christmas

Christmas Tour

Welcome to my stop on the Bloggy tour of Christmas homes.

This is the outside. There are little trees on either side of the door.

This is the tree in my Living room. We seemed to have lost half a strand of lights at the top. This is the live tree that we cut down ourselves.

This is my staircase that is just inside my front door

This is my Family room. Those are various Nativities on the shelves and on the fireplace.

This is a close up of our Artifical tree.

Here is a close-up of the fireplace.

Thanks for stopping by. For more Beautifully deced out houses. Check out Boo Mama

Self Preservation tactics of kids

On Wednesday evening, Hubby was out of town. DS12 had Wrestling practice. So the 8 yo and I headed to the Mall. I had some stuff the return. I had to make a scene to get my money back. I was a bit embarrassed about it, but then I'd stick my hands in my pocket and feel the money and feel a little bit better. I led my son outside and in through another door explaining that I wanted to avoid these sales-robots. And for the next 20 minutes I'd proceed to talk about how frustrating that experience was and how angry I was getting. My 8 YO offered me some good advice how when hes mad about something he thinks about something good in order to help him get out of it.

The was nary a whine out of him. He's been in a whiney stage for the last year or so and so dramatice about showing his displeasure with something I wanted to do with sighs, hanging of his head and the rolling of his eye. I did not see any of that this particular evening. It was actually delightful hanging out with him.

I find it amazing how they go through stages. Some stages I can take and others just drive me batty. Fortunately, Hubby and I differ as to which stages we handle better than others.

This week

Mon - Tacos - although it turns out that Wrestling practice has been cancelled.

Tues - Turkey and Noodles. - Pulled the leftover Turkey out of the freezer. I will mkae it tonight and leave int he fridge to be warmed up.

Wed - (Dad's out of town) - Options: There is one more dish of Chicken and Rice casserole and some salisbury steak in the freezer.

Thurs - We'll grab soomething out.

Fri- Homemade pizza - but another busy night.

So I think I found some solutions to my Dilemma. I was haivng troble with getting the boys fed early enough to let dinner settle before practice. Theya re not very good at getting meals and they really don't want to do sandwiches. So I got some small glad/ziplock plastic containers. I made up some simple casseroles. One of the dished gives my boys about 2 servings. Even if it is rice, chicken and a can of Cram of chicken soup, it's better than a lot of the other things they'd be eating. I can leave it in the fridge and give them instructions to warm up a serving in the microwave and eat it at about 4:30.

For more great menus, check out Laura's blog.

Riding the bus

My SW Ohio town has a bus system. There are two park and ride area within a couple of mile to my house. As an employee of the big University in town, I get to ride free. What a deal. I rode the bus this morning since we took my car in to be checked out. I enjoyed the experience. I wish I could do it more often. Especially since I have to pay $80 a month for a parking pass.

But alas, it is not to be yet. I have to transfer buses. I have go ride downtown and then board another bus to get to the University. The entire ride in takes about an hour. The ride home takes about an hour and a half. I jsut cannot afford that much time. There are weeks where I struggle to have my face showing at the office for 40 hours. I already eat my lunch at my desk and only take 30 minutes for lunch. I cannot leave the hosue until the boys get on the school bus. Then I feel like I am rushing home to feed the family dinner and get to our evening activities.

To save money, you need more time. To get more time, you need to spend money. Bummer!

St. Nicholas Feast Day - Dec 6th

So did you set out your stocking or shoe? We did. We use stockings.

My parents both grew up putting their shoes out the night of Dec 5th for St. Nick to leave candy, fruit and nuts for them. As I was growing up, a small toy or a comic book or a magazine woudl appear. My Children have discovered Videos and DVD's in their stockings along with candy.

Here at work, I brought in a shoe box and put Oranges, Candy canes, Hershey's kisses and a bowl of walnuts out for my co-workers. I did have one lady already get the Shoe box reference. Afterall, one of the Legacies of St, Nicholas is sharing little treat with others.

For more infomration about St. Nicholas, check out the St. Nicholas Center.

Works For Me Wednesday - Fast Meals

Hi Folks,

We are a busy family at this time of the year. Ok, not just this time, but right now things are quite a challenge. With DS12 being in Junior High, his wrestling practices are the three nights during the week when the 8yo does not practice. We are running to practice five nights a week.

Last year, before we moved, the school where practice was held was 4 miles away from home. Even suring rush hour it was not difficult to get there. Now in our new city, to get to the High School 13 miles away, we need to fight rush hour traffic. It can take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes. Of course it take Hubby and I longer to get home from work also.

So my tip is about how to have a meal at home early enough so that the boys are not practicing on a full stomach. I fix a casserole and leave instructions for it to go into the oven usually about 4:30. The 12 Yo can do this. (Although one time the new-to-us gas oven did not fire up.) Which every parent has been more victorious in overcoming rush hour traffic then puts dinner on the table.

Casseroles - it's what's for dinner. This works better for me than the crockpot. With the crockpot the meal stays in it for over 10 hours, so I have to be selective as to which recipes can tolerate that long of a time. Of course it's only worked since my 12 yo has been old enough to be a latchkey kid.

For more great ideas, see Shannon's blog.

Business Travel

Once upon a time, I traveled for business. This was back before Hubby went back to school and got his degree, back when I was bringing in 2/3 rds of the family income. I felt guilty (usually). While it was nice being away, I worried abotu stuff at home. Especially when DS-now-8 was an infant. Yes, I left him at home. I always believed that my family handled my traveling better than I did. I have to admit I wondered why Hubby had his Mom over a lot more to help him out.

So now, with Hubby's new job is coming travel. (And it is getting more frequent). Now i am on the other end. I understand why he saw his Mom more often. Especially since the boys were quite little. (Like 0 & 5 all the way to 3 & 8). So while now the kids are older and able to do a lot for themselves, in a way it is easier, but in a way it is more difficult because i do become the shuttle bus driver. With somebody having wrestling practice every night M-F, it is rush home from work, shovel in some dinner, hop in the car for the 13 mile drive to the high school in rush hour traffic, finding something to occupy me and a non-wrestler for 2 hours, back home for shower, snack and bed. Whew!

Yesterday Hubby got asked to make a quick trip for a survey on Friday. He'll leave Thursday afternoon and come home Friday night. So what's the problem? I had agreed (with Hubby's blssing) to participate with a focus group of the Alumni associatation Thursday evening and then go for a girl's night out on Friday. I had to cancel both. We discussed asking my brother to help, but I felt guilty asking him to do the Thursday shuffle*.

But you know what, even the Thursday shuffle* is better than the 10 hour workdays and impersonal hotel rooms and wondering what is happening at home.

*Thursday shuffle:

• Meet the 8 yo's bus at 3:30 at home
• Pick up the 12 Yo from band practice at 4:30
• Feed us all (not enough time to go home, eat and get to practice in rush hour)
• Drop DS12 off at Wrestlign practice at 6:00.
• Entertain the 8 Yo for 2 hours
• 8:00 practice ends
• 8:25 at home for showers and snacks
• 9:00 bedtime

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Sloppy Joes

Tuesday - Turkey pot pie

Wednesday - Spaghetti and Meatballs

Thursday - Beef stew

Friday - Homemade pizza

HAve a great week. And Check out Laura's blog for more great meal plans.

Sweetness

My boys are off school today as the Thanksgiving break is Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I did wake the 12 Yo to put on his ADHD patch at the usual 6:00 AM so I could buzz out to work early (so I can get home early). I turn to leave the room and the sleep boy say' Wait a minute." He stumbles out of bed and gives me a big hug. Awww!

Organizing Challenge Progress report.

I am pretty happy with where things are going with putting away thing in my new basement. I have Holiday desorations stored under the stairs, I emptied many boxes. Toys are on shelves, videos and DVD's are on Shelves. I unearthed the train table. Even though my boys have outgrown their Thomas Trains. they still find used for the table Hubby made for them. There are still some boxes of books and office supplies lying around. I do need to neaten them up.

Hubby did promise he start to work on organizing his workbench area. So I am at the point where I can go down and empty one box and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Having Monday off when the rest of the family had work/school was an immense help. I moved shelves, piled boxes, etc. I need to make arrangements to take the boxes back to the co-worker who loaned them to me.

Here are some before pictures. Boy some of these are small. I think because I uploaded them to facebook at home and downloaded them the display here. I am unable to make them bigger. The other ones were taken directly from the camera to my machine.



Here are some in progress pictures:























I purchased these shelving systems from Home Depot. They are by Closet maid. I love shelves. I want to install more, but that will have to wait until next month when I have an influx of more spendable cash.

My Original Post about participating is here.

Halloween Pictures

I love the intensity on his face when he is carving.

This morning was something else. It was cold here. the 8 YO could not find his coat. He was going to go out with 2 sweatshirts until I found his coat hanging up in the coat closet.

Christmas Cheer

So I love Christmas music. Today I have finally given in to the urge and am playing my ripped Christmas CD's on my computer. So then I went into my archives to see when I broke them out last year. Guess what, It was Nov 13th.

Now if I could just find my collection of Christmas CD's. They are probably in the same box that is hiding my MP3 player. I have not seen that since we moved in July.

Windy City

I'm on a mini-vacation in the Windy City. Hubby is attending a conference and I cam along for the ride. I did bring my laptop and am keeping in touch with work. We are trying to hire someone and I am doing thisgs related to that.

We are staying with a family that are good frineds of ours. G&L actually introduced us. Hubby and G went to High school together and L & I met at our first job att eh big oil Company here in Chigaco when we were both fresh out of college. They have a nice house in he city and it's always an adventure. Especially for peopl ewho live in the suburbs.

Yesterday L took the day off to spend with me. My goal is to do much of my Christmas shopping. But yesterday we started out walking their kids to school. then we went to the gym. L's trainer put me through exercises. I am a bit sore today. We came back tot he house, both did some remote email work. and about 11 am we were off again. We went to a store for workout clotheing her trainer has been bugging her about. Then we went to Wriglyville where I got a few Cub-themed items for gifts. We ate lunch. Then we went down to the loop so i could go to the DePaul Bookstore there. I got my MBA at DepAul and wanted some stugg that had the Grad College on it. L circled the block in her car while I shopped. I got a diploma frame that I have been wanteing along with 2 shirts, a pair of sweat pants and a coffee cup.

Today I am going to meet my brother. His wife just got a job in Chicago and he's looking for one. They are staying out in the burbs. He wil ride the train in and I am going to meet him at the station. We'll bum around together for a bit.

the boys are having a good ole time at home. Grandma (my Mom) is staying with them. Unfortunately for her, this is the first week of Wrestling practice and she has to run one of them somewhere every night.

Fall Organizational Challenge 2007

So I'm trying Org Junkie's Fall Organizational Challenge again. Last year I did not make it. But I am trying again. We moved in July and my basement is a sea of packed boxes.

I am a crafter. So I have lots of stuff. This is an unfinished basement. I have been buying shelving units. The type where you have tracks and adjustable brackets. I love them. I took before pictures, but I do not have them to post right now.

I purged a lot this spring when we put the old house on the market. As of this past weekend, I had all of my paper crafting stuff put away, My Husband had installed a piece of countertop for my craft workspace. He still needs to run electricty, hang a light and some peg board.

One big obstacle I have is that the basement is L-shaped. The short part is the mechanical area. It has large workbench that my Hubby had claimed and his stuff is still where it was set when it was moved in. I need to carve my space out of this area.

The Challenge I currently face is that I have 2 shelving units up and full already. One has all of my paper crafing and general crafting stuff. The other set has those household items You keep for special occasions. I still have three boxes of sewing supplies that I do not know where to put. I also do not know where to put my sewing machine cabinet.

Another challege is the lack of electrical outlets in the basement. My Dad promised to help Hubby run some outlets Thanksgiving weekend. Right now to get electricity to the main part of the basement. We have an extension cord run across the unfinished ceiling to the middle ofthe room where two desks are pushed together. This is powering the TV, XBOX, Computer and Monitor. I cannot rearrange that part of the basement until we can plug stuff in at reasonsalbe places.

But I am going to give it a try.

We moved from a house twice the size of our current one, but the old house had lots of storage. When I think about how much I purged, I am amazed at how I am having difficulties putting away the stuff I still have left.

Monday - No menu plan

So I really have no menu plan for this week. Tuesday about Noon Hubby and I are driving to Chicago. He is attending a conference and I will window shop and people watch on Michigan Ave. We'll come back home Saturday. My Mom was nice enough to agree to come and stay with the kids.

Halloween recap.

So I had been planning to post some Halloween Pictures. I have some good ones of the 8 YO carving his pumpkin. The pictures are still on the camera.

The above-mentioned 8 YO did a good job carving his pumpkin, once Mom gutted it. He did want to do that part. The 12 Yo was too busy finishing up homework to carve a pumpkin.

Hubby went out of town on Halloween. Lucky me. The 8 Yo had to wear his costume to school for hte Halloween parade. He laid out a baseball uniform on Tuesday night and then Wednesday morning decided that he did not like that costume. Sigh. I think he ended up changing out the baseball jersey for a football jersey and took in his mask without a face.

Both boys went trick-r-treating with the neighbors while I stayed home and passed out treats. I had a big bag of smarties candy and a bunch of bouncy balls. My neighbor said i could expect up to 125 kids. I don't think we got that many. And it was a really nice night. There was quite a number of teenagers. That surprised me.

Menu Plan Monday - Oct 29th

Boy, I think I almost hyperventilated when I saw Orgjunkie had moved her blog.. I do enjoy reading about her adventures.

Anyways, for my Menu

Mon- Hubby's BD - Not sure at 9:30 AM. I pulled ground beef out of hte freezer, but that was this Am and it will not be thawed. I may stop and pick up a steak. I did take him out for Ribs last night.

Tues- Chicken Pot pie from leftovers of the beer can chicken we grilled on Saturday

Wed - Hubby is out of toen until Friday - Maybe I'll use the defrosting ground beef and make Johnny Marzetti.

Thurs - Soup and Sandwiches

Fri - Dad's Home Yea! He can decide. LOL! Hubby works half days on Friday. I have been getting into the habit of leaving Friday dinners in his lap. Poor Guy.

Check out Laur's new blog for more great Menus

Parent-teacher Conferences

Hi Everyone,

We had parent teacher conferences this week. They went very well. DS8 is doing wonderfully academically, we just need to sort out his social issues. I'm hoping that once he gets back into an organized sport that that might help with his energy level and the pent-up anger his teacher is observing. The school psychologist is working with him.

We spoke to 3 of the 5 teachers that have Ds12. He is doing pretty good. There are some behaviors he should change. Apparently he is more advanced in math than his new classmates. So he sometimes reads a novel in math class. His history teacher commented about hsi poor handwriting and suggested that he type as much of his homework as he can and take his time when he cannot type.

Overall, we were quite happy.

Menu Plan Monday - Oct 22

Hi Folks,

Mon - Salisbury steak

Tues - Ham and Green beans in the crockpot

Wed - Turkey Pot pie

Thurs - Spaghetti

Fri - Not sure...

For more great menu's check out Laura's blog.

The Suffering has ceased.

So I suffered with an intense sinus headach for about 26 hours. Last night about 7:30 I asked Hubby to run to the drugstore to get some Sudafed. An hour after I took those 2 little red pills, my headache was gone. I usually have some in the house. I did go looking for some in my tote bag. There were 2 but they had been reduced to powder.

Oh why did I take so long to find a desongestant? Ah stubbornness.

As a side note, the last time I purchased Sudafed was before the put it behind the counter. I bough a huge bottle of it. Now I think you need to show your driver's license and sign over your first born.

Various and Sundry...

Hey Folks,
It's Wednesday. I feel rotten. I have this pounding in my head that is so hard it is annoying my stomach. I got half way to work this morning when I realized I left my laptop at home. So I turned around to get it. It cost me an hour. I almost wish I had stayed home.

The 8yo is still struggling. I feel like I was completely off my game. I made the assumption that chaging schools would be a piece of cake for him. But it's not. We talked about another incident at school. He started to go back to his room. I did not like the look on his face so I called him back. As I wrapped my arms aroung his he burst into tears. He said he was having a hard time. I told him we woudl do what ever we can to help him.

This morning I reminded him to "treat others the way you want them to treat you." I hope he remembers it.

Speaking of the 8 Yo, Sunday, on our drive home from North Carolina he asked if I had my laptop.
"yes"
"Can I use it to get on the internet?"
"Sorry Bud, we do not ahve Road Runner in the car."

I guess I need to expalin how wireless internet is more like a cell phone that Tv or radio signals.

Menu Plan Monday - Oct 15

Hi Everyone,

Had a wonderful long weekend visiting my parents in North Carolina. It was nice and relaxing.

But we had to come home. Here is my menu for the week:

Mon - Stroganoff & Homemade Ice cream - My cream has today as the sell by date on it.

Tue - Chicken breasts

Wed - Kielbasa & Pineapple chunks & baked beans

Thurs- Hamburgers & MAc and Cheese

Fri - Pizza homemade on store-bought crusts.

Have a great week!

For more great menus, check out Laura's blog.

I'm a big fat Liar...

I just got an email from the 8 YOs teacher. He was in an argument again. He's not making friends. He's rarely happy in school. He does not seem to kow how to deal with his anger.

He tells me things are going well with school, he does nto balk about going. His grades are excellent. I though things were going splendidly.

I think we have some issue to deal with.

But Mom, I just wanted to tell you....

I was so happy when the bus stopped to load my boys this morning. Fall weather finally arrived and they had to trade their Unifrom shorts for Uniform pants. I've asked many times if their pants were OK. Sure, fine, great. The 8yo has decided that he cannot handle buttons on his pants. He prefers hooks. (The French toast brand has hooks). I explained that I would get him new pants but he had to wear one of hte two pair he already had in his room todaya nd make do.

The problem was he continuously tried to explain what the problem was. I got it! This is an issue we are having with him. He feels the need to get in the last word. He wants to explain everything 14 times. And he comes off as arguing. He just won't drop it when we acknowledge his issue/thought/emotion. How maddening. So my voice gets raised and he tells me I am scaring him. Sigh. He's a good actor.

Then the ADHD 12yo was unable to keep from singing/squealing/making all kinds of weird noises. That did not help my patience any.

Then... The 8 Yo had to run back in to get a sweatchirt, after I reminded him no less than 6 times that he would need one.

Update on the boys

Yesterday they brought home papers for conference sign-ups. The 8 YO's teacher included his grades for 4 subjects. He's in the 90's in all subjects. But we wills till go in and talk to the teacher. He has some minor behavior issues.

Now the ADHD 12 YO, on the other had, has 4 teachers. So which one do I meet with. So I asked to see his plan book. Which subject has he had the most missing assignments. Ah ha, Language Arts. Actually I asked to see the LA teacher as well as him homeroom teacher (she teaches Math).

When he handed me his plan book, I was pleasantly surprised to have him hand me a binder with his plan book in it. He also had gathered folders that fit into the binder and they were labeled with each subject name. Now this was leftovers form a couple of years ago. But I was delighted becasue it said to me that he recognized that he was haivng a problem with the flow of homework between school and home. He decided to do something about it. I guess Dad telling him that he lost TV/Internet/Video game privledges for three weeks as long as he did not bring hoe another missing assignment made an impact. We are anxious for him to get intot he mode of not procrastinating on his homework because when wrestling practices 4 or 5 days a week begin next month, he will need to do his homework when he can.

Menu Plan Monday

Hi Everyone,

This morning I got up and cooked tonight dinner so that it just needs to be haeted up.

Mon - Ground Beef Night - Cheeseburger Sloppy joes _ I have Physical therapy 5:30 - 6:30 so the family will et without me

Tues - Chicken Night- I will do somehting with Frozen chicken breasts

Wed - More Physical Therapy - Not sure - but there's loads in the freezer -Maybe Polish Sausage.

Thur - We are headed to NC for a long weekend. The Archdioceses has their teachers convention and the school is closed Th & F.

HAve a great week,

Maggie

For more menus check out Laura's site.

Hit and Run

So Many things going on. We have a meeting tonight for the kids making their First Communion this spring. I sent out an email to family and Godparents giving the 2 possible date. The Godfather replies - "Thanks for the 6 month notice." Knowing him he was being sarcastic. But hey, the out of town Grandparents like that information. I guess I need to send a letter or postcard to my Fil who does not have email. I'm sure he will make it a point to come in for the occasion.

Hubby is going to a seminar in Chicago in November. I going to go with him. (Yeah, Chicago in November). I think my Mom is going to come up and stay with the boys. I'm actually looking forward to it.

Next week the boys are off school Thursday and Friday. I made the Drs appointments for Thursday afternoon. Afterwards we are hitting the road and going to visit My Mom and Dad. And now Hubby gets to go with us. It's been over a year since we were down there. Between moving and my Dad's back surgery, my 8 YO breaking his arm....

Menu Plan Monday - Oct 1

I did sit down and develop my plan. I kept thinking about posting it, but did nto get to it. So Here goes:

Sunday - Tip Roast in crockpot eaten with crusty bread and broccoli. I even made a chocolate pudding pie for dessert.

Monday - Sloppy joes - regular, We are trying Aldi's version of the Manwich sauce.

Tuesday - Chicken and rice

Wednesday - I plan to take the leftover beef and au ju and make vegatable beef soup.

Thursday - Not really sure - Spaghetti or more of the Kielbasa in the freezer.

Friday - Out for my birthday since Sat (my actual birthday) I am taking to byos to watch my cousin play football in Georgetown KY.

Have agreat day.

For more great Mnues, check out Laura's blog.

My ADHD-er and 7th grade

 

Last night I arrived home form work and Hubby was commenting that the 7^th grader had a lot of homework and was not working efficiently. Hubby is concerned that he is not taking advantage of class time to finish his work. But he got his homework completed shortly after dinner. I asked to see his plan book. The school supplies (for a $4 fee) as plan book for the students. My second grader has one also.

 

If you were around last year, I got him a teachers plan book as recommended by the book “The Organized Student..” . While that last school also had agendas, they were small with tiny lines and not very effective. This school has good ones for the kids. The 2nd Grader’s is different from the 7th Graders. I initial the second graders every night to vouch that he did his 15 minutes of reading.  

 

I was pleased to see that the 7^th grade plan book is set up very much like the teacher’s planner. It looks like my boy has done a good job of writing everything down. But there were also 4 stamps of “Missing assignments.”  The excuse was “I forgot to look at my plan book.” Ok, I can help there. So now I need to remember to ask to see the plan book on a regular basis. I’m also glad the 2^nd grader is starting young. I think the 7^th grader started in 4^th grade with a planner.

Portable Hard Drive Giveaway

I'm not really big on entering bloggy giveaways, but I decided it was time to enter this latest one at 5 Minutes for Mom. Janice and Susan are giving away 3 Western Digital Portable hard drives.

So why am I entering? Well, last week hubby went on a business trip. They drove the 4 hours to NW Indiana. Somewhere int eh rental car his thumb drive fell out of his pocket. He was in a tizzy. He had put a copy of spreadsheet with the paswords to all of his account on it. IN his momentary panic, he was thinking that he would have to cancel all of his current accounts and open new ones until I said "You have another copy of that spreadsheet here on our home computer, right?" After affirmation, I then suggested that he simply go in and change all of his passwords. Yea, panic mode makes us forget the simple things.

However, many of his co-workers have portable hard drives. He had been talking about getting one. Now since I am the computer geek of tha family, I was digging for his "requirements" and he came to the conclusion that the Thumb drive is meeting his current needs. Except for the fact that it is small enough to put in his pocket and small enough to fall out. So he would get the portable drive. It would make him feel more "geeky" and he likes that feeling.

Oh YEs, He was able to retrieve his thumb drive from the rental car the next day.

Jr High Dances

So my 7th grader has atended 2 dances at the Catholic High School. We no longer have feeder schools to the High Schools in our (Arch) Diocese, but this is the school we intend to send the boys too. The Cross Country team looks to have scheduled 3 Jr. High dances (7th & 8th graders). The first two were the past 2 Fridays. Dad gave the boy the $6 for the event.

The first Friday he comes down, dressed in his finest: Khaki pants, Button down shirt, good shoes and a tie. As we are dropping him off, two boys jump out of the car in front of us. Theya re wearing shorts and nicer T-shirts. He decides to leave his tie in the car.

This past Friday, for the second dance, fresh from a shower he comes down and he is wearing the Khaki pants, dress shirt and tie (he was wearing his athletic shoes - so 80's his Dad remembers). So we are guessing he got some very positive feedback. It also seems as if he has some friends of the female gender.

So my guilt about moving and changing schools for 7th grade is reduced. He is doing really well, fitting in and he really seems happy. I do have to be on him not to procrastinate too much on his homework, but otherwise it has been a good start to the school year.

New 8 Year-old in our house

So today the child formerly know as the 7 YO becomes the 8 YO. He did not want a regular cake, he wanted a giant decorated cookie. I over-rode his request to buy it form the store and made 2. Here are pictures of him helping to decorate them. He choose the beautiful color combination of Purple and Orange. Happy Birthday Tiger!

New School report

Last Tuesday was Cirriculum Night at the school. You got to your child's classroom and see what they are learning about. I am delighted to report that while the 12 YO is not popping out of bed smiles and sunshine, he is still happy. He did get caught putting off his homework one weekend until late on Sunday. I talked to his Language Arts teacher who said he's doing well and participating in class.

Friday night, the local Catholic H.S. had a dance for 7th and 8th graders. He enjoyed himself so much he wants to go back to another this Friday.

We bugged him yesterday asking if he homework was done. He swore it was. I told him that as long as his grades stay good that we will stay out of his business, but if he starts to have trouble, we would be all over him.

The 7 YO is enjoying himself. He got his cast off Friday. I gave his hands and arm a proper scrub right there at the sink in the examining room. We are all so happy he can bathe himself again. He's excited for his birthday on Thursday.

I stay out of his business pretty much too. Yes he's only in second grade, but everytime I quiz him on his spelling words, he knows them. I looked over a bunch of papers he had in his take home folder (On the "keep at home" side). When he got things wrong it was usually a stupid mistake, proably from going too fast. He gets that honestly.

He grew a lot over the summer. At the end of the school year, size 8s were too big. I took him shopping yesterday and got him 2 pairs of size 10 pants.

He abhores silence

Saturday we are leaving my niece's soccer game and going to meet my parents at the local pizza joint for lunch. The Seven year old says "So Mom, what's for Dinner tonight"

I feel the frustration rise in me. This kid is always asking about his meals, He always wants to eat.

Me: We are on our way to lunch and you are asking about dinner? I don't really know. (Deep, calming Breath) Are you asking becasue you want to know or are you asking to have something to talk about?

7YO: I'm asking to have something to talk about.

Phone Calls from Mom

While my phone calls with Mom are not as good as Everyday Mommy's or even Boo Mama's, I enjoyed this one Friday night:

My folks were in town for their 45th HS reunion. Since my parents went to Gender-specific schools, Friday night was informal, Sat was a formal dance for all three schools. So Mom calls me form the restaurant (bar?) they were at.

Mom: (lot's of noise in the background)What's my email address?
Me: No Mom, it's RJsmith* at Yahoo
Mom: bSmith* at cris?
me: No Mom R. J. (Robert, Judith) at yahoo?
Mom: Oh yes, he changed it so it's Rsmith at yahoo
Me: NoNoNo! R J
Mom: Ok R J at Yahoo, Ok I've got it. Bye.

I thik she probably hung up the phone turned to the lady next to her and said "Man she is just like her father"

Menu Plan Monday - Sept 10th

I haven't played in a while, but I do have a well-stocked freezer now after moving.

Mon - London Broil
Tues - (School Open House) Grilled Chicken Breasts. - My boys are starting to appreciate spice rubs now.
Wed - Sirloin tip roast in the crockpot. We'll slice it and eat with crusty bread.
Thurs - Spaghetti
Fri - Leftovers.

This past Saturday I picked up my Market Day order. Market day is a program here int he Mid west where schools orchestrate a sale of frozen food. The schools keep 5% of the profits. Money-wise We could probably get some things a little cheaper, but being able to make a purchase once a month and stock my freezer is wonderful. It is becasue of this program that I plan my meals the way I do. Monday - Ground beef night. Even if I don't know what I will do with the ground beef, I know Sunday night as I am cleaning up from dinner that I need to pull a chub (or two) of ground beef out of the freezer. Tuesday tend to be Chicken night....

Market Day does carry a lot of pre-made foods. I tend to stick with the plain meats: Chubs of Ground beef, Frozen shrimp, turkey cutlets... Their chicken steaks are popular, but thee is something about theen I am not partiularly fond of. We get their frozen veggies and snack foods. If you have an opportunity to try them, I would encourage it. It does simplyful meal time for me many nights of the week.
So Blogger is not allowing me to upload Laura's new banner. But for more recipes, check out her blog.

Trouble

You know you are in trouble when youa re sitting in the chair with you bare feet in the air and the Podiatrist walks in and says "Those are some mightly flat feet you have there."

Ah yes, and Please make them stop hurting.

She is sending me for an MRI. I have in inflamed tendo that has been a problem off and on for over a year. (This is a different doctor in the practice than the one I was seeing.) The Orthodics have not healed it. So she wants to see what is up. Is the tendon torn?

Make New Friends...

Friendships are hard for me. I tend to speak my mind and I like to produce some mild drama. (I try to be aware of it.) However, I think that that my turn some people off. I have a hard time nurturing close friendships. I had such a friend in high school. Or maybe I thought I did. This friend loves to be a part of a large group of friend. Not exactly my scene, but I played along.

It just dawned on me this weekend that I am on her D-list of friends. I have been fooling myself for the past 13 years or so, since I was pregnant with my first child. She had a hard time with that. It was what she wanted so much in the world and she did not have it, so she pulled away. Ok, I dealt with that. She developed a new, deep friendship to someone I introduced her too, Ok, I could deal with that. She became engaged. Cool I thought. Maybe we can do some activities as couples. So I invite her and her new man to my house for cards. She felt sorry for the third friend and invited her along. She wanted to spare S. feeling and yet she crushed mine. This was the one incident I have not been able to get over. It’s been probably 5 years. But this weekend, she and S. were so close to my house for another event that they could have spit on it. I was home, but they “did not have time” to stop by and say hi. Once again I allow myself to be hurt.

I have decided that I am no longer willing to allow her actions to hurt me. If I no longer have high expectations, I will no longer have my feelings crushed. I do not plan to cut the friendship off, but I will not initiate contact anytime soon. It’s sad, but I actually feel better. Time to go off and see about meeting new people.

Oh Happy days!

School has started and boy can I see a difference int he attitude of the 12 YO. He is happy. He says school is going well and he has made friends. I feel bad for having him change schools when he was int he last one since Kindergarten. The new school is also K-12. However, he is a bit of a geeky kid and earned such a reputation. I'm sure the kids remember how he acted the day in second grade when we changed to an ineffective ADHD medication or the time he....

We told him this was an opportunity to be a new person. His new classmates have no memories of him. Yesterday I called to get him into the advanced band at school.

He is popping out of bed and getting dressed without being reminded. A gentile reminder to brish his teeth or clean up from his breakfast are a nice respite from the nagging I was doing at the end of last year.

On the other hand, there is the 7 YO. He's having trouble getting up. However I think he's pretty happy. He likes his teacher and has friends at school.

Menu Plan Monday/Back to school

I have not participated in several weeks. Shame on me. But school started today so Time to get back into a schedule\

Mon - Meatloaf (Mixed and wiating int he fridge for someone to bake it.

Tues - Chicken Breasts

Wed - Pork Chops

Thurs - Beef Tip roast

Fri - Tuna Noodle Casserole

For more great Menus and organizing tips check out Laura's blog

Here are my boys getting on the bus. It arrived 13 minutes after the Time I was told it was scheduled. The Public high school bus came, then the Freshman bus came - Imagine a public school district so large, it has 2 high schools, East and West plus a freshman high school.

Generation gap

This was drawn by my 7 YO. I want to draw your attention to the spelling of the comment by the stick man in the cart. (Wii)

Small world

The new school the boys are going to has a program where they have an experienced Mom in the school contact a new Mom. The "Buddy" can then answer questions about the school, the PTO, etc. Great idea. I got a call from min Sunday night. She has a 7th grade boy. We arranged to my for ice cram Monday night and she brought 2 of her son's friends. They will all be in the same homeroom as my 12YO.

Turns out my buddy (S.) and I have a lot in common. She grerw up in my hometown, 50 mile North of here. She graduated from the High School that is the rival to my Alma Mater. She had heard of my Uncle (one of the 17 Aunts, Uncles and Cousin's who have graduated from that school) She works outside the home as a programmer/Project Manager. Where as I manage email servers and email adminstrators. We talked about how she is studying for her PMP Certification which I got 2 years ago. We could not have been more compatible.

Oh yes, she is co-chair for the Market Day program. Something I did for 2 years at the old school. (Before I became insane and was the Director of the Wrestling club for 2 years).

I would be thrill if this developed into a friendship.

Moving is expensive...

I try to be very conscienous about the way I spend my hard earned money. But here it is, the middle of the month, and I have about $200 to make it to payday at the end of the month. That money is for my gas, household groceries and my spending money.

The 7yo threw a fit this morning asking why I could not take him to McD's for breakfast. Heck, I'd rather spring for ice cream. But before we moved, we would indulge in a once a week trip via the drive through. Of course we are not traveling 45 minutes to the YMCA for day camp any more. Not it's more like 17 minutes.

What have I spent my money on? Organizing "stuff" bins, baskets and the like. We also went gained an extra bath that needed a shower curtain, rug, soap dish. Both bath tups are slippery, so they needed bath mats. They there is the food. We cleaned out the freezer and the pantry. Those need to be stocked back up with sales goods.

I had to buy a wireless network card for the computer int he basement. The router went on the first floor and we were not about to pull a cable.

Now it's back to school time. Uniforms, the 12 YO requires a gym uniform. School supplies. I may need to get Hubby to pay for the first week of school lunches.

Then there is the school tuition. I have requested a disbursement of funds from the education fund, but they have not arrived. I sure hope it arrives beforme the next payment is due the first of next month.

I still want to build shelves in the basement. Shelves to store holiday decorations, my craft and sewing supplies, and all that other stuff we tend to keep in the basement.

Now I am about to count my pennies to go get a cup of coffee.

Things are better...

So there are things that money can buy: a car repair for one. So sort of Idle-air intake valve went bad. So it is fixed and my car runs again. Hubby made a comment "So maybe that was the reason for your complaint that your car was not "running right" that I ignored. (Gotta love a man who admits his mistakes like that. Yes, earlier in the summer I complained that the engine was "rev-ing" far too long after I removed my foot-to-the-floor posture I was using on my trek up and down I-75 for far too many miles (Before the move).

I have not sent the 7yo back to Daycamp this week. He gets stronger everyday and he's starting to get fiesty. But it has been so danged hot here in SW Ohio and with him not being able to swim, I imaginged that daycamp would be tourture. So I have left the 12YO brother in charge. I did relent and allow them to go to the neighbors to play yesterday. They both went. I'm sure the 12Yo was packing an XBOX controller so he could play with the younger boys. Yesterday after coming home, the 7yo complained that he and his brother were "yelling at each other a lot."

A little while later, the 7yo Drama King came back. During the whole ordeal of the broken arm and surgery, Drama King stayed home. It was amazing. But last night I was awarded a tearful performance of the old play "Everybody at Daycamp is mean to me." I'm not sure what brings this up, but it seems to happen ever 3 months or so. He does nto like what he is doing and wants to change. We look into it and he is making a mountain out of a molehill. He only has 2 more weeks of daycamp. He has loved it so far and this is the first complaint. I did assure him that he most likely would not be in that program next year.

When will it end?

So I'm all ready to go to work today. The boys are settled, DS12 has agreed to be the babysitter and has a list of phone numbers and another list of do's and don'ts.

Guess what, my car will not stay running. I start it and it stalls. So before 9:00 am I have found a repair shop close to my house, called a towing company. My car was loaded on a flat bed and I have a reciept for just under $70 for towing my car about 2 miles. Who knows what the repair will be.

It's a good thing I am a state employee with a gazillion sick days and a Gazillion +1 vacation days.

Overheard this weekend

7yo: Mom, can you get me some chips?
Mom: You can get them yourself, It's your arm that is broken, not your leg.


I mean, if he's going to eat potato chips, he should have to expend a little amount of energy to get them, right? Besides, he needs to give his eyes a break from all the TV-watching and Video game playing.

A boy and his arm

The boy's surgery went well. Were got home at 2:00 PM. He puked at 4:00 PM, but has been eating ever since. he just asked for Orange juice. I offered 7-UP. He got some water.

He cannot understand why I won't let him go find his friend next door or let him invite the friend over.

I have been away from work 8-1/2 days out of the last 10 business days. My blackberry has gotten quite a workout. While I have the sick and vaction time, i feel like I do need to show my face in the office for at least half days next week. The Doctor was unsure about sending the injured boy back to Daycamp, but I am going to call them to see if they have accomodations for a boy who cannot swim. If on friday their field trip involves water (today's was a trip to the local waterpark) I can keep him home.

New Church

I went and registered with our new Parish on Wednesday. They asked for a fmaily picture. I could not find one. (I'm sure my Mom took one at Christmas, but I don't have a copy). So Hubby went and found the tripod and we went out on the deck and took these.

It is interesting, the last two parishes I have been members of are the two largest parishes in the entire Archdiocese. One was the one I grew up in, went to school at and was married at. We still attend occasional Masses there as my brother and his family go there. Then the one just ot the North we were members of for 13 years. I had been an Extraordinary Eucharistic minister for 9 or 10 years, both the boys were baptized there. As a matter of fact, My grandfather had been a member of that parish and his funeral was there.

I had a nice chat with the Director of Adult faith formation at St. Michael's, the new parish. She said this new one is average sized for the Archdiocese. This is a new experience for me. We did have someone stop us after Mass and comment about Hubby's license plates. There are from his alma mater, the Catholic University 50 miles to the North where we just moved from.

Catholic parishes, they are the same, yet they are all different. I am looking forward to this new experience.

What is it about my boys and getting close to turning 8?

My Now 12 Yo. He was climbing over a fence and fell and broke his arm. This is his First Communion picture. He had to have surgery to pin the bones back in place. This was within weeks of his 8th Birthday.

This is my 7 Yo. His birthday is in 7 weeks. He fell of the Monkeybars and broke his elbow. He is scheduled for surgery on Friday to pin his bones together.

I had to call Hubby after the daycare called. I was on the other side of campus. We were going to take him to a close hospital, but when he got to the Y, he said it looked so much like the older boy's that he decided to swing by home and pick me up and go back down to the local Children's hospital rather than getting sent there from the other hospital.

Actually, the boy we have dubbed our "Drama king" was quite stoic. He kept saying it did not hurt that much. But knowing him and how he looked, he was in some pain. The nurse said that his vitals were telling her that he had some pain. His respirations and heartrate came down after he was given some pain meds. He did not flinch when they put an IV in his hand.

Menu Plan Monday - July 30

I'm actually a day early. I'm still working on getting the new house put together. A lot has been accomplished since Hubby has been home over the weekend.

But as to the meals, It's a little loose becasue with moving, cash has become short until my Tuesday payday. And before moving we really ate down the pantry and the freezer. I did spend $12 at a local farmer's market. I told my boys we are eating corn on the cob until we are sick of it since it is corn on the cob season.

Sunday - Leftover BBQ Pulled pork sandwiches, MAc and cheese, Corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes and baby carrots.

Monday - Chicken pot pie (Bisquick recipe).

Tuesday - We have Minor League Baseball tickets. Dinner will be out.

Wednesday - Spaghetti

Thursday - Another baseball game

Friday - Pizza

For more great Menus, check out Laura's blog

My Childhood home

My Childhood home

We moved 3 times when I was in grade school. It is the middle house the floods me with memories. We lived in it for less than 2 years. But it was May when I was in First Grade when we moved there and it was December when I was in Third Grade when we moved to the next house.

This house is coming up even more in my memories because I am moving my family to within 5 miles of that house this weekend. My youngest son is the age I was when I lived in this house. It was a ranch with a basement – a walk out basement, through the garage. The Upstairs had 3 bedrooms, a bath a living room, kitchen, breakfast nook and a family room. Oh and a half bath. The basement had another kitchen in it. But the rest was unfinished. My brother and I would roller skate (the old metal over the shoes type that you needed a roller skate key for. The basement was a bit dark. There was a full bath down there. It really had one working light. Probably because My parents were not down there much. The Toilet was black and the tile was all different colors. Dad said the guy who built it was a tile layer and used leftovers for this bathroom.

The bedrooms had hardwood floors and there was a 2 sided fireplace between the living room and the family room. There was a large patio out back. It was at this house that my parents started throwing big parties. Well, with Mom’s 10 brother’s and sisters coming of age, and the fact that Mom was a nurse in the Emergency room working with people who needed to blow off steam, our house was a great spot for parties. This patio has a built in brick grill.

The back yard has a flat area, a hill and another flat area, almost like it had been terraced. I have heard stores of a mud- volleyball game at the top.

But then, the plant Dad worked at closed down and he got a new job back in the city 50 miles to the North. So we moved.

For more stores, Check out Mary’s blog

The big day has arrived

This afternoon this house will belong to us (and the bank).

Menu Plan Monday - July 16

Closing on the new house is Thursday. Yipee. Goodbye long commute! I have cleaned out and unplugged the freezer. I have been pretty successful and eating down the contents. I went to the Grocery and spent lass than $20.00. That was on fresh milk (only 1/2 gallon though), celery, cucumber and the snack foods for the 7 YO's packed lunch, He claims he gives away the fruit I pack him. Sigh! It's all highly sugared, processed crap! I guess I jsut need to watch his breakfasts and dinners. Anyways, the rest of our meals are from food in the fridge and the pantry.

Mon - Salisbury steak (last 2 lbs of ground beef)
Tues- Stuffed Chicken breast (purchased from MArketDay) We have a mix of Broccoli and cheese and Italian.
Wed - Tuna and Noodle casserole

Thurs is closing day. I am planning to eat out. Same with Friday. Saturday we are going to a Graduation party picnic after my new refridgerator arrives.

Sun- Moving day - I picked up a whole pork tenderloin and will make BBQ pulled pork for sandwiches.

For more great Menus, Check out Laura's blog

Guilt, It does a Mom good

Yesterday I let my 12 Yo go to a movie that I usually would not let him go to. Although it would not bother his Dad at all. You see, His two buddies int he neighborhood were going to see "Live Free or Die Hard." It is rated PG-13. The three boys were being dropped off too. I like to carefully consider what I allow my kids to see. But Dad, he'll let them play Halo on the XBox. "Shudder".

But we are moving in a week. The boy will have to make new friends. I want to ease the burden as much as possible. Or rather I did not want it to start for a few more days becasue Mom would not give him money and permission to go see a movie. Rated PG-13 and aafter all, he is 12.

But I do remember, at a 4th of July party, my Aunt, a second Grade school teacher, saying that she saw the movie and she enjoyed it. I never pegged her for the action movie-sort. So I gave him $10 and sent him on his way.

He wants to go see HArry Potter tonight, but I know Dad wants to go see it also. (I still have not watched "The Goblet of Fire yet." And since the other boy is only 7, nowhere close to 13, he will not be seeing it until it coomes out on DVD and we bring home the DVD. Sigh!

Closing time, one more call...

So many people have songs playing when they go to their Blogs. So close your eyes and imagine "Closing Time."

I have not gotten a lot packed since my last post. But we have closing times and dates set. We are exercising our writing hands for the closing on our new house Next Thursday at 1:00 PM. I already put in for a half day of vacation. Even though we allowed the sellers to wit until Saturday to give occupancy, they will hand over keys at closing. Hubby will be calling the utility companies to have the service transferred to us. I will be loading up my car with stuff to move in Thursday afternoon.

Maybe I will take a Sharpie and a bunch of post-it notes and plan out where to put things in my kitchen. My MIL said she would be there, but she was not sure how much moving (ie: lifting and carrying) she could do. I'd be happy if she unpacked my kitchen, but she will want me to tell her where to put everything. Then I will plan for other things. Like my craft area.

Menu Plan Monday

Mon - (Baseball at 6:00) - I neglected to plan for this. It will be up to Hubby

Tues - Burgers on the grill (Frozen bubba burgers), Mac and Cheese or backed beans

Wed - Turkey cutlets, topped with stuffing and gravy - I'll have the 12 Yo put in the oven. No wait, I'll set up the crok pot and have him take the crok from the fridge an have him place the liner in and turn it on for 6 hours.

Thurs - MEat Loaf

Friday - Spaghetti with Italian sausage.

For more great recipes, visit Laura

Moving update

As far as we know, we are on schedule to close ont he new house on the 16th of this month. We are expecting to get occupancy on the 21st. The 22nd is moving day.

I was lent a bunch of moving boxes form a co-worker who moved from several states away. While a wonderful gift, many of the boxes are too big for the things I am trying to pack. I have obtained copy paper boxes from my office (I have three that need to go home today). I also went and purchased some file boxes. Stacks of boxes are starting to dot the various rooms.

It is amazing how fast the entire family reverted to our slobish ways. I no longer swiffert he bathrooom floor on a daily basis. We are forever leaving things sitting on the kitchen table, shoes are left everywhere and dishes are not being promptly put away. I enjoyed having a clean house, but I was driving myself nuts. (And taking the family along with me).

On a positive note, since the local Cable company has a Monopoly on the South West portion of Ohio, the same group of people manage the old community as well as the new community. So we will be able to pack up our equipment and set it back up at the new house. And even though the current owners have a sattilite dish for TV, they have cable internet. We have the Cable, Phone and High speed internet option. We will not have to change our email address (Yipee!), but we will get a new phone number (it is a different area code after all). I guess we call them a week ahead so that they can get everything set up and we should be able to plug and play, at least for the Internet and phone.

Hubby has managed to remove the swing set. (That was in the contract.) He did do some cleaning up in the garage. He still has a lot of packing to do of his workbench area. Sigh. The Craft stuff is definitely mine, but why am I the only one worried about cleaning and packing the bathroom, kitchen and file cabinet?

Menu Plan Monday -July 2

My 12 YO came home from Camp G&G (Grandma and Grandpa's) yesterday. Unfortunately for him, he came almost a week early. My Dad has a ruptured disk in his back and we expect him to go for surgery soon. Thus they will not be able to come home for my cousin's wedding this weekend. The 12YO agreeded to be a server at the Wedding Mass. This weekend was the best way to get him. We met half way. It is good to have him home. Now he is available to put a prepared dinner casserole in the oven or even to put the crockpot on for me.

But for this week's menu:

Monday - Leftovers - Pizza, Cheeseburger sloppy joes before the 7yo's baseball gamE

Tuesday - Turket cutlets topped with dressing and turkey gravy

Wednesday - Independence day - Picnic at my cousins - I will take a layered salad and a dessert

Thursday - Chicken Breasts - Maybe kebobs.

Friday - Italian sausage

Have a great week. For more menus visit Laura at I'm an Organization Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday - June 25

Last week was a bust. I think Hubby and my 7 YO grabbed sandwiched on Monday before baseball. The rest of the week it was out because of the House hunting and Moving. So now that we have a contract to sell as well as a contract to buy, the fun begins.

I made an inventory of the stuff from the freezer and hope to eat it all up before moving. We have quite a few Stuffed Chicken breasts from Market day. I have 8 Turkey Cutlets, Italian sausage, a package of Bubba burgers, a package of chicken breasts....

Mon - Baseball - Sandwiches

Tues - Work Concession stand if no one else volunteers..

Wed - Baseball

Thursday - Home inspection on the house we are buying

Friday....

So I'm not even going to try this week.

For more (and better) menu ideas, visit Laura.

Woo-hoo! a contract accepted!

So after deciding that the sellers of the first house we were interested in did not seem very interested in selling their house to us, we looked again and found a better, and less expensive house. The offer has been accepted.

So today we started to pack some stuff into a box. We will be eating off Tupperware plates and drinking out of plastic cups. I packed my pottery and glasses. This should not be a problem.

Walking away

So we placed a bid on a house we liked. We felt pressured to find a house to move into because we have to be out of our current house July 26 - Closing date. The idea of moving our stuff more than once was horrifying.

To put it simply, the buyers were being a bit of a pain in our book. So we have decided to apply our house-buying dollars elsewhere. It fels so liberating! We are scheduled to look at another 4 houses this afternoon.

Drivers 10 Commandments

So the Vatican issued a list of 10 Commandment for drivers.

Excepts from CNN

'Drivers' Ten Commandments'

The "Drivers' Ten Commandments," as listed by the document, are:
1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.


And it suggested prayer might come in handy -- performing the sign of the cross before starting off and saying the Rosary along the way. The Rosary was particularly well suited to recitation by all in the car since its "rhythm and gentle repetition does not distract the driver's attention."

Wow! I may be a bit ahead of things. The post describes my attempt to combat road rage and those self-defeating negative thoughts by praying the Rosary.

Is the world becoming a bit sad the the Vatican feels the need to develop this list?

Menu Plan Monday

So it was a busy weekend. We signed a contract to sell our house Thursday night and went house hunting Saturday and Sunday. We had done enough looking that we were able to zero in on our First choice neighborhood. So we found a house we really liked that meets our budget. The 12YO went to stay with Grandma and Grandpa for the next three weeks.

Mon - Baseball game - A will eat his pizza leftover from last night's dinner out

Tues- Most likely be out since we plan to take one last tour of a house we are going to submit a bid on. See this post for the story.

Wed - 6:00 Baseball - Turkey Sandwiches.

Thursday - Meatloaf

Friday - Some sort of Chicken breasts.

For more great menus, check out Laura's blog.