And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson

I made a disturbing revelation yesterday that I just can't shake the thought of....

Okay, so I have to admit that I am a "Twilight" fan-my sister and sister-in-law pretty much twisted my arm to start on the books, and guess what? I actually love them-I didn't want to-I usually like to go in the path of least resistance when choosing a book, but sometimes I just can't help myself and I gravitate to the bestsellers. So I have read book 1, 2 & 3 and am currently working on book 4 (Breaking Dawn). Well, you can imagine that I was pretty excited when the movie for the first book was finally released on DVD (moms don't get to go the the theaters much). I borrowed my sister's copy on Sunday and hubby and I watched it after the kids went to bed that night. Okay, I watched and he mostly slept, but other than his snoring over the movie I didn't mind.

One of the characters in the movie I enjoyed seeing was "Jacob Black" , he has a pretty small role in this movie, but I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him in the next movie. The actor playing him was likable and familiar and I have to admit I kind of thought he was cute. (Now, he was no "Edward"-NO ONE can be Edward-you fellow Twilight fans know what I mean). So, yesterday I kept thinking of how familiar "Jacob" looked. Did I see him in something else?? I'm kind of a movie buff so when I can't figure these things out I get irked, then I go online. I go to my usual website of choice when these conundrums are upon me- Internet movie database . com (imdb.com). After a quick lookup of the cast & crew I found the actor that plays Jacob, then I clicked on his list of past works and.....

Dun dun dun.....

OMG (to sound like the teenybopper I should be) he's Sharkboy! Sharkboy and Lavagirl is a movie that came out a few years ago-I didn't even know what it was until this fall. That's when my (then 6 year old) girl first caught sight of it while watching Disney Channel one Saturday evening-she was hooked. The next weekend we just HAD to rent it from the video store-and wouldn't you know it, it came in 3D too! She was really hooked then. We watched the whole thing together with our cute little glasses on-while little bro ran about the room waving his in the air. She then formed what I consider the closest thing to a crush that a 6 year old can have for Sharkboy-one scene in particular she tried to describe to me how it made her feel when Sharkboy is hurt-it almost brought a tear to my eye. Of course she asked for a copy of the movie for her birthday, and of course one of our relatives obliged.

So you can imagine how disturbing it is for me to think the same boy is cute that my 7 year old daughter thinks is cute! My only consolation is that as I mentioned before, Sharkboy and Lavagirl was made 5 (?) years ago-the actor has definitely grown up quite a bit since then. I'm sure this won't be the last time that both my girl and I think the same actor or singer or athlete is cute, but it's definitely the first time. I think I better stop watching movies-or maybe she and I need to watch more together??

I don't even know what to say.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't even aware of what is happening outside my little house and my little town. My heart goes out to the family of the little girl that was so cruelly murdered by her brother. I just don't get people. I wish I could just stay away from the news and stop hearing all of these horrible stories! I'm hugging my kids a little closer tonight. I promise my next post will be longer and more uplifting-just can't bring myself to say anymore right now. Except maybe that if you pray, please do so for that family, and for all families. Lord knows we could all use a little prayer.

These are a few of my favorite things.

I love seeing what makes other peoples lives easier. Especially people in a situation like my own (stay-at-home mother trying to save money, yet have fun wither her family). I thought I'd list a few of the things that I have found that I can't live without now that I'm the housefrau momma:

1. My library card-little man and I go at least every other week, more often as the weather gets nicer-they have toys, puzzles, a DRINKING FOUNTAIN (something everyone under 5 understands is a huge asset), CDs, movies, and they even have books, too! I love stocking up on fun books to read with the kids (or to have the seven year old read to her brother-like that isn't adorable!)

2. My Crock Pot slow cooker and my "Fix it and Forget it Lightly" cookbook. I like to eat healthy, but I also don't have a lot of time to be standing over a stove (too curious of an audience at that time of day)-so the slow cooker is a must have for our house.

3. Our local Aldis-I was skeptical at first-but they have won me over on so many occasions. I love their ketchup (just like my favorite name brand), their cottage cheese, their havarti cheese, their string cheese-pretty much any of their dairy, and I LOVE their $2.99 per bottle Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon. I know, I know-a three dollar bottle of wine?? But seriously folks, I've had $30 bottles that aren't as good-so why knock it? Plus, doing some of my shopping at Aldis has been a factor in my ability to cut our grocery bill in half. (I must also give props to my other favorite local grocer-Krogers-that's where I do the majority of my shopping-love their 10 for $10 deals!)

4. My clear plastic cover over my tablecloth. I have to admit that this one still kind of bugs me. It's something that hubby's grandma always did, and he convinced me to try it. I'm not thrilled with the way it looks-but I'm getting used to it, and I was surprised just how much I love being able to wipe away those crumbs pronto!

5. My coffee. Gotta have it-need I say more?

6. My sewing machine-I really do enjoy making things with my hands. Right now I'm working on my daughter's Easter dress (no pressure, right?)-and I just love watching something come together bit by bit. I'll make dresses for her until the day she tells me (and I know it's coming-sniffle) "Mom-can't you just buy me a dress, it's kind of embarrassing to where home-made."

7. My blog-I had no idea how therapeutic it is to be able to express myself. I know there are other people out there that read my words and understand, and might even like what I have to say-how cool is that?

8. My church-I love our new pastor-he's really doing some great things for our church. I always feel better about things after I've gone to church-it's a great way to start our Sunday. Over the past year I have become more involved with Sunday School, Nursery, Junior Church and now the choir-I might be becoming a church junkie (haha!)

9. My family-My wonderful husband and my two smart, cute (of course I think so) and hilarious kids. I wouldn't be me without them. That's not true, I would be me, but not a version of me I'd like to hang out with. I kind of like this funny, able to laugh at herself person I've become over the past few months. I just remembered the other day how a year ago at this time I had my first panic attack-It was after a crazy busy day at the office.... Not having any of those anymore. I think I'm exactly where I need to be at this time.

Mean people suck.

It's so hard for a blindly optimistic person to stay "up" sometimes. The past two days have been a little tough for me. Yesterday we took the kids to Pizza Hut so that my oldest could use her "Bookit" coupon she earned by reading. We were having a great time until the family two tables down started to distract us. Was it the crying children that bothered me? No, it was the just plain MEAN parents that REALLY bothered me. They were very loudly chastising their 6 young children-Not one positive thing was said by them the whole time.

Now don't get me wrong, I lose my temper at times and might raise my voice on occasion, but I would never say the things they were saying to ANYONE-let alone my children. Things like "You better shut up your mouth or I'm going to kick your butt." Now that could very likely be an empty threat, which would explain why the kids kept at it. However, I just think there's a better way to get your kids to quiet down. It seemed like they were just feeding fuel to the fire.

I thought about what I should do-I couldn't just watch the verbal abuse and not say anything (it's not in my nature-though I am very non confrontational, so you can imagine how uncomfortable I was feeling at the time). I finally decided to go with the nicest possible route I could go. I walked over and told the mother "Your children are beautiful." She replied with a "Thank you." I then followed up with "You're very blessed." I just hoped that either she would realize that she truly is blessed to have her children-there are so many out there that want for what they have. I hoped for that, or for maybe a little bit of "Mommy guilt" to kick in and start working its magic-the way it tends to do. I know with my head that what I did probably made no difference at all for that family. But my blindly optimistic heart is going to tell my head to think otherwise.

Return of Suzy Homemaker-or Jittery Joan

I have been a busy little bee today. I feel so fulfilled,and we haven't even gotten to dinner yet! I managed to get my workout in this morning. The little guy and I then had our monthly meeting with our Parents as Teachers lady-today we played with play dough AND finger paints during our meeting. I just love our Parents as Teachers program-if there is one in your area and you have under 5yr old children-I suggest you take full advantage of this awesome program.

After our meeting we played some games, had our lunch and wouldn't you know, the little guy fell asleep on his own today. It's so nice when I don't have to coerce him into his nap! Since he snoozed on his own, I took full advantage and sat down to have my third (yes, you heard me, my third) cup of coffee. I usually am a two cup kind of girl, so to have a third was definitely pushing the envelope for me-what kind of monstrous results would come from this brazen act???

Let's just say that when my daughter got home from school and little guy woke up simultaneously, we ate some yogurt, I cleaned out the yogurt cups, we then planted green pepper seeds in the yogurt cups and gave them a drink. You would think this would be enough excitement for one afternoon, but no. I then cleaned up the table and got out the supplies to make a homemade snake shaped draft stop for my daughter's closet door. (Kudos to Family Fun magazine for that idea) The kids loved pouring the rice into the cut tight leg until it was full. I then hot glued googly eyes and a felt tongue on the stripey tight and we created a snake!

I still had some bubbly energy left, so I decided to spend a little of it on my blog. This may not be my most impressive post, but is definitely my most quickly written! The kids are watching a video, and hubby just walked in the door-so that means I need to move my attention to the cooking now. Will I do three cups of coffee every day? No, I know my limitations, and I don't want to end up with a caffeine "problem". But it's good to know I can "kick it up a notch" on occasion. Okay, so maybe I do have a problem already-but don't tell anyone, except maybe Folgers coffee-I could use some coupons!

Little girls little girls

It seems like it's been forever since I have been able to post. We have had a crazy week in our house. The high point was definitely Friday morning. I raced downstairs to answer the early ringing phone. It was a phone call I was expecting. I was an Auntie again. A new little girl was born in the middle of the night. I woke up my daughter to ask her what she hoped her Aunt De had-her answer was predictable- "a girl". She was pleased as punch to hear that her hope was answered!

The plan was to make the two hour trip to visit the new baby as soon as my daughter got off school. Hubby took off work a couple hours early, and met us at home right before we embarked. I had the duty of getting a baby gift (and something for her big brother, too), filling up the car, getting snacks ready (a must have with kids), and getting drinks ready. What I forgot was that we also had library books due and a video due back to the video store. I also wanted to stop at the gym and get a workout first thing.... Can she do it folks???? YES SHE CAN! In fact, not only did I manage all of that, I also cleaned the car out, printed directions to the hospital, found a fun place for us to take our kids to dinner before heading home and got directions there and home. When my husband walked in the door, we were set to go!

All of my preparations made for a very pleasant drive, the kids watched a movie (okay one slept-little guy didn't get a chance to have his nap with all the errand running). We made it to the hospital with no problem. Our niece was just beautiful. I know I'm biased, but she is a gorgeous baby! We took a slew of pictures, of course. By the time we left an hour later, I had the smell of newborn on me, a camera full of photos and two HUNGRY kids. We ate our dinner (which was awesome by the way-a local deli filled with all kinds of fun things for the kids to look at.) and headed home.

Yesterday Vivian went to a sleepover at our neighbors house-it was one of their daughters' birthday. There were 10 girls there. As I watched those giggling girls run around from one room of the house to the next-I thought of my new niece and all of the fun stuff my step-sister is going to get to be a part of now that she has a little girl. Girls definitely wanna have fun. Then we headed home with our quiet (but aggressive) little guy and realized, that if the new baby had been a boy-that would have been a great blessing, also. My step-sister mentioned once when my daughter was born "You don't realize it, but every time a baby is born healthy-EVERY single time-it is a MIRACLE."

May the luck of the Irish be with ya.

It is beautiful where I live today, and it makes me think of that old Irish "May the sun always be on your back, and the road rise up to meet you." (or something like that). I had grand plans for this sunny St. Patrick's Day-the little guy and I took big sis to school, went to the YMCA so I could workout while he played in the Y Wee care, then we were going to get some groceries, stop at "Grandma's" bank and head home to enjoy the weather outside right up until naptime. Unfortunately, my Irish luck ran out-little man took a tumble in the Y Wee care and hurt his lip, so they brought him to me.

It was a good thing that we left the Y early though, for when we pulled into the grocery store parking lot, my cell phone was ringing-Guess who? The school-Dear daughter had a headache and a fever (I need to get a bubble for that girl!) So now our day is pretty much indoors resting. We are trying to make the most of it-we got some McDonalds for "second breakfast". Tasting Shamrock Shakes brings me back to one of my favorite St. Patty's days-one before I had children.

It was just Hubby and I back then. Us and our furry "son", Lucky dog. It was a warm day that time also, and I took Lucky for a walk a soon as I got home from work-we walked along a canal that was a block away from our duplex-I can still smell the fresh spring air! When I got back to the apartment, Hubby was home, we also had our friend Josh visiting from out of town. After a little primping (before children I was actually able to fix my hair), we headed to Kelly's, a locals favorite for corned beef cabbage and green beer. What I will never forget is that Josh bought me my first pint of Guinness that night. At first I thought it was the most disgusting drink I'd ever tasted-it was like cold coffee, only more bitter. I'm sure Hubby and Josh enjoyed watching the faces I made as I tried to choke it down. But by the bottom of the glass, I had been converted. I still prefer dark beer to this day. We had so much fun, playing darts and enjoying the atmosphere, the camaraderie (isn't everyone "a wee bit" Irish on St. Patrick's day?) and the great food. When it was time to leave the bar, we weren't quite ready to call our little party quits. That's when the boys decided that I needed to try one more delicious first. I had my first Shamrock Shake that night. It was delicious-what more can I say?

Now that I'm a mommy and count calories and my first concern is definitely NOT drinking beer for St. Patrick's day anymore-I like to think back to that night. In a way things were simpler then-We only worried about ourselves. I would never want to go back, though. My children are my "pot of gold". Our evening will probably consist of green french toast and corned beef hash (what kid doesn't love breakfast for supper?), but in my heart I'll be lifting a pint of Guinness.

Why I walk for Autism Now.

I walk for Noah. Noah is my nephew. He has a twin brother, Isaac and a big sister named Chloe. His parents are my sister, Carrie and her husband, Rich. Like all families, they have joys and struggles. Noah adds to the joy and the struggle both. Noah has autism.

I am participating in a walk sponsored by Autism Speaks in Chicago on May 16th. This organization is instrumental in helping families with autistic children. They provide educational resources, have lobbied for legislation in my state to pass a law making autism covered by health insurance. They fight for the rights of autistic children and their families. We (our team supporting Noah) are so looking forward to taking him to this event. Any funds raised for the walk go to Autism Speaks, who have done and continue to do so much for families dealing with this struggle and joy.

I have seen Noah when he has had a "melt down" in public and started kicking and screaming, drawing glares from passersby. I have seen my sister try to comfort her son under the disapproving eyes of others. I walk for Noah.

I walk for a loving precious boy who can get so excited when he's happy that he flaps his arms feverishly. I walk for that big smile that melts my heart. I walk for when he greets me with a "Hi Pinchy" and my whole world stops for that one moment. I walk for Noah.

I walk for his family, who have made sacrifices most families would never (and should never have to) make. The times that one parent needs to take Noah home away from holiday gatherings, because it is just too much for him. And the outings and vacations that they haven't been able to take because Noah would not be able to enjoy himself. I walk to help make the world aware of the struggles that a family faces when dealing with the medical costs of Autism. I walk for Noah.

I walk for Noah... But not just for Noah, for every other child out there that is like him. Every child deserves a chance to reach their full potential-I walk for them, too. Even if you feel you cannot contribute monetarily at this time, I ask one more thing of you. Next time you're in line at the grocery store and the child in the cart in front of you doesn't respond when you ask him his name or his age, or next time you're at McDonald's and the child behind you won't stop repeatedly screaming "FRENCH FRIES....FRENCH FRIES", please remember that may be my nephew, Noah. He is not misbehaving, he is behaving the only way he knows how when the world becomes too big and he becomes too small. Try to see beyond the bad behavior to a sweet little boy who brings lots of joy and what can fee like unbeatable odds for his family. This is who I walk for, our Noah.

Thanks for reading about Noah. I don't normally advocate for funds/awareness on my blog, but this cause is very real and close to my heart. If you would like to make a donation, you can click here . Thank you again. I'll be back after the weekend with more displaced momma thoughts!

I know why they called the lady in the shoe old.

We were fortunate enough to have my husband's brother and his family come visit us this weekend. Since my brother & sister-in-law had a wedding shower to help host we even were able to babysit their kids. Their oldest is a beautiful blonde curly haired three year old girl who fears nothing (I called her fearless and her mom called her reckless). The baby is a toddling little guy(blonde again-they look nothing like my kids) that will be one in less than a week. He is definitely more attached to his mom right now as she is a stay-at-home mom also.

It was so fun to see our kids "mingle". I did feel bad for my daughter a few times as she is four years older than the oldest "little one", and did state a couple of times how playing with little kids wouldn't be how she would have chosen to spend her afternoon. The only other real problem we had was with MY son. The little stinker took full advantage of finally having someone smaller than him in the house. Every time he was upset or frustrated, he took it out on his little cousin-pushing and a couple of times hitting the poor unsuspecting tot. Let me tell you, that is NOT acceptable behavior in my house, and my little guy made contact with the naughty step several times that day.

In the long run, everyone survived. The in-laws returned to some (hopefully) happy, well nourished and (definitely) tuckered-out kids. It was so adorable to find the three oldest conked out in my bed "watching" the kid movie we put on for them! I have learned from this experience that, while I know we could handle having more children (and love watching any nieces or nephews we can get our hands on!), I don't want to be outnumbered. I love having my two kids. They are almost five years apart, which is both fun and a challenge at times. (It's almost like starting over when they're that far apart).

Now that my little guy is getting closer to three, there was a point when I thought for half a second that another baby might be fun (yeah, fun-that's the word). That thought didn't really stick, let's just say it's not our plan to have a larger family. It was a challenge Saturday to even get everyone's lunch made (and cleaned up) when we had four kids here. And that was with both my hubby and I present, if it wasn't the weekend, I would have been on my own. God bless the mothers of many-they must have better organizational skills than top ranking CEO's.

Why Grannies shouldn't skate

I've been away from the computer for few days, so I feel very "out of the loop." I've had good reason to be away, though....

I mentioned in my last post how we have several family birthdays in March. Along with birthdays come birthday parties. One particular party that I was looking forward to was my niece's roller skating party. Only girls were invited-which added to the element of fun as my daughter and I got to have some mother/daughter bonding time in addition to hanging out with a bunch of fun girls at the roller rink.

As the party started, the girls were off. Some were graceful as swans, and some were a little less coordinated. My daughter unfortunately was one of the latter. She actually did better when skating with one of the other grown ups instead of myself. For some reason we were just a bad combination-and before you knew it she'd be "scissoring" her legs, but going nowhere (or worse, falling on her tushy). My mother, however, was skating so gracefully around the rink that I almost felt envious (where did she get all that balance?).

Other than having some minor falls (mostly done by my gal), things were going pretty well. The skaters were going around for one last song before it was time to take a pizza break. My girl was actually going around the wall on her own, and I was enjoying skating alongside my sister and talking about how well the party was going. That's when we noticed our mother on the ground. She just had this look on her face that told us that things were not good. It was decided right away that I would take her to the hospital-my sister needed to stay until her daughter's party was over (I'm so glad that her sister-in-law was in town and able to be at the party to help her!)

My mother held her arm close to her the whole time we went through the proper procedures at the hospital (don't get me started on that). When it came time to actually look at her arm (her sleeve was covering it up) I got to see something I hope I never see again. Officially it was called a Colle's fracture. All I know is arms are not supposed to be "S" shaped-it's not natural!

So, I have been taking shifts with my sister for the past couple of days to care for my VERY independent mother. Let me tell you, it's not always easy taking care of a strong willed woman that thinks she should be able to do certain things herself. The icing on the cake was this morning when I had to leave her shortly to get my daughter to school-my mother took a bath with no one in the house. But, no harm was done, and I understand that this is hard for her.

What I have learned from this experience is: First, my mother is not indestructible (as much as I hate to admit it). Second, my mother is one of the bravest people I know (she faced some VERY severe pain with such grace it's astonishing). Third, my mother is NOT two years old (something my husband felt he needed to point out to me, as I may have been using some of the care I usually apply to our little guy towards my mom). Fourth, I am a lot stronger than I gave myself credit for (I even helped a nurse hold a splint in place on my moms mangled arm so she could wrap it up-something even my sister, usually the strong one, couldn't do).

Finally, when my granddaughter has a rollerskating party, I don't need to be the "cool" grandma. I can just keep on my tennies and walk the rink like all the other grandparents, because Grannies shouldn't skate.