Monday, August 31, 2009

Saying Yes

Alright, just to recap. THURSDAY was "the" day. School shopping with the teenagers AND my Mom. I will admit at points it was my worst nightmare. Picture everyone following me around the store, looking lost. Why is it so difficult to actually look through a rack of clothing on your own and pick what you like, I have no idea.

It was only two hours but I think it took at least, one year off my life. Stress.

Once it was done, lunch was fun. And I couldn't think my Mom enough for her generosity. She easily spent over $500. Everything we found was on sale.

I just have to show you some of the tags from the clothes. I don't know who Vigoss is, but the jeans? Are very cool.



Here's the pre-schooler's take. She wasn't even there to pick it out. I think that was good, she'd of been overwhelmed. There are infinite choices in little girls clothing. See those embroidered jeans at the bottom?


I wasn't sure that I liked the creases that were already in them but I loved the embroidered butterfly. They are too freaking cute.


Here is my son's take. He still has pants and shirts that fit him, so this is just some new things for him to start the year with. My favorite is the Stewie shirt, I might have to steal it from him. His favorite is the skeleton shirt with the "silent but deadly" on it.



Here is the girls take. She needed jeans mostly (oh and she needs to stop getting taller too). She's a young miss size five. Which means she's super tall and skinny. And yes, picking out bra's with her I think ranks right up there, to her, as majorly embarrassing. And if my asking her to lift her shirt so I could confirm the size of the one she was wearing, contributes to her future therapy, so be it.


She put this outfit together herself. I cannot tell you how proud this makes me. It's a glimmer of a girl who might be starting to care what she looks like. ~cue the angels singing~



Here's what I bought. Sad eh? A couch cover and a bracelet. My mom offered to pay, but I insisted she not, she had done enough for us. What? You want a close up of the bracelet? Sure.


Isn't it pretty? I thought so TOO! I shared one with my teenager, she asked me for it. Very sweet.


Before my Mom headed back home after the shopping extravaganza, she brought me a few goodies from home. The latest Danielle Steel book. Some conditioner. A GPS? That's right, a GPS. My dad couldn't get it to work and they were done fooling around with it. I took a look at it and couldn't find the cord. The CORD! And to quote my Mom ...
"The cord? There was a cord? Is that why we couldn't get it to work?"
~smacks head on keyboard~

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Sunday Stealing: The Ellie Bellie MeMe

What are your most common nicknames? Ma, Mum, Mummy, Mumah, Mother, Mom

What is today's weather? Sixties right now, overcast and cool. Typical New England.

Where did go on vacation this year? Vacationed at home this year.

What did you do there? Played tourist and saw some local stuff.

Where did you stay? Ummm right at home.

What job do you do? Let's see, I'm a Administrative Assistant-Office Manager-Human Resource-Therapist

Describe where you live. I live right in the center of my Town. I love being able to just walk to run errands.

What do you usually do on weekends? Cleaning and laundry. (yes I am that boring)

What food hits your 'bliss spot'? A nicely seasoned steak.

What drink really does it for you? Tall glass of coke with lots of ice.

Describe the first friend that comes to your head. She's smart, funny and has a great outlook on life.

What was the last restaurant you went to? A diner, for our Anniversary Dinner. It was nice.

Where would you like to live if you had unlimited moneys and nothing stopping your dreams? I'd live on the ocean somewhere. You cannot beat an ocean view.

What is the likeliness of you achieving this dream home? Probably never.

What do you like to do in your spare time? I like to read and do some sewing.

What's your favorite genre for TV programs? I enjoy watching some reality TV. Mostly I like shows that have comedy.

What's your favorite genre for music? Rock n roll.

What's your favorite song that's sad? Me & Little Andy - Dolly Parton, prepare yourself it's a doozy.

What's your favorite soppy film? I'm not into soppy films.

How about your favorite chick flick? Sex in the City, The movie.

What are you looking forward to at the moment? Six days off, starting Wednesday.

What are you dreading at the moment? Bills.

How would you describe your personality? I think I'm likeable.

If you had a personality eraser, what part of yours might you erase? I don't think I'd erase anything. Although my teenagers would probably tell you, my loud laugh. They don't like it.

You are given $5000 to spend in 1 day, what do you do with it? remember, no limitations! I'd be out shopping for furniture and supplies to finish up our third floor.

What is your biggest fear? Dying.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

It Shouldn't Suck ... Really

So is this week kicking your ass like it is mine? Good! I am not alone. I can't believe it's only Thursday, it feels like Friday afternoon already.

Sheesh!

Granted I have some more vacation time coming next week, which only makes everything drag a bit more. Especially when I'm looking at working both day and night for two days before I'm off.

But that's next week.

Today? Oh yes, Today. Today I have the day off BUT I will be spending it doing school clothes shopping with the kids and, as an added bonus, my MOTHER will be there too. They kids dread this time of year. They don't like looking at clothes (which I totally don't get). So there will be long faces as I make them try on stuff to be sure it fits and then going back to find the right size.

It'll be tedious.

On the plus side? I'll get to buy a few things for my pre-schooler. Which I know already will be fun. How can you shop for little shirts and pants and not SMILE at how tiny they are.

I'm sure once the torture is over and enough clothes are found, there will be lunch and with any luck ...

A quiet afternoon for me. We shall see.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Vacation Pictures ~ Finally

Sat. Sun. Mon. ~ There was a lot of cooking and cleaning and hanging out.

Tues. ~ We took the train into the city. Just the girls (that's be five of us.)



Little stand where I bought my halter dress.


This a "T" stop AND a museum. Amazing.


I have always wanted to check out this cemetery in the city. I can't take credit for this awesome pictures. Somehow my MIL managed to snap it and it appears as though there are only a few people in the cemetery. When really? There was easily 100 people milling around.




My oldest didn't want to stop at any of the other places. She just wanted to come here, so she could walk around with her cousin. By themselves. I indulged.

We had hoped to catch a sidewalk show but there weren't any while we were there.


We did spy this. That's right, in, the city. $3 per person to ride it. We all went. We all smiled. How could you not?


Chatting about the day, on the way home.
Fri. ~ (yes I realize these are out of order) we had a lovely bonfire. Eating smores until we were stuffed.



Sat. ~ This was the fire pit at the benefit my man and his band played at. It gives new meaning to the phrase "Meat on a Stick."


Thurs. ~ Here's a picture of the band, as they just started playing. I wish I had thought to take a picture of the audience, there was a nice sized crowd.


Wed. ~ We took an afternoon to go and visit that famous rock. By we I mean everyone but my man who was practicing for the show. (see above)


This rock keeps getting smaller and smaller every time I see it. So sad.



In case you hadn't figured it out yet.



Sun. ~ There was much hanging out, guitar playing and BBQing.


There was a walk around town, vising the local shops.




There was bread making. (I can't remember which day we did that, but I do remember it was too hot to have the stove on.)


Sat. ~ Here is the view from the stage. The weather that afternoon was beautiful.



Overall it was a great time!

Monday, August 24, 2009

What I've Been Up To ...

Enjoying. My souvenirs from vacation. Tye Dye Sweatshirt (bargain), pretty pink summer halter style dress, Old Tyme Photos of the kids (which came out awesome), Color Changing Nail Polish, bracelet and anklet (yes I am 12 again, what of it) and a last minute splurge at Bath & Body Works.


Potty Time. This is how we are spending our weekends now. And yes the preschooler has completely taken over the living room with her toys.



Dog grooming. I wasn't sure about this because the pup has feet "issues" and doesn't normally allow anyone to touch them, let alone trim her nails. This guy did all that and trimmed back all her foot hairs. She looks so tidy. And the bandanna? Worth every penny.



Reading. This is a book that is on the Sophomore Reading list. It intrigued me because it is entirely in cartoon and it replaces people with mice during Hitler's era. While I think this is a good choice, I'm baffled by the ending, in which, there is a "to be continued". All that is fine but the ending itself is right before the main mouse is getting on the train to Auschwitz, which to me is the pinnacle of the story. I guess what I am saying is it should include both books. (It took me maybe a half hour to read.) At any rate, it's a good story and I am waiting on the second half of it to come my way.


Cooking. I am 100% loving this spice. So much so that I bought two of them because I'm afraid they are seasonal.



More Reading: This story? Very good. I recommend it.



Selling Stuff on Craig's List. I have two of these sets and don't want either of them. Any takers?



Playing. Check out this pretend pancake. These days there is a lot of preparing and eating of pretend food. It's adorable.


This is breakfast for Dad.


The vacation pictures are coming.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sunday Stealing: Jodi's MeMe

-Are you a male or female? Girl.

-Describe yourself. Organized, neat-freak.

-How do you feel right now? Excellent.

-If you could go anywhere, where would you go? The beach.

-Your favorite form of transportation. Via sports car, preferably a Ferrari but realistically a Corvette.

-Describe Your Morning Routine. Bootcamp, followed by a shower, wake the kids, do breakfast and lunches and get everyone out the door, head to daycare then work.

-Your best friend is. Funny. I love her sense of humor.

-What's the weather like. Humid. Hot. Sticky.

-Pet Peeve? Empty boxes sitting on the cupboard shelves looking full.

-If your life was a TV show, what would it be called. The Real Word.

-Your relationship. Seventeen years, and going strong.

-Your Fear. Dying and it gets worse the older I get.

-What is the best advice you have to give? Today is tomorrow's, yesterday.

-If you could change your name, you would change it to. Nothing anymore. The days of wanting to change my name have long since past.

-What do you say when you are frustrated? Ryhmes with truck.

-Thought for the day. Carpe Diem.

-How you would like to die. I'd like to not at all ... but if I have to ... then in my sleep.

-Your soul's present condition. Could use some nouishment.

-Your motto. See a penny, pick it up ... all day long .... have some luck.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Lead In ...

Check this out. The song by the Cars. The front man is new, he has only been with us for a couple of weeks. The guy in the back, is my man. He spent the first part of our vacation learning that rythym and doing the solo. I heard it over and over and over so many times that when I was in the audience and heard this song, I felt like I could play it.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Behind The 8-Ball

Well no big surprise here. It's Monday, the weekend went by way too fast, I wanted to get a post up here with pictures, which I thought I could do this morning.

But I am already running late.

I'll be back later.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Sunday Stealing: The Blame Tara MeMe

Question 1: Who do you think is the hottest movie star? I don't have any favorites at the moment. (I just like to oogle the hot bodies when I see them) I do like Natan Fillion in Firefly though. Very nice Captain.

Question 2: Apart from your house and your car, what is the most expensive thing you have ever bought? (it doesn't mention renovations, which have cost us more than what we've paid for both cars) I'd say its a tie between guitar equipment and our wedding rings.

Question 3: What is your most treasured memory? When I was a little girl, I loved going shopping with my Mom.

Question 4: What is the best gift you’ve ever received as a child? The Sears Catalog light up dollhouse. I wish I still had it.

Question 5: What is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made? Opening my big mouth when really I should have just minded my own business.

Question 6: Give four words to describe yourself. Giving, neat, caring and honest.

Question 7: What was your highlight or lowlight of 2008? Getting two decent bonuses was a definite high and the low was my grandmother passing away.

Question 8: What was your most embarrassing moment? I have had many. I think ranking high up there is a vacation we took when I was eleven to the Poconos. It seemed like the ride there took forever and when we finally were settled in, I threw on my bikini and hit the pool. Except when I came up out of the water, my top popped off and I flashed a couple of kids my own age. I. wanted. to. die.

Question 9: Tell something not generally known about yourself. I have this thing for nail polish. At last count I had 40+ bottles. My latest addition is color changing and I really like it.

Question 10: If you were a comic strip/cartoon character, who would you be? Odie!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Back To Reality

~waves~

Remember me? I'm back. I survived the homecoming of my two oldest children (bliss) and a ten day stay with my Mother In Law and my Niece. I have run the dishwasher, washed endless bedsheets, put away extra chairs, cleaned out all the "leftover" food from the fridge. I, essentially, have taken back my house.

Yay.

In the mist of all that, my youngest girl and I have been working on the potty. Actually she works and I clean up where the work went overtime. (and there is alot of that, in case you were wondering) I did realize that it would mean extra laundry to me but I was taken by surprise at all the creative places peeing can take place. Especially where in an older home there are slants to the floor. I believe we have gotten over the hump of that and now it's more of a ... I waited too long ... kinda thing ... and not so much a ... I'm playing dolls and tell me again why my pants are soaked ... kinda thing ...

Either way, I now have to return the super-duper-extra-large package of pull-ups I bought at Target on Sunday. What was I thinking?

I do have lots of pictures and I'll be doing a recap of my vacation week, which was really a good time and ever enlightening (teenagers!). My Mother-In-Law took a lot of video footage and some of it is pretty funny.

It will be up soon.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Houze Guestz

Dudes, I am exhausted!

Although I am totally and completely loving the fact that my children are back, where I can resume micromanaging their lives (or hug and kiss them at will), getting back into the swing of a five person dinner, adult like requests ("I need more razors Mom") and directing them as minions, is taking some getting used to.

PLUS!

My MIL and my NIECE came back with them so it's a COZY seven at Casa-de-Mig's. Which means I am cooking for seven people ... and cleaning up after seven people. Ok, that's not entirely true, my MIL is doing her share of cleaning up. But as we all know here, everyone elses idea of cleaning, is not my idea of cleaning. Just sayin' Every room in our house is full at various times throughout the day.

AND

There is lots and lots and lots of sitting at the kitchen table and talking. Talking about the kids visit, talking about the two year olds progress and just plain ole talking. I'm surprise my voice isn't completely hoarse. (it's not, I think I'd have to be screaming for that)

They are here until Monday. That's right. Monday. SIX more days. My entire vacation spent entertaining guests.

Six more days of ... "Excuse me, Aunt Mig? What's for dinner?"

Don't get me wrong I love it and I love them. Today we hit the city and it was a total blast, just us girls (all five girls to be exact). There was some fine dining and lots of vendor shopping and amusement (think "darling ... its like wearing 100 dresses!"). The toddler napped snuggled on my chest the whole train ride home. I am enjoying it all.

Of course, my MIL and I both came back with barely a couple of bucks to our name. I won't even tell you what we each started out with. But the memories? Are well worth it. I'll be putting up pictures at some point. But where it's taken me four times to try and write just this one post, it's probably going to be a while.

Right now I'm being summoned. To make pancakes.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Sunday Stealing: The Alpha MeMe

My roommate and I once: Tripped on magic mushrooms. I have never laughed that hard in my laugh (and haven't since)

Never in my life have I: Robbed a bank. Go figure.

High school was: The worst time of my life. I will never forget reading about myself on the bathroom wall. Never.

When I’m nervous: I clean or laugh erratically.

My hair: Used to be really really long. It's short now and easier to manage but I miss how it was.

When I was 5: I feel while riding a tricycle at the neighbors. I did serious damage to my knee and no one caught it, until I was in my teenager years.

When I turn my head left: I see the hallway. Boring.

I should be: Making some sort of dinner for all the guests in the house. I am not.

By this time next year: I'll probably be doing the same thing I am now. I don't see any changes on the horizon.

My favorite aunt is: Dead. She passed a way a couple of years ago now. She was so sweet to me, my godmother and I will always remember her fondly.

I have a hard time understanding: People who speak broken English and I get really frustrated by it.

You know I like you if: I want to hang out with you.

My ideal breakfast is: Water, Toast and Yogurt. (or Chocolate Chip Pancakes).

If you visit my home town: You are either going to a bat-mitzvah, need to ride the T or looking for trouble, there is nothing there.

If you spend the night at my house: You might encounter a spirit. (according to my teenager)

The animal I would like to see flying besides birds: Pigs. Everyone talks about it. I want to see it.

I shouldn’t have been: The one to say that she hated you. I will regret it until the day I die.

Last night I: Enjoyed my MIL's company as we caught up on everything.

A better name for me would be: Supermom. What?

I’ve been told I look like: My twin. The one I have never met but that many people have told me about over the years.

If I could have any car, it would be: A tricked out vintage trans-am. In black.