Here I Am Again! My Weekly Column, "The Great Escape"

http://marlborough.patch.com/articles/moms-talk-are-you-creative-what-are-your-favorite-creative-outlets

I'm published!

Dear Friends,

Although I feel sharing my blog with all of you is just as good as publishing, I've actually since BEEN published!  If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you've already heard the news.  If not, click on the link below and read my debut article!

http://marlborough.patch.com/articles/a-good-cup-of-coffee

This is a wonderful, daily, online newspaper that I recently discovered.  Of course, I immediately wanted to write for them and now here I am!  I will be posting my articles from my weekly column (I'm so excited to say that out loud..."my weekly column"!) on my blog.

I will be back to writing on here VERY soon and I will also be putting up buttons so you can find me on Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks for reading.

An Apple A Day (My First Guest POST!)

Happy New Year!  I feel like I haven't stopped since before the holidays (technically when my last post was written).  We've had blizzards, broken snowblowers, strep throat, antibiotics, migraine headaches, doctor's appointments, snow days, snow shovelling into the wee hours of the morning, more doctor's appointments and my birthday (to name just a few things that have occurred).  This last event was yesterday and I had a fantastic day.  I will be posting about this and all of these other events soon, but I have something really exciting to share with you!

I was invited to do a guest post on the blog "Blah To Ta-Daa" (www.blahtota-daa.blogspot.com)!!  Mellisa and the other ladies on this blog post recipes, ideas and tips to save all of us (and our families) from making and eating the same darn things for dinner every single week!  Here is my guest post in the flesh:

http://blahtota-daa.blogspot.com/2011/01/apple-day.html

There's a yummy recipe in there, but it also discusses my love affair with apples.  Go visit my post AND don't forget to scroll down and check out their terrific recipes!!

I am extremely grateful to Mellisa for choosing me and I plan to continue to post there in the future!  Am I the luckiest forty-something (birthdays are hard) on the planet?

Cristy

Merry Christmas to All!

OK, it is Christmas Eve Afternoon.  I want to wish all of my readers who celebrate a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  So, here's to you and your families!

However, I did not make it as easy on myself as I said I would back in this post:

http://somanykidssomuchfun.blogspot.com/2010/11/wednesday-news-november-24-2010.html

Back then, I was "full speed ahead", "get the sales", "get it done early" and (gasp!) WRAP everything INSTEAD of staying up until the wee hours of Christmas morning with Dave, both of us bleary-eyed and forgetting for whom the present was and WHAT it was!  No joke!

Alas, there will be some late-night wrapping tonight, but my kids are old enough now that I can tell them that Mom is going into the basement to "work with some surprises" and "do NOT come down", this afternoon.

I did do a lot better than in previous years, however.  I shopped a little at a time and I DID get a lot of good prices.  My planning ahead paid off!  I also cut way back on my baking this year.  My kids love to bake and cook so I think I was burned out from a steady stream of that all year.  Our gifts to our teachers and pretty much everyone who is not family is usually iced/colored-sugared/sprinkled/chocolatey/cinnamoned (or any combination of these) baked goods of some sort.  This year, I went with small, store-bought, but useful gifts.

Of course, Christmas is not about all of the presents and the wrapping anyway.  I feel very blessed that everyone in our family knows that.  It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, but we have to remember the "reason for the season".  God Bless You and make some memories!!

A T-Shirt

"Two entries won an iPad and all I got is this lousy T-shirt."

Honestly, I was just very happy to get anything!  THANK YOU to all who voted for me on FB for the recipe contest.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, consult my previous post: http://somanykidssomuchfun.blogspot.com/2010/12/all-i-want-for-holidays-is-some-yummly.html

They decided to give the top 2 people with the most "Likes" each an iPad.  These folks got over 1000 "Likes" on FB.  I was 1 of 4 who got T-shirts, so I'm still happy with the amount of support I have.  They only awarded the "Top 6".

I had a lot of fun entering and that's the important thing.  As soon as it arrives, I will have a picture up of myself sporting it!

The "All I Want for the Holidays is Some Yummly Food and an iPad Contest from yummly.com

Hi friends!  Thank you to my new followers both on this blog AND on my BlogFrog community.  It tickles me pink when I see my numbers go up!

OK, so I'm asking for help again.  If you give me "Likes" of FB for this recipe AND I get the MOST "likes"...I WIN AN iPAD!  It's actually for my dh.  He desperately needs one for work.  His Blackberry looks like it's been crushed by a garbage truck, survived and came back to life.

Here's more information about the contest:

http://blog.yummly.com/blog/the-all-i-want-for-the-holidays-is-some-yummly-food-and-an-ipad-contest/

You can click on my badge in the upper corner of my blog's homepage.  It will direct you to my FB page and then you can "like" the recipe!  I will be reposting the recipe daily so it will be easy to find among my status updates.

THANK YOU!  Whenver you click "Like" on my recipe, add your blog to the Linky below.  I, as a thank you, will visit your blog, leave a comment and even repost a link if something strikes me as funny, cool or interesting!  Plus, other people can see your blog and you may get more visitors!

I'm so excited that I can try to win something to give to my dh AND help my fellow bloggers by getting them exposure on Linky!

2946, do I hear 3000?

Do I sound like an auctioneer?  Thank you wonderful readers!  You have brought my Stat Count (how many people have visited my blog) up to 2946.  I am planning something special when I hit 3000!  Keep visiting!  You all make my day!

Pacman Pesto Pizza

My friend named it that.  Anyone got a quarter?

More Pacman's Pesto Pizza!

Ooh, I'm using alliteration and (un)aware (in the title).  It's a variation on "You're a poet and don't know it.."

"The Wednesday News" is delayed due to some folks who have been under the weather in our home.  It will be up tomorrow so please stop back!  In the meantime, enjoy one of my favorite photos!  It's a homemade pesto pizza (that was delicious, but I haven't made since due to laziness).  My friend nicknamed it "Pacman" for obvious reasons that did not occur to me when I took the picture.  I wanted to TRY the pizza THEN photograph it and share with my online friends!

Here's a video that you can sing-a-long with!  This is a real song from the early 80's in case you were in diapers! Instructions: Substitute "pizza" for "fever".  Enjoy!

Five Question Friday

Hi!  I haven't done this in awhile and I've missed it.  Thank you, as always, to our host www.fivecrookedhalos.blogspot.com .


Since my last post, we've celebrated my daughter's 11th birthday with the family, I'm still rockin' the Christmas music and have done a TON of shopping.  You want to hear something scary?  OUR TREE IS UP ALREADY!!  We NEVER do it before mid-December nevermind BEFORE December 1.  Something about the Christmas spirit coming early this year (oh, and enjoying the holiday season without our usual last-minute nonsense).

1. What's on the top of your holiday wish list and why?!

Wow.  I'd really like an electric frying pan because I love to cook.  That's right.  I won't cry if someone buys me an appliance instead of something more personal.  I would embrace the gift (and the giftgiver!!).

I saw a recipe the other day that screamed "This would be a snap with an electric frying pan."  I can't for the life of me now remember what creation I was thinking of making for my family, but I will find something.  We eat very little fried food, but maybe I was thinking of making fried chicken (fried in oil set to a specific temperature in the new frying pan!) as a decadent meal?  Can't remember...

ANYWAY, at the TOP of my list would be gift certificates for clothing or shoes.  I really love to dress up.  Funky, chunky OR classic jewelry like necklaces, earrings and bracelets (especially homemade unique stuff...love it!), a colorful top/sweater/vest and different types of skirts and pants.  

THEN, I would top it off with a great pair of shoes!  Mwah!!  I love all of the boots out this season.  I do have a pair of knock-off Ugg boots that I adore, but I could really go crazy in a shoe store if allowed to.  I particularly love high heels.  Unfortunately, my... ahem.."older" body does not.  However, I can get away with a short heel and do so as much as appropriate (in other words, not to the gym, but pretty much everywhere else.).  I try to do 3 1/2 inchers if I know I'll be seated most of the evening or whatever event I'm attending, but it's really painful.

Accessories?  Absolutely!  Handbags, scarves, belts, winter gloves or do I daresay a HAT!  I then match my makeup to whatever I'm wearing and I am ready to take on the day (the world?).  It makes me feel so good!  If it's a good hair day too, watch out!  I just might start dancing!!

Unfortunately, reality is, well not cold because I do have everything I NEED, but it does not pave the way for me to buy very many clothes/shoes for myself.  Insert: Christmas list!!

2. What is your favorite Christmas gift from the past?  

I can think of a couple of things that I received when I was older, but my favorite gift of all time was the Treetots Family Treehouse and the Treetots Amusement Park!

OK, so I'm TOTALLY dating myself here, but I HAD to share this!  These were the BEST toys!  Growing up, Fisher Price toys were my favorites: the parking garage, the farm equipped with the door that opens and says, "Moo!", the dollhouse, etc.


The Treetots are Kenner toys but were very similar in that you could pretend play with people ("Treetots") in a treehouse that pops up to reveal their home or at an amusement park.  How FUN!!  They had other playsets, but these were the two that I had.


One of my best holiday memories was when I was playing with the Amusement Park on Christmas morning and my grandmother reminded me that I had a whole week off of school to PLAY!!  I can't describe the feeling I had after first opening these awesome toys and then knowing I could spend what seemed like endless time playing with them!!!  Over the MOON!!

3. If you had life to do over, what would you be when you grow up?

I have to say, I'm living my dream.  I feel extremely blessed that I can say that as so many people cannot.  I have a solid, loving marriage and four beautiful kids that I stay home with.


Ever since I was a kid, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be married-with-children.  I also wanted to be a physician, musician and later on, a therapist.  I did do an advanced degree in counseling and I will go back to the field when the time is right.  I still have the utmost respect for physicians and musicians, but I have everything I've ever wanted in life (OK, I did talk about wanting more clothes and shoes, but the really important stuff?  Got 'em.)

4. When do you put up your tree?

Normally, we wait until after my daughter's birthday (which was yesterday).  This was mostly for sanity's sake when she was younger.  We'd always have a party with some of her friends at the house.  One or more of us would usually come down with some bug or my husband would be out-of-town.  So, her birthday and executing the party were enough for the beginning of the month of December.

As she got older and the party got a little simpler as the guests became more self-sufficient, we STILL didn't put up our tree until after her birthday.  Even though her special day is in early December, we still wanted it to be separated from Christmas as much as possible.

This year, like I said up above, we are just ahead of the game.  We are NOT familiar with this concept, but it's VERY nice. The usual weekend we would do it before was around the 15th of December.  The tree went up last Sunday, NOVEMBER (!!!!!) 28!  It does need quite a bit more decorating, but oh my GOODNESS!  OUR tree (the family of last minutes and "one-more-things") was UP in NOVEMBER!!  Our neighbors must think that someone else moved into our house when they drive by and see the beautiful lights through the window.

5. What is your favorite Holiday?

I think I would have to say July 4th, but as I'm becoming more and more efficient (apparently) Christmas is moving up to the favorite.  I love the summer.  My kids and I get to spend so much time together, the weather is nice and we can play for hours and hours outside!


Having a holiday right in the middle of this wonderful season is so much fun!  We always have a cookout, my husband has the day off to spend with us and we NEVER miss the local fireworks!!  "Summertime and the livin' is easy" at its best.


I love the Christmas season with the music, the giving spirit, decorating, baking and as much snow as you can throw at us to make it even more magical.  (Yes, we live in the Northeast!)


However, for so much of my life, Christmas was SO stressful.  In college, I'd be finishing up exams right up until the end.  Then, I'd have to rush out and shop at the last minute (on a shoestring budget to boot).


As I got older, engaged and then married, we would have to travel to see both sets of parents.  Next, it was time to bring all of the kids on these trips!  I would not trade the visits and the time with all of the family for the WORLD, but logistics, weather, illnesses, time off of work for my husband made it tough sometimes!  It was always worth it in the end, though.


While you can't avoid the stress completely, you can certainly plan ahead and get more done gradually.  I'd better go.  One of my online orders came in today.  I must open it, wrap it and label it before another one comes in!  Gotta keep on top of all of this!!

How's YOUR Swag(ger)?

Oh my goodness!  I just discovered a really fun way to earn money.  It's a search engine (like Google and others you know and love) that rewards you JUST FOR SURFING!  It's called Swagbucks.  You DO NOT have to use it exclusively for your only search engine either.  I don't plan to!

One of my wonderful followers, who also shares her incredible wealth of knowledge with other bloggers all of the time AND is one of my favorite bloggers to read has an extended post about how to use Swagbucks.  I'm a newbie, but I would encourage you to click on some of the ads at the right of my blog posts.  If you click on them and decide to join, I get a referral...AND...you guessed it...more Swagbucks for me (and for you...just for joining!)

Here is her wonderful post.  She convinced me!

http://www.theredheadriter.com/2010/11/easy-money-pros-and-cons-of-swagbucks.html

I'm already hooked!  The only thing that I am finding tough is my continuing to search for surveys I qualify for (and hence just one of the ways you can earn Swagbucks toward purchases, sweepstakes, gift cards, etc., etc.  Wow!).  Don't like to do surveys?  How about daily polls or checking out their special offers?

I love to do surveys (I guess I'm opinionated?), so I started with that.  They tell you how long the survey takes (not like other sites I've been to) how many Swagbucks you'll earn and the likelihood you'll qualify for a particular survey (40% chance, 60% chance).  Then, they ask you some basic questions and let you know if you will be able to participate or not.  Obviously, the longer the survey (I saw one for 8 minutes and one for 30 minutes, for example), the more Swagbucks you earn!

I wasn't eligible for any thus far, but I'm going to keep trying!!

I checked it out and joined.  What have you got to lose?

The Wednesday News, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

OK, it's official.  I am in the holiday spirit!  I have been avoiding the Christmas music on the radio until today, when my kids asked for it.  I thought they started playing it MUCH earlier this year...like NOVEMBER 1st if not SOONER!  I just couldn't listen to it then, but now, I'm hooked!  OK, where's the SNOW?!?  I have to have snow!!

I've even done some Christmas shopping AND decorating!!  Those of you that know me know I'm a last-minute person, but since having my twins (6 years ago) thereby increasing the amount of family members by 50%, I realized that SOMETHING had to give.  You just physically cannot do everything at the last minute for a family our size (well, unless maybe I give up sleeping, eating, etc.).

Dad

I love that Dave has Thursday and Friday off for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It's so relaxing.  We can catch up on preparations for Christmas, but not with all of the last minute pressure (yet).  Often, his time off is extremely busy for our family but Thanksgiving is a nice chunk of time for low-stress family bonding.  I know he really enjoys this downtime too.

Lillian

Lilly's gearing up for her birthday next week.  I can't believe she'll be 11 years old!  She has grown into (even more of) a wonderful, sweet, thoughtful, creative child who still makes friends wherever she goes and then offers loyalty and kindness once the relationship is established.

She has a long list of very expensive things that she would like.  As usual, we'll have to lower some expectations.  After all, after her birthday, we have to finance Christmas for the 6 of us (plus our extended family) and Andy's birthday is right around the corner in February!  Thankfully, there are some doable items on her list.  I really like the way we are teaching our children the true meaning of birthdays and Christmas, which we would do even if we had all of the money in the universe.

Her teacher has gone on maternity leave.  I know Lilly is going to miss her a lot.  She plans to come back in February.  In the meantime, I have been making an effort to spend extra one-on-one time with Lilly.  It's been really nice!  Her brothers are almost always still in the house, but we've been able to steal some moments to play a board game together (just us) and we even whipped up a no-bake pie before any boys could invade the kitchen!

She's still limping a little in spite of the doctor stating that her knee is perfectly fine.  Hopefully the extra attention will help take her mind off of the pain she says she feels.  She also loves Christmas (decorations, music, winter, gift-giving) so I believe this also steer her toward a happy path!

Andy

Andy's had his usual, go-with-the-flow, kind of week.  He's an even-keel guy and has been enjoying raking more leaves and helping the family go through the toys that they don't play with anymore.  Last weekend, the boys and Dave bought an old-school, used gaming system for next-to-nothing.  At first I was not happy as I'm not a fan of electronic toys, but we've been limiting it like we do TV and computer time.  So far, so good.

I had a great time voluteering in his classroom on Monday.  Every one of the 3rd grade classes at his school circulated through each classroom as a group, one at a time.  Andy's classroom was assigned a scientific project.  When a class would enter, the volunteer moms would help the kids cut a cranberry in half, draw it, label it and describe it.  I had a BLAST!  It's a fun age.

Harry

Harry's been a real sweetheart lately!  He's also been cuddly.  I'm loving it!  He's always had it in him, but he sometimes has a hard time staying positive with the demands of school, the limits on candy and other fun, noisy brothers and sharing the new game system.  I think this weekend just hanging out with the family will be good for him too.

Harry and Lilly are alike in a lot of ways.  His spirits too have been lifted by the Christmas music playing in our house and talking about Santa visiting very soon!  He also lost his second tooth yesterday!

Malcolm

Mal's looking forward to starting basketball next weekend.  It's the first time he's ever played.  He's always been a natural with balls and sports equipment.  (I guess that would mean that he and Andy are alike in this way!)  What an arm he's got!

One of my favorite memories of Malcolm as a toddler was him carrying a tennis ball around constantly as a lovey.  He was especially interested in textures at this age.  He'd often go up to his twin brother, reach out and feel his eyebrows, mouth, hair, etc.  Harry never minded, but Malcolm definitely did more tactile exploration than he did.  I loved when he would just come up and rub his hand back and forth on my arm to feel a sweater I was wearing.  Once in awhile, he still does something like this and that's when I miss how little the kids once were.

I guess the tennis ball was just fuzzy enough to cuddle with.  He'd carry it everywhere and rub it gently on his cheek.  It was adorable and too short-lived as these things often are with children.  He would also reprimand anyone who offered to play catch with him using his special ball.

Mom

As I said above, I am heading into Christmas full speed!  I also love this time of year and each holiday season, I vow to make it less stressful on myself.  So far to this end, I am planning ahead with ideas and lists, taking advantage of sales/free shipping online and grabbing things as I see them when I'm out shopping.

I'm very pleased that the kids and Dave are working hard on decluttering the old toys.  This way we can bless someone else while keeping our sanity around here!  My job is to keep processing and filing all of the papers and bills that tend to pile up (quickly).

We are very fortunate that my sister and her family has graciously offered to host Thanksgiving.  I will bring something, but it's nothing compared to the cleaning and cooking that she will be doing!  She makes the table look so beautiful too and brings out her wedding china.  We feel so specially treated as guests!

I hope everyone is also having a nice holiday season so far.  It can be a difficult time of year for many reasons too.  I will pray for all of you to see the good no matter what holiday(s) you celebrate and whatever circumstances you may find yourself in.

Malcolm Does the Piano

Malcolm was home sick today.  He did feel well enough to tickle the ivory, however.  Unfortunately, I videotaped him with my camera held upright.  Who knew that you could rotate the video while it was still in the camera, but then when you download the file, it goes back to being sideways! 

I'm working on fixing the problem, but in the meantime, you can enjoy the music!  I love how he plays it one way and if it doesn't sound good, he plays it another way.  He doesn't even take lessons!

This was after he dressed himself up in construction paper armor "to honor Colorful Man" in a book he read at school.

"I'm trying to sing some kind of vampire song.  (hums tune) Something like that.  I need the keyboard, but I can try to practice it on the piano."

What We've Been Up To

 Halloweening!

Harry (left, Snakeyes, the Ninja from GI Joe; Malcolm, Transformer's Bumblebee; Mom as What Would I Look Like with Long, Blond Hair...again and Lilly, the Evil Jester).  Andy, the vampire who refused the black wig AND the FAKE BLOOD (I can't believe it EITHER!!) refused to be immortalized in this photo, but will stay immortal as long as he's a vampire who dodges wooden stakes.

Below: Lilly again.  In other news, she bruised her kneecap in mid-October.  She was still milking using the crutches on Halloween night.  Maybe she was the "jester, on the sidelines, in a cast" from the song "American Pie"?  Except she didn't have a cast...just sayin'.




 Andy's last football game of the season, October 24

  

#17 seen here warming up and positioning his mouthguard.  Note the pink stripe on his helmet.  His whole team did that for Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October).



 

 Cub Scout Fishing Derby, October 3



Dad baits a hook.



 



Andy has some success!  Harry looks on.  Fish, like all others that day, returned to pond.



Here are some more things we've been up to this autumn:



Jumping in leaves...(Harry orange; Andy green; Malcolm blue; Tree bare)

...painting witches (Harry at a classmate's plaster birthday party)

...and each young boy had won some "fishes"! (Autumn festival carnival game...three boys, one try each, three fish).  Tank, light, filter, electricity, water, fake plants, glass gemstones, treasure chest, hollow log, gravel and food not included.



Trying Something New!

Hi All!  Yes, I'm still here!  I got severely derailed from writing by, well you know, life.  I am doing Follow Me Monday to get back into the swing of things!  Thank you to Nan at http://beonefineday.blogspot.com/.

Let's see, we've had illnesses, my husband traveling, Halloween, car trouble, more illnesses, Cub Scouts, more Cub Scouts, homework, leaves, a lot of attitude and hmmm, that might be about it!

I decided to jump back in where we are here in our lives.  Last Monday, I woke up with the nastiest case of pinkeye I had ever seen, heard about or read about.  For those who don't know what this is, it's another word for conjunctivitis. It involves itchy, burny eye(s) (it can be in one eye or both eyes) with nasty secretions and it is HIGHLY contagious.


Both my eyes were stuck shut when I woke up, puffy and MAROON red.  No joke.  In fact, when Harry noticed how red my eyes were, I then told him that I was not his mom, but actually a MONSTER!  GRRRR!!  The poor thing was NOT amused, in spite of his obsession for Halloween.  I apologized, but could not give him a hug because I was contagious.

I found some antibiotic eye ointment that Harry had used several weeks ago and started using it.  I know it's a no-no to use someone else's medicine, but I was desperate!  It was SO bad AND I didn't want to spread it to my family.

I didn't end up needing to go to the doctor because it cleared up in a few days.  I really think the culprit was some mascara I used last Saturday night for Dave and my "date night".  It was so severe, so sudden and it was in BOTH of my eyes.  I have since thrown out all of the makeup I used that night.  I had no idea that the "experts" who say to throw out your makeup every few months are RIGHT!  I thought they were paid by the makeup companies to say that!  The "eyes" had it, folks.

Andy is back to school today.  He was sent home last Wednesday with suspected pinkeye.  His was only in one eye and from what I read, I suspected it was viral pinkeye, not what I had.  This turned into a sore throat, the nastiest cough he's ever had and a low grade fever.  Thursday, he had Veteran's Day off from school and Friday he was still fevering so he finally returned today.  So far, no phone calls from school!  This illness knocked him on his keister.  Andy does NOT slow down for ANYTHING!  Last winter, when he had pneumonia, the doctor said he could do "activities to his tolerance".  Well, he shoveled our entire driveway, which is long, voluntarily, with a fever of 103!  Not this time.  We're talking lump on a log.

Lilly has been suffering too, from a lack of attention.  Well, her definition of not enough attention not ours, but it's still something she's feeling really deeply.  Since about the middle of last week, she has been giving us a hard time about going to school stating that she "doesn't feel well".  However, we cannot substantiate it with a fever or any other symptom so we've been sending her in telling her that she could go to the school nurse if she really felt terrible at school.

She decided that the nurse was mean and that she was going to stick it to us by staying at school and "not learning anything".  My husband and I are thinking, "OK, well, we've done OUR job by law in getting her there!"

This morning, she came to us with a thermometer reading of 100.4.  She explained that she had taken her temperature and it was first 100.1.  Now, after having a drink, it was up to 100.4.  She hadn't been downstairs yet to heat up any hot drinks using electricity via the stove or microwave.  Our hot water tank is NOT set that hot because we have kids, so drinking the tap water upstairs couldn't have done it.  How, according to the laws of physics, can a temperature go UP after taking a sip of water ANYWAY??!

The answer is, it cannot.  We retook her temperature and it was 99.4.  We took it once again for good measure, 99.2.  Off to school, young lady!  I think we fell for the "thermometer under the hot water tap" trick.  In that case, the tap water COULD increase her temperature!!

The moral of the story is, never trust a 10yo with a temperature taken by her own hand, especially when her brother has been sick and allowed to stay home from school.

Happy Monday, Everyone!  Make it a Good One!