Loving my sweetie…

I just had my 35th birthday, lost my favorite cat of 13 years, won an award at work, trying to keep up with the kids school work and growth spurts and dealing with life in general. If I didn’t have my husband, I have NO idea where I would be, what I would be doing, or who I would be for that matter. He is there for our 2 boys for every single baseball practice and games. He is wrapped around our 2 year old daughter’s finger, arms, toes, hair…every inch of her. He is there for me. To stand beside me as a proud husband when I won my award. To console me when our beloved cat passed away. To go above and beyond by surprising me on my birthday, with not one, but two new kittens to take my pain away of losing our older cat. He takes being a dad and husband to a level that I have always dreamed about and experienced growing up with my own family. Dad’s rock. And my husband is MY rock.

TV Shows that make me crazy

So my job rocks where I get to work from home one day a week. SUCH a blessing. So since I never get to watch daytime TV, my Wednesdays are a treat for me when I do get to stay home and work. Yes I do lots of work at home even with the TV on in the background. 🙂 From now on though, I think after my Y&R is over at 1:30 the TV will be going off and music will be played instead. Yesterday, after listening to The Talk and Dr. Oz, I find myself thinking that I need to throw everything away in my pantry, change my family’s diet, and change everything and anything we eat. I realized that these types of shows make me a crazy person. For instance, one segment was showing viewers the hidden sugars in foods you normally would think are healthy. OMG. That is where my crazy started. The expert showed a jar of pasta sauce and explained if you eat one cup of pasta sauce a day for a year, you would have consumed 40 cups of sugar (or something like that), but, she went on, if you would switch to a tomato basil sauce, you’d only consume 20 cups of sugar (the exact cups of sugar are not exact but you get the point). So after I hear that I go in my pantry and sure enough I have the ‘bad’ pasta sauce and immediately think-Oh my goodness…I’m feeding my family garbage. But then I take a step back….and think…wait a minute….who in the heck eats a cup of pasta sauce a day? My family surely doesn’t…we maybe have it once a week or every other week. So I start to talk myself back to reality a little bit. We have very active kids (yes they like their video games too), they love fruits and veggies (but yes they eat donuts every now and then too), and definitely don’t come from a family with obesity problems (diabetics yes, so sugar consumption is an issue and will be kept on watch). So back to normal we will continue, but I will never flip on those TV shows again…maybe I need to DVR The Chew so I can learn how to cook better and have yummy meals (that are healthy). That won’t make me AS crazy….but wait…when do I have time to cook? LOL…the cycle continues…

Turkey/Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

My whole household is a bunch of cough/snot blowing/sniffling people right now and while I was home from work with bronchitis, I really wanted to make chicken noodle soup for dinner. So I went through pintrest and other sites and created my own recipe from others. Here’s my recipe and, even though I’m not the best cook, I was pretty proud of the outcome. And…I’m not good at measuring or like to measure so some of my ingredients are just dabs/dashes/handfuls. 🙂 hope you enjoy!

Turkey/Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 cups chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
a couple pours of whipping cream (just to give it a creamier texture) – I just looked in my fridge and saw I had a small pint so I used some of it. 🙂
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder (feel free to use a small real onion if you like them)
salt/pepper
dash of oregano
2-3 cups of frozen veggies of choice (i used peas, cauliflower, and broccoli)
2 cups cooked turkey or chicken breast – whatever you like or leave it out completely.
2 handfuls of egg noodles

combine all the ingredients above (not meat or noodles) in a crockpot and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Then turn crockpot on high and add in meat and noodles and cook for another hour.
YUM!

warning-if warming the leftovers up the next day, it will smell awful thanks to those wonderful veggies. I have my leftovers at work today and have been getting complaints of the stinky kitchen. Ha ha. 🙂 It’s SOOOOOOOOOO good though.

Too young

 

My cousins and I don’t get to see each other that often, except for annual family reunion. Last year’s will definitely be one to remember since it was the last time I got to see my cousin Brian (he’s on the far left on the end in the glasses). Brian suffered from Type 1 Diabetes from childhood on and didn’t really take care of himself. I feel he had the ‘whatever’ attitude about it and definitely didn’t have the medical support a diabetic of his nature should have. I was just talking to my boss the other day about him because I wanted to reach out to help him. I knew he was struggling so I told my boss that I wish I could get him on pump therapy. He didn’t have great health insurance since he was a free lance DJ. See my husband and mother-in-law also have Type 1 so I am now all too familiar with this ugly disease. Brian was 37 when he passed away last weekend; suffered from major depression and alcoholism. His death was unexpected, but not shocking at the same time. Does that even make sense? So my message to everyone is please take care of yourself. You do matter and you’re worth it; 37 is too young to leave this earth. 

Dying inside…

I am dying inside not for emotional reasons, but because I feel like I have so much creative energy that I can’t use and it’s just dying inside me. I LOVE taking pictures. and I mean LOVE LOVE LOVE taking pictures. I just have some crazy feeling that taking pictures is what I was supposed to be doing with my life. BUT I did not go to college to learn how to truly take pictures, I just have a decent camera (thanks to my hubby for kicking off my passion 5 years ago) and love snapping photos of my kids, friends, and family. I have done three major picture taking things outside my comfort zone: Engagement pictures, wedding pictures (a whole other story about that one), and senior pictures. I will have to say that I was pretty proud of the photos that resulted in those three events.  I have yet to invest in backgrounds, floor drops, props, etc but I am leaning closer and closer every day that I need to try. You don’t know you’re good at something unless you try it right? I only like to take pictures either outside or in natural light. I am not a studio kind of gal and don’t ever want to be; those are for the professionals. But I still believe you can get great pictures with just your camera, natural light and a good subject. 🙂 I have included a few pictures below. Thoughts? Comments? Trash Talking?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have also composed a book about mommy related things, published it on Amazon, but to no surprise have gotten no takers. Too many books by mommies, for mommies these days I’m sure mine is just lost in the millions in existence.

I also have written words to what could be a song; a country song at that. It has a great message and almost ANYONE could relate to it. But how does one Assistant Director of Institutional Research go about getting someone to look at her writing? I’m trying to tap into my LA resource of my sister-in-law who has many friends with many different jobs. Fingers crossed that she comes across a song writer or someone in the music biz.

And again…this is why I am dying side. I have SO many ideas and just can’t seem to find the right outlets or measures to successfully move one along. Anyone else feel this way? Don’t get me wrong. I have a GREAT job; a second family. I think I am just burnt out at sitting behind a desk and computer all.day.long day in and day out and not truly feeling fulfilled in my career. I am good at what I do, but I feel there is something else bigger out there waiting for me; I just have to have the courage to try to find it!

Parenting lesson-how to teach kids to be a leader; not a follower

So my husband and I recently got an email from my 3rd grader’s teacher with the subject line of incident. Great. Just want you want to read on a busy work afternoon. Turns out that my son had been not so nice that day with another student to one of their friends in their class. My heart sank. This does not sound like my kid. But we responded that this wouldn’t be tolerated and we’d have a nice chat with him later on when we got home. Turns out my kid was slightly mean that day, but to no avail, he was lead to do mean things and my son made the wrong choice by following. So my question was how do we convince a 9 year old to be a leader and not a follower. How do you get that point across in 3rd grade terms? Of course we gave him the normal lecture of “put yourself in that kids’ shoes that you teased today-how would that make you feel”, “you don’t have to do everything that so&so does”, “you need to surround yourself with good people and make good choices”, etc…But I still feel like he wasn’t understanding the true point. He’s a good kid, but like all kids, he does make bad choices from time to time. Later on that night we got an email from the mom of the ‘other accused student’ aka my son’s friend. It struck me at that point after reading the email, that this is a bigger issue than just my son making bad choices. He apparently was teaching her son bad words and other inappropriate non-9 year old things. Of course the email read, that by no means were they saintly parents, but they were actively involved in their church, limit their son’s tv/game time, and avoid the radio. So my take on that was, well it has to be your son teaching him these awful things. WHAT?!? Ugh. My husband was furious and started to compose an email that I was not comfortable sending back. So after he edited the section I was not fond of, our message back was simply, I think we need to monitor the kids time together because obviously it’s getting them in trouble. What he (we) really wanted to reply was, “Feel free to go back to your prayers (sorry…I do pray and believe in God, but hate when people throw it in my face) and pray for better friends for your son since obviously my son is the problem-B*&%H!” See…there is an underlying issue going on with my son and her son. They were in the same class in 1st grade and my son got into trouble a lot. They were not in the same class for 2nd grade and we rarely had problems (just the usual, not paying attention issues). Now they are back in the same class and here we go again. I am vowing that my son and her son will not be in the same class the rest of their elementary careers. It’s too much of a coincidence that when these two are in the class, problems arise. My son is by no means an angel, but seems to be pushed in the wrong direction. Again…I ask…how do you all relay the message to your children, that it’s best be to be a leader and not a follower?

Date with mommy

So as promised, I want to document ALL that my kids do, say, sing, perform, etc…

Mason, 9 & in 3rd grade, has HUGE dreams of becoming a football player. If he does not make it as a football player he says, he will then try basketball. This has all spawned off the fact that his daddy and I LOVE football and watch college and pro football a lot. We are Bengals fans (don’t feel sorry for us, we’re used to it), but he has taken up an interest in ALL players; I think he has a favorite on every team. He played flag football this fall and did great; it’s just that football is not really his thing. But he keeps insisting that he is going to play ‘real’ football next year in 4th grade and then everything will work out.  He doesn’t understand the dedication, practice, working out, getting good grades, etc it takes to play sports. So as he mentioned this huge dream to us the other night while watching the BCS Championship game, I had to explain to him that only about 4-5 of those kids on that field were going to make it to the NFL. He kind of sat there stunned. That’s when he said then I’ll try basketball then if I can’t play football after college. Again..had to explain to him that all those kids are in college; they are going to school to study in a field they like. He again got quiet. I said to him, you know Mase, you can go to school for Art, Science, Math, etc and not just sports. You will have to have something that you like and will want to study when you go to college. Again silence. He didn’t talk about this again until yesterday when he wanted to go outside and practice being a good QB. This scares me that he is already focused on sports alone and not school; he’s only 9 so luckily we have a few years left to figure things out. One step at a time with him. He is playing basketball right now and he’s really quite good. I think he shocked himself when he made the first basketball of the game. he wants to play flag football again in the Spring and then the dreaded ‘real’ football in the fall…baby steps. 🙂

Carson, 6 & in 1st grade, has some issues with his temper. I have blogged about this several times before so i won’t go into the story behind him. He has gotten a LOT better and thankfully has a wonderful 1st grade teacher that has worked with him on some of his issues. This kid is so stinking cute when he wants to be and so funny. He loves to dance and sing and can memorize just about any commercial jingle that comes on tv. It’s quite freaky at times. But he loves all the new hits and of course Gangnam Style is one of his favs. While his brother can bust out the moves like a natural, Carson has memorized the song. He and his brother recorded it in the car one day and I had to play it for all my coworkers. SO funny!! His Korean needs a little work, but boy does he nail the song. 🙂  Also for months now he’s been begging us to go eat at TGI Friday’s on a Friday. We haven’t had the time yet, but for Christmas I got a Friday’s gift card. I told my hubby that I wanted to take Carson on a date just to get some him and mommy time. So when I asked Carson if he wanted to go on a date with me, he gave me this weird look and said, “Mommy, I’m not going to date you. That’s gross!” LOL!!! So funny!!

Kacey. almost 22 months old, is the princess and boy does she know it. Her brothers adore her and call her Miss Fuzzy. She is also adored by her cousins, her grandparents, her aunts, her uncle, etc…she’s ADORABLE!! 🙂 Lately I look at her and think she has gotten so ‘old’ in the last few weeks and her vocabulary is expanding rapidly. She lays on the floor on her belly, with her legs up in the air, playing with toys, and I just freak out about how fast she has grown up. She now runs away from me when I go pick her up from daycare; she is also ADORED at the center and all the teachers love her-she loves them just as much. She eats at the regular table; with a fork and a spoon. She has a pillow and blanket in her crib; she’s attempting to climb out. She has gone on the potty a few times; she wears pull-ups because she’s so fast and squirmy. Bottom line is that she needs to stay this way forever!! 🙂

It’s a New Year and I need to blog!

Alright people…it’s a new year and I need to start blogging more. I also need to start exercising more, talk nicer to people, work on my photography skills, have more of an open mind, spend more time with my kids, take more time off from work, be a better wife, cook better meals, be more appreciative, not be selfish (well I still enjoy a pedicure every now and then) and the list goes on and on.

Ever since the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary I have tried to see my life in a different way. I do look at my kids differently now and wonder just what it will be like for them as parents. Then I get nervous and freak myself out about dying and growing old. So it’s back to the now. Sooo…. I really want to start blogging about my kids days and my days with them. The things they say or do each day just so I have it documented somewhere besides my brain. Because it really is the little things in life. 🙂

So here’s to a fresh start!

Things just have to get better..right!?!

I know I have a great life. I AM very blessed. Again. I do know this. I have three beautiful children, a wonderful husband, and an amazing job. But I am struggling right now to find peace with myself, my family, my life. It has already been said that my husband and I are having behavorial issues with one of our children; this has gotten way out of control and the stress level has reached its maximum. Today marks a great day in that my husband finally got us a referral to see a counselor. This WILL work. It just has to. Things just have to get better right!!?! I am singing Kelly Clarkson’s song now…”What doesn’t kill you makes you STRONGER!!”

Parenting…day 3

Just a little update on how the ‘problem child’ solving is going…I’m reading a book and so is my hubby. I’ve made it to chapter 4 (I’m not a good reader), but have learned a few good tricks so far. Turns out saying please is one of the keys to success and the sure overkill of niceness/positive reinforcement in the beginning. I will be trying this out when we all get home from school/work. I did start out the morning by asking the boys to ‘Please get out of bed so we can start this beautiful day’. Seemed to work; they were both in good moods. I was high fiving myself for getting them out of bed. But sure enough the dreaded morning tantrum came (out of no where) with ‘the problem child”. He already had breakfast and we had 15 minutes to spare in which he needed to brush his teeth, get his shoes on and get his jacket on. I asked him nicely to, “After you are done with breakfast, PLEASE go brush your teeth and get your shoes on.” Problem child asked, “Can I have cereal now?” in which I promptly responded nicely, “No, buddy. You just finished breakfast and it’s time to brush your teeth and get your shoes on.” Tick tick tick, BOOM. And he’s screaming and yelling about having cereal. AHHHHHHHHHHHH. Really? Hubby jumped in and distracted him and we got the morning routine finished and we were out the door, peacefully, driving to daycare. Yesterday we had an episode trying to get problem child out of the car. My heart panicked as I stopped the car, opened the door for oldest son to get out and unbuckled the little one out of the car seat. No problems with problem child getting out of the car this morning, so I remembered my book advice and told him, “Good job bud for getting out of the car so nicely this morning.” Woo hoo…he was happy about that. BUT, yes…there is always a BUT it seems. Oldest son said to me, “What’s so great about getting out of the car?” And boom…I feel like crap again. So not only do I have to deal with problem child, I have to work this parenting magic on my oldest son who I thought was pretty well-behaved. WRONG-O! getting them into daycare was just fine after that; no eruptions or meanness.

It’s a good thing that I have about 30 minutes to drive to work after dropping off my kids. This is ‘MY’ time-no kids, no work, no hubby, NO ONE ELSE BUT ME. I cherish my hour a day that I have in the car where it’s peaceful and quiet. My mind wanders all over the place for these 2-30 minute drives each day and I wish I could blog while I was driving. Today I thought to myself, boy, I really wish my 6-year-old would just grow up and we wouldn’t have to deal with these problems. But then I immediately thought, that was selfish, why would I want that? I WANT to be able to enjoy my 6 year old’s six-year oldness. I want to enjoy my 8 year old’s, eight year oldness. I WANT to ENJOY my kids NOW; not later (well later too but you get what I’m saying). Back to the books I go tonight to conquer this quest of mine!