Crazy Girls!

Shea invited 6 of her friends over on Friday night for a sleepover. After all these years of hosting sleepovers, I am always astonished at how loud a group of girls can be. Thankfully, we have a large finished basement where they stayed for most of the evening. They came up for pizza and cake, and that was all we heard from them for the rest of the night. It's so funny how the parties never change from generation to generation. Lot's of food, pop, and candy, always accompanied by a scary, gory movie about a psycho killer wandering around some small, quiet neighborhood with a butcher knife. Friday's selection was titled "Prom Night".

Something tells me that this will be the last year for an all girls party. There have already been some rumblings about having a co-ed party. God help us!

Our Winter House Guest

My parents left today for Florida. They rented a condo for the next 5 weeks in attempt to escape the winter. They used to leave the last week of January after Paige's birthday and return the first week of March just before Taylor's birthday. I remember telling Nick that we can absolutely positively not have a baby in February because it is the only month my parents can get away. Low and behold, Nicholas arrived almost dead center in the middle of February. My parents were able to push there trip last year up so that they were here for his birth, but missed Paige's birthday. This year, they are flying home for the weekend of Nicholas' birthday so they can celebrate his first birthday with us. From what they have said, for the next years to come, they will alternate the birthdays of the grand kids that they miss so that they do not miss a child's birthday two years in a row.

When they travel, we keep their 11 year old Black Lab, Abby. She's a very good dog, and loves being here with the kids. It's the least I can do since the dog used to be ours. I bought her in Texas 6 months before I divorced Taylor's and Shea's Dad. My parents graciously agreed to keep Abby at their house until I bought my own home. Well, by the time that happened, my parents couldn't let her go. She had become theirs. She is my Dad's third daughter. He walks her EVERY NIGHT all the way down their street whether it's a heat wave, a rain storm or a blizzard. She follows him around the yard when he's outside and stays close to him in the house.

Isabella is in Heaven with her here. She thinks Abby is her newest playmate, and shares toys, blankets and food with her. Yesterday she asked Abby if she would like to have Macaroni and Cheese with her. Of course, Abby said "Yes please, that would be lovely". Nicholas is amazed how quickly the food disappears from his hands when he hangs them over the sides of his high chair. I think Abby is going to need a serious diet when she leaves in March.

A Little Bartering Goes a Long Way

Shea wants a cell phone so bad, it pains her. Taylor was allowed to have a cell phone the summer before she entered the 8th grade. At that point, I felt she was responsible enough to take care of it, and probably needed one for extra carilculars/social life. For the last 6-8 months, Shea has become much more involved in activities, and is way more social than Taylor was in the 7th Grade. I am constantly giving Shea my cell phone so that she has a way of contacting us when she is away from home. I made her a deal about 4 months ago that if she could keep her room clean for 60 days straight, she could get a cell phone. Thereafter, she also had to maintain the cleanliness. I thought for sure that was the incentive that she needed to get the ball rolling in becoming more organized in her bedroom. She didn't make it more than a couple days before the clothes were back on the floor and all the drawers of her dresser were open again. (This is really bizarre, by the way. It completely defies gravity when every single drawer is super extended, filled with clothes and the dresser does not fall over.)

Shea is officially the only kid in her "Group" that does not have a cell phone. I am made aware of this fact at least a couple times a week. I continue to remind her that she could be furiously texting at the moment if only she were able to keep her room clean. I have decided to assist her. Last week, together, we tackled her bedroom and bathroom. We sorted trash, donations, and keepers. I told her I would put together a check list of everything that needed to be done on a nightly basis in order to keep her room clean.

I am proud to say that she is 9 days closer to her goal. I have had to give some friendly reminders, but otherwise, she’s doing great. For the first time ever, she got her clothes from the laundry room, folded them herself and put them all away without being asked. I was jumping for joy!

This is her checklist:

• All clothes off the floor either put away or thrown in the hamper
• No paper or trash on the floors or dressers
• All drawers closed
• Bathroom tidy (Clothes off the floor, toilet flushed, towels hung up)

It should take her no more than 10 minutes per day to keep her room neat and tidy. I think she might just do it this time!

The "Swaddle Game"

Isabella likes to play this new game where I have to call her "Baby" and swaddle her in a blanket. This game continues ALL DAY. Unlike a newborn, however, she damands that I carry her thirty-something pound body around the house swaddled in her extremely thick blanket. And I can't seem to get it through my brain that her name is Baby, NOT Isabella!

A Weekend of Birthday Celebrations!

On Saturday we celebrated Shea's birthday at our house with the family and on Sunday we celebrated Paige's birthday at Penny and Dave's house. We made Flank Steak sandwiches at our house, and smoked everyone out. There was a haze throughout the entire first floor and the entire house had a horrible stench for the rest of the weekend. That is clearly not an indoor thing to cook, and we will not be serving that anytime in the near future. Otherwise, everyone had a great time; especially Shea. And that's all that matters!

At Paige's party, we made our own pizzas, which were delicious! Then I had to have my yearly dose of Funfetti Cake. For those of you who have not had the pleasure (I use that term loosely) of tasting funfetti cake, it is white with little colored specks mixed into the cake. There is not a gram of chocolate anywhere in the cake. Paige has an aversion to chocolate cake. (I know, she can't possibly be related to me.) Unfortunately, Isabella loved it. I have a feeling I will be making funfetti cake every August from here on in. I am just teasing you Paige! Your party was perfect!

She's a Teenager!

Oh my little Baby Shea. Today you are officially a teenager. It seems so hard to believe that it has been 13 years since you were born. You started out mad at the world and did not particularly like being in it. You cried almost constantly during the day for the first 4 months of your life. Then, almost overnight, you became the happiest baby I had ever known.

As a small child you were very shy and stayed very close to me. At home you were a chatterbox with a language that no one could understand. Your daily dress consisted of Taylor's Tap shoes, swim goggles, and my old dangly clip-on earrings. With your unruly, tight-knit curls, and your chubby little body, you were a sight that only I could truly appreciate.

You are good at everything you do - your school work, your athletic abilities, your musical talent, your technological abilities, the way you choose your friends, and mostly, being the type of daughter everyone wishes for. Okay, maybe your room cleaning and organization skills are a little lacking, but we are working on those, right?

We adore you, Shea. Thank you for being such a joy in our lives. Happy Birthday!

First Steps

Nicholas finally took 7 steps from Nick to me! For the last 2 months he has been taking one or two steps but then gets so excited that he starts flapping his arms wildly, which makes him lose his balance and fall down. The extra attention has caused Isabella to practice her walking to each of us too. She is also doing very well with her steps.

Dietetically Challenged

I am not on a diet per se, but I have been trying to be more aware of the food going into my mouth throughout the day. I am about 10 pounds heavier than I was when I got pregnant with Nicholas. I was a little on the too-thin side, so I am not upset about the ten pounds. I am, however, very displeased with the fact that none of my clothes fit. It would be nice if I did not have to completely start over with a new wardrobe.

That being said, I have been eating salads for lunch instead of sandwiches, frozen pizzas, chips, cookies, etc. Nick has decided that he would like to lose some weight and is trying watch his fat and calorie intake. I have started reading the labels for the first time ever to make sure that what I am cooking for dinner will not sabotage his progress. Upon reading the labels, I discovered this:

A serving of Ceasar dressing has 17 grams of fat!! And 160 calories! A serving of Hershey's chocolate syrup has NO FAT! And only 100 calories. How is that possible??? I have been choking down romaine while, instead, I could have been tilting my head back and pouring the syrup down my throat.

I am back to eating the good food. Dieting is not for me. Today I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a large side of BBQ Frito's. (No, I did not read the labels.) I am going to try a new route. I will continue to eat what I want, but I am now counting on Wii Fit and Taylor's new Pilates video to get me back into my old pants. (Only when I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING better to do.) I will let you know how it works out for me. Until then, M & M's and Snickers for all!!!

Like I Have Nothing Better To Do But Clean Up Messes!

It is all coming back to me why I used to keep a lock on the snack cabinet when Isabella was a baby.

This is the third time today that I have had to put all the snacks back in the cabinet. The third time is a charm. Nicholas figured out that if you hold the bag upside down and shake vigorously, you will get results.

The Fisher Price family has a monster lurking in the neighborhood....

The Party

We had so much fun yesterday! Isabella made it till midnight, but looked at us all like we had lost our minds when we were blowing our horns and setting off the party poppers! Nicholas went to bed at 11:00, which is very late for him! The rest of us went to bed at 1:00. Not too bad.....However, it's 6:00 PM and I am still in my pajamas. There's probably no point in getting dressed now. I have not been sitting around doing nothing though. My house is almost completely free of any Christmas decorations. Ahhhh; so nice to get back to normal.

New Years Eve Party

Nick and I do not like New Years Eve. We hate going out to parties, and we definitely hate spending triple what we would normally spend on dinner just because it's New Years Eve. Taylor and Shea are only with us every other year. We have THE BEST time when we have them. We have always had a mini party when it was just the 4 of us. Then it was the 5 of us, and now all 6 of us will celebrate. (It's questionable whether Nicholas will make it to midnight.) Tonight we are making our own pizzas, and then we will head downstairs for some serious Guitar Hero competitions, and Wii Games. We always have a pinata that we all get to take a swing at. Nick is usually the one who finally breaks it because the kids get tired of trying. We dress up in crazy hats and blow noise makers and pop party poppers all over the basement. The mess is horrendous, but it is so fun, I don't care. We have sparkling grape juice and let the kids drink from fancy Champagne glasses, and they love it!

I'll take this celebration over going to some fancy dinner party any day!!

Christmas Part 4 - Christmas Day with Family

Christmas Part 3 - Christmas Morning (Taylor & Shea)

Christmas Part 2 - Christmas Morning (Isabella & Nicholas)

Christmas Part 1 - Christmas Eve

I have just started to recooperate from the Christmas festivities. The house is starting to get back to normal. Not really. Toys are strewn all over our living room, and the Christmas tree is still up, even though it has become a huge fire hazard. We are a work in progress.

Let me preface by saying this was a fun Christmas, but so hectic it was hard to enjoy it. This year, Taylor and Shea were with their Dad on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. They arrived home at Noon. They had less than 1 hour to open their gifts before we rushed out the door to go to my In-Laws house for dinner. From there, we rushed out again to go to my parents house for another dinner. We got home at 10:30 that night, and the kids were finally able to look at what they received from everyone for more than a couple seconds.

We are in the process of trying to determine a better way to celebrate Christmas with the whole family and still enjoy our time with everyone. We hope that next year, and the several years to come, we will be able to spend quality time with everyone in our family on this special holiday, and not feel like we slighted ourselves and our children from building our own family traditions.

We spent Christmas Eve at our house with my parents, sister and her family. Chloe brought Reindeer dust and the 3 girls sprinkled it all over the front yard. It must have worked because Santa came!

Our Weekend in a Nutshell

As of last Friday, we had one joint gift for two of our children, and one joint gift for our Nephews, and one joint gift for our Nieces. Being 6 days before Christmas I was starting to do my usual freak out for my own procrastination.

We had Nick's company Christmas party on Friday night. My parents graciously offered to babysit the kids so that we could get all dressed up and go to a cocktail party. It was so nice to go somewhere and talk to adults, eat delicious hors d'oeuvres and drink a glass of red wine. I did not have to think about the kids at home because I knew they were well taken care of. (Just to clarify so I don't get into trouble later, Shea was at a friends house for the night, but Taylor does not need a babysitter. She just enjoyed the company of my Mom and Dad and helped them out with Isabella and Nicholas.)

Saturday we went shopping with all the kids for SEVERAL hours. I had previously promised the kids that we would make our Christmas cookies that night. At 9:00 P.M. we started baking. At 11:00 the kitchen was trashed. At 11:45, we went downstairs in the movie room to watch Shea and Nick play Guitar Hero. Within 10 minutes of my chair being reclined and my blanket on, I fell asleep. Sorry Shea, Midnight is my limit.

Sunday morning Taylor and Shea went to their Dad's house for the rest of the week until Christmas. We got a babysitter for Isabella and went out into the blistery cold 10 degrees for more SHOPPING! We only had the babysitter for 3 hours, so we had to come home, pick up Isabella and head back out. Nick's parents offered to watch the kids, which was awesome, because we ran around like maniacs and got almost everything done.

Nick was a trooper the whole weekend and didn't complain once when we were at the mall two straight, long days in a row. Well, maybe he complained a little, but I did not see the sour puss face that he usually wears when we go to the mall. Okay, I saw the sour puss face once when we were at DSW Shoes with Taylor and Shea looking for new shoes. That's okay, it's a lot to ask of him to walk around a hot, crowded store full of women while carrying a very heavy diaper bag and a kid. That was at the beginning of our outing on Saturday. I was a little concerned but he was able to turn the mood around and finish the rest of the day with a smile. (Or was that a grimace?)

Now I have to wrap all this stuff. If you're looking for some fancy glimmery fabric bow - you're not getting it. You will receive a nicely wrapped present in pretty paper. But you will get a prefabricated bow stuck on the center of the box. I may switch it up a little and put the bow on the corner of the present every once in a while. I remembered to buy some scotch tape, so I will not have to use packing tape cut into small pieces this year. Just call me Martha, people.

Nicholas' New Favorite Game

Very Good Recipe

I have made this twice and the kids really like it. The tiny meatballs are kind of a pain to make, but it's worth it.

Orrechiette with mini chicken meatballs

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22454417/from/ET/

Annual Family Christmas Party

Last Saturday we went to Nick's family Christmas party on his Dad's side. Nick's grandmother has a lot of sisters and all the families go to this party. The kids made a bird house after dinner, and then Santa arrived with gifts. Isabella was not comfortable sitting on his lap, but she did talk to him and wish him a Merry Christmas.

Winter Band Concert

Shea plays the percussion in the 7th Grade Band. This instrument could not suit her more. She is reckless, wild, eclectic and LOUD. Here is a zoomed in picture of her playing the Timpani Drum. She played all her parts perfectly!

He Laughs at My Barricade

I completely underestimated his talents....

The Christmas Season is Upon Us......

This weekend we decorated our house for Christmas. The wreaths are up, the mantle is decorated, and the tree is up, lit, and decorated. I have no feelings of holiday nostalgia. Every year, I have visions of our family going to some farm and finding the perfect tree, cutting it down and dragging it back to the car on a sled; putting the tree up while Christmas music is playing in the background as we sip hot cocoa. All of us joyfully laughing just because we are together. I know it's stupid and very Cleaver-like.

This is how it went. We drove to the local strip mall where Kiwanis sells trees, picked the tallest one they had and the men all strapped it onto the car while the wife and children sat in the car watching Barney for the 100 Millionth time. The two oldest in the back fighting over who knows what. When the tree was secured to the roof, one of the men wished us a Merry Christmas and one of the kids commented on how it would be Merry, because she was expecting a certain gift that she was sure to receive. I was horrified and sad at the same time. We decorated the tree the next day. Nick and I put the lights on, and the older kids were no where to be found. Taylor finally surfaced shortly after and she and I and put the ornaments on the tree. The evening turned into a big argument and was about as unfun, and unmerry as you can possibly get. How does this happen? How easy it is to forget what Christmas is about. Are we all that selfish that we forgot how lucky we are that we have a great family and can celebrate this season together?

We all need a wake up call, myself included. I am going to give it to us before the Big Man does first. This season is going to be about giving to others who are not as fortunate. It will be about telling people that we love how grateful we are that they are in our lives. It will not be about what is on our Christmas list or how sorry we feel for ourselves that life is not conforming to our master plan. We have a roof over our heads, food on our table, and the six of us are healthy. Any more than that is a blessing.

Tonight I completely turfed the lawn of my ex-husband's driveway while attempting to back out. Crapity, crapity crap, crap-ola! Shea advised me to not tell him, and that he would never know it was me. NOT the message I am trying to teach the children, so of course I called him immediately when I got home, but for some reason, he didn't answer his phone. He still doesn't know, but when he leaves for work tomorrow morning, he will be using my name with several expletives before and after it.