Every day I:
Serve 10 breakfasts
Serve 5 snacks
Pack or serve 10 lunches
Serve 9 snacks
Prepare dinner for 7
And often make desserts
Each day that makes 41 meals
Each week that makes 205 meals
Not including feeding 7 people at least 3 meals a day on the weekends
And my husband wonders why I spend so much on the groceries each week and why I bring a ton of food home and mid-week he says "There's nothing to eat".
And no wonder I'm a bit tired! And this is why since we've taken the house off the market I've begun suggesting a kitchen make-over. After all, that seems to be where I spend most of my day.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
A breakfast must try
A yummy breakfast I've been eating lately that is only 2 WW points! Well, unless of course you eat two servings like me.
Recipe:
1/2 a peach
small handful of blueberries
1/2 tsp. of non-fat marg.or butter (place in seed pit)
sprinkle w/ light brown sugar
bake @ 350 for 30-40 min.
top w/ half a Fiber One Vanilla Yogurt
So Good!
I usually bake 4 peaches @ once and save the rest for dessert or breakfast throughout the week (just warm peaches and blueberries and then top w/ yogurt).
This morning I had two peach halves and topped w/ blueberries, 1 yogurt container, and sprinkled low-fat granola. It was 5 WW points so for a whole breakfast that's pretty good.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
More fear and anxiety...being a parent is HARD!
So last week I told you how scared I was for Princess to be starting high school. Well this week brings a new fear.
With four kids being in school there is a lot of paperwork that comes home to fill out. I dread it every year actually because I know it will take up my whole night and my hand is killing me from so much writing. I am the one to fill out the paperwork, at first it was because my handwriting is neater being a teacher and all, but now it's because I am the only one who actually knows the information.
Full names, birthdays, ss#, student ID number, emergency contacts and numbers, addresses, phone numbers of all sorts...apparently hubby doesn't know any of it! As I sat filling the paperwork out all night he says, "Wow that's a lot of information you have to remember. You should write it all in a book and label it 'If I die'." What? He thinks I might die? But he's right. He has no idea most of the important information about the kids or myself.
So it really got me thinking. Maybe I really should make him a book. A chapter for each kid. I should include all the #'s and facts that pertain to each one. Various doctor numbers and who goes to each one. But what about all the things that I do that he doesn't know about?
Like the fact that Chase (Little Monkey) likes warm milk before bed, still requires a pacifier and blankie to sleep through the night, likes to run his hands through my hair when we read and snuggle, and hates to have the water dumped over his head when washing his hair. He only gets half of a vitamin at breakfast, does not like orange juice, likes cinnamon and peanut butter in his oatmeal, is deathly allergic to ants and requires an epi-pen, and wears size 2 shorts but size 3 shirts. And how about all the words he says that only I understand? And when he sings "ashes ashes all fall down" he is really singing the "clean up" song.
Ryan(Tooker) likes his milk warm before bed, prefers to wear his hair in a Mohawk, prefers showers over baths, and likes his eggs over easy. Likes ham sandwiches no mayo, likes his yogurt frozen, and says he wants Coke but really means Sprite.
Kyle(Bubby)loves to have his back scratched every night, likes his hair super short, would wear sport shorts everyday if he could, has to be reminded constantly to use the bathroom before bed and to brush his teeth. He writes with his left hand, but plays baseball right handed. He will not share any information with you unless asked directly and often forgets important papers in his backpack. He is good at flying right below the radar.
Tyler(T-man) has to have his feet and back massaged each night, likes it scratched and pounded in a silly way, has to be reminded to take a shower and wear his glasses. He will not read unless he is told to, can get away w/ murder b/c of his charm, and really likes to be told how cute and awesome he is. Tyler does not enjoy school at all except for socializing. He, along with Kyle, likes his eggs hard boiled but calls them "rotten eggs".
Jenna(Princess) can often be found lounging on her bed writing. Her nose is always in a book and I-Pod headphones are always in her ears. But she is taking it all in at the same time. She loves to text and socialize with her friends as long as they don't stay too long. She prefers an early bedtime and can become grouchy if she doesn't get her sleep. She hates doing dishes b/c she hates to touch other peoples food, but will be more than happy to help pack things when it's time to go somewhere. And she loves to try new foods!
Being a mom sure does require a lot of a person! I better go get started on my dad book...this could take awhile. I sure hope God doesn't need me anytime soon. And I promise the next post will be more upbeat...any requests:)
With four kids being in school there is a lot of paperwork that comes home to fill out. I dread it every year actually because I know it will take up my whole night and my hand is killing me from so much writing. I am the one to fill out the paperwork, at first it was because my handwriting is neater being a teacher and all, but now it's because I am the only one who actually knows the information.
Full names, birthdays, ss#, student ID number, emergency contacts and numbers, addresses, phone numbers of all sorts...apparently hubby doesn't know any of it! As I sat filling the paperwork out all night he says, "Wow that's a lot of information you have to remember. You should write it all in a book and label it 'If I die'." What? He thinks I might die? But he's right. He has no idea most of the important information about the kids or myself.
So it really got me thinking. Maybe I really should make him a book. A chapter for each kid. I should include all the #'s and facts that pertain to each one. Various doctor numbers and who goes to each one. But what about all the things that I do that he doesn't know about?
Like the fact that Chase (Little Monkey) likes warm milk before bed, still requires a pacifier and blankie to sleep through the night, likes to run his hands through my hair when we read and snuggle, and hates to have the water dumped over his head when washing his hair. He only gets half of a vitamin at breakfast, does not like orange juice, likes cinnamon and peanut butter in his oatmeal, is deathly allergic to ants and requires an epi-pen, and wears size 2 shorts but size 3 shirts. And how about all the words he says that only I understand? And when he sings "ashes ashes all fall down" he is really singing the "clean up" song.
Ryan(Tooker) likes his milk warm before bed, prefers to wear his hair in a Mohawk, prefers showers over baths, and likes his eggs over easy. Likes ham sandwiches no mayo, likes his yogurt frozen, and says he wants Coke but really means Sprite.
Kyle(Bubby)loves to have his back scratched every night, likes his hair super short, would wear sport shorts everyday if he could, has to be reminded constantly to use the bathroom before bed and to brush his teeth. He writes with his left hand, but plays baseball right handed. He will not share any information with you unless asked directly and often forgets important papers in his backpack. He is good at flying right below the radar.
Tyler(T-man) has to have his feet and back massaged each night, likes it scratched and pounded in a silly way, has to be reminded to take a shower and wear his glasses. He will not read unless he is told to, can get away w/ murder b/c of his charm, and really likes to be told how cute and awesome he is. Tyler does not enjoy school at all except for socializing. He, along with Kyle, likes his eggs hard boiled but calls them "rotten eggs".
Jenna(Princess) can often be found lounging on her bed writing. Her nose is always in a book and I-Pod headphones are always in her ears. But she is taking it all in at the same time. She loves to text and socialize with her friends as long as they don't stay too long. She prefers an early bedtime and can become grouchy if she doesn't get her sleep. She hates doing dishes b/c she hates to touch other peoples food, but will be more than happy to help pack things when it's time to go somewhere. And she loves to try new foods!
Being a mom sure does require a lot of a person! I better go get started on my dad book...this could take awhile. I sure hope God doesn't need me anytime soon. And I promise the next post will be more upbeat...any requests:)
Friday, July 30, 2010
Scary, unknown, a fear I've never felt before!
See this beautiful girl?
Well as of this coming Monday she will be a freshman. Her first year of real Independence.
And the first truly scary year of her mom's life! Scarier than being pregnant at 18. Scarier than being a single mom. Scarier than any night full of colic and screaming. Scarier than any temper tantrum. Scarier than many sleepless nights with millions of ear infections and busting ear drums.
Really and truly folks this is the time she needs me most. Not when she skinned her knee learning to ride her Barbie bike for the first time. She needs me more now than when she swallowed her first tooth and was so scared the tooth fairy wasn't going to find her. More than any bad dream, or her first "break up", or when the "mean girls" have been mean.
Because the true decisions come now. The first real decisions that will ultimately affect the rest of her life. True the classes and grades are important. But the decisions that will ultimately be thrown upon her...drugs, sex, peer pressure of any magnitude. Those are the true decisions that will influence her life.
She has her head on straight. She knows where she wants to go in life...It's truly the other kids I'm scared about. The other parents medicine cabinets that they find the drugs to experiment with. The older boy she might have a crush on. I was a teenage girl once too, and I remember the great feeling when I found out a boy thought I was pretty. I remember my first kiss and snuggling on the couch like it was yesterday. But times have changed (oh boy do I sound old) and things are even scarier than they were for me.
Oh where did the time go? One minute I'm rocking this precious girl and reading her bedtime stories...and now I'm discussing peer pressure, sex, and drugs. I never knew what true worrying was until I was thrown into it today at her orientation. I was forced to face the fact that my little girl is growing up. And now more than ever she is needing me to help guide her in making real life choices.
So here goes nothin!
Well as of this coming Monday she will be a freshman. Her first year of real Independence.
And the first truly scary year of her mom's life! Scarier than being pregnant at 18. Scarier than being a single mom. Scarier than any night full of colic and screaming. Scarier than any temper tantrum. Scarier than many sleepless nights with millions of ear infections and busting ear drums.
Really and truly folks this is the time she needs me most. Not when she skinned her knee learning to ride her Barbie bike for the first time. She needs me more now than when she swallowed her first tooth and was so scared the tooth fairy wasn't going to find her. More than any bad dream, or her first "break up", or when the "mean girls" have been mean.
Because the true decisions come now. The first real decisions that will ultimately affect the rest of her life. True the classes and grades are important. But the decisions that will ultimately be thrown upon her...drugs, sex, peer pressure of any magnitude. Those are the true decisions that will influence her life.
She has her head on straight. She knows where she wants to go in life...It's truly the other kids I'm scared about. The other parents medicine cabinets that they find the drugs to experiment with. The older boy she might have a crush on. I was a teenage girl once too, and I remember the great feeling when I found out a boy thought I was pretty. I remember my first kiss and snuggling on the couch like it was yesterday. But times have changed (oh boy do I sound old) and things are even scarier than they were for me.
Oh where did the time go? One minute I'm rocking this precious girl and reading her bedtime stories...and now I'm discussing peer pressure, sex, and drugs. I never knew what true worrying was until I was thrown into it today at her orientation. I was forced to face the fact that my little girl is growing up. And now more than ever she is needing me to help guide her in making real life choices.
So here goes nothin!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Hotels can only bring you closer...
2 adults, 5 kids, one room, 2 beds w/ a pull out couch...
Brings a family closer...
Well, sorta...
We're traveling for the Little League World Series. Bubby's team started a tournament Thursday night. We haven't slept much at all...well mommy anyway. The first night I woke up every hour...and I mean every hour. The second night there was a car alarm going off for more than 4 hours. My neck is sore and my head has been pounding. Little Monkey does not understand how to be quiet in the room, or to lay down in the bed.
We have an extra little guy with us. The boys are having a great time. They have truly enjoyed staying up late, swimming, playing baseball in the halls, running from room to room, eating out, and most of all jumping on the beds.
It's been great for us. Even with the lack of sleep it's been really nice hanging together and being this close.
Oh yeah and watching lots of baseball and dodging thunderstorms.
Brings a family closer...
Well, sorta...
We're traveling for the Little League World Series. Bubby's team started a tournament Thursday night. We haven't slept much at all...well mommy anyway. The first night I woke up every hour...and I mean every hour. The second night there was a car alarm going off for more than 4 hours. My neck is sore and my head has been pounding. Little Monkey does not understand how to be quiet in the room, or to lay down in the bed.
We have an extra little guy with us. The boys are having a great time. They have truly enjoyed staying up late, swimming, playing baseball in the halls, running from room to room, eating out, and most of all jumping on the beds.
It's been great for us. Even with the lack of sleep it's been really nice hanging together and being this close.
Oh yeah and watching lots of baseball and dodging thunderstorms.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Holla... Finally Something I Can Win!
This morning I saw Mommyologist's new contest. "Not" Mom of the Year! And I thought, "Well hell Danielle you could totally enter that contest. Especially since it was actually pointed out to you yesterday that you should be more grateful because you obviously totally take being a parent for granted. And it bothered you so much you couldn't sleep thinking that other people don't think you appreciate being a parent. Oh and you were informed that you apparently yell at your kids too much. Oh and how about all the times people have said 'You have your hands full.' Which obviously implies you look like a total mess every time you go somewhere." But as I was thinking all of these things and crying all night over harsh comments that were made to me yesterday I couldn't come up with one truly catchy story that would entertain and really show my "Not" Mom of the Year side. And because I am such a "great" mom and this was difficult to find a few flaws to discuss...I decided to leave it up to my kids to prove to me today that I am totally "Not" Mom of the Year material.
This morning I was loading a few pictures that I had taken of the kids last week...at the park...while it was raining...because I was insistent on getting some summer photos. And right after this one was taken, that cute blond boy in the middle, slid down the slide right into a puddle, and got soaked.
I believe the words "suck it up" escaped my mouth. I didn't want to hear any whining...after all I was there to take "happy" family photos....of our extremely happy family! See that sweet Princess in this picture? Not too long ago she yelled at me one day saying, "I'm calling DFACS. You are the meanest mom on the planet." My reply to her, "Here's the number. Just remember they are taking you away... not me. I get to sleep in my comfy bed while you get a new family...let me know how they are."
While I was loading said pictures a certain 2 year old was MIA. I didn't hear any noise so I continued enjoying my silence.
After I was done with my FBing, blogging, loading pics...I decided I should be a mom and get the kids showered (I think it's been more than 2 days)and get them ready to go to the library. Because the teacher in me reminded me that the kids go back to school in 3 weeks, and well we haven't been to the library once this whole summer, and the kids have summer reading lists to complete. As I'm yelling to my offspring to hurry and get in the shower, I see this on my counter...
Hmmmm!!! "WHAT?!?!" "Holy Goodness! Who cut their hair?!?!" To which my super sweet, silent, 2 year old says, "Me Mommy. See" (pointing to his head)
Yes that is a small cut on his forehead because he used a daddy's razor to cut his hair. So as I picture all of the horrific things that could have happened while he used that razor, I decide to hurry up and get them showered and out of the house.
So we shower, get dressed, pack up the kiddies and realize it's 12:00 and I haven't fed them lunch. So after packing them into the van...that I am certain would not pass any health inspection test since there are french fries from 2005 shoved beneath the seats and a few sippy cups of curdled milk...I run back into the house to grab a box of frozen Uncrustables, a few apples, a box of gummies, and some very sugary juice boxes...and head back to toss them at the wild pack of hungry and now caged animals.
Finally we're off to the library with a 10 year old, 8 year old, 4 year old, and a very very tired 2 year old. Said 2 year old preceded to yell at me almost the whole 30 minutes we were there. It was more than I could handle, so I quickly grabbed the kids lists, asked the lady at the desk to help me, and warned the 4 year old to please not let the 2 year old get a hold of his books.
I reminded the kids about how we take care of library books, always holding them under our arm so we don't break the spine, how we gently turn the pages one at a time, and how we most certainly not let the 2 year hold them when we read to him because he could tear them up. Well, I never warned them about leaving them where the puppy could get a hold of them.
Crap! Now I must pay for this library book and take it in to explain what happened. I'm pretty sure when I take it in I will most certainly be reminded of a what a GREAT mother I am not!
And after a very long day and night I have finally sat down to blog. While I sit here, at 10:00, I am being pelted with paper airplanes and listening to screaming kids arguing over who should get to jump off the couch next. I'm tired. And have accomplished what feels like nothing today. I need to clean the kitchen, put away the mile high pile of laundry, and put the heathens to bed...before my husband comes home and truly thinks I did nothing good today.
The good news is tomorrow is a new day...the bad news is they get to wake up to the same ol "Not" Mother of the Year. But I wouldn't have it any other way...because how boring perfect must be...and my days are never boring:)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
We've been SUPER busy!
Almost two weeks ago we headed down to Florida to see my step-daughter's dance recital. We drove 8 1/2 hours there...watched the recital, took my MIL to dinner, and drove 8 1/2 hours back. It was a long day, but we only had Princess with us so it was kind of nice to just talk and drive.
She did so great and it was so nice to see her even if it was only for a few minutes.
Bubby's team won State Championship...undefeated!
It was so awesome!
And this sweet boy had surgery. He's doing great too:)
So you can see why I am so behind on blogging. But one day, someday, I'll have a minute. Maybe, wait only 2 weeks left of summer vacation? Are you kidding?!?!
She did so great and it was so nice to see her even if it was only for a few minutes.
Bubby's team won State Championship...undefeated!
It was so awesome!
And this sweet boy had surgery. He's doing great too:)
So you can see why I am so behind on blogging. But one day, someday, I'll have a minute. Maybe, wait only 2 weeks left of summer vacation? Are you kidding?!?!
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