Friday, March 30, 2007

SPF - Behind

This week's SPF theme from Kristine is "Behind." At first I thought about telling you to see Wednesday's picture. That's the cutest little behind around here. But then, there are other meanings of the word, so I thought about it and this is what I came up with.
I am behind on my scrapbooking. This is the last page I did and I did it two months ago. And this is about the only thing I scrapped from last year. I'm really, really far behind. In my two year old's album, I've gotten all the way up to when he came home from the hospital. Really. Far. Behind.

So did you play? Have a great weekend!

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Oh, yeah, now I remember...

...why I like winter better than spring. No allergies. My worst allergies aren't to things like ragweed or other pollens, they are to mold and dust. In the winter they don't bother me. Not that my house isn't dusty. The boys are in charge of dusting, so you can imagine. But there tends to be a lot less opening and closing of doors, stirring up said dust. Now, people want to come in and go out and I keep sneezing.

And then there's the mold. Years ago I went to an allergist, who basically told me that as long as I live somewhere that gets regular rainfall, I will suffer. I always wondered why I got such horrible sinus headaches right before it rains. He explained to me that when the air pressure changes, it tends to make molds everywhere release their little spores. I never checked up on that, but it sounds good, so why not. I just know that I suffer.

Two days ago, my head was so full of something the consistency of honey that I couldn't even think straight. Ever time I moved my head, something in my sinuses went POP or squish. Massive amounts of Sudafed and various pain relievers and nasal sprays did nothing. And this was real pseudoephedrine, not that new PE stuff. I spent the evening running a handheld massager back and forth over my head in an attempt to loosen some of the gunk.

But as usual, I had little relief until the rain came. Now that the front has passed, I feel somewhat normal again. And once summer comes, it will be too hot, in general, for the molds to bother me too much. But for now, I'm going to keep my Sudafed and massager handy. And start to seriously consider moving to the desert.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Wild Card Wednesday #2

TKW's new game, Wild Card Wednesday, proved to be pretty interesting last week. The only rule is that you have to post a picture, so why not join in? Here's my entry for this week.
I call this picture What's For Dinner? Ever since his older brothers showed the toddler that he can flip the oven light on, he has to check up on what's cooking. We do feed the child. Honestly.

So, did you play?

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Monday, March 26, 2007

Goodbye

It is with a heavy heart that I bid goodbye to an old friend. My "fat" jeans no longer fit me. They got me through some tough times, but they're just not needed around here anymore.

I tried to wear them the other day and they kept sliding down. It seems my waistline is finally catching up with my weight loss and I've lost a couple of inches off my waist.

On a whim, I got out my old jeans, you know, the ones I packed up when I got pregnant with #3 because "I'll wear those again after the baby comes," but which never actually fit me again. I tried them on. Granted, I had to lay on the bed to fasten them, but when I stood up, I could still breathe! A few more weeks and I might be able to sit down while wearing them.

See, everybody says get rid of the stuff you don't wear anymore, but if I'd done that I'd be stuck with no pants. Well, not really, but I feel vindicated nonetheless.

Friday, March 23, 2007

SPF - Two

Kristine's theme this week is Two.

This is my two year old at the park yesterday. We decided to go enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. Even my oldest son, who is always cold, thought it was nice and warm yesterday. And since we can go during the day when everyone else is in school, there were only a few preschoolers there. I thought I would sit and read a book, but the two year old loved this spiral sliding board, and the only way for him to get up to it was for me to lift him. So that's what I did. Over and over and over again. I think we all had fun!

So, did you play?

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Meanderings

Things on my mind this morning:

So on LOST, we finally know why John Locke was in a wheelchair. I couldn't believe he fell eight stories and lived, but the fact that his own father did it to him, wow. Ben gets credit for some of the funniest lines of the night: "No, we don't have a code for 'There's a man in my closet holding a gun to my daughter's head,' though clearly we should." But he also had the dumbest line of the night. How did it make Locke feel to be pushed out a window by his own father? Um, just peachy and wonderful, I'm sure! And finally, poor Jack! He never liked Locke much to begin with, and I'm guessing the fact that Locke blew up his only means of escape isn't going to do much to cement their friendship.

Next, AI. I have to say for Tuesday's performances, Stephanie really deserved to go. She killed one of my favorite songs. Of course, so did Sanjaya, but no one seems to care about that, so long as he smiles and looks cute. And, much as it pains me to say it, Haley actually deserved to return next week. And finally, it's lucky for Lulu the judges aren't allowed to critique the celebrity guests. Talk about pitchy! And Peter Noone finally corrected Simon: it's NOT a singing competition, it's a voting competition. Thank you, Peter!

Why is it that the dog would rather eat cat food, and the cat likes dog food?

The toddler is learning new words every day now. He's twenty-eight months. My oldest son was doing that at eighteen months. No wonder it seems like he's been a baby forever! It has to have been getting frustrating for him, not being able to communicate. And it still is. Lately, he's been pointing to the center of his left palm. What in the world does that mean? Any suggestions? I would say it's "Give me..." whatever he wants, but he's never done it when there was something in my hands, so I'm stumped. But he does now say: ball, puppy, no, whee, poopy, wheel, whale, hole, and (since he has older brothers) butt.

Okay, I'm done now. Have a great day!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Wild Card Wednesday

TKW has done away with WBW :( But in its place is a new game, Wild Card Wednesday. Basically, the only rule is you must post a picture. I've searched my archives this morning, and came up with this one.

A couple of years ago, I decided to try my hand at not killing plants and I planted some basil. The basil seemed to do really well. But then I noticed this other thing growing in the pot. What IS that thing?

Leave it to me to plant basil and get Audrey 2.

So, did you play?

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Where's the Tylenol?

Recipe for a headache:
  • 1 night of too little sleep
  • 1 four year old who woke up with poopy underwear
  • 1 two year old who WILL DIE if you put shoes on him
  • 4 boys who all want to sit next to Mommy in chapel
  • 13 6-8 year olds playing recorders badly

Mix ingredients in any combination. Headache guaranteed.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Looking back

There is a used bookstore near us that has moved to a new location. Happily for us, they didn't want to move all of the old books. So they're selling everything for $1! Now you know I'm not about to pass up a sale like that! We were there the other day and picked up at least $300 worth of books for $33. Among them was a book Hubby spotted: Chronicle of the Year 1988. He thought I might like it because that's the year I graduated high school.

So I started flipping through it the other day. I was shocked at the number of really significant things that happened in '88, and also the silly little things that got reported (it's written like a newspaper). And I thought it would be fun to share some of these events with you.

From January 5, we have "Radon causes death," warning everyone, but especially smokers, to seal their home's foundations and provide proper ventilation, estimating radon was responsible for about 13,000 lung cancer deaths a year!

In other health news, on Jan. 26, "Aspirin is shown to reduce heart attacks." Good to know.

January of 1988 also saw the premier of "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway. It was already sold out for a full year.

And finally, January saw the implementation of Gorbachev's "perestroika" laws, which many worried would send the Soviet Union into the 21st century as a second-class power. If they only knew...

What a year it was! Periodically (like when I can't think of anything else to write about), I will share with you the wonder that was 1988.

What do you remember from the year you graduated?

Friday, March 16, 2007

SPF - Letters

Kristine's assignment this week is Your Letters. Open to interpretation, of course. Well, last week I said to Cheeky that I was glad I wasn't the only one who kept all her old letters. And I fully intended to show them to you. What I didn't count on was the sheer amount of stuff currently stored in front of said letters in the closet.
See the box back there behind the snowflakes and next to the garland? That's one of my letter boxes. I have several. I used to have multiple penpals, and not just when I was a kid. I wrote to many of these women well into my twenties. I guess I stopped around the time I had my first son. Who has time to write letters when you've got a baby who nurses 23 1/4 hours a day?

Anyway, my penpals were all over the place. Some I met and some I didn't. We always had some silly thing in common, like the Monkees (remember, this was the 80s - the big 20th anniversary reunion tour of the Monkees), but we wrote about whatever was happening in our lives at the time. I used to get these little friendship books in some of the letters - they were usually 3x5 or smaller booklets in which people who wanted still more penpals would write their address and answer a few questions about themselves. They were kind of like a meme, except on paper. And then if you saw someone interesting, you could write to them. Unless they put "NNP" next to their name - No New Pals.

I think blogging is kind of like the new version of penpals, don't you? Anybody else out there have tons of penpals in the past?

So, did you play?

Thursday, March 15, 2007

4 year old logic

Having a conversation with my 4 year old is sometimes frustrating. He doesn't get the concept of time, for one thing.

Him: Will you come get me a drink?
Me: In a minute.
Him: (pained moan) I can't wait that long!
or
Him: Can you come downstairs with me?
Me: I'll be there in five minutes.
Him: (said immediately) Has it been five minutes?

And then there's the whole food thing. Apparently, he has separated areas in his stomach for each type of food available. So dinner time goes something like this:

Him: Can I have ice cream now?
Me: You didn't finish your dinner. (Looking closer at his plate) Did you even eat anything?
Him: I'm full of dinner. I want ice cream.
Me: But if you're full, you don't have room for ice cream.
Him: I am only full of dinner. I am not full of ice cream.

And of course, his favorite thing is to insist he desperately needs me to come get him something, and when we get to wherever this mysterious something is, he has no clue what he wants. He didn't forget, he just wanted me to go somewhere in the house with him so he made up some phantom thing that he wanted. He does this most often with food.

Him: (staring into pantry)
Me: So what was it you wanted that I had to come get for you because you couldn't reach it? (Said while tapping foot impatiently.)
Him: (staring into pantry)
Me: Cereal? Pop Tarts? Pudding?
Him: (Finally snapping out of his trance) Cereal. In a bowl with milk.

This is the same child to whom I have taught the first six letters of the alphabet almost every day with no sign that they are sticking in his brain at all. Kindergarten next year should be fun.

How about you? Do your kids do things that defy logic?

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Spring?

It's another 70 degree day today. This is the time of year when I always get sick. When the temperature can't decide between cold and warm and we have one day of spring, followed by one day of winter, and then back to spring again. As much as I love winter, at this time of year, I just wish it would be spring and stay spring!

I'm planning on taking the boys out for a walk later. I thought it would be fun to take pictures of some trees and plants and then document how they change over the next few weeks. Plus I could use some time out of the house. And now that the toddler is old enough he doesn't need a stroller, it should be fun!

Although, the time we tied the dog to his stroller and had her pull it like an ox pulling a covered wagon was pretty fun too.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

I'm so confused

You know, usually the time change knocks me down and kicks me a few times. I wrote about it last year. I felt like I had jet lag or something. It took over a week for my internal clock to reset itself.

This year, I'm fine. I've been getting up at my normal time, and I haven't felt like it's still an hour earlier and I should be asleep. It's weird. I mean, I'm a night person. And I've been tired by 11 p.m. Which was 10 p.m. last week. Huh? I don't get it.

And to make things even more bizarre, the toddler, who can't even tell time, suddenly started waking up an hour earlier. He used to get up at 7:45. He still does. So how did he know the clocks changed?? And does this mean he'll be getting up at 6:45 when it changes back?

Well, that's probably fine. Apparently, I'll be in bed by 10 every night.

How about you? Is it hitting you hard this year?

Monday, March 12, 2007

Weight loss "secrets"

I promise this is not turning into a weight loss blog. Nevertheless, I've had several requests for my "secret" to losing over 30 pounds so far. So I'm going to share what I've been doing, but I daresay you've heard it all before.

Okay, step one, I decided to go with a meal replacement plan because that's worked well for me in the past. I chose Slim-Fast because it was relatively inexpensive, and because they were advertising a new formula which supposedly satisfied hunger for up to 4 hours. To my surprise, it actually did. From day one, I could drink a yummy chocolate milk for breakfast and not be hungry until 3 or 4 hours later.

Step two was signing up for Slim-Fast online. I have since seen other sites that have the same kinds of features, but I still recommend their site. They will plan out your week of meals and snacks for you, so if you're the type who doesn't like to count calories or points, it's already done for you. The only caveat is the dinner recipes are not for a family, so you need to multiply by how many servings you want. I made quite a few of their dinners, and everything was yummy!

If you don't want to go with their recipes, you can input your own foods and recipes and replace them in your plan. The website automatically calculates your calories and nutritional content. Then it has a comparison column of how much of each nutrient you should be getting, versus how much you are getting. Now, you could do all of this for yourself, but why would you? Best of all, there are no "Slim-Fast police" who come and remove your profile if you're not actually using Slim-Fast. Anyone can use their tools. It's all FREE!

Step three was developing new habits, which the website helped with. If I picked up a cookie, I had to know how many calories it had so I could put it in my day's list of food. And I soon learned that I could use up my day's allotment of calories pretty quickly if I ate a lot of junk. Not to mention I'd still be hungry. It didn't happen overnight, but gradually I changed the way I ate. Now, it is no problem for me to eat one Oreo, or five M&Ms.

My other big problem before was portion control. Again, this comes down to knowing how many calories are in your food. I used to eat until I was full without thinking about how much I ate. Now, I think about that. I have literally eaten whatever I wanted to on this diet, I just have controlled my portions. Lasagna, pizza, cookies, cake, you name it. You just have to decide ahead of time where your limit is, and then don't go over it.

Finally, I got some support. The great group of ladies over at One Weigh or Another have been instrumental in keeping me motivated. Especially when we've had contests. We weigh in once a week and I always get encouraging comments, whether or not I've lost any that week. So find one or more friends who also want to lose weight and hang out with them. Or come over to One Weigh and lurk for a while. You'll be inspired.

Now, you may be wondering where exercise fits into all this. I bodly assert that if you do what I did for the first six months, you will lose weight anyway! Once I lost about twenty pounds, I decided it was time to add in some exercise, but I still haven't increased my calories. I try to do some treadmill or weight training every day, but I don't freak out if I miss it. And the weight is still coming off.

I fully expect the last twenty pounds to be the hardest to lose, but I'm going to keep plugging away. It's no longer a question of if, it's just a matter of when!

Friday, March 09, 2007

SPF - Luggage

Kristine's assignment this week is our luggage. So here it is.
This is the luggage we use most often, though we've got a bunch of other suitcases sitting around.

So, who has ever gone to the dentist to get a filling replaced and ended up with a root canal? I did that yesterday. The dentist didn't know the old filling was touching the nerve until he cleaned it out. To his credit, I didn't feel a thing, and he didn't tell me he was doing a root canal until he finished, so I wasn't sitting there panicking. Afterward, he said he didn't know how I could have lived with it that long.

"You must have a very high pain threshold," he said.

"I've had four kids," I replied. Three of them without any pain medication. What do you think?

So, did you play?

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Sweet dreams

I am currently participating in a contest over at One Weigh to see who can lose the most weight by May. First prize is a $50 Amazon gift certificate, and you know I want that BAD. But that is not my main motivation.

A while ago, Blest and I made a deal on the side. We are both huge Rockapella fans, and it just so happens they are going to be here in PA, just twenty minutes from my house, at the end of April. So she emailed me and asked if I'd be interested in a little extra motivation. Let's say we both reach our goals before concert time. She will fly here and we will go to the concert together! Now, there is no way on earth I'm going to miss Rockapella when they're so close. So I've been working diligently to get this weight off.


And guess what? Last night I had a dream that she and I were sitting next to each other at the concert! And when it was over, I got to introduce her to Jeff, her favorite. It was so real I could taste it.


We WILL be going to that concert. Blest, you better start making plans!

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

If I ran a network

How would I run things differently if I had my own network full of hit shows like Lost and Heroes and - what does CBS have? CSI? Anyway, how would I run things at JBC (that's the Jana Broadcasting Company)?

First, no breaks in the season. All shows would run all new episodes every week for a minimum of 18 weeks. We would have two seasons, one beginning in the fall (September, not October), and one in January. Really popular shows would rerun until their new season started. All DVD sets of those shows would also be available for purchase within two weeks of the series' finales. Then a few months later, the "special edition" DVDs would come out, with commentaries, sneak peeks at the new season and stuff like that. All of this translates to less frustration for the viewer, and more chance that they will continue to watch. Has no one learned the lessons of Moonlighting?

Second, on all dramas where it would reasonably fit into the story, a main character would die every season. Why? Well, it would keep the actors from wielding too much power if it's in their contract that they could be killed off. In real life, in high risk situations, people die. I love that on 24, there is always a question as to whether Jack is going to be around tomorrow, and that Lost isn't afraid to kill off cast members. We could even have a viewer poll to see who they want to see die.

Third, I would institute a fairer voting system. I'm tired of seeing people get kicked off of AI who really deserve to win, and don't even get me started on last season's Dancing With the Stars. There has to be a better way.

Finally, I would bring back the family show. My network would never show anything rated TV14 at 8 p.m. It would be TVG every night until 9. I am not exaggerating to say that right now, there are no fictional shows my kids would be allowed to watch. We let them watch game shows (Deal or No Deal, etc) and competition shows (Amazing Race, etc) if they want, but that's it. Whatever happened to the A-Team, where there was lots of action but no one actually got killed? My boys would love stuff like that.

So, what do you think? What would you add to my imaginary network? I'm hiring imaginary executives right now.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Now NBC is into torture

Come on!! Did you see Heroes last night? What an amazing episode. And then, "When Heroes returns on April 23..." APRIL 23??? Why must tv networks torture us? First there was the Lost fall season finale, and now this. Will I even remember what happened by the time April 23 gets here?

I need to just wait until the end of the season and watch the rest of the episodes online. It's free, I wouldn't have to wait as long as if I were to buy the DVDs, and the only cliffhanger would be the season finale. I could even wait until the week before the new season next fall. Then I wouldn't have to wait all summer to see what happens.

Only one problem: I want to know what happens NOW!

And now I'm off to watch the Spider-man 3 footage on NBC.com. That's another story for which I've been waiting forever!

Monday, March 05, 2007

All boy

We have a nighttime tooth brushing routine around here that seems to work pretty well. First, the boys get Agent Cool Blue rinse, then they brush and floss, and then they get fluoride rinse. The oldest likes mint fluoride, while the seven year old prefers bubble gum. For a while, the four year old used the bubble gum. Then he decided he didn't like it, and switched to mint. I thought nothing of it until I found out the reason.

Apparently, as I was told last night, he stopped liking the bubble gum because it's pink. And pink is for girls. And he is not a girl.

Friday, March 02, 2007

SPF - Left over

This week's SPF theme is "left over." Now, as you may remember, I'm trying to lose weight. But where, exactly, did all this weight come from? Most of it is LEFT OVER from having babies. Four of them. Someone once told me that every pound you gain over thirty is yours to keep, and I did the numbers. She wasn't far off. I ended up weighing about 60 pounds more than I did before kids. That's a lot of leftovers.

However, I am happy to report that I just hit the thirty pounds lost mark earlier this week. That puts my goal weight only 20 pounds away! And to illustrate this, a picture of me wearing my rings, which I had not worn since before baby #3. Hopefully I can get rid of the rest of my leftovers soon!
Did you play?

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Prizes! And ick.

Who doesn't like prizes? If you've noticed the Ultimate Blog Party banner in my sidebar, and wondered what it's all about, just click it! They explain the whole thing. But it starts tomorrow, so if you want a chance at those prizes, click now!

So... Hubby now has the ick and was blowing chunks all night. The toddler is still sick. He only throws up at night, all over his bed, at 3 a.m. During the day it comes out the other end. Oh, what a fun morning I've had!

But on the positive side, only one of us hasn't had it yet. And schoolwork is getting done. My novel is coming along. Oh, but my laptop has a trojan, which my software blocked but can't seem to delete. So I guess I still come out even.

Have a great day! Blog party tomorrow!

If you're here for the party, be sure to click through to my home page and read today's entry, whatever day it is!