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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

How easy it is to excite me these days...

I have a confession to make.

Do you know what sent me over the moon today?

What made me so giddy with excitement that I just had to call several friends to tell them all about it?

Wait for it, wait for it......


I got my weeks worth of groceries delivered right into my home and placed on the kitchen floor all neatly bagged and ready to be put away. AND, I never set foot in a store!!!

Okay, I know it's a little anticlimactic, but this is what I get excited about now a days!! With full time work, being a mom, and wife, taking care of the house, after school activities, outdoor chores, forcing myself to go to the gym at 5:30 in the morning, my time is very valuable people!! Any way that I can make more time for myself and spend less of it doing things I hate, calls for a celebration baby!

I should have gone grocery shopping over the weekend but we were just too busy. By the time Tuesday rolled around we were desperate! I had to work all day, then the athlete had soccer practice and the princess had a softball game right after, so I knew I would not be going to the store later that night either.

Then I remembered about this grocery delivery service that one of my friends absolutely swears by and decided, ah what the hey, I'll give it a shot.

I logged on to Peapod online grocery shopping, and withing 15 minutes had my own account, grocery shopped, picked a delivery time for 7-9am the next morning and...

Batta boom, the grocery shopping was done man!!!

At 8am this morning, the friendly delivery driver carried them all into my house and within ten minutes I had them put away. What normally takes me 2 plus hours from start to finish, took all of 25 minutes!!! Saving me precious time!!

I think I'm in love!

Friday, March 19, 2010

The view from here

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This is what I get to see when I look out the front windows of my home and directly across the street. This my friends is what the people left in the home almost two years ago. They took anything of value with them and skipped town, leaving the property to be forclosed on.

This mind you, is what is left AFTER workers have spent three days hauling pickup truck loads of crap away!!!

Why in God's name the bank didn't just rent a 30 yard dumpster to put this mess into is beyond me. Maybe they left it sitting in the front yard in hopes the neighbors might want to scavenge through the mounds of junk for treasures!

(Ah, no don't think so!)

I wonder how long I will have this for my viewing pleasure.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

A cat story

As I mentioned before in one of my posts here, we own two cats. One we got as a 12 week old kitten and the other we decided to adopt from a shelter last spring.

I always knew that if we were to get a second cat that I would want to adopt from a shelter. (There are sooooo many wonderful animals that have been "dumped" by their owners and are in need of good loving homes.) So I wanted to rescue a deserving kitty. Our vet highly recommended getting a kitten to help our resident cat adjust to the new addition. (It was the hope that she would take it on as her own and mother the new kitten.)

Well after much searching and disappointment we realized that a kitten just wasn't in the cards for us and started looking at young adult cats. The coach has a friend who works at the Animal Rescue League of Boston. If you haven't heard of them, check them out!!! They are an amazing group of people who dedicate their lives to rescuing animals of all kinds.

He ventured in to the city and all on his own picked out what would become our newest addition to our family. She came home several days later after she had been spayed and cleared for adoption.

She weighed barely 6 pounds and you could see her ribs and spine through her fur. (She had been abandoned on the streets of Boston after just having a litter of kittens, which took a toll on her body and why she was so skinny.)

We realized right off the bat why cat experts say that introducing a new cat into a home with a cat already can present a challenge. We kept the two cats separated in different rooms but they could smell and see each other and spent the next several days totally freaked out and "pissy", for lack of a better word. (We didn't realize that by separated, it meant no visual contact. Whoops!!)

We had several accidental escapes leading to several loud, fast paced, and scary cat chases. The coach and I ran wildly after them screaming loud nonsensical sounds and clapping our hands while we chased after them. (We must have looked insanely ridiculous, but this is what we were told to do by the vet if they went after each other to get them to break it up!)

After about a week and a half of cat isolation and gradual introductions the two "girls" finally decided that each other was here to stay and they better just get used to the idea.
Now they are the best of friends and play and frolic around each morning and night! Our resident kitty is still the boss, don't get me wrong, but I think if they suddenly got separated now, they wouldn't know what to do without the other. (Kinda like siblings!)
I wonder how they would take to a dog!
Our newest edition: Shusha
You can see she adjusted quite nicely here!
She has also put on a few pounds since last spring. Check out the tongue sticking out!!
Our resident kitty, Charlotte, named by the athlete, who was reading Charlotte's Web at the time.
Don't let this serious face fool you! This little kitty has got some spunk!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Just call me crazy

Tell me I'm NUTS for even entertaining the idea that I have brewing in my wacky little noggin right now!

Tell me to stop before it's too late!

Or what a hassle it will be...

How much will get ruined in my house for the next few years...

How expensive it will be...

That two is enough..

How my life as I know it will be changed forever...

The sleepless nights...


(I bet you were thinking BABY right????) Well people get your head outta the clouds, I'm not that delusional!

Now to continue with my cons;

How my allergies/asthma might suffer...


Go ahead lay it on me!! I don't know if it will help me to reconsider what I'm thinking right now or not, but what the hey, it certainly can't hurt.


I WANT ONE OF THESE!!!!!!!







A "Cavapoo" puppy.


Not specifically the ones pictured above, but this is what they look like. They are a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Poodle.
They are usually hypoallergenic and weigh between 5 and 20 pounds full grown depending on what traits it picks up from it's parents. They are great with children and non canine animals. (Which is good for us since we already own two cats.) They are people dogs and love spending time with their family.
Friends of ours got one at Christmas time and I spent some time with her yesterday. Her name is Sophie!!
I'm not going to do anything drastic. I need to talk to the allergist and get retested since I haven't been tested in over 20 years. I know that I have an allergy to dogs, but it is more severe with big dogs. I also have to do a lot of research and thinking on the subject. Maybe even spend some more time with
Sophie to see if and how I react.
So for now, I am secretly pining away for a puppy! Whether or not it comes to a reality? Well we will just have to see!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Hand sanitizer warning!!!

There is a reason that those bottles of hand sanitizer come with a warning label on it, one being: Do not get in eyes.

My little princess learned that lesson the hard way today at school when she went to use some. She pressed down on the bottle, (the kind with the pump), and it had dried and formed a "plug" inside the nozzle.

When the plug came loose, sanitizer shot out of the pump and into her face and eye. She got rushed down to the nurse's office and had her eye flushed with water for several minutes and a cold compress applied. Her eye was all blood-shot and teary eyed for several hours, but was able to remain at school.

She got off the bus with a cold compress over her eye, and her super-hero brother with his arm around her, keeping her safe while she exited the bus. (That moment alone melted my heart. It just goes to show you that no matter how bad siblings fight or bicker, when push comes to shove, they will always be there for each other.)

So this is what she looked like when she arrived home.

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I put a call in to the pediatrician because I didn't like the fact that her eye was partially closed. They told me to watch her, but it was a good sign that the redness and tearing had stopped.

So just a warning to all the moms out there, if your child uses hand sanitizer in pump form, make sure the nozzle isn't plugged up before allowing your children to squirt some out.

(Oh and also, just so you know it has been several hours now, and her eye is gradually opening up more. Thank goodness!)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Riddle me this

Riddle me that...


What do you get when you cross a foolishly stubborn woman...

And a foot injury????????


My friends, this is what you get:



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A foolish lady in pain, who now get to sleep in this stylish, torturous contraption for the next two months.




Monday, January 25, 2010

Taking the plunge

I am going to the gym this afternoon.


There I said it. That wasn't so bad.


Two weeks ago the coach and I decided to join the local community center and get a family membership. (It was our Christmas gift to ourselves.)

Well two weeks ago we joined and I have yet to venture inside and get my rear in gear. Don't' get me wrong, I have gone in numerous times to drop of/pick up the athlete for free afternoons of dodge ball or floor hockey, but as far as going in to benefit my own health....

Yaaaaa, not so much. It has taken two weeks two mentally prepare myself for this. I had to eliminate every excuse I could come up with for not going.

So in no particular order:

bought new sneakers---- check

bought new workout clothes----- check

charged MP3 player------ check

downloaded workout tunes on MP3 player and learn how to use the dang thing-------- check

make time to go------ check

So now dear friends, I am taking the plunge and venturing into the scary unfamiliar domain health room for the first time in a looooong time.

Wish me luck

Friday, January 22, 2010

A new look around here

Hey guys, in case you haven't noticed, things look a little different around here!

I have been desperately wanting a customized header for my blog and looked into paying to have one created, but what I really wanted was the satisfaction of being able to create one myself.

I spent this afternoon toying around creating my very own customized header on "Scrapblog", and then followed a few easy steps outlined by this divine lady here, and Voila!!!!

My very own header created by yours truly!!

What's really great about making your own header on this site is you can make changes anytime you want or add special details for holidays or seasons, and the best part is it's all FREE!!!!

Tell me what you think, and be honest! Not too shabby for my first go at it!


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Literal thinking

So I'm sitting at the computer last Sunday morning, doing my thing. I'm drinking my steaming hot coffee from my favorite mug, reading updates from my favorite blogger friends. Enjoying a few moments to myself.

The coach yells down to me from upstairs in a sing songey voice, "Oh honey, I'm in my birthday suit!!!" (You have to do it in a slow sing-songy voice!)

I laughed because I knew he was simply joking around and yelled back in same annoying, sing-song voice, "Good for you!! Have fun!!" And then went back to sipping my coffee and reading.

I snapped back into reality when I heard a loud bang, bang, bang on one of the upstairs bedroom doors, and a very excited little princess yelling...

"Daddy, I want to see your Birthday suit!!!!!!"

It was his birthday and she thought he had something special to wear!!

I blew coffee out my nose and all over the computer screen, laughing so hard!!

Obviously we still have a very literal thinker on our hands!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Where we stand

Well folks, remember a little over a week ago I filled you all in on how my over ambitious, crazy husband decided to demo my downstairs bathroom on a Wednesday even though it had to be up and running and (safe) for my daycare children to use on Monday morning?????

Well here's a little update on his progress:
Last Sunday, (the day before I had to open for daycare!)

My Dining Room

My Newly Remodeled Kitchen

Who Doesn't Want a Toilet in their Dining Room?





And now, fast forward to today:

We have a working sink and toilet back in the bathroom where it belongs







But still have a long, long way to go.


Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Brand new socks gets you nowhere

You know you need to slow down and take a few minutes for yourself when something like this happens.

It's a sharp slap in the face, wake-up call that screams "You have bitten off more than you can chew. You need to slow down and start to focus on yourself more, instead of always putting others and their issues at the front of the line".

What exactly happened today that made me realize just how insane my life has become lately? I'll tell ya:

I had my first physical therapy appointment today because I have been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in my right foot. After months of agony every morning and every evening, I finally went to see my doctor who told me what was wrong and informed me that I had an aggravated case by not getting it taken care of sooner. (This was the first wake-up call that I let roll of my back and chalked it up to being too busy as a wife, mother, and holding down a full-time job to boot.) Doctor also told me I needed to start physical therapy because I let it go on for so long.

So jump to today, my first of many appointments with the male physical therapist, whom I found out tonight not only lives in my town, but is friends with some of the same friends as mine, and has a daughter in the same grade/school as mine. Marvelous, you'll see why in a second.

So I arrive after an exhausting day of work, (I had five children today, one being a new 12week old infant and this being his first day here. That alone takes a lot out of you!) I had no make-up on, a stained sweatshirt and I'll be honest here, desperately needing an upper lip wax. Sorry but my downstairs bathroom has been demolished and I can't find my tub of wax anywhere!!!

I did manage to have one moment of clarity before leaving home and remembered to change my socks and put on a fresh, brand new pair instead of the smelly ones I had been wearing all day since 6:00am this morning. (Yes folks, I am being brutally honest here.)

I sit down on the table and when asked to remove my shoes, do so without any hesitation and feeling confident about my non-stinky feet and stark white cotton socks. No problem here. He pokes and prods and asks a few questions.
Then he asks me to get down from the table because he wants to observe how I walk. Again I think, "Piece of cake."

Until, he asks me to roll up my jeans.

At that moment I freeze and think to myself, "Oh Shit, I didn't shave my legs this morning! And before you think to yourself, "Oh big deal, what's a little leg stubble", I must confess, that I can't even remember the last time I shaved my legs. Oh wait yes I can, it was almost two weeks ago when I went in to see my doctor about the damn pain in my foot!!!!!!

I had to reveal to this poor man stark white, dry as a bone legs with dark black hair jutting out from every angle. And not only did he have to view this monstrosity, he had to touch them. Uugggghh! I have pity for that poor man.

I sat there thinking, "do I acknowledge blatent hair or not", but then decided I couldn't let this man think that this was acceptable and normal to me, so it would be better to bite the bullet and apologize for such poor hygiene and admit that I forgot to shave my damn legs.

He laughed. I laughed, more out of embarrassment than actually thinking the scenario was comical and felt somewhat relieved that I had addressed the elephant in the room.

And yes, I felt like a complete ass. Never in my life have I forgotten to make myself presentable on the day of an appointment. If anything I usually over groom, just in case they ask to see some unexpected part of my body that I didn't anticipate.

This my friends is the wake-up call I needed. Too bad though it didn't happen with a complete stranger that I never have to see again in my life. It's just my luck that I will continue to run into this man, in town, at school, at soccer games or gymnastics even. I will forever be known as the hairy leg lady in town.

Yeah, that's priceless, and it totally overshadowed my moment taking off my shoes and revealing my sparkling white, brand new, non-stinky socks.

What a bummer.

Friday, January 1, 2010

What's a little miscommunication?

Happy New Year everyone! Sorry I have been M.I.A. for so long. Too much to do over the last two weeks and nowhere near enough time to get it all done. So the blog unfortunately suffered a bit.

I hope you all had an amazing holiday season and everyone is safe and healthy!

Here is a crazy rundown of how things have been around here in beenoland and maybe you'll have some sympathy for me and not be aggravated that I haven't been around!!



Six days before Christmas my mom called to tell me she fell off the back steps and broke her arm/shoulder. Fabulous!!

Three days before Christmas we had to have a chat with the athlete because he was asking so many questions about Santa and doing it in front of the princess. We were pretty sure he knew about Santa and didn't want him to ruin it for his sister so we sat him down and told him the truth, (expecting to confirm for him what he already thought), much to our surprise, the athlete broke down in tears and admitted he had know doubt in his mind that Santa was IN FACT real, and was asking so many questions to prove the kids wrong at school. (PRECIOUS!!!! I just ruined Christmas for my son and 3 days before no less. Not one of my stellar mom moments, to say the least!) Spent the rest of that morning feeling guilty as hell and trying to make him see the brighter side of being in on the secret of Santa.

A day before Christmas, a headlight blew in the van and my check engine light came on.

Got through Christmas ok, started work on the athlete's room. (I am stripping the wall paper and painting in a red, white, and blue theme, per his request), when at 8pm that night both children started complaining of stomach pains. Put them to bed and at 10pm began the endless night of helping both of them throw up in buckets, then rinsing, sanitizing each bucket, washing my hands, and repeating this charade until 5am the following morning. Sat on the couch all day with a very sick little girl and lost an entire day of working upstairs on the athlete's room.

Now for the best part! Prior to the kids getting sick, the coach and I went to Home Depot to buy a new pedestal sink and slam proof toilet seat to go in our downstairs bathroom, (special, I know!!), so any way, we get home and the coach proceeds to rip out the old vanity to put the new sink in. I leave him to it and go upstairs to prime the bedroom.

Twenty minutes or so later I get a knock on the bedroom door." It's the coach, "Hey hon, can you come here for a minute I need your opinion on something."

So I go downstairs to see what he is talking about. I turn the corner and stop short about 2 feet from the bathroom door and gasp and whisper under my breath, "Sweet Jesus, what have you done??????!!!!!"

The coach in his infinite wisdom decided it was necessary to start ripping of the tile on the bathroom walls behind where the pedestal sink was going to go. Now let me explain something. WE JUST FINISHED A FULL KITCHEN REMODEL LESS THAN A MONTH AGO!!!!!!!!

We had agreed no more major remodeling projects for a while!!! We have been living here for a little over three years and there has been a room remodel going on since we bought the place. I wanted a break!!

What is his explanation? "We had a miscommunication." Ya think??

So needless to say, my downstairs bathroom is completely gutted right now and it needs to be functional by Monday morning when my daycare opens back up!!

Precious right?

I thought you would all get a kick out of this!! I don't see the humor in it yet but maybe in a year or two I'll look back on this and chuckle. We'll see!!

So for now, I must get back to my crazy life and try to finish my husband's little miscommunication!!

I'll be back, I promise!