I have huge mommy guilt!!!

So I left last night for a conference in FL (I live IN VA) I left detailed instructions for my husband who honestly is not a details man...isn't that true for most men??? Anyway I get a text message this morning that reads "I'm sick" Sick?? as in flu sick, or sick and tired of the kids sick...a little more detail is needed.

I call him as soon as I can break free from my conference he answers the phone in the best darth vader voice I have heard since it was up on the big screen. Dan? I ask "Yes" he says. "What happened to you from last night to today?" I say "I'm sick and I stayed home today" he says. Now I am thinking great no one is on schedule and worse yet did he even take the kids to school? He did thank goodness!

Yet as I sat down and I thought "oh my poor kids" I just know that he will not be able to be as attentive to their needs since he is sick and without the attention they will just become more needy and whiny not fun to deal with as a parent when you are not feeling well and lets not dismiss the fact that they may also get whatever it is that Dan has!!!!! Oh the drama!!!

Then as I listened to the most boring speaker ever ... seriously all I could hear was the sound of someone from the peanuts cartoon "whan whan whan" anyway my mind started to drift off to why am I here?? why am I working when I could be home taking care of my family? Sure I need to work to maintain our current lifestyle but if we downsized things I could stay at home and totally be there for my kids.

I called my husband back at the end of the day and asked if he wanted me to come home. "No, I want you to stay there and enjoy yourself you deserve it, you basically work 2 jobs with work and us and you deserve some alone time, we will be fine" Is that a great husband or what??? I don't know that I tell him often enough how much I love him. He has supported me and pushed me and I am who I am today career wise and as a Mom because of his support.

Hopefully when I return on Wednesday night all will be OK and I know I will be greeted with "Mommy your home!" accompanied by lots of hugs and kisses. Thanks honey for supporting me and being the best Dad and Husband a family could have, but please make sure the kids take a bath and eat dinner every night! :)

Business Trip

Ok so I am headed to Tampa tomorrow on business I will be there for 3 days attending an industry conference. So if any of my readers are in the Tampa area let me know maybe we can meet up for coffee. I will try my best to post next week but I may be MIA for most of the week. Look forward to reading everyone's blog while I am gone though!

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Dump cake doesn't sound good but it is :)

I love to bake however during the week there just isn't anytime since I don't get the kids home till 5pm and of course once we get home I make dinner, do homework, try to correct bad behavior from school, baths etc.

So I think I have solved my during the week baking drought! I found a great receipt for Dump Cake, it is so yummy and there are many variations to it. Since my son and I love Chocolate and my husband will eat whatever I put in front of him this seems like a good choice. For those of you who know me no I didn't forget my daughter, she won't touch anything sweet. I think I hould have her checked out because not eating Cakes, Cookies Pies, Ice cream just doesn't seem normal for a child although she does eat very healthy and if you give her any kind of fruit and she will eat to her hearts content! Anyway I digress! So I make a Chocolate Dump cake last night that took all of 5 mins to prepare and 30 mins to bake how simple. I will admit that it is not a pretty desert but man does it taste good. Here are my pictures as well as a couple variations of the recipe.


Regular Dump cake
20 ounces crushed pineapple
16 ounces cherry pie filling
1 package yellow cake mix, dry
1 1/2 sticks butter, sliced
Dump all ingredients into baking pan and bake at 350 F until brown, approximately 1 hour.


Chocolate Dump Cake (pictures above)
2 cans of cherry pie filling (21 ounces each)
1 box of chocolate cake mix
2 sticks of butter, sliced into 12 pieces each
2.25 ounce bag of chopped pecans
1/8 cup white sugar

Preheat the over to 350.

In a 9 x 13 cake pan:

Dump the 2 cans of cherry pie filling into the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the box of chocolate cake mix evenly on top of that. Distribute the butter slices on top of the cake mix. Spread the pecans evenly over the butter and cake mix. Fianally, sprinkle the sugar over all.
Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes and serve warm!

This is also delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!


If you make it or if you have made it let me know what you think of it!

The classics

OK so most 3 and 5 years old that I have surveyed would love to be parked in front of the TV with Blues Clues, Dora, The Doodle Bops and let's not leave out the Wiggles! But not my 2 little Gremlins! no they have a hankering for the Classics.. let me explain.


About a month ago we bought Marry Poppins and The Sound of Music DVDs mainly for us because we do like to watch classic movies. Are children however surprised us and have becomes hooked!

My 5 year old Lauren sings A Few of My Favorite things to a tee, she even corrects me when I make a mistake singing the song with her! Her school music teacher was so impressed that Lauren enjoyed this music that after Christmas Break when the children returned she had a whole weeks worth of lessons devoted to the Sound of Music apparently the kids ate it up!


My 3 year old Jackson can not get enough of Mary Poppins, no matter where we are he will start to sing:
Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey
Chim chim cher-ee!
A sweep is as lucky, as lucky can be
Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey
Chim chim cher-oo!
Good luck will rub off when I shakes 'ands with you
Or blow me a kiss and that's lucky too! It is the most adorable thing and I am trying desperately to get it on tape.

He asks me to play the sound track over and over on my Ipod in the car too! I ask both of them if they want to watch regular TV, Noggin is the only channel they watch and we only allow a half hour a night,they say NO! We want to watch Mary Poppins! We still only allow them a half an hour so it takes like a week to see the whole thing... but they love it.

So I ask my readers to send me suggestions on other kids classics that I can introduce to them.

Long Weekend.... What long Weekend???

So it started Friday around noon, the tribe headed up to upstate NY to see my husbands parents for our "family Christmas". My husband picks me up at work and begins to tell me how pissed he is at the kids. Mind you this man who never says a cross word. When I ask why he looks at me as though I have a horn growing out of my head! What? I say, I mean I am not a mind reader! Well with that I opened the flood gates. He proceeded to tell me how the kids were not quiet during his important phone call, how hey were fighting with each other asking for food, wanting a new DVD etc. It took every ounce of willpower I had to say "well, then why did you keep them home if this call was so blessed important!" He went on for like 5 minutes all the while looking for my sympathy then his cell phone rang. As he talked I heard the ever so sweet lady on our navigation system tell him like 4 times to make a U turn when legally able to do so, I was waiting for her to tell him to get off the phone and make a *&^ing U turn but she never did, so he just kept talking and driving. When he finally finished the call we were on some back country road winding our way through MD. I was steaming because I knew we were going to get to NY at like 10pm because he was so wrapped up in his call that we were now taking the back road route to NY. He then proceeds to pick up the "I am upset with the kids conversation" where he left off. All the while are kids are sitting like angels watching a DVD and playing a video game. After he had beat that dead horse as much as he could we proceed on to other topics of conversation for the next 7 hours.

We ended up getting to NY about 9pm the kids were all pumped up to see nana and pop pop and didn't get to bed till midnight, thankfully they slept in! The next day was Christmas gifts and going into town to show off the grand kids, Sunday was more the same.

I made the mistake of trying to get on the computer at my in laws house forgetting that they still have dial up... it was painfully trying to read some of my normal blog friends sites so finally I gave up. ( I plan to catch up tonight if possible)

Last night was my 3rd night on the pull out coach in the family room, BTW it is also the location of the only TV so the house so the lucky people who sleep in that room need to wait until everyone has gotten their fill of TV for the night before they can go to sleep. Last night it was 11pm and I was tapping my toes because I wanted to get some sleep on that ever so comfortable pull out. Needless to say after 3 nights on a full size pull out (we have a king bed at home) I was ready for my own bed! I was up at 7am this morning and was showered and dressed before anyone because the thought of another minute in that bed killed me.

We started our journey home today at 10:30am I had a splitting headache and the kids were now driving me bonkers with their requests of juice boxes, new videos and snacks. We finally made it home at 5:30pm and I raced around trying to unpack, throw a load of laundry in, get ready for the week ahead and put the kids to bed. It is now 8:28 and I just realized my long weekend is GONE!!!!

It was all for a good cause he kids love to see their grandparents and they love to see them Below are some pictures, I am off in search of some peace and quiet until 5am tomorrow!

Here are the proud Grandparents


Some more candid shots of Nana and Pop pop


Finally my tribe before the ride home

Weather alert!!! We have snow!!!

My kids are about to pee their pants we got a whopping 2 to 3 inches of the white stuff and they are pulling on me to get out the door and do some sledding. One run down the hill and it will be a mash of snow, ice and grass! My daughter's voice is so high pitched due to her excitement that I expect all the dogs in the neighborhood to come running to my house any minute, since her voice seems to be reaching decibels only audible to dogs!.

But the fun doesn't stop there, we are headed to my in laws this weekend in NY were they have a bunch of snow. Why do I know I will be knee deep in the white stuff all weekend long! That's OK they are having fun and that makes me have fun!

I will try to post some pics of our winter excursion over the weekend!

I Won I Won!!!!!!

Ok I just won my first ever blog contest! Very cool! I will be receiving the book Teaching Your Child About Sex by Grace Ketterman, MD. I know this conversation is coming up soon and this will be a good road map for me. My own mom really never talked about sex and sexuality with me so I plan to break that cycle with my kids. Check out Jan's blog http://janparrish.blogspot.com

Thanks again Jan!

Where did the pounds go?

Well I am on day 15 of my New Years resolution to eat better and get in shape! I am happy to report that I am already down 8lbs!!!!!! Woo Hoo for me! It has been rather easy and luckily I have the support of my family, although last night I was put to the true test. We went out to eat at our favorite Italian restaurant and I while I wanted to get the biggest most massive bowl of pasta I could, I refrained and only had the Caesar salad some calamari and a glass of wine, not to bad for a person who is totally addicted to pasta and lots of it.

My workouts have been 30 mins of cardio, sit ups, weights and the dreaded push ups. I get this done in the morning before the tribe gets up, and surprisingly I feel I have more energy even though I am up at 5am!

So now only 15lbs more to go and I will have reached my goal, somehow though I don't think these next 15 are going to fly off but I will keep you posted.

Bold & Free: Contest to Win "Teaching Your Child About Sex" by Grace Ketterman, MD

Bold & Free: Contest to Win "Teaching Your Child About Sex" by Grace Ketterman, MD

To enter this contest, check out Jan's Blog at http://janparrish.blogspot.com Good luck!

To have 3 or not to have 3

So recently I have been bitten by the baby bug! My kids are 5 and 3 and they are almost at that stage where they are, well you know..... tolerable. Don't get me wrong I love my kids they are what I live for. I also love babies and the idea of a big family (I was an only child) and I don't know why but I have this huge pang to have one more. In brief discussions with my husband who is 6 years my senior, he rolls his eyes and says things such as "so much for retiring at 55" and "I found nothing fun about the kids when they were babies" yet he LOVES his kids and is truly the best Dad I know. However, I think some men are not cut out for babyhood.

So last night during one of our many discussion on babies I say for the 100th time what do you think and you know what he says?? "Sure but if we have one we might as well have 2 so they will be close in age and have each other to play with" I sat there in happy/shock, happy because I got him to acquiesce but shocked because I think he just called my bluff, I was not looking for 2 just one!

Needless to say I didn't have a witty response and I have not brought it up since but man it is so out there like the 800 pound elephant in the room. I guess only time will tell!

A period like no other.......

Ok so it has basically taken me a full 24 hours to get over the traumatic day that I had yesterday! It all started when I woke up at 3:30am with a blazing headache, from there I proceed to leave my lunch somewhere (explanation to come). I finally bought some lunch I went to a meeting where I had to quickly excuse myself because I was not feeling right. (I apologize in advance for the graphic nature of this post but you will soon understand why it was such a traumatic day) So the not feeling right part was due to my period. I "took care" of myself 5 minutes before the meeting to ensure I would not have one of those "I need to race out of here moments" however about a half an hour into the meeting I just didn't feel right so I excused myself. As I closed the door all I can say is I felt the sensation of peeing, only I was not in control. I raced to my office around the corner because I knew I would not make it to the bathroom, I shut the door to my office only to discover what I will call a crime scene on me!. Now this was unfathomable to me. I had not only my super plus tampon , and wings pad and underwear all of which was soaked through!!!!!! I panicked how in the hell was I going to make it from my office to my car to get home??? I quickly remember that I had a 3/4 coat that thankfully covered me. I made I to the bathroom cleaned up as best as you can then headed for my car. By the way I found my lunch sitting on the roof of my car. Once in my car I realized I had to be in a meeting later that day that I could not miss. So I drove myself to the nearest Target, walked in with my long coat proceed to buy a new outfit, along with the needed supplies, I checked out and headed to the bathroom to do my quick change.

Now I was fully prepared to be stop by security because of my quick change can you imagine me showing my clothes to the officer when I tried to explain the reason for my change of clothes? I am sure he would have ushered me out very quickly, because we all know how men deal with the period issue.

I made it back to the office and I was fully prepared to hear someone make a comment (I was still not sure that I had gone unnoticed as I walked out of my meeting) and either I work with a bunch of people who have no clue or I was just plain smooth. I am sticking with the I am smooth answer, I went through the rest of the day without an issue. Needless to say though I was a bit stressed. So please to make me feel better please share your time of the month tales of woe.

Round 2 for the tooth fairy!!

Well for the second time in a week the tooth fairy came to the house. The princess lost front tooth number 2 yesterday during quiet time at school no doubt she pulled this one out like the last one!

Ah the joys of waking up

So like any other morning I get up this morning at my normal 5 am time to get my daily work out in, after I shower and dress I proceed to head into battle, that battle would be waking my children up so we can get out of the door at a some what reasonable hour. This morning to my surprise when I entered my sons room I found him nearly falling off the bed. Now this child was so soundly asleep and I know that only because he was snoring and with each snore it sounds as though he was sucking all of the oxygen out of the room, I thought how in the world can I not capture this on film. Since I not one to ever capture those cute moments because I never have a camera on hand I ran downstairs to grab it, I come back snap a few pictures only to have my husband walk into my sons room weary eyed asking why the paparazzi is snapping pictures of his son, I say look at him how funny is that! See below.



So as not to ignore the princess she too was photographed this morning after she had already been out of bed twice once to use the potty then to brush her teeth.This photo was taken right before I asked her for the third time to get up she had her normal litany of excuses, I'm tired, I'm cold, I'm sleepy, My leg hurts and my favorite "Don't you have something else to do" I take credit for that since I think she picked that up from me and the numerous times I have asked her to find something else to do when she is tormenting her little brother :)

Where is the snow????

Ok I am know I sound crazy but I really really would like there to be some snow! It is going to be 70 today here in the DC area and that is just not right for January! I am starting to feel as though my kids will never get a snow day or worse be able to build a snow man!!! My oldest keep asking if it is really winter :) And with this crazy warm weather comes the ever so lovely cold and flu season, who knows how to dress from day to day with this kind of weather. What happen to the good old days when you knew that there would be 4 seasons and you could depend on them??? Oh never mind Al Gore told me the answer to that question, it's GLOBAL WARMING!! Happy Tuesday!

The Tooth Fairy comes again!

So last night my almost 6 year old (March 30) lost her third tooth this one was right in the front. She had been playing with it all weekend and it was starting to bug me. So after dinner she played with it some more much to her daddy's dismay. How is it a big burly army man is so skived out by a loose tooth. Anyway she continues to play and it starts to bleed I suggested that we go up and brush our teeth hoping that the action of the brush would knock this thing out. We get to the bathroom she continues to play with it then before I know it my super sensitive I cry if I get looked at the wrong way let alone see blood coming from my mouth 5 year old pulls the tooth out! She proudly shows me the tooth and smiles a toothless bloody grin, truly a mom moment and thankfully my husband was not in the room as he surely would have passed out : )

Here she is in all her glory!





Now while all this is great, I am starting to wonder about her losing so many teeth so early at least it seems early to me. The dentist says it is fine but every person I talk to tells me their kids didn't loose teeth till they were almost 7!!! Am I just being a worrywart??

Enough Already!

OK I am sorry to rant but I am so SICK of Britney Spears!!!! Why why why does the media cover her like they do? It is one thing to have paparazzi covering her, I don't agree with it but I get it that is how mags like People and Us weekly get their pictures. But to actually talk about her like she is breaking news during my morning commute this morning.... COME ON. She and her sister have both proven to be train wrecks and while I have been one to watch the occasional train wreck because I am unable to turn away.. Enough already with the Spears girls. Maybe if you stop fueling them they can get on with their lives it least that is my hope because God knows have of the things these girls do are strictly because they want attention. So my new mantra for 2008 Enough with Britney!!!!!

It's been a long time!!!!

So here it is 2008 and I am ready to make a new start.. in more ways then one. I have finally gotten to a place where I think I am happy mentally so now it is time to work on the physical me. I have vowed to work out and eat healthy in 2008 My goal is to lose 20lbs. Now some may say oh you don't look like you need to lose 20lb and honestly I don't "look it" but I feel it. So I have started my journey and I will write about it here from time to time so forgive me if I whine :)

Thus far 2008 has been great, now keep in mind I am only on day 3 of 2008 but I have a good feeling about this year, not to mention that there is a lot that is going to happen this year. I will be traveling more for work, and hopefully getting a promotion, Dan my wonderful husband will retire from the Army after 20 years, Dan's dad will turn 70! And I am sure there will be a host of other highs and lows in 2008.

I wish you and yours all the best and look forward to comments in 2008.