Friday Hodge Podge!

Well this week has just flown by! I guess that is what happens when you have a short week!

Thanks to all of you who set Questions I will answers some or all of them further down in this post so keep reading.

School is winding down and with that comes a ton of activities, I feel like I need a wife just to keep up with all that is going on. It is so hard for me to believe that my first born has completed Kindergarten! She is reading and doing math and on her way to becoming quiet the student. She is looking forward to the School talent show in 2 weeks where she will be singing A few of my favorite things from The Sound of music. (yes kids still watch movies like that at least mine do) then she has her class party and it is Hello Summer!

Work has been going well, I had another meeting yesterday with the CEO, CFO and COO they have given me the green light to move forward and I am super excited about what that will be to the future of my division and this company. For those of you that don’t know I am very driven and a goal of mine has been to get this project up and off the ground and it looks like it is going to happen.

This weekend we are headed to NJ for a Bridal shower for the bride who is having that Swanky Black Tie Wedding in late June, I am not really looking forward to going this weekend but it will be nice for the kids to see their Aunt,Uncle and Grandparents as well as some other family. However as I was driving home yesterday I realized that I will not have had a free weekend in 5weeks I am booked up till the 21st of June How freaking crazy is that!!!!!

My Goddaughter Allie and her mom are doing great! I can’t wait to go see her as I am sure she will have changed by the time I get over there. Aren’t new babies the best!

So on to the answers to some questions

Nap Warden Asked ...
Why did you start blogging? I originally started this blog as a release of sorts. I was very down and felt as though I was negative all the time. I thought that by write my thoughts I might find a way to work through them along the way a fellow blogger emailed me and shared her personal story which lead me to a solution of sorts for what I was feeling at the time. Because of that one blogger I felt the need to continue to write about life so I could find other common bonds with people and hopefully help a few myself along the way.
What is your favorite food? Give me some pasta and I am as happy as a pig in poop!!! Mexican is a close second
If you could take a vacation tom., where would you go? Turks and cacaos I need a nice relaxing beach vacation
What is your dream job? To be CEO of a large corporation, I know big dreams to fufill but I have confidence that I will get there.

Poltzie asked…
I'd like to know what is holding you back from having another baby? Leave it to the new mom to ask this question! Just kidding, I would love to have another baby however I am not getting any younger (35) and my husband is 42, plus I worry that the kids will not have the same bond with a third child as they do with each other because they are close in age. If I were to get pregnant today there would be 7 years between Lauren and her sibling which might be ok if we had a boy but I am not sure it would be great if we had a girl. I know I over think to much!!! Honestly I think fear holds me back what that fear is I don’t know but it is there along with the age thing.

Kristen asked…..
What is your favorite pair of shoes and why? My flip flops! I really don’t like wearing shoes, if I could find a way to make flip flops the shoe of choice I would. The first thing I do whenI get ome is kick off my shoes now that might be because I wear heels all the time but in general I am not a huge shoe person so flip flops do me fine.
Elaine A. asked...
Here's my question, pizza or burgers? This says a lot about someone you know. ; )
Oh I think I’m afraid to answer this one because I am not sure what either of these will say about me. But I would have to go with pizza, so tell me Elaine A what does that say about me?

WORKING MOM asked...
Questions???I've got to think on that one. Just talk, list facts, put up some pics, if you dare. Ok I am working ont his one but I will answer it in the coming Hodge Podge posts.

So that is all from now but please keep you questions coming, I like them and just like April and Tranny Head I am a comment whore too, so send more questions!!!
Have a great weekend and I will see you all upon my return from the swanky bridal shower!!

meme...it's been a while

Courtney has tagged me for a get to know your blogger friends meme. You will see I am a pretty lame person!

1. Favorite Person - Hmm hubby is too obvious, I would say my boss he is a great man.

2. Favorite Food - Pasta any Pasta.

3. Quirks about you - I can't relax till everything is in it's place so if I come into the family room and it is a mess I have to pick it u before I sit down. OCD to the max I guess.

4. How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? She is fun, loveable dependable, goal oriented and a great wife. OK so that is 11 oh well.

5. Any regrets in life? I don't have enough time to write this and you would be bored reading it.

6. Favorite charity/cause: I have many, Red Cross and Organ donation would be my top 2.

7. Favorite Blog: Too many to count and I have different ones for different topics.

8. Something you can't get enough of? Time with my husband.

9. Worst job you ever had? Working at the indoor pools in the winters I always smelled like chlorine.

10. What job would you pay NOT to have? Fast food worker

11. If you could be a fly on the wall anywhere, where would it be? In board rooms of the top 100 Companies.

12. Favorite Bible Verse/Quote: Psalms 56:3 "When I am afraid I will trust in you" Ditto Courtney

13. Guilty pleasure: A big bowl of Ice cream

14. Got any confessions? Nope..at least none I want to share.

15. If you had $1000 to spend on YOURSELF, what would you spend it on? A great day at the spa!!!!

16. Favorite thing about your house? Everything, it is my dream house and I couldn't be happier.

17. Least favorite thing: We don't have much of a backyard

18. One thing you are bad at: Singing.

19. If you could change on thing about your current circumstances what would it be? I would have started to have kids when I was younger.

20. Who would you like to meet someday? Jack Walsh who was a former CEO of GE, I would love to pick his business brain.

21. What makes you feel sexy? This is horrible but since becoming a mom and being with Dan for almost 12 years sometimes I feel like a shell of my old young self so I feel sexy when a man gives me a second look, makes me feel like "hey I still got it!”

22. Who is your real life hero? My husband he loves my unconditional and is an outstanding cheerleader when I am working towards something important in my life.

23. What is the hardest part of your job? When I have to travel and I am away from the family, the first night is ok the second I can deal by the third I am itching to get home. 24. When are you most relaxed? About day 2 of vacation as long as vacation is not in my house. When we go to the beach each year I am in heaven after about 20 min there.

25. What stresses you out? Some days the wind blowing can stress me others I am as cool as a cucumber. So as you can see the range of things is large.

26. What can you NOT live without? My family of course and my Ipod

27. Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? Disagree.

28. Why do you blog? I blog because it allows me to have a place of my own, also I love the friendships that I have made.

29. Who are you tagging? Amy Michelle Stephanie Laskigal

Wordless Wednesday

Ten on Tuesday....nope!

Sorry no Ten on Tuesday today; I have writers block:)

The weekend was great but it went way to fast and I feel as though I over booked myself. You tell me if you think I did.

Friday after work I had book club starting at 7:30 which lasted till 11:45pm We picked our new book called Nineteen Minutes don't know much about it, but I think it will be good.

Saturday was haircuts day then off to see Magin and baby Allie; as you can see Lauren was very excited to hold her.
Saturday at 6pm hubby and I went out to dinner and returned at 10pm exhausted.

Sunday woke up early do to my nervous energy so I ran 3 miles and got my weight work out in, then packed a lunch for the boys who were going flying in a Cessna (the source of my nervous energy)









Once they took off at 10am, Lauren and I baked our booty's off take a look. The cake was for a picnic the next day, the cookies were for the kids and the neighbors and the Monkey bread was for us. That stuff is addictive.
Then off to see my mom for a couple of hours; on the way home I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some stuff to make a salad for our neighborhood dinner. Dinner started at 5:30 and wrapped up around 11pm. Actually dinner wrapped up about 7 but the drinks continued till 11pm :)

Monday we got up and laid around till about 10:30 then headed to a friends BBQ about an hour away and spent all day there, we didn't get home till 9:30pm the kids were beat and so were we. But they had a good time don't you think?

So that was my weekend! How was yours????

Tis the season for ......Open Toed Shoes

Since this weekend is truly the start of the summer season I thought today would be a good day to share my thoughts on Open Toed Shoes with you.

I admit it. I like to pamper myself. I get a manicure and pedicure every two weeks. I love this time of year because I actually get to "expose" my lovely toes after a pedicure. I have a lot of adorable open-toed shoes that I like to wear with one of my many sassy outfits :)

As a member of the Faux Paux Sisterhood, I pledge to follow The Rules when I
wear sandals and other open-toe shoes:

* I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over and touch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides and tops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.

* I will go polish-free or vow to keep the polish fresh, intact and chip-free. I will not cheat and just touch up my big toe.

* I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow.
* I will shave the hairs off my big toe.

* I won't wear pantyhose even if my misinformed girlfriend, coworker, mother, or sister tells me the toe seam really will stay under my toes if I tuck it there.

* If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back into place hoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it.

* I will not live in corn denial; rather I will lean on my good friend Dr. Scholl's if my feet need him.

* I will take my toe ring off toward the end of the day if my toes swell and begin to look like Vienna sausages.

* I will promise if I wear flip flops, that I will ensure they actually flip and flop, making the correct noise while walking and I will swear NOT to slide or drag my feet while wearing them.

* I will promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs of wear...nothing is tackier than dirty white sandals.

Friday Hodge Podge

Welcome to Friday Hodge Podge (HPF)

It is my pleasure to introduce to you Allison Paige, my goddaughter!!! Is she a sweetie or what. I was able to spend almost 2 hours with her and her mommy last night, of course on the way home my uterus was aching for a newborn of my own. That topic is to be continued.....

I love this shot; it is big sis Hannah checking out lil sis. I was playing with it this morning, hopefully it will print nicely and I can get this framed.

So earlier this week I asked Lauren if she would like me to curl her hair. To my surprise she said yes, Lauren while a girly when it comes to her clothes is not when it comes to hair and accessories. So that night I used the old fashion foam curlers and she slept with them all night. The next morning she had a full head of curls which of course she would not let me comb. The first thing she said upon seeing the curls was "what if people make fun of me" of course not a one person or kid did because she looked cute as a button. She has since asked me to curl her again, could it be that I have created a monster????

Tonight is book club night, in my close knit neighborhood we select a book and get together to talk about it every other month. The discussion about the book lasts about 30 min and then it is a full on girl gab and wine feast! The book we will discuss tonight is Water for Elephants. I loved this book and I highly recommend it for your summer reading. It was a quick read however it was one of those books that had me wanting more at the end. If you read this book let me know what you thought. Also if you would like to know about our other pick email me and I will shoot them to you.

Well it is memorial Day weekend, the start of the Summer and I am so ready! mainly because I am in need of a 3 day weekend and also because it marks the opening of pool season and that spells some relaxing weekends at the pool for me. See I am the type of person if left in my house I will find stuff to do and then I never end up sitting down and enjoying my home or relaxing. Since the kiddos are all about the pool it forces me to go and just relax. So here is to the start of the season!!!!

In previous hodge podge Friday posts I have opened the floor up to questions you would like to ask. Thus far I have only received one..thanks Tranny Head! So I will open the floor again however my ego can't take any more bruising so if I don't receive any questions I will retire this part of HPF. Come on boost a girls ego would you?

She’s having a baby today!!!!

The "she" I am referring to is Magin, my very best friend and today around 8am she will meet her new baby girl and become a mother for the second time.

Magin and I have know each other for nearly 20 years she is my nearest and dearest friend the one person who knows most if not all of my dark secrets, fears and faults. Even with all that knowledge she continues to be my friend and she is the BEST!!! As you can see from the pictures she is a lot of fun to hang out with !!!

Magin and I met when we were in high school; we were introduced by a mutual friend and we have been friends since. Sure there were times in our lives that we weren’t in touch but no matter what we always picked up where we left off. I have been fortunate enough to share all my important life events with her and vice versa. I could go on and on about how wonderful she is and the fun times we have shared together but I am afraid I would actually overload the blogger server!

Today is even more special; Magin and her husband Jim have asked me to be their new daughters Godmother. I am so honored they feel I am worthy of such an honor. So as you read this Magin will have become a mom again and I will have become a Godmother for the 1st time!!!

Welcome to the world special girl (they haven’t decided on a name) I look forward to a lifetime of memories with you and our families!

Wordless Wednesday

Ten on Tuesday

10 Movies You’re Excited to See

I don't get to the movies much but if I did this is what I would want to see.

1) Forgetting Sarah Marshall - April 18th - One name, Kristen Bell. If you still have doubts, check the trailer. (i know I am a little behind)

2) Iron Man - May 2nd - Can’t miss this.

3) Speed Racer - May 9th - Look sPromising

4) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - May 22nd - Another can’t miss. I hope this hold up to the originals.

5) Sex in the City - May 30th - I don’t care, but my chick card will be revocked if I don't see it.

6) Kung Fu Panda - June 6th - Hoping my kids will be able ot see this but it may only be OK for the older one.

7) Get Smart - June 20th - The classic TV series was great fun. Steve Carell is perfect for the part, let’s hope he does better with this than Will Farrell did with Bewitched…

8) Wanted - June 27th - Holy crap. I can’t begin to explain my excitement about Mark Millar’s creator owned book being made into an adrenaline pumping, full blown, summer popcorn flick.

9) Wall-E - June 27th - Total kid flick

10) The X-Files 2 - July 25th - only because I love my husband…

Weekend update

Ok, what a weekend!!!!!

I will start from the beginning, be forewarned this may be a long post. So Friday my MIL and I head to the swanky spa for some pampering, I had a facial, hair cut and updo. She had a facial, manicure and pedicure. I was given complimentary make up application so of course I took it. I was all dressed and ready to attend my companies share holder meeting that was being held in 2 hours. I asked the young lady if she would like me to take off my suit jacket, no she replied you can leave it on. She applies my make up and we head out the door to meet the boys (my husband and my FIL) for a quick bite to eat. My husband greets me with a big smile, kisses me then says "uh Honey" "What" I reply, "well you seem to have something on your jacket", I look and there on my lapel is a huge make up stain! I have to be at my meeting in an hour and a half. I am pissed, quick thinking hubby says let's go shopping. We were across the street from a huge mall; I thought there is no way I will pull this off but ok. As we drive across the street I remember that the suit I have on which is brand new and now ruined was bought at Macy's, they have a Macy's in the mall; maybe I can buy the same suit there. We rush in, I find the exact suit. I take off the suit jacket I am wearing try on the new one, perfect fit. I tell the lady I will take it and whip out my Macy's card hand it to my husband as I grab the skirt to go change. The salesperson asks if we want to exchange. "Excuse me exchange?" I say I have a huge makeup stain on here, she replies its OK I will exchange it for you. Holy Crap I think what luck!! She rings it up, I put on my new suit, I take her name and off to the meeting I go. Pretty amazing huh???

So at the meeting, I sit through all the speeches and the business talk, I talk with all the muckity mucks, say my hellos and goodbyes and head off to meet my husband for his Black Tie affair. I get home in time to change my clothes, touch up my make up, kiss the kids, and leave phone numbers for my in laws. All that in less then a half an hour, even I am impressed. But wait then it was picture time. My FIL is known for having to have a picture for EVERY event, and not just one picture, several. So we took photos in the dinning room on the deck with the kids, I felt like I was heading out to prom!!!! Below are the photos! I think we look pretty darn good if you ask me. We had a great time!

Saturday morning was a bit foggy for me, seems that I really enjoyed my Vodka Martini and the countless glasses of red wine I had. I finally pulled myself together by 10 am and I headed to the park with the kids to let them burn some energy and let my in laws have a break, at 12 noon we decided to go to a minor league baseball game. Dan mentioned it the day before and I said fine but asked him to please double check that he had the right months date, times etc. He is known for making those types of mistakes. So off we go to battle Saturday traffic, we stop for lunch before headed to the stadium, as we are pulling into the stadium lot I say to myself wow there aren't many cars here. As we crest the hill of the parking lot it is painfully clear that there is no game. I turn to Dan and ask if he checked the date, the answer on his face said it all. So we turn the car around and head home. Once home I go up to our room with my son turn on The Cat in the Hat movie and proceed to fall asleep for 3 hours!!!!! That was some good sleep!!!!

Sunday we had breakfast and then the in laws said their goodbyes and were off, we then took the tribe out to do all our normal weekend errands. Before knew it, it was 5:30 and time to get ready for the week ahead. Where did the weekend go??? :( LOL

The winners!!!!!!

The winners in the Mommyfest/Daily Grind giveaway are!!!!!!!

Stephanie @ A Little Bit of Sugar & A Whole Lotta Spice!!

Wins the Anchor Cookware Set

and

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious?

Wins the Queen Sheet Set

Congrats ladies, I will be in touch soon!!!!!

Didn't win this time? Don't worry I have a new Queen Sheet giveaway coming soon!!!!!

Friday Hodge Podge

Well itis Friday Hodge Podge time again!!!!!
I swear didn't I just write this post yesterday???
Anyway here it is:

Lauren has/is recovering nicely from her tube surgery, I am amazed at how kids bounce back after stuff like this. 3 years ago I had my tonsils out and I was out of commission 2 weeks I actually told the Dr. I would rather give birth again to my 10 lb baby then to ever do that again. Thank you all for your well wishes as well as your thoughts and prayers.


Tonight I have 2 functions to attend, but first I will head to the spa for a facial along with a haircut and an updo! My in-laws are in town so I decided it would be nice I have my MIL join me. The place we are going is pretty swank and I am hoping to avoid any discussion about price, I will let you know how I fair. So back to the events. I have a annual shareholders meeting at 2 followed by a reception then I will need to pretend I am Clarke Kent and change quickly into an evening gown for a Black Tie affair with an organization my husband works with. It should be an interesting day however I am not pleased that it is all packed into one day. I will be sure to post pictures of us as I think we will look dashing :) **she says with an English accent**


As I said my in-laws are in town and last night my kids were off the hook, I mean you would have thought that they were given sugar IV's all day the way they were bouncing off the walls. I felt bad having to correct them a gazillion times in front of the grandparents because even I was tired of hearing myself talk and felt like I was being a bit of a bi*ch. Bedtime is notoriously not a good time of day for my son it is like all of a sudden he kicks into overdrive and it is full speed ahead. I know the kids were just excited to see their grandparents, but boy they wore me out. Hopefully they calm down today because Dan and I will not be here for dinner bath and bed tonight and my in laws don't do a lot of babysitting for my kids so I am not sure they know what to expect or how to handle it. I am sure they will be fine but they may not want to baby sit again anytime soon.

Nothing huge planned for the weekend just hanging out with the inlaws anda birthday party for one of Lauren's friends on Sunday. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway contest which ends tonight at 12am pacific time!

I needed a mental health day!!!

I woke up this morning with every intention to have a normal day. I worked out this morning, came upstaris to get my cup of coffee and quickly read my email; then it all fell apart. I was going to leave at 2pm today anyway so that got me to thinking why go in? Then hubby got up and we sat and had a cup of coffee together. All the while I was thinking why don't I just call in sick. That I did! A mental health day of sorts!!!

So there we sat for another 45 minutes before Lauren woke up then soon after the little man was up. I made breakfast for them and let them watch TV just like it was a weekend. Lauren was so sad at first that she would miss her friends at before school daycare by staying home with me till school started but soon got over it. I asked her if she would like it if I picked her up from school today instead of her going to after care. She was so excited that she was going to go to the kiss and ride line instead of the daycare line when school was over she made up a song, don't ask me the tune of the wordsI suck at music. I drove Lauren to school and dropped her off in the kiss and ride line when it hit me I don't get to see her walk into school like a big girl because I walk her into daycare in the morning. So she gets out of the car says she'll see me this afternoon and then meets up with 2 older girls and talks to them as she walks into school all the while my heart was full of love for my girl and saddens that I don't get to see this everyday. Oh if I could just work from home so I could be there for all those momments.

After dropping her off I headed to the craft store to picked up some items I needed to finish a couple of new crafts I am working on. After that stop, I went to Starbucks for a Mocha, then headed home. Once home I planted a couple of plants that I have been meaninig to get to then hosed off the deck. I then grabed a shower and started on my crafts. Which BTW are done, but that is for another post.

So here I am in the recliner, tv on enjoying my much needed Mental Health Day. But shhh don't tell!

Giveaway Reminder

The cookware and sheets giveaway ends tomorrow! Don't forget to enter here!!!
Good Luck and I will announce the winners on Monday the 19th.

Wordless Wednesday

This is the NEW International Symbol for Gasoline!!

Whew what a day!!!!!

First thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers! Lauren came through with flying colors although there were some stressful moments for both of us.

Lauren woke up after I left with little man around 8am, she hung out with Daddy who listened to her say “I’m hungry” (with all the whine she could muster) for about 30 minutes. When I walked in the door from dropping off her brother I was greeted with “I’m hungry Momma!” We watched TV till Dan walked in with coffee in one hand and a doughnut in the other. Lauren saw this and said, “Hey what is that Daddy?” I glared my “are you a complete freaking moron” look and Dan retreated to the other room. I tried to distract her by playing a game or two of Uno; then I said why don’t we make something for the nurses who are going to take care of you today. “Sure” she chimed. So we made some really cool necklaces 5 in total, by the time we were done with that it was time to go.

Once at the surgery center all went as smooth as could be we checked in, were taken back to our room then we got dressed in a hospital gown for Lauren and a chemical hazard suit for me, I was allowed to go to the operating room with her so I had to suit up. Personally a nice pair of scrubs would have been nice instead of the hazard suit, but hey they didn’t ask me. . So there we were; we talked with the nurse Lauren gave her a gift then the nurse gave her one! A really cute stuffed piggy! More nurses more gifts, then the Dr. whom my husband hijacked before he even talked to Lauren so he could get his diagnosis, Came by. He confirmed a full-blown sinus infection and gave Dan an Rx for antibiotics. The Dr. then comes to see Lauren and she gives him a necklace and he proudly puts it on. We are whisked back to the OR and all goes well of course I cry as they put her to sleep but all is well. At this point Dan has taken the Rx’s to the Pharmacy to get filled. I am in the waiting room for about 20 minutes when the Dr. comes out says all is fine, blah blah blah. Within 5 minutes they call me to come back and see her. She is a wreck!!!! Crying trying to get off the bed begging to go home crying for Daddy, all the while still very sleepy and not fully awake. This goes on for like 15 minutes. I am trying my best to hold her and soothe her but nothing is working, finally Dan walks in and Lauren starts screaming to him “I want to go home, I want to go home”. In total it was 30 minutes of non-stop screaming shear hell when you can’t calm your child if you ask me.. We finally were able to settle her down with a sedative, which broke my heart but it helped her come out of the anesthesia better. We finally head home where little miss takes a cat nap then wakes up asking for a sandwich, not one but two! After a couple of hours I decide to leave her with Dad since they seem to be fine just laying in bed and I run some errands and pick up the boy.

I arrive home in time to make dinner, and tell Dan to go to bed because he looks like crap. I finish dinner with the kid’s bathe them then read books and bed. I wrapped that up about 20 minutes ago and her I sit…. spent and sipping my wine.
I know I should read some blogs but I just don’t have the energy, so I hope everyone understands. I will be back in fighting form tomorrow. Thanks again for all your well wishes, it is great to have found this sisterhood of mothers to support and comfort me.

I am off and running

Ok for those of you that know me I usually only post once a day so all of these other posts in the last 24 hours are pretty much nervous energy because today is Lauren Ear surgery.

We were able to keep her up till 11pm last night and she is still sleeping peacefully as I type. Her surgery is not till 11am and since she couldn't eat or drink after midnight we thought it best to let her stay up late and get her fill of food till then. Lauren is a total food person and it will be tough to not let her eat or drink when she wakes up.

Also my poor husband has a full blow sinus infection and is miserable. So my grand plan is to kill 2 birds with one stone today when I see the doc before the surgery I am going to ask him if he can take a look at hubby instead of him going to the office tonight at 6pm. Seems logical right? I'll let you know if he has the same logical way of thinking or not.

I am off to take the little man to daycare then back to rally the rest of the troops, today is going to be a long day I can feel it.

Happy Tuesday don't forget to go check out my giveaway!

10 Things You're Really Good At

Multi Tasking- People often ask how I do it and honestly I am not really aware that I am "doing it"

Organizing- just about anything parties, closets you name it

Making people laugh- I try to do this a lot but sometimes I am just not in the laughing mood

Knowing what I want- no wishy washiness here

Sports- I was a high school and college athlete

Being a good friend- I may not have tons of friends but of the ones that I do I think they would all say I am there for them

Baking- I can bake some mean desserts

Driving- strange huh well I drive 70 miles a day in a Metropolitan city and I think I am can drive better then most men.

Making myself feel guilty- There are days I ask myself why do I work, I have huge guilt that I am not a stay at home mom. There are times that I feel people look down on me because I work and do so by choice, however for me I think it is the best thing but that doesn't stop the guilt.

Being a mom- ok well I am not sure that I am good at it but I like to think I am!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!!!!!!

Giveaway Time!!!!!!

Winners!!!!!!!

The winners in the Mommyfest/Daily Grind giveaway are!!!!!!!

Stephanie @ A Little Bit of Sugar & A Whole Lotta Spice!!
Wins the Anchor Cookware Set

and

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious?
Wins the Queen Sheet Set

Congrats ladies, I will be in touch soon!!!!! Didn't win this time? Don't worry I have a new Queen Sheet giveaway coming soon!!!!!

So in honor of Mommyfest I have a giveaway; again from my husbands old ebay days!

Are you ready??

Below are the 2 items I will be giving away; you must choose one and leave a comment why you have selcted that item. For extra credit post a link on your blog and I will enter you twice.

All entries must be in by midnight pacific time May 16th, I will announce the winner by Monday the 19th.

Hope you are enjoying Mommyfest, if this is the first you are hearing about it go check it out at http://www.mommyfest.com/

Now for the prizes!!!!!

This lovely Anchor Cookware set

Or this great queen sized sheet set by Marsaille

Good Luck!

Mommyfest 2008

Well it is Mommyfest time!

I have never participate in one of these online parties so this should be fun!
Here is a little about me: I am a full time working mom, I have 2 kids and a great husband who supports me in my career goals. I blog because it is a way for me to relax.... yes I said relax and a great chronicle of life that I am sure I will not be able to remember when my kids are 30.

I have met and made some amazing friends in my short time blogging and I hope to continue to meet new and interesting folks. So take a look at my blog and if you like what you see, add me to your reader or feed. I look forward to getting to know as many of you as I can in the next week.

PS look for a giveaway or 2 this week in the spirit of Mommyfest!!!

Mother's Day 2008

The day stared with me being able to sleep till 8 am ...normally unheard of in my house. At 8 am the tribe marched into our room with breakfast and bearing gifts. Imagine my surprise when they were each carrying a dozen roses! Breakfast was served to me in bed which consisted of Lauren's special blueberry pancakes and a blueberry muffin along with a big cup of coffee. Then it was on to the presents; they presented me with a bag that had new PJ's in it as well as a huge bag of M&M's. We all hung out in bed for about an hour watching TV before getting up and getting dressed.

We left for the Nationals baseball game at 11:30 in the hope that we would be able to beat the rain. We were successful in our endeavors and we were able to see the game till the 7th inning when the rain and the cold just became too much. I could not have asked for a better mothers day!

Below is a slides how from the day as well as the homemade presents the kids came home with on Friday! I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day and I am can't wait to read your stories.

Blog Design

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Friday Hodge Podge

Ok it is Friday Hodge Podge time!

Well my little darling continues to get up on her own and get dressed without assistance, I am loving it, but I fear that the weekend will throw her off for next week. We shall see.

Thanks for all of you for your comments on my What the F$ck post. I have decided to go about my mother’s day my way and be done with it. I did send flowers but I am not sure if I will place the phone call because my fear is that words might be said and I don't want that to ruin my mother’s day.

Saturday is National Train day so we are headed to Union Station to check out the trains and the free concert being given by Sara Bareilles Sunday we are going to the baseball game but it looks like rain at least it won't be cold and a little rain never killed anyone.

Lauren's ear tube surgery is set for Tuesday at 11:30 am I am not happy with the time since she can't have any food or drink after midnight and she is a big breakfast eater. Tuesday morning will be a bear with her till we get to the hospital. At least then there will be some distractions from food. I hate taking my kids in for surgery I have done it 5 times and this will be my 6th and it is never easy. I always go to the operating room with her and leave once she drifts off to sleep. It will not be a long surgery but it is surgery none the less. Please keep us in your thoughts.

WORK has been kicking my ass! However I am so very excited about what we are doing and by this time next year I will have a full product portfolio to offer in the marketplace. Building something from the ground floor is tough but my guess is that the dividends are going to be HUGE; at least that is what I am shooting for.

Lastly I am not one to discuss politics with people other then my really close friends or my family. However I felt the need to vent a bit. First this presidential political campaign has been going on for what seems like forever and unfortunately we have not seen the worst of if yet. I have not decided on one candidate as a matter of fact I am having trouble with that based on the choices that are being put before me. I can't help but wonder is this the best we have to offer? And if so what does it say about us? Random thoughts yes but I think a lot of us are having random thoughts about this election.

Have a great weekend! Happy Mothers day to all of you. I look forward to hearing about your special day on Monday!

Ok it is official Hell is going to freeze over!

This morning at 6:20 my darling hard to wake, pull the covers back over her head six year old, got up on her own and got dressed without me asking a zillion times! This is what greeted me at 6:20 am this morning.

This has been going on all week, a little bit of background on this for you. At the beginning of the school year we had an au pair that was living with us who was responsible to for getting the kids ready and off to school in the morning as well as picking them up and staying with them till we returned home in the late afternoon. For reasons I will save for a different post, we let our au pair go and went the normal route of getting the kids up early and taking them to their respective schools where they were in before and after care. I was now the person waking the kids up in the morning. My daughter while usually chipper, is not so chipper when she is woken up. She prefers to do it on her terms. So I bought an alarm clock, a cute princess one which we set at night and she would wake up to in the morning, my thought was that I would set it about 10 minutes before she needed to get up so she could wake up a bit. No dice; it lasted all of about 3 nights and she begged me not to set the alarm anymore. So the clock has sat on her nightstand for months, 7 to be exact. Suddenly on Sunday night my daughter told me as I tucked her in; that she set her alarm so she could wake up in the morning. I said great; knowing she would have a fit when it went off the next morning. To my surprise she didn't; she woke up turned it off and came to find me while I was getting ready. The same routine repeated itself Monday night into Tuesday morning, and Tuesday to Wednesday. So on Wednesday night I said here are your clothes for tomorrow when you wake up why don't you get dressed that way you will have more time for breakfast. To my surprise she not only got up and got dressed she tried to do her hair! I am not sure how or why this has happened but I am going to enjoy it while I can!

Apologizes

I must send out my apologizes for my lack of blog reading this week. I have been up to my eyeballs on this new project at work and it has totally consumed me this week. I hope to catch up on all of your blogs this weekend. Thanks for continuing to visit me even though I haven't been to visit you.

I'll be back soon!

Wordless Wednesday......kinda

Yesterday was hubby's birthday the big 42! As you can see fun was had by all.

Ten places I would like to go

Ten Places I would like to go, that I haven’t been to.

1) Ireland- I would love to do a pub crawl with a few of my adult friends without the kids :)

2) Poland- my mothers mom was from Poland and I know very little about the country and it’s traditions

3) Italy- I have always wanted to go there then I read the book Eat pray Love and I realized I had to go there

4) Alaska- I have heard there are some breathtaking sites in Alaska

5) Hawaii – however I must be able to spend 2 weeks so I can totally relax

6) A cruise- I am working on this one for my 10 year anniversary I don’t care were it goes as long as I am sitting in chair poolside with a drink in my hand watching the ocean go by.

7) Paris- I am not sure why I want to go but I do.

8) New Zealand- We had an au pair for 9 months who was from NZ and between what she has told us and the pictures I have seen I want to go. During the right season of course.

9) Cabo san lucas – who wouldn’t love to hand out in Cabo for a week?

10) Finally I would love to join my blog girlfriends on a weekend trip anywhere to hang out and talk in person (I know I am cheesy)

WHAT THE F&CK!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the title it is just how I feel.

Ok 8 years ago on Mothers Day I was to go over to my moms house and we were going to go out to lunch. I called her to say I would be an hour late because I was going to the 11 am mass instead of the 10 am. We are talking one hour. She threw a complete hissy fit and went on and on about not bothering to come blah blah blah. At this point in my life I was married only a year; something that my mother didn't take well as I seemed to be her companion in life up until my marriage and my leaving was not a good thing. I tired as best I could to include her and do things with her since I knew that she was all alone. My mom has a way like no other human being to get under my skin, at the young age of 26 you can imagine just how much head butting was going on. (sorry I reread that paragraph and it is all over the place but I am going to leave it because it is how I feel)

So she continued to rip me a new one and fire off some pretty nasty comments for not coming at the time I said and I got right down in the dirt with her and started to sling back the insults. This is something I am totally not proud of but I had been pushed into a corner and I really felt as if being a hour late to go to church for God's sake was a reasonable request. I ended up not seeing her for Mothers Day, pretty much the day was ruined.

Since then every single Mothers Day, my mom has rubbed that argument in my face and why should this Mothers Day be any different then the others. This morning while I was on the phone with her (I talked to her about every other day) I asked her if she would like to join us at the baseball game this Sunday, Mother's Day. I thought since we have a new stadium here in DC and the fact that I know she likes baseball and would be able to see me and I would get to be with my family it would be a win/win. Not in her eyes apparently, she flatly turned me down and proceeded to say that since our argument 8 YEARS AGO!!!!, that Mothers Day really doesn't mean much to her. Ok I said, then she asked "are you going?" Well uh yeah that is why I asked you if you wanted to come I thought, but instead I said "I am not sure." I was pissed at myself because I should have said what I was thinking. It is my Mothers Day too and I want to spend it with my kids, and for the record it wouldn't have made a difference if I said come over for dinner, let's go shopping, or whatever because it isn't totally about her she isn't going to do anything.

But you think it ends there???? Oh no!!!!!!!

So I am in my office, and the phone rings, I can see it is my mom so I pick up thinking she may have had a change of heart. No she called to ask if I had bought the ferns I talked about last week then says, "Oh by the way don't send me flowers for mothers day, I have plenty of cut flowers in the house and I don't need it to look like a funeral home here." Oh course I have already ordered flowers! I responded "fine" then the conversation ended.

WTF!!!!! am I going to have to pay for this for the rest of my life???? I have apologized a gazillion times for the fight we had 8 years ago, I have tired to make up for it in every way possible but yet I keep getting smacked in the face by this woman. I have really had about enough with the games and truthfully if it weren't for the fact I am all the family this woman has I think I would just walk away. As I type this I can feel my blood pressure rising, my face getting red and my whole body tensing up.

In the past I have tried to go back after a conversation like this and tell her it hurts me but I always get the "well you should have thought of that before you did what you did speech" This time I feel like saying "whatever" and going about my Mothers Day the way I choose.

Thoughts???

Friday Hodge Podge

Is it Friday already??? Man this week has flown by. So here is the Friday Hodge Podge.

First here are the pictures from my Tuesday Toot that I was unable to load up. Not to shabby if I do say so myself.

Yesterday was my 9 year wedding anniversary; we celebrated by going to dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. It was wonderful to have a dinner where we ate adult food (Filet and Lobster tail) and had time to talk with no interruptions. Dan gave me a lovely gift; this is a beautiful gold necklace. I think my gift to him of cuff links and a money clip pail in comparison; however he did really like them.

So on Tuesday I took Lauren to the Doctor after work, she has had chronic ear infections since she was 9 months old three sets of tubes later the ear infections have stopped but there is significant negative pressure in her left ear which comes and goes and can be quite painful. Since we are on the cusp of pool season which means swimmers ear, the doctor and I felt it was in her best interest to have the tubes put back in and do a little exploratory surgery to se if there is anything else that my be contributing to this negative pressure issue. I should be an old pro at this by now since my son has had 2 sets and Lauren 3, yet the thought of having the kids put under anesthesia never gets easier. So on May 13th I will be with her at the surgery center once again.

Earlier this week we received an expected invitation to Dan’s Cousins wedding late June in NJ, the event will be black tie only. I was a little taken aback as this wedding has already been pretty expensive with engagement parties showers and wedding gifts (their registry has plate not plate settings that are $350 each) I don’t know about you but that is a ridiculous amount of money to pay for a gift. As for the black tie thing I am fine with it and so is Dan because we have lots of formals we attend due to some of his work obligations so we have the duds already, but for others they will end up spending yet even more money. I guess what I am trying to say is; I think it is rather selfish to require a certain attire at your wedding. I think some would have preferred “Black Tie optional”

Finally I open the floor up to questions, ask away, something you want to know about me or my life just ask. Last week Law Student Hot Mama asked:
Does my ass look big in this? Heh. My response to that question: No but your boob’s sure do! :)

Have a great weekend and I will see everyone on Monday (or later tonight after a glass or 2 of wine)