Friday Hodge Podge

Hello from my office at home!

I returned from my trip, all went well but I have to say air travel is not the glam life it use to be when I was a kid! I spent 6 hours in a Chicago airport to have flight after flight canceled, I witnessed people screaming , crying and just simply dumb founded at their travel woes.

This weekend is a busy one for us, the last busy one before our family beach vacation. The weekend starts tonight with a baseball game for the hubby and I a date night of sorts!

Saturday is filled with errands and chores, the start of packing for vacation, a BBQ of a work colleague of Dan's ending with book club for me with the neighborhood girls. The book this time was nineteen minutes and while I found it to be a well written book I must say that I was a bit disturbed reading it. I hear this author has a couple of other books out that are just as well written, I am hoping they aren't quite as disturbing.

Sunday is my Official Birthday!!!! I know I have been celebrating for a week or more but I love birthdays especially mine. This year though I get to share my special day with my God Daughter Allie. She is being baptized on Sunday at 1pm. I haven't seen her since a few days after she was born so I am looking forward to hanging out with her!

Sunday after noon early evening we have a beach planning dinner with the other 2 families that we are going to the beach with! should be a good time and I am sure a few martinis will be enjoyed!

I have some of the best blog readers in the blog world, you guys have given me several blog awards and I need to get cracking on handing them out, I promise this will be a task for next week.

In the meantime I am looking for guest bloggers the week I am away Aug 11th to the 15th. Leah at
Laughing Leah Loves Lilies has signed up and I am so excited, but I have room for more and I would love for you to guest blog so email me and let me know if you are interested, swhln72 at gmail.com

Have a great weekend, enjoy the weather and I will catch up with all of you on Monday!!!!

Friday Hodge Podge

Hi everyone!!

So did you miss the Friday Hodge Podge? I can honestly say I did, I have a ton to talk about so please indulge me!

Big Thanks to all of you who sent kind words as I suffered my mini melt down. I can happily say I am through it and I now feel obligated to fill you in on everything that has been going on.

As you know I had a mammogram done for the first time earlier this month, I will admit I was a bit nervous about having my boob (a large C small D) smashed in vice gripes for some random stranger to see, but I did it and it wasn’t all that bad, piece of cake actually. I walked away from the exam happy that I was being proactive with my health and fully expected nothing to come of the exam. That happiness with my actions was shattered early last week. I received a call informing me that I needed to come back and undergo a comprehensive mammogram due to some abnormalities found in my right breast. That call is one I hope none of you ever receive. It was of course unexpected not to mention handled poor by the healthcare professional who took my normal mid morning work routine and turned it upside down while also leaving me feeling as though I would throw up at any given moment. I panicked, I wasn’t sure who to call what to do I sat at my desk frozen. This was my first ever mammogram and it had come back with questions that needed to be answered. My husband was a rock, he got me an appointment to see “the best” radiologist for my comprehensive screening which was yesterday afternoon. I am happy to tell you that all is fine; I nearly crushed the girl who came to give me my results.

So while I did have all the things going on that I bloged about, I also had this looming over my head. I have weathered the storm and I am still happy that I deceived to have the mammogram done even if it provided me one hell of a scare. So to those of you out there that haven’t gone, please go, if there is something there catch it early. If you get a false positive, it’s ok, better then not being tested at all.

Now on to other topics.


BlogHer- I say this with all the love I can, you biotches look like you had a great time and I am bummed that I was not a part of it. Maybe I will pull myself out of my social cocoon and come next year. However there is something really intimidating to me about being in a room full of people who I know are far better bloggers than I will ever be.

Birthdays- My mom is going to be 65 next Tuesday, part of me can’t believe that she will be 65 because she really doesn’t look it, not to mention that it just sounds weird to say my mom is 65, that means social security and Medicare she isn’t really old enough for those things in my eyes. Yet she is, because I her only child will be 36 just 5 short days after she turns 65. I have never really dwelled on age, that’s a lie I had a pity party for myself when I turned 30 because no one made a huge deal about it and there I was with my 5 month old first born thinking this sucks (turning 30 that is) , I was a bit of a diva about that birthday. Yet other then turning 30, age has never really bothered me, but for some reason this year it is paramount in my mind. 36…. How the hell did I become 36!!!!

Chicken pox update- all seems to be good at the house on the chicken pox front, I think we dodged a huge bullet on that score. I remember when I was a kid I got them all over and it seemed all I did was sit in oatmeal bath’s. Luckily this was mild to say the least and Lauren never showed a spot. She has been exposed now twice and nothing so I think we are out of the woods.

House projects- I have 2 projects that I want to get done this weekend. Tonight while the hubby and the boys play poker at my house I will dig into my bedroom closet to give it a good cleaning. The second project will be the garage, which I have a feeling I will be doing alone if poker ends up being a late night, nonetheless it will be getting done. I will be sure to post before and after pictures.

Awards- You guys Rock! I have received 3 awards in the last week, what have I done to deserve those??? I will post about those early next week.

That’s in on The Daily Grind front; I hope you all have a great weekend. Don’t forget you can still ask me personal questions that I will answer in my weekly Hodge Podge blog.

Friday Hodge Podge

Hodge Podge Friday is a bit late today…. I had a meeting at my Downtown office this morning followed by an industry exam for some professional credentials I am trying to obtain. So before I knew it the day got away from me.

Thank you for all the support concerning my Thursday post, the friend I was speaking of has been progressively becoming more negative and I luckily don’t see her all that often; we talk because our husbands are good friends. My husband was shocked at her demeanor as well. Again thanks for the love and support!

So the hubby has been out of town most of this week for business and the kids have been relatively good, actually Lauren has been great Jackson well he puts me through my paces.

My mother came over on Wednesday to see me and the kids, in previous posts I have talked about the lack of help my mom provides even though she is right down the street and how she is really missing out on being a grandma. Well in true Gran form she came over with gifts then became a bit irritated when the kids would not go to bed or stay in bed, her comment as she was leaving maybe I shouldn’t come over at night since it seems to be such a circus. Well I guess she will never come over because it is always a circus!!!!

Dan and I will be attending that swanky black tie only wedding that I have blogged about; you know the wedding for that ungrateful bride from the bridal shower!!!! Since Dan is on the west coast so he is flying tonight to meet me in NJ in the morning. We have our old sitter coming to stay with the kids this weekend, so it will be nice to have Dan all to myself even if we have to go to some stuffy wedding.

Finally I received great news this afternoon, my daughter was accepted into the Spanish Immersion program. Meaning she will go through 1st through 6th grade learning Spanish. She will be a fluent speaker! Her school day will be half Spanish and half English. I believe that math, science and health will be in Spanish and the rest of the subjects in English. The stats on this program are great and I am so very happy that she has been accepted. Also her brother will be automatically accepted, as they like to keep families together.

I will have many stories and pictures from this weekend I am sure. Hope everyone has a great weekend and I will see you Monday!

Friday Hodge Podge

Is it me or are the weeks just flying by?? Ever since I started my blog I feel like time is whizzing by!!

Well, you have spoken all 5 of you! :) and the Friday Hodge Podge header winner was header #3 If you are not a fan of it you should have voted last week, I will however still take your feedback on what you like. Who knows I might just rotate the header to keep things interesting.

As some of you may have figured out I live near Washington DC, this week not only Washigton but the entire nation suffered a loss. Tim Russert of NBC and Meet the Press passed away last Friday. The tributes have been touching and have made me cry on more then one occasion. I am not one who likes to dig into politics and quiet frankly I sometimes feltl it is way over my head. That changed several years ago when I started watching and Tivoing Meet the Press. Tim had a way of boiling down the issues and hacking through the muckity muck. He was a real guy, one who loved where he came from and was all about telling you in a non pompus way. This man reached the pinicle yet had the same excitment day after day as though he had just reached the top. I have heard his son speak several times over the last few days and I must say that as a mom it makes my heart swell with pride and joy for Tim and his family. This young man has stepped up to be the rock , the communitcator, and healer all at once, no easy task for a 22 year old who has just lost his best friend and father. So to Tim.. you and Marueen did a great job rasing Luke, you should be so proud of the man he has become and if I could I would reach out and hug him for you and say atta boy! May you dance with the angels Tim; you will be missed.

Well we are on week 2 with “Rosa” and all seems to be going well, this was the first full week she had with both kids since Lauren was still in school last week. I have been amazed at what she has had the kids out doing, the library, the natural history museum, the park (daily), arts crafts, I could go on and on but you get the picture. The week was off to a rough start since the cousins left and Jackson seemed to think that he could get away with the same behavior his 2/12 cousin expressed. I had to do a bit of retraining so to speak, I think we are now on the right track. However it made me realize what different parenting styles there are out there. Now I am not saying my style is the best or the only way to do things, I just found it to be interesting how differently people approach parenting. I think until you are with another family for more then 24 you really don’t notice the difference that much at least I didn’t. Anyway we are back on track bedtimes are being enforced and back talking is no longer an option.

Work seems to be going at warp speed, I am wearing many hats and I am ok with that, though I would really like to be recognized and compensated as such. Things don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon which is how I like it. I hate to be bored, but I love to be a part of something new and exciting!

I haven’t commented on my weight loss recently mainly because the scale has not been moving and I have not been trying really hard to push through to the next level. However I am happy to report that I am 20lbs lighter and couldn’t be happier about it. I think the key for me has been running, I try to go for a run at least 3 times a week but sometimes it’s hard. I don’t do anything on the weekends because that time is devoted to my family. So if you have some tips on how to break out of an exercise rut let me know.

On the running topic I had to go see a podiatrist yesterday, honestly I wouldn’t have gone if this Dr. wasn’t my neighbor and friend. Seems that at the rips old age of nearly 36 I have arthritis in my big toe! How random is that? I swear getting old is not fun, anyway I have been having a lot of soreness late in the afternoon especially when I am wearing heels. Now I don’t wear 3 inches heels because I am a tall girl already at 5’9” that being said I have been told to cut out the heels all together (for awhile) because I have some issues with my big toe joint being jammed all the time which is causing my arthritis. So I was fixed up with a cortisone shot and sent on my way. My foot is sore as hell today but I was assured it would feel better in a couple of days, I hope so for my Doc friends sake because I would hate to have to make a house call to his house!

This weekend will hopefully be a lazy one, we only have plans to go to a birthday dinner Saturday night and that will be without the kids so essential a date night. I look forward to a lazy weekend with little to no Drama, seems as though it has been a while since I have had one of those.

Finally no one sent any questions last week for my Friday Hodge Podge post this week, so don’t have any fascinating tidbits of information about me for you. So send me a question, I swear I will answer even if it is embarrassing to me. Also if you have sent a question and I having answered it be sure to let me know by berating me with a comment!

Have a great weekend and let me know what you are up to!

Friday Hodge Podge

My first Friday Hodge Podge was deleted when the power went out and I had not saved my document. So I will do my best to recreate.

Check out the different Hodge Podge headers I have created I am not sure which one to use moving forward so I will rely on you the readers to tell me what you like.










Thank goodness it is Friday, what a week we have had here. First we had Lauren’s talent show on Monday night where she sang her little heart out. If you haven’t seen it I think it is a must see. This child loves to perform!

Tuesday I went to get my hair colored, yes that is right what you see in pictures is not my natural hair color, it isn’t far off but I like the sun kissed look all year round so I opt for highlights to keep it the way I like it. My normal girl passed me off to some trainee for most of the process which fumed me. I spoke with the manager and she apologized saying that Laura should have asked me if it was Ok. I later found out as did the salon that she was double booking herself and having the trainee do the easier jobs but taking the pay for her. I am not sure if I am going back to her and if I do I will let her know I didn’t appreciate being passed on.

Wednesday and Thursday we had out former Au pair Abby with us, she is a love and is off to camp for the summer to be a camp counselor in upstate NY. I think she is going to have a blast and so are the girls she will be working with. Hopefully she will stop by again before she leaves in September.

Tonight my sister in law Alicia from Texas is coming with her 2 kids. The cousins don’t get to get together much so it will be nice to see them all play together. She is on the east coast for the next 2 ½ weeks. I don’t know how she does it because she will be in 3 different houses during that time. Me I would be stark raving mad after one week let alone 2 ½.

Life with Rosa seems to be going well, earlier this week Jackson asked me before he went to bed if Rosa was going to be there in the morning when he woke up, which tells me he has formed a bound.

Sunday is Father's day and we really don’t have a lot planned, Alicia will still be here so we may just go to the poll or have a small neighborhood get together. I bought Dan some cute PJ that say Daddio on them from the kids and they are making cards for him.

Now for your questions, which I must tell you I love so pleas please keep them coming even if your question is silly like what do I like on my hotdog or serious like my thoughts on the war or Election. Send them my way!!!

Elaine A. asked...
Here's a question - how did you meet your hubby?
I met dan in 1996, online in an AOL chat room! Yes it is true, before it was vogue or socially acceptable to meet people online I met my husband. After about 2 to 3 weeks of chatting I decided that I would meet Dan (he bugged me for like a week to meet) We met at a restaurant and bar where I knew the people working there so if by some chance Dan was a total nut job I could signal someone to save me. We met at about 7pmtaht night had dinner drinks and didn’t leave until 2am. There was instant chemistry between us and we have been together ever since.

Laski asked...
Awe . . . I missed asking a question!!! If you are still answering, here's mine . . . in the story of your life, who would play you and your family--WHY?

This was a tough one- I would have to say that Tea Leoni would play me Kiefer Sutherland would play Dan and my mom would be portrayed by Kathy Bates. As for my in laws I am not sure, plus I wouldn’t mention it here if by chance they read this I don’t want to offend anyone. But if you must know email me and I will tell you.

Now why these people well I have been told on many occasions that I look like Tea which I can handle :) Kiefer because he just seems to be Dan and Kathy Bates for my mom. Do you remember that movie Throw Mama from the Train with the nutty mother that is mine and not in a good way. So there you have it. If you don’t agree with my choices who do you think should play the parts???Also, what is the very best piece of advice you've received in regards to parenting and/or marriage?

Before I had my first child someone told me to remember that Dan and I were couple first before we were a family, and that our ability to be a couple is what created our family unit. So simply… take care of what got you there and the rest will fall into place. Which I think is huge how many couples do you know that get so consumed by kids work and stuff that they forget to take time for their relationship??? And then end up divorcing because of it. We do our best to put each other first so our kids see a healthy happy mom and Dad relationship.

OHmommy asked...
I know you have a Polish background, what is your strongest connection to your heritage?
I do have a polish background my mom is polish and my dad was Irish. I am ashamed to say that I do not have much in the way of a connection to my heritage. My mom was an only child and lost her mother at birth and her father died when she was 11 she was raised by her grandmother who came from Poland in 1910 and settled in America with her 9 other brother and sisters. Most of my moms side of the family was either very old or had past away when I was a child. The only real connection to my polish heritage would be through food. Growing up my mom would make Pierogi’s, Sausage with Sauerkraut, Placki kartoflane and Sernik. All of these being from her childhood with her polish grandmother. One day I hope to visit Poland so I can better understand my polish heritage for now, I associated with Oh Mommy for my polish fix : )

Well I think that about covers it for another week. Have a great weekend and I will talk with you on Monday!

Friday Hodge Podge

Another week has passed and I have so much to talk about.

First the kitchen turned out great I think, as did the new couch however we underestimated the size of our family room so we will need to purchase one more section to the sectional. Check out the photos of the kitchen and the couch, let me know your thoughts; unless you hate it, if so please don’t’ tell me since my wallet won’t be able to take the rejection. LOL

I am in the throws of planning the Kindergarten end of year celebration, they are having field day in the morning then will come into the classroom and have a pizza party with all sorts of treats and a goodie bags to take home. I am bummed that they won’t let me go with the graduation theme since these guys are in their own way graduating but they won’t. They aren’t even having a ceremony for them only an assembly with the rest of the school where they get a certificate. I swear schools are getting a little to PC and I don’t know how celebrating kindergarten graduation is PIC (politically incorrect) but somehow it is. Whatever! I will make sure they have a blast!!!!

I will run in my second 5k this weekend although I am feeling a bit under the weather so I don’t know that I will be able to beat my time from April. The Susan G Koman Race for the Cure is a big race here in Washington DC and there will be a ton of people so we thought it best to let Dan stay home with the kids instead of coming out to watch. I am sad because I was really hoping to have someone there for me at the finish line; it gives me some motivation to run. Oh well maybe when they are a little older.

Once I get home from the race we are going to head to Williamsburg VA to The Great Wolf Lodge, which is a huge indoor waterpark. I have heard great things about it and we were scheduled to go during spring break but things came up. The kids have no idea and I think will be very surprised! I will be sure to fill you all in on the details once we are back.

Dan had an appointment this week with our ENT; he has been having chronic sinus infections all winter and never had them before getting his deviated septum repaired in February 07. Well he had a CT scan and it appears as though my thought of him being strange where right on all along. He has not upper right sinus (above the eye) and the lower right (in the cheek area) is completely blocked. So the big D will need to go under the knife on the 19th of June to help drain those yucky sinuses and hopefully provide him with some relief.

Fathers Day- What the heck do I get the dad that has everything??? I am busying creating Fathers Day Frames for a couple of coworkers who requested them but I have not come up with a plan for Dan..... ideas????? I am open to them.

Blog Bling- Courtney at Quiet Chaos bestowed a cool award to me earlier this week, she is such a sweetie and I am glad that I have been able to help her a bit and I am also supper happy to have found such good blog friend. I know I need to pass this award on but I need to think about that a bit ….more on that to come.

Q& A ----Ya’ll have been great about sending questions my way please please keep them coming I love it! Here are a few more answers to your burning questions

Kimmylyn Asked...
Hmm.. a question .. how about "What is your favorite thing to do with your free time (sans kids/hubby)?
I love to curl up and watch TV in the peace and quiet of my own bed, or if I had the money on a beach somewhere with a cold Corona in my hand.
Michelle Asked...
And my question for you: have you ever had known well child who has wispy hair that just won't grow in? Does it ever grow in? If so, at what age? (Selfishly asked, of course) My Daughter I swore was never going to have any hair she looked to be bald until she was about 16 months then all of a sudden her hair started to grow. It took till she was about 4 before she had a full head of hair. Don't worry it will happen.
April Asked...
Hmmm..a question...if you could go ANYWHERE in the world and money was no option, WHERE would it be?? I would so go on a 30 to 40 day cruise to see the world. How fun would that be????
Courtney Asked..
I have to think of questions, but where do you work? If you don't want to answer that what do you do exactly? I work for an Insurance company as their Director of Operations
Krystyn Asked
Okay...you asked for them....thongs or granny panties? Thong when wearing pants I hate panty lines!!!!
What color are your toenails, if they are painted? My toenails have a french manicure right now
What is your one splurge? I love to buy a nice New Coach purse makes me feel like a celebrity
If you had a million dollars that you HAD to spend, what would you buy? If I have a million dollars I would buy mom a house and new car, fund the kids college, donate to charity, totally redecorate my house with the help of a professional designer! Of course not in that order!
Thanks again for the questions, have a great weekend and see you Monday!

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!!

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?

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!

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!

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)

Friday Hodge Podge

First I want to send some love to Nicole at Driving with the Brakes on, she has suffered the unthinkable, the loss of a child. She delivered her precious baby girl earlier this week at only 21 weeks. She is grieving and we who love her and her blog are trying to surround her in love. So please if you can stop by and show some love.

This week has flown by and I had so much to write about but never found the time to do it. The warmer weather has had me outside when I get home from work so I can play with the kiddos.

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments about my 10 year bling. I do work for a good company and I hope to be there many many more years.

Yesterday was the company’s monthly board meeting, nothing to exciting but it is expected that we all attend, however I was able to sneak out early enough to go with my daughter and her class to the Zoo, well I met them there but I was still there. Lauren was so excited and couldn't stop saying look it's my mom and my dad….ah that is what parents live for to see there kid giddy at their mere presence! She didn’t get to see as much as she would have liked so I think another trip is in order soon.

Speaking of my daughter she is trying out for the school talent show today. She has decided to sing "A few of my favorite things" from The Sound of Music pretty big song for a kindergartner I can't wait to here if she makes it! Keep your fingers crossed.

Next week is my 9 year wedding anniversary! I can hardly believe it has been that long but on the other hand I can't remember life without Dan. An anniversary post will be coming of course so stay tuned.

To wrap up Friday Hodge Podge I will open the floor up to you, the readers, is there a question you are dying to ask me? Something in one of my posts that you want me to expand on? Or just want to know what my opinion is on a topic? Well now is your chance, send me your questions and I promise to answer them all.

Have a great weekend and go outside and enjoy Spring :)

Hodge Podge Friday

It's another edition of Friday Hodge Podge brought to you by The Daily Grind….. sorry I felt the need today to be announcer like.

So this week has been a short week for me because I didn't work on Monday, what did I do you may ask??? Well I pampered myself with a pedi and a mani, oh and lets not forget the waxing. I love me a good pampering day!!! I wish I could be a Hollywood type if only to be able to get pampered on a regular basis!

Thanks to all of you for your kudos on my accomplishments regarding my spring cleaning it really felt good to get all of that done and even better to hear such great praise for it! I don't have nearly the tasks set up for this weekend. Hopefully I can try to relax a bit! (yeah right)

So as part of my spring cleaning accomplishments I made a baby gift for Lilah go check out her blog it is awesome! I also made door prizes for the teacher appreciation lunch we host at school for all the teachers. Here are my creations. I thought they were kind of cool and perfect for door prizes. The coordinator of the event stopped by my house last night to pick them up and she seemed to be pleased as well.
So early this week I had a Wordless Wednesday post and it was of my daughter’s feet. I feel the need to explain. While Dan was out of town I was looking for fun things to do with the kids and one of the things they love to do is hang out with the kids next door that are close to their age. We live in a relatively tight knit neighborhood so it is not uncommon when you see a neighbor outside that you go out and join them. Well Saturday afternoon was no different. We all congregated on the pipe stem and us ladies watched the men work :) evil I know but someone has to watch the children. My one neighbor was trying to drain a puddle that had formed as a result of a poor paving job earlier that week. He was having great success, and then my kids came along. My son is all boy, loves to get dirty and I for one let him on occasion but I was shocked when his sister wanted to join in on the mud play. So there they were like 2 pigs in slop having a blast. Don't believe me check out the picture I don't think it lies!

So yes I am the horrible mother that let her kids get muddy from head to toe then hosed them off before entering the house. However I am totally cool in their eyes at least for this week.

So as some of you may have figured out I live in the DC area and as the world knows the Pope came to town. I am a catholic, I went to catholic school for 9 years. I grew up with Pope John Paul II really he was the only Pope I ever knew and didn't feel I could relate to anyone else. Yet in the past several years the church in total has seemed foreign to me. I have total disgust over the actions of Priest pedophiles and I feel it has tarnished the church in an almost unrecoverable way. When Pope John Paul died I was deeply sadden yet I felt that this might mark a change for the church a chance to look forward and not rest on tradition and believes of the past. It was my hope the incoming Pope would make some much needed changes to allow the church to continue to evolve and hopefully bring back some dignity. I won't get into what I would like those changes to be...... I don't want to lose the few readers I have. I am happy that the Pope is here and I applaud him for address the scandalous issues of the past, but I have yet to see what is being done to ensure those issues do not reoccur or any changes for the church to evolve in the future.

I have another follow up meeting with the CEO and Sr. VP's to discuss our new division’s market strategy, I should really be focusing on that instead of writing this but I need a break form all that number crunching. Things on the work front continue to be good and at times downright wonderful. While I was home last week my boss called me to inform me that I received a bonus... a very very generous bonus I might add, and hopefully that is sign of what it to come.


Finally, a huge ((((HUG))) to all of you who left me your heartfelt comments on yesterday's post. I struggled with posting that but I must say I am glad I did. I know I will never change my mom yet posting yesterday made me feel like I was not some sort of freak and that there are other families out there with some of the same issues.... so thanks again for making a girl feel normal and not to blame.

Have a great weekend and I hope the weather where you are is spring like so you can get outside!

Friday Hodge Podge

This week as flow by, Today is the last day to enter the Pasta Pot Drawing I can't wait to see who wins it! I love giving away stuff. Check back Monday for the winner.

I continue to add blogs to my google reader, I am having a lot of fun stumbling across blogs, if you have some blogs that you think I must check out please let me know.

A few weeks ago I posted about going shoe shopping, believe it or not I have not worn either pair of shoes until today. See I have a big...no huge, meeting with the CEO of our company today. I have not bloged about it because I am really nervous and all of you are so supportive an I knew would leave kind comments, but seeing it all week would have made me more stressed then I already was/am. If this meeting goes well and we decide to launch this new division I may very well stand a chance to make VP! HUGE I tell you!!!!

Anyway back to the shoes. So I am dressed in my business suit and I realize that those cute brown shoes would go perfectly with my outfit. First here is a shot of the shoes on my feet, my husband thought I was crazy for taking a picture of my feet and here is the entire outfit, unfortunately my husband caught me looking quite fat in the face, not to mention the glasses but I didn't have time to have him retake it because I needed to get going. So what do you think are the shoes cute or what!!!!

Well Sunday is race day and I am actually excited, for the first time ever I will actually feel ready to race and hopefully won't be hurting like I was the last time.

Have a great weekend!