Windfall!

1.  Grace goes to Superkids, which is a social skills class for kids.  It's very expensive, but we thought it may help with, well, her social skills.  I'm not really up on what is covered under our healthcare plan, but decided to submit the claim to see if we could get any of it covered.  Woohoo!  A big, fat check came in the mail today!  I feel so fortunate to have very adequate healthcare for my family.

2.  There was a scheduled delay for school today.  I knew the chimney sweep was coming over, but didn't also anticipate that I'd have to have someone come over to look at the hot water heater-always something, I swear!  The kids were home running around like lunatics while I was trying to talk to the guys.  I finally got Grace on the bus and came back to see what the guys were up to.  The chimney sweep said the family room fireplace should be cleaned every year and that it was way overdue.  Yikes!  Let this be a lesson to me and anyone reading this with a fireplace.  Mind you, these are gas fireplaces and still need to be cleaned!  The other guy tried to fix a vibration that was causing a lot of noise and also found a leak.  So, now I'm trying to find a plumber to come change a valve.

3.  I think my treadmill is possessed.  Ok, maybe it just needs to be serviced.  I guess I'd be a little cranky, too, if I had to sit down on a cold, dirty basement floor right by the hot water heater and boiler!   The past few times I've tried to use it, it's done odd things like speed up or start over or say weird things on the readout.   So, now trying to find someone to come service that.  Can't-wait-for-vacation!  Too bad there's so much darn work to do between now and then!

Party Hearty!

1.  We just returned from a lovely 50th birthday party for a dear friend.  The dinner was at The Dressing Room in Westport and was delicious!  That's the second time we've eaten there and thought it was much better this time.  It pays to be friends with the hostess-I got to bring home balloons and extra chocolate for the girls and a gorgeous floral centerpiece of white lilies and white roses.  Ahh!  I was thrilled to have found Scrabble letter cufflinks on Etsy.  The birthday boy is a Scrabble player and the cufflinks with his initials were the perfect gift!

2.  I just found out that my friend, the nanny at the bus stop, will no longer be there as she was let go.  She's been sick with a bacterial infection a few times since she's been here.  I spoke to the mom the other day and asked about her.  She just said that they told her not to come that day because it is contagious.  I had no idea they have fired her.  If anyone is looking for a very dependable nanny, she is looking for work.  Her infection is under control and she should be fine soon.

3.  Lola was up several times in the night, which meant I was, too.  Rich couldn't get up to go to the gym.  Lola then got up early, too.  She went to school and I went to Target.  I had a lot of fun browsing-until the smell started.  There was some type of sewage problem happening.  It was rather comical to see all the people walking around talking about the stench.  The workers kept saying they felt sick and needed fresh air.  Then I heard the high school was evacuated.  I was just so happy to be shopping by myself that I just kept right on and ignored the smell.  I got back and immediately had my training session.  Boy, am I pooped!

Rainy Days and Mondays

1.  Always Get Me Down...but not today!  I started my usual Monday morning sprint to "clean" the house for the cleaning ladies.  Then, in the pouring rain, took Lola to her Little Gym class.  During class I went to the library, to Trader Joe's, to The Fresh Market and to the dry cleaner!  At The Fresh Market I grabbed a pizza to take to a playdate today.  The playdate was supposed to be at our house, but our friends had hot water heater trouble and had to wait for the repairman.  So, instead of cancelling we were invited to head over there.  The fresh, you bake pizzas at TFM are really good.  I also grabbed a $5.99 jar of marinara sauce that was on sale for $1.99.  When it rang up at $5.99 the cashier ran back to look at the price.  I ended up getting it for free since it was a pricing mistake on their part!  I feel a little bit redeemed after buying moldy strawberries last week.  Then I cut into one of the onions I had bought there and the entire thing was rotten!  So much for fresh!  No, I didn't end up taking either of the products back to complain and/or get my money back. 

2.  I was actually feeling a bit down as I was waiting for Lola's class to finish.  I looked around and I think most all the adults there were nannies.  It's the same thing for storytime and I know a nanny at the bus stop.  Then I was at swim class today and met moms, but they were from another town.  It's really frustrating not to find other Weston moms to talk with when I'm out and about.

3.  Lately I've had friend requests on Facebook from people I didn't know very well in high school.  People have been posting high school pictures, which has been a lot of fun.  Last night I dug through old photos and found some that I posted tonight.  I think it's interesting that we all look back with nostalgia and try to get a bit of that feeling back by friending everyone we can find that we knew back then.  I've actually stopped asking for friends because I've had some not accepted!  Boo hoo!

CT Science Center

1.  I decided before bed last night to go check out our new science center in Hartford.  Wow!  We weren't disappointed!  It's a gorgeous facility and the kids had a ball.  We spent hours there and had lunch in the cafe.  We're so impressed with instituion food these days-it's getting really good!  They support local agriculture and list the names of the farms where their products that day came from!  On the way up we stopped at "Timmy's" for hot chocolate and coffee.  For those not in the know, that's Tim Horton's, the Canadian chain that serves coffee, doughnuts and light lunch-type food.  It's named after their famous hockey player.  We love the place and went there everyday when we were in Niagara Falls for a week last summer.  We have at least 2 Timmy's that we know of in CT and stop when we go by!  We saw a sign for Hometown Buffet at the same exit.  So, on the way home we stopped there.  It's always an interesting experience going to one of these buffets.  The people watching is outrageous!  The people sitting across from us were coming from church and they were decked out in their Sunday best.  The woman had on a huge red hat, purple dress and red shoes.  When she smiled she had gold caps on her front teeth.  The guy looked like the guy on The Jeffersons-Sherman Helmsley, I think was his name.  They looked like caricatures.  Many people were speaking Spanish.  (I keep looking for a class as it's my dream to learn Spanish.  I took French and loved it, but think Spanish would be so much more useful!)  Throughout the meal Lola kept pointing at the lady in the red hat.  She loved it!  We all chowed down.  After the meal Lola proclaimed that she "ate like a pig!"  Pretty funny!  So, why when it was bedtime did both kids have to have a snack?!  When we were leaving the buffet, we asked the general manager for balloons.  He was sweating  profusely.  He probably weighed in the neighborhood of 500 lbs.  I'm not exaggerating and was thinking that was not the place for him to be working and that I'd love to see him go on Dr. Oz to work on his weight.  That poor man is not going to live long at this rate.

2.  Lola's final team roster for soccer has come out today.  She's on a team of 2 girls and 5 boys.  I hope she's ok with that.  She should be fine and, hopefully, will love it.  I always call her my "ball girl."  The kid adores any kind of game with a ball.

3.  Swimming lessons start up again tomorrow.  I'm happy that Grace will be able to go again as the pool is freed up by the time elementary school lets out.  It's so convenient to have her take the bus over to the pool.  Lola will have her lesson and then she'll change and then we'll go up and watch Grace and then take Grace home.  I'm always looking for ways to make my life easier!  I'll only have to go to the pool once a week.  Maybe I'll break out the Leapster for Lola if she gets bored-and, of course, snacks!

Fundraiser Day

1.  Lola's school fundraiser was this afternoon.  We watched Beatiful Marsha perform and then the kids made some crafts, got tattoos and face paint then watched the band, Milkshake, perform while I worked my shift at the bake sale.  It was a fun time to see everyone outside of school-especially since I don't see a lot of the MWF people anymore with Lola only at school T and Th.  We didn't have much time to take part in the silent auction, but did "win" the tickets to Old Sturbridge Village in MA.  That will make for a fun weekend away.

2.  Tonight Lola fell off the back of the chair Rich was sitting on.  Hm, why wasn't he paying attention to that?!  Of course, she fell off and bumped her head and was upset for at least 40 minutes.  The sitter came and she wouldn't let me leave.  She is very clingy with me, especially when she is upset or nervous.  We missed going to the movie we wanted to see, but finally were able to leave.  We went to Greenwich again.  We've been wanting to try Asiana.  It was so good!  It's also kid-friendly, but has a hip vibe.  We'll definitely go back.  We started walking down to Greenwich Ave, but it was so cold we got in the car and drove over.  Our destination was the crepe place!  Meli-Melo looks like a tiny creperie we loved in St. Barth!  Turns out the owner used to live there and had a high-end restaurant there.  We loved feeling like we were back on our favorite island-if only for a short time!  We dream about going back someday, but it will be a while with the price of the dollar to the euro-everything will cost us about 30% more!  Eek!  It's very expensive anyway and very hard to get to, so we'll wait til the kids are older.  *sigh*

3.  Tomorrow is a completely free day and we're trying to decide what to do.  I love those kind of days where we can do anything we want!  Now to get to bed to try to read some of The Help before I collapse!  I love this book!  The next book we're doing for our book club is The Space Between Us.  I'm hoping it will be good cruise reading material.

TGIF!

1.  Today was a busy, but nice day!  I took Lola to her friend Helen's house.  Her mom and I swap babysitting duties.  Today was my turn to go play for a while.  I spent the entire time in TJ Maxx!  I ended up getting myself a few goodies.  We then all went to lunch at a Pan Asian restaurant-LC Chen's.  Of course, Lola wanted white rice-she also had edamame.  Helen will eat almost anything!  She was eating fried rice, sesame chicken, spring rolls, avocado rolls and tea!  I hate to say it, but once she hits school and birthday parties she'll be tainted for life!  Actually, her mom is a pediatrician and is very good with her eating.  So, maybe she'll continue to eat well.  Helen's dad also happens to be Lola's pulmonologist.  I continue to be amazed at the high calibre friends I have in the area!  I have friends that went to Ivy League schools and who have doctorate degrees and MBA's and who are doctors, lawyers, accountants, pharmacists, bankers, etc.  I'm also astounded at the talent that seems to be going to "waste."  I know this is controversial, but can't imagine all that schooling and work experience and then quitting all that to raise kids.  Then I went to help with the fundraiser set up today for Lola's school.  That's when I realized that their talents aren't going to waste.  Besides infusing great values in their kids they're also the power moms that are running our school fundraisers, PTO's, mom's groups, and on and on.  Thanks, ladies!

2.  After the set up tonight Rich and I went out to dinner.  I had gotten a sitter so I could help set up.  So, I thought while she was here, we might as well go out for a bit!  We went to Blackstone's Steakhouse in Norwalk, which was very good.  Among other things, we talked about the fact that Lola keeps asking for a dog.  I know pets are good for kids, but can only think of the negatives.  I know the dog will be my responsibility and I'll be taking it to the vet and paper training it and taking it out and feeding it and everything else that goes along with having a dog.  I had some bad experiences as a kid that make it even more difficult to consider it.  When I was 6 I was bitten in the face by a strange Dalmatian and had to go through the battery of rabies shots, as well as have stitches.  Somewhere around the same time my brother was born and had asthma and allergies.  I had to get rid of my French poodle, Pretzel, because of it.  Now I learn that poodles are hypoallergenic!  Then we had a yellow lab puppy when I was in high school.  My brother and Cassie were out playing one day and she ran out in the alley behind our house and was killed by a car.  One side of me says, "no way!" and the other side says, "go for it, despite all that!"

3.  Lola went to a make-up Little Gym session today.  It was half gymnastics and half tap.  It was so cute watching her try to tap with her sneakers on.  She always says she wants to be a ballerina so I thought we'd make-up during a dance class to see how she felt about it.  She had fun, but isn't begging to change classes.  There is something about seeing those little girls running around in little pink leotards and tights that is just so darn cute!

Dirty Finger Nails

1.  Today I told Grace we'd wait to plant the flowers til she got home.  She immediately wanted to scooter and then she changed her mind.  Then I said we could plant and they both were gung ho.  Grace lost interest very quickly and went inside.  But, Lola, the little gardner was so excited and kept running in to fill her cup with water so she could water the pansies.  Pansies always remind me of my grandmother.  I'm not really interested in gardening, but there was something satisfying about having dirty finger nails, hauling the 4 cu ft of soil to the back yard from my car on the wagon and then having three cute pots of flowers to enjoy on the back patio.

2.  Speaking of my grandmother: I bought a huge thing of toilet paper yesterday.  My kids are so free with the stuff and constantly pulling off way too much.  Fortunately, they seem to be past the stage where they unroll it and run it all over the house!  I can't help but think of my grandma everytime one of them takes too much.  It seriously strikes the frugal nerve in me!  She used to let us have one square for pee and two for poop!

3.  I'm proud to say I've worked out everyday this week.  Today I did a class at the gym.  It's the first class I've taken in years!  I told the instructor afterward that I felt like I was 20 years younger and on my way back!  She was older than me and looked AMAZING!  Now, to stop eating the cupcakes!  Too bad I practically licked the plate clean.  Tonight I tried making something super-simple to see who would eat it.  Trader Joe's sells a bag of chicken cutlets that I baked and I had bought macaroni salad at Stew's yesterday that would do well and also I had a frozen Cascadian Farms organic vegetable mix and I topped it off with a bowl full of grapes.  Grace complained that the chicken was too spicy, but then proceeded to gobble it up.  Lola ate apples and pears.  I'm longing for delicious, healthy meals.  When will the day come that the girls will eat salads?!

No More Trash Pick Up

1.  Well, tomorrow is it!  No more trash pick up for this house!  I've decided to start taking the trash and recyclables to the transfer station in our own town.  This is going to save a substantial amount of money!  It's very convenient to have trash pick up, which I've had most of my life.  I do remember making "dump runs" with my dad as a kid, but as an adult, I've always had the luxury of not having to deal with trash.  Well, I am the one that has to take it out, sort the recyclables, etc., but never had to put it in my car and take it somewhere.  The recyclables are free to dispose of and the trash is $1/bag.  This just seems like a no-brainer to me.  I'm going to make a plan to take it one day a week and try to stick to the plan.  If I don't, it will get very stinky around here!  I'll let you know how it goes-and what I do with the "extra" money!

2.  I keep thinking about the meditation class I took.  No, I haven't been meditating, but I did get something out of it.  I'm constantly feeling like I'm behind in everything in my life.  I can't keep up with books and magazines, with workouts, with meal planning-you name it, I can't keep up with it!  The one thing that stuck with me from the meditation training was that when your mind starts to wander, to not beat yourself up, but to just "bring it back."  This means to focus on your breathing and clear your mind again.  If your mind starts to wander, just bring it back again.  I think this is an excellent thing to keep in mind at all times.  Don't beat yourself up over all these things, but do the best that you can and then bring it back!

3.  Sleep was definitely better for all last night.  I was awakened at 5:45 by a large "thud" downstairs.  I ran down to find Grace had knocked a barstool over.  She says she was up since 2:54.  I'm not sure if that was true, but she did get right to sleep tonight.  Lola is waking at a better hour, too, which should get her to school on time tomorrow.  She and I went to the gym, Stop & Shop, storytime and then picked up Grace.  We went home for a break and then went to Grace's social skills class.  This was the first time this semester I didn't have to bribe her to go.  Is that progress?!  Then Lola and I went to Stew's and picked up two huge bags of soil and pansies.  Lola has been begging for a garden.  So, we'll do some pots first to see how it goes.  She also got some cute little "Dora" gloves and gardening tools.  Now I have to get motivated to actually get these flowers planted tomorrow.  I copped out tonight and got a pizza from Stew's.  I got a plain and put onion and red pepper on the adult half.  Neither kid ate any pizza, but Rich and I enjoyed it.  Lola had a tummy ache today and some potty issues.  I sure hope she feels better for school tomorrow!

Magazine Monday

1.  I stayed up way too late last night, which is becoming a usual thing for me.  It's the only "me" time I get these days!  Sears was having a Friends and Family sale.  I don't tend to shop Sears, except for Lands' End, but did on a whim.  I ordered a bunch of things for me.  I got some work out clothes, tanks and several dresses.  I want at least one new dress for our cruise and one, sadly, for my mom's memorial service.  I figured for the prices I'd just order everything I saw that looked good online and I'll try it on and then return it if I don't like it.  My big thing this season is thinking about baring my arms.  I've always hated my arms as they are too fat for my liking.  I'm generally fairly thin, but have chunky arms-that are even starting to flap in the breeze!  This may be payback for all the years that I caressed my grandmother's flabby arms.  Oh, they felt so soft and silky to me!  She never once complained.  I don't know if I'll be able to tolerate that from anyone!  I've been working out a bit more than I have been in the recent past, but not enough to tackle those problem arms.  All the dresses I ordered were sleeveless.  I told myself this year that no matter what I will go sleeveless.  There are many women I see that have worse arms than me that do go sleeveless.  We'll just have to wait and see if the vanity takes over-again.

2.  Today started like every other Monday.  I got up and went to Grace's room to find her comatose.  She was up several times in the night and couldn't get up.  Thankfully Rich got up with her both times, which is really unheard of-I was so grateful!  Too bad he didn't get any sleep and then couldn't get up yet again to go to the gym.  I spent 40 minutes cleaning her room.  Why do I do it?  Well, the cleaning ladies would be here in a few hours and I wanted her room cleaned.  Whenever she is up in the night, her room gets trashed.  I guess I should be thankful that she can keep herself occupied!  But boy does it get messy!  I don't give her enough time to try to clean it on her own on the weekend and by Monday morning I just want it clean.  Then I raced to pick up the rest of all the errant stuff around the house.  Lola woke at 9 today-again, better than it has been!  I got her ready and took her to The Little Gym.  While she was there I hit The Fresh Market.  I then had enough time to get to Trader Joe's.  I realized I should have just gone there in the first place-I would have saved a lot of money.  I do love TFM for the upscale feel of the store, but don't love their prices.  And, I bought a 1/4 flat of strawberries for almost $6 and found 2 lbs at Trader Joe's for less.  When I used the berries today a good portion of them were moldy.  I'm going to take them back tomorrow!  I then ran into the dry cleaner, got Lola and then headed for the gym.  The Merritt was backed up due to all the tree clean up going on so my work out was cut very short.  Frankly, I wasn't too saddened by that fact as I had a headache.  Too bad the headache lasted all day!  I was out of Advil and took some aspirin, which didn't do the trick.  So, I sat on the couch reading my stash of mags and really enjoyed myself!  Lola loved sitting with me, too.

3.  Tonight I scored a good deal at Lands' End for a beach cover up for Grace.  I do love their promos and free shipping!  We watched Two and a Half Men and Pawn Stars and some of American Pickers.  These are some of my faves.  When Rich was too tired to keep his eyes open I put the DVR on and watched Project Runway.  Oh, I love that show!  It's just amazing to see what these talented people can make out of nothing and in no time.  I wish I could do that with food.  I envy people that can whip something up when there is "nothing" to eat in the house.  Tonight at the last minute I boiled some brown rice penne and pulled the frozen ground turkey I had used last week for the tacos out of the freezer.  I'd bought a jar of TJ's marinara sauce today and we had pasta ala turkey bolognese with a salad with strawberries and walnuts.  The kids ate plain jane pasta, strawberries and plums.  I can't wait til they get a more sophisticated palate!

Busy Weekend-as usual!

1.  Saturday was spent at a fun birthday party at Elephant Steps.  Then I raced back to get Grace to yoga class.  We got to yoga to find out it had been cancelled at the last minute becuase the teacher had an "issue."  Don't we all-have issues, that is!  By the way, Black Bird Yoga sent an email later saying we got a free class for the trouble.  Yeah!  We came back and caught Rich and Lola heading to Toys R Us.  We joined them so Grace could help pick out the mermaid Barbie doll for Lola that she owed her.  I don't think I mentioned the beauty parlor they had this week.  One night I was watching American Idol in my own little world and I heard Lola crying hysterically.  I ran up to find her in Grace's room with a bunch of red hair and soap in her hand.  Turns out Grace had cut the hair off both their dolls!  Grace said it wasn't her fault.  She said she had started trimming and it was crooked and had to keep trimming in order for it to be straight, but had cut it all off by accident.  I can certainly see how this could happen as I used to cut my brother's hair growing up.  But, in fact, it was her fault.  What was she doing with scissors and cutting even a little in the first place?!  Anyway, we got back and the girls wanted to go scootering.  So, we all went out.  Then we came back to rest up for the sitter.  Rich and I headed out with the top down on the Mercedes and went up to Greenwich.  We drove around and looked at all the gorgeous houses and all the damage caused by the storm.  We did see a house with a tree on top!  We were surprised that there weren't more trees on houses with all the trees that had come down.  We ate at Nuage, which is a Japanese and French fusion restaurant.  Then we walked around downtown Greenwich and went to Starbucks.  Oh, and we went to the Porsche dealer to get a look at my new car.  Ha!  It was a really nice date night!

2.  Today Lola woke up at 9!  Wow!  That's at least a move in the right direction.  She's called me three times already tonight, so I hope she can get up for her Little Gym class tomorrow.  Today we drove up to Mystic to go to the seaport.  There was an amazing amount of traffic.  Turns out they were having a huge St. Patrick's Day parade.  Rich was extremely annoyed to get stuck in the traffic.  Once we finally got out of it we went to the Equinox Diner off the exit at Mystic.  It was really great!  We then parked across the street at the shopping village and then walked down to the seaport.  It was a pretty good walk, but the girls did great with it.  The seaport is much larger and impressive than I had thought.  There are little museums within the museum-children's museum, planetarium, sailing ships, etc. to explore.  It was empty!  Everyone was in town for the parade and noone was soaking in the area's history.  We joined so we can go back for the next year.  On the way home we stopped at Rocky Neck State Park to check it out.  The camping area looked pretty good, but we still like "Hammo" better.  We went down to Hammonasset and ate at Lenny and Joe's-it's a little fish shack that is always packed.  Today was no excpetion.  Frankly, I don't love their food, and neither do the girls, but we like the atmosphere.  The outside area with the ice cream and carousel weren't open, but we were able to get ice cream inside.  We then drove over to the park to get a fix before camping season starts.  We got out and went up to the beach.  Whoa, it was cold and windy!  So, back in the car and booked it for home.

3.  I didn't mention that I had printed out the big Gap, Banana, and ON coupon today.  We stopped at Clinton Crossing Outlet Mall and went to the Gap outlet to use the coupon.  We picked out a bunch of stuff and then went to get in line.  Holy cow!  The line was longer than I've ever seen it!  Rich was annoyed and didn't want to waste another minute of his life in there.  So, we put all the stuff down in a heap and walked out.  The girls weren't too upset-especially when they got to raid the snack machine.  Now I'll have to do some more shopping at a later date.  We have a cruise coming up and I want to make sure we're set for that!  4 weeks from today!

Beachy Day!

1.  Lola thwarted my plans of going to the Newcomers coffee and then to the gym.  She got up at 10!  It's wonderful for me to be able to get things done, but terrible for school or anything else we need to do in the morning.  We did go to the coffee and enjoyed some nice company.  Instead of the gym I ate a bunch of donut holes.  We went home for a while and then went to the beach.  It was another glorious day!  I brought a chair and my stack of mags that I had scored from the freebie pile at the library.  But, when she wanted me to collect shells with her, I just had to do it.  I keep telling myself that this time with her is valuable and won't last long enough and I should do the things with her now when we're in the moment.  We played catch and walked along the beach.  Then we went to the beach playground and I even climbed around and went down the slide.  I noticed most other moms aren't climbing around on the equipment-I used to be the one standing around watching, too.

2.  We got back in the nick of time.  Grace's bus came a few minutes later and the kids immediately wanted to go scootering.  This was the third day and I don't know if they were just tired or getting bored, but wanted to go home and play in the yard only after a short time out.  So, this is where I got my big break!  They put on their warm weather clothes and headed out with a bunch of stuff to the back of the yard.  I headed out with a bean bag chair and my O Magazine.  Oh, what bliss to sit in the sun and read a magazine!

3.  I had warned Rich this morning that we probably wouldn't go out to dinner.  Grace is always tired in the evenings after school and likes to stay home.  I didn't plan dinner, but did end up throwing something together when she insisted on staying home-as I had suspected.  I actually feel a sense of satisfaction staying home and eating.  I feel like I'm saving money and we're all eating better.  Rich, of course, ran out for ice cream later!  And, yes, I ate it.  Ugh-4 weeks til our cruise and a bathing suit!

Oh, What a Beautiful Day!

1.  Oh, what a beautiful day, should be sung to the tune of "Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day!"  from Oklahoma!  My entire being so needed the warmth and playfulness that was to be had outside yesterday.  I had things to do in the morning and then let Lola watch a movie, but by 3 we were out on our playset.  Instead of just standing and watching her, I joined in the fun.  I've decided my new thing is to try to have fun with the kids-even if I don't feel like it!  I climbed up the rock wall and slid down the slide a bunch of times.  I even did the unthinkable-climbed up the slide!  We then went to the bus stop and met Grace and then we took off scootering.  I don't have a scooter, but I do run alongside as they both are getting so good and speedy!  I try to be patient when they stop along the route and want to collect rocks, pinecones, etc.  Or, they adore any kind of water and love to throw stones or sticks or poke around in it.

2.  Now I know what does the trick to help kids eat dinner!  Yes, get them outside without so much as a morsel of a snack before dinner.  I couldn't believe they both sat right down at the table and gobbled everything up that I put in front of them!  Granted, it was stuff they liked.  Lola had requested mac and cheese.  I didn't have a box or frozen entree or even any macaroni.  So, I broke up a bunch of brown rice spaghetti.  Then I took some mozzarella and cheddar and melted it in some whole milk.  When the pasta was done I reserved a tiny bit of the pasta water in the pan and then poured the melted cheese in.  You'd think I had made Lola a gourmet meal!  I made turkey tacos for Rich and me.  I knew Grace would eat the refried beans in a taco shell.  She stuffed two of them full and ate every drop.  I also gave them a bowl of fresh berries each and those were devoured.  I will say they both said they were still hungry before bed.  They both had a banana and seemed satiated.  They both were completely overtired by the time we finally got to the bedtime routine.  Note to self-make sure any movie is done by 7:30 so the tv can go off.  After much to do and crying, Grace got to sleep very quickly and had a great night.  Lola finally was down by 9:30 and is still power-sleeping away.  It was a good night for all!

3.  I'd like to talk about how important it is to be an advocate for your child.  We've met with a social worker recently that has instilled the importance of routines, rules, and advocacy in me.  These are not new concepts, but ones that are extremely hard to put in place-especially if you are as laid back as me!  I set up a meeting at school to talk about Grace and her moving forward to the next school.  Rich joined me and we were so pleasantly surprised by the warmth with which we were received and the truly loving care that is given the children.  We felt our concerns (and then some) were answered and would be addressed appropriately.  I can't stress how important it is for you to address your concerns where your children are concerned.  You'll be glad you did!

Any Followers?

1.  I set up a tracker of how many people look at my site and see that people are actually reading this stuff!  So, why haven't you signed on to follow me or left me a comment?  Just wondering.

2.  I had another bad night last night.  Grace couldn't get to sleep and then was "starving."  I fed her an English muffin around 11:15, read her a book, and then she finally slept.  Dragging her out of bed this morning was fun!  Lola went right to sleep and then was up around 3 something.  She called me then and then about 2 or 3 more times til I put her in the bed with me.  I got up with Grace and got her off to school and then got back in bed with Lola to then be awakened by the FedEx guy.  No rest for the weary!

3.  The weather has been perfectly delightful the last two days.  I've gotten the kids out on their scooters and they're having a ball!  After school I picked Grace up, took her home and then took them out scootering.  Then we hopped in the car with the scooters and headed to Grace's social skills class.  Lola scootered almost the entire time Grace was in class.  Ugh-now she's calling me!  Let's hope for a better night!  (The problem was a tummy ache because "I ate too much food."  She gobbled two slices of pizza and just may have a tummy ache!  I gave her a Rolaids.)

Nevermore!

1.  Lola didn't wake up til 10 again today!  School is still called off due to the power outage.  As of tonight, though, the power has been restored and she will go to school on Thursday!  Today my trainer came over even though Lola was home.  I thought Lola would hang out watching tv.  Oh no.  She had to be right down there with us.  She actually did pretty well.  I've hired a trainer to work with me until the cruise.  I really wish I had her everyday since it's been a real struggle to eat right and exercise. 

2.  While the trainer was here I was telling her about the really cool meditation and about Anna, the woman that does the sessions.  It was all getting a little "out there".  I had told Meredith about my treadmill acting funny and speeding up even though it was on manual.  It did it again when she was with me.  She thought it was very odd!  Then we heard a raven that sounded like it was in the basement with us.  We looked up to see the raven at the basement window.  That was really weird to see a raven looking in at us!  It walked away and then it came back and pecked on the window!  It was like it was trying to tell us something.  Do do do do  (supposed to sound like the Twilight Zone music!)

3  A bunch of us from Moms in Weston went to Bobby Q's tonight for the kids night and magician.  Frankly, I'm never impressed by that place, but Rich likes it.  The kids had fun.  Getting home late was tough.  Grace had homework and getting them both to bed was a trick, as usual.  Of course, the first thing I hear when we walk in from dinner is, "I'm hungry!"  These kids are driving me absolutely nuts with their eating.  It was so refreshing to see a friend's kids eating heartily at dinner.  I'm sure they were full and went right to bed.

Amazing Meditation

1. I went to my meditation class tonight and feel really relaxed and refreshed and awakened.  We did a guided meditation where we meditated and received a gift for someone else.  It was so powerful.  I was actually able to give a wonderful gift and received one, too.

2. I fell off the wagon after opening my own personal Pandora's Box.  We had an Easter bag stuffing project over the weekend where we used a lot of the candy that I had collected after Halloween.  After eating way too much back then I sealed the boxes and have completely ignored them.  Yesterday I opened a box and keep sneaking my way to my trunk to get more and more pieces of candy.  So, Maria, I caved.  Next time I'll call you to talk me off the cliff!

2. I've got a kid still up.  Last night it was Lola up til 11:30.  Tonight it's after 10:30 and Grace is still awake after 4 mg of Melatonin.  I'm praying she sleeps tonight.  I haven't spoken about this yet, but she's on some heavy duty meds that cause severe insomnia.  Again, prayers for sleep.

Ticky Tocky, Ticky Tocky, Hoy, Hoy, Hoy!

1.  Today we didn't get up til very late.  Finally when all were up we decided to head to Cabela's and to the East Side German Restaurant.  We made a pitstop at Tim Horton's for a light snack and hot chocolate-and to buy a big thing of coffee to take home.  Rich won a free coffee for our next visit!  We love Timmy's!  It reminds us of our fun trip to Niagara Falls last summer!  We went to Cabela's and walked around, shopped a bit and checked out the aquarium and stuffed game on display.  The kids love checking out the tents and whatever else we might come across.  Grace did really well at the shoot 'em up gallery!

2.  Is anyone else having a hard time getting kids to go to bed tonight?!  They are so wired and don't seem the least bit sleepy.  Now they're both eating.  It's so frustrating to go out to eat and then they're hungry when we get home.  They're both so darn picky and barely eat dinner.  They put a bunch of makeup on tonight and put on a little show.  We had to scrub to get that off!

3.  We were impressed to find the tree down on our road last night was gone this morning!  Rich said he heard them in the middle of the night cutting it apart.  I didn't hear a thing.  We went out today and found so many more trees down, power lines down and a general mess.  We went down to one of Rich's company's offices by the river and the parking lot was under water.  There was a car that had been hit by a huge tree.  Won't the owner be surprised when he/she comes back to get his car!  I got lots of pix of the weekend and will someday upload them!

Windy Day

1.  The day started with me waking before everyone and quickly getting ready for the Easter project.  I have been collecting Halloween candy for the past 4 years and have already shipped 447 lbs to Iraq and Afghanistan.  I took a little break and then hooked up with a local woman on a project to ship Easter goodies to the CT troops in Afghanistan.  We actually had more help than I thought we would, even after two families didn't come that had told me they would.  I still have more candy that, hopefully, the woman will take to donate to the Family Readiness Group here in CT.

2.  Lunch we had at the seafood restaurant in SoNo on the water.  Neither Rich nor I can remember the name of it, but we won't be rushing back.  It reminded us of any number of places in my hometown in Upstate NY.  It's kind of shabby and very basic.  I'm not a seafood lover and only had a salad.  So, I can't vouch for their seafood, but I can say that if you go in nice weather it's packed and hard to get in.  They have a patio overlooking the water-is it a river?  Today the weather was very rainy and windy and it was an interesting day to be watching the water!

3.  We watched The Sword in the Stone this afternoon and then headed out to Stamford to the mall and Kona Cafe for dinner.  We knew it was windy and rainy, but had no idea how bad it was out!  Rich went out to check on the Airstream before we left because the flap on the tent door was blowing wildly in the breeze.  Then he went to get the mail and saw a huge tree down on our street only right down from our house.  We got pictures as we headed out to the mall.  We took the Merritt to Stamford-or started out going that way per the Slingblade guy on my new GPS.  Rich acutally paid $12 for the Snoop Dogg voice and I wanted to hear something else!  Imagine Billy Bob Thornton in Slingblade telling you where to go!  I actually preferred Snoop Dogg to that!  Anyway, on the way to the Merritt there were trees down everywhere.  Then once on the Merritt we were stopped for several minutes waiting while guys got out and moved a tree that had fallen across the road!  While we were sitting there we saw a tree in the median start to fall!  We decided to take 95 to avoid areas with trees!  Once at the mall we had a good time walking around.  Claire's was having a 10/$10 sale and we let the girls go hog wild!  Then we went to Kona Cafe.  It's surprisingly good for a chain restaurant.  I also like that you can book it on Open Table.  While at dinner we got a call from the Town of Weston warning us to stay at home because ours and many other roads in Weston were closed.  When we got to Rt 57 there was a huge tree down that we almost hit as it was hard to see in the dark.  Many lights were out and we could see power was lost in a number of areas.  Fortunately, we don't see many trees down in our yard and our power is still on.   The road is closed right past our house.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes to clean up this mess!

Massage and Junk Food

1. I started the day with great intentions of getting a massage and then going to the gym.  Well, I made it for my massage!  I then went to Trader Joe's for a leisurely shopping trip and then just had to take a shower to get all the oil out of my hair.  Then it was time to get Lola.  I did do a pretty good hill walk on the treadmill.  Before that I ate almost a whole bag of chips!  TJ's has a baked potato chip with salt and vinegar.  Mmm, they were so good I couldn't stop!

2. Tonight I made some ice cream.  There is a simple chocolate ice cream recipe that I've made a few times.  For some reason I decided to dump the cream in the ice cream bowl first and then put the other ingredients in another bowl to mix.  By the time I put the ingredients all together the cream had frozen in the bowl.  I wasn't able to get the little paddle in the bowl.  Grace was so sweet!  She sat on the counter and literally stirred the ice cream for almost half an hour!  So, it did work, but was way more work than usual.  I didn't let it go as long either, so it was quite soft.  While watching House Hunters I ate a bowl with slivered almonds on top.  Double yum!

3. Lola napped in the car again this afternoon.  Two days in a row she's taken a doozy of an afternoon nap.  Tonight she was so whiny.  She insisted on sleeping in dirty clothes-no pj's.  She insisted on wearing jewelry to bed and was picky about brushing teeth and what book to read and what stuff she brought to bed.  Ugh-I certainly hope this is just a phase!  I can't stand a whiny kid!

Back in the Saddle Again

1.  Yesterday I worked out with my trainer again!  I had hired a trainer last year to come to our house once a week to train me.  When school ended for the summer I stopped.  Now that I only have 6 weeks til our cruise, I thought I'd hire her to whip me into shape!  I've been sick with a cold or maybe sinus infection, but that didn't stop me!  After the workout yesterday and Lola waking me 5 times the previous night, I was absolutely pooped last night.  Today I went to the gym.  Ah, feels good after the snow and sickness hiatus.  I just feel more like my old self when I'm exercising.

2.  It seems like whenever one thing is going well something else slips.  I didn't get meals planned this week.  Tonight I pulled out a previously cooked chicken dish from the freezer and made a box of TJ's risotto.  I boiled pasta for the kids.  I'm in such a meal rut.  Lola is extremely picky and pretty much only wants to eat cheese.  Every night she barely eats dinner and then wants food right at bedtime.  I always give in because she's a little peanut and I want her to eat.  I know she's probably hungry, but probably also just trying to stay up later.  I always thought I'd parent like I was parented.  You eat your dinner or you don't get anything else that night.  Period.

3.  I'm taking a meditation class.  Have I practiced?  Once.  Monday night after a guided meditation with the teacher, she asked me if I had relaxed.  Before I could really say anything she said that I hadn't as my shoulders hadn't sagged like they should.  Then when I was working out with the trainer she told me I have a knot in my shoulder.  So, tomorrow I'm heading for a massage.  I have a zillion pre-paid massages from my membership at Massage Envy.  It's so hard to get there, but once I do I feel so much better.

Another Fat Saturday

1. Rich and I just returned from the Morton's Steakhouse in Stamford.  Servers hate people like me!  I order tap water, salad and a veggie.  We did split a dessert and had some coffeee.  Rich, of course, had filet mignon and all the trimmings.  Lunch was at Orem's Diner-our favorite diner in the area.

2. The girls have been asking to share a room.  Can you believe with their own lovely rooms that they want to share?  So, we let them sleep together last night, which worked out remarkably well.  Grace got up at 7:20 and Lola slept til almost 10:30!  Rich and I were able to sleep in-after I got Grace settled in downstairs.  The sitter put them to bed in Grace's room.  Let's hope for another good night-and hope they're not begging to sleep together every night!  I'm sure I'm going to hear they want to sleep together every weekend now.  I think this will be used as a reward for good behavior!

3. Grace has been begging me to make those packaged in a tube crescent rolls.  I decided to make them from scratch.  Oh yum!  They turned out great even using 100% whole wheat white flour.  I made chocolate chip cookies from the flour also this week.  I didn't think they tasted that great.  Not too bad, but not great.

Meditation Monday

1. I started a meditation class last night.  Rich was out of town so I got a sitter.  It made for a very expensive class, but I think it will be worth it in the end.  I was unable to relax at all at the class and afterward shared that my feet were falling asleep, I didn't know if I was allowed to shift and at one point when she was talking about feeling the breath in your pancreas and liver, etc. I was about to laugh.  I mean, really, who can feel breath in their pancreas?  Where is that exactly anyway?  I tried meditating myself this morning with no more luck than last night.  At least I was more comfortable and did feel a bit more relaxed-then the phone rang, the heater went on, a plane flew overhead, the grandfather clock chimed, etc., etc.

2. Amazingly I've felt like a better mom this week.  We've been keeping to a schedule and most importantly, keeping the tv off for most of the day.   Lola and I have stayed very busy with games, painting, going outside, errands, etc.  I'm pooped, but feel much happier with myself as a mom.  Now last night when Lola came in at 3 am to tell me she needed water, I wasn't feeling so happy.  And, at 4 am when she came to tell me she was hungry, I was downright glum.  Of course, I got up to feed her mac and cheese at 4 and then had to get up at 6:30 to dress and get Grace up and into her morning routine.  I know what you're saying...you would have told Lola to go back to bed and wait for breakfast!  I did say that at first and remembered she had a sitter last night and probably hadn't eaten much for dinner.  She's a little peanut and barely eats and I thought if she's hungry, I'm feeding her!

3. We have a Mommy Book Club meeting on Friday and I've barely read The Help.  What I've read I've enjoyed, but haven't had a lot of time to read or much inclination.  When I do start reading it's very slow going because of the African American dialect of the narrator.  I'm embarrassed to say it will be another meeting where I haven't finished the book.