All the Crazy

2008-10-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

2008-10-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

Ten things for a Saturday.

I am one year away from 40.
My daughter M's team WON first place in their cheer competition.
Cheer parents are nutso!
I got new slippers, 2 pairs of shoes, foot and hand lotion and a GC to Barnes/Noble for my b-day.
My favorite auntie called me, it's so good to hear her voice.
My house needs a maid and laundress to show up.
I worked eight hour days all week and am pooped!
I did NOT go on the Superman ride, because the Predator threw out my back.
I went on the Orange County choppers moto-coaster EIGHT times with Miss M.

and the number ten thing today.........
I bet my son I'll run in a 5K with him next year.

2008-09-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a good place to announce this..... I'm going to be a GRAMMA ! G and J are expecting in Febuary. There are a lot of mixed feelings swirling thru my head as I type this. I am happy and excited for them. They are engaged to be married in June 2009. Both are hard workers and great with children. I suppose my hesitation comes from the fact that ......
#1: I must be old. Yes, this is my eldest child, but I still have a four year old at home. I'd love to have more babies myself. I've always felt, even after #5 was born, well whats one more??? I LOVED being pregnant. Had easy pregnancies/ deliveries/ etc.... But surgically it ain't possible.
#2: The apple doesn't fall far from the proverbial tree. I was 20 when G was born. I know she'll be a great mom, but part of me wants a different life for her. Some "grown-up" time before starting a family.

Mini updates: school has started and is going well. so far so good M LOVES her teacher and hasn't wanted to drop out yet. Mind you she is the 4th grader. E has moved into the BIG room at preschool. I am in the younger room; three year olds are lots of fun and the bonus is NO diapers to change. (potty accidents??, well....) Cross country going well for D, hockey starting soon too. And Big E has a job!! A real honest to goodness paying real money job at the ice cream shop/garden store down the street from us. (bonus there: she can walk to work!)

Okay my concentration is failing me. We are going on a secret journey tomorrow, to Darien Lake. $24.99 a carload! If you never hear from me again, my heart has stopped after going on the Superman roller coaster. You know that sign at the beginning of the rides... "heart problems, surgeries, concussions- do not ride this ride"..... is there a line about No Grammaws allowed?
aaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :)

2008-08-23T06:19:00.000-07:00

I am ALIVE. Just very very busy. Who knew working part time would cut into my computer time so much. I promise a better update soon soon, maybe even with a picture. ;)

2008-07-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

okay okay juliemom, geesh. We did go away. Left 11ish on Saturday, ate lunch at Belhurst Castle. Here's where I wish I had a digital camera, it was GORGEOUS !!! And you know what, not as expensive as you'd think. Had some yummy sandwiches with a FRIED dill pickle on the side. OMW, the best best thing ever. Darn hubby ate his too or I would've grabbed it. Then we drove to the B&B and checked in. A very nice lady runs it, it was her family home and we were the only guests. Tobehanna Creek B&B

We went to Glenora winery, walked around Watkins Glen and Montour Falls, went on the Capt Bill boat cruise, stopped into Seneca Harbor wine center, and ate at a teeny Italian restaurant. (Jerlando's) And went back to the B&B to go to sleep. wink wink Of course thru out the day we talked to the little girls one bazillion times, including 11:30 pm.

Drove home Sunday in the pouring rain. We got to Geneva just in time for the half triathalon my bro-in-law was actually running. A quick call to my sis to locate her, but she was parked in the state park at the finish line and it's $7 to get in there. So we pulled into the hotel they had stayed at, mile 11 of 13. She told us what he was wearing and we cheered him on. Of course at that point of the race he looked at me in confusion "huh? whozat? you talkin to me?" but called the next day to say Thanks for being there. If you've never been to a marathon or race or cross country event I recommend it. Trust me I am so NOT a runner or excerciser or whatever....but there's this ENTHUSIASM and pride and adrenalin that infects you and you end up cheering like a crazy person to total strangers. A friend of mine is doing the Rochester marathon and you bet I'll be there hooting and hollering and waving my posterboard sign. :)

Home again, home again jiggety jog and it was back to reality. Happy 20th darling, I love you! (p.s. no he doesnt read this)

2008-07-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? Flies when you're having fun, drags when you're not.

Things are in same mode here. This is a good thing, as in same old, same old. We've had some wicked rains but today is sunny and the weekend is looking good! I'm working on a secret project for the girls. Since big sister is their "babysitter" while I'm at work, boredom is setting in already. So I am looking, lurking, google-ing fun, easy crafty projects for them to do. Add some ideas if you've got them....

Other exciting news; I bought a used sewing machine. I haven't had the time yet to use it. (what was I thinking?) I mainly bought it because my crafty fingers are itching and I have fallen in love with vintage type fabrics.

And the return of Question of The Day: Favorite Thing(s) About FRIDAY?
My answers
1. a drink to end the week and relax with
2. sleeping in Saturday morning
3. Hubby makes breakfasts on the weekends :)
What's yours?

2008-07-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

Vacation is over.Haha The menfolk are coming home today. While I will be glad to snuggle my sweetie, have my son to take the dog out and oldest daughter will have her sweetie back too......it's back to reality as far as cooking dinners goes. We have been on a chinese takeout, TacoBell, McDonalds, eat what you can find extravaganza here. Men like FOOD, preferably including meat and no brown rice or wheat pastas. With the ever increasing cost of food, and the massive quantities my family eats I need to rein in this cost. We do have a small garden so hopefully the produce will offset some shopping this summer. There is a Farmers Market in town to check out too, as well as the big Public Market. Buying local is one of my goals. Organic is a harder sell to the hubby.

(This is also another day closer to My Night Without Children Anniversary Get-Away.)

men-free days, summer heat, and going away

2008-07-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

So we are a tribe of women for a few days, the men folk have gone to the woods for a camping/fishing extravaganza. In our spare time we saw Horton hears a Who and ordered Chinese for dinner. The beauty of that is....... LEFTOVERS for lunch, and maybe dinner again. We've also picked raspberies until our hands are stained and our legs are scratched up. (Gramma Lena would be proud ;) )
It's a HOT one today, already turned the A/C on. Even the small cat slept in front of the fan.

The greatest news is the hubby and I are actually going AWAY for our anniversary. For the night. WITHOUT CHILDREN. Oh 'scuse me, did I shout that? After many hours of searching hotels, motels, rooms over bars, bed and breakfasts, small towns, big towns, cities with waterfalls, a whole 'nother country (Oh Canada) with no vacancies or two night stay requirements or million dollar price tags; we thought we were sunk. After twenty years we were stuck to a smooch in the car and maybe dinner alone. To the rescue came hubby's Boss, who found a B&B, checked the availability and said "put it on the company charge card, Happy Anniversary" Huh? What? Pardon me? So we leave on Saturday, to an undisclosed location,WITHOUT kids, near two of the Finger Lakes,WITHOUT kids, maybe take in a wine tour,WITHOUT kids, a nice dinner, WITHOUT kids, and a sleepover WITHOUT KIDS!!!!!!

Do you see the importance of this? There will be NO kids. TWENTY years and EIGHTEEN of them being a mom/dad/parental unit. Maybe I won't come home........

fooled you didn't I?

2008-06-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

Yes juliemom, my next post will be about where we DIDN'T go for our anniversary....... still working on it.
And a ::::wave:::: to the "other" Mary, or is it Nary, who stalked over from juliemom. And so we don't get confuzzled again, I changed my name to MaryD. Pat on the back for figuring that one out, and I didn't even ask my kids. :)

Question of the day......

2008-06-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

okay so I really stink at updating a blog. Schools out for summer, mama's got a job, it seems to be a rainy season, and multi-tasking is getting harder and harder to do. So here's the deal..... Comment me the answer to the question of the day. I'll tell you my answers too. Kinda like Trivia, without a prize or a winner.

The question of the day is:
What book or books are you currently reading? Would you recommend it to a friend?

I'm reading two right now. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
Wicked is very hard. Lots of strange made-up words, and lands and creatures. It is supposed to be the life and times of the Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz fame. That is one of my favorite movies and the musical was just in town, although I didn't see it. I'm sticking with it, because I ALWAYS finish a book.
Traveling Mercies I've been reading for awhile. It is the authors journey to and through faith. It's good, I just haven't had the time or energy to read a lot.

Your turn. Oh I'd recommend them both so far, but I like most books.

geez, the comments!

2008-03-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Remember way back when I started this pathetic blog, I warned you. All two readers, it ain't updated too often!! LOL

I also have a JOB now people. Like a "real" one, where I put clothes on and drive somewhere and am out of the house for hours at a time. And they pay me REAL money! It's nice, I like it. Beebs goes to preschool and I play with older infants for five-ish hours a day. And you know what? They can't talk yet!! (unlike my mouthy children, why do we teach them to talk? It only leads to complaining)

I hosted family Easter. I made a ham, ten pounds of mashed potatoes, applesauce, and my dad brought over his famous raisin sauce for the ham. He dropped off that and the ham on Saturday, but they had Easter with other relatives. Sisters-in-laws brought the veggies, salad and rolls AND my bro-in-law and his mom made golumpkies. Non-Ukranian people refer to these as stuffed cabbage rolls. We ruin them by insisting on sauce. They were YUMMY!!! I also made a chocolate cake with strawberries on top.

Now you may have noticed I am home today. Well Saturday daughter M threw up all day, she went to school yesterday but feels horrible. Beebs had a 103 fever last night, so we are home and blanketed and watching lots of TV today. There is so much sickness going around, the daycare has seen pinkeye, stomach flu, fevers, and the CROUP. One school district closed for a day due to 25% absenses. Ack. We need a nice week-long vacation so the germs can die off in the schools. That and some nice warm weather to open the windows, maybe a 60 degree day WITH sun. Aaahhh, that'd be nice! Maybe my poor mystery bulbs could make it up thru the mud and stretch their leaves a bit. A cousin gave me a bag of bulbs that didn't grow the first year but are showing signs of life, I am excited to see WHAT they are!! Daffodils? Hyacinths? Tulips maybe?

Leave some love. :)

INFLUENZA

2008-02-12T12:09:00.000-08:00

The title pretty much says it all. It is officially influenza in my house, confirmed by a $50 trip to the pediatrician. Is it wrong to have secretly hoped the throat cultures were positive? At least then the steep co-pay would have paid for something I couldn't have diagnosed. M has been home since last Wed, Bebe started on Friday and the husband was stricken on Sunday. I have poured juice, ginger ale and more juice, dispensed childrens motrin, adult motrin, mucus reliever and dayquil, I have "slept" squashed with a three yr old in the bed, an 8 yo on the couch in our room and listened to them all cough and cough and cough........I have made toast, cut oranges, peeled apples, and poured juice. Did I mention the juice yet? The doctor mentioned it lasts a week to ten days.......oh the agony. Only one child got the flu shot, is he safe from the bug?

When I am sick next week, who will come take care of me? whine whine pout pout

a link for juliemom and TV woes

2008-02-02T06:55:00.000-08:00

http://rnews.com/Story_2004.cfm?ID=57908&rnews_story_type=18

Juliemom has apparently "forgotten" what real weather is. Here is an Rnews link to our weather yesterday.

Yes, the Monkees is the correct spelling, but I'm sure it makes Wendymom itchy. You know what I saw on TV....The Banana Splits!! Remember that show? " one banana, two banana, three banana, four, over hill and highway the banana buggies go" What worries me is how all TV is going to be switched to digital signals next year, 2009. You will need a converter to catch the signal or a NEW TV. Well hardy har har har: THAT ain't happening. Let's count the TV's in my house, shall we?
1. living room
2. kitchen (essential for hockey games/weather updates/SpongeBob)
3. girls bedroom downstairs
4. The Boy Cave (essential for video game madness, Family Guy and escaping the estrogen in this house)
5. MY bedroom (essential for falling asleep, Alton Brown, and the occasional video; children or, ahem adult)
6. there is also a TV in the garage; main use? sports at BBQ's
SIX. six TV's muwha haha And these converter boxes run about $50. Limited math tells me the grand total is $300. Will I need one for each TV? Will there be a whole house converter I can stick in the basement? Will my digital cable box convert it for me? Am I again relegated to a few channels on a fuzzy picture? Or I can enjoy my Sex and the City reruns, LOST, Food Network, and daily Noggin for the wee one? I hate technology!

2008-01-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

Hmmm has another month gone by? It must be time to blog. hardy har har. Winter marches on, it has been in the teens but without snow for days, finally got an inch or two last night. If it's going to be winter, there may as well be enough snow for the kids to go sledding, am I right? We did get the Christmas decorations and also the leaves cleaned up so the front yard looks nice. Bebe and Miss M got ice skates from Santa but they haven't been used yet. Maybe the park lot will be frozen and open this weekend.

Today I am baking. Yes, me, the domestic~cough cough~ GODDESS. I started some sourdough awhile back, left it in the fridge so it smells good and yeasty, read several recipes on ye olde internet and we'll see what happens. Hopefully by dinnertime it will have magically turned into some edible version of sourdough bread. At least the oven will keep the kitchen warm.

2007-12-31T12:26:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year !!!
Many blessings and happiness and prosperity for 2008 !!!!

2007-12-04T06:17:00.001-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go......
At least out my window it does. Lookit that snow. The only problem with that snow.....all of our leaves are underneath it. LOL At least we got the pumpkins and cornstalks taken down, but the crazy warm fall weather kept those suckers up on the trees till the very end. I predict an ugly spring clean-up with some reseding of the grass.

The Boy got a doe and an eight point buck. Okay not "got" them, shot them. He didn't just walk up and say "here, jump in my truck" DD#1 texted him a picture of herself while they were hunting with the caption "I'm cold". Not my idea of fun either.

ch-ch-ch changes....

2007-11-28T06:52:00.000-08:00

Wow, maybe this should be a monthly blog eh? Biggest change, I am un-employed. Three teachers were let go, last hired/first fired, you know..... so there is a sadness. There were other cutbacks as well and thankfully, because I was a part-timer, I didn't find out until Monday where others were gone the day before Thanksgiving. The job fell in my lap to begin with, BUT the hours worked beautifully for my family, Bebe was going to a FUN preK with mama right there, a wee extra money was flowing.....good points? No driving in the snow-soon-to-come, excessive gas prices was making it a costly drive to work, more time to blog perhaps?? LOL

Onward and Upward. Oldest daughter has moved out. She and the Boy have bought a mobile home, and seem very happy. They have 8 rats, Sir Charles the cat and the birdie Daddy bought her for her birthday, and now a friend for the bird. We are planning a "family trip" to cut down a Christmas tree together and they were agreeable with that. They are still here almost every night but a little more independant as well.

what else, what else.....Big E is on the JV basketball team, first tournament this weekend. We have dinner plans next weekend with friends, fun fun. So there's an update on life in crazy land.....now if all three of my friends will comment, it will look like I have a life!! wendymom~this means you.
cousin Colleen~chime in too. :)

And then....

2007-11-08T08:25:00.000-08:00

Days pass between posts, weeks perhaps....the big change around here, besides the clock of Daylight Savings, is that I am working again! Part time at a preschool/daycare, E is in the three year old class and enjoys it very much. My Official Title is Staff Support, fancy words for go where we need you and cover teacher breaks. So far I've been in the preschool classes, which I know and love but may find my way over to the babies, not so bad there either. :) I am still trying to get things more organized around here, including before bed picking out the little girls clothes, NOT having to stay up for laundry and going to bed at a decent hour. I wish I could get a head start on lunch making, since now there are three to pack. (Big E is making her own, big YEAH to that)
Hockey has started.
Basketball begins next week.
And we have Girl Scout cookies to deliver. The time change affects that happening~ because it is DARK at night and this mama no-see-so-good in the DARK anymore. It's them new fancy headlights I tell you.

2007-10-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

Since I never finished the Fred the Bat story...it did have a happy ending. Dear Hubby caught him with a box and tossed him gently into the night. Fred got his name from our daughter, coincidence it was her bus drivers name ??? We see him flying around every night at dusk, looping circles in the air filling up on mosquitos. YEAH good bat!!! But when you come in my house, all bets are off my friend. God's creatures are welcome to live outside, in the WILD, where they belong.

The Story of Fred, Fred the Bat.

2007-09-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

Part ONE
Fred the Bat is a happy little guy, who comes out at night and flies in the sky. Fred the Bat, we've watched for three years, right around dusk is when he appears. Eating mosquitos is what he likes to do, as long as he's outside; we like it too. But when it's FIVE in the morning, and our daughter shouts; "Fred the Bat is here, downstairs in our house." All joking aside, all rhyming is done, what to do with this BAT, we considered a friend???

look what I did

2007-08-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

This is a quickie post, but LOOK what I did >>>> over there, see it's me~ at my day job. The minivan chauffeur ! And yes I did look up that spelling in the dictionary. The post to come is: "Things that go flutter in the night" or " Bats in my Belfrey, if I knew what a belfrey was"

Oi vey I say

2007-08-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

Sooo when was that last post? Ah yes, Wednesday, three-ish days ago. and then Dear Hubby came home, in agony with a hurting back. He hurt in a few years back, and isn't a go-to-the-doctor guy. On the advice of Nurse Wendy we've been icing, administering mass quantities of Advil, laying flat on his back. Next up: a nice arsenic laced drink and a sharp blow to the head! Wait, I'm kidding! But the menfolk, well, you know how they are with PAIN and all......he's-a-drivin-me-nuts!

And on top of ALL THAT, I've had to cook dinner for two nights in a row. Not that I don't cook mind you, a little, when I have to, and it comes outta a box..... but. Last nights feast was pork tenderloin, seared and finished cooking in the oven (ala the Take Home Chef show recipe), baby carrots with butter and parsley AND Twice Baked Potatoes (ala Confessions of a Pioneer Women Cooks blog) Check her out, they were fab-U-lous!!! Tonight was sirloin steaks, red beans and rice (Hillbilly Housewife) and vegetable medley. (frozen from Aldi's) Okay so after a widdle painkiller, D.H. did cook the steaks because me and the grill DO.NOT.GET.ALONG. And here's the rub folks, I also cleaned up after these meals all alone. Yes D.H. helps clean up. He's a keeper, that's for sure........

(but if he tries to roll over in bed tonight, grunting and practically moaning......I'm wacking him ala the Soprano's) :)

But wait, there's more......Wendy~ stop rolling your eyes, you know I talk a LOT. The biggest surprise of all....dun dun dun...... it's a BOY!!!! The aforementioned RosieLulu is now the kitten known as DOMINO. or Dom Kitty. or baby Dom. or the Bebe's pick "running around kitty"

Dom, welcome to "The Family."

2007-08-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

My house, it smells of vinegar. Odd yes, but strangely comforting. My dd's boyfriend is canning. Pickles, green beans, tomatoes....all from their organic garden. This is the smell of my house when my mother was alive. All thats missing is a fan blowing outwards in the window....but its not-so-hot right now.
Not only did my mother can, she froze veggies, sewed, crocheted, quilted, cooked, baked cookies......the list goes on and on. But the stories are getting lost. Lost in long ago memories, lost with the deceased, lost in time and sadness. Evidently our pediatrician would take payment in the form of home- canned sour cherries, and he liked to spit the pits as far as he could. But it's all a world apart from life now. Life A.D. perhaps?

2007-08-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

In response to juliemom: Yes I have a blog. By my pathetic two posts you can see I have "issues" with blogs. Here are five reasons......
1. I forget passwords. (somewhere in cyberspace are my family reunion pictures on photobucket. They keep emailing my password, and I never get it in my inbox)
2. Life....... happens and I am extremely lazy.
3. Five children + one computer = mama fights for internet time. (but haha! they go back to school 9/5)
4. Sometimes I'm funny, sometimes NOT!
5. See the title of my blog? It kinda describes it in three easy words.

Onward: on MY calendar it's August. Could someone please let the weather know this fact? It is raining, grey and it's barely 61 degrees. I have on jeans, should look for socks, and need a jacket to take the dawg out at night. Enough!

Now I am off to the wonderful world of cheap food; Aldi's to get some chili fixins. That's another feature I'd like to add to this blog, cheap food ideas for a lotta people. EX: my dinner table of 7-8. Feel free to chime in......

2007-08-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

So here is post #2...it's been awhile huh? Everything in post #1 is the same, add some months to the ages, and Sir Charles has moved to my daughters BF's house....and we have another new kitten: Rosie Lulu. Complete with fleas, but in my quest for more natural remedies/cleaning products/etc I have been bathing her with Dawn dish soap and Xcross fingersX we seem to have won the flea battle. (only casualties: the fleas!)

Just attended my 20th high school reunion from an all girls Catholic school. It was truly a "blast from the past". Some people I'd like to get back in touch with, some definately NOT. And would someone please let someone know the early 80's are waaay over, and pink and kelly green and plaid should only be a Halloween costume. Gag me with a spoon, okay?

So in the good spirit of blogginess, I'll try to update this more frequently. :) Stay tuned......

Here I am

2007-02-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

I read such wonderful blogs everyday, I've decided to try it myself. So here I am: Mary, wife of Dave, mama to five children; ages 17,14,12,7,and 2 & a"haff". Four are girls, my son falls in the middle. We have been married for 18 years and 7 months. Add to this mixture a dalmation-Chief, a cat-Pumpkin and the newest, a cat named Sir Charles who "belongs" to my 17 yr old. I say "belong" in quote because while she works her full time job and ventures off with boyfriend, I am the one to watch, pet, hold, play and make sure kitty Pumpkin doesn't eat Sir Charles.

We live in a very old home that we are restoring with historical paint colors and someday, when children are grown, ie: not destructive, would like furniture from the time period. 1832 to be exact!

So come on over. I'll try to entertain, enlighten, provoke, or bore you with ALL THE CRAZY in my life. :)