It's "OK" Thursday 11/22

 

"Its OK"


-That the highlight of my day is face timing with my favorite baby. She kissed me on the phone about a million times yesterday. She actually ended up putting me on mute because she was so aggressive about it. She just would not stop (no I do not have a problem with that). She also blows me a kiss then puts her hand on my face. It melts my heart. She is so much fun to watch. It is the next best thing to actually being there. I really wish they were here for Thanksgiving though.

-That it took some convincing but I got my brother in law, the son I never had and my daughter to come to the nail salon with me for pedicures/manicures. The son I never had looked at the girl that was about to work on my daughters feet and told her she might need "one of those masks" because my daughters feet smelled. He also proceeded to tell the woman next to him that the color she got was great. That's just how he is. Schmoozer is a good word to describe him. He is too funny.

-That upon hearing that the son I never had vacuums all the time, I needed a rug vacuumed and asked him to do it. He happily agreed. My daughter would have complained and would do it 3 hours after I asked. He also moved a big plant for me in preparation to put up the Christmas tree. I guess we are all comfortable with each other now.

-That while at the pageant last week, we ended up changing our seats. The people in front of us wouldn't sit down and kept moving their seats. It got to be so annoying that we moved across the aisle. We thought we were in the clear until this sat in front of us.

her hair must be FULL of secrets

 I asked my brother in law about one of the contestants that were up on stage and he said "I don't know, I cant see a thing". I wonder why. I was also texting back in forth with my friend who was a contestant when she was backstage. She asked where we were sitting. I told her to look for the lady with the biggest hair in the audience.

-That my brother in law loved contestant number 59. We now have a running joke and use the number 59 in every text message. It is kind of ironic that the Patriots won by 59 points on Sunday. Of course I had to take a picture and send it to him.

-That my husband and I  have been eating cereal all week to prepare for today. I have been having my brother in law come over a lot for dinner. He always brings a decadent dessert. My husband gained 6 pounds in a week. Thankfully, I did not even gain a pound. I had to put my husband on the cereal diet and suffer along with him. I don't think he could do it on his own. I did make chicken soup last night. There is only so much cereal I can take. He will have free reign today. We will be in NY all next week so I have no control over what we eat. Hopefully he will walk a lot with me after he is done working for the day. I know I will be walking all day and skating.

-That I will be in NY for the tree lighting. I have heard its a zoo. Our hotel is pretty close so we can walk there. I would love to be able to hold a spot for us from noon to the beginning of the ceremony. I know I would never make it. I blame my bladder. I would love to try, but I know for a fact I wouldn't make it.

-That I really have not been home at all this week. I worked two days instead of one. Did I mention I hate the 1:00-8:00pm shift? I am a morning person. The day I worked at 1:00, I started my hunt in the morning for a black belt with a gold buckle for my husband. That is what he wanted. I spent all day yesterday looking too, in between grocery shopping and general errands. Black belts with gold buckles do not exist. My husband is now the proud owner of a black belt with a pewter buckle. He is really picky. Sometimes I think he thinks of things he thinks I will not find to see if I can in fact find it. He knows how hyper focused I am on things. Maybe its his way of sending me on a scavenger hunt. I would not even be suprised if he googled "most difficult items to find". That's what it feels like anyway.


-That I knew I would be out all day yesterday and that traffic would be horrendous (and it was). I made my son come with me to keep me calm. He came along happily. He hasn't started his job yet.

-That I may possibly be more excited for my mom to bring me my mashed turnip with brown sugar than I am for turkey. She makes me a huge dish and I am the only one who will eat it. I will be eating it for the rest of the weekend or at least until the heartburn kicks in.

-That I woke up to the smell of turkey this morning. I actually slept in....if you consider 7:00am sleeping in. My husband put the turkey in at 5:00. He is the best.

-That we are eating at around 2:00pm which is early for us. The Patriots are playing tonight and I am so excited. We are eating early so that we can take a nap before the 8:30pm game. I would never make it otherwise.

-That I will not be participating in the Black Friday trample fest. I can do all of my shopping online tomorrow.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Enjoy your family and friends.

I will be taking a moment out of my day to be thankful for all that I have.

 

My latest creation

 

I made this wine glass for my friend who competed in the Miss Massachusetts/USA pageant this past weekend. Sadly, she did not place. She will always be a beauty queen to me, win or lose. I wanted to do something special for her, so I made her this wine glass. I went heavy on the bling because she is a girly girl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My son helped by drawing the crowns on with a sharpie. I just filled them in with paint. I had to use ultra fine paint brushes. I think drawing with a sharpie first when doing bigger designs is the way to go.

 

This glass was the hardest one I have done so far. It took the longest time to make. I had to let the colors dry in between.

 

 I was not happy with the way I could see the glue from the gems I put on the glass. I baked it to shrink it a little. It worked. I would have hated to throw this glass away with all of the work I had put into it. Thankfully the baking of the glue did not ruin it. 

 

I did learn a lesson to take it easy on the glue. You need just enough to make it stick and so that the gems stays on through washing.

 

I need to start working on a few Christmas gifts. I hope I can fit in doing some Christmas crafts in between.

 

Have a great Tuesday!

 



Its "OK" Thursday 11/15

"Its OK"


-That my favorite baby has not learned to hide properly when she is told it is nap time. Her Mimi needs to teach her to go all the way in the box.

-That I don't understand the whole "red cup" hype. I like my Dunkin Donuts cup just as well. To each his own. That is why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

-That I took my son for a job interview yesterday. He got the job and I guess I got a job too, I now have to drive him there.

-That my daughter kept trying to wake me up yesterday because she was mad that she couldn't find a pair of tights that were put in the laundry.  She proceeded to be nasty to me about how I took all of her clothes out of her overnight bag and washed them (seriously, I wish someone would take initiative and come in and just take my clothes and wash them, who would complain about that?) She had taken a sweater from the son I never had and it was in the bag of clothes that I had washed. I washed and dried it and didn't even know it was in there. I am a notorious clothes shrinker and she was afraid that I had shrunk it. We will see this weekend when he tries it on. I thought I was doing her a favor. She was so bitchy about it. She even tried to throw me under the bus by telling my husband that I was hoarding his socks in my clothes pile.  I made her cookies anyway to bring to work today. I am a sap. (She wanted this story told, hopefully it is because she feels bad for being mean to her mom). A note to my daughter, get organized and get ready the night before, then you wont be scrambling in the morning.

-That my daughter was face timing with the son I never had last night and I stuck my head in there and I told him that I was now wearing his sweater as a belly shirt because it had shrunk. He knows how worked up my daughter was over it. At least I made him smile.

-That the friend I work for, asked me if I could come in to work last night and do a massage interview at 6:00. That means I had to get a massage and let her know how it was. I actually wasn't sure if I could because I had already been planning on cooking at that time. I cant believe I actually hesitated. I went and it was the best massage I have had in a long time. Like I said, I love my job.

-That I am proud of my beautiful niece for winning her cheering competition this past weekend. I didn't realize how much I have missed going to cheering competitions.

-That I wish I had 1/4 of their energy

-That we have made it to Thursday night trivia all month. We look forward to it. Trivia is from 8:00-10:00. After its over,  my daughter and I go ask the DJ to play "Back that ass up" and "Put your back into it". The DJ smiles when he sees us because he knows what we are going to ask him to play. We are usually the only ones on the dance floor. We have fun. We dance to the two songs then go home. After all, it is only Thursday.

-That the Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies have already sucked me in. I will watch any Christmas movie. I actually ended up DVR'ing the end of an infantile movie about Santa when I had to go out last night. I wanted to see what happened. What is wrong with me?

-That Saturday and Sunday I will be at the Miss Massachusetts/Miss Teen Massachusetts pageant. The woman that works for my husband is participating again this year. Last year we only went for one day. This year we will go both days. I think she has a great chance. I have already seen her gown. It is spectacular. Last year she had the best gown in the whole pageant.  I really hope she wins. She is great.
We convinced my brother in law (who is single) to come along. He mentioned something about getting opera glasses.

-That there is nothing like a great scandal, especially when it involve a General.

-That my son has not even been home 2 weeks and his room already smells like a hamster cage.

 

 

-That my husband booked our NYC trip. I really was going back and forth with leaving everyone here alone for the week. I will be going back and forth with it until the day I leave.  I will be glad I made the decision to go once I get there.

-That I am sure I could think of more but I have to go to my new job of driving my son to work.



Have a great Thursday!













Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans day to all of those who serve or have served our country. Thank you.

A special thank you to my favorite son in law who is currently deployed.

Return to us safely.



Its "OK" Thursday 11/8

"Its OK"

-That my favorite baby may or may not have ESPN or something.
Of course her Mimi thinks she is a genius.

This was taken on election day before the votes were tallied.

 

 

 -That this is what was happening yesterday.

 

 

 and I woke up to this, this morning.

 

Actually, that's not OK. I am not ready for this.  I am  not used to that blast of cold air yet. I closed the door very fast, believe me. There was more of it and it melted because it rained after it snowed.

 

-That we waited for my daughter to get out of work on Tuesday to vote so that we could vote as a family.

 

-That I am shocked that my favorite painting, Monet- Waterlilies, sold for only 43 million. It does not seem like enough to me.

 

 

 

-That my husband just asked me to go to NY again at the end of the month. I said I wasn't sure and he seemed really disappointed. He doesn't like going alone anymore. I will obviously go.

 Last time we went, he said I was a good travel companion because I was fun. Maybe if I was less fun he wouldn't care if I went or not. 

I already have the woman that used to work for him lined up for skating one day. I plan on skating at least 2, if not 3 days. We will be there a full week and there really isn't too much I haven't seen, so skating it is. I am sure it will be all decorated for Christmas too. I am so excited.

 

 

 

-That I am not sure if I am going to trivia night tonight because I am working tomorrow. My family is making fun of me. They may end up shaming me into going. I guess it will be a 2 Cosmo night.

 

 

 

-That my son is already eating me out of house and home. I will fix his wagon by forcing him to help me with the grocery shopping today. I wonder if he would get a manicure with me later too? I could use a pedicure too but I don't want to wear flip flops in the snow.

 

 

 

-That I cooked a turkey dinner on Sunday. I needed something to do during my teams bye week. We eat turkey a lot in the fall and winter. I hate cleaning up the mess.

 

 

 

-That I am exhausted this week for no particular reason. Even answering a simple email was a chore this week. I am still tired.

 

-That I forgot what an artist my son is. He did an outline for me on a wine glass I am making. My daughter was jealous that we were doing crafts together while she was at work.

 

-That normally I would have scared this little guy off from eating my rose bush, but he was just too cute.

 

 

 

-That hopefully I wont have to dig out my spanx to wear my sweater dress tomorrow. If I don't have to, it will make my day.

 

-That this is all I have for you because all I did this week was sleep.

 

Have a great Thursday!

 

 

 

 

The little bird is back

I am going to post an old post in honor of my son moving back home.

On Sunday, I got a call from my son asking if he could move back home. Of course he can. What am I going to do?  His rent was too high.
He needs help in the direction his life is going and this is the best place for him anyway. He does not have a steady job and I am hoping to guide him into being a little more mature and responsible (wish me luck on this).

I am hoping to sit down with him and have a long conversation. It has been so busy at my house that I have yet to have even more than a 5 minute conversation with him so far. He is not a talker like my girls are. The girls will tell me things I don't even want to know. I have to really dig with him. By dig I mean separate what is fact from what is fiction with what he is telling me.

I do not want to say he is my problem child because he does not get into trouble. He is a genuinely nice and compassionate young man, he just gives me the most trouble. He needs to settle down. I will do anything in my power to get him on the straight and narrow. He is not a teenager anymore. He is 20 years old. It is time.

I  hope that I do not stroke out in the process.
I  hope that he does not find a new apartment before my job is done.

So without further adieu, here is one of the first posts that I ever wrote. I wrote it as a guest post on my daughters blog. Maybe it will give you some insight on what I have dealt with over the years.

I think the myth that boys are easier than girls is wrong

 

I have three children. They are all two years apart and Louie is the youngest.

When Louie was born the girls babied him. I am not going to lie so did I. As an infant Louie was a pretty good baby. It wasn't until he was probably about 7 or 8 months that the crying stage of his life began. The girls started calling him waaa waaa Louie. I will tell a few short stories so you get the idea of my theory.

Louie was in diapers forever.

 

We went on a family trip to Disney when the kids were 2, 4 and 6. I used to take the girls every year by myself from the time they were infants. This would be the first time with my husband and brother in law as well. We stayed at the Grand Floridian and had an exclusive package. Food anytime we wanted. Wine and cookies and milk in the afternoon. Presents for the kids at turn down service every night. For the enjoyment of the men there were model shoots in the afternoon and Miss USA pageant contestants were there as well. Should have been a dream vacation right? WRONG. Louie cried on the plane, Louie cried off the plane. Louie cried at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Louie cried while visiting the characters. Louie cried in his carriage. Louie cried out of his carriage. Louie cried while eating cotton candy. Louie cried on rides. Louie cried when walking. I think Louie even cried in his sleep. My brother in law ended up leaving in the middle of vacation because he couldn't take it anymore. I really wanted to go with him. I have never been back to Disney since. I am so traumatized. I hope I can get over it so that I can take my favorite Grand baby soon.

Now we can cut to Christmas a year later when they are 3, 5 and 7. The girls were begging for American girl dolls. Well Krista was and Gina wanted to do everything her sister did at the time. So "Santa" was bringing Krista, Samantha and Gina, Kirsten. I am not even sure these two dolls are available anymore. They were so excited.

Christmas Eve we go to my Aunts house. It is tradition. Picture about 100 people stuffed into one house. It is always a lot of fun. There is also a Santa parade that goes through all of the neighborhoods with fire trucks, police and all kinds of floats. Always the highlight of the night. Louie as usual was not cooperative. Yes the whole crying thing. It was a rough night.

Christmas morning comes around and its 7:00. The girls are up Louie is not. They play with their stockings. 8:00 comes around and Louie is still sleeping and I ask the girls if they want me to wake up Louie and they say no. I am kind of shocked after all it is Christmas morning and here are these little girls waiting patiently to open presents. 9:00 comes around, still no Louie. I ask again. they say NO don't wake him up. 10:00 and 11:00 still no Louie and NO they do not want me to wake him up. Louie finally got up at 11:30 and I think the crying didn't start until during the present opening. Do you get the picture now? 5 and 7 and dying for their new dolls but it didn't matter they just wanted peace.

Potty training. I am cringing while I write this but it needs to be told. I had both the girls potty trained at exactly 2 years old. Louie was another story entirely......

The girls were at school and I was home with just Louie. I worked on potty training ever day. He is now 3.

I was having my dining room worked on and Louie was fascinated with construction. He loved the trucks. He loved to watch the guys working. Everyday he would stand and watch them. I still had to work on potty training so I put him in the bathroom with his potty seat. It is sort of across from the dining room so I left the door open for him to see.

Next thing I knew He picked up his potty seat and set it down right in front of the dining room and sat down on it. I could see the guys smiling it was pretty comical.

Louie sat and sat on that potty seat but would not go. One of the guys finally looked at him and said "Whats the matter there buddy do you have stage fright"?

Cut to Louie now being 4. Still not potty trained. I try to sign him up for preschool and they tell me unless he is potty trained they wont take him. I am frantic because I am the one that has spent the most time with waaa waaa Louie and I need a break. Just thinking of those two and a half hours a day without the waaa waaa is looking like heaven to me. I am on him like crazy to learn. I cant take it anymore. He is 4 and I am just baffled as to why this kid doesn't get it. I pretty much chase him down and he hides from me. One day while searching for him I find him in the corner of my dining room next to the server changing his own diaper. That is when I snapped. I cant even tell you what happened that day because I think I  blocked it out.

After that incident I refused to buy diapers. If a kid can change their own diaper but not go on the potty. That is a problem.

One last story then I am done. Louie is now 5 and in kindergarten. It is not full time Kindergarten it is half days and Louie is in the afternoon session. It is just Louie and I home during the day. I am a clean freak so I am always running around doing things. I THOUGHT Louie could be trusted if I left the room. It is time to put Louie on the bus and no Louie. I am frantic. I look everywhere for him. He is nowhere to be found. I look inside, outside, down the street. No Louie. My phone rings and its the woman wayyyyyy down the street. Louie is at her house. I go grab him and put him on the bus. This becomes his daily ritual. He escapes at the right opportunity. You would think at 5 I wouldn't need to put him on a leash. I have a regular Houdini on my hands. He is the reason I had to put a deadbolt up high on my door where he couldn't reach. It is still there to this day and not because I live in the ghetto.

Louie at the neighbors after running off.
For the record, on occasion, the girls still call him waaa waaa Louie.

 

 

So as you can see, being a parent is not always easy. A parent's job is never done. Just when you think life is getting easier, they pull you back in.  The key is to never give up. Maternal instincts are amazing. You always want what is best for them. I want all of my children to be productive members of society. I will do whatever it takes. That's what being a parent is all about. I am not from the school of  "When you are 18 you are on your own". I am a meddler and I will be a meddler until I take my last breath. Not in an annoying way, but in a caring way. If I had it my way, my kids would live with me for the rest of their lives.
 

I know it is going to be a rough road ahead for me but I signed up for this. I will manage and persevere, even if that means I will be going out to get the economy sized bottle of xanax.

 

Get out there and vote!

It's "OK" Thursday 11/1

 

"Its OK"


-That my daughter likes to borrow my clothes. If she didn't, that would probably tell me something.

-That I really need to find some new craft projects to keep me busy. All of this baking and cooking comfort foods is not good for the waistline. My whole family needs a diet.

-That today I will be online booking a tropical vacation for after Christmas to make up for the fact that I missed my trip this week. I am thinking Aruba.

-That if your number comes up on my caller ID as unavailable...I will be unavailable. I cant wait for this election to be over.

-That my daughter sent me this text last night. I think she now understands my evening happy hours. Any excuse right?

-That I only had nine kids show up at my house for Halloween. The streets were empty. That never would have happened when I was a kid. I have 3 bags of candy left. I wonder if birds like candy?

-That I was so bored yesterday that I cleaned the whole house by myself instead of waiting for my daughters help this weekend.

-That I have been such a slacker in the exercise department.  I still have a lingering cold for oh, about a month now. I am joining the gym down the street either today or tomorrow. No excuses. I will need to look good in that bathing suit in Aruba.

-That we will be going to trivia night again tonight. We had so much fun last week. We did not win but this week we are determined. I still think the people that won cheated by using their phones. I know they did not know what the largest land locked country in the world was. I am not a sore loser or anything.

-That I am seriously longing to get a dog. I will give myself a month to think it over.

After seeing this picture, I want one even more now.

-That I think this may be a shopping weekend seeing that our football team has a bye week. I do not like not having my Sunday football at all. I will watch other games but it is not the same.

-That I love coffee but hate drinking it after its about an hour old. I will make coffee all morning long to avoid drinking old coffee. When I go to visit my mother I tell her when I am on my way and to make a fresh pot of coffee. I tell her not to try to fool me, I will know if it is old coffee she is trying to serve me.

-That my daughter could not dress up for Halloween at work. I told her to wear this outfit anyway. I told her it really is something somebody wore and not as a costume. It would still look like a costume. They cant fire her for having bad taste right? She did not end up wearing it to my disappointment.

I told you that I am going to insert this picture in my blog every time that I can. It always makes me smile.

-That most mornings I wake up looking like heat miser. That's why I have to wash my hair every day. Today was exceptionally bad. I am embarrassed for myself.

-That it is Thursday and I haven't left my house since Sunday. Having the hurricane this week didn't help. That is my excuse for this week anyway.

Have a great Thursday!