Spring Break

Growing up I always loved Spring Break. A whole week off school. It didn't matter if we were going anywhere or staying home. I never did like school, so any excuse to be away from it was wonderful! Playing for hours with my friends, torturing...I mean playing...with my younger brothers - doing anything was a welcome escape.

Then as a mom of one it wasn't too bad. I was very pregnant with my second child when my oldest started Mother's Day Out. So it was a great time to spend some quality time with him before both of our worlds were completely changed forever.

When my second child started preschool, it was crazy. He was in a different school district (due to going to a regional day school for the deaf) - so the boys Spring Breaks were different. One the week before the other. Plus I had had little princess by then...so life didn't change to much. I just had an extra child to take on errands, and dropping off/picking up one of the boys.

Now that I'm a teacher at my daughter's MDO, and a mom...Spring Break brings mixed emotions. I get a week off (no pay though), and my kids will be home. Wonderful and at the same time I know it's going to be hectic.

Now don't get me wrong. I love my kids, but it's been a long week so far (and it's only Wednesday). Monday I discovered...wait for it....lice! Ugh!!! now you'll be scratching your head all day...sorry. So I've been combing hair, shampooing, spraying and doing loads and loads and loads of laundry. And today I still found one in little princess' hair and one in mine. Help!!!! Plus yesterday it rained all day...so we couldn't even go outside to play. Ok, I'm sounding panicky now. I just hate lice! And I have long hair! The kids are getting cabin fever and doing everything they can to push each other's (and mine) buttons, we've had to cancel playdates, and my husband has been working very late.

I hope everyone else is having a much better spring break then we are! And if you have any suggestions for a lice infestation....please feel free to let me know. Gotta go and do more laundry!

Well, I think the kids are finally all feeling better. Last week little princess was "flu like" (the flu test was negative), Lego Boy had a sinus infection, Science boy wasn't feeling well, and I had had about enough of it all. The house is a complete mess, I'm exhausted, and the more I look around the house, the more exhausted I get. Does it ever get better?

I used to be very organized, everything in it's place, etc. Ok, OCD is more like it. Cans all lined up, alphabetically in my pantry. Music and movies all alphabetical, music alphabetical and arranged by different types, etc, etc. I obsessed at work if I forgot to put a pair of shoes away, it bugged me all day. Then I got married, I still kept up with my OCD habits, I mopped my floor 2 - 3 times a week, vacuumed all the time, you get the picture. Then I had one child....I still look at the pictures I have and say "oh look, a clean house". Things weren't totally put away. The kitchen counters had stuff on them, but still relativity clean and put away. Then I had another baby, and got very, very sick. Got diagnosed, felt better, got pregnant again. So I had a 4 1/2, 2 1/2, and a newborn. What was I thinking??????(but that's another story) Now the house should be condemned...ok not that bad all the time. But it's still got stuff (toys, papers, craft stuff, etc) everywhere. It's madness I tell you. Just when I think I've got part of the house together, and go work on another part either one of the little people living here, or the other big person, messes it up somehow. It's a never ending process. One day I will toss everything out. Including clothes. I swear I want to have nude days here, I'm becoming anti-clothes just because I'm tired of picking them up off the floor, washing them, sorting them on my bed, then having my husband move them from the bed to another piece of furniture in our room, re-sorting them on our bed, putting them away, picking them (and more)clothes off the floor. I told my husband I need a wife, not for him, for me. He would get nothing out of it...well maybe I could be a better wife to him if I wasn't frustrated(?) But me, I could have a clean house (for about 5 minutes), and somehow it doesn't upset me when the kids mess up the house after someone else cleaned it, just when I do.

I used to have a cleaning lady, how I loved her and miss her dearly. But expensive. I've actually said that if I got paid what she did, it might make a wee bit of difference, I might actually think about it a little more often. Right now I work two days a week teaching at my daughter's Mother's Day Out Program. It's great because she goes free, and I get paid a little. In the fall she'll be going 4 times a week, and I'm thinking of working all four days, just so the extra money can go to a cleaning lady.

I'm hoping that soon, real soon I can get into some sort of routine and do all I need to do. Of course, now it will be even harder since I don't have any free time of my own. Oh, wow, now I sound like I'm whining. It's late and I'm tired, and I guess I've lost my train of thought. Go figure.

Menu Plan Monday

After a long time of not posting I'm back. Until a few weeks ago I was still planning my menus but things have gotten crazy around here. So I've decided to start blogging again, and posting my menus. Thanks to Laura for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Oh, and for some reason my spell checker is not working, so please ignore any misspellings.

Monday - Roasted chicken legs, rice, brocolli
Tuesday - Cranberry balsamic pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes, corn
Wednesday- Chicken fajitas, mexican rice, refried bean, queso
Thursday - Easy Baked Parmesan Meatballs, Spaghettti & sauce (either GF spaghetti for me, for spaghetti squash), salad
Friday - Family pizza and movie night
Saturday - Husband and kids to his parents for dinner, I'm planning on having friends over for dinner and scrapbooking and serving them Maple Chicken'n'ribs, and Ice Cream Cake with Butterscotch Sauce

Have a wonderful week.

Heroes

When we think of heroes, many different images may pop into our head. Superheros are probably the first thing. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Wonderwoman (oh, how I loved that show!), etc. Using their super powers to win against the bad guys. (In fact as I'm writing this, my kids are playing Star Wars. I'm not sure who the boys are, but Little Princess is shouting "Let me in guys, this is Princess Leia" As the sound of lightsabers are heard through the closed door).

Or perhaps a historic person comes to mind. Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Thersea, to name two.

But my hero. My hero is Lego Boy, my 6 1/2 year old son. I've been thinking of this for a while, and on January 10th, 2008 he earned his place as my top hero. Lego Boy was born with profound hearing loss in one ear, he has speech apraxia, and also has autism. On January 10th, he had a Baha hearing aide implant. This was probably most troublesome to me. To see him laying in a hospital bed, his ear bleeding (he also had a hole in his eardrum fixed), a 3X2 inch bald spot behind his ear with a bloody gauze, a metal "snap" with a plastic cap on, plus a "c" shaped incision....what kind of mother was I to elect to have this done to my child! To see him fight against us giving him pain meds..right after surgery. It took 4 of us, 2 nurses, my husband and myself to hold him down and get the medicine down his throat. While he was thrashing about, his IV came out, more blood gushed from his ear...what a sight.

Later I told him he was my hero. "No, I'm not a hero..just a kid" he replied.

A hero is someone who lives their life how it should be lived. Who does not think about how others view them. They are not embarrassed when they are under a table in a restaurant screaming and crying. While their older brother is so embarrassed, their mother thinks "not again, ", the family they are sitting with does not know what to say or do, and their younger sister and father ignore it all. I've learned just to say "Oh, I'm sorry he has autism". The smiles and the talk then start. Questions asked. All is well. Then the hero gets up, sits on his mama's lap and proceeds to eat her food, not caring or acknowledging what has happened.

A hero is someone who goes to school, plays with friends even though he is hard to be understood, does not have acceptable social graces...and yet his friends accept him as he is..and he accepts himself.

Isn't that what it comes down to...accepting oneself flaws and all? And what kind of mother puts her child through that kind of surgery...a good one..one that sees the big picture how his quality of life will improve. And no matter what he says that 6 1/2 year old is and always will be my hero.

I'm back

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. So much has happened, and yet everything is the same. How can that be? Time has gone by, the kids have grown in so many ways, Little Princess is now 4, lego boy has had a hearing implant surgery (more on that later), science boy has matured in so many ways, and I've started working part-time. And still, the house is in major disorder, my husband can't seem to pick things up...just steps over them, I'm feeling overwhelmed (ok, I also have had 3 sick kids this week, and I'm not feeling well). So a lot has changed, but not much. I still don't understand how that happens. What a mystery. But I'm hopping to start blogging again, and to somehow make it more interesting. I've been trying to get a little more creative lately, so hopefully that will also transfer into my writing.

Menu Plan Monday - October 22

What a week. I followed the menu plan for the most part. I ended up subbing at my daughters pre-school two days, and was really tired when I got home. So I changed things up a bit. But, thankfully, I didn't run out and get fast food like I normally would have. We've been working on our budget, so I'm trying to stick to it. We'll have to see how it goes grocery wise. It's a bit harder to use coupons since I need to buy Gluten Free, but I try.


Monday - Lemon Garlic Pork Chop, veggies, corn bread
Tuesday - Pepper Steak, rice, salad
Wednesday - Ham, fried potatoes, broccoli
Thursday - Greek Chicken With Oregano & Spinach, rice, corn, carrots
Friday - Family movie and pizza night
Saturday - Going over to in-laws for a Halloween party
Sunday - Spaghetti

Menu Plan Monday - October 15

Last week's menu plan went pretty well. As it seems to be the case every week, I ended up not making one meal. Made the kids something quick & easy instead. This week, the budget is really tight, so we will see what happens.

Monday - Country fair Chicken, mashed potatoes (I add cauliflower to mine, the kids never know), carrots & corn
Tuesday - tacos, army man rice, refried beans, salad
Wednesday -Honey Pineapple chicken, rice, broccoli, corn
Thursday - I'll make something like hot dogs w/ mac & Cheese for the kids. I want to make something a little nicer for me & my husband since it's our anniversary. Not sure what yet. Any ideas? It's needs to be fairly quick, GF (since I'm eating it), no fish (my husband won't eat it). He's a Texas boy..so meat & potatoes is his thing.
Friday - Family Pizza and movie night
Saturday - My husband will take Lego Boy and Little Princess to his parents and have dinner over there. Science Boy has a b-day party that I will take him to.