4 or 14, Drama comes in all different ages

While our household always seems like it has some new drama waiting in the corner, this last week included filing a missing persons report &almost going to the ER for electrocution. Short but sweet version- last weekend two of Sam's friends were seen taking an alcoholic beverage from our house. When confronted on the phone & told to come home, Sam made the decesion, along with his friend, to play hide & go seek for the rest of the evening. Which prompted us (me & Shannon, his friends mom) to have to call the cops at midnite. The kids finally decided to come home the next day, after worrying us all night. Not sure what exactly happened to his friend, but Sam had his lifeline (his cell phone) taken away for the last week, and was only let off his groundation from going anywhere today, because he helped me alot in the garage & backyard.
Tonight, Brandon decided to put 2 of his keys ( my kids have a fascination with old keys. They are almost like money in our house! lol ) in the electrical socket in the bathroom. At almost 5 years old, not sure what made him decide to do this. All of our lights flipped off in the house, and I thought our new stove had tripped them. But when I went back in the hallway, I found him crying holding his hand. He told me what happened, and went in the bathroom to see the keys sticking out. After yelling out for Sam, freaking out slightly, to turn the all the breakers off, I used a towel to flick them out. I took Brandon to my moms to have her check him out- the only owie he has, is a little tiny burn mark on a finger, and some slight swelling in his hand. He was talking fine & could move all his fingers, etc. I think it scared him more than anything. He got a big talking to about outlets, and why he shouldn't be messing with them AT ALL!!!!

At least it isn't boring in my house........

Teaching children, when the parents can't be taught.

I think my hardest challenge to teach my children right from wrong, responsibilities, and to basically not lie, is when my not-so-better half doesn't seem to live by the same "values". I don't want to raise my kids with the "do as I say, not as I do" way. I am far far away from being the "perfect" parent. And I don't ask that my husband be perfect. I just want him to keep his word, and not lie to me. And treat me with some respect. Is that really so hard? We were supposed to have our backyard all cleaned up yesterday ( it's been a slight nightmare out there, as a catchall of stuff the mice destroyed, some full garbage bags from the garbage cans not being dragged out in time to be dumped, and the stuff for goodwill that was messed up with the last big storm we had- that the kids have dragged all over the place. And I won't get into the jungle growing on the side of the house.) Sam & I busted our asses, cleaning up. While Matt sat in here, in front of the fan. I came in to take a quick shower, so we could go take all the empty boxes to the cardboard recycle bin. I asked him if he would help Sam & Mikey put them in the car. He thru a hissy fit, because since he didn't make the mess, why should he have to clean it up. @@ I just don't understand why he can't do a few things once in a while to help me, when he expects me to jump thru hoops for him. He went out with his friend today,and told me he would be home by 1:30pm, so I could go pick up our fixed washer. He finally came home around 8pm. There are so many little things to add to this story, but it's just more of the same. Ugh. This is just making me mad all over again. He wants to bitch about the kids lying to us, or that Sam doesn't check in. Well , duh. In this regard, I think being a single parent could be easier. No other parent that you have to meld your disciplining ways with. What you say goes.

Mix it up good!

One of my favorite things to do with my kids, it to bake. With a whole shelf dedicated just to dessert type foods, we have plenty of recipes to choose from. The one thing that would make this job soo much easier, would be a really great stand mixer. At Ribbon Rock Star they want to help us with this problem- they are giving one lucky person a brand new Artisan Kitchenaid stand mixer (5qt)!!! I can't tell you how much I've drooled over these in the Sunday ads. I think the first thing I would make in this, if I were to win, is a Peanut Butter Cake, w/ peanut butter frosting of course. Taken off this great website, http://www.cakecentral.com, this cake is so moist & melt-in-your-mouth-good, you will definately be tempted to take more than one piece. lol

Peanut Butter Cake

Ingredients

1 boxed yellow cake mix (I use one with pudding). 1 c sour cream (makes it more moist and homemade tasting) about 3/4 c peanut butter (I used the natural- no added sugar or fats) ingred. called for on the cake box 1 recipe buttercream and peanut butter to add (to taste) about 1-3 T milk to thin icing if needed

Mix cake according to instructions and add sour cream and peanut butter. Bake as usual and frost with chocolate or peanut butter buttercream frosting.Add peanut butter to taste, to buttercream. It tends to thicken up so thin w/milk.

Those Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies are Low-Fat, right?

Now that Joshua is 3 months old, I've been contemplating about starting up an exercise program. I've gotten as far as perusing the Fitness section on our cable's On Demand ( did you know that they have everything from 5 minute Abs, to Carmen Electra's Striptease, to Leslie Sansone's Walking?), and thinking about taking the kids down to the park more often.
I think I've found some new motivation though. After reading about the great "Skinny Bitch" contest that Corrin is holding (http://corrinrenee.com/2008/06/06/contest-are-you-a-skinny-bitch/), it made me think about what I want for myself. Now that I am done having kids, I am ready to let the "skinny bitch" inside me out! I've never been a skinny gal. But I used to be at a pretty healthy weight. You would think with all the running around that I do, I would be little. lol My goals this summer is to run & play with the little ones at the park. We are really lucky to live 2 blocks from a big one. I also would love to start jogging again. I used to go running at nighttime, around the block. Maybe I can talk Sam into going with me. I want to start doing my walking dvds again, also. Leslie Sansone makes it really easy for us moms, who can't just pack up and go walking whenever they feel like it. But they definately will leave you feeling like you worked out all your areas! I highly recommend them! http://www.lesliesansone.com/
One of my biggest problems, is eating healthy. I loathe vegetables with a passion! Thankfully, I make up for it in fruit. :) Summer to me is fresh peaches, plums, nectarines, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Yum! A big goal for me this year, is to switch the whole family to a more healthy lifestyle. I've been making little switches, trying to buy lowfat versions of things that we eat, and cutting down portion sizes. While I want Matt & myself to be healthier & happy with the way we look, I also want to instill these same things in the kids. I want them growing up happy with their bodies.

Schools out for the Summer!

Today was Sam & Mikey's last day of school. And they both had a bbq going on today.....at the same time.......in two different places. That is the dilemna of having more than one kid, when they both have functions at the same time. How do you decide which one to go to? Sam's won out today, as they did a promotion certificate thingy. I can't believe my "baby" is going to be in high school in August....sniff sniff........... I'm really going to have to stay on him next year about his schoolwork though. He did pretty good on his report card, 1 A the rest B's, except for Math. He dropped from a C, down to a F. :( Which is amazing to me, seeing that I didn't have to go in for a Teacher Conference this last semester. I'm not sure if it was just missing assignments, or if he just didn't get it. I'm totally lost in Math- I was & still am more of an English person. I love reading & writing!

After Sam's ceremony thing, I walked up to the park, just in time to walk back to school w/Mikey's class. lol But I did hang out in the classroom the last half hour. My 6 year old has such a sensitive personality- he was asking one of the moms to sign his autograph book. lol While I want him to hold on to that as he gets older, I also want him to "toughen" up a bit. I don't want anyone taking advantage of him. I'm really proud of him in his reading this year! He started out at a Kindy level A-2 level. He is ending the year at Level 24+, which is a second grade level. His teacher said he had the biggest jump of all the first graders. I'm glad that he likes reading as much as I do.

My summer is already starting out busy. Joshua FINALLY has a Kaiser medical number, so he has a dr's appt Monday morning. I'm ashamed to say that this will be his first appt. Thankfully he has been a healthy guy so far. I am really curious how much the little turkey weighs. He will be 11 weeks this coming Sunday. I can't believe how much he is growing. He has started smiling & cooing this last week. I just love him so much! I wish things were easier, I would totally have more kids. lol Don't tell my mom I said that.

Free pizza & How to keep it cold

Woohoo! After playing phone tag with the nice lady, I found out I was the winner of the Freschetta Slice of Life Sweepstakes thru Working Mother magazine. I will be receiving a 5.0 cubic feet freezer, and pizza for a year. 12 coupons for free pizza. I find it funny what they consider pizza for a year, and what our family considers pizza for a year. We definately are a "pizza once a week" kind of family. Heck for a long time, if you asked Brandon or Andrew what they wanted for dinner, you would get pizza for an answer 98.7% of the time. We normally stick with the "cheaper" pizzas- Totinos & Tony's. Sometimes splurging on the better more expensive kind. I think I am more excited about the free pizza coupons, than I am the freezer. lol Probably because we already have an extra refrigerator & a chest freezer in the garage. Will probably end up selling this one. At an ARV of $350.00, this is my biggest prize win this year. June is really shaping up to be a great month! I also won a coupon for a free Dibs Ice Cream, on an instant win last night.

They are sending me an affy, and I have to email them some pics of me & the boys. We might be in a Freschetta ad in Working Mother mag.

June, already?

Alot of stuff has happened the last couple of weeks. We ended up moving back to our house. I know a lot of people think this was a huge mistake, including most of my family. But after living at my brothers for a week, I truly wasn't happy with my original decision. Things haven't been perfect this last week & a half, but they have been better. Matt & I actually are talking about stuff, he is working on the drinking, and I am trying to spend more time with him. I'm looking at getting us into some type of counseling too, once the older kids are out of school. We've been together for almost 13 years now, and I really want to try to see if we can work things out. I talked to my younger brother yesterday, and he says as long as I am happy, then he supports m decision. I just feel sad that the rest of my family is so angry with me. I know I upset their lives in all this mess too, and for that I m sorry. But as a wise friend of mine told me, don't listen to what anyone else is telling me to do- listen to my own instincts. And for the way I have felt this last week, it feels "right" to be back home. I hope in time, my parents & sil can "forgive" me & let me be close again. :(


On a brighter note, the little ones had their last day at preschool last Friday. Brandon is now officially a Kingergardener. Their teachers had a picnic at the park, and did a presentation for the kids- had them walk over a bridge, to signify moving on to next year. I am so glad that they both got to experience school this year. I really think it gave Brandon a head start for next year, and Andrew solid roots for a second year in preschool. One of their little friends, Caela, is having a going to Kindy party in a couple of weeks. They are looking forward to it! Sam & Mikey get out of school this Friday. I feel bad, because the first graders are having a bbq at the park on Friday, and the 8th graders are having a bbq at the school at the same time. I really want to go help at both, but don't know if I can go to either- as I will have all 3 of the little ones. They are doing a diploma type thing for the 8th graders, so I might try and sneak over there for that, then maybe go to the park for a while.

Sam will be home this summer. He decided he wanted to stay here & hang out with his friends. I feel a bit mixed on that. I feel bad that his dad wont' see him, but he will be 14 this summer (gasp!) and is old enough to make his own decision on this. He might go out at Christmastime this year. Mikey will be going on his first plane ride very soon! My good friend Anna, is taking him to Vegas, to visit a friend on the 16th of this month. He is super excited about it! I am so thankful for my friend. She has taken Mikey to Disneyland, and is really close with the 3 middle boys. She took all 3 of them for several days, after our drama in the house.

I've gotten back into doing my sweepstakes, in between cleaning & unpacking stuff. I had a kind of slow last two months. Yesterday I received a Strawberry Shortcake Dvd boardgame as a surprise in the mail, and also an email that I won a cookbook from Tastebook.com. I've also won 3 Wubbanub(TM) Infant Pacifier. They are really cute! We won the dog, the frog, and the cat. I love winning something useful. I also received Aqua Camisole - Karen Neuburger Official Store &Aqua Bikini - Karen Neuburger Official Store. I love the color & the feel of the material. I have a box of Max factor makeup coming too- was one of 401 winners thru a Lucky magazine sweeps. These may not be huge wins, but the little stuff is fun to get.