"D" is for Double Chocolaty Chip!

This was going to be my "D" post for Alphabe Thursday but I didn't get linked in time. Blogger was having problems when I wrote it and then I forgot to go back and link... Sorry Ms. Jenny, my assignment is late!

Oh Well, here it is anyway.

For Mother's Day, Alex wrote this for me.

This is what it says..

One Special Moment

One special moment is when you wake me up in the morning :(. Then you tell me to get in the shower :(. When I get out you say, "It is Starbucks day" :). After I eat breakfast and we get in the car and talk about what we are going to get I say "I want the Double chocolaty chip. I love the Double chocolaty chip". After we pull out of the hot garage we head to Starbucks. When we order I get the cold Double chocolaty chip :). I sip it down then you drop me off at student council. That is a special moment :).

Alex has Student Council once or twice a month. It's always on a Thursday which happens to be my day off :) So on those days Alex goes into school early. We drop Connor off and still have a little time before Alex has to be at school so we decided one day to go to Starbucks to kill time. It then became our little tradition. We have had some great one on one time and some really good conversations. I was happy to see that these times are as special to Alex as they have been to me!

We never kept it a secret but apparently Connor didn't know about our little Starbucks dates. I guess I will have to come up with something for he and I. I think he misses a lot of what's going on between having his Ipod earbuds in or texting :) Teenagers! haha Maybe now he will be a little more engaged, you think??

"C" is for Condiments

Today I am participating in Jenny Matlocks Alphabe Thursday

"C" is for Condiments

Not to sound too Andy Rooneyish but..

Have you ever noticed how strongly convicted we are in our preference for which condiments we do and do not like?

For example, I love Mayo. OHHH that reminds me "Happy Cinco de "Mayo" day ;) just a little joke, I know it was a bad one but anyway... I actually stole that one from a joke I read. Nothing political.. just a little joke.

Where was I??

Oh yes, I LOVE Mayo. I love it on hamburgers, sandwiches, even hot dogs sometimes. I've also been known to dip a fry or two in it from time to time.

Susie (my MIL) really hates mayo, and she is very "passionate" in her conviction of hating mayo.

I also like mustard on just about anything, but not the fancy stuff. Just plain ole yellow mustard will do fine for me.

Mark (my hubby) has always been a mustard guy. He likes it on just about everything. He used to love to dip his Lays potato chips in it (still does once in a while).

I do not care much for Ketchup except to dip fries in. I will tolerate it on a Wendy's single (with cheese of course) because I never think to ask for no Ketchup so I've just learned to like it on those occasions.

Connor and Alex have always preferred mustard on everything for the most part, although just a few months ago Connor requested Ketchup on his hot dog and when I acted surprised he kind of insinuated that he had been eating Ketchup on his hot dogs for a long time.. Okay, I know I'm a full time working Mom now but how did I miss that?

Alex still pretty much sticks with mustard. Neither of the kids really cares to dip their fries in Ketchup which has always astounded me. How can you like Ketchup but not want to dip a fry in it??

Is Relish a condiment?? Relish is something that Mark and I never cared for but some of our parents and grandparents LOVE it. In my condiment experience I find that people either love or hate relish. There really is no in between with this particular condiment.

I could go on and on but do you see what I mean?? We are SOOOO passionate about our condiments.

What kind of condiment person are you?? Mustard? Ketchup? Mayo? Oh.. and we could go further, if you like Mayo, do you prefer Regular Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip?? My mom always bought Miracle Whip. I remember her treating it like it was such a luxury, which it was!

So which is it for you??? Mustard, Ketchup, Mayo??  Have you ever mixed the 3... I know, I know, it doesn't sound good but don't knock in until you've tried it, ;)

It's a Zoo around here!

I was "working" on the computer in the house Saturday evening when I heard a faint, far away "MOM!"..... "Moooooooooommmmmmmm!!"

I looked out the window and there was something in the tree! I couldn't quite make out what it was, so I ran downstairs and sure enough...

There were a couple of wild monkeys up in that tree.

And one of them was calling my name.

Yep.. it's a Zoo around here.

I am participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday.

Check out other Z Posts HERE.

Skylar and the Squirrel

Our little Italian Greyhound Skylar is obsessed and I do mean OBSESSED with squirrels. They taunt her everyday.. they jump from branch to branch.. they come down the tree trunk and stare her down, daring her to come after them. All the while she sits at the back door and watches, perched to attack at any moment. She will run upstairs and jump on the bed and look at them in the tree, then speed back down the stairs and race to the back door and stare them down there. All the while shaking, literally quivering ready to pounce. She is quite the hunter. I know it's in her blood but she is just crazy when it comes to those squirrels! It is her daily obsessions and/or entertainment. She must burn a ton of calories just quivering as she watches those darn squirrels!

I am participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday.

"S" is for Skylar and the Squirrel.

Alex we are so proud of you!

Alex had his Orchestra concert last week. It was his first since taking up the violin this school year. He did a great job and we were very PROUD of him! I think one of his favorite parts was when he actually got to put his violin down and go over to the big base drum and beat it a few times during the play part of the program.

I

I am participating this week in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday.

This weeks letter is "P"

"P" is for PROUD!

O is for O-pen it... O-pen it!

I am participating in Alphabe Thursday over at  Jenny Matlock's Off on my Tangent. Today is the letter "O".



Grandma Susie sent us a care package. It was waiting outside the gate.. Alex went and got it and opened it. Inside were a few odds and ends, a few things we left at Christmas such as a spare sock, a bottle of shampoo, some boxed mac and cheese she probably purchased before we got there and never got around to eating, a package of chocolate donuts (which got snatched and hidden so fast by Mark I never even saw them). And the VERY VERY best part was a simple plastic container.........with............her famous CARROT COOKIES!!! I have always loved them and she was planning to make them at Christmas and never got around to it, not that I was disappointed or anything :) Better late than never right?

THANK YOU MOM!











































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">Recipe for Carrot Cookies

N is for News

I am participating in Ms. Jenny's Alphabe Thursday.





I try to avoid the news. I check my little google weather calendar every morning or ask Mark for the forecast. I find the news disturbing and negative! Call me pollyanna but I'd rather put my head in the sand. No, not really. I just figure if anything really important happens I'm sure to hear it from someone else. Is that irresponsible??

Mark bought a newspaper on Sunday. We hadn't had one in a long time. I did enjoy reading the gossip inserts inside and also enjoyed browsing the coupons but I didn't actually read the news.

I did enjoy watching the rescue of the Chilean minors a couple of months ago. It was very inspiring and heart warming to watch. I wish there were more stories like this one. I think there should be a good news channel and a bad news channel. That way you know what you're tuning in for.

Mark used to get a little "wrapped" up in the news. I would walk in and he would be talking back to the TV. I would give him an easy solution; just turn it off. Sometimes it worked.

Anywho.... Does anyone know who won the presidential election??

M is for Meal planning...

I think I can... I think I can...

Today I am participating in Ms. Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday.

Todays letter is the letter "M".

I have tried and tried through the years to have a good meal planning system.

When my boys were little I belonged to a "MOPS" group. It Stands for Mother of preschoolers and we met at a church once a week and the kids got to go in their own class for their age group and us moms got to chat, make crafts, eat and usually they had a guest speaker.

One week the speakers were two ladies that had written a cook book called "Don't Panic! It's in the Freezer"

The book explained how to cook once a week and make triple portions so that you could freeze them and have them later. I did it for a while and really enjoyed it. It was such a great feeling to have a freezer full of meals I could just thaw out and pop in the oven or cook on the stove. I actually still use several recipes I got from this book.

My friend Lindsay over at Bytes Of Memory is a really good meal planner and she posts her meal plan along with recipes every Monday (I think it is). I admire her organization!

My friend Terra over at Sittingonanoak is also a good meal planner. If I remember right she does hers by the month!

I really intend to get better at meal planning this year. I have to admit Mark does a lot of the cooking because I work until 5 or 5:30 several nights a week. I'm pretty lucky to come home and have dinner on the table! If I could make some meals ahead and freeze them it would help him too.

Soooooooo I'm just kind of thinking out loud really but I would love from you if you are a good meal planner or not. What do you do and how do you do it??

"F" is for Frolicking in Fall leaves

I am participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday.

Last weekend the boys decided to rake some leaves..... they had the best time raking leaves into a big pile and then skakeboarding through the pile.... then rollerblading... then jumping. They would rake a big pile and then scatter it as they "rode" through it. Then they would start all over again, raking (actually using a big brush broom) them all into a big pile and starting all over again. The best part was seeing them work together. Skylar and Max loved it, they just couldn't stay away.

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"E" is for exercise!

I am participating in Jenny Matlocks Alphabe Thursday!



"E" is for Exercise!

Through the years I have tried many kinds of exercise. I've pretty much loved them all..... for a while anyway.

In the 80's I did aerobics classes. I woke up early to do Jane Fonda in my living room.


In the 90's I did Jazzercise! I have to admit I loved Jazzercise. Mom (Susie) got me started. Remember that Mom? It's the one time in my life I actually felt like I could dance!
It's so fun to do the dance steps along with the music with a big group of women (and the occasional man). Also do you remember those cute leotards we wore... so many colors, prints and styles......


I was also a runner for a while. I have to say it was the most effective as far as weight loss goes....

I have spent many early morning hours at the rec center doing the treadmill or Elliptical machine while enjoying my "workout" playlist on my ipod.

Lately though the only exercise I get is walking the dogs a few times a week. I know walking is good but probably not when you stop every five seconds because there is something so interesting for them to sniff... like the trail of a bunny, an old food wrapper or my personal favorite.... another dogs poop :(
I recently read a book titled "Perfectly Imperfect" by Lee Woodruff. She is the wife of ABC News reporter Bob Woodruff. He's the one that was hit by an (IED) in Iraq a few years ago. They wrote a book together titled "In An Instant" about the experience. I really enjoy her writing style. While reading her book "Perfectly Imperfect." I found myself tearing up one minute and laughing out loud the next. She write in one chapter about how swimming has always been a part of her routine. She described her morning swims in a lap pool as very therapeutic. She described how when she's under water it's so quiet and peaceful.You can be alone with your thoughts. Even have a good cry and who would notice? She spoke about how as she swam the rhythm of her strokes were almost meditative. I thought "I want to be a swimmer!" It sounded so perfect. Only problem is I'm not. Much of a swimmer that is. I've always admired those who could languidly glide through the water from one end of the pool to the other. Don't get me wrong I can get from one end to the other also, it just isn't pretty. It's kind of a mixture of dog paddling and a few sporadic jerky kicks here and there. Also as I discovered this summer as Alex was challenging me to touch the bottom of the pool in the deep end and bounce back up before him, I'm very "buoyant!" :) I could only get down a little ways and I would float back up to the top. Even after Alex explained to me - "Mom you have to let all your air out of your lungs so you will sink" I don't think too much air in my lungs was the problem if you know what I mean.




One last thing I have to share about exercise... When I was several months pregnant with Connor I decided I should be exercising. You know how you try to do everything perfect with your first pregnancy or your convinced permanent damage will be done and you will feel guilty for the rest of your life. Like every time your child does something wrong you think... If only I had stuck with my "no caffeine" rule?? Well I was home alone one day. I had rented an aerobics tape for expecting mothers. It had been sitting on the shelf for several days. I finally worked up enough gumption to actually put it in the VCR (yes that was back when we only had VHS tapes). Anyway I started watching it and just couldn't get myself to get up and do it. Pregnancy makes you tired in case you didn't know... which the exercise would probably have helped if I had done it. Anyway I convinced myself that maybe I should just watch it through the first time while sitting down. Mark and Tamara (my sis in law) happened to come home while I was sitting there watching the tape. I looked at them and they looked at me and Tamara burst out laughing.... (Do you remember that Tam?). I guess it did look pretty comical. Me, this big pregnant person (probably with a snack of some sort in my lap) Sitting all comfy in a nice big comfy chair watching pregnant women to aerobics!

By the way, that is far as it ever went... :-)

Anyway... I will continue to ponder exercise and hopefully get motivated enough to actually do it.

What exercise routines have you done in the past. Do you have one now?

"B" is for Buckeye

I am participating in Jenny Matlocks Alphabe Thursday.




This weeks letter is "B"

"B" is for Buckeye

Since the boys were pretty small Grandpa has had this tradition of every fall when the buckeyes fall off a buckeye tree near where he works he would bring the boys a few.He says they are good luck. It came from a tradition of when he was a little boy and every time this one uncle came around he always brought him a buckeye
The boys always look forward to it and always enjoy seeing who has the biggest, littlest..most in one shell. A couple of weeks ago Grandpa actually took them over to show them the tree that they had been coming from all these years. They came home with a whole bowl full!!

We visited the Botanical gardens this weekend and low and behold we found a buckeye tree. They had a great time looking around for just the perfect one with their friends.

"A" is for Autumn

I am participating this week in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday... this weeks letter is "A"!!


What Autumn means to me...


A new beginning, a fresh start

New smells in the air

Vivid colors on the trees, oranges, yellows and reds

The promise and excitement of a new school year

The smell of a freshly sharpened pencil

A brand new Big Chief notebook with blank pages just waiting to be filled
(remember those?)

The pulling out of sweaters, jackets and coats

Warm fuzzy socks

The familiar smell of burning embers in a fireplace

The wonderful aroma of hearty soups and stews simmering in the crock pot

The excitement of guessing when the first snowfall will come

That's what Autumn means to me

What are your favorite things about this time of year??

Yellow

I am participating this week in Jenny Matlock's Alpha-be Thursday Rainbow Summer school.

This week's color is Yellow......

I have always dreamed of living in a yellow house.

A quaint little house with white trim and of course a white picket fence.

Add in a few creamy yellow daffidils that have burst through the earth ignoring the fact that there is snow still lingering from the last winter snowfall.

And of course some Bright, cheerful yellow tulips, making their fleeting appearance... always gone too soon.

Yellow sunflowers crowding around the wooden fence in the back yard each stretching and reaching their faces toward the yellow summer sun.

Sprinkle in a few dandelions popping up in the yard.

Oh wait...what is that cold wet sensation. Is that our loyal yellow lab sniffing around? Nope... It's our little Italian Greyhound and he isn't yellow.

Y is for YELLOW

I am participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday....

Today's letter is Y.

Yellow is my son Alex's favorite color. It has been for a long time. I think it matches him perfectly. He's bright and sunny. It was pink until he was old enough figure out it wasn't cool for a boy to like pink. We can probably thank is big brother for that.

A poem for Alex

Y = young.... he is my baby (even though he's almost in the double digits)

E = edge.... Alex lives "on the edge", always ready for anything

L = loving... it may sound simple but Alex is very loving... he has a tender heart with people, animals and every living thing.

L = Labor Day.. Alex was a labor day weekend baby. His birthday always falls around labor day

O = olives.. this boys loves olives, especially black

W= water.. he loves the water and always has. If there is a puddle, creek, swimming pool, hose anything water related around he will be there!