Monday, June 28, 2010

Weekend Update 6/25-6/27

Last Thursday my grandma had surgery on her legs to open up clogged arteries. I will give my quick public service announcement here – do not smoke! Smoking causes more than just cancer, it also causes cardiovascular problems and while this are never used in scare tactics 101 – reasons not to smoke – it is every bit as harmful and fatal as lung cancer. I am personally an ex smoker myself and after seeing what my grandma has been through, I am confident I will not go back. That said, I am so incredibly proud of her. After over 60 years of smoking, my grandma was able to kick the habit! I hope she is loving being smoke free, and now that the surgery is behind us, she will no longer have pain in her legs and will probably feel 10 yrs younger!

Anyway, all that to tell you how I started my weekend. I get home from work on Friday, Scott and I made dinner – filets on the grill with sautéed mushrooms, corn on the cob, and some take and bake bread. I messed up on the filets. I got to the store too late and the butcher had gone home for the night so I just asked for the two thickest ones. I didn't give it much thought, when I got home and took a look, turned out one of them was over half fat. I am so annoyed, basically, Scott and I end up splitting one filet, oh well. Next time I'll know better. After dinner, I am going to the hospital to see Grandma, but it was late and she was tired, so I only stay a few minutes, my mom and aunt were there, and they were heading up to Kaisers (favorite pizza place) for dinner. I decide to join them. Which works out great for me after my tiny dinner. Not so great for Scott though.

When I get home, Joey is still up. We hang out for a bit, then we all head to bed early.

We wake up Saturday morning and I make ham and cheese omelets with toast for the boys. I share with Tyler, Scott shares with Joey. Then we start packing for our first big outing of the day – my niece's soccer game. It was a 10 o'clock game and it was about 45 minutes away, so after breakfast I get the kids dressed, Scott packs the bag, we take turns showering then load, the cars and off we go.

I have to admit, Scott and I have become uber-efficient when it comes to getting out of the house. I mean sure, we have our times where we forget things, but I tell you, he and I can get ourselves and all three kids ready and out the door in less than an hour.

The soccer game was fun, as an ex soccer player, I really enjoy watching her play. Brings back memories. Makes me want to join an adult team. I should look into that. I bet I'd love it. Too bad I am so out of shape.

I took some pictures at the game. The boys were so good. They loved playing with the squirt bottles.









Leah slept through most of the game - but she was wearing the cutest little dress



After the game we head home for lunch and naps. Scott and his cousin Mark are going to the Cubs Sox game that night. I clean the house, work on laundry. Scott mows the lawn, power washes the kids outside toys, and cleans off the driveway. Around 3:00 Mark arrives. We all sit down and have a beer together. Then we start packing them a cooler for the train ride to the city. They took off at about 4:30.

I have my parents over for dinner. My mom is making us shrimp cocktail, salads and ciabatta bread. This sounds fantastic to me and I can't wait! They arrive at 5:30, we open a bottle of wine. Joey is demanding that we watch Toy Story for about the 118th time this weekend. I'm okay with it, mostly because I like the movie and he barely watches it. My parents have never seen it, so they are enjoying the show too. That Mr. Potato Head is such a hoot. Anyway, we have a lovely evening and by the time my parents leave, I have two kids in bed and it's just Joey and I. We read some books, watch Thomas the Train and then he heads off to bed.

I stay up and look for a movie to watch. I stumble across the movie Requiem for a Dream. Have you seen this?? I swear this movie is like the best "Don't do Drug's" ad campaign ever. I think I shall make my teenage children watch it every other week just to remind them the potential outcome of experimental drug use. Holy cow, this is one depressing film.

Okay – I'm going to cut this recap short, because Sunday was pretty slow. We did venture out to Algonquin, IL for a party at Scott's Aunt and Uncle's house, but I didn't get any pics and honestly it was totally hard and exhausting , then we just did yard work and hung around the house. I'll spare you the details.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Weekend Update 6/18-6/19

So, it turns out that being a "blogger" is way more time consuming than I ever imagined. I still am enjoying sharing my story, but, geez, there is no way I can keep the pace of writing that I had going before.


Last weekend was so much fun! The carnival was in town for our towns annual festival. Saturday morning we got up early as always. Scott FINALLY decided to finish tiling the bathroom. Yes, recall that bathroom project I used to post about, well, it stalled. But we are back in action. The floor is tiled and we are getting ready to grout. I made the boys breakfast. Cheddar Cheesy Eggs and toast. Threw in some laundry and cleaned up the house soom. The we walked downtown to the parade. Joey had so much fun grabbing the candy and running around. Ty had his first sucker. It was great.







After the parade we headed home, grabbed a quick lunch then we were off again – this time to my nephews little league game. It is the playoffs. The boys ran around at the field – had a great time – Casey's team won. I can't wait for the boys to start little league.





We got home at around 3:30, the boys were beat. I put them down for naps, but Ty wasn't having it, so he stayed up. Scott went to mow the yard. Ty and I played. When Joey got up we packed up again, this time to go to the actual festival. We were thinking that Joey may be old enough this year for the rides. He wasn't, but there was this huge slide there that he loved going down. We hung out downtown for a couple hours, had some funnel cake and then decided to head home. Scott and I were displeased. We wanted to go to the beer garden. We saw our childless, single friends in there drinking beer, socializing and it seemed fun. So, we started making calls – who can sit at our house while our kids sleep? I try my parents first, but they are having a night out, so I go knock on the neighbors door. Hello, would you please come sit at my house while my husband and I go to the beer garden – thank you.

It worked out great! Everyone was in bed. Scott and I went out – we had a blast.

Sunday didn't work out so great- we were tired. But we headed to my parents for Fathers Day breakfast, then to Scott's family's house for Fathers Day Cookout. In our tired state, we decieded it a great idea not to dress the kids for the Father's Day Cookout, we were running late, so we could just dress them when we get there, right. I packed the clothes and put them on the counter, where they stayed, as we pulled out of the driveway. We, got there only to realize that our children were without clothes. This is highly embarrassing. I mean, I forget things from time to time, no bottle in the diaper bag, oops, stop at Walgreens, no water for the formula, oops stop at a gas station, but to show up at someone's house with three kids wearing nothing but diapers, well there is just no excuse for that. My in laws were cool about it, meaning no one lectured me or wagged their finger at me. So, oh well, life goes on.

That night the highlight of the evening was finding a toad in the kid's swimming pool this was tons of fun for the boys.








And that was that – we survived another weekend. And I posted about it just in time to start another one!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Just Another Day 6/15

This morning I woke up at 5:15. Well, I should say that Leah work up at 5:15 and I begrudgingly obliged. Anyway, it was a blessing in disguise because today is the first day that Scott's cousin is coming to our house to baby sit. She will be helping us out all summer. And my house is a total mess. So, I got to it. Empty the dishwasher, fill from last night, sweep the floors, clear the counters, put away the toys, fold some laundry, wipe down the bathroom, straighten Leah's room, vacuum the rug, change the changing pad cover, put away the laundry, and clean all the bottles and sippies. Yes, I did all this before 6:30 am, when the boys wake up. So, I change their diapers and send them off to the living room, turn on Disney's playhouse and hit the shower. Hilary gets to the house at 7:25, we go over all the important information. How to use the remote, what to make for lunch, where to find the diapers, wipes, how to mix formula. Finally I take a deep breath and head off to work I hope I covered everything, I hope the boys behave, I hope Hilary can handle it. I hope, I hope, I hope.

Work went by fast, I have a lot to do. I put on my headphones and cranked it out. I stayed until almost 5 o'clock. Scott was not happy, but I am glad to finally have the flexibility to put in the hours I need to. I am however beyond annoyed with this intern situation and wish I had not signed up for it. I swear she is at my desk every two seconds with questions and sorry but I don't see the value in training someone who is only around for eight weeks. Not to mention that I asked my boss for to have her report to me so that I could get some direct management experience and he went ahead and did all the paperwork to have her basically reporting to a different BA – we are "sharing" her but all the HR and IT info is going to him. So, I am not getting the management experience, only a PITA intern bugging me all day. Not cool.

Vent over. Tonight, I am making chicken nachos and watching the Bachelorette. That's it, oh well not really, I am sure I will be doing laundry and playing with kids too.

UPDATED - Chicken Nachos Pic and Recipe:
Grill the chicken then cut it in cubes
Layer in pan Chips, Refried Beans, Chicken and Cheese



Bake until Melty
Scoop into bowls top with: Lettuce, Tomatoe, Black Olive, Sour Cream and Jalapenos. I would usually use green onion too but we were out.

Friday, June 11, 2010

I'm going home 6/10

This morning I woke up in my hotel room and got ready all alone and thought, well this has been nice, but I can't wait to get home! I miss my little monsters so much. I can't wait to give them a hundred hugs and kisses. So, I got ready, packed my bags and headed into the office. Today I have a meeting scheduled to review some miscellaneous processes. I have gotten tons done in the last couple days and I am feeling good about reaching my month end goals. In a few minutes I head to an all department meeting for an hour and a half and then I get to head to the airport. I already know that I have been assigned seat 22F – way in the back as always. Boo!

The plane ride is miserable, I have a cold that has turned into a sinus problem, probably an infection, but anyway, my ears hurt so bad, I thought I would cry. I did however manage to address the majority of my birth announcements on the plane ride, which means they will be mailed out this weekend, just a few days late of my three-month goal. I'll take it. I landed at O'hare deaf in one ear, got my bag, then I needed to track down the baggage claim office. Apparently I dropped my cell phone somewhere back on Tuesday and some good Samaritan called my mom and turned it in. Anyway, this must be my lucky day, because not only was my bag like the 5th one off the carousal, but the somewhat rude lady at the baggage claim desk managed to find my phone within 5 minutes, despite her warning that there were over 100 phones back there and my chances were not good. I take the train to long term parking and am on my way home! Won't be long now until I get to see my babies. Again, I get lucky because there is no traffic at all and I make it home with in 45 minutes.

Joey greets me at the door – big smile on his face. He leads me back to his bedroom where I find Scott on the floor with Tyler. They are playing with the Legos. Tyler goes nuts when he sees me. Jumps to his feet and wobbles over to me. He looks older. I know it's only been 3 days, but he just looks older. I give Tyler lots of hugs then head out to the living room. Leah is in her swing. I pick her up, she is smiling. She is soaked and poopy and has spit up all over her shirt, but I restrain from lecturing Scott, he's had a rough couple days. I take her to the nursery, get her changed, she smiles the whole time. I take her out to the couch and we lay there, she is starting to hold her head up and cooing a little. She looks like she wants to laugh, but can't figure out how. It won't be long though.

We make ravioli for the boys, play, get pjs on and have an overall easy night. While I was gone, I tasked my mom with buying us a third crib. We had planned on moving Joey to a toddler bed, Ty to Joey's crib and putting Leah in the nursery, but Joey is not ready for the big boy bed and Leah is getting to big for sleeping in bassinets, car seats, and swings, so we bit the bullet. We are officially a three-crib family. And Ty and Joe are officially roommates. Crazy. Well, it's good to be home. Can't wait for the weekend.

Monday, June 7, 2010

All by myself....

Blackhawks!!

In case you aren't a hockey fan, I should tell you that the Blackhawks are currently playing in the Stanley Cup Finals and are one win away from bringing it home! Hockey playoffs go on forever and Scott, his family and our neighbors are all big hockey fans. Well, with the exception of me, I am a hockey tolerator. Meaning that I do watch pretty much every game, but it's mostly background noise for me as I fold laundry, cook, or clean. And lately, that cooking and cleaning has all revolved around hockey games. We have now officially hosted game night at our house every other night dating back about 3 weeks, which is partly why I have not been keeping up on here. Too busy having parties. And man, it is really starting to catch up with me. I am beat. I'm actually a little sick too, woke up today with a vicious cold. Actually I didn't wake up with it, I had it all night. I know this because I got nudged, yelled at and pushed several times throughout the night due to my very loud congested snoring. Thanks honey.

Lucky for me though, today I am leaving! Yep, I get an all expense paid vacation to lovely Baltimore Maryland courtesy of my employer. My job requires travel. Not every week or anything, but generally at least once every couple months I jet off to exotic locations like Baltimore or Omaha. These fabulous getaways usually include hotel stay at a Hilton Garden Inn and the use of a compact rental car that barely fits my suitcase in the trunk. And they come with the expectation that since you have no family obligations, working 12 hr days should be no biggie at all.

While I'm off in Baltimore, Scott is left to watch all three kids. Yikes, poor guy. He's in for a rough couple days. Leah still doesn't sleep through the night. Like not even close. She gets up usually at midnight, 3 am and then again around 5:30. Usually, Scott and I switch off feedings, so on Monday, I would take the 1st feeding, Scott the 2nd, then I'd do the 5:30, Then on Tuesday, Scott would go first and I'd go second and then he'd get the early morning. So, it's not to bad, but with me gone, Scott will be doing all those feedings. And, while watching the kids is hard work, it will be compounded by the fact that he will be doing it on limited sleep. But, he has lots of people offering to help him out and it's only three nights, so he will survive.

Anyway, I have some great pictures and recipes to share, but I left the memory card at home and now I'll be gone until Thursday, so you'll just have to check back then.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Rainy Days

Yesterday was hot, humid and rainy. Days like this are rough, and make me wonder how I survived the winter at all.

First off, I wake up completely exhausted, I considered for a minute calling in sick, but I had a big training webinar scheduled for 9:00 and I had to be there. So, I sucked it up, got out of bed showered, got the kids ready and got to work at about 8:00. The training went well. I had planned a lunch so that the three summer interns could meet, so I had to do that next. Then I spent the afternoon pretty much screwing around, trying to stay awake and dreading going home.

Lately, since the weather broke, we have been spending so much time outside, that when we have to stay in, it feels like torture. But we had some fun.

Joey learned how to walk in heels



Leah Smiled




Tyler – well Tyler ate


We had Enchilladas for Dinner –



Recipe:

Mix
Chicken – cooked and cubed
Fat Free Cream Cheese
1 Can Mexican Corn
Cilantro

Wrap in whole wheat tortillas, Top with cheese and salsa. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Yum. So, that was it. Pretty slow day all around. Can't wait for the Hawks game tonight!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Ridiculous....

Ridiculous. A long weekend full of parties and events and I took one picture all weekend. And it was of taco dip. So here ya go, this is one of two 7 layer dips that Scott and I made over the weekend. One for the party Scott hosted at our house Saturday night for the Hawks game and one that I took to the Memorial Day BBQ at my parents house this weekend.



In case you want the recipe

Layer:
1 can refried beans
1 cup sour cream ½ cup mayo and taco seasoning (mixed together)
1 package guacamole
Shredded cheese
Tomato
Black Olives
Green Onion

And as my photography amply reflects, my diet did not take a very high priority over the holiday weekend.

As I cleaned my house on Friday, I had a major realization. I miss having a cleaning lady. I had one, back when I was pregnant with Joey and I thought that being pregnant was about the most tiring thing ever. Then I had Joey and realized that clearly, having a baby is the most tiring thing ever. Then I got pregnant again and was like whoa – being pregnant and having a baby MUST be the most tiring thing ever. Then, I got pregnant again and was like Oh my God – Being pregnant, having a toddler and a baby – is absolutely the most tiring thing ever – and it really was. That was actually harder I think than having the three kids, but anyway, I guess my point is that I find it ironic that my need for a cleaning lady has increased exponentially as my ability to afford one has decreased. But, we did manage to get the house cleaned, and we even squeezed in a trip to the park that night.

Here were the major events of the weekend:

Friday- Cleaning and family trip to the park

Saturday – Scott – golf outing followed by party at our house for Blackhawks Game. Tara- road trip to Green Lake with Leah and my Mom to help plan my cousins wedding shower. Joey and Tyler – spend the afternoon with Aunt Mimi and Uncle Chris.

Sunday – Scott is off to the Cubs game followed by Belmont Streetfest. Tara is headed to a BBQ with family at the parents house

Monday – Family trip to the mall, lunch at my parents house, then party at our house for the Blackhawks game.

I am beyond exhausted today.

Scott did manage to snap this shot of Leah and I on the couch last night - at the end of it all. We were both spent. But what a fun weekend.