hand foot and mouth disease

Why is it that the kids "things" sound so horrible...almost gross in name? Hand Foot and Mouth Disease... come on? How about blisters of pain disease... or no more eating this week disease... or drive your mommy crazy with the pain disease...

Last week C started with a small fever, then became cling-on and didn't leave my side for 2 days. On the off chance I got to go to the bathroom and he noticed he would scream the whole time I was gone... to me an all around great time especially because it was 95 + degrees which for us North westerners is just not pleasant... we don't have air conditioning, and we had 10 boys over to celebrate the birthday with a back yard camp out...

Then I talked to my friend Ashlee in So. Cal and her 5 year old has it too and her Pediatrician said his office is seeing tons of cases 45-50 last week alone...

You know it comes from poop right?
We likely got it at the pool... the indoor kiddie pool we ended up in because the outdoor pool heater was broken... the same pool Ben refused to take swimming lessons in years ago... the same pool that is 100 + degrees... the same pool I will not be getting in EVER again athletic club or not...

this leads me to my question...
do any of you have good remedies for sores in the mouth? He hardly eats, and getting him to take pain meds is like shooting him in the mouth with lava... when will it end?

Next week after B works it out of his system... yep... now he says his throat hurts...

veggies

I know I should eat more veggies so maybe just maybe this would help -
POP'rs - I'm hoping to win my first bloggie contest ever with this...

eat your veggies

hoola hooping pizza night

This is a bit long, but for those involved a good laugh. Let's just say that doing the hula isn't as easy as it used to be.

Sting, Sting, Sting... I love Sting

Since I was a child I have loved Sting...

Well, I came across this website Green With Envy and then found my cool new purse for summer... on sale as a bonus feature...

Sting has his Portrait Recycled on a AFI Banner Music Documentary Tote Bag. For those of you wondering where Andy is, he's on the bottom of the bag. Makes me feel like a teenager to carry it but I don't care... and I can feel eco at the same time...

today you are 7!

I know every mom says it every year... I don't know where the time went...
seems like just yesterday I was sitting there thinking...
how on earth will I ever feel better after delivering an almost 11 lbs baby :)


first picture

birthday

first birthday

2nd birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday

5th Birthday

6th Birthday

Today!

Happy Birthday Ben!

What number is your name?

the SITS are helping me find the most interesting things and this one I just couldn't pass up sharing...

I am by no means trying to steal her thunder....
I have no idea how to shut up...
and when I see something to share I must...
we are not running in the same bloggie circles you see...

Debbie @ This is the Life, wrote this awesome little number about how her name was headed to the name cemetery...

my friends Jennifer, Chrissie, Ashlee, Megan, Sarah...
you are all safe...
I think...
you should check it out and see for yourself...
here...

See the thing is when you have a name that you rarely hear, and that when you see it on one of the totally cheesy magnets, pens or key tags you have to buy just because...
you always think you are totally uncool and so not in because when they call your name at the Dr, or at the restaurant they always say Maria...
you are certain that a name like Debbie has nothing on you and the name you were given...
Bet I'm not ever on the top 1000...

well guess what...
Marla had a way better ranking than I thought back in day when I was born... #293...
but I haven't been in the top 1000 for the last 17 years...

wonder if that has anything to do with the Donald leaving Marla Maples?

Looks like I'm headed to the name cemetery like my new blogger friend Debbie...

** Name data are from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

wordless wednesday

Mom... I'm Bored....

over at Bottles, Barbies and Boys she is hosting Summer tips and tricks Tuesday to keep the children busy and the adults sane. To join in the fun, post in your blog, then drop her an e-mail. She will link to you.

My tip this week is the....

Mom, I'm bored chart (there are 2 different charts, I printed both) which I found a few weeks back at Chart Jungle

the magic part of it is that B heads straight to the fridge to look at the list and decide what to do. If I can keep this up for even 2 weeks I'll be thrilled beyond words.

So... you don't want to click on the link? this is sample of what is on the list...

read a book

write a funny story

make a card for someone

go on a nature hunt

make a hat

sort through photographs (this could work for you too :))

school's out for summer

hard to believe that B isn't out of school until June is almost over, but it is finally here.


thought I'd mark the event with a first day of summer photo.


Disaster...



taking a picture of 3 free spirits...


took 25 tries, and finally the best I could do was have the older one's make a face :O





The best summer shoe ever...




not only can a 2 1/2 year old take them on and off with ease, but you can mark the them to tell which shoe goes on which foot. Turtle on the left and excavator on the right.





Keens come in a very close second

google search

thanks to my friend at cheaper than therapy I learned how to check the Google searches that bring people to my blog...

this one had me laughing...

'swimsuit high cut bulge boobs'

Gloucester Teens Had Pact To Get Pregnant

Holy crap.. check out this story I stumbled upon...

Gloucester Teens Had Pact To Get Pregnant
Keller Blog: Kids Having Kids
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (WBZ) ― There's a stunning twist to the sudden rise in teen pregnancies at Gloucester High School. Seventeen students there are expecting and many of them became that way on purpose.

Time Magazine first reported that nearly half of the girls confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. None of them is older than 16.

Schools Superintendent Christopher Farmer told WBZ's Bill Shields Thursday the girls had "an agreement to get pregnant."

Farmer said these are generally "girls who lack self-esteem and have a lack of love in their life."

"The common threat is the lack of self-esteem and purpose in life, and a lack of a sense of direction," said Farmer. "Young women wanting and needing affection."

Principal Joseph Sullivan has not returned calls from WBZ for comment.

Sullivan told the magazine that the pact wasn't the only shocking incident.

"We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," he told Time.

Last month, two top officials at the high school's health center resigned in a fight over contraceptives distribution.

Medical Director Dr. Brian Orr and chief nurse practitioner Kim Daly support confidentially giving contraceptives to students. They were outraged about resistance from Addison Gilbert Hospital, which administers the state public health grant that funds the school clinic.

Normally, the school has about four pregnancies per school year.

According to Time, school officials started looking into the spike in pregnancies after an unusual number of girls came to the school clinic for pregnancy tests. Some came by several times.

"Some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan told the magazine.

The pregnant girls and their parents turned down requests to be interviewed.

A recent graduate who had a baby during her freshman year told Time she knows why the girls wanted to get pregnant.

"They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Amanda Ireland, 18, said. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m."

Ireland also spoke with WBZ about her young pregnancy.

"I don't call it a mistake because the way I look at is everything happens for a reason," Ireland said. "But, no, she was not planned."

WBZ has also tried to contact Mayor Carolyn Kirk and Public Health Director Jack Vondras. Both are said to be out of town this week.

Beyond the social implications of the pregnancies, there are some legal questions being asked, including whether the men who fathered the babies will face charges of statutory rape.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

I saw this over at 4 little men... and just had to do it...

I am… daughter, wife, mother, friend
I want…to laugh every day.
I wish... my family lived closer
I 'm not a fan of… people who act superior
I miss… having time alone with my husband
I fear… boredom
I feel…happy
I hear…wind in the trees
I smell…summer
I crave…chocolate
I search…for the good in everything
I wonder…if I will live in the NW forever
I regret…not getting enough exercise
I love…my family
I care…what my husband thinks of me
I ache…for the pain in my back to go away
I always...want to go on vacation with my husband and kids
I dance…only silly style with my boys
I sing... to make my little "C" happy
I cry…easily
I don’t always... treat my husband with respect and I feel bad about that
I write…what ever comes to mind
I never… want to be sad
I listen…to myself... most of the time
I need… a massage
I am happy... that I have the family I have.

sleep study follow-up

I finally got an answer from the

sleep study

... I have sleep apnea and I'm thrilled

this is strange I know... but for me there is nothing better than going to the doctor with symptoms and getting a diagnosis that has a solution. That rarely happens any more. I get the I don't know... must be age.

So I may have to wear a mask when I sleep but I hear that it will change my life... I'm already married.


All I ever wanted was a good night sleep, and to be able to keep up with my boys! It is a great day...

Next month I'll go back in for a follow-up sleep study and I'll be sure to snap another one of those great pictures :)

swimsuit part 3

swimsuits part 1
swimsuit part 2

The best part about my Lands End swim suit purchase was that I could return it at Sears. Even better, when I went in today to return the suit and see what they have for replacement options I found that they were having a Lands End sale - all suits and various other things were 30%. Bonus. Not only did I find a great suit, I found 2 and they were both on sale!

wordless wednesday

KISS - Rock n Roll all night! @ the grocery store

i haven't mentioned it yet but I have the worst pain in my back... more like my whole lower right side. Dr. is working on an answer and remedy to find relief that doesn't involve the 4 daily muscle relaxers but for now that is the deal.

what does this have to do with Kiss and groceries you ask? Super Hubby won't let me drive the car on these pills.. for good reason so we all went to the grocery store together.

There is a reason I like to do this without the kids and trips like this remind me why. We went for Mac & Cheese because that was all C would have ~ we weren't in the mood to argue.

we left with -
Mac & Cheese
5 lbs of cherries
Popsicles
Doritos
hot dogs
real nutritional

still what does this have to do with KISS as we are walking around the store I realize the music is KISS - "I want to rock and roll" Not the Muzakversion but the real thing... you know the world is changing when this is playing at the Safeway.


When I think of KISS I think 1976, my brother obsessed with Gene Simmons playing his LP and "driving me and my parents crazy"

then that night on A&E we stuble upon family jewels his TV show...no doubt about it... Gene Simmons is STRANGE!

dinner tonight - faking it real simple style

Speedy Sloppy Joes

from real simple

1 7.5-ounce tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground turkey

Kosher salt and pepper

1 cup store-bought refrigerated fresh salsa

Bake the biscuits according to the package directions. Let cool before slicing each biscuit in half. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and cook until no trace of pink remains, about 7 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the salsa and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more. Place the bottom halves of the biscuits on a plate. Top with the meat mixture and sandwich with the remaining biscuit halves.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING

CALORIES 419(47% from fat); FAT 22g (sat 5g); CHOLESTEROL 90mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32g; SODIUM 1,402mg; PROTEIN 24g; FIBER 0g; SUGAR 6g

swimsuit part 2

My swimsuit came... disaster!!

I guess I am forced to go to the store and try them on. thank goodness Sears and Lands End are one so that I can hopefully stick with what I know but find one that works for me... Any idea why they can't picture "real" women in some of the bathing suits? After all not everyone is a size 6 -

Dad Day Balloon fight

Since the sun finally came out in Puget Sound... B & C decided that the best way to spend the day with Dad was with a balloon fight.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

my secret addiction... Webkinz

I have this small problem... I can't stop playing webkinz.

that's right... the kids online/virtual world game, I bought C a turtle because he was so in to B's Webkinz... at least that is what I told myself, and now I can't stop playing and obsessing about my turtle Winny (C named him)

I worry if he's sick, does he need food, did I remember to put him to bed, did I get all my daily "things" done. does he need more exercise, how do I brush his teeth and wash him... It's just like having another kid...

something store

Have you heard about this crazy website? For $10 you can order a "something". No idea what it will be, what size, or what's it's value will be... My Pizza Night Neighbor sent me a "something" and it just made me laugh... I hate to take my photo but I think this is really the only way to get across the silliness of my "something" - (safety glasses) go get your "something" today and let me know what you get...

swimsuits

So, the time has come... I must find a bathing suit. I'm heading to my parents for our annual 2 week summer trip ~ they live on the water in RI, and well... as much as I try... I can't get away without a bathing suit when I have 2 boys who LOVE the water. I buckled down, bought a suit today at Lands End - because they seem to have the solutions to my many "anxiety zones" and then I get this great email forward from my mom all about the joys of this topic and I had to share... I have no idea where it started or who wrote it so I apologize in advance for not giving credit where credit is due...

"It's almost that time of year ... The Bathing Suit

I wandered around, made my sensible choice and entered the chamber of horrors known as the fitting room. I fought my way into the bathing suit, but as I twanged the shoulder strap in place, I gasped in horror - my boobs had disappeared! Eventually, I found one boob cowering under my left armpit. It took a while to find the other. At last I located it flattened beside my seventh rib.. The problem is that modern bathing suits have no bra cups.

The mature woman is meant to wear her boobs spread across her chest like a speed bump. I realigned my speed bump and lurched toward the mirror to take a full view assessment. The bathing suit fit all right, but unfortunately it only fit those bits of me willing to stay inside it. The rest of me oozed out rebelliously from top, bottom, and sides I looked like a lump of play dough wearing undersized cling wrap.

As I tried to work out where all those extra bits had come from, the prepubescent sales girl popped her head through the curtain, 'Oh, there you are,' she said, admiring the bathing suit. I replied that I wasn't so sure and asked what else she had to show me.

I tried on a cream crinkled one that made me look like a lump of masking tape, and a floral two-piece which gave the appearance of an over sized napkin in a serving ring.

I struggled into a pair of leopard skin bathers with ragged frills and came out looking like Tarzan's Jane, pregnant with triplets and having a rough day.

I tried on a black number with a midriff and looked like a jellyfish in mourning.

I tried on a bright pink pair with such a high cut leg I thought I would have to wax my eyebrows to wear them.

Finally, I found a suit that fit...a two-piece affair with a shorts style bottom and a loose blouse-type top.

It was cheap, comfortable, and bulge-friendly, so I bought it.

My ridiculous search had a successful outcome, I figured. When I got home, I found a label which read -- 'Material might become transparent in water.'

So, if you happen to be on the beach or near any other body of water this year and I'm there too. I'll be the one in cut off jeans and a t-shirt! "

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. 
-Unknown

I borrowed this quote from - mom of three crazy kids

margaritas

I may not be a big fan of "O" but I do love margaritas!

The Girlfriend
4 parts The Margarita King ready-to-serve margarita
A splash of pomegranate juice
Directions: Shake ingredients together with ice. Pour strained into a martini glass and serve.

The Pink Drink
3 parts The Margarita King ready-to-serve margarita
1 part peach liqueur
1 part dry champagne
A squeeze of pink grapefruit juice
Directions: Shake ingredients together with ice. Pour strained into a champagne glass and serve.

Lazy Mojito
4 parts The Margarita King ready-to-serve margarita
1 part rumCrush mint leaves
Directions: Shake together ingredients. Pour into a highball glass and serve on the rocks.


The Margarita KingGiovanni's award-winning signature margarita is sold in bottles,
ready to serve. It's made from premium double-distilled blue agave tequila, double-distilled orange liqueur, real lime and lemons, and real sugar cane.Directions: Shake with ice. Pour strained into a martini glass and serve.

wordless wednesday

would you believe she is as girly as they come?

another reason not to eat tomatoes

I love to read USA today when I'm on the road. As a sales person I get all kinds of great talking points for my "small talk" - remember peanut butter?

So today in USA Today there was an article about how 150 people get illness linked to tomatoes... And for me that means another great reason not to eat tomatoes. I can't handle them ever since I got pregnant with B.

Some of my favorite passages from this article -

"home grown tomatoes are not associated with the breakout" - duh!

"it's (salmonellosis) not something that you'd want" - really? 2 days on the toilet sounds like a great time to me...

For those of you who LOVE tomatoes you can still eat the cherry ones and those still on the vine.

The Pants

I returned to the scene of my most embarrassing moment early this morning. The "A" concourse at SeaTac airport. I rarely find myself that way since I'm a United girl, but for my trip to Boise today I was on Horizon and there I was facing the long terminal imaging what people must have seen that day...



Imagine this, Me walking down the terminal, (I'm clear at the end of this picture above) Coffee in one hand and pulling my carry-on with the other feeling pretty good about myself. Suddenly I get hooked up on my pants and realize that they are pooled down around my ankles. That's right, my pants fell down and with both hands full I couldn't pick them up to fast. I could do nothing but laugh, and as I gathered myself together and started walking away all I could think of were the people behind me who had witnessed the whole event. It was Monday morning - the airport was packed~ and you know I was the story of the day for some people!

a whole new world

I've been amazed to find out about this entire culture in blog land - there are contests, and social networks, ranters, and comedians... I can spend hours at my computer getting lost in what other people have to say and constantly thinking... what could I write about next? then I see this contest...

custom banner or free template from this fancy blog designer that could step it for me a notch, because let's face it I'm ready to make my blog stand out...

that's the other thing there ~ are tons of people making a living around this culture!

check out eight crazy designs... here

pizza night and party fouls

we decided to add something new to Pizza night - games

Taboo was the game of choice, too bad Sarah and I got crushed, but there is always next time!

Cupcakes... huge hit!



party foul...

too much excitement and somehow the wine ended up on the carpet... this is where we learned a new trick - pour table salt on it, let stand for 15 minutes and then vacuum up. The salt soaked up most of the wine, and then we used the spot bot and some spray and wash to get the rest out.