6 years ago today

Here we are 6 years ago today just minutes after you were born!

6 years ago today you changed my life and I am forever grateful, who knew that caring for you and watching you grow would be such an incredible journey. Lauren when I met Daddy I thought my life was complete but then we were blessed to find out we were expecting a child and that child was you; and you my dear completed me that day, as did your brother 2 1/2 years later. You have helped me to understand the true meaning of love and what being a parent is all about. You have allowed me to form a much better relationship with my own mother because now I "understand" as one day you will understand.

Your birth was nothing short of amazing, your Daddy and I decided to move up your entry into the world by a week because we were both very afraid that because of Daddy's job he may not be there to welcome you into the world. I remember leaving the house thinking wow.... when I come back I will have a baby! Labor was 7 hours and really a piece of cake. , Daddy kept asking what was taking so long since he had no clue about the labor process. As you will learn Daddy doesn't do well with hospital stuff so on the 1st night of Lamaze class your Dad was so uncomfortable he asked me "are we going to have a Dr. there when you give birth" of course I say "Well then why do we have to be here?" See they kept talking about what could go wrong that really scared Daddy, we left Lamaze class that night never to come back. Do to his lack of Lamaze training he felt the "process was taking long time" so he stepped out several times for a quick bite to eat in the hospital cafeteria giving me the full report of what he had just eaten when he got back. Feeling like I was going to be there forever, at one point I joked with the nurses and my Doctor that you must be born by 6pm because the Maryland Terps Basketball team was in the final 4 and they were to play at 6pm. Thankfully you honored my request, but I would have been ok if you hadn't :)

When Dad and I took you home for the first time we were both so nervous, we didn't have a clue about the car seat and Daddy drove like he had an egg on the hood of the car that he was afraid to break the whole way home. I remember him saying that people were driving crazy that day when it reality it was him. I on the other hand just wanted to get home and take a shower so I could snuggle with you in bed.

You have given me so much in 6 short years and I look forward to a lifetime of memories to come.

Happy 6th Birthday my sweet girl!

Lauren's Birthday Pool Party

The pool party was great she had a blast with her girlfriends and made it clear the only reason there was a boy there was because he was her bother.

Tomorrow will be dinner at Lauren's favorite restaurant Mama Mia pizza! Go figure! But hey I gave her the choice, a little cake with the family then it is back to school and work for everyone!

Enjoy the pictures

Friday Hodge Podge

I am thinking of making this a regular post but I am not sure, so bare with me as I experiment.

This week has flown by, it was great to have Daddyo home for the whole week, and I realize how much the kids and I miss him when he is gone. So welcome back to the circus honey, it's just not the same without you here.

Wednesday Lauren was a bit under the weather; she had a fever of 103 and stayed home with me. Some how I think she knew that I needed a mental health day, because the next morning she was fine not a fever to be had.

Several weeks ago I blogged about my blogarithm issues, many of you suggested google reader, some of you to my surprise were still going to each and every blog daily from your web favorites list. Well I have now jumped on the Google Reader bandwagon! I love love love it!!!! It allows me to read blogs easily and I now have time to find more blogging buddies because it so streamlined. I have also added an RSS reader button on my side bar so you will never again miss another Daily Grind post. Go on subscribe you know you want to!

Last night I baked cupcakes for Lauren's class birthday party which is today (her birthday is Sunday more to come on that) She helped by icing the cupcakes and putting the sprinkles on. Funny thing though she loves to help out when it comes to baking but she won't eat a thing! That's right my soon to be 6 year old will not touch anything that has sugar in it no pies, no cakes no cookies, no candy, nothing!!!! Her idea of a dessert is fruit. Don’t get me wrong I think it is great that I don’t have to tell her to put down the sugar but I am not sure where she gets this from because I do have a sweet tooth as does her daddy and her brother. She will actually go to birthday parties and not have a piece of cake including her own! So today as all her friends gobble up their cupcakes she will sit and smile, happy that they are enjoying her handy work and eat her fresh strawberries and drink her juice box!

On the Birthday topic we are having a pool party for her at a local indoor pool she only wanted to invite girls; she invited a total of 6, 5 of which are coming. This kid sure knows how to make it easy on me. I will be sure to post birthday pictures Monday. Also be on the look out for my birthday post to Lauren on Sunday!

Finally, if you haven't already leave a comment for the Pasta Pot Giveaway. This Pot is "Hot" as OhMommy said! So tell your friends and make this giveaway interesting! Have a great weekend I will be back sometime Sunday!

Read the ............

So as I have bloged before my son is not easy to put to bed although he has gotten better. I have a routine down with him that I do not deviate from eat dinner, bath, brush teeth, 1 TV show, read one book in his sisters room (he loves to sit next to her on her bed) , then one book in his room, lights off and mom lays there for a few minutes for some mom son time. Not to complicated right?

So last night, I do all of this but as I go to leave my son asks for one more book, he turns on the light and reaches for his children's bible. I say "no, you have had your story we can read that tomorrow before we go to bed." Then I start to think I bet God is wagging his finger at me for that, so I say OK one story then it is off to bed. I read the story tuck him in and lay there for a few minutes then give hugs and kisses and say good night.

Now we have had many talks with Jackson about staying in his room once mommy or daddy says good night, he is well aware that bathroom issues, or not feeling well should be the only reason he gets out of his bed. So 10 minutes after I put him down I hear him on the steps, he comes into the family room with his children's bible in tow. Now I know it is great my son loves this book but I can not keep giving in I need to stay strong~~ Sorry God!

I say "no" and send him up to his room, 15 minutes goes by and I think ok he is on his way to slumber land, then all of a sudden I hear banging, loud loud banging, I head up stairs and I can hear Jackson screaming/crying, but I can't quite make it out, I stand there for a minute and finally figure out what he is saying

"Read the Bible Mommy!"
"Read the Bible Mommy!"
"Read the Bible Mommy!"

I couldn't help but laugh and if I could have I would have gotten the video camera to record the event, nothing like having your son call you out for not reading the bible! And yes he did get another story!

OK it is Giveaway Time!!!

I love this Pot! Many a great pasta meal has been made in my own pot. This NEW pot is left over from my husbands Embay days! Yes he was a huge Ebayer before it was really cool. He remembers the days that Overstock was run out of a little warehouse and he knew all of the folks there by first name, my how things change. If you read my post about cleaning out the utility room you will see where I found this gem, who knew good stuff was buried in that mess!

Anyway here is what you have to do to enter leave a comment about this blog, Yup that's it! If you would like to be entered twice blog about this giveaway on your blog and I will put your name in the fish bowl twice.

The contest will run until April 4th so hurry up and enter!!!!

New Design and a "Thank You"

Well, obviously if you're reading this post, you've seen the new site design. I think it adds a lot to the site, I hope you all like it as well. Thanks to my top secret designer - big fan. As we continue to grow our membership, we will continue to make improvements to the site and add more and more functionality and content.

I also wanted to thank one of our very own, xorpheous, for putting together a banner for IndyCar Garage - check it out in the "photos" section of the site... looks awesome! It's so great seeing everyone interact on the site and keep our fellow members up to date on the series news...and to think, the season hasn't even started yet.

Can't wait for Saturday!

To paint or not to paint!

When we first moved into our house 5 + years ago I was very excited about decorating and had visions of what a model home would look like and the desire to do some daring stuff with color. I think this comes from an upbringing in apartments where we weren't allowed to paint the walls so everything was always white. So I set out room by room to create color and warmth in my home. I have received many complements and I have been asked if I had an designer ...nope just little ole me! However the time has come to make a change I have grown tired of my kitchen and I am in need of a kitchen face lift albeit on the cheap's. Hubby is not going to go for new cabinets (I hate the light color but I have learned to live with it) So here is my kitchen at the time I thought the color was really cool and hip and maybe it still is and I have just become un cool. So I am thinking of a smokey gray blue, I think it would look nice with the light wood and the dark counters and will also blen with the green I have in the sun room but I am not completely sold on it so I am taking suggestions! Comment away!

2 days seems like a long time ......but it isn't

On the weekends I tend not to blog or read blogs because I want give that time to my family, that being said when I log on Monday morning it feels as though I have been missing for much longer then 2 days, inevitably I have over 100 blog postings to read. So while I complain silently that the weekends are 2 short I also complain silently that they are to long when it comes to my blog time. I can't win!!!!

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Hopefully everyone had a lovely Easter, we spent it trying to get back on track after a long week. For Easter dinner I made lamb along with green beans and potatoes. I did both in the crock pot, I must pat myself on the back and say that it was a wonderful meal. I decided on Lamb after reading Stephanie's blog A year of crockpotting she gave me the courage to try to cook lamb again after one to many dry lamb meals and it was excellent, since i have 2 crock pots I thought i would also do my green beans too, again yummy! Go check our her block you won't be disappointed there is something there for everyone.
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This weekend I tackled my fish tank, this tank was given to us by our dear neighbors and I love it as do the kids but I am the one stuck cleaning it (like I don't have enough to do) so Saturday I cleaned the tank then Sunday (yes Sunday! can you believe that Petsmart was open on Easter?) I got a couple of new friends for the tank. Pretty neat huh??
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Over the weekend we were also battling allergies and momma may have strep throat. I woke up this morning at 3:30 and my throat was on fire, but I don't have any other symptoms so I am in a wait and see pattern.


Well here is to a good week, keep your eyes open for my second giveaway it is coming soon!

And the bad luck continues.....

First the big man came home last night and we were all happy to see him, I was so happy that I feel asleep at 8pm and didn't wake up till 7:30 this morning, Pretty sad huh, I was so tired it was a long week.

So this morning we are heading out the door for school and work (mighty late I might add) when my husband goes to start his car .... It is dead! yes car number 2 this week that has stopped working......what are he chances?? So we all pile into the one remaining car as I go to pull out of the drive way I push the button for the garage door I see it going down then as I pull away out of the corner of my eye I see it go back up...WTF is going on do I have total bad karma or what?

I get Dan and the kids off on their days (my company give us good Friday off), I came home to call AAA for the 2nd time this week to pick up a car then I do some stuff around the house till they arrive. After they take the car I head to the grocery store then a few other errands and back tot eh house for my work out that I missed this am. It is now 3:30 and I need to go get the kids and get ready for the poker game that is to be played at my house with all the boys.

I prepared meatballs with rolls 7 layer dip and cheated a bought pizza, the game is going on now as I type and I am sorry to o say I think it may be the last here for a while as they are entirely too loud and my son has been out of his room 6 tines wanted to see daddy and his friends. Oh and did I mention that they are playing right under our bedroom so I am not sure when I will get to sleep tonight!

He owes me big time!!!!! Well, hopefully my bad karma will take a turn for the better next week, have a Happy Easter everyone and I will be in touch Monday!

So not exactly the way I planned it......

Ok so my shopping therapy did not get off to a great start last night, I left my office primed and ready got into my car….and it wouldn’t start! No worries …since the car was in the building garage I decided to take the Metro home, or at least close to home I had to take a cab from the metro. I got home kissed the kids, thanked the sitter and still had about an hour to get my "me time" or as some may call it my fix. Go ahead you can call me selfish, I do!

First I headed to DSW where I found a cute pair of brown heels they have sort of a metallic look in addition to the patent leather look. I also found some cute flip-flops for the summer. Since I still had a little time to spare I did a little clothes shopping too at a nearby store. I was n need of a new business suit but I hate getting the same old gray’s blues, blacks and browns. Lucky me, I found a brown and pink suit that I think is pretty cool a bit sassy if you ask me (goes with my new shoes too). Then I took a gander at the dresses, I couldn’t help myself I had to get this little black and green number.

I made it to my meeting just in time and also made it home in time to put the kiddos to bed. I am so beat! Tomorrow should be interesting, I will drive our other car to work call AAA and hope they can pull the other one out with relative ease… who am I kidding it is going to be a circus, but I have cute shoes!!!

Bring on the sponsors!

IndyCar officials and Peak Performance Products representatives announced today that Peak Motor Oil will be the official sponsor of the pole award at each race in the 2008 season. Although some of these types of sponsorships existed in years past, it almost means a little more this year. These are the types of sponsors that will help the series grow and attract and retain the best drivers. Ok, bring on the season already!

Day 3 and still going strong!

So I am on day 3 of no hubby and I seem to be holding up. Luckily I have a great sitter that is going to help me out today and tomorrow by picking the kids up at their schools and taking care of them till I get home from my meetings. Whew!

I found out this morning that my meeting tonight has been pushed back an hour so I thought at first I would go home and see the kiddos but then the selfish side of me spoke up and said "don't do that, you have wanted to go shoe shopping for a while and you know you can't do it with kids so take an hour for yourself" Self I thought you are a pretty cool gal who knows just what I need!

So when I am done here are the office at 4 pm I am headed to Starbucks for a latte then to the DSW show warehouse and I am going to indulge myself with some shoes! OhMommy would be proud! I will be sure to let you know what if anything I find!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patty's Day from our Family to yours!

What a weekend!!!

Book club till 12am
Kumons
Karate
Grocery shopping
Washing and vacuuming the car
Dinner at Bob Evans
5 loads of Laundry
10 plants planted in the yard
One call to 911 (I’ll explain later)
Wrote and mailed Lauren’s birthday party invitations
Made Easter cards for the Aunts and uncles
Created some arts and crafts
Made lunch and dinners for the week
Dropped hubby off at the airport
Cleaned the fish tank
Cleaned the litter boxes
Picked up the house
And lord know what else…


That my friends; was my weekend… The most interesting and scary part the call to 911. We were all outside as a family cleaning up the backyard and planting some bulbs the kids were in and out of the house, for the better part of an hour and we had our eyes on them. Finally we were wrapped up and I checked around Lauren was nowhere to be found so I assumed she was in the house, I called for her no Lauren. Dan started to call for her as well as I looked around no Lauren. Can you say PANIC!!!!! I searched all the known hiding places, as well as each room of the house, and we don’t have a small house… Still no Lauren! I started to freak out this was so not like her, Dan didn’t mess around and called 911 to report her missing.

I made Jackson stay with Dan and I jumped in my car and started to look in the neighborhood, nothing I was in tears. I came down the hill to our house saw all my neighbors in front of my house…then I looked up to the front door and there she was !!!! I did my best not to yell at her, I asked her to come to me in the driveway (meanwhile Dan was telling the cop all was fine) I asked her where she was and she said the TOY BOX !!! In my mind I was like WTF!! She was starting to cry because she saw me crying. I asked her why she hid there and she said she was hiding from her brother. I asked if she had heard us calling for her and she said yes, when I asked why she didn’t respond she said she didn’t know why. I walked right past that toy box in the basement twice and I saw the stuff on the floor around it but I assumed that Dan had made the mess while looking for Lauren. Talk about having a freaking heart attack! Thanks goodness she was safe and sound. A few hours later I had a talk with her about hiding and how it is not a good thing to do, I think she got it. A few hours after the drama one of my neighbors called and asked if she was still alive Barely I said with a chuckle!

So on to my crafting, I created some cute (I think) picture frames as well as a Kleenex box holder check ‘em out! Pretty cool huh? My kids love them and they are easy to make and can be done in all sorts of fun colors.

So hubby is on his way, I am officially on my own, this is the first time I have had to take the kids to 2 different schools since I am the one who travels most of the time. By the end of the week I am sure I will be one big tired mess! Hope everyone has a great week!

And the winner is.....

UPDATE!!!
Courtney has claimed her prize and seems to be
Very excited about her make over!

My first ever giveaway was a lot of fun, I love seeing adn meeting new people! Thanks to all of you that participate. As promised my 2 little gremlins picked the winners here they are showing off who the picked.

Courtney of Life with two beautiful Girls! She will receive a $60 credit to us as she chooses with RS Designs, Revka will take great care of her and I can not wait to see the new look they come up with for Courtney's blog!

Courtney has until Wednesday to contact me to claim her prize. If Courtney doesn’t contact me the runner up is Sarah at Working Mother of Three. Thanks to all that participated, I have a new giveaway coming soon, so stay tuned!

Personal Blogs...Start one on your page!

I just saw a thread started on Talkback that got me thinking about IndyCar Garage. I want to encourage everyone that is a member of the site to use the blog feature on your personal page. For some, it will be a great entry into the world of blogging. It's not hard at all and it's a really great way to start discussions about the sport that everyone here is so passionate about. It's also a great way to continue to have our community bring great coverage of the IndyCar Series.

For an example of what/how to blog on this site, check out TopKartGirl's page. She's got a blog that is up to date and usually offers some insight that she has on the IndyCar Series, or, just a general post about what's on her mind. It will give you an idea on what a blog looks like on this site as well as what people can see, comments they can make, etc.

For newcomers to the site, it's a great way to get to know the existing members quickly and get involved in the site. Anyway, that's just my two cents...if you do start one, shoot me a message on the site and let me know so I can check it out.

Thank you and follow ups

Ok first I want to say thank you to all of you for your encouraging words, you sure do know how to make a girl feel special!

So today's post will be a follow up to some of my older posts! Yesterday's company dinner was great, I had the CEO come up to me personally and hold a good 20 min conversation with me about new initiatives of which I will be involved, very exciting!!

I continue to plug along on my weight loss journey I am proud to say that my 12 sized clothes are loose on me, most of my pants require a belt, I am down 13lb since Jan 1st, and I truly feel like I have made working out and eating healthy a part of my life. Now if I could just figure out a way to embrace my 5:00am alarm 4 days a week I would be all set.

In my post about Lauren and her Kindergarten progress report, I am happy to say that we met with the teacher and we are all on the same page and I think Lauren is doing better then ever. She comes home excited to tell me about the days events, her favorite phrase now is "did you know?"

I am meeting with the flaky friend tonight for our book club the rest of us aren't sure if she will even be home which is not good since she is hosting, I of course set up a contingency plan complete with a couple bottles of wine to be served at my house if needed. Discussing the book will be optional since the straw poll I took pretty much tells me everyone hated it!

Finally today is the last day for my Giveaway all entries must be in by midnight so hurry and enter!!!

Have a great weekend and if you don't see me for a while you know why...I will be in single parent mode all next week.

Blah Blah Blah

I am having kind of a blah day, I have so much to do in the next few days and then next week isn't much better.

Tonight I have a company dinner that is a requirement of ALL senior management, don't they know I have a life outside of here? I won't get home till well after 9. Tomorrow I have my usual day topped off by book club at the Flaky friends house that is if she knows we are coming. I haven't finished the book and don't plan to because I think it is terrible the book is Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, if you have read it please email me with the cliff notes! :)

Saturday I have Kumons and Karate with the kids and a hair appointment because I desperately need to be cut and colored. Sunday I drop my husband off at the airport for a week in Belgium He claims it is work I am not so sure it isn't a bit of a boondoggle.

Then next week I have a board meeting (not looking forward to it since the last one was a bit heated) another company dinner then Easter is here! Where is the time going.

So as you can tell from this post I have nothing interesting or funny to blog about today sorry some days I draw a big blank!

Pop Pop's Birthday!!!!

My father in law (FIL) turn 70 yesterday! He is in sunny FL with a few other couples celebrating. Sure beats upstate NY this time of year. We called him to let the kids wish him a happy birthday which was so cute, they did there best to get the whole way through Happy birthday on the phone. After 70 years on this earth Pop Pop is a bit hard to buy for. He doesn't want "stuff" you know what I am talking about the kind of stuff that sits and collects dust. Plus my husband and I aren't really into joint gifts so that rules out big ticket items with the other siblings, we try our best to come up with unique yet thoughtful presents for our family members.

In my blogging travels I came across Rick Green's Blog, Rick has an incredible gift, he is an artist and a damn good one I might add. Go check out his blog ! So as I was looking at Rick's blog for the first time I thought wow what a cool gift idea. I contacted Rick right before Christmas but he was pretty swamped so I thought you know what I will ask Rick to create a drawing for Pop Pops 70th birthday. I contacted Rick about a month ago and while time was tight he was able to honor my request. I think he did a great Job, don't you?

There are 6 grand kids in the family (each sibling has 2) so I thought it would be a cute idea to have them all in the drawing with him and the theme would be something to do with Pop Pops former life as a NY state trooper and investigator. Rick came up with some great ideas and we settled on Pop Pops Posse.

My FIL has not seen his present yet, I didn't want to send it while they were out of town, I can't wait to send it to him, better yet I can't wait to see his face when he opens it. I have prepared Nana that she is to have a camera when he opens it.

So thanks Rick I know I will be back! To all my bloggy friends go check out his work I think you will be very impressed.

Ok, now I'm really interested...

So, as of a few days ago, Forsythe Racing was not going to make the transition to the IndyCar Series. Now, there appears to be a strategic partnership between Forsythe and Conquest Racing. Conquest, as we all know, has confirmed that Franck Perera will drive one of their cars this season. Their other driver has yet to be named...

Could it be PT? He's still under contract with Forsythe Racing so that would make sense. What's interesting (and I'm not really suggesting anything by saying this) but Forsythe Racing also has ties to former open wheel racers - A.J. Allmendinger, Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve who are currently (struggling) NASCAR drivers. Could be some interesting developments in the next few days.

10 Things I am Looking Forward to in the Spring

10 Things I am Looking Forward to in the Spring
1. Time on my deck after work

2. My husbands cousins wedding
3. Getting my garden in shape
4. The Swimming pool
5. Long runs outside instead of the treadmill

6. Sports with the kids, outside of course

7. The annual Memorial Day neighborhood BBQ

8. Going to the beach for a week with friends

9. No more sick kids! Hopefully!!!!

10. Basking in the sun and getting a little color (I know it isn't good for you blah blah blah)

Weekend wrap up and Contest reminder

Well the weekend blew by in it's normal fashion, I really think we the American people need to get on the 3 day weekend, I will save that topic for another day.

So Saturday was shopping day, my daughter has become picky when it comes to her clothes, yes she is only 5 (soon to be 6 on 3/30) however it is a manageable picky. Her main bone with me pertains to the dresses that I and her grandmother buy for her. She will refuse to wear a something if she doesn't like it and frankly I like to pick my battles and fighting over a dress at 6:30am is not a battle I want. So I suggested to my mom that we would turn our shopping into a girls day complete with lunch and a little spoiling by Gran. This event, if you will still allows me control over the clothes (which she never complains about except for the dresses), but it allows her to feel like she has a say.

So off we went, she had a blast, she tired on clothes told us what she liked and didn't like and modeled like the princess she is. She even allowed mommy to get some shopping done for brother, but it was mostly all about her. I couldn't help but take a picture of all the clothes once I got them home and all laid out. Keep in mind this was for 2 kids! The prices were right too, The Childrens Place offers 20% off during the child's birthday month as a birthday present. But you must register online before hand. not a bad haul huh?

After shopping we came home in time to get ready for dinner with friends, we were a half an hour from leaving when Lauren comes racing into the family room crying and all I could see was blood. She had been playing with a wobbly tooth and it had started to bleed. The blood is what freaked her out but she kept playing with that tooth and right before we walked out the door we had tooth #5 fro the tooth fairy. This kid needs to slow down because soon she will be gumming her food.

Sunday was a bit of a blur, we had neighbors over unexpectantly who had guests visiting them as well, so we had Bloody Marys about 1pm and before we knew it 4 hours had past and it was time to start dinner we pulled our resousrces togheter and pulled off a pretty good meal, but I didn't get a thing done all day Sunday between the time change and the unexpected vistors, guess I need to get my butt in gear tonight!

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Reminder there are 5 more days to enter my blog design Giveaway contest. You too can have a one of a kind original by Revka of RS Designs. Remeber you must leave a comment at the Giveawaypost and post the Giveaway link on your blog to be entered.

I am missing blogs!!!!

OK as I have said in previous posts I am addicted to blogging that is when my kids aren't acting like children from some other planet, work isn't kicking my butt, and my husband isn't chasing me around the bedroom. TMI..(to much information) I know but hey it takes time away from my blogging.

BTW thanks for the love last night and today !!! I really needed it and today is shaping up much better.

I have experienced a wrinkle in my blogging experience, everyday my Blogarithm account sends me emails letting me know that all of your blogs have updated. This feed is acting up and I feel like I am starting to miss out on some cool posts.

So I have a Friday poll. What reader do you use and why? I need to get hooked up with a better system as it seems I have outgrown my original one. Thanks and have a great weekend, I will be spring clothes shopping with my mom and my daughter a little girls days out on Saturday!

What a day!!!

So my day started at 4:30 my son has strep throat and he was still feverish this morning hence he woke up. So I hit the ground running! By 7:30 I was sitting at my desk plugging away, I was shocked when I looked up and it was 12:30 where had my morning gone! I ate my lunch at my desk (which I do everyday), I got back to work only to have my assistant come in asking me if I was leaving soon. "no" I say "it's only like 2 o'clock" No he says its 3:45 and I thought you had to go pick up both kids today. I was dumbfounded at where my day had gone but grateful that he pulled me away. Normally I only pick up my daughter and my husband gets our son, but today he has a late meeting so I was on double duty as it is I am nearly an hour away so leaving at 4 gets me close to home at 5 but going to pick up my son ads an extra half an hour. Since traffic here in the DC is somewhat unpredictable I try to add some buffer time. While in the car my head is still buzzing with the 3 or more hours I have on my desk that really needed to get done today.

I get both of the kids and upon arriving home I start dinner and proceed to get the daily Kumons homework done ... well that is wear everything started fall apart. Both kids are whining about not wanting to do their work and that they want to watch TV. The rule is you get a half an hour of TV after your homework is done and we have had dinner and a bath. The whining continued and I really started to lose my patience. Dan calls to see if I need any thing and as I pick up the phone I am in my strong mommy voice telling them to "sit down and start you work, I am not going to ask again!" Hello! I say Dan says sounds like you are having a rough time" ya think???

I continue to battle saying "sit down, stop whinning, focus, inside voice"...for the next half an hour. Dan walks in sees my frustration and takes over, only to have as many if not more challenges with the kids. We finally got them both to bed about and hour ago, and I am beat!

I have to honestly say today I was pushed to my wits end with the kids, I feel horrible refelcting on it now and I am sure I am not the only one who has these kinds of days but man today was rough!!! Sorry for bitching and venting but it feels good to get it off my chest :) Hopefully tomorrow is a better day!

Wordless Wednesday

My family! :)

creative ....who me????

I am not creative at all..... I was never any good at artsy stuff and I am super jealous of those who are. My forte is anything to do with sports. I played Field Hockey and Softball in college so I was your typical non artsy jock I guess you could say.

So when I received a notice from school that yesterday was going to be Storybook character day I can honestly say I panicked a bit. I am happy to report that I pulled myself together and with my 5 year olds help we came up with the character of Cat in the Hat in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. The costume was a huge hit and I personally feel like I hit one out of the park! Check it out!!!!

Texas Motor Speedway: The Challenge

So, have you seen this story? I know it's NASCAR, but this is just too ridiculous not to talk about on any race-related site.

Eddie Gossage, President of Texas Motor Speedway, has stated that he will give $15,000 to any NASCAR Cup driver who throws his helmet on the track during competition from now until April 6th. Wait....what?

The reasoning behind offering this ridiculous reward is that NASCAR "needs to bring some drama back into the series." What's next? Hitting each other with metal chairs after the race? Maybe Hulkamania? The worst (and most hilarious) part of this, is that there are people who AGREE with this....

(Excerpt from SportingNews.com)
Speedway Motorsports Inc. Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith, told of the reward, noted that "a lot of good things come out of Texas that are extremely clever. We need drama. We don't have enough drama anymore. We need somebody to get out of the car and slap somebody."
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=367655

Wait a minute, you agree with throwing your helmet at another driver ON THE TRACK, DURING A RACE?

NASCAR, go ahead and add some drama....I hope the IRL keeps its drama on the actual race.

Crock Pot Love

I love my crock pot, without it I am not sure what I would do, as a working mom it is my best solution for a real home cooked meal when I don't get home till 5:30. Here are 2 reciepes I made this weekend, I forgot to take pictures, but trust me it was good!!!

3 Bean Turkey Chili
Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

28 ounces chopped tomatoes-- un drained

15 ounces tomato sauce

1 med chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2tablespoon chili powder

1 4 oz can of green chilies

15 ounces garbanzo beans -- drained and rinsed

15 ounces dark red kidney beans -- drained and rinsed

Directions: Brown the turkey in a skillet; drain. Combine all ingredients Cover; cook on low for 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally

Great with some freash corn bread!!



Chocolate Delight

Ingredients:
1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
8 oz. sour cream
1 C. chocolate chips
1 C. water
4 eggs
3/4 C. vegetable oil
1-4 serving size package chocolate flavor instant pudding and pie filling mix

Directions
Lightly grease inside of crock pot.
Combine all ingredients in large bowl.
Pour into crock pot.
Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours.
Test for doneness with tooth pick like cake in oven. (we like ours a bit gooey on the inside so we cut the cook time by about 30 to 45 min)
Serve hot or warm with ice cream, caramel sauce, etc.

Will Paul Tracy have a seat?

A post in the forum section of the site regarding Paul Tracy's future in the IndyCar series had quite a bit of response from other members. Clearly, it's a hot topic. I think the reaction of the members (19 replies already) shows just why Paul Tracy should have a seat in the series...somewhere. That kind of knee jerk reaction shows the connection that PT has with open wheel racing and the kind of following Tracy generates.

He was one of the most accomplished drivers in the Champ Car series and it's most recognizable driver. Bottom line...he brings eyes to the series. People will talk about him and the series on and off the track -- that's a good thing. The IRL has only reached that kind of following with Danica (modeling/advertising) and Helio (dancing). I know some aren't big fans of him, but at least they have some kind of connection to him -- love/hate.

So, this begs the question...where will he find a seat? Vision would seem a likely place - Tony has already invested quite a bit of money to make this merger work and to not have the most popular driver in the CC make the switch, could devalue the move. Another rumor is that Ganassi has toyed with the idea of fielding a third car - it's also one of the few teams that can afford Tracy, who has said that he wants $1 million/year.

Contest reminder

Remember in order to be entered in the Blog makeover give away you must comment and post a link to the contest post on your site, if you only comment that is not a complete entry.

http://whalenmom.blogspot.com/2008/02/giveaway-spice-up-your-blog.html