Both of my children are starting to go on field trips with school already.  I wasn't able to chaperone my 7yr olds trip to the park and science center because they didn't allow siblings.  I do, however, get to chaperone my 4yr olds trip to the cider mill next week.  I am quite excited for both of us. We car pool so our kids don't ride the bus.  One of the most exciting things for the boys regarding field trips is getting to ride the bus.  Ah, the simple pleasures.&nbs...

I guess it is the mom in me but I love having a full house.  I enjoy taking care of friends and family and having them stay with us.  I am most content when surrounded by people to interact with. We have a friend who will be staying with us for 10 days and I am quite looking forward to it.  I love having a large group at dinner and a house full of conversation and activity.  Our house is always full of activity with two young boys but it is nice to have other adults a...

I'm writing this because I was wondering if this is the case anywhere other than my local school district; we get a crazy list of required supplies now and I am wondering what the heck our taxes are paying for!  I can't believe how much I just spent on stuff my 2nd grader is required to have.  Examples: Expo dry erase markers- large ones 4 large glue sticks-$.99 each ~what ever happened to the large economy sized tubs of paste? 2 containers of Clorox wipes!!!! What the heck?!&...

The other night my hubby and I were watching some shows we recorded on Tivo.  We had some microwave popcorn and reminisced about the days when we had to put oil and corn in a pan and shake it over the stove top in order to make popcorn.  It took a long time and didn't even taste that great.  Boy have we come a long way since then! Today I was hosting a family cookout.  I got some steaks out of the freezer and defrosted them in the microwave in about 6 minutes.  I just...

Well, today started out like a Summer day.  It was sunny and 80 degrees.  Then the clouds rolled in, it poured rain and got dark and cold.  It is about 60 degrees now. So I am making chicken frame soup from the leftovers of our roasted chicken dinner.  In case you aren't familiar with this, you take the frame from your chicken or turkey, simmer it with some onion and garlic salt for about 1.5 hrs, take the frame out, strain the broth, salvage as much meat off the bones as ...

I don't know how other people react to cold days but they make me want to cook.  I am in Michigan right now and it feels a lot more like late September than August.  Some of the leaves are already changing! Fall is my absolute favorite time of year but August is a little early to start even for me   Instead of throwing some shorts on, drinking a glass of water and getting outside, I threw some jeans and a long sleaved shirt, had some coffee and curled up on the couch.  I ...

My heart is still racing and my stomach is still in my throat.  My 4yr old got away from me at the mall.  What a nightmare! My 7 and 4yr olds were holding hands and walking right in front of me when I recieved a cell call from my hubby.  While talking on the phone the boys, still hand-in-hand, jogged off ahead into the book store where we were headed.  What I didn't see was that the 4yr old ran right back out into the mall. As soon as I entered the book store I saw the ...

I got the opportunity today to spend some time on my own and boy did I get stuff done!  My hubby worked from home and kindly took over care of the boys so I could venture out sans children.  In 1.75 hours I ran to 4 different destinations one of which was to get a pedicure and manicure.  I feel so exilerated now! Monday my parents helped me finish some lawn work and watched the kids so I could run out for a couple of things.  I was in and out of the market in 20 mins! ...

I was recently made aware that it is "old fashioned" to have your child's birthday party at your home.  I am not sure when the trend began but I guess most parties are now held at Chuck E Cheese or some other child activity related place.  Our kids have been to quite a few lately.  Gymnastics and pottery places seem to be quite popular as well as swim parties at community pools. My kids are home bodies and enjoy having more control over their day.  I enjoy a more relaxed s...

If you have been following my blog you will know that my 7yr old was ill yesterday.  Well, I got him in to the doctor today and he has Scarlet Fever.  I told the doctor about our babysitter's symptoms and she said the symptoms and timing make perfect sense for the sitter to have had strep throat on Fri and now it has come out as Scarlet Fever with my son. I never even knew that the strep virus caused Scarlet Fever.  Poor kid is roasting and covered in a rash.  So we are qu...

Here it is 2:00 in the afternoon and the boys and I are still in our night clothes.  It was a rough night and morning.  My 7yr old started the day with a 100.3 temp and vomitting.  Fun! Today was supposed to be the school's field day.  The good news (sort of) is that it rained so I don't think my son missed out after all.  The poor guy was laying on a blanket in the middle of the living room, shaking like crazy saying, "I'm fine.  It's field day".  When I ki...

If you read my blog about what happened last week with my sitter, you might be interested to know that I got her to come over and had a talk.  I had written her a stern email since I couldn't reach her on the phone.  I told her we really needed to discuss what happened but the fact that she and her boyfriend (she is 19 and he is 21) together thought it was okay to send my 7 and 3yr old boys out in the dark stormy night by themselves, prevents me from having them sit again. Well, she...

I admit to being an over protective parent.  I thought I had found a reliable babysitter that my kids really enjoy.  I was wrong. This weekend we had a family event.  During the festivities, we got a message to call home immediately.  Apparently the babysitter felt ill and either she or her boyfriend who was there at the time decided it was neccessary to call 911.  In the meantime, while waiting for the EMS to arrive, these 19 or older adults decided to send my 7 and ...

My 7yr old had his first coach pitch baseball game last night.  They won 10 - 2 !  It was so cute and he had so much fun. We had pizza with the coach after the game and all of the kids played together until 9PM!  I am dragging a bit today.  My 3yr old loved it too but would have preferred to have spent the entire game at the playscape rather than watching big brother play. My kid has a great attitude.....maybe too great.  He really needs to practice hitting since h...

I just love the innocence of youth. I eat it up every day. Our home has a hall that overlooks our living room. My husband likes to throw his socks at our sons as they watch cartoons in the morning. If he misses, I hear "Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me!" And then a lot of running, screaming and smooching sounds fill the air. I love it! There are raucous games of "Tickle Monster", over flowing bubble baths, games of tag, and all sorts of wonderful fun things that we enjoyed...