Mom's night 2010

Last night D2 preschool had it annual Mom's night. You may remember this post from last year.  We usually each paint a mug.  I had figured by time all 3 kids were done I was going to have quite the mug collect probably 16 total.  This year the school changed things up a bit.  I think because of mom's like me, not wanting this many mugs.  This year they had us paint a bowl together.  We started by having a nice warm bowl of apple crisp topped with ice cream.







Then we started with our blank slate.



We tired to work together.  Bella picked the outside color and I pick the inside.



Painting pottery is one of my favorite things to do.  Bella did all the first and third coats, I did the second and the smoothing out.  It seemed to work for us.  She pick out the design and I tried to help execute her plan out.



Here the artist is waiting nicely for more paint to be brought to the table.



The final project from the outside looked like this....




And here is a view of the final from the inside......



Off to the kiln they go.  We will probably get them on Preschool Graduation night.  I'll post the final bowl pictures then. 

Thanks for swing by.  Lot's of up and coming events are about to be happening in the months of May and June.  See you soon!

Do you . . .

Hulu??? It might be my favorite new time sucker!

Hulu.com has literally become my new best friend. Yes, forget tv, I just hulu, Almost every night. I don't even watch my dvr anymore either.

So do you hulu? If so what are you watching?

I just finished watching Lipstick Jungle.  I am so upset that show was canceled. I think I will probably start watching 24 next. 

My two favorites currently are a show called Parenthood and Lost. I use to hate Lost, mainly because I couldn't stand waiting each week and I found it very confusing. Thanks to Hulu, I can watch several in a row almost commercial free.  One 15 second commercial every 15 minutes isn't to bad and my favorite part is the discussion board.  I have found that so helpful when it comes to watching Lost.  So many people have opinions on what they think is happening and what they think will happen. 

Now in a perfect world, I would get an IPad and I could hulu in bed every night.  That would truly be love. 

I am on a mission to steam clean my house.  Maybe it is because it is spring time and I feel the need to do some spring cleaning.  I am looking for a steam cleaner to really get the job done.  Does anyone have a favorite that they use?  I am thinking about purchasing a Haan Deluxe.  Since there is no cleaning lady in my future anytime soon, I am hoping a nice steamer will help cut my time in half and make my house/windows shine. 

Spring Vacation 2010

It is that time of year again....
     Yes you guessed it.....
           Spring Break 2010!

The one thing you can always count on each and every year is that the first full week of April the House of Five on Cambridge Drive heads south.  Real south.  Sunny Southwest Florida.  This year was odd, because the Midwest had such a horrible dreadful winter and yet spring sprung real earlier.  Most years when we leave for this trip there is usually at least 2 inches of snow.  Not this year.  When we left for the airport we left in flip flops.  As a matter of fact we had been out and about playing for a good 2 weeks in March. The first two days of the trip Florida was colder than home!  For what the locals say it was that way all winter.

So here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip with some added commentary.

ENJOY.....


Day 1 was a traveling day.  We flew out of town at 6pm, landed at 9:45pm, and drove to a friends house for the nice.  Day 2 was a little cool, but so sunny....The kids went nuts at this shooting water fountain.


Little Miss Gia Pia had a lot of first on this trip.  1st time flying without a diaper, first time sleeping in a bed without bed rails.  First time swimming without floaties. The list goes on and on!  The poor turkey was so tired she would sleep about anywhere and everywhere, but her favorite spot was always on her daddy's lap.




Bella, Wella...our newest swimmer.... this girl learned she is ready to try out for swim team!



Gia and her floaty free moment.  Chin down, but up and we are good to go. 




One of the few pictures of me...  :)



Beach Day....



The boggy board girl.  She lost her pants trying to boggy board so many times I lost count!  She also caught a wave in one time and was high on life for days afterwards.



Sandcastle builders of the future...



Boating Day...



Perfect sea day.  No wind, not to hot and partly sunny.



By far the neatest part of the trip.  The dolphins were all over on this sea day.  This little guy followed our boat for a good 10 minutes.  He got so close at one time we could have touched him if we wanted to.



Ahhh nothing beats any icy cold Root beer! 




Another year of nothing but wonderful family memories! 

See you in July, Florida....we miss you already!

M.I.A......

I think it has been over 20 days since I have blogged.  I guess you can tell it is spring time in the midwest.  The days are certainly warmer and longer, or so they appear to be.  With the time change we lost an hour of sleep and gain an hour of daylight.  Oh how I dislike daylight savings time.  It just makes putting kids to bed harder because it is still light at 8pm.  Waking up has always been difficult around here, but now it is dark at 6:45 and I just have such a hard time getting up.

Now that the sun is shining on a regular bases, I have noticed how dirty windows really are.  It must be a sign of old age, because I never use to care about my windows, and now their dirtiness is driving me crazy.  I am turning into my mother.  My windows is the first thing she complains about when she comes over. 

Let's be honest, 3 kids, a dog, a husband, a babysiting gig of 10 hours a week, a waitress job of 10 hours a week, two executive boards, and life in general just get in the way.  The free time I have I hardly want to clean windows, but they are so dirty that I can barely see my neighbors house this morning.  Oh how I wish I would win the lottery.  I would pay to have the house spring cleaned and I would hire a window washer to make my view picture perfect.....


About 2 weeks ago, the PTO that I am president of had its yearly Zaar.  We have been planning and organizing this event since Oct of 2009.  The final month was pure madness.  The man hours I put into this is mind blowing.  Raffles, Silent Auctions, Dinner for 450 people, Games, Volunteers, Cakes, Tickets, Prizes.....the list goes on and on.  At the end of the day $23,000 was raised in about 4 hours for the school.  That number alone makes it a huge success, but let me tell you, the behind the scenes drama is down right ridiculous.  Next years board elections are held in May and the nomination process in April.  This is probably one of the most thankless jobs I have ever done.  I am ready to walk away...it has been a long uphill battle since last June.  When I took over as president, I walked into a big mess of turmoil and uproar.  I am a big girl with thick skin and a strong back bone, but enough is enough.  A lot of good changes have been made, and the teachers are so pleased with the direction that the PTO is heading, but I just don't think I have any fight left in me for the rest of the board.  When you sign up for a committee or run for a board position you have to put the work in, and to many of the current people are in it for their name only.  I am one person and put more heart and soul then the work of 3 people.  These people who are in it for name only, need to leave, so those of us who work hard can do just that, work hard.  I am prepared to walk, volunteering shouldn't cause this must stress and anger.  The hardest part for me, is knowing what will happen when I walk away.  This is my childrens' school and they need more people like me, but at what cost is it worth it?  If I walk, it will survive, but slowly decline, is this fair to my children?  Is it fair to the 3 others who agree with me?  Is it fair to let the loud, bullies continue to bully?  Someone needs to fight the fight, I just know if I have any fight left in me......


Maybe spring break and a trip to the sunny south will help clear my brain and make the choice more clear.  I return home on the 12th and the 14th is when I have to have a decision about my intentions for next year.  Perhaps I should take my frustrations out on the windows????

Spring has sprung.......

A Science Lesson...

You know the saying..."In like a Lion, out like a Lamb"? That is what they usually say about March. This year I am a little worried. There are no lions present here, just lambs. This better not mean we are going to end the month like a lion. Once you get a taste of spring it is hard to willingly accept winter back. I have noticed that in the last 2 weeks it is a little lighter when I get up and not so dark when we eat dinner. My mood is improving daily.

Now I am hardly a science brainchild, but I know enough to give a mini science lesson on cause and effect. Keeping in mind that I only taught kindergartners, we will keep this lesson nice and short and tell the story using a simple pictorial format.

CAUSE:



EFFECT:



CAUSE:



EFFECT:

(I hope you can all tell that is a tulip trying to make it 's way through the snow!)



See what I mean, in like a lion.
Enjoy the day, I've got to run I sun is shining and it is only 8am!

Random Fun......

Join my game, Here are some random questions with even more random answers. The catch, your answer is one supposed to be one word long.

It is so much harder to do than you think. If your in for a real challenge make that one word the first one that comes to your head.


Where is your cell phone? Desk
Your significant other? Kitchen
Your hair? Brown
Your father? Banker
Your mother? Teacher
Your friends? Forever
Your favorite thing? Sunshine
Your dream last night? Peaceful
Your favorite drink? Coke
Your dream goal? Entrepreneur
The room you are in? Den
Your fear? Birds
Favorite muffin? Cinnamon
One of wish list items? Lottery
Where did you grow up? Goshen
The last thing you did? Slept
What you are wearing? Pajamas
Your t.v.? Off
Your pets? Cooper
Your computer? Dell
Your life? Chaotic
Your mood? Undetermined
Missing someone? Always
Your car? Van
Favorite store? Target
Your favorite color? Blue
Last time you laughed? Yesterday
Last time your cried? Midnight
Favorite food? Italian
Would rather be right now? Florida


If you play along, I would love to know, link your post in my comment section so I can check it out.

.005

We were a swimming family for sure this past weekend. HeartSmart 2010 started on Friday night at 5:10pm and ended Sunday night around 4:30 pm. D1 swam two events on Friday night. The 200 IM and the 200 Freestyle. For all you non-swimmers that is 8 laps at one time in a 25 yd pool. (Last weekend I went to the open swim at the pool and barely could do 4 laps at one time) for a girl with asthma,she can swim.




As a swim mom and board member, I lived at the pool this weekend. I have learned the skill of computer master at the home swim meets. This is a high stress job. I feel as though I may have just aged 2 years after 3 days of running that computer system.

Ms. Gabby swam a total of 4 individual races and 1 relay each day and warm ups started everyday at 7:15 am. This was the last meet of the short course season and was also Gabby's last chance at a divisional cut.




Divisional cuts are times that each age group need to swim in order to advance into post season. Gabby's age group isn't old enough for divisionals, so to qualify she would need to swim the time set for 10 year olds. Gabby is 8.

We knew going into this meet a divisional time was just a goal. She was 2 seconds away, but we encouraged her to give it her all. The 50yd butterfly is what we were trying to get a divisional time for. 41.79 is what she needed.

On Saturday Gabby swam her best ever fly, but didn't touch the touch pad quiet hard enough. Backup times had to be used. One will never know if it was a costly mistake. Her time for the day......41.93. Her best just wasn't good enough. That was a hard lesson to teach an eight year old. How do you explain that she had just got 1st place, and dropped her time, but it wasn't enough to qualify for divisionals?

She cried pretty hard. But mainly because her season was now over.

Then we learned about time trials. Time trials are an event the head coach makes, for kids to re-try or re swim after the meet. We were told these were going to be held on Sunday evening at 4:30pm. So after a long day of swimming, we returned for another chance at a divisional cut.

I was so nervous, so I can only imagine what it was like for her. You have to understand, she is racing herself, no one else. This is her last chance to qualify.

Swimmers take your mark......

I have never been so proud.

That little 8 year old of mine swam a 41.84

and yes you read that correct.....she missed the divisional cut by .005 and she took it like a true champion. She didn't make excuses and didn't through a fit. Her eyes welted up when she saw the scoreboard, and it was that moment that made me so proud.

My daughter is growing up right in front of me. She took that major disappoint better than 50% of the adults that I know. Swimming is a sport that teaches you so much about life and it's mini lessons. Today's lessons, sometimes your best just isn't good enough, but if you gave 110% then you have nothing to be ashamed of.

It was a great swim weekend and swim season, but this swim mamma is tired.

You win some, you lose some, today .005 was the difference, but tomorrow, the possibilities are endless.

How was your weekend?