HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY DIVA

My first baby girl turns 9 today. The past 9 years have flown by. Hunter and I have enjoyed watching a sweet-but-born-with-attitude baby turn into the smart, strong, beautiful and confident girl she has become. While she lives to give us a hard time (we dread the teen years), we are continually amazed by her creativity, wit, and compassion.

Here are a couple of pictures from opening day of softball, where she pitched in a game for the first time. She rocked and her team won. Go Wolverines!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIVA! WE LOVE YOU!

Seriously Random Questions Meme

Seriously Random Questions Meme

Stolen from PT Law-Mom

1. Your ex is on the side of the road, on fire. What do you do? I'd do what I could to help. I've been with my husband for 17 years (wow!), so any issues I had with any exes are long in the past.

2. Your best friend tells you she is pregnant. What is your reaction? Yay! Another baby in the family!

3. When is the last time you wanted to punch someone in the face? Never. I don't think that way.

4. What is the last thing you spent money on? Lunch at work

5. Do you think you gained or lost weight this past month? Gained. Ugh, a constant battle for me.

6. Crunchy or Puffy Cheetos? I don't like Cheetos

7. The first person on your friends list just called you a bitch. What do you do? Blow it off. I've grown a thick skin over the years. So, whatever. If I really was bitchy, I'd apologize.

8. Congratulations! You just had a son. What’s his name? No more kids for me, but hypothetically, Brett or Shane or maybe after Hunter if he wanted that (he hasn't in the past!)

9. Congratulations! You just had a daughter. What’s her name? Again, no more kids for me, but a runner up to #3's name was Caitlyn. I also like Avery, but Hunter has veto'd that in the past.

10. What are you craving right now? Sleep, warm weather, the beach

11. What was the last thing you cried about? Can't remember ...I guess from pain when I had kidney stones.

12. When you buy something and your change is 2 cents, do you keep it or tell the cashier to keep it? Put it in either a penny tray on the counter or toss into my purse.

13. What color is your tissue box? pink flowered

14. Do you have a ceiling fan in your bedroom, and if so, is there dust on that fan? Yes, and YES.

15. What was the last voicemail you received about? Hunter telling me to call him on the road

16. Have you ever blocked someone on Facebook? No....I've thought about it though. There are a couple people that annoy the crap out of me.

17. Scariest thing you’ve experienced in the last year? Kidney stones while 8 months pregnant (the scary part was not knowing what the pain was before diganosis, being on painkillers just weeks before having a baby, and never knowing when the pain would come back)

18. Do you wear a name tag at work? We have them and are supposed to wear them in meetings where we are meeting new people...but I never do. It's my way of rebelling. I introduce myself to people right off the bat, if they can't remember my name that's not my problem.

19. What kind of car do you want?Realistically? An Audi A8....someday.

20. What do you order when you go to Burger King? Burger/fries/coke.

21. Have you ever had a garage sale? Yes, just had one. I need to have one at least once a month though - I've got mad clutter.

22. What color is your cell phone? Silver - I have the lamest, most generic phone - the kind that comes free when you sign the contract.

23. What is the last alcoholic beverage you had? A disappointing margarita at a tex-mex restaurant. Should have ordered better tequila.

24. Are you happy right now? Pretty much, I guess.

25. Who came over to your house last? Next door neighbors

26. Do you drink beer? In the past, yes...nowadays, not much.

27. Have your brothers or sisters ever told you that you were adopted? No.

28. What is your favorite key on your key chain? Um..seriously? A weird question. Guess my car key - it gets me where I need to go.

29. What was the last movie you watched at home? A League of Their Own on TBS

30.What is in your pocket? Nothing

31. Who introduced you to your bf/gf/husband/wife? No one person, we met at a bar in college

32. Where do you hurt? Everywhere after kickboxing class

33. Has someone ever made you a build a bear? No, but I've helped my kids make them - they love them!

34. What’s something fun you did today? Argue with clients at work about what's in both their business' and the company's best interest. That's my job - saving them from themselves. I love it.

35. What is your favorite aisle at Target? The book/music section, but I love the whole store. Fortuanately for my bank account, there is no Target convenient to us so I don't get there often.

36. When is your birthday? August 9

37. Is there anything hanging from your rear view mirror? No

38. How many states in the US have you been to? Let's see....I'm an East Coast girl.....Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, D.C, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Michigan. Not even half - how lame!

39. What kind of milk do you drink? 1%, sometimes with a whole lot of Hershey's syrup

40. What are you going to do after this? Pick up my kids, make dinner, clean up kitchen, wash/sterilize bottles, play with kids, get them ready for bed, put them to bed, watch a little TV, pass out exhausted.

41. Who was the last person you went shopping with? Husband and kids on our day trip yesterday to New York City.

42. What is something you need to go shopping for? Clothes and shoes! Haven't bought any in quite a while, so I'm in dire need of wardrobe updates.

43. Do you have the same first name as one of your relatives? No.

44. What kind of car do your parents drive? Chevy Trailbazer and Oldsmobile Aurora

45. Are you rich? Nope, but rich in blessings.

46. What color is your couch? Burgundy

48. What famous person do you look like? Um, no one I can think of.

49. Does someone like you right now? I sure hope so!

50. Say you were given a pregnancy test right now. Would you pass or fail? Strange ...never thought of a pg test as pass or fail - Whatever "not pregnant" means...answer depends on whether you'd want to be pregnant or not! I don't, so I guess that means...."pass"???

51. Favorite pop-tart flavor? Chocolate

52. Do you know anyone in jail/prison? Yes.

53. What are your plans for the weekend? Attending opening day of Diva's softball, and later on Daredevil's T-ball game. Supposed to be 75 degrees and sunny, looking forward to sitting in the sun and watching my babies on the field!

54. Do you like the color green? It's OK, not my favorite

55. Who was the last person you sent an instant message to? I don't IM....does that make me old?

56. Last restaurant you went to? Ellen's Stardust Diner in NYC - 51st & Broadway - I highly recommend it!

57. How many hours did you sleep for last night? 6. Not enough, I know, but enough to function today.

58. Do you swear at your parents? No

59. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? Maybe

60. Have you ever changed your clothes while in a vehicle? Yes - that's where my illegal tinted windows come in handy. (Legal in the state where I bought the car (Florida), illegal where I now live. Just got hassled at the DMV, even though I see hoopdees driving around the city every day with windows much darker than mine.)

61. What is your ringtone? Generic - I don't care much about that stuff. Again, does that make me old?

62. What were you doing at midnight last night? It's a work night, I was sleeping!

HAPPY EASTER & PASSOVER!

Warm wishes for a very happy Easter, or Passover, or whatever it is you'd like to celebrate this weekend!

Cool Stuff: One Brave Chick

One Brave Chick is a company started by three moms living near my hometown. They have inspiring individual stories of their bravery and decided to start a company that champions the courage women show in the face of whatever life throws at them. Thus, One Brave Chick was born.

Their product line includes "Bravery Kits" that include their cute t-shirt (or onesie), a crystal bravery bead, a bumper sticker, and a story card. Personalized messages can be added to the kits (making them a cool and very thoughtful gift!)

Their web site has a blog, and this entry is just fantastic. Read it when you get a chance, it's worth it - it inspired me and brought a tear to my eye at the same time. I bookmarked the site and definitely want to go back and read more about the Brave Chicks. Everyone can use a little inspiration every now and then!

WFMW: Collective Birthday Parties

Today's tip: Collective Birthday Parties

I have two Girlfriends from college that live within driving distance of me, and we have 6 kids between us. We love to celebrate birthdays. But, 6 birthday parties throughout the year, when we live 45-minutes to an hour and half away, is a bit much for our busy schedules (not to mention expensive).

So, we started having ONE birthday party a year, where us 3 girls and the kids get together to celebrate ALL our kids' birthdays at one time. We usually do it in the spring as that's when the majority of actual birthdays are. We draw names to buy gifts, and each kid gets ONE gift.

Why this works for us:

• One party instead of six to fit into our crazy schedules
• Our kids (and us girls!) get to spend quality time with each other without a bunch of other people and kids around (we all still have the normal kid birthday parties for families and friends)
• Less expensive - we all pitch in - 1 person brings the cake, one is in charge of dinner, one brings snacks, etc.
• 1 present per kid - the kids don't get a whole lot of stuff they don't need
• We rotate between our houses and sometimes try to do a fun activity around it...my kids still rave about going to C's house near Baltimore last year and walking around the Inner Harbor. They love a road trip.

Slightly off the topic, but this certain group of Girlfriends all turn 40 in 2010, so we are contemplating a collective girls only trip to celebrate our 40ths. This will definitely not involve kids!

See more tips We Are That Family and Happy Wednesday!

P.S. HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY HUNTER!

Progress for this Pack Rat

This weekend was a huge step forward for me in achieving one of my New Year's Resolutions: Defeating my inner Pack-Rat. We held a yard sale on Saturday, and it was a huge success. We have a couple hundred dollars in our pocket, and a LOT more room in our basement and attic!

I placed an ad in our local paper that ran on Friday and Saturday, and this was the big draw. I had originally grumbled about the $25 price tag of the ad, thinking it was cutting too much into our profits, but from my informal straw poll, that's how everyone knew about it (we had also placed signs leading people to us), so it was definitely worth it.

It was very cold Saturday morning (in the 30's!) but people still came out. All kinds of people - from yard sale professionals (they are the early birds) to curious neighbors, grandparents, young newlyweds, moms with a few kids in tow, and teenagers. It was fun to talk with people, and for the most part everyone was really nice.

Lots of people thanked us for having a sale so early in the yard-sale season. Apparently people have cabin fever and are eager for sales to start. So if you ever have a spring sale, have it early in the season, even if it's too cold.

We sold lots of stuff: 3 strollers, a bicycle, clothes (mens, womens, kids, baby), toys, VHS movies, and vinyl record albums. Yes, vinyl record albums. This was the surprise item that we sold a lot of. I had a milk crate of them in the attic, and as an afterthought put them out for a quarter each. I probably sold about 20 of them - people loved them. Apparently vinyl records are making a comeback - who knew?

Our strategy was to arrange tables in a large box fashion, and place a drop cloth in the middle for the toys, which worked beautifully. Hunter even fashioned a clothes rack with a narrow piece of wood and two stepladders. This worked great for people to really look through clothes.

And keeping with the "Clean House" tv show guidelines, nothing went back in the house after the sale was over (OK, a few things went back in, but 98% of it didn't!) Hunter hauled everything to Goodwill yesterday afternoon, and said he was very surprised that I was OK with letting it all go. It was definitely hard to see some stuff go, but at this point I'd rather have the space in my house.

The whole ordeal was a lot of hard work, but very enjoyable. We are especially enjoying the bit of extra cash and space, and vow to make this at least an annual affair. We're actually thinking of doing it again in the fall!

Another Quote of the Day

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!' "

--Robin Williams, American comedian and actor

Happy Spring!

Quote of the Day

From Fox News:

"Duke basketball coach says Obama should focus more on the ailing economy than his NCAA brackets"

He's right. Seriously.

Read the article here.

Works for Me Wednesday: Easy (and green!) Way to Remove Tomato Based Stains

Works For Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are That Family.

My tip: Use the SUN to bleach out tomato stains on fabrics. This method is FREE and environmentally friendly!

Tomato stains. You know them. From Pizza, Spaghetti-o's, Ketchup, etc. (Why do kids karate uniforms have to be white???) Spray and Wash, although I swear by it, doesn't always work on these types of stains.

The sun does. That's right. Just lay your clothes in the sun and voila - an hour or two later, your tomato stain will be GONE. It even works through a window on cold days (yes, I've done it.) Keep checking on it though, you don't want to leave clothing out too long or the sun may fade your colors. This even works on hazy or partly cloudy days (probably due to the thinning ozone layer). Not so much on completely overcast days.

I learned this from my Mom, who gave me this advice back in college when I worked in an Italian restaurant and had to wear a white oxford cloth shirt every day. I would come home with all kinds of tomato sauce all over it (a testament to either my work ethic or clumsiness, I don't know which). I would just wash the shirt and hang it out on the line every day and it would look perfect.

Check out more tips here !

"Working Mothers don't love their kids enough?" WTF?

Yup, you heard that right. A friend of mine was in a local toy store this week and overheard the proprietor say "Mothers who work don't love their kids enough to stay home." Seriously. Are you kidding me?

This is a small higher-end toy store in our small suburban enclave. I don't go there often as it's a bit pricey, but I do occasionally stop there to pick up a a birthday party or baby gift when I don't have time to run around a big-box store. An added plus is that they beautifully gift wrap for free which is a boon for busy working parents.

I can't believe that someone actually follows this narrow, inane and very judgmental line of thinking. She's entitled to her opinion, of course, but why would she assert that view in full earshot of random shoppers? Who does she think buys her hoity toity overpriced toys?

Well, it will no longer be me. And judging by the comments my friend received on his Facebook post on the topic, a lot of others in our area won't either.

JV's New Blog Name

JV doesn't like his blog name. It's a mix of his initials, but he thinks it's lame. So I told him if he wanted a new one, he should think one up. He did, pretty quickly. Hunter. He does insist on going off in the woods occasionally at 4am and sitting up in a tree with a large firearm, occasionally shooting at some poor unsuspecting animal, fortunately often missing it. So, therefore, JV is now known on this blog as Hunter.

Snow Day Scramble

Thanks to a lovely snowstorm that blanketed our area late Sunday into Monday, school has been closed for the past two days. Despite a forecast of 12 inches, we got between 5-6 inches of snow. My kids were thrilled to have snow days. I, however, did not have snow days. I'd have to burn a vacation day or sick time in order to stay home. Since I already burned 3 sick days in January for kids' illnesses, I didn't want to do that. I am not permitted to work from home.

On Monday, Hunter "worked from home" with them. He actually did work all weekend and is trying to kick a sinus infection, so he was more than happy to stay home. He worked for a while on my laptop and then took the kids out to shovel the driveway and sled down the small hill in our front yard. I braved horrendous road conditions in my SUV and worked in the office all day. By Monday night, the roads were clear, so I thought Tuesday would be business as usual.

Wrong. School was closed Tuesday, too, due to "icy conditions." I didn't witness any icy roads on my 30 minute commute into the office, but I guess some of the back roads had some drifting and black ice. Working from home was no longer an option for Hunter, since he couldn't get logged in due to server problems.

Typically Diva & Daredevil's before and after care program is at the school on snow days where the school offices are open (as they were Tuesday), so we thought that would work, but when Hunter showed up to drop them off, no one was there. Luckily, my Mom was home and willing to take them (along with my neice and nephew!) So, Diva and Daredevil had a fun day of sledding in my parents' back yard and drinking hot chocolate.

It would have been nice to have had a snow day. I don't really like snow, or cold weather at all for that matter, but it would have been fun to play with the kids then come in and have hot chocolate in front of the fire! Now that the snowstorm is over, bring on spring...I'm ready!

#3's First Work of Art!

This week is Parent Appreciation Week at #3's wonderful day care. Monday the teachers decorated a bulletin board with pictures of all the babies. Yesterday they had breakfast for parents, and today I got a beautiful finger-painted gift bag with the above picture as a gift tag. Inside was the beautiful pencil holder you see #3 painting above. I love her first work of art and it is displayed proudly on my desk. I also love that she apparently thought the red paint tasted pretty good!

Where I was When . . .meme

Stolen from PT Law-Mom, who stole it from LS Part-Timer, who stole it from New Kid on the Hallway.

WHERE I WAS WHEN .....

1.) Challenger space shuttle exploded (1986): I was sixteen and a junior in high school. There was a TV in my class, so we watched it live. Seeing it just vanish into thin air all of a sudden was horrifying. I will never forget that image.

2.) Berlin Wall falls down (1989): I was partying hard in college back then and was pretty much oblivious of most events outside my shallow little world of beer, boys, pledging a sorority, and studying just enough to get by. Yes, I know how pathetic I was.

3.) Oklahoma City federal building bombing (1995): The year before I got married. Saw it on TV, it was pretty upsetting, especially hearing there was a day care center in the building. I will always remember the image of the firefighter carrying an injured child away from the debris.

4.) OJ Verdict (1995): I was at work. They brought a TV to my department and hooked it up so everyone could see it live. I wound up leaving work and went home for my lunch hour to watch it. There were very strong (and differing) opinions among my co-workers as to whether he was guilty, and I just wanted to watch it by myself without people looking to see my reaction to tell what "side" I was on.

5.) Princess Diana dies (1997): I was at the Shore with my family for Labor Day weekend, and JV and I were returning to my parents' place after seeing the Sylvester Stallone movie "Cop Land" on the boardwalk. We walked in the door and my brother, who was watching the coverage, told us. I have always been a huge Princess Diana fan so I was devastated. A few days later I stayed up all night tearfully watching the live broadcast of her funeral. It was even sadder to remember that I had also stayed up all night (at a slumber party) to watch her wedding on TV when I was 11. That was when my adoration of Princess Diana started - way back in 1981.

6.) Columbine massacre (1999): I remember watching the coverage but I don’t remember when I first heard or what I was doing. I was probably at work.

7.) JFK Jr. Plane crash (1999): I was in Dewey Beach, Delaware for a Girls' weekend with some former college roommates. I remember we kept checking the news hoping to hear that they had been safely rescued.

8.) Bush/Gore crazy election (2000): We were in the process of moving to Palm Beach County, Florida during that time, right smack in the middle of where all the "hanging chad" drama was unfolding. I did not vote in the election as I did not like either candidate. Stupid reason not to vote, I know, but I just couldn't pick one.

9.) September 11, (2001): Living in Florida. I was at work when I heard, and thought it was an accident at first. Shock turned to a pit of fear in my stomach when I learned it was not just a tragic accident. My boss at the time addressed our department with tears in his eyes, and choked up as he told us to go home, be with our families, and hug our children. I couldn't get to Diva's day care fast enough. The next few nights were eerie as we could hear (and see) F16's patrolling the Florida coast. I remember thinking those F16's made me feel a little bit safer.

10.) Space ship Columbia disintegrates (2003): Still living in Florida. I saw the coverage on TV, but don't remember where I was when this happened. Again, I was likely at work.

11.) Hurricane Katrina hits (2005): I was "down the Shore" again for Labor Day weekend at my parents' place. I was shocked to see the devastation and disappointed in our government's response, or lack thereof. JV has a cousin in New Orleans, and we were relieved to learn she and her husband had evacuated and were safe.

Dr. Ferber Rocks!

As of late, we've (meaning I) have had a little problem with #3 not sleeping very much at night. Prior to my return to work, she was sleeping 6-7 hours at night at a stretch. Since I returned, I'm lucky if I get a 4 hour stretch. I say this is my problem, because I'm still nursing and have been doing night feedings.

I know this is partly my fault - I have indulged her with feedings when she wakes up at night. It's partly due to guilt since I went back to work. But I can't function at work on 4 hours sleep (or sometimes less). I've determined that this wakefulness is not due to hunger. She is almost 6 months old, eats cereal baby fruits and veggies 3 times a day and gets plenty of milk, so it's not a hunger issue.

It's now time for a little tough love. I vaguely remember the Ferber method working for me with the previous 2, so I reviewed the Dr. Ferber rules online yesterday in preparation for our first night of Ferber Boot Camp. In a nutshell, they are:

• Put the baby down drowsy but awake.
• If she cries, check on her in 5 minutes. Comfort, but do not pick her up, and then leave the room.
• If she is still crying, repeat in 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, and so on until she's asleep.
• The next night, stretch the intervals by 5 minutes: first 10, then 15, then 20, and so on.
• By the third night, the baby should have learned to fall asleep on her own, and put herself back to sleep if she wakes up during the night.

So we tried this last night. I nursed her, and as usual she fell asleep around 10:30 p.m. I usually just put her down when this happens, but this time I woke her up gently, and put her in the crib. As soon as I walked away she started crying.

I left and came back 5 minutes later. She was happy to see me but started crying again as soon as I left. Then I came back 10 minutes later. Still crying, but I could tell she was wearing down - her eyelids were drooping. I comforted her again and left. That's the last we heard from her - until 4:30 a.m. Woo-hoo! I got almost 6 HOURS of uninterrupted sleep!

She started fussing at 4:30 a.m., and I was getting ready to get up and get her since I get up at 4:45 anyway, but as I walked down the hall all of a sudden I didn't hear anything. She had fallen back asleep, and slept until I woke her up to get ready for day care. Thank you, Dr. Ferber! We will be trying this regimen again tonight!

Update: Night 2: Again put her down drowsy but awake and happy. She started crying about 5 minutes later. I came back 10 minutes later after that and comforted her and left. She started crying agian, and I came back 15 minutes later, and although she was fussing, I could tell she was on her way to dreamland. I comforted and left, and she was asleep less than 10 minutes later. SHE SLEPT FOR 8 STRAIGHT HOURS. Woo-hoo!