A Few Valentines Projects

I LOVE the pre-cut foam pieces that the craft stores have available! No cutting! No glue! No scraps! Always a good looking craft! The girls were busy for over 30 minutes with this one!

These are the "Love Bugs" we made. Sure, they look like caterpillars! I wish glue dries faster than it does!

The girls couldn't play w/these yet!

I wish to thank my friend, Kaya, for giving me this idea!

Twist a 1 inch square of tissue paper over the eraser end of a pencil. Dip in a dab of glue. Press onto a heart shape, over & over until you have what we had in the above photo.

Tomorrow, we'll turn our thoughts to Groundhog Day!

Using a paper cup (w/a small slit in the bottom & decorated like grass), a popsicle stick & some brown paper

( cut out into a ground hog shape, you know, a circle for the head w/googly eyes & an oval for his body),

we'll create our own version of whether the groundhog will see his shadow or not!

Turtle Snow

... Sculptures!

The 2 girls were over the other day & we took what precious little snow I had in my front yard & made a turtle! A little food coloring & water in a clean spray bottle provided the eerily realistic color of a turtles shell!

My own daughters should remember how I used to make turtles w/them.

Turtles were the only animal I could think of in the shape of a snow pile!

You didn't really think I know how to make sculptures, did you?

Different Name, Same Thing

In 1982, I applied for a job.

I was hired as a part-time cashier (mostly nights & weekends) at a new "discount" department store? a few miles from my childhood home in MA.

It was new to me, but had been around for about a decade down in the Hingham area.

This store was a dump, literally!

They built up a reputation as such too. Advertisements often boasted as to how unique they were & proud of the mess!

Their slogan? "Good Stuff, Cheap!"

Many reading this blog may have worked there as well at one point or another.

Today, T was shopping in VA & came across the store in the photo above.

I guess the place I worked at, off & on, for so many years is not so unique after all!

I looked up their website. The names are different, but that's about it. They started their business in 1982, same year I was hired by the NE version.

T said it was like being in a Twilight Zone episode.

A Carlotta Video Update

It's been a while since I've shared a video from Carlotta!

She loves to play "dress-up" and her favorite part of this activity is the HATS!

T says that this particular hat has been on for about an hour.

All the while, she was singing, "hat, hat, hat, hat" over & over.

By the time the video was shot, she had taken a break w/the singing.

When I Skype w/her, she tells me I must wear a hat too. I have a variety of hats nearby.

To Another Big Show, The Pats Will Go!

My beloved, most favorite NFL football team is on their way to ANOTHER Super Bowl!

I'm rehydrating as I blog. The game went right down to the wire & I was sweating!

Go New England Patriots!!

In its franchise history, this trip makes it 7 times the Pats have gone to the" big show,"

winning 3 of them !

Of those 7 times, 5 of them have been in the last 11 years!

The Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era!!

Stay tuned as February 5, 2012 gets here! Pats should win their 4th Super Bowl ring in 11 years!

Could I Get Used to This?

The girls have been coming to my house every day this week so their mom can have quiet time to rest & recuperate from the germs. She's pregnant, so I know getting rest is important.

My girls were older when we moved here almost 12 years ago. Except for an occasional few hours, once in a while, my house has not had small children playing in it.

(well, Carlotta was here back in June for a week, but she wasn't as mobile then)

I was unsure how this arrangement would work out.

Turns out, it's not that bad! I kinda like it!

I have a bedroom upstairs dedicated to "dress-up," a closet full of crafting supplies, another closet of games, shelves of books and several plastic cases of toy collections so they have not been bored! The girls are doing well w/my rule of cleaning up one bunch of toys before opening another case of toys.

Today, after the older girl gets out of school, we hope to do a kitchen project (choc. chip cookies), Kitchen projects was not something I felt comfortable doing @ their house.

They play so well on their own, I have even been able to keep my house cleaned up! Dishes, laundry & the like.

The girls are nervous when B is home. Not because he's mean or scary but rather, he's HUGE! The cats keep their distance (Gracie is a "nipper" while Zee allows them to pat her so long as I'm there) and "observe" the girls playing.

I like saving money on gas for the car (though it not that much with their house only 5-7 minutes away). If their parents allow it, I think I'd like this arrangement to be more permanent. I have a safe, large yard with lots of outdoor toys & water features in the shed to keep them busy & cool in the summer!

We shall see! Have a great day!

Dress Up Time, Again!

I regret not keeping all the dress up stuff I had collected for my girls when they were younger. Several moves & the fact they out grew the stuff were the reasons I gave it all away.

I was done having children so why would I need to keep any of it?

Who knew, back then, that babysitting would be in my future?

As you can see by the above photos, the 2nd group of kids I now care for are enjoying a day @ my house, with my 3 dress up chests!

They were very careful w/their selections. They didn't even like touching the pieces they thought were "boy" stuff!

They did have some fun looking for stuff that would fit me!

Sofie took the picture, that's as good as I get!

Their mom is not feeling too well so they'll be back here tomorrow too.

Same Song, Second Verse...

Another weekend.

Another sickness.

This time around, it's a sickness I can find some relief with the use of modern medicine! YAY!

Swollen sinuses, drippy nose, sneezing and headaches.

Another weekend taking naps! And watching playoff football! Go Pats!

I Need a Drink,

I think.

Maybe it's just PMS, I don't know.

I consider myself a fairly patient person. Please, correct me if I have a false impression of myself. I should take a chill pill. I worked several years in the service industry & understand how things can work. But just not today!

It was a snowy day today & not a bad one with the girls. I brought plenty to do. We went outdoors twice.

Except for the LOUD singing @ the end of my day, I had a good day.

B told me he had a meeting tonight so I stopped by the local branch of a nation-wide sub shop, made famous by a guy named Jared, to get myself a toasted, chicken sub for dinner.

I was the only customer in the place I heard people in the back room, though it was about 3 minutes before one even acknowledged me.

I asked for a Chicken Bacon Ranch w/o the bacon.

Was told I couldn't do that, how about the Chipotle Chicken instead.

Fine, just hold the chipotle, please.

Oh, can't do that or you won't get the special price.

I wasn't asking for a special price, I don't want bacon or chipotle!

OK, toasted?

Yes, please. It's cold out & I want a hot sandwich.

As she placed my sub in the toaster, another customer walked in looking for 3 subs. She began helping that customer.

She took mine out of the toaster, placed it on the counter & continued helping the other lady.

I watched as the steam wafted up & off of my sandwich.

For another 2-3 minutes.

The clerk went in the back room & emerged to tell me another clerk would be out to "veggie" up my sub.

Another 2-3 minutes go by.

I see no more steam coming off my sandwich.

I began to feel an unfamiliar feeling of anger & impatience.

The next customers 3rd sub was coming OUT of the toaster by the time the other clerk came to finish my order.

So, did she just take my order, ring me up & let me go?

NO!

The 2 of them had to discuss what I had already discussed with the 1st clerk about what kind of chicken sandwich I had ordered, which took several more minutes & then reminded me that I would not be able to get a special price.

I WASN'T ASKING FOR A SPECIAL PRICE!

MY HOT, TOASTED SANDWICH IS NOW COLD! PLEASE RING ME UP WHATEVER PRICE YOU WISH TO CHARGE SO I CAN GO HOME AND EAT MY VERY COLD, TOASTED CHICKEN SANDWICH!

No need to get testy ma'am.

I apologized, guess I had a bad day.

Well Ok. Let's see we have to charge you for...

PLEASE. Take my money so I can go!

Have a nice day. Please come back.

I will take my cold sandwich, that should've been hot & I will eat it because I'm hungry & want to get home. But I don't plan on returning any time soon!

Too much??

I noticed the lady behind me w/3 hot subs was paying for hers only moments after me. Her subs must still be hot.

Yes, I said those things to those clerks and in the loud, rude tone as indicated by my capital letters & bold font!

I lost my patience. I apologize.

They lost a customer, for a while. I'll go back in about 3 months. Thank goodness for high turnovers in employees @ places like that!

Too Adorable

I know,

I already texted some of my readers today with a synopsis of today's cute-ism, but I thought it was so adorable, it needed its own entry in my blog!

The 2 girls I care for twice a week (most weeks, that is) love to color & do crafts.

The 5 year old (well, she'll be 5 in a few days) is VERY good at staying inside the lines, choosing her color scheme and finishing her page before going to another.

The 2 year old is still "learning."

As I watched her scribble several odd colors on her page, I asked her when she might learn to stay inside the lines of the picture with her crayons.

In reply to my inquiry,

she looked down at her picture and screamed at it, "STAY INSIDE THE LINES"!

My sides still hurts from laughing so hard! And so soon after the stomach bug too!

The Bug

I've recovered in less than 24 hours from a nasty stomach/intestinal bug!

Thank goodness!

I don't like this type of sickness. Give me some coughing & a stuffy nose over this thing, any day!

Any sickness where I can take some medicine to help w/the pain & symptoms has got to be better than what I had yesterday! Nothing stayed down!

It's over, I survived & now we hope & pray that C doesn't get this bug!

She is heading back to college on Wednesday night!

I will miss her.

I do not miss being sick.

Better? Yep

What's better than listening to a toddler learn how to pronounce words?

Reading notes from a child, who is learning to write!

I can't wait to get hand written notes from Carlotta!

My Daughters Nightmare!

I've posted many times about turkeys & chickens & how they like to come visit me & my yard.

Both of my daughters are afraid of feathered animals. Weird, I know.

The many birds that have visited my property is nothing compared to what I saw over the bridge on my way home from the grocery store, in our neighbors yard!

I didn't stop & count, but I could not see the grass around the house, on the hill or the blacktop of their driveway!

Black & gray fowl (Canadian geese) were COVERING the place!

My "guess-timate" would be in the hundreds, though C may have guessed millions!!

I was under the impression that Canadian geese migrate south for the winter. Who knew that NH would be considered a warm spot for a lunch break in the middle of the winter!

Our neighbors live near a river & their "back 40" does flood over, making it an ideal spot for migrating birds to rest. I have seen several large flocks taking breaks there off & on all season.

This flock took the cake though! Wow!

C would not have been able to use a broom to scare them away like she does w/the chickens!

Yes, there were so many, even I was a bit unnerved about it!

Sorry... no picture! I was driving & really wanted to get past the flock, unharmed. LOL!

Fast Food

I know! It's terrible for your body & is it even real food?

But when you have to eat something fast because you're in a rush, a $1 cheeseburger @ MickeyDees fills the need!

As I ate the burger in the car, it brought back a memory for me of having fast food,

probably for the 1st time.

It was a hot, mid-summer evening.

I was about 6 or so. After a long, humid, hot day of chores, gardening & swimming...

(Mom always made sure we had a pool while growing up, which is funny because she is afraid of water!)

I guess no one wanted to cook & microwaves hadn't been invented yet!

Heck, our 13" B&W TV was new technology to us!

Funds were tight as I recall, but an inexpensive, fast food place had just opened over the bridge in Haverhill. A MickeyDees!

BTW, it is still there & serving fast food!

She packed all of us up in our two-toned brown/tan 12 passenger van

(the blue, 15 passenger one came along years later)

& drove the 10-15 minutes to the restaurant,

windows open all the way down because A/C was an unaffordable option!

Oh, the arguments & fights over who sat closest to the windows on those hot days!

AnyHoo...

Everyone got their own hamburger (NO cheese! That cost extra $).

We shared a small fries & the orange drink with 1 other sibling.

She then drove us over to Winnekinni Castle playground

where we had a picnic & played until bedtime!

Happy Meals didn't come along until my littlest sister was born!

When they introduced those, we finally were able to have our own meal, w/o sharing!

Of course, several of my older siblings had left home, so that helped too.

Oh yeah, & cable was also introduced around the same time

& our TV was now a 13" COLOR TV!

C hardly ever eats fast food anymore. Good for her! I had a cheeseburger & diet soda today!

Bad for me, but I skipped the fries, so that's good, right?

B has less wrappings in his truck lately, so maybe he's reducing? Or finding a trash barrel? Either way, that's an improvement for him!

Now, I am off to the kitchen to attempt a lasagna! Lasagna is not fast food!

The Dinner Table

Do you sit down with your family every night for dinner (or supper, if you prefer) at a table with no TV or radio or cell phones or Ipods?

I will say, as empty nesters, we no longer adhere to this daily tradition. I have become lazy.

Growing up, even with my multitude of siblings, we all sat around the table for meals. In fact, we had assigned seating. A younger child sat near an older child so they could have assistance, if needed, for cutting or passing food.

No reaching over plates, put your napkin on your lap, no elbows on the table, always say "Please" when asking for help & ask to be excused when leaving the table, were just some of the manners we were expected to learn & use.

Whenever my mother felt we were becoming too "relaxed" with our manners, she would have "Manners Night." She had the table all set (by several of the young kids still at home) by the time we got back from school, even if dinner was still several hours away!

While this practice in itself wasn't rare, if we saw that she had put candles on the table, we KNEW that this dinner would include lessons about manners!

We ate our dinner by candlelight, using quiet voices and practiced using our manners!

My own children had sit-down dinners as they grew up. This was a central place & time where we could talk about the day, upcoming events and practice our manners. I had few candlelight suppers, because I felt my girls were usually pretty good about their manners & needed very little reminding.

As they grew & had other activities to attend, we continued to have sit-down dinners though at a much faster pace! Eventually, the TV stayed on during some of our meals. Cell phones & Ipods were always close at hand. Talking & manners were forgotten or should I say, ignored.

Now, if we do have a sit-down meal, it's because we have guests or its a special occasion, like a birthday or Thanksgiving. During the meal, I find myself reminding my family members,

Yes, even B,

to chew with their mouths closed, wait until you swallow before talking & take a breath before shoving another bite into your mouth.

So, does one turn into a slob or a barbarian when they don't sit down around a table for a meal? Some of us seem to do so!

Will my little blog entry change the way we have our meals in our home?

Maybe not. I'm just saying.

Happy New Year!