Back to Business

Yea! The hubby and kids are back. (I think they brought the rain with them, too.) Joe said that even though they had not so good weather, he had a great time. My sil and bil had never met Maeve before and haven't seen Joe or Declan in 5 years! That's too long for family to go without seeing each other. Anyhow, Joe was able to take Declan kayaking, to the beach and played mini golf with him. Now, my son wants to move to Hilton Head! Naturally, he was not too happy about having to go back to school today. They also brought home gifts for the other kids so they wouldn't feel too left out. My sil found a scrapbook store and picked up some paper and things for me and she also sent Joe home with a box full of Stampin Up! ink and stamp sets for me! Gotta love that! I can't wait to play with everything!!

Zzzz....

Can you guess what I did today? I took a nap!! It's been so long since I did that and I have to confess, it felt fabulous! I did get up and go walking at 5:00. Then after practically dragging my daughter out of bed (at almost 7!) I was able to get them to school on time. Day 1: so far, so good. Of course, I come home and lie down, which naturally causes the phone to ring. It's my husband calling to say good morning to me! Personally, I think he was calling to make sure we were up and out of bed. However, after we hung up, I fell asleep and slept until noon, when Molly's barking woke me up. I never intended to sleep that long so hopefully I can sleep tonight. Oh, yes, I also went and got a pedicure! I just love those. I don't get them often enough. I did not, however, spend the entire day pampering myself. I managed to do the required checking of homework, feeding the kids dinner, etc. I also completely cleaned out the back yard, swept and mopped the kitchen floor, dusted and vacuumed the house and did several loads of laundry. Tommorrow I get to take the animals to the vet for a bath. Hey, I'm not ambitious enough to tackle that on my own. I will be at the Scrapbook Shoppe, that's more my speed. Have a nice night.

Did I seriously HAVE to say that?!

Because I am such a cool mom, I told each of my kids that they could have someone stay over last night. So shortly after Joe and the kids left, we picked up Aidan's friend, Jared. (Aislinn's friend didn't get to come over until 9:30 last night because she had a ton of things to do during the day). So anyhow, I take the 3 kids and we go to Target (my favorite store!) so we can load up on junk food, then head over to the movies. The boys saw the new Star Wars movie and Aislinn and I saw Space Chimps. What a waste of an afternoon that movie turned out to be, but I was happy to be able to spend some time with just Aislinn. After that, we went to McDonald's, then home. The boys were fine playing outside or with the Wii. Then Aislinn's friend came over and it was as if they had never seen another girl before that wasn't related to them! I certainly hope I never acted like a complete fool in front of the opposite sex before. They would not leave the girls alone. Finally I told the kids, at 10:30pm, I was going to bed, but that I didn't care if they stayed up all night, however the boys had to stay in Aidan's room because the girls would be sleeping in the living room. Aidan has a TV as well as the Nintendo Gamecube in his room so it's not like they had nothing to do. Besides it was late and I figured they would crash soon. I was wrong. Aislinn and Amy stayed up playing on the computer, and at 1:30am, Aislinn comes in my room, wakes me up to tell me that the boys went outside to play!! Hello, it's pitch black outside! So naturally I jump out of bed, God only knows what I looked like, and when I went to the garage to get them, Aidan was opening the door to come back in and get some toy he forgot. Well, one look at me and he knew he was in for it. I know that I said that they could stay up all night, but did I seriously have to tell them that I meant INSIDE THE HOUSE?!? Of course, they went right back in the bedroom. Aidan's reason for going outside: they were bored. WHAT?? Not only did they go outside, but they let out Murphy at the same time, so now I have a loose dog that HOWLS if he's alone in the dark. Boy, were my neighbors going to be happy with me! Now I am so tired, not to mention mad and before I can go back to sleep, I need to find the dog. It's a nightmare. So today Jared's dad comes over to get his son in the morning (they went back out to play at 8am) and I take Aidan and the girls to lunch at a pizza place, then we head over to Petland. Because it's so much fun to play with all the puppies and then leave. After running a few more errands we head home in time for supper. I'm going to bed soon. 5:00 am comes really early and I have to go running with my neighbor. At least the kids go back to school tomorrow so I can have some "ME" time. I can't wait.

While the Cat's Away...

Today, my husband left for a week's vacation to Hilton Head, SC. He took the youngest 2 kids with him. It would have been really, really nice to all go as a family, but with the older 2 kids just starting school, we didn't want them to miss any days already, let alone an entire week. My mil has a friend who has several time shares there, and since she wasn't going to use them, my mil rented 2 of them! My mil, sil and her husband are also going. I hope they have a great time and the weather is good. I miss my Joe and the kids already. However...during the week, while my kids are in school, I am going to be ALL ALONE!!! I have big plans for myself. I plan on spending the week working on my scrapbooks. And reading. And watching chick flicks. And taking naps. And maybe a pedicure and a nice haircut. Something tells me that next Saturday will be here before I know it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today I wanted to say Happy Birthday to a very dear friend of mine. We first met each other in 5th grade, when we were 10 years old. She lives in New England (where I am from), and although we don't see each other often, I can call her up any time and we will spend hours on the phone catching up. It's great to have a girlfriend like that! So, Happy Birthday, Jen!!

New recipes

I've decided that every once in a while I will ad a recipe of something new I've made (and like), from scratch! Anyone who knows me can tell you that I'm no Betty Crocker. So if I make anything from scratch, it's a HUGE deal! Usually I only make Christmas cookies this way and they come out really good. Anyhow, what I've made this week is called Triple Cheese Macaroni. As any southern woman worth her salt will tell you, you cannot make, let alone eat, macaroni and cheese from a box no matter how cute and adorable the kid on the cover is. As it happens, I am from up north, so Kraft products usually fare pretty well in my kitchen. I thought I'd try something new. All I can say is Oh. My. God! This was sooo good! It will take a little bit for my kids to get used to this. They enjoy the processed stuff so much. The only thing about this recipe is that even though it says it will feed 6, those 6 people had better have very big appetites, because I was eating this for 4 days!! Here goes, and if you make it, let me know what you think...

1 package (16 oz) elbow macaroni
2 eggs
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 TBS prepared mustard
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp pepper
8 oz process cheese (Velveeta), melted
2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Cook macaroni according to package direction. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, butter, mustard, seasoned salt and pepper until combined. Stir in the process cheese and 1-1/2 cups of each cheddar cheese.

Drain macaroni; stir into cheese mixture. Pour into greased 3-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350* for 25-30 minuted or until cheese is melted and edges are bubbly. Yield: 6 servings.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's been a few days since my last post and things have been very busy around here. The other night I took my 3 oldest kids to meet their new teachers. They liked them, so I'm hoping this will be a good school year. Then on Wednesday, it was the first day of school!! This always reminds me of the commercial I saw on TV years ago with the man riding on the shopping cart in a store like Office Depot or someplace buying school supplies with his kids dragging behind him! I loved that commercial. So anyhow, off I take them to school at 7:20am. Yes, I know that school doesn't start until 8, and we only live 3 miles away, but who wants to be late? Certainly not I. I had to practically drag my kids out of bed, too! I mean really. The first day and they can't get up? I can see if it was halfway through the year, but the first day?!? Then on top of that, I brought my camera. My kids are well aware that I scrapbook and should have expected me to have it with me. I thought my daughter would die of embarassment. Fortunately, her teacher was in the hallway so I was able to snap a quick photo before anyone could see me and therefor make her the laughing stock of the 5th grade. She stiffly smiled, then bolted inside the classroom without so much as a goodbye. Hmmph. I'll get her back. Wait til I show up for lunch one day and sit with her! Anyhow, as for my kindergardener, he already knows the school and we had to stop several times on the way to his class so that last years teachers can welcome him back with hugs and everything. We get to his class and he makes himself right at home. He likes when I take his picture, so I got several. On to my 4th grader's class. It is outside in a portable. At least they have air conditioning so it's bearable. I was allowed only to the doorway and when I stuck my head inside the room, I casually mentioned to the teacher that I wanted to get a picture of him and Aidan. I think Aidan turned a new shade of red while he glared at me. His teacher leaned in to him and he leaned away! My kids are such goofballs. Anyhow, my son knows me well enough that if he says anything to me, I'll just walk him to class in my fuzzy bunny slippers, bathrobe and coffee cup. Hey, I've done it before. I managed to get one shot of him and then left. So far, they like school. It's only been 3 days, but first impressions are everything. Aidan has also had homework everyday, while Aislinn was already given a project to do! What do I like about this school? It's MUCH closer than the school they went to last year. This is only 3 miles away, but last year the school was at least 20 miles away. And, they don't have to wear a uniform, which is a plus in my daughter's eyes.

What else...oh yes. I am now getting up to go jogging at 5am. It's much cooler then, but pitch black. I asked the woman across the street if she wanted to run.. What a mistake! She is nice and everything, but she is in the Army. Needless to say, she is in much better shape than I am. I was able to keep up with her for the most part, but there were a few times when I had to stop and walk. She just jogged in circle around me! I think I liked it better when I was alone. At least I didn't feel so out of shape. If I could just eat better I'm sure the extra weight would fall right off me. I say this, then today I went to McDonald's. What's wrong with me? Then my husband calls me while I'm eating. I don't answer the phone, so now I have more guilt. After he calls me the 3rd time, I call him back and tell him what I've been doing, but I leave out the fast food part. So now, I'm heading home and who's there..my husband! So I got caught eating what I should be staying away from. I can't get away with anything!! Serves me right. Maybe now I'll learn. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe. Who am I kidding. Til next time....

My baby's birthday!

Yes, I know. I changed the blog name again. I decided that "Running with Scissors" sounds too much like an Indian name! Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just want something else.

Well, today is my youngest daughter's birthday! She is 3 years old. I can't believe it. Time has gone by so fast. All she wanted was cake! It's so nice at this age. Pretty soon she will want a cell phone and Wii games. At least that is the stage my 10 years old is at. She has already given me a wish list for her birthday, and it's not for 2 more months yet!!

My high school reunion was last weekend. I didn't go. At first I was bummed out, but when I think about it, it's not like I talk to many of the kids I went to school with anyhow. And those I really want to see, I talk to. There was one girl in particular, although she didn't graduate with me, that I was practically joined at the hip with. I haven't spoken to her in over 10 years. Long story. She called me out of the blue today. Boy, was THAT a long conversation. I spent over 2 1/2 hours on the phone with her. There is so much going on in her life right now. The least of which is divorce. I swear, practically everyone I know is getting a divorce or just got a divorce! I am staying away from these people!! I don't want my husband getting any ideas. My life is so dull compared to other people's lives and I just decided that I like it that way.