This & That

Monthly (almost) Update

Trudging along over here....

I am going to just stop pretending that I can actually blog on a regular basis.  If you like the monthly updates with sporadic periods of consistent blogging then keep on reading :)  Now you can imagine how my house looks.  Sometimes it is totally immaculate and cleaned every day...other times...not so much :)

Things have been tough with dean working in Detroit the last few months.  It certainly makes me realize just how invaluable a part of our little family unit he is.  His stint out there is winding down soon I think.  He will be home this weekend until Monday which is like a whole extra day.  Yeah!

March was a crazy crazy month! I had lots of work, Crop on the Cape, Hockey Tournament in Springfield, going to the Sue Gillman show with Jenn and meeting her super hilarious friend Shari, my 23rd birthday.  Okay, so it wasn't my 23rd birthday...perhaps my 32nd :) and just general day to day crap.  Nothing too exciting or blogworthy. 

We are still looking for a house - we thought we were close with one recently, but unfortunately, it didn't work out.  I think because we have waited so long it means that we are going to find THE PERFECT HOUSE at THE PERFECT PRICE :)  Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Today the kids are off from school and playing outside.  I have a Dr.'s appointment at 10:30 and then I am free for the rest of the day!!!! woohoo. I really don't know what I am going to do with myself.  Perhaps I will head into the store and work on my class samples for the Outlines classes I am going to teach in June or perhaps I will sit on my butt all day and play bejeweled to beat Jenn and Janet's score.  Options are endless.

Here are some pics of our adventures this last month.

Easter Candy Houses at Valpey Studios.  This was a lot of fun, both the kids loved it and it was so fun to see all the creative things they came up with.

Our last Hurrah of hockey at The State Tournament in Springfield.

Hope everyone has a very Hoppy Easter!

Love Letters

Today I am a lucky girl. 

I did not get ONE Love letter today.  Nope, today I got TWO Love Letters!!!!!! 

What in the world did I do to deserve these people?????

I love my people!

Love Note #1 was from my husband. 

Love Note #2 was from my little peanut.  Rather than quote the text of the letter, I think it is much better represented by photo!

How sweet is that!!!!!

My heart is full today :)

What I did over February Vacation.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE lists.  Maybe it's the simplicity of the statements or the nice little lines or the neat little bullet points that I love so much.  Whatever the reason, there is no question that I love to make lists, read lists and especially cross things off my list :) 

In honor of my love for "the list" I bring you What I did over February Vacation....in list format :)

• I saw my little peanut play her very first hockey game.
• I went to Martha's Vineyard for another hockey game.
• I said goodbye to my husband and wished him safe travels - TWICE.
• I had delicious french meat pie at my Memere's house with my parents.  Nobody makes French Meat Pie like my Memere.  It's actually like you are eating a slice of love ♥
• I learned how to make that little heart thingy using different keys on my laptop.
• I nursed a sick little girl who had a serious fever for a few days.
• I cleaned my WHOLE HOUSE like a crazy person including Julia's crazy messy room.
• I did a massive grocery shop and even managed to make a trip BJ's.
• I video chatted with Dean a few times
• I worked Thursday night and Saturday.
• I made Hungarian Goulash in the crockpot on Thursday
• I anxiously awaited Dean's arrival late Thursday night.
• I went to the New England Aquarium on what I think *might* have been the busiest day of the entire year but still had a GREAT time.
• I ordered outback takeaway
• I kept my house clean....not as easy as you may think :)
• I anxiously awaited Dean's text message letting me know he landed safely.
• I put the kids to bed early because it's school tomorrow. YIPPEEEEEE
• I settled myself into bed with my laptop and typed this blog while watching the Oscars....which so far have been really good.

So as you can see my February Vacation was not so eventful and pretty much looked like a regular week except that I had all that extra kiddo company.  They were great.  Only a tiny bit of sibling bickering.   Okay maybe I am being an idealist and there was more than a "tiny bit" of sibling bickering, but now they are both peacefully asleep and those squabbles are a thing of the past.

Hope you had a great week.

Plugging away at it...

That's kinda how I feel today and actually how I have felt all week.

Today was among my more productive days of the week and I am hoping that I will keep that train rolling into tomorrow.  I started the day a little late because I had a rough night sleep.  The peanut was in bed with me all feverish and sick :( so I kept waking up all night to either check on her or because she was moving around.  She has been running a temp for the past two days in the 101 - 102 range.  Really no other symptoms besides the fever and a slight scratchy throat and sniffles.  If she has a fever again tomorrow I am going to call the Dr. 

She has been such a sweetheart through it all.  Frankly, she is putting me to shame with how good her behavior is.  If I had a fever in the 100's I would pretty much make the world stop in this house and I would be soooooo whiny and needy.  Not Julia.  She has been a sweet little dream with her tired  pale face and delicate little feverish body.  Today my heart literally hurts with love for her.

Even though the peanut was not in tip-top shape I did manage to get a ton done around the house.  I am hoping to really bring my susie homemaker skills to the table the next couple of months.  The last thing that I want is for Dean to come home after an incredibly stressful work week to a messy house and piles of laundry.  Last week I was not able to get all that I wanted done because I was too busy being sick and glued into my bed.

There was LOTS of cleaning and throwing away and getting stuff ready for goodwill.  I also managed to get to the grocery store.  This HAD to be done.  We were literally out of everything....and I mean everything. 

Hopefully late tomorrow night when Dean arrives home I will have created a little sanctuary for him to relax and refuel and get ready to fly out again on Sunday.  I am thinking a crockpot meal.  I have the stuff for either a pork roast with the traditional carrots, potatoes and onions with cream of mushroom soup OR hungarian goulash.  Not sure which one yet.  I will let you know how it goes though.

I am off to lurk on Facebook for a bit and watch part one of Top Chef - GO FABIO!!!!!! 

Big Stuff

Big stuff going on around here that has been consuming me and keeping me from blogging.

"What sort of Big Stuff???" you ask.   

It's kind of life changing Big Stuff, but luckily, it's only temporary.  Life will return to normal in a few months.

In the meantime, I am going to be a very lonely wife :( 

Dean has taken an Interim position as Regional Vice President of Engineering.

That region happens to be Michigan and Indiana.

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!

He is going to be flying out to Detroit, where his office is located, on Sunday afternoons and coming home late Thursday night.  He has already had his first week and it went GREAT!!!! 

.....the one sucky part was that when he came home he had the FLU :( poor guy.  I know how he felt because I had it the whole time he was gone.  It was the kind of flu where I couldn't even imagine how I was going to get out of bed. 

So that's what's been going on the last week around here.  It's really exciting BIG stuff that is a little bit scary but mostly just excited.  I am really excited for Dean.  This is an amazing opportunity for him and I am so proud of him. 

Tonight we tried something new so that we can keep in touch and he can talk to the kids....video chat!  We both logged into skype and had a live chat.  It was so cool and the kids loved it.  I know that I am pretty tech savvy, but I have never had a webcam or used video chat.

Here we are....all three of us....making silly faces for Dean.

Aside from all the flu craziness this weekend little miss Julia had her first Hockey game and she did GREAT!!!! 

She did great!!!!  I was so happy that so many people came to see her play.  It is just one more part of the whole "Community of Love" that I have talked about before.  I love that she had a cheering squad of 15 people who love her and are just as proud of her as I am :)

This week is February Vacation.  We are hopefully going to hit up the New England Aquarium with some of our friends, hang out at Memere's house for dinner tomorrow night, try and keep the house clean and just hang out.  Nothing too exciting this week just taking it easy!

 

Watch this!

This poor kid had to have a little dental work that required some sort of anesthesia and dad decided to record it for posterity and preserve it forever on the illustrious youtube.  I am now bringing it to you because it made me LOL!!!!


Have a great weekend!

Go Local!!!

I have been thinking about doing this post for a little while now.  With the changes that have been going on in our world lately I think it is really important to find ways to support your local community.  All things are cyclical.  When you help your "neighbor" hopefully your "neighborhood" is a little bit nicer. 

This all came to me when I went to one of my favorite little breakfast places the Brown Bag Bagel & Deli.
They make THE BEST egg and cheese sandwiches on their fresh made bagels.  Sooooo much better than what you could EVER get at Dunkin Donuts and their coffee is bought by a local coffee roaster and it's delicious too.

As I was sitting there eating my breakfast before heading to work I thought to myself that eating here made me feel good.  I know that it is a locally owned place and the atmosphere and employees actually act like they care about you as a customer.

I started to think of all the other local places that I could support and so far, here is my list.

• Of course, Colorful Creations!  Working at a locally owned business really gives me a unique perspective on what it means to shop local.  I am pretty sure that if you were to walk into AC Moore or Joanne's they aren't going to greet you by name and give you the individual customer service that we strive to have.
• Cape Cod Beer - Did you know that we have our very own brewery right here on Cape Cod that makes an amazing product?  By supporting this business I know that I am helping support my own community.  My kids play hockey with their kids!  They are great people and also believe very strongly in the "buy local" concept.  If you have never tried there beer you need to do it NOW!  I promise you won't be disappointed!
• La Petite France Cafe - You could go to Panera or a drive-thru and get an okay lunch, but when you go to LPF they know your name, their breads are made on-site, their soups are amazing and their specials change every day.  Pot Roast Monday is the BEST!  The owners are good people too and truly care about you as a customer. 
• When I get my dog groomed I don't go to PetSmart.  I head over to Rebecca at Tails of Cape Cod where they take such good care of Betty Moo Puppy. 
• Where do you buy your office supplies???  I know you can go to staples and order from W.B Mason, but when I worked for an attorney we always used KenMark.  They are great there and the customer service was always spot on.  There were times when I would call and need a box of paper delivered ASAP and they could get it to me same day at no extra fee!!!!  You might think that you pay more shopping local, but we always got the best deals ordering from KenMark than we would have at any of the "big box" office supply stores.

This is just something I have had in my head for a while.  I know that it isn't realistic for me to get everything I need locally, but I am going to make an effort to try and find what I can.  Sometimes it might been spending a little bit more money or going a little bit further out of my way, but if my little bit of consumerism can benefit my local community rather than the giant conglomerates I feel good about that.

Blog Shout Out - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful sister Leah!!!!  Thinking about you today :)

Happy Thursday!

 

Proud Mama

That's me today.  Last night I had a School Committee meeting and afterwords I was able to have a GREAT talk with Jacob's teacher.  I love his 4th grade teacher.  I really think that she has become both a great mentor to Jacob, but also a good friend of mine. 

Having that open relationship with his teacher has allowed me to really see what kind of student he is in a truly unique way.  I am sure that this knowledge will help Dean and I guide him through his own education in a more insightful way.  For that I am truly grateful.

In addition to having a great chat, his teacher shared with me a piece of his writing that she really enjoyed.  I made a copy of course ;) and want to share it with you!

It goes as follows:

I have a very special hero and I know he can't fly or run 100 miles per hour but he is still my hero.  His name is Andrew.  He introduced me to hockey.  Without hockey I wouldn't know Stevie one of my good friends.  Andrew taught me all about hockey and he is much older so you would expect him to be very mean but he is one of the nicest and funniest people I know.  That is why I follow in his footsteps.

How cute is that!  Andrew is my 16 year old cousin.  He really is a great kid and I am proud that my son has found a great role model.  Of course I immediately called my aunt and read this too her.  She loved it too of course.

I just wanted to share that.  Sometimes it's the little things that make such a huge impact on your life as a mother and give you great insight into your child.  This short writing exercise means more to me than he will ever know.

I am heading to work tonight and then tomorrow I am having a "pto finances meeting" with two of my favorite ladies, Kathy and Renee, to get some work done and I am sure there will be some silliness.

ps.  aren't you impressed by my lack of huge gaps between blog entries???????  :)

Set your DVR's!!!

Why?  Because I am going to be on TV!!! 

It all started two weeks ago when I got an e-mail from Jayne asking me if I was interested in doing a segment on a local TV show.  Somebody from the show came into the store and asked if anybody would be interested in coming on the show and doing a feature on handmade Valentine's cards. 

Seeing as I am the local expert on kids Valentine's cards and I have a class coming up specifically for Kids Valentine's Day cards (still a few spots left!), Jayne asked me if I would be interested in doing this.  I hesitated for a bit and then said, "Sure, why not? If it is going to help bring the store some extra publicity, I am game!"

Last Wednesday I packed up my Kids Valentine's Day card samples and some "sophisticated" card samples courtesy of miss jenn and headed down to the Cape Cod Community Media Center and taped a show called Homefront with Melanie Lauwers, Book Editor for the Cape Cod Times; Gwenn Friss, Food Editor for the Cape Cod Times and Alicia Blaisdell-Bannon, managing Editor for the Cape Cod Times. 

I had a great time!  Everyone was super nice and friendly and best of all they thought I did a great job...phew!  Initially, I was really nervous.  The 26 minute segment went by in a FLASH!!!!  I couldn't believe how fast it went.  It seemed like we had chatted for maybe 10 minutes and all of a sudden out the corner of my eye I could see the director giving the five minutes sign.  I could have gone on talking for AT LEAST another 20 minutes :)  I have never been know to be a person of few words.  Hey, at least there weren't any awkward silence moments!!!

The show is set to air on Monday morning at 9:30am and Tuesday night at 7:30pm on Channel 17 in the mid-cape area.  If you are not in the area and you HAVE to watch this episode you can access "Now Showing" via the internet using the above Cape Cod Media Center link. 

IF you would like to set your DVR to record this program (if you are Comcastic like I am) so that you can watch it over and over and over you can turn your TV to channel 17 and press the record button.  This will bring up a screen that allows you to put a specific time/date to record on this channel. 

I don't know if I am actually going to watch this show.  I might just have Dean watch it and then tell me that I did fabulous and leave it at that.  :)

Aside from being a TV star (hahahahaha) I have been pretty busy with work and just the general daily duties of a devoted wife and beloved mother of two sweet baby angels.  (hahahahahahahaha)

Hope everyone had a great weekend and is well rested to start the new week. 

WOW

That is my word for today!

What a historic day today is.  Political beliefs aside, right and left leanings left at the door, today is an incredible day.  I am truly excited to see what this man has in store for us and wish him the best of luck with these incredibly challenging times that are ahead. 

Today has been a very busy day for the nation.  In my own tiny little microcosm there has also been LOTS going on today. 

I spent some time at the school today trying to put some of my ducks in a row and making a coffee run for special people ;)  Tonight is another big School Committee meeting where, hopefully, the final decisions will be made as to how the district's elementary schools will be restructured.  The issue of what schools are to be closed needs to happen ASAP.  Our students, teachers and parents need to know what is in store for them to begin to plan for the future. 

People, in general, are uncomfortable with uncertainty.  This process of budget cuts and restructuring has left a cloud of uncertainty over our schools since the beginning of the school year.  I am hoping that tonight the uncertainty will come to an end and we can all start to move forward and get to work.

We need to make sure, first and foremost, that our students will get the best education possible and secondly we need to make sure that our teachers are fully appreciated and given the respect that they deserve. 

Big things going on!   

Like I promised!

Here are some videos of the kids (and Betty Moo Puppy) skating on their very own ice rink.

No Audio

Memory Lane

It snowed today. 

It snowed a lot today.

I had some unexpected free time to occupy.

I finally scanned and uploaded some of my old photos from my days at BU and even before then! 

Here I am at my 8th grade graduation with my Mom & Dad.  (This one's for you dad!)

I did my hair all on my own too!  That bang was ALL THE RAGE!!!!

In addition to scanning in all my old photos, including my absolute favorite baby picture of Jacob on his first birthday, I thought I would scan in Jacob's latest Hockey pic. Take a look at these two photos together. 

Doesn't your heart break for me? 

Speaking of hockey...which I do all the time, I know.  We are becoming a little obsessed around here now.  Just tell me if it gets to be too much :)

Here is a pic of my cutie Julia in her very own hockey gear in front of the fireplace (OF COURSE!).  I love that she is wearing Jacob's old practice jersey / the jersey that Dean spent way too much money on when he took him to a Bruins game :)

 

Look at the pony tail coming out of the hockey helmet.....I want to bite her she's so cute sometimes.

I have lots more pics to share, but I am going to spread it out. 

Hopefully tomorrow/sometime soon I will have pics to show you of the ice rink that Dean has been diligently building in our yard.  Every night he has been spraying this "area" down with the hose and flattening it out.  The weather has been perfect for these types of shenanigans. 

In the morning Jacob has been getting up and "maintaining" it too.  They are both VERY SERIOUS about it.  All this in the hopes that this weekend they will be able to put their skates on and put a blade to ice IN THEIR OWN BACK YARD.  Skating party anyone?????????  I am skeptical but Dean never ceases to amaze me so I don't know why I even bother doubting....I think it's just my nature.

Keep warm out there! 

And these are two of my favorite things.....

I was lucky enough to receive lots of really nice things for Christmas.  Out of all of these wonderful and generous gifts I would have to say that my most favorite gifty is the maroon microfiber blanket that my parents got me.  I LOVE IT.  It feels like two blankets hemmed together therefore creating maximum snuggability.  I have been acting like a five year old and snuggle with it whenever I am hanging out on the couch.  I have EVEN been known to whine a little bit to have someone bring it to me.  I have also been seen bringing it to bed and snuggling up with it creating a formidable blanket wall between Dean and I. It's almost like I have my very own Snuggie.

It really is the simple things in life with me! 

Favorite thing number two is the Meatloaf that I made tonight!  I know that I was JUST talking about Lean Cuisine and all that, but hey, my kids can't eat SmartOnes.  I came across this meatloaf recipe about 6 years ago and I have kept the recipe pretty much the same.  It's soooo good.  I was a good girl and only had a teeny tiny piece....probably like 4 points worth ;)

I am feeling generous tonight so I am going to share with you!

This recipe makes TWO loaves!

2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeds & pith removed, chopped (unless you like it super spicy then keep the seeds and pith)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 ground nutmeg
3 eggs (whisked)
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
3 pounds ground beef
1 package bacon (regular or thick cut)

1.  preheat oven to 350.  In a large skillet over medium heat add the olive oil, onion, celery, garlic and jalapeno.  Cook until the vegetables are tender but not browned - about 10 minutes.  Add the salt, cumin, nutmeg and mix thoroughly.  Remove from heat.

2.  In a large bowl combine ground beef, eggs, milk, ketchup, breadcrumbs and vegetables.  Mix well.  Divide Mixture in half and add to two 9x5 loaf pans. 

3.  Open your bacon package and cut the whole thing right down the middle. If you are using thick cut bacon just layer the bacon on the top of the meatloaf in strips.  If you are using regular bacon use two pieces layered and layer the strips across the top of the meatloaf.

4.  Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until temperature is 150.  Remove from oven and pour off any fat.  Let stand ten minutes before serving.

5.  Prepare for deliciousness!

Dear Lean Cuisine,

Thank you so much for making my new favorite "Entree".  I am now obsessed with the Butternut Squash Ravioli.  It is lick-every-little-last-drop-out-of-your-little-black-microwavable safe vessel GOOD.  I would go to a restaurant and order it....for real....it's that good!  I have two of them and tonight I was thinking that I had enough points to eat two AT ONCE.  A moment of clarity came upon me and I did not GORGE myself on Lean Cuisines.  That would be sad....who overeats on Lean Cuisine?  HA - leave it to me to figure out a way.

With those shenanigans aside, tonight was a pretty big deal.  I attended the School Committee "Special Meeting" as part of the District Leadership Team (because I am on the School Council at the kid's school).  There are some pretty serious things going on in Barnstable.  In short....we have a budget deficit of 6 MILLION DOLLARS and the Superintendent is trying to figure out how to fix that.  There are a lot of talks about elementary schools closing and a massive restructuring of the district as we know it now. 

I was pretty proud of myself because I did muster up the courage to get up and speak at the meeting that was telecast LIVE on TV for all of Barnstable to see.  Dean said I did great...I don't really remember what I even said.  It must be PTSD :)  I know what I had to say was a drop in the bucket, but I am glad that I was there.  I am glad that I try and be as present and available to my kid's school as a parent can be.  I know....cheeeeezzzzzyyyy and dorky by some people's standards....but seriously, for me, it's one of the best things I do. 

Get out there people and volunteer.  It doesn't have to be at a school or PTO.  Find what interests you and JUST DO IT.  Not only will you help others but you help yourself too. 

I am now stepping off of my soapbox :)

Once Upon a Time....

I used to blog on a semi-regular basis. These days....not so much. OBVIOUSLY!  I have toyed with the idea of just canceling my blog and have mentioned it a few times to a few people and was met with PROTEST!  I do not want any picketers on my front lawn (dad) so I am going to give it another shot. 

Hopefully in my near future I will be in possession of a NEW laptop...that will make blogging much much easier.  My computer and the typepad compose feature do not get along well....I think I might have mentioned that before :) 

Lots of things going on around here these days.  My little Julia has jumped onto the hockey bandwagon and is now participating in the Learn to Skate program and LOVING it!  She told me that she wanted to play hockey (after two years of saying NO WAY) about a month after I went and traded in all of Jacob's old equipment to buy her new figure skates.   It's her prerogative I suppose to change her mind...she is my daughter :)

The holidays were very good to us.  Once again the "Community of Love" that exists between both of our families here on the Cape was amazing.

Dean was on vacation for the last two weeks of the year.  We really just relaxed around the house.  Nothing too exciting.  I worked a bit.  The kids played with all of their new toys.  We spent the New Year at a hockey family's house with a few other hockey families. 

Now we are getting back into the swing of things.  Kids are back to school.  Hockey practice tonight.  Need to start getting ready for our next PTO meeting at the school.  Dean is back to work.  Tree is down and Christmas decorations are packed away for another year. 

Maybe this whole getting back into the swing of things will inspire me to start blogging more.  Hope so! 

Sorry to desert you my little blog.  I promise to try and do better :)

Love, Melissa