Kitchen Redo, VBS, Important Dates...

I have a few minutes this morning so I thought I would jot down a few thoughts...

We have been so busy lately, I feel like my head is spinning! And, in the middle of the busyness our vintage (old) wall oven from 1959 died. Well, actually, amazingly, the door broke, the oven was still working great. Of course, as with all things in our vintage home, the fix has been complicated. A new wall oven wouldn't just slide right in the old space and the nearest size which would require the least amount of work to install, was tiny inside...wouldn't even fit the cookie sheet I use most often (every day). So, DH has been working very hard to cut away the part of the kitchen cabinet/counter that had the cooktop so we can install a beautiful and big new freestanding range. The space where the wall oven was will now contain the microwave and when finished will have a shelf for my pretty platters or for cutting boards. I'm not sure what I'll put there. I asked for shelves for my cookbook collection but the horrified look on my husband's face told me that wouldn't be happening. We already had the new flooring for the kitchen but hadn't put it in due to the lack of an installation kit which conveniently arrived this week. So, with the help of some great friends...I will have a newish kitchen soon. I can't wait to cook on my new range. For the past week I have had neither oven nor cooktop and we have existed on electric skillet, slow cooker and microwave food or in other words, a lot of takeout!

The other happening in our lives is the start of VBS this Sunday. I am anticipating an insane week with work and then VBS from 6-9 every night. We are going to play hooky on Wednesday though, for DH's birthday. There will be a family dinner somewhere of his choice. VBS ends on Friday with a Family Mass and a performance by the kids and then a dinner at church. I'm sure I'll have all kinds of pictures soon.

I've mentioned DH's birthday on Wednesday but we have another important date coming up a week from today - our 11th anniversary! So much blogging to be done, so little time. Check back for updates and pictures. I am still practicing baby steps so it may be a little at a time!

Have a great weekend!

P.S. I haven't been able to log into playlist so my music hasn't changed. Anyone know what's up?

Movie Review - Mamma Mia!

I got to see Mamma Mia! with some of my friends last night. It was freakin' hilarious! I highly recommend grabbing some good girl friends and going. The music was great with the exception of Pierce Brosnan's groaning, ummm singing. Also, if you think Colin Firth is a handsome man, don't see this movie for him, you'll be disappointed and surprised. However, it is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, and not just because it is the only grown up movie I've seen in a long time! Go see it!

My Strong Willed Child

Everyone is still asleep - Maybe I'll get to finish this post. One can only hope.

This summer has been very hectic for me. I started my new part time job. I have three kids at home to entertain. Last weekend, we had two major appliances malfunction. Our oldest is in swim lessons. Let's just say we are not having the lazy days of summer.

Last night, one of our "battles" came to a head with our strong willed child, the G-Monkey. We have had a terrible few weeks with her. She has been waking up at night two or three times every night for over two weeks now. This results in a very cranky mommy and a very cranky three year old. And, we can't figure it out. So she keeps waking up and the cycle never ends, just gets worse.

So for the first time ever, on a weekend, she showed Daddy just what she is capable of when it comes to naughtiness. She usually just reserves it for me. There was hitting (her not me!) screaming (both of us) uncontrollable shaking and flailing on the ground (her but I thought about it), and a lot of lying.

For some insane reason, we thought it was imperative to go to church. So off we went to the 5:00 service. She was awful. Headed for a spanking all day. In church, she faked going to the bathroom before we went in. Then, five minutes later, really had to go and started crying in a panic. Daddy took her. She was crawling all over us and the pews. She wouldn't leave her brother alone and thought it was funny to rile him up so that he had to be taken out. And then the thing that really got me. She went to the alter with her sister to get her children's bulletin and wouldn't come back! No kidding, she just looked at me from down there and smiled a mean little smile and stood there. I had to go get her! So very embarrassing! When she took her time coming back from giving to the children's collection I thought it was cute. She was counting the money in the basket and that is so like her. I should have seen it for the sign of things to come. By the way, I should say that she was very in control the entire Mass. She never once did anything that I could take her out for - She just pushed as hard as she could to the boundary she knew was there. That is the story of her life.

It was only when we got to the car that she started to throw a huge fit and we abandoned the idea of going out for dinner. Which brought on another fit. She was then fine until dinnertime. She asked if she ate her dinner could she have cake? I told her if she ate her hamburger, she could. So, she takes bites of her hamburger, chews it up and spits it back on her plate (so gross to watch). And then wants cake! No Way!

We get over that and get to bedtime where she throws a fit that she wants to trade beds with her sister. This was not okay with the Princess so G-Monkey punched her! Yes, punched! She was put straight to bed, in her own bed, and told no Max and Ruby today. Oh, the crying, the screaming, the drama!

Any ideas? Any sympathy? Any good books to read? Any funny stories?

I found a great article on Momsense.com that said to preserve the parent/child relationship above all else and to choose your battles. So this is my new plan. I need to let her have more control over herself within a few parameters. But, she will not be going back to church any time soon unless the nursery is open!

Baby Steps...Lessons...Fun Fridays

My new lesson - do everything in baby steps. That is my explanation for not blogging in FOREVER! Every time I sit down to blog I plan to download pictures from the camera, upload them to blogger and write a witty post. Then I get interrupted...again and again and again. So I turn off the computer and don't blog. So here is my baby steps blog. It will be done in stages and who know when the pictures will appear? Please bear with me...

J.O.B.

Whew! We made it through our first week of my working. Can you really call it a job if you only put in 12 hours a week? If you get paid for it, you can.

We had two really good days this week. The first day was a little more hectic, with more kids in my class and Mr. P. not doing too well in his. Today was much more smooth. Both days, to my immense relief, we were ready to go in plenty of time to stop at Sonic for a Diet Coke, a must for a good day! Also, I managed to get out of cooking both nights :) Always a good thing.

The Princess seems to find it the most odd that Mommy has to go to work! She can't stop saying it, but as with VBS the past two years, she seems proud too. G-Monkey is just happy to be able to finally go to a "school" after two years of watching big sister leave her behind. We have been having some behavior issues with her again at home but DH and I brainstormed and we have some good ideas to deal with it. Hopefully, things will get a little easier soon.

As for me, I am proud too. I really stressed about this decision. I really don't feel like P is ready to be in a childcare situation but I knew the girls would love it and with me teaching it is free for them so I agreed to try it for the summer. I really like it and I am pleasantly surprised. I don't remember ever having a job I liked, even on the first day. But, I like this one. The days fly by, the kids are precious. The questions are - what will a bad day be like? And, should I continue in the fall or stay home as planned? I didn't think it would be a hard decision but it looks like it might...

Economic Thoughts...I had to go there!

I've been having economic thoughts...have you? Here is a little of what I've been thinking about in no particular order. This was brought on by the fact that I spent every last dollar of my weekly grocery budget on Saturday and didn't get everything I needed...seriously, like diapers.

1. I should have planted a larger garden! Our spinach died (it was overtaken by the tomatoes which are flourishing monster tomatoes!) and it now costs close to $4 a bag at the grocery store. Do I try to replant, spend $16/month on spinach or do without fresh spinach in our salads? When you are lucky enough to have kids who love spinach shouldn't you feed it to them?

2. What are people doing that are living in debt or on a fixed income or make minimum wage or don't know how to tighten their belts? This is the first week I've noticed a big difference but I know there are people out there who are really hurting.

3. How bad will it get? Are we talking recession or depression bad? Or just more of the same?

4. What are some things you are doing or planning on doing? I've seen some great ideas while blog hopping such as combiing errands to save gas... I am planning on driving less, buying less, eating out less, being less wasteful, buying in bulk and using my freezer more and cooking more from scratch as it is cheaper and healthier. I tried shopping at the local farmer's market but it was more than the grocery store and when I got it home half of it was rotten.

I would love to hear some ideas of what works for you or see links to helpful sites.

Random Thoughts...

I can't believe I never blogged about our trip! I'll just say that it was a lot of fun. The girls didn't fight once while we were gone (like they are fighting now!). It was a much needed break for me. At one point we were all five around this little table in the kitchen just laughing and having fun and I thought, this is what it's all about. I think it really helped us that there was no tv reception. I'm betting that families were closer when there wasn't a boob tube to stare at. I wish I could be brave enough to get rid of ours but I'm not. I like tv too much. We have discussed upgrading our cable service so that we can just dvr the shows we like and not waste time flipping channels....but what would we do for fun?

Anyway, we loved the trip and can't wait for the next one. Princess A and I loved the history we saw. She really got excited to hear that some of her "people" were history makers in Texas. We even visited Round Top, a town that some of our ancestors started. I can't wait to take her to the Alamo and let her see the names of our relatives on the memorial there...

We all enjoyed Blue Bell and I discovered a new favorite flavor...Birthday cake. I realized I hadn't tried a new flavor since I was a little girl and tried pink bubblegum at Baskin Robbins...I need to get out more!

Mr. P. seemed to enjoy the miniature horses the most. I never knew he liked animals so much. I foresee lots of zoo trips in our future.

The G monkey says she liked it all! And, I really think she did. She never seemed bored and except for around nap time her behavior was great. I also noticed that she really bonded with Daddy this trip and came home more of a Daddy's Girl than ever!

Daddy and really all of us had a lot of fun fishing. We made some great memories!

Now it is time to get back to routine and a new start for us. I'll be starting teaching MDO next week. I think it will be great for the girls to have this to do over the summer but I am worried about P and me. I'll let you know how it goes...