Recipe: Lemon IceBox Pie

August 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This dessert recipe sounds great and perfect for the summer – that is if you live in a part of the country where the summers are warm.  It was submitted by Mama M from San Francisco, CA who says it’s very fast but probably not that good for you.   That’s OK Mama S.   I think life is all about balance!!!   Thank you for the submission!
Lemon IceBox Pie
Ingredients:
1 can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 large can of frozen lemonade
1 tub of low-fat cool whip
I graham cracker crust
Preparation:
Mix first three ingredients in bowl, fold into pie crust
Put into freezer – take out of freezer 20 minutes before serving
Prep time: 10 min

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August 4: Old routine, old friend, and too many beers…

August 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Today is a bit unusual since Red woke up in the middle of the night and Hubby went downstairs to sleep. So, I woke up early and handled most of the morning routine with the kids – like I used to do before I “hit the wall”:

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • I woke up first and ran to the shower; I got showered and dressed within 10 min
  • Ran downstairs and then did the following while all kids were still upstairs sleeping / in their beds:  packed Big Bro’s lunch, got breakfast ready for Twins (blueberries, cherries, pears, raisins), got Big Bro’s bagel ready in the toaster, got Red’s oatmeal ready in the bowl, gathered everyone’s’ jackets and shoes in the daycare bag and put everything by the garage door.   All of this time I was running, running, running through the kitchen… best to get everything set up before ANY of the kids come down, otherwise you have to stop in your tracks for any little distraction
  • put a cup of water in the microwave so I could make instant coffee, I am feeling very slow from Glam night – drank too much; I drink water, take Advil and hope the coffee kicks in soon.
  • went up stairs and got both twins up. Decided to diaper them in their room since it is easier and faster with a captive audience. They did great. Laying down on different blankets each having their own turn
  • Gathered clothes for Big Bro and Red and then we all came downstairs
  • everyone ate well, with few issues/fights.   Note; there were lots of leftover pears that were not a huge hit a “glam night” – so this AM everyone went nuts over the leftover pear slices
  • there was a small fight with Red and Big Bro over seats, but that quickly got solved when I brought out vitamins for later.
  • When I was gathering shoes, Twin Husky ran into the garage and then got extremely pissed when I tried to bring him back – I thick he was looking for the climbing structure. He threw himself down in a fit. “I know you want to go in the garage and play. I know, You want to go in the there NOW. But the slide is in here honey…. look… there’s the slide“. And then he ran off happily.
  • Gathered everyone in the car — no issues. We were running very late since we got a late start but all kids were cooperating which was a blessing for us this AM.
  • Drop off with Twins and Red went fine.
  • Big Bro drop off went fine. I asked him if it was OK for us to spend some time together tonight since I didn’t have a lot of time with him last night. He said Yes. I got a hug from him and then he decided to come back for another one. I love him so much it hurts.

It is gray, and cold. I am a bit slow today from Glam night. I met some great people and am glad that I went. I will need to get my ass in gear though for work today. Today I will need to:

  • work on proposal from yesterday
  • participate in client business Development call for a proposal that we will be writing soon
  • develop the go to market materials for the firm initiative; it has to be done TODAY or else I’m dropping the ball.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • Had the business develop call with the potential client; the project is much bigger than I originally anticipated. We will start eth proposal next week
  • found out that the client for our last project that just ended is requesting me/partner to present the recommendations to a much larger audience – they are going to pay extra for this since they want us there in person. This was very flattering for me and I’m actually looking forward to the trip — will require a day trip via plane but that will work just fine.

I met a very close friend from High School after work and had an amazing time.  I literally have not seen this person in close to 20 years and it was great to see him again.  Reconnecting with people after so much time passes really blows my mind. It is like living a different life – but then going full circle and going back in time. He is the same – a bit older, but still the same smile, same gleam in his eye, and it was wonderful to get together with him.

I am definitely impaired while I write this (I’m on ferry to home now) and hope that Hubby takes the lead during the pick ups for the kids!!!! He brought me sunflowers tonight and I was so surprised.  So beautiful.  And so sweet of him.  I feel like a very lucky woman right now.

sunflowers

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Pick ups were great
  • got home and hubby started to make pizza; I played with twins; they had fun on the slide
  • Big Bro and Red helped to make dinner — they rolled out dough and made their own little pizzas
  • dinner was fabulous. I was spinning – I drank too much at “happy hour”
  • Big Bro played Red Birds after dinner (looks like we didn’t do the puzzle)
  • I went to get mail with Red and Twins.    Twins made a break for it and ran down the sidewalk a few houses away.  They were both laughing their butts off while I was trying to be firm with them (but then smiling when they weren’t looking and laughing inside)
  • I tickled the Twins for a long time
  • then bedtime! Whew!!! I’m tired

BY THE WAY — NO MOTHER’S HELPER AGAIN TONIGHT. WE ARE DISGUSTED WITH THE HOUSE RIGHT NOW. AND TIRED. I hope she shows up tomorrow night or else we may have to go somewhere over the weekend to escape the crud. 🙂

Today was an excellent day. I’m going to drink some water now.

Until tomorrow –

– Mama K

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August 3: Glam night

August 3, 2011 by 2 Comments

We had a good night’s sleep, finally. Red did not wake up feverish, or scared, or at least if she did she did not interrupt us.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • I was running around gathering our things – shoes, extra clothes, my shoes, and was in the garage doing this. Twin Husky made a run for it and ran straight for our “toddler slide structure” — he loves that thing. It’s a bit big for them and they have room to climb/scramble up the slide, there’s room up top for a “landing” and a steering wheel, and then a small slide. He loves it. It was a hand-me-down from REd who was absolutely wild about slides when she was his age. He did NOT like the fact that I had to take him off the slide. So much so that he threw himself on the ground crying like he was in pain. “I know sweetie, you wanted to play on that slide. Now! You wanted to PLAY! You’re MAD because you wanted to PLAY on the SLIDE!! I know, I understand.” Then he got up and hugged me and then started playing with my earrings. He moves on quickly.
  • Big Bro got some extra chocolate today. I couldn’t believe it. It was not announced to the rest of the group, but Hubby put chocolate on a plate and had Big Bro eat it along with some banana. He kept it REAL quiet.
  • Twin Husky was self feeding applesauce and had it everywhere. I asked him to show me how it works…. how does the spoon work, where does it go…. “In your EAR? No….. Up your nose??? NO……. In your Mouth?” Then he put the spoon in his mouth and was so cute. Smiling up at me all coy and feeling proud of himself.
  • Red was a bit cranky. She ate well but only got 1/2 changed. I packed the rest in the bag for daycare.
  • Drop of with Red and Twins was slow. Red did not want to go. I feel bad for her. She was crying when we left which broke my heart.
  • Drop off with Big Bro was great. He is happy there. We can’t wait to get Red there too, although it will be twice as much money for her to go there. We think at this point it is worth it so she can be in more of a learning environment.

The sky is gray. People in the ferry are quieter than normal. Today at work I will need to:

  • follow-up with our client on the white paper and see her reaction to the work
  • develop go to market materials for firm initiative
  • begin to write a proposal for the opporunity fielded last week

Tonight I’ve been invited to a “glam” party with some moms in the area. I only know one of them. So today at work I’m wearing a dress and sparkly necklace and silver shoes. I’m feeling good about myself. I think dressing up gives me extra confidence and a prowess boost of energy.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • I ate an enormous breakfast — quesadilla with egg, potato, cheese, and ham.
  • I started to write the proposal for a potential client based upon the phone conversation yesterday
  • I coordinated a business development meeting with a client for a proposal we will likely write next week
  • I arranged team meetings for a firm initiative
  • I reached out to an industry leader for some questions related to a project underway
  • I prepared an invoice for a project that recently concluded
  •  We received word today that the client project we recently completed will not proceed to Phase 2 — not because of the work (they were very complimentary) but because they needed to save cost and jumped right to Phase 3 (which we were never meant to deliver). 😦
  • I ate some fig newtons for lunch. Pathetic.
  • I am still procrastinating on the go-to-market materials that I promised to deliver. I absolutely NEED to get that COMPLETE tomorrow otherwise I am dropping the ball.

The sun is out but it is very, very cold. I have tentative plans to meet some women in the neighborhood for “glam night” — I only know one person there. I dressed “glam like” for work today…silver shoes and sparkly necklace and earrings… about as glam as I could possibly go for the office. I am not terribly excited about going but suppose I need to push myself out there to meet new people. I’ve felt very isolated and down lately and I’m not sure if this will help or hurt (e.g., if they are all stay at home moms). Hmmmmmm. What to do?

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Pick up for big bro went without a problem.   However pick up with other kids had some issues.   Red was extremely upset over something, and I still don’t know exactly why.   I think she was upset over a 2 day old bagel that she put in the back of the mini-van, but am not sure.
  • I brought in the slide play structure and all kids were having a good time with it…. until Twin Crazy and Twin Husky started fighting over standing space on the top of the structure, until Big Bro started sitting with an attitude at the bottom of the slide preventing the other kids from going down, and until Twin Husky grabbed Red with both hands around her pudgy waist to pull her out-of-the-way.   So essentially all kids wound up in foul moods because of the slide structure.
  • Hubby handled dinner while I played / controlled kids
  • Hubby handled bed time with the kids while I went out to “glam night”.   I met a bunch of great ladies.  I’m definitely glad that I went!!!   I actually met another mom with four kids (whew – makes me feel a bit normal) and lots of women that actually made me laugh.   I met a lot of stay-at-home moms and really connected with them – and some women who stay at home as entrepreneurs.   I wish I had their drive/sense of security…. I just feel like I don’t have an option or if I do have an option just walking away from the stable source of money/income REALLY frightens me….   this is my own issue that I really need to sort out….hopefully I come to some REAL decisions before the year is out.   I also drank a lot of wine wish was a nice way to spend a Wednesday night.
Anyway, this was a great day; I hope Red stays asleep tonight because I am already a bit tipsy and know I need the sleep.  Tomorrow will be a slow day regardless….
Till tomorrow,
– Mama K
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August 2: Chocolate mustaches

August 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

OK so I think I had my first technical glitch with my iPad.   I lost my entry from this morning.   So I’m typing this now from memory….

We had a terrible night last night.    Red kept waking up.   I slept through the first one – she was scared about something.   The second one was at 4 AM — she was in the hallway with the lights on, just sitting there upset.   She had a fever.   After some medicine I scooped her up in our bed (I know I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it).   So we woke up very groggy and were running late from the start.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • Twin Husky and Twin Crazy were going bonkers with yogurt.   It was in their hair, up their noses, all over the place.
Twin Crazy is crazy over yogurt

Twin Crazy is crazy over yogurt

  • Big Bro and Red ate quickly because of Chocolate Tuesday.   We give them Nutella spread on bread/bagel on one day of the week and they picked Tuesday.   Their faces are covered in chocolate and I want to kiss it all off.   Red looks like she has a handlebar mustache of chocolate and she looks very happy.
The mustaches of "Chocolate Tuesday"

The mustaches of "Chocolate Tuesday"

  • Twin Husky is really talking now, clearly.  “Down”.   Uhhhhhhh  ohhhhhhhhhhwwwww”   How cute.   I love this stage.
  • Red does not want to get changed so I pack up her clothes in the daycare bag, along with Twins’ shoes, jackets.
  • We are running extremely late so we whisk everyone off.
  • I at least had time for some coffee but will need to deal with breakfast later.

They sky is looking ok but I’m trying to get energized for the day.    I think I’m in a better state of mind to be more productive today.   Today I will need to:

  • discuss sales status of big meeting in October
  • Review and complete our whitepaper deliverable for our client
  • finally get to the go-to-market materials for our other firm initiative
  • have a business development call with a potential client to qualify the opportunity and also get a sense of his budget.
Highlights of My Working Day:
Things moved a bit better today. I got ready for the day with a positive attitude. Today I:
  • Reviewed the white paper draft in the early AM, and then reviewed again in late afternoon and provided my last feedback. The analyst will send the paper to the client directly tonight. I think it turned out well and hope that we have established a good working relationship with the client. I hope we over-delivered so that we position ourselves for more work.
  • Accompanied two Directors to look at office space. We will likely be moving locations and this was our 5th space to view. I liked the space and think it will work for our team. Plus, it will be much cheaper. Our group needs a change and I think this will be a better site and give us an infusion of energy. I love new beginnings.
  • Discussed sales efforts of business development initiative for October meeting. We’re making great progress.
  • Had a conference call with a potential client (that I fielded on Friday). We qualified his need and I will begin the proposal tomorrow.

Some things I planned to do I never got to – but will carve out time for those things tomorrow. I love the flexibility that this job offers when it works in my favor!

The sky is light. The weather looks nice. I am on my own tonight with kids. Red is sick; I just received a phone call from daycare. 103 degree fever. She will give her Tylenol but I will be dealing with a clingy child tonight, on my own. Hopefully this illness will not spread to the rest…..

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Picked everyone up and received stacked hugs from the kids.   It was like dominos.  So cute.
  • Got everyone inside and jumped on dinner.   Thin cut pork chops with peas and leftover pasta.   Big Bro helped me cook.  He seasoned the pork, poured frozen peas into a bowl, added butter when they were done, and also added butter to the pasta.   I think because of these efforts he wound up eating like a champ.   I couldn’t believe it.   He was so well-behaved and easy to deal with.  Very pleasant with me and all the kids.    I’m going to think of more ways he can help in the kitchen and see if this could be a driver of better behavior…
  • Elena served herself peas with a big tablespoon.   I couldn’t believe it.   She then proceeded to drop the spoon on Red’s head so then I had two girls screaming and crying at the same time.
  • I take Twin Crazy, Twin Husky, and Big Bro to get the mail with me.   Twin Husky makes a run for it and hides behind the neighbor’s bushes.   We all said “bye bye” to him but he still wouldn’t budge.   I came out 30 seconds later to see where he was, and he was still standing there, but this time LAUGHING.   Man that completely backfired on me.
  • I think an entire package of Costco grapes were consumed tonight by all kids after dinner.   I don’t want to be the one changing the diapers tomorrow AM.
  • There was lots of playing, kissing, wrestling, flipping the kids around tonight.   All were very fun – Red was subdued so that was sad.
  • Bedtime routine with Twins went great.   I just tell them it’s time to go up and they both run for the stairs.  They enjoy book time, singing, and kissing each other good-night.
  • Bedtime with the older kids went good too.  We’re getter faster at this.
Today was a pretty good day.   Work was not that crazed, and I feel like I had plenty of quality time with the kids.  The only downfall is the iPad glitch so I need to get on that so I don’t lose my work consistently.
Till tomorrow –
– Mama K


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Staying Sane: A Mother’s Helper is worth his/her weight in gold

August 1, 2011 by 1 Comment

It wasn’t until AFTER I ran myself ragged and became utterly exhausted (seriously… both mentally and physically) that I demanded more help.   Our family has always been big proponents for daycare but honestly after working all day and doing multiple drop-offs, cooking dinner, cleaning up, doing dishes, doing bedtime routine, doing laundry, and dealing with crying kids, I was PRAYING for a solution such as nanny to make things easier on our lives.   However, the nanny option is not for everyone and they are also quite expensive where we live.   It is also great to have help from family, but our families do not live that close and sometimes their “help” often came with opinions — or, we just didn’t feel comfortable asking them for the real help we needed.  We came to a conclusion that the busiest time of day was after work up until bedtime.  So we arranged for “help” during those hours only – and this was in the form of hired help — a Mother’s Helper.

What does this “help” entail?   Essentially everything that you don’t want to do so that you can relax and spend more quality time with your children.   Let me emphasize this further…. EVERYTHING that you DON’T want to do so that you can RELAX and spend more QUALITY time with your children.

For our family, duties have included:

  • assisting with dinner prep; table set up
  • dinner cleanup
  • primary responsibility for all laundry (gathering, sorting, washing, drying, folding, and putting away) – kids and adults!!!
  • taking out trash, taking out compost daily
  • help with bed-time routine (diaper changes, getting in PJs, reading books, etc.)
  • help entertaining/trouble shooting with any of our children
  • other projects, as needed (vacuum, sweeping, cleaning out refrigerator, going through old/small clothes, etc.)
  • playing with kids, helping kids pick up their toys

We advertised on Craig’s List and received 10 – 15 responses to our ad.  We did NOT need an experienced person as a nanny.   All we needed was someone who was conscientious, could follow directions, and use common sense with our kids.    We also wanted someone who is punctual, dependable, eager, energetic, and generally enjoys children.  We also wanted someone who lived close by and had their own form of transportation.

Our Mother’s Helper comes from 6:30 – 8:30 PM.   We start dinner and eat dinner as a family while the Mother’s Helper is at work.  After dinner, we play with our kids and engage with them.   We talk to them.  We play with them.  They climb on us.  We tickle them.    We get them ready for bed and read to them.   We sing and hug them once more and say goodnight.   When we come down from tucking our kids in, the kitchen is spotless, the house is tidied up/organized, the dryer is going, the dishwasher is going, and me and Hubby can sit down and RELAX.

With our last Mother’s Helper (and we intend to start this soon with our new person once she is ready), we had her stay later one night a week and Hubby and I did “date night” — essentially we put the kids down for bed and the Mother’s Helper is there for them while we are out — so really no need to put extra responsibility on her.   She is there if there is a cry in the night or a plea for water.    And Hubby and I get a date night at a reduced babysitter rate.

This works wonderfully for our family and the change in stress level was IMMEDIATELY noticed as soon as we hired someone to help us.    I highly recommend this strategy — you ask, they do.   And your kids get more of you.   It’s a win, win, win scenario and I can’t believe we didn’t do this sooner.

Looking forward to feedback, comments, or other suggestions from folks –

– Mama K

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August 1: Foul moods and olives on fingers

August 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Mondays. I just don’t enjoy them. Especially when it is dark and cold. I feel like half a person leaving my kids behind, but I’m also to be honest quite wiped out from the weekend with all four of them. There’s just no easy way – but the transitions are tough.

This weekend we tried a WONDERFUL thing for the first time. A drop-off play date. Big Bro was invited to play at a friend’s house and I packed him up, took him to his friends house, AND THEN DROVE AWAY. He was shy at first, but opened up to the idea after 5 minutes. He had a great time and I did not have to deal with him fighting a nap or fighting with his sister. I’m looking forward to more of these. I guess 5 is a good age.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • Red woke up at 5 AM with a fever. She climbed into our bed and even her little hands were hot. she is so sweet. She didn’t complain at all – she just indicated that she was scared.
  • Twin Husky was taking a yogurt bath. For some reason he likes to feel his hair when his hands are covered in the stuff. We just gave him a bath yesterday so now that feels like wasted time. Twin Crazy is much better with her spoon in general.
  • Red got changed by herself in a little string halter top and shorts. Meanwhile is it dark and grey outside and probably in the 60’s.
  • Twin Husky received a “standup” diaper change for the first time. He was excited and I made a big deal out of him being a big boy. Twin Crazy on the other hand was acting too silly. She kept diving her little body into my lap, and then kept sweeping her head backwards so I could give her a kiss on the neck. It was literally impossible for me to do a standup diaper change with her today.
  • In the garage, Twin Husky found the toy ride “jeep” that Big Bro and Red usually use/drive along on our walks. I guess he’s big enough that he wants to drive the thing too. It was really very cute. I can’t believe we don’t have any babies around anymore.
  • Hubby bought a new board to keep at the foot of the stairs over the weekend – I’m wondering how long it will take the two twins to figure out how to pull it down and gain their freedom of the staircase again.
  • I grab the bag of shirts that I assembled the night before; and also the bag of hand-me-down clothes that I am bringing to a co-worker today.

It was a calm morning. Red wanted all of us to drop Big Bro first so that Hubby could see the inside of the pre-school and look at the goldfish. I think she will love it there. I think we’ll have her start there in September. Imagine this…. but by then we will have THREE drop offs (kindergarten, pre-school, and daycare). Can this life get any more complicated that it already is????

I’m not thinking about work now. I’m not that excited about going in. I’ll probably work on some business development and also the white paper that no longer excites me. Maybe I’ll buy myself some breakfast as a way to ease into the week.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • I did not feel very productive today – am feeling a bit down.
  • Worked on some of the white paper, including visuals, listening-in on a conversation with an “interviewee” for the primary research, and also providing guidance to the analyst
  • I organized a business development conference call with a potential client for tomorrow
  • I started to work on some go-to-market materials for a firm initiative.

All in all my work today did not feel very exciting or motivating. I’m not sure if it’s my mood, that it is a Monday, that I miss my kids, or that it is the work itself.

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Pick ups went great; lots of squeals from Twin Crazy and laughs; I love picking them up
  • Big Bro helped with dinner.  We were doing quesadillas (see Recipe) and I had him grating cheese.    I also had all sorts of things out for the kids to pick from.   Big Bro got upset however when he couldn’t actually COOK his by himself, and rejected the one I prepared for him.   He is so stubborn.
Big Bro rejecting his quesadilla dinner

Big Bro rejects his dinner

  • Rest of kids ate well; everyone enjoyed olives – particularly Twin Husky and Red
Olives on fingertips

Olives on fingertips

  • Big Bro sulked a bit then ate some.
  • We had grapes for dessert and Big Bro threw a stem at me so I took his grapes away.  I think the poor kid was over-tired tonight.
  • Twins, Red and I went for our walk to get the mail.
  • Bedtime routine was done in record speed.   All kids were brushed, PJed, peed, and read-to in about 15 minutes.
I’m going to take it easy the rest of the night; hopefully go to bed early and catch up on sleep.  I need to be in a better mood tomorrow – I dragged ass most of the day.
Till tomorrow –
– Mama K
Filed Under: Daily Journal
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