October 28: Rockin’ out with my babes

October 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Today is my rebound day! I was going to work from home because of my committment to volunteer for Big Bro’s lunch, but since that is not a good idea anymore (he gets too anxious), I decided to pull myself AWAY from the sterile house and get my butt back into the office where it belongs.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • All kids woke up happy. That is usually not the case. For some reason, they ALL walked into our room together this morning. That means that SOMEHOW Big Bro pulled each of the Twins out of their crib. Hmmmm. Not sure if this is such a good idea. I envision trips to the ER with broken bones at some point. Twin Husky has been mentioning that he wants a bed and always spends time in Big Bro’s and Red’s when given an opportunity…. maybe it’s time for toddler beds? Or maybe just enforce a rule that Big Bro and Red cannot go into their room in the morning? It is just a matter of time until Twin Husky scales his way out of the crib. He is so wiry. So feisty in terms of his physical body. And so STRONG!!!! I think toddler beds are the best bet.
  • Twin Crazy was eating so much oatmeal that Hubby took off her PJ’s since it was cascading down her body. When I saw her, she was only in a diaper but still covered in oatmeal. Poor thing. Can you imagine that feeling? I cleaned her off but for some reason she was more concerned about cleaning her hands than anything else. She is really fixated on clean hands lately. I remember the same thing with Red. Maybe its a girl thing.
  • Twin Husky just kept saying “Mommy” as he was eating his cereal. I quietly walked over to him and kissed his cheek as he was eating his cereal and he let out this deep, quiet, laugh.
  • Red and Big Bro were busy eating; I gathered their clothes. We really had to rush this morning.
  • Hubby dropped of Red and I dropped of Twins and Big Bro. Big Bro’s teacher told me how he recited a Halloween poem ALL BY HIMSELF IN THE FRONT OF THE ROOM yesterday. I am so proud of him. This is one step closer to self-confidence that will hopefully eliminate his anxiety in bigger crowds. I think. I hope. Anyway, I am so proud of him and I’ve let him know that. Applauding his effort in knowing the words so well and being so brave to recite it to the class.

Big Bro and Red will be leaving with Hubby on a Halloween trip to Yosemite this weekend. I will miss the older kids. But I will have the Twins to myself this weekend.

Today at work I have to do some thinking of my role, I will also work on a business development proposal, and get my expenses in.

Highlights of My Working Day:

  • I was busy at work so I am soooooo glad that I went in today. I helped some colleagues with ideas on powerpoint visuals (a strength of mine, I believe), I had a follow up call with a client to get feedback from our last meeting and ideas for the next, and also worked on a proposal for strategy work resulting from our last big meeting.
  • I had a lot of interaction with people, laughed a bit, felt productive, and energized.

So pointers to depressed mamas who are working at home: GET OUTSIDE AND INTERACT WITH PEOPLE!!!!!!! I’m glad I made the choice to get to the office.

I am on the ferry now and headed back to see the Twins. Big Bro and Red are off with Hubby for the weekend. What to do with Twins all weekend by myself??? I like that being my only question for myself this weekend!

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • It was a great evening.   I made a quick dinner for the Twins and they ate at their small kitchen table together.   We talked about what they were eating.
  • After dinner I danced around with them a bit.  They loved it.  Twin Crazy completely rocked out.   Twin Husky also was having a good time.
My little two rocking out to U2

My little two rocking out to U2

  • We took a dancing break and had some applesauce.   I caught both of them still knocking their heads around and rocking out to the music.   Sooooooooooo cute.    I guess they like U2.
  • Time just passed and then we did milk and books.   They were ready for bed and laughed and held hands and smiled at each other as I was holding Twin Husky above Twin Crazy’s crib.   It’s a “twin thing”.

I’m now alone on a Friday night solo and loving it.   I’m thinking about what to do.  I suddenly have energy.   I might work on this a bit or maybe read a magazine or maybe watch a movie…. or maybe sew some pants that I recently bought.     I never thought these kinds of things would EVER appeal to me on a Friday night but sadly they do.   But I’m in a great mood – so take it for what it is!

 

Have a great weekend everyone –

Til Monday,

– Mama K

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October 27: SLEEEEEEEP

October 27, 2011 by 5 Comments

This was a bit of a strange day for me. I was moving in slow motion for most of the morning and honestly do not remember much of what happened. Here it goes:

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • Big Bro was energetic about his backpack and getting all of his stuff ready for school. He is so cute acting all big and stuff and responsible and excited about his things for school. I love seeing him that way. I wonder how long it will last.
  • Twin Husky had oatmeal all over himself which then required me to give him a proper change of clothes (we usually just send them to daycare in their PJs)
  • Before I knew it, we were late. REALLY late. They all were great in the van and off we went. we were so late that Big Bro was late to his class – he scooted into circle time though without too much trouble.
  • I was working from home today so made it back home, brewed a pot of coffee, ate the kids’ leftover breakfast, and got organized for the day.

Highlights of My Working Day:

I had some conference calls and that essentially freed up alot of my day. I was not feeling well so I slept most of the day away. I decided not to volunteer for Big Bro’s lunch since my being there makes him anxious. I had a follow up conference call to get feedback from one of our last big meetings and also to get ideas for the next one. I arranged my flight for next week.

My job is in flux right now. I was asked today if it would be possible to still have a portion of my time devoted to project delivery. That, seriously, will be the end of me. I simply cannot deliver against project work with four children. I can manage the forum meetings (my new role) and also actively pursue sales of consulting work, but the actual delivery of the work is something I simply cannot do. I’m hoping we can figure out a way for me to be involved in an “advisory” capacity – and I’m hoping my company will be flexible with me. But this was very concerning to me when I had this discussion.

No wonder I essentially slept the day away. The wind has been knocked out of my sails on so many fronts. The only thing I know for certain is that I have four children and that I love them to pieces. Nothing else is certain in my life. This makes me tired just thinking about it….

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • I threw a chicken in the oven tonight. Then I went to pick up the kids. I left early, and took my time to leisurely get each kid and soak in their environment. I love seeing them at the end of the day. The smiles, the “mommy!”, the running into my arms. I wish I could bottle this up. I know things will change as they get older. But for now I look forward to each wet kiss and hug around my leg/waist.

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  • Twin Crazy opened up the refrigerator and took out all of the milk cups for the kids at the table. I couldn’t believe it. She can be sooooo helpful.
  • While dinner was cooking I took the kids on a ride on a blanked across our floor. It is magical for me to hear them all laugh in unison – especially when it’s because of something that I am doing with them.
  • All kids ate well; Twin Husky was a crazy man over the string beans. Big Bro, Red, and Twin Crazy went nuts over chicken legs. No, the chicken did not have 3 legs – Twin Crazy picked up Red’s leftover leg and finished it off.
  • We watched a movie tonight. I got the kids grapes. They sat next to me and on my lap while we watched the movie together.

Believe it or not, even after so much sleep I am exhausted. I just don’t want to think about things. I just want to do things with my kids but after that I can’t wait to curl up and go to sleep. I am in a severe funk and feeling very much alone out here. This house does not feel good to come back to.

Hopefully tomorrow will be more energetic! Maybe I’ll take some vitamins! Or better yet, I might just go into the office and get myself out of this sterile house.

Til tomorrow

-Mama k

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October 25: Too many emotions….

October 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Hmmmm. What did we do today? I’m right now in bed, feeling completely wiped out and trying to think through to this morning, which feels like months ago.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • I know there was an early morning waking from Twin Husky. The East Coast time difference has been the hardest on him. He eventually went back to sleep after some reassurance, but then Red crawled into our bed 10 minutes later. She rested while playing with her fingers.
  • The morning was our usual… except that we were still struggling with lack of food. We managed to do Chocolate Tuesday tortillas and raisin bread, and pasta for lunch. The Twins ate an enormous amount of oatmeal. I think Twin Crazy had 2 1/2 packages just on her own.
  • I got the kids dressed in their Halloween t-shirts and tried to get a picture of all of them together, but Red was not cooperating.

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  • The 3 drop offs with Hubby drop off went fine. I was working from home today.

Highlights of My Working Day:

  • Pot of coffee. No shower. Fistfulls of Cheerios shoved in my mouth.
  • Conference call for 1.5 hours to review analysis that we will present at the forum next week. I provided my thoughts for improvements and how to pull out the “drivers” of what we were seeing in the numbers.
  • I took a break to get to Big Bro’s school since I was volunteering for his lunch hour. He held it together a little bit, but completely lost it. He gets so upset and anxious when his worlds collide. And it breaks my heart. Especially since now the kids are old enough to notice and ask why he is crying. I don’t know what to do in these instances. Come to his rescue, which only exacerbates the problem — or, throw him to the world and force him to deal with the situation? I am at a loss now since I’ve also signed up for other volunteer spots through this week and I just can’t bear to see him in the anguish and it takes such a toll on me too…
  • I go to lunch afterwards and force down some Pad Thai. My head is killing me. My body is aching and my head is spinning. I feel like crawling in a fetal position under the table at the restaurant.
  • As soon as I get back home, I learn that one of our speakers has dropped out of the Agenda for next week’s meeting. OMFG. Now what am I going to do? How will I even manage to secure a speaker in one week’s time?
  • I then start a conference call with a prospective client who attended the forums we recently conducted — he reached out to me personally and our company is going to propose on a business strategy related to our area of expertise – this could potentially be a VERY large project, and we are very well positioned to win it. And it was MY relationship and MY lead!!! I will likely develop the proposal and serve as an advisor to the project but am hesitant to take on too much of the heavy-lifting if we win it.
  • I then grabbed Big Bro early from after-care and took him jacket shopping. I like doing these kinds of things one on one with him; especially after the emotional day he had at school.

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Mac-n-cheese and broccoli! Thank goodness Safeway arrived with our delivery! We now have food in the house! Yeah!!!

I can’t write much more tonight; I’ve had a pretty emotional evening and overall day – filled with ups and downs, mostly downs I think. I’m mentally drained and can’t believe I’m at the keyboard now.

Til tomorrow –
– Mama K

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October 24: Giggles at 5:30 AM

October 24, 2011 by 1 Comment

Today is the first day back from a 10 day vacation and a day at home yesterday with my kids, solo. We decided to go shopping for Halloween crafts and spent the day building haunted houses and decorating plastic pumpkins with stickers. So cute. They generally worked together, except for Twin Husky who was just wanting to get into things and throw things around. Big Bro was so excited about his costume (Batman) that he wore it all day yesterday and slept in it last night. Last year, he did this for the entire month of October in his Spiderman costume.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • We are still on East Coast time. Twin Husky was the first to get up at 5:30. Then Red came into our room at 6:15. They were quiet at first, but then they started interacting with each other and playing that I could hardly contain my laughter. Red was trying to get Twin Husky to say different words…. and he would try to repeat everything that she said. And she used inflection in her voice like a little teacher. After that, she began singing “Row Row Row Your Boat” while he held on to her feet — “Hold on to my feets, my two feets”…. and then she was singing Ring around the Rosie”. Twin Husky knew the tunes and I think some of the words and he tried to sing along too. They were both cracking up within minutes. I was smiling in the dark and trying my best not to giggle, or even chime in with their tunes. This was a great way to start my morning.
  • Our routine was standard; dressed for work while on the floor changing poopy diapers, negotiating with kids to get their clothes on, packing clothes bags for the week for the Twins, etc. etc. etc. Big Bro was excited about bringing in his haunted house to school so he was the first one dressed, fed, and ready to go. Then Red wanted to bring something to school too. So we packaged up a ziplock bag of pumpkin stickers. She was now excited too and ready to head to the van.
  • We had our normal 3 different drop offs for the kids; I feel like a shuttle bus. I also dropped Hubby off at the ferry. I am working from home now since I’m waiting for an important package to arrive; but I will later drive to the office and hopefully get there by 11 AM.
Highlights of my Working Day:
  • At home, a start a pot of coffee, dry my hair, and pop in a Trader Joe’s egg quiche (these things are awesome, in moderation. I like to have several of these in the freezer on days when I work from home. They cook in 2.5 minutes and then you are full and ready to get things done. Much better than having to cook for yourself in the morning.
  • I then go to Safeway.com and order food for the house. We literally have no food in here. I think we have two lemons, some jelly, and canned goods. I have no idea what Hubby was able to manage for their packed lunches today.
  • I check work email and start to respond to what I can, easily. I get rid of all the junk and flag the mails for follow up. This took some time since I was away for 10 days (I go OFF THE GRID when I am on vacation and on weekends…. folks at work know this about me).
  • Then the moment arrives. Just as expected, and right on time. THE UPS MAN ARRIVED WITH MY NEW IPHONE!!!!!! I was literally jumping up and down and up and down saying “it’s here! It’s here! Yeah!!! I stayed at home for this! It’s here!”. Think back to the movie “The Jerk” with Steve Martin when he got all crazy about the new phone book. Well, that was me when I signed for the iPhone from UPS.
  • After setting up the iPhone, I drove in to work. This is unusual for me but the iPhone kindof put a wrinkle in my normal routine. I LOVED blasting my music on the way in and probably driving a little too fast.
  • I spent the rest of the afternoon reaching out to conference participants, sending out materials and presentations, and getting ready for the next meeting to be held next week. I also followed up with 4 different business development opportunities, one of which was a potential client from one of the last big meetings — instead of joining the membership of the forum, he specifically reached out to me for consulting work related to our area of expertise. This was a goal of mine…. sign new members to the forums AS WELL AS generate proposals from the meetings. I AM PSYCHED. I need to schedule a call with him and after I post this I’ll need to get on to work email to get that set up.
  • I ran out of work at 4:15 to drive back and pick up Big Bro; I essentially worked a 1/2 day today. I need to figure out my reduced workweek schedule and get that put in place. I’m excited about the prospect of doing so – I’ve been at the company for over 8 years and they are willing to work with me to arrange something more manageable for a burnt-out consultant with four small kids.
  • I take the opportunity to go shopping for halloween shirts for the kids. This is something I completely forgot about this year. Last year I was so on top of things… shirts were ordered for all kids and they were excited about them. This year everything is just springing up by surprise. Old Navy did the trick. I stopped in “The Spirit Halloween” store and THANK GOODNESS I did not take the kids there over the weekend like I intended. The place was so spooky it even scared the crap out of me with the “Friday the 13th” music and all of the moving dead people. Creepy. I love it.

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  • I picked up Big Bro and grabbed the van. He made a quick change into his Batman costume and then we picked up Hubby at Ferry Station, then Red, then Twins. I guess we’ll be seeing Batman all this week and possibly even after Halloween.
Dinner and Bedtime:
  • We had NOTHING in our refrigerator to eat. Safeway food was not arriving until tomorrow. I broke out frozen bagels and leftover chicken and that’s what we had. The kids enjoyed themselves. Now we just have to get through breakfast (cereal, all OK) and lunch….
  • Our mother’s helper arrived and she almost fainted at the amount of clothes that needed to be folded and organized from our trip.
  • The rest of the night just disappeared. Twin Husky was doing alot of climbing. Climbing on the toy refrigerator set, climbing on the kiddie table, coffee table, etc. The kid is getting very squirmy and wirey and moves around non-stop.
  • Bedtime was uneventful, thank goodness. All kids are now enjoying brushing their teeth, now even the Twins. They both showed me how they brush their teeth and then let me help them finish up their work. I had them both giggling with pride.

So now I’m exhausted in bed, still on East Coast time myself, thinking about the day. It was 1/2 work 1/2 my time, but I am still very tired. But I’m not feeling stressed or tense. I’m thinking it still has to do with the time change adjustment. I do have to check on some work, but it won’t be much. And then I can have the rest of the evening to play with my new toy iPhone and figure out how to Tweet….

Til tomorrow –
– Mama K

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October ????? not sure what day. I’m on vacation.

October 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I’m not sure what day it is. I’m not sure what time it is. It doesn’t matter. I’m on vacation. It is night-time though. I’m in bed and the kids are lined up on the floor each one sound asleep with their busy lungs and busy brains, hopefully dreaming about fun things and their time with Pop Pop and Emmy, my step-mom.

Today was a very normal day. A kind of stay at home while on vacation day. We did normal things. Nothing special. Went to a park. Fed the ducks and egrets. Searched for acorns. Had lunch. Napped. Played with my step-sister’s dog. Lounged by the pool although it was too cold to swim. Yes, I guess it does get cold in Florida. Had happy hour. Had BBQ. Big Bro went with Pop pop and Emmy to Walmart to get some things to entertain the kids on the plane. Twin Crazy took a bath. I did Red’s nails, in red. It was just a very normal day.

But it was a special normal day since the day to day activities were at my dad’s place – and we are getting the chance to experience each other on an extended basis. Something special happens on these kinds of trips. Once you hit a certain point, there is no need to entertain. No need to force conversation. People just are people with each other. So I am thankful that I have had this chance with my dad and his family and my children.

Tomorrow I will gather them up and take them to my dad’s office; where I’m sure we will cause quite a scene. They will draw pictures for him and he will put them up on his wall, until they are replaced by new pictures from their next visit…

I’ve attached a video that was actually not taken today – but several days ago when we were at my dad’s beach condo. At the time I thought I was taking pictures but the iPad was in video-mode so it’s a bit all over the place. This is how I feel this vacation is going. Going with the flow, things not happening as expected, but everyone taking things in stride and still having fun despite the situation.

I’ll be back at work on Monday and will plan to write something then. I want to enjoy my last day tomorrow and will likely be very busy when I get back home.

Till next week –
– Mama K

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October 18: Seashells

October 18, 2011 by 1 Comment

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We survived the wedding and the day after, we sat around by my dad’s pool while my aunt and uncle came to visit before they left for the airport. One funny thing to report: my aunt and my dad are twins. I should have known this could happen to us… but I digress….

My father has a condo on a small island about 1 hour away from Tampa. It is a quiet, surrene setting along the gulf of mexico with a private beach of white, white sand and clear blue-green water. This is only my second time here. I wish I had the luxury of being closer to my family so I can soak in more of these moments that are so important to me. So this vacation is somewhat bitter-sweet. It took us so long to get here and the kids were such troopers, but honestly we cannot do too many of these kinds of trips. Plus there’s so many other places to see. I wish I could just accept the distance but I no longer can. I used to think before that I could. So my face smiles looking at my kids with their Pop-pop on the beach so busy digging sand and investigating how the water works with the sand – but my heart and soul are a bit battered down. I feel too tired to think too deeply about anything anymore. I just feel sad, so misunderstood, and not listened to. But again I digress.

Today we took a long walk along the beach and all the kids were looking for shells. I love doing this and today was a treat with the four kids. We had two plastic bags and Twin Husky took to carrying one of them. Red also had a bag with her sandals and shells in it. We found so many. It was so wonderful to have the kids scattered and busy at work looking for shells, looking at the waves, talking about the birds – all on private beach so it was just us.

When we got back to the condo we rinsed them off (just me and them) and put them in a towel to dry. We then noticed that the ground cover near the parking lot was also shells. I thought they would all be broken but there were some really beautiful ones in there – so we went hunting for more. Big Bro’s job was the colander, Twin Husky’s job was the hose, and Red and Twin Crazy were busy laying out the first round of shells.

It is moments like these that I hope to never forget. How we all worked together. How everyone was busy and occupied. How everyone was grouped together yet each kind of doing their own thing. And how I just let them be kids. Jump in the hose water. Get wet. Search for treasure. And they let me be with them to experience it all.

How can it be possible that I get so much pleasure out of this moment but yet I can’t help to see myself in these shells – none perfect, some scarred, but all empty. That is how I feel sometimes. Just very empty. And too tired to fight any longer to fill myself up with feelings I once had. I’m just too tired.

I am typing this now as each is sleeping in the room on the floor. I hear their breathing, and imagine their tired bodies replenishing energy for another busy day tomorrow. And I bet anything that we will be searching to add to our existing bounty of seashells.

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October 12: Too busy, getting ready for vacation

October 15, 2011 by 2 Comments

I’m sick and had little sleep last night – very, very tired and worn out. Running at work, packing/doing laundry, and getting ready for the vacation is tiring me out!

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • I have alone time with Red this morning. She sits in my lap and we talk about me going to her school all day and her picking me up. She thinks this is funny; we keep going back and forth with this. She seems in a really good mood. I hold her, rock her, talk to her, hug & kiss her.
  • I scurry around after my shower trying to grab more of the kids clothes from their rooms to pack — bathing suits, dress shirts, socks, etc.
  • Downstairs the kids are eating; Twin Crazy and Twin Husky are both eating cereral with milk and yes they are spilling all over the place. I spend some time cleaning up milk and refilling their bowls.
  • I gather clothes for Red and Big Bro while they are eating.
  • Diaper changes with Twin Crazy and Twin Husky — he is moving around and wants to play with choo-choo trains so we need to do a “stand up” diaper change. He also says he “hurts” so I scurry looking around for diaper cream. I come back and Twin Crazy is busy cleaning Twin Husky with wipes. Her change is great; she reads a DVD cover and is still.
  • I help to change Red and Big Bro. We are running late. I still do not have any coffee or any breakfast – and am very groggy from the cold medicine I had last night.
  • OK time to go! We’re behind schedule! We gather their shoes, jackets, lunches, our bags. I change the last load of laundry. From this we have what we need to finish our packing tonight. Drop offs are going to be very hectic.
  • 1st drop off: Twins. They wave goodbye to us.
  • 2nd drop off: Big Bro. A huge problem. This switch in drop off messes him up; there are no teachers out there and just parents – but I don’t have time to wait for the teacher… there are some moms there that I know but he didn’t feel comfortable with them – he chased after me, crying. Finally another mom arrived with his REALLY close friend – we’ve been over to their house for playmates and dinner so he feels really comfortable with her – she saves me and grabs Big Bro’s hand. My heart hurts as I run back to the van.
  • 3rd drop off: Red. It goes fine. We find the kids in her class looking at books from the book fair. She has her own book with her that we bought yesterday and she is happy.

Today is the last day of work before vacation. I need a vacation desperately. Today will be busy. I really need to focus on getting materials out from the meetings last week, and starting preparations for the meeting we will have after I return from vacation — Getting the Agenda nailed down and distributed. I also have some business development items that I need to follow up with and also admin items like time sheets and expenses. Plus some various meetings in my calendar today so hopefully I can focus around these meetings.

I was running like an idiot all morning, with no coffee, no breakfast, 3 drop offs, and work — all after traveling last week and not having our mother’s helper around. I feel like I’ve regressed a bit. Once this last meeting is finished I need to scale back to a 3 or 4 day work week. This must happen. Please encourage me with this – it is scary for me to take a step back!

Highlights of My Working Day:

 

It was crazy busy today.

  • Two debrief meetings post-event from the meetings from last week; we discussed how things went and things to do differently, and also specific follow up things we can do as a result of the meeting
  • I had a business development call with a potential member of a new forum we are launching. It went well but we need to think through how to position/frame this particular forum
  • Sent off materials for the conference I will be missing next week while I’m on vacation.
  • Spoke with a guest speaker for an upcoming meeting to help her frame her presentation

I am also walking away with a TON more work to do tonight – I have to send out meeting materials from last week, complete and submit my timesheet, organize sales meetings for a new forum we are trying to sell, and make introductions to specific forum members on behalf of another Director. I will need to do all of this tonight when I get home, and before finishing packing.

I am on a train now headed to a meeting. So Hubby is home with the kids (and hopefully the mother’s helper). I will miss them tonight. I might be able to see Big Bro and Red before they go to sleep. But tonight is honestly going to be crazy with the work I have to finish and the packing I have left to do….

Dinner and Bedtime:
 

  • I drank a Guiness.  Did some work at the bar.
  • Got home and read some books to Big Bro and Red.
  • Did some more work.  Finsihed up work at 9:30 PM.
  • I will post this by 10 PM.
  • I will then need to pack — the rest of the kids stuff and also my own.

My dinner consisted of a Guiness.  I might eat some Cheerios before I go to bed tonight.  I am exhausted.  Physically, mentally, emotionally.

I plan to send infrequent posts during vacation, but I can’t make any promises!!!!

 

Until later,

– Mama K

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Recipe: Chicken over Brown Rice with Steamed Vegetables

October 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This recipe was submitted by Justine Orona from Los Angeles — sounds yummy – and good for you too. I’m also thinking that this recipe might work with a stacking pan set — for example starting the rice in bottom pot and then steaming the vegetables in a steamer pan that fits on top…. I think I have something like this. This would save on some pan space. I’m also wondering if there’s a way to cook the rice with the vegetables thrown in there? Would this work?

Thank you Jusine!!!



Ingredients:


    

  • Any vegetables you like, I use broccoli, carrots cabbage and squash — cut into bite size pieces
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  • chicken, preferably breast
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  • seasoning:   i use Lawreys
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  • brown rice
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Directions:


    

  • Follow brown rice directions
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  • As that is starting cut all the vegetables in bite size pieces
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  • Steam vegetables
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  • Prepare chicken by cleaning off all the fat, polk holes and apply seasoning. Then cut chicken into slices not so thick and put them in the pan or toaster oven. If it is on a pan than add a little bit of oil or butter and put the heat on med to low. If you put it in a toaster oven wrap in tinfoil for 15-20 min.
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  • Once everything is finished put rice on the bottom vegetables on the side and chicken on top of the rice so it will have some flavor.
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Preparation Time: 10min

Cooking Time: 20min


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October 11: Running, running, running….
 

October 11, 2011  by  1 Comment 

Today was a hectic and bit stressful morning. As I write this now I am on the ferry drinking my first cup of coffee, no breakfast, feeling tired tired TIRED, hair wet, no make up, and headed into a day of work that I know will be more stress than I would like – nonetheless, here are some highlights:


Highlights of the Morning and Commute:


    

  • Wake up very groggy, Big Bro’s owie feels a lot better so we high-five. He claims that he does not even need any medicine on it or a new band-aid.
    • 

  • Red on the other hand starts throwing a tantrum as I am about to get in the shower. She was waiting for me to help her get dressed, NOW. So I stop the shower and go with her to her room to get her dressed.
    • 

  • All kids at this point are downstairs for chocolate Tuesday.
    • 

  • Big Bro has already eaten and we pick out some clothes from the mountains of clean folded clothes in the guest bedroom (thanks to our Mother’s Helper).
    • 

  • Diapering Twin Crazy is fine; she is pointing to her leg saying that it hurts and that she needs medicine (copying Big Bro – so sweet). Big Bro comes out with an open umbrella during Twin Husky’s diaper change is not so fine. He’d rather look and investigate the umbrella since he’s never seen one inside the house before. That was a bit of a struggle for me.
    • 

  • OK get your shoes on and time to go!
    • 

  • Twin Crazy jumps off of the one stair into the garage while holding all of her animals and blankets and then falls into the wall and bangs her head. I need to console her.
    • 

  • I gather up the bags and try to get the kids in the car.
    • 

  • Twin Husky finds the cookie container and is sitting there eating a fist full of cookies. At least he’s not exploring in the street. I let him go at it and ask Hubby to get him in his seat.
    • 

  • I throw in another load of laundry – we NEED to pack TONIGHT for our trip
    • 

  • I find a rain jacket for Red but I really can’t find any sort of proper jacket for Big Bro. I really need to get one for him. This can be a mommy-time activity if I can find the time – most likely after our vacation.
    • 

  • We head off – 3 drop offs. First is Red, then the Twins (I realize I forgot Twin Husky’s medicine), then Big Bro. He wants to bring the umbrella (big, adult) and I instinctually say No. Then he gets upset and starts with an agonizing cry. I look around and all the other kids have cute little tiny kid umbrellas so I give in to him. I’ll need to add this to the shopping list. Big Bro needs a jacket, and an umbrella.
    • 



It’s a rainy day today. I’m not looking forward to work. Maybe this coffee and some breakfast will help. I think it will be rough today. My head is still asleep and I look like ass — completely not together. I buy some coffee and a book of ferry tickets – the attendant is apparently as tired as me because she gave me an extra book of 20 tickets by accident ($100 value). I correct her mistake and she thanked me over and over again. I think of my grandfather. His good deed that I remember as early as 5 or 6 years old still stays with me when I am faced with similar situations. I will need to write separately about that.


Highlights of my Working Day:


I couldn’t stop all day today. It started with me grabbing a breakfast sandwich and eating it on my walk from the ferry to work.   The day was so crazed that I couldn’t leave for lunch. A colleague was kind enough to bring me back something/anything (it turned out to be a great salad – thank you!). Let me see. I spent the day confirming speakers, finalizing an agenda, communicating with speakers, conducting a business development meeting for a separate initiative, reviewing a presentation that we will give and provided feedback and guidance to the person who will present in my absence, gathering our distribution lists for the prior meetings so I can distribute the appropriate materials, and coordinating with all team members to make sure that the next big meeting is a success (from Director to administrative assistants). We are all pulling together and hopefully it will be a great meeting. I’m also looking towards the NEXT meeting in November. So am doing the legwork to get the agenda drafted and presenters organized.   Oh.  And also trying to get other things finished/taken care of before I leave for vacation.


Now I’m on the ferry back home. I am sweating and exhausted from the day. Our mother’s helper texted me today and will not be here tonight. Hubby is also going to be late. So I will have all kids by myself until probably after 7. So I’ll be running, again. Non-stop!!!! I decided to order a pizza for tonight. I just can’t deal with cooking. And then after the kids are in bed I will need to pack for our 10 day trip!!!!! Today will be the longest day EVER….


Dinner and Bedtime:


 


I knew going into tonight that I was going to be on my own.  Our mother’s helper cancelled due to school and Hubby said he needed to take a later ferry.   But he didn’t get back until 8 pm so I had the entire night on my own.  We had our ups and downs – but again there was activity/laughing/crying non-stop:


    

  • I pick up Big Bro first.   I always ask the kids to learn something new, laugh, and excercise your body each and every day.   So I asked him what happened today that was funny.  What made him laugh today?    He thought for a bit, and said that the class was asked to think about things that started with the letter “T” and the teacher would then draw a picture of it so that everyone understood the word.   Big Bro raised his hand and said “toilet”.   So the teacher indeed drew a toilet for the class.  He said that made him laugh pretty hard.
    • 

  • 2nd pick up was Red.  It was also book-fair this week so I had Big Bro and Red pick out a book.  Together we picked out books for Twin Crazy and Twin Husky.
    • 

  • 3rd pick up:  Twins.  They were so good.  All laughs and smiles.
    • 

  • I got everyone home and helped to get their shoes off and started to unload the bags.   While I was getting Twin Husky, Twin Crazy wound up climbing back into the van and got to the front seat and honked the horn, scaring all of us silly.
    • 

  • Once inside, I ordered pizza ASAP.  In the middle of this call I think 2 of the kids were crying.  I’m not sure who.  But there was screaming.  I just went into another room to finish the order.
    • 

  • I changed my clothes fast.  Started the dishwasher.  Unpacked their lunches.   Started another load of laundry.   The kids were playing and also eating some Cheerios.   They were also dumping Cheerios on the floor.
    • 

  • Then they got quiet.  I think it was when I was changing the laundry.   Too quiet.  I enter the kitchen to find Twin Husky holding the sugar bowl, with a pile of sugar on the counter.   He had sugar all over his hands and in the corners of his mouth.   Twin Crazy just had sugar on her hands.  Red had sugar on her hands but she “wasn’t playing with it”, she was “just touching it”.   I take Big Bro’s hands and they are sugar-free.  “I didn’t do anything.”
    • 





Twin Husky gets snagged sugar-handed
Twin Husky gets snagged sugar-handed




    

  • I sit and read the new books to Big Bro and to Red.   Twin Crazy and Twin Husky get into some fights over toys.  Twin Crazy is starting most of them.
    • 

  • Pizza comes.  The guy looks sorry for me.   They all eat a ton.
    • 

  • Then playtime while I clean up a bit.   Twin Crazy is busy stealing Twin Husky’s toys and running away from him and making him cry.  She did this literally all night.
    • 

  • I then propose some milk.  All kids agree.  They all down the milk and we head upstairs for bed.    Twins are tired.  Twin Husky is even asking for his crib.
    • 

  • Teeth and storytime is great with Big Bro and Red again with their new books.   Big Bro has memorized two poems that he has to recite to the class at the end of the month.  He recites them for me and he has them both nailed.
    • 



I head downstairs to start packing — I am called up there 2x and now I’m sitting here typing and Red is still screaming her head off for some reason.  I don’t know why she’s so clingy.  Maybe she didn’t get enough of me tonight since I was busy with house-hold stuff.  I need to spend more time with her.  Even if its having her sit on my lap and rocking her a bit.  I’ll try to do that for her tomorrow.


OK, gotta go now to finish the laundry and start to pack.   I’ve been running since 7 AM and its now 9:30 PM.   And my day is still not over….


Til tomorrow,


– Mama K


Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: , , , , , , , 
October 10:   Funny disfunction — owies and flies
 

October 10, 2011  by  Leave a Comment 

Last night we went over to a friend’s house and NO ONE napped. So all kids were catching flies during the ride home as early at 6:30 PM. We carried them from the car to bed – this was the earliest bedtime ever for the kids and they all slept well. That meant that they all woke up well and full of energy – even Big Bro.


Highlights of the Morning and Commute:


    

  • I wake up to Red and Big Bro in our bed, laughing and playing. They woke up so early and were so playful. They play with my alarm clock and wing up turning it on at full blast, which they think is hysterical.
    • 

  • All of the sleep with all the kids leads to a VERY relaxed morning where there are NO tantrums and everyone is agreeable. Twins and Red eat cereal and Big Bro has a bagel. We are REALLY running out of food because we are going to leave for a 10 day vacation soon — but we have no bread (it is moldy), no jelly, no fruit, ….. let’s see how long we can stretch this out with a family of six.
    • 

  • Kids get dressed without a problem; Twin Husky has fun playing with choo-choo trains, putting the tracks together and linking up the trains. Twin Crazy has having fun drawing with a magnetic board.
    • 

  • I put in some laundry, pack up the bags, and get the car ready. I make some instant coffee. I am hungry this morning.
    • 

  • Everyone seems to be sneezing/sick which puts us back a bit, but we are still very early. since we are so early we all get into the van together and make all drop offs together.
    • 

  • 1st drop off: Red. She is there early and drop off is so smooth. She is such an outgoing kid. 2nd drop off: Twins. We have a lot of clothes and diapers and wipes and medicine with us today – just in case they need it. 3rd drop off: Big Bro. I take him to his lineup, he is excited for the day. He has goose-pimples and is cold (I know) but he doesn’t want to put on his sweatshirt. I guess he doesn’t think it’s cool. I need to take a better look around at what the other kids are wearing so I can get him a proper jacket. Hubby and I then make our way to the Ferry. The parking lot is not full – Columbus Day.
    • 



I’m now on the ferry and it is so gray; looks like it will rain. I have a lot of work to do in the next 3 days before vacation. I have preparation and still some speakers to secure for the next two big meetings – and I also have to close out some major things from the last two forums. I think these 3 days are going to be packed. I need to take a deep breath and plow through it — my four left feet are going away and I feel like I can attack this stuff without too much stress (hopefully).


I’m really looking forward to vacation. We’re heading to Florida where my father lives – I will get to spend more time with my family which I really need. And Red and Twin Crazy will be flower girls in a wedding which we are looking forward to. I hope they can do it OK without being too scared. I think they both have the personalities to do just fine. After the wedding we head to the beach for a week – and even though we have the kids I’m hoping to grab some thinking time, some reflective time. I need time to stand still and catch my breath.


Highlights of My Working Day:




Today was the kind of day where looking back, I wish I would have gotten more accomplished. I needed to settle back in the office from last week’s travels but not lose any momentum… I still have two meetings to organize (and fill dropped speaker spots) but also think through the last week of meetings and organize the next steps coming out of those meetings. There were some administrative distractions today as well which cut into my thinking-time. I think that if I hit the ground running tomorrow, I will be able to accomplish more – and I think that if I knock things out in the morning I will feel more productive and hopefully continue the traction throughout the day.


I’m on the ferry now headed home. I am tired. Very tired. I still don’t think I’ve caught up my sleep from last week. I am gearing up for vacation and still feel like I have so much to do at work and at home to prepare. I’ll try to start to pack tonight — I need to organize dressy clothes (wedding) as well as beach clothes for afterwards – and do this for 4 kids as well as myself. I’m going to start to do that tonight if I have the energy.


I’m looking forward to kid pick-up. I didn’t get a chance to do this at all last week so I’m looking forward to being in that role again.


Dinner and Bedtime:


Things were pretty crazy/funny at first. I was on my own and honestly, it was like a comedy routine in the house:


    

  • I pick up Big Bro and we both go over to pick up Red.  She has a little zip lock bag of snacks that they assembled at pre-school.   She asked to have something and I said it was OK for a little, but it would be good to share with Big Bro.  I thought she would share some pretzel sticks but she wound up picking the only cookie in the bag and then split it in half for her and her brother.  I thought that was so sweet.  Big Bro said “thank you” to her with conviction….   how sweet.
    • 

  • Big Bro shoots down my idea of home-made macaroni and cheese because he likes the job of mixing the powder cheese with milk.  As soon as I park the van and try to organize bags and our things, he swiftly gets two packages of boxed mac-n-cheese out and proceeds to open the boxes, dump the powdered cheese in a cup, and ask for milk so he can start stirring.   That kid is too independent for his own good.  I can’t believe he tricked me like that.
    • 

  • Twin Husky plays with train tracks and trains and gets frustrated.
    • 

  • For some reason, Big Bro decided to take off his jeans and walk around the house in his underwear.   This led to an accident in the house.   Big Bro and I were running around and horsing around, him saying that he wanted my keys, and me saying that I wanted some “peace”.   I started tickling him saying that I wanted “peace, peace, peace” while he wanted “keys, keys, keys” and his bare leg scraped against my rings — his poor leg was all scraped up and bleeding a bit.   All kids started to come over and look at his “owie”.  Twin Crazy even kissed him to make him feel better.  Big Bro, being very dramatic, was acting like he just broke his leg.  We put a band-aid on it and he wound up crawling over to the dinner table in his spot.
    • 

  • Twin Crazy saw a fly and continuously started to make scared, anxious sounds while running over to me and holding my legs for protection.
    • 

  • Twin Crazy and Twin Husky start fighting over a rocket ship scooter, and then a Barbie doll.  Twin Husky has trouble putting all of his “things” in the trunk of the rocket scooter and starts to get frustrated.
    • 

  • Twin Husky and Twin Crazy keep asking for more chicken but everything is gone.  I didn’t even eat anything yet.
    • 

  • Hubby comes home and starts chasing the fly with a dish towel – he came close two times
    • 

  • Twin Crazy starts serving herself more mac n cheese
    • 

  • Hubby takes out nectarines for dessert and starts to slice one.  Twin Husky is on his lap and steals the other nectarine and starts chowing down on it before Hubby has a chance.
    • 

  • Big Bro turns and asks me “why does my penis itch so much?”.   ??!?!?!??!?!?!?  I guess its time to take baths/showers tonight!
    • 

  • Twins run upstairs to take a bath when they hear this
    • 

  • Baths were uneventful
    • 

  • Bedtime routine was quick – these kids are tired.   Red wants her book read to her like she is the “teacher”.  I guess pre-school is really making a mark on her.
    • 





Red acting like her "teacher" during bedtime stories
Red acting like her "teacher" during bedtime stories




This Monday was relatively good.   The kids were great in the morning, work was not too hectic (compared to last week), and dinner/bedtime was extremely amusing, at least for me.  I really enjoyed myself with them tonight — even the dinner-time rush on my own and the craziness that all of it brings.   It feels good to be back.


Til tomorrow –


– Mama K


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