Wordless Wednesday - through my daughters eyes

My daughter was using my camera today to take pictures for the PTA Reflections program. She took 108 photos in about 30 minutes. I just thought I'd share a few of her shots - some of them are pretty good.

More great Wordless Wednesday pictures can be viewed over at 5 Minutes for Mom.

What I Learned This Week - Growing Up

If you read my post from a few days ago, you can read about my visit to the Pediatricians office this week with my 10 year old son.

That appointment and the words that the Pediatrician said to me have spawned my What I Learned This Week post.

I have learned . . .

(1) I am not ready for my son to enter puberty.

(2) I am glad that my oldest is a boy, and not a girl. At least I have two more years until Princess gets to puberty.

(3) I would prefer if my children could skip puberty and teenage years and go straight to college. That would really make my life a little easier and my hair a little less gray.

Check out more great What I Learned This Week posts over at Musings of Housewife.

Halloween Fun

I'm a little late to the party, but better late than never. Right?

It was a bit rainy here on Halloween, but the kids made the best of it.

We have "Mod Girl", a Devil Girl, some sort of Grim Reaper, and the timeless Batman. Batman wasn't too keen on his big brother's costume!

The Big "K" - or is it the Big "P"??

Life has thrown me many a curve ball, and I like to think that I have managed to handle them all with grace and maturity. I may be a total Type A Personality, but I do handle change pretty well. I'm an optimistic person by nature, and am always looking at things as the glass is half full and its my job to do what I can to fill the rest of it up. So when curve balls are thrown my way, I tend to process it and then figure out what I need to do to adjust to whatever it is that God has thrown my way and move on (Friends & Family - I expect you to keep me honest here and give me a comment if you don't agree. But I know you will.)

Yesterday at the Dr's office the Pediatrician threw me a curve ball - heck it was a change-up - and I totally struck out. (Sorry friends, its World Series time and the Phillie's are playing, so I'm using some baseball lingo.) You might be thinking, "oh no, who's sick? How bad is it?" Well, in the grand scheme of things, its quite normal, but I'm just not ready to deal just yet.

What was the pitch? After the Pediatrician finished her examination of Moose, my 10 year old son, my first born, my baby, she made an observation to me that I handled very maturely if you ask me.

She said "Moose's testicle's are enlarged, that's the first sign that he is entering puberty."

My reaction: Um, did she just say testicles? Did she say puberty? Does she know that Moose is only 10? Closed eyes; hands over ears; shaking my head and muttering No No No No No.

See, very mature.

Of course, I came home and looked up puberty and sure enough, that is one of the first signs and the normal age for boys is 10 - 11 to go through THE change.

I've had a headache since I heard that statement. Well, I'll blame the headache on that statement. Cause after all, the screaming that my 6 year old Sassy did in my ear while I was holding her for three vaccines, had nothing to do with it.

OK - that about sums it up - I feel another post coming on about what might cause puberty at such a young age and the sadness it brings me that my baby boy is growing up, but my head hurts to much and I'm still in denial.

Oh, yea - mustn't forget:

Dear Lord - I'm gonna need your help on this one! I know I've been very needy lately, but I know you will get me through this. You might be laughing all the way through, but I'm OK with that!

Happy Friday!

Go Phillies!

Because we are all "THAT FAMILY" at some point

Kristen down at We are THAT Family is celebrating her 2nd Blogoversary today. Congratulations to Kristen for two years of fantastic blogs. I am a daily reader of Kristen's and I always enjoy her posts. They are always entertaining, usually make me laugh, and also make me feel like I am not alone in my crazy world that I affectionately call home.

To celebrate her Blogoversary she is asking fellow bloggers to share a "That Family" moment and then link up with her blog. And of course I have more than my share of "moments" to share. The hard decision was what one should I share.

Lets see, what story should I share:

• Naked children on the inflatable water slide
• 4 year son old peeing in my neighbors front yard
• 4 year old found a tampon in the tampon machine of a public restroom and waved it around asking if he can have it for snack
• the time at Disney when my 5 year old daughter decided she didn't want her swim suit on anymore so she stood on a chair and stripped naked for all to see
• the time I had to pull grass out of my cat's butt or the sock out of the dog's butt (don't ask)
• cat poop on my laptop
• the time I left my car in drive at daycare while I took the kids into school - good thing there was a car in front of it to prevent it from going anywhere
• the time my son had an accident on the baseball field and in the bathroom he threw his "cup" filled with pee over the bathroom stall and it landed on my head

I know I could go on and on and on and on - you get the picture. Lets just say that having 4 kids, working full time, and trying to do it all makes for some pretty funny moments around here.

If you browse through some of my older posts, you will get to read about some of these moments in my life. And I have to say, I do usually laugh at them. Maybe not at the moment they occur, but at some point I do sit back and giggle at the craziness called life!

Be sure to stop over at We are THAT family to read some more good posts. I've had a few good laughs this morning reading through all of the links.

HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY KRISTEN! Looking forward to enjoying your blog for years to come!

Battle of the Bulge

Look out - I am not a happy camper tonight.

Tonight at the dinner table, after my son finished his dinner, he told me that he was weighed at school today and that he is 133 pounds. You might think that this should just be a comment in passing, but for my son Moose, it has been a five year battle with the scale. No ten year old should have to worry about his weight, but mine does. He now weighs more than my neighbor across the street, and she'll be 30 soon!

In Kindergarten Moose started what I'm hoping is not a life long battle with his weight. Between his 5th and 6th Birthdays he gained 12 pounds. Since then he has averaged 10 to 12 pounds per year. He is a very active kid; plays organized sports and loves to run around the neighborhood with his best buddies. I have done everything known to man to help keep the scale under control through diet. I monitor his food intake; ensure that he gets fruits and vegetables; limit juices and sugars; keep cookies and cakes to a minimum in our pantry; but to no avail. We have seen doctor after doctor to see if there is an underlying medical cause, but so far nothing. We are currently waiting for the results of a full genetic work-up to see if he has any genetic abnormalities that might be causing his weight gain.

This poor ten year old is a veteran at having blood drawn. He sits there better than some adults I know. He has had to keep a food diary, undergone MRI studies, sleep studies, and appointments with dietitians and others that last over 6 hours. Seriously, how much more can a child take in a quest to control weight and get answers.

So Kim, what's your point? Good question.

I know that every school has to weigh a kid and see where their BMI is. Moose is consistently off the scales. And its not because I let him eat what he wants when he wants. And I don't let him sit in front of a tv for hours on end.

Last week my daughter brought her lunch home and went to empty it. She pulled out a bag of Dorito's. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. I asked where she got them and she told me she bought them in the lunch room at school. WHAT? Seriously? In my cafe at work we don't even have Dorito's available to us. Lots of baked chips and pretzels, but no Dorito's. I wasn't happy at all, but did not yell at Princess. I did however inform her and Moose that under no circumstance were they to buy chips or cookies or other sugar filled things at school. That I put a healthy treat in their lunch every day, and that's all they need.

I fully expect that edict to last in their heads only a few weeks. Then what kid wouldn't buy what they want in the lunch line when their parents are not around to say no. And apparently none of the lunch monitors say anything to the kids about their choices either.

Oh yea, my point.

I'm happy that the schools and government are concerned about the obesity issue in kids. But if they are going to weigh kids and highlight their obesity then they should be doing something about the choices of food in their cafeteria. Chips should not be part of the daily menu. My child should also not be allowed to buy mashed potatoes with gravy, mac n cheese & a roll on the same lunch tray.

Mom: Gee honey, what did you have for lunch?

Princess: I had starch, starch and starch Mom and it was yummy!

The lunch lady is more than happy to point out when our account balance is low, but not that the lunch on my child's tray is not a balanced lunch at all. I know - if I don't like the choices then don't let the kids buy lunch. And I have to say, so far this year my kids have only bought lunch on four occasions. And I can ensure you that there will not be many more occasions - unless of course I wake up way late or forget to buy bread - oops! I am human after all.

I'm sure I'm not going to go to an extreme here and start waging a war against the school cafeteria, but you can bet that it will come up the next time I am talking with the principal at school. And I encourage you all, all three of you, to take notice to what choices your kids are making in the lunch line. Take some time to find out what they choose and talk to them about what good choices and bad choices are. They are kids after all, and who doesn't like a few chips with their sandwich. But that shouldn't be an everyday thing!

My first love

I'm sure you think this post is about a boy. Sorry to disappoint, but its not. Its about a grocery store.

Ever since I started driving I enjoyed going grocery shopping. Back then I would go for my Mom. I loved clipping coupons, comparing prices and saving dollars. I loved meandering through the aisles looking at all of the selections without a care in the world. I liked to try new things, especially things I had never seen before. When I was a teenager I went to visit my cousins in Connecticut we went grocery shopping at Stu Leonard's - I didn't want to leave! And thus my love was born!

I still enjoy grocery shopping. That is, as long as I don't have to take all four ankle biters with me. While my husband was deployed, I took them with me A LOT. Now that he is back, I get to go all by myself. What joy. Cause let me tell you, trying to get a full weeks groceries with four kids arguing, wandering and having to go potty is really not very enjoyable at all.

Just last week THE Mecca of grocery stores opened just 10 minutes from me.

WEGMANS!

And this store is like nothing I've ever seen. It has a Pub inside. Yes, an actual pub that serves food and alcohol. Let me add that after shopping with four kids as I illustrated above might be good cause to visit said Pub before going home! They also have their usual Market Place with so many options for having lunch or dinner, a coffee bar, an incredible bakery, and all of the usual grocery store amenities. Oh, I can't forget to mention a cheese section that I wish was in my kitchen. I so love cheese!

Last night I met my family there for dinner and OMG - it was a crazy place. People coming and going and having no regard for others. I even got my foot run over by some old lady - that did not make me happy.

Now folks, I LOVE a good grocery store. Especially this one! But really, do we have to lose ALL of our manners and common courtesy while there.

I have to say, I don't think I'll be frequenting that store till the hype calms down; unless there is something that I am specifically looking for - like a good cheese or their incredible french bread or some really good fish for dinner. And that makes me sad. To have such a fab-u-lous market so close and to be scared away by all of those crazy people - is just plain sad.

I thank you Wegmans for opening a store so close to me. And I will thank all of the crazy people once they vacate the building and let me have my 2 hours there to peruse the aisles with a cup of coffee in my hand and take in all of the delightful things that this new store has to offer.

PS: Crazy People - hurry up!