Through the Eyes of My Child

The Son drew the picture above for me the other day. He really loves to draw and spends his time creating lots of interesting pictures that are usually of new Bakugans or some kind of robot he invented. Normally, they don't look like anything that anyone can actually figure out which is fine because that will lead to some interesting stories and descriptions, which of course, The Husband and I love. See the picture above though? Do you know what that is? Well, it's me on the treadmill of course! (I'm SO skinny! ;) ) The Son drew that for me recently because he knew I was having some "blister issues" and he wanted me to feel better. I was so excited that he drew me working out because it means that he really gets it that I am an active person and that fitness is important to me. I am so proud that I have become this good example to him. I put the picture in the front of my notebook that I use for my weight loss groups so that I can show my students. It's a big accomplishment for me that The Son sees me that way. I should also mention that he recently saw a "before" picture of me and didn't know it was me!

I've had people tell me they don't want to put their kids in the child care area at the Y and take the time to work out because they want to spend as much time with their kids as they can. Usually, it's working parents who truly don't get to spend as much time as they'd like to with their kids. Yes, it's important to spend time with your children, very important, but I also think there is great value in letting your kids see you take time to take care of yourself. Perhaps one can't work out for a couple hours a day like I am able to do when The Son is in school but when someone can take 45 minutes to an hour a couple times a week to stay healthy, is only going to be good for them and their child(ren.)

A little update about my progress, I lost another 2.2 pounds this week! I am now in a new category, the 160s! I cannot remember the last time I was in the 160s! I am meeting with my trainer today so I will also get measurements and find out how much my body fat is going down. I'll update with any good results.

Since I am posting a bit about The Son and how he views things, I wanted to let you know that he views our dogs, especially Ziggy as his brother. He actually told his Kindergarten teacher that he was the "middle" child and he had her very confused because she was sure he was an only child. Evidently, he exhibits a lot of classic traits of an "only." It took her a couple days to realize that he was referring to dogs as his brothers.... looking at the pictures below however, can you blame him? Ziggy is such a special boy, he and The Son love each other and as you can see, he's pretty comfortable thinking of himself as a brother too. I really miss Iago, our Miniature Pinscher who died a little more than a year ago but Ziggy is slowly starting to become my canine boy just like Iago was. It's pretty safe to say that as cute as puppies are, I'm much more of an "adult dog girl." than a "puppy girl."




Our other dog isn't quite as snuggly, he's a bit older and he's an Italian Greyhound named DaVinci (Vinnie for short). We think of him as the less sociable teenage brother... poor old guy. I'll have to get a few pictures of him to show you because as crazy and neurotic as he is, he's a cute little guy.

Well, I guess I should be signing off for now. Have a great Friday! Woo HOO! It's FRIDAY! Tomorrow is The Son's 6th birthday and Sunday is his party at the Y as well as the aforementioned Vinnie's 12th birthday! The MIL is coming from Maine to visit and we just have an over all busy, busy weekend. I hope yours is fun too!

Teeny Tiny "Gingerbread" Houses

Oh, the weather outside was frightful... but our tiny gingie houses are delightful!

We got a lot of snow yesterday. Official estimates are close to two feet for our area. This is more snow than we've gotten TOTAL for the rest of The Son's life, he's kind of excited to say the least...

Needless to say, we were snowed in yesterday. Fortunately all snow-related disasters were averted because I managed to hit the grocery store the day before to stock up on bread, milk, eggs and snacks. We wouldn't want to be one of those tragic families you hear about who die in their homes stranded without any food to see them through the long 24-hours of snowstorm. Just terrible those stories, huh? ;)

Anyway, I also stocked up on supplies to create some super-cute gingerbread houses out of graham crackers. The Husband, The Son and I had a lot of fun and it truly kept us busy for the day. The FIL and his wife are also visiting and I am happy to say that my Step-MIL helped The Son with his house which made it easier for The Husband and I to work on ours. I highly recommend this activity, we all got into it.

I hit the bulk bins at the store first, it's easy to buy a couple tootsie rolls or starburst candies when you use the bulk bins, and the cost is definitely better so unless you need an entire bag of tootsie rolls, hit the bulk bins. These cute little trees and "wreaths" were fun.


I made my own "royal icing" to use as our glue, it's a very simple recipe. I used four cups of confectioners sugar, 3 egg whites (you can use pasteurized egg whites if you're worried about salmonella, I'm not, plus we didn't really eat any) and 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar. Throw it all in your mixer and stir it all up. It mixes for about 7 minutes and makes a nice thick icing.


We then cut the graham crackers with a serrated knife. You need two full graham crackers cut with a point at the top, two half sheets to make the walls and two additional half sheets to make the roof. I cracked the first one I attempted, don't press too hard on the opposite side when you cut.

Smiling for Momma...

The Husband took his work very seriously.


Here's our mini-neighborhood...

The Husband designed a church, The roof is covered in whole wheat linguinie pasta which I must say, was a really nice food to use for decorating, I used it too as you will soon see... The cross on the steeple as well is made from linguine.


His stained glass window on the back of his church, is made from gumdrops


Here's The Son's house, his theme was clearly, "How Much Stuff can I Stick on my House before Momma and Daddy tell me I'm Wasting Candy?"


Don't you you just love the back? I think the "Andes Mint" randomly stuck to the roof really pops.

Yeah. The Son's house is kind of like your neighbor who puts out a few too many holiday inflatables and then adds even more to them each year...


Here's my house, I made the fence around it with the aforementioned pasta, and gumdrops

The snowman is one of my favorite parts, I used two different sized gumdrops and then a tootsie roll that I cut as his hat. I must admit that I drew the eyes and mouth on with a sharpie marker. Melted dark chocolate dipped in a toothpick works really well if you need everything to be edible, but the sharpie is easier.


Here's the back, you can get a good glimpse of the fence here...


I used coconut to make the snow all around after the houses were place in their locations and again, those long linguine noodles came in handy to push it around into all the little crevices and corners.

The FIL took a couple shots of us with our neighborhood, Ziggy decided that he had to be in this first one which made The Son act a little silly himself,

One more try... Merry Christmas!


As I mentioned before, this project was LOTS of fun, we will definitely be making this a holiday tradition. The Husband and I also made a real gingerbread house and it came out very cute as well, I'll feature that one later this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and if you live on the East Coast, enjoy the SNOW if you got any! (I'm off to the Y now, a couple feet of snow can't stop me from working out!)

Did I tell you...?

...that I was working on making myself an apron? I ask, because evidently, I can't remember the things I tell these days, as my sister so kindly informed me about yesterday's post regarding the Snuggie. Evidently, I already posted about it. Oh well, you know I love the thing so it deserved two posts.

Well, I've been wanting to make myself an apron for a long time so I finally bought the supplies on Black Friday. (when I also bought those beads that yes, are still missing) Anyway, here's a couple of pictures of me in the apron. I realize it's very cheesy, campy and totally over the top as far as aprons are concerned but that's what I wanted. It's a vintage simplicity pattern and there's a couple other options for aprons that I'll have to attempt as well because, it was fun to make. The Son took these pictures so they aren't the best but you get the idea and yes, Ziggy had to get in on the action too. The back has criss-cross straps and a cute, big bow but I decided against posting the photo of me from behind. It didn't come out very flattering considering The Son was pretty much camera level with my rear end. So here ya go... funny huh? Yes, I will wear it and actually already have!


Enjoy your Wednesday everyone, I'm off to do KidWriting in The Son's classroom this afternoon and then I'm heading to the Y for a run. I've been especially hungry this week who knows why? It's probably not going to be a good week for weight loss, that's for sure!

Super Quick...

I put this picture of The Son here because he's cute and I love him. It's hard to believe that in about a month, he'll be SIX! AHHHHHH!


I have to work in about an hour and then I have to get my nails done and then I have to come home and eat and decorate and take The Son to karate and come home and cook dinner and decorate and decorate and decorate... it takes me a long time to decorate. Yes, it does.

Guess what I got?

That's right! A SNUGGIE! It has changed my life and I love it and no, that is not sarcasm. I truly do love it. It definitely makes you warmer than a regular blanket and although I thought it was silly (or stupid even) when I first saw it, I have now been converted to be a proud card-carrying member of The Cult of the Snuggie. This thing rocks! If you're a Cold Person, like I am, get one. Heck, get more than one, they make a great gift! ;)

See how toasty I look? Well, off to get ready for work! Have a great day everyone! Stay warm.

Well, we tried...

Last Thursday, The Son and I were supposed to participate in a Jingle Bell Trot, sponsored by the YMCA in order to collect toys for children in need. It was a great idea, it could have been fun but... Mother Nature had other plans. It was cold or, I should say... FREEZING!

The Son and I bundled up and planed to go anyway, it was only a two mile run. I had already run five miles at the gym in anticipation of not being able to complete the two miles because of the company I was keeping, so I wasn't stressed out about getting in my exercise.

We were supposed to wear jingle bells on our shoes and we sat in the car to get "jingled up."

We got out of the car to head to the park where the run was being held and we were hit. Hit with a blast of cold air that made our bones hurt. This particular park is situated in a location that makes it always seem to be windy, even in the summer, but in December, when it's below freezing and extra windy out? Well, then it's as windy as Alaska and Chicago combined. (or at least what I imagine combining them would feel like.)

The Son and I got to the track, and again we were hit with a blast of cold air, he looked up at me and said, "Momma... it's really cold! I don't think I can do this." I told him we would go around one time and see how we felt. One time is only a half a mile. We joined the few die-hards who were already running around the track, there were supposed to be 125 people but I'm afraid not nearly that many showed up. We ran, the wind blew. We ran, our eyes teared up. We ran, our noses ran too.

As we ran, The Son kept asking me if we were almost finished and I must admit, I too was feeling really, really cold. I told him we didn't have to do more than the one lap if he didn't want to. He didn't want to. We got to the end of the lap and headed into the gazebo where they were handing out hot chocolate and cookies. It was pretty much too cold to even stay for hot chocolate and cookies even though some of our friends were there,

so I asked The Son if he wanted to go home, stay there or head to Starbucks. Can you guess which one he picked? That's right, Starbucks!

We went over to Starbucks where The Son is somewhat of a celebrity and knows all the employees, and we hung out, enjoying our grande skinny skim latte (me) and our vanilla organic milk and rice krispie square (him)

as we chatted with the baristas and The Son went around with my camera and took some photos... he's getting pretty good, I must say.

So, to sum it all up, the run itself was a bust, thanks to that often nasty Mother Nature but with or without the run, the toys were still collected which was the main goal of the whole event. I also realized that The Son just might have a future in running. The Boy is fast! When we were running on the track, I had difficulty keeping up with him at times. I would guess he was running at a 7 or 7.5 mph pace because when I run "fast" on the treadmill, I'm running at a 6 to 6.5 mile pace and I was running fast and he was running faster. In all honesty, I was very surprised at his speed, not to mention impressed. I think we'll be working on running together more frequently... when it gets warmer of course.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend friends, we're going to be working on holiday decorations today, and tomorrow and the next day...

Holiday Life Lessons

It's official! The Holidays are upon us and they're in full swing. It's the time of year to think about those less fortunate than you, to give to others and to look within yourself at how fortunate you may be in your life. That is... unless you're five.

If you're five, it's the time of year that you keep thinking of what you're going to get and how you have to be good all the time so that Santa will bring you everything you've been wishing for all year. You start compiling lists, feverishly watching commercials and thumbing through the Toys R Us catalog with a fervor that should be reserved for learning how to read. "Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming! What am I going to GET?" you think daily, hourly, each minute of the day.

It's hard not to blame kids for feeling this way when every other commercial on TV is for some new toy that everyone is touting as The Toy of the Christmas Season (Zhu Zhu Pet anyone?) People are asking you if you wrote your letter to Santa yet, if you've been a good boy this year and each morning your parents are encouraging you to look for your Elf on a Shelf who will of course, go back to Santa and tell him whether or not you've been good enough to deserve all these presents you think you want.

The Son is no exception to all this Christmas hoopla. I try not to be the parent who buys him something every time we go to the store and he's usually very good about understanding when he can't get something, but recently, we had a little "issue" at the store when he found out he couldn't buy a toy and we were buying some toys for "less fortunate" children. I've explained to The Son that Santa brings presents, but so do Mommy and Daddy and if the Mommy and Daddy don't have a lot of money to buy things the kids need (like clothing, socks and underwear) then Santa has to bring them that kind of stuff and they don't get the cool toys that kids like him get. I know, it's probably a lame explanation but it's hard to explain why Santa is so generous to some kids and not to others...) We're running in a "Jingle Bell Trot" race tonight and the entry fee is an unwrapped toy that will go to a foster child who might not otherwise get much for Christmas. I wanted The Son to pick out the toy that he would give as his entry fee and that's why we were there. We discussed what we were doing and he was told he could pick whatever he wanted, and that I was going to pick a "girl" toy for my entry fee, something that I would have liked to receive as a child. It was all going well until...

...he saw a Bakugan toy that he's been coveting for a long time.

He decided he would get this particular toy for his entry fee gift BUT since there were two packs of the same toys, he would get one for himself as well. I explained (over and over) that he was not going to buy himself a toy, that we were there to buy a toy for someone else. He got teary, he got dramatic, he really didn't understand why he couldn't get the toy as well. He sulked, he moped, he got quite irritating. I explained myself again and again, to be honest, I almost gave in because it's nice to be told, "You're the best mom ever!" and to have a happy and thrilled child for only $10.99 but I stuck to my guns and did not allow him to buy the toy. I picked up the new "Frog Prince" princess doll for my gift (Boy, is she cute) and we headed to the register as The Son continued to sulk and mope and irritate.

He was teary as we left the store and as I buckled him into his car seat and I had finally reached my limit. I explained to him one final time that Mommy and Daddy have money to buy him toys and that he has PLENTY of toys and Bakugan at home but that Mommy and Daddy don't have endless supplies of money and this time, the money we have is being used to buy a toy for somebody else, somebody who is really going to love the Bakugan he picked out and how special he is going to make someone feel on Christmas morning. He stopped moping and I thought he finally understood...

This morning, we were talking about Friday evening when he gets to go to his school's Christmas Shop where he can shop for presents for his family and have them wrapped there. We discussed all the people he has to buy for and he was excited, mentioning that he had a lot of gifts to buy and then... he asked if could buy a present for himself. Uh oh... here we go again...

Fortunately, The Husband is taking him to the Christmas Shop tomorrow night. I'd better warn him and tell him to ready himself for some well-practiced and excellent manipulation. It's hard being a parent and raising a thoughtful, giving little person but we're trying and we'll keep on trying. I think he'll continue to grow and understand, especially as he sees how happy the gifts he gives make people and as he experiences the run tonight where everyone is there to support the same cause.

I've decided that that's what I'll ask Santa for this year, a caring and sweet, giving boy... I've been a good girl all year and that's not too much to ask for, is it? Happy holidays!

Watch your mouth!

A few weeks ago, The Son and I were watching "Oprah" when the Black Eyed Peas were on and they sang "I Gotta Feeling" and the audience did the mob dance. It was cool, really cool. The Son enjoyed it a lot. If you haven't seen it, give it a "google" you'll find it easily. The Son had also heard the song "Boom Boom Pow" by the BEP and really liked that as well. They both seemed appropriate and innocent enough to me, so while at Target the other day, we saw their CD and I bought it for The Son and myself to listen to in the car. Many of the CDs at Target had parental advisory labels on them, "The END" by the BEP did not.

Imagine my surprise (or perhaps I should say naivete) when we started playing our new CD in the car and I clearly heard the "S" word multiple times, we scanned through that song. As I kept listening, it was clear that this CD was not going to be acceptable for The Son to listen to, at least not according to my standards. It looks like we spent over $11 for two songs (one of which also has the "S" word in it briefly) that we can actually listen to.

This brings me to something that I've been thinking about a lot lately as The Son grows up and is now interested in TV shows and movies beyond "Sprout" and "Noggin." Why is there so much bad language on TV and how do we, as parents, explain inappropriate usage of words to our children when they see them on TV or hear them in our music all the time? I know when I was growing up, my parents didn't curse, didn't use words like hell and damn and now they're commonplace on most TV shows. The other day, The Son was watching a "Lassie" movie with The Husband and they used the word "faggot," this movie was rated G! G? Really? Bakugan, which my son LOVES, constantly uses the phrase, "What the...?" leaving the watcher to fill in the blank. So not attractive when your kid comes out with, "What the heck?" or worse!

After talking about this all with The Husband last night, we came to the conclusion that a parent's job has changed over the years. Whereas when we were children, it was our parent's job to pretty much shield us from "bad" words now, The Husband and I feel that is close to impossible, it's now become our job to teach our children about "bad" words and to teach them why it's not acceptable to use them even though everyone else does. It's quite a challenge. The Son is constantly asking me, "Momma, can I say _____________" and I have to explain why or why not when I answer him. It's not only a challenge, it's exhausting!

I also hear so many children using the phrase, "Oh my God" (which I think I've written about before). I find it so inappropriate and unattractive and I am not the least bit religious. The Son hears this all. the. time. at school, on TV, even at our beloved YMCA... just about everywhere. Fortunately, he is still young enough that he listens to his Momma and Daddy and does work to self-edit his language and word choices.

So, am I over-reacting? Is it now acceptable for kids to say, "Oh my God!" "What the heck/hell?" or "Damn" or "Shit?" is it going to be a couple years before we also allow the "F" word on TV? We already allow "freaking" and "friggin" don't even get me started on that! I think that sounds terrible too! I don't know, I'm interested in hearing what others think about this topic and I'm really only talking about kids here, I am no prude, I use my fair share of "colorful language" when The Son is not around, it's not like I never do, it's just that I'm finding it a challenge to teach all this to The Son. What do you think? Leave me a freaking comment why don't you? ;)

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Bakugan Brawlers Unite!

On Sunday, I asked you if you knew what this is?


No one answered me although I know my Chrissy 'Cuz knows and probably any one else who reads this blog who has a boy around The Son's age. This special little ball of coolness is a Bakugan. A "Ventus Tenticlear" to be exact. This one is one of my favorites. When you place the ball on the card that has a metal core, it springs open to reveal this guy.


Bakugan is a Japanese anime adveture series that has pretty much taken over The Son's every thought, he's become obsessed. Here's a plot synopsis of the show, according to Wikipedia:

In a dimension of Vestroia, a Bakugan called Naga decides to absorb the energy of the two cores that keep the dimensions in place. He absorbed too much of a negative energy found in the Silent Core. The Infinity Core, the positive energy core, has been absorbed with Naga's sister, Wavern.

The story centers on group of friends who find metallic cards which have fallen from the sky. They name themselves the Bakugan Battle Brawlers and consist of seven children: Dan, Shun, Runo, Marucho, Julie, Alice, and later Joe. Together they learn more about the origin of Bakugan, the game involving them, and battle against Hal-G and Naga.

Yeah. I don't really get it either but the important thing is that The Son sure does. It's a very involved show with levels and each color means something specific, it's hard for me to understand. The Husband calls the show, "a half an hour commercial for the toys" and I'd venture to say, he's right. It's also a game. A game, a commercial, a toy... all of the above! ha ha! I've compared it to Pokemon, if you're at all familiar with that but The Son says, it's nothing like Pokemon... whatever kid, to me, it's similar. ;)

The Son has lots of the toys and spends lots of time playing with his Bakugan, drawing pictures of them, making them out of legos and k-nex, etc. Of course for Halloween he decided that he wanted to be "Dan" the leader of the Bakugan Brawlers, that post will come later this week because he sure looked cute for the Y's Halloween party last weekend. For now, I'll leave you with a few more pictures of these cool little toys, I do have to admit that they are like little marvels of toy engineering.

See, he's not lacking in the Bakugan department at. all.

Last but not least, this picture cracks me up. Here he is, Momma's little Bakugan Brawler complete with his dog and a face covered in Nutella from his English Muffin.

I do feel compelled to add that The Son does lots of other things besides sit around and watch Bakugan on TV and then play with the toys. He does do karate, swims and reads plenty of books, although HE may be obsessed with Bakugan, his Mommy and Daddy have figured out ways to set healthy limits and everyone is happy about it in this household... even his Ventus Tentaclear.

Have a great day everyone! (I can't figure out why my spacing is all off... when I go to edit it in the html code area, it still looks fine so it's going to have to stay like this... sorry!)

Momma's Little Hip Hop Dancer

I mentioned it a couple blog posts ago, The Son recently performed with his Hip Hop class from the YMCA at the Y's annual "Good Kids Campaign Dinner." He had the best time. He started out a bit nervous but did a fantastic job and ended saying, "I want to do that again." For those of you who know us or have been long time readers, you know that The Husband and I met doing a musical many years ago so we like to think performing is in The Son's genes...

Here's a few pictures for you:

This is evidently an Official Hip Hop Pose. Momma's little thug, I'm oh so proud.

A family shot before the kids went on to perform. Like my dress? Goodwill $5!


Here's a few of the kids waiting to go on, they're all carrying Chicken Noodle Soup for the Y's canned food drive and because one of the songs they danced to was called "Chicken Noodle Soup."



Here's a few of the kids on stage, I was bummed that I couldn't get closer but you can at least see that in this first shot, The Son is in like with all the other kids, (he started out in the back row) as the pictures progress, you might notice that he ends up front and center, in front of everyone. It totally cracked me up. I don't know where he gets that need for attention (looks around sheepishly.)




The second song they danced to was a hip hop version of "Awesome God." I am not very religious but it was a cool song and very appropriate for kids hip hop at the YMCA. The funny thing is though that our little heathen thought it was "Awesome Guy" not God. "Our guy is an awesome guy, he reigns from heaven above, with wisdom power and love, our guy is an awesome guy." LMAO! The Husband set him straight on the correct words. He agreed that that made a lot more sense. ha ha!

All in all, we had a really fun night and the next day I received lots of positive feedback about The Son's performance and stage presence. I think I see an acting career in his future... after the career as a paleontologist and an astronomer of course.

Have a great afternoon everyone. I'm off to the Y for a nice run before I have to pick up The Son and then teach swim lessons and art class. I think this is the last week for art class. Phew! It's been tricky right after swimming... Happy blogging, stay healthy!