2007 Year End Wrap Up

I know my blog has been more about food than anything else lately, but I swear, if I keep it up I won't have to cook in 2008. My fridge is packed. It is actually making a sort of grunting groaning noise, I think it is in protest of being over packed. It's full with leftover catfish soup from Christmas Eve (which I'm now throwing out - old fish scares me), prime rib from Christmas, Chicken Satay, Wontons, Springrolls and Silver Wrapped Chicken from tonight, plus there is the ham and collard greens for tomorrow. It's a small miracle I'm not pushing 200 lbs. at this point. Oh, and there's all the leftover Christmas cookies still haunting me.

Francesca is now walking, actually she has been since December 14th. At fifteen months she's our latest walker, but she's also our most reserved, almost timid child, so I guess we should not be surprised. Today she tripped and landed smack on the corner of the bathroom cabinet. I should have taken a picture but I was too busy helping Vince get some ibuprofen in her. She's got a nice blue and purple rhino horn sticking out of her forehead. Other than that, she's been doing fine.This picture was taken right when she first starting walking, not since her deforming accident.

I tried to get a cute picture of the kids in front of the tree, but Francesca wouldn't cooperate. So I told her she was getting a lump of coal in her stocking.

Christmas morning we did our usual thing and made the kids get dressed and go to Mass first, because we're mean like that. Then we came home, got back into our PJ's, then opened gifts. Our Christmas was nice, but it's just not the same being away from my family, namely my mom and grandma. But that's what I get for moving half way across the country. I had a little better luck with the photo in front of the tree thing, I'm sure mostly because Vince was there to help.

Actually, I think Vince took this picture, I was still getting ready for Mass. Francesca looks like she's eyeing the packages and just biding her time. Everyone looked so nice though, and Annamaria wants to wear her Christmas dress everyday now. We've finally found something to distract her from that freaking Tinkerbell costume that she's outgrown but insists on wearing . . . every. . . single. . . day!

So it's 10:30pm on New Year's Eve. The kids are asleep, the house is quiet, and my stomach is full from our Asian Finger Food Feast. Time for PJ's and the couch. Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, and has a great New Year!

Christmas Cookies 2007: Day Six

All done, and just in time to put a cookie tray together to bring to our Pizza Night/Christmas Party.

Snowballs

Tender, buttery, pecan laden cookies, rolled in powdered sugar. Just don't inhale while taking a bite, or you'll end up choking on the sugar.

Candy Cane Sandwich Cookies

The recipe said to be careful not to overbake the cookies, or they will be too hard. Well, I baked them for the minimum amount of time, eleven minutes, and when you bite into one all the peppermint creme squishes out the other side. Yummy, but messy. I'll try making these again, and just reduce the cooking time.

And the final product . . .

The Christmas Cookie Tray

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cookies 2007: Day Five

I felt like a slacker the other day, only getting one batch of cookies finished. So yesterday I was able to get three done, and get back on track. And only one day to go.

Marble Icebox Cookies

These are tender and simple. I think they're what the chubs of cookie dough in the refrigerated section of the grocery store are supposed to be, but just aren't.

Gingerbread Men

Vince loves gingerbread but I've never made it before. He took one bite and said it was the best gingerbread he's ever had. Right on. And they were fun to decorate too.

Snowman Sugar Cookies

Simple and lightly sweetened so it can take the extra sweetness from the frosting. I thought they came out cute, but one batch only turned out sixteen cookies.

Christmas Cookies 2007: Day Four

Ugh, still sick.

Chocolate Cherry Thumbprints

Soft, fudgy, pretty yummy I think. Again with the not really being able to taste too well. But the kids loved them.

Christmas Cookies 2007: Day Three / Happy Birthday Sophia!

I'm sick. Sick and miserable. I feel like that claymation kid in the Kleenex commercial who's nose jumps off his face and hides when he tries to wipe it. And to make matter worse, today is Sophia's 9th birthday. Such a bummer for her.

I was planning on making gingerbread men and snowman shaped sugar cookies for the kids to decorate for a little birthday/Christmas fun, but so far I haven't been up to any baking. Vince went ahead and went to work this morning, he had a project that had to be completed today, or else eight days worth of work would have been for nothing. But luckily he was able to leave as soon as he was done, and got back home by ten or eleven this morning. I'm not even sure what time it was, I was back in bed after getting the babies taken care of this morning. So after a bit more bed time, I dragged my sorry butt out of bed and took Sophia to the mall.

Vince and I were planning on taking her to Roy's, our favorite special occasion restaurant, for her birthday dinner. But she wanted to go to Build-A-Bear Workshop. And since I can't really taste anything anyway, it would have been a waste of great food and a lot of money to go ahead and go to Roy's. And it's her birthday after all, so Build-A-Bear it was. She had a great time, and really took her sweet time on which animal to pick. Much to my discomfort, but she finally chose. She ended up with a kind of Christmas-fairy-kitty. And her name is Christie. Christie the Christmas Kitty. I think it's funny how kids give animals human names.

So I totally slacked on the birthday cake, and just ended up buying her a cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory. But honestly, how could anyone complain about a cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory? I think that fulfills my birthday cake dreams, even if a cheesecake isn't technically a cake. And since cake decorating is not my forte, anything I could have come up with would not look quite so nice.
See, I'm trying to ease my guilt over being a slacker mom on my oldest daughter's birthday.

So we came home, and Sophia got to unveil her gift, a new bicycle. She's out riding it right now, so I think she was pleased. Again, easing the guilt. And not to completely let her down today, I am making her a special dinner that she requested . . . juicy, juicy steak, cheesy potatoes, and sauteed green beans.

To on to the Christmas cookies . . .

Honey Caramel Hazelnut Bars

I think these are good, but again, can't really taste anything, so I may be fooling myself. Vince's favorite nuts are hazelnuts, and he said they're good, so I'll have to take his word on it.

Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Shortbread Bars

These are good. I make them last year when my taste buds were working just fine, so I know these are worth the calories. Actually they're better than just good, they're pretty amazing.
Obviously, photography is not my forte either.

Let's see if I can get myself in the kitchen today, and get back on the cookie track.

Christmas Cookies 2007: Day Two

A quick post before heading off to the first doctor's appointment of the day.

Ooey Gooey Karo Krispers

Obviously not ooey nor gooey. I set them in the fridge to get the chocolate top to set and ended up leaving them in the fridge overnight. Therefore they are more like hard and brittle Karo Krispers, practially shattered when I tried to cut into them this morning. I'll leave them on the counter to warm up a bit and see what they do. I've never made these before, so the jury is still out.

Nanimo Bars

My favorite! I'm sure these can be made any time of year, but since I'll eat the entire tray myself, I limit these to Christmas time only. And of course I have to make a double batch to be sure I get my share. Of course just before baking for the day, Vince called and said he wanted a batch to bring to his Christmas thing at work on Friday. So since I'm already making a double batch, do I just give him half? Of course not. This calls for triple batch making.

** They're actually very easy to make. Good luck Lena and Greg. ***

Christmas Cookies 2007: Day One

I've planned to make twelve types of cookies for the twelve days of Christmas, but in only six days. Seeing that we have two different doctors appointments scheduled for tomorrow, and Thursday is Sophia's 9th birthday, it may be a stretch, but I'm going to try to keep in mind that this is suposed to be fun. It would help if the babies would actually go to sleep at nap time, but so far I've had little cooperation.

Actually, yesterday was Day One but I never got around to posting anything.

Pineapple Jam Jewels

These are yummy. Tender and buttery. I have made them before and will definetly make again.

Holiday Wreath Jumbles

I think these are more cute than yummy. Just a plain sugar type cookie with colored powdered frosting decoration. I think the kids will think they're neat, but I'll save my calories for something else.

Today's (Day Two) cookies are still setting up, so I'll have to post those tomorrow.

In house news . . . Vince has decided that my big dream house isn't on a big enough lot, and I've decided that four bedrooms and only one living area isn't a big enough house regardless of the one acre of yard. So we're in the process of working with a couple of custom home builders to see if we can afford to build what we want. We shall see.

A Tale of Two, No Wait, Three Houses

Our first trip out with our real estate agent for some serious house hunting left me disappointed at our options. So the next Saturday, we tried again. And at the end of the day, felt we had a couple of very viable options. This is the problem. I want a house. A nice house. A nice big house, so that when I'm stuck at home with the kids all day, there is enough room for us to get away from each other with out driving each other crazy. Vince wants land. Lots of land. Land lots of land with the starry sky's above. Don't fence him in. Remember Green Acres? Yep, that's us. Our task was not an easy one.

So last Saturday, house #1, we looked at a house that Vince was most interested in. Luckily it reeked of dog urine, and was so small even Vince couldn't deny it. It was located on a street called Hardback Court. All I had to do was call it Brokeback Court, and he said he couldn't live there now. He's just too easy sometimes.

On to house #2. Another smaller house on an acre of land, but new and with a swimming pool, so I was ready to give it a look. Nope, too small, no trees, and a questionable area.

On to house #3. Basically I forced Vince into looking at this house. He had no interest, but we were in the area, it was six minutes away from house #2, so how could he say no? Still a smaller house than I wanted, listed at 2,636 sq. ft., but new and on 1 1/2 acres at the end of a cul-de-sac, and heavily wooded. It was beautiful. Not laid out like I'd like, smaller than I wanted, but very high end. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, but only one living area and one dining area. Great neighborhood, which will be gated, and all lots are a minimum of an acre. The kids had such a good time running around that property, they were elated. Sophia was running around, her cheeks were all pink and rosy. It was a happy sight. And there were deer tracks. Lot's of them, all over the backyard. And the fact that it was like being on the edge of a forest won Vince over. Oh, that and the enormous 23x30 garage. So the house is smaller than I want, but there is room to add on if we feel the need and the neighborhood can't be beat. That's the Antler Ridge house. You can see that house here.

Then on to house #4. Basically the house of my dreams. 4100 sq. ft. Five bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a living room, a family room, a study, a dining room, a game room, and a media room. There is even an exercise room off the master bath. And the master closet was bigger than some bedrooms I've seen. I'm telling you, the only thing I could find wrong with this house was the fact that it didn't have double ovens. Then there was the yard. The yard was fine. Not huge, but definitely better than what we have now. There is room for the kids to play. No, it's no acre and a half, and it's not wooded, but o-kay. It's only a 9,000 sq. ft. lot, but look at the house! And we couldn't reach out the window and touch our neighbors house, so while the houses were closer than we would like, they weren't ridiculously close. That's the Glenwood house. You can see that house here.

Ah, decisions, decisions. So getting back into the car, Vince asks me "O-kay, if you had to make an offer on a house right now, which one would it be?" I hate it when he does that to me. I'm not a snap decision maker. I don't like being put on the spot. So I thought a couple of minutes, the inner turmoil building. Do I choose what I want? Do I choose what my husband wants? Do I choose what I think would be best for my kids? My kids of course. But what would be better for my kids? A bigger house? Do my kids care what size house they live in? And how did I get so high and mighty that I think I need a 4,100 sq. ft. house? Why can't I get the Glenwood house in the Antler Ridge area? Am I asking too much? Apparently. Do my kids want more room to run and play? Is that what is more important to my children? Running and playing seem pretty important to kids. Do they even know what they want, and would they verbalize it if they could? Ugh! So I said I'd make a low ball offer on the Antler Ridge house and if it was meant to be , it was meant to be. If not, I thought the Glenwood house would be a great second choice. Vince agreed. We had a decision.

So while we're getting our pre-qual stuff worked out, and our agent is doing a little homework on the area for us, I'm thinking more and more about the Antler Ridge house. It really is the kind of neighborhood I wanted, but the house just seems so small. 2,636 sq. ft. The house we're currently in is supposed to be about 2,450 sq. ft. and I swear it has more room. We have four bedrooms, two and a half bedrooms. A family room, a game room, and a room at the front of the house that is supposed to be a formal dining but we use it as our homeschooling room. I just couldn't figure out where all that extra square footage was supposed to be. So our agent e-mailed the listing agent about the square footage, and he got kind of snippy.

My inner turmoil still going on. I wanted to go look at the Antler Ridge house and the property again, so Sunday after Mass we made another trek out there. It's no short trip, it's currently 1 1/2 hours from where we live now, but only 30 minutes from where Vince works. So his commute will improve greatly.

The property was still great, but the house was still small. We're talking back and forth on how we could extend this wall, or build out over the garage, etc, etc. So as we're leaving we decide to drive around the neighborhood, because there are still a lot of lots of land for sale. Just before it got dark, we came across a house that was still being built. Pretty much done, but not quite. Vince asked if I wanted to see it inside, but I thought it must be locked, how could we get in it. Well there wasn't even a lock on the front door yet. So we went in, and it was a lot like the Antler Ridge house, but a little bigger. 2,814 sq. ft. Laid out a little better. And it had a formal dining, and a study, but still only one living area. It's only on a one acre lot, but still, one acre. And I think the house won't feel so cramped. That's the Deer Chase house. No link for this house, it's not even on the market yet. So now we have a meeting with the builders on Sunday to see if we could afford to build what I want on a lot that Vince wants. Or should we just go with what is already built, and we'll make it work for us.

So wish us luck, keep us in your prayers, do whatever it is you do to send someone good vibes. I just want to make the right decision, whatever that decision may be.

But I do have to say, with all the inner turmoil and complaining I'm doing, I'm feeling like I'm not liking myself very much right now. Nothing has been stolen, Vince is employed and just got a raise, and everyone is healthy. We're just trying to buy a house. Which is what we've been waiting to do for a year now. I need to focus on being grateful, not conflicted. So shut up already!

The Great House Dilemma

Vince and I have been looking at houses on-line for about a year now. We've been driving around checking out areas on our own for a good nine months. And for the past couple of months we've been out with a realtor looking at houses. So here's our dilemma. Vince wants land, I want a nice house that is big enough for all six of us, and apparently we can't get both. Oh, the banks may loan us enough money for both, but we want to keep our mortgage payment from being scary.
Our choices seem to fall into three categories. Our first is land, say three to five acres, with a big house that needs work. Say about $50K worth of work to make it what I would want to live in. The second being an acre of land, with a new or fairly new house, but much (much) smaller than what we want. The third being a new or fairly new, big house in a subdivision, on a lot no bigger than a quarter-acre. Actually if the lot was a quarter acre, it would be considered big. But if we could find a house with a yard big enough for the kids to play, then so be it.

So I would like some input.

We're willing to purchase with a five-year plan in mind. Since the market is in our favor, we could purchase something now that may not be all we want, with the idea of seeing where we are in five-years, then maybe we'll be able to get what we want. So we need to keep resale value in mind. Do we purchase . . .

1. The big new house with no land.
I get the house I want, and the kids get neighbors to play with, but Vince feels like a caged up animal.

2. The small but nice house on one acre.
I'm not too sure about this option since Vince really wants more than just one acre, and then I'm also stuck with a house that really isn't enough room for us.

Or forgetting the five-year plan . . .
3. The older house on the land that Vince wants and just fix it up.
If we could talk the price way down, would it be worth it?

Ah, decisions, decisions. Any real estate experts out there? Seriously, I need help.

Why, Hello There

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth, I did not perish in the California wildfires (although not to be completely egocentric, but I must say those fires really screwed up my trip, more on that later), nor otherwise cease to exist. We are back in Texas, safe and sound, and have been for at least three weeks now. I've completely lost track of time. And I'm finding it hard to get back into the swing of things. Hence the lack of posting. And lack of clean laundry. We're in the midst of finding a house to buy. My husband wants land, and I want a nice house. Apparently a nicer house than we can afford. At least on more than an acre anyway. So it's all consuming. Like from 6:30 am until 10:30 am just this morning alone on the inter net kind of all consuming. And not starting Sophia's school work until after 10:30 am this morning all consuming. Although I didn't hear any complaints from her. And not folding the three baskets of clean laundry all consuming. You'd think with all that time on the computer I'd at least get some blogging done. We'll here's my attempt. And I'll throw in a picture of Francesca to boot.

Oh heck, and why not throw in the other three while I'm at it?

**Pictures courtesy of Grandma DeeDee**

California Here I Come

Since the summer got away from us, and we never made it back for a visit, the kids and I are headed out west for a few weeks of visiting family and friends. My mom is flying out here late next week, and the next morning we're all headed off in the minivan for the long, long drive. We're planning on making it a two day trip with just one night on the road. We'll have to see how it goes. That reminds me I need to find a hotel in El Paso. Why the quick turn around? My mom didn't take the next week off work. Her friend who lives out here in Plano is very disappointed. But she's driving back with us in the middle of November, and will spend a couple of days before flying back home. So all is not lost. Brave soul that that my mom is, spending a couple of days in the car with four kids/babies, just so I don't try to make the trip by myself I'm sure. She must really love me.

So poor Vince is wondering what he is going to do with himself while we're gone, and who's going to feed him. I say enjoy the silence, and eat whatever he darn well pleases. Chocolate for dinner! No little ones to set a bad example for. Enjoy. Love that he is though, for our wedding anniversary last month, he gave me the pasta roller attachment for my Kitchen Aid. And not just the roller set, but also some extra cutting attachments, and the ravioli attachment. So I've been a pasta-making-fiend lately. Tonight for dinner: crab ravioli with beurre blanc. I froze the extra uncooked ravioli and some fettuccine so those will be waiting for a quick boil for dinner while were gone. I'm sure he'll be fine.

But I've done it once again, it's now midnight and I've got to get to bed. Time to slide on my CPAP and get some sleep. I swear I can't say (write) "CPAP" without thinking "pap smear". It's the whole "pap" part. Where else do you ever use that?

Color Me Dissapointed

Vince and I are in the process of looking at some properties, finally settling down on which parts of the DFW area we might want to purchase a house. Unfortunately this is easier said than done. Currently, Vince works a good 1 to 1 1/2 hours away from where we live. And while he says he doesn't mind an hour long commute for the right house/property, I'd like to be closer just in case I may need him home in a hurry in case of an emergency. So we've been focusing our attention on the Fort Worth and outlying areas since that is where he is currently working. But, he hates his supervisor. Like would like to take him out in a fist fight kind of hates. And while his supervisor, we'll call him "Dang" since apparently that is actually his name, doesn't treat Vince poorly, he treats Vince's female co-workers so bad that Vince is just ready to take him out. Needless to say, Vince doesn't plan on staying there any longer than he has to. So the big question is, where will he end up, and therefore where should we end up? But putting all that aside, because as I said before, he doesn't mind a long commute for the right house/property we've been looking. And the good news is that I found a house that I thought may be a great compromise between me wanting a nice house, and him wanting some land. I found this house in Fort Worth, right off the lake (the next door neighbor has lake access from their backyard), on .90 acres. O-kay, not the ten acres he wanted, but not the 5 bedroom I wanted either. But life is all about compromise, right?

So here is the house. Pretty, no? 3,300 to 3,400 square feet. Not big by Texas standards, but definitely bigger than anything we've ever lived in. Nice size lot, in a quiet upscale area.

Cool porte-coche (drive through) entrance. Play sized swimming pool in the back yard which is separately gated from the rest of the back yard, for the kids safety. And the bonus was that is it a foreclosure so it can be had for a steal. Tax roll valued at $460K, but current asking price is $285K. Perfect, right? Yea, unfortunately, no. First off, the house looks great from the outside, but not so great from the inside. It just wasn't designed well. For a house of this size you would think it would have a formal dining room. Or at least an eat-in area of the kitchen that we could fit our table in. Second, the master bedroom was so narrow, we couldn't fit our queen size bed in comfortably. We'd have to switch to bunk-beds and push them up against the wall. I don't think Vince would ever agree to bunk-beds. For the kids maybe, but not for us. The other bedrooms just seemed small, and then the game-room was just weird. It's located above the garage, so you walk through this hallway, which is actually walking over the porte-coche. Which is fine because it's removed from the rest of the house, which equals noise reduction, which is always good. But is has a balcony, which is always nice, but instead of installing french doors or the like, it had this set of windows that is more like a garage door that is actually rigged to a set of tracks on either side and on the ceiling so the windows raise up and roll, like an actual garage door. It was just bizarre. And then there was the half bath in the game room. Just big enough for a toilet and a pedestal sink. But the sink was mounted into a barrel. A barrel like for aging chardonnay. Or the kind of barrel one of those rodeo clowns hide in to get away from a charging bull. So in order to get to the toilet, you have to suck it in, and ooch past this barrel just to get to the toilet, then stand beside the toilet, because you can't shut the door standing in front of the sink, just to go pee. And I don't know about you, but suck it in when I have to go pee? No, I don't think so. Oh, and there are windows in the Texas basement. That's the space under the stairs, which is the room you're supposed to go to when the storm sirens go off. Windows in my storm shelter? That's just stupid. I mean really, what's the point? So overall, it just wasn't the house for us. And I was so excited by what I saw on paper. So now I'm feeling a bit jaded, and the houses I look at on-line I find myself looking for their weakness. In the meantime I think we need to contact our landlord, because our lease is up the beginning of December, and I don't see us finding a house anytime soon.

It's Vegas, Baby!

This time tomorrow I should be leaving for the airport for my flight to Las Vegas for the weekend. How did I get so lucky? My mom turned sixty on Wednesday, the 19th, so we're headed out for a celebratory weekend. And when I say "we", I mean "me". What better way to celebrate becoming officially old? Just kidding mom. And I must say, I'm making out mighty well for it being her birthday celebration. Since my birthday was on the 6th, my birthday gift from my mom is my ticket to Vegas, to celebrate her birthday. I'm not sure how that all works out, but I'm certainly not complaining. Tomorrow she is driving out with four of her friends, and I'll meet up with them there. They probably won't be arriving until around 6:00 pm and my flight gets in around 3:00 pm, so I'm going to have to find a way to kill some time. I'm sure that won't be a problem. Saturday will be filled with treatments at the spa, drinks by the pool, perhaps a bit of shopping, and a much anticipated dinner at Gallagher's at the New York New York. To say I can't wait, is a huge understatement. And as grateful as I am to my mom for this fun-filled weekend, I am equally as grateful to my wonderful husband. For who else would agree to watch the kids for the weekend, so I could go and have some girl fun? Got to go pack!

No Wonder I'm So Cranky All The Time

My past two Fridays nights have been spent in a sleep disorder clinic, being diagnosed for . . . you guessed it . . . a sleep disorder. After a couple of months of tossing and turning, being unable to fall asleep and being unable to stay asleep, I had had enough. I gave in and made a doctors appointment. I explained that I have never been a morning person anyway, but lately I have been unable to fall asleep, and wake several times during the night. I also explained our insurance nightmare and told him I was sure that had a lot to do with it. He referred me to a sleep disorder specialist and asked if I also wanted a referral to go see a counselor. (The last time I went to see a counselor it was because I was depressed because my cat died. I felt so silly, but I was 26 at the time and my cat was 13 when she died. So when you do the math, I had that cat half my life. Of course I was upset.) I declined the counselor explaining that I was sure once all this insurance crap gets straightened out, things would go back to normal. But I agreed to the sleep study. And I have to say the results were strangly satisfying. Since this is all new to me and I'm sure I'm getting some of this wrong, you can go here to learn anything you may want to know about sleep apnea or sleep studies. First of all I couldn't imagine being able to fall asleep in a strange place all hooked up to electrodes, but through the miracle of Ambien, I had no problems at all. In fact, I slept better there than I had been at home. Rozerem is useless by the way. The clinic is privately owned by the doctor, and it's like a hotel. Big lazy-boy chair in the corner in front of a big flat-screen TV on the wall. A table and chair in the other corner. A nice comfortable bed with lots of magazines on the nightstand. The only unsetteling part was the camera and microphone installed so the sleep tech could see and hear me all night. But after giving birth to four children I've pretty much lost any inhibitions when it comes to medical stuff. Pretty much. So after my first night, I had a follow-up appointment with the doctor a couple of days later. This was the satisfying part. He explained that there were three levels of sleep disturbances (at least this is how I remember it) 1. apnea - that's when you stop breathing all together for a given amount of time, 2. hypopneas - breathing is disturbed but doesn't stop, and 3. arrithmeas - the least severe of the three. During the night I only had one apnea, but I had 124 hypopneas and 146 arrithmeas. In one night. See? No wonder I'm such a crank. So they do some calculation and anything over a 5 is considered a sleep disorder. This calculation is explained here also. My number was 36. My three treatment options were a mouth piece thingy, a CPAP, or surgery. I opted for the CPAP. So back for a second night to get what pressure my CPAP should be set for. And I'm telling you that Ambien might as well be Rupies, because apparently the sleep tech had to put a chin strap on me in the middle of the night, and I have absolutely no memory of it. So my CPAP has been ordered, and I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival so I can start getting a decent night's sleep. In the meantime, I have my wonderful Ambien to comfort me.

On the other cranky-front, we met with the lawyer AAA hired for our Examination Under Oath yesterday. I think it went well, but you never know with these lawyer types. I only remembered specifically two of our friends coming over to help Vince load the extra heavy stuff into the trailer, but Vince remembered one of their wifes coming too (also a friend). So that is the only contradiction we could find in what we told him. And since I went to my mom's house with the kids, and Vince stayed behind to finish packing up the trailer, she might have been there when I wasn't. So it's no big deal, it's just stuck in my brain for something to worry about. Because I need something to worry about, don't you know.

My silver lining? I've lost 12 pounds. Weight Watchers never worked this well.

Happy 1st Birthday Francesca!

As usual, I cannot believe that a year has passed since one of my children was born. It has been an eventful, stressful and sometimes hectic year, but her birthday celebration was low key.

It was just a normal day, filled with school work, and a doctors appointment. More on that later.

I made her a dinner of chicken teriyaki, soy-ginger glazed baby bok choy and snow peas, and sticky rice. For dessert a dark chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse.

She started off dainty enough, with just a small taste here, and a little bit there.

She gave her fork a try.

Then all pretense was out the window, and she had a good time.

And one gift to open, which I didn't think she'd quite "get", but she did.

She had fun peaking into the package, and finally pulling out the contents, then "trying on" her new outfit.

Why I Hate Insurance Companies

It's been a while since I've posting anything, and honestly it's because I've just been too angry. Too angry to just settle down and coherently write anything down. I lie in bed at night with conversations running though my head. I make up comebacks and zingers in case I should ever speak to one of the mentally incompetent people that work for our insurance company ever again. The reason for my anger? For starters, it has been over eight months since our moving trailer, which contained the majority of our household items, was stolen and we have not seen a cent from our insurance company. To make matters worse, our claims adjuster (I call her "that placenta woman" since her last name is very much like the word placenta) is a total moron. And in all this time, she has done all of nothing to settle our claim. Nothing, except to turn our claim over to the insurance companies lawyer for questioning. Yes, we were robbed and we are the one being treated like criminals. She ignores our e-mails and phone messages, and we have to tell her the same things over and over again, because apparently her skull is as thick as a brick wall. Her supervisor also ignores our calls, and the only reason he finally returned one of our calls was because I called the office and asked to speak to a manager. When the receptionist told me I could get the claim adjuster's supervisors number off her voice mail message, and I explained that we had already left four unreturned messages for him, she said "oh . . . yea let me find out who you need to speak to and I'll call you back". Well, the receptionist never called me back, and the manager never called me back, but suddenly the supervisor was calling Vince on his cell phone. The next thing we know we're getting a call from a pompous, self-important "Special Investigator" here in the Dallas area. He informed Vince that "you will come down to be questioned and you will answer those questions separately". That didn't go over too well with Vince to say the least. But I figured, hey, if they want me to come down to their lovely offices with my four loud and rowdy kids to question me for a couple of hours, then let them try. I hope they have a large supply of Excedrine in that office, because I will be giving my kids a short vacation from all sorts of behavior expectations and discipline. Of course "pompous and self-important" could not be bothered to call me back to confirm our meeting, so when I called I was told that he was a very busy man and hadn't had time to get around to booking the conference room yet. He'd let me know. He never did. Vince had to contact him to find out that our claim has been sent over to the companies lawyer, who will contact us to set up a meeting time. But the lawyer just had open heart surgery, so we're not sure when he'll be feeling up to taking statements just yet. And the thing is that we're not dealing with some rinky-dink fly-by-night no-name insurance company here. We're dealing with AAA. I've filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and have the forms to file complaints with the Texas and California Insurance Commissioners but I'm hoping Vince will just take care of those because I'm just to burnt to fight anymore. So lately I've been living on the edge. Unfairly short tempered with my kids, and unable to sleep at night. So today I went to the doctor and he gave me some Rozerem to try. Hopefully my bed-time conversations will cease, and I'll be able to get some rest. The good part is that I've been too upset to eat and have lost a good five pounds. Always a silver lining, right?

Let Me Just Clarify A Few Things

So according to my last post, you must all think I just abhor being at home with my kids. And yes, I won't deny that somethings I have only one nerve left and they can twang it like a banjo string, but that doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't have it any other way.

First, I actually do enjoy being at home with my kids. I enjoy running errands with them, reading to them, watching movies with them. Having the older ones help me in the kitchen to prep dinner. And usually it's quicker without their "help", but it's quality time. Annamaria always bustles over and "helps" me put away the dishes from the dishwasher every morning. And really, who else could put up with Harrison all day, every day? I don't get extended periods of "me time", but I get a little here and there. A couple hours when Vince is out and kids are asleep in bed. A "Girls Night Out" with some friends. And I've been lucky enough for a weekend or two in Vegas with my mom, which I always thoroughly enjoy. But I don't have a need to escape or "get away" from my kids.

Second, I'm grateful to not have to pack my kids off to daycare every day. I'm proud that none of my kids have had to endure daycare for even one day. And I know there are some good ones out there, but I'm just not that trusting when it comes to my kids. Fifty to sixty hours a week is just too much time to be in someone else's care. And if I did work (outside the home, because let's face it, this is no vacation), I'd just have to turn around and hand over my paycheck to the daycare providers anyway. What's the point? And my kids hardly ever get sick. They're not bringing home every little germ and sniffle to pass on and spread around. The incidence of sickness greatly increased in our house when Sophia started attending school at St. Mary's.

Third, I'm very very grateful that I don't have to schlep off to some office or lab everyday, deal with traffic, a hellish commute, and spend the majority of my day with a bunch of people I would really rather not associate with if given the choice. I can watch "The Office" and laugh, because I don't have to live it anymore. I don't have to play office politics, or deal with the socially inept. All of their insecurities, power trips, and arrogance. Not that I'm excluding myself from those attributes, but now no one has to put up with mine either. Except my kids. And if I worked (outside the home) all day, I'd have to come home and fix dinner, do laundry, and clean the house anyway. Honestly, I don't know how all those working moms get it all done.

Fourth, I enjoying home schooling Sophia. And I plan to continue to do so until it's not working. For either her or me. I do not have set plans for how long that may be. We'll play it by ear. But for now, it's working out great. I do want her to have the experience of attending school, especially the High School years can be so much fun. But for now, she's just too impressionable, and has this need to be accepted. Unfortunately she doesn't always pick the nicest girls that she wants that acceptance from. I'm sure when she's a little older, and has a better sense of herself she'll have a more discriminating palate when it comes to choosing her friends. At least I hope she will. I would like to avoid the public school system in at least the elementary level, if not in Junior High too. We'll see where we are when it's time for High School to make that decision. And as far as private school goes, it's a mixed bag. She had the best teacher/experience ever in kindergarten, but 1st grade was a complete waste. And $500 a month is just too much money to be wasting with sub par teachers and standards that are not kept. We're friends with a few couples out here who send their kids to the Catholic school, and to be honest, I'm not all that impressed with their kids behavior either. I can home school for $500 for the entire year, versus $500 a month. And the next time someone makes derogatory remarks about home schooling, I have just the piece of paper to wave under their nose. Sophia got her California Achievement Test results back, and she kicked ass! My child scored in the 99Th percentile. She rocked with a 100%. 220 questions, all answered correctly. 220 baby! And this was not some subjective score that I assigned her based on what I observed. This was a standardized, #2 pencil, fill in the bubble test that was submitted for scoring. And her final report card for the year contained one B+ in a sea of A's and A+'s. And that one B+ was in Handwriting, a grade that I assigned her. ( I just thought she could do better if she would not be so lazy. Hey, I'm a tough teacher, I have high standards.) So music, PE, and handwriting grades were assigned by me. Every other grade was based on class work, and quarter tests that were submitted for scoring. She earned her grades based on her own hard work and effort. And I think that CAT score stands on it's own. The proof is in the pudding. (Can you tell those disparaging remarks really frosted my muffins?)

So yes, there are sacrifices. And it's not all wine and roses. We don't have an unending working budget, and we don't take fancy vacations to far off and exotic locations, but we're happy. We're well fed, clothed, have access to much entertainment, and a roof over our heads. So the next time I'm griping, it's just that. I'm just griping. And since I'm at home all day, and don't have to worry about that drive home, I can always start drinking early in the day if I feel the need. It's always happy hour somewhere, right? Just kidding! I usually wait until at least 3pm. Ha ha, just kidding again. Sea breeze anyone?

This Sucks Much More Than I Remembered

O-kay, so this stay-at-home mom thing is not what I remembered. Maybe it's because it's been a year and a half since I've been home alone with the kids. Maybe it's that I was also catering, so I had much more to do to fill my days. Maybe it's that I now have four kids, versus just the three a year and a half ago. Maybe it's because we're in a new area and I know all of five people in a thirty mile radius. Four of which are currently in California on vacation. Bastards. Maybe it's a combination of any of the above factors. I'm not sure, but one thing I am sure of is that I'm bored.
Vince's first day back at work, I tackled the house like some kind of clean freak. Which anyone who knows me, knows I'm not. But I can only clean the house so much. And it all seems kind of pointless, this endless tidying, because within ten minutes the kids have messed it up again anyway.
It hot here. And yes, it was hot in California too, but it's also humid. Yucky humid. Like, can't even last ten minutes outside kind of humid. So I really don't blame the kids for not wanting to go outside to play. We have a pool. But 1 me + 4 kids does not = pool safety. They're just too young to handle all four by myself at a pool.
I've set some ground rules: no breakfast by 9am means no breakfast. Eat lunch when it's offered, because if you don't you'll have to wait for dinner. No excessive TV. Quiet time during the babies naps. And so far, they've all been fairly compliant. I think I sound like a nazi though. I mean, where's the fun? It is summer afterall. I bought Sophia, Harrison and Annamaria each a new box of crayons, a fresh pad of drawing paper, and Sophia and Harrison got watercolor paint sets too. Something for them to do during the imposed "quiet time". We have legos, duplos, barbies, puzzles, little people, train sets and numerous other toys. But I think the most fun they have is just making a great big mess of the playroom upstairs. And even though I am constantly suggesting that once they're done with one thing, they put it away before dragging out something else, the suggestion just doesn't seem to catch on. I can't blame them. I remember my mom complaining about not being able to see my floor in my room when I was a kid, so why would I expect anything better? It's grandparents revenge I'm sure. I do make everyone get dressed and fix their bed every morning though. Gasp! My mom must think she's reading the wrong blog right now. And their rooms actually are quite tidy. Vince enforces the cleaning up of the play room each night before bed, so from 8pm until 8am that room is pretty cleaned up too. Oh, so where was I? Oh yea, I'm bored. If blogging about how I make my kids pick their crap up is the most interesting thing I can come up with, I must be really be desperate for some input here.

At Last At Last, A Job At Last!

One year and seven months is a long time to not have a job. I'm happy to report the unemployment streak is over. Today is the first day of Vince's new job. He got an analytical position at a small pharmaceutial company in Fort Worth. Not really his specialty, but you know what? Who cares, it's a job. And the best part is that they waived the ninety day waiting period so our benefits start immediately. Dentist appointments for everyone!

So now it's just me and the four kids. Four kids and me, all day long. Just me to change diapers, fix breakfast and lunch, put the young ones down for nap time and keep the older ones quiet. Me and four kids running errands, going grocery shopping, keeping busy. I'm sure this will help me appreciate all that Vince did while he was home. But, I've got to go now, I've called a "family meeting" with the kids to try and break them in on how things are going to change around here. Hopefully some of it will sink in.

A job! It's about freaking time!

Peek-A-Boo!