For Dinner Tonight

This was going to be dinner on Christmas Eve.. trying to go with the seafood theme.. We ended up doing something else.. so tonight is the night.

It's from About.com Busy Cooks/Linda Larsen

This simple and very elegant recipe takes only about 15 minutes to prepare, and it's special enough for entertaining.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. frozen fully cooked shrimp
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. honey Dijon salad dressing
• 1 cup frozen baby peas, not thawed
• 3 cups hot cooked rice

Preparation:

Thaw shrimp according to package directions, and remove tails if necessary. Drain well and set aside.In large saucepan combine butter and olive oil and heat until foaming. Add garlic and onion and saute, stirring frequently, until crisp tender. Add shrimp and stir well. Cover and simmer for 1-2 minutes until shrimp are thoroughly heated.
Remove cover and add lemon juice, salad dressing, and peas. Cook and stir until everything is heated and blended. Serve over rice.

Years Ago

Yesterday would have been 35 years of marriage had we not split up.. I thought the sun rose in him and you can see it in the picture.. Young love.. old dreams.. it was not to be.. but he is the father of my 3 wonderful children.. he's not here anymore.. took his own life in 08.. his wife won't let anymore read the note he left.. but she told my oldest right after it happened that he said he had done so many wrong things and hurt so many people he couldn't look at himself in the mirror anymore.. she now says that's not true.. BUT I know it's true.. I loved him and so did the kids.. thank God for a man like Peter who I can love much, much more and who loves me and my kids!  A man we can count on.

My Dad

Thinking of my Dad today.. This is the anniversary of his funeral and service.. he's been gone 33 years.. I'm almost the same age as when he died.. gone too soon.. but not forgotten.

Caramel Apple Dip

I emailed the blog owner where I got this recipe and have not heard back from her.. so I'm going to post.. The blog is Triedandtrues.. (http://triedandtrues.blogspot.com) She has a a ton of easy recipes that look good.  Check it out.

"Caramel” Apple Dip

Another recipe from my mom. It's easy and good- everyone loves it.

½- 1 cube butter
¾ c. brown sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. salt
8 apples

Heat butter & brown sugar in microwave on high (covered) for 3 minutes. Stir in cream cheese. Add vanilla and salt. Cool. Slice apples & serve.
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Patience

I got this quote from Clover Lane (http://www.memoriesoncloverlane.com/)

Patience is not passive;

on the contrary, it is active;

it is concentrated strength.

Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

 

 

Years ago I asked God to give me patience and boy did he give me lots of lessons.  They say be careful what you wish or ask for.. At times I was sorry I asked for patience.. but now I'm glad I did.  I still have my moments but usually I'm patient and fairly laid back.. and when I'm not I have to stop myself and think about being patient, giving a second chance to someone.. I think the same is true about happiness.. it's a choice.. we can be happy and cheerful or we can find wrong in everything in the day..I chose to be happy and hopefully, patient!

 

The picture if is of my 2 year old Erin 30 some years ago... she had to go to her room for some time out.. a few minutes later when I opened the door she had spread Desitin all over herself, the carpet and the door.. how she could even get the jar and open it is beyond me.. Instead of being mad I just laughed.. what a sweet, dear girl.. This was before digital cameras.. and I didn't have any flash bulbs for my camera.. so I took her outside and took this picture.. It took days to get that out of her hair.. She says she remembers doing it and we always laugh about it now.  I'm glad I was patient.. and I'm glad I took the picture :)

 

Snacks and Cooking

A while back I decided to make an after school snack for Max everyday.. I haven't lived up to it as far as making something and having it on the table for him every day.. but I make sure there are things in the house for him to eat.. I've been trying a little harder to actually have something waiting for him.  I remember going to my friend, Gail's, house after school.  Her parents worked but her grandmother lived with them.. when we would come in she would have a snack and a glass of milk on the table waiting.. then we would all sit down to visit about the day.. I always thought that was heart warming.. Sometimes I did that for my kids and sometimes not.. I was always available for them though.. lots of times we would all pile into my bed and watch something on TV.. like the Golden Girls..

Yesterday, I made a caramel apple dip.. so good.  I didn't have apples so I used clementines and grapes for dipping.. checking to see if it's ok to post the recipe giving credit to the author.. Today I'm making caramel corn.. been wanting to do that for a while but just haven't gotten around to it.  There are a ton of recipes online for this and they seem pretty similar.

The picture is of my girls long ago.. we used to have a baking day once a week.. it was so much fun.. we made pie crust, cookies, bread.. they are showing off the little quiches they made..  We always made a big mess but it was sweet time together and good memories. The girls still love to cook.. and of all things.. my son works as a gluten free baker.. all the while in school to become a mathematician..who would have ever known??

Happy Thanksgiving

Thinking of all my family and friends today.. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

Why do kids lie?

This has been a worry for me for many years.. I know that my kids lied to me.. hid things and so on.. I'm over that now.. and they have all turned out so great.. Now I have one boy at home.. for the most part he is really good.. he's a good kid.. but then I find out he's lying about things.. nothing big.. but it still bothers me.. did you clean your bathroom.. yes.. do you have soap and shampoo.. yes.. did you wash your hands after taking the dog out and then before making her food .. yes.. All of those were lies.. Why?  When it would be just easier to tell the truth?  He has to know I'm going to find out.. and then what?  I'm the full time stepmom.. I don't want to be mean but this stuff really bothers me..

Halloween

Tigger and friend

Organizing!!

I'm going a little nuts with getting things organized.. Even living in a smaller space it seems that things pile up.  Plus when we moved we had tons of stuff that had to be put in our second garage and in closets.. I would love to have the garage cleared out so we can park in there.  Would be nice to have it done before it starts snowing.. Also some closet space for things that we really use.. I'm doing the timer cleaning/organizing.. I don't take out more than I can get finished at a time.. After I work for a while I use the timer to take a break and then get back at it.. the next work time I have to deal with the stuff I've pulled out.. then start on the next batch.. it's kind of fun.

I have been feeling so much better lately.. I guess that's why I am getting so much more done.  I'm not sure what it is.. but I've been taking Juice Plus.. My Mom, Sister and her husband and some friends take it and swear by it.. so I'm trying it..  I've felt so sick for such a long time and now I'm getting better.. could this be the answer?  If anyone is interested I have a wonderful consultant who would be happy to talk to you about it.. her name is Susan and if interested just let me know and I'll get you in touch.. Amazing!! She is trying to grow her business and is so enthusiastic about it.. has learned so much going to seminars etc.. She says her health has improved and she's lost weight.. even though I don't think she needed to.. but then seems like everyone wants to.

Last Night

Just as I thought.. the new neighbors had a huge party.. I figured they were planning something when I saw them carrying stuff in from the car.. Who moves in and 3 days later has a huge party?? Maybe I'm an old fuddy duddy.. but I don't like people standing outside my door at 11 PM smoking.. using the F word over and over.. Would have been a good idea to let the neighbors know about the party or maybe invite them.. We would not have gone or maybe put in a short appearance.. but way to make friends!

Our apartment management is no help.. if we complain they say to call the police.. it's ridiculous.. why do they have an emergency number when they won't do anything about a problem.  I so want to move.. but that probably won't happen until Max is out of school..  We would just have to find a place that will take a dog.. I don't want to live with an apartment above me.. Who would design a place that has a very nice 3 bedroom townhouse.. and put a one bedroom apartment over it??  $$$$  I guess we have to get what we get on people living on the side..  We don't want to own a house again.. but this is just dumb.

Life

I have to say that my neighbor upstairs has been pretty quiet for the last few months.. To be honest I could probably be friends with her but she is not interested.. the quote on her FB page says a lot about her:

I'm not a bitch, i just have a low tollerence for bullshit..

Her spelling.. not mine.. and this is a college educated person.. at least that's what her page says.. she even has a Master's degree.. just not in spelling.  I guess I can be thankful that she is being more quiet.  She is the blond in the picture.. I figured she was 30ish.. same as my girls.. but turns out she is closer to 40.  Pretty immature for a 40 year old.. There are a few times a day when she is loud but for the most part it's better.

Now that we have gotten her to make less noise we have new neighbors to the side of us.. oh joy.. two young guys.. and are they ever noisy.. running up and down the stairs.. playing loud music and slamming the door constantly.. We haven't complained yet.. Hope we don't have to.

My Mom made it home to Hawaii just fine.. I tried calling her on Wednesday when she was traveling but never got an answer.. finally talked to her last night.. She said her landline wasn't working.. and she couldn't get her computer to work.  I told her to call me today and we'll see if we can get things fixed.. I have no idea why her landline wouldn't work.. she may have to call the cable company.. She has her phone, internet and TV in a bundle.. so they maybe have shut things off for some reason..

This is Poipu Beach.. just a short drive from my Mom's place..

Part of the veiw from my Mom's back door.. that's Peter feeding the wild chickens..

And for fun.. here's a cute pic of Zack.. He's a smiler and a talker.. only 4 months old!! Just look at that big boy!!

Nana and Me

It's been a while since I've posted.. I was gone for 3 weeks visiting my kids.. had my Mom along with me.. also saw my brother and sister.. all in all a good time.. I had planned to stay in a hotel when visiting my daughter and family.. we wanted to see the baby and spend time together.. my daughter really wanted us to stay with her but she has just one extra bedroom that has a queen sized bed.. that means my Mom and I would have to sleep together.. I wasn't sure how that would go.. but we decided to give it a try.. and it was important because Paige was working a split shift and it would be hard to be there when she was around.  If staying in a hotel we would have wanted to leave after dinner.. and that meant not seeing much of Paige in the evening..  Everything worked out well.. Mom and I stayed on our own sides of the bed.. and never bothered the other.. except for one night.. She went to bed early and was in the middle of the bed.. I didn't want to wake her up but gave her a few nudges.. she never moved!!  I thought it was kind of funny.. eventually she got up to use the bathroom and I took over my space in the bed.. We've laughed about that a lot!

In Portland, we shared a bed again.. We had two queens but Erin stayed with us too and we let her have her own bed.. I was fine with that.. she kicks like a mule!! And she says I do too  :)  Now I'm home.. back in my own bed with my sweet husband who never moves all night.. I always worry that I'm keeping him up with my tossing and turning.. but he says no.. He and Max are both sick.. have horrible colds.. I'm hoping it will bypass me..

It's good to be home but even after only 3 weeks away.. I feel that I have to get my bearings..  I know my true north is here with my husband.. just have to get back into it..

My Trip

I can't believe I didn't take any pictures on my trip.. I took some of the baby but not of my kids.. darn.. here is a pic of my beautiful daughter, Erin.

Too Late

I've been gone way too long.. My Mom came to visit for about 3 weeks.. then we headed to my daughter's house to stay for two weeks and adore our new baby!!  Then it was off to the west coast to see my two other kids.. my sister and brother.. what a trip!! It was all good but I am happy to be home.. we had glitches in every flight.. I am pretty sick of it but I guess it's the way it goes.  Happy to be home.. now I just have to get my husband to go to see my new baby.. maybe sometime in January.. He can't get away in December because of work.. so January could work for a long weekend.. Our oldest will be home from college.. he will be working hopefully but the younger one is good with the dog and takes care of her.. The picture is not new.. but such a lovely picture of Mama and baby..

Learning

I have to learn more about blogging.. my blog won't let me comment on my own post.. how weird is that?? But for the fun of it.. here is a new pic of Zack.. the Little Prince!

My Baby Boy

Isn't he the cutest thing ever??  And my daughter is so pretty.. she is such a good Mommy.  I can't wait to go see them again and get some big hugs.. hold that baby!  In this picture he is getting ready for his bath.. Can you believe he's not even 3 months old???

My Daily Schedule

I titled this my daily schedule.. like I have one!  In a way I do.. I used to be very organized and almost down to the minute of what I would be doing each day when my 3 were small.. In 1978, I was pregnant with my first child.. I took a class put on by the Sidetracked Home Executives.. Pam and Peggy.. They taught a file card system and I lived by that for years.. It helped me with having my girls just a year apart in age.  I had to have a routine.  As our family grew I continued with the routines and plans.. then when I started working it kind of fell by the wayside.. plus someone knocked my cardfile in the sink by accident and I just never got it together again..

Years and years later I needed to move from my house.. I found Flylady.. she is connected with Pam and Peggy.. doesn't use the card file but has ideas of how to do things from their plan.  It's all about routines, keeping up with things and decluttering a few minutes a day.. I find it to be incredible.. I am a timer cleaner.. Since some days I don't feel well, timer cleaning is a must for me.  I just pick the most important thing and work on that.  Sometimes it's just dinner and some laundry.. other days if I'm feeling ok it's more.. I like to have a clean house, laundry done and good dinners on the table.. if I can do that I'm happy and so is everyone else..

I wake up around 6:30 or so.. the person upstairs is my alarm clock.. she is leaving for work and stomps around her kitchen in high heels and it wakes me up.. I might have slept longer except for that..Peter's alarm goes off on 5:30.. so that wakes me up and I often can go back to sleep until Sunshine, as I call her, wakes me up again.

I get tea for myself and my husband.. then settle in on the computer.. check out email, FB and blogs.. later I will get things out for dinner that don't have to be in the fridge.. or thaw what's needed.. then I do the timer cleaning.. I do have certain rooms to work on each day so I focus on that.. and just do the routine stuff.. like empying the dishwasher, a load of laundry, sweeping, vacuuming etc.. I will usually take a shower later after the house cleaning and dog walking.

Max is back at school now.. so the afternoon schedule changes a bit.. I have made a goal to make him a snack and have it waiting for him when he comes in.. He is usually starving and we have stopped buying frozen junk food.. so I am committed to making something for him each day.. it's a way of loving him.

Max does homework downstairs until about 5 so at that time when he is finished I go down and start dinner.. put something on the TV.. I go back and forth from the TV and kitchen to cook.. put the TV on pause.. works for me.. Petey comes home 6:30ish.. and we eat at 7.. If he is late I will just give Max his dinner at 7 so he can get his shower and then to bed by 9 or so.. We are usually in bed by 9 also.. Peter is up by 5:30.. so we need our sleep.

I cook.. the guys clean up.. Peter takes the dog out just before bed and then we are done.. I guess it's not that much of a schedule but that's what I do each day.. of course it does change if there are appointments but that's the normal day.

Yesterday.. not too good!

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday.. of course I couldn't be there since she lives far away but I wanted to have a happy day.. for some reason I was so sick.. I had to take Max to 3 appointments and I don't really think that had anything to do with it.. Not sure if it's my regular "sick" or I had a bug.  Feeling better today but still queasy. 

I did get to talk to the girls and they were having a great day..  They did some shopping, had a pedi and Danny was going to make dinner for them.. so sounds like a fun birthday.

Doing timer cleaning because my Mom will be arriving tomorrow to visit.  Things should be in pretty good shape at least in her room and bath and the main living area and kitchen.  I've never driven to the airport here.. so that should be a trip!  I get nervous driving places I've never been and especially if it's far away.  I've gotten lost here a few times even though I have a GPS.. the lady told me the wrong way to go.. so my husband will check it out for me tonight to make sure I have the correct directions.  Looking forward to my Mom visiting and then we will go see the Little Prince.. then out to the west coast to see the other kids and get my Mom to my cousins house.

This 'N' That

I can't believe it's time for school to start.. In some ways summer seemed long but then in other ways it just flew by.  Shelby goes back to college this weekend.. Max starts school on September 6th.  He usually starts earlier but they are doing construction at his school and have delayed the opening.. which will mean he will go longer into the summer. 

I've made a big decision this past week or so.  I have decided to stop communicating with the boys' mom.  I have been raising them ever since we married 10 years ago.  We have had full custody for 9 years.  I say I was raising them even that first year when there was joint custody because I had them more than anyone.  We had them every weekend and two other nights a week.. meaning their mom had them 2 evenings and of course in the mornings to get them off to school.. on her days off when she could have them she kept them in day care because she was "busy."  If there was a day off, school vacations including summer or if one was sick I had them.. A couple of times I was called by the school to pick up Max because he was sent to school sick.. the people in the office gave me the dirtiest of looks so makes me wonder what was said to them about me.. they probably thought I sent him to school that way.. If they were sick or they had routine stuff I took them to those appointments.  I took them to all their sports practices during the week.

My husband and his ex do not get along at all.  Have trouble communicating.  In the past several years I've tried to keep the peace by emailing her..letting her know about day to day things and what the boys were doing.. I used to send her school papers and pictures.. even pictures that I had taken.. (we live 2500 miles apart)  Things go ok for a while and she is nice but then for whatever reason she starts getting nasty.  She might be nice in her emails to me for the most part but bad mouths me to the boys.. tells them to disobey and ignore me.. treat me like the maid.. I can tell when things are going downhill when she stars badmouthing my husband to me in her emails.. this has gone on for years and I've called her on it and she will be nice again.  It started up again recently when the boys had consequences for something.. she didn't like it and said awful things to the boys.  I emailed and told her if she was going to do that I was done.. and I am.  I always was in touch with her to protect the boys from having to hear a bunch of garbage and lies from her about us.. they are old enough to figure it out.

They have both been told they can go live with her and they say they don't want to.. I told her the same and she says they shouldn't come because they love sports too much and we are in a sports town.. also her boyfriend who she lives with would be too tough on them.. and make them do chores!! How horrible! Whatever.. She has been calling and emailing me for days and I just haven't answered.  I told her I was done.. and you know it feels so much better to be out of it..  maybe I won't feel sick every day of my life with this stress gone.

Max and Shelby

The parking lots where we live are being worked on.. it changes daily especially because we have had rain.  I have to try to figure out where to park my car constantly.  They sent out notices if cars are parked in the wrong area they will be towed.. Yikes!

On a happier note, my Mom is coming to visit.. will be able to stay a while and then go down to visit the little prince.. who, by the way, gets cuter every day.  Then hopefully I will fly with my Mom back to the west coast.. we can visit my other two kids there who I haven't seen in a year.. and then she will fly to visit my cousin and then back to her Hawaiian home.  I know she is homesick so she will be glad to get back.

  

The Little Prince!

Lastly.. A big shout out to my son and his beautiful wife.  Happy One Year Anniversary!

How would you feel

Just wondering.. how anyone would feel if they saw on Facebook that their elderly mother almost choked to death?  My mother is staying with my brother and his wife.. and frankly they have not been that nice to her in the past.. whole other story.. their 27 year old son came over and brought a sandwich to split with Nana.. she choked and he had to heimlich her 5 times until it was over.. I got to read on Facebook last night what a hero he was and saved his "nanny" (her name is Nana.. not nanny).. which is great.. I'm glad he was there and could help her.. I'm sure it was traumatic for both of them.. I emailed my SIL and said I was shocked to read about this and maybe it would have been something to share privately with family before posting.. she made one rude comment back and then nothing.. I think she would feel differently if it was her mother..

Dancing with the Bears

Look how much he's grown!!  He had his 2 months check up.. he's 14.1 lbs and 24 inches long.. 90th percentile for both height and weight.. what a sweetie!!

Life is Just a Chair of Bowlies

At least that's what Mary Engelbreit says.. I've always loved her.. used to have dishes, cards etc.. Things are more simple in my house now.. My husband and I have come to love simplicity.. I don't like to have a lot of things sitting around.. it's weird how my tastes have changed over the years.. I used to like country decorating.. then shabby chic.. now it's more streamlined and contemporary.. part of it is I don't want to have to clean everything.. easier to dust if you have very few knicknacks.. We still have stuff though.. I'm working on getting rid of it.. going to send things to my kids.. get rid of things we don't need or use. We moved from a 5000 square foot house to a 1742 square foot townhouse.. so we have more than we need..  When we moved we got rid of a bunch of stuff.. but there is more to do.

Have had some issues with the boys.. it's sad really.. they have been told to hate me, do things to annoy me.. I know the older boy has done plenty of that but I didn't think the younger one did.. but I'm finding out differently.. it's nothing big.. they don't do drugs or drink.. they don't even drive and that's their choice.. it's just little passive aggressive stuff that they know will bug me and it's done on purpose.. Maybe I overreacted but I'm so tired of it all.. but I don't and won't take being disrespected.. My kids didn't treat me like that and I am not going to take it from these boys. I have done everything I could to help them and somehow it's my fault they aren't with their mother.. crazy making.. Shelby even admitted that he does things to bug me because of his mom.. we told him if he's so unhappy and so committed to her to go live with her.. he said he didn't want to.. so there we go.. life is just a chair of bowlies!!

Having a day to myself.. one is working the others are golfing. I bought some furniture for my bathroom that I'm going to put together. Once it's done I'll post some pics.

10 years!!

We had the most incredible weekend away.. It was our 10 year anniversary and my sweet husband planned a little trip for us.. About 2 hours away.. we stayed at a place called Nemacolin.  There are a few different hotels there and he picked the one called Falling Rock.. inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.  Check in was not until 4 so we first toured Lloyd's masterpiece called Falling Water.. so amazing.. I don't have pics because they are on Peter's phone but will post when I figure out how to upload them.. It was hot and at the end of the tour we were told we had just climbed 110 steps.. but it was well worth it..

We then checked in to our hotel.. so wonderful.. Friday night at 6 we read our vows to each other.. had some champagne.. we both cried because we are so happy together.  Peter got down on his knee and asked me to marry him all over again.. and gave me the most beautiful necklace.. sapphire and diamond because he said those are what to give on the 10th anniversary.. also said it's like infinity and how we will always be together..

I set up a little shrine on the nightstand.. our vows that Peter had made into a plaque, our wedding flutes that belonged to his Mother, our guest book, ring boxes and a picture of us.. we had the best time.. Saturday, I went to the spa.. had a massage and pedicure.. Peter toured the area.. saw a white lion and was actually able to play with her.. outside the fence of course.  We then had dinner in our room served by our butler!!  Yes a butler.. he came back later and drew a bath for us.. we could pick the scent we wanted and he lit candles and spread rose petals all around.. very sweet..

Next day we had breakfast in our room and then had to check out.. Never did make it to the pool since it was raining on Saturday.. but that's ok.. I think we will go again..

Back

I've been away too long.. some days I haven't felt well.. other days were just too busy.  I've been scanning some pics and also missing my sweet baby Zack.. Both of the boys are home now.. soon it will be back to school..  This is a pic of my mother.. not sure her age but I'm guessing it's a graduation picture.

Sweet Baby Boy

Zackary had his first doctor visit yesterday.  He weighed 8lb 4oz at birth.. left the hospital last Thursday at 7lb 11oz.  Yesterday he weighed in at 8lb 7oz.  The doctor said they hope babies will get back to their birth weight in 2 weeks.. Zack passed that in just a few days.. can we say Mama has good milk!  He's been wanting to sleep longer stretches at night but they have been waking him to nurse.. the doctor said because he's doing so well they can let him sleep up to 6 hours.. he did that last night!!  What a blessing.  He is the sweetest baby.. so calm and peaceful.  Only cries if he needs something and is easy to calm down.  He loves to cuddle.. is so happy in his swing.. Couldn't ask for a better baby.  Mom and Dad are peaceful and calm too.. very patient with him and enjoying every minute of it.

He's Here!!!

Zackary Taylor Botnik s here.. 8lbs 4oz, 21 1/2 inches long.. Sweet, sweet boy.  Loves to be held and rocked.  Mom and Baby are healthy and doing well.

Where is my baby!

No baby yet.  Lots of contractions last night and things are definitely progressing but no really good contractions today.. Hope it gets moving along soon because Paige's doctor will be there until Wednesday.. Here are some pics we took this morning.

Baby Waiting

I'm with Paige and Danny waiting for the baby to come.  Today is the actual due date.  She is having some contractions.. is a bit uncomfortable with the size of the baby but not in labor as far as we can tell.  The thing that is unbelievable is she has a ton of energy and has all along.. just the last few days has forced herself to take a nap.. and she is still working and plans to do so until she goes into labor.  We see the doctor tomorrow and will see how things are going and what the next step is.. Can't wait to meet that little guy!

Welcome to the Real World

I find chores and boys so interesting.. The older boy (20 years old) has been home for 3 weeks going on 4.. has done no laundry at all.. I think he's taken one shower.  I heard yesterday that he told his younger brother to do his laundry for him.  I told Max he was not to do Shelby's laundry and if I caught him doing it he would have consequences.  He can do it himself.  Same thing with the cleaning.  They clean their rooms and bathroom.. that mostly means dusting in their bedrooms.  I don't let them use my vacuum because next time I try to use it it's broken.  So I vacuum.  They dust their rooms, do their laundry and clean the bathroom.. and I think that's a deal.. they are the ones making the bathroom all scummy so they can clean it.  I started this years ago when I talked and talked to them about being more careful in the bathroom if you know what I mean.  Not a fun conversation for a stepmother to have with two boys.  I had my husband talk to them first.. nothing changed and they both thought it was a big joke.. and the horrible thing is the bathroom had carpet.. yuck.. so I told them they would have to clean it.  Max does a pretty good job.. Shelby does the bare minimum and has to be sent back to do it over several times.  Acts like he's being tortured.  He works today but it's later this afternoon.  I told Peter to get him up so he can do his laundry and cleaning before he leaves.. I'm sure it will be an ordeal but that's what everyone has to do.. Welcome to the real world!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to the best Mom and Nana ever!!

Max's Birthday

Friday was Max's 17th birthday.. I can't believe that when I first met him he was 5 and just turning 6.. We went to Mad Mex.. good food and we had a good time.. He didn't want us to tell them it was his birthday.. he didn't want a cake.. didn't want anyone to sing to him.. On his "real" birthday, I made him brownies.. put a candle on and sang to him.. he just laughed..

Mother's Day

Here is my Mother's Day so far.. too bad there isn't sound because they are both snoring! Don't tell them.. if either one sees this they will kill me!

Our Home

Last time I posted pictures of our house that we lived in for 5 years.. still on the market.. We now are renting a 3 bedroom townhouse.. Going from over 5000 square feet to 1700 was quite a challenge.. We had way more furniture and stuff than could fit.  We had already moved and were living in a furnished corporate apartment and that time was ending so we had to get a different place.  We had a couple of days at our house to pack it up and move it all.. We could have tried to sell things but just didn't have the time.  Not one charity was willing to come pick up the things we wanted to give away.. and we are talking major stuff.. We finally found a church who helps refugees.. they came with a couple of trucks and took everything for us.. they were grateful.. and so were we.. the pastor came and brought with him 5 men who were refugees.. they had nothing.. they were so happy to receive the things we gave them.. the pastor told us that many of them live in an apartment that has no furniture.. they sleep on the floor.. they don't even have blankets or pillows.. We were so happy to be able to help them..

Even though our house now is so much smaller.. I love it.. We don't have to do any maintenance.. I don't even have to change a light bulb.. No lawn mowing or yard work.. it's wonderful..