That's some mighty expensive playdough!

As you may recall, Rich broke his finger back in April. After being in a splint for about four weeks, he began occupational therapy. I mean, seriously, he goes to his therapy sessions three times a week for 45 minutes each visit for ONE finger!!! The good news is that it's working and the swelling in the joint has greatly reduced. Of course, yesterday he came home with three baggies full of yellow playdough for his "exercises". And to think, I could have bought him a pack at Wal-Mart for a couple of dollars. I wonder how much the clinic charges for playdough these days!

Memorial Day 2008

For once, we actually are having a beautiful Memorial Day. I'm so used to it being cold or rainy around here, I don't know how to respond. Ian and Rich marched in the Memorial Day parade this morning. Here's a picture of Ian with his new Webelo scarf:


How did I get to old enough to be a mom of a Webelo anyway? After we dropped of the boys at the parade starting point, Kyra and I came home and packed up the stroller and walked to the end of the parade route. At the end of the parade, we had some ice cream and then walked home. Kyra discovered the joy of blowing dandilions:


I hope everyone had a wonderful day!

Menu Plan Monday - May 26, 2008

It's time for another edition of Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura. We're back on track this week given that Rich wasn't in the office enough last week for them to schedule him for another trip! Here's this week's menu:

Monday: Pork Tenderloin
Tuesday: Grilled Tilapia w/Pesto
Wednesday: Apple Chicken Quesadillas
Thursday: Shrimp & Zuchinni salad
Friday: TBD

Have a great week!

My trooper

It's 11:30 and I'm still amazingly awake. No, it's not because I drank one too many Diet Cokes before bedtime, but Ian is not feeling well. It started with just a cough this morning and around 11:00, I got "the call" from school. My heart just poured out of me when I saw him lying there in the health room. Of course, we ended up going to the walk-in because I didn't want this to linger over the long weekend. The cough is currently quiet thanks to some albuterol and Pulmacort, but he's still feverish and we've had a rather large incident of "ick". So, I sit here standing guard an periodically going in to check his temperature. Hopefully this will be short-lived, but it's going to be a long night!

$3.50 well spent

I am generally not an advocate of "paying" for discounts but I was alerted to the fact that the June issue of Parents Magazine contained a coupon for 20% off a Gymboree purchase. Since the items in your shopping cart on the website don't ever go away unless they run out of the specified size, I use the website as more or less a "wishlist" of sorts of the outfits that I would like to get for Kyra but would rather not pay full Gymboree prices.

This weekend, Gymboree is having a 20% off sale merchandise which makes for some good deals but even better if you have the aforementioned coupon for an additional 20% off. So today when Kyra and I were out, we stopped at the local bookstore and they had an issue of Parents which I of course picked up (after checking that it did indeed contain the coupon). I ended up getting quite a few things for Kyra plus several pairs of shorts for Ian since he has long since outgrown those from last summer. AND as an even bigger bonus, it's time to earn Gymbucks again so that coupon has really helped me out. I'm laughing at myself for spending money to save money, but in this case, I really did save a LOT!

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

So my Tuesday/Thursday instructor at the Y has talked me into running the Bellin Run with her in June. Having successfully completed the Crazy Legs 8K last month, a 10K really isn't too much of a stretch since it's only a little over a mile longer than Crazy Legs. Of course, now that I've actually sent in my registration, my mind is starting to panic - mainly with thoughts of death at around mile #4.

To conquer my irrational thoughts, I chose to run my own personal 10K this morning. I'm actually quite pleased with the results and I only had a minor "it would be ok to quit now" thought right around five miles. So, now I know that I do indeed have the endurance for the 10K but man are my muscles screaming at me now! OUCH!

Menu Plan Monday - May 19, 2008

Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura will be taking a break this week since Rich is traveling too much for me to even contemplate what I am going to cook for myself. I'll be back again next week!

It's a baby boom!

Yesterday, my friend T welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Gabriel Hunter, into their family. I got to go to the hospital to visit them for a bit and he is just the cutest little peanut! You really do forget how small they are!

On my way to the elevator, I got a call from mom to let me know that my brother was on his way to the hospital because Sandy's water had broken at work. I was a little nervous because she was about 3 weeks early for her due date but at 8:40 this morning, they welcomed a beautiful baby girl (yet to be named) who was 7 pounds, 4 ounces. I talked to Greg this morning and he thought she was "pretty amazing". Ok, that's an understatement, but he's a first-time dad. We'll give him a little time for it all to sink in!

I called Miss M last night to let her know that these things come in threes but she doesn't think her baby girl is going anywhere anytime soon. Until then, baby watch #3 continues!

Menu Plan Monday - May 12, 2008

It's time for another edition of Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura. Here's this week's menu:

Monday: Grilled Sirloin Steak Patties
Tuesday: Lemon Portk Stir Fry
Wednesday: Ranch Beef Stroganoff
Thursday: dinner out
Friday: TBD

Getting away for a few hours

Today a girlfriend and I took a trip to Appleton for some serious kid-free shopping. We had a great time and even found a great new restaurant in the process (and, completely by chance!)

I was quite happy with my purchases. New York & Co. was having a great sale and I had some good coupons so I ended up getting 4 outfits there. I also got re-fitted at Macy's for bras though I found the process not quite as nice as my Nordstrom's experience back in November.

Thanks to Miss M for a great day! Shopping is a fun way to spend the day but it's even better when in such good company!

Thursday Thirteen - 5th Edition

Thirteen Things about Becca This week's theme is : 13 FAVORITESCHOOLHOUSE ROCK SONGS 1. Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here 2. The Preamble 3. Conjunction Junction 4. Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla 5. I'm Just a Bill 6. Ready or Not, Here I Come 7. The Tale of Mr. Morton 8. $7.50 Once A Week 9. Busy Prepositions 10. Unpack Your Adjectives 11. Elementary, My Dear 12. Walkin' On Wall Street 13. Interjections! Thanks for peeking!

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Some tears and some laughter

We had our closing brunch for Tuesday morning ladies' Bible study today. There were definitely some thoughts to ponder as we enter into the summer season and I've even by identified as an "abductor" (but only in he nicest of terms). I'll really miss my Tuesday mornings but hopefully I'll find my way to a good summer study.

Menu Plan Monday - May 5, 2008

Boy! I was a blogging slacker last week! It's time for another edition of Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura. Here's this week's menu:

Monday: Marinated Boneless Pork Chops
Tuesday: Bacon Bit Burgers
Wednesday: Chicken Fajitas
Thursday: dinner out with kids
Friday: TBD