Filling Time With Five Year Olds

I volunteered to watch a friend's son for a few afternoons while she packs her house to move to a new house across town.  He is a good friend of my oldest son and the youngest in his family.  It is really interesting to watch 5 year olds interact and amazing how birth order plays a role in things.  I have had to get creative with them as it is sweltering outside and it is only the beginning of May.  They can only take so much time playing outside in this heat and I am hoping that next week's weather is a little more tolerable.  So far they have built Lego planes, crashed cars, played with our various play musical instruments, watched a movie, played outside and created some very lovely bird feeders.

I knew I had to have a craft just in case it rained.  It needed to be simple, inexpensive and something somewhat useful.  What better craft medium than popsicle (craft) sticks.  At first I thought we would just make picture frames, but then a friend pinned a really cute idea on Pinterest.  A bird feeder seemed simple enough.  I found the tutorial at here.  A few minutes into the project, I realized things were going to go horribly wrong if we didn't split it into two days.  The glue stick is a great idea, but these two little boys couldn't grasp the concept of using more glue.  Weird to me, my problem was always using too much glue.  We switched to the green glitter glue I had on hand today and things worked so much better.  We started early and the boys and I just finished decorating - uh oh, tears!

Crisis averted.  Why is it that when my son falls when I am looking, he laughs, but the minute my eyes aren't on him, because I am looking at the screen and he falls and scrapes his knee, it is the absolute end of the world?  I will never understand the mind of a 5 year old boy!

Back to the crafting.  A wonderful time was had by all.  The boys and I finished decorating a few minutes and here are the finished products.

I think they look fabulous, but now I have to come up with something to top this for next week.  Why do I do this to myself.

Packard Family Vacations

So we are three months into planning our family vacation this year.  That's right folks it takes this family months to plan a vacation.  This is fast by our families standards we usually begin planning vacation at least six months out, sometimes even as far out as a year.  Now I always knew that vacation planning took time, but I was never really an active part of the process until I married Sam.

Let me give you a little background.  Sam is a planner, down to the very smallest of details.  Had I known that our honeymoon would be planned down to the minute, every detail of every day, it may have been a game changer for me.  Okay, well probably not, but it was a shock to say the least when my brand new husband presented our itinerary to me on the plane at 6:00 a.m.

We skipped family vacation last year for various reasons, but mostly because we were building our house and living with my parents.  It was too much to handle to plan a vacation, not to mention pull off getting ready for it while not even in my own home where I normally would spread everything out so I can pack everything.

I have come to appreciate the planning of each day, it takes time and a ton of research.  Every detail gets talked about until I want to scream.  But I must say that my husband does a very good job.  He no longer plans every single minute, it is more a general guideline, he plans each day carefully so we are most efficient with our time and gas, but has come to realize that planning down to the minute is not ideal and we never stick with the schedule anyway.  He even thinks to plan a rainy day schedule, with mostly indoor activities or driving days.

We only have about three weeks until we leave and while Sam has almost every detailed planned, I am already behind.  It takes this mom about a month to get everything organized and ready.  When I say everything, I mean everything.  I prepare for almost any situation that could occur while traveling.  I count out the exact number of diapers, prepare the snack bag, get a kid bag ready for each kid, and prepare "I'm bored" activities for the car and the hotel.  Can you see why it takes a month.  I have been really busy this past week helping friends and trying to get organized for vacation.  Then last night, okay well really early this morning (chronic insomnia) I had a great idea.  I would look for a logo bingo game for my oldest.  I searched and I searched and guess what I found....NOTHING!  So I have started making one for him.  Every year since he was two years old he has told us what stores were coming up as soon as he could see their signs, so I thought this might be fun and I have some little prizes for him, when he fills his card.   Hoping this will keep him pretty entertained.

I also am putting the finishing touches on a custom coloring book for the boys.  I found some fabulous coloring pages at crayola.com about the states we will be driving through and visiting as well as some pictures of families on vacation.  Hopefully between the movies, bingo, car games, snacks and coloring we will be able to avoid the dreaded, 'Are we there yet?'.

Here's What's Cookin'

I'm trying to get a jump on next week as I will be helping a friend out who is moving and won't have as much time to get things done during the week.  Last week didn't quite go according to plan, yet again, mostly due to the terrible cold I've been fighting.  We are repeating several recipes once again this week.  Hoping things go a lot better this week.

Monday - Chicken Souvlaki

                Herbed Rice

                Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Tuesday - Korean-Grilled Beef Skewers

                Far East Summer Slaw

Wednesday - Simple Scrumptious Grilled Chicken

                      Salad

Thursday - Basil & Garlic Tortellini

                 Salad

Friday - Date Night!!!

Saturday - Family Night Out!!!

Sunday - Ropa Vieja

              Spiced Saffron Jasmine Rice

Just a reminder, I have finally activated comments (or at least I think have), so if you have any comments, suggestions or questions feel free to use the comments section.

Favorites - Food Edition

Other than being sick this week, this week was fantastic.  Why?  I was reminded of a few of my favorite things this week.  I had forgotten how much I loved the McCormick and McCormick Gourmet websites.  The recipes from these sites are easy to make and have tons of flavor.  They also are usually pretty low fat and inexpensive.  Of the 60+ recipes I've made from both of these websites, I think I have only had one or two that our family agreed, weren't the best, but they weren't the worst either.    They also make fabulous products like these:

These products are great, the Recipe Inspirations include pre-measured spices and the recipe card so you can make it again without buying the package.

Mr. GBR and I had two date nights this week.  Friday night, our standard date night (if you don't have a scheduled date night each week, I highly recommend it), we went to one of my favorite restaurants in Omaha.  Jim and Jennies Greek Village is located near 90th and Maple Street in a little strip mall.  They aren't big on atmosphere, but the make up for that in flavor.  I have never had a meal there I didn't like and recently discovered their Chicken Tigania (my new favorite).  It is amazing.  The portion size is good for the price.  If you are looking for good Greek food in Omaha try this place, you won't be sorry.  Instead of having our family date night on Saturday, we opted to go out with great friends.  They chose to go to Roja in the Old Market.  What a great night.  Of course all meals are best when shared with good conversation, but I was particularly pleased with my dinner, Chile Rellenos.  The only downside was having to park six blocks away, if only we had known they validate parking and the garage next door would have been free.  Oh well, it's always a plus to get a little exercise in before dinner. 

Finally...

Okay for those of you reading this, I finally figured out how to allow you all to post comments or questions.  So please feel free to do so if you would like.  Sorry if the last post offended, that was not the purpose.

Getting A Little Political

I try not to get into politics on Facebook, but lately have been tempted.  I'm going to get a little political, but I think it is important for my boys to understand why I stayed home, and most importantly how we were able to make it happen.  After all, this blog is as much for them as it is for family and friends.  I know it's been a while since it was discussed, but I have to say I was quite offended by several comments made by Hilary Rosen.  When she said that Ann Romney had never worked a day in her life, and then her apology was somewhat more offensive to me when she said that it was because of wealth that Mrs. Romney was able to stay home with her children.  Here is why I found these two things offensive.  I stay at home all day with my kids.  I admire working moms, I just don't know how they get it all done.   Staying at home was a choice my husband discussed for years before even having kids.  We wanted to prepare ourselves emotionally and financially for what it meant.  In someways staying at home is the hardest thing I've done.  It is difficult to not have contact with other adults on a regular basis.  I crave adult conversation by the end of the day, something my husband is still trying to adjust to five years after I quit working.  Some nights I talk non stop until bedtime and others I don't say a word because I've spent the day entire day talking to the boys.  Honestly some days I think it would be easier to be a working mom.  My job is 24/7/365.  All mom's have this job description, stay at home moms never have the opportunity to leave their jobs.  All mom's are on call to put out fires, to run home at a moment's notice if something goes terribly wrong, but a stay at home mom doesn't get the commute to decompress, to have that regular time to themselves almost every day.  Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but most stay at home moms don't sit around all day eating bon bons and watching soap operas.  This is the picture that came to mind when I first heard Hilary Rosen's comment about Ann Romney.  While I admit it was probably a mistake and a poor choice of words like she stated in her apology, I believe that you need to be extra careful and choose your words carefully, especially politicians.

The apology was even more offensive to me because it was a sacrifice for me to leave the work force to stay at home with my boys.  We took a financial hit when I left.  That's why we discussed things for a few years before I even tried to get pregnant.  We knew it would mean sacrifice.  We weren't the kind of people that spent our money foolishly to begin with.  We thought about everything we purchased and discussed it together.  As a rule most purchases over $50 are discussed with one another.  We don't buy each other extravagant gifts most of the time, occasionally we splurge.  We don't get completely new wardrobes every season of every year, we replace things as needed or if there's a great sale, until very recently I only owned one purse (the second was a gift).  We don't carry debt, this is something we work very hard to do.  We do without and save for the the things we need and want.  I know there are families that would love to have one parent home with their kids and aren't able to swing it financially, I get it, but to assume that every family with a stay at home parent is wealthy is naive.  There are plenty of families I know that make it work the same way we do.  Don't get me wrong, we have a nice things, but we tend to purchase things that give us the most bang for our buck.  I'm not judging those that choose otherwise.  I believe that everyone has the power to make their own decisions.  Just don't assume because a family has a stay at home parent that they are well off financially.

There are days like yesterday, when I felt like a workhorse.  Taking care of two sick kids, a sick dog and being sick myself is no easy task and all the while I worked, doing laundry, dishes, running errands, etc.  Being a stay at home mom can be a thankless job. It can be grueling work, but it has it's rewards as well.  Seeing my children grow up, happy and healthy is my reward.  The hugs and kisses and the smile and laughter are my payment for the work I do.  Hearing my oldest tell me I'm his "Best girl in the world", no amount of money can compare to that.  Even yesterday, the toughest of days had it's rewards.  Seeing my boys laughing and playing with one another (a rare event in this house), ganging up on their dog to trap her so they could pet her and love her (she pretends she hates it), and I realized that I am very rich, just not monetarily.

Princess Isabella

I love this face!

This is Bella, our 10 year old pug.  She was my first baby, and quite frankly the only girl I will probably have.  She was the gift we gave each other for our first wedding anniversary.  I was against getting pug, because the shed and they are one of the loudest animals I have ever encountered.  But Sam slowly wore me down and then one Saturday morning he was reading the paper and saw an ad selling pug puppies.  I remember that day so well, it was a snowy January day.  We decided it was time to become "parents"  We called the number in the paper and were on our way.  We drove an hour an a half in the wind and snow to the small Nebraska town of Howells.  There we met our first baby.  The family we met was wonderful, we were able to meet our little girls parents and her aunt.  Bella came from a large litter.  She was one of thirteen.  We were the first to inquire about the puppies and so we literally got the pick of the litter.  How do you choose one from thirteen.  Immediately I had puppies crawling all over me, eleven to be exact.  The runt was quite ill and was not able to be handled yet.  Soon the puppies, became interested in other things, except one.  One curled up on my lap and started sleeping.  Then I saw another puppy out of the corner of my eye, number 12, she had been playing behind the couch, and emerged to claw at the blanket on the floor.  She was full of energy.  The other 11 were all beginning to wind down and she was just getting started.  I knew immediately, she was meant to be mine.  The decision was made, my husband encouraged me to think about this nice mild mannered little boy that had curled up in my lap and loved me immediately.  Not even batting an eye, I said no, he wasn't spunky enough. We put down a deposit, gave her a name (Princess Isabella Packard, Bella for short) and took pictures.

Five weeks later she was delivered to us in Omaha.  I picked her up over my lunch hour and Sam left work early, he had already scheduled an appointment with a vet to have her looked over to make sure she was healthy.

Adopting Bella was one of the best decisions we have ever made.  We have shared many proud moments with her.

I couldn't have loved her any more, until yesterday.  I took her to the vet yesterday because she had an eye infection.  During the exam, our vet started to talk to be about her vision.  We have known for the last 7 years that she had pigmentary keratitis.  Initially we had her on daily drops, but when those failed to do any good, we ceased using them.  We knew she may have vision problems the rest of her life, but the vet said it would be like looking through a dirty windshield.  She would still be able to see some, but mostly just shadows and movements.  Yesterday, the vet (our old vet retired) told me she was nearly completely blind.  There is a small area at the corner of one eye that she can still see from, but it has gotten so bad he said it would be the equivalent of having latex paint on the windshield.  He said we may have noticed her behavior  change recently.  On the contrary, if anything, she is more like a puppy than ever before.  She continues to walk up and down the stairs (something she rarely did in the old house), eats normally, plays with her toys, cuddles with me on the couch, etc.  She amazes me.  I started watching her more closely yesterday.  How was she able to still get around being almost completely blind.  I noticed small changes, she turns her head to one side, always the same side, before walking up the stairs.  She clings close to the wall and the fence when she has to find her way around new areas.  She adapts to every situation.  She uses her sense of smell a lot more too, she sniffs almost everything now and I think she must have super hearing because she can hear the garage door go up from anywhere in the house, but I never do.  I am so proud of her.  She has learned to adapt to her situation instead of giving up and letting us do everything for her.  She is fiercely independent.  I'm sure if she could, she would feed herself and get her own water.  She hasn't let this little setback slow her down.  I hope that someday if I am ever faced with similar circumstances, I remember Bella's example and handle it in the same way.