Mt. Snack-a-lot

My family loves to snack. It's like their job. Every 10 minutes, someone is asking for a snack. And as you can see, I am prepared for the begging.

Gabriel and Elliott usually don't get to have many snacks because they don't eat their core meals (my policy is that if you don't eat what's on your plate, you most certainly don't get to have a snacky). Janna asks for "ka-kas" (crackers) constantly. Seriously, if it looks anything like a cracker, then she asks for a cracker. Points to her mouth and everything, too. Jon spends a lot of his time rubbing him tummy and asking for a "munch". The man eats constantly (which I guess is normal for a runner). He's fortunate to have a very caring secretary at his office - she actually goes out and buys the guys snacks. Since I started Weight Watchers, I snack a lot less, and almost all of my snacks are fat free (except for those damned Fiber One bars - but they only count for 2 points).

I try to provide healthy snacks for the kids. They love apples and grapes, pretzels and cheerios, any kind of crackers, and of course gummies (which really aren't good for you). Anything that is fruity, chewy, and sticky is a gummy. These are one of their favorite "gummies. They love them. And I feel really good about handing them over. I keep them in the diaper bag or purse, and Jon keeps some in his car. My family is also crazy about rice cakes. I started giving them to the kids when they were about 12 months old, and they have become a favorite snack for everyone.

While I do honestly try to get the kids to eat primarily healthy snacks, I also provide them with total garbage. They love anything sweet. Chocolate covered raisins, Oreos, and Whoppers are their all-time favorite snacks. Jon?? Yeah he'll eat carrots and rice cakes. But what he really prefers are crunchy, salty snacks which I try to discourage due to the fact that both of my parents have heart disease. Combos are his downfall. The picture to the left? That would be my Combo-drunk husband. That bag? Empty. 7 servings (worth 21 WW points) of Combos downed in one sitting. I have a ginormous sweet tooth. Chocolate is my friend (and enemy). Good thing those aforementioned Fiber One bars come in chocolate!!

I'm always on the lookout of new, and obviously healthier snacks for my family. When I got this weeks Blog Blast message, I was thrilled to find a potential new snack for us. So, we'll give 'em a try!!

"This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as an entry for a contest sponsored by Brothers-All-Natural."

Weekly Weigh-In!!

I love Sundays! They are so calm (well, as calm as a day can be when all three kids are awake at the crack of ass - 5:30). And BONUS!!! I got to sleep in! Jonny P. got up with the raging hosers, and I stayed in my cozy bed til 8:18. I would have stayed in longer, but Elliott was whining about Barbies, and I figured that it was my duty to play with her. I really don't think Jon understands the wonderfulness of Barbie and her many friends (and accessories, and dresses, and shoes). When I came down the steps, Gabriel, Elliott, and Janna were swimming in a hot pink sea of polyester. They were all sharing so nicely. Before anyone asks, no, I don't care that my 4.5-year-old son plays with dolls. He loves them. He also loves to play dress-up and have tea parties. I'm not worried that I am ruining his masculinity.

I have decided to start a "Weekly Weigh-In" concept on my blog. Each Sunday I weigh in (meaning I check my weight to see how I'm doing), and I thought that I would also weigh in with my thoughts about the week. Sound good? I think so!!

The Week: Holy crap!!! We had a great week! Ok, so the lice fiasco of Labor Day wasn't so much fun, but we are all still totally lice free! School started, we had a few MOMS Club events, and the weekend has been fantastic. Yesterday Jennifer and I walked in our first race!! We walked 2 miles in 25.12 minutes!! When we first started walking, we were walking 1.25 miles in 28 minutes. Imagine our surprise and total elation to know that our hard work is totally paying off! And I realize that walking 2 miles in 25 minutes might not be a huge deal to a lot of people. But to my fat (though getting smaller!!!) ass, it is so awesome!! Yesterday was also our first HUGE fund-raiser for MOMS, and we raised close to $200!! In the rain!! I am so proud of our Club. I am so grateful that I joined. I've been a member for 2 years, and I love it. Granted I could live without all of the "drama" that occurs when you put a group of women together, but overall my experience has been totally positive. I have lots of awesome friends. I have a life!!

The Weight: I'm so proud of myself!! I lost 2 lbs. this week! That makes a grand total of 18.8 lbs!!! When I reach 20, I am buying myself some sort of gift - probably a new piece of Vera (I am dying to own an All-In-One Wristlet in Night Owl). Maybe that will be next week...

My Little Pre-Schooler

Elliott's pre-school orientation was this morning, and she loved it! She was so excited to put on her very awesome backpack and head out. She was annoyed that first we had to do the whole "morning" thing. You know - shower, get dressed, eat, make the curly/frizzy hair a little tamer, wait for Mommy to get herself all ready, etc. She was also very annoyed that before we could go to her "white 'chool" we had to drop Gabriel off at his school. She wanted nothing to do with him this morning. He was "bovvering" her. Oh well, Little Lady. He'll be bovvering you for the rest of your life. Get used to it now.

After we dropped Gabey off (which was once again nothing short of a disaster), we headed to Elliott's school. She chattered the whole way there about her new friends, her skirt, her hair clips, and Emily (she knew that Emily was going to be in her class, and she loooooooooves Emily). Once we got there, she totally clammed up. I was actually surprised. She's usually very outgoing and mouthy. She didn't want to talk to her teachers, or to any of her new (and old - there are 3 other MOMS Club kids in her class) friends. Once she realized that the playdoh was out for her use, she warmed up. Craft-time and snack-time came next, and then she went back to the playdoh. She was very sad when it was time to leave. I thought she was going to throw herself on the floor and start screaming!

She came home to tell Daddy all about her day. She can't wait to go back! And I honestly can't wait to have her go. I know that's not a very Mom-like thing to say - or is it?? I love my kids. Very much. But sometimes three kids is just too much. I am so excited to get to spend some time alone with Janna. And I think Elliott will benefit so much from being in pre-school. Gabriel absolutely flourished in the school. And speaking of The Boy, I'm so glad that Gabriel got into UPK, too. He desperately needs the attention and education that the school system can supply. And the fact that he goes to school every day doesn't hurt!!

So *, the first week of school has been great! Now, if the weather would only hold out through tomorrow...(Our MOMS Club is setting up a table at a local event, and I really don't want to sit there in the rain.)

* Apparently I start every "story" with the word "so"...and now so do my kids.

The Boy's First Day!

Gabey's first day of school was today! He had a great time! So did I, I might add. Today was more of an orientation than an actual school day, but it was still the first day. He picked out his clothes, and had a very yummy breakfast (waffles, bacon, and banana). His backpack has been ready to go for weeks now (though I did have to take out approximately 600 Thomas and Friends books). He's been dying to carry the thing.

The drive to school was seemingly endless (in reality, it takes about 7 minutes to get there). But because Gabriel is Gabriel, the questions were non-stop. He wanted to know why we had to stop at red lights, why there were no trains on the tracks, why we weren't going super-fast through town, why I wasn't parking in the lot closest to the school. For the most part the answers I gave were satisfactory. The only question I couldn't answer well was the parking question. Due to the fact that today was the first day of school for the entire school (meaning that the kindergartner's were also there with parents in tow), the lot was full. When I say full, I mean F.U.L.L. Because I had to drive around for a while looking for someplace safe to park, Gabe was insane with anticipation. He literally asked me to drop him off at the doors.

When I finally managed to park (I made my own spot like a bunch of other parents were doing), we made it to the doors. His classroom was very nice, and he was able to find his name tag and cubby-hole without help. Mrs. E. introduced herself (and apologized for the parking fiasco), and started getting to know the kiddos. She sang a welcome song, and then read a story. Gabriel was so excited!! She read "The Kissing Hand", which is a favorite in our house. Then she had the kids do a scavenger hunt to get acquainted with their new surroundings. They had to find the bathroom and the nurse's office, have a yummy snack of pretzel goldfish, dig a letter out of a bowl of rice (and then say a word that begins with that letter), pick out a book to read with parents (Gabriel chose his favorite cars and trucks book), re-find their cubby-hole (which is probably going to be one of the best parts of Gabe's day), give Mrs. T. (the "helper") a special "hello", make a Kissing Hand craft, and find their name on the wall. They finished their first day with a final circle-time and a good-bye song. Gabriel was sad to have to leave.

The school is so lovely and kid-friendly. There are murals all over (Gabe and I both loved the giant paintings of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"), the bathrooms are close to the classrooms, and the classroom itself looks like a small version of kid heaven. Gabriel was thrilled with everything - the drive to school, the classroom, his teacher, his new "friends", everything. He can't wait to go tomorrow! As soon as we got in the car he asked if he could go back after his nap.

Tomorrow is Elliott's preschool orientation!! I'll post some pics of her cute self, too!

Labor Day Festivities

Every Labor Day we go home. By home I mean to PA - where both Jon and I grew up. We typically spend most of our time at my Mom's house, and we have as good of a time as you would expect to have with three busy kids. The kids love being there, and Jon tolerates it.

Friday was pretty tame. We got to my Mom's around 5, and spent the evening with my Mom, Zak (my brother), Trisha (his fiancee), and Connor (their son). It was nice. Quiet and a bit rainy, but very nice.

Saturday was beautiful. The plan was for Jon to take the hosers to his Mom's for a while, and my Mommy and I would go yard sale-ing (which is seriously my idea of an awesomely good time). Mom and I left, and I eventually called Jonny to see how his morning was going. Turns out that he didn't make it to his Mom's after all. He wouldn't say why over the phone. If you're a Mom, then you know that sinking feeling in your stomach when you think something is wrong. I could hear the kids in the background, and no one was screaming in pain. But I still figured that something was up. Mom and I went home shortly after that phone call. The conversation between Jon and I went something like this:

C: "Why didn't you go to your Mom's?"
J: "She wasn't home. But Steve called." Steve is one of Jon's brothers.
C: "Yeah? So?"
J: "They all have lice."
C: "Haha!! Dirty f***ers!!"
J: "No. They have LICE. They've had it for weeks."
C: "Exactly how many weeks are we talking about?" If you'll recall, one of my previous posts gave Steve et al's visit a 6 out of 10.
J: "Angela's had it for over 2 weeks. They had it at our house."
C: "Are you f***ing kidding me? How did they not know? When did they find out? What the hell is wrong with your family? Are they all too f***ing stupid to be alive? What the f*** am I going to do now? Did you check the kids? Do they have lice, too? Do I?? UNF***ING BELIEVABLE!!"
J: "Calm down, Courtney. It's not such a big deal. They said they found out last week. I already looked at the kids' heads. I can't find anything."
C: "Last f***ing week? Do they not own a f***ing phone? What the f*** is wrong with your family? Do you realize that I allowed our possibly lice-infested kids to play with lots of other kids last week? What the f*** am I supposed to do now? They wrestled with Emily. In her bed. Jesus f***ing Christ! I hate your f***ing family!!"
J: "It will be ok. Let's just get some shampoo stuff to be safe, and I'll check the kids after they get up from naps."
C: "I seriously hate your family. Adam and his kid gave us all pink eye, and now Steve and his kids give us lice. What are Jamie and Riley going to give us? Where are my f***ing keys?"

(I have a slight problem with turning the smallest issue into a HUGE deal - I'm a drama queen. If you can't tell from the above narration, I was PISSED OFF. I was ready to kill Jon's brother and his family. )

My Mom and I went to CVS and bought all the lice stuff I could find. Better to be safe than sorry, I guess. We brought it home, and since Gabriel was still awake, we started going through his hair. Nothing. Just nice, clean, pink scalp. Good sign. I handed Jon the comb and ordered him to go through my hair. He and my Mom thought this was hilarious - I hate having my hair messed up. Honestly, I was petrified that they were going to find something, too. But nothing was there. Just pink skin. Another good sign. I dug through Jon's hair and found nothing on him either. He said the girls' heads looked clean, too. I re-checked them after they woke up from naps, and yep. Clean. I must have checked the kids' heads at least 50 times for lice over the weekend. I found nothing. Everyone I talked to said I would have noticed something if they had lice. I spent the rest of the day fuming over the cootie-issue. In fact, I'm still fuming over it.

Sunday was also very nice. Devin (my other brother), Andrea (his girlfriend), Breanna and Alexis (her daughters) came over for lunch. Andrea's girls are older than my kids, but they play so nicely with them. It was a great afternoon. Everyone ate, my kids went to bed, and I got to go shopping alone!!

Monday we hung out with my Mom in the morning and then went to see Jon's family for a picnic lunch. As soon as we got to the picnic grove, I asked Steve and Lisa exactly when they found out that they all had lice.

S: "Oh, Sunday."
C: "As in 8 days ago, Sunday? Thanks for the phone call. Didn't you think it was important to tell us that you all had friggin' cooties??"
S: "We got busy. We had to clean and stuff. And I had to shave my head and Colby's. We just forgot to call you."
C: "Gee, thanks. I appreciate that."

Lisa, knowing exactly what to look for, went over my kids' heads twice. Nothing. Thank goodness. Had my kids been crawling with lice and cooties and things, I just might have beaten my in-laws.

Aside from the lice, we had a great weekend. The kids had a wonderful time playing in Gramma's yard. I had a great time being able to hang out with my Mom. Jon got to run up and down hills (there aren't very many of them here). The ride home was uneventful. Once we got home, Jon and I commenced with cleaning. I knew that lice can't live without a human host, but I wanted to make sure that we got everything cleaned. All of the bedding needed to be washed, everything needed to be vacuumed, and I sprayed everything with lots of lice-killing spray. Jon and I finally went to bed around midnight. I'm still working on the massive amount of laundry. It's just about done now. Stupid lice.

On a postive note - my still lice-free kids start school this week! Gabriel's UPK orientation is tomorrow, and his first official day is Friday. Elliott's pre-school orientation is Friday (she officially starts on the 16th). I can't wait!!