Mama Mia Chronicles

Marry Christmas to Everyone!!! I hope you all are enjoying your post-Christmas-pre-New Year week.
At the moment I'm making a bean soup from leftover ham from Christmas. We still have so much food left over, but I just could not let good ham bone go to waste! This is the first time I'm making bean soup myself, and I am so excited about it! It always takes me back to the kindergarten when we had the best bean soup ever!!! Yup, we actually had stews and soups in kindergarten back in the day and in my lovely country.

Now, as for cookies goes, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but I've managed to find one from last year, and the finished product looks very similar:

I do have a bunch of picture of the process of making these:

My kids work hard!

Yeah, and there is my shirtless kid, too! He just popped in.

So, then I decided to try to make a Gingerbread House with my boys, and let me tell you, there was no end to frustration there. I seriously doubt my sanity after that debacle. It all started nice and innocent with me making an icing, and than it turns into this:

The house just would not stand up!
So, I abandon my pursuit of gingerbread house, and I decide to make a Christmas tree kit instead. I mean, how hard can it be to stack up bunch of stars one on top of another. Deep down my ego was deeply wounded that I could not get that house to stand up. Maybe I should not have used last years kit after all.
So this is how our tree looked like:

I was still upset about that house, so I decided to give it another try:

Do not look at it, do not touch it, do not breath at it!

Then, some kid action was in order, and we have our final product:

It looks just like on the picture, doesn't it!?! Well, maybe a little on a sad and sloppy side. If you are wondering what is all the green on the roof, that was a leftover icing from the tree:-). Now, about an hour later my older kid comes running to me that 'roof fell of the house'! So, I just let them eat the candy.

Ms. D.

Christmas this year feels a lot different than the years before. I have a feeling that focus is changing from material to more of an atmospheric. At lest my children are not really constantly bugging me about presents. It was so simple this year. I just told them to tell Santa what they want and that was it. Well, they still want everything they see on TV, but I am so accustomed to that that I just ignore them. I even had a really candid conversation with my older one after he failed, in spite of his best efforts, to buckle himself in his car seat. I told him that I will get him a new car seat for Christmas instead of toys. His response was, does that mean that I will get no toys at all? I had to crack up at his thought process. Mind you, this is a boy who last year told us that he doesn't need Santa because he has grandma. I told him that he will probably get something from Santa and grandma, but he is getting car seat from me, and he was fine with it.

So, really strange things are happening. I got my baby a Levi's jeans.

Yup, that is a butt of a 3yo.

And this is a real deal!

My baby was a part of a Christmas program at school this year. And if you are wondering what he was...

He was a Star!!! It doesn't get more important than that.



Mama's joy and happiness spent most of the program picking his nose!

But he also posed for mommy and didn't do much else. Mama's joy, I tell you! Being a Star is a hard and important job. Mama was so proud of him.

Christmas preparations, aka Baking Cookies, coming soon...

Ms D.

My husband is a blonde:-)

And I say that with all the love in the world! Last night we were waiting for him to get home because we were having Thai for dinner, and needed his order. So I call him to get an ETA, and I get this..." Let me call you back. I lost my car." Um...ok..WHAT?? After about 15 minutes I could not contain myself and called him back. Call me crazy! So this is how the conversation goes:

Me: So..um...what did you mean when you said that you lost your car? Literally?
Him: Yeah. I parked it in a new parking garage and don't know where.
Me: Seriously (channeling my inner Meredith Grey)?!
Him: Uh uh.
Me: How does one do THAT??
Him: Well, when I was driving in this morning I wasn't paying attention and since my regular garage was full I just used another, and now can't remember where that was, exactly.
Me: (again) Seriously?!
Him: Yeah, and I have have been to two already and still no luck.

Sufficed to say I was quite amused and more than a little incredulous! He eventually found it and had to do a tuck 'n roll manouver to get in as they were already closed, but he came home looking very sheepish.

Then, to add to my amusement this is the conversation between the two adult males currently residing at my house:

DD's: So, you find your car?
Mine: Yeah...eventually
DD's: I would make fun of you, but I totally understand *insert me raising my eyebrows to high heaven here*
Mine: Uh huh
DD's: It's all about the 'nea, isn't it?!

IDIOTS!!:-)

Last night I attempted to get a Christmas Card picture, these pictures speak volumes on how it went... needless to say there will not be any Christmas cards this year. I'm just a bit to overwhelmed to add this task to my list of things to do. Fa la la la la la la la la.

Well, I had a trip to the dentist yesterday. Actually it all started way back (few months ago), when I woke up with a toothache. I had a tooth that needed to be taken out, but I did not do it and it did not give me any problems so far, so I did not bather to do anything about it. Then, when the tooth started making me pay attention to its existence, in way only tooth can, I decided to subjugate myself yet again to the wonderful breed of people called- dentists, or "butchers" if you've ever mentioned them to me in person.

Now, I have a long history of encounters with these lovely people. I've had 7, now 8 root canals. So, my new dentist tells me I can either pull the tooth out or have another root canal and crown. I, the sucker I am, opted to save my tooth, so that the upper ones won't fall down. So, my dentist sends me to orthodontist for root canal, and to my wonderful amazement, I was done in half an hour, with minimal damages to the surrounding area of my tooth.

Now I go back to yesterday, where I went back to get my tooth ready for the crown. It took them 2 hours just to prepare it. They did give me local and I could still feel him drilling my gums in order to dig tooth out for the crown. Half way through it I was crying, drooling and chocking on my own blood. Nothing like a smell and taste of your own blood. After drilling for two hours I got up of the chair and felt like I've been beaten with the stick for two hours. Then I was late to pick up my child from preschool.

Anyway, to get back to the title of the post. Close to the end of the ordeal, my dentist looks at me and tells me that there is no enough room for porcelain crown. He said that my only option is gold crown. Thank Jesus, Mary and Joseph that this is the very last tooth in the back of my mouth. But yeah, I get to have a gold tooth. Now how twisted is that.

Ms D.

I hate them! They are EVIL! There you go, I said it!

Ms D.

Well this year I actually got picture of both kids with Santa. Last year the little one was missing all together. He was/is "scares" the way he puts it.

I have decided that I am becoming more clumsy in my adulthood. Case in point: I am 33 years old, and have never (if memory serves me) burned myself while cooking. Okay, well not badly anyway. Well, the other day while cooking porkchops for the loony masses at my house, the darn piece of meat slipped when I was turning it over in the pan. Hot oil splattered...in my face. I immediately rush to flush it with COLD water...step 1, and then go back to my multitasking (ie cooking, ironing and cleaning). Needless to say I was NOT a happy camper after that. I eyes felt very tender and kinda itchy/burny too. Anyhow, I tell my darling husband about it, and (surprise, surprise) he was not too concerned that I partially cooked my one eyeball and am now horribly disfigured! The next morning I look in the mirror and see three dark brown burn marks on my eyelids...so I show them the the aforementioned (callous) husband and he says, "Oh...um...I don't see anything". Huh? So later I show the other nutcase male in my house and he says, "Oh...um...I don't see anything". Doh! What am I hallucinating?? I felt somewhat vindicated when I asked my daughter if my eyes looked weird to her, and she said, "No, expect for those dark splashes...here, here and here"...Thank heaven for fresh 5-year old eyes. The men are hopeless. And I am boycotting porkchops for a LONG time!

B.
Added a pic of my horrific injuries:

I have just finished reading one of the books that will go on "the list" of the books I've red this year. I read a lot, but not many end up on my public "recommend" list. My "guilty pleasures" list is a really long one, but the "real" list has only one title to it for this year. Well, maybe 3.

The book I'm talking about is called The Book Thief, and it is written by Markus Zusak. The subject of the book is everything I run away from. Just mention me a Nazi Germany and I'm out of there. I'm not into depressing books, and Nazi Germany holds a crown of all depressing books. I've heard that genocide books from different parts of Africa are giving it a run for its money, but I have not read any of those, so I can not say much.

So, how did I come across this book? It started with one review on sparkpeople.com of all places. One lady was singing high praises for this book, and she was so touched by this book that it made me look it up on Amazon. So once I saw that it was set in Nazi Germany I cooled off immediately. I don't do THAT depressing. One thing I look for in the books is for them to lift up my spirits, not put them down.
So, how did I manage to read it, you might want to know. Well, I went to buy a can rack on Amazon, and they have that little thing called "previously viewed items", and it was sitting right there and staring at me. So, the sucker I am, I click on it and read some more of the reviews and synopsis. One thing I found out is that the narrator of the book was Death. The seed was planted. It took me another few months and countless reminders from Amazon, and the book arrived at my doorstep. It took me another few months (till this week) to actually decide to read it.
I must say that the book held my interest quite well for the most part. I savored the characters. It took me back to my grandpa and I was gently reminded of all the things that tied me to him. This morning I reached page 512, and I was sobbing uncontrollably. I will often cry while reading the book, but that one page has made me lose it ugly. Just one page of 550. That one page was worth it. I am glad beyond measure that I have read this book. It is right there on top of my "list", and I think I'll be going back to re read it periodically.

Now, for that one haircut. I had one yesterday. I look like back in 6th grade. The worst part is that I have a picture to prove it. Think Suri Cruise. Actually I'm so cute with my bangs I could give Suri run for her money:-). Now the creepy part is that I'm actually going to publish this last sentence.

Hugs,

Ms D.

It all comes down to this: I talked to my mom yesterday, and she told me that she does not want to come over this Christmas/Winter.

At this point I'm just indifferent to it because she has been changing her mind for the last few months and I seriously got tired of it. For a moment there, I thought that my babies will get to enjoy the company of their grandmother for a couple of months. We have not seen her for over a year and a half now. A lot has happened in that time, and the fact that sheer laziness is keeping her away makes me really sad.

I know that getting visa and going on the plane and all that can be frightening, but I still don't understand why she doesn't want to come and see S and J. On top of that I have a central heat that would keep her warm (which was one of the main reasons why she wanted to come in the first place). Then I made a mistake and sent her money to buy a wood space heater and now she won't be cold, which means she doesn't need to come here anymore. Just a tad bit self centered, don't you think?

Anyway, she said that we will talk again in Spring, so I guess saga continues...

Ms D.

How do I get rid of mice. I don't care at this point about being humane. Two nights ago I had one in my livingroom and I have all the couches pulled from the walls so the cat has easier access. I was working with the cat me holding a broom stick sliding it under the couch where the mouse was (cat was letting me know big time) and then it, the mouse ran to the sliding glass door as my butt jumped on the coffee table with the broom whispering bailey here, here why I'm whispering I don't know. So i'm done being nice and the stupid traps I have don't do squat. I had set a trap with cheese in it and the next morning, no lie, the thing was snaped and the cheese was gone!!!! NO MOUSE! It was like stealing candy from a baby. I bet that little mouse was laughing the entire time eating it. I'm hesitate to do poisen b/c of the kids and animal and I don't want the mice to rot in the house and I can't find them, ewww what a great smell that would be. Oh and I have downey dry sheets stuck everywhere b/c I heard they don't like it and it keeps them away!

Okay fast forward to today. I went to walmart and bought 4 different kinds of mouse traps. I did get a mouse last night but it wasn't by any of the "new" mouse traps it was from the above mentioned mouse trap that hasn't worked for the last week! I feel aweful but the little critters can't live here in this house. So I will bury it and then reset it.

Oh and I can't forget to share this lovely mouse story. On Saturday my lovely daughter Emmy went to the bathroom and she comes tome and says mommy there is some thing yucky on the floor and I stepped in it. So I was like great the cat or dog threw up. Well I was right so I help Emmy wash her foot and send her back to bed. WELL, I put the light on to clean the mess and oh my god it was the most grosses thing I have seen in a long time. Bailey my cat had caught a mouse ate it and then threw it up! GAG. I was a mess of blood guts and little bone must have been the foot or something. Needless to say I was gagging the entire time cleaning that mess and it was a terrible mess and I couldn't eat for a long time just the vision had my stomach turning for hourse. Still makes me shudder.

So there you have my most exciting week thus far. One mouse down, how many more to go? I don't know.

Domestic Diva

PS- I'm on the hunt to see where the rodents are coming in from.

Well, I am back from my 5 weeks in South Africa...dammit. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and am thrilled to see them, but it just sucked to have to say goodbye to my parents-yet again! They are so dear to me, and we have always been exceptionally close...so it never really gets any easier to say goodbye, and anyone who says differently has not met MY parents! They are just adorable:-)

Anyhow, now I am depressed. This always happens after I get back, and (thankfully) my husband has seen it all and understands. I am low...I am sad...I ache...it happens, and I will get over it. For now though, some pics from my trip...

(My parents)

(My brother & his family)

October is one of the busiest months in our household. That and the fact that my computer is out of commission are the reasons why I have been so quite lately.

Lets see, first part of the month I tried to study for my classes, only to drop my web class half way through the month. That was just going nowhere to me. I felt bad for dropping it for like 3 sec after I did it, but then I was sooo happy and relieved. I can go on and on about why I dropped that class, but I will spare you that drama, unless you really want to know!

So, when I think about October, things that come to mind are: birthdays, pumpkins, orange color, birthdays, beautiful changing colors of nature, falling leaves, birthdays, pumpkin patch, hey ride, carving pumpkin, birthdays, Halloween and birthdays. Now, I know B you are sitting next to the beach eating ice cream, but this is October in Maryland.

Two monumental things have happened this month (well three if you count me dropping my class). First one is that my baby boy has turned 3 years old. He is so big now. We managed to get him potty trained on time and my baby has started preschool. Now this is that second monumental thing I was talking about. Starting preschool is a big, no make that huge, step for this household, albeit small for mankind. He did great. Much better than expected. Though, for some reason he can't get it into his little head why he has to go back there over and over. Today I took the cupcakes to his class and they sang him Happy Birthday. No, make that the teacher and I were singing and eight three year old kids were looking at us like we had pumpkins for our heads. Now that is another monumental thing. I made cupcakes. That was the first time I made cupcakes, can you believe that? My older one is summer child so I never had to take cupcakes for him to school. Note to self, if I ever have third child, make him/her summer child:-).

The rest of the month is going to be just as exciting. Now that soccer season is over we are having a little party, i.e. the trophy award ceremony. Then my transformer Bumblebee and Optimus Prime will go around the neighborhood trick-or-treating for Halloween. And I get two hours on Wednesday to spend in my own company. It can't get much better than that. I think I might go and by some shoes.

Hugs to all,

Ms D.

5 years ago today god gave me one of the 3 best things I have in my life... my daughter. Today my sweet baby girl (middle child) turned the tend age of 5!! It makes my heart so sad to see how fast time has flown. I remember it like yesterday, going into the hospital to have her and then I blinked and 5yrs have passed. She is my sweet tender hearted little girl. Shes soft spoken and has the heart of an angel. She loves everything and everyone. She is sensitive of others needs and is a friend to all. She is so beautiful both inside and out. I love her so very much and I just thank the good lord that he chose me to be her mother.

We had her birthday parties this past weekend. She had a friends party at McDonalds b/c it was last min and I was debating whether or not to have one for her. You have to invite every child in the class and she has 18 classmates so I was not risking having a ton of kids in my house and in upstate NY there is not a lot to do for birthday parties, it's a shame really. Then on Saturday night we had a family party made some dinner and had cake and ice cream. She had a great time and I think it's safe to say everyone did. My family didn't leave till 10! Well 10:20 to be exact, but we enjoyed every min of it.

Okay well I'm going to sign off with a picture of me and my 5yr old:). Enjoy.

Ok, I admit it...I am super anxious right now!!

Allow me to explain. My father who is in his 70's, is a double amputee with heart problems has now developed unexpained breathing problems as well. He is taken care of soley by my mother, who is only a year younger than he. Since I live on another continent, I have been unable to help out. Well, I speak to my mom a couple of weeks ago, and things sound dire...he is NOT doing well...and now I am running scared. I have always had guilt about leaving them and being this far away, but it is awful when either of them are ill. Now hear this...I am a HUGE daddy's girl, and love my mama as well, so this really hurts my heart! Anyhow, so after a mini consultation with my brother and husband, I decided that it is time for me to step up and go over there to help out. Dammit, it is high time.

Herein lies the problem...what about the kids?! My husband is a (and I quote Cedric the Entertainer on this one) "grown a** man, dog", and can see to himself. Do I take the kids? What about C's school? S is alomst 2...can he be without his mama? Well, after much soul searching it is clear to me that I would be zero help to my mom if I brought them along. Rational, yes...emotional, yes sirreebob! Once the decision was made and logistics worked out as well as reinforecements called in (my husbands parents who-God love 'em- are coming in from their FL vacation), I am sorted.

But am I at peace?-Faaaaarrr from it. I am anxious. Not that they will not be ok...they are with their father, for Pete's sake! He will play Mr Mom for a week before his parents fly in. But that I will be ok...I am already missing them all. Ish...I feel slightly sick at the thought.

So, pray for me. I am thrilled that I am given the chance to bless my parents with this visit...one-on-one time we have not had in 7 years, but I am so anxious about leaving my family for a MONTH.

Thanks for letting me vent.

-Buffy-

I get a call from the school nurse this morning, the kids JUST got to school. Let me give you some background on our mornings event.

I was taking the kids to the bus stop and as we walk down the stairs the cat (MIL'S) was back towards us so when I looked or shall I say we all looked and the cat had a chipmunk in his mouth just head and arms the back side was still out and VERY much fighting for it's life! So I put H down and start to kick and swat at the cat to let the thing go and the darn cat ran under the deck. SOOO E is white and is just horrified and speachless, P is saying OHHH the poor chipmunk and H is still walking towards the bus stop all of a sudden E is sobbing so hard. I'm trying to explain basically as said on nemo , "fish gotta swim, birds gotta eat" (but did not use that metaphor) so she is crying on and off, she tells me that it's just aweful. The bus comes she seemed fine.

Well I just got a call that she is crying and they wanted to let me know and all they can get out of her is the cat ate her pet chipmunk, it is not her pet by any means but she is the "animal fairy" so all the animals are her pet and she loves them lol. So I tell the nurse the story and she is like oh I see and is trying to be very serious so she asked if she can speak to her about how animals need to eat smaller ones sometime to survive ect so I'm like sure. So she tells me she will call if she can't get her to settle down. fine. I just knew this was going to ruin her day she is such a animal lover and I hated that they had to see it but really it is part of life.

DD

PS- she said we feed Smokey why does he need to eat other animals lol. She is way to young to understand instinct.

We had such a great time! I really honestly couldn't had a better time. Ms. D already gave a pretty accurate run down of the days events so I'll just add a few more.

Okay I'm a nervous nelly and while my 2 dear friends are much more relaxed well okay the husbands too I'm like this high strung keep the kids in eye site at all time which was hard to do and honestly exhausting but it we managed to do it and all the kids where sent home with the right parents;). I will say that my guys where sad to leave their friends but I did get a THANK YOU MOMMY for letting us see our friends today, needless to say they miss you all dearly:(.

I'm not a germaphobic by any means but like Ms. D had already said the kids where touching everything they could get thier grubby little hands on. Oh my goodness it was driving me mad and D I had to LOL with " I was starting to dream about decontamination rooms" b/c I was thinking something very similar and when they got some good hot baths when we got home! Okay the next morning b/c we didn't get home till 2am.

By the end of the night the kids where done as where the parents. Poor Buffy did have a sore foot but she was such a trooper and just hobbled along with us not even complaining though deep down she was just screaming LETS GO HOME!!! Weren't you Buffy. You're such a trooper and thanks for taking one for the team/group. I hope your foot is feeling better now FYI.

As for the diner that we ate at I wasn't overly excited about it and it wasn't that good to be honest or at least I didn't think so and neither did Stud. Over priced which was b/c of location and the food was ahh. The service was "okay" too though Buffy you may have gotten better service b/c of your little flirting boy. OHHHH and I was so put off with the waitress telling your kids to sssshhhhh. She said it twice, if she had said it again I was going to say something. First, it's a friggin diner not a high class resturant it was late and the boy who was squealing isn't even friggin 2 yet! Okay she pissed me off big time to say the least.

Lunch the sandwich I had was okay though I did hear a few say sthe sauce was to sweet I don't like pizza and hardly ever eat it so I can't comment on it but if we weren't so darn rushed it would have been better. I hate being rushed and to add to it my darling Stud of a husband lost our tickets to Statue so he was stressing to find a computer and of course I'm stressing too b/c I know he is stressing. See I have to worry about everyone else as oppose to just worrying about me. So what if we couldn't get on the ferry, yes it would have sucked but I'm fairly certain life would go on but I also know that my Stud would have been grouchy over it.

I will say going to ground zero had me choked up. I wish we had gone during the day so I could put my sunglasses on. I had a huge lump in my throat and if I really thought to much at the site I would have been a sobbing mess and I didnt' want my kids to see that and honestly I didn't want anyone to see it lol. I'm not a big public crier (I'm a big crier:) and being there and thinking would have sent me over the edge. So I said my prayers in my head for the victims and thier families. Then concentrated on the kids again lol. It really made my heart happy to pay respect to ground zero it's something I've wanted to do for a long time and i'm glad I was able to make it there before we move.

We all had a fun filled day and it is something I will always remember. Oh and I enjoyed the mama mia moment and me singing Laura Burkner song that damn Victor Vito... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQVNX4L2aRo

Domestic Diva

PS- if I can figure out the picture I'll post one of those too.

Just to show how fun it was, I had to post this pic of my firstborn.

Ms D.

We had such a lovely time in NYC. I am beside myself that I got to experience it, and with my dearest friends to boot. You can't get much better than that.

I do wish to remember this trip, so bear with me for trying to write down as many details as I can remember, and please ladies feel free to fill in if I have forgotten or missed something.

I have had but a few days to plane this trip, so I was very stressed out and just plane confused in the days coming up to the trip. Of course, the fact that I had two journals due had nothing to do with that:-).
Anyway, my first obstacle in planing this trip has been finding a place where to stay. I was just appalled to see the prices of hotels, and once I tried to find a privet apartment I was faced with lots and lots of rejections. I have been rejected so many times that it was starting to affect my self esteem :-). The reasons for rejections were primarily that "they were full", but also everyone got cold feet when they learned that I only needed to rent for two nights. Apparently, they don't do that in New York. Aside from being said "no", I was even more annoyed by the people who did not even care enough to send me a "no". I have not received response from 3-4 people, and there were only 2 who actually gave me some direction after telling me that "they were full".
So, all depressed and feeling like a worm, I tell my husband to find a place. So he calls this hotel in New Jersey, and they have opening and price is in our range, and if we want to reserve via email or phone. That was IT!
Next thing I do is write my journals the last possible moment and we are off. Wait, that would be too easy.
My husband comes home early and we decide to run a few errands. We don't leave this place until six o'clock and takes us 4.5 hours to get there. Next little surprise for me was the amount of tolls you need to pay on the way there. I've never done this before so dishing out close to $20 just for tolls was a surprise. On a way there, my freshly potty trained child refuses to ware diaper, and he happens to have this frantic fear of public rest rooms. Things could not have gotten any more interesting. So here I am trying to get the poor thing to go, I even offer to take him to go "pee a tree", but he refuses because it is dark and he is "scares". So I put diaper on him, but he does not want to pee in his diaper so he is scream "help me, go home potty", and this is just breaking my heart. We finally make it to the hotel and we have this lovely room with two queen size beds, and my baby finally gets to go!

The next morning we get up at 6 am to get ready and go into our adventure.

First we need to figure out bus and subway system to get to Ms Buffy's apartment. This of course entails its share of drama, but we finally manage to get somewhere and for the best of us we can't figure out how to find this apartment. We are on 56th street but according to MS B's dear husband, who happens to answer the phone, we have gone too far. I was like, please, just don't make me go back. I'll just stay here at the Trump tower and you all just go and do your thing. So I ignore what he told me, and I go the other way and you know it there is Mr Buffy coming towards us. He was gonna send us the wrong way, and I was gonna step on his foot right there and then, but I had to sustain myself, Buffy will need someone to haul kids around.

When we got to the apartment, Mr Buffy made me a cup of coffee and all was well with the world again.

Then we got joined by DD and her clan, and off we were to the Empire State Building. First we had to take subway, and our kids just had to touch every trash can on the way there, I was starting to dream about decontamination rooms and such. The only thing that gave me some hope was that little bottle of hand antibacterial cleaner strapped to my purse. I'm not going anywhere without that thing ever again.

So, here we are at the ESB. Security is kind of crazy and they just make you go in line and off you are through the mase. And we went, and then some more, and at this point nausea sets in, and then we got to the elevators.
The thing catapults us to the 80th floor, and DD and Buffy talk about what if it opens and shoots us into space type of things. At the 80th floor we have to go to another elevator to the 86th floor observatory. So we get there and we have magnificent view of everything New York. That view just makes you feel really, really small, and that you can fall down really, really hard. It took us about and hour and a half just to get to see that view, but it was worth every second of it. It just gave me an incredible feeling that I can touch that plane flying above us:-).

After ESB we are off to eat something and then go to Liberty Island. We find some pizza place (anyone knows what was it called?), and we have pizza, and after that no one can imagine eating pizza for few weeks. Except, now we have to get onto boat that is rocking quit a bit, and you can just feel that pizza rocking inside you.

I forgot to mention that the day was beautiful and we couldn't ask for better weather that day. So, we wait in line, get on the boat, and off we are to see Lady Liberty. She looks magnificent from the water and so does NY skyline. This is the point where we take a gazillion pictures and try to prevent children from jumping into the water. Once we get to the Island we stroll around a bit. Mr Buffy gets a present from pigeons (that is for that phone call earlier in the day), and we also get to witness Ms Buffy herself running after her little one. I took a picture but it is all just a blur, she was running THAT fast. Then we take some more pictures and kids play some more. Then Buffy and DD's families go to see the inside of the monument, and my boys and I go to chill and have some ice cream, because we didn't get to buy thickets on time. We also needed to chill for a bit, lots of walking wares you down. Not to mention that I had to carry my kid for the most part as well.

After our visit to Liberty Island we gut suckered down by street vendors and I had my kid's names written out in animalese and DD had her family's last name done as well. I am glad we did it, but carrying that thing around was not very cool. Buffy decided to remain the cool one of the bunch and not do it, and her foot hurt. Now I just throw that in, didn't I.

So off we went to see sight of World Trade Center. Now, there is something about that place I just couldn't put my finger on. Maybe it was the dusk that did it, but there was some leeriness in the air. We couldn't see much except the empty space, but I know it gave me the whole new perspective on the size of the event. I think that everyone should see this place, just to realize how horrific it really is, and it puts things into perspective.

After visit to WTC we were ready to call it a day, but we had to eat something, so we went to Madison Square and saw it from distance and found a little diner (can anyone remember the name of it?). My little one fell asleep in there, so I had to carry him to the subway and buss and all the way to the hotel. My older baby was tired too, and he fell asleep in the buss. My husband almost fell asleep, too, and I had to nudge him a few times. I needed someone to carry some stuff.

We came to the hotel room so tired and exhausted and HAPPY! It was a really nice day. We got to see most of the things we planed to see, and it was really fun. And my baby got over his fear of public restrooms.

Ms D.

We had such a great time in the Big Apple, that I felt inspired to post a picture...drum roll please...Here is my family *gasp*

After a crazy, fun weekend with the ladies and their families (thank you again, Ms D & DD), we were driving home and it was kinda late...the kids were definately sleepy, and my oldest was eyeing her brothers' blankey...she finally works up the nerve to ask hime to share. Now please remember that he is just shy of 2, so sharing is not exactly in his repetoire just yet...anyhow, I hear her ask...and he ignores the request. So she asks again. Same deal. Finally she raises her voice at him and asks him if she can PLEEEASE have a turn with his blankey...I then hear a moment of silence followed by...wait for it...and extra loud fake snoring sound!:-) Isn't that the darndest thing?

So you remember me complaining about potty training my little girl (she's just a little over 2) and how I wanted to wait but she had other plans? Well i'm thrilled to report that potty training is going beautifully. She had one accident in the last 3 days and that was b/c my other child was using the bathroom and we only have one bathroom (yes gasp it's crazy) anyway she cried when she peed her pants but it wasn't her fault. So this morning she woke up at 6:30 to go potty and her pull up was DRY!!!!! I was so excited. So we are well on our way to no more diapers in my house and sadly in my life well till my kids MANY years from now have children of their own. I'm so proud of her and happy that I haven't recieved any more gray hair do to the whole potty training stress.

I'm also very, very excited for this weekend. We are going to the NYC with my stud (remember that is my husband) and friends of ours that would be Buffy and HOPEFULLY Ms. D (no pressure D:). I had a dream last night about it and I was stuck in Brooklyn and that was not where I wanted to be but I couldn't get out of there. I think the dream is from us going there and a book I'm reading where a girl is stuck in Brooklyn but I find it funny that I'm dreaming about it.

I'm joining a gym YET again. I was doing sooooo good the last time I joined a gym and I'm hoping I will do good this time around too. I know I will b/c I have it in me that I will and as we all know will power is what is the key in any success or failure, I choose to successed.

Okay well that is it from my part of the world. Hope my peeps are doing well.

Domestic Diva

Figuring definition for progress is proving to be more difficult than I could ever imagine. After quiet a bit of thinking and amazing breakthrough of my baby, I have come up with my own definition of progress. Here goes it:
This is my baby last July:



And this is my baby yesterday:



Accident free for second day in the row! Now, progress really makes mama proud!

Ms D.

OK Ms DD...

Your husband cracks me up all the time...but I think you know this, right?! Well, yesterday he comes to me all formal like, and says, "If you and Mr B want to go out on the weekend, I would be happy to watch the kids...after they go to bed." I was sort of speechless, momentarily, and I think he took this to mean that I was offended with the whole "after they go to bed" thing, 'cause then he launched into an explanation that involved "girl parts", and his own vs ours etc. I know... he is FUNNY! Anyhow, just wanted to let you know....not that you didn't already have an inkling, mind you...Lol....your husband is a sweetheart.

B.

I love Regency romances. One of their characteristics is that they have these mamas who want to get their sons and daughters married, and the latter ones just cringe every time they come across one of these marriage hungry mamas. One reason I like these is because I can sit back and laugh at them, because, you know, things are so different now. Right?

Anyway, this morning I got an email from my sister who still lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). She started off by asking me to write to her about my life because her life is so terrible and she needs cheering up! Then she proceeds to tell me how she would like nothing better than to go to some deserted Island where no one can find her. To anyone who knows my 19 yo sister first thing that would come to mind is boy troubles. Soon after her first email there was another one from her just saying in one sentece that mom wants me to call her. Oh boy, now I know defientley that there are boy troubles. Even worse, mom and boy troubles. Still ever hopefull, I call mom hoping it is just the fact that she misses me so much and wants to hear the sound of my voice (mind you we did talk on Monday, but still), and she answers the phone, and starts talking about this one guy that was coming home with my sis, and it turns out she was inviting him and what not. Then she tells me that my sis is in a bathroom and will come out any second and to call her tomorrow so she can talk in peace about all the troubles my sis has put her through. Sigh!

Deja vu! This has happened so many times I'm starting to know it word by word. You see, what happened is that she got upset with my sister over the guy. She wants her to find an appropriate match, and this boy must be lacking on the "appropriate" front. My sister will feel like mom is telling her what to do. Than she will go into lonely spell where she complains that she doesn't have any friends, and that is because none of them are to my mom's liking. My mom lives strictly by that saying "you are who you hang around with" or something like that. She has done the same thing to my brother! How did I get lucky to avoid that? Now that I think about it, I didn't. I just married someone to my mom's liking! Now, I did get lucky.

So, I tell you, those regency mamas have nothing on my mom! Lord help us all!

Ms D.

I knew there was some news I wanted to share! My little sister and her hubby are expecting their first child in May!!!! She is very early on and like the rest of us get pregnant the first time she tries:). We have some good baby making genes I guess. We are interested to see if she is having 1 or 2! Twins run in our family, I'm a twin and she is a twin so ifs she's lucky maybe she'll get 2 for the price of one and then I'd be oh so jealous, I always wanted twins.

This makes my 11th niece or nephew and my parents 14th grandchild. This is my sis' hubby's parents first grandchild. My parents are going to have more before all is said and done b/c my little brother (my sis's twin brother) isn't married yet but he plans on having children one day so our family is going to grow by leaps and bounds.

Anyway, that is my very exciting news.

Domestic Diva

So last Thursday was the first day of school for my little ones. P has started first grade and my little E has started Kindergarten. It was an emotional week for me b/c I just hate sending off my kids but then I don't have the patiences enough to home school so off they go on the big, big yellow school bus into the big, big school:(. Today is the first full day of school for them so I have only my little miss H till 3pm.

So some may wonder wow are you going to be bored? What are you going to do with yourself now that it's just you and H? Well let me tell you what I have planned this week.

POTTY TRAINING! I hate potty training and it has never been hard for my kids or for me but it's the constant nagging of the kids, i.e do you have to go pee pee? Do you have to go potty? Where do you go pee pee? Where do you go poo poo? Watching them a hawk so if need be you can wisk them up and run to the bathroom or bring them every so often and then of course you have to make sure they are drinking tons so that they get the urge to pee a lot. Now here I am complaining when I just stated that we've never had issues pting but it's draining.

It was MY intentions to potty train little miss H when we moved to Malaysia but she had/has other plans. She just turned 2 at the very end of June and has been going pee on the potty for some time probably a good 2-3 months but I was just humoring her b/c after all I had no intentions of pting her till Feb. Well she has been asking more often and going all the time so I figured well why am I holding her back just run with it she is obviously not wanting to wear diapers anymore, not that I can blame her they have to be super uncomfy. Anyway, today and the rest of the week will be soley focused on pting her. I will say so far so good. She had one accident and thank goodness it was pee on the kitchen floor but she has asked to go all morning and even went poo on the potty this morning. I never though in a million years (before kids) that I would be excited about pee and poo lol. It is exciting though and to see their face light up when they get it is beyond words that my heart feels or most mothers and fathers.

Anyway that is the exciting going ons in my life. Sending my kids off to school pee and poop. Does life get better then this?!?! I think not!

Off to the potty,

Domestic Diva

It's Monday! Do I need to say anything else?

Anyway, the whole last week felt like one big Monday! This Monday is a beginning of our 3rd week of Kindergarten and 2nd week of my school. You see, I'm trying to get my degree in psychology, and with the rate I'm going I'm just trying to beat my 5 yo to college graduation.

Things have started off well, it is just that I am having problems adjusting. This is first time I have kid in school, and for those who don't have any (you lucky bastards), there is so much to know.
Information overload!
You must know what day they have what center, so that you can dress them appropriately (ok, this hasn't really been a problem, because boys are easy to dress, just some pants and shirt and you're done). Then, you have to know what they are having for lunch, and then you have to decide if it is something that your child will eat. If not, then you have to pack a lunch. Then, there is a snack, and you just can't send some Orioes you know, it has to be nutritious. Well, this wasn't really a problem either, because my child loves him some carrots and apples and bananas and raisins and oranges and so on. So, snack is easy part.
Then we have all those papers from school. You know the ones that never stop coming and the ones that are overflowing my dining room table as I type this. I have found myself on few occasions, last week, staying up late so I could catch up on all that reading. It is not a joking matter, you just can't be out of the loop.
Then there are box tops (why did I get myself into this, why), homeworks, volunteering and of course - soccer!

Then, there is my school! Society and Technology, and Intro to Business. Now, someone has failed to mention to me that these two are almost the same class! Which means that I'm reading the same thing twice (problem is that I forget which one is which). I guess this way some of it may stay in my long term memory, but the thing is anyone who breathes already knows what progress is, and they don't have to write journals about it! Both subjects at the beginning of the book have a section on why is this subject important. So if you must tell me why is this subject important for me to learn then it must not be so important after all! In parts to me, it is a common sence, but I'm sure by the end of the semester I'll be able to tell you exact definition of enterprenuership. Ok, this is topic for whole another post! I will report if I learn something!

Did I mention I have whole another potty troubled child? I'll tell you... later!

Ms D.

I should have done this a long time ago but I've been a bit preoccupied with well, life. She basically gave you the low down on herself. She's married to a pretty sweet guy whom I will refer to as Miss Buffy's Stud:) and she has 2 of the most adorable kids ever whom we (my family) just adores. Not only is she all the above, she is really smart. Not only does she tend to 2 kiddies, a dog name Jake, keep a house and make time for her hubby, she goes to school at night to get her nursing degree (she will make a fine nurse, I'll tell you that) .

Okay on to Buffy, she is a pretty laid back gal with a heart of gold and oh so funny and shall I say like her little girl witty. She is fairly quick with a come back for just about anything you throw at her, very quick on her feet. Not only is she a beautiful person on the inside I'd say she is pretty darn cute on the outside too;). Now her niceness is not to be confused with being a pushed over. She will stand her ground with all issues. What she believes, she believes, but yet she is so opened minded that she can and will listen to others opinions and not discount them.

I'll have to think of some good stories to share about Buffy and Ms D considering they constantly tease me about the birthday party planning (hey someone had to think about it otherwise it would have been a mess b/c we no doubt picked the same day for a party but anyway...). I do have a wonderful story on manners that I will share one day. It was priceless and maybe not as funny once I write it but it was oh so funny and something I get a chuckle about when I hear someone "burp".

My 5 year old is a sassy, opinionated girl...and I wouldn't have her any other way. She cracked with up yesterday though...

She just started kindergarten, and I guess it is all the rage to bring soup for lunch (I know...huh?!). Anyhow, it never occurred to me that she would need or want a thermos, so it was not on the supplies list. Well, yesterday she asked me if she could take soup for her lunch. After giving her a is-this-child-serious look, and furrowing my eyebrows together, I informed her that she doesn't have a thermos. So she asks if I could get one for her. I replied that if I was able to get to it, I would do it...

That girl's reply to me?!...

Well, if you don't, YOU'RE FIRED!!

So this evening my children and I dropped of my wonderful husband and their wonderful father at the airport to go back to MD. Well let me tell you this was the most terrible experience that I've had with my children, okay one of the most terrible experiences. My son (6) cried and cried he was so sad and was making sure we knew it, he informed me that this was the worst day of his life, talk about ripping my heart out. My eldest little girl (4) just sobbed quietly in her car seat saying I'm so sad and I miss daddy. I'm like just rip my heart out and feed it to me b/c this seriously sucks. I know it had to be awful for my hubby too, he must have felt so sad to leave his crying/screaming son and tearful little girl. A simple goodbye it wasn't. I still have a terrible knot in my stomach that I hope with sleep will go away. On a better note the kids have settled down and only occasionally come to me and tell me how sad they are and how much they miss daddy though he has been gone less then 3 hours:).

Tomorrow we are going to make a calendar to count the days till he comes home to visit with us.

So there you have it taking daddy to the airport is not fun and will always suck unless we are leaving with him.

A very sad and lonely,

Domestic Diva

Hi ladies,

I am seriously considering going on Britney Spears Diet! What is Britney Spears Diet? I have no idea! I just saw the other day on TV that she has cut all sugar out of her diet (including Starbucks)! Now, you tell me, would I be able to do that?

The reason why I'm even asking is because I just put on my fancy pair of pants in order to go to my first class of this semester, and would ya know it! They are tight! So, I did little (okey a lot) of soul searching, and I have realized that sugar is my weak spot (just think those scones I made yesterday). As a matter of fact, sugar is HUGE part of my diet in general, and the one thing I was never able to resist. I am addicted to sugar! I am. My name is Ms D. and I am sugarholic! There you go, I've said it!

Can I do this? Or should I just abandon the whole idea and go eat cake or something! One thing is for sure, I would be a hell of a person going through sugar withdrawal!

Ms D.

OK, so my husband and I sometimes have some-off-the-wall conversations...and I am sure we are not unusual on that score. Well, this one was a doozy! It centered around a rather...um...odd question.

Here's how it went down...we were talking about his skydiving jaunts (all two of them), and I was yet again stating the fact that there was NO WAY, not in this lifetime or the next that I would want to jump out of a plane for no apparent reason other than "the thrill"...(yeah, whatever, dude). Well, his next mission is to go...wait for this one...SHARKDIVING. WTF, I hear you say. And I would be right there with you on that. And he wants to do it in South Africa too, where if you are any kind of Shark Week enthusiast worth your salt you would know that these maneaters do crazy things like leap out of the water to catch their pray. Lovely. The image alone gives me nightmares. Needless to say I stated that it would be a cold day in Hades before I would ever think of doing such a loonytoons thing. Then he muses that he is always surprised at how many people would never skydive. Um...okaaaay. Then he hits me with the question. Well, which would you rather do??

So then this was my dilemma...ethical of course, since as I stated before...there is no amount of money that would entice me to do either. Ok, maybe if we are talking double digit millions! Anyhoo, lets move on from my easily corrupted soul to the issue at hand...which would I rather choose if I were being dangled off a cliff, held only by my toenails...(lemme give you a moment to digest that little image...)

I thought long and hard, and the answer, Alex Trebeck, is....

a) I would rather jump out of a plane hundreds if meters above sea level (my preferred altitude) plummeting to certain death than face a horrific beast of the deep with a double row of razor sharp teeth (aka a great white shark) shielded only by some iron bars in a tiny cage while submerged in the beasts own environment, thank you!

I think this to be a fair and well thought out answer. How about you?

-Buffy-

Ok, Ms Domestic Diva, I was supposed to introduce you! I've been thinking long and hard about something nice to say about you, and finally I came up with two sentences, and there you have it. She stole my thunder!!! I might have to go back to thinking board again!

Well, the thing is, her husband is visiting her right now, so I understand she got carried away, so... I FORGIVE YOU!

Let me get started then.

As she herself stated it so nicely, she is totally crazy about her man, and really you can't help but chuckle when two of them poke fun at each other.
Some might wonder why is she Domestic Diva? Well, truth be told, there is no hair on her head, or in her house, that is out of the place. When someone says word perfection, Ms Domestic Diva comes to mind. She is the type that does all her dishes by hand, and she stores grocery bags in her dishwasher. There you go, Ms DDiva, now the whole world can read it:-). She also likes to plan things. She has lists, and everything is planed out in details.

Like on this one occasion,.... Wait, I have to put little intro to this story first. I’ve been waiting since last year to make this story sat in stone:

Buffy and I happen to have a kid born the same month as Domestic Diva's kid. Buffy and I took planning of birthday parties lightly last year. Don't get me wrong, we love birthday parties, but what we like even more is going to the other one's party! So, one day some time before the month in question, we receive this email from our dear friend Ms Domestic Diva. I believe she consulted her calendar and decided that her child will have a birthday party first week, so that Buffy can have her party week after that, and then I can have party for my little one week after that. Nevertheless, Buffy and I did not dare to oppose, and it turned out really well I thought:-). Now that she has moved away, her planning abilities will be much missedJ.

So, other than her planning abilities, what were those good things I wanted to write about? Well, first one is her humor. She makes me smile, and I enjoy teasing her immensely. I love it that she doesn’t get offended easily, but I’m sure that that is only because she dishes it out with the same intensity!

The other thing is, well, she has given my kids bucket loads of clothes, so I didn’t have to go and buy a single shirt this summer. Do I need to say anything else? I didn’t think so!

Ms D.

Okay let me start with saying Buffy is lying, she is a lot of fun and highly entertaining, much more then I, so I will claim the boring title!

I'm also a 32 yr old SAHM to 3 wonderful children, P is 6, E is 4 (almost 5 waahhh) and H is 2; 1 boy 2 girls. I have a loving and super dee dooper husband Mr. M and he totally rocks my world in so many ways (pull you head out fo the gutter please), I've been married to Mr. M or Stud as I like to refer to him for 9yrs and I'd say marriage is like a fine wine it gets better with age/time. For the time being my children and I live in somewhere NY and hubby lives back in MD with good friends of ours. We will be moving again in Jan and sadly it will be very far away from my two good friends Ms. D and Buffy.

I believe that Buffy has shared with how we all met so I won't bore you with that again but I will say if you ever have the chance to find friends as good as Ms. D or Buffy then your set. These are two of the most awesome women I know and I truely mean it. Ms. D or Betty Crocker as I like to tease her with has a heart of gold and will give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. She is a true blessing and I'm happy and very lucky to have her in my life. Buffy on the other hand (sticks out tongue)... well I'll get to her in my next post she is pretty darn special too but at the current time I have 3 wild kids wanting to get to the library so I'll be back soon with more on Ms. Buffy.

Domestic Diva

Imagine this song in the background..."I don't think you're ready, for this jelly"...Beyonce and company said it best!

Ms D is a dynamo in a small package!! She is a force to be reckonned with, despite being the youngest member of this trio. This lady is like a cross between Martha Stewart (he nickname, behind her back..ha ha ha) and Anderson Cooper. She is everything you want in a friend 'cause she makes delicious treats when you visit (this is my favourite thing-I have met my match when it comes to someone who loves cake as much as I do), and listens to all your whining...but also offers a fresh perspective on things. She is one of those people I never hesitate to call on, and has humbled me a couple of times with her generosity and willingness to step in and help out my family when needed. She's good peeps:-)

She has seen some stuff in her day, and it makes her so much wiser than her peers. Being from the former Bosnia & Herzigovina (lord, how do you spell that anyway?!) she has seen the horrors of war, and can set anyone straight on that one.

Ms D is a homemaker, student, wife, mom, passionate reader (thanks for those darn vampire romances you got me hooked on, D...yup, you read it right), sister, daughter, good little Catholic girl (hee hee), new soccer mom, great neighbor (ie she lets the neighborhood kids come and hang out...when I would have kicked the little suckers out long ago) etc.

Anything else you wanna know...ask the Domestic Diva!

Lets get this bad boy started and see where it takes us. As the navy says let the Journey Begin!

DD

The Mama Mia Chronicles are officially open for business!

I am one third of the contributing party, so lemme introduce myself. I am a 33 yo SAHM (for the uninitiated in the world of mommy speak, that means Stay At Home Mom) with two children-C aged 5, and S is almost 2. I am married to a wonderful, crazy, frustrating man (B-man, he shall be called) for almost 7 long...um...I mean blissful years. We live in the DC 'burbs.

How I came to join this bog, you may ask. Well, two of my best friends (Domestic Diva) and Mama D and I decided that since the heavens were conspiring against us to move us apart (ok, so that's a little dramatic...we are moving to different parts of the state or world...or in the case of Mama D, holding down the fort in SoMD. We became friends through our children first, but now that is secondary (for me, anyway) to the real friendship we have forged. (Cue the violins)...

I love these girls...they make me a better person and mom...and if nothing else, they make me see that my life is pretty much where I am meant to be. They ROCK, dude:)

What can you expect from me...candid insights about my life, my household, my friends, family etc...an occassional rant about TV shows...book reviews (from when I read an actual book annually)...Wow, I sound exciting, don't I?? Stay tuned! The other two will make it worthwhile. Ha ha ha.