PYHO:Frustrated

This weekend started out as one of the best of this summer. We took the kids to the beach, we spent most of the day there. We had to leave earlier than planned because the ocean high tide came in earlier than expected, and farther into the shore. That should have been a sign.

Monday was going to be a busy day of washing laundry from the weekend, including wet bathing suits and damp towels and doing some house work. Best laid plans. Monday morning welcomed a stomach bug for me. For twelve hours I spent my time on my bed or in the bathroom. I will leave those details to the imagination. My husband, my knight in shining armor, came home from work to tend to the kids and do laundry for me.

I could not physically stand in the kitchen long enough to make breakfast for my kids. It really sucked for me.

What bothers me the most.? I can never get ahead. Just when things are going well, I get a curve ball and knocked out.

I'm behind on my housework again, but it's my day off from work. I didn't want to spend today doing ALL that house work plus more and ignore the kids. If I never get my regular work done, how will I ever get the computer/craft room reorganized? How will I find the time to paint the living room? I can hardly find the time to blog, let alone get anything extra done? I feel like I'm running in circles!

Either I choose to neglect the current housework and tackle an organizing task that could consume hours or shove the organizing aside like I've been doing for months... I thought I might do it this summer.

5QF:Summer

Is it Friday? Ah yes. I look forward to Friday's every week because it starts a four weekend for me every week! And now that the dance recital is over (pictures to come soon) there are no more dance classes on Friday nights. Yippeeee!! I get my Friday nights off again, at least until school starts again. Shhhh. I know, we have 10 more weeks left of summer and I plan to enjoy every bit of the sun, sand, surf and whatever other excursion we plan.

Now for some 5QF.


1. How close to your childhood dreams is your life now?

Funny you would ask, since I wrote this really off the wall post about what my life would be without kids. If I followed that childhood dream my life would be extremely different. My choices have not paralleled those dreams at all. So my life is not what I thought about as kid, not really.

2. What is one must have item for the summer?

FLIP FLOPS. I love my flip flops. I can slip into them and just go. Whether I need to run a quick errand, go to the pool, hit the beach or take a walk down the road chasing the kids in the Power Wheels Escalade, they're convenient. If you're looking to do a flip flop swap, my fellow blogger is having one.

3. Do you have your kids stay up on school stuff during summer vacation? (Or, if you don't have kiddos, did your parents make you keep up on school stuff during summer?)

Only Miss K is in school, Little E will be starting Pre K this fall. I never kept up too much on it besides having her continue to read and write stories during the summer. But last year she struggled with some Reading Comprehension testing in second grade so I purchased some books to help her out. Her teachers sent home books and workbooks that were not used during the school year so we're going to start doing a few pages each day. Third grade in Florida is a big year with FCAT testing. If your child doesn't score high enough, they will fail. I think that 12 weeks is too long during the summer (even though I am excited about all the fun time) for a kid to go without school. Little is pretty prepared, almost over prepared for Pre K and we'll be working on learning how to read this summer.

4. Do you can or freeze fresh produce?

Nope. I used to prepare baby food for Little E and freeze it when he was a baby, but other than that no. I probably should start thinking about it. We're growing fresh vegetables in our garden but have not attempted fruits. I want to start checking out my local farmers market to get some pesticide, GM free produce. If I got an overabundance I might just need to learn how to freeze or can it.

5. Do you get ready for the day first thing in the morning?

Only three out of the seven days a week I have to. Only in the summer anyways. I have been a homebody these first two weeks of summer vacation and sat around in my house shorts and t-shirt until 1:30 yesterday. It was movie day at home for the kids and I. It was so much cheaper to rent $1.00 movies from the Blockbuster Express box, pickup a $1.80 bag of Whoppers candy and pop our own popcorn. Boy that was fun. But seriously it depends on the day. Soon, when Miss K starts her day camps I'll be getting up early again, showering and leaving the house by 8:30am to get her to art camp. Cheers to summer!

Chicken Fettucine Alfredo with Petite Shrimp

I finally remembered to take photos during the preparation of my
meal. I've made this dish several times, without the shrimp, and have
wanted to share it.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
with Petite Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 16 oz package frozen petite shrimp
1 box fettuccine noodles ( half of of box is used)
1 jar garlic alfredo- I prefer Bertolli
Shaved Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove ( I have minced garlic on hand to make this easier)
Olive oil for braising
Powdered Garlic
Black Pepper

Directions:
Remove shrimp from packaging into colander. Rinse with cold water for two minutes to remove ice. Drain. Leave shrimp in colander and place on plate lined with a paper towel. Place in fridge while cooking all other ingredients. Cube your chicken breasts to about 1 inch cubes and remove any unwanted fat trimmings. Sprinkle about 1-2 tbsps of olive oil in your pan. If you have fresh garlic, then you will need to prepare the clove to cook with the chicken. Start boiling your water for your noodles before coking your chicken. Heat large skillet to medium high heat and when preheated, cook chicken and garlic in pan just until chicken turns white.Remove from heat. Once you have cooked your noodles to desired tenderness, drain. Add alfredo sauce to your chicken, return to heat. I start on low and gradually add my noodles, stirring frequently then add the shrimp last. Since the shrimp has been previously cooked, I do not want to overdo them. I sprinkle the pepper, shaved parmesan cheese and more garlic (we LOVE garlic) while tasting it. I let sit on medium low to low for about 20 minutes. Cook your side dish and/or bread. I served steamed broccoli and french bread this time.

Let me know what you think and if you made any changes.

Life Without Kids:WW

The phone rings, it's early in the morning, the sun hasn't even crested to show it's brilliance in the sky.
It's 5 am.
I find my cell phone laying on my nightstand in my room. I really don't know if I want to answer it because I know it will mean leaving the comfort of my king sized bed. 1000 thread count sheets. Down sateen comforter. My memory foam pillow that won't be holding the hollowed out spot where my head was once laying.
It continues to ring.
I answer the phone, the sleep still in my voice "hello?" It's an emergency call from my answering service about a prized show German Shepherd that is in labor. The caller needs me to meet them at my office.
I know that my expert reputation is on the line if I don't head in to the office. As if I wouldn't go in anyways, there's nothing holding me back. My job is my love, it is my life.
Being a veterinarian was my life dream. After finishing college in Orlando, I interned at a local veterinarian's office and got my feet wet. The clients were a mix of wealthy pet owners who would pay any price to protect and save their beloved pets and low income pet owners who chose the later.
I finished my internship and moved from my hometown to the rural outskirts of Orange County to pursue my career in the largely populated suburbs. I partnered with an established vet's office and built up my clients. I knew the animals by face and name better than the owners. I'd always had a connection with animals better than people.
I married the man I partnered with at the vets office. We didn't have children. Our children were our rescued strays from the office.
We loved animals.
Life was good. If I had children I wouldn't be able to wake in the middle of the night and leave on a whim without worrying about who would be there for them. Children weren't in the cards for us anytime soon. If at all.

Describe what you think your life would be like if you had never had kids.

I thought it would be fun to think about what my life would look like if I had not
chosen love when I met my husband as a senior in high school. I had decided that
I would not get serious with anyone so I could go to college and pursue my
life long dream to be a veterinarian.
Life threw my a choice and I chose love. I would never go back
and redo it because I LOVE my children with my heart and soul.
I would miss the early morning wake ups with some one standing at
my bedside at 5:30 in the morning. The messy chocolate faces
after digging through the pantry to sneak chocolate chip cookies.
I would miss the noise in the back seat of the van, the laughter
while watching DVD's with their headphones on.
The moment each of my children were born is forever born into my brain.
The moment their eyes locked with mine, our souls were intertwined.

5QF: Floating on a Raft

1. If you had to choose, how would you prefer to choose to spend money...on landscaping or a pool? If I had to choose between just these two, I would go for the pool. Since I live in Florida and grew up having a pool, swimming the entire summer and every weekend we could, I want my kids to have that same opportunity. Nice landscaping would really go nice with a new pool but maybe next time...

2. (Scott likes to get things stirred up...) Death penalty, yay or nay? ohhh, going all controversial are we?? I say yay. If the punishment fits the crime, then it's that persons time. If the criminal kills some one(intentionally) then they should be punished for what they did.

3. What's the worst thing your kid has gotten into when you turned your back/blogged/showered/blinked?
I can't think of anything over the top that my kids have gotten into when I was busy. I don't have any of those funny stories with kids pulling out a box of tampons and opening them up in my bathroom or dumping powder and lotion all over. The one thing that I can think of is that Little E had an obsession with liquid soap. I would give him a bath and let him play for a little bit, leaving him in the tub. (yes, I can see the children's bathroom from my recliner in the living room) At least a handful of times I have gone back in the bathroom, he would have extra bubbles in the tub and we'd have an empty bottle body wash. Once, it was a brand new bottle.


4. How often do you REALLY go to the dentist?
I had not been in YEARS! until last year. Now I regularly get my cleanings. dental work isn't cheap and it's nice that I have dental insurance. Hence the reason the whole family goes now.

5. What is your favorite animal (doesn't have to be a pet-type animal)?
hmmmm. That is a tough question when you can choose any animal. I still LOVE dogs the most. If I could have any dog I would have a great dane. I don't have a house big enough for one but if I did....I just love how goofy and clumsy they are. A sweet dog in a big package.

Unfairly Treated

WARNING: CONTENT MAY BE UPSETTING TO
SOME READERS.

source

On Monday Memorial Day, we took the kids to New Smyrna Beach. We use the same beach access ramp everytime and park in the same area, because the bathrooms and lifeguard are right nearby. As we were pulling into the spot to park my husband looked to his right and said "that looks like a sea turtle over there" pointing to a mound that looked like rock. It was a sea turtle. Sadly, this turtle was not alive and was not making her way back to sea.

It's egg laying season and it's pretty exciting to see those awesome creatures when they come in from the ocean to lay their eggs on the beach.

We stepped out of the car and the smell hit us. Apparently the turtle had been there quite some time. It was already 9:30am and I wondered why they had not removed the turtle once the beach opened at sunrise. I have seen more crews from Sea World rushing for a dead beached whale or dolphin but this protected animal was left there to rot. It upset me that it was just left there.

A few hours later, after several Beach Patrol crews drove past the site, a pickup truck marked with the words 'work site crew' pulled up. I watched them pull out a large plastic garbage can from the bed of their truck which was full of old rafts, tattered beach chairs and other hodge podge of items that were left on the beach. I looked at the turtle for the last time and it was obvious that this turtle did not die of natural causes, it had been killed by some one. A large gash into it's head and shell were visible.

So sad.. As far as I knew, it was illegal to molest or harm those animals. The counties give residents such a hard time about keeping lights off during nesting season and bordering off areas with nests. I cannot believe that no one was concerned that this animal was killed! Now the poor creature is being loaded into a trash can like garbage and going to the local landfill?!

I have never seen a loggerhead turtle in the wild and my first time, the poor thing is treated like yesterdays garbage.

PYHO:Fat Girl

Again, just a brief reminder that everyone linking is pouring their hearts out and we should all be respectful in our comments. ;)


We are our own worst critics. Some harder than others on themselves. I fall in the middle to high range and you'd never know it.

I hate my body. I have hated my body since seventh grade. I was born a robust baby at 11lbs 3 oz. I was an average to slender child until I reached the age 10 or 11. Then my body got large. I became that chubby girl. I blame it partly on being a lonely child. I would come home after school and munch on snacks. My mom had gone back to work when I was nine years old and she wasn't home in the afternoons. My brothers and I weren't allowed to leave the house or have friends over, so it was very lonely.I found comfort in food.

As the years progressed I ate more and my body size grew. I hated having those BMI tests taken in middle school, when that nutritionist came to the school and measured your fat on your back. All the other girls would discuss their numbers and I always lied. I was not about to tell them how fat I was. Dressing in the locker room for physical education was torment enough. I usually got to the locker room first to make sure I was alone while changing.

I hate looking back at photos of myself.

I used to be able to lose weight by cutting out soda, not eating pasta or bread and skipping breakfast. I could drop 5 pounds in one week. I lost quite a bit of weight before getting married but I look back at those photos from my wedding and yikes. I was still very heavy.

I got pregnant with Miss K. I wanted so badly to be pregnant, but I did not have the body to have that cute round pregnant belly. I felt fat. After having K I went on a strict diet, exercised and lost all the baby weight plus more. I was feeling good. Then slowly I started gaining the weight back. I lost weight again and got pregnant with Little E.

After having Little E I really put the pressure on myself. I was tired of being heavy. I tried to get strict with myself and completely cut out soda, snacks and cut down carbs. I joined a gym and was religiously working out at the gym. That lasted a year. I was feeling happy with myself but still didn't have that beach body I have always dreamed of.

Slowly the weight has creeped back up on me and I'm heavy again. I'm depressed about it. There are so many factors that account for my downfalls with weight.

I start feeling fat and my clothes are snug so I get determined about losing weight. I follow a good meal plan for about two weeks and when the results are not as fast as I'd like I get discouraged.
I LOVE to eat. That's a big downfall. I think, oh one more helping won't hurt me. Or, that bagel with egg and cheese will be okay, I'll eat less at lunch. Uh huh.
I need willpower. I need the willpower to hang on and be patient. The weight will come off. It gets harder the older you get to lose weight.

Knowing all these things, it still doesn't calm my mind about hating my fat body. I am constantly looking at my body in the mirror with or without clothes on. I try to dress to hide myself. It sucks. I wish I could get lipo suction, a tummy tuck and I'd feel so much better. One of my best friends just had the same thing that I've wanted done. She is three weeks into her recovery and wow, she looks great. Another reason I'm feeling more sad about my weight.

I'll never get there with just exercise and good nutrition.