Jonah's EB Auction

OK, folks - it's starting tomorrow night!  Be there or be ... Well, you know!

You don't want to miss Jonah's EB Auction! 

There are lots of awesome items up for auction (I've got several on my radar), and here are the details (shamefully lifted straight from their blog):

What: An ONLINE auction to raise money for EB research and advocacy (all proceeds go to DebRA)
When: Thursday February 24th @ 8pm until Sunday February 27th @ 8pm
Where: Right here at www.jonahsebauction.blogspot.com!  You can bid on lots of fabulous items from the comfort of your own living room!! If you want to see how bidding will work (or get a little practice bidding for your favorite item!) you can do so here.

And, as I've said before, if you haven't met Jonah, Patrice, and Matt - get thee to their blog posthaste!  When she's not getting Radical, showing off her too-stinkin-cute Jonut, and fundraising for DebRA, you can find Patrice here, too.

Packed in a hurry

Whew - the color is terrible!  But here's what's inside:
Soy butter and jelly sandwich
Tangy Carolina Barbeque chips (so good!)
Carrot sticks (no dip for Miss M, hummus for Mister J)
Sliced up mozzarella cheese stick and craisins
Mister J also got a clemetine for his afternoon snack

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My Week - and I'm still Thankful (also Thursday Thanks Tank #25)

It's been an interesting one, for sure, but I still have a lot for which to be thankful.

We had lunch at school with the kids on Monday.  Our Valentine treat to them was bringing in Chick-Fil-A!  With the "lunch in the classroom" arrangement of their school, we aren't sitting in front of the preschool or K1 classes with our 'special' lunch - we get them from their classrooms all sit together at a special table.  We typically have some really fun family time when we do this, and Monday was no exception.  Have I mentioned this is a great treat for Mommy, too?  No lunches to pack!  And with the "free milkshake when you buy two meals" special that was running that day, Daddy got his favorite cookies-n-cream shake for dessert!  Thankful for a fun Valentine's Day (even though I forgot to get pictures)!

The interesting part of the week started when I picked the kids up from school that afternoon.  Miss M, who'd been feeling great at lunch, had a sore throat and her voice was hoarse and squeaky-sounding just a few hours later.  As a precaution, I took her to the pediatrician on Tuesday.  Turned out just to be a virus (thankfully!), but since she had laryngitis she also needed vocal rest.  Miss M on vocal rest?  That's funny.  So I kept her home on Wednesday as well - to be sure she didn't make things worse before her class field trip on Thursday.

Did I mention that I was scheduled to chaperone the field trip?  And did I mention that around midnight Wednesday night/Thursday morning Miss M vomited?  On the carpet?  And that we are scheduled for company this weekend?

Both kids woke up due to the ... event.  Which resulted in midnight bath time and early a.m. laundry.  And also carpet cleaning - as well as I could, at least, for something that really needed professional attention....  Thankful that Mister J got back to sleep pretty quickly and that the guest room was easily made ready for Miss M to relocate for the night (that's not always a guarantee, especially when clothing exchange season is on the horizon!).

Big J saved the day by working from home since Miss M could not go to school and arranging for the carpet to be cleaned approximately 12 hours after the event.  (Rock star, he is!)  Miss M woke up on time, hungry, and wanting to limbo (I'm not joking).  It wasn't a stomach bug, just a case of church supper not sitting well. Thankful on all of those counts, too!

I still chaperoned the trip, which was a good thing since two of Miss M's classmates got sick while we were there.  Then I came home and cleared out Miss M's room and the landing at the top of the stairs so the carpet could be cleaned.  I figure if it's getting cleaned, then we might as well have it cleaned to the corners!  So thankful for a local company that can come out and clean carpets on the same day you call.  They were already near our neighborhood.  Also, the cost was less than we expected - the bonus for being a repeat customer (yes, there have been other carpet cat-tastrophes - not a typo). 

With all of these surprises, I've managed to stay relatively calm - surprising even to me!  How am I maintaining my sanity?  Perhaps yesterday's walk with a friend was preventative medicine.  I'm so thankful for that spur-of-the-moment opportunity!  Now if I just had some spur-of-the-moment movers to help me get the upstairs back in order....  :)

Valentine's Day!

We did things a little differently around here for Valentine's Day 2011 - no gifts!  And we still had a lovely day!

In the past, I've gotten the kids books or music - usually something small - to celebrate.  I think I spent the most ever for Valentine's Day last year - I spent about $35 on two beanbags for the kids' rooms.  It was usually around $16 for childrens' books in previous years. 

Today, I spent about $25 - on all four of us!  I brought Chick-Fil-A lunch to school, Daddy met us there, and we all had lunch together.  It was actually a nice bit of family time, since we get to eat a table away from the activity of lunch in the classrooms.  The kids are always excited to have us come for lunch, I got a day off from packing lunches, and Daddy got a cookies-n-cream milkshake for his treat!  (CFA was running a buy-two-combos-get-a-shake special today!)

Also - the weather was gorgeous today, and the next session of 5K training began this evening.  My goal is an all-running 5K in the spring, and I ran 1.25 miles tonight - no intervals!  That's the longest distance I've ever gone without intervals - woohoo!

Of course, it wasn't all sunshine and running shoes today....  Miss M came home from school sounding very hoarse and even a bit squeaky (sad face).  Mister J has had a nagging cough, too.  So, with both kiddos sick, there was no basketball practice for Mister J tonight.  Miss M will be home with me tomorrow, and we've had to cancel our after-school doughnut date with a friend.  (sigh)

That's just life, though, you know?  Thankful that I've got these three to share it with - the ups and the downs.

Hope for Anton

My bloggy friend, Patrice, has embarked upon a mission to change the life of a little boy - and she needs your help.  

This is Anton.  He has Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Please go here to see how her mission began.  Here, here, and here to read a bit more.  And here to see more ways you can help. (Passionate?  Yep.  And it's infectious - in a good way!)

And, while she's doing all of this, she's also celebrating her own little boy's birthday in a spectacular way. 

If you haven't "met" Jonah, Patrice, and Matt, you really owe it to yourself to hop on over and say hello. 

I'm planning a bit of blog silence for a few days, but I'll be back to promote Jonah's EB Auction!

Mmmmm......

I'll try to rotate this if I can (grr...)

Pink box - salt and lime popcorn, applesauce, carrots, crackers with mozzerella slices (just a sliced-in-circles cheese stick) and mini turkey pepperoni, strawberry heart marshmallows

Blue box - cinnamon-raisin bagel with cream cheese, mozzerella slices, salt and lime popcorn, apple sauce, carrots with dip, strawberry heart marshmallows

Boo on the pre-packaged applesauce - but at least the preschool classes reuse the cups, and the K-1s collect and recycle them.  I did remember to tuck a spoon under the marshmallows after I snapped the photos!

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Calling It Like She Sees It

We aren't big sports fans around here, but we do watch the Super Bowl - for the commercials. I doubt that's a new idea to you, though most folks probably watch the game, too.
A good friend of mine is blogging about the Super Bowl today, with a perspective you might never have considered. Stop by and see what's on her mind today.

Bagels and Blueberries

What an awful ,shadowy photo -  but I don't usually break out the fancy cam for lunchboxes anymore. 

On the left - Mister J's lunch.  Blueberries, carrots with dip, strawberry heart marshmallows in the flatware section, and a Costco-sized cinnamon-raisin bagel with cream cheese.  He added a container with Cheez-Its and craisins for snack time. 

On the right - Miss M's lunch.  Half of a Costco-sized wheat bagel with a slice of American cheese, blueberries, celery with dip, a few Cheez-Its, and strawberry marshmallows.

Two things pictured above I wish I could remove from our diet?  American cheese and Cheez-Its.  The one I don't think I can even part with (though I can reduce my consumption)?  The Cheez-Its.  And no, nothing else melts on a grilled cheese like American, but I can pass it up for something healthier (and tastier).

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Adventure Girl!

Miss M was recently invited to a birthday party at a local indoor play area. She got to play video games and skee ball, go bowling, and more! The highlight for her may have been racking up 150+ tickets when we hit the jackpot on the 2nd game we tried, but I was pretty thrilled that she gave the climbing wall a shot. She pronounced herself, "probably not very good at this," when she was done, but she wasn't disappointed at all.
I love my adventure girl!
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Fun Lunches

Left - Mister J's box - clockwise from top left:
Cucumbers and carrots; crackers; cheese (cheddar and provelone), turkey and mini pepperoni on picks; strawberries, ranch dip for veggies

Right - Miss M's box - also clockwise from top left:
Popcorn; crackers, pepperoni, turkey, cheese; strawberries; celery and ranch dip

Doesn't Take Much to Make Me Happy

My fruit tray is full AND I scored this free citrus peeler during my latest grocery store run!
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One of These Things is Not Like the Other Ones

Seen on a recent (non-snowy) afternoon.
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Green Lunch

How much green can I get into one lunchbox? Funny thing is, he also asked to have a salad for lunch one day this week!
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Swim Day Lunches

Mister J has swimming two mornings a week at school for the next few weeks. I'm packing extra protein in his lunch on swim days.
Turkey and cheese on picks (extra meat below the picks in Mister J's lunch), multi-grain crackers, carrots with dip, blueberries. Water to drink.
Post-school day update:  Mister J's box came home empty, Miss M didn't like the new crackers :(

Welcome, 2011!

This New Year's was the first time our kids stayed up to ring in the New Year.  A couple of days ago, Mister J asked if he and Miss M could "stay up to say Happy New Year," and we agreed.  So we planned a kid-friendly celebration - 'party food' for dinner and a cake for dessert (Miss M's request, because every party needs a cake!).  On Friday afternoon, we received an invite from our friends who were also planning a family-friendly celebration and invited us to join.  So - we packed up our six-layer dip (oops - I forgot a layer!) and chips, the cake (funfetti with chocolate funfetti frosting), a pitcher of sweet tea, and grabbed a pizza on the way over.

We had a great time!  The kids enjoyed some time to play with friends, the adults enjoyed conversation, laughs, and a round of Cranium.  Big J made me hum one of the music clues - even though he's the musically-inclined one in the family - so of course everyone at the table knew the song I was humming except him.  That's ok, we got a good laugh!  There was also the sketched clue that I drew - everyone wondered why I could possibly be drawing a hairy heart.  The answer was actually heartburn, and those were flames....

We counted down to midnight with the kiddos, said our goodbyes shortly after, and had the kids in bed around 1:15am. 

2010 really flew by for  me.  I think it's one of the "fastest" years I've ever had.  I feel like it was just October, and suddenly Christmas was here and now it's a new year.  While the days have flown by in a whirlwind, I have spent a bit of time thinking about some changes - really, just one change - that I want to make in the new year.  We are working on it already, but I really want to focus even more on our family and our relationships with others.  I want us to be more intentional about taking care of ourselves (individually and as a family) and about reaching out to others.  This really isn't something that comes easily for me - because it usually means saying, "No," to exciting opportunities - but I want a good balance in my life, and I need to regain that by coming back to the center, to what's really important.  For now, that means making our home a comfortable, uncluttered space that works for us, intentionally planning family time, making time for dates with my hubby, and (hopefully) catching up on our scrapbooks.  Those are all pretty tall orders - each of them will take work - but I'm looking forward to it.  And because they will take work, that probably means that posts here will continue to be infrequent and unpredictable.  They'll have fewer photos to no photos as all (I totally forgot to take photos of any of today's preparations or of the time we spent with our friends). 

I do hope that each of you will continue to stop by the blog and see what we are up to.  Mister J has a 3rd loose tooth.  I'm continuing 5K training in the spring (to improve speed and endurance) with an eye on even more training in the summer.  Miss M is in her 2nd year of dance, and wants to be a Daisy Scout so bad she can't stand it (but that's not until next school year).  Mister J continues to work hard for our family and recently helped us reach Baby Step 3. I'll keep blogging about all of this - and more - but probably less about lunches and other 'non-milestone' events.  All in keeping with my desire to be more intentional about time spent with my family.  I'll keep you posted on our progress in 2011!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Hoping that you are enjoying some time with your friends and family, celebrating in the way that is perfect for you.

• Whether a large gathering or an intimate group
• Whether loud and boisterous or calm and quiet
• Whether fancy or simple
• Whether at home or away

Enjoy, my friends, and

Merry Christmas!

You Can Find Me Here Today...

I was one of several bloggers recently interviewed by a local mommy blog about being a mommy blogger.  You can check out the post right here. 
To say I was flattered to be interviewed is a huge understatement! 

Sibling competition

Oh, my goodness!  Our two kids are provoking each other tonight.  One tells a joke and messes up the punch line, and the other - in a very sassy tone - lets the other one know, "That's not funny."  And, just a few moments ago, Miss M revived the "One, One Hundred" argument.  It's been going on for well over a week now.  Miss M will ask, "What's one plus zero plus zero?"  Mister J, interpreting her question as a math problem, will say, "One."  And then she says, "No, it's one hundred."  (Get it? 1 and 0 and 0 is 100, as she's at the leaning-to-write stage, not the arithmetic stage.  So, a one followed by two zeros is 100.)  And they argue back and forth, and eventually come to one of us to referee.  Daily.  {bangs head on desk}

Also, on the way into Best Buy this evening, Mister J was proud that he could walk and do jumping jacks at the same time.  Which he proceeded to do across the parking lot.  And this was before we ate our Krispy Kreme doughnuts for dessert.  (Actually, it was about that time that we decided to save them until tomorrow...)

Have I mentioned that Christmas Break started this afternoon?  Come January, I'm gonna need a vacation to recover from their vacation....

Winner, Winner, Cake Square Dinner

Well, with 20 cake square coupons, you could certainly fill up!  (Though probably not recommended!)

I took nine slips of paper, wrote a name on them for every comment received, folded them up, then let my kids draw the names out of a basket (sorry, no photographic evidence...), and the winners of this giveaway are:

• Amanda (I'll bring yours to church!)
• Meredith (I know where to find you...)
• Sarah (please leave a comment here with your email address - name - at - email - dot - com style and I'll contact you for your mailing address)
• Rosalind (I have your mailing address already)
• Angela (email me your mailing address)

Don't feel left out, Patrice - I'm going to send you a little something, too! 

Thanks, y'all, for entering!

Overheard #40

It's a "snow day" here, and even though we've been hanging out inside today I made my kids go upstairs for rest time.  Miss M gets rest time every day at school, and she needs it.  Mister J needs it too, since we are supposed to be at a Christmas get-together tonight - weather and road conditions permitting.  Here's my most recent rest-related exchange with my mom-napper:

Mister J:  Mom, how much longer?
Me: Please go lay back down.  I'll come get you when rest time is over.

...time passes...

Mister J: Mom, when is rest time over?
Me: In a while. (This was about the 4th interruption by a child who was supposed to be resting...)
Mister J:  How long is a while?

Oh, dear.