Squeezed tight

I’m feelin’ the sandwich squeeze this week.

On Sunday, we did a 5K at our local zoo. It worked out great! We brought both kids (ages 5 & 8), and though Little Sis needed to take a few shortcuts, both kids made it through the whole walk. They dragged their weary butts across the finish line, and we retired to the car. The kids were ready to go home (it was only 9:30 am), but Mr. Hoagie and I were planning to stay and take advantage of the free zoo admission.

After a granola bar and three minutes of sitting still, they were bouncing around the backseat and raring to go again.

Go figure.

We spent almost 3 more hours at the zoo, then stopped at Olive Garden for lunch. By the time we got home, Mr. Hoagie and I were wiped out because we’d gotten up at 5:45 am. We napped while the girls played quietly in their room.

When I woke up, it was time to address my weekly Sunday dinner with Mom. I try to get together with Mom for Sunday dinners most weeks; it’s the one day of the week that her dining room doesn’t serve dinner, so it’s a good excuse to get everyone together.

Mr. Hoagie wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t join us for dinner at Eat n Park.

I felt guilty for taking everyone out to eat (the second time that day for most of us). I know it’s better for both our bodies and our wallets to eat home-cooked meals (something I used to loved to do; I was quite the foodie before Mom moved into town), but I had no groceries and no energy, so…here we were.

Again (can you tell this happens more than it should?).

On Monday, I was focused. I was up at 5:00 am to go to the gym. Home again by 6:30 am, tagged Mr. Hoagie on his way out the door, and off to get a shower and get the kids ready for school.

Big Sis was a mess that morning. I started waking her up at 7:00 am; by 7:35, she was still in bed. And NOT happy. She pretty much had a full-blown tantrum all the way through 8:15 am. She couldn’t even eat breakfast at home, she was so upset, so I took her to the bus stop and told her she’d have to eat breakfast at school. Even the other parents at the bus stop could tell she wasn’t herself.

Kids were on the bus by 8:25 am, and I was at the post office by 8:30 am. Hit the ground running at work. Staff meeting at 10:00 am, so that meant that I didn’t have time to finish everything I needed to before I left to pick up Little Sis from kindergarten.

We had to come back to the office for a while. Which meant that I didn’t have time (or energy) to go grocery shopping for us and for Mom. And I DESPERATELY needed to. But I couldn’t make it through the store, deliver Mom’s groceries, and get home by the time Big Sis got off the school bus.

So I went home and did two loads of laundry.

By late afternoon, I was tired, cranky, and feeling thoroughly put-upon.

I made it to my Weight Watchers meeting (first time in weeks!), then ran to the office supply store for something for work, and the pet store because Mr. Hoagie announced that we were out of cat food (this morning, he found a bag in our storage room. *sigh*).

That cranky, put-upon feeling lasted through Tuesday morning, when I hit the snooze bar as my alarm went off again at 5:00 am. So much for my healthy streak.

I awoke to find Big Sis in the bathroom with intestinal issues. I’ve had to keep her home from school Monday and today.

And I had to call 10 (TEN!) different people to find someone to cover for me at work today.

And Mom and I STILL don’t have groceries.

There’s dance class tonight AND Girl Scouts. And then I should stop into work to see how things are going…at 8:00 pm. Ugh.

In the meantime, I feel I’m a failure as a mom, employee, housekeeper and chef.

Save me.

Look, Ma…No Training Wheels!

Well, my baby did it. Mr. Hoagie took her training wheels off tonight, and Little Sis rode her two-wheeler for the first time tonight. I managed to get a couple of photos:

Little Sis and Big Sis

Little Sis is proud.

Mr. Hoagie is proud, too!

She had a great time showing off for the neighbors, too!

Big Sis was a little dejected that her little sister had managed to ride a two-wheeler two months younger than she had, but I took a moment to explain that it was because Big Sis had been such a great teacher. She perked up after hearing that.

I love these lazy summer evenings….

Busy Birthday and OMTS

Today is Little Sis’ 5th birthday.

I spent all day yesterday begging her not to turn 5, to just stay 4.

No deal.

“Don’t you want me to grow up and have babies?” she asked me.

Not now, I don’t. Not today. Not anytime soon. Not before you’re 30, young lady.

To make matters worse, I had to take her to kindergarten orientation today.

I’m not ready. Where have the last 5 years gone? I remember the night Little Sis was born. We changed Big Sis’ tee shirt from the one she was wearing, stained with the chocolate-banana milkshake she’d brought me, to the crisp brand-new “Big Sister” tee shirt I’d found in a little shop in New Orleans a few months earlier. Now Little Sis is old enough to MAKE chocolate-banana milkshakes (and do her own spilling, too).

So it’s been a busy day at our house. Big Sis went on her zoo field trip today. She packed two disposable cameras, but couldn’t find the tee shirt she was supposed to wear (probably my fault…we’re woefully behind on laundry). Packed lunch, but almost forgot a drink because I remembered at the last minute that she wouldn’t be able to buy milk at the zoo. I put her on the bus, then came home to finish getting ready for kindergarten orientation.

We were late. It’s because of my OMTS diagnosis.

Okay, I’m self-diagnosed, but still…..

It’s called “One More Thing Syndrome.” I often try to cram in “just one more thing” on my to-do list before leaving, and it frequently gets me into trouble. This morning, it was filling my water bottle (trying to cultivate that healthy SparkPeople habit). Oh, and then realizing as I’m backing out of the driveway that my purse was still in the kitchen.

Okay, so maybe that’s “Two More Things Syndrome.”

So we went to the orientation…all good. Nothing new. We met up with friends, and while I was talking with the mom, those two girls organized a playdate under our noses and behind our backs all at the same time. I checked the clock, and we had some time before I’d planned to meet my mom for Little Sis’ birthday lunch. So we went to our local grocery store, which has a day care area built into it. We dropped the girls there to play, and grocery shopped together.

In the meantime, I’d called Mom to check in, only to find that she wasn’t feeling well this morning. I changed plans so that I’d take lunch to Mom’s instead of taking Mom out. At the store, I picked up ingredients for hamburgers, along with a watermelon, baked beans and macaroni salad.

When we got to Mom’s, she was resting in her bedroom. I got her started on some watermelon (not too much; her kidney diet only permits about one cup at a time) while I fixed the burgers & grilled asparagus. It was a great meal, but more cooking and cleaning than I normally do for lunch.

By the time I left, she had perked up considerably and was feeling better. I, however, was exhausted.

I came home, picking up Big Sis at the bus stop. As I write, she and Little Sis are playing at the neighbors’.

Tonight, we’re taking Little Sis out for her birthday dinner: her choice. Dessert will be at Cold Stone Creamery (Big Sis, Little Sis and I all have coupons for free birthday ice cream and today is the only day that they’ll honor all three). I guess presents will be after that, but they’re not wrapped yet. I hid them in the trunk of Mr. Hoagie’s car, and never remembered to take them out to wrap them.

I mean, how can anyone expect me to remember that kind of thing the night the Lost finale is on?

Wish me luck….

Monday, Monday…

Ugh. The beginning of Daylight Savings Time SUCKS. We all (especially Big Sis!) have been dragging since Sunday morning. The girls are off at school (which is a minor achievement in itself), and I am stuck at home with too much to do and no plan to get it done.

Big Sis needs a new spring jacket. Somewhere in this black hole of a house, we have a gift card from Christmas with which to buy her one. Think I can find it? No. Been looking for an hour. On the upside, though, I’ll get 20% off if I charge it.

Our week was so busy last week that not enough housework got done, and now I’m wallowing in the results. Plus laundry is (still) way behind because I’m washing a load or two of Little Sis’ bedding almost every morning.

Plus, we missed Mom yesterday because of a prior social engagement, so I owe her a visit today. Little Sis wants to spend the afternoon; I might just let her.

I’m drowning in piles…kitchen table, counters, coffee table. Everything needs a good once-over. Where’s Flylady when I need her?

Also, I joined SparkPeople a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to exercise 15 minutes a day. I started out great…30, 40, even 50 minutes (thanks, Emergency! on Netflix instant), but have been slacking this past week. Now it’s time to pick up Little Sis from preschool, and I’m out of time to exercise this morning.

I have a book club meeting on Thursday, and two books to read for it. It’s not looking good.

Plus my usual assignment for the online class I’m taking.

Everywhere I look, there’s something else for me to do! And chances are, it should’ve been done already. It’s enough to ruin a girl’s day before it even starts.

Ugh.

Somebody poke me when Monday is over.

I’m so Fried-day

Crazy week this week. Today was the culmination. Here’s the rundown:

Up at 7 am to preside over a new, improved morning routine (we used to stumble out of bed at 7:30 and wonder why we couldn’t get out of the house by 8:00 am). The routine thing (I’ve posted about my difficulties with routines before) was an assignment from Big Sis’ counselor, so it’s like a prescription I’ve had to fill. It’s working well so far though.We started on Tuesday and are still going strong. The key is showering at night (I know, duh…but Big Sis, who hates showering seems to hate it a little less in the morning) and letting the kids have screen time if they complete their morning routines in a timely manner. We’ve been ready to go at about 7:40 am almost every morning.

If only I had the time and energy to pull together after-school and bedtime routines. Maybe next week.

We left the house to go to the bus stop only to be greeted by the sight and smell of hazy white smoke. None of the neighbors seemed to know where it was coming from, so since danger was not imminent, we moved on with our day.

Back in the house to wash Little Sis’ wet sheets. Of course, the washer and dryer were full, so I had to clear them out first. Then, I promised myself I’d exercise at least 15 minutes, but I was already running late to pick up Mom for her doctor’s appointment. I worked out anyway, considering it a deposit toward not having my kids drive ME to the kidney doctor when I’m Mom’s age.

By the time I’m showered, it’s 10 am. I call Mom to tell her I’m on my way. She reports that the smoke I smelled earlier was from a fire in a nearby apartment building; she saw a news report. Apparently some guy on the third floor was making eggs, and some grease caught fire. He threw water on it. Two hundred firefighters and 15 road construction crew-turned-rescuers later, the building was lost, but everyone got out safely. Also, I’ll have to wash my coat to get the smell of smoke out of it.

I picked up Mom. The intention was to go out to eat before her 11:30 am appointment (because Lord knows I have plenty to do without taking Mom out to eat afterward), but we didn’t have enough time for a sit-down restaurant. Activate Plan B: I ran into Panera and picked up bagels and coffee (organic chocolate milk for Little Sis) to hold us over until afterward. Twelve dollars later (!!), we were off.

We made it to the kidney clinic 20 minutes early. Fortunately, there’s a TV in the waiting room that Little Sis usually watches. Unfortunately, the volume no longer works (and hasn’t for two months).

It was a long wait.

Forty minutes later, we went next door to the kidney doc’s office. Mom was called back. I read 5 Disney princess books and played more rounds than I care to remember of “Can You Find A Picture of THIS in the Waiting Room Magazines?” Plus, the kidney doc complimented Little Sis’ boots.

Finally, Mom was done. A good visit; Mom was expecting the doc to start prepping her for dialysis, but her labs have looked good lately, so not yet. Whew! But now I have 3 new appointments to run Mom to: More dialysis clinic, another kidney doctor appointment, and a new rheumatologist (even though I REALLY like Mom’s old one. Don’t ask. I don’t get it either).

We let Little Sis pick the restaurant for lunch (she wanted the one with “the big chicken“). She ate spaghetti and Mom & I split a salad. By now it was 2:00 pm. I still had to stop at 2 stores, drive mom 20 minutes home, and get to the bus stop by 3:45 pm. Panic starts to set in.

Boom. Off to the pet store. Cat food, cat litter, and dog food (did I mention that we were so low on dog food this morning that the dog ate cat food for breakfast?).

Boom. Off to Sam’s Club. I had a LONG list of things WE needed from the store, but all I had time to get was Mom’s stuff. Grrrrr.

Boom. Back in the minivan to fight rush hour traffic (at 3 pm already?!?) back to Mom’s.

“You know,” said Mom, “I think YOU were the reason we’re running late today. You didn’t take a shower until after nine o’clock.”

I turned to stare at her.

“You mean after spending the entire day doing things for everybody else, I made an error in judgment spending 15 minutes on my elliptical machine this morning?!?”

I huffed, “Feel free to look for another ride next time. I guess you get what you pay for.”

I tried not to let it bug me, but obviously, it did.

Didn’t bug Mom, though. She’s hopped up on so much Lexapro that she’ll giggle like a schoolgirl at almost anything.

I dropkicked dropped Mom off, cramming the basket of her walker full of her purchases. She has a history of calling me and insisting she’s out of something and NEEDSITRIGHTNOW. Hopefully it’ll save me an emergency trip within 48 hours.

Back across town, fighting school bus traffic now. We made it and picked up Big Sis.

Now for the fun. Big Sis has her regular daily homework (which usually manages to fill up two hours on a good night), her science project (optional, been working on it for three weeks, and due Friday morning), an optional homework assignment (something about inventing a musical instrument out of household materials; she’s been harassing us to borrow pieces of my $2000 trombone and Mr. Hoagie’s flute and recorder), AND a Girl Scout Brownie meeting.

Somehow, she managed to pull it all off.

But it was a hell of a day. Capping off a hell of a week.

In comparison, tomorrow’s gonna be easy. Drop off Big Sis’ science fair project, volunteer at her school, pick up Little Sis, take my midterm exam for my online class, bake brownies for the science fair, pull a homemade meatless dinner out of my @ss, go to the science fair, and spend the rest of the night consoling Big Sis and rocking her to sleep when she doesn’t win (she has issues with competition).

Piece of cake.

I’m so fried.

WFMW: Active Life Outdoor Challenge for Wii

We have a new addiction at our house. Mr Hoagie’s brother gave us this new Wii game for Christmas, and it took us a month and a half to get it out of the box. But now it hardly goes back in!

Active Life: Outdoor Challenge

It’s called Active Life: Outdoor Challenge. It’s a collection of mini games that can be combine by the computer for a challenge, or can be played individually. There’s even a mode to combine them for a workout. You can choose from kayaking, in-line skating, log jumping, mole stomp, mine-cart racing (Little Sis’ favorite), jump rope and tons more.

Active Life mat controller

The games involve running in place, jumping (boy, is THAT a workout!), and stomping on various spots on the mat to control your character. It really got my heart pumping! It’s a whole lot of fun, and doesn’t even feel like you’re exercising. Just ask Little Sis.

Little Sis plays Active Life: Outdoor Challenge

For more great ideas, check out Works For Me Wednesday at its new home with We Are THAT Family, and Things I Love Thursday, where there’s a great giveaway going on this week.

OMG I so need a glass of whine…I mean, WINE

Every morning, my two kids crawl into my bed with me. This used to be very sweet and a wonderful way to start the day.

Until they started fighting over “who got Mommy.” Argh! Enough to drive me back under the covers!

Now it’s bedtime. No one ate her dinner because “it was yucky.” Which meant there was no dessert. Commence the whining.

The food refused at lunchtime because Little Sis didn’t want that is now the object of her desire.

Ten minutes later, we’re at a full-on tantrum.

Meanwhile, Big Sis is now whining because she hasn’t had enough attention from Mommy today. Let’s see…she’s home from school at 4 pm and off to bed at 7:30 pm. Between homework, dinner, and TV…time is up.

Daddy, bless his heart, is putting them to bed. Kicking and screaming.

Forget selling my kids. I’d Freecycle them about now.

Busy Saturday

Today’s to-do list:

1. Grocery shopping, even though I did it yesterday (because I need to…)
2. Go to Mom’s (and…)
3. Begin making Fried Ice Cream Balls for Big Sis’ Girl Scout Thinking Day (which I didn’t buy the ingredients for yesterday because I thought it was NEXT Sunday, not THIS Sunday. Oops!)
4. Do homework for online course; due at 6pm (haven’t started yet)
5. Wash blanket and sleeping bag that Little Sis peed on last night
6. Wash blanket and sleeping bag that Little Sis peed on last week
7. Send Evite for event next Saturday (oops again.)
8. Make snacks for Oscar party tomorrow night
9. The usual feeding of the troops
10. Finish everything in time for a family movie night (Mr. Hoagie wants to watch The Addams Family on TiVo. His pick , NOT mine.)

For those of you playing along at home, here’s the recipe I’ll be using today, courtesy of Big Sis’ troop leader.

Fried Ice Cream Balls

To make this fake fried ice cream recipe, use an ice cream scoop to quickly form as many firm ice cream balls as you need. Use your favorite flavor of homemade ice cream. After the balls are formed, you might need to place them in an airtight freezer container and set them in the freezer for a while to harden. You need them to be rock hard!

Just before serving, take the frozen balls and roll them in a bowl of crushed corn flakes, pressing them firmly into the corn flakes until they are completely coated with the cereal. Frosted flakes work well too, and they are especially good.

Some cooks prefer adding a tablespoon or two of corn syrup or liquid honey to the cereal first, claiming it makes the flakes stick to the ice cream better and helps to simulate the deep fried taste.

As with traditional fried ice cream recipes, add the customary garnish of whipped cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, and a red maraschino cherry on top. Serve immediately.

Weighing in: Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I spent about 45 minutes doing Wii Fit this morning, which inspired Little Sis to do some herself.

Little Sis doing a Sun Salutation

Hey…it’s a start.

And that’s what I think they key is to a lot of healthy habits. The ability to start all over again. And again, and again.

I guess that’s what they call perseverence.

I used to work with a personal trainer. He was great. I learned a lot from him and lost about 60 pounds working with him (I’ve since put them all back on). But when I’d fall off the wagon, I’d hear about it. Which of course, is a big part of what I was paying him for: to keep me accountable.

But after he’d chewed me out, I’d start to climb out of the self-pity hole. “Hey,” I told him, “at least I’m getting good at starting over.”

He’d growl right back at me, saying that I never should’ve stopped to begin with.

But I think in this journey, one of the keys to success is being able to get back on that proverbial horse when you get knocked (or jump) off.

I have weigh in at my Weight Watchers meeting tonight. I go a bit out of my way to go to this particular meeting, because the leader is so amazing. She’s a great cheerleader, and when I have a bad week, she never makes me feel guilty. Just saddle back up and try again.

This week will be a bad week. A lot of emotional eating and general throwing caution to the wind. I did get on the elliptical a couple times, but not nearly enough to compensate for all the bad food choices I made this week.

I’ve noticed that I tend to do fine with food and exercise when Mom’s in the hospital (I tend to do a lot of stairs…especially when Mom was on the 13th floor!). It’s after she gets home that I blow it. When the stress level finally drops, that’s when I fall apart with my food choices, my exercise regimen, and I sometimes even get sick or acne breakouts.

At least I’ve noticed the pattern, right?

Here’s to breaking it.

Again.

WFMW: Banana Bread

So I’ve been staring at eight bananas all week that have been turning blacker by the minute. I could have peeled them and frozen them, but I already have a stockpile of about ten frozen bananas (they’re perfect for smoothies, by the way).

So I began searching for banana bread recipes. First I tried my recipe binder (tried & true favorites), but couldn’t find anything that appealed to me. So I searched the internet, finally coming across The Fresh Loaf.  I found a couple of recipes on there, compared and contrasted them, and found that they’d use up my stuff, namely eight bananas and an 8 oz. cup of plain yogurt Little Sis opened thinking it was vanilla yogurt.

Little Sis and I rolled up our sleeves and got to work.

I tripled this recipe, added the yogurt and a splash of vanilla. I divided the batter into 4 mini loaves and one regular-sized loaf. The mini loaves were done in about 23 minutes, and the loaf was done about 20 minutes later.

We sliced the large loaf for an after-school snack, and I wrapped and froze the mini-loaves. I would’ve saved one to take over to Mom, but apparently bananas are toxic to those with kidney failure. Who knew?

For more great ideas, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

Banana Bread (courtesy The Fresh Loaf)
Makes 1 full-sized loaf or 2 small loaves

Preheat the oven to 350.

In one bowl, combine:

1/2 stick (4-5 tablespoons) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 or 3 very ripe bananas
2/3 cup sugar

Use a potato masher, fork, or spoon to squish the banana and mix the ingredients together. It is alright for there to be small (1 centimeter) chunks of banana in the batter, but you want most of the banana to be reduced to mush.

In another bowl, combine:

1 1/3 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the ingredients are blended together.

If you like, stir in additional ingredients here, such as chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cherries or apricots, or chocolate chips. A handful (about a half a cup) is about right.

Pour the dough into greased baking pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Small loaves take around 30 minutes, a normal-sized loaf takes around 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven. This bread is great warm, but it is excellent cold too.

After they have cooled for 5 or 10 minutes the loaves can be removed from the pan to cool. Once they are cool they can be individually wrapped and frozen.

Enjoy!