Finally - The Derby Pictures

After many hours of trying to figure out how to get pictures to post from Windows Live Writer into blogger, I have given up. Or at least I am taking an extended break and moving on with my life. That will teach me to try and make life a little simpler.

Since I'm a little wierd, I feel like I can't blog about everything that has been going on in June until I finally finish posting about what happened way back in the beginning of May.

For those of you who don't remember, I tried posting a bunch of pictures from the Derby at the Arlington Race Track that I went to for my friend Kelly's Bachlorette Party. The post showed up but none of my pictures did. So until I can figure out a way to get pictures on my blog without going through blogger and their issues of downloading pictures taking FOREVER, you will get less pictures and bad quality (of pictures that is, maybe writing too...you decide).

My first post gave you a lot of pictures. Here is the shortened version.

We had 10 women dressed up with fabulous hats, riding in an awesome limo, sipping champange, and heading to Arlington Race Track.

We had a great time eating, drinking and watching the races.

This is Kelly and I.

And here is Kelly a week later as a beautiful Bride.

 AHHHHH! Now I can move on and share what else we've been up to. You're sitting on the edge of your seat, aren't you? It's exciting stuff.

Someone Should Really Pay More Attention to the Kids

My Blogging Problems and the End of the School Year

Last week I tried showing you all the fun I had at the Derby in May but apparently none of my pictures decided to show up. They were there when I posted but gone after I posted. I've been having a few technical difficulties if you can't tell. I'll share a little of my dilemma and maybe someone out there has some advice for me. If you don't care about my dilemma (which I don't blame you) you can just skip the beginning of this post and move on a little further down.

Blogger is really slow at uploading pictures. So, when I post I try to only post a few pictures at a time otherwise it takes forever to upload. Even with a few pictures it can take me over a half an hour for one post. So, I decided to go my old route of posting my pictures to my blog from Picasa. Basically I send the pictures through Picasa to Blogger and then I can type my post through Blogger. Well, you can see how all that turned out last week. When I was posting my pictures looked horrible but you couldn't tell that because they decided to not show up at all. (If you are looking for the post, I removed it.)

It was then suggested to me by a friend to use Windows Live Writer. So I tried that out. Redid the whole post but when I was trying to post it from Windows Live Writer to my blog it gave me a 403 forbidden error. I've determined it is only when I post with pictures. If I send a post with just text it goes right through. I've spent hours trying to get it to work but it won't. I've enlisted a couple people to help but I haven't had any luck. The 2nd person is a computer expert but I haven't been able to connect with him by phone yet, so he might still be able to help me. If you have any knowledge on how to solve this problem, please......help a sister out!

So, until I get it fixed you won't get to see the Derby pictures or any other post that will contain a lot of pictures. I do have a lot of posts though that only need to contain a few pictures, so until then, that is what you will get.

It will just continue to be a source of frustration in my life, along with my pool that doesn't like me very much either.

Now on to the rest of my post.

(I couldn't think of a clever way to transition.)

The kids have been out of school now for 2 weeks. After a very busy May, I was looking forward to June and the kids being home. Relaxation. Staying home. Never leaving.

I've since determined that I think those days are over in my life. I remember the good ole days when the kids were little and I would have to leave the house midweek for groceries and I'd realize that I hadn't left the house since Sunday. I was looking forward to days that I never have to get in the car.

Yesterday was that day. I had nothing on the calendar that required me to leave the house, even though I had a couple errands I could have ran, I refused!

Now that the kids are getting older they have activities. Sports. We need to go to the Library. I have errands. Appointments.

So, if you are one of those mom's that feels stuck at home with little kids. All I have to say is "Enjoy!" Those days will be gone before you know it and you'll be wishing you could stay home!

With that I want to share a few pictures from the end of the school year.

Amanda, Alexandra, and Joshua all had to dress up as their favorite book character.

Amanda is Laura Ingalls. Alex is her sister Mary. Joshua is a baseball player (just in case you couldn't figure that one out.)

Isaac had Letter Character Dress-up day. He is Super Socks!

We got their report cards this week and I'm happy to say they all get to move up to the next grade. Actually they did very well this year and it's amazing how much they've learned. I'm proud of all 4 of them!

I Won the Legoland Lottery

Joshua, Alex, and Amanda's class went on a field trip to Legoland last Friday. They needed one extra mom to go on the trip with them. So, what's the best way to pick that mom?

Put all the mom's names (that said they could go) in an envelope and pick one out.

And who was the winner?

Yesiree Bob......It was me!

Now that is a great thing considering my kids still want me to hang out with them. In first grade it's cool to have your mom with. Also, last fall Alex was crying because I had never gone on a field trip with her but I had been on a couple for Isaac.

I learned that when on a bus with 22 - 1st graders and 27 - 2nd graders, the noise is at a level that I am just not accustomed to. Even Amanda told me it was way too noisy. Also, be prepared to experience some unpleasant smells.

For some reason, even though I have had 4 kids following me around for many years now, I often get nervous when given other people's children to be in charge of. Why do they think I am responsible enough to keep track of 6 First graders.....even if 3 of them are mine. Thankfully they were very good and they stuck to me like glue. Even my own kids did, which NEVER happens!

Here are the six children that I had the pleasure of spending the day with.

Sorry for the bad quality of pictures. Ever since I've had my new computer I haven't had a good way to download my pictures to my blog. I might have to break down and do it the way I used to. Just another one of those things to add to my list to figure out.

Date Nights

Since Brad went back to working the day shift the beginning of April we have been able to reinstate Date Nights with the kids. Brad told the girls in February that as soon as he was on days he wanted to take them each out separately for dinner.

When asked where they wanted to go, I think they both chose McDonald's. They obviously have expensive taste just like their mom. Brad told them he was thinking somewhere NOT fast food.

Amanda chose Texas Roadhouse and Alex chose Chili's. They both were very excited on the day of their date and came home wanting me to help them pick out a dress and do their hair. When Amanda came home she told me that it was such a fun night and she didn't want it to end. Brad asked me if that is how I felt when I was dating him.  I told him I still feel that way every day I'm with him. I don't think he was buying it!

Anyway, I can't tell you much more about their dates because I wasn't there. Just that they had a great time, the girls had big smiles before they left and when they came home and I was told that Daddy was quite the gentleman.

I, on the other hand, had the pleasure of spending my date nights with two of the most handsome little boys I know.  My first date was with Isaac. If any of you know Isaac and how he likes to dress, you know that he pretty much likes to wear comfy shorts/pants along with the most comfortable t-shirt he can find. Which means it usually has lots of stains, the shirt is usually navy and so are his shorts/pants. Not on date night. He wanted to wear his favorite "nice" shirt along with a pair of jeans that had no holes in them. We went bowling and then for ice cream at Dairy Queen. We had a lot of fun bowling, except for when he wasn't taking it that well that I was beating him. Since the bumpers were up it was kind of hard to just throw the ball in the gutter. I did try to aim for the side but ended up bowling my best game ever and even had a Turkey.  We had a lot of laughs and I love chatting with my "baby".

Joshua and I also went bowling but then hit Culver's for some ice cream afterwards. It still amazes me how completely different my kids are and especially Joshua and Isaac. While Isaac talks my ear off, Joshua is perfectly content to just spend time with me and not talk. In between his turn bowling he was often watching the Sox/Cubs game that was playing on the TV. Joshua says that he did beat me one game and he kind of did. We paid by the hour, so that means it just shuts off the lane when your time is up. He had finished bowling his 9th frame and I was in the middle of the 9th frame when it shut off so my score wasn't added yet. So the numbers on the board at the time were higher than mine.

If you don't do date nights with your kids, I recommend starting them. The joy and excitement of your kids when they get to enjoy a little one on one time with you is priceless. When you have multiple children they are always competing for attention, they love a little time of you just focusing on them. We try to give them a couple options of things to do so that they get to pick something they enjoy. We also like to switch it up by alternating between each child getting a turn with mom and dad and we also do group dates like Girls and Mom or Boys and Dad and then we like to throw in a big family date as well.

It doesn't have to be anything expensive. We've done big dates like Bulls games and Disney on Ice but we've also done small cheap dates that cost little to nothing. We've gone to the store and walked around the toy aisle, gone to Best Buy and checked out the video gaming systems and played them. We've gone to the park, gone to McDonald's for breakfast, ice cream, miniature golfing. You could even do something as simple as a walk around the block or going in a different room and just playing a game with one child and not letting anyone interrupt that time.

I often find coupons to make it even cheaper. Our bowling dates I had coupons for an hour of free bowling, so all we had to pay for was shoes. Take them out to eat on a Kids Eat Free night. Get creative and have fun but most of all just enjoy a little time with your children. Your children will treasure the memories for years to come and just like my children do.....they will be asking whose turn is next and where do they get to go!

Do you do date nights? If so, where do you like to go?

It's Finally Out

Alex's first tooth has finally come out. It's true she has had 2 others come out but they had to be pulled by the dentist.

She was so excited to have one finally come out the natural way. And by natural way I mean that I pulled it. Once I pulled it out, I'm not so sure she liked it.

The second one has been hanging there but I think she is scared to have me pull it out. Any day now!

Of course, you all know that we have a really bad tooth fairy. Her track record is not so good. She is definitely consistent in her forgetfulness and her absentmindedness struck again.

I felt so bad. She came wandering into my room that morning and told me that the tooth fairy didn't come. I tried to play it off that maybe the money fell and was plotting a way to go grab a dollar and start searching and then magically find it. But Alex pointed out that the tooth was still there.

Thankfully the tooth fairy remembered on night 2.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I've often been asked for my Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and I have to admit.....I've tried many over the years and this one is by far my favorite. I have an issue with always trying to find one that is better but I have to control myself and just make this one because it really is good. Now, I must warn, I wouldn't vary from this recipe at all. Anytime I switch it up a little it just doesn't end up as good.

Honestly, the cookies in the picture above are ones that I made a couple weeks ago and I used margarine instead of butter and they just didn't turn out as good. They were crunchier/crispier.... whatever you want to call it. My husband even asked why they were different. So, I guess if you like a crunchy cookie go ahead and use margarine but I like my cookie a little softer and chewier.

So, here is exactly what I do. I always use my Kitchen Aid Mixer and just keep it running as I add the ingredients. It makes the cookie dough really soft and fluffy. Yep, fluffy cookie dough is the way you want it.

Ingredients

1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. no salt butter
1/2 c. Crisco
3/4 c. vegetable oil

Cream together in mixer until very light and smooth.

ADD:
1 egg
1 T. milk
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
3 3/4 c. flour
12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips in the mixer. Remember, light and fluffy! Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Let cool and then try to only eat one. It's hard!