Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...Monday, March 30, 2009

Outside my window...it is dark and cold.

I am thinking...Derek Hough looks like Leonardo Decaprio tonight

I am thankful for...my job and the people I am meeting (both co-workers and residents)

From the kitchen...chicken pot pie, tacos, spaghetti and meatballs.

I am creating...not too much but Tucker and I have planned what we are making for Easter for the family (can't tell you because they read this!)

I am wearing...brown pants and multicolor striped shirt.

I am reading...almost done with Mademoiselle Boleyn and listening to The Other Queen on CD. With Tucker we have been reading picture books about spring and also re-reading some of Tucker's castle books.

I am hoping...my headache goes away.

I am hearing...Len criticize Derek and Lil Kim.

Around the house...laundry needs to be folded...it was pretty neat until Tucker got into his birthday presents!

One of my favorite things...the way tucker's face lights up when he laughs.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Book Fair tomorrow night at Tucker's school...making cupcakes for Tucker to bring to daycare for his birthday on Friday (he goes to an anti-cupcake school!)...Tucker turns 7 on Friday...Going out to pizza for Tucker's birthday...roller skating Friday night with the school...rollerskating (again) on Saturday with the Cub Scouts

A picture thought...

I took this picture on Saturday to show that spring really is coming!

Tucker's Birthday Party

We celebrated Tucker's birthday yesterday at an indoor miniature golf place. It's called Monster Golf and it's all glow-in-the-dark and has a really cool monster theme! (they also play 80s music, more for the parents than the kids I think!) We got the 'party room' for an hour and a half; they suppply all the plates, napkins, cups, etc. We just had to bring the cake!

Here's a picture of him with his friends

L-R Gregory, Maddie, William, Freddie, Tucker, Andrew, Chase, Cole, Mason, and Colby

Getting his "wind" ready (that's what he told me!) He did this while we were singing!


Blowing out the candles


Unwrapping the presents happened so fast , as you can well imagine! Here he's opening a Transformer from his friend Andrew

A Star Wars gun from William

A basketball from my mom's friend Sue (this was one of Tucker's 'requested' presents! Thanks to my mom he's a huge UConn womens basketball fan and Sue is one of my mom's basketball friends!)

Maddie and Freddie watch him open presents (these are his two good friends from kindergarten-when I was picking him up from school the three of them liked to play together after school, weather permitting, of course!)

After we did the presents, it was time to play golf! After explaining the rules, they divided the kids up into 3 groups to play golf. Andrew's mom and Michael went with the first group, I went with the second group, and Mason's dad went with the third. I was able to get a few shots of everyone playing. Here's Tucker

Tucker and William

At one point, they called all the kids up to the DJ booth and threw tickets out at them! (They have a small arcade similar to Chuck E Cheese where you get tickets and then can redeem them for prizes-each kid got 40 tickets automatically as part of the party)

It was a lot of fun for the kids (and hopefully the adults too!) They are a really nice group of kids and it didn't get too crazy!

Here's a picture of me and my mom (for those who remember the 'grandson' comment).

I'm sure there will be more pictures to add over time as people give me theirs...there were a lot of cameras and a lot going on!!!!

Toy Hunt-Toys with Wings

The idea is to gather your kid's toys to match whatever the theme is...
This week's theme is Toys with wings! Click here to join in and/or check out others' toys!

Assorted planes...we got the one-winged one in the "free" section of the dump, Tucker uses it as a crashed plane! Michael painted the blue wooden one when Tucker was a baby; it used to hang from his ceiling.


Batman


Dragon with castle

Mommy Moments Friday

This week's theme is SUMMER OUTINGS.

The beach is always a favorite-Tucker was 2 in this picture (check out the red curls; he didn't have them much longer after this!)


The summer of 2005- Julie came from FL to visit. At our Dinosaur Park down the street. L-R Tucker (3), Madi (7), Jake (2), and Jonathan (10).


The summer of 2007-another day at our dinosaur park (they had added a splash pad!)

The summer of 2007-we took him to Six Flags. We had Brunch with Bugs and had our picture taken with him!

Thursday Thirteen

In honor of my finally returning to work after losing my job in September, my Thursday Thirteen focuses on the joys of having a job!

1. No longer collecting unemployment
2. Not having to take 2 hours to file my claim on Sunday
3. Medical and dental benefits (beginning May 1st!)
4. Having a steady paycheck that has taxes taken out
5. Doing what I went to school for
6. Helping people with their problems
7. Bringing a smile to some one's face
8. Getting paid for doing what I love to do
9. Getting paid for taking a vacation, being off on a holiday, or being sick
10. Working with people who love what they do
11. Having adult conversations
12. Feeling like I am accomplishing something everyday
13. Being appreciated for the work I am doing

To check out other lists or to participate, click here.

What's On My Nightstand?

This month on my nightstand there are the following:

-Mademoiselle Boleyn by Robin Maxwell. I put this aside for a couple of weeks to give myself time to read Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne for the Classics Carnival on April 7th. I am still loving the court of Henry VIII.
-The Queen of subleties by Suzannah Dunn. Another book about Anne Boleyn, again a fictionalized version of her time in the court.
-Sounder my choice for the Childrens Classic Carnival on April 14th; the theme is dog stories.
-Marie Antoinette by Stefan Zweig. I picked this up at a library book sale for 25 cents.

Once again, I'll share with you my son's books:

-Pecorino Plays Ball by Alan Madison. The beginning of spring means the beginning of t-ball. This looked like a cute story.
-Mud is Cake by Pam Munoz Ryan. We read this every spring because of all the mud we deal with here in NE! It's a fun book!
-My Big Dog by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. The story of a cat named Merl who exists in his perfect little cat-wrold until the arrival of a puppy.
-Just A Mess by Mercer Mayer. Hoping to encourage Tucker to keep his room neater.
-Hey! There's A Goblin Under a Throne! by Rhett Ransom Pennell. Tucker still loves books about castles and knights and this just looked fun!

Don't forget to check my Kid's Picks post on April 21st to see if any of these made the cut!

I Survived The First Day!

I made it through my first day at the nursing home and may even go back! LOL It was a little unusual in that there really wasn't anyone who showed me around, explained procedures to me, etc. I guess when the administrator said he was hoping I would just "jump right in", he wasn't kidding!

I did meet the girl who works 10-15 hours/week and I learned the other question you should never ask someone you don't know: after seeing my pictures of Tucker, she asked "how old is your grandson?" um, he's my SON and he will be 7 next week! (The other question, in case you're wondering, is "when is your baby due?" when you're not pregnant).

All in all, everyone seemed nice and I'm sure I'll find my way. Nursing homes really haven't changed in the five years I've been gone (i.e, all the residents I met complained about their roommate's TVs). It's always hard to start a new job. I guess I could compare it to starting at a new school which I haven't ever done (except college) so I guess I don't know what I'm talking about!

I should head to bed---5:45 comes really early and I do have to say I don't like getting up in the dark! It is a little surreal driving there though because I'm not sure if I mentioned, I grew up in the next town over and went to high school there, so these are really my old stomping grounds!

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...it is Sunday, March 22 (I'm doing this Sunday night and scheduling it to post tomorrow morning because I am starting my NEW JOB!)

Outside my window...the sun is going down...it was pretty cool today. Even though it got to 50, the sun never really came out.

I am thinking...I am really excited to start my new job! Also of my cousin Kristen and her husband Chris. She came home Friday after having twins (a boy (Adam) and a girl (Chelsea) ) on Monday. They also have a 4 1/2 yo girl. My Aunt Donna is here from SC to help out, bring Libby to preschool, etc.

I am thankful...that I found a job (this may be the theme today)

From the kitchen...probably will make chicken pot pie, chicken Parmesan this week.

I am creating...not too much.

I am wearing...gray pants and a pink twin set.

I am reading...finished Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne for the Classics Carnival on April 7th. I have resumed reading Mademoiselle Boleyn by Robin Maxwell and I am about halfway through it. I am planning to listen to The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory for my commute back and forth to work this week (it will be about 1 1/2 hours daily!) With Tucker we read some books about Spring, a couple of books for St Patrick's Day.

I am hoping...tomorrow goes well at the new job.

I am hearing...the TV, the washer and dryer, and the fish tanks gurgling.

Around the house...we bought a new garage door opener after the other one went kaput with our electrical issues. Still haven't replaced the microwave. House was neat but needs to be picked up again after Tucker had his friend over. Laundry needs to be folded.

One of my favorite things...Tucker and his friend William playing togther

A few plans for the rest of the week...STARTING MY NEW JOB...finishing up the last-minute details for the Basket Raffle...Basket Raffle is on Fri night...Tucker's birthday party at an indoor miniature golf place on Sat.

A picture thought (actually 2)...
If you don't follow my daily picture blog, you didn't see see these two pictures. (and if you don't, why aren't you?!? Click here
to check it out!)

This first one is from Dr Seuss Day at Tucker's school. Michael and I dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 to hand out Dr Seuss stuff to the kids. With us is the librarian who always dresses as The Cat in the Hat for Dr Seuss Day!


This is from The Brain Show, also at Tucker's school. It was a game show which featured songs, dances and trivia for the kids. They did it during the day but then did it at night for the families. Tucker went up with his friend Colby and Michael; they ended up winning their round and got medals for their efforts! It was a lot of fun!

Toy Hunt-Disney Characters

Yes I've joined another themed post! The idea is to go through your kids' toys and find items matching that week's theme! This week's theme is Disney characters!

My son has moved on somewhat from Disney but I did manage to find a few stragglers:

The firetruck from Cars. (He still loves any firetruck!)


The Tractor Tripping game featuring the characters of Cars (this scene in the movie is still our very favorite!)


Assorted characters from Toy Story

Happy Birthday Bubba!

I would certainly be remiss if I didn't mention that today would have been my Dad's 66th birthday! Happy Birthday, Bubba, we miss you!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my Dad and Tucker-Tucker was about 5 months old.

Happy First Day of Spring!

You don’t have to look far to see signs of spring. From the budding of the trees and the warming of the temperatures to the animals coming out of their winter hideouts, there seems to be a promise of new birth and color in the springtime air.

The first day of spring in the U.S. is considered to be around March 20 or 21, depending on what day the vernal equinox occurs. This is when the sun sits directly above the equator on its apparent trip northward. Of course this sun isn’t moving; Earth is. As Earth revolves around the sun, the top half, called the Northern Hemisphere, becomes tilted more toward the sun as winter turns to spring. Meanwhile the bottom half, the Southern Hemisphere, becomes tilted more away from the sun. So it is autumn for people in Australia and the southern parts of Africa and South America.

Unequal equinox

The word “equinox” comes from Latin and means “equal nights.” Around March 20, sunrise and sunset are about twelve hours apart everywhere on Earth. Because of that, a lot of people think that day and night are of equal length on March 20. But actually the day is a little longer than the night on this date. There are a few reasons for that. Sunrise occurs when the top of the sun (not the center) is on the horizon. But the sun actually appears to be above the horizon when it is in fact still below it. That’s because Earth’s atmosphere refracts or “bends” light coming from the sun, so we see the sun a couple of minutes before it actually rises over the horizon. If you add the daylight that persists after sunset, you’ll find the day on the equinox is several minutes longer than the night.

Variety in Spring Weather

In the United States, spring is a time of transition not only for plant and animal life, but for the weather too. It can mean weather extremes from very cold and snowy days to humid and stormy days. Some of the country's biggest snowfalls have occurred in March, and the period from March to May is the time of year when much of the south is most likely to get severe thunderstorms with hail and even tornadoes. This is why the beginning of spring is a good time to put together a plan for what you and your family would do in case of a severe thunderstorm or tornado.

source: wxdude.com

Mommy Moments Friday

This week's theme is SIBLINGS/COUSINS BONDING and since you know I am all about themes, I have to play along! To join in or see other Mommy Moments, click here.

Since Tucker is an only child, I am sharing pcitures of him with his cousin Cassandra. Though she is 13 years older, it has always been clear that the two of them share a special bond. Tthese are a few of my favorite pictures of them:

This was taken when Tucker was about 6 months old


Tucker is a little over 3 in this picture; they had just spent some time playing soccer. Ttucker definitely gets his love of soccer from Cassandra. It seems like he has always been chasing her and a soccer ball around!


This was Father's Day of 2007; Tucker had just turned 5


This is the 4th of July the same year!

I am Officially Employed!

I went to meet with the Administrator at the nursing home today and he barely got the offer out of his mouth and I accepted!!! (Hopefully I didn't seem too eager! LOL) It is a 40 hour position as Social Services Director. Medical and dental benefits begin on May 1st. I will be returning to the working world on Monday!

I spoke with Angela, Tucker's daycare since he was 8 weeks old, and she has space for him so he will be returning there! Though I have only been out of work for 7 months, I'm sure it will be a readjustment for all of us!

(And yes, Julie, this does mean we will be planning a trip to FL!!!!)

Thursday Thirteen

In honor of tomorrow being the first day of spring, I thought I would list my 13 favorite things about Spring!

1. Warmer temperatures

2. Easter

3. Easter Egg Hunt

4. Kites

5. Longer Days

6. Leaves on the trees

7. Butterflies

8. Tulips

9. Daffodils

10. Buds on the trees

11. Green grass

12. Robins

13. Dandelions


The Thursday Thirteen is a weekly meme. Every Thursday you pick a theme and post a list of 13 related items. To read more Thursday Thirteen lists or to participate, click here.