A Year of Change

Our youngest munchkin got a brand new pair of rollers skates for his birthday and has been skating around the house morning and night. He puts a leash on the yellow lab and has her pull him through the house.  He has climbed the stairs in the skates a number of times and we have hopefully made the rule on climbing the stairs in skates clear…”No more stairs”.

Yesterday was a fun and exciting day at Whole Foods.  I was in a training class to learn the ins and outs of the company.  WF seems to be an amazing company…they will pay for a health screening once a year for any employee that wishes to have one.   It was a great day.  However, the drive home was a bit of a challenge.  The traffic was bumper to bumper, moving at a slow crawl. The snow was coming down hard and the roads were really slushy…no fun, but I made  it home safely.

We had our good friends over for dinner.  Our friend “Skier extraordinaire” had just come from his first doctor apt. for his cancer and seemed pleased with the Dr. and the facility.  My handsome hubby had dinner all prepared when I arrived.  The prime rib was perfect! The laundry was also washed, dried, folded and put away.  What a man!

The boys had basketball and once again had a terrific time.  We are carpooling with another family, so we did not attend practice last night.  I really missed watching them and this carpool thing may not work for me.

Off to work….hurray!!

God Bless

LLF

Yesterday was my wife’s 1st day (only 3 hours) on the job at Whole Foods. The 3 hours was spent on filling out paperwork and watching safety videos and other HR info. It seems like a really good company and she’s really excited. today she trains from 9 to 5 and same thing for tomorrow. On Friday she’s then thrown into the frying pan. I think we get our grocery discount card tomorow so no buying food until then.

I feel really good since I cut out all sugar and flour from my diet. I thought I’d miss bread and carbs more but am kind of falling into a routine. It’s supposed to snow this afternoon and the boys have their second night of basketball this evening. They are really looking forward to it.

Again today, I have a lot of work to do, it seems every day is gone before I know it. I’m going to try adding time periods ( start and finish times to each task), to my “to do list”. Hopefully this will help me stay on schedule. I’ve challenged myself to finish everything on my daily list and then do “one more thing” that can have a positive impact on the Company. My plan is that after time, these extra “things” will add up and pay off. (I know they will, I just need to make sure to find the time to do it)

My Mom is getting ready to go to Arizona for a few months. I hope she enjoys it as she deserves a break. I won’t go into detail (cause she too reads this), but she’s had a pretty rough couple of years, not that the 10 before that were a picnic! Maybe a change of scenery and a little more sun will revitalize her.

We just finished our family breakfast (a really good idea by my wife), and are headed up to get ready for school and work. I hope my wife enjoys her first full day at her new job. I know she’ll be a huge asset to Whole Foods. More tomorrow,

God Bless,

Yesterday at 11 am our home turned into Hogwarts castle (from Harry Potter fame) with 14 kids all dressed up for our youngest child’s 7th birthday. 12 boys and 2 girls in our home is pretty tough. Not many places to hide. All the children came dressed in Harry Potter costumes and my wife, along with the some enlisted help from neighbors and friends, really did an amazing job. The cake was a 3 tiered version of Hogwarts castle (thanks to Grandma Sara in CA for buying the cake!), and the house was draped in black curtains with candle sticks everywhere. Outside were black and purple balloons hanging from trees (some real and some old branches) all around the front yard. Once everyone arrived, we headed off on a 1 mile quest around the neighborhood to find treasure that my wife had strategically previously planted along the route. True to movie form, the wind was howling and felt like needles as it hit your face. None of the children were fazed as their only focus was more treasure that was found at each stop. The first clue lead them to a large tree across the street where 14 custom made black velvet bags, with jewels, were hanging from the branches looking like they were floating in the wind. Our neighbor Roxy, (who I grew up with) sewed each bag individually and you couldn’t have bought anything like them in any store, even if you wanted. Each child then put their “pouch” around there neck and the group headed off. My wife would read each clue aloud and then the race was on. We constantly had to get the front of the pack to stop and wait as the kids would be strung out for a block from front to rear. Each clue lead to a finely decorated box containing 14 prizes (one for each child) that included everything from the prized golden snitch (ping pong balls cut in half with plastic wings inserted, then glued back together and painted gold), to of course a custom wand (wood cut from our backyard painted gold with glitter glued on the tip), for each kid. We had to have wands but really didn’t think through the spells and stick pointing or hitting by 14 kids at once trying to “out spell” each other. Oh well, no one lost an eye, but it was close. The quest continued around the neighborhood and then we all ended up back at the house. Next was a magic show by my younger brother (the boys uncle), that was a big hit. Then our eldest took his turn at magic and wowed the crowd! Then hot dogs and some fruit, (the fruit really didn’t go over) and then time for cake. About this time I had to abandon the party and go to my downstairs office to refigure my computer network with help from Seattle, as we installed new servers over the weekend (these are big computers that run companies or groups of people), at our Company’s main office. When I finished, Party 1 was over. Next was the family party with grandma and Aunt Blondie and my brother coming back with more presents! After another hour of festivities, it was time to start preparing for bed. A good day was had by all.

My wife did an amazing job getting this all together. Being on a budget, she knew we had to come up with something that wouldn’t cost a lot of money. As it turns out, this was probably the best birthday party any child could have and cost the least. Our 9 year old was a bit jealous but didn’t let it show. However the bar has been raised for next December when he turns 9! He’s already planning out who he wants to come and what type of theme.

I really haven’t had a chance to touch on our Company meeting in Seattle. We really have a special group with a good chance to do some special things. We rented a 7000 and 5000 square foot house where we all stayed. This turned out to be a great choice as the bonding that resulted was priceless. Anyhow, I have two awesome (yes the word is appropriate here) partners, and a great group of co-workers from the front office to the front lines.

I decided (after reading a book from a Harvard professor) to eliminate almost all carbs from wheat and flour from my diet. I did go gluten free while in Seattle and felt great. Now I’m trying to take it a step further and will keep you posted. I also managed to stay on my exercise routine and hit the gym hard twice while out of town. In fact I worked out so hard on Saturday, I’m still sore. I’m really trying to put all facets of getting in shape (diet, exercise and attitude) together as my partner and closest friend in Seattle had lost probably 30 pounds (and he was only 160 or so to start with) and even has a washboard stomach! I was pretty impressed, not so much at how he looked but at his dedication to his new lifestyle.

As my wife said yesterday, we’re lucky enough to have our close friend, co-worker and extended family member, Lolo here from New York/Italy for a week. (he’s from Italy but currently living in NY) I brought him in to handle a few events that were previously scheduled by the man I had to let go early last week. He’s got to be the most polite, gracious person you’d ever hope to meet.

Back to work today after a 3 day weekend (due to the MLK holiday) with lots to do. I do feel reenergized and am excited about what lies ahead. I also feel a huge responsibility to lead by example and surpass any goals that we have planned. It’s really going to be a special year. We didn’t make it to the Stock Show but will try to squeeze it in this week. My lovely wife also starts at Whole Foods today, yeah!, and is busy all week. I’m happy for her as she really wanted this.

We hope everyone is doing well, send us a comment and let us know, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

God Bless,

We had a nice morning, especially since the cable remote went belly up.  The boys got out some games and played away while I made breakfast. They didn’t seem to notice the absence of mindless television at all. They played games until it was time to get dressed and head out to the airport. It was a really nice morning.

We picked up “Dad” and our “Italian” extended family member,”LoLo” from the airport and listened to the wisdom of 6 and 9 year old boys on the way home.

After a bit of cabin fever, the boys, the dogs and I needed some fresh air and exercise.  We walked a couple of miles (the boys rode scooters), stopped at the park again for some much needed “running around”.  Good for the kids…good for the dogs…and definitely good for me. On the way home each boy took a dog and had the dogs pull them part of the way home…good times!!  One more step toward our makeover.

We had five friends here for dinner last night. The food was good, the company better.  We relived some of our stories from our 20’s-30’s.  Very funny stuff, I can’t believe some of the things those Doctors did. The lovely Laquitcia shared a bit of her med student  years…I should have gone to med school!! Anyway, a wonderful night.  Of course, our oldest was trying to make off with as much chocolate as he could grab.  Fortunately, everyone was well aware of his tactics and stopped him at almost every turn.

The wind was insane and at 1 a.m. I bounded downstairs to pull up the awnings before they gave lift to our house. The wind was so loud it sounded as if a train was cruising overhead…needless to say sleep was elusive.

Our baby turns 7 today….The “Harry Potter” festivities are fast approaching….14 kids at our house…I really need to re think kids per square foot.  Wish us luck!!!

God Bless

LLF

I am downstairs all by myself which is a rarity in this house.  Usually the youngest wakes up at 5ish and wants to go downstairs…he is not one for sleeping in. However, this morning I quietly rolled out of bed and substituted a couple of pillows for me. Hopefully he won’t realize the difference for at least an hour or so.

We were semi successful at being unplugged, but it was not quite as a joyful experience as I had hoped.  The breakfast was eaten, the beds were made, teeth brushed, and clothes on…that was the first 12 minutes of the day.  The boys plus one friend and I took the furry part of our family for a 3 mile walk and then stopped to play at the park for a bit. We should have stayed there all day!  The sugar in the 3 yogurts they ate upon arriving home took effect almost immediately and then the fun began. Back and forth between happy and mad, they were into everything and wanting anything with sugar.  Oh the insidious sugar, it is like a drug for my guys.  I don’t know about other families, but here in this house even the 14 grams of sugar in yogurt(x3)makes for a rough afternoon.  We played mouse trap…that was fun until one decided that the other rolled the dice twice….then all the pieces were mysteriously knocked down.  We plowed forward and set the game up again.  This time we almost made it all the way around without incident…but not quite.  Again, the pieces flew and it was time to put the game away. There were tears and then much needed sleep. It was a really long day…I’ll try again today without the expectation of a Norman Rockwell. I will also have help entertaining and playing with the munchkins, as “Daddy” is coming home and bringing a friend along for reinforcement. Yea!!!

I am still waiting for information on the new job.  Like…when I start, what I wear, how soon I get the employee discount$$$$ all the useful information.  I am really excited for this new chapter of life.

I did manage to clean out the china closet yesterday, and to my overwhelming excitement I found the long lost wine cellar key.  You see, it has been missing since December 14th.  I originally thought it was accidentally dropped into a Christmas present and shipped out.  I was praying that it had not landed in the trash. I did have faith the the elusive key would turn up somewhere, but seriously, how it made it’s way into that closet I have absolutely no idea.  I am glad the key has returned.  We had to remove the locked door of the cellar to get in and re hang the door to lock it. Oh, happy days, I think we should make a spare!!

I hear whispers coming from the stairs…the monkeys are up!  DBF will be blogging tomorrow.  I have enjoyed writing the the blog these last four days, until next time.

God Bless

LLF

It is another gorgeous Colorado morning. Once again the sunrise has graced us with a sea of pink,yellow, gold, salmon and just a hint of turquoise. The mountains to the west are a deep purple and look as though they have been kissed on top with a touch of rose.  Truly a beautiful way to start the day.

The goal today is to be virtually unplugged from electronic entertainment .  The most difficult aspect of this particular goal for me, is that it is much easier to finish the projects I have in the works while the munchkins are planted in front of the T.V. Thus…I must “Relish the moment” for the boys and put my need to “Complete my projects” on the back burner.  It’s a good start for our  “Family makeover”.

The sneaky, deceptive critter in the attic is winning the battle thus far.  No, “It” is not gone as I had previously hoped.  Instead, “It” has stolen more treats without being caught. I have to respect this cunning little critter. I did, however, strategically place 4 pieces of “meese” poison out yesterday and they have been eaten. I am feeling bad for trying to get rid of one of God’s creatures, but my mom reminded me that I could very well end up with a colony of mice. EWW! I may lose a few battles to the critter, but I will hopefully win this war.

My sweet man is still working in Seattle.  The boys are missing him tremendously.  They seem to do well during the day, but at night it is difficult for them to go to sleep knowing that their dad isn’t here.  We had a delivery from Fed Ex yesterday that needed to be signed for and my eldest said, “I’ll sign for it mom, I am the man of the house now”.  Of course I signed since it required an adult signature.  Oh, what a big boy I have!

The Harry Potter party is coming together.  My friend, Roxy, made the wizard pouches/goody bags out of an old, black, crushed velvet skirt.  She added colored stars on the draw strings… they are hauntingly beautiful!! I am almost hoping we are minus one, so I can keep one for myself…key words..”Almost hoping”. The snitches are painted with movable wings, magic wands…all done, bookmarks ready, snacks and treats are ready to be found..cauldrons are waiting to be filled,, dining room resembles the dining hall in Hogwarts  Castle…thanks again to “Roxy”, whom has a plethora of fabrics just waiting for me to play with. Lucky, lucky me… Just add kids and I think we are ready to “Party”.

So, we are off for our Saturday challenge…First, breakfast… then…make the beds, get dressed, walk our “Paws”, play some games, clean the playroom, capture the dog hair(again)and maybe find a play date. Oh yes and pay some dreaded bills. Have a great day…until tomorrow.

God Bless

LLF

It’s a little after 5 a.m…. 3 minutes after to be exact and my littlest monkey has decided that it is time to start our day.  Under normal circumstances this would be a great time to start our day, but last night was yet another late night. Lack of sleep around this house, as in most, makes for a very challenging day.

My eldest had a school musical performance last night and it was absolutely adorable.  The music teacher is phenomenal and the children are even better!  The theme was “Snow day” and the children memorized 6 songs along with expressive movements and speaking parts. The excitement was palpable! I certainly don’t remember such elaborate, joyful programs when I was in 3rd grade…I’ll have to check with my mom, Sara, to obtain “total recall”.  Again, it was truly a pleasure to watch the 3rd and 4th graders.

I checked on my critter in the attic yesterday.  I think my intelligent adversary has moved on to a warmer house.  The treats are all in tact and no traps have been touched.  I hope he/she has found a new place to dwell. Of course, if my critter is a she…she may just be off having babies. Ugg! I just can’t take the conflict in my mind of what I may find during the long climb to the top of the attic stairs.

Tonight is game night, movie night and stay up late night.  I am hoping to outlast the kiddos on the latter.  They had such a hard time winding down the  last two nights that I may actually have a chance…Wish me luck.

The little monkey sitting next to me is requesting nachos for breakfast..I’m suggesting whole wheat pancakes and a topical fruit smoothie.  The kids are eating so much better since we have been sitting down to breakfast together….we talk and eat and enjoy each other’s company and I don’t even once have to remind them to finish. Yea!! One of my best memories of growing up was that every morning my mom had the table set, breakfast(vitamins included) waiting and she my dad and I would sit down together and start our day. What a gift!  I thought that was how everyone’s day started. So naive.

Side note..the boys did enjoy a treat that Aunt Blondie so graciously delivered last night.  Thank you Aunt Blondie!

My grand plan Saturday for the boys and myself is to be virtually unplugged. 1 hour of t.v. time(that is when I will get the blog written)no computer, no video games, etc. I’ll have to come up with some fun outdoor activities or indoor depending on the weather.  We will walk our family members of the four legged variety and perhaps practice for the scavenger hunt on Monday…fresh air and exercise rocks!

I finished putting the Golden Snitches together and “yea” for me the littlest boy said, “very cool, mom”. I had originally explained that the snitches may turn out “sort of cool” and his reply was..”they can’t be sort of cool, they have to be very cool”. The pressure…whew, I dodged a bullet there. Now I have to come up with Harry Potter clues for destinations around the neighborhood that coincide with locales related to the movies…don’t get me wrong..I truly love this sort of thing..theme parties, theme parks..anything with a costume…sooo much fun!!

Just a few things today to get my “house” in order.  A few closets, a few drawers, I’l have to hunt the dog hair once again and of course feed my soul…until tomorrow.

God Bless

LLF

It is my turn to do the blog. My handsome husband is in Seattle for a few days staying in a fabulous 7,000 + sq. ft. home with lovely views.  I think the view we had here in Colorado this morning would beat almost any around.  The sky was a deep turquoise and the clouds were a pink and purple hue, the snow on the ground was colored pink as well…AMAZING!!  We’ve had these majestic skies two days in a row and the boys have taken many pictures two days in a row, I am so happy to have a digital camera.

Last night was our first night of organized basketball for our mini crew.  The coaches were great.  They taught the kids the names of all the lines, how to  dribble, pass, jump stop, and pivot.  At one point my youngest came running by me saying , “This is so hard, but so much fun”all I could do was grin.  The oldest went through two practices.  He hasn’t played before, but after the first session the coaches moved his friend and him up to the 4th-6th grade group.  They were all wiped out!!  We didn’t make it home until almost 9p.m. I made a quick pancake dinner and had them eat fast and brush their teeth faster…then all three of us piled into my bed for some well needed sleep.

We have a critter in the attic above the garage, not just any critter…a smart, sneaky critter that shows great prowess in making off with the treat without getting caught! So far he or she has made of with peanut butter, almond butter and chocolate and has shown no interest in the trap with the mouse poison. I am thinking of buying a more humane trap today.  I am starting to like the critter and the boys suggested “Catch and release”.  My wonderful friend/sister, Auntie K, told me to make sure to take whatever it is far, far away or they tend to find their way back. Yikes!

Well, I am off to do battle with the laundry which has piled up as tall as a small child. The dogs which have overturned the trash and eaten every edible morsel they could find. The dog hair that is evading the vacuum  and the dresser drawers that are over crowded with summer clothes…I know it’s almost February and spring/summer is just around the corner.  Wish me luck!

By the way, I am also working on creating 14 Golden Snitches, 14 Harry Potter Bookmarks, 14 Magic Wands and all of the Harry Potter treasures I can come up with for the 14 kids that will be here Monday morning for a Harry Potter birthday bash..I do love a theme party!!

God Bless,

LLF

Well my wife was called back to Whole Foods yesterday and in the span of about 5 minutes, was hired! We’re thrilled, not just for the extra income, (that’ll be really nice), but also just for her to be able to get back into the adult world. I knew they were a good Company but apparently they really go the extra step to put family first. Upon finding out that our youngest will turn 7 next Monday, her new boss told her not to start until Tuesday so she wouldn’t miss his special day. In fact he also said that even though she would be a new employee, don’t be afraid to come and tell him about any family commitments as they are a Company that puts family first. In addition, it looks like we can get 30% off all of our groceries if she submits to a blood pressure and cholesterol test. Anyhow we’re all happy and excited for her. My closest friend in Seattle said, “I guess prayer works!”.

It’s still cold, zero right now. When it’s this cold there’s no moisture in the snow so it’s real dry and you can feel it in your lungs when you breathe outside. Makes you feel alive. It was snowing in Seattle last night but looks like rain for the next few days.

A close friend of mine called last to talk and after about 5 minutes, told me he had prostate cancer. He put a positive spin on it, (like he was trying to convince himself) saying it wasn’t a big deal. But cancer is still cancer. You’d think with all the advances society has made in the world of technology, we could come up with a cure for some of these diseases that plague man. I’m convinced the majority of our health problems are directly related to what we eat. You really need to watch what you and your family eat! There’s a lot of bad stuff out there that we’re being told is good for us. People, use your brains, just because it’s on TV or in print, doesn’t mean it’s true.

We feel pretty good but can’t wait for it to warm up a bit so we can get outside for some exercise. It’s tough when you’re stuck in doors all day. Luckily we have the kids to chase around (not always by choice), which provides some movement. The boys were out for almost 2 hours yesterday in the sub zero temps. They did leave the side gate open which gave our 2 dogs a path to freedom. We’re not sure how long they were gone, but they were both sitting at the front door when we threw on some clothes and opened the door to rush out and look for them. I guess they know where the food is.

Looks like my wife will be filling in for the next few days, so I’m sure this will be much more enjoyable to read. Stay tuned and hope all’s well with everyone.

Been up since 3 am. Lots of things kept me awake most of the night. I headed off to the gym at 4 to refresh mentally and physically. I then jumped on the phone with an associate on the east coast until now (6:30) when everyone is getting up.

It’s pretty depressing these days when you turn on the TV. The recent tragedy in Arizona seems to be everywhere. Whenever there’s any kind of death or destruction, you can count on the media to milk it for everything it’s worth, for as long as they can. Imagine if instead they would focus on promoting people doing good things rather than endlessly and shamelessly exploiting the negative, but then of course, they say that won’t result in good ratings. I really pray that mankind can somehow step back and turn the corner to the path of good. I suppose throughout time, things have always been like this. It’s just so much more “in your face”, with the technology we have today. But it’s still sad. We pray for the families and victims of this senseless horrific event.

Back to our little corner of the universe, it’s still cold, 3 degrees this morning. We still have bills as does everyone. We’re really need some divine intervention this month as we’ve had some unusual expenses come up. All we can do is pray and continue to put our trust in God that everything will be ok. My wife has started having the whole family eat breakfast together at the table. This has been a really good change. It’s fun to start our day together and talk about what’s going on with everyone. It’s remarkable some of the things your kids will say. Right now the eldest is offering his many years of wisdom to his younger brother on everything from how to act on the playground, proper protocol in the lunch room, to the finer points of 3rd grade of which he seems to (as usual), be cruising through with great success. Our youngest, in first grade, quickly points out the things that have changed dramatically in the many decades since his brother was there. There’s also a fierce negotiation going on between Mom and our youngest to get him to eat all his breakfast, while the eldest quickly points out that Mom’s using reverse psychology.

I’ll be headed to Seattle tomorrow for our annual company meeting. It’s always good to get everyone together as we all seem to gain strength from one another. I had to let an employee go yesterday which was very difficult. I hope that everything works out for him and his family. Sometimes tough times require tough choices.

God Bless, have a good day and stay safe,