.."And Miles To Go Before We Sleep..." (via Mowser)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Party Of The Year That Disney Is Throwing...

ne of our favorite morning activities in the "Miles" household is watching early morning educational programming together, and my children learn a lot from what they watch. I am very selective in their choices of what they can watch and limit their viewing time--but very frequently, their favorite programs seem to reside on The Disney Channel.

I love Disney Channel because, not only are they learning and receiving a great educational foundation that the can build upon, but the music and songs that they also carry with them throughout the day are also very kid-friendly and catchy--plus they don't realize it but they are also learning useful and practical life lessons from the lyrics they are reciting.

When I was given the opportunity to participate in the Disney Music Blog Tour CD sampler, I jumped up and gleefully raised my hand!! I knew that my kids would LOVE the chance to be able to listen to their favorite Disney music whenever they wanted to by just popping in a CD of their favorite artists. Ralph's World has forever been a favorite in this household and as I anticipated, my kids were quickly rocking and rolling as soon as I popped in that CD--plus they found several other favorites as we listened more and more.

I also realized that, after enjoying several hours of singing and dancing with the kids, that the upcoming Disney Music Blog Tour that is currently being promoted, would be an awesome experience for both ME and the kids. I would love the opportunity to meet and see the musicians that brighten up and enlighten my children's lives each morning. The tour festival will not only feature live performances from the most infamous of Disney featured artists, but will also have arts and crafts and activity zones that will keep my kids occupied for hours (so we could all travel back home and have a NICE AND LONG nap) and also give them wonderful memories that they will reflect on for many years to come.

Check out the Disney Music Block Tour website for dates and show times at the nearest venue near you.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Manic Monday (#35)--Bug

Go see Mo!

ne of my fondest and most treasured memories as a child was playing outside until much after dark and catching fireflies and placing them in a jar. I loved watching them emit that fluorescent glow and always wondered how exactly they did that. I would then place that jar next to my nightstand and fall asleep watching their brilliance of light and listen to the sound of the crickets chirping next to my window. But I would always wake up the next morning puzzled because my lightening bug jar was always empty!!

Years later I found out that my mother would set them free after I would fall asleep.

I Stopped To Smell The Roses...And It Was Totally Worth It!

esterday, I was getting prepared to run my typical weekly errands--which is understandably boring--and my daughter, Isis, came up to me and begged me to take her with me. Usually, if one of the kids asked to tag along during this mundane chore, I refuse--not because I don't want the company, but because I get in and out of the car so frequently, that it soon becomes very tedious to get them in and out of their car seat. It takes more time to get out of the car than it does to actually run in into the building to get what I need to get done.

Today, I agreed to have Isis ride in the car with me. I figured that I had a relatively smooth week, and getting her in and out of the car would not be too much of a nuisance to me today--I was so glad that I made that decision.

After a few minutes of driving in silence, I glanced back to her in my rear view mirror and she had a look of complete satisfaction and contentment plastered upon her face. She was totally content with just riding in the car with mommy, with no DVDs, no toys, or toddler babble was needed today.

After our errands were completed, we made a detour to our local ice cream shop and sat down to a double scoop cone. I knew that the cone was bigger than she could finish, but I really wanted her to know that I meant business today and she could be impressed in knowing that the cone was just for HER. As we sat down at an empty booth, I glanced over at her, and her eyes were big and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. She took the task of eating the entire ice cream cone very seriously, and licked away and I knew that one day she would look back upon this day and remember how she was feeling at that very moment.

I couldn't stop staring at her. Where had my little baby girl gone? She has left her baby bottles and diapers behind, and has traded both of them in for a simple and quiet car ride with her mommy with little girl dreams of growing up and doing the same thing with her own children one day. I didn't plan on stopping for ice cream today, but I can remember being her age and LIVING and looking forward to life's little surprises, and I wanted her to make dear, sweet memories of her own.

A day of errands and mundane tasks had just turned into a day to remember, forever, locked safely away in my heart.

Friday, July 11, 2008

You Say It's My Birthday?!

es, another year has passed me by. Birthdays are always bittersweet for me for some strange reason. On the one hand, I'm getting older, which means time is quickly passing, sometimes quicker than I can catch up to it. On the other hand, when reflecting upon the past year, I feel as though I have gotten a lot of good things and accomplishments out of it. My children are a constant reminder of my worthwhile purpose on this Earth, and for that I am the most grateful.

But no parties are planned for today. My kids are still too young to recognize birthdays, besides their own days filled with gifts and cake mounded with ice cream. I told them this morning that it was my birthday, and they replied in unison, "Yeah, we are going to eat cake!"

Oh well, here's to another year....

Here are some shots of my precious lovelies, my greatest gift of all.

Ethan

Slater

Isis

Chloe

Aeris

Friday's Feast (#29)

Appetizer

When was the last time you had your hair cut/trimmed?

It has to have been at least three months!! Wait, longer than that since we moved here in December and I have yet to find a hair salon!

Soup

Name one thing you miss about being a child.

Watching Saturday morning cartoons in my PJs! (smurfs, muppet babies, etc.)

Salad

Pick one: butter, margarine, olive oil.

I think I'm supposed to choose olive oil here but hands down, butter tastes the best!!

Main Course

If you could learn another language, which one would you pick, and why?

Probably Cantonese since my daughter is from China and her native language is Cantonese. I would love to learn it so I could teach her native language to her.

Dessert

Finish this sentence: In 5 years I expect to be…

TIRED!! With six young children to raise, three left yet to potty train, and to teach the necessities of life, I expect to just want a huge nap in five years!!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Menu Plan, Err...Thursday

Yes, I know that I haven't been participating in Menu Plan Mondays for quite some time now, but although i haven't been posting it, I still do make out a weekly menu plan because it helps me to organize my week. Now that my kitchen has some semblance of organization, I can now cook for everyone. The kitchen is officially OPEN!!

This week, my focus was on using things in the pantry I already have. Since we did a lot of traveling last week and filled our gas tank up more than a few times, I am trying to balance our budget out by cutting a little back on food items. Next week? Possibly Ramen noodles (I'm only halfway joking here!)

Menu

1. Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops with Portobello Mushroom Pasta

2. Sesame Chicken With Noodles and A Simple Tossed Salad

3. Honey Mustard And Red Onion BBQ Chicken with Glazed Carrots

4. Chicken Enchiladas

5. Crisp And Creamy Baked Chicken with Cheesy Rice

6. Stuffed French Toast with Sausage Links

7. Grilled Chicken And Pineapple Sandwiches with Baked Potato Chips

Update...It's About Time, I Think.

I noticed this morning that it has been 11 weeks since my last update! I promised before that I was going to start blogging regularly, and I failed to deliver on that promise.

Things are starting to become a little more "normal" around here. The kids are now enrolled in school, but of course, now on summer vacation. We are SLOWLY starting to paint and reorganize our furniture for everyday living. Our next big tackle will be the nursery, which we very much hope to get to this weekend. Since the baby will not be here until late October, we still have time.

We found out a few weeks ago that we will be having a baby GIRL, a fourth daughter, which we could not be happier about. We have already given her a name, but we are not quite ready to disclose that just yet.

I think choosing paint colors and redecorating is most fun part of moving in for me--I love seeing the transformation after completion. Last week we completed painting and decorating Slater's room and are very happy with the way things turned out. I will post pictures of his new room as soon as I recharge our camera (yes, it's been far too long since I picked up that thing to snap some pictures!)

My Home Improvement Project...Success

any of you already know that we have just recently moved into an older home near Baltimore, Maryland. We have been frantically busy over the past few months painting and updating in a mad rush to get most of this complete before the arrival of our sixth child this November which has left very little time to do much else (i.e. blogging).

One of our home improvement projects that was first on our list after we moved in was to update all of the doorknobs and locks in the entire house. Since we have older doors, many of them are worn and looked in need of replacing badly. I had visions of my kids turning their door handle, and it coming off in their hands!

When I recently received a request to review the Schlage keypad lock, I jumped at this opportunity. Schlage has a wonderful reputation of being reliable and durable yet very stylish, which are the primary reasons I choose to buy one product over another. The attached keypad lock was going to be a perfect security measure for the door to our attic!

I was instantly impressed with how easy the Schlage lock was to install. I needed just a screwdriver, and it took ME less than 35 minutes from start to finish--impressive since I usually leave all home improvement projects to my husband. The style of lock also blended in perfectly with the style of our house, which was a huge concern for me since I wanted to update out of necessity but I also want to stay true to the Colonial style our house was built in.

After installing, I took the keypad lock on a "test drive." I was impressed how easy it was to use--I did not need to carry a key with me everywhere just to open this door. This is a wonderful feature since I am usually carrying an armload of items when trekking up to the attic. My new keypad lock will definitely serve it's useful purpose of keeping the kids out of harms way of the attic, with a door lock that is made by Schlage, a company that I have been trusting in my home for decades for durability and reliability.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Houses In Pretty Boxcars

I was doing some research on the history of the style of house that our recent purchase of a Foursquare house. I stumbled upon an old 1920's ad for a "kit model" for this style of home. I was also amused to find out that Sears and Roebuck used to offer these types of homes as a build-by-number building system kit. Yes, each piece of lumber was numbered, making it easy for the layman to build their own home! I read that if I looked hard enough in our attic, we might be able to spot a number or stamp on the beams (I'm definitely running up there later to check!)

In our neighborhood, a lot of these homes were built because we reside just three short blocks away from where the old B & O Railroad used to exist. The materials for the house were placed in boxcars--very convenient and cost effective--and transported directly to the buyer.

Wow, a little piece of house history I stumbled upon--and check out the price of a house in the 1920's!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Painting, Planting, and Primer....

What a beautiful Spring day it is in Maryland today! We have been steadily busy this week starting renovation of our new home. We purchased a 1925 Colonial Foursquare style house near Baltimore that the previous owners had carefully and beautifully updated and rehabbed. There is still lots of work to do--painting, gardening, etc., but we are very much looking forward to that!

My husband has also been really busy painting the walls--since we were blessed with completely white, primered walls which is not very forgiving when it comes to smudges and scrapes. But we would very much like to stay in the style and time period of the house, so we are carefully choosing our color schemes.

I will be taking lots of pictures as we continue our work in progress....

Thursday, April 10, 2008

An Excuse With Double The News...

I have no really great and elaborate excuse for my absence in the past weeks. I think a blogger needs a break every once in a while...okay, I do have a reason why my presence has not been regular.

Firstly, we moved into our new home--the very first home of our own!! After 15 years of marriage, we have finally made the biggest purchase in our lives and we are loving it!!

Secondly, I have been SO TIRED. The day before we closed on the house, we found out that we will be having another baby! I have been so tired and ill the past few weeks, and so when the day is done, there leaves no time to blog!

But I promise, I will make a concerted effort to blog because I so much miss you guys, ALOT!! So this is my promise that I will try harder and take pictures often.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

My Holiday Wish List....

Have you seen the season's latest Technomarine watches? I was browsing the web for the perfect gift for my cousin for his graduation gift, and stumbled upon these beautiful, one of a kind timepieces. They look like intricate pieces of art that you wear on your wrist. I would love one with diamonds embedded in the watch face.

So if you are looking for something to buy me this upcoming Holiday season, I WOULD LOVE a Technomarine watch--and I'll buy you something really nice too!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Home Buying For Exercise Equipment?

One thing that really keeps my life into perspective is having frequent in depth conversations with my parents. As I have gotten older, I have learned to really appreciate them more and more each and every day. I really feel contentment and approval after talking with them about something that is bothering me or something puzzling in my life.

This first time home buying process has been really hard on my perspective. I have been suffering these past few days from a major case of "buyer's remorse." It's not that the house we chose was the wrong decision, on the contrary--we searched, researched and triple checked our potential investment before buying it. But I am constantly questioning the what if's and whether space will be an issue in our new home with our six children.

I was talking to my dad about this anxiety that I was having and rambling on about how much effort we had placed into this decision. He put all of my worries at ease when he finally shared with me that the only consideration he had during his home buying process was whether his weight benches and weight equipment would all fit in one room and that it was easily accessible...

I only wish that life was that easy!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Ramblings On The Forgotten Timepiece

hat ever happened to the old pocket watch, or a better question is, what happened to the watch

in general? I can remember a time, not so long ago, when forgetting to wear a watch was a personal taboo and a person would feel lost without it. Always checking the time--time for work, time to eat, time for a particular social engagement. A watch was seen as a fashion statement and something to be admired.

Today, I and many others rely on the accuracy of the time on my cell phone. I know it does not look as classy as taking out a pocket watch to check the time, but in my own technological addictive thoughts, it's probably more accurate and definitely more convenient.

I still miss my Swatch Watch, though!Read More......

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Party Of The Year That Disney Is Throwing...

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Manic Monday (#35)--Bug

I Stopped To Smell The Roses...And It Was Totally Worth It!

Friday, July 11, 2008

You Say It's My Birthday?!

Friday's Feast (#29)

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Menu Plan, Err...Thursday

Update...It's About Time, I Think.

My Home Improvement Project...Success

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Houses In Pretty Boxcars

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Painting, Planting, and Primer....

Thursday, April 10, 2008

An Excuse With Double The News...

Thursday, March 13, 2008

My Holiday Wish List....

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Home Buying For Exercise Equipment?

Monday, March 10, 2008

Ramblings On The Forgotten Timepiece

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

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