Mamahood.org

Bitten by the Minecraft bug

Jenn — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:30:36 +0000

Last summer, when my brother first came to live with us, he was babbling about Minecraft, which I had never heard of. Then, during the fall, Alyssa got a little into Minecraft, then promptly forgot about it. However, over the past few weeks, she’s been all for it. Now, she doesn’t play video games all of the time, or even a lot, but when she does play them, she’s alllllllllllll about Minecraft. And now the Minecraft bug has chomped Ryan.

He has totally taken over Dan’s laptop (though Alyssa has pretty much taken over my Macbook), and is having a blast putting together buildings, making houses, and breeding/raising chickens. For some reason he raises chickens indoors, and on the rooftops. But whatever – kid has his reasons. And his reasons must be pretty sound, for the most part anyway, because all of his stuff is zombie-proof, as far as I can tell.

Are you musically inclined?

Jenn — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:27:37 +0000

I couldn’t play a tune on a guitar or read a sheet (or even a line) of music if my life depended on it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate music — or the fine instruments that bring it to life – for what it is. Right now, as I hear a thunderstorm moving in overhead, all I can think about doing is taking a warm shower while listening to my local radio station, then turning on some relaxing music on my iPod, which I will hopefully fall asleep to.

Alyssa recently asked about soccer, and Ryan asked about baseball, but in terms of extra-curricular activities, I wonder if either of them might be interested in chorus, band, or playing another type of instrument. I overheard a conversation at my children’s school today about tonepros, and it got me to thinking about my mom’s guitar – the one that resided in my closet but she never played – and how cool of an instrument a guitar is, and how neat it would be if either of my children played it. Or a violin. Or even a cello. All of those instruments are quite awesome. Beautiful. Magical.

So…are you musically inclined?

Grandparents’ Day

Jenn — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:17:04 +0000

Today was Grandparents’ Day at school. However, my mother and I are estranged, plus she is mentally ill; my father is mentally ill; my mother-in-law is mentally ill and has issues with substance abuse; and my father-in-law is deceased. So, Alyssa and Ryan have no grandparents. Even though it may have been weird for us, clearly nowhere near the age of being grandparents, to show up on Grandparents’ Day, better for us to show up than for no one to show up. And you know what? Alyssa and Ryan were very excited to see us, show us around their classrooms, and eat lunch with us. They had a great time, so I’m very glad that we went.

Last Day Of School Countdown: 15

Jenn — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:36:30 +0000

Autism strikes again, as Dan and I jokingly like to say. As of today, there are just fifteen days until the last day of school. Yikes! I vividly remember the first day of school, when it seemed like there were SO MANY GLORIOUS SCHOOL DAYS AHEAD OF ME. Now there’s just 15 left? Eep. Where did they go?! Man, this year flew by quick. Now it seems like everyone is in the mood for summer, and I can’t blame them, because I am too. Down the road some church furniture sits on the side of the road for trash day – I guess even churches go through spring cleaning? I’ve filled out camp registration paperwork for both Alyssa and Ryan. I believe the pool opens next weekend (er, next next weekend, as in Memorial Day weekend). And I’m itching to break out short, tank tops, and flip-flops.

But first, I need to get through these last fifteen days of school. I won’t lie: I will NOT miss the 7:30am alarm!

Even my children like my protein shakes.

Jenn — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:04:50 +0000

I had weight loss surgery (roux en y, more commonly known as gastric bypass) on November 18th, 2009, so since then one large staple in my diet — one that I consume at least once a day, and ideally 2-3 times per day — is the protein shake. Comprised of 4-6 ounces of water or milk and 1-2 scoops of protein powder (usually chocolate flavored, though protein powder is available in many flavors, including vanilla, strawberry, coffee, and even “unflavored” – great for adding into recipes such as soups, stews, and puddings), the average protein shake I drink packs a minimum of 30g of protein powder. My daily minimum recommendation of protein is 60g, and my personal goal is 90g, so the more protein I can fit into one shake, the better. You see, I’m the odd one out in that I do not like protein shakes. It’s a good thing that I did not let my dislike of protein shakes dissuade me from having weight loss surgery, heh. Every day I drink something that I don’t like, for the sole purpose of staying healthy. To me, a protein shake is like medication. Something I take, even if I don’t like taking it, because my body needs it.

But I realize, now more than ever, that my dislike for protein shakes has more to do with me and a lot less to do with the protein shakes themselves. Alyssa tried one of my protein shakes yesterday and said she liked it, that it tasted a lot like chocolate milk, or a chocolate milkshake. Go figure. Meanwhile I’m like, “Blech, can’t wait to drink this thing as soon as possible!”

Color: one thing my children are never lacking in

Jenn — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:57:12 +0000

Bright hair colors aside, Alyssa and Ryan usually aren’t hard to spot. While their pants (“breeches“, if you’re into the old-school term) may be of neutral colors (dark or light-wash denim, khaki, gray, cargo-brown, etc.), their shirts, hoodies, and backpacks are usually brightly colored. Neon seems to be The Thing this year, and neon is one thing Alyssa and Ryan aren’t lacking in. What’s funny is that Ryan’s hair is currently lime green, and he has a lime green hoodie that matches it perfectly. Alyssa’s hair is a bright strawberry red/pink color, and she also has a strawberry red/pink hoodie that matches it. Even amongst a crowd of other children, our little sproglets are easy to pick out.

(That’s Amanda’s daughter Sophie in the middle)

My Mother’s Day weekend

Jenn — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:44:23 +0000

Hello Monday. This weekend went fast. Saturday went fastest of all. Ryan’s special-needs Boy Scout troop had a hike at Hawk Mountain planned, so we were up and out the door and on the road by 6:45am. We started our hike a little after 9, finished up a little after 12, got home a little after 3, and after a dinner that consisted of take-out pizza, were all in bed well before 10pm. On a Saturday night. But that’s not as lame as Friday night, when the kids were in bed before 7 and we were in bed before 9.

Yesterday we all slept in, and then Alyssa gave me her Mother’s Day gifts (Dan gave me his last week, and Ryan gave me his on Friday). Then we all went out to lunch at Ruby Tuesday. ♥ The rest of yesterday was a typical Sunday – laid back and lazy. I touched up the pink in my hair, and was going to do my nails, but instead got busy doing household and kidlet stuff instead.

Happy belated Mother’s Day to all of you mothers and mothers-to-be. I hope you had a great weekend! ♥

Choosing car insurance

Jenn — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:28:55 +0000

Choosing car insurance can be an easy task, or it can be an overwhelming task, depending on how you choose to go about it. Thanks to the internet, it’s relatively easy to visit an insurance company’s website, check out their options, fill out a quote, view rates, then decide whether or not to purchase coverage through them. However, while this process is easy, it can be time consuming. A much more sensible option is to go to a website like Auto Mobile Insurance and get a comparison of auto insurance companies and their quotes at a glance.

According to Wikipedia, there is a lot to know about auto insurance – and a site like Auto Mobile Insurance makes it super-easy for you to find out what you need to know, about insurance, insurance policies, commonly used terms, common types of policies, and of course, about the popular types of car insurance companies out there. Visit AutoMobileInsurance.me today for a free quote and to find out more.

Scholastic Printables

Jenn — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:28:37 +0000

With summer just weeks away, now’s a great time to think about the ways you’ll continue your child’s education throughout the long weeks of summer. Or, if you’re like me and most parents, you’ll be thinking of ways to occupy your children during the loads of free time they’ll suddenly have on their hands during the summer. Now, I’m not one to put my children on a strict home school regimen during the summer months, but at the same time I don’t want them to forget all that they’ve learned during the school year, or get too off-track and disinterested in learning.

This is where Scholastic Printables comes in. Scholastic’s printable worksheets (such as these 3rd Grade Math Worksheets) are available for students in grades pre-k (try the kindergarten printables!) all the way through 8th grade. 15,000+ worksheets provide learning, activities and resources in a variety of topics to cover all school subjects and every theme imaginable. The worksheets can be used during the school year, perhaps in conjunction with a class curriculum; or at home, with a home schooling curriculum, or as some parents plan on doing – during the summer, when education isn’t at the forefront of most children’s minds.

From Mommy to Mom

Jenn — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:10:12 +0000

Do you remember when you stopped referring to your parents as Mommy and Daddy and started referring to them as Mom and Dad? Ryan, who will be six in July, shows no signs of calling us anything but Mommy and Daddy. But Alyssa, who will be eight in October, slowly but surely, has been referring to us as simply as “Mom” and “Dad” more and more. At first it was just when she was with her friends outside, or when she had a friend over. But she’s been working on remembering to drop the “my” and “dy” here at home, and lately she’s been pretty consistent with just calling me Mom and calling Dan Dad. It doesn’t bother me – I knew this day would come, and I also know that Alyssa has always been very self-sufficient and independent. Her independence and desire to grow up makes me smile, but it also makes me a little wistful, and a little nostalgic.

It’s funny in a way. For so long I was comfortable in my role of a parent of very young children. My babies. My toddlers. My preschoolers. Now I have a daughter who is almost out of first grade and a son who is almost out of kindergarten. My babies will always be my babies, but they’re oh so clearly not babies any more. Speaking of which, I really need to update the photos of them in the sidebar (look to your right) – they’re from last fall, and they’ve grown so much since then!