Ann, I like your menu!  

I'm sick.  I actually think I have been sick since like Wednesday or Thursday, really started feeling it on Friday afternoon and yesterday I was barely moving and today I'm slightly better?  Despite being sick (some sort of stomach bug perhaps?) I made the most of it and trudged through life like most mothers do....and stuck to the "plan" but man, my house was a disaster and I felt like CRAP.  IT all started with having the chills on Wednesday or maybe Thursday - I just couldn't get warm, and my back hurt.  I tried to blame the Yoga I did on Tuesday or the flu shot I also got on Tuesday for the achy muscles but whatever, I knew in the back of my mind I caught something.  Friday we had plans to have dinner, I was dragging - I ended up buying a LITER of diet coke to keep me awake during the party.  I stayed awake but wasn't feeling great.  I was up all night with stomach pains...super mom, here we go!  The next day we had plans to meet up with our friends in Hastings to go play at the park and hiking.  My lovely husband helped me out in the morning by getting my youngest out of his crib and making them breakfast - typically a chore I do daily.  Thank goodness for him.  I slowly rolled out of bed, got dressed, got a bag packed, loaded up the car, got the boys dressed and headed out on our hike.  I ended up carrying John on my shoulders for a good portion of the 2 hour long hike and helping Jaime with a huge long log he found in the woods the rest of the time.  My pockets, of course, loaded with kid snacks and not one tums or any tylenol in sight.  Sigh.  Then I had to stop at my parents where we stayed the rest of the day.  We came home I sat on the couch for 30 min before I had to get ready for my Birthday Party Dinner - it was in MY honor, I couldnt cancel and we were already celebrating 3 months late!  So, popped a few advil - my head is throbbing - kissed my kids goodbye and headed out to drink wine, eat italian and have great company with my friends (we've been doing this for 10+ years, I had to go!).  It started out just fine, my headache went away but then my stomach ache returned...right during dinner, busy busy tiny jam packed somewhat ritzy restaurant, its 8pm and our food still hadnt arrived.  My friends ordered dessert and I didnt eat any, I barely ate my food.  But I was there, for MY birthday, being a superhero, not having a great time :(  I stopped at a grocery store for some Zantac and tums on my way home.  That seemed to help a bit.

Sunday: Grr...its "mom" day for the kids since Paul studies all day on Sundays.  I'm still feeling like Crap, my house is a wreck from being sick since Friday - there's nothing I can do.  Paul helps me again this morning get the kids going - then I'm on my own.  They pulled out ALL their toys today into the living room, whatever...whatever.  I'll deal with it another day and I didnt have any energy to get them to pick it up.  Jaime is potty training so I'm doing my best to get him to pee only on the potty but for whatever reason he chooses not to pee on the potty at all today, only in his pants - back to pull-ups, I couldnt handle it.  JOhn is sick so he's crabby and is snotting up everything in sight and crying because Jaime is crying because he got mickey mouse wet again.  OMG.  Lunch went well...everyone ate everything so time for a nap.  John fell asleep, Jaime, as usual isnt tired.  I needed to run errands - still feeling shitty I took Jaime with me to Herbergers and Target while John slept.  I came home from getting my weekly groceries and John is awake, Paul is still studying and Wilson is looking at me like he is going to lose it any minute if I don't get him some exercise.  I put my cold grocery items away and take the boys and Wilson to the dog park, grabbing another zantac and some gatorade on the way out the door.  come home, make all my boys hamburgers, still have a stomach ache and a minor headache.  They ate very well.  Jaime smells like pee from peeing himself all day so they needed baths - did that, folded laundry, washed my bedsheets, washed the boys bedsheets and pillows, did three more loads of laundry, pet my dog, cleaned up the toys and dishes, cleaned the kitchen my floors, etc....feeling pretty shitty right now.  Time for another Zantac and bed.  I really, REALLY hope tomorrow brings me more energy and my headache and stomach ache go away.  I'm so tired.  I needed to run 10 miles today and that didnt happen, either did a LOT of other things I wanted to get done.   But my kids were happy, my dog was happy, Lola was happy, Paul was happy - everyone was fed, everyone will eat tomorrow (Beef stew in the crock pot, ready to go!).  Just another day in paradise!

This Week's Menu...

...is not quite what Missy does, but maybe it will help jump-start the ideas.  I am not a cook.  I go by the "make a whole lot when you are in the mood and freeze it for use when you are not" motto.  And let me tell you, on week nights, I am generally of the "not" mindset.  So here goes.
Monday: Chicken Alfredo (I do not have to work, so I am attempting this during the day.  I have no idea how I am attempting it, but it will be done ;-)

Tuesday: Beef, onion and cheese enchiladas (frozen, I just have to thaw and bake)

Wednesday: Leftovers or O.Y.O. (on your own).  This is a "must" once a week in our house.

Thursday: Beef Stroganoff (Tastefully Simple: frozen, thaw and cook in crock pot, cook noodles)

Friday: Mel's Birthday Party.  No cooking involved.

Saturday: Generally dinner at Mimi and Bapa's

Sunday: Burgers?  Pizza?

That's how it rolls!  I am actually pretty happy that for the 3rd (maybe 4th?) week in a row, we have the menu planned and necessities thawing for use ASAP on a weeknight.  Having stuff thawed is usually the biggest hurdle to making dinner.  No saying, "Ummm, what should we have for dinner?"

An Afternoon in My World

Moms shouldn't be allowed to get sick (unless, of course, it meant that the kids wouldn't get sick -- I hate it when they are miserable).  I haven't slept in, like, 3 nights, maybe 4.  My head feels like it is going to explode.  But I was feeling slightly better this afternoon so instead of continuing to rest and hydrate after work, I did the opposite.  I arrived home to a kitchen table littered with Play Doh accessories, crayons and paper (all remnants of list night's incessant temper tantrum -- don't get me going on that).  So I cleaned off the table.  Then I looked at the family room.  Oy vey.  (Or however you spell that.)  There is a pile of yesterdays dirty clothes in the middle of the floor.  Ever single letter and number magnet from the magnet board is off of the magnet board and strewn across the floor (another remnant of the temper tantrum -- why can't she make a nice pile? why must they be tossed?).  Books are everywhere...  Blankets are spread all over the couch (OK, that one is my fault.  I was exhausted and didn't have the energy to put it away before going up to bed to pretend to sleep)...  So I straightened the house, no big deal.  I organized the books (I have this great idea that bedtime books should be the only books in the bedroom.  Last time I tried this it lasted about a day before they were all mixed up again.

I really wanted to hang my medal hanger for real on the wall (not just leaving dangling precariously, threatening to fall on someone), but I couldn't do that because the batteries for the drill were dead.  ALL of them.  And I couldn't find the charger.  Why would it be anywhere than next to the batteries?

Then I proceeded to put the glass into the screen door (it's getting colder and would be nice to have the door open without frigid air coming in).  Of course I couldn't put it in dirty, so I Windex-ed it.

I printed pictures to give to Jon's sister's family who we are seeing at dinner tomorrow.  I posted pictures to Facebook.

I haven't eaten lunch (oops) and I have to leave to pick the girls up soon.

And I'm exhausted...

Such is the life of a mom.  Things have to get done, whether you feel well enough to do them or not.  And I wouldn't change a thing ;-)

Marathon Mom(s)

My Marathon Mom medal hanger needs more medals.  And I need to see Missy and the Jungbauer family more.  So here's my list of runs that I would like to do, and hopefully Missy and her fam will be able to join me and mine.  Granted, some of these are too short to get medals, but I have wanted to do some of these since high school(*)!  This list may expand in the future, but here's a start.

Marathons:

Eagle River Journey's Marathon, Eagle River, WI, May 11, 2013

http://www.eagleriver.org/journeys.asp

Cellcom Green Bay Marathon, Green Bay, May 19, 2013

http://www.cellcomgreenbaymarathon.com/

Rock 'n Sole, 13.1, Milwaukee, June 15, 2013(*)

http://rocknsolerun.com/

Honky Tonk 13.1, Wis. Dells, Oct.

http://www.dellsmarathon.com/ 

Shorter Runs:

Crazy Legs 10K, Madison, April 27, 2013(*)

http://www.crazylegsclassic.com/ 

Jingle Bell Run, 5K, Milwaukee, November(*)

http://jbrmilwaukee.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1025183

today sucked.  Over slept - we all did.  Work - didnt work on litigation at all, only on a new project that took up my entire day.  left work, it was raining and I didnt have an umbrella - my ramp isnt connected to skyways.  Couldnt run with the rain and the boy and the puppy. 58 degrees (huge change from 94 yesterday when it was too hot to run!) - can't run tonight without coming home cold and wet and I don't have time for that today.  Started organizing the boy's bedroom because it has been driving me crazy which made a late start to getting my meatloaf cupcakes made which made for two very hungry (and crabby!) caterpillars!  I didnt get the organizing done in the room - there's a mess there!  WHile I was working in their room the boys found every toy and non-toy they have and put it in the living room, dining room and kitchen.  While I was making dinner, John spilled an entire gallon of milk on the floor - it went everywhere - he started crying.  He stepped in it.  Jaime stepped in it.  Wilson started drinking it.   my phone stopped working this afternoon for some unknown reason. spent the night trying to fix it and didnt do anything else (except clean up the milk).  we went to the sprint store at 7:30pm - boys were not great...came home, got computer, phone fixed by the time we got back, phone stopped working on our way home...boys crying, i'm mad.  dog bored.  Boys in BED - no books, they just need to be in bed - fell asleep immediately.  aaak! no run this morning....house is a mess!  Friends coming over tomorrow - gotta clean it up! 8am meeting tomorrow followed by a meeting at 11 that goes until 5...major discovery due on Friday morning, never going to happen.  Phone still not working, need to get it fixed.  Paul came home.  Bedtime.  It will be better tomorrow..........