5 Things

This morning I rolled out of bed and like every good mother, I checked my Blogger Dashboard first thing. I was excited to read through the awesome Colleen's post at Martin Family Moments about 5 things most people wouldn't know about you. Imagine my surprise when I saw my name among ladies she tagged to play along! I was soooo excited because A. Colleen is an awesome blogger and mom and blogger friend and B. because I have never been tagged in a post like this before!!!! So a huge Thank You shout out to Colleen and here we go...5 things you may not know about me...


1. I was named after my father. I was the 4th of 5 girls in my family.(And thought to be the last...surprise little sister came along 17 months later...) I guess my sweet parents gave up on a son, so decided to name me after my dad. His name is William Joseph, hence, Billie Jo. That's it. Billie Jo. I have no middle name. And while I love the fact that I am named after my father, I have had some issues with it through the years. Namely, getting mail addressed to Mr. Billie Jo, having several different spellings...Billi Jo, Billi Joe, etc. And finally having no middle name. I still have memories of trying to convince my teachers that I was not supposed to put "Jo" in the box for "Middle Name" on those horrid Standardized Tests in Elementary school. So to spare my own children this trauma I lovingly gave them the easy to pronounce, easy to spell, gender specific  names of Madison, Peyton, Rhett, and Flynn. ; )

2. I am  a total recluse homebody. For real. I am most happy when I am home with my family, safe and sound. I prefer to stay home and seriously only leave when I have to...like going to the grocery store and Mass. This may translate to some as  bit on the creepy side, but really...I just like to be home. And I am a simple person. I just prefer to spend time with my family. And my Blogger friends.

3. I once had a cat named Chelsea. And Chester. The same cat. Steve got me the cutest kitten when we were first married and I named her Chelsea. She was adorable. When we sent her to the vet for her little operation, Life's Most Embarrassing Moment Number 1 came when they informed me they could not preform the said operation, because in fact Chelsea was a male. Yep...that would be me...not knowing that her cat was indeed a male. So we renamed her Chester, but honestly it didn't stick, and we stilled called her/him Chelsea until we had to give her/him/it? away to a sweet family who did not have a baby that terrorized it.

4. I have a secret addiction...to cereal. I could live on it. I swear. Well, that and coffee...But seriously...I love cereal. Currently I am eating Kashi Blueberry Morning and Life Cereal, but sometimes I go a little crazy and break out the Lucky Charms. Yes, I eat Lucky Charms. At age 43.

5. And lastly....I knew the minute I met Steve that I was going to marry him and spend the rest of my life with him. For real. I was babysitting for his older brother in an upstairs apartment, and Steve came up the stairs ...I was standing there holding his niece Katie, who is now a beautiful, married, young nurse...I was wearing a light blue denim skirt, a peach shirt, and a big peach bow in my hair. Don't judge please...it was the 80's... I still remember looking up at him as he was looking at me. I knew. He would be my life. And this of course was a week before I left for college. And there were no cell phones, or Internet, or twitter...And we made it. We talked on the phone once a day at 11:00 P.M. when the rates went down. He worked and saved money. I studied and studied. We were married 6 weeks after I graduated. And lived happily ever after!

So that's it. Your life is complete. And please go visit these awesome ladies and find out 5 things about them...I am tagging Kelli, Kathleen, Cindy, Tara, and Elizabeth. Have fun!









Weekend Plans

The weekend is here...and it is going to warm up! Just seeing the sunlight streaming through the windows makes me happy! And sad. Apparently, dust is clearly more visible in sunlight. Anyway, Friday night finds us home and without plans. The kids have requested fish fries for dinner. So fish fries it is. After that, we will probably watch a movie and fall asleep on the couch.

Saturday during the day is free as well. Steve and I will probably draw straws to see which of us gets to has to make the monthly run to Walmart for laundry soap, plastic wrap, and Clorox wipes. Wish me luck, ladies. Saturday early evening is Mass, and after that, Steve, Rhett, and Madison's boyfriend Ryan are attending a Wild Game Dinner here in town. Steve sponsors it through work, so they are going for a night out. Madison has work so Peyton, Flynn and I may head out for some Chinese food! Beef with Broccoli ...yummmm!

Sunday is supposed to be warmer here...almost 50 degrees! Madison is working at 3, so I am planning our big meal before she goes. Steve is going to cook on the grill for the first time this year, and I am going to try a new recipe to go along with it. It is ziti salad, with cucumbers and onions and a homemade dressing. I will let you know how it turns out.

After lunch, we are going to make our annual Shamrock Sugar Cookies. I have the best recipe I received from a mom of one of my students years ago when I was teaching. We don't make sugar cookies at Christmas, because we make so many others, and Valentines Day has so much chocolate, so I began making them at St. Patrick's Day, and it became a tradition. Imagine that...me and traditions?  : )

A couple of my dear sweet Blogger friends recently celebrated their special days! Please stop by and wish Patty a Happy Birthday!!!! She was one of the first friends I made when I joined this wonderful world of Blogging and she has the sweetest family! And my new friend Colleen also had a special day recently, in fact, she shares it with her son! She always makes me smile and has some super cute kids too!

Well, that is what we will be up to this weekend. I hope yours is happy, and sunny, and fun, whatever your plans may be!

This would be Flynn eating Madison's pumpkin bread when she left it to go make some coffee...

This little guy loves our brown blanket! He will snuggle with whoever has it!

Peyton whipped these up this week...and they were as good as they look!

This is what Flynn and I have been working on this week. These are the same letters I have taught all my kids their ABCs with. : )

Keepin' It Real

On my way home from dropping Madison off at work today, I was thinking about drafting a post that shares some parts of my world I haven't yet shared. You know...some of the real stuff. I wasn't totally sold on the idea because I'd hate to ruin your image of me. I mean, this is how you all think of me right? I sure hope so!  ; )

But then I got home and found my three children on their stomachs with the yardstick trying to retrieve Peyton's cellphone from under the stove. Well, pieces of it, anyway. It seems a certain three year old threw it and it broke apart and bounced under there. And that was the moment I realized that maybe, in the interest of fairness, I should share some of the reality that is our life.


Why would I want to do that?  Well, in reading through my blog, I sometimes worry that maybe I am sharing only the positive things in our lives. Granted, that is easy because about ninety-five percent of our life is positive, but I don't want to come across as THAT girl. You know the one...the perfect wife and mother, with the perfect home and perfect children. The one that makes your teeth hurt because she is so sweet. Come on, admit it, you know her! I know her. I strive to be her. But honestly, she doesn't exist. And I don't want to give anyone the impression that I am her.


Contrary to what a couple of my sisters think...I am not perfect. They like to tell people to be careful when they look at me because the brightness from my halo could burn your eyes. But seriously, I am not perfect. So here are a few things I would like to share with you to prove that I am indeed human, and my family is as well.


My kids fight. Not a lot, but they do. Except for Rhett. I am not lying when I tell you he has never been in time out. Never.

We watch television. A lot. No apologies. I like it, and so do they.

Flynn is three and she is not potty trained. That's all I have to say about that.

We eat sweets. Probably every day.

My prayer life is sorely lacking. Like for real.

I sometimes check the caller ID and don't answer the phone. And tell my kids not to either.

And lastly, I sometimes don't put Flynn in time out because I am just too tired. Don't tell Supernanny.

Ok, now that we have that all cleared up, please excuse me while I go check on the rack of lamb and baby potatoes I am roasting for dinner. I still need to polish the silverware and iron my apron too. ; )

Oh, and I was happy to see the three of them working together to fix the phone. And they did! Crisis averted!

What's Inside My March Folder

March already? That means spring is not far away, right? Time to pull out my March folder and see what is inside. Here is my March folder...

and here is what is inside...



The first thing inside is the March Poem.

                                     Spring Cleaning

by Susan Reiner

March bustles in on windy feet
And sweeps my doorstep and my street.
She washes and cleans with pounding rains,
Scrubbing the earth of winter stains.
She shakes the grime from carpet green
Till naught but fresh new blades are seen.
Then, house in order, all neat as a pin,
She ushers gentle springtime in.

Then I have the handwritten list of things to do this month.

                                             March

1. Plan St. Patrick's Day meal

2. Bake and deliver Shamrock cookies to teachers and friends

3. Organize closets and Drawers

           -Pack away or donate outgrown items

           - Make a list of needed items

4. Set weekend for spring cleaning

             -check or purchase supplies

If Easter Falls In March...

5. Plan Easter Menu

6. Finalize Easter Outfits

7. Attend Penance Service

There is also information sheets on St. Patrick's Day, as well as coloring pages for St. Patrick's Day and Easter inside. I keep a small Irish Favorites cookbook inside for meal ideas too. And last but not least, there is a newspaper clipping I found years ago that gives a step by step guide for spring cleaning in a weekend. It suggests organizing supplies beforehand, and then getting up nice and early on a Saturday morning, washing all bed linens, mattress pads, etc., vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, and mopping. If we all work together, we usually get it all done! And that is what's inside my March folder. Happy Planning!