Grocery Accident

As if Ava Flava isn't having a hard enough time lately-
We are having a terrific day today with no problems. We head to Stop and Shop to replenish our empty fruit bowl and to get some supplies for a scrumptious cake I may be attempting.
While ordering from the Deli Ava decides to climb on the side of the shopping cart to reach in and the cart flips on it's side on top of her. In a second a man picks it up off her and I scoop her up into my arms. Scariest thing ever.
She was crying but not hurt. She was asking for a piece of cheese by the time we left the deli area. She is a tough cookie.

Blah....

I guess the running kicked my ass because today I can barely move. No I think the back cracking did it. My back is still sore and I am looking longingly at my bed as I fold laundry on it. That is it's only use today I am afraid.

I hit the store today in hopes of getting some good food back on the shelves to up this dreary feeling.

I have asked my sister to babysit and she says yes and then I am a no-show ( Sorry KT). I just can't seem to care or move today-No wait or yesterday or the day before for that matter.

Maybe it is a case of the funk. I must have caught it from someone at work-they pass it around all the time.

I even Pumpkin Clicked but the Funk has a strong force field that can not be broken.

Tomorrow I am meeting with Miss Poole in an effort to set up a plan for Ava and I am hoping to be coming out of the funk by then. It is important and I want to be on my game for that.

Trying to run.....again

Are you sick of hearing this?
I am.
I haven't gone back and read my own posts but I am sure this is a topic 14 times over. I have been at the gym for about 3 weeks and been doing cardio as often as I can. Today I had no time for the gym but decided to get out on the road instead of the treadmill. Not an exact time but I think it was 40 minutes and I covered 3 miles.
I ran the first mile and then walked a bit and ran, ect. You know the drill. I have a decent circle of 3.07 miles that involves some hills so I just tried to keep up a good pace when I was walking to keep my heart thumping-which it definitely was.
Good thing I didn't wear my Heart monitor. I may have seen the heart attack I was feeling.
My aim is to be able to run the Firefighters race on October 31st. I am hoping the weight and cross training will help but I think I need to be running more days.
I'll let you know how the huffing and puffing is going.

Chain Letters are a good thing

I know what you all are thinking-many of you hate these thing, I have never become a millionaire, found a new job or a new love after I sent out my required 27 letters or emails.
But this last one, this one is perfect.
A recipe swap. I had to send out a recipe, just 1, and add my name to the list and I supposively will receive 36 new recipes if all of you follow my lead.
After receiving a few already I think I will post the good ones on the blog. Maybe you can use them for your next family party so steal them and have fun.

Thanks so much Elstrom from Pennsylvania. Why did I not even think to use delicious swishy brownies?? And Mousse?? My heart is going pitter-patter just thinking about this.

1 Brownie Mix

2 8oz. Cool Whips

2 Chocolate Mousse Mix

1 8oz. pkg. Heath Bits

Prepare brownies as instructed on box.

Prepare Mousse Mixes as instructed on box.

Crumble half of the cooked brownies in bottom of bowl, than layer half the mousse mix, sprinkle 1/4 cup of Heath bits and then layer one tub of cool whip.

Repeat the layering using the other half of brownies, other half of mousse, another 1/4 cup of Heath and top with the second tub of cool whip.

If you have some chocolate in the house, I usually shave a little on the top.

Well of course I have chocolate in the house.
This is the best damn chain letter yet!!!!

My biking partner

Friday Ava and I loaded up and headed out on our bike. We took Shorewood and headed towards the Beach. After a difficult decision she picked Papa Gino's and we pedaled on. This is turning into a great activity for us and she loves it. We were out for almost 2 hours including the stop for lunch and no complaints.
I like it because I got in an 8 mile ride and she is with me and there were no problems. We chat about animals we see and she tells me about all the colors she sees. It is a terrific way to spend the last days before we will be looking for hills to sled on.
It doesn't hurt that we ended at Papa Gino's which is our favorite place in the world.

Last Jamaican Buffet of the Season

Friday night we hit the Jamaican Buffet at the Coonamessett Farm with some friends and what a terrific time it was. This buffet happened every Wednesday night during the Summer but with work we were never able to go. Lucky for us we saw the advertisement for the last Buffet and it was on a Friday.
It was chilly but I bet it would be perfect on a Summer night with the sun going down and the Steel drums playing.
The food was good and we didn't even find the best part until we were already pretty full.
It is a BYOB kind of place which added to the charm.
This is a definite repeat next Summer and I will be sure to remind you so we can meet there for food and dancing.

Walk from Obesity 2009 Results!

We completed another successful year and raised a butt load of money.
We were LATE, well I was the driver so I was late delivering the Queen of the team. We headed out with plenty of time but drove to NH. I guess I was remembering my fantastic weekend away and drifted off the regular route. As we pulled in the walk goes marching by, so we dumped our stuff and flew out to catch up. We finally met up with the rest of the team and walked back with them.
As far as I know we were the top team raising about $4000.
I only showed $150 but went with almost $300 in additional donations-I believe my total was $425 or so.
Thanks so much to everyone that donated!!! I know there are a lot of fund raisers out there and everyone needs money so Thanks again.

Walk from Obesity 2009

Today Thu, Sep 24 Fri, Sep 25 Sat, Sep 26 Sun, Sep 27 Mon, Sep 28 Tue, Sep 29 Wed, Sep 30 Thu, Oct 1 Fri, Oct 2

Day	Night
Partly Cloudy High 67°F Precip 10% Wind: From S at 7 mph Max. Humidity: 61% UV Index: 5 Moderate Sunrise: 6:37 AM ET Avg. High: 70°F Record High: 87°F (1958)	Cloudy Overnight Low 50°F Precip 10% Wind: From S at 4 mph Max. Humidity: 76% Sunset: 6:35 PM ET Avg. Low: 46°F Record Low:

So far things are looking like they are going to be terrific for our Walk from Obesity in Lowell on Saturday.
I would like to say Thank You to everyone that has made a donation to me and my team Melting mama. We are getting closer to our goal of $5000 and have a few days left.
A big reminder-
Don't forget that CLICK is giving away a gift card for a pair of custom-designed NIKEiD's to one lucky donator to Team Melting Mama for The Walk From Obesity! A $10 donation gets you one entry, $20 for two, $30 for three, and so on. I've only got a handful of entries and I'm drawing a name this Friday. We are trying to raise $5000, and we are at $3300 at the time of this posting. Please donate! After you donate make sure you send your receipt number to :

Meltingmamamelted@gmail.com to be entered into the drawing.

Thanks again!!

Here is a Click inspired version of the shoe but remember you can design them anyway you want. You want a blue-You got it. You want gangsta white-You got it. Design away and all you have to do is donate $10 or more for an entry.
Go my friends, donate and hopefully win some shoes!

Our trip to the Doctor

Ava and I headed to South Shore Hospital today for her surgical consult. Children's Hospital Doctors see patients there in a satellite office which is great for Cape Cod folks so we don't have to drive to the big, bad city of Boston.
Yes, it is a hernia and yes it needs to be fixed. They will also look at the other side as there is a 25-30% chance of having one on the other side so they will fix both if necessary.
While examining her he asks about a brown freckle on her thigh. Has she had it since birth? Sure. Is it bigger? Only since she is bigger. He doesn't like it. So while she is already under they will remove it and test it.
I am waiting for a call from his office to book the surgery. I don't like waiting, especially for something like surgery. He says they are booking about 2 weeks out so we will hear soon enough.

Fall is Here!

3rd Annual Mashpee Firefighters Road Race

I committed today.
I haven't been running as you can probably read or not read. I go silent about things and then they fall off my oh, so full dinner plate. A tip they give to people who have had weight loss surgery is to eat off a salad plate as it is smaller and you can't load it with as much. I should live my life with a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.
I have been working out about 3 -4 days a week at the gym and am trying to get out on my bike on the other days so I am hoping to not fail miserably during this race.
October 31st is 6 weeks away so I still have time to work.
The race this year has an important cause-One of their own is in need of some help so instead of the normal fundraising all proceeds will go to Stephen Bold and his daughters. Please come out and run/walk or just cheer those of us at the back on. We will need it. It is a great time and after the race there will be raffles for the non-runners to get in on too.
Hope to see you there.
Go here to register-3rd annual Mashpee Firefighters Road Race.

Cutting our power

is going to be harder than I thought.
I replaced almost the rest of the house today to CFL's (Compact Fluorescent Bulbs). I still have to climb up on a ladder and change the 3 bulbs in my ceiling fan, find bulbs to fit my outdoor lights and change the bulb in the garage door opener. I forgot about that until it was mentioned on the energy idea today.
This monitoring system has it's ups and downs. It is making me more conscious of our energy usage but also frustrating that we still use so much power. I am also making my family crazy by unplugging all sorts of things. Dad is coming home tomorrow and I have unplugged everything in the garage. He had 2 chargers and an air compressor all sitting there sucking the power up. Next I need to get into the " man room". I am going to work hard to convince him to use a power strip that can by turned off when he leaves for the night.
I also want to look into more insulation and insulating the crawl space under the dining room. We need things we can do ourselves as we can't afford to pay people right now. Ideally someday we will replace all the windows but for now we DIY.
It is a battle but I am going to do what I can.

Friday's Bike and Hike

Friday Ava and I went off on a new adventure. We loaded up a backpack with snacks and drinks and jumped on my bike. We took our regular route down Acapesket Rd to the water and started back up Davisville Rd. We decided to take a walk thru a small Conservation area on Davisville where I used to walk our dog. It is a small area that wouldn't be too much walking for her little legs. The top photo is her having her snack on the rock that is dedicated to the area. I found it fitting as it says the area is dedicated to those people that love the woods and ocean.
This is the view from the end of the path. You can barely see him but she insisted I take a picture of that bird. Yes, the white speck on the right is a seagull floating in the water. It is funny I forgot how much I used to do stuff with Olivia and how I have to work harder to do these things with Ava. She was amazed by the trees growing over our head to form bridges and the green furry stuff which I had to explain was moss. She basically ran the whole way in the woods, amazed and excited.
At the end she wanted to climb some trees so I put her up and let her go.
Part Monkey I guess.

Eating now is so strange

Sometimes I forget I had weight loss surgery and then something happens that brings it right back and smacks me in the forehead.
This morning while making breakfast I think wouldn't some poached eggs be good. Perfect for a girl that is sliding back into eating bread. Eggs on bread, almost hiding under the eggs so no one will see them. Perfect!
I get them cooking and toast up some whole wheat bread. I even decide to use real butter-What the hell.
I am assembling this beauty of a breakfast with tons of salt and pepper and I plop down with a delicious plate to watch some Sponge Bob. I know 1st bad sign.
I am cutting them up and I see it. The smallest smidge of clear runniness and I think, No biggy.
Then I start to eat and I can't get past the texture of them and the thought of runny egg.
Done.
Trash.
Ruined.
Ever since I had this damn surgery this can happen to me with eggs. I used to love them. Give me an egg sandwich for any meal. Now no way. The nutritionists push eggs as a pefect food because they are soft and can be eaten from almost day 1.
Not in this house. I can do Eggie bites or some egg salad but otherwise they all go to the kids with ketchup(UGH!)

Cape Light Compact

I have been lucky enough to be chosen to be part of a new program from Cape Light Program. Wednesday a man came and hooked me up! I am now able to see what my electric use is. I am new to it, just getting myself signed in and started today and I am already not happy to see it spike as I am doing my first load of laundry. The dryer is not even running yet. I went from a green happy face(you are using less than other peeps in your group) to red-WTF are you doing sucking down the power lady!

It allows me to set a goal of how much I would like to save:

5%-easy

10%-moderate

15-20% difficult

I am interested in anything to help us save power. I had to answer a load of questions about what the heck is going on around here. I was surprised to find that I don't really know.

How many loads of laundry do I do?? A million? I have other people living here and I don't know what they do either.

It also asked what kind of water heater I have? Electricity thirsty? Direct or Indirect heated? NO clue- anyone who what the heck this is?

In a perfect world I would have curly Q light bulbs everywhere and solar panels on the roof. Someday.

I will try to keep you up on how this is going. I am supposed to get hints on ways to save and rebates to try to update non-energy star items. I would love to replace my 1970 freezer and dishwasher but that is down the road.

Off to unplug something to get this reading down-Damn!

I updated this post with a little view of what I can see. 2:36pm is my washing machine just revving up with smelly socks-UGH! A necessary evil I guess.

Dance Therapy

Remember my spiel about people and their therapies? Well I think I may have found Ava's therapy. I thought we would give dance a whirl as Olivia loves it so much. I had it in my head we would try it for a month and if she can't keep it together we would try gymnastics or karate or something to burn off some of her steam. I know it was only the first week but I think we may have a winner.I had forgotten it was tap/ballet so we did not have tap shoes but luckily Miss Kim's daughter is in the class and she had a pair we could borrow. That is Ava and Olivia's teacher and her daughter Chandler-who is so much like Ava I am not sure if they are friends or enemies.
The fun began when she realized she could actually stomp and make noise and that was OK in tap class. This is going to be fun!
A few more girls showed up after this photo so the class is about 11-12 girls. Miss Kim was great and left the door open so we could snap some photos of their first class but once she starts we are lucky enough to be able to watch on flat screen TV's she has set up in the waiting room. I was a little concerned when another little girl tried to be bossy to Ava-All I saw (no sound) on the TV was this girl wagging her finger at her and trying to take her by the hand back to the white line. Next was Ava smacking her hand away. I was getting worried Ava was going to give her the smack down and I would have to run in to help. That seemed to go away when she took another girls hand to direct her and that girl didn't mind being bossed.
All in all - She loved it and can't wait to go back. I think we may have a problem on Saturday when Olivia has her class and Ava can't join in.
Mr.Fooseberry and I have agreed if this is what she needs we will pay for dance and school 7 days a week. Whatever makes her happy.

On the move

In an effort to keep my A$$ moving I am going to have to group some activities together.
Tomorrow is Ava's first day of dance class so I am planning on loading her up in the double stroller and walking to class. I just mapped it and it will be approximately 4.75 miles round trip.
I have been hitting the gym on the days she is in school and on weekends and doing other stuff like the bike path trying to do some outdoor stuff when I can. Soon it will be crazy cold and we will be stuck in all the time.
B00-Hoo!
Today I managed to do 30 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes running so I may be back on the road soon enough.

Cassoulet Outcome

Although I still don't know how to pronounce the name of it, I will be making and eating this again.
It is excellent!
I am not a big bean girl but these small white beans are not too starchy. For the meat I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs and mild sausage. The recipe sort of left the meal selection up to you suggesting sausage, duck, chicken legs, ect. The last ingredient is cayenne pepper and it gave the Cassoulet a bite that is great with the sausage.
My recommendation is to cook up a large pot on a cold day and eat it for days. That is what I plan on doing.

What I want to be when I grow up

P!nk - New Music - More Music Videos

How much time at the gym do you think it will take????

Money, money,money, monnnnney..

I forgot what it was like at the beginning of the school year. You would think those School Admin people would know what it is like as they are always complaining about their salaries.
School started about a week and a half ago so we have budgeted out school clothes, shoes, backpacks and lunch food and snacks.
Now they send home the school picture notice-I think I spent $50 last year.
Friday-Cookie Dough sales. Anyone want a tub of cookie dough for $14. I am cutting coupons for groceries, like I have $14 for food I wouldn't even normally have in the house because I can't eat it.
Dance classes start Saturday. I won't even post that cost or my husband may divorce me.
We are signed up for CCD - $35. Thank You Auntie wendy.
Preschool due October 1st-$267.
That bill will get paid Dammit!! Mama need the 2 3/4 hrs of free time 2 days a week!!!

So I am done with sharing my checkbook saga with you but you see what I am saying. The beginning of the school year is full of all kinds of expenses you would think you could hold off on a damn cookie sale or a $50 picture package.
Enough said.

Trouble with a capitol T

As I have mentioned here before we have a patience challenging daughter who is 3 and cute but I am starting to run out of patience.
Forever-like a year-she has been making her way into our bed and we just make room and she goes back to sleep. This used to occur at about 3:30am. Now the back story is that I am just getting to bed at 1am and barely able to acknowledge her entrance 2 hrs later.
In the last few nights she has moved this up to 2-3-4 times a night, she is up and asking for a drink. The last two nights she actually decided to go back to her own bed at about 6am. Gee Thanks your sister is up in an hour dressing herself and turning on the TV.
I have asked for ideas in the past but some are difficult to try as she shares a room with her sister who is also sleeping. Another suggestion was to baby gate her in but she will just stand there and scream (her favorite past time).
I guess I am going to have to battle with her which means I am going to lose the last few precious hours of sleep myself. This usually leads to me being an overtired bitch and so we battle all day too.
I see I have many readers from all over the place so come out of the woodwork Mama's and tell me your ideas. I have already considered Duct Tape but I can't have DSS involved in my life.

Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables recipe from RunnersWorld.com

Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables recipe from RunnersWorld.com

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This is my next attempt as soon as I have a few quiet hours. Hmmm...I love preschool.

Bike path on Friday and Saturday

I forgot about this problem last year.
When Olivia goes to school apparently we are supposed to stay home, look out the window and pine for her return. Ava and I on the other hand have decided to go and have some fun and be quiet about it.
So Friday we loaded my bike and headed to the bike path in West Falmouth. This picture above is my bike path partner in crime. She travels real well in the seat as long as I don't need let her tip over.
I was mad we missed a great shot of a Great Egret but did see plenty of ducks. We ended up going about 5 miles and seeing some great views.
To make it up to Olivia we decided to race the rain and head out again today. While I packed some snacks in the backpack Ava decided to do this-
I am still not sure how she did this but at least Dad thought it was funny. She got real nervous when I told her we were leaving. " NO-I wiw Faw Off!!"
We decided to go right from West Falmouth which had less water views but we saw plenty of chipmunk crossings and even this bunny stopped so we could take a look. We found some paths on conservation land that we may explore at a later date but I needed to start back to the car as the rain was beginning to come down. In total we road about 3 miles and had a great time.

Ava's first day of Preschool

She seemed shy at first but she whispered into my ear-"Mom we are supposed to go into there" and points to the school. She didn't want to be outside she wanted to Go To School. I explained she needed to wait on the bench for the rest of her class and then she would go in.
Oh, OK. The teacher showed her the list of all her new friends they were waiting for and she then asked to hold the list.
See as soon as she is in charge she is all set. I am not so sure about the little boy next to her. He must have known she was gonna kick his ass at recess.
We left with out another word.

Girls weekend

The WPG Gang

This is the view from the back deck where we spent a lot of time until it got too cold.

The view from the dock. Great place for Yodeling.

The driveway into the cabin. I love this view.

Not that I don't want to tell you all about my fabulous girls weekend I just needed to get the photos and our story together. There seems to be so much to tell about a weekend full of doing nothing.
In respect of my new WPG girls I will not post any of the compromising photos I have although most of them are of myself in different stages of a stupor or sleeping until I got stupid again.
We didn't get there until late but still stayed up early into the morning hours.
I slept late and woke to giggling most mornings except Sunday when I was awoken by the smoke detectors. It was all good when the smell of bacon followed the laughter up the stairs. Bacon makes everything all right in my book.
We ate well with Stacey's BBQ which was terrific and an awesome roast made by Rebecca which I will definitely be making at home. The middle was filled with laughter and whoopie pies by the dozen.
I have to admit I was nervous as I have not gone out of my routine in a long time. I only knew about half the people going very well and I was going to be living in a cabin for a long weekend with them.
I know stupid as that sounds. I also learned that I have more hang ups than I thought but they lovingly made fun of me about them all weekend so it was better.
No I did not get a massage - I chickened out. My loss as Broadway seems to be the best massage Goddess out there.
Will we do it again-YES!
I already have permission from the family I just need to gather up the girls. Maybe a snow trip.

Ava in a bucket

This is how she spent her first day without Olivia-in a wheelbarrow full of water.
She is a school girl herself now and I will post that tomorrow.

From Post Secret

Time is not on my side.

For those of you that do not believe in God, Allah, The Great Spirit or The Great Pumpkin I want you to explain how this happens.
I will tell the whole long story so you hear how strange it is.
I am a watch wearing girl. I was wearing an Ironman watch which I never took off even to swim or shower. I am always freakishly busy and need to know what time it is because I go, go, go.
This starts back around July 4th week and I am camping and my watch band brakes-Oh well I am on vacation. My husband knows I need one to get to Bingo and Bocce ball on time so he buys me a cheapo $7 watch to get me thru. It dies before the week is over.
I get home and start to wear an expensive gold one I got for Christmas a few years ago. One day it just snaps and falls off my wrist. Um ok?!?!
Over the next few weeks I dig out an old Swatch Watch (God I was a Swatch freak in High School) and a Hello Kitty watch both dead batteries and 1 has no band.
I finally think I have this now, I order a band for the Ironman and the Swatch on Ebay so I will have 2 watches working in case anything happens again.
The Swatch band came with no pins and I have none and the Ironman band is the wrong size.
Finally I dropped off a necklace and my gold watch at the jeweler on Thursday to be repaired. No Problem they say. Saturday I get a call that the necklace is fixed but the watch band is IRREPAIRABLE!
WTF people?
Is this a sign that I need to not wear a watch? I obviously did not see this before so I am being knocked over the head with a mallet-DON"T WEAR A WATCH IDIOT!

On the road again

I have the laundry done-Not folded but hey I have a few hours left.
I made some delish food to bring and I am ready to roll.
I am hoping to sleep, read and not yell unless it is to scare some wild animal away from the campfire. Maybe I should pack my dinosaur flashlight just to be safe?
I will be back sometime Monday when the chariot drops me off.
See you then.

Off to Boston

It is official, we are off to Children's Hospital with my youngest daughter now. I did this trip with Olivia when she was 3 and I am not sure how this happened again but the Doctor says Ava has a hernia now.
I am hoping it is not from the large rocks she picks up with her Spider man strength.
I know last time we were nervous as hell and it only took about an hour from the time she changed into a johnny until we were holding her hand in recovery. On the way home she skipped into a D'Angelos and ate a tuna sub, no sign that she had been under anesthesia a few hours before.
As you know Ava is a different child than Olivia so this will be an interesting experience but she has already laughing about a bump on her Hoota-bug.
Wish me luck!