FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Graceann is already a 7th grader...ahhh...where does the time go?

Caroline and Pauline...4th and 1st grade respectively....wow my babies are growing up!

So you haven’t heard from me in a few days. I have an excuse and its better than “the dog ate my homework”. How about…..ready for this….”the kids ate my sanity”…why? Because today is the first day of school and getting there is more of a battle than the one fought at Waterloo. Yes Virginia…today is the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Let’s hear it for all the parents out there…Hip, hip, hooray! It should be some kind of National Holiday. This couldn’t have come at a sooner time. Yes! Yes! Yes! Can you tell I’m excited? To be honest with you I don’t know why we don’t prepare children for their roles as working adults and grant them only 2 weeks of summer vacation. Has anyone thought of that? Maybe I’ll suggest it at the next PTA meeting, only if I had time for a PTA meeting.

Why do you wonder is it so hard getting the kids ready for school? Well have you ever looked at the kid’s school supply list? It’s looking more and more like the complete inventory supply list of staples…and times that by 3 school age children and you better own stock in Staples as well. And picky, picky, picky, do we really need a 6 inch ruler vs. the regular 12 inch ruler? And is there a big difference between marble notebooks and spiral? I know that spiral comes apart more easily…so here’s my vote for MARBLE! All summer long I picked up pencils, notebooks and crayons when they were on sale. I cashed in on the penny and nickel sales. When they limit the blowout deals to 3 per customer I don’t think they bank on my family walking on through the door. You could only imagine what they thought when 3 year old Rebecca was on line with her 3 pennies for her three rulers.

Also have you noticed the summer assignments lately? Who ever heard of summer Math packets? Isn’t summer about having fun? How about something fun like baking with fractions (half cups? ¼ spoons?)…Did Dewy Decimal envision this is how summers should be spent? Don’t even get me started on the missing packets. How can children be required to remember in September where they put these packets in June? I made two trips to the school over the summer getting replacement packets. Imagine my crazed world when two days before they were due I washed them because they were hidden in Graceann’s backpack (oh yeah that was another thing I forgot to get…so I figured last season’s model would look new with a wash). I washed those answers right off the paper. Definitely not a candidate for Mother of the Year.

I am all for reading...but a book report quilt? I was up until 2:30 in the morning helping sew together that report. What happened to a nice little summary with a cover and calling it a day? What happened to reading for pleasure? Lord knows you won't be able to do that when you have kids so you might as well do it when you are a kid. Don’t get me wrong Flags of our Fathers is a book I thoroughly enjoyed but at 11 years old I might have preferred Nancy Drew.

Here’s another no-no that should have me voted off Mother Island. No new school shoes for the first day. I know I should be in charge when my 7 year old says she doesn’t want to buy new shoes and last years shoes still fit, but this wasn’t the case. Yes, I should know that kids are like weeds, a little sun, a little water, a little summer and they grow, grow, and grow. But here’s what I was banking on….THE SUPERSIZE SHOE. Whenever I buy something that my girls will wear I always buy something 1 or 2 sizes larger. This way I get more use out of it….come on…admit you’ve done it too! I find myself saying “just wear thick socks…till your foot grows.” “Try wearing it with a belt…it looks all the rage!” or “but that’s what cuffs are for”. So I figured Pauline’s shoe from last year would fit. No such luck and this morning started off with a screaming, total meltdown. Things eventually calmed down when I convinced Pauline that her really shiny copper ones could be considered a distant relative of the dark brown required shoe. Oh yes the girls go to Catholic School so it’s all about the uniforms. And thank goodness for that. If I had to be coordinating outfits I would have really been put over the edge.

But I am still rejoicing! School is in Session! Yeah!

CAKE

Rebecca's flag cake

I love cake. You know the saying…you want your cake and you want to eat it too---that’s me all right. If I am having cake you better believe I’m digging in! I think I love making cakes as much as I love eating them. I think I must have been a cake decorator in a previous life—not that I really believe in past lives…but it sounds good if I did. While I love making cakes…I am certainly not a master cake decorator…but I love creating cakes that I know friends and family will love. My daughter Rebecca was born on Flag Day (quick…30 points if you know when Flag Day is….buzz…time up June 14th). So for her first birthday I thought it would be cool to make a Flag Cake. When she was two I decided to do it again because it was so well received. When we were trying to figure out what her 3rd birthday cake should look like…she actually surprised me by requesting a flag cake. She now believes the American Flag is a birthday flag….specifically her special birthday flag. So I made another American Flag cake and once again it was delicious and everyone raved about it. I have thought about making it this weekend to celebrate Labor Day…and all of us hardworking Americans…but Little Rebecca will see the cake and wonder where her birthday presents are…so I’ll figure something else out. But if you want to partake in this wonderful cake…I am sharing a recipe I like to use. www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/flag-cake-recipe/index.html Here’s a tip…when it comes to decorating the cake…you should use raspberries instead of strawberries. Strawberries tend to become a bit runny and don’t hold well for a long time.

LOLLIPOP THANK YOUS

As a producer for the Martha Stewart Show I believe I am held to a higher standard when it comes to invitations, party favors and goodie bags. Do you really think a pre-printed Barbie Thank you card is going to do? I am sure for little 5 year old (you can fill in a name) it is just perfect. But for her mom—she’s going to talk behind my back…I can hear it now. “Can you believe the thank you card we got from Mrs. Deyo? I nearly died when I opened it and saw a store bought card. I mean doesn’t she work at Martha Stewart? You would think she would know better. We should really turn her into the Martha Stewart Police…they’d be shocked. She should be given 5-10 on that one…no she should be given life without parole of ever having a party again!” Well maybe the conversation doesn’t quite go like that (didn’t I tell you I was dramatic?)…but the point is that I believe my cards, my party favors and my goodie bags need to be better than anyone else’s (did I mention that besides being dramatic I’m also competitive?). So today’s post is about party favors.

I am very fortunate to work for Martha Stewart. I am surrounded by GREAT ideas on a daily basis. And almost every idea that is put forth on our show can be adapted to my life and my kids. For example, we once made these adorable purses out of scrapbook paper. They were for Mother’s Day and they held gift cards. Wonderful for Mothers Day…but also makes a great birthday invitation to my daughter’s birthday. Inside the purse I created a little card that read: if you’re in “purse”suit of a good time…come to my 9th birthday party. Even our wedding ideas can be turned into party ideas.

So one day we made homemade lollipops on the show. We also made molds for the pops. I became obsessed with the pops and knew I had to incorporate them somehow into an upcoming birthday party. I thought they were the sweetest things…and that’s when it hit me that they would make the perfect thank you… I would make these pops as flowers and then on the leaves I would write “thank you for your gift…it was so “sweet” of you. Here is the lollipop recipe…that’s simple, and quite foolproof. Although you will need a candy thermometer (which can be found at the supermarket).

Lollipops
Ingredients: 2 cups granulated sugar
½ tsp. of cream of tarter
1 cup of water
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/8 tsp. gel food coloring in desired color (available at Michaels/AC
Moore, Cake and Bake etc)
2 tsp. lemon extract/or desired flavor

In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cream of tarter. In a medium saucepan bring water, corn syrup and sugar mixture to a boil. Continue to stir. Continue stirring slowly till mixture reaches 310 degrees on a candy thermometer (hard crack stage).

Remove saucepan from heat. Let stand till cooled to 295 degrees. Add gel food coloring and desired flavor and mix.

Pour combined mixture into lollipop molds with sticks. Let set at room temperature. Once set (approx 30 minutes), remove pop from mold and continue with remaining candy mixture. ***Keep remaining candy mixture in a 250 degree oven to prevent it from setting in the pan.

Now I mentioned that you could make your own candy lollipop molds. These are actually quite easy to do. There’s a great company that sells mold kits…its called http://www.makeyourownmolds.com/ . Now if you don’t have time to be that adventurous there’s also a great company that sells lollipop molds and they’re very reasonably priced. It’s called http://www.candylandcrafts.com/
If you have any great favor ideas…I’d love to know about them. Email me at threepluskids@aol.com

PERCEPTION--AM I REALLY THAT OLD?

Ok...so how old do I really look? What's giving away my age?

Does it help if the sun shines on me (and my husband)...will that take years off our appearance?

I mentioned in an earlier post that in order to save money I have been taking the train to work. It’s actually been working out really well and after the first month I’ve already noticed my American Express bill is down. Sometimes I take the train right at the local university in town. Parking is only 3 dollars vs. the 25 dollars I had been paying in New York. Well the other day was the first day of school for the incoming Freshman class. Because of this there was a welcome wagon at the Parking Garage welcoming the Freshman class and directing them to their classes. When I pulled up to get my parking ticket the meeter—or greeter or whatever you want to call her looked at me and said…”well surely you’re not a student…you must be one of the dailys” (meaning someone who daily parks for the train.) Ok…so surely I’m not a student…but she might as well asked if she could offer me a walker to help me catch the train. Why didn’t she just ask me for my AARP card so I got discounted parking. So of course this got me thinking, ok worrying…do I really look that old?

I remember when I was in college thinking how fat I always looked….but today if I look at pictures of me during that time period…I can only say I WISH I looked that good. Why is it that our perception of ourselves never matches the true picture? I feel young—in my head I’d like to pass for one of my daughter’s friends…although realistically I know I’m beyond the bounds of an 11 year old. But couldn’t I pass for an older sister? What is it that is giving me away? Is my makeup too old looking? Am I not wearing enough….wearing too much? Is my hairstyle too old? What is it about the fountain of youth that I’m just not getting? Maybe it’s the clothes. Perhaps if I added a splash of color? And how old do I actually look? Do I look like I’m in my 50’s---BECAUSE I’M NOT!!!!...I have about 6,7, or 8 years to go before that. Age is just a number…isn’t it? I guess I really never thought about it before that welcome wagon woman (who looked older than I am) had to say the word SURELY you’re not a student. She could have said, are you a student? How about nothing at all…how about here’s your parking ticket HAVE A NICE DAY….no now she has me changing my makeup staring in the mirror looking for wrinkles…I have 5 kids…doesn’t that count for anything. My youngest is 3 years old. Moms with toddlers are young….they’re in their twenties…some in their early thirties. I want to be in my thirties. I HAVE A THREE YEAR OLD! SURELY I AM NOT THAT OLD….SURELY I AM STILL WITH IT. SURELY, SOCIAL SECURITY IS NOT AROUND THE CORNER….ok breath….calm down…I’m not old, I’m older…just older than a student….ok I can live with that.

MARITAL BLISS

Fran and Jon...the most handsome couple!


Saturday night I had a date. It wasn’t just any old date…it was the social event of the year! My good friend Fran was marrying her wonderful fiancé. I worked with Fran at the Rosie O’Donnell Show. Now I work with Fran at the Martha Stewart Show—as a matter of fact that’s where she met Jon. They are just perfect—two peas in a pod…swimming in a delicious butter sauce with mashed potatoes on the side! I am truly happy for them. It’s such an inspiration to witness two people finding their soulmates. Their wedding of course brought many memories of my marriage to Bob….x amount of years ago. (x = y-z) Yes, I feel like the old married lady…with the wisdom of the old married folk. So Fran and Jon, don’t be shocked if I tell you that married promises sometimes are meant to be broken. (But don’t worry—there’s still a happy ending).
As a young bride I vowed to never ever get a bed bigger than a full size…after all isn’t that what romance is all about? Snuggling up to one another on a cold winter night…feeling his breath on your face—as the full moon shines upon you through the window? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that lasts about 3 months max…but then the snoring kicks in…the cold winter night turns into the hot summer sweat-fest and the kids just don’t squeeze in comfortably in your bed. So now instead of that full bed that I swore to be faithful to-- I find myself asking why king beds don’t come in 3XL.
Another wedding promise…I vow to always look sexy for my husband…no matter what…I’ll never let myself go. Well someone let Victoria’s secret out of the bag…because that tight lingerie with the lace that leaves a rash soon disappears into the most comfortable flannel you could ever imagine. The cute little numbers that looked so appealing on the honeymoon gives way to sweats and anything elastic. You talk yourself out of changing your shirt because the spit-up isn’t that noticeable. You allow yourself to believe that not washing your hair everyday is actually gives a good shine. And every time the scale is up 5 pounds you keep telling your husband to fix that darn scale so it reads correctly.
Here’s another wedding vow we made to one another…on our fifth wedding anniversary we would return to our honeymoon and celebrate our love for one another (in our case…it was not only our love for one another but another, and another and another. In 5 years of marriage we had 2 kids under the age of 4 and one on the way.) There wasn’t any way we were hopping on a plane to Tahiti to celebrate our love—just getting a night out without the kids at the local hamburger place was a cause of celebration of love!
And finally everyone should know that the vow of "I will always love you" isn’t quite what its cracked up to be. Yes… this vow will be true—but unbeknownst to you it is only a mere quarter of what your love will become. Love will remain constant…but it will also grow deeper in ways you can’t even imagine. That handsome lad of yours will become even more beautiful at 2 am when he offers to get up for the next feeding so you can sleep. That wonderful smile of his that keeps you a flutter has your heart beating even faster when he’s shoveling the snow digging your car out of the driveway. Those masculine arms of his become even stronger when he’s holding the baby with puke all over him. He will always offer his shoulder to cry on…he will always have a smile that says it all without saying a word…he will always have a look that makes you know it’s going to be ok. Yes some vows might not stand the test of time—but those are the superficial ones. Love always will…and that’s what’s most important. Love will move mountains; love will be there in your brand new King size bed, love will come in 23 shades of plaid flannel pajamas, love will continue to bloom at McDonalds with kids screaming for happy meals. Love will grow forever. Happy wedding Fran and Jon.

THE MOVIE THEATRE USHER HAT.

This is what I swept after the "3:00 pm showing"

and this is what I swept after the last "showing".....ugh...help!!!

It’s raining here on the East Coast cats and dogs…I think it’s our friend Hurricane Danny making himself known. Speaking of weather my baby sitter is under it. She called out sick today. She has a fever, chills—all flu like symptoms. I’m paranoid it could be swine flu. But then again...I always am overly dramatic.

So today I will wear two hats as I work from home…my mom hat and my supervising producer for the Martha Stewart show hat. It got me thinking that every mom wears many hats. There’s the doctor hat making all our children’s ailments better, the nurse hat when we help diagnose what’s wrong, the police hat when we blow our whistle trying to stop the kids from fighting, the judge hat when we have to serve punishments…you get the picture…so many different hats. Well there is one hat that I don’t like wearing and need some help taking off. MOVIE USHER HAT. Yes I said Movie Usher hat. The guy who not only helps collect tickets but then has to sweep all the candy, gum, popcorn after the movie. I have told my girls time after time not to eat in our TV room. And as loud and clear as I make the message…. They find ways to "sneak" in a snack. What makes it so bad is that they then find a way to leave their evidence behind…. (guys...If you’re going to go through with the sneaking…can’t you prevent me from finding the evidence…instead the evidence usually gets stuck between the couch.) I’ve punished the kids when I catch them. I’ve turned the TV off and announced it’s book night…but somehow someway my role as Movie Usher continues…. I need help…any suggestions…because I’m totally open. Email me at threepluskids@aol.com

ONE MAN'S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE

Gemma enjoying my curbstore find!

Gemma and Rebecca love their Barbie cars!

I am a bargain hunter. When you have 5 children it’s not even a choice…no it’s a necessity. Clipping coupons, scouring the clearance aisles, searching website after website for the lowest price…it’s all about saving money. I love deals. Some might say I’m cheap—and you know what…I wear that title proudly. And thanks to the recent economic woes—it’s now actually fashionable to be cheap. And at times, I am not too proud to say that I even have found some great deals from other people’s “discards” (fancy word for garbage). I consider myself a trend setter…this is what I tell myself when I’m dragging items from people’s curbs and ducking low so they can’t tell it’s me. I have gotten some of my best deals from what I like to call the “curb store”. My husband and I first discovered the “curb store” on one of our many walks when we first moved into our complex. We discovered that since Tuesday is garbage pick up day that meant the curb store hours were open Monday from 7 pm till the following morning at 6 am. One of my best finds came from my next door neighbor’s house. I remember the first time I spotted what would soon become my daughter’s dresser. It was wrapped in plastic wrap from bottom to top and looked brand new. At first glance it looked like it might have just fallen off the delivery truck but upon closer inspection we discovered this was a curb store special. Since it belonged to our neighbor I felt it would be wise to at least ring the doorbell and officially ask if they were getting rid of the dresser because we could use one. I would have just died to actually have them see me and my husband hauling it off. Now while I said I’m proud to be cheap…I’m not that proud to ring the door bell so I made my husband do that part. He would ask the question while I discreetly pretended to be picking weeds (as if I had no idea what he was asking). When no one answered the door we decided to make our big move. Quick let’s grab this thing before they come home and see us. Bob got a dolly out of the garage so we could place the heavy dresser on top. We started rolling and pushing it up the driveway…sweating, panting…and soon our deed was accomplished. Of course, now we can never have the neighbors visit our daughter’s room—the coincidence would be just uncanny!

It wasn’t too long after that we scored another great find. On one of our many walks we spotted a Barbie car. The kind a small child can sit inside and actually drive. It wasn’t as new looking as the dresser but there were that many dents in it either. Now this was an item from the curb store that would actually require a drive thru pickup. My husband Robert would have to run home…get the car, load the item and make a fast getaway. It’s so funny how we women can train our men. I don’t think Bob would have ever done any of this curb store pickup situations in a million years…but there I am encouraging him to the finish line.

Now I’m not sure if it just was a bad year for Barbie car models or not…but that summer we ended up picking up a total of 4 Barbie cars. Most of the time all they needed was a new battery. One required a little tinkering…but that’s what husbands love to do…it gives them a sense of accomplishment. My daughters practically each have their own Barbie cars to drive around in the backyard. They love it…and while most of these cars retail for around 300 dollars…we got them for the cost of a new battery. When friends come over and see the 4 Barbie cars they can only wonder if we won the lottery…or just robbed a bank. Let’s just keep this our little secret…..thanks. Have you gotten a great find somewhere? Would love to know about your deals…please email us at threepluskids@aol.com