Got Quads?

I’m always amazed by the money put into Mother’s Day gifts. Oh moms are important and deserve every penny spent on them… but what I want doesn’t cost much. Sure, I would enjoy a nice bauble or two, but what I really want is a fun day with my family. Hubby works Monday through Friday, I work Thursday through Saturday. That leaves us just one day together and often times it’s spent doing chores. I know Hubby will let me sleep in, which is one of the best gifts ever. One day a week to sleep past 6am or 7am gives me the energy I need to get through the week. Every Sunday Hubby makes pancakes for our daughters, so I’ve requested strawberry pancakes for Mother’s Day. Other than that I just want to have fun, which likely means sidewalk chalk and tricycles, followed by a bubble bath (for our daughters, not me). Would a diamond bracelet be nice? Oh yeah… but I’m content hanging with my family instead. So all you moms: what do you want most for Mother’s Day?

When I work my part-time retail job, I notice more and more shoppers heading straight for the clearance racks. Can you blame them? I’m always scouring the racks for great bargains for my daughters. I refuse to pay full price, and most times I won’t even look at a rack if it’s marked less than 50% off. A note to the kind folks at Target: 15% is not clearance, it’s a sale. You may be trying to “clear” the merchandise out of your store, but I’m not fooled by the clearance signs. However, after Easter my mother-in-law found some great bargains on baskets for next year… 75% off, so I’m not completely knocking Target’s clearance racks. 

I began my clearance shopping for buying a year ahead. When stores marked down their winter clothes I tried to guess what size my daughters would be wearing next year. So far I’ve generally been on the mark. Then I started noticing as the economy changed stores seemed to be marking things down earlier than normal. For instance, this week at Kohl’s the clearance racks already have spring/summer clothes marked down at least 60%. 

Some of the deals I’ve found in the last few months: a convection toaster oven originally $80 marked down to $20, shirts for my daughters for $3, shirts for me for $2, work shirts for Hubby for $10.

Times are tight for many families. I’m not suggesting anyone has time to spend all afternoon searching the clearance racks, but when you do go into a store, take a minute to check them out. You never know what bargains you’ll find. 

MaryAnne at Thrifty Craft Mama tagged me for 10 Things You Were Dying To Know. Here are my answers to these all-important questions 1) What is your current obsession?American Idol. How cheesey is that? Every season I swear I’m done and every season I’m sucked back in.

2) Which item of clothing do you wear most often? Jeans

3) What’s for dinner? Hmmm. It’s Tuesday so that’s usually Hamburger Helper night. Tuesday afternoon one of my daughters has an appointment so it’s nice to have a simple fall-back for dinner.

4) What are you listening to? Four little girls giggling 

5) Say something about the one who tagged you: MaryAnne and I “met” when we both became members of a reader advisory panel for a parenting magazine. She has two little ones with a third on the way. She has some great, kid-friendly crafts on her website and is clearly more creative than I will ever be.

6) Favorite vacation spot? Maui, hands down.

7) What are you reading right now? Etta by Gerald Kolpan; It’s a fictional look at the life of Etta Place, who dodged the law with the Wild Bunch. I started the book last week and I’m about 3 pages in.

8 ) Four words to describe yourself? Wife, Mother, Determined, Loyal

9) Guilty pleasure? White chocolate

10) First Spring thing to do? I keep staring at the dust on the blinds so I guess I should say clean!

Rather than tag anyone, I’ll just open this up to anyone who wants to participate. Also, this week both Shannonf at Busy Working Mom and CheekySuze gave me the “Let’s Be Friends” award. Thanks ladies!

We’re getting to the point where my daughters can understand that when you play with toys or make a mess someone has to clean it up. Slowly but surely they’re starting to take on small responsibilities.

In the morning when I wake them up I ask them to “make their beds.” Usually they just pull the covers up, but it still counts for something. At night we’ve started asking them to put their toys away. There are still plenty of things for Hubby and I to put away after they go to bed, but I don’t expect them to do a perfect job. Heck, some nights I don’t put everything away.

Roo has taken an interest in the cats, so it has become her job to help feed them. One cat, Elwood, is on a special diet, so he has to eat in the laundry room. Roo will tell me if Elwood is standing at the door begging for food, then she’ll help put the bowl on the floor for him. 

Many mornings all four girls want to help unload the dishwasher. After I put the knives away I’ll let them hand me different things. In all this time we’ve only had one dropped (and broken) glass. 

Eventually they’ll need to take on more responsibilities, but for now I’m satisfied with the effort they make to help out.

I am a big fan of any meal which makes my life easier. That’s why I like slow-cooker meals.

You’ll need:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup

1/4 c. Italian dressing

1/4 c. dry white wine

1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 lb. angel hair pasta, uncooked

2 Tbsp. parsley

Beat cream cheese, soup, dressing and wine with whisk until blended; pour over chicken in slow cooker; cover and cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-5 hours; cook pasta as directed on package about 15 minutes before chicken is done; drain; serve topped with chicken mixture and parsley

Giving your children choices is a great way to develop speech. Instead of letting my daughters point at something I would encourage them to say what they wanted. It also is helping them with their colors. At mealtimes they get to pick what plate they want based on their arrival order at the table. If you’re the first one at the table you have four plates from which to choose, so you need to know your colors.

Unfortunately, we still have some work to do. A few days ago I took my daughters to the retail store where I work part-time. The store manager gave them each a bite-size Milky Way, which I told them they could have after lunch (no, I’m not above bribery. If you eat your lunch you receive a small piece of candy). When we came home I found out they each had a small lollipop in their backpack from school. After lunch they chose: lollipop vs. chocolate. They all chose lollipop (What????) Then Cakes and I had the following conversation.

Cakes: Mommy, can I have my chocolate now?

Me: No, honey, you had a lollipop. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to have chocolate.

Cakes: Oh… I changed my mind. I don’t want my lollipop.

Now there’s a girl after my own heart… change your mind after you eat the candy.