We're back from our veeeerrry long vacation. I think I'm going to need a few days just to recover. Note to self: three weeks is way too long to be away from home with three little ones.

These are two of my favorite pictures from our trip. The first picture is Otter Creek in New Hampshire where we played in the water for a bit to the kids out of the car. The second is sunset over Salem Mass. where we spent a wonderful evening at an old fashioned kiddie amusement park.

New England is one of the most beautiful places in the US. We particularly loved Vermont. The mountains, streams and idyllic farms were breathtaking. For relocation purposes we liked the Burlington VT area out of all the places we visited. It's a small city but if you go 7 miles it's complete farmland. Living with such urban sprawl right now it was amazing to me to see how close city-country life were.

The biggest part of the trip though was how much we fell in love with co-housing. Living in a community where it's very much like the neighborhoods of my childhood is very appealing to me. I really felt like it was what we're always searching for in the city... a strong community where everyone knows each other, watches out for each others kids, participates together beyond yearly block parties and really work to form relationships and be a support system. I think we've shifted our relocation efforts to look specifically for a co-housing community where our Gay-Black-Jewish-Disabled Family would be an asset and a resource to others instead of looking for a place where we "fit".
Of the two co-housing communities we visited one was decidedly more child centered and that is the one that we preferred. I think if Vermont in general and that area specifically were'nt so damn white....we'd be there in a heartbeat.

Meme of Five

I'm doing the Meme of Five that was posted at Peter's Cross Station not because I was tagged....but just because today has been a stressful day with the kids. DP is giving the kiddos a bath and I have a moment to myself. Ahhhh

What were you doing five years ago?
Five years ago I was getting ready to get married next weekend! I was hoping for a sunny day and counting and recounting my RSVP's. I was fretting over my dress and my hair and was in general a ball of nerves. I was a year into the Interior Design program and working a part time job at a custom drapery center that I found tedious and boring. I spent more time shopping and planning projects for myself than anything else. The one thing that stands out most about that job is how much it made my feet hurt standing around all day.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
1. Do Lili's hair
2. Post kitten ad on Craigslist
3. Weed in the garden
4. Call Mom about cleaning on Wednesday
5. Have a glass of wine

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Fruit (fruit doesn't last in our house)
2. Yogurt
3. Smoothies
4. Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Corn (made with Splenda!)
5. Sugar Free York Peppermint Patties

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Travel - Far and wide. I would see other cultures, beautiful landscapes, different foods. I would live globally and hopefully teach my children to be citizens of the world and give them a greater appreciation of the diverse viewpoints of the many cultures of the world. Heck even though we're not billionaires this is a life goal for us, exploring the US while the kids are young and saving the big trips for when they are older and can appreciate it.
2. Give - Who really needs billions of dollars? Not one person that's for sure. I would give personally to those I knew needed help and through charitable organizations trying to do so much without enough resources.

3. Educate - Coming from true white trash I would set up scholarship funds for anyone in my family at any age wishing to further their education. I would set aside funds so my children at any age could go to any trade school, university or cooking class that they ever dreamed of. I would invest in the community I lived in by providing educational resources at the local schools and universities.

4. Create- I think I always wish I had more time to create, to paint, to sew, to garden.....photograph the kids, scrapbook, decorate, write. I would spend more time nurturing my inner artist.

5. Hire a Chef I love to eat lots of different foods. But I don't necessarily like to cook. I am challenged to figure out proper nutrition and make everyone happy at the same time. So if I had a billion dollars the only real difference I think I would make to my everyday life is that wonderful, healthy meals would appear magically.

What are five of your bad habits?
1. I curse and three kids later I still haven't stopped
2. I start projects and don't finish them.
3. Late night TV watching-snack binging -damn those salty chips!
4. Cracking my knuckles, and ankles and back and....well you get it.
5. Expecting things my way. Is that really too much to ask? LOL

What are five places where you have lived?
1. Tower Grove Neighborhood -St. Louis City
2. Dutchtown Neighborhood -St. Louis City
3. St. Louis County
4. South of St. Louis County
5. My mom's house South of St. Louis County

I don't get out much do I?

What are five jobs you've had?
1. Waitress
2. Door-to-door vacuum salesperson
3. Corporate Trainer
4. Custom framer
5. custom drapery designer

Fostering of a different sort

Lately we've been doing some more fostering...of a different sort. It's kitten season and we been fostering a mama cat and her kittens that found her way into our friends basement when they were moving. My DP had never seen a newborn animal before and the kids were just as amazed with the new little additions that moved into their bathroom. After six weeks they are ready for new homes, I hope the kids will understand when they leave us. Josie has grown especially fond of them. I'm really glad now that we were a fostering family before our kids were really old enough to understand that their sisters (Vivi & Eckida) were leaving them forever. I know how it breaks my heart as an adult I can only imagine as a kid how it must feel.

Last night we were musing at our life over the past five years: we've gotten married, had five kids and bought two homes. I think we're used to stress now. No wonder my blood pressure and blood sugar have been out of whack. I'm beginning to look forward to settling in and NOT having a major change for a while.

But if you're in the St. Louis area and would like a cuddly kitten let me know!

Adult Onset Diabetes

So back in October I wrote that I was diagnosed with Adult Onset Diabetes. I've been fighting a battle since then to bring down my blood sugar naturally. I've maintained and continue to modify a healthy low carb diet. I've had the best of intentions to exercise but that hasn't happened on a regular basis.

We're coming up on 6 months since I was diagnosed. I keep going back to the doctor and getting my levels checked. She's let me remain medication free because I've managed to slowly (by healthy eating alone) lose almost 15 pounds. But my numbers are still high. 139 fasting. Ugh! But I did fit into a regular (non-plus size) XL jacket last night. I felt like crying in the store!

I've been able to make lasting changes in our diets. Cutting out sugar was the easiest part. Splenda makes it easy for me. Cutting out carbs is another hurdle though. I've been eating only high fiber, whole grains but I still need to eat more plants. I'm really interested in this book Superfoods RX. Anyone know anything about micronutrients? I already feel the difference in my energy level with our new diet change and I'm starting to feel the difference in my clothes. Now I just need the difference in my numbers. Anyone know a good personal trainer that will come whip me into shape after the kids go to bed?

A New Phase

As Choo Choo's case begins to come to a close we are looking for other opportunities to continue to serve kids in the Foster care system. I found a great program through a local residential care facility that offers mentorship opportunities. I'm specifically excited about being able to be a pen pal to a youth who is transitioning to independent living.

If you might be interested in writing a few letters and lending an ear to a youth in Foster care please take a look at the program at Child Center Marygrove.

This time of year (tax return time) is when we also begin to budget and plan for the next year. We reassess our current spending and make a conscious decision where we want our money to go. So far this year we've decided to cancel our home phone and just use our cell phones -cause that's all we really do anyway, cut back on our cable plan and order Tivo instead of our cable company's DVR. Tivo you own and the local DVR we were basically renting forever! We've also decided to cancel our local YMCA membership and do family "workouts" instead.

Another thing that I'm excited about with this year's budget is our new "charitable contribution goal". We regularly donate and give to causes that are near to our hearts but we have never made a specific goal to shoot for. This year we've pledged $1500.00 of our budget for monetary donations and that's not counting donated goods. It feels really great to sit and decide how we're going to spend our money and research what organizations are doing things that we're really interested in.

Saugatuck Getaway

I've been blogging less lately because I've got a new job title. I'm now the "CEO" of Saugatuck Getaway.

Our Lake Michigan vacation rental is up and running after our extensive January renovations & a bit of website building. So if ya have a minute check out the site at www.saugatuckgetaway.com

Tell me what you think! Would you take a vacation there?

A New Earth

Is anyone else reading A New Earth?

Survivor/Biggest Loser Renovation

Let me preface this by saying I really did enjoy renovating the house. Most of the time though I compared it to either Survivor or The Biggest Loser. The amount of physical labor involved was enough to make me lose about 7 pounds in the three weeks we were gone. We even went to the gym this weekend to try to carry on with this jumpstart to the new year. We worked from morning until the wee hours of the night every day renovating. I hadn't seen the news or talked to friends in ages.

The girls watched WAYYYY too much TV to keep them corralled in one area while we worked on the rest. So if I had any advice....it's not to do this with little one's underfoot. Poor CJ thinks his new name is NO. Lili got really sick while we were there and we found out that her insurance doesn't cover her past her home state or a direct bordering state. That's kinda crappy isn't it?

I'm so glad to be back to the pace of regular life. I'm enjoying slowing down and spending some time with the kids. Now if CJ's SW would just call us back about when she scheduled the new Family Support Team meeting for.

Before and After

Three weeks of physical labor including painting, scraping, plumbing, flooring, electrical and everything else you can think of. I actually had a blast, frustrating as it was when the sink kept leaking....it was hard and so much fun.

I'll post more pics and such later. 7 hours in the car and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed.

Renovation

Tomorrow we are off to renovate the lake house for three weeks. My mom, sister, nephew and some friends are all coming with us to help. I'm hoping that there really isn't two feet of snow right now -I've been tallying over the last week through weather.com .

The blog might not be updated for a while as I'm assuming I'll be so tired every evening I'll be falling into bed as soon as possible. Any tips for keeping three little ones busy while we live in a work zone? LOL

Wish me luck.

Bad Blogger

I've been a bad blogger lately. I know. Life has been swirling and swishing all around me lately and it's wonderful. As a SAHM my life is often mundane and routine so sometimes it's nice to be caught up in a whirlwind. Even if it is quite hectic....and a little stressful.

So back to our Lakehouse dream. We've been looking at different investment options for a while. My wife and I are a great team and often revisit and revise goals as they come within reach. We've been able to pull ourselves out of debt, create a family and carve out a wonderful home for ourselves by goal setting and planning. We would be great business partners if I could ever decide on just one thing to do with my life.

We've been researching real estate investments and came across Christine Hrib Karpinski's book Profit from Your Vacation Home Dream: The Complete Guide to a Savvy Financial and Emotional Investment in a magazine article. It fit exactly with what we were trying to do. We were trying to make a financial decision yet fulfill an emotional dream. So we jumped and purchased a place that just yesterday showed up on the top 25 places to raise kids. How cool is that?

Sugar Free

So let me just tell y'all right now that giving up sugar is a lot like giving up cigarettes.....but boy do I actually FEEL BETTER. Wow. I really do have more energy. Halloween was the worst day though. Just seeing all that candy coming and knowing I could have any. Torture.



But more about the life of a foster parent......

CJ's parents have disappeared. I'm hoping they just lost their apartment and haven't been someplace where they can call the SW. I'm praying mom isn't pregnant again and trying to hide. (ya know that would happen after I give away my baby stuff)

Sugar Sugar

When we came home from vacation I was determined to get myself back in order.

2. Remember to schedule my own doctors appointments.
My DP is convinced my thyroid is out of whack. My mom and oldest sister have thyroid issues and have been on sythetic replacement for years. I was a little alarmed that the checklist online fits me in every catagory. When I first became a new mom I stopped getting pap smears and ended up in the early stages of cervical cancer.....take care of me first, take care of me first...chant with me now.

I made my doctors appointment as I promised myself I would and got my lab results back yesterday. My thyroid is fine...but I'm diabetic. My doctor has given me six week to try control it with diet and exercise before she prescribes pills. I love that I have a doctor that is willing to work with me (especially since we don't have domestic partner benefits and pay out the wazoo for my insurance) and give me some control over my own health choices.

I'm also very mad at myself and more than a little embarrassed. This is all a result of my own poor choices. Sugar, caffeine, carbs, sugar, caffeine, carbs, energy crash....repeat cycle. I'm overweight and unhealthy. I already had one wake up call in June when another sister had a heart attack.

I'm hoping that drastically changing my diet (no sugar, almost no carbs) will give me enough energy to start working out. Because really, after making breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dressing & undressing, changing diapers, brushing teeth, braiding hair, cleaning, dishes, laundry .....I rarely have enough energy to go to bed.

But man I'm gonna miss my sugar.

If I Could Do Anything

So I know my blog doesn't always stay on track or focus on much most of the time. But, that's how my life is too. I've done so many things in my life, I've been a

• Teacher
• Corporate Trainer
• Door-to-door vacuum salesperson
• waitress
  
• cleaning lady
• interior designer
• custom drapery designer
• store manager
• custom framer
  
• fashion merchandiser
• bartender
• fine artist
• banking representative
  
• entrepreneur
• stained glass artist
  
• minister
  
• mother
• motivational speaker
  
• foster parent
  
• landlord
  
• fast food worker
  
• cell phone technician
• driver
  
• receptionist
  
• architect assistant
  
• photographer
  
• painter
  
• crafter
  

I've been reading a book I own called I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was . I read it once before when I quit my job, went back to school full time and finally finished my Bachelor's degree. The book says I'm a "Scanner" -that means I like to learn about a lot of things...a jack-of-all-trades if you will. I've always been good at many things but I've never been able to decide on just one thing to do with my life. I've always taken on projects and side jobs just to learn something not necessarily to earn money. Being trained as a custom framer and a drapery designer were pretty cool and I love having those skills even today. I've always felt like I had a problem because I couldn't stick to just one thing. But reading the book has really helped me accept that I don't have to. I can do a hundred things well and be just as happy as someone that does one thing greatly. Accepting that has opened up the world for me.

I'm thinking about these things again because after our decision we can finally look forward and decide to do something else for us. DP has been reading the book after my urging and she is really excited. She picked her college major by default and has been wildly successful in a job that she doesn't really like. As of today she's enrolling to get a master's degree in Library Science. If she could do anything in the world....she would be a librarian.

Now I just have to figure out what I want to do for a while. So I'm going to start focusing in on more goals and write down everything I want to do in life. Just last night I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to learn how to sail....he immediately said that a coworker of his has been doing just that all summer at a nearby lake. They give lessons there and you can rent a boat to learn on. Right on.

Goals

My wife and I are obsessive goal setters. Her because she has always been a successful overachiever, me because if I don't have a plan, nothing will happen.

I grew up in a very poor, uneducated family. When I was in my early twenties working a corporate job I got hooked on self improvement seminars, books and audio courses. Goal setting and positive thinking was a completely new concept to me that no one I knew ever talked about. I loved it. I was (and still am) inspired by it. Now that I'm writing about it I'm thinking I need to start updating my collection since it's mostly tapes and I no longer own a tape player. I really want to teach my kids about it so that they can clarify for themselves what they would like to do with their lives early on. I always think about Tiger woods and wonder what it would have been like to find something I loved and been able to hone that skill my entire life.

We regularly have discussions about what we really want out of life, how to plan for it and what we can do now to get there later. A new financial tool I've been using is a great online site called Wesabe it's really helped me see exactly where our money goes.

One of my lofty lifetime goals is to live waterfront. I would love to wake up every morning to the sunrise playing off the water.

What are some of your goals?