Mmmmmacaroni & a new lens.....

So I treated myself last week and ordered a new lens for my camera. I am by NO means a photographer......I would love to someday have the mental capacity needed to take up the hobby. If there is a label for what I am, it has to be a proud member of the Mamarazzi!

I am lucky enough, however, to have a few photographer friends who have been MORE than gracious in helping me get the best photos I can with my equipment. I can only aspire to have an ounce of their talent one day (Tamra & Lorrin).....

Well of course I have to test out my fun new toy and that my friends means photos of my kids for your viewing pleasure!!

Here is Roman getting rather annoyed with all my picture taking while he was trying to play:

And last but certainly not least, is Rocco enjoying some good 'ol macaroni & cheese today:

The last picture is my absolute FAVORITE!! I can't believe my sweet Rocco is 9 months old already (as of yesterday).....time really does fly!!

I'm a victim.....

OK.....so maybe I'm being a little bit dramatic with the title. But I have to say I really felt bullied at the grocery store yesterday.

I have made the New Year's resolution to REALLY limit, if not cut out, my plastic bag use. I purchased some really groovy canvas bags at my local grocery store. Much to my surprise I really LOVE these bags. I think I have like 5 of them. They hold alot and have long handles so I can hoist them onto my shoulders like you would a purse. Really cool & super handy.
It's also really nice to not having to tote in 3,000 plastic bags with only like 3 things in each one. I know the stores here are not the only ones guilty of doing this. It really gets on my nerves!

So anywho, yesterday I went to the grocery story to get what I needed to make supper. Only a handful of things and also a few staple items like milk and eggs. I took with me 3 canvas bags thinking that should be plenty.

I get everything I needed.....and a few things I didn't (hehe) like a small cake and some cookies from the bakery, etc.

I'm in the check out lane and I take my bags out first and place them on the belt. Then I start placing my items on the belt in my usual anal way (heavy things first and light and/or smooshable things last). I try to make it as easy as I can for the cashier since 9 times out of 10 she is the one bagging the groceries as well. But today she had help. So the other lady starts bagging my purchases. I'm watching her and in my usual anal way I am thinking I could SO pack those bags better, so they would hold more things. This is probably why I use the self check out regularly at Walmart......annnnywho......she has my cake and cookies to the side along with a nice fresh french baguette I got for our meal. The woman uses 2 of the bags and is opening the 3rd one. She fumbles with it in attempting to put the cake on the bottom......she takes it out and puts in some other things......attempts to put it back in and then turns to me to say, "Do you want me to just put this cake in a plastic bag so it doesn't get smooshed?"....I tell her no that's OK. So she goes back to fumbling and putting things in and out of the bags. Geez lady, it's not rocket science! She turns to me again, "I can just put the cake in this bag," gesturing to the plastic bags AGAIN. "No ma'am that's OK, I don't want to use a plastic bag." She is back to fumbling. At this point I want to shove my basket out of my way and just pack up my own damn groceries.......she once again looks at me and says, "Well I can't put this cake in without smooshing it, let me put it in a bag for you." I then hold out my hands and tell her that I'll just carry the damn thing. I'm NOT using a blasted plastic bag! I then proceed to set the cake nicely on top of my eggs in one of the bags....there was PLENTY of room and I'm not sure why she thought a small cinnamon coffee cake was going to damage anything underneath it.....good grief!

I never in a million years thought I would have to have this much gumption to stick with a New Year's resolution as simple as this. I mean c'mon?! Who has to argue with a grocery bagger over use of plastic bags. I really felt like I was fighting for my right to refuse using those bags LOL

Now I'm not totally anti-plastic bags ladies and gentlemen. I do use them on occasion and when I have more than I can store I take them to my local grocery store to be recycled. At this point in time I have my quota of plastic bags tucked in my lovely plastic bag holder hanging in my laundry room. But it was getting to the point where I felt like I was being over run with plastic bags. I could have SWORN they were breeding at night in there........And I started feeling guilty that I had so many! Then to top it off I saw that show about the giant garbage island floating in the ocean......good grief. If you missed that post here is the link. Talk about crazy.......

The Environmental Protection Agency calculated more than 4.45 million tons of plastic bags were generated in the U.S. in 2005.

Wow. That's alot of plastic bags! LOL

So I may not be a die hard environmentalist.......I feel like I'm doing a little bit by bringing my own bags to the store. Not only is it better for the environment, maybe I'm saving the store a few bucks by not using their plastic bags? See, now I can say I'm doing my small part to help during this recession too....heh.

First Blog Post of 2009.....

Pretty sad, huh? It's almost January 30th and this is the first blog post for me in 2009. Oy, the humanity!

So needless to say I have totally neglected my blog duties. I have tried to keep up with the several blogs I follow and while reading them I tell myself I should put up a new post. And then something or someone distracts my....oh something shiny!

Things have been pretty steady in this household. Not really busy per say, just a steady stream of things going on.

We got off to a rocky start after Christmas with every adult in this house getting a 24-hour stomach virus. During this 24-hour virus where myself, my husband and my poor visiting mother suffered.....both my boys had fevers (thank goodness THEY didn't get the bug). I was at the pediatricians office the day after Christmas (the day before we were stricken ill) with Rocco. He was full of congestion and had a fever. Poor thing was stuck in the bed with me the next day.....let me tell you it really sucks to nurse when you have a fever and chills *shudder*, but I digress. By Monday, Rocco's fever was spiking to 103 and got up to 104.....and then Roman complained about his ear hurting. So off we went again to the pediatrician. Both boys had double ear infections and poor Rocco's congestion had turned into mild pneumonia. But after 2 weeks of antibiotics for them both, everything is back to normal! Whew! And by some miracle, Kailey came out of the plague unscathed......go figure.

Around mid-December, Kailey started up her basketball season that runs until the end of February. This totally screws up our days and weekends. Not that I don't totally enjoy watching her play and nurturing her athletic abilities......just the scheduling sucks and I feel we plan our life around that schedule. Since the practices started, we have been reduced to eating dinner around the time most 70-80 year olds eat. Dinner at 3:00pm......um OK. See, she gets off the bus here at the house at 3:00. Her practice starts at 4:00.....the gym is about 10 minutes away. Practice is over at 5:30.....putting her (us) home around 6ish. The little boys usually eat lunch around noon.....Kailey eats lunch at like 11:30am. None of these kids can wait until 6:00pm to eat supper. Roman is usually rolling on the floor grasping his belly screaming that he is starving around 2 or 3. He is a bottomless pit, I am sure.

I don't like making supper while she is gone and eating without her. See we are those freak families who actually love eating all together at the dinner table....LOL So hence we have been eating at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Well......we are attempting to change this now. Why? Seeing as we eat dinner SO early.....we are all getting hungry again around bedtime! We are attempting a "moderate" snack around 3 and then eat supper when Kailey gets home around 6. Good grief......only 3 weeks left! Well ,unless they make the payoffs...........

Roman is still taking swim lessons once a week and really enjoys it. He is improving so much and I really hope that if we keep it up he will be able to swim sans floaties this summer! I am just happy that he will not be as "helpless" as Rocco is going to be this year. All my kids love the water, so just having ONE of them hanging on my neck in the pool is going to be great!

Roman is also doing well as a big brother. At times he wants Rocco to play like a boy of 3 instead of 8.5 months.....so I have to remind him that Rocco isn't ready for pillows and blankets to be stacked upon him at this age, he physically cannot get out. Roman also gets pretty agitated when Rocco decides to "help" him build train track or as Roman puts it "HE'S DESTROYING EVERYSING MOM!"......ahhhh the joys of a younger sibling.

And Rocco, my sweet sweet baby boy tumor. He growing leaps and bounds. I keep telling him that he isn't allowed to get any bigger, to which Roman informs me that "He has to grow big mom so he can play with me." He is totally mobile now and just into everything. Of course his most favorite thing is any kind of string, cord or plug. If I am on my laptop while he is around I find that I must wrestle my power cord from him at least a dozen times. He is now also pulling himself up on any and everything. Amazing how you can "forget" the things they can get into at this age. He's kept me on my toes that's for sure!

Pretty exciting, eh? Well I'm not done! LOL

Another pretty exciting thing that happened was my sweet 12 year old attended her first formal dance *sniff* One of the other parochial schools hosts a winter formal for 6th, 7th & 8th grade students who attend Catholic schools here in town. It's kind of a big deal for these girls seeing as it's a chance to get all pretty in a semi-formal dress, hair done up and even allowed to wear some makeup! She looked beautiful and I had a really REALLY hard time letting her go out the door. She had a blast and is looking forward to the next formal.....oy they grow up too fast!

Well I think that pretty much catches everyone up to speed on what is going on here. I'm sure you don't want to hear about my brother in law moving out of our old house on Friday and shutting off the utilities so all the pipes froze in the house so we will have to replace all the radiators......that's no fun to talk about *wink* So I won't get started on that nugget.........heh

Hope everyone is have a wonderful 2009 thus far. I promise I will try to be a better blogger!!