Finding my MOMs group 5+ years ago was a godsend. Sometimes I get frustrated with it all. Need I remind you how a bunch of women can be/act?
But this week, I was reminded by how great these women are.
One of the wonderful ladies in our group, her son was diagnosed with ALL (a form of leukemia/cancer) on Friday. Her husband has started a blog to keep everyone updated on him and them.
As a mom my heart hurts for her. I think about this could happen to anyone. But then I think about it happening to this woman and her son. He is such a sweet boy. It really will test your faith, bad things happening to good people. I know you have to trust your faith to make it all right again but sometimes my head gets in the way.
My MOMs group has gone above and beyond. Our group banded together to make a basket for the family. We asked on Sunday for some things. And boy did we receive. All day yesterday and since 8am this morning the moms in our group have been dropping off stuff. It has been a continuous stream at my house. We outgrew our first basket and I am thinking today we will outgrow the second one soon. I am completely amazed at what these women are doing. And the ideas of more things we can do just keep coming in.
So if you are a stay at home mommy and are reading this....do you have a MOMs club? You should consider joining one.
And if you are just a friend reading this, please send prayers for the Hart family. They really need them.
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Last night
Last night a friend and I made dinner for my husband. It is his birthday on Tuesday. She loves to cook (like me), so we asked him his favorite dish and went with it.
It wasn't actually that easy. At first he responded with "what's yours?". Then he picked mine. I had said lobster. There really wasn't much of a chance that I was making lobster. All week he pondered his favorite dish. On Wednesday night he decided to google the menu of Calhoun Corners. It is a fancy restaurant in Clemson. He said he had his favorite dish there. So be picked steak with a mushroom and prosciutto cognac sauce and banana cream pie.
So we had a starting point. We came up with the rest of the menu and went to work on figuring out how to make the sauce.
The menu was:
Appetizers
Pumpkin dip with gingersnap crackers
Shrimp cocktail
Salad
Autumn Salad with lemon poppy seed dressing
Main Dish
NY Strip Steaks w/ mushroom and prosciutto brandy sauce
Roasted potatoes
Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower
Dessert
Banana Creme Pie
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Caramel sauce
I will include recipes for the meal later on this week. Suffice it to say, dinner was delicious!
It wasn't actually that easy. At first he responded with "what's yours?". Then he picked mine. I had said lobster. There really wasn't much of a chance that I was making lobster. All week he pondered his favorite dish. On Wednesday night he decided to google the menu of Calhoun Corners. It is a fancy restaurant in Clemson. He said he had his favorite dish there. So be picked steak with a mushroom and prosciutto cognac sauce and banana cream pie.
So we had a starting point. We came up with the rest of the menu and went to work on figuring out how to make the sauce.
The menu was:
Appetizers
Pumpkin dip with gingersnap crackers
Shrimp cocktail
Salad
Autumn Salad with lemon poppy seed dressing
Main Dish
NY Strip Steaks w/ mushroom and prosciutto brandy sauce
Roasted potatoes
Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower
Dessert
Banana Creme Pie
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Caramel sauce
I will include recipes for the meal later on this week. Suffice it to say, dinner was delicious!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Labor Day Weekend
We kicked off the weekend in style. The boys and I went on the lake Friday with the grandmas, Pop-pop, Aunt J and one of the cousins. We beached the boat, jumped out and swam. The boys played in the sand and "swam'. We ate lunch on the beach and then got about another hour in the water before we had to head home for buses. It was so nice and mostly relaxing.
I taught some friends how to make Gigi's meatballs and gravy on Friday night for dinner. We had 7 kids playing in the basement (and 1 dog), while we all took on jobs in a line to prepare the dinner. I made the meatballs, P diced up the herbs, and D opened the cans. D was tired...she ran 18 miles that day for marathon training. Once the sauce was simmering, we all sat down to enjoy a glass of wine. I had also brought over some fabulous cheese from Costco for us to snack on.
The hubbies trickled in as they got home from work. We heated up the kids dinner first, pasta with butter sauce and Parmesan cheese. Once they were back downstairs playing, the adults sat down to eat. Then we had some cookie cake and dessert for D's birthday. Nothing too fancy since we were really celebrating on Saturday night with a couples night out.
Saturday was spent watching Clemson play. Go Tigers!!! They won the game although it was like waiting for water boil, trying to get them to score.
After the game, we went out to 37 Main for D's birthday night. A Bon Jovi cover band, Slippery When Wet, was playing. There were 4 couples who went out to celebrate. We had dinner and lots of drinks. Luckily we had planned to take taxi's home but ended up with a DD. It was such a fun night. I had a great time.
Sunday was spent running errands before we picked up our babies from grandma and grandpa's house. And then we went to my nephew's 4th birthday party. It was a pool party which was a great time.
The kids begged us to have their cousins sleep over and since we had nothing planned for the next day, we did. Monday was spent with our family and a couple of friends, grilling out while the kids played in the kiddie pool. It was an early night since school was back in on Tuesday.
All in all a great weekend!
I taught some friends how to make Gigi's meatballs and gravy on Friday night for dinner. We had 7 kids playing in the basement (and 1 dog), while we all took on jobs in a line to prepare the dinner. I made the meatballs, P diced up the herbs, and D opened the cans. D was tired...she ran 18 miles that day for marathon training. Once the sauce was simmering, we all sat down to enjoy a glass of wine. I had also brought over some fabulous cheese from Costco for us to snack on.
The hubbies trickled in as they got home from work. We heated up the kids dinner first, pasta with butter sauce and Parmesan cheese. Once they were back downstairs playing, the adults sat down to eat. Then we had some cookie cake and dessert for D's birthday. Nothing too fancy since we were really celebrating on Saturday night with a couples night out.
Saturday was spent watching Clemson play. Go Tigers!!! They won the game although it was like waiting for water boil, trying to get them to score.
After the game, we went out to 37 Main for D's birthday night. A Bon Jovi cover band, Slippery When Wet, was playing. There were 4 couples who went out to celebrate. We had dinner and lots of drinks. Luckily we had planned to take taxi's home but ended up with a DD. It was such a fun night. I had a great time.
Sunday was spent running errands before we picked up our babies from grandma and grandpa's house. And then we went to my nephew's 4th birthday party. It was a pool party which was a great time.
The kids begged us to have their cousins sleep over and since we had nothing planned for the next day, we did. Monday was spent with our family and a couple of friends, grilling out while the kids played in the kiddie pool. It was an early night since school was back in on Tuesday.
All in all a great weekend!
Monday, August 16, 2010
I love my girl friends!
I can remember when I first moved here from college. I was extremely unhappy. I mean, I liked my job and our life but I missed having good girlfriends. I would be on the phone for hours with one of my two Lisa's (my hs bff and college bff are both named Lisa). And no one really knew I was unhappy. But one day I stumbled across an article in some magazine about the power of women friendships, and I thought this person really gets it. I think it actually may have included some sort of research about women and why we needed to have someone to talk to.
Fast forward three years, the hubby and I are getting married. I still worked in a male dominated field with very little chance to make girlfriends. The hubby and I lived in a bubble where most of our friends we met through his family. And most of the friends were guys. At this point, a few of the guys were married and had girlfriends. And while we were all friendly, got along and had fun times together, I never felt like I completely clicked with any of the girls (my sisters-in-law excluded). I've always had good relationships with my sisters-in-law. But it is a little weird to complain to your DH sister about him (like we wives tend to do). So suffice it to say we were as close as we could be and I loved them. But something was still lacking.
So fast forward to the Little Angel being 5 months old. My one sis-in-law could tell I was getting down. She told me and urged me to join a local MOMS Club. She had been a member of the one in her area for a while and loved it. She had met some great friends, was getting out, and couldn't stop telling me about it. So even though I have always been shy in a group, I did it. I looked it up and the president called me. She invited me to an event. I was still a little nervous so I invited my other sis-in-law who lives right up the street. And off we went.
By the time my Angel was turning 1, I felt like I finally had made friends. Since then, I have made lots of friends in the group. And I have recruited lots of friends and neighbors to the group. I believe in the importance of the group. I believe in the support it provides for other mommies out there in need. But this isn't a MOMS Club commercial.
Three years ago, I was lucky enough to make a friend through the Drama Queen. She had a "boyfriend" at preschool. His mom and I became fast friends. You know how that just happens sometimes. And last year, I met another great friend through our preschool. The time it was through the Little Guy. There is probably a group of 8-10 of us girls who have become close through our school or our different neighborhoods and the MOMS Club. We are all close to different people in the group but somehow always all weave together. These are a great group of girls. I never feel like I have to be anyone but myself with them. Even when that means I am wearing my tee-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes while everyone else has on their dresses. I know there are one or two of them who are judging me (I mean we are women), I even could pick out who they are but I feel so comfortable with everyone else I just don't care. It has taken me 10 long years in the Atlanta area to get to a place where I finally have a good core group of girlfriends.
On that note, I would like to say that this year has also brought me much closer to the wives in our old(in the fact that we have known them longer) group of friends. Four of us took a cruise in May to celebrate one friends graduation and we had a blast. We bonded in ways that I will remember forever. I never could have imagined our trip being as great as it was.
Fast forward to the present...last week one of my friends planned a girls night out. We went to Firesalt Tavern. It is a new local place. The vibe was good, service was great and the food as excellent. We may or may not have all gotten free shots from the bartender. We enjoyed a nice relaxing evening. As the night got later some of the friends went home. I should have, but like always, I did not. Instead I went to 37 Main. I love 37 Main. Mostly because it reminds me of a college bar and let's face it, I wish I was in college still. The had live karaoke. If you have never been to something like this you have to go. It was so cool, pinkie swear. Note to self, do not go to 37 Main until after 1am when you have promised a bunch of people to go to Chuck E Cheese's the next day. What a headache! And I mean that literally. But we had a blast. And I have the pictures to prove it.
To the point, I am so glad to have such a great group of girlfriends. I really do LOVE them!!!
Fast forward three years, the hubby and I are getting married. I still worked in a male dominated field with very little chance to make girlfriends. The hubby and I lived in a bubble where most of our friends we met through his family. And most of the friends were guys. At this point, a few of the guys were married and had girlfriends. And while we were all friendly, got along and had fun times together, I never felt like I completely clicked with any of the girls (my sisters-in-law excluded). I've always had good relationships with my sisters-in-law. But it is a little weird to complain to your DH sister about him (like we wives tend to do). So suffice it to say we were as close as we could be and I loved them. But something was still lacking.
So fast forward to the Little Angel being 5 months old. My one sis-in-law could tell I was getting down. She told me and urged me to join a local MOMS Club. She had been a member of the one in her area for a while and loved it. She had met some great friends, was getting out, and couldn't stop telling me about it. So even though I have always been shy in a group, I did it. I looked it up and the president called me. She invited me to an event. I was still a little nervous so I invited my other sis-in-law who lives right up the street. And off we went.
By the time my Angel was turning 1, I felt like I finally had made friends. Since then, I have made lots of friends in the group. And I have recruited lots of friends and neighbors to the group. I believe in the importance of the group. I believe in the support it provides for other mommies out there in need. But this isn't a MOMS Club commercial.
Three years ago, I was lucky enough to make a friend through the Drama Queen. She had a "boyfriend" at preschool. His mom and I became fast friends. You know how that just happens sometimes. And last year, I met another great friend through our preschool. The time it was through the Little Guy. There is probably a group of 8-10 of us girls who have become close through our school or our different neighborhoods and the MOMS Club. We are all close to different people in the group but somehow always all weave together. These are a great group of girls. I never feel like I have to be anyone but myself with them. Even when that means I am wearing my tee-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes while everyone else has on their dresses. I know there are one or two of them who are judging me (I mean we are women), I even could pick out who they are but I feel so comfortable with everyone else I just don't care. It has taken me 10 long years in the Atlanta area to get to a place where I finally have a good core group of girlfriends.
On that note, I would like to say that this year has also brought me much closer to the wives in our old(in the fact that we have known them longer) group of friends. Four of us took a cruise in May to celebrate one friends graduation and we had a blast. We bonded in ways that I will remember forever. I never could have imagined our trip being as great as it was.
Fast forward to the present...last week one of my friends planned a girls night out. We went to Firesalt Tavern. It is a new local place. The vibe was good, service was great and the food as excellent. We may or may not have all gotten free shots from the bartender. We enjoyed a nice relaxing evening. As the night got later some of the friends went home. I should have, but like always, I did not. Instead I went to 37 Main. I love 37 Main. Mostly because it reminds me of a college bar and let's face it, I wish I was in college still. The had live karaoke. If you have never been to something like this you have to go. It was so cool, pinkie swear. Note to self, do not go to 37 Main until after 1am when you have promised a bunch of people to go to Chuck E Cheese's the next day. What a headache! And I mean that literally. But we had a blast. And I have the pictures to prove it.
To the point, I am so glad to have such a great group of girlfriends. I really do LOVE them!!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
You can never anticipate your kids reactions
Last Saturday our friends invited us out on the lake in their boat for the day. The hubby said sure as long as we could find a babysitter for the little dude. That was essential in being able to enjoy the day. It started out great. We beached the boat and got to swim and grill out our lunch.
Then we went tubing. I haven't been tubing in 15 years. Don't judge me or my age! I was nervous. Very nervous. In my younger days I was a daredevil. I've been bungey jumping and I love rollercoasters. But lately, since the kids, I have become a little scared. So I was a little scared when the drama queen said she would only go tubing with me. Not with daddy. So up first from our family was dad and the little guy. Little guy was so excited to go. But then they hit some bumps, and more bumps, and his adventure was over. He wanted to quit.
My hubby went next. I could see the joy on his face. But then he fell out of the tube (which I think he secretly enjoyed).
After that my friend took her daughter for a turn. And then it was the drama queens turn. She actually wanted to go with my friend instead of me. My stomach stopped churning for the first time since the tube was blown up.
Then we went tubing. I haven't been tubing in 15 years. Don't judge me or my age! I was nervous. Very nervous. In my younger days I was a daredevil. I've been bungey jumping and I love rollercoasters. But lately, since the kids, I have become a little scared. So I was a little scared when the drama queen said she would only go tubing with me. Not with daddy. So up first from our family was dad and the little guy. Little guy was so excited to go. But then they hit some bumps, and more bumps, and his adventure was over. He wanted to quit.
My hubby went next. I could see the joy on his face. But then he fell out of the tube (which I think he secretly enjoyed).
After that my friend took her daughter for a turn. And then it was the drama queens turn. She actually wanted to go with my friend instead of me. My stomach stopped churning for the first time since the tube was blown up.
After that the other kids took turns. And that is when my drama queen who is also normally scared of everything announced that she wanted to go again. Again but with mommy this time! Since I had no time to anticipate or worry, my nerves were okay. I was worried about losing a contact or flipping over. I was assured my contacts would be fine and off we went. It was great. Exhilarating even. There was a point when it was really bumpy where I asked the drama queen to do the cut sign because I was too afraid to let go. But she wouldn't. Ugh! So we went for a little while longer. When all was said and done I was happy that I did it. The kids worked up quite an appetite. Looking at them snacking on our way to the cove to get an adult beverage.
At the cove we had drinks while the kids ate ice cream. Then we all jumped into the lake to swim some more. It was really hot out if you weren't in the water. We thought it looked like rain and we were meeting people for dinner at the marina restaurant so we decided to head back. The restaurant at the marina has this huge sandbox for the kids to play in. We have been there for lunch about 5 times and love it there. This was our first attempt at dinner there with the kids. It was great. There was live music, so they danced and played in the sand. We were able to have adult conversation and enjoy our meal and drinks. And by drinks I mean one of the best strawberry margaritas ever! It was such a great day. But I learned a new lesson. I would have thought before tubing that the drama queen was going to hate it and the little man love it. But the opposite happened. You can never anticipate your kids reactions. I don't even know why I try!
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