You asked for it...

"So, what do you do with all three of your in school for the first time?" I stay in my jammies longer, go to the gym alone, shower after the gym alone, have breakfast with my BFF, clean my house (well, it will be clean...next week....maybe) without someone following behind me dumping juice and cracker crumbs but most of all...LOTS AND LOTS of quality time when they come home!

(Yes, I do spend time with my other two, too. My little guy comes home first so he gets more Mommy Photo Opps.)

-------------------o0o------------------------- You, my loyal fans, read me daily (some of you even subscribe, yay!) and you leave the best comments (with some exceptions of those left by my un-friend, the Anonymous disgruntled blogger! But, hey, there's gotta be one in the bunch, right?) and many of you leave questions, too. I have always tried to answer your questions in the comments section after the posts but sometimes I forget and even when I do, I often wonder if anyone goes back to read the comments again, after leaving them. Being that it is a TGIF kind of day. I got all the kids on the bus and they were all smiling, no one forgot anything, no meltdowns (them OR me) and I am feeling relaxed because there is NOTHING/NADA/ZILCH on my calendar for today...I thought I would take some time to answer your questions. Here's the first installment Dear Mrs. Sanity: "What happened to the OHM (One Hot Mama Weight Loss) club?" I got fat, so it's over. Nah. Quite honestly, there was one week that it slipped my mind, not because I was not thinking about getting back to my HOT, SEXY, OTHER SELF in time for my reunion, but because I found something that I was trying out and wanted to give it my full focus so I could share it with you. I will post it soon. "Do you ever have trouble with the TV and your kids?" Yes, sometimes they won't watch the stupid thing and I can't get anything done. Actually, since the "boring summer" is over they have been playing outside with old and new friends and not watching a whole lot of it. I have "let go" lately and let my older two travel out of my line of vision to ask friends to play. I have found that now, they run in the door, grab a snack and jump on their bikes and head out to organize their own armies of kids to play until dusk. Of course, I haven't been "cracking the homework whip" (they usually can't play until their homework is done) so there is still some homework being done at the breakfast table the next morning but I think I would rather that than having their bodies' imprints permanently embedded in my couch. "I'm constantly finding gross, moldy food in strange areas of my house. How can I stop my kids from turning my home into a petri dish?" I have this problem, too, but it usually is contained to their lunchboxes. My husband is kind of a FREAK when it comes to food in the house. When my older two were little they were only allowed to eat and drink at the kitchen table. Yes, watch TV...run to the table to throw a handful of pop-corn into their mouths...chew, chew, crunch, crunch, gulp...mad dash back to the couch...Crap. Thirsty...run to the table...glug, sip, sip, glug...madder dash back to the couch. We lightened up once they were old enough to NOT spill and leave candy bars under the cushions or crackers in the A/C vents. Of course, then came a baby. How fair would it be for HIM to have to log 10,000 steps on his pedometer to and from the table during NEMO while my older two sit and chill and eat to their hearts' content? So, my advice (finally) to you would be, "He who left it, digests it!" Rotten strawberries and all. Of course, I wouldn't make them do it...but makes for a good threat when they see it sliced up on their plate @ dinner. "You seem to be the Martha Stewart of the Mommy Blogosphere. How do you have time to do crafts with your kids? Do you own stock in a craft store or something?" This question makes me laugh because my DREAM would be to write craft books (I have written one and periodically shop it around) and have my own show on one of the crafty/DIY networks. The fact that the words, "you" and "Martha Stewart" are in the same sentence gives me goosebumps. To answer your question, and apparently make you feel better, I do far less creative projects with my kids now that I have three. I truly think I could handle a threesome (I am talking kid-crafts, people!) if my third wasn't so orally fixated. My older two never put things in their mouth. I could have filled the tub with pennies and put them in and NOTHIN' - not a one would have gone in their mouths. My third...well here is a list of things he has tried to eat: (today) bird poop a push pin marbles money play-doh grass (while pretending he was a cow) random flowers dog fur found on floor bellybutton lint his elbow small rodents (ok...I used creative license for the last couple - but. funny, right?) So, crafting has become something we do on the weekends when he is napping. When the big kids were toddlers, we actually had a craft time each day. We would throw paint on paper and blow it with straws, make our own wrapping paper for birthday parties, hand-make each Valentine for every HUMAN we knew, create full villages out of cardboard boxes in the basement, and the list goes on. My best advice to you if you want to be creative and are scared: Start with supplies that don't scare you. Colored pencils are bright and colorful and don't color as easily on furniture as crayons. They won't melt into the carpet and they are hard to chew. Hope this helps. And, no, I do NOT have stock in AC MOORE or MICHAELS, but if anyone is giving those away...ME! ME! ME! "How old are you?" I am happily remaining in my 20's for a couple more years...well, I am actually 30. OK! Add 8 years. I just turned 38. Almost 40. Double the age I wanna be! Thanks for ruining my day. You may no longer ask questions here! "Do you really know Kate Gosselin of "Jon & Kate + 8"? No. But she would like me, right? I am fun. LOL! Jon and Kate live close to me and I know a bunch of people who know them. I have emailed her a couple times and begged her to be my friend thanked her for her show or asked her if I could babysit commented on something funny she did/said. I am holding out that she will speak at our church's Moms' group. If I meet her, I will let you know. But, honestly, it truly has nothing to do with the fact that she is famous. I am in awe of her. I think she is a great mom. I think he have similar mom-qualities and I would be honored to hang with Kate and her 8! "Have you just been a mom your whole adult life?" (ok...first "just a mom"? Meet me around back, I'll show you "just a mom!") Actually no. I was a HS/MS art teacher, I started my own summer art school, organized an annual community event, did the craft show circuit, had a couple online stores, painted murals at Children's Hopsital of Philadelphia, opened my own craft store in a 17th century farm house, taught a homeschool group and became a freelance writer and aspiring children's author. Whew. I'm gonna go take a nap. "What is your favorite thing about being a mom?" THIS...

Whew...that was just a few. Have some burning questions? Leave them, I will try to answer ALL of them.

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Thanks!!

Coffee...here I come! No gym today...it's Friday!