Happy Friday!

I can't believe that Friday is already here. I suppose the long weekend made the week seem much shorter than usual. I feel like I didn't get a thing done this week which is not cool headed into the weekend. I'm not sure about everyone else, but at the end of the weekend my house is a complete disaster area. Two boys and the hubby destroy all of my hard work and on Monday morning I'm back where I started. Don't get me wrong, I love them and love having weekends together as a family but I may be one of the few crazy people in the world who actually looks forward to Mondays. On Mondays, I get my house back in order and feel far less flustered. Anyhoo, this impending doom (ok, so I'm a bit melodramatic) could really get a girl down, but I've found some happy news out and about on the internet. If you're feeling a bit down (or just plain ol' bored), check these out:

My Daddy works here.

The post office does something cool.

Kraft Foods is offering some awesome coupons on their website.

Someone tries to offer kind advice to Jon & Kate.

A simple thing like paying attention to the coffee you buy could change someone's life.

Okie dokie, go check those stories out and have a great weekend! By the way, if none of the above cheered you up then you are a big cranky pants but I still hope you have a great weekend :)

Wacky Wednesday

Because this is my blog and I'll make stuff up if I feel like it, I'm declaring the theme of Wednesdays to be "Wacky Wednesday". On said day, I will share some wacky thing that has happened to me recently. So here it goes, my first Wacky Wednesday....

Yesterday, the hubby had the day off. (Weird that he got Tuesday instead of Friday, but I'll take what I can get.) The two oldest kiddos had school, so we had a day to hang out together *gasp*. We decided to take a trip over to Heaven Hill Distillery and take the tour. It is about an hour away from here and we had fun on the drive over discussing things like how if you eat a live frog first thing in the morning nothing worse will happen to you all day. When we arrived, we got the lowdown on the tour. It consisted of a short movie, tour of one of the storage houses and a tasting. A tasting?! For free?! Yes!! However, before I could get fully excited, the little front desk lady informed us (as she eyed our sleeping 7 1/2 week old daughter) that no one under the age of 21 is allowed in the tasting room. WHAT?! Yeah, I suppose they were afraid that my little darling was going to belly up to the bar and clean them out of their fine bourbon. In the end, I let the hubby go into the tasting and I toured the gift shop since Kacey is on breast milk so I didn't really need to be tasting anyways. According to hubby, I didn't miss out on much. I'm not too disappointed anyways, I'm a Maker's Mark gal myself. Anyhoo, just thought it was a little wacky that they take the no one under 21 rule so seriously that my sleeping infant was banned from the tasting room.

Feel free to share your wackiness too...

It's Tuesday Again

Wow, it is Tuesday again! So it is time for another exciting installment of

**I hate humidity! Not only does it do horrible things to my hair, but it just makes going outside miserable. Plus our air conditioner is not working (thanks Knox Hills for getting on that one so fast--too bad my sarcasm doesn't get things fixed around here) so there seems to be no escaping the danged humidity right now.

**Visited the Heaven Hill distillery today. Maker's Mark is better.

**At Jacob's tball game tonight, I overheard that the elementary school is working to implement a uniform policy for next year. Forget the fact that I am adamantly opposed to uniform policies for multiple reasons, but it seems to me that they are trying to sneak this one past the parents without taking a vote on the issue. Shady! If they put the issue to a vote and majority rules on moving to uniforms, I'll go along with it. But to implement something like that without giving every parent a chance to voice their opinion is just wrong. I'm gonna write a letter...I'll even be all grown up about it and leave out the sarcasm.

**I totally heart ebay! I've been selling baby stuff that we're done with and made a nice little chunk of change.

**My boys are growing like weeds. For this reason, I have decided to start exclusively shopping for them at secondhand stores. I know I'll have to search a little harder and be a little more patient in order to find stuff but I'm totally willing to do so....especially if I'm gonna have to buy them uniforms in addition to real life clothes.

**White cheddar cheeto puffs are awesome.

**Why does sunscreen cost so much?!

**Emailed a professor and she never responded. Irritating!

Geez, my head is a jumbled mess of randomness!

A Few Things...

This morning I was thinking about what I was going to blog about and a few things came to mind. So, this is a little random but it's my blog so that's ok :)

**Yesterday afternoon, the boys were outside playing. I was inside feeding Kacey and getting ready to take Caleb to his soccer game. At some point during all of this, I heard something crash to the ground and an "Uh oh" escape from Jacob. From the sound of the crash, I knew that he had knocked my cheap green watering can off the table. I didn't give it any thought because the can was like $3 at Wal-Mart and also because Jacob didn't come running in to tell me about it. So this morning, after I got everyone off to school and work I went out to water my plants (that have yet to actually get potted). I fill up the watering can and start to water the tomato plants. Then I notice that it is leaking more water than usual. Upon closer inspection, I notice that the can is broken up by the sprinkling part where the water comes out. Like I said, this is no big deal because it's like the world's cheapest watering can. I'll just go get another one. However, I found it kind of funny because the whole episode reminded me of being little. When I was little, I was about as graceful as Jacob is (probably why my parents never put me in dance or sports) and I frequently broke things. I was always worried that my parents or grandparents would get mad at me for being so clumsy so I did the same thing Jacob did and just left it for them to discover. This morning I realized that they probably always knew that I was the culprit and just never said anything. Aren't parents wonderful?!

**There are some German Army forces here and that offers a lot of interesting benefits to us. One, there are a lot of German restaurants in town and the hubby loves German food. Two, it offers him the chance to earn a German Army Physical Fitness Badge. Basically, it's a look pretty award. He's been training for it over the last few weeks and this week has been competing in the events. This morning he completed the swim leaving him with one more event to complete. He's pretty confident that he can successfully complete that one, so looks like he'll get this cool little badge to wear on his Class A's. Go hubby :)

**I am a horrible dieter! I do pretty good sometimes. In reality, I just try to eat reasonably and don't deprive myself of things. I figure if I eat well then I can afford to have a treat on ocassion. However, this morning, I ate a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich for breakfast. I'm pretty sure that makes me a horrible dieter. However, I have all day to burn off the calories so I'm thinking that it's better to have eaten it for breakfast than for dinner.

Books, books, books

I love books! Duh, I'm an English major. I am currently reading Angels and Demons. Normally, I try to avoid the "it" book of the moment. For instance, I avoided all things Harry Potter and Twilight for quite a while. I have to admit that I have now read all seven HP books and think they are some of the most well written books I've ever read because of how Rowling is able to tie them all together with very few holes in the story. And I'll even admit that I have now read two of the four Twilight books. I refuse to buy a book in hardcover until I know for sure that I like it (I know, I'm weird) so it'll be August before I read the third one and who knows when I'll get to read the fourth one. I have a serious book problem though. In our house, we have three bookcases. Each of them is full and there are still books that need homes. From where I'm sitting, I can see at least five books that won't fit on a shelf. That's just in this one little room. Multiply that by the rest of the rooms in my house and we're looking at nearly needing a whole new bookshelf. The worst part of all of this? I've passed my book problem on to my children. Remember those five books that need shelf space? Yeah, well, those are just mine. I see at least another five kiddo books. Oh, and the kids already have full bookcase of books in addition to my three.

Oh the Randomness...

I was surfing around the blogosphere recently and came across this lovely blog that absolutely cracks me up. She does this Random Thoughts Tuesday thing, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Heck, why not? After all, I am nothing if not random. So here it goes...

• Had my 6 week check up today. Big Fun...not! To make it up to myself, I indulged in some retail therapy afterwards.
• Having a little girl is fantastic....fantastically expensive (remember that retail therapy I just mentioned?)...
• The hubby and boys didn't find it necessary to actually buy me a Mother's Day gift this year so they are now making it up to me by going to get family pictures done on Saturday (forget the fact that I am dragging them to the picture place and bribing them with a trip to the Bass Pro Shop afterward...)
• I am currently ignoring the mountain of laundry sitting in my laundry room mocking me.
• Need to make up excuse as to why laundry is still in living room before hubby gets home from work...
• Our desktop computer mysteriously died the other night so now oldest kid is mad that he can't play computer games after school
• Speaking of after school activities...when did kids become too good to get dirty? Seriously, at least 2 soccer games have been canceled this season because the field had some mud on it. I'm not sure about other moms, but I ordered washable kids. When they get dirty, I throw them in the tub and add soap.
• Currently watching One Life to Live for the first time in years...somehow they are still on the same storylines...
• I love text messaging and my crock pot (How's that for random?!)
  

Okie dokie, so there is my randomness for the day. Enjoy it!

Time Flies

My baby girl is six weeks old now. It is hard to believe just how quickly time passes. We never expected to have another baby (thus the five year age difference between her and Jacob) but it is wonderful. When we had the boys, we were really young. Being a young parent is great, but I am discovering that there is also something to be said for being a little older as well. I've noticed that with Kacey I have more patience. I remember when the boys were babies I dreaded those cries in the middle of the night. I would grumble. The hubby and I would fight over whose turn it was to get up with the baby. I couldn't wait to sleep through the night again. Don't get me wrong, getting up in the middle of the night still sucks but I now realize that this won't last forever. Eventually, I will go back to sleeping all night and then (in my well-rested state) I will miss those moments in the middle of the night when it's just the two of us. All too quickly the world will consume her and I will no longer be the center of her universe. She'll have school, activities and friends. So, with all my grown-up wisdom, I am slowing down and enjoying each and every moment with my daughter.

Cleaning-Shmeaning

Well, my father-in-law is coming to visit this weekend. He'll be here in a few hours and of course my house is a disaster. So I am diligently cleaning it, right?! Wrong! The internet has distracted me yet again. I swear, internet, we are no longer friends! Here's what I've done instead of cleaning...



Yeah, so I guess I really will go attempt to clean the house now. Please don't hold your breath for it to really happen because you'll turn blue and blue is really not a flattering skin color for anyone who isn't a smurf...Which reminds me...If a smurf holds his breath for an extended period of time, what color does he turn?

Again, Why??

Not too long ago, I posted a blog with some of my why's. Well, I feel that it is time for another one. (I warned you that I can ask why all day long...)

WHY...

--are men who are gray-haired and wrinkled referred to as "distinguished" while women with gray hair and wrinkles are "old"?

--do my dogs act like retards every time I let them out of the house?

--did my husband's unit find it necessary to schedule a ball six weeks after I gave birth? Seriously, I believe it is a conspiracy...

--is there no other way to clean the pipes around my house other than digging gianormous holes in my yard?

--and does it really take a freakin' week? Seriously, someone is gonna get lost in one of those holes in my yard...

--do my kids suddenly not like whatever I just made for dinner? I think it's a phase, but I could make cookies and ice cream for dinner and they'd be like "No Mom, I don't like cookies and ice cream anymore". They are driving me bonkers.

--does my hubby hear "Go play at the neighbor's house" when I say "I need to go get my hair cut"? I swear, this must be what he hears because it is what happens when that phrase comes out of my mouth...It is an interesting phenomenon.

--do I have a sudden obsession with the Martha Stewart Show? I think it might have to do with my recent discovery and love of Whatever, Martha!

--do people who swear they hate drama seem to be the ones who create the most drama?

Who knows why any of these things occur or why I even think about them, but there they are :)

Now I Remember

Last summer, when we PCS'd to Kentucky, I initially loved the area. We came here from El Paso where lush green grass and beautiful green trees were few and far between. Here we have a wonderful green backyard with a fabulous view of tons of trees. In the evenings, rabbits would hop around and on occasion deer would come out of the forest. It was really relaxing. Then winter hit. I am not a cold weather girl, so the ice storm and subsequent freakin' cold weather that was accompanied by brown grass and trees was not a welcome change in my opinion. During those long winter months, I found myself almost longing for the starkness of West Texas because despite the lack of almost anything green at least it's warm there. Frequently, I reminded the hubby of how much I miss Hawaii and how much this place sucks in comparison. However, over the last few weeks, our yard has greened up and the trees have bloomed. Now I remember why I loved this area so much. Now, if only it would stay this way! I suppose I will just enjoy it while it lasts because maybe this is just nature's way of reminding me that nothing in this life lasts forever so we must remember to live in the moment and enjoy it all while we've got it :) This seems an appropriate place to insert one of my favorite poems.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

~Robert Frost

Have a wonderful day and remember to make the most of it!

The Sun is Shining!!

Woo Hoo! The sun is shining! In celebration of this fabulous (yet, of late, very rare) occurrence, I decided to make a list of other things that make me happy...

--My kiddos! They crack me up everyday and keep me from taking life too seriously.

--My hubby! (Get your mind outta the gutter...) He lets me do whatever I want (aka doesn't complain about my shopping habits) and even cooks dinner on occasion.

--Books...one can never own too many, nor can one ever read too many.

--Cooking...it is so relaxing and is a great creative outlet. I love spicing up old favorites and discovering new recipes for the fam.

--My crock pot! Ok, it probably really goes with cooking, but I love it soo much that I'm making it a separate item on the list.

--Whatever, Martha! Love, love, love this show! How can you not love it?!

--Coupons...OMG, I cannot even begin to explain how much I love a good coupon! Is there any better feeling than whipping out that dollar-off coupon or checking your commissary receipt for how much you saved?!

--Patio plants...I just love growing tomatoes, peppers and other veggies in little pots all around the lanai. Seriously, I would cover it completely with plants but my kids' bikes and the plants seem to be mortal enemies.

--School...Really! I love learning new things. The hubby is actually a bit afraid that I'm going to become a professional student and never get a real paying job.

I have so many things that make me happy that I could just gone on and on forever but I'll stop there. Hope you all have a wonderful day and get some sunshine too!

How to Make Stuff

Years ago, when we lived in Hawaii, I would often go to the outlet mall for some window shopping and an escape from the kiddos. While there, I would visit the chocolate/candy store. I rarely ever bought anything because they always had samples available and, let's face it, why buy anything when you can get it for free. (Don't judge, we were--still are--poor...) One day, though, the sample was so fabulous that I ended up buying a pound of the stuff. They called it ono bark and it was one of the most fabulous things I'd ever tried. So, I took my over-priced pound of the stuff home and set out to make it myself. After about six months and a dozen attempts (which the hubby and my dad tested without too much complaining), I finally came up with something very close and just as fab as the original. I've made the stuff many times over the years and everyone loves it, so I thought I'd share the recipe. I have to warn you, though, this stuff will ruin any diet :)

Stuff

12 oz. White Chocolate
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1 1/4 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup Mini Marshmellows
1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips

Melt the white chocolate according to the instructions on the package. Stir in peanut butter and add rice krispies. Let cool. (Needs to be cool enough so that the marshmellows and chocolate chips don't melt when added, but not cool enough that it sets.) Add marshmellows and chocolate chips. Spread into 8x8 pan and let set up. Cut into small squares and serve--especially to those skinny people who always complain about needing to lose a few pounds :)