I Heart My Chaotic Life

What We Are Left With

2011-03-30T12:11:00.002-04:00

Things we are willing to spend tons of money on:

the latest i-Whatever and all the bells that go with them

fast food

video games and fancy televisions

pets

gps navigation thingies (whatever happened to maps?)

fancy pants coffee

(I could go on, but you probably get my point by now)

Things we aren't willing to spend money on:

Education

It is a sad that at this very moment in our country schools are having to cut millions of dollars from their budgets. Don't be surprised when your kid is in a classroom with 40 others. Don't be shocked when your child's school library shuts down because librarians got the ax. Don't be startled when there is no one left to help the at-risk students. Don't be stunned when the principal answers the school's phones because they had to let the secretaries go.

You may think I'm being extreme, but I am not. These cuts are being made in our country, in your city, each day. Bills are being considered by legislatures to increase the number of students allowed in a classroom. We aren't willing to pay an extra cent on our grocery bill or an extra few dollars on our property taxes. Politicians aren't willing to reduce spending in other areas.

So, this is what we are left with. We will soon have schools that are full of students and not enough teachers. (Maybe we should just call them free daycares.) We will still complain that our kids don't read enough and that the literacy in our country is falling but there will be no librarians to help students discover new books. Our students who need a little extra support won't get it. They'll fall off the radar (well, at least until they show up in stripes). Is this what we really want for our children?

We can and should do better. Spending on education should be a top priority. Our children cannot grow into the leaders of tomorrow without learning the basics today.

What I've Learned

2011-03-04T12:21:00.000-05:00

Oldest Kiddo is turning 9 this weekend! Un-freakin-believable. Anyways, I thought I would share a list of lessons I've learned during this little adventure called parenthood. There are nine of them in honor of the kiddo...

Top 9 Parenting Lessons Learned

1. Silence is golden...as long as the kid is supposed to be sleeping. Any other time, silence is a sign that something not so fantastical is going down. (Chocolate syrup and parm. cheese will be all over everything, a wall will have been turned into a mural, etc.)

2. Kids only get sick in the middle of the night when you are sleeping soundly in your cozy bed.

3. The ears of children produce some sort of special chemical that blocks the voice of their mother...unless, of course, she utters the words ice cream or candy.

4. I am mean. Yep. I never knew this until I had kids to tell me. I always thought I was a nice person, but my kiddos cleared that one up for me.

5. My parents were right. All those times they told me that I would never understand until I had children of my own...yep, they were right. I get it now. (Shhh, don't tell them though.)

6. No kid ever needs to potty until you are in a car that is fifty miles from the nearest rest stop.

7. Kids do not come with volume buttons. They come with a loud and louder setting. And the louder setting will be used if they sense you are annoyed or have a headache.

8. Those little suckers can smell fear or uncertainty. Waiver for a minute and suddenly you are in the middle of the toy aisle saying yes to everything just so they don't use that louder setting again.

9. Being a parent is the most frustrating, rewarding, gross, fabulous job ever. I wouldn't trade any of those kiddos for anything. Every time I see them learn something new or do something thoughtful for another person I forget all those moments when I wanted to pull my hair out and scream "I can't do this anymore". It is wonderful. I just wish I could slow it down a little bit. 9 years already! Wow!

Catching Up

2011-02-28T12:29:00.000-05:00

Hey there! How ya been? I've been a terrible blogger lately. Oh well, it's my blog. I do what I want :)

I keep falling behind on my other blog (the one with all the pictures). I take all the pictures. I just don't always have time to post them. Then I post them in huge groups. Oh well, at least I get to it eventually.

Really, not much has been going on around here. We got a cat. Baby Girl is learning more words, but no remains her favorite. She has started referring to her brothers as either "Bubbas" or "Guys". I'm hoping someday she actually learns their names. Oldest Kiddo will be 9 this weekend. Um, yeah, I'm feeling a little old right now. Middle Kiddo told me the other day that chicks dig him and he believes it's because of his (and I quote) "Amazing eyelashes".

Other than the kiddos being fabulously cute, it's been pretty boring around here. (Totally not a complaint. I actually prefer boring...)

What have y'all been up to?

Oh yeah...almost forgot...if you have kids in school, are an educator or care about the education system in our country in any way, watch Waiting for Superman. I watched it last week and am still blown away by it.

Love

2011-02-17T22:03:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I'm posting this over on my Project 365 blog too, but it was just too precious not to share here too

Extra Hugs

2011-02-16T19:15:00.000-05:00

Over the last couple of days, I have been giving my kiddos lots of extra hugs.

My sister called me the other day. She wanted advice on how to tell my nephew that his friend had died in a fire the night before. It knocked the breath out of me. My nephew is almost four. Bad things aren't supposed to happen to kids his age. His family did everything right. Their smoke detectors worked. They had an escape plan. Tragically, the fire just burned too hot, too fast.

Sometimes I wonder why bad things happen to good people. Sometimes I wonder why horrible things happen to children. I search for answers. Sometimes though, there are no answers.

Keep this family in your thoughts and prayers. Give your own children extra hugs.

Cold Days...Not Snow Days

2011-02-04T18:28:00.000-05:00

My kids have been out of school for three days now. Because of the cold. Nope, not snow. Well, the first day it was because of a tiny amount of snow. Since then, however, has been because it's cold. Apparently, this fine city was completely unprepared for the freakin' cold temperatures that have hit. So, my kids have been home (and stuck in the house) for three days.

If they don't go to school on Monday, I'm gonna join the circus...

This Stuff Bothers Me...

2011-01-27T16:50:00.000-05:00

I really try not to rant about everything under the sun. I try to be positive and see the good. But, sometimes crap just bothers me...

Like the creepy dude in my class that took my picture with his camera phone today. I don't know why.

Like the fact that the best way to drive around here is to close your eyes and push the gas. Seriously scary.

Like the chick who was crossing the road ten feet from the crosswalk.

Like the people who take the elevator down two floors after class is over. Can we say lazy?

Like my kids asking me fifteen times what we're having for dinner when the weekly menu is right there on the fridge. Read, children!

Like my husband's alarm clock going off for an hour before he gets up. Dude, get up! Getting up early sucks. Got it. But getting beaten by a frying pan first thing in the morning sucks more. Probably.

Ok, thanks for letting me get my grumpiness out...what bothers you?

Yummy Yummy Tacos

2011-01-16T14:57:00.000-05:00

The other day I mentioned that I made tacos. I had a request for the recipe. And I'm all about satisfying people so here it is...

1 lb. ground beef
small onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic (or 1 garlic clove, minced)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

Put ground beef and chopped onion in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook until beef is browned through. Then add garlic, chili powder and ground cumin. Cook for about a minute. Add tomato sauce. Lower heat to low and continue cooking for 5 minutes (or until the consistency makes you happy).

And that's it. Super easy peasy and way better than seasoning packets full of salt. Serve it up in whatever tortillas you like and with toppings that you enjoy!

Running Late

2011-01-13T01:03:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. I'm a little late for RTT. Actually, I'm not late. I'm just so random that I'm posting my Random Tuesday Thoughts on Wednesday night. Ha.

**The Weight Watchers commericals make me wanna pull my ears off. I'm seriously annoyed by them.

**Oldest kiddo is gearing up for the school spelling bee. He's such a smarty pants.

**Middle kiddo scored 10 points in his basketball game tonight. His team won 10-4.

**Baby girl walked around for 15 minutes without a diaper on her butt and didn't pee on anything.

**I'm now down bragging about my kids...for this post anyways.

**After a semester off (because of all the moving we did last year), I'm going back to school next Tuesday. I'm super duper excited. I'm a nerd.

**I already bought my books. Yep, you can see them here along with my other Project 365 photos.

**I made tacos without a seasoning packet tonight. Yeppers, from scratch. Super easy and I'll probably never go back to those silly seasoing packets.

**I wanna go to Europe. Not permanently or anything, just for vacation. More than once. I'm pretty certain it would take numerous vacays to take it all in.

And I'm out. Hope y'all are having an awesome week!

Crazy Thoughts

2011-01-05T16:02:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, I have crazy thoughts. We all do, right? Right?!

Now, I'm not talking about crazy thoughts like "Hey, maybe we should have more kids" or "Sure, I'll ride that rollercoaster with you even though I just ate a corndog, cotton candy, nachos and a king size soda". No, no, no. I'm talking about setting new goals for myself that I would have never imagained at other points in my life.

For example, lately, I have been thinking I should write a cookbook. ~~Everybody else is doing it~~. Really, I love to cook. I love to experiment in the kitchen (that's not dirty, shut up). And, I love to write. Seeems like a good idea to me. Had you asked me 10 years ago if this would ever be a goal I had for myself, I would have looked at you like you'd lost your danged mind. (The first meal I "cooked" for hubby was spaghetti sauce out of a jar, a bag of salad and some frozen garlic bread.)

So, what about you guys? Have any crazy thoughts?

New Year, New Random Thoughts

2011-01-04T19:17:00.000-05:00

It's Tuesday! If you've spent time around here in the past, then you know it's time for some of my terrific random thoughts. Without further ado...

**The older I get, the more obnoxious teenagers get.

**My goal to learn how to can is going well. I've made pickles, pomegranate sauce and pickled cherries. All of these things need a bit of time to sit on the shelf, so I don't know how well they turned out yet. I'll let ya know later.

**The Sugar Bowl starts in about an hour and a half. I'm super stoked because I'm a Razorback fan! Woo Pig Sooie!!

**I've got an apple crisp in the oven. It smells freakin' fabulous.

**I still haven't taken our Christmas stuff down. It's because I'm lazy, not because I'm feeling extra holly-jolly.

**So far, my 365 photography project is going well. Check it out on the blog I started for it.

Well, I know it wasn't much, but I have to go check on that apple crisp...maybe tomorrow I'll post the recipe...

Happy 2011...

2011-01-01T17:25:00.001-05:00

Um, 2011?! Really?! Where the heck is my flying car and robot named Rosie?!

Anyways...I hope you all celebrated the new year safely and have enjoyed this holiday season. We went to visit family. First, we stopped at my parents' house in Arkansas for a couple of days. Then, we went to Hubby's mom's house in Minnesota. Later, we went to Hubby's dad's house in Arkansas. Finally, we came home. So, basically, we spent two weeks in the truck with three kids and two dogs. Loads of, uh, fun.

My house is now full of toys that have good batteries and make random noises at random times. The boys also got a go-cart from Hubby's grandfather. I have no comment about it. I have also dubbed Christmas 2010 as "The Pajama Christmas" since we all received about 300 pairs of pajamas each. Don't tell anyone, but I traded some of mine in on some really spectacular storage containers for my kitchen.

Anyone make New Year's resolutions? I've decided that this is the year I learn to can things. I'm thinking I'll start with some sort of jam or preserves. Here's hoping I don't give my family botulism in 2011! I also think I'll do one of the 365 photography projects. I already took a picture today, so I'm off to a stellar start.

I hope you all had a wonderful 2010 and I wish you an even better 2011!

**Update** I just started up a new blog to keep up with my picture project for the year. Check it out HERE!

Sport Parents

2010-12-10T13:56:00.000-05:00

Oldest Kiddo and Middle Kiddo are playing basketball. They are loving it. This is their first time playing hoops with a team. I've been attempting to teach them the basics since they were born so they aren't too bad. All in all, they are having fun.

Did you catch that last part? They are having fun! That's what playing sports at this age is all about. (Well, learning the basics is part of it as well, but fun is the number one priority in my opinion.) Apparently, I am in the minority on this one. I am continually appalled at how parents behave during games and practices.

Here's the deal. I signed my kids up to play a sport. I did not sign up to coach. Therefore, I assume that the guy (or gal) that introduced himself (or herself) as Coach So-and-So has it all under control. They don't need my help from the bleachers. In fact, the coach will probably have better luck with my kids if I am quiet. During practice, I am invisible. The reality of it is that I'm only there in case my kid gets hurt. (Don't get me wrong, I watch my kids but I do not do anything to attract their attention.) During games, I am nothing more than a cheerleader. If my kid does something awesome, I cheer. Otherwise, I sit and watch the game.

I am so sick of seeing and hearing parents yelling at their kids from the stands. I had to remind one guy last week that our kids' game was a family friendly environment so his yelling at his daughter to grab the "damned ball" was unacceptable. It's just ridiculous. If I were a kid of parents like that, I'd be embarrassed. I hold my kids a pretty high standard when it comes to their behavior in public. I've always felt that in order for them to meet that standard I have to set the example. (Monkey see, monkey do)

So, what do you guys think? When did parents behaving poorly at 6 year old's games become ok? Why do parents do this sort of stuff? Obviously, the 5 minute "Parents you need to behave" class they make us take before allowing our kids to participate isn't working. So, how do we stop this trend?

How I Plan to Gain 10 Pounds...or Brownies with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-12-07T23:07:00.000-05:00

After indulging in a yummy little treat at a certain coffee place recently, I decided that I could make it for cheaper at home. (Which is just fabulous because I really need to gain an extra 10 pounds...not.) Anyhoo, I thought other people might want to share in the yumminess so here it is...

Brownies with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

Brownies

Whatever your favorite boxed mix is or if you are talented enough to make them at home that works too.

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp Peppermint extract
2-2 1/4 cups Powdered sugar

Using an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter together. Mix in the peppermint extract. Slowly add in the powdered sugar a little at a time. You absolutely must stick your finger in and taste it along the way until you get the consistency and flavor you desire.

After the brownies have cooled, spread the frosting on them. Sprinkle with some of those cute peppermint cake sprinkles. Enjoy!

**This recipe for the frosting made more than enough for my 8x8 pan of brownies. It would probably be enough for a 13x9 pan as well, but if you like lots of frosting then double the recipe.

***I would have included pictures but we kinda ate them all already. Sorry.

Crock Pot Love

2010-12-02T23:26:00.000-05:00

I know I've been out of the loop for a while. So, I will take a moment to remind you all of something very important about me.

I. Love. My. CrockPot.

Yep, it's probably a sickness. If I even think I can, I make it in the CrockPot. I've had some not-so-successful meals. But I've had lots of really awesome stuff too. (Plus, I'm still working on those other recipes.) Anyways, here is my most recent triumph...

Spectacular Spaghetti Sauce

2 lb ground meat (I prefer 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb Italian sausage but use whatever makes you happy)
Large onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 (15oz) cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1.2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves

Place meat and chopped onion in a skillet over med-high heat. Cook until meat is browned. Mix meat and remaining ingredients in CrockPot. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

This sauce is freakin' amazing. Plus, as you can see, it makes a lot. This actually is enough for three meals in our family. While we are eating, I portion the remaining sauce into freezer containers and let it cool. When the sauce is cooled, place it in the freezer to enjoy later.

Long Time, No See

2010-11-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

Um, wow. I'm not sure how two months went by without me noticing. I have been very lazy about blogging this year. Sorry. I'll try to do better. Over the next few days, I will be cleaning up around here. There are some random posts that can go and things that need to be categorized. I am going to try to get back into the habit of posting regularly. I've got tons of new recipes and kitcheny kind of stuff to share. Plus the kiddos are as hilarious as ever so I have tons of funny kid stuff to share. Oh yeah, and I've read a whole bunch of books that I just have to tell you about :)

But all that must wait because the little one is awake.

One of These Days...

2010-09-07T11:09:00.000-04:00

I swear that one of these days I'm gonna get it together and remember to blog more regularly. I totally didn't realize that it had been a week since I lasted blogged. Well, at least I remembered right in time for our favorite day of the week...

So, let the random begin...

**Sometimes I'm pretty sure hubby sets me up...you know, like putting Baby Girl to bed with ketchup on her face and in her hair. You moms out there know what happens to ketchup when it is left on a child...the same thing that happens to anything left on a child...it becomes sticky and impossible to remove unless you throw them in the bath. So yeah, I had to give Baby Girl a bath this morning to get the ketchup out of her hair.

**I need to go buy Band-Aids (because, well, I have kids and they are pretty much walking disasters) but that would require that I get out of my comfy yoga pants.

**Recently, I have been contemplating running. I get this thought that I should start running. Don't worry, these moments of insanity are short-lived.

**Football is back!! Yay!!

**I packed three boxes this weekend. Oh yeah, I'm totally on a roll.

**I'm currently reading Food, Inc. Oh wow! I've read Fast Food Nation, so I figured this book was along the sames lines. It is. But still, the disgustingness of food these days is fairly shocking.

**I want a maid, a nanny, a hair stylist and a masseuse...Honestly, I don't ask for much.

Well, I don't see that maid thing happening for me so I'm off to clean the hacienda. Enjoy this fab Tuesday!

Weekly Dose of Random

2010-08-31T19:41:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the brain dump that is RTT!

**It's been quite the hectic week around our house.

**We are moving to a different house at the end of this month. It is on-post housing so we will be closer to everything which is awesome. Sucky part is that the kiddos are going to have to change schools again. They'll be fine.

**Our new nephew arrived last Wednesday afternoon. He is totally beautiful. Everyone is healthy and home.

**I'm currently watching a show on the History Channel called "Jefferson". It is pretty interesting.

**I was going to cancel our DVR service but Hubby won't watch Real Housewives of NJ with me, so I'm keeping the DVR...

**The boys are especially loud this afternoon. I have no idea why.

**Baby Girl is starting to pull her pants up by herself (well, at least trying)...you know what that means?! It means that we are quickly approaching her potty training days!!

**I really ought to be working on my resume' and letter of intent for a job application but telling you guys about the random stuff in my head is more fun.

**Umm, the boys are now engaged in a pillow fight with the couch pillows. I probably should put a stop to that...oh wait, they are now distracted by the ice cream truck...not that they ever get ice cream from the truck (I'm much too cheap for that) but they have dreams...

Yeah, so I have to go do the mom thing now. Have a great Tuesday evening!

Fast, Warm Breakfast

2010-08-26T21:37:00.001-04:00

My kiddos aren't exactly patient. I am not exactly one of those people who enjoy getting up at the butt-crack of dawn to make a hot breakfast. I do, however, like to send my kiddos off to school with a warm breakfast. I feel totally guilty if they eat cold cereal for too many mornings in a row.

Earlier this week, I came across the idea of scrambled eggs in the microwave. Hubby thought it sounded gross. But, quite frankly, I think hot dogs sound gross but that doesn't stop the kids from eating those. So, we have been trying the microwaved scrambled eggs this week. Both boys said they were pretty yummy. Baby Girl ate them without spitting them out which in my book means success.

So, here's the method...crack two eggs into a microwave-safe bowl. Scramble them up and add any seasonings you like. (My kiddos are fans of seasoned salt in their eggs.) Then microwave for 35-45 seconds. (This takes a little trial-and-error to find out what works best with your particular microwave.) Give the eggs a stir and microwave for another 35-45 seconds. Remove from microwave and give them a stir. If you like cheese on your eggs, add it at this point. Cool for a minute and eat.

All Sorts of Random Stuff

2010-08-24T22:04:00.000-04:00

Yo peeps :) It's Tuesday and you know what that means...it is my day to get totally random!!

**We might move...again...this time it is only across town to a different house. I'm so hoping it works out! We got offered an on-post house. Being on-post would be so much better in a lot of ways.

**This morning on the way home from the store, I saw a guy mowing his lawn. Dude was wearing pointy-toed cowboy boots and smoking a cigarette. He was also about 900 years old. It was an odd sight.

**Anyone else notice that pretty much all Rascal Flats songs for like the last 5 years sound exactly the same?

**Heard that "Little White Church" song? Baby Girl loves to dance to that song. It is pretty freakin' adorable.

**A tropical vacation sounds really good.

**I love that football season is almost here. Yay football!

**Whoever is holding the laundry fairy hostage needs to release her! I did 6 freakin' loads of laundry yesterday and it exhausted me.

Well, that's all the random for today. Hope ya'll had a great Tuesday!

Interesting Insects

2010-08-20T18:15:00.002-04:00

Over the summer, we made a trip to Arkansas to visit the fam. Of course, my totally awesome camera went along with us. One night while we were at my parents house, all five of the kiddos were running around outside. I had my camera out and was catching all the fabulous moments.

Amid all of the chaos, somehow, this little guy caught my eye...

I was so excited about having caught this image that I ~~quickly became obsessed with finding~~ kept my eyes open for other cool insects to photograph. Here's what else I managed to find...

Taking these pictures was so much fun. The kiddos had fun finding stuff for me to take pictures of too.

Mini Meatloaves

2010-08-18T22:05:00.002-04:00

I make some awesome meatloaf. I'm also very modest. When I first started learning to cook, early in my marriage, I hated making meatloaf because it takes forever to cook. The answer to my meatloaf dilema arrived one day on some cooking show I was watching. Make them mini. I started making my meatloaf in a muffin pan. This cut the cooking time down to 20-30 minutes. Since then, however, I have struggled with what to call them. Obviously, they aren't technically a loaf. And, meat muffins sounds odd and disturbing to me. For now, I've settled on mini meatloaves. Anyhoo, here is the recipe...

1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/2 pkg Chicken flavored stuffing mix
1/3 cup barbeque sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, mix all ingredients. Use your hands. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Divide the meat mixture into even amounts in the muffin tin.

Cook for 20 to 30 minutes. (The ones in the picture about took about 30 minutes because they are a little thicker. Usually I stretch this recipe into 10, and those cook for about 20 minutes.)

I usually make some oven roasted potatoes and green beans to go along with these little morsels of deliciousness. Also, keep in mind that you can totally personalize this recipe. I've used ground bison. I've used lots of different flavors of barbeque sauce. I haven't ever tried any other stuffing flavors. If you give that a whirl, let me know how it turns out. Also, you could sprinkle some cheese on top of these. This recipe is also super easy to double. See, there are a million different ways to make this recipe your own. Enjoy it!

The Return of Randomness

2010-08-17T16:20:00.001-04:00

I am so excited to be back in the blogging routine. And, I know, that you guys are super excited for my return to Random Tuesday Thoughts! If you are new here, RTT is a post where I spit out completely random stuff and call it a post. Sounds fun, right? Well then, let's get to it...

**Baby Girl is now 16 months old and is completely obsessed with a Rolie Polie Olie book. Yes, there are worse things, but I've read Rolie Polie Olie about 5,342 times today and it's starting to wear on me.

**I have a kid in 3rd grade. Um, wow.

**We go through approximately 5 gallons of milk each week in our house. I can't figure out if this is normal.

**Hubby and I are expecting a new nephew any day now. Middle Kiddo is hoping that they will name the kid "Curious the George". It's probably better than what hubby and I have been calling him...Gomer. Yeah, Curious the George is totally the way to go if those are the options.

**Hubby's birthday is Sunday. Our niece's birthday is also on Sunday. Wouldn't it be nice and easy to remember if new nephew would show up then?!

**This morning I was watching Sesame Street and they actually used the phrase "Drop it like it's hot". It made my day.

**I'm thinking I need more creative bloggy names for the kiddos and hubby. Any suggestions?

Alrighty, well, I'm gonna have to cut off the random there because I'm being attacked with that danged Rolie Polie Olie book again. Hope everyone has a great Tuesday! And if you need more random in your life visit The UnMom.

What I Did This Summer

2010-08-16T12:28:00.001-04:00

I had a spectacular summer! The boys didn't actually have a lot of time off from school, but we managed to make the best of it and fit in a lot of fun. Kiddos grow up so fast. There are days that they drove me absolutely crazy (which is actually a pretty short drive) but I also realize that someday all too soon they will be grown up. Then I will miss these days. So, without further sappy ado, I spent this summer...

...taking the kiddos to the park for free lunch. Um, hello! Free lunch rocks my world. Plus the whole park thing was a great way to get out of the house.

...coming to grips with the fact that I am now only 2 years away from 30. Yep, I turned 28 this summer. I had a fantastic birthday. The boys made me the cutest little coupon booklets. I am entitled to backrubs and car washes for the rest of my life.

...traveling to Arkansas. We took a trip home to visit family. I have to say it was the best trip yet. We had such a wonderful time. On one hand, I hated to leave. But I was also super excited to get back to my own bed.

...kind of looking for a job. I still haven't found a job. Honestly, I'm getting a little panicked about it. But I'm sure something will come along soon.

...reading. I read a few books. I'll tell you about those in an upcoming post.

...cooking and baking. I taught myself to make some kick-butt pies. I'll share those recipes and tips soon. I also made some great dinner dishes. Again, I have plans of sharing those too.

So, that was my big exciting summer. I loved every minute of it. I did miss you, my bloggy friends. But I made some awesome memories with my kiddos and that's what it's all about :)

Probably Should've Mentioned This Earlier...

2010-08-15T18:33:00.001-04:00

I kind of decided to take the summer off. I have been enjoying some awesome times with the fam. The boys have returned to school so I now have more time. I will be back with regularly scheduled blogging in the next few days. Sorry for being MIA so long, but it was totally worth it :)

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

2010-07-01T18:02:00.000-04:00

Aren't these just about the cutest little firecrackers you've seen lately?!

We don't have big plans for the weekend. We're going to visit family in a few weeks, so we're saving our money for that trip. We'll throw some burgers and hot dogs on the grill. I'll make a pie or two. And we'll just enjoy our time together.

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend!

The Pottery Anniversary

2010-06-09T11:45:00.000-04:00

Did you know that the traditional gift for the 9th anniversary is pottery? Yeah, I didn't until a few minutes ago. Good God, I hope my husband doesn't bring home pottery...well, unless it's a really pretty pottery vase filled with flowers....

Anyways, it's our ninth anniversary!! Nine years ago, we were 18! We stood in front of of family and friends and promised to love each other forever. Some of those watching us didn't believe we'd make it to our first anniversary, let alone our 9th. But, whatever, we really couldn't have cared less.

Here we are 9 years ago...

Yep, we were (and still are) pretty freakin' adorable.

Nine years later, I love this man more than ever. He makes me happy. He's not perfect but neither am I. We don't always agree on everything, but at the end of the day we love each other and that trumps everything else. When we got married, I told him that we were going to be married for 80 years. So, here's to a fabulous first 9 years and an even more fabulous 71 in front of us :)

Oh wow, it's been a while...

2010-06-07T12:31:00.001-04:00

Wow, it's been forever since I posted. The last couple of weeks have been quite hectic.

The boys finished up school. I'm now the proud mommy of a 1st grader and a 3rd grader. Not surew how we got here so quickly, though. Along with the end of the school year came all the awards ceremonies and such. Both boys got Excellence in Reading awards. Of course, Mama is awfully proud of that!

Baby Girl is a handful. She had her shots last week. That sucked. She is in to everything and completely ignores the word "no". Her daddy and brothers have spoiled her rotten and mom gets to deal with it. Yay, me!

Hubby got a new chair. It takes up my lovely open space in the living room. More annoying than that is the box it came in. It's huge. The boys immediately made it into a toy. I was ok with that...until about 10 minutes ago when they drew pictures on it and starting using it as a punching box. For some reason, the sound of them hitting and kicking that box is making me want to pull my hair out.

My awesome cousin from my daddy's side came to visit over Memorial Day weekend. I hadn't seen her in about 4 years so it was great to catch up. And look, aren't we pretty?!

And in the category of news that shares too much information but I'm gonna share it anyways...my IUD came out last week. I can't get in to have it replaced until the 16th. Perfect timing. Our anniversary is on Wednesday and I was hoping to celebrate it without being totally freaked out that I was gonna end up knocked up again. Told you, too much info. Sorry.

I'm reading The Green Mile. If you haven't read it, you totally should. It isn't a whole lot different than the movie. (Of course, they really had to stick with the book in order to preserve the story...plus I think Stephen King is really involved when his books are made into movies in order to keep them from becoming those horrible movies that are nothing like the book....you know, like Where the Heart Is...) However, King has an amazing way with words.

Thinking about a trip home in July...not totally sure yet, so don't tell anyone :)

And that about wraps up news on this end. How have you peeps been?

I Love Quotes

2010-05-21T15:34:00.003-04:00

I had several things that I really wanted to rant about, but then I decided that ranting isn't a great way to start the weekend. So, instead of ranting, I'm gonna share some of my favorite quotes that I have come across lately.

"Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." ~Mark Twain
"Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious." ~Bill Meyer
Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow they may make it illegal.
"Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." ~George Bernard Shaw
"I say, if your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life." ~Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes

I love quotes. These brought a little smile to my face and hope they amused you more than (or at least as much) as my ranting would have. Have a great weekend!!

What's For Dinner?

2010-05-20T14:11:00.000-04:00

For years, I participated in the whole what's for dinner dilema. However, a couple years ago, I sat down and started planning our dinner menu on a weekly basis. I believe it has saved us money and I know it has saved us time.

When I first started planning our menus, I created a blank menu that I would print off each week and fill in. These days, in the name of being more green, I have a dry erase board that I use.

Both methods have their pros and cons. For instance, I kind of miss being able to print out multiple pages and planning for more than one week at a time.

So, here's how I go about planning our menu each week:

I glance through the ad from the store where I shop to see what is on sale. I flip through my coupons to refresh my memory on what I've got. Also, I pull out any recipes I've found that I want to try out. Then I figure out the main dishes for each day. Fridays are easy because we have pizza every Friday night. (Middle kiddo has a meltdown if any other food is suggested for Friday nights. He's very serious about his weekly pizza intake.) During warm months, I give Saturday nights to the hubby for grilling. That leaves me with four nights to fill in. After I figure out a main dish, I add a vegetable and a starch for each night. We eat a lot of potatoes and rice for our starches. But I like to throw in mac-n-cheese every now and then too. If I add a casserole to the menu, it usually has the starch and vegetable thrown in so total score for me on those nights.

And, there you have it...my method of avoiding that daily what's for dinner dilema. Menu planning also makes grocery shopping a breeze because I create the list directly from the menu and avoid buying anything that'll end up going to waste. As you can see, I don't add dessert to our menu. If the kiddos finish their dinner, we always have some fruit or yogurt that we let them have as a sweet treat after dinner. Sometimes I'll have some cookies or brownies or something like that. But, honestly, my kiddos just aren't huge sweets eaters (please don't hate me).

I hope this helps you out if you've been struggling with meal planning. I really believe everyone should give it a try. Find a method that works for you and stick with it. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-19T23:49:00.002-04:00

These pictures of the kiddos crack me up...

Random Random Random

2010-05-18T12:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Tuesday! It's time to get random, yay!

**The street sweeper is out today and my dogs aren't happy about it.

**Middle kiddo went on a field trip today. He was so excited that he was the first one out of bed this morning. Normally, he's the last one up and I have to drag him out of bed.

**I applied for three jobs in a local school district yesterday, so I'm hoping that I'll get an interview for at least one of them.

**I love coupons! But I'm not all crazy about them. I have a strict only-clip-for-what-I-actually-buy rule.

**I could really use a nap.

**Baby Girl cracks me up. She doesn't really know a lot of words just yet, but she still yells at her big brothers when they are acting up. She's like a little mama. It cracks me up.

**I'm considering moving the boys to a charter school this fall. I don't know if I really want to put them through changing schools again, but I think they'd be happier in a more challenging environment.

**Since the kiddos are about to get out of school for the summer, I'm working on making a summer schedule to keep us busy. So far, I've got plans to take them to the library storytime on Saturdays and the water park on post one day during the week. We've got some leftover workbooks from our move that I'm going to have them work through too. I think we'll stay busy but not so busy that we don't have time to be spontaneous. It's a fine line with kiddos, I think.

**I also have big plans for my own summer reading. My mom sent me a few books that I'm looking forward to reading. If they are any good, I'll tell ya'll about them.

**June 1!! Yeah, that's the day that Alice in Wonderland comes out on DVD. I'm super excited! The boys and I went to the theater to see it and we loved it.

And I'm out of random for now. Hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Mama Got a Brand New Ride

2010-05-17T13:43:00.000-04:00

I got a new car!! (Insert annoying, excited squealing here)

I loved my old ride (a 2008 Jeep Wrangler X), but hubby's been after me for a while to consider something a little safer. Last week, I finally conceded that it might be time to look at other options. While I loved the Jeep, I did not love the payment or its gas-guzzling ways. So, I did my research and fell in love with the Ford Fusion. We went down to the dealership. I figured we'd be able to comfortably afford the base model. So I was super excited when I discovered that there were some really good rebates and we could actually afford the mid-priced model. Actually the car I ended up with is only a couple features away from being the top of the line model they offer.

(Not the best pic, I know, but it'll do)

I got a 2010 Ford Fusion. It has the Sync system in it (Bluetooth and all that) and satellite radio (which I have fallen in love with). It has a sunroof (yay)! I was concerned that I would lose space, but actually the kiddos fit in the backseat just the same. Hubby can actually sit in the backseat comfortably too. (He's 6'1" so that's pretty awesome) The trunk is huge. I totally love the car! It has lots of creature features. As far as hubby's concerns go, it is a super safe car. It has one of the top ratings out there for safety and the anti-theft features are good too. (That's important since we live in a border town and stolen cars are in Mexico faster than you can dial the cops.)

All things considered, we got an awesome deal. Our payment went down by a couple hundred dollars, the gas mileage doubled and, best of all, I totally love my new car!

Because I Have Nothing Interesting to Say...

2010-05-14T11:36:00.000-04:00

I'm going to share some pictures with you.

Oh...I did get a new car, so that's interesting :)

To Snip or Not To Snip...

2010-05-07T10:06:00.000-04:00

The hubby and I are having the great debate...

...to snip or not to snip...

We are pretty happy with our family size. It worked out nicely that we had two boys then almost a six year gap and a little girl. I would hate to have another boy after her. But, for some reason, I just can't bring myself to be on the snip side of the debate.

I am not sure why this is. I am going to be 28 this summer, so I really don't want any more kiddos. (Not that 28 is old, but I am looking forward to having them all out of the house before I'm 50.) I really have no desire to have any more kiddos. I don't know, the whole snip-snip thing is just so permanent.

Isn't it odd that hubby is the one for the big snip? On TV, it's always the woman who is advocating for it and the man is running around trying to figure out ways to get out of it. Hubby is actually the one who brought this up. I have an IUD, so birth control isn't even something I think about.

Anyways, that's where we stand right now...in the middle of the great snip-snip debate...any thoughts?

Oh Random Tuesday, How I've Missed You

2010-05-04T11:59:00.000-04:00

In case you forgot how this works, it's Random Tuesday Thoughts...I get a pass to be completely random and pass it off as an actual blog post. Yay!

**I just saw a Starbucks commercial and am now totally craving a JavaChip Frap...dang power of suggestion.

**I think my favorite sitcom on TV right now is The Big Bang Theory. Seriously, funny.

**I bought a new bookshelf today to replace the one that the movers busted. I'm going to attempt to put it together in a few minutes.

**What is the deal with speeders? I just don't get it. There are two really straight stretches of road on the way to where we live now. The speed limit is ridiculously low, but it's the speed limit and I abide by it. But I cannot count the number of times I've been passed like I'm standing still. Seriously, this one car passed me using the turn only lane in a school zone. He got to the red light about ten seconds before me.

**I have a confession to make...I love watching the Real Housewives...any of them...can't get enough.

**I am one stupid self-paced course away from graduating. Yay!

**Did I mention that when our stuff got packed up it took 9 boxes to pack up our books?

**The boys are still not impressed by the whole uniform thing at their new school. I'm not either, but what are ya gonna do...

**Baby Girl's new word is "uh-oh"...she says it about everything. It's pretty cute.

**And finally, I would like to send a big ol' birthday shout out to my bloggy buddy, Cheryl!! Go visit her and give her some birthday love.

My Job Search

2010-04-29T12:42:00.000-04:00

Since I'm finishing up my degree, I am about to be buried in student loan payments. I have to find a job. Honestly, I'm looking but I have a little time so I'm not in too big of a rush. Ideally, I'd like to find something that starts in August when the kiddos return to school. It would be great if I could spend the summer hanging out with them and avoid having to pay daycare for a few months.

Anyways, I have been watching the classifieds in the local paper, the employment postings for the local school districts and postings on Craigslist. I have discovered that I am grossly unqualified for many of the jobs on Craigslist. You see, I am not a Spanish speaking cleaning lady fresh over the border from Mexico. That disqualifies me from approximately half of the jobs. I am also not a male stripper. So that means I don't qualify for another quarter of the jobs listed. The remaining quarter of the jobs just don't pay enough to meet my needs.

Searching for a job is quite an adventure. I'm sure I will eventually find something. Honestly, I'm not that picky. As long as the job pays enough to cover my student loans and daycare, I'm good with it. There are quite a few companies that give preference to military spouses, so I'm looking into those. I'd love to find a job that actually makes use of my degree. But I went to school for me and for the sense of accomplishment. I also wanted to set that example for my kiddos. So, if I end up working a job that has nothing to do with my degree, that doesn't bother me. For now, I'm looking and kind of enjoying the adventure of it.

Family Pictures

2010-04-26T11:34:00.000-04:00

While we were in AR, my sister and I decided that we needed to do some family pics for the grandparents. ~~Plus we just like torturing the hubbies like that.~~ They turned out super cute! My sis is sending me the CD with all the pictures, but here's a little preview...

I am sure I will post more when I get the CD, but that's it for now.

These fabulous pics were taken by Aubrey Hammer.

Please Excuse My Lack of Blogging

2010-04-23T12:20:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I know...I've been the worst blogger lately. If there's an award for that, please feel free to bestow it upon me.

Anyways, I am finally getting most of the boxes unpacked. It is absolutely freakin' unbelievable what movers will pack. Seriously, I found a bag of trash from the boys' room, a box of cereal (even though they said they wouldn't pack any food and I had to give away all of my spices) and my grocery list. I am also astounded by the amount of crap we have. However, I am convinced that our stuff reproduced in storage.

I have also been worrying over the school the boys are in now. Change is an inevitable part of our lifestyle. The average military child attends six schools during their life. (I'm thinking this statistic refers to school districts, but not entirely sure.) Oldest kiddo is on his third school...he's in second grade. Middle kiddo is on his second school...he's in kindergarten. So, this new school is supposedly a really good one. I'm sure it is better than some. However, I disagree with some of their methods. Oldest kiddo is an excellent reader. Currently, he reads at a fourth or fifth grade level. Yesterday, the librarian wouldn't let him check out a book he was interested in because it was too thick. Really?! Instead of encouraging the kids to read books, they send them home with these crazy little "fluency folders" full of short paragraphs. I can see the theory they are working with, but the fact is that I don't believe it works. Middle kiddo brings home a kindergarten version of the folder and it is equally ridiculous. My main concern is that this school is spending every minute preparing my kids to take a standardized test in the third grade. I'm already on a soap box so I will refrain from going into all my objections but let me just say that teaching to a test is not the sort of education that will benefit these kids in the long run.

Ok, I'll stop with that now. I do have to tell you about the uniform situation though...This school requires the kids to wear a uniform. My kids think it's stupid. When I look out my window and see a bunch of high school girls were skirts that barely cover their asses and shirts that don't contain the girls at all, I have to agree with my kids. If my elementary school kids are going to be wearing uniforms, then the scantily dressed high school kids should be wearing them too. Middle kiddo has developed his own way of giving the uniform policy the bird though. He wears wild socks. You know, kind of like Booth on Bones. Oldest kiddo is just like whatever about the whole thing because he's still very concerned about the whole library situation.

Baby girl has been teething since the beginning of the move. It's nightmarish. Seriously. She's getting four molars in at once. Her mouth hurts. She got that nasty diaper rash that goes along with teething. Thankfully, she is getting over all that now though. Baby girl has also gotten more steady on her feet which means that she is super helpful with the unpacking process.

Oh, and I have to tell you about the crazy mail situation! We finally got our mailbox keys. The mailman dropped off all the mail that has been accumulating in the box. Apparently, no one has been getting the mail for our house since about November. So, hubby and I sorted through it all. There were about 60 pieces of mail (not including junk mail) for 7 different families! Yeah, I have no idea exactly how many people were living in this house before us. In addition to all the Christmas cards they missed out on, there were billing notices from law offices, a bunch of water bills and no less than three notices that warrants for arrest had been issued. Apparently, the previous occupants were quite a colorful bunch. I just hope no one shows up looking for them because Baby Girl does not react well to people interrupting her sleep.

I am finishing up my school work for the semester and then hopefully I will be better about my blogging. I have also been catching up on laundry in my handy dandy, super spectacular new front loading washer and dryer. I totally heart them! But, I didn't realize that I would get so behind during this move. But that's just life, I suppose. Hope life is treating you all well.

We Made It!!

2010-04-14T10:22:00.000-04:00

Well, we have finally arrived at our final destination....about five minutes west of Lucifer in Hell. Just kidding...kinda...well, have you ever been to West Texas? It's hot here. But, it's a dry heat so my hair loves it!

Anyways, we are here...let's see what else is going on...

I have internet again. Now if only the people would deliver my household goods, I'd be all set. Hopefully, I will be back on track with my blogging...I know ya'll have missed me :)

The boys are in school. Oldest kiddo has a "whatever" kind of attitude about it. Middle kiddo hates change and has, so far, cried both days. It kills me when he cries. He gets that super red face and does that gasping for air thing that kids do. Heartwrenching, I tell ya.

I live 15 minutes from a Super Target. Yay me!

I still need a job. And I'm getting a bit nervous about it because the Sunday paper only had 2 pages of help wanted ads. Seriously. Used to be that the Sunday paper had at least 5 or 6 pages of help wanted ads. Times are tough, I suppose.

Not having stuff means I don't have my washer and dryer. Um, I have a 1 year old. I need to do laundry because I don't care how cute she is, the child is a mess. I just gave her a banana for breakfast and now I have to change her shirt. Seriously. She made that big of a mess out of a banana. You should see what she can do with mac and cheese...let's just say a pressure washer is needed.

Alrighty, well, I have to drop some stuff off to the property manager, figure out where the hell to get my mailbox key and find a laundry mat that isn't full of bugs and creepy people...as you can see, I have quite the busy day ahead of me.

Yay for Tuesday!!

2010-04-06T13:23:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm still in the middle of moving. I cannot wait to say that I am finished with the whole mess. We will be heading down to Texas later this week and finishing up the move. Yay! Anyhoo, it is Tuesday and that means I get to be totally random...

**Moving sucks.

**My FIL has a rule that dogs aren't allowed on the couches. Our dogs don't understand that so they keep getting in trouble. He's not here right now so they are napping on the couch. Honestly, I don't have the energy or desire to move them.

**I have come to the conclusion that I will never again do a major family event with both sides of our family. From now on, birthday parties, holidays and whatever else will be divided. Yes, I know that means that I'll have to do two of each. But I just can't take the freakin' drama of it all anymore. If you haven't figured it out, certain members of the family got a little bent out of shape at Baby Girl's birthday party. Oh well.

**I think my iPhone may be the greatest thing ever. I love it!

**Hubby and I are going to have another nephew. Pretty exciting!

**We stayed last week at my parents' house. Ever since we left, I keep trying to find things, then freak out that I left it at their house and text my dad to find it. Of course, thrity seconds after I send the text, I find whatever I was looking for. I kinda feel bad that my dad has to deal with my ditziness.

**It is really windy here today. I'm not impressed. I just hope the wind isn't blowing too hard on Friday when we're driving across west Texas because that really sucks.

**I cannot wait to see the house we're going to be living in. Well, part of me is super excited and the other part of me is hoping that it lives up to the expectations I have of it. But still, I can't wait to see it.

**Only in Arkansas will you here the following on a radio ad: "We're gonna be having a four man scramble out there at the golf course this weekend. Come on out and join us." Uh, yeah, I'll get right on that just as soon as I figure out where "out there at the golf course" is. Give me a hint: which golf course you talking about? It's not like there is only one in the area. I love my hometown!

**I really do love it here, but I'm not ready to be back here permanently. Maybe by the time hubby retires, I'll be ready for the whole live-in-the-same-place-for-more-than-three-years commitment...

**Middle kiddo has no filter on his mouth. He informed my mom that she is a "dangerous driver" and my FIL that his driving isn't too great either. Yeah, I love him.

Well, I really ought to get back to catching up on my homework. Hopefully by next week, things will be settled down and I can get back to my regular blogging. I miss my bloggy peeps (you know, the normal people in my life, even if you do live in my computer)!

Random Catch-Up

2010-04-01T23:32:00.000-04:00

I am so far behind on the my blogging. Sorry. I have been busy hanging out with the family and being fed constantly. I thought I'd throw out some random bits for your reading enjoyment.

**The trip from Kentucky to my parents' house is about nine hours. It took me 12. There was rain and wind all the way across two states. Then there was thick-as-pea-soup fog for the last couple of hours. The fog freaked me out. Seriously, there were moments that I wanted to pull over but I couldn't see the side of the road. Luckily, my kiddos were good on the trip.

**Baby girl's first birthday is only days away! I've got her party all planned out. I can't wait for the cake :)

**I am gonna need bigger pants when I leave here. My family has been feeding me constantly. However, I didn't get the last cupcake...I even stuck my finger in the frosting to mark it as mine...my mom ate it anyways.

**I'm still half-heartedly looking for a job. I'll step up the search when we actually get down to Texas and settle in.

**Ever notice how people on House Hunters complain about everything? It drives me crazy. Where do they find so many whiney-ass people?!

**Ha ha ha....the guy on tv just said "do-able"...yes, I giggled...yes, I might have the maturity level of a twelve year old...but, I am exhausted.

**I'm going to get a pedicure with my sis tomorrow. Yay! Pedis are the most amazing way to spend kid-free time ever.

**I haven't gotten much school work done here...I'm so behind...not cool.

**I have the most adorable neice and nephew ever. Seriously.

I will try to post more again soon. Please tolerate my moving madness and rest assured that it will end soon :)

Oh...and has anyone tried the Blogium app on the iPhone? I'm thinkng about getting it, but it's not free so I'm not sure...

Uh, Yeah, Moving Sucks

2010-03-28T22:25:00.000-04:00

So, the move has officially commenced. Stick with me...I'll be back with a full blown post ful of fun move details in a day or so....

I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive and kicking :)

RTT: Moving Edition

2010-03-23T21:49:00.000-04:00

Sorry I'm so late with the normal Tuesday randomness...I'm in the middle of moving, so let's do some quick random thoughts...

**My hubby is driving my bonkers with his pre-move obsessive cleaning.

**Middle kiddo doesn't do change well. He wants to take all his friends with him to our new house. Yeah, honey, because 20 kindergartners under Mommy's roof won't drive her crazy.

**Is it wrong that I kinda like that Baby Girl cries when the MIL tries to hold her?

**I probably should've kept that to myself...

**I should be writing one of four essays I have coming due soon.

**I love Chai Tea Lattes...and coffee...and my crock pot.

**My crock pot is getting packed tomorrow and I won't see it for a month.

**I need a job...got one for me?

**Yes, that was a shameless plea for employment...yeah, yeah, I'll check the classifieds.

**My favorite cousin got her random on today...check it out here!

Alrighty, peeps, it's been fun but I must get some other stuff done now.

Thursday? Really? Already?

2010-03-18T10:31:00.001-04:00

I know, I suck. I totally missed Random Tuesday Thoughts. How about I make it up to you with some random Thursday thoughts? Alrighty...

**I spent almost $10 on pacifiers last night because Baby Girl had to have one just exactly like the one the dog chewed up yesterday. Apparently, change isn't her thing.

**I am exhausted. Baby Girl was up at 12:30 last night, middle kiddo was up at 3:30 and then it was time to get up at 6:30. I slept like poo last night.

**Did you see that we found a place to live?! Yay!

**I have been horrible at commenting this week. I'm sorry. I'm sure the blog police are coming to get me any minute now.

**If it makes you feel any better, I have been really horrible at school work this week too.

**Oldest kiddo got sent to the principal's office for the first time ever this week...he flipped a pencil across a desk at a girl in art class...wasn't really a big deal at all, even the principal said so.

**My totally awesome friend works at Old Navy and sent me a friends/family discount coupon for this weekend. I'm totally stoked. I love Old Navy. Plus, the older kiddos are gonna have to wear uniforms at their new school so I gotta stock up on khakis and polo shirts. Yay.

**Do you sometimes feel like you do everything around your house? Like you're the only one who knows how to fold laundry, make dinner or sweep the floors? Yeah, me too.

**Middle kiddo has his first loose tooth. Oldest kiddo is reading a book that is probably 5th or 6th grade level...he's in 2nd grade. Baby Girl is taking lots of steps on her own...shhh, don't tell her but it's called walking.

And I'm out. I'm going to take my exhausted brain to do some homework now. That should be interesting! Hope ya'll have a great day :)

**I totally forgot this little gem: A few nights ago, middle kiddo was going to demonstrate for us how Daddy fell asleep on the couch. But before he could start, he ran around the living room looking for the remote. When I asked him why, Middle Kiddo replied, "Because to start, you have to pretend I just changed the channel." Hubby and I died laughing because I always accuse him of changing the channel then falling asleep.

We Got a House!!

2010-03-17T16:37:00.000-04:00

No, we did not buy a house. But, we did find a rental place. Yay! The housing office where we are headed has told us that it would be over a year before they got us in a house, so we started looking for a place off-post. After sorting through gazillions of listings, telling off some scammer on Craigslist and wondering why none of these houses had a refrigerator, I finally found a totally awesome place. Hubby called the property manager on Monday afternoon and by Tuesday morning we found out for sure that the place is ours (well, not ours, but you know what I mean). I'm totally stoked about this place. It has 4 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. The master bathroom has a gianormous bathtub and 2 sinks! Plus, the master bedroom has his and hers closets. Um, heck yeah! It also comes with a refrigerator. Total score! The nearby school is awesome and the area is really nice. The only drawback is that it is twenty miles from post, so hubby's got quite a drive everyday. But we decided that it was worth it. Since I've got you all excited about the awesomeness of this house, I'll share the pics of it. These aren't the greatest, but they're good enough to show why I'm stoked.

Cookbooks, Anyone?

2010-03-15T22:22:00.001-04:00

The move is upon us! And we found a house today! When it is a sure deal, I'll share more info so you'll be as excited as I am.

Anyways, I am going through things and sorted stuff out. I have a plethora of cookbooks. I found two that I don't really use, so I have a deal for you. The first person who contacts me via email (there's a link on my profile page) and agrees to pay the shipping for them can have them. If you only want one, that's cool too. Just tell me which you want.

Up for grabs are:

and

images from Amazon.com

They are both in new condition. They need good homes. Adopt the cookbooks :)

Dear Random People

2010-03-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

Dear Girls in the Butt Crack Bearing Jeans,

I don't wanna see it. Hike those babies up. Please and thank you!

Disgusted,
Cole
*****************************

Dear Baby Girl,

Take a nap. Now. Please. Mommy isn't begging, but simply asking nicely. For the fiftieth time. You are cranky and Mommy is getting that way.

Almost annoyed,
Mommy
******************************

Dear Oldest Kiddo and Middle Kiddo,

Stay off of your baby sister's ride-on toys. They weren't made for kids your weight. I am serious when I say that you break, you buy. Seriously.

Tired of saying it,
Mom
*****************************

Dear Person Who Tried to Scam Me on Craigslist,

I was born last night, but it wasn't last night. Not for one second do I believe that you are in Africa doing good and will send me the keys to your rental house just as soon as I wire you some money. Isn't that scam a little old by now? Really. Get a new scam and maybe I'll fall for that one.

Smarter than the average bear,
Cole
*******************************

Dear Universe,

I need a house to live in and a job in El Paso. And, if it's not pushing it, could you drop off a winning lotto ticket at my front door too? That would be totally awesome. Thanks.

Tired of reading ads,
Cole

Learning from Place to Place

2010-03-11T09:34:00.000-05:00

Each time we load up and move on to a new post, I end up reflecting on what I've learned at the one we're leaving behind. I find myself doing that again.

Our first duty assignment was in Hawaii. (I know, spectacular, right?!) When hubby and I arrived in Hawaii, we were 19, had been married for about 10 months and had been parents for two weeks. We were babies. Leaving Hawaii, we were a little older, maybe wiser (maybe) and had two kiddos. During our three and a half years there, I learned that I could take care of myself and my kids. I learned where to put brake fluid in my car. I learned that life sometimes throws you a curve ball, but you've still got to swing. You might miss, but at least you'll go down swinging.

After Hawaii, we moved to Texas. We went through another deployment, too much partying and a whole lot of heartache. I learned that I am strong. Heartbreak happens. Heart healing also happens. I learned that sometimes people don't care about you. They'll use you to get what they want and walk away without even caring about the damage they leave behind, kind of like a really bad tornado. But I also learned that when a broken heart heals, it is stronger. I learned what was important to me and not to care what other people thought about that.

From Texas, we moved here to Kentucky. Our precious baby girl was born here. I've learned that some of the best things in life are worth waiting for. I also realized that God gives us stuff when He knows we're ready for it, and only He knows when that is. I learned that hubby and I can in fact live together. (Sounds odd, I know, but until here he's been gone so much that we averaged less than a year at home together before he was off on more training or deployments...typical Army life.) I came to realize how much I really don't like credit cards. Most importantly, I learned how to look at past mistakes and not dwell on them. I realized that I have to be realistic about life in general. I maintain my optimistic outlook, and I'm still a dreamer. But I do not expect perfection. In fact, I understand, more now than ever, that I prefer my washable marker covered, mac and cheese all over the place, laundry is never finished, chaotic life to any other.

Just Another Random Day in the Neighborhood

2010-03-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

It's Tuesday, people! You know what that means? If not, you've not been around here long, huh? Well, welcome to Random Tuesday Thoughts. It's the day where I type a bunch of random stuff and pass it off as a post. Enjoy! Oh, and if you like the randomness here, head on over to The UnMom and check out some more.

**I'm considering one of those shock collars for my dog. I'm seriously tired of her obnoxious barking. She barks everytime the door opens, the UPS truck goes down the street...oh but the best is when she starts barking because I put something on the counter. Yeah, she needs a shock collar like Lindsay Lohan needs rehab...

**Speaking of Lindsay Lohan...have you seen this?? Uh yeah, she didn't even cross my mind when I saw that little milkaholic on the ad. Personally, that ad cracks me up. Nothing about Lindsay Lohan cracks me up.

**I should be doing homework, but my computer hasn't been cooperating. So, I've taken it as a sign that I should blog instead.

**Hubby called the housing office at the post we're moving to yesterday. They told him the waiting list for housing is a year long. Seriously?! So I'm now looking for acceptable apartments for us to stay in until our name comes up on the list. That'll be fun...3 kids, 2 dogs and hubby's plethora of tools in an apartment...but at least it'll make for some good blog posts.

**I was looking forward to this move, but that feeling is quickly fading.

**I love having a little girl to dress up. Let's face it, baby girl clothes are way cuter than baby boy clothes.

**Oldest Kiddo and Middle Kiddo got Happy Meals last night. They wanted the iCarly toys instead of Star Wars toys, so the lady gave them each an iCarly magic meatball. Think they would notice if I destroyed those damned things with a hammer?

**Oldest Kiddo had a fabulous birthday (and thanks you all for the birthday wishes, I'd make him write thank you notes to each of you but I'm pushing it with the notes to family, so sorry). He got a bunch of gift cards from family which he thinks is awesome because he can get whatever he wants. He said that getting older was cool because people don't send you baby crap anymore. Where does he get this stuff?

**Middle Kiddo walked around all day on Oldest Kiddo's birthday telling people that he was being nice to his brother on his birthday because "it is a rule that you have to respect your olders [he meant elders] even if he is just my smelly brother". Yeah, I love that kid.

**I took the boys to see Alice in Wonderland on Friday. I now remember why I don't go to the movies...I'm not very tolerant of rude teenagers who believe that they own the theater and yell things like "Hey fag face, over here" or "F*ck, I lost my phone again, guess the stupid parents are just gonna have to buy me a new one" or (my personal favorite) "Could you move your effing cup so I can put my phone there?" And, no, I didn't move my effing cup. But the movie was good.

And that's about it for today folks. Hope you enjoyed my random thoughs and have a great Tuesday!

I've Bought My Last Can of Formula...

2010-03-08T10:39:00.000-05:00

...or at least, I hope I have. Baby Girl is going to be 1 in a few short weeks. So, I have decided that this is the week to begin the transistion to milk. With the boys, I started a few weeks before their first birthday. The first week I mixed an ounce of milk with three ounces of formula. The next week, I increased it to half milk and half formula. During the third week, I mixed three ounces of milk with just an ounce of formula. Then, ta da, they were completely transistioned to milk. Really, I don't know where I came up with this method. Probably some random literature from the doctor's office (that I actually managed to read). But it worked well for them. So I am going to use it with Baby Girl too.

When I did my grocery shopping this weekend, I bought a can of formula. A couple of months ago, I switched her to one of those second step formulas for older babies, and they only come in the huge cans. Well, I forgot that I bought it. I was at Target yesterday, armed with some coupons, and bought yet another can of formula. Normally, Baby Girl goes through about one of the bigs cans each week. Since I'm going to start transitioning her, I know she'll go through less than that.

So, I have quite possibly bought my last can of baby formula. Yay! (And a little not yay, because she's growing way too fast, dang it!) All you other mommies out there know the excitement of these milestones. This one isn't quite as exciting as realizing that you've bought your last box of diapers, but it's right up there!

Love and Shrimp

2010-03-07T19:58:00.001-05:00

The hubby and I watched Forrest Gump last night. It's one of those movies that makes me boo-hoo every single time I watch it. I think Forrest Gump is one of those movies that tugs at everyone's heart at least a little bit. How can anyone get through the part at the end when Forrest is talking to Jenny's grave without crying? Seriously. As I watched last night, I realized why the love story in the movie gets me so much.

Anyone who has ever seen the movie knows that Jenny is not always good to Forrest. But he always loves her. She doesn't always make good choices. But Forrest loves her anyways. Throughout it all, Forrest just loves her.

Forrest loves Jenny completely and without judgement. You see, I think that's what we all wish we had in our life. Or what we all wish we could do. I have no doubt that we all love. We love very deeply. But can we honestly say that we love completely and utterly without judgement all the time? If I'm dead honest, I cannot answer that question the way I would like to. And that right there is why Forrest Gump always gets to me.

8 Years Fly By So Quickly

2010-03-05T12:40:00.000-05:00

Today is Oldest Kiddo's 8th birthday!! So, Happy Birthday Oldest Kiddo!! I'm really not sure where the past 8 years have flown off to, but I do know that they've been great. Here are some pictures to prove it...

8 years ago

7 years ago

6 years ago

5 years ago

4 years ago

3 years ago

(sorry kiddo, but this pic will stick with you for the rest of your life...consider it a life lesson)

2 years ago

1 year ago

Just a few days ago

I just can't believe he's growing up so fast. It seems like they put him in my arms for the first time, I blinked and now he's 8. I love this kid with all my heart.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-03-04T23:18:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned before, we are coming up on a move. The lovely part of moving is that I have to empty out my cabinets. Sometimes, the movers will pack some food items, but I really don't like to for a few reasons. Moving is a good excuse to use up everything and start with new stuff. I also don't like the idea that our stuff will be in storage for an unknown amount of time and any number of multi-legged critters could be attracted to our boxes if they have food in them. Anyways, in my attempts to get rid of everything, I start making random things with whatever I have. The other day, I decided to try some Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes. I'd seen recipes for them before, so I googled it and went from there. Here's what I came up with:

Cupcakes

2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your pans for 24 cupcakes. In large bowl, beat together sugar, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat until it starts to come together. Then add the boiling water very slowly. Mix until smooth. (The mixture will be thin, so don't freak out) Scoop into pans (do not, I repeat, do not fill the cups more than 3/4 full). Bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack until cupcakes are cool. Then frost...

Frosting

**I didn't have much powdered sugar, so this recipe doesn't make much...it's just enough to put a fairly thin layer on 24 cupcakes. If you like mounds of frosting on your cupcakes, just double this and you should be fine.

1 stick butter at room temp.
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat butter until creamy. Stir milk and vanilla together in a measuring cup. In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cinnamon. Starting and ending with the powdered sugar mixture, alternatively beat the powdered sugar and milk mixtures into the butter.

Yeah, Yeah, I'm a Little Behind

2010-03-02T19:04:00.000-05:00

I have been a very bad blogger the last week. I'm very sorry. I would like to say that I'll be better, but with the move coming up I just can't promise that. I will, however, try :)

So, I know you're all expecting some randomness, because it's Tuesday and that's what we do around here on Tuesdays, so here it is...

**I got myself an iPhone...oh yeah...it rocks!

**Apparently, oldest kiddo will now be riding the same bus as middle kiddo...found this out today when oldest kiddo didn't get off the normal bus and hubby called the school looking for him...I couldn't call because it's hard to speak coherently when you are hyperventilating.

**Baby girl is starting to take more little steps on her own. She would still rather crawl though.

**Oldest kiddo is going to be 8 on Friday!!

**We are officially on Transportation's list to get moved later this month. I'm glad that's scheduled.

**I'm reading a book called Taking Sides: Religion for a course I'm taking this semester. It is really interesting. Controversial issues are argued in "Yes" and "No" essays.

**Currently, I need a good 4-5 quiet hours to catch up on my school work...yeah right, there are no quiet hours around here.

**I made some cupcakes today...Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes...OMG they are fab! Recipe coming soon.

Well, dinner is about to burn and the kids are losing their danged minds (neither of those things are new around here...), so enjoy the rest of your Tuesday!!

I Just Love Awards!

2010-02-25T16:37:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I admit it..I just love getting awards! But, I love passing them along just as much. Recently, I've been honored to receive two awards, yay!

The first one came from the very lovely EllaBellaMozzarella. I'd like to thank her mucho grande for bestowing the Beautiful Blogger Award on me. See, isn't it beautiful...

The rules that came along with this lovely award are as follows:

thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
pass this award onto 15 bloggers you’ve recently discovered and think are fantastic.
contact said blogs and let them know they’ve won.
state 7 things about yourself.

I'm sure the bloggy police will come after me for this, but I'm breaking the one about passing it on to 15 bloggers. My kids would like to eat and for some reason "Shhhh, Mommy's blogging" isn't quieting them. So, I am passing the award on to these 4 fantastic blogs I've discovered recently (and that is a relative term):

Betsy @ JavaCupcake (ok, so she's not a "recent" find of mine, but I think she's fantastic!)
Jayme @ The TaterTwins
Shell @ Things I Can't Say
Tracie @ Stir-Fry Awesomeness

And here are 7 things about me:

I watch Wife Swap on Lifetime pretty much everyday because it makes me feel normal.
When my kiddos get really crazy out-of-control, I threaten to call Supernanny. It works.
I am an English major and have always said I plan to be a teacher, but lately I've come across a lot of job postings for jobs that work with military families and veterans that interest me. I think I might have even more passion for those jobs than for teaching (if that's possible). None of them pay well, but I find myself not even caring (well, as long as they pay me enough to pay off my student loans and daycare expenses...)
My parents used to bribe me to stop talking, but my teachers always swore I was the quietest student in class.
I've been meaning to dye my hair for about 3 months now. Gotta love mommyhood.
I really can't stand yippy little dogs, but have 2 of them.
I'm a cat person but we have dogs...somethings I will just never understand.

The second award was given to me by Tesa at 2 Wired 2 Tired. It is the Happy 101 award and looking at it just makes me happy...

See!! It has cupcakes on it! Who doesn't get a little giddy at the sight of cupcakes?! I'd like to pass the Happy 101 award on to these bloggers:

Vicki @ Frugal Mom Knows Best
Ashley @ Love Grows Best in Little Houses
Cheryl @ Blue & White Life

These chickadees always make me happy so go visit them and put a little happy in your day.

Reading with Kids

2010-02-25T15:05:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has been a parent for longer than 10 minutes has heard how important it is to read to your children. I know there is tons of research out there in regards to exactly what the benefits of reading aloud to your child are. For example, research has shown that children who are read to regularly have larger vocabularies and are more likely to become strong readers as they grow up.

For the past few months, I have been working with oldest kiddo's 2nd grade class. Mostly I read aloud to one little girl and help her through story maps and that sort of thing. I also work with some of the other students as they read stories and fill in worksheets about the stories. Story maps vary a lot, but one constant is a spot for the kids to fill in the setting of the story they've read. For the most part, the students are always able to identify characters, problems and solutions in the stories. However, they have difficulty identifying the setting. This got me to thinking.

I have read to my kiddos since they were babies. I always ask them questions about what we're reading. I'll ask them who the main character is or what the problem is in the story. I'll read a few pages and then stop to ask them what they think is going to happen. But I cannot remember having ever asked them questions about the setting of the stories we read. I think it's something that I just take for granted.

Part of the reason I'm working with the kiddos is as part of my internship for school this semester. So this issue with identifying setting is really perplexing me. I definitely want to figure out more about it as I prepare to write my final paper about what I've observed. Plus, as a future teacher, I just want to know more so I can better understand my students.

So here are my questions for you guys...

Do you ask your kiddos questions about the stories you read with them?
What sorts of questions do you ask them?
Specifically, do you ever talk about setting of stories with your kiddos?

If you've got anything else, feel free to add it too :)

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday!

2010-02-23T15:32:00.001-05:00

Ya'll know Tuesday is my favorite day of the week! I get to be my completely random self and have a good excuse for it...

**I'm multi-tasking...I'm listening to a lecture for one of my classes and writing this blog at the same time. Go me!

**I made myself a schedule for the day so I could catch up on my school work. I got a little behind, but I'm very proud to say that I have stayed on task all day and made good progress.

**Yesterday I faxed off the application for the job I posted about last week. Now I'm waiting. The deadline for applications is Friday, so I kind of don't expect to hear anything this week. Fingers crossed, though, that I will hear something soon!

**See over there somewhere ----> I have a little link thingy for MyLikes...middle kiddo, who is in kindergarten, has been playing that CarrotSticks math game and is rocking it! He's adding big numbers like 392 + 129...I'm amazed and oh-so-proud of him.

**The volunteer work that I do with oldest kiddo's class is also counting as my internship for college...which totally rocks...as I go through it though, I think of all sorts of questions. I've been researching for answers, which is great, but I also want some real world answers. So, I think sometime in the near future that I'm going to post a blog with the questions and see what all you moms (or not moms, I know, some of you aren't moms but still have experience with teaching kiddos) out there have to say about them....

**My little dog snores louder than hubby. Seriously.

**The snow finally melted! But it's still cold and has been cloudy for the last few days. I'm so ready for spring.

**Baby Girl's birthday party invites came in the mail yesterday. They are super adorable. Now, I just need to get them addressed and mailed before the movers come and pack them up.

**The movers won't be here for another month, so you'd think I could manage that...

**Movers will pack everything. I'm not even kidding. We've opened boxes to find that they packed the trash cans with trash in them. I've heard of them packing up snacks left out for the kids. And if you aren't careful, they will pack your luggage which let me tell you is no bueno. (Yeah, they did that last time and I made them unpack about 4 boxes looking for it...no way was I going for the next 3 weeks with only the clothes on my body at the time...)

Anyways, I've gotta go get the kiddos off the bus. Head on over to The UnMom for more random fun and have a great Tuesday!!

Yummy Yummy Cupcakes

2010-02-22T15:33:00.001-05:00

Have you visited Java Cupcake? If not, you totally should. She has great recipes. And who doesn't love cupcakes?! This weekend I made some cookies-n-creme cupcakes using her recipe. They turned out awesome! The kiddos loved them and hubby ate about six of them in one night. Yeah, he was a little hyper! The recipe was really easy to follow. The cake part was moist and delicious. The frosting was AMAZING! Seriously, you must try these out. An added bonus is that you have to crush up the Oreos so you can get rid of any frustrations by beating them with a rolling pin. I was able to make 36 cupcakes from this recipe...however, 6 of them met an untimely end when I dropped them taking them out of the oven...

Here are some pictures I managed to take before the kiddos and hubby devoured these scrumptious cupcakes...

Don't be laughing at my awesome icing skills...

I was supposed to decorate the cupcakes with some crushed Oreos, but I kind of ate too many of them to do that. I also thought that sticking a mini Oreo on top would be cute, but we didn't have any of those. I'm planning on making these again sometime, so maybe next time I'll do that.

Now, wipe the drool off your chin and go visit Java Cupcake for lots of other recipes and general cupcake fun!

Just so you know, I received nothing for writing this. I simply came across this blog a while back, decided to try out one of her recipes and loved it so much that I thought it would be plain ol' mean of me if I didn't share :)

Finally Friday!!

2010-02-19T15:27:00.001-05:00

I know, I've neglected you guys the past couple of days. I have lots of excuses, but you know what they say about excuses...Anyways, I don't really have much to chat but I thought I'd write a few lines about nothing :)

**Hubby and I got to go to lunch today by ourselves. With no kids. It was awesome to sit at a table and not have to tell someone to quit coloring the table or to leave their shoes on or to stop wiping boogers on your brother's plate. Awesome. Then we went and got him a new phone. Hubby joined the modern era and got a Blackberry.

**Thank you all for the support on my last post! I'm working on my resume and letter of intent. I plan to fax it on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

**I have a load of reading to catch up on for school. Yuck.

**Just for the heck of it, because I love ya'll, here's a picture of me and my daddy from waaaay back in the day...

**I'll post a picture (as requested) of my new haircut just as soon as I find time to do my make-up and look like a real person and not someone's sleep deprived mom...should be soon.

Have a great weekend!!

Should I?

2010-02-17T19:25:00.002-05:00

This afternoon I was checking out the job listings for the area we are moving to soon. We've lived there before and I worked as a substitute, so I wanted to see what the listings were looking like for the school district. I would really like to be a teacher, but I came across another job posting that would be perfect for me. It is for a military family liaison in one of the elementary schools. The position basically entails working with military families to make their transitions from place to place as smooth as possible for the students. It requires knowledge and understanding of military transitional life, etc. Duh, I'm perfect for that job! Basically, it takes my life experience and my passion for working to ensure that kids get the best educational experience they can and melds them together. Here's the problem: the application deadline is at the end of this month and we won't be there until after the first of April. I really really want this job, but I can't start until mid-April. Should I apply anyways and explain my situation in the letter of intent? Or should I be totally bummed and let it go? I'm so torn...

It is positively random!

2010-02-16T09:31:00.002-05:00

I've been feeling blah lately. I think it all comes down to the fact that the weather sucks and I haven't seen the ground in weeks because it's covered in snow. Anyways, I've decided that I am going to do Random Tuesday Thoughts in a totally positive manner today. Hopefully that'll cheer me up some! So here it goes...

**I got my hair cut off yesterday. It feels about a thousand pounds lighter.

**I found some really cute invitations for Baby Girl's first birthday party. I think I'll order them today.

**I am on a mission to de-clutter my house before the movers come to pack it all up. Over the weekend, I found a big trash bag and a small box full of stuff to get rid of.

**My parents have been married for 28 years! I think that's awesome.

**Oldest kiddo made me a valentine this weekend. In really big letters it says "MOM, YOU'RE THE BEST!!!"...not only did he spell the words right but he thinks I'm the best. I love him!

**Hubby got me an external hard drive for Valentine's Day. It is awesome because now I can organize all my pictures (seriously, like thousands) and my laptop will run faster. Total score!

**I saw this Italian proverb the other day and I really liked it: After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.

**I just about have everything entered into the inventory system for the consignment sale I'm participating in next month. I have tons of stuff, so I'm hoping to sell a lot of it. The money I make is going to pay for Baby Girl's birthday party. The theme for the party is little monsters...I figure she has plenty of years to demand princess parties and fluffy pink things so I'm doing the not-so-traditional theme while I still have a voice in the matter :)

Well, there are my positively random thoughts for this sunny Tuesday. I'm feeling a little more sunny myself. Hope you all have a great Tuesday!!

Feeding Time

2010-02-15T15:42:00.000-05:00

You know how they say you should never mess with an animal during feeding time? Well, the look on her face is the reason why...

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T17:36:00.000-05:00

The extent of my Valentine's Day decorations...

My favorite valentines...

We've had a pretty good day around here...well, the boys have fought constantly and made me wanna pull my hair out, but I love them...Hubby got me an external hard drive to store my plethora of pictures on so my laptop will run faster. He's such a sweetheart! I got him Burn Notice on DVD and threw a roast in the crock pot. I got all domestic and made a cheesecake (ok, so it was a 15 minute Jello thing, but still I had to mix something) and some biscuits.

Hope you've had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Baked Potato Soup

2010-02-13T20:16:00.000-05:00

I made some fabulous baked potato soup the other night from some potatoes that we really needed to use. My grandma taught me to make potato soup before she passed away. Since then I've taken that basic recipe and put my own spin on it. I think this recipe is finally "it". It turned out with a fabulous consistency and flavor. Plus, it was even better the next day. I baked the potatoes and then immediately used them, but this would also be a great use for left over baked potatoes. I left the skins on the potatoes but you could remove them if that's what you like. Also, if you want it a little thinner just add a little more milk. And of course, if you like more or less onion or bacon, adjust to your tastes. Always remember that many recipes are just a jumping off point. You shouldn't be afraid to put your own print on them.

5-6 small to medium baked potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
5 cups milk
2 green onions
6 slices bacon, crumbled
8 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese
salt and pepper (to taste)

Melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Stir in flour until mixture is smooth. Gradually add milk and stir until until well mixed and starts to thicken. Add potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add onions, bacon, sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper. Soup is ready to eat when cheese is melted.

Enjoy and stay warm!

Sleep? Yeah, not around here...

2010-02-12T09:36:00.000-05:00

Last night, the can't-sleep bug bit big time around my house. Of the seven living creatures in this house, only two managed to sleep through the night. It all started when hubby and I headed to bed around 11. I went in to check on the boys and discovered that Oldest Kiddo was wide awake. He got a drink, went potty and got back in bed. I went to bed and stared at the ceiling for an hour. Hubby went right to sleep, of course. Meanwhile, I couldn't sleep so I planned our dinner menu for now until we move. Right as I was trying to decide if red beans and rice for three nights a week was pushing it (what?! it's on sale for a dollar a box at the commissary and I have $1 off 3 boxes...so that's like buy 2 get 1...), Baby Girl woke up. This, of course, woke up the dogs. Eventually, I managed to get everyone back in their beds and back to sleep. Well, except for me and the dogs. We fought over covers and pillows until about 3 am. How hubby slept through all that I will never know.

Soundtrack of My Kiddos

2010-02-11T16:46:00.001-05:00

I often associate memories with a song. I can hear a song and tell you what was going on in my life when that song was first released. For each of my children, I have a particular song that was popular when they were born that always reminds me of them. And oddly enough the lyrics to these songs each hold some particular meaning that I find specific to each kiddo. The other day I was running errands and the radio station played the three songs in perfect order. I'm sure that I'm the only one who nearly cried at these three songs grouped together, but, hey, I'm a mom, that's what we do. Anyways, I thought I'd share the songs and a few lines of each with you...

Oldest kiddo was born when Good Morning Beautiful by Steve Holy was popular. One part of the song goes like this:

I didn't see the light
I didn't know day from night
I had no reason to care
But since you came along
I can face the dawn
Cause I know you'll be there

These words are so true. I didn't have a bad life before motherhood, but I never knew how much I could care about another person. I had no idea until he came along that I would actually be willing to give my life for another person.

Middle kiddo was born when Wave on Wave by Pat Green was popular. Hubby and I had some major problems while I was pregnant with middle kiddo but I decided to stick it out because I was pregnant (and I'm so glad I didn't throw in the towel when times were difficult but that's for a different post). The chorus of the song goes like this:

You came upon me wave on wave,
You're the reason I'm still here, yeah
Am I the one you were sent to save?
You came upon me wave on wave.

Being pregnant is kind of like getting hit by a wave. You can see it coming (sometimes) and you might think you're ready for it, but the reality is that no one is ever fully ready for it. Marital problems are pretty much the same. But I hung in there because of middle kiddo. I honestly believe that he saved us.

Last year, when Baby Girl was born the song Best Days of Your Life by Kelly Pickler was popular. (Seriously, the video played about a hundred times while I was in labor) I love the message of being a strong woman and not letting a cheating man define your life. I hope that Baby Girl will always remember that she is awesome and any guy who cheats (or is just a pig in general) isn't worth her time. I love these lines in the song:

But, I've been told that a cheater
Is always a cheater
I've got my pride, and she's got you...

I hope Baby Girl will love them too. Judging by her personality right now, I'm pretty sure that no guy is gonna walk all over her. (Of course, she's got two big brothers and a daddy who owns guns, so they'll probably be a little afraid to!)

These songs make up the soundtrack of my kiddos. I have lots of other songs in the soundtrack of my life, but these are the best because my kiddos are awesome :)

Valentine's Day = Torture

2010-02-10T09:39:00.000-05:00

Honestly, I have never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. In elementary school, I was shy and awkward. In junior high, I had glasses the size of saucers and frizzy hair. In high school, I was still shy and not all that confident. I was never the girl that got tons of huge valentines from admiring guys.

Of course, now I am awesome. I'm still shy sometimes, but I'm much more confident. I got contacts and a straightening iron. I also have the most amazing husband. He doesn't shower me with huge valentines, but, bless his heart, he does his best. But despite this awesomeness, I still think that Valentine's Day is the most torturous holiday of the year (closely followed by Groundhogs Day, because I'm not a winter girl and feel a lot of anxiety over the whole shadow or no shadow thing...plus, it is just a ridiculous holiday...kinda like Valentine's Day...oops, I digress....).

I have NO idea what to get hubby for Valentine's Day. He needs another movie like he needs a hole in the head. We have 3 kiddos and no babysitter, so a night out is not in the cards. Truth be told, I really think he'd be perfectly ok with getting nothing. (Less pressure for him that way.) But I don't want to let the day go by without giving him at least a little something. Ugh, I think I'd rather be waterboarded than try to figure out the perfect not-too-small, not-too-big, says-just-enough-without-going-overboard gift.

Ideas? Comfort? You in the same boat?

Serving Up the Randomness

2010-02-09T20:47:00.000-05:00

If you haven't been here for RTT, I basically throw out a bunch of random thoughts for your reading pleasure...

**I love the sitcomes on CBS on Monday nights. Big Bang Theory cracks me up. Who doesn't love nerds?!

**Remember the nerds on Saved By the Bell? Did your school have nerds that looked like that? Mine didn't. We had nerds, but they didn't dress quite that nerdy.

**It snowed some more last night and today. Surprise, surprise. The kiddos got a snow day and are gonna get another one tomorrow.

**I'd love to have 100 followers of my little blog here. I know that's not really that many, but it woud make my ~~day~~ ~~month~~ year.

**I've been working on a cake recipe. It's almost there and quite yummy. I'll share it when I'm happy with it.

**Ever notice how people who gripe about the government and taxes and all that never seem to gripe when they get a tax refund. Suddenly, they're all happy to claim Uncle Sam as their own.

**Remember back in the day when you had to blow on the video game cartiridge to get it to work. I kind of miss that. My dad actually still has his Nintendo from back in the day. It still works. Every once in a while we all play Mario Bros (not super, just the plain ol' version) and Duck Hunt.

**I made myself a cheese pizza for dinner and it was so good that I ate too much. Oh well.

**Baby girl says "Dada", "Bubba" and "puppy" but not "Mama". I wish she'd just say it already. I think she's just messing with me.

And that's the randomness for this week. Hope everyone had a great Tuesday!

Super Observations

2010-02-08T09:13:00.000-05:00

Last night, I participated in a very American activity: I watched the Superbowl. I was glad to see an exciting game. The game really did come down to that interception in the last quarter. Until that moment, I think both teams were playing really good ball and it could've gone either way. I do think that the Saints had a little more momentum in the second half starting with their recovery of that on-side kick. Personally, I think on-side kicks are a dirty trick. But they're legal, so what are you gonna do. Anyways, I made a few quick observations that I thought I'd share with you...

**The Doritos commercials were hilarious! By far, the best of the year. Really, other than those, the commercials pretty much sucked by Superbowl standards. However, I expected this because I'd been hearing for weeks about how advertisers just weren't shelling out the cash for spots this year. Darn economy!

**I think I'll apply for the job of bookin halftime entertainers. Seriously, The Who?! They needed wheelchairs to get on-stage. Let's not even talk about last year's fiasco of booking the JoBros. Two years in a row the halftime show has equalled a fail in my opinion. Whatever happened to the good ol' days of Janet Jackson flashing her nipple or Britney Spears attempting to rock out with Aerosmith?

**For some reason, the Saints Kenny-Chesney-look-alike coach gives me the creeps. I don't know, there's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way.

**The Colts coach did an awesome post-game interview. He was well-spoken, classy and had his cliches down pat. (If you've never seen Bull Durham, then you totally didn't get the cliche thing...)

**I get that Hurricane Katrina was a tragedy. It was horrible and I know that there are people and communities that are still struggling to recover. However, that does not mean that the Saints "deserved" to win the Superbowl. I have a hangnail but no one believes that I should win the lottery because of it. The Saints played good ball, worked hard and beat a worthy opponent. For those reasons, they deserved to win the game.

**They sell DVDs of the championship team...who buys those? Who watches those?

Alrighty, well that's all I have for you. Did you watch? What do you think was the best part of this great American tradition?

Who's Awesome?!

2010-02-05T14:58:00.001-05:00

ME! Well, at least according to Tesa at 2 Wired 2 Tired. She gave me this fabulous award...

...and ya'll know how much I love awards!! Especially ones that say I'm awesome! So, thank you so much Tesa!

This award comes with instructions to tell you 5 things I like to do and then pass it along to 5 deserving bloggers.

I like to...

Read...I can get totally lost in books...the state of my house proves this...
Cook...If I was going to be trapped on a desert island with only two things, I'd take my crock pot and a book...
Travel...When the hubby retires, I have big travel plans...Europe, Asia, any states I've not been to yet...
Watch mind-numbing television shows...Seriously, I have an addiction to Wife Swap re-runs on Lifetime that is probably not healthy...but it's like a train wreck, you just have to look...
Shop...groceries, shoes, new clothes...it doesn't really matter, I just love to shop...

I am passing this awesome award on to the following totally awesome bloggers...

Shell at Things I Can't Say...I just love her candidness, she even has her own word...go check it out!
Ashley at Love Grows Best in Little Houses...We're related, but better than that we're friends! And she has a fabulous blog.
April at A Labor of Love...She and her hubby are waiting on the love of their life to come along, follow along on their journey.
Vicki at Frugal Mom Knows Best...She has such a lovely blog with humorous moments and touching ones too.
Cheryl at Blue&White Life...She's a Colts fan and her awesome blog always amuses me.

Go check out these lovely ladies! And, again, thank you , Tesa, for this awesome award!!

Oh How I Love You, Friday!

2010-02-05T14:25:00.000-05:00

Yay for Friday!! This week has actually flown by, but Friday is still oh-so-sweet. I wasn't sure this was gonna be such a great week. On Monday, I overslept a bit. I woke up at ten til 8. We have to leave the house by 8:15 to get the boys to school on time. However, this little conversation made me giggle and made me forget about having overslept...

Oh, first, let me set the scene for you...I woke up at 7:50 and freaked out that I'd overslept. As I leapt out of bed, I hear cartoons in the living room...

Me (running down the hall, pulling clothes on): Boys, what are you doing?! It's Monday! Didn't you hear the school busses going by? Why didn't you wake me up?!

Oldest kiddo: We heard the busses, but we were going to let you sleep in.

Me: Um, why? You have school.

Middle kiddo: Because we love you.

Oldest kiddo: Yeah, and we thought if we let you sleep in that you'd let us skip school and watch cartoons all day in our pajamas

Me: Wow. Nice try.

Needless to say, I did not let them skip school and by some miracle, I managed to get them to school with about 30 seconds to spare. Oversleeping is never a good way to start the week, but my silly boys made me giggle a little bit and the week's been good since then. Hope it was a great one for you guys too!

Quirky Rules of Living a Military Life

2010-02-04T13:19:00.000-05:00

I spent the morning fighting with my paper shredder. Right before lunch, I gave up on it and decided I needed a new one. It was then that I broke one of the golden rules of living on a military post...never go shopping around lunchtime...especially on Thursdays. This might seem a bit odd to you if you don't live a military life so I'll try to explain it some, along with some other rules of living a military life.

1. Never go shopping around lunchtime...especially on Thursdays! The PX (it's like a department store on post, think Wal-Mart...the old school version, not the supercenter versions) on each post has a food court. It is a popular lunch destination for Soldiers, so around lunchtime the PX is packed. Thursdays (at least on training posts, like our current one) are generally graduation days for basic training. So, on Thursdays, not only do you have to deal with hungry Soldiers in your way, but you also have to deal with newly graduated Soldiers and their families.

2. Never curse all those moving trucks blocking your street because soon enough those trucks will be blocking the street in front of your house.

3. Whatever you do, do not piss off the people at the housing office. They can make your life miserable. They can assign you to some horrible house, ticket you for leaving your Christmas decorations up until Easter and nag you to death over parking in the yard. Happy housing people will ignore all these things.

4. Make sure you have enough groceries to get through all Federal holidays, because they shut everything down. Seriously, you can't go buy a loaf of bread around here on Columbus Day.

5. Don't get caught talking on your phone while you're driving. It'll cost you $500! I was reading the court proceedings in the post paper the other day. Talkers got fined $500 while speeders going 10-15 over in residential areas got fined less than $100. So, by all means, speed...just don't do it while talking on your phone.

There are so many more quirks that you pick up on when living on a military post. Many are the same from post to post, but many posts also have their own quirks. For instance, where we're at right now, the commissary (the grocery store) is closed on Mondays. I'm sure in many ways it's like living a normal civilian life, just with a lot more moving!

Quick, Cute, Crafty Project

2010-02-03T13:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was feeling the itch to do a little something crafty. Now, here's the problem with that: I tend to lose interest in craft projects after about 30 minutes. I have seen a lot of cute canvas wall hangings lately. So, I decided that trying something along those lines couldn't take that long. As I don't necessarily need more stuff hanging around my house, I decided to make them for my niece and nephew. (Yeah, my sister just loves me.) It took me about 20 minutes to do each one, so I didn't lose interest and was actually pretty impressed with how they turned out...See....

Now, I suppose you would like to know how I made these impossibly cute wall hangings...Well, hang on to your horses, I'm about to tell you...

I printed off the letters I was going to use and an oval for the frog face. Then I cut them out and placed them on the canvas I was using. (I used 11x14, but any size would be perfectly adorable.)

I used a cheap foam brush and some acrylic craft paint I had laying around to paint the canvas. I was really careful in painting over the letter (and the oval for R's) so it wouldn't move or get paint underneath it. (I'm sure there's a better way to do that than mine...) When I had the canvas completely painted, I removed the letter stencil thingys.

Then I took some Qtips and filled in the letters with a different color paint. I used a small foam brush to fill in the oval for the frog face.

Next, I glued some sparklely crystal things I had on to L's and used a Qtip to paint some little embellishments. I glued googlely eyes on to the frogs head and used a Qtip to draw a smile. Then used a foam brush to do the embellishments on his.

These took about an hour to get pretty dry, but I did let them sit over night just in case before I shipped them off this morning.

I think they turned out pretty well. They aren't "perfect" but that seems to be the trendy thing for children's decor right now. Maybe if I can't find a job, I'll just whip up some of these babies and hit the craft fair circuit!

My Brain Works in Random Ways

2010-02-02T18:47:00.001-05:00

It's Tuesday! You know that means it's time to get random. Read my randomness, then head on over to visit Keely and enjoy some more randomness...

**Baby girl has moved into that stage of life where she wonders around stealing food off plates. She also puts everything off the floor in her mouth.

**I have a little crush on Kevin Costner. I love him in Bull Durham (my fave movie of all time).

**I think Sean Connery is the greatest bond, followed closely by Roger Moore.

**I got crafty today and made a present for my niece and my nephew. I'm considering posting pics and maybe a how-to.

**I should've been doing homework instead of being crafty. Oh well.

**I really am a dedicated student. I just spend as much time complaining about homework as I do actually completing homework. I am sure it's one of my more unattractive traits.

**One time when I was in 3rd grade, I watched the news and they said it would be 65 degrees the next day. I thought that was really hot and meant I could wear a skirt. After many hours of trying to talk me out of this, my dad finally gave up and let me pick my own clothes that day. I wore a skirt and froze my butt off at recess.

**I took the Jeopardy test online last week. I don't actually expect to ever get on Jeopardy, but it's fun to say I did it.

**I am still in love with my fancy pants Nikon D3000 camera. I am also still learning how to use it. I'm having fun with it and don't expect to be fully proficient for quite some time. I'm taking it slow and enjoying the learning process.

**I totally adore Diet Coke with Lime.

**We are moving in 6 weeks. 6 weeks!!

**I'm thinking of a new comment system...any suggestions??

And that's the randomness for today folks. I'm off to put Baby girl to bed then ~~watch NCIS~~ do some homework.

Nothing More Precious...

2010-01-31T21:53:00.000-05:00

...than the hand of a baby...

...or the love between siblings...

...or a boy's love for his dog...

More Yumminess From the Crock Pot

2010-01-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

I'm on a recipe roll today. This morning I got tired of looking at some rice in my cabinet, so I threw it in the crock pot with a few other ingredients. And like magic, it turned into a yummy rice pudding!!

1 cup rice*
4 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom**
1/8 tsp salt
non-stick cooking spray

Spray the inside of your crock pot. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and give them a stir. Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours. Stir and eat. (Don't burn your tongue! Also good at room temp or cold.)

*I used some jasmine rice we'd had in the cabinet for a while. I think any white rice would work well as long as it's not the quick-cooking kind.
**If you don't have cardamom, no worries. Don't rush out and buy it, unless you plan to use it in other stuff because it's a little pricey. Just throw in another 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon in its place.
***I would not throw this in the crock pot if you aren't going to be home to watch it. You'll need to keep an eye on it. Mine was done right at 2 1/2 hours, but depending on your crock pot it could take up to 3 hours on high.

This got two thumbs up from both boys, a yum-yum-yum from baby girl and a "pretty good" from the hubby. Hope you like it!

OMG Brownies

2010-01-30T12:10:00.000-05:00

I love brownies. I love marshmellows. I love chocolate frosting. So, duh, I put them all together and made the most awesome brownies EVER. I call them OMG Brownies. OMG because they are as simple as they are delicious. Here's the directions and some pictures...

Ingredients

1 box brownie mix (for a 13x9 pan)
mini marshmellows
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Mix and bake brownies according to directions on box. About 5 minutes before the brownies are done, make a layer of marshmellows on top.

While waiting on the brownies, mix the condensed milk and chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir just until the chips melt. Don't let this mixture bubble. Add vanilla to the mixture.

Pull the brownies out when they look like this:

And pour the frosting over them while still warm.

Let all this yummy deliciousness cool for a little bit then dig in. These brownies are ooey and gooey and just about the best thing ever. In fact, when I made them last night, hubby's only complaint was that we didn't have any ice cream to go with them. (He thinks ice cream goes with everything.)

How to Clean Your House in 5 Minutes or Less

2010-01-29T17:59:00.000-05:00

We have all had those times when we find out that company is coming over last minute. Horrified, you run through the house trying to tidy up a little bit. So, in my quest to occasionally prove useful, I figured I would share a few of my tips on how to clean your house in 5 minutes or less.

Put the dishes in the dishwasher. Don't worry about neatness, just throw 'em in. Or, stack the mountains of dishes neatly in the sink. You know, a neat mess is impressive.
Close the doors. I use this one on the kiddos' room all the time.
Throw the dirty laundry in that room with the closed door.
Spray something that smells good. Out of air freshener? No worries, dog perfume works just as well.
If all else fails, grab yourself a drink, plop down on the couch and look scared to touch anything. Then just introduce yourself as a guest in the house and look slightly horrified by the mess you are being subjected to.

Random Letters

2010-01-28T09:31:00.000-05:00

Dear Weather,

Make up your mind! You are making people crazy. Seriously. Your mere threat of a winter storm has sent people into a frenzy.

Not impressed,
Cole
*****

Dear Vikings,

My hubby is still upset about your loss. How hard is it to hold on to the ball? For the amount of money you get paid, I would glue the ball to my hands. You might wanna practice the basics during the off-season. Because if I have to listen to more rants about how Peterson can't hold on to the ball or how the offensive line isn't doing their job, I might throw the TV out the window.

Annoyed,
Cole
*****

Dear people who crowd me with their carts in the check-out line,

Back off! Hitting me with your cart does not encourage me to pay any faster. Actually, it makes me want to hit you but I just don't have the money to bail myself out so I try to refrain. If you back away from the card machine, I might be able to sign my name and get out of your way faster. Also, please keep your snotty nosed child from touching my stuff. Thanks.

Trying to be civilized,
Cole
*****

Dear Baby Girl,

I know you can't control the snot coming out of your nose, but if you could at least try to not cough all over me I would appreciate it.

Love,
Mommy
*****

Dear Cold,

Please just be a cold. I don't have time for a sinus infection. And, if you could go away soon, that would be awesome!

Congested,
Cole
*****

Dear Homework and Housework,

Please get done by yourself. I have a bit of a cold and just don't feel like dealing with you. Plus, the craziness they show on Wife Swap is far more entertaining.

Lazily yours,
Cole
*****

Dear Johnny Depp,

I realize you are the same age as my parents, but I love you. My infatuation is fairly new. I'm sorry I did not appreciate your work much in my younger years. But, I am older and wiser now. Don't worry, hubby knows all about you.

Feeling like a teenager,
Cole
*****

Dear Tax Refund,

Please hurry yourself into our account. I have big plans for you!

Excited,
Cole
*****

Another Book Tossed From the Curriculum

2010-01-27T12:45:00.000-05:00

**So, I totally had this little rant planned, then saw that my bloggy friend Cheryl posted about the same thing, so click here to go check out what she had to say too!

Parents are at it again. In their quest to protect their children from all things bad, some parents at a school in California have managed to get the dictionary banned. Yes, you read that right. Apparently, the dictionary contains a definition for "oral sex". I'll wait while you finish gasping...Oh, you might want to go ahead and gasp over some other words in the dictionary...shit, damn, breast, penis...

I can remember reading the dictionary when I was younger and giggling over a few words. I'm pretty sure all kids do. (Even these parents who have deemed it inappropriate for their children) I turned out alright. As a future English teacher, I'm concerned that at the rate parents are yanking books from schools I'm going to be left with nothing to teach. I already know I can't teach about Harry Potter (kids might think they are wizards and attempt to fly broomsticks around campus) or any book that gives them any information about sex (well, Shakespeare is ok because the kids are too dense to get all those sex jokes, right). Now I'm going to be left without a dictionary too.

What is it with parents?! I mean, I am one but I still don't get it. Sex is not a bad thing. Teaching our children about sex and responsibility is not a bad thing. Telling a kid that sex is shameful and something they shouldn't do is only going to accomplish two things: they're gonna do it and they're gonna lie about it. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not going to be encouraging my kids to run out and sex it up. But I am going to encourage them to wait to experience the wonder of it until they are in a committed relationship with someone that they deeply care for. In the end, our children are going to make their own decisions. All we can do is give them the information and tools to help them and hope they make the right decisions for themselves. Removing dictionaries from a classroom or prohibiting a book that talks about sex from a library is not going to stop a child from growing up.

Winter and I Aren't Friends! And Other Random Tuesday Thoughts...

2010-01-26T11:14:00.000-05:00

Welcome to a wintery Tuesday! Let's jump into the random thoughts I've got floating around today.

**Winter and I aren't friends! This morning we had some slicker than snot snow (lovely image, huh?). I took the boys to school and attempted to take the baby to daycare. I slid on the crap no less than a dozen times. Finally, I decided to just bring the baby home and see what the weather did. It's warmed up a bit and the slick factor has gone down a few notches, so I took her to daycare a little bit ago.

**My family hates having their routines messed with. Baby girl was seriously cranky because of it.

**Why is it that kids can't seem to take their socks off without the socks ending up in little balls? Yesterday, I was doing laundry and it took me 15 minutes to unroll socks. I know I've told them a million times to unroll their socks, but they must be physically incapable of it, ~~because my kids always do what I tell them to~~...

**I'm making pork roast in the crock pot for dinner tonight. I love my crock pot, in case you missed that memo.

**This morning, middle kiddo had a bad dream. I got him calmed down and on his way back to sleep, so I went back to my bed. A few minutes later, I hear him yelp and running to my room. Apparently, he was almost back to sleep and he saw something flash outside. He was convinced that a monster was taking a picture of him. Is it just me, or does this seem weird?

**I have a housework vs homework conundrum...whenever I'm doing one, I feel guilty for not doing the other...so I just end up doing neither and watching Wife Swap reruns on Lifetime and playing Zoo World on Facebook.

**Baby girl has started refusing to eat the 3rd stage baby foods. She is fine with the pureed fruits and desserts. But other than that, she wants nothing to do with baby food and steals table food from everyone else. I'm fine with this, but it does worry me just a bit that she's not getting the nutrients from the baby food that she needs.

**On the topic of baby food, does anyone know what the deal is with these 2nd formulas? You know, the ones like Good Start Gentle Plus 2? Baby girl is old enough for them, but they are a whole new thing to me. Back when the boys were babies, there was just the one version. So this stuff is confusing me. It's cheaper by a few dollars, but I don't wanna make the switch without more info on them.

**I have decided that when I finally do graduate from college I will be qualified for at least two jobs: governement employee or chick who jumps through hoops at the circus.

And that's about all the random I can muster up today. Hope you all have a great, warm Tuesday!

Aww Memories

2010-01-24T15:10:00.003-05:00

I have been friends with April from A Labor of Love in real life since we were in 4th grade! There are some really embarrassing pictures of us with too much blush and lipstick on somewhere out there. Recently, when I sent out the call for questions to lift me out of my bloggy rut, she came back with one asking what my favorite school memory was. Well, other than getting the heck out of there (which was my first answer), I wasn't sure. I gave it some thought. I came up with some pretty awesome memories. Allow me to share :)

Senior Prom: April and I met up for pictures before hand. Then we put in an appearance at the actual event. It was pretty lame, so we left early and went to the movies all decked out in our prom dresses. We probably had more fun than anyone who stayed behind in the overcrowded, hot, stinky gym.
Bus 8: From 3rd grade through 5th grade, I rode Bus 8 with April and a bunch of other kids like us who lived in the sticks. Our bus driver was a cantankerous old man named Dutch. Dutch probably smoked a pack a day and had skin like leather. Once he kicked my sister off the bus for chewing gum. In spite of the cranky old man, we had fun on the bus.
FFA: I loved being in FFA. I learned a lot about life (I know that sounds odd). My senior year, I wanted so badly to be president. But I'd had a falling out with some of the more popular people and didn't get the position. I ended up being Vice President and rocking it. I learned that even when things don't go our way we still have to give our all and trust that things will work out.

I really did love school. (Still do) But I have to say, I would not go back if given the chance. I'm blessed to have some wonderful memories from those days and wonderful friends to share them with.

**I'll add some pics to this post later, but right now they are in the closet in my sleeping baby's room :)

Fairy Tales

2010-01-23T22:52:00.002-05:00

This semester I am taking a course called "The Literary Fairy Tale". It is pretty interesting so far. Here's the thing though...since day 1, people have been arguing back and forth over whether or not fairy tales are detrimental to children. Some say the tales are just stories and not any big deal. Others say they are sexist and give children unrealistic expectations of life. This last group says that fairy tales teach girls that they must be submissive and pretty and that they teach boys that strong women are evil.

I grew up watching Disney movies. I loved Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. However, those stories (much like the books I read now) were my little escapes. I lost myself in the fairy tales, but when they were over I left those stories behind. I never dreamed of actually growing up to be a princess and marrying a prince with the help of a fairy god mother. I had serious dreams. I wanted to go to college. Yes, at 3 years old, I knew that. What I'm getting at is that I do not think that fairy tales gave me unrealistic expectations of life. I believe this is because my parents started very early in my life teaching me the difference between reality and fiction. (My favorite movie at 3 was Trading Places, so it was kind of important that I knew that distinction) Even now, my kids know that things in books, movies, etc aren't necessarily things you should do in real life. They are simply fun little escapes. I think the problem comes in for people when they fail to recognize the difference.

So, what do you guys think? Are fairy tales bad? Do you let your kiddos read/watch them?

Feeling the Love

2010-01-22T23:18:00.003-05:00

I'm so feeling the love today!! Cheryl, a very lovely new bloggy friend, declared me a GLOB! A GLOB, not a blob. Let's save the fat jokes for later, ok. Which reminds me, somehow my hubby missed out on "Yo Mama" jokes when he was growing up. Poor deprived man. But I digress.

This is my GLOB:

Isn't it lovely?! It was so sweet of Cheryl to give it to me and I'm gonna pass on the love to some of my favorite GLOBs...

Ashley at Love Grows Best in Little Houses
Tesa at 2 Wired 2 Tired
Vicki at Frugal Mom Knows Best
Annette at Life on Ft Bragg

These ladies are awesome! They make me laugh when I need it the most. They warm my heart with their support. They remind me that I am not alone on this wild ride we call life. I love the blog world! Thanks for stopping by and make sure you go visit these GLOBs and leave them some love :)

Sand, Sun, and Drinks with Umbrellas

2010-01-22T22:55:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the weekend! And another installment of my You Asked, I'm Telling! A few of you asked me variations on the question "What is my favorite vacation spot?".

When I was a senior in high school, we took a trip to Hawaii. We visited the island of Oahu. I fell in love with the place immediately. What's not to love?! There's sand and perpetual sun. The temperature rarely drops below 70 and rarely rises about 90. My little 17-year-old self dreamed of living there. Little did I know, less than two years later, I would be a married, a mother and fulfilling that dream of living in Hawaii. My hubby's first duty assignment was at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

We lived in vacationland for three and a half years. Yes, he deployed from there, so parts of it sucked. And, yes, occasionally, I suffered from island fever (similar to cabin fever). But, looking back, those were some of the greatest years.

So, my favorite vacation spot is Hawaii. After having lived there, I know how to do it on the cheap or how to live it up if money weren't an object (you know, because someday I plan to be all rich like Britney Spears and parade around a Maui parking lot with no shoes on...) Here are a few of my fave destinations on Oahu:

The USS Arizona Memorial. If you go all the way out to Hawaii and don't visit, you're just silly. It's free. Plus, it is amazing to see in person.
The International Marketplace. It is simply awesome. Lots of sparkling, fake jewelry and plenty of vendors willing to bargain with you. Love it! Don't pay full price for anything!
The Honolulu Zoo. Once, the huge turtles were, uh, mating while we were there. You could hear them all around the zoo. Talk about rude neighbors, huh?! Oh, and try explaining that to a 2 year old.
North Shore. The views there are amazing. During the winter months, the waves can get really big over there too. Seriously, we're talking like 50 feet. Watching them really gives you a whole new appreciation of the power of water.
The Swap Meet. We used to go and buy 10 t-shirts for $20. I'm sure prices have gone up a little, but you'll still find some great souvenirs there. Plus, walking around the Sun Bowl is a great workout. Make sure to take plenty of water with you because like every other place they will charge you an arm, a leg and your firstborn for a bottle there.

These aren't the only great places to visit on Oahu. There are many more and you'd get bored if I listed them all. One last piece of advice, if you are in the military or the hubby is, there are some great places/prices available to you (Bellows AF Rec area, the Hale Koa Hotel, etc). Do your research before going.

Ya'll got any great places to visit or fab travel tips to share?

Books I Love

2010-01-21T16:41:00.002-05:00

When I sent out the call for questions to get out of my bloggy rut, ya'll responded with some great ones! Tesa from 2 Wired 2 Tired asked me what my favorite book is. Well, I'm a lover of lots of books, so it's hard for me to narrow it down to just one. (If you read the last post about crock pot recipes, you might be noticing a pattern here...) Here are some of my favorites though:

The Unvanquished by William Faulkner. I'm a Southern girl, so it's pretty much required that I include a Faulkner book on this list. Seriously, the Southern Belle police will totally re-po your pearls if you don't. Anyhoo, this was the first Faulkner book I read and I fell in love with it. A lot of people complain that Faulkner's narratives are hard to follow, but that isn't a problem in this one.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I just really liked this book. I find Sylvia Plath very intriguing.
The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich. These books are hilarous! They are also pretty quick reads. (Well, probably because I get so into them that I can't put them down until I finish)
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich. I'm a big fan of Erdrich and this one is probably my favorite. She is a Native American author and her books are filled with Native American culture. However, she is a master at weaving together many different cultures. Her narration style is much like Faulkner, but easier to follow. Like Faulkner, she has also created a community of characters that she follows through many of her books.

So, there's a short list of my favorites. There are so many more (like Harry Potter and Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation). I love books...which explains why I major in English and plan to be a teacher. I love reading and hope that as a teacher I can encourage that same feeling in young people. (Ok, I know I got a little mushy there, sorry)

What are your favorites? I'm always on the lookout for new books to get lost in so I can avoid housework for a little longer :)

My Best Crock Pot Recipes

2010-01-19T14:33:00.003-05:00

This is another fab installment of "You Asked, I'm Telling" (yes, I named it). One of my fabulous readers, who also has her own fabulous blog and a deep love for the Colts, asked me about the best thing I've made in my crock pot. It's taken me a couple of days to put this one together because there is some debate as to the answer to this question. So, I decided to share a "Best of"! Excited?! I am...

This first recipe is the one that I feel I have perfected. It is for pot roast. Hubby says it's the best. I've even made it for the MIL and she was impressed.

3 lb. boneless roast (I tend to go with whatever is on sale)
1 1/2 tsp House Seasoning*
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 bay leaves
3 1/2 tsp beef bouillon granules**
2 tsp minced garlic***
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup chicken stock****
1/2 pound baby carrots
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

Heat oil in a skillet. Sprinkle the roast with the seasoning. Put carrots and potatoes in crock pot. Place roast in the skillet and brown on all sides, then put roast in the crock pot on top of the carrots and potatoes. (You might need to nestle the roast down so some of the carrots and potatoes come up around the roast, so the roast won't be too close to the lid) On top of the roast, layer onion, bay leaves, bouillon granules, garlic and soup. Add chicken stock and enough water to cover ingredients. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

*I use Paula Deen's recipe for House Seasoning. It is fabulous for this recipe and on lots of other things. Mix 1 cup salt, 1/4 cup black pepper and 1/4 cup garlic powder. Mix well and store. If you don't want to commit to making this much, just sprinkle your roast with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
**You could also use 3-4 beef bouillon cubes, crushed.
***Fresh garlic gloves work here too. Just use 1 clove per 1 tsp.
****I don't keep stock. Instead, I just keep bouillon granules and mix stock as I need it.

Next up is my best quick crock pot recipe. This meatball and veggie stew takes about 5 minutes to throw together. (I just linked back to it, because...well, because I'm too lazy to type it out again)

Finally, oldest kiddo declared this next recipe to be the best ever. It's a new one that came out of the Crock Pot Recipe Card Collection that my sis got me for Christmas. It's for Asian Beef Stew.

2 onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lb round steak, sliced thin
2 ribs celery, sliced
1/2 pound baby carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup orange juice
1 cup beef broth
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 cup frozen peas

Place onions, beef, celery, carrots and mushrooms in crock pot. In a small bowl, combine orange juice, broth, hoisin sauce, cornstarch and curry powder. Pour over ingredients in crock pot and put the lid on. Cook for 5 hours on high. Stir in peas and cook for 20 minutes longer. I like to serve it over rice, but you could probably put it over noodles as well. Or just skip the rice and noodles and dig right in :)

I don't have pictures to share right now, but hopefully in the future I can add some. Of course, the hubby and kids tend to inhale their food so I have to be quick with the picture taking thing.

More Random Tuesday Thoughts

2010-01-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

It's time for some more Random Tuesday Thoughts. Sit back and enjoy!

**We got the baby a big girl car seat yesterday. I figured since her feet were hanging over the end of the carrier and she's nudging up against that 20 lb weight limit that it was about time. She loves it.

**Oldest kiddo lost another tooth last night. He was crying and screaming while hubby was trying to pull it. The minute it came out he starting dancing around cheering about how he was gonna get more money.

**The tooth fairy is gonna be broke real quick if that kid doesn't stop losing teeth.

**I'm gonna be an auntie again.

**Why do husband ask 50 times if you are ready for bed, but don't lift a finger to help out with all the things you have to do before going to bed? I mean, if they washed the bottles or picked up the 2000 miscellaneous shoes around the house, we might could get to bed a little earlier. Sitting there playing with your Facebook zoo and asking me when I'm gonna be ready for bed doesn't get us there any quicker.

**Ever notice how people drive like morons in parking lots (well, that's not really limited to parking lots...) and then blame everyone else. If someone comes inches from backing into you, it is certainly not their fault. Sure, they didn't look before backing out of that spot, but you shouldn't have been driving down that aisle. Duh.

**Hubby is a Vikings fan. I'm a Cowboys fan. It was a rough weekend around here.

**The kiddos brought home their school pictures back around Thanksgiving. I still haven't sent them to the grandparents.

**My 10 year high school reunion is this year. I'll probably miss it though because all the people who still live back there think it's a good idea to have it after school starts.

**Speaking of high school...I'm amazed at how many people never left. We were a big class (600+) and from what I can tell on Facebook, many of them are still there. Not that it's a bad place...I plan to move back when hubby gets done playing Soldier, but I just thought more people would go away...maybe that was wishful thinking...

Alrighty, well, the randomness has been fun, but I have to catch up on homework now. Go visit Keely over at The UnMom for some more brilliant randomness.

My Little Comedians

2010-01-17T20:07:00.002-05:00

Ya'll ask some great questions! One of my dearest friends asked me what the funniest things my kids have said are. She knows my kids in real life, so she's heard some zingers out of their little mouths. Oldest kiddo used to like to ask her if he had a chicken on his head.

My kiddos are really funny. Oldest kiddo has a very dry sense of humor. If you aren't listening to him, it is very possible that you will miss some of the funniest things you've ever heard. Recently, hubby's sister informed him that he's going to be an uncle. (Well, technically, he's already an uncle, but this is the first one on his side of the family...) We decided to tell the kiddos. First thing out of oldest kiddo's mouth was, "But how? She doesn't have a husband!" He was dead serious, but hubby and I couldn't hide our laughter.

Middle kiddo is also very funny. He knows he's funny too. However, like so many kids, he is his very funniest when he's not trying to be funny. This evening I was trying to explain gout to the kiddos. (My dad has had it for a long time and recently had a flare up.) So, I was telling them about uric acid crystals building up around Pappy's knee. Middle kiddo looks at me and says "Is Pappy sparklely?" After a little Q&A, I figured out that middle kiddo thought that the crystals meant that Pappy was sparkling. It was pretty dang cute. Middle kiddo also says "My Bag" on a regular basis, but what he really means is "My bad".

The baby doesn't really talk yet. However, she has been known to growl (like the dogs) when you get to close to her food. She's got older brothers, so I'd say this is purely a defense mechanism.

So, there you have it...some of the funniest things that have come out of my kiddos' mouths lately. I'll be back tomorrow with some more answers to your questions. Think I might tackle the one about my best crock pot recipes...

When and Why I Started Blogging

2010-01-15T11:18:00.004-05:00

I have to say that I have the greatest readers! You guys sure came through for me with the questions. I love them all and plan to answer them all over the next few days. Tesa (who happens to have adorable children and a great blog, go visit her!) asked me how long I've been blogging and why I started. It was the perfect question for today, since today just happens to be my 1 year blogoversary!!

I actually started blogging on MySpace a while before I started this blog. However, I knew that I was quickly outgrowing my MySpace days and wanted a blog that was not connected to that. So, this blog was born. I have always loved writing. I have always sucked at keeping a journal. Blogging was a great fit for me. I knew it was something I would keep up with (because I spend waaay too much time on the internet) and it would allow me to write.

I love sharing my stories with others. Blogging also allows me to connect with other women out there. I love getting comments and knowing that I'm not alone in the things I go through. There is always some wonderful person out there who's been there done that and is ready to give me that little bit of support I need.

I never really meant my blog to be a place for me to share things with distant family, but sometimes it happens that way and mostly it's great (except that time my mom got a little annoyed that I called her crazy...but the shoe might not have been too small, if you know what I'm saying). Basically, my blog is a place where I'm free to be me. I put it out there with no filters and feel no guilt over it. That's really something we can't always do in real life. I love blogging and hope to be here in my little corner of the bloggy world for quite some time to come. If you already follow me, thank you so much for riding along! And if you don't follow me, well, why the heck not?!

Thanks for the question, Tesa! I'll be answering more of the great questions I received over the next few days. And if you didn't leave one, or think of another one, pop back over and ask away!

Ask and I Will Tell

2010-01-14T10:28:00.003-05:00

I'm in a rut. Well, to be exact, I'm in a blogging rut. It's winter, my brain is cold and the ideas just aren't coming to me. So, in a move I may come to regret later, I am opening it up to you my dear readers...

What do you want to know? Ask me and I will answer.

Just leave me a comment with your question and over the next few days, I will answer whatever questions come my way.

To start things off, I will ask ya'll a question...What do you do if while visiting someone's house you discover they are out of toilet paper? Me? I search their cabinets. I know that sounds horrible. But I don't want to drip dry just because they didn't check the toilet paper before I showed up :) And I figure searching the cabinets is a better solution than using the fancy hand towels, right?

Alrighty, so I hand it to you...What do you want to know?

If I Lived a Normal Life

2010-01-13T11:27:00.002-05:00

If I lived a normal life, I might worry that my hubby would lose his job because of the economy. Instead, I worry that he will give his life for his job.

If I lived a normal life, I might worry that living in the same place for their whole life would limit my children's world view. Instead, I worry that they'll never know how to settle into one place for more than a few years. More than that, I worry that they will never form deep attachments to people because people come and go from our life so frequently.

If I lived a normal life, I might own just one set of curtains. Instead, I have about 3 sets because the windows are never the same size.

If I lived a normal life, I might think it was simply cute when my kids play soldier. Instead, I have mixed feelings about it. It is cute that they imitate Daddy, it makes me proud that they want to follow in his footsteps protecting our freedoms and it scares me to death that I might have to watch them go to war someday.

If I lived a normal life, I might never think about showing my ID to get into the grocery store. Instead, I have to remind myself that the greeter at Wal-Mart has no desire to see my ID card.

If I lived a normal life, I might appreciate those who sacrifice to keep us free but I would probably never truly understand just what that meant. Instead, I know all too well the sacrifices made. I know that soldiers give up their lives in so many ways. They miss birthdays, anniversaries, first days of school, first steps and words. They give up so much. Many have even given their own life. And it's not just the soldiers, it is their spouses and their kids that sacrifice too.

If I lived a normal life, I would probably go on vacation sometimes. I would go see new places. Instead, I don't go on vacation. I move to new places and get to enjoy the wonders of those places for a few years at a time. It's kind of like one big vacation. Actually, it is an adventure.

If I lived a normal life, it would be good. Instead, I live a great life as an Army wife!

Homework Can Wait...RTT Can't

2010-01-12T20:08:00.004-05:00

Hooray for Tuesday! I love me some randomness, so let's get to it...

**I should be doing homework.

**To avoid hubby's blah-blah-blah about how I should be doing my homework, I am staring at my screen with a confused look, sighing heavily and shaking my head...He thinks I'm doing my homework, hehehe...

**Zoo World is a bad, bad thing....my zoo is worth over $22 million...if only I had that kind of money in real life!

**Why is everyone acting all shocked and appalled by the fact that Mark McGwire admitted to using steroids? Was I the only one that caught on to that back in the day?

**While I'm on a sports roll...Why do some people insist on bashing Michael Vick? Yes, he did a horrible thing. However, the man paid his debt to society as determined by our great justice system. Let him be.

**My favorite color is yellow.

**I think you should all go visit my fave cousin at her blog.

**I want some oreos...not just regular ol' oreos, I want some of those white chocolate dipped ones that they have at Christmas time. I didn't see them this year and I can't get over it.

Ok, I give up...I have to go do my homework. Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday and go visit The UnMom for more random fun!

In a Past Life, I Was a Mechanic

2010-01-11T10:37:00.003-05:00

I know very little about cars and how/why they run. In fact, my knowledge of them can be pretty well summed up in one sentence. Put gas in the thing, turn the key and put it in drive. See, not a whole lot. However, somehow I can always diagnose what is wrong with my vehicle when it won't start.

A few years ago, I had a Toyota Tacoma. Hubby was out of town on a training exercise. I took the kiddos for a check-up and came out to find that my truck wouldn't start. There was this little clicking noise, but no attempts to start. Lucky for me, there was a kind soul there to give the kiddos and me a ride home. I did some googling and decided that the problem with my truck was the starter. I called my father-in-law to discuss it with him. He told me that the truck was too new for the starter to have gone out. I insisted that it was the starter, but took his advice and pulled the battery to have it tested. (Of course, I had to have the truck towed home first.) So, I take the battery down to the parts store, they tested it and, darn if the thing was just fine. Well, to be fair, it was a little weak, so I went ahead and replaced it with a new one. I took the new battery home, put it in the truck and tried to start it. I got the same little clicky noise and no start. So, I waited a couple weeks for the hubby to get home. He pokes around on the truck some and guess what...the starter HAD gone out. Turns out, that year model had some problems with the starter. It made absolutely no sense, but I was right.

Fast forward to last week...I went to the cleaners/alterations place to get something fixed for the hubby. I come out and my jeep won't start. Again, lucky me, someone was able to come get me. I did some googling to find out if there were any start issues with my particular model jeep and came up with nothing. So, I decided that it must be the battery. I read in a few places that a battery can be so dead (and the cold doesn't help) that it won't even jump start. I assumed hubby knew this, because he's a guy and knows stuff about cars. Well, he and our friend go to look at the jeep, get it fixed and bring my baby home. They come back a while later without my jeep. I asked if they had bought a new battery. Hubby tells me that it wouldn't jump so they don't think it's the battery. I fill him in on the whole deader-than-a-doornail-won't-jump thing and stomp off. A little bit later, he and our friend set out again. They go buy a new battery, put it in the jeep and it started! Geez, I was right again. Hubby insists that it makes no sense and our friend swears there has to be something else wrong with it. But I've driven a few times since then and had no problems.

I don't know how I diagnose these problems that make no sense. I think it's my special talent. Maybe I was a mechanic in my last life...

Snow Day!!

2010-01-08T14:41:00.002-05:00

The kiddos got a snow day. Yay. It actually hasn't been that bad. They've only made me want to pull my hair out once or twice. They went out to play earlier so I got a chance to test drive my fancy pants new camera and thought I'd share the results...

Alright, so that's not all the snow pics, but my hot cocoa is waiting on me...Stay warm bloggy friends!

I'm Gonna Be Really Annoyed If I'm Not Being Punk'd

2010-01-07T12:49:00.004-05:00

So, today has pretty much been the day from H-e-double-hockey-sticks! For real! Listen to the crap that has happened to me in the last few hours...

Woke up late, it was snowing, and I ended up having to take the kiddos to school because we missed the busses
Went to get something sewn on to a Gortex jacket for the hubby, come out of the shop and my jeep won't start...nothing, nada, just won't start...Hubby is in a school for the next few weeks so I call a fabulous friend who comes to get me
Go to the fridge to get a soda and realize that not only am I stuck at my house with no transportation, but I am also out of soda.
Scrounge around and manage to find a half-gone, way beyond flat, week-old Mt Dew throwback.
Hubby is nice and goes to pick up the baby for me. Brings her home, I'm standing in kitchen holding her, talking to hubby and baby pukes on me...the kind where you have to change your clothes all the way down to the bra...yeah, nice.

So, that covers the last few hours in my world. I'm gonna go shower (see #5 above) and hope to God that Ashton Kutcher and his camera crew don't jump out at me because then I'd probably fall, hit my head and get a concussion or some other freak accident thing. Hope your day is going better than mine :)

My 2nd Grader Flies the Bird

2010-01-06T12:19:00.002-05:00

This morning, I started volunteering in my son's class. He is in second grade. I spent over two hours working with the kids on a paragraph they were typing and adding a piece of clip art to. It was pretty interesting to watch them. I learned a lot about how they construct their sentences, picked out some patterns in their (mis)spelling of words, and some other stuff that I find interesting (partly because I'm a nerd and partly because of my future as a teacher). One child was pretty challenging. I'm fairly certain that he has ADD. However, I managed to keep him on task (sorta) and not lose my mind during the hour it took him to type four sentences. As much as I enjoyed working with the little people, I was pretty excited when they were all done and I could go home. As I was getting ready to leave, the teacher asked if she could talk to me for a minute.

We stepped out the door. Apparently, a couple little girls have come to her saying that my kiddo has been flipping them the bird (she actually said sticking up his middle finger, but let's call it what it really is, people) and saying some not nice things (I don't even want to imagine what lovely things he's saying in conjunction with his bird flying). She said at first she just blew it off because my son is a good kid and never gives her any problems. However, when these girls came to her a few more times, she said she couldn't keep ignoring it. I agree. And I tend to believe that he is doing this because I've gotten on to him a few times at home for letting the bird out of the cage.

So, here's my question...short of cutting the kid's middle fingers off (which I think is probably a little drastic and possibly illegal in most states), how do I get him to stop it? I'm not even sure where he learned to do that because it's not something the hubby and I do. I do so love being a parent...

It's Tuesday and I'm Feeling Random

2010-01-05T09:31:00.004-05:00

Yay! It's Tuesday! I've been out of the loop for the last couple of RTTs because my schedule was completely thrown off by Christmas break. But, I'm back! Yay! Let's proceed with the randomness...

**I should only read the articles that I click on when I'm surfing the net. Reading the comments always makes me mad because people are so rude. I know this about myself, yet I never seem to remember it.

**I have managed to get completely sucked into that stupid ZooWorld game on Facebook. Seriously, it could turn into a major problem. Is there one of those Annonymous groups for that?

**I begin my final semester of college tomorrow!! I can barely contain my excitement!

**I'm a little nervous about the whole getting a job thing after I graduate.

**One of my dogs is standing on the side table in the living room looking at me. Not sure why she thinks it's ok to stand on the table. Maybe it's because I never make her get down...

**Oldest kiddo like the Disney channel because it's "shows all for kids" unlike Nick which is "shows for kids and grown ups because they have George Lopez"...those are his words, I'm not sure where he came up with that...

**My Christmas decorations are still up...Hubby did take down the outside stuff so people driving by don't see what rednecks we really are...I can guarantee that the decorations will be down by Easter though so we're not too redneck.

**We're moving in late March which is probably the only reason I feel comfortable making that guarantee...

**I keep all of my notes and papers from school. At the end of each semester, I make a file for each course I took and put them all in a box. My problem now is that the box is full and the files from this fall semester won't fit in it. Guess I need a bigger box.

And that's it for today's random thoughts. I have to go check on my Zoo. Didn't get enough randomness here? Go check out the UnMom for even more random thoughts! Have a great Tuesday!

I'm So Excited!

2010-01-04T20:21:00.002-05:00

After much begging, I finally convinced the hubby that I need a fancy pants camera. I have been drooling over digital SLR cameras for months. I've researched them, read reviews, searched them on eBay, etc. Yesterday, I finally talked the hubby into letting me buy one. I am now the super proud owner of a Nikon D3000. Please don't let me give you the wrong impression--I am not a photographer. I am simply a mom who loves to take pictures of my kiddos and a chick who likes to take pictures of all the interesting places we see. This fancy pants camera will let me do both of these things a little bit better. There is so much to learn about this new camera and I am so freakin' excited to learn it all. Who knows...maybe someday I will be a photographer! I'll put it on my bucket list right under "Write a Book". Until then enjoy a couple of the very first pictures from my new camera...