Free-toe

Remember I told you we call Asher "Free-toe" (said like Frito)? Here is why.

I swear, he is Houdini. How in the heck does he do that? It is like that almost every morning. The snaps are still snapped on his jammies. Kids, they amaze me sometimes.

Yes, he is still sleeping in the pack in play in our room. I have not let him sleep in his crib yet. I know, it is time. I have been hesitant because Tanner is not going to sleep well and since they will be sharing a room, I think keeping Asher close to me is best for now. Plus, I just like to peek over and check on him anytime I want. He is also a total Linus, he does not stay covered up by a blanket, he just twists it around and snuggles with it as he sucks on his fingers. So cute.

We also call Max "frito lay." (Told you we like our "o's" foods!) Not because he has free toes, but because he covers himself up under his blankets at night and in the morning he smells like a bag of Fritos. No kidding. Kind of gross. But true.

A couple other random things: (because I know you love it when I get all rambly on you!)

Here is the homemade poptart recipe. I have my dough made and I don't think mine will turn out very pretty, yummy, but ugly. So I will save you the really bad food pictures.

I think if I was on the Celebrity Apprentice I would want to be on the boys team. I love Lou Ferrigno and they always just seem to get along better than the girls. Just sayin'.

I wish I wasn't addicted to the Bachelor. How do they suck me in every stinkin' time? I must say, I am really wanting to know who Ben picks. I am still not sure what the girls see in him, he seems nice enough but not all that dreamy. No offense Ben.

Moms should have a service to call in when they are sick. People to come to your house, cook and clean and take care of your kids while you sleep and get better. I'd be well already if I could just SLEEP! Argh.

Girl Scout cookies must be laced with crack. I cannot stop eating them.

My Big Tall Hubby gave me and Itunes gift card for my birthday and I used it in about 10 minutes, no credits left. **sniff** I really need to find ways to get more free music for my I-pod.

Happy Leap Day!!!

being a dance mom is exhausting

Do you watch "Dance Moms" on Lifetime? I do, you don't have to tell me how badly it represents the whole competitive dance community. It is so trashy sometimes. I know a lot of people do and they say, "how can you watch that train wreck?" The sad part is, those moms exist. I have written about them before and I won't do it again, just trust me, they're out there and they are way scarier than any teacher who might be screaming at your child during tap rehearsal!

Saturday was Zoe's first competition. We spent the whole day dancing, changing costumes, applying makeup, hiding to nurse a baby, oh that was just me! Is it me or do I look like a linebacker in this new shirt? I only got it to make Zoe happy. She loves the whole competition thing, from start to finish and I knew she'd think this shirt was so super keen. She did and then she said, "when are you going to get a matching jacket?" That girl is such a diva.

I had Big Tall Hubby take this picture. It is cracking me up. I was holding Asher and then I said, "take one of me and Zoe" and then Asher just slowly peeked his head around Zoe like "you-hoo! I'm right here!" Poor fourth child.

Please ignore again, my growing out hair, it is a disaster. I am just pretending that it doesn't look so terrible by not looking in a mirror all day. Seems to work ok. Until I have to put on lipstick.

Zoe loves the whole dressing up part of dance. I do too except I wish we could get away from all the nutjob moms who are mean to their daughters or stressed out and then stress out my child.

Isn't she a beaut?

I love slicked buns. So dancer-y. Yep, just made that one up.

The suit costume is for her tap routine: "Working Day and Night" by Michael Jackson, they scored a "high silver" which is weird because I thought they rocked it out. Totally.

Here she is all ready for jazz. This is the first time she has ever got to wear her hair totally down to dance. The girls love it. They think they are so "it."

This song is "Blame it on the Boogie" by Michael Jackson. (We are paying tribute to him this year at our studio- the big girls are doing a bunch of his songs.)

I miss those days of big fluffy tutus and feathery costumes. I love the ones they have for this year but they just look so grown up.

Their jazz routine received a "gold" ranking and second place overall. Pretty good for their first time. It's a good thing I'm not a judge, like I said, I thought their tap was a stronger performance. I think the judges just liked the go go boots. Hee hee!

There was a lot of drama during the day. Maybe I should contact Lifetime for a Dance Moms Cincinnati franchise? It is so sad to see how the moms of the sweetest girls turn into the biggest lunatics on the planet for competition day. I try to avoid them and of course Zoe is always "mom, can we go sit with ____ and watch" or whatever. It helps to have a baby to tend to all day, it's a good excuse to stay out of the looney's ways. The best part was watching my girl dance. She shines up there. It makes all the craziness worth it, especially the long hours.

This is a backdrop the kids can stand in front of. The competition people are big sticks in the mud, doo doo heads, and they won't let us take pictures of the kids on stage during the performances. You have to buy the professional ones. I do sometimes but they are costly. I like having the action shots better than these posed ones. I have some really cute ones of her team but I felt kind of weird posting other people's kids on here.

This week I plan on recovering from our marathon day Saturday. Asher and I both came home sick on Saturday and I think it is going to take us the whole week to get well. We also had two house showings this weekend, grr so I don't have much on my "to do" list this week.

my things to do this week:

• recover
• get well
• find all the things we stashed away for the last minute showings
• get out taxes ready to drop off
• take Asher and Tanner for their pictures, had to reschedule from last week
• avoid all the drama mamas at dance, I need a vacation from those crazies

my menus this week:

• soup, lots and lots of soup
• I also plan to make homemade poptarts
• Zoe wants to make lemon cookies too, I hope we can find the time
• probably spaghetti
• probably some kind of chicken in the oven

I did not make a menu this week. I really don't feel like eating. My poor family.

Have a great week.

have a great weekend

Nothing much to say today. Trying to recover from absolutely no sleep this week. This guy had better get well soon or else one of us is going to have a serious meltdown. I feel like he is newborn all over again. Could it be teeth? Maybe.

I have the first of Zoe's dance competitions this weekend. Woo, I am so not ready for all that entails. I promise to post pictures next week, her costumes are so cute this year and they are dancing to two Michael Jackson songs so I am loving that part of it. The dance mom drama, I can do without.

Have a great weekend!

milestone

My baby had his first cereal. **sniff** I know, I know, I am such a sap. I hate it when my kids grow up. I don't think I have ever wished for them to be older, not once.

Anyway, he was super excited to have somewhere new to sit upright.

Then he saw me giving him something.

He wasn't too sure of it at first.

He kind of smiled but then he just wanted to grab the spoon and chew on it.

I'm a little M.I.A. (without the whole obscene gesture part- for you Super Bowl half time fans) this week, my baby and big baby are sick this week. Boo hoo! I am losing major sleep and trying to heal them both while not getting sick myself. Zoe has a dance competition this weekend and I CANNOT be sick!

I'm dull I think

Food week was so much fun. But alas, as I have learned there are far better mommy organizers than me, there are an even greater number of food bloggers who rock while I honestly, do not.

Exhibit A: burnt croutons. Bummer for my dinner salad huh? This is a lesson to you girlies, do not leave your broiler unattended, not even to change two poopie diapers, because your croutons will burn. Oh well.

I might do another food week again, a girl's got to eat right? And who doesn't love talking about their yummy meals. I promise to try to take better (i.e. more appealing) food pictures for next time.

Sunday was my birthday. Holla! I was glad to celebrate with my family. It was a pretty low key day, which I like, and once Big Tall Hubby and kids remembered it was my birthday, they were pretty nice to me. Thanks all! I kept thinking all day I wanted someone to take a picture of me with all the kids but I couldn't get them all wrangled in at the same time. Oh well, again.

One of my friends put this in my mailbox and I didn't even wait for the M&M's to warm up (it was quite chilly outside) before I tore them open and ate every last one. By myself. No sharing. I dare say, they were my favorite gift! ;) Thanks awesome friend who brought me treats! ;)

I usually interview my kids for their scrapbooks so I thought I'd do the same here. I don't really have any wise, sage advice to share this year, so I'll just talk about myself. Although, I think I am done celebrating birthdays for a while. Now I just feel old. Once you get past 26 or so, you are in the "old" category. I don't think I want to celebrate until I'm like 60 or so, then you are considered wise and quirky or spunky. Those things I like. Old, not so much.

My Favorites:

color: pink, actually all the colors but pink is my favorite

movie: Grease, Forrest Gump,anything with Molly Ringwald and You've Got Mail

food: nachos and chocolate, of course

drink: Dr. Pepper

store: Anthropologie, the antique mall or flea market

book: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

t.v. show: Mad Men (come on March 25!)

place to eat: Taco Bell, a local Mexican place if we are being "fancy"

song: Stay by Dave Matthews

toy: crayons and paper

clothes: jeans that fit really well and Converse sneakers

There you have it. Me in a nutshell. I'm pretty dull, I've decided.

My birthday wish is for people to be kind to each other and do the right thing.

My menus for this week:

a couple repeats from last week, we had a leftover buffet and Subway at the last minute so I have some stuff ready to go

• 2 potato frittata and salad
• corn chowder and salad and biscuits
• sub sandwiches and oven fries
• baked cheese tortellini and roasted veggies
• oven chicken, baked potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts
• spaghetti and salad and garlic bread
• grilled cheese and tomato soup

my things to do this week:

• take little boys to get their picture taken
• pack/get ready for Zoe's dance competition
• deliver most of my girl scout cookies
• sort old ribbon stash (more on that later)
• get some recipe books bound (if time permits)

Have a great week!

Food Week Day 5- Friday pizza night

The only thing I like about winter: basketball.

That's Parker, #5. He tries so hard. He is really good but he doesn't get the ball much. His teammates aren't really into passing all that often. If one of them gets the ball, he/she keeps it until they are within range of the hoop. Parker definitely puts 100% into each game.

And I forgot to show you Parker's new glasses. Doesn't he look so cute? He wanted some to look like his Big Tall Daddy's. He needs them for close up work and the doctor thinks he'll grow out of them eventually. It breaks my heart to see him wear them. I have needed glasses since I was 6 also and it stinks. I think they really impaired my sports playing, I didn't want to play many activities that might have broke my glasses (I was always Miss Responsible!) or hit in the face by a wayward ball, that really hurts by the way. So for Parker, my true sports fan, I hope he does grow out of them.

Do you eat pizza on Friday nights? We do, a lot. Well, we eat it pretty often but Fridays always seem to be more festive I guess. We have reached the point where we need to get two pizzas to feed our crew. I can't imagine how many we'll need when my boys are bigger, say 6 or so years. I'll need like a dozen pizzas probably. Ey yi yi. My family has a certain favorite pizza place, and those two pizzas can add up to about $25! Yikers! That's a lot of money on pizza so I found that making my own pizza is much more cost effective.

Here are two pizzas I made a couple months ago (told you I have been stock piling food pictures!). One is cheese with pepperoni on half. Sometimes the kids like pepperoni, sometimes they don't. Weirdos. The other one is a grown up pizza. I say that because no way in he** would they eat a pizza with caramelized onions, sausage and goat cheese with olive oil as the sauce. They'd be gagging all over the place. Weirdos.

I use a half regular flour half whole wheat flour crust, the recipe is the one you can see on the Flieshman's pizza yeast packets. It is really good. It is a thin crust, I haven't tried a pan pizza yet, maybe I should. My favorite pizza is good old Pizza Hut pan pizza, are there any Pizza Huts left? Do you remember going there and getting a pitcher of Coke and breadsticks and waiting for-ev-er for your pizza? Which was just fine if your mom gave you quarters for the juke box. Jeez, I am old.

The grown up pizza in the picture is a Giada recipe. I should do a whole post on my tv BFF Giada. I think she is worthy of my time. I watch her a lot. A whole lot. And every one of her recipes that I have tried have been outstanding. Hmm, maybe I need to do week two of food?

On the off chance we don't order pizzas or I make my own, I think Kashi, Amy's, and Newman's Own are good frozen ones. I am leery of the other kinds because they have kind of a fake cheese taste to me, if that makes any sense? And since I have been leaning more towards veggie options in my food, I have been exploring all kinds of pizza recipes using roasted veggies and olive oil and different cheeses... maybe I'll find one worthy of sharing?

crust recipe (they have videos too!)

grown up pizza recipe from Giada (she has videos too!)

Have a great weekend. Eat some pizza and watch some basketball! (Anyone else excited that my Kentucky Wildcats are #1? Whoop whoop!)

Food Week Day 4- We love popcorn

Did you know that I practically grew up in a movie theater? I did. I started working at our town movie theater when I was 16 and I continued all through high school and on my college breaks. Maybe that's why I have a hard time naming my favorite movie? I have more like a list of favorites*. I swear all those Friday nights and weekend matinees popping pop corn made me fall in love with popcorn's buttery yumminess. Even though I don't think our theater ever used "real" butter on our popcorn, sorry local friends. I love it anyway. You'd think I'd be sick of it but nope, the opposite.

I quit eating microwave popcorn a few years ago when I discovered that you can pop your own in the micro using a brown bag, you can, google it, I promise it works. Big Tall Hubby got me a cute retro popper for Christmas a few years ago. I love it too. We have popcorn snacks a few times a week, sometimes every day. Does that make us obsessive? Tanner will not watch a movie without "ca-corn"

I found a really easy recipe for caramel corn that we also like. I guess I should say it is a "really simple" recipe since I found it in Real Simple magazine. Don't you lurve that magazine!? It is so visually relaxing for me. Anyway. I usually just prefer butter and salted popcorn (buy the real popcorn salt at the store, it makes all the difference) but this caramel kind is yummo.

I might add that this coupled with hot chocolate makes the perfect after school snack. Your kids will think you rock the house if they come home to this. See.

One thing I learned (well I learned lots but the thing I think of most) from working at Weight Watchers and being a member is to enjoy all things you love in moderation. I found that my version of salted and (1 tablespoon per bowl) buttered popcorn satisfy my salty tooth perfectly. And it's way healthier than the bag of chips I think most of us would grab.

*my 2 most favorite movies:

• Grease- you know John Travolta is my first love, his birthday is Sunday by the way, Happy Birthday Johnny, Love you so much
• Forrest Gump- that movie changed me in a lot of ways, that dang feather floating in the beginning gets my waterworks flowing every single time.

I also love all Molly Ringwald movies and Sleepless in Seattle. See. Told you I was indecisive!

I think I need a movie night this weekend, with popcorn of course!

Watchin' my weight Wednesday, Food Week- Day 3

My latest favorite blog, Peas and Thank You, has prompted some big changes in my life.

I have been inching my way closer to vegetarian way of life for as long as I can remember, I just haven't taken the plunge to go all the way. I guess as a kid, you have to eat what your family makes for you. As an adult you have to cook to try to please the majority of your family. So I have always had it in the back of my mind but I am feeling like now is a good time to indulge my curiosities.

The last year or so, I have found myself really not liking much meat at all so I don't eat it. I do however love all vegetables and fruits. I found this blog from another one of my favorites, Carrots N Cake and I was like "hell-o! it is making sense to me now!" I found vegetarianism to be kind of scary and overwhelming especially considering my family doesn't really share my point of views. After I read through all Sarah's old posts that I could, I got her cookbook and tried a lot of her recipes. I am finding that I like all that I have tried so far and the family is liking them too. They are vegans (which means no animal products at all) and I am not ready to go to that level, yet. I feel like egg laying and milk (therefore cheese) production is a natural process so I don't feel uncomfortable eating those things. Besides, I buy the organic, happy cow/chicken free range, expensive as heck kind, so hopefully I am getting the best I can get.

I eat tofu and other soy or veggie products almost every day, I know, crazy. I have been still making meat dishes for my family, I just make sure I have the same thing only meatless. Like tonight, I am making them kung pao chicken, I am having tofu version. It isn't too bad (i.e. time consuming) so far. I am also making tons of stuff myself, buying less processed food, which is good right? Sarah has made her own goldfish crackers, I'm not going that far. I have four kids and not that much time!

I don't really know what has prompted me to explore this whole thing, I mean I get that we are supposed to eat meat biologically but I have never really liked meat. When people talk about looking forward to grilling a big old steak dinner, I just don't feel the same way at all. I also could care less about the turkey at Thanksgiving, now bring on those sweet 'taters! I also have some really vivid memories of my grandparents' chicken farm and the goings on there that have been with me since I was about 5, so I guess I have issues. This is still a work in progress for me, something I am kind of learning about and finding what works for me.

Anyway, long explanation for this...

Sarah showed me the way to make homemade donuts! Did you know I love donuts with my whole being? I do. I used to live across the street from the best bakery in town growing up and so now I can't smell yeasty bread rising without salivating. These are not fried by the way. I searched for three months for a donut pan, I found it at Target. It was only about $10. I love it. I swear. I have to stop myself from eating the whole batch. They are so healthy too since they aren't all greasy and icky. The kids obviously love them too.

And how does this all tie into watchin' my weight? Hmm, more donuts= more time here...

...my basement Rocky gym. Is anyone else finding it hard to get motivated to exercise? I am averaging about every other day. Definitely not my ideal, I prefer daily exercise but getting up with a baby (and a three year old who is still mad at me for taking away his paci) is wearing me down.

Just like Speedy and Sugar (remember our new hamsters?), I'll keep going on my treadmill, everyday, trying to get to that happy place.

Here is my goal dress I found to help me work harder, can you see it? Remember I told you I taped it on my treadmill? It is from Boden. Don't you love that catalog? Gosh, I want everything in there. 115 is my goal weight in case you were wondering.

So there you have a very random, all over the place post. I think I need a donut.

Here is the donut recipe:

2 cups cake flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

2 TBSP melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 375. Grease and flour pan. Sift dry ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients until just combined (looks like muffin batter). Fill each well 2/3 full, bake 10-12 minutes until the top of the donuts bounce back when lightly touched. Cool 5 minutes and then invert pan onto cooling rack and cool completely. Glaze and decorate as desired. (I just dusted powdered sugar on mine when they were still warm- delish)

Valentine's Day

And Food Week- Day 2

First....

No, we are not trying to mock Australians, "appy Valentine's Day" mates! Tanner just didn't hold my heart sign to my specifications. Boys, they just don't get the whole "sit still for two seconds and don't make a goofy face so I can take your picture" thing. Oh well, you get the idea.

Second....

I am way indulging today and that is fine with me. I love Valentine's Day. Dare I say it is my favorite holiday? Not because I expect fine jewelry and roses and dinner at a romantic restaurant. I am way more simple than that, and you know me, Miss Practical... I think it is my favorite because you are expected to tell people you love them and give them chocolates. Sounds like a perfect day to me!

Third....

Food Week Day 2

I don't let food go to waste around here. I use as much as I can. I am noticing how quickly food prices are going up because I tend to buy a lot of the same items so I know what is the regular price. I hear all the time on the news how meat and corn items are going to be more expensive and boy are they ever. Dang economy coupled with the whole global warming thing and add in Americans wanting cheap, easy to eat processed food and you get a big ole mess that drives our food prices up. Way up.

Anyway, rent Food Inc. or read one of Michael Pollan's books for more info.

Any-who-do-lee-do, I tend to find uses for things most people would toss. I always use these broken bits of pretzels, you know the kind at the end of the bag (or container*) that the kids won't eat but you will until they are all gone and you're licking the salt off your fingers? Well, drizzle them with melted chocolate chips (let them cool/set) and VOILA! You are the queen mother of after school snacks. Oh yeah, that's how I roll sistas! I have also done this over broken potato chips for my kids. Don't judge until you've tried it! ( you can also drizzle melted chocolate chips over orange segments if you want to feel like you are giving your kids healthier food) This would be a great last minute Valentine treat too if you *gasp* forgot and need a quick chocolate goodie.

On that note, G'day mates! Have a happy, lovely, wonderful Valentine's day!

*I keep my pretzels in a plastic cereal container with a lid. We always have pretzels here as a snack option. I don't feel too bad about letting the kids have them since we rarely have chips or other salty things. I think they are low on the junk food chain especially since I buy the low salt version. Just sharin'.

Welcome to my food week- Day 1

Here is the view of my lap...

This boy has developed major mommy-love or as some like to call it, separation anxiety. I'm OK with it, I know it will pass. It just makes some things hard, like peeing, eating, showering, fixing my hair, putting on makeup, crafting, blogging, all that essential stuff.

Isn't it so cute how he sucks on his two fingers? I have tried to get him to take a paci and he cracks me up each time. I put it in his mouth and his little forehead gets all furrowed and scrunchy, like "what the heck is this dumb thing mom? Really?!" And then he spits it out in slow motion, kind of like I would if I was told I was eating some really gross meat casserole. Good visual huh?

So anyway, typing is tough but I will try.

I thought it would be so fun to have a themed week, I'm such a teacher at heart, dorky and nerdy for sure. I was looking at a lot of my photos I took to share and I realized a lot of them had food or recipes or food related ideas. Hmm, maybe it's because I eat a lot? I didn't get that personally signed Christmas card from my grocery store for nothin' (turns out, their top 100 customers only get those. Say what? I would have never guessed I spent that much time and money at the grocery, apparently, I do. I asked them just to make sure!)

Any-who, last week hit me like a freight train. We ended up having three showings on the day I was having my little hissy fit. Yes. Three. And we have heard absolutely nothing from any of those realtors. Jerks. At least call and tell us our house sucks, right? I figured out that they were just bringing their clients here and then to the house for sale down the street that is $20,000 less with granite countertops. Can I just tell you how much I hate granite countertops and everything to do with them? I will never get them for myself. Ever. You can quote me. This whole house selling business is such an awful emotional roller coaster except I don't get excited anymore, just hateful and angry and crestfallen. Every time.

So back to food week. I was wanting to do this last week like I said, I could go on about the evils of the housing market for days, but all those showings and nonsense really threw me for a loop.

Here goes. I thought it would be fun to share some of my food prep and meal planning tips this week since I really feel like those things make me more organized and less apt to call the pizza man at 4:30 because I didn't get anything ready for dinner. And I have all these stinkin' pictures I took!

For today, don't you love this buildup? Jeez, like I am presenting the cure for cancer or something!

I try to prewash all my dinner veggies and fruits sometime after breakfast or lunch and let them dry until dinnertime.

I know. Groundbreaking! Can you believe me? I know. I'm such a genius. Seriously though, I found that when the kids are busy playing right after breakfast or lunch, I have about 10 minutes to wash our veggies/fruits. It makes it so much easier at 4:30 (we eat early here) when I have to start the actual cooking process. You know that is the witching hour anyway, when the kids are home from school and its all crazy madness... it is at my house anyway. If I have extra time after the washing, sometimes I will cut or prep the veggies also. If I am using any kind of box items, like pasta or rice, I get those out too. Canned things as well, I just set them on the counter until I am ready. It seems to make the cooking process smoother. I don't know how much time it saves since I have to do it regardless, but it saves me from scrambling around like a nut job. Unless, those dang realtors call and want to come see my house in like 15 minutes. If they do, they will just have to look past my drying peppers on the counter.

my menus for this week:

• pizzas and salad (sale on Kashi pizzas at the grocery- love those) an easy night for me
• 2 potato frittata and fruit salad
• kung pao chicken (with tofu for me) and rice
• spaghetti and salad and french bread (been using my breadmaker like a madwoman lately)
• grilled cheese and veggie sandwiches and tomato soup (homemade bread again)
• tacos and homemade chips and salsa
• vegetable soup and deli sandwiches (homemade rolls, do you see a pattern here?)

I am also baking oreo surprise cupcakes for Valentine's Day. I usually make red velvet ones but Zoe found this recipe and I aim to please around here. :)

my things to do this week:

• mend a bunch of lost buttons and holes in clothes, I sound so "Laura Ingalls" here but I have a huge pile to tackle
• sew Brownie patches on Zoe's vest
• clean my laundry room, I may be painting it next week... we'll see

Have a great week everyone!

Is trying to sell our house really worth it?

Sometimes I just get so mad. (I just realized I sound like Little Critter so I don't know if that is an effective statement of my current state of mind or not!)

I had planned to do a massive laundry catch up day. You know the kind where there is laundry all over the house, piles and baskets everywhere.

I wanted to try a new recipe for "turtle bars", how can you go wrong with toffee, nuts, and chocolate?

I wanted to reorganize my coupons (and take pictures to share my process here).

I wanted to scrapbook a few layouts and make a birthday card for a friend.

I envisioned cleaning off my desk from the weekend's house showings.

I thought I might even watch "The Help" since I have been dying to do so since I finished the book a year ago.

Then, they called. Twice. Two different people.

The rude realtors who ruin my life every time they call. And make me turn into the grumpiest person alive.

I have to put my life on hold.

Clean house for strangers who don't care about it. Clean, all night long. Because no matter how clean and tidy it was for yesterday's showing, it is inevitably a mess now. Six people live here. Life is messy with six people.

I have to find things to do with my kids and my dog while the strangers come into my house and then decide they don't like it after all. All the while still doing my regular life things (doctor visits for my baby, basketball practice, school bus stops, homework, meals, nursing a baby, all that.) It just stinks.

I just get so mad.

Sorry to be all complain-y and woe is me, I guess my food week bonanza will have to wait. Two showings tomorrow in between a doctor's appointment, and basketball practice and LIFE, hopefully, I will return with good news.

be back tomorrow- again...

My hand is dipping in here way more than I want it to...

**sigh**

We have a house showing today so I will return tomorrow. Got to go clean, clean, clean.

I am hoping to do a "themed week" this week for my posts! It is about food, who doesn't love food?!

Be back tomorrow.

Have a happy Monday ya'll.

4AM heroes

We're one of those people... let me explain.

Last week, our toilet was leaking. Ewww, right? So I begged Big Tall Hubby to fix it. He tried, he really did. He was at Home Depot 5 times for different supplies and parts!!!! After the 5th trip, he just bought a new toilet. Did you know toilets are really expensive? Like, almost $300 expensive. I had no idea. Anyway. So we had to put our old toilet by the curb for the trash collectors to pick up last night. Ewwww, seriously. I can't believe we are one of those families. Who wants to see an old toilet sitting by the curb? And more importantly, who wants to pick up the old toilet (that they have never sat on) and put it in a truck and haul it away? That is why I salute my 4 AM heroes today, the garbage men who pick up our trash.

I know they are men because I have seen them, before you go all gender-biased ranting on me. I am up with a baby ya know. And I know they come at 4 AM because their loud truck wakes Tanner up every week, scaring the pants off him each time, so even if I am not awake with baby Asher I am awake with Tanner scaredy pants.

I would also like to give them a special shout out "holla" because I have been a purging maniac this week (6 more boxes for goodwill, three more for another special home, countless bags of trash, enough paper and boxes to almost fill our neighborhood recycling dumpster- hoarders have nothin' on us) and there was a whole big bunch for them to pick up at our house this week. I have left them cookies and water bottles before in the summer but I'm not sure what to leave them this time as a special thank you. Maybe a six pack? I mean, a toilet? Ewww. So sorry garbage men. You guys rock.

And no way was I going to put a picture of our old toilet here on the old blogorama, so here is a picture of Parker's art.

"It's not trash mom, don't throw it away!" He told me.

It's safe for now. But maybe not next time.

Have a great weekend!

be back tomorrow

It is 61 degrees outside, the sun is shining, so sorry, I'm outta here. I love this crazy wacky January, I mean, February weather!

See you tomorrow!