Another overheard and a fun Saturday

She got me on this one. We happened to be driving by a farm in the middle of suburbia. Since a family farm seems to be a distinct species, I made it a point to make sure she saw the animals. There were cows and alpacas lazily grazing. The conversation inside the car went something like this:

Mommy: Look at all the cows, Mallory!
Mallory: Yes, there are baby cows too.
Mommy: Do you know what a baby cow is called?
Mallory: A baby cow.
Daddy: *snicker*snicker*snicker*

I scratched my head and had to give it to her. And of course, continued the lesson!

Still no bunk bed delivery. I'm getting antsy, but it's only been a week. Patience cricket. Patience. In the meantime, I've been looking for a decorative theme for True's room. It's hard to find something that meets Shawn's request of "jeep" and my request of "not really jeep." I think I finally found it on eBay. I won it in a bitterly-fought bidding war (I was only mildly wounded, I cannot say what happened to the other party). The spoils of my war came today ... but not in as good of shape as I would have hoped. And the lamp that came with was broken so I need to contact seller and file a claim with the post office. Just what I want to spend my time doing.

This morning we set up a 529 for Mallory's college. I've determined she is going to have to pay for part of school for herself! I am a true believer in pay yourself first because scholarships, loans, etc. are available for college but not for retirement. I mean really ... to fund a private education I'd have to set aside almost $900/mo for 14 years to pay 100% of her education (almost $500/mo for a public school). So, we are going to put in a little over time so that by the time she's ready to go to college she should have enough to pay for at least one year. We need to set one up for True, but we're going to wait a year to see how this one performs. If we like, we'll sign him up next year.

After that we went to Gatti Town and hooked up with the `Dondos. Kids love playing together. And True did not appreciate his first ride on the carousel. This was right after the ride was over. Unfortunately you cannot see the tears. Maybe he just doesn't like riding horseback?


Mallory and Christopher had a great time running around and playing games. At the end, we got to pick prizes (a ring, a sugar necklace and a soccer ball eraser) and take a ride on the train. Even Mommy and Mrs. Melody got in on the action.


After that, we came home. As I'm writing this Daddy is snoozing on the couch. Mommy has gotten up 5 times. To let the dogs out, get True up from his nap, get Mallie a snack (x2) and take my own bathroom break. Something that should have taken me 10 mins has somehow stretched out to just over an hour. Hopefully Mommy will get her own quiet time today.

Decisions made, bed bought

I so struggled with the bunk bed decision ... which style, which color, what do I do? I really made it harder than it should have been. Story of my life.

I finally realized that I kept going back to one set in particular. So once I consciously realized that, the decision was made. But then, what color? Let me tell you, I struggled with this one. White ... is it too girly? Black ... it is a neutral (at least in my house) but is it girly enough? Red ... one of my fav colors, but would it be neutral enough to decorate? I chose none of the above.

After hem-hawing for a few hours on Saturday, I finally made the call and ordered the bed. No, I'm not going to tell you which one yet. I was ambitious yesterday and trekked around McKinney and Plano to find bedding. The good news is that we are all set ... we just need the beds to arrive.

Don't worry ... I won't keep you in the dark. You'll be the first to know once they very nice furniture men come in and set them up! Hopefully they'll be here in the next two weeks. Till then, stand by.

Here comes the bride

Overheard today:

"Mommy, this is the dress I'm going to marry Truett in."

What do I do with this?

I was perusing my local Craigslist the other day. Perusing probably isn't the right word. Stalking would be better. I have a ritual every time I log on (which is about five million times a day) . I have my search down to a science and it always goes in this order:

1. Bunk beds (yes, I was thinking I could find something cheaper than the pics I posted previously).
2. Rug. I need a rug for my office. My feet hurt on the wood floors all the time (I could be losing the fat on the bottom of my feet though. Can that happen?!).
   
3. Toile. I once saw a toile loveseat on there that I was literally salivating over. But it was white and a light brown. And I have two kids. Yeah, I can dream though.
   
4. Pottery Barn. I like a lot of their stuff. But I refuse to pay full price.
   

So, anyway, to get back on topic. I strayed from from list on Monday and found myself looking at the furniture section. And then I found this (not the dog, but he does match, doesn't he?) :


My heart fluttered and I thought to myself, "I must have this." When I sent the pic to M'Dondo she told me I was crazy. It might be haunted. I think it would have haunted my dreams if I didn't bring it home. It really needed to be adopted.

But, the big question is ... now that I have it, where do I put the darn thing? It's so lonely sitting in the dining room. I wish it would talk to me, but I think it is pouting from having to leave it's home. It is from the 40s and has only had two owners -- a mother and daughter.

Usually I look for furniture when I know what to do with it. This was just a pure emotional purchase. I've wanted one for a long time since my aunts (Brenda and Linda) have my grandmother's secretary at their house. I've always loved it (but theirs is much less ornate than this one).

Good or bad, I seem to have created another design challenge for myself.

Star Struck

Mallory did a gymnastics try-me class back in May. She decided she'd rather do ballet. So 9 weeks later, we were back in gymnastics. At WOGA of all places (just so happens it's down the street from our house). I had forgotten about Nastia Liukin and her dad who owns the place. Until last night. While Mallory was running and jumping her heart out at her class, I gazed upon:

Valeri Liukin

He was teaching a class of young girls. They were practicing tumbling and you could tell he just adored all of them. And vice versa. There was such a joy in the way he was responding to them and encouraging him. Now I know why he has produced so many champions (if that is how he interacts with all his kids). Honestly, I wanted to get up and do a double back, two and a half twist, whipsaw flash back thingy. But I probably would have been in bed today if I tried.

(Pre) school days

As a working mommy, I am forced to send my kids to other people during the day. I always think that I would like to be a stay at home mommy and then I consider my personality type. I often wonder if I could really do it ... and if I did, would I have any hair left. But ... I'm not writing about whether I should be a SAHM or not. No, I'm writing about that rite of passage - the first day of school. In our case ... (pre) school.

Mallory has been at the same "school"/daycare sinec Dec 06. She loved it from the day she set foot in the place. And of course, my mommy heart swelled. "I did good" on finding her a place to wile away the hours. All of that came to a screeching halt yesterday. It was transition day. Since regular school started, daycare rearranged all of the classes and redistributed kiddos to new rooms. All of the kids who will go to kindergarten starting in Aug 09 moved up to the preschool class. My little one has a late birthday and will not go to kindy until Aug 10 (she was born in November). You see where I am going with this. Yes, she was left behind.

The loss of friends who moved up to the next class has caused so much upheaval at our house in the last 24 hours that we even resorted to bribing her to be happy - with McDonalds. The worst came this morning when she told me:

I don't like school.

I think I may have worn away some of my brake pads on the car I stopped so quickly. I just turned around and looked at my sad little girl, knowing there is nothing I can really do to fix this. But of course, I must put some kind of stop-gap measure in place because my kids WILL LOVE school (I'm really not as controlling as this sentence may make me seem). Off to call the daycare director. Cross your fingers for me. And if you've ever been in this situation I'd love some advice. Really, because I want this little girl back (ignore the fuzzy picture, darn iPhone!):


In more positive news, Truett also moved classes. He graduated from the infant class to pre-tods and is in heaven. Little boys are so easy.

Decisions, Decisions

Mallory is growing up. A little each day, as much as I hate to admit it. I'm not sure why, but I got it into my head that since she is getting bigger she needs "big girl beds." Aka bunk beds. Shawn just shakes his head at me when we discuss this because really, she doesn't need them. Her little twin with a trundle works perfectly fine. Maybe this is just me trying to get something I always wanted as a child?! So of course, I am determined to get them. She must have them!

Now comes the true test of my decision making skills ... which set to get. Who knew there were SO MANY bunk beds out there? Not only do you have to choose the bed, but then you have to choose finish, mattress and bedding. Oy vey! I have it narrowed down to these three sets. Which do you like (and don't forget to tell me why)? They come in all different colors too ...

My Haven

Ma Marie

Cottage Chic

The question is ... do I buy a set that can be handed down to Truett or do I get something that is girly and fabulous?!

It's mainly a mistreatment

The Nester issued a challenge: show off your best mistreatments. I don't profess to be a professional mistreater like she is, but I do try to follow in her footsteps. So far I've only attempted window mistreatments, but I do have grand plans for something bigger, better and beyond my imagination. If only I could figure out what it is!

Anyway ... here's a walk down memory lane with my mistreatments.

My first attempt at a mistreatment - the master bath window. I took a two by four and stapled on material. My dear husband pounded some nails into the wall for me so the wood could sit on them. You'll see that it wasn't my best effort. It looked good at first, then I took it down to paint and for some reason, never found the time to re:treat it once I put it back up. That was a few months ago.


Here's the next project - faux blinds in the playroom. Please oh please ignore the cedar. Really, little fingers and cedar INDOORS in the middle of suburbia don't mix. I could see if we lived in a log cabin somewhere. But no ... neighbors to the left, neighbors to the right, neighbors to the north, neighbors to the south. Anyway ... I digress. I simply used staples and glue on the valance over the blinds then hung them back up. I used safety pins to pull them up on the sides. Viola! $38 later I have something to be proud of on the four playroom windows.


And last but certainly not least is the mistreatment for my laundry room. It cost me $3 and an assortment of stick pins and push pins. Yep, pinned it straight to the wall. The pom pom is also pinned on. No glue, no thread, no nothing.


Hope you've enjoyed my Mistreatment 2008 tour. Stop on by soon to see what else I'm up to!

Date night with the `Dondos

Something weird must be going on around here because I have got to do so many adult things lately (yeah, remember going to Jersey Boys ... great memories). Anyway, our friends the Arredondo's pretty must twisted our arms into having a double date night. Well, I shouldn't say "they" did it. It was really Melody, our party planner extraordinaire. After a quick phone conversation that went something like this, we decided on bowling.

Mel: What do you want to do?
Me: I don't care.
Mel: Go out to eat?
Me: I don't care.
Mel: Bowling?
Me: Yeah, that sounds great.
Mel: What time should we go?
Me: I don't care.

I could hear her rolling her eyes on the phone. And I don't blame her. Maybe I was channeling the title "she's just not that in to you" because that is the way I felt about date night. Don't get me wrong; I was looking forward to date night but was not ALL over the planning like Miss Party Pants was (you know I love ya girl). Good thing she was because no telling what date night would have been had I planned it. We'd be hanging out at the local street corner watching the lights turn green, then yellow, then red (imagine that). Or, we would have been watching paint dry on my wall or something. You get my point. So, I ponied up and got a babysitter.

Anyway ... last Friday night we hoofed it to the nicest bowling alley I've ever been to in my life. Umm ... I should have known it was going to be nice because of it's location. It was so shi-shi that there was a WAITER to answer to our every whim. Need another margarita? Why yes, Alex, I do. Want someting to eat? Why yes, Alex, we do.

I really thought I was a better bowler than I was ... but apparently I am not. Maybe I was distracted by all the shi-shi? I thought the four margaritas were going to help improve my score, but you can see by the progression of the games that they did nothing to improve my game.

Game 1
(not quite finished, but being the *juvenilles* we are, had to take a picture of Adam's score)

Game 2

Game 3

So after bowling the male members of our Fierce-some Foursome decided a little pool was in order. They played a game before Mel joined in. I was sitting on the side quitely giggling to myself. I'm not sure I would have found the whole scene so funny if I hadn't had four margaritas.

All in all, we had a wonderful time. I can't wait till the next meeting of the Fierce-some Foursome.

Olympics-induced coma

I've been negligent of my blog this last week. And I have a good excuse. I am in an Olympics-induced coma. Man am I addicted this year. To the point where I stay up every night until midnight or later watching what is going to happen. I am not getting anything done at home or at work because I am just so exhausted (not only by staying up so late, but don't you find it's hard to watch someone expend so much energy?!).

Yeah ... I watch the events you would consider typical Olympic fare:



But who knew I would spend countless, mindless hours watching:

I was a little upset the other day when I couldn't watch the equestrian competition (well, we did have to have clean clothes to wear). Luckily, the disappointment didn't last too long. I did finish in time to watch the rowing competition. BTW ... I found out a few things this year about the Olympics. Did you know that PING PONG is an Olympic sport? Who knew? All this time I could have been in training with the Olympic team!

Well, the good news for me is that we have date night tonight. So, that's one step towards breaking my addiction. Even better, there's only a week of late nights left and then I can resume my normal schedule. Until then, don't ask me what's going on in the real world. I can only talk Olympics.

Mr Telephone Man

Mr Telephone Man ... there's something wrong with my line ... when I dial my baby's number ... I get a click every time.

I've been singing that New Edition song all day because of an upgrade in phone equipment here at work. Who knew it would take so little to make me happy?! Well, it's quite a simple story as to why actually ... at my old job, we had just moved into a new building with all new state-of-the-art equipment. Then, I decided to come here. All the equipment worked, but everything was (well, is) really old so in a way I was moving back down the ladder. But not anymore, baby! Take a look at my before and after.

Old phone. If you're familiar with these types of phones and you stare at this long enough, you'll see that the only way to mute yourself is if you are on speaker phone. This made it quite fun to be on extended conference calls (until I got an office with a door anyway).

New phone. Yes, I have made quite a step up in the phone world. Isn't it pretty?

By now you are thinking, "what a wacko." Maybe so ... but I have a new phone and you don't! It think it's time for me to go home now.

Newsflash!

Truett is walking. 'nuff said.

Spidering

This evening after dinner, Mallie decided to hop into my lap. I of course cannot keep my hands off her because she's just so darn cute and started tickling her. What transpired next was ... well, I just have to put it down to remember it.

Mallory: giggle, giggle, giggle
Mommy: I'm going to get you silly girl!
Mallory: quit spidering me, mommy!
Mommy: spidering you?
Mallory: yes (wiggling her fingers on her side)
Mommy: (the light bulb finally comes on) oh ... okay. i'm going to spider you!

So, apparently "tickling" has become "spidering." Well, it does kind of make sense when you watch what your wiggling fingers during said session. Watch out ... I'm going to spider you!

Isn't it pretty?

Joy, joy, joy! I've always been envious of those blogs who have pretty backgrounds. I'll be honest ... I just don't have the time or talent (mainly talent) to do something like that. I've tried online scrapping in the past. I got ONE page layout made before I quit. So anyway ... I've always been a little jealous of those who do have talent and can make their blog look so, so pretty.

Imagine how excited I was when I found The Cutest Blog on the Block. Now I can finally join the ranks of those with pretty designs (it's just another version of the "haves" and the "have nots" you know). And the best part -- it's FREE. Yep, not one red cent is required to use one of these babies. You do have to live with that little advertisement up in the upper left corner. But I figure it's worth it.

Things that go bump in the night

It's 12:07a on my clock. Everyone is tucked away snuggly in their bed. Well, not their bed since Mallory has made her nest in Mommy and Daddy's bed. But, you get the idea. Truett is snoring away ... Mallie is spread eagle ... Shawn is curled up into a ball trying to keep from falling off the edge of the bed. And here I am ... wide awake. I've found myself somewhat afflicted by insomnia the last few weeks. It's even worse tonight because I feel like I'm in the beginning of some psychological thriller. Why? Just silliness actually.

I was laying in bed ... minding my own business ... watching Flipping Out (have you seen this? there are people out there who are crazier than we are!). The next thing I know ... I hear three ting, ting, tings. I felt intense panic in the pit of my stomach. Because we've all seen the slasher movies, right? We know what is coming next. Yep ... I'm not saying I'm rational at this time of the night.

Where was the sound coming from? Sounded like it was outside. I sat up, the hairs on my neck raised. I sat there, listening intently ... just daring whomever was outside my window to make another noise. Then I heard something sound like it came from the attic. This is a usual sound in my house (gotta love those squirrels; reminder to add to the to-do list: exterminate), but coupled with the tinging ... well, had me scared to death.

Oh no, I was not content to just HEAR the so-called intruder. What did I do next? WHAT YOU ALWAYS YELL AT THE MOVIE HEROINE FOR: I went outside, in the dark, with no flashlight or weapon to protect myself from only God knows what. Smart, huh? Good thing there was nothing out there. Although on my way back into the house I did get the freak out feeling again and RAN! I am such a chicken.

So, here I am. Hoping that no one was out there stealing my air conditioning unit and that I wish I had super-night-vision eyesight so I could have seen if anything or anyone was out there (that's an interesting side note ... what would my superpower name be?). Because seriously, how would I cope in 500 degree weather without air conditioning?

Ta-da, Shawn waved his magic wand

Do you hear the magic song singing, "oh sweet joy, the doors are finally hung?" Yes, my friends. Magic has been performed ... and it was only a two month trick. I left Saturday morning to spend time in hell (well, it was really Canton ... but the temperature outside was 106 so I was confused) and I came home to this:

Isn't it a beautiful sight when compared to before? I think we can all agree that the answer is obvious. Shawn worked hard all day long to complete this trick. That's one more step to finally getting this house whipped into shape. Next big project is the playroom. I would post a picture, but it would probably scare you too much.

In kidlet news ... Truett is getting so close to walking. He can do it ... but he's afraid to let go. Honestly, I'm amazed that kids walk at all since it can hurt so much to learn how to do it. Guess that's another plus of diapers. Padding is a good thing in this case.

Mallory spent the week at her Mimi and Papa's house last week. I don't think there is any question that she had a good time. You'd have a good time too if someone gave in to your every whim and craving. However, this week dawns a new world in our household. I have implemented the Chore Chart. Yes ... she has to make her bed, brush her teeth, pick up her toys. At the end of the week she'll get a toy as long as ALL her chores have been completed and she's had a good disposition. The good news is that Mommy and Daddy decide about the disposition thing. She'll catch on soon enough ... but for now we have our evil laugh when she goes to sleep.

Taking a bite out of the big apple

I love NYC. The people. The lights. The 24/7 attitude. Unfortunately, when I got here last night I had lost my 24/7 attitude. Exhaustion had set in. I did find my way over to Toys R Us in Times Square to pick up a little something-something for Mallie. But then I came back to this:


Ahhh, sweet serenity! And then this (my $30 dinner):

It was well worth every cent. Probably one of the best hamburgers I've ever had. It came with this red wine sauce. Yummy. Couldn't sleep last night so I tossed and turned. Ended up watching Knocked Up until 1:30a, then got up at 6a to get ready for my meeting. Ran to the diner next to the hotel and had a more reasonably priced breakfast - $12.

After our meeting, we made our way back to the city. I saw the corporate offices for the first time. Shabby is about as good as I can get on this one. Then I walked the one million blocks in 500 degree heat while wearing black pants and a long sleeve button up. Okay, maybe it wasn't that far. But it felt it while I was schleping my 1,000lb computer and 250lb purse. (side note: maybe I should get out of this hotel and try to find one of those backalley purse places.) Of course, I had to get myself into a little trouble along the way and ran into one of these:
I would have taken a picture, but honestly I couldn't rip off the plastic fast enough to shove it into my mouth. And then the next thing I know it was all gone. I had seen them on QVC (yep ... I love it!) and just HAD to try a piece for myself even at the expense of ruining my dinner. And I think I have. I am stuffed. Like a pig. And now I have to pick myself up and meet my client at a restaurant then head off to:


It is going to be a late night, but lots of fun. The car service comes to pick me up at 5:30a so I can get on my 7:55a flight that connects through Chicago. Now the only question is ... should I even sleep at all tonight?!

Sheeeerrrryyy, Sherry Baby

Ugh. I cannot get this song out of my head. Probably because I got to be an adult last night and see:

All I can say is that I know why it won the Tony (I think it was last year). I love music of all kinds ... and to me this is TIMELESS. I knew Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons did quite a few songs, but even I learned something last night. Did you know they also sang:

• Cant' Take My Eyes Off You
• Big Girls Don't Cry
• Who Loves You (this one is running a close second to Sherry).

I've been singing Legally Blonde for the last few weeks (much to Mallory's chagrin; okay so she sits in the back seat and screams to the top of her lungs when I sing. I really am not THAT bad. I think. Growing up my catch phrase was, "I can sing." People looked at me like I was crazy. ) ... and I think Jersey Boys has overtaken it. Wow. That was an interesting sentence.

Even better than the music was that I got to treat my mom. These are the songs of her era. She kept reminding me how she grew up with them. And she was in awe and absolutely loved it. Even sang along to a lot of the songs (I felt like pulling a Mallory!) I am grateful that I get to do things like this for her.

Anyway ... I must be in a Broadway phase right now. I'm off to NYC tomorrow for a client meeting and have luckily arranged to stay over Tuesday night to see Spamalot. Not my first choice. I really wanted In the Heights but tickets were very difficult to get for it. Oh well, can't go wrong with Spamalot. It won the Tony for some reason, right? Guess I'll let you know. So, probably no blog update from me until at least Wednesday when I get back.

Shawn is going to have it pretty easy while I'm gone. Mallory left today to spend the week with my mom and dad. So, he's "bach"ing it with True. This should be fun to hear about when I get back. :)

A new resource for the $5 challenge

I stumbled upon a new resource for my $5 meal challenge. And, this one is close to my heart!

A Year of Crockpotting

Ahh ... the ideas on this site make me heady with joy! It's easy food. How can you go wrong? The only work required for a great meal is to get the food out of the cabinet, fridge, freezer, etc. and throw it in the pot. What's 10 mins out of my day when it means no pots and pans to clean up after I eat?

I l.o.ve. my crockpot. I've been on a roll with it recently too ... I've cooked pork tenderloin, chicken stroganoff, chicken tacos and pinto beans. I'm sure there are some others but I can't remember right now. The good news is that I've made enough of each of these to freeze extra portions. You know where I'm going with this, right? NO COOKING REQUIRED! It's like I get to eat dinner without any of the real work. Just throw that sealed bag (another one of my favorite things: the foodsaver) in a pan of boiling water, heat and eat. Even better is that by the time you make so much of this stuff, the per meal cost goes WAY down so now I have even more ideas for my $5 dinners.

Oops, I did it again

I'm on a roll with the home improvement gig. Yesterday I finished painting all of the door frames that were still wood. Now, the only wood trim left in the house is the doors. The new ones are in the garage. I'm just waiting on Shawn to paint them and put them up. To give him a little credit ... he did cut the holes, etc. in a few of them this weekend. Hopefully by next weekend I'll be able to post a pic of how the new doors have completely transformed my house. For now, salivate over this.

I know you want these doors, right?! What a throw back to the late 70s/early 80s. I have nothing against these doors. They open and they close. They even slam very well because they are hollow. But man do I think they are ugly.

After I gave myself a pat on the back for finally finishing some painting, I decided to make another curtain. My poor plain laundry room needed a little inspiration. Even after my 15 minute mistreatment it still needs something (some paint maybe?!). But, at least I have a little ray of sunshine now. Even better, this little mistreatment only cost me about $3. It's held together with stick pins and push pins.


I think my next project will be doing something with these cabinets. I have the same ones in the kitchen and I painted them creamy white. But these are calling out for something a little more creative. I was going to decoupage diamond paper on them, but now that I put up that curtain material I don't think diamonds along with diamonds will work. I'm just not sure.

Daddy isn't allowed anymore

Let's just start off by saying that now I know why many mommies choose NOT to rely on daddies to get certain tasks done. A lower chance of disaster. And let me tell you, we have had a slight disaster around here. You may think I am exaggerating, but just keep reading and review the exhibits. I have learned my lesson and from here on out will happily take on all tasks related to personal grooming of the children. Now, bet you want to know why I am talking about this.

Late last week, my (not so) dear husband and I were talking about how True's hair needed to be trimmed. Just a trim to get the hair out of his eyes. Shawn agreed. I agreed. Shawn stepped up to the plate and said that he'd take him on Saturday to get a hair cut. Since we had agreed upon what needed to be done I thought it would be nice for him to have a father/son bonding moment. Not to mention the fact that I already had a cut and color scheduled for Saturday at the same time. However, this is what really happened.

Exhibit A - My sweet baby before haircut (and his perpetrator)

Exhibit B - My (insert adjective here) baby after haircut

I guess in Shawn's world this constitutes a trim?! I'd say more like a scalping. It's a good thing that Mallory didn't really need a haircut. What would she have looked like?

You shouldn't have to bury a baby

Devastating news today. A three month old baby in True's daycare class died last night (Thursday) from bacterial meningitis. It was like someone threw a bowling ball at my stomach when I found out this afternoon. For a moment, I lost my breath and the world stopped. My knees buckled in disbelief. My heart twisted for those poor parents who yesterday had chubby arms and legs to hold on to, but today are planning a funeral for their sweet child.

How unfair. And unreal. It happened overnight so there was no time to process what was happening. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this. Maybe because I am mad at God for doing this. Or maybe because it hits so close to home.

Life goes on. Now we watch True like a hawk since he has potentially been exposed. We took him to a kids' emergency room this evening where he had a blood culture taken and a dose of precautionary high-powered antibiotics. Pray this bacteria does not show up in his samples.

$5 Challenge

I don't know why I insist on torturing myself. Between a full time job, a husband, two kids and three animals I really have my hands full. But, the sadistic person in me has decided to give myself yet another challenge. Just one more thing to contemplate.

The $5 Dinner Challenge

Yes, I am challenging myself to make dinner for a family of four (really only three ... two kids = one adult; although, Truett is getting close to eating us out of house and home). The sad fact is that I've told too many people about this to back out now! The lazy monster voice in my head keeps telling me this is crazy and will require too much time. But, my brain (that controls my wallet) is saying .. do it, do it, do it (those Nike ads really work). I find myself thinking wether this is really possible for a person like me? Yes. Will the meals be the healthiest dishes on the planet? Probably not. But they will be tasty.

I am a perpetual food planner. Food is VERY important to me. I'm not a gourmand, but I do enjoy my food. I want to know and think about what I am going to eat every day. I look forward to it from the time I get up in the morning until the sweet morsels hit my mouth (except for pork chop day ... I don't like it very much). And to meet the goals of this challenge planning is a must-have skill-set.

Since today is grocery store day, I already have the menu planned out. Here goes:

Sunday
Pinto beans ($1) and cornbread ($.33), ingredients to go into beans/cornbread (about $4)
Total: $5.33

Monday
Frozen stir fry (I already have it ... save resources and use what I have in the freezer!)
Total: $5.50

Tuesday
Homemade waffles ($1), bacon ($3) and hashbrowns ($.50)
Total: $4.50

Wednesday
Mac n cheese ($7.50, but you freeze half so per meal cost equals $3.75), frozen veggie ($1)
Total: $4.75

Thursday
Baked eggs (this may change) ($2), toast ($1.50)
Total: $3.50

Friday
Leftover beans, cornbread ($.60 with all ingredients)
Total: $.60

Saturday
EAT OUT! I will be exhausted from trying to scrimp on these cost-saving meals. :)

Okay ... so there goes my first week of $5 dinners. I have been thinking of a few others:

• Manwich (this takes me back to when we were first married!)
• Chicken tacos (yummy!)
• Mushroom chicken and rice
• Ziti casserole

There you go ... I've told a few people about this and everyone seems amazed that I am even trying it. But, with the price of food and gas, you gotta try something to save some cash. I'll let you know how it's going. And if anyone has any other ideas then please send them my way. I don't want the family to starve.

All this talk about food is making me hungry ... off to get a snack!

Meet Cinder

I am just plain crazy. A home is not complete without a cat. And we didn't have one. So, I had to go get one. Even more crazy, I did in on a day I was going out of town so Shawn had to deal with said cat, two dogs and two kids by himself. But, we did end up with one of the cutest kitty cats ever.

Meet Cinderella (aka Cinder)

She's a cuddle bunny. Purrs when you love on her. Wants to nurse your arm, neck or any other exposed body part. Just kitten heaven! I rescued her from the pound and the vet said she was proabably 4 - 5 weeks old when we got her.

The whole family loves her. Mallory chases her around trying to pick her up. Truett just wants her tail and says "ka ka" in an attempt to yell Kitty Kat. And the dogs, well, they are better than the first day she came home.

It's a good thing that cats don't do therapy. I might not be able to afford the bills if they did.

My mistreatment

Nester advocates mistreatments. So of course, I had to throw my hat into the ring and see what I could come up with. But, I couldn't do it with just any set of rules. I set off to become the McGyver of curtains. First experiment: the windows in the kid's playroom.

First off, the previous owners should never be allowed to own a home again for the treatment they did on the walls - cedar planks. Really, who would think anything that could give you a splinter works in the house, much less looks good? Not to mention the fact that I live in the middle of suburbia ... not a cabin in the north woods. For now, it stays but it is on the list of home improvement projects from hell. Hopefully by next summer the walls will be replaced with beautiful drywall. Until then, I have to spruce up the castle somehow. Hence ... the new mistreatments. What did I use to concoct these babies for four windows?

• 5 yds fabric (@ $5/yd)
• 4 yds pom pom fringe (@ $2/yd)
• Hot glue
• Stick pins
• Staples

A whopping total of $38 (including tax) in these curtains. And not one stitch. I just hot glued and then stapled the material onto the valance of the existing blinds. Since the material was 54" wide, I simply folded it over. But then I had to figure out a way not let on they weren't lined when the sun shone through ... simple soultion, lower the blinds behind them and no one will ever know!

I'm proud of my handy work. They aren't perfect. Heck, they aren't even straight. But they are beautiful to me and my family. Thanks for the inspiration, Nester.

In a funk

Not the kind that could be described as a dance. No ... I am not sure how to describe it. It happens periodically when I realize that there is more to life than work. As I finally open my eyes and realize that my family is right in front on me and I am missing so many great moments. Inevitably, that leads to wanting to stay at home and spend every waking moment with the kids. I might miss something, you know. (I know I should not take this thought so literally). I need to snap out of it before it's too late.

There has to be a way to creatively balance both work and family. Can you tell me how?

Before and After

When our other house unexpectedly sold, we only had 30 days to find ourselves a new house and close. We were up a creek because we hadn't even started looking. But, within two weekends we had it narrowed down to two houses. Neither of which we currently live! The first house, Burr Oak, was beautiful and new. Open concept. Its problem -- I heard terrible things about the builder's quality and it had a terrible backyard. Not to mention it was at the top of our price range. The second house, Landershire, was a 30 year old home and had a great layout. Beautiful saltillo tiles. But, it had foundation issues and a filled-in swimming pool. Then, we found this little gem (forgive the bad picture).
I don't know if I was just tired of looking at houses or if this one truly spoke to me. But, we made the decision right then and there to put in an offer. Our realtor thought we were crazy because it was like a time warp back to 1978. But, I could see past all the cosmetics to know that this had that special something. We've put in quite a bit of work in the last year and a half. I am truly proud of what we have created. We have:

1. Replaced the windows.
2. Replaced the floors in the main living areas (carpet to hardwood).
3. Torn down wallpaper out of multiple rooms.
4. Painted every room the house (okay, minus laundry and the bar).
5. Emptied and painted the garage floor.

It may look like a short list, but man do those things take time and money. Not to mention the fact that we had a little boy - our man Truett - about 6 months after we moved in. I could post a ton of before and after pics ... but the living room is the place where my heart swells the biggest these days. Take a look. I still have a ways to go, but I think everyone will agree that we've made 100% improvement.

Before (it was like the Black Forest in there)

After (see how imperfect it is? just the way it drives me crazy.)

Saturdays at our house

Busy, busy, busy. But every once in a while we take a break. It usually looks something like this. Lots of kids around. We love our neighbors.

Cuteness.

This needs no explanation.

The Three Amigos

Great movie. Even better in real life. Meet Beth (on the left), Cheryl and myself. I wish we all lived closer together. This was a great day of BBQ, kids playing in the pool and great conversation.

Shout out to the Nester

I know that I often fall down on blog duty. I have no real excuse besides my laziness and the fact that there are so many other things on the WWW that capture my attention. Those of you who know me understand that I often find myself in an "obsessive state" about someone, something, some store, etc. The obsession usually burns bright and then eventually the embers fade. But for now, my newest obsession is The Nester. You must check her out.

She is innovative, creative and definitely not afraid to get her hands dirty. Everything this Martha Stewart-wanna be isn't! I drool over the pictures she posts and have FINALLY come to the understanding that this is the style that I want to decorate my house in ... with a little modification. I mean really ... who doesn't drool over this sofa? I might give up an arm or a leg (definitely not both) for it.
So it will be a slow process to get there since I have oh, 5,000 pieces of leather furniture. But, I'll get there.

Time to get our hands dirty

We went to the beach last weekend. Well, Galveston. Not really a beach but about as close as it gets to Dallas without having to travel what feels about halfway across the world. It was supposed to be three days of fun in the sun, burying your body in the sand, slathering yourself with so much sunscreen that you carried half the sand from the beach around. You know what I'm talking about. I went with my sister and met up with my brother, his fiance and three out of their four his/her kids. Poor Shawn was stuck at home holding down the fort since he had to work.

I won't call it vacation because in the first 24 hours we had a visit to the emergency room (cellulitis, anyone?) and some members of our party, who shall remain nameless (that's for you Rusty), had a knock down drag out. I have learned some lessons about traveling with family:

1. My sister and I WILL go on vacation together again. We got along great. Who would have thought ... trapped in the car together for about 6 hours each way. No scratches on either of us upon arrival at both destinations.

2. I will NEVER ever think it's a great idea to invite the whole family and try to plan again. I appreciate spending time with my brother and sister but I think I'll let them do the planning next time and then just make my own little side agenda, if I go at all.

3. Inspect all kids for spots, rashes, red areas, runny noses, etc. before going on vacation to avoid another visit to the ER at 1a.

4. Don't feed the kids before getting in the car. This will counteract any car sickness that may develop. If you must feed the children before going, be sure to keep close a couple of beach towels to absorb said car sickness.

If you ever hear me making noises about traveling with family again, you officially have my permission to slap me silly. Really, you do. Not kidding. Because you know time has a way of making you forget about how bad it really was. I can guarantee you that you must remind me at some point.

Other than, we had a great time getting dirty in the sand. Mallory, who was the inspiration for this trip (okay, I was tired of hearing her beg to go to the beach), had the best time. Truett wasn't so sure. I can't wait to go back with Shawn and enjoy Galveston as a family.

Don't you think it's about time?

I've been very neglectful of my blog. Which is a shame because not only does it serve the purpose of sharing information about us with our friends and family, but it my very own forum for venting, tracking the kids progress and as a memory-keeper for all things family.

With that in mind, I thought I'd show some new pics of the family. This session wasn't the best ... the picture people were running about 45 mins behind schedule. By the time we made it into the studio Truett was about ready to have a breakdown, but the good news is that Mallory was in fine model form.

Aren't they cute? I'm having a hard time believing that little True is already a year old. Where has the time gone? And look at my little girl. Yes, a little girl and not a sweet little baby anymore. Look at our little family. Growing and changing every day.

So now that you've seen the good pics, here are a few outtakes. These are often my favorite pics!