Goodbye, Friend

The time has come to let it go.  This love/hate relationship has run its course and I'm finished. 

seven random takes

I'm taking the lazy way out and letting my phone camera roll do all the work...
Thanks Jen for the link up!
1 -

We took a road trip to Indianapolis over Thanksgiving where 27 (!) of us could all sleep under my brother's very generous roof to spend the holiday together.  The boys stayed nestled in the back of the van and Stan insisted that his Dusty pillow was not too big to have with him in his lap the entire way.  His brothers are filled with endless patience some days.  Others not so much, but that's for further down...

2 -

Sometimes it gets really bright in the car and you need your favorites sunnies to protect your eyes.

3 -

Still with the Dusty pillow for the brief 12 minutes of slumber he had during the 11 hour trip. 

4 -

Me and my Kari on our annual sisters post-Thanksgiving shopping trip to all stores decor in Indy.  It is a pastime that I feel myself growing into even though I have not a shade of sense when it comes to home decor.  Which is why I go on this charade of a shopping trip so my sisters can guide me (and for the lunch). We especially were going for a fuzzy soft frame on this photo for a prom feel too.

5 -

Advent is in full swing at our house.  We have daily fights about who gets to move the ornament onto the countdown tree, even though they trade every day on a set schedule. We have a fight every night over who gets to blow out the candles on the Advent wreath and sometimes we resort to relighting a candle because Stan needs to blow one out and we're not to the third week in Advent yet. And, they somehow find a way to fight over their chocolate Advent calendars even though each of them has their own and so the impossible task of sharing is not even up for discussion.  Christmas is truly a blessed season.

6 -

This is what happens when people are less patient with Stan and his toddler antics.

7 -

I love slippers and I have passed this oddity onto my children.  Or maybe our absolutely freezing cold hardwood floors throughout our drafty old house has made my kids smart enough to wear them.  Either way, I think the kiddos look like crazy mini-people walking around in their out-sized feet with random stuff attached to them.  Again, don't be overwhelmed by the absolute best blog photography you've ever seen complete with cut-off heads, not centered subjects, and fuzzy movement captured.

BONUS!! -

This is the only time I have ever wished that we named this kid Richard so I could put the obvious punchline on this photo.

SUPER BONUS!!

It's a little cold here and it's slowly killing our poor nanny from South Africa.  And last night the radiator in her room went out.  I best get home and try to turn some knobs, bleed a valve, or fill a pressure tank - all things I know nothing about but I'm going to attempt or Marianne might be sleeping in my bed tonight.

Peanut Pie

That is one of my nicknames for George (or any of the kiddos that happen to be in the vicinity), but G gets it most often because he can't run away from my obsesive snuggling yet.  So, you will imagine my surprise when little Peanut Pie ate some peanut butter on a waffle and this happened to his face...

Nothing like a little angioedema to make you wonder about what you're feeding your baby.

Anywho, I think we'll be laying off the peanut butter for a while now.  Although I'm a little confused because I know he's eaten some thai peanut noodles I amde that had a cup of peanut butter in it that didn't give him any reaction and I'm wondering what the difference is.  It is also perplexing because Stan might as well be a walking peanut butter jar given the amount he eats and how it is constantly smeared across his face, hands, clothes, and in the webs of his chubby, sticky fingers.  It is a wonder that George hasn't gotten a good dose just from sitting next to him at dinner.  The scientist in me wants to test a few theories out to see what happens, but I don't think George wants to be my little lab rat (party pooper!).

This is the food that's been getting all the attention in my house lately. 

The boys eat clementines like they'll never see food again.  I honestly buy three 6 pound bags each week I'm at Costco and we still usually run out before the week is out.  As Jerry said last night "I fear our grocery bills someday", or my pediatrician who told me "Forget about saving for tution, save for nutrition".  Dave and Frank each eat 6 clementines at night before bed and Stan eats 2-3. Just to clarify, by eat, I mean he sucks the juice out and leaves annoying dried out carcasses of clemmie sections strewn about my house - ugh, that kid.  That is not counting the dozens I peel all day long too.  My thumb eventually gets the citrus acid wedged beneath the nail and is all sore, red, and caustic and then I really know we're in citrus season. "Clementine thumb injury time" means that "kids begging bites off my ruby red grapefruit sections I carefully peel for myself" is soon to follow. Love it.

That's enough boredom for one post, no?

My Scattered Brain

You remember how it works?  I spout off unrelated things until you get bored and click somewhere else. Unless you're my Mom who savors every word about her grandchildren and reads through the drivel about me just to get to more exciting stuff about her grandsons, or you're Jerry who reads under duress because he knows he has to.

1) Frank has the best word mix-up right now.  It's "girl-er" for girl.  I like to give myself a chuckle with this...

M: Frank is that squirrel a boy or a girl?
F: Mom, I don't know if that squirrel-er is a girl-er.

Love it every time.

The Grand Catch-Up

Holy Cats. At first I was just busy, then I couldn't get in my groove to write, then I just got embarrassed that I hadn't written anything in AGES, and now I'm back to do my penance, proclaim mea culpa and get back in the saddle.  Let's just be friends and pretend like the break never happened?  Thanks chicas.

Annoyingly, I'm going to harken waaaaaay back to Halloween and make you read through a holiday that no one cares about anymore because Thanksgiving is fastuponus. 

DIY boys pirate costume... how not to do it

I am sometimes a weeee bit ambitious in the sewing department.  I like to think because I've watched a few seasons of Project Runway that I can work my way pretty handily around a sewing machine.  I assure you, I cannot.  However, I love making the boys Halloween costumes and this year Dave and Frank decided that they wanted to be pirates.  So pirate costumes... how to do it.  Or read this, then read someone else's blog on how you really do it and follow their advice to a tee while laughing at my sad creations. 

First off, let's get a pirate joke out of the way...
This is my favorite from the Hasting's Pirate Day website in the UK...

-What's a pirate's favourite letter of the alphabet?
....I've always had trouble with me alphabet, mate...I always get stuck at C!!

Alright onward with this riveting drivel...
The first and by far largest mistake was taking the boys with me to the fabric store.

It's Friday...and the best day of the year

I'm linking up with Jen for this very special edition of 7 Quick Takes.  Here goes...

1) It's my BIRTHDAY!!!  I love, love, LOVE my birthday and think it is definitely the best day of the year without a doubt.  It's an entire day dedicated to celebrating me, the day of my birth and all the great things about me (at least that's how I choose to see it). Kidding.  I just really like having everyone I love check in with a quick Happy Bday and knowing that they're thinking of me on my special day.  And, the presents.  Again, I kid! (sort of)

2) I'm away at a conference and missing my family.  It was really weird driving to WI by myself and not having the peanut gallery in the back with their constant chatter to accompany my every moment.  It was eerily quiet.  So quiet that I had to get Ira Glass to be my companion with a couple downloads of This American Life.  I love that show and it's even better when I can get it on demand.

3) At this conference I have learned one very important thing.  I no longer possess the ability to sit still. In medical school it was an average day to have my butt in an auditorium seat for 8-10 hours of lectures followed by extra time in the library. But, it's been, ahem, a few years since I was doing that and luckily between chasing boys at home and running around the clinic my days rarely involve a lot of sitting. There seems to be a curvilinear relationship with age and the ability to sit.  I know from direct observation that my boys have no tolerance for sitting still. I hope that will improve in the next couple years and perhaps peak in their college or grad school years (many prayers and fingers crossed) and now I think my sitting tolerance is quickly declining again.  I can make it through Mass and that's about my limit.  God help us all when it's a long homily.  I'm hoping that has something to do with Stan constantly mussing up my hair with trucks and leaning out of my lap until I'm on the verge of dropping him.

4)

(It's hard to see the animals I have on the vertical axis. From bottom to top they are flea, puppy, squirrel, bats during the day, panda, and sloth. I need to snaz up my graphs next time)

I have given you graphical representation of WTH I am blabbing about in #3.  I think Dave is approaching the sitting tolerance of a puppy at age six and I peaked at sloth-like daily activity in med school, and now I'm back down to about a squirrel.

5) I drew my graph on a piece of paper that I had folded into a paper airplane during a lecture.  I am not good at folding paper airplanes anymore (it dumped after about 2 feet) and I think I need to brush up on this skill so I can amaze the boys with my mad paper folding and airplane flying skillz. At least I think it looks cool with the rad lightening and racing stripes. Disclosure that all my flight tests were after the lecture so don't worry about it. 

6) I am staying with a friend from college while I'm in Madison and it's so fun to catch up with girlfriends. I am constantly amazed that I have such good and constant friends that even when we don't talk for months, once we're together it's like no time at all has passed. What a lucky lady I am! 

I'm trying to decide if I'm the worst houseguest or the ideal houseguest. Basically I leave the house before anyone is really up and I come back after everyone has already turned in. Same story for tomorrow. If I could somehow find a way to do the guest bed sheets once I leave I think that would rocket me to ideal in no time. 

7) George has a new tooth and a new nickname.  

He has one of his bottom teeth in and he looks like a little jack-o-lantern at this most appropriately spooky time of year.  His new nickname is "Rhino" because he likes to head butt everything in his path while he crawls around.  Doesn't matter what it is - parents, doors, walls, toys, brothers, dogs, cribs - they all get a gentle-to-sometimes-aggressive nudge to move out of his way.  

I find it endearing because I am his adoring mother, and I'm actually hoping the nickname sticks because who doesn't want to room with a guy named Rhino at camp or college?

Hope everyone has an incredible October 18 (best day of the year)!  Feel free to drop me a Happy Birthday in the comments. The best present would be actual comments after my blog - shall I even dare to wish for ten? Aim high Meggie, aim high. 

Tub Time

My cousin Emily and her sweet bebe Louie came over for a visit the other day and we had a great time letting the little crawlers paw each other and watching Louie try to knock George over in the friendliest manner possible.  We decided to throw the two little boys in the bath together before they headed home so Em would have a sweet-smelling, clean baby all ready for bed when she got home. 

Louie had been making some pretty interesting faces indicating that he was having some gastrointestinal, shall we say, issues, during dinner.  Basically he was working on his business and seemed to get the job done.  We got the little dudes into the tub and soaped and cleaned up and were letting them play. G started fussing and wanted to get out, to eat, and go to bed.  We barely got George out of the tub and next thing we know Louie is letting round two rip in the tub and we were left with this…

Duluth Summed Up

It was 44F. It was cold.  It was windy. There was rain.

The hotel had a pool with a waterslide.  It had a pull-out bed and we didn't care if the boys jumped on it. The hotel had a vending machine.

There were non-stop movies in the van. There was much McDonald's on the menu.

So, that's the short of it.  If you can stand it you can read the long of it now...

7QT - for reals

I'm linkin' up with Jen and I'm headin' straight in...

1) Our dog ran away on Tuesday.  Okay, actually I let her outside without her leash or collar and may have encouraged her to take a run for the squirrel in our neighbor's yard.  I kid!!  We were all very sad and worried about sweet, dumb Stella (who practically defines being a dumb blonde) because when I think of her, "street savvy" does not leap to my mind.  Luckily I posted our little runaway to the local humane society lost dog page the next morning and got a call not even two hours later that she had been picked up by animal control the day before.

Seven Quicks

1) Kindergarten expectations were high a few weeks ago when Dave finally started and I must say that sadly, those expectations have not been met.  And I'm talking about me, not Dave.  If you want his opinions you'll have to roll on over to his blog mymomdoesntgetmeandshemakesmeeathergrosscookingeverynight.com

My expectations were super high for this year.  I was told that I would have an exhausted child every night for at least the first month as Dave made the transtition from 10.5 hours of school every week to 35 hours of school.  Parents went on and on about kids falling asleep in the car ride home, at the dinner table, and kids too tired to hold their precious little kindergarten brains up with their tired little arms from all that PE class. 
I couldn't wait.  I was going to revel in that child being sleepy and ready for bed for once in his life.

Fast forward three weeks into this gig and I feel cheated.  Dave is the exact opposite of tired as he runs around the house telling me he needs to "get the crazies out" by jumping, doing some pretty sweet break-dancing ground moves, and standing on his head... all in quick succession of eachother.  Could it be that he has more energy now because he's sitting in class for more of the day instead of running around like a wild man all day? Literally, I wonder what I created.  How could this child who completely eschews sleeping come from a mother who relishes sweet bedtime each night and loathes leaving bed every morning?  Holy heavens help me, it could be a long road to get this kid to college graduation.

2)  We're going to an apple orchard this weekend and I'm sure I will pick about 30 pounds of apples and then come home and panic about what to do with them all.  I usually peel, core, slice and freeze them to make apple pie or apple sauce throughout the year.  I'm a little tight on freezer space this year so I'm thinking of canning a bunch.  Any tips or tested recipes out there?

3) Speaking of canning (I know. When will I stop harping on this thoroughly engrossing subject?  I don't think ever, so you may just need to stop reading before you want to prick your eyes out with pencils) it was pickle day on Tuesday!  Finally the day arrived when we could bust open the pickles I made and canned a month ago.  We polished off the first quart in short order and no one has succumb to food borne illness yet.  Although, my face feels a little numb and my right elbow is super itchy, so we'll see, I could be dying as I'm typing. I'm sure you're dying as you're reading.  From boredom.

4) I downloaded the My Kodak Moments app while at Tar-jay this week so I could quickly pull a photo off my phone to print there.  I know, how quaint to actually have a hard copy of a photo instead of just storing it for all eternity on my phone while Apple continues to send me threats reminders that my cloud is getting weighty and filled up.  But, D needed a baby pic to bring to school and I had to do something quick before I got a rep at school for being the super disorganized mom who never gets stuff in on time.  I have plenty of time to earn that reputation over the next umpteen years of school with the boys and didn't feel I needed to reveal that side of myself within the first month.  Back to the point Meggie.  The app is great and works seamlessly to send photos from phone to photo kiosk over wifi and then gets printed out while you shop for all the not essentials I end up with in my cart.

5) There was a school pizza party this week for the Kinders and their families.  My Bull in the China Shop who is also lovingly known as Stan threw a rock at another kiddo and drew blood.  So even though my penchant for being mildly disorganized, a bit of a procrastinator, and maybe a leeeetle crazy has not been revealed to other school parents, it appears that we will be known as the family with the toddler who maims older kids.  This whole school business is off to a rarin' start.

6) I made a pasta last night that the kids ate with only mild complaint.  This is not monumental as I can usually get them to eat pasta, but it had meat mixed in which I was afraid would throw off the whole dinner equilibrium and ruin everything.  Though there was much breath holding on my part, they ate and seemed full which allowed me a chance to drink wine.  win-win. Here's the super complex recipe - don't feel bad if you can't follow along on my crockpot culinary adventure.
   -in the morning before you're really awake wield a giant knife and roughly cut up into big chunks a couple country pork shoulder ribs from the Costco into crockpot
   -put some salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder (or whatever you happen to grab in your bleary eyed stupor) on meat and add 1/4 water
   -cook meat on low for 4 hours, then add a jar of TJ's basil marinara sauce (or in my case since I left for work at this point leave this in the capable hands of your nanny - hey Marianne!!)
   -continue to cook on low until you get home from work almost too exhausted to put a pot of boiling water on for penne
   -persevere (because you are a super mom) and boil the damn pot of water
   -cook pasta
   -dump cooked pasta into crock pot
   -pour wine for yourself and hubby
   -ignore kids and pretend you're in a really loud restaurant and complain about families who bring really loud and unruly kids into restaurants

7) Phew - almost there  Hang in there family who I will quiz about this later to make sure you are reading! I'm getting the itch to paint a couple rooms in my home.  Our bedroom being one of them.  Any great color suggestions out there?  I'd like something sort of subdued and mature, just like me.  I saw a grey with a hint of purple that I thought might work.  Is this crazy?  I stink at decorating.

Go over to Jen's for more 7 QT's.

It's 2-for-1!!

I'm a little inconsistent with the art of blogging sometimes.  I have no excuses.  Wait, yes I do.  It's just not really a good one.  The excuse is that I've been dragged into Litchfield Women's Prison and I cannot escape.  I am watching "Orange is the New Black" on Netflix so every spare moment I am watching this show in 3 minute increments because that is the only break time my CO's (ahem, children) will allow .  I am a little obsessed and it leaves me little time to blog.  It also leaves me wondering about the true prevelance of lesbianism in womens' prisons, but that's not for this blog to hash out.

Today I had some extra time to blog so I put out two, TWO!! posts in one day.  If you've come over from Hallie's blog then click on over to my other post about going to adult prom for double the fun. 

On to the business end.

1) Obvious - "Orange is the New Black"

I know, I know, I'm late to the game.  In fact, the game is over, the janitorial staff has already cleaned up, the parking lot is empty, and the lights are turned out.  Everyone else has watched this and told me I need to watch it, but I have just now started it.  I love it and if anyone else wants to start watching it now on Netflix so I have someone else to talk to about it I would love that.  Please, please, please let me know because everyone else is already over it until next season comes out and I need to go over some details with somebody out there.  Next I'll be talking about Game of Thrones about ten months too late.

2) Best lip gloss ever - Clinique superbalm moisturizing gloss in black honey

I wore it to adult prom and it gave my lips a nice sheen with my amateur smoky eye.  Overall an okay effect (I think)

3) I have been obsessed with a new breakfast and it couldn't be easier.  I will break this complex recipe down for you all.  Take banana.  Peel banana.  Smear top point of banana in peanut butter of choice.  Dip peanut buttery end in rice crispies.  Bon appetite.

4) The fall colors in MN are starting and I love having an up to date map to consult about where the peaks are in the state.



















We're heading up north in a couple weeks and I hope we won't be past peak.  My obsessive daily check might be a bit overboard, but what else would I do with my time?

5)

This texturizing spray did not give me waves or any sort of curl, but to have that happen would be on par with a miracle given my naturally straight, limp locks.  It did give me a bit of volume and I'll take what I can get. 

That's the five.  Later ladies (and Jerry).

Adult Prom

Over the weekend Jerry and I went to a benefit and we got to dress up and pretend like we were going to prom together. Differences being that this time the Holy Spirit didn't need to stay between me and my date and drinking was encouraged.  Also, I think my hair is better than it ever was in high school.  Oh, and I didn't wear Tevas like I did to my junior prom.  I know, what the hell was I thinking?

Here's some fo-toes of the whole fancy affair.

Taking the Easy Way Out

I'm hookin up with Hallie for the Five Favorites and I wanted to show some of my favorite photos from the last few days. 

1)

Life has gotten easier around here now that this little man is bathing sitting up.  As Grace has mentioned in a

7 Medium-ish Takes

Just hooking up with Jen today for some 7 QTs of stuff.  They really don't go together, it doesn't really flow or make sense, it just comes out fo my brain this way sometimes.  Keep going...

1 - We finally had Dave's first day of school on Monday.  Holy cow this seemed like a loooooong time coming.  I've been hearing and reading other parents expressing that they can't believe their little muffins are off to school so soon and they can't believe that the time has passed so quickly.  I could not disagree more. 

Five Favorites - on repeat

Thanks to Grace for hosting today over at the Camp!  I'm linking up with her to make it a par-tay...
Let's do this.

At work today there is a cube near mine that has the radio set to 80's hits.  I'm feelin' the music so I'm dedicating this one to some of my faves of the 1980s (sorry to you young millenials who will have no idea what I'm talking about. Consider it your pop culture history lesson for the day).

1) Since I'm thinking music I'm just gonna put it out there that the first cassette tape I owned was Whitney

This Body I Live In - Guest Post!

Against their better judgement, the ladies over at Fine Linen and Purple allowed me to guest post on their blog today.  Hop on over there and enjoy!

-M

Five Favorites - another...

I'm linking up with Hallie at Moxie Wife today (late!!) to discuss my Five Favorites of the moment...

1) I've got a thing for wedges these days as I mentioned in another post.  I can't wait to start wearing closed toe shoes that cover up my serious lack of toe care this summer (I've been going au natural - sounds prettier au Francais, oiu?

canning fail

What the?  Where the? How is it after Labor Day now?  I know I shouldn't be surprised, but holy cow this summer seemed to breeze by.  We tried to fit in a ton last week and while the boys don't start school until Monday, it's really hitting me that we are in the colder end of summer for sure.

I tried to conitnue my canning glory and instead got an epic fail. 

Minnesota 7 QTs

So I was inspired to write my 7 QT's with Jen's link up on why MN is an awesome state because Heather over at Mama Knows, Honeychild felt compelled to take us off her "to visit" list because of the man eating wolves we have roaming around.  What the what??  I'd say we have a lot to outweigh any dangerous carnivores you may encounter.

1)  We are super nice.  It's even a term - Minnesota Nice - and we take it seriously. I'm totally tootin' our state's proverbial horn but people around here are just downright go out of their way to help out kind of people. Need directions? - check. Need to know the best restaurants? - lots of people will chime in. Want to join a dodge ball team? - seven people will offer theirs up in a flash.  Mean people need not apply for residency.

2) The Minnesota State Fair. I've been blogging about it this week and it's completely awesome and the best state fair out there.* Where else can you find a llama costume contest, a daily parade, high school rodeo, a zagillion calories worth of delicioso food, seed art, 4H projects that will blow your mind, and the biggest pumpkin in the state all in one vicinity?  It is the holy grail of the best time wasters ever.

*disclaimer - I've never been to another state fair, but ours is so crazy cool I can't imagine another even coming close to it

3) We have tons of lakes - in fact about 10,000 of them. We have more shoreline than Florida, California, and Hawaii combined and we utilize our lakes to their fullest. Canoes, kayaks, water skiing, fishing, wind surfing, paddle boarding, pontooning - we do it all. 

4) We go through looooong winters here and I have never encountered people who embrace summer with such passion and verve because we all feel like frost is lurking right around the corner.  Minnesotans realize that you have to soak up every minute of heat in order to survive February.  If you visit us when we don't have snow you will see everyone outside as much as humanly possible. 

5) If you visit us in the winter you will probably find that most Minnesotans believe that the long winter is better passed by embracing the opportunity to play outside in sub-zero temperatures. We've got hockey, figure skating, cross country skiing, downhill skiing (icy conditions at their finest), broomball, sledding, snowshoeing, winter camping, and a Winter Carnival complete with two parades (one by torchlight) and a weird rivalry between the Vulcans (who herald the beginning of permafrost melt) and the winter royalty (who bask in their frosty glory to the often bitter end). Oh, and we have an amusment park inside the Mall of America so if you're sick of being outside just go there and pretend it's summer for a bit.

6) Our farmers markets are amazing. We're so close to our farms that it takes no time at all to get fresh produce into the Twin Cities area. Our downtown Saint Paul market boasts only local produce within a 50 mile radius to satisfy locavores as well.  We have many local Hmong farmers that have expanded the traditional Minnesota table to include yummy veggies like bitter melon, thai eggplant, thai peppers, bok choy, and hmong greens. 

7) We're the birthplace of Target - the best most dangerous place in the world to drop $50...or sometimes $100....and unfortunately sometimes more. Man that place is a money suck. 

BONUS #8 just for Heather.......
WE HAVE NO SHARKS!  I too have a major phobia of sharks (when my imagination runs wild I can convince myself there are sharks in pools - crazy) and I am pleased to tell you that while there are sharks at the MN Zoo and the Mall of America Aquarium I think that's about it for those swimming, man-eating machines.  No need to worry about shark attacks or swim next to shark bait while in our lakes and rivers - hooray!!

Heather, I hope this list convinces you to take a second look at Minnesota before permanently taking us off your list and doing something I'm sure you'd regret for the rest of your life (wink).

Guest Post from George!

I'm exhausted today so George offered to guest post on the blog to keep things going.  I will type for him since he prefers to open-hand smack the keyboard or eat it.  Thanks George!


***************
Hey Everyone!  Thanks to my Mom for letting me blog a little today.  I know everyone is chompin' at the bit to hear from me so here goes...

***Ten Reasons I Didn't Want To Sleep Last Night***

Five Faves - Lands' End Style

Booooring to go all love it from one place on you, but I got an email from LE and I think it was tailor made to my taste because it all looked so cute to me. Like I want to get the credit card out right now cute.  Also got an email from J.Crew and was pretty unimpressed with their quick glances.  I haven't bought anything from them in a long time and now they have leather accented jodhpur pants?  Um, not the trend for me and it's just so dang expensive.  Enough on that, back to the likies...

Hot Stuff

I know it's super boring to talk about the weather (I've never shied away from writing about boring stuff before!  Why start now?)  but it is hotter than Hades here in MN and so what does any sane and sensible woman decide to do?  I drag my entire family around the Minnesota State Fair in 96F weather that equalled 103F with the heat index.  The kids held up better than I did.  I get super cranky in humid

Friday - 7 QTs

Here it is, nearing the end of another week....
Thanks Jen for hosting the link-up

1) Last night was a dream come true for the boys.  They had hip hop class followed by Dairy Queen...

^^^notice half of Stan's m&m blizzard sadly melting under the bench.  Bwah bwah.  Frank wins both the ice cream speed eating contest and the always

G's Baptism WIWS

This is A Very Special Edition of What I Wore Sunday....  George's Baptism!

Looks like there's another baptism edition over at My Domestic Monestary to peruse as well.

On Sunday George was brought to the baptismal font as a sleeping child with the stain of original sin.  He was then crudely awoken by having water poured onto his head, which alarmed him, and then he squirmed and got a face full of water as the Deacon

Another 7 QT's

It's Friday y'all!!!  That means it's time to link-up with Jen and see what everyone is thinking today.

1) George will finally be getting baptized on Sunday.  It's been crazy trying to figure out a time to get everyone together to celebrate George's blessing in the water, but it's finally the day.  Needless to say, the cute baptism invites are still sitting in my stationary (read junk) drawer

Five Favoritas

Here we go again...the faves of the moment. 

1) After such a great weekend celebrating my niece's graduation from college I must say one of my all-time, absolute favorite things in life is that my family is so fun and that we all get along.  It was awesome to celebrate a momentous event with my family and have such

Glamour Pants

After I wrote that title I was kind of wishing that was my nickname... Glamour Pants.  It has a really classy ring to it, no?

Anywho, I was wrapped up in one of the activities I enjoy most in the world (insert dripping sarcasm) pumping(!!) while at work, no less, when the milking production started heading south at the barn. 

First of all I'm just going to come out and say it, I hate pumping (bring it La Leche Leaguers).

Five Favs

Here are my quickie five favs today!  Thanks to Hallie at Moxie Wife
for hosting a link-up.

1) The mattress protector Skydda Hogt from Ikea.  Blessings upon blessings that two of my munchkins slept until 9am (!) yesterday but needless to say even the strongest and most absorbant nighttime diaper was no match for the 12 hour sleep-a-thon Stan embarked on and he woke up completely wet.  The mattress, however, was desert dry.  Thank you Ikea for saving me from washing out a urine soaked mattress and leaving me only to deal with urine soaked sheets.  So easy in comparison!  Who says motherhood is not one glam filled moment after another?

2) Broccoli slaw. 

This is my go-to salad this summer.  TJ's sells a package of broccoli slaw for $1.99 and I throw in some peanuts, cucumbers, green onions, crushed ramen noodles, and other stuff I have on hand (peppers, cilantro, corn, carrots - anything that's on the verge of being kicked out of my fridge) and mix it with a super easy dressing - 1/4c veg oil, 1/2c apple cider vinegar, 1/2c sugar, and the "seasoning" (let's be honest salt and msg) packet from the ramen noodles.  I usually only use about half the dressing, unless I'm feeling crazy...then I just pour it on. Oh, and the beer in the background is no accident either - it is a delicious summer thirst quencher.

3) National Night Out.  It was so fun to hang out with our neighbors last night!  

We got rained out in the end which "upset" the kids to put it mildly.  There was much  kiddy screaming and contorted faces of agony as all the neighbors scurried to their homes amidst rain, thunder and lightening.  My boys have been asking everyday when they wake up if it is the day of the party for a solid two weeks now, so this was a highly anticipated event.  Alas, they will have to wait until next year for the big shin-dig again, but good thing we live next door to ALL of them so they will see them today.

4) These shoes.  The Seychelles Stagger Wedge. 

I am loving and wanting them in a big way and have not yet found my way to justifying their purchase.  I love the wedge (a more casual cousin of the pump, and easy to wear), the color (hello autumn, I hear you knockin' at my door), and the detailing (cute but stays wearable and not froofy). 

5)  This guy who helps me mow the lawn with his tractor.  

Who needs a lawn service when you have this?

I hope everyone has a great rest of today.  And first part of tomorrow.  Then I shall post again!

Sunday outfit

I meant to get this up yesterday when it was truly apropos but alas I never got a chance to get around to it. I had thought I would have the chance to get it up early this morning but that idea was dead in the water oh, somewhere between 1 and 4 in the morning when I was trying to comfort a screaming Stan about the gentle rolling thunder apparently scaring the be-hoozers out of him.

It is hard enough to have a conversation based in any sort of logic or reason with a toddler.

Friday Stuff

Hey Y'all it's a Friday round-up that I've linked up with Jen over at Conversion Diaries.  These are quickies, but enjoy!
1)  I'm beginning to realize that school is around the corner and a little bit of panic is rising in my chest as we've never had to get the kids up and out the door by 7:50am on a consistent basis.  Any have any ideas on how to start getting the kids (ahem, me) to bed earlier and up earlier to make the transition smoother?

Reading Mommy Blogs

First - here's the article that inspired this post...then come back here and we'll discuss.
Why The Fuss About Reading Mommy Blogs?

I just read this article after it was linked in a comments section of another blog, and *wow*.  It's fantastic and articluates intelligently why I think it's important to have mom blogs out there as a source of support, mentorship, inspiration, and humor.  I know it makes me feel better to escape into these blogs for a few minutes and realize that there are plenty of moms who go through the daily trials I do with my boys.

Motherhood is a constantly changing institution and it means many different things to all sorts of different moms.  The author Lillian brings up the red tent and the village well as absent sources of support for the modern day mom.  I even think back to my childhood when my mom had SAHMs up and down the block to count on for daily support, venting, and child-rearing problem solving that simply doesn't exist in most neighborhoods today.  For me, reading mommy blogs is like running to a neighbors house for a quick chat or cup of tea when the day starts to get rough.  It gives me a break, a laugh, a refuge, and a person to sort out the tangly mess of being a mom.

Why do you read mommy blogs?

(a content mommy moment)

Braids for Muffins

No, I'm not talking about braids on muffins.  I'm talking about a braid trade for muffins.  Put simply...slow day at work means idle hands willing to braid my hair in return for baked goods.  Capitalism at its finest.

I'm linkin' it up in a crazy way today with both Kayla and Hallie

Which brings me to the Freckles in April Style Challenge.  Time to fashion an end-of-summer up do.  

This is the magic that was worked on my hair this morning.  I could never do this myself.  It would be a mess of tangles ending with a not-so-pretty do and achy fingers.

(Please ignore the post-partum bald spot I'm sporting these days.   I think I need some spray-on hair)

 (also ignore the decor.  I took this at work.  Shhhhh, don't tell.  I mean, it was taken over lunch)

(weird light effect is not from a sky light or divine intervention but rather my broken phone with a huge crack over the selfie lens)

 (this pose because I know everyone is wondering exactly what the top view is like)

Aaaaaand now onto my five favs of the moment as seen on Moxie Wife.

1)  This jumper chair 

because it looks to be entertaining all of my boys at the same time.  I grant you this blissful moment was ephemeral and the chaos resumed in short order, but it was paradise no matter how brief.  I am so happy I had a moment to dig this treasure out of the baby gear pile in the basement.

2)  This guy

zimbio source/credit here



Thank you , thank you, thank you for saying that we need to treat everyone with respect and no judgment, including homosexuals.  You are a much needed breath of the freshest kind of air.

3)  Soft ice.  It's the kind of ice that comes out of hospital ice machines on the wards.  And I love it.  Unabashedly.  I chew it all day long when I'm at work and I think I have a problem.  And a chipped tooth.

4)  Up and Up Target brand breast milk bags.  I have used Lansinoh, Gerber, and Medela and nothing beats these little gems.  I switched to them a while back because they were the cheapest and now I realize they are also the best for freezing breast milk.  I used to get leakers with the other brands pretty regularly and waste precious droplets of my hard earned milk.  Now, leakers no more.  Bless you Tar-zhay!

5)  McDonald's french fries.  Mostly because someone just brought me some and they are out of this world delicious and hitting the spot.  Hot, salt, and fat.  Done.  They're not lyin' - I really am lovin' it.

Bad Ending

End game of fifteen minutes spent rolling around on the floor farting instead of sleeping....

We really should have guessed that this was then only possible way this scenario could've ended. But he fooled us with his smiles and charm into thinking that he was just playin' around when really he was conducting some serious baby business.  I guess better out than in before bed!

Ta-ta and sweet dreams to all (or really no one since its just me and the spam-bots that patrol my site)!

Stan's Dance

Stan has this awesome dance that he's doing now and it gets me every damn time he does it.  If that kid had any smarts he'd realize that he could probably get out of whatever trouble he finds himself in (4,506 times a day for that toddler) if he busted out this dance. 

Broken, Brokener, Brokenest

This has been a tough week on some of my possessions...

Broken - the skirt that I wore to work today. Nothing makes a girl feel prettier and more svelte than busting the hook and eye holding her skirt together.  Not to mention that I'm still carrying around some pesky baby weight so I may be a weeeee bit sensitive if things don't fit perfectly these days. 

At least the zipper on the skirt was no quitter and both literally and figuratively helped me hold it together today. 

Brokener - the bag that I carried to work today.  This bag is pretty much a crappy pleather (not even a good imitation of leather) bag that I have carried to work for two years. It looked good for about the first month and then quickly showed its wear. This bag only got saved from a long walk to the trash can because I got comfortable with where everything fit in it.  So my laziness won out and I never got around to changing it out even though I hated the way it looked every stinking day after day I carried it. 

The purse gods have had enough and have saved me from myself by ripping one of the shoulder straps apart. Hallelujah. Now I just have to figure out where my dental floss and 836 tampons I found hidden in my old bag will go (I'm only slightly exaggerating about the tampons and I really don't understand how and why I have so many squirreled away.  I have only had my period about twice in the last seven years because of pregnancies and breastfeeding but apparently I'm super anxious about when it will strike again and if I'll have enough in my bag to be away from a tampon source until menopause).

Brokenest - and this one really hurts...I shattered my iPhone.

Oh the pain upon watching the impact was exquisite. I swear I drop that phone 56 times a day and this was an obvious outcome at some point, but it is still so annoying.  I'm trying to decide if I will try to stick it out for another couple months with tiny shards of glass flaking off on my thumbs as I text as I wait for the new iPhone, punish myself for breaking it by using Jerry's old phone that has a broken center button, or if I'll go for the immediate fix. 

I'm hoping the rest of my goods can hold it together for a few days.  I have duct tape holding the back window of my VW hatchback together, so I'm not really holding my breath.  Unless I'm around the back window of my VW, then I do hold my breath because I think a deep breath or an angry butterfly could take that thing off.

The Royal George

Just to be clear I am not talking about the new little English sproutlet born on the other side of the pond.  I'm talking about my George!  I'm a little bitter that Kate and William decided to name their bebe George after we had firmly claimed the name for ours in February.  I'm guessing there will be an uptick of Georges now and his kindergarten class in 2018 will have four of them.

Here are a few ways we'll be able to tell our George from theirs...

5 Favorite Things Link-up

Thanks to Grace

 for doing a link-up.  I'm a link-up virgin so this could get interesting...


1.  Back to school shopping!!  The second half of every summer I reminisce about heading to Target to pick up all my new school supplies.  It was one of my favorite shopping trips of the year.  I could seriously barely contain my anticipation of what Trapper Keeper I would get (the Lisa Frank psychidelic panda and unicorn design vs kittens in a basket),

Parenting Changes

When one has four children, even when they are V*E*R*Y close together, a few changes take place in how one parents the first child in comparison to how one parents the fourth.  Let's take a quick look at a couple examples to make this concept clear.

Augument #1 - Dreft
Dreft is the super soft, baby-sweet smelling laundry detergent with the pink cap.  Just smelling the stuff makes me swoon for baby days. 

Frankism

"We made finger jello for you!  We made it with two oranges and two greenges."

Meaning they made finger jello out of two packets of orange flavored jello and two packets of lime flavored jello separated into layers. Very fancy. Not one of my specialties though - this one is all my MIL's.

Guilty Snacking Pleasure

I have kids that want sweets, treats, and snacks ALL THE TIME.  They are totally weird and strange, and no one else's kids are like that, I know.  Aaaaaanywho - they come by it naturally.  I am a snacking freak.  However, I try to set a good example and emulate good eating behaviors by eating wholesome meals filled with veggies, whole grains, lean protein and sensible portion sizes.  They see me doing this and think to themselves, "Wow, my mom eats super healthy.  I'm so lucky that she makes me these super healthy meals every stinking night of the week."

El Numero Uno

First off, I don't speak Spanish - so I'm not even sure if that title is legit.  If I had any followers or readers (hello?  is any out there?) they would tell me, I could correct it and all would be well.  Since I'm writing this one solo, we'll just have to ignore my ignorance and laziness (I just don't feel like google translating this) and call it a day.  Initail disclaimer done.

Practically every stinkin' day someone tells me that I need to write down whatever crazy thing my sons have done.