spring break or bust!

No bar too far ... (exactly 15 feet to the refrigerator door)
We drink to sink ... (44 ounces should do it)
What happens in _____, stays in _____ (the residence of choice)
We got beer, it's time to cheer!

Well my spring break has sprung.  Time to begin.  Time to relish.  Wahoo!
I am on my own.
The children have returned to their classrooms for the remaining nine weeks of school. 
The husband has returned to his office and/or the friendly skies.
The pets have returned to their outdoor play yard.

The mommy has returned to the sofa, feet up, diet coke in left hand, remote in right hand, cell phone off, computer on sleep mode, and home phone off the hook. 

It's Spring Break.
My Personal Spring Break.  (Not to be confused with a "personal summer")

The reason for my temporary hiatus:  the family was on spring break and then the vacation was extended due to illnesses.  So now that the home has returned to normal (not to be confused with the normally strewed shit spewing from every crevice) peace and quiet. 

Ahhhhh....

Just for a moment....

I can meditate with both eyes shut.

Mission Impossible

One wrong turn.

Turned into a very right turn.

And, luckily, there was not another car behind me waiting to slam into my car-bum.  Because that would have been a bad day! 

Although, please don't ask if I can find this street again... because I know I cannot even attempt it. 

I am thankful for always (or almost always) carrying a camera with me!

However, now my "little middle one" is trying to find a street with her name on it.  I suppose we will have to have one of those custom made for us.  Creatively, she doesn't care too much about the street sign bearing all of her name letters.  Just the First Letter!   

So far we have stopped and photographed:  Pine St., Pebble Ridge, Pebble Ct., Park St., Partridge Way, Park Ct., Park Canyon, Park Way, and Pembleton. 

More Flavors of Fall!

PS  Thank you C.C. for adding cupcakes and callas to our flavors of fall

Autumn in Texas is usually a late bloomer.  It arrives in October.  At first, it is felt only in the early mornings and late evenings when the temperature is perfectly set at 72 degrees.  The leaves begin to change colors slowly and a few fall off the trees; just enough to say "It's Fall".    The afternoon highs of 86 degrees shout that "It's Still Summer"... but the heat does not stick around for long. 

Evening walks.

Crunching leaves that sound like Cornflakes.

Morning stroller rides.

Clear skies.

Crisp breezes.

Happy thoughts.

Serene moments.

Everything seems a little bit brighter.  Sharper.  In Focus. 

I love Fall.

recaps of the last six weeks

Brother Mark and his family; wife - Andrea, Adam, Katie, and Joshua

15.  Visitors!

More family from Michigan ventures to Texas to experience the daily 107 degrees firsthand.  Surely, they wouldn't believe it without FEELING it for themselves!!

Plus, they wanted to test their antibodies and immunity against our contagious flu/virus. 

They survived!  The only "thing" they caught was dehydration!

We had so much fun together ... even in the midst of being ill ... laughter resulted in coughing fits.  But we managed to just have fun!

a taste of summer

How about just a plate of tri-colored bell peppers for lunch?

or dinner?

Personally, I think this is so much better than popcorn kebabs!

or marshmallow skewers!

Party menus are on my mind.

Party food is on the menu.

I am sitting here planning a special family celebration.

No surprises.  No gigantic parties.  No gags.

My wonderful husband will soon be celebrating a birthday... a big ONE.

like the big FIVE-OH.

I cannot believe it.

As I am sure he cannot believe it, as well.

He looks great for being two weeks shy of 50.

He looks young.  He acts young.  He thinks young.  Hell, he is young!

I wonder what he will look like in two more weeks!?

And just think, he will be 50 for two weeks before his third girl is born.

Unless, she graces us with early presence.

Ahhhh, the big FIVE-OH.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to All!

Enjoy your day of parades, picnics and pinot!

6.2.8

A photo recap of my baby's 2nd birthday party.  I love decorating and celebrating for birthdays and holidays.  I am passing on that love to my girls.  Because darling daughter #1 took it upon herself to design, create and decorate for her little sister.  Now that is "Sister Love" !  At least for the first 12 hours of the day, because by 8:00 pm they were very "tired" ... probably, of each other. 

the tooth fairy

I forgot that the "tooth fairy" needed to visit our home last night.  I inadvertently locked her out.  She had no access to our home.  Therefore, no money!  And the "tooth fairy's helper" was unavailable to aide in the delivery as well.  I am not sure what "his" excuse was!

Victoria lost a tooth... a long-awaited tooth.  The tooth fell out at 7:16 am.  And by the time 8:45 pm rolled around, we had long forgotten about the tooth.  Or at least, I had forgotten about the tooth.  A lot of action had occurred in the thirteen and one-half hours between lost tooth and bed time. 

Victoria placed her tooth fairy doll next to her pillow which held her tooth safe and sound.  All the tooth fairy had to do was replace the tooth with a gold dollar coin.  Easy, right??  Well tooth fairy fell into a deep slumber and never woke up.   Victoria was up by 6:00 am to seek her treasure. 

Only too bad for me and the tooth fairy.

Victoria was elated.  Excited.  Jubilation rang out from her pepto-bismol pink sanctuary:

"I GET DOUBLE!  THE TOOTH FAIRY FORGOT TO COME!  IT'S MY LUCKY DAY!"

Because we all know that when the tooth fairy has a momentary memory lapse or a very busy flight night, the toothless child gets double.  It's a rule.  At least it is a rule in this home.  And there are no unhappy tears as a result!

Tooth Fairy holder doll is from North American Bear Company.  Pink, Lavendar, and Yellow.  Girl pirate also available.

Tooth holders for boys from North American Bear Company:  Pirates!  Baseball player!  Super Tooth Hero!

Check out:   http://www.nabearstore.com/

Click on Dolls.

Click on Toothy Treasures.

These tooth holders are ADORABLE KEEPSAKES. 

just like heaven

1001 places to go before you die:

1.  MACKINAC ISLAND

Mackinac Island (pronounced mack-ih-naw) should definitely be at the top of everyone's list.  Or, at the top IF you reside in Michigan and neighboring states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota.  Logistically, a trip from Seattle would make it more difficult... although, worth the time travel. 

http://www.mackinacisland.org/

The island is small enough to run around -- even for an amateur, slow runner like me.  The island is perfect for biking around.  Rent a tandem and a honey and pedal through beautiful scenery... while laughing!!   Ride a horse.  Beware of the SMELL emitted from these island creatures -- it is a small island!

The no motorized vehicle ordinance makes this island very safe... unless you kicked in the head by one of the many horses in town.  And I don't think you can receive a 'ticket' for drunk-walking on the way home from a pub. 

The Grand Hotel ... as seen in the movie "Somewhere in Time"... is a lovely place to stay.  Share a special moment with your daughters, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, or aunts during Afternoon Tea at the Grand Hotel.

I am dreaming of a vacation on Mackinac Island!

Sneak Peek

Big Sister, Victoria, has created a "Minnie Mouse" Birthday Party for her little sister.  She could not find what she was looking for in the stores or on-line... so she designed the items that she wanted.  So with a little help from mom and the craft junk-drawer... she was able to create prototypes for her imaginative designs.  Little Sister, "P", is one lucky little girl!!

T-shirts embellished with Minnie Ears and Bows

Handmade Minnie Mouse Invitations

"We got EARS -- It's time for CHEERS"

EARS party hat designed and created by Victoria

Party Favor BAG designed and created by Victoria

Placemats from the "Disney Store"

Tablecloth designed by Victoria

Lots of EARS !!!

Tablecloth in progress ... all EARS need BOWS.

the "Queen of Clean"

I love these books!  The Queen of Clean, aka Linda Cobb, has some great ideas and tips for cleaning almost anything.  The Baking Soda book by Vicki Lansky is also great!

Recently, I used a Queen of Clean tip because my fairly new shower door was showing signs of SOAP SCUM.  The dreaded scum.  The difficult to remove scum.  You can only keep a glass shower door scum-free for so long; even with daily cleaning and squeegeeing.  I tried every product available in the household cleaner aisle.  Expensive, inexpensive, good quality, bad quality, indifferent.  I spent three hours trying different cleaners.  Darling husband had read on the internet to use "oven cleaner" to remove soap scum.  Being almost 6 months pregnant, I didn't want to be around those harsh fumes.  And I knew that darling husband was probably not going to help me experiment. 

So, I referred to the Queen.  She said to use "mineral oil aka baby oil".  How can oil clean soap scum?

You know what, I tried it.  It's a MIRACLE!  And it WORKS!  I have the most beautiful glass shower doors in Texas, I'm sure! (... until the next shower!)

webcams are fun! Find one on your next adventure!

Every day at 3:pm for husband and me

Every morning at 8:am for the children

We met in Peace Square every afternoon to say "Hello" to our children.

Here we are standing around...

Waving to a small little camera in a small little window...

In hopes that our little ones would be able to see us...

As we stood on the other side of the world.

Below is a picture of the wee little web camera that we waved to daily:

Looking for more Black Fridays

Actually, looking for Black Sundays.  Or, in my world, PINK SUNDAYS! 

I am wondering if there are any sales in Moscow?!  Any one-offs?  Any discounts?  Any bartering to be done? 

Currently, I have a carrier bag full of "Matrushka Dolls"... every little girl is getting one for Christmas. 

Moscow is quite expensive.  About 20% higher in prices than Europe.  But really that is quite acceptable.  Because I do not want to buy European goods in Russia.  I would prefer to buy Russian goods in Russia. 

29 Rubles = 1 USD

Perhaps a couple more "Matrushka Dolls" ...

OR

How much Vodka can be carried back to the good ole USA?  If we would quit drinking the souvenirs, we might be able to gift Vodka.   Because who doesn't want Vodka from the original Vodka Heaven??!!

Happy Thanksgiving

so many wonderful memories to be grateful for

so many memories to be made

here's to giving THANKS!

Trial Thanksgiving Run

Turkeys are not my "thing" in cooking

They appear to be easy to cook

They appear to be low maintenance

But first, you have to clean out all that shit inside them

You have all seen your mothers do it

They reach inside and pull that crap out

Personally, after being an eyewitness

Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner is RUINED for me

My darling husband loves turkey

And after our First Thanksgiving together

in which I managed to turn into a BBQ

He is now the man in charge of cooking the turkey

On that lovely First Thanksgiving together

I pretended that I already cleaned out the turkey's innards

So I left it in

I couldn't bear to ruin his Thanksgiving too

Well I did anyway

When the fire department sent truck number 26

My mother never told me that innards could cause a fire

A big Fire in old appliances

We remodeled the kitchen during the Christmas holidays!

i'm.a.happy.mommy

because i'm going on vacation

far, far, away

to the land of probable relaxation

landing on a cay

no cooking for a while

no cleaning there either

i get to eat at restaurants dressed in style

and there's plenty a housekeeper

so i can do absolutely nothing

sleeping and drinking

perhaps a little shopping

but i won't buy a thing

feeling groovy

Well, today I am actually feeling skinny.  Because that is going to end really soon:  just ordered 5 to 10 more pounds of fat, lard, cellulite, and mid-drift rolls.  In the form of sofa-ass.  It arrives lumpy.  It stays frumpy. 

UVERSE.

giving it another shot.  really tired of barney.  And only twenty five days of FUN till my shopping experiment begins. 

UVERSE will keep me out of stores!
UVERSE will keep me on the couch!
UVERSE will keep its thumb on me!
UVERSE will be my babysitter, my monitor!

Thank God for UVERSE!

thirty day countdown

On December 1st, this blog will not only tell short stories but it will also publish the misgivings of a shopper-wannabee.  A shopper who has given up all impulse shopping.  A shopper who wants to see if there is really a savings to be made.  A shopper who reads about other families saving money... but the families never report the actual savings.  And then they spend their savings.  One family bought all new camping equipment... for a one-time deal... and now they probably vacation inside the marriott.  So much for camping gear rotting away in the garage, basement, or attic!!

Rules:
1.  ONLY Shop from a list
2.  USE coupons on every shopping trip.
3.  Extra food items can only be bought IF they are on sale (Extras as in snacks, or beef that is buy one get two free, or canned food supplies that are actually used on a regular basis)
4.  Children's snacks will only be purchased on sale. 
5.  No shopping for use "SOMEDAY".
6.  No extra shopping (extra, in this case, meaning:  we already have three rolls of ribbon and two rolls or wrapping paper, no more until it is gone!)
7.  Gifts will still be purchased!
8.  We will not scrimp on the basics:  toilet paper, tissues, detergent, etc.  But more effort will be made to hunt down coupons to use!
9.  Will not go to any store, boutique, outlet, or mall unless shopping for a SPECIFIC item for a GIFT.  Or my children have outgrown a SIZE.  Or something that is totally negotiable and deemed absolutely necessary.  Imperative. 
10.  Will not stoop to washing plastic bags or plastic containers if they are a threat to our health and well-being.  For example, there is mold growing inside.
11.  Will keep track of savings.  IF I pass on those cute matching girl pajamas (because each child already owns 8 sets each), then I save $$$.  Even IF they were pink and green polka dots and super preppy and totally adorable! 
12.  Will add more rules as they arise!

Good Luck! 
365 days is a long time to 'control' my impulse shopping control. 

Upon completion, November 30, 2010, what should we do with the savings? 
I guess that is what the next year is for, contemplation and planning on how to spend money well-saved!

Time is ticking, must get to Dillards and Nordstroms... shopping to do before my time is up.  hee hee hee.

From Mommy's Mouth?

SUPER PAPER STORE A has opened their doors to the PUBLIC!  ME!  ME!  ME!  The paper store is moving office/work space and I get to SHOP their MOVING SALE!  ME! 

I don't have to drive 20 minutes to buy invitations/thank you cards/labels/stationary/cards!  I don't have to dread going into the RETAIL store and buying ONE INVITATION at $2.20!   I have the opportunity to buy the whole damn box for $3.00. 

THANK YOU SUPER PAPER STORE A!

So, on my THIRD visit in 30 hours... I took the oldest daughter... the one with the most opinions.  The most stubborn one.  I wanted to make sure she selected her OWN invitations.  I didn't want to hear any complaining regarding her upcoming festivities. 

Oldest opinionated daughter selected a few more boxes of invitations... ones that I had overlooked.  Like the pizza/coke invitation in case we have a "Chuck E. Cheese" party for number three.  Or the "Maracas" for the Cinco de Mayo party we could have.  Or the "Giraffes" for the Zoo party we could have. 

As we loaded yet another bag of invitations into the car, I hesitated and thought about going back inside... I announced to stubborn daughter, "Do you think we should get the Camo/Dog Tag invitations - just in case"? 

Daughter studies my face and quietly says, "dammit!  I knew we should have bought those, too!"

I looked at her.  Obviously with SURPRISE!  My eyes dilated.  My mouth corners turned up (I couldn't help it).  And she announces...

"MOM, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WOULD STOP TEACHING ME THOSE WORDS... I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO USE THEM.  AND I WOULDN'T HAVE TO USE THEM IF YOU DIDN'T TEACH ME THEM!!!" 

why my husband doesn't take me out...

Last night, we went out to our favorite "guacamole" restaurant (Translation:  Mexican Food Restaurant).  We were seated in a quiet, dark corner (must be the multiple under 2 baby entourage) - far, far away from other patrons.  In fact, it may have been a special room for "families" ONLY.   Or for our family, ONLY.

The waiter proceeded to offer the specials.  Offer chips.  Salsa.  Iced water. 

The waiter returns to take our order. 

Fajitas for one daddy.  Small fajitas for one child.  Enchiladas for another child.  Rice and beans for the last child.  My turn:

"I'd like the personal-size, thin crust, vegetarian pizza -- cut into six slices instead of four.  Oh, with extra olives and cheese." 

Daddy buries his head in the remaining large menu.

Waiter stammers.  Waiter hesitates.  Waiter's speechless. 

I never got my pizza!