Just for fun...

So, I was reading Semi- Slacker Mom's blog and she had this fun ABC survey which I decided to copy (I like to do that sometimes!)

A- Age - 44

B- Bed Size - queen

C- Chore you hate- emptying the dishwasher - when we are rich I am going to have 2 dishwashers!

D- Dog's name - Montana

E - Essential start to your day - Watching the news. I need to know what's going on.

F - Favorite color - pink

G - Gold or silver - Gold

H - Height - 5"3"

I - Instruments you play - none

J - Job title - SAHM

K - Kids - 1

L - Living arrangements - a house

M - Mom's name - Yvonne

N - Nicknames - Deb

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth - None. :)

P - Pet Peeve - oh, there are so many.... but I hate when people are too lazy to put their carts in the cart corral at the grocery store (or Target, Walmart, Kmart, etc)

Q - Quote from a movie - 'Pink is my signature color.' (Steel Magnolias)

R - Right or left handed? Left

S - Siblings - 1 sister

T - Time you wake up - 5:24 (that's when the alarm goes off)

U - 1st word that comes to your mind for "u" - Up

V - Vegetable you dislike - Peas (don't tell Little Miss)

W - Ways your run late - trying to finish ' one more thing'

X - X-rays you've had - teeth

Y - Yummy food you make - Sticky buns

Z - Zoo favorites - Giraffe

Hopefully when I do my next post I will be able to think for myself & do something original! :)

Happy Homemaker Monday...

The weather in my neck of the woods: Partly cloudy, 110

One of my simple pleasures: A glass of wine before dinner.

On my bedside table: 'In Praise of Stay at Home Moms' by Dr Laura Schlesinger.

On the menu for tonight: I have no idea! Probably grilled chicken w/ brown rice and salad.

On my to do list: laundry, work, vacuum, clean my office

New Recipe I tried last week: none

In the craft basket: cards I am making for a birthday gift.

Looking forward to: Going to the mountains for the 4th of July.

Homemaking tip of the week: Ditch the paper towels - use washclothes & towels instead. You will save money and produce less trash.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): 'How much sugar are you really consuming?' by Stephanie. Check it out -it's enlightening - and scary!

Favorite photo of the week:

LM and her friend J on after their last tennis lesson.

Lesson learned the last few days: You can't do it all - at least not all at once!

On my prayer list: Friends, family

Devotional, Scripture reading, key verse:

~Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands.

Psalm 90:17

The week in review...

This was not me this week.

This is more like it:

I thought it would be a quieter, more serene week since we had no VBS and it was the last week of tennis. But it has been exhausting keeping Little Miss busy this week. She always wants to be on the go. Me, not so much. She blazes through projects like crazy. We had friends over and that was a disaster - they were only here for an hour & the visiting friends fought the whole time. Yesterday we were out of the house from 8:45 until 3. ugh. We did go see 'Nim's Island'. It was fabulous, I highly recommend it.

Today we are going to the library to see a magic show at 1. I tell LM, 'we are not going anywhere until it's time to go to the magic show.' 'OK', she says. I think that maybe I am getting some where until.... at 8:45 am she asks, 'is it almost time to go?' What?

I try to do alot with her but she needs to play on her own and I need to do things that take concentration sometimes and just need some QUIET. I know my husband comes home and wonders what we do all day. The house is in total disarray. I just don't have a grasp on everything this week. Glad it's Friday. I'll try again next week.

I even asked my husband if he was absolutely positive he didn't want another child, thinking a playmate might keep LM occupied. He is sure.

On the bright side: I got my David Cook tickets in the mail this week. It's the little things right now...

Tired...

Not me.

We invited some friends over today to swim after lunch. My friend Emily brought her boys Tyler & Cody over about 1pm. Little Miss was beyond excited to see them as they have been at their grandparents for the past 2 weeks.

Well, let's just say that it seems the boys are exhausted from being at 'Grandpa Camp'. They bickered, whined, cried, you name it, for an hour. After Tyler had 2 time outs his mom said "that's it, we're leaving. " Well, then guess who started crying? Yep, LM started bawling since they were leaving. UGH.

After they left LM wanted to get out of the pool too so we did. She put on her nightgown and said, "I need a nap." Umm, okay. She has never said that. She gave up naps before she was 3 (I was disappointed to say the least.) I turned off the tv, she got her pillow and stuffed animal and off to the couch she went.

For about 15 minutes. I knew it was too good to be true...

7:30 pm won't get here soon enough.

Happy Homemaker Monday...

The weather in my neck of the woods: Sunny, 104 degrees

One of my simple pleasures: A ripe, juicy summer tomato.

On my bedside table: 'In Praise of Stay at home moms' by Dr Laura Schlesinger. It's still there from last week because I started reading 'The Girls From Ames' by Jeffrey Zaslow. I just finished it this morning. It's a great book about friendship.

On my TV: I hate to say it but I hear Spongebob.

On the menu for tonight: Grilled Chicken, veggies, salad

On my to do list: Laundry, work, go to library

New Recipe I tried last week: Purple Potato Salad. I am not a huge potato salad fan but I had these purple potatoes and thought I would make a salad. Turned out pretty good.

In the Craft Basket: nothing now

Looking forward to: A much more relaxing week than last week. Little Miss has her last tennis lesson on Wed and that's the only thing we HAVE to do this week. It's going to be a hot one so we'll enjoy alot of time in the pool.

Homemaking tip of the week: Make a list. Even if you are not a list maker. Even if it's not a cross things off type of list. Sometimes things get crazy and it's nice to have something to look at that lets you know what you plan to do today so you can get back on track. I am not a list maker but this helps me.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): This one @ Simple Mom. It's called 'Use the Good Stuff'.

Favorite Photo of the week:

Father's Day fun!

Lesson learned the last few days: We all need more sleep than we get. :)

On my prayer list: Family, friends.

Devotional, Scripture reading, key verse:

~ If we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Romans 8:25

Go visit Sandra at Diary of a SAHM for more Happy Homemaker Monday.

Happy Birthday to me...

Well, it's not until September but I am now the proud owner of 2 tickets to see........

David Cook!

Yep, my husband and I will be watching him on August 20th at the Antelope Valley Fair & Alfalfa Festival (really). I can hardly wait. We have great seats.

My husband is quite the saint. Poor guy has taken me to 'Mamma Mia', Donny & Marie & now this. Really, he will get to cut in front of all of us on his way to heaven. I owe him. BIG. Let's just hope that I get the kiss on the head (or neck) from David and not him...

Frugal Kid's Crafts...

I cannot take credit for this idea since I saw it one day when I was watching TV with Little Miss. But I thought is was a great idea and we are doing it this summer...

1. Get an old box and fill it with anything you would throw out or recycle: egg cartons, plastic containers, paper bags (I would stay away from plastic bags for obvious reasons), straws, "kids cuisine" containers, water bottles, Styrofoam cups & take out containers, etc.
2. Clean everything that needs to be cleaned.
3. Get out the markers, glue, paint, colored paper, etc. & let their imaginations take over.

Here's our box so far:I let LM decorate the box. We will continue to fill it until I need to take it out for an "I'm bored" day. I'll try to post the treasures that are made.

Check out more frugal Friday ideas @ Life as Mom .

Cute stuff...

$1 each at the grocery store. I thought they would be cute for the summer time. Only a few more days until it's officially here...

i tunes...

If you have read my blog for any amount of time you can gather that although my husband and I are pretty computer literate we are by no means on the cutting edge. We have a Wii, some sort of playstation, a flat screen tv but we don't have special ring tones on our cell phones, only recently started texting, don't twitter and are the only people I know that don't have an ipod. Yes, it's true. I am sure there is someone to whom that needs to be reported.

Well, we STILL don't have an ipod (& don't anticipate getting one anytime soon) but the other night I downloaded itunes and purchased some songs (3 to be exact). What prompted this you might ask (or maybe you aren't asking.)? Some of you may know of my love for David Cook - season 7 American Idol winner. He preformed his song "Permanent" at this year's Idol finale and is giving the proceeds from downloading that song to ABC2, a charity that's goal is to find a cure for brain cancer (David Cook's older brother recently passed away from brain cancer.) So I now feel really 'with it' since I have an itunes account. Doesn't take much...

Stink Eye...

Arizona has to be the flip flop capital of the world. It should be our state shoe. At least our town shoe anyway. My husband loathes flip flops. He calls them 'unapproved footwear." I am indifferent to them; they have their time and place if you like them. My mother loves them. And she buys Little Miss alot of shoes. Consequently, Little Miss is a flip flop lover.

Flip flops are not allowed to be worn at school (thank goodness). We don't allow LM wear them many places where it just might not be safe as well as the obvious places (bike riding for example).

LM had her first night of Vacation Bible School (VBS) last night from 5:30 until 8:30 (I have an issue with the time but I cannot say much since I am not running the show.) I told her she could not wear flip flops since it was the first night of VBS and we didn't know what the activities would be. After much 'discussion' she put on a pair of sandals with straps and off we went.

My husband & I arrived about 8:20 to pick her up. The director was going over some things with the kids and mentioned that they would have 'water' activities the rest of the week so they should wear their swim suits and flip flops. Right after that my husband says "did you see Little Miss just give me the stink eye?" Round 1 goes to LM...

Happy Homemaker Monday...

The weather in my neck of the woods: Partly sunny, 97 degrees.

On of my simple pleasures: An early morning cup of coffee outside in the solitude before everyone else gets up.

On my bedside table: 'In Praise of Stay-at-home Moms' by Dr Laura Schlessinger, the new issue of 'O'.

On my TV: Nothing

On my To Do list: Laundry (sheets, towels), Library, some work.

New Recipe I tried last week: Cheese Roasted Potatoes from the Summer Book by Susan Branch.

In the craft basket: Father's Day cards

Looking forward to: The movie "The Proposal" w/ Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds. We usually do not go see adult movies at the theatre but my husband loves Sandra Bullock and thinks we need to see this. :) Father's Day.

Homemaking tip of the week: Make your bed everyday. It's quick and easy to do as soon as you get dressed (on the weekends it's a bit later for me as my husband sleeps in). If I do NOTHING else I try to make my bed. Get your kids in the habit of doing that, too (we're still working on the with Little Miss.)

Favorite Blog post of the week (mine or other): This one by One Fabulous Mom. A wonderful post about the special people in our lives.

Favorite Photo of the week:

The hoisting of this trophy means the NHL season has (finally) ended and I can have my husband back. :)

Lesson learned the last few days: Things aren't always as they seem.

On my prayer list: The volunteers at my daughter's Vacation Bible School

Devotional, Scripture reading, key verse:

~You never know what is enough

unless you know what is more than enough.

William Blake

Join Sandra @ Diary of a SAHM for more Happy Homemaker Monday.

Disclaimer...

Yesterday at about 11 am my husband asks if I would like to go to the mall. After some thinking I say yes. We get in the car and drive out towards the mall (about a 15 min drive). We pass Dillards (which is where I thought he wanted to go), pass Penneys and then proceed to pull into the Walmart parking lot.

"Are we going to Walmart?" I ask.

"Yes" he says.

"But I thought you wanted to go to the mall." I say.

"Walmart is at the mall." he says.

Now I know that I need a disclaimer from my husband when he says wants to go to 'the mall'. So, there I am on a beautiful Saturday in Walmart (not my favorite place). And it just happens to be the one year anniversary of the opening of this Super Walmart. He's sneaky, I tell you...

Thank you...

I am a stickler for thank you notes. Not thank you phone calls, not thank you emails and, for heaven's sake, not thank you texts. Real honest to goodness thank you notes. Written on paper. Often involving an address and stamp. But at the very least hand delivered to the person who was generous enough to bestow some sort of kindness on you.

I married into a family that does not do thank you notes (with the exception of one sister-in-law - out of 13 kids- who not coincidentally happens to be my very, very favorite). My mother in law phones. The rest may or may not acknowledge that they received your gift. Luckily my husband has come over to my side after 12 years. He is always the first to ask me 'did you send a thank you note'? And I can usually say that yes, I have already sent it. (You can see he is very trainable!) I think the reason that my husband's family does not do thank you notes is that, with the exception of 2 kids, they all live in the same town. They see each other all the time and thank each other in person. That's my theory anyway.

Imagine my surprise last week when I received a thank you note for a graduation gift we sent to my husband's nephew. As I opened and started reading the note I realized that his mom wrote the note. I appreciate that she thought enough to send something but shouldn't the young man have been able to pen his own note? Or am I asking for too much?

Fast forward to this afternoon when I received an email from a friend who just wanted to say 'hi' and then needed to run and finish writing thank you notes for her own son's graduation gifts. Is it because they are boys? Don't boys need to know how to write a thank you note? Or is it just one more way that social graces are not being passed on to the next generation? Am I just old fashioned & rigid? Do any of you have any thoughts on this?

Wednesday's Project...

Little Miss had tennis bright and early on Wednesday morning. Seven am to be exact. It's an early start but that also means we're done early and can go home. Which is exactly what we did yesterday so we could start on our project. This is the 'before' of the chest that sits next to our bed. It's a bit high for a bedside table but I am making it work since it was FREE!

It was painted white with some green paint painted over it and then blotted off. Cute but not really working for me.

So here's what I did:

Valspar white exterior latex - right out of the can with Valspar 'Sea Breath' (one of my all time favorite colors) stripe. I am not wild about the knobs but don't want to spring for new ones right now. I found some I liked at Lowes - special order, of course @ about $8 each. I'll look for something a little more cost effective. Until then, I can live with these.

Little Miss was a great helper- both at painting and being the go-fer. It's nice that she's at the age where 'help' really means' help'.

Today LM has her friend L here for the day. We had planned on going to the movies but got a last minute invite to bowl w/ some friends. I asked the girls what they wanted to do and they voted for bowling. I was thrilled because to be honest the movie every week is getting old. Bowling will be more interactive and give them a little exercise. And we don't have to get popcorn...

Copycat...

Yes, I just totally copied this wonderful idea from Sandra. I let Little Miss make a list of things she wanted to do this summer. I had to help her make some of the list as I wanted to make sure we could do at least some of the things. Since Sea World and Nick Family Cruise were the first 2 I knew she needed some guidance, hence the 2nd page. Let me decipher some of the things:

Nick Family Croos = Nick Family Cruise
Vages= Las Vegas
Mrgretivil= Margaritaville
looow= Luau
Bech= Beach

I am going to avoid 'watch 4 hours of SpongeBob'. That is 4 hours in one day (I asked). Does that sound like torture??

There is a family in our town that had sextuplets a couple of years ago. This Thursday their show debuts on the Women's Entertainment (WE) network. Channel 260 on Directv. I don't personally know them but I do hope they don't end up being another Jon & Kate. Time will tell.

I am off to rearrange furniture. I am finally getting my chair and ottoman recovered and it has been picked up for the transformation, leaving my living room barer than bare. I am not sure how I am going to make it look decent for the next two weeks. My challenge lies in the fact that I am not 'allowed' to move my husband's recliner. It would be so much easier if I could...

Another Great Giveaway!

Go visit Michelle and enter her fabulous giveway! She's giving away TWO Amazing Grace gift sets. Yahoo!

Action!

My husband & I may or may not appear in the upcoming movie 'Piranha 3D' that is being filmed in our town.

We were boating with some friends over the weekend (sans kids) and were down at the channel (where people park their boats and boat watch - like we used to cruise the strip in high school - a very mature thing for 30 & 40 yr olds to do!) We knew the movie was filming so we walked down to the end where it was taking place to check things out. As we walked down there I noticed a sign that basically said 'We're filming a movie. If you pass this sign you may be in the movie and won't be paid.' We saw a few actors walking around with their fake blood and cuts on their skin, so it's going to be gory - but I guess the name eludes to that, too. The actors were on their lunch breaks so chances are we won't be in the movie but I wanted to mention it. Just in case.

Happy Homemaker Monday...

The weather in my neck of the woods: Cloudy, a high of 93 today :) Yippee! Our average this time of the year is about 105 so it's like spring time!

One of my simple pleasures: Chopping the veggies for the salsa I made this week (link to recipe is below). Just being able to take the time and cut everything just so is very therapeutic.

On my bedside table: 'Unplug your kids' by David Dutwin, Ph.D

On my TV: Nothing

On the menu for tonight: leftovers (we always have a big dinner on Sundays and usually have leftovers which I will make into tacos or quesadillas-it gets old after a while but I hate to waste food.)

On my to do list: the usual (cleaning, laundry,etc). And it's movie day at the library.

New recipe I tried last week: None, but I did make banana bread and salsa

In the craft basket: nothing

Looking forward to: Library day today. Hopefully going to the mountains this weekend (fingers crossed!)

Homemaking tip of the week: Take baby steps. Sometimes I just look around and think -'ugh, what will I do with all this STUFF?' In the short run it's just easier to get a cup of tea and turn on 'Oprah' but after that hour, amazingly, the STUFF is still there! So I take 5 minutes and deal with one pile. Once it's put away I can either quit or keep going - take 5 more minutes and conquer a bit more. When the job is smaller I feel like I can finish it sometime during this decade and usually continue on. This is a great way to handle the 'dump' spots in your house. For us it's our wet bar by the front door. For some people it's a hall table or the dining room table or the kitchen island. So start with 5 minutes...

Favorite Blog post of the week (mine or other): This was a great post last week by Michelle about the 'bright side of having to be frugal'. I think a lot of us are trying to be a little more frugal right now & this is a great motivating post.

Favorite Photo of the week:

Summer time and the livin' is easy. Little Miss and her friend 'H' take a popsicle break by the pool. (Note LM's new tankini.)


Lesson learned the last few days: Slow down, it's summer. We have all vacation to do it.

On my prayer list: Friends & family

Devotional, Scripture reading, key verse:

`The more he gives to others, the more he possesses of his own.

Lao-Tzu

Join Sandra at Diary of a SAHM for more Happy Homemaker Monday. (Love the new banner Sandra made!)

Spring Cleaning...

Awhile back I mentioned that I was doing some spring cleaning. Well, I really did do some. Still a little bit to do but I wanted to share some of what I have done so far.
Here's Little Miss' room. (I loaded the pictures incorrectly apparently so the 'clean' pictures come first, then the 'messy' ones.)

After:

Dusted, cleaned sheets, picked up various stuff, disposed of some stuffed animals (at the Goodwill now), vacuumed, cleaned windows (on inside).

Before: Self explanatory!After: Same as the above after. (Please note Carrie Underwood poster. I am not a poster lover but it could be worse. )

Before:

Playroom after. I didn't take a before picture but you really didn't want to see it. Suffice it to say that the rug and floor were not recognizable.

That's all for now. The rest of the house is in pretty good shape. I cleaned out my closet the other day. I try to do this a few times a year. I am amazed that I always am able to purge a good amount even doing it as often as I do. I also did some paint touch up that was LONG overdue. Wouldn't you know I forgot a spot in our bathroom so the paint will be back out before long. There's always a reason to paint...

My favorite paint color..

I stumbled upon this wonderful blog the other day. She is hosting a "My favorite paint color party". Go check it out & you will get lots of great inspiration.

I love paint, probably a little too much. Three of my favorite colors in my house are below.

"Chocolate Curl" by Olympic (at Lowes) in the kitchen. The star is painted "Sea Breath" by Valspar (at Lowes) - don't you just love that name?


"China Blue" by Benjamin Moore in the dining room.

How long have we had this lamp?

Asks my husband.

"Why do you ask, is it broken?", I say.

"No, I haven't noticed it before."

"Oh, about 6 months or so." I say.

"Oh."

Yes, folks, this is the man who will notice if his recliner is moved one inch. But he doesn't notice the 'new' lamp next to said chair. EVEN after I tell him (6 months ago) what a bargain I got on the shade ($2 at Lowes). If you ever need to tell someone a secret, he's your man...

Pot, meet Kettle...

In the 'headlines' today:

'Octomom' blasts Kate Gosselin

Suleman rolls her eyes while accusing Gosselin of being "desperate for attention" and "over-emotional."

Excuse me?? First, let me say that:

1) I am not a huge celebrity gossip type of girl

&

2) I am basically indifferent to Kate Gosselin

That being said, this headline caught my eye yesterday on the MSN homepage making me check out the article. I thought 'of all people calling Kate desperate for attention.' And now I am pretty much speechless.

On to real life. Little Miss went to her friend 'M's yesterday for lunch and to swim. I dropped her off about 11:30 and picked her up about 4. When I pulled into the driveway at M's Little Miss came running out of the garage, crying. I was not surprised as this is usually the case when it is time to go home. But this time LM said " M yelled at me, I want to go home." Ugh. M barely utters a word on most days so this surprised me. After we got home LM told me that M said "LM get over here, my mom is looking for you." Okay, not a tragedy, just confusion. And a tired, hot, hungry, crabby girl.

We arrive home and I immediately give LM a cold drink of water and put her in the tub. Things are looking up already. While in the tub I ask what the kids had for lunch. 'A hot dog (that, & chips were all that were offered & she had no chips), but it was a big one. I think it was beef. I didn't finish it because I didn't like it.' That's because you usually eat turkey or chicken dogs, I say. How she knew they were beef is beyond me but she knew she didn't like them. So, she had half a hot dog for lunch, one soda and one juice, was in the sun for 4+ hours (plenty of sunscreen) during the heat of the day & it was 103 degrees out. No wonder she was crabby & tired. I asked if she had any water and she said no. Yikes. It's Arizona in the summer for heaven's sake - I thought we all served water. Apparently not.

Mommy lesson learned today: Put a full water bottle in LM's pool bag next time she goes to M's and send a bowl of fruit as a contribution for lunch. That and maybe M should come here instead...

A giveaway...

I stumbled upon this really cute blog AND... she's having a giveaway. She's giving away this cute Vera Bradley bag on June 8. Go check it out and enter to win.

Happy Homemaker Monday...

On my bedside table: The G-free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck

On my TV: Nothing now.

On the menu for tonight: We have an end of the year hockey cookout - burgers and hot dogs. Our team is bringing side dishes, I am bringing a fruit salad as our contribution.

On my to do list: laundry, organize closets

New Recipe I tried last week: Nothing (surprise!)

In the craft basket: nothing now.

Looking forward to: hockey cookout, Thursday's movie day (Madagascar 2 - I am dying to see it!)

Homemaking tip for this week: Try to use your dryer less in the summer (I know this is not really a 'tip' but it's something I try to remember to do since it's warmer outside). Set up a clothes line if you can or use a rolling rack to hang what you can.

Favorite Blog post of the week (mine or other): This one of Sandra's. It was a fun reminder of days gone by and also kind of sad to think our kids won't have the same type of summer memories that we did. But I like to think they will have their own, different yet still memorable. I don't think my summers were that different from my mom's but I think my daughter's will be a lot different than mine.

Favorite photo of the week:

We have a blow up mattress that Little Miss likes to sleep on in her play room. I put it up every now and then (when it's not a school night) so she can sleep on it - which I hope explains the mis-matched sheets! The smile conveys her happiness about sleeping there.

Lesson learned the last few days: Debra can say 'no'. Little Miss got an invitation on Sunday to swim at a friend's house and I said 'no' since it was later when the mom called (1:30-I am not the best 'spur of the moment' type of girl -I like plans) &, more importantly, Little Miss stayed up late Saturday night at our friends' house swimming and playing with the kids. She had her first tennis lesson this morning starting at 7 am so I didn't want her to be worn out.

On my prayer list: Dean Martin, the Arizona state treasurer, who lost his wife and infant son within days of each other. His wife died in child birth and the baby a few days later.

Devotional, Scripture reading, key verse:
~James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who keeps on going when times are hard.

Join Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday.